Posted on by Staff Report

Get all the results from Kentucky weekend

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All times ET

THURSDAY, JUNE 27

ON TRACK
— 10:30-11:30 a.m. ET – NASCAR Camping World Truck practice (Get results)
— Noon-1:30 p.m. ET – NASCAR Camping World Truck final practice (Get results)
— 5:05 p.m. ET – NASCAR Camping World Truck qualifying, SPEED (Get results)
— 6:30-7:25 p.m. ET – NASCAR Nationwide practice (Get results)
— 8 p.m. ET – NASCAR Camping World Truck race (150 laps, 225 miles), SPEED on air at 7:30 (Get results)

PRESS CONFERENCES
WATCH LIVE
— Michael Waltrip Racing and University of Louisville announcement | 4 p.m.
— Brad Keselowski | 4:30 p.m.
— Kyle Busch | 4:45 p.m.
— Post-NCWTS race | Approx. 10:30 p.m.

GARAGECAM
WATCH LIVE
— Nationwide: 6 p.m.

FRIDAY, JUNE 28

ON TRACK
— 9-10:30 a.m. ET – Nationwide final practice (Get results)
— 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ET – Sprint Cup practice, SPEED (Get results)
— 1:30-3 p.m. ET – Sprint Cup final practice, SPEED (Get results)
— 3:35 p.m. ET – Nationwide qualifying, SPEED (Get results)
— 5:10 p.m. ET – Sprint Cup qualifying, SPEED (Get results)
— 7:30 p.m. ET – Nationwide race (200 laps, 300 miles), ESPN on air at 7 (Get results)

PRESS CONFERENCES
WATCH LIVE
— Jimmie Johnson | 10:30 a.m.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 10:45 a.m.
— Martin Truex Jr. | 12:45 p.m.
— Danica Patrick | 3:30 p.m.
— Jeff Gordon | 3:45 p.m.
— Post-NSCS qualifying | Approx. 6:30 p.m.
— Post-NNS race | Approx. 10 p.m.

GARAGECAM
WATCH LIVE
— Sprint Cup: 1 p.m.

SUNDAY, JUNE 30

ON TRACK
— Noon ET – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race (267 laps, 400.5 miles), TNT (Get results)
* This race was originally scheduled for Saturday, June 29, but was postponed due to rain

PRESS CONFERENCES
WATCH LIVE
— Post-NSCS race, Approx. 3 p.m.

MORE:
Sprint Cup: Season schedule | Standings | Entry list | Qualifying order | Lineup | Results
Nationwide: Season schedule | Standings | Entry list | Qualifying order | Lineup | Results
Camping World Truck: Season schedule | Standings | Entry list | Qualifying order | Lineup | Results

READ MORE:

READ: Kentucky Paint
Scheme Preview

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READ: Pre-Kentucky
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READ: Complete coverage
from Kentucky

 

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Reigning Sprint Cup champ needs Sparta win to spark title defense

If there is such a thing as a statement victory in the middle of a season by a driver 10th in points, Brad Keselowski certainly recorded it a year ago at Kentucky Speedway. He had wrecked his primary car on the very first lap of practice a day earlier, rebounding into the wall after making contact with Juan Pablo Montoya. His crew then rushed to prepare a backup vehicle amid the searing heat of a Bluegrass State summer.

Crew chief Paul Wolfe called it “probably the toughest weekend our team has ever had up to this point.” And yet, the results of that effort were on display not just on a single Saturday, but for the remainder of a season that would net Keselowski his first championship in NASCAR’s premier series. Kentucky was the linchpin — that 4.3-second victory over Kasey Kahne capped Keselowski’s series-leading third win of the season, and kicked off a stretch that would see him finish worse than 11th only once until the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

"It’s a track that really suits me, because it’s so rough, and I tend to do well on those."
–Brad Keselowski on Kentucky Speedway

There were other victories by Keselowski last year that attracted more attention — his last-lap move to win at Talladega Superspeedway, certainly, or his fuel-mileage jackpots to kick off the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup — but it was the torrid span started in Sparta, Ky. that put him in position to do everything else. The only blemish over that period was a 30th-place finish in the Bristol night race, stemming from a bump by Bobby Labonte. The rest was a clinic by a driver who began it as a question mark, and ended it as a title favorite.

Keselowski could use another of those stretches right about now, as he returns to Kentucky in a more precarious situation than a season ago, even if he’s one spot better in the standings. The Penske Racing driver is entered in all three events on the 1.5-mile track, beginning with the Camping World Truck Series contest on Thursday night. But for the pilot of Cup car No. 2 on this three-race weekend, the most important number remains one — as in, the first Sprint Cup victory the reigning champion still needs to bolster his chances of defending his title.

Granted, Keselowski’s current position isn’t solely his doing — he was saddled earlier this year with a 25-point penalty (the difference between his current spot and a three-way tie for sixth), lost Wolfe to suspension for two points events for the same rear-end housing violation at Texas Motor Speedway, and has suffered from mechanical issues ranging from a vibration to a broken drive shaft. In any event, the results are the same: an eye-opening four consecutive top-five finishes to start the season and a head-scratching one top-five finish since.

So yes, Keselowski could use more Kentucky magic on a bumpy surface where he’s never finished worse than seventh in seven combined Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup starts. “It’s a track that really suits me, because it’s so rough,” he said, “and I tend to do well on those.”

He’ll certainly have plenty of time to get acclimated to it, when both he and Kyle Busch — the only Sprint Cup winners in the facility’s brief premier-series history — attempt to capture their own personal triple crowns by racing in all three events at Kentucky. Although Busch is the only driver thus far to manage a tripleheader sweep (at Bristol Motor Speedway, in August of 2010), it’s not uncommon for multiple drivers to attempt them on the same weekend. It’s happened 27 times previously, most recently last year in Sparta when Keselowski and Scott Riggs raced in all three events.

“I’ll say this, those guys are brave doing it at Kentucky, because it’s one of the hottest places we go, it seems like,” said Nationwide Series points leader Regan Smith, himself no stranger to juggling multiple rides on a single weekend. “I don’t know why, but Kentucky with the asphalt that’s inside that facility and the way the facility is shaped, it seems like there’s no breeze, and it’s just brutally hot most of the time when we go there, between that and the humidity. I have not done that. Would I do it? Absolutely. We’re all racers. It doesn’t matter how hot or cold it is. We want to be in the race car and making laps and learning what we can. Certainly, the more races the better.”

It certainly didn’t seem to faze Keselowski last season, when he placed second in the Truck Series event and seventh in the Nationwide race before winning the big show. The schedule of such an undertaking never lets up — Thursday brings a full Truck slate in addition to opening Nationwide practice, while Friday offers three practices and a pair of qualifying sessions across the sport’s top two series leading into the Nationwide race that night.

“It’s a lot of on-track time,” Busch said. “On Thursday, we practice all day, and then there’s the Truck race that night. It’s a busy schedule, and you are running back and forth between garages, and it’s typically hot there in Kentucky. The biggest thing you get to work on, and enjoy, is essentially the on-track time and getting to figure out the bumps there, and you get extra track time to figure out if you need to get through them better or if you need to get your guys to give you a better setup to get through the bumps. I have three divisions worth of chances, and three crew chiefs who have different mindsets that, by the time I get to Saturday, I have a feel for what I need to win.”

Which is, of course, the ultimate goal. With two race wins (and likely a clinched Chase berth) already, Busch has more room for error. Not so Keselowski, who sits just nine points ahead of 11th, and has race-winning drivers like Kahne and Tony Stewart right behind him on the outside looking in.

No question, his race team has endured a whole lot already this season, and being able to maintain playoff position through it all has been no small feat. That said, Chase berths aren’t awarded on perseverance. They’re earned through results, and more than halfway through the regular season the reigning champs are still missing the one result that matters most.

Perhaps they’ll find it once again in the land of whiskey and thoroughbreds, rebounding from a tough year in the same steely manner they did that tough weekend a season ago.

Brad Keselowski may be competing in three races in Sparta, but the primary goal remains a single trip to Victory Lane on Saturday night. And if that jump-starts his idling title defense? Well then, this Michigan native might call it his old Kentucky home after all.

READ MORE:

READ: Kentucky Paint
Scheme Preview

READ: Power Rankings
Week 16

READ: Pre-Kentucky
Driver Reports

READ: Complete coverage
from Kentucky

 

Posted on by Holly Cain

Driver gave up baseball dream to pursue NASCAR career

St. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Aric Almirola was perfectly at ease on the baseball field chatting with Tampa Bay Rays players during batting practice, and playing catch just prior to the team’s Tuesday night home game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

A native of nearby baseball-crazy Tampa, Almirola went to the same high school and played Little League ball on the same fields that produced baseball All-Stars Dwight Gooden and Gary Sheffield. So quite naturally the former standout shortstop had always dreamed of stepping onto the diamond during a Major League Baseball game.

That dream, however, took a hard left turn years ago and Almirola instead returned to his hometown and delivered a first-pitch strike Tuesday as one of NASCAR’s most promising racers, driving for the sport’s most iconic team, Richard Petty Motorsports.

"I think getting that 43 car back to Victory Lane with Richard (Petty) would be so special, an awesome day."

— Aric Almirola

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“That’s pretty special I get to do something like this after taking a completely different course in life,’’ said Almirola, who impressed the crowd and even the Rays players with a very respectable ceremonial first pitch as part of a promotional stop for the July 6 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. “I thought racing was my first love and gave me the biggest adrenalin rush and it’s what I chose over baseball. My family was maybe a little disappointed because everyone thought I was a pretty good ballplayer. Maybe I would have made it to the big leagues, who’s to say?

“The really cool thing is I made it in racing and I’m one of 43 at the Cup level which is a testament to my family and those that supported me along the way. And because of that, I get to come back and do cool stuff like this. This is something I dreamed about as a little kid.’’

And Almirola’s reality in NASCAR’s big leagues seems to be working out too.

A quiet but mostly consistent effort in the No. 43 Ford has Almirola ranked 16th in the standings entering Saturday night’s race at Kentucky Speedway. He’s 25 points out of a guaranteed Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup spot in the top 10 and 17 points behind 12th-place Paul Menard.

Four consecutive top-10 finishes this spring put him as high as eighth place in the standings after the May 5 Talladega Superspeedway race. And in only his second year full time in Cup with RPM, Almirola likes his chances at making the Chase.

“At the beginning of the year before the Daytona 500 started, nobody would have ever dreamed of picking the 43 car to have a shot at making the Chase, much less actually making the Chase,’’ Almirola said. “So I think that speaks volumes of where we’re at as a race team and how great a job our guys have been doing. And we’re having a lot of fun.’

“Something we have to remember as a race team is we are not a premier team, but we have to strive to get to that level. I think for the resources we have, to be battling — 16th in points and we’ve been in top 10 — we have a legitimate shot coming down the stretch to make the Chase.”

After watching Martin Truex Jr. celebrate in Victory Lane at Sonoma Raceway last weekend, snapping a 218-race winless streak, Almirola was reminded of what a victory means. And how hard they are to come by.

Almirola’s first NASCAR win came in 2007 in a NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Milwaukee as a part-time driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, which enlisted the first-generation Cuban-American to the team’s diversity program.

In 2010, Almirola won twice in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, scoring a head-turning 21 top-10 finishes in 25 starts and finishing runner-up in the championship.

“They (Joe Gibbs Racing) called him to Charlotte for a test while he was a freshman at University of Central Florida (2006) and he hasn’t been back since,’’ his stepfather and former baseball coach “Topper” Drawdy said while proudly watching Almirola during Tuesday’s pre-game warm-up.

Those early opportunities with Gibbs set Almirola up for his current job with Petty, a chance for both Almirola and the team to take it to the next level.

“You look at a guy like Martin (Truex) who has tremendous amount of talent, a great race team, teammates that have won, he’s got everything that it takes to win races but yet it just proves how hard the sport is to win,’’ Almirola said. “For me, that’s a huge-eye opener as to how hard it is to win at this level. So when you get that opportunity, you make the most to win you have to cherish it because you don’t know when that will happen again.

“I think that gives us something to look forward to. Who knows how long it will be for me to win that first race, but hopefully it won’t be that long.’’

Almirola turns clinical and serious when dissecting what he thinks that will take. He says his team perhaps got complacent after reeling off the string of top-10s a couple months ago and has since had to refocus and re-intensify its efforts if they are to remain serious contenders.

Almirola ran among the top 10 early at Sonoma and feels his 20th-place finish wasn’t indicative of how strong they were on the day.

And he has good personal history at the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway, with a pair of top-10s in the Truck Series there and a sixth-place in his first race at the track in the Nationwide Series.

“We have a group of guys that have a never-give-up attitude,’’ Almirola said. “We don’t have the most resources in the garage area and we know that, which means we have to have people with tremendous amounts of heart because we have to get the most of all the parts and pieces we do have, and we’re able to do that.

“Truthfully no, before the season I did not think we had a shot at making the Chase. I thought we could run well. I thought we’d have our moments of brightness and it would be awesome to crack through and get to Victory Lane, but never did I think we’d have a legitimate shot of the Chase.

“Here we are, almost 10 races away from Chase and we still have not only a legitimate shot, but a real shot to make it. That’s something nobody expected but we all thought was possible.’’

Petty’s famous No. 43 hasn’t been to victory lane since John Andretti won at Martinsville Speedway in 1999. So a win next week at Daytona, where Petty drove to his historic and final 200th victory, would be the ultimate for the Florida native Almirola.

“I want to be that guy that ends that streak. I want to be that guy that gets it there. To be honest, I’d take that over making the Chase. I know my sponsors probably wouldn’t agree with that and some of the guys on the team would have mixed emotions on that. But I think getting that 43 car back to Victory Lane with Richard would be so special, an awesome day. Our sponsors deserve that.’’

READ MORE:

READ: Kentucky Paint
Scheme Preview

READ: Power Rankings
Week 16

READ: Pre-Kentucky
Driver Reports

READ: Complete coverage
from Kentucky

 

Posted on by Jason Lofing

Alfalla gets the best of Ottinger at Pocono to score his first win of the season

 

After a late-race slide at Pocono cost Nick Ottinger a shot at the win, the hottest driver in the 2013 NASCAR iRacing Series World Championship season rebounded with an impressive victory at Kentucky Speedway. Ottinger took the lead for the first time on Lap 68 and led the rest of the way, barely holding-off polesitter Michael Conti on a Green-White-Checkered finish.

The duel for the win was set-up by the eighth caution of the race, which gave Conti one more chance to grab the victory from Ottinger. Conti timed the restart perfectly and ran side-by-side with Ottinger through Turns One and Two. Pocono winner Ray Alfalla also joined the fight as the leaders dove off into Turn Three, heading for the white flag. However, another crash in the back of the field brought out the ninth and final caution, freezing the field and securing Ottinger’s victory by less than a car length.

Conti was second and Alfalla was third. Byron Daley had one of his best runs of the season with a fourth place finish and Brian Schoenburg bounced back from a last lap crash at Pocono to grab fifth. Marcus Lindsey just missed-out on another top five, coming home sixth after running near the front most of the evening.

Ottinger started twelfth, not great by his standards, but quickly worked his way through the field. On the first two pit stops during early yellow flags, Ottinger chose to go the conservative route and took four tires on both trips down pit road. This turned out to be a great call as the online race went green for nearly 70 laps after the second pit stop, which had seen many drivers opt for just two tires in order to gain track position. Taking advantage of his four fresh tires, Ottinger quickly worked past the drivers who had only taken right sides on the previous stop. Although Conti was on the same strategy and had plenty of speed, Ottinger was never passed on the track again and went on to lead 96 of 167 laps.

In the early going it looked as if Conti was the favorite to win. He led 46 laps and was consistently the fastest car on the track. Unfortunately, when he and Ottinger found themselves back in traffic after a round of pit stops Ottinger got through the traffic better and Conti was left staring at the Rheem Chevy’s rear bumper the rest of the way.

Ottinger’s fourth win of the season also helped him gain ground in the championship standings. Tyler Hudson still holds the lead, but following his eight place run at Kentucky, his margin over Ottinger has dwindled to 11 points. Alfalla also gained some ground and is now third in the standings, 19 markers back. Schoenburg is fourth, just four points back of Alfalla and three points ahead of Lindsey, who is fifth.

As the first half of the season has come to a close, consistency has been the name of the game. Five drivers still have a legitimate shot at the championship at $10,500 prize, with Conti also may have an outside shot due to him currently having a zero as a drop week.

Hudson has been on another level of consistency thus far, which could be tough to beat. Despite no wins and only two top fives, his average finish is ninth and he always seems to be a factor at the end. The competition will be stiff though as the top five is chock full of NiSWC experience.

Hudson will try to keep his points lead as the second half of the season kicks off at the most unpredictable of race tracks: Talladega Superspeedway. It is the race that anyone can win, and nowhere on the track is safe. An early crash could take out any one of the championship front runners and put a major speed bump in their quest for the title, but a win could do wonders for their chances.

Could this be the week Hudson or Schoenburg finally reach victory lane in the NiSWC? Or will we see another surprise, first time winner in the series as we did when Adam Gilliland took the checkered flag at Daytona earlier this year? Tune into iRacing Live and MRN.com for thrilling superspeedway action from Talladega!

            Average Lap Time Laps Completed Cautions Caution Laps Lead Changes         
            1:14.655 200 8 29 11         
Fin Pos Driver Start Pos Car # Interval Laps Led
 Fast Lap Time
 Fastest Lap Time
Fast Lap # Laps Comp.
 Pts
 Status
1 Nick Ottinger 12 5 0 96 44.954 30.368 114 167 48 Running
2 Michael Conti 1 5 -0.161 46 44.964 30.37 2 167 43 Running
3 Ray Alfalla 2 2 -0.386 7 44.827 30.329 115 167 42 Running
4 Byron Daley 9 93 -0.954 0 44.962 30.558 61 167 40 Running
5 Brian Schoenburg 4 55 -1.346 0 44.968 30.449 114 167 39 Running
6 Marcus Lindsey 3 1 -1.929 0 44.972 30.387 115 167 38 Running
7 Carson Downs 16 97 -2.353 0 44.965 30.516 42 167 37 Running
8 Tyler D Hudson 19 1 -2.775 0 44.966 30.455 115 167 36 Running
9 Dylan Duval 17 42 -3.101 14 44.969 30.519 114 167 36 Running
10 Danny Hansen 41 20 -3.889 0 45.124 30.448 114 167 34 Running
11 Michael J Johnson 10 39 -4.262 0 44.981 30.51 115 167 33 Running
12 Bryan Blackford 33 33 -4.755 0 44.967 30.63 148 167 32 Running
13 Brad Davies 8 11 -5.138 1 44.988 30.495 42 167 32 Running
14 Thomas Lewandowski 27 16 -5.571 0 44.976 30.538 42 167 30 Running
15 Chad J Laughton 5 26 -6.673 0 44.998 30.483 42 167 29 Running
16 Casey Malone 29 92 -7.371 0 44.986 30.692 115 167 28 Running
17 Steve Sheehan 20 6 -8.159 0 44.719 30.422 114 167 27 Running
18 Matt Bussa 7 34 -8.726 0 45.168 30.471 115 167 26 Running
19 Adam Gilliland 21 81 -9.09 0 44.248 30.601 42 167 25 Running
20 Justin Trombley 24 17 -9.868 0 45.003 30.644 61 167 24 Running
21 Andrew Fayash III 32 157 -10.457 1 45.003 30.818 120 167 24 Running
22 Jake Stergios 39 41 -10.739 0 44.998 30.645 61 167 22 Running
23 Chad Coleman 34 28 -11.622 0 45.009 30.599 112 167 21 Running
24 Kevin King 15 29 -12.188 0 44.423 30.572 114 167 20 Running
25 Brandon Buie 31 54 -12.939 0 44.494 30.633 117 167 19 Running
26 Peter Bennett 35 69 -13.899 0 45.02 30.451 116 167 18 Running
27 Kevin Burris 23 45 -15.647 0 45.039 30.609 115 167 17 Running
28 Alex Warren 30 82 -16.195 0 45.038 30.582 115 167 16 Running
29 Jason Karlavige 18 60 -1 L 1 43.726 30.518 61 166 16 Running
30 Carson McClelland 11 24 -6 L 1 43.515 30.463 116 161 15 Disconnected
31 John Gorlinsky 28 21 -7 L 0 43.418 30.457 112 160 13 Disconnected
32 Brandon Kettelle 26 80 -7 L 0 43.496 30.595 2 160 12 Disconnected
33 Richard Dusett 6 96 -14 L 0 43.997 30.525 115 153 11 Running
34 Landon Harrison 38 89 -17 L 0 49.372 30.97 2 150 10 Running
35 Josh Berry 37 91 -26 L 0 41.256 30.426 114 141 9 Disconnected
36 Rob Ackley 22 22 -59 L 0 39.178 30.714 42 108 8 Disconnected
37 Paul Kusheba 42 32 -109 L 0 35.336 30.705 5 58 7 Running
38 Patrick Baldwin 14 52 -111 L 0 42.41 30.549 42 56 6 Running
39 Robert Hall 13 30 -112 L 0 41.475 30.786 2 55 5 Disconnected
40 Landon Huffman 25 75 -113 L 0 41.427 30.71 2 54 4 Disconnected
41 Tyler Laughlin 36 51 -113 L 0 41.408 30.798 3 54 3 Disconnected
42 Cyril Nousbaum 43 99 -113 L 0 41.41 30.754 2 54 2 Disconnected
43 Joey Brown 40 12 -118 L 0 36.931 30.707 2 49 1 Disconnected
Posted on by Staff Report

Vital stats for the Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts

Related: Coverage from Kentucky

Track: Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky., 1.5 miles, asphalt surface, 14-degree banking in all four tunes, 8-degree banking on frontstretch and backstretch.

Time/TV: Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts, 7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, June 29. TV: TNT (coverage starts at 7 p.m. ET), Radio: PRN

Trailblazers: The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky was held July 9, 2011 — won by Kyle Busch. Busch, Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon lead the series with two top-five finishes.

0.179 seconds is the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Kentucky Speedway, when Kyle Busch beat second-place David Reutimann in 2012.

1 is the number of Coors Light Pole awards for Jimmie Johnson. He’s the only driver to win a pole at the Cup level; qualifying for the first race in 2011was rained out.

1.5 is the average starting position for Kyle Busch, the best in the Sprint Cup Series.

2 is the number of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races held at Kentucky Speedway. Kyle Busch won the inaugural event in 2011, and Brad Keselowski won last year.

4.0 is the average finishing position for Brad Keselowski, the best on the circuit.

10 different drivers have posted top-five finishes at Kentucky.

15 different drivers have posted top-10s at Kentucky.

30 NASCAR national series races have been held at Kentucky. Two in the Sprint Cup Series, 13 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and 15 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

100 career starts in the Nationwide Series for Trevor Bayne, assuming he makes the field at Kentucky.

133.0 is Kyle Busch’s Driver Rating at Kentucky, the best on the circuit.

145.607 is the fastest speed for a race winner. Brad Keselowski set the mark in 2012.

243 laps led by Kyle Busch, the most among all drivers. There have been 534 laps run at Kentucky for the Cup Series.

READ MORE:

READ: Kentucky Paint
Scheme Preview

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Week 16

READ: Pre-Kentucky
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READ: Complete coverage
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Posted on by Staff Report

Red Horse Racing signs nine-race deal with phone protection company

German Quiroga will drive nine races with a primary sponsor of OtterBox, Red Horse Racing announced Wednesday.

The OtterBox paint scheme will debut this weekend at Kentucky Speedway when the Camping World Truck Series hits the track for the UNOH 225. OtterBox, known for its protective cellphone cases, will make its first foray into NASCAR with the deal.

"OtterBox protective solutions are premium and engineered, which aligns perfectly with the Red Horse Racing team and Germán Quiroga," said OtterBox CEO Brian Thomas. "We’re excited to be a part of the team and of the sport."

Quiroga, a three-time Mexico Series champion and currently 19th in the Truck Series standings, will also drive with the company’s logo at Eldora Speedway, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Iowa Speedway, Pocono Raceway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway.

"It’s an honor for OtterBox to choose me to represent their brand in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series," Quiroga said. "As OtterBox looks to grow and expand their market in the Latin community, I am eager to share our experiences together on and off the race track. We share many things in common, the most important of which is a drive for success. We are looking forward to sharing the success together starting this weekend at Kentucky."

Quiroga had his best finish of the season in the most recent Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, taking third place. The UNOH 225 will air on Thursday, June 27 at 8 p.m. ET on SPEED.

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Posted on by Staff Report

Check out some new looks hitting the track for Kentucky’s triple-header weekend

Editor’s note: This story will be updated as additional paint schemes are revealed.

It’s a triple-header this weekend for NASCAR at Kentucky. The NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck series will all hit the track for an action-packed weekend of night racing.

Here is a preview of some of the paint schemes you’ll see on the cars and trucks this weekend.

RELATED: Purchase die-casts of your favorite drivers | Classic die-casts | NASCAR: An American Salute merchandise

Jamie McMurray will drive the No. 1 Hellmann’s Chevrolet.

SHOP: Jamie McMurray die-casts

Kasey Kahne will drive the No. 5 Quaker State Chevrolet.

SHOP: Kasey Kahne die-casts

Casey Mears will drive the No. 13 Valvoline NextGen Ford Fusion Ford.

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Tony Stewart will drive the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet.

SHOP: Tony Stewart die-casts

Clint Bowyer will drive the No. 15 30th Camry Anniversary Toyota.

SHOP: Clint Bowyer die-casts

Greg Biffle will drive the No. 16 3M National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Ford.

SHOP: Greg Biffle die-casts

Aric Almirola will drive the No. 43 Eckrich Ford.

SHOP: Aric Almirola die-casts

Brian Vickers will drive the No. 55 Aaron’s/University of Lousiville National Championship Toyota.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive the No. 88 National Guard Youth Foundation Chevrolet.

SHOP: Dale Earnhardt Jr. die-casts

Carl Edwards will drive the No. 99 UPS Ford. Read how the Gen-6 car is a game-changer for the Sprint Cup Series.

SHOP: Carl Edwards die-casts

The following special paint schemes will take the track in the Nationwide Series’ Feed the Children 300:

Trevor Bayne will drive the No. 6 Cargill-HelpAHero.com Ford.

SHOP: Trevor Bayne die-casts

Sam Hornish Jr. will drive the No. 12 Penske Truck Rental Ford.

SHOP: Sam Hornish Jr. die-casts

Johanna Long will drive the No. 70 Foretravel/Wish for our Heroes Chevrolet.

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Parker Kligerman will drive the No. 77 Camp Horsin Around Toyota.

SHOP: Parker Kligerman die-casts

Alex Bowman will drive the No. 99 St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Toyota.

SHOP: Alex Bowman die-casts

The following special paint schemes will take the track in the Camping World Truck Series’ UNOH 225:

Max Gresham will drive the No. 8 Made in the USA Chevrolet.

SHOP: NASCAR die-casts

Brett Moffitt will drive the No. 13 Aisin Toyota.

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Timothy Peters will drive the No. 17 Tire Discounters/Valvoline NextGen Toyota.

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Brennan Newberry will drive the No. 24 Qore-24 Chevrolet.

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Cale Gale will drive the No. 30 Rheem Chevrolet.

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James Buescher will drive the No. 31 FOE Chevrolet.

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German Quiroga Jr. will drive the No. 77 OtterBox Toyota.

SHOP: NASCAR die-casts

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Posted on by Zack Albert

NASCAR.com sits down with former NFL linebacker turned team co-owner

Former NFL defensive standout Bill Romanowski’s playing days may be behind him, but he’s still running fast — only in different circles.

Romanowski, the only linebacker to start in five Super Bowl games over the course of a 16-year pro career, joined the NASCAR circuit before the season as a minority owner with the No. 30 Swan Racing team and driver David Stremme.

Since his retirement after the 2003 NFL season, Romanowski formed his own nutrition company, Nutrition53. His Lean1weight-loss protein shake was the title sponsor of last Saturday’s pole day activity at Sonoma Raceway, where he honored Coors Light Pole Award winner Jamie McMurray with his trophy in Victory Lane.

Romanowski took time out from the festivities to speak with NASCAR.com.

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Have you had many in-person experiences so far with NASCAR?

Absolutely. I became a part owner in Swan Racing this past year so this is kind of my first experience with NASCAR. I’ve been to an Indianapolis 500, I’ve been to some Trans-Am Series races with Greg Pickett and the Pickett racing team, but this year has been mind-blowing for me, getting involved with NASCAR, being a sponsor with our Lean1 product with Nutrition 53. It’s been exciting, awesome. I think what makes this special is the fans. This really is about the fans and David Stremme, our driver, is a great guy. I really enjoy making a difference in the fans’ lives.

I know there’s a lot of fitness and nutrition involved in drivers and teams and their regimens. Is this sort of a natural fit for you?

It is, and we just started working with David and he’s been losing weight and lean-ing down. We’re getting product to some of the other teams little by little, but there’s a part of David that doesn’t want to share his secret.

Speaking of the fan atmosphere, did you see a comparable one when you were playing football?

I tell you what, at Daytona (earlier this season), it was unbelievable. And when they say, ‘Gentlemen, start your engines’ and they start that first lap, the butterflies come back and they’re very similar to game day. When you’re singing the National Anthem, ready to run down on kickoff, it’s very much the same.

Do you see a lot of the same team concept with NASCAR and football, a lot of parallels?

Absolutely. I mean, from the pit crew to the mechanics to the guys who are spotting up above, everybody has to work together and it has to be a team. The ones that win are the ones with the best teams.

Have you angled in on David to say, ‘hey, if you’d like to give me a turn … ?’

You know what? Not yet. I was going to be in the car a few months ago when they were in North Carolina and had a practice day, but I wasn’t able to get on because there was rain. It cleared up in the afternoon, but I had left.

Do you miss football, looking back at your career?

I miss Sundays. I don’t miss Monday mornings — they were brutal. I miss my teammates, of course. That camaraderie, there’s nothing like it. I miss the locker room. But getting involved in NASCAR, it’s different but similar and still gives you that team spirit.

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Posted on by George Winkler

The new car brings exciting finishes to the sport and makes room at the top for smaller teams

Back in January during the Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France said officials would measure the success of the new Generation-6 car by examining lead changes, driver feedback and how the car races on various tracks.

It was a matter-of-fact statement but seemed like a fairly bold one at the time considering most of us hadn’t seen the new vehicle in competition. But those in the know must have felt confident about the car, and, as it turns out, with good reason. So far the Gen-6 car is living up to its preseason billing, and its implementation is becoming a game-changing moment in the sport.

Now that the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is coming off its first road course race of the season, fans and officials have gotten to see the vehicle perform on all the different styles of tracks that the series has to offer. And while most people who follow the sport on a weekly basis probably would agree there has been more drama this season, it’s good to have the numbers to back it up.

Mike Forde, NASCAR’s Senior Manager of Content Communications, shared some of the data he and his team have collected through the first part of the season. And as you will see, the numbers are strikingly in favor of the Gen-6 car.

UPS

Starting out with passing, we’ve seen records set or tied this season in races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (31 green-flag passes for the lead), Auto Club Speedway (41 green-flag passes for the lead), Charlotte Motor Speedway (35 passes for the lead for the Coca-Cola 600) and Dover International Speedway (25 passes for the lead). All four of those tracks are intermediate in size.

That’s not to say the Gen-6 car hasn’t had its moments on short tracks and superspeedways as well. Richmond International Raceway, a short track, saw one of the season’s most exciting finishes when Kevin Harvick passed four cars in the final three laps to win.

Close finishes, in fact, have been a hallmark of the new car, with the margin of victory through 15 races (1.066 seconds) at its lowest point since 2002.

As for superspeedways, Talladega produced a 1-2 finish by David Ragan and David Gilliland of Front Row Motorsports, an example of the parity that the Gen-6 car has helped to create. Another smaller team, Furniture Row Racing, has already led more laps than ever. An element of unpredictability has reigned, as well, such as Martin Truex Jr. snapping his 218-winless streak on the road course at Sonoma.

“It has been a little equalizer, absolutely, because it forced teams like us that generally don’t go through our complete inventory over the off-season, it forces us to really go through,” Ragan said after Talladega.

There are other impressive numbers, too, including a higher percentage of cars (81.7 percent) finishing races compared with last year (76.1), and more cars (49.2 percent to 39.4 percent last year) finishing on the lead lap, too. It is all adding up to better racing, and the numbers are helping to tell that story.

Still, some of us prefer the human element, and Clint Bowyer provided us with one of the more memorable driver quotes about the Gen-6 car after the Richmond race.

“Whoever designed this new car, we should kiss ’em every weekend,” Bowyer said. “It’s (Gen-6) creating drama. We haven’t seen racing like this in years, since I first started in this sport (in 2004). When you can leave a race track and there’s people in tears because they won, and in tears because they got crashed, that’s what brings us to the race track, that kind of racing and determination and passion."

Others have given positive reviews, too, marveling at the grip and speed that the car has shown, especially in the corners. Said Carl Edwards to SCNow.com in May at Darlington, "I glanced down and saw 193 (mph) headed into Turn 3 before I had to turn my attention back to the track. This car is fast.”

 Your next chance to see Edwards go fast will be this weekend at Kentucky Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, TNT) driving the No. 99 UPS Ford.  And whether or not he wins he’ll still be a game-changer simply by driving the Gen-6 car.

Posted on by George Winkler

Keselowski has cooled after hot start

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The defending champ must be champing at the bit for a victory this season. Among the drivers currently in the 10 guaranteed Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup spots, Clint Bowyer and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are the only ones other than Brad Keselowski who have not made a trip to Victory Lane in 2013.

The advantage for Bowyer and Earnhardt Jr., though, is that they have 75- and 26-point cushions, respectively, between themselves and Martin Truex Jr., who is in 10th place (up three spots from last week) after his victory on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway in the Toyota/Save Mart 350.

Meanwhile, Keselowski’s lead over Truex Jr. is as slim as it gets at one point. One more big slip like he had in the Coca-Cola 600 when a late-race wreck with Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led to a 36th-place finish and Keselowski, who is ninth in the standings, could be on the outside looking in when it comes to the Chase — even for a Wild Card berth.

Some might say Keselowski has a built-in excuse for his standing because he’d have 31 more points were it not for a pair of penalties. However, those are points he’s obviously never going to get back, so there’s no sense crying about them now.

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What it could say, though, is that Keselowski has been a little bit better than his point total might indicate and that there is potential for him to make a charge toward the Chase. He certainly showed tenacity early in the season by piloting even damaged cars at times during seven top-10 finishes in the season’s first eight races.

But since then he has just one top-10 finish in nine races — that being his fifth-place showing nearly four weeks ago at Dover.  After that, he placed 16th at Pocono, 12th at Michigan and 21st at Sonoma. And on top of that, Keselowski got into a well-publicized verbal dust-up with Rick Hendrick and Joe Gibbs over hiring practices.

Keselowski summed things up best when after qualifying at Sonoma he said, “We’ve got some work to do because I don’t think we’re all that great right now.”

However, there is a chance to recapture some of that greatness this week at Kentucky Speedway, where the defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champ also happens to be the defending race champ. He won there in June of 2012 and placed seventh in 2011, the only two years the Cup has run races at Kentucky Speedway.

Plus, keep in mind that this was the point last season when Keselowski turned things around. He entered Kentucky with seven top-10s in 2012, but the win in the Bluegrass State got the Blue Deuce off and running toward a string of 17 top-10s in the last 20 races, ending with that big beer in Miami.

Can he do it again? Can he just get back on track? We shall soon find out, and remember, Keselowski plans to drive in all three events this weekend at Kentucky, so he’ll get plenty of testing time.

Ready to pounce: Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports; Kurt Busch, Furniture Row Racing. It has to be a tad bit concerning for those on the fringe of the Chase to know that they are in a fight with these two veterans and former series champions. Both moved up the standings three spots this week, with Gordon jumping to 13th thanks to his second-place finish at Sonoma and Busch climbing to 17th after a fourth-place showing in Wine Country.

The scary part is neither driver has achieved the consistency this season that he had during the title runs, but we’ve seen what they are capable of when their teams are running on all cylinders. However, like Keselowski, neither Gordon nor Busch has a victory this season to help in the Wild Card race. 

Gordon is 12 points behind Truex Jr. for the final non-Wild Card spot in the Chase while Busch is 28 points back, so a win at Kentucky would be particularly important for Busch, while it would vault Gordon right into contention. Gordon finished fifth at Kentucky last year and 10th the year before. Busch was 19th and ninth, respectively.

In danger of falling out: Paul Menard, Richard Childress Racing. Menard has been teetering on the fringe of the Chase for the past three weeks after spending most of his time in the top 10 early in the season thanks to some solid runs, highlighted by an eighth-place finish in Fontana. But he hasn’t had a top-10 since Kansas, and one wonders how long he can continue to be a legit competitor without grabbing a victory.

Trouble is he only has one win in 10 seasons on the Sprint Cup circuit, and that came in 2011 at Indianapolis. It happens to be a venue that is coming up soon at the end of July, but can he hold on for a month without top-10s and still be in this thing by then? Probably not, so Menard has to step up at a track in Kentucky where he has finished 12th and 24th the past two years.

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