Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR officials indefinitely suspended driver Carson Ware on Wednesday for a behavioral violation after his arrest earlier that day.

RELATED: Carson Ware career stats

NASCAR officials formalized the suspension in a Thursday morning penalty report, which said Ware was suspended for violation of Section 12.8.1.e in the Member Conduct Guidelines of the NASCAR Rule Book. Those guidelines include, in part: “Being charged with or convicted of significant criminal violations (e.g. Domestic Violence, Trafficking, Assault), or having had determinations rendered by criminal or civil authorities that in NASCAR’s judgement necessitate action. NASCAR will not pre-judge guilt or innocence in the criminal or civil legal system, or the guilt or innocence of the Member, but rather review each matter in its own context and circumstances and with regards to its potential effects upon the sport.”

The Rowan County (N.C.) Sheriff’s Office said Ware, 21, was given a $1,000 bond Wednesday on charges of assault on a woman, simple assault and damage to personal property.

Ware was scheduled to compete in this Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Kansas Speedway for SS Green Light Racing, which also suspended Ware late Wednesday. Garrett Smithley was named as a replacement driver for the team’s No. 17 Chevrolet. Ware has competed in six Xfinity Series races this season.

Rick Ware, Carson Ware’s father, issued a statement through his racing team’s social media Wednesday evening.

Posted on by Marcus DiNitto

If you like Kyle Larson to close the deal and claim the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series championship, now is not the time to make that bet.

Listed with skinny 3-2 odds (+150) at sportsbooks throughout the betting market, Larson’s price will fatten up once the group that will battle for the title at Phoenix Raceway is set.

RELATED: 2021 Cup Series title odds

Larson punched his ticket to the Championship 4 with a win last Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, prompting oddsmakers to tighten his futures number from the +250 range he was in last week. The books are likely to ease him back out as the field takes shape.

“His odds will obviously rise once we know the other three, unless we get some crazy three we don’t anticipate,” Ed Salmons, vice president of risk at SuperBook USA, told NASCAR.com.

Here’s how odds to win the Cup championship look at four different sportsbooks (as of Thursday morning) – NASCAR’s three official betting partners, plus the SuperBook – heading into Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

RELATED: Weekend schedule for Kansas

SuperBook BetMGM Barstool WynnBET
Kyle Larson +150 +150 +150 +150
Ryan Blaney +450 +500 +550 +500
Denny Hamlin +550 +500 +500 +475
Kyle Busch +700 +700 +700 +650
Chase Elliott +1000 +900 +800 +750
Martin Truex Jr. +1400 +1200 +1100 +1100
Brad Keselowski +2500 +2000 +1400 +1600
Joey Logano +4000 +3300 +2800 +2500

When the odds are reset for Phoenix, the numbers will be akin to what we’re used to seeing in group matchup props, where bettors are asked to select which driver will finish first among a group of four. Unless it’s Chase Elliott on a road course, it’s rare to see a driver priced under +200 in one these groups. As seven other drivers scramble for the remaining three spots to join Larson in the Championship 4, it’s hard to predict what the No. 5’s odds will be before Phoenix, but with the best talent in the sport likely to be there, we’re almost certain to see him better than +150.

We probably won’t see him at the +300 at which he was offered before the playoffs – or the +1000 he caught before the season – so if you got down at one of those prices, congratulations on a fine bet. If you missed the boat so far but still want action on Larson to win it all, be patient and wait for a better price.

LIABILITY FOR THE BOOK

The SuperBook won’t be sweating the No. 5 at Phoenix, no matter who he is matched up against, as a Larson championship is a winner for the house.

Only two drivers, in fact, are losers for the book, and while both are still alive in the Round of 8, one is the now longest shot on the board: Joey Logano.

And based on the 40-1 odds the SuperBook is dangling on Logano, the shop is happy to take a few more bets on the No. 22. Mile-and-a-half tracks like Kansas are not Logano’s favorite, so his most realistic shot at advancing to the Championship 4 appears to be winning at Martinsville Speedway in two weeks.

Liability looms on Denny Hamlin, however, but not to the point where the No. 11 is priced above Ryan Blaney as the second favorite behind Blaney. Salmons characterizes the potential loss on either Logano or Hamlin as modest.

Marcus DiNitto is a writer and editor living in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has been covering sports for nearly two-and-a-half decades and sports betting for more than 10 years. His first NASCAR betting experience was in 1995 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, where he went 0-for-3 on his matchup picks. Read his articles and follow him on Twitter; do not bet his picks.

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

Kyle Larson became the first driver to lock himself into the Championship 4 by winning last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.

The Round of 8 continues at Kansas Speedway with the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) as Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin and the rest of the playoff field fight for the victory that could send them to a championship battle in Phoenix.

TO THE STARTING LINE

Kyle Larson will lead the field to the green flag for the 10th time this season when the NASCAR Cup Series hits Kansas Speedway. Paired with him on the front row will be Ryan Blaney as they pace Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Joey Logano. For the full starting lineup, click here.

RELATED: Kansas weekend schedule | Cup Series standings

THE PURSE

NASCAR released purse information for the upcoming national series races.

NASCAR Cup Series: $7,972,577

NASCAR Xfinity Series: $1,638,185

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (next race: Martinsville): $674,952

KANSAS HISTORY

— The process of exploring options of Midwest locations to build a new NASCAR speedway began in 1996, and Kansas City, Kansas, was selected as International Speedway Corporation’s choice in 1997.

— What started as a facility with a seating capacity of 75,000 quickly grew to 82,000 after initial ticket sales in 1999 quickly sold out.

— The $250 million project opened its doors to the NASCAR Cup Series on Sept. 30, 2001, for the Protection One 400. Rusty Wallace led a race-high 117 laps that day, but Jeff Gordon took home the track’s inaugural trophy for his sixth and final win of his fourth championship season.

— Kansas was repaved and reconfigured following the 2012 STP 400 as variable banking in the corners up to 20 degrees were introduced.

— The Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway overlooking Turn 2 opened in February 2012 with 2,000 slot machines, 52 gaming tables and 12 poker tables on a 100,000 square-foot gaming floor. The casino has served as the title sponsor of the track’s playoff date since 2012.

— Kansas has hosted NASCAR every year since 2001 and began contesting two races per season in 2001.

— Sunday’s race will be the 32nd held at Kansas and 19th Cup event on this pavement.

Source: Racing Insights

GOODYEAR TIRES

Kansas Speedway’s 2012 repave means the track has garnered some age and character. While that typically results in more tire wear, especially nine years later, the surface around the 1.5-mile track still remains non-abrasive. In response, Goodyear will return with the same tires utilized in last year’s playoff race as well as the spring race in May. Additionally, the left-side tire compound was used at the Charlotte Motor Speedway oval and Nashville Superspeedway while the right side has been used at Las Vegas, Michigan and Texas.

“Kansas poses an interesting challenge for teams in that it is still considered a relatively smooth track surface, yet it has begun to wear tires over the last several races at the track,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “We work hard to design our tread compounds to match up with a track surface and we definitely have a compound, specifically on the right-side, that will also introduce wear at Kansas. We just ran this right-side tire at Texas last week, and Cup teams ran this same set-up at Kansas earlier in the season, so they are very familiar with what to expect.”

Goodyear said teams can expect to see approximately a second-and-a-half of fall-off in lap times over the course of a fuel run, so tire management may be a factor.

RULES PACKAGE

NASCAR Cup Series cars will be outfitted with the 550-horsepower, high-downforce package this weekend, which features taller spoilers and longer front splitters in an effort to create closer side-by-side racing at ovals larger than 1.4 miles in length.

SUNFLOWER STATE STORY LINES

— Eight of the last nine Kansas races were won by drivers still in playoff contention in 2021.

— With two straight wins, Kyle Larson is looking to become just the third driver to win three consecutive playoff races (Joey Logano, 2015; Jimmie Johnson 4 straight, 2007).

— Ford remains winless in each of the last 10 playoff races.

— Kevin Harvick won at least one playoff race in each of the last nine seasons (2012-2020), the longest active streak, but has yet to do so this year. The longest streak all-time is 13 seasons by Jimmie Johnson.

— Texas marked Denny Hamlin’s first finish outside the top 10 in any of the seven playoff races this season, but the No. 11 team still rallied to earn an 11th-place result after late contact.

— Denny Hamlin holds the best average finish through the playoffs this year with a mark of 5.1. Kyle Larson is runner-up with an average finish of 8.3 ahead of Brad Keselowski’s 8.4.

— Kyle Larson has led the most laps of anyone throughout the playoffs with 701 circuits out front. Denny Hamlin’s 578 are the next best total, well ahead of Chase Elliott’s 190 laps led.

— Each of the past five Kansas races have been won by drivers from Team Penske or Joe Gibbs Racing.

— Chevrolet has only one win in the last nine Kansas races (Chase Elliott, October 2018).

— The final green-flag stretch was two laps or less in three of the last five Kansas races.

Source: Racing Insights

GAMBLING ON THE HOLLYWOOD CASINO 400

Off the heels of another dominant win in the 550-HP package one week ago at Texas, Kyle Larson is the odds-on favorite to claim the victory at Kansas Speedway with 9-4 (+225) odds, according to BetMGM.

Larson has never won at Kansas and finished 19th in this year’s spring race, but the wheelman of the No. 5 Chevrolet does have two top fives in his last five starts.

At 6-1 odds, Denny Hamlin has the next highest odds to win Sunday while Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch each carry 15-2 (+750) odds into the weekend.

Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. are both listed at 9-1 odds this weekend, but stats show they sit on opposite sides in a few different ways. Blaney sits second in points with a 17-point buffer above the elimination line, while Truex is seventh and 22 points beneath the elimination threshold. But at Kansas specifically, Truex has the edge with two wins at the 1.5-mile track and eight top 10s in his last nine starts. Blaney, meanwhile, has finished 20th or worse in four the past five Kansas races with just two top 10s in eight starts for Team Penske.

A potential sleeper who has already been eliminated from playoff contention is William Byron at 12-1 odds. The 2017 Xfinity Series champion has four straight top 10s at Kansas and six top 10s in the last eight mile-and-a-half races.

RELATED: BetMGM’s odds for Kansas Playoff race

FANTASY LIVE

Want to manage a team and race your way to the top of the leaderboards? Check out the playoff version of NASCAR Fantasy Live, which is open now and offers a fresh start for those of you who played the regular-season contest. The free-to-play game lets you choose your drivers each week and show off your crew-chief instincts, and there is a $10,000 prize for the winner.

The 2021 Fantasy Live points leaders are Denny Hamlin (1,322) Kyle Larson (1,312), and Chase Elliott (1,098).

This year, NASCAR.com also has the Playoffs Grid Challenge game, presented by Ruoff Mortgage, where you can pick the winners for each round of the playoffs right up through the Championship 4. First prize is $10,000.

How to play: Playoffs Grid Challenge | Playoff Fantasy Live

ALSO ON NASCAR.COM

Get additional camera views by logging on to NASCAR Drive, where each week a select number of in-car cameras will be available — as well as a battle cam and an overhead look.

New for this season, NASCAR has partnered with LiveLike to add fan engagement in the NASCAR Mobile App. Log in to the mobile app during the race for polls, quizzes, the cheer meter and more — and see instant results from NASCAR fans like you.

And finally, head over to the NASCAR Mobile App for AR Racing presented by Mobil 1, where you can design your own car and race the playoff drivers at the playoff tracks in augmented reality.

Posted on by Kyle Souza

LOUDON, N.H. – The New England fan-favorite NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) has been added to the lineup for New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s (NHMS) 2022 NASCAR race weekend, July 16-17. The modifieds will kick off the race weekend on Doubleheader Saturday, July 16 with a 100-lap race followed by a 200-lap NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) race. The NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) will cap off the weekend with a 301-lap race on Sunday, July 17.

“Our NASCAR race weekend just isn’t complete without the Whelen Modified Tour,” said David McGrath, executive vice president and general manager of New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “The modified tour always produces a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat show for fans at ‘The Magic Mile,’ and we can’t wait to see what they have in store for us on July 16, 2022.”

This past summer, Berlin, Connecticut’s Ryan Preece outdueled the competition with a turn four pass in overtime to capture his first-ever points win at “The Magic Mile.”

“I feel like I won Daytona,” Preece said in victory lane. “If you’re from this area, this place means a lot to you. Coming here since I was a little kid, my grandfather and I used to camp right back there. Since I started racing the modifieds back in 2007, this has been that one track that has really alluded me… Really, really friggin’ happy to win this race.”

Details regarding the full weekend schedule and broadcast information for NASCAR’s 2022 weekend at NHMS will be released at a later date.

Tickets:

Tickets and camping are on sale now at NHMS.com. Adult tickets start at just $35 for Doubleheader Saturday and $49 for Sunday. Tickets for kids 12 and under are free on Saturday and just $10 on Sunday. Further details can be found on the New Hampshire Motor Speedway website or by calling 833-4LOUDON.

Posted on by RJ Kraft

The two most recent NASCAR Cup Series champions — Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott — are locked in a battle to reach the Championship 4 with two races remaining in the Round of 8. Busch enters Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with an eight-point edge on the reigning champ.

Busch is the most recent winner at the 1.5-mile track and holds the best average finish at 1.5-mile tracks this season. Elliott holds the best average finish of any remaining playoff driver at Kansas and has scored the most points at the track over the last five races held there.

RELATED: Odds for Sunday’s Kansas race | NASCAR BetCenter

How does each driver stack up for a head-to-head matchup around Sunday’s race? We’re breaking down the key stats ahead of the elimination race.

Kyle Busch Category Chase Elliott
1 2021 1.5-mile wins 0
4.4 2021 1.5-mile average finish 11.0
370 2021 1.5-mile points scored 270
15.3 2021 NASCAR Playoffs average finish 14.1
2 Kansas wins 1
1st 2021 Kansas spring result 5th
15.1 Kansas average finish (all time) 10.5
8.8 Kansas average finish (since 2018) 6.0
6 1.5-mile wins (since 2018) 2
Busch’s Roval and Texas results marked his first set of back-to-back top 10s in the 2021 playoffs and his first since July. Notable stat to know Elliott has yet to post back-to-back top 10s in playoff races this postseason. He finished seventh at Texas last weekend.

The 1.5-mile results this season are tilted towards Busch, while the bulk of Kansas results (with the exception of the 2021 spring race) favor Elliott. Right now, this shapes up as a battle between both drivers to race into the Championship 4, but should trouble befall other title contenders it is more than possible that both drivers make their way to Phoenix as title eligible. It should be a competitive and fun matchup to watch over 267 laps at the on Sunday

Check back on Friday as The Action Network’s PJ Walsh (@PJWalsh24) breaks down the same matchup and provides his betting insight for who and how to bet this matchup.

Posted on by Staff Report

See where your favorite driver will pit for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Staff Report

Kyle Larson earned the Busch Pole Award for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the second race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8.

RELATED: Kansas weekend schedule | Cup Series standings

Larson, winner of last Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, will start on pole for the 10th time in 2021 in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

Daniel Hemric will start on pole in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Kansas Lottery 300 (3 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the second race in the Round of 8.

As NASCAR adapted to COVID-19 protocols last season, practice and qualifying were eliminated at a majority of national-series events to limit at-track time, exposure and to cut race weekend costs. To determine starting lineups, competition officials used grouped draws, added inversions for weekend doubleheaders, and eventually adopted a performance-metrics formula. That metrics format remains in place this season, drawing on performance from both individual races and season-long results.

NASCAR’s metrics formula for 2021 weighs:

  • 25 percent: Driver’s finishing position from the previous race
  • 25 percent: Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race
  • 35 percent: Team owner points ranking
  • 15 percent: Fastest lap from the previous race

See the full lineup for Sunday’s Cup Series race below.

Start pos.
 Driver Car # Team
1 Kyle Larson 5 Hendrick Motorsports
2 Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske
3 Brad Keselowski 2 Team Penske
4 Kyle Busch 18 Joe Gibbs Racing
5 Chase Elliott 9 Hendrick Motorsports
6 Denny Hamlin 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
7 Martin Truex Jr. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
8 Joey Logano 22 Team Penske
9 William Byron 24 Hendrick Motorsports
10 Christopher Bell 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
11 Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas Racing
12 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing
13 Kurt Busch 1 Chip Ganassi Racing
14 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress Racing
15 Matt DiBenedetto 21 Wood Brothers Racing
16 Daniel Suarez 99 Trackhouse Racing
17 Erik Jones 43 Richard Petty Motorsports
18 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports
19 Chase Briscoe 14 Stewart-Haas Racing
20 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas Racing
21 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway Racing
22 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas Racing
23 Corey LaJoie 7 Spire Motorsports
24 Ross Chastain 42 Chip Ganassi Racing
25 Alex Bowman 48 Hendrick Motorsports
26 BJ McLeod 78 Live Fast Motorsports
27 Bubba Wallace 23 23XI Racing
28 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing
29 Anthony Alfredo 38 Front Row Motorsports
30 Josh Bilicki 52 Rick Ware Racing
31 Ryan Newman 6 Roush Fenway Racing
32 Ryan Preece 37 JTG Daugherty Racing
33 Justin Haley 77 Spire Motorsports
34 Ryan Ellis 15 Rick Ware Racing
35 Quin Houff 00 StarCom Racing
36 Cody Ware 51 Petty Ware Racing
37 Chad Finchum 66 Motorsports Business Management
38 David Starr 13 Motorsports Business Management
39 Joey Gase 53 Rick Ware Racing
40 Parker Kilgerman 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing

Practice and qualifying are tentatively scheduled for eight Cup Series races this year. Just one race remains with Busch Pole Qualifying on the schedule — the season-ending championship race Nov. 7 at Phoenix Raceway.

Posted on by Staff Report

Five NASCAR teams — three in the Cup Series and two in the Xfinity Series — were fined for lug-nut infractions after last weekend’s postseason events at Texas Motor Speedway.

RELATED: Playoffs standings | Weekend schedule: Kansas

Each team was found to have violated Section 10.9.10.4 of the NASCAR Rule Book, found with one unsecured lug nut each in a post-race check. The safety violation resulted in a $10,000 fine for each Cup Series crew chief and a $5,000 fine on the Xfinity Series side.

Teams penalized in the Cup Series after Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500:

• No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet for driver Kurt Busch (crew chief Matt McCall)
• No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet for driver Tyler Reddick (crew chief Randall Burnett)
• No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for driver Kyle Busch (crew chief Seth Chavka)

Chavka, normally a race engineer for the No. 18, was making only his second appearance as a Cup Series crew chief at Texas. Chavka filled in for full-time crew chief Ben Beshore, who served a one-race suspension for a two lug-nut violation in the previous week’s race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.

In the Xfinity Series, the following teams were fined after Saturday’s Andy’s Frozen Custard 335:

• No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for driver Brandon Jones (crew chief Jeff Meendering)
• No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford for driver Riley Herbst (crew chief Richard Boswell)

Posted on by Staff Report

After a one-year hiatus, Thompson Speedway will return to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule in 2022 with a Wednesday, Aug. 17, race.

The storied Connecticut 5/8-mile track has hosted 148 Whelen Modified Tour races, starting in 1985. The track also hosted a pair of NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour races in 2011 and 2012.

RELATED: More on track history

“We are looking forward to returning to Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park,” said Jimmy Wilson, NASCAR Senior Director of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. “Thompson has been a great track and put on some of the most memorable races over the years and we look forward to putting on more of those memorable races for our loyal Connecticut area and Thompson Speedway fans.”

NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2021 inductee Mike Stefanik holds the all-time wins record in the series at Thompson with 15 victories. Ted Christopher is second with 13, while reigning and three-time series champion Justin Bonsignore has 12 victories there.

Bonsignore also holds the record for most consecutive NWMT victories at Thompson with six straight in 2018 and 2019. Richie Evans (the first four NWMT races held at Thompson in 1985), Jeff Fuller (1991-1992), Steve Park (1995-1996), Stefanik (1998) and Christopher (2010-2011) are all next with four consecutive wins.

In total, 36 drivers have recorded a NWMT race win at Thompson Speedway. The most recent winners in 2020 were Ron Silk and Craig Lutz.

Posted on by Team Release

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — BJ McLeod Motorsports (BJMM) announced today that full-time ARCA Menards Series driver Nick Sanchez will make his NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) debut with team owner BJ McLeod for several races in 2022.

RELATED: Nick Sanchez driver page

A member of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, Sanchez is making the leap up into the NXS after finishing his first full-time year of racing in the ARCA Menards Series where he’s earned eight top fives and 12 top-10 finishes in the 2021 season.

“We are excited to have Nick make his Xfinity Series debut with our team,” said team owner BJ McLeod. “Nick has proven himself behind the wheel in the ARCA Series and he has the drive to make the next step in the Xfinity Series.”

“The significance of this next step is very meaningful for me,” said Nick Sanchez. “It’ll obviously be my first time participating in one of the top three series of NASCAR, which is something I’ve always dreamed of ever since I started racing. Since the day I first met BJ, we’ve always been on the same page. We both share the same collective goals for next year and I feel he and his team have made significant strides in performance each year they’ve been in the series. My main goal next year is to learn and get the most out of the car’s performance, hopefully yielding some good finishes for myself and the team.”

Additional details regarding race schedule and partners for Sanchez will be announced in the near future.