After a weekend that saw Sprint Cup regular Kyle Busch win the Xfinity race at Kansas Speedway and Cup driver Kyle Larson hinder Xfinity title contender Erik Jones‘ chances of a win or strong finish, talk has again surfaced on if Cup drivers should be competing in the Xfinity Series.
“It’s a very difficult solution,” Burton said on NASCAR America. “The reason I became a Cup driver is because of the opportunity to run in the Xfinity Series and race against Harry Gant, Mark Martinand Dale Earnhardt. Every now and then I could run with them. If none of them were there, I could win. But that propelled me, that gave me the opportunity to get to the Cup Series. A Cup owner, Billy Stavola and Mickey Stavola, they watched me run in the Xfinity Series, they said, ‘Hey that guy every now and then can run with Mark Martin, maybe he can be a Cup driver.’ Without that opportunity I don’t think I’m ever a Cup driver.
“I will say this, when I raced against Mark Martin, he didn’t drive (in the Xfinity Series) for Jack Roush. When I raced (against) Harry Gant, he did not drive for his Cup team. When I raced Dale Earnhardt, he ran his Xfinity team out of a small shop on his property. I wasn’t racing against Richard Childress Racing. I was racing against smaller race teams. As the Xfinity Series has evolved, they’re not miniature Cup teams.”
Burton also said that permitting Cup drivers to race in the series allows Xfinity drivers to stand out to show that they can compete in the Cup level.
Kligerman said: “I’m going to play some devil’s advocate with you and say, ‘OK, if tomorrow Kyle Busch and all the other Sprint Cup regulars could not run the Xfinity Series, then we would not evaluate drivers, young drivers coming up by saying ‘If they can beat Kyle Busch or beat Brad Keselowski.’ ”
Burton noted that “the way we’ve always done things doesn’t mean that is the right way to do it. Racing is always an evolution … and we need to be looking at better ways to do things.”
Brad Keselowski remains confident he can win at Talladega, but the NASCAR America crew is skeptical he can pull off the victory. However, finishing in the top five is manageable and should be enough for him to move on.
Forty-two cars are entered into the Sprint Cup Series’ Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Two cars will not make the field.
Ryan Reed, who competes in the Xfinity Series, will attempt to make his Cup debut in the No. 99 for Roush Fenway Racing.Jeffrey Earnhardt will drive the No. 83 for BK Racing in his first attempt to start at Talladega.
While on the entry list, Josh Wise‘s team has withdrawn from the race.
Brad Keselowski won the May race at the 2.66-mile track. His Team Penske teammate Joey Logano is the defending winner of the fall race.
Keselowski is the only repeat winner (three wins) in the last 11 Talladega races.
NASCAR Chase driver Brad Keselowski‘s bid for a win came to an early end when he wrecked on Lap 189 of the scheduled 267-lap Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Keselowski slid up in front of Denny Hamlin, got loose and Keselowski’s Ford Fusion was tapped in the rear by Hamlin’s Toyota Camry, sending the 2012 Sprint Cup champion flying.
The front end of Keselowski’s car was heavily damaged when it appeared to hit part of the concrete rumble strip near the entrance to pit road. His team is attempting to put the car back together and back on the racetrack.
Keselowski will now have to win or have a very high finish in next Sunday’s race at Talladega to be able to advance to the Round of 8 in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
UPDATE: Keselowski returned to the track on Lap 219 with a new front end, but he also was scored 29 laps off the lead in 37th position. Two laps later, heavy smoke billowed from the rear of Keselowski’s car and he was ordered off the track, also bringing out a caution. Keselowski’s day was over at that point and he finished 38th.
“If my team keeps putting out this kind of effort, I’m not going to worry about today,”said Keselowski, who has four wins at NASCAR’s largest superspeedway. “We’re going to win another race or we’re going to race Talladega or other races. We’ll be fine.”
For fans who don’t like Sprint Cup drivers competing in Xfinity and Camping World Truck races, a NASCAR executive says “stay tuned’’ for an announcement “fairly soon’’ on the issue.
Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer, uttered those words Monday on “The Morning Drive” on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio when asked about limiting Cup drivers in the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series.
“It certainly is on our radar,’’ O’Donnell said. “We’ve heard the fans. It’s interesting, it’s been a balance throughout the years. We’ve always had Sprint Cup drivers come into the Xfinity Series and sometimes dominate, back in the Mark Martin days.
“As the sport has evolved one of the great things is we’ve got more of a fan following in the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series. They like seeing those drivers come up through the ranks and it’s our job to make sure that Xfinity is where names are made. We’ve got to do on that on the racetrack.
“That is something we’re taking a really hard look at for next year, I’d say stay tuned. We’re going to look at and probably have something to announce fairly soon.’’
NASCAR prohibits any Cup driver who was in last year’s Chase from competing in this year’s season finale for the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
One possibility could be for NASCAR to extend such a ban for all future Chase races in the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series.
This issue was raised after Kyle Buschwon Saturday’s Xfinity race at Kansas Speedway for his ninth victory of the season.
Since 2011, Cup regulars have won 138 of the 196 Xfinity races (70.4 percent).
Nineteen of the 30 Xfintiy races this season have been won by a driver who competes regularly in the Sprint Cup Series. While that is nearly two-thirds of the races won by a Cup regular, the total is down from recent years.
Last year, Cup regulars won 23 of 33 Xfinity races (69.7 percent)
In 2014, Cup regulars won 22 of 33 Xfintiy races (66.7 percent)
In 2013, Cup regulars won 28 of 33 Xfinity races (84.8 percent)
In 2012, Cup regulars won 18 of 33 Xfinity races (54.5 percent)
In 2011, Cup regulars won 28 of 34 Xfinity races (82.4 percent)
Here’s a look at the most wins by a Cup regular in the Xfinity Series since 2011
After wrecking and finishing 38th in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400, Brad Keselowski left Kansas Speedway in 11th place in the Chase standings, 44 points behind series leader Jimmie Johnson and seven points below the Chase cutoff line heading to Talladega next Sunday.
But to hear Keselowski, a four-time winner at Talladega, he’s feeling very confident that not only will he have another strong finish at NASCAR’s largest superspeedway, but that he’ll also make the cut when the Round of 12 is whittled to the Round of 8 after next Sunday’s race.
“I don’t think it is a must-win situation; I am not worried about it,” the 2012 Sprint Cup champion said. “I am going to go there and bust my butt to try to win but I don’t think it is a must win yet.
“I like Talladega. Talladega has been good to me and I am going to drive my butt off and at the end of the day I have faith that if it is meant to be, it is meant to be. We can’t get down. There is a long way to go still.”
Keselowski had a promising race going at Kansas until he slid up in front of Denny Hamlin on Lap 189, got loose and Hamlin couldn’t slow fast enough to avoid hitting the rear of Keselowski’s car.
That contact sent Keselowski’s Ford Fusion sailing left, where it made heavy contact with the concrete rumble strip at the entrance to pit road, causing extensive damage to his front end.
“I don’t know what happened,” Keselowski said. “Days like today are going to happen to anybody and everybody in the Chase. It is about the effort you have when that happens.”
Keselowski lost 29 laps while in the garage as his team worked feverishly to install a whole new front end on his race car.
Unfortunately, he got back out on the racetrack when a huge plume of smoke came out from the back of his car, signaling the end of his day once and for all.
“The guys busted their butt to get me back out,” Keselowski said. “They put on a whole new front end. There must have been some kind of damage to the engine (that caused the heavy smoke) from the spin.
“It was running fine before that. I think it is just unfortunate. I am not going to say for sure what happened to cause the spin. We will move forward. If we keep getting the effort like they did to fix this thing we will be fine.
“If my team keeps putting up this kind of effort, I don’t worry about today. We will win another race. We will win Talladega and other races and be fine. … I am proud of my guys for doing their best to recover and we will move on to Talladega and give ‘em hell.”
Harvick, who led 74 laps, has won the second race in both rounds of the Chase so far. He won at New Hampshire in the first round.
“These races are hard to win and these guys are so good at the details,” Harvick told NBC Sports. “You put their backs against the wall and they get better.”
Harvick first took the lead on Lap 126 from Matt Kenseth, who led 116 laps before the halfway point before fading to finish ninth. Harvick then led 43 laps. In the middle of the race, a slow pit stop sent Harvick deep into the top 10, but Harvick returned to the point on the final restart. Edwards got into a tense battle with Busch, allowing Harvick to jump out to a 2.5-second lead.
Since the elimination format of the Chase debuted in 2014, Harvick has never been eliminated from a round.
“It’s hard to keep yourself motivated and perform at a high level, so to be able to come out and do it for three years says a lot about the character of this team and the things that they do,” Harvick said. “I’ve done a poor job (on restarts) the first half of the year. We struggled with some ratios and timing. We came up with some good ratios and things that really fit what we are doing.”
Harvick’s fourth win of the year gives him 35 Sprint Cup victories.
HOW KEVIN HARVICK WON: Harvick overtook Carl Edwards on the final restart with 30 to go and led the rest of the way unchallenged.
WHO HAD A GOOD DAY: Carl Edwards led 61 laps and earned his first top five since Kentucky in July … Joey Logano finished third a week after placing 36th at Charlotte … Jimmie Johnson followed up his Charlotte win with a fourth-place finish … Alex Bowman bounced back from early contact with Jamie McMurray and an unscheduled pit stop to finish seventh for his career-best finish and his second top 10 … A.J. Allmendinger finished eighth for his sixth top 10 of the season and his first since Bristol in August …Kasey Kahne‘s 10th-place finish gives him six top 10s in the last seven races.
WHO HAD A BAD DAY: Aric Almirola andDavid Ragan caused a caution on Lap 37 when they got together. Almirola finished 40th, Ragan in 36th … Jamie McMurray hit the wall on Lap 44 after making contact with Alex Bowman. McMurray finished 37th … Kyle Larson hit the outside wall on Lap 177 to bring out the caution. Larson finished 30th … Brad Keselowski was turned by Denny Hamlinas they exited Turn 4 on Lap 190. Keselowski went sliding through the frontstretch grass, receiving significant damage. Keselowski finished 38th, earning his first DNF since the 2015 Daytona 500 … Denny Hamlin finished 15th after having to pit three times under one caution for splitter damage and being called for three pit road penalties late.
Notable: The last four Kansas races have been won by a different driver … Chevrolet has won 11 of the 22 Sprint Cup races held at Kansas.
Quote of the Day: “With this format I had a big points gap coming in. With this format it is probably the smart thing to do but I don’t want to race like that. I want to race my guts out and go for wins. I don’t want to points race. I don’t care what the damn format is, I am going to give it my best.” – Brad Keselowski after finishing 38th
NEXT: Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN
Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick, who won Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway, are the only drivers guaranteed to advance to the Round of 8.
Johnson remains the points leader after the second race of the Round of 12, which concludes next weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.
Joey Logano holds the eighth and final transfer spot. He’s tied with Austin Dillonwith 3,045 points. Logano owns the tiebreaker based on a better finish than Dillon in this round. Logano placed third Sunday.
All three NASCAR manufacturers are taking to social media, reminding fans of possible end-of-season rewards -- including new cars.
Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota all have sweepstakes where those who enter can win a Chevrolet SS, Ford Fusion Sport or Toyota Camry XSE. Learn more about that here.
Beyond even a new car, fans can win multiple prizes from each manufacturer, including a trip to Las Vegas for Champion's Week. See below as Austin Dillon, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch and more fill in the details via social media.
FORT WORTH, Texas – The end of Tony Stewart‘s Sprint Cup racing career is less than six weeks away, but the co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing has already gotten a taste of what the life of a full-time owner will be like.
‘The fun thing is I’ve been to a couple of the owners meetings and it’s pretty cool to sit in the room with Roger Penske, Chip Ganassi, Richard Childress and Joe Gibbs and those guys,” Stewart said Wednesday at Texas Motor Speedway.
But the three-time Sprint Cup champion said his attendance made the meetings with giants of the auto racing industry feel “like an episode of ‘Sesame Street.'”
“There’s one thing in the room that doesn’t belong and it’s not like the others and they point at me,” said Stewart, who was holding his annual “Smoke Show” Fantasy Camp benefiting Speedway Children’s Charities.
But even though he’s been co-owner of SHR since 2009, Stewart still doesn’t feel like an owner.
“I won’t say I’m a part of that group yet because I still feel like I’m just a driver right now,” said Stewart, who leaves his NASCAR driver’s seat behind on Nov. 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. “To be able to work with those guys on behalf of the sport I think is going to be a lot of fun.”
“The thing that I’m most excited about with the drivers council is I feel like it’s a good group of guys in there right now,” Stewart said. “I feel like their mindset and their ability to work together for the reason and the right causes and goals.”
Stewart’s presence on the council has had an impact this season. NASCAR’s year-long odyssey regarding lug nuts began with Stewart’s rant about the issue in April.
Is there any opinion “Smoke” has kept to himself, waiting to drop on the drivers council right before he puts both feet into his role as an owner?
“I’m going to save that for when I get out of the car at Homestead I think,” Stewart joked at TMS. “The hard part is I wish we could tell you guys all the stuff that’s discussed in it but it’s not the right thing to do.”
Stewart is “proud” of what the council has accomplished in it first two years and is a little surprised at how unselfish its members have been.
“It would be really easy in our sport to be selfish and try to work on things that you think are going to benefit you,” Stewart said. “But the driver council does a really good job of not doing that. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised about that, but I guess to a certain degree a little bit I was surprised that everybody really cared more about the sport than they were about what their individual organizations were working on.”
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Better slow down on the highway -- Kyle Busch has traded his fire suit for a state trooper's uniform.
(Disclaimer: It's not permanent.)
Busch is one of the drivers who will make cameo appearances in the upcoming filmLogan Lucky, a heist movie set at a NASCAR track. Under the watch of multi-time Academy Award winning-director Steven Soderbergh, the film features a star-studded cast including Daniel Craig, Channing Tatum, two-time Academy Award winner Hilary Swank, Seth MacFarlane and Riley Keough. Academy and Emmy Award winner Mark Johnson -- who also produced "Rain Man," "Breaking Bad," and "The Notebook," among others -- will serve as one of the film's executive producers.
"It’s a movie that's designed to be a lot of fun," Johnson said Sunday at Charlotte, prior to a day of shooting at the track. "It's designed to be very, very commercial, where I joke we're not out to win Oscars -- we're out to win the Bank of America award ... (Viewers) should laugh and they should have fun with the intricacies of the robbery itself.
"It's a robbery that couldn't really take place, but (it can) in our world, and it's very important to us that the world of NASCAR be real."
"We wanted to make sure that NASCAR was treated in a positive light, was the big, world-class, glossy event that it is," said Zane Stoddard, NASCAR Vice President of Entertainment, Marking and Content Development. "The thing that we worked closely with Mark and the production on was getting drivers into driver cameo roles. We thought that would fun for the fans, sort of Easter eggs throughout the film with these drivers in these roles for our fans.
"But it's also a bit of a wink and a nod that we’re on the inside of the fun of this film. So, we think the fans are going to love these roles that these guys are in."
Part of Stoddard's role in the production process was to help marry the worlds of NASCAR and Hollywood, a process that he says has been seamless on both ends.
"The general audience wouldn't have too much trouble buying into the authenticity of this," Stoddard said. "For us, the most important sort of a litmus for us is that it passes the smell test with the core fan because they know the sport so much better. These guys -- we haven't had to push at all in terms of getting them to want to be as authentic as possible. They are the best in the business and so it’s been a collaboration on making sure everything is right.
"… It’s amazing the detail that exists in our sport just on the race car, not even taking into consideration the tracks or the teams and everything that happens in our universe. These guys have been meticulous about all of that."
That starts with shooting at the track and getting into the garage. For Johnson, authenticity came from that hands-on research, where he spent about a week and a half simply observing NASCAR’s version of Hollywood Blvd.
"I produced two baseball movies, The Natural and The Rookie and those taught me a lot about baseball and you have to do the research and understand the world and NASCAR was not a world I understood," Johnson said. "I was fascinated by it, but I really didn't know how it worked.
"Look at this big all-access pass," he said with a smile, gesturing to his hot pass. "I can go into the garage and watch how people work and I ask stupid questions about cars and it's great because I will have spent a concentrated amount of time learning about NASCAR."
He echoed Stoddard's sentiment about this movie working for the core fan.
"We would be very upset if this movie doesn’t work for the NASCAR fan," Johnson said. "So we want to make sure the NASCAR fan, no matter who he or she is, that they see the movie and say 'They got it right.'"
But just who is the typical NASCAR fan? Not whom you would think, Johnson says.
"It's interesting -- any preconceptions I had about who the NASCAR fans were, were all wrong," Johnson said. "They come from all walks; surprising number of women. Quick revelation."
"Logan Lucky" will debut in theaters October 2017.
A championship contender – possibly the early favorite — will be absent from next week’s test at Homestead-Miami Speedway, whose Nov. 20 season finale will decide the Sprint Cup title.
Furniture Row Racing won’t bring Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 78 Toyota to the Oct. 18-19 session at the 1.5-mile oval. A team spokesman said the test was removed from the team’s schedule last week and didn’t know the reason.
Homestead-Miami Speedway will play host to the last of several “organizational tests” scheduled by NASCAR during the season. In an organizational test, which isn’t mandatory, only one car per organization is permitted to participate.
As a single-car team, Furniture Row Racing wouldn’t have been in the predicament of having to choose who would test among multiple contenders, which is the case with Joe Gibbs Racing and its four Chase-eligible drivers.
Every other remaining championship contender will be represented at Homestead-Miami Speedway next week: Team Penske (Brad Keselowski), Hendrick Motorsports (Chase Elliott), Stewart-Haas Racing (Kurt Busch), Joe Gibbs Racing (Carl Edwards), Richard Childress Racing (Austin Dillon).
Truex won two of the first three races in the 2016 playoffs at Chicagoland Speedway and Dover International Speedway. He reached the championship round last season, finishing fourth among the Chase contenders (12th overall).
Here’s the list of drivers and teams that are testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway next week (current championship contenders in bold):
CONCORD, N.C. — As smoke poured from his engine and the leaders sped away, Denny Hamlin lamented his fate.
“Denny Hamlin luck in the Chase,’’ he radioed his team. “That gets you every time.’’
Just when it seemed as if the top eight
Chase drivers could relax after four foes suffered misfortune Sunday,
Hamlin saw his comfortable points bulge waste away quicker than a before
and after picture.
He was one of five Chase drivers to
finish 30th or worse at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He became the oddity
that could throw this Round of 12, which includes a cutoff race at
Talladega Superspeedway, into chaos.
Before Hamlin’s woes, it appeared the top eight Chase drivers would hold a healthy advantage on the four — Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick — who suffered from miscalculations, miscues and mischievous machinery.
Just before Hamlin’s engine blew while running second, he had a 31-point lead on those outside a transfer spot.
At that point, it appeared as if Dillon
and Elliott would be 19 points out of the cutoff spot. In the two
previous years of the elimination format, only one driver more than 15
points out of the final transfer spot after the opening race in the
second round advanced. That was Brad Keselowski. He did so by winning at Talladega in 2014. No one so far back made it on points.
After Hamlin’s woes put him in the final
transfer spot in the standings, Dillon and Elliott found themselves only
three points behind him.
Now, there are two Chases. Those in the
top seven can take fewer risks because the penalty of losing points
could be critical with Talladega looming in two weeks. The bottom five,
including Hamlin, are in a race among themselves for the final transfer
spot if they can’t win this weekend at Kansas or the following week at
Talladega.
“All I can do is try to run as fast as I
can,’’ Hamlin said. “I won’t be able to control what any of my
competitors do. All I can do is try to go to Kansas and try to win, go
to Talladega and try to win.’’
Last year, Hamlin’s luck saw him fail to
advance from the second round. He entered the cutoff race at Talladega
second in the standings, 18 points ahead of the cutoff. He failed to
make transfer after an issue with the roof hatch and then was collected
in a last-lap crash.
Teammate Kyle Busch
had it worse in 2014. Busch was second in the standings, 26 points
ahead of the ninth place, the first driver outside a cutoff spot
entering Talladega and was eliminated after a crash when hit from behind
by Dillon.
Logano, who finished 80 laps behind the
leaders Sunday after suffering two tire issues and slamming the wall
twice, joked that if he had finished only two laps down, “I could have
had a good points day.’’
Had he done so, he would have finished
23rd instead of 36th and those extra 13 points would have put him in the
final transfer spot instead of Hamlin.
That’s how volatile Sunday was for some
Chase contenders. Now, it impacts decision drivers and crew chiefs will
make the next two weeks.
“We’re not in must-win, but we’re in can’t-screw-up mode,’’ Logano said.
HAIRY SITUATION
Blake Koch thought he’d have some fun after making the inaugural Xfinity Chase.
He decided to mimic hockey players who grow beards during the playoffs and do it for NASCAR’s version of the playoffs.
Truth be told, Koch, figured he’d have
the beard for only the first three races and then could shave, but he’ll
keep it going after advancing to the Round of 8 after Sunday’s race at
Charlotte Motor Speedway.
“I’m a pretty optimistic person, but I
expected us to make the Chase, not to really transfer to the next group
of eight,’’ he said. “That’s really tough to do. If I would have known
that, I wouldn’t have set to growing this Chase beard because it’s going
to get long now.
“I thought it was going to be a three-week beard. It’s going to be an eight-week beard, at least, maybe nine weeks.’’
Koch advanced with a team that has 16
employees and moved shops during the season. They prepared cars for
Dover in May with flashlights because their new shop didn’t have power
yet.
“I think that’s definitely the biggest story of the first round, Blake and his guys making the second round,’’ said Elliott Sadler,
who advanced to the Round of 8 via his win at Kentucky Speedway. “The
start-up team and where Blake came from last year to this year,
congratulations, that to me is a job well done.’’
PIT STOPS
— Kurt Busch
and Brad Keselowski are tied with the best average finish in the eight
races on 1.5-mile tracks. Both have a 7.0 average. Keselowski finished
seventh on Sunday; Busch eighth. Three of the last six races, including
the season finale at Homestead, are on 1.5-mile tracks.
— For the first time in this Chase, there
were multi-car accidents. In the first three Chase races, there were
seven cautions for spins or accidents. All had been single-car
incidents. Sunday, two of the five cautions for accidents featured
multiple cars, including the 12-car incident off a restart.
— Last year, Joey Logano and Kevin
Harvick were 1-2 in the points after the opening race in the second
round. This year, they are 11th and 12th.
— Kasey Kahne’s third-place finish was his best result since his win at Atlanta in Sept. 2014 — a span of 77 races.
— Danica Patrick’s 11th-place finish Sunday was her best result of the year. Her previous best was 13th at Dover in May.
— Five of the top-10 finishers Sunday were drivers not eligible for the title. They were Kasey Kahne (finished third), Ryan Newman (fourth), Kyle Larson (fifth), Tony Stewart (ninth) and Jamie McMurray (10th).
— Tony Stewart’s ninth-place finish snapped a streak of seven consecutive finishes of 13th or worse.
— Michael McDowell’s 14th-place finish was his second top-15 result in his last four starts.
