BRUCE: XFINITY CHASE INTENSITY RATCHETS UP AGGRESSION

SPARTA, Ky. -- Was Saturday night's opening Chase race for NASCAR’s XFINITY Series an example of good, hard racing or a case of folks driving over their heads?

That depends on who one asked afterward.

Race winner Elliott Sadler wasn’t pointing fingers, and race winners have rarely been heard to utter a discouraging word. But the JR Motorsports driver said he did notice an uptick in intensity during the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky Speedway.

"About halfway through the race, it was 'note to self; you can tell it's the Chase because it was caution after caution after caution," Sadler said afterward. "People were tense, eager, frustrated, nervous. A lot of different things going on with drivers right now ... trying to make it to the second (round).

"I think people are giving each other less room. Restarts are crazy in the back."

They were crazy up front, too. The race, which kicked off a seven-race, two-round elimination playoff for the series, saw the caution flag fly a track record 12 times. More than one-fourth of the race (64 laps) was run under the yellow. Yes, there was even a brief (5 min., 34 sec.) red-flag period.

Erik Jones, the top seed and regular-season leader in race wins, got crossed up while racing with Ty Dillon and both the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota and the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet ended up in the wall.

RELATED: See the wreck the caught two title contenders

Each is now outside eighth place in points with two races to try and improve their standing; only the top eight (with the exception of a Chase race winner that might be 9th-12th) advance to the second round.

Not surprisingly, Jones wasn't particularly pleased with the early ending to his night and said later that the aggressive driving does cause one to approach the race differently.

"Yeah, it makes me try to stay out of trouble," he said. "I didn't want to have something like that happen. ... You try to play defense some. I was for sure."

Of course, there was the matter of a reconfigured track that sports new asphalt and distinctly different turns. That, too, played a role in the difficulties for some.

And that was to be expected, said Brendan Gaughan, driver of the No. 62 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing.

"It didn't seem like it was any more aggressive than normal," Gaughan said after finishing sixth.

"It's a very narrow race track here right now. That Turn 3 is treacherous, man. There's no grip on the entry, there's no width on the entry. It's a treacherous, treacherous place at the moment. ...

"It's still Kentucky. I love it."

The fight to advance into the next round began early, but it's not the only battle going on and Saturday night's race brought some of that to light.

In addition to the driver's championship, there's an owners title at stake and a couple of teams didn’t forget about that.

At the end of the regular season, the No. 2 team of RCR was atop the owners' standings, followed by the No. 18 of Joe Gibbs Racing, the No. 1 of JRM with Sadler behind the wheel, and the No. 22 of Team Penske.

Chevy, Toyota, Chevy and Ford. You think those folks aren't paying close attention?

RCR brought in Sam Hornish Jr. to keep the No. 2 team in the hunt; Penske handed the reins to Sprint Cup driver Ryan Blaney.

Sadler got the win, but a solid fifth-place run by Matt Tifft put the JGR No. 18 atop the owners' standings. JRM (No. 1) now sits second thanks to the victory while Hornish, who finished fourth, kept the RCR entry in the mix -- it's now third.

Blaney did not fare badly but the way it all shook out left him third on the track and the team now fifth in the owners' battle.

Dover, a fast, unforgiving mile of concrete, is up next. Some folks will be looking to rebound, some looking to continue to ride a hot start.

If Kentucky was any indication, they better hope they can just hang on.

Entry list for Xfinity Series’ first Chase race at Kentucky Speedway

There are 39 cars on the preliminary entry list for the Xfinity Series’ Chase opening VisityMyrtleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky Speedway.

Ryan Blaney is the only Sprint Cup driver in the field, driving the No. 22 for Team Penske. Blaney is the defending winner of the race.

Matt Tifft will drive Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18. It will be Tifft’s first Xfinity start since undergoing brain surgery on July 1. Tifft made his first NASCAR start since the surgery last weekend in the Camping World Truck Series.

Only one car, the No. 72, does not have a driver attached to it.

Daniel Suarez grabs Kentucky Truck Series pole

Daniel Suarez started off his double-duty weekend at Kentucky Speedway by earning his first career pole in the Camping World Truck Series.

Suarez was the 10th of 12 drivers to take time in the final round of qualifying on Thursday evening. His lap of 182.983 mph was fast enough to edge Brett Moffit (182.834), who is substituting for Matt Tifft at Red Horse Racing, and his Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate, William Byron (182.494).

Byron was unable to back up his lap from the first round when he was the fastest qualifier by breaking the 183 mph mark.

The Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 will be Suarez’s seventh start of the 2016 season. He is still looking for his first career series win.

Here is how qualifying played out:

Brett Moffitt making first NASCAR start of year subbing for Matt Tifft in Truck race

Brett Moffitt, the 2015 Sprint Cup rookie of the year, will drive Red Horse Racing’s No. 11 truck for Matt Tifft in Thursday night’s Camping World Truck Series race at Kentucky Speedway.

Tifft is out indefinitely as he recovers from brain surgery July 1 to remove a low-grade tumor. Moffitt, who hasn’t competed in a NASCAR race since the 2015 Sprint Cup finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, will be driving in his third Truck race but his first since 2013.

“Obviously, we’re thinking of Matt and can’t wait for him to return, so we’re sending him our best wishes and we hope to see him back at the track soon,” said Moffitt in a press release. “I hate that it’s under these circumstances, but I’m really grateful for this opportunity with Red Horse Racing and I hope it can lead to more.”

Tifft was replaced by German Quiroga two weeks ago at Iowa Speedway.

Moffitt, 23, earned the Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year honor last season after making 31 starts for Michael Waltrip Racing and Front Row Motorsports as a substitute driver for Brian Vickers and David Ragan.

Moffitt’s best finish in those 31 races was eighth at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The native of Grimes, Iowa, made the first of his two 2013 Truck starts at Kentucky Speedway driving for ThorSport Racing. He started 34th and finished 14th.

Matt Tifft to undergo surgery for tumor in his brain

Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Matt Tifft will undergo surgery for removal of a low-grade glioma in his brain.

The slow-growing tumor was found during treatment and evaluation for a recent disk condition in his back. Tifft, who turned 20 years old two days ago, is expected to undergo surgery and rehabilitation soon afterward and is expected to return to racing once cleared by doctors.

David Ragan will drive for Tifft in Friday night’s NASCAR Xfinity race at Daytona International Speedway.

Tifft did not drive in either the recent Xfinity or Camping World Truck Series races at Iowa Speedway. Sam Hornish Jr. won the Xfinity race at Iowa with Joe Gibbs Racing. German Quiroga drove in the Truck series race for Tifft.

Tifft had driven in three Truck series races and six Xfinity races. He won the pole for the Xfinity race at Talladega.

Ragan drove nine races for Joe Gibbs Racing last season in the Sprint Cup Series after Kyle Busch was injured. Ragan had three top-10 finishes, including a fourth-place result at Auto Club Speedway. He finished the season with Michael Waltrip Racing. Ragan is driving in the Cup series this year for BK Racing.

What rust? Hornish looks sterling, dominates Xfinity win at Iowa

Rust? What rust?

Despite not having been in a race car since last November, Sam Hornish Jr. proved Sunday he hasn’t forgotten how to win a race.

Filling in for the injured Matt Tifft (back issue) in a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry, Hornish responded after a 210-day racing layoff to win Sunday’s American Ethanol E15 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway.

Hornish’s last race in any type of NASCAR race car was in the Sprint Cup season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 16, 2015. He finished 25th in his final start of a one-year deal for Richard Petty Motorsports.

Hornish dominated Sunday’s event, leading 183 of 250 laps around the .875-mile track in Newton, Iowa. It was his fourth career win in NASCAR’s junior league.

Hornish is no stranger to success at Iowa Speedway. He won there in Spring 2014 and came back for an encore triumph on Sunday. It was Hornish’s eighth Xfinity start at Iowa. His record there now: two wins, six top-fives six and top-10s. His other two finishes were 12th (2012) and 24th (2011).

Ty Dillon finished second, followed by Brad Keselowski, Daniel Suarez and Alex Bowman.

Germán Quiroga steps in for Matt Tifft, Red Horse Racing in Iowa Truck race

An issue with a disc in Matt Tifft‘s back resulted in Sam Hornish Jr. replacing the driver in this weekend’s Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway.

Now Red Horse Racing has announced Germán Quiroga will drive its No. 11 truck in Tifft’s place in the Camping World Series race in Iowa.

The move comes after Quiroga started second and drove to an eighth-place finish for the team last Friday at Texas Motor Speedway in his first Truck race since 2014. The native of Mexico City raced for Red Horse Racing in 2013 and ’14 and was scheduled to drive the No. 11 Toyota again June 25 at Gateway Motorsports Park.

“I’m really excited to have the chance to race at Iowa this weekend,” Quiroga said in a press release. “It wasn’t originally in the plan, so I’m thankful to Tom DeLoach and Red Horse Racing for giving me this opportunity. I’ve been successful at Iowa in the past, so I’m confident that we’ll have a good Toyota Tundra and be able to pick up a good result.”

In three previous starts at Iowa, the 36-year-old driver has one pole (2014), one top five and two top 10s.

Quiroga will make the start without crew chief Scott Zipadelli, who was suspended for one race weekend for the No. 11 truck violating NASCAR’s lug nut rule at Texas. Zipadelli also was fined $5,000 and put on probation through the end of the calendar year.

Sam Hornish Jr. filling in for injured Matt Tifft in Iowa Xfinity race

Sam Hornish Jr. will make his return to NASCAR racing a little bit sooner with Matt Tifft having to sit out this weekend’s Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway due to a “disc condition” in his back.

Joe Gibbs Racing announced Tuesday that Tifft, who was supposed to drive the No. 18 Toyota in the American Ethanol E15 250, would be replaced by Hornish. Hornish hasn’t raced anything since the 2015 Sprint Cup finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Last week, Richard Childress announced Hornish would drive its No. 2 Xfinity car for the July race at Iowa and at Kentucky Speedway in September.

Of Hornish’s three Xfinity wins, one was at Iowa in 2014.

Tifft also was supposed to drive in the Camping World Truck Series’ Speediatrics 200 at Iowa in Red Horse Racing’s No. 11. The team has not yet announced plans for a substitute driver.

Tifft, a member of the current NASCAR Next class, has competed in six Xfinity race this season, including three in the No. 18 car. His best result is eighth at Talladega and Dover.

NASCAR warns seven Xfinity Series teams for prerace inspection failures at Talladega

NASCAR warned several Xfinity Series teams Wednesday for prerace inspection failures on the laser inspection system at Talladega Superspeedway.

The teams of Garrett Smithley, Ross Chastain, Matt Tifft, Jeb Burton, Derrike Cope and Bobby Gerhart received warnings for failing the LIS twice before Saturday’s Sparks Energy 300.

Ty Dillon’s No. 3 team also was warned for failing the LIS three times in prerace. His car will miss the first 15 minutes of practice in the circuit’s next race at Dover International Speedway.

It’s the first warning of 2016 for the teams of Smithley, Chastain, Tifft, Burton, Cope and Gerhart. Dillon’s team has two warnings.

After four cumulative warnings, a team loses pit stall selection in the next race.

Matt Tifft takes pole, JGR grabs 3 of top 5 spots for today’s Xfinity race at Talladega

Joe Gibbs Racing once again dominated NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying Saturday morning at Talladega Superspeedway.

But instead of the likes of Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones or Kyle Busch atop the speed chart, it was Matt Tifft (181.168 mph) who took the pole for this afternoon’s Sparks Energy 300.

It was Tifft’s first pole in his six-race Xfinity Series career.

But have no fear, JGR fans, your other favorites (with the exception of Busch, who is sitting this race out) all performed well: Suarez (180.846 mph) qualified second, while Jones (180.366) was fourth.

In-between were Austin Dillon (180.506), who qualified third, and younger brother Ty Dillon (180.217), who will start today’s race from the fifth position.

Sixth through 10th qualifiers were Brendan Gaughan (179.763), Ryan Reed (179.061), Joey Logano (178.817), Elliott Sadler (178.660) and JJ Yeley (178.394).

Three drivers failed to qualify: Josh Reaume, Derrike Cope and Mike Harmon.

Here’s the results of qualifying. The race will start this afternoon at 3 pm ET.

Darrell Wallace Jr. tops first Xfinity Series practice at Talladega

Roush Fenway Racing swept the top two spots in the Xfinity Series’ first practice for Saturday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway.

Darrell Wallace Jr. led the session with an average speed of 192.413 mph. He was followed by teammate Ryan Reed at 192.355 mph.

Filling out the top five were Ty Dillon (191.827), Matt Tifft (191.670) and Austin Dillon (190.061).

There were no accidents during the session. The second Xfinity Series practice is set for 1:30 p.m. ET.

Speed chart