SUAREZ VISITS WHITE HOUSE FOR NATIONAL HISPANIC MONTH

Joe Gibbs Racing's Daniel Suarez has exciting things happening for him on and off the track with his XFINITY Series championship hopes still alive and a month-long National Hispanic Month celebration underway.

Tuesday, the Mexican-born wheelman visited the White House, representing NASCAR for National Hispanic Month. Take a peak inside his busy day in Washington, D.C.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Jimmie Johnson: 'He ranks right up there with the old man'

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has no issues with Jimmie Johnson possibly running down a seventh NASCAR Premier Series championship that would tie Johnson for the most of all time with Earnhardt’s late father and Richard Petty.

In fact, it’s exactly the opposite.

Earnhardt revealed on his weekly podcast, The Dale Jr. Download, that he is pulling hard for Johnson, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, to run down the record that dear old dad has shared with Petty since winning his own seventh title in 1994.

“I’m real excited about Jimmie,” Earnhardt Jr. said on his podcast. “He’s chasing that seventh championship that would put him up there with Richard and my father. He wants that so badly.

“We’ve had a few conversations about that and I know how much that would mean to him. I think that he’s one of the greatest race-car drivers this sport has seen.”

Junior made it clear that he thinks Johnson is right on par with his father in terms of talent. He also said he thinks Johnson’s legacy deserves to be considered on par with his father’s and Petty’s as well.

Johnson won five titles in a row from 2006 through 2010, and claimed his sixth in 2013.

“Obviously to win five championships in a row like he did is unbelievable, and the argument is undeniable that he is one of the greatest,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “He ranks right up there with the old man and anybody else you want to put in the conversation.

“To be quite honest, yes, I am pulling for Jimmie to get this championship. I believe he does deserve it after everything that he’s put into the sport. I think that it would be good for him to go ahead and win that championship.”

Johnson won last Sunday’s rain-delayed Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway to claim his third win of the 2016 season and clinch advancement into the Round of Eight in this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup playoffs. It was the 78th win of his career overall, two more than the elder Earnhardt registered in his long and storied career that was cut short when he died in a last-lap accident in the 2001 Daytona 500.

Upon Further Review: Charlotte chaos changes Chase for title contenders

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.

NASCAR TV SCHEDULE: OCTOBER 3-9

What channel is the NASCAR race on this week? We answer that and provide all the weekly NASCAR television listings here.

RELATED: Find NBCSN in your area

All times ET
Monday, October 3
1:30 a.m., NASCAR Victory Lane, FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7:30 p.m., NASCAR 120, NBCSN

Tuesday, October 4
5:30 p.m., Racing Roots, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Wednesday, October 5
6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Thursday, October 6
Noon, NASCAR: The List "Memorable Moments" (re-air), NBCSN
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Series: Stafford Motor Speedway (taped), NBCSN
1:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, NBCSN
3 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, NBCSN
4 p.m., NASCAR K&N Pro Series: Dover International Speedway (taped), NBCSN
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
5:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN

Friday, October 7
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, NBCSN
4:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, NBCSN
7:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN
8 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Drive for the Cure 300 Presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC, NBCSN
10:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Post-Race Show, NBCSN

Saturday, October 8
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying (re-air), NBCSN
5 p.m., NASCAR America Saturday, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN
7 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500, NBC
11 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Post-Race Show, NBCSN

BUSCH FAMILY, NO. 18 TEAM VISIT THE WHITE HOUSE

As part of his Sprint Cup championship duties, Kyle Busch had one more thing left on his to-do list: visit the White House. So that's exactly what he did on Wednesday with the entire No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team and wife, Samantha.

And no, Brexton wasn't in attendance, but President Obama gave him a nice, little shout-out.

Follow along on the crew's trip to Washington, D.C.

DALE JR. POSTS UNEDITED* VIDEO OF HIS "TALKING" DOGS

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s "talking" dogs, Gus and Junebug, enjoy a level of celebrity that few other dogs have ever reached. Unfortunately, it doesn't really look like the two get along as well as he would probably like. Perhaps because the "dog days" of summer are over?

Junior posted this video on Instagram Wednesday of his dogs. We promise this video has in no way been altered from the original.

*By unedited, we mean that @nascarcasm actually may have tweaked the video a little bit.

STEWART'S FATHEAD MAKES POST-RACE PRESSER CAMEO

New Hampshire winner Kevin Harvick and crew chief Rodney Childers had some company during their post-race winners press conference.

Harvick's son Keelan, a couple cans of beer and Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner and driver Tony Stewart's Fathead.

No, literally. There was a cardboard Fathead of Stewart -- identical to the ones several fans held up in the grandstands at New Hampshire Motor Speedway -- sitting humorously in front of the beer.

Let it be noted that good dad Kevin removed the beer from Keelan's reach. Guess that means more for "Smoke" -- cheers, Tony!

Road Block: Pit road speeding could keep Chase drivers from advancing

In a playoff format where a bad finish can keep a driver from advancing and cost them a championship, NASCAR’s increased enforcement of pit road speeding could play a significant role in the Chase.

NASCAR has enforced the additional timing lines on pit road in the past seven races — since the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in late July. Speeding penalties are up 86 percent compared to the seven races before the change was made.

Drivers can recover from speeding penalties — provided they happen early enough in a race. Chris Buescher won the shortened Pocono race after he was penalized for speeding. A speeding penalty late, though, can cost a driver several spots and that could be the difference in advancing to the next round of the Chase.

With the playoffs beginning this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway, here’s a look at drivers who have had the most speeding penalties on pit road this year.

Speeding penalties for all drivers with five or more infractions in 2016

(CHASE DRIVERS IN ALL CAPS)

8 – Denny Hamlin

7 – Kyle Larson

7 – Ryan Newman

6 – Austin Dillon

6 – Regan Smith

6 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

5 – Chase Elliott

5 – Jimmie Johnson

5 – Greg Biffle

5 – Michael McDowell

5 – Paul Menard

Speeding Penalties for all Chase Drivers this season

8 – Denny Hamlin

7 – Kyle Larson

6 – Austin Dillon

5 – Chase Elliott

5 – Jimmie Johnson

4 – Brad Keselowski

4 – Jamie McMurray

4 – Martin Truex Jr.

3 – Carl Edwards

3 – Kevin Harvick

3 – Tony Stewart

2 – Chris Buescher

2 – Kyle Busch

1 – Kurt Busch

1 – Matt Kenseth

1 – Joey Logano

Speeding Penalties in Last 7 races by Chase Drivers

(Since additional timing lines added on pit road)

3 – Jimmie Johnson

2 – Chase Elliott

2 – Denny Hamlin

2 – Jamie McMurray

2 – Martin Truex Jr.

1 – Chris Buescher

1 – Austin Dillon

1 – Kevin Harvick

1 – Brad Keselowski

1- Kyle Larson

1 – Joey Logano

1 – Tony Stewart

0 – Kurt Busch

0 – Kyle Busch

0 – Carl Edwards

0 – Matt Kenseth

Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray ready to make Chip Ganassi Racing a force in the Chase

For one, it’s unchartered territory. For the other, it’s hoping that the second time around is better than the first.

That’s how the upcoming Chase for the Sprint Cup shapes up for Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Kyle Larson and Jamie McMurray.

Larson is making his first playoff appearance. It comes in his third Cup season.

Larson, who won last month at Michigan, will start the Chase as the 10th seed.

McMurray is making the second consecutive Chase appearance. He’ll start the playoffs in the 16th and final position.

Larson has been one of NASCAR’s hottest drivers of late. Saturday night’s runner-up finish at Richmond International Raceway was his third straight top-three finish — He won at Michigan and finished third at Darlington.

It wasn’t easy, though. Larson struggled near the midpoint of the race with a loose wheel that caused him to pit on Lap 192. Still, he was able to come back for his best finish at Richmond.

The final restart, though, with two laps remaining was what sealed the deal for the northern California native.

“It felt like a video game on rookie mode, having fresh tires like that,” Larson told NBCSN. “It was a fun last restart and to get all the way to second. I felt I could get to fourth, but I got to second, so that was great.”

Given his hot streak, Larson hopes to ride into the opening race next Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway and keep that momentum going as the Chase opens.

“The Chase tracks, most of them, are good tracks for me,” Larson said. “We start at Chicago, which is one of my favorite tracks and I really think we can make a good run.

“It’s been awesome and I’m looking forward to it, the first time in the Chase. There’s a lot of new guys in the Chase, so it should be exciting.”

McMurray, meanwhile, hopes to perform better in his second Chase than he did last season.

Like Larson, McMurray has had his own momentum of late, as well: His seventh-place finish Saturday was his ninth top-10 of 2016, including four of the last five races.

McMurray knew how much was on the line coming into Saturday’s race. Because he has yet to win a race this season, he was vulnerable. If a winless driver had won instead of Hamlin, McMurray could have missed the playoffs.

So he did something he typically doesn’t do — he drove defensively.

“I was racing so different than what you normally would, not taking any risk,” McMurray said. “Really good day, both our cars ran real great again today.

“The guys at our shop need to be really proud at what they have been able to build because it’s a lot of fun to drive and be able to run that quick. I looked up at one point and I think there was the four Gibbs cars and Kyle and I. We still have a little bit of work to do, but we’ve made some huge gains and I’m really proud of all those guys.”

McMurray was eliminated after the first round of last year’s Chase. He hopes that’s not the same case this year.

“I feel better about our chances this year vs. last year,” he said. “I felt like last year heading into the Chase that we didn’t really have anything in our pocket as far as little bit better cars.

“I feel like right now we have cars capable of winning. I look forward to getting (to Chicagoland), it’s been a good track for Kyle and I and would be a great way to start off the Chase.”

This marks the first time Chip Ganassi Racing has had two drivers in the Chase in the same year. Ganassi told McMurray before the race that if both he and Larson make the Chase, it would be the “biggest thing ever” at CGR in terms of NASCAR achievements.

“When you look at Chip’s organization, he’s been so successful in Indy cars, sports cars, we’ve won some big races at NASCAR, but the NASCAR side is really hard to keep on top,” McMurray said. “It’s like that for everybody. So when you get down, it’s really hard to climb your way back up.

“Earlier this year, we made some changes as far as personnel. He moved some people around. The crew chiefs and everybody is working really well together and they’ve been able to build some great cars. He’s proud of that because when you make those changes, there’s no guarantee it’s going to show up on the racetrack – but it has.”

Five Sprint Cup teams receive written warnings; Keselowski, Stewart lose pit selection

NASCAR issued written warnings to five Sprint Cup teams last weekend at Darlington Raceway, including the fourth warnings to the teams of Brad Keselowski and Tony Stewart.

Keselowski and Stewart will lose pit stall selection for this weekend’s race at Richmond International Raceway. Receiving a fourth written warning results in losing pit selection.

Stewart’s car failed pre-race template inspection twice. Keselowski’s car failed pre-race laser inspection three times.

Carl Edwards‘ team also received a third warning for failing pre-race laser inspection three times. Edwards and Keselowski will both lose 15 minutes of practice time Friday at Richmond.

The teams of Joey Logano and Jeffrey Earnhardt each received their third written warnings for failing pre-race laser inspection twice.

NASCAR also fined Ryan Blaney $1,000 for not wearing gloves during practice for the Southern 500, which is a P1 penalty.

Tonight’s Sprint Cup race at Darlington: start time, weather, TV/radio info and lineup

NASCAR celebrates its past with tonight’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Hall of Fame Inductees Mark Martin, Rick Hendrick and Richard Childress will help give the command to fire engines to a 40-car field that features throwback paint schemes from the 1990s on back.

Here’s all the info you need for tonight’s race.

(All times Eastern)

START: NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductees Mark Martin, Rick Hendrick and Richard Childress, along with Bojangles’ CEO Clifton Rutledge will give the command for drivers to start their engines at 6:12 p.m. The green flag is scheduled for 6:20 p.m.

DISTANCE: The race is scheduled for 367 laps (501.3 miles) around the 1.366-mile speedway.

PRERACE SCHEDULE: The Sprint Cup garage opens at noon. The driver/crew chief meeting is at 4 p.m. Driver introductions are at 5:25 p.m.

NATIONAL ANTHEM: Actor Barry Williams will perform the anthem at 6:06 p.m.

TV/RADIO: NBC will broadcast the race with its coverage beginning at 5 p.m. with NASCAR America on NBCSN, followed by Countdown to Green at 5:30 p.m. on NBCSN and race coverage at 6 p.m. on NBC. Motor Racing Network’s radio broadcast begins at 5 p.m. and also can be heard at mrn.com. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have MRN’s broadcast.

FORECAST: The wunderground.com site predicts a temperature of 81 degrees at race time with a 0 percent chance of thunderstorms.

LAST TIME: Carl Edwards led the final nine laps to win last year’s race. Brad Keselowski, who led a race-high 196 laps, finished second. Denny Hamlin placed third.

STARTING LINEUP:

NASCAR does not view Kyle Larson’s celebration as excessive

A NASCAR executive says the sanctioning body has no issues with the burnout Kyle Larson performed Sunday after scoring his first career Sprint Cup victory.

Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer, said Monday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that the celebration was not viewed as excessive.

O’Donnell said earlier this month on “The Morning Drive’’ that series officials were seeing a jķ,  we don’t like to see” with victory celebrations that damage the winning car. He said at the time that “you’ll probably see us sooner than later put something in place that covers us for that as you kind of head into the last quarter of the season.’’

But O’Donnell didn’t have an issue with Larson’s burnout after Sunday’s race at Michigan International Speedway.

“I think it’s something that we’re continuing to look at, but, in this case, it was the guy’s first win, it’s been three years, he was ecstatic,’’ O’Donnell said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “I think we were part of the fan group in terms of looking down and saying that was awesome to see and an awesome moment. I chalk this one up as more of that. The car passed post-race inspection. It will certainly go to the R&D Center, but I look at this one as it was a first race win and someone really out there celebrating as they should".

Preliminary Sprint Cup entry list for Michigan

Forty cars are entered for this weekend’s Pure Michigan 400 Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway.

No driver is listed for the No. 88 car. Hendrick Motorsports tweeted Monday that an announcement on who will drive the car is not expected before Wednesday afternoon. The team has stated that if Dale Earnhardt Jr. is not cleared by doctors to race, Alex Bowman will drive the car this weekend.

Michael Annett is listed in the No. 46 car after missing last weekend’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway for what the team called flu-like symptoms. Justin Allgaier drove for Annett at Bristol.

Emotions run gamut for Joe Gibbs Racing after ups and downs of Bristol

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Kyle Busch has seen this before. So has Denny Hamlin.

Their performances Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway showed the strength of Joe Gibbs Racing but also raised some questions about the organization’s performance even with two drivers placing in the top 10 — Hamlin was third and Carl Edwards was sixth.

Busch led a race-high 256 laps before a mechanical issue caused him to spin before he was struck by Justin Allgaier’s car. Busch finished 39th, two spots behind fellow teammate Matt Kenseth, caught up in a subsequent crash that involved Kyle’s older brother Kurt, and left upset.

“I’m not sure what our problem is with being able to put together cars that will last here,’’ Busch said. “Our teammates obviously have a strong sense of what to do, but we don’t. I don’t know what’s going on. Guys know how to set (the cars) up and make them quick, but they just don’t last. We’ve got work to do. We’ve got to make sure our stuff can work and last to the end.’’

So what more can he say at Joe Gibbs Racing?

“They already know,’’ he said. “Just by watching the race. It’s frustrating because that’s two or three or four races in a row at Bristol that we’ve had problems. Yeah, maybe a couple of them were my doing. We’ve also had parts failures here. We can’t be having that stuff.’’

BRISTOL, TN – AUGUST 21: Denny Hamlin leads a pack of cars during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
Another issue is mistakes. Hamlin was called for his series-high eighth speeding penalty on pit road this year and he also had to make a green-flag pit stop because of a loose wheel, falling two laps down before recovering for a top-five finish.

“I knew I sped when I did it,’’ he said. “In the playoffs, I’m not going to be that aggressive. Out here trying to get a win, win-or-nothing attitude in the regular season, that’s when I push it.’’

While Joe Gibbs Racing has had some quality control issues in the past — Busch’s frustrations can be traced to previous years when mechanical issues sidelined championship hopes in the Chase — Sunday still was a step forward for the organization compared to the spring race.

Although Edwards won at Bristol in the spring, Busch, Hamlin and Matt Kenseth each had tire issues with Busch placing 38th, Kenseth 36th and Hamlin 20th that day.

“We knew we had issues with the right front and we had to come here and correct it and that’s what we did,’’ Hamlin said. “We changed a lot of things to try to help with that right front tire.’’

One issue solved. More issues to fix. Three races before the playoffs begin.

Rookies make NASCAR history with weekend sweep of national series

If it wasn’t for quite a bit of fog, last weekend’s slate of NASCAR action likely wouldn’t have been that different from many race weekends the last two decades.

Fog forced NASCAR to halt the Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway 22 laps from its scheduled distance, giving the win to Chris Buescher, one of the Rookie of the Year contenders. That sealed a milestone that had never been accomplished since the Camping World Truck Series debuted in 1995.

Buescher’s win meant Rookie of the Year contenders in all three national series – Sprint Cup, Xfinity and the Camping World Truck Series – swept the weekend.

The feat was started by William Byron, who won in the Truck series. It was his fifth win of the year, which set a Truck series record for rookies. Later Saturday night, Erik Jones led 154 laps at Iowa Speedway en route to winning his third race of the year.

Then Buescher’s team gambled on Monday during pit stops, putting his No. 34 Ford out front just in time for fog to cover all of Turn 1.

Buescher was the first rookie contender to win a Sprint Cup race since Joey Logano did at New Hampshire in 2009. Before that it had only been four times since 2005: Kyle Busch at Phoenix (2005), Denny Hamlin in Pocono I and II (2006) and Juan Pablo Montoya at Sonoma (2007).

Buescher’s win was also his first Sprint Cup top-10 finish, which came a week after his career-best finish of 14th at Indianapolis. The Prosper, Texas, native is one of just five drivers to have earned their first top 10 via a win.

Before him it was Trevor Bayne (2011), Brad Keselowski (2009), Jamie McMurray (2002) and Mark Donohue (1973).

NASCAR America: Value of winning goes beyond the trophy

Team Penske has won 25.5 percent of the 90 Sprint Cup races run since 2014 and does not appear to be slowing any time soon after back-to-back wins by Brad Keselowski.

The NASCAR America crew discusses the value of wins even for teams all but set to make the Chase already, noting how Kyle Busch needed the bonus points from his four regular-season wins to advance to the second round of the Chase last year.

Since the start of the 2014 season (90 Sprint Cup races), here’s how many races have been won by each organization:

24 – Hendrick Motorsports

23 – Team Penske

23 – Joe Gibbs Racing

14 – Stewart-Haas Racing

2 – Furniture Row Racing

2 – Roush Fenway Racing

1 – JTG Daugherty

1 – Richard Petty Motorsports

NASCAR to ‘reiterate’ pit road rule this week to teams after penalty to Martin Truex Jr.

All NASCAR executive said series officials will “reiterate” this week the rule that drivers cannot pass to the inside on pit road after penalizing Martin Truex Jr. for that Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway.

Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer, made the comments Monday on “The Morning Drive” on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Truex was penalized on Lap 196 for passing leader Kevin Harvick on the inside on pit road before heading to his stall. Truex was upset with the penalty.

“You get to your timing line, you step on the gas and you head straight toward your pit,’’ he told NBCSN after the race. “Obviously, I turned left and came up next to (Harvick) and passed him … as I was driving to my pit, guys do it every week. I don’t know why it was different today.

“I would think that if they didn’t want us doing that anymore, they would tell us in the drivers meeting. Hell, it’s every week. I’ve been passed on pit road 15 times this year that same exact way and I didn’t see guys get penalized. So I guess when you’re doing it for a win it’s different circumstances or something.’’

Truex was the first Sprint Cup driver penalized this season for that specific violation.

O’Donnell said series officials saw this issue happening more often this season and described what Truex did as “blatant,’’ leading to the penalty.

“It is clear in the rule book that you can’t pass to the left,’’ O’Donnell said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “It’s also brought up in every drivers meeting. If you look at drivers pulling off just as they pull into their pits and kind of pull up alongside a car, sure, that’s happened.

“I would probably relate this to other sports. If you look at the three-second rule (in the NBA), it’s always there but it’s rarely called because you don’t see it blatantly, and then you’ll see a coach or some teams say, ‘Hey, you’ve got to focus on this rule, it’s getting out of hand.’

“That was the case certainly for us. We saw a trend that was getting bigger and bigger. For us, that was a blatant pass to the left. We felt we had to make that call. We’ll certainly address it with the industry prior to New Hampshire again to reiterate what the rule is as well, and if there’s any questions where we have to make it more clear, we’ll certainly do so.’’

On the pit road penalty card issued to all teams, Section 20 states that entering pit road: “Vehicles must enter the pit road in single file. After a vehicle commits to their assigned pit box, the vehicle behind may pass to the outside.’’

Truex was cited for a safety violation for passing on entry to pit road. Safety violations are defined in the pit road penalty card as: “Violation of NASCAR safety precautions or careless acts during a NASCAR Event.’’

Crew chiefs are reminded by the rules video that plays during each drivers meeting to “have the current crew chief handout and pit road penalty card with you for the race.”

Section 10.11.4.c of the Sprint Cup Rule Book states: “After a vehicle commits to their assigned pit box, the vehicle behind may pass to the outside.”

Entry list for the Sprint Cup Series’ Quaker State 400 at Kentucky

There are 40 cars on the entry list for the Sprint Cup Series’ Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway.

Ty Dillon will start in the No. 95 Chevrolet for Circle Sport-Leavine Family. It’s Dillon’s first Sprint Cup start since the Michigan race.

The defending winner of the race is Kyle Busch, who led 163 laps on the way to his second win of 2015.

Kentucky just completed a repave of the track surface and reconfiguring Turns 1 and 2 from 14 to 17 degrees.

Entry List

What Daytona means to the Earnhardt’s (video)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has won four times at Daytona International Speedway: twice in the Daytona 500 and twice more in the Coke Zero 400.

Junior is the defending winner of last year’s Coke Zero 400.

More than any other track, Daytona has long been the most important and meaningful track for the entire Earnhardt family, including the late NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt. Here’s why.

Friday’s Xfinity, Sprint Cup schedule at Daytona

Friday marks the midpoint of the three-day racing weekend at Daytona International Speedway.

Because of Thursday’s rainout, the Sprint Cup Series will have a 45-minute practice session from 9:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. ET.

Later, both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Sprint Cup Series have qualifying sessions.

Then, the first race of the weekend — the Xfinity Series Subway Firecracker 250 — is slated to take the green flag at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Here’s how today’s schedule shapes up:

(All times Eastern)

8:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. – Sprint Cup garage open

9:45 – 10:30 a.m. – Sprint Cup practice (NBCSN)

Noon – Xfinity garage opens

2:10 p.m. – Xfinity qualifying; single car/two rounds (NBCSN)

3:45 p.m. – Xfinity driver-crew chief meeting

4:10 p.m. – Sprint Cup qualifying; single car/two rounds (NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

7 p.m. – Xfinity driver introductions

7:30 p.m. – Firecracker 250 Xfinity race; 100 laps, 250 miles (NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)