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.

Richard Petty Motorsports changes crew chiefs on Aric Almirola’s No. 43 Ford

After missing the Sprint Cup playoffs, Aric Almirola will have a new crew chief for the final 10 races of the season.

Richard Petty Motorsports replaced Trent Owens with Drew Blickensderfer to lead the team for Almirola’s No. 43 Ford. RPM will reassign Owens within the company.

“We are continuing to analyze every part of our organizations and make adjustments where needed,” RPM CEO Brian Moffitt said in a release. “We’ve made significant investments in both teams, and the results for the No. 43 team have not been what we expected. By making this change now, we hope that Drew (Blickensderfer) can begin momentum to improving on-track performance and get the team in a good place for the 2017 season. Trent Owens has been a valued member of our organization and will continue to play a significant role with Richard Petty Motorsports.”

Owens was in his third season as Almirola’s crew chief, guiding the team to the 2014 playoffs with a July victory at Daytona International Speedway.

Blickensderfer, who had served as RPM’s director of R&D, has three victories as a Sprint Cup crew chief, including the 2009 Daytona 500 with Matt Kenseth. He most recently was the crew chief for Sam Hornish Jr. in 10 races last year. Between the Xfinity and Sprint Cup series, Blickensderfer has worked with 13 drivers  and tallied 15 wins, 16 top fives and 104 top 10s.

Results and stats for the Xfinity Series race at Mid-Ohio

The NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course saw the second first-time winner of the season in Just Marks, who led 43 laps on the rain soaked road course.

After eight cautions, the race finished with a top five of Marks, Sam Hornish Jr., Ryan Blaney, Ty Dillon and Justin Allgaier.

Here are the results and stats for the race.

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.

Watch Live: NASCAR America 6-7 pm ET — Hornish wins at Iowa, Reed’s retro look

Today’s episode of NASCAR America airs from 6 – 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Mike Massaro hosts with Dale Jarrett from our Stamford, Connecticut studio, while Steve Letarte and Kyle Petty will be at NBC Sports Charlotte.

On today’s show:

* We’ll recap the racing action this past weekend at Iowa Speedway, including a phone interview with Xfinity winner Sam Hornish Jr.

* Dustin Long gives the latest on the attack upon NASCAR driver Mike Wallace over the weekend.

* We’ll have the revealing of Ryan Reed’s Darlington Speedway throwback paint scheme.

* A recap of Kurt Busch’s visit to the Formula One race in Azerbaijan with the Haas F1 Team.

* Prior to LeBron James’ epic Game 7 on the hardwood, fellow Ohio native Sam Hornish Jr., celebrated in victory lane at Iowa Speedway. We have him LIVE on NASCAR America to discuss his emotion-filled victory and what it was like climbing into a car for the first time in over six months.

* As the Camping World Truck Series crosses the halfway point in its regular season, William Byron has taken the top spot on the Chase Grid from two-time series champion, Matt Crafton. Coming off a K&N Pro Series East title last season, Byron is continuing to emerge as one of NASCAR’s brightest young stars.

If you’re not near a TV, you can watch online or on the NBC Sports app via at the NASCAR stream on NBC Sports.

If you plan to stream the show on your laptop or portable device, be sure to have your username and password from your cable/satellite/telco provider handy so your subscription can be verified.

Once you enter that information, you’ll have access to the stream.

Click here at 6 p.m. ET to watch live via the stream.

NASCAR America: Keys to victory for Sam Hornish Jr. in Iowa

Sam Hornish Jr. returned to action after being away from the track for seven months and was victorious in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway.

Results from Sunday’s American Ethanol E15 250 Xfinity race at Iowa

Sam Hornish Jr. took a one-off race opportunity and made the absolute best of it, dominating en route to a win in Sunday’s American Ethanol E15 250 Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway.

It was Hornish’s first win since May 2014, which ironically enough also came at the .875-mile track in Newton, Iowa.

Here’s the results of Sunday’s race:

Suarez still No. 1 in Xfinity Series standings after Sunday’s race at Iowa

Daniel Suarez maintained his lead in the NASCAR Xfinity Seres standings after finishing fourth in Sunday’s American Ethanol E15 250 at Iowa Speedway.

Suarez leads second-ranked Elliott Sadler by 21 points, followed by Ty Dillon (-35), Justin Allgaier climbed one spot to fourth (-68) andBrandon Jones climbed one spot to fifth (-73).

Erik Jones, who won the pole for Sunday’s race but had a disappointing finish due to fuel issues, dropped three places in the rankings, from fourth to seventh (-79).

Here’s an interesting twist: race winner Sam Hornish Jr., who has not raced since last November’s Sprint Cup Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, jumped 86 places to rank 37th after Sunday’s race.

Here’s how the Xfinity Series standings look after Iowa:

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.

Ben Kennedy fastest in first Xfinity Series practice at Iowa

In his first career Xfinity Series practice session, Ben Kennedy was the fastest driver on the track.

Driving the No. 2 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, Kennedy took a speed of 132.448 mph to the top of the chart during the series’ first practice at Iowa Speedway.

Kennedy is making his Xfinity Series debut in the American Ethanol E15 250.

Following Kennedy was Sam Hornish Jr., who is competing in his first NASCAR race of the season. Hornish also had the best 10-lap average speed at 129.419 mph.

Filling out the top five was Elliott Sadler, Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez.

Speed chart

Ben Kennedy sweeps Xfinity Series practice sessions at Iowa

Driving the No. 2 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, Ben Kennedy completed a sweep of the Xfinity Series’ two practice sessions at Iowa Speedway.

Kennedy, who will make his first start in the Xfinity Series on Sunday, completed the second session with a top speed of 133.809 mph.

The top five was filled out by Brendan Gaughan, Sam Hornish Jr., Erik Jones andAlex Bowman.

Brad Keselowski, one of two Sprint Cup drivers in the field, was eighth fastest.

Speed chart

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.

Sam Hornish Jr., AJ Allmendinger among four who will drive RCR’s No. 2 Xfinity car in five races

Richard Childress Racing announced Wednesday four drivers who will pilot its No. 2 Chevrolet in select Xfinity Series races in the place of Austin Dillon and Paul Menard.

Sam Hornish Jr., AJ Allmendinger, Ben Kennedy and Michael McDowell will split time in the car for five races.

Hornish, who hasn’t raced since the 2015 Sprint Cup finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, will drive the No. 2 car for two races – the July 30 event at Iowa Speedway and at Kentucky Speedway on Sept. 24.

Hornish spent 2015 driving full-time for Richard Petty Motorsports in the Sprint Cup Series before being replaced by Brian Scott. The 2006 Indianapolis 500 winner has three Xfinity Series wins, the most recent coming at Iowa in 2014.

MORE: Sam Hornish Jr.’s Alaska adventure

Allmendinger, who drives for JTG-Daugherty Racing in the Sprint Cup Series, will step into the No. 2 for the Aug. 13 race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. That weekend is an off week for the Cup series.

Allmendinger has two Xfinity Series wins. Both came in 2014, including one at Mid-Ohio.

Kennedy, who drives full-time in the Camping World Truck Series, will make his Xfinity Series debut at Iowa Speedway on June 19. Kennedy has made three starts at Iowa in the Truck series and has one top-10 finish.

McDowell, who competes full-time in Sprint Cup for Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing, will make his first start in Xfinity since 2014 at Road America on Aug. 27. McDowell will seek to defend the No. 2 team’s win at the Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, road course in 2015 with Menard.

McDowell has 12 road course starts in the Xfinity Series, earning three top fives and five top-10 finishes with two pole awards.

Dillon and Menard will split time in the No. 2 for the rest of the season.