Ryan Newman to remain at Richard Childress Racing with multi-year extension

Ryan Newman will return to Richard Childress Racing next season with a multi-year contract extension, the team announced Monday.

“Ryan’s consistency on the track has been a benefit to our organization and this extension solidifies the future of our racing program,” said Richard Childress, Chairman and CEO of RCR, in a news release. “Ryan proved the first year he was here that we could contend for championships and with this continuation, I believe we can fulfill our commitment to winning races and a championship. Ryan has worked hard to represent many of our partners, especially the primary sponsors Caterpillar, Grainger and WIX Filters, helping them to get the most out of their respective racing programs.”

Newman’s contract was to have ended after this season, his third with RCR.

“I am pleased to continue driving for Richard Childress Racing,” Newman said in a team release. “Our goal to win a championship all but turned into a reality during our first year together. I feel like since then, we have some unfinished business to complete. I’m fortunate to have forged a great relationship with my crew chief Luke Lambert, and I very much want to not only help him reach our goal of winning a Cup championship but also getting him his first Cup victory.” 

Newman finished second in the points in 2014, his first season at Richard Childress Racing. He made the Chase in 2015 and placed 11th. He failed to make the Chase this year.

Newman placed fourth in Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It marked his second top-five finish and ninth top-10 result of the season.

With Newman staying, it likely means that Ty Dillon, who has said that he plans to race in the Sprint Cup Series next season, won’t be driving in NASCAR’s top series for grandfather Richard Childress’ team.

Childress, who will have Austin Dillon, Paul Menard and Newman drive for him next season, has three charters. It’s unlikely that Childress would run a fourth car without a charter. Although he could lease or buy a charter, a more likely option could be to have Ty Dillon drive for another Chevrolet team next season.

Ty Dillon eliminated from Xfinity Chase:“We were terrible today”

CONCORD, N.C. — The difference was one point for Ty Dillon.

Dillon was the first driver out of a transfer spot when the Xfinity Series Chase cut the field from 12 to eight Sunday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Drive for the Cure 300. After finishing 11th, one lap down, team owner Richard Childress apologized on the team’s radio to his grandson after the checkered flag.

“Gave you a piece of (expletive), sorry about that. Man, we just go try to win some races.”

Dillon told NBCSN: “We were terrible today and didn’t give ourselves much of a shot. For whatever reason, our car was not the same today … It’s heartbreaking. We couldn’t even stay on the lead lap. It’s very upsetting. I wanted this championship so bad. It hurts.”

Crew chief Nick Harrison also didn’t hide his disappointment.

“We didn’t have a car fast enough today capable of making it,” he told NBC Sports in the garage. “Disheartening, but part of it. Just got to keep our head up, move on, try to win some races before the year’s up.”

Dillon entered Sunday’s race needing to make up three points to advance. A crash in the Chaser opener at Kentucky Speedway and a 27th-place finish put the team last on the Chase grid. Second place last weekend at Dover International Speedway closed the gap, however, Dillon wound up needing his competitors to have trouble in Charlotte.

Two did in Brennan Poole and Darrell Wallace Jr., but it wasn’t enough. While Poole was eliminated after finishing 18th, Harrison gave credit to Wallace’s team for making up the necessary ground. Dillon, Harrison said, didn’t have a car fast enough to build the gap he needed even though he finished nine spots ahead of Wallace.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Austin Dillon said of his younger brother. “I hate it for him. I don’t know what else we could have done. As a whole, RCR is struggling in the Xfinity Series now. We’ve just got to give him a better car (and) he makes it into the next round.’’

Austin Dillon, who was running a spot ahead of his younger brother, got the free pass on what was the race’s final caution on Lap 185. That left Ty Dillon unable to get on the lead lap and have the opportunity to gain any more positions – and points – that could have helped him advance.

As for what he’ll tell his brother, Austin said, “Go out and try to win races. From right here, it’s nothing fun about it. I wish he was going on to the next round. He really deserves it. It’s just a bummer. The 44 (JJ Yeley) and 48 (Poole) got into it back there, and it made the 44 pit too. And that was another position that he lost. I don’t know. Not good.’’

Harrison will share the same sentiment with his driver when the two sit down and talk about the first round of the Chase.

“I think you just have to move forward and keep your head up and be big boys,” Harrison said. “We’ve had an up and down season, definitely want to get some wins and have been close, we just haven’t. That wreck in Kentucky put us in a hole that we really didn’t need; we could have used our consistency to try and get us is, but we got in a hole, and we didn’t run good enough today to advance.”

LOGANO WINS AT CHARLOTTE, XFINITY ROUND OF 8 FIELD SET

Joey Logano came on strong late to win the NASCAR XFINITY Series Drive for the Cure 300 Presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday. The win is Logano's second of the season and 27th of his XFINITY career.

The Team Penske driver was one of five drivers to run both events on Sunday at Charlotte, joining Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski.

Logano led 12 laps en route to the win at the 1.5-mile track, surging late to overtake a dominant car driven by Larson, who led 165 laps and finished fourth.

Elliott Sadler finished second, with Daniel Suarez in third and Erik Jones rounding out the top five. The top-five effort from Jones secured his spot in the Round of 8 of the first XFINITY Series Chase. Suarez and Sadler won the races at Dover and Kentucky, respectively, to earn their Round of 8 spots.

The following drivers will join them in the next round: Justin Allgaier, Brendan Gaughan, Ryan Reed, Blake Koch and Darrell Wallace Jr.

The four drivers eliminated from the postseason were: Ty Dillon, Brennan Poole, Ryan Sieg and Brandon Jones.

Dillon's 11th-place finish left him one point behind Wallace for the final spot in the Round of 8 field. A battery issue around Lap 120 spoiled a top-five run for Poole and led to an 18th-place finish.

Sunday's race was originally scheduled for Friday night but rain and the remnants of weather from Hurricane Matthew moved the start time to immediately following the Charlotte NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event.

The XFINITY Series Chase will kick off its Round of 8 at Kansas Speedway on Saturday with the Kansas Lottery 300 (3 p.m. ET on Oct. 15, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Facing elimination, Ty Dillon not yet ready to be overly aggressive

CHARLOTTE – For as badly as Ty Dillon is ready to break through the championship ceiling, don’t look for him to operate any differently at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the first Chase elimination race.

“I think with the situation we’re in with this round, just knowing the people that we’re racing to get to that next spot, I don’t think we’ll have to be overly aggressive or do anything out of the norm,” Dillon said Thursday. “I don’t think this is the time or situation for that. If we just execute a good race and don’t overexert ourselves, do stuff that we don’t normally do, we won’t have to worry about doing anything like.

“I think we can just race our way in with the speed that we’ve had all year compared to the guys we’re racing.”

But even as Dillon faces elimination from the first round, his championship or bust mentality is as strong as ever.

“That attitude’s never really changed for me,” Dillon said. “It’s been my attitude since I started racing – I want to win championships. That’s what you’re known for in the sport the most, winning races and winning championships.”

Although Dillon is winless this season, he does not need to win the Drive for the Cure 300 to advance. A runner-up effort last weekend at Dover International Speedway has Dillon three points out of a transfer spot.

“We’re getting better as a team,” Dillon said. “We’re growing in momentum, and as the year winds down and gets tougher and tougher, hopefully, we do, too.”

Ty, the youngest of the Dillon brothers, has watched Austin Dillon earn a championship in both the Camping World Truck and Xfinity Series. Ty, however, has had a much harder go of trying to win his first NASCAR title.

In contention for the Truck Series championship in 2013, Dillon crashed in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Last year, sitting second in Xfinity points, he blamed a blown tire in the fall Dover race for ending his title hopes.

Thursday, he admitted it’s hard not to think about his uphill battle.

“Winning a championship means the world to me,” Dillon said. “So being on the outside coming into a cutoff race you’re obviously thinking about it and thinking about the situation.”

Todd Parrott returns as Sprint Cup crew chief

Veteran crew chief Todd Parrott will return atop the pit box this weekend.

Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing announced Wednesday afternoon that Parrott would serve as the crew chief for its No. 95 Chevrolet for the remainder of the season.

As a crew chief in the Sprint Cup series, Parrott guided drivers to 31 victories, 144 top fives and 230 top 10s. He was the crew chief for Dale Jarrett’s 1999 championship.
Before the 2015 season, Parrott had been hired as the Xfinity Series competition director at Richard Childress Racing, which has an alliance with Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing
Here’s the release from the No. 95 team:

Team leadership at Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing has announced that Todd Parrott will assume crew chief duties for the No. 95 entry in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the remainder of the 2016 season.  Dave Winston will move to a race engineer role within the organization.

“Todd brings a depth of knowledge to our team and I’m excited to have him on top of the pit box at all of our races for the remainder of 2016,” said Jeremy Lange, VP of CSLFR.  “Todd has been calling the races while Ty Dillon has been in the car and we’re pleased to be able to continue our alliance with Richard Childress Racing and use their resources to help our growing team.”

Parrott has more than 20 years of experience in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage and won a championship with driver Dale Jarrett in 1999.

Xfinity Chase grid:Erik Jones on outside ahead of elimination race

With only one race left in the first round of the Xfinity Chase, the No. 1 seed and favorite to win it all isn’t in the top eight.
Erik Jones sits at 10th on the Chase grid, four points out of eighth after a DNF and a 16th-place finish in the first two races.
Also outside the top eight, which will advance to the second round, are Ty Dillon (-3), Ryan Sieg (-10) and Brandon Jones (-18).
Daniel Suarez locked himself into the second round with his Dover win. He’s ahead of Elliott Sadler on the grid after having top-two finishes in both races.
The eight drivers in the next round will be decided by the Drive for the Cure 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Friday night.
Click here to view the Xfinity Chase grid.

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.

Dillon 'There Was Nowhere I Could Go'

Ty Dillon talks about getting caught up in a late-race incident with Erik Jones and being told to park the No. 3 Chevrolet after the crew worked on the car on pit road and in the garage during a red flag.

First Chase Race For Jones, Dillon Ends In Trouble

Late in the race Erik Jones slips getting into Turn 3 and takes out fellow Chase contender, Ty Dillon, at Kentucky Speedway.

Brandon Jones returning to RCR’s No. 33 Xfinity car in 2017

The driver roster for Richard Childress Racing’s Xfinity Series operation in 2017 continues to fill out with the announcement that Brandon Jones will return to the No. 33 car next season.

The news comes with Jones set to begin the inaugural Xfinity Chase as one of its 12 members.

It also joins the announcement from last weekend that Camping World Truck Series driver Daniel Hemric has signed with RCR to drive in the Xfinity Series next year.

Jones enters the Chase with 11 top-10 finishes in 26 starts, but no top fives. The only time he’s led a race was 36 laps at Talladega Superspeedway in April. His average finish is 12.9. His only top five in Xfinity competition came at Kentucky in 2015, when he made five starts.

“Brandon has shown he has the talent behind the wheel to run up front and compete for championships in the Xfinity Series, and we are pleased he will continue to do so in an RCR Chevrolet,” said Richard Childress in a press release. “We are proud of everything he has accomplished this season, including leading laps, making the inaugural Xfinity Series Chase and contending for the Rookie of the Year title. Brandon has also been an excellent spokesman for our sponsors and does an exceptional job representing our brand.”

Jones, 19, is a native of Atlanta. He’s made 30 starts in the Camping World Truck Series since 2013, recording five top fives and no wins. His only win in NASCAR competition came in the K&N Pro Series East at Iowa Speedway in 2014.

“I am honored to return to Richard Childress Racing for the 2017 season,” said Jones in a press release. “RCR is such a storied NASCAR organization and it’s a great opportunity to be a part of the team. Racing full-time in the Xfinity Series this season has been a valuable learning experience. I believe we have what it takes to compete for the championship throughout the Chase this season and make another run at the title in 2017.”

During the Hemric announcement on Saturday, Childress said his grandson Ty Dillon would run “almost a full” Xfinity season next year. Dillon is expected to run full-time in the Sprint Cup Series as well.

TY DILLON SUBS FOR REGAN SMITH AT CHICAGOLAND

With Regan Smith still in North Carolina due to the impending birth of his second child, Ty Dillon will pilot the No. 7 Chevrolet for Tommy Baldwin Racing in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the team announced Sunday morning.

Dillon has practiced all weekend in the No. 7 as Smith flew back to North Carolina to be with wife Megan.

Smith has made all 26 starts in the No. 7 so far this year with two top-10 finishes. Dillon has made eight starts this season in the Sprint Cup Series and served as a relief driver for Tony Stewart at Talladega in the spring.

Dillon is currently a regular in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and will participate in that series' seven-race XFINITY Series Chase, which begins next weekend at Kentucky Speedway.

Smith has taken to Twitter the past few days to keep fans updated on his status. Here are his latest posts.

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.

Elliott Sadler retains Xfinity point lead after rain-filled race at Mid-Ohio

Elliott Sadler is still the leader in the Xfinity Series point standings following his ninth-place finish at Mid-Ohio.

Sadler has a 25-point lead over Daniel Suarez, who finished 23rd.

The top 19 positions in the standings remained unchanged from last week.

Here are the point standings following the 21st race of the year.

Erik Jones fastest in third Xfinity practice at Kentucky

Erik Jones continues to flex his muscle at Kentucky Speedway as he paced the third practice session on Thursday afternoon with a lap of 187.800 mph. Daniel Suarez (187.396) and Kyle Busch (187.084) were the only other drivers to break the 187 mph mark as they clocked in second and third fastest. Ty Dillon (184.395) was fourth quick and Ryan Blaney (183.561), in a second Team Penske car, rounded out the top five.

Jones, Suarez, and Busch were also the fastest three in the previous session.

The Xfinity Series will have one final practice session at 7 p.m. with teams anticipating the weather conditions will mirror those expected at race time on Friday night.

Here are the speeds from the third session.

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

Suarez remains in Xfinity Series points lead after Daytona

Even though he was involved in a late wreck and finished 32nd in Friday’s Subway Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway, Daniel Suarez remains atop the NASCAR Xfinity Series point standings.

But things remain tight between Suarez, second-ranked Elliott Sadler (just six points behind) and third-ranked Ty Dillon (16 points behind Suarez).

Here’s how the standings stack up as the series leaves Daytona:

Chase Elliott will get extra track time and extra help at Sonoma

Chase Elliott will do double duty this weekend at Sonoma Raceway, competing in Sunday’s Sprint Cup race and Saturday’s K&N Pro Series West race.

This weekend marks Elliott’s first time at Sonoma Raceway, a 1.99-mile road course. It’s not uncommon for drivers competing there for the first time to run the companion K&N West race to gain more track time.

Trevor Bayne competed in the K&N West race last year, finishing 10th, a day before his first Cup start at Sonoma. Austin Dillonplaced sixth in last year’s K&N West race to gain extra experience on the road course a day before his second Cup start there. Kyle Larson won the 2014 K&N West race a day before his first Cup start at that track. Elliott is the only Sprint Cup driver on the preliminary entry list for this weekend’s K&N West race.

Elliott has competed in seven road course races in his NASCAR career, six in Xfinity and once in the Camping World Truck Series. He won the 2013 Camping World Truck race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park after contact with leader Ty Dillon on the final corner of the last lap.  

Also this weekend, Hendrick Motorsports stated that Elliott’s father, NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, will serve as a second spotter. It’s not uncommon for teams to use a second spotter on the road course to help with a portion of the track the main spotter might not have as good a view.

Elliott enters this Cup weekend having scored six consecutive top-10 finishes. Kurt Buschhas the series’ longest active streak of top-10 finishes with nine.

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.

Marcus Richmond assumes crew chief role on Cole Custer’s Truck team

After the resignation of Joe Shear Jr. earlier this month, JR Motorsports has named Marcus Richmond the crew chief on the No. 00 of Cole Custer in the Camping World Truck Series.

Richmond takes over duties on Custer’s team heading into the eighth race of the season this weekend at Iowa Speedway.

Richmond has 205 starts as a crew chief in the Truck series and nine victories, including the 2016 season opener at Daytona with Johnny Sauter, who Shear now works with. Richmond helped Ty Dillon earn a runner-up finish in the 2013 championship standings.

“Marcus is a well-known crew chief in the Truck Series garage, and we are delighted he has joined our team,” said Kelley Earnhardt Miller, general manager of JR Motorsports in a press release. “He brings a lot of experience and the kind of steady leadership that can take us to Victory Lane and into the inaugural Chase this season. Paired with Cole and the rest of the team, we are eager to see this new partnership begin at Iowa Speedway.”

Richmond will work with Custer, who is in his first full season in the Truck series. After seven races, Custer is 14th in the point standings. The 18-year-old driver has two Truck wins in the previous two seasons, but his best result this year is fifth a Dover.

“The main reason I came to this team is because they do what it takes to win races, and they have a driver that can win races,” said Richmond in the press release. “I feel like this is a great opportunity to do that here at JR Motorsports, with Cole in the driver’s seat. We are going to have to evaluate where we are with everything and build on it as quickly as possible. With JRM’s knowledge and support from Gene Haas, maybe we can jump to where we need to be quickly. We want to have a good solid plan for the rest of the year.”