NASCAR America: Assessing Ganassi Racing after both cars eliminated from Chase

Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson have both made great improvements and one NASCAR America analysts believes Chip Ganassi Racing is the best it’s ever been, which is why it’s surprising that both drivers were eliminated from the Chase in the Round of 16.

Jamie McMurray loses engine a few laps shy of halfway at Dover

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Chase for the Sprint Cup hopes suffered another blow as Jamie McMurray lost an engine just shy of the halfway point in the Citizen Soldier 400.
McMurray’s No. 1 Chevrolet had been off the pace for many laps before it gave up the ghost on Lap 193.
McMurray, who qualified for his second consecutive Chase, had entered Dover International Speedway 13th on the Chase grid. The top 12 drivers will advance to the second round.
This was the first year owner Chip Ganassi had put both of his cars in the Chase, and it seemed neither will advance from the opening round.
McMurray’s championship aspirations ended while teammate Kyle Larson was running in 32nd, four laps down after a series of miscues and problems.
During a caution for Larson hitting the wall on Lap 183, McMurray told his crew “I have to be down at least two cylinders, maybe three.”
Less than four laps after the restart, McMurray’s car began belching smoke.
“I was really happy with the car; we’ve had good cars for the last two months,” McMurray told NBC Sports. “I’m proud of my team, proud of our guys for all the hard work we put in. It stinks that it’s over this way.”

FOUR TEAMS SET FOR GOODYEAR TIRE TEST AT MARTINSVILLE

Four NASCAR teams will converge Tuesday and Wednesday for a Goodyear tire test at Martinsville Speedway, the lone short track left on the Sprint Cup Series schedule.

The four teams invited will help confirm the tire compound for the Oct. 30 Goody's Fast Relief 500, the seventh event in the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs. Those participating at the .526-mile track are:

The Chip Ganassi Racing No. 1 Chevrolet with driver Jamie McMurray
The Roush Fenway Racing No. 16 Ford with driver Greg Biffle
The Richard Childress Racing No. 27 Chevrolet with driver Paul Menard
The Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota with driver Martin Truex Jr.

Two tests remain on the Sprint Cup schedule for the rest of the year.

Another Goodyear tire test is scheduled at Kansas Speedway on Oct. 17, the day after the 1.5-mile track completes its second NASCAR weekend of the year. NASCAR is also scheduled to conduct an organizational test Oct. 18-19 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, site of the season finales for all three national series as part of Ford Championship Weekend.

How a Corvette Power Wheels car led Brennan Poole to NASCAR

Brennan Poole’s racing career was born from a shopping trip.

Poole’s father, Tom, had aspirations of buying a golf set for his son just after his second birthday. Knowing that most kids start young, Tom wanted Brennan to get used to having a club in his hand. Maybe one day he’d make a career of it.

Those plans changed once the family arrived at the toy store.

“I was walking around with my mom and came across the aisle that has all the big wheels and they had this little Corvette, just a white plastic power wheel that was on the ground,” Poole told NBC Sports. “So I climbed up in it and started driving it around the store. My dad came back with the golf club set and was like, ‘All right, let’s go,’ and when they were trying to get me out of the car I was not a happy camper. I was screaming and crying and just wanted to stay in the car and keep driving.”

After what he called a “long dispute,” Brennan got his way and went home with the Corvette. He drove it nonstop, which left his father with many nights of interrupted sleep. He would often wake up wondering, ‘Did I plug in all the spare batteries?’ If not, Brennan would throw fits.

Brennan Poole in his white Power Wheels car (photo courtesy of Chip Ganassi Racing)

“We took it everywhere,” he said. “I remember when my dad was a manager at a Midas, and when I would go there after preschool or whatever, the car was there, and I would be driving it around next to the cars in the shop. It was just something that I really loved from an early age, just driving something.”

Poole put so many miles on his Power Wheels he went through more than one. Eventually, one of his father’s co-workers, who raced shifter karts, suggested the two spend time together by going to see a quarter-midget race. Tom not only obliged but eventually asked Brennan if it would be something he was interested in trying for himself.

Poole began his quarter-midget career at 5. The rest, as they say, is history. But even when he started racing, Poole didn’t lose his love for driving a Power Wheels car that quickly.

“I had them for a long time,” Poole said. “I used to get all the stickers and stuff and put them all on myself; I loved it. My dad would be working on the quarter-midget in the garage, and I’d be beside him putting decals all over my Power Wheels.”

As for the golf clubs, they also made it to the cashier that day, and Poole did take up golf for a bit when he was younger. In high school, he won a few tournaments but admitted it was never a natural love. All he wanted to do was race.

“I think it was kind of the first moment that I got to drive something, and something just clicked in my heart,” Poole said of the trip to the store. “I feel like God put that in my heart at an early age, and so I feel like it was kind of destiny almost to be at the store that day, that Corvette being on the floor and me hopping in and driving it. That’s kind of what led to me getting in a quarter-midget and starting racing.”

In his first full-time season in the Xfinity Series for Chip Ganassi Racing, Poole will enter the series’ inaugural Chase in Saturday’s opener at Kentucky Speedway.

As he seeks his first career Xfinity win, that fateful day at the store is never far from his mind.

“I’ve got a picture that’s taped on my bathroom mirror, and it’s a picture of me in the backyard at our house in California, and my dad is showing me something with the Corvette,” Poole said. “I’ve got some notes that I’ve written to myself also around that picture that are just a reminder for me of what God has done for me and where I’m at and just how incredible the journey from that moment and to now.

“To be in one of the highest series in motorsports in the world, man, it’s just really amazing. When you’re able to look back on all these cool moments, and I think of the path and everything and how I got to this point, it’s just really amazing.”

DILLON WRECKS IN LARSON-LED FIRST SPRINT CUP PRACTICE

Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Austin Dillon crashed into the outside wall of New Hampshire Motor Speedway's Turn 1 late in Friday's first Sprint CupSeries practice session, and suffered significant damage to the right rear of the No. 3 Chevrolet that will require a move to a backup car. He finished the session 32nd (132.813 mph).




WATCH: Dillon hit the wall

The session was led by Kyle Larson, who topped the leaderboard at 135.941 mph in the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.


Right behind him was Chase Elliott in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at 135.893 mph.


Rounding out the top five were Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas RacingChevrolet at 135.757 mph, Carl Edwards in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at 135.738 mph and series points leader Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota 135.709 mph.


Sprint Cup drivers return to the track at 4:45 p.m. ET for Coors Light Qualifying (NBCSN, NBC Sports App). The next practice session is Saturday at 9 a.m. ET (CNBC, NBC Sports App).

Kyle Larson WINS Fontana Auto Club Speedway 2014 NASCAR XFINITY Series

Home Video from my trip to the 2014 TreatMyClot.com 300, NASCAR Nationwide Series race at the Auto Club Speedway.. Hope you enjoy this Comp!

DENNY HAMLIN WINS REGULAR-SEASON FINALE AT RICHMOND

RICHMOND, Va. – Denny Hamlin won a wild race at his home track, and the top four Chase hopefuls entering Saturday night's Federated Auto Parts 400 all held serve at Richmond International Raceway in an event that ended in overtime after a record 16 cautions.

Jamie McMurray locked up a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with a seventh-place finish, and Austin Dillon did likewise with a 13th-place run.

Sunoco rookies Chase Elliott and Chris Buescher both weathered some tense moments to qualify for NASCAR's 10-race playoff, the first time two rookies have ever been included in the Chase field—and the first time any rookie has made the Chase since Hamlin accomplished the feat in 2006.

Elliott brought out the third caution of the night after contact with the Turn 1 wall, but he recovered to finish 19th to earn his Chase spot with room to spare.

Buescher, on the other hand, had to make a precautionary green-flag pit stop on Lap 308 of 407 because of a tire that was deflating and lost two laps in the process. But Buescher regained the lead lap during a spate of late cautions and came home 24th, his path to the Chase made easier when David Ragan, his chief rival for 30th place in the Sprint Cup standings, was eliminated in a eight-car accident on Lap 363.

Hamlin took control of the race when his pit crew handed him the lead under caution on Lap 322. Six cautions followed, the last of which sent the race to overtime when Regan Smith slammed the outside wall on Lap 399 of a scheduled 400.

Kyle Larson pitted for fresh tires under the yellow and streaked from 12th to second on the two-lap overtime run, but the driver of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet didn't have time to catch Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, which crossed the finish line with a margin of victory of .609 seconds.

Hamlin, who grew up in nearby Chesterfield, was elated to win the race in front of his home crowd.

"That's what’s so special about it," said Hamlin, who started from the pole and led the last 86 laps (189 total) on the way to his third victory of the season, his third at the .75-mile track and the 29th of his career. "You get to do it at home.

"I see all the extra Denny Hamlin shirts and hats and everything, and it just fires me up every time I get here. This was a great car, and hopefully we can use it in the Chase."

RELATED: See all of Hamlin's wins

Martin Truex Jr. ran third, followed by Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick. Kasey Kahne, who needed a victory to advance to the Chase, ran sixth after a hard-fought run to the finish. McMurray, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano completed the top 10.

With the exception of Kahne, all top-10 finishers on Saturday will compete in the Chase.

Ryan Newman's hopes of an eleventh-hour Chase miracle ended abruptly on Lap 363 when contact between his No. 31 Chevrolet and Tony Stewart’s No. 14 Chevy sent both cars out of control, blocking the track at the entry to Turn 3.

All told, eight cars were in the accident, but no driver was more incensed than Newman, who was racing hard with Stewart for the 10th position in a last-ditch attempt to make the Chase by winning the race.

"The No. 14 (Stewart) cut across my nose into Turn 1, and I got into him after that, but he'd already chopped into me and messed up my line, and I clipped him a little bit coming off of (Turn) 2," Newman said of Stewart, who was racing at Richmond for the last time in a Sprint Cup car. ...

"And then he just drove across my nose on the back straightaway. We'll keep fighting like we always do. It's just unfortunate not to end the way we wanted to. It's just disappointing that you've got somebody old like that, that should be retired the way he drives. It's just ridiculous."

RELATED: Late wreck derails Newman's Chase hopes

Not surprisingly, Stewart had a different perspective.

"That was the third time he'd driven into me during the night, and how many times does a guy get a free pass until you've had enough of it?" said the three-time champion.  "He's got to do his part racing for a championship, too, and to race to get in there, and if you're going to run into guys -- I go into (Turn) 1 and he dive bombs in there.

"I'm already coming down, so it's not like I was trying to squeeze him in the infield or something. Ryan and I have been good friends. I don't do that to him. But he hits me in 1, he hits me off of 2, and it's like the third time by that time. There was once early in the race that nobody saw. Three times, that's two more times than I normally let somebody run into me."

And as to Newman’s suggestion Stewart should be retired already?

"He'll get his wish in 10 weeks," Stewart said. "He'll get his wish. Maybe next year without us here, he'll get his spot in the Chase that way."

The Lap 363 pileup that ended Newman's Chase hopes—and ended with Dylan Lupton's Toyota on the hood of Newman's car—also locked Buescher into NASCAR's playoff with the elimination of Ragan from the race.

"It was a crazy race," said Buescher, the first driver to represent Front Row Motorsports in the Chase. "I can't believe how many cautions we had. We got involved in one of the accidents, had a tire go down, just a very eventful day. Just so proud to be here."

Elliott was just relieved to shed the stress of an eventful race.

"I just think we have to first off be thankful that we were able to get in tonight after the night we had," Elliott said. "I can't thank my guys for working as hard as they did.

"I've never had to go through—I'm sure they haven't either—all the stuff we went through tonight, so hats off to them, fixing our car multiple times."

Notes: With four victories this season, Kyle Busch starts the Chase next Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway as the top seed with 2,012 points, the same total earned by second-seeded Keselowski, also a four-time winner ... With three victories and 2,009 points, Hamlin is the No. 3 seed, followed by Harvick, Carl Edwards, Truex, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, Larson, Stewart, Kurt Busch, Buescher, Elliott, Dillon and McMurray. ... Truex's No. 78 Toyota failed the laser inspection station after the race. If penalties are warranted, they will be announced before the Chase begins.

DIVERSITY GRADUATE KYLE LARSON SCORES FIRST SPRINT CUP WIN

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 28, 2016) – Kyle Larson won Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway to become the first graduate of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity and the NASCAR Next programs to win at the sanctioning body’s top level.

Larson, the 24-year-old Elk Grove, California, native of Japanese-American heritage, has already won in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. His first win came in 2013 at Rockingham Speedway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He has since won another NASCAR Camping World Truck race, as well as four NASCAR XFINITY Series races.

The win at Michigan was the latest in a long line of 'firsts' accomplished by Larson in his young career. Among the highlights:

In 2014, Larson became the first NASCAR D4D and NASCAR Next product to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole (Pocono Raceway), as well as the first to win the Sunoco Rookie of the Year.

In 2013, he became the first NASCAR D4D graduate to win the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.

Larson previously became the first NASCAR D4D competitor to win a NASCAR Touring Series championship. Driving for Rev Racing, Larson won the 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East title and the Sunoco Rookie of the Year.

On Sunday, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver won the Pure Michigan 400, driving the No. 42 Chevrolet, leading a race-high 41 laps in his 99th career start.

With the win, Larson clinches a spot in NASCAR’s playoffs – the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

NASCAR Next is an industry-wide initiative designed to spotlight to best and brightest rising young stars in racing. NASCAR Drive for Diversity, operated by Rev Racing, is an academy-style development program for female and multicultural drivers and crew members who have the potential and determination to succeed at the highest levels of NASCAR. Larson raced under both banners in 2012.

Team engineer to serve as Kyle Larson’s interim crew chief at Michigan

Chip Ganassi Racing announced Friday on Twitter that Phil Surgen will serve as the interim crew chief for Kyle Larson‘s team this weekend at Michigan International Speedway. Crew chief Chad Johnston is serving a one-race suspension for a lug nut violation at Pocono.

Surgen joined the team before this season. He’s worked for various teams in the last decade, including Richard Childress Racing.

Johnston is the fourth Sprint Cup crew chief to miss a race weekend because of a lug nut violation since the rule was updated before the May 1 Talladega race.

Car owner Chip Ganassi was critical in a SiriusXM NASCAR Radio interview of the new lug nut policy and how it was taking the focus away from other areas NASCAR should dealing with.

NASCAR issues warnings to six Sprint Cup teams

NASCAR gave warnings to six Sprint Cup teams for inspection issues last weekend at Pocono Raceway.

Regan Smith‘s Tommy Baldwin Racing team received its fourth warning after failing the Laser Inspection Station twice before last weekend’s race. Smith’s team will lose its pit stall selection this weekend at Michigan International Speedway. Teams lose their pit stall pick after every fourth warning.

Other Sprint Cup teams that received warnings Wednesday:

Matt DiBenedetto‘s BK Racing team received its second warning after failing the Laser Inspection Station twice before last weekend’s race.

Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing, which had Ty Dillon in its car last weekend, received its second warning after failing template inspection twice before qualifying.

Jamie McMurray‘s Chip Ganassi Racing team was issued its first warning after failing template inspection twice before the race.

Aric Almirola‘s Richard Petty Motorsports team received its first warning after failing the Laser Inspection Station twice before qualifying.

Danica Patrick‘s Stewart-Haas Racing team received its first warning after failing template inspection twice before qualifying.

Felix Sabates: NASCAR ‘should have’ penalized Tony Stewart

Felix Sabates, a co-owner of Chip Ganassi Racing, said he agreed with comments Tony Stewart made last week about lug nut safety, but he believes NASCAR “should have” fined Stewart $35,000.

“The reason for that is, we all have to have a united front,” Sabates told reporters over the weekend at Richmond International Raceway, according to AutoWeek’s Matt Weaver. “You can’t have somebody shooting their mouth about this sport because it hurts with the sponsors.”

NASCAR fined Stewart the day he announced he would return to driving the No. 14 Chevrolet after missing the first eight races of the season because of a fractured back he sustained in an all-terrain vehicle accident in January. Soon after, the Drivers Council announced it would pay the fine for Stewart.

Sabates, 70, is a minority owner in Ganassi’s team. A native of Cuba, Sabates initially fielded an entry in NASCAR with Kyle Petty in the No. 42 beginning in 1989. He is also a confidant of NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France, even buying a yacht from France in recent years.

According to Autoweek, Sabates was in attendance at just his second race this season after a “health scare” when he made his comments, which included predicting how Stewart would fare in his shortened, final season.

“You have one of the premier drivers, well he used to be anyway and now he’s an old guy,” Sabates said. “He’s a nice guy, and I love him to death, but Tony is not going to win anything. He’s old. And I’m old. I can’t do what I used to be able to do, so it got nothing to do with anything other than age. He’s been hurt.”

Stewart hasn’t won since June 2013 at Dover. A Ganassi-owned car hasn’t won a points race since the October 2013 race at Talladega.

“Anyway, he should have come back and not said anything,” Sabates said. “He should have gone to NASCAR and said to NASCAR, ‘Hey, I disagree,’ and by the way, I agree with him on that, too.

“I agree with him that we shouldn’t have some teams taking a risk only putting three or four lug nuts on. I think it should be five lug nuts, and if they’re not tight, you bring the car back in. So Tony is right. I agree with him. It’s a safety issue. He should have handled it a different way. So he got penalized $35,000, and he’s lucky he got the (Drivers Council) to pay it for him.”