KANSAS CITY, Kan. – The first round of the first Chase for NASCAR's XFINITY Series trimmed the field of championship hopefuls from 12 to eight.
The three-race subset also served as a learning tool for those who advanced to the second round, which begins Saturday with the Kansas Lottery 300 (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) here atKansas Speedway.
"I learned that in the first race of the first round the intensity level was very high,"Daniel Suarez (Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota) said Friday. "It was definitely more high than what I was expecting."
Elliott Sadler (JR Motorsports No. 1 Chevrolet) won the Chase opener held atKentucky Speedway. Suarez was a close second, won the following week at Dover and finished third last weekend at Charlotte, unofficially taking the mantle of Chase favorite with four races remaining.
"I thought everyone was going to go out there to try to be consistent and to try to make it for the next round and that wasn't the case," Suarez said. "Everyone was going for the win and everything got a little crazy in the first race in Kentucky.
"But, honestly I'm very proud of everyone …. We had three races with three top-three finishes which I think is something really good for the first round. We have to do exactly the same thing for the second round and after that try to put ourselves in a good position for Homestead and pull everything we have for that last race and the most important race of the year."
Sprint Cup Series regular Joey Loganowon the Charlotte event, the only race not won by an XFINITY Series regular in the Round of 12.
Suarez, 24, said he expects the level of intensity seen in that opening race to return here this weekend as drivers and teams try to knock out an early win and qualify for the Round of 8.
"For some reason everyone – I thought everyone was going to be more relaxed in the first race but for some reason everyone was very, like I said, the intensity level was very high," he said. "And, then for the second race it was lower and everyone was more relaxed because everyone was a little bit too crazy in the first one. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same in this second round.
"I don't think that I was myself, I don't think I got super crazy in Kentucky and we ended up with a pretty good result. Actually I felt like we should've won that race, we just came up one lap short.
"I felt like everything that we learned the whole year we are trying to put that in the most important part of the year in the Chase in the first round and second round in order to get to the last race at Homestead and so far it's been working out. So, hopefully we can keep it up and move forward."
Suarez, Sadler and Jones are the only drivers in the postseason with victories this season.
Gaughan, who has 15 top 10s, including a season-best runner-up at Road America, said the first round taught his team that "organizationally, to make sure we are prepared.
"Make sure … we have everything kind of set and ready.
"Another thing Shane (Wilson, crew chief) and I learned was (we) still are clowns that do it our way. It works for us. We don't scream and yell. … He doesn't get down on me when I hit a wall twice at Kentucky. And I don't bark at him when I think he makes the wrong call on pit road or we unload and it doesn't handle quite the way I want.
"We're going to do it the way we think it needs to be done, stay patient and stay on each other’s team. A lot of pressure comes on these guys … and a lot of people succumb to that pressure."
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers have won the last three XFINITY Series races at Kansas.
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.
NASCAR.com will live stream post-race inspection Tuesday from 8-11:30 a.m. ET at the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina.
Tune in for a three-hour view of the inspection floor of the 61,000-square-foot shop, bringing you behind the scenes as NASCAR officials tear down and inspect Sprint Cup Series vehicles following Sunday's Citizen Soldier 400 at Dover International Speedway.
The cars selected for further evaluation at the R&D Center this week are:
-- The No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota of race winner Martin Truex Jr.
-- The No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of second-place finisher Kyle Busch.
-- The No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet of Kevin Harvick.
-- The No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet of Tony Stewart
-- The No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet of Austin Dillon.
For more details about the inspection process, click here.
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.
NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. -- Paint peels and memories fade but the echoes of the past still ring off the hillsides here.
Twenty years ago today, the checkered flag fell on the final NASCAR premier series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Bob Flock won the first race, in 1949 and on dirt. Jeff Gordon won the last, in 1996 and on asphalt. The two races serve as bookends for a track that even after 20 years of silence serves as a reminder of the sport's colorful past.
For 48 years and 93 races, NASCAR teams made the trek to the secluded .625-mile track in the Brushy Mountains of northwestern North Carolina.
"It's one of the sport's most historic tracks, one that really helped put NASCAR on the map," car owner Richard Childress said. "A lot of people overlook that. But a lot of great things happened there. (Former series sponsor) R.J. Reynolds really supported it; Holly Farms back in the day … all those things were important to building our sport to what it is today."
Built by Wilkes County resident Enoch Staley and partners Lawson Curry and Jack and Charlie Combs, North Wilkesboro Speedway was a venue unlike any other -- in part because the front straightaway ran slightly downhill and the backstretch uphill.
It opened in 1947, two years before the debut of NASCAR's Strictly Stock Series, and hosted its first NASCAR premier series event in October of '49.
The Wilkes 200 featured a 22-car field and was the final race of the inaugural season for NASCAR's new featured series. Flock won the race but it was Red Byron, finishing 16th, who captured the series' first championship.
RELATED: Veterans share fond memories of track
'I felt like I was lost'
Thirty-eight drivers made it to Victory Lane at North Wilkesboro through the years, including 19 members currently in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Richard Petty mastered the track, winning a record 15 times; Darrell Waltrip won 10 times.
No active full-time driver competing in the premier series today made a single start at the track.
Gordon was the last to win at North Wilkesboro in NASCAR's top division and the last active driver to compete there.
"I saw somewhere this year the last eight laps or so of the (final) race," Gordon told NASCAR.com. "That's the cool thing about it. If you look at the cars, there were no splitters, the air dams weren't on the ground, nothing was all sealed up. It was all about mechanical grip. Springs and shocks played a role. The driver played a role. Managing the tires and the brakes played a role. It was nice to be able to go there and focus on those things.
"North Wilkesboro was probably one of the most challenging short tracks that we went to. Hard to get ahold of, very slick, really unique. The banking and radius of the corners as well as the uphill, downhill aspect of it. It was just really old school. Very old school and I felt like I was lost the first couple of times that I went there.
"That's why that pole meant a lot to me the year before, because I felt like 'Boy, I don't know if I have what it takes to get around this track' and then the next year to win the race? I'm sure that's what was going through my mind; I thought I'd never win at this place."
Ray Evernham helped guide Gordon to three championships as crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. But it took some doing, and eight career starts, before the duo solved the riddle of the unique little track.
"I just loved that place," Evernham said. "The fact that it would change throughout the day and you really had to manage your car and you really, honestly, had to worry about mechanical grip back then. The fact that it was two completely different corners. Any of the tracks that had a real history to me and were real challenging were tracks I really wanted to win at. Just because of the design and surface (at North Wilkesboro), it didn't matter if you had a good motor, none of that mattered.
"It was really about the pureness of what stock car racing was -- you had to get your car to handle, you had to get your driver to hang in there, your pit crew guys had to be good. It wasn't about all the latest and greatest technology; it was about pure racing."
The first race NASCAR race at North Wilkesboro came in 1949 -- and it was on dirt.
Through the years
North Wilkesboro Speedway was the site of so much throughout its four-plus decades as a part of NASCAR's annual schedule. Close finishes and close calls; rivalries renewed and rivalries begun; and at least one finish that's memorable because it wasn't close at all.
Just a few that stand out:
• The spring race of 1955, the Wilkes County 160, saw Buck Baker edge Dick Rathmann for the win. The margin of victory, officially 3 feet, was the closest winning margin in the seven-year history of the series.
• Two years later, in the spring of 1957, Fireball Roberts won the 100-mile race without making a single pit stop. The big news, though, was that this was the last race on dirt at North Wilkesboro.
• Lee Petty's first North Wilkesboro win came in 1959. And it was his only victory with the Petty Enterprises' No. 43, a number later made somewhat famous by his son, Richard.
• The win for Junior Johnson in October of 1965 was the hometown favorite's 50th and final as a driver. In all, Johnson won four times at North Wilkesboro. His teams went on to earn 15 more victories with the Ingle Hollow, North Carolina, native as an owner.
• On Oct. 1, 1967, Richard Petty won the Wilkes 400 for his 10th consecutive victory and his 27th on the season. Both records remain unmatched.
• Another Petty item -- this one involving Bobby Allison, who was one of the King's biggest rivals back in the day -- took place in '72.
"There wasn't a winner's circle; you just stopped on the race track," Petty's championship winning crew chief Dale Inman recalled. "I guess Richard and Bobby, the last five or six laps got to bumping each other; got to bumping each other pretty hard.
"We just stopped on the race track and that was the winner's circle. Richard got out of the car and handed Maurice (Petty, Richard's brother and the team's engine builder) his helmet and somebody came up and put their hands on Richard. Maurice hit him right in the face with the helmet.
"When Maurice hit him, he staggered over and I caught him. He said, 'What'd he hit me for?' I said, 'Hell, I don't know.' "
• In 1989, Goodyear officials successfully debuted the company's radial race tire in a race won by Dale Earnhardt.
Earnhardt won five times at North Wilkesboro and finished second on six occasions. It was a rare race that didn't see the "Intimidator" in contention, much as Waltrip and Petty had been dominant earlier.
RELATED: How end of "tire war" started at track
Dale Earnhardt won five times at North Wilkesboro, including the 1989 race that ushered in the ending of the "tire war."
Earnhardt passed us so often one time there we thought there were two of 'em on the track," said Wood Brothers Racing co-owner Eddie Wood.
• The Tyson Holly Farms 400 in 1994 featured only one driver on the lead lap at the finish -- race winner Geoffrey Bodine. It was the last premier series event in which the winner lapped the entire field.
• Terry Labonte tied Richard Petty's consecutive starts record at North Wilkesboro; Ernie Irvan returned to competition at the track after being critically injured 14 months earlier; Harry Gant's streak of four consecutive wins in the month of September came to an end at North Wilkesboro.
So much happened at such a tiny facility. But that was what made the track so enjoyable and so memorable.
'Just an awesome race track'
Former NBA all-star Brad Daugherty became a race fan in part because of the numerous treks with family to watch the NASCAR races at North Wilkesboro. Today he remains involved in college basketball and the NBA as an analyst for ESPN.
He's also involved in NASCAR -- he's the Daugherty in the JTG Daugherty Racing team that fields the No. 47 Sprint Cup team with driver AJ Allmendinger.
"I used to go there a lot … I mean we went every year," Daugherty said. "We'd go watch that Holly Farms race every year. Just awesome.
"Actually that's where I got to know Junior Johnson really well as a young fella. Me and my dad and my uncle, I've got to give my uncle all the credit, we used to go to North Wilkesboro and Bristol a lot. But he loved going to North Wilkesboro and I did, too. It was great. We'd spend all day, driving over from Asheville, winding our way up through there and getting to the race track.
"I remember getting there and seeing all the cars -- the Tide car, the Levi Garrett car, the Skoal car. It was just a wonderful race track and I was just so disappointed that it went away. It was just an awesome race track."
Childress, an owner/driver for just over a decade before turning his attention solely to ownership, called the track "one of my favorites."
"That and Martinsville were my two home tracks," the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, native said. "I had some good runs and good finishes there. The fans, how they got into it, was just amazing. Those fans were true to Junior Johnson. It was just quite a deal to go back up there and race.
"I can remember back when I ran there; I remember spinning out one time, it had just rained and the track was wet. Enoch Staley owned the track … I never will forget. I spun out, went across the grass back there on the back side of the track and tore down one of his fences.
"He came over there raising hell about me tearing down his fence; he didn't care anything about the fact that I had my old car torn all to pieces. But that's just the way he was."
Jeff Gordon went down in history as the final winner at North Wilkesboro Speedway in 1996.
One last hurrah
The weekend of Sept. 27-29, 1996, was the final NASCAR race weekend at North Wilkesboro. Two races were held -- the Lowe's 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Saturday followed by Sunday's Tyson Holly Farms 400.
The Truck Series race was stop No. 20 of 24 for the season and it was just the second time the series visited the legendary facility.
Sunday's premier series race was No. 27 of 31 for the 1996 season. It was the last season in which the schedule consisted of 31 races. The following year at the request of the track's new owners, the spring date at North Wilkesboro was moved to Texas Motor Speedway while the fall date went in as the second of two dates at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Friday, Sept. 27: Following a 3 p.m. ET start, rain interrupted first-round qualifying with 13 of 40 drivers still waiting to get on track. Bobby Hamilton, driving the popular No. 43 Pontiac fielded by Petty Enterprises, was fastest before the delay.
After a 2 1/2-hour wait, Gordon was first out on the track, and the defending series champion quickly put his Chevrolet on top with a lap of 117.937 mph. The run held until Ted Musgrave, driving the No. 16 Family Channel/Primestar Ford Thunderbird for car owner Jack Roush, won the pole with a lap of 118.054 mph. It was Musgrave's first pole of the season and the fifth and final No. 1 starting spot of his career.
Hamilton wound up third, with Mark Martin and Irvan completing the top five.
In the Truck Series, all but five drivers had made qualifying attempts when rain returned and darkness forced officials to postpone the remainder of the program until Saturday. Rookie Johnny Benson had the fastest lap when qualifying was stopped. Rain was in the Saturday forecast and had it continued, leaving officials to set the lineup by the rule book, Benson would have failed to qualify as he had only two previous starts that season.
Saturday, Sept. 28: Second-round qualifying was still in place for the Cup Series, allowing drivers to stand on their first-round times or make a second attempt. Only the top 25 locked in times from first round the previous day. The practice was done away with following the 2000 season, with only one round used to determine the lineup.
Six drivers made second-round attempts, with Hut Stricklin fastest and Dale Jarrett also improving on his first day's effort. Provisionals went to Bodine, Lake Speed, Robert Pressley, Jeff Green and Darrell Waltrip (past champion's provisional).
Ward Burton, Dick Trickle and Gary Bradberry failed to qualify.
Rain following the Truck Series race cut short final practice for Cup teams. Gordon completed just 15 laps when his car developed engine problems, later traced to debris in the carburetor.
In the Truck Series race later that day, Mark Martin won in just his second start in the series to become only the third driver at that time to win at least one race in all three of NASCAR's national tours.
For posterity, the entire field posed for a picture prior to the last race at the fabled .625-mile track.
Sunday, Sept. 29: More than 40,000 fans were on hand to witness the final premier series race at North Wilkesboro. Many carried signs with, "We'll miss you North Wilkesboro," "Farewell Old Friend" or similar messages.
Television coverage was provided by ESPN Speedworld; it was the 30th premier series race broadcast from the track by the network, which had begun airing races from Wilkesboro in 1982.
The race featured eight different leaders, but it was Gordon who had the dominant car. He led at halfway, collecting a $10,000 bonus, and moved past Earnhardt after a restart with 79 laps remaining to grab the lead for the final time.
When the checkered flag appeared, it was Gordon across the stripe first, with Earnhardt, Jarrett, Jeff Burton and Labonte rounding out the top five.
Evernham said the win was special because "we knew it was going to be the last race there."
"For a little bit of time there the short tracks had almost been our Achilles' heel and we got a handle on it," he said. "And that's the year we won 10 races, so we were pretty proud of that accomplishment; I was really proud of that even though we had won the championship in '95. I felt like we were becoming one of the dominant teams.
"When you could beat guys like (Dale) Earnhardt, Junior Johnson's cars and those people at North Wilkesboro, you deserved to be there."
In addition to being his 10th win of the season, it was also Gordon's third in a row, coming on the heels of victories at Dover and Martinsville.
"We were on a pretty good roll that year," Gordon said. "Winning wasn't outside of the realm but at the same time, knowing it was the last race there … now looking back on it, it's extremely special to me because it was the last race and because it was such a tough, challenging race track.
"To be good on the short tracks meant a lot back then."
Bill Brodrick, known as the Hat Man, was waiting in Victory Lane, situated on top of a building in the infield. So, too, was team owner Rick Hendrick and the rest of Gordon's crew.
Several hours later, the gates swung shut at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The fans had departed. And this time, NASCAR had, too.
MORE: Classic Dale Jr. story: Angry dad, purple gas jug.
Two races into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and several drivers are in jeopardy of not advancing past the Round of 16, which ends next Sunday at Dover International Speedway (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Let's find out which drivers are resting comfortably following Sunday's Bad Boy Off Road 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Who's hot: Kevin Harvick. Harvick came into Loudon one point shy of advancement after a dismal showing (20th) in the Chase opener in Chicago. The 2014 champion and the man nicknamed "The Closer" came on strong on the final restart to take the lead on Lap 295 and nab a win and a locked-in spot in the Round of 12. The victory, in which he only led eight laps, has to erase a little bit of the bitter taste from last fall's race at New Hampshire, where Harvick led 216 laps but ran out of fuel with two to go.
Matt Kenseth. Kenseth came into this race with two straight wins at the "Magic Mile" and looked to be closing in on his third-straight win before Harvick surged on a late restart. The 2003 champion led 105 laps en route to a runner-up finish and moved up to fourth in the standings, 25 points to the good of transferring into the next round.
Kyle Larson. A top-10 finish at Loudon moved Larson from 15th in the standings (two points back of the last transfer spot) to 12th and five points to the good. It was an up-and-down weekend for the third-year driver, who didn't show the same speed in the race he had shown in practice. Still, he is on the right side of the bubble heading to Dover, where the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates driver has an average finish of 6.2 and led 85 laps in the spring en route to a runner-up finish.
Who's not: Tony Stewart: The three-time champion was stuck a lap down for much of the second half of the race and finished 23rd, the second-lowest finish among the Chase field. The result had to be disappointing for "Smoke" after a runner-up showing at New Hampshire in July. Following a summer surge thanks to his Sonoma win, Stewart has not notched a top-10 finish in six races and is on the wrong side of the Chase cut line heading to Dover.
Austin Dillon. The weekend started rough when a wreck in the latter stages of the opening practice forced the Richard Childress Racing No. 3 team to pull out a backup car. Dillon's 16th-place finish was aided by a few late cautions to get him back on the lead lap, but he is still five points behind the cutoff line. On top of that, his overall numbers at Dover (see below) have the Chase rookie in a very tough spot to advance.
Four in, four out: Here's a look at the Chase bubble, with four drivers being eliminated after the third race of this round, at Dover International Speedway.
CHASE BUBBLE WATCH
STANDING DRIVER POINT DIFFERENTIAL FROM CUTOFF
9. Chase Elliott +16
10. Carl Edwards +16
11. Kurt Busch +15
12. Kyle Larson +5
------------ CUT-OFF LINE ------------
13. Jamie McMurray -5
14. Austin Dillon -5
15. Tony Stewart -11
16. Chris Buescher -30
Up next: Citizen Soldier 400 at Dover International Speedway, Sunday Oct. 2, 2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Who it favors
Most wins: 10 (Jimmie Johnson, most all-time)
Best driver rating: 118.1 (Jimmie Johnson-29 races), 108.5 (Matt Kenseth-35 races)
Best average finish: 3.0 (Chase Elliott-one race), 6.2 (Kyle Larson-five races), 9.6 (Jimmie Johnson-29 races)
Who it hurts
Fewest top 10s: 0 (Austin Dillon-six races, Chris Buescher-one race)
Worst driver rating: 48.8 (Chris Buescher-one race), 66.2 (Austin Dillon-six races), 70.6 (Tony Stewart-34 races)
Worst average finish: 26.7 (Austin Dillon-six races), 18.6 (Denny Hamlin-21 races), 18.2 (Kurt Busch-32 races)
Two races into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and several drivers are in jeopardy of not advancing past the Round of 16, which ends next Sunday at Dover International Speedway (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Let's find out which drivers are resting comfortably following Sunday's Bad Boy Off Road 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Who's hot: Kevin Harvick. Harvick came into Loudon one point shy of advancement after a dismal showing (20th) in the Chase opener in Chicago. The 2014 champion and the man nicknamed "The Closer" came on strong on the final restart to take the lead on Lap 295 and nab a win and a locked-in spot in the Round of 12. The victory, in which he only led eight laps, has to erase a little bit of the bitter taste from last fall's race at New Hampshire, where Harvick led 216 laps but ran out of fuel with two to go.
Matt Kenseth. Kenseth came into this race with two straight wins at the "Magic Mile" and looked to be closing in on his third-straight win before Harvick surged on a late restart. The 2003 champion led 105 laps en route to a runner-up finish and moved up to fourth in the standings, 25 points to the good of transferring into the next round. Adding to his good karma: Kenseth is the most recent winner at Dover, the series' next stop before four drivers are eliminated from the Chase.
Who's not: Tony Stewart: The three-time champion was stuck a lap down for much of the second half of the race and finished 23rd, the second-lowest finish among the Chase field. The result had to be disappointing for "Smoke" after a runner-up showing at New Hampshire in July. Following a summer surge thanks to his Sonoma win, Stewart has not notched a top-10 finish in six races and is on the wrong side of the Chase cut line heading to Dover.
Austin Dillon. The weekend started rough when a wreck in the latter stages of the opening practice forced the Richard Childress Racing No. 3 team to pull out a backup car. Dillon's 16th-place finish was aided by a few late cautions to get him back on the lead lap, but he is still five points behind the cutoff line. On top of that, his overall numbers at Dover (see below) have the Chase rookie in a very tough spot to advance.
Four in, four out: Here's a look at the Chase bubble, with four drivers being eliminated after the third race of this round, at Dover International Speedway.
CHASE BUBBLE WATCH
STANDINGDRIVERPOINT DIFFERENTIAL FROM CUTOFF
9.Chase Elliott+16
10.Carl Edwards+16
11.Kurt Busch+15
12.Kyle Larson+5
------------CUT-OFF LINE------------
13.Jamie McMurray-5
14.Austin Dillon-5
15.Tony Stewart-11
16.Chris Buescher-30
Up next: Citizen Soldier 400 at Dover International Speedway, Sunday Oct. 2, 2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Who it favors
Most wins: 10 (Jimmie Johnson, most all-time)
Best driver rating: 118.1 (Jimmie Johnson-29 races), 108.5 (Matt Kenseth-35 races)
Best average finish: 3.0 (Chase Elliott-one race), 6.2 (Kyle Larson-five races), 9.6 (Jimmie Johnson-29 races)
Who it hurts
Fewest top 10s: 0 (Austin Dillon-six races, Chris Buescher-one race)
Worst driver rating: 48.8 (Chris Buescher-one race), 66.2 (Austin Dillon-six races), 70.6 (Tony Stewart-34 races)
Worst average finish: 26.7 (Austin Dillon-six races), 18.6 (Denny Hamlin-21 races), 18.2 (Kurt Busch-32 races)
Chase for the NASCARSprint CupdriverAustin Dilloncrashed into the outside wall ofNew Hampshire Motor Speedway's Turn 1 late in Friday's firstSprint 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).
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.
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.
Ryan Newman had a decent car at Kentucky Speedway, but not one that would have placed him in the top five on its own.
Newman made sure to thank the person who came up with the strategy that saved him enough fuel to place him third at night’s end in the Quaker State 400, his first top five in 28 races.
“A good well-played race by (crew chief) Luke (Lambert) and all of us to get the finish that we did,” Newman said Saturday night. “We did have a good car. We just never seemed to be able to get good track position and played the fuel game there at the end, did what I thought I had to do, and with no fuel gauge or any kind of telemetry was able to make it to the end.”
After starting the night at Kentucky Speedway in 14th, the Richard Childress Racing car had an average running spot just outside the top 10 (11.80). But staying out during the final 68 caution free laps, as leaders Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick pitted, proved a worth calculation on Lambert’s part. Newman saved enough to score his first top five since Chicagoland Speedway last year, the first race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
“Was hoping that we were going to be the first guy that could pull that one off, not the third guy,” said Newman, whose previous best result this year was seventh at Kansas Speedway.
“It’s four places better than our best finish all year,” said Newman. “Our first top five … that’s a big deal. Proud of that effort. Leading into this stretch of races, especially where we are in the Chase, to have good points tonight, even though it wasn’t a win. It’s a small victory in itself.”
It might be small, but it could be a big sign of what the team is capable of. Newman didn’t earn his first top five of the 2014 season until the Cup series came to Kentucky in its 17th race. The team went on to qualify for the Chase and then the final four at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where it finished second in the race and the championship to Kevin Harvick.
Also like 2014, Newman entered Kentucky this year with five top 10s.
But after that 2014 Kentucky race, Newman was eighth in the points and earned four more top fives before the end of the season.
Newman’s result Saturday night has him at 12th in the point standings, the second-highest driver without a win and not qualified for the Chase. The highest is Chase Elliott, who is eighth in the standings.
“We started the season off decent but not where we wanted to be or where we thought we should’ve been,” Newman said. “We’ve still got some more work to do. We’re not leading a bunch of laps or leading the most laps in a given race and talking about how we didn’t win. We’re talking about how we can finish in the top five. We’ve got some work to do, don’t get me wrong, but I’m proud of the effort that went into tonight.”
Now Newman’s team heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway (July 17) and Indianapolis Motor Speedway (July 24). Newman has three wins at Loudon, but none since 2011. Since then he has one top five and four top tens. Indianapolis was the site of his last win in 2013. He finished 11th there the last two years.
As the Sprint Cup Series heads for a weekend off, NBC Sports’ Nate Ryan and Dustin Long note what’s stood out to them in the season’s first 15 races and look ahead to what you might see later this year.
Here’s how they answered these questions about the season:
NATE: Chase Elliott, Indianapolis Motor Speedway: There would be a certain symmetry to the No. 24 Chevrolet returning to the winner’s circle at the Brickyard. This isn’t a sentimental pick, though. A case can be made for Elliott being NASCAR’s hottest drivers for the past three months. He was two rookie mistakes on restarts from winning at Pocono Raceway and Michigan International Speedway, two fast superspeedways that share a few characteristics with Indy, and the third time will be the charm for Elliott, whose predecessor, Jeff Gordon, won a record five Brickyards starting with the 1994 inaugural.
DUSTIN: Ryan Blaney, Kentucky Speedway. He won the most recent Xfinity race there last year, was a part of this week’s test there and the ties to Team Penske will help with the way the Penske cars have run well there before.
Which driver has stood out the most in the first 15 races?
NATE: Chase Elliott. He is having the greatest rookie season in a decade (11 top 10s rank third in the series behind Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch), and it was virtually impossible to predict. Though he stepped into a championship-caliber ride, he was coming off a disappointing defense of his 2014 Xfinity Series title and shouldering enormous expectations and pressure. Yet against stiffer competition, he has raised his game and raced with the poise and adaptability of teammate and six-time series champion Jimmie Johnson. Elliott, 20, keeps proving little fazes him.
DUSTIN: Kevin Harvick. He’s still fast and still one of the few that has shown the ability to regularly challenge the top Toyota cars. That he and crew chief Rodney Childers have been able to remain among the strongest cars since working together in 2014 says much for both.
What’s three things that have stood out to you so far this season?
NATE:
1. The suddenly forceful youth movement in the Sprint Cup Series.
2. The direction of rules changes aimed at lowering downforce that are making an impact on improving passing.
3. Tony Stewart’s turbulent farewell tour that – much like the three-time champion’s mercurial career – seemingly has turned on a dime from sputtering to promising.
DUSTIN:
1. Chase Elliott’s performance. There was a lot of hype but he’s doing things few rookies have.
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s inconsistency. He has four runner-up finishes, four finishes of 30th or worse, had handling issues in both restrictor-plate races and is 11th in the points — the worst he’s been at this point in the season since 2010.
3. Tony Stewart’s year. It started with his incident with a fan at the Chili Bowl in January to his sand dunes accident a couple of weeks later, missing the first eight races, his complaints about teams not securing all five lug nuts, which led to a fine and a rule change, and his quest to climb into the top 30 in points to have a chance at the Chase. It makes one wonder what is to come.
Name one driver outside the top 16 who you think will make the Chase.
NATE: Kyle Larson. A win is the safest route, but his team’s uptick in performance over the past month opens the possibility of making the playoffs on points if Larson can maintain consistency.
DUSTIN: Kyle Larson is the easy pick based on how he’s run in recent weeks.
Who is one driver people should be paying more attention than they might.
NATE:Trevor Bayne. The results indicate he is among the most improved drivers of 2016, but it will take a victory to slough off the nagging legacy of his 2011 Daytona 500 win as a one-hit wonder. Talladega showed he could erase that unwanted label.
DUSTIN: Kurt Busch. He’s run in that fifth-to-10th spot often, but his Pocono win shows he’s building speed to contend for more victories. With a series-high 13 top-10 finishes in 15 races, don’t ignore him.
Based on what you’ve seen so far this year, who would be your way-too-early pick to make it to the championship round in Miami.
DUSTIN: Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch
Is Joe Gibbs Racing losing its grip on being the dominant team in the series?
NATE: It’s only a two-race sample size, but there could be some warning signs in Joe Gibbs Racing failing to record a top five in consecutive races after a year long streak of 35 straight. It was around this time last season that Hendrick Motorsports began a midseason swoon that lasted for nearly two months after winning six of the first 17 races. It’s also notable that JGR didn’t lead a lap at Michigan with a new rules package that could chart the course of teams’ fortunes through 2017. A familiar refrain in NASCAR is that success is cyclical, and sometimes the dominance can dip just as quickly as it arrived. Consider that JGR has won 18 of the past 36 races … but prior to that, had won only three of the previous 36.
DUSTIN: Yes, but it still is the strongest team in the garage. The team’s strength is shown in how it was newsworthy that JGR did not have a top-five finish in back-to-back races for the first time in a year. Teams are gaining, but Gibbs is still No. 1 at this point.
Which two drivers are most likely to butt heads?
NATE: Who has the most at stake and the most run-ins with rivals? Ryan Newman’s future at Richard Childress Racing remains uncertain, he is clinging to a provisional spot in the playoffs, and there have been recent flashes of his ornery side (namely with Joey Logano at Pocono). Keep an eye on Newman and any of the winless drivers he is battling with to make the Chase.
DUSTIN: I’ll take Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin. Two hard-nosed racers looking to improve performance in the coming races. Newman needs it to assure a spot in the Chase; Hamlin needs to be more of a title contender.
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.
