NASCAR America: Ricky Rudd helps Richard Childress unveil throwback paint schemes

Richard Childress Racing unveiled the Southern 500 paint schemes Wednesday for Ryan Newman and Austin Dillon.

During the unveiling in Welcome, North Carolina, NBC Sports’ Marty Snider spoke with team owner Richard Childress and retired veteran Ricky Rudd, who scored RCR’s first Sprint Cup victory on June 5, 1983 at Riverside International Raceway in a No. 3 Chevrolet sponsored by Piedmont Airlines.

Dillon’s car for the Sept. 4 race at Darlington Raceway will salute Rudd’s car with the same paint scheme.

Watch LIVE: NASCAR America at 6 p.m. ET: Adam Stevens’ suspension, RCR paint schemes and more

Today’s episode of NASCAR America once again airs for 30 minutes beginning at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Krista Voda hosts with Dale Jarrett from Stamford, Connecticut. Kyle Petty and Ray Evernham join them from NBC Charlotte.

On today’s show:

· The latest on the No. 18 team’s penalties for violating the revised lug nut policy. Kyle Busch’s crew chief, Adam Stevens, and front tire changer Josh Leslie have been suspended for one race, and Stevens has also been fined $20,000. Our team of analysts – former Sprint Cup champ Dale Jarrett, driver Kyle Petty, crew chief Ray Evernham, and NASCAR on NBC insider Nate Ryan – will weigh in.

· It was a big day at Richard Childress Racing, which revealed its Darlington “throwback” paint schemes for drivers Austin Dillon and Ryan Newman. NASCAR on NBC’s Marty Snider has reaction from Childress, Dillon, and Newman – plus the former RCR driver they’ll be honoring on Labor Day weekend.

· Kyle Petty takes us through the memories of the 22nd Annual Kyle Petty Charity Ride, where nearly 200 riders covered over 2,000 miles to raise money for Victory Junction.

If you’re not near a TV, you can watch online 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.

Matt Kenseth’s spotter honored by National Motorsports Press Association

Chris Osborne, spotter for Matt Kenseth and Daniel Suarez, has been named the recipient of the National Motorsports Press Association’s Pocono Spirit Award for the first quarter.

The award is given quarterly and recognizes character and achievement in the face of adversity, as well as sportsmanship and contribution to motorsports.

Osborne and his family were injured in a Dec. 17 automobile accident when the vehicle Osborne was driving was struck head-on. Police cited the driver of the other car with driving while impaired, along with careless and reckless driving and having an open container in his vehicle.

Osborne suffered a compound fracture of his right leg that required nearly 25 screws. His wife broke nine ribs and also broke her right hip, shoulder and elbow. Osborne’s son suffered a partially collapsed lung, cracked sternum, concussion and broken nose.

Osborne missed the first five races, making his return at Martinsville Speedway.

Osborne received about 80 percent of the votes cast by NMPA members. NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson also received votes.

Kansas Speedway statement on detective killed near track

Kansas Speedway has released a statement on the passing of Kansas City, Kansas, Detective Brad Lancaster.

Detective Lancaster, a nine-year veteran of the KCKPD, was shot multiple times and killed Monday during a shootout near the speedway.

Detective Lancaster, 39, was pronounced dead around 3:30 p.m.

He is survived by his wife and two children. The alleged shooter is in custody.

The shooting took place two days after the end of NASCAR’s race weekend.

Below is the statement from Kansas Speedway President Patrick Warren.

“On behalf of the staff at Kansas Speedway, I want to express my condolences to the family and friends of Kansas City, Kansas Detective Brad Lancaster, and also to the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department (KCKPD). Detective Lancaster was a part of the Kansas Speedway family since 2008, working with us during our race weekends, and we were saddened to learn of his passing as he was protecting the community he served.
“We work closely with the police officers in our area and we appreciate everything they do to keep our community safe, along with the police officers across the country who serve and protect their respective communities. We will keep Detective Lancaster’s family, friends and fellow KCKPD officers in our thoughts and prayers, along with his brothers and sisters in blue across the country.”

This is not the first time a Kansas City, Kansas, police officer has been shot in the vicinity of the track. In 2006, Detective Susan Brown survived being shot during a robbery attempt of the track’s vault.

Johnny Sauter changes his tune on Ben Rhodes’ move at end of Kansas race

Johnny Sauter called Ben Rhodes a “bozo,” and wondered if the 19-year-old was “brain dead or can’t see” Friday night, but Sauter had a different tone Tuesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Sauter led on the last lap of last weekend’s Camping World Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway when Rhodes made contact from behind, sending Sauter into the wall. The incident allowed William Byron, who was running third, to pass both and score his first career series victory.

Sauter, who finished 16th, wasn’t happy after the race and expressed his displeasure in an interview on FS1. Rhodes took the blame after the race, calling his action a “rookie mistake.”

Tuesday, Sauter was contrite.

“Up until I had done that interview, I hadn’t seen any replays,’’ said Sauter, who has a win and is in position to make the Truck Series’ Chase. “I was under the assumption that he just drove straight into the back of me and that wasn’t necessarily the case. I called Ben and told him that all the things that I said I take them back and I hate that I said that.’’

So what happened on the track? Sauter explained:

“I came off Turn 2 and I had a pretty good lead, and I went down the backstretch and I swerved, obviously to try to just break their draft as much as you possibly can. When I did that, the floats in the carburetor or something happened and actually the motor started missing there a little bit a couple of times going down the backstretch. That’s ultimately what enabled him to get close to me.’’

Sauter also went on to say: “I just put us both in precarious positions. My motor was missing. I must have starved it for fuel and it enabled him to close on me. I saw the position it put him in. I saw how fast he had closed on me. He probably didn’t expect it, nor did I. It was just a racing incident. It’s unfortunate. I think it’s obviously something we’re going to address on our end so that it doesn’t happen again.’’

Drivers ‘floating’ ideas on how to better reward champion of regular season

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Could the regular-season champion earn a bye to the second round of the Chase?

Former series champ Brad Keselowski says drivers have discussed ways to reward the points leader more after the 26-race regular season. A bye is one such idea.

The biggest benefit to the points leader after the season’s 26th race is a spot in the Chase — if they don’t have a win and are already locked in. Since the Chase debuted in 2004, the points leader after 26 races has always had at least one victory.

Keselowski, who has two victories this season, admits an early win can give a driver a new perspective on the regular season.

“I think clearly the sport is lacking some motivation once you’ve won a race,’’ Keselowski told reporters Monday at Team Penske’s shop. “I don’t think there’s any question that most of the competitors in the sport feel like that is not advantageous for a product we’re trying to put on and have floated some ideas to level that back out that maybe some people will like and maybe some won’t. We’ll have to see.

“At the end of the day, it’s never a good thing to remove motivation from the field.’’

It also seems to have impacted fans. In a conference call with industry analysts last month, an International Speedway Corp., executive said the focus on the Chase may be playing a role in fans purchasing tickets for those events instead of races earlier in the season.

Keselowski said that “most every driver, I think, would agree with some kind of regular-season bonus of real value. Right now you get three points for a win, which is something, don’t get me wrong, but it only counts for the first round.’’

Those bonus points proved pivotal for series champion Kyle Busch last year. He won four races in the regular season, giving him 12 bonus points entering the first round of the Chase. He wouldn’t have advanced to the second round, though, if he had two fewer points.

What would be a good reward for the regular-season champion?

“I think a bye is a good word for it,’’ Keselowski said. “As we’re trying to emulate other sports and major playoffs, I think it makes sense as it does for them.’’

If so, what would be the motivation for the driver who has a bye into the second round?

“I guess that comes down to the question would you rather see a dozen guys or so demotivated for 30-some races or 20-some races, or would you rather see one driver demotivated for three races?’’ Keselowski said. “It kind of seems like a trade-off to me that maybe values the regular season more, which is of course a higher quantity of races, and devalues the first round of the playoffs. It’s just a tradeoff. The value proposition I think is worth it.’’

Five Sprint Cup drivers taking part in tire test at Watkins Glen

Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards and Trevor Bayne are taking part in a Goodyear tire test today and Wednesday at Watkins Glen International

The road course was repaved since the Cup series raced there last August.

Goodyear has two other tests in the coming weeks.

Richard Childress Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports and Furniture Row Racing each will have a team at Michigan International Speedway on May 17.

Hendrick Motorsports, Richard Petty Motorsports, Roush Fenway Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing each will have a team test May 31-June 1 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.