NASCAR America: Drivers know their voices carry weight in Drivers’ Council

What is the impact of the Drivers’ Council this season? Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski share their opinions and Kyle Petty and Steve Letarte supply their thoughts on the group that formed last year.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

MORE: Sam Hornish Jr.’s Alaska adventure

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

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

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

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

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

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

NASCAR America: Was NASCAR right to penalize Keselowski for body modification?

Brad Keselowski was assessed a penalty from NASCAR after it was deemed an illegal body modification was made during a Lap 24 pit stop when the team’s jackman slammed his body into the side of the car. Was it justifiable?

NASCAR announces start time changes to two Xfinity races

NASCAR announced Wednesday changes to the starting time for Xfinity races at Kansas Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway.
The Oct. 15 Xfinity race at Kansas Speedway will begin an hour earlier at 3 p.m. ET and will air on NBC.
The Nov. 12 Xfinity race at Phoenix International Raceway will move to a night race, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
“These updates were made with the goal of benefitting NASCAR fans, with Kansas now airing on NBC and Phoenix airing in primetime,” said Steve Herbst, senior vice president, broadcasting and production at NASCAR, in a statement. “Our ability to adjust the start times for these two critically important races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Chase is a testament to the collaboration between NASCAR, our broadcast partners, teams and tracks to deliver the best product possible to our fans.”
Both races are a part of the inaugural seven-race Chase for the Xfinity Series.

NASCAR on NBC podcast, Episode XXII: Brad Keselowski

After a hard-fought and controversial third-place rally Monday at Pocono Raceway, Brad Keselowski joined the NASCAR on NBC podcast and set the record straight on his team’s penalty.
“I would say that if I was NASCAR, I would have done something,” said Keselowski, whose team was ruled to have made an improper body modification on a pit stop. “To clear that up, I would say I would have done something not because the damage was impactful, but because you have to draw the line somewhere.
“I would kind of equate it to holding (in football). Did it impact the play or the race? Absolutely not. Was it wrong? Yes. … The other reason why I probably would draw an equivalence to holding is there’s probably holding on every play. You have to draw the line somewhere. If I’m NASCAR, I agree with them drawing the line. I, of course, hate that it was us. But they have to set a line.”
In a wide-ranging conversation, the 2012 Sprint Cup champion also offered perspective on joining the Sprint Cup Drivers Council this year.
“Every driver has a role of trying to make sure their sport stays relevant beyond themselves,” he said. “When I think of the Drivers Council, it doesn’t have a mission statement, but if I was to try to create a mission statement, one of the first things I’d think of putting in that mission statement is we are going to do things for the sport that probably won’t help it in our time in it as drivers.
“And that’s so hard to do because we get caught up thinking small term of ‘What can we do better tomorrow?’ But the big stuff is, ‘Where are we going to be in 10 years?’ So the council gives us a format to have these really big conversations to find solutions.”
Keselowski also discussed:
–The Team Penske philosophy of building speed through incremental gains and how difficult it is to strike the balance between patience and faith while trying to stay ahead of a playing surface that changes every week;
–His view of journalism in NASCAR;
–Why Sprint Cup cars also could be considered Transformers.
–How he helped influence the Sprint All-Star Race format and his surprise at some of his peers’ reaction (“There were a number of people that didn’t embrace the format and ran like they didn’t embrace the format, and that blew me out of the water”).
–His beginnings in the Greater Detroit area and how training in his dad’s race shop taught him life lessons (“it’s inherent to that community that your work ethic must be at a very high level.”).
You can listen to the podcast by clicking below or download and subscribe to it on iTunes. The free subscription will provide automatic downloads of new episodes to your smartphone. It also is available on Stitcher.

Here are time cues for easy referencing while listening to the episode:

Texas’ ‘Big Hoss’ is getting bigger, better and more useful

Not long after the end of this weekend’s Verizon IndyCar race at Texas Motor Speedway, the track’s “Big Hoss” TV will begin to undergo a facelift.

The videoboard, which is the largest the world and a Guinness World Record, will soon include a ribbon-style scoreboard at the bottom.

“Big Hoss,” will grow by 2,071 square feet to 22,704.64 square feet. The project is expected to take three weeks to complete and will debut during the November NASCAR weekend.

The scoreboard, which will replace the track’s two 110-foot scoring pylons, will feature race running order, lap counts and will display “advertising opportunities, graphics, race statistics, video, advertising and even social media” elements.

“Big Hoss” utilizes a selection of 19 different video cameras across the 1.5-mile track to display instant replays, latest driver and race stats, interactive entertainment, and more. And at night following on-track activity, the track shows movies for fans camping out in the track infield to enjoy.