Nicole Behar, Ty Majeski earn top-five finishes in ARCA debuts

It was a big weekend two drivers who are former and current members of the NASCAR Next program.

Nicole Behar, a member of the 2015-16 class, and Ty Majeski, a member of the 2016 -17 class, made their debuts in the ARCA Racing Series on Sunday in the Montgomery Ward Father’s Day 200 at Madison International Speedway.

Behar made her one-off start with Venturini Motorsports, which had three of the last four races at the Wisconsin track.

A native of Washington, Behar started third and that’s where she found herself at the end of the 200-lap event. The result was a historic one, as it tied Behar for the best ARCA short track finish for a female driver, matching the result of Patty Simko-Schacht at Toledo Speedway in 1987.

The 18-year-old also had the best result of Venturini Motorsports’ three teams.

“My spotter (Frankie Kimmel) was great today,” Behar said in a team release. “He kept me calm and gave me great information all day long. Reminding me every single lap of the importance of my entry, he really helped me settle in and gain when I needed to gain. I tried to do the best I could to save the car and save my tires today. I was just trying to get as much as I could today. I tried to do the best I could on a tough track with just one racing line today.”

Behar also holds a tie for the best finish by a female driver in the K&N Pro Series West, where she competed last year.

Majeski, a Roush Fenway Racing development driver competing for the Roulo Brothers, came home fourth after qualifying seventh. The Wisconsin-native had been fastest in both of Saturday’s practice sessions and had a caution with 21 laps left derail a charge to the front.

“We had a good solid run. We kept the fenders on for the most part all day,” Majeski told Speed51.com. “The biggest thing I learned today was how to race a big, heavy car. Manage brakes, which is something we don’t have to do a lot on the Late Model, and we had to do that today. I felt like I did a pretty good job at that. I had every bit of race car I needed for the end.”

Roulo Brothers Racing has not yet announced when Majeski will be back in the No. 17 car.

Rascal Flatts offers Mike Wallace ‘love and prayers for fast recovery’

Rascal Flatts tweeted Monday to its 1.7 million followers that the group was saddened to hear about the beating NASCAR driver Mike Wallace and his daughter suffered in the parking lot after Friday’s show near Charlotte, North Carolina.

Mecklenburg County Sheriff officers arrested three men for the attack. Two were charged with misdemeanor assault and one was charged with misdemeanor assault on a female. All three were released on bond. They face a July 22 court date.

A police report stated that the “victims  were kicked and punched several times in the head, face and stomach by the listed suspects following a verbal altercation.”

Wallace has stated in multiple interviews that he asked a group parked beside his family how they enjoyed the show afterward when one member of the party became belligerent. Wallace has said he asked what the person’s problem was. The attack ensued shortly and Wallace was knocked out.

Both he and his daughter were taken to a local hospital. They were treated and released. Wallace told WSOC that he suffered a concussion, needed 12 stitches and lost three teeth.

The police investigation continues.

NASCAR America: Keys to victory for Sam Hornish Jr. in Iowa

Sam Hornish Jr. returned to action after being away from the track for seven months and was victorious in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway.

Results from Sunday’s American Ethanol E15 250 Xfinity race at Iowa

Sam Hornish Jr. took a one-off race opportunity and made the absolute best of it, dominating en route to a win in Sunday’s American Ethanol E15 250 Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway.

It was Hornish’s first win since May 2014, which ironically enough also came at the .875-mile track in Newton, Iowa.

Here’s the results of Sunday’s race:

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:

NASCAR: No plans for Sprint Cup at Iowa Speedway; Xfinity-truck weekend ‘delivered’

NASCAR declared the first Camping World-Xfinity series doubleheader at Iowa Speedway as a resounding success, but the short track still isn’t necessarily in line for a Sprint Cup race.

“We’re happy with the status right now at Iowa,” NASCAR chief racing development officer Steve O’Donnell said Monday during his weekly interview on SiriusXM Satellite Radio. “We’ve signed multiple-year sanctions with the tracks. Could (a Sprint Cup race at Iowa) happen via the realignment process? Perhaps. But I see our schedule pretty tied up in terms of the Sprint Cup Series and for the foreseeable future.”

The 0.875-mile track had played host to 12 previous Xfinity races and nine prior truck events, but they all had been held separately prior to last weekend.

With NASCAR trending away from standalone Xfinity-truck doubleheader events – there are only five standalone Xfinity races this season, and Iowa has the only Xfinity-Truck weekend – O’Donnell said the oval in Newton, Iowa, occupies an important and unique place on the schedule.

“We believe that’s a unique part of each series,” he said. “Iowa certainly delivered for us. This is new with the combination Camping World-Xfinity package this weekend, which we thought was a success.”

Iowa Speedway held its first Xfinity and truck races in 2009. The track was bought by NASCAR in December 2013.

WHAT RUST? HORNISH STOMPS FIELD EN ROUTE TO IOWA WIN

NEWTON, Iowa -- Sam Hornish Jr., who hadn’t been in a car in 210 days, gave himself the perfect Father’s Day present on Sunday -- a dominant victory in the sixth annual NASCAR XFINITY Series American Ethanol E15 250 presented by Enogen at Iowa Speedway.

Hornish, who last competed in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race last November at Homestead-Miami Speedway, received a call Monday from Joe Gibbs Racing to substitute for injured driver Matt Tifft. He made the most of the opportunity, picking up his fourth career XFINITY Series win and second at Iowa. Overall, it was JGR’s ninth triumph in 14 races this season.

“I don’t know, it doesn’t get much better than that,” said an emotional Hornish in Victory Lane. “Just gotta thank Toyota, everyone from Joe Gibbs Racing for getting me out here and giving me this opportunity. Got my wife and kids here, it’s the first time the kids got to be here for one of dad’s wins.

“I can’t tell you what this means to me. I worked so hard to try to get a win when I had my kids here. Gotta thank God. He makes things happen. I was so nervous on Friday getting into the car thinking I’m going to make a mistake, and man, to go out there and win the way that we did. Just can’t say anything more about it."

Ty Dillon attempted to make a charge on Hornish on a Lap 224 restart, but settled for second, finishing ahead of Brad Keselowski.

"I don't know, I guess we just needed to be a little bit better,” Dillon said. “The No. 18 (Hornish) was so dominant on the bottom (groove). I thought, obviously, we were the best car on the top (groove).

"Just needed a little bit more speed. I'm proud of my guys. We were kind of a mid-pack car and did what we needed to do to put ourselves in position -- something we talked about all week -- and we did a great job."

Hornish took the lead from last week’s XFINITY Series winner Daniel Suarez on Lap 24, setting the tone that the Joe Gibbs Racing cars were going to be hard to beat.

The two drivers swapped the lead on pit road on two occasions before several competitors elected to use varying pit strategies following the event’s third caution on Lap 126. Hornish restarted sixth, but only took 13 laps to get back to the race lead, passing Suarez on Lap 139 and never relinquishing.  

Championship contender Erik Jones, who scored his fifth pole of 2016, had to drop to the rear before the race for an unapproved body modification. Jones, however, was never a factor as he battled fuel pressure issues, finishing 27th. 

The NASCAR XFINITY Series takes a week off before returning to Daytona International Speedway on July 1 for the running of the Subway Firecracker 250.