Dale Earnhardt Jr. considers a top-five finish at road courses ‘a win’

Before Dale Earnhardt Jr. can return to one of his best tracks, he must go to one he probably could do without.

The Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway is peeking around the corner for Earnhardt. But he and the rest of the Sprint Cup Series are on the opposite coast this weekend at Sonoma Raceway in California.

If you saw Earnhardt and his No. 88 team celebrating like crazy after his third-place finish at Sonoma in 2014, there’s a reason. He and the road courses of Sonoma and Watkins Glen are not on the best of terms.

“The road courses are basically… you know you’re just kind of swinging at whatever comes at you at those race tracks and doing the best you can to complete the weekend without any major mistakes,” Earnhardt told NBC Sports in May. “I don’t go to the road courses with any confidence that I can win the race. I go in there really just thinking survive just let’s try not to screw it up.”

If anyone needs a confidence boost this weekend in the Toyota/ Save Mart 350, it’s Earnhardt. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has yet to win this season to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup and is currently 11th in the points. That’s after he peaked at sixth in the standings following a runner-up result at Bristol. In the seven races since, Earnhardt has finished in the top 10 just once, another runner-up finish at Pocono Raceway.

But Sonoma could be a surprising wild card for Earnhardt. Prior to 2014, Earnhardt has never finished better than 11th on the road-course. But in the last two visits to wine country, the No. 88 has finished in the top 10. Earnhardt earned a result of seventh last year.

“I go into every other race, I mean if it’s an oval I go in there knowing that there is potential we can win the race,” Earnhardt said. “But we go to Watkins Glen and Sonoma basically if we get in the top 10 in qualifying and we finish in the top five that’s a win. We celebrated harder when we finished third at Sonoma than we did during any of the wins in 2014 and when we won the Daytona 500. Those road courses are a real challenge.”

Not all would be lost if Earnhardt falters on the West Coast. Of the 10 tracks before the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Earnhardt has won at five of them (Daytona, Michigan, Pocono, Bristol and Richmond).

But the key point could be Daytona, a track he’s won at four times in his Sprint Cup career. But his restrictor-plate abilities haven’t been helpful in his last two visits to Daytona and Talladega. Earnhardt recorded a DNF in each race after his car crashed following spinning out on its own.

NASCAR America: Ryan Reed excited to drive car with Bobby Allison’s paint scheme

Ryan Reed unveiled the throwback paint scheme he’ll have for the Labor Day weekend Xfinity race at Darlington Raceway. The car is similar to the No. 16 Matador NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison drove in 1975. Reed was joined by Allison and motorsports artist Sam Bass. & @sambassartist

NASCAR America: William Byron’s fast start leads to talk of bright future

The NASCAR America crew breaks downWilliam Byron‘s impressive Truck Series win at Iowa for his third win in nine races. All are in agreement that it won’t be long before we see the 18-year-old taking the next step.

Will Sonoma continue run of different winners on road courses?

Since Kyle Busch swept the road course races at Sonoma and Watkins Glen in 2008, parity has reigned among the winners of those NASCAR Sprint Cup events.

There have been 12 different winners in the last 14 races at those tracks. The only repeat winners are Marcos Ambrose (Watkins Glen in 2011 and ’12) and Busch (Watkins Glen in 2013 and Sonoma in 2015).

Will there be a another different winner this weekend when the series races at Sonoma Raceway or will a driver who has won a road course event since 2009 win again?

Here’s a list of the winners in the last 14 races at those tracks:

2009

Sonoma – Kasey Kahne

Watkins Glen – Tony Stewart

2010

Sonoma – Jimmie Johnson

Watkins Glen – Juan Pablo Montoya

2011

Sonoma – Kurt Busch

Watkins Glen – Marcos Ambrose

2012

Sonoma – Clint Bowyer

Watkins Glen – Marcos Ambrose

2013

Sonoma – Martin Truex Jr.

Watkins Glen – Kyle Busch

2014

Sonoma – Carl Edwards

Watkins Glen – AJ Allmendinger

2015

Sonoma – Kyle Busch

Watkins Glen – Joey Logano

Watch Live: NASCAR America 6-7 pm ET — Hornish wins at Iowa, Reed’s retro look

Today’s episode of NASCAR America airs from 6 – 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Mike Massaro hosts with Dale Jarrett from our Stamford, Connecticut studio, while Steve Letarte and Kyle Petty will be at NBC Sports Charlotte.

On today’s show:

* We’ll recap the racing action this past weekend at Iowa Speedway, including a phone interview with Xfinity winner Sam Hornish Jr.

* Dustin Long gives the latest on the attack upon NASCAR driver Mike Wallace over the weekend.

* We’ll have the revealing of Ryan Reed’s Darlington Speedway throwback paint scheme.

* A recap of Kurt Busch’s visit to the Formula One race in Azerbaijan with the Haas F1 Team.

* Prior to LeBron James’ epic Game 7 on the hardwood, fellow Ohio native Sam Hornish Jr., celebrated in victory lane at Iowa Speedway. We have him LIVE on NASCAR America to discuss his emotion-filled victory and what it was like climbing into a car for the first time in over six months.

* As the Camping World Truck Series crosses the halfway point in its regular season, William Byron has taken the top spot on the Chase Grid from two-time series champion, Matt Crafton. Coming off a K&N Pro Series East title last season, Byron is continuing to emerge as one of NASCAR’s brightest young stars.

If you’re not near a TV, you can watch online or on the NBC Sports app via 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.

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.