Erik Jones on pace to surpass Chase Elliott’s impressive Xfinity rookie season

The numbers favor Erik Jones.

Through the first half of his rookie season in the Xfinity Series, Jones has performed marginally better than Chase Elliott when he won the series championship in his rookie season in 2014. Elliott stands as the only Xfinity driver to win the title in his rookie year.

Jones, however, is in a position to bypass that performance in his rookie season with Joe Gibbs Racing. After beating Kyle Busch in a prestigious late model race, the Snowball Derby, in 2012 at 16 years old, Jones’ talent has been praised for years. In 2015, he backed it up by winning both Rookie of the Year honors and the Camping World Truck Series championship.

Elliott is also a highly touted and equally impressive talent, who is now in the midst of his rookie Sprint Cup Series season. When he won the 2014 Xfinity title with JR Motorsports, Elliott did so on the strength of three wins in 33 races with 390 laps led, 26 top-10 finishes and 16 top fives.

But here is how the two compare through the first 16 races of their rookie seasons:

When looking at their two wins, it was Elliott who got there quicker. Elliott won back-to-back races at Texas and Darlington in the sixth and seventh events of the 2014 season while Jones earned his first win in the seventh race at Bristol. His second win came in race number 10 at Dover.

They were not Jones’ first two career wins, though. Jones ran a limited schedule in 2015 and won in his sixth attempt at Texas as well as at Chicago in race 14.

As for Elliott, he scored his third and final win of his rookie season in the series 18th race at Chicago. Jones will look for his third win of the year in Saturday’s AutoLotto 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

One major difference between Elliott and Jones’ rookie season will be the Chase playoff that makes up the final seven races of the season. Elliott did not compete under a Chase format in 2014, which Jones will do this year as 2016 is its inaugural season in the series.

NASCAR America: Scan All: Kentucky

Scan All brings you the scanner sounds from the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway. Listen to Brad Keselowski‘s radio communication with his team as they attempted to win the race on fuel mileage.

Dozen Sprint Cup teams testing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Three former Brickyard 400 winners are among 12 Sprint Cup drivers scheduled to test Tuesday and Wednesday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Each Sprint Cup organization is allowed to have one team at the test.

Four-time Brickyard winner Jimmie Johnson is scheduled to test. Joining him are 2003 race winner Kevin Harvick and 2011 winner Paul Menard.

The test session is scheduled to run from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. each day. Temperatures are expected to be near 90 degrees each day with a low chance of rain.

The Brickyard 400 is July 24.

Scheduled to test are:

Trevor Bayne (Roush Fenway Racing)
Ryan Blaney (Wood Brothers Racing)
Clint Bowyer (HScott Motorsports)
Chris Buescher (Front Row Motorsports)
Kevin Harvick (Stewart-Haas Racing)
Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick Motorsports)
Matt Kenseth (Joe Gibbs Racing)
Kyle Larson (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Joey Logano (Team Penske)
Paul Menard (Richard Childress Racing)
Brian Scott (Richard Petty Motorsports)
Martin Truex Jr. (Furniture Row Racing)

NASCAR Foundation hosting 10th anniversary gala in New York

The NASCAR Foundation will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a Sept. 27 gala in New York City that will feature singer Rachel Platten and also reveal the winner of the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award.

The gala at the Marriott Marquis will be to commemorate the Foundation’s 10 years of work that has helped raise $25 million.

Betty Jane France, the Founder and Chairwoman Emeritus of The NASCAR Foundation, will present the award named after her to a NASCAR fan who has shown “tremendous dedication to improving the lives of children in their communities.” The efforts of those nominated for the award have helped more than 200,000 children since the award’s inception six years ago. The winner will be chosen following a public vote of four finalists that begins July 13.

Other awards will be given out, including the first Founder’s Award, which will be given to Mark Lazarus, Chairman of the NBC Sports Group.

The Founder’s Award recognizes “contributions to philanthropy through use of time, talent and resources – both personally and professionally – to make a meaningful impact on the lives of children.”

Lazarus serves on the board of governors of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America as well as the board of directors for the Atlanta-based East Lake Foundation. That foundation helps families build better lives through community revitalization with mixed-income housing, cradle-to-college education, and health and wellness programs.

“Mark is simply an exceptional individual, and we could not have chosen a more deserving person to receive this inaugural award,” France said in a press release. “This will make the evening even more memorable and we thank all of our partners for their continued support.”

The annual Children’s Champion Award also will be presented to a medical professional who has “showcased significant contributions, leadership, and dedication to enriching the lives of children.”

The NASCAR Foundation also will announce the launch of the Speediatrics Children’s Fund through a long-term partnership with a New York-area medical organization providing services to children in need.

HATE IT OR LOVE IT, POKÉMON GO IS THE FUTURE

Chances are, any scrolling you did through your various social media news feeds this past weekend revealed that Pokémon is back. And it's back in a big way.

"Pokémon Go," a free-to-play, augmented reality mobile game, was released late last week and has sent the masses into hysteria. People are blindly roaming the streets in search of that elusive Mewtwo so they can take a screenshot of it in a funny location, post it to Facebook and get 11 maybe likes, tops.
 

It may seem to be a silly trend that you think will likely fade quickly. And you'd be very, very wrong.
 

Facebook. Twitter. Snapchat. Pokémon Go.

We've been wondering what the next "big thing" could be, and it's here -- and it's time to accept it. According data from Similar Web via Business Insider, the game is already bigger than Tinder, having been installed on 5.16 percent of all U.S. Android phones, compared to 2 percent for Tinder as of July 8.

Roughly 70 percent of the people I know have Tinder on their phones. Now, I don't do math good, but using the data above I think it means that something like 110 percent of the people I know have already or will be installing Pokémon Go. Scary!

Even scarier -- Twitter is next on its radar. From the same study, 3 percent of those Android owners were using the game daily, compared to 3.5 percent for the Blue Bird. It's just a matter of time before we're all wearing backpacks and sporting spikey hair.
 

And it's only going to snowball.

 

Nine billion dollars.

There's only one thing we can do -- submit and accept that Pokémon is just part of our lives now.

And I, for one, welcome our new Poké-overlords.

NASCAR to ‘reiterate’ pit road rule this week to teams after penalty to Martin Truex Jr.

All NASCAR executive said series officials will “reiterate” this week the rule that drivers cannot pass to the inside on pit road after penalizing Martin Truex Jr. for that Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway.

Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer, made the comments Monday on “The Morning Drive” on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Truex was penalized on Lap 196 for passing leader Kevin Harvick on the inside on pit road before heading to his stall. Truex was upset with the penalty.

“You get to your timing line, you step on the gas and you head straight toward your pit,’’ he told NBCSN after the race. “Obviously, I turned left and came up next to (Harvick) and passed him … as I was driving to my pit, guys do it every week. I don’t know why it was different today.

“I would think that if they didn’t want us doing that anymore, they would tell us in the drivers meeting. Hell, it’s every week. I’ve been passed on pit road 15 times this year that same exact way and I didn’t see guys get penalized. So I guess when you’re doing it for a win it’s different circumstances or something.’’

Truex was the first Sprint Cup driver penalized this season for that specific violation.

O’Donnell said series officials saw this issue happening more often this season and described what Truex did as “blatant,’’ leading to the penalty.

“It is clear in the rule book that you can’t pass to the left,’’ O’Donnell said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “It’s also brought up in every drivers meeting. If you look at drivers pulling off just as they pull into their pits and kind of pull up alongside a car, sure, that’s happened.

“I would probably relate this to other sports. If you look at the three-second rule (in the NBA), it’s always there but it’s rarely called because you don’t see it blatantly, and then you’ll see a coach or some teams say, ‘Hey, you’ve got to focus on this rule, it’s getting out of hand.’

“That was the case certainly for us. We saw a trend that was getting bigger and bigger. For us, that was a blatant pass to the left. We felt we had to make that call. We’ll certainly address it with the industry prior to New Hampshire again to reiterate what the rule is as well, and if there’s any questions where we have to make it more clear, we’ll certainly do so.’’

On the pit road penalty card issued to all teams, Section 20 states that entering pit road: “Vehicles must enter the pit road in single file. After a vehicle commits to their assigned pit box, the vehicle behind may pass to the outside.’’

Truex was cited for a safety violation for passing on entry to pit road. Safety violations are defined in the pit road penalty card as: “Violation of NASCAR safety precautions or careless acts during a NASCAR Event.’’

Crew chiefs are reminded by the rules video that plays during each drivers meeting to “have the current crew chief handout and pit road penalty card with you for the race.”

Section 10.11.4.c of the Sprint Cup Rule Book states: “After a vehicle commits to their assigned pit box, the vehicle behind may pass to the outside.”

Upon Further Review: Kentucky

So when does it become time to wonder about Hendrick Motorsports?

Now? Or is it too soon?

Saturday’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway was a forgettable night for the four-car team, as Hendrick Motorsports failed to place a car in the top 10 for the second consecutive race.

That’s been part of a rough month for the organization. In the last four Sprint Cup races, Hendrick has scored two top-10 finishes with a lineup that boasts Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chase Elliott and Kasey Kahne.

To compare, Chip Ganassi Racing, Roush Fenway Racing and Richard Childress Racing each has had twice as many top-10 finishes during the same span as Hendrick Motorsports.

So what to make of that?

Consider the last four races: Michigan and Kentucky were run with an aero package that won’t be used again this season. Another race, Sonoma, was on a road course, which isn’t represented in the playoffs. The fourth track, Daytona, is one where results can be skewed by how many cars are collected in crashes.

Then factor in that Chase Elliott was eliminated in a crash at Kentucky while battling for sixth, all four Hendrick cars were involved in the 22-car crash at Daytona, and Johnson was hurt by the late caution that put Tony Stewart in a position to win at Sonoma.

In one sense, it’s easy not to take too much from the past four races. That doesn’t mean one ignores those facts or what has happened this season.

There’s a concern because Hendrick cars are not leading laps as has been customary.

Hendrick’s four drivers have combined to lead 399 of 5,202 laps this season (7.7 percent). A key reason that total is down 54.5 percent from this time last year is the strength of the Toyota teams, but those are cars Hendrick will have to beat to capture its first title since 2013 and avoid the organization’s longest title drought in more than a decade.

Leading fewer laps shows that Hendrick cars are not having as many opportunities to win races. That can mean fewer bonus points that can help a driver advance to the second round of the playoffs. It also means fewer opportunities to win a race to make the playoffs. Elliott should make the Chase unless his team dramatically falters in the next eight races before the playoffs begin. Earnhardt also should make it, but his margin for error is thinning. Kahne might have to win a race, and he hasn’t led a lap all season.

The next three weeks should provide a clearer picture on Hendrick Motorsports. This weekend’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway marks the final race on a Chase track before the playoffs begin.

The series then goes to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a track that shows off horsepower and aerodynamics — areas Hendrick typically excels — followed by Pocono Raceway, a track that also highlights horsepower and aerodynamics.

While there are questions about Hendrick Motorsports after its recent showings, what happens in the next few weeks should show how close or how far Hendrick is from its competition heading toward the Chase.

21 AND COUNTING

Brad Keselowski’s victory Saturday night was his 21st career Sprint Cup victory, and it came in his 251st career series start.

Here’s how he compares with active series champions on how many races it took them to score their 21st career Cup victory.

Jimmie Johnson … 156 races
Tony Stewart … 229 races
Kyle Busch … 231 races
Brad Keselowski … 251 races
Kurt Busch … 332 races
Matt Kenseth … 431 races
Kevin Harvick … 442 races
FAST AND FURIOUS?

Saturday night’s race marked the 15th time since the start of last season that Kevin Harvick has led the most laps in a race.

He’s won four times.

Harvick finished ninth at Kentucky after having to pit late. In the five times he’s led the most laps in a race this season, he’s won once (Phoenix).

In the other races he led the most laps in a race this season:

He was collected in the 18-car crash at Dover.
Jimmie Johnson passed him on the overtime restart to win at Auto Club Speedway; Harvick finished second.
He was shuffled back on a final restart and finished sixth at Atlanta.
PIT STOPS

— Two drivers have finished in the top 10 in each of the six races on 1.5-mile tracks this season: Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick. Busch was fourth at Kentucky, while Harvick placed ninth. Kentucky was the last race on a 1.5-mile track before the playoffs begin at Chicagoland Speedway. Five of the 10 Chase races are on 1.5-mile tracks.

— Josh Wise’s 24th-place finish was his best of the season. His previous best was 27th at Pocono.

— Brad Keselowski’s victory snapped Toyota’s three-race win streak on 1.5-mile tracks.

— After winning seven of the first 12 races, Joe Gibbs Racing is winless in the last six races.

— Ryan Newman has finished in the top 15 in six of the last eight races. He’s climbed from 19th in the points to 13th in that span.