First Chase Race For Jones, Dillon Ends In Trouble

Late in the race Erik Jones slips getting into Turn 3 and takes out fellow Chase contender, Ty Dillon, at Kentucky Speedway.

Jones 'I Just Couldn't Hang On To It'

Erik Jones discusses his race-ending mistake in the final laps at Kentucky Speedway, which collected fellow Chase driver, Ty Dillon.

NO. 8 OF NEMECHEK FAILS POST-RACE INSPECTION

LOUDON, N.H. – Following the conclusion of Saturday's UNOH 175 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series inaugural Chase race, NASCAR officials announced that the No. 8 Chevrolet of John Hunter Nemechek failed the post-race heights inspection.

Nemechek brought out the fourth caution of the day, spinning on Lap 53 after slight contact with Kaz Grala, but rallied to finish ninth.

The driver currently sits fourth on the Chase Grid.

Any penalties would be announced later in the week.

WILLIAM BYRON WINS AT LOUDON IN CHASE OPENER

LOUDON, N. H. – William Byron stole a page from his mentor and team owner, Kyle Busch.

Leading 161 of 175 laps in Saturday’s UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway – the first race in the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase – Byron cruised to victory, the way Busch has done so many times before, and punched his ticket into the Chase's Round of 6.

Not that runner-up Christopher Bell, Byron’s stablemate at Kyle Busch Motorsports, didn’t make it interesting in the closing laps. As Byron worked traffic in the late going, Bell closed from 1.325 seconds behind with five laps left to .430 seconds down on the next-to-last lap.

But Bell ran out of time and crossed the finish line .446 seconds behind his No. 1-seeded teammate, who won for a series-best sixth time.

"I wore myself out passing some lappers," Byron said. "But with the amount of laps we had left, I thought I'd be OK. I was afraid the 4 (Bell) was going to catch us there at the end. We started to get tight, but that's what happens sometimes when you get out front.

"It was really good – just a great race for us. I can't thank these guys enough. Everyone at KBM, (sponsor) Liberty University – it's just really cool to get a win here in the Chase. It feels awesome."

Two-time series champion Matt Crafton came home third, followed by Tyler Reddick and Timothy Peters.

With the Chase field to be trimmed from eight to six drivers two races hence at Talladega Superspeedway, Ben Kennedy and Daniel Hemric fell below the provisional cut line. Kennedy finished 11th and trails Johnny Sauter (10th on Saturday and sixth in the standings) by one point.

If Kennedy's result was only mildly disappointing, Hemric's was a catastrophe. With his left rear tire cut down to the rim, Hemric spun in Turn 1 on Lap 25 to bring out the third caution of the race. His truck suffered a cut brake line and consequent fire in the left rear wheel well.

Hemric lost 33 laps under repairs, finished 28th and fell to last in the Chase standings, 21 points behind Sauter with two races left in the Round of 8. In all probability, Hemric will have to win one of those two events, at Las Vegas and Talladega, to advance to the Round of 6.

After leading the first 54 laps, Byron lost the top spot briefly when Cody Coughlin stayed out under the fourth caution and Bell, Kennedy, Crafton and Spencer Gallagher leap-frogged ahead of Byron with two-tire and fuel-only calls in the pits.

But Byron regained the lead from Bell on Lap 69 and held it the rest of the way. As Bell gained ground in the final laps, Byron was trying to save his equipment to prepare for a possible late caution.

"I was expecting it, so I didn't push too hard," Byron said. "I was expecting to get a caution, hopefully save something, but we gave it all we had there the whole race, and I just can’t thank these guys enough."

Byron leaves New Hampshire with a 16-point lead in the standings and guaranteed admission to the next round of the Chase. Crafton (+11 points above the cutoff line) is second in the Chase standings, followed by Bell (+10), John Hunter Nemechek (ninth on Saturday, +5), Peters (+3), Sauter (+1), Kennedy (-1) and Hemric (-21).

Note: Nemechek's No. 8 Chevrolet failed the post-race heights inspection. Any potential pnelaties will be announced next week.

Starting grid for Sprint Cup’s Bad Boy Off Road 300 at New Hampshire

For the sixth time this season Carl Edwardswill lead the Sprint Cup field to green after winning the pole for Sunday’s Bad Boy Off Road 300.

The top five for the second race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup is Edwards, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson andDenny Hamlin.

Here is starting grid:

NASCAR’s Saturday schedule at New Hampshire, Kentucky

 Both the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series Chases begin today. Xfinity teams compete at Kentucky Speedway and the Truck series is at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Here’s NASCAR’s full schedule for Saturday.

(All times are Eastern)

AT NEW HAMPSHIRE

7 a.m. — Truck Series garage opens

7 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. — Sprint Cup garage open

9 – 9:55 a.m. — Sprint Cup practice (CNBC)

10:10 a.m. — Truck qualifying; multi-vehicle/three rounds (FS1)

11:20 a.m. — Truck driver/crew chief meeting

11:30 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. — Final Sprint Cup practice (CNBC)

12:30 p.m. — Truck driver introductions

1 p.m. — Truck race UNOH 175; 175, laps, 185.15 miles (FS1, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

AT KENTUCKY

11 a.m. — Xfinity garage opens

4:45 p.m. — Xfinity qualifying; multi-vehicle/three rounds (NBCSN)

6:15 p.m. — Xfinity driver/crew chief meeting

7:30 p.m. — Xfinity driver introductions

8 p.m. — Xfinity race VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300; 200 laps, 300 miles (NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

How a Corvette Power Wheels car led Brennan Poole to NASCAR

Brennan Poole’s racing career was born from a shopping trip.

Poole’s father, Tom, had aspirations of buying a golf set for his son just after his second birthday. Knowing that most kids start young, Tom wanted Brennan to get used to having a club in his hand. Maybe one day he’d make a career of it.

Those plans changed once the family arrived at the toy store.

“I was walking around with my mom and came across the aisle that has all the big wheels and they had this little Corvette, just a white plastic power wheel that was on the ground,” Poole told NBC Sports. “So I climbed up in it and started driving it around the store. My dad came back with the golf club set and was like, ‘All right, let’s go,’ and when they were trying to get me out of the car I was not a happy camper. I was screaming and crying and just wanted to stay in the car and keep driving.”

After what he called a “long dispute,” Brennan got his way and went home with the Corvette. He drove it nonstop, which left his father with many nights of interrupted sleep. He would often wake up wondering, ‘Did I plug in all the spare batteries?’ If not, Brennan would throw fits.

Brennan Poole in his white Power Wheels car (photo courtesy of Chip Ganassi Racing)

“We took it everywhere,” he said. “I remember when my dad was a manager at a Midas, and when I would go there after preschool or whatever, the car was there, and I would be driving it around next to the cars in the shop. It was just something that I really loved from an early age, just driving something.”

Poole put so many miles on his Power Wheels he went through more than one. Eventually, one of his father’s co-workers, who raced shifter karts, suggested the two spend time together by going to see a quarter-midget race. Tom not only obliged but eventually asked Brennan if it would be something he was interested in trying for himself.

Poole began his quarter-midget career at 5. The rest, as they say, is history. But even when he started racing, Poole didn’t lose his love for driving a Power Wheels car that quickly.

“I had them for a long time,” Poole said. “I used to get all the stickers and stuff and put them all on myself; I loved it. My dad would be working on the quarter-midget in the garage, and I’d be beside him putting decals all over my Power Wheels.”

As for the golf clubs, they also made it to the cashier that day, and Poole did take up golf for a bit when he was younger. In high school, he won a few tournaments but admitted it was never a natural love. All he wanted to do was race.

“I think it was kind of the first moment that I got to drive something, and something just clicked in my heart,” Poole said of the trip to the store. “I feel like God put that in my heart at an early age, and so I feel like it was kind of destiny almost to be at the store that day, that Corvette being on the floor and me hopping in and driving it. That’s kind of what led to me getting in a quarter-midget and starting racing.”

In his first full-time season in the Xfinity Series for Chip Ganassi Racing, Poole will enter the series’ inaugural Chase in Saturday’s opener at Kentucky Speedway.

As he seeks his first career Xfinity win, that fateful day at the store is never far from his mind.

“I’ve got a picture that’s taped on my bathroom mirror, and it’s a picture of me in the backyard at our house in California, and my dad is showing me something with the Corvette,” Poole said. “I’ve got some notes that I’ve written to myself also around that picture that are just a reminder for me of what God has done for me and where I’m at and just how incredible the journey from that moment and to now.

“To be in one of the highest series in motorsports in the world, man, it’s just really amazing. When you’re able to look back on all these cool moments, and I think of the path and everything and how I got to this point, it’s just really amazing.”