NASCAR America: Assessing Ganassi Racing after both cars eliminated from Chase

Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson have both made great improvements and one NASCAR America analysts believes Chip Ganassi Racing is the best it’s ever been, which is why it’s surprising that both drivers were eliminated from the Chase in the Round of 16.

NASCAR America: Martin Truex Jr. makes statement with Dover win

NASCAR America discusses how Martin Truex Jr. has combined his talent and his determination to take the No. 78 team to the top of the Chase standings. Truex now has four wins this season, taking his career total to seven.

NASCAR America: Erik Jones confident he can advance in Xfinity Chase

The Xfinity Series’ Erik Jones currently sits below the cut line after finishing 16th at Dover and a dominant regular season. The NASCAR America crew discusses Jones’ chances of advancing after struggling in postseason.

Jeff Gordon named grand marshal for NASCAR Whelen Euro Series finale in Belgium

When a grand marshal is usually announced for a NASCAR race, it’s normally an actor promoting a movie or an executive for a race sponsor no one remembers once the green flag drops.
The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series will have a grand marshal to remember for its season finale in the Elite 1 series.
Jeff Gordon, four-time Sprint Cup champion and 93-time winner, will give the command to start engines for the race at Zolder Circuit in Zolder, Belgium on Oct. 9.
“I’ve been to Zolder before, and I am really looking forward to seeing the NASCAR Euro Series race there,” said Gordon in a press release. “I’ve become friends with (series points leader) Anthony Kumpen and I’ve heard great things about the series popularity. I’m looking forward to seeing it first hand.”
Belgium is also the home country of Gordon’s wife of 10 years, Ingrid Vandebosch.
The Elite 1 series is the one that NASCAR Next member Alon Day competes in and has three wins.
“This is a great honor for everybody involved in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series,” said Jerome Galpin, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series President / CEO in the release. “We are extremely proud to be part of the NASCAR family. We have developed a really amazing relationship in few years. Our drivers receive a great welcome every time they race in the USA and we are pleased to welcome more and more drivers and personalities visiting us from the USA. This Atlantic ocean becomes definitely smaller day after day.”
Gordon’s trip to Zolder comes a week after earning a top-10 finish at Dover International Speedway in a substitute effort in the No. 88 of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Gordon is scheduled for one more start in the Sprint Cup Series this year at Martinsville Speedway, where he won last year before retiring from full-time racing.

Watch LIVE:NASCAR America at 6 p.m. ET: Dover recap, look back at Tony Stewart’s final season

A 90-minute episode of NASCAR America begins at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN and recaps the first elimination race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Mike Massaro hosts with Dale Jarrett and Parker Kligerman in Stamford, Connecticut. Jeff Burton joins them from Burton’s Garage.
In today’s show:
• The Round of 16 is complete as four drivers have been eliminated from the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Gone are Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray, Chris Buescher and Tony Stewart. The second round is set and the 12 drivers in it are led by Martin Truex Jr., after winning two of the first three Chase races. Jarrett, Kligerman and Burton weigh in on the advances and the surprises, comparing how they their Chase Grids compared to the actual after results of the opening round.
• NASCAR America takes a look back at Tony Stewart’s storied career. He has been eliminated from the playoffs after finishing 13th at Dover. Our analysts reveal how they will remember Tony Stewart’s final season.
• We’ll also feature Sunday morning’s Xfinity Series race where Daniel Suarez joined Elliott Sadler in the second round of the Xfinity Chase. We’ll also get reaction from top-seeded Erik Jones, who now faces elimination this week at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
If you can’t catch the show on TV, you also can watch it via the online stream at http://nascarstream.nbcsports.com
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 plug-in that information, you’ll have access to the stream.
Click here at 6 pm ET to watch live via the stream.

Xfinity Chase grid:Erik Jones on outside ahead of elimination race

With only one race left in the first round of the Xfinity Chase, the No. 1 seed and favorite to win it all isn’t in the top eight.
Erik Jones sits at 10th on the Chase grid, four points out of eighth after a DNF and a 16th-place finish in the first two races.
Also outside the top eight, which will advance to the second round, are Ty Dillon (-3), Ryan Sieg (-10) and Brandon Jones (-18).
Daniel Suarez locked himself into the second round with his Dover win. He’s ahead of Elliott Sadler on the grid after having top-two finishes in both races.
The eight drivers in the next round will be decided by the Drive for the Cure 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Friday night.
Click here to view the Xfinity Chase grid.

Sprint Cup Chase grid: Truex, Harvick lead 12 drivers into second round

The Sprint Cup Chase grid has four fewer drivers now after the completion of the first round.
No longer eligible for the championship are Kyle Larson, Tony Stewart, Chris Buescher and Jamie McMurray.
Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick advanced to the second round off wins while the rest of the 12-driver field was based off points.
Round two will be made up of Truex, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Brad  Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson and Austin Dillon.
The second round will take place at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.
Click here for the full Chase grid following the first round.