quinta-feira, 13 de outubro de 2016
Heads up:Kansas weekend
Here are the hot topics, trending news and key story lines to get you ready for this weekend's races at Kansas Speedway.
WEATHER
The
good news? It doesn't appear likely that a hurricane will impact this
weekend's racing at Kansas. The highest chance of percipitation is
around 20 percent, according to Weather.com.
Otherwise,
we're looking at consistent temps hovering around 81 degrees most of
Saturday and Sunday, while it will be mostly cloudy and a little cooler
(70 degrees) when cars roll on Friday, according to the National Weather
Service.
KEY TIMES
Sprint Cup Series: The Sprint Cup Series holds its first practice Friday at 1 p.m. ET (NBCSN/NBC Sports App), with Coors Light Pole qualifying at 6:15 p.m. ET (NBCSN/NBC Sports App). The Hollywood Casino 400 is at 2:15 p.m. ET Sunday (NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Sprint Cup Series: The Sprint Cup Series holds its first practice Friday at 1 p.m. ET (NBCSN/NBC Sports App), with Coors Light Pole qualifying at 6:15 p.m. ET (NBCSN/NBC Sports App). The Hollywood Casino 400 is at 2:15 p.m. ET Sunday (NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
XFINITY Series: The XFINITY Series opens practice Friday at 2:30 p.m. ET (NBCSN/NBC Sports App) and qualifies Saturday at noon ET (CNBC/NBC Sports App). The Kansas Lottery 300 is Saturday at 3 p.m. ET (NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
CATCH DRIVERS LIVE
We'll stream every driver press conference in the Kansas media center at NASCAR.com/presspass. Click here for a full schedule. Click here to tune into the live stream.
LAST TIME
Like last week, Joey Logano is the defending race winner. The Team Penske
driver led 42 of 269 laps to secure a victory in the middle of his
three-race sweep of the Round of 12 (Charlotte, Kansas and Talladega)
last season. In fact, he has won this race the past two years.
YOU SHOULD KNOW
• Joey Logano had three times as many wins in the Round of 12 last year than he does in all of 2016 (one). In need of a stellar finish -- if not a win -- after limping to a 36th-place finish at Charlotte, Logano certainly isn't hurting for motivation this weekend and Kansas lines up well for the prospects of regaining his mojo. The Penske driver has won two of the past four races at Kansas and had a top-five streak of five races snapped in the spring race (38th).
• Despite winning the race with driver Kyle Busch, the spring event at Kansas didn't favor Toyota as we've seen much of this year, placing just two drivers (Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Matt Kenseth) in the top 10. After the pair was the only set of Toyotas in the top 10 at Charlotte, as well, this trend could continue. But then again -- it wouldn't be a shock to see either of those drivers win and advance.
• Some XFINITY Series heavy hitters were knocked out of the Round of 12 after failing to advance at Charlotte in Ty Dillon, Brennan Poole, Brandon Jones and Ryan Sieg.
In the series' first Chase, it'll be interesting to observe how teams
adjust after seeing firsthand (in some cases) how a subpar opening round
race can put a group in a serious, unrecoverable hole -- quickly.
THE FAVORITE
Martin Truex Jr. While his overall numbers at Kansas Speedway aren't spectacular (17.1 average finish), Truex is still currently the favorite heading into just about every race right now, but in particular on intermediate tracks like this one. Three of his four wins this season have come at tracks similar in length and there's little reason to believe May's pole-winner won't have another stout No. 78 Furniture Row Racing entry this weekend.
Others to consider: Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch.
THE SLEEPER
Chase Elliott. Based on how he's run most of the season, it's hard to picture a winless Chase Elliott this year, even if it is his rookie campaign. The Hendrick Motorsports driver was having a heck of a run at Charlotte (103 laps led, a career high) before wrecking, and has never finished outside the top 10 at Kansas in the three races he's run across Sprint Cup and XFINITY competition. Expect him to be in play on Sunday.
Others to consider: Joey Logano, Carl Edwards.
STAFF PICKS
Matt Kenseth: 2
Chase Elliott: 2
Martin Truex Jr.: 1
Carl Edwards: 1
Brad Keselowski: 1
Jimmie Johnson: 1
NASCAR’s weekend schedule at Kansas Speedway
NASCAR’s top two national series are headed to Kansas Speedway.
Kansas marks the second race in the second round in the Sprint Cup Chase. The Xfinity Series begins its second round Saturday afternoon.
Both series will be on track Friday, which wraps up with Sprint Cup Series qualifying for the Hollywood Casino 400.
All times are Eastern
Friday, Oct. 4
10 a.m. – 8 p.m. – Sprint Cup garage open
11:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. – Xfinity Series garage open
1 p.m. – 2:25 p.m. – Sprint Cup practice (NBCSN, MRN)
2:30 p.m. – 3:25 p.m. – Xfinity Series practice (NBCSN)
4:35 p.m. – 5:55 p.m. – Xfinity Series final practice (NBCSN)
6:15 p.m. – Sprint Cup Series qualifying; multi-vehicle/three rounds (NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday, Oct. 5
8:30 a.m. – Xfinity Series garage open
9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. – Sprint Cup garage open
11 a.m. – 11:50 a.m. – Sprint Cup practice (NBC Sports App, MRN)
Noon – Xfinity Series qualifying; multi-vehicle/three rounds (NBC Sports App, NBCSN coverage begins at 12:30 p.m.)
1:15 p.m. – Xfinity Series driver/crew chief meeting
1:30 p.m. – 2:20 p.m. – Final Sprint Cup practice (NBCSN, MRN)
2:20 p.m. – Xfinity Series driver introductions
3 p.m. – Xfinity Series Kansas Lottery 300; 200 laps, 300 miles (NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday, Oct. 6
8:30 a.m. – Sprint Cup garage open
12:15 p.m. – Sprint Cup driver/crew chief meeting
1:45 p.m. – Sprint Cup driver introductions
2:15 p.m. – Sprint Cup Hollywood Casino 400; 267 laps, 400.5 miles (NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Consistency is a clearer path forward for some contenders after Charlotte chaos
CHARLOTTE – As the task of reaching the next round of the NASCAR playoffs got much rockier for five drivers Sunday, it got much easier for the seven drivers ranked ahead.
How much easier?
“If we could run top 10 the next two races, I’d say it’s an easy transfer,” Brad Keselowski told a small group of reporters Tuesday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
The Team Penske driver is ranked fourth in the standings, 25 points ahead of the ninth-place cutoff after the Round of 12 opener at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Denny Hamlin, who finished 30th with an engine failure, is ranked in the eighth-place transfer spot, 19 points behindMartin Truex Jr. But Hamlin is only three points ahead of Austin Dillon and Chase Elliott, six in front of Joey Logano and eight ahead of Kevin Harvick.
Keselowski believes the four drivers eliminated after the next two races at Kansas Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway will come from those five because the top seven (aside fromJimmie Johnson, who is locked in with a win) can play it safe.
“I think it drastically changes the dynamic,” Keselowski said. “There’s really two ways to (advance), through consistency and winning. You look at the simple math, there are four cars that are going to be eliminated, and five cars in really rough shape that aren’t going to have the opportunity to be consistent and make their way in, so they’re pigeon-holed into the other half of the equation.
“Being one of the cars that’s in between and had a pretty good point gap, that all but guarantees that you can use consistency to get through this round. That certainly changes mindsets. A car with any gap is going to lay up at Kansas and try really hard not to put yourself in that situation. Certainly there are some situations you can’t avoid. The reality, is if you have a pretty good gap, you’re probably going to take a log off the fire.”
In the third year of the restructured Chase for the Sprint Cup featuring eliminations and points resets, Keselowski said drivers are becoming more cognizant of the risk-reward ratio. The 2012 champion still shakes his head at his run-in with Jeff Gordon while battling to take a lead at Texas Motor Speedway. Keselowski needed a win while Gordon could have been safe with a top five.
They collided, and Gordon suffered a cut tire that effectively eliminated him the following race at Phoenix.
“I knew he didn’t have to win,” Keselowski said. “All he had to do was run like fourth. Probably 10th. When I made the move, I was shocked that he didn’t know the situation. How do you not know the situation? I’m behind you with newer tires, you’re not getting a good restart. All you need to do is run fifth. Know the situation.”
Crew chiefs and drivers seem much more attuned this season to the importance of points, which frequently were emphasized during the first round.
“The first year certainly demonstrated that there was less recognition to the situational awareness that defines those moments,” Keselowski said. “When you get into years two and three, and everybody learns the format, everybody is like, ‘Oh, I understand. This is what I need to do.’”
That decreases the likelihood of repeating last year’s finish at Kansas, where Joey Logano, who already was guaranteed to advance, spun Matt Kenseth, who was in desperate need of a win, from the lead in the closing laps.
After being eliminated, Kenseth intentionally wrecked Logano out of the lead at Martinsville Speedway to open the next round.
Keselowski expects more secure title contenders will yield more easily to those who are desperate.
“That’s definitely happening, yes,” he said. “And will continue to happen with this format. Without a doubt. Everyone saw what happened with Joey, and they’re not going to do that to themselves.
“It’s like basketball. You want to make sure you don’t have a bunch of fouls and aren’t worn out when the fourth quarter comes, because it seems like those are always five-point games in the fourth quarter, so don’t be in the spot to foul out. Make sure you’ve got your legs beneath you.”
NASCAR America:Johnson back on top thanks to dedication of Hendrick Motorsports
Tony Stewart says his presence in owner meetings feels ‘like an episode of Sesame Street’
FORT WORTH, Texas – The end of Tony Stewart‘s Sprint Cup racing career is less than six weeks away, but the co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing has already gotten a taste of what the life of a full-time owner will be like.
‘The fun thing is I’ve been to a couple of the owners meetings and it’s pretty cool to sit in the room with Roger Penske, Chip Ganassi, Richard Childress and Joe Gibbs and those guys,” Stewart said Wednesday at Texas Motor Speedway.
But the three-time Sprint Cup champion said his attendance made the meetings with giants of the auto racing industry feel “like an episode of ‘Sesame Street.'”
“There’s one thing in the room that doesn’t belong and it’s not like the others and they point at me,” said Stewart, who was holding his annual “Smoke Show” Fantasy Camp benefiting Speedway Children’s Charities.
But even though he’s been co-owner of SHR since 2009, Stewart still doesn’t feel like an owner.
“I won’t say I’m a part of that group yet because I still feel like I’m just a driver right now,” said Stewart, who leaves his NASCAR driver’s seat behind on Nov. 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. “To be able to work with those guys on behalf of the sport I think is going to be a lot of fun.”
At some point in the next six weeks will be Stewart’s final Sprint Cup Drivers Council meeting. Stewart is one of nine drivers on the council that was founded last year. With him on it are Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson, defending series champion Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick,Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano.
“The thing that I’m most excited about with the drivers council is I feel like it’s a good group of guys in there right now,” Stewart said. “I feel like their mindset and their ability to work together for the reason and the right causes and goals.”
Stewart’s presence on the council has had an impact this season. NASCAR’s year-long odyssey regarding lug nuts began with Stewart’s rant about the issue in April.
In January he criticized NASCAR CEO and Chairman Brian France for not have a presence in the meetings. France then attended an April meeting in Talladega, an act appreciated by the drivers.
He’s also been an encouraging voice for young drivers like Larson, who admitted that at first he didn’t feel deserving of a spot on the council.
“If you don’t say anything, why are you on this?’’ Stewart told Larson. “You have an opinion, speak up.’’
Stewart has opinions. On everything. But he recently said he’s ready to no longer be the voice of the garage.
Is there any opinion “Smoke” has kept to himself, waiting to drop on the drivers council right before he puts both feet into his role as an owner?
“I’m going to save that for when I get out of the car at Homestead I think,” Stewart joked at TMS. “The hard part is I wish we could tell you guys all the stuff that’s discussed in it but it’s not the right thing to do.”
Stewart is “proud” of what the council has accomplished in it first two years and is a little surprised at how unselfish its members have been.
“It would be really easy in our sport to be selfish and try to work on things that you think are going to benefit you,” Stewart said. “But the driver council does a really good job of not doing that. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised about that, but I guess to a certain degree a little bit I was surprised that everybody really cared more about the sport than they were about what their individual organizations were working on.”
PAUL MENARD, MORE RECEIVE WARNINGS POST-CHARLOTTE
NASCAR gave warnings to several Sprint Cup Series teams for failing either laser inspection station or template inspection during last weekend's on-track action atCharlotte Motor Speedway for the Bank of America 500, including the No. 27 Richard Childress Racing team for driver Paul Menard.
The No. 27 team failed pre-qualifying LIS three times, resulting in a written warning and a loss of 15 minutes of practice time for this weekend at Kansas Speedway for the Hollywood Casino 400 (2:15 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The No. 30 team of Josh Wise received a written warning and 15-minute loss of practice time, as well, after failing pre-qualifying template inspection three times.
The No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing team ofTrevor Bayne, the No. 7 Tommy Baldwin Racing team of Regan Smith, the No. 20Joe Gibbs Racing team of Matt Kenseth, the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing team ofKurt Busch, the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing team of Kyle Larson, the No. 78Furniture Row Racing team of Martin Truex Jr., and the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports team of Alex Bowman all received written warnings for failing pre-race template inspection twice.
The No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing team ofRicky Stenhouse Jr., the No. 20 of Kenseth, the No. 23 BK Racing team of David Ragan, the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team ofChase Elliott, the No. 31 RCR team of Ryan Newman, the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports team of Chris Buescher and the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports team of Aric Almirola all received written warnings after failing pre-qualifying LIS inspection twice.
Stewart Haas Racing's Nos. 4, 10 and 14 teams -- wheeled by Kevin Harvick, Danica Patrick, and Tony Stewart, respectively -- failed pre-qualifying template inspection twice and received written warnings along with the No. 88 HMS team -- driven Charlotte weekend by Alex Bowman.
The No. 27 team failed pre-qualifying LIS three times, resulting in a written warning and a loss of 15 minutes of practice time for this weekend at Kansas Speedway for the Hollywood Casino 400 (2:15 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The No. 30 team of Josh Wise received a written warning and 15-minute loss of practice time, as well, after failing pre-qualifying template inspection three times.
The No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing team ofTrevor Bayne, the No. 7 Tommy Baldwin Racing team of Regan Smith, the No. 20Joe Gibbs Racing team of Matt Kenseth, the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing team ofKurt Busch, the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing team of Kyle Larson, the No. 78Furniture Row Racing team of Martin Truex Jr., and the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports team of Alex Bowman all received written warnings for failing pre-race template inspection twice.
The No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing team ofRicky Stenhouse Jr., the No. 20 of Kenseth, the No. 23 BK Racing team of David Ragan, the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team ofChase Elliott, the No. 31 RCR team of Ryan Newman, the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports team of Chris Buescher and the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports team of Aric Almirola all received written warnings after failing pre-qualifying LIS inspection twice.
Stewart Haas Racing's Nos. 4, 10 and 14 teams -- wheeled by Kevin Harvick, Danica Patrick, and Tony Stewart, respectively -- failed pre-qualifying template inspection twice and received written warnings along with the No. 88 HMS team -- driven Charlotte weekend by Alex Bowman.
Both Newman and Patrick served their respective penalties in Charlotte.
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