Showing posts with label XFINITY Series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label XFINITY Series. Show all posts
Jimmie Johnson wins at Martinsville

Not one, not two, not three...alright you get the picture. Jimmie Johnson added to his lengthy Martinsville resume in capturing his ninth grandfather clock at the Goody's Fast Relief 500 on Sunday. "This is the right time to start winning races,” said Johnson, who last won at Martinsville in 2013. "It isn’t going to come easy and we knew that coming into this race and there’s so many challenges at this race track." Now that his ticket is punched to Homestead, "Six-Time" is ready to embrace the challenge of racing for a seventh NASCAR Cup Championship. "I’ve been trying to ignore this conversation about seven, and now I can’t. We’re locked in.”

Carl Edwards championship hopes took a hit

The Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas dominated much of the action in Martinsville. The trio of Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch led a combined 227 of the race's 500 laps, and that number climbs to 374 if you include the performance of alliance member Martin Truex Jr. But it wasn't all sunshine and roses for the Short Track Squad. After running in the top-10 most of the afternoon, reigning TOYOTA OWNERS 400 champion Carl Edwards suffered a blown tire that put the No. 19 right into the Turn 1 wall. The wreck sent Edwards and the No.19 behind the wall for 24 laps, resulting in a 36th place finish for the Chase contendor. He'll need to put in some serious work at Texas and Phoenix if he wants to keep his championship hopes alive.

Elliott Sadler has his eyes on a championship.
After a two-week break, the NASCAR XFINITY Series will pick back up this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Two races remain before the series heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway, and Virginia's own Elliott Sadler is tied with NASCAR Next alumni Daniel Suarez for the Series lead. Blake Koch and Justin Allgaier round out the top four, but Erik Jones and Ryan Reed are in sitting within two points of Allgaier at P4.

Ready. Set. Chase.

The sun has set on Martinsville, and as the Chase field veers out west for a pair of desert showdowns in Texas and Phoenix a gap has already formed among the eight remaining Chase drivers. A pair of poor showings from the Stewart Haas duo and tire problems for Edwards have all three sitting more than 16 points behind Kyle Busch in P4. But Edwards has three career wins in the Lonestar state, and Harvick can look forward to Phoenix, where the 2014 Champion has won six of the last eight contests. Someone's going to make some noise over the next couple of weeks - be sure to tune in and find out who. 
11:03 AM
Joey Logano

Although things were much different this time last year for the No. 22, Joey Logano still managed to find himself in a familiar place on Sunday - Talladega Victory Lane. Logano dominated the Round of 12 in 2015, sweeping all three races and establishing himself as the front-runner for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. Fast forward 12 months and the No. 22 was battling to simply advance. Logano managed to surge ahead on the Lap 191 restart and pull out an overtime win to repeat as the Hellmann's 500 champion. “I feel good,” he said after the race. “...it was going to be tough after what happened in Charlotte, so to be able to recover and win in a clutch moment like this to move us on feels really, really good.”

Joe Gibbs Racing

While their regular season dominance may not have yet shown itself in the Chase, Joe Gibbs Racing's quartet of Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, and Matt Kenseth still found a way to show why they're the team to beat. All four drivers have advanced to the next round of the Chase, without a single Chase win between them, thanks to some cautious race tactics at Talladega. “It’s a playoff and you’ve got to say what is smart and so you certainly don’t want to make a big mistakes of some kind and cost your sponsor and everybody that’s wrapped into this,” said team owner Joe Gibbs about the team's defensive strategy.

XFINITY Series Changes

Early today, NASCAR announced rules that will limit how many XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series races full-time Sprint Cup drivers can race in 2017. Drivers with more than five years of full-time Cup experience will be limited to maximum of 10 XFINITY and seven Camping World Truck Series contests beginning in 2017. Additionally, those drivers will also be held from competing in both Series' finales at Homestead-Miami Speedway and any XFINITY Dash for Cash races. “The updated guidelines will elevate the stature of our future stars, while also providing them the opportunity to compete against the best in professional motorsports,” said NASCAR Senior VP of Racing Operations Jim Cassidy.

Martinsville

NASCAR Returns to the Commonwealth
The eight drivers who survived Talladega with championship dreams intact now turn their attention to Martinsville and the only short track in the Chase. Could this be where one of the JGR Toyotas, who've led 1,545 of the 3,307 laps raced on short tracks this year, captures its first playoff win? Hometown Hamlin was the last one to visit Victory Lane, winning the regular-season finale at Richmond International Raceway, and has five wins at the half-mile track. Teammate Kyle Busch also won at Martinsville in April, but it's Hendrick's Jimmie Johnson who has seen the most success in Southwest Virginia (eight wins, 23 top-10's in 29 races).
10:06 AM

Elliott Sadler at RIR
Virginia driver Elliott Sadler is in the middle of what might be his best season as a driver yet.
"I hate that it's the first year of the Chase," Elliott Sadler said with a chuckle. "I mean I love it and think it's great for the Series, but I hate to give up a 47-point lead heading into the playoffs."

Well that was then. 

At the time, Sadler was at Richmond International Raceway preparing for the Virginia529 College Savings 250 - the second-to-last race of the regular season. The Emporia, VA native sat atop the XFINITY Series standings in the midst of a season that will go down as one of his best.

"I'd rather win at (Richmond) than anywhere else in the country," Sadler said of his hometown track. "I've got a lot of family and friends that come here for this race - it's really racing at home. Racing in our backyard puts so much emotion into it, it's a bucket list item for me."

Although his fourth place finish in the Virginia529 College Savings 250 meant that elusive Action Track win would stay on that list at least a little longer, the JR Motorsports driver finds himself poised to check off an even bigger item.

With just four races left on the XFINITY Series schedule, Sadler still sits atop the field as we move into the Round of 8 for the inaugural Chase for the XFINITY Championship.

"We've had a dream season. I can't tell you how proud I am of Kelley (Earnhardt-Miller) and Dale Junior, the equipment they've given us, along with my crew chief Kevin (Meendering) and his guys," Sadler said. "We've just been bringing fast cars to the race track week in and week out. We've been very consistent, we're in the top-10 each and every week."

Through 29 races he's finished sixth or better 18 times, posted three wins, and, aside from a mishap back at Charlotte in May, he's finished on the lead lap every race. Had the XFINITY Series not adopted the successful Chase format like its counterpart Cup Series, the Virginia driver might've been a virtual lock for the 2016 XFINITY Series Championship.

As it turns out, he's more than capable of rolling with the change, too.

Sadler kicked off his postseason run in historic fashion, winning the first ever NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase race in Kentucky. The regular season points leader then followed up his win with a seventh place finish at Dover and a second place showing at Charlotte.

Elliott Sadler succeeding in Chase format
The JR Motorsports driver has posted an average finish of 6.9 this season - the best of his career.
"It's by far the best season I've ever had in racing," Sadler said. "We want to capitalize on it and I've got a great group of guys around us. We're just going to keep after it."

In his first season with JR Motorsports, Sadler enters the Round of 8 looking to extend his streak of 14-straight top-10's en route to a Championship showdown in Homestead-Miami. And while he claims it's his best season to date, whats even more important for the NASCAR vet is he's having the time of his life.

"I like showing up to the race track every week knowing you have the chance to win, and I like appreciating the hard work that's going on around me," Sadler said. "I am in the best situation I've been in in a long time, I'm having more fun than I've had in a long time...I can't see myself doing anything different."

Nor should he. As long as Sadler keeps doing what he's doing, there's a good chance he'll be bringing an XFINITY Series Championship to the Commonwealth.

5:13 PM


Jimmie Johnson wins
It really was just a matter of time, wasn't it? For the first time under the current Chase format, six-time champion Jimmie Johnson secured his spot in the Round of 8 with his eighth victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday. "We knew we would get back," Johnson said in Victory Lane. "It was slower than we wanted it to be but to be here today and have this victory is great. We were able to execute all day long here. I just really can’t thank everyone enough that supports us and for all the fans that were tuned in today."

Chase Elliott

Johnson's teammate Chase Elliott was also poised for a strong finish in the 704, until a wreck on Lap 258 ended his day early. The Sprint Cup rookie led 103 laps and was running fifth when contact between Martin Truex Jr. and Austin Dillon caused a wreck that sent both the No. 3 and No. 24 into the garage. "We had such a good car and I am devastated that we didn't get the result that the guys deserved," Elliott said. "They gave me such a fast 3M Chevy and that is all you can ask for. We just have got to go and do more of that next week." Dillon and Elliott weren't the only two Chase contenders short on luck either. Drivers Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin suffered car troubles that knocked them out of the race prematurely.

XFINITY Chase Grid

Ty Dillon is out, Darrell Wallace Jr. is in - with just one point separating the two. After a hectic race in Charlotte on Sunday, the inaugural XFINITY Chase field was cut to eight drivers and Dillon was one of four drivers who's championship dreams came to an end. "Man, it's heartbreaking," an emotional Dillon said after the race. "We're a team that should have been in the final round and you've got to expect things to happen...That's the way this Chase is built." Daniel Suarez and Emporia's own Elliott Sadler lead the remaining drivers, thanks to their respective wins at Kentucky and Dover. Fellow XFINITY race winner Erik Jones also made the cut, joining Wallace, Justin Allgaier, Brendan Gaughan, Ryan Reed and Blake Koch in the field. Think you know who'll make the next round of cuts? Make your picks here.

Breathing Room?

Breathing Room? What Breathing Room?
If Sunday showed us anything, it's that the notion of "breathing room" in the Chase might be little more than an illusion. As 2014 champion Kevin Harvick pointed out last week - "trouble can strike anywhere." That certainly came to fruition in Charlotte when nearly half the Chase field was sent to the garage early. While nearly every driver had spoken about the importance of strong finishes at Charlotte and Kansas before cut-off race in Talladega, Sunday's contest proved to be an exhaustive gauntlet the entire field navigated all afternoon. Now the circus travels to Kansas City where there will be even more pressure for drivers to survive and advance in the 2016 Chase for the Sprint Cup.
11:33 AM

The last time Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran an XFINITY Series race at Richmond, he found his way into Victory Lane. His 2016 attempt? Rinse and repeat.

Starting from the second row, Junior led a race high 128-laps in Saturday's ToyotaCare 250 XFINITY Series Dash 4 Cash en route to his first Series win since 2010.

“In the first 20 laps there was a lot of guys as good, maybe better, than us,” Earnhardt said. “I think Ty (Dillon) was better than me on the last couple of laps. It was a good race and a good finish.”

#DaleYeah it was.

Junior navigated his way through two late-race cautions, including one that resulted from a multi-car wreck involving JRM teammate Justin Allgaier. Allgaier, one of the four XFINITY Series regulars in the running for the XFINITY Dash 4 Cash prize, was running out front before contact with Brennan Poole sent him spinning.


The wreck also put D4C-eligible Erik Jones, running seventh at the time, out of contention for the $100,000 prize.

RCR's Ty Dillon took advantage of the late-race wreckage and maneuvered his way to a second place victory and Richmond's Dash 4 Cash crown.

“You’re sure this is Richmond, right?” Dillion laughed. “This place has been really tough on me and my team as a whole. To finish second and run the way we did all day was just impressive.”

While the win is the 24th of Earnhardt’s career, it’s his first victory while driving a car he owns.

“I knew we had great cars at Richmond and that’s why I picked to run here,” Earnhardt said. “This was one of the races I asked if I could run, so I was lucky to just be able to drive our stuff here.”

He'll get to drive that stuff again for tomorrow afternoon's TOYOTA OWNERS 400 and is excited about the race's transition to a Sunday afternoon event.

"There will be some good passing, and racing, and slipping and sliding throughout the pack," Earnhardt said.  "You’ll see guys really having a hard time getting the throttle down off the corner. They’re going to be spinning out sideways getting into Turn 3 and Turn 1...they’re gonna be moving around, looking for grip - and I think that’s great."

Virginia native Elliott Sadler came home third. Daniel Suarez and Austin Dillon rounded out the top-five. Cole Custer, in his Xfinity Series debut, finished sixth.
5:35 PM

HEAT 1
HEAT 2



4:49 PM
They might not have won the Powershares QQQ 300- but they definitely won us over.
Race runner-up Joey Logano and Virginia-native Elliot Sadler gave one of the more entertaining post-race press conferences we've seen. Here are some of the best moments:


Want more NASCAR? For checking us out, we're extending you a special offer for the TOYOTA OWNERS 400 on Sunday, April 24! Click here for more details.
9:24 AM

The NASCAR XFINITY Series season is officially underway! Here are some of the best sights:

2016 Powershares QQQ 300


Want more NASCAR? For checking us out, we're extending you a special offer for the TOYOTA OWNERS 400 on Sunday, April 24! Click here for more details.  
5:34 PM

As we tune in to the Powershares QQQ 300 this afternoon, here's a look at some of the young guns the NASCAR XFINITY Series has to offer in 2016. There are four drivers entered as Sunoco Rookies for 2016- lets get to know them.


Jones turned 19 just a few days ago, and we're sure he'd take a trip to Victory Lane as a belated birthday present. He's already seen success during his limited run in the series, with a top-5 and two top-10's in just five XFINITY Series starts. He doesn't have the experience others do in the series, but we're pretty sure he can handle the challenge (considering he balanced a slate of 33 races while finishing up his senior year of high school last season).

Richard Childress Racing  |  No. 33 Menards Chevrolet


Poole got a heavy of the XFINITY series last season - making 17 starts (including both Richmond races) and collecting two top-10 finishes in the process. The 24-year-old was a mainstay in the ARCA Series, collecting six wins in 35 starts since 2011. One of those wins came in his very first ARCA start at Salem Speedway, and in 2012 he finished third in the final standings.
Chip Ganassi Racing  |  No. 48 DC Solar Chevrolet


The 2015 Camping World Truck Series champion, Jones is the early front-runner for Rookie of the Year honors.  Earning seat time in both the No. 20 and No. 54 last season, he made a total of 23 starts and earned two wins, three poles, 12 top-5 and 17 top-10 finishes. The 19-year-old even worked his way into a Cup ride for three starts last season. You can find out even more about Jones by checking out the chat we had with him earlier this week.

Joe Gibbs Racing  |  No. 20 Resers Main Street Bistro Toyota


Preece is a graduate of the NASCAR Next program. He hails from Berlin, Connecticut, and at 25 years old has made three XFINITY Series starts (from 2013 and 2014).

JD Motorsports  |  No. 01 UPTick Vineyards Chevrolet

Want more NASCAR? For checking us out, we're extending you a special offer for the TOYOTA OWNERS 400 on Sunday, April 24! Click here for more details.  
2:46 PM
We had a few minutes to catch up with NASCAR XFINITY Series rookie Erik Jones, and get to know the man behind the wheel


You can see Erik, starting P5, and the rest of the XFINITY Series field tonight for the Powershares QQQ 300
Powershares QQQ 300









Want more NASCAR? For checking us out, we're extending you a special offer for the TOYOTA OWNERS 400 on Sunday, April 24! Click here for more details.  



2:00 PM

All three series were on track Friday, and here's some of the best of what we saw:

2016 NextEra Energy Resources 250


Want more NASCAR? For checking us out, we're extending you a special offer for the TOYOTA OWNERS 400 on Sunday, April 24! Click here for more details.  
10:42 AM
We were down in the Daytona garages this morning, and as the teams were getting ready for the action later this weekend, we got a little caught up in some of the paint schemes you'll see this weekend. Here's a few that caught our eye:

Chase Elliott
Chase Elliott
It's going to take some time to get used to seeing any name other than "Jeff Gordon" on the car, but the Daytona 500 pole winner's ride is looking fresh. We're just happy to see the No. 24 still burning rubber.

Erik Jones
Anyone else getting hungry? The 2015 Camping World Truck Series champion has a full-time XFINITY Series ride for the upcoming season. The paint-out for the Powershares QQQ 300 satisfies our craving for more Jones (and mac n'cheese).

Derrike Cope
Cope's Ice-Aid paint out was cold as "Ice Ice Baby." The Derrike Cope Racing machine's primary for the 2016 season keeps things definitely keeps things cool under the hot Florida sun.

David Ragan
David Ragan
After driving for three different teams in 2015, we're sure David Ragan is thrilled to settle in with BK Racing for the upcoming season. He rolls into the 500 with a Dr. Pepper paint out that is truly "One of a Kind."

Richmond International Raceway
Call us a little biased, but we happen to think that this particular scheme was the hottest thing to arrive in Daytona for Speedweeks. You see a light bar on any of the other cars above? I didn't think so.

Want more NASCAR? For checking us out, we're extending you a special offer for the TOYOTA OWNERS 400 on Sunday, April 24! Click here for more details.  
1:46 PM


As if this week’s news could get any better. Dale Earnhardt Jr. confirmed today that he WILL participate in our NASCAR XFINITY Series ToyotaCare 250 on April 23. Announced yesterday, the ToyotaCare 250 will be the second of four Dash 4 Cash races this season. The new format will be made up of qualifying, two heat races, and a final main event of 140 laps.



As a 2015 Challenger in The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Dale will be ineligible to win the cash…but that doesn’t seem to soften his excitement for the new format.



Tickets for the ToyotaCare 250 start at just $35 – and kids 12 & under are FREE.
You really don’t have any excuse to miss this one.
3:05 PM
Five things from today's state of the sport address

The 2016 NASCAR season has officially hit the ground running today with the announcement of several big changes set to debut this year. Let’s take a look:

1. THE CHASE IS COMING

...to the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series, that is.

2. PLAYOFFS?! TALK TO ME ABOUT THE PLAYOFFS

Twelve and eight drivers will qualify for the XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series playoff system, respectively. Two three-race elimination rounds will cut the field to four before the final round at Homestead-Miami for all three Series.

3. TICK-TOCK CLOCK 

A Caution Clock will count down to twenty minutes after the green flag drops in the Camping World Truck Series. A caution will be called when time runs out, unless a caution has already taken place.

4. DASH 4 CASH, MEET TOYOTACARE 250 

The 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series Dash 4 Cash race schedule taps Bristol, Richmond, Dover, and Indy – in that order.

5. TURN UP THE HEAT(s) 

The Dash 4 Cash program is moving to a new format made up of two heat races, followed by a main event.


You’ve got to see racing like this. 
1:57 PM
Dash 4 Cash Announcement
12:13 PM
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