RACE RECAPS- SONOMA RACEWAY AND GATEWAY MOTORSPORTS PARK

TOYOTA – SAVE MART 350

Sonoma Raceway – Sonoma, California

Sunday, June 26, 2016

Race Winner: Tony Stewart

Age: 45

Team: No. 14 – Code 3 Assoc/Mobil 1 Chevrolet

Owner: Stewart-Haas Racing

Crew Chief: Mike Bugarewicz

IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – "They're all good; it doesn't matter where you get them. But, we ran close to those guys all day. We just got stuck back in traffic. It's pretty ironic the last one we got was in a Code 3 car and I'm proud to do it again. I'm proud of Mobil 1 and Bass Pro and everybody. It's just an awesome job."

-       Tony Stewart

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·         Tony Stewart won the 28^th Annual Toyota -  Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway Sunday afternoon. For Stewart, it was his 49^th victory in 598 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.  It is his first victory and third top-10 finish of 2016.  It is the second race in a row in which he has finished in the top-10.

·         Stewart's last win was at Dover International Speedway on June 2, 2013. There have been 110 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races since then; Stewart has started 84 of those races.

·         This is Stewart’s third victory and 10^th top-10 finish in 18 races at Sonoma Raceway.

·         With Sunday’s win, Stewart now has a total of eight victories at road course tracks.

·         Stewart is now 32nd in the point standings, nine points out of 30th place and a spot in the 2016 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Stewart must finish in the top-30 after the season’s 26 regular season races to qualify for the Chase.

·         Denny Hamlin (second) posted a career-best finish at Sonoma Raceway. It is his third top-10 finish in 11 races at the track. It is also his seventh top-10 and fifth top-5 finish in 2016.

·         Joey Logano (third) posted his fourth top-10 finish in eight races at Sonoma Raceway. It is his third consecutive top-5 and 10^th top-10 showing this year.

·         Carl Edwards finished fourth, giving him his 11^th top-10 and 6^th top-5 finish this season.

·         Martin Truex Jr. (fifth) posted his seventh top-10 and third top-5 showing of 2016.

·         Kevin Harvick (562) leads the 2016 Sprint Cup points standing by 35 points over Kurt Busch (527).  The following are the top five drivers in points through the first 16 races:

Driver                                           Wins               Points

Kevin Harvick                                1                       562

Kurt Busch                                     1                       527

Carl Edwards                                 2                       510

Brad Keselowski                           2                       506

Joey Logano                                  1                       493

·         Ten drivers have qualified for the 2016 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, a list which includes Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr., all of who have taken checkered flags this year. With his win today, Stewart would also qualify so long as he finishes in the top-30 in points after the season’s 26 regular season races. The Chase culminates with the Ford EcoBoost 400 championship race on November 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

·         In 16 career Cup Series starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Tony Stewart has compiled seven top-10 and four top-5 finishes, including victories in 1999, 2000 and 2011. In 2002, 2005 and 2011, Tony Stewart celebrated his titles at Homestead-Miami Speedway after being crowned Cup Series champion.

Starting this year, the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series will feature championship races at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19 (NXS) and November 18 (NCWTS).  Four drivers will compete amongst a full field for their respective title. The following is a race recap from this weekend’s Camping World Truck Series race at Gateway Motorsports Park:

·         Christopher Bell won the 3rd Annual Drivin’ for Linemen 200 Camping World Truck Series race at Gateway Motorsports Park Saturday night. It is his second victory in 16 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.

·         This is Bell’s first victory and fifth top-10 finish in 2016. It is also Bell’s first victory on asphalt. His first career win came at the Eldora Speedway dirt track, last season.

·         With the victory, Kyle Busch Motorsports ties Roush Fenway Racing for the all-time series wins lead with 50 victories.

·        Rookie William Byron leads the point standings by 1 point over Matt Crafton.

·         Through 9 races this season in the Camping World Truck Series, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Matt Crafton, John Hunter Nemechek and Johnny Sauter have qualified for the 2016 Camping World Truck Series Chase following their victories. Kyle Busch has also won a Camping World Truck Series race this season but is ineligible for the Camping World Truck Series Chase due to his full-time status in the Sprint Cup Series.

RACE RECAP-MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

 

Race Recap

FireKeepers Casino 400

Michigan International Speedway – Brooklyn, Michigan

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Race Winner: Joey Logano

Age: 26

Team: No. 22 – Shell Pennzoil Ford

Owner: Team Penske

Crew Chief: Todd Gordon

IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – “First off, I didn't win, we won as a team.  You know, it was an amazing team effort from Friday or when we unloaded with this rules package.  You don't know what you're up against when you barrel down into Turn 1 the first time, and you say, oh, my God, they weren't kidding about that small spoiler on the back of it, and you start to -- everyone started working on the car, able to put the thing on the pin to start the race and be able to stay up in the top two the whole race.  It goes to show that not only did we have a fast race car, you've seen a lot of times a fast race car doesn't win the race all the time, you've got to execute throughout it.  Seeing the strategy that Todd had, the execution of the pit crew to keep us up front, the way the restarts went and able to maintain the lead and keep that clean air, everyone did their job the way we were supposed to.  It feels good to be able to do that. When you lead that many laps, it's more of a relief when you win than anything because you feel like you're supposed to when you have a car that good. It felt really good to pull our car into victory lane, get that win.  I consider it our second win of the season.  I know you guys don't.  But I think we've celebrated twice this year, so it's nice to be able to know that we're locked into the Chase and we can race even harder than we do now.”

-       Joey Logano

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·         Joey Logano won the 48^th annual FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway Sunday afternoon. For Logano, it was his 15^th victory in 271 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.  It is his first victory and ninth top-10 finish of 2016.  It was the third straight race in which he finished in the top 10.

·         The victory snaps a string of 18 consecutive races without a win for Logano. Prior to today, his last win came on October 25, 2015 at Talladega Superspeedway.

·         This is Logano’s second victory and 10^th top-10 finish in 16 races at Michigan International Speedway.

·         Logano’s win today is the 100^th for Roush-Yates Engines in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

·         Chase Elliott (second) posted his first top-10 finish in two races at Michigan International Speedway.

·         Elliott’s second place showing was his best performance of the year. It is Elliott’s sixth straight top-10 and sixth top-5 finish of 2016.

·         Kyle Larson (third) posted his second top-10 finish in six races at Michigan International Speedway.

·         It is Larson’s fourth top-10 and third top-5 finish through 15 races this season.

·         Brad Keselowski finished fourth, giving him his 10^th top-10 finish of the year. It is also his third consecutive top-5.

·         Kevin Harvick’s fifth place finish on Sunday was his 12^th top-10 and seventh top-5 showing of 2016.

·         Kevin Harvick (526) leads the 2016 Sprint Cup points standing by 30 points over Kurt Busch (496).  The following are the top five drivers in points through the first 15 races:

Driver                                           Wins               Points

Kevin Harvick                                 1                       526

Kurt Busch                                     1                       496

Brad Keselowski                            2                       480

Carl Edwards                                 2                       472

Joey Logano                                  1                       455

·         With the win, Joey Logano becomes the tenth driver to qualify for the 2016 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, a list which also includes Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr., all of who have taken checkered flags this year.  The Chase culminates with the Ford EcoBoost 400 championship race on November 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

·         In seven career Sprint Cup starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Joey Logano has compiled two top-10 finishes. Logano’s best showing at Homestead-Miami Speedway came on November 22, 2015 in the Ford EcoBoost 400 where he finished fourth and led 72 laps.

·         Starting this year, the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series will feature championship races at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19 (NXS) and November 18 (NCWTS).  Four drivers will compete amongst a full field for their respective title. The following are the top drivers thus far in the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series:

XFINITY Series

Driver                                           Wins                    Points
Daniel Suarez                                  1                        452                         

Elliott Sadler                                    1                        434          

Ty Dillon                                           0                        416

Erik Jones                                        2                        397              

Justin Allgaier                                  0                         388

Camping World Truck Series

Driver                                           Wins                    Points

Matt Crafton                                     2                           194

Timothy Peters                                 0                           176

William Byron                                   2                           171

Daniel Hemric                                  0                           168

John Hunter Nemechek                   1                           153

Johnny Sauter                                 1                            151

RACE RECAP- POCONO RACEWAY

Race Recap

Axalta ‘We Paint Winners’ 400

Pocono Raceway – Long Pond, Pa.

Monday, June 6, 2016

Race Winner: Kurt Busch

Age: 37

Team: No. 41 – Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet

Owner: Stewart-Haas Racing

Crew Chief: Johnny Klausmeier

IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER -- “It’s tough to balance everything and when you have a fast car and an interim crew chief and the way that the fuel mileage played out, I didn’t know if we were going to have enough fuel. But, thanks to everybody at Haas Automation, Monster Energy and Stewart-Haas. This is a wonderful win for us.  We have been so close all year.  It’s a matter of just putting it all together, pit crew, engine, thanks to Hendrick engines, and Chevrolet and everybody that works on these bodies, the chassis’ you name it.  It’s just so much fun to drive and to be competitive and to be up front. Thanks a lot.”

-       Kurt Busch

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·         Kurt Busch won the 35^th annual Axalta ‘We Paint Winners’ 400 at Pocono Raceway Monday afternoon, in a race that was postponed from Sunday due to inclement weather. For Busch, it was his 28^th win in 554 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.  It is his first victory and 12^th top-10 finish of 2016.  It was the eighth straight race in which he finished in the top 10.

·         The victory snapped a string of 34 straight races without a win for Busch.  Prior to today, his last win came on June 14, 2015 at Michigan.

·         With the win, Busch moved into a tie with NASCAR Hall of Famer Rex White for 25^th on the all-time wins list (28).

·         This is Busch’s third win and 16^th top-10 finish in 30 races at Pocono Raceway.  It is his first victory there since August 5, 2007.

·         Busch won today’s race with interim crew chief Johnny Klausmeier, who was replacing a suspended Tony Gibson.  It is the first time a driver has won a Sprint Cup race with an interim crew chief since Matt Kenseth won the Bojangles’ 500 at Darlington on May 11, 2013 with Wally Brown as crew chief, who was replacing a suspended Jason Ratcliff.

·         Dale Earnhardt Jr. (second) posted his 15^th top-10 showing in 33 races at Pocono Raceway.  It was his sixth top-10 finish of 2016 and his fourth finishing second.

·         Brad Keselowski (third) compiled his sixth top-10 finish in 13 races at Pocono Raceway.  It was his ninth top-10 finish of 2016 and his fifth in-a-row.

·         Chase Elliott (4^th) was the highest finishing rookie today.  It was the fifth straight race in which he has finished in the top-10 and seventh time in the last eight races.

·         Kevin Harvick (490) leads the 2016 Sprint Cup points standing by 25 points over Kurt Busch (465).  The following are the top six drivers in points through the first 14 races:

Driver                                           Wins               Points

Kevin Harvick                                 1                      490

Kurt Busch                                     1                      465

Brad Keselowski                            2                      442

Carl Edwards                                 2                      437

Kyle Busch                                    3                      416

Jimmie Johnson                             2                      415

·         With the win, Kurt Busch becomes the ninth driver to qualify for the 2016 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, a list which also includes Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr., all of who have taken checkered flags this year.  The Chase culminates with the Ford EcoBoost 400 Championship race on November 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

·         In 15 career Sprint Cup starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kurt Busch has compiled six top-10 finishes and four in the top-5.  This includes a win in the 2002 Ford 400.  Busch also celebrated the lone Cup championship of his career at Homestead-Miami Speedway, in 2004.

·         Starting this year, the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series will feature championship races at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19 (NXS) and November 18 (NCWTS).  Four drivers will compete amongst a full field for their respective title. The following are the top drivers in points thus far in the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series:

XFINITY Series

Driver                                           Wins                    Points
Daniel Suarez                                   0                      408                         

Elliott Sadler                                     1                       397          

Ty Dillon                                           0                       390

Brendan Gaughan                            0                       363              

Erik Jones                                        2                       359

Camping World Truck Series

Driver                                           Wins                    Points

Matt Crafton                                    2                              161

Timothy Peters                                0                              149

Daniel Hemric                                 0                              144

Spencer Gallagher                          0                              139

William Byron                                  1                             135

John Hunter Nemechek                  1                             127

Johnny Sauter                                 1                             120