RACE RECAPS- AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES

Auto Club 400

Auto Club Speedway – Fontana, California

Sunday, March 26, 2017

 

Race Winner: Kyle Larson

Age: 24

Team: No. 42 – Target Chevrolet

Owner: Chip Ganassi Racing

Crew Chief: Chad Johnston

 

IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – “"Our Target Chevy was amazing all day.  We were able to lead a lot of laps today.  (Martin) Truex was better than us that second stage by quite a bit.  We were able to get the jump on him the following restart and led pretty much the rest of the distance.  I had to fight them off there after the green flag stops and that was a lot of fun.  This is just amazing.  We have been so good all year long; three seconds in a row.  I’ve been watching all the TV like, ‘he doesn’t know how to win’, but we knew how to win today, so that was good.” 

 

--  Kyle Larson

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·         Kyle Larson won the 21^st annual Auto Club 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway Sunday afternoon. For Larson, it is his second victory in 116 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races.

 

·         It is Larson’s first victory and fourth top-10 finish in 2017. It is Larson’s fourth straight race where he has finished in the top-2.  Dating back to last year, he has now had a top-3 finish in six of his last seven races, including a second-place showing in the 2016 Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

 

·         It is Larson’s first victory and second top-10 finish in four races at Auto Club Speedway. Larson also became just the second driver ever to win a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway from the pole, joining Jimmie Johnson (2008).

 

·         With today’s win by Larson, there have been five different winners in the first five Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races of 2017.  It is the first time since 2014 that this happened.

 

·         Brad Keselowski (second) posted his third top-10 finish in nine races at Auto Club Speedway. It is his fourth top-10 finish in 2017.

 

·         Clint Bowyer (third) posted his eighth top-10 finish in 17 races at Auto Club Speedway.  It is Bowyer’s highest finish since also having a third-place showing at Sonoma on June 28, 2015.

 

·         For the second straight week, Daniel Suarez (7^th) was the highest finishing rookie.

·         For 2017, NASCAR has introduced a new stage format in all three national series where each race is segmented into three stages. In addition to the points awarded at the end of a race (Final Stage), points are also awarded to the top-10 finishers of the first two stages (Stage 1 & Stage 2).

·         Larson won Stage 1 of the Auto Club 400, while Martin Truex Jr. took the green-checkered flag in Stage 2.

 

·         Larson (243) leads the point standings by 29 points over Chase Elliott (214) and 38 points over Martin Truex Jr. (205).

·         With the win, Larson becomes the fifth driver to qualify for the 16-driver field of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, joining Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Newman, winners of the first four races of the season. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 400 championship finale on November 19 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

 

·         In four career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Larson has posted two top-5 finishes. His best finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway occurred in the 2016 Ford EcoBoost 400 when he finished second.

 

 

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

·         Kyle Larson won the sixth annual Service King 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday afternoon in Fontana, Calif. It is Larson’s sixth victory in 94 career NASCAR XFINITY Series races.

 

·         It is his second victory and fifth top-10 finish in as many XFINITY Series races at Auto Club Speedway.

 

·         Joey Logano (second) posted his ninth top-10 finish in as many XFINITY Series races at Auto Club Speedway.

·         Kyle Busch (third) posted his 15^th top-10 finish in 18 XFINITY Series races at Auto Club Speedway.  Busch won both Stage 1 and 2 of Saturday’s race.

·         William Byron (fifth) was the highest finishing rookie and the highest finishing XFINITY Series regular.

 

·         With one win apiece this year, Justin Allgaier and Ryan Reed have clinched spots in the 12-driver playoff field in the 2017 NASCAR XFINITY Series Playoffs.  The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 300 XFINITY Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, November 18.

·         Elliott Sadler (189) leads the XFINITY Series points standings by 17 points over rookie William Byron (172), winner of the 2016 Ford EcoBoost 200 Camping World Truck Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. They are followed by Ryan Reed (143), Justin Allgaier (143) and Bubba Wallace (140).

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

·         The Camping World Truck Series was off this weekend.  They will resume action on Saturday, April 1 with the Alpha Energy Solutions 250 at Martinsville Speedway.

RACE RECAPS- PHOENIX RACEWAY

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES

Camping World 500

Phoenix Raceway – Avondale, Arizona

Sunday, March 19, 2017

Race Winner: Ryan Newman

Age: 39

Team: No. 31 – Grainger Chevrolet

Owner: Richard Childress

Crew Chief: Luke Lambert

IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – “I’ve lost count; that’s how long it’s been. I’ve got to thank Grainger, Caterpillar, Coca-Cola, Monster Energy, for supporting our series, and Chevrolet. The list goes on and on.  What a gutsy call by (crew chief) Luke (Lambert). I called for two tires and he called for none. I’ve won more races no tires than I have with four. I’m just proud of these guys. We had a good car all day. We kept it out of trouble and collected in the end.”

- Ryan Newman

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·         Ryan Newman won the 13^th annual Camping World 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway Sunday afternoon. For Newman, it is his 18^th victory in 552 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races.  It is his first win since July 28, 2013 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Since that time he had gone 127 straight races without a victory.

·         This is Newman’s second victory and 12^th top-10 finish in 30 Cup starts at Phoenix Raceway.  His previous victory at Phoenix Raceway occurred on April 10, 2010.

·         With the victory, Richard Childress Racing ends a 112-race winless drought.  Its last win prior to today came at Phoenix on November 10, 2013 when Kevin Harvick took the checkered flag.

·         With today’s win by Newman, there have been four different winners in the first four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races of 2017.  It is the second straight year and sixth time in the last seven years dating back to 2011 that this has happened.

·         Kyle Larson (second) posted his third top-10 finish in seven Cup starts at Phoenix Raceway.  It was his third straight second-place finish and his fourth in his last five races dating back to last year, including the season finale Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

·         Kyle Busch (third) had his 16^th top-10 showing in 24 Cup starts at Phoenix Raceway.

·         Daniel Suarez (7^th) was the highest finishing rookie.

·         For 2017, NASCAR has introduced a new stage format in all three national series where each race is segmented into three stages. In addition to the points awarded at the end of a race (Final Stage), points are also awarded to the top-10 finishers of the first two stages (Stage 1 & Stage 2).

·         Joey Logano won Stage of 1 of today’s Camping World 500, while Chase Elliott took the green-checkered flag in Stage 2.

·         Kyle Larson (184) leads the point standings by six points over Brad Keselowski (178) and 13 points over Chase Elliott (171).

·         With the win, Ryan Newman becomes the fourth driver to qualify for the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, joining Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr., winners of the first three races of the season. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 400 championship finale on November 19 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

·         In 15 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Ryan Newman has posted five top-10 finishes, including two top 5s. His best finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway occurred in the 2014 Ford EcoBoost 400 when he finished second, as he was part of the inaugural Championship 4, finishing just behind champion Kyle Busch.

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

·         Justin Allgaier won the 11^th annual DC Solar 200 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday afternoon. It is Allagaier’s fourth victory in 211 NASCAR XFINITY Series races.

·         It is his first victory and ninth top-10 finish in 14 XFINITY Series races at Phoenix Raceway.

·         Ryan Blaney (second) posted his second top-10 finish in as many XFINITY Series races at Phoenix Raceway.  He also won Stage 2 of the race.

·         Erik Jones (third) posted his sixth top-10 finish in as many XFINITY Series races at Phoenix Raceway.  He also won Stage 1 of the race.

·         William Byron (fourth) was the highest finishing rookie.

·         With the win, Allgaier joins Ryan Reed in having clinched a spot in the 12-driver playoff 
field in the 2017 NASCAR XFINITY Series playoffs.  The playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 300 XFINITY Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, November 18.

·         Elliott Sadler (144) leads the XFINITY Series points standings by 11 points over rookie William Byron (133), winner of the 2016 Ford EcoBoost 200 Camping World Truck Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. They are followed by Ryan Reed (121) and Justin Allgaier (115).

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

·         The Camping World Truck Series was off this weekend.  They will resume action on Saturday, April 1 with the Alpha Energy Solutions 250 at Martinsville Speedway.

RACE RECAPS- LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES

Kobalt 400

Las Vegas Motor Speedway – Las Vegas, Nevada

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr.

Age: 36

Team: No. 78 – Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER BOATS Toyota

Owner: Furniture Row Racing

Crew Chief: Cole Pearn

IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER –  “I was out of control and Brad (Keselowski) was really good on the long run. I hate that he had problems, he was strong and we weren’t going to do anything with him, but then he lost the brakes or something. A little bit of a gift, but we have given some away, so it feels good to come out on the good end for once.” – Martin Truex Jr.

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·         Martin Truex Jr. won the 20^th annual Kobalt 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon. For Truex, it is his 8^th victory in 408 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races.  It is his 5^th win in the last 27 races dating back to last year.

·         It’s the earliest win in any of Truex’s 12 full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series seasons (2006-17).

·         For 2017, NASCAR has introduced a new stage format in all three national series where each race is segmented into three stages. In addition to the points awarded at the end of a race (Final Stage), points are also awarded to the top-10 finishers of the first two stages (Stage 1 & Stage 2).

·         In addition to taking the checkered flag today, Truex also won both Stage 1 and Stage 2, as he amassed 60 points towards the season standings today (10 for each Stage win, 40 for the race win).

·         It is Truex’s first victory and fourth top-10 finish in 12 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. 

·         Truex is the 12^th different winner in 20 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

·         Kyle Larson (second) posted his second top-10 finish in four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It is the second straight race in which he has finished 2^nd, having also done it last week in Atlanta.

·         Chase Elliott (third) posted his first top-10 finish in two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

·         Erik Jones (15^th) was the highest finishing rookie.

·         Brad Keselowski (132) leads the point standings by one point over Kyle Larson (131).  They are followed by Chase Elliott (129) and Martin Truex Jr. (127).

·         With the win, Martin Truex Jr. becomes the third driver to qualify for the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, joining Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski, winners of the first two races of the season. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 400 championship finale on November 19 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

·         In 12 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Martin Truex Jr. has posted seven top-10 finishes, including three top 5s. He posted a career-best finish of second in 2006.  He also was part of the Championship 4 in the 2015 Ford EcoBoost 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship race, where he finished 12^th.

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

·         Joey Logano won the 21^st annual Boyd Gaming 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon. It is Logano’s 28^th victory in 160 NASCAR XFINITY Series races. It moved him into 8^th spot on the XFINITY Series all-time wins list.

·         Kyle Larson (second) posted his second top-10 finish in three XFINITY Series races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He now has finished in the top three in each of the first two XFINITY Series races of 2017.

·         Daniel Suarez (third) posted his third top-10 finish in as many XFINITY Series races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

·         Justin Allagaier (fourth) was the highest finisher among full-time XFINITY Series drivers, while Cole Custer (11th) was the highest finishing rookie.

·         Kyle Busch won Stage 1 and Brad Keselowski won Stage 2 of the Boyd Gaming 300.  

·         Elliott Sadler (99) leads the XFINITY Series points standings by four points over Ryan Reed (95).  They are followed by rookie William Byron (90), the winner of the 2016 Ford EcoBoost 200 Camping World Truck Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

·         The Camping World Truck Series was off this weekend.  They will resume action on Saturday, April 1 with the Alpha Energy Solutions 250 at Martinsville Speedway.

RACE RECAPS- ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES

Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500

Atlanta Motor Speedway – Hampton, Georgia

Sunday, March 5, 2017

Race Winner: Brad Keselowski

Age: 33

Team: No. 2 – Autotrader Ford

Owner: Team Penske

Crew Chief: Paul Wolfe

IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – “We had a lot of adversity today there’s no doubt about that. These races aren’t easy. They’re 500 miles and a lot can happen and when you think you’ve got it they slip away. I know how it goes. This one kind of fell in our lap at the end and my team put it all together when it counted. They gave me a great Autotrader Ford Fusion and we were able to get by Kyle (Larson) there at the end. I knew that he wasn’t going to be easy to pass. His car was great and I was able to make the right moves to get by him.”

-       Brad Keselowski

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·         Brad Keselowski won the 58^th annual Folds of Honor QuiktTrip 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon. For Keselowski, it is his 22^nd victory in 271 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races.

·         It is Keselowski’s first victory and fifth top-10 finish in nine career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  It was also Keselowski’s first win in the last 20 races overall.  Prior to today, his most recent victory occurred on July 9 of last year at Kentucky.

·         A Ford now has won each of the first two Monster Energy Series races of the year, as Kurt Busch (Stewart-Haas) took the checkered flag in the season-opening Daytona 500 last week.

·         For Team Penske, it is their 104^th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory and their fourth at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

·         Kyle Larson (second) posted his second top-10 finish in four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

·         Matt Kenseth (third) posted his 17^th top-10 finish in 29 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

·         Erik Jones (14^th) was the highest finishing rookie.

·         For 2017, NASCAR has introduced a new stage format in all three national series where each race is segmented into three stages. In addition to the points awarded at the end of a race (Final Stage), points are also awarded to the top-10 finishers of the first two stages (Stage 1 & Stage 2).

·         Kevin Harvick, who led a race-high 292 laps today, won both Stage 1 and 2 of the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500.

·         Kevin Harvick (90) leads the point standings by four points over Kurt Busch (86).  They are followed by Brad Keselowski (84), Chase Elliott (82) and Joey Logano (80).

·         With the win, Brad Keselowski becomes the second driver to qualify for the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, joining Kurt Busch, who won the Daytona 500 last week. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 400 championship finale on November 19 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

·         In nine career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Brad Keselowski has posted three top-10 finishes and two top 5s. He finished third in the 2014 and 2015 Ford EcoBoost 400, his career-best finishes at Homestead-Miami Speedway.  Keselowski celebrated his 2012 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

·         Kyle Busch won the 26^th annual Rinnai 250 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon. It is Busch’s 87^th victory in 329 NASCAR XFINITY Series races.

·         It is Busch’s second victory and 10^th top-10 finish in 13 XFINITY Series races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

·         Brad Keselowski (second) posted his sixth top-10 finish in eight XFINITY Series races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

·         Kyle Larson (third) posted his fifth top-10 finish in as many XFINITY Series races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

·         Elliott Sadler (fifth) was the highest finisher among full-time XFINITY Series drivers, while William Byron (seventh) was the highest finishing rookie

·         Brad Keselowski won Stage 1 and Kevin Harvick won Stage 2 of the Rinnai 250.  

·         Sadler (70) leads the XFINITY Series points standings by three points over William Byron (67).  They are followed by Ryan Reed (66) and Brendan Gaughan (62).

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

·         Christopher Bell won the 9^th running of the Active Pest Control 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway Saturday afternoon. It is his third victory in 32 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.

·         It is Bell’s first victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

·         With the win, Bell becomes the second driver to qualify for the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs, joining Kaz Grala, who won at Daytona last week. The Camping World Truck Series playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 200 championship finale on November 17 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

·         Bell also captured each of the first two Stages of the race.

·         Matt Crafton (second) posted his ninth top-10 finish in 16 Camping World Truck Series races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

·         Johnny Sauter (third) posted his third top-10 finish in seven career Camping World Truck Series races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

·         Grant Enfinger (eighth) was the highest finishing rookie.

·         Bell (93) leads the point standings by seven points over Johnny Sauter (86) and Ben Rhodes (86).