RACE RECAPS- RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES

Toyota Owners 400

Richmond International Raceway – Richmond, Virginia

Sunday, April 30, 2017

 

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 – “Coming from the back, being the 300th start and pulling into victory lane, man, that feels good. I drove my guts out there. We ended up with the winning car, something I’m really proud of. It’s nice to finally break through to get a win.”

 

--  Joey Logano

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·         Joey Logano won the 63^rd annual Toyota Owners 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway Sunday afternoon. For Logano, it is his first victory of the year and his 18^th win in 300 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races.  Prior to today, the last time Logano won was on November 13, 2016 at Phoenix.

 

·         It is Logano’s second win in 17 starts at Richmond International Raceway.  His initial win there occurred on April 26, 2014.   

 

·         With the win Logano now has notched at least one Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race in six straight seasons.

 

·         Logano becomes the fifth driver in series history to win in his 300^th career start, joining Denny Hamlin (Talladega, 2014), Kyle Busch (Texas, 2013), Kasey Kahne (Charlotte, 2012) and Rusty Wallace (Atlanta, 1993).

 

·         Brad Keselowski (second) posted his seventh top-10 finish and sixth in the top-5 in nine races this year. 

 

·         Denny Hamlin (third) posted his 13^th top-10 finish in 22 career Monster Energy Series races at Richmond International Raceway.  It is his best finish of 2017 and his best showing since he also was third on October 30 of last year at Martinsville.

 

·         Daniel Suarez (12^th) was the highest finishing rookie today.

·         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).

·         Matt Kenseth won Stage 1 of today’s race, while Brad Keselowski captured Stage 2.

 

·         Kyle Larson (398) leads the point standings by 40 points over Martin Truex Jr. (358). They are followed by Chase Elliott (346), Joey Logano (333) and Brad Keselowski (327).

·         With today’s win, Logano becomes the seventh driver to qualify for the 16-driver field of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.  The list also consists of Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Newman, Kyle Larson and Jimmie Johnson, each of whom has won at least one race this season. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 400 championship finale on November 19 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

 

·         In eight career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Joey Logano has posted three top-10 finishes, including two in the top-5.  He has been a part of the Championship 4 in the Ford EcoBoost 400 in both 2014 and 2016.

 

 

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

·         Kyle Larson won the 30^th annual ToyotaCare 250 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday afternoon. It is Larson’s seventh victory in 96 career NASCAR XFINITY Series races, and his second of 2017 (at Auto Club, 3/25).

 

·         It is his first victory and third top-10 finish in five career XFINITY Series races at Richmond International Raceway. 

 

·         Justin Allgaier (second) accounted for his fourth top-10 finish and third top-5 in eight races this year.  Allgaier also won Stage 2 of Saturday’s race.

·         Daniel Hemric (third) was the highest finishing rookie. 

 

·         Austin Dillon captured Stage 1 of the race.

 

·         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 (295) leads the XFINITY Series points standings by 41 points over Justin Allgaier (254). They are followed by rookies William Byron (251) and Daniel Hemric (228).

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

·         The Camping World Truck Series was off this weekend.  They will resume action on Saturday, May 12 with the Toyota Tundra 250 at Kansas Speedway.

RACE RECAPS- BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES

Food City 500
Bristol Motor Speedway – Bristol, Tennessee
Monday, April 24, 2017

Race Winner: Jimmie Johnson
Age: 41
Team: No. 48 – Lowe’s Chevrolet
Owner: Hendrick Motorsports
Crew Chief: Chad Knaus

IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – “It was kind of interesting because when the No. 42 (Kyle Larson) was there, it just created an environment to run the top and I wasn’t as good on the top. The No. 42, not being up there and that first couple of cars; the bottom was really where it was at for the short run. This Lowe’s Chevrolet was flying!

--  Jimmie Johnson
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·         Jimmie Johnson won the 57^th annual Food City 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway Monday afternoon. For Johnson, it is his 82^nd victory in 551 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races.  It is his second victory of 2017, and his second in as many races.

·         It is Johnson’s second win in 31 starts at Bristol Motor Speedway.  His initial win there occurred on March 21, 2010. Johnson has now amassed 18 top-10 finishes and 15 top-5s at Bristol.

·         It is Johnson’s 16^th straight season with at least two wins.

·         Clint Bowyer (second) posted his 11^th top-10 finish in 23 races at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his best finish at Bristol.  It is also his best showing overall since he finished second on April 27, 2013 at Richmond.

·         Kevin Harvick (third) posted his 16 top-10 finish in 33 career Monster Energy Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway.  It is his best finish of 2017 and he has now finished in the top-4 in the last two races.

·         Ty Dillon (15^th) was the highest finishing rookie today.

·         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).

·         Kyle Larson won Stage 1 of today’s race, while Martin Truex Jr. captured Stage 2.

·         Kyle Larson (360) leads the point standings by 27 points over Chase Elliott (333).   They are followed by Martin Truex Jr. (323) and Joey Logano (291).

·         Through eight races of the 26-race regular season, six drivers have qualified for the 16-driver field of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, a list consisting of Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Newman, Kyle Larson and Jimmie Johnson, each of whom has won at least one race this season. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 400 championship finale on November 19 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

·         In 16 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Johnson has posted one win and 11 top-10 finishes, including five in the top-5.  He has celebrated all seven career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championships at Homestead-Miami Speedway, most recently in 2016 when he took the checkered flag at the Ford EcoBoost 400.


NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

·         Erik Jones won the 35^th annual Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon. It is Jones’ eighth victory in 64 career NASCAR XFINITY Series races, and his second in-a-row.

·         It is his second victory and fourth top-10 finish in five career XFINITY Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway. 

·         Ryan Blaney (second) accounted for his fourth top-10 finish in five career XFINITY Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway.  It is the second straight XFINITY Series race in which he has finished second.

·         Daniel Suarez (third) posted his fourth top-10 finish in five career XFINITY Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway.

·         Kyle Larson won Stage 1 of Saturday’s race.

·         Daniel Hemric (fifth) was the highest finishing rookie.  He also captured Stage 2 of Saturday’s race.

·         Elliott Sadler (fourth) was the highest finishing XFINITY Series regular in Saturday’s race.

·         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 (260) leads the XFINITY Series points standings by 16 points over rookie William Byron (244), winner of the 2016 Ford EcoBoost 200 Camping World Truck Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. They are followed by Justin Allgaier (200), Ryan Reed (184), Bubba Wallace (180) and Daniel Hemric (180).


NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

·         The Camping World Truck Series was off this weekend.  They will resume action on Saturday, May 12 with the Toyota Tundra 250 at Kansas Speedway.

RACE RECAPS- TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES

O’Reilly Auto Parts 500

Texas Motor Speedway – Ft. Worth, Texas

Sunday, April 9, 2017

 

Race Winner: Jimmie Johnson

Age: 41

Team: No. 48 – Lowe’s Chevrolet

Owner: Hendrick Motorsports

Crew Chief: Chad Knaus

 

IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – “I guess I remembered how to drive; and I guess this team remembered how to do it!  I’m just real proud of this team. What a tough track and tough conditions. We were really in our wheelhouse and we were just able to execute all day. Thanks to everybody at Lowe’s and Chevy and the fans and a ton of sponsors. Oh, it was hot in there. I got cooked in the car today. I didn’t have any fluids so I’m not feeling the best, but we got into Victory Lane. I’m so proud of the fight in this race team. I can’t wait to celebrate during this off-weekend with my family and friends and really enjoy this.”

 

--  Jimmie Johnson

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·         Jimmie Johnson won the 21^st annual O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon. For Johnson, it is his 81^st victory in 550 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races.  It is his first victory of 2017, and his initial victory since claiming the 2016 Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway when he captured the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship.

 

·         Johnson won today’s race starting from the rear of the field due to a tire change following qualifying.  He is the first driver to win a race starting from the rear since he did it in the 2016 Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

 

·         It is Johnson’s seventh win in 28 starts at Texas Motor Speedway, as there are now four tracks at which Johnson has notched seven or more victories (Dover-10, Martinsville-9, Charlotte-8).   Johnson also has amassed 21 top-10 finishes and 15 top-5s at Texas.

 

·         It marks his 16^th straight season with at least one win.

 

·         Kyle Larson (second) posted his third top-10 finish in eight races at Texas Motor Speedway. It is his best finish at Texas.  It also marks his fifth top-5 finish in seven races this year.

 

·         Joey Logano (third) posted his eighth top-10 finish in 18 career Monster Energy Series races at Texas Motor Speedway.  It is his best finish of 2017 and he has now finished in the top-6 in six of the seven races this year.

 

·         Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished fifth today, his first top-5 showing since he finished second on June 6 of last year at Pocono.

 

·         Ty Dillon (17^th) was the highest finishing rookie today.

·         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).

·         Ryan Blaney won both Stage 1 and 2 of today’s race.

 

·         Kyle Larson (315) leads the point standings by 17 points over Chase Elliott (298).   They are followed by Martin Truex Jr. (275) and Brad Keselowski (274).

·         Through seven races of the 26-race regular season, six drivers have qualified for the 16-driver field of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, a list consisting of Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Newman, Kyle Larson and Jimmie Johnson, each of who has won at least one race this season. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 400 championship finale on November 19 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

 

·         In 16 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Johnson has posted one win and 11 top-10 finishes, including five in the top-5.  He has celebrated all seven of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championships at Homestead-Miami Speedway, most recently in 2016 when he took the checkered flag at the Ford EcoBoost 400.

 

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

·         Erik Jones won the 21^st annual My Bariatrics Solutions 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon. It is Jones’ seventh victory in 63 career NASCAR XFINITY Series races.

 

·         It is his second victory and fifth top-10 finish in five career XFINITY Series races at Texas Motor Speedway.  Jones also captured Stage 1 of the race.

 

·         Rookie William Byron took Stage 2 of the race.

 

·         Ryan Blaney (second) accounted for his fourth top-10 finish in as many XFINITY Series races at Texas Motor Speedway.

·         Kevin Harvick (third) posted his 17^th top-10 finish in 20 career XFINITY Series races at Texas Motor Speedway.

·         Cole Custer (fifth) was the highest finishing rookie as well as 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 (225) leads the XFINITY Series points standings by six points over rookie William Byron (219), winner of the 2016 Ford EcoBoost 200 Camping World Truck Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. They are followed by Ryan Reed (183), Bubba Wallace (176) and Justin Allgaier (174).

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

·         The Camping World Truck Series was off this weekend.  They will resume action on Saturday, May 12 with the Toyota Tundra 250 at Kansas Speedway.

2017 HISPANICIZE- ARIC ALMIROLA

Interview with Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Aric Almirola,

as he drives around Homestead-Miami Speedway's 1.5-mile championship oval

This past Tuesday, we hosted a unique event when we partnered with NASCAR to bring more than 20 Latin social media influencers from around the nation to the track. In conjunction with Hispanicize, which is an event in Miami that brings together the largest gathering of Latin bloggers, the hand-selected social media influencers had the opportunity to experience pace car rides from Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Aric Almirola. The influencers also received a tour of the track and competed in a racing simulator in Gatorade Victory Lane. As part of the event, one of the influencers will be specially selected to cover Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, November 17-19.

RACE RECAPS- MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES

STP 500

Martinsville Speedway – Martinsville, Virginia

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Race Winner: Brad Keselowski

Age: 33

Team: No. 2 – Miller Lite Ford

Owner: Team Penske

Crew Chief: Paul Wolfe

IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – “This track is 70 years old and a lot of legends have won here.  It feels great to be able to join them and bring home a clock.   A lot of people don’t know this, but those clocks are built in my hometown in Rochester Hills, Michigan, so it’s cool to get one of them from back home.  Martinsville is just one of those champion’s tracks.  The guys that run well everywhere run well here, and it’s really just an honor to win here and get to compete here.”

--  Brad Keselowski

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·         Brad Keselowski won the 68^th annual STP 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway Sunday afternoon. For Keselowski, it is his 23^rd victory in 275 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races.  Keselowski becomes the first repeat winner of 2017, having also taken the checkered flag in the second race of the season, on March 5 at Atlanta.

·         For Keselowski, it is the fifth straight race in which he has finished in the top-5 dating back to his win at Atlanta, the longest such stretch of his career.

·         It is Keselowski’s first win in 15 starts at Martinsville Speedway.  It is also his ninth top-10 finish and fifth top-5.  His previous bests at Martinsville were a pair of second-place showings, on March 29, 2015 and October 30, 2016.

·         Keselowski provided Ford its first win at Martinsville in 29 races.  Prior to today, the last win by a Ford at Martinsville was by Kurt Busch on October 20, 2002.  Ford now has won three of the six races of 2017.

·         Kyle Busch (second) posted his third top-10 finish in six races this year, and his third in as many weeks.  It was his 13^th top-10 finish and 12^th top-5 in 24 career Monster Energy Series races at Martinsville Speedway.  Busch led a race-high 274 laps today, marking the seventh time in the last eight races at Martinsville that the driver who led the most laps did not win the race.

·         Chase Elliott (third) posted his first top-10 finish in four career Monster Energy Series races at Martinsville Speedway. 

·         Erik Jones (12^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).

·         Martin Truex Jr. won Stage 1 of the STP 500, while Chase Elliott took the green-checkered flag in Stage 2.

·         Kyle Larson (268) leads the point standings by four points over Chase Elliott (264).   They are followed by Martin Truex Jr. (236) and Brad Keselowski (234).

·         Through six races of the 26-race regular season, five drivers have qualified for the 16-driver field of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, a list consisting of Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Newman and Kyle Larson, each of whom has won at least one race this season. 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, Keselowski has posted three top-10 finishes, including two in the top-5.  He celebrated his lone career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship following the Ford EcoBoost 400 in 2012.

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

·         Chase Elliott won the 19^th annual Alpha Energy Solutions 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on Saturday afternoon. It is Elliott’s second victory in 12 career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.

·         It is his first victory and third top-10 finish in four career Truck Series races at Martinsville Speedway.  He also captured Stage 1 of the race.

·         Johnny Sauter (second) posted his second top-10 finish in three races this year.  It was his 10^th top-10 finish in 19 career Truck Series races at Martinsville Speedway.  He also won Stage 2 of Saturday’s race.

·         Christopher Bell (third) posted his second top-10 finish in three career Truck Series races at Martinsville Speedway.

·         Noah Gragson (fourth) was the highest finishing rookie.

·         With one win apiece this year, rookie Kaz Grala and Christopher Bell have qualified for the 8-driver playoff field in the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs.  The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday, November 17.

·         Johnny Sauter (140) leads the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points standings by four points over Christopher Bell (136). They are followed by Matt Crafton (117) and Timothy Peters (110).

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

·         The NASCAR XFINITY Series was off this weekend.  They will resume action on Saturday, April 8 with the My Bariatrics Solutions 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.