RACE RECAPS- CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES

 

Coca-Cola 600

Charlotte Motor Speedway – Concord, North Carolina

Sunday, May 28, 2017

 

Race Winner: Austin Dillon

Age: 27

Team: No. 3 – DOW Salutes Veterans Chevrolet

Owner: Richard Childress Racing

Crew Chief: Justin Alexander

 

IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – “It feels awesome to all the supporters that have been behind us, the 3 car.  It feels amazing.  To those that don't, I feel sorry for them because I hope it just keeps going.  I hope this feels good to them, though.  It's pretty cool to see the 3, like my grandfather (owner Richard Childress) said, on top of the pylon tonight.”

 

--  Austin Dillon

----------------

 

·         Austin Dillon won the 58^th annual Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 Sunday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  It is Dillon’s first win in 133 career MENCS races.  In the process, he became the eighth driver to punch his ticket into the 2017 MENCS playoffs, which commences in Chicago on September 17 and culminates with the Ford EcoBoost 400 Championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19.

 

·         It is Dillon’s second top-10 finish of 2017 and his second top-10 in seven career MENCS races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

 

·         Dillon is the ninth different winner in 12 MENCS races this year.

 

·         A total of 10 drivers have posted their first career MENCS win at Charlotte: David Pearson (5/28/1961), Buddy Baker (10/15/1967), Charlie Glotzbach (10/20/1968), Jeff Gordon (5/29/1994), Bobby Labonte (5/28/1995), Matt Kenseth(5/28/2000), Jamie McMurray (10/13/2002), Casey Mears (5/27/2007), David Reutimann (5/25/2009) and Austin Dillon (05/28/2017). 

 

·         Kyle Busch (second) posted his sixth top-10 finish in 12 races this year, five of which have been in the top-5.

 

·         Martin Truex Jr. (third) compiled his eighth top-10 finish in 12 races this year, four of which have been in the top-5. 

 

·         Erik Jones (7^th) was the highest finishing rookie Sunday. 

 

·         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).

 

·         The Coca-Cola 600 was expanded to a four-stage race.  Kyle Busch won Stage 1 of Sunday’s race, while Martin Truex Jr. captured Stage 2 and Denny Hamlin took Stage 3.

 

·         Martin Truex Jr. (491) leads the 2017 point standings by five points over Kyle Larson (486).   They are followed by Brad Keselowski (409).

 

·         Eight drivers currently have qualified for the 16-driver field of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.  The list consists of Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Newman, Kyle Larson, Jimmie Johnson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Austin Dillon, 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.

 

·         Austin Dillon has started three times in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and has a best finish of 12^th in 2016.

 

 

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

 

·         Ryan Blaney won the 36^th annual Hisense 4K TV 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday night. It is Blaney’s fifth victory in 56 career XFINITY Series races.  He also captured Stage 2 of the race.

 

·         It is his first win and third top-10 finish in five XFINITY Series races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

 

·         Ryan Blaney (05/27/2017) and his father, Dave Blaney (10/13/2006), become the first father-son combination to win a NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

 

·         A total of six father and son duos have won in the NASCAR XFINITY Series overall – Dave Blaney and Ryan Blaney, Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bill Elliott and Chase Elliott, Bobby Hamilton and Bobby Hamilton Jr., Terry Labonte and Justin Labonte, David Pearson and Larry Pearson.

 

·         Kevin Harvick (second) accounted for his 18^th top-10 showing in 28 career XFINITY races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  Harvick also won Stage 1 of the race.

 

·         Austin Dillon (third) posted his sixth top-10 finish in nine career XFINITY Series races at Charlotte Motor Speedway. 

 

·         Cole Custer (seventh) was the highest finishing rookie.

 

·         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 (332) leads the XFINITY Series points standings by six points over Justin Allgaier (326). They are followed by rookies William Byron (275) and  Daniel Hemric (253), while Darrell Wallace Jr. (249) rounds out the top-5.

 

 

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

 

·         The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was off this weekend.  They will resume action on Friday, June 2 with the Bar Harbor 200 Presented by Sea Watch International at Dover International Speedway.

Joe Castello: The Voice of Fast Lane Friday

Joe Castello is one of the premier motorsports personalities in South Florida and has become the voice of  Fast Lane Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

First of all, I’d like to introduce myself and thank Homestead-Miami Speedway for inviting me to write this blog. I’m Joe Castello, and I’m your Fast Lane Friday presented by The Ticket Clinic track announcer.

It has been a great honor to spend Friday nights with a group of people who are as passionate about cars as much I am.  It has also been a great experience when juxtaposed with my other jobs working in motorsports entertainment, such as my WFO Radio podcast, my work with the National Hot Rod Association, and being a co-host of Performance TV on Velocity Network.

About Me

My entertainment career started right here in South Florida working with “hall of fame” broadcaster Neil Rogers on local sports talk radio where I was able to create South Florida’s first weekly motorsports show – Motorsports Saturday. I have worked closely with the staff at Homestead-Miami Speedway ever since and truly believe that the facility is one of the shining gems of our South Florida community. I have an NHRA Super Comp license and have won bracket racing track championships at three different facilities in Florida. My father and I own a 1978 Pontiac Trans Am that is built for competition.

The Love for Drag Racing

As with most things, there is a natural progression in drag racing. The level to which you advance is determined by desire and ambition. At the professional events I announce, I see people who have reached the highest level. They are drivers with multi-million dollar sponsorships who are competing at speeds over 335 MPH. Very few of them started out that way. Most started at small tracks that gave them an opportunity to gather, race, improve and make friends with similar goals. Eventually, some improved so much they end up making their living in the sport. It can become a lifestyle or a career and certainly can become motivation for hard work and big ideas.

Drag racing was introduced to South Florida in 1966 with the

construction of Miami-Hollywood Speedway.

Drag Racing in South Florida

Drag Racing has always been very popular in South Florida, culminating with the construction of Miami-Hollywood Speedway in 1966. Do a search on YouTube and you will find many videos from the track once located just West of I-75 on Pines Boulevard in Pembroke Pines. Legends of the sport including “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, Shirley Muldowney, John Force and South Florida’s own Darrell and Jerry Gwynn raced there on a regular basis. It was there that I got my start as a driver and a public speaker. Miami-Hollywood Speedway was demolished in 1992, but its memory lives on with many of us, including Fast Lane Friday starter Paul Wunderlich, who managed the facility during some of its most successful years.

Powered by Youth

It has been said by some, that the automotive hobby known as drag racing was beginning to fade away with younger people. My experience at Homestead-Miami Speedway has assured me that the car crazy culture that started with the chrome and fins of the 1950s and exploded into the 1960s muscle car era that forged NASCAR and NHRA, is alive and well in the youth that race at Fast Lane Friday.

Whether it be the young driver of a new ZL1 Camaro trying to perfect his starting line launch technique, or the diesel trucks that are testing to find the perfect “tune” with their fuel injection set up, this next generation of drag racers are “hands on” and constantly working to improve. Drag Racing provides a perfect opportunity for those who want to challenge themselves. The group of young people I see at Fast Lane Friday are hardworking, and literally, driven to excel.

The Cars

If people were ever losing interest in drag racing, it was because the cars were not that interesting.  We do not have that problem any longer as the automakers have realized the yearning for performance people have. American muscle cars like Ford Mustangs, Chevy Camaros and Dodge Challengers race alongside exotics like Porsche and Ferrari on Homestead-Miami Speedway’s pit road. Modified machines with aftermarket parts make Fast Lane Friday stars of racers like Irv Chazen, who will race any opponent in his strip blistering Jeep Cherokee! These cars blow the doors off their 1960s counter parts in nearly every way. They are quicker, faster, more comfortable and more reliable than ever before with 6 cylinder models packing enough punch to bring a smile to the driver’s face, let alone the powerful V8 engines currently available.

Two competitors run the 1/8-mile drag strip during

Fast Lane Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway

For the Thrill

If you have never experienced the thrill of racing your own car down the track, I highly recommend it. And Fast Lane Friday is the perfect place. It is a thrill that can rarely be replicated in normal life. Accelerating in your vehicle, knowing that you are in a controlled environment is extremely fun. It just doesn’t feel as good when you are dangerously risking everything on the streets of Miami. So don’t do it! The track offers a much more fulfilling, stress-free experience. The journey starts with one run down the track. Look at your ET (elapsed time) slip and try to improve. Your reaction time, launch, shifts (if manual transmission) and car’s performance can be maximized with practice. Drag racing can push you to excel, you have only to step on the throttle!

In future blog posts we’ll discuss some basic drag racing techniques, cool cars, and people that make Fast Lane Friday.

RACE RECAPS- ALL-STAR WEEKEND

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES

Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race

Charlotte Motor Speedway – Concord, North Carolina

Saturday, May 20, 2017

Race Winner: Kyle Busch

Age: 32

Team: No. 18 – M&M’s Caramel Toyota

Owner: Joe Gibbs Racing

Crew Chief: Adam Stevens

IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – “It’s special because it’s the All-Star race for one and for two, we’ve never won at Charlotte in a Cup car so we finally achieved that goal tonight and won the All-Star race and won a million bucks, so there’s reason to celebrate and to celebrate big. I can’t say enough about this team, everybody on this M&M’s Camry, this M&M’s Caramel Camry this week. First race, first win for those guys. Can’t say enough about Adam Stevens (crew chief). You have Adam Stevens and these guys in the pit box and you can rely on them all day long. I had to do that tonight. You know we weren’t quite the fastest car, but we made the right changes when it mattered most. We made the right moves when it mattered most and we got the most out of our night tonight and got here to victory lane. Feel so relieved, alluded, proud and excited all in the same time.”

--  Kyle Busch

----------------

·         Kyle Busch won the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star race Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the only complete non-points race of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule.  It is Busch’s first All-Star race win and his initial Monster Energy Series win at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

·         Busch won the race in his 12^th All-Star start, the largest number of starts before an All-Star race win – previous record was held by Tony Stewart with 11 starts before his first victory in 2009.

·         For team owner Joe Gibbs Racing it is their second All-Star race win (Denny Hamlin, 2011).

·         Kyle Larson was the runner-up in the race and also won Stage 1 and 2.

·         Jimmie Johnson (third) captured Stage 3.  It was Johnson’s ninth career top-5 finish in the All-Star race, the most-ever.

·         Kyle Larson (475) leads the 2017 Monster Energy Series points standings by 44 points over Martin Truex Jr. (431). They are followed by Brad Keselowski (408).

·         Seven drivers currently have qualified for the 16-driver field of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.  The list consists of Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Newman, Kyle Larson, Jimmie Johnson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 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.

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

·         Kyle Busch won the 15^th annual North Carolina Education Lottery 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday night. It is Busch’s 48^th victory in 136 career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races, his second of the year and second in as many weeks.

·         It is his seventh victory and tenth top-10 finish in 11 career Truck Series races at Charlotte.  Busch also won both Stage 1 and Stage 2 of Friday’s race.

·         For Busch, it was his 173^rd combined national series win of his career (MENCS 38, XFINITY 87, Trucks 48), the second-most in NASCAR history, trailing only Richard Petty’s 200 victories (all MENCS).

·         Johnny Sauter (second) accounted for his fourth top-10 finish in five races this year, all of which have been in the top-3, including three second-place finishes.

·         Christopher Bell (third) posted his second top-10 finish in as many Truck Series races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  He has now finished in the top-10 in all five races this year, four of which have resulted in a top-5 showing.

·         Grant Enfinger (seventh) 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 Camping World Truck Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday, November 17.

·         Johnny Sauter (242) leads the points standings by 15 points over Christopher Bell (227).

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

·         The NASCAR XFINITY Series was off this weekend.  They will resume action on Saturday, May 27 with the Hisense 4K TV 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

RACE RECAPS- KANSAS SPEEDWAY

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES

Go Bowling 400
Kansas Speedway – Kansas City, Kansas
Saturday, May 13, 2017

Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr.
Age: 36
Team: No. 78 – Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota
Owner: Furniture Row Racing
Crew Chief: Cole Pearn

IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – “It’s pretty awesome. Awesome day. Awesome weekend. This team rocks, man, they’re so good. We just stuck with it all night. We had an awesome race car. There’s times there we looked like we weren’t going to have a shot at it. We just kept fighting and made it happen.”

-- Martin Truex Jr.
----------------

·         Martin Truex Jr. won the 7^th annual Go Bowling 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway Saturday night, his ninth victory in 416 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races.  Of the nine, seven have come in the last three years (2015-17), including two this year.  It is his seventh top-10 finish and third top-5 in 11 races this year.

·         Truex joins Brad Keselowski (2) and Jimmie Johnson (2) as the only multiple winners this year.

·         It is Truex’s first win in 18 races at Kansas Speedway, where he has had six top-10 finishes.

·         Brad Keselowski (second) posted his ninth top-10 finish in 11 races this year. It is his eighth top-10 showing in 15 career Monster Energy Series starts at Kansas Speedway.

·         Kevin Harvick (third) posted his sixth top-10 finish in 11 races this year, tying his best showing of the year (at Bristol, 4/24).  It is his 12^th top-10 finish in 23 career Monster Energy Series Races at Kansas Speedway.

·         Daniel Suarez (7^th) was the highest finishing rookie Saturday.  His seventh-place showing ties for his best finish of the year, along with those at Phoenix (3/19) and at Auto Club (3/26).

·         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 Busch won Stage 1 of Saturday’s race while Ryan Blaney captured Stage 2.

·         Kyle Larson (475) leads the point standings by 44 points over Martin Truex Jr. (431).   They are followed by Brad Keselowski (408).

·         Seven drivers currently have qualified for the 16-driver field of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.  The list consists of Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Newman, Kyle Larson, Jimmie Johnson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 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.

·         Truex has made 12 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway and has amassed seven top-10 finishes, including a high of second in 2006.  He was part of the Championship 4 in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2015, finishing 12^th in the race. He also celebrated a pair of XFINITY Series championships at Homestead-Miami Speedway, in 2004 and 2005.


NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

·         Kyle Busch won the 17^th annual Toyota Tundra 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway on Friday night. It is Busch’s 47^th victory in 135 career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races, and his first this year.

·         It is his second victory and third top-10 finish in four career Truck Series races at Kansas Speedway.  Busch also won both Stage 1 and Stage 2 of Friday’s race.

·         Johnny Sauter (second) accounted for his sixth top-10 finish in nine Truck Series races at Kansas Speedway.  It is his third top-10 finish in four races this year, all of which have been in the top-3, including a pair of second-place finishes.

·         John Hunter Nemechek (third) posted his first top-10 finish in two Truck Series races at Kansas Speedway.  It is his second top-5 showing in four races this year and his highest finish.

·         Chase Briscoe (fifth) 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 Camping World Truck Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday, November 17.

·         Johnny Sauter (189) leads the points standings by two points over Christopher Bell (187).


NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

·         The NASCAR XFINITY Series was off this weekend.  They will resume action on Saturday, May 27 with the Hisense 4K TV 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

In The Community: Lauren's Kids

“What an amazing experience we had at Homestead-Miami Speedway while attending the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship race and watching Jimmie Johnson win! It was an extra-special treat!”

--Lauren’s Kids

An official 501(c)(3) since 2007, Lauren’s Kids is based in South Florida and educates adults and children about sexual abuse prevention through in-school curricula, awareness campaigns and speaking engagements around the country and the world. In 2016, Lauren’s Kids was one of six recipients of Homestead-Miami Speedway’s Driving for a Cause grant program, which focuses public attention and funding on South Florida youth and educational initiatives.

"The team at Homestead-Miami made us feel right at home and the excitement of the whole day was infectious. This was our first experience at the racetrack with Pit Passes and it was nothing short of wonderful. We never expected for the NASCAR pit crews to be so accessible and very friendly, and then to see the drivers come out and join their teams just before the race was fantastic! No wonder NASCAR fans are so wild about the sport! The teams and drivers were all very down to earth and very fan friendly. It was an honor to have been selected among the favorite charities and to have been awarded a grant by Homestead-Miami Speedway’s Driving for a Cause. We are so grateful to have been a part of the awards presentation with track president Matthew Becherer just before the race. It’s an experience not to be forgotten and we hope that we will have the opportunity to continue to work with the teams from Homestead-Miami Speedway and the NASCAR Foundation for many years to come. Thanks to the grant from Homestead-Miami Speedway we have been able to provide personal safety and abuse prevention curriculums as well as Guides to Hope & Healing in both English and Spanish to the folks from MUJER, which is located in Homestead-Miami. Thank you Homestead-Miami Speedway and the NASCAR Foundation for helping us in the fight to prevent childhood sexual abuse. We could not do what we do without the support of key partners such as you."

Q&A with Lauren’s Kids about their organization and how Homestead-Miami Speedway’s Driving for a Cause grant program has helped them:

• When were you founded? 2007 – we are celebrating our 10 year anniversary this year!

• What is/are your location(s)? Lauren’s Kids has offices in Aventura and Tallahassee, but our work impacts communities across the state, country and world.

• What do you do as an organization? Lauren’s Kids works to prevent child sexual abuse and help survivors heal; we complete work in the areas of education, awareness and advocacy, armed with the knowledge that 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 5 boys will be victims of child sexual abuse before their 18^th birthday, but that 95% of this abuse is preventable through education and awareness. We have a personal safety curriculum – Safer, Smarter Schools – in more than 65,000 classrooms across Florida and beyond, and have created resources for families, law enforcement officers, community and youth-serving organizations, and more. We also host an annual 1,500-mile awareness walk, called the ‘Walk in My Shoes,’ each year. Our founder and CEO Lauren Book began this journey eight years ago, and it has become an annual awareness-raiser in communities across Florida, from the southernmost point in Key West to the steps of the Florida capitol in Tallahassee. We have also worked with lawmakers to advocate for the successful passage of nearly two dozen laws to protect children, keep predators at bay, and help survivors heal.

• How has Driving for a Cause helped your organization? Driving for a Cause has helped Lauren’s Kids provide life-saving resources to Homestead-Miami Speedway’s local community of Homestead, Florida. Thanks to the funds granted, we’re able to partner with MUJER, a community aid and sexual assault treatment program, to provide the ‘Safer, Smarter Kids’ prevention education and personal safety curriculum program, as well as Spanish-language copies of our ‘Guide to Hope & Healing’, which helps provide guidance to families after a child’s disclosure of sexual abuse. We know we can prevent 95% of instances of sexual abuse through education and awareness, and that those who do fall victim can heal into thriving survivors with care, support, and trauma-informed counseling. Thanks to Driving for a Cause, we are able to bring these important resources to an underserved community, in the Speedway’s backyard.

• What are your goals for 2017? 2017 is the 10^th anniversary of the Lauren’s Kids foundation. We are proud to have been working to prevent abuse and help survivors heal for a decade, and will continue this life-saving work in 2017 by partnering with schools, law enforcement and youth-serving organizations. We hope to provide prevention and personal safety education to even more children, encouraging parents to bring these lessons home through our ‘Family Safety Plan’ generator (visit www.safersmarterfamilies.org to learn more!). We will also be completing our eighth annual ‘Walk in My Shoes’ 1,500 mile awareness walk across the state of Florida, and creating new resources related to human trafficking prevention and safety lessons for children with special needs.

• What can you recommend to organizations applying for the grant program in 2017? The application process is clear and concise, get it done early and send it in. The team at Homestead-Miami is wonderful to work with and will be helpful should you have any questions. 

Homestead-Miami Speedway’s charitable outreach program, Driving for a Cause, is now accepting applications for financial gifts to be awarded to eligible 501(c) (3) charities as part of its 2017 grant program. Applications can be found at www.HomesteadMiamiSpeedway.com/DrivingForACause.

RACE RECAPS: TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES

GEICO 500

Talladega Superspeedway – Talladega, Alabama

Sunday, May 7, 2017

 

Race Winner: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Age: 29

Team: No. 17 – Fifth Third Bank Ford

Owner: Roush Fenway Racing

Crew Chief: Brian Pattie

 

IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – “This is for all the guys at the shop.  We’ve been terrible for a long time.  This year, every race we’re getting better and better.  We knew that Talladega was a good race track for us.  It’s been a good one in the past and I’m just glad we parked it for my buddy, Bryan Clauson.  He was with us on that last lap.  This Fifth Third Bank Ford was so fast today – qualified on the pole and got the win.  I can’t say enough about the guys.  It’s cool to have Jack Roush back in Victory Lane, Ford Performance, Fastenal, Sunny D.  I’m gonna have a Sunny D in the morning, maybe a little later.  This is cool.  The closest race track to my hometown and the fans were out here this weekend.”

 

--  Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

----------------

 

·         Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the 48^th annual GEICO 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway Sunday afternoon, the eighth different winner in 10 races this year. For Stenhouse, it is his first victory in 158 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races.  It is his fifth top-10 finish and third top-5 in 10 races this year.

 

·         It is Stenhouse’s fifth top-10 finish and third top-5 in eight races at Talladega Superspeedway.  

 

·         Stenhouse is the first driver to win a race at Talladega starting from the pole since Jeff Gordon did it on April 29, 2007.  He also is the 11^th driver in NASCAR history to notch his first career Monster Energy Series win at Talladega.

 

·         The win snapped a 101 race winless streak for owner Jack Roush.  Prior to today, Roush’s last win was secured by Carl Edwards on June 22, 2014 at Sonoma. 

 

·         Jamie McMurray (second) posted his sixth top-10 finish and first top-5 in 10 races this year.  It was his highest finish since he was second at Martinsville on November 1, 2015.  It is his ninth top-10 showing and eighth in the top-5 in 30 career Monster Energy Series starts at Talladega Superspeedway.

 

·         Kyle Busch (third) posted his fourth top-10 finish this year and his seventh top-10 in 24 races at Talladega Superspeedway.  It was his third top-5 of 2017.

 

·         Ty Dillon (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).

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

 

·         Kyle Larson (428) leads the point standings by 54 points over Martin Truex Jr. (374).   They are followed by Brad Keselowski (367) and Chase Elliott (353).

·         With today’s win, Stenhouse 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.

 

·         Stenhouse has made five career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway and has yet to finish in the top-10.  He celebrated XFINITY Series championships at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2011 and 2012.

 

 

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

·         Aric Almirola won the 30^th annual Sparks Energy 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday afternoon. It is Almirola’s third victory in 99 career NASCAR XFINITY Series races, and his first since July 1 of last year at Daytona.

 

·         It is his first victory and fourth top-10 finish in five career XFINITY Series races at Talladega Superspeedway.  Almirola also won Stage 1 of Saturday’s race.

 

·         Elliott Sadler (second) accounted for his eighth top-10 finish in nine XFINITY Series races this year.  It is his sixth top-10 showing in nine XFINITY Series races at Talladega Superspeedway.

·         Joey Logano (third) posted his seventh top-10 finish in eight XFINITY races at Talladega Superspeedway.

 

·         Matt Tifft (sixth) was the highest finishing rookie. 

 

·         Justin Allgaier captured Stage 2 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 (330) leads the XFINITY Series points standings by 29 points over Justin Allgaier (301). They are followed by rookie William Byron (252), Darrell Wallace Jr. (235) and rookie Daniel Hemric (229).

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.