RACE RECAPS- BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
 
Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race
Bristol Motor Speedway – Bristol, Tennessee
Saturday, August 19, 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 – “Can’t say enough about everybody on my Joe Gibbs Racing team. Adam Stevens (crew chief) and the guys are phenomenal. Car might not have been perfect, but I’m never perfect. I never feel like we’re perfect, but this Caramel Camry was fast. So proud of these guys, so proud of my team, so proud of Joe Gibbs Racing. So proud of Rowdy Nation, this one’s for you.”

·         Kyle Busch
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·         Kyle Busch won the 57^th annual Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway Saturday night. It is Busch’s 40^th win in 450 career MENCS races.

·         Busch complete the sweep at Bristol, winning the XFINITY Series race on Friday and the Camping World Truck Series race on Wednesday. This is the second time Busch sweeps a Bristol race weekend (2010) – the only driver to ever do so.

·         It is Busch’s second victory and 14^th top-10 finish in 2017, and his sixth victory and 14^th top-10 finish in 25 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.

·         Erik Jones (second) was the highest finishing rookie, posting a career-best finish in the Monster Energy Series. It is his third top-5 finish in 2017, and his second in a row. It is also his first top-10 finish in two races at Bristol Motor Speedway.

·         Denny Hamlin (third) posted his 12^th top-10 finish in 24 races at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his ninth top-5 finish this season.

·         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).
 
·         Busch won Stage 1 of Saturday’s race, while Matt Kenseth won Stage 2.

·         Martin Truex Jr. (951) leads the 2017 point standings by 101 points over Kyle Busch (850). They are followed by Kyle Larson (845) and Kevin Harvick (824).
 
·         Thirteen 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., Austin Dillon, Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch, 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 12 career MENCS starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Busch has had five top-10 finishes, including a victory in the 2015 Ford EcoBoost 400 as he captured the first Monster Energy Series championship of his career.
 
 
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
 
·         Kyle Busch won the 36^th annual Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway Friday night. It is Busch’s 91^st win in 337 career XFINITY Series starts. It is also his fifth victory and eighth top-10 finish in 2017.
 
·         It is Busch’s ninth victory and 20^th top-10 finish in 25 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
 
·         Daniel Suarez (second) posted his fifth top-10 finish in six races at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his sixth top-10 finish in 2017.
 
·         Elliott Sadler (third) posted his 11^th top-10 finish in 22 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
 
·         Daniel Hemric (seventh) was the highest finish rookie.

·         With victories to their credit this year, William Byron (3), Justin Allgaier (1) and Ryan Reed (1) 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 (807) leads the XFINITY Series points standings by 110 points over rookie William Byron (697). They are followed by Justin Allgaier (671).


NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

·         Kyle Busch won the 20^th annual UNOH 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Wednesday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his 49^th victory in 140 Camping World Truck Series starts. It is also his third victory and fifth top-10 finish in 2017.

·         It is Busch’s fifth victory and eighth top-10 finish in 11 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.

·         Matt Crafton (second) posted his ninth top-10 finish in 15 races at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his 10^th top-10 finish in 2017.

·         John H. Nemechek (third) posted his fourth top-10 finish in four races at Bristol Motor Speedway.

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

·         Christopher Bell (4 wins), John Hunter Nemechek (2 wins), rookie Kaz Grala (1 win), Johnny Sauter (1 win) and Matt Crafton (1 win) all have qualified for the 8-driver 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.

·         Christopher Bell (615) leads the points standings by 42 points over Johnny Sauter (573).  Two-time series champion Matt Crafton has compiled 562 and is third, while rookie Chase Briscoe is fourth with 534 points.

RACE RECAPS- MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY AND MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES

 

Pure Michigan 400

Michigan International Speedway – Brooklyn, Michigan

Sunday, August 13, 2017

 

Race Winner: Kyle Larson

Age: 25

Team: No. 42 – Target Chevrolet

Owner: Chip Ganassi Racing

Crew Chief: Chad Johnston

 

IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – “I was running a few options through my head of what to do if I got a good jump (on final restart), and that was one of them and it worked out perfect. I can’t believe that happened. We were struggling all day. We were definitely not as good as the last two times we won here, but we preserved and had a great restart at the end.”

 

·         Kyle Larson

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·         Kyle Larson won the 28^th annual Pure Michigan 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Michigan International Speedway Sunday afternoon.  It is Larson’s fourth win in 134 career MENCS races and his third this year. 

 

·         Larson’s three wins are tied with Jimmie Johnson for the second-most on the circuit this year, trailing only Martin Truex Jr., who has had four wins.

 

·         For Larson, it was his 13^th top10 finish in 23 races this year and his 10^th in the top-5.

 

·         Dating back to the August 2016 race, Larson now has won three straight Cup races at Michigan, just the third driver to accomplish that feat, joining Hall of Famers David Pearson (3 from 1972-73) and Bill Elliott (4 from 1985-86).

 

·         Martin Truex Jr.  (2^nd) posted his 16^th top-10 finish and 10^th top-5 showing in 23 MENCS races this year. 

 

·         Rookie Erik Jones (3^rd) accounted for his best finish of the year and his Cup career.  It was his eighth top-10 finish and second top-5 in 23 races this year.

 

·         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 the race, while Martin Truex Jr. won Stage 2, his series-high 15^th stage win of the year.

 

·         Martin Truex Jr. (933) leads the 2017 point standings by 129 points over Kyle Larson (804).   They are followed by Kyle Busch (797) and Kevin Harvick (787).

 

·         Thirteen 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., Austin Dillon, Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch, 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 four career MENCS starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kyle Larson has had a pair of top-10 finishes, including a best of second in the 2016 Ford EcoBoost 400.

 

 

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

 

·         Sam Hornish Jr. won the 5^th annual Mid-Ohio Challenge at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio Saturday afternoon. It is Hornish’s fifth win in 117 career XFINITY Series starts, and his first since June 19 of last year at Iowa.  It also was Hornish’s first top-10 finish in three 2017 XFINITY starts.

 

·         Rookie Daniel Hemric finished second, his ninth top-10 finish in 21 XFINITY races this year and his top showing.

 

·         Matt Tifft (3^rd) accounted for his fifth top-10 finish in 21 races this year, while he also posted a season-best showing.

 

·         With victories to their credit this year, William Byron (3), Justin Allgaier (1) and Ryan Reed (1) 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 (763) leads the XFINITY Series points standings by 81 points over rookie William Byron (682).   They are followed by Justin Allgaier (621).

 

 

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

 

·         Darrell Wallace Jr. won the 18^th annual LTi Printing 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Saturday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway.  In what was his first Camping World Truck Series start of the year, Wallace picked up his sixth victory in 45 career Camping World Truck Series starts.  It was his first win in the series since he won the 2014 Ford EcoBoost 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

 

·         This is the first win for truck owner Matthew Miller and MDM Motorsports in the Camping World Truck Series.

 

·         Christopher Bell (2^nd) accounted for his 12^th top-10 finish and ninth top-5 showing in 13 NCWTS races this year. 

 

·         Kyle Busch (3^rd) posted his fourth top-10 finish and third top-5 showing in six races this year. 

 

·         Austin Cindric (5^th) was the highest finishing rookie.

 

·         Christopher Bell (4 wins), John Hunter Nemechek (2 wins), rookie Kaz Grala (1 win), Johnny Sauter (1 win) and Matt Crafton (1 win) all have qualified for the 8-driver 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.

 

·         Christopher Bell (572) leads the points standings by 37 points over Johnny Sauter (535).  Two-time series champion Matt Crafton has compiled 510, while rookie Chase Briscoe has collected 509 points.

RACE RECAPS- WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES

 

I Love New York 355 at The Glen

Watkins Glen International – Watkins Glen, N.Y.

Sunday, August 6, 2017

 

Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr.

Age: 37

Team: No. 78 – Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota

Owner: Furniture Row Racing

Crew Chief: Cole Pearn

 

IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – “I’m a little bit lost for words at the moment just because I’ve been thinking about this one a long time – all weekend, all day. Then, at the end there just it’s so hard there to let guys pass you for the lead. You’ve just got to listen to your crew chief and luckily for me I’ve got the best one in the business and I just believe in him so much and I just do what he says and it seems to work out. I’ve just got to thank him (Cole Pearn, crew chief).

 

·         Martin Truex Jr.

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·         Martin Truex Jr. won the 32^nd annual I Love New York 355 at The Glen Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Watkins Glen International Sunday afternoon.  It is Truex’s series-leading fourth win in 22 races this year. 

 

·         Overall, it is Truex’s 11^th win in 427 career MENCS races.  His 11 wins have come on 10 different tracks.  The only track at which he has won multiple times is Dover.

 

·         Truex now has won four races in both 2016 and 2017.  It also was his first win in 12 starts at Watkins Glen International.  His previous best was a third-place showing in 2013.

 

·         Matt Kenseth (2^nd) posted his 10^th top-10 finish and sixth top-5 showing in 22 MENCS races this year.  It is his best finish since he had a second-place showing at Charlotte on October 9 of last year.

 

·         Rookie Daniel Suarez (3^rd) posted his best finish of the year and his career, while it marked his fourth straight top-10 showing and his eighth overall in 22 MENCS races in 2017.

 

·         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 the race, which is his ninth stage win of the year and the second-most on the circuit this year, trailing only Truex’s 14.  Daniel Suarez won Stage 2, his first stage win of the year.

 

·         Martin Truex Jr. (881) leads the 2017 point standings by 116 points over Kyle Busch (765). They are followed by Kyle Larson (759) and Kevin Harvick (746).

 

·         Thirteen 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., Austin Dillon, Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch, 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 12 career MENCS starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Truex has had seven top-10 finishes.  In 2015, he was a part of Championship 4 who competed for the Cup Series title.  He finished 12^th that year.  His best finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway was a second-place showing in 2006.

 

 

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

 

·         Kyle Busch won the 23^rd annual Zippo 200 at The Glen NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Watkins Glen International Saturday afternoon. It is Busch’s 90^th win in 336 career XFINITY Series starts, and his fourth victory in eight XFINITY races this year.

 

·         Joey Logano was second and Brad Keselowski placed third.  For Logano, it was his seventh top-10 showing in eight XFINITY races this year, while it was the eighth top-10 finish in as many 2017 XFINITY races for Keselowski.

 

·         Justin Allgaier (4^th) was the highest finishing XFINITY Series regular while William Byron (10^th) was the highest finishing rookie.

 

·         Brad Keselowski won Stage 1 of Saturday’s race, while Paul Menard won Stage 2.

 

·         With victories to their credit this year, William Byron (3), Justin Allgaier (1) and Ryan Reed (1) 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 (732) leads the XFINITY Series points standings by 52 points over rookie William Byron (680). They are followed by Justin Allgaier (608).

 

 

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

 

·         The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was off this weekend.  They will return to action On Saturday, August 12 at Michigan International Speedway.

 

·         Christopher Bell (4 wins), John Hunter Nemechek (2 wins), rookie Kaz Grala (1 win), Johnny Sauter (1 win) and Matt Crafton (1 win) all have qualified for the 8-driver 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.

 

·         Currently, Christopher Bell (528) leads the points standings by 18 points over Johnny Sauter (510).  Chase Briscoe has compiled 470, while two–time series champion Matt Crafton has collected 464 points.