KYLE BUSCH PUNCHES TICKET INTO CHAMPIONSHIP 4 AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY – MARTINSVILLE RACE RECAPS

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES

 

First Data 500 Presented by Alpha Energy Solutions

Martinsville Speedway – Martinsville, Virginia

Sunday, October 29, 2017

 

Race Winner: Kyle Busch

Age: 32

Team: No. 18 – M & M’s Halloween Toyota

Owner: Joe Gibbs Racing

Crew Chief: Adam Stevens

 

IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – “It’s just a great win for this whole M&M’s Halloween Toyota Camry. It’s awesome to get to victory lane here at Martinsville. You know I wanted to win Charlotte, Martinsville and Homestead and that’ll make us this year’s champions, so we’ve got one more. Just wanted to say our guys did an awesome job preparing this car. We weren’t the best all day, but we put ourselves in the right spots there at the end and there was kind of chaos ensuing and none of it was our fault, we just came out on the right end of the stick.”

 

·         Kyle Busch

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

 

·         Kyle Busch won the 69^th annual First Data 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Martinsville Speedway Sunday afternoon.   It was the first of the three races in the Round of 8 of the MENCS playoffs.  It is Busch’s 43^rd win in 459 career MENCS races and his fifth victory in 33 races this year.  He now has won three of the seven playoff races this year.

 

·         With the win, Busch is the first driver to punch his ticket into the Championship 4 who will compete in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, November 19.  It will be Busch’s third straight appearance in the Championship 4, as he took home the title in 2015.

 

·         Overall, today’s finish marked Busch’s 20^th top-10 and 13^th top-5 in 33 races of 2017.

 

·         Busch’s five wins this year are tied for the second-most of his MENCS career (8 in 2008, 5 in 2015).

 

·         This was Busch’s second win in 25 starts at Martinsville.

 

·         This marked the 18^th straight playoff race that was won by a driver who was still alive in the playoffs.  The streak dates back to the 2015 Ford EcoBoost 400 on November 22 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which was won by Kyle Busch.

 

·         Four of the top five finishers and six of the top eight today were playoff drivers.

 

·         Martin Truex Jr. (2^nd) posted his 23^rd top-10 finish in 33 MENCS races this year and his 16^th in the top-5. 

 

·         Clint Bowyer (3^rd) accounted for his 13^th top-10 finish in 33 races this year and sixth top-5.  It was his fifth top-3 finish of 2017.

 

·         Daniel Suarez (15^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).

 

·         Brad Keselowski won both Stage 1 and Stage 2 of today’s race.

 

·         The following are the playoff standings heading into the second race in the Round of 8, which will take place at Texas Motor Speedway next weekend. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, November 19.

 

Name                                    Pts.                                                        Name                                    Pts.

1.       Martin Truex Jr.                4117                                               5.    Jimmie Johnson                4050

2.       Kyle Busch*                        4100                                               6.   Ryan Blaney                         4047

3.       Brad Keselowski               4079                                               7.   Denny Hamlin                     4045

4.       Kevin Harvick                     4053                                               8.   Chase Elliott                         4027

                                                               

*Advances to Championship 4 with win

 

·         In 12 career MENCS starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kyle Busch has collected five top-10 finishes and two top-5 showings.  This includes a win in the 2015 Ford EcoBoost 400 when he earned the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship of his career.

 

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

 

·         The NASCAR XFINITY Series was off this weekend.  They will resume action next weekend at Texas Motor Speedway – the second of three races in the Round of 8 of the playoffs.

 

·         The following are the standings following the first of three races in the Round of 8 in the 2017 NXS playoffs. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 300 XFINITY Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, November 18.

 

Name                                    Pts.                                                        Name                                    Pts.

1.       Justin Allgaier                    3066                                               5.    Matt Tifft#                          3033

2.       William Byron#                  3064                                               6.    Ryan Reed                          3032

3.       Elliott Sadler                       3055                                               7.    Daniel Hemric#                 3032

4.       Brennan Poole                  3038                                               8.   Cole Custer#                       3030

 

#Denotes rookie             

 

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

 

·         Rookie Noah Gragson won the 19^th annual Texas Roadhouse 200 Presented by Alpha Energy Solutions NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday.  The race was the first in the Round of 6 of the 2017 Camping World Truck Series playoffs. 

 

·         For Gragson it is his first victory in 22 career NCWTS starts.  It is his 12^th top-10 finish and fourth top-5 in 20 races this year.

 

·         Following Gragson, playoff drivers took the second and third spots.

 

·         Matt Crafton (2^nd) accounted for his 14^th top-10 finish and fifth top-5 showing in 20 NCWTS races this year. 

 

·         Johnny Sauter (3^rd) posted his 16^th top-10 finish and 10^th top-5 showing in 20 NCWTS races this year.

 

·         The following are the playoff standings heading into the second race of the Round of 6 in the NCWTS playoffs, which will take place next weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.  The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 200 Camping World Truck Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday, November 17.

 

Name                                    Pts.                                                        Name                                                    Pts.

1.       Christopher Bell                3083                                               4.    Ben Rhodes                                        3049

2.       Johnny Sauter                   3080                                               5.    Austin Cindric#                                  3038

3.       Matt Crafton                      3068                                               6.    John Hunter Nemechek                3021                              

#Denotes rookie

RACE RECAPS- MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES ROUND OF 8 IS SET FOLLOWING KANSAS

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
 
Hollywood Casino 400
Kansas Speedway – Kansas City, Kansas
Sunday, October 22, 2017

Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr.
Age: 37
Team: No. 78 –Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Toyota
Owner: Furniture Row Racing
Crew Chief: Cole Pearn

IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – “I feel good about all of them (next three races before Homestead-Miami Speedway), but Martinsville comes first so we’re focused on that one the most. We have the first pit stall already, which is a good start for that. We have to go there and qualify well and hope to race well all day. If we can just continue to not have any major problems, we should be good to get to Miami and then go have some fun there.”

·         Martin Truex Jr.
----------------

·         Martin Truex Jr. won the 17^th annual Hollywood Casino 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Kansas Speedway Sunday afternoon.   It was the final of the three races in the Round of 12 of the MENCS playoffs.  It is Truex’s 14^th win in 437 career MENCS races and his series-high seventh victory in 32 races this year.  He now has won three of the six playoff races this year.

·         Overall, today’s finish marked Truex’s 22^nd top-10 and 15^th top-5 in 32 races of 2017.

·         This was Truex’s second win in 19 starts at Kansas with his first victory there coming on May 13 of this year.

·         Truex’s seven wins are the most in a MENCS season since Matt Kenseth won seven races in 2013.

·         Of Truex’s seven wins on the year, six have come at 1.5 mile tracks, the most-ever wins in a season on tracks of this distance in MENCS history.  The previous record was held by Carl Edwards (5 in 2008).

·         This marked the 17^th straight playoff race that was won by a driver who was still alive in the playoffs.  The streak dates back to the 2015 Ford EcoBoost 400 on November 22 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which was won by Kyle Busch.

·         Kurt Busch (2^nd) posted his 14^th top-10 finish in 32 MENCS races this year and his sixth in the top-5.  It was his best finish since he won the season-opening Daytona 500 on February 26.

·         Ryan Blaney (3^rd) accounted for his 12^th top-10 finish in 32 races this year and fourth top-5.

·         Ty Dillon (16^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).
 
·         Kyle Busch won Stage 1 of today’s race while Denny Hamlin took Stage 2.

·         The following are the playoff standings entering the Round of 8, which commences next Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, November 19.
 
Name                                    Pts.                                                        Name                                    Pts.
1.       Martin Truex Jr.*             4069                                               5.    Jimmie Johnson*             4017
2.       Kyle Busch*                        4042                                               6.   Denny Hamlin*                  4014
3.       Brad Keselowski*            4026                                               7.   Ryan Blaney*                      4009
4.       Kevin Harvick*                  4017                                               8.   Chase Elliott*                      4006
                                                             
*Advances to Round of 8
 
·         In 12 career MENCS starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Martin Truex Jr. has recorded seven top-10 finishes and three top-5 showings.  He was part of the Championship 4 in the 2015 Ford EcoBoost 400 when he finished 12^th.
 
 
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
 
·         Christopher Bell won the 17th annual Kansas Lottery 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) race at Kansas Speedway on Saturday. It is his first victory in five career XFINITY Series starts, all of which have been this year.
 
·         For Bell, it was his third top-10 and second top-5 showing in five NXS starts this year.  He became the first driver to get his first career NXS win at Kansas Speedway.
 
·         The race marked the first of three races in the Round of 8 in the XFINITY Series playoffs.

·         Tyler Reddick Jr (2^nd) posted his fifth top-10 and third top-5 finish in 17 NXS races this year.

·         Ryan Blaney (3^rd) amassed his 10^th top-10 and top-5 showing in 11 NXS races this year.

·         William Byron (4^th) was the highest finishing rookie as well as the highest finisher among the eight remaining NXS playoff drivers.

·         Erik Jones set a record for the most laps led (186) in an NXS race at Kansas Speedway.

·         Five of the top 10 finishers were playoff drivers.

·         The following are the standings following the first of three races in the Round of 8 in the 2017 NXS playoffs. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 300 XFINITY Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, November 18.

Name                                    Pts.                                                        Name                                    Pts.
1.       Justin Allgaier                    3066                                               5.    Matt Tifft#                          3033
2.       William Byron#                  3064                                               6.    Ryan Reed                          3032
3.       Elliott Sadler                       3055                                               7.    Daniel Hemric#                 3032
4.       Brennan Poole                  3038                                               8.   Cole Custer#                       3030

#Denotes rookie           


NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

·         The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was off this week.  They will resume action next Saturday at Martinsville Speedway.

·         The following are the playoff standings heading into the Round of 6 in the NCWTS playoffs, which will commence next week at Martinsville.  The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 200 Camping World Truck Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday, November 17.

Name                                    Pts.                                                        Name                                                    Pts.
1.       Christopher Bell                3047                                               4.    John Hunter Nemechek                3014
2.       Johnny Sauter                   3027                                               5.    Ben Rhodes                                        3013
3.       Matt Crafton                      3014                                               6.    Austin Cindric#                                  3007                              

#Denotes rookie

RACE RECAPS- TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
 
Alabama 500
Talladega Superspeedway – Talladega, Alabama
Sunday, October 15, 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 is still sinking in. It is a special place to get to race and a special place when you win here. It was really a collaborative effort with the team and getting a real fast car and making the right moves as a driver and a lot of help from up above with staying out of those wrecks. It really takes all three and we had them all today.”

-       Brad Keselowski
----------------

·         Brad Keselowski won the 49^th annual Alabama 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Talladega Superspeedway Sunday afternoon.   It was the second of the three races in the Round of 12 of the MENCS playoffs.  It is Keselowski’s 24^th win in 300 career MENCS races and his third victory in 31 races this year.  It is also his fifth victory in 18 career MENCS races at Talladega.

·         Keselowski becomes the seventh driver to earn a victory in his 300^th career MENCS start.

·         With the victory, Keselowski locks up a spot in the Round of 8 in the MENCS playoffs, joining Martin Truex Jr., who has also secured a spot.

·         Overall, today’s finish marked Keselowski’s 18^th top-10 and 13^th top-5 in 31 races of 2017.

·         This marked the 16^th straight playoff race that was won by a driver who was still alive in the playoffs.  The streak dates back to the 2015 Ford EcoBoost 400 on November 22 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which was won by Kyle Busch.

·         This marked the fifth straight Talladega race and sixth in the last seven that was won by a Ford driver.

·         Ford drivers occupied four of the top-5 spots today. 

·         Ryan Newman (2^nd) posted his 12^th top-10 finish in 31 MENCS races this year and his seventh in the top-5.  It was his best finish since he won at Phoenix on March 19 of this year.

·         Trevor Bayne (3^rd) accounted for his best finish since he also stood third on July 2, 2016 at Daytona.  It marked his fifth top-10 finish in 31 races this year and second top-5.

·         Gray Gaulding (9^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).
 
·         Brad Keselowski won Stage 1 of today’s race while Ryan Blaney took Stage 2.

·         The following are the playoff standings following the second of three races in the Round of 12.    The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, November 19.
 
Name                                    Pts.                                                        Name                                    Pts.
1.       Martin Truex Jr.*             3120                                               7.    Ryan Blaney                       3076
2.       Brad Keselowski*            3101                                               8.   Jimmie Johnson                 3074
3.       Kyle Larson                         3096                                               9.   Kyle Busch                            3067
4.       Kevin Harvick                     3089                                               10. Matt Kenseth                     3066
5.       Denny Hamlin                    3088                                               11. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.          3062
6.       Chase Elliott                       3087                                               12. Jamie McMurray               3045
                                                             
*Advances to Round of 8
 
·         In nine career MENCS starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Brad Keselowski has recorded three top-10 finishes and two top-5 showings.  He earned his lone cup championship of his career following the 2012 Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
 
 
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
 
·         The NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) was off this week.  They will return to action next Saturday at Kansas.

·         The following are the standings heading into the Round of 8 of the 2017 NXS playoffs, which commences this week in Kansas. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 300 XFINITY Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, November 18.

Name                                    Pts.                                                        Name                                    Pts.
1.       William Byron#                  3026                                               5.    Cole Custer#                      3007
2.       Justin Allgaier                    3023                                               6.    Brennan Poole                  3006
3.       Elliott Sadler                       3020                                               7.    Ryan Reed                          3005
4.       Daniel Hemric#                 3009                                               8.   Matt Tifft#                           3004

#Denotes rookie           

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

·         Parker Kligerman won the 12^th annual fred’s 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race on Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway.  The race was the third of the 2017 Camping World Truck Series playoffs, and concluded the Round of 8.  It marked Kligerman’s second victory in 68 career NCWTS starts.

·         For Kligerman it was his fifth top-10 finish and first top-5 showing in seven races this year.

·         Christopher Bell (2^nd) accounted for his 17^th top-10 finish and 13^th top-5 showing in 19 NCWTS races this year. 

·         Myatt Snider (3^rd) posted his third top-10 finish and first top-5 showing in six NCWTS races this year.

·         Grant Enfinger (4^th) was the highest finishing rookie.

·         The following are the playoff standings heading into the Round of 6 in the NCWTS playoffs, which will commence in two weeks at Martinsville.  The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 200 Camping World Truck Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday, November 17.

Name                                    Pts.                                                        Name                                                    Pts.
1.       Christopher Bell                3047                                               4.    John Hunter Nemechek                3014
2.       Johnny Sauter                   3027                                               5.    Ben Rhodes                                        3013
3.       Matt Crafton                      3014                                               6.    Austin Cindric#                                  3007                              
#Denotes rookie

RACE RECAPS- CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES

 

Bank of America 500

Charlotte Motor Speedway – Concord, North Carolina

Sunday, October 8, 2017

 

Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr.

Age: 37

Team: No. 78 – Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota

Owner: Furniture Row Racing

Crew Chief: Cole Pearn

 

IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – “Unbelievable win. Just a total team effort. Every single guy – every guy on this team just did a perfect job today and I can’t be more proud of them and at this time of the year is just when you want it to happen. You dream about days like today. I don’t know if we had the best car, but we damn sure got in victory lane.”

 

·         Martin Truex Jr.

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

 

·         Martin Truex Jr. won the 58^th annual Bank of America 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Charlotte Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon.   It was the first of the three races in the Round of 12 of the MENCS playoffs.  It is Truex’s 13^th win in 435 career MENCS races and his series-high sixth victory in 30 races this year.  He now has won two of the four 2017 playoff races, as he also captured the checkered flag in the playoff opener at Chicago (9/17).

 

·         With the victory, Truex locks up a spot in the Round of 8 in the MENCS playoffs.

 

·         Overall, today’s finish marked Truex’s 21^st top-10 and 14^th top-5 in 30 races of 2017.

 

·         This marked the 15^th straight playoff race that was won by a driver who was still alive in the playoffs.  The streak dates back to the 2015 Ford EcoBoost 400 on November 22 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which was won by Kyle Busch. 

 

·         For the third straight week, each of the top five finishers today were playoff drivers.

 

·         Chase Elliott (2^nd) posted his 17^th top-10 finish in 30 MENCS races this year and his ninth in the top-5.  It tied a career-best finish in the Cup series that he attained five times previously, including three this year.  He now has placed second in two straight races.

 

·         Kevin Harvick (3^rd) posted his 18^th top-10 finish in 30 races this year.  It was also his 10^th top-5 showing.  It was his second third-place finish in the 2017 playoffs (at Chicago, 9/17).

 

·         For the second week in a row, Daniel Suarez (6^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 won both Stage 1 and Stage 2 of today’s race.

 

·         The following are the playoff standings following the first of three races in the Round of 12.    The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, November 19.

 

Name                                    Pts.                                                        Name                                    Pts.

1.       Martin Truex Jr.*             3106                                               7.    Jimmie Johnson                3051

2.       Kyle Larson                         3072                                               8.   Jamie McMurray               3044

3.       Kevin Harvick                     3069                                               9.   Matt Kenseth                     3043

4.       Chase Elliott                       3059                                               10. Brad Keselowski                3042

5.       Denny Hamlin                    3056                                               11. Ryan Blaney                        3039

6.       Kyle Busch                          3055                                               12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.          3034

                                                               

*Advances to Round of 8

 

·         In 12 career MENCS starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Martin Truex Jr. has recorded seven top-10 finishes and three top-5 showings.  He was part of the Championship 4 in the 2015 Ford EcoBoost 400 when he finished 12^th.

 

 

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

 

·         Alex Bowman won the 36th annual Drive for the Cure 300 Presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday. It is his first victory in 51 career XFINITY Series starts. 

 

·         The race marked the third of the 2017 XFINITY Series playoffs, and concluded the Round of 12. 

 

·         Sam Hornish Jr (2^nd) posted his second top-10 and top-5 finish in five NXS races this year.

 

·         Ryan Blaney (3^rd) amassed his ninth top-10 and top-5 showing in 10 NXS races this year.

 

·         Brennan Poole (5^th) was the highest finisher among the 12 XFINITY playoff drivers. 

 

·         Five of the top 10 finishers were playoff drivers.

 

·         The following are the standings following the Round of 12 of the 2017 NXS playoffs.  The Round of 8 commences in two weeks at Kansas. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 300 XFINITY Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, November 18.

 

Name                                    Pts.                                                        Name                                    Pts.

1.       William Byron*#               3026                                               7.    Ryan Reed*                        3005

2.       Justin Allgaier*                  3023                                               8.    Matt Tifft*#                       3004

3.       Elliott Sadler*                    3020                                               9.    Brendan Gaughan           2079

4.       Daniel Hemric*#               3009                                               10. Michael Annett                  2058

5.       Cole Custer*#                   3007                                               11.  Blake Koch                          2055      

6.       Brennan Poole*               3006                                               12.  Jeremy Clements             2052

 

*Advances to Round of 8             #Denotes rookie             

 

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

 

·         The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) was off this week.  It will return to action next weekend at Talladega, which will conclude the Round of 8 in the NCWTS playoffs.

 

·         The following are the playoff standings following two of three races in the Round of 8 in the NCWTS playoffs.   Two drivers will be eliminated from the playoffs following the race next week at Talladega.  The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 200 Camping World Truck Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday, November 17.

 

Name                                    Pts.                                                        Name                                    Pts.

1.       Christopher Bell*             2152                                               5.    Chase Briscoe#                 2084

2.       Ben Rhodes*                     2105                                               6.    Austin Cindric#                  2082

3.       Matt Crafton                      2101                                               7.    Kaz Grala#                           2074

4.       Johnny Sauter                   2098                                               8.    John Hunter Nemechek 2068

 

*Advances to Round of 6 with victory                     #Denotes rookie