Kyle Busch leads opening XFINITY practice at Dover

DOVER, DE – Kyle Busch was fastest during opening NASCAR XFINIT Series practice at Dover International Speedway with a speed of 157.729 MPH on Friday.

Erk Jones, Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon, Joey Logano, Brandon Jones, Ty Dillon, Justin Allgaier, Blake Koch, and Darrell Wallace Jr. rounded out the Top-10.

37 drivers practiced during the session.

Larson leads first Cup practice at Dover

DOVER, DE – Kyle Larson led Friday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice at Dover International Raceway with a speed of 165.578 MPH.

Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the Top-5.

Kyle Busch had the best 10 consecutive lap average of four drivers with one of 159.336 MPH.

Timmy Hill was slowest at 150.804 MPH.

Busch ran the most laps, running 60.

Practice started about 15 minutes late. NASCAR had to finish drying the track after morning rains.

Qualifying is scheduled for at 3:40pm ET today on NBCSN.

Penalties hamper Nemechek, NEMCO team in Chase

NASCAR issued penalties Thursday to the No. 8 NEMCO Motorsports team and Camping World Truck Series driver John Hunter Nemechek for P2 infractions found last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Nemechek's No. 8 Chevrolet failed to meet the minimum ride height during an inspection after last Saturday's UNOH 175, the opening race of the Camping World Truck Series Chase playoffs.

Competition officials docked the team 10 championship points in both the owners' and drivers' standings. The penalty dropped Nemechek, who rallied from an early spin to finish ninth last weekend, from fourth to seventh on the Chase Grid with two races remaining before cuts are made to the championship-eligible field.

NASCAR officials also fined crew chief Gere Kennon $6,000 and NASCAR probation for the crew chief continues through Dec. 31, 2016. It's the second such violation this season for the NEMCO team, which also failed the ride-height minimum at Iowa Speedway in June for a P2-grade infraction.

NASCAR abandoned ride-height rules for its Sprint Cup Series ahead of the 2014 season. Those restrictions remain in effect for its other two national series.

This week's penalty report for the Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series was marked by written warnings and lesser violations. From the Sprint Cup Series race weekend in New Hampshire, the following teams were cited:

-- The No. 7 Tommy Baldwin Racing team of driver Regan Smith received written warnings for failing pre-race LIS twice and pre-qualifying LIS twice.

-- The No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team of driver Kevin Harvick, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team of driver Kasey Kahne, No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing team of driver Greg Biffle and No. 83 BK Racing team of driver Matt DiBenedetto all received written warnings for failing pre-qualifying LIS twice.

-- The No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team for driver Denny Hamlin received a written warning for failing pre-qualifying template inspection twice.

The pre-qualifying LIS failures of Nos. 4, 5, 7 and 16 teams were each their third infractions, meaning the next such infraction will see those teams penalized with the last selection of a pit stall on the weekend that violation occurs. Of those cars, only the 4 of Harvick is in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Warnings from the XFINITY Series' event at Kentucky Speedway:

-- The No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team and No. 51 Jeremy Clements Racing team of driver Jeremy Clements received written warnings for failing pre-race LIS twice.

Warnings from the Camping World Truck Series' event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway:

-- The No. 50 MAKE Motorsports team of driver Travis Kvapil received a written warning for failing pre-race template inspection four times and also a loss of 15 minutes of practice time this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

- NASCAR

Full schedule for Dover and Las Vegas

The NASCAR Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series will gather for a doubleheader showing at Dover International Speedway this weekend. The Camping World Truck Series will race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Check out the full schedule below.

Note: All times are ET

FRIDAY, SEPT. 30:
ON TRACK: DOVER
-- 10-11:25 a.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series first practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
-- 11:30 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series first practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
-- 1:30-2:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
-- 3:40 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

SATURDAY, OCT. 1:
ON TRACK: DOVER
-- 10:30-11:25 a.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series second practice, CNBC/NBC Sports App
-- 11:45 a.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, CNBC/NBC Sports App
-- 1:30-2:20 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
-- 3 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Drive Sober 200 (200 laps, 200 miles), NBCSN/NBC Sports App

ON TRACK: LAS VEGAS
-- 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series first practice
-- 1-2 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice
-- 6:10 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FS2
-- 8:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series DC Solar 350 (146 laps, 219 miles), FS1

SUNDAY, OCT. 2:
ON TRACK: DOVER
-- 2 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Citizen Soldier 400 (400 laps, 400 miles), NBCSN/NBC Sports App

- NASCAR

LaJoie readies for Dover

Corey LaJoie will be making his first NASCAR XFINITY Series start at Dover International Speedway.  This event will be LaJoie's 13th career XFINITY series start and the seventh this season in the No. 24 Toyota.

"Dover is my favorite track hands down," LaJoie said. "It changes constantly with the rubber being laid down and picked up.  I have had success there in the K&N Series so I will take all the lessons from those cars and apply them as I climb behind the wheel of our No. 24 youtheory Toyota."

While this will be LaJoie's XFINITY Series debut at "The Monster Mile" - he has plenty of experience at the one mile track.  Corey has had five starts at Dover in the NASCAR K&N Series.  In those five starts he has accumulated four top-10 finishes including a visit to Victory Lane in the 2012 event.

Armstrong heads into Dover

Dakota Armstrong will be making his sixth career NASCAR XFINITY Series start at Dover International Speedway to go along with two prior starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Armstrong has a best XFINITY Series finish of 14th at the track known as The Monster Mile which came during the 2015 season.

Armstrong finished 21st in the race earlier this season at Dover International Speedway.

"Dover is a really fast track," Armstrong said. "Drivers use the word "landing" a lot at Dover because when you drive down into the corner the car gets a light feeling and then it hits max load all at once so it is crucial to be good on entry into the corner.  Then you have to be good through the long corners which makes it a tough track to get a grip on.

"We didn't have the run we wanted in the race earlier this year at Dover.  I think as a team we are in a much better situation now and I look forward to going back to Dover this weekend."

Kentucky Rewind:
The NASCAR XFINITY Series rolled into Kentucky Speedway for the first race of its inaugural Chase format.  In a race featuring a record number of cautions for the series at the 1-.5-mile track, Dakoda Armstrong and his No. 28 WinField Toyota team managed to secure an 18th place finish in the running of the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at the Sparta, Kentucky track.

Yeley Amped for Dover:

After a solid run finishing 14th at Kentucky Speedway, JJ Yeley and the No. 44 Zachry team will head to Dover International Speedway this weekend where the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) will host the Drive Sober 200. With 15 previous NXS runs at the one-mile concrete oval famed as 'The Monster Mile, Yeley has earned two top-10 finishes, and led two laps during the October 2015 Hisense 200. Eager to settle in behind the wheel of the No. 44 Zachry Toyota, Yeley is focused and ready to take on Miles the Monster.

"Heading back to one of the toughest race tracks on the schedule with some momentum is always a plus. We had a good finish in the spring race with our Zachary Toyota," Yeley said. "Frankie and his crew have been working hard on making my race cars handle better every week. I'm looking forward to Dover more now than probably ever before because it is one of the fastest one-mile racetracks where handling is very important."

Crew Chief Frank Kerr and the No. 44 Zachry team will unload chassis No. 1002 at Dover International Speedway.

About Zachary

Zachry Group is America's pace-setter in turnkey construction, engineering, maintenance, turnaround and fabrication services in the power, energy, chemicals, manufacturing and industrial sectors. We work with customers to plan, build and renew their most critical facilities, so they can achieve their immediate and long-term goals, all at the highest safety standards. We operate 35 offices, and our 20,000 employees work in more than 400 locations nationwide, united by a shared set of values and the desire to deliver the very best outcomes for our customers. Visit www.zachrygroup.com
for more information and for career opportunities.

Stenhouse Jr. drives the Fastenal Ford to a 24th place finish at Loudon

Loudon, N.H. (Sept. 25, 2016) – After the No. 17 Fastenal Ford was turned bringing out the final caution of the 300-lap race, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. recovered to take the checkered flag for the Bad Boy Off Road 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the 24th position.

“We struggled this weekend,” Stenhouse said. “At times our Fastenal Ford handled great but we just lacked speed. It’s definitely not the performance we wanted but we will go back and look at everything and bring something different next year. We need to take the next eight races and build off them going into the off season.”

After struggling with a loose handling Fastenal Ford in practice on Friday, the two-time XFINITY champion advanced to the second round of qualifying earning a 21st –place starting position.

After going a lap down due to a long green flag run, the Olive Branch, Miss. native took the wave around to get back on the lead lap in hopes of a quick caution before he needed to pit for tires and fuel. The much needed caution was never displayed forcing Stenhouse to make his scheduled pit stop under green flag conditions.

With less than 10 laps remaining, Stenhouse made contact with the No. 27 machine which sent the Fastenal Ford for a spin. The 2013 NSCS Rookie of the Year saved his spinning machine without making any contact.

For the final six lap shootout, Stenhouse lined up in the 25th position and was able to pick one more position to cross the finish line in the 24th position.

Stenhouse and the No. 17 team travel to Dover International Speedway on Oct. 2, 2016 for the Citizen Soldier 400. Race coverage starts at 2:00 pm EST on NBCSN.

- Roush Fenway Racing.

Biffle finishes 33rd at Loudon

LOUDON, N.H. (September 25, 2016) – Greg Biffle suffered left-front fender damage in a late-race caution which contributed to his 33rd-place finish.  Biffle started 32nd and worked on his No. 16 Performance Plus Motor Oil Ford Fusion all race and just when the handling improved, an incident unfolded on track in front of him.  Biffle was able to pit for repairs and earn a 33rd-place finish.

Greg Biffle had his hands full the entire Loudon race weekend with the handling on his No. 16 Performance Plus Motor Oil Ford Fusion.  The handling contributed to a 32nd-place qualifying effort.  The team made some handling gains with two practice sessions on Saturday, but knew they still had their work cut out for them.

The race started off with long green flag runs, not allowing many opportunities to pit for adjustments.  Biffle lost a lap to the field over the run due to handling and then an attempt to capitalize on pit strategy didn’t pan out for the team.

Long green flag runs continued and Biffle was off pit cycle with the leaders.  When the opportunity arose he took the “wave around” to get back one of the lost laps, but another long green flag run would ensue.

With nothing to lose the team took advantage of late race cautions to pit for adjustments to see how the different changes affected the handling of the No. 16 Ford.  The changes made gains, but Biffle went high to dodge some wrecking cars in front of him and suffered some left-front fender damage.

Biffle pitted for repairs and in the end crossed the finish line 33rd in the No. 16 Performance Plus Motor Oil Ford Fusion.

- Roush Fenway Racing

Late-race incident leads to 38th-place finish for Bayne in New Hampshire

LOUDON, N.H. (Sept. 25, 2016) – Trevor Bayne, driver of the No. 6 AdvoCare Ford Fusion, was involved in a late-race incident with under 20 laps to go in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon, relegating the Roush Fenway Racing driver to a 38th-place finish.

“I’m not sure what happened there,” said Bayne after the race. “It felt like we had a tire go down, especially since we hadn’t been loose going into the third turn all race long. I just hate it for all of my guys on this AdvoCare team. We’ll rebound from this and go for a solid run next week in Dover.”

Bayne took the green flag for the 300-Lap event from the 27th position and immediately reported to crew chief Matt Puccia that the AdvoCare Ford was very tight through the corner. Despite the handling condition Bayne drove his way into the top 25 and maintained that track position until after the first round of green flag pit stops on Lap 74.

The Knoxville, Tenn. native continued to fight for position inside the top 25 throughout much of the middle portion of the afternoon, running as high as 22nd before the tight-handling condition returned. In a race that saw several long green flag runs, crew chief Puccia decided to bring the driver of the AdvoCare Ford to pit road a little early during a round of green flag pit stops on Lap 215 in the hopes of making up track position. Unfortunately, an inopportune caution just 16 laps later trapped Bayne off of the lead lap.

In the closing stages, Bayne battled for the free pass position before an incident heading into Turn 3 on Lap 284 damaged the rear of the AdvoCare Ford.

The damaged was deemed too severe to repair, ending Bayne’s afternoon just shy of the finish. In the end Bayne was scored with a 38th-place finish.

Next up for the NSCS in Dover International Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 2.

Bubba Wallace kicks off XFINITY Chase with 8th-Place finish at Kentucky

SPARTA, Ky. (Sept. 24, 2016) – Roush Fenway Racing driver Bubba Wallace kicked off the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) Chase with a strong performance in Saturday night’s NXS race at Kentucky Speedway. Wallace qualified ninth and spent virtually the entire event inside the field’s top 10, driving his No. 6 Bleacher Report Ford Mustang all the way to the front at one point – while leading nine laps.

“It was a solid effort,” said Wallace. “We had trouble on those restarts which hurt us in the end, but we came in here and got a good finish. We ran up front for much of the night and we’ll take this top 10 and build on that for next week when we head to one of my favorite tracks at Dover.”

With the finish, Wallace leaves the Bluegrass State tied for fourth in the NXS Chase standings with Roush Fenway teammate Ryan Reed.

After advancing to the final round of qualifying, Wallace needed only 25 laps to move into the top five, before driving all the way to second on lap 29. In a caution filled event, Wallace continued to run inside the top five before powering his way to the lead on lap 105. With Wallace running in the third position, the team opted for four fresh tires after a caution on lap 117. Wallace restarted 15th, but the strategy ultimately paid off with Wallace taking fuel only during a caution on lap 130.

Wallace restarted fifth, but was unable to hold the high line and was shuffled back to 10th. The race, which saw 12 cautions on the night, continued to be plagued by accidents, as Wallace remained in the top 10 for the remainder of the race, moving on to the eighth place finish; his ninth top-10 finish of the season and his second at Kentucky this season.

The NXS will head to Dover International Speedway next weekend for the second race of The Chase. Wallace posted a career-best second place finish earlier this year at the Monster Mile.

- Roush Fenway Racing

Ryan Reed finishes 7th in the first caution-filled round of the XFINITY Chase

SPARTA, Ky. (Sept. 25, 2016) – Ryan Reed and the No. 16 Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association team put together a strong showing in the opening round of the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase, finishing seventh in Saturday night’s caution-filled race at Kentucky Speedway.

Reed advanced to the second round of Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session, ultimately earning a 16th-place starting position for the Saturday night event.

Early on, Reed battled a car that was too loose, but gained three positions before the competition caution on Lap 25.  Crew chief Phil Gould opted for two tires and a track bar adjustment.  The tire strategy moved Reed further up the running order, restarting eighth.

On the following runs, Reed battled a Mustang that was still too free, but continued to work his way towards the front.  Following a Lap 35 restart, Reed maneuvered his No. 16 Ford into the top-five for the first time of the day.

On Lap 68, Reed radioed to his team that it felt like the right front tire was coming apart.  He was on his way to pit road, when the caution flew on Lap 69.  Reed avoided the green flag pit stop and stayed on track.  Reed instead made his way down pit road under caution on Lap 71 for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment.  The No. 16 Ford restarted 12th.

Reed maintained position inside the top-15 as the middle portion of the race was marred by several caution periods.  Reed continued to battle a loose Ford Mustang, but successfully avoided the carnage and persistently to advance through the field.

Gould called Reed down pit road for what would be the last stop of the day during a Lap 178 caution period.  After getting four fresh tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment, Reed returned to the track in 13th.  Reed used the next three restarts to work his way inside the top-10, crossing the finish line in seventh.

With the result, Reed is scored in fourth place in the NASCAR XFINITY Series standings, tied with Roush Fenway teammate Bubba Wallace.  The second round of the XFINITY Series Chase kicks off at Dover International Speedway next Saturday.

About the Drive to Stop Diabetes

The Drive to Stop Diabetes campaign strives to educate people about living well with diabetes. The campaign encourages the millions of Americans who have diabetes to talk about it with their doctor, family, and friends and to actively manage their health.

About Lilly Diabetes

Lilly has been a global leader in diabetes care since 1923, when we introduced the world’s first commercial insulin. Today we are building upon this heritage by working to meet the diverse needs of people with diabetes and those who care for them. Through research and collaboration, a broad and growing product portfolio and a continued determination to provide real solutions—from medicines to support programs and more—we strive to make life better for all those affected by diabetes around the world. For more information, visit www.lillydiabetes.com or follow us on Twitter: @LillyDiabetes.

About The American Diabetes Association

The American Diabetes Association is leading the fight to Stop Diabetes® and its deadly consequences and fighting for those affected by diabetes. The Association funds research to prevent, cure and manage diabetes; delivers services to hundreds of communities; provides objective and credible information; and gives voice to those denied their rights because of diabetes. Founded in 1940, the Association’s mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. For more information please call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (800-342-2383) or visit diabetes.org. Information from both these sources is available in English and Spanish.

- Roush Fenway Racing.

Dalton Sargeant and Tom Hessert Remain Hot in Kentucky; Zane Smith Impresses in Speedway Debut

CONCORD, NC (September 26, 2016) – With the season winding down the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards visited Kentucky Speedway for what proved to be an action packed night of racing in Friday’s Crosley 150.

In a night race featuring five drivers back and forth for the top spot, it was Penske Racing’s development driver Austin Centric crossing the stripe in overtime fashion capturing his first career ARCA victory.

Venturini Motorsports’ (VMS) Dalton Sargeant (No. 55 Toyota Racing Development – Windows 10 Toyota) finished second with teammate Tom Hessert (No. 25 Acadiana Neurosurgery Toyota) capturing fourth place. Hessert further increased his second place hold in the ARCA series’ point standings with one race remaining.

Rookie Zane Smith, making his speedway debut with VMS, finished 24th after racing up front before getting caught up in a wreck between front runners Chase Briscoe and John Wes Townley on lap-77.

Despite Smith’s finish, the 17-year old rookie was fast all day, qualifying sixth, racing mostly inside the top-5 running positions before being forced to retire with damage sustained near the midway point of Friday’s race.

With Cunningham Motorsports’ Chase Briscoe taking a commanding championship lead into the series finale at Kansas Speedway, the final race will still deliver exciting drama as both Dalton Sargeant and Tom Hessert place bids for their own ARCA history.

After collecting his seventh top-3 finish of the season at Kentucky, Sargeant overtook Chase Briscoe and the 77 team for top spot in the General Tire Superspeedway Challenge Championship.

“We unloaded one of the best cars we’ve had all season long,” said Sargeant. “I gave it everything I had but it still wasn’t enough to catch Centric at the end. I’m proud of our team’s effort.”

The General Tire Superspeedway Challenge is a separate title that combines driver/owner points from all eight superspeedway the superspeedway races on the ARCA schedule. This year’s lineup includes Daytona, Talladega, Pocono (2), Michigan, Chicagoland, Kentucky and Kansas.

Sargeant, driver of the No.55 Toyota Racing Development – Windows 10 Toyota, enters Kansas with an advantage in the superspeedway challenge over Chase Briscoe driver of the No.77.

“We’ve still got a lot of work to do going into Kansas. We’ve been hanging tight with the 77-team all season long in the General Tire Superspeedway Challenge and now we have a slight edge going into the finale,” said Sargeant. “ This is my opportunity to give my guys a shot to win the speedway challenge. They’ve been amazing all year, consistently giving me great race cars.”

The 18-year old Sargeant also stands to inherit ARCA’s Scott Rookie of the Year (ROY) honors should top competitor Briscoe indeed close out his series championship.

Tom Hessert, second behind Briscoe in ARCA’s driver championship point standings, holds a commanding 185 point lead over third-place competitor Matt Kurzejewski. Hessert, behind a late season surge, highlighted with a victory at DuQuoin, is poised to earn his highest career finish (second) in the ARCA standings.

In Hessert’s previous nine seasons he’s finished third twice (’10 & ’14) in ARCA’s national point standings.

“It was a great night for this Venturini Motorsports 25-team,” Hessert said. “We started thirteenth and finished fourth – gives us a lot to work with going into Kansas in a few weeks.”

Coming on strong when it mattered, Hessert has earned three top-5’s including a win and runner-up finish at Salem to go along with eight consecutive top-10 finishes during a stretch which started in August at Lucas Oil Raceway.

“It’s a true testament to the character of this team. We never gave up and we’ll keep going until the checkered flag waves at Kansas. ”

The ARCA Series season finale will take place at Kansas Speedway on Friday, October 14. Practice for the Kansas 150 is the same day from 9:30 a.m. to 10:25 a.m., with final practice following from 10:35 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell is slotted in for 2:30 p.m. The 16th Kansas ARCA 150 is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m., with live coverage on FS1. All times central, local time. ARCAracing.com will also feature Live Timing and Scoring and Live Chat of all on-track activities.

ABOUT VENTURINI MOTORSPORTS

Venturini Motorsports (VMS), fielding cars for over 30-years in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, is one of the premier NASCAR driver development programs in the country. Multiple team championships and consistent on-track success, VMS has evolved into one of the most recognizable names in motorsports. Since 2007, VMS has assisted in the career development of notable NASCAR drivers such as Joey Logano, Erik Jones, William Byron, Justin Allgaier, Alex Bowman, Brian Scott, Ryan Blaney, Brennan Poole, Daniel Suarez, Brandon Jones and John Wes Townley. Over the years the Venturini name has become synonymous with modern-day racing in America. In 2012, the Venturini family was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame (www.NIASHF.org) and now find themselves enshrined with such sports icons as Joe DiMaggio, Mario Andretti, Vince Lombardi, Tommy Lasorda and Rocky Marciano.

Dakoda Armstrong Manages 18th Place Finish in Wild One at Kentucky

SPARTA, KY (September 25, 2016) - The NASCAR XFINITY Series rolled into Kentucky Speedway for the first race of its inaugural Chase format.  In a race featuring a record number of cautions for the series at the 1-.5-mile track, Dakoda Armstrong and his No. 28 WinField Toyota team managed to secure an 18th place finish in the running of the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at the Sparta, Kentucky track.

"Well that was a wild one out there tonight," said Armstrong.  "Our No. 28 WinField Toyota was pretty good in practice yesterday and during qualifying.  Once the race started we fired off real good but the longer we went in a run we just started to loose rear grip. We slowly gained on it as the race went on but it just wasn't enough for us to advance like we would have liked to."

Armstrong would start the 200 lap event from the 18th position.  Once the green flag flew, Dakoda would find out that there was not much grip unless you were running on the bottom of the track.  A competition caution on lap 25 allowed for a visit to pit road and an adjustment to the No. 28 WinField Toyota.  Dakoda would hang around the top-20 for the first half of the race and get lucky with a timely caution for the first of two Lucky Dog awards of the race.

The second 100 laps of the race would find things get a little crazy with Armstrong safely maneuvering around multiple on track incidents.  Dakoda would receive another lucky break with a caution on lap 130 as he simultaneously developed a flat right rear tire.  While the loss of a fresh set of tires would hamper his progress in the closing laps, Dakoda would battle to the end and come home with his 16th top-20 finish of the season.

"We had a little luck on our side tonight and I will gladly take it," added Dakoda.  "Overall we had a good car all day but the long runs just seemed to really hurt our No. 28 WinField Toyota.  I appreciate all of the hard work from the guys on this team."

The 18th-place finish dropped Armstrong to 14th position in the overall NASCAR XFINITY Series drivers' standings - three points out of the 13th spot.

The NASCAR XFINITY Series will next head to Dover International Speedway for the running of the Drive Sober 200. The 28th race of the NASCAR XFINITY Series season will be Saturday October 1st and can be seen LIVE on NBC Sports Network at 3:00 pm ET. It can also be heard on Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM Channel 90.

Yeley Secures 14th Place Finish at Kentucky

Racing under the lights, JJ Yeley finished 14th in the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky Speedway.

"Another good run for my Zachry TriStar Motorsports Toyota here at Kentucky Speedway," Yeley said. "Frank had the car on-point all night long. We only made small air pressure adjustments to fine tune the handling. As long as I could keep my momentum up, I could run top-5 speeds, my only problem was catching cars was one thing, passing them was another. I had a few close calls with traffic and restarts, the second groove never really got very clean, so the line was very narrow. It's always nice to have good finishes and even better when we have Zachry guests there to enjoy with us."

Yeley qualified the No. 44 Zachry Toyota 17th and relayed on lap seven the handling was nice in turns one and two and a little free in turns three and four.

Under a NASCAR mandated competition caution on lap 25, Yeley pitted for four tires, fuel, track bar and air pressure adjustments. He returned to the field and continued to run in the top-20 and into the top-15. At the halfway mark, lap 100, Yeley was scored 15th, when under caution, Crew Chief Frank Kerr made the call to bring Yeley to pit under green for four tires and fuel.

Yeley was able to get the Zachry Toyota as high as third during the caution laden 200-lap event. Through a series of pit stop adjustments and as the race end neared, Yeley indicated the handling of the Zachry Toyota was a little more snug.

As the checkered flag waved, Yeley crossed the finish line 14th in the Zachry Toyota to end the day at Kentucky Speedway.

Harvick charges to New Hampshire win with late race surge

Kevin Harvick used an aggressive restart with six laps remaining Sunday to cap a late-race surge that helped him claim victory at the Bad Boy Off Road 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Harvick has not won at New Hampshire since 2006, his only win at the track. The 2014 Sprint Cup champion now joins Martin Truex Jr. as drivers advancing in the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup after the first two races of the playoff system.

Havrick propelled his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet on the final restart past Matt Kenseth, who had led 105 laps and was looking for his third consecutive win at the "Magic Mile." Kenseth finished second in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Brad Keselowski in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford and Kurt Busch in the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet rounded out the top five.

Truex Jr., the series points leader entering the race, finished seventh after leading a race-high 141 laps.

The 300-lap race had six cautions and featured eight different leaders. Harvick led only eight laps all day.

The Sprint Cup Series heads to Dover International Speedway next weekend for the continuation of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in the Citizen Soldier 400 (Oct. 2, 2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

via NASCAR.

Sadler wins XFINITY race at Kentucky

Elliott Sadler won the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky Speedway. It is his 13th XFINITY Series win and 3rd of the year. 

Daniel Suarez finished second, followed by Ryan Blaney, Sam Hornish, Jr., Matt Tifft, Brendan Gaughan, Ryan Reed, Darrell Wallace, Jr., Justin Allgaier, and Brennan Poole.

Sadler's win guarantees he will advance to the round of 8 in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase, which starts at Kansas.

Pole sitter Erik Jones led 100 laps and was running near the front with 13 laps to go when he got loose and slid up intoTy Dillon, causing them both to wreck. Jones finished 28th, Dillon 27th.

There were a record 12 cautions for 64 laps and 16 lead changes among 8 leaders.

The average speed was 106.751mph.

No. 8 of Nemechek fails post-race inspection

LOUDON, N.H. – Following the conclusion of Saturday's UNOH 175 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series inaugural Chase race, NASCAR officials announced that the No. 8 Chevrolet of John Hunter Nemechek failed the post-race heights inspection.

Nemechek brought out the fourth caution of the day, spinning on Lap 53 after slight contact with Kaz Grala, but rallied to finish ninth.

The driver currently sits fourth on the Chase Grid.

Any penalties would be announced later in the week.

via NASCAR.

William Byron wins at Loudon in Chase opener

LOUDON, N. H. – William Byron stole a page from his mentor and team owner, Kyle Busch.

Leading 161 of 175 laps in Saturday’s UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway – the first race in the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase – Byron cruised to victory, the way Busch has done so many times before, and punched his ticket into the Chase's Round of 6.

Not that runner-up Christopher Bell, Byron’s stablemate at Kyle Busch Motorsports, didn’t make it interesting in the closing laps. As Byron worked traffic in the late going, Bell closed from 1.325 seconds behind with five laps left to .430 seconds down on the next-to-last lap.

But Bell ran out of time and crossed the finish line .446 seconds behind his No. 1-seeded teammate, who won for a series-best sixth time.

"I wore myself out passing some lappers," Byron said. "But with the amount of laps we had left, I thought I'd be OK. I was afraid the 4 (Bell) was going to catch us there at the end. We started to get tight, but that's what happens sometimes when you get out front.

"It was really good – just a great race for us. I can't thank these guys enough. Everyone at KBM, (sponsor) Liberty University – it's just really cool to get a win here in the Chase. It feels awesome."

Two-time series champion Matt Crafton came home third, followed by Tyler Reddick and Timothy Peters.

With the Chase field to be trimmed from eight to six drivers two races hence at Talladega Superspeedway, Ben Kennedy and Daniel Hemric fell below the provisional cut line. Kennedy finished 11th and trails Johnny Sauter (10th on Saturday and sixth in the standings) by one point.

If Kennedy's result was only mildly disappointing, Hemric's was a catastrophe. With his left rear tire cut down to the rim, Hemric spun in Turn 1 on Lap 25 to bring out the third caution of the race. His truck suffered a cut brake line and consequent fire in the left rear wheel well.

Hemric lost 33 laps under repairs, finished 28th and fell to last in the Chase standings, 21 points behind Sauter with two races left in the Round of 8. In all probability, Hemric will have to win one of those two events, at Las Vegas and Talladega, to advance to the Round of 6.

After leading the first 54 laps, Byron lost the top spot briefly when Cody Coughlin stayed out under the fourth caution and Bell, Kennedy, Crafton and Spencer Gallagher leap-frogged ahead of Byron with two-tire and fuel-only calls in the pits.

But Byron regained the lead from Bell on Lap 69 and held it the rest of the way. As Bell gained ground in the final laps, Byron was trying to save his equipment to prepare for a possible late caution.

"I was expecting it, so I didn't push too hard," Byron said. "I was expecting to get a caution, hopefully save something, but we gave it all we had there the whole race, and I just can’t thank these guys enough."

Byron leaves New Hampshire with a 16-point lead in the standings and guaranteed admission to the next round of the Chase. Crafton (+11 points above the cutoff line) is second in the Chase standings, followed by Bell (+10), John Hunter Nemechek (ninth on Saturday, +5), Peters (+3), Sauter (+1), Kennedy (-1) and Hemric (-21).

Note: Nemechek's No. 8 Chevrolet failed the post-race heights inspection. Any potential pnelaties will be announced next week.

via NASCAR.

Edwards wins Sprint Cup New Hampshire pole

Carl Edwards won the Coors Light pole for the Bad Boy Off Road 300 Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with speed of 135.453mph for his 6th pole of 2016, 3rd at New Hampshire and 22nd of his career. Edwards has won 3 races from the pole in his career in 21 tries.

Martin Truex, Jr. will start 2nd, followed by Ryan Nemwan, Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray, Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Busch.

Truex was fastest in the 2nd round with a speed of 135.236 MPH and will start 2nd.

Carl Edwards was fastest in the first round at 135.665mph. He starts on the pole.

Since the maximum of 40 cars entered the race, everyone made the race.

Erik Jones fastest in first XFINITY practice at Kentucky

Erik Jones was fastest during opening practice at Kentucky Speedway with a speed of 181.647 MPH.

Daniel Suarez was second, followed by Sam Hornish, Jr., Ty Dillon, Brennan Poole, Matt Tifft, Elliott Sadler, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, and Brandon Jones.

34 drivers practiced during the session.

Crafton fastest in final Truck practice at NHMS

Matt Crafton was fastest in final practice for the UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with a speed of 132.882 MPH.

He was followed by Ben Rhodes, William Byron, Cameron Hayley, Ben Kennedy, Christopher Bell, Timothy Peters, Brett Moffitt, Tyler Reddick, and Johnny Sauter.

30 drivers practiced during the session.

Rhodes fastest in first Truck practice at NHMS

Ben Rhodes was fastest during opening practice at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with a speed of 132.076 MPH.

William Byron, Christopher Bell, Johnny Sauter, Ben Kennedy, Matt Crafton, Matt DiBenedetto, Cole Custer, Kaz Grala, and John Hunter Nemechek were the top-10.

30 drivers practiced during the session.

Busy week for Auburn University student Bret Holmes; all set for KY debut in Crosley 150

SPARTA, Ky. (Sept. 23, 2016) - The brand new car that took the last two months to build paid off for rookie Bret Holmes, especially when he showed up fifth overall on the speed charts in ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards open testing at Kentucky Speedway earlier this week.

The Munford, Alabama driver was also unofficially under Parker Kligerman's one-lap track record he set back in 2009. With the test in the rearview mirror, Holmes will be making his mile-and-half intermediate track debut Friday night at Kentucky in the Crosley 150.

“We ran well in the test and are very eager to get a new car out on the track and see what she can do,” Holmes said. “I can feel that first win coming, and I think as our team starts to gel more and more, I have a better chance every time we come to the track. We're pretty excited."

Holmes got faster and faster as the day went on at the open test.

"We kept trying to push it harder every time I went out. It's hard to know where the limit is on this mile-and-a-half stuff."

Bret Holmes Car Tech Kentucky 2016With a lot of help from some very dedicated Bret Holmes Racing crew members and veteran Sam Schram directing the effort back home in the shop, the 23 car that the team unloaded here at Kentucky is sparkling new, front to back.

“We have great people on this team, and they put in so much time and effort. I have to tip my hat to these guys; I wouldn’t be here without them.”

Two weeks removed from his highest career ARCA finish at Salem (third), Holmes still knows that there is a long road ahead, but as each race passes he feels as if he is getting closer to that first win.

“It's a lot different running on this size of a track, but after the test, I think I have some experience, and I can go get after it this weekend."

ARCA champion Grant Enfinger will again serve Holmes as crew chief during the race.

From here, Holmes will head back to Alabama where he's a full-time student at Auburn University, studying Building Science. In addition to his schooling, Holmes had a very successful season back home in the Pro Late Model ranks, winning the 2016 track championship at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida.

"It's a been real busy week. We ran Pensacola Friday  and Saturday night...got rained out Saturday, so we ran it Sunday. We had the test at Kentucky Tuesday, then I went back to Auburn for classes Wednesday and Thursday. Today (Friday), we're back at Kentucky.

"That's pretty-much my life right now...school and racing. I'm in school four days a week...the other three I'm at the race track or in the shop."

The Bret Holmes Racing team just this morning added Southern States Bank as an associate sponsor on the 23 car. Wholesale Controls Internnational is also on board for this weekend.

Wholesale Controls International to sponsor Holmes at Kentucky
Wholesale Controls International (WCI) is a newly formed partnership and sponsor that will be along for the race on Friday. WCI s a parts distribution company out of Birmingham, Alabama that has provided design assistance for construction projects, including commercial drawings, submittals, and data booklets. In addition, Alabama Wholesale offers an array of commercial building automation products, such as electrical components, damper actuators, and valves. Find them online at wciparts.com. 

Three-time ARCA Racing Series champion Tim Steele won the inaugural ARCA race at Kentucky. From there the list of ARCA winners at Kentucky includes Ryan Newman, Frank Kimmel, Kyle Busch, Steve Wallace, Erik Darnell, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Michael McDowell, James Buescher, Corey LaJoie, Parker Kligerman, Brennan Poole and Reed to name a few.

This year’s Crosley 150, the 23rd ARCA race at Kentucky since the inaugural event in 2000, will serve as the show-opener for the next-night NASCAR XFINITY Series MyrtleBeach.com 300.

Raceday Schedule, September 23
Practice for the Crosley 150 is Friday afternoon, September 23 from 12:30 p.m. – 2:00, followed by Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell at 4:40. The Crosley 150 is scheduled to get the green flag at 8:19 p.m. In addition to Live Timing and Scoring and Live Chat at arcaracing.com of all on-track activities, the Crosley 150 is live on FS2 at 8:00 p.m. eastern. The race also re-airs Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24.

via ARCA.

ARCA debut on the way at Kentucky for rookie Rohrbaugh

SPARTA, Ky. (Sept. 23, 2016) - After a successful test earlier this week at Kentucky Speedway, 22-year-old Codie Rohrbaugh will make his ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards debut in Friday night’s Crosley 150.

Rohrbaugh’s Grant County Mulch Racing team, led by veteran crew chief Mark Huff, has spent the summer finessing their No. 7 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet in preparation for this weekend's race. The test added to the family team's comfort level and they are optimistic about their chances for a top-10 finish.

“We had a really good test,” said Rohrbaugh. “I really wanted to make my ARCA Racing Series debut earlier in the year at like Pocono or Chicagoland, but ARCA wanted me to test before getting on a mile-and-a half track. We did that earlier this week in the test, and I received my approval and I’m ready to go."Codie Rohrbaugh Post with Car at Kentucky 2016

Rohrbaugh also got to experience the track over the course of an entire day.

“The track changed throughout the day. It started off cool...then got hotter as the day went on. It will kinda be the opposite for the race on Friday. We’ll start off in the hot and then race at night when it’s cooler. We’ve made sure we’re ready to tackle that and hope we can have a good showing for Grant County Mulch and everyone that support us.”

The team has aligned with Win-Tron Racing who will field an entry in Friday night’s race for Shane Lee. The two teams worked together during the test and on-track results quickly showed the relationship was working.

“Mark and I and the rest of the team are extremely appreciative to Kevin (Cywinski) and his entire team for being someone we can lean on through this whole experience,” added Rohrbaugh.

“They’ve pointed us in the right direction from day one and I’m confident it’s because of that relationship that we unloaded as fast as we did. Hopefully, we can continue to go forward for practice and qualifying and for the race on Friday and see what happens in 100 laps.”

Ultimately, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East driver would like to be in contention for a strong finish in his series debut; but the Petersburg, West Virginia native says finishing the race is just as important, even if that means not contending for the win.

“We’re here to get experience for both me and the team,” he added. “Sure, we would like to come out of the box swinging, but this is racing. You have to be prepared for the unexpected. We’ve accomplished a lot during the test and we came out with the race car intact. If we can do that Friday and have a good finish - a top-10 would be great - then that’s something for us to build on towards the future.

“Ideally, we’d like to go to Kansas Speedway, but we’ll just have to wait and see if that happens here.”

In 12 previous NASCAR K&N East starts, Rohrbaugh has a best finish of ninth at Stafford (CT.) Motor Speedway in August 2015. 

Marketing partnership opportunities are available for the No. 7 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet for the remainder of the 2016 ARCA Racing Series and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season and beyond. Interested inquiries are encouraged to contact kyle@gcmulch.com.

Following Friday night’s ARCA debut, Rohrbaugh and his team set their sights on their final NASCAR K&N East race of the season at Dover International Speedway Fri., Sept. 30, where the team will make their fifth start of 2016.

via ARCA.

Larson leads first Sprint Cup practice at NHMS

LOUDON, NH – Kyle Larson topped the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice session at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Friday with a speed of 135.941 MPH.

Chase Elliott finished second in the session, followed by Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards and Martin Truex, Jr.

Kasey Kahne had the fastest consecutive 10-lap average at 131.273 MPH.

Jeffrey Earnhardt was slowest at 128.070 MPH.

Alex Bowman ran the most laps, running 34.

Austin Dillon got into the wall late in practice and will have to go to a backup car. 

.@austindillon3 got loose into turn one just before the end of Sprint Cup practice. The @RCR3ADillon team are going to a backup @NHMS. pic.twitter.com/AeQY9p4YMZ

— RCR (@RCRracing) September 23, 2016

Qualifying is scheduled for 4:45pm ET today. TV: NBCSN.

No. 31 team crew chief Luke Lambers welcomes third child

No. 31 Sprint Cup team crew chief Luke Lambert and his wife Jamie announced the birth of their daugther, RubyLynn, who was born Thursday morning. She is the couple's third child.

Lambert tweeted the news Thursday.

At 2:59am today we were Blessed to welcome RubyLynn into this world. @jamieblambert and baby are doing great. Praise God! pic.twitter.com/MAJgpBim5a

— Luke Lambert (@LukeLambertCC) September 22, 2016

'The Ultimate American Racing Blog' would like to send it's congratulations to the couple.

Venturini Motorsports Back in the Blue Grass State for Testing, Race at Kentucky Speedway

Sparta, Kentucky (September 21, 2016) – Venturini Motorsports’ Tom Hessert, Dalton Sargeant, and newcomer Zane Smith participated in Tuesday’s open test on Kentucky Speedway’s newly repaved 1.5 mile surface in preparation for Friday night’s ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Crosley Brands 150.

Zane Smith Quick at Kentucky Test

After a full day of testing it was 17-year old Zane Smith, making his first 1.5-mile speedway attempt, leading the Venturini Motorsports trio in Tuesday’s open test session at Kentucky Speedway.

Smith was third fastest overall among the 23 drivers on-hand for Tuesday’s test. Smith’s unofficial fast lap of 29.942 seconds (182.278 mph) was better than the official track record set by Parker Klingerman in 2009 at 30.126 (179.247 mph).

The Huntington Beach, CA native will make his second career ARCA start and first on a 1.5-mile track in Friday’s Crosley Brand 150 at Kentucky Speedway. Smith will make his Kentucky debut driving Venturini Motorsport’s No.15 Icon Vehicle Dynamics Toyota.

“That was pretty sweet,” said Smith after finishing up his first ever day of practice at Kentucky. “I’m not going to lie, the speed was ridiculous. I didn’t know what to expect coming into today’s test but it was everything and more.

“When we first unloaded it took some getting used to," Smith said. "It’s definitely a lot different than anything that I’ve really done. We’ve definitely made a lot of gains throughout the day. We started out really tight...then we just kept working on it and working on it and now we’re right where I want to be. I mean I’m really looking forward to Friday night.”

Smith made his ARCA debut at Salem in early September, finishing ninth. Today's test was all about gaining approval in order to make his debut in the Crosley 150 Friday night at Kentucky. Two-time season wining crew chief, Jeff McClure, will guide Smith at Kentucky.

Tom Hessert Talks Kentucky; Unveils New Sponsor

Tom Hessert, second in ARCA’s driver point standings, unloaded his Venturini Motorsports Toyota at Kentucky anxious to test out the newly repaved surface.

“Awesome job repaving the track here at Kentucky,” said Hessert. “There’s tons of grip and its super-fast. The configuration is obviously the same but that’s about it. Before the repave the track was rough and forced us to race off the bottom but now it’s all about being on the throttle and staying tight to the bottom line.”

Hessert, with new backing from Acadiana Neurosurgery and renowned neurosurgeon Jason Cormier M.D., will take to the track Friday night behind the wheel of VMS’s iconic No.25 in search of his seventh career ARCA victory.

“We had a really solid test today. My guys on the 25-team continue to work hard and show up every week with a solid piece. I think with the new surface the groove will widen out during the race – we saw that earlier in the year when the Cup series ran – I’m expecting an exciting night behind the wheel,” added Hessert.

Already a race winner earlier in the season on the DuQuoin dirt, Hessert, paired with crew chief Dave Leiner, enter Kentucky as formidable challengers for a second season victory.

Rookie Dalton Sargeant Ready to Roll on New Kentucky Surface

Rookie of the year candidate Dalton Sargeant enters Kentucky this week as one of the top contenders for Friday night’s Crosley Brand 150.

On Tuesday, the 18-year old hit the track for the first time posting the seventh overall fastest time of the day with a 30.332 second lap on the newly repaved 1.5-mile surface.

"Our test at Kentucky Speedway was a really good one in the Venturini Motorsports Toyota Racing Development Camry powered by Windows 10,”said Sargeant.

“Anytime we get extra time on these larger race tracks it's a huge benefit for inexperienced drivers like myself and really helps with the learning curve. We've got pretty good speed on our race runs which is very encouraging, but just missed it a little bit on our mock qualifying run so we're farther down the speed chart than what we showed all day.

“We've got a good package for Friday night, proud of our effort as a team and how the test went, Kentucky is now a really tricky race track with two completely different corners which made it a little tough at the beginning but thankfully because of this extra time we figured it out. Looking forward to the race on Friday night and excited to navigate traffic and compete against a really solid field.

“Just as much seat time as possible, really. I kept telling them over the radio when they kept asking what I needed…really just laps. There’s just so much that you can learn every time you go out. Like three and four after the repave was really line sensitive on entry and that’s one of the biggest things to get a hold of and then down in one and two it’s not so tricky. I think those last few runs were our best runs throughout the day. We’re very consistent and I’m definitely happy with it."

Sargeant, driver of the No.55 Toyota Racing Development-Windows 10 Toyota Camry, won his first series race at Berlin Raceway back in August. Overall, in 13 series starts he’s been a model of consistency posting nine top-5 and 11 top-10 finishes.

VMS, with recent success at Kentucky Speedway, went to victory lane with Brennan Poole in 2014 and swept the front row in qualifying last season with William Byron (Pole Positon) and Daniel Suarez locking down the first two starting spots. All three former VMS drivers have raced their way into NASCAR’s 2016 Championship Chase format – Brennan Poole (XFINITY Series), Daniel Suarez (XFINITY Series) and William Byron (Camping World Truck Series).

Raceday Schedule, September 23

Practice for the Crosley 150 is Friday afternoon, September 23 from 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m., followed by Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell at 4:40 p.m. The Crosley 150 is scheduled to get the green flag just after 8:00 p.m. In addition to Live Timing and Scoring and Live Chat at arcaracing.com of all on-track activities, the Crosley 150 is live on FS2 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

This year’s Crosley 150, the 23rd ARCA race at Kentucky since the inaugural event in 2000, will serve as the show-opener for the Saturday night NASCAR XFINITY Series MyrtleBeach.com 300.

About Venturini Motorsports

Venturini Motorsports (VMS), fielding cars for over 30-years in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, is one of the premier NASCAR driver development programs in the country. Multiple team championships and consistent on-track success, VMS has evolved into one of the most recognizable names in motorsports. Since 2007, VMS has assisted in the career development of notable NASCAR drivers such as Joey Logano, Erik Jones, William Byron, Justin Allgaier, Alex Bowman, Brian Scott, Ryan Blaney, Brennan Poole, Daniel Suarez, Brandon Jones and John Wes Townley. Over the years the Venturini name has become synonymous with modern-day racing in America. In 2012, the Venturini family was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame (www.NIASHF.org) and now find themselves enshrined with such sports icons as Joe DiMaggio, Mario Andretti, Vince Lombardi, Tommy Lasorda and Rocky Marciano.

via Venturini Motorsports.

Nos. 16, 43 receive penalties post-Chicago, others warned

NASCAR officials handed down a P3 penalty to both the No. 43 team of driver Aric Almirola and the No. 16 team of Greg Biffle on Wednesday for not having lug nuts properly installed during the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

The infraction also brought fines of $10,000 to crew chiefs Drew Blickensderfer and Brian Pattie.

The No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team received a written warning for failing the pre-race template inspection three times and lost 15 minutes of practice time.

The fellow Stewart-Haas Racing cars of No. 10 Danica Patrick and No. 41 Kurt Buschreceived warnings for failing pre-race LIS.

The cars of Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott,Jimmie Johnson and Alex Bowman failed pre-race template inspection twice and received warnings.

Other warnings or penalties issued after last weekend's events at Chicagoland included:

The No. 2 XFINITY Series team was warned for failing pre-race template inspection three times.

Kyle Busch's No. 18 Camping World Truck Series team received a P2 penalty for having tailgate inspection height measurements outside NASCAR allowed tolerances. The No. 18 crew chief Wes Ward was fined $6,000 and the team docked 10 owner points.

via NASCAR.

Yeley fueled by momentum as team heads to Kentucky

JJ Yeley and the No. 44 Zachry team are gearing up for another NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) race under the lights.

Coming off of 14th place finish last weekend in Chicago, Yeley is seeking to build on that momentum this weekend at the Sparta, Kentucky based venue.

"I'm looking forward to continuing our string of good runs in my Zachry Toyota," Yeley said. "The guys have been working hard on a set-up that will give us optimal grip on both ends of the race track. Turns 3-4 have less load and makes the aero part of the set up very difficult. I think Frank and the guys have come up with something that will give us a great opportunity to finish very well at one of my favorite racetracks."

Having 10 previous NXS starts at the1.5-mile, tri-oval, Yeley has earned one top-five and two top-ten finishes. He claimed the pole position at the July 2015 event when rain cancelled qualifying and the pole was awarded based on practice results.

With a best finish of second at Kentucky Speedway, JJ Yeley is eager to get back into the seat of the Zachry Toyota for the VisitMyrtleBeach300.com.

Crew Chief Frank Kerr and the No. 44 Zachry team will unload chassis No. 1002 at Kentucky Speedway.

About Zachry

Zachry Group is America's pace-setter in turnkey construction, engineering, maintenance, turnaround and fabrication services in the power, energy, chemicals, manufacturing and industrial sectors. We work with customers to plan, build and renew their most critical facilities, so they can achieve their immediate and long-term goals, all at the highest safety standards. We operate 35 offices, and our 20,000 employees work in more than 400 locations nationwide, united by a shared set of values and the desire to deliver the very best outcomes for our customers. Visit www.zachrygroup.com for more information and for career opportunities.

NASCAR announces inspection changes; Truex and Johnson not penalized

NASCAR held an unexpected press conference on Wednesday and announced some unexpected announcements.

NASCAR held a media teleconference with NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O'Donnell and Senior Vice President of Competition Scott Miller to discuss the penalty procedure on Wednesday evening.

NASCAR said they will make updates to post-race inspections, and that the only penalties for post-race LIS inspection failures will be fore large violations that are a P4 and will become encumbered wins.

Also, Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson will not be penalized for their inspection issues after Chicagoland.  Tolerances will be increased.

Also, from now on, all Chase drivers will go through post-race inspection.

Whelen Mod Tour News & Notes: NHMS

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Separated by just 36 points at the top, the top three drivers in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings are putting on a show as the season roars through its stretch run into the F.W. Webb 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire, this weekend.

In each of the last two races on the schedule, Doug Coby, Justin Bonsignore and Timmy Solomito have occupied all three of the podium spots at the checkered flag. Coby and Solomito have four wins apiece this season — including Coby’s win at Oswego Speedway and Solomito’s win at Seekonk Speedway in the two most recent races — with Bonsignore sandwiched between the two of them. Coby, of Milford, Connecticut, leads Bonsignore by 20 points and Solomito by 37.

Coby, Bonsignore and Solomito finished 1-2-3 at Oswego, and then the trio finished 3-2-1, respectively, at Seekonk. In the race at Riverhead, prior to the stop at Oswego, Bonsignore and Solomito finished first and second.

Nobody is giving an inch, and they now take the championship battle to Loudon, one of the few tracks on the schedule where wild point swings are common. Last season, for instance, Coby — who has four career Loudon wins — qualified on the pole but was caught up in a mid-race accident and finished 30th.

Even though Bonsignore and Solomito are searching for their first wins on the largest oval on the schedule, everyone knows that Loudon is once again key to any serious championship aspirations.

Race:	F.W. Webb 100
Place:	New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, New Hampshire
When:	Saturday, September 24
Time:	3:30 p.m. ET
Track Layout:	1.058-mile asphalt oval
2015 Winner:	Doug Coby
2015 Pole Sitter:	Doug Coby
EVENT SCHEDULE:	Friday, September 23 – Garage opens: 6 a.m.; Practice: 10-11:20 a.m.; Qualifying: 2:30 p.m. Saturday, September 24 — Garage opens: 10:30 a.m.; Driver Autograph Session: 11-11:45 a.m.; F.W. Webb 100: 3:30 p.m.
TWITTER:	@NHMS
EVENT HASHTAG:	#FWWebb100
TRACK CONTACT:	Kristen Lestock, (603) 513-5708, klestock@nhms.com
NASCAR IMC CONTACT:	Jason Christley, (386) 547-2469, jchristley@nascar.com

FAST FACTS:
The Race: The F.W. Webb 100 is the 15th of 17 championship points events in the 2016 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season. It is the second and final race of the season at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The Procedure: The starting field is 36 cars, including provisionals. The first 32 cars will qualify through the two-lap time trial qualifying process while the remaining four spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 100 laps, spanning 105.8 miles, and there will be a 5-minute break at or near Lap 51.

The Track: This is the 65th race for the Whelen Modified Tour at the 1.058-mile slightly banked oval, dating back to September 1990. The Tour has held two races annually at the the track every year since 2001, with the lone exception coming in 2011 when three races were contested at the track.

Race Winners: There have been 20 different winners in the 64 previous Whelen Modified Tour races at Loudon. Mike Stefanik leads all drivers with eight career NHMS wins.

Pole Winners: There have been 26 different pole winners at NHMS, led by Jan Leaty with six career poles. Doug Coby has four career starts from the top spot.

F.W. Webb 100 Notes: 
Coby Is ‘Magic’: Three-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion and current point leader Doug Coby of Milford, Connecticut, has won the last two Tour races at ‘The Magic Mile,’ including the most recent race at the track in July. In this race last year, Coby started on the pole and led 88 laps en route to the victory. He has won four of the last eight races held at New Hampshire dating back to this race in 2012.

Not Much History: While New Hampshire Motor Speedway held it’s first Whelen Modified Tour race in 1990, Timmy Solomito doesn’t have a lot of experience with the track. Solomito, of Islip, New York, has made five career starts at Loudon and has yet to post a top-10 finish. He has three consecutive finishes of 12th at NHMS dating back to the start of last season. But, Solomito’s breakout season this year hasn’t slowed — he earned his first career Tour win at Thompson in the season opener in April, and he’s currently tied with Coby for the series lead with four wins this season, including the most recent race at Seekonk.

Kryptonite: New Hampshire Motor Speedway hasn’t been kind to Justin Bonsignore’s championship hopes over the years. The Holtsville, New York, driver has made 14 career starts at NHMS with only three top fives and five top 10s. The good news for Bonsignore is that recent history suggests he’s turning a corner — he finished fifth in this race a year ago and was eighth in the July event this summer. In 2014, Bonsignore finished third in the final Tour standings, his best career championship finish, but he finished 25th in this race that year to derail his title hopes.

He’s An All-Star: Bobby Santos III only has one official win this season, at Thompson in the second race of the season there, but he also has a win at Loudon. Santos won the annual Whelen All-Star Shootout at NHMS in July, the day before the New England 100 points-paying event.  Santos might be on an upswing heading into Loudon, where he has one win and 10 top 10s in 20 career starts, after finishing fifth in the most recent race at Seekonk. That finish was the first top five for the Franklin, Massachusetts, driver since finishing third at Thompson in August.

Winning: Doug Coby, Timmy Solomito and Justin Bonsignore are the only Whelen Modified Tour drivers with multiple wins this season, with Coby and Solomito having Tour-leading four wins through the first 14 races. Bonsignore has two wins, both in the second half of the season. Ron Silk, Bobby Santos III, Jimmy Blewett and Eric Goodale won the other events on the schedule.

NASCAR Home Tracks: New Hampshire plays host to K&N Pro Series East annually
While this weekend’s F.W. Webb 100 is a companion event to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, New Hampshire Motor Speedway also plays host to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East once each summer. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races there twice a season.

via NASCAR Home Tracks.