IndyCar Preview: Grand Prix at The Glen

Tony DiZinno / NBCSN

The Verizon IndyCar Series’ second-to-last race of the 2017 season takes place this weekend at the picturesque Watkins Glen International (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, NBCSN), with what will be a busy weekend of on-track action as the series wraps a run of three races in as many weekends, on three different types of circuits.

The return to permanent road course action comes after a run on the repaved 1.25-mile Gateway Motorsports Park last Saturday night, and after a 500-miler at Pocono Raceway the previous Sunday.

Some story lines going into the weekend are as follows:

2017 INDYCAR Grand Prix at The Glen – Talking Points:

Newgarden vs. Pagenaud takes center stage

In their first on-track competition since Josef Newgarden’s power move on Simon Pagenaud for the win last Saturday night at Gateway, how the Team Penske teammates get on with it will be a huge thing to witness this weekend. One wonders what it would be like to have been a fly on the wall in the post-race team debrief.

As the series heads to two permanent road courses, it’s worth looking how these two – along with teammates Will Power and Helio Castroneves – have fared on them this year. Newgarden (Barber and Mid-Ohio) and Power (Indianapolis) have won three of the four road course races this year, with Scott Dixon having toppled the Penske quartet five races ago at Road America despite the Penske drivers locking out the top four positions on the grid. That was the last win for a driver outside Penske.

Pagenaud won at Barber, Indianapolis and Mid-Ohio last year but struggled at Watkins Glen, where he qualified and finished seventh. He’s been third at Barber and fourth on the other three road courses this year, and must find a way to get ahead of his teammates if he’s to claw back a now 43-point gap with just two races left.

Not quite Dixon’s last stand… but it’s close

It’s not that Dixon can’t overcome a 31-point deficit to Newgarden; he overcame a 47-point gap in miraculous fashion two years ago at Sonoma to surpass both Juan Pablo Montoya and Graham Rahal for the title in an unexpected manner. But if he loses more than 10 or so points to Newgarden this weekend – that’d mean he’d finish second or worse if Newgarden was to win – it makes the degree of difficulty harder for Dixon at Sonoma.

Fortunately Watkins Glen is his happy hunting ground. He has four prior wins here, with three different manufacturers (Toyota in 2005, Honda in 2006 and 2007, Chevrolet in 2016). And last year, he dominated every session from the word go. Key here is whether Dixon will be able to maximize the Honda package at his disposal this week, working whatever magic he can to topple the Penske Chevrolets.

The team seems optimistic after a good test and after Dixon did a near perfect job of damage limitation in Gateway, ending second when fifth might have been the best finish had all four Penskes been perfect.

“We certainly weren’t expecting P2. We got some help from some others,” Dixon’s engineer Chris Simmons told NBC Sports at Gateway. “We did what Chip always asks of us. Get the obvious things right and make no mistakes. And of course, Scott drove brilliantly and the guys did great pit stops.”

A win isn’t required but if he can close the gap by about 10 points or so to Newgarden, he’s well within striking distance at Sonoma with double points there – meaning 20 points will cover first and second (100 to 80, before bonus points).

Do the Andretti dominoes fall, officially

The silly season saga that has dominated paddock discussion is Andretti Autosport’s engine decision for 2018. Rumors of a switch to Chevrolet persisted; at Mid-Ohio, Honda Perfomance Development Art St. Cyr told us that Honda “expects to continue with its current lineup” of teams, and now reports have emerged earlier this week that despite the switch looming a continuation with Honda now looks likely. Of course the team hasn’t confirmed its direction either way, and the speculation has run rampant to the point of exhaustion.

Along the same lines, the follow-up question is what happens to Honda affiliated drivers Takuma Sato and Alexander Rossi. For Sato, a Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing reunion is likely – Bobby Rahal told us in July he had “warm feelings” for the current Indy 500 champion – so it seems a question of “when” rather than “if.” As for Rossi, he told us after Gateway he was thankful to Andretti and refuted a report that said he’d already re-signed with the team, instead gauging his options. He also “liked” a tweet that said “not necessarily” that he would return to the team. He’ll undoubtedly get his future sorted.

Bourdais back in his natural environment

After a top-10 finish at Gateway on his return, expect some bigger things from Sebastien Bourdais and the No. 18 UNIFIN Honda for Dale Coyne Racing this weekend. Bourdais qualified third and finished fifth last year, the result coming despite a spin at the start, one aerial trip through the Bus Stop chicane, and making it home top-five on a weekend where his future plans got tipped off.

Bourdais’ only Firestone Fast Six appearance this year came at the similarly smooth surface of the Indianapolis road course before an engine failure in the race. He finished eighth at Barber and rookie teammate Ed Jones was seventh at Road America, proving good things are possible for the Coyne squad here this weekend.

A mini-Indy Lights 2015 title rivals reunion

Harvey, Jones and Pigot – from St. Pete race two in 2015 to
all in IndyCar now. Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC
Photography

Three young drivers to watch this weekend are three of the four who battled for the 2015 Indy Lights title. That year’s champion Spencer Pigot returns to the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet after a two-race absence; Jones, as mentioned above, will look to return to the top-10 in his No. 19 Boy Scouts of America Honda for the first time since Road America; Jack Harvey, the Englishman, makes his IndyCar road course debut in the No. 7 Autonation SiriusXM Honda for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. All that’s missing here from that grid is RC Enerson, who dazzled at Watkins Glen last year by qualifying 11th and finishing ninth on a great fuel save run for Coyne that wowed most of the paddock.

Pigot’s race pace and race craft has been impressive this year but he’s in need of a good qualifying run; he’s still never made it out of the first round yet. Jones, with Bourdais back alongside him, will look to recapture his early season form. Expectations are modest for Harvey but if he can get close to advancing out of Q1 and figure into the top-10 or top-12 in the race, he’ll have done a respectable job. Each of these three will look to showcase themselves in the final two races.

Other angles to watch

• Can Will Power and Helio Castroneves, now close to being out of the title fight, throw one final spanner in the works of their Team Penske teammates before Sonoma?

• How do Chip Ganassi Racing’s other three drivers respond after back-to-back tough races?

• Graham Rahal and RLL Racing haven’t had the best of form on road courses this year and struggled here in 2016. Will they have made strides to threaten the leaders?

• Will James Hinchcliffe and the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports team atone from late-race heartbreak last year when they ran out of fuel in the final laps when running second? Same for Takuma Sato, now with Andretti Autosport, who spun from a potential podium?

• Can A.J. Foyt Enterprises’ young duo of Conor Daly and Carlos Munoz carry momentum from the team’s best all-around weekend in Gateway?

• How do all the different types of rubber impact grip levels throughout the weekend? Beyond Firestone, Cooper (MRTI), BFGoodrich (MX-5) and Toyo (Stadium SUPER Trucks) are also represented on the track.

The final word

From Dixon, the Watkins Glen dominant driver over the last few times here: “We’ve had some success at Watkins Glen over the years and it’s been one of the better tracks for the No. 9 team historically. The goal is to do what we did last year, both starting and finishing strong. We’re in striking distance with two races to go in the championship, including the double-points race in the Sonoma finale, so we need to be fast out of the gates this Friday.”

Here’s the IndyCar weekend schedule:

At-track schedule (all times local):

Friday, Sept. 1
10:15 – 11 a.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series practice #1
3:05 – 3:50 p.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series practice #2
3:55 – 4:10 p.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series pit stop practice

Saturday, Sept. 2
10:30 – 11:15 a.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series practice #3
3 p.m. – Qualifying for the Verizon P1 Award (three rounds of knockout qualifying), TV: NBCSN (Taped, 7 p.m.)

Sunday, Sept. 3
9 –  9:30 a.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series warmup
1:07 p.m. – Driver introductions
1:40 p.m. – Command to start engines
1:47 p.m. – INDYCAR Grand Prix at The Glen (60 laps/202.2 miles), NBCSN (Live)

Here’s last year’s top 10: 

1. Scott Dixon (pole)
2. Josef Newgarden
3. Helio Castroneves
4. Conor Daly
5. Sebastien Bourdais
6. Charlie Kimball
7. Simon Pagenaud
8. Alexander Rossi
9. RC Enerson
10. Max Chilton

Here’s last year’s Firestone Fast Six:

1. Scott Dixon
2. Will Power
3. Sebastien Bourdais
4. Helio Castroneves
5. Tony Kanaan
6. Max Chilton

NASCAR unveils Monster Energy championship trophy

Dustin Long / NBC Sports

NASCAR unveiled the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup, which will be presented to the series champion Nov. 19 after the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The trophy stands 37 inches tall and weighs nearly 70 pounds. It is made of machined aluminum. It took more than 300 hours and was designed by championship manufacturer Jostens.

The trophy features the outlines of all 23 Cup tracks.

The Cup holds about 600 ounces.

Kyle Busch dominates for ninth NASCAR XFINITY victory at Bristol

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

BRISTOL, Tenn. – No one else had a chance.

Other NASCAR XFINITY Series competitors in Saturday night’s 36th Annual Food City 300 might have brought fast race cars—runner-up Daniel Suarez certainly did.

But polesitter Kyle Busch had a checkered-flag-seeking missile, and after a restart with eight of 300 laps left, he crossed the finish line 1.181 seconds ahead of Suarez, notching his record 91st victory in the series, his fifth in nine starts this season and his ninth in 25 events at Bristol.

The race’s second stage was emblematic of just how fast Busch’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs racing Toyota was. After dominating the first stage, Busch was nailed with a pit road speeding penalty under caution during the break. Busch restarted in the 19th position—and 29th in the overall running order—on Lap 95.

Busch’s miscue allowed Suarez and eventual fifth-place finisher Justin Allgaier the luxury of swapping the lead at the front of the field—until the No. 18 car fought its way back to the front. On Lap 157, Busch passed Suarez for the top spot. Game over.

The only thing that could have derailed the juggernaut was a vibration Busch felt after pitting under caution for tires and fuel on Lap 219—that and a side-by-side brush with the lapped No. 90 Chevrolet with Brandon Brown off Turn 2 with 23 laps left.

"At least I didn’t have to come through (the field) in the last stage, because everybody was pretty fast there tonight in the last stage," said Busch, who also won the second stage after regaining the lead. "I don’t know if I would have been able to make it all the way back up through there."

"Suárez gave us a heck of a run there. I was trying to push hard, and he was closing in on us a little bit there before that last caution came out. Once that caution came out everything cooled down, and my car wasn’t even close to what it was before, so I don’t know how held on to it. The car was just so sideways." 

But no catastrophic problems arose for the dominant car, and Busch immediately pulled away after the eighth and final caution on Lap 284, when the Toyota of Jeb Burton collided with Brendan Gaughan’s Chevrolet on the frontstretch.

On Saturday night, Busch can complete a feat only he has accomplished in the past. The winner of Wednesday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at the .533-mile short track, Busch can complete a same-week/same-track sweep of all three top touring series with a victory in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race.

Busch swept all three races at Bristol min August 2010.

"I think we can, yeah," Busch said of his prospects on Saturday. "We’ve got a fast car. We just have to make the right adjustments overnight here and get it ready for tomorrow. We had a really fast car first round in qualifying and then we lost four tenths of a second. I don’t know what happened or where that went."

Busch will start 18th in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race.

Elliott Sadler came home third, widened his lead in the series standings to 110 points over second-place William Byron and clinched a spot in the NASCAR XFINITY Series playoff. Ty Dillon ran fourth.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 13th, one lap down, in his first XFINITY start since winning at Richmond in April of 2016. After the race, Earnhardt was treated with fluids for dehydration and hand cramps in the infield care center.

NASCAR XFINITY Series Race - Food City 300

Bristol Motor Speedway

Bristol, Tennessee

Friday, August 18, 2017

                   1. (1) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 300.
                   2. (7) Daniel Suarez(i), Toyota, 300.
                   3. (8) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 300.
                   4. (12) Ty Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 300.
                   5. (4) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 300.
                   6. (3) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 300.
                   7. (16) Daniel Hemric #, Chevrolet, 300.
                   8. (11) Austin Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 300.
                   9. (2) Joey Logano(i), Ford, 300.
                   10. (5) Cole Custer #, Ford, 300.
                   11. (6) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 300.
                   12. (23) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 300.
                   13. (17) Dale Earnhardt Jr.(i), Chevrolet, 299.
                   14. (13) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 299.
                   15. (20) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 299.
                   16. (25) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 299.
                   17. (15) Matt Tifft #, Toyota, 298.
                   18. (14) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 298.
                   19. (24) Ben Kennedy #, Chevrolet, 297.
                   20. (9) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 297.
                   21. (34) Ray Black II, Chevrolet, 297.
                   22. (19) William Byron #, Chevrolet, 297.
                   23. (29) Spencer Gallagher #, Chevrolet, 296.
                   24. (21) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 296.
                   25. (38) Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, 294.
                   26. (28) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 291.
                   27. (39) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 290.
                   28. (31) Chad Finchum, Chevrolet, 289.
                   29. (22) Jeb Burton, Toyota, Accident, 281.
                   30. (10) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, Accident, 278.
                   31. (30) Harrison Rhodes, Chevrolet, Suspension, 239.
                   32. (26) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 217.
                   33. (33) Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet, Accident, 210.
                   34. (35) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 204.
                   35. (40) Mike Harmon, Dodge, Suspension, 80.
                   36. (37) Timmy Hill, Dodge, Vibration, 56.
                   37. (27) Ryan Reed, Ford, Accident, 38.
                   38. (18) Aric Almirola(i), Ford, Accident, 25.
                   39. (32) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, Overheating, 18.
                   40. (36) David Starr, Chevrolet, Accident, 11.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  88.424 mph.
Time of Race:  01 Hrs, 48 Mins, 30 Secs. Margin of Victory:  1.181 Seconds.
Caution Flags:  8 for 46 laps.
Lead Changes:  11 among 4 drivers.
Lap Leaders:   K. Busch(i) 1-16; J. Allgaier 17-32; K. Busch(i) 33-88; D. Suarez(i) 89; J. Allgaier 90-148; D. Suarez(i) 149-156; K. Busch(i) 157-172; D. Suarez(i) 173-186; E. Sadler 187-201; K. Busch(i) 202-218; D. Suarez(i) 219; K. Busch(i) 220-300.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  K. Busch(i) 5 times for 186 laps; J. Allgaier 2 times for 75 laps; D. Suarez(i) 4 times for 24 laps; E. Sadler 1 time for 15 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 18,7,22,20,42,2,48,1,88,3
Stage #2 Top Ten: 18,7,20,1,2,48,21,42,3,00

Kyle Busch puts on clinic to score fifth Truck Series win at Bristol

By Chris Knight
NASCAR Wire Service

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Not even a NASCAR overtime could stop Kyle Busch from rallying back from a speeding penalty at the end of Stage 2 to win Wednesday night’s UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Busch, forced to the back of the field under penalty to start the final stage, put on a clinic on a Lap 119 restart and utilized the high line to roar through the field and find himself back in the top-10 by Lap 136.

Nearly 30 laps later, Busch found himself on the tails of leaders Johnny Sauter and Matt Crafton. Taking second from Sauter on Lap 163, Busch moved back into the lead four laps later slicing and dicing through lap traffic.

When Austin Wayne Self and Justin Haley tangled with five laps, the final restart left the field one more attempt to swipe the lead away from Busch.

The now five-time Bristol Truck Series winner, however, would have none of it pulling away from Crafton at the Lap 201 restart and cruised to his third NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win of the year and 49th of his career.

"I knew once I got that penalty that I had to go somewhere, other than where everyone else was," said Busch. "I just started grooming the top and it took about 15 laps for it to come in and then it started going, it was pretty fast."

"I can’t say enough about all these guys on this Banfield Pet Hospital Tundra, it was awesome. It was awesome when we unloaded. We made some fine-tune adjustments to it. She was really good all-day long."

Looking like a superhero with his comeback, Busch, who isn’t expected to compete in anymore Camping World Truck Series races this season, said he learned enough from the penalty that could give him a potential advantage towards earning a second triple-weekend sweep at Bristol. The first came in August 2010.

"It was a lot of fun to come through the field like that, it kinda gave me some ideas about the rest of the week," added Busch. "Probably showed a bunch of stuff too. That’s what it’s all about. This is the start of the triple, hopefully we can get it."

While many welcomed the event’s final caution, Crafton didn’t want to see the yellow flag, as he was sure he was catching Busch as the final laps counted away.

"I searched the top, searched the bottom, and went back to the old faithful bottom," said Crafton. "One thing I've done, I've finished second to Kyle way too many times here. All in all, it was a very good truck and we have nothing to hang our heads about.

"We were running him down there at the end. I didn't want to see that yellow because we were running him down, we were so good on old tires. And then that restart, when you are starting on the outside you're going 'oh man this could be really really bad' and he has that grip to take off on the bottom and I was sitting up there spinning the tires."

Busch led the field to green after nearly a two-hour rain delay and dominated the first stage leading all 55 laps.

The Brad Keselowski Racing trucks of Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric pitted on Lap 27 and restarted 1-2 for the Lap 64 restart, but Matt Crafton used the bump and run on Cindric and took control a lap after the beginning of Stage 2 and led until Busch caught Crafton in lap traffic and re-inherited the lead at Lap 105 and sailed away to the Stage 2 win. 

Busch led the field off pit road but was busted by NASCAR for speeding in section 4 handing the lead back to Crafton for the start of Stage 3 and the eventual comeback for Busch.

The Truck Series will take a one-week break before returning to action north of the border at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the running of the Silverado 250 on Sun., Sept. 3.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race - UNOH 200

Bristol Motor Speedway

Bristol, Tennessee

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

1. (1) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 203.
2. (6) Matt Crafton, Toyota, 203.
3. (14) John H. Nemechek, Chevrolet, 203.
4. (7) Grant Enfinger #, Toyota, 203.
5. (9) Ben Rhodes, Toyota, 203.
6. (3) Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet, 203.
7. (2) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 203.
8. (16) Parker Kligerman, Toyota, 203.
9. (18) Austin Cindric #, Ford, 203.
10. (5) Brandon Jones(i), Chevrolet, 203.
11. (12) Justin Haley #, Chevrolet, 203.
12. (15) Chase Briscoe #, Ford, 203.
13. (10) Jesse Little, Toyota, 202.
14. (19) Regan Smith, Ford, 202.
15. (4) Noah Gragson #, Toyota, 202.
16. (17) Ryan Truex, Toyota, 202.
17. (8) Cody Coughlin #, Toyota, 202.
18. (13) Harrison Burton, Toyota, 202.
19. (25) JJ Yeley(i), Chevrolet, 202.
20. (21) Landon Huffman, Chevrolet, 201.
21. (26) TJ Bell, Chevrolet, 200.
22. (22) Austin Hill, Ford, 199.
23. (28) Wendell Chavous #, Chevrolet, 196.
24. (27) Austin Wayne Self, Chevrolet, Parked, 194.
25. (29) Josh Reaume, Chevrolet, 186.
26. (23) Clay Greenfield, Chevrolet, 183.
27. (32) Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, Engine, 136.
28. (11) Kaz Grala #, Chevrolet, Engine, 113.
29. (20) Stewart Friesen #, Chevrolet, Overheating, 103.
30. (30) Jennifer Jo Cobb, Chevrolet, Too Slow, 76.
31. (31) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, Too Slow, 12.
32. (24) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, Vibration, 3.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 88.829 mph.
Time of Race: 01 Hrs, 13 Mins, 05 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.962 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 5 for 31 laps.
Lead Changes: 6 among 4 drivers.
Lap Leaders: K. Busch(i) 1-61; A. Cindric # 62-64; M. Crafton 65-104; K. Busch(i) 105-115; B. Rhodes 116; M. Crafton 117-166; K. Busch(i) 167-203.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): K. Busch(i) 3 times for 109 laps; M. Crafton 2 times for 90 laps; A. Cindric # 1 time for 3 laps; B. Rhodes 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 46,18,88,4,98,99,27,21,24,75
Stage #2 Top Ten: 46,88,19,27,4,18,21,24,98,8 

Hendrick Motorsports and Kasey Kahne to end six-year run

CONCORD, N.C. -- Hendrick Motorsports and Kasey Kahne will end their six-year run together following the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series season. The driver has been released from the final year of his contract, allowing him to immediately pursue opportunities for 2018.

“Kasey has worked extremely hard,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “He’s a tremendous teammate and person, and he has been totally dedicated to our program since day one. I’ve always believed that he’s a special talent, and I know he will thrive in the right situation. We will do everything we can to finish the season as strong as we can.”

Kahne, 37, will complete the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series schedule for Hendrick Motorsports. He was signed by the organization in April 2010, nearly two years before his February 2012 debut in its No. 5 Chevrolet. Now in their sixth season together, Kahne has earned six of his 18 career points-paying Cup victories with the No. 5 team.

“I’d like to thank Rick and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports for their hard work and dedication, along with providing me a great opportunity and success over the last six years,” said Kahne, who most recently won July 23 at Indianapolis. “We won six races together and I'm coming off of one of the biggest wins of my career at the Brickyard, which has given the (No.) 5 team a lot of momentum heading into the playoffs. We still have a lot of racing left in 2017 and finishing strong is our top priority. I look forward to what the next chapter in my career holds.”

Hendrick Motorsports will announce 2018 plans for its four-car operation at a later date.

Truex wins the strategy game, grabs first victory at Watkins Glen

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service 

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – At a track where his father raced, and a track where he was a "garage rat" as a child, Martin Truex Jr. won Sunday’s I Love New York 355 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race by slowing down over the closing laps.

Truex let Brad Keselowski pass him for the lead on Lap 77 of 90. On instructions from crew chief Cole Pearn, Truex also let Ryan Blaney past his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota on Lap 83.

All the while, Truex was saving fuel, with Pearn calculating that both Keselowski and Blaney would have to stop for a splash of gas. The strategy played out as expected, with Keselowski giving up the lead for a trip to pit road on Lap 87 and Blaney following a lap later.

That left Truex to hold off a desperate charge from Matt Kenseth on the final lap, with Truex streaking across the finish line .414 seconds ahead of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Camry. Kenseth’s teammate, Daniel Suarez, rolled home in third to register a career-best result.

"I’m a little bit lost for words at the moment, just because I’ve been thinking about this one a long time – all weekend, all day," said Truex, who won for the fourth time this season and the 11th time in his career.

"Then, at the end there, just it’s so hard there to let guys pass you for the lead. You’ve just got to listen to your crew chief and, luckily for me, I’ve got the best one in the business, and I just believe in him so much, and I just do what he says and it seems to work out."

Kenseth, who remains on the playoff bubble with four races left before the 16-driver field is set, was disappointed at coming so close to the victory—one that would have guaranteed him a playoff spot.

"I'm second happiest," said Kenseth who was also saving fuel and gunned it on the last lap. "Martin is the happiest. We really needed the win. Honestly, I don't even think about the playoffs. I more think about coming here for however many, 15, 17, 18 years, whatever it's been, and not really having a win or an opportunity to win and never even really been that great here.

"I felt like we had a top-five car. Obviously, we had good fortune there at the end with our track position and our fuel mileage and all that to stay in it and have a shot at it, but man, when it's that close and you see him saving and you're saving and then you go after him there on that last lap, it's disappointing not to get it. Especially when I saw him miss Turn 6, I was like, 'Man, I'm going to have a shot,' and he was so fast I still couldn't get to him getting into (Turn) 7."

Polesitter Kyle Busch led all 20 laps of the race’s first stage, but a snafu on pit road left his left front wheel loose, and Busch had to return under caution during the stage break to correct the problem. That left him deep in the field for the subsequent restart on Lap 25.

Busch worked his way back into the top 10, but after restarting ninth on Lap 45, his No. 18 Toyota and Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford collided in the bus stop chicane, sending both cars off course. Busch wasn’t a contender for the victory after that, though he did rally to finish seventh.

Notes: Truex expanded his series lead to 116 points over Kyle Busch, who moved past 23rd-place finisher Kyle Larson for second place. ... Truex also increased his playoff point total to 34. Three-time winner Jimmie Johnson is second with 16. ... Busch collected his ninth stage win to raise his playoff point total to 14. ... The three winless drivers currently in playoff-eligible positions (Chase Elliott, Jamie McMurray and Kenseth) are seventh, eighth and ninth in the standings, respectively, all within an 11-point range.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race - I LOVE NEW YORK 355 at The Glen

Watkins Glen International

Watkins Glen, New York

Sunday, August 6, 2017

               1. (3) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 90.
               2. (15) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 90.
               3. (5) Daniel Suarez #, Toyota, 90.
               4. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 90.
               5. (12) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 90.
               6. (18) Kurt Busch, Ford, 90.
               7. (1) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 90.
               8. (16) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 90.
               9. (7) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 90.
               10. (6) Erik Jones #, Toyota, 90.
               11. (17) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 90.
               12. (14) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 90.
               13. (4) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 90.
               14. (9) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 90.
               15. (8) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 90.
               16. (19) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 90.
               17. (20) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 90.
               18. (21) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 90.
               19. (24) Ty Dillon #, Chevrolet, 90.
               20. (22) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 90.
               21. (29) Aric Almirola, Ford, 90.
               22. (25) Danica Patrick, Ford, 90.
               23. (2) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 90.
               24. (13) Joey Logano, Ford, 90.
               25. (23) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 90.
               26. (27) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 90.
               27. (31) David Ragan, Ford, 90.
               28. (37) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 90.
               29. (10) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 90.
               30. (35) Boris Said, Chevrolet, 89.
               31. (34) Gary Klutt, Chevrolet, 89.
               32. (33) * Brett Moffitt(i), Toyota, 89.
               33. (36) Corey LaJoie #, Toyota, 89.
               34. (26) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 81.
               35. (30) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 80.
               36. (32) Landon Cassill, Ford, 78.
               37. (28) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, Engine, 22.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  104.132 mph.
Time of Race:  02 Hrs, 07 Mins, 03 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.414 Seconds.
Caution Flags:  3 for 8 laps.
Lead Changes:  9 among 6 drivers.
Lap Leaders:   Kyle Busch 1-21; C. Elliott 22-30; D. Suarez # 31-44; M. Truex Jr. 45-52; R. Blaney 53; B. Keselowski 54-63; M. Truex Jr. 64-76; B. Keselowski 77-86; R. Blaney 87; M. Truex Jr. 88-90.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  M. Truex Jr. 3 times for 24 laps; Kyle Busch 1 time for 21 laps; B. Keselowski 2 times for 20 laps; D. Suarez # 1 time for 14 laps; C. Elliott 1 time for 9 laps; R. Blaney 2 times for 2 laps.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 18,78,24,42,2,1,22,47,5,17
Stage #2 Top Ten: 19,78,20,21,77,11,2,41,18,47 

Kyle Busch gets breakthrough NASCAR XFINITY win at The Glen

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – With a victory in Saturday’s Zippo 200, Kyle Busch continued to tick items off his bucket list.

Recovering from a wheel-hop and spin in Turn 1 on Lap 17 of 82 along with a penalty for driving through too many pit boxes, Busch claimed his first NASCAR XFINITY Series win at the 2.45-mile Watkins Glen International road course, beating polesitter Joey Logano to the finish line by 1.049 seconds.

"The cars have really been working for me here and it just feels so good to finally win an XFINITY race here," said Busch, who won last week at Pocono for the first time in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car.

"We’ve been so close so many times. One of my favorite runs here was in a Zippo car (in 2008) and being in the Zippo race today that’s kind of ironic – I guess they sponsor it every year -- but being with (owner) Eddie D’Hondt and the Zippo car, I remember we were really, really fast and wish we would’ve got that one."

In winning for the fourth time this season and the 90th time in his career, Busch grabbed the lead when Brad Keselowski and Logano came to pit road together on Lap 49.

Busch gained time by staying on the track for five more laps, and by the time he exited pit road on lap 55, he was 1.2 seconds ahead of Keselowski and more than 10 seconds ahead of Logano, who had a lengthy pit stop because of a stuck lug nut.

"Pit road was pretty good for us," Busch said. "We stayed out long on that one run, and we were able to cycle back up to the lead. It worked two weeks in a row that way. I don’t know how much longer we can do that before they figure it out, but it’s been working for us, so we’ll take it."

Busch held the top spot the rest of the way, surviving a restart with three laps left after Casey Mears ran out of fuel and stalled on the track to bring out the fifth and final caution of the afternoon. Busch chose the inside lane for the restart to control the preferred line into Turn 1.

The restart brought Logano back near the front of the field, and on the next-to-last lap, he passed Keselowski, his Team Penske teammate, for the runner-up spot.

"Dang, I wish it was for the win and not for second," Logano said of the battle with Keselowski. "I had such a good short run car, just in the wrong position to start that last run. I feel like, if I was second, I could have won the race. I just had a really good short-run car.

"Our long-run speed was off a bit, and that’s when the 18 (Busch) and 22 (Keselowski) would drive by us, and we were a third-place car on the long run, but probably a winning car on the short run. By the time I cleared the 22, the 18 was gone. If we had another four or five laps, (he would have drove off again). I needed a caution."

Keselowski ran third, followed by Just Allgaier, Paul Menard and Kevin Harvick. Ty Dillon, Erik Jones, Brendan Gaughan and William Byron completed the top 10.

Note: Busch has indicated he plans to "retire" from NASCAR XFINITY Series racing when he reaches 100 victories. That will take at least until 2019. According to rules being implemented for the 2018 season, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series veterans can compete in only seven XFINITY races during the year. ... The victory was the 139th in the series for Joe Gibbs Racing, breaking a tie with Roush Fenway Racing for most in XFINITY history.

NASCAR XFINITY Series Race - Zippo 200 at The Glen

Watkins Glen International

Watkins Glen, New York

Saturday, August 5, 2017

               1. (2) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 82.
               2. (1) Joey Logano(i), Ford, 82.
               3. (5) Brad Keselowski(i), Ford, 82.
               4. (7) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 82.
               5. (4) Paul Menard(i), Chevrolet, 82.
               6. (10) Kevin Harvick(i), Ford, 82.
               7. (11) Ty Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 82.
               8. (6) Erik Jones(i), Toyota, 82.
               9. (16) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 82.
               10. (15) William Byron #, Chevrolet, 82.
               11. (8) Daniel Hemric #, Chevrolet, 82.
               12. (9) Cole Custer #, Ford, 82.
               13. (19) Matt Tifft #, Toyota, 82.
               14. (18) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 82.
               15. (12) Ryan Reed, Ford, 82.
               16. (27) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 82.
               17. (13) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 82.
               18. (20) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 81.
               19. (29) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 81.
               20. (23) Dylan Lupton, Toyota, 81.
               21. (26) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 81.
               22. (14) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 81.
               23. (36) Harrison Rhodes, Chevrolet, 81.
               24. (33) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 81.
               25. (17) Casey Mears, Ford, 80.
               26. (38) Devin Jones, Chevrolet, 80.
               27. (24) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 80.
               28. (28) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 79.
               29. (40) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 79.
               30. (37) David Starr, Chevrolet, 79.
               31. (35) Enrique Baca, Toyota, 78.
               32. (22) Spencer Gallagher #, Chevrolet, 67.
               33. (34) Brian Henderson, Chevrolet, Ignition, 59.
               34. (32) Cody Ware(i), Dodge, Clutch, 52.
               35. (21) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, Axle, 36.
               36. (39) Stephen Young, Chevrolet, Transmission, 33.
               37. (30) Timmy Hill, Dodge, Overheating, 27.
               38. (31) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, Vibration, 26.
               39. (25) JJ Yeley, Toyota, Engine, 16.
               40. (3) Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, Engine, 12.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  92.569 mph.
Time of Race:  02 Hrs, 10 Mins, 13 Secs. Margin of Victory:  1.049 Seconds.
Caution Flags:  5 for 15 laps.
Lead Changes:  8 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders:    0; K. Busch(i) 1-16; B. Keselowski(i) 17-20; D. Hemric # 21-24; P. Menard(i) 25-46; B. Keselowski(i) 47-48; K. Busch(i) 49-53; B. Gaughan 54-60; K. Busch(i) 61-82.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  K. Busch(i) 3 times for 43 laps; P. Menard(i) 1 time for 22 laps; B. Gaughan 1 time for 7 laps; B. Keselowski(i) 2 times for 6 laps; D. Hemric # 1 time for 4 laps.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 22,12,18,20,7,21,00,48,62,11
Stage #2 Top Ten: 2,12,22,18,1,7,11,33,20,21

Earnhardt Jr. goes back in time with final paint scheme for Miami

The final paint scheme of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career will look very similar to his first paint scheme, which debuted in 1999 when he made his debut in the sport’s top series.

Sponsor Axalta will adorn the rear quarter panels of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and be featured across the hood. But the color scheme, which features a red body, black roof and posts and black stripes down both sides of the car, is clearly modeled after his former No. 8 Budweiser-sponsored entry fielded by his father’s Dale Earnhardt Inc.-owned organization.

The paint scheme will be run in the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead Miami Speedway on Sunday, Nov. 19. Earnhardt unveiled the car Wednesday night during a one-hour Dale Earnhardt Jr. Appreci88ion Tour special on QVC.

The final #Axalta88 paint scheme @DaleJr will drive. What do you think?? pic.twitter.com/RlJYsRZLob

— Axalta Racing (@AxaltaRacing) August 2, 2017

After missing the last half of the 2016 season due to injury, Earnhardt, 42, announced earlier this year that he will retire from full-time competition in the Monster Energy Series at season’s end. He currently is scheduled to compete in at least two NASCAR XFINITY Series races in 2018.

The son of seven-time NASCAR champion and inaugural Hall of Fame member Dale Earnhardt, the younger Earnhardt has won 26 times in 616 starts at NASCAR’s highest level. He has 149 top-five and 256 top-10 finishes as well as 14 Coors Light Pole Awards.

Earnhardt also is a two-time champion in the XFINITY Series (1998-99), where he has 24 career victories.

William Byron’s throwback scheme pays tribute to Ricky Hendrick

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – William Byron and the No. 9 JR Motorsports team will pay tribute to former racer and championship-winning team owner Ricky Hendrick with a special throwback paint scheme during this year’s Sports Clips Haircuts VFW 200 at Darlington Raceway.

Byron, 19, is one of six racers competing for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors in NASCAR’s XFINITY Series. He has three victories and is second in the points standings heading into this weekend’s Zippo 200 at the Glen at Watkins Glen International.

Ricky Hendrick, son of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team owner Rick Hendrick, was one of 10 people killed in a plane crash in October 2004. He was 24.

Rick Hendrick, wife Linda, and Liberty University president Jerry Falwell were among those on hand for Wednesday’s announcement, held in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

“It’s something that’s really special to the Hendrick family and something I’m really excited to do,” Byron said following the unveiling. “Hopefully, we can go down there and get a win; that would be really cool. I know everyone is going to have some awesome throwback schemes and we’re just really excited about this one.”

JR Motorsports is co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller and Rick Hendrick.

Liberty sponsored Byron’s 2016 racing efforts in the Camping World Truck Series, as well as this year in the XFINITY Series. The Lynchburg, Va.-based university backed his racing efforts in the Camping World Truck Series in 2016.

Byron’s Chevrolet for the Darlington race will feature a look similar to that used by Hendrick during his 2001 Camping World Truck Series effort. That year, he won his first race in the series, at Kansas, and finished sixth in points. Overall, he had 30 career starts in the Truck Series.

A similar scheme was featured during his XFINITY Series effort the following year, as well as in ’03 when the team won the series title with driver Brian Vickers.

Rick Hendrick said when Dale Earnhardt Jr. called him and asked about running his son’s paint scheme, there was no hesitation.

“I said, ‘Are you kidding? We’d be honored for you to do that,'” Hendrick said. “When I saw the renderings of it and I knew what we were going to do today, it was all really special.”

Byron said he was “really young” when Ricky Hendrick was competing but added that he has “watched videos and understood everything he had accomplished.

“It’s kind of neat because now I’m in an XFINITY team that’s and extension of what Mr. Hendrick and he accomplished,” he said.

Between 1999 and ’02 Hendrick made 38 starts in the XFINITY Series, including 22 in ’02. However, a hard crash early in the year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway forced him to miss six races with a shoulder injury.

He returned and made 19 more starts before announcing his retirement from competition in October of ’02.

Upon his retirement, the younger Hendrick became car owner of the No. 5 team. The following season, Vickers won the XFINITY Series championship and Hendrick won his first and only championship as a car owner.

Also on hand Wednesday for the unveiling were 13 members of the No. 5 team, including crew chief Lance McGrew. All remain employed at Hendrick Motorsports.

“It’s just going to be super special for us and all the folks that worked on the team to see that car on the track again in those colors,” Hendrick said. “I can’t tell you … the throwback deal is fun but this one is going to be so rewarding for us.”

The Bojangles’ Southern 500 is the sport’s official nod to the past on one of the series’ oldest venues. This is the third year of the throwback program, which features today’s entries adorned with paint schemes from the past.

Should Byron notch the win, Hendrick joked that he would “probably ride back to Charlotte with William in the car and a police escort.”


“I said I’d never get in one again after I almost fell out of the window with Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) but I’d probably make an exception,” Hendrick said. “That would be awful special.”

NASCAR: Start/finish line to serve as Overtime Line

NASCAR has standardized the location of the Overtime Line as the start/finish line, a decision that will be implemented immediately ahead of this weekend’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series races at Watkins Glen International.

“NASCAR has been looking at the Overtime procedure for quite some time,” NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell said in a statement. “After many discussions with key figures throughout the industry, we recognize that having the start/finish line serve as the standard Overtime Line position will benefit the race — and, most importantly, our fans. We are implementing this immediately, starting with this weekend’s races at Watkins Glen International.”

Prior to today’s announcement, NASCAR had typically placed the Overtime Line near the entrance of turn 3 on oval tracks. That process is now a consistent location for tracks of all types, with the leader now needing to complete a full lap in NASCAR Overtime before a race can be considered complete.

In an event that goes past the advertised distance, drivers must reach the Overtime Line (now consistently the start/finish line) under green-flag conditions following the restart. If the leader does that, the next flag will end the race. If the leader does not reach the Overtime Line under green, that will force another restart.

“This has been something we’ve discussed for a while now, and it’s a balance to ensure the most fair competition for our drivers and the best race for the fans,” NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Scott Miller told NASCAR.com. “… Obviously, it’s been a hot topic of late, and we’re aware of the discussions. We take that very seriously, especially the fan feedback. We’ve shown that we’ll act decisively if we think it’ll result in the best racing for the fans.

“Much like the original placement of the Overtime Line, the industry had a voice in this decision. It was certainly a collaborative effort between NASCAR and the industry. We’re all working toward the same goal, and that’s been the case for awhile now.”

The procedure is similar to the previous green-white-checkered restart rules, but there no longer is a maximum number of attempts at the finish.

NASCAR’s goal for races is to finish under green; depending on weather, visibility and other unforeseen variables, the sanctioning body can end the race under yellow if it deems necessary.

Regan Smith on standby for Denny Hamlin at Watkins Glen

“Super sub” Regan Smith may be called into duty again this weekend. The veteran driver is on standby for Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, who is on baby watch.

With longtime girlfriend Jordan Fish nearing her due date, Hamlin has insurance in a couple of ways. The first is that, if Fish goes into labor, Smith will drive Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota, so no worries there. The second is due to Hamlin’s win at New Hampshire earlier this summer, he’s firmly locked into the playoff field.

Smith drove the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford in place of the injured Aric Almirola at Charlotte and Dover earlier this year. He previously has subbed for Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson.

Hamlin won the race at Watkins Glen last year. He is sixth in the driver standings with one win, seven top fives and 11 top-10 finishes.

No. 77 Monster Energy Series team receives L1-level penalty

The No. 77 Furniture Row Racing team received an L1-level penalty on Wednesday following the Overton’s 400 at Pocono Raceway. Erik Jones’s eighth-place finish was ruled encumbered after the Toyota he was driving was found to have a rear-suspension violation per Section 20.14.2 of the NASCAR Rule Book.

Crew chief Chris Gayle was fined $50,000 and suspended for two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship points events. The team also was assessed with the loss of 25 owner points and 25 driver points.

The team will not appeal the penalty, according to a statement released Wednesday evening . A 25-point drop in driver points put Jones 150 points below the playoff cutline.

“We understand and accept NASCAR’s penalty to our No. 77 team. We will not appeal the unintentional infraction with the rear suspension and will move on with team engineer James Small taking over as the interim crew chief for the next two races.”

Fines also were handed out to three other teams in the Monster Energy Series for lug-nut violations at Pocono. The No. 18 of race-winning driver Kyle Busch, the No. 17 of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the No. 6 of Trevor Bayne were all found to have one lug nut improperly installed.

The result of those safety violations were $10,000 fines for each crew chief — Adam Stevens, Brian Pattie and Matt Puccia, respectively.

In addition, the crew chiefs for the No. 16 in the XFINITY Series (Phil Gould, $5,000) and the No. 52 in the Camping World Truck Series (Trip Bruce, $2,500) were fined for lug-nut violations in their respective events last weekend at Iowa Speedway and Pocono Raceway.