Yeley Scores 14th Place Finish at Iowa Speedway

NASCAR XFINITY Series driver, JJ Yeley, completes the US Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway with a Top-15 finish in the No. 44 Zachry Toyota.

Yeley qualified 17th to start the 250 lap race. In the first few laps, Yeley incurred slight contact with a fellow competitor and sustained left rear quarter panel damage. Reporting a slight tire rub in the left rear, Yeley also indicated loose handling of the Zachry Toyota. Running in the 21st position, a caution on lap 27 afforded Yeley the opportunity to pit for fresh tires and repairs to the rear quarter panel. Under the competition caution on lap 40, Yeley came back down pit road for fuel, track bar and wedge adjustments. Being first to exit pit road, he assumed the lead position and led the field to the green flag on the restart and led a total of four laps. Still battling a loose condition, Yeley begin to slip a few positions and fell a lap down from the leader. Fortunately, Yeley was the first car a lap down and became the Lucky Dog recipient with the next caution. Restarting 15th, the Zachry Toyota remained loose but Yeley was able remain consistent in his lap times and concluded the race with a 14th place finish.

Yeley: "A well deserved Top-15 for my Zachry Toyota team. After working through some different packages in practice, Frank was able to get a good direction for today's setup. After a good qualifying effort the guys made a few key changes for the US Cellular 250. A turn one scuffle created a fender rub and what I thought for a moment was a turn one crash! It got us out of sync with the field under the 1st caution to make repairs and change tires. Frank worked hard to help with my handling issues. All around a good day. We led a few laps , had some good pit stops and came away with our 4th Top-15 finish."

TriStar Motorsports Press Release.

Full schedule for Watkins Glen

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR XFINTIY Series will gather for a doubleheader weekend at Watkins Glen International this week. Check out the full weekend schedule below.

Note: All times are ET

THURSDAY, AUG. 4:
ON TRACK
-- 1-2:25 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series first practice
-- 3:30-4:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY wSeries second practice

FRIDAY, AUG. 5:
ON TRACK
-- 10-10:55 a.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, NBCSN
-- 12:30-1:55 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series first practice, NBCSN
-- 3-4:25 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, NBCSN
-- 4:45 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN

SATURDAY, AUG. 6: 
ON TRACK
-- 12:15 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, CNBC (Follow live)
-- 2 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Zippo 200 at The Glen (82 laps, 200.9 miles), CNBC

SUNDAY, AUG. 7: 
ON TRACK
-- 2:30 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Cheez-It 355 at The Glen (90 laps, 220.5 miles), USA

Pageant reestablishes championship lead with Mid-Ohio win

LEXINGTON, Ohio – Sunday for Simon Pagenaud at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was a dream day for his title hopes, as the Frenchman collected a big points payday while several of his championship rivals faced difficulties.

A day after earning his sixth Verizon P1 Award of the season with a new track record, Pagenaud led 23 laps en route to victory at The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, his fourth win of 2016 and third from pole.

“Whew, that was a race there, that was fun,” said Pagenaud, the driver of the No. 22 PPG Automotive Refinish Team Penske Chevrolet who extended his championship lead to 58 points. “The car was really good today, so when it was time to push it was easy to lay down some fast laps.

“The red Firestone tires were amazing today on the car. I just pushed as hard as we could and here we are. It’s awesome."

Despite the pace and result, the weekend was anything but a breeze for Pagenaud. He suffered a back injury in Friday practice that required treatment to calm the pain, and made contact during an exchange with teammate Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet) while making the pass for the effective lead of the race on Lap 66 of 90.

“It was an awesome battle with Will there,” said Pagenaud. “I knew that was my chance on that restart, it was time to go. It was a pretty interesting lap, fun driving like that. That’s racing. It was fair, it was clean, it was hard racing I’m just glad I won, really.”

Power followed Pagenaud to the checkered flag, 4.1620 seconds behind, with Carlos Muñoz (No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda) claiming third for his first podium since May’s Indianapolis 500.

“Great strategy by the Verizon Chevy team and we did a great job saving on fuel,” Power said. “But Simon did a bloody good job and it's turning into a pretty good battle. We're not racing for 11th place. It's for a win and for a championship and you have to go for it."

Power was ahead of Pagenaud on the Lap 66 restart, but the two banged wheels up Thunder Valley and through Turns 11-13 before Pagenaud was able to clear his teammate, leading to the eventual win.

“It was my bad for not being on it on the restart,” Power noted. “I regret that, but he's got to push. I thought of the team on the last corner when we went side-by-side. I had to back out or we were going to crash. It's racing. It's tough."

“Strategy today,” admitted Muñoz, who went off strategy by pitting on Lap 14 and benefitted from an early caution to advance position. “We have to be honest, the strategy of the whole track, Mid-Ohio, everything, track position, you get in front, you stay up front and you can go quicker because you have more clean air. I think our pace was much better than we showed on the track in qualifying, that's for sure.”

Defending race winner Graham Rahal (No. 15 Steak ‘n Shake Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda) and James Hinchcliffe (No. 5 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda) rounded out the top five.

Dale Coyne Racing’s Conor Daly (No. 18 Jonathan Byrd’s Hospitality Honda) used fuel strategy to lead 22 laps, but had to pit on Lap 84 for a splash of fuel. The American returned to the course and climbed back to earn his third sixth-place finish of the season.

While Pagenaud and Power enjoyed bolstering points days, fellow championship competitors suffered issues.

Scott Dixon (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet) entered the race fourth in points, but contact with the No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet of Helio Castroneves – who entered the day third – took the four-time champion out of contention on Lap 15 and caused the first caution of the race. Castroneves suffered wheel guard damage and lost a lap while his crew changed the rear wing assembly.

“Helio was coming out of the pits on the pit exchange and we were trying to go off sequence,” explained a frustrated Dixon. “He was off pace and we caught him on the exit of Turn 1. I got alongside him and he kept edging me over until I just had nowhere to go.”

Castroneves finished 15th and Dixon 22nd, dropping from fourth to fifth in the championship standings.

“It was definitely an aggressive move (on my part), but I should have known better trying that with Helio. It usually ends like this with him.”

Ed Carpenter Racing’s Josef Newgarden (No. 21 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka Chevrolet) also sustained damage to his rear wheel guard when he made contact with Power on Lap 21 and also lost a lap, but the Tennessean was able to recover for a 10th-place finish.

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ Mikhail Aleshin seemed poised for a great result, as the No. 7 SMP Racing Honda assumed first place on Lap 17 when most of the leaders pitted. Aleshin led a race-high 33 laps, but fell out of contention on the final round of pit stops under yellow on Lap 62 when he made contact with Newgarden on pit lane. The Russian incurred a drive-through penalty for making contact with a crew member.

Vance Welker, outside front tire changer and chief mechanic on Team Penske’s No. 2 Hawk Performance Chevrolet of Juan Pablo Montoya, was checked, cleared and released from the infield medical center. Aleshin finished 17th.

The Verizon IndyCar Series next heads to eastern Pennsylvania for the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway. Practice and qualifying will take place on Aug. 20, with the race broadcast Aug. 21 at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.

via INDYCAR.

Busch Finishes 10th at Pocono

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), finished 10th in Monday’s rain-delayed, rain-shortened Pennsylvania 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. By completing all 138 laps of the event, Busch has now set a NASCAR record for 100-percent lap completion at 21 races, eclipsing the 20-race streak that Dale Earnhardt Jr. posted in 2012.

“It’s nice to be in position to have completed all the laps,” Busch said. “That is done with a lot of teamwork. It’s not just one person. It starts at the shop with the quality of cars, and congratulations to everybody that has helped be part of this sequence. All in all, we are finishing on the lead lap, we are finishing top-10 every week. We just know that we need to find a little bit more to be competitive once the Chase starts. I can’t say thank you enough to everybody on the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet.”

Busch had qualified to start 15th in the 40-car field but had to drop to the rear of the field before the green flag due to an unapproved body adjustment. Despite the setback, Busch quickly made up ground as he advanced to 28th on the first lap. Despite a tight-handling condition due to being mired in traffic, Busch continued to gain positions as the laps clicked off.

Crew chief Tony Gibson called for chassis and air pressure adjustments throughout the race, which saw Busch steadily climb his way toward the front of the pack. By the halfway point, the Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet was scored in the 15th position. After making his final scheduled pit stop of the day at lap 124, Busch was scored 10th, a position he held when heavy fog forced NASCAR to red flag the race. When the weather conditions did not improve, NASCAR was forced to call the race 22 laps short of its scheduled distance.

“I felt like we were making all the right calls and all the right sequences on when to pit, and we just had one adjustment go astray,” Busch said. “We tried to loosen up the car with a left-rear wedge change and we ended up getting tighter. Sometimes that has happened to us this year, and we just need to not fall into that pitfall and make sure we steer clear of wrong adjustments or adjustments that are questionable until we have a better handle on it.”

Busch’s teammate Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS, led the four-car SHR contingent Monday by finishing fourth.

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished fifth. It was his fourth top-five this season and his 13th top-five in 36 career Sprint Cup starts at Pocono.

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 22nd.

Chris Buescher won the Pennsylvania 400 to score his first career Sprint Cup victory. Buescher is the first Rookie of the Year contender to win a Sprint Cup Series race since Joey Logano in 2009.

Brad Keselowski finished in the runner-up spot, while Regan Smith, Harvick and Stewart rounded out the top-five. Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were seven caution periods for 31 laps, with three drivers failing to finish the 138-lap race around the 2.5-mile triangle, which was shortened from its scheduled 160-lap distance due to heavy fog and mist.

With round 21 of 36 complete, Harvick continues to lead SHR and the series in the championship standings. He remains first with 709 points, 22 ahead of second-place Keselowski. Busch is third with 658 points, 51 behind Harvick. Patrick is 24th with 392 points, 111 ahead of 31st-place Buescher. Stewart is 27th with 353 points, 72 ahead of 31st.

Harvick, Busch and Stewart are all eligible to compete in the 16-driver, 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, which begins after the Sept. 10 race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. All have won a race this season and are among the top-30 in points, the two requirements necessary to secure a spot in the Chase. Patrick can also earn a Chase berth by winning a race and staying inside the top-30. Five races remain before the Chase begins Sept. 18 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Cheez-It 355k at The Glen on Sunday, Aug. 7, at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. The race begins at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA.

SHR Press Release.

Harvick Finishes Fourth at Pocono

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), had the fastest car the majority of the day in Pocono, but he finished fourth in the rain-shortened Pennsylvania 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, which was postponed to Monday due to rain that covered the area on Sunday. It was Harvick’s ninth top-five this season and his eighth top-five in 32 career Sprint Cup starts at Pocono.

Harvick started 17th and raced his way to the lead by lap 51 before bringing the No. 4 Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS to pit road for a green-flag stop. He was able to regain the lead by lap 61 and held it until coming to pit road under caution on lap 67 for a two-tire stop.

The Bakersfield, California, native came out in the third position and ran as high as second by lap 96. He then brought the No. 4 Chevrolet to pit road for a four-tire stop on lap 101, while the majority took two tires. The strategy paid off as he raced from 17th up to sixth by lap 123, when he came in for what turned out to be his final stop of the afternoon.

Harvick restarted 18th on lap 125 and had raced his way up to fourth when fog rolled across turn one, bringing the race to a halt with Chris Buescher in the lead. NASCAR kept the cars on track for an additional six laps before calling a red flag, which eventually ended the race due to more fog and severe weather in the area.

“Our Mobil 1 Chevy has been really fast,” Harvick said. “Obviously, we had one caution come out at the wrong time and the fog here at the end. I felt like we were in a pretty good spot running down to (turn) two, and here comes the fog. That’s kind of the way that things have gone this year. It seems like when we have a really fast car we just have some weird circumstances, and today would fall right into that category.”

Harvick remains the Sprint Cup Series points leader with 709 points, a 22-point advantage over Brad Keselowski, and his fourth-place finish led the four-car SHR contingent Monday at Pocono.

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished fifth. It was his fourth top-five this season and his 13th top-five in 36 career Sprint Cup starts at Pocono.

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 10th. It was his 16th top-10 this season and his 18th top-10 in 31 career Sprint Cup starts at Pocono.

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 22nd.

Buescher won the Pennsylvania 400 to score his first career Sprint Cup victory. He is the first Rookie of the Year contender to win a Sprint Cup Series race since Joey Logano in 2009.

Keselowski finished in the runner-up spot, while Regan Smith, Harvick and Stewart rounded out the top-five. Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were seven caution periods for 31 laps, with three drivers failing to finish the 138-lap race around the 2.5-mile triangle, which was shortened from its scheduled 160-lap distance due to heavy fog and mist.

With round 21 of 36 complete, Harvick continues to lead SHR and the series in the championship standings with 709 points, 22 ahead of second-place Keselowski. Busch is third with 658 points, 51 behind Harvick. Patrick is 24th with 392 points, 111 ahead of 31st-place Buescher. Stewart is 27th with 353 points, 72 ahead of 31st.

Harvick, Busch and Stewart are all eligible to compete in the 16-driver, 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, which begins after the Sept. 10 race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. All have won a race this season and are among the top-30 in points, the two requirements necessary to secure a spot in the Chase. Patrick can also earn a Chase berth by winning a race and staying inside the top-30. Five races remain before the Chase begins Sept. 18 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Cheez-It 355k at The Glen on Sunday, Aug. 7, at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. The race begins at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA.

SHR Press Release.

Danica Patrick Finishes 22nd at Pocono

Danica Patrick and the No. 10 Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) finished 22nd in Monday’s rain-shortened Pennsylvania 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.

“Overall we had a decent day, but I really wanted to make those final 22 laps,” Patrick said after earning her 19th top-25 finish of the season. “We worked all weekend on getting more stability in the front end, and the tough part here is that the car reacts differently in each of the three corners. I’m proud of the effort of all the guys on the Mobil 1 team today. We had a little issue with a pit-road speeding violation but were able to overcome that and hang around the top-20 for most of the race.”

Patrick started 26th in the race, which was scheduled for 160 laps, and crew chief Billy Scott made an early call on the competition yellow for right-side tires only. During the ensuing run, Patrick remained consistent and climbed from 21st on lap 35 to 18th on lap 47. Scott called for Patrick to pit near lap 50, so she relinquished 10th position to get four tires and fuel.

Unfortunately, the No. 10 Mobil 1 Chevrolet was penalized for pit-road speeding, and Patrick was forced to make a pass through. As a result, Patrick went down a lap to the leader, but she received the wave-around following a lap-66 caution flag. Two laps later, Patrick pitted and Scott called for four tires and a full load of fuel.

Patrick returned to action in 28th and reached 25th on lap 80. Scott followed the lead of a number of other teams when the race was slowed again by another caution on lap 85 electing to keep Patrick out to gain track position. He reminded his driver to continue conserving fuel whenever the opportunity presented itself. Patrick restarted 13th but wasn’t able to hold off the drivers behind her that were on newer tires, and by lap 120 she was running 22nd.

Following another stop on lap 125, Patrick clocked her best lap of the race at 51.366 seconds. She was consistently posting top-three lap times before the race was halted because of visibility issues caused by a heavy fog and moisture in the air. The field made a number of laps under caution before pulling down pit road under the red flag. NASCAR officials called the race official approximately 25 minutes later with 138 laps complete.

Patrick’s teammate, Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent by finishing fourth. It was Harvick’s ninth top-five this season and his eighth top-five in 32 career Sprint Cup starts at Pocono.

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished fifth. It was his fourth top-five this season and his 13th top-five in 36 career Sprint Cup starts at Pocono.

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 10th. It was his 16th top-10 this season and his 18th top-10 in 31 career Sprint Cup starts at Pocono.

Chris Buescher won the Pennsylvania 400 to score his first career Sprint Cup victory. Buescher is the first Rookie of the Year contender to win a Sprint Cup Series race since Joey Logano in 2009.

Brad Keselowski finished in the runner-up spot, while Regan Smith, Harvick and Stewart rounded out the top-five. Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were seven caution periods for 31 laps, with three drivers failing to finish the 138-lap race around the 2.5-mile triangle, which was shortened from its scheduled 160-lap distance due to heavy fog and mist.

With round 21 of 36 complete, Harvick continues to lead SHR and the series in the championship standings. He remains first with 709 points, 22 ahead of second-place Keselowski. Busch is third with 658 points, 51 behind Harvick. Patrick is 24th with 392 points, 111 ahead of 31st-place Buescher. Stewart is 27th with 353 points, 72 ahead of 31st.

Harvick, Busch and Stewart are all eligible to compete in the 16-driver, 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, which begins after the Sept. 10 race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. All have won a race this season and are among the top-30 in points, the two requirements necessary to secure a spot in the Chase. Patrick can also earn a Chase berth by winning a race and staying inside the top-30. Five races remain before the Chase begins Sept. 18 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Cheez-It 355k at The Glen on Sunday, Aug. 7, at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. The race begins at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA.

SHR Press Release.

Stewart Fifth At Pocono

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), finished fifth in Monday’s rain-delayed and rain-shortened Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway – an event that was neither easy nor quick.

After rain cancelled all activity for Sunday’s planned race, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returned Monday to an even bleaker weather forecast with heavy rain invading the Pennsylvania mountains. But the race ran with the 40 drivers battling drizzle, wind and fog before heavy rainstorms arrived in the afternoon to finally end racing.

The bad weather couldn’t have come at a better time for Stewart, who started sixth but fell to midpack in the early going. With the field employing differing fuel strategies, Stewart bounced between the top-five and running midpack.

“We were kind of a like a yo-yo today,” Stewart said. “I was pretty happy to see the race end. I hate it for the fans who came back to see us race on Monday, but for just us, we’ll take a fifth-place finish and be happy with it.”

Monday’s finish was another excellent result for the No. 14 team, which came into the race scoring the third-most points of any Sprint Cup team in the last five races. In the early going, however, it didn’t look like a good day was in order. After starting sixth, Stewart pitted on the lap-15 competition caution. While many drivers took on two tires, the No. 14 crew put on four in hopes that the new rubber would give Stewart an advantage. But traffic on the 2.5-mile track trapped Stewart around 20th place.

Although Stewart struggled on restarts, when it was his turn to take two tires while others took four, he vaulted to the front of the field, and the No. 14 looked as fast as any car on the “Tricky Triangle.” Stewart moved to fifth on lap 96 and “yo-yoed” back and forth until the closing laps, when a dense fog that rolled across turn one reduced the spotters’ visibility to near zero.

The caution for fog flew with 27 laps remaining, and the field circled several laps under yellow. When NASCAR threw the red flag, stopping the race with 22 laps to go, Stewart was in fifth place. Then, heavy rain ended any chance of resuming the race.

“I don’t know what would have happened if we started again,” Stewart said. “We could have gained a few positions, but we probably could have lost some as well.”

Monday marked the No. 14 team’s fourth top-5 and seventh top-10 finish of the 2016 season. It was Stewart’s 187th top-five and 306th top-10 finish in his 603 career races. He finishes his career at Pocono Raceway with two victories, 13 top-fives and 24 top-10s in 36 Sprint Cup races.

Stewart and his SHR teammates Kevin Harvick and Danica Patrick drove nearly identically painted Mobil 1 paint schemes throughout the four days of Pocono as part of Mobil 1’s “Triple Threat” weekend. Harvick led the SHR contingent by driving his No. 4 Chevrolet to a fourth-place finish. It was his ninth top-five this season and his eighth top-five in 32 career Sprint Cup starts at Pocono.

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 10th. It was his 16th top-10 this season and his 18th top-10 in 31 career Sprint Cup starts at Pocono.

Patrick, driver of the No. 10 Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 22nd.

Chris Buescher won the Pennsylvania 400 to score his first career Sprint Cup victory. Buescher is the first Rookie of the Year contender to win a Sprint Cup Series race since Joey Logano in 2009.

Brad Keselowski finished in the runner-up spot, while Regan Smith, Harvick and Stewart rounded out the top-five. Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were seven caution periods for 31 laps, with three drivers failing to finish the 138-lap race around the 2.5-mile triangle, which was shortened from its scheduled 160-lap distance due to heavy fog and mist.

With round 21 of 36 complete, Harvick continues to lead SHR and the series in the championship standings. He remains first with 709 points, 22 ahead of second-place Keselowski. Busch is third with 658 points, 51 behind Harvick. Patrick is 24th with 392 points, 111 ahead of 31st-place Buescher. Stewart is 27th with 353 points, 72 ahead of 31st.

Harvick, Busch and Stewart are all eligible to compete in the 16-driver, 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, which begins after the Sept. 10 race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. All have won a race this season and are among the top-30 in points, the two requirements necessary to secure a spot in the Chase. Patrick can also earn a Chase berth by winning a race and staying inside the top-30. Five races remain before the Chase begins Sept. 18 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Cheez-It 355k at The Glen on Sunday, Aug. 7, at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. The race begins at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA.

SHR Press Release.

Biffle finishes 25th in weather-shortened Pocono race

LONG POND, Pa. (Aug. 1, 2016) – Greg Biffle had a fast Ford EcoBoost Fusion on Monday’s rescheduled NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) event at Pocono Raceway. The No. 16 Ford paced the field for 14 laps on Monday afternoon.

After qualifying on Friday afternoon, Biffle lined up 25th for the scheduled 160 laps from the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway. With Sunday a washout, NASCAR officials set the race for Monday morning.

When the race took the green flag, Biffle radioed early to tell the team that the car seemed really good early on. As the run progressed, Biffle’s Ford went a bit to the free side.

When the competition caution flew on Lap 15, crew chief Brian Pattie opted to keep his driver on the track, putting Biffle in second for the restart. The driver of the No. 16 quickly gained the lead on the Lap 19 restart, and held onto it for 14 laps.

After relinquishing the lead, Biffle made his first pit stop of the day for four fresh Goodyear tires, fuel and no adjustments. As green flag pit stops cycled through, Biffle again found himself in the top-five.

Biffle remained in the top-20, until a Lap 103 restart shuffled him back in the pack. Biffle worked to regain the lost ground, visiting pit road again on Lap 133 for tires and fuel. Unfortunately, just a few laps later the race was red flagged, and ultimately cut short. Biffle was credited with a 25th-place finish.

The NSCS returns to action on Sunday at Watkins Glen for the Cheez-It 355 at the Glen.

RFR Press Release.

Stenhouse Jr. overcomes adversity to finish 18th at Pocono

LONG POND, Pa. (August 1, 2016)- After rain postponed the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race to Monday afternoon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. overcame a speeding penalty on pit-road to earn an 18th-place finish at the ‘Tricky Triangle’.

“I think we could have gotten a few more spots but the fog moved in,” Stenhouse said. “After our struggles last year at Pocono, I’m definitely pleased with our performance. We still have some work to do but overall it was a good weekend for us. We have five races remaining to get in the Chase so we will keep plugging away.”

After being knocked out of the top-12 in the final seconds of round two of qualifying, the Olive Branch, Miss. native lined up in the 14th position for the 160-lap race. Due to rain overnight, NASCAR displayed a competition yellow at lap 15 allowing the team to work on a tight handling machine.

During green flag pit stops with 100 laps remaining, the two-time XFINITY champion had to serve a pass thru penalty for speeding on pit road causing him to lose a lap to the leaders. Stenhouse had worked his Roush Performance Ford into the free pass position getting back on the lead lap when the caution was displayed on lap 85.

After restarting in the 29th position, the 2013 NSCS Rookie of the Year bullied his way up through the field gaining eight positions in seven laps.

With weather approaching, crew chief Nick Sandler called for two tires and fuel but the handling of the Roush Performance turned to the tight condition costing Stenhouse a few positions before the red flag was displayed for fog which eventually ended the race leaving Stenhouse to settle with an 18th– place finish at Pocono.

Next up for Stenhouse and the No. 17 team is the Cheez-It 355 at Watkins GlenInternational on Sunday, August 7. Race coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. on USA. Coverage can also be heard on MRN and SIRIUS radio channel 90.

RFR Press Release.