Friday Bristol Notebook
Aug. 19, 2016
Notebook Items:
·
Jimmie Johnson enthused at William Byron signing
·
Stenhouse, Larson honor late friend at Bristol
·
Matt Tifft returns to track after brain surgery
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
Jimmie Johnson enthused at William Byron signing
BRISTOL,
Tenn. – Hendrick Motorsports team owner Rick Hendrick pulled off a
major coup earlier this week with the signing of NASCAR Camping World
Truck Series rookie William
Byron, who is at the top of the standings on the strength of five
victories in a Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota this season. The
18-year-old Byron used to go trick-or-treating at Hendrick’s house. As
it turned out, Byron did the same at the house of Hendrick
driver Jimmie Johnson, a six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion,
who welcomed the news of Byron’s signing.
“I’ve
definitely been paying attention to him,” Johnson said in advance of
Saturday's Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway (8
p.m. ET on NBCSN). “We live
in the same neighborhood. And I can recall him trick-or-treating at my
house in one of the rare opportunities we were home.
“I
absolutely know who he is and have gotten to know him and have seen him
around home. I think he’s an amazing talent with a great head on his
shoulders, and I’m very excited
that he’s under the Hendrick umbrella now. Hopefully, we can take
advantage of his youth and great talent and give him a great run. I’m
excited that he’s on the team.”
Byron
will race in the NASCAR XFINITY Series next year in a Chevrolet fielded
by JR Motorsports, co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelly Earnhardt
Miller and Hendrick.
STENHOUSE, LARSON HONOR LATE FRIEND AT BRISTOL
The
outpouring of support for Bryan Clauson continued at Bristol Motor
Speedway on Friday, with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Ricky
Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Larson honoring
the memory of their close friend with special helmets and paint
schemes.
Clauson died at age 27 from injuries suffered during an Aug. 6 accident in the Belleville (Kansas) Midget Nationals.
Like
Stenhouse, Clauson got his start in NASCAR racing as a development
driver for Roush Fenway Racing, but after 26 starts in the XFINITY
series, with a best finish of fifth
at Kentucky, he returned to open wheels and established himself as one
of the all-time best in USAC competition.
In
Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race, both Stenhouse and
Larson will wear helmets sporting the initials “BC” in honor of their
friend. With the blessing of sponsor
Fastenal, Stenhouse’s car will feature a paint scheme reminiscent of
the one Clauson ran seven years ago.
“Bryan
was a great friend of Kyle’s and mine,” Stenhouse, 28, said on Friday
at Bristol. “I moved to North Carolina, and he was already there. Even
though he was younger, I kind
of always looked at him as an older brother, because he kind of did
everything before I did.
“He
let me move in with him, and we had a lot of fun in North Carolina. He
showed me the ropes of stock car racing, and then, obviously, he was the
best there was at running
sprint cars, so to be able to run his paint scheme. His family is super
excited, and we are, too, at our team.”
On
Aug. 11 at the Knoxville (Iowa) Nationals, Stenhouse led the field on a
parade lap in the winged sprint car Clauson was to have driven in the
competition.
Larson
and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Rico Abreu were on hand as
competitors during the off week. Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon were
there to support charitable
efforts, which included an auction on behalf of the Clauson family on
Aug. 12.
Gordon
flew the Clausons back to Indiana on his plane that afternoon. On
Saturday night, Stewart’s sprint car driver, Donny Schatz, was five feet
short of his 10th Knoxville
Nationals title, finishing second to race-winner Jason Johnson.
MATT TIFFT RETURNS TO TRACK AFTER BRAIN SURGERY
After
surgery to remove a slow-growing, non-malignant tumor from his brain,
NASCAR XFINITY Series driver Matt Tifft has been cleared to return to
the race track, a process he
will begin with a late model stock test on Sunday at Hickory (N.C.)
Motor Speedway.
Tifft
hasn’t competed in a NASCAR race since May 21, when he drove for Red
Horse Racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. All told, Tifft
ran three races for Red Horse
and six XFINITY events for Joe Gibbs Racing before the tumor sidelined
him.
Now green-lighted to get back in a car, Tifft can hardly wait for Sunday to come.
“I
can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to that,” Tifft said on
Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway, where he appeared in the media center
to update reporters on his status.
“Obviously, it’s been a couple months since I’ve been in a car.”
During
his recovery from surgery, Tifft has bulked up in the gym, but that’s
no substitute for the rigors of driving a race car at speed. The test at
Hickory will begin his re-acclimation.
“I
think first things first, just going to go do the test on Sunday and
see how everything goes,” he said. “The most curious thing to me is just
seeing what my level of stamina
is compared to the past, because it’s been so long since I’ve been in a
car.
“I
don’t know what the exact steps are going to be, but I think the
biggest thing is just to get back going and get back re-oriented in a
race car.”
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