NASCAR Notebook

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

 

Daniel Suárez Extends Lead In The Standings For Third-Straight Week

Daniel Suárez has taken the lead in the NASCAR XFINITY Series championship standings and isn’t looking back. Over the past three races he has extended his points lead from three points to eight to 10 over second-place Elliott Sadler.

 

Driving the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Suárez has posted one pole, three top fives, five top 10s and a 4.8 average finish in the first five races of the season.

 

Suárez has found consistency working with crew chief Scott Graves. The duo has posted 11 straight top-10 finishes dating back to Dover last October.

 

“Honestly, It has been great (working with Scott Graves),” Suárez said.  “Scott has a lot of talent. I feel like we are moving in the right direction. I really like working with him. I think we have a bright future ahead of us.”   

 

NASCAR season-to-date loop data also substantiates Suárez as a title contender this season. Among championship contenders he leads the series in average running position (5.0), driver rating (112.8) and laps completed in the top 15 (98.2%, 818 laps).   

 

JR Motorsports’ Sadler and Allgaier Are After The Standings Lead

Veterans Elliott Sadler and Justin Allgaier have JR Motorsports right back in the title hunt, a place the organization became accustomed to the last few seasons with drivers Chase Elliott and Regan Smith. Sadler (-10) is currently second in the points and Allgaier (-19) ranks third. Both trail standings leader Daniel Suárez.

 

Sadler is a master at consistent finishes. This season, he has posted two top fives and five top 10s in his first five starts. His average finish is 6.8.

 

Allgaier’s return to the XFINITY Series following a three-year stint in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has been seamless. In five starts this season, he has posted one top five, four top 10s and an average finish of 8.6.   

 

On The Fringe: Who’s On The Bubble Of The Chase

The NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase will kick off at Kentucky Speedway on Sept. 24; 12 drivers will compete in an elimination-style, seven-race, three-round playoff. Below is a look at the five drivers sitting on the bubble of the Chase cutoff line.

 

In

11. Blake Koch – Koch drives the No. 11 Kaulig Motorsports Chevrolet with crew chief Chris Rice. Koch has posted one top-10 and four top-20 finishes this season.

 

12. Jeb Burton – Burton sits teetering on the Chase cutoff line, one point behind 11th-place Blake Koch and 13 points ahead of 13th-place Dakoda Armstrong. Burton drives the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford under crew chief Drew Blickensderfer. In five starts this season, he has posted one top-10 and four top-20 finishes. 

 

Out:

13. Dakoda Armstrong (-13) – Armstrong is the first driver outside of the Chase cutoff line looking in. Just 13 points separate him from 12th-place Jeb Burton. Armstrong is piloting the No. 28 JGL Racing Toyota with crew chief Steven Lane. Armstrong has posted two top 20s and an average finish of 19.4 this season.

 

14. Jeremy Clements (-17) – Clements drives the No. 51 Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet with his father Tony Clements serving as crew chief. He has an average finish of 20.2 this season.

 

15. Ryan Sieg (-22) – Sieg sits 15th in the standings, 22 points back from Jeb Burton in 12th-place. He drives the No. 39 RSS Racing Chevrolet with crew chief Kevin Starland. Sieg has posted three top-20 finishes and an average finish of 21.2 in five races this season.

 

Sunoco Rookie Update Following Fifth Race Of The Season

Erik Jones continues to hold court in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings.

 

The NASCAR Next alum sits 13 points ahead of second-place Brandon Jones and 27 points ahead of third-place Brennan Poole.  The youth has represented well this season as the top three in the rookie standings are all in the top 10 of the NASCAR XFINITY Series driver championship standings.

 

Erik Jones, 19, from Byron, Michigan, drives the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota. In addition to leading the rookie standings, he is ranked seventh in the XFINITY Series championship standings – 30 points behind Daniel Suárez for the lead. Jones has posted one pole, three top fives and an average finish of 10.8 in the first five races of the 2016 season.

 

Brandon Jones, 19, from Atlanta, Georgia, drives the Richard Childress Racing No. 33 Chevrolet. He is currently second in the rookie standings, but sits fourth in the XFINITY Series championship standings – 21 points behind the leader. Jones has posted three top 10s and an average finish of 10.6 in five starts this season.

 

Brennan Poole, 24, from The Woodlands, Texas, drives the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 48 Chevrolet. Poole is third in the rookie standings and 10th in the championships standings – 52 points back from the leader. In the first five races of the season, Poole has posted one top 10 and an average finish of 15.0. 

 

NASCAR XFINITY Series Etc.:

Gibbs Atop The Owners Points Through Five Races: Five races into the season, Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 team holds a six point lead over Richard Childress Racing’s No. 2 team in the NASCAR XFINITY Series car owner points.

 

Bubba At Preds Game: Darrell Wallace Jr. will take in a Nashville Predators game as part of Bristol Motor Speedway night at the arena on March 28.

 

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

 

Martinsville Media Day Recap

Daniel Hemric, John Hunter Nemechek, Timothy Peters, Tyler Reddick, Ben Rhodes and Tyler Young appeared at Martinsville Speedway on Tuesday to promote the Alpha Energy Solutions 250 on Saturday, April 2 (2:30 p.m. ET on FS1).

 

Below are some soundbites from the day:

 

Hemric Discusses NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase, Abundance Of Competition – “I think you’re going to have to win a race if not two races to make this deal. There are going to be a substantial amount of one-time winners, I think, and that’s what is so unique about the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. There’s so much talent, we may see 10 or 11 first-time winners. I feel like the fans have seen the first two races of the season and they’ll see here coming into Martinsville we legitimately feel like there’s a range from 12-15 trucks, that depending on the race track, could win the race.”

 

Nemechek Focused On Winning More Races – “It feels great to have our ticket punched for the Chase. To be able to come to the race track and not have to worry about points every single week, we can come to the race track and focus on winning. I think you’re going to see a lot more strategy and gambling from the guys who have their ticket punched to the Chase, rather than trying to salvage a good day in points if you aren’t running so well. Whatever it is, a two-tire call or a four-tire call at the end when nobody else is doing it, I think you’re going to see a lot of that.”

 

Reddick Ready To Race– “I’ve just been really wanting to get back to racing. I miss racing. I love racing. We run 23 times, I’m blessed to be able to run the full-season (NASCAR Camping World) Truck Series schedule, but I’m used to racing a lot more throughout my whole life. … I’m just glad to be able to come back and race here at Martinsville again. This place, it’s breathtaking, the racing it puts on here. You’ll either be the happiest guy alive leaving the race track or you’ll be the maddest guy alive … So, it definitely brings a lot of emotion out of the drivers. It definitely brings a lot of emotion out of the fans. It puts on great racing and I just can’t wait to come back.”

 

Rhodes Lauds The Advantages Of Finally Racing Full-Time – “What it does for you mentally, I can’t even put it in words. Especially when you’re able to contend for points, championship, rookie of the year, there’s just something, an unspoken nature that it does for you mentally and to just be able to have that bond with all of your guys. Not to say that I didn’t have that last year, but I wasn’t in the car full-time. That was the hardest thing for a learning driver – to not be in there. When I was watching the competition, I wasn’t really advancing because I was trying to apply what I learned from one race a month later. It was just hard to do that. Just for me, it might be easier to do for others guys, but I struggled with it. This year, being able to run 23 races, it’s going to be a good time. Before this season, before running full-time, this is a full step up for me because I only ran 14 national series events (before). That’s all I ran. And now I get 23 of them in one year, I’m a happy camper.”

 

Young Off To Best Start Ever – “We talked last year, if we could ever get out of Daytona ok, I think it just sets you up with big momentum for the whole year. We finally played it right this year with a good finish, and went to Atlanta and had a good run. We always have this one circled on our calendar, at Martinsville, because I feel like we can run strong here. We just have to kind of mind our own business and keep our momentum going, get out of here with a good day, just keep upbeat and get ready for Kansas a month later.”

 

 

 

Grandfather Clock: Elder Statesman Crafton Looks To Continue Martinsville Success

Fall Martinsville race winner Matt Crafton will attempt to capture his second consecutive victory at the Virginia short track in the Alpha Energy Solutions 250 on Saturday, April 2.

 

In a series record 28 starts at Martinsville, the 39-year-old Tulare, California native claims two wins, eight top fives and an all-time series-best 16 top 10s.

 

He has dominated in his last four starts at Martinsville, logging finishes of first, third, second and first from spring of 2014 through fall of 2015.

 

In the first two races of the season, the two-time series champion finished 10th at Daytona and 30th at Atlanta. He led 76 of the first 111 laps at Atlanta before a wreck ended his day.

 

Standings Snapshot

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has a one more weekend off before the Alpha Energy Solutions 250 at Martinsville Speedway (Saturday, April 2 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FS1).

 

Through two races, Johnny Sauter and John Hunter Nemechek have all but clinched the first two spots in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase by winning at Daytona and Atlanta, respectively.

 

Parker Kligerman leads the series points. He is followed by Daniel Hemric (-1), Nemechek (-3), Timothy Peters (-6) and Tyler Young (-8). Ryan Truex (-10), Brandon Brown (-12), Ben Rhodes (-12), Grant Enfinger (-13) and Sauter (-14) round out the top 10.

 

Joey Logano won last year’s spring race at Martinsville, while Matt Crafton took the checkered flag in the fall.