NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
Brad Keselowski – One-Lap Wonder
Brad Keselowski – One-Lap Wonder
Brad
Keselowski returns to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California for
Sunday’s Auto Club 400 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX) as the defending race
winner.
Last March, the No. 2 Ford driver closed from 18th to first in the closing laps, leading solely the last lap for the victory.
Keselowski
has won two races by leading just the final lap. He also achieved the
feat for his first victory, at Talladega, on April 26, 2009.
Additionally,
Auto Club Speedway has seen multiple drivers win races by leading just
the last lap. Kevin Harvick accomplished the task on March 27, 2011 at
the two-mile Southern California track.
Keselowski
can join Jimmie Johnson (fall of 2009, spring of 2010) and Kyle Busch
(2013, 2014) as the only drivers to win consecutive races at Auto Club.
California Love: Roger Penske Brought Back Sprint Cup Series Racing To SoCal
This is a homecoming of sorts for Roger Penske.
Penske,
whose Team Penske racing team is celebrating its 50th anniversary this
year, announced the construction of Auto Club Speedway in Fontana,
California
on April 20, 1994. The track was completed in 1996 and NASCAR held its
first test session there from May 5-7, 1997. A month later the NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series held its first race at the two-mile oval on June 22,
which was won by California native Jeff Gordon.
Overall, Penske has won two Sprint Cup races at Auto Club with drivers Brad Keselowski (2015) and Rusty Wallace (2001).
Prior
to the first event held at Auto Club, the Sprint Cup Series hadn’t
raced in Southern California since 1988 when Wallace won at Riverside
International
Raceway in Riverside, California.
The
Golden State has become a breeding ground for NASCAR talent. NASCAR
Sprint Cup drivers who call California home include: Jimmie Johnson,
Kyle Larson, Kevin
Harvick, Casey Mears, Josh Wise, AJ Allmendinger, Matt DiBenedetto and
Cole Whitt. Currently, more drivers from California compete in the
Sprint Cup Series than those from any other state.
NASCAR Origins: Track Record-Holder Johnson Returns To Site Of First Win
It’s a bird. It’s a plane. No. It’s Jimmie Johnson.
The
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series active wins leader heads to his home track of
Auto Club Speedway – the site of his first victory – decked out in a
Superman firesuit
and paint scheme.
And Johnson is the undeniable “Man of Steel” at the two-mile track.
He
ranks first all-time at Auto Club in wins (5), top fives (12), top 10s
(15), average finish (6.4), average running position (6.0), driver
rating (119.4)
and laps led (955).
Recently,
other drivers have brought kryptonite to Auto Club. Johnson has not
finished better than ninth at the Southern California oval since 2011,
when he
placed runner-up.
If
Johnson takes the checkered flag on Sunday, he will surpass Dale
Earnhardt for seventh on the all-time list with his 77th career victory.
The
No. 48 Chevrolet driver is sporting the Superman paint scheme to
promote the upcoming Warner Brothers film “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of
Justice.”
“The Flash” Or Kevin Harvick
He’s faster than a speeding bullet.
Oh wait… wrong hero.
If Jimmie Johnson is Superman, Kevin Harvick can be called The Flash.
Since
2014, Harvick ranks first among all NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers
with 4,702 laps led, almost 2,000 more than the next closest driver –
Brad Keselowski
(2,749). Keselowski is followed by Joey Logano (2,498), Jimmie Johnson
(2,014) and Matt Kenseth 1,553.
Harvick
(surprise) led an event-high 139 laps in last weekend’s Good Sam 500
for his fifth win in the last six races at Phoenix International
Raceway. In the
process, Harvick edged out Carl Edwards for the win by 0.010 seconds, a
margin of victory that ranks tied with four others – including Denny
Hamlin's MOV in this year’s Daytona 500 – as the seventh closest in
NASCAR history since the advent of electronic scoring
in 1993.
Harvick
will attempt to win for the second straight weekend in Sunday’s Auto
Club 400. In 22 starts at Auto Club, he has recorded one win, five top
fives,
10 top 10s and a 96.8 driver rating. The No. 4 Chevrolet driver
finished second there last season after leading 34 laps.
Busch A Blockbuster Hit At Auto Club
Betting on Kyle Busch to win at Auto Club is probably a good idea.
The No. 18 driver won the 2013 and 2014 races at the Southern California oval before missing last year’s due
to injury. In his 2011 and 2012 starts there, he finished third and second, respectively.
Busch boasts three wins, eight top fives (47.1%) and 12 top 10s in 17 Auto Club starts. Among active drivers,
he ranks second at the two-mile track in average running position (8.9) and driver rating (110.0).
Auto
Club brings back some nostalgia for “Rowdy.” In 2005 there, Busch
became the youngest pole winner in series
history (19 years, 9 months, 23 days) in advance of his eighth career
start. Seven months later, Busch returned to Auto Club where he set the
record for youngest race winner in series history (20 years, 4 months, 4
days). Joey Logano has since broken both
marks.
Still winless this season, Busch has produced a top-five finish in his last eight starts.
Record Closest Average MOV Through First Four Races
The
average margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season is
0.232 seconds – the closest margin
of victory over the first four races since the inception of electronic
timing and scoring in 1993 (Note: This year’s Atlanta race ended under
caution, and therefore is not included in the average). The next-closest
average margin of victory occurred 15 years
ago in 2001 (.436) -0.204 seconds compared to this season.
Auto Clubbin’: Edwards Entertains In Fontana
Other
than Jimmie Johnson, the only NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver with a
single-digit average finish at Auto Club Speedway is Carl Edwards (8.9).
In
18 starts at the Fontana, California race track, Edwards owns one win,
eight top fives and 14 top 10s. His 97.1 Auto Club driver rating ranks
fourth among
active drivers there.
Unlike
last year when he started off the season slow, Edwards has been very
strong in his second campaign with Joe Gibbs Racing. He has three
top-five finishes,
including a runner-up showing last Sunday at Phoenix.
Chasing Blaney
Did that title sound like the 1997 Kevin Smith-made comic-book-centric flick?
Total coincidence.
Right now, it’s the name of the 2016 Sunoco Rookie of the Year race.
Heading into Sunday’s Auto Club 400, Chase Elliott trails Ryan Blaney by a mere four points in the rookie standings.
Last
weekend at Phoenix, the NASCAR Next alumni became the first pair of
rookies to finish in the top 10 since 2014 when Austin Dillon and Kyle
Larson achieved
the feat twice. Elliott placed eighth, while Blaney took home 10th.
In four starts this season, each driver has two top 10s.
Elliott
and Blaney are trying to join Denny Hamlin (2006) as the only rookie
drivers to make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Dillon Thrillin’ In 2016
Austin Dillon has started the season off strong with three top 10s to go along with an 11th-place finish in four starts.
In
his first two full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series seasons (2014 and
2015), it took the 25-year-old Richard Childress Racing driver 19 and 20
starts, respectively,
to notch three top 10s.
Dillon,
currently eighth in the series points standings, claims a season-high
finish of fifth (Las Vegas) and has an average finish of 8.5.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Etc.
#HeroFaceOff
Dale
Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson will promote the upcoming film “Batman
vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice”
by having a #HeroFaceOff with two special paint schemes. Earnhardt’s
No. 88 Chevrolet will don the Batman logo, while Johnson’s No. 48
Chevrolet will be emblazoned with Superman’s crest.
No superhero stranger, Earnhardt Jr. piloted the “Batmobile” to victory at Michigan International Speedway
in 2012.
Here are his superhero results:
2012 – Earnhardt & Batman (Michigan – 1st)
2013 – Earnhardt & Superman (Michigan – 37th)
2014 – Earnhardt & Superman (Charlotte – 19th)
2014 – Earnhardt & Superman (Michigan – 7th)
They Could Be Heroes
After some of the earlier superhero references, we draw some more parallels between drivers and fictional crime
fighters.
Carl Edwards – Spiderman:
He can do a backflip. Climbing walls and swinging across buildings shouldn’t be an issue.
Tony Stewart – Professor X:
A wise mentor with years of experience, he oversees a talented stable of heroes.
Martin Truex Jr. – Aqua Man:
He
used to work on a clam boat and is a pretty good fisherman. Truex is
not too shabby on asphalt either. And he kind of looks like Vincent
Chase.
Danica Patrick – Wonder Woman:
She
has scored more top-10 finishes than any female in NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series history. The fitness junkie also boasts strength and flexibility.
Denny Hamlin – Michael Jordan in “Space Jam”:
The
Jumpman-sponsored Hamlin plays a lot of basketball. His big move at the
end of the Daytona 500 is reminiscent of Jordan’s herculean dunk from
mid court to defeat
the Monstars. Before injuring his ACL last year in overtime of a game,
Hamlin tied the contest with a driving layup with five seconds to go.
Kyle Busch – Wolverine:
As
evidenced by his 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship run, Busch
heals quickly. He’s also known for his aggressive driving style.
Ryan Newman – Iron Man:
He’s an engineer. Newman also ranks tied with Jimmie Johnson for the active lead in consecutive starts (508).
Brad Keselowski – Captain America:
The
No. 2 Ford driver says he would have joined the military if racing
didn’t work out for him. Brad Keselowski’s Checkered Flag Foundation
strives to support those
individuals who have sacrificed greatly, to include military members,
veterans, first-responders and their families, among others.
Austin Dillon – Hawkeye:
He’s fast in a race car, but away from the wheel he’s also strong with a bow and arrow.
Joey Logano – The Human Torch:
NASCAR’s current youngest race winner hates settling for any place, but first.
NASCAR Business News
SBJ Awards:
NASCAR and industry stakeholders were nominated for a number of 2016
SportsBusiness Journal Sports Business Awards nominations – Sports
League of the Year (NASCAR), Sports Event of the Year (Bojangles’
Southern 500), Sports Executive of the Year (Brian France),
Best in Sports Social Media (Dale Earnhardt Jr.), Sports Facility of
the Year (Daytona International Speedway) and Sports Sponsor of the Year
(XFINITY from Comcast, Toyota).
France at NYU:
NASCAR Chairman & CEO Brian France and the Commissioners of the
NBA, NFL, MLB and MLS, led a group from across nine major professional
sports leagues Monday at New York University to collaborate on social
responsibility in sports.
The industry summit was hosted by the NYU School of Professional Studies Tisch Institute for Sports Management,
Media, and Business.
NASCAR at MIT:
During
the milestone 10th MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston,
NASCAR Senior VP of Strategic Development Eric Nyquist participated on a
panel entitled ‘Road
to the Championship: Playoff Analytics.’ Joined by executives from MLB,
the NCAA and MLS, Nyquist spoke about the evolution of the Chase for
the NASCAR Sprint Cup and how analytics played a role in shaping the new
format of NASCAR playoffs.
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
Suárez Extends Standings Lead On Way To California
Following
the second installment of the #NASCARGoesWest part of the XFINITY
Series schedule, Daniel Suárez now finds himself with an eight-point
lead over
second-place Elliott Sadler.
Suárez
is honing his skills and has been quite impressive in the first four
races of the season, posting two top fives and four top 10s, including a
third-place
finish this past weekend at Phoenix. Not only is Suárez racking up
strong finishes, he is producing hefty loop data statistics. He hasn’t
posted a driver rating less than 100 points this season and his average
running position is 5.3. Suárez is also one of
only five drivers this season to complete 100 percent of the laps
scheduled thus far.
The
24-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver heads to California this weekend
for the TreatMyClot.com 300 at Auto Club Speedway (4 p.m. ET on FS1).
The young driver
made his series track debut at Auto Club Speedway last season, starting
13th and finishing ninth.
Much
of Suarez’s success can be attributed to his relationship with crew
chief Scott Graves. Graves came to Joe Gibbs Racing this season
following a 2015 campaign
in which he led driver Chris Buescher and Roush Fenway Racing to a
series title. Graves and Buescher finished fifth in this event last
season.
Top Five In Points Are Well Represented By JRM and RCR
Joe
Gibb Racing currently holds the top spot in the NASCAR XFINITY Series
standings with driver Daniel Suarez, but the rest of the top five is
made up of drivers
from JR Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing.
In
second is JR Motorsports driver Elliott Sadler (-8). Sadler held the
points lead for the first two races of the season, but dropped to second
following
Las Vegas. Sadler’s consistency has been his advantage. In four starts
this season, he has posted one top five and four top 10s. His average
finish in 2016 is 7.3. Sadler has made 11 starts at Auto Club, posting
three top fives and seven top 10s.
Third
is occupied by Richard Childress Racing’s Ty Dillon (-9). Dillon’s
season started slow with a 13th-place finish at Daytona, but has since
picked up,
finishing the subsequent three races with a top five and two top 10s.
Dillon has two starts at Auto Club, posting one top 10 and an average
finish of 11.0.
Fourth
currently belongs to veteran Justin Allgaier (-12), who joined JR
Motorsports this season. In four starts this year, Allgaier has posted
one top five
and three top 10s. Allgaier has made seven series starts at Auto Club
posting two top 10s and an average finish of 14.6.
Rounding
out the top five in points is Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate /
Richard Childress Racing driver Brandon Jones (-15). Jones kicked the
season off
with a top-10 finish at Daytona and has run consistently ever since.
His average finish this season is a 9.8. This weekend will be Jones’
series track debut.
Erik Jones A Serious Contender This Season
Erik
Jones is looking to become the fourth driver to win a NASCAR Camping
World Truck Series and a NASCAR XFINITY Series title, joining Greg
Biffle, Johnny
Benson and Austin Dillon. Despite Jones’ hiccup to open the season at
Daytona, he has been the best championship contender since then, posting
three top fives and sitting sixth in the series standings, just 18
points behind his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Daniel
Suárez.
In
the last three races (Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix), Jones hasn’t
started worse than second and hasn’t finished worse than third. His
average finish in
the last three races is 2.7. In the process, Jones has jumped from 22nd
to sixth in championship points.
Jones
heads to California this weekend to continue his streak of top-three
finishes he has going this season. In his series debut at Auto Club
Speedway last
year, he won the pole and finished third.
Owner Points Battle Is Tight At The Top
Just
10 points separate the top four car owners in the NASCAR XFINITY Series
owner standings following the fourth race of the season. Joe Gibbs
Racing’s No.
18 is on top of standings followed by JR Motorsports’ No. 88 (-7), Joe
Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 (-9) and Richard Childress Racing’s No. 2 (-9).
Joe
Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 team, led by crew chief Chris Gayle, has been
unstoppable since being in an accident at Daytona, winning the following
three races
with driver Kyle Busch. Seven drivers in series history have won three
or more consecutive races. Only two drivers have done it more than once –
Sam Ard (four wins: 9/17/1983 – 10/8/1983); (three wins: 5/5/1984 –
5/19/1984) and Kyle Busch (three wins: (4/5/2008
– 4/20/2008); (three wins: 3/16/2013 – 4/12/2013). This weekend Kyle
Busch has the opportunity to become the second driver in series history
to win four consecutive races, joining Ard. In 16 starts at Auto Club
Speedway, Busch has posted a series-leading six
wins. His average finish at ACS is 6.6.
Busch
will have his work cut out for him this weekend. Defending winner Kevin
Harvick is also entered and will be driving the No. 88 Chevrolet for JR
Motorsports.
Harvick has made 19 starts at Auto Club, posting one win, 12 top fives
and 16 top 10s.
NASCAR XFINITY Series Etc.:
NASCAR XFINITY Series in California:
Though
all three NASCAR national series have combined to race on 17 different
tracks in the state of California, the NASCAR XFINITY Series has only
competed at
one – Auto Club Speedway. Auto Club has hosted 26 series events dating
back to the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series race held on 10/19/1997 and
won by Todd Bodine.
California Drivers In The NASCAR XFINITY Series:
Of
the 431 California natives that have competed in at least one NASCAR
national series event, only 68 have competed in the NASCAR XFINITY
Series, led by Kevin Harvick
with 329 series career starts. Of the 68 Californians who have competed
in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, only 15 have won a race and just seven
have won multiple races. Kevin Harvick leads all Californians with 46
NASCAR XFINITY Series wins.
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
Kligerman Heads NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Standings
Two
races into the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, Parker
Kligerman leads the standings by one point
over Daniel Hemric on the strength of a third-place (Daytona) and
eighth-place (Atlanta) finish. Hemric is followed by John Hunter
Nemechek (-3 points behind Kligerman), Timothy Peters (-6) and Tyler
Young (-8).
Although Kligerman ranks first in points, Nemechek and Johnny Sauter are the only drivers who have earned berths
in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase, via their wins at Atlanta and Daytona, respectively.
KBM Truck Drivers Ready To Sharpen Skills In Rattler 250
Three
Kyle Busch Motorsports drivers are keeping their skills sharp this off
weekend by competing in the 40th annual Rattler 250 Super Late Model
race at South
Alabama Speedway on Sunday.
Last season’s winner Christopher Bell and NASCAR Next member William Byron will pilot KBM cars, while Cody Coughlin is entered with his family-owned team.
Last season’s winner Christopher Bell and NASCAR Next member William Byron will pilot KBM cars, while Cody Coughlin is entered with his family-owned team.
NASCAR Next member Dalton Sargaent, who has four truck series starts to his credit, is also scheduled to compete.
No comments:
Post a Comment