NASCAR XFINITY Series, Subway Firecracker 250 at Daytona Preview

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NASCAR XFINITY Series Salutes U.S. Military Units With Tribute at Daytona

In a show of appreciation for the United States Armed Forces, NASCAR XFINITY Series drivers will bear the names of active military units and installations on their race car windshields during Friday’s Subway Firecracker 250 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway.

NASCAR: An American Salute™ (#NASCARSalutes) is the industry’s collective expression of reverence, respect and gratitude for those who have served and continue to defend the United States today. Continue reading

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series News and Notes – Friday, July 1, 2016

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NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams are taking a break before their next race at Kentucky Speedway for the Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 on Thursday, July 7. Watch all 150 laps cover 225 miles on FOX Sports 1 starting at 8 pm ET with a green flag around 8:30 pm ET.  Radio coverage is also available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

Bell Rings in First Victory of Season; KBM Ties for First On All-Time Wins List

Christopher Bell won Saturday’s Drivin’ For Linemen 200 at Gateway Motorsports Park to earn the fifth berth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase. The win was Bell’s first of the season and the 50th for Kyle Busch Motorsports, tying them with Roush Fenway Racing for the most victories in Camping World Truck Series history.

The four other Chase berths are owned by Bell’s KBM teammate William Byron, Matt Crafton, Johnny Sauter and John Hunter Nemechek.

Seven races remain until the Camping World Truck Series Chase. If the season ended today, Timothy Peters is at 30 points ahead of Tyler Reddick on the cutoff line, Daniel Hemric (+25) and Ben Kennedy (+1) would clinch the remaining three berths.

On the cusp of the Chase spots are Reddick (-1), Ben Rhodes (-11), Spencer Gallagher (-16) and Cole Custer (-20).

Rhodes Roars to Career-Best Finish

Ben Rhodes powered to a career-best runner-up finish after earning his second career 21 Means 21 Keystone Light Pole at Gateway Motorsports Park.

The No. 41 ThorSport Racing driver’s previous career-high showing was a fourth-place finish recorded the race before at Iowa.

On the season, Rhodes owns two top-fives and four top-tens in seven starts. He ranks ninth on the Camping World Truck Series Chase Grid – 11 points behind Ben Kennedy on the cutoff line.

“A career-best finish of second is great, but after tasting it (victory) four times now, and not being able to go home and get it – that’s been tough, but hopefully here soon,” Rhodes said. “We’re just going to keep pushing forward.”

Rhodes, a Louisville native, next heads to his home state of Kentucky for the Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 on Thursday, July 7 at Kentucky Speedway.. 

Dan The Man: Hemric One of Camping World Truck Series’ Most Consistent

Daniel Hemric recovered from a mid-race spin to place third in Saturday’s Drivin’ for Linemen 200 at Gateway Motorsports Park to tie Matt Crafton for the Camping World Truck Series lead in top-tens with seven.

Currently, Hemric ranks seventh on the Camping World Truck Series Chase Grid, 25 points above Bead Keselowski Racing teammate Tyler Reddick on the cutoff.

“My Brad Keselowski Racing team gave me a really great Draw-Tite Ford F-150,” Hemric said. “We knew we had something for the rest of the field from the time we unloaded. We had a great balance and a lot of speed at the beginning of the race, but unfortunately, I put us in a hole early when I spun; that’s all on me. But we still had an extremely fast truck, we made the right calls on pit road, and I’m glad we were able to rebound like we did. There is no ‘quit’ in this team; I’m so proud of our entire effort here tonight at Gateway Motorsports Park.” 

GMS Racing Continues Strong Season with Three in Top-Ten at Gateway

GMS Racing placed three drivers in the top-ten of Saturday’s Camping World Truck Series race at Gateway Motorsports park: Johnny Sauter (fourth), Kaz Grala (eighth) and Ben Kennedy (ninth). Its fourth driver, Spencer Gallagher, finished 22nd.

Grala’s showing was a career-best performance.

At the moment, GMS has Sauter locked into the Camping World Truck Series Chase. Kennedy would earn the last Chase berth on points (+1 points above Tyler Reddick on the cutoff line) if the season ended today. Gallagher, only 16 points behind Kennedy for the final berth, ranks 11th on the Camping World Truck Series Chase Grid.

Kyle Busch Motorsports is the lone other team that would have two drivers in the Chase if the season ended today.

NASCAR IMC

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hopes a ‘No-Name’ Car will be the Answer

Photo - Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

Photo – Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

What’s in a name?

Henceforth, the chassis Dale Earnhardt Jr. drives won’t have one—not since the No. 88 Chevrolet named “Amelia” spun and wrecked at Talladega and was consigned to the chassis “graveyard” on Earnhardt’s property in North Carolina. Continue reading

With XFINITY Series Military Tribute, Darrell Wallace Jr, Jesse Iwuji Share Special Bond

Photo - Getty Images

Photo – Getty Images

When the idea first surfaced of honoring active military units on the windshields of NASCAR XFINITY Series cars at Friday’s Firecracker 250 powered by Coca-Cola, someone asked Jesse Iwuji which driver’s car he’d like his last deployment station, USS Comstock, featured on.

Iwuji, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West driver in his first full season who also is in active service in the U.S. Navy until 2017, didn’t hesitate: Darrell Wallace Jr. Continue reading

Ty Dillon Searches for Win at Daytona International Speedway

Photo - Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Including the last NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Iowa, Ty Dillon has registered three runner-up finishes and 22 top-five showings since his last win 61 starts ago at Indianapolis (2014).

Known to have a “winning means everything” mindset, Dillon will attempt to make his next visit to Victory Lane in Friday’s Subway Firecracker 250 presented by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN).

In six starts at The World Center of Racing, the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing driver claims one top-five finish (a third-place showing in 2015) and two top-10 performances. Dillon won the pole in his last start at Daytona in February, but finished 13th. Continue reading