Daily Archives: September 30, 2016

Qualifying Rainout puts Keselowski on Pole for Elimination Race at Dover

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DOVER, DE - SEPTEMBER 30: Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, practices for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Citizen Solider 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 30, 2016 in Dover, Delaware. Photo by Sarah Crabill/NASCAR via Getty Images

DOVER, DE – SEPTEMBER 30: Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, practices for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Citizen Solider 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 30, 2016 in Dover, Delaware. Photo by Sarah Crabill/NASCAR via Getty Images

For the second time in the first three Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup races this year, rain played havoc with Sprint Cup qualifying, forcing cancellation of Friday’s knockout time trials for the first elimination race of the playoffs.

This is the third straight Sprint Cup event at Dover for which qualifying has been cancelled because of rain.

With the field set by the rule book, Brad Keselowski, whose No. 2 Team Penske Ford leads the owners’ standings, will start Sunday’s Citizen Soldier 400 at 2 pm ET on NBCSN from the pole. Martin Truex Jr., winner of the first Chase race at Chicagoland Speedway, will take the green flag next to Keselowski on the front row. Continue reading →

Elliott: Pressure will Increase as Chase Progresses

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DOVER, DE - SEPTEMBER 30: Chase Elliott, driver of the #24 Mountain Dew Chevrolet, speaks with the media prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Citizen Solider 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 30, 2016 in Dover, Delaware. Photo by Sean Gardner/NASCAR via Getty Images

DOVER, DE – SEPTEMBER 30: Chase Elliott, driver of the #24 Mountain Dew Chevrolet, speaks with the media prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Citizen Solider 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 30, 2016 in Dover, Delaware. Photo by Sean Gardner/NASCAR via Getty Images

As a Sunoco rookie in his first Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Chase Elliott has found the first two playoff races surprisingly “normal.”

Elliott comes to the elimination at Dover tied for ninth in the standings, 16 points ahead of Jamie McMurray and Austin Dillon, the first two drivers below the cut line.

But Elliott expects that, as the rounds of the Chase progress, the intensity will ratchet up significantly. Continue reading →

Truex Exudes Confidence as he Comes to Home Track

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Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota, speaks with the media after practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Citizen Solider 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 30, 2016 in Dover, Delaware. Photo - Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota, speaks with the media after practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Citizen Solider 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 30, 2016 in Dover, Delaware. Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images

If you don’t consider Martin Truex Jr. one of the favorites to win this year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship, you haven’t been paying attention to the first two races in the Chase.

Truex won the Chase opener at Chicagoland Speedway and had perhaps the fastest car a week later at New Hampshire, though he dropped to seventh at the finish after a late restart.

Now he comes to Dover, the track closest to his childhood home in Mayetta, N.J., full of confidence—and not just because he’s locked into the Chase’s Round of 12 by virtue of the win at Chicagoland. Dover gave Truex his first Sprint Cup victory in 2007; in addition, he notched two poles and ten top-tens at the track. Continue reading →

Despite Last Year’s Failure, Johnson Likes his Chances at Dover

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Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, sits in his car during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Citizen Solider 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 30, 2016 in Dover, Delaware. Photo - Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, sits in his car during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Citizen Solider 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 30, 2016 in Dover, Delaware. Photo – Chris Trotman/Getty Images

On a rainy morning at Dover International Speedway, Jimmie Johnson was hopeful lightning wouldn’t strike twice—figuratively speaking, of course.

A year ago, in the third race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the failure of a rear-axle seal eliminated the six-time series champion from NASCAR’s ten-race playoff.

Never mind that Johnson has owned the Monster Mile with ten victories in 29 starts. Last year’s 41st-place finish in the Chase race reminded the Dover dominator that freakish bad luck can strike at any time and dramatically change the course of a season. Continue reading →

XFINITY Series Chase Favorite, Erik Jones Looking for a Rebound at Dover

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Photo - Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images

After leading the NASCAR XFINITY Series point standings for most of the season, Erik Jones now finds himself ninth in the point standings after the first race in the series’ inaugural Chase and outside the cutoff of the top-eight Chase qualifiers to advance to the next round. Jones is just three points behind Blake Koch on the cutoff line after a late wreck at Kentucky relegated him to a 28th-place finish, The good news is that Jones will have two chances to advance his position before this round ends at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday, October 7th.

Starting with the Drive Sober 200 at Dover International Speedway on Saturday, October 1st, Jones and his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team have some confidence because of their win earlier this season at the same track. Jones has enjoyed his season up to this point and knows he has a team that can deliver.  Continue reading →