Daily Archives: October 9, 2016

Jimmie Johnson Triumphs at Charlotte as Five Chase Drivers Fall on Hard Times

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After Sunday’s victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Jimmie Johnson can proclaim justifiably ‘The Boys are Back in Town.’

But for five other Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers, all of whom finished 30th or worse in the rain-delayed Bank of America 500, the race ended in a medley of dire straits.

Taking the lead from Matt Kenseth after a restart on lap 317 of 334, Johnson pulled away to win by 1.474 seconds over the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Johnson put his No. 48 Chevrolet in Victory Lane for the third time this season, the eighth time at Charlotte – the third since the repaving of the track in March 2006 – and the 78th time in his career. Continue reading →

NASCAR XFINITY Series, Drive for the Cure 300 at Charlotte Preview

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NASCAR XFINITY Series drivers will race 300 miles over 200 laps in the Drive for the Cure 300 on Sunday, October 9th. NBC Sports Network coverage begins at 4 pm ET (or immediately after the Sprint Cup race – whichever comes first) with radio coverage on PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

What to Watch For: Daniel Suarez (6.6) and Elliott Sadler (8.9) – both of whom have advanced to the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase Round of 8 via victories – lead all championship contenders in average finish at 1.5-mile tracks this year.

The Chase bubble is packed with ten drivers within 17 points of elimination. Here’s where the drivers who haven’t clinched berths in the Round of 8 stand: Justin Allgaier (17 points ahead of Ty Dillon on the cutoff line), Brendan Gaughan (+14), Ryan Reed (+11), Darrell Wallace Jr. (+10), Blake Koch (+4), Brennan Poole (+3), Dillon (-3 points below Brennan Poole on the cutoff line), Erik Jones (-4), Ryan Sieg (-10) and Brandon Jones (-18). Continue reading →