Daily Archives: October 22, 2016

Grant Enfinger Scores First Truck Series Win; Chase Feld is Cut to Six

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Grant Enfinger is our guest on Fan4Racing NASCAR & Race Talk on Monday, October 24, 2016 at 9 pm ET. Call 929-477-1790 or tweet @Fan4RacingSite or @Sal_Sigala with any questions or comments during our LIVE broadcast.

In the race that decided the lineup for the Round of 6 in the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase, Alabama native Grant Enfinger stole the thunder from the playoff drivers in Saturday’s Fred’s 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.

With a strong push from GMS Racing teammate and Chase driver Ben Kennedy after a restart on lap 93 of 94, Enfinger surged to the front and stayed there in the face of a last-lap challenger from another teammate, Spencer Gallagher, who came home second, 0.108 seconds behind the winner.

The victory was Enfinger’s first in 13 career starts in the series. Continue reading →

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, fred’s 250 at Talladega Preview

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NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams return to action on Saturday, October 22, 2016 for 94 laps covering 250.04 miles in the fred’s 250 powered by Coca-Cola at Talladega Superspeedway. Television coverage is on FOX at 12:30 pm ET with radio coverage also available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

What to Watch For: Timothy Peters goes for his third straight win at Talladega.

Timothy Peters (2014, 2015), Johnny Sauter (2013) and Parker Kligerman (2012) are the only drivers in the field who have won at Talladega.

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase field cuts down from eight to six following Saturday’s fred’s 250. Continue reading →

Chase Elliott Eyes Victory Lane as a Cure for Chase Deficit

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Chase Elliott, driver of the #24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hellmann's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 21, 2016 in Talladega, Alabama. Photo - Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Chase Elliott, driver of the #24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 21, 2016 in Talladega, Alabama. Photo – Patrick Smith/Getty Images

In a sense, Chase Elliott comes to Talladega Superspeedway with the greatest amount of freedom, simply because he has the largest challenge to overcome and the narrowest path to do so.

After unfortunate results at Charlotte and Kansas, the Sunoco Rookie of the Year points leader is 12th in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings, 25 points behind Joey Logano and Austin Dillon, who are tied for eighth.

After the Hellman’s 500 on Sunday at 2 pm ET on NBCSN, the Chase field will be cut from 12 drivers to eight, and Elliott likely must win in order to advance. Continue reading →

Roles are Different this Year for Penske Teammates

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Photo - Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Last year, Joey Logano did all he could at Talladega Superspeedway to help Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski advance to the Chase’s Round of 8.

Then again, last year Logano was in a position to do so, given that he had won the first two races in the Round of 12. And with his help, Keselowski advanced to the penultimate round with a fourth-place finish.

But in the Hellman’s 500 on Sunday, both Logano and Keselowski will be fighting for their Chase lives. Heading into the Round of 12 cutoff race, Logano is tied for eighth, the final transfer position. After wrecking out of last Sunday’s Kansas race in 38th place, Keselowski is 11th in the Chase standings, seven points behind Logano and Austin Dillon. Continue reading →

TOYOTA 1000th NASCAR National Series Race By-The-Numbers

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HOMESTEAD, FL - NOVEMBER 22: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Crispy Toyota, celebrates winning the series championship and the race with a burnout after the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 22, 2015 in Homestead, Florida. Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

HOMESTEAD, FL – NOVEMBER 22: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Crispy Toyota, celebrates winning the series championship and the race with a burnout after the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 22, 2015 in Homestead, Florida. Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

The Hellmann’s 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race is the 1000th national series race for Toyota.
Here’s a By The Numbers look at the manufacturer’s presence in NASCAR. All stats are as of races prior to this weekend at Talladega.

1 – Number of Toyota driver championships in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (Kyle Busch, 2015) and the NASCAR XFINITY Series (Kyle Busch, 2009).

4 – Number of car owner titles Toyota has won in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (Joe Gibbs: 2008, ’09,’10 and ’12). 

6 – Number of driver titles Toyota has won in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (Todd Bodine, 2006 and 2010; Johnny Benson, 2008; Matt Crafton, 2013-2014; and Erik Jones 2015). Continue reading →