NASCAR XFINITY Series
Next Race: VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300
The Place: Kentucky Speedway
The Date: Saturday, Sept. 26
The Time: 8 p.m. (ET)
TV: NBCSN, 7:30 p.m. (ET)
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90
Distance: 300 miles (200 laps)
Pressure Mounts to Keep Standings Lead for Chris Buescher
With just seven races left on the schedule, the pressure to stay consistent with solid finishes is mounting for standings leader Chris Buescher as the NASCAR XFINITY Series heads to Kentucky Speedway for the final standalone race of the season – Saturday’s VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300.
“It is going to be a tough race to the end of the season, but we feel really good about where we are at,” Chris Buescher said.
Buescher holds a 25-point lead over second-place Ty Dillon and a 28-point lead over third-place Chase Elliott following his 16th top-ten finish of the season last weekend at Chicago. Over the last ten races, dating back to the 17th race of the season at New Hampshire, Buescher has held an average points lead of 23.4 over second place in standings.
Buescher’s 2015 season is the best of his NASCAR career; in 26 starts he has posted two wins (Iowa and Dover), 11 top-fives (series-most) and 16 top-tens. His average finish this season is 8.230 – the best among championship contenders.
Buescher has made three starts at Kentucky Speedway posting a best finish of tenth in this event last season. He started 15th and finished 11th at Kentucky earlier this season.
Roush Fenway Racing has four drivers that could finish the season in the top-ten in points; they are now ranked first (Buescher), fifth (Elliott Sadler), sixth (Darrell Wallace Jr.) and tenth (Ryan Reed).
Seven to Go: Dillon and Elliott Need to Win
Time is running out for aspiring 2015 XFINITY Series title hunters, Ty Dillon and Chase Elliott, as the season nears its conclusion. Just seven races remain in 2015 and with how consistent points leader Chris Buescher has been it looks as the only way Dillon and Elliott are going to catch him is win.
Only once in the last seven XFINITY Series seasons (2008 – 2014) has a driver not leading the points with seven races to go come back to take the lead in the standings and win the title – Austin Dillon, 2013. With seven races to go in 2013, Dillon was 15 points behind then points leader Sam Hornish Jr.; Dillon overcame the deficit to take standings lead with four races to go. He then held on to the points lead and won the title by three points.
Richard Childress Racing is looking for the organization’s fifth XFINITY Series driver championship this season with Ty Dillon now second in the series standings. RCR leads the series in wins at Kentucky with four, including Brendan Gaughan’s victory in this event last season. Dillon won the Coors Light Pole and finished third in this race in 2014. Dillon has made three starts at Kentucky, posting one top-five, two top-tens and an average finish of 8.3 – fourth best among championship contenders.
Chase Elliott has the chance to become just the sixth driver in series history to win back-to-back titles, much like his JR Motorsports owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. did in 1998-99, but Elliott is now third in the standings, 28 points Buescher with just seven races to go.
Elliott is on the rebound this weekend after slipping in the points to third following his 14th-place finish this past weekend at Chicago. This season Elliott has posted one win (Richmond), ten top-fives and a series leading 20 top-tens.
Elliott has made three starts at Kentucky, posting one top-five and an average finish of 9.7 – fifth best among championship contenders.
Gaughan Looks to Defend Last Season’s Kentucky Win
Brendan Gaughan rides back into the rolling grassy hills of Kentucky to defend his win at Kentucky Speedway and score his first victory of 2015 this weekend.
Richard Childress Racing’s Gaughan is having one of the best seasons of his career. In 26 starts this season, he has posted three top-fives and a career-best 12 top-tens. He is now ninth in points with an average finish of 13.5 with just seven races to go.
When it comes to Gaughan, Kentucky is more than lucky. In six starts at the 1.5-mile track, the Las Vegas native has posted one win (2014), four top-fives, six top-tens and a series-leading average finish of 4.5.
Double Duty: Erik Jones is Working Overtime
This Saturday will be one of the busiest of Erik Jones’ young career. Not only will he be competing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the afternoon, but then flying to Kentucky to compete in the XFINITY Series race for Joe Gibbs Racing that night.
Jones is one of the highest touted new drivers in the garage this season despite his limited series schedule. In 18 starts this season, he has two wins (Texas-1, Chicago-1), nine top-fives, 12 top-tens and an average finish of 10.6.
Jones will be strapped into the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54 Toyota this weekend; the same team that has won three of the last nine races, including last weekend at Chicago. Expect Jones to continue to the team’s recent momentum this weekend, in his lone start at Kentucky earlier this season Jones started seventh and finished second.
Sunoco Rookie Update: Suarez Still on Top But Wallace is Reeling Him In
The two Drive for Diversity alums, Daniel Suarez and Darrell Wallace Jr. continue to be the preeminent drivers of the 2015 Sunoco Rookie of the Year class after 26 races.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Suarez leads the Sunoco Rookie standings by 26 points over second-place Wallace Jr as the series heads to Kentucky Speedway this weekend.
Suarez has put the pedal to the floor the last 13 races of this season, posting eight top-tens during that stretch. Suarez made his series début at Kentucky earlier this season, driving from tenth to fourth and ultimately posting one of his six top-five finishes of 2015.
Wallace gained four points on Suarez in the rookie standings following his best finish of the season (third, Chicago-2) this past weekend. In 26 starts this season, Wallace has posted three top-fives, ten top-tens, one Coors Light pole and an average finish of 12.1.
Heading to Kentucky Speedway this weekend, a track Wallace has made but one start, expect him to build on his recent success. Wallace started eighth and finished seventh at the 1.5-mile speedway earlier this season.
Blaney Tapped to Complete the Team Penske Season Sweep of Kentucky
With the opportunity to sweep both races at a single track in the XFINITY Series only happening ten times in 2015 it comes as no surprise to see that Team Penske has tapped Kentucky Speedway winner Ryan Blaney to pilot the XFINITY Series car owner points leading No. 22 Ford this weekend.
The tracks the XFINITY Series visits twice during the season are Daytona, Phoenix, Texas, Bristol, Richmond, Iowa, Charlotte, Dover, Chicago and Kentucky. Of the ten, four have hosted the series twice thus far this season and only one has been swept – Chicago by Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 54 Toyota team: Erik Jones Chicago-1 and Kyle Busch Chicago-2.
Earlier this season Brad Keselowski wheeled the No. 22 Team Penske Ford to Victory Lane at Kentucky Speedway giving Blaney the chance to cap off the sweep this weekend.
Blaney has made ten series starts this season, posting one win (Iowa), six top-fives and seven top-tens. He has made four starts at Kentucky, posting one win (2013; series-career first win), two top-fives and three top-tens.
Last Standalone Gives Part-Time Drivers Time to Shine
When the XFINITY Series is not hosting an event in conjunction with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, it gives the chance to some aspiring full-time drivers to fill in for the Sprint Cup drivers. Shining in the spotlight are names that are not rolling off the tongues of the commentators each week. Below is a look at some of the part-time drivers competing this weekend at Kentucky.
Ben Rhodes (JR Motorsports, No. 88 Chevrolet), a Louisville, Kentucky native, will be making his eighth start of the season this weekend at Kentucky Speedway. In Rhodes’ previous seven starts, he has posted two top-tens and an average finish of 21.0. This will be Rhodes’ series début at Kentucky.
Brennan Poole (HScott Motorsport with Chip Ganassi, No. 42 Chevrolet) will be attempting to make his 15th start of the season this weekend. Poole has posted two top-tens and an average finish of 17.9 in his previous 14 starts this season. Poole competed at Kentucky in the XFINITY Series earlier this season; he started 17th and finished 12th.
Matt Tifft (Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 20 Toyota) will be making his XFINITY Series career début this weekend at Kentucky Speedway. Tifft has competed in the Camping World Truck Series on a part-time basis over the last two seasons. Prior to the Camping World Truck Series, Tifft cut his teeth in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West.
Brandon Jones (Richard Childress Racing, No. 33 Chevrolet) returns to pilot the No. 33 for the fifth time this season. Jones, 18, hails from Atlanta, Georgia and has made four starts already this season, posting one top-ten and an average finish of 17.5. This will be Jones series début at Kentucky and series début on a 1.5-mile speedway.
Ryan Truex (Biagi DenBeste Racing, No. 98 Ford), younger brother of Chase for the Sprint Cup Challenger Martin Truex Jr., will be making his second start of the 2015 season this weekend at Kentucky. Truex’s lone start this season was at Richmond two weeks ago. Unfortunately, he was caught in an accident and finished 31st. This weekend will be Truex’s series début at Kentucky.
Will We See a Sixth? First-Time Winners Happen at Kentucky
In the last 17 XFINITY Series races at Kentucky Speedway there have been five first-time series winners – Ryan Blaney (2013), Austin Dillon (2012), Joey Logano (2008), Stephen Leicht (2007) and David Gilliland (2006). That’s a first-time winner winning percentage of 29.4%; which begs the question will we see a sixth this weekend?
Twenty-six of the 41 drivers (63.4%) entered this weekend have yet to win a race in the XFINITY Series.
Only two former Kentucky winners are entered this weekend: Ryan Blaney and Brendan Gaughan.
Celebrity Spotlight: Three-time Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight titleholder Rich Franklin will lead the XFINITY Series field to the green September 26 for the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky Speedway.
“This is a first time experience for me in a pace vehicle and I’m really excited! I appreciate the Kentucky Speedway involving me and I’m ready to lead the field,” Franklin said.
Before competing in UFC for nearly 12 years, Franklin was a former high school math teacher in the Cincinnati, Ohio area.
NASCAR In Kentucky: The state of Kentucky has hosted a total of 49 NASCAR national series events (NSCS 6, NXS 20 and NCWTS 23) among three tracks (Kentucky Speedway, Corbin Speedway and Louisville Speedway). The first NASCAR national series event held in the state of Kentucky was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in 1954 in Corbin, Kentucky at Corbin Speedway (dirt track) – the race was won by Lee Petty (63.080 mph, 1:35:07, 08/29/54). The first XFINITY Series race held in the state of Kentucky was in 1988 in Louisville, Kentucky at Louisville Motor Speedway – the race was won by Tommy Ellis (63.217 mph, 1:11:18, 06/25/88). Of the 20 NXS races held in Kentucky, 18 of them have been at Kentucky Speedway. The first NXS race held at Kentucky Speedway was in 2001 and the event was won by two-time series champ Kevin Harvick (118.590 mph, 2:31:47, 06/16/2001).
Kentucky Drivers In NASCAR: 42 drivers that have their home state recorded as Kentucky have competed in a at least one NASCAR national series race. Of the 42 Kentucky drivers that have competed in NASCAR, 29 have competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and 14 have competed in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. Of the 14 that have competed in the NXS, only three have won in the series – Jeff Green (16 wins), Michael Waltrip (11 wins) and David Green (nine wins). David Green (1994) and Jeff Green (2000) are also former NASCAR XFINITY Series champions.