Daily Archives: November 6, 2016

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, AAA Texas 500 at Texas Preview

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams are racing 334 laps over 501 miles in the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, November 6th at 2 pm ET. Television coverage is on NBC with radio coverage available on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

 

What to Watch For: Jimmie Johnson goes for his fifth straight fall win at Texas as he attempts to tie NASCAR Hall of Famers Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty with a record seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

Drivers try to move into the top-four of a Chase Grid led by Johnson (clinched berth in Championship 4 with win at Martinsville), followed by Denny Hamlin (six points above Joey Logano on the cutoff line), Matt Kenseth (+6), Kyle Busch (+4), Joey Logano (-4), Kevin Harvick (-16), Kurt Busch (-18) and Carl Edwards (-32). Continue reading →

Michael Annett and Pilot Flying J to Join JR Motorsports in 2017

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Michael Annett, driver of the #46 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 5, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo - Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Michael Annett, driver of the #46 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 5, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo – Jerry Markland/Getty Images


JRM Expanding Lineup to Four Full-Time Teams in NXS Competition

JR Motorsports will expand its NASCAR XFINITY Series program to four full-time teams in 2017, as the Dale Earnhardt Jr.-owned company has signed a multi-year agreement with driver Michael Annett and Pilot Flying J, the largest operator of travel centers and travel plazas in North America.  Annett will compete full-time for an NXS championship with JRM’s No. 5 Pilot Flying J entry next year.
A native of Des Moines, Iowa, Annett will join a 2017 JRM roster that already includes full-season drivers Elliott Sadler, Justin Allgaier, and rookie William Byron.  JR Motorsports will run a fifth car, the No. 88 entry, in select races with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne.

Continue reading →

Matt Tifft 2017 XFINITY Series Program Confirmed with Joe Gibbs Racing

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Matt Tifft, driver of the #11 Waste Connections Inc/BrainGear Toyota, stands on the grid during Salute to Veterans Qualifying Fueled by Texas Lottery for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Striping Technology 350 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 4, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo - Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Matt Tifft, driver of the #11 Waste Connections Inc/BrainGear Toyota, stands on the grid during Salute to Veterans Qualifying Fueled by Texas Lottery for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Striping Technology 350 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 4, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo – Jerry Markland/Getty Images

NASCAR NEXT Class Participant Overcomes Health Trials to Earn Full-Season Opportunity

JGR Introduces Matt Beckman as 2017 XFINITY Series Crew Chief

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) announces today Ohio-native Matt Tifft will pilot a Toyota Camry full-time in 2017, across all 33 races of the NASCAR XFINITY Series. The 20-year old rookie, a part-time driver currently in the Joe Gibbs Racing stable, who accomplished his first top-five result and first pole-qualifying run in only nine races in 2016, has now earned a larger opportunity to compete in NASCAR’s XFINIY series, appropriately themed “Names are Made Here.”

Tifft has run a limited schedule in both the XFINITY Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series over the last three seasons, making a combined 31-career starts. In these early stages of his career Tifft has recorded one top-five and eight top-ten finishing spots in the Camping World Tuck Series and one top-five, five top-ten finishes and a pole-qualifying position in the XFINITY Series. Tifft has also recorded time in NASCAR’s K&N Pro West, K&N Pro East and ARCA Series and the X-1R Pro Cup Series. Continue reading →

Ryan Reed Remains within Striking Distance in XFINITY Series Chase after Texas

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Ryan Reed, driver of the #16 Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association Ford, stands on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR XFINITY Series O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on November 5, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo - Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Ryan Reed, driver of the #16 Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association Ford, stands on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on November 5, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Ryan Reed and the No. 16 Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association team earned a top-15 finish on Saturday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway, crossing the finish line in 12th.  The finish keeps Reed within striking distance in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) Chase approaching next weekend’s cutoff race at Phoenix International Raceway.

After two practice sessions on Friday, the NXS set the starting lineup with a three-round qualifying session on Saturday morning.  Reed made it past the first round of qualifying, but with just a handful of seconds left in the second round was bumped from the top-12 and ultimately earned a 13th-place starting position. Continue reading →

Larson Holds Off Keselowski for NASCAR XFINITY Series Win at Texas

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Grabbing the lead after a restart on lap 171 of 200, Kyle Larson moved to the top of the track just in time to hold off polesitter Brad Keselowski for the victory in Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway.

In a race that saw Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez open some breathing room in the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase with respective fourth- and fifth-place finishes, Larson got a push from sixth-place finisher Elliott Sadler on the decisive restart and kept Keselowski behind him for the final 30 laps.

Despite brushing the outside wall in turn one with eight laps left, Larson’s No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet got to the finish line .385 seconds ahead of Keselowski’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford, as the winner worked traffic over the closing five laps. Continue reading →