Daily Archives: November 19, 2016

Inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase Culminates in Miami

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For the first time in the NASCAR XFINITY Series’ 34-year existence, the title will be decided at the culmination of the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase, a four round elimination-style playoff that will name the series’ 27th different champion in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The first of the Championship 4 drivers to cross the finish line at Homestead will become the 2016 series driver champion. Elliott Sadler, Daniel Suárez, Erik Jones and Justin Allgaier are the Championship 4 and have competed all season for the chance at the title in the Ford EcoBoost 300 on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 2 pm ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.   Continue reading →

Johnny Sauter Claims NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Title; William Byron Gets Record Seventh Win

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Johnny Sauter won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship with a third-place finish in Friday night’s Ford EcoBoost 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, leaving race winner William Byron to consider what might have been.

As Byron and Tyler Reddick battled for the lead, Sauter passed Championship 4 contender Matt Crafton for third-place on lap 119 of 134 at the 1.5-mile track. Sauter then pulled away to claim the championship as Crafton faded to seventh in the closing laps.

Byron, the polesitter, claimed his rookie-record seventh victory of the season to salve the wound of last week at Phoenix, where a blown engine late in the final Round of 6 race knocked him out of the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase. Continue reading →

Championship 4 Drivers are Tightly Bunched at Homestead; Harvick Wins Pole

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Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John's Chevrolet, drives during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2016 in Homestead, Florida. Photo - Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, drives during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2016 in Homestead, Florida. Photo – Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

Jimmie Johnson’s rueful rhetorical question told the story of Friday’s knockout qualifying session at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“What’s a championship race without a little drama?” Johnson asked after earning the 14th starting position during a session fraught with difficulty for the No. 48 team.

Kevin Harvick, who was eliminated from the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup last Sunday at Phoenix, won the pole for Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 Championship 4 race on NBC at 2:30 pm ET, touring the 1.5-mile track in 30.399 seconds (177.637 mph) during the money round. Continue reading →

Stewart Says Goodbye with Wry Humor and Little Fanfare—the Way he Likes It

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HOMESTEAD, FL - NOVEMBER 18: Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Always a Racer/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, speaks with the media during a press conference prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2016 in Homestead, Florida. Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

HOMESTEAD, FL – NOVEMBER 18: Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Always a Racer/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, speaks with the media during a press conference prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2016 in Homestead, Florida. Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

Most people probably think the next chapter in Tony Stewart’s life begins on Sunday night, after he races his final laps in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

But from Stewart’s perspective, the next phase of his life starts on Saturday, a day before Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 at 2:30 pm on NBC, his final race in NASCAR’s premier division.

Saturday is when he gets a new cell phone to replace the one stolen on Thursday night.

Someone presumed to be a pickpocket bumped into Stewart when he and his girlfriend stopped at a carnival on the way from Miami Beach to Homestead and pilfered the cell phone from the driver’s pocket. Continue reading →