Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service

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Suarez Dominates at Dover to Advance in XFINITY Chase

NASCAR Track News Xfinity Series

With a dominant car that opened leads of more than six seconds after the final restart on lap 152 of 200, Daniel Suárez won Sunday’s rain-delayed Drive Sober 200 at Dover International Speedway and earned a spot in the Round of 8 in the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase.

The Mexican-born driver grabbed the top spot from eventual third-place finisher Justin Allgaier on lap 155 and quickly pulled away. Ty Dillon passed Allgaier for the runner-up spot in the closing laps but finished 5.625 seconds behind Suárez, who won for the first time at Dover and the second time this season. Continue reading →

XFINITY Race Rainout Means Sunday Doubleheader at Dover

NASCAR NASCAR Wire Service Track News Xfinity Series
DOVER, DE - OCTOBER 01: Cars are seen parked on pit road after the NASCAR XFINITY Series Drive Sober 200 was postponed due to weather at Dover International Speedway on October 1, 2016 in Dover, Delaware. Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
DOVER, DE – OCTOBER 01: Cars are seen parked on pit road after the NASCAR XFINITY Series Drive Sober 200 was postponed due to weather at Dover International Speedway on October 1, 2016 in Dover, Delaware. Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Rain forced postponement of Saturday’s Drive Sober 200 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Dover International Speedway and put several Chase for the Sprint Cup drivers on the horns of a dilemma.

NASCAR will run a doubleheader on Sunday, with the XFINITY Series event rescheduled for 10 am ET (on CNBC), with the Citizen Soldier 400 Sprint Cup race, scheduled for 2 pm ET (NBCSN), to follow. Fans with tickets to either race will be admitted for both. Tickets are available at NASCAR.com/tickets. Continue reading →

Johnson Encouraged by Progress of Earnhardt’s Recovery

NASCAR NASCAR Wire Service Sprint Cup Series Track News
Photo - Getty Images
Photo – Getty Images

Most race car drivers would rather wreck than watch someone else drive their cars.

From that perspective, Jimmie Johnson can understand why Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. hasn’t been frequenting NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race tracks as he spends the rest of the season recovering from a concussion.

Yes, Earnhardt made a brief appearance at Watkins Glen in August, and he participated in a longer press conference at Darlington a month later. But Sunday will be the first time Earnhardt will stay for a Sprint Cup race. Continue reading →

In One Sense, the Pressure’s Off Chris Buescher at Dover

NASCAR NASCAR Wire Service Sprint Cup Series Track News Xfinity Series
DOVER, DE - SEPTEMBER 30: Chris Buescher, driver of the #34 CSX - Play it Safe Ford, speaks with the media prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Citizen Solider 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 30, 2016 in Dover, Delaware. Photo by Sean Gardner/NASCAR via Getty Images
DOVER, DE – SEPTEMBER 30: Chris Buescher, driver of the #34 CSX – Play it Safe Ford, speaks with the media prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Citizen Solider 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 30, 2016 in Dover, Delaware. Photo by Sean Gardner/NASCAR via Getty Images

When racing pundits were making their Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup predictions at the start of the 2016 season, it’s doubtful that Chris Buescher made anyone’s top-16.

Nevertheless, Buescher defied the odds and qualified for the Chase on the strength of an unlikely victory in the rain-shortened Aug. 1 race at Pocono.

But the opening two events of the playoff didn’t go the way the driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford would have liked. Buescher finished 28th at Chicagoland and 30th at New Hampshire to fall into last place in the Chase standings, 30 points below the cut line. Continue reading →