Erik Jones Wins at Chicagoland, Enters NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase as Top Seed

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Kyle Busch opened the door, and that was all the invitation Erik Jones needed.

When Busch, the polesitter for Saturday’s The Drive for Safety 300 at Chicagoland Speedway, spun with a tire down while leading on Lap 182 of 200, Jones took full advantage of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate’s misfortune.

The driver of the No. 20 JGR Toyota restarted sixth on Lap 187 after Busch brought out the eighth caution of the afternoon and quickly closed the gap on Elliott Sadler, who restarted second and grabbed the lead from JR Motorsports teammate Clint Bowyer, who had stayed out on old tires. Continue reading

NASCAR XFINITY Series Drive for Safety 300 at Chicagoland Speedway Preview

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321227 NASCAR XFINITY Series drivers will race 300 miles in 200 laps in the Drive for Safety 300 at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday, September 17th. This is their final race before the inaugural Chase for the XFINITY Series title begins. Television coverage begins at 2:30 pm ET on NBC, with a green flag around 3 pm ET. Radio coverage is on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.  Continue reading

Kyle Busch Returns to Form with Dominating NASCAR XFINITY Win at Richmond

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With one ferociously fast pit stop, Kyle Busch erased a lackluster qualifying effort and cruised to victory in Friday night’s Virginia529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Raceway.

A master at getting on and off pit road in minimal time, Busch entered the pits in fourth place under the first caution of the race after a tap from J.J. Yeley sent Justin Marks spinning into the frontstretch grass on lap 48. Continue reading

Elliott Sadler Motivated by Absence of Team Owner

Photo - Jonathan Moore/Getty Images

Photo – Jonathan Moore/Getty Images

NASCAR XFINITY Series points leader Elliott Sadler is using the absence of his JR Motorsports team owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., as a source of inspiration and motivation in his quest for a first championship.

“We’ve kind of been racing for him these last couple weeks … a month or so,” said Sadler, who leads the XFINITY standings by 47 points over second-place Daniel Suarez. “We kind of know what our boss is going through. We talk about it on our race team at the race track some. When you watch practice on TV, or the watch the (Sprint Cup) race on Sunday, and he’s not in the race car, it affects us.

“We want the best for him. He’s given all of us a great opportunity. We want him to enjoy the same fun, the same competitive spirit that we’re having week-in and week-out. So we definitely talk about it as a team and wish him nothing but the best coming back. And it definitely gives us some incentive to finish on a high note, now that he’s out of the car.”

Sadler is locked into the inaugural XFINITY Chase, and the veteran driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet got more recent good news—his primary sponsor, OneMain Financial, will return for another season on the car in 2017.

Sadler Holds Off Hamlin for Emotional XFINITY Win at Darlington

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Elliott Sadler had a passenger for Saturday’s VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway—in spirit at least.

After a breathtaking battle against Denny Hamlin over the closing laps, Sadler crossed the finish-line 0.454 seconds ahead of Hamlin to win for the first time at the Lady in Black—and immediately dedicated the victory to JR Motorsports team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., who announced on Friday he would sit out the remainder of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup season because of a concussion. Continue reading