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

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.

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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

NASCAR XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Preview

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NASCAR XFINITY Series teams are racing 300 miles over 200 laps in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, November 5th at 3:30 pm ET. Television coverage is on NBC with radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

 

What to Watch For: Texas marks the penultimate race of the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase Round of 8. Elliott Sadler (12 points above Erik Jones on the cutoff line) leads the Chase Grid, followed by Daniel Suarez (+12), Blake Koch (+5), Justin Allgaier (0, currently holds tiebreaker over Erik Jones), Erik Jones (0), Ryan Reed (-2), Brendan Gaughan (-17) and Darrell Wallace Jr. (-18).

The Round of 8 drivers’ career average finishes at Texas: Erik Jones (2.3), Elliott Sadler (12.1), Justin Allgaier (12.5), Daniel Suarez (13.3), Darrell Wallace Jr. (13.3), Ryan Reed (16.2), Brendan Gaughan (19.4) and Blake Koch (31.5). Jones is the lone Chase contender who has won at Texas Motor Speedway (2015). Continue reading

NBCSN and NASCAR Productions Present ‘NASCAR Seasons: 2001’ Sunday at 6:30 pm ET

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60-minute Original Documentary Chronicles the Dramatic, Tragic and Uplifting Chapters that Marked the 2001 NASCAR Season

Immediately following this Sunday’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage at Martinsville Speedway, NBCSN presents “NASCAR Seasons: 2001,” a new, 60-minute documentary that chronicles a NASCAR season and a year that will never be forgotten. Unfolding through Dale Earnhardt’s tragic death at the 2001 Daytona 500, the enormous outpouring of emotions that followed, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s stirring victory at the July Daytona race, “NASCAR Seasons: 2001” also covers the sport’s passionate reaction to the tragic events of the September 11th attacks. Continue reading

Kyle Busch Wins at Kansas as XFINITY Chasers have Issues

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Kyle Busch’s domination of Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway was about the only predictable thing that happened in the first race of the Round of 8 in the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase.

In winning his fourth XFINITY race at the 1.5-mile track, his ninth of the season and the 85th of his career—extending his own series record—Busch led 150 of 200 laps, passing Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Daniel Suarez after a restart with 13 circuits remaining.

“It was a hard-fought battle,” said Busch, who had surged to a lead of 7.961 seconds before the first caution slowed the field on lap 57. “Seemed like it was going to be easy for us. We had a super-fast car, and when we were out front, I could take it easy on those long runs and we could drive away.

“The car would turn so well. A lot of things were trying to work against us at the end of the race. We were able to persevere and do the right things and have lucky restarts and be in the right grooves and not get caught up in the mêlée that was happening.”

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