Wisconsin Native Paul Menard Wins in Nail-biting Road America Finish

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The decision to compete in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR XFINITY Series sixth annual Road America 180 Fired Up by Johnsonville at Road America (WI) paid off in a huge way for Paul Menard who scored his third career XFINITY victory at his hometown track.

Menard, a native of Eau Claire, Wis. started eighth and saw a decision to stay out after pitting on lap 24 work to his advantage as he edged out a relentless Ryan Blaney by 0.573 seconds at the 14-turn road course. After the contest, Menard said had the race extended a lap further, he would not have collected his first XFINITY win since Michigan International Speedway last June. Continue reading

Brendan Gaughan is Aiming to Make History with Back-to-Back Victories at Road America

Photo - Courtesy of Road America
Photo – Courtesy of Road America

Will Brendan Gaughan defy the history of five different winners in five races at Road America this weekend to become first NASCAR XFINITY Series driver with back-to-back wins?

There is plenty of evidence that says Gaughan’s chances of winning the Road America 180 Fired Up by Johnsonville are in his favor with the state of Wisconsin becoming his ‘happy place.’

As the 2014 defending winner, Gaughan has some impressive victories in the state, making him the envy of the series drivers racing at Road America this weekend. Gaughan has victories at three major venues in Wisconsin with different configurations between the tracks making those wins an amazing accomplishment.
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NASCAR XFINITY Series Road America 180 Fired Up by Johnsonville Preview

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NASCAR XFINITY Series

Next Race: Road America 180 Fired Up by Johnsonville

The Place: Road America

The Date: Saturday, Aug. 29

The Time: 3 p.m. (ET)

TV: NBCSN, 2:30 p.m. (ET)

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90

Distance: 182.16 miles (45 laps)

 

Points Tighten as Dillon Capitalizes on Buescher’s Fuel Mileage Mistake at Bristol

When Chris Buescher’s Roush Fenway Racing Ford faltered on the front row of the green-white-checkered restart last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, the points leader faded to an 11th-place finish, as championship contender Ty Dillon motored to a third-place showing, closing the standings lead gap between first and second to 19 points.

Buescher was visibly upset about finishing outside the top-ten; his sixth in the last eight races. Continue reading

NASCAR XFINITY Series Food City 300 at Bristol Preview

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NASCAR XFINITY Series

Next Race: Food City 300

The Place: Bristol Motor Speedway

The Date: Friday, Aug. 21

The Time: 7:30 p.m. (ET)

TV: NBCSN, 7 p.m. (ET)

Radio: PRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90

Distance: 159.9 miles (300 laps)

 

Dash 4 Cash Round 3: Smith’s Million Dollar Chance

The third round of the NASCAR XFINITY Series Dash 4 Cash program rolls into Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 300 on August 21. Regan Smith, Daniel Suarez, Elliott Sadler and Ryan Blaney will compete for a $100,000 cash bonus this weekend. Smith, the winner of the first two rounds of the 2015 Dash 4 Cash program, can still win an extra $600,000 bonus at the end of the season. Smith will need to win this third round at Bristol for $100,000 and then win the Darlington race outright to claim another $100,000, which will then award him an extra $600,000 – bringing his total cash bonus winnings to $1 million dollars. Continue reading

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 Preview

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Next Race: Pure Michigan 400

The Place: Michigan International Speedway

The Date: Sunday, Aug. 16

The Time: 2:30 p.m. (ET)

TV: NBCSN, 2 p.m. (ET)

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90

Distance: 400 miles (200 laps)

‘Top-30 for No. 18’: A Kyle Busch Production

A mere 11 races after returning from a broken leg and foot suffered in February, Kyle Busch has cracked the top-30 in the point standings and is now eligible for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Busch will qualify for NASCAR’s playoffs if he can stay in the top-30 at the end of next month’s Richmond race.

Busch currently mans the 30th spot in the driver standings, six points ahead of 31st-place Cole Whitt and one point behind 29th-place Justin Allgaier.

The No. 18 Toyota driver started off slow with just one top-ten finish in his first four races back (Pocono), but has been on an absolute tear since, winning four of the last seven races along with a runner-up.

Over the last seven races Busch has dominated most of the statistical categories, leading the series in wins (4), driver rating (116.3), laps led (317) and points (283). No other driver has multiple wins during the span. Brad Keselowski’s 209 laps led marks the next-best total, while Kevin Harvick’s 107.5 driver rating is the second highest. The 283 points are 22 more than Joey Logano’s second-best total (261).

Busch’s run of wins has overshadowed the consistency of some other drivers in the Sprint Cup Series. Harvick and Joey Logano rank tied with Busch with five top-five finishes over the seven-race span.

Furthermore, Harvick and Kurt Busch lead with six top-tens each in the last seven races compared to Busch’s five. Keselowski, Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth also claim five top-tens. Continue reading