Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover Preview

Aside

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams are preparing for the AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover International Speedway on Sunday, June 4th at 1 pm ET. Pre-Race coverage starts at 12:30 pm ET on FOX Sports 1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

In 400 laps, teams will race 400 miles with Stage 1 ending on lap 120, Stage 2 ending on lap 240 and lap 400 ending the last stage of the event.  Continue reading

Fords are Fast in Saturday Morning’s First Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Practice

Ryan Blaney, driver of the #21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 25, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Photo – Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

Ryan Blaney topped the speed chart in Saturday morning’s first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a best lap at 188.055 mph, but Blaney’s No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford wasn’t the only fast Fusion in the session.

The Fords from the much-improved Roush Fenway Racing stable appear poised to mount a challenge in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR’s longest race. Trevor Bayne (186.239 mph) was fifth fastest on Saturday morning, with teammate and recent Talladega winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. close behind at 186.207 mph.

“We unloaded pretty good today, but we know that off-the-truck speed isn’t what matters,” Bayne said. “It’s being able to go on the long runs as the day gets hotter and the track slicks up. I actually felt like we held on to our speed pretty well at the end of practice, so I think both of us have made huge gains.

“I need to give a big shout out to these guys for working their butts off this last week after (last Saturday’s) All-Star Race, when we didn’t have the performance that we wanted. They’ve dialed our cars in a lot.”

Drive for Diversity Pit Crew Combine Set for Friday

Photo – Getty Images

Athleticism is a given for participants in the NASCAR Drive for Diversity National Pit Crew Combine, which takes place on Friday at the sanctioning body’s research-and-development center in Concord, N.C.

After all, each of the 17 aspirants has a strong background in a sport other than racing. And the 13 men and four women have already been through tryouts at six universities: Alcorn State, Arizona State, Bethune-Cookman, Norfolk State, San Diego State and Virginia State. Continue reading

College Athletes Descend on Charlotte

Aside

Photo – Courtesy of Rev Racing

NASCAR Drive for Diversity National Pit Crew Combine Presented by Goodyear

Aspiring Pit Crew Members to Compete for Spots with Rev Racing Development Program

A select group of former college football, basketball, softball, and track and field athletes from across the country will put their pit crew skills to the test in the second annual NASCAR Drive for Diversity National Pit Crew Combine presented by Goodyear on Friday, May 26. Continue reading

Ryan Blaney Wins First Career Pole by a Whisker

Ryan Blaney, driver of the #21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, signs a backdrop during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 12, 2017 in Kansas City, Kansas. Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Improving in each round of knockout qualifying in relation to other cars, Ryan Blaney won the pole for Saturday night’s Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1), claiming his first career pole by a mere 0.009 seconds over Joey Logano.

During a Friday qualifying session in which 11 cars failed to make it to the grid because of inspection issues, Blaney toured the 1.5-mile speedway in 28.481 seconds (189.600 mph) in the final round to earn the first Coors Light Pole Award for the No. 21 Woods Brothers Ford since Ricky Rudd earned the top starting spot at Talladega in April 2004. Continue reading