Ty Dillon Piloting Germain Racing’s No. 13 Entry in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Ty Dillon, driver of the #3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, climbs into his car during qualifying for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19, 2016 in Homestead, Florida. Photo - Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Ty Dillon, driver of the #3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, climbs into his car during qualifying for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19, 2016 in Homestead, Florida. Photo – Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Beginning in 2017, Ty Dillon will take over full-time driving duties of the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Germain Racing. Dillon follows Casey Mears, a seasoned veteran who, over the last six years, has helped build Germain Racing’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series program into a viable organization that has garnered the respect and attention of NASCAR’s elite.
The 24-year old Dillon has made 17 starts in the Sprint Cup Series for several different teams, including Circle Sport/Leavine Family Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing. He scored a career-best sixth-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway in May 2016 while serving as a relief driver for Tony Stewart.

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Competition Between Manufacturers Extends to the Showroom

HOMESTEAD, FL - NOVEMBER 19: (L-R) U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, Jim Campbell, Director of Ford Performance Dave Pericak and Toyota Vice President of Marketing and Media, Incentives & Motorsports Edward Laukes speak with the media at a press conference during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19, 2016 in Homestead, Florida. Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

HOMESTEAD, FL – NOVEMBER 19: (L-R) U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, Jim Campbell, Director of Ford Performance Dave Pericak and Toyota Vice President of Marketing and Media, Incentives & Motorsports Edward Laukes speak with the media at a press conference during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19, 2016 in Homestead, Florida. Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

Competition between NASCAR manufacturers isn’t confined to the race track. In a press conference featuring executives from Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota, Ed Laukes of Toyota couldn’t pass up an opportunity to needle Chevy’s Jim Campbell.

“Let me apologize for those 16 Monday mornings,” Laukes quipped, referring to Toyota’s 16 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories this season.

“Let me apologize for last night,” retorted Campbell, referring to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship Chevrolet driver Johnny Sauter won on Friday.

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Championship 4 Drivers are Tightly Bunched at Homestead; Harvick Wins Pole

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John's Chevrolet, drives during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2016 in Homestead, Florida. Photo - Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, drives during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2016 in Homestead, Florida. Photo – Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

Jimmie Johnson’s rueful rhetorical question told the story of Friday’s knockout qualifying session at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“What’s a championship race without a little drama?” Johnson asked after earning the 14th starting position during a session fraught with difficulty for the No. 48 team.

Kevin Harvick, who was eliminated from the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup last Sunday at Phoenix, won the pole for Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 Championship 4 race on NBC at 2:30 pm ET, touring the 1.5-mile track in 30.399 seconds (177.637 mph) during the money round. Continue reading

Stewart Says Goodbye with Wry Humor and Little Fanfare—the Way he Likes It

HOMESTEAD, FL - NOVEMBER 18:  Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Always a Racer/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, speaks with the media during a press conference prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2016 in Homestead, Florida.  Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

HOMESTEAD, FL – NOVEMBER 18: Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Always a Racer/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, speaks with the media during a press conference prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2016 in Homestead, Florida. Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

Most people probably think the next chapter in Tony Stewart’s life begins on Sunday night, after he races his final laps in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

But from Stewart’s perspective, the next phase of his life starts on Saturday, a day before Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 at 2:30 pm on NBC, his final race in NASCAR’s premier division.

Saturday is when he gets a new cell phone to replace the one stolen on Thursday night.

Someone presumed to be a pickpocket bumped into Stewart when he and his girlfriend stopped at a carnival on the way from Miami Beach to Homestead and pilfered the cell phone from the driver’s pocket. Continue reading

Kevin Harvick’s Chase Streak Ends at Phoenix

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John's Chevrolet, walks on stage during driver introductions prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Can-Am 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 13, 2016 in Avondale, Arizona. Photo - Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, walks on stage during driver introductions prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Can-Am 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 13, 2016 in Avondale, Arizona. Photo – Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

Kevin Harvick’s hopes of a second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title ended with a fourth-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway.

For the first time since NASCAR introduced its 16-driver elimination Chase format in 2014, Harvick won’t be racing for a championship in the season finale.

The performance of Harvick’s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet was far from optimal during the weekend of the Can-Am 500 elimination event at the Arizona track. Continue reading