Brendan Gaughan is 200/1 to win 2020 Coke Zero Sugar 400

BRENDAN GAUGHAN Mixing a Cool Can of Confidence with Coke Zero Sugar

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 25, 2020) – In a racing career spanning three decades that intentionally began well off the beaten path in off-road before transitioning to the pavement bullrings of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and, ultimately, the gleaming showplaces of the NASCAR Cup Series, Brendan Gaughan has never lacked confidence. He has backed up his bravado by winning off-road races and championships and scoring 16 victories across multiple NASCAR touring series. And that Rolex on his wrist isn’t from a swanky retail location in his hometown of Las Vegas. It’s from a far more exclusive outlet – the top step of the podium at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway when Gaughan was part of a class-winning drive in the 2011 Rolex 24 sports-car race. Now a racing veteran at age 45, Gaughan carries the same confidence he did when he entered his first race – the 1991 Twilight 200 off-road race sanctioned by Southern Nevada Off-Road Enthusiasts – into his upcoming start in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona. Saturday night’s race will mark Gaughan’s fourth NASCAR Cup Series event of the season and his third on an oval. His most recent start came two weeks ago on the road course at Daytona, and his other two races took place on superspeedways – Feb. 17 in the Daytona 500 and June 22 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Gaughan drove his No. 62 Beard Oil Distributing/South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Camaro to an impressive seventh-place finish in the Daytona 500, tying his best career result at the 2.5-mile oval, first earned in the 2017 Coke Zero Sugar 400. “When we walk into Daytona, people want to work with us,” said Gaughan of his Beard Motorsports team. “I’ve got a big-thumping ECR motor and a good RCR-built Chevrolet. When we show up, people come and find us and say, ‘Hey, we’ll work with you. We know how good you are.’ It feels amazing, especially knowing what this team goes through to get a racecar on the track.” Confidence. It comes from going toe-to-toe with the Goliaths of the sport, and Gaughan takes pride in Beard Motorsports’ David-like effort. This throwback race team has proven it can hang with the multicar outfits whose “guys back at the shop” reach into the hundreds. Owned by Mark Beard Sr., president of Beard Motorsports and various family businesses, Beard Motorsports has taken a strategic approach to its racing endeavors, forming a technical partnership with Richard Childress Racing (RCR) and focusing on the superspeedway races at Daytona and Talladega. In a series dominated by multicar teams with hundreds of employees, Beard Motorsports does it with one full-time employee, crew chief Darren Shaw. Its one part-time employee, car chief Drew Mickey, is a fulltime, industrial plumber. And two of the crew members who come in on race weekends – one is a boat captain (Nic Hill) and the other is an automotive body technician (Jack Cagnon). There are three key ingredients to success at Daytona – a sleek racecar, a powerful engine, and confidence in one’s ability behind the steering wheel. Beard Motorsports emphatically checks each box. It doesn’t seek glitz and glamour, but it also doesn’t shy away from the spotlight. And when the lights shine bright Saturday night at Daytona, know that this perceived little team that could, instead, views itself as the team that can.

Brendan Gaughan, Driver of the No. 62 Beard Oil Distributing/South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Camaro for Beard Motorsports:

“Brendan Gaughan scores first career NASCAR Cup Series win in Coke Zero Sugar 400,” is that a headline that can happen? “The reason we show up is because that headline can happen, and that’s why the Beards show up with these racecars. The reason we work so hard to get ECR motors and pay the money to get the stuff we need to be good is to be able to get that headline. It would be a dream come true to get that headline and win my last two races. This is as good as any time for that to happen.” Beard Motorsports is literally a single-car team with one fulltime crew member going up against teams with an armada of cars and personnel. How are you able to position yourselves for victory amongst these Goliaths of NASCAR? “First, we have a lot of time to get one racecar prepared. It’s not like we’re trying to run every week back-to-back-to-back. Darren (Shaw, crew chief) has time in between races and, fortunately, we have a good relationship that goes back decades. Richard Childress has taken great care of me in the last 10 years of my career. He’s a great friend and the whole organization is filled with great friends. I’m very appreciative of the help they give to make us competitive. And ECR, Richie Gilmore and the guys there, they take great care of me when it comes to engines. It’s a lot about relationships. It’s a lot about history. How we’re able to do it is because of the relationships I’ve made over the years. Those guys do help and Darren works his tail off to make sure that car is perfect. I’ve never had a bolt come off or a tape measure roll out from under the seat or a wrench fall out of the car. I’ve gotten in that racecar every time and I could not tell you the difference between if an entire race team had prepared it or just Darren.” The season-opening Daytona 500 went really well, as you finished a strong seventh. Your second superspeedway race at Talladega, didn’t go as well, as you finished 21st. How were those two races different and how do they frame your expectations for Daytona? “Every time we show up, we have high expectations. We have great racecars. When you race at Daytona and Talladega, there’s always that risk. That’s the good and the bad of racing there. We’re coming back there with the same car that ran at Talladega and the Daytona 500.” Has the nature of superspeedway racing changed much from last year? “No, the only difference in this race is that it is the last race before the playoffs start. There will definitely be a greater intensity on those guys trying to get in. Look at the positions Jimmie Johnson, Erik Jones and William Byron are in. You know there’s going to be a major amount of intensity. Guys like a Michael McDowell or a Ty Dillon – this is their way to make the playoffs. So, I think you will see a lot more aggression, and a lot more intense racing, which could be good for us in the end because it could make for a few more cracked eggs early during stage ends. You’re going to see a lot more people going for it, and we’re going to be right up there in the mix. Out on the track, I could be your friend or I could be my own friend, but I could be a good guy to work with.” Restarts are obviously a big deal these days, as that is where you can gain a lot of track position in a very short amount of time. But what are restarts like at Daytona where the draft is still prevalent? Are you able to gain positions like you can at other, intermediate-style tracks? “Restarts at Daytona – the main thing is just what line is going to push better. It’s not going to be like the chaos of restarts at the places we’ve been seeing. Restarts this year have been absolutely, phenomenally insane watching as a NASCAR fan. But Daytona and Talladega, it’s all about that teamwork. It’s about two drivers that can hook up, give the hand signal and push each other. And then, who’s going to be the guy that dives to the inside or dives to the outside to make it three-wide? Restarts at Daytona and Talladega are a totally different animal, and with the intensity of the playoffs looming and those guys on the bubble, you’re going to see a lot more aggression on those restarts than normal.” Your schedule this year was specific – only the races at Daytona and Talladega – with the main goal to have fun. Amid the protocols for COVID-19 and with limited fans in attendance, is it still fun? “It’s definitely not as fun as it should be, and it’s kind of a bummer. This was supposed to be my last year of hanging with the guys that are taking care of me – Darren Shaw, the Beard family. Having the Beards at the racetrack and letting them enjoy the spoils of being NASCAR owners – let them enjoy what they’ve been working so hard to do. So, it’s kind of a bummer because that did get taken from a few of us. I still love the racing when I’m there, but it’s definitely not as much fun when I have to stay in the motorhome until 10 minutes before the race and then go out to pit lane. But I can still put a smile on Darren’s face and the Beard family’s faces, and still give them a good run, which will make all of us happy.” It was hot at the Daytona road course two weeks ago, and it will be hot again this weekend. How do you deal with the heat? “I went to Disney World the week before with my son and I called that my pregame so I could get used to the humidity. But heat has never been a big factor for me. It wasn’t at Daytona. Yes, it was hot at the road course and I’m not going to tell you that that red flag didn’t feel pretty good for all of us to get out and get a little refresher, but I’ve never had that be a problem mentally or physically, and it wasn’t at Daytona at the road course.” Prior to the Daytona road-course race, you returned to your roots and competed in the Vegas-to-Reno off-road race. How was it? “We were third in class and running in the top-15 overall after starting 38th when I made a mistake at race mile 360. We got stuck for about 30 minutes, but still got out and finished. I don’t know where we finished overall, but we finished fifth in class. I made one mistake and we went into a ditch. I couldn’t get out. Fortunately, we had a teammate that runs a different class that pulled up. We hooked a tow strap to it and he pulled us out and we were able to keep our day moving.”

Brendan Gaughan brings Daytona road course experience to track Sunday

BRENDAN GAUGHAN One More For The Road

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 10, 2020) – Trivia time! Of the 40 drivers entered in the Go Bowling 235 NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday on the road course at Daytona International Speedway, how many have raced on the twisting circuit that encompasses parts of the 2.5-mile oval? If you said only 10, go to the head of the class. Of those 10, how many have won on Daytona’s road course? Just one, and his name is Brendan Gaughan, driver of the No. 62 Beard Oil Distributing/South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Camaro for Beard Motorsports. Gaughan co-drove a Porsche GT3 with fellow pilots Andy Lally, Spencer Pumpelly, Wolf Henzler and Steven Bertheau to a class victory in the 2011 Rolex 24 at Daytona. It was Gaughan’s first visit to the Daytona road course, and in the twice-around-the-clock endurance race, he and his teammates beat the second-place team by a full lap. Gaughan competed in two more Rolex 24s, finishing third in 2016 in the Prototype Challenge class and 14th in 2018 in the Prototype division. That experience gives Gaughan a definitive advantage in the Go Bowling 235, as there is no practice or qualifying prior to the 65-lap race around the 14-turn, 3.57-mile road course. Thirty drivers will go into the race with zero time on the layout, allowing Gaughan to maximize his experience and put on a show. The 45-year-old racer from Las Vegas will start last in the 40-car field, as a result of his Beard Motorsports team having run only two races so far this year, making it the lowest-ranked team in owners’ points among those entered in the Go Bowling 235.  Beard Motorsports’ original plan for 2020 was to run just the NASCAR Cup Series races at Daytona and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway – four races, all on ovals. But like everyone’s 2020 plans, they changed. When the Daytona road course was added to the schedule in place of Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International due to travel restrictions related to COVID-19, Beard Motorsports decided to take advantage of Gaughan’s road-course exploits at Daytona and enter the race. A Chevrolet Camaro from Richard Childress Racing (RCR) was delivered to Beard Motorsports a few weeks ago, and the little team that could had a road-course car next to its superspeedway car. Beard Motorsports has proven to be the little team that could, a modern-day David competing against the Goliaths of the NASCAR Cup Series. Owned by Mark Beard Sr., president of Beard Motorsports and various family businesses, Beard Motorsports has taken a strategic approach to its racing endeavors, forming a technical partnership with RCR and, until deciding to enter the Go Bowling 235, running only the superspeedway races at Daytona and Talladega. With cars constructed by RCR and powered by ECR engines, Beard Motorsports has scored three top-10 finishes, the most recent of which came in the season-opening Daytona 500 where Gaughan finished an impressive seventh. In a series dominated by multicar teams with hundreds of employees, Beard Motorsports does it with one full-time employee, crew chief Darren Shaw. Its one part-time employee, car chief Drew Mickey, is a fulltime, industrial plumber. And two of the crew members who come in on race weekends – one is a boat captain (Nic Hill) and the other is an automotive body technician (Jack Cagnon). This throwback race team has proven it can hang with the multicar outfits whose “guys back at the shop” reach into the hundreds. The guy in the driver’s seat has proven to be Beard Motorsports’ biggest asset. In addition to Gaughan’s success turning left and right at Daytona, he has proven adept at all kinds of road courses, a fact punctuated by his NASCAR Xfinity Series win in 2014 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Gaughan started fifth and led twice for eight laps in that race, including the final five tours around the 14-turn, 4.048-mile road course, to hold off road-racing ace and former INDYCAR driver Alex Tagliani to score the victory by .820 of a second. Gaughan’s road-course prowess and his road-course history at Daytona make him a dark-horse contender and an excellent trivia answer. On that note, if you’re wondering who the other nine drivers are who have experience at Daytona’s road course, they are: ● Most recent: Kyle Busch (2020 Rolex 24… also competed in 2009 Paul Revere 250) ● Most often: Michael McDowell (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012 Rolex 24s… and 2005 and 2006 Paul Revere 250s) ● Second most: Jimmie Johnson (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 Rolex 24s… and 2007 Paul Revere 250) ● Three-timer: James Davison (2014, 2015 and 2016 Rolex 24s) ● Two-timer: Kurt Busch (2005 and 2008 Rolex 24s) ● One-timers: Matt Kenseth (2005 Rolex 24), Timmy Hill (2012 Rolex 24), Clint Bowyer (2013 Rolex 24) ● Back in the day: Kevin Harvick (2002 Rolex 24)

Brendan Gaughan, Driver of the No. 62 Beard Oil Distributing/South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Camaro for Beard Motorsports:

First off, how are you feeling after a bout with COVID-19? “I feel fantastic. I’m finally out of the house. The toughest part of the whole ordeal was the mental aspect. I truly feel for people who struggle with depression and have to deal with COVID-19, because this thing is tough. You literally get stuck in a location by yourself. Fortunately for me, I had my puppy. I missed my two children tremendously. But it’s amazing now because we live in the age of the Jetsons that we can pick up a phone and look at their faces. And I learned things that I could do. I could get in the car and drive around. I didn’t have to just sit in the house. Advice to other people is if you do get it and have to isolate, you can still get yourself out and isolate and not endanger others. It was very difficult for me because as most people know, I don’t sit still well.” What did you have to do to get cleared by NASCAR to race at Daytona? “NASCAR has a protocol. I needed to get two negative tests more than 24 hours apart, which I was able to do. Then, of course, get a doctor’s note saying that I was cleared to go back racing. And that was it. As long as I’m negative, they are good with it. They still have their protocols in place, so when we get to the track we are all still separated. The drivers don’t get to mingle with the teams right now. NASCAR has done a phenomenal job with it and they have been able to stay open for business while having very, very minor effects from this.” Your original plan was to race at both Daytona races and both Talladega races, but that was before the Daytona road course was added to the schedule. What spurred you to add the Go Bowling 235 to your schedule? “Well, first it’s still Daytona, so it technically counts. We said all of the Daytona races, so it still counts. What happened is that as soon as it got added to the schedule immediately my mind went, ‘Wow, I would love to race the Daytona road course.’ There’s very few of us Cup drivers that have experience on that race course. And with no practice and no qualifying, that gives about 10 of us a very large advantage over the field. So, I was immediately enticed by it. And then you know how much I always speak so highly of Richard Childress Racing. Richard called and said, ‘Hey, come on man, you know you want to do it,’ and I kind of chuckled because everyone knows I love my road racing. I talked to the Beard family and said, ‘Hey, you want to add a race to the schedule?’ It wasn’t in the budget. It wasn’t planned originally, but the Beards were on board. They are in the same boat as me. This is a retirement year like me and they are having the same fun I am. They went, ‘Ooohh, we can do well there.’ So we called Richard up and he built me a brand new Beard Oil Distributing/South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Camaro from RCR that we were able to rent for Beard Motorsports to go race.” You’re one of a handful of drivers who has some actual experience on the Daytona road course. What’s the course like to drive and is any of it applicable to what you’ll be doing in the Go Bowling 235? “Some of what I’ve done on that course will absolutely be applicable to this weekend. I already know the line that I need and some other things. Now, I need to remember that the last time I raced there in an LMP car, I could lift at the ‘1’ sign going into the chicane on the back straightaway. Now if I lift at the ‘1’ in a Cup car, I will end up at the airport. So I need to remember that I’m going to need a little more braking zone room. But you basically already know the line and you know where you want to be. You know the feel of the place. You know where some passing zones are. You kind of know how to run that race, which is the big advantage that comes with it. Having a car built from Richard Childress means that I don’t have to worry that its’ going to have parts and pieces that aren’t any good. And I still have Darren Shaw, my crew chief, who I’ve been working with at Beard Motorsports. We’ve still got our guys working it and our guys doing it, so I kind of have the best of all worlds here. And there is an advantage for people that have been there. I also gave myself a little bit of an insurance policy. I offered to sponsor Andy Lally in the Xfinity race. To me, Andy Lally is the premier sports-car racer in America. I don’t think anybody can argue that there is anybody better than Andy Lally. So, I offered to sponsor Andy because he’s racing Saturday. I told him he has to stay over Sunday and do some driver coaching and give me his notes. Not only do I have experience on the track, I will have notes from a stock car on the track from the day before.” In your road-course experience at Daytona, you’ve driven a Porsche GT3, an Oreca FLM09 and aMultimatic/Riley LMP2. How do those cars compare to a 3,300-pound NASCAR Cup Series stock car? “They are nothing like it. The only one that would be somewhat similar is the Porsche. The Porsche, at least, is a heavier car than the LMP cars. You have the most similarities between the Porsche. It’s a stock body, which is what NASCAR technically is. That’s the most similar of any of those. Other than that, there are no similarities between an open cockpit LMP car to a Cup car. They are diabolically different.” Specifically, can you explain how you have to take care of the brakes in a stock car compared to a sports car, and also how different the braking zones are between a sports car and a stock car? “The biggest thing nowadays compared to when I grew up in NASCAR is that braking systems have come a long way. If you go back to the late 90s and early 2000s, you had to save your brakes at a place like Martinsville and hoped that you had them at the end of the race. Brake systems have come so far that, nowadays, you really don’t have to try to save brakes anymore. They work so well that you can abuse them for a whole race and get away with it. Now, the problem at Daytona is there are two braking zones that are going to be so ridiculously fast. When you go into the chicane on the back straightaway and when you go into the chicane that they built on the front straightaway – we are going to be pushing upward of 170 mph. There is no road course you go that fast on. So, you’re definitely going to need to make sure that you do save your brakes. I’m going to have to be somewhat patient to make sure I can save some equipment so that at the end of the race after we’ve made some pit stop strategies, I can hopefully be in contention. The nice thing is compared to normal Daytona for us, I don’t have to ride around and wait for the end of the race. I get to race right from the start. So I’m going to use my stuff early to get easy spots. I’m going to use the strategy to try to get through it – to save my brakes so that at the end I have a Beard Oil Distributing/South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Camaro that’s in perfect condition to go race for the win.” You’ve enjoyed a good bit of success when it comes to road-course racing, for in addition to a win in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, you have an Xfinity Series victory at Road America. How satisfying were those wins, especially the Xfinity Series win as you were the only driver and you had to hold off a veteran road racer in Alex Tagliani? “Road America is one of my favorite road courses in the country. I’ve been racing there since I was 16 years old. What that racetrack is in the road-course world and what it means for me, personally, because of my long history there – it amazes me. I passed Chase Elliott. I had let him have the preferred line and was able to pass him. I was able to hold him off on wet tires. There were just so many things that we did well that day to win that race that it was kind of a complete race for us. That race will be cherished in my memory for a long time.” From sports cars to stock cars, even back to your days racing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, you’ve competed on road courses. What’s the mentality you need to have to succeed? “What people don’t realize in the stock-car world is I’ve been racing since 1991. I grew up racing and teaching sports-car racing. That’s what I grew up doing originally before I came to NASCAR. So when I came to NASCAR, I was really bummed when they took the road courses out of the Truck Series. I was all excited to go road-course racing. So when I finally got to the Xfinity Series and got to go road-course racing in Cup, I was all excited. I remember during my rookie year in 2004, I was leading near the end of the race at Watkins Glen when I choked. I flat out admit that I choked. I always loved my road racing. I grew up doing the old Trans-Am Series and going to Skip Barber, Bondurant – that was part of cutting my racing teeth growing up. As far as the mentality to succeed at road racing, you have to have a mindset that you know how to do things right. I came up in the era of human transmissions and you had to learn how to shift where they didn’t want to. You had to learn how to not zing a motor because they couldn’t handle those RPMs. Nowadays, you can get away with murder. I remember when I drove the Porsche in 2010 at Daytona – the team looked at the data and they laughed because I was double-clutch, heel-and-toe downshifting for every shift. And they looked at the data and said, ‘Wow, you do that really well, but you realize we don’t need to do that.’ It’s become so much easier than it was back in the 90s and it’s made people a lot better road racer because of that. You have to have that mindset to say, ‘Hey, I’ve been doing this so long, I can double-clutch, heel-and-toe downshift if I need to.’ These 18-year-olds don’t even know what that is. And you have to have that mentality that I am better than them because of it. You always have to have that mentality that you think you are better for a reason, and road racing is something that I’ve always felt that I was better at than other people.” Can having a negative mindset about road-course racing doom your race before it even starts? “Absolutely. It doesn’t have to be a road course. It can be an oval. If you come in and think that you don’t know how to shift well, or you think you’re going to have a problem matching revs, or have a problem downshifting and wheel-hopping into a corner – then that’s all you focus on. Any sports psychologist is going to tell you that if you focus on the negatives, you’re going to have negatives. That was my problem at Richmond. It’s not my problem at a road course.” With no practice and no qualifying, how important will experience and an open mind be to performing well in the Go Bowling 235? “Experience is going to be key, especially early. Knowing the people I’m racing around and knowing I’m going to have to come from 40th – that’s the bad news for the No. 62. I’m going to have to come from the back, so I’m going to have to work my way around a lot of people that may have a negative attitude or maybe do struggle with road racing. So, I’m going to have to be careful. I have to keep that Beard Oil Distributing/South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Camaro completely clean early on. No need to do some damage early because that will make for a long day. I’ve got to be careful, pick and choose my spots, but get as much as I can early because that’s when we are bunched up the most.”

NASCAR Xfinity Series Notes: 2017 Johnsonville 180 at Road America

Brendan Gaughan has become quite adept at road racing.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

Next Race: Bojangles’ Southern 500

The Place: Darlington Raceway

The Date: Sunday, Sept. 3

The Time: 6 p.m. ET

TV: NBCSN, 5:30 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 501.3 miles (367 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 100),

Stage 2 (Ends on lap 200), Final Stage (Ends on lap 367)

NASCAR XFINITY Series

Next Race: Johnsonville 180

The Place: Road America

The Date: Sunday, Aug. 27

The Time: 3 p.m. ET

TV: NBC, 2:30 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 182.16 miles (45 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 10),

Stage 2 (Ends on lap 20), Final Stage (Ends on lap 45)

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 

Next Race: Chevrolet Silverado 250

The Place: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

The Date: Sunday, Sept. 3

The Time: 2:30 p.m. ET

TV: FS1, 2 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 157.37 miles (64 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 20),

Stage 2 (Ends on lap 40), Final Stage (Ends on lap 64)

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

Kyle Busch Pulls Off Bristol Sweep

Kyle Busch led 156 laps on his way to Victory Lane in Saturday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway to complete the sweep of all three national series races at the high-banked short track.

Busch won all but one stage in the three races at Bristol last week. He now leads active drivers with six Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wins at the Tennessee track.

The No. 18 Toyota driver ranks second in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points standings – 101 markers behind leader Martin Truex Jr. His 20 playoff points are second most in the series to Truex’s 35.

On the season, Busch claims two wins, nine top fives, 14 top 10s and 10 stage wins in 24 starts. He’ll ride a four-race top-10 streak to the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway (Sunday, Sept. 3 at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

You Gotta Race Car Jones? Erik Jones Posts Career-Best Runner-Up Finish

Erik Jones led a race-high 260 laps on his way to a career-best runner-up finish in Saturday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series contest at Bristol Motor Speedway. The performance followed a third-place showing at Michigan the week prior. Jones heads next to Darlington Raceway riding a four-race top-10 streak.

The No. 77 Toyota driver leads Daniel Suarez by four points in a tight Sunoco Rookie of the Year race. On the season, he has three top fives, nine top 10s and a 16.8 average finish.

With only two races remaining in the regular season, Jones must win at either Darlington or Richmond to make the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

2 To Go: Pressure Mounting For Winless Drivers To Make Playoffs

Only two races remain for winless drivers to clinch berths in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

Of the winless drivers, only Matt Kenseth (2013) has won at Darlington. Kenseth (2015), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2000, 2004, 2006) and Clint Bowyer (2008, 2012) have all visited Victory Lane at Richmond. Joey Logano, who is currently out of the playoffs because his April Richmond win was encumbered, also took the checkered flag there in 2014.

Here’s how the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Grid shakes out now: Martin Truex Jr. (four wins, 35 playoff points), Kyle Busch (2, 20), Kyle Larson (3, 18), Jimmie Johnson (3, 16), Brad Keselowski (2, 14), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2, 10), Kevin Harvick (1, 8), Ryan Blaney (1, 8), Denny Hamlin (1, 7), Kurt Busch (1, 5), Ryan Newman (1, 5), Kasey Kahne (1, 5), Austin Dillon (1, 5), Chase Elliott (69 points ahead of Clint Bowyer on the cutoff line, 2 playoff points), Matt Kenseth (+61, 3), Jamie McMurray (+58, 0).

Truex Close To Clinching Regular Season Title

Martin Truex Jr. already has a whopping 35 playoff points – 15 more than the next-best driver, Kyle Busch, who has 20.

The No. 78 Furniture Row Racing driver can grab another 15 playoff points next weekend at Darlington Raceway by clinching the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular season title.

All Truex must do is finish the race 61 points ahead of second-place. He currently leads second-place Kyle Busch by 101 points in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings.

Truex has been as close to dominant as a driver can be this season. He boasts a series-leading four wins along with 15 stage wins, ranks tied for second with 10 top fives and paces the circuit with 16 top 10s.

Truex also leads the series in an assortment of loop data categories: average running position (8.2), driver rating (113.5), fastest laps run (846, 15.7%) and laps led (1,372, 20.7%).

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series etc.

Darlington Raceway To Hold “Free Can Friday” With Monster Energy: Darlington Raceway and Monster Energy are partnering to offer fans the opportunity to enjoy on-track activities on Friday, Sept. 1, for free by recycling any size Monster Energy can. The Friday on-track action includes four practice sessions for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series. Fans may bring an empty Monster Energy can and recycle it at the frontstretch ticket office behind the main grandstands to receive free admission to practice day. Gates will open at noon.

Monster Energy and NASCAR experienced tremendous success when it held the program at Pocono Raceway in June. Under the NASCAR Green umbrella, a comprehensive recycling effort has accounted for millions of bottles and cans being recycled annually thanks to designated bins in the grandstands, concourse, suites, garage, and campgrounds at almost every track NASCAR visits. For more information visit NASCAR.com/Green.

Snapchat To Launch Premium ‘Our Story’ At Darlington’s Throwback Weekend: NASCAR fans attending the Bojangles’ Southern 500 can share their race-day experiences from Darlington Raceway with millions of Snapchatters through a premium ‘Our Story’ on Snapchat covering The Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR. Fans, teams and drivers at and near the racetrack will be able to share photo and video Snaps to a special “Our Story” that shows off the best visual experiences that Throwback Weekend has to offer. The Snapchat team will then curate and package Snaps of the various perspectives and experiences into a Story, which will air in Snapchat’s Discover platform for 24 hours.

NASCAR XFINITY Series

Road America: The Last Road Course Stop In 2017

With Watkins Glen International and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the books, just one road course remains on the NASCAR XFINITY Series 2017 schedule – Road America. Four races remain in the regular season and this Sunday, August 27, all eyes will be on the NASCAR XFINITY Series at Road America for the Johnsonville 180 (3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the only NASCAR national series event this weekend.

Nestled in the Elkhart Lake region of Wisconsin sits the four-mile, 14-turn road course known as Road America. The track has hosted seven NASCAR XFINITY Series races producing five different pole winners – Carl Edwards (2010), Michael McDowell (2011), Nelson Piquet Jr. (2012), AJ Allmendinger (2013) and Alex Tagliani (2014 and 2016). Allmendinger, McDowell and Piquet’s were their first career series poles.

The seven series events at Road America have also produced seven different winners – Carl Edwards (2010), Reed Sorenson (2011), Nelson Piquet Jr. (2012), AJ Allmendinger (2013), Brendan Gaughan (2014), Paul Menard (2015) and Michael McDowell (2016).   

Will we see an eighth different winner? The probability is high. The only previous series Road America winner entered this weekend is Brendan Gaughan.

Gaughan Is This Week’s Johnsonville Brat On The Playoff Grill

Richard Childress Racing’s Brendan Gaughan is feeling the playoff heat after dropping to 12th in the standings, the final playoff spot, with just four regular season races remaining in 2017.  

Though Gaughan does have a 43-point cushion over 13th-place Ross Chastain in the NASCAR XFINITY Series driver championship standings, he knows to lock himself into the post-season he needs to win. It just so happens the series is heading to a place he knows he can – Road America.

“Looking at the big picture, this race (Bristol) has put us on the bubble, 43 points to the plus side for the playoffs,” said Gaughan following a 30th-place finish at Bristol last weekend. “Fortunately, next week's race is the one I have been looking forward to. What we lost tonight, we can easily gain back at Road America. I plan to win that thing."

Gaughan has been quite impressive this season on the road courses, finishing in the top 10 at both Watkins Glen (ninth) and Mid-Ohio (seventh). A few weeks back, Gaughan was battling for the win in the closing laps with Sam Hornish Jr. at Mid-Ohio before he was run off the track on a restart, but was able to salvage a solid finish. Watch for Gaughan to run well at Road America this weekend, in five starts at the four-mile road course Gaughan has posted one win (2014), three top fives and an average finish of 6.6 (series-best); including a runner-up finish last season.

New Winners Are A Standard At Road America

NXS First-Time Winner	Track	Date
Michael McDowell	Road America	8/27/2016
Justin Marks	Mid-Ohio	8/13/2016
Chris Buescher	Mid-Ohio	8/16/2014
Brendan Gaughan	Road America	6/21/2014
AJ Allmendinger	Road America	6/22/2013
Nelson Piquet Jr	Road America	6/23/2012
Boris Said	Montreal	8/29/2010
Marcos Ambrose	Watkins Glen	8/9/2008
Juan Pablo Montoya	Mexico City	3/4/2007
Denny Hamlin	Mexico City	3/5/2006
Ron Fellows	Watkins Glen	6/28/1998
Bill Elliott	Watkins Glen	6/26/1993

In four of the last five NASCAR XFINITY Series races at Road America, the victor was a first-time winner in the series; including last season’s winner Michael McDowell and the 2014 winner and current title contender Brendan Gaughan. 

Road course racing in the NASCAR XFINITY Series is familiar with first-time winners – 12 different drivers have posted their first series win on a road courses; including two last season (McDowell and Justin Marks). Marks is entered this weekend in the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Camaro.

Kyle Busch (Watkins Glen) and Sam Hornish Jr. (Mid-Ohio) have won on the first two road courses of the 2017 season.

In seven series races, Road America has seen seven different winners, but Gaughan is the only previous winner entered this weekend – Carl Edwards (2011), Reed Sorenson (2011), Nelson Piquet Jr. (2012), AJ Allmendinger (2013), Brendan Gaughan (2014), Paul Menard (2015), Michael McDowell (2016).   

Bell And Cindric Are A Couple Truckers Going XFINITY Road Racin’

The next wave of young drivers is upon us and this Sunday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series race, the Johnsonville 180 (3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Road America, is the perfect stage to showcase their talents.  Two rising NASCAR Camping World Truck Series stars, Christopher Bell and Austin Cindric, are on deck to compete this weekend at Road America.

Christopher Bell, a 22-year-old from Norman, Oklahoma, will attempt to make his third NASCAR XFINITY Series start this season for Joe Gibbs Racing. In Bell’s first two starts this season he has posted one pole (Iowa), one top five (fourth at Charlotte) and 16th at Iowa, compiling an average finish of 10.0.

This will be Bell’s first attempt at competing on a road course in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. Bell will be piloting the No. 18 JGR Toyota Camry with crew chief Eric Phillips. Phillips has led Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch to four wins (Kentucky, New Hampshire, Watkins Glen and Bristol) in their last five starts together; including his XFINITY win last weekend when Busch swept all three NASCAR national series races at Bristol.  But keep in mind, Joe Gibbs Racing has yet to win Road America.

Austin Cindric, an 18-year-old from Columbus, Ohio, will be making his NASCAR XFINITY Series debut this weekend at Road America for Team Penske. Cindric will be strapped into the series owner points leading No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang with crew chief Greg Erwin. Cindric will be the fifth different driver Erwin has worked with this season. Erwin led Sam Hornish Jr. to the win two weeks ago, at Mid-Ohio. 

Bell and Cindric will also be joined by fellow NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular and NBCSN analyst Parker Kligerman this weekend in the Johnsonville 180 at Road America. Kligerman will be No. 46 Precision Performance Motorsports Chevrolet with crew chief Mark Setzer. This will mark Kligerman’s series season debut. 

Sadler Thinks JR Motorsports Is The Team To Beat For The Title

When it comes to which team has the highest probability to have a driver win the 2017 NASCAR XFINITY Series championship this season, JR Motorsport’s veteran and current points standings leader Elliott Sadler thinks he might know.

“I would say right now, JR Motorsports has a leg-up on the competition,” Elliott Sadler exclaimed following his third-place finish last weekend at Bristol. “I think we are the favorites to win the championship. We just have to go make it happen.” 

That’s a bold claim by Sadler, but the stats are there to back it up. Currently all four JR Motorsports drivers are destined to make the NASCAR XFINITY Series playoffs this season. Three of the four JRM drivers are the top three in points - Elliott Sadler currently is the series points leader with a 110-point lead over his teammate William Byron in second, and a 136-point lead over his other JRM teammate Justin Allgaier in third. Both Byron (three wins) and Allgaier are two of only three series title contenders to win this season; the third being Roush Fenway Racing’s Ryan Reed.

Sadler has led the series points for the last 10 consecutive races and it wasn’t till recently did it dawn on Sadler that winning the regular season can mean big dividends come playoff time.

“I will be honest with you, halfway through the year we didn’t realize, we hadn’t done our research, we didn’t know we could get 15 (playoff) points,” said Sadler when discussing the regular season championship. “We were like let’s be aggressive, let’s take chances, so what if we finish wherever, but then we were like wait a minute, if we finish first we get 15 points and that’s like three wins. So, then we decided we can’t throw any races away, and we have to get maximum points.”  

Elliott Sadler is looking for his first series title, and 2017 could be the season he takes one home. In 22 starts this season Sadler, has posted nine top fives (series-most), 17 top 10s (series-most) and an average finish of 8.8 (series-best among title contenders). He has made six series starts at Road America posting one top five, four top 10s and average finish of 9.5.

Richard Childress Racing Looks For Fourth Consecutive Road America Win

No team has been quite as successful at Road America as Richard Childress Racing, who has won the last three consecutive NASCAR XFINITY Series races at the 4-mile road course and this weekend is looking to make it four in a row. 

Richard Childress Racing first visited Victory Lane at Road America back in 2014 with driver Brendan Gaughan capturing the win. RCR’s Paul Menard then won in 2015 and Michael McDowell took home the checkered flag last season.

The feat of winning four or more consecutive races at a single active track in the NASCAR XFINITY Series by an organization has happened nine times. The record for the most consecutive wins by an organization at a single active track in the NASCAR XFINITY Series is eight by Joe Gibbs Racing at Auto Club Speedway.

Rank	Organization	No. of Consecutive Wins	Track	Seasons
1	Joe Gibbs Racing	8	Auto Club	(2008-2012)
2	Roush Fenway Racing	5	Auto Club	(2004-2006)
3	Dale Earnhardt Inc.	5	Daytona	(1990-1994)
4	Joe Gibbs Racing	5	Texas	(2008-2010)
5	Joe Gibbs Racing	4	Kansas	(2013-2016)
6	Joe Gibbs Racing	4	New Hampshire	(2008-2011)
7	Richard Childress Racing	4	Richmond	(2005-2007)
8	Dale Earnhardt Inc.	4	Talladega	(2003-2006)
9	Roush Fenway Racing	4	Texas	(2010-2012)

If RCR pulls off the feat and wins this weekend at Road America, it will be the second time the organization has won four or more consecutive races at a single track. They first did it at Richmond when they won four straight from 2005 to 2007.

This weekend, Richard Childress Racing will be fielding five cars – No. 2 (Ben Kennedy), No. 3 (Scott Lagasse Jr.), No. 21 (Daniel Hemric), No. 33 (Brandon Jones) and No. 62 (Brendan Gaughan).

NASCAR XFINITY Series Etc.:

Sunoco Rookie of the Year Update:  With 22 races in the books here is a quick look at the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings: William Byron (257 points), Daniel Hemric (211), Cole Custer (202), Matt Tifft (166), Spencer Gallagher (127) and Ben Kennedy (110).

International Racing Affair: Road racing in NASCAR has always been a draw for international drivers to try their luck in the series, and this weekend Road America has attracted James ‘JD’ Davison from Melbourne, Australia and Stephen Young from London, England. Davison will be driving the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with crew chief Chris Gabehart. Young will be driving the No. 78 BJ McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet with crew chief Keith Wolfe. 

NASCAR and Wisconsin: A total of 42 NASCAR national series races (see chart below) among two tracks have been held in the state of Wisconsin. 

Track Name	City	Monster Energy	XFINITY	Camping World	Total Races
Road America	Elkhart Lake	1	7	0	8
Milwaukee Mile	West Allis	0	19	15	34
Totals		1	26	15	42

The very first NASCAR national series race held in the state of Wisconsin was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event at Road America on August 12, 1956 in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The race was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Tim Flock for car owner Bill Stroppe in a Mercury.

The first NASCAR XFINITY Series race held in the state of Wisconsin was at The Milwaukee Mile, located just outside Milwaukee in West Allis, Wisconsin on May 13, 1984; the event was won by Sam Ard for car owner Howard Thomas in an Oldsmobile. The first NXS event at Road America was on June 19, 2010 and won by Carl Edwards for Roush Fenway Racing.

A total of 54 drivers who have made at least on NASCAR national series start have their home state recorded as Wisconsin. Of the 54 Wisconsin racers, 34 (62.9%) have made at least one start in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.  Of the 34 only five have won in the series – Matt Kenseth from Cambridge (29 wins), Scott Wimmer from Wausau (six wins), Paul Menard from Eau Claire (three wins), Johnny Sauter from Necedah (three wins) and Dick Trickle from Wisconsin Rapids (two wins). 

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

Busch Banks Win At Bristol

Kyle Busch Motorsports owner and driver Kyle Busch won his fifth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway when he won the UNOH 200 last Wednesday night.

Busch, who was forced to the back of the field under penalty to start the final stage, utilized a Lap 119 restart to his advantage – riding the high line to thunder through the field and find himself back in the top 10 by Lap 136.

Busch would go on to sweep the NASCAR national series races at Bristol, winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series race on Friday and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race on Saturday.

It was the third NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win this season for Busch, who isn’t scheduled to run any more races in this series this season.

Crafton Scores Runner-Up At The Last Great Colosseum

ThorSport Racing driver Matt Crafton placed second in the UNOH 200 at Bristol – notching his best finish since winning at Eldora Speedway earlier this season.

With two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races left before the playoffs begin, Crafton is third in the regular season points standings and fourth in the playoff standings.

His seven playoff points rank as the fourth-most accumulated among NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers this season. Christopher Bell has the most with 24 points, John Hunter Nemechek is second with 11 points and Johnny Sauter is third with 10 points.

The Higher Rhodes To The Playoffs

ThorSport Racing driver Ben Rhodes reclaimed seventh-place in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs standings after finishing fifth at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Rhodes jumped Ryan Truex, who surpasses him in the standings a week ago at Michigan International Speedway. He now leads Truex by 17 points heading into the off-week for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Rhodes is continuing his strong season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He has two top-five finishes in his last three races – giving him five total top fives and seven top 10s in 14 starts this season. He’s also led 122 laps this season, which is a career-high in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for Rhodes.

He will look to further his lead over Truex at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park next week in the Chevrolet Silverado 250.

2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs Countdown: 2 Races

With only two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular season races remaining, below is a look at the playoff picture following Bristol.

Rank   Driver                         Points             Race Wins      Playoff Points        Pts from Cutoff

1          Christopher Bell          615                  4                      24                                -

2          JH Nemechek             439                  2                      11                                -

3          Johnny Sauter             573                  1                      10                                -                      

4          Matt Crafton                562                  1                      7                                  -

5          Kaz Grala                    330                  1                      5                                  -

6          Chase Briscoe            534                  0                      1                                 91

7          Ben Rhodes                469                  0                      1                                 26

8          Ryan Truex                 452                  0                      1                                   9

9          Grant Enfinger            443                  0                      0                                  -9

10        Noah Gragson            418                  0                      1                                -34

11        Austin Cindric             397                  0                      0                                -55

12        Justin Haley                347                  0                      0                              -105

NASCAR Ladder System Proving To Be Fruitful This Season

2017 has been a strong year for young drivers looking to make their name in NASCAR’s top national series.

We’ve seen NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points leader Christopher Bell make two NASCAR XFINITY Series starts this season, and he will also be making another start at Road America this weekend. Bell was even ready to race at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series level at Michigan International Speedway as a standby for Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, who was on baby watch.

NASCAR Next and current NASCAR K&N Pro Series drivers Harrison Burton (five starts) and Todd Gilliland (two starts) have both made starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series this season.

It was announced earlier this month that former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver and NASCAR ladder system star William Byron will drive the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in 2018. After one year in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Byron advanced to the NASCAR XFINITY Series. He now will go to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series after one year of NASCAR XFINITY Series racing.

Former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champions Erik Jones (2015) and Austin Dillon (2011) are both having success at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series level this season. Dillon won his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race earlier this season at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Jones won his first pole at Bristol this past weekend and has had a strong Sunoco Rookie season. Both have multiple wins in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

We get to witness the NASCAR ladder system at work again this week as NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and Brad Keselowski Racing driver Austin Cindric will make his NASCAR XFINITY Series debut at Road America in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

Cindric has had a strong Sunoco Rookie season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He sits 10th in the series points standings after 14 races. He’s making a strong run at the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs as he has six-consecutive top-10 finishes.

Oh, Canada

Following the UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will take a week off this week. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will pick back up Sunday, September 3 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park for the Chevrolet Silverado 250 (2:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

John Hunter Nemechek is the defending race winner, while Matt Crafton (fourth), Christopher Bell (fifth) and Johnny Sauter (seventh) all finished inside the top-10.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Etc.:

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Owner Standings Update: Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 4 Toyota Tundra retains a 42-point lead over GMS Racing’s No. 21 Chevrolet Silverado in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series owner standings after 14 races this season. ThorSport Racing’s No. 88 Toyota Tundra (-53), Brad Keselowski Racing’s No. 29 Ford F-150 (-81) and ThorSport Racing’s No. 27 Toyota Tundra (-146) round out the top five.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Manufacturer Standings Update: Through 14 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races this season, Toyota leads Chevrolet by 22 points in the manufacturer standings, 524-502. In third place, Ford sits at 432 points and has yet to capture a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win this season.