Keselowski fastest in final Kentucky practice

Brad Keselowski is 8-to-1 to win at Kentucky.

Brad Keselowski, a three-time winner at Kentucky Speedway, had the fastest lap in Friday’s final Cup practice session.

Keselowski topped the field with a lap of 182.303 mph. He was followed by Kevin Harvick (181.793 mph), Denny Hamlin (181.763), Ryan Blaney (181.701) and Clint Bowyer (181.457).

Daniel Suarez ran the most laps in the session with 63. He ranks eighth on the speed chart with a best lap of 181.305 mph.

Suarez also had the best average speed over 10 consecutive laps at 180.697 mph. He was followed by Kyle Busch (180.080 mph) and Harvick (180.010).

There were no incidents in the session.

Qualifying takes place today at 6:05 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Click here for final Cup practice results

- NBC Sports

Kyle Larson fastest in final Sonoma practice, Kurt Busch second

Happy Hour Speeds

Fontana Post-Practice Report: Team Penske Mustangs look amazing

Brad Keselowski looks poised to win at Fontana.

Brad Keselowski was fastest in Saturday's final practice session at Auto Club Speedway in preparation for Sunday's Auto Club 400. He laid down the fastest lap at 176.648 mph on the 27th of his 47 laps turned on the wide 2-mile Speedway. He also had top-3 average speeds in the 10, 15 and 20 consecutive lap category.

All three Team Penske Mustangs showed their strength on the long runs with the three best 20-consecutive lap averages. Joey Logano had the best average and the sixth fastest single lap (176.082 mph) and Ryan Blaney had the second-best average and fifth fastest single lap (176.130).

Keselowski won at Atlanta and the week after Joey Logano won at Las Vegas, both downforce tracks like Auto Club Speedway, and both using the 550 horsepower engine package that is being used this weekend.

I would be surprised if a Team Penske Mustang didn't win this week just because of those speeds on the long runs. I was expecting more teams to bounce back stronger this week with two races using the engine, but I didn't see as much as I thought.

One driver I expected more from was Kyle Larson because of his solid Atlanta run and also had three of his four career win coming on 2-mile tracks. But he posted only the 16th fastest lap (175.563) and was eighth-best on 10-consecutive lap averages.

The pleasant surprise was Richard Childress Racing with Daniel Hemric posting the second fastest lap (176.548) while also having the fastest 10-consecutive lap average. Austin Dillon starts from the pole and had the ninth fastest lap (175.940) in the final practice.

The race should be interesting, but I kind of see it as being similar to what we saw in Atlanta and Las Vegas where a Penske Mustang takes over at the end to win.

Good luck, happy wagering!

Dillon crew chief Danny Stockman talks following Las Vegas practices

Austin Dillon was fastest in both Las Vegas practices.

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
PENNZOIL 400 PRESENTED BY JIFFY LUBE
TEAM CHEVY POST FINAL PRACTICE PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 2, 2019

DANNY STOCKMAN, CREW CHIEF, NO. 3 DOW CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media following the final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice session where the No. 3 Camaro ZL1 was fastest on the speed charts. Full Transcript:

YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN REALLY FAST THIS WEEKEND:
“Yeah the car is pretty good. We had a good test here a month ago. There are a lot of other good, fast cars. It’s just so tough this Cup Series with all these great drivers and all these really good teams. It’s so close and getting the balance right is super important and that is what we worked on right here in Happy Hour. I think we are close. We need to be a little bit better. The speed is definitely there. We need to be a little bit better drive ability, but me and my engineers will work on it and we will get it right.”

HOW IMPORTANT IS YOUR TEAMMATE GOING TO BE THIS WEEKEND WITH DRAFTING COMING INTO PLAY?
“You know, I don’t know… nobody knows. I think what is going to be really important is how good your car drives and if you have a teammate there at the end you might be able to utilize him, but I feel like you better have a good driving car and if you don’t you are going to be in a world of hurt like we were last week at Atlanta. You are just going to have to have a good car and have speed to go along with it and be there at the end.”

DOES IT COME DOWN TO A DECISION ON QUALIFYING WELL OR RACING WELL OR CAN YOU FIND THAT BALANCE?
“No, I think everybody comes here in qualifying trim and really works on trimming speed out and all that stuff. You can walk through the garage area and definitely notice that. I think there is a balance between speed in qualifying and race trim and you’ve got to hit both. I feel like we are close on that this weekend.”

ON THE OPTIONS WITH THIS NEW PACKAGE:
“There is definitely an option. It’s important to have a really good driving car and it’s important to have a fast car when you only have 550 horsepower. There is a balance you’ve got to hit that balance and whoever hits that balance will be in Victory Lane on Sunday I feel.”

SO, YOU THINK ADAM STEVENS IS GOING TO HAVE HIS CAR TRIMMED OUT (DANNY STOCKMAN AND ADAM STEVENS (CREW CHIEF FOR KYLE BUSCH) DID POST PRACTICE MEDIA AVAILABILITY IN TANDEM):
“I don’t think he is trimmed out. I think he has a really good driving car, I think he’s got a really good driver and a bad ass team. Same goes with us. We’ve got a really good car this weekend. The Dow Chevrolet is fast, it drives pretty darn good and we’ve just got to hit the balance right.”

DO YOU HAVE TO THROW SPEEDS OUT THE WINDOW LIKE AT A RESTRICTOR PLATE TRACK?
“I’d like to add that it’s not as easy as it looks. These cars are so aero dependent right now that you get on somebody’s bumper, they get tighter than they ever have. It is super important for the driver to position himself right on corner exit to make sure that he doesn’t shove the nose. Your balance and your car have to suit that. It’s definitely not easy. There is a lot of thought process going into all this stuff this year. Rule changes make a lot of work for everybody, but it’s fun in the same sense.”

ON TIGHT QUARTERS IN PRACTICE:
“Yeah, I mean I think we are all learning. Every time we hit the race track, we are learning and as the weather changes things are going to change. The biggest thing in this sport that we can’t necessarily predict perfectly is the weather. It’s going to be tough. It’s not easy.”

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Austin Dillon Post-Practice Quotes: "The car has speed" is an understatement

Austin Dillon was 50-to-1 to win at Atalnta before practices.

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST FINAL PRACTICE QUOTES
FEBRUARY 23, 2019

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW CAMARO ZL1 – Fastest Chevrolet in the final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice

YOU HAVE A REALLY FAST CAR THIS WEEKEND. HOW DO YOU FEEL AFTER THAT PRACTICE SESSION?
“Well, the car has got speed we’ve just got to do a better job of making it hold on right now. So, we have been a little bit all over the board. I felt like there were certain runs during that practice we were pretty decent, but man, traffic is pretty tough. We’ve got to really work on our car on handle in traffic the next couple of weeks. The car has potential it’s just us trying to nail it when it counts.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO BE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE TOMORROW? DO YOU THINK THE WEATHER IS GOING TO HAVE THE MOST IMPACT?
“No, I just think traffic will be the biggest impact. It’s so hard to move around. Right now, I’m kind of wanting those ducts back that we had in the Vegas test in the front. Because when a big hole gets punched in the air tomorrow with all the cars it’s going to be interesting for sure to see who maneuvers and can maneuver the best in traffic.”

HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO TAKE ANY OF THE LESSONS YOU LEARNED IN THE VEGAS TEST?
“Atlanta is a different animal. We brought speed from Vegas to here, which was nice. We’ve got some speed, but the way the car falls off we’ve really got to hopefully hit it tonight when it counts between the three of us, the crew chiefs, the two engineers, to make sure we get the balance that we need. Been confident in our guys, they are doing a good job and really methodically working through things, but it’s a lot to take in in a short period of time, so hopefully we are the guys that are the smartest when it comes to putting the right adjustments in the car.”

SECOND RACE WORKING WITH DANIEL HEMRIC AS A TEAMMATE IN THE CUP SERIES. WHAT HAS THAT BEEN LIKE?
“Well, we haven’t had a ton to talk about yet, but we will. We are going to go debrief right now after practice. Our cars are a little different, so, he seemed to be pretty happy with his on a long run which is nice, so we can maybe look at some of the stuff he is doing and we have some good short-run speed. So, just trying to find the right mixture between the two.”

WITH THE HIGHER CORNER SPEEDS IS IT HARDER TO CATCH THE CAR IF YOU HAVE AN ISSUE?
“Well, I think you are really confident out there with the downforce that are in the cars so you drive aggressively and I think that moment is just a bigger moment when it happens because you are hanging it out there already, so when you slip the grip that you have, it is a big correction. So, you have to correct it really quick, you have to get in front of it. Vegas was the same way in traffic. If you lost the air on the car, you had to stop pretty much to save it. But, yeah, it’s going to be an interesting race. It will be wild for sure.”

THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE GARAGE THAT SAY RCR HAS TAKEN A BIG STEP FORWARD. ARE YOU GUYS FEELING THAT?
“I think we have definitely taken a step forward in the speed of our cars, but we really have to do a good job of executing now at this point and making sure our car holds on. We busted off a really fast lap in that practice, but we didn’t hold on very well. There is happy medium between the two and that is what we are looking for. So, yeah, but I am very proud of the off season that we have had, the Vegas test was a great testament to that, so I can’t wait to get out there. I feel like we will be even better there. But, tonight, I think there are going to be some guys that are restless just trying to make sure we do our best job to figure out this balance. I think we are all kind of wishing we had the ducts in the front because it seemed like you didn’t have the draft that we had at Vegas as much with these no air ducts in the front. So, we will see what we can do.”

IF YOU ARE LEADING AT SOME POINT WHAT LANE DO YOU CHOOSE FOR THE RESTART?
“That is a difficult question to ask. I believe you want the shortest distance with new tire, but I mean the side draft is pretty key too. So you know you will be able to run the top wide-open, so clean air, I think you just want to try and take the shortest distance and hope the car behind you gives you the right push because even if you leave together with the guy on the outside I think it’s really going to be dictated by the guy behind you that kind of gets you momentum enough to get the lead.”

WHAT WAS IT LIKE HEARING THE SPOTTER IN YOUR EAR SO MUCH AT THE VEGAS TEST?
“Well, there is constantly going to have to be talking and a lot of chatter on the radio to give you what you need to see the runs coming, the momentum and just clearing yourself because there is going to be a lot of tight moves made and guys are going to be sticking in holes that are tighter than normal because you’ve got to clear that guy to get that air back on the nose of the car. Close calls are going to be made and you are just going to have to live with them and hopefully your spotter does a really good job of making the right call.”

HOW MUCH MORE DO YOU KNOW TODAY ABOUT THIS NEW PACKAGE?
“I feel like we know a little bit more. That was a nice practice, but it’s still… we are guessing a little bit on the balance of the race car. We feel like we know what the car is going to do tomorrow. The weather has been a little bit of a toss up in that, but around other cars whatever the balance of your race car is, it’s just intensified a lot. We got tighter around other cars, so we will do our job to try and adjust on it and make the car good, but still a little bit unknown. I could probably tell you more about Vegas with the ducts in the front, but this one is a little unknown.”

Clint Bowyer fastest again at Atlanta during final practice

Bowyer's teammate Kevin Harvick ran the most laps Saturday.

HAMPTON, Ga. – Clint Bowyer recorded the fastest lap in Saturday’s final Cup practice at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Bowyer’s top speed was 179.104 mph. He was followed by Kyle Busch (178.873 mph), Austin Dillon (178.712), Michael McDowell (178.672) and Corey LaJoie (178.436).

“I feel like we learned quite a bit,” Bowyer said. “You have to check the boxes off. I was talking about the balance of this thing and the ability to work on balance with the drag vs. downforce. You know it is going to be different at this racetrack than it will be at Vegas or any other racetrack. You are going to have that adjustability built into the car and the understanding of where you are at and where you need to be.

“There will be teams (Sunday) that drastically miss this, and ones that hit it. The ones that hit it are going to have a lot of fun. The ones that don’t are going to be miserable. There isn’t a whole lot you can do in the race to change that.”

Busch went to a backup car after he hit the wall less than 10 minutes into the session. He did not return to the track after the incident. Busch had the best average over 10 consecutive laps (177.302 mph) before he hit the wall. Kyle Larson was next at 176.534 mph over 10 consecutive laps.

“The corner speeds are higher so when you do have an issue, the issue happened really fast, happened faster than it typically would because of the corner speeds are higher,” Busch said. “The crash was harder to save. In the past, I feel I would have been able to do a better job (of saving the car).”

Austin Cindric filled in for Brad Keselowski, who was suffering from flu-like symptoms. Cindric drove the car 13 laps. Keselowski got in the car late in the session and ran 23 laps.

Kevin Harvick ran the most laps at 75. He was 21st on the speed chart with a top lap of 176.932 mph.

READ MORE HERE....NBC SPORTS

PRACTICE 2 SPEEDS

Denny Hamlin dominates first Darlington practice session

Denny Hamlin has yet to win a race this season, but that may change this Sunday night based on what happened during Friday's first practice session at Darlington Raceway in preparation for Sunday's Bojangles Southern 500. He jumped out with the fastest lap at 172.287 mph on the second of his 18 laps turned.

But what really sets him apart as being one of the favorites to win Sunday was being fastest among the nine drivers that completed at least 10-consecutive laps, a measure that indicates a driver is likely to be fast on longer runs when while others slow.

Even though it's been a below-par season for Hamlin, seeing him produce the best speeds should come as no surprise since he's the best active driver in the series at Darlington with 5.8 average finish in 12 starts. He's won on the 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval twice, including last season when he led four times for 124 laps.

“We feel very confident,” Hamlin told NASCAR.com before practice. “We’re going to make the playoffs. We know that. But we want to get a win. We haven‘t gone this deep into the season without winning in a long time. We have some work to do. We have to perform better on race day.”

Kyle Larson, who also led 124 laps at Darlington last season, finished with the second-fastest lap (172.034) following by Brad Keselowski (171.998), Alex Bowman (171.926) and Ryan Newman (171.926). 

The interesting thing about the top-five is seeing three Chevrolets stacking the field. Another thing to watch is Newman, who ran the most laps in practice (28), have to win to make the Playoffs with only two regular-season races remaining. Harvick is using his winning Atlanta chassis from February this weekend.

Following Hamlin in best 10-consecutive lap average was Paul Menard, 2014 Darlington winner Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and three-time Darlington winner Jimmie Johnson, who is also looking for his first win of the season. The seven-time Cup Champion has never gone this far into a season without winning a race.

There was some drama on the track as Jamie McMurray's Camaro began smoking about eight minutes into the session with an apparent engine failure. McMurray will start at the rear of the field if changing the engine on his car.

“Honestly, I didn’t even realize the engine was blowing up,” McMurray told NBCSN. “But then obviously as the oil started pouring out, I caught on.”

The practice session was extended five minutes to account for the lengthy track cleanup because of the oil.

Later, with about 11 minutes left in the practice session, Erik Jones spun as he attempted to get on pit road. The car did not make contact with anything and was not damaged.

The best thing of all about the practices were the paint schemes. Wow, do they take us all back a few years. It kind of feels good seeing them too. Nostalgic.

Final Chicagoland Driver Ratings: 2018 Overton's 400

Pual Menard is on the pole at Chicago and was 100/1 to win Sunday's race in Las Vegas.

MICAH ROBERTS' 2018 MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER RATINGS
2018 OVERTON'S 400
CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY
SUNDAY, JULY 1, 2018 - 2:46 PM ET
RATING   DRIVER   ODDS                   PRAC 1    PRAC 2   QUALIFIED   
 1. Kevin Harvick 9/4               11th          6th           11th
 2. Kyle Larson 7/1                     8th         16th          18th
 3. Kyle Busch 7/2                     18th          8th          16th
 4. Martin Truex Jr. 7/2             19th          2nd          36th
 5. Clint Bowyer 20/1                14th        10th           5th
 6. Ryan Blaney 15/1                   1st         14th          2nd
 7. Denny Hamlin 12/1               7th         12th          37th
 8. Kurt Busch 20/1                    12th           4th          4th
 9. Brad Keselowski 15/1          13th           1st           7th
10. Jimmie Johnson 30/1            2nd         30th         38th
11. Paul Menard 100/1               15th         24th          1st
12. Jamie McMurray 100/1        10th           7th         13th
13. Joey Logano 18/1                   9th           3rd         12th
14. Erik Jones 20/1                      25th          9th           9th
15. Chase Elliott 25/1                   4th         23rd          3rd

Opening odds courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.

Micah Roberts, a former Las Vegas sports book director, has been setting auto racing odds in Las Vegas since 1994.

Clint Bowyer dominates Friday's first Sonoma practice

Clint Bowyer was 6/1 to win at Sonoma prior to Friday's practice.

Clint Bowyer posted the fastest lap in Friday's first practice session at Sonoma Raceway in preparation for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350. He was one of the first drivers on the track and stayed on top of the speed charts during the entire 75-minute session. His fastest lap at 93.590 mph happened on the 12th of his 14 laps ran on the 11-turn road course.

Bowyer won at Sonoma in 2012 and is tied as the active leader with seven top-five finishes with Stewart Haas Racing teammate Kurt Busch. Bowyer was runner-up to his other teammate Kevin Harvick last season and is likely on his way to his first Sonoma pole during Saturday's qualifying.

In the final few moments of the session Team Penske posted the second and third fastest laps. Ryan Blaney's fastest lap at 93.546 mph came on his 15th and final lap and Joey Logano's fastest lap at 93.172 mph came on his 18th and final lap. Blaney finished ninth at Sonoma last season while Logano has top-fives in two of his last three Sonoma starts.

Jamie McMurray had the fastest Camaro of the session with the fourth fastest lap at 93.049 mph and 2010 Sonoma winner Jimmie Johnson was sixth fastest (92.661) in what was one of his best practices of the season.

Fifth-fastest was 100-to-1 long shot Daniel Suarez who grew up go-kart racing in Mexico. He was the fastest Toyota (92.746) of the session. His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin was 17th-fastest and Kyle Busch was 18th, both surprising low on the charts considering they are two of the best road course drivers in the series. 2013 Sonoma winner Martin Truex Jr was eighth-quickest.

SHR has won the past two Sonoma races and last years winner Harvick who had the 12th-fastest lap Friday. 2011 Sonoma winner Kurt Busch had the 14th fastest lap. Aric Almirola had the 19th fastest lap (92.101) and was the only driver to run 10-consecutive laps. Bowyer led the way with the fastest 5-consecutive lap average.

In the last race at Michigan, we saw Bowyer leading and hold off Harvick on a critical restart when Harvick had a four-tire edge to Bowyer's two. I remember thinking, "Hmm, that was interesting, I haven't seen anyone hang with Harvick like that on a downforce track." Rain came and Bowyer grabbed his second win of the season. After watching practice, it looks like Bowyer has officially joined the elite club status with members Harvick, Truex and Kyle Busch who all came in as the 4-to-1 co-favorites to win. So happy for him and also NASCAR. I hope to see a couple more members added to the club before the Playoffs start.

Sonoma Practice 1 Speeds

Final Dover Driver Ratings: 2018 AAA 400 Drive for Autism

Joey Logano showed some speed during Saturday's final practices.

MICAH ROBERTS' 2018 MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER RATINGS
2018 AAA 400 DRIVE FOR AUTISM
DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
SUNDAY, MAY 6, 2018 - 2:16 PM ET

RATING   DRIVER   ODDS                 PRAC 1  QUALIFIED  PRAC 2   PRAC 3
 1. Kyle Busch 3/1                         4th        4th     15th     10th
 2. Kevin Harvick 5/1                    3rd       2nd       6th       5th
 3. Brad Keselowski 15/1            5th        8th       2nd     11th
 4. Clint Bowyer 30/1                    9th      12th     12th      3rd
 5. Ryan Blaney 25/1                     8th      14th     20th    12th
 6. Joey Logano 15/1                   12th      18th       1st     13th
 7. Kyle Larson 9/2                         7th        1st        7th      4th
 8. Chase Elliott 8/1                      14th        6th        4th      2nd
 9. Martin Truex Jr. 7/1                  6th        3rd       3rd    14th
10. Jimmie Johnson 7/1                2nd      19th     13th      7th
11. Aric Almirola 50/1                  11th      13th       5th       1st
12. Kurt Busch 40/1                      16th        9th        9th    15th
13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 100/1     10th        5th       8th     20th
14. William Byron 200/1              28th      17th     10th      8th
15. Denny Hamlin 15/1                17th       10th    22nd    17th

Opening odds courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.

Micah Roberts, a former Las Vegas sports book director, has been setting auto racing odds in Las Vegas since 1994.

Kyle Larson fastest in final Richmond practice

Kyle Larson has a fast car this week.

Kyle Larson posted the fastest lap during Friday's final practice session at Richmond Raceway in preparation for Saturday night's Toyota Owners 400.

Larson's fast lap at 120.315 mph came during the middle of a long run on his 32nd of 54 laps around the 3/4-mile layout. Larson also had the quickest 10-consecutive lap average of 119.110 mph. He won at Richmond last fall and looks to be the new favorite to win Saturday.

Coming off last week’s strong run at Bristol, Darrell Wallace Jr. (119.952 mph) was second on the speed chart. He was one of seven Chevrolets in the top10, including the three fastest speeds.

Jamie McMurray (119.904), Clint Bowyer (119.904) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (119.893) rounded out the top five. Bowyer has won at Richmond twice and is listed at 20-to-1 odds at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.

Three-time Richmond winner Denny Hamlin reported to FS1 that he had suspension problems and then laid down the second-quickest 10-lap average of 119.027 mph. Richmond Raceway is his home track.

The 50-minute session didn't have many incidents, but Wallace and AJ Allmendinger made slight contact in the first 10 minutes when Wallace got loose. Neither car sustained substantial damage. Allmendinger posted the 10th-fastest lap of 119.601 mph.

Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch came in as the 4-to-1 co-favorites to win, but neither posted top-10 speeds. Busch, who is going for his third straight win, had the 14th-fastest lap while posting the fourth-best 10-consecutive lap average speed. Harvick finished with the 27th fastest lap.

Click here for full results from final practice.

Qualification will get underway at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Kevin Harvick talks with media Friday at Texas Motor Speedway

Kevin Harvick won last fall and he's the 3/1 favorite to win on Sunday. He was second-fastest  in Practice Friday, Kurt Busch first, and Clint Bowyer third. Aric Almirola was ninth quickest...SHR, badfast. 

Ford Notes and Quotes
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Media Availability (Texas Motor Speedway)
Friday, April 6, 2018

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Ford Fusion met with media members and fans Friday morning at the Restart BAR Zone at Texas Motor Speedway. Harvick spoke on numerous topics.

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Busch Light Ford Fusion — YOU HAVE WON HALF OF THE RACES SO FAR THIS YEAR: 

“Yeah, everything has gone fine and it all started or a lot of it started right here in the fall last year winning here for the first time and being able to get to victory lane and do the things that we did at the end of the year. It is fun to be able to ride that momentum. You never know when it is going to shift the other way. The whole company is doing a great job. Clint (Bowyer) winning last week and Aric (Almirola) and Kurt (Busch) doing well. It has been a great start to the season for Stewart-Haas Racing and we have been fortunate to win a few of those races and hopefully we can do the same this weekend.”

QUESTION INAUDIBLE: “I think as you look at the way we have performed, especially since we have been at Stewart-Haas Racing it was big to check that off. Mainly so this guy doesn’t give me any more grief. He was the monkey on my back and he was getting heavy. It is a really big market for us personally as a race team because we have Mobil and Busch who spend so much time and money promoting this particular market and bringing a bunch of people to the race track and to not get to victory lane was almost a little embarrassing because we hadn’t done it. To check that off the list and have Mobil 1 on the car at that race here in Texas was a really big deal.”

STARTING WITH THIS RACE LAST YEAR, YOU HAVE WON THREE OF THE LAST FOR MILE-AND-A-HALF RACES. IS YOUR TEAM AT THE POINT WHERE YOU CAN CHALLENGE TRUEX ON THESE TRACKS? 

“That seems like a self answering question. Did you have to ask that question to figure that out? I think as you look at the 1.5 mile program in general it has been really good for us. I think the thing you guys forget up until last year is that we had dominated the 1.5 mile race tracks and have continued to do that at the end of last year and the first part of this year. We did switch manufacturers last year and it took some time to get everything situated and where it needed to be. I think once the playoffs started last year you really saw where the cars were and the increase in performance, especially on the 1.5 mile race tracks. It just took us some time. When you see what Stewart-Haas Racing has done with Ford, we still haven’t reached the potential of where we can be, in my opinion. I think that is the biggest reason we made the switch, the potential of the resources and things that come with the partnership with Ford. We have, in my opinion, the most stable team in the garage. When you have the most stable team in the garage from a financial standpoint and manufacturer standpoint, that attracts good people. In the end, it is all about good people. We have a very committed manufacturer and owner group and we are the drivers lucky enough to be in a position of where Stewart-Haas racing is right now. We have a very solid foundation which is something to hang your hat on.”

QUESTION INAUDIBLE: “We are better than Truex.”

QUESTION INAUDIBLE: 

“Just the support and financial backing. When you look at Gene Haas and the sponsorship and the things that go with the commitment that Gene makes from a financial standpoint, the stability of the company is never in question because of a few races that aren’t sold here and there. It is something that I think as you look at that long-term commitment that Ford made and Gene’s commitment from a financial standpoint of building the team and keeping it where it is at and then you start putting people in different places and they wind up having been there for a number of years. That makes a big difference. People on the outside see that. When people see that they can work somewhere a long time and not have to worry about their job it makes a big difference when you are trying to hire people.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE NEW KIDS ON THE TRACK BANNER? 

“It is a cool promotion. I like the promotion. If you like good marketing it is good. If you like winners you go for the old guys. I love every one of those kids on that poster and I think they are all great for our sport. I am not taking personal digs on them, I am trying to have fun with it and I told them that they should have fun with it too. That is really what it is about. The dad and kid sitting in the grandstands from two different generations and mom and daughter sitting in the grandstands from two different generations. They root for the old guys and you root for the young guys. That is great for our sport, it really is. It makes it fun to be able to have that banter back and forth. Most of those guys probably don’t even know who New Kids on the Block are. I would venture to say that.”

QUESTION INAUDIBLE: “I think as you go to a lot of these SMI race tracks, when you go to Kentucky and this particular race track you see the commitment to make the racing good. I know nobody wanted to repave it but you have to have dry surface and it basically became a sponge. The thought that went into turns one and two to make it different, make it challenging, have worked. It is a very challenging corner. There is a lot of asphalt there and a very wide entry that you don’t use the whole entry of. I think as time goes, the race track is going to spread out. The thing that sticks out to me is the time and effort that were put in to try to make the racing better. Also, every driver in the garage has seen the commitment, even at the first race when it was first repaved. Overnight, everyone was saying there was no second groove. Next thing you know you hear the squealing out there and those tires aren’t free. It takes man hours and it takes time and the preparation goes a long way to helping that progression of making the racing grooves wider and faster and I think that is what everybody wants. That is the part to me that sticks out the most, the fact of the effort that has gone into prepping the race track to make the racing as good as possible.”

HAS THE TIRE DRAGON HELPED THE GROOVES HERE? 

“The bottom was still the fastest but I was able to finish the pass on the outside. That groove is there. I ran the second groove several parts of that race last time. The fastest groove is still going to be on the bottom but just having an option to go around lap traffic and not getting stuck. To try something different and move up the race track and not be stuck in one groove. That is what this does. It gets the fine silt of dirt and un-run asphalt kind of burned in. There is still nothing that is going to prepare the race track like a car running 200 mph sucking everything out of the ground but it goes a long way in helping that process get there quicker.”

WITH YOUR STRONG START, DO YOU PLAY THIS RACE STRAIGHT OR TRY TO EXPERIMENT FOR FALL? 

“You can’t really do things like that anymore. You have to try to win and gain every bonus point you can. That is the goal. Try to win every race that you can possibly put yourself in position to win and try to take every stage point you can possibly take. You saw Martin do that last year and they were so dominant on gaining points and it basically got them in a position to lock themselves into the playoffs and kept running good and won the championship and were the dominant car all year. They earned every point that they got. They are still going to be the car to contend with. The 18 will be a car to contend with. I think both of those guys have the same mentality while you are hot, to try to take as many points as you can to build as big a cushion as you can to get through race 26. The experimenting days, all you are doing is burning points. If you don’t have those points – then you have the regular season points that seed you to get those points that are paid out at the regular season. You can’t afford to take a week off and experiment. You have to experiment some but you can’t sacrifice performance and points to get that done.”

THE 2019 SCHEDULE CAME OUT THIS WEEK AND THERE ARE NO CHANGES. YOUR THOUGHTS? 

“I think as you look at the schedule, the changes that we saw this year as you look at what Marcus and those guys did at Charlotte to put the Charlotte road course on the schedule and that mixed it up in the first round with Richmond and the road course. Going from Loudon to Las Vegas, we had some huge changes there and you have Indianapolis that will be the last race of the regular season which is an important market for us. There are so many race fans in Indy. Look at the TV ratings, they are always one or two each week. We need to make sure that your race is more successful than it has been. Those are good changes on the schedule. There is way more involved in this. I am just speaking as a guy winging it over here. I am not running two publicly traded companies that have investors and making the decisions but I like change. I like a rotation of the last 10 races, a rotation of the championship race, moving the All-Star race around to different cities. To try to get the cities and events some more income to have these cities participate in what they are doing for these big events. If we could just back that season ending up a month you open up a lot of markets. California would always be in there. Texas Motor Speedway in the middle of October you can come here and race. Charlotte Motor Speedway, I don’t know. There are like eight race tracks. Las Vegas, Homestead. I think if you put six or eight of those race tracks in the championship race mix and mix that up every year and mix those other nine races up with different racetrack every year, you will have a built in conversation every year. I think that is the par that we are missing, that conversation piece to really change things up. He is going to argue with me and say that the fans come to a specific date but I guarantee you would have fans come to a championship race here if you held it. It isn’t fair to have it only in one market. It isn’t fair to Texas Motor Speedway to not have the opportunity to have the championship race to help build their race market. If you have the championship race here and bring people here that haven’t been before, they will come back to the next one when it is on its regular day. We need to build the enthusiasm in every race market. When you take that championship race and that All-Star race and have the playoff races in virtually the same spot every year, you don’t build the intrigue and enthusiasm you would build if you moved it around. I don’t know. I know it is the same. I hope there is a longer term plan in place for a system like that to move things around and have that conversation before the season even starts about how Jimmie Johnson will be the guy because the championship race is at Texas Motor Speedway or how Kyle Larson will be the guy because it is at California. Whatever that circumstance is. Whether you think it would be a good race or bad, it shouldn’t matter. It is the championship race. The Super Bowl and World Series aren’t always good. It is never about the game, it is about the event. I think if you did that right and had a great game or great race to go with that it adds to the moment of the event you have built.”

HAS SHORT TRACK RACING BECOME TAMER? 

“We can wreck anywhere. Some weeks we show up and run into everything and we can do that at Texas and Kansas and Bristol. You watch some of these races and think, ‘What in the world has happened today.’ Sometimes you look at races like Martinsville and wonder why there weren’t more cautions. That just happens. They aren’t all going to be caution filled wreck fests when you go to Martinsville. They aren’t always going to be no cautions when you go to Kansas. Sometimes you are going to have 20 cautions. That is why you show up. You never know what is going to happen. If it was just a demolition derby every week that you showed up, then you would be asking why we wreck every week. Part of that intrigue to me and a lot of the focus has become about the racing. Sometimes I don’t even think we should call them races, we should call them events. They should all be events with stuff to do and then you show up for the race and everyone has already had a good time and hopefully the race is good too and you can talk about that on the way home. I don’t know. Bristol is going to be fun. There is still nothing quite like Bristol and I am looking forward to it.”

Larson and McMurray fastest in first Phoenix practice session

Kyle Larson is 8/1 to win at Phoenix on Sunday.

Kyle Larson posted the fastest lap in the late stages of Friday's first practice session at Phoenix's ISM Raceway in preparation for Sunday's TicketGuardian 500. The fast lap at 138.281 mph beat out his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Jamie McMurray (137.762) making the duo the favorites to win Friday's qualifying.

The top-five during the 50 minute session was rounded out by 2005 Phoenix winner Kyle Busch (137.662), rookie William Byron (137.620) and Chase Elliott (137.615) who was runner-up in last fall's Phoenix race.

Joey Logano, who won the fall 2016 Phoenix race, was sixth fastest and the quickest Ford driver at 137.420 mph.

There were seven Chevrolet drivers in the top 15, including the four in the top five. That's a good sign for the new Camaro who collectively looked a bit sluggish the past two weeks on 1.5-mile tracks.

Rookie Darrell Wallace Jr. recorded the most laps in the session with 18. He was 25th on the speed chart and the only driver to turn 10-consecutive laps. Keep an eye on that stat for all drivers during Saturday's final two practices.

There was only one accident in the session. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who finished fourth in this race last season, made contact with the outside wall with about 32 minutes left. He will go to a backup car.

Eight-time Phoenix winner Kevin Harvick, who came in as the whopping 9-to-4 favorite to win at the sports books, finished with the 11th fastest lap.

Cup qualifying is scheduled Friday for 5:15 pm ET.

PRACTICE 1 SPEEDS

Kyle Larson fastest during first Las Vegas practice session

Kyle Larson showing LV test was no fluke.

Kyle Larson posted the fastest lap in Friday’s Cup practice at a windy Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a lap of 190.658 mph.

He was followed by Atlanta winner Kevin Harvick, who posted a lap of 190.409 mph. Paul Menard was next at 190.369 mph followed by Las Vegan Kyle Busch (190.342 mph) and rookie William Byron (190.282 mph).

Menard is listed at 150-to-1 to win Sunday's Pennzoil 400 and his No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford finished seventh in last years Las Vegas race with Ryan Blaney driving.

Kyle Busch is participating in all three NASCAR events this weekend. It's the first time all three touring series have raced on the same weekend in Las Vegas.

There were no incidents in the session. Winds were coming in at 27 mph and appeared to give drivers the most difficulty on turns 3 and 4.

Harvick is using a chassis this week that was runner-up in both 2017 Pocono races and third in the fall Charlotte race.

Larson was also fastest at a Las Vegas test session at the end of January that just about every team participated in. Byron was fastest for Hendrick Motorsports in one of the four sessions Larson wasn't.

We'll have to wait until Saturday's final two practices to see if Larson's speeds are only in the short run, similar to what we saw with Ryan Nemwan last week, or if he's fast on the long haul. Larson finished second at Las Vegas last season, but has never won on 1.5-mile track.

Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Alex Bowman each missed the final 15 minutes of practice for failing race inspection twice before last weekend’s event at Atlanta.

No driver ran 10-consecutive laps and ran mostly in qualifying trim.

Las Vegas Practice 1 Results

Erik Jones fastest in first Charlotte practice in qualifying trim

Eric Jones fastest again in practice.

Erik Jones was fastest in the first Cup Series practice session for the Coca-Cola 600 Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Jones and his No. 77 Toyota put up a top speed of 192.713 mph around the 1.5-mile track.

The top five was filled out by Jimmie Johnson (192.472), Kyle Larson (192.465), Denny Hamlin (192.465) and Kevin Harvick (192. 150.).

Larson got into the backstretch wall late in the session. It left a yellow streak on his car and minor body damage, but the No. 42 team has not yet determined if it go to a backup car.

Read More Here.....NBC Sports

Is Dale Earnhardt Jr a contender this weekend at Kansas?

Dale Earnhadt Jr. has a sweet paint scheme this weekend.

The last time Dale Earnhardt Jr. won on a 1.5-mile track he was driving the No. 8 DEI Chevrolet and Budweiser was his sponsor. That was in 2005 and the track was Chicago. It was his third win on a 1.5-mile track (Texas and Atlanta are the others). He's got eight cracks at winning another on these types and then his career is over.

During Friday's two practice sessions at Kansas Speedway there were hints that maybe Saturday's Go Bowling 400 might be spot Junior can surprise. He posted the sixth fastest lap (184.451 mph) in the early session and had the best 10-consecutive lap average among the three drivers that ran as many. In the final session he had the ninth fastest lap (186.451) and his teammate Jimmie Johnson had the best 10-consecutive laps average among 20 drivers. Junior wasn't one of them.

My optimism for Junior to get a win or two before he retires will always be high when he looks good in practice. Go get that win Dale, and I'm sure quite a few fans in Kansas this weekend feel the same way. Earnhardt was 30-to-1 to win at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.

Busch and Truex fastest during Friday's two practice sessions

Martin Truex Jr. was fastest in the early session.

Kyle Busch finished the final practice for the Go Bowling 400 with the fastest speed at 187.963 mph.

Busch posted the speed after recording 27 laps around Kansas Speedway.

Kyle Larson, after going to a backup car due to an accident at the beginning of the session, was second fastest with a speed of 187.833 mph.

Filling out the top five was Martin Truex Jr. (187.305), Ryan Blaney (187.182) and Brad Keselowski (187.130)

Read More Here.....NBC Sports

Practice 2 Speeds

Practice 1 Speeds

Ryan Blaney fastest in wreck filled first Texas practice

Ryan Blaney is 30/1 to win on Sunday.

Ryan Blaney posted the fastest lap in Friday’s extended practice session, which saw three cars hit the wall and another spin on Texas Motor Speedway’s repaved and reconfigured surface.

Kyle Busch, Erik Jones and Chase Elliott each hit the wall during the 2-hour, 25-minute session. Denny Hamlin spun but made no contact with the wall. Jones and Elliott will go to backup cars. After thinking it would skip qualifying to repair the car, Busch’s team discovered the damage wasn’t as bad and was looking to qualify.

Read More Here......NBC Sports

Practice 1 Speeds

Final Martinsville Driver Ratings: 2017 STP 500

Nine-time Martinsville winner Jimmie Johnson didn't have the best practices, but race day should be different.  

Micah Roberts' Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Driver Ratings
STP 500
Martinsville Speedway
Sunday, April 2, 2017 - 2:16 pm ET
RATED DRIVER     ODDS                 PRAC 1    STARTS       PRAC 2      PRAC 3
  1. Kyle Busch (6/1)               2nd       10th        8th        2nd
Won this race last season and was fifth in past two fall races; 11 top-5s in 23 career starts.
 2. Joey Logano (8/1)              8th         5th        4th         6th
2010 runner-up; 11th and ninth -place finishes last season; had 2015 fall race won, but got Kamikazied.
 3. Denny Hamlin (6/1)            1st       12th       12th       13th 
Five-time winner, the last coming in spring of 2015; 2nd-best 9.2 avg finish and 1,363 laps led.
 4. Brad Keselowski (7/1)       13th        4th        1st         4th
Two-time runner-up, including last fall; finished fifth last spring. 13.8 avg finish in 14 starts.
 5. Jimmie Johnson (6/1)        19th       17th        7th       19th
Nine-time winner, including last fall. 7.3 avg finish and 2,839 laps led most among active drivers.
 6. Clint Bowyer (25/1)             6th        8th       11th        1st
2013 runner-up, 14.8 avg finish; he's finally got a good car and he loves racing on flat tracks.
 7. Kevin Harvick (10/1)          12th         9th       21st      18th
2011 winner, but only two other top-5s in 31 starts. Didn't practice well, but will be competitive.
 8. Ryan Newman (50/1)          4th       11th        2nd        5th 
2012 winner among his eight top-5s in 30 starts, 14.3 avg finish; good average speeds in practice.
 9. Martin Truex Jr (8/1)           9th         3rd        3rd       11th
Fifth-place twice, the last in 2012; 20.5 avg finish 22 starts. Has speed, but not much past success.
10. Kyle Larson (12/1)             3rd         1st        6th       14th 
Third-place in this race last year; on a run of finishing 1st or 2nd at past four race tracks.
11. Ryan Blaney (100/1)          7th         7th       13th        8th
Finished 19th in both 2016 races; fastest 10-consecutive lap avg during final practice.
12. A.J. Allmendinger (30/1)   21st         30th       5th       17th
Two-time runner-up, including this race last season; one of his better tracks in Cup series.

Opening odds courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.

Micah Roberts, a former Las Vegas sports book director, has been setting auto racing odds in Las Vegas since 1994.

Bowyer fastest in final Martinsville practice

Clint Bowyer is 30/1 to win Sunday.

Clint Bowyer led Saturday's final practice at Martinsville Speedway in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series ahead of Sunday's STP 500 (2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Bowyer turned a fast lap of 93.863 mph around the .526-mile track in his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. Defending race winner Kyle Busch was second in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at 93.567 mph.

Jamie McMurray (93.530 mph, No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet) was third in the 50-minute session. Brad Keselowski (93.525 mph, Team Penske No. 2 Ford) and Ryan Newman (93.511 mph, No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet) rounded out the top five.

Kyle Larson, last week's winner at Auto Club and the driver with the top starting spot for Sunday's race, was 14th at 92.951 mph.

Read More Here....NASCAR.com

Final Practice Speeds