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Kyle BuschNASCAR Updates Driver Participation Guidelines for 2017
New Guidelines Further Elevate Next Generation of Stars; Strengthen Series Identity

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (October 26, 2016) – In an announcement that will put an even brighter spotlight on the next generation of stars and bolster the identity of all three of its national series, NASCAR announced on Wednesday driver participation guidelines for the 2017 season. The new guidelines limit the number of events a premier series driver can race in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Starting next season, premier series drivers with more than five years of full-time experience will be eligible to compete in a maximum of 10 races in the XFINITY Series and seven races in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Additionally, drivers with more than five years of full-time premier series experience will be ineligible to compete in the final eight races in each series, as well as the Dash 4 Cash races in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. The final eight races are comprised of the regular season finale and the entirety of the Chase in each series.

Drivers earning premier series points in 2017 also are not eligible to compete in the 2017 NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship Races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“The updated guidelines will elevate the stature of our future stars, while also providing them the opportunity to compete against the best in professional motorsports,” said Jim Cassidy, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations. “These updated guidelines are the result of a collaborative effort involving the entire industry, and will ultimately better showcase the emerging stars of NASCAR.”

Drivers with more than five years of full-time experience in the premier series still can run for an XFINITY Series or Camping World Truck Series championship, provided they have declared for championship points in the respective series.

Wednesday’s announcement signals the next step in NASCAR’s driver participation guideline evolution. Prior to the 2016 season, NASCAR announced that members of the 2015 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field would be ineligible to compete in the 2016 Championship Race in both the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. In 2011, NASCAR implemented a rule requiring drivers to select one of the three national series in which to collect championship points.

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talladega2_nscs_truexjr_102316Oct. 23, 2016

By Mike Hembree
NASCAR Wire Service
TALLADEGA, Ala. – Two drivers who were among the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season’s most productive winners won’t be in the race for the championship.

Former champion Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr., winners of four races apiece this year, fell out of Sunday’s Hellman’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway with blown engines and failed to qualify for the Round of 8 with four races remaining on the schedule.

Also knocked out of the championship group Sunday were Austin Dillon and rookie Chase Elliott.

The Chase will continue next weekend at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.

Keselowski was racing in the lead group with 44 laps to go Sunday when the engine in his Ford expired. He was in the lead when paper became trapped on his grille, forcing him to give up first place to Ryan Blaney in an effort to control water temperature in his car. The engine blew a lap after he dropped to second.

Keselowski, who led 90 laps (twice the total of race winner Joey Logano), described his car as “really strong” but added that he “definitely kept finding debris. I thought I got it cooled off and only got it slight over (maximum safe temperature), but I don’t know.”

A sour engine 41 laps into the race was the gremlin that wrote an end to the championship hopes of Martin Truex Jr. and the Furniture Row Racing team.

Truex entered the race in the middle of the Chase group but saw his run toward the Homestead finale fizzle in a plume of smoke. The DNF was only the second of the season for Truex, who won the pole for Sunday’s race.

“To barely make it to the first pit stop hurts,” said Truex, a Championship 4 driver last season. “It’s the way it goes some days. Some things you just can’t explain.

“TRD (Toyota Racing Development) has done a great job with our engines all year long with no failures, and our plate-track engines have been great — no failures. I’m sure it was a part failure or some unforeseen circumstance, and that makes it hurt a little bit worse even. All in all, we can’t hang our heads, and we have a lot to be proud of. This is going to make us stronger.”

Dillon’s failure to advance to the Round of 8 perhaps was the toughest to swallow. He finished in a tie for the eighth and final spot but lost it to Denny Hamlin via tiebreaker. Hamlin’s narrow third-place finish Sunday was higher than Dillon’s best finish (sixth) in the second round.

Dillon finished ninth Sunday.

“We did everything we could,” Dillon said. “It’s heartbreaking, obviously. I just tried to get as many spots as I could. I made it up there and had my teammates behind me. We just weren’t able to pull it off.”

Elliott, who needed a win Sunday to advance in the Chase, led nine laps, but his Chevrolet wasn’t as strong over the second half of the race. He finished 12th.

“We were able to lead some laps and stay up front for a good portion of the race,” Elliott said. “We couldn’t work our way back at the end – couldn’t get our lane to go. When it was time for something to happen, everybody was in a big rush.”

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talladega2_nscs_logano_jack_102316NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race – Hellmann’s 500
Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega, Alabama
Sunday, October 23, 2016

1. (16) Joey Logano (C), Ford, 192.
2. (25) Brian Scott #, Ford, 192.
3. (8) Denny Hamlin (C), Toyota, 192.
4. (7) Kurt Busch (C), Chevrolet, 192.
5. (6) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ford, 192.
6. (24) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 192.
7. (22) Kevin Harvick (C), Chevrolet, 192.
8. (26) Aric Almirola, Ford, 192.
9. (9) Austin Dillon (C), Chevrolet, 192.
10. (32) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 192.
11. (15) * Ryan Blaney #, Ford, 192.
12. (4) Chase Elliott # (C), Chevrolet, 192.
13. (10) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 192.
14. (20) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 192.
15. (5) Greg Biffle, Ford, 192.
16. (34) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 192.
17. (11) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 192.
18. (36) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 192.
19. (23) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 192.
20. (30) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 192.
21. (31) Landon Cassill, Ford, 192.
22. (33) Chris Buescher #, Ford, 192.
23. (17) Jimmie Johnson (C), Chevrolet, 192.
24. (40) David Ragan, Toyota, 192.
25. (29) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 192.
26. (18) * Ryan Reed(i), Ford, 192.
27. (35) * Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 192.
28. (3) Matt Kenseth (C), Toyota, 192.
29. (13) Carl Edwards (C), Toyota, 192.
30. (14) Kyle Busch (C), Toyota, 192.
31. (38) Bobby Labonte, Ford, 192.
32. (21) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 192.
33. (37) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 192.
34. (39) Jeffrey Earnhardt #, Toyota, 192.
35. (27) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 191.
36. (19) Alex Bowman(i), Chevrolet, 191.
37. (12) * Reed Sorenson, Toyota, 179.
38. (2) Brad Keselowski (C), Ford, Engine, 144.
39. (28) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, Accident, 113.
40. (1) Martin Truex Jr (C), Toyota, Engine, 41.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 159.905 mph.
Time of Race: 03 Hrs, 11 Mins, 38 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.124 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 6 for 25 laps.
Lead Changes: 31 among 14 drivers.
Lap Leaders: M. Truex Jr (C) 0; B. Keselowski (C) 1-11; M. Truex Jr (C) 12-13; B. Keselowski (C) 14-25; C. Elliott # (C) 26-27; B. Keselowski (C) 28; C. Elliott # (C) 29-31; B. Keselowski (C) 32-37; D. Hamlin (C) 38; M. Kenseth (C) 39; Kyle Busch (C) 40; B. Keselowski (C) 41; R. Stenhouse Jr 42-47; B. Keselowski (C) 48-62; C. Elliott # (C) 63; G. Biffle 64-76; C. Elliott # (C) 77-78; B. Keselowski (C) 79; C. Elliott # (C) 80; D. Hamlin (C) 81; C. Edwards (C) 82; M. Annett 83-88; B. Keselowski (C) 89-110; R. Blaney # 111; D. Hamlin (C) 112-116; A. Dillon (C) 117; D. Hamlin (C) 118-122; B. Keselowski (C) 123-143; R. Blaney # 144-145; T. Stewart 146; Kyle Busch (C) 147; J. Logano (C) 148-192.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): B. Keselowski (C) 9 times for 90 laps; J. Logano (C) 1 time for 45 laps; G. Biffle 1 time for 13 laps; D. Hamlin (C) 4 times for 12 laps; C. Elliott # (C) 5 times for 9 laps; M. Annett 1 time for 6 laps; R. Stenhouse Jr 1 time for 6 laps; R. Blaney # 2 times for 3 laps; M. Truex Jr (C) 1 time for 2 laps; Kyle Busch (C) 2 times for 2 laps; C. Edwards (C) 1 time for 1 lap; T. Stewart 1 time for 1 lap; M. Kenseth (C) 1 time for 1 lap; A. Dillon (C) 1 time for 1 lap.
Top 16 in Points: J. Johnson (C) – 3,100; Kurt Busch (C) – 3,099; J. Logano (C) – 3,089; M. Kenseth (C) – 3,088; Kyle Busch (C) – 3,084; K. Harvick (C) – 3,082; C. Edwards (C) – 3,082; D. Hamlin (C) – 3,078; A. Dillon (C) – 3,078; M. Truex Jr (C) – 3,060; C. Elliott # (C) – 3,050; B. Keselowski (C) – 3,043; K. Larson – 2,155; T. Stewart – 2,141; J. Mcmurray – 2,110; C. Buescher # – 2,109.

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