September 3, 2016

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

DARLINGTON, S.C. – Elliott Sadler had a passenger for Saturday’s VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway—in spirit at least.

After a breathtaking battle against Denny Hamlin over the closing laps, Sadler crossed the finish-line .454 seconds ahead of Hamlin to win for the first time at the Lady in Black—and immediately dedicated the victory to JR Motorsports team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., who announced on Friday he would sit out the remainder of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup season because of a concussion.

“This win today is for my man, Dale Earnhardt Jr.,” Sadler said. “I know he’s going through a tough time. He’s not being able to race his race car for the rest of the year. He was riding there with me today, and he’s given me such a great opportunity to be a part of his race team.”

With two laps left in the 147-lap event, however, the outcome was in the balance. Sadler had a lead of .715 seconds when he crossed the stripe to complete Lap 145. But he started sliding toward the outside wall in Turn 2 and had to fight to keep his No. 1 Chevrolet under control.

Hamlin pulled to the inside and the cars raced side-by-side down the backstretch, but as they entered Turn 3, Sadler regained momentum and pulled ahead in the top lane as the drivers approached the white flag. Hamlin got an excellent run through Turns 1 and 2 on the final lap but not enough to make a pass.

“I messed up, man,” Sadler said of the close call on the penultimate lap. “I could kind of see him coming, and I was trying to make up some time, and I started focusing on a lapped car in front of me, and I ran out of room and almost gave it to him.

“But all in all, we were able to hold him off.”

The victory was Sadler’s first at Darlington in 32 starts across all three of NASCAR’s national series. He won for the second time in the XFINITY Series year and for the 12th time in 320 XFINITY starts.

Making only his second start of the season in the series, Hamlin was frustrated in his attempt to win at Darlington for the fifth time.

“We definitely had a good line going through (Turns) 1 and 2,” Hamlin said, “But I didn’t get a good restart (on Lap 112, after the last of three cautions), he got position on me, and track position meant so much. Once he ran the high line, my car was entirely too tight to run low.

“It eliminated our passing opportunity unless we could slide-job him there in Turn 3 on that one lap he messed up, but it didn’t happen.”

Daniel Suárez ran third after challenging Hamlin for second place—until a brush with the wall ended his chances. But the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota held third place ahead of Kyle Larson, who spun entering pit road from the lead on Lap 103 to cause the final caution and caused a major shakeup of positions within the top 10.

Brennan Poole came home fifth and clinched a spot in the inaugural XFINITY Series Chase, as did Darrell Wallace Jr. (17th on Saturday) and Brandon Jones (ninth). That leaves three spots still open with two regular-season races left before the Chase field is set.

NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200
Darlington Raceway
Darlington, South Carolina
Saturday, September 03, 2016

1. (3) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 147.
2. (2) Denny Hamlin(i), Toyota, 147.
3. (5) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 147.
4. (13) Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 147.
5. (11) Brennan Poole #, Chevrolet, 147.
6. (10) Erik Jones #, Toyota, 147.
7. (4) Ryan Blaney(i), Ford, 147.
8. (19) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 147.
9. (12) Brandon Jones #, Chevrolet, 147.
10. (22) Ryan Preece #, Chevrolet, 147.
11. (7) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 147.
12. (8) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 147.
13. (15) Ryan Reed, Ford, 147.
14. (21) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 147.
15. (17) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 147.
16. (9) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 146.
17. (14) Darrell Wallace, Jr., Ford, 145.
18. (18) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 145.
19. (16) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 145.
20. (1) Paul Menard(i), Chevrolet, 145.
21. (24) Ray Black Jr. #, Chevrolet, 145.
22. (23) Garrett Smithley #, Chevrolet, 144.
23. (36) David Starr, Chevrolet, 143.
24. (27) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 142.
25. (34) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 141.
26. (25) Mario Gosselin, Chevrolet, 140.
27. (31) Josh Berry, Chevrolet, 139.
28. (29) Todd Peck, Ford, 138.
29. (20) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, Accident, 102.
30. (30) Jeff Green, Toyota, Vibration, 74.
31. (33) Mike Harmon, Dodge, Accident, 66.
32. (32) Carl Long, Chevrolet, Accident, 60.
33. (28) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, Transmission, 51.
34. (37) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Suspension, 45.
35. (6) Kevin Harvick(i), Chevrolet, Engine, 33.
36. (35) Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, Accident, 28.
37. (26) BJ McLeod #, Ford, Accident, 20.
38. (39) Dexter Bean, Chevrolet, Electrical, 5.
39. (40) John Jackson, Chevrolet, Transmission, 4.
40. (38) Matt DiBenedetto(i), Toyota, Rear Gear, 3.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 128.719 mph.
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 33 Mins, 36 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.454 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 3 for 17 laps.
Lead Changes: 8 among 6 drivers.
Lap Leaders: P. Menard(i) 1-6; E. Sadler 7-24; R. Black Jr. # 25-26; E. Sadler 27-47; D. Hamlin(i) 48-90; K. Larson(i) 91-102; R. Blaney(i) 103-107; D. Hamlin(i) 108-111; E. Sadler 112-147.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): E. Sadler 3 times for 75 laps; D. Hamlin(i) 2 times for 47 laps; K. Larson(i) 1 time for 12 laps; P. Menard(i) 1 time for 6 laps; R. Blaney(i) 1 time for 5 laps; R. Black Jr. # 1 time for 2 laps.
Top 10 in Points: E. Sadler – 815; D. Suarez – 761; J. Allgaier – 750; T. Dillon – 742; B. Gaughan – 732; E. Jones # – 713; B. Poole # – 705; B. Jones # – 684; D. Wallace, Jr. – 630; R. Reed – 596.

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Matt Kenseth greets fans, visits with media, throws first pitch at Phillies game during Philadelphia visit

DOVER, Del. (Sept. 1, 2016) – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star Matt Kenseth signed autographs for fans, greeted Philadelphia Phillies players and met with regional media during his visit to Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday night in advance of the “Citizen Soldier 400” NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway on Oct. 2.

Kenseth said he wasn’t that nervous when he stood just in front of the pitcher’s mound, ready to throw a ceremonial first pitch to Phillies first baseman Tommy Joseph. Still, he admitted it had been a couple years since he threw a baseball, so he made sure to get in a few warm-up tosses in before hitting the field.

“I was a little nervous when people kept telling me don’t bounce it,” joked Kenseth. “These events are always fun. It’s always interesting to see how different athletes prepare before a game or event.

“[Phillies catcher] Cameron Rupp said he was going to the Texas race later this year, and [Phillies pitcher] Adam Morgan said he was planning to go to Talladega. It’s good to hear that some of these guys are race fans.”

For the record, Kenseth’s first pitch didn’t come near the dirt, and Joseph caught it cleanly, but it was maybe a little off the plate. “Just missed it by a couple inches,” said the driver of the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. The Nationals went on to defeat the Phillies 2-1.

After the ceremony, Kenseth met with regional media and covered a wide range of topics, including potential retirement (“no plans as of now”), running an old-school Tide paint scheme this weekend at Darlington and on returning to Dover as a Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship participant several months after winning the “AAA 400 Drive for Autism” at the Monster Mile on May 15.

“Dover’s always been my favorite track,” Kenseth said. “There’s really nothing else like it on the circuit. That [May] race had a little bit of everything. Leading up to the Chase, you always would like to have momentum. It would be great if we use these couple of races before the Chase to get everyone feeling comfortable and loose heading into Chicago [the first Chase race on Sept. 18].”

Before the first pitch, Kenseth, a three-time winner at Dover International Speedway, sat down for an interview on Comcast SportsNet’s “Philly Sports Talk,” met with Phillies players, visited with the team’s radio and TV teams, and also met with fans and signed autographs outside Citizens Bank Park.

In addition to the “Citizen Soldier 400” NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, the NASCAR weekend at Dover International Speedway includes the Saturday, Oct. 1 “Drive Sober 200” presented by the Delaware Office of Highway Safety NASCAR XFINITY Series race and the Friday, Sept. 30 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race.

Sept. 1, 2016

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

To Kyle Larson, perhaps the most comforting aspect of his Sunday victory at Michigan International Speedway was the liberation it provided from one of the most frequently-asked questions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage.

When is Kyle Larson going to win his first Sprint Cup race?

That was the query Larson himself invited with a 2014 rookie season that saw him finish second three times.

But as 2014 became 2015 and then 2016, and Larson’s winless streak dragged on to 98 races, it was a question he began asking himself. And by then, the operative word had changed from “when” to “if.”

Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 changed all that. A late caution gave the driver of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet the opportunity to take the green from the front row beside race leader Chase Elliott. Thanks to a shove from Brad Keselowski, Larson cleared the rest of the field through the first corner.

Nine laps later, he was finishing off a wild burnout across the checkerboard pattern in Victory Lane.

“I’m definitely relieved to not have to keep wondering if I’ll ever win a Cup race,” said Larson, who is preparing for Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway (6 p.m. ET on NBC). “That’s good, but there are still more races to be run, so we’re ready to go on now and win some more.”

Larson acknowledges he grew frustrated with the inconsistent performances of the 42 team over the past two years, but the recent strength of the Ganassi organization has been a source of substantial encouragement.

And the victory validated his optimism.

“Our team in the past has been so up and down,” Larson said. “A couple months out of the year, we’ll be really good. Then the next couple we’re bad, and the next couple we’re good again. That gets frustrating.

“But we’ve been good for a while now this year, so I’m glad I don’t have to wonder any more if I’ll ever win a Cup race.”

Larson’s victory at Michigan was all the more meaningful because it came just three weeks after close friend Bryan Clauson died from injuries sustained in a midget car accident in Belleville, Kansas.

Larson competed in the Knoxville Nationals for winged sprint cars the following week, when NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Rico Abreu dedicated his victory in the Aug. 12 “A” main to Clauson’s memory.

On Sunday, Larson parked his No. 42 Chevy in Victory Lane and immediately honored his friend and his family.

“It’s not that I tried any harder, because I’m always trying my best to win,” Larson said. “But when we did get it, it was that close to Bryan’s passing, and it makes you feel better about the win, and it means more, for sure.

“You feel almost like you’re racing for them and for the family. So definitely cool, and glad I could get the win, but it being close to Bryan’s death made it more special in a way.”

In the three days after Michigan, Larson was consumed with celebration and a succession of media obligations. On Wednesday, the entire Ganassi organization convened for a victory lunch. Now, with the win behind him, Larson shifts his focus to the final two regular-season races – at Darlington and Richmond – and to his first appearance as a championship-eligible driver in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

“I think we have a good shot,” Larson said. “There are a lot of good tracks for me in the Chase. In each round, I’ve got a track or two that I really enjoy going to, so I’m excited for it.

“In 2014, we had an awesome run throughout the Chase (an average finish of 3.8 in the first five events, as a non-Chase driver). So I’m hoping to do a little better than we did then. I think our team is a little bit better than we were in 2014. Obviously, we weren’t in the Chase that year, but we kind of acted like we were and tried to race as hard as we could and pay attention to where the points were at.”

Now, freed from nagging questions about his winless streak, Larson can attack the Chase for real.

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