Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), finished 26^th in the Irwin Tools Night Race NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Saturday night at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

Patrick, who had been battling through a loose-handling condition, was running a solid race and holding her ground early in the race. But shortly after lap 100, her car slid up the track in turn three and slapped the outside retaining wall. The contact caused damage to the right side of the car and also bent the splitter bar down.

With the caution out, Patrick brought the GoDaddy Chevy to the attention of her pit crew. They changed four tires, made a track bar adjustment and pulled out the fenders in an effort to fix the damage.

Crew chief Tony Gibson elected to bring Patrick back down pit road a second time as a precautionary measure. The crew did more work to the right side of the car to ensure the damaged sheet metal did not cause a flat tire once the race returned to green. But the field took the green flag at lap 112 right as Patrick was coming off pit road, which meant she was quickly overtaken by the leaders and went a lap down.

Despite issues with handling and the splitter, Patrick continued to fight through the 500-lap race and finished in 26^th.

“Overall, I would honestly say we are still on a good streak of running strong,” said Patrick, who made her 34^th Sprint Cup start and her third at Bristol. “There is nothing you can do about getting into the wall and having damage. We came back as best as we could and made the car as good as it was at the end. That is a positive. My goal, honestly, in my mind is like, ‘Man, if we can come away with a top-30 with having these problems, then that is all right,’ and we finished 26^th through attrition and staying out of trouble. We will take it and move on.”

Gibson also took positives away from the night.

“I think we were a solid top-20 car before the accident happened,” Gibson said. “Danica was doing the right thing on the track, and as far as I’m concerned, we had a good weekend here. We have to focus on the positives on a night like this. I appreciate her and the team not giving up and hanging in there together tonight.”

Patrick’s teammate Mark Martin, interim driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS as he subs for the injured Tony Stewart, finished 20^th.

The third member of SHR, Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS, finished 21^st.

Matt Kenseth won the Irwin Tools Night Race, scoring his 29^th career Sprint Cup victory, his fifth of the season and his third at Bristol.

Kasey Kahne finished .188 of a second behind Kenseth in the runner-up spot, while Juan Montoya, Brian Vickers and Joey Logano rounded out the top-five. Paul Menard, Jeff Gordon, Marcos Ambrose, Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr. comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were 11 caution periods for 74 laps, with six drivers failing to finish the 500-lap race.

With round 24 of 36 complete, Newman leads the SHR contingent in the championship point standings. He maintained his 15^th-place standing and has 659 points, 162 back of series leader Jimmie Johnson and 26 behind 10th-place Logano. Patrick maintained her 27^th-place standing and has 436 points, 385 behind Johnson and 249 away from Logano.

The No. 14 car is 13^th with 677 points, 144 behind the series-leading No. 48 team of Hendrick Motorsports but only eight points behind the 10^th-place No. 22 team of Penske Racing. Stewart, out of the car indefinitely, dropped to 19^th in points. He has 594 points, 227 out of first and 91 behind 10^th-place Logano.

Just two races remain before the 12-driver, 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup begins Sept. 15 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. Only the top-10 in points are locked into the Chase. Positions 11 and 12 in the Chase are wild cards, awarded to the two drivers between 11^th and 20^th in points with the most wins. In the event of multiple drivers having the same number of wins, a driver’s point standing serves as the tiebreaker.

Martin Truex Jr., who is 14^th in points, has the first wild card via his win earlier in the season at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. Newman holds the second wild card as he is 15^th in points with one victory. Stewart is next in line for the wild card by virtue of his one victory and 19^th-place standing in points.

Patrick, who is competing for Rookie of the Year honors against Ricky Stenhouse Jr., finished eight spots behind Stenhouse, who placed 18^th.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the AdvoCare 500 on Sunday, Sept. 1 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT, with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with its pre-race show at 7 p.m.

TSC PR

Mark Martin, driving in place of the injured Tony Stewart, overcame some early adversity in the Irwin Tools Night Race Saturday at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway to score a respectable 20^th-place finish at the .533-mile oval.

Martin was behind the wheel of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) for the first time in an illustrious NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career that now stands at 871 career starts. He rallied from as low as 32^nd to keep the No. 14 car competitive in the Sprint Cup owner standings. The No. 14 car is 13^th with 677 points, 144 behind the series-leading No. 48 team of Hendrick Motorsports but only eight points behind the 10^th-place No. 22 team of Penske Racing. Stewart, out of the car indefinitely, dropped to 19^th in driver points. He has 594 points, 227 out of first and 91 behind 10^th-place Joey Logano.

“We missed the setup really bad at the beginning of the race,” Martin said. “We struggled with the car in trying to get it better, and then I pitted wrong and cost us a lap, and that was the beginning of the end. We tried to pull pit strategy to get back on the lead lap. We took a gamble and lost a couple more laps by pitting under the green, and then having a caution come out on the lap where we came back out. We had some tough luck and a few things that we could’ve done better, but we were pretty fast at the end. That’s why I go home feeling good about it because we were able to improve the car and get it competitive, and that’s hard to do with the short pit stops that we get here.

“The guys did a good job. I think we’ll be better. Our practice time was so short yesterday, and we had so much trouble. We just needed another day to be ready for tonight, really.

“We took a stab at it this morning and missed it pretty good. We were able to adjust to that during the race, get it up off the racetrack and get it competitive at the end to where we were a top-10 car. The positive is the guys did a great job. It was just a short day yesterday, and we didn’t have a chance to get it right. This one is behind us, and we’ll move ahead from here.”

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 21^st after spending the majority of the race among the top-10. Newman was one of eight drivers involved in a multi-car accident on lap 448. He was able to complete the race, but finished three laps down.

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 Go Daddy Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 26^th. It was Patrick’s 34^th career Sprint Cup start and her third at Bristol.

Matt Kenseth won the Irwin Tools Night Race to score his 29^th career Sprint Cup victory, his fifth of the season and his third at Bristol.

Kasey Kahne finished .188 of a second behind Kenseth in the runner-up spot, while Juan Pablo Montoya, Brian Vickers and Logano rounded out the top-five. Paul Menard, Jeff Gordon, Marcos Ambrose, Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr. comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were 11 caution periods for 74 laps, with six drivers failing to finish the 500-lap race.

With round 24 of 36 complete, Newman leads the SHR contingent in the championship point standings. He maintained his 15^th-place standing and has 659 points, 162 back of series leader Jimmie Johnson and 26 behind 10^th-place Logano. Patrick maintained her 27^th-place standing and has 436 points, 385 behind Johnson and 249 away from Logano.

Just two races remain before the 12-driver, 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup begins Sept. 15 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. Only the top-10 in points are locked into the Chase. Positions 11 and 12 in the Chase are wild cards, awarded to the two drivers between 11^th and 20^th in points with the most wins. If multiple drivers have the same number of wins, a driver’s point standing serves as the tiebreaker.

Martin Truex Jr., who is 14^th in points, has the first wild card via his win earlier this season at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. Newman holds the second wild card as he is 15^th in points with one victory, earned in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Stewart is next in line for the wild card by virtue of his victory at Dover (Del.) International Speedway and 19^th-place point standing.

Patrick, who is competing for Rookie of the Year honors against Ricky Stenhouse Jr., finished eight spots behind Stenhouse, who placed 18^th.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the AdvoCare 500 on Sunday, Sept. 1 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT, with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with its pre-race show at 7 p.m.

TSC PR

Greg Pursley made sure that the second time he took at the lead in the Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 150 at Spokane County Raceway he held on to it.

The 2011 series champion pulled away in the closing laps en route to his third win of the season and 16th career victory in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West.

Pursley, behind the wheel of the No. 26 Gene Price Motorsports/Star Nursery/Real Water Ford, initially took the lead from teammate and pole winner Cameron Hayley on the first lap, only to relinquish it five laps later. The Newhall, Calif., native fell back and ran just inside the top five for much of the race.

He made his charge to the front on a restart following the fourth and final caution of the event – taking the lead on Lap 115 and stretching that margin to win by 2.259 seconds.

Derek Thorn – who leads the championship standings – also made a late-race charge, but had to settle for second. Hayley, who for the sixth time this year won the 21 Means 21 Pole Award by Coors Brewing Co., in qualifying, came home third.

Fifteen-year-old Giles Thornton finished fourth, followed by Patrick Staropoli – who was making his series debut. Michael Self, who dominated much of the race in leading 78 laps, faded to sixth at the finish. Dylan Lupton, Travis Milburn, Braeden Havens and Luis Tyrrell rounded out the top 10.

The race featured four lead changes among three drivers. The pace of the event was slowed by four cautions for 26 laps.

Thorn continues to lead the championship standings with a 23-point edge over Hayley – 431 to 408. Self is third with 402, followed by Pursley with 400 and Lupton with 362. Completing the top 10 in points are Taylor Cuzick at 327, Carl Harr at 323, Daryl Harr at 308, Thornton at 307 and Dylan Hutchison at 298.

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West is back in action on Sept. 14, for the iON Utah Grand Prix at Miller Motorsports Park.

NASCAR PR

It was the perfect day for Dylan Kwasniewski.

Kwasniewski was fastest in practice and put his Royal Purple/Rockstar Energy Drink Chevrolet on the pole before going out to lead a race-high 39 laps en route to a win in the Biscuitville 125 on Saturday in NASCAR K&N Pro Series East action at VIRginia International Raceway. It was Kwasniewski’s fourth win of the season and ninth overall in the K&N Pro Series for the reigning K&N Pro Series West champion. 

Bryan Ortiz was near the front of the field all race long and finished second – crossing the line .847 seconds behind Kwasniewski – to record his best series career finish. Brett Moffitt finished third to record his 33rd career top-five finish in 57 series starts. Ben Kennedy and Sunoco Rookie-of-the-Year contender Gray Gaulding finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Cale Conley, local standout Peyton Sellers, Scott Heckert, Eddie MacDonald and Alex Kennedy rounded out the top 10.

Kwasniewski led the race’s first 10 laps, but was content to let Daniel Suárez take over the point for 17 laps before everyone made pit stops for fuel. Kwasniewski, a member of the prestigious NASCAR Next program, regained the lead on Lap 29 and led the rest of the way. The race ended with a green-white-checkered finish after Suárez’s bid for a second win this season ended in a cloud of smoke due to a Lap 50 engine failure.

With the victory Kwasniewski extended his lead over Moffitt in the championship standings to 28 points with five races remaining. Ben Kennedy holds down the third spot – 40 tallies in back of the leader.

It was the first road-course race for the series since competing at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn., in July 2010.

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East is back on the track next for the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 140 on Monday, Sept. 2 at Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway.

NASCAR PR

CARL EDWARDS – No. 99 Fastenal Ford Fusion – WE HEARD IT WAS THE ENGINE.  HOW MUCH WARNING DID YOU HAVE?  “I didn’t have any warning.  I’ve just got to thank all the guys.  That’s the most fun I’ve had in a race car in a long time.  Jimmy did a great job.  The car was almost perfect and the engine ran awesome until it broke.  We had great pit stops and I think we’ve got some good things to get forward to.  This is what we needed, a race like this – with the engine aside – I think we were the dominant car here tonight.  We’ve got some good races coming up.”  WHAT HAPPENED?  “We had a great car, probably the best car we’ve had in a long time.  The pit crew was great.  Our strategy was good.  The restarts were great.  The engine ran great until it blew up, so if we run like that the rest of the year it’s gonna be awesome.  We’re gonna be good.  We’re in a position right now we said we’d go for it.  I’m sure that’s what Doug Yates and the guys did.  They probably just made the most power they could, but it’s hard.  I feel like we were in control of that race.  We were gonna win that one.”

Ford Racing PR

BMS/NASCAR PR

Ross Kenseth couldn't tell you just how many laps he's made at Madison International Speedway in his lifetime, but Saturday's had to be one of his most impressive.

Kenseth qualified on the pole for Sunday's Herr's Live Life With Flavor 200 at Madison with a fast qualifying time of 18.217 seconds.

"Driving in a late model is not a good comparison to these ARCA cars," he said. "The biggest thing is the horsepower and driving into the corners. The guys did a great job preparing the car. It's been a good weekend so far."

Kenseth went out fourth in the qualifying session, then watched as his lap held up against the likes of Venturini Motorsports drivers Justin Boston and Kyle Benjamin, Mason Mingus, Frank Kimmel and local driver Travis Sauter.

"I'm excited about this race," he said. "It's great that some local guys can come up here and race against the ARCA drivers."

Boston, in the ZLOOP Computer & Recycling Toyota, had the fastest time in the second practice session and was just a nose behind Kenseth at 18.238 seconds. Alex Bowman still holds the ARCA track qualifying record with a lap of 18.093 last year.

"I'm real excited about this race," Boston said. "I would have liked to have qualified on the pole, but Ross put down a good time. I'm optimistic."

Benjamin, 15, drove a 18.306 in his qualifying lap on the high-banked half-mile dubbed as "Wisconsin's fastest half-mile." He said his car will be good in race trim on Sunday.

"It's a tough track to drive," Benjamin said. "You can't miss your marks at all. It's a tough place. Third is a really good place to start."

Mingus, in the WinTron Racing 811 Call Before You Dig-Diamond Equipment Toyota, qualified fourth with Kimmel, in the Ansell-Menards Toyota fifth.

Spencer Gallagher will start sixth in front of a pair of Cunningham Motorsports cars in the No. 77 of Tom Hessert and the No. 22 of Anderson Bowen. Sauter, in the No. 99 Lester Buildings Ford, will start ninth, just ahead of Mason Mitchell in the Happy Cheeks Ford. Mitchell's streak of two consecutive Menards Pole Awards presented by Ansell ended.

Kenseth, who's father Matt Kenseth is racing in tonight's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Briston (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and is expected to be at Sunday's race, ran a full late model season at Madison plus has raced several times as part of a national touring series.

"Qualifying was real important for us," he said. "It helps to have a good qualifying position here."

Sunday's 200-lap race will go green at 2 p.m. Catch all the action live on the ARCA Racing Network with Charley Krall and Tim Clagg doing the play-by-play on arcaracing.com. The race is also being taped by NBC Sports for an Aug. 29 air date.

ARCA Racing PR

RAB Racing and the No. 99 ToyotaCare Camry driven by Alex Bowman came into "Thunder Valley" poised to continue their top 15 finishing streak, and march up the driver and owner point standings. A fast car in the opening laps of the Food City 250 proved the team had the speed to contend, but an ignition box failure dashed any hopes for a good finish.

Practice on Friday morning started off with Bowman running the fastest lap for two out of the three hours in practice, showing the speed of RAB Racing as Bowman was fastest with Kenny Wallace running the second fast lap in the early stages of practice. The team then worked on long run situations throughout the remaining two hours of practice and logged a total of 112 laps. The No. 99 ToyotaCare Camry qualified in the 14th position, with Bowman noting that the car had much more speed in it than their starting position.

As the green flag flew Bowman immediately began to conserve his car's brakes and tires, maintaining the 14th position, but on lap 34 the car lost all power and had to come into the pits to diagnose the issue. Crew chief Chris Rice immediately diagnosed the problem, and the team changed the car's ignition box in the pits. Although they only lost 14 laps, the team's hopes for a strong finish were gone. Bowman rejoined the race in 37th position and ended the 250 lap race in the 33rd position.

Alex Bowman: "What a disappointing day, we started the day off in practice with a top 10 race car that I knew I could contend with because the drivability was so good, I could run any line and maneuver with ease. At the start of the race I was just starting to gain on the cars infront of me 30 laps in and the car just started to shut off, and lose all power. I've got to hand it our crew for only losing 14 laps since changing ignition boxes is a large undertaking, but that was pretty much the end of our day. Disappointing but we have to keep up our heads up and go to Atlanta, a mile and a half track where we always show speed."

With the 33rd place finish Bowman still holds onto the 11th place in driver point standings and owner Robby Benton maintained the 15th position in owner point standings. The next race for the RAB Racing ToyotaCare Camry will be at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Great Clips / Grit Chips 300 and will be televised live on ESPN 2.

RAB Racing PR