Brett Winningham
Brett has been following the sport of NASCAR since the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Since Brett was 13, he has had a passion of chasing a job in sports that not many get the opportunity of doing. He has been in the NASCAR media since the middle of the 2010 season. Since then, he has been a part of many racing podcast shows to improve his talents. You can find him on twitter @NASCAR_Brett.
NKNPS: Autolite Iridium XP 150 Preview
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series will return this weekend as a combination event at the Iowa Speedway on Friday night. The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East/West feature some of the top rising NASCAR stars who might one day make it into the Sprint Cup Series. The defending race winner of this event is Cole Custer.
A total of 44 drivers are featured on the entry list this weekend but only 36 of them will take the green flag. Some of the numerous drivers you will see race include: Cole Custer, Ross Chastain, Brandon McReynolds, David Mayhew, Gray Gaulding, John Wood, Kaz Grala, Brodie Kostecki, John Funkhouser, Eddie MacDonald, Anderson Bowen and numerous other drivers.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West has clicked off eight races so far this season in 2014. Seven of those eight races has been one by multiple drivers as David Mayhew has been the only repeat winner. The other drivers who look for their second win include, Cole Custer, Patrick Staropoli, Greg Pursley, Kyle Larson, James Bickford and Chris Eggleston. It'll certainly be interesting to see who will grab the win on Friday.
Daniel Suarez will be the one and only driver in this race who will run double duty. After he is done racing Friday evening, Suarez will fly south to Queretaro, Mexico to run in the NASCAR Toyota Mexico Series race on Saturday. So far this season, Suarez goes into tonight's race with two previous victories this season.
The next two events for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will be on road courses. After the Watkins Glen and Virginia International Raceway events are complete, the series will make it's way back onto the ovals for the rest of the season.
Ben Rhodes has spread the points out in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East by 62 points over Cameron Hayley. Hayley goes into the Iowa Speedway hoping to possibly capture his first win of the 2014 season to tear down some of Rhodes lead. One of the fan favorites, Gray Gaulding, rides third in the series standings. Rounding out the fourth and fifth positions include Jesse Little and Brandon Jones.
Greg Pursley leads the standings in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West going into the seasons ninth race of the year. Pursley holds the standings lead by 25 points over Dylan Lupton and hopes to come out with his second victory. Sitting in the third position rides Brandon McReynolds with 35 points behind the leader. David Mayhew and James Bickford round out the fourth and fifth positions.
The race can be seen on a taped-delay at 11:00 a.m. Et. on Fox Sports 1 on the eighth of August. The NASCARHomeTracks.com site will offer live coverage with the race central live and live scoring.
NNS: Kyle Busch Wins Lilly Diabetes 250 Pole
Kyle Busch will start on the pole for Saturday's Lilly Diabetes 250 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after posting a fast time of 50.031 seconds, 179.888 mph. While on his run late into the final round, the lap broke the previous track record, which he set there last season. Today's pole marks the fourth of the season for the 29-year-old and hopes to take the No. 54 to a much better finish than Sam Hornish Jr. last weekend. This marks the 12th time this season that Busch will start up inside the top 10.
Rolling off today in the second starting spot will be Busch's teammate of Matt Kenseth. Kenseth posted a fast time of 50.304 seconds, 178.912 mph. around the 2.5-mile track. On Saturday afternoon he'll be chasing for his first win of the 2014 season in NASCAR Nationwide Series competition. He lost the pole by 0.273 seconds. This will be his 12th start of the year in the series.
Starting in third will be Ty Dillon after having a solid weekend so far behind the wheel of his No. 3 Chevrolet. Dillon ran only one lap in the final round to post a fast time of 50.448 seconds, 178.402 mph. He will start from inside the top-10 for his 10th time of the 2014 season and hopes to earn his first career victory in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Dillon was 0.417 seconds off of the pole sitter's time.
Two drivers of Kevin Lepage and Tommy Joe Martins failed to qualify as 42 drivers showed up to make the race. Martins, unlike Lepage, did not post a time in the first round of qualifying. There was no on-track incidents.
When round two of knockout qualifying was completed, there was some surprises of drivers not making the top-12 cut. Among those were Larson, Reed, Kwasniewski, Ragan, and among numerous others who was fast on Friday in practice that did not advance. These drivers will certainly be fun to watch as they try and score the victory.
NNS: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Preview
The NASCAR Nationwide Series heads into the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the third annual Lilly Diabetes 250. The weekend will mark stop 19 on the series schedule as the season heads into the fall portion of the season. Kyle Busch goes into the weekend as the defending race winner.
The entry list features a total of 42 drivers, which will mean two of those will be going home. A few notables entered for the race on Saturday afternoon include: Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Robert Richardson Jr, John Wes Townley, Paul Menard, David Starr, Jamie Dick, Chad Boat and David Ragan. Qualifying will be held on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. Et, live on Fox Sports 1 .
Due to losing an engine on lap seven last weekend at the Chicagoland Speedway, the No. 54 Toyota lost 28 points to the No. 22 Team Penske Ford in the NASCAR Nationwide Series owner's points standings. The No. 22 will go into Indianapolis this weekend sitting only five points behind the lead. This weekend will be interesting to follow both of these drivers because they have both won this race. Joe Gibbs Racing is chasing their fifth owner championship in the series.
The third round of Dash 4 Cash takes off this weekend once again as Brian Scott looks to go two-for-two. Scott won the award last Saturday at the Chicagoland Speedway. Ty Dillon, Chase Elliott and Trevor Bayne will all join Scott in round three this Saturday. Next weekend at the Iowa Speedway will be the fourth and final race of the Dash 4 Cash program.
Two former winners of the Brickyard 400, Kevin Harvick (2003) and Paul Menard (2011) are entered into the race. Harvick will pilot the No. 5 for JR Motorsports and Menard will drive the No. 33 for Richard Childress Racing. Dakoda Armstrong will be racing for his first time at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 22-year-old hometown isn't that far from the 2.5-mile track.
You can catch the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at 4:30 p.m. Et, live on ESPN. The radio coverage will be provided by the IMS Radio Network in conjuction with the Performance Racing Network.
NNS: Chase Elliott Blows Field Away in the Windy City
Chase Elliott scored his third career NASCAR Nationwide Series victory on Saturday at the Chicagoland Speedway in the fourth annual EnjoyIllinois.com 300. This win will give Elliott his 13th career top-10 finish in the season after leading the most laps of 85. He will also leave the 1.5-mile oval with the series points lead by seven over Regan Smith. Elliott begun the 200-lap event by starting in the third spot.
Finishing in second, which he done by pit strategy on the final cycle of green flag pit stops, was Trevor Bayne. Before having to pit, Bayne led a total of 14 laps that earned him just enough of a lead to come down pit road for the final time without losing many positions. He came back onto the track running in third and quickly passed Kyle Larson to finish 1.773 seconds behind the race winner. It was his third finish inside the top-10 this season.
Kyle Larson, who was another driver that had a dominate car, finished in the third spot for his first top-10 finish in only three starts at Chicago. Larson led a total of 23 laps of the race but wasn't able to maintain the lead because he had a very loose car. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender earned his 10th top-five finish in 16 starts this season. Larson was 9.283 seconds behind Elliott when he took the checkered flag.
Sam Hornish Jr. was the only contender that had a problem all evening long as he lost an engine on his seventh lap of the race. Hornish had a good starting spot as he rolled off in the sixth-position. The No. 54 Toyota still leads the owner points standings but only by five points over the No. 22 Team Penske Ford.
The next race for the NASCAR Nationwide Series will be at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the third annual event. You can catch the race at 4:30 p.m. Et, live on ESPN2. The IMS Radio Network will carry the live radio broadcast but the race will air on many of the same PRN radio stations. The four Dash 4 Cash drivers at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be: Chase Elliott, Trevor Bayne, Ty Dillon and Brian Scott. Scott claimed an extra $100,000 by being the highest finishing eligible driver at Chicago.
ARCA: Mason Mitchell Finally Scores First Career Win
The ARCA Racing Series saw a new winner Saturday at the Chicagoland Speedway after Mason Mitchell passed Justin Boston with just five laps remaining in the race. Mitchell, who has came near the win numerous times in the past, started the day off from the ninth position. It didn't take long for the 20-year-old to reach inside top-five as it took him only 18 laps. With the win this evening, Michell will leave the 1.5-mile oval with a 25 point lead over Grant Enfinger.
"This is a dream come true" Mitchell said after picking up his first ARCA Racing Series win Saturday. "We really weren’t that good Friday in practice but these guys took a big swing at it. I can’t put this win into words yet. We have worked so hard for this since starting our own team in the offseason. I was pretty disappointed two weeks ago after Winchester but this makes up for that. I have to thank my family for continuing to stick by me and my racing career."
Coming home in second by having a very strong day was Justin Boston after starting from the fourth position. Boston led 22 of the 100 laps this afternoon but just came shy of the victory. The race Saturday afternoon gave the 23-year-old his fifth top-10 finish this season after 11 of those being complete. Boston lost the race by just 0.795 seconds.
Finishing in third was Matt Tifft after having another solid run in his fifth start of the season. Today's strong run ties his best career finish for the third time of his ARCA Racing Series career. He also brings home the highest finishing SCOTT's rookie of the race award. Tifft started the race from the sixth-position.
On the second to the last restart of the race, Will Kimmel damaged the third gear in his transmission, which caused him to have very slow restarts that lost him a bunch of spots. This, however, didn't stop Kimmel as he brought home his No. 69 Ford to a fourth-place finish. He started the afternoon from the third position.
On lap 23, problems struck pole-sitter John Wes Townley as he blown a right front tire while battling Justin Boston for position in turn three. Townley was running the high line but it didn't stop him from getting very heavy damage that ended his day. He finished a disapointing 22nd and didn't lead a single lap despite starting on the pole.
The next race for the ARCA Racing Series will be July 25th at the Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis. You can catch the SCOTT Get Geared Up 200 presented by Federated Car Care live on FOX Sports 1.
NNS: Brian Scott Wins Pole at Chicagoland
Brian Scott captured the pole for Saturday's EnjoyIllinois.com 300 at the Chicagoland Speedway after posting a solid lap time of 30.370 seconds, 177.807 mph. Today's pole is Scott's second of the 2014 season and will certainly give the 26-year-old driver plenty of momentum going into the event. This will mark his fourth career pole in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Starting second tonight, which this driver led the first round of knockout qualifying, will be Scott's teammate of Ty Dillon. Dillon will make his 10th start inside the top-10 this season Saturday night at the Chicagoland Speedway through 18 attepmts. Dillon was just 0.028 seconds off of the pole sitter's pace. His fastest time was 30.398 seconds, 177.643 mph.
One of the favorites coming into tonight's race, and certainly has the strenth to win on any track, will be Chase Elliott who will start in the third position tonight. Elliott posted a time of 30.443 seconds, 177.381 mph. Even though the 18-year-old has never set tires on the 1.5-mile oval Chicagoland Speedway, it will not stop him as he scored two wins previously, with one of those being at the Texas Motor Speedway. He was 0.073 seconds slower than the fastest car in the final round.
There was no incidents during the entire three rounds of knockout qualifying.
No cars will go home as only 40 showed up to race.
NNS: Chicagoland Speedway Preview
This weekend the NASCAR Nationwide Series will go racing in the Midwest at the Chicagoland Speedway for the fourth-annual EnjoyIllinois.com 300. Saturday night's event will mark race 17 of the 33 scheduled for 2014. Joey Logano, which isn't enetered to run Saturday, is the defending race winner.
The entry list features 40 different drivers, which means no one will be going home because the series only fields 40 cars. Several of these drivers include: Kasey Kahne, Blake Koch, Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney, Richard Harriman, John Wes Townley, Cale Conley, David Starr, Ryan Ellis, Sam Hornish Jr, Jamie Dick, Chad Boat and Mike Harmon. Kasey Kahne, Kyle Larson and Landon Cassill will be the only three cup drivers who will be going for the win as this is a stand-alone event.
Regan Smith is the only qualifier for the Dash-4-Cash who made the first round last weekend at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Smith won the first round last weekend, earning him an extra $100,000. If he goes on and wins the next three rounds, and then pull off the win at the Iowa Speedway, Nationwide Insurance will give him an extra $600,000. This all will total out to be one million dollars. The other three contenders for Chicagoland Speedway include: Chris Buescher, Brian Scott and Elliott Sadler.
Erik Jones will be making his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut Saturday behind the wheel of the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. The 18-year-old will join Sam Hornish Jr. and Elliott Sadler this weekend with the team. Hornish and Jones comes into this weekend as one of the favorites to score the win at the Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday. Hornish has four starts this season behind the wheel of the No. 54.
You can watch the NASCAR Nationwide Series race live on ESPN2 at 8:00 p.m. Et. You can listen to live radio coverage of the event on the Motor Racing Network, which will also start at 8:00 p.m.
NCWTS: Jones Walks Away From Iowa With Race Win
After a wild night of racing action at the Iowa Speedway, Erik Jones will leave the event with the win, making the Toyota race-winning streak 11 straight in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Jones led a total of a 131 of the 200 laps to score his second career victory in his ninth career start. He was hoping to leave tonight with a solid finish after crashing nearly a month ago at the Gateway Motorsports Park late in the race while leading.
Ryan Blaney, who came home in second, came just shy of the race win after putting up a hard fight all evening long. Blaney, which led 26 laps of the event after starting in the fourth position, came into the night as one of the fan favorites. The finish marks his seventh inside the top-10 this year, which puts himself sitting second in the points. He was 0.630 seconds short of scoring the victory.
Matt Crafton, who finished third after starting the night off from sixth, stayed inside the top-10 all evening long, despite not leading a single lap. Crafton will capitalize on a bad night from Timothy Peters to take over the points standings leaving the Iowa Speedway. He leads by two points infront of the race runner-up, Ryan Blaney. This will mark his eighth finish inside the top-10 after eight total starts at the 0.875-mile oval.
Ben Kennedy was the highest finishing rookie of the race after finishing in sixth. He rolled off of pit road to start the race in the 19th position. The other two ThorSport Trucks, Johnny Sauter and Jeb Burton, will both go back home with a 14th and 18th-place finishing effort. The pole sitter, Darrell Wallace Jr., came home in the 13th spot after pit strategy got them thrown off. Team was hoping for a late race caution but it never came.
It's safe to say that neither Ron Hornaday Jr. or Timothy Peters will not be sending a Christmas card to one another after their incident on lap 63. Peters, who wasn't happy at Hornaday, showed his displeasure by spinning Hornaday that caused him to do a 360 on the back straightaway. Hornday was able to continue on in the race, while the No. 17 had to take the Toyota machine behind the wall for repairs. Peters was able to get back into the race and finished a disappointing 31st. He came into the event sitting third in the points standings. Hornaday finished tonight in the 21st spot.
The next race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be Wednesday, July 23rd at the Eldora Speedway for the second annual Mudsummer Classic. Coverage will begin at 8:30 p.m. Et, live on FOX Sports 1. The Motor Racing Network will provide the radio broadcast of the event.
NCWTS: Darrell Wallace Jr. Wins Pole at Iowa Speedway
Darrell Wallace Jr. will start from the pole Friday night at the Iowa Speedway after positing a fast time of 22.946 seconds, 137.279 mph, with about 30 seconds remaining in the final round. The pole for Friday's American Ethanol 200 marks his second of the year, with the first coming at the Martinsville Speedway in April, in which he went on to finish second in that event. He paced the one and only practice session for the series this morning, making him a fan-favorite to win the pole. Final practice was washed out after a little rain shower earlier in the afternoon.
Erik Jones, who drives the No. 51 when Kyle Busch doesn't run in the series, will roll off from the second starting spot. Jones posted a fast time of 22.961 seconds, 137.189 mph. on his fourth of four laps turned around the 0.875-mile oval in the final round. He hopes Iowa Speedway will treat him well after a 23rd-place finish in his last start at the Gateway Motorsports Park. Joes was 0.015 seconds behind the pole sitter when the time expired.
Timothy Peters will roll off third tonight after a fast time of 23.010 seconds, 136.897 mph. in the final round of knockout qualifying. Peters best lap came on his first of four around the 0.875-mile Iowa Speedway. Tonight will mark his sixth time this season that the 32-year-old has started a race from inside the top-10. Peters hopes this will give him plenty of momentum to capture his third win in-a-row in July at Iowa. He was just 0.064 seconds behind Wallace's fastest time.
One of the fan favorites, Ryan Blaney, will start tonight's event from the fourth spot. ThorSport Racing trio, Jeb Burton, Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter, will respectivly start from the 13th, sixth and 18th position. Tyler Young was the highest qualifying rookie, which ended up 15th on the speed chart.
There was only one caution for debris during the two rounds of qualifying on this Friday afternoon. Tonight's race will air live on FOX Sports 1 at 8:00 p.m. Et. In addition, the Motor Racing Network will carry the live radio broadcast of the event.
NCWTS: Race Preview Iowa Speedway
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will move back into the midwest for the sixth annual American Ethanol 200 at the Iowa Speedway. This will mark the ninth race on the 2014 calender for the series after Kentucky two weekends ago.
For the first time since Martinsville Speedway in April, the entry list will feature a full-field, but with only 36 drivers. This will mean nobody will go home following qualifying that is scheduled for Friday afternoon, which can be seen on tape-delay at 7:00 p.m. Et, on FOX Sports 1. Numerous fresh faces you'll see race tonight are: Chris Eggleston, Eric Caudell, Tommy Regan, Dustin Hapka, Brandon Brown and Jeff Choquette.
The Red Horse Racing duo go into the Iowa Speedway Friday haping to capture a win this weekend with either Timothy Peters or German Quiroga. In July of last year, Quiroga earned his first pole in the series at the 0.875-mile oval, but his teammate, Timothy Peters, left the speedway earning his second win there. Peters could go three in-a-row there in July tonight if he is able to pull off the victory. As far as Quiroga goes, it could be his night, too. Last time the series raced on a short track, Quiroga came home with his best finish of second at Gateway, which was one of his six finishes inside the top-10 in 2014.
Two drivers will try to go after Ryan Blaney's record of becoming the youngest winner in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at the Iowa Speedway. The current record, which is 18 years, five months and 15 days, will be challeged by Erik Jones, 18, and Cole Custer, 16-years-old. Jones goes into the race Friday evening with an average finish of 4.5. For Custer, it'll be all about momentum as he won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series race there last August. Blaney will also be a threat to win as he earned the pole this past May for the NASCAR Nationwide Series event.
Eric Caudell, Tommy Regan, Dustin Hapka and Brandon Brown will all make their NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debuts this weekend. Chris Eggleston and Jeff Choquette will make their series returns Friday evening. Many of these drivers have made numerous starts on the short tracks, which means they'll be fun to watch Friday night.
You can watch the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at the Iowa Speedway starting at 8:00 p.m. Et, live on FOX Sports 1. The Motor Racing Network will also carry the radio broadcast of the event. Timothy Peters is the defending race winner of the July event.