Brett Winningham - Results from #830

Denny Hamlin broke the track record that his teammate, Kyle Busch, set in this race last year, for his 18^th career pole for Sunday’s 54^th annual Food City 500. Hamlin ran a fast time of 14.761 seconds, 129.991 mph. With 18 career poles in the Sprint Cup Series, it puts the driver from Virginia 38^th on the all-time list.

Brad Keselowski will start on the outside front row for his third time this season on Sunday afternoon. Keselowski ran a fast time of 129.965 mph, 14.764 seconds. He was just 0.003 seconds off of Hamlin’s fast time after making four total laps in the final round.

Matt Kenseth will start the event from third for his 12^th top-10 start at the 0.533-mile oval. It will be his second top-10 start of the 2014 Sprint Cup Series season. Kenseth’s fastest time came on his second lap of a 14.866 seconds, 129.073 mph. When the session concluded, he was 0.105 seconds off the pole sitter.

Two drivers will fail to qualify for the event, with those being David Reutimann and Dave Blaney. This will be the third time the No. 77 of Dave Blaney has failed to qualify for a race. During practice for the Duel 150’s at the Daytona International Speedway, Blaney got caught up into a crash and unfortunately had to withdraw because the team did not have a backup car.

Point’s leader, Dale Earnhardt Jr., will start Sunday in the 14^th position with a lap of 14.959 seconds, 128.271.

Four drivers got caught up in crashes this morning at the Bristol Motor Speedway in opening Sprint Cup Series practice.

Within three minutes of opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, Danica Patrick got loose on the outside lane and hit the No. 30 of Parker Kligerman. Patrick suffered some heavy damage and will move to a backup car. The Swan Racing team will try and repair the No. 30 that suffered some fender damage in the session.

Kyle Busch touched the wall off turn two to cause some damage to his right side fender and rear quarter panel portion. Busch, driving the No. 18 Skittle’s car this weekend, will be another driver who will move to a backup car.

Greg Biffle, driving the No. 16 Ford, spun his car off turn four and smacked the outside wall. After he smacked the outside wall just before the start/finish line, Biffle tried correcting the car, but was unsuccessful and smacked the inside wall that damaged the front end. Biffle will also move to a backup for Sunday. The incident happed with about 57 minutes remaining in practice.

Justin Allgaier, who is a former winner at Bristol in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, came up the track to allow Jeff Gordon to easily pass him into turn one. Allgaier went a little too high that he couldn’t get off of the outside wall to also damage his right side. He will also switch to a backup car.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also suffered some damage on his car during practice from a single car incident. Stenhouse Jr. will not go to a backup as they will fix the car prior to knockout qualifying later this afternoon.

Why are some drivers having problems? Well, many drivers have said it’s most likely caused by three things. The new rules package, new tire combination and the cold track temperature. The left sides being used in the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series is the same tire Goodyear brought to New Hampshire last season. The right side tires have a slight change into the tire compound. The tire set-up was set in a Bristol Motor Speedway test session last season in mid-September.

Because the drivers went to a backup car before qualifying, and that it can be fixed before knockout qualifying begins, they will not have to start the race at the rear per the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rulebook.

Ben Rhodes captured his second career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East pole this afternoon at the Bristol Motor Speedway. Rhodes won the pole with a fast time of 16.036 seconds, 119.656 mph. Today’s pole will mark his second consecutive pole in the division. This will be his third start this year inside the top-five in 2014.

Starting second on Saturday afternoon will be Brandon Gdovic after posting a 16.045 seconds, 119.589 mph. in two lap qualifying. Gdovic will be making his first start inside the top-10  in two races so far this season. He hopes to finish inside the top-five for his first time this season as his best finish this year is ninth at New Smyrna back in February. He was just 0.009 seconds off of the pole.

Austin Hill held onto the pole early on in qualifying, but ended up in third when qualifying was completed. Hill had a fast lap of 16.059 seconds, 119.484 mph. in the two lap qualifying session. He will make his third start this weekend from the top-10 at the Bristol Motor Speedway. He goes into this weekend hoping to score his second win in the division.

Current point’s leader, Daniel Suarez, has dominated the first two East division races by winning them both. Suarez comes into Bristol with a 18 point lead over Lee Pulliam. Though, if Suarez wants to make it three-for-three, he will have some work to do Saturday evening after qualifying in the 17^th position.

The PittLite 125 will run Saturday afternoon just after the NASCAR Nationwide Series race. You can follow with live coverage via the Race Central Live, powered by Speed51 on NASCARHomeTracks.com. You can watch it on March 22^nd 2014 on FOX Sports 1 at 11:30 a.m. Et, no live radio coverage avalible.

This weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will head to the Bristol Motor Speedway for stop four of the 36 race schedule in 2014. This weekend will be the 54^th annual Food City 500 at the 0.533-mile oval located in Tennessee. It will be the first of two stops at the speedway in 2014.

Entry list:

The entry list this weekend includes a total of 45 drivers with two going home after qualifying. There was 46 entries, but the No. 44 of J.J. Yeley withdrew from the race. Some of the new faces this weekend include, Travis Kvapil, Timmy Hill, David Reutimann, Landon Cassill and Dave Blaney.

Story lines:

Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson head into the Bristol Motor Speedway as the top-two drivers in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year points standings. Since the Daytona 500, Dillon has led those standings. This weekend will be hard to judge which of these two drivers will leave Bristol with the lead. In three starts for Dillon at the 0.533-mile oval, he has finished inside the top-five in two of the last three races. For Larson, he finished in the second spot in a photo finish with Sprint Cup Series star, Kyle Busch.

Some milestones will take place this weekend between two drivers. Michael McDowell, who drives the No. 95 Ford, will make his 150^th Sprint Cup Series start this weekend. Also looking for a milestone will be six-time and reigning champion, Jimmie Johnson. If he can finish inside the top-10 on Sunday, it will be his 300^th career top-10 National series finish.

Team Penske looks to score their third consecutive pole in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this weekend. At the Phoenix International Raceway, Keselowski scored the pole to start the streak as Logano started that event from the second spot. A week later, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Logano started on the pole while race winner Brad Keselowski started on the outside.

Where to watch:

You can catch the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race this Sunday live on FOX at 12:30 p.m. Et. The Performance Racing Network will provide live radio coverage of the event. You can listen to PRN live on many radio stations around the country, PRN mobile application or on GoPRN.com.

This weekend the NASCAR Nationwide Series will head back East to the Bristol Motor Speedway for the 32^nd annual Drive to Stop Diabetes 300. This will be the first of two stops for the series at the 0.533-mile short track oval, located in Tennessee. It will also be the first short track race of the season.

Entry List:

The entry list for Bristol Motor Speedway currently features a total of 42 drivers. If 42 drivers still remain on entry list before qualifying, two drivers will miss the race as 40 will make it in. Some of the drivers you’ll see this weekend include, Kevin Harvick, Matthew Carter, Ryan Blaney, Timmy Hill, Ruben Garcia Mateos, Kelly Admiraal, Cale Conley, Will Kimmel III, Willie Allen and Carl Long.

Story lines:

Cale Conley will make his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut this weekend driving the No. 33 Chevrolet. Conley will be the 37^th driver to have made their debut at the Bristol Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. He will have sponsorship backing from Okuma this weekend.

The last nine NASCAR Nationwide Series races has been won with a 13^th or better starting position. With starting position such a key role, it will put a lot of pressure on the drivers in qualifying and with this weekend being the first short track with this new qualifying system, it will make things much more interesting.

On late Tuesday afternoon, NASCAR made the announcement to some changes to the qualifying procedure on cooling the engines. Previously, teams would go out onto the track to run a slow lap to help cool the engine down before the next run. Many drivers said this was a safety issue, and it needed to be resolved especially for the short track races. NASCAR will allow teams to connect the right or left side, whichever they choose, through the hood flap to cool the engine. NASCAR will no longer allow teams to make a cool down lap.  

Where to watch:

The NASCAR Nationwide Series will be televised live on ESPN2 at 1:30 p.m. Et on Saturday. The Performance Racing Network will carry the live radio portion of the event. You can listen on many radio stations around the country, PRN mobile application or on GoPRN.com.

Today at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Brad Keselowski made a last lap pass to win the 17^th annual Kobalt Tools 400. Keselowski won his first race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series aseason and his 11^th victory of his seven-year-old career. Just by one lap, over Kyle Busch, Keselowski led the most laps this afternoon of 54. Since Jeff Burton in 2000, Keselowski became the first driver to sweep both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series races in the same weekend at Las Vegas.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. came home in the second spot for the second weekend in a row. Earnhardt Jr. was the race leader until running out of fuel coming off turn four. So far, Earnhardt Jr. is three-for-three this year by finishing inside the top-five in every race in 2014. He was just 0.530 seconds short of the win this afternoon.

Finishing third was Paul Menard after having a very strong day at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In eight starts at the 1.5-mile oval, Menard finished inside the top-10 for his third time. During green flag pit stops, Menard was able to stay up-front because of pit strategy and out drove Johnson while some drivers was making their stops to lead a total of six laps for an extra bonus point.

The next race for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be at the Bristol Motor Speedway. You can catch the race live on FOX at 1:00 p.m. Et. The Performance Racing Network will provide the live radio portion of the race. You can listen on many stations around the country, PRN mobile application or on GoPRN.com.

Brad Keselowski gambled his way to the victory at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway this afternoon after a battery issue with about 10 laps remaining that nearly cost him his 28^th victory in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Keselowski dominated the race by leading a total of four different times to go on and lead 144 of the 200 scheduled laps. Today marked Keselowski’s third top-10 finish and first win of the 2014 racing season.

Coming home in second was home-town boy Kyle Busch. Busch had an issue with a restart that could have took him to the lead later on. He was able to close in on Keselowski with 10 laps remaining but lapped traffic had a say in that. In his 11^th start today at Las Vegas, Busch led a total of 33 laps and finished inside the top-10 for his third time. He qualified seventh for the race earlier today, but had to go to the tail end at the start for unapproved adjustments. Despite this, it did not hold him back as within the first 15 laps, Busch was inside the top-10.

Kyle Larson finished the event in the third position after having some struggles early on. Larson nearly spun the car in the opening laps that put damage on the No. 42 Target Chevrolet for Turner-Scott Motorsports. Larson started the day off from the fourth position to post his first top-10 in two starts at Las Vegas.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series will head East for some short track racing in the Drive to Stop Diabetes 300 at the Bristol Motor Speedway. You can see it live on ESPN2 at 1:00 p.m. Et. The Performance Racing Network will provide live radio coverage of the event. You can listen on many radio stations around the contry, PRN mobile application or on GoPRN.com.

Ty Dillon won his first career pole this afternoon at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for today’s Boyd Gaming 300 with a time of 29.625 seconds, 182.278 mph. Dillon was the fastest rookie in the final round. Out of three Nationwide Series races this season, Dillon will start inside the top-10 for his second time in 2014.

Starting second will be last weekend’s pole sitter, Brad Keselowski after posting a fast time of 181.702 mph, 29.719 seconds. Keselowski was just 0.094 seconds off of Dillon’s fastest time. In eight starts at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he will start inside the top-10 for his fifth time.

Starting third will be the 2014 Daytona 500 winner, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt Jr. ran a fast time and speed of 29.810 seconds, 181.147 mph. This will be the first time this season in two starts where he will start inside the top-10 in a Nationwide Series race. He was the fastest driver during the first of three sessions today.

There was no racing incidents during the three knockout qualifying rounds. Also, no drivers will be going home as only 40 cars showed up to race in this afternoon’s Boyd Gaming 300.  

Joey Logano won his eighth career pole today at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway by breaking the track record with a 27.939 seconds, 193.278 mph. Logano beat teammate Brad Keselowski with one minute remaining in the third and final session. Logano only turned one lap in the five minute session for the pole run.

Starting second will be Brad Keselowski. Within the final minutes of qualifying, Keselowski was knocked off the top spot by his teammate. His fastest time for his one and only lap clocked in at a 27.967 seconds, 193.099 mph. Keselowski was just 0.026 seconds off of his teammates fastest lap time of the third session.

Clint Bowyer rounded out the top-three today with a 28.021 seconds, 192.713 mph. Bowyer turned three total laps with the fastest on the first time across the start/finish line. He was just 0.082 seconds off of the pole.

There was no on-track incidents during the three total rounds of qualifying. With 48 driver’s total, five went home. Those include, Blake Koch, Landon Cassill, Dave Blaney, Joe Nemechek and J.J. Yeley.

This weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will leave Phoenix International Raceway, and head North West, to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the 17^th annual Kobalt Tools 400. This will mark stop three of the 36 race schedule for 2014.

Entry List:

The entry list features a total of 48 drivers scheduled to qualify this evening. Five total drivers will go home following qualifying. Some of the drivers you’ll see this weekend include, Trevor Bayne, Travis Kvapil, Timmy Hill, Blake Koch, Landon Cassill, J.J. Yeley, Jeff Burton, Dave Blaney and Josh Wise.

Storylines:

Dale Earnhardt Jr. heads into this weekend hoping to get another top-two finishing position. The 2014 Daytona 500 champion comes into this weekend with a lot of momentum after a second place finish last weekend. In 14 starts at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Earnhardt Jr. has only two top-five finishes. Though, in those 14 starts, he has scored seven top-10’s at the 1.5-mile oval.

Matt Kenseth heads into Vegas this weekend to roll the dice in hopes to capture his fourth win. During his best seasons, in 2003 and 2004, he has drove his way to victory lane. Last year, Kenseth scored the victory and went on to finish the season with seven total victories and second in the standings. He definitely will be one of the drivers to pick this weekend.

Two drivers hope to score a good finish at their home track this weekend in Las Vegas. These two drivers are Kyle and Kurt Busch. Kyle has one win at this track, which came in 2009 from the pole. Kurt Busch has 24 Sprint Cup Victories in his 15-years of racing in the series, but does not have a win yet at Las Vegas. In 13 total starts, Kurt has finished inside the top-five only once and inside the top-10 only three times. He hopes to take his No. 41 Chevrolet to the victory on Sunday.

Where to watch:

You can watch Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 400 live on FOX at 2:30 p.m. Et. The Performance Racing Network will carry the live radio portion of the event. You can listen on many stations around the country, on the Performance Racing Network mobile application or on GoPRN.com.