Xfinity Series News (7053)
NASCAR Xfinity Series News
For the past five years, we have been fortunate to have had a wonderful partnership with Ryan Reed and Roush Fenway Racing. Together, we have increased awareness among NASCAR fans about the importance of managing diabetes and have inspired people with diabetes to live the lives they want to live. Moving forward, we have decided to shift our focus to other initiatives that support the diabetes community and, therefore, our partnership with Roush Fenway Racing to sponsor Ryan will end at the conclusion of the 2018 NASCAR season.
We are grateful to Ryan for his dedication to the diabetes community, and we admire all he has accomplished. We wish him all the success in the future as we turn from sponsor to fans. We also thank Jack Roush and the team at Roush Fenway Racing for their exceptional partnership. As the Official Diabetes Health Partner of NASCAR, we look forward to continuing our support of fans impacted by diabetes through our educational initiatives that raise awareness of the importance of diabetes management and overall good health.
Lilly PR
The XFINITY Series kicked off the weekend with a couple of practice sessions on Friday afternoon. During both practice sessions, the Sparks Energy Inc team would work on freeing up the car and getting it to turn better in the center on both ends. By the end of final practice the team had made some big improvements from where they started the day off. They would end the day with the 22nd fastest lap time heading into qualifying on Saturday afternoon.
Qualifying was scheduled to begin at 12:05 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, but Mother Nature had different plans. There had been a light drizzle for most of morning so qualifying had been put on hold. In efforts to squeeze qualifying in and not postpone other on-track activities, NASCAR changed up the format of qualifying a bit. Instead of three rounds of multi-vehicle qualifying, they would cut it down to just one 15-minute round to determine the starting lineup for the Bar Harbor 200. After the 15 minutes had expired Gase had put the No. 35 Sparks Energy Inc. Chevy in the 25th position.
The clouds would still loom for the remainder of the day, but unlike qualifying the rain would stay away for the duration of the Bar Harbor 200. History at the Monster Mile has shown that the race is usually full of wrecks or minimal attrition and long green flag runs. You typically get either end of the spectrum; never in between. The Bar Harbor 200 was one with long green flag runs and very little attrition. Stage one and two went their entire distances without a single caution. Gase had climbed his way up 22nd by the end of the second stage. However, he had fallen two laps down so after the second stage had concluded CC Donahue elected to wave pit road to get one of those laps back.
The field would get the green with 104 laps remaining in the 200 lap affair. The Sparks Energy Inc team was praying for a caution to set them up for the lucky dog and put them back on the lead lap. Unfortunately that caution did not happen. Gase would come down pit road for a green flag pit stop for a fresh set of Goodyear's and fuel.
As Gase was barreling around the track after his pit stop CC Donahue said the car just didn't sound right and the lap times weren't where they should be with fresher tires than most of the field. Shortly after, Gase came over the radio "I think we're blowing up." As he relayed this information to the team the races first caution had come out. They would stay out on the track under the caution to log as many laps and gain as many points as possible. When the wreckage was cleared and the green flag had waved, Gase limped around for another couple laps before pulling into the garage ending his day 24 laps short.
A broken valve stem was determined to have ended the teams day. Once the race had concluded, the Sparks Energy Inc. Chevy ended up in the 30th position.
It was a tough break for the team after they had been running well the past month or so. Although this one stings, the team is still encouraged after a solid month of September that they will bounce back in a couple of weeks. The NASCAR XFINITY Series will have this next weekend off before heading back to Midwest to Kansas Speedway.
Joey Gase PR
Garrett Smithley finished 23rd Saturday in the Bar Harbor 200 Xfinity Series race at Dover International Speedway.
Smithley drove the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller No. 0 Chevrolet with sponsorship from Heroes Haven.
“It wasn’t the finish we were looking for today,” Smithley said. “We dropped off the lead pace and couldn’t make up time. We brought it home, though, and learned some stuff here. We’ll be ready at Kansas.”
Smithley is 19th in Xfinity driver points.
Point leader Christopher Bell won the race.
The series rolls on to Kansas Speedway for an Oct. 20 race, the opener of the next round of the playoffs.
JDM PR
Landon Cassill finished 26th in Saturday’s Bar Harbor 200 at Dover International Speedway after parking his JD Motorsports with Gary Keller No. 01 Chevrolet late in the race.
Cassill completed 189 of the race’s 200 laps but wound up in the garage with drivetrain issues.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t run it all the way to the end,” Cassill said. “We were looking for more here today, but I enjoyed being with Johnny (team owner Johnny Davis) and the guys again. It’s always a kick to race with them.”
The race was Cassill’s third with JD Motorsports this season.
Point leader Christopher Bell won the race.
The series rolls on to Kansas Speedway for an Oct. 20 race, the opener of the next round of the playoffs.
JDM PR
The NASCAR Xfinity Series ended their first round of the playoffs at the Monster Mile with the running of the Bar Harbor 200. After a battery cable issue in the Spring, Boyd was determined for redemption at Dover International Speedway.
The day started off with a heavy mist throughout the morning and early afternoon. The mist finally cleared and Boyd qualified in the 31st position. The green flag waved and 40 cars roared to life at the Monster Mile. The first stage was very clean and the leaders set a torrid pace in the opening laps. Spotter Chris Monez directed Boyd through traffic as Boyd fought an ill-handling Grunt Style Chevy. Christopher Bell claimed the stage one victory with Boyd in the 31st position. Boyd complained he was just way too tight and needed to be freed up so he could rotate the center of the corner better. The Grunt Style Gladiators serviced Boyd with four fresh tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment.
Stage two began and it was a very similar look to the first stage. The leaders continued with their blistering pace and Boyd seemed to be even tighter on this run. The entire second stage went caution free as well. Daniel Hemric scored the stage two victory with Boyd managing to pick up a few spots to P29. Boyd radioed and said the nose was pushing so bad he felt like he had to almost stop in the corner just to get the car to rotate. The Grunt Style Gladiators went to work once again to try and help Boyd.
The green flag was displayed to begin the final stage. Boyd radioed in immediately and said he thought he had a flat tire. Reluctantly, Boyd pulled his flat black and camouflage Grunt Style Chevy down pit road to be serviced under green flag conditions. Once he was sent back on track, Boyd ran his fastest laps of the day around lap 100. Boyd said the car felt the best it had all day until on lap 118, Boyd radioed in and said something broke in the rear. After further insight behind the wall, it was determined Boyd had a broken the track bar mount on the truck arm. He was done for the day and would finish in the 32nd position. Miles the Monster claimed yet another victim in Spencer Boyd.
After the incident Boyd reflected, “Miles was not nice to us today. This track is absolutely relentless on equipment. We were not the only ones that had mechanical issues today, but I just hate we were one of the victims. There's no one to blame, unfortunately it's just a product of racing. There will be days in racing where uncontrollable
After a 32nd place finish at the Monster Mile, Boyd will remain 25th in driver standings. The NASCAR Xfinity Series will enjoy a much deserved off weekend before heading to Kansas Speedway for round two of the playoffs. Race coverage of the Kansas Lottery 300 will begin 3:00 PM ET Saturday October 20th on NBC.
Spencer Boyd PR
Ryan Reed started 20th Saturday afternoon at Dover and steadily made gains over the course of the race. With the Playoff cutoff looming, Reed had all intentions of advancing with stage points, but a lack of rear grip continued to plague him. A pit stop towards the end set him up with fresh tires and fuel to make it the distance and Reed was able to gain a few positions to cross the finish line 16th in his No. 16 Drive Down A1C Lilly Diabetes Ford.
“We made gains on the car the whole race, but it just wasn’t quite enough,” said Reed. “These Playoffs didn’t go how we all wanted but we’ll focus on finishing out the season strong.”
A heavy mist delayed the start of qualifying Saturday morning and by the time the track was ready the field had one 15-minute session to set the starting lineup. The No. 16 was lacking rear grip and after two attempts at advancing Reed settled into the 20th position to start the race.
Right from the start Reed reported that he had no rear grip, a condition that would continue to plague him over the course of the 200-lap race. The race went relatively caution free, with only stage breaks as opportunities to pit for adjustments.
The team took advantage of both stage breaks to make big adjustments to improve the handling in the No. 16. Reed took the green for the final stage 18th but lost a lap to the leaders over a long green flag run. The leaders all pitted when a caution flew as the laps dwindled down and Reed stayed on track to take the wave around and get back on the lead lap.
Reed was able to capitalize on taking the wave around when another caution came out. He came down pit road for tires and fuel. In the closing laps, Reed was able to pick up a few positions to cross the finish line 16th.
RFR PR
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GMS Racing PR
RCR PR
Race Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Daniel Hemric of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-45):
● Custer started seventh, finished seventh and earned four bonus points.
● The Haas Automation driver held the seventh position for the entirety of the stage.
● Custer said the No. 00 Ford became looser as the stage wore on.
● He pitted at the conclusion of the stage for four fresh tires, fuel and adjustments to tighten the car.
● Due to a quick pit stop, Custer gained three spots on pit road.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 46-90):
● Custer started fourth, finished fifth and earned six bonus points.
● Custer raced for the second and third position during the restart before moving back to fifth place.
● He remained inside the top-five until the end of Stage 2.
● Custer pitted the Haas Automation Ford for four tires, fuel and chassis adjustments to improve his drive through the center of the turns. He gained two positions on pit road then advanced to second place when the No. 21 car was handed a speeding penalty.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 91-200):
● Custer started second, finished second.
● Custer immediately took the lead when the checkered flag waved to start the final stage.
● He led the first 37 laps until the No. 20 car passed him for the lead on lap 132.
● During a caution on lap 162, Custer pitted for four tires, fuel and more chassis adjustments.
● After another caution was thrown on lap 178, Custer restarted in second place and held the runner-up position to advance to the second round of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs.
Notes:
● This was Custer’s third second-place finish of the season.
● This marks Custer’s 23rd top-10 of the season and third at Dover.
● This marks Custer’s 12th top-five of the season and second at Dover.
● Custer earned 10 bonus points in the Bar Harbor 200 at Dover.
● Custer led 37 laps to bring his 2018 laps led total to 278.
● Four cautions slowed the race for 23 laps.
● Christopher Bell won the Bar Harbor 200 to score his seventh career Xfinity Series victory, sixth of the season and first at Dover.
Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing With Biagi-DenBeste:
“Early on there were probably some restarts where I was a little bit too conservative - just making sure I wasn’t going to get wrecked. Our Haas Automation Ford was pretty solid. It was a lot about track position and we had to work on our car throughout the day, but the car was awesome at the end. We just needed a tick more. Me and Christopher (Bell) were about equal, but he had the track position. I wish I could have figured out the top faster on that long run, but I think we made huge gains at this track and that’s a testament to our engineers and crew chief and entire team and the Ford simulator. I think we have some good momentum going into the next round.”
Playoff Standings:
1. Christopher Bell (3044 points) 2 wins
2. Justin Allgaier (3039 points, -5)
3. Daniel Hemric (3013 points, -31)
4. Cole Custer (3011 points, -33)
5. Elliott Sadler (3011points, -33)
6. Tyler Reddick (3011 points, -34)
7. Matt Tifft (3003 points, -41)
8. Austin Cindric (3,001 points, -43)
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the Kansas Lottery 300 on Saturday, October 20 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC.
TSC PR
Late Race Incident Forces Briscoe to Settle with 19th-Place Finish at the ‘Monster Mile’
07 Oct 2018 Written by Steven B. WilsonChase Briscoe was battling inside the top-20 when two cars made contact underneath him causing him to hit the outside wall forcing him to settle with a 19th-place finish in his Ford Performance Mustang at Dover International Speedway.
Briscoe lined up in the 13th position after inclement weather only allowed one round of qualifying earlier in the day. He crossed the line 17th to end the opening 45-lap stage, reporting he lacked rear grip and front turn. After the team went to work on adjustments under the break, Briscoe lined up 16th to begin the second stage.
An uneventful 45 laps ensued with no break, before the Mitchell, Indiana, native finished that segment 16th. After lining up 16th for the final 110 laps, the race once again ran green, before Briscoe lost a lap to the leaders at lap 150. The yellow flag flew 11 laps later, but the team pitted for tires, fuel and continued adjustments sending the 60 back out in 17th.
Briscoe lined up 19th with 30 to go, before getting pushed into the outside wall by two cars underneath, resulting in some right-side damage. The team worked feverishly under the caution to make repairs sending him back out for the 18-lap shootout, where he’d finish 19th.
The No. 60 returns to the track at Kansas on Saturday, October 20, with Ty Majeski behind the wheel. Race coverage begins at 3 p.m. on NBC and MRN.
RFR PR
