Xfinity Series News (6883)
NASCAR Xfinity Series News
Audio Video Specialists Joins Superlite Cars as Co-Primary Sponsors for Ryan Ellis and the No.78 Chevy at Road America
15 Aug 2018 Written by Steven B. WilsonWe are proud to announce that Audio Video Specialists will be a co-primary sponsor with Superlite Cars of the No.78 Chevy for Ryan Ellis in the Johnsonville 180 NASCAR XFINITY Series race. This will be Ellis’ second XFINITY Series start this season. Ellis who works full-time at Go Fas Racing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series as the Director of Public Relations and Marketing, will utilize his off-week from his desk-job, to get back behind the wheel of the Superlite Cars / Audio Video Specialists No.78 Chevy for BJ McLeod Motorsports.
Audio Video Specialists is a family owned company that specializes in Commercial and Residential Audio/Video system design, sales and installation. They pride themselves on creating custom designed systems to fit all their client’s needs and budget, and with over 20 years of combined industry experience, their management staff has the skill, knowledge and experience to exceed your expectations without breaking the bank.Audio Video Specialists provides complete service for the design, installation and maintenance of quality Audio/Video including Home Theatre, Home Automation, Surround Sound, Security Cameras and all Commercial Audio/Video including Houses of Worship, Retail, Bars/Restaurants and Office Spaces. Let them become “Your A/V Specialists”.
Audio Video Specialists will be running a charity campaign to raise money for two foundations: Feed the Children and Pit Stops for Hope. More information on that will be released via Ryan’s social media this week.
Superlite Cars has already been named the team’s other co-primary sponsor. Race Car Replicas (RCR) and its sister company Superlite Cars are the leading manufacturers of a wide range of premium-quality component cars. RCR is primarily focused on building replicas of iconic vintage race cars, mostly from the 60s. Superlite generally produces original designs like the SL-C, Nemesis, Moab and Aero. In business since 2003, both Superlite Cars and RCR have delivered hundreds of cars to satisfied customers all over the globe.
Bachtel Excavating has also already been named a secondary sponsor for Ellis. Based out of Massillon, Ohio, Bachtel Excavating is one of the most professional and respected excavating companies and has been providing great services for residential, commercial and industrial clients for two decades. Their goal is to provide the best training and equipment possible to faciliatate the completion of work in a safe and efficient manner.
FortyNorth Security has also been added as a secondary sponsor for the team. FortyNorth Security is a boutique information security consulting company specializing in offensive security work. They utilize a team of respected and experienced ethical hackers to hunt for security vulnerabilities that would negatively impact your organization.
Associate sponsors for the weekend will also include Pit Stops for Hope, Degler Farms, a logo representing PANS/PANDAS Awareness, Pet Paradise, and Dogwood Crossfit.
Ryan Ellis Racing PR
Vinnie Miller is set for his second Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Miller will be driving the No. 01 JD Motorsports with Gary Keller Chevrolet in Friday night’s Food City 300, the second Xfinity race of the season at the tough half-mile track.
Miller will be looking for a better run this time around. In the April race at Bristol, he was T-boned in a crash 105 laps into the 300 and finished 33rd.
After two recent races on road courses, Miller said he looks forward to Bristol.
“I’m ready to be back on my stomping grounds -- oval tracks,” he said. “The last few weeks of road-course races have been disappointing. I am ready to be just turning left this weekend at Bristol.
“We had a solid car in the spring race but had overheating issues. The team was able to fix the problem, but, unfortunately, we were collected up in a multi-car accident. I am hoping to come out with a clean finish this weekend for the No. 01 JD Motorsports team with Gary Keller.”
Practices at Bristol are scheduled at 10:05 a.m. and 1:35 p.m. Thursday. Qualifying is set for 3:40 p.m. Friday, with the race to follow at 7:30 p.m.
JDM PR
Garrett Smithley has a lot of experience at Bristol Motor Speedway, site of Friday night’s Food City 300.
Smithley has raced in five Xfinity events at the half-mile track, and that experience totals 1,249 laps around the bowl-shaped facility.
“You learn something there about every lap,” Smithley said. “Bristol is very fast, and it seems like you go into one turn as soon as you leave the previous one. You have to stay on your toes all the time.”
Smithley will drive the No. 0 Chevrolet for JD Motorsports with Gary Keller in Friday’s race. He finished 17th in the series’ April visit to Bristol.
Practice is scheduled at 10:05 a.m. and 1:35 p.m. Thursday. Qualifying is set for 3:40 p.m. Friday, with the race to follow at 7:30 p.m.
JDM PR
The April Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway was a memorable one for Ross Chastain.
Chastain drove the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller No. 4 Chevrolet to a ninth-place finish in that race. The result was his second-best run of the season and his best finish in seven career Xfinity races at the fast half-mile track.
Chastain will be looking for similar results Friday when Xfinity drivers return to BMS for the Food City 300.
“Bristol has always been one of my favorite tracks, and the performance we had there in April gave us a real boost,” Chastain said. “We can build off that for this week and hopefully have another top-10 finish.”
Chastain is 12th in Xfinity points and is battling for a spot in the playoffs.
Practices are scheduled at 10:05 a.m. and 1:35 p.m. Thursday. Qualifying is set for 3:40 p.m. Friday, with the race to follow at 7:30 p.m.
JDM PR
Go Green Racing is Ready to Take on The Last Great Colosseum
15 Aug 2018 Written by Steven B. WilsonAfter a couple weeks of road course racing the NASCAR Xfinity Series briefly returns to the oval track. The series heads to Bristol, Tennessee for their second stint at Bristol Motor Speedway. Joey and the team had a great run back in April capping the weekend off with a 16th place finish in the Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300.
"The night race at Bristol was always the race I couldn't wait to watch when I was a kid," said Gase. "I was a huge Rusty Wallace fan and have a lot of good memories of him battling for the win. Being able to race under the lights at Bristol is a dream come true. Bristol is intense for the driver as it is but the race under the lights intensifies everything. The atmosphere and emotion from the crowd is always amazing".
Haulers enter the track on Thursday evening, and the first practice for the Food city 300 begins at 10:05am ET with live coverage streaming on the NBC Sports App. Go Green Racing will head to Bristol with high hopes and look to build off of April's 16th place finish.
TV/Radio:
The Food City 300 can be seen live on Friday, August 17th on NBCSN. Race coverage will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET. You can also listen in live on PRN Radio, as well as SiriusXM Radio, channel 90.
Joey Gase PR
Hunt Brothers Pizza to Honor the 20th Anniversary of Kevin Harvick's West Series Championship
14 Aug 2018 Written by Steven B. WilsonHunt Brothers Pizza, the nation’s largest brand of made-to-order pizza in the convenience store industry, will honor the 20th anniversary of Kevin Harvick’s 1998 NASCAR Winston West Series championship during the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race Sept. 1 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway during the Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR.
The livery of Harvick’s No. 98 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste is inspired by the No. 75 Spears Manufacturing machine Harvick drove to his first NASCAR championship in the 1998 Winston West Series, which is now known as the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West.
“We have enjoyed partnering with Kevin Harvick for 8 years so we thought this was a great way to honor a significant milestone in his racing career,” said Scott Hunt, Chief Executive Officer of Hunt Brothers Pizza. “Kevin’s 1998 NASCAR West Series Championship was a turning point in his career and we are thrilled to be able to honor it in the Xfinity Series race at Darlington.”
Harvick’s championship came in his only full season driving the No. 75 Spears Manufacturing car for Spears Motorsports team owners Wayne and Connie Spears. He scored five wins, five poles and 11 top-five and 12 top-10 finishes while leading a total of 574 laps in 14 starts. His five wins came at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Altamont (Calif.) Motorsports Park, Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, Pike’s Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colorado and Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.
Harvick, the 2014 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion, credits his 1998 West Series title with generating the kind of exposure needed to make the leap to a full-time drive in NASCAR’s national touring series the following year.
“The 1998 season was quite a year for me,” Harvick said. “I went to work for Wayne and Connie Spears to basically be a mechanic for about $24,000 a year. I just wanted the opportunity to race something. We had gotten to the point where my family couldn’t really afford to keep going racing cars and doing all the things that we were doing. It turned out well for me and we won the West Series championship that year. It was one of the most fun times I’ve ever had racing in my career and I can’t thank Hunt Brothers Pizza enough for allowing me to drive that scheme at Darlington.”
A staunch supporter of grassroots racing, Harvick has returned to the West Series ranks in each of the last two seasons. The Bakersfield, California, native scored a win in his only NASCAR K&N West Series start in 2017 at Sonoma in June driving the No. 4 Ford for Jefferson-Pitts Racing. Harvick started sixth and led 23 laps before finishing .530 of a second ahead of teammate Will Rogers. Harvick came back to Bakersfield this past March to race at Kern Country Raceway, where he again wheeled the No. 4 Ford for Jefferson-Pitts Racing. He started first and led 132 laps of the 175-lap contest before finishing fourth.
The Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington will mark the fifth and final appearance for Harvick in the No. 98 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste in 2018.
TSC PR
Ross Chastain remained solidly in the hunt for an Xfinity Series playoff spot Saturday with a 16th-place finish in the Rock N Roll Tequila 170 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Chastain, driving the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller No. 4 Chevrolet, survived a spirited late-race battle with Joey Gase to score his second straight top-20 road-course finish.
The run kept Chastain in 12th in the Xfinity point standings and leaves him above the cutoff line for the playoffs.
“We’re still rolling,” Chastain said. “It was another good road-course day for the team. Just a few more good runs, and we hope to get that spot in the playoffs.”
Justin Allgaier won the race.
The series moves on to tough Bristol Motor Speedway for an Aug. 17 race.
JDM PR
Despite a tough closing segment of the race, Garrett Smithley scored a 28th-place finish in Saturday’s Rock N Roll Tequila 170 Xfinity Series race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Smithley, driving the No. 0 Chevrolet for JD Motorsports with Gary Keller, said he ran well most of the day but struggled with an electrical problem over the closing laps.
“We actually had some fun at Mid-Ohio today,” he said. “Raced hard all day and got into the top 20. Had some electrical issue in the last 20 laps but salvaged 28th. It was definitely the most fun road-course race I’ve had.”
Smithley stayed 20th in Xfinity points.
Justin Allgaier won the race.
The series races next at tough Bristol Motor Speedway Aug. 17.
JDM PR
Vinnie Miller parked his JD Motorsports with Gary Keller Chevrolet after only 14 laps and finished 36th Saturday in the Rock N Roll Tequila 170 Xfinity Series race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
A left front brake piston issue sent Miller to the garage.
“It’s not the redemption weekend we hoped for or had planned,” Miller said. “One of the left front brake pistons lost an O-ring, and all the fluid leaked out. Nothing we could do in the garage area to fix it. We will move on to Bristol and hope for a better week.
“Thank you JAS Expedited Trucking, Bryan (Berry) and all these guys on the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller team for all they do.”
Miller is 26th in Xfinity points.
Justin Allgaier won the race.
The series races next at tough Bristol Motor Speedway Aug. 17.
JDM PR
Go Green Racing had another good road course run this weekend at Mid-Ohio. They got the Sparks Energy Chevy Camaro dialed in during the first practice session Friday afternoon before the rain came and washed away second practice. Qualifying for the Rock N Roll Tequila 170 would take place Saturday morning and Gase laid down some solid laps putting down the 23rd fastest lap when he pulled off. He would ultimately end up qualifying in the 27th position for the afternoon's 75 lap race.
The field would get the green to start the 170 mile race through the twists and turns of the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. They hadn't even completed a full lap before the first caution was drawn. However, it would be the only caution of the first stage.
With two laps remaining in stage one Gase had come over the radio saying that he was starting to lose his brakes and he needed to be freed up a bit up off the turns. He kept on digging until the end of the stage before bringing it to pit road. During the stop, the crew found the bleeder was a little loose on the right front caliper and found some fluid on the rim. They would tighten it up and drop a pound of pressure in both front tires.
They would go back to green for the start of the second segment which would conclude on lap 40. With 11 laps remaining they would get their first caution of the stage. CC Donahue asked Gase how the brakes were and how the air pressure adjustment had helped. Gase replied "The brakes were better, but he was running a little warmer that run than before." They would come to find that there was grass stuck in the grill so he would bring it to pit road to clean the grill and get them to end of the stage.
The green and white checkered had waved concluding the second stage. Gase reported that he was pretty good that run but could maybe be freed up a bit both ways. Four laps prior to the end of the segment he had run his fastest lap, so they didn't want to make any big adjustments. With that being said, they would pit for fresh tires, fuel, 2 up on the track bar, and two rounds out of the right rear.
With caution laps into count, the final stage would end up being a 31 lap dash to the checkered. Gase took the green from the 23rd position. With a couple of cautions in between, they would get their final caution of the day on lap 66. Gase had fought his way up to 18th for the 6 lap shootout. Once they had gotten the green he gained three more spots sitting in 15th coming to the final lap. However, going through the esses on the final lap Gase would get dumped from behind sending him spinning into the grass. The caution did not come and he lost nine positions while trying to get back onto the track. He would end up bring the Sparks Energy Chevrolet to the checkered in 24th.
It was a disappointing end to a great day for Go Green Racing knowing they had speed to get themselves a season best finish. The luck is bound to turn with how well the team has been running lately. They'll keep their heads up and get ready for the next race. They transition back to oval racing this weekend as they head back to Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 300.
Joey Gase PR
The NASCAR Xfinity Series made a trip to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for its second of three road course races this month. Coming off a solid performance at Watkins Glen International, Boyd was ready for some more right turns this weekend.
The weekend started off a little bit rough for the No. 76 team as they experienced some engine issues Friday during first practice. The team worked tirelessly, along with the aid from fellow teammate Joey Gase's crew, for nearly an after the garage closed to insure the issue was resolved for race day.
Boyd would roll off from the 35th position for the Rock N Roll Tequila 170 Saturday afternoon. Caution was displayed before the cars were able to complete lap one after the 55 of Dylan Murcott lost brakes. Boyd ran stage one extremely conservative, making sure to stay on track and learn the track before really pushing his car. He may have even been a little too conservative. With less than five laps remaining in the stage, the leaders were threatening to put the Grunt Style Chevrolet one lap down. Boyd was told to pick up the pace and do everything he could to stay in front of the leaders. He did just that. Boyd got up on the wheel, picked up his lap times, and remained on the lead lap. Justin Allgaier won the first stage with Boyd in the 32nd position.
Boyd came in for four tires, fuel, an air pressure adjustment and track bar adjustment to help tighten up the Grunt Style Chevy. After an excellent pit stop by the Grunt Style Gladiators, Boyd would restart in the 29th position for the second stage. On lap 29 caution came out for the 39 of Ryan Sieg after his engine expired. Several cars had trouble during the second stage running off track or getting spun around, but Boyd continued his approach of racing the track and concentrated on hitting his marks. After getting into a rhythm, Boyd was able to string together some of his best lap times of the day and worked his way up to the 25th position. Austin Cindric won the second stage with Boyd in the 25th position.
After another solid stop, Boyd would start the final stage in the 24th position. The restart was extremely aggressive, so Boyd again elected to be conservative. In doing so, the No. 76 fell back on the restart, but Boyd picked cars off one by one as the run went on. Caution would once again be displayed on lap 59 after the 9 of Tyler Reddick had a tire go down. The final caution would wave on lap 66 after the 15 car of Katherine Legge blew up in turn nine. After some last lap fireworks between Ross Chastain and Joey Gase, Justin Allgaier grabbed the checkered flag and Spencer Boyd brought home the Grunt Style Chevrolet in the 25th position.
After the race Boyd reflected, "That was a blast. Although this was only my second road course race, I really enjoy this style of racing. My main goal of the day was to just race our own race and stay on track. My guys had to put in a lot of extra hours this weekend after we had some issues in practice, so I have to give them a ton of credit for all their hard work. We will absolutely take this and get ready for Bristol."
After yet another top 25 finish at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Boyd has now finished in the top 25 in eight of his last nine races. Boyd remains 22nd in driver standings. The Xfinity Series will take a break from road course racing action, as it heads back to Bristol for a Friday night under the lights race in Thunder Valley. Coverage of the Food City 300 will begin Friday August 17th at 7:30 pm ET.
Spencer Boyd PR
