Comcast, NASCAR join forces to build up Bristol

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series- Full Race -STP 500

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. Joining more than 1,500 local Comcast NBCUniversal employees and their families, friends and community partners to "make change happen" this weekend, the NASCAR industry and select NASCAR XFINITY Series drivers will be supporting the 16thannual Comcast Cares Day, the nation"s largest single-day corporate volunteer event. These volunteers will participate in 15 different projects across the Greater Knoxville area to celebrate the day, joining more than 100,000 volunteers at nearly 1,000 projects across the country.

Among the events in the area, Comcast volunteers helped assemble housing materials at a Habitat for Humanity "ReStore" Center for a local family in Johnson City on Friday. NASCAR XFINITY Series drivers who are racing in the Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway joined the project to support comcast"s efforts.

"the nascar family has been so welcoming to Comcast and programs like Comcast Cares Day that are important to us as a company, and the outpouring of support at this years events near Bristol Motor Speedway are no exception," explained Matt Lederer, Executive Director, Sports Brand Marketing, Comcast. "Participation from our drivers and support from NASCAR is a great addition to this project and represents the heart of everyone coming together to volunteer in the community."

Comcast and NASCAR volunteers are also donating their time to support the Appalachia Service Project on Saturday, April 22, through the "Race to Build" project at Bristol Motor Speedway. Volunteers will build homes that will serve families in the Bristol area. Select NASCAR drivers and Comcast employees joined the group on Saturday morning to "wave the green flag" on the start of the project and assist volunteers in the morning in the fan midway at the track.

Drivers Brennan Poole, Tyler Reddick, JJ Yeley, Garrett Smithley, Harrison Rhodes, Joey Gase, Ross Chastain, Justin Allgaier, Jordan Anderson and Quinn Houff participated in the weekend"s service projects. As a part of the NASCAR Race To Green initiative, NASCAR also donated trees to be planted at the family home.

"The NASCAR community is so strong and they"re willing to lend a helping hand at any time," Poole said. "So for me to be a part of this, and do cool things like this thanks to Comcasts partnership with the XFINITY Series is really special."

"It"s great that through XFINITY"s partnership we can come out on a race day and participate in Comcast Cares Day," said Allgaier. "Being a part of the XFINITY Series allows us to be involved in so many different events and projects we wouldn"t normally have the opportunity to, including what we"re doing here today, helping out some local Bristol families through the Appalachia Service Project."

Comcast Cares Day is more than just a day -- it"s the culmination of Comcast NBCUniversal"s commitment to volunteerism that began when the company was founded more than 50 years ago. From using technology to create positive change, such as wiring community centers and libraries and teaching digital literacy skills, to mentoring youth, to beautifying parks, Comcast NBCUniversal employees volunteer on this day, and throughout the year, to make a lasting impact. This year, the Company expects more than 100,000 volunteers to participate in approximately 900 projects across the country and around the world. To date, volunteers have contributed nearly 5 million volunteer hours at 7,700 projects since Comcast Cares Day began in 2001.

"We are proud to team up with so many incredible organizations this year as we celebrate our 16th annual Comcast Cares Day," said Doug Guthrie, Regional Senior Vice President, Comcast. "We are thankful for the participants who are stepping up and helping to make a difference in our community."

The Comcast Foundation will also provide grants to local community partner organizations across the country on behalf of everyone who volunteers on Comcast Cares Day. The grants will help Comcasts community partners continue their mission of serving the community throughout the year. To date, the Comcast Foundation has awarded more than $20 million in grants to local non-profit organizations who have served as partners on Comcast Cares Day.

Source: http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2017/4/22/comcast-cares-day-connects-drivers-and-community-service-nascar.html

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Why postponing tonight"s race was a good call by NASCAR

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series- Full Race- Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race

NASCAR and the Charlotte Motor Speedway did the only sensible thing they could do by postponing tonights Bank of America 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, which will now run Sunday at noon ET.

The Drive for the Cure 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race will then follow 45 minutes after the end of the Cup race.

While its true that the forecast calls for the weather to clear in the Metro Charlotte area at some point tonight, getting to the track tonight would have posed a daunting challenge for many fans.

South Carolina was especially hard hit by Hurricane Matthew, which caused heavy flooding and huge traffic delays. Many roads are still impassible in the lowlands of that state.

CMS draws a lot of its fans from South Carolina and Georgia. Had the race been run tonight, thousands upon thousands of fans would not have been able to get to the track.

Doubtless, many will still miss the race on Sunday, but it wont be as bad as it would have been on Saturday night.

Is it ideal to run the race on Sunday? Of course not.

It will disrupt the plans of some, including fans who are traveling to the track from far away and need to be back at work Monday morning. The rain delay is bad news for them.

But given the alternative of trying to squeeze the race in tonight, delaying the Sprint Cup and XFINITY races until Sunday was by far the wisest available alternative: It will affect the race teams equally and should be the least onerous option for race fans.

See you at the track on Sunday.

Source: http://www.foxsports.com/nascar/story/why-postponing-tonights-race-was-a-good-call-by-nascar-100816

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NASCAR Daytona 2016: Start time, TV schedule and live stream for Coke Zero 400

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series - Full Race - Geico 500

The 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup season moves back to Daytona under the lights on Saturday night, with the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway in Florida.

NBC begins its 2016 NASCAR coverage with Saturday night"s race, beginning with NASCAR America at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Race coverage moves over to NBC at 7 p.m. with the Countdown to Green pre-race show, followed by the race itself at 7:45 p.m.

Denny Hamlin got the season started off by winning the Daytona 500 in January, but he hasn"t won since. He did finish second last week in Sonoma, though, and will look to ride that momentum into the winner"s circle on Saturday night.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the 2015 Coke Zero 400, his second career win at the event. He enters Saturday night 12th in points this season, still looking for his first win. Earnhardt does have four second-place finishes.

Tony Stewart is coming off his first win of the season last week at Sonoma, and has won the Coke Zero 400 four times, the last in 2012. His win last week gives the feeling that Saturday night could be anyone"s race.

"Our story lines just increased a thousand percent by Tony Stewart winning the race," NBC analyst Dale Jarrett told reporters on Wednesday. "Who is going to be that next one to step up? We"ve got a lot of young talent, and it"s going to be very interesting to watch their progression, and as we get closer to the cutoff for the Chase, who is going to still be trying to get that win, and who is close enough in points that they"re going to be driving in maybe a way that we haven"t seen in that situation and scenario."

Greg Biffle, looking for not only his first win of 2016 but also his first top-10 finish,won the pole position on Friday.

Rick Allen will call the race for NBC alongside analysts Steve Burton and Jeff Letarte in the booth, plus reports on pit road from Marty Snider, Mike Massaro, Kelli Stavast and Dave Burns.

The race can be followed online both before and during the action using NBC Sports Live Extra. The race will be rebroadcast on Sunday at 3 p.m. and Monday at 3:30 p.m., both on NBCSN.

Coke Zero 400 info

Location: Daytona International Speedway

Pre-race show: 6:30 p.m. ET (NBCSN)

Race coverage: 7 p.m.

Green flag: 8:05 p.m. (approximately)

TV: NBC

Online: NBC Sports Live Extra

Radio: Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM channel 90

Source: http://www.sbnation.com/nascar/2016/7/2/12088592/2016-nascar-daytona-international-speedway-live-online-streaming-start-time-tv-schedule

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NASCAR Daytona 2016 results: Full finishing order for Coke Zero 400

GarageCam highlights NASCAR Salutes in the XFINITY Series

Dominant Brad Keselowski outruns competition at Daytona.

From beginning to end Brad Keselowski left no doubt he was the driver to beat Saturday night, dominantly winning the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

Two restarts over the final 11 laps -- including a two-lap shootout -- provided the competition an opening, but each time Keselowski repelled charges by brothers Kurt and Kyle Busch and Team Penske teammate Joey Logano to maintain his advantage. Overall, Keselowski led 115 of 161 laps in winning his third race of 2016.

"Restarts are so critical, and I got a great push from my teammate Joey Logano that helped put me in position to kind of establish the lead and be able to make the moves you need to make to hold off the lanes," Keselowski said."Kurt had a couple really good runs, I thought he might have had me one time and I was able to get up in front of him at the last second."

The win carried significance for Keselowski, who has four victories at NASCAR"s other restrictor-plate track, Talladega Superspeedway, but was winless in 14 previous Daytona starts. Keselowski"s five combined wins at Daytona and Talladega since 2009 are the most by any driver on ovals where NASCAR limits airflow to the engine to reduce speeds.

"The wins are never easy to come by, and I think this one means a lot to me for sure because looking at our past here, it hasn"t been all that rosy," Keselowski said. "I"ve had very, very little success here.It"s been one of our worst tracks."

Kyle Busch finished second, with Trevor Bayne third, Logano fourth and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. fifth. Busch, the defending Sprint Cup champion, thought he had could get by Keselowski had someone pushed him, but that helped never materialized.

Completing the top 10 were Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer and Michael McDowell.

"At the end of the race the 2 (Keselowski) car was really, really fast; really, really strong," Busch said. "It"s really hard to get by him. I tried just about everything. The only thing I didn"t quite have was a big enough push one time to just try to make a move. He was really good at making that thing pretty wide."

Five cautions, including a 22-pileup in Turn 1, slowed the annual Fourth of July weekend event for 28 laps. The "Big One" initiated when Jamie McMurray appeared to cut a left rear tire following contact with Kyle Larson causing McMurray to spin.

With no avenue to escape McMurray"s prone car, a pileup commenced that collected several notables. When the smoke cleared, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth were among those sustaining damage.

A strong run by Tony Stewart that saw him running in the top 10 with 20 laps left, fizzled when he lost control and crashed in Turn 1. He finished 26th, but still earned enough points to climb to 30th in the standings and provisionally qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff.

"We knew we might be able to gain points here, but you know it"s a coin toss that you might get in a wreck here," Stewart toldNBC Sports. "For us it was more trying to take care of us, and when that big wreck happened, that really opened the door for us to really take care of us. Two of the three guys around us in points got caught up in it."

Coke Zero 400 Results

Finish Start Driver Make Laps Status Led 1 5 Brad Keselowski Ford 161 running 115 2 3 Kyle Busch Toyota 161 running 16 3 13 Trevor Bayne Ford 161 running 0 4 11 Joey Logano Ford 161 running 6 5 4 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Ford 161 running 0 6 17 Kyle Larson Chevrolet 161 running 0 7 6 Austin Dillon Chevrolet 161 running 0 8 1 Greg Biffle Ford 161 running 1 9 31 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 161 running 1 10 37 Michael McDowell Chevrolet 161 running 0 11 35 Cole Whitt Toyota 161 running 0 12 20 Casey Mears Chevrolet 161 running 2 13 26 A.J. Allmendinger Chevrolet 161 running 0 14 12 Ryan Blaney Ford 161 running 0 15 14 Aric Almirola Ford 161 running 0 16 38 David Ragan Toyota 161 running 1 17 9 Denny Hamlin Toyota 161 running 7 18 23 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 161 running 0 19 28 David Gilliland Ford 161 running 0 20 33 Michael Annett Chevrolet 161 running 0 21 16 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Chevrolet 161 running 0 22 39 Reed Sorenson Toyota 161 running 0 23 10 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 161 running 0 24 32 Bobby Labonte Ford 160 running 0 25 2 Carl Edwards Toyota 155 crash 8 26 19 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 148 crash 1 27 22 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 130 running 0 28 7 Matt Kenseth Toyota 127 running 0 29 15 Martin Truex, Jr. Toyota 127 running 1 30 18 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 122 running 0 31 34 Landon Cassill Ford 119 running 0 32 24 Chase Elliott Chevrolet 113 running 0 33 36 Matt DiBenedetto Toyota 108 running 0 34 29 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 91 crash 0 35 8 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 89 crash 0 36 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 89 crash 0 37 30 Brian Scott Ford 89 crash 0 38 40 Regan Smith Chevrolet 89 crash 1 39 21 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 89 crash 1 40 25 Chris Buescher Ford 89 crash 0

Source: http://www.sbnation.com/nascar/2016/7/3/12089546/2016-nascar-daytona-international-speedway-results-coke-zero-400

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Similarities undeniable in friends, competitors Childress, Hendrick

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series - Full Race - GoBowling.com 400

CONCORD, N.C. -- Richard Childress and Rick Hendrick have more in common than being long-time car owners in NASCAR.

Both men have seen their teams win multiple championships. Both have fielded entries for some of NASCARs most talented drivers.

And both are going into NASCARs Hall of Fame as members of the Class of 2017.

Their friendship has been built on respect for each others accomplishments as well as years of fierce competition.

Sometimes, what has taken place on the track has tested the limits of that friendship. But it remains unchanged.

"Weve had some situations where weve had to go up to each other and say, "You know, were not driving the cars," " Hendrick said Sunday at CharlotteMotorSpeedway, site of the Coca-Cola600.

Specifically, in 1988 when Dale Earnhardt, driving for Childress, and Geoff Bodine, driving for Hendrick, were embroiled in a feud that became so intense it resulted in all four being summoned to NASCAR headquarters in Daytona Beach, Florida, to meet with CEO Bill France.

It was a rivalry that had been building for quite some time. It all came to a head here at CMS.

"That was back when Dale and Geoff were wrecking each other, right here (at Charlotte), and it was costing us a lot of money," Hendrick said.

It was the Coca-Cola600 race weekend, and during the Saturday race, the Winn-Dixie 300, contact from Earnhardt sent Bodine spinning and into the wall. Afterward, Bodine made a trip to Earnhardts garage stall, drawing an imaginary "X" over the car.

"That was his engine builder next to the car. I was just wishing him good luck for today," Bodine said during a pre-race television interview.

In Sundays 600, contact between the pair sent Bodines No. 5 Chevrolet to the garage. This time, NASCAR officials penalized Earnhardt, holding the driver of the black No. 3 Chevrolet on pit road for five laps.

The following week, both drivers and the two car owners were summoned to Daytona. The incident was recreated for the movie "Days of Thunder."

"They made a movie about it," Hendrick recalled. "We got summoned to Daytona; Bill France brought us in a room Dale, Geoff Bodine, Richard and myself.

"Im not going to use all the words he used but he said, "There arent two monkeys that are going to mess up our show. We can sit here and watch videos all day." but Richard and I had already agreed that we couldnt control it; we tried to, but it was costing us a lot of money.

"Mr. France said, "Were going to go have dinner." Dale said, "Ive got some plans." Mr. France said, "Theres the phone, change your plans."

"Richard and I rode together; Dale and Bodine rode together and we never did have any more trouble."

Childress, who won six premier series titles with Earnhardt at the helm of his cars, said such incidents werent exactly "great," but said it was a fun time in the series.

"That wasnt fun that night," Hendrick said.

"That wasnt any fun at all," replied Childress. "He (France) was serious. He definitely said "I dont care if one of you has to run on one side of the track and the other run on the other side, you better not do it again." He was pretty serious.

"But you look back on that to be part of it and build the friendship we did it was quite a trip."

In addition to Childress and Hendrick, drivers MarkMartin and Benny Parsons, along with former car owner Raymond Parks, will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in January 2017.

Source: http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2016/5/29/richard-childress-rick-hendrick-hall-of-fame-class-of-2017-charlotte-motor-speedway.html

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Botched restart sets off 18-car wreck at Dover

NASCAR AÉREO VS SUBS! ESTÁN LOCOS! TOOOODOS LOCOS! | BraxXter

RELATED: Full race results from Dover

The AAA400 Drive for Autism was red-flagged on Lap 354 of 400 when JimmieJohnson"s No. 48 Chevrolet failed to accelerate on a restart and caused a wreck that collected 18 cars at DoverInternationalSpeedway.

Starting from the outside lane on the front row, Johnson"s race-leading car was slow to come up to speed, causing MartinTruexJr. to rear-end the No. 48, and KevinHarvick to plow into Truex. That collision clogged the 1-mile track"s frontstretch, triggering a melee that involved nearly half the 40-car field.

"I got a great start in second gear," said Johnson, who led four laps but finished 25th. "As I went to put it in third (gear) and came across the shifting gate it never went into third. It actually got locked in the neutral area of the transmission. I had plenty of time. Martin was plenty patient with me and I was trying to get third and I couldn"t. I tried for fourth and third and fourth and I finally got hit. Just a freak deal with something with the transmission. I"ve never had that happen to me in my career."

Johnson spun into traffic behind him, damaging a list of cars that included: No. 18 KyleBusch, No. 1 JamieMcMurray, No. 43. AricAlmirola, No. 17 RickyStenhouseJr., No. 22 JoeyLogano, No. 16 GregBiffle, No. 88 DaleEarnhardtJr., No. 47 AJAllmendinger, No. 15 ClintBowyer, No. 31 RyanNewman, No. 95 MichaelMcDowell, No. 6 TrevorBayne, No. 13 CaseyMears, No. 27 PaulMenard and No. 11 DennyHamlin.

Truex was lined up fourth for the restart, taking instructions from his crew to let CarlEdwards pass him for third leaving pit road so that he would have the outside lane at the drop of the green. That placed him right behind Johnson"s lagging car, causing significant front-end damage.

Remarkably, Truex"s FurnitureRowRacing crew repaired his No. 78 Toyota enough to salvage a ninth-place finish.

"Just one of those deals: wrong place, wrong time," said Truex, who led twice for 47 laps. "Frustrating, but we got a top 10 out of it, so not too bad. The guys on pit road did a great job fixing it. Just hate that it happened. I wanted to be fourth on that restart, but I didn"t want to be fourth that bad. I should have been third so maybe I should have not let (Edwards) beat us off pit road. I don"t know how you can see those things coming. All in all good day, just bad finish."

All drivers were either evaluated or treated and released from the infield care center after the stack-up, but Almirola emerged holding an ice pack on his left hand.

"It just stinks we all got stacked up like that," said Almirola, who finished 31st. "I banged up my hand. I think I may have a broken finger, it is pretty sore and swollen. We worked really hard to get back on the lead lap and we were actually making a lot of progress it just took us all race to get back up on that lead lap. I hate that our day is going to turn out like that. That is a shame. Then to make matters worse I think I have a broken pinky finger. That isn"t very manly, is it?"

Harvick, who prevailed at the 1-mile track last fall, had led three times for a race-high 117 laps. The pole-starter finished 15th, the first driver one lap down.

Source: http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2016/5/15/jimmie-johnson-big-wreck-dover-aaa-400-18-cars.html

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Taya Kyle Honored at NASCAR Event

By Alex Heigl

@alex_heigl

05/25/2015 AT 03:00 PM EDT

Taya Kyle was honored Sunday before the Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, where she became the first woman to receive the racetrack's annual Stonewall Jackson Award (awarded to "those individuals who demonstrate the highest standards of patriotism").

Before the race, Taya spoke about her late husband, Chris Kyle's love for NASCAR, and how it got started. Initially, she says, when she met Chris, he wasn't a fan, claiming he "never got into it," according to Fox Sports.

But after attending one of the organization's military-appreciation events, Chris developed a new appreciation for the sport.

"He got to go behind the scenes and he saw the pit crew, and he thought they were such bad-a***s because one of the guys broke his finger during the change and didn't even stop and just kept going," Kyle said. "Everything was so precise, and then he got to see the strategy behind the race and all that, and he was in love with NASCAR from then on. He was just like a ridiculous fan after that."

And, she added, his admiration of top driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. came from meeting Earnhardt at the same event.

"Meeting Dale Jr. was really cool to him because there were some high-ranking officials who were in the tent, and he remembered Dale saying, 'You know, what? They can wait. I'm talking to these guys; these are guys on the ground,' " Kyle said. "And he spent some time laughing with them and talking with them, and that really endeared him to Chris."

The Chris Kyle Frog Foundation, which Taya founded after her husband's death, aims to help "the marriages of first responders and veterans," she said. "They both are facing things that we will never see."

Source: http://www.people.com/article/taya-kyle-honored-nascar-chris-american-sniper

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Martin Truex Jr., other heavy-hitters disappointed to miss NASCAR Sprint All ...

Updated MAY 17, 2015 12:14a ET

Concord, N.C.

While 20 drivers were itching to strap in their cars and go to battle for the $1 million winner's purse in Saturday night's Sprint All-Star Race, 25 others who showed up at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday failed to make the main event.

At least a few of the names are familiar ones, too.

Among those unable to win the Sprint Fan Vote or earn one of the two transfer spots available through Friday night's Sprint Showdown were second-place points driver Martin Truex Jr., 2014 rookie of the year Kyle Larson, Michael Waltrip Racing newcomer David Ragan and 2013 XFINITY Series champion Austin Dillon.

The biggest surprise of the bunch undoubtedly was Truex, who has recorded 10 top-10 finishes in the season's first 11 races and is unequivocally the most pleasant surprise of 2015.

The Furniture Row Racing driver finished Friday night's second 20-lap Showdown segment in third place -- two spots from where he needed to be to secure a spot in the All-Star event.

While Saturday night wasn't the first time Truex has missed an All-Star Race, it might be his most disappointing absence from the ultra-popular, non-points-paying exhibition that showcases the sport's biggest stars under the lights.

"It's always disappointing, you know -- especially with the season we've had," Truex told FOXSports.com immediately after the Sprint Showdown. "I'll be honest: If we had the All-Star Race anywhere but here, I'd be happy and I'd have been in a lot more of them. I don't know. This place ... it seems like I run good here once out of about every five tries. We've got good cars ... it's just, I don't know. This place has kind of got me messed up a little bit."

Making matters worse, Truex doesn't believe his team gathered much data from the Showdown that will be useful in next weekend's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

"You're focused on 20-lap runs," Truex said. "That's all you're doing today. Next week you're going to have to run fuel runs and things are going to be different. I felt pretty good about our car the first run. It was just nearly impossible to pass. The 42 (Kyle Larson) was ahead of me and we were a lot better than he was, and every time I'd run him down, I'd get to him and just lose the car and then lose 10 car lengths and then run right back to him and do the same."

Ragan, meanwhile, failed to transfer into the All-Star Race for the fifth time, but conceded that missing the main event never gets easier.

"No, it doesn't and what makes it harder when you miss is I felt like we had a chance to win (the Showdown) or to make it," Ragan said after starting third but finishing 11th in the Showdown. "It's one thing if you just ran 15th all day and your car was slow and you qualified poor -- you can accept it a little more. But on a night like tonight where we had good speed and we had a good qualifying effort, it's frustrating not to advance. There's some good cars that are not going to be racing tomorrow night, but at the same time we've just got to learn from it and got to do better next week."

So instead of jockeying for $1 million on Saturday night, Ragan watched the race on TV -- a predicament he would have preferred to avoid.

"It's not a good feeling to know that you're not out there having a chance to win," Ragan told FOXSports.com on pit road after the Showdown. "It doesn't matter if it's a heat race, an exhibition race, the Duels in Daytona or all the All-Star Race; you want to be out there running."

Clint Bowyer, who won Friday night's second Showdown segment to advance into the All-Star Race, has likewise missed the All-Star Race before, and thus can empathize with the plights of those who didn't make the cut this time.

"It's not the end of the world," Bowyer said. (But) it's a big deal. It is.There's a lot of people here.Anytime you have exposure time on TV and things like that in this business, you got to be a part of that."

But as Truex, Ragan and others can attest, things don't always work out that way.

Source: http://www.foxsports.com/nascar/story/sprint-all-star-race-sprint-showdown-charlotte-motor-speedway-martin-truex-jr-david-ragan-051615

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Denny Hamlin wins NASCAR's All-Star Race

Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing crew celebrate after winning the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.(Photo: Randy Sartin, USA TODAY Sports)

CONCORD, N.C. Keeping track of all the results and action from Saturday night's NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway:

SEGMENT 5: Denny Hamlin won the 10-lap shootout, leading every lap from the restart after the field made a mandatory pit stop. He won the battle off pit road. As the pole-sitter, he had the first stall. Brad Keselowski, who appeared to come off pit road second, was penalized for speeding and restarted 13th. Hamlin got a very strong restart and Kurt Busch, who started second, wobbled a bit. Kevin Harvick tried to chase Hamlin down, but Hamlin's car in clean air was too fast. It is the first All-Star win for Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing.

"You want to win the Daytona 500, you want to win the Brickyard, you want to win Coca-Cola 600 and you want to be an All-Star," Hamlin said after climbing from his No. 11 Toyota. "Just a big day. It's just an unbelievable experience. ... We just didn't have a car that could run with some of those guys. But that pit crew, man, what can I say, they got this for me, there's no doubt. Hopefully we start to get some speed here down the road."

SEGMENT 4: Though he restarted fifth in the final segment, Kurt Busch quickly got to the front and passed Denny Hamlin (who took two tires) for the lead after three laps. Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick was second, followed by Hamlin and Brad Keselowski.

SEGMENT 3: Jamie McMurray had the pole position for the start of Segment 3 after he took two tires on the pit stop in between segments. But he couldn't get going while Brad Keselowski did and Keselowski led all 25 laps en route to another segment win. Kevin Harvick finished second, followed by Kurt Busch.

SEGMENT 2: Brad Keselowski took two tires on a pit stop after Segment 1, which put him out front for the second segment. Keselowski used clean air to his advantage, leading 24 of the 25 laps (Kurt Busch led the other) to capture Segment 2. Busch finished just behind him in second, followed by Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano and Segment 1 winner Kasey Kahne.

SEGMENT 1: After starting fifth, Kasey Kahne quickly moved up through the field and caught race leader Denny Hamlin. He made the first pass for the lead after 14 laps and finished the segment ahead of Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch.

Denny Hamlin celebrates after winning the pole for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.(Photo: Randy Sartin, USA TODAY Sports)

SPECIAL NIGHT FOR 24: Jeff Gordon got a special introduction prior to the race. He was introduced last, then was greeted on stage by former crew chief Ray Evernham. After remarks to the crowd, Gordon was joined by the other 19 All-Stars on stage for a group photograph. Then his family joined him for a picture and a hug.

QUALIFYING: Denny Hamlin won the pole for the race after he performed best in the unusual qualifying session, which requires drivers to come down pit road to make a pit stop in between their laps. Greg Biffle, who qualified for the race via the last-chance Sprint Showdown, started second, followed by Brad Keselowski, Clint Bowyer and Kasey Kahne.

ENGINE WOES: Danica Patrick qualified sixth for the All-Star Race after winning Friday night's fan vote, but she had to start 20th due to an engine change prior to the race on Saturday.

BACK ON TRACK: Kyle Busch raced in a NASCAR event for the first time since breaking his right leg and left foot during a Feb. 21 Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway. Busch qualified 19th out of 20 drivers but posted the fastest time in Friday's practice session. He finished sixth. His wife, Samantha, is scheduled to give birth to the couple's first child on Monday.

Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck

PHOTOS: Key moments in the 2015 NASCAR season

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RESULTS

1. (1) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 110 laps, 114.2 rating, 0 points, $1,045,009.

2. (20) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 110, 109.1, 0, $249,784.

3. (16) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 110, 129, 0, $149,735.

4. (9) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 110, 93.7, 0, $119,705.

5. (17) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 110, 78.9, 0, $114,705.

6. (19) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 110, 69.9, 0, $108,705.

7. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 110, 105.6, 0, $102,555.

8. (11) Joey Logano, Ford, 110, 80.4, 0, $101,555.

9. (3) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 110, 111, 0, $100,555.

10. (7) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 110, 64.9, 0, $99,555.

11. (13) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 110, 59.5, 0, $98,530.

12. (4) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 110, 61, 0, $97,530.

13. (2) Greg Biffle, Ford, 110, 43.3, 0, $96,530.

14. (8) Aric Almirola, Ford, 110, 31.7, 0, $96,030.

15. (12) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 110, 59.7, 0, $95,430.

16. (14) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 110, 41.9, 0, $95,155.

17. (10) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 110, 45.4, 0, $95,030.

18. (18) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 110, 30.8, 0, $94,930.

19. (15) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 110, 34.1, 0, $94,830.

20. (6) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 78, 30, 0, $94,730.

Race Statistics

Average Speed of Race Winner: 106.452 mph.

Time of Race: 1 hour, 33 minutes, 0 seconds.

Margin of Victory: 0.923 seconds.

Caution Flags: 4 for 0 laps.

Lead Changes: 7 among 4 drivers.

Lap Leaders: D.Hamlin 1-14; K.Kahne 15-25; B.Keselowski 26-32; Ku.Busch 33; B.Keselowski 34-75; D.Hamlin 76-77; Ku.Busch 78-100; D.Hamlin 101-110.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): B.Keselowski, 2 times for 49 laps; D.Hamlin, 3 times for 26 laps; Ku.Busch, 2 times for 24 laps; K.Kahne, 1 time for 11 laps.

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nascar/2015/05/16/nascar-sprint-all-star-race/27464837/

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Five things to watch in tonight's NASCAR Sprint...

Tonight begins a key stretch for NASCAR Sprint Cup teams that could give a hint of what is to come.

The SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway is the first of three consecutive races on 1.5-mile speedways tracks that comprise half of the Chase races. After tonights race, the series heads to Charlotte for the Sprint All-Star race and the Coca-Cola 600. Both Kansas and Charlotte host Chase races.

In two of the first three races on 1.5-mile tracks this season (Atlanta and Texas), the finishing order has been the same with Jimmie Johnson first, Kevin Harvick second, Dale Earnhardt Jr. third and Joey Logano fourth. Harvick won at Las Vegas in the only other race on a 1.5-mile track this season.

So can anybody break into what seems to be a relatively exclusive club over the next three races?

These next three weeks I think are going to be very important, said Carl Edwards, who has not finished better than 10th in the first three races on 1.5-mile tracks. I think theyre going to tell us a lot about the season going forward. If in these next three weeks as a group, our (Joe Gibbs Racing) Toyotas can work on some of the things we have planned and they are successful.

Then it could give teams the direction they need to head for the fall. After Charlotte, there is only one 1.5-mile track on the schedule (Kentucky on July 11) until the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins in September.

Heres what else to watch for in tonights race:

Tires could be a factor. They were last fall at this track. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was leading when a tire went down and he hit the wall. Brad Keselowski also had a tire go down and he slammed the wall. Others also had problems.

Could it happen again?

I think anytime we come to Kansas we are a little nervous about tires just because of what weve seen in the past and a lot of what happened here in the fall race where a lot of the fast cars were blowing right fronts out, said Joey Logano, who won that race last fall and starts tonights race on the pole.

It always makes you a little nervous, but at the same time we put our faith in Goodyear to make the right decisions and we feel fine about it. Our car didnt have a problem last time, but I know we were on the verge of it because a lot of cars were.

Said Jeff Gordon about tire issues inlast falls race: I know Goodyear has made a slight adjustment to the tire to help with that. We saw a couple issues last year. We personally on Team 24 did not have issues, but you never know how close you are to the edge. Even with less downforce on the cars, the amount of power thats been reduced has made the cars a lot faster through the center of the corner. We enter the corner slower and exit the corner slower, but going through the crucial part of the load on the tire and how we sustain that through the center of the corner is up, and thats a reason for concern.

Could Martin Truex Jr. be a dark horse? It is hard to call the driver second in points a dark horse but dont forget about him. While he enters tonights race with a 66-race winless drought, he scored his best finish of the season last year at this track when he placed fourth in the fall.

Truex has been strong this season with nine top-10 finishes in the first 10 races. At the 1.5-mile tracks this season, hes placed sixth (Atlanta), second (Las Vegas) and ninth (Texas).

The car has had good speed and its driven good, Truex said after qualifying fourth. This is a brand new car for us, and I feel like its another step as far as catching a few of those guys on speed.

Erik Jones makes his official Sprint Cup debut. While he replaced Denny Hamlin during the Bristol race last month, the records list Hamlin in the finishing order as if Jones didnt drive that race. That wont be the case tonight. Jones, who had never driven at Kansas Speedway until this weekend, has been fast.

We could knock off laps back and forth that were pretty good and that was nice, Jone said. Definitely confident in the race. Im just excited to get going.

Could Jimmie Johnson have a rough night? Hes won two of the three races on 1.5-mile speedways this season but qualified 19th. He struggled some in practice with short-run speed. If there are a number of cautions both Kansas races had eight last year or cautions bunched toward the end of the race where short-run speed is necessary, Johnson could face a challenge.

We have qualified much worse and finished pretty darn well, so directionally we are going the right way but we just wish we had the magic want to fix the short-run speed, he said.

Source: http://nascartalk.nbcsports.com/2015/05/09/five-things-to-watch-in-tonights-nascar-sprint-cup-race-at-kansas-speedway/

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Carl Edwards upset with NASCAR drivers not...

TALLADEGA, Ala. There was no yellow flag on the final lap of Sundays Geico 500, but Carl Edwards was angry that some Sprint Cup drivers didnt proceed with caution.

Edwards finished 32nd after a collision with Casey Mears that caused a spin by his No. 19 Toyota, which slidsideways down the track as the field whizzed by.

I really think thats the most dangerous thing in the sport right now, Edwards said. When theres a wreck, guys have to get on the brake or were going to have a lot of problems.

The biggest cause of injury is going to be one of us not checking up when theres a guy sideways. Ive got my door facing the field, and (Justin Allgaier) goes by at about 160, 180 mph. Thats not the way I try to race these guys when theres a wreck. Thats very frustrating.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Matt Kenseth said he did slow down so I didnt send Carl to the hospital. Im just dumbfounded that NASCAR didnt throw a caution. We were driving past wrecked cars for half a lap at 180 mph. It was a crazy ending.

NASCAR has shown a reluctance to throw the yellow on the last lap because it freezes the field without the possibility of another restart.

We make every effort to try to finish under green-flag conditions, Sprint Cup managing director Richard Buck said in a statement distributed by NASCARs media relations staff. We believe the circumstances that occurred allowed us to do that today.

Edwards said he planned to talk with his NASCAR peers about being more mindful around cars that are spinning.

Because there was a wreck at the end of the Daytona 500, and I slowed down, and it cost us a bunch of positions, said the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who finished 23rd in the season opener. I guess some people would say, Well, h**l, your job is to stay on the throttle and go race, but were all out there and are human beings. You get a guy wrecking, you cant just lay into his door. Thats pretty dangerous.Edwards did concede that he was making a nuanced point I come do all this complaining, and no one ran into me. But ooh. Its tough. Generally, if someone is spinning in front of you, you slow down a little bit, so if you do hit him, you dont break their legs or hurt them. I dont want to rant too much about it, but I was frustrated with that.

Source: http://nascartalk.nbcsports.com/2015/05/03/carl-edwards-upset-with-nascar-drivers-not-slowing-for-spin-thats-the-most-dangerous-thing-in-the-sport/

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