Johnson, Blue Bunny Ice Cream Are Teaming Up Again

Posted on March 31, 2016 by KBOE Administrator

Six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson has launched his ninth annual “Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope” campaign which will award 125 thousand dollars to five non-profit organizations. Fans and consumers nationwide still have two weeks to nominate their favorite education-focused charities by visiting Jimmie Johnson Foundation-dot-org. The deadline is Thursday, April 14th. Each of the five

Each of the five winning organizations will receive a twenty-five-thousand-dollar grant, an ice cream party and recognition on Johnson’s race helmet … Johnson heads to Martinsville Speedway for Sunday’s S-T-P 500 as the winningest active driver on the Virginia half-mile. He has eight victories there, including a stretch of three in a row in 2006 and 2007.

Dover ‘Lights It Up’ For Autism

Posted on March 24, 2016 by KBOE Administrator

Dover Downs International Speedway will show its support for autism awareness by participating in the global “Light It Up Blue!” campaign throughout April, which is Autism Awareness Month. The campaign is organized by Autism Speaks, the world’s leading autism science and advocacy organization. The track’s Monster Monument at Victory Plaza and the Dover Downs Hotel will be illuminated in blue light. The Triple-A 400 Drive for Autism Sprint Cup Series race is scheduled to be run on Sunday, May 15th, at “The Monster Mile.”

Austin Dillon Joins ‘Unlimited’ Field

Posted on March 22, 2016 by KBOE Administrator

Austin Dillon has joined Kyle and Kurt Busch, and rookie Chase Elliott on the list of drivers newly eligible for next year’s Sprint Unlimited non-points special event as a result of their qualifying efforts in 2016. The non-points special event features pole winners from the previous season and traditionally kicks off Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway. Dillon earned the Number-1 starting spot for this past weekend’s Auto Club 400 in Fontana, California, with a speed of 188.482 miles per hour. He finished twenty-fourth in the race, one of thirty drivers running on the lead lap with winner Jimmie Johnson at the checkered flag.

Kurt Busch is the only one of those four drivers with multiple poles thus far. He led qualifying February 26th in Atlanta and followed one week later with a track record at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Busch heads into the Easter break seventh in the regular-season standings, twenty-two points outside the top five and forty-seven behind leader Kevin Harvick.

Jimmie Johnson Takes Auto Club 400

Posted on March 21, 2016 by KBOE Administrator

Jimmie Johnson charged past Kevin Harvick coming out of an overtime restart and pulled away from the field Sunday at Auto Club Speedway, becoming the first repeat winner of the 2016 season. Johnson’s margin of victory was three-quarters of a second over Harvick, giving Chevrolet a sweep of the top two spots. Denny Hamlin came home third with Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Junior completing the top five. Johnson started nineteenth and led just twenty-five laps, including the final two trips around the two- mile Southern California oval. Sunday’s race was extended five laps beyond its scheduled distance due to a late caution brought about when Kyle Busch shredded a right-front tire. That was the last thing Harvick wanted to see.

He had led nearly three-quarters of the laps run to that point and seemed well on his way to a second straight victory on NASCAR’s three-race swing through the western United States, having won last weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. Instead, Harvick settled for second place behind Johnson – who notched his seventy-seventh Cup Series win and sixth at Auto Club Speedway.

For Harvick, all was not lost as he claimed sole possession of the points lead. He entered the weekend tied for first place with Busch and exits with an eleven-point advantage over Johnson, who advances from third to second.

Busch finished twenty-fifth on Sunday, the first time in five races this year that he’s been outside the top five, and slipped to fifth in the regular-season standings … Sunday’s race included twenty-six lead changes among eight drivers. There were six cautions for thirty-three laps.

Next Up Auto Club Speedway

Posted on March 18, 2016 by KBOE Administrator

Next up, Auto Club Speeday for Sunday’s Auto Club 400, fifth race of the 2016 Sprint Cup Series and the last stop of a three-week tour of the western United States. Brad Keselowski was victorious in Las Vegas and Kevin Harvick won last weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. Sunday’s race will be contested on a wide, fast two-mile superspeedway – where Keselowski will be seeking his second straight victory. In winning last year’s race, the Team Penske driver gave Ford its first Fontana victory in the Sprint Cup Series since Matt Kenseth drove a Jack Roush-owned entry into the Winner’s Circle in 2009.

Jimmie Johnson leads all drivers with five wins at A-C-S and Rick Hendrick is Number-1 among team owners with nine victories … Kyle Busch continues to show early-season muscle in defense of his 2015 championship, posting four straight top-five finishes. He enters the weekend tied with Harvick for first place in the standings. They’re fourteen points ahead of third-place Johnson. Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards round out the top five. Edwards’ total of three top-five finishes through the first four races of the season is second only to Kyle Busch, who owns the Sprint Cup Series qualifying record at Auto Club Speedway. His quick lap of 188.245 miles per hour from 2005 still stands – eleven years later.

39 Entries For Cup Series Race

Posted on March 17, 2016 by KBOE Administrator

There are thirty-nine drivers on the preliminary entry list for Sunday’s Auto Club 400 including thirty-six “Charter” teams. The three non-Charter drivers are rookie Ryan Blaney, Cole Whitt and Josh Wise.

There are six Cup Series competitors who are signed up for double duty and will also drive in Saturday’s X-FINITY Series race: Blaney, Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Larson. Harvick is the defending race winner. Busch leads all drivers with six X-FINITY Series wins on the two-mile Fontana oval including a stretch of three in a row in 2010 and 2011.

Joe Gibbs leads all car owners with eight victories there, all coming consecutively from 2008 through 2012. Busch, Joey Logano and Tony Stewart contributed to that run of success.

NASCAR’s Western Swing Rolls Into California

Posted on March 16, 2016 by KBOE Administrator

The Sprint Cup Series’ early-season three-race swing through the western United States continues this week with teams heading to Auto Club Speedway’s two-mile oval in Fontana. It’ll be the third distinctly different track in as many weeks. Brad Keselowski opened things up with a win March 6th in Las Vegas, a mile-and-a-half oval. From there, teams found their way to the flat one-mile oval at Phoenix International Raceway, where Kevin Harvick was victorious.

Now, Sunday’s Auto Club 400 will be contested on a wide, fast two-mile superspeedway – where Keselowski will be seeking his second straight victory there. In winning last year’s race, the Team Penske driver gave Ford its first Fontana victory in the Sprint Cup Series since Matt Kenseth drove a Jack Roush-owned Ford into the Winner’s Circle in 2009 … Jimmie Johnson leads all drivers with five wins at A-C-S and Rick Hendrick is Number-1 among team owners with nine victories.

Kevin Harvick Takes The Win At The Good Sam 500

Posted on March 14, 2016 by KBOE Administrator

Kevin Harvick survived a full-contact side-by-side duel with Carl Edwards on the final lap Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, claiming his first victory of the season in a photo finish. Harvick led the field on the day’s final restart and pulled away before a fast-closing Edwards reeled him in and tapped the rear bumper of Harvick’s Number-4 Chevrolet entering Turn-4 on the final lap. Edwards pulled alongside and leaned hard on Harvick as they exited the corner. Edwards and Harvick bumped again as they took the checkered flag with Harvick nosing ahead at the finish. The official margin of victory was a mere one one-hundredths of a second – identical to Denny Hamlin’s dramatic win over Martin Truex Junior in last month’s season-opening Daytona 500.

Harvick dominated the second half of Sunday’s race, leading all but eleven of the final 150 laps including the last seventy-nine trips around the one-mile desert oval. Hamlin finished third and pole sitter Kyle Busch was fourth after leading seventy-five laps. With Edwards’ runner-up showing, Joe Gibbs Racing grabbed three of the top four spots. Dale Earnhardt Junior completed the top five … In its third race, NASCAR’s new low-downforce rules package produced just seven lead changes among four drivers: Busch, Earnhardt, Edwards and Harvick.

Sunday’s race included five cautions for thirty laps … Kasey Kahne’s late-race accident in Turn-3 brought out the day’s final yellow flag which extended the race one lap past its scheduled distance.

Next Stop Phoenix International Raceway

Posted on March 11, 2016 by KBOE Administrator

Next stop Phoenix International Raceway for Sunday’s Good Sam 500, fourth race of the 2016 Sprint Cup Series and the second of three straight in the western United States. Brad Keselowski was victorious last weekend in Las Vegas and will arrive in Phoenix in search of his first Cup Series win on the one-mile oval. He has one victory there in the X-FINITY Series, in 2014.

Teams will get ninety minutes of practice Friday morning before qualifying late this afternoon. Ryan Newman holds the track record for poles with four including three straight from 2002 through 2004 … Kevin Harvick rolls into the weekend as a favorite to notch his first victory of the young season. The 2014 champion has won five of the last seven Cup Series races contested at P-I-R, including a streak of four straight that was halted by Dale Earnhardt Junior last fall. Harvick leads all drivers with seven wins in Phoenix, three more than his nearest challenger – Jimmie Johnson.Kyle

Kyle Busch has opened with a strong defense of his 2015 championship, posting three straight top-five finishes and leading the early-season standings by seven points over Harvick and Johnson – who are tied for second place.

Busch has one Cup Series win at Phoenix, in 2005. He’s won eight times in the X-FINITY Series and is entered this weekend to make his bid for a ninth victory.

Furniture Row Racing Withdraws Appeal

Posted on March 9, 2016 by KBOE Administrator

Furniture Row Racing has informed NASCAR that it has withdrawn its appeal of penalties that were handed down last week following rule violations at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Cole Pearn, Sprint Cup Series crew chief on Martin Truex Junior’s Number 78 Toyota, was suspended for one race and fined fifty thousand dollars. The team was docked fifteen championship owner and driver points. Pearn will serve his suspension during this coming weekend’s Good Sam 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, where Todd Berrier will fill the role of crew chief in his absence.

Truex – who qualified for The Championship 4 in last year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup –is ninth in the early-season standings, thirteen points outside the top five and trailing leader Kyle Busch by twenty-five points. His best finish in three starts thus far is second (behind Denny Hamlin) in the season-opening Daytona 500.

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