Tag: Xfinity Series

Watkins Glen race schedule: Cup and Xfinity Series start times

Check out the weekend schedule at Watkins Glen International for the NASCAR Cup/Xfinity Series and the ARCA Menards Series!

NASCAR is heading to Watkins Glen International and it is poised to be an outstanding weekend of racing. With the 2023 NASCAR playoffs coming soon, drivers are looking to clinch a spot in pursuit of a championship.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will start out the weekend for the top-2 levels on Saturday afternoon, as Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, and Ty Gibbs join the show. Then on Sunday afternoon, the NASCAR Cup Series races at Watkins Glen with Bowman and Chase Elliott looking to secure a much-needed victory.

Here’s the full weekend schedule for Watkins Glen, with start times and broadcast information for each session:

NASCAR Cup Series:

Saturday: Practice (12:30 p.m. ET, USA Network), Qualifying (1:30 p.m. ET, USA Network)

Sunday: Go Bowling at The Glen (3:00 p.m., USA Network)

NASCAR Xfinity Series:

Saturday: Practice (10:30 a.m. ET, NBC Sports App), Qualifying (11:00 p.m. ET, NBC Sports App), Shriners Children’s 200 (3:30 p.m. ET, USA Network)

ARCA Menards Series:

Friday: Practice (3:00 p.m. ET, No TV), Qualifying (4:15 p.m. ET, No TV), General Tire 100 at The Glen (6:00 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1)

JR Motorsports should consider these drivers in the Xfinity Series for 2024

JR Motorsports should be interested in these drivers for the NASCAR Xfinity Series starting in 2024.

[autotag]JR Motorsports[/autotag] is one of the powerhouse organizations in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and their success during the 2022 season is the greatest example. While the race team didn’t win the title, three of its four drivers were in the fight at the Championship 4 event in Phoenix, AZ.

During the 2023 season, JR Motorsports has not been on the same level. Sam Mayer, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, and Brandon Jones have only combined for two wins. Plus, the organization is set to lose Berry to the NASCAR Cup Series as Stewart-Haas Racing has given him the opportunity to replace Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 car. So, which drivers would be good replacements in the No. 8 car to bring the team back to the top?

[autotag]Carson Hocevar[/autotag] is one of the top drivers that people will mention for JR Motorsports; however, Hocevar remains one of the top candidates at Spire Motorsports in the Cup Series. The Michigan native has a relationship with both organizations as JR Motorsports supports Spire Motorsports’ efforts in the Xfinity Series.

Hocevar is clearly ready for the next step and JR Motorsports represents the best opportunity in the Xfinity Series. The only question is whether a ride in the Cup Series will develop with Spire Motorsports, as Ty Dillon has seen a slight improvement in performance with the No. 77 car as of late. Either way, the rising NASCAR talent seems set for a new ride in 2024.

[autotag]Christian Eckes[/autotag] is another talented Truck Series driver that currently drives for Chevrolet. Eckes competes in the No. 19 truck for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing and seems poised to make a run at the 2023 Truck Series title. Both drivers mentioned to this point would make sense for JR Motorsports if the overall goal is to bring the most talented drivers to the team.

The New York native could also be a fit with Richard Childress Racing if Austin Hill decides to depart for the Cup Series. Eckes has opened some eyes during the 2023 season and his good performances are likely to be rewarded in the next few years. If Hocevar makes the jump to the Cup Series with Spire Motorsports, it makes sense for Eckes to be the next target for JR Motorsports.

[autotag]Jeffrey Earnhardt[/autotag] is certainly the most popular driver on this list as he is the nephew of JR Motorsports co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. It has been an up-and-down journey for Earnhardt but this would be his best opportunity yet. Earnhardt Jr. has also named dropped the North Carolina native as a possible replacement for Berry in the No. 8 car.

Earnhardt would be a feel-good story as a full-time ride would finally go his way in the Xfinity Series. He wouldn’t be a young option at 34 years old; however, it would be a full-circle moment for the Earnhardt family to be together at JR Motorsports.

For now, these three drivers make the most sense on the surface but JR Motorsports will have plenty of options moving forward.

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NASCAR entry lists at Watkins Glen, notable entries in Cup and Xfinity

Check out the NASCAR entry lists for this weekend’s races at Watkins Glen International, including notable entries in the Cup and Xfinity Series.

NASCAR is heading to Watkins Glen International and while the Cup Series entry list is not as notable like the Indianapolis Road Course, the Xfinity Series has another star-filled field.

Most notably in the Cup Series, Jenson Button (Rick Ware Racing) and Mike Rockenfeller (Legacy Motor Club) return to their previous organizations at the Indianapolis Road Course. Meanwhile, Cole Custer will fill the No. 51 car for Rick Ware Racing.

The Xfinity Series is where the majority of the action is for Watkins Glen. Hendrick Motorsports is bringing the No. 17 car back and Alex Bowman will pilot the entry. As for Joe Gibbs Racing’s All-Star car (No. 19), Ty Gibbs will drive it for a third straight weekend.

Kaulig Racing will have Kyle Busch behind the wheel of the No. 10 car at Watkins Glen, despite what the entry list says right now. A.J. Allmendinger cannot compete in the Xfinity Series again during the 2023 NASCAR season after reaching his five-race limit. The final notable entry is Ross Chastain in the No. 91 car for DGM Racing.

There are several new drivers on the Xfinity Series entry list compared to Indianapolis and this weekend’s race at Watkins Glen should live up to the hype.

Ty Gibbs cruises to Xfinity victory at the Indianapolis Road Course

Ty Gibbs wins the Pennzoil 150 at the Indianapolis Road Course for his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the 2023 season.

[autotag]Ty Gibbs[/autotag] had the best car in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Indianapolis Road Course and that turned into his first win of the 2023 season. Gibbs cruised to an eight-second victory over Sam Mayer and A.J. Allmendinger.

Gibbs held off Allmendinger on the final restart of the event and slowly pulled away. The No. 19 car is not full-time in the Xfinity Series; however, it now has two victories on the season after Ryan Truex won at Dover Motor Speedway. Now, Gibbs needs to carry this momentum into the NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday as he looks to clinch a spot in the 2023 playoffs.

There are now four races remaining in the 2023 Xfinity Series season with the next event coming at Watkins Glen International Raceway next weekend.

Pennzoil 150 top-10 finishing order:

  1. No. 19 Ty Gibbs
  2. No. 1 Sam Mayer
  3. No. 10 A.J, Allmendinger
  4. No. 21 Austin Hill
  5. No. 7 Justin Allgaier
  6. No. 00 Cole Custer
  7. No. 48 Parker Kligerman
  8. No. 2 Sheldon Creed
  9. No. 26 Kaz Grala
  10. No. 25 Brett Moffit

Indy weekend schedule: Cup Series, INDYCAR, Xfinity and Truck Series start times

It’s a busy weekend in Indianapolis with five races on the schedule.

It’s going to be a busy weekend in Indianapolis, as all four of NASCAR’s top touring series are in town, while the INDYCAR series returns to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Things will kick off on Friday night at the Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, where Shane van Gisbergen will make his oval debut in the Craftsman Truck Series.

The action then shifts to the Indy road course, where INDYCAR, Xfinity and Cup Series stars will deliver a trio of races.

Here’s the full weekend schedule for Indy, with start times and broadcast information for each session:

NASCAR Cup Series:

Saturday: Practice (11:35 a.m. ET, NBC Sports App), Qualifying (12:35 p.m. ET, NBC Sports App)

Sunday: Verizon 200 at the Brickyard (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC)

INDYCAR:

Friday: Practice (9:00 a.m. ET, Peacock), Qualifying (12:30 p.m. ET, Peacock)

Saturday: Gallagher Grand Prix (2:30 p.m. ET, USA Network)

Xfinity Series:

Saturday: Practice (9:35 a.m. ET, NBC Sports App), Qualifying (10:05 a.m. ET, NBC Sports App), Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard (5:30 p.m. ET, USA Network)

Craftsman Truck Series:

Friday: Practice (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1), Qualifying (4:05 p.m. ET, FS1), TSport 200 (9 p.m. ET, FS1)

ARCA Menards Series:

Friday: Practice (1:30 p.m. ET), Qualifying (2:30 p.m. ET), Reese’s 200 (6 p.m. ET, FS1)

 

NASCAR officials told a driver to park it mid-race, so he left his car on the start-finish line

Josh Williams was less than pleased about NASCAR telling him his day was done.

Welcome to FTW’s NASCAR Feud of the Week, where we provide a detailed breakdown of the latest absurd, funny and sometimes legitimate controversies and issues within the racing world.

This time around, it’s Josh Williams versus NASCAR.

When NASCAR officials command you to do something during a race, it’s best to listen to them. But perhaps not quite as literally as Xfinity Series driver Williams hilariously did.

At Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend, the second-tier series driver was involved in an incident on Lap 27 of the 163-lap race. After pitting, Williams and his team were able to get the the No. 92 Chevrolet back out on the track but not for long.

As Motorsport.com noted, after the repairs, parts of the car were flying off onto the track, which led NASCAR officials to park Williams, telling him to go to the garage and that the team’s race day was over.

Unsurprisingly, that didn’t sit well with Williams. So he took NASCAR’s direction to park it extremely literally, parking his car on the start-finish line, walking across the infield grass and waving to fans as he left the track.

Similarly unsurprisingly, NASCAR didn’t appreciate where Williams left his car, and according to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, the driver was called to NASCAR’s hauler to have a surely stern talk with officials.

While it’s unclear what exactly will happen, it’s likely Williams will be penalized by NASCAR in some way for his actions.

NASCAR driver Ty Gibbs compared himself to Jesus after controversial Martinsville bump, fans absolutely roast him

Our latest NASCAR Feud of the Week is basically Ty Gibbs vs. everybody.

Welcome to FTW’s NASCAR Feud of the Week, where we provide a detailed breakdown of the latest absurd, funny and sometimes legitimate controversies and issues within the racing world.

It’s Ty Gibbs versus everybody in this latest edition of Feud of the Week. And we actually mean everybody — his teammate, his competitors, the fans in the grandstands at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday night, as well as those on the internet. Everybody.

And he got roasted by pretty much everybody.

The 20-year-old Xfinity Series driver has quickly gained a reputation for being a super aggressive driver who has no problem knocking other cars out of his way. Gibbs — who drives the No. 54 Toyota for his grandfather’s team, Joe Gibbs Racing — also got into an actual fist fight with another driver earlier this season.

Here’s a breakdown of how Gibbs won at Martinsville, how he and others reacted to his controversial bump of his teammate and all the ways the NASCAR world roasted him for his behavior.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. explains why he’s so eager to return to Martinsville after last week’s lone 2022 race

Dale Jr. said he “definitely” wants to return to Martinsville Speedway for his annual Xfinity Series race.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. loves racing at Martinsville Speedway, and as he continues to compete in one second-tier Xfinity Series race each season, he’s eager to return to the .526-mile Virginia short track.

In Earnhardt’s lone 2022 Xfinity race, he finished 11th in the Call 811 Before You Dig 250 at Martinsville on Friday after qualifying in 30th. (His annual appearances are always a big deal, but this year’s was overshadowed a bit by a post-race brawl started by Ty Gibbs and Sam Mayer.)

Since he retired from full-time Cup Series racing at the end of the 2017 season, he’s competed in these one-off races for his team, JR Motorsports, at Richmond Raceway (2018, 2021), Darlington Raceway (2019) and Homestead-Miami Speedway (2020) — in addition to Martinsville last weekend. Three of those races resulted in top-5 finishes.

And after his most recent race, he wants more from the paperclip-shaped track.

While appearing on this week’s episode of the Door Bumper Clear podcast — which is produced by Earnhardt’s own Dirty Mo Media — the mostly retired driver was asked what track he’d like to compete at next year for his one-off race. And he didn’t hesitate and explained:

“I really love Martinsville, and I think I didn’t get everything out of that that I wanted in terms of performance. So I’d love to go back and try again to run better knowing what I know now.

“The short runs in that series, the lack of tire wear, the grip, the cooler temperatures, all those things — we weren’t quite prepared balance-wise for how that race was going to play out. And I don’t know that I would’ve been able to prepare any better because I just didn’t know. But going back, I think I could perform better.”

Earnhardt explained that some of his desire to return improve on his latest Martinsville performance stems from the increasing challenges he faces racing just once a year — especially now as a 47-year-old driver. He “needed about 40 laps to really kind of clean up the cobwebs” before he could start evaluating the car and offer feedback to his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet team.

Up against a talented field in NASCAR’s second-highest level, he said he was “naive” to think he could get behind the wheel and successfully compete against the full-time drivers whenever he wanted, adding that he was “sweating bullets” over qualifying.

“They’re fast, they’re skilled, they’re dialed in, they’re tuned, they’re aggressive,” Dale Jr. noted. “Old men aren’t.”

But he considers Friday’s race a major learning experience and wants to apply that to another race at one of his favorite tracks. Plus, he’s repeated explained in recent years how his one-off races help keep him up to date and make him a better broadcaster for NBC Sports’ NASCAR coverage.

More via Door Bumper Clear:

“You gotta have it all lined up all just right for you to be able to go out there and be competitive, and there’s a bunch of pieces missing when that race started. Some of it was the balance of the car, a lot of it was me. As the race went on, we got it balanced better. I felt like I was getting better, but I wanna go do it again, I think, if we go back next year. …

“I definitely want to do it again. I love driving the cars. The thing is like I kind of need to do it more to be better. … It does help [during NBC Sports NASCAR broadcasts] because, like you say, it reminded me of how good they are, and I think we take that for granted. Sitting up there in the booth, you’re watching it over and over and over, and you’re talking nuts and bolts or strategy or what a guy’s thinking or feeling. But we sometimes kind of forget that these are the elite; these are the best guys out there.”

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Please enjoy this amazing, giant frozen custard cone that’s also a NASCAR trophy

This trophy is ridiculous but also awesome.

NASCAR driver John Hunter Nemechek served as the spoiler in Saturday’s second-tier Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, winning the playoff race as a non-playoff driver. But the trophy he earned for the win is really something special.

While the premier Cup Series has some spectacularly unconventional trophies — everything from gladiator swords to giant lobsters — the Xfinity Series has some zany ones. The trophy from the Cheez-It 355 at The Glen is easily one of our favorites because it’s a huge Cheez-It, but the oversized ice cream cone — well, custard, technically — that Nemechek won is definitely up there near the top of the wacky category.

Andy’s Frozen Custard 335 was the name of Saturday’s Xfinity playoff race, so naturally, the title sponsor had a ridiculous but kind of awesome trophy to go with it.

John Hunter Nemechek (Getty Images, courtesy of Texas Motor Speedway)

This trophy might deserve a spot in the NASCAR Hall of Fame because, well, just look at it. Hopefully Nemechek got some real frozen custard after the race.

Not only was Nemechek a non-playoff winner in a playoff race, but the 24 year old is also currently a full-time driver in the third-tier Truck Series and made just his fourth Xfinity start of the season. He’s the third non-playoff driver to win through the first four 2021 playoff races in the series.

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NASCAR driver entered Las Vegas track by skydiving from a helicopter

Yes, you read that right.

It’s quite possible that no one will ever top NASCAR driver Matt Jaskol’s entrance to Saturday’s NASCAR race because it was a spectacle and perfect for Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Ahead of the second-tier Xfinity Series’ first playoff race of the year, Jaskol — who drives the No. 66 Toyota but is not among the championship contenders — jumped on the track, literally. The 36-year-old driver jumped out of a helicopter for a skydiving entrance down to the race track, which is just truly unbelievable.

But he didn’t just pull this move randomly. According to NBC Sports, Jaskol is a professional skydiver and stunt driver, in addition to piloting race cars, and he put his skills to good use for a phenomenal entrance to Saturday’s race.

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As NBC Sports’ Rick Allen noted on the broadcast, Jaskol jumped from the helicopter at 5,000 feet before free falling for 2,500 feet and then pulling his parachute.

Here’s another angle from inside the helicopter from The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi:

Well done, Matt Jaskol.

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