“Five Things” is a daily column for NASCAR fans to get a recap of everything that happened the day before — such as races, practice sessions, memorable social media moments, and more! While mostly focused on NASCAR, this column may also feature other interesting and exciting moments from the world of motorsports. Enjoy!
- Busch Brothers Sweep Qualifying
If you watched the first two rounds of qualifying, you would have felt very confident that a Busch would be leading the field to green this Sunday.
And you would have been right.
Except it wouldn’t have been the Busch you may have thought …
Kyle Busch was the fastest in the first two rounds of qualifying, but it was his brother Kurt Busch who earned the pole in the third and final round of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. .
Kurt Busch’s pole-winning lap time was 28.511 seconds at 133.591 mph. This is his third pole of 2018, with the other two coming at Michigan International Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway. This is the first time Kurt Busch has ever won a pole at NHMS.
He didn’t get it by much, though.
Martin Truex Jr. will start alongside Kurt Busch on the front row, and his lap time was 28.530 seconds at 133.502 mph.
The aforementioned Kyle Busch will start third, followed by Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney to round out the top five.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Starting Lineup by Row
- On-Track Today in New Hampshire
There will be lots of on-track action today in New Hampshire, including two practice sessions, one qualifying session, and three races.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers will have two practice sessions in preparation for Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301.
The XFINITY Series is qualifying and racing today, along with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
Here is the full schedule:
- Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice: 10:05AM – 10:55AM ET on CNBC
- NASCAR XFINITY Series Qualifying: 11:05AM on CNBC
- Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice: 12:35PM – 1:25PM ET on NBCSN
- NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Eastern Oil & Propane 100: 2:00PM ET (not televised)
- NASCAR XFINITY Series Lakes Region 200: 4:00PM ET on NBCSN
- NASCAR K&N Pro Series East United Site Services 70: 6:45PM ET(not televised)
- Bring a poncho
Saturday looks good weather-wise, but you may want to prepare for rain if you are going to be at the racetrack on Sunday.
Rain is supposed to start at New Hampshire Motor Speedway late Saturday night and rain steadily from Sunday morning into Sunday afternoon.
With the race scheduled to start around 2:00PM ET, it is possible the start of the race could be delayed while the track is dried.
Thankfully, there is one rainstorm in particular that meteorologists are watching and, once it passes, Sunday could remain dry the rest of the day.
On the other hand, if there is enough rain in the afternoon to push the race to Monday, there is still expected to be some moisture and rain showers in the area on that day too.
Like we said … bring the rain gear.
- Martin Truex Jr. Discussed Losing His Sponsor, Contract Extension
Despite the fact that Martin Truex Jr. won the championship last year and is continuing to dominate and win races this season, co-primary sponsor 5-Hour Energy announced they would be leaving the sport at the end of this season.
However, the news of 5-Hour Energy’s departure didn’t catch Truex completely off guard.
“I don’t know that I was surprised,” said Truex. “I felt like it was – they were kind of – they’ve been on the fence for a kind of a while and we’ve kind of been waiting on a decision and so I don’t know that I was surprised, but I guess I wish it didn’t take quite as long as it did and, you know, kind of puts us in a tough spot now, but I’m not really, really worried. I mean, I think something good can come out of this. Obviously it’s not great timing with all that’s going on, but I’ve got confidence in my team and what we’re doing and hopefully we can find a replacement for that. I don’t see Barney (Visser, team owner) putting Furniture Row back on the car and doing that. I don’t know that he can make that work anymore, so we’ll see where it goes from here, but, you know, obviously committed to the team and trying to figure out how we can continue moving forward and hopefully there’s a company out there that we can do a great job representing and hopefully they’ll come out and show their support here shortly.”
Truex is in the final year of his contract with current team Furniture Row Racing and, while he obviously wants to stay with the team that has brought him the most success in his career, securing sponsorship is part of the process of signing an extension.
“I think so,” Truex said. “I think we can.Certainly makes things more difficult, you know, but we’ve been talking about it and honestly it’s not like we were just waiting on this to happen. It just was more of – we’re just trying to figure everything out, what’s the best direction to go, get all the details and honestly we haven’t really worked that hard on it. It’s been something that’s like – it’s not really a pressing issue for me. I know what the team wants. I know where we’re all at, you know, it’s not like I’m nervous they’re going to sign somebody else or I’m going to be searching for a ride. It’s nothing like that. It’s more just trying to focus on racing and feeling like it will get done when it gets done.”
Truex won last week at Kentucky Speedway last Saturday night and will start on the front row of Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301.
Oh, and he also won an ESPY in the Best Driver category on Wednesday night .. which he apparently doesn’t recall ever getting invited to.
“As far as I know, I didn’t get an invite. I’m not sure. Yeah, I went fishing, so I was up out at the Cape yesterday fishing with some family, so…”
In fairness, ESPN says they did invite Truex to attend.
- The Great Debate Continues
It’s no secret that Dale Earnhardt Jr. loves his old-school NASCAR stuff — whether it be old cars, t-shirts, hats — you name it, he wants it.
A fan recently surprised Earnhardt with a t-shirt he had been looking for — his father’s 1979 Rookie of the Year shirt — and in the process brought him another t-shirt near and dear to his heart.
This is a t-shirt of Earnhardt’s late model car along with that of his siblings, Kelley Earnhardt Miller and Kerry Earnhardt.
Now, Earnhardt is wondering whether or not it is kosher to wear his own shirt — and not all of his driver peers are on board.
Keselowski weighed in with his opinion…
… but then was forced to do the same thing by some fans later that day.
Still no consensus, but something tells me Earnhardt is going to find the right place and the right time to wear this shirt.
Five Things You Need To Know Today: July 21, 2018
“Five Things” is a daily column for NASCAR fans to get a recap of everything that happened the day before — such as races, practice sessions, memorable social media moments, and more! While mostly focused on NASCAR, this column may also feature other interesting and exciting moments from the world of motorsports. Enjoy!
If you watched the first two rounds of qualifying, you would have felt very confident that a Busch would be leading the field to green this Sunday.
And you would have been right.
Except it wouldn’t have been the Busch you may have thought …
Kyle Busch was the fastest in the first two rounds of qualifying, but it was his brother Kurt Busch who earned the pole in the third and final round of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. .
Kurt Busch’s pole-winning lap time was 28.511 seconds at 133.591 mph. This is his third pole of 2018, with the other two coming at Michigan International Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway. This is the first time Kurt Busch has ever won a pole at NHMS.
He didn’t get it by much, though.
Martin Truex Jr. will start alongside Kurt Busch on the front row, and his lap time was 28.530 seconds at 133.502 mph.
The aforementioned Kyle Busch will start third, followed by Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney to round out the top five.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Starting Lineup by Row
There will be lots of on-track action today in New Hampshire, including two practice sessions, one qualifying session, and three races.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers will have two practice sessions in preparation for Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301.
The XFINITY Series is qualifying and racing today, along with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
Here is the full schedule:
Saturday looks good weather-wise, but you may want to prepare for rain if you are going to be at the racetrack on Sunday.
Rain is supposed to start at New Hampshire Motor Speedway late Saturday night and rain steadily from Sunday morning into Sunday afternoon.
With the race scheduled to start around 2:00PM ET, it is possible the start of the race could be delayed while the track is dried.
Thankfully, there is one rainstorm in particular that meteorologists are watching and, once it passes, Sunday could remain dry the rest of the day.
On the other hand, if there is enough rain in the afternoon to push the race to Monday, there is still expected to be some moisture and rain showers in the area on that day too.
Like we said … bring the rain gear.
Despite the fact that Martin Truex Jr. won the championship last year and is continuing to dominate and win races this season, co-primary sponsor 5-Hour Energy announced they would be leaving the sport at the end of this season.
However, the news of 5-Hour Energy’s departure didn’t catch Truex completely off guard.
“I don’t know that I was surprised,” said Truex. “I felt like it was – they were kind of – they’ve been on the fence for a kind of a while and we’ve kind of been waiting on a decision and so I don’t know that I was surprised, but I guess I wish it didn’t take quite as long as it did and, you know, kind of puts us in a tough spot now, but I’m not really, really worried. I mean, I think something good can come out of this. Obviously it’s not great timing with all that’s going on, but I’ve got confidence in my team and what we’re doing and hopefully we can find a replacement for that. I don’t see Barney (Visser, team owner) putting Furniture Row back on the car and doing that. I don’t know that he can make that work anymore, so we’ll see where it goes from here, but, you know, obviously committed to the team and trying to figure out how we can continue moving forward and hopefully there’s a company out there that we can do a great job representing and hopefully they’ll come out and show their support here shortly.”
Truex is in the final year of his contract with current team Furniture Row Racing and, while he obviously wants to stay with the team that has brought him the most success in his career, securing sponsorship is part of the process of signing an extension.
“I think so,” Truex said. “I think we can.Certainly makes things more difficult, you know, but we’ve been talking about it and honestly it’s not like we were just waiting on this to happen. It just was more of – we’re just trying to figure everything out, what’s the best direction to go, get all the details and honestly we haven’t really worked that hard on it. It’s been something that’s like – it’s not really a pressing issue for me. I know what the team wants. I know where we’re all at, you know, it’s not like I’m nervous they’re going to sign somebody else or I’m going to be searching for a ride. It’s nothing like that. It’s more just trying to focus on racing and feeling like it will get done when it gets done.”
Truex won last week at Kentucky Speedway last Saturday night and will start on the front row of Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301.
Oh, and he also won an ESPY in the Best Driver category on Wednesday night .. which he apparently doesn’t recall ever getting invited to.
“As far as I know, I didn’t get an invite. I’m not sure. Yeah, I went fishing, so I was up out at the Cape yesterday fishing with some family, so…”
In fairness, ESPN says they did invite Truex to attend.
It’s no secret that Dale Earnhardt Jr. loves his old-school NASCAR stuff — whether it be old cars, t-shirts, hats — you name it, he wants it.
A fan recently surprised Earnhardt with a t-shirt he had been looking for — his father’s 1979 Rookie of the Year shirt — and in the process brought him another t-shirt near and dear to his heart.
This is a t-shirt of Earnhardt’s late model car along with that of his siblings, Kelley Earnhardt Miller and Kerry Earnhardt.
Now, Earnhardt is wondering whether or not it is kosher to wear his own shirt — and not all of his driver peers are on board.
Keselowski weighed in with his opinion…
… but then was forced to do the same thing by some fans later that day.
Still no consensus, but something tells me Earnhardt is going to find the right place and the right time to wear this shirt.