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Summer’s Five Things: What You Need To Know For August 30, 2018

August 30, 2018
Summer Bedgood
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“Summer’s Five Things” is a daily column for NASCAR fans to catch up on the most recent, relevant, and need-to-know news and information in the sport! While mostly focused on NASCAR, this column may also feature other interesting and exciting moments from the world of motorsports. Enjoy!

 

  1. Martin Truex Jr. may not be with Furniture Row Racing in 2019

After rumors had circulated that Furniture Row Racing, who won the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship with Martin Truex Jr., was planning on selling FRR’s assets to current NASCAR XFINITY and Truck Series team GMS Racing, FRR president Joe Garone and GMS President Mike Beam confirmed the two parties had discussed this option but stated they didn’t expect any deal to be finalized.

With this deal apparently being a non-starter, the rumor mill now has the defending champion with an entirely different race team in 2019: Joe Gibbs Racing.

To be clear, JGR and FRR already work together through a technical alliance, so Truex currently serves as a quasi-teammate to the current crop of JGR drivers.

However, JGR currently houses the Cup Series maximum of four teams & drivers with Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, and Daniel Suarez. In order for Truex to move over to JGR, one of those four drivers would need to be moved out.

According to Adam Stern from the SportsBusiness Journal, that driver would likely be Daniel Suarez. Truex would move into the No. 19 car in place of Suarez, while Suarez could be moved over to the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing car as a satellite team if the organization switches to Toyota next season as expected.

Adam Stern appeared on “The Morning Drive” on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Wednesday and suggested that, if Suarez is not satisfied with this move, he could take current sponsor ARRIS and move to another race team, such as the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing car that could potentially be vacated by Kurt Busch at season’s end.

“…Martin Truex Jr. is having to evaluate all his options and it sounds like Joe Gibbs Racing is increasingly an option, particularly the No. 19 car is what we understand,” Stern told hosts Pete Pistone and Mike Bagley. “That’s something to definitely keep an eye on. Obviously, Daniel Suarez is currently in that car, so we’ll have to see exactly what happens there. Does JGR find a way to get him to one of their alliance teams, possibly the 95 if Leavine Family Racing switches over? Does Daniel reject that and maybe take his sponsorship and go outside of the Toyota camp, possibly to the 41 if Kurt Busch is leaving that, which it sounds like he is?

“Lot of moving pieces right now, but I think the summation is they’re eyeing some serious options,” Stern continued. “I think Furniture Row is continuing to try and find sponsorship if they can, but they’re running out of time, and unfortunately in the meantime, it’s possible they could lose their championship-winning driver.”

5-Hour Energy announced last month that they would no longer be a sponsor in NASCAR at the end of 2018, costing FRR millions of dollars in sponsorship for next season.

Truex has been one of the three most dominant drivers this season, with he, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick accounting for 17 of the 24 victories this season. Truex has won four races this season after winning eight throughout all of 2017.

Suarez became the first foreign born driver to win a NASCAR national series champion when he won the XFINITY Series title in 2016. The Monterrey, Mexico native is in his second full-time season in the Cup Series, with three top fives and six top 10s in 24 races so far.

 

  1. Noah Gragson could serve as Elliott Sadler’s replacement in 2019

As the SportsBusiness Journal’s Adam Stern continued to whet the appetite of a rumor-mill starved NASCAR nation, the next potential domino to fall for the 2019 driver lineup could be current Camping World Truck Series driver Noah Gragson.

To find out exactly where he might land, we have to go back a couple of weeks ago when XFINITY Series veteran Elliott Sadler announced he was retiring from full-time competition at the end of 2018. This would leave the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet vacant, a very competitive ride that finished runner-up in the championship last season and has earned 11 top fives and 19 top 10s in 23 races this season.

Now, it is expected that 20-year-old Gragson will serve as his replacement in 2019.

Gragson is currently in his second full-time season with Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Truck Series, with two career victories and leading 510 laps this season, more than any other driver so far in 2018.

The driver of the No. 18 truck is coming off a weekend filled with controversy. While racing teammate Todd Gilliland for the win last Sunday at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, Gragson caught the right rear of Gilliland’s truck, sending both drivers spinning and allowing Justin Haley to squeeze through for the victory.

Gragson is currently third in the playoff standings for KBM, and is looking to earn the team their third Truck Series championship.

He appeared on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s “SiriusXM Speedway” with Dave Moody on Wednesday, and when asked about the rumors, stated, “I think the key word to that whole phrase is rumor. Right now it’s not really my focus. I know my guys at Clutch Management have been working really hard on finding me an opportunity next year. My main focus is to win a championship at Kyle Busch Motorsports and compete for wins on a weekly basis.”

On the incident with Gilliland, Gragson had this to say:

“I’ve talked to Todd a little bit. We’re back on good terms. I wanted to get his opinion on that last lap. He wanted to get my opinion. At the end of the day, we were racing for a win. I hate the result for everybody at Kyle Busch Motorsports. Not my intention. We’re both going to move on from it and keep racing each other hard and going out there and trying to beat the rest of the competition.”

Gragson has three career XFINITY Series starts to his credit, finishing second (Richmond), fourth (Talladega), and seventh (Dover).

 

  1. Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Announces Fill-In Driver For Robert Wickens

Following the horrific accident at Pocono Raceway on August 19th that left Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver Robert Wickens with serious injuries, including spinal injuries, and a broken arm, feet, and legs, the team decided to leave Wickens’ No. 6 car vacant for the next race on the schedule at Gateway Motorsports Park.

As Wickens continues to recover in the hospital, Carlos Munoz will fill in for the remaining two races on the Verizon IndyCar Series schedule: the Portland Grand Prix and the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma.

Munoz has not competed since the Indianapolis 500 back in May, when he finished seventh while driving for Andretti Autosport. However, the Bogota, Colombia driver has four years of full-time competition in the IndyCar Series (he lost his ride with AJ Foyt Racing at the end of last season), including four starts at Sonoma. He has not yet competed in a race in Portland.

Since August 25th, Wickens has been able to breathe on his own without medical assistance. He has undergone multiple surgeries since the accident, including a spinal cord surgery where screws and titanium rods were placed in his spine, along with surgeries to his right arm and lower extremities. The surgeries have been performed without any further complications.

 

  1. Handful of drivers can clinch a playoff spot this weekend in Darlington

This weekend’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway marks two to go in the regular season for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

The following drivers have already clinched their playoff berths based on wins and/or points: Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Larson.

This leaves only four spots remaining and drivers will have the opportunity to guarantee their spot in the Playoffs before the regular-season finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Denny Hamlin could be safely inside the playoffs following Sunday’s race if there is a repeat winner or if he earns at least eight points.

Aric Almirola would clinch a spot if he scores 25 points and there is a repeat winner. He would need to gain points on his closest competitors to clinch a spot with a new winner.

It is possible that Jimmie Johnson could clinch a playoff berth with a repeat winner, but would need the other drivers around him in points to have some trouble in Darlington.

For Matt DiBenedetto, while he could potentially clinch with a victory, he would need to remain in the top 30 in points to stay playoff eligible. He currently holds a 52-point advantage over 31st-place driver Trevor Bayne.

The following drivers would only be able to guarantee themselves a spot in the Playoffs with a win: Alex Bowman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Newman, Daniel Suarez, Paul Menard, William Byron, Jamie McMurray, Chris Buescher, AJ Allmendinger, David Ragan, Bubba Wallace, Kasey Kahne, Michael McDowell and Ty Dillon.

 

  1. More Darlington throwback schemes announced

Chances are, there will only be a few more throwback paint schemes announced later today, and the remaining paint schemes will be revealed when they are rolled out of their haulers on Friday.

Roush Fenway Racing XFINITY Series driver Ryan Reed is driving a paint scheme that commemorates back-to-back wins by former RFR driver Greg Biffle at Darlington Raceway in 2005 and 2006.

Biffle’s last full-time season in the Cup Series was in 2016.

Reed has competed in the XFINITY Series for RFR since 2014, having earned two wins, seven top fives, and 25 top 10s in that time frame.

Front Row Motorsports driver Michael McDowell is running a paint scheme that serves as a throwback to sponsor Love’s Travel Stops.

 

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(Credit: Front Row Motorsports)

According to McDowell, Love’s Travel Stops “… opened their first location in 1981 in Amarillo, Texas, and the design of the fuel canopies and the building facade is replicated in this paint scheme.

Joey Gase is driving double duty this weekend in Darlington and will be running the same throwback paint scheme in both races.

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(Credit: Joey Gase Racing)

The purple and black paint scheme is a throwback to Gase’s father, Bob, who won the championship at Hawkeye Downs Speedway in 2003 in a modified with the same paint scheme.

Corey LaJoie will be driving a red, white and blue paint scheme with sponsor The Blockchain Terminal on board. The paint scheme is actually a tribute to Lajoie’s father, Randy’s, FINA car that was most notably run in the XFINITY Series with BACE Motorsports in the late 1990s.

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(Credit: TriStar Motorsports)

Ryan Truex will be competing for Kaulig Racing in the XFINITY Series race with a paint scheme that pays tribute to brother Martin Truex Jr. The paint scheme will replicate the scheme on Martin’s car when he won the 2004 XFINITY Series championship.

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One thought on “Summer’s Five Things: What You Need To Know For August 30, 2018”

  1. I bet there are many men evaluating their morals and some gut checking is taking place. I hope he finds forgiveness and turns the rest of his life into a positive.

    Reply

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