“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. Additional Details Regarding Brian France’s Arrest
The NASCAR headline that extended far outside of NASCAR’s circles, Chairman and CEO Brian France was arrested on Sunday evening for aggravated driving while intoxicated and criminal possession of a controlled substance (oxycodone). France has since taken an indefinite leave from the sport, with his uncle Jim France stepping into an interim position.
France’s blood alcohol level was .18, more than twice the legal limit of .08 percent, and the threshold for when a driver can be charged with aggravated DWI.
According to arrest documents obtained by The Daytona Beach News-Journal, France was “found to be in possession of five pills, yellow in color, that were identified as Oxycodone”.
The 56-year-old has a court date scheduled for September 14th and is being represented by attorney Edward Burke Jr.
There had been some reports that France was belligerent with the arresting officer, but Sag Harbor Chief of Police Austin J. McGuire refuted this:
“He was very compliant and the only time he ever mentioned NASCAR, as part of our arrest processing, we ask people where they are employed, and he said ‘NASCAR,’” McGuire told The Daytona Beach News-Journal. “The arresting officer had no idea who he was or anything. The arresting officer said Mr. France was completely compliant and a gentleman.”
2014 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick commented on France’s arrest on his Tuesday night show “Happy Hours” on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Chase Elliott, who won his first career race over the weekend at Watkins Glen International, held a teleconference on Tuesday and commented on the change in leadership.
“I’ve been around [Jim France] some,” said Elliott. “I haven’t ever had any issues with Jim. I expect them to do fine, and it doesn’t change my job, so I’m going to do my thing.”
- Speaking of last weekend’s winner…
Penalties have unfortunately been a near weekly discussion in NASCAR this year and last. With aerodynamics and downforce playing such a crucial role in most of the racetracks on the schedule, teams are pushing the limits of the NASCAR tolerances and are oftentimes getting caught.
However, it wasn’t expected this would be a huge problem last weekend in Watkins Glen International, as the cars aren’t nearly as aerodynamically dependent at the 2.45-mile road course.
As such, Elliott’s car and engine passed inspection at NASCAR’s R&D Center and there will are no penalties from the weekend in Watkins Glen.
It’s a good thing this was announced on Tuesday! Based on how Elliott is telling the story of his weekend, he may not have been coherent enough to process it!
- Goodyear Expecting More Tire Wear For This Weekend’s Race in Michigan
In an effort to combat the amount of heat generated in the tires at Michigan International Speedway, Goodyear is bringing a tread compound that is expected to create more tire wear and dissipate heat. This weekend’s compound is the result of a test at MIS in April earlier this year and is for both the left and right sides of the car. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series ran the same compound at MIS in June.
The Cup Series will be allowed three sets of tires for practice, one for qualifying, and seven sets for the race.
Goodyear’s director of racing Greg Stucker expects the tire compound to produce great racing thi weekend.
“Michigan still has a lot of grip in the track surface, and as a result we see very high speeds there,” said Stucker. “Simply stated, grip leads to higher speeds and that leads to more heat being built up in the tires. What we came up with at our test this spring, and what we saw in the race in June, was that our ‘new’ tire set-up wore a bit more, which is really good for two reasons – more tire fall-off leads to tire management coming into play into race strategy and tire wear is the primary way to help tires lose heat and operate more optimally.”
The Camping World Truck Series is sharing the weekend with the Cup Series at Michigan this weekend but is running a different tire compound. The left-side tire code is identical to what the series ran in Kansas Speedway earlier this season, while the right side is “a multi-zone tread tire that features one compound on the inboard two inches of the tread for heat resistance (Endurance Zone) and one on the outboard 10 inches of the tread for grip (Traction Zone)”.
The Truck Series will be allowed four sets for the event.
The XFINITY Series, meanwhile, will be at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, and Goodyear will be bringing “wets” in the event of rain. The rain tires will feature white lettering instead of the traditional yellow, which is what the series ran in Watkins Glen this past Saturday. The series is using the same (dry) tire code that they have traditionally used in Mid-Ohio and will be used again in Road America.
XFINITY teams will be allotted six sets for the event and four sets of rain tires, if needed.
4. Preliminary Entry Lists Released For All Three Series
Cup
40 cars are entered for this Sunday’s Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway
Trevor Bayne is back in the No. 6 car for Roush Fenway Racing this weekend. Bayne is splitting the schedule with Matt Kenseth.
Landon Cassill is driving for StarCom Racing in the No. 00. He has competed in 14 of 22 races with this team so far in 2018.
Garrett Smithley will be competing for Premium Motorsports in the No. 7 car. He has driven the No. 99 car in two races this year.
Ross Chastain will be driving the No. 15 for Premium Motorsports. He has made 20 other starts for this team this season.
Blake Jones will be driving the No. 23 for BK Racing. Jones drove the No. 23 car to 33rd-place finish at Loudon earlier this year. Jones has shared this ride with Gray Gaulding, JJ Yeley, and Spencer Gallagher this season.
B.J. McLeod is driving the No. 51 for Rick Ware Racing this weekend. McLeod has made seven starts with this team this season. The No. 51 has also been driven by Justin Marks, Harrison Rhodes, Cole Custer, Timmy Hill, Cody Ware, Chris Cook, Ray Black Jr., and Josh Bilicki this season.
Timmy Hill is driving the No. 66 for Motorsports Business Management. Six of Hill’s nine starts this season have been with this race team. The other three have been with the No. 51 team. Mark Thompson and Chad Finchum have also driven the No. 66 this year.
Corey LaJoie is driving the No. 72 for Tristar Motorsports. LaJoie has competed 12 times for this team in 2018. LaJoie is sharing the seat with Cole Whitt this season.
Jeffrey Earnhardt is driving the No. 96 for Gaunt Brothers Racing. Earnhardt has made one prior start for this team in 2018. He has also competed in the No. 7 and No.55 for Jay Robinson and the No. 00 for StarCom Racing. D.J. Kennington and Parker Kligerman have also competed in the No. 96 this season. Kligerman finished 24th with this car last weekend in Watkins Glen.
Gaulding is driving the No. 99 for StarCom Racing. Gaulding’s 17 prior starts this season have all been with the No. 23 of BK Racing. Derrike Cope, Smithley, Cassill, and Kyle Weatherman have all competed in the No. 99 this season.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Preliminary Entry List
XFINITY
40 cars are entered for this Saturday’s Rock N Roll Tequila 170 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Drivers competing who are not eligible for XFINITY Series points are Brendan Gaughan driving the No. 3 for Richard Childress Racing and Cody Ware driving the No. 8 for B.J. McLeod Motorsports.
Sports car racing driver Katherine Legge is making her NASCAR debut at Mid-Ohio, driving the No. 15 car for JD Motorsports
Spencer Gallagher is returning to the No. 23 this weekend for GMS Racing.
Carl Long will be driving the No. 13 for Motorsports Business Management.
Kyle Benjamin will be driving the No. 18 for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Justin Marks will be making his first XFINITY Series start of the season, driving the No. 42 for Chip Ganassi Racing. Marks won at Mid-Ohio in 2016 with this same race team.
Chase Briscoe will be driving the No. 60 for Roush Fenway Racing. Briscoe is sharing this ride with Austin Cindric and Ty Majeski.
Tim Cowen will be making his first NASCAR start of 2018, driving the No. 66 for MBM.
Stephen Leicht will be driving the No. 74 for Mike Harmon Racing in his 11th start this season.
Tommy Joe Martins will be racing the No. 78 for B.J. McLeod Motorsports.
Road racing ace Andy Lally will be making his first start of the 2018 season driving for DGM Racing in the No. 90.
NASCAR XFINITY Series Preliminary Entry List
Camping World Truck Series
34 trucks are entered for this Saturday’s Corrigan Oil 200 at Michigan International Speedway.
Drivers competing in this race who are ineligible for points will be John Hunter Nemechek, driving the No. 8 for NEMCO Motorsports; BJ McLeod driving the No. 34 for Reaume Brothers Racing; Reed Sorenson driving the No. 50 for Beaver Motorsports; Matt Mills driving the No. 54 for DGR-Crosley; and Timmy Hill driving the No. 63 for MB Motorsports.
Camden Murphy is entered in the No. 0 for Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing.
Korbin Forrister will drive the No. 7 for All Out Motorsports.
Todd Peck will be driving the No. 15 for Premium Motorsports.
Bo Le Mastus is driving the No. 17 for DGR-Crosley.
Tate Fogleman will be making his third start of the season with the No. 20 of Young’s Motorsports.
Spencer Davis will be making his fifth start of the season with Kyle Busch Motorsports in the No. 51 truck.
Bayley Currey will be driving the No. 83 truck for Copp Motorsports.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preliminary Entry List
- Kyle Busch Gets Beat By A 14-Year-Old in Go-Kart Race
Kyle Busch competed in a go-kart race at Broadway Grand Prix on Tuesday in Darlington, South Carolina to promote the upcoming September 2nd race at Darlington Raceway.
And he got his butt handed to him by a 14-year old.
14-year-old Hunter Herriott beat Busch not once, but twice, on Tuesday — once in the preliminary race and again in the championship race.
In fairness, Busch started both races at the tail end of the field, but was able to work his way up to attempt to pass Herriott.
It just didn’t work out very well for him.
“It feels amazing,” said Herriott. “(Busch) is my idol. It feels great to beat him.”
Busch is currently sharing the “Big 3” title with Martin Truex Jr. in Kevin Harvick this season, after the three of them have combined to win all but six of the 22 races run this season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Busch finished third last Sunday in an impressive late-race charge through the field, finishing behind Truex and race winner Chase Elliott.
He is currently holding on to the top spot of the regular season standings, with a 70 point advantage over Harvick with four races left until the playoffs begin. If he is able to hold on to the series lead until the start of the playoffs, he will earn 15 playoff points that go towards his total when the points reset.
Busch has made 13 starts at Darlington Raceway. He has one victory at the track (2008) and finished second last season.
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You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram.
Summer’s Five Things: What You Need To Know For August 8, 2018
“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. Additional Details Regarding Brian France’s Arrest
The NASCAR headline that extended far outside of NASCAR’s circles, Chairman and CEO Brian France was arrested on Sunday evening for aggravated driving while intoxicated and criminal possession of a controlled substance (oxycodone). France has since taken an indefinite leave from the sport, with his uncle Jim France stepping into an interim position.
France’s blood alcohol level was .18, more than twice the legal limit of .08 percent, and the threshold for when a driver can be charged with aggravated DWI.
According to arrest documents obtained by The Daytona Beach News-Journal, France was “found to be in possession of five pills, yellow in color, that were identified as Oxycodone”.
The 56-year-old has a court date scheduled for September 14th and is being represented by attorney Edward Burke Jr.
There had been some reports that France was belligerent with the arresting officer, but Sag Harbor Chief of Police Austin J. McGuire refuted this:
“He was very compliant and the only time he ever mentioned NASCAR, as part of our arrest processing, we ask people where they are employed, and he said ‘NASCAR,’” McGuire told The Daytona Beach News-Journal. “The arresting officer had no idea who he was or anything. The arresting officer said Mr. France was completely compliant and a gentleman.”
2014 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick commented on France’s arrest on his Tuesday night show “Happy Hours” on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Chase Elliott, who won his first career race over the weekend at Watkins Glen International, held a teleconference on Tuesday and commented on the change in leadership.
“I’ve been around [Jim France] some,” said Elliott. “I haven’t ever had any issues with Jim. I expect them to do fine, and it doesn’t change my job, so I’m going to do my thing.”
Penalties have unfortunately been a near weekly discussion in NASCAR this year and last. With aerodynamics and downforce playing such a crucial role in most of the racetracks on the schedule, teams are pushing the limits of the NASCAR tolerances and are oftentimes getting caught.
However, it wasn’t expected this would be a huge problem last weekend in Watkins Glen International, as the cars aren’t nearly as aerodynamically dependent at the 2.45-mile road course.
As such, Elliott’s car and engine passed inspection at NASCAR’s R&D Center and there will are no penalties from the weekend in Watkins Glen.
It’s a good thing this was announced on Tuesday! Based on how Elliott is telling the story of his weekend, he may not have been coherent enough to process it!
In an effort to combat the amount of heat generated in the tires at Michigan International Speedway, Goodyear is bringing a tread compound that is expected to create more tire wear and dissipate heat. This weekend’s compound is the result of a test at MIS in April earlier this year and is for both the left and right sides of the car. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series ran the same compound at MIS in June.
The Cup Series will be allowed three sets of tires for practice, one for qualifying, and seven sets for the race.
Goodyear’s director of racing Greg Stucker expects the tire compound to produce great racing thi weekend.
“Michigan still has a lot of grip in the track surface, and as a result we see very high speeds there,” said Stucker. “Simply stated, grip leads to higher speeds and that leads to more heat being built up in the tires. What we came up with at our test this spring, and what we saw in the race in June, was that our ‘new’ tire set-up wore a bit more, which is really good for two reasons – more tire fall-off leads to tire management coming into play into race strategy and tire wear is the primary way to help tires lose heat and operate more optimally.”
The Camping World Truck Series is sharing the weekend with the Cup Series at Michigan this weekend but is running a different tire compound. The left-side tire code is identical to what the series ran in Kansas Speedway earlier this season, while the right side is “a multi-zone tread tire that features one compound on the inboard two inches of the tread for heat resistance (Endurance Zone) and one on the outboard 10 inches of the tread for grip (Traction Zone)”.
The Truck Series will be allowed four sets for the event.
The XFINITY Series, meanwhile, will be at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, and Goodyear will be bringing “wets” in the event of rain. The rain tires will feature white lettering instead of the traditional yellow, which is what the series ran in Watkins Glen this past Saturday. The series is using the same (dry) tire code that they have traditionally used in Mid-Ohio and will be used again in Road America.
XFINITY teams will be allotted six sets for the event and four sets of rain tires, if needed.
4. Preliminary Entry Lists Released For All Three Series
Cup
40 cars are entered for this Sunday’s Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway
Trevor Bayne is back in the No. 6 car for Roush Fenway Racing this weekend. Bayne is splitting the schedule with Matt Kenseth.
Landon Cassill is driving for StarCom Racing in the No. 00. He has competed in 14 of 22 races with this team so far in 2018.
Garrett Smithley will be competing for Premium Motorsports in the No. 7 car. He has driven the No. 99 car in two races this year.
Ross Chastain will be driving the No. 15 for Premium Motorsports. He has made 20 other starts for this team this season.
Blake Jones will be driving the No. 23 for BK Racing. Jones drove the No. 23 car to 33rd-place finish at Loudon earlier this year. Jones has shared this ride with Gray Gaulding, JJ Yeley, and Spencer Gallagher this season.
B.J. McLeod is driving the No. 51 for Rick Ware Racing this weekend. McLeod has made seven starts with this team this season. The No. 51 has also been driven by Justin Marks, Harrison Rhodes, Cole Custer, Timmy Hill, Cody Ware, Chris Cook, Ray Black Jr., and Josh Bilicki this season.
Timmy Hill is driving the No. 66 for Motorsports Business Management. Six of Hill’s nine starts this season have been with this race team. The other three have been with the No. 51 team. Mark Thompson and Chad Finchum have also driven the No. 66 this year.
Corey LaJoie is driving the No. 72 for Tristar Motorsports. LaJoie has competed 12 times for this team in 2018. LaJoie is sharing the seat with Cole Whitt this season.
Jeffrey Earnhardt is driving the No. 96 for Gaunt Brothers Racing. Earnhardt has made one prior start for this team in 2018. He has also competed in the No. 7 and No.55 for Jay Robinson and the No. 00 for StarCom Racing. D.J. Kennington and Parker Kligerman have also competed in the No. 96 this season. Kligerman finished 24th with this car last weekend in Watkins Glen.
Gaulding is driving the No. 99 for StarCom Racing. Gaulding’s 17 prior starts this season have all been with the No. 23 of BK Racing. Derrike Cope, Smithley, Cassill, and Kyle Weatherman have all competed in the No. 99 this season.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Preliminary Entry List
XFINITY
40 cars are entered for this Saturday’s Rock N Roll Tequila 170 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Drivers competing who are not eligible for XFINITY Series points are Brendan Gaughan driving the No. 3 for Richard Childress Racing and Cody Ware driving the No. 8 for B.J. McLeod Motorsports.
Sports car racing driver Katherine Legge is making her NASCAR debut at Mid-Ohio, driving the No. 15 car for JD Motorsports
Spencer Gallagher is returning to the No. 23 this weekend for GMS Racing.
Carl Long will be driving the No. 13 for Motorsports Business Management.
Kyle Benjamin will be driving the No. 18 for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Justin Marks will be making his first XFINITY Series start of the season, driving the No. 42 for Chip Ganassi Racing. Marks won at Mid-Ohio in 2016 with this same race team.
Chase Briscoe will be driving the No. 60 for Roush Fenway Racing. Briscoe is sharing this ride with Austin Cindric and Ty Majeski.
Tim Cowen will be making his first NASCAR start of 2018, driving the No. 66 for MBM.
Stephen Leicht will be driving the No. 74 for Mike Harmon Racing in his 11th start this season.
Tommy Joe Martins will be racing the No. 78 for B.J. McLeod Motorsports.
Road racing ace Andy Lally will be making his first start of the 2018 season driving for DGM Racing in the No. 90.
NASCAR XFINITY Series Preliminary Entry List
Camping World Truck Series
34 trucks are entered for this Saturday’s Corrigan Oil 200 at Michigan International Speedway.
Drivers competing in this race who are ineligible for points will be John Hunter Nemechek, driving the No. 8 for NEMCO Motorsports; BJ McLeod driving the No. 34 for Reaume Brothers Racing; Reed Sorenson driving the No. 50 for Beaver Motorsports; Matt Mills driving the No. 54 for DGR-Crosley; and Timmy Hill driving the No. 63 for MB Motorsports.
Camden Murphy is entered in the No. 0 for Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing.
Korbin Forrister will drive the No. 7 for All Out Motorsports.
Todd Peck will be driving the No. 15 for Premium Motorsports.
Bo Le Mastus is driving the No. 17 for DGR-Crosley.
Tate Fogleman will be making his third start of the season with the No. 20 of Young’s Motorsports.
Spencer Davis will be making his fifth start of the season with Kyle Busch Motorsports in the No. 51 truck.
Bayley Currey will be driving the No. 83 truck for Copp Motorsports.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preliminary Entry List
Kyle Busch competed in a go-kart race at Broadway Grand Prix on Tuesday in Darlington, South Carolina to promote the upcoming September 2nd race at Darlington Raceway.
And he got his butt handed to him by a 14-year old.
14-year-old Hunter Herriott beat Busch not once, but twice, on Tuesday — once in the preliminary race and again in the championship race.
In fairness, Busch started both races at the tail end of the field, but was able to work his way up to attempt to pass Herriott.
It just didn’t work out very well for him.
“It feels amazing,” said Herriott. “(Busch) is my idol. It feels great to beat him.”
Busch is currently sharing the “Big 3” title with Martin Truex Jr. in Kevin Harvick this season, after the three of them have combined to win all but six of the 22 races run this season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Busch finished third last Sunday in an impressive late-race charge through the field, finishing behind Truex and race winner Chase Elliott.
He is currently holding on to the top spot of the regular season standings, with a 70 point advantage over Harvick with four races left until the playoffs begin. If he is able to hold on to the series lead until the start of the playoffs, he will earn 15 playoff points that go towards his total when the points reset.
Busch has made 13 starts at Darlington Raceway. He has one victory at the track (2008) and finished second last season.
~~
If you would like to receive “Five Things” in your inbox, or just connect with me, you may send me an e-mail at [email protected].
You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram.