“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!
- Truck Series, XFINITY Series Practice Sessions on Friday
NASCAR’s three national series are at two different tracks this weekend: Pocono Raceway and Iowa Speedway.
The NCWTS is sharing the weekend at Pocono with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series while the XFINITY Series is in Iowa with the NASCAR K&N Pro Series.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series had only one practice session on Friday, with Noah Gragson topping the speed charts. Rookie Myatt Snider was second quickest followed by Justin Haley in third. Grant Enfinger and Johnny Sauter rounded out the top five.
The Truck Series was originally scheduled to have two practice sessions, but weather in the area forced a schedule change.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Final Practice Full Results
Meanwhile, the NASCAR XFINITY Series had two practice sessions in Iowa. Veteran Elliott Sadler was quickest in first practice with a fastest time of 24.046 seconds at 130.999 mph. Christopher Bell, who is going for this third NXS win in a row, was second quickest, followed by rookie Tyler Reddick. Reddick spun in the first practice session but didn’t sustain any major damage.
Current series points leader Daniel Hemric and JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier rounded out the top five in first practice.
NASCAR XFINITY Series Practice 1 Results
In the second and final NXS practice session, Casey Roderick topped the charts. Roderick is making his first start in the XFINITY Series since 2012, and laid down a fastest lap of 29.933 seconds at 131.617 mph. Teammates Allgaier and Sadler were second and third, respectively. Shane Lee and Kyle Benjamin rounded out the top five.
The lone incident in the final session was a spin by John Hunter Nemechek and, like Reddick, he didn’t sustain any major damage either.
While he and his car was okay, suffice it to say that Nemechek’s pride was hurt just a little bit.
NASCAR XFINITY Series Final Practice Results
The Truck Series will next be on track for qualifying at 10:00AM ET later today and will be broadcast on FS1. The Gander Outdoors 150 will start around 1:00PM ET and will also be broadcast on FS1.
For the XFINITY Series, qualifying will begin today (Saturday) at 3:05PM ET on NBCSN, followed by the 250-lap U.S. Cellular 250 presented by The Rasmussen Group at 5:20PM ET (also broadcast on NBCSN).
- Speaking of practice …
While the traditional weekend for the Cup Series is Friday-Saturday-Sunday, NASCAR has been slowly rolling out what is known as “enhanced” weekends, where the Cup Series is only on track on Saturday and Sunday (or Friday and Saturday for night races).
The Cup Series will first be on track for practice from 9:00AM – 9:50AM ET and the session will be broadcast on CNBC.
Later on, the Cup Series will have their final practice session, which will run from 11:40AM – 12:30PM ET, also on CNBC.
Finally, the Cup Series will wrap up their day with qualifying, which begins at 4:10PM ET and will be broadcast on NBCSN.
Kyle Busch earned the pole for this event last season, while Martin Truex Jr. sat on the pole for the race at Pocono back in June.
- No Rain On Zane Smith’s Parade
Pocono Raceway certainly has been busy this weekend.
The ARCA Racing Series is sharing the weekend with NASCAR and ran their race on Friday afternoon, but unfortunately the weather wasn’t cooperating. In fact, before the rain reached the racetrack, the television broadcast could only use the in-car cameras to show the racing action as their crew had to find shelter due to lightning in the area.
Eventually, just three laps past an official race at halfway, the rain began to fall with Zane Smith in the lead. Eventually, the race was called, giving Smith his fourth victory of the season.
It didn’t come without its challenges, though. Smith had to fight teammate Sheldon Creed in the closing laps for the victory, with Creed eventually winding up in the wall following contact between the two drivers.
“I totally drove him down the track,” said Smith after the race. “I knew we were racing to lap 31 and I had just slipped up out of the groove around a lapper and gave up a huge lead. I didn’t want him to get by at all because that would have been the race right there. He did a nice job holding on to it to give MDM a top four sweep.”
“I hope they have a good shot of that save,” Creed said. “I absolutely pounded the wall. I thought we were both going to get taken out. If they were right up on us, there’s no way we would have finished 1-2. I saw him slide up the track and I knew it was my only chance. We went down into one and started getting sideways. It was crazy.”
Creed was able to hang on for second. As Smith said, MDM Motorsports swept the top four, with Chase Purdy and Harrison Burton finishing third and fourth, respectively. Riley Herbst rounded out the top five.
2018 ModSpace 150 Full Results
- BK Racing Saga Continues
As ESPN’s Bob Pockrass continues to document, the future of BK Racing is still being played out in the courts.
After filing for bankruptcy in February of 2018 and having operations handed over to a trustee in April, bids for the team need to be made to the trustee — Matthew Smith — by August 13th. A hearing may be needed on August 14th if any challenge is made to the qualifications of one of the bidders. Once all the bids have been placed, Smith will meet with all of the bidders privately on August 20th for an auction-style sale.
Afterwards, Judge J. Craig Whitley must make the determination as to whether or not the sale is the best option for repaying creditors. Some of these include Union Bank and Trust, who is claiming $9.475 million on defaulted loans; the Internal Revenue Service is claiming $2.87 million for unpaid payroll taxes and penalties; and $28.5 million of unpaid debts amongst more than 40 claims.
The decision to approve the sale could be made as soon as August 21st. However, if there are any objections regarding the winning bid and/or whether or not this is the best way for creditors to be repaid, a hearing will be held August 23rd.
If this timeline follows the approval of the sale, BK Racing may have a new owner heading into the Darlington Raceway weekend for the September 2nd Cup Series race.
Currently, president of GMS Racing Mike Beam has already bid $1.8 million and, if the purchase of the team is successful, would become an affiliate of GMS Racing, who currently fields teams in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
The issue of unpaid wages for the employees of BK Racing in relation to the sale was also addressed, and it was decided that this would be handled after the sale is completed.
- Will We Know Bubba Wallace’s Future Today?
Bubba Wallace and Richard Petty are holding a press conference today at 10:30AM ET. The announcement says they are going to discuss “the 2018 season and beyond”, but what does that mean exactly?
Adam Stern of the The SportsBusiness Journal seems to have an idea…
The namesake of Richard Petty Motorsports, Petty indicated just a few days ago that he expected Wallace back in 2019, so if the announcement is truly a two-year contract deal with RPM, it won’t come as a huge surprise.
Wallace is currently in his first full season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. He has currently earned one top five and two top 10s in 20 races.
Wallace filled in for four races last season for RPM’s 2017 driver Aric Almirola after Almirola sustained a back injury in the May race at Kansas Speedway.
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If you would like to receive this column in your inbox every day, or if you would just like to reach out to me, send me an e-mail at [email protected].
You may also follow me on Twitter and Instagram.
Summer’s Five Things: What You Need To Know For July 28, 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!
NASCAR’s three national series are at two different tracks this weekend: Pocono Raceway and Iowa Speedway.
The NCWTS is sharing the weekend at Pocono with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series while the XFINITY Series is in Iowa with the NASCAR K&N Pro Series.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series had only one practice session on Friday, with Noah Gragson topping the speed charts. Rookie Myatt Snider was second quickest followed by Justin Haley in third. Grant Enfinger and Johnny Sauter rounded out the top five.
The Truck Series was originally scheduled to have two practice sessions, but weather in the area forced a schedule change.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Final Practice Full Results
Meanwhile, the NASCAR XFINITY Series had two practice sessions in Iowa. Veteran Elliott Sadler was quickest in first practice with a fastest time of 24.046 seconds at 130.999 mph. Christopher Bell, who is going for this third NXS win in a row, was second quickest, followed by rookie Tyler Reddick. Reddick spun in the first practice session but didn’t sustain any major damage.
Current series points leader Daniel Hemric and JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier rounded out the top five in first practice.
NASCAR XFINITY Series Practice 1 Results
In the second and final NXS practice session, Casey Roderick topped the charts. Roderick is making his first start in the XFINITY Series since 2012, and laid down a fastest lap of 29.933 seconds at 131.617 mph. Teammates Allgaier and Sadler were second and third, respectively. Shane Lee and Kyle Benjamin rounded out the top five.
The lone incident in the final session was a spin by John Hunter Nemechek and, like Reddick, he didn’t sustain any major damage either.
While he and his car was okay, suffice it to say that Nemechek’s pride was hurt just a little bit.
NASCAR XFINITY Series Final Practice Results
The Truck Series will next be on track for qualifying at 10:00AM ET later today and will be broadcast on FS1. The Gander Outdoors 150 will start around 1:00PM ET and will also be broadcast on FS1.
For the XFINITY Series, qualifying will begin today (Saturday) at 3:05PM ET on NBCSN, followed by the 250-lap U.S. Cellular 250 presented by The Rasmussen Group at 5:20PM ET (also broadcast on NBCSN).
While the traditional weekend for the Cup Series is Friday-Saturday-Sunday, NASCAR has been slowly rolling out what is known as “enhanced” weekends, where the Cup Series is only on track on Saturday and Sunday (or Friday and Saturday for night races).
The Cup Series will first be on track for practice from 9:00AM – 9:50AM ET and the session will be broadcast on CNBC.
Later on, the Cup Series will have their final practice session, which will run from 11:40AM – 12:30PM ET, also on CNBC.
Finally, the Cup Series will wrap up their day with qualifying, which begins at 4:10PM ET and will be broadcast on NBCSN.
Kyle Busch earned the pole for this event last season, while Martin Truex Jr. sat on the pole for the race at Pocono back in June.
Pocono Raceway certainly has been busy this weekend.
The ARCA Racing Series is sharing the weekend with NASCAR and ran their race on Friday afternoon, but unfortunately the weather wasn’t cooperating. In fact, before the rain reached the racetrack, the television broadcast could only use the in-car cameras to show the racing action as their crew had to find shelter due to lightning in the area.
Eventually, just three laps past an official race at halfway, the rain began to fall with Zane Smith in the lead. Eventually, the race was called, giving Smith his fourth victory of the season.
It didn’t come without its challenges, though. Smith had to fight teammate Sheldon Creed in the closing laps for the victory, with Creed eventually winding up in the wall following contact between the two drivers.
“I totally drove him down the track,” said Smith after the race. “I knew we were racing to lap 31 and I had just slipped up out of the groove around a lapper and gave up a huge lead. I didn’t want him to get by at all because that would have been the race right there. He did a nice job holding on to it to give MDM a top four sweep.”
“I hope they have a good shot of that save,” Creed said. “I absolutely pounded the wall. I thought we were both going to get taken out. If they were right up on us, there’s no way we would have finished 1-2. I saw him slide up the track and I knew it was my only chance. We went down into one and started getting sideways. It was crazy.”
Creed was able to hang on for second. As Smith said, MDM Motorsports swept the top four, with Chase Purdy and Harrison Burton finishing third and fourth, respectively. Riley Herbst rounded out the top five.
2018 ModSpace 150 Full Results
As ESPN’s Bob Pockrass continues to document, the future of BK Racing is still being played out in the courts.
After filing for bankruptcy in February of 2018 and having operations handed over to a trustee in April, bids for the team need to be made to the trustee — Matthew Smith — by August 13th. A hearing may be needed on August 14th if any challenge is made to the qualifications of one of the bidders. Once all the bids have been placed, Smith will meet with all of the bidders privately on August 20th for an auction-style sale.
Afterwards, Judge J. Craig Whitley must make the determination as to whether or not the sale is the best option for repaying creditors. Some of these include Union Bank and Trust, who is claiming $9.475 million on defaulted loans; the Internal Revenue Service is claiming $2.87 million for unpaid payroll taxes and penalties; and $28.5 million of unpaid debts amongst more than 40 claims.
The decision to approve the sale could be made as soon as August 21st. However, if there are any objections regarding the winning bid and/or whether or not this is the best way for creditors to be repaid, a hearing will be held August 23rd.
If this timeline follows the approval of the sale, BK Racing may have a new owner heading into the Darlington Raceway weekend for the September 2nd Cup Series race.
Currently, president of GMS Racing Mike Beam has already bid $1.8 million and, if the purchase of the team is successful, would become an affiliate of GMS Racing, who currently fields teams in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
The issue of unpaid wages for the employees of BK Racing in relation to the sale was also addressed, and it was decided that this would be handled after the sale is completed.
Bubba Wallace and Richard Petty are holding a press conference today at 10:30AM ET. The announcement says they are going to discuss “the 2018 season and beyond”, but what does that mean exactly?
Adam Stern of the The SportsBusiness Journal seems to have an idea…
The namesake of Richard Petty Motorsports, Petty indicated just a few days ago that he expected Wallace back in 2019, so if the announcement is truly a two-year contract deal with RPM, it won’t come as a huge surprise.
Wallace is currently in his first full season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. He has currently earned one top five and two top 10s in 20 races.
Wallace filled in for four races last season for RPM’s 2017 driver Aric Almirola after Almirola sustained a back injury in the May race at Kansas Speedway.
~~
If you would like to receive this column in your inbox every day, or if you would just like to reach out to me, send me an e-mail at [email protected].
You may also follow me on Twitter and Instagram.