“Summer’s Five Things” is a daily column by Summer Bedgood 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!
**We apologize for the unexpected hiatus of “Five Things”. We appreciate your support and expect the column to resume as normal starting with today’s entry.**
- Double-header scheduled for Monday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Following a rain-drenched weekend that included remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and XFINITY Series have both been postponed to Monday. Neither series has spent any time on track in practice, qualifying, or otherwise.
The XFINITY Series was originally supposed to run on Saturday afternoon, but NASCAR decided to pull the plug early and move the race to Monday. Attempting to run both races on Sunday with the weather forecast seemed doubtful.
The Cup Series was scheduled to run Sunday afternoon and, despite NASCAR moving the start time up in an attempt to stay ahead of the weather, the persistent mist, intermittent rain, and cloudy conditions made it impossible for NASCAR to keep the track dry.
Thankfully, the forecast is looking much more promising for today:
The Cup Series race is the final race of their regular season and will officially set the Playoff grid before the first postseason begins next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS). The XFINITY Series ends their regular season next week.
The delay makes for an extremely tight turnaround time for teams, as they will need to head back to the Charlotte area (where most teams are headquartered) from Indianapolis — about a 600-mile difference — then make it out to the west coast for this weekend’s races at LVMS. Additionally, Hurricane Florence is expected to make landfall sometime later this week, and the Carolinas could potentially get the worst of it.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Starting Lineup by Row
NASCAR Xfinity Series Starting Lineup By Row
Martin Truex Jr. and Daniel Suarez will both start at the rear of the field in the Cup Series race after failing inspection multiple times.
The following drivers will be competing in both races today:
- Ryan Blaney
- Chase Elliott
- Ty Dillon
- Austin Dillon
- Ross Chastain
- JJ Yeley
- David Starr
- BJ McLeod
- Schedule for Monday at IMS
Here is the schedule for what will hopefully be a double-header of racing at the Brickyard:
- Green flag for the Lilly Diabetes 250 (NASCAR XFINITY Series): 10:05:30 AM ET
- Presentation of Colors (Joint Services): 1:40PM ET
- Intro & Invocation (Reverend Howard Brammer): 1:40:20 PM ET
- National Anthem (Payton Smith, Big Machine Records Recording Artist): 1:41:15 PM ET
- Flyover (Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker from the 185th Fighter Wing; turn 4 to turn 1): 1:42:35 PM ET
- Command to start engines (Scott Borchetta, President & CEO of Big Machine Records): 1:48:30 PM ET
- Green flag for Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard (Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series): 2:00PM ET
The races will be broadcast on NBCSN.
The post-race press conference for each series will be streamed live on NASCAR.com.
The XFINITY Series race is scheduled for 100 laps; the Cup Series race will be 160 laps.
- Kickin’ The Tires’ Jerry Jordan, Racer.com’s Kelly Crandall Okay Following Car Crash
Owner of kickinthetires.net/, Jerry Jordan, was behind the wheel on Sunday morning in Indianapolis, with RACER.com’s Kelly Crandall as a passenger, when another vehicle ran a red light, striking another vehicle and causing both cars to veer into the lane that Jordan was in. Unable to avoid a collision, both were taken to a local Indianapolis hospital after the crash.
Crandall and Jordan were in town to cover the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race on Sunday, which was postponed to Monday due to weather in the area.
Both were released from the hospital later that day and, though they sustained injuries, are expected to recover.
Crandall and Jordan have both been instructed to rest and recuperate following their injuries, so they will not be at the racetrack today for the postponed MENCS and NASCAR XFINITY Series races.
KTT’s Aaron Bearden should be at the track for most of the day.
https://twitter.com/aaronbearden93/status/1038959343918571520
- Daniel Suarez shares thoughts on Silly Season rumors
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series sophomore driver Daniel Suarez has found himself smack-dab in the middle of NASCAR’s Silly Season for 2019.
A few days ago, Furniture Row Racing announced they were shutting down at the end of this season, despite winning the championship with Martin Truex Jr. in 2017. Though nothing official has been announced, the rumor mill has Truex moving over to Joe Gibbs Racing for 2019, a virtual lateral move as FRR and JGR have shared a technical alliance for the last three seasons.
However, JGR already has four teams, the maximum a Cup Series team is allowed to field full time, meaning if Truex is in, someone else is out.
That “someone” is expected to be Suarez. Reports have put Suarez potentially at Leavine-Family Racing next season, as the team is expected to switch from Chevrolets to Toyotas for 2019 (JGR and FRR currently field Toyotas).
Suarez spoke with ESPN’s Bob Pockrass on Sunday, and sounded uncertain but optimistic.
“I think we’ll be in good shape,” said Suarez.
“I don’t know [about returning to JGR], man,” he continued. “Everything is a possibility right now. Everything is in the air. Nothing is signed. Nothing is on paper.”
When asked whether current sponsor Arris would potentially go with him to LFR or another team, Suarez responded, “I don’t know. All I can tell you is I have a great relationship with them. They like me a lot. We have a good friendship, but I don’t have anything connected with them [contractually]. They pretty much are with the team.”
Suarez has yet to win a race in his 61 starts in the Cup Series, and will not make the Playoffs unless he wins the postponed Indianapolis race on Monday. However, he did become the first foreign-born driver to win a national series championship when he earned the 2016 XFINITY Series title for JGR and has earned three top-five finishes this season.
He starts 20th in today’s race.
- Tony Stewart still open to competing in Indy 500, just not in 2019
Last month, Tony Stewart mentioned that he was interested in running the historic Indianapolis 500, a race in which he hasn’t competed since 2001.
During a never-ending rain delay that eventually resulted in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race getting postponed, NBCSN’s Rutledge Wood caught up with the current Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team owner and asked for an update on the potential return to IndyCar.
“Not this coming year,” he said. “I did what I normally do, I let my mouth open before I thought about what I was saying and mentioned that I was open to the possibility again, and I realistically am.
“The reason I wouldn’t do it next year, I’m not doing it to just do it,” he continued. “I want to do it to try to win the race. If you’re really going to do that, the IndyCar Series is so competitive right now, and the drivers and teams so tough, you’re not going to just stroll in here like they used to do in the ’70s and ’80s and do a good job. I’d want to run an oval race sometime in the coming year to get ready for 2020 if I’m going to do it.”
Stewart currently owns the four-car team of Stewart-Haas Racing, with drivers Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, and Aric Almirola. All four cars are currently locked into the Playoffs, which begins after today’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 47-year-old was himself a driver in the Cup Series for many years, earning three championships and winning 49 races before retiring at the end of 2016.
Stewart has made a total of five starts in the Indianapolis 500. His best finish was a fifth-place run in 1997 while driving for John Menard.
The former IndyCar Series driver said that multiple team owners have expressed interest in having Stewart run one of their cars.
“I have talked to Michael Andretti,” said Stewart. “Roger Penske still says I have an open invitation. I think (Chip) Ganassi would put me back in a car. But a call I didn’t expect and an email I didn’t expect was from Bobby Rahal and David Letterman to run one of their cars.”
Stewart said he has not yet responded to Rahal’s e-mail, sheepishly saying, “I don’t do e-mail.”
Roger Penske earned the Indianapolis 500 victory earlier this season with driver Will Power, giving Penske his 14th victory in the historic race.
Stewart’s cars will start Monday’s postponed race from the second (Harvick), fourth (Busch), eighth (Bowyer), and 12th (Almirola) positions.
~~
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.
Summer’s Five Things: What You Need To Know For September 10, 2018
“Summer’s Five Things” is a daily column by Summer Bedgood 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!
**We apologize for the unexpected hiatus of “Five Things”. We appreciate your support and expect the column to resume as normal starting with today’s entry.**
Following a rain-drenched weekend that included remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and XFINITY Series have both been postponed to Monday. Neither series has spent any time on track in practice, qualifying, or otherwise.
The XFINITY Series was originally supposed to run on Saturday afternoon, but NASCAR decided to pull the plug early and move the race to Monday. Attempting to run both races on Sunday with the weather forecast seemed doubtful.
The Cup Series was scheduled to run Sunday afternoon and, despite NASCAR moving the start time up in an attempt to stay ahead of the weather, the persistent mist, intermittent rain, and cloudy conditions made it impossible for NASCAR to keep the track dry.
Thankfully, the forecast is looking much more promising for today:
The Cup Series race is the final race of their regular season and will officially set the Playoff grid before the first postseason begins next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS). The XFINITY Series ends their regular season next week.
The delay makes for an extremely tight turnaround time for teams, as they will need to head back to the Charlotte area (where most teams are headquartered) from Indianapolis — about a 600-mile difference — then make it out to the west coast for this weekend’s races at LVMS. Additionally, Hurricane Florence is expected to make landfall sometime later this week, and the Carolinas could potentially get the worst of it.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Starting Lineup by Row
NASCAR Xfinity Series Starting Lineup By Row
Martin Truex Jr. and Daniel Suarez will both start at the rear of the field in the Cup Series race after failing inspection multiple times.
The following drivers will be competing in both races today:
Here is the schedule for what will hopefully be a double-header of racing at the Brickyard:
The races will be broadcast on NBCSN.
The post-race press conference for each series will be streamed live on NASCAR.com.
The XFINITY Series race is scheduled for 100 laps; the Cup Series race will be 160 laps.
Owner of kickinthetires.net/, Jerry Jordan, was behind the wheel on Sunday morning in Indianapolis, with RACER.com’s Kelly Crandall as a passenger, when another vehicle ran a red light, striking another vehicle and causing both cars to veer into the lane that Jordan was in. Unable to avoid a collision, both were taken to a local Indianapolis hospital after the crash.
Crandall and Jordan were in town to cover the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race on Sunday, which was postponed to Monday due to weather in the area.
Both were released from the hospital later that day and, though they sustained injuries, are expected to recover.
Crandall and Jordan have both been instructed to rest and recuperate following their injuries, so they will not be at the racetrack today for the postponed MENCS and NASCAR XFINITY Series races.
KTT’s Aaron Bearden should be at the track for most of the day.
https://twitter.com/aaronbearden93/status/1038959343918571520
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series sophomore driver Daniel Suarez has found himself smack-dab in the middle of NASCAR’s Silly Season for 2019.
A few days ago, Furniture Row Racing announced they were shutting down at the end of this season, despite winning the championship with Martin Truex Jr. in 2017. Though nothing official has been announced, the rumor mill has Truex moving over to Joe Gibbs Racing for 2019, a virtual lateral move as FRR and JGR have shared a technical alliance for the last three seasons.
However, JGR already has four teams, the maximum a Cup Series team is allowed to field full time, meaning if Truex is in, someone else is out.
That “someone” is expected to be Suarez. Reports have put Suarez potentially at Leavine-Family Racing next season, as the team is expected to switch from Chevrolets to Toyotas for 2019 (JGR and FRR currently field Toyotas).
Suarez spoke with ESPN’s Bob Pockrass on Sunday, and sounded uncertain but optimistic.
“I think we’ll be in good shape,” said Suarez.
“I don’t know [about returning to JGR], man,” he continued. “Everything is a possibility right now. Everything is in the air. Nothing is signed. Nothing is on paper.”
When asked whether current sponsor Arris would potentially go with him to LFR or another team, Suarez responded, “I don’t know. All I can tell you is I have a great relationship with them. They like me a lot. We have a good friendship, but I don’t have anything connected with them [contractually]. They pretty much are with the team.”
Suarez has yet to win a race in his 61 starts in the Cup Series, and will not make the Playoffs unless he wins the postponed Indianapolis race on Monday. However, he did become the first foreign-born driver to win a national series championship when he earned the 2016 XFINITY Series title for JGR and has earned three top-five finishes this season.
He starts 20th in today’s race.
Last month, Tony Stewart mentioned that he was interested in running the historic Indianapolis 500, a race in which he hasn’t competed since 2001.
During a never-ending rain delay that eventually resulted in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race getting postponed, NBCSN’s Rutledge Wood caught up with the current Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team owner and asked for an update on the potential return to IndyCar.
“Not this coming year,” he said. “I did what I normally do, I let my mouth open before I thought about what I was saying and mentioned that I was open to the possibility again, and I realistically am.
“The reason I wouldn’t do it next year, I’m not doing it to just do it,” he continued. “I want to do it to try to win the race. If you’re really going to do that, the IndyCar Series is so competitive right now, and the drivers and teams so tough, you’re not going to just stroll in here like they used to do in the ’70s and ’80s and do a good job. I’d want to run an oval race sometime in the coming year to get ready for 2020 if I’m going to do it.”
Stewart currently owns the four-car team of Stewart-Haas Racing, with drivers Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, and Aric Almirola. All four cars are currently locked into the Playoffs, which begins after today’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 47-year-old was himself a driver in the Cup Series for many years, earning three championships and winning 49 races before retiring at the end of 2016.
Stewart has made a total of five starts in the Indianapolis 500. His best finish was a fifth-place run in 1997 while driving for John Menard.
The former IndyCar Series driver said that multiple team owners have expressed interest in having Stewart run one of their cars.
“I have talked to Michael Andretti,” said Stewart. “Roger Penske still says I have an open invitation. I think (Chip) Ganassi would put me back in a car. But a call I didn’t expect and an email I didn’t expect was from Bobby Rahal and David Letterman to run one of their cars.”
Stewart said he has not yet responded to Rahal’s e-mail, sheepishly saying, “I don’t do e-mail.”
Roger Penske earned the Indianapolis 500 victory earlier this season with driver Will Power, giving Penske his 14th victory in the historic race.
Stewart’s cars will start Monday’s postponed race from the second (Harvick), fourth (Busch), eighth (Bowyer), and 12th (Almirola) positions.
~~
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.