“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!
- Chase Briscoe, Grant Enfinger Give Fans Fantastic Finish In Eldora
The one dirt race of the year for NASCAR is also one of the most anticipated, and it didn’t disappoint.
Chase Briscoe and Grant Enfinger went side-by-side to the start/finish line on the last lap of Eldora, with Briscoe just barely edging ahead of Enfinger at the line.
Instant classic. 📸
Teammates battle it out in photo finish at #EldoraDirtDerby: https://t.co/2k3vguAfF4 pic.twitter.com/qjCCm6Jj2h
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 19, 2018
Briscoe led 54 laps, the most of any other driver. He has not been in a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race since Homestead of 2017 … which he won as well.
Briscoe has been running a partial schedule for Roush Fenway Racing and Biagi-DenBeste Racing in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. He has competed in eight of 18 races with a best finish of ninth in the June 30th race at Chicago.
Newcomer Logan Seavey also impressed in his NASCAR debut. Though Seavey is new to NASCAR, he is certainly not new to dirt track racing, and he proved it while leading 53 laps. A late-race restart gone awry caused him to fall back in the field, and he had to settle for an eighth-place finish.
Overall, it was a good experience for @Logan_Seavey, even with how the finish played out. pic.twitter.com/lBmmtLIcy1
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) July 19, 2018
The race saw nine cautions for 41 laps and seven lead changes amongst five different drivers.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Unofficial Race Results
- Brad Keselowski Thinks NASCAR Should Change the Championship System AGAIN!
Brad Keselowski came up with an interesting idea for how the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion should be determined, and the entire conversation was kicked off by a column at RACER.COM by Kelly Crandall …
Brad @Keselowski offered his opinion last night on how NASCAR's champion should be determined. pic.twitter.com/4ZMJ0UFidq
— NASCAR on USA (@NASCARonUSA) July 18, 2018
NASCAR has already gone through multiple championship & points formats since the introduction of the Chase (now just called the Playoffs) in 2004. The most recent and perhaps most bold change since the implementation of a playoff system was the 2017 introduction of stage racing, with drivers able to earn points at stage breaks during a race (not just at the end) AND playoff points that apply to their total when the Playoffs begin.
This system was introduced just three years after NASCAR rolled out the elimination-style playoff format that they still use today.
Interestingly enough, Keselowski’s idea for a format could potentially re-create a scenario that this current system was designed to eliminate. In this current elimination format, regardless of what happens during the regular season and the first nine race of the 10-race playoffs, fans are guaranteed to a four-driver, winner-take-all race to determine the title at Homestead every year.
In Keselowski’s system, however, if the winningest driver of the season has enough of a gap between himself and the driver with the next highest amount of wins for the season, he could virtually — or mathematically — clinch the title before Homestead.
For instance, if a driver has accrued six victories, and his next closest competitor only has three, we would know going into the semi-final race who the champion would be before ever getting to the season finale.
On the other hand, in a season like now when there are three drivers who are consistently “taking turns” winning and have shut out almost everyone else from victory lane, it would certainly add some intrigue throughout the entire season. Right now, we know Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., and Kyle Busch are all going to the Playoffs, so the next critical moment for them won’t be until the first elimination race at the Charlotte ROVAL at the end of the first round of the Playoffs … which isn’t until September 30th.
Keselowski’s format certainly has its pros and cons, but it’s unlikely NASCAR is going to want to change its championship format AGAIN, especially after the success the current format has had in such a short amount of time.
- 5-Hour Energy Exiting NASCAR At End of 2018 Season
Furniture Row Racing announced Wednesday that they will be seeking sponsorship for the 2019 season, as 5-Hour Energy is ending its NASCAR involvement at the end of this year. The company known for its energy shots has a long history in NASCAR, but most recently has served as a sponsor for FRR and their driver Martin Truex Jr.
5-Hour Energy joined FRR in 2017 as the primary sponsor of rookie Erik Jones (Jones now competes for Joe Gibbs Racing). This season, 5-Hour Energy has served as the co-primary sponsor of defending Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr., with Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats as the other primary sponsor.
Other drivers 5-Hour Energy has sponsored in the past include Steven Wallace and Clint Bowyer.
Statement from 5-Hour Energy:
“Since joining Furniture Row Racing in 2017, the team has delivered on every promise,” said Rise’ Meguiar, President of Sales for 5-hour ENERGY. “In addition to being a championship team, winning races and putting 5-hour ENERGY in victory lane multiple times, they have also become part of our family. We cannot thank Barney Visser, Joe Garone, Martin and the entire Furniture Row Racing team enough for the pride they have given us. They are a first-class group on and off the track. Although 5-hour ENERGY has made the business decision to leave NASCAR, we will be fans and friends for life, and we look forward to finishing strong in 2018.”
The move isn’t entirely surprising given that the signing of Monster Energy as title sponsor for NASCAR’s premier series in 2017 meant that 5-Hour Energy was allowed to stay in the series if, and only if, they remained with their current team.
Still, Monster Energy is only signed through 2019 as the title sponsor and NASCAR has said publicly they don’t expect their partnership with Monster Energy to continue in that capacity past then. It’s entirely possible that 5-Hour Energy would have been free to move around in the series at that time if they wanted to.
This announcement comes only a few months after Jimmie Johnson’s longtime sponsor Lowe’s announced would be leaving NASCAR at the end of the season as well.
The news isn’t all bad, however. Mountain Dew announced a few days ago it had renewed its partnership with Hendrick Motorsports just last week. Another Hendrick Motorsports sponsor for driver Chase Elliott — NAPA — announced additional sponsorship earlier this year as well. Caterpillar announced a renewal of their sponsorship with Ryan Newman and Richard Childress Racing over the offseason, despite the fact that the team has only won three races since 2013.
Truex is currently in the final year of his contract with Furniture Row Racing, and while it’s hard to imagine the driver of the No. 78 going anywhere else given his success with this race team, sponsorship (or lack thereof) will certainly play a role.
- NASCAR represents at the ESPYs
The 2018 ESPY Awards took place last night in Los Angeles, California and Martin Truex Jr. was the lone NASCAR nominee of the night…
… and, just like everything else it seems, he won!
Truex was up for Best Driver, and went up against IndyCar’s Josef Newgarden; Formula One’s Lewis Hamilton; and NHRA’s Brittany Force.
Congrats to @MartinTruex_Jr on the Best Driver ESPY! It was an honor to be mentioned next to you and so many other talented drivers! @ESPYS
— BrittanyForce (@BrittanyForce) July 19, 2018
Former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick hosted the event, becoming the first ever female to host the ESPYs.
The look on Dan Marino’s face after Danica Patrick’s Villanova “all the way” joke. pic.twitter.com/ffeGZDpy2P
— Nick Bromberg (@NickBromberg) July 19, 2018
- Stewart-Haas Racing Shuffles Pit Crews Around
According to NBC sports, all four of Stewart-Haas Racing’s pit crews will see some changes ahead of this weekend’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway:
- Shayne Pipala replaces Eric Maycroft as the front tire changer on Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 team.
- Eric Maycroft will move to Michael McDowell’s No. 95 Front Row Motorsports team.
- Ira Jo Hussey replaces Danniel Coffey as the front tire changer for Clint Bowyer’s No. 14 team.
- Matt Holzbaur, previously pitting for McDowell, replaces Josh Sobecki as the tire carrier for Bowyer’s team.
- Coffey replaces Ryan Mulder as the front tire changer for Aric Almirola’s No. 10 team.
- Mulder replaces Pipala as the front tire changer on Kurt Busch’s No. 41 team.
Harvick and Bowyer are currently qualified for the playoffs, while Busch and Almirola are both winless this season, but still above the cutoff line for the playoffs with seven races remaining in the regular season.
Bowyer unleashed a tirade on his radio last weekend at Kentucky Speedway after consistently losing spots on pit road.
*FRM’s pit crew is provided by SHR.
Michael McDowell doesn’t drive the #95. He drives the #34. Kasey Kahne drives the #95.
You’re right but unless there was something changed before I am looking at your comment, we didn’t say Landon was in the #34 car. Reach out to me if there is an issue that I am missing and thanks for supporting Kickin’ the Tires – Jerry Jordan, Editor