What You Need To Know Today…
Kyle Busch, Sponsor Mars Announce Extension with Joe Gibbs Racing
- Kyle Busch has signed a contract extension with current Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team Joe Gibbs Racing
- Mars Inc (think Snickers, M&M’s, etc) has also announced a “multi-year” extension with JGR to serve as the primary sponsor on Busch’s No. 18 Toyota
- The 33-year-old Busch is currently in his 15th full-time season in the series and has spent all but three of those years with JGR
- Busch has earned 40 of his 51 career victories driving the No. 18 car for JGR, and earned his first career championship in 2015
For more information: Full story … Information on some of the Mars brands … Kyle Busch career statistics
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Elliott Sadler is returning to the XFINITY Series
- After retiring from full-time driving at the end of last season, 43-year-old Elliott Sadler is returning to the NASCAR XFINITY Series with Kaulig Racing.
- Sadler will drive the No. 10 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet on April 12th at Richmond Raceway and again on September 14th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
- Sadler will be sharing the ride with Ross Chastain, who drove the No. 10 car to a 13th-place finish in the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway
- Chastain will also drive the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet on June 29th at Chicagoland Speedway and November 2nd at Texas Motor Speedway
- Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Dillon will be the driver of the No. 10 car in the XFINITY Series this weekend
- Kaulig Racing plans on running the No. 10 car for over half the season
- Kaulig’s primary full-time team is the No. 11 car driven by Justin Haley
- Sadler made 395 starts in the XFINITY Series from 1995 through 2018, earning 13 victories and three runner-up finishes in the driver’s championship
- Sadler joined JR Motorsports in the 2016 season and remained with the organization until retiring at the end of last year
For more information: Team release … Story from Racer.com’s Kelly Crandall … More info about Kaulig Racing
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ThorSport Racing Drivers Lead Pair of Las Vegas Practice Sessions
- The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series had two practice sessions on Thursday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in preparation for the race on Friday night
- Johnny Sauter led the first session with a lap of 30.219 seconds at 178.696 mph
- His ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton led the second and final practice session, with a time of 30.013 seconds at 179.922 mph
- ThorSport’s two other drivers — Grant Enfinger and Ben Rhodes — were quick in practice as well
- Rhodes was second quickest in the first practice session, followed by Sheldon Creed, Harrison Burton, and Enfinger
- In final practice, Sauter was second quickest, followed by Brett Moffitt, Creed, and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular Kyle Busch
- Enfinger did not take time in final practice and had to make an engine change; Rhodes’ fastest lap was good for 15th
For more information: Practice 1 Results … Final Practice Results … Truck Series Entry List
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Friday Schedule for Las Vegas Motor Speedway
- All times are local to Las Vegas (PST)
- 12–1 p.m. — Strat 200 NGOTS Autograph Session (Neon Garage)
- 12:05–12:55 p.m. — Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube MENCS first practice
- 1:05–1:55 p.m. — Boyd Gaming 300 NXS first practice
- 2:10 p.m. — Strat 200 NGOTS qualifying (single vehicle, two rounds)
- 3:35–4:25 p.m. — Boyd Gaming 300 NXS final practice
- 4:40 p.m. –Strat Qualifying for the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube MENCS race (multi-vehicle, three rounds)
- 5:30 p.m. — Strat 200 NGOTS driver introductions
- 6 p.m. — Strat 200 NGOTS race (134 laps/201 miles. Stages: 30/60/134)
For more information: Friday TV schedule … Las Vegas Motor Speedway weekend information … Full at-track schedule
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Ratings for NASCAR, NHRA, Supercross
- The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway last weekend earned a 3.10 TV rating with an average of 5.1 million viewers, down from last year’s 3.27/5.6m
- The race was broadcast on FOX
- The XFINITY Series race aired on FS1 and was also down from last year, earning a 0.68 rating/1.1m viewers in 2019 verses 0.76/1.2m in 2018
- The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race saw a gain over last year, with a rating of 0.61 with an average of 956,000 viewers; last year’s race earned a 0.60 with an average of 931,000 viewers
- The NHRA was in Phoenix last weekend and final eliminations were tape delayed, earning a 0.30/472K on Sunday evening
- The Monster Energy Supercross race from Detroit was broadcast on NBCSN on Saturday night (went up against the Truck Series race on FS1), earning a 0.18/329K
For more information: Full story from RACER.com … Story from SportsMediaWatch.com … Sports Nielsen ratings from ShowBuzzDaily.com
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