Category Archives: Xfinity Series

Christopher Bell is Here to Win, Not Make Friends

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Christopher Bell, the driver of the #4 JBL Toyota, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Texas Roadhouse 200 at Martinsville Speedway on October 27, 2017, in Martinsville, Virginia. Photo – Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Christopher Bell arrived at Martinsville Speedway on Friday intent on the serious business of trying to win a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship, but his victory in last Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series event at Kansas Speedway was still a prime topic of conversation. Continue reading →

NASCAR XFINITY Series News and Notes – Friday, October 27, 2017

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NASCAR XFINITY Series teams will take a break this weekend before their next Playoff race, the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, November 4th at 8:30 pm ET. Coverage begins at 8 pm ET on NBC Sports Network with radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

Playoff Round of 8 Will Separate the Best from the Rest 

Kansas Speedway served up some great action this past weekend as the first of three tracks in the XFINITY Series Playoff Round of 8. The top four drivers at the conclusion of the Round of 8 advances to the Championship 4 Round in Homestead-Miami. Below are the latest Playoff standings following Kansas:

Next up on the Playoff schedule is Texas Motor Speedway. Here are the Round of 8 Playoff driver’s average finishing positions at Texas – Cole Custer (5.0), William Byron (7.0) Elliott Sadler (9.4), Justin Allgaier (11.0), Matt Tifft (12.7) Ryan Reed (14.9), Brennan Poole (19.2) Daniel Hemric (32.0).

Ten Different XFINITY Winners Over the Last Ten Races

Competition within the XFINITY Series has been running at full-steam, producing a streak of ten different winners over the most recent ten races; dating back to August 12 at Mid-Ohio.

Could we see an 11th different winner? Possibly. For example, Kyle Larson, the defending winner of last season’s XFINITY Series Playoffs race at Texas, and Erik Jones, the winner of this season’s spring Texas race are not on the ten different winners list.

The last time the XFINITY Series saw a streak of 11 different winners was back in 2014 – Elliott Sadler (Talladega), Sam Hornish Jr. (Iowa), Kyle Larson (Charlotte), Kyle Busch (Dover), Paul Menard (Michigan), Brendan Gaughan (Road America), Kevin Harvick (Kentucky), Kasey Kahne (Daytona), Brad Keselowski (New Hampshire), Chase Elliott (Chicago) and Ty Dillon (Indianapolis).

This season’s statistical magnificence doesn’t end there, 2017 has produced a total of 17 different winners in total; which is the first time the series has seen that many different winners since 1994 (23 seasons ago). 17 different winners in a single XFINITY Series season has only happened three other seasons (1994, 1992 and 1989), and is the second highest number of different winners in a single season behind the record of the 18 different winners in 1988.

Bell’s Victory Marks Sixth First-Time Winner of the XFINITY Series Season

Christopher Bell not only took the checkered flag in dramatic fashion this past weekend at Kansas Speedway, but he also became the sixth first-time winner of the XFINITY Series 2017 season joining William Byron (Iowa), Tyler Reddick (Kentucky), Ryan Preece (Iowa), Jeremy Clements (Road America) and Alex Bowman (Charlotte).

The 2017 season is now tied with seven other seasons (1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2006) for the second most first-time winners behind the inaugural series season, 1982, which saw 14 first-time winners.

The last season the series saw six first-time winners, 2006, all six of the drivers went on to have careers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The first-time winners are names you might recognize – Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Paul Menard, David Gilliland, Casey Mears and Dave Blaney.

Don’t be surprised if a seventh first-time winner is on the horizon. Texas Motor Speedway has produced five first-time NASCAR XFINITY Series winners – Erik Jones (2015), Chase Elliott (2014), Trevor Bayne (2011), Kurt Busch (2006) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1998).

Since 2007 (last ten seasons), there have been 35 first-time winners fielded by 12 different organizations in the XFINITY Series. Of the 12 organizations since 2007, Joe Gibbs Racing has produced the most first-time winners (six: Christopher Bell, Ryan Preece, Erik Jones, Daniel Suarez, Aric Almirola and Joey Logano); followed by Chip Ganassi Racing and Roush Fenway Racing (with five each).   

Also Noteworthy…

Series Pole Winners Aplenty: Not only has the XFINITY Series seen a myriad of different winners this season, it has also produced 17 different Coors Light Pole Award winners, which is tied with 2012, 2007, 1990 and 1989 for the fifth-most different pole winners in a single season. The top-four seasons with most different pole winners are 1998 (24 pole winners), 1995 (21), 1991 (20) and 2009 (18). 

Sunoco Rookie of the Year Update: William Byron continues to lead the XFINITY Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings by 41 points over second-place Daniel Hemric following the 30th race of the season (Kansas). Sunoco Rookie of the Year Standings – Byron (293), Hemric (252), Cole Custer (237), Matt Tifft (208), Spencer Gallagher (139) and Ben Kennedy (134). Four of the six rookies this season are in the XFINITY Series Playoffs Round of 8.

Fan4Racing NASCAR Weekend Preview of Martinsville – Thursday, October 26, 2017

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Join host Sharon Burton and co-host Jay ‘MJ’ Husmann 8:30 to 10 pm ET on Thursday night for Fan4Racing NASCAR Weekend Preview, for your complete guide to the upcoming weekend of racing!

Then at 10 pm ET we’ll talk NASCAR Hot Topics Sound Off covering all the latest news heading into the weekend of racing!

We’re previewing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup and Camping World Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway. We’re also giving updates for the XFINITY, K&N Pro, and ARCA Racing Series’.

Call 929-477-1790 or tweet @Fan4RacingSite or @MoparMJ8 with any questions or comments during our LIVE broadcast.

Our show begins at 8:30 pm ET on Thursday, October 26, 2017.

As always…Thanks for listening!

Bubba Wallace Caps Long NASCAR Journey with Move to RPM

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Darrell Wallace Jr., the driver of the #98 Nickelodeon Green Slime Ford, stands on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR XFINITY Series TheHouse.com 300 at Chicagoland Speedway on September 16, 2017, in Joliet, Illinois. Photo – Biran Lawdermilk/Getty Images

The historical and social significance of his move to Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racing is not lost on Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr., who was announced on Wednesday as the driver of the iconic No. 43 car fielded by Richard Petty Motorsports.

Wallace will be the first African-American driver to compete fulltime at NASCAR’s highest level since NASCAR Hall of Famer Wendell Scott posted the final four of his 147 career top-tens in 1971.

Does that add pressure to Wallace’s ascendance to the Monster Energy Series level? The simple answer is

“Yes.”

“There’ve been a lot of people who’ve come up through the ranks and tried to carry on the legacy that Wendell Scott had laid down for us, and for me to step in that realm and take on that role is a lot of pressure,” acknowledged Wallace, a product of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity and NASCAR Next programs.

“But we’re going to go out there and continue to do what we do on and off the race track, and that’s to represent the brand of myself and (team co-owner) Richard Petty and his image the best way I can and continue to grow together.”

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Fan4Racing NASCAR & Race Talk Review of Kansas – Monday, October 23, 2017

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Guest include ARCA Racing Series 2017 champion, Austin Theriault, with Ken Schrader Racing as we talk about his amazing season and celebrating the series title.

Then, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver, Spencer Boyd, with SS Greenlight Racing chats about their partnership for the 2018 XFINITY Series season.

Finally, Super Late-Model driver, Derek Thorn with Campbell Motorsports talks about his victory this weekend at the Las Vegas Bull Ring in the Senator’s Cup Fall Classic.

Join host Sharon Burton and co-host Sal Sigala, every Monday night 8:30 to 10 pm ET as we bring fans the smartest race talk around on Fan4Racing NASCAR & Race Talk!

We’re reviewing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup, XFINITY, and ARCA Racing Series at Kansas Speedway. We’ll also have updates from the Camping World Truck and K&N Pro Series.

Stay tuned in 10 to 10:30 pm ET for NASCAR Hot Topic Sound Off with co-host Jay ‘MJ’ Husmann, as we discuss the hottest topics from the weekend of racing.

We’re talking all the latest NASCAR Playoff news in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup, XFINITY, and Camping World Truck Series, along with the K&N Pro Series, ARCA Racing Series and more.  So buckle up and stay tuned into Fan4Racing Radio throughout the 2017 season.

Call 929-477-1790 OR tweet @Fan4RacingSite or @Sal_Sigala with any questions or comments during our LIVE broadcast.

Our 2017 NASCAR Playoffs season continues at 8:30 pm ET on Monday, October 23, 2017.

As always…Thanks for listening!