Biggest Event Of The Year At All American Speedway On Saturday

Action Packed 11th Annual October Classic In Roseville

All American Speedway will hosts its biggest event of the year this week with the 11th Annual October Classic on the third-mile oval at the Grounds on Saturday, Oct. 13.The racing will be intense, with championships on the line for regional touring series and two local divisions competing for bonus awards.

 “The success of this event is reflected in its popularity with the fans,” race promoter Bill McAnally said of the October Classic, which will again benefit the Placer Breast Cancer Foundation. “Everybody works very hard to put on the best show possible and it’s great to see the fans turn out to enjoy it and have such a good time.”

Again this year, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will headline the event with the NAPA AutoCare / Roseville Toyota 200 presented by TriCo Welding Supplies and the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame. It’s the 13th event on a 14-race schedule this year for the West’s oldest stock car circuit.

Bill McAnally kicks off his annual auction to raise money for Placer Breast Cancer Foundation pic.twitter.com/fvj78qVz9W

— Bill McAnally Racing (@BMR_NASCAR) October 14, 2017

Hailie Deegan made history with a victory in the most recent series race, becoming the first female driver to win a NASCAR K&N Pro Series event. She and her Bill McAnally Racing teammates, who made for a 1-2-3 finish, will give Northern California fans plenty to cheer about.
 

“The NASCAR K&N West race at Roseville is one of the most exciting series races of the year,” McAnally said. “It gives fans the opportunity to see the exciting action of full-bodied NASCAR stock cars competing on a tight short track. And this year, fans get to see Hailie Deegan back in action after becoming the first woman to win in the series.”

For the second straight year, the October Classic will also feature the crowning of two champions – with the Pacific Challenge Series Late Models and the North State Modified Series each wrapping up their season.

“It’s great to have the PCS Late Models and North State Modifieds back again this year to conclude their seasons and decide their championships,” McAnally said. “Both of these touring divisions feature plenty of tough competition.”

Local divisions that will be racing as part of this week’s big event at Roseville include the Super Stocks A & B, as well as the Bandoleros/Mini Cups. Each Super Stock A and Super Stock B car that takes the green flag is to be awarded a Matco Tool Green Flag Bonus of $100.

“We’re excited to have these local divisions in this year’s October Classic,” McAnally said. “They’ve put on some great racing at the track this year and we’re pleased to have them be part of this big event.” In addition to all the action on the track, the midway will feature a variety of activities; including live music, a classic car show hosted by Alley Cats CarClub, and numerous vendors. Saturday’s event will be capped off with fireworks.

The ticket booth and front gate are scheduled to open at 4 p.m., with feature events set to get underway at 6:15 p.m. Tickets are $35 for general admission; $30 for military, first responders, and seniors over 65; and $25 for kids between the ages of 6-12. Kids under 5 get in free. Admission for adults to the VIP Hospitality is $60, and $50 for kids.

General information about the speedway is available on the internet at www.allamericanspeedway.com. For additional questions about the speedway, call 916-786-2025.

Bill McAnally Racing Promotions signed a long-term agreement in May to operate all motorsports events at the All American Speedway. Placer County Fairgrounds, where the track is located, was renamed @the Grounds after Placer Valley Tourism took over management of the 61-acre property in 2017 and began a renovation project of more than $40 million for the repair and updating of existing buildings and parking lots.

Source

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NASCAR Schedule for #MENCS & #NCWTS at Talladega

The #KNWest Series races at All American Speedway

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be in action at Talladega Superspeedway while the NASCAR Xfinity Series has the weekend off.

The Monster Energy Series heads to the second race of the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Playoffs, The Camping World Truck Series Playoffs enters the final race of the Round of 8.

Check out the full schedule below. (The schedule for the K&N Pro Series West is also listed below.)

Thursday, October 11, 2018

• 12:00 PM Staging Begins for Track Drive Day
• 12:30 PM - 3:30 PM Track Drive Day for Fans

Friday, October 12, 2018

• 7:00 AM Parking Areas Open
• 9:00 AM Fan Zone Open
• 9:05 AM - 9:55 AM First Practice | NCWTS
• 10:35 AM - 11:25 AM Final Practice | NCWTS
• 12:00 PM MENCS Hauler Entry | Crossover Gate V9
• 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM Open NCWTS Garage for Infield Guests
• 2:00 PM - 2:45 PM NCWTS Autograph Session | Camping World Display
• 2:15 PM Tyler Dippel | Chevy Display
• 3:00 PM Justin Haley & Spencer Gallagher | Chevy Display
• 3:00 PM Kyle Busch Motorsports Drivers | Honda Generators Display
• 4:00 PM Grandstands Open | EP4
• 4:35 PM Qualifying | NCWTS
• 6:00 PM Pit Road Pickers Music | Infield Miller Lite Pavilion
• 7:00 PM The Big One on the Blvd
• 8:00 PM Pit Road Pickers Music | Infield Miller Lite Pavilion

Saturday, October 13, 2018

• 5:00 AM Parking Areas Open
• 8:00 AM Pre-Race Access Begins
• 8:00 AM Fan Zone Open
• 9:00 AM Grandstands Open
• 10:05 AM - 11:20 AM First & Final Practice | MENCS
• 10:15 AM Myatt Snider & Ben Rhodes | Ford Display
• 11:30 AM Driver Introductions | NCWTS
• 12:00 PM Fr8Auctions 250 | NCWTS | 94 laps
• 1:00 PM David Ragan | 1000Bulbs.com Display
• 3:35 PM Foodland/Food Giant Qualifying | MENCS
• 4:20 PM Aric Almirola | Honda Generators Display | Post-Qualifying
• 5:30 PM FREE Kids Movie Night
• 7:00 PM Chris Janson Concert pres. by Wind Creek Casino & Hotel

Sunday, October 14, 2018

• 5:00 AM Parking Areas Open
  
• 8:00 AM Pre-Race Pit Pass Access Begins
• 8:00 AM Fan Zone Open
• 9:00 AM Grandstands Open
• 9:00 AM Paul Menard | Ford Display
• 9:15 AM Joey Logano | Ford Display
• 9:15 AM Matt DiBenedetto | Can-Am Display
• 9:30 AM Tweetup | Fan Zone
• 9:30 AM Michael McDowell | Ford Display
• 9:30 AM Trevor Bayne | Benore Logistic Systems Display
• 9:35 AM Jamie McMurray | Chevy Display
• 9:45 AM Austin Dillon | Chevy Display
• 9:50 AM William Byron | Chevy Display
• 10:00 AM Ty Dillon | GEICO Display
• 10:20 AM Chase Elliott & Jimmie Johnson | Chevy Display
• 10:30 AM Grant Enfinger | Ford Display
• 10:34 AM Bubba Wallace & Richard Petty | Chevy Display
• 12:20 PM - 1:00 PM Driver Introductions | MENCS
• 1:00 PM 1000Bulbs.com 500 | MENCS | 188 laps

NCWTS: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
MENCS: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

Times listed are tentative and subject to change.
All times are local Central Time.

Source

T H I S I S T A L L A D E G A

It's officially race week here in Sweet Home Alabama! 🏁#1000Bulbs500 | #Fr8Auctions250 pic.twitter.com/ipNeueAFqM

— Talladega Superspeedway (@TalladegaSuperS) October 7, 2018

The K&N Pro Series will race on Saturday at All American Speedway. The schedule for the ‘Toyota/NAPA AutoCare 200 presented by TriCo Welding Supplies’ is below:

Saturday, October 13, 2018

• 10:00 a.m. Garage Opens
• 12:30-1:15 p.m. Practice
• 1:45-2:30 p.m. Final Practice
• 4:45 p.m. Qualifying
• 7:00 p.m. NAPA AutoCare/Roseville Toyota 200 presented by TriCo Welding Supplies & the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame (50 laps on a .333 mile paved track for 50.0 miles)

Remember you can ‘watch’ all the #KNWest action via Race Central Live .

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Robert Noaker - Youngest Professional Race Car Winner

Fourteen-Year-Old Wins MX-5 Cup Race

At age five, Robert Noaker started racing Go Karts on local dirt tracks. By six, he moved to asphalt road courses in Go Karts, gaining multiple National Championship Wins. In 2016, he trained at the Skip Barber School of Racing. 

Therefore, it is not a huge surprise that this young man, at the age of fourteen, emerged as the youngest driver to win a professional race. The race was at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio as part of the IndyCar Series race weekend. Robert won his first Mazda Global MX-5 Cup race after climbing from fifteenth on the grid to make a winning pass on the final lap.

“I wasn’t expecting to win today – but I was hoping I would have a chance this weekend,” said Noaker. “I have done two weekends here at Mid-Ohio in Spec Miata. I was really trying to take care of my front tires because this track is really low grip, and a lot of the turns are downhill, so you need to manage them. On the last lap, going down in to turn four, I was being really defensive to protect the lead and Hernan outbraked me on the outside. From then on, I was asking myself if I should try a risky move, or if I should settle for second. But then going through turn eleven, he got sideways and that’s when I decided I needed to make my move.”

You can see that exciting pass in the YouTube video below - The final lap, in which Robert (Car #13) takes the lead two corners from the finish, begins at the 49:23 mark.

The racers just keeping
getting younger and younger!

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Our FAST Cooling winner from the Portland International Raceway @Batterytender @GlobalMX5Cup race was...... @RobertNoaker !! Congrats to Robert and thanks for letting us keep you cool! #KeepingRobertCool #FASTCooling #FreshAirSystems #FreeCoolSuit pic.twitter.com/alUtghySij

— FAST Cooling (@FAST_Cooling) September 7, 2018

AUTOParkit's Lawless Alan Stays on Top at Irwindale Raceway

Freshman Year, Sophomore Season, 1st Championship

Lawless Alan, driver of the AUTOParkit™ number twenty-five car and a Freshman at the University of Alabama, in only his second professional season won the 2018 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Championship at Irwindale Speedway Saturday September 22nd by finishing on the podium for his 22nd time this year.

Lawless had to battle the entire race, finishing second, in order to maintain the top points position and secure the championship. Over the entire season, Lawless was on the podium 22 times including 7 first place finishes. The last two months of the season were particularly challenging as he had to commute from Tuscaloosa where he attends the University of Alabama and is studying mechanical engineering. Emerging from the car in Victory Circle right after winning the Championship he broke into a wide grin and yelled, "Roll Tide!".

There were plenty of high fives and champagne on a warm California night for the entire Dasher Lawless Racing Team which is sponsored by AUTOParkit.

Mike Dunkleberger, Crew Chief of the number twenty-five car said, "We had the points lead coming into tonight, but knew we needed to run upfront if we wanted to control the championship. This is something the entire team has worked for these past two years. Lawless was diggin' the entire race and never let up. And on that last restart, even though he was in a comfortable points lead, he was going for the win, holy cow he can drive. He was down past the white line going into two trying to pass for the lead. But P2 put us on the podium again and we locked up the championship. I just can't say enough about this team and this young kid, wow, what a talent he is." 

Shawn Adams, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for AUTOParkit was equally as excited, "Tonight is a perfect illustration as to why AUTOParkit made the decision to have our brand represented by Lawless Alan. He exemplifies the hard work, dedication and drive that it takes to be the best which is in lock step with our philosophy at AUTOParkit. Our company and the people in it work tirelessly every day to continue to be the world leader in the design, manufacturing, construction and operation of fully automated parking systems. It's a fantastic accomplishment that we're able to share not just with the race team, but with our business partners like Siemens, Nord Gear, Vahle, and JD2. The competition of motorsports is no different than the inherent competition of business and at AUTOParkit, just like the race team we work every day to be the best."

The NASCAR Whelen Series ended on Saturday, however Lawless Alan will be running at Daytona International Speedway in the Trans Am Series November 9-11. The race will be broadcast on CBS Sports. For more information on AUTOParkit, visit www.autoparkit.com.

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Roger Penske to Receive "Spirit of Competition" Award at Simeone Museum

Legendary businessman and motorsports team owner Roger Penske will be the recipient of this year's Spirit of Competition Award from the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum. The award gala will be held on Wednesday, October 31 at the Museum in Philadelphia, from 6:00 pm to 9:30 pm.

"No one epitomizes the 'Spirit of Competition' more than Roger Penske," said Fred Simeone, executive director of the museum. "He not only was an outstanding driver in his own right, but Team Penske is also one of the most successful racing teams in the history of motorsports."

Penske's love of racing began racing in 1951 when he attended his first Indianapolis 500 with his father. Eventually, Penske became a winning sports car driver and was named "Sports Car Driver of the Year" by Sports Illustrated in 1961. He retired from racing in 1965 to open his first automotive dealership, in Philadelphia. Roger Penske Racing – which would eventually become Team Penske - was formed in 1966 and debuted at the 24 Hours of Daytona, with headquarters initially in the Philadelphia suburb of Newtown Square.

Since then, Team Penske has become one of the most successful teams in the history of professional sports. Cars owned and prepared by Team Penske have produced more than 500 major race wins, over 570 pole positions and 32 Championships across open-wheel, stock car and sports car racing competition. Over the course of its 52-year history, the team has also earned 17 Indianapolis 500 victories, two Daytona 500 Championships, a Formula 1 win and overall victories in the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Team Penske currently competes in the Verizon IndyCar Series, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR XFINITY Series and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The team also races in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, in a partnership with Dick Johnson Racing, as DJR Team Penske.

The "Spirit of Competition" is the theme of the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum and the focus of the annual fundraiser. Past recipients of the award are:

• 2008-Mario Andretti
• 2009-Janet Guthrie
• 2010-John Fitch
• 2011-Craig Breedlove
• 2012-Sam Posey
• 2013 Hurley Haywood
• 2014 Bobby Rahal
• 2015 David Hobbs
• 2016 Peter Brock
• 2017 Derek Bell, MBE

Tickets for the event are $150 for individuals, $275 for a couple, and $1000 for a table of eight. Tickets may be purchased on the Museum's Web site: www.SimeoneMuseum.org, or by calling (215) 365-7233. The Awards dinner starts at 6:00 PM on October 31.

 

The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum differs from most other automotive collections in that the cars are used to tell a story: that competition and racing improve the breed. The central theme of the Simeone Foundation collection is "the spirit of competition." The International Historic Motoring Awards in London twice recognized the museum as "Museum of the Year."

The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum, located near the Philadelphia International Airport, is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation. Recognition of the significance of some of the cars has been acknowledged in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and a variety of automotive publications. The Classic Car Trust recently selected Dr. Simeone as number two in a ranking of the top 100 automotive collectors in the World.

More information on the Museum can be found on www.simeonemuseum.org, or by calling 215-365-7233.

Source:PR Newswire

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NASCAR Weekend Recap - Dover

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

I am sure NASCAR Race Mom was not the only fan on ‘pins and needles,’ hoping to see Aric Almirola nab his second career win on Sunday at Dover International Speedway. Fifty laps to go; twenty-laps to go; nine laps to go . . . . . But alas, it was not meant to be.

Instead, the bell in his hometown rang as Chase Elliott captured his second career MENCS checked flag.

When a late-race caution was shown with less than ten laps to go, Elliott became the leader when crew chief Alan Gustafson made a gutsy strategy call to not pit while many of the other leaders came to pit road for fresh tires.

The green flag waved with three laps to go, and Elliott maintained his lead and began pulling away. Then yet another caution was displayed, which brought out a red flag and sent the race into overtime.

Elliott led the field to the overtime restart and grabbed the lead as the field raced through turns one and two. Despite not having fresh tires, Elliott’s NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 proved to be too strong for the field to overcome as he raced to his second career NASCAR Cup Series victory.

Chase credits his trying times for allowing him to grow as a person and a race car driver. “It definitely makes you learn for sure, and it makes you appreciate a day like today more, I can assure you if last year wouldn’t have happened, I wouldn’t appreciate it as much as I do today,” Elliott said. “When you have those hard days, that certainly makes you learn and gives you no choice but to grow up a little bit.”

With the win, Elliott and the NAPA team secured their spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs Round of 8 beginning in three weeks at Martinsville Speedway.

#MENCS Playoff Standings
Round of Twelve

1. Chase Elliott
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Kyle Busch
4. Martin Truex Jr.
5. Joey Logano
6. Kurt Busch
7. Brad Keselowski
8. Ryan Blaney
9. Aric Almirola
10. Clint Bowyer
11. Kyle Larson
12. Alex Bowman

 

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Christopher Bell drives full time for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, piloting the No. 20 Toyota. Not only did he win the race at Dover, the win was Bell’s sixth of the season and gave him sole possession of 'the most wins in a season for a rookie.'

“It’s a credit to my team,” Bell said. “As a race car driver, you’re only as good as your race car.

Really fortunate to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing.

My crew chief and team work their butts off and bring really face cars to these tracks. Makes my job easy.”

He passed three drivers for most rookie wins: Greg Biffle won five races in 2001, as did Kyle Busch in 2004 and Carl Edwards in 2005.

Bell is the 2017 Truck Series champion, and a favorite to become the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity champ as well. However, with the currant system . . . . anything is possible.

NASCAR Xfinity Series
Round of Eight

1. Christopher Bell #
2. Justin Allgaier
3. Daniel Hemric
4. Cole Custer
5. Elliott Sadler
6. Tyler Reddick #
7. Matt Tifft
8. Austin Cindric # 

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

The NASCAR Truck Series had a weekend off. However, they will join the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega next weekend.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Round of Eight

1. Justin Haley
2. Grant Enfinger
3. Johnny Sauter
4. Noah Gragson
5. Brett Moffitt
6. Matt Crafton
7. Ben Rhodes
8. Stewart Friesen

# = Rookie

K&N Pro Series East

Harrison Burton, the defending series champion took his No. 12 Rudd Toyota to the top of charts during the second of three qualifying groups. The pole marks the fourth in his K&N Pro Series career. The ‘Crosley 125’ was scheduled to take the green flag that evening. 

Unfortunately, due to inclement weather, NASCAR and Dover International Speedway officials postponed Friday evening’s race to Saturday, Oct. 6. 

NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series points leader Ruben Garcia Jr.’s took the lead after a battle with Todd Gilliland which ended with Gilliland making hard contact with the front-stretch wall. From there, Garcia set sail around the Monster Mile, becoming the third Rev Racing driver to win at Dover. (Bubba Wallace 2011 - Collin Cabre - 2015). His victory moved Garcia up into third place in the final championship standings.

Last year we dominated the race; we just came eight laps short with a problem tire so it is really really cool to come back and finally win this race; it is a really cool race track. It is one of those places that will give you enough experience for your plans in the future and it gives you a lot of exposure in front of Xfinity and the Cup garage. So I hope this can build some momentum for us. . . . .

After his eleventh-place finish on Saturday morning, seventeen-year-old Tyler Ankrum was officially crowned with the 2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East title.

“Every single season you come with high expectations for yourself,” said Ankrum, who had an average finish of 4.8. “Sometimes they don’t come out the way you want, but everything that we dreamt of this year has exceeded more than our expectations. I’m ecstatic.”

Ankrum and DGR-Crosley will be honored along with NASCAR K&N Pro Series East top finishers and special awards winners at the NASCAR Awards Charlotte on Friday, Dec. 7.

The ‘Crosley 125’ will air on NBCSN on Thursday, Oct. 11 at 6 p.m. ET.

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Stewart – Haas Racing’s 2018 Dover International Speedway Race Advance

In the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Stewart – Haas Racing currently fields Ford Fusions for Kevin Harvick - #4; Aric Almirola - #10 , Clint Bowyer - #14 and Kurt Busch - #41. All four drivers advanced to the round of twelve last weekend.  This 'first-time' accomplishment is evident of the team’s grit, sweat and determination.

KEVIN HARVICK

The saying, “Don’t lose sight of the forest for the trees” may take on a special meaning for Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 Ford team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) this week as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Dover (Del.) International Speedway for Sunday’s Gander Outdoors 400 to kick off the Round of 12 in the NASCAR playoffs.

Winning the first race in the Round of 12 at Dover is the immediate focus, but the big picture remains the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

This weekend at Dover, Harvick will drive the No. 4 Busch Outdoors Ford Fusion in support of the National Forest Foundation. The foundation promotes the health and well-being of 193 million acres of public lands that people use every day to hunt, fish, camp and enjoy nature.

For every lap Harvick leads at Dover, Busch Beer will donate $1,000 to the National Forest Foundation up to $25,000. Each dollar donated is approximately equivalent to one tree being planted in a national forest, so if Harvick were to lead 25 laps at Dover, Busch Beer would be donating approximately 25,000 trees to national forest lands.

“Dover is the racetrack where you feel the sensation of speed more than anything. It’s a place where you drop off into the corner and slam into a lot of banking and then, as you come out of the corner, it’s kind of like jumping out of a hole and up onto the straightaway. It’s a really fun place to race. You feel that sensation of speed and you can be really aggressive.” Kevin Harvick describing what it’s like to take a lap around Dover.

ARIC ALMIROLA

Aric Almirola and the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Fusion team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) head to Dover International Speedway this weekend for the first race in the Round of 12 in this year’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. The Smithfield team looks for a much calmer weekend after a dramatic but successful end to the Round of 16 Sunday on the “roval” at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

It was a nail-biting final three laps on the Charlotte roval Sunday with every position turning out to be crucial for the No. 10 team’s ability to advance on to the Round of 12. Almirola’s 19th-place finish put him in a three-way tie with Kyle Larson and Jimmie Johnson, and his solid finishes in the previous two Round of 16 races Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Richmond (Va.) Raceway were enough to break the tie and vault him into the next playoff round.

“It’s crazy, I think back to Las Vegas and Stage 1 with two laps to go and I passed Ryan Newman for 10th and got one point,” Almirola said. “I think about Richmond with a couple of laps to go, the No. 3 car had run me down and I was doing everything I could to keep him behind me to run fifth, and I was able to stay in front of him. That one point made a difference. Then you think about the race at the roval and all of those cars I had to pass in the race. For most of the race we were good. Johnny (Klausmeier) kept telling me we’re good, we’re plus 18 (points), to save fuel, we’re plus 15. He was, like, just stay on the track, don’t make mistakes, don’t wreck, we’re good. Then we had that pileup on that restart late in the race and I get stopped, and then get hit from behind and pushed into the accident. I was, like, ‘Really? Come on.’ So we had to come down pit road and fix the car, again, and had to restart at the tail of the field. Johnny told me coming to the green that we needed six or seven spots and I was, like, ‘Here we go, we’re either going to make it or we’re not.’”

CLINT BOWYER

After breathing a deep sigh of relief Sunday night knowing he survived the roval carnage at Charlotte Motor Speedway, No. 14 Haas Automation VF-1/Rush Truck Centers Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) driver Clint Bowyer is ready to kick off the Round of 12 of this year’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs this weekend at Dover International Speedway.

Bowyer and his No. 14 Ford Fusion team entered Sunday’s final race in the Round of 16 on the Charlotte roval four points out of the final transfer position. But he qualified seventh Friday, then racked up 14 bonus points in the first two stages of Sunday’s race while surviving three- and four-wide racing throughout and avoiding a massive wreck in the closing laps en route to a third-place finish that boosted him to ninth in the points and advanced him to the next playoff round with 11 other drivers.

“There were some sleepless nights last week,” Bowyer said with a laugh. “I was worried about the first few races because they weren’t at tracks where we’ve been strong, but these next races are at places where we’ve run well and I expect we’ll run well again. I can’t wait to get to that old track at Dover and get going this weekend.”

He has a simple goal at Dover Sunday. The Emporia, Kansas native wants to finish just one spot better than he did in May at the concrete mile oval when he led 40 laps but finished second to SHR teammate Kevin Harvick by 7.4 seconds.

KURT BUSCH

Kurt is headed to Dover, Talladega and Kansas City after advancing to the upcoming Round of 12 of the NASCAR playoffs. He’s seventh in points, and in his first visits to those events in 2018, he posted finishes of fifth at Dover, second at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, and eighth at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. If that happens again, Busch will transfer to the Round of 8.

He has one win, eight career top-five finishes and 10 top-10s at Dover. Additionally, the 40-year-old driver has led 426 laps, has an average starting position of 11.5, an average finish of 18.3, and has completed 92.7 percent (13,362 of 14,415) of the laps he’s contested there. He finished fifth in May 2018 after starting ninth.

Busch scored a huge Dover win in October 2011, when he started second and led 90 of 400 laps. He grabbed the lead from Jimmie Johnson on the final restart and paced the final 42 circuits to win by .908 of a second over Johnson.

“It’s called the Monster Mile for a reason – the track can chew up cars and spit them out. It’s because of those tough transitions into the corners with the high banking and even the high-banked straightaways. It’s tough to do that sharp of a turn on a mile racetrack. It’s like you literally jump down into the corner and then jump back up out of the corner onto the straightaway, and so those points of the track are the toughest part – the transition from straightaway to corner. It’s a fun track to drive.” Busch responded to the question if the track earned its nickname.

Statement made. @StewartHaasRcng is sending each of its four teams to the Round of 12 in the #NASCARPlayoffs for the very first time. pic.twitter.com/Yz7pKGnPyN

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 3, 2018

Source

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