NASCAR Rumor Mill Picking Up Speed

The annual tradition of "silly season" seemed to take a while to get going this year. But, when news broke this week that Matt DiBenedetto would not be returning to the No. 95 Levine Family Racing Toyota next season, the rumor mill began to pick up speed and speculation has begun to surface about which drivers may and may not have a seat when the music stops.

Matt DiBenedetto will not return to the No. 95 in 2020
(Google Images)

A perennial fan favorite, DiBenedetto has gained quite a fan following through his social media interaction on Twitter and Reddit and is one of NASCAR's biggest underdog stories. After years of driving for back-marker teams like BK Racing and Go FAS Racing, DiBenedetto bet on himself going into this year and landed at Levine Family Racing. His timing seemed perfect, as LFR was had just completed a deal to move from Chevrolet to Toyota and become a Joe Gibbs Racing satellite team following the closure of Furniture Row Racing.

In 23 starts so far this year, the No. 95 team has caught fire as of late. DiBenedetto has two top-fives, four top-tens, and led the most laps in the season-opening Daytona 500 before being involved in a wreck. But, despite helping to engineer the most successful run LFR has ever had, Xfinity Series title contender Christopher Bell has been waiting in the wings at JGR for a cup ride to open up with the organization.

When LFR owner Bob Levine signed his agreement to become a JGR affiliate, the uptick in performance came with the loss of some of the autonomy other owners enjoy. So, because both JGR and Toyota see Bell as the next big thing (he's been earmarked for cup since the beginning of last year), Levine must do what is best for his team and let DiBenedetto go when his contract expires at year's end. Bell has not been officially announced as the driver of the No. 95 yet, but it's pretty much assumed that the dirt track ace is the heir apparent to that ride. It is also assumed that, once Bell takes over, JGR and TRD will throw a lot more money and resources at LFR then they've had this season running chassis that are around a year old.

But, in spite of this "devastating news", DiBenedetto helped his cause immeasurably two weekends at Bristol when he came within eight laps of winning the race. Bell might be getting his current ride and Erik Jones is more than likely going to return to the No. 20 at JGR, but Matty D made the case that he belongs in the sport at some level.

Is Cole Custer cup-bound next season? (Google Images)

There are rumors that he might be a good fit for the Front Row Motorsports No. 38 Mustang now that David Ragan has announced he will retire from full-time competition after this season to spend more time with his wife and young daughters. While this would be a bit of a downgrade from a pseudo JGR machine, it is an open seat that would keep DiBenedetto in the Cup Series garage and it would still be a more competitive ride than the BK Racing cars he drove just a few years ago.

The other heir to the No. 38 who has been mentioned is Cole Custer. Winner of five Xfinity Series races this year, and a favorite for the 2019 title, Custer has proven to be a top talent for Stewart Haas Racing and Ford Motor Company. But, much like JGR, there aren't any open rooms at the SHR inn. There has been talk that Clint Bowyer might be in danger of losing his ride in the No. 14 if they can't make the playoffs, but recent talk has the Kansas native potentially returning to the team at a reduced salary, which would prove problematic for cup-bound Custer.

Enter Front Row Motorsports, who have had a partnership with Roush Fenway Racing; affording them access to parts and pieces that have allowed them to slowly but surely improve their performance in recent years. If they do, indeed, wind up being the landing spot for Custer, it could be a boon for the entire organization, allowing FRM to possibly get even more resources from Ford since they will be fostering one of the manufacture's rising stars.

Another scenario that has popped up in recent days has Custer going to the Go FAS Racing No. 32 Ford with technical support and a fleet of cars from SHR. As teams begin to transition to the still somewhat mysterious "Gen-7" race car for 2021, their current fleets will soon be outdated. This move would allow SHR to unload some of it's obsolete inventory to Go FAS (for a price, no doubt) and allow them to make room for new Mustangs. This would also allow Go FAS to seriously upgrade their on-track performance.

But, if Custer moves to the No. 32 and a new alliance with Stewart Haas is forged, where does that leave Corey LaJoie? The current pilot of the Keen Parts Mustang, LaJoie has one top ten finish (a sixth at Daytona this past July), an average finish of 25.4 and three DNFs in the first 24 races of 2019. However, LaJoie has proven himself as a competitive driver, winning multiple races in both the K&N East Series and ARCA Series.

Tyler Reddick ran the 2019 Daytona 500 and could
run the full 2020 cup slate for RCR (Google Images)

Richard Childress Racing has also been in the rumor mill in recent weeks, with defending Xfinity champion and 2019 title contender Tyler Reddick. Winner of four Xfinity Series events this season, and a threat to repeat as champion, Reddick jumped from JR Motorsports last season to RCR because JRM didn't have a direct line to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series like Childress does. The issue is that RCR must come up with a season's worth of funding to run Reddick full-time next season at the sport's top level.

Other than that, if sponsorship doesn't materialize, rookie driver Daniel Hemric could be on the hot seat. While he has a contract through the end of 2020, Hemric has had a typical rookie season; not overly impressive, but with a few flashes of brilliance with one top-five, two top-tens, and an average finish of 21.8. Likewise, Hemric's teammate Austin Dillon has three top-tens and an average finish of 21.3. The difference is that Dillon has won twice at NASCAR's premier level, and he's Childress' grandson. Hemric has shown speed, but has yet to win in a truck, Xfinity, or cup car. So, while the rookie has an extension through next season, team officials have said that they will do whatever it takes to try and keep Reddick on their team. If a third car doesn't materialize, you'd have to believe that Hemric's job might be in jeopardy.

There are still a few months left until the end of this season and about half a calendar year until next year's Daytona 500, so there's plenty of time until the final few pieces of the 2020 NASCAR puzzle fall into place. But with the DiBenedetto news seemingly setting silly season in motion, it will be interesting to see how the sport's annual game of musical chairs comes to an end.

Dale Earnhardt Jr, Family OK Following Plane Crash

NASCAR champion and current NBC broadcaster Dale Earnhardt Jr and his family were hospitalized and later discharged are all OK following a terrifying plane crash at the Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Carter County, Tennessee.

Dale Earnhardt Jr, his wife Amy, and their daughter Isla
(Google Images)

Earnhardt Jr's Cessna Citation jet, which was registered to his JR Motorsports Xfinity Series team, rolled off of the end of the runway and caught fire at 3:40 p.m. ET, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). While photos and videos posted to social media showed flames and giant plumes of black smoke, as the plane lay smoldering on it's side near the edge of the highway.

The five passengers on board the plane were Earnhardt Jr, his wife Amy, their 15-month-old daughter Isla Rose, and two pilots. The family's dog Gus was also on the flight. Dale Jr's sister and business manager, Kelley Earnhardt Miller, tweeted that "everyone is safe and has been taken to the hospital for further evaluation."

Photos and videos posted to social media showed everyone on the flight making their way off the plane to safety as first responders arrived on the scene, as well as some scary images of the wreckage. Armature video also showed one person, believed to be Earnhardt Jr, collapse as they made their way from the crash site. It was later disclosed that the family and their pilots were hospitalized with minor cuts and abrasions, per the Carter County Sheriff's Office.

Earnhardt Jr was flying in to join his colleagues on the NBC Sports broadcast crew for the race weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. That will not happen, however, as both parties agreed it was best for Earnhardt to take the weekend off to spend time with his family. He will be back in the broadcast booth at Darlington Raceway.

"We're incredibly grateful that Dale, his wife Amy, daughter Isla, and the two pilots are safe following today's accident," the network said in a statement to The Associated Press. "After being discharged from the hospital, we communicated with Dale and his team, and we're all in agreement that he should take this weekend off to be with his family."

Early this morning, Earnhardt Miller took to Twitter once more to thank those who offered their prayers and well-wishes in the aftermath of this terrifying accident:

Finally laying down for the night and want to say thank you to God, the angels among us, our pilots, first responders, medical staff, our NASCAR family and everyone that has reached out in whatever way to support us all. ❤️

— Kelley Earnhardt (@EarnhardtKelley) August 16, 2019

The FAA will investigate and two investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board will determine the probable cause of the accident.

Weekend Wrap-up: Michigan/Mid-Ohio

Harvick Goes Back-to-Back at Michigan

Coming off eight wins and a championship four appearance last season, the No. 4 team of Kevin Harvick got off to an unexpectedly slow start in 2019. The 2014 championship team didn't reach victory lane until the race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway four weeks ago, but since then, Harvick has rattled off two top tens at Pocono and Watkins Glen, as well as stretching his fuel this past weekend to win his second consecutive Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Kevin Harvick celebrates with son Keelan following his
second straight Michigan win (Google Images)

The driver known as "Happy" Harvick started on the front row, inside of Ford Performance teammate Brad Keselowski who was gunning to be the first Michigander to enter victory lane at MIS. But despite leading laps early, it was Martin Truex Jr. who would race from the rear of the field to the Stage One victory.

The race's first stint also saw Jimmie Johnson's promising day go south for the second week in a row. The seven-time champion brushed the outside wall off turn two on lap 15 and blew a tire as a result of the damage. Johnson would go on to finish 34th on the day, dropping from 16th to 18th in points, just 12 markers outside of playoff contention with three races remaining.

Truex established himself as a contender early on, while Keselowski would have to battle back from adversity. On lap 115, the No. 2 Mustang lost a right rear tire entering turn three. Normally a one-way ticket to the outside retaining wall, Keselowski kept his car clean, spun it to the infield grass, and was able to limp to pit road without any major damage.

In the backyards of Ford and Chevrolet, Toyota was flexing their muscles, as Kyle Busch edged out his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Truex for the victory in Stage Two. But, as the field came back to the green checkered flag, Aric Almirola slid up the racetrack into Richard Childress Racing teammates Daniel Hemric and Austin Dillon. The contact sent Dillon spinning through the infield grass, as Almirola and Hemric rode the outside wall across the start/finish line.

Stage Three went green and the field raced three, sometimes four wide for position. However, at the rear of the pack, Paul Menard made contact with Clint Bowyer, which sent the No. 14 into the wall. The rear of Bowyer's Mustang was demolished in the lap 138 incident, ending his day and severely damaging his playoff hopes. A driver thought by many to be in jeopardy of losing his ride next year, Bowyer sits 16th in points, with only a slim six point margin between he and teammate Daniel Suarez for the final playoff spot.

Keelan Harvick waves the checkers after his father's
second win of 2019 (Google Images)

As is typically the case at Michigan, the Menard/Bowyer crash set up a fuel mileage race. It looked as though Joey Logano would sweep Michigan in 2019, but both he and teammate Ryan Blaney needed to pit for fuel with just a handful of laps remaining. Kurt Busch, as well as a few other drivers also ran out of gas as the race wound down.

This opened the door for Harvick, who was hotly pursued once again by Hamlin. But, unlike their battle one month ago in Loudon, Hamlin could not get close enough to Harvick to do anything with him, enabling the No. 4 Mobil 1 team to cruise to their second victory of 2019. That also meant that, like this race one year ago, fans in the Irish Hills got to see Harvick's son Keelan ride shotgun out to the frontstrech to celebrate with his father.

“Takes a lot of people to make these cars go around, and winning races is what it's all about,” Harvick said. “Just can't do it without all you (fans). I mean, to come here to Michigan and win for Ford, and I know how much Mobil 1 likes to beat that Shell car [driven by Joey Logano], so that was cool.”

Kyle Larson and Truex finished behind the two leaders in third and fourth respectively, while Suarez finished a very impressive fifth. Kyle Busch finished sixth, Ryan Preece finished seventh, followed by the Hendrick Motorsports trio of William Byron, Chase Elliott, and Alex Bowman to round out the top ten.

With just three races left in the regular season, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rolls into Bristol for the Bass Pro Shops/NRA Night Race on Saturday, August 17 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The race will be broadcast on NBCSN, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Cindric Doubles Down on Road Courses, Wins Mid-Ohio

One week after scoring his first Xfinity Series win at Watkins Glen International, Austin Cindric earned the pole for the B&L Transport 170 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and rode that momentum to his second consecutive win.

Austin Cindric score his second win in a row this weekend
(Google Images)

However, while Cindric was able to dominate this event at the track once owned by his grandfather, the race wasn't as easy for everyone else in the field. On lap 15, title contender Cole Custer spun after making contact with road course expert Jack Hawksworth, filling in as the driver of the No. 18 Toyota.  Meanwhile, Custer's teammate Chase Briscoe would go on to win the stage and collect another playoff point.

On a 33 restart following a spin by Brandon Brown, Chris Dyson rear-ended Custer as the field took the green flag. While Custer was able to continue, Dyson's chances at a good finish went up in a cloud of smoke.

After restarting on lap 37, Justin Allgaier spun in turn two. The incident also collected his JR Motorsports teammate Noah Gragson, as well as Aaron Quine. While both Allgaier and Gragson were able to finish the event, the same could not be said for Quine, who was forced to park his No. 74 Camaro behind the wall. This incident also handed the Stage Two victory to Hawksworth.

While it looked like Briscoe was in position for his second road course victory, Cindric tracked him down and passed him with 13 to go. Never looking back, the No. 22 PPG Ford easily rolled into the winner's circle for the second straight week.

“To get my first two wins within a week is incredible,” Cindric said. “To win on a road course like this obviously gives you a lot of confidence.”

Title favorite Christopher Bell finished an impressive second place, while road course ace A.J. Allmendinger came home third, Tyler Reddick got fourth, and Gragson battled back for fifth. Allgaier finished in sixth, Briscoe got seventh, Custer was eighth, Justin Hayley was ninth, and Brandon Jones rounded out the top ten.

The Xfinity Series will be the second feature of the NASCAR triple-header this weekend at Bristol. The Food City 300 will go green at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, August 16, and can be seen on NBCSN, as well as heard on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Hill Scores Second Win of 2019, Truck Playoff Field Set

The Monster Energy Cup and Xfinity Series' may still be a few weeks away from setting their playoff fields, but the Gander Outdoors Truck Series will have eight drivers fighting for a championship when they roll into Bristol Motor Speedway tomorrow night.

Austin Hill parties with his team after their second
win of the year (Google Images)

Ross Chastain won the pole for the Corrigan Oil 200, his first in the truck series, and led every lap in Stage One. However, the Melon Man's luck would run out during their first pit stop. As Chastain left his pit stall, Johnny Sauter and Codie Rohrbaugh made contact which sent Rohrbaugh's No.9 into Chastain's door. The damage behind the right front tire was too much to continue, and the Alva, Florida native was relegated to a 30th place finish.

Aside from a few single truck spins and Brett Moffitt winning Stage Two, the race was fairly clean. That is, until the Big One broke loose late in the race on lap 98.

Matt Crafton got into the back of second place Tyler Ankrum on a restart, in an attempt to shove the No. 17 past leader Austin Hill. However, Crafton's Ford caught Ankrum's Toyota in a bad spot, sending the Kentucky winner sliding down into traffic. Nine trucks were involved in the wreck, including Sauter, Sheldon Creed, and Natalie Decker.

But once the race went back green, Hill was able to hold off a quickly closing Creed for his second win of the year. Tyler Dippel finished in third, Moffitt was fourth, and Austin Wayne Self was fifth. Bayley Currey came home sixth, Grant Enfinger was seventh, last week's winner Stewart Friesen was eighth, Ray Ciccarelli finished a very impressive ninth, and two-time series champion Crafton rounded out the top ten finishers.

Your 2019 truck series playoff contenders (L-R Ankrum,
Crafton, Hill, Enfinger, Moffitt, Friesen, Chastain, Sauter)
(Google Images)

So, as the tailgate brigade heads to Bristol, their playoff grid is set and eight drivers will begin racing for a championship. Enfinger won the Regular Season championship, as well as the 15 extra playoff points that go along with it. Here is how the standings shook out once the dust settled at Michigan International Speedway:

1. Brett Moffitt
2. Grant Enfinger -3
3. Stewart Friesen -8
4. Ross Chastain -10
5. Austin Hill -10
6. Matt Crafton -11
7. Johnny Sauter -13
8. Tyler Ankrum -17

The UNOH 200 will go green tomorrow night at 8:30 p.m. ET, and will be broadcast on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Weekend Wrap-up: Watkins Glen/Eldora

Chase Elliott salutes the fans after his second consecutive Watkins Glen win

Elliott Scores Back-to-Back Watkins Glen Wins

The NASCAR world was turned on its ear last season when, after three seasons of trying, fan favorite Chase Elliott finally scored the first win of his Monster Energy Cup Series career at Watkins Glen International. As the cup campaign returned to the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York this past weekend, the 2014 Xfinity Series champion looked like the driver to beat once again by winning opening practice, as well as the pole.

Chase Elliott goes out to turn some practice laps at the Glen

When the race went green, Elliott's No. 9 NAPA Chevy jumped out to an early lead. The Dawsonville, Ga. native had the first stage locked up, but there was a strong contender in Martin Truex Jr. lurking just behind him.

Stage Two saw a bit more action, with Kyle Busch and William Byron trading shots under caution at stage end. Busch felt the sophomore driver raced him a bit too hard early in the event, which prompted him to send Byron for a trip through the inner loop. This didn't sit too well with Byron, so under caution he went to express his displeasure with the driver of the No. 18 Camry. However, a Busch brake-check resulted in Byron destroying the nose of his No. 24 Camaro.

This wouldn't be the last incident that the 2015 series champion experienced in this race, as he got into Bubba Wallace entering the Carousel, sending the No. 43 car into the guardrail. After Elliott collected the victory in the second stage, Bubba caught back up with Busch and the two banged doors down the length of the frontstrech. When they got to turn one, Wallace turned Busch into the runoff area on lap 63 as the crowd erupted in a chorus of cheers.

As the race wound down, Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Blaney also had a run-in that resulted in both drivers having a heated discussion on pit road after the race. Seven-time series champion Johnson felt that Blaney ran into the rear of his No. 48, sending him into the Armco Barrier in turn five. Despite being tied for the most championships in series history, Johnson hasn't visited victory lane in over two years, and Watkins Glen was the first race with new crew chief Cliff Daniels, his second crew chief of the season and just the third in his career. So, it's a bit understandable that the typically level-headed Johnson would have a shorter fuse than normal.

Meanwhile, at the front of the field, Truex attempted to run down Elliott for the win. The 2017 series champion got within a few car lengths of the leader, but he couldn't quite get past him. After the race, Truex told reporters that, while he could get a run on the No. 9 car, his car was stalled by a bubble of air between the two cars, preventing him from making a pass for the win.

Martin Truex Jr (19) got close to Chase Elliott (9), but
couldn't quite pass him for the victory

"I tried to do all I could. Chase did an excellent job just not making mistakes,'' Truex said. "He hit his marks. His car was really fast in the key areas that you need to be. I just couldn't get a run on him.

"Really, it was all about restarts and track position," he added. "If I could have just got by him on that last one, we could have set sail.''

So, for the second year in a row, Elliott was the victor at Watkins Glen, while the 2017 race winner was relegated to second place.

"I think it's huge,'' Elliott said of his fifth career win. "We've had fast cars at times, but one thing or another ended up for a bad weekend. The way we did it was the biggest thing. That's the kind of effort you have to put on often to compete with the guys in the field.''

Last week's winner Denny Hamlin came home in third place, while JGR teammate Erik Jones finished fourth and Blaney finished fifth. Matt DiBenedetto finished an impressive sixth place, Kevin Harvick finished seventh, Kyle Larson got eighth, Brad Keselowski finished ninth, and Kurt Busch came home in tenth.

Cindric Grabs First Xfinity Win

In a year that has been dominated by Christopher Bell, Cole Custer, and Tyler Reddick, Team Penske's Austin Cindric was able to flip the script at Watkins Glen and outduel A.J. Allmendinger for the win the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen. The 20-year old also became the youngest driver to win on a NASCAR road course.

Austin Cindric celebrates his first Xfinity Series win
(Google Images)

Kyle Busch set sail from the pole, as he has done in many an Xfinity race over the past decade or so, but the race win was up for grabs sooner than anyone was expecting. As Busch raced through the "Bus Stop" early in the event, his car suddenly went straight through the Carousel as everyone else's turned right for the corner. It turned out that the No. 18 would suffer a broken right front suspension, ending their bid for the victory, As expected, the crowed erupted into celebration as the Las Vegas driver made the hard right turn into the garage area.

This was the time when road course aces like Allmendinger, who won the 2014 Cup Series race at the Glen, and Cindric, who's only Truck Series win came at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, to show what they could do.

On lap 69, crew chief Brian Wilson brought Cindric down pit road for four tires, dropping the No. 22 to ninth place. But, a caution for a pileup in turn one on lap 76 left Cindric in sixth, and on the subsequent restart, a scuffle at the front of the field between Justin Allgaier and Bell allowed Cindric to slip into second place. Over the final five laps, Cindric methodically ran down Allmendinger, eventually giving him a bump into the first corner that allowed the MoneyLion Mustang to slip by and into the lead on the penultimate lap of the race. Allmendiger returned the favor later on that same circuit, but entered turn seven wide, allowing Cindric to slip by for good as they took the white flag.

“Congrats to Austin," said Allmendinger after the race. "He went in there and nudged me, and that was fair. I nudged him—you race how you get raced—but that’s what racing’s all about. He deserved it. He was on it the whole race."

"That was nuts," Cindric said of the lap 76 restart melee that enabled him to grab second. "I didn't know how that was going to work out, but sometimes the path clears and you've got to take advantage of it and we executed all day today."

After post race inspection, Allmendiger's No. 10 Chevy failed to meet rear height requirements, so he forfeited his runner-up finish and was relegated to last on the field. Second was instead awarded to Bell, followed by Allgaier, Ryan Blaney, Reddick in third, fourth, and fifth. Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Chase Briscoe and Custer finished sixth and seventh respectively, with Jr Motorsports trio Michael Annett, Noah Gragson, and Ryan Preece rounding out the top ten.

Dirt Track Ace Friesen Scores First Truck Win

After what seemed like an endless string of second place finishes; of coming close but  not getting close enough, Canadian driver Stewart Friesen was able to score his first victory in a race that  has become appointment television for NASCAR fans: the Eldora Dirt Derby.

Stewart Friesen celebrates his first Truck Series win after
six second place finishes (Google Images)

This event has become known for short tempers and close racing, and the 2019 edition was no exception. Friesen, who grew up racing dirt at his family's Ransomville Speeway in Upstate New York, has raced big block modifieds all across the Northeastern United States. So, naturally, many pointed to him as the driver to beat at the Rossburg, Ohio half-mile.

While it took a bit for him to take the top spot, Friesen was able to grab the lead on lap 95. Needing a victory to get off the bubble and lock himself into the playoffs, the driver of the No. 52 Halmar International Silverado needed to make something happen to beat fellow dirt racer and defending race winner Chase Briscoe, who had won the race's first two stages. So, at the end of Stage Two, Friesen overrode crew chief Trip Bruce and elected not to pit.

Even though they had track position, Friesen would have to survive a number of restarts, as well as a two-lap shootout for the checkered flag to score the victory. That final battle saw Briscoe restart right behind Friesen, in third place. But, despite a valiant effort by the Indiana native to score his second Eldora win in a row, Friesen was able to hold off the field and, after six career second place finishes, score his inaugural Gander Outdoors Truck Series victory.

“These guys have been down and out, down and out,” Friesen said of his team. “They keep busting their butts for me and working on stuff and fixing stuff by putting in so much long hours. I can’t thank everyone enough.”

Friesen led 57 laps on the night, with Sheldon Creed finishing right behind him. Grant Enfinger finished third, Mike Marlar came home fourth, and Todd Gilliland finished fifth. Christian Eckes ran sixth, Briscoe, who led the race's other 93 laps, dropped to seventh after the final restart, Tyler Dippel finished eighth, Tyler Ankrum came home ninth, and Matt Crafton finished in tenth.