In five races on such tracks this season, he has two wins and four finishes in the top four.
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It was so easy for me to assume that 40 people would just hit the gas pedal, make left turns for a few hours while trying to avoid calamity, and then finish up a race by thanking the Wonder Bread/Powerade/Fig Newton/Big Red #26 Dodge team, but there is clearly so much more to it than that. He is tied for the series-lead in wins with three in 2016.
All in the Family … All these variables make it hard to assess who will be strongest at Kentucky, especially considering Goodyear has to adjust its tire compound after some teams experienced blistering problems in the test. The Watkins Glen road course supposedly presents the only remaining “wild card” of the regular season, but Kentucky may qualify also.
After Brad Keselowski took home the win in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, the NASCAR Sprint Cup series heads to the Kentucky Speedway for the Quaker State 400.
Follow NEMCO Motorsports on Social Media… The Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 will be broadcast live on FS1 on Thursday, July 7 starting with the pre-race show at 8:00 p.m. (ET).
Schedule: Saturday, practice (10 a.m.), qualifying (NBCSN, 2 p.m.), practice (6:15 p.m.); Sunday, race, 4:30 p.m., NBCSN.
First practice: 2:30 p.m. – 3:55 p.m. Parker Kligerman will fill in at Kentucky.
Event: Alsco 300 (200 laps, 300 miles), Kentucky Speedway.
Nemechek in the Bluegrass State… First up: Cross Kentucky Speedway off the list of active tracks where he’s never won. Just in the past year NASCAR actually deployed a new “aero package” to reduce downforce just for the Kentucky Speedway, which I am assuming means I will eventually have a more efficient way of cutting drivers off in my Ford Fiesta while traveling on the Gene Snyder Freeway.
In the Loop at the Kentucky Speedway … Johnson has not won at Kentucky, but has an average finish of 7.4 at the track and a driver rating of 111.9. Last week’s victor, Brad Keselowski, is one of only three drivers to win a Cup race (Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth) but the race will feature many obstacles for the trio to notch another win.
The track was known as one of the roughest racing surface on the entire schedule in years past but that will not be the case this weekend as it was completely repaved after the end of last season.
Townley hopes to return to competition at the NASCAR Truck race at Eldora Speedway on July 20.
That evening, Townley had been evaluated and released from the infield care center. But instead of chugging the traditional milk after an Indy 500 victory, Stewart settled for two wins (2005, 2007) at the Brickyard in NASCAR.
In the Rearview Mirror: Gateway Motorsports Park…
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has raced three times at Kentucky in his Sprint Cup career and has finished in the top 25 each time. This new Camaro was there for display purposes only, but for those racing fans who came out to cheer for their favorite Chevy drivers, this weekend offered an exciting look into the future of the brand and the sport as a whole. Nemechek restarted in the 14th position and had to battle through the pack – and by Lap 130 Nemechek was in the second spot. Past year at Kentucky, Bayne started 28th and finished 13th, producing a valuable plus-15 place differential.
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Season-to-date … Through the first nine NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races of the 2016 season, John Hunter Nemechek has completed 1486 of 1516 laps contested (98.0 percent), has led 61 laps and is now sixth in the driver point standings.
