Champ Trail -
February 21, 2016 |
New Smyrna Speedway is hosting its 51st World Series of Asphalt Racing. The
nine days of racing is highlighted by the nightly action of NASCAR Whelen
All-American Series racing, and like its Daytona counterpart, the week
serves as an unofficial kickoff to the NASCAR short-track season. Likewise,
fans around the world are focus on the nightly racing on the high-banked
half-mile. FansChoice.tv is there to bring the fans the action.
The online home for live racing, FansChoice.tv, everything from
powerboats to AMA Pro motorcycles, IMSA and NASCAR, is once again streaming
live eight nights of NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing from New
Smyrna. It started on Friday, Feb. 17 and will run through this Saturday,
Feb. 25, with the live stream beginning each night at 7:30 p.m.
The Jet Tools 150, the season-opener for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East,
on Sunday, Feb. 19 was the only night not on FansChoice.tv. The race will
air on NBCSN on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 10 p.m.
At New Smyrna on Friday night Spencer Davis was the winner of the Super
Late Model feature. Rain washed out Saturday’s action and Ronnie Bennett Jr
was the NASCAR K&N Series opening 150 lapper held on Sunday night.
Saturday night’s second annual Kickoff to Speedweeks 50-lap Tour-Type
Modified event at the Bronson (Fla) Speedway had a surprise finish after the
two leaders came together in the closing moments. Ryan Preese and Matt
Hirschman were battling for the lead and win when the two came together on
lap 45 of the event. New York’s Jimmy Zacharias, in the right place at the
right time inherited the lead and went on to take the win. Greg Narducci a
veteran Modified crew chief and observer stated that the tangle of the two
was the result of hard racing. “Preece was leading coming out of the fourth
turn when Hirschman went low to pass”, he said. Hirschman moved up a little
and Preece moved down a little and that was that”, he added.
Chris Young Jr finished second with JR Bertuccio, third and Jeremy
Gerstner, fourth. Hirshman was able to make the restart after the crash and
finished fifth. Preece was credited with an eighth place finish in the
ten-car field.
In Speedweek action at the Daytona International Speedway, Joey Logano
won the rain delayed Clash when Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin collided in
Turn 2 on the final lap of Sunday's rain-delayed Advance Auto Parts Clash at
Daytona International Speedway. Logano was there to seize the moment.
Charging to the outside and grabbing the lead near the entry to the
backstretch at the 2.5-mile speedway, Logano took the checkered flag 1.121
seconds ahead of runner-up Kyle Busch, who beat third-place finisher Alex
Bowman to the stripe by .018 seconds. Danica Patrick dodged the Turn 2 melee
to surge from 10th to fourth on the final lap to post her first top-five
finish in any Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, though the result is
not official because the Clash is an exhibition event with a limited field.
Kevin Harvick, driving a Ford for the first time at NASCAR's highest level,
came home fifth. Daniel Suárez, in his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup
Series start, finished eighth.
Second generation driver Chase Elliott won the Coors Light pole for the
Daytona 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International
Speedway with a speed of 192.872mph, his 2nd Daytona pole and 3rd career
pole. Elliott has never won from the pole. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start 2nd
after running 192.864mph. The front row is locked into those spots. Forty
two cars attempted to qualify as a very paltry crowd looked on.
The 2017 season for the unified NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour received
another race date. Bill Mullis made the big news announcement Friday: He had
purchased Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia, and the historic track will
re-open in 2017 to racing.
He announced the .4-mile oval will host the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
and newly unified NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour this season. In addition, the
track will return to the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series with its weekly
racing program.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will race at Langley on Saturday, May 13,
while the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will make its return on Saturday, Sept.
2.
Congratulations to the Thompson Motorsports Park as they have been
awarded the RPM Outstanding Annual Short Track Event Award for their season
ending World Series of Auto Racing.
On the speedway stock market scene this week two of the three speedway
stocks ended the week on the positive side. The International Speedway
Corporation went up 0.25 to 38.05 and Dover Entertainment went up 0.05 to
2,30 while Speedway Motorsports dropped 0.15 to 21.76. NASCAR cup sponsor
Monster Beverage dropped 0.38 to 43.63 while NASCAR fuel supplier Sunoco
(Energy Transfer) went up 0.25 to 38.33 and NASCAR tire supplier Goodyear
went up 2.35 to 36.07. The car builders had a mixed week. Ford went up 0.07
to 12.58 and Toyota went up 0.77 to 113.66 while General Motors dropped 3.95
to 31.22. In the home improvement sector it was a banner week as Home Depot
went up 3.22 to 143.07 and Lowes went up 2.74 to 76.71. With the exception
of Aarons Rentals which dropped 3.12 to 26.93 the big team’s sponsors stocks
did quite well for the week. McDonalds went up 1.96 to 127.78, Coca-Cola
went up 0.06 to 177.06, Target went up 0.06 to 65.79 and Fedex went up 2.75
to 193.61.
On the tube this week:
Wednesday, February 22
3:00 AM, NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
7:00 AM, MENCS Daytona 500 qualifying re-air, FS1
9:00 AM, Daytona 500 Media Day, FS1
5:00 PM, NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
5:30 PM, NASCAR America, NBC Sports Net
Thursday, February 23
2:30 AM, NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
4:30 AM, The Day: Daytona Primtetime, FS1
5:30 AM, Classic NASCAR: 1979 Daytona 500, FS1
6:00 AM, A Perfect Storm: 1979 Daytona 500, FS1
7:00 AM, Classic NASCAR: 1993 Daytona 500, FS1
8:30 AM, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Daytona practice re-air, FS1
12:00 PM, MENCS Daytona practice, FS1
1:00 PM, MENCS Daytona practice, FS1
2:00 PM, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Daytona practice, FS1
3:00 PM, NASCAR Race Hub, Weekend Edition, FS1
4:00 PM, NCWTS Daytona final practice, FS1
5:00 PM, NASCAR Race Day, FS1
5:30 PM, NASCAR America, NBCSN
7:00 PM, MENCS Cam Am Duel at Daytona, FS1
10:00 PM, Refuse to Lose: Jeff Gordon and the 1997 Daytona 500, FS1
11:00 PM, Classic NASCAR: 1997 Daytona 500, FS1
Friday, February 24
3:00 AM, Untold Stories: Daytona, FS1
4:00 AM,NCWTS Daytona practice re-air, FS1
5:00 AM, NCWTS Daytona final practice re-air, FS1
6:00 AM, MENCS Cam Am Duel at Daytona re-air, FS1
9:00 AM, Classic NASCAR: 1979 Daytona 500, FS1
12:00 PM, NASCAR Xfinity Series Daytona practice, FS1
1:00 PM, MENCS Daytona practice, FS1
2:00 PM, NXS Daytona final practice, FS1
3:00 PM, MENCS Daytona practice, FS1
4:00 PM, NASCAR Race Hub, Weekend Edition, FS1
4:30 PM, NCWTS Daytona qualifying, FS1
5:00 PM, American Pickers - NASCAR Challenge, HISTORY
6:00 PM, Beyond the Wheel 2017, FS1
7:00 PM, NCWTS Set Up, FS1
7:30 PM, NCWTS Daytona race, FS1
Saturday, February 25
2:00 AM, Beyond the Wheel 2017, FS1
5:00 AM, NXS Daytona practice re-air, FS1
6:00 AM, MENCS Daytona practice re-air, FS1
7:00 AM, NXS Daytona final practice re-air, FS1
8:00 AM, NCWTS Daytona race re-air, FS1
10:30 AM, NXS Daytona qualifying, FS1
12:00 PM, NASCAR Race Hub, Weekend Edition, FS1
1:00 PM, MENCS Daytona final practice, FS1
2:00 PM, NASCAR Race Hub, Weekend Edition, FS1
3:00 PM, NASCAR Race Day: XFINITY, FS1
3:30 PM, NXS Daytona race, FS1
6:00 PM, NXS Post Race Show, FS1
11:00 PM, Beyond the Wheel 2017, FS2
Sunday, February 26
1:00 AM, NXS Daytona race re-air, FS1
6:00 AM, A Perfect Storm: 1979 Daytona 500, FS1
7:00 AM, Classic NASCAR: 1979 Daytona 500, FS1
7:30 AM, Untold Stories: Daytona, FS1
8:30 AM, Beyond the Wheel 2017, FS1
11:00 AM, NASCAR Race Day, FS1
1:00 PM, MENCS Daytona 500 Pre-Race Show, FOX
2:00 PM, MENCS Daytona 500, FOX
6:00 PM, Undercover Boss - NASCAR, OWN
9:00 PM, NASCAR Victory Lane, FS1
11:30 PM, NASCAR Victory Lane, FS1
Monday, February 27
3:00 AM, MENCS Daytona 500 re-air, FS1
6:30 AM, NASCAR Victory Lane, FS1
7:00 AM, NXS Daytona race re-air, FS1
6:00 PM, NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6:00 PM, NASCAR America, NBCSN
7:00 PM, Beyond the Wheel 2017, FS1
That’s about it for this week from 11 Gardner Drive, Westerly, and
R.I.02891. Ring my chimes at 401-596-5467.
E-mail:
smithpe_97_97@yahoo.com.
Phil Smith has been a columnist for
Speedway Scene and various
other publications for over 3 decades.
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Source: Phil
Smith / Champ Trail
Posted: February
21,
2017 |
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