2016-11-20

Jimmie Johnson Makes History,

Wins Record-Tying Seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship

Ties Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for Most Premier Series Championships

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (November 20, 2016) – History has been made.

 

Jimmie Johnson captured his record-tying seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship with a stirring victory Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, tying NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt atop the all-time list. 

 

Sunday's win was Johnson's 80th career victory.

 

To win the 2016 championship, the driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet outdueled the other Championship 4 drivers Joey Logano (fourth), Kyle Busch (sixth) and Carl Edwards (34th) at Homestead. 

 

It was a year of sevens for Johnson, who took over sole possession of seventh place on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series all-time wins list after his win at Auto Club Speedway earlier this season. His wins at Atlanta and Auto Club catapulted him into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

 

Johnson breezed through the first round of the Chase, logging his two highest laps led totals of the season to that point at Chicagoland and Dover. When the Round of 12 rolled around, he added his all-time track-record eighth win at Charlotte, leading a race-high 155 laps on the way to a Round of 8 berth. Johnson was the first to lock up a spot in the Championship 4, winning at Martinsville Speedway for the ninth time.

 

At the age of 41, Johnson becomes the youngest seven-time champion. Petty was 42 when he captured his seventh title in 1979; Earnhardt was 43 in 1994.

 

All seven of Johnson's championships were won under team owner Rick Hendrick and with crew chief Chad Knaus.

 

Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, captured his record-extending 12th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. Along with Johnson's seven titles, Hendrick has won championships with Jeff Gordon (four) and Terry Labonte (one).

 

Knaus cemented his legacy as one of the top crew chiefs in NASCAR history with his seventh title, one shy of the all-time record held by NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Inman.

 

Also on Sunday, Chase Elliott was named Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award.

 

About NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States. NASCAR consists of three national series (the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™, NASCAR XFINITY Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series, one local grassroots series and three international series. The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. Based in Daytona Beach, Fla., with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit http://www.NASCAR.com and http://www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat ('NASCAR'). For race tickets, visitwww.NASCAR.com/tickets.

 

Contact:

Kurt Culbert

NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications


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Posted by Marc Patrick Roy at 20.11.16 0 comments

Daniel Suárez Wins 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series Championship

Daniel Suárez Wins 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series Championship

Becomes First Latin American And Drive For Diversity Graduate To

Capture NASCAR National Series Title

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 19, 2016) – It's been a rapid rise for Daniel Suárez, who captured the 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series championship Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway by winning the Ford EcoBoost 300 in only his second full-time season of NASCAR national series racing. The driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is the first Latin American, as well as the first graduate of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program operated by Rev Racing, to win a NASCAR national series title.

 

To take home the crown in "The Series Where Names Are Made," Suárez, 24, outlasted his Championship 4 competitors Elliott Sadler (third), Justin Allgaier (sixth) and Erik Jones (ninth).

 

It was a year of firsts for Suárez, who burst onto the NASCAR XFINITY Series scene last season by earning its Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award and finishing fifth in the championship standings. In his sophomore campaign, Suárez became the first Mexico-born driver to win a NASCAR national series race (June at Michigan) and to lead the points standings in a NASCAR national series.

 

The Monterrey, Mexico, native dazzled from the outset of the season, racking up four top-five and nine top-10 finishes in his first 10 contests. Suárez led the points standings following 14 separate races in the regular season and made his way into the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase with his win at Michigan.

 

Once the Chase started, Suárez upped his performance to another level. He breezed through the Round of 12 with a win at Dover, sandwiched between a runner-up result at Kentucky and a third-place finish at Charlotte. Then, Suárez registered finishes of third (Kansas), fifth (Texas) and fifth (Phoenix) to set up his championship-clinching victory at Homestead.

 

Suárez is the third member of the NASCAR Next program to win a NASCAR national series championship (Erik Jones, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, 2015; Chase Elliott, NASCAR XFINITY Series, 2014).

 

Also on Saturday, Erik Jones won the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, a season after accomplishing the feat in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

 

About NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States. NASCAR consists of three national series (the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™, NASCAR XFINITY Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series, one local grassroots series and three international series. The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. Based in Daytona Beach, Fla., with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit http://www.NASCAR.com and http://www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat ('NASCAR'). For race tickets, visitwww.NASCAR.com/tickets.

 

Contact:

Kurt Culbert

NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications



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Posted by Marc Patrick Roy at 20.11.16 0 comments

Johnny Sauter Wins 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

Johnny Sauter Wins 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship

Captures First Title In Eighth Season Of Competition

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (Nov. 18, 2016) – After eight full-time seasons of racing in the rough-and-tumble circuit, Johnny Sauter earned his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

 

Sauter finished third on Friday night, outdueling fellow Championship 4 competitors Matt Crafton (seventh), Christopher Bell (eighth) and Timothy Peters (ninth) at the South Florida track.

 

This season, Sauter matched his career high in wins with three (2013) and set a personal best in 
single-season top 10s with 19. Sauter's 13 career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victories tie him for 11th most all-time in series history.

 

The driver of the No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet started his 2016 campaign with a bang – capturing his second career win at Daytona International Speedway and becoming the first driver to clinch a berth in the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase. 

 

Once in the Chase, Sauter breezed through the Round of 8 with three consecutive top 10s. The veteran stole the show in the Round of 6, winning back-to-back races at Martinsville Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway and following those up with a runner-up at Phoenix International Raceway to set the stage for his championship-clinching performance at Homestead.

 

Sauter's previous-best championship finish was a runner-up in 2011 with ThorSport Racing.

 

Also on Friday, William Byron won his seventh race of the season, capturing the series owner championship for the No. 9 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota.

 

Byron also was named the winner of the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award. Along with his seven victories, Byron tallied 11 top fives and 16 top 10s.

 

About NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States. NASCAR consists of three national series (the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™, NASCAR XFINITY Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series, one local grassroots series and three international series. The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. Based in Daytona Beach, Fla., with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit http://www.NASCAR.com and http://www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat ('NASCAR'). For race tickets, visitwww.NASCAR.com/tickets.

 

Contact:

Kurt Culbert

NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications


Pour lire le reste / Read more...

Posted by Marc Patrick Roy at 20.11.16 0 comments

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