2014 AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway Weekend Discussion

[ShadowKnight508]

Discuss the Las Vegas and Dover race weekend here. The Camping World Truck Series heads off to battle under the lights at Las Vegas Motor Speedway while both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series head off to the "Monster Mile" known as Dover International Speedway for their respective races. In 2013, Jimmie Johnson flexed his muscle at the Monster Mile over the competition to bring home his record-setting 8th win at Dover after holding off pole-sitter Dale Earnhardt Jr. down the stretch in the final laps. Race weekend info, TV listings, Entry lists, and other info below credit to Jayski:

Race Weekend Schedule

Thursday, September 25
7:00 PM NSCS HAULERS ENTER

Friday, September 26
6:00 AM NSCS GARAGE OPENS & INSPECTION BEGINS
10:00 AM NSCS ROOKIE & SPOTTER MEETINGS & RANDOM DRAWING
10:00 AM-10:50 AM Dover 200 PRACTICE
11:00 AM - 12:20 PM AAA 400 PRACTICE (FS1)
2:00 PM-3:20 PM Dover 200 FINAL PRACTICE
3:40 PM AAA 400 QUALIFYING (ESPN2)
6:00 PM NSCS GARAGE CLOSES

Saturday, September 27
9:00 AM 10:15 AM Rhino Linings 350 PRACTICE
9:30 AM NSCS GARAGE OPENS
10:45 AM 12:00 PM Rhino Linings 350 FINAL PRACTICE
11:00 - 11:50 AM AAA 400 PRACTICE (FS1)
12:15 PM Dover 200 QUALIFYING (FS2)
2:00 - 2:50 PM AAA 400 FINAL PRACTICE (FS2)
3:30 PM 2014 Dover 200 (ESPN2)
3:40 PM (6:40 PM) Rhino Linings 350 QUALIFYING
5:00 PM NSCS GARAGE CLOSES
7:00 PM 2014 Rhino Linings 350 (FS1)

Sunday, September 28
8:00 AM NSCS GARAGE OPENS
12:00 PM NSCS DRIVER / CREW CHIEF MEETING
1:30 PM NSCS DRIVERS INTRODUCTION
2:00 PM 2014 AAA 400 (ESPN)

ALL POSTED TIMES LOCAL TO EACH TRACK

Entry Lists

2014 Dover 200 (40 Drivers)
Jayski's® NASCAR Silly Season Site - Dover Nationwide Series Entry List

2014 Rhino Linings 350 (30 Drivers)
Jayski's® NASCAR Silly Season Site - Race Info Page

2014 AAA 400 (43 Drivers)
Jayski's® NASCAR Silly Season Site - Dover Entry List

Since the race highlights from the 2013 AAA 400 (as well as the full race) have been removed from Youtube, I am not able to put any video here. Darn NASCAR Media Group removing videos that some have posted on YT. :-/

 

[ShadowKnight508]

NASCAR News and Updates (Credit to Jayski):

Grand Jury Hearing Testimony in Tony Stewart Case, Decision Announced Today?

Ontario County District Attorney Michael Tantillo has convened a grand jury to determine whether charges should be brought against NASCAR driver Tony Stewart for his role in an on-track incident that caused the death of driver Kevin Ward Jr. Grand jury testimony began Tuesday in the case. Tantillo said on Sept. 16 that he would present evidence from the police investigation to a grand jury. Chuck Hebing, who was driving in the Aug. 9 race when Ward was killed at Canandaigua Motorsports Park, confirmed that he was called to testify about the accident but declined to discuss the matter further. Ward, 20, died after he was struck by the car of Tony Stewart during a Sprint car race. The incident took place moments after Stewart, a three-time NASCAR season-series champion, bumped Ward's car and forced it to crash into the corner wall on Turn 2. It is not known how long it will take for the evidence to be presented to the grand jury, or for witnesses to provide testimony.

UPDATE: Tony Stewart's grand jury decision will supposedly be announced today (Sept 24) at 3:00pm/et.

Ryan Truex Still Out of the #83 BK Racing Camry for Dover, Kvapil to Drive the #83 This Weekend

For the second consecutive week Ryan Truex will not drive the #83 BK Racing entry, and the rookie's long-term status with the team is in doubt. When asked about Truex's future with the team by SB Nation Tuesday, a BK Racing spokesman described the situation as "week-to-week" with no determination having been made about the remainder of the 2014 season. As to why Truex was being replaced, the reason cited was an "owner's decision," with discussions ongoing between the organization and Truex's representatives, according to the spokesman. BK Racing replaced Truex with former Camping World Truck Series champion Travis Kvapil last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Kvapil is again listed as the driver of the #83 for Sunday's race at Dover International Speedway.

UPDATE: Motorsport.com's Nick DeGroot tweeted that Truex's absence was due to BK owing Truex "a good amount of money." He later disclosed that sources of his own passed along that news to him.

Fan-Designed Paint Scheme on the #31 of Ryan Newman at Dover This Weekend

Ryan Newman's #31 Chevy boasts a fan-designed paint scheme for this weekend's race at Dover. Blake Pass of Blue Ridge, Ga., is the grand prize winner of the Paint Your Way to Dover contest with his ghost-flame inspired design. More than 1,000 schemes were submitted by NASCAR fans nationwide and after three finalists were chosen, fans voted at QLRacing.com to determine the look of Newman's ride for the Dover Sprint Cup race. As part of the grand prize package, Pass, a middle school teacher, and his family will travel to the race to meet and see Newman tame the Monster Mile. Should the Quicken Loans driver finish first on Sunday, Pass will take home one year's worth of mortgage payments. If Newman scores a top-10 result, Pass is awarded a one month mortgage payment. Besides voting on a design, QL Racing fans also voted for three charities to benefit monetarily through the promotion. Autism Speaks collected the most votes and received a $10,000 donation. Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma and Folds of Honor each received a $2,500 donation

 

[Sgt Slaughter]

BK Racing has now screwed 3 drivers over... how are they still a race team at this point?

Hope Ryan can find a good Cup ride or be teammates with Corey Lajoie or Dakoda Armstrong in Xfinity next season.

 

[ShadowKnight508]

Tony Stewart Will Not Face Charges In Death of Kevin Ward Jr. (Credit to ESPN):

A grand jury has decided Tony Stewart will not face charges for his role in the on-track death of sprint car driver Kevin Ward Jr.

Prosecutors in upstate New York made the announcement Wednesday, just hours after the grand jury finished hearing testimony in the case.

Ward was killed Aug. 9 when a car driven by the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion struck and killed him during a dirt-track race at Canandaigua Motorsports Park. The 20-year-old Ward, who had climbed from his car to confront Stewart, died of blunt force trauma.

Ontario County District Attorney Michael Tantillo looked at the evidence and could have brought charges or dropped the case himself, but said last week that the matter would be decided by the grand jury.

Stewart could have been charged with second-degree manslaughter under New York law, experts said, if prosecutors believed he "recklessly caused the death of another person." Negligent homicide also was another possibility.

Authorities said the first car to pass Ward had to swerve to miss hitting him. The front of Stewart's car appeared to clear Ward, but Ward was struck by the right rear tire and hurtled through the air. His father later told a newspaper there was "no reason" for the death given Stewart's skills and experience.

Sheriff Philip Povero asked spectators to turn over photos and videos of the crash as investigators worked to reconstruct the accident. Among the things being looked at were the dim lighting, how muddy it was and whether Ward's dark firesuit played a role in his death, given the conditions. In submitting his findings to the district attorney, Povero said they included a "forensic video enhancement" from state police.

Stewart issued a brief statement expressing deep sadness for Ward's death and then skipped three races before returning late in the Sprint Cup's regular season.

After Ward's death, NASCAR announced a rule that prohibits drivers from climbing out of a crashed or disabled vehicle -- unless it is on fire -- until safety personnel arrive. The series also cleared the way for Stewart to make its Chase for the Sprint Cup championship with a win, despite missing the three races, but he didn't make the 16-driver field.

 

[FastCat]

This should be a great race.

 

[AMLNet49]

BK not paying someone AGAIN? This is the second or third time now, its ridiculous

 

[88 17 6 fan]

BK not paying someone AGAIN? This is the second or third time now, its ridiculous

Big Kunt racing strikes again. Get rid of them.

 

[Hendrick4life]

While Truex is owed money and the whole situation is understandable. Has anyone actually been impressed with Truex' driving this season?

 

[Mo Neenja31]

Absolutely not

 

[AMLNet49]

While Truex is owed money and the whole situation is understandable. Has anyone actually been impressed with Truex' driving this season?

No you watch what Cole Whitt and Alex Bowman do and it seems almost like a different team, and Truex was in their #1 car

 

[4WideRacing]

BK Racing has now screwed 3 drivers over... how are they still a race team at this point?

Maybe because the driver (at least in this case) had to have his sources tell him he was owed money....

 

[XxTeam48LowesXx]

Sprint Cup Practice #1 Results:

 

[zaw24fan]

Hendrick Motorsports is going for their 200th pole. Maybe it won't take as long as trying to get their 200th win. Gordon and Johnson both have pretty good shots at it this afternoon.

 

[DBReaver35]

Harvick 7th pole of the season(y)

 

[Tim2488]

I'll be there for like the 7th time, I swear if I see Jimmie win one more time.....

 

[dalejrgamer]

I'll be there for like the 7th time, I swear if I see Jimmie win one more time.....

"Say, why is there smoke coming from Dover?"

 

[4WideRacing]

"Say, why is there smoke coming from Dover?"

Because Tim was frying some bacon and it got out of control. :-/ lol



Anyway, I was happy to see Kyle qualify 2nd! And it seems like Danica has been improving more lately, starting 13th isn't too bad.

 

[David24]

Jayski actually has some useful information. These are the lowest positions for each driver in which they have to finish to advance to the next round.

#4 Kevin Harvick: 34th
#48-Jimmie Johnson: 24th
#18-Kyle Busch: 21st
#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr: 21st
#24-Jeff Gordon: 14th
#20-Matt Kenseth: 2nd
#99-Carl Edwards: 2nd
#47-AJ Allmendinger: 2nd
#5-Kasey Kahne: 1st
#31-Ryan Newman: 1st
#11-Denny Hamlin: 1st
#16-Greg Biffle: 1st
#41-Kurt Busch: 1st
#43-Aric Almirola: 1st

Would like to see Harvick or Johnson have a catastrophic failure to shake things up, but that could possibly just prolong Almirola and Allmendinger's elimination.

 

[jordanvile]

but that could possibly just prolong Almirola and Allmendinger's elimination.

You never know with this new chase format. Maybe with a bit of luck and some top guys screwing up, who knows! Maybe one of these two will hoist the trophy in Homestead! I haven't lost faith yet...

 

[ShadowKnight508]

Well, Kyle ran away with the Nationwide race after Joey Logano lost the lead around the middle part of the race. Overall, the race was decent (not the best, but it could have been worse). What was so impressive was the fact that Chase Elliott still finished in the Top-5 after getting some damage from the dustup between the #17 and #93 Challengers off of Turn 4. No matter what pops up to slow him down, Chase and his team just keep bouncing back and finishing ahead of Regan Smith, who just can't seem to find a way to finish ahead of the #9 in order to make up ground in the points battle.

Might tune into the Truck race AT 7PM (fingers crossed for a good race). Looking forward to just how the race tomorrow turns out with the elimination of 4 drivers from the 1st round of the Chase looming over drivers towards the bottom of the Top-16.

***Edit: I didn't pay attention to the clock. My bad *facepalm*