Latest news with #Daytona500s
Fox Sports
3 days ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Baseball at a racetrack? Braves, Reds in for 'unique experience' at Bristol
When players for the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds take to the field Aug. 2 for the Speedway Classic at Bristol Motor Speedway, they will venture into a stadium where they have never played. Sure, Major League Baseball knows how to construct a field. But who knows how it will play and if there will be any quirky elements putting a baseball field in the "infield" area of the historic NASCAR racetrack. As the promotions for the race continue, some former drivers had advice for the players as they compete in a new venue, which will serve as the site of the first-ever MLB regular-season game in Tennessee. "Have fun and enjoy it," said former Braves star Andruw Jones. "Because those things don't happen that much. "I know you're going to be playing on a constructed surface that you're not used to all the time, but I'm sure MLB will do a good job to put a good surface so those guys can go out there and show their talent." Former Reds star Sean Casey said it will be important for players to do the same thing they do before every game at a park they don't normally play at. "You want to see how the wall works — how does the wall play in the corner," Casey said. "When I'm taking ground balls, I want to see how the infield plays. Where's the lip … on the grass to the dirt." Casey likened it to playing a game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (which he has done), or playing in Japan. "I look back at those things and I'm like, 'I'm grateful that I took a second to really lean in and be like, wow, this is a unique experience,'" Casey said. "So I hope that the Braves players and the Reds players really lean into that — you're two teams that are getting to experience Bristol and this historic track and play a baseball game there that the none of the other 28 teams will get to appreciate." Former NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip, a NASCAR analyst for FOX, said with a large crowd, the players are in for an experience. Track officials are hoping for a record-setting night. That game that Casey played in at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum in 2008 drew 115,300, the biggest attendance for an MLB event (that was an exhibition game). Bristol officials have not released the facility's current capacity or what the capacity will be for the game, which also includes a concert lineup of Tim McGraw, Pitbull and Jake Owen. In 2016, a football game between Tennessee and Virginia Tech at the track attracted an NCAA-record attendance of 156,990. The track has removed some seats since that event but certainly has enough to potentially break the Coliseum record. "Bristol is a unique venue for NASCAR," Waltrip said. "It's one of the tracks you circle as a place where you want to be successful at and win at because it's so electric." Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass. recommended Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Winning NASCAR team owner Larry McClure passes away
Any long-time NASCAR fans know the name Larry McClure, as he was the co-owner at Morgan-McClure Motorsports alongside Tim Morgan and brother Jerry McClure, which operated a NASCAR team from 1983 through 2012. Larry's family confirmed that he passed away on Wednesday at Johnston Memorial Hospital in Abingdon, Virginia. McClure's race team won 14 Cup races including three Daytona 500s. They earned their first 500 win with Ernie Irvan in 1991, and then two more with Sterling Marlin in 1994 and 1995. They are one of just ten teams to ever won three or more Daytona 500s. They utilized the No. 4 car, which became iconic with its Kodak paint scheme. Advertisement While most of their race wins came at the superspeedway tracks, they also earned wins at Bristol, Watkins Glen, Sonoma, Darlington, and Martinsville. Bobby Hamilton earned their final win in 1998, winning from pole at Martinsville and leading 378 of 500 laps -- their most dominant victory. They also finished as high as third in the championship standings, courtesy of Marlin in 1995. The team's first driver in 1983 was NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, but it wasn't until Irvan's arrival in 1990 when they finally reached Victory Lane. Larry's nephew Eric McClure competed as a driver for many years, running almost 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series races, and he tragically passed away a few years ago at the age of 42. Read Also: JR Motorsports unveils special Red Bull schemes for SVG and Connor Zilisch Concerned teams argue in court over NASCAR subpoena for financial data Here's how to watch NASCAR on TNT, Max, and truTV this summer To read more articles visit our website.
Fox Sports
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
NASCAR Power Rankings: Denny Hamlin Back On Track, Back On Top
Denny Hamlin has three "podium" finishes in his last three starts. OK, so none of them actually had a real podium for a top-three finish. That only occurred at Mexico City, where Hamlin didn't race in the days following the birth of his son. But with a third-place finish, a win and a second in his past three starts, that's good enough to launch him at the top of this list. Here's how the latest rankings shake out as Cup Series drivers enter a three-week stretch of some wild-card-type tracks, with the first being Atlanta race this weekend — a high-banked 1.54-mile oval that now races like drafting tracks Daytona and Talladega. Dropped out: 9. Ross Chastain (Last Week: 9). On the verge: Alex Bowman, Chastain, Ty Gibbs, Joey Logano, John Hunter Nemechek, Tyler Reddick. Preece finished eighth at Pocono for his fourth top-10 finish in the last six races. The RFK Racing driver continues to find his way to race among the leaders. A brake rotor failure ruined Wallace's day Sunday at Pocono, and a starter issue stymied him in qualifying. But the 23XI driver had speed, as shown in the previous three races, where he had an average finish of 7.3. Briscoe's big victory at Pocono vaulted him into the playoffs and up a couple spots in these rankings. As a Joe Gibbs Racing driver, he should expect more wins and more weeks in these rankings. Buescher placed fourth at Pocono for his third consecutive top-10 finish. The RFK Racing driver had the speed as he qualified on the front row. A solid fifth-place finish for Elliott was his fifth top-five finish this year. The Hendrick driver knows running in the top five often enough will lead to him competing for a win relatively soon. Bell finished second a week earlier at Mexico City but never seemed to have the speed at Pocono. He qualified ninth and finished 17th, having been involved in a wreck in the second stage. Blaney rebounded from qualifying 20th to finishing third at Pocono. That's a good day for the Penske driver, making the most out of what could have been a bad day. Byron might have had the fastest car at Pocono on Saturday until he wrecked it during qualifying. He went for the stage points (he still has a 54-point lead on Kyle Larson as far as the battle for the regular-season title) and then got mired in traffic, losing spots to avoid a wreck and finished 27th. Larson finished a respectable seventh after starting 24th at Pocono. The Hendrick driver has seven top 10s in his last nine starts. Hamlin takes the top spot with three awesome finishes (third, first, second) in his last three starts. The JGR driver sits third in the standings despite having missed a race. Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass. recommended Get more from NASCAR Cup Series Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Fox Sports
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Beer me! Santino Ferrucci Thrills Crowd With His Chugging Skills
Santino Ferrucci, like many drivers, didn't have a lot of gas following the completion of the INDYCAR race Sunday at Road America. But let's just say after his car stopped chugging, Ferrucci still kept at it. Let us explain: Temperatures were in the 90s and the heat index was in the 100s. So it's no wonder that he was among the drivers that fans tossed water to while he was waiting for a post-race push back to pit lane. Ferrucci, though, got more than just water. "They offered [a beer] and I had asked for [the local] Spotted Cow since we're here. But they gave me, I believe it was a Miller," Ferrucci said. Ferrucci downed the beer in a couple of gulps. He had some racing friends to thank for that talent. "I've been learning my shotgunning skills from the Chili Bowl, so if I did OK, I'm happy with that," Ferrucci said about the annual race in Tulsa, a race considered the biggest midget-car event of the year. "[I'm] giving my dirt racing guy some credit." Most would give Ferrucci and the A.J. Foyt team credit for four consecutive top-five finishes, especially at Road America, which was a tough race where drivers employed a variety of fuel and tire strategies. "I just tried to put my head down and do what I do best," Ferrucci said. Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass. recommended Get more from NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
Fox Sports
7 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Driver Gifts Cameraman Bottle Of Bourbon After Fall That Went Viral
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — Devlin DeFrancesco wanted to heal any pain from an unintended spill that happened a week ago in St. Louis. As DeFrancesco ran back to his car after exiting the infield medical center at World Wide Technology Raceway (known as Gateway), he stopped. Then Jimmy Kevin Henslee, the cameraman who was following him, tried to stop short and fell. No person was injured. The camera, however, might be a different story. And DeFrancesco wanted to give something to Henslee — who's known throughout the garage as "Bama" because of the Alabama flag on his camera. "A bottle of bourbon, most men enjoy that," DeFrancesco said. "It was unfortunate what happened at Gateway. And sad to see him fall or break his camera. I just thought it was something good to do." DeFrancesco wasn't knocked over and was not injured. "I was fine," DeFrancesco said. "He kind of just missed me and fell over and took the brunt of it." What made DeFrancesco stop so suddenly? "They jumped off the stand and told me to stop and turn around and he was following me and I guess didn't see me and fell over," DeFrancesco said. "I felt bad over the incident and felt it would be good to do something nice." Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass. recommended Get more from NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
