NASCAR Top 6 Paid Drivers in 2016

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

1    Dale (Junebug) Earnhardt Jr.     23.5 Million

2    Jimie  Johnson                              22 Million

3  Jeff ( Golden Boy) Gordon            21.6 Million

4  Danika Patrick                               18 Million

5 Kevin ( Happy) Harvick                 15.5 Million

6  Denny ( Where's my Package) Hamlin 15.1 Million

Six Drivers Earn Most Popular Driver Awards Nearly 47,000 Votes Cast World-Wide For Fan Favorites

Posted by Wayne G. Barber & Photo by Wayne G. Barber

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The fans have spoken.
More than 47,000 votes were cast world-wide for the 2016 NASCAR touring series’ Most Popular Driver Awards and six drivers have earned the honor of fan favorite.
The 2016 Most Popular Driver Award winners are:
• Austin Theriault (Fort Kent, Maine), NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
• Salvatore Iovino (Los Angeles), NASCAR K&N Pro Series West

• Melissa Fifield (Wakefield, N.H.), NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour ( Three Consecutive)

Congratulations from the entire Race Chatter Nation and our "Woman in Racing "weekly segment from April thru November. Have a blessed Happy Thanksgiving to the entire Fifield Racing Family.

• Trey Hutchens (Lexington, N.C.), NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour
• Jason Hathaway (St. Thomas, Ont.), NASCAR Pinty’s Series
• Alon Day (Ashdod, Israel), NASCAR Whelen Euro Series
The list includes four repeat winners – Melissa Fifield, Trey Hutchens, Jason Hathaway and Alon Day.
There was also nearly an historic first: Hutchens, who competed in both the K&N Pro Series East and Whelen Southern Modified Tour this year, finished a close second to Theriault in the K&N Pro East voting while taking the top honors in the Whelen Southern Modified Tour for the second straight year.
Fifield won the award for the third straight season in the Whelen Modified Tour.
Iovino emerged in front in a close three-way battle in the K&N Pro West with Jesse Iwuji and series champion Todd Gilliland.
Hathaway, who announced he was retiring from full-time competition after racing in all 121 events in series history, ran away with the award in the Pinty’s Series.
Day, who was selected to the NASCAR Next program as one of the sport’s rising stars, won the award for the second consecutive season.
The award was open to any driver who competed in at last half of the races in their respective series.
Monday, Elliott Sadler (NASCAR XFINITY Series) and Tyler Reddick (NASCAR Camping World Truck Series) received the Most Popular Driver Award for their respective series in their awards gala at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel.
The NASCAR touring series Most Popular Drivers will be recognized on stage as part of the NASCAR Touring Series Night of Champions on Saturday, Dec. 10 at the Charlotte (North Carolina) Convention Center at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Source: NASCAR HOME TRACKS

Chase Elliot 2016 NASCAR Rookie of the Year

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Elliott ended the year with 10 top fives, 17 top 10s, two poles and a 10th-place finish in the final standings. (Photo: Getty Images)

Chase Elliott took home Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors in the Sprint Cup Series Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Elliott came into the season finale with a 65-point advantage in the rookie standings over Ryan Blaney. As his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson captured his seventh series championship, Elliott finished 11th in the race to secure the Rookie title.

"First off, how about Jimmie Johnson," Elliott said in the Media Center after the race. "That's incredible. He's the story. I don't need to be sitting up here right now, seven championships versus Rookie of the Year. You guys need to be watching him. But I'm proud of our season for sure."

Along with fellow rookie Chris Buescher, Elliott made the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in his first season. He ended the year with 10 top fives, 17 top 10s, two poles and a 10th-place finish in the final standings

"I'm definitely proud to earn the Rookie of the Year honors," Elliott said. "It's been a long season, a lot of ups and downs, but we're happy to be here and definitely enjoyed racing against those guys for the Rookie of the Year this season. Felt like it was a fun group, and we're excited to get on to season two."

During the season, Elliott had a streak of six consecutive top 10s, which included his first of two runner-up finishes at Michigan International Speedway.

The scoring system to determine the Sunoco Rookie of the Year varies from NASCAR’S point system for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. The following is a breakdown of the Sunoco Rookie of the Year scoring system:
• A 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 point system is used for scoring finishing positions by the rookies. The highest-finishing rookie in each race earns 10 points, the second-highest, nine points, etc.
• Of the 36 races, only the top 17 are counted in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie race.
• In order to be eligible for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award, a driver must attempt to qualify in at least eight events out of the first 20 events.
• Attempting to qualify for a race earns the rookies one bonus point, which is a bonus that is available for all 36 events.
• Bonus points are awarded for a finish in the top 10. A rookie who wins a race is awarded 10 points, second place gets nine and so on down the line with a 10th-place effort earning one point.
• Following the final race of the season, the highest-ranking rookie in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship receives 10 bonus points. The second-highest rookie earns nine points, third receives eight, etc.
• During the final weekend of the season, a Sunoco Rookie of the Year panel meets and rewards favorable conduct in the following categories: Conduct with NASCAR officials in the garage and pit areas; conduct and awareness on track; personal appearance and relationship with the media. The panel rates each driver, with scoring ranging from a maximum of 10 to a minimum of 1. Total points will be averaged from each panel member’s ballot. The points derived from the panel will be added to the entry, competition, and bonus points after the final race of the season to determine the overall Sunoco Rookie of the Year winner.
The Sunoco Rookie of the Race will be awarded $1,500 each week. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year will be awarded a $50,000 year-end bonus.

Presented by Sunoco

Since 2004, Sunoco has been the “Official Fuel of NASCAR”. This distinction has allowed them to demonstrate the performance of their gasoline in the most competitive racing series in the United States.

NASCAR's top series depend on Sunoco to fuel every driver, in every race on their quest for the Sunoco checkered flag.

Driver	Car #	Points
Chase Elliott	24	297
Ryan Blaney	21	232
Chris Buescher	34	199
Brian Scott	44	187
Jeffrey Earnhardt	32	137

Driver

Car #

Points

Chase Elliott

24

297

Ryan Blaney

21

232

Chris Buescher

34

199

Brian Scott

44

187

Jeffrey Earnhardt

32

137

Jimmie Johnson wins at Homestead and the CHAMPIONSHIP:

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 and the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 20, 2016 in Homestead, FL.
Johnson wins a record-tying 7th NASCAR title
(Sean Gardner/NASCAR via Getty Images)
#48-Jimmie Johnson won the FORD EcoBoost 400 Sprint Cup Series Championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway for his 5th win of the season, 1st ever win at Homestead and 80th career win in NASCAR Overtime as the race was extended one lap for a late accident. #42-Kyle Larson, who led the most laps with 132, led the race when the final caution came out, setting up NASCAR Overtime. On the restart, #48-Johnson rocketed to the front, took the lead and kept the lead winning the race and the Championship / Chase. Johnson led 3 of the 368 laps.
Johnson won his record tying 7th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship, tying NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt with 7.
#48-Jimmie Johnson had to start at the rear of the field before the drop of the green flag for unapproved body modifications after going through pre-race tech inspection.
#42-Lason (who led the most laps at 132) finished 2nd followed by #4-Harvick (pole winner), #22-Logano, #1-McMurray, #18-Busch, #20-Kenseth, #47-Allmendinger, #11-Hamlin and #59-McDowell.
#14-Tony Stewart, running his final Cup race, finished 22nd
#44-Brian Scott, retiring after this race, finished 15th
Chase Drivers:
#48-Johnson, WON
#22-Logano 4th
#18-Busch 6th
#19-Edwards 34th/accident
On a restart with 10 laps to go in the race, #22-Joey Logano shot deep to the inside in an attempt to pass #19-Carl Edwards for the lead among the championship contenders. Edwards reacted quickly and decisively, turning his car to the left in an attempt to block Logano. Logano didn't lift, and chaos ensued. Logano shoved Edwards into the inside wall. Edwards' Toyota bounced across the track, was hit hard by Kasey Kahne and slammed into the outside wall. The wreck involved nine cars [2,5,7,19,22,24,31,78,95] and caused a red flag of 31 minutes and nine seconds as track workers cleared the mess. Edwards refused to take an ambulance ride to the infield care center, instead choosing to make the long, sad walk. Along the way, he stopped at Logano's pit and talked to Logano crew chief Todd Gordon and other members of the team. Edwards' smashed car didn't finish the race. He wound up fourth of the four Championship 4 competitors.
There were 20 lead changes among 6 drivers and 7 cautions for 33 yellow flag laps and a 31:09 red flag.
The average speed of the race was: 128.869mph.
Jimmie Johnson Makes History, Wins Record-Tying Seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship: 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 #48 Lowe's Chevy outdueled the other Championship 4 drivers #22-Joey Logano (fourth), #18-Kyle Busch (sixth) and #19-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, #24-Chase Elliott was named Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award.(NASCAR)(11-20-2016)

Race Fast Facts - Homestead-Miami Speedway:
#48-Jimmie Johnson won the 18th Annual Ford EcoBoost 400, his 80th victory in 543 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his fifth victory and 16th top-10 finish in 2016.
This is his first victory and 11th top-10 finish in 16 races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
#42-Kyle Larson (second) posted his second top-10 finish in four races at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It is his 15th top-10 finish in 2016.
#4-Kevin Harvick (third) posted his 14th top-10 finish in 16 races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
#24-Chase Elliott (11th) was the highest finishing rookie. Elliott has won the 2016 Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors.
#48-Jimmie Johnson wins his seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.
Toyota wins the Manufacturers Championship, sweeping all three NASCAR national series this season.
Source: (NASCAR Integrated Sports Marketing)(11-20-2016)

Will Gibbs Racing Complete the Sweep for Toyota at Homestead ?

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Camping World Truck Series, Johnny Sauter   Toyota


Xfinity Series  Daniel Saurez                           Toyota



Sprint Cup ?   Carl Edwards   Toyota

Sprint Cup   ?   Kyle Busch     Toyota

Sprint Cup ?  Jimie Johnson    Chevrolet

Sprint Cup  ?  Joey Logano      Ford


50%  chance !

Daniel Suarez wins Homestead race and XFINITY Series Championship:

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

#19-Daniel Suarez won the Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It is his 3rd XFINITY Series win and 3rd of the year. #3-Ty Dillon finished second, followed by #1-Elliott Sadler, #22-Ryan Blaney, #2-Austin Dillon, #7-Justin Allgaier, #42-Kyle Larson, #62-Brendan Gaughan, #20-Erik Jones, and #98-Aric Almirola.
Suarez started from the pole and led 133 of the 200 laps. Suarez started 3rd on the final restart of the race with 3 laps to go, but was able to quickly take the lead, passing #14-Cole Whitt, who had stayed on track, and #1-Elliott Sadler, who had taken just two tires under the final pit stop.
There were 7 cautions for 39 laps and 21 lead changes among 11 leaders.
The average speed was 116.455mph.
NASCAR XFINITY Series Championship Fast Facts:Driver Champion: Daniel Suarez
Team: #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry
• Daniel Suarez won his first NASCAR XFINITY Series championship; becoming the 27th different driver to win the title.
• Daniel Suarez is the first Latin American driver to win a NASCAR national series championship.
• Suarez won the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to claim the 2016 series title in the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase.
• Suarez made 33 starts this season posting three wins, 19 top fives and 27 top 10s and three poles.
• Suarez has become the first graduate of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program to win a NASCAR XFINITY Series championship.
Owner Of Driver Champion: Joe Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing
• This is Joe Gibbs Racing's second NASCAR XFINITY Series driver championship.
• Joe Gibbs Racing's first driver title came in 2009 with driver Kyle Busch.
• Joe Gibbs Racing had two teams make the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase; the No. 20 Toyota Camry team with driver Erik Jones who also made the Championship 4 finished third in the standings, and the No. 19 Toyota Camry team with driver Daniel Suarez, who won the driver championship.
Crew Chief Champion: Scott Graves
• This is Scott Graves second consecutive career NASCAR XFINITY Series championship; his first was with Roush Fenway Racing and driver Chris Buescher (2015).
• Graves is the seventh NASCAR XFINITY Series crew chief to win consecutive titles joining Gere Kennon (1983, '84), Ricky Pearson (1986, '87), Steve Bird (1995-1997), Tony Eury Sr. (1998, '99), Kevin Manion (2004, '05) and Mike Kelley (2011, 2012).
Owner Champion: Joe Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing
• Joe Gibbs Racing has won the 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series owners championship with the No. 19 Toyota Camry team and driver Daniel Suarez. • This is Joe Gibbs Racing's fifth NASCAR XFINITY Series owners championship (2008, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2016) - the series-most.
• The No. 19 Toyota team posted three wins this season.
Source: (NASCAR)(11-19-2016)

Homestead XFINITY Race Fast Facts:
Daniel Suarez (C) won the 22nd Annual Ford EcoBoost 300, his third victory in 68 NASCAR XFINITY Series races.
This is his third victory and 27th top-10 finish in 2016.
This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in two races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Ty Dillon (second) posted his third top-10 finish in four races at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It is his 17th top-10 finish in 2016.
Elliott Sadler (C) (third) posted his fifth top-10 finish in 11 races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Erik Jones (C) (ninth) was the highest finishing rookie. Jones wins the 2016 Sunoco Rookie of the Year.
Daniel Suarez wins the 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series championship.
Source: (NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(11-19-2016)

Rowan Pennink, Tom Fearn, Tony Membrino, Jr., Duane Provost, Johnny Walker, And Noah Korner Honored As 2016 Stafford Motor Speedway Track Champions

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

(Stafford Springs, CT)---Stafford Motor Speedway welcomed a guest list of nearly 500 people consisting of teams, drivers, sponsors, and employees this past Friday night, November 18 at Maneely’s in South Windsor to officially honor Rowan Pennink, Tom Fearn, Tony Membrino, Jr., Duane Provost, Johnny Walker, and Noah Korner as the 2016 Stafford Motor Speedway NASCAR Whelen All-American Series track champions.

With Stafford Motor Speedway broadcasters Matt Buckler and John Gates serving as the Masters of Ceremony, the 47th annual Stafford Motor Speedway NASCAR Champions Awards Ceremony not only honored the six track champions, they also recognized the top-15 points finishers from the SK Modified®, Late Model, SK Light, Limited Late Model, DARE Stock, and U.S. Legend Cars divisions.  Special awards that were presented during the evening’s festivities were Most Popular Driver Awards, NAPA Auto Parts Parts Rookie of the Year, R.A.D. Automachine Rookie of the Year, and the UNOH Youth Achievement Award.

Rowan Pennink and the #99 Independent Wheel team entered the 2016 season as the defending SK Modified® champions and the question looming over them was could they repeat with Kevin Crowley taking over as the crew chief from Jimmy Fuller?  The #99 team put to doubt any questions about their prowess with wins in 3 of the first 4 SK Modified® events of the season and they exhibited a high level of consistency with top-10 runs in all but one of the first 16 races of the season.  They wrapped up the championship with one race to go and next season will see them attempt to become the first team to win 3 consecutive SK Modified® championships at Stafford.  Pennink is the fifth driver, joining Jerry Pearl ’84-’85, Mike Christopher ’89-’90, Bob Potter ’91-’92 and ’94-95, and Ted Christopher ’00-’01 to have won back to back championships but a three-peat has yet to be accomplished.  For the season, the #99 team posted a division leading 6 wins, 11 top-5 and 15 top-10 finishes for an average finish of 4.9.

After winning 10 races last season and coming up short of the championship, Tom Fearn and the #92 SAFCO Foam team entered the 2016 season as favorites to be among the championship contenders and they lived up to that pre-season billing with a performance that was a combination of dominance and consistency.  Fearn won 7 times and had 16 top-6 finishes in 17 starts this season but Michael Wray and the #42 DMW Graphics team took the championship fight with Fearn all the way to the season ending NAPA Fall Final.  A second place finish for Fearn wrapped up his fourth career Stafford track championship and his first since winning the 1998 ProStock championship.  Among Fearn’s 7 wins, 16 top-5 and 17 top-10 finishes this season were 13 podium finishes that helped lower his season average finish to 2.8.

The race for the SK Light championship was a seesaw affair between Tony Membrino, Jr. and Joey Ferrigno for much of the year.  Membrino and the #44 Additive Manufacturing of New England team had a blazing hot start to the year with 4 wins in the first 5 races.  But as dominant as Membrino was, Ferrigno was right on Membrino’s heels and they would swap the point lead several times during the summer.  Membrino took control of the points race at the very end of the season as Ferrigno ran in to a string of bad finishes and he collected his second career SK Light championship at Stafford to go along with his DARE Stock championship.  Membrino posted 7 wins, 11 top-5 and 13 top-10 finishes this season for an average finish of 5.3.

The race for the 2016 Limited Late Model championship saw long shot Duane Provost cash in to take home his very first career championship.  The driver of the #88 Facchini Law Firm Chevrolet was in the championship mix for much of the season along with Paul Arute and Al Saunders.  All three drivers had a share of the point lead at some point during the 2016 season.  Provost entered the NAPA Fall Final 12 points behind Saunders and a third place finish, combined with a 10^th place finish for Saunders, was enough to make Provost the champion by a scant 2 point margin.  For the season, Provost posted 1 win, 12 top-5 and 15 top-10 finishes for an average finish of 4.6.

Johnny Walker entered the 2016 season having taken a year off from racing after back to back 2^nd place finishes in the DARE Stock division.  Having nearly won the championship twice already, Walker knew what it was going to take to win the championship from the very first race and he was a model of consistency during the 2016 season, driving to 13 podium finishes in 17 starts this season with a final tally of 2 wins, 16 top-5 and 16 top-10 finishes for an average finish of 3.2.  As dominant as Walker was finishing in the top-3 almost every week, Brandon Michael was keeping pace with him for much of the year and took the title fight down to the last race but Walker wasn’t to be denied as he collected his first career championship.

In the U.S. Legend Cars division, it was a year of domination for Noah Korner and the #31 Midstate Site Development team.  In the 11 race Legend Cars schedule, Korner won 7 times, finished second three times, and finished third once.  Such a level of dominance was too much for Teddy Hodgdon to overcome as Korner locked down the track championship in a season that also saw him win the National Championship in the Semi-Pro division of the U.S. Legend Cars.

The NAPA Auto Parts Rookie of the Year awards were presented to Stephen Kopcik from the SK Modified® division and Joel Monahan from the Late Model division.  Taking home R.A.D. Automachine Rookie of the Year honors were Joe Graf, Jr. in the SK Light division, Frank L’Etoile, Jr. in the Limited Late Model division, and Michael Hopkins in the DARE Stock division.  The NAPA Auto Parts rookie awards will be worth a $1,000.00 gift card redeemable at participating NAPA Stores to Kopcik and Monahan, with Graf, L’Etoile, and Hopkins each winning a $500 bonus from R.A.D. Automachine that will be paid out in $100.00 weekly increments to each driver as they attend events during the 2017 season.

The winners of the Most Popular Driver Awards were Woody Pitkat in the SK Modified® division, Tom Fearn in the Late Model division, Daniel Wesson from the SK Light division, Bryan Narducci from the Limited Late Model division, Alexandra Fearn in the DARE Stock division, and Teddy Hodgdon in the U.S. Legend Cars division.  The Most Popular Driver Awards are voted on by the fans who attend Stafford Motor Speedway race events and fill out the ballots found in the track’s weekly PitStopper Magazine.

The UNOH Youth Achievement award was won by SK Light Modified driver Daniel Wesson.  The UNOH Youth Achievement Award is a program that is open to all drivers at Stafford between the ages of 14-17.  The eligible driver who scored the most track points from their best 14 finishes this season won a $500 cash award from UNOH as well as a $500 scholarship award from UNOH. Source: Scott Running Stafford Speedway Media Press Release