Nascar SCS FedEx 400 at Dover Intl Speedway Sunday, May 31 on FOX Sports 1 at 6:00 PM ET

Testing at Darlington next week; fans welcome: Fans who want to experience the sights and sounds of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series roaring around Darlington Raceway before the Bojangles' Southern 500 on Labor Day weekend might want to pay a visit to the famed South Carolina track on Wednesday, June 10. On that day, Darlington Raceway is hosting an open NASCAR test session from 9:00am-5:00pm. The test is free and open to the public, giving fans the opportunity to see NASCAR's stars race around the high banks of the track Too Tough To Tame. Ten NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race teams are scheduled to participate in the test session. Drivers currently scheduled to take part are #43-Aric Almirola, #16-Greg Biffle, #15-Clint Bowyer, #41-Kurt Busch, #18-Kyle Busch, #48-Jimmie Johnson, #22-Joey Logano, #1-Jamie McMurray, #31-Ryan Newman and #78-Martin Truex Jr. Darlington Raceway will open two sections of the Colvin Grandstands, on the backstretch of the track, for fans to watch the test throughout the day. Fans need to use the Gate 3 entrance to the track off of Highway 151. The parking lot is located next to the track's administration building.(Darlington Raceway)(6-2-2015)

NASCAR monitoring fuel cooling: NASCAR is looking at monitoring the cooling of fuel after #41-Kurt Busch's team was asked to remove heat shields from its fuel during Sunday's race. "That's something we continue to look at, and with the heat in Dover, it was unbelievably hot, but that's something we have to continue to monitor anytime we're dealing with fuel," [NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer Steve] O'Donnell said. "You know we've had some incidents on pit road where we've taken some reactive measures from a safety standpoint. We'll sit down (Tuesday) and walk through that and look at the upcoming schedule and see what may or may not be happening on pit road as we go forward."(NBC Sports)(6-1-2015)

Bayne called to NASCAR hauler after race UPDATE: NASCAR met with #6-Trevor Bayne after Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Dover International Speedway because he exited his car before safety crews arrived - the second time a driver violated the rule this weekend. Jennifer Jo Cobb met with Camping World Truck Series officials Friday after taking 12 steps on to the racing surface to gesture toward Tyler Reddick after an accident. Penalties are expected this week. Bayne was involved in an accident with Michael Annett and Justin Allgaier on Sunday that brought out the caution on Lap 176. Bayne exited his car before he was cleared by any safety crew members. "Our on-track incidents, we've been very clear on what we expect," said Richard Buck, Cup series director said. Buck said that officials will continue their conversation with Bayne this week.(NBC Sports)(6-1-2015)
UPDATE: NASCAR officials have already had post-race conversations with drivers Trevor Bayne and Jennifer Jo Cobb. On Tuesday, the sanctioning body likely will react in a more stern fashion. Bayne and Cobb exited their cars prior to the arrival of safety workers during separate races this past weekend at Dover International Speedway, a move forbidden by the sanctioning body except under extenuating emergency conditions. The rule was enacted following the death of 20-year-old Kevin Ward in August of last year during a non-NASCAR sanctioned race in New York. Ward left his car and approached three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and was struck by Stewart's car. "Certainly what you saw with Trevor and with Jennifer Jo -- both drivers were called to the hauler and we'll look at both of those incidents, like we always do, Tuesday, but for us it's a safety issue," Steve O'Donnell, executive vice president and chief racing development officer for NASCAR, told NASCAR.com on Monday. "We want to keep the race track as safe as possible for the competitors. You'll likely see us react to that a little bit more on Tuesday." Such incidents are considered behavioral infractions, and NASCAR officials address each situation individually. Among the penalties NASCAR may employ, if warranted, are probation, fines, suspension of the annual hard card or loss of points. The requirement to remain in one's vehicle until emergency workers arrive following an accident is reiterated during each driver's meeting prior to an event, O'Donnell said.(NASCAR.com)(6-1-2015)

XFINITY Series News & Rumors

Jeffrey Earnhardt driving in Europe this weekend: Dale Earnhardt's grandson Jeffrey Earnhardt will race in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series at Brands Hatch this weekend. Earnhardt currently competes in NASCAR's second-tier Xfinity Series. The 25-year-old's Brands Hatch outing will be the first time that a driver from one of NASCAR's three main American championships has competed in its European arm. "This is my first time racing in England and I'm really excited to have this opportunity," said Earnhardt. Earnhardt's appearance follows NASCAR Euro champion Anthony Kumpen's recent outing in a round of NASCAR's K&N Pro Series regional championship in America. NASCAR Euro Series chief Jerome Galpin added: "The Earnhardt family is one of the most famous in motorsport and it demonstrates, once again, the close relationship between the European and American NASCAR series."(Autosport)(6-2-2015)

Bliss still with TriStar: Mike Bliss' journey at TriStar Motorsports has enabled him to run full-time in the NASCAR XFINITY Series since 2011. With limited sponsorship throughout his time at the organization, Bliss has finished inside of the top 15 in points with TriStar Motorsports over the past four years. But in a world where the economy means so much, the team opted to re-sign Eric McClure for the remainder of the season starting at Iowa. McClure, who brings sponsorship money from Hefty puts the 50-year-old veteran out of a ride. Now, he's been forced to the sidelines and must search for funding to run a handful of races for the multi-car team. "I'm still with them, of course," Bliss said. "We might have some races. We might run another entry for some of the bigger races. As of right now, I am still employed by them. I'm kind of helping out with the other drivers. They put Eric McClure with our team and changed the number to the one he was running. He came over from another team and stepped in with the team I was driving for."(Frontstretch)(5-31-2015)

UPDATE: Jennifer Jo Cobb could become the first driver to be penalized under a rule NASCAR revised last year following the Tony Stewart-Kevin Ward Jr. tragedy. Cobb left her wrecked truck Friday on the fronstretch at Dover International Speedway and walked about halfway across the racing surface toward Tyler Reddick's truck as Reddick and the other trucks drove by on the high line under caution. Reddick was attempting to lap Cobb when her car hooked left and crashed into the inside wall just 13 laps into the Lucas Oil 200. Reddick went on to win the race for his second victory of the season. NASCAR created a new rule six days after Stewart struck and killed 20-year-old Ward, who approached Stewart's sprint car during an Empire Super Sprints race Aug. 9 at Canandaigua Motorsports Park in New York. The rule is that drivers should remain in wrecked vehicles, unless there are extenuating circumstances such as fire, until safety personnel get to the driver. Also included in the rule is the directive "at no time should a driver or crew member(s) approach any portion of the racing surface or apron." The rule is considered a "behavioral rule" with any penalties determined on a case-by-case basis. While NASCAR has generally still allowed drivers to leave their vehicles before safety personnel arrive and has allowed them to take a couple of steps to gesture at others while safety personnel watched, Cobb was the first driver to take several steps toward the vehicles running under caution. NASCAR instructed Cobb to meet with series officials after the race Friday. Typically, if NASCAR issues any penalties, they would not be determined until Tuesday.
"We take safety very serious and discussed it with her. ... It's a serious infraction," NASCAR Camping World Truck Series director Elton Sawyer said. "She understands what she did, and there will be consequences."
Cobb, who owns her truck team and runs it on a $300,000 annual budget (the top teams spend $3-4 million a year), said she has a reputation of giving respect to the lead-lap trucks and had given Reddick plenty of room to pass her. Damage on the right-rear corner of her truck shows that Reddick made contact with her, she said. "I completely forgot [the rule]," Cobb said. "And the fact that I forgot is such a shame because the reason it is in place likely stems from a tragedy that none of us should forget. ... It was a huge error in judgment on my part. "The fact that we had a very stern meeting [after the race] will keep it top of mind with me for sure." Cobb indicated she would be penalized for her reaction. "We'll see what happens," Cobb said. "There's repercussions, and I hope it didn't make a bad day worse. It wasn't that I knew and didn't care. I forgot. In the moment you're just like, 'What just happened?' ... I wasn't thinking about any of that. I was just mad."
Reddick said he didn't believe he had contact with Cobb but, as a former owner of the car he raced on dirt tracks, he can relate to the frustration a driver/owner feels in that situation. "We were lapped traffic early on in the race and Jennifer was trying to pass another vehicle and she looked like she was going to give me three-wide and then she closed the door so I whoa'd up to try and avoid from getting in the back of her," said Reddick, who drives for Brad Keselowski Racing.(ESPN)(5-30-2015)

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