NASCAR community mourns death of J.D. Gibbs

By Dustin LongJan 12, 2019, 9:24 AM EST

The NASCAR community was rocked by the death Friday of J.D. Gibbs, son of car owner Joe Gibbs and former president of Joe Gibbs Racing. J.D. Gibbs was 49.

The team stated that that Gibbs died after a long battle with a degenerative neurological disease.

Tributes poured in throughout NASCAR on social media.

JD lived out the greatest commandment “love God and love others” in every part of his life. He modeled true character to our families, our company, and especially to me. I count it a privilege to have called him a best friend for over 3 decades.
Well done faithful servant!! pic.twitter.com/wgs23zEcfL

— Dave Alpern (@PERNSKI) January 12, 2019

His car. His number. His signature above my door. I will always be grateful for what His family did for mine and the opportunity he gave me 14 years ago. Now more than ever #doitforJD

— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) January 12, 2019

Heaven gains a giant of a man, earth takes a severe blow. JD was sincere, talented & a man who lived what he believed. JD you ran the race~you finished~you won the prize. Thanks for the example to me & so many others. The Lord be with your family & all @JoeGibbsRacing ~ #RIP
Hawk https://t.co/Nj3vcJDD0a

— Donald Hawk (@HawkSMI) January 12, 2019

What an incredible person. So very kind and humble. Thinking of the Gibbs family and all his friends at JGR. https://t.co/jqTq414630

— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) January 12, 2019

Devastated after hearing the passing of J.D. Gibbs 💔 I can’t begin to tell you all how incredible of a guy he was and there is no way I would be where I am today without him. That man made such an impact on the entire outcome of my life. You will forever be in our hearts

— Matt DiBenedetto (@mattdracing) January 12, 2019

My heart goes out to the Gibbs family about JD’s passing this morning. He was always so kind and gracious to everyone.

— Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) January 12, 2019

J.D. was a great man of faith that loved his family and served others. Now he is spending eternity with his Heavenly Father and no more suffering. Thinking about all the Gibbs family. https://t.co/3Gi0VMdCGG

— David Ragan (@DavidRagan) January 12, 2019

If you want to know how to live life the right way and leave a legacy that will last forever-look no further than the example JD GIBBS set for all of us. A great leader, a man of faith, a family man and a friend. Rest In Peace JD.

— Steve O'Donnell (@odsteve) January 12, 2019

So sorry to hear about the passing of J.D Gibbs. As a previous member of @JoeGibbsRacing I know how much Coach loved his son and missed him being fully healthy and himself. Prayers go up to the entire Gibbs family 🙏

— Matt Tifft (@matt_tifft) January 12, 2019

Our prayers are w/the Gibbs family. JD served as a role model for all of us w/his perpetual smile, genuine compassion for others and great pride in his family. His sincere friendships with his competitors was a main reason the teams now work together. JD, you will be missed.

— Steve Newmark (@NewmarkRFR) January 12, 2019

Such awful news to hear about the passing of J.D Gibbs😔. Our hearts are hurting for Coach, the Gibbs family and @JoeGibbsRacing. Prayers for the entire Gibbs family/team. 🙏

— Brandon Jones (@BrandonJonesRac) January 12, 2019

Absolutely heartbroken to wake up to the news about JD Gibbs.. You couldn’t ask for a better person. I loved our days of racing late models up and Tri County. JD will be missed by so many… 🙏🏼
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Gibbs family and everyone @JoeGibbsRacing

— Rodney Childers (@RodneyChilders4) January 12, 2019

J.D was the type of man we all strive to be. His heart, smile and attitude were contagious where ever he was. He will be missed. Thoughts and prayers to the Gibbs Family. https://t.co/cYcN6mkEm1

— Steve Letarte (@SteveLetarte) January 12, 2019

JD always had a smile on his face and took time to talk to everyone. You couldn’t pass JD without a wave. His positive attitude and joy for life is something we should all strive for. He’ll be missed but not forgotten.

— Joey Logano (@joeylogano) January 12, 2019

NASCAR Power Rankings: William Byron, Kyle Busch rank 1-2

By Dustin LongJun 6, 2023, 12:00 PM EDT

Kyle Busch moved closer to the top spot after his win Sunday at WWT Raceway, but William Byron keeps hold of No. 1 after another top-10 run.

The series heads to Sonoma Raceway this weekend, the second race of the season on a road course.

NBC SPORTS NASCAR POWER RANKINGS

(Previous ranking in parenthesis)

1. William Byron (1) — He goes into Sonoma with six consecutive top-10 finishes after his eighth-place result at WWT Raceway. Byron has led a series-high 717 laps this season.

2. Kyle Busch (4) — Recorded his third win of the season Sunday. He is tied with Byron for most wins this year. Busch scored 59 of a maximum 60 points and won his first stage of the year Sunday. He has 16 playoff points. Only Byron has more with 17 this season.

3. Kyle Larson (3) — His fourth-place finish continued his up-and-down season. In the last nine races, Larson has two wins, four top fives, a 20th-place result and four finishes of 30th or worse. He has led 588 laps this season, which ranks second this year to Byron.

4. Martin Truex Jr. (2) — His fifth-place finish is his sixth top 10 in the last eight races. He ranks third in laps led this year with 383.

5. Denny Hamlin (7) — Runner-up result at WWT Raceway is his fourth top 10 in the last seven races.

6. Ryan Blaney (10) — Followed Coca-Cola 600 win with a sixth-place run at WWT Raceway. He had an average running position of 2.6 on Sunday, second only to winner Kyle Busch’s average running position of 1.9.

7. Joey Logano (9) — Third-place finish is his second top 10 in the last four races.

8. Kevin Harvick (NR) — His 10th-place finish is his fourth consecutive finish of 11th or better.

9. Ross Chastain (6) — Lost the points lead after placing 22nd, his third consecutive finish outside the top 20.

10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (NR) — Headed for his eighth top 15 in a row until he was collected in a crash after the contact between Austin Cindric and Austin Dillon late in Sunday’s race.

Dropped out: Chase Elliott (5th), Tyler Reddick (8th)

NASCAR will not penalize Austin Cindric for incident with Austin Dillon

By Dustin LongJun 6, 2023, 8:54 AM EDT

Despite Richard Childress and Austin Dillon saying that Austin Cindric intentionally wrecked Dillon late in Sunday’s Cup race at WWT Raceway, NASCAR will not penalize Cindric.

Elton Sawyer, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, said Tuesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that there would be no penalty to Cindric after reviewing the contact.

Dillon and Childress were upset about the incident, which brought out the caution on Lap 220 of the 243-lap race. Dillon said NASCAR should suspend Cindric for the contact, just as NASCAR suspended Chase Elliott one race for hooking Denny Hamlin in the Coca-Cola 600.

Contact between the left front of Cindric’s car and the right rear of Dillon’s car sent Dillon up the track into Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Dillon finished 31st. Cindric continued and placed 13th.

Dillon told Frontstretch.com: “I was wrecked intentionally by (Cindric), hooked right just like Chase and Denny and Bubba’s deal (in wrecking Kyle Larson at Las Vegas in 2022). He better be suspended next week.”

Childress said: “(Dillon) had drove up to about 10th until (Cindric) wrecked him in there on purpose, sort of a payback.”

Sawyer said a review of the incident included viewing video and data.

“We didn’t see anything — and haven’t seen anything — that really would rise to a level that would be a suspension or a penalty,” Sawyer said. “It looked like hard racing. One car coming up a little bit and another car going down.

“As we said last week, we take these incidents very serious when we see cars that are turned head-on into another car or head-on into the wall. I spent a lot of time (Monday) looking at that, looking at all the data, looking at TV footage and just deemed this one really hard racing.”

Sawyer said NASCAR plans to talk to both Cindric and Dillon “to make sure we’re all in a good place as we move forward to Sonoma.”

pic.twitter.com/sQ2z3MgxB3

— Austin Cindric (@AustinCindric) June 6, 2023

Seven Cup drivers entered in Xfinity race at Sonoma

By Dustin LongJun 5, 2023, 5:11 PM EDT

Kyle Larson is among seven Cup drivers entered in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Sonoma Raceway.

The race marks the first time the Xfinity Series has competed at the California road course. Teams will get 50 minutes of practice Friday because this is a new event on the schedule. That additional time will give those Cup drivers more laps on the 1.99-mile road course.

MORE: Sonoma Xfinity entry list

Here is a look at what Xfinity rides the Cup drivers will pilot this weekend:

Larson will drive the No. 17 for Hendrick Motorsports.
Daniel Suarez, who won last year’s Cup race at Sonoma, will drive the No. 07 for SS Green Light Racing.
Ty Dillon will drive the No. 4 for JD Motorsports.
AJ Allmendinger will drive the No. 10 for Kaulig Racing.
Ty Gibbs will pilot the No. 19 for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Ross Chastain will drive the No. 91 for DGM Racing.
Aric Almirola will drive the No. 28 for RSS Racing.

The race is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET Saturday.

The ARCA Menards Series West also is competing this weekend at Sonoma Raceway. Cup driver Ryan Preece is entered in that event. Xfinity drivers Cole Custer, Riley Herbst, Sammy Smith and Parker Retzlaff also are entered in that race, which will be held at 6:30 p.m. ET Friday.

Winners and losers at WWT Raceway

By Dustin LongJun 5, 2023, 7:00 AM EDT

Winners and losers from Sunday’s Cup race at WWT Raceway:

WINNERS

Kyle Busch — Wins the pole, leads the most laps and holds the field off over the last five restarts to win the race. He scored six playoff points, giving him 16 on the season, second only to William Byron’s 17. Busch left Joe Gibbs Racing after last season for Richard Childress Racing. Busch’s three wins this year equals what JGR has done so far.

Ryan Blaney — His sixth-place finish moved him into the points lead. He last led the points after the spring 2022 Richmond race. Blaney also won a stage Sunday to collect another playoff point. He has seven this season.

Kyle Larson — Fourth-place finish was a big turnaround after struggles earlier in the race. It has not been easy for this team the last few weeks. He has three top-five finishes and four finishes of 20th or worse in the last seven races.

Daniel Suarez — His seventh-place finish moved him up two spots to 16th in the standings, the final playoff transfer spot at this time.

LOSERS

Ross Chastain — He finished 22nd for his third consecutive result outside the top 20. He entered the weekend leading the points and fell to fifth afterward. He is 29 points behind new series leader Ryan Blaney with 11 races left in the regular season.

Tyler Reddick — Rebounded from an early spin to lead but had his race end after a brake rotor failed. He was one of four drivers eliminated by brake rotor failures. The others were Carson Hocevar, Bubba Wallace and Noah Gragson.

NBC SPORTS NASCAR POWER RANKINGS

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MORE: Sonoma Xfinity entry list

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WINNERS

LOSERS

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