Nascar SCS Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway April Sun. 19 on FOX at 1:00 PM ET

Nascar ^

[mabarker1]

Jones fills in for Hamlin at Bristol: #11-Denny Hamlin suffered a neck spasm Sunday and was replaced by Joe Gibbs Racing development driver Erik Jones for the remainder of the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Hamlin said he pulled something in his neck during the 22 laps that were run prior to a rain delay of nearly four hours. He was running fifth when the race was halted. The 18-year-old Jones, who has never competed in a Cup car, got in the JGR #11 car when the race resumed Sunday night. "I just pulled something in my neck to upper back about lap 12," Hamlin said during the race telecast. "I started going backwards at that point. ... I stretched it out and we've been working on it the last few hours. I'm not 100 percent. With this format, it's all about winning, and there was no way I would have been able to go out there and compete for a win. It's just doing my team a complete injustice for me to go out there and run a bunch of laps. Instead, I think it's just better to have Erik come here and run some laps, get used to these Cup cars. We know where he is going to be in a few years."(ESPN.com)(4-20-2015)

I know the Starting Driver gets the Points even with a Relief Driver but if Jones had Won the Race would that put Hamlin in the Chase or Jones???

[mabarker1]

OOPPS! forgot to change the “To:’

So PING to above.

[mabarker1]

Tony Gibson suffering from kidney stones: Driver Denny Hamlin was not the only one who needed a replacement when Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race went back to green after a lengthy rain delay at Bristol Motor Speedway. Stewart-Haas Racing crew chief Tony Gibson was forced to watch the remainder of the Food City 500 in Support of Steve Byrnes and Stand Up To Cancer from his motor coach after kidney stones sent him to the local hospital emergency room. SHR vice president of competition Greg Zipadelli and team engineer John Klausmeyer took over crew chief duties for Kurt Busch's #41 team when the race went back to green.(FoxSports)(4-20-2015)

[mabarker1]

Keselowski explains early race crash: #2-Brad Keselowski wrecked on lap 21 of the Food City 500, bringing out the first caution of the race and collecting his teammate, #22-Logano.
What did you feel? Did the rain drops have anything to do with it?
Keselowski: "It's been raining since we started the race. It was just a really light sprinkle and the track was just barely dry. I don't know. The rain was coming in and out and the car just took off on me. I would like to blame the rain, but I honestly don't know. Usually when a car gets that far sideways and it's kind of out of nowhere there's a reason behind it. I just really hate that I tore up my teammate in the process. That's really a bummer. I felt like I had a pretty normal line and it just flew crazy sideways on me. It's a bummer for everybody at Team Penske to tear up both cars that way. I hate racing in the rain, but I understand the position that NASCAR is in. They want to get the race going and this is one of those days where it's gonna just keep raining off and on and we're trying to get as many laps in at a time as we can to give the fans the best race possible, but we're racing in the rain to do it and that's what happens."
(Ford Racing)(4-20-2015)

[mabarker1]

Gene Haas Foundation grants $1 million: The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) and Danville Community College (DCC) are the recipients of a $1 million grant from the Gene Haas Foundation, which has granted more than $11 million to entities that champion advanced manufacturing education. The $1 million grant will be used to build the new Gene Haas Center for Integrated Machining on the IALR campus in Danville, Virginia, and support a third-year level of learning for students completing DCC's Precision Machining Technology two-year degree program. The experience will provide students the opportunity to train in an authentic manufacturing workflow cell as part of the Capstone Integrated Machining Technology project being implemented for the first time in America through the IALR/DCC partnership. In conjunction with the grant, a commemorative decal will adorn the decklid of Stewart-Haas Racing's #41 Haas Automation Chevy SS that Kurt Busch will drive in the April 25 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway.(Stewart Haas Racing)(4-20-2015)

HEY Gene! I could use a few $$$ over here, A Mil would be nice but I'll take less...

You can even put a commemorative decal on My back if You want!

[mabarker1]

Kenseth wins at Bristol: #20-Matt Kenseth won the Food City 500 In Support Of Steve Byrnes And Stand Up To Cancer Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway for his 1st win of the season, 4th win at Bristol Motor Speedway and his 32nd career win. The race ended with one green-white-checkered attempt.
#48-Johnson finished second, the rest of the top 10: #24-Gordon, #17-Stenhouse, Jr., #31-Newman, #14-Stewart, #42-Larson, #51-Allgaier, #10-Patrick, and #3-Dillon.
After starting an hour late, there were 3 red flags during the race - all for rain. The first was on lap 23 and lastest 3 hours and 58 minutes, the second was 13 minutes long on lap 273 and the final one was just before the green-white-checker restart.
Harvick, Logano, and Truex, Jr all came into the race with top-10 finishes in every race this season, but all three rain into trouble during the race. Harvick finished 39th, Logano 40th, and Truex, Jr 29th.
#11-Denny Hamlin started suffering neck spasms early in the race and was replaced by Erik Jones when the race restarted after the first red flag. Jones finished 26th.
Harvick continues to hold the Chase points lead. He and Johnson each have 2 wins on the season but Harvick has 314 points to Johnson's 258.
There were 21 lead changes among 6 drivers. There were 11 cautions for 117 yellow flag laps.
The average speed was 74.997mph.
See unofficial race results, awards, money won, laps led, cautions and more on the Unofficial Race Results page (pdf) and check out the Penalty Report (pdf) and Lap Summary Report (pdf).

[mabarker1]

McDowell's sponsor makes donation in honor of Steve Byrnes: The NASCAR community often has a way of coming together in times of need unlike any other sport out there. That is evident this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway where the track, teams and drivers alike are honoring FOX Sports' own Steve Byrnes. However, Thrivent Financial, sponsor on Michael McDowell's #95 Levine Family Racing Ford has taken their support of Byrnes to the next level. Inspired by the powerful NASCAR community, Thrivent Financial will donate $9,500 to Stand Up To Cancer in honor of Byrnes. Greg Stacey, director of content marketing for Thrivent Financial, said the organization is proud to be part of the NASCAR community during times like this and hopes the donation will bring both awareness and help to all of those impacted by cancer. For McDowell, it is special to have a sponsor that is willing to go above and beyond to help out a member of the NASCAR community.(FoxSports)(4-19-2015)

[mabarker1]

Timeline for Eric Jones to sub for Hamlin via NASCAR America:

2:39PM Race under Red Flag

4:30PM He gets a Text to Sub for Hamlin and heads to Concord Airport for 35 minute flight to Bristol Airport, takes Chopper to BMS Track.

6:30PM Gets to BMS Track, meets with Crew Cheif Dave Rogers and Signs His Cup License.

6:35PM Straps into car and gets advise from Hamlin.

6:38PM Race restarts

6:50PM Green Flag drops.

[mabarker1]

JR's new Tree House. He bought the plans fron that Tree House Guy on TV.Treehouse chandelier and photos to be hung.This Farrah poster hung in dads (Grandfather Ralph's) shop behind Grandma Martha's house way back in the 80's.

[nascarnation]

Hamlin has had his share of physical trials, for sure. Although with the amount of wrecks these guys see over a career that’s a lot of abuse on the old neck.

[tcrlaf]

“This race is soooooooooo rained out.”

Hah, I guess they fooled you. And a whole bunch of other folks.

Those of that found one of the few dry places under the grandstands did OK. Even walked back out to the truck and snoozed for an hour or so.

And let me say, the “Edge Deck” is a HELL of place to watch the race from! By the end, I was wet and cold, but I can say I “survived it”, just like Chicago a couple of years ago. (Saturday was an awesome day to watch a race!)

[tcrlaf]

“Heck one year it SNOWED!”

Some regulars were telling me about that. They said the track PA was playing Christmas Music as the crowd left.

[mabarker1]

Sad News - Steve Byrnes: Mr. Steven Patrick Byrnes, age 56, of Fort Mill, S.C., went to be with the Lord on April 21, 2015.
Surviving are his wife of 22 years, Karen Byrnes; son Bryson, 12, a sixth grader at Charlotte Christian School; parents Jerry and Claire Byrnes of Charlotte; sister Betsy Byrnes of Charlotte; brother Dan Byrnes and wife Tammy of Charlotte; nephews Tyler, 21, and Dylan Byrnes, 17; and niece Samantha Byrnes, 13, of Charlotte.
Steve was born April 14, 1959, in Chicago, and was raised in New Carrollton, Md. He attended Church of Christ at Gold Hill Road, was a 1981 graduate of the University of Maryland with a degree in Radio, Television and Film, and played football for one year at James Madison University before transferring to the University of Maryland.
Steve enjoyed a successful and highly respected television broadcasting career for 30 years. He joined the FOX Sports family in 2001, hosting and reporting for multiple NASCAR programs and serving as a pit road reporter for NASCAR on FOX's broadcast of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races from 2001-2014. Most recently, he was the play-by-play announcer for FOX Sports 1 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and was co-host of NASCAR Race Hub for the network.
Prior to joining FOX, Steve also hosted Darrell Waltrip's Racers on TNN, worked as a pit road reporter for CBS, WTBS and TNN, and hosted a variety of NASCAR programs for The History Channel and TNN, for which he moved to Charlotte in 1985 and remained in the area ever since. His first on-air job was at WCIV-TV in Charleston, S.C., in 1982, after commencing his television career as weekend sports producer at WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C., immediately following graduation from college. Steve also called play-by-play for a Carolina Panthers/Minnesota Vikings NFL game on FOX and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races for DirecTV Hot Pass.
Despite all his career accolades, Steve's greatest accomplishment was his son, Bryson, who is growing into a more Godly, compassionate and respectable young man every day. Steve's passion was spending every moment possible with Bryson, especially watching him play football and basketball and helping prepare him to play for the Charlotte Christian School football team as a seventh grader in the 2015-'16 school year. The other light of his life was Karen, with whom his relationship extended well beyond that of a spouse. The two were inseparable since meeting in 1988 while she was the public relations representative for Benny Parsons in his last season as a NASCAR driver.
Attending Appalachian State University football games was one of the family's favorite activities, in addition to cheering for the University of Maryland's football and basketball teams; the Washington Redskins; the Carolina Panthers; following NASCAR; and watching nephews Tyler and Dylan play baseball. Steve also delighted in gardening, travel with his family, photographing sports, nature and sunsets.
In addition to being a wonderful, loving and Godly husband, father, son and brother, Steve was an excellent friend, colleague and mentor to all who knew and loved him. His indelible impact extended even to the millions of television viewers who watched him every week over the years, as evidenced by the outpouring of public support he received following his cancer diagnosis in August 2013. Steve became a tangible example of strength, courage and fortitude to all who witnessed his battle with cancer and his personal crusade to spend as many days as possible with Karen and Bryson. He was honored to be designated as the keynote speaker at the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life on June 7, 2014, in Charlotte, where he shared the inspiring story of his battle with hundreds of cancer survivors, caregivers and families during the Luminaria Ceremony that evening.
A public figure who always made time for others and made strangers feel like longtime and valued friends, Steve took particular solace in his private life with his family. He was always smiling, supportive, selfless and loving. Upon his original diagnosis, Steve quickly found the positive in the situation and put his entire focus into his treatments, simultaneously vowing not to miss a single moment with his son. His motto and daily inspiration became "Be present" in every moment of his family's lives. Now Steve is present with the Lord, and until we see him again, he is present in our hearts and memories forever.
Steve, we give you back to the Lord with eternal love and great appreciation for His gift of you to us. We love you.
Funeral services are pending.(Fox Sports)
Memorials: In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Steve's honor to any of the following:
Church of Christ at Gold Hill Road, 1055 Gold Hill Road, Fort Mill, SC 29708

Charlotte Christian School, 7301 Sardis Road, Charlotte, NC 28270

NASCAR Foundation, One Daytona Blvd., 6th Floor, Daytona Beach, FL 32114

Charlotte Christian School - Byrnes Fund
Attn: Barry Giller
7301 Sardis Road, Charlotte, NC 28270(4-21-2015)

• NASCAR Statement on Steve Byrnes: "NASCAR extends its condolences to the many friends, FOX Sports colleagues and family of Steve Byrnes. Whether you had the privilege of knowing him or if you watched him on television for the last three decades, Steve's work ethic and authenticity made him a beloved individual inside and outside the garage. His level of professionalism was matched only by the warmth he showed everyone he met. He battled cancer with tenacity, and was a true inspiration to everyone in the NASCAR family. Simply stated, we'll miss Steve dearly. Our thoughts are especially with his wife Karen and son Bryson during this difficult time." - NASCAR Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brian France(NASCAR)(4-21-2015)

[mabarker1]

F! YOU Cancer!!!!!!!!!!!

[mabarker1]

Dale Earnhardt Jr. @DaleJr  ·  4h 4 hours ago

My hope is Steve was able to see how much he was loved & appreciated by so many. Rest easy friend. Prayers to his family. #ByrnesStrong

[McGruff]

Well I hope he got to watch the race on Sunday. His interview with Tony Stewart was a classic.

[nascarnation]

Glad he lasted thru the Bristol tribute.
RIP

[mabarker1]

He did see the Race.

I lost My 2nd Wife and one of the Guy’s I worked with at the H2O Plant to that crap that spread to Her/His brain and when it happens it’s instant. The brain swells and the pressure goes down the spine and kills instantly.

I was giving Ken His Morphine drops when He took His last breath.

If You can see Today’s NASCAR America (NBCSN) they have footage of the early days of Steve doing interviews.

[mabarker1]

Tony Stewart ‏@TonyStewart 7h7 hours ago

Very sad to hear about our friend Steve Byrnes passing today. Huge loss for our racing family. He was one of the best ever! We will miss you

[Chode]

God Speed