NASCAR Fast Facts: Bell, Byron, Truex champions

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES

Ford EcoBoost 400 - Nov. 19, 2017 at Homestead-Miami Speedway
Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr. (P)
Age: 37
Team: No. 78 - Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Toyota
Owner: Furniture Row Racing
Crew Chief: Cole Pearn

Martin Truex Jr. (P) won the 19th Annual Ford EcoBoost 400, his 15th victory in 441 NASCAR Monster  Energy Cup Series races. This is his eighth victory and 26th top-10 finish in 2017. This is his first victory and eighth top-10 finish in 13 races at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Kyle Busch (P) (second) posted his sixth top-10 finish in 13 races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.  It is  his 22nd top-10 finish in 2017.

Kyle Larson (third) posted his third top-10 finish in five races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Erik Jones (21st) was the highest finishing rookie. Erik Jones is the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year.

Martin Truex Jr. (P) is the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion.

Toyota has won the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series manufacturer's championship.

Driver Champion: Martin Truex Jr.
Team: No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota
- Martin Truex Jr has won his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship, becoming the 32nd
different series champion.
- Truex wins in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to claim the 2017 title.
- Truex has become the fourth different driver to win a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship in the
elimination-style format of the Playoffs; joining Kevin Harvick (2014), Kyle Busch (2015) and Jimmie Johnson
(2016).
- Truex joins Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Bobby Labonte and Brad Keselowski as only the fifth driver all-time to
boast both Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series championships.
- In 2017, Truex has posted eight wins, 19 top fives, 26 top 10s and three poles.
- Truex (Mayetta) is the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion from the state of New Jersey.
Owner Champion: Barney Visser, Furniture Row Racing
- This is Furniture Row Racing’s first series owner championship in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
- Furniture Row Racing’s previous best championship standings finish was fourth in 2015 with driver Martin Truex
Jr.
- Furniture Row Racing is the only Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team based out of Denver, Colorado.
Crew Chief Champion: Cole Pearn
- Cole Pearn has won his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship with driver Martin Truex Jr.
- Pearn is the 39th different Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series crew chief to win a championship.
- Pearn has posted 13 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victories – all with driver Martin Truex Jr.

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NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

Ford EcoBoost 300 - Nov. 18, 2017 at Homestead-Miami Speedway
Race Winner: Cole Custer
Age: 19
Team: No. 00 - Haas Automation Ford
Owner: Gene Haas
Crew Chief: Jeff Meendering

Cole Custer  won the 23rd Annual Ford EcoBoost 300, his first victory in 38 NASCAR XFINITY Series races. This is his first victory and 19th top-10 finish in 2017. This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in two races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Sam Hornish Jr. (second) posted his fourth top-10 finish in seven races at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It is his third top-10 finish in 2017.

William Byron (P (third) posted his first top-10 finish in his first start at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Cole Custer (first) was the highest finishing rookie.

William Byron # (P) is the 2017 NASCAR XFINITY Series champion.

William Byron # (P) is the 2017 NASCAR XFINITY Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year.

Chevrolet is the 2017 NASCAR XFINITY Series manufacturer's champion.

The 2017 season has seen 18 different winners tying the series record set back in 1988.

Driver Champion: William Byron
Team: No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro
- William Byron won his first NASCAR XFINITY Series championship; becoming the 28th different driver to win the title
and the second in series history to win the championship in his Sunoco rookie season joining Chase Elliott (2014).
- Byron finished third in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to claim the title.
- At the age of 19 years, 11 months, 20 days, William Byron has become the second youngest champion in NASCAR
XFINITY Series history; behind record holder Chase Elliott, who won the series title at the age of 18 years, 11 months,
18 days.
- Byron made 33 starts this season posting four wins, 12 top fives, 22 top 10s and two Coors Light poles.
- Byron (Charlotte) has become the sixth NASCAR XFINITY Series champion from the state of North Carolina; joining
Austin Dillon (2013 champion, Welcome, N.C.), Brian Vickers (2003, Thomasville, N.C.), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1998,
1999, Kannapolis, N.C.), Jack Ingram (1985, 1982, Asheville, N.C.) and Sam Ard (1983, 1984, Asheboro, N.C.).
Owner Of Driver Champion: Dale Earnhardt Jr., JR Motorsports
- This is JR Motorsport’s second NASCAR XFINITY Series driver championship (Chase Elliott, 2014).
- In addition to the No. 9 Chevrolet driven by William Byron, JR Motorsports had two other teams in the 2017 NASCAR
XFINITY Series Playoff Championship 4; the No. 1 Chevrolet driven by Elliott Sadler (finished eighth at Homestead)
and the No. 7 Chevrolet driven by Justin Allgaier (finished 12th at Homestead).
- Owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., a two-time (1998, ’99) NASCAR XFINITY Series driver champion, fielded his first car as an
owner in the series with driver Mark McFarland at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19, 2005.
- JR Motorsports has led 12 different drivers to Victory Lane for a total of 37 wins in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.
Crew Chief Champion: David Elenz
- This is David Elenz’s first career NASCAR XFINITY Series championship.
- Elenz is the 25th different crew chief to win the NASCAR XFINITY Series title.
- Elenz has won eight NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races with four different drivers: William Byron (four),
Kevin Harvick (two), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (one) and Chase Elliott (one).
Owner Champion: Roger Penske, Team Penske No. 22 Ford
- This is Team Penske’s fourth NASCAR XFINITY Series owners championship (2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017).
- Five drivers made starts in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford this season: Ryan Blaney (11 starts), Brad Keselowski
(nine), Joey Logano (seven), Sam Hornish Jr. (five), Austin Cindric (one).
- The No. 22 team has posted four wins, 23 top fives and 28 top 10s this season.

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NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

Ford EcoBoost 200 - Nov. 17, 2017 at Homestead-Miami Speedway
Race Winner: Chase Briscoe
Age: 22
Team: No. 29 - Cooper Standard Ford
Owner: Brad Keselowski
Crew Chief: Buddy Sisco

Chase Briscoe  won the 22nd Annual Ford EcoBoost 200, his first victory in 24 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races. This is his first victory and 14th top-10 finish in 2017. This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in two races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Christopher Bell (P) (second) posted his second top-10 finish in four races at Homestead-Miami  Speedway. It is his 21st top-10 finish in 2017. Johnny Sauter (P) (third) posted his eighth top-10 finish in 12 races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Chase Briscoe (first) was the highest finishing rookie. Briscoe wins the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year.

Christopher Bell (P) wins the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship.

Toyota wins the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Manufacturer's championship.

Driver Champion: Christopher Bell
Team: No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota Tundra
- Christopher Bell won his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship; his previous best finish in the
final driver standings was third last season.
- Bell is the 16th different driver to win the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship.
- Bell finished second in the NASCAR Camping World Truck season finale to win the title.
- Bell finished the 2017 season with five wins, 15 top fives, 21 top 10s and five poles.
Owner Champion: Kyle Busch, Kyle Busch Motorsports
- This is Kyle Busch Motorsport’s record fifth-consecutive and sixth all-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
owner championship.
- Kyle Busch Motorsport’s previous owner championships were in 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 – In 2013,
KBM’s No. 51 tied ThorSport Racing’s No. 88 in owner points, but was awarded the championship due the
tiebreaker (wins).
- Kyle Busch Motorsports is the first team in NCWTS history to win five consecutive owner championships.
- Kyle Busch Motorsports now has the most owner titles in the NCWTS with six.
- Kyle Busch Motorsports has led 10 different drivers to Victory Lane for a total of 65 series wins.
- This is Kyle Busch Motorsport’s second driver championship in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (Erik
Jones, 2015).
- Kyle Busch Motorsports made its series debut back in 2010 with driver Johnny Benson Jr. at Texas.
Crew Chief Champion: Ryan Fugle
- This is Ryan Fugle’s second career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship; he won his first with
Erik Jones in 2015.
- Fugle has 21 career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victories with four different drivers – Kyle Busch
(five), Erik Jones (four), William Byron (seven) and Christopher Bell (five).

William Byron wins Phoenix as XFINITY Series field is set

By JENNA FRYER
Associated Press

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — A rag-tag pit crew led William Byron to his fourth victory of the season.

He also was one of the four drivers to qualify Saturday for next week's Xfinity Series championship finale.

Byron, Justin Allgaier, and Elliott Sadler — all from JR Motorsports — and Daniel Hemric took the four spots in all-Chevrolet race for the Xfinity Series championship.

Byron wrapped up his spot on points during Saturday's race at Phoenix Raceway. With nothing to lose, he used the final pit stop to take two tires in an effort to gain track position and win the race. He got out first, behind a crew that was assembled on the fly.

JR Motorsports, the team owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., his sister, Kelley, and Rick Hendrick, found themselves scrambling Saturday morning when a mechanical issue forced a plane carrying its pit crews to make an emergency landed on its way from North Carolina.

The plane landed in Arkansas, and even though Hendrick Motorsports sent a plane to retrieve the crew members, they did not arrive at Phoenix in time for the race.

So, Byron, Sadler and Allgaier were missing regular pit crew members.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said after the race he was "freaking out" when he learned about the crew situation.

All four berths in next Saturday night's race at Homestead-Miami Speedway were on the line in Phoenix. It made for an enjoyable race for the final spot between Hemric and Cole Custer, as the two battled for position in the closing laps. Custer was fourth and Hemric fifth, and if they stayed that way, Hemric had the spot. But Christopher Bell chased Hemric, who couldn't afford to give up a position between Custer.

Bell used a three-wide pass on the outside to get by both drivers, and Hemric eventually passed Custer and finished fifth.

Custer faded to seventh, and praised his first-year Stewart-Haas Racing team.

"I knew we needed to beat him, but I guess we needed a buffer in between us to beat him," Custer said. "I think we made the best of our day with what we had, but, overall, we're still not in the championship four. But for a first-year team we came a long ways."

Ryan Blaney led 147 of the 200 laps but finished second. He took four tires on the late pit stop and had to drive his way back to the front. Although he was disappointed, he understood the bigger picture for him is Sunday when he races for a shot at the Cup championship.

Blaney starts from the pole Sunday.

"I didn't think our Cup car was very good today, which was kind of a letdown a little bit," Blaney said. "It was a frustrating day. We weren't great in race trim all weekend. Even when we unloaded on Friday we weren't great in race trim.

"Obviously, qualifying trim went well, but race trim we've just struggled a lot. We've been struggling to find speed and anything we've done hasn't really changed the balance up very much, which is probably the most frustrating part. We change everything and I can't really feel any difference and it's still just slow."

Erik Jones, another Cup regular, finished third. Christopher Bell was fourth.

Allgaier finished 10th and Sadler was 18th.

Eliminated early from title contention was Brennan Poole who collided just 32 laps into the race with the lapped car of Caesar Bacarella. The driver was making his first career NASCAR national start.

"Bad luck, bad circumstances. Just a bummer," Poole said. "Sometimes lapped cars get in the way and you have to navigate around them. Didn't get it done."

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More AP Auto Racing: http://racing.ap.org

Follow JENNA FRYER on Twitter @JennaFryer

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NASCAR XFINITY Series Race - Ticket Galaxy 200

Phoenix Raceway

Avondale, Arizona

Saturday, November 11, 2017

               1. (2) William Byron # (P), Chevrolet, 200.
               2. (6) Ryan Blaney(i), Ford, 200.
               3. (1) Erik Jones(i), Toyota, 200.
               4. (8) Christopher Bell(i), Toyota, 200.
               5. (7) Daniel Hemric # (P), Chevrolet, 200.
               6. (9) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 200.
               7. (3) Cole Custer # (P), Ford, 200.
               8. (5) Alex Bowman(i), Chevrolet, 200.
               9. (16) Austin Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 200.
               10. (10) Justin Allgaier (P), Chevrolet, 200.
               11. (4) Matt Tifft # (P), Toyota, 200.
               12. (18) Casey Mears, Ford, 200.
               13. (21) Ty Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 200.
               14. (20) Ryan Reed (P), Ford, 200.
               15. (15) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 200.
               16. (12) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 200.
               17. (19) Spencer Gallagher #, Chevrolet, 200.
               18. (13) Elliott Sadler (P), Chevrolet, 200.
               19. (22) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 200.
               20. (23) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 200.
               21. (26) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 200.
               22. (17) Corey LaJoie(i), Toyota, 199.
               23. (24) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 199.
               24. (25) Ray Black II, Chevrolet, 199.
               25. (29) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 197.
               26. (31) Mario Gosselin, Chevrolet, 197.
               27. (32) Harrison Rhodes, Chevrolet, 195.
               28. (36) Timmy Hill, Chevrolet, 194.
               29. (30) David Starr, Chevrolet, 190.
               30. (37) Caesar Bacarella, Chevrolet, 190.
               31. (38) John Graham, Chevrolet, 188.
               32. (11) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, Accident, 179.
               33. (28) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 169.
               34. (33) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Brakes, 47.
               35. (27) Joe Nemechek(i), Chevrolet, Brakes, 44.
               36. (40) Carl Long, Toyota, Electrical, 37.
               37. (34) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, Brakes, 30.
               38. (14) Brennan Poole (P), Chevrolet, Accident, 24.
               39. (39) Mike Harmon, Dodge, Engine, 19.
               40. (35) Gray Gaulding(i), Chevrolet, Electrical, 6.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  104.758 mph.
Time of Race:  01 Hrs, 54 Mins, 33 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.960 Seconds.
Caution Flags:  5 for 26 laps.
Lead Changes:  4 among 3 drivers.
Lap Leaders:   E. Jones(i) 1-33; R. Blaney(i) 34; E. Jones(i) 35-37; R. Blaney(i) 38-183; W. Byron # (P) 184-200.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  R. Blaney(i) 2 times for 147 laps; E. Jones(i) 2 times for 36 laps; W. Byron # (P) 1 time for 17 laps.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 22,42,20,21,7,9,00,18,2,11
Stage #2 Top Ten: 22,20,21,7,18,9,00,2,11,3