photo credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

For history buffs, this won’t be the first NASCAR race ever there. One NASCAR Grand National, or Sprint Cup Series as it’s known now, raced at Road America on August 12, 1956. Tim Flock won that one.

Road America is located off Highway 67 in Elkhart Lake lying between Milwaukee and Green Bay in Wisconsin. The asphalt road course boasts 11 turns and is 4.048 miles long, making it the longest track on the NASCAR schedule.

The track replaces the Nationwide Series event at the Milwaukee Mile, but will still keep the Series making a visit to Wisconsin for their 17th year in a row.

map courtesy of Nascarmedia

Tickets are on sale and for more information:

Road America | Road Racing At Its Best!
800.365.7223  or  info@roadamerica.com
www.roadamerica.com

Virtual Lap at Road America:

photo credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images

Kyle Busch will reach a milestone Sunday at the Tricky Triangle. It’ll be his 200th Sprint Cup Series race. To celebrate, he’ll start from the pole after turning a top lap of 169.485 mph, 53.102 seconds. It’s his seventh pole in 200 races and second of the season.

“We were good when we unloaded, and we made some changes in qualifying trim that were really good for us,” Busch said. “To start on the pole for the 200th means a lot. It would mean even more if we could win it.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CD2BgWn99g

Clint Bowyer was second fastest. He’ll line up on the front row beside Busch.

Dale Earnhardt Jr qualified third.

Kurt Busch will start fourth followed by Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon.

Points leader Kevin Harvick qualified 22nd.

Race washed out time trials last year at Pocono Raceway for both races, but Friday’s on track activities went off without a hitch. There is a chance for rain over the rest of the race weekend in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Two more practice sessions are scheduled on Saturday leading into Sunday’s race.

For the Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 starting line-up, click here (nascar.com)

Jimmie Johnson was fastest during Friday afternoon’s 90-minute practice session.

TV coverage of the Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 Presented by Target begins at Noon this Sunday on TNT.

photo credit: Tom Whitmore/Getty Images for NASCAR

“It puts us that much closer to a million dollars,” Busch said. “Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, and my boat put the best lap down today.”

Joey Logano will start on the front row alongside Busch. His Penske Racing teammate, Brad Keselowski, starts third.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=paMM32XD2qQ

Qualifying for both, the All-Star Race and Sprint Showdown were washed out. Busch had the first qualifying draw which gave him the pole once qualifying was rained out.

For the complete All-Star Race starting line-up, click here (nascar.com)

After Denny Hamlin’s team won the Pit Crew Challenge, Hamlin will get first choice at pit selection for the All-Star race. Hamlin didn’t fare so well today. During the early practice session, Hamlin blew the engine in his #11 ride.

“This is probably one of the worst situations you could probably have,” Hamlin said. “We didn’t get to practice anything. We don’t have scuffed tires. A lot of guys will probably race scuffed tires because they’re a little bit faster. And we got to start in the back, so it’s like a double, triple, quadruple whammy of blowing the motor this early.”

David Ragan will start from the pole for the Sprint Showdown, the 40-lap race before the All-Star Race. The top-2 finishers will win their way into the All-Star.

photo credit: Tom Whitmore/Getty Images for NASCAR

“The Showdown pays no points, so with nothing to lose and everything to gain we’re going to give it our all and go for it,” Ragan said. “Charlotte has been a good track to us in the past and it’s great to be home for a few weeks. The track surface is really coming in since they paved it and the Showdown will be good practice for the Coke 600. Hopefully we’ll race our way into the All-Star Challenge, but either way we’ll take the track time and make it work to our advantage.”

29 drivers will start the Sprint Showdown. It may be unbelievable that there are a lot of ‘big names’ still hoping for a crack into the exhibition race on Saturday night: Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards, Juan Pablo Montoya and Bill Elliott, who’s also in the Showdown field.

“I think we led most of the Showdown one time and finished third, and that was tough,” Carl Edwards said. “To sit back and watch that (All-Star) race is not what any driver wants to do, but that’s part of what makes it so special. That it really is an elite group of drivers in the All-Star Race. If we earn our way into it, then we’ll go racing.”

For the complete Sprint Showdown starting line-up, click here (nascar.com)

There’s a 50% chance for rain showers and isolated thunderstorms in Saturday’s race day forecast for Concord, North Carolina with a high expected of 75 and a low of 62. For more details, click here for the forecast (weatherbug.com)

TV coverage for the Sprint Showdown and All-Star Race begins at 7 Saturday night on SPEED Channel.