SMITHLEY SET FOR KANSAS

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Garrett Smithley will drive the No. 0 Chevrolet for JD Motorsports with Gary Keller in Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway. 

The race will be Smithley’s third in the Xfinity Series at Kansas. His best finish at the 1.5-mile track is 18th. 

“Kansas is a track that gets your attention because the speeds are up there,” Smithley said. “The laps and miles go by really quickly. Sometimes you feel like you’re hanging on for dear life, but it’s still a fun track to challenge.” 

There are four races remaining in the 2018 season. 

Practices are scheduled at Kansas at 3:05 p.m. (ET) and 5 p.m. Friday. Qualifying is set for 11:40 a.m. Saturday, with the race to follow at 2:55 p.m.

CHASTAIN BARELY MISSES PLAYOFF ADVANCE

DOVER, Del. – Ross Chastain gave the attempt his very best effort, but he fell short Saturday of advancing in the Xfinity Series playoffs. 

After a tough late-race battle with Matt Tifft with a second-round playoff spot on the line, Chastain finished 13th in the Bar Harbor 200 at Dover International Speedway and missed moving along in the playoffs by one position. He is ninth in points, three points away from qualifying for the next playoff round. 

In the closing laps, Chastain raced Tifft hard for position. Their cars touched, Tifft’s moved up the track, and the contact resulted in Chase Briscoe being pushed into the outside wall. 

After the race, Chastain, who drove the Delaware Office of Highway Safety “Use Your Melon, Drive Sober Arrive Alive DE” campaign Chevrolet, refused to apologize for his aggressive driving in the final miles. 

“I’m not sorry at all,” he said. “This is awesome. I don’t apologize for what I do on the racetrack. It was racing, and we were in the heart of it.” 

Chastain drove for JD Motorsports with Gary Keller and praised his team after the race. 

“This 4 car and what we’ve done with JD Motorsports and Chip Ganassi Racing has been great,” he said. 

Point leader Christopher Bell won the race. 

The series rolls on to Kansas Speedway for an Oct. 20 race, the opener of the next round of the playoffs.

SMITHLEY 23rd IN BAR HARBOR 200

DOVER, Del. – Garrett Smithley finished 23rd Saturday in the Bar Harbor 200 Xfinity Series race at Dover International Speedway. 

Smithley drove the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller No. 0 Chevrolet with sponsorship from Heroes Haven.  

“It wasn’t the finish we were looking for today,” Smithley said. “We dropped off the lead pace and couldn’t make up time. We brought it home, though, and learned some stuff here. We’ll be ready at Kansas.” 

Smithley is 19th in Xfinity driver points. 

Point leader Christopher Bell won the race. 

The series rolls on to Kansas Speedway for an Oct. 20 race, the opener of the next round of the playoffs.

CASSILL PARKS LATE IN DOVER RACE

DOVER, Del. – Landon Cassill finished 26th in Saturday’s Bar Harbor 200 at Dover International Speedway after parking his JD Motorsports with Gary Keller No. 01 Chevrolet late in the race. 

Cassill completed 189 of the race’s 200 laps but wound up in the garage with drivetrain issues. 

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t run it all the way to the end,” Cassill said. “We were looking for more here today, but I enjoyed being with Johnny (team owner Johnny Davis) and the guys again. It’s always a kick to race with them.” 

The race was Cassill’s third with JD Motorsports this season. 

Point leader Christopher Bell won the race. 

The series rolls on to Kansas Speedway for an Oct. 20 race, the opener of the next round of the playoffs.

CHASTAIN LOOKING TO ADVANCE IN PLAYOFFS

DOVER, Del. – The first round of the NASCAR Xfinity Series will end Saturday at Dover International Speedway, and Ross Chastain is pointing toward a spot in the second round. 

Entering Saturday’s Bar Harbor 200, Chastain sits eighth in playoff points. After Saturday’s 200-miler, the top eight drivers will advance to the second round and will be the only drivers remaining in the hunt for the championship. Chastain is nine points in front of Austin Cindric for the eighth spot. 

Chastain, driving in the playoff group for the first time this season, will be in the No. 4 JD Motorsports with Gary Keller Chevrolet Saturday. His car is being sponsored by the Delaware Office of Highway Safety and its “Use Your Melon, Drive Sober Arrive Alive DE” campaign. 

Chastain has raced in seven Xfinity events at the Dover mile track and has a best finish of 12th – twice. 

“It’s a big weekend for us, obviously,” Chastain said. “It’s difficult to predict what might happen with the other guys in the playoffs, but we probably need a good finish to move into the second round. You can get in trouble really easily at Dover, so we’ll have to be on our toes.” 

Practice is scheduled at 12:05 and 2:30 p.m. Friday. Qualifying is set for 12:05 p.m. Saturday, with the race to follow at 3 p.m.

CASSILL TEAMS WITH JD MOTORSPORTS AGAIN

DOVER, Del. – Landon Cassill, who has logged many laps at Dover International Speedway, will run the Monster Mile again this weekend with the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller team. 

Cassill will be in the team’s No. 01 Chevrolet for Saturday's Bar Harbor 200, the final race in the first round of the Xfinity Series playoffs. 

Cassill has raced in 10 Xfinity events at Dover and has a top finish of 14th. 

The race will be Cassill’s third with JD Motorsports this season. He finished 14th at Las Vegas and 14th at Darlington. 

Practice at Dover is scheduled at 12:05 and 2:30 p.m. Friday. Qualifying is set for 12:05 p.m. Saturday, with the race to follow at 3 p.m.

DOVER BIG TEST FOR SMITHLEY

DOVER, Del. – Garrett Smithley rolls into Dover International Speedway this weekend carrying the colors of Heroes Haven. 

Smithley’s JD Motorsports with Gary Keller No. 0 Chevrolet will ride with sponsorship from Heroes Haven, which supports injured veterans and first responders. Soldier Philip Cooper will be the team’s special guest this weekend as Smithley hits the track for the Bar Harbor 200 Xfinity Series race. 

Smithley has raced on the tough “Monster Mile” at Dover five times with a best finish of 24th. 

“Dover has been a tough track for me,” Smithley said. “It’s really fast, and you hardly have time to think about what you’re going to do next. Race traffic is a constant flow, and it’s hard to avoid wrecks. We just have to bear down and try to get a good finish.” 

The race is the third in the Xfinity playoffs. 

Practice is scheduled at 12:05 and 2:30 p.m. Friday. Qualifying is set for 12:05 p.m. Saturday, with the race to follow at 3 p.m.

‘USE YOUR MELON’ HAS NEW MEANING FOR CHASTAIN

GAFFNEY, S.C. – When Ross Chastain scored the first victory of his NASCAR Xfinity Series career last month at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he celebrated by smashing a watermelon. 

This was a bit odd, but it fit. Chastain’s family has a huge watermelon farm in Florida. 

Now, entering this week’s race at Dover International Speedway, Chastain is taking a different approach. 

The Delaware Office of Highway Safety is sponsoring Chastain’s No. 4 JD Motorsports with Gary Keller Chevrolet in Saturday’s Bar Harbor 200 Xfinity race in support of the office’s “Use Your Melon, Drive Sober Arrive Alive DE” campaign. 

The intent is to focus on impaired driving and its dangers. Safe drivers “use their melons,” in other words. 

“It’s a great concept and one we’re happy to be partnered with,” said Chastain, who’s in eighth place in the Xfinity playoffs. “We drive really fast on the racetrack, but it’s not possible to overemphasize how important safe driving is on our highways. Use your melon, folks. It works.” 

The Office of Highway Safety will be emphasizing the drive sober campaign throughout the state as the focus is on Chastain and his bright red race car at Dover.

CHASTAIN ROLLS ALONG IN PLAYOFFS

CONCORD, N.C. – Ross Chastain stayed solidly in the hunt for the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship with a 12th-place finish in the Drive for the Cure 200 Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. 

Chastain sits eighth in the playoff point standings, nine points above the cutoff line heading into the final race of the first round next weekend. 

Chastain attacked the new roval course, which combines portions of the CMS oval and the twisting road course. It was one of his best runs of the year in the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller No. 4 Chevrolet. 

“The guys gave me a great car, and we got the job done,” Chastain said. “I had no clear idea what to expect on this course, but we had a good day. It feels good to be in the picture in the playoffs. We’ll shoot to make the second round next week.” 

Chase Briscoe won the race, and Christopher Bell kept the point lead. 

The series rolls on to Dover, Del. for an Oct. 6 race.

LEGGE 33RD ON CHARLOTTE ROVAL

CONCORD, N.C. – Katherine Legge finished 33rd Saturday in the Drive for the Cure 200 Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. 

The race was Legge’s fourth this season with JD Motorsports with Gary Keller. She drove the No. 15 Chevrolet. 

The race was the first on the roval, a combination of the CMS oval and infield road course. It was a tricky test for the entire Xfinity field. 

Legge has run three road-course events and an oval race for JD Motorsports this season. 

Chase Briscoe won the race, and Christopher Bell kept the point lead. 

The series rolls on to Dover, Del. for an Oct. 6 race.