NASCAR

Edwards wins at Texas: #19-Carl Edwards won the AAA Texas 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway for his 3rd win of the season, 4th win at Texas and 28th career win. Edwards took the lead under pit stops on lap 258 and lead the final 36 laps. The race was called at 11:13pm/et with 293 laps complete after of rain hit the track and NASCAR determined it would at least 2 hours to dry the track.
#22-Logano finished 2nd, followed by #78-Truex, Jr., #24-Elliott, #18-Busch, #4-Harvick, #20-Kenseth, #5-Kahne, #11-Hamlin, and #31-Newman.
Pole sitter #3-Dillon ran near the front for much of the race but spun late, then made contact with the outside wall a short time later. He had to go to the garage and finished 37th.
The start of the race was delayed by nearly 6 hours. It rained just before engines were scheduled to be fired at 2:04pm/et. Cooler temperatures and moisture required an extended amount of time to dry the track. Engines were fired at 7:13pm/et and the race finally started under green/yellow conditions at 7:56pm/et. Six laps were run until the green flag was shown.
The only Chase drivers that did not finish on the lead lap was #41-Busch. he finished 20th.

Sprint Cup Driver Chase Standings - Round of 8:
[after Texas, race 34 of 36, Chase race 8 of 10]
1) #48-Jimmie Johnson*,[4 wins], 4074 (won Martinsville)
2) #19-Carl Edwards,[3 wins], 4049 (won Texas)
3) #22-Joey Logano,[2 wins], 4074, +1 ahead of 5th
4) #18-Kyle Busch,[4 wins], 4074, +1
5) #20-Matt Kenseth,[2 wins], 4073, -1 behind 4th
6) #11-Denny Hamlin,[3 wins], 4072, -2
7) #4-Kevin Harvick,[4 wins] 4056, -18
8) #41-Kurt Busch,[1 win], 4040, -34
* will advance to the Championship Round by winning a Round of 8 race

Dale Jarrett says he struggles with memory loss: Concussions and how they're diagnosed were pushed back into the spotlight this weekend with the news that #83-Matt DiBenedetto was put into NASCAR's concussion protocol and would miss the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. The news brought criticism from Brad Keselowski about the nature of concussion diagnosis. During NBC's rain delay coverage for the Sunday's race at Texas Motor Speedway, analyst and Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett spoke about his experiences due to concussions he suffered during his Hall of Fame career. "In three weeks I will be 60 years old and I do struggle with memory loss, with things in my brain I know probably came from some of those concussions, that's what I've been told," said Jarrett, who retired from racing in 2008. "Would it have happen anyway without the concussions that I went through? I'm not sure."(NBC Sports)(11-7-2016)

Cup title sponsorship search continues UPDATE: NASCAR had hoped to have a sponsor for its premier series signed by now, and there are plenty of nervous people in the garage awaiting any news. If NASCAR chief operating officer Brent Dewar is feeling the heat, he isn't showing it. He said NASCAR has talked to several companies, and negotiations continue as it seeks to replace Sprint after its 13-year run. NASCAR has known since December 2014 that Sprint would leave after this year. "We are in advanced discussions still with a number of companies for the entitlement of our series," Dewar said Friday. "I've got nothing [final] to report today. We're working hard on it." Dewar wouldn't talk about any companies NASCAR has entered that advanced stage of discussions. When asked about a timeline, Dewar said it is important to find the right partner. "Some of the firms we're talking to can move pretty fast," Dewar said. "Some maybe not as fast." Dewar said there is time to get the deal done and begin activating the sponsorship with the Daytona 500 in February. He said companies have various deadlines to make decisions and it is just the nature of the business that negotiations have stretched into November. Another issue that NASCAR must battle when finding a sponsor is the decrease in attendance and television ratings. The public companies say ticket revenue compared to last year has dropped 9.2 percent since the Daytona 500. Eight of the past nine Cup races have seen 10 percent drops in television ratings, and NASCAR has seen an overall seven percent drop for the year.(ESPN.com)(11-6-2016)

Goodyear looking to renew contract with NASCAR: Goodyear is currently renegotiating its contract with NASCAR which concludes at the end of 2017. The tire manufacturer has enjoyed a relationship with NASCAR since 1954 - and [Greg Stucker, Director of Racing Tire Sales and Marketing for Goodyear] doesn't expect that to change. "I can tell you there have been several meetings, several conversations about moving forward," Stucker said. "To my knowledge, there are no major hurdles. There are always little items you need to work out, particularly with the way the landscape is now. You have a new TV contract and new social media landscape. I think those are the biggest things that need to be worked through - where we want to focus our efforts, the exposure. How you want to use our assets. That still needs to be worked out. But as far as the operational side, the performance side, I think we're good." While there have been rumblings about other tire manufacturers attempting to get in the game, Stucker isn't aware of any competition in the category moving forward.(Motorsport)(11-5-2016)

NEXT RACE: This weekend at Phoenix International Raceway; TV on Sunday on NBC at 11 a.m. PT

 

NHRA

NHRA concludes its season this weekend at the Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona. All four pro classes in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series — Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle — will crown the 2016 World Champions in a last-race showdown to cap a spectacular season of on-track performances for the fastest motorsport on the planet.

Antron Brown secured his third NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Top Fuel world championship Sunday at the NHRA Toyota Nationals but the battles in Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle will still be on the line in Pomona.

Ron Capps holds the points lead in Funny Car over Matt Hagan, who is, 86 points back of Capps. In Pro Stock, Las Vegas winner Shane Gray moved to third in points just 75 back of Greg Anderson , who is just 19 points behind points leader Jason Line. Jerry Savoie rode his Savoie's Alligator Farm Suzuki past Andrew Hines in the Pro Stock Motorcycle final round for his second win of the season is now just three points out of the points lead behind Harley-Davidson teammates Hines and Eddie Krawiec, who are tied for the top spot.

TV: LIVE on FS1 Sunday at 1 p.m. PT

 

INDYCAR

PAGENAUD, ROSSI EARN NOMINATIONS FOR AUTOSPORT AWARDS

Verizon IndyCar Series champion Simon Pagenaud and Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi are among the international racing stars nominated for prestigious Autosport Awards.

Pagenaud, who claimed five wins en route to his first Verizon IndyCar Series championship, is nominated in International Racing Driver of Year Category, while Rossi is nominated for Autosport Rookie of the Year.

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg join Red Bull Racing teammates Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen and 2016 Formula E champion Sebastien Buemi as the other nominees for International Racing Driver of Year, given to the reader's choice of top driver competing at an international level. Hamilton, a four-time winner of the award, has won the last two awards in the category.

Rossi is nominated for the award given to the top first-year competitor along with F1 rookies Pascal Wehrlein, Jolyon Palmer and Esteban Ocon, GP2 points leader Antonio Giovinazzi and GP3 point leader Charles Leclerc. Verstappen won the award in 2015.

The awards in 12 categories - eight voted on by Autosport subscribers online and four selected by magazine staff and competition judges -- will be presented Dec. 4 during an international motorsports gala in London. The Autosport Awards have been presented since 1982.

Rossi joins Race of Champions field

Rossi is the latest Verizon IndyCar Series star to join the field of drivers who will compete at the first Race Of Champions on American soil - inside Miami's Marlins Park on Jan. 21-22.

Rossi is the fourth Verizon IndyCar Series driver who has signed up to participate in the annual contest which brings together some of the world's greatest drivers from motor sport's major disciplines and has them race head-to-head in identical machinery.

Other Verizon IndyCar Series drivers slated to compete are: Indy car and Indianapolis 500 winners Juan Pablo Montoya, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Tony Kanaan, four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel, retiring F1 driver Felipe Massa, 'Mr Le Mans' Tom Kristensen action sports legend Travis Pastrana, NASCAR champion Kurt Busch, Red Bull Global Rallycross Champion Scott Speed and double FIA World Rallycross Champion Petter Solberg.

 

SONOMA RACEWAY