The Latest on the NASCAR race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (all times local):
3:55 p.m.
NASCAR is paying tribute to crew chief Nick Harrison, who died overnight after Saturday's Xfinity Series race.
NASCAR announced Harrison's death during the driver's meeting before Sunday's race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and honored him with a pre-race moment of silence. No details were given.
The 37-year-old Harrison was crew chief for Justin Haley, who finished in 13th place Saturday. In Harrison's first season with Kaulig Racing, Haley had two top-five finishes and finished 12 times in the top 10.
"Not just a crew chief, but a friend to everyone who knew him," Haley wrote on Twitter. "I, and everyone at Kaulig Racing are devastated. He will be greatly missed."
According to NASCAR, Harrison was a veteran crew chief with all three NASCAR national series since 2006. His teams won five Xfinity Series races with drivers Austin Dillon, Paul Menard and Kurt Busch, who were all driving Sunday.
"We all lost a friend last night. We love you Nick Harrison. You were a leader, and a great friend to all," Busch posted on Twitter. "Nick really helped me rebuild my career when I was at a low point. RIP."
2 p.m.
Brad Keselowski is on the pole for the first time in nearly two years Sunday as NASCAR returns to New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Keselowski, who won at New Hampshire in 2014, has three Cup Series victories in 2019, placing him one behind Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch for the season lead. Keselowski last started from the pole at Michigan in August 2017.
Busch qualified second in the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and his older brother, Kurt, will start third for Chevy in the 300-mile race.
The Busch brothers are two of the six drivers in Sunday's field with three career victories at New Hampshire. Another is Kevin Harvick, who picked up his third last year and will start 14th Sunday for Ford.
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DETROIT (AP) — Tim Kuniskis, CEO of the Ram and Dodge brands and the unofficial voice of American muscle cars, is retiring after nearly 32 years with Stellantis.
The announcement Friday comes as Stellantis struggles with U.S. sales as it begins the transition from internal combustion to electric vehicles. Through April, its sales were down 14.1% while the industry as a whole saw a 3.1% increase, according to Motorintelligence.com.
For years Kuniskis was the spokesman for high-performance American cars, introducing many powerful models including last year's 1,025 horsepower Challenger SRT Demon 170.
But in March, Kuniskis led the unveiling of two battery-powered versions of the Charger muscle car, while keeping one gas-powered version of the Charger without a big Hemi V8.
Recently Kuniskis was CEO of both the Dodge and Ram brands. He’ll be replaced at Ram by Chris Feuell, who will take on Ram in addition to her duties leading the Chrysler brand.
Matt McAlear will become Dodge brand CEO. He led Dodge sales and has broad automotive experience, the company said in a statement.
Both brands are struggling with Dodge phasing out the old versions of the gas powered Charger and Challenger as it moves to electric vehicles. Dodge sales through April are down more than 17%. The brand also is selling the Hornet small SUV made in Italy, but it hasn't caught on.
Ram sales are down over 29% so far this year as a Michigan factory is retooled to build an updated full-size pickup.
Kuniskis' passion and vision for the Dodge brand will be a loss, but someone else at Stellantis may be able to take over, said S&P Global analyst Stephanie Brinley.
“Dodge muscle car future is going through change, regardless of who is at the helm," Brinley said in an email. “Success will still come to product execution and whether the vision for the Dodge brand aligns with how customers see the brand. It wouldn’t be wise to presume no one else can champion the brand.”
At a March event in Detroit showing off the new electric Chargers, Kuniskis also exhibited a gas-fueled Charger powered by a new 3-liter six-cylinder engine with two turbochargers. A high-output version will have 550 horsepower.
Kuniskis defended keeping the gasoline version and said the electric muscle cars, which will roar like gas-engine vehicles, will emphasize performance over efficiency.
Under normal circumstance, he said, about 17 million vehicles are sold annually in the U.S. “You know what? People need choices,” he said.
Kuniskis said he would expect criticism from environmental groups if Dodge had not come out with electric versions of the Charger.
“It’s designed for performance and it has low range, but it’s still a battery electric vehicle. They’re going to hate on that? Seems kind of odd,” he said.
Globally, Stellantis' first quarter global vehicle shipments fell 10% from a year ago to 1.34 million, and revenue dropped 12% to 41.7 billion euros ($44.8 billion).
The company blamed the revenue dip on lower sales as it manages production and inventory while launching 25 new models this year, including 18 electric vehicles. Chief Financial Officer Natalie Knight said Stellantis believes the new models will bring “materially improved growth and profitability in the second half."
FILE - Tim Kuniskis, head of Dodge Brand talks about the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT concept before its unveiling on Aug. 17, 2022, in Pontiac, Mich. Kuniskis, the unofficial voice of American muscle cars, is retiring from Stellantis after nearly 32 years with the company. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
FILE - Tim Kuniskis talks about the company's Dodge Charger Daytona SRT concept during its unveiling, Aug. 17, 2022, in Pontiac, Mich. Kuniskis, CEO of the Ram and Dodge brands and the unofficial voice of American muscle cars, is retiring from Stellantis after nearly 32 years with the company. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
