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Author: Angie Campbell

  • Logano grabs pole for Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington

    Logano grabs pole for Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington

    Joey Logano won the NASCAR Cup Series pole Saturday with a 168.521 mph lap at Darlington Raceway. He will lead the field to green for the Cook Out Southern 500 Sunday evening in the first race of the Playoffs.  

    That makes the Team Penske driver two for two, after also winning the pole at Darlington in May. It was his 24th career pole in the series.

    “It’s obviously nice to start up front,” Logano said. “We got a taste of what that first pit stall means here at Darlington and it’s nice, for sure. It’s nice to be able to get that, but it’s just a start. 

    “We still have a full 500 miles to go,” he continued, “but, like I said, that first pit stall will pay a dividend throughout the whole race, so we’ll fire off and see what we’ve got tomorrow. 

    “Going off of practice from the spring to the race the first time, the track was much different in the race than it was in the practice. You’ve got to kind of assume some of it is gonna happen again tomorrow, so we’ll try to adjust on our car a little bit for race trim. I think we need a little bit there, but I don’t think we’re that far off. If we get a little bit more turn in our car, we’ll be right there.”

    Christopher Bell, with a 168.469 mph lap, will start beside him on the front row in his JGR Toyota followed by William Byron, Tyler Reddick, and Kyle Busch to complete the top five. Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney and Michael McDowell rounded out the top 10 in the qualifying session.

    Chase Elliot, who enters the Playoffs in the top spot, qualified a disappointing 23rd and he was not alone. Several other Playoff contenders had mediocre runs including Denny Hamlin (11), Ross Chastain (12), Austin Dillon (13), Alex Bowman (16), Kevin Harvick (18), Chase Briscoe (19), and Daniel Suarez (36).  

    Notes: Daniel Suárez failed pre-race inspection three times Saturday morning and did not make a qualifying attempt. He will have to start the race at the rear of the field and will also have to serve a pass-through penalty in his No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.     

    You can tune into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs opening race at Darlington Raceway on Sunday evening at 6 p.m. ET on the USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

  • ‘No amount of playoff points is ever safe’ – Chase Elliott

    ‘No amount of playoff points is ever safe’ – Chase Elliott

    Chase Elliott enters the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs as the top seed with 40 bonus points and four wins to his credit. But does that make him the favorite to win the 2022 championship?

    “For me, there’s never a good answer, but I try to give an honest take on it. There’s been too many people good at different times. Just because we have a win more than other people doesn’t mean other people aren’t capable of winning or having a really good day. You have to respect the whole field. There are a lot of really talented drivers and a lot of really smart people working at these teams.”

    And though he is entering the Playoffs with a point advantage, Elliott views it as a separate entity.

    “I don’t think anybody is safe at any point in time,” he explained. “You have to respect this format from Week One all the way to Week 10. I don’t think there is ever a period of time where you should think anything is taken for granted. No amount of playoff points is ever safe.

    “Each round is so short. You could have two bad weeks back-to-back and do nothing wrong. Next thing you know, you’re in a position where you have to win the last race. That can happen to the guy who is first in points or the guy that is last. No one is safe from that.”

    Looking ahead to the Cookout Southern 500 at Darlington, the Hendrick Motorsports driver explained the obstacles that the drivers will face.

    “For me, you have to find the balance of the fast lane being around the wall – which is a difficult place to live all night for 500 miles – and the sun sets in a really awkward place there in turn three right in your face. It becomes hard to see the corner entry.

    “To me it becomes a tale of two races the more I’ve done it and the more I’ve been a part of the race. In my opinion, it almost feels longer than the 600 for some reason. It feels like you’ve been racing for two days. You start in the daytime and end late at night.

    “Balancing the event is probably the most important piece of going to Darlington,” Elliott said, “then making sure you have a car that’s put together that you haven’t bounced off the wall a bunch for those last 100 miles.”

    Heading into this weekend, he is focused on making the most of this opportunity.

    “If you get hot at the right time, it can propel your team all the way to Phoenix and have a shot to win the thing. We want to make sure we are at our peak in these final 10 – performing our best when it matters most.

    “I’ve had a large variety of experiences. We’ve had one go our way. We’ve lived through the ups and downs of what it can offer. It’s very unforgiving but obviously, if you make it and achieve the goal, it’s rewarding.”

    No matter what the end result may be, rest assured that Chase Elliott gave it his all.

  • NASCAR schedule for Darlington Cook Out Southern 500 weekend

    NASCAR schedule for Darlington Cook Out Southern 500 weekend

    This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series head to Darlington Raceway. It will mark the beginning of the Cup Series Round of 16 in the Playoffs while the Xfinity Series has three races remaining in its regular season.

    Seven drivers have secured a spot in the upcoming Xfinity Playoffs Round of 12 – AJ Allmendinger, Ty Gibbs, Justin Allgaier, Noah Gragson, Josh Berry, Austin Hill and Brandon Jones.

    After taking a break, the Camping World Truck Series will be back to racing on Sept. 9 at Kansas Speedway for the last Playoff race in the Round of 10. Two drivers will be eliminated and eight will advance to the Round of 8. So far, only two drivers, Grant Enfinger and Chandler Smith, have clinched a spot.

    All times are Eastern.

    Saturday, September 3
    10:05 a.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – All Entries – NBC Sports Stream

    10:35 a.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Impound) Single Vehicle/1 Lap – All Entries – NBC Sports Stream

    12:05 p.m.: Cup Series Practice (Groups A & B) – USA coverage at 12:30

    12:50 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Impound) (Groups A & B) Single Vehicle, 1 Lap, 2 Rounds – USA/MRN

    3 p.m.: Xfinity Series Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200
    Stages End on Laps 45/90/147 Laps = 200.8 Miles
    USA/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $1,208,129

    Sunday, September 4

    6 p.m.: Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500
    Stages End on Laps 115/230/367 Laps = 501.32 Miles
    USA/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $7,823,733

  • ‘You can’t win the race in the first 200 laps but you could certainly lose it’ – Kerry Tharp

    ‘You can’t win the race in the first 200 laps but you could certainly lose it’ – Kerry Tharp

    This weekend at Darlington Raceway, the NASCAR Cup Series begins its Playoff series with 16 drivers hungry to win and advance to the next round.

    Denny Hamlin has captured the most trophies of any active driver at the Track Too Tough To Tame and is the defending race winner. The odds are in his favor but Darlington has a way of leveling the playing field.

    Kerry Tharp, president of Darlington Raceway, summed it up best, “You can’t win the race in the first 200 laps but you could certainly lose it.”

    It’s a unique race track that requires a specific skill set.  

    “It takes a tough driver, somebody that can withstand a 500-mile race and the heat,” he continued. “You’re going to have contact during the race. Look at the drivers over the years that have been very successful here, David Pearson, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon and Cale Yarborough. Those guys were all tough. Those guys were talented, obviously, as they’re all Hall of Famers.

    “I think it takes somebody that is patient. You have to be patient at Darlington. I’ve seen several races here where someone might dominate the first two-thirds of the race. And then all of a sudden something happened to him, or something goes wrong with his tire set-up, and all of a sudden they fade to fifth or sixth.

    “So I think it’s being a patient driver. And I think, although I never saw him race in person, that David Pearson was that type of driver. He was very patient from what I was told. And, I think that paid off as he had 10 wins here.”

    When looking at the drivers in the Playoffs and who might be a contender this weekend, Tharp said, “Denny has won here four times. I think Kevin Harvick has won three times and I think Truex has two, but he’s not in the Playoffs. I think you can look at Harvick and Hamlin as being two drivers that you’ll probably have to contend with. But I think there are some other ones out there that haven’t won here that certainly are capable.”

    But before the racing begins Tharp and his staff are already welcoming the early arrivals in the campgrounds with a multitude of events in the days leading up to the weekend. For Tharp, the fan experience is just as important as the racing.

    “This morning I greeted the first camper on the property, a man and a young son,” he said. “They were the first campers that entered the facility. So we kind of presented them with a special Darlington swag bag. I get a lot of satisfaction from that.”

    As the fans arrive and the clock winds down, the excitement is rising. The Playoffs shift into high gear Sunday evening with the Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at 6 p.m. ET on the USA network.  

  • Jeremy Clements Racing issued L2 penalty, will not advance to Playoffs with Daytona win

    Jeremy Clements Racing issued L2 penalty, will not advance to Playoffs with Daytona win

    Tuesday evening, NASCAR announced that Jeremy Clements Racing was issued an L2 penalty following Friday’s Xfinity Series win at Daytona International Speedway following a post-race inspection.

    As a result, Clement’s victory will not advance him to the Playoffs. Crew chief Mark Setzer was fined $60,000, the team lost 75 driver points and 75 owner points and was also penalized 10 playoff points. The penalties were issued after it was determined that the team had violated the following sections of NASCAR’s rule book:

    Section 14.6.12.K: The intake manifold must conform to NASCAR templates, gauges, scales, fixtures, and any and all other measuring devices.

    Section 14.6.12.: The floor of the intake manifold plenum must conform to the NASCAR Inspection Intake Manifold Plenum Plug Gauge. The NASCAR Inspection Intake Manifold Plenum Plug Gauge must fit into the intake manifold opening and contact the floor of the intake manifold plenum. The depth of the intake manifold plenum must be 4.000 (+0.000, -0.005) inches.

    Ryan Sieg now moves back up to the final playoff spot with three races remaining in the Xfinity Series regular season. The only way that Clements can now qualify for the Playoffs is to grab another win at one of those upcoming three races.   

    This weekend the Xfinity Series heads to Darlington Raceway for the Sports Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at 3 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon on the USA Network.

    UPDATE: On August 31, Jeremy Clements Racing announced that they have filed an appeal in response to the recent penalty.

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  • Weekend schedule for Daytona

    Weekend schedule for Daytona

    This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series travel to Daytona International Speedway.

    Sunday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 will feature the Cup Series regular-season finale and establish the 16 contenders for the Playoffs which begin at Darlington Raceway on Sept.4.

    With 15 different winners this year, there would normally be only one open slot. However, Kurt Busch, who won at Kansas Speedway in May, is still recovering after an injury at Pocono Raceway with concussion symptoms and will be unable to compete in the Playoffs.

    In a statement released by 23XI Racing, it was announced that they had withdrawn his medical waiver.

    Busch said, “I respect the sport of NASCAR, my fellow drivers and the fans too much to take up a playoff spot if I know I can’t compete for a championship.”

    This decision means there are now two open spots available in the Cup Series Playoffs. With this new development, the competition at Daytona will be even more intense. Currently, Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. are 15th and 16th in the standings.  

    There are four races to go in the Xfinity Series regular season before the Playoffs begin at Texas Motor Speedway on Sept. 24. Seven different drivers have won this year led by Ty Gibbs with five wins.

    The Camping World Truck Series is off but returns to action for the final race of Round 10 in the Playoffs at Kansas Speedway on Sept. 9 where two drivers will be eliminated.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, August 26

    3:05 p.m.: Xfinity Qualifying (Impound, Single Vehicle/1 Lap/2 Rounds) USA – Canceled due to weather
    5:05 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Impound, Single Vehicle/1 Lap/2 Rounds) USA/MRN – Canceled due to weather

    7 p.m.: Xfinity Series – Driver Intros – Delayed due to weather – Drivers to Pit Road at 10:30 p.m.
    7:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Wawa 250 powered by Coca-Cola
    Stages 30/60/100 Laps = 250 Miles
    USA/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Saturday, August 27

    6:55 p.m.: Cup Series Driver Intros (Stage)
    7 p.m.: Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 – Postponed to Sunday at 10 a.m. ET on CNBC, Peacock, NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM.
    Stages 35/95/160 Laps = 400 Miles)
    NBC/Peacock/MRN/ SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

  • Chase Elliott wins Pole at Watkins Glen; Larson second for Hendrick Motorsports front row

    Chase Elliott wins Pole at Watkins Glen; Larson second for Hendrick Motorsports front row

    Chase Elliott earned his third pole of the season at Watkins Glen International with a lap of 125.147 mph in his No. 9 Chevrolet during the final round of qualifying. It’s his third pole this season and the 12th of his NASCAR Cup Series career.

    “Our No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet has been solid,” Elliott said after his qualifying effort. “I feel like we had some work to do there from where we were in practice. I felt like there were a couple parts of the track I want to put together better; it’s just really hard to hit it all. It’s just so fast, the pace is so high. And this car here, I feel like from what I remember and how much throttle you’re carrying, a little bit carries with you a long way.”

    Teammate Kyle Larson qualified second fastest (125.078 mph) in the No. 5 Chevrolet to start second for a Hendrick Motorsports front row in Sunday’s Cup Series race.

    Front Row Motorsports driver, Michael McDowell, was third quickest (124.685 mp) and the only Ford in a top five dominated by Chevrolet.

    “You always feel like you could get a little bit more,” McDowell said. “Pushing really hard and you make mistakes here and there, kind of hanging it out. I got into the bus stop pretty good but didn’t get over that second curb real well and kind of got wide a little bit. I think we had a shot at the pole, just came up a little short.

    “But I am really proud of everyone at Front Row. Road courses have been our strength this year and so we knew coming here this was a good chance for us to run up front and try to steal a win and get in the playoffs, success today, qualifying well, good starting spot for tomorrow and good pit selection. All those things are good but when you are that close you want to get a pole.”

    William Bryon will start fourth in his HMS entry (124.685 mph) and Tyler Reddick (124.511) rounded out the top five in his Richard Childress Racing Chevy.

    Former Formula One champion Kimi Räikkönen made his Cup Series debut and qualified 27th in the No. 91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.

    “Obviously, I wish there would have been more laps. I felt like there was a lot of potential. I’m just not sure which lines to take and there weren’t enough laps to put everything together. But yeah, it was fun. It’s quite a lot like I expected after the simulator. There’s always a difference; the fine details aren’t shown in the simulator, but at least I knew the track. I needed to be a bit better in a few places, and in some places, I was pretty OK.”

    Looking ahead to the race, Räikkönen said, “I think we just have to make sure that we know, more or less, the rules and not make any silly mistakes on that side. We’ll see what we can do with the car. We have a little bit of an idea from where we started, to where we went and maybe somewhere halfway. We’ll try to improve. We improved from the practice session to qualifying, and we’ll try to do the same in the race.”

    You can tune into the Cup Series Sunoco Go Bowling at The Glen Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on USA with radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Starting Lineup:

  • Weekend schedule for Watkins Glen

    Weekend schedule for Watkins Glen

    The NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series head to Watkins Glen International this weekend. There are only two races remaining in the Cup Series regular season. So far we have seen 15 different winners, leaving one final spot in the Playoffs.

    Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney has not won this year but is currently ranked in the 16th and final Playoff spot. But, with two to go, his biggest rival, Martin Truex Jr., is only 26 points behind. And, with the threat of a new winner, we can expect a no holds barred fight to the finish.

    There are five races to go in the Xfinity Series regular season and seven different drivers have been to victory lane, including six multiple race winners. Ty Gibbs leads the series with five wins.

    The Camping World Truck Series is off but returns to action for the final race in the Playoffs Round of 10 at Kansas Speedway on Sept. 9 where two drivers will be eliminated.

    Friday evening, the ARCA Menards Series will kick off the weekend with the General Tire Delivers 100 on FS1.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, August 19

    3:15 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Practice (All Entries) No TV
    4:25 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Qualifying (Impound) (Timed, All Entries) No TV

    6 p.m.: ARCA General Tire Delivers 100
    41 Laps = 100.45 Miles
    FS1/MRN

    Saturday, August 20

    10:05 a.m.: Xfinity Series Practice (All Entries) – Peacock
    10:35 a.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Impound) (Group A & B/ Multi-Vehicle, Two Rounds) Peacock
    12:05 p.m.: Cup Series Practice (Groups A & B) Airs on USA at 12:30 p.m./MRN
    1:05 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying Qualifying (Impound) (Groups A & B/Multi-Vehicle, Two Rounds) USA/MRN

    3 p.m.: Xfinity Series Sunoco Go Rewards 200 at The Glen
    Distance: 200.9 Miles = 82 Laps
    Stages end on Laps 20, 40, 82
    The Purse: $1,159,436
    USA/MRN/SiriusXM

    Sunday, August 21

    3 p.m.: Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen
    Distance: 220.5 Miles = 90 Laps
    Stages end on Laps 20, 40, 90
    The Purse: $6,664,145
    USA/MRN/SiriusXM

  • Harvick victorious at Richmond, Earns 60th career win

    Harvick victorious at Richmond, Earns 60th career win

    Kevin Harvick went to victory lane Sunday evening at Richmond Raceway, taking home the NASCAR Cup Series trophy in the Federated Auto Parts 400 for his 60th career win.

    It marked his second consecutive win after ending a 65-race winless drought at Michigan International Speedway last Sunday.

    After his triumph at Michigan, Harvick said, “Everybody who doubted us doesn’t know us.”

    This week he doubled down.

    When asked if he expected to win back-to-back, he said, in part, “You know, I didn’t know. It’s like I said last week, the cars have been running good week in and week out, and you see that we have a lot better understanding of what’s going on with how we adjusted on the car after the first run and were able to get our car handling a lot better. I think as it got dark, the racetrack really came to our Mobil 1 Ford Mustang.”

    Harvick is now tied with Kyle Busch on the all-time Cup Series wins list.

    He led 55 laps in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, holding off a hard-charging Christopher Bell, who finished second. Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott rounded out the top five finishers.

    When Bell was asked what he needed to catch Harvick who had 12-lap fresher tires, he said, “I don’t know, I got held up a little bit there on the front side, and I guess when you’re splitting hairs like that, that probably cost me the race. That’s two races in a row here at Richmond. At the beginning of the year we kind of had that same strategy and barely missed fifth coming to the line, and today it was the win.”

    He also acknowledged his pit crew, saying, “The pit crew really came through at the end there with some blazing stops and allowed us to get in front of the 11 (Hamlin) who was on the same strategy as us and get up there and contend.”

    Joey Logano, who led a race-high 222 laps, faded in the closing laps to finish sixth, was followed by Martin Truex Jr., Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney to round out the top 10.

    Elliott, the current point standings leader, was the only Chevrolet driver to finish in the top ten and acknowledged that the team needs to improve before the Playoffs begin.

    “Obviously we want to be better,” he said, “and Michigan was a big time struggle for us. This weekend was too all the way up until the last few runs. We will go to work and try to finish these last two weeks strong and get ready for Darlington.”

    With only one open spot left in the Playoffs and two races remaining, Blaney improved his position over Truex to a +26 points advantage after earning 11 stage points throughout the race.

    Tune in next week as the Cup Series heads to Watkins Glen International on Sunday, August 21 at 3 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Results:

  • Chandler Smith Wins Truck Series race at Richmond, Advances to Round 2 of Playoffs

    Chandler Smith Wins Truck Series race at Richmond, Advances to Round 2 of Playoffs

    Chandler Smith won the Worldwide Express 250 at Richmond Raceway Saturday night after leading 176 laps of the 250-lap event.

    Smith joins Grant Enfinger, who won at Indianapolis Raceway Park, to advance to the Round of 8 in the Playoffs. It was Smith’s third win of the season and the fifth of his Truck Series career.

    Kyle Busch Motorsports entries were dominant throughout the race, finishing first, second (John Hunter Nemechek) and fifth (Corey Heim). ThorSport Racing’s Ty Majeski finished third and Grant Enfinger was fourth in his GMS Racing Chevrolet.

    Taylor Gray, Matt Crafton, Christian Eckes, Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar rounded out the top 10.

    There was only one caution during the race (excluding the stage breaks) after contact between Nick Leitz and Carson Hocevar on Lap 215.

    Majeski had the dominant truck at the beginning of the race leading 73 laps and winning the first stage. However, there was an incident during the stage break pit stop as his jackman fell in front of the truck, resulting in a slow stop. The jackman appeared to be unharmed as Majeski was able to stop quickly with only slight contact.

    The final race of Round 1 in the Truck Series Playoffs is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m. at Kansas Speedway and will be broadcast on FS1 with radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Notes: Post-race inspection is complete and Chandler Smith has been confirmed as the winner; Smith had one unsecured lug nut.

    Driver Points: