Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Author: Andrew Kim

Hamlin delivers with a late momentous victory at Kansas

The momentum for Denny Hamlin and his No. 11 FedEx/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team continued in the midwest after the Virginia veteran overtook Kevin Harvick for the lead with 13 laps remaining and held off Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. for the remainder of the race to win the Super Start Batteries 400 at Kansas Speedway under the lights. The victory was Hamlin’s fifth of this season, his third at Kansas and the 42nd of his NASCAR Cup Series career.

The starting lineup was based on a random draw. Kevin Harvick started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Joey Logano. Josh Bilicki dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Harvick and Logano battled against one another through Turns 1 and 2 before Logano prevailed on the outside lane entering Turn 4 to lead the first lap. A lap later, Ryan Blaney moved into the runner-up spot as Harvick was under attack by Alex Bowman and Martin Truex Jr.

By the sixth lap, while Logano led teammate Blaney by four tenths of a second, Truex moved into third after passing Harvick with Bowman trailing the two former Cup champions. Brad Keselowski made his way into seventh after passing Kyle Busch while Matt DiBenedetto moved into 10th. In addition, rookie Tyler Reddick, who started 21st, was up to 11th.

On the 10th lap, Aric Almirola made his way back into the top five after passing Bowman. Shortly after, Bowman was overtaken by Keselowski and Kyle Busch for position.

By the 20th lap, Logano was still ahead by six tenths of a second over teammate Blaney, who was starting to be challenged by Truex for the runner-up spot. Closing in on the top three were Keselowski and Kyle Busch while Harvick fell back to sixth. Almirola, Bowman, Denny Hamlin and Reddick were scored in the top 10 followed by Erik Jones.

Two laps prior to the competition caution, Truex passed Blaney for the runner-up spot and he started to narrow his deficit from Logano for the lead. Logano, however, was able to maintain his advantage by Lap 25 when the competition caution flew.

Under the competition caution, all of the lead lap cars pitted and Truex exited pit road first followed by teammate Kyle Busch, Blaney, Harvick and Logano. Following the pit stops, however, Logano was sent to the rear of the field due to an uncontrolled tire violation. Chris Buescher, who was scored in 25th when he pitted, also fell back to the rear due to an uncontrolled tire violation.

When the race restarted on the 30th lap, Kyle Busch received a push from Blaney on the inside lane to move into the lead while Blaney and Truex battled for the runner-up spot. A lap later, Truex cleared Blaney for the runner-up spot while Harvick went to work in battling Blaney for third. Shortly after, Hamlin overtook Harvick and Blaney to move into third as Joe Gibbs Racing’s three of its four-car operation occupied the podium spots.

By Lap 40, Kyle Busch was still leading by above a second while Hamlin was in the runner-up spot followed by Truex. Blaney, who reported a vibration to his No. 12 Dex Imaging/Team Penske Ford Mustang, was in fourth followed by Keselowski and Harvick. Bowman and Almirola were in seventh and eighth followed by DiBenedetto while Jones was in the top 10. Reddick was back in 12th in between Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson while Chase Elliott was in 14th. Hometown hero Clint Bowyer was in 15th ahead of rookie Christopher Bell and Bubba Wallace while William Byron, racing with interim crew chief Keith Rodden, was in 20th ahead of rookie Cole Custer. Logano was in 22nd ahead of Matt Kenseth and Austin Dillon while Ryan Newman was in 26th.

Ten laps later, Kyle Busch and his No. 18 M&M’s Fudge Brownies Toyota Camry was still ahead by less than half a second over teammate Hamlin while his other teammate, Truex, was in third and trailing by above a second. Jones, the fourth JGR teammate, was in ninth behind Bowman. Blaney was still in fourth, trailing by more than three seconds, while Keselowski rounded out the top five and was behind by four seconds.

Towards the 60-lap mark, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made a pit stop under green after reporting fire in his cockpit. The mechanical issue was enough to end Stenhouse’s race early in the garage as his hopes to make the Playoffs took another hit. Stenhouse’s elimination marked his fifth DNF of the season and the fourth consecutive Cup race where a JTG-Daugherty Racing entry finished last in a Cup race after teammate Ryan Preece finished in last place the previous three races.

With five laps remaining in the first stage, Kyle Busch stabilized his advantage by nearly two seconds over teammate Hamlin while teammate Truex, Blaney and Keselowski were scored in the top five. Behind, Reddick, one of the fastest cars on the track, was up to sixth. With no challenges mounted upon him in the closing laps, Busch was able to claim the first stage on Lap 80 and grab his first stage victory of the season. Teammates Hamlin and Truex finished second and third followed by Blaney and Keselowski. Reddick settled in sixth followed by Harvick, Almirola, Bowman and Jones, who held off Johnson approaching the start/finish line. Logano was back in 17th following his early pit road penalty.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Hamlin exited first ahead of Truex and Kyle Busch while Keselowski and Harvick were in the top five after exiting pit road. Following the pit stops, Byron was sent to the rear of the field due to an uncontrolled tire violation.

The second stage started on Lap 86 and Hamlin launched ahead with the lead after receiving a push from Keselowski on the outside lane. With Hamlin clearing the field and sailing at the front, a multitude of battles ensued behind as Keselowski and Truex battled for the runner-up spot while Kyle Busch, Blaney and Harvick battled for fourth. Kurt Busch moved up to seventh followed by DiBenedetto, Reddick and Jones. By Lap 92, teammates Truex and Kyle Busch moved back into second and third as Truex went to work in narrowing his deficit from teammate Hamlin and challenge for the lead.

On Lap 97, Truex peaked ahead of Hamlin at the start/finish line and was able to clear him to emerge with the lead. A few laps later, the caution flew when Wallace spun his No. 43 Victory Junction/Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE entering Turn 4 below the apron near the pit road entrance and across the frontstretch grass. At the time of caution, Truex extended his advantage above a second over teammate Hamlin.

Under caution, the leaders pitted and Keselowski exited first following a two-tire stop. Truex, the first on four fresh tires, followed pursuit ahead of teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin followed by Harvick, Blaney and Byron, who also opted for a two-tire stop and gained 14 spots on pit road.

On Lap 104, the race restarted and Keselowski and Truex battled against one another for the lead for a full circuit. Behind, a three-wide battle for third place ensued between Blaney, Kyle Busch and Hamlin through Turns 3 and 4. Keselowski was able to clear Truex for the lead shortly after while Blaney and Hamlin settled in third and fourth. Harvick made his way back into the top five in fifth followed by Kurt Busch and Almirola while Kyle Busch fell back to eighth ahead of Jones and Logano.

By Lap 110, with the battling for positions settling down, Keselowski stabilized his advantage to half a second over Truex. Five laps later, Truex reassumed the lead while Hamlin started to challenge Keselowski for the runner-up spot. Behind, Blaney was still in fourth while Kyle Busch worked his way back to fifth after passing Harvick.

Twenty laps later, Truex was ahead by less than two seconds over Hamlin while teammates Keselowski and Blaney were behind by more than four seconds. Kyle Busch trailed by less than five seconds with Harvick behind him. Behind, Johnson was in 10th as he was starting to challenge Kurt Busch for more while Reddick was in 11th ahead of Logano.

On Lap 143, the caution returned when Chris Buescher spun in Turn 2. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Blaney emerged with the lead following a two-tire stop. Johnson, Reddick and rookie John Hunter Nemechek followed Blaney after all four also took two tires while Hamlin, the first car on four fresh tires, was scored in fifth ahead of Truex, Kyle Busch, Keselowski and Harvick.

With 12 laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted and Johnson and Blaney battled for the lead through Turns 1 and 2 before Blaney was shoved out with the lead with drafting help from Hamlin. In one lap, Hamlin went from fifth to second. Behind, Keselowski moved into third followed by Almirola and Kyle Busch as Johnson continued to lose positions. Reddick and Nemechek, both of whom restarted in the top five, were also shoved out of the top 10.

Towards the front, Hamlin, who made contact with the wall, had fallen back to fourth while Keselowski and Almirola each gained a spot. With the laps dwindling in the second stage, Keselowski started to mount a challenge on his teammate Blaney for the lead. In the final laps of the stage, Keselowski was able to pass teammate Blaney for the lead and mount ahead by nearly four tenths of a second to win the second stage on Lap 160 and for his fifth stage victory of the season. Blaney settled in second followed by Almirola, Hamlin and Kyle Busch. Harvick, Jones, Truex, Johnson and Elliott were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the leaders returned to pit road and Hamlin exited pit road first following a two-tire stop. Elliott exited second followed by Keselowski, the first on four fresh tires. Behind Keselowski were Blaney, Kyle Busch, Truex and Harvick.

With 101 laps remaining and the track settling into night conditions, the final stage commenced. At the front, Elliott threw a huge block on Blaney on the bottom lane before he challenged Hamlin for the lead. In Turn 3, Hamlin retained the lead followed by Kyle Busch and Elliott as Truex, Blaney and Keselowski went three wide for fourth. The battle for positions expanded to three and four wide behind the leaders as Hamlin maintained a narrow lead over Elliott.

With 96 laps remaining, the caution returned when Kenseth was barely clipped by Ryan Preece as Kenseth spun entering Turn 4 and was hit by Wallace, who had nowhere to go. The incident broke Wallace’s right-front suspension as he took his car to the garage. The wreck hampered Wallace’s quest towards reaching the top-16 cutline. Under caution, the majority of the leaders remained on track while some like Preece, Reddick, Nemechek Newman, Bowman, Michael McDowell and Daniel Suarez pitted.

The race restarted under green with 91 laps remaining and Hamlin received a push from teammate Kyle Busch to maintain the lead through Turns 1 and 2. Shortly after, the caution returned when Logano, who was losing speed and appeared to have sustained a flat left-front tire, was bumped by Harvick entering Turn 2 and made hard contact with the outside wall. Logano’s incident sparked a multi-car wreck that involved Austin Dillon, Johnson and DiBenedetto, who also made hard contact with the outside wall and sustained heavy damage to his No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy/Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang. Under caution, the majority of the leaders remained on track while some like Byron, Bowyer, Ty Dillon, Austin Dillon, Johnson, Kenseth and Logano pitted. Logano would eventually retire from the race.

With 85 laps remaining, the race restarted and Hamlin retained the lead ahead of Blaney and Elliott. The caution shortly returned for another multi-car wreck on the backstretch that started when Bell moved in front of Newman as was bumped by the veteran as he made contact with the outside wall and both Bell and Newman started coming back across the track wrecking. During the ensuing wreck that also involved Buescher, Preece veered left and slid toward the inside wall at full speed before taking a vicious head-on hit with the wall, nearly flipping in the process, before coming to rest on all four tires with a destroyed No. 37 Bush’s Beans Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. Though Preece survived the vicious accident, the incident was his fourth in a row and after finishing last the previous three races.

“To be honest with you, we had a fast race car right there at the end,” Preece said after exiting the infield care center on NBCSN. “It’s frustrating for all of us at JTG Daugherty [Racing] because we’ve been working really hard and probably had a top-10 car there at the end. I’m alright, just ready for this year to turn around. We’ll be back next week.”

The race went under a red flag period for nearly three minutes before it proceeded under caution. With 81 laps remaining, the racing under green resumed and Hamlin maintained the lead followed by teammate Truex and Blaney while Jones overtook Elliott to move into fourth. Four laps later, with the top three of Hamlin, Truex and Blaney separated by four tenths of a second, Jones was in fourth ahead of Keselowski while Kyle Busch, Elliott and Harvick were running in sixth through eighth.

Three laps later, Truex reassumed the lead. Shortly after, the caution returned when Newman, running with patches to his No. 6 Wyndham Redwards/Roush Fenway Racing Ford Mustang, spun in Turn 3 as he was able to make his way back to pit road. Under caution, nearly the entire lead lap cars pitted except for Byron, who remained on track to inherit the leader. Following the pit stops, Hamlin exited first followed by Blaney, Kenseth, Reddick and Bowman, all of whom opted for a two-tire stop. Truex was the first with four fresh tires followed by Keselowski, Jones, Kyle Busch, Elliott and Harvick.

With 68 laps remaining, the race restarted and Byron and Hamlin battled dead even for one full lap before Hamlin emerged with the lead by a nose the following lap. Afterwards, Byron and the No. 24 AXALTA/Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE emerged out front while Keselowski moved into the runner-up spot over Hamlin. With the battling for positions ensuing behind, Byron was still ahead by nearly three tenths of a second over Keselowski while Hamlin, Blaney and Kyle Busch were in the top five.

With 61 laps remaining, Keselowski returned to the lead and stabilized his advantage to three tenths of a second over Byron. By then, Johnson took his No. 48 Ally/Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to the garage and retired after he failed to meet the minimum speed requirement to continue with the damage sustained from his late multi-car incident.

Eleven laps later, Keselowski was still ahead by three tenths of a second over Byron, who was still keeping pace with Keselowski on four old tires. Kyle Busch moved into third after passing teammate Hamlin while Bowman was in fifth ahead of Blaney, Truex, Harvick, Jones and Elliott. Blaney, who made contact with the wall, stabilized his running position in sixth.

Four laps later, Byron reassumed the lead and he started to extend his advantage by a second over Keselowski. Shortly after, Blaney and Kyle Busch made an unscheduled pit stop under green after both made contact with the outside wall. Their misfortunes allowed Hamlin, Truex and Bowman to move into the top five while Jones, Elliott, Harvick, Kurt Busch and Bowyer were scored in the top 10.

With 32 laps remaining, with Byron still leading by nearly three seconds and with everyone on the track skeptical on making it to the finish on fuel, the caution flew when Corey LaJoie made contact with the wall. Under caution, all of the lead lap cars pitted for fuel. Following the pit stops, Byron and Bowman exited first and second after both Hendrick Motorsports teammates opted for a two-tire stop. Hamlin, the first on four fresh tires, exited third followed by Keselowski, Harvick and Truex. During the caution, Kyle Busch took the wave-around to return to the lead lap as he was scored in 17th.

The race restarted under green with 28 laps remaining as teammates Byron and Bowman battled dead even for the lead for one full lap before Bowman emerged with the lead the following lap in Turn 3. Just as Harvick was about to mount a challenge on Byron for the runner-up spot, the caution returned when Nemechek spun on the backstretch. Under caution, the front runners remained on the track while some like Kyle Busch pitted.

With 22 laps remaining, the race restarted and Bowman received a push from Harvick to retain the lead through Turn 1. In Turn 2, however, Harvick bolted on the outside lane to move into the lead followed by Hamlin while Bowman fell back to third. Behind, Keselowski was in fourth while Byron fell back to fifth.

Two laps later, Harvick was ahead by four tenths of a second over Hamlin as Keselowski was in third and started to pursue Hamlin for the runner-up spot. Truex moved his way into fourth over Bowman, Jones moved into sixth and Byron was back in eighth ahead of Almirola.

As the laps continued to dwindle under 20 to go, Harvick was still ahead, but Hamlin and Keselowski were trailing by nearly half a second while both continued to battle. With 13 laps remaining, Hamlin gained a huge run on the outside of Harvick to emerge with the lead.

With 10 laps remaining, Hamlin was still in the front by four tenths of a second over Harvick, who was starting to be pressured by Keselowski for the runner-up spot, as the leaders were starting to approach lapped traffic. Two laps later, Keselowski moved into the runner-up spot as Harvick was starting to be challenged by Truex for third. At this time, Bowman had fallen back to eighth after being passed by Custer while Byron was in ninth ahead of Kurt Busch.

Five laps later, Hamlin was ahead by less than half a second over Keselowski as the leaders continued to encounter lapped traffic. Though Keselowski and Truex got within less than a second to Hamlin’s rear bumper, Hamlin was able to maintain his advantage to cross the finish line in first and grab his fifth victory of the season as he continues to pursue his quest to win his first elusive Cup championship.

In addition to becoming the first five-time Cup winner of this season, Hamlin recorded his 11th series win with crew chief Chris Gabehart as both Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota recorded their sixth victory of the 2020 Cup season.

“I don’t know that we had the best car,” Hamlin said on NBCSN. “We definitely had a top-three car all day. [I] Just went and got it there at the end. I saw [Harvick] get loose and usually when you’re loose, you’re not able to run up high. That was a benefit for us to be able to get that momentum going. The pit crew did an amazing job getting us out there ahead of everyone else that had four tires. Proud of this whole FedEx team. We’ve had a rough three weeks. We were leading at Indy when we blew a tire and this team is really hitting on all cylinders right now. We can win on any given week. That’s something that is really hard to come by, so this team’s good at short tracks, intermediates, superspeedways. Great engines, great help from them…all of our partners at JGR. They’ve just done a great job of building us fast cars.”

Keselowski settled in the runner-up spot followed by Truex while Harvick ended his night in fourth ahead of Jones.

“We just didn’t have a very good night with our Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang,” Harvick said on NBCSN. “It wouldn’t turn in the corners and was dead sideways on the exit of the corner. I was able to have a couple of good restarts there. We got to the lead, but we just went dead sideways there after about four to five laps. We were just holding on, hoping for another restart, because we could run for a couple of laps, but that was about it. Our pit crew did a great job tonight of keeping us in the game. We just stay in there and keep fighting, and hope for good restarts and good pit stops and in the end, you’re around the front and have a good night.”

Almirola, Custer, Bowman, Kurt Busch and Byron rounded out the top 10. Kyle Busch settled in 11th ahead of Elliott while Blaney ended his race in 20th, a lap down.

There were 21 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured 11 cautions for 47 laps.

With his top-five result, Harvick continues to lead the regular-season series standings by 97 points over Keselowski, 100 over Blaney and 129 over Hamlin.

Results.

1. Denny Hamlin, 57 laps led

2. Brad Keselowski, 30 laps led, Stage 2 winner

3. Martin Truex Jr., 44 laps led

4. Kevin Harvick, nine laps led

5. Erik Jones

6. Aric Almirola

7. Cole Custer

8. Alex Bowman, six laps led

9. Kurt Busch

10. William Byron, 27 laps led

11. Kyle Busch, 52 laps led, Stage 1 winner

12. Chase Elliott

13. Tyler Reddick

14. Clint Bowyer

15. Ty Dillon

16. Michael McDowell

17. Matt Kenseth

18. Daniel Suarez

19. John Hunter Nemechek, one lap down

20. Ryan Blaney, one lap down, 15 laps led

21. Corey LaJoie, one lap down

22. J.J. Yeley, two laps down

23. Christopher Bell, three laps down

24. Quin Houff, seven laps down

25. Josh Bilicki, seven laps down

26. Garrett Smithley, seven laps down

27. Austin Dillon, 16 laps down

28. Ryan Newman, 16 laps down

29. Joe Gase, 16 laps down

30. Brennan Poole, 48 laps down

31. Reed Sorenson – OUT, Electrical

32. Jimmie Johnson – OUT, DVP

33. Chris Buescher – OUT, Accident

34. Ryan Preece – OUT, Accident

35. Joey Logano – OUT, Accident, 27 laps led

36. Matt DiBenedetto – OUT, Accident

37. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Accident

38. Timmy Hill – OUT, Accident

39. B.J. McLeod – OUT, Rear gear

40. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Electrical

The NASCAR Cup Series will return to action in the East Coast at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on August 2 with the race to air at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

July 24, 2020
2020 NASCAR Cup Rookie of the Year mid-season review

Five months after the first green flag of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season waved, the series has reached its halfway mark of this year. During the first 18 races of the 36-race schedule, a lot has occurred within the sport both on and off the track. From Ryan Newman’s harrowing accident on the final lap of the Daytona 500 to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that paused the on-track racing from nearly two months, from the sport returning at Darlington Raceway in May to running doubleheaders and four to five division series races a week, this season has been like none other in recent years. Among the storylines that have been ongoing throughout this year’s racing season has been the battle for this year’s Rookie-of-the-Year title between six up-and-coming competitors working their way to emerge as the next future stars of the Cup Series.

Through the first 18 Cup races of this season, Tyler Reddick continues to lead the way in the rookie standings. Even though he is currently 17th in the regular-season standings and is 14 points shy of moving into the top-16 cutline to qualify for the Playoffs, Reddick has recorded a stage win at Talladega Superspeedway in June, the most top-10 results (six) and the best average result (17.17) among his five fellow rookie contenders. He is coming off a career-best result of second place at Texas Motor Speedway, where he finished behind teammate and race winner Austin Dillon following a late strategic call for fuel only. His previous best result was fourth place at Homestead-Miami Speedway in June. In addition to his stats, another factor the Corning, California, native has displayed through the first half of this season is the speed to keep pace and contend against NASCAR’s elite on a weekly basis. With eight races remaining until the Playoffs is set, Reddick and his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team led by crew chief Randall Burnett look to carry the speed and competitiveness throughout this season and from winning the previous two Xfinity Series championships towards contending for the 2020 Cup title.

Trailing behind Reddick is Christopher Bell. For Bell, it has been an up-and-down first half of his rookie Cup campaign that has seen a major improvement entering the second half of the season. For the first five races of the year, the Oklahoma native and the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Toyota Camry team finished no higher than 21st, sustained two DNFs and were ranked 32nd in the regular-season standings. Since the second Darlington race in May through last weekend’s race at Texas, Bell has recorded five top-10 results and has worked his way up to 21st in the standings. His highlight run was at Pocono Raceway in June, the first of two Pocono races of the weekend, where he rallied from starting 36th to record a career-best fourth-place result ahead of former boss Kyle Busch. He is, however, 102 points below the top-16 cutline to make the Playoffs and needs to generate more strong results to come within reach of the Playoffs mark. With Bell and Leavine Family Racing’s future uncertain beyond 2020, the combo aims to strive for more and emerge as a competitive single-car organization for this season and beyond.

Also trailing Reddick for the lead in the rookie standings is Cole Custer. While Reddick leads this year’s rookie class, the thing that Custer has, and the others rookies do not have, is a win. That was the case in July, when Custer made a bold, four-wide pass for the lead on the final lap against top names like Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. to score his first NASCAR Cup career win in his 20th series start and in an upset fashion. The victory not only made Custer as the first rookie contender to win a Cup race since 2016, but it also guaranteed the Californian and his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang team a spot to this year’s Playoffs with an opportunity to contend for a Cup title. Prior to the win, Custer’s season started off on a low note with a lone top-10 result (ninth) at Phoenix in March along with seven results outside the top 20 in the first 16 races of the season. The turning point came at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the Fourth of July weekend, where he recorded his first top-five finish in NASCAR’s premier series. A week later, ironically, Custer won his first Cup race at Kentucky. Despite being involved in a multi-car wreck last weekend at Texas, Custer and his team appear to adapt to this year’s weekly approach of starting in a position based on a random draw and diving into competitive race trim on race day. With the Playoffs a month away from commencing, Custer and his team have time to continue to gain more momentum and contend for more wins and points that would make the Californian not only a potential Rookie-of-the-Year winner, but also as a title threat for this season.

Next up is John Hunter Nemechek. A third-generation driver from Mooresville, North Carolina, the opportunity for Nemechek to move to the Cup level came in the final three races of the 2019 season, when he took over the Front Row Motorsports Ford entry driven by Matt Tifft. When Tifft suffered a seizure and opted to focus on his health, Nemechek was named one of two full-time competitors for FRM. He started off his rookie season strong by finishing 11th in the Daytona 500 before he recorded finishes outside the top 20 the following three races. He rebounded on a strong note at Darlington in May by finishing ninth for his first top-10 career result in the Cup level. He finished in the top 20 in four of the next seven races before recording a career-best finish of eighth at Talladega, a result where Nemechek was in race-winning position before being involved in an incident approaching the finish line. Thus far, he has finished in the top 20 nine times and he is currently 25th in the regular-season standings, 120 points below the cutline. With the recent string of consistent finishes inside the top 15 to 20 results and the momentum building for Front Row Motorsports, Nemechek looks to place an FRM entry into their first postseason appearance since 2016 and extend the on-track success previously displayed by his father, Joe.

Behind him is Brennan Poole. Like Bell, this season marks Poole’s first season ever racing in the Cup level, an opportunity that he announced last December when signing with Premium Motorsports. Unlike Bell, Poole has struggled in keeping pace with his fellow rookie contenders. His lone highlight was finishing 16th in the season-opening Daytona 500 in his first Cup race. For the next 17 races, he has finished no higher than 24th, which occurred at Bristol Motor Speedway in May. With the Texas native 32nd in the regular-season standings, he needs to grab a win and work his way into the top 30 in the standings to have any shot towards making this year’s Playoffs.

Last but not least is Quin Houff, who was promoted to a full-time driving role in StarCom Racing’s No. 00 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for the 2020 and 2021 Cup seasons. Since his start this season, however, Houff has finished no higher than 23rd, which he finished at Indianapolis. He has also recorded five DNFs this season, including last weekend at Texas, where a last-minute turn to slow and come to pit road resulted with him clipping the cars of Bell and Matt DiBenedetto before wrecking himself out of the race. It was a move that was met by sharp criticism by Brad Keselowski. He is 34th in the regular-season standings and like Poole, he needs to grab a win and generate consistent results towards the front to work his way into the top 30 in the standings and have any shot for this year’s Playoffs.

While Reddick leads the 2020 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year standings through the first half of this season, Harrison Burton leads the current Xfinity Series rookie standings while Christian Eckes leads the current Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series rookie standings.

The Cup rookie contenders will embark on an 18-race stretch to conclude this year’s racing season and strive for more on-track success for the future, beginning on Thursday, July 23, for the Super Start Batteries 400 at Kansas Speedway. The race will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

July 23, 2020
Lally to run two Xfinity road course races in August

Veteran sports car competitor Andy Lally announced that he will return to compete in two NASCAR Xfinity Series races this season. Lally, who will be driving the No. 02 Our Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, will be racing at Road America on August 8 followed by the Daytona International Speedway Road Course on August 15. Joe Williams will serve as his crew chief.

Lally is a five-time Rolex 24 at Daytona class winner, where he has also won the 2001 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series SRPII class championship, the 2004 Grand Am SGS class title and the 2006 Grand AM GT class title. He has won 27 Rolex Grand-Am Sports Car Series races, none since 2013, and two American Le Mans Series races, both in 2010. To July 2020, he races in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Magnus Racing.

Lally has made 63 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series, (Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series), and he won the 2011 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title, with a best result of 19th at Talladega Superspeedway during his rookie Cup season. His best result in NASCAR was a fifth-place result at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the Xfinity Series while driving for team owner Bobby Dotter. He has also recorded top-10 results in the series at Watkins Glen in 2017, Road America in 2014, Mid-Ohio in 2016 and at Road America in 2018.

The last time Lally raced in the NASCAR Xfinity Series was in 2018, where he competed at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Road America and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval for team owner Mario Gosselin. He finished 15th at Mid-Ohio and 10th at Road America before finishing 37th at the Roval due to a crash.

In addition to his return, Lally is also set to become the fourth competitor to pilot the No. 02 Chevrolet Camaro for Our Motorsports, which made its debut as a full-time Xfinity team this year. The 2018 NASCAR Truck Series champion Brett Moffitt has competed with the team in 14 of the 16 races this season, having scored four top-10 results and a career-best finish of fifth place at Talladega in June. He is set to start in 23rd place on Saturday, July 25, at Kansas Speedway for the Kansas Lottery 250. Patrick Emerling and Jairo Avila Jr. have also made a start for the team at Bristol Motor Speedway and at Homestead-Miami Speedway in June.

Catch Lally’s return to NASCAR at Road America on Saturday, August 8, at noon ET on NBCSN followed by the inaugural Xfinity Series race at Daytona’s Road Course on Saturday, August 15, at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

July 22, 2020
Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 6 to reach 1,000 starts at Kansas

A significant milestone is in the making for one of NASCAR’s and Roush Fenway Racing’s iconic numbers this week at Kansas Speedway. When the green flag waves for the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race, the Super Start Batteries 400, at Kansas, the No. 6 will reach 1,000 starts under the Roush Fenway Racing banner in NASCAR’s premier series.

The No. 6 car was the first car that team owner Jack Roush fielded in the NASCAR Cup Series in 1988, the year Roush Racing was founded and made its debut in the 1988 Daytona 500 with Batesville, Arkansas, native Mark Martin serving as the team’s first driver led by crew chief Robin Pemberton. In the team’s first full-time season in the Cup circuit, Martin recorded a pole at Dover in September along with three top-five results and 10 top-10 results before concluding the season in 15th in the standings.

The following season, Martin and Roush’s No. 6 Ford team rebounded by starting on the pole six times along with finishing in the top five 14 times and in the top 10 18 times. In October, Martin recorded the first Cup victory for himself and for Roush at Rockingham’s North Carolina Speedway. Ultimately, he concluded the season in third in the final standings.

Starting the 1990 season fresh with new sponsor Folgers, Martin won three races, three poles and finished in the top 10 in all but six of the 29-race schedule. Though he led the points standings for the majority of the season, he was penalized 46 points following the second race of the season, which he won, due to a rules violation. The penalty cost Martin and Roush the overall championship by 26 points to Dale Earnhardt.

From 1991 to 2000, Martin and Roush’s No. 6 team won 28 Cup races. He also achieved 27 poles, 148 top-five results, 214 top-10 results and over 8,000 laps led. His best points results during the ten years were a pair of runner-up results in 1994 and 1998, though he finished no lower than eighth during those years. By then, Valvoline was his primary sponsor. From 2001 to 2004, Martin only won two races. He also achieved two poles, 30 top-five results, 62 top-10 results and over 1,100 laps led. His best points results during the four years were a runner-up result in 2002 and a fourth-place result in 2004. By then, Viagra was his primary sponsor and Roush’s No. 6 car had surpassed 500 starts in the Cup level. In addition, owner Jack Roush notched his first two NASCAR Cup championships with Matt Kenseth in 2003 and Kurt Busch in 2004.

The 2005 season started as Martin’s final full-time season of Cup racing while launching the “Salute to You” tour to thank his fans. Throughout the season, Martin won once at Kansas in October as he also achieved 12 top-five results, 19 top-10 results and led 324 laps before concluding the season in fourth in the final standings after making the Chase. One of Martin’s highlights during the season was winning the All-Star Race at Charlotte’s Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May while sporting a retro 1993 Valvoline scheme to his No. 6 car. Following the departure of Kurt Busch and Roush needing a driver for the No. 6 car in 2006, Martin agreed to return for another full-time season of racing. In 2006, while sporting the AAA logos on the car, Martin did not record a win, but he made his third consecutive Chase appearance while logging in seven top-five results and 15 top-10 results before concluding the season in ninth in the final standings.

Following Martin’s departure to Ginn Racing, Roush hired Unadilla, Georgia’s David Ragan as driver of the No. 6 AAA Ford led by veteran crew chief Jimmy Fennig. By then, Roush Racing became Roush Fenway Racing when John W. Henry, owner of the Fenway Sports Group, purchased half of the team’s stake with Jack Roush still overseeing daily operations of the organization. Ragan kicked off his rookie Cup season by finishing fifth in the Daytona 500 after dodging a last-lap accident. Throughout the season, however, Ragan struggled with consistency. He recorded two more top-10 results throughout the season before settling in 23rd in the final standings and falling short of the Rookie-of-the-Year title to Juan Pablo Montoya. Ragan rebounded the following season by recording six top-five results and 14 top-10 results before concluding the season in 13th in the final standings, the highest of the non-Chase contenders.

Between 2009 and 2010, while sporting the UPS colors on the No. 6 Ford, Ragan struggled with consistency as he logged five top-10 results between the two seasons with a best points result of 24th in 2010. In 2011, with the No. 6 UPS team led by Drew Blickensderfer, Ragan started the season by nearly winning the Daytona 500 until he was penalized for switching lanes prior to reaching the start/finish line and ultimately, finishing 14th. For the first 16 races of the season, Ragan recorded four top-10 results and his first career pole at Texas in April. He also won the Sprint Showdown at Charlotte in May to transfer to his first All-Star Race, where he finished eighth. In July, Ragan survived a wild night of carnage to score his first Cup career win at Daytona International Speedway. The victory marked the first time since 2005 where Roush’s No. 6 car won a race in NASCAR’s premier series. For the remainder of the season, Ragan recorded another pole at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and three more top-10 results before finishing 23rd in the final standings.

Following the 2011 season and Ragan’s departure from Roush Fenway Racing, the No. 6 car only made four starts throughout the 2012 Cup season with the reigning Xfinity Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Stenhouse made his first start in the No. 6 Ford at the Daytona 500 in February, where he rallied from being involved in a late accident to finish 20th. He went on to finish 12th at Dover in September, 35th at Charlotte in October and 39th at Homestead in November. Stenhouse also competed the entire Xfinity race schedule in Roush’s No. 6 Ford Mustang, which he won and defended his series title. In 2013, Stenhouse graduated to the Cup Series on a full-time basis, replacing Matt Kenseth as driver of the No. 17 Ford while the No. 6 car was not fielded for the first time throughout a racing season since the team’s inception.

Following a two-year hiatus, the No. 6 car made its return to the track for the 2015 Cup season with the 2011 Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne set to pilot the car with sponsorship support from AdvoCare and the team led by veteran Bob Osborne. Throughout the 2015 season, however, Bayne struggled with consistency as he finished in the top 10 twice and concluded the season in 29th in the final standings. The following season, paired with crew chief Matt Puccia, Bayne recorded two top-five results and five top-10 results while leading a career-high 34 laps and winning a stage in the All-Star Open at Charlotte in May to transfer to the All-Star Race, where he finished seventh. Ultimately, he concluded the season in 22nd in the final standings. In 2017, Bayne finished 22nd in the final standings again while recording two top-five results and six top-10 results. The closest he came to winning a race in Roush’s No. 6 car was the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis in July, where he had a potential late-race winning strategy spoiled by a late caution that later led to him being involved in a multi-car wreck.

Throughout the 2018 season, the No. 6 car was split between Bayne and Matt Kenseth, who reunited with Roush Fenway Racing in an effort to help strengthen the performance of the team following recent on-track struggles. For Bayne, who competed in 21 Cup races, his best result was an 11th-place finish at Bristol in August while finishing 12th at Texas in April and 13th on three occasions. For Kenseth, who made his first start at Kansas in May, he recorded a pair of top-10 finishes in the final two races of the season and he picked up a stage win at Indianapolis in September.

For the 2019 season, Roush Fenway Racing shifted gears and welcomed the 2008 Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman to pilot the No. 6 Ford Mustang led by crew chief Scott Graves. Throughout the season, Newman recorded three top-five results, 14 top-10 results and 57 stage points as he made the Playoffs before he concluded the season in 15th in the final standings.

This season, Newman and Roush’s No. 6 team appeared to start the season off by winning the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 until the veteran was involved in a harrowing accident on the final straightaway, an accident that left Newman injured and out of the racing seat for three races. During the three races that Newman was out, Ross Chastain piloted the No. 6 Ford as his best result was a 17th-place finish at Auto Club Speedway in March. Following a two-month hiatus of on-track racing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when NASCAR returned at Darlington Raceway, Newman was cleared to return to drive Roush’s No. 6 car.

Since May, Newman has recorded seven top-15 results with a best result of 12th at Martinsville Speedway in June. He is ranked 26th in the regular-season standings and is 127 points below the top-16 cutline to make the Playoffs in his second season as driver of the No. 6 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. Though he missed three races to start this season, he is granted a waiver to qualify for the Playoffs should he win and gain enough points to make the cutline.

Catch Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 6 car’s milestone start in the Super Start Batteries 400 at Kansas Speedway on July 23 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

July 22, 2020
Annett to start on pole at Kansas

For the second week in a row, Michael Annett and his No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro will start on pole position by virtue of a random draw for a NASCAR Xfinity Series race. With his sixth top-five starting spot since May amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Des Moines, Iowa, veteran will lead the field to the start of the Kansas Lottery 250 at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, July 25.

Annett, who is currently in his fourth season driving for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, becomes the third series competitor to start on the pole in multiple races by virtue of a random draw since May. He also retains one of six vacant spots to the 2020 Xfinity Playoffs by 164 points.

Joining Annett on the front row is Brandon Jones, who recorded his first Xfinity win at Kansas last October. Kaz Grala, who will make his first start of this season, will start third followed by Austin Cindric, winner of the last three Xfinity races. Rookie Harrison Burton will start fifth followed by regular-season points leader Chase Briscoe. Ross Chastain, rookie Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric and teammate Noah Gragson will start in the top 10 followed by teammate Justin Allgaier and Justin Haley.

Starting in positions 13-25 are Jeffrey Earnhardt, rookie Jesse Little, David Starr, Ryan Sieg, Jeremy Clements, Dexter Bean, Alex Labbe, B.J. McLeod, Timmy Hill, Brandon Brown, Brett Moffitt, Josh Williams and Stephen Leicht.

Starting in positions 26-37 are Ja Junior Avila, Bayley Currey, Tommy Joe Martins, rookie Kody Vanderwal, Ryan Vargas, Chad Finchum, Matt Mills, rookie Myatt Snider, rookie Joe Graf Jr., Kyle Weatherman, Vinnie Miller and Colin Garrett.

The Kansas Lottery 250 at Kansas Speedway will commence on July 25 at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

July 22, 2020
Harvick to start on pole at Kansas

For the first time this season, Kevin Harvick will lead the field to the start of a NASCAR Cup Series race after his name was drawn by virtue of a random draw for the pole position for the Super Start Batteries 400 at Kansas Speedway on Thursday, July 23.

Harvick, a three-time winner at Kansas and the current leader of the Cup regular-season standings, is coming off his 700th series career start at Texas Motor Speedway, where he finished fifth. He is one of 10 competitors who is guaranteed a spot in the Playoffs after winning four races throughout this season.

Harvick also becomes the ninth Cup competitor to start on the pole by virtue of a random draw since NASCAR’s return to on-track racing in May amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. His previous best starting spot this season was qualifying second at Phoenix in March prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the pandemic, his best starting spot by the random draw was third at Kentucky Speedway.

Joining Harvick on the front row will be Joey Logano, which marks the eighth time since May where the 2018 Cup champion will start in the top five. Aric Almirola will start third, which marks his ninth time starting in the top five since May, alongside Ryan Blaney while Martin Truex Jr., who swept both Kansas races in 2017, will start fifth. Alex Bowman will start sixth while Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin will start in the top 10. Chase Elliott and Matt DiBenedetto will start 11th and 12th.

Starting in positions 13-26 are Chris Buescher, Matt Kenseth, William Byron, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, Erik Jones, rookie Christopher Bell, rookie Tyler Reddick, rookie Cole Custer, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Garrett Smithley.

Starting in positions 27-40 are Michael McDowell, J.J. Yeley, rookie Brennan Poole, rookie John Hunter Nemechek, Corey LaJoie, rookie Quin Houff, Josh Bilicki, Joey Gase, Ryan Preece, Ty Dillon, Daniel Suarez, Timmy Hill, Reed Sorenson and B.J. McLeod.

The Super Start Batteries 400 at Kansas Speedway will commence on July 23 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

July 22, 2020
Jones to make 250th start across NASCAR at Kansas

When the NASCAR Cup Series competes in the Super Start Batteries 400 at Kansas Speedway on Thursday, July 23, Erik Jones will reach a significant milestone of his racing career. By starting this week’s race at Kansas, Jones will reach 250 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series.

A native of Byron, Michigan, Jones’ racing career started at age seven in quarter-midget racing. From quarter midgets to Late Models, the CRA All-Star Tour and the ARCA Racing Series, Jones gained the attention of NASCAR Cup Series competitor Kyle Busch in December 2012, whom Jones beat to win the Snowball Derby. The following season, Jones made his first appearance within NASCAR’s three major division series when Kyle Busch Motorsports signed Jones to a five-race Truck Series deal in the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota Tundra. Racing at Martinsville Speedway, Rockingham Speedway and in two Iowa Speedway races, Jones achieved top-10 results in all of his starts. In November, Jones prevailed in a late battle with Ross Chastain to record his first Truck Series career win at Phoenix International Raceway. Prior to September 2014, Jones was the youngest winner across NASCAR’s major series at age 17 years, five months and eight days old. Jones’ win at Phoenix contributed to KBM’s No. 51 Toyota team winning the owners’ championship in a tie-breaker against eventual champion Matt Crafton and ThorSport Racing.

In 2014, Jones competed in 12 Truck races with KBM and made his first three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts in the No. 20 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. In the Truck Series, Jones won three races and recorded two poles, five top-five results and eight top-10 results as he contributed to winning the second consecutive Truck owners’ title for KBM. Racing at Chicagoland Speedway in July, Bristol Motor Speedway in August and at Phoenix International Speedway in November, all in the Xfinity Series, Jones finished in the top 10.

In 2015, Jones expanded his racing schedule by competing the entire 23-race schedule in the Truck Series for KBM and in 23 Xfinity Series races for JGR. In the Xfinity Series, Jones recorded his first career win at Texas Motor Speedway in April after beating Brad Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr. He won his second race at Chicagoland in June and went on to record three poles, 13 top-five results and 17 top-10 results. In the Truck Series, Jones achieved three wins, five poles, 11 top-five results and 20 top-10 results as he beat Tyler Reddick and Crafton to win the 2015 Truck Series championship. With his title, Jones became the youngest Truck Series champion at age 19 years, five months and 20 days old as he also recorded the first drivers’ title for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

To go along with his eventful 2015 schedule, Jones turned in his first laps in the NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol in April, where he served as a relief competitor for Denny Hamlin, who relinquished his seat to Jones due to neck spasms. While Jones finished 26th, Hamlin was credited with the result and the points since he started the race. Jones made his official Cup debut at Kansas Speedway in May, driving the No. 18 M&M’s/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry as an interim competitor for the injured and eventual series champion Kyle Busch. Despite having a strong run, where he ran within the top five, Jones was involved in a late single-car incident in Turn 4 and settled in 40th. In November, Jones competed in two races in JGR’s No. 20 DeWalt/Dollar General Toyota Camry at Texas Motor Speedway and at Phoenix, replacing Matt Kenseth, who was suspended for deliberately wrecking Joey Logano the previous race at Martinsville Speedway. Jones finished 12th at Texas and 19th at Phoenix.

The following season, Jones moved up to the NASCAR Xfinity Series in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Toyota Camry. Throughout the 33-race schedule, Jones won four races, two Dash 4 Cash bonuses and nine poles as he also achieved 15 top-five results and 20 top-10 results. He made the inaugural Championship Round, but finished fourth in the final standings after finishing ninth in the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Though he did not achieve his first Xfinity title, he was named the 2016 Rookie-of-the-Year in the series. By then, he had surpassed 100 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series as he also made one Truck start at Gateway Motorsports Park in June for Kyle Busch Motorsports, where he finished fifth.

In 2017, Jones graduated to the Cup Series and was named driver of the No. 77 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry for Furniture Row Racing, which marks the first and only time FRR expanded to a two-car operation. Throughout his rookie Cup season, Jones recorded his first career pole along with five top-five results and 14 top-10 results. His best performances were at Michigan International Speedway and at Bristol in August. He finished third at Michigan, his home track, and dominated the following race at Bristol, leading a race-high 260 laps from the pole before he was overtaken by Kyle Busch in the closing laps and settled in second. Despite not recording a win throughout the season nor making the Playoffs, Jones beat Daniel Suarez to claim the Rookie-of-the-Year title. With his accomplishment, Jones also became the first NASCAR competitor to achieve the Rookie-of-the-Year title across NASCAR’s three major division series. He also competed in 18 Xfinity races for JGR, where he won three races and swept both Texas races.

The following season, Jones replaced Matt Kenseth as driver of the No. 20 Toyota Camry for JGR. Through the first 17 races, Jones finished in the top 10 seven times and was ranked in 14th in the regular-season standings. The following week in July, Jones survived a carnage-filled night to beat former teammate/reigning champion Martin Truex Jr. and achieve his first NASCAR Cup career win at Daytona International Speedway. To July 2020, Jones is one of 33 competitors to record a victory across NASCAR’s three major division series. At the time of his win, he also became the ninth Cup competitor to win driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. The victory guaranteed a spot in the Playoffs for Jones, crew chief Chris Gayle and the No. 20 team. Jones, however, achieved one pole and 10 top-10 results for the remainder of the season as he concluded the year in 15th in the final standings. While he did not compete in any Xfinity race, he made one start in the Truck Series at Pocono Raceway in July as a relief competitor for Noah Gragson. He finished in the runner-up spot following a late battle with Kyle Busch.

Jones remained with JGR in the Cup Series for the 2019 season. Throughout last season, Jones recorded his second Cup career win in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in September, a victory that guaranteed the Michigan native a spot in the Playoffs for the second consecutive year. In addition, Jones recorded 10 top-five results and 17 top-10 results before concluding the year in 16th in the final standings. When the 2019 season concluded, Jones had surpassed 200 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series as he also made one Xfinity start during the season at Bristol in August, where he finished 37th in XCI Racing’s No. 81 Toyota Supra after being involved in an early accident.

Through the first 18 Cup races of this season, Jones has recorded four top-five results and seven top-10 results. He is ranked 18th in the regular-season standings and is 24 points below the top-16 cutline in an effort to make his third consecutive Cup Playoffs appearance. His lone highlight to this season has been winning the non-points Busch Clash at Daytona in February, where he rallied from being involved in three multi-car wrecks to receive a push from teammate Denny Hamlin on the final lap and pull away to win with a wrecked car.

Catch Jones’ milestone start in NASCAR in the Super Start Batteries 400 at Kansas on July 23 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

July 21, 2020
Matt McCall set for 200th Cup race as crew chief at Kansas

When the green flag waves on Thursday, July 23, for the Super Start Batteries 400 at Kansas Speedway, Matt McCall will achieve a significant milestone of his racing career. McCall, who currently serves as crew chief for Kurt Busch and the No. 1 Monster Energy/Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team, will reach 200 starts as a Cup crew chief.

A native of Denver, North Carolina, and a graduate from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a major in mechanical engineering, McCall started his racing career at age nine as a go-kart driver. He would go on to win the 2004 Super Sport track championship at Hickory Motor Speedway. He also achieved two UARA-Stars titles in 2005 and 2009. In October 2003, he made his NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series debut at Martinsville Speedway. Driving the No. 56 Denver Marine/Hot Wheels Chevrolet for Danny McCall, Matt McCall finished 21st, two laps behind, in his series debut.

In 2006, McCall competed in five NASCAR Xfinity Series races and two ARCA Menards Series races. In February, driving the No. 55 CitiFinancial Ford for Yates Racing, McCall started and finished in the runner-up spot behind veteran Bobby Gerhart at Daytona International Speedway in his ARCA debut. His other ARCA start was at Kentucky Speedway in May, where he started fifth and finished third. McCall’s first Xfinity race was at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, where he qualified 21st and finished 24th in Yates Racing’s No. 90 CitiFinancial Ford. His other four Xfinity starts came at Nashville Superspeedway in April, Dover International Speedway in June, Nashville in June and at Martinsville Speedway in July, where his respective finishes were 42nd, 41st, 34th and 26th.

After being released from Yates Racing, McCall joined Richard Childress Racing as a race engineer. In July 2013, McCall served as an interim crew chief for veteran Jeff Burton and the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet team in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In McCall’s first NASCAR race as a crew chief, Burton finished 43rd, last place, due to a mechanical issue. McCall also made one Truck start at Bristol Motor Speedway in August and in the No. 92 BTS Tire & Wheel Distributors Chevrolet for team owner Ricky Benton, where he started 27th and finished 22nd.

Following the 2014 season, McCall departed RCR and joined Chip Ganassi Racing to serve as a Cup Series crew chief for Jamie McMurray and the No. 1 McDonald’s/Cessna Chevrolet team. In McCall’s first full season as crew chief, McMurray achieved four top-five results, 10 top-10 results and made his first Chase for the Cup before settling in 13th in the final standings and despite achieving no wins throughout the season. Between 2016 and 2017, McMurray and McCall did not win, but they achieved a combined five top-five results, 29 top-10 results and made the Chase in both seasons, finishing 13th in the 2016 standings and 12th in the 2017 standings. In 2018, McMurray and McCall did not win and they did not make the Playoffs as they only achieved two top-five results, eight top-10 results and a final points result of 20th.

In 2019, McCall remained with Chip Ganassi Racing, but was paired with the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kurt Busch, who replaced McMurray as driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet with Monster Energy sponsoring him. For the first 17 Cup races of the season, McCall and Busch achieved four top-five results, two runner-up results, nine top-10 results. The following race at Daytona International Speedway, Busch and McCall were in position to win before they, along with others, decided to pit late in the race for tires and fuel. The strategy, however, did not fall into the favors for Busch when a lightning strike near Daytona paused and eventually, made the race official as Busch was scored back in 10th.

The following race at Kentucky Speedway, McCall achieved his first NASCAR Cup Series win as a crew chief when Kurt Busch held off brother, Kyle, in a two-lap shootout to grab a thrilling win, a victory that guaranteed Busch and the No. 1 team a spot in the 2019 Cup Playoffs. Busch and McCall would record seven more top-10 results for the remainder of the season before settling in 13th in the final standings. The combo also achieved three stage wins throughout the 2019 season.

Through the first 18 Cup races of this season, McCall and Busch have achieved a pole, a stage win, four top-five results and 11 top-10 results. They are ranked ninth in the regular-season standings and are 108 points above the top-16 cutline to the Playoffs.

Catch McCall’s milestone start in the Super Start Batteries 400 at Kansas Speedway on July 23 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

July 21, 2020
2020 Xfinity Series Playoff outlook after Texas

The NASCAR Xfinity Series recent race, Saturday’s My Bariatric Solutions 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, featured another repeat winner this season in an unexpected outcome, where it took approximately an hour after the race concluded for the official race winner to be declared. The battle for the final spots to the Playoffs, however, continued to tighten up with several key contenders struggling in the Lone Star state.

With his third consecutive Xfinity Series victory of the season, Austin Cindric and the No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang team are establishing themselves as a potential championship threat for this season. Cindric’s victory was awarded to him following post-race technical inspection, when initial winner Kyle Busch was disqualified. With his third consecutive win, which was last made in the series in 2018 from Christopher Bell, Cindric joins Chase Briscoe as the only Xfinity competitors that have won three or more races this season. Both Ford competitors also remain as two of six drivers currently guaranteed a spot in the Playoffs by virtue of a regular-season win(s), a list that include Justin Haley, Brandon Jones, Noah Gragson and rookie Harrison Burton, who rallied from a five-race stretch of finishing no higher than 12th to post a top-five result.

With six of 12 spots to the Playoffs still vacant, Ross Chastain retains one of the spots as the highest-winless competitor this season. A ninth-place result, to go along with a handful of stage points, and his 14th top-10 result has Chastain and the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet team 297 points above the cutline while the Floridian attempts to make his second series postseason appearance.

For Justin Allgaier, the majority of Saturday’s race at the Lone Star state had Allgaier and his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet team scored as the leader. After leading a race-high 98 laps and winning both stages, it appeared that Allgaier would record his first victory of the season. His race-winning hopes, however, were dashed when he was penalized for a blend-rule violation in the final stage. Nonetheless, he was able to race his way back to a third-place result for his fourth top-five result, which keeps the Illinois veteran 228 points above the top-12 cutline.

Teammate Michael Annett also had a decent run at Texas, where he collected stage points from both stages and settled in fifth when the checkered flag flew. With his third top-five result and his fifth consecutive top-10 result in recent weeks, Annett is 164 points above the cutline to make the Playoffs for the second consecutive year.

While it was a good race for some, it was not the case for rookie Riley Herbst. Coming off two strong results at the Kentucky Speedway doubleheader, Herbst’s run was cut short early on the fourth lap when he was battling Gragson and made contact with the Turn 4 outside wall, an incident that would end his run in the garage. With a 36th-place result, the Las Vegas rookie and his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team went from 69 points above the top-12 cutline to 60.

Following an up-and-down doubleheader at Kentucky, Ryan Sieg’s race at Texas concluded midway due to suspension issues. The Tucker, Georgia, native and his No. 39 RSS Racing Chevrolet team remain inside the cutline by 58 points despite posting their seventh result outside the top 20.

With last week’s doubleheader at Kentucky produced up-and-down results for Brandon Brown, Saturday’s run at Texas was a run that stabilized his position within the top 12. A 10th-place result, his fourth of the season, allowed the Woodbridge, Virginia, native to retain the 12th and final spot to the Playoffs by 31 points while he aims to make his first postseason appearance.

If there is a competitor making recent strides and gaining ground towards the cutline to the Playoffs, it is Jeremy Clements and his family owned team based in Spartanburg, South Carolina. With an 11th-place result, his ninth top-15 finish of the season and fifth in a row, Clements trails Brown for the final Playoff spot by 31 points in his quest to qualify for his second postseason, first since 2017.

Coming into Texas Motor Speedway and being 14 points below the cutline, Myatt Snider received an opportunity to race his way back into the top-12 cutline on the strength of eight top-15 results in his rookie Xfinity Series season. The Charlotte native, however, was involved in an early incident and could not recover as he settled in 34th place. In losing a spot in the standings to Clements along with a handful of points, Snider trails the cutline by 38 points.

Other competitors who remain in contention for the Playoffs include rookie Jesse Little, Alex Labbe, Josh Williams, B.J. McLeod, rookie Joe Graf Jr., Chad Finchum and Vinnie Miller.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will run its next scheduled race of the season at Kansas Speedway on July 25, which will air at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

July 20, 2020
Kaulig Racing records a pair of top-10 results at Texas

Coming off strong back-to-back races at Kentucky Speedway, Kaulig Racing rolled into Texas Motor Speedway looking to extend their performances and momentum throughout the regular season and towards the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs. When the checkered flag flew on Saturday’s My Bariatric Solutions 300, Justin Haley rallied from early handling issues to finish ninth while Ross Chastain, who ran upfront at the start of the final stage, made a late charge to finish in 10th.

Based on a random draw, Chastain, who sported a new white and purple paint scheme while featuring Titan XC on his No. 10 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet Camaro, started eighth while Haley started 11th.

When the green flag waved and the race started, both Kaulig Racing competitors raced within the top 10 and 15. Following an early caution for an incident in Turn 4, the ensuing restart was where things nearly got dicey as Chastain made minimal contact with Jeb Burton entering Turn 3, a contact that nearly turned Burton sideways. Nonetheless, both competitors were able to proceed with no damage. Following the contact, Chastain fell back to ninth while Haley moved up to seventh.

By Lap 15, Chastain worked his way back up to eighth while Haley fell back to 11th as he was reporting steering grip issues to his No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet Camaro. Two laps later, a single-car wreck on the backstretch drew a competition caution, where both Kaulig competitors remained on track and retained their track positions.

Following the first 30 laps, Chastain was scored in seventh while Haley was back in 12th. Once the first stage concluded on Lap 45, Chastain settled in ninth as he collected a handful of points towards his quest in making the Playoffs. Haley, however, had fallen back to 16th while continuing to deal with steering issues towards the left front of his car. Under the stage break, both pitted along with the field as Chastain exited ninth while Haley was back in 19th.

For the start of the second stage, Chastain was able to carve his way up to sixth. Not long after, he made a bold three-wide move on the backstretch against his fellow Xfinity Series contenders to move into fourth as he made his first appearance in the top five. Just past the 60-lap mark, the caution waved due to debris. With Chastain in fourth, Haley pitted from 15th place for adjustments and to have his No. 11 Chevrolet loosened up.

The race proceeded with 18 laps remaining in the second stage. Shortly after the restart, Chastain received a bump from Chase Briscoe entering Turn 4, which caused Chastain to slip as he made contact with the outside wall and lost his momentum. Following the contact, Chastain fell from fourth to 18th. A few laps later, the caution fell due to another single-car wreck. Under caution, Chastain made a pit stop for fresh tires and to have the damage repaired. Haley, who was in 14th, also pitted for more adjustments to his car.

With 12 laps remaining in the second stage, both Kaulig Racing competitors restarted outside the top 20. When the racing under green proceeded, both wasted no time methodically working their way back towards the top 10. Ultimately, they could not keep pace with the leaders as Haley was scored in 14th while Chastain was in 16th when the second stage concluded. Under the stage break, Haley pitted while Chastain remained on track and moved into the runner-up spot, where he started alongside rookie Anthony Alfredo.

When the final stage commenced under green, Chastain moved into the lead as he led three laps before he was overtaken. Three laps later, he was back in seventh, reporting tight conditions to his Camaro, while Haley moved up to ninth. Through another caution for another single-car incident and the ensuing restart, both Kaulig competitors remained on track inside the top 10. Less than 90 laps remaining, Haley overtook teammate Chastain for position when another caution for another incident flew, an incident that occurred just in front of both Haley and Chastain. Under caution, they pitted and Haley moved into third while Chastain fell back to 20th.

With 78 laps remaining, the race restarted and Haley, who was in the top five for the first time all afternoon, was in fourth. As the race progressed, he fell back to 10th while Chastain was able to work his way back to ninth. Both were among 14 competitors running on the lead lap with less than 45 laps remaining. Then, pit stops under green commenced when Haley veered his No. 11 Chevrolet to pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. By the time his service was complete and he returned to the track, he was in 16th and a lap behind the leaders. Chastain, however, continued to run and stretch his fuel to its fullest.

With 20 laps remaining, Chastain was in the runner-up spot and trailing Briscoe by more than 23 seconds, both of whom needing a final pit stop to complete the race. Five laps remaining, Chastain made his pit stop under green. When he returned, he was back in 12th while Haley raced his way back to eighth despite reporting tight conditions to his car.

Both Kaulig competitors appeared to have top-15 results wrapped up when the caution flew with six laps remaining for a single-car incident in Turn 1. At the time of caution, Haley received the free pass to return on the lead lap after being posted the first car a lap down. Chastain, however, was still trapped a lap behind the leaders, but in position to gain a handful of positions for a top-10 result.

With the race restarting into overtime, both Kaulig competitors proceeded to finish in the top 10. For the final two laps, Haley settled in ninth while Chastain, a lap behind, was able to pass Brandon Brown and Jeremy Clements to finish 10th when the checkered flag flew.

Nearly an hour after the race was complete, where initial winner Kyle Busch was disqualified for failing post-race inspection and Austin Cindric was declared the official winner, both Kaulig competitors moved up a spot in the scoreboard. With that, Haley moved up to eighth while Chastain ended up in ninth.

The Texas race marked the 10th time this season where both Chastain and Haley finished in the top 10. The top-10 result was Haley’s 11th of this year’s Xfinity Series season. With his 14th top-10 result of this season, ninth in a row, Chastain remains in fourth place in the regular-season standings and is 297 points above the top-12 cutline towards making the Playoffs.

Chastain and Haley, along with their fellow Xfinity Series competitors, will return for the next Xfinity Series scheduled race at Kansas Speedway on July 25, which will air at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

July 20, 2020