Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Author: Andrew Kim

  • NASCAR Cup Series event at New Hampshire postponed to Monday

    NASCAR Cup Series event at New Hampshire postponed to Monday

    NASCAR has postponed the start of the Cup Series’ Crayon 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to Monday due to inclement weather in the form of persistent rain and a flash flood warning near Loudon, New Hampshire that will occur throughout the event’s originally planned start on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET.

    The postponement of the Cup Series event at the Magic Mile, which will serve as the 20th points-paying event of the 2023 schedule, also means that the event will now air at noon ET Monday on USA Network.

    New Hampshire is no stranger to being pitted against Mother Nature which would result in the Cup Series event at the Magic Mile being delayed or shortened due to rain. Recently, the Cup event at New Hampshire in July 2021 which was won by Aric Almirola, was shortened by eight laps due to darkness and following an early rain delay. Before this, the Cup New Hampshire event in June 2009 was shortened by 28 laps due to a late-race rain delay that was eventually deemed official by NASCAR and where Joey Logano, who was a rookie competitor, claimed his first Cup career victory.

    NASCAR’s postponement of Sunday’s Cup event also comes amid a recent string of on-track delays due to Mother Nature this season, such as when the weather affected the sport’s inaugural Chicago Street Course weekend events that resulted in the Xfinity Series event being shortened just shy of its halfway point. The Cup event at Chicago was also delayed by 90 minutes before commencing late Sunday and being shortened 25 laps shy of its scheduled distance. This past weekend, the Cup event at Atlanta Motor Speedway was shortened by 75 laps due to late inclement weather that resulted in William Byron being awarded his fourth victory of the 2023 season.

    When the event starts, Christopher Bell, the reigning Cup Series winner at New Hampshire who notched his first pole position of the season after posting a lap at 124.781 mph in 30.524 seconds during Saturday’s qualifying session, will lead the field alongside teammate Martin Truex Jr., who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 124.752 mph in 30.531 seconds.

    With the postponement set, the Cup Series’ Crayon 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway will commence on Monday, July 17, at noon ET on the USA network.

  • John Hunter Nemechek caps off dominant run with overtime Xfinity victory at New Hampshire

    John Hunter Nemechek caps off dominant run with overtime Xfinity victory at New Hampshire

    A week after capturing a thrilling overtime victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway, John Hunter Nemechek doubled down with a second consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series win in overtime after marching away from the field and winning the Ambetter Health 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 15.

    Compared to a week ago where he led the final three laps en route to victory, the 26-year-old Nemechek from Mooresville, North Carolina, led four times for a race-high 137 of 206 over-scheduled laps at the Magic Mile. After assuming the lead for the first time on the ninth lap before spending the majority of the event as the leader, Nemechek assumed the lead for good with 36 laps remaining during a late caution period.

    Amid two late restarts and two caution periods due to on-track incidents, the latter of which sent the event into overtime, Nemechek capitalized in overtime by muscling away from rookie Chandler Smith and Cole Custer and started the final lap under green flag conditions just before a two-car wreck on the final lap involving Custer and Sheldon Creed concluded the event under caution and handed Nemechek his fourth Xfinity victory of the 2023 season.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, July 14, rookie Chandler Smith scored his second consecutive Xfinity pole and third of his career after posting a pole-winning lap at 126.291 mph in 30.159 seconds. Joining him on the front row was John Hunter Nemechek, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 126.123 mph in 30.199 seconds.

    Prior to the event, the following names that included rookie Sammy Smith, Jeb Burton, Patrick Emerling, Ryan Sieg and Greg Val Alst dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries. Rajah Caruth also dropped to the rear of the field due to a tire change along with Kaz Grala, who started the event in a backup car after being involved in a two-car wreck with Ryan Sieg during Friday’s practice session.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Chandler Smith rocketed ahead with the lead on the outside lane while Justin Allgaier and Josh Berry attempted to go three wide on John Hunter Nemechek for the runner-up spot entering the first two turns. As the field fanned out and jostled early for positions through the backstretch and entering Turns 3 and 4, Smith fended off Allgaier to lead the first lap.

    During the second lap and amid a series of on-track battles, Allgaier made his move beneath Chandler Smith through the backstretch and claimed the lead entering Turn 3. Nemechek would then move into the runner-up spot two laps later while Berry and Cole Custer battled for fourth behind Chandler Smith. As Brandon Jones and Daniel Hemric tried to close in on the top-five runners, Allgaier was leading by two-tenths of a second over Nemechek during the fifth lap mark.

    A lap later, however, an early battle for the lead ignited between Allgaier and Nemechek as both dueled and rubbed for the top spot while the former fended off the latter for the top spot. Despite Allgaier’s efforts in retaining the lead while running the second lane and to Nemechek’s outside during the proceeding laps, Nemechek was able to assume the lead for himself by the ninth lap after Allgaier got loose in Turn 2. All in the process, Custer kept the two leaders in front of him followed by Chandler Smith and Berry while Jones and Hemric battled for sixth.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Nemechek was leading by half a second over Allgaier followed by Cole Custer, Chandler Smith and Berry while Jones, Hemric, Austin Hill, Austin Dillon and Sam Mayer were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Parker Kligerman was in 11th ahead of Sheldon Creed, rookie Parker Retzlaff, Riley Herbst and Brett Moffitt while Jeremy Clements, Anthony Alfredo, Josh Williams, Sammy Smith and Joe Graf Jr. were in the top 20.

    Ten laps later, Nemechek stabilized his advantage to four-tenths of a second over Allgaier, who started to regain ground on the former for the lead, while Custer, Chandler Smith and Berry remained in the top five. In addition, Jones, Hemric, Hill, Austin Dillon and Mayer continued to run sixth through 10th, respectively.

    Another 10 laps later, Allgaier, who reassumed the lead from Nemechek on Lap 27 amid another on-track battle and contact while navigating through lapped traffic, was leading by three-tenths of a second over Nemechek. Meanwhile, third-place Custer trailed by half a second as he tried to join the battle while Chandler Smith and Berry were in the top five. Allgaier would then slowly stretch his advantage to eight-tenths of a second by Lap 35 and to more than a second by Lap 40 while Nemechek retained second.

    On Lap 41, the first caution of the event flew when Chris Hacker spun on the backstretch. Not long after, Rajah Caruth ran into early issues after his car emerged with heavy smoke and was leaking fuel. Hacker’s incident was enough for the first stage period set to conclude on Lap 45 to conclude under caution as Allgaier claimed his fifth stage victory of the 2023 season. Nemechek ended up second while Custer, Chandler Smith, Berry, Brandon Jones, Austin Dillon, Mayer, Hemric and Hill were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Allgaier pitted. Following the pit stops, Chandler Smith exited first followed by Allgaier, Nemechek, Hill, Jones and Berry. Amid the pit stops, Sammy Smith and Joe Graf Jr. were penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Allgaier, who opted for two fresh tires after sliding through his pit box and reversing his car followed by the audible two-tire service, would then be penalized for pitting outside his pit box while having a right-rear lug nut removed when the car was over the pit line.

    The second stage started on Lap 54 as Chandler Smith and Nemechek occupied the front row. At the start, Chandler Smith received a push from Hill from the outside lane to briefly retain the lead over Nemechek through the first two turns before Nemechek made his move beneath Smith and reassumed the lead through Turns 3 and 4. With Nemechek leading Chandler Smith, the following competitors that included Hill, Brandon Jones, Berry and Custer battled for top-six spots in front of Herbst while Hemric, Austin Dillon and Mayer started to fan out and battle for eighth.

    Just past the Lap 60 mark, Nemechek was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Chandler Smith while third-place Hill trailed by more than a second. Behind, Custer and Berry were running in the top five while Brandon Jones, Herbst, Mayer, Hemric and Dillon were in the top 10.

    Five laps later and as Nemechek continued to lead ahead over Chandler Smith, Custer, Berry, Hill and Herbst, the event’s second caution flew when Chad Finchum stalled in the middle of pit road.

    Then as the field attempted to restart under green on Lap 70, the caution quickly returned when the front-runners did not launch early and stacked the field behind as Parker Kligerman sustained heavy front nose damage after running into the rear of Hemric. A multi-car wreck would then ensue on the frontstretch amid the stack up and within the middle of the pack after Allgaier rear-ended Ryan Sieg and Jeremy Clements while Anthony Alfredo collided into Allgaier as more including Blaine Perkins, Mason Massey, Parker Retzlaff, Chris Hacker, Patrick Emerling, Ryan Ellis and Alex Labbe wrecked.

    During the caution period, some including Brandon Jones, Joe Graf Jr., Creed, Sammy Smith and Dillon pitted while the rest led by Nemechek remained on the track.

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 81, Nemechek rocketed ahead with the lead from the outside lane as he retained the top spot through the first two turns while Berry battled and overtook Chandler Smith for second. In addition, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Custer and Herbst started to close in on Chandler Smith for third while Mayer and Hill battled for sixth in front of Jeb Burton and Hemric. In the process, Nemechek stretched his advantage to more than a second over Berry. The caution, however, would return on Lap 84 when Connor Mosack slipped sideways and slapped the outside wall between Turns 1 and 2.

    During the caution period, some led by Nemechek pitted while others led by Retzlaff remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Nemechek exited first followed by Berry, Chandler Smith, Herbst, Custer, Hemric and Hill.

    As the event restarted with two laps remaining in the second stage, Retzlaff and Sammy Smith dueled for the lead followed by Creed, Josh Williams and Brandon Jones while Allgaier and Joe Graf Jr. battled for sixth. Then prior to the final lap of the second stage, Sammy Smith muscled his No. 18 TMC Toyota Supra into the lead while Retzlaff battled Creed for second.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 90, Sammy Smith claimed his first stage victory of the 2023 season. Retzlaff settled in second followed by Creed while Brandon Jones, Williams, Allgaier, Graf, Nemechek, Dillon and Chandler Smith were scored in the top 10.

    During the stage break, some led by Retzlaff and including Josh Williams, Kyle Weatherman, Clements, Blaine Perkins and Ryan Ellis pitted while the rest led by Sammy Smith remained on the track.

    With 103 laps remaining, the final stage started as Sammy Smith and Creed occupied the front row. At the start, Smith and Creed briefly dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Smith gained the advantage from the outside lane and retained the lead. With Sammy Smith out in front, Nemechek battled Brandon Jones for third, and he succeeded in gaining the spot during the following lap as Nemechek battled Creed for second. Behind, Allgaier was in fifth ahead of a multi-car battle ensuing behind that involved Graf, Berry, Chandler Smith, Custer, Herbst and Dillon.

    Then with 99 laps remaining, the caution flew when Herbst, who was battling Dillon for a top-10 spot, drove across the front left-front fender of Dillon’s No. 10 LA Golf Chevrolet Camaro entering the frontstretch as Herbst squeezed and forced Dillon into the outside wall. Dillon then proceeded to turn and send Herbst spinning sideways and into the wall with Herbst sustaining damage to his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang.

    When the event restarted with 93 laps remaining, Nemechek fended off teammate Sammy Smith, who briefly got loose after receiving a push from Creed, to assume the lead as the field fanned out through the first two turns and the backstretch. As Nemechek stabilized his advantage over teammate Sammy Smith, Creed was in third followed by a four-car battle that included Graf, Berry, Allgaier and Custer. Behind more battles ensued as Hemric was fighting to remain in 10th ahead of Mayer, Hill, Grala, Moffitt, Retzlaff, Williams and Jeb Burton.

    With 85 laps remaining, Nemechek was leading by eight-tenths of a second over teammate Sammy Smith as Creed, Brandon Jones and Graf were in the top five. Nemechek would proceed to stretch his advantage to more than a second over Smith with 80 laps remaining and to nine-tenths of a second with 75 laps remaining.

    Down to the final 60 laps of the event, Nemechek extended his advantage to more than three seconds over teammate Sammy Smith while third-place Jones trailed by more than six seconds. By then, Creed also trailed by more than six seconds in fourth while Custer and Chandler Smith were in fifth and sixth.

    Six laps later, green flag pit stops started to ensue as Creed pitted along with Kyle Weatherman, Connor Mosack and Sammy Smith pitted. Berry would also pit not long after along with teammate Jones and Custer. Then with 50 laps remaining, the race leader Nemechek pitted along with Hill, Kaz Grala and Mayer. Following his pit stop, Nemechek managed to exit pit road and blend back on the track ahead of teammate Sammy Smith while the green flag pit stops ensued.

    Then with 41 laps remaining, the caution flew when Kyle Sieg spun in front of Berry through Turns 3 and 4. By then, Austin Dillon, who had yet to pit, was leading ahead of Graf, Allgaier and Josh Williams, all of whom had yet to pit, while Nemechek, the first competitor who pitted, was in fifth followed by teammate Sammy Smith. During the caution period, however, some including Graf and Dillon pitted while the rest led by Nemechek remained on the track as Nemechek cycled his way back to the lead.

    During the proceeding restart with 33 laps remaining, Nemechek rocketed ahead with the lead as the field fanned out entering the first two turns. Behind, smoke emerged out of the left-front fender of Berry’s No. 8 Jarrett Logistics Systems Chevrolet Camaro amid contact from Creed and Jones after Jones nearly got turned by Chandler Smith in Turn 1. With the race remaining under green flag conditions and the field fanning out while jostling for late positions, Nemechek retained the lead over Custer followed by Sammy Smith, Mayer and Chandler Smith.

    With 25 laps remaining, Nemechek was leading by more than a second over Custer while Sammy Smith, Chandler Smith and Mayer continued to run in the top five. Nemechek would retain the lead by nearly a second and a half over Custer while third-place Sammy Smith trailed by more than two seconds with 20 laps remaining.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Nemechek continued to lead by a second and a half over Custer while Chandler Smith trailed in third by more than two seconds in his No. 16 Quick Tie Products Inc. Chevrolet Camaro. Behind, Sammy Smith trailed in fourth by more than seven seconds while fifth-place Mayer trailed by more than 10 seconds. A lap later, however, the caution flew when Retzlaff spun and smacked the outside wall in Turn 1 after losing a right-rear tire.

    As the event attempted to restart under green with four laps remaining, the caution quickly returned when Mayer was tapped in the rear end by Sammy Smith as he spun before getting hit by Dillon and Graf, whose car caught on fire amid heavy front nose damage to his No. 19 Rocky’s ACE Hardware Toyota Supra. The incident, which also collected Brandon Jones and Connor Mosack, was enough to send the event into overtime as Nemechek had retained the lead over Chandler Smith, Custer, Creed and Hill.

    At the start of the first overtime attempt, Nemechek received a huge push from Chandler Smith, who elected to restart on the outside lane behind Nemechek instead of next to Nemechek on the front row. Smith’s push enabled Nemechek to drive away in his No. 20 Persil Toyota Supra from the field while Chandler Smith was left to battle Creed, Custer and Hill for second as the field fanned out.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Nemechek remained as the leader by four-tenths of a second over Chandler Smith. Shortly after, Custer turned Creed across the frontstretch and into the outside wall as Custer was also sent spinning in the middle of the frontstretch, which caused the field to scatter to avoid both competitors. The incident was enough to conclude the event under caution as Nemechek cycled back to the frontstretch and claimed his fourth checkered flag of the 2023 season.

    With the victory, Nemechek became the first four-time winner of this year’s Xfinity season. He also recorded his sixth career victory in the Xfinity circuit, his first at New Hampshire, the sixth of the season for Toyota and the 199th Xfinity career win for Joe Gibbs Racing. This also marked the first time in his Xfinity career that he achieved back-to-back victories.

    “Man, I am so proud of this No. 20 team and everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing,” Nemechek said on USA Network. “Man, [sponsor] Persil ProClean, this [car] looked clean on the racetrack today. [I] Had, I think, our first clean race all year. I was a little worried there on the last restarts. We kept getting really good launch and we were able to clear [the field], but I didn’t know who was saving what. I was trying to save in front of Cole [Custer] until he started pushing there. He definitely was gonna give us a run our the money, but hats off to all the men and women at Joe Gibbs Racing, everyone at Toyota, [Toyota Racing Development]. Just blessed to have this opportunity. I’m the lucky guy that gets to sit behind the wheel of this No. 20 car every weekend.”

    With Nemechek winning the event, Chandler Smith, who led 10 laps from pole position, ended up in the runner-up spot for the first time in his career while Austin Hill, Hemric and Sammy Smith finished in the top five.

    Allgaier, who rallied from his early pit road penalty and wreck, nursed his damaged No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro in sixth while Jeb Burton, Josh Williams, Moffitt and Mason Massey finished in the top 10. Notably, Austin Dillon ended up 16th in his second Xfinity start of the season while Creed and Custer ended up 21st and 22nd, respectively, following their last lap wreck.

    There were 13 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured 10 cautions for 60 laps. In addition, 20 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

    With eight Xfinity regular-season events remaining on the schedule, John Hunter Nemechek continues to lead the regular-season standings 33 points over Austin Hill, 60 over Justin Allgaier and 74 over Cole Custer.

    Results.

    1. John Hunter Nemechek, 137 laps led

    2. Chandler Smith, 10 laps led

    3. Austin Hill

    4. Daniel Hemric

    5. Sammy Smith, 18 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    6. Justin Allgaier, 27 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    7. Jeb Burton

    8. Josh Williams

    9. Brett Moffitt

    10. Mason Massey

    11. Brandon Jones

    12. Alex Labbe

    13. Kaz Grala

    14. Patrick Emerling

    15. Jeremy Clements

    16. Austin Dillon, four laps led

    17. Josh Berry

    18. Sam Mayer

    19. Ryan Ellis

    20. Riley Herbst

    21. Sheldon Creed

    22. Cole Custer

    23. Kyle Sieg, one lap down

    24. Brennan Poole, two laps down

    25. Blaine Perkins, three laps down

    26. Connor Mosack, three laps down

    27. Kyle Weatherman, four laps down

    28. CJ McLaughlin, five laps down

    29. Joe Graf Jr. – OUT, Accident, eight laps led

    30. Chris Hacker, 11 laps down

    31. Parker Retzlaff – OUT, Accident, two laps led

    32. Parker Kligerman – OUT, Accident

    33. Ryan Sieg – OUT, Accident

    34. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, Accident

    35. Chad Finchum – OUT, Suspension

    36. Stefan Parsons – OUT, Suspension

    37. Rajah Caruth – OUT, Oil line

    38. Greg Van Alst – OUT, Brakes

    Next on the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ lone visit of the season to Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, July 22, at 5:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Byron to make 200th Cup career start at New Hampshire

    Byron to make 200th Cup career start at New Hampshire

    Competing in his sixth full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series and coming off a dramatic victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway, William Byron is bound to achieve a milestone start. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will make his 200th career start in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Byron made his inaugural presence in the Cup circuit at the start of the 2018 season, where he was assigned to pilot the iconic No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports led by former championship-winning crew chief Darian Grubb. By then, he was coming off a championship-winning season in the Xfinity Series while driving for JR Motorsports.

    Rolling off the grid in 33rd place for his Cup debut during the 60th running of the Daytona 500, Byron finished 23rd after being involved in two separate incidents. After finishing no higher than 12th during the first six scheduled events, he achieved his first top-10 career result in NASCAR’s premier series after finishing eighth at Texas Motor Speedway in April. Byron’s additional spotlights during his rookie Cup campaign included a season-best sixth-place result at Pocono Raceway in July followed by an eighth-place result at Watkins Glen International in August. With an average-finishing result of 20.7 throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, however, Byron did not make the 2018 Cup Playoffs. He managed to earn a ninth-place result during the penultimate event of the season at Phoenix Raceway in November before finishing in 23rd place in the final standings and wrapping up the 2018 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title over Bubba Wallace. By then, Byron joined Erik Jones as the only competitors to achieve rookie titles across NASCAR’s top three national touring series.

    At the start of his sophomore season, Byron was paired with seven-time championship-winning crew chief Chad Knaus, who was a former crew member of the No. 24 team and had completed a 17-year run with seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. Byron’s first run with Knaus atop the pit box started off on a strong note as the North Carolinian won his first Cup career pole for the 61st running of the Daytona 500 as he also recorded the 700th Cup pole for Chevrolet. Despite leading 44 laps, however, Byron finished 21st after being involved in a late multi-car wreck during the main event. After finishing no higher than 15th during the first six scheduled events, Byron recorded his first top-10 result of the season at Texas Motor Speedway in April after finishing sixth. Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Byron achieved four poles, three top-five results and nine top-10 results, which were enough for him to qualify for the 2019 Cup Playoffs.

    During the 2019 Playoff’s Round of 16, Byron finished seventh, 24th and sixth, respectively, which were enough for him and the No. 24 team to transfer into the Round of 12. During the Round of 12, however, he finished 13th, 33rd and fifth, respectively, and failed to advance to the Round of 8. Despite recording a strong runner-up result behind Martin Truex Jr. at Martinsville Speedway in October, Byron concluded his sophomore Cup season in 11th place in the final standings. Overall, he achieved his first five top-five runs, his first five pole positions, tripled his top-10 results from four to 13 and improved on his average-finishing result compared to his rookie season from 22.1 to 14.9.

    Byron commenced the 2020 Cup Series season on another strong note by winning the second of two Bluegreen Vacations Duel qualifying races at Daytona in February and securing the fourth-place starting spot for the 62nd running of the Daytona 500. Despite starting the 500 strong, his bid for the win came to an end past the one-quarter mark of the race when contact from pole-sitter Ricky Stenhouse Jr. sent the No. 24 Chevrolet spinning and head-on into the backstretch inside wall as he settled in last place of the 40-car field. During the first 18 Cup races of the season, Byron achieved five top-10 results and was fighting to remain inside the top-16 cutline to make the 2020 Cup Playoffs. After finishing in the top 14 in all but one of the following seven races, Byron held sole possession of the final transfer spot to the Playoffs by a mere margin over his childhood hero and teammate Jimmie Johnson.

    Then during the 2020 regular-season finale at Daytona in August, Byron’s breakthrough moment in NASCAR’s premier series arrived after he fended off the field in during a two-lap shootout to claim his first Cup career win in his 98th series start and clinch a spot to the Playoffs. By then, he became the second competitor to win driving the No. 24 car alongside Jeff Gordon and the 195th different competitor to win a Cup race overall. Despite the team’s late regular-season surge, their hopes for the championship came to an end during the Round of 16 due to respective finishes of fifth, 21st and 38th, including an on-track incident at Bristol Motor Speedway in September that damaged Byron’s car and knocked him out of the race. With four top-10 results during the final eight scheduled events, Byron concluded his junior season in 14th place in the final standings. By then, he achieved one additional top-10 result, but one less top-five result from his sophomore season. He had also surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    The 2021 season featured another crew chief for Byron as veteran Ryan “Rudy” Fugle was promoted to lead the No. 24 team. The move marked a reunion between Byron and Fugle, both of whom worked together and won seven races during the 2016 Truck Series season at Kyle Busch Motorsports. Following two consecutive finishes outside the top 25 during the first two scheduled events, Byron responded back with a resounding victory at Homestead in February. The Homestead victory would serve as the first of an 11-race stretch where he finished in the top 10, which concluded after finishing fourth at Dover Motor Speedway in May before finishing 11th at Circuit of the Americas. With a total of nine top-five results and 16 top-10 results during the 26-race regular-season stretch, Byron clinched his spot to the Playoffs for a third consecutive season. Despite finishing 34th, 19th and third, respectively, during the Round of 16, he earned a transfer spot to the Round of 12 by two points. His title hopes, however, came to an end following the Round of 12 after finishing 18th, 36th and 11th, respectively. With three top-six results during the final four-scheduled events, including a runner-up result at Texas Motor Speedway in October, Byron concluded the season in 10th place in the final standings. By then, he capped off the season with a career-high 12 top-five results, 20 top-10 results and a career-best average-finishing result of 13.6.

    Like the previous season, the 2022 season started off on a rough note for Byron, who finished outside the top 30 during the first two scheduled events. Nonetheless, he rallied during the following weekend at Las Vegas by finishing fifth. Another two races later, he claimed his third Cup career victory in the newly reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway in March after leading a race-high 111 of 325 laps. After finishing 12th and third at Circuit of the Americas and Richmond Raceway, respectively, he then recorded his second victory of the season at Martinsville Speedway in April after leading a race-high 122 of 400 laps and beating Joey Logano in a two-lap shootout. The victory made Byron the first two-time Cup winner of the 2022 season as it also marked his first time achieving multiple Cup victories in a season. Despite recording a single top-10 result (ninth at Sonoma Raceway) during the remaining 18 regular-season events of the season, the pair of victories achieved earlier in the season enabled Byron and the No. 24 team to make the Playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. Compared to his previous three seasons, Byron transferred from the Round of 16 all the way to the Round of 8 after finishing no lower than 16th throughout the first two rounds. Despite finishing no lower than 13th during the Round of 8, however, he was unable to transfer to the Championship Round. With a sixth-place result during the finale at Phoenix Raceway in November, Byron settled in a career-high sixth place in the final standings.

    Currently, the 2023 Cup season is serving as a career year for Byron, who has notched a career-high four victories through the first 19-scheduled events, including this past weekend at Atlanta, where he rallied from an early pit road penalty and a spin that pinned him a lap behind to implement a late pit strategic call to move upfront and claim the lead prior to the event being called official 75 laps of its scheduled distance due to inclement weather. His other victories this season include back-to-back wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and at Phoenix Raceway in March before notching a victory at Darlington in May, where he recorded the 100th career victory for the No. 24. With two poles, eight top-five results, 11 top-10 results, 741 laps led and an average-finishing result of 11.4 to coincide with his four victories, Byron currently leads the 2023 Cup regular-season standings by 21 points over Martin Truex Jr.

    Through 199 previous Cup starts, Byron has achieved eight victories, 10 poles, 34 top-five results, 73 top-10 results, 2,346 laps led and an average-finishing result of 16.0.

    Byron is scheduled to make his 200th Cup Series career start at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 16, with the event’s coverage to occur at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Ricciardo replaces Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri for the remainder of 2023 F1 season

    Ricciardo replaces Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri for the remainder of 2023 F1 season

    A major change has been made within Scuderia AlphaTauri’s driver lineup as Daniel Ricciardo will be returning to the Formula One grid to replace Nyck de Vries with immediate effect for the remainder of the 2023 season.

    The news comes as the 34-year-old Ricciardo from Perth, Australia, participated in a Pirelli tyre test at Silverstone Circuit, where he piloted Red Bull Racing’s RB19 car. It also comes amid months of rumors swirling around De Vries being replaced midway into this season amid his ongoing struggles in on-track performance with AlphaTauri.

    De Vries, a 28-year-old Dutchman from Uitwellingerga, Netherlands, who won the 2020-21 Formula E World Championship and the 2019 Formula 2 title, made his F1 debut during the 2022 Italian Grand Prix, where he replaced Alex Albon at Williams Racing after Albon was ruled out for the event due to suffering appendicitis. After notching an impressive ninth-place finish and recording points in his F1 debut, he was selected to drive for AlphaTauri for this season.

    Since joinng AlphaTauri, however, De Vries has finished no higher than 12th, which occurred during the Monaco Grand Prix in May, and has recorded an average-finishing result of 15.9 during the first 10 Grand Prix scheduled events. He is currently ranked at the bottom of the driver’s standings (20th) with no points amid a struggling season for AlphaTauri, which is also ranked at the bottom of the constructor’s standings (10th) with two points, both of which have been made by the team’s other driver, Yuki Tsunoda.

    With De Vries out of the grid, Ricciardo not only makes a sensational return to the grid to compete alongside Tsunoda, but he reunites with AlphaTauri, a team that the veteran campaigned in his maiden two F1 seasons in 2012-13 after serving as the team’s test and reserve competitor during the previous season. Ricciardo would then join Red Bull Racing for the 2014 season, where he would rack up seven victories, 956 points and two third-place results in the driver’s standings (2014 & 2016) through 2018.

    Ricciardo then made the surprising move to Renault, rebranded to Alpine, for the 2019 season, where he competed at for two seasons, before joining McLaren F1 Team in 2021. He achieved his latest F1 triumph during the 2021 Italian Grand Prix amid a one-two finish with Lando Norris, but would part ways from McLaren at the conclusion of the 2022 season. Since then, he rejoined Red Bull Racing as the team’s third competitor while participating in PR activities, simulator/factor work and race weekends to support the team’s current two competitors, two-time reigning F1 champion Max Verstappen and veteran Sergio Perez.

    Through a total of 233 starts in F1 competition, Ricciardo has achieved eight victories, three poles, 32 podiums, 339 laps led, 1,274 points and an average-finishing result of 9.8.

    Following the announcement of his return to F1 competition, Ricciardo stated: “I’m stoked to be back on track with the Red Bull family!”

    Ricciardo’s move is one that pleases Franz Tost, Team Principal of AlphaTauri, as the team aims to draw itself out of the bottom of the constructor’s standings. Currently, AlphaTauri, a team that is set to rebrand in 2024, trails Alfa Romeo by seven points with both Williams and Haas only nine points ahead amid a tight mid-season battle.

    “I’m very pleased to welcome Daniel back into the team,” Franz Tost, Scuderia AlphaTauri Team Principal, said. “There’s no doubt about his driving skills, and he already knows many of us, so his integration will be easy and straight forward. The team will also profit a lot from his experience, as he is an eight-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner. I would like to thank Nyck for his valuable contribution during his time with Scuderia AlphaTauri and I wish him all the best for the future.”

    With Ricciardo back on the F1 grid, he will make his first start of the 2023 season at Hungaroring for the Hungarian Grand Prix, which will occur on July 23.

  • Byron caps off dramatic rally with rain-shortened Cup victory at Atlanta

    Byron caps off dramatic rally with rain-shortened Cup victory at Atlanta

    In one of the wildest events of his youthful racing career, William Byron defied the odds by rallying from his early issues both on pit road and on the track that pinned him a lap behind to methodically motor his way back towards the front and implement a strategic pit call that enabled him to contend and attain the lead before claiming a dramatic victory in the rain-shortened Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 9.

    The 25-year-old Byron from Charlotte, North Carolina, led the final 20 of 185-shortened laps in an event where he started 18th and had a strong showing by finishing fifth in the first stage. Amid the stage break, however, Byron’s event quickly down spiraled after he was penalized for a safety violation during his pit stop that sent him to the rear of the field.

    Then while trying to carve his way back to the front, Byron ran into more trouble on Lap 79 after a tap from Corey LaJoie sent the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 spinning through the frontstretch. Despite nursing his car back to pit road in spite of flat-spotting his tires, Byron lost a lap to the leaders. By Lap 92, however, Byron received the free pass to return to the lead lap category amid a muti-car wreck that knocked his teammate Kyle Larson out of contention.

    Then after pitting with a host of competitors amid a caution period due to a multi-car wreck that struck on Lap 122, an opportunity presented itself for Byron and the No. 24 team when the second stage concluded on Lap 160. With weather threats persisting and looming near the venue, Byron remained out on the track as he restarted the final stage inside the top five. Then with 93 laps remaining, Byron overtook AJ Allmendinger for the lead and retained the top spot until the event’s seventh caution period flew with 83 laps remaining for a two-car spin involving Ryan Preece and Bubba Wallace.

    As the rain started to fall, Byron, who still retained the lead, led the field to pit road and the event was placed in a red flag period with 75 laps remaining. Not long after and with the rain increasing, NASCAR made the call to deem the event official as Byron was awarded his fourth NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2023 season.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, July 8, Aric Almirola notched his first Cup pole of the 2023 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 177.346 mph in 31.261 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Ryan Blaney, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 177.266 mph in 31.275 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Christopher Bell dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing entry.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Almirola and Blaney dueled for the lead through the first two turns. Entering the backstretch before Almirola, who started on the outside lane and with Joey Logano drafting him, Almirola muscled ahead in his No. 10 Smithfield/IHOP Ford Mustang. As the field made its way back to the frontstretch while running stacked in two lanes, Almirola led the first lap and then pulled ahead of the pack followed by Logano and Blaney while Chase Briscoe and Harrison Burton battled for fourth.

    Through the second lap, the majority of the field migrated to the outside lane and in a long single-file line as Almirola retained the lead followed by his Ford teammates of Logano, Blaney, Briscoe and Harrison Burton while rookie Ty Gibbs occupied sixth in front of Kevin Harvick. As Harvick started to lose a handful of spots while being stuck on the inside lane by the fourth lap, where he slipped out of the top 10, Almirola was still leading the field.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Almirola was still leading by a tenth of a second over Logano as they were pursued by Blaney, Briscoe and Harrison Burton. Behind, Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs, Austin Cindric, Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin were in the top 10 while Martin Truex Jr., Todd Gilliland, William Byron, Brad Keselowski and Michael McDowell were running in the top 15.

    Six laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Harrison Burton, who was running in the top 10, slipped and spun sideways entering the backstretch from the middle to the bottom surface of the track as he was dodged by oncoming traffic while locking his tires and making light contact against the inside wall. During the first caution period, a host of names that included Harvick, Justin Haley, Ryan Preece, Kyle Busch, Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez, Corey LaJoie, Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain, JJ Yeley, Erik Jones, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon, BJ McLeod, Austin Hill, Cole Custer, Ty Dillon and rookie Noah Gragson pitted while the rest led by Almirola remained on the track.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 23, Almirola and Blaney dueled for the lead through the first two turns and through the backstretch until Almirola managed to prevail from the outside lane again and retain the lead through Turns 3 and 4. During the following lap, he transitioned to the inside lane to gain control of the pack followed by Logano and Blaney as Larson was in fourth along with Truex, Cindric, Byron and Reddick.

    At the Lap 30 mark and with the field running at speeds above 180+ mph amid the draft and in two-packed lanes, Almirola was leading ahead of Logano, Blaney, Truex and Larson while Cindric, Byron, Reddick, Briscoe and Ty Gibbs were running in the top 10. In addition, Todd Gilliland was in 11th ahead of teammate Michael McDowell, Christopher Bell, Hamlin and AJ Allmendinger while Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Justin Haley and Chris Buescher were scored in the top 20 with all but one of 37 starters scored on the lead lap.

    Fifteen laps later, Almirola, who briefly lost the lead from Logano on Lap 40 before reassuming it back, retained the top spot ahead of a long line of competitors that included Logano, Blaney, Larson and Truex while Byron, Reddick, Bell, Cindric and Briscoe were in the top 10.

    Then on Lap 48, Logano made his move beneath Almirola in Turns 1 and 2 and moved back in front of Almirola to inherit the lead through the backstretch. Almirola, however, darted left and fought back on the inside lane entering Turns 3. But Logano received drafting help from teammate Blaney exiting the turns as he surged ahead in his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang with the lead while Almirola was trying to navigate his way back to the outside lane amid the pack.

    Nearing the Lap 50 mark, Larson and Truex moved up into third and fourth along with Byron while Almirola was still trying to force his way in front of Reddick in getting back up to the outside lane. With more contact ensuing through the frontstretch as Reddick nearly got turned by Cindric while racing him and Bell within the top 10, the field fanned out to three lanes as Almirola continued to slip back to 10th in front of Reddick.

    Back to the front of the pack on Lap 53, Truex tried to overtake Blaney for second, but he could not execute the run to claim the spot as Larson tried to join the battle. By then, Bell carved his way up into the top five while Logano was still out in front with the lead. Another four laps later and with the field still fanning out to three lanes amid the intensity increasing, Blaney moved his No. 12 Wurth Ford Mustang into the lead ahead of teammate Logano while Larson tried to challenge Logano for second on the inside lane.

    During the final lap of the first stage mark, Logano launched a final side-by-side challenge on teammate Blaney for the stage victory as the field fanned out. Amid the field fanning out, Larson also launched his charge to the front as he overtook Logano for second entering Turns 3 and 4 while barely staying above the double-yellow line boundary zone. He then tried to edge Blaney for the stage victory entering the frontstretch, but Blaney pulled ahead on the outside lane and managed to edge Larson for the first stage victory on Lap 60 and for his third stage victory of the 2023 Cup season. Amid the field fanning out through the frontstretch, Larson settled in second while Truex, Logano, Byron, Bell, Cindric, McDowell, Reddick and Almirola were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Blaney pitted for service while BJ McLeod and Ty Dillon remained on the track. Following the pit stops and amid mixed strategy, Larson exited first followed by Blaney, Byron, Suarez, Bell, Logano and Buescher. During the pit stops, Truex was hit by McDowell, who was trying to exit his pit stall, as Truex spun backward down pit road. Amid the pit stops, Hamlin was penalized for equipment interference. In addition, teammate Bell was also penalized for removing equipment from his pit box while Byron was penalized for a safety violation. McLeod and Ty Dillon, both of whom remained on the track, would pit after remaining on the track for a lap as Larson cycled to the lead followed by Blaney.

    The second stage started on Lap 66 as Larson and Blaney occupied the front row. At the start, Blaney surged ahead on the inside lane with drafting help from teammate Logano through the first two turns and through the backstretch. With Larson fighting back on the outside lane, he would lead the proceeding lap before Blaney surged ahead and cleared the pack stacked up to two lanes during the following lap. Blaney would continue to lead at the Lap 70 mark as he had both of his Team Penske competitors, Logano and Cindric, running in the top three. In addition, Alex Bowman carved his way up to the front as he would overtake Cindric for third along with Haley, Bubba Wallace, Larson and Daniel Suarez.

    Then on Lap 79, the third caution of the event flew when Corey LaJoie, who was racing within the top 25, turned and sent Byron for a spin just past the start/finish line towards the frontstretch as Byron managed to keep his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 spinning below the racetrack before he continued despite flat-spotting his tires. Despite continuing, Byron would lose a lap to the leaders.

    During the caution period, select names that included Wallace, Ryan Preece, Truex, Elliott and McLeod remained on the track while the rest led by Blaney pitted. During the pit stops, Reddick was penalized due to a crew member jumping over the pit box too soon. Elliott would then pit prior to the restart and amid a miscommunication with his pit crew to pit earlier with the field

    With the race restarting under green on Lap 85, Wallace and Truex, both of whom started on the front row, dueled for the lead as Wallace managed to lead the proceeding lap while running on the outside lane. With Truex fighting back on the inside lane, he then managed to surge ahead and move in front of Wallace to assume control of the field on Lap 87 as Bowman, Logano, Preece and Buescher followed in pursuit. Then on Lap 88, Ty Gibbs scraped the backstretch’s outside wall amid contact with Erik Jones, but the event remained under green flag conditions as the field led by Truex remained stacked in two fast-paced, tight-packed lanes.

    On Lap 92 and just as Buescher carved his way to the front over Truex, the caution returned when Larson got loose and slipped sideways in front of Erik Jones as he then spun amid oncoming traffic in between Turns 3 and 4 while the field managed to dodge Larson’s No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Chase Briscoe and Austin Hill both would spin below the track while trying to avoid Larson as Larson would damage the right-front end of his car after the right-front tire blew while he was trying to pit.

    During the caution period, select names that included Truex, Wallace, Ty Dillon, Noah Gragson, Elliott, Almirola, Custer and McDowell pitted while the rest led by Buescher remained on the track.

    By the proceeding restart on Lap 98, Buescher and Haley, both of whom restarted on the front row, dueled for the lead as Buescher managed to retain the top spot by a hair while running on the outside lane. As the field fanned out to three lanes just past the Lap 100 mark, Buescher cleared the field and assumed command of the field followed by Allmendinger, Logano and Blaney as Haley fell back to fifth. Bowman would then surge up into the top five by Lap 102, but he would be overtaken by Preece and Cindric amid the draft while Buescher retained the lead ahead of Allmendinger, Logano and Blaney.

    By Lap 110 and with the field stilled fanned out towards the front, Buescher continued to lead ahead of Allmendinger, Logano, Blaney and Prece while Cindric, Bowman, Hamlin, Reddick and Corey LaJoie were in the top 10. By then, 34 of 37 starters were not only running on the lead lap but they were separated by four seconds as the top-eight competitors were separated by eight-tenths of a second.

    Ten laps later and with the intensity of the competition igniting towards the front and around the venue, Buescher continued to lead by a tenth of a second over Allmendinger followed by Team Penske’s trio of Logano, Blaney and Cindric while Bowman, Hamlin, Keselowski, Bell and LaJoie followed pursuit in the top 10. By then, Larson retired in the garage.

    Another two laps later and just as Team Penske’s trio of Logano, Blaney and Cindric overtook Allmendinger towards the front, the event’s fifth caution flew when LaJoie and Erik Jones made contact in between Turns 1 and 2 as LaJoie got loose and slipped up the track before he bounced off of Reddick, which sent Reddick’s No. 45 The Beast Unleashed Toyota TRD Camry scraping into the wall before he darted sideways. In the process, LaJoie would get hit by Ty Gibbs, who received a hard shot from Chastain as Chastain damaged the right front of his No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, while Truex had to slam on the brakes to avoid sustaining any damage to his car.

    During the caution period, some led by Buescher and including Logano, Blaney, Cindric, Bowman, Keselowski, Haley, Elliott, Preece, Almirola, McDowell, McLeod, Briscoe, JJ Yeley, and Kevin Harvick remained on the track while the rest led by Allmendinger pitted.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 128, Buescher and Logano dueled for the lead through the first two turns as they had Ford teammates Blaney and Cindric drafting them. Buescher, however, would muscle ahead with drafting help from Cindric as the field fanned out to two stacked lanes. With the field reaching its halfway mark on Lap 130, Buescher retained the lead ahead of Cindric, Blaney and Logano while Keselowski carved his way into the top five. Cindric, however, would receive drafting help from teammate Blaney to shoot into the lead through Turns 3 and 4 during the following lap. Keselowski would then merge into the top three and challenge Cindric for the lead during the proceeding laps as Buescher was left to battle Blaney and Logano for third.

    By Lap 140, Cindric was leading following a long duel against Keselowski as Keselowski settled in second while Blaney and Buescher battled for third. Behind, Truex battled Bowman for fifth while Haley, Allmendinger, Logano and Wallace battled and jostled against one another inside the top 10. Keselowski would then reassume the lead two laps later as he re-ignited his battle on Cindric for the lead. With Keselowski out in front, Blaney would then draw himself back towards the front and challenge Keselowski for the lead.

    At the Lap 150 mark, Keselowski was leading the field while trying to fend off teammate Buescher, Blaney and Cindric amid the draft and in close-quarters racing.

    Five laps later, the caution flew when Bowman, who was running towards the front, slipped up the track through Turns 3 and 4 and clipped Hamlin as he sent Hamlin’s No. 11 Coca-Cola Toyota TRD Camry sideways entering the frontstretch before both spun through the frontstretch while the rest of the field led by Keselowski dodged the incident. The caution period for the incident involving Hamlin and Bowman was enough for the second stage scheduled to conclude on Lap 160 to conclude under caution as Keselowski captured his second stage victory of the 2023 season. Blaney settled in second while Buescher, Cindric, Allmendinger, Wallace, Haley, McDowell, Bell and Preece were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break and with weather threats looming, some led by new leader Allmendinger and including McDowell, Erik Jones, Byron, Suarez, Gilliland, JJ Yeley, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Cole Custer, Kyle Busch, McLeod, Ty Dillon and Reddick remained on the track while the rest led by Keselowski pitted amid mixed strategy.

    With 96 laps remaining, the final stage started as Allmendinger and McDowell occupied the front row. At the start, McDowell tried to surge ahead on the inside lane through the first two turns. With both Allmendinger and McDowell remaining dead even for the lead, however, Allmendinger surged ahead on the outside lane as he led the proceeding lap. Allmendinger would then pull ahead of McDowell before Byron carved his way into the lead with 93 laps remaining. With Byron out in front and as the field fanned out to three tight-packed lanes, Allmendinger settled in second followed by Suarez, Gilliland and Yeley while McDowell, who was running low of fuel, battled Stenhouse and Kyle Busch for sixth.

    With 88 laps remaining, Harvick spun his No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang just past the frontstretch amid contact from Hamlin, but he kept his car spinning below the track as the event remained under green. Back at the front, Byron retained the lead ahead of Allmendinger while Kyle Busch used the outside lane to try to bolt his way into the top five. By then, Keselowski was back into the top five and running in fifth while Suarez started to challenge Allmendinger for second.

    Then with 83 laps remaining, the caution flew when Preece received a bump from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. entering Turn 3 that sent him sideways and spinning into the path of Wallace as both spun towards the bottom of Turn 3 after running in the top 10. At the moment of caution, Byron was scored the leader ahead of Suarez, Allmendinger, McDowell and Kyle Busch.

    As the field continued to run under a cautious pace behind the pace with pit road closed and with less than 80 laps remaining, reports of rain and sprinkles were being reported in Turn 1 and through the backstretch as Byron retained the lead. Then with 75 laps remaining, the field led by Byron was directed to pit road and the event was placed under a red flag period due to the increase of rain around the venue.

    Soon after and with the rain intensifying around the venue, NASCAR declared the event official 75 laps shy of its scheduled distance and William Byron was awarded his fourth victory of the 2023 Cup season.

    With the victory, Byron became the first four-time winner of the 2023 Cup Series season as he also claimed his second victory at Atlanta and his eighth career victory in his 199th start in NASCAR’s premier series. He also recorded the sixth victory of the season for Hendrick Motorsports and the 12th for the Chevrolet nameplate.

    Ironically, Byron’s victory occurred as Goodyear Racing tires celebrated its 2,000th Cup Series race victory at Atlanta. With Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 24 car achieving the victory thanks to Byron during Goodyear’s milestone mark, it marked another historic moment for the No. 24 car as NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon piloted the No. 24 car to victory at Bristol in 1995 during Goodyear’s 1,000th Cup race victory.

    Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “Just teamwork,” Byron said on USA Network. “I don’t completely understand this one. It’s a really good feeling. I’ve never had a rain victory like this, but just thanks to AXALTA, Chevrolet. It’s cool, man. We went through so much throughout the night. Spinning through the infield, destroyed the bottom of the car, dragging it around the apron trying to stay on the lead lap. At that point, you just don’t have the grip, so I was real edgy back in traffic, but [crew chief] Rudy [Fugle] made a good call to pit there [on Lap 125 under caution] and then stay out [prior to Lap 165 restart]. Once we got towards the front, it was OK. We could make the right decisions, block OK and get the lead from AJ [Allmendinger] and was just able to manage the runs. Just a crazy night.”

    “[This win]’s really important,” Byron added. “We’re just keeping our heads in it. Over the last few weeks, we finished in the top 15 when we don’t have good cars. The days we have really good cars, we finish in the top five. It’s just a matter of staying with it. Today was definitely a lucky break. I can’t overstate that. We were in the lead, but there’s certainly a lot of laps to go. Just thankful for a good team to make good decisions and to stay in the race when it’s easy to kind of give up and pack it in.”

    With Byron being awarded the victory, Suarez concluded the rain-shortened event in the runner-up spot followed by Allmendinger while McDowell, who gambled late to remain on the track and towards the front while on low fuel, netted fourth place in the final running order and moved inside the top-16 cutline for the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs. Kyle Busch came home fifth while Keselowski, JJ Yeley, Haley, Blaney and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished in the top 10.

    There were 18 lead changes for 12 different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 43 laps. In total, 27 of 37 starters finished on the lead lap.

    With eight regular-season events remaining of this year’s Cup Series schedule, William Byron leads the regular-season standings by 21 points over Martin Truex Jr., 36 over Kyle Busch, 37 over Christopher Bell and 53 over Ross Chastain.

    William Byron, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are currently guaranteed spots for the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the regular-season stretch. Kevin Harvick, Chris Buescher, Brad Keselowski, Daniel Suarez and Michael McDowell currently occupy the remaining vacant spots in the Playoffs based on points, with McDowell occupying the 16th and final vacant spot by three points over Bubba Wallace, 13 over AJ Allmendinger, 26 over rookie Ty Gibbs, 38 over Austin Cindric, 41 over Justin Haley, 44 over Alex Bowman and 60 over Chase Elliott.

    Results.

    1. William Byron, 20 laps led

    2. Daniel Suarez

    3. AJ Allmendinger, six laps led

    4. Michael McDowell

    5. Kyle Busch

    6. Brad Keselowski, 19 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    7. JJ Yeley

    8. Justin Haley

    9. Ryan Blaney, 20 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    11. Erik Jones

    12. Austin Cindric, 10 laps led

    13. Chase Elliott

    14. Denny Hamlin

    15. Chris Buescher, 39 laps led

    16. Todd Gilliland

    17. Joey Logano, 11 laps led

    18. Aric Almirola, 46 laps led

    19. Ty Dillon

    20. BJ McLeod, one lap led

    21. Austin Dillon

    22. Chase Briscoe

    23. Christopher Bell

    24. Ryan Preece

    25. Bubba Wallace, five laps led

    26. Alex Bowman

    27. Tyler Reddick

    28. Harrison Burton, one lap down

    29. Martin Truex Jr., one lap down, five laps led

    30. Kevin Harvick, four laps down

    31. Corey LaJoie, six laps down

    32. Cole Custer, seven laps down

    33. Noah Gragson, 11 laps down

    34. Ty Gibbs, 35 laps down

    35. Ross Chastain – OUT, Dvp

    36. Kyle Larson – OUT, Accident, four laps led

    37. Austin Hill – OUT, Dvp

    Next on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ lone visit of this season to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, July 16, at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • John Hunter Nemechek grabs third Xfinity victory of 2023 at Atlanta

    John Hunter Nemechek grabs third Xfinity victory of 2023 at Atlanta

    An overtime shootout amid a late on-track incident provided an opportunity for John Hunter Nemechek to capitalize against Kaulig Racing’s trio squad, which he did so as he motored his way to a thrilling victory in the Alsco Uniforms 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 8.

    The 26-year-old Nemechek from Mooresville, North Carolina, led the final three of 169 over-scheduled laps in an event where he started on the front row and was running up front with the front-runners before he slipped and lost the draft in the closing laps of the first stage. In spite of not finishing in the top 10 during both stage periods, a multi-car wreck at the start of the final stage drew Nemechek and his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota crew back into contention.

    He was left to contend against Kaulig Racing’s triple squad and a host of Xfinity Series regulars for the victory. Then after a caution period for Austin Hill’s wreck with three laps remaining that sent the field into overtime, Nemechek received a push from Daniel Hemric to overtake Justin Haley for the lead and fend off Hemric for two laps to capture his third checkered flag of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, rookie Chandler Smith scored his second Xfinity career pole after posting a pole-winning lap at 172.565 mph in 32.127 seconds. Joining him on the front row was John Hunter Nemechek, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 171.971 mph in 32.238 seconds.

    Prior to the event, the following names that included Sheldon Creed, Austin Hill, rookie Parker Retzlaff, Greg Van Alst and Mason Massey started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Chandler Smith and John Hunter Nemechek dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Smith launched ahead through the backstretch with drafting help from Josh Berry on the outside lane. Berry then veered left and drew himself alongside Smith through Turns 3 and 4. With both competitors remaining dead even entering the frontstretch, Smith managed to lead the first lap by a hair over Berry as rookie Sammy Smith, Nemechek and Riley Herbst pursued amid the draft.

    During the second lap, Chandler Smith and Berry would continue to duel early for the lead in front of Sammy Smith and Nemechek as Smith managed to pull ahead and lead the proceeding laps while running on the outside lane.

    Then on the fifth lap, Berry would manage to pull ahead on the inside lane in Turn 1 and emerge out in front of the stacked pack that fanned out through the backstretch. Berry would then lead by three-tenths of a second over a side-by-side duel between Chandler Smith and Nemechek as all 37 starters were separated within nine seconds. Berry would continue to lead as the event surpassed its Lap 10 mark. By then, Herbst moved up to third behind Chandler Smith while Nemechek was in fourth in front of teammate Ty Gibbs.

    At the Lap 20 mark, Berry continued to lead by a tenth of a second over Chandler Smith, Herbst, Nemechek, Ty Gibbs, Justin Haley, Custer, Jeremy Clements, Daniel Hemric and Justin Allgaier. By then, Austin Hill, who started the event at the rear of the field, carved his way up to 11th ahead of Brandon Jones, Parker Kligerman, Sam Mayer and Anthony Alfredo while Jeffrey Earnhardt, Brett Moffitt, Sheldon Creed, Joe Graf Jr. and Sammy Smith occupied the top 20.

    Seven laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Kligerman, who was running within the top 15, spun in Turn 2 after cutting a left-rear tire on his No. 48 Spiked Light Coolers Chevrolet Camaro. During the first caution period, some including Ty Gibbs, Custer, Moffitt, Mayer, Creed and Sammy Smith pitted while the rest led by Berry remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Ty Gibbs was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

    When the race restarted on Lap 34, Berry, who restarted on the outside lane, muscled ahead with a push from Herbst as he retained the lead over Nemechek, who restarted on the inside lane before he pulled even through the backstretch. Berry and Nemechek would then duel for the lead amid a stacked pack trailing behind, with the former still emerging out in front. As the laps proceeded, Nemechek then slipped up the track in Turns 3 and 4, which allowed Herbst, Chandler Smith, Hill, Haley and Clements to move up while Berry retained the lead.

    When the final lap of the first stage struck, Berry was still leading ahead of a side-by-side battle between Herbst and Chandler Smith. Then exiting the backstretch, Herbst gained a strong run to Berry’s outside amid a push from Haley. With Chandler Smith trying to draw against Berry entering the frontstretch, Herbst used the momentum from the outside lane to pull away with the lead and claim the first stage victory on Lap 40, which marked his first stage victory of the 2023 season. Berry, who led 34 of 40 laps, settled in second while Chandler Smith, Haley, Hill, Allgaier, Clements, Creed, Joe Graf Jr. and Retzlaff were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Herbst pitted while others led by Creed, who was among those who pitted during the first caution period, remained on the track. During the pit stops, Jeb Burton exited first after only opting for fuel in his car while Herbst, the first competitor who pitted for fresh tires, followed pursuit.

    The second stage started on Lap 46 as Creed and Custer occupied the front row. At the start, Creed gained a brief advantage on the outside lane until Custer drew himself into a side-by-side challenge with Creed from the inside lane. As both continued to duel, Creed would manage to lead at the start/finish line when the field returned to the frontstretch.

    By Lap 50 and with the field fanning out, Ryan Sieg made his move to the front as he battled Creed for the lead. Not long after, the caution returned for an incident involving Nemechek and Retzlaff in Turn 4. During the caution period, some including Moffitt and Daniel Hemric pitted while the rest led by Sieg remained on the track.

    During the following restart on Lap 56, Sieg and Creed dueled for the lead as Creed attempted to take the lead while restarting on the inside lane. Sieg, however, fought back on the outside lane and despite gaining a strong run through Turns 3 and 4, Creed would return to the top of the leaderboard during the following lap. Creed would continue to lead by a hair through the Lap 60 mark as Hill was lurking in the top five behind Sieg, Custer and Chandler Smith.

    Then two laps later and just as Sieg overtook Creed amid a tight battle at the front, the caution flew when Greg Van Alst, a newcomer to the Xfinity Series and winner of this year’s ARCA Menards Series opener at Daytona International Speedway, wrecked along with Mason Massey in Turn 4 as Van Alst’s No. 44 car burst into flames, with the driver able to exit uninjured. Amid an extensive caution period, some including Chandler Smith, Haley, Herbst, Mayer, Nemechek, Jeb Burton, Brandon Jones, Parker Retzlaff, Joe Graf Jr., Brennan Poole, Blaine Perkins, Garrett Smithley and David Starr pitted while the rest led by Sieg remained on the track.

    When the race restarted on Lap 71, Creed managed to overtake Sieg to reassume the lead. As Creed continued to lead during the proceeding laps, Hill then commenced his attempt to take the lead as he tried to overtake Sieg, who blocked and briefly stalled his momentum. By Lap 75, however, Hill carved his way into second as he then battled dead even against teammate Creed for the lead. While Hill would lead a lap for himself on Lap 77, he would remain stuck in a dead-even battle with teammate Creed as Sieg, Custer, Berry, Allgaier and the rest of the field pursued in close-quarters racing.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 80, Creed fended off a last-lap charge from teammate Hill to claim his fourth stage victory of the 2023 season. Hill settled in second while Sieg, Berry, Allgaier, Custer, Hemric, Chandler Smith, Kligerman and Sammy Smith were scored in the top 10. By then, the top-12 competitors were separated by nine-tenths of a second while 36 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    During the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Creed pitted for service while Joe Graf Jr., Akinori Ogata and Mason Massey remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Allgaier was the first competitor to exit pit road first followed by Clements, Haley, Mayer, Hemric and Custer. Both Allgaier and Clements, however, would return to pit road after both missed their respective pit boxes amid the pit stops with the majority of the field. This cycled Haley into second behind Graf, who remained on the track with the lead, while Mayer, Hemric and Custer were scored in the top five.

    With 77 laps remaining, the final stage started as Graf and Haley occupied the front row. At the start, Graf briefly took off with the lead through Turns 1 and 2 until Haley rocketed to the lead followed by teammates Hemric and Chandler Smith on the inside lane.

    Two laps later, the caution quickly returned for a multi-car wreck that started when Herbst, who was running within the top 12, dropped off the pace through the backstretch after losing a left-rear tire on his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang. Herbst’s tire issue ignited a stack-up and a chain-reaction wreck that involved Sieg, Mayer, Blaine Perkins, Poole, Weatherman, Alfredo, Josh Williams, Brandon Jones and Creed. The multi-car wreck on the backstretch occurred just as Ty Gibbs had also fallen off the pace and was running at the rear of the field due to a flat right-rear tire on his car.

    During the caution period, names that included Mason Massey, Berry, Mayer, Garrett Smithley, Josh Bilicki, Clements, Allgaier, Poole, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Brandon Jones, Kyle Weatherman and Alfredo pitted for adjustments and repairs while the rest led by Kaulig Racing’s trio of Haley, Hemric and Chandler Smith remained on the track.

    When the race restarted with 67 laps remaining, Haley, who restarted on the outside lane and in front of teammates Hemric and Chandler Smith, retained the lead ahead of Nemechek, who restarted on the inside lane. Haley would remain in front of teammates Hemric and Chandler Smith with the lead during the proceeding laps. The caution, however, would return with 63 laps remaining when Kyle Weatherman came to a stop at the entrance of pit road after he had made earlier contact with the wall.

    During the proceeding restart with 55 laps remaining, Haley received the upper hand amid a side-by-side duel against Nemechek through the first two turns as Haley retained the lead through the backstretch. With Haley out in front, teammate Hemric settled in second while Nemechek, Hill and Graf were in the top five.

    With 50 laps remaining, Haley was still leading by a tenth of a second over teammate Hemric as Hill motored past Nemechek for third place. By then, Graf retained fifth while Custer, Retzlaff, Sammy Smith, Kligerman and Chandler Smith were in the top 10. A few laps later, Hill navigated his way around Hemric for second place as he ignited his pursuit of Haley for the lead.

    Down to the final 40 laps of the event, Haley continued to lead by a tenth of a second in his No. 10 Campers Inn RV Chevrolet Camaro over Hill while Chandler Smith made a bold, aggressive move from the inside to the outside lane to move up to third in front of teammate Hemric and Nemechek while Custer, Retzlaff, Kligerman, Moffitt and Graf were in the top 10. By then, the top-14 competitors were separated by two-and-a-half seconds with the top seven separated within a second.

    Three laps later, Hill, who tried to make an early move on Haley for the lead, was unable to execute his move for the lead and lost the draft towards the front with no one electing to draft with him as Chandler Smith, Hemric, Nemechek and Custer all overtook him, which dropped Hill to sixth on the leaderboard.

    Down to the final 25 laps of the event, Kaulig Racing’s trio led by Haley and followed by teammates Chandler Smith and Hemric were at the top of the leaderboard followed by Nemechek and Custer while Hill was still mired back in sixth. Meanwhile, Kligerman, who was a lap down following his early incident, was back up to seventh followed by Retzlaff, Moffitt and Allgaier while Sammy Smith, Ty Gibbs, Clements, Graf and Mayer were in the top 10.

    With 15 laps remaining, Haley was still leading by a tenth of a second ahead of teammates Smith and Hemric while Hill carved his way back to fourth as he then tried to challenge Hemric for third. By then, the top-six competitors that included Hill, Nemechek and Allgaier were separated by seven-tenths of a second as the leaders were also starting to approach lapped traffic. With some of the lapped traffic that included Berry were lapped, Haley would retain the lead ahead of his Kaulig Racing teammates with 10 laps remaining.

    Then with three laps remaining, Hill, who moved up to third as he along with Nemechek and Kligerman overtook Hemric, had his hopes of winning at his home track three consecutive times evaporate after the air off of Kligerman’s front nose of the car caused Hill’s No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet Camaro to get loose as he slipped sideways and made rear end contact with the outside wall in between Turns 3 and 4 with the caution flying and the event being sent into overtime.

    With the field restarting in overtime, Chandler Smith and Kligerman both ran out of fuel, which caused the field to fan out and scatter as Nemechek rocketed his No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota Supra to the lead over Haley with Hemric pushing Nemechek out in front. Through the backstretch and with the field still being scattered, Nemechek led a four-car breakaway that involved Hemric, Haley and Custer, all of whom were separated by three-tenths of a second.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Nemechek remained the leader by a tenth of a second over Hemric as Haley tried to make a move beneath Hemric for second. With Nemechek retaining the lead in front of the field through Turns 1 and 2, Hemric retook the runner-up spot from teammate Haley entering the backstretch and tried to gain a run amid the draft on Nemechek with Custer following suit. Nemechek, however, blocked Hemric’s No. 11 Cirkul Chevrolet Camaro entering Turn 3, which stalled Hemric’s momentum and was the difference maker as Nemechek was able to muscle away entering the frontstretch and claim the checkered flag by two-tenths of a second.

    With the victory, Nemechek, who last won at Martinsville Speedway in April, notched his third victory of the 2023 Xfinity season and the fifth of his career as he joined Austin Hill as three-time race winners of this season. He also achieved his second NASCAR national touring series victory at Atlanta after winning the Truck Series event at Atlanta in February 2016 and the fifth of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing.

    “I got a huge push from [Hemric in overtime], so thanks to Daniel for giving me that huge push,” Nemechek said on USA Network. “Early on in the race, if you would’ve said that we would’ve won the race, I definitely would’ve told you that wasn’t going to be the case. We didn’t have the fastest car tonight. I’m really proud of this whole No. 20 team. We just had to keep making our Mobil 1 Toyota GR Supra better all night. [Crew chief] Ben [Beshore] and the guys did awesome. They made the right adjustments all night, got us to where we needed to be. It came down to an overtime finish and luckily, we were able to execute on that restart. Proud to be the one holding the wheel of this No. 20 car.”

    Meanwhile, Hemric settled in second place for a second consecutive time at Atlanta after also finishing second at Atlanta earlier in March. In between his two runner-up results at Atlanta, he has finished in the top 10 six times in 11 events. Despite coming up one spot short of winning, he has moved up to 10th place in the Xfinity regular-season standings and is 41 points above the top-12 cutline to make the 2023 Xfinity Series Playoffs.

    “I showed some super amount of frustration at the end when I got out of the car,” Hemric said. “I felt like I’d backed up to [Nemechek] there and thought I was gonna have the run down the front to at least give myself an opportunity to get [Nemechek] back. It’s frustrating. Obviously, we all want to bring back Kaulig [Racing] some trophies. For sure, [I] let one get away here tonight. I probably couldn’t be as aggressive as I wanted to there throughout the last 20 laps, even trying to hold [Hill] off there for our organization. When the dust started to settle, I thought we were gonna have an opportunity to do something special there. Hate it for [sponsor] Cirkul. I wanted to get them to Victory Lane, but fell short.”

    Custer settled in third after edging Haley, who led a race-high 80 laps, in a photo finish while Sam Mayer came home in fifth.

    “I think just leading all those laps, [I was] just short on fuel there,” Haley said. “I thought, obviously, we had [the race] won. Things just don’t work out sometimes.”

    Ty Gibbs, Kyle Sieg, Kligerman, Josh Williams and Sammy Smith completed the top 10. Notably, pole-sitter Chandler Smith ended up 20th after running out of fuel during the overtime attempt and never recovering his pace.

    There were 14 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 50 laps. In total, 17 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

    With nine Xfinity regular-season events remaining on the schedule, John Hunter Nemechek leads the regular-season standings by 16 points over Austin Hill, 45 over Cole Custer and 54 over Justin Allgaier.

    Results.

    1. John Hunter Nemechek, three laps led

    2. Daniel Hemric

    3. Cole Custer

    4. Justin Haley, 80 laps led

    5. Sam Mayer

    6. Ty Gibbs

    7. Kyle Sieg

    8. Parker Kligerman

    9. Josh Williams

    10. Sammy Smith

    11. Brett Moffitt

    12. Austin Hill, one lap led

    13. Jeb Burton

    14. Kaz Grala

    15. Jeremy Clements

    16. Parker Retzlaff

    17. Justin Allgaier

    18. Josh Bilicki, one lap down

    19. Josh Berry, one lap down, 34 laps led

    20. Chandler Smith, one lap down, five laps led

    21. Joe Graf Jr., two laps down, four laps led

    22. David Starr, two laps down

    23. Jeffrey Earnhardt, two laps down

    24. Mason Massey, two laps down

    25. Ryan Ellis, two laps down

    26. Garrett Smithley, two laps down

    27. Parker Chase, two laps down

    28. Brennan Poole, four laps down

    29. Akinori Ogata – OUT, Tranmission

    30. Mason Maggio – OUT, Electrical

    31. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Accident

    32. Blaine Perkins – OUT, Accident

    33. Brandon Jones – OUT, Dvp

    34. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, Dvp

    35. Sheldon Creed – OUT, Accident, 24 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    36. Riley Herbst – OUT, Accident, three laps led, Stage 1 winner

    37. Ryan Sieg – OUT, Accident, 15 laps led

    38. Greg Van Alst – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ lone visit of the season to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, July 15, at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Shane Van Gisbergen wins in NASCAR debut in inaugural Chicago Street Course event

    Shane Van Gisbergen wins in NASCAR debut in inaugural Chicago Street Course event

    History was made in the NASCAR Cup Series’ inaugural running of the Grant Park 220 at the Chicago Street Course on Sunday, July 2, as Shane Van Gisbergen succeeded against the stars of NASCAR’s premier series by scoring his first NASCAR victory in his series debut.

    Van Gisbergen, a three-time Supercars champion from Auckland, New Zealand, led nine of 78 over-scheduled laps, including the final eight, in a weekend where he made his inaugural presence in NASCAR as he was serving as the second-ever competitor to pilot Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 entry. Qualifying in third place, he finished in the top five and scored stage points during both stage periods while remaining within sight of the front-runners in an event that was delayed by 90+ minutes due to heavy precipitation that ultimately shortened the event to 25 laps of its scheduled distance.

    After keeping pace with the front-runners, Van Gisbergen, who nearly overtook Justin Haley for the lead with eight laps remaining amid a late caution period, fended off a late challenge from Haley during a restart with five laps remaining to assume the lead. He then appeared to be cruising to victory before the caution returned with two laps remaining for another on-track incident and the event was sent into overtime. During the event’s lone overtime period, however, Van Gisbergen was not to be denied as he rocketed away from the field and held off the competition through a two-lap shootout to win in his NASCAR debut.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, July 1, Denny Hamlin claimed his third Cup pole of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 89.557 mph in 88.435 seconds. Joining him on the front row was his 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 89.513 mph in 88.479 seconds.

    Prior to the event, the following names that included Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. dropped to the rear of the field as all started the event in backup cars. William Byron, Austin Cindric, Todd Gilliland and Justin Haley also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars.

    Once the engines fired and the competitors rolled off of pit road amid a delay of more than 90 minutes due to heavy precipitation that nearly flooded the course, the competitors filed in a single file line under a cautious pace and behind the pace car for several laps, with the second lap featuring the competitors rolling through pit road.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced amid a single file start, Hamlin received an early challenge from Reddick entering the first left-hand turn. With Hamlin slipping the turn, Reddick would maintain his early challenge on Hamlin through E. Balbo Dr. and entering the second, right-hand turn. Both would duel for the top spot through Turns 3 to 5 until Reddick pulled ahead with the lead entering S. Columbus Dr. in between Turns 5 and 6. Reddick continued to maintain the top spot through Turn 6 while behind, Aric Almirola spun his No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang just past Turn 5.

    Then ahead of Almirola’s incident, more early trouble ignited in Turn 6 when Erik Jones made contact with Brad Keselowski while trying to brake his No. 43 Draiver Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 amid the slick circuit entering Turn 6 as both competitors along with rookie Noah Gragson made light contact against the tire barriers with little damage to their respective entries. Amid the chaos, the race remained under green as all competitors continued. With the leaders returning to the frontstretch, Reddick proceeded to lead the first lap in his No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota TRD Camry ahead of Hamlin.

    During the second lap and with the field still navigating its way through the 12-turn circuit under competitive, slick conditions, early trouble struck for the pole-sitter Hamlin, who slipped and made contact against the Turn 2 tire barriers. With Hamlin falling back to 14th and the race remaining under green, Reddick continued to lead by more than a second over Christopher Bell while third-place Shane Van Gisbergen, a three-time Supercars champion who qualified an impressive third place in his NASCAR debut while piloting Trackhouse Racing’s No. 91 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, was in third. Behind, Daniel Suarez was in fourth ahead of Michael McDowell while Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Jenson Button and rookie Ty Gibbs were in the top 10.

    Then on the third lap, the first caution of the event flew when Kyle Busch, who was running in 16th, went dead straight into the Turn 6 tire barriers amid the slick conditions as the front nose and windshield of Busch’s No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was wedged underneath the tire barriers. In spite of the incident, Busch received assistance from a wrecker to have his car towed out of the barriers as he proceeded under a cautious pace.

    When the race restarted under green on the fifth lap, Reddick maintained the lead ahead of Bell, Van Gisbergen, Suarez and McDowell while the field behind remained in a long single file line before fanning out through the first five turns. With Reddick leading by more than a second over Bell, McDowell commenced his early charge to the front during the following lap by battling Suarez for fifth as Logano tried to close in to join the battle.

    On the eighth lap, Reddick slipped through Turns 6 and 7, which allowed Bell to capitalize and cycle his No. 20 Craftsman Toyota TRD Camry into the lead. By then, Van Gisbergen maintained third while McDowell and Truex were running in the top five ahead of Suarez and Kyle Larson.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Bell was leading by more than two seconds over Reddick followed by Van Gisbergen, McDowell and Truex while Suarez, Larson, Jenson Button, AJ Allmendinger and Ty Gibbs were running in the top 10. Behind, Logano had fallen back to 11th ahead of Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Corey LaJoie and Alex Bowman while Chase Briscoe, Ryan Preece, Bubba Wallace, Austin Dillon and Josh Bilicki were running in the top 20. Meanwhile, Ryan Blaney was back in 21st ahead of Ross Chastain, Andy Lally, William Byron and Chase Elliott while Ty Dillon, Austin Cindric, Harrison Burton, Kevin Harvick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were mired in the top 30. By then, Brad Keselowski was strapped back in 35th and Kyle Busch was running in 37th, dead last.

    Two laps later and amid a series of jostles and on-track battles ensuing around the 12-turn circuit, the second caution of the event flew when Noah Gragson wrecked his No. 42 Wendy’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 against the Turn 6 tire barriers as he smoked his rear tires while unsuccessfully trying to reverse his car out of the barriers. Like Busch’s incident, Gragson received assistance from the wrecker to have his car towed out from the barriers before he proceeded under caution.

    During the second caution period, select names that included Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace, Harvick and Gragson pitted while the rest led by Bell remained on the track.

    During the following restart on Lap 15, Bell launched ahead with a strong start as he maintained the lead through the first turn with Reddick in pursuit. With the field maintaining a long single file line through the first five turns, Bell started to stretch his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Reddick and more than a second over Van Gisbergen while Truex was in fourth ahead of McDowell, Suarez and Larson. In the midst of the on-track battles, Bowman and LaJoie, both of whom bumped and battled fiercely on the track earlier, battled hard for 14th through Turns 8 to 12 while Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe and Ryan Preece battled behind for 16th.

    At the conclusion of the first stage period on Lap 20, Bell captured his first stage victory of the 2023 Cup season. Reddick trailed in the runner-up spot by more than a second while Van Gisbergen, Truex, McDowell, Suarez, Larson, Allmendinger, Ty Gibbs and Jenson Button were scored in the top 10. Shortly after, select names that included Bowman, LaJoie and Briscoe pitted under green for slick tires. By then, Blaney, who slapped the Turn 6 concrete barriers, had plummeted to the bottom of the leaderboard as he continued without drawing a caution.

    With the event proceeding under green to start the second stage on Lap 21, Bell continued to extend his advantage to more than two seconds over Reddick while third-place Van Gisbergen also trailed by more than two seconds. During the Lap 22 mark, Logano wrecked against the Turn 6 tire barriers, but he managed to reverse his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang and proceed without drawing a caution. Shortly after, more trouble ensued as Jenson Button, who was trying to turn right and enter pit road under green in Turn 12, came across the path of Buescher as he was hit and spun backward towards the pit road entrance. Then as Button tried to loop his No. 15 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang around, he was nearly hit by Logano, who was also trying to pit, but both proceeded under a cautious pace for service.

    During the proceeding laps, a bevy of names that included McDowell, Buescher, Byron, Ty Dillon, Almirola, Todd Gilliland, Truex, Larson, Elliott, Andy Lally, Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Hamlin, Cindric, Erik Jones and Kyle Busch pitted under green for slick tires. The leader Bell would then pit under green along with Reddick, Ross Chastain, Suarez and Stenhouse at the Lap 25 mark while Van Gisbergen cycled into the lead followed by Ty Gibbs and Preece. By then, Elliott, who had collided against the tire barriers in Turn 2 moments after pitting, proceeded without drawing a caution.

    Once Van Gisbergen and Ty Gibbs pitted for slick tires through Laps 25 and 26, Bell cycled back into the lead. Van Gisbergen would manage to exit pit road and run in second ahead of Reddick, Truex and Suarez.

    On Lap 29, the event’s third caution period flew when Gragson wrecked and got his car stuck against the Turn 6 tire barriers for a second time, with the Las Vegas native unable to reverse his car and proceed without assistance.

    As the event restarted under green on Lap 33, Bell retained the lead while Reddick battled and overtook Van Gisbergen for second as Truex and Suarez battled for fourth. As the field made its way through the first five turns, Larson dive-bombed his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 up to fourth over Truex and Suarez as Bell navigated his way through Turns 6 to 12 while extending his advantage to more than a second.

    Two laps later and at the Lap 35 mark, Larson continued his charge to the front as he overtook Van Gisbergen for third. Suarez, Van Gisbergen’s teammate at Trackhouse Racing, would follow suit while Bell stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Reddick. Behind, Truex fell back to sixth while McDowell, Allmendinger, Ty Gibbs and Buescher were in the top 10.

    By Lap 40, Bell was leading by more than three seconds over the new runner-up competitor, Larson, as Reddick fell back to third. By then, Suarez and Van Gisbergen remained in the top five ahead of McDowell and Ty Gibbs while Truex, who was battling for a top-five spot a few laps earlier, slipped back to eighth in front of Allmendinger and Buescher. Shortly after, the fourth caution period flew when Alex Bowman, who was running in 11th, was hit by Hamlin as he spun his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Turn 11 and was mired with oncoming traffic while trying to straighten his car.

    With the event restarting under green with two laps remaining in the second stage, Bell retained the lead ahead of a hard-charging Larson through the first two turns as the field fanned out and jostled for positions. With the field still battling as Bowman parked his car near S. Columbus Dr. between Turns 5 and 6 due to a mechanical issue, Bell maintained the lead by over half a second over Larson while Reddick maintained third ahead of Van Gisbergen, McDowell, Ty Gibbs and Suarez, who hit the wall in Turn 1. With Bowman’s car starting to smoke amid the terminal mechanical issue, which affected his hopes of vying for a spot in the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs, the caution returned.

    The caution period for Bowman’s issue was enough for the second stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 45 to finish under caution as Bell captured his second consecutive stage victory. Larson settled in second ahead of Reddick, Van Gisbergen and McDowell while Ty Gibbs, Suarez, Truex, Allmendinger and Chase Briscoe were scored in the top 10.

    During the caution and stage break, a majority of the field led by Bell pitted while 11 competitors led by Justin Haley and Austin Dillon remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Bell exited first followed by Larson, Reddick, Ty Gibbs, McDowell, Suarez and Van Gisbergen. By then, NASCAR shortened its scheduled distance of the event from 100 to 75 due to the upcoming sunset and stemming from the early rain delay.

    When the final stage commenced under green with 27 laps remaining, Haley maintained a steady advantage over Austin Dillon and Chase Elliott while Logano, who restarted fourth, slipped in Turn 1, which allowed Byron to move up to fourth. With Bell strapped back in 11th, Haley maintained the lead through the first six turns before entering Turns 7 to 11 through S. Michigan Ave.

    Shortly after, the caution returned when Byron, who was running in the top five, collided into the Turn 11 tire barriers after overdriving his No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through the corner. Byron’s incident ignited a massive stack-up as Harvick, who was trying to avoid hitting Byron, slipped sideways and spun his No. 4 Gearwrench Ford Mustang just past Turn 11 along with LaJoie, who got hit by Almirola as a host of competitors running within the top 15 towards the bottom of the leaderboard, had to jam on the brakes as the turn was blocked. Among the competitors stuck in the stack-up and the sideway competitors of Harvick and LaJoie included Bell, Larson and Truex while Reddick, Gibbs, Suarez, Van Gisbergen, Allmendinger and Buescher managed to escape the carnage.

    During the proceeding restart with 23 laps remaining, Haley rocketed away from the field following a strong restart as Austin Dillon tried to keep pace with Haley. With Elliott trailing in third place and more than a second behind, Logano was in fourth followed by Kyle Busch and Cindric while Reddick was still scored in seventh ahead of Ty Gibbs. With Truex spinning in Turn 5, the race remained under green flag conditions as Haley retained the lead by nearly half a second. Soon after, Wallace missed the corner in Turn 11 as he had to loop his No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota TRD Camry around to proceed and blend back onto the racetrack without drawing a caution.

    With 20 laps remaining, Haley was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Austin Dillon, Elliott, Logano and Kyle Busch while Reddick, Cindric, Gibbs, Almirola and Larson were in the top 10. By then, Bell was mired back in 11th ahead of Byron, Van Gisbergen, McDowell and LaJoie while Harvick, Allmendinger, Buescher, Hamlin and Suarez were running in the top 20. Soon after, more on-track drama continued as Chastain and Gilliland made contact in Turn 1 while Gragson spun and hit the wall in Turn 6 again. Not long after, Bell’s run that started off on a strong note and soon went to bad became worse as he spun in Turn 1, though he managed to continue without drawing a caution.

    Then with 18 laps remaining, the caution flew when Reddick, who was trying to charge his way back to the front and running in fourth, collided into the Turn 6 barriers, with the Californian unsuccessful in reversing his car out of the barriers as he smoked the rear tires off of his No. 45 Toyota.

    Down to the final 15 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Haley maintained the lead over Austin Dillon and Elliott as the field remained in a long single-file line while jostling for late positions. Through the 12-turn circuit and back to the frontstretch, Haley would continue to lead in his No. 31 Benesch Law Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 by half a second over Austin Dillon with Elliott’s No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in close pursuit.

    Then during the following lap, Austin Dillon, who tried to set a move on Haley for the lead, bounced off the wall entering Turn 12, which caused his No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to shoot back across the track and wreck against the tire barriers. Despite sustaining significant right-front damage to his car, Dillon proceeded without drawing a caution and would wait for the entire field to overtake him before he reversed his car onto pit road and to his pit box. This allowed Elliott to move up to second followed by Kyle Busch, Logano and Cindric while Haley retained the lead.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Haley was leading by more than a second over Elliott followed by a hard-charging Van Gisbergen, Kyle Busch and Larson while Logano, Cindric, McDowell, Ty Gibbs and Almirola were in the top 10. By then, more on-track issues ignited as Truex slid into Harvick entering Turn 1 as both spun and wrecked with Harrison Burton also wrecking into the tire barriers while trying to avoid the carnage.

    Two laps later, the caution flew when Truex wrecked again, this time against the tire barriers in Turn 1. At the time of caution, Haley was scored the leader by over Van Gisbergen, who had overtaken Elliott a few turns earlier and had nearly overtaken Haley for the lead in between Turns 6 and 7.

    With the race restarting under green with five laps remaining, Haley maintained the lead entering the first turn ahead of Van Gisbergen. Then in Turn 2, Van Gisbergen made his move beneath Haley and overtook him for the lead. Haley, however, returned the favor through Turns 3 and 4 and briefly reassumed the top spot before Van Gisbergen crossed over in his No. 91 Enhance Health Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 over Haley’s Camaro and overtook him again in Turn 5 and through S. Columbus Dr. in between Turns 5 and 6. Van Gisbergen then began to extend his advantage to nearly a second over Haley as the field behind jostled for positions with four laps remaining.

    With two laps remaining, Van Gisbergen was still leading by more than a second over Haley while third-place Elliott trailed by more than two seconds along with Larson and Kyle Busch. Then not long after and with Van Gisbergen having full control of the event, the caution flew and the event was sent into overtime when Bubba Wallace slid and sent Ricky Stenhouse Jr. into the Turn 1 barriers.

    At the start of the first overtime attempt, Van Gisbergen muscled away from Haley, Elliott and the field through Turns 1 and 2 before making his way through Turns 3 to 5 in clean air. Van Gisbergen started to place a reasonable gap between himself and Haley through S. Columbus Dr. before making his way through Turns 6 to 12 with the top spot.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Van Gisbergen remained as the leader by less than four-tenths of a second over Haley. With both Haley and Elliott unable to mount a late charge nor close back towards Van Gisbergen, the New Zealander was able to execute a flawless final lap out in clean air and through the 12-turn circuit in Downtown Chicago before he cycled back to the frontstretch and win in his NASCAR debut by more than a second over Haley.

    With the victory in the inaugural Chicago Street Course, Shane Van Gisbergen became the 204th different competitor to achieve a win in the NASCAR Cup Series and the first competitor in the modern era of NASCAR, seventh overall and the first since Johnny Rutherford won at Daytona in 1963 to win in a premier series debut.

    In addition to recording the fifth overall victory for Trackhouse Racing and the second in recent weeks after the team won at Nashville Superspeedway with Ross Chastain last week, the 33-year-old Van Gisbergen, who has notched three Supercars titles and holds 78 victories in the division, also recorded the first win for Trackhouse’s Project No. 91 entry led by former championship-winning crew chief Darian Grubb, who notched his 24th career victory and first since winning with Carl Edwards at Darlington Raceway in September 2015. The win was also the first for the number 91 in the Cup Series since 1953 made by Tim Flock.

    Shane Van Gisbergen, driver of the #91 Enhance Health Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, races to victory Sunday, July 2, 2023, during the first-ever NASCAR Cup Series street race, the Grant Park 220, through the streets of Chicago, Illinois. This is the first NASCAR CUP victory for the New Zealander in his first ever NASCAR Cup race. He is a three time Supercars champion. (Photo by Jim Fluharty/HHP for Chevy Racing).

    “No, of course not, but you always dream of it,” Van Gisbergen, who was asked on the possibility of winning, said on NBC. “Thank you so much to the Trackhouse team and the Enhance Health Project 91 [team]. Man, what an experience and the crowd out here. This was so cool. It’s what you dream of. Hopefully, I can come and do more. The racing was really good. Everyone was respectful and it was tough, but a lot of fun.”

    “Anything is possible,” Van Gisbergen, who evoked a message to his hometown fans in New Zealand, added. “The fans in Australia and New Zealand, the response and the support I’ve got from everyone, even over here, how welcoming everyone is, I can’t believe it. A dream come true. I’m doing one more year in [Australia] and then, I’d love to come over here [to NASCAR full time].”

    Haley, who led 23 laps compared to Van Gisbergen’s nine, ended up in the runner-up spot for his fifth top-five career result in the Cup circuit while Elliott, Larson and Kyle Busch finished in the top five.

    “It was tough,” Haley said. “It sucks, obviously, where we are right now. We aren’t in position to win every week, so coming that close, obviously, is not what you want, but [I’m] just really proud of everyone at Kaulig Racing. What an awesome event. [I] Can’t wait to come back next year…What is there to be disappointed about? We’ll go to Atlanta next week, try our best.”

    Austin Cindric came home in sixth place while McDowell, Logano, Ty Gibbs and Buescher finished in the top 10. Notably, Hamlin ended up in 11th, Bell salvaged an 18th-place result after leading a race-high 37 laps, Jenson Button settled in 21st in his second NASCAR career start, Gragson finished 25th following numerous incidents in Turn 6, Suarez and Reddick fell back to 27th and 28th, respectively, Harvick ended up 29th and Truex settled in 32nd, a lap down.

    There were seven lead changes for five different leaders. The inaugural Cup Series event at the Chicago Street Course featured nine cautions for 21 laps. In total, 31 of 37 starters finished on the lead lap.

    With eight Cup regular-season events remaining on the schedule, Martin Truex Jr. continues to lead the regular-season standings by nine points over William Byron, 18 over Ross Chastain, 21 over Christopher Bell and 31 over Kyle Busch.

    Martin Truex Jr., William Byron, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are currently guaranteed spots for the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the regular-season stretch. Kevin Harvick, Chris Buescher, Brad Keselowski, Bubba Wallace and rookie Ty Gibbs currently occupy the remaining vacant spots in the Playoffs based on points, with Gibbs occupying the 16th and final vacant spot by six points over Daniel Suarez, 10 over Michael McDowell, 24 over AJ Allmendinger, 26 over Alex Bowman, 45 over both Justin Haley and Austin Cindric, 47 over Corey LaJoie and 55 over Chase Elliott.

    Results.

    1. Shane Van Gisbergen, nine laps led

    2. Justin Haley, 23 laps led

    3. Chase Elliot

    4. Kyle Larson

    5. Kyle Busch

    6. Austin Cindric

    7. Michael McDowell

    8. Joey Logano

    9. Ty Gibbs, one lap led

    10. Chris Buescher

    11. Denny Hamlin

    12. Aric Almirola

    13. William Byron

    14. Corey LaJoie

    15. Ryan Preece

    16. Erik Jones

    17. AJ Allmendinger

    18. Christopher Bell, 37 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    19. Todd Gilliland

    20. Chase Briscoe

    21. Jenson Button

    22. Ross Chastain

    23. Josh Bilicki

    24. Brad Keselowski

    25. Noah Gragson

    26. Andy Lally

    27. Daniel Suarez

    28. Tyler Reddick, eight laps led

    29. Kevin Harvick

    30. Harrison Burton

    31. Bubba Wallace

    32. Martin Truex Jr., one lap down

    33. Ryan Blaney, one lap down

    34. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down

    35. Ty Dillon – OUT, Suspension

    36. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident

    37. Alex Bowman – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the second and final trip of the season to Atlanta Motor Speedway. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, July 9, at 7 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Custer awarded victory in inaugural, rain-delayed Xfinity Chicago Street Course event

    Custer awarded victory in inaugural, rain-delayed Xfinity Chicago Street Course event

    Cole Custer took home the title of being named the inaugural winner of The Loop 121 at the Chicago Street Course in a highly anticipated weekend that commenced with a steady start before the event was pitted against an extensive battle and delay against Mother Nature on Saturday, July 1, before NASCAR conceded and declared the event official on Sunday, July 2.

    The 25-year-old Custer from Ladera Ranch, California, led all 25 laps prior to the delay from the pole position. Since the start of the event on Saturday, he muscled away from the field through a total of three restarts and he retained a steady advantage throughout the 12-turn circuit through Lap 24 of 55 when the event was placed under a caution period due to a lightning strike.

    A lap later, the field led by Custer was directed to pit lane and placed under a sustained lightning hold that eventually resulted in NASCAR postponing the event to early Sunday in the hope that the field could reach its halfway or scheduled-distance mark to deem the event official. With rain increasing throughout Sunday and amid another delay spanning more than two hours, NASCAR made the final decision to conclude the event three laps shy of its halfway mark and award Custer and the No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang team their second Xfinity victory of the 2023 season.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, July 1, Cole Custer notched his fourth Xfinity pole of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 87.590 mph in 90.421 seconds. Sheldon Creed, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 87.573 mph in 90.439 seconds, was scheduled to start alongside Custer on the front row, but he dropped to the rear of the field prior to the event in a backup car after wrecking his primary car during the qualifying session. As a result, John Hunter Nemechek, who posted the third-best qualifying lap at 87.308 mph in 90.713 seconds, started alongside Custer on the front row.

    In addition to Creed, the following names that included Sam Mayer, Brandon Jones, Josh Williams, Blaine Perkins and Spencer Pumpelly started the event at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced on Saturday, Custer launched ahead with a strong start as he maintained the lead through the first left-hand turn ahead of John Hunter Nemechek while Austin Hill battled Connor Mosack for third. As the field navigated its way through the 12-turn circuit for the first time around the streets of Downtown Chicago, Custer proceeded to lead the first lap ahead of Nemechek while Hill, Mosack and Justin Allgaier followed suit in the top five. By then, Sage Karam, who started and was running the opening lap in the top 10, made an early unscheduled pit stop under green due to a flat right-front tire.

    With the event proceeding under green flag conditions for the second lap, Custer stretched his advantage to more than a second over Nemechek as Hill, Mosack and Allgaier remained in the top five. Behind, Daniel Hemric was in sixth ahead of Brett Moffitt, rookie Sammy Smith, Parker Kligerman and Justin Marks while Riley Herbst, Preston Pardus, rookie Chandler Smith, Miguel Paludo and Alex Guenette were in the top 15.

    Then on the third lap, the first caution flag of the event flew when the No. 10 Jockey Chevrolet Camaro piloted by Justin Marks, owner of Trackhouse Racing, went up in smoke before the car came to a spin and a terminal rest in Turn 11.

    When the race restarted under green on the ninth lap, Custer launched ahead with another strong restart in his No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang as he fended off Nemechek’s No. 20 Yahoo! Toyota Supra to lead the first through the first left-hand turn before entering a brief straightaway on E. Ballbo Dr. to Turn 2 and a right-hand turn onto S. Lake Shore Dr. towards Turns 3 to 5.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps and after the field navigated its way through S. Columbus Dr., S. Michigan Ave. and E. Jackson Dr. through more left- and right-hand turns from Turns 6 to 12, Custer extended his advantage to more than a second over Nemechek while Hill, Allgaier and Mosack were in the top five. Behind, Moffitt was in sixth while Hemric, Smamy Smith, Kligerman and Chandler Smith were running in the top 10.

    At the conclusion of the first stage period on Lap 15, Custer claimed his fourth stage victory of the 2023 season. Nemechek settled in second followed by Hill, Allgaier and Mosack while Moffitt, Sammy Smith Hemric, Kligerman and Chandler Smith were scored in the top 10.

    With the event proceeding into the start of the second stage under green, Custer continued to lead by more than two seconds over Nemechek as Hill, Allgaier and Mosack remained in the top five. With Moffitt and Sammy Smith running sixth and seventh, Hemric was slowly being challenged by Kligerman and teammate Chandler Smith for eighth while Miguel Paludo trailed in 11th.

    Then on Lap 16, the event’s second caution flew when Andre Castro, a USF Juniors championship competitor from New York City who was running within the top 20 during his series debut, rammed into the tire barriers on the driver’s left-hand side in Turn 1. During the caution period, a total of 17 competitors pitted while the rest led by Custer remained on the track.

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 20, Custer retained the lead over Nemechek and Allgaier as the field began to bump and jostle for positions around the 12-turn circuit. Among those who were involved in the bumps and jostles included Hemric, Moffitt and Hill while Custer remained out in front.

    Then on Lap 24, the caution flew due to a lightning strike reported near the course. The field would then be brought down to pit road during the following lap and placed in a 30-minute hiatus period due to the sustained lightning. With the event being delayed further as even light precipitation began to fall on the course, the event would be postponed by NASCAR to resume the following day on Sunday. By then, Custer, who has led all 25 scheduled events from pole position, was scored the leader ahead of Nemechek, Allgaier, Moffitt and Hill while Sammy Smith, Hemric, Chandler Smith, Kligerman and Kaz Grala were scored in the top 10.

    When NASCAR returned on Sunday, the event was still placed under a weather delay, this time due to heavy precipitation as the course was flooded with rain. Initially planning for an 11 a.m. ET start time, the event would be delayed an extra two hours as the on-track workers attempted to drain the water out of the course. Then amid the delay, NASCAR made the call to declare the event official three laps shy of the halfway mark instead of anticipating a later start to the day or postponing the event a second time. As a result, Custer, who retained the lead since the start of the event, was awarded the victory.

    Following the call, NASCAR released a statement regarding the decision to terminate the event just shy of the halfway mark:

    “With standing water and flooding a significant issue at the racetrack and throughout the city, there was no option to return to racing prior to shifting to NASCAR Cup Series race operations. Throughout the entire planning process for the Chicago Street Race, our relationship with the City of Chicago has been strong and among the most valuable assets in reaching this historic weekend. In the spirit of that partnership, returning on Monday for the completion of a NASCAR Xfinity Series event two laps shy of halfway was an option we chose not to employ. Based on several unprecedented circumstances, NASCAR has made the decision to declare Cole Custer the winner of the race.”

    With the victory in the inaugural, rain-shortened Chicago Street Course, Custer became the third different competitor to achieve multiple Xfinity victories this season alongside John Hunter Nemechek and Austin Hill. He also racked the second Xfinity victory of the season for Stewart-Haas Racing and the 12th of his racing career.

    “[That was] The wildest win I’ve even been a part of, for sure,” Custer said in Victory Lane. “This is definitely not the way we want to get it. We want to run all the laps. We want to win it the proper way, but at the end of the day, we’re racers. We’ll take it how it comes. It’s just awesome. Everybody’s that’s a part of this team. We’re really hitting our stride here. We’re really running up front. We got everything working how we need to. Just got to keep it rolling.”

    “[This win] means a lot because I think we did have a really fast car,” Custer added. “It’s not like [the win] was given to us. It wasn’t just pure luck. It means a lot to still have a little bit of respect there. At the end of the day, we still want to run all the laps, but it’s not always gonna play out like that. [This event]’s the wildest thing I’ve ever been a part of and then, having this whole rain delay, this is just the wildest weekend I’ve ever been a part of.”

    With Custer being awarded the victory, Nemechek ended up in second place for the fourth time this season. Allgaier ended up in third for his ninth top-five result of the season followed by Brett Moffitt, who was making his 100th Xfinity career start. Hill settled in fifth while Sammy Smith, Hemric, Chandler Smith, Kligerman and Kaz Grala finished in the top 10.

    There were no lead changes for a single leader, that being the race winner Custer. The race featured three cautions for nine laps. In total, 35 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

    With 10 Xfinity regular-season events remaining on the schedule, John Hunter Nemechek leads the regular-season standings by 16 points over Austin Hill, 44 over Cole Custer and 45 over Justin Allgaier.

    Results.

    1. Cole Custer, 25 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    2. John Hunter Nemechek

    3. Justin Allgaier

    4. Brett Moffitt

    5. Austin Hill

    6. Sammy Smith

    7. Daniel Hemric

    8. Chandler Smith

    9. Parker Kligerman

    10. Kaz Grala

    11. Sheldon Creed

    12. Preston Pardus

    13. Miguel Paludo

    14. Kyle Weatherman

    15. Alex Guenette

    16. Parker Chase

    17. Blaine Perkins

    18. Sam Mayer

    19. Jeb Burton

    20. Jeremy Clements

    21. Alex Labbe

    22. Sage Karam

    23. Josh Berry

    24. Riley Herbst

    25. Ryan Sieg

    26. Brennan Poole

    27. Anthony Alfredo

    28. Spencer Pumpelly

    29. Parker Retzlaff

    30. Brandon Jones

    31. Ryan Ellis

    32. Brad Perez

    33. Joe Graf Jr.

    34. Brent Sherman

    35. Connor Mosack

    36. Josh Williams, three laps down

    37. Andre Castro – OUT, Accident

    38. Justin Marks – OUT, Engine

    Next on the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’s second and final trip of the season to Atlanta Motor Speedway. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, July 8, at 8 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • NASCAR postpones remainder of Xfinity event at Chicago Street Course to Sunday

    NASCAR postpones remainder of Xfinity event at Chicago Street Course to Sunday

    The remainder of the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ inaugural running of The Loop 121 at the Chicago Street Course in Downtown Chicago, Illinois, has been postponed to Sunday, July 2, due to inclement weather stemming from reports of lightning that eventually led to light precipitation within the course.

    The event, which started 15 minutes earlier than initially scheduled at 4:21 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 1, was running on Lap 24 of 55 when the caution flew amid lightning strikes being reported near the course. A lap later, the field led by pole-sitter Cole Custer, was directed to pit road and the event was placed under an extensive red flag period before being pushed back to resume the following day. The event would have had to reach the halfway mark on Lap 28 for the event to even be considered official.

    At the event’s delay and postponement, Custer, who has led all 25 scheduled events and won the first stage from the pole position, was scored the leader ahead of John Hunter Nemechek, Justin Allgaier, Brett Moffitt and Austin Hill while rookie Sammy Smith, Daniel Hemric, rookie Chandler Smith, Parker Kligerman and Kaz Grala were scored in the top 10. In addition, 35 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap while Andre Castro (accident) and Justin Marks (engine failure) were the two retirees of the event.

    Amid the postponement, NASCAR released a statement regarding the event’s resumption for the following day:

    “Due to the potential for continued lightning strikes and in the interest of public safety and caution, the facility needed to be evacuated,” NASCAR said in a statement. “NASCAR had hoped to resume activities, but not until city officials allowed fans to return to the grandstands. The forecast for lightning extends into the next several hours, forcing NASCAR to postpone the NASCAR Xfinity Series race until tomorrow morning.”

    With the postponement, the remainder of the Xfinity Series event at the Chicago Street Course will occur on Sunday at 11 a.m. ET on USA Network. It will also occur as part of a doubleheader feature with the NASCAR Cup Series set to compete for the first time at Chicago at 5:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

    Update: Due to continuing rain with standing water and flooding at the track, NASCAR declared the Xfinity Series race official late Saturday afternoon and Cole Custer was declared as the winner.

  • Chastain fends off Truex for first Cup victory of 2023 at Nashville

    Chastain fends off Truex for first Cup victory of 2023 at Nashville

    In a season that has been characterized by an up-and-down journey through his share of run-ins and challenges, all while remaining competitive, Ross Chastain capped off a historic weekend that commenced by winning his first NASCAR Cup Series career pole to capturing his first Cup Series victory of the season in the third annual running of the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday, June 25.

    The 30-year-old Chastain from Alva, Florida, led five times for a race-high 99 of 300-scheduled laps in a weekend where he led the field to the green flag for the first time ever from pole position. After leading early before spending the majority of the event keeping pace with the front-runners, Chastain commenced his late charge to victory by overtaking Denny Hamlin for the lead with 70 laps remaining. Following a series of green flag pit stops, he then cycled back into the lead with 34 laps remaining and fended off a late charge from Martin Truex Jr. to capture the first checkered flag of the 2023 Cup season for himself and Trackhouse Racing.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, June 24, Ross Chastain notched his first Cup Series pole position of his career after posting a pole-winning lap at 160.687 mph in 29.797 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Tyler Reddick, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 159.573 mph in 30.005 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Daniel Suarez started at the rear of the field in a backup car after wrecking his primary car during Saturday’s qualifying session. Corey LaJoie, who also had an incident during his qualifying run, also started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments and repairs made to his Spire Motorsports entry.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Chastain fended off an early challenge from Reddick to assume the lead through the first two turns. As the field fanned out and jostled early for on-track positions, Chastain proceeded to lead the first lap ahead of Reddick while Joey Logano moved up to third. Behind, Justin Haley, who qualified third, settled in fourth in front of Martin Truex Jr. and William Byron. In addition, Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin battled for seventh as the event surpassed the second-lap mark.

    The battles around the circuit would continue through the third lap as Truex and Byron moved into the top five while Haley fell back to sixth in front of Wallace, all while Chastain remained as the leader by a steady margin over Reddick. Chastain would proceed to retain the lead as the event reached its fifth lap mark.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Chastain was leading by two-tenths of a second over Reddick followed by Logano, Truex and Byron while Haley, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Wallace and Kyle Busch were in the top 10. Behind, Chris Buescher was in 11th ahead of Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman and rookie Ty Gibbs while AJ Allmendinger, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Christopher Bell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. occupied the top 20.

    Just past the Lap 15 mark, Kyle Busch, who was running within the top 10, made an unscheduled pit stop under green due to a flat right-front tire on his No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. With Busch plummeting below the leaderboard and losing a lap, Chastain maintained the lead by within two-tenths of a second over Reddick. By then, Truex and Byron moved up to third and fourth while Logano was in fifth.

    At the Lap 25 mark, Chastain retained the lead by a tenth of a second over Reddick followed by Truex and Byron while Hamlin moved his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry into fifth place. With Logano falling back to sixth, Haley was scored in seventh ahead of Elliott, Wallace and Buescher. Behind, Larson was situated in 12th in between Blaney and Bowman, Harvick was in 17th behind Christopher Bell and Keselowski was in 18th. In addition, rookie Noah Gragson, who received medical clearance to return to racing after missing Sonoma Raceway due to concussion-like symptoms, was mired in 26th in between Corey LaJoie and Daniel Suarez, Austin Cindric was in 28th and Chase Briscoe was back in 31st.

    Ten laps later, Chastain slightly stretched his advantage to half a second over Reddick while Truex, Byron and Hamlin remained in the top five. By then, Haley and Elliott moved up to sixth and seventh in front of Logano while Blaney carved his way into the top 10 in 10th place. Behind, Bowman moved up to 11th ahead of teammate Larson while Wallace fell back to 15th.

    Then just past the Lap 40 mark, green flag pit stops commenced as Ryan Preece pitted followed by Wallace, Harvick, Michael McDowell, Larson, Aric Almirola, Truex, Ty Gibbs, Hamlin, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Reddick and others. Chastain would then surrender the lead on Lap 42 to pit under green followed by more competitors as Byron proceeded to lead a lap for himself before he pitted during Lap 43 as Chase Elliott assumed a brief lead. Once Elliott pitted on Lap 45, teammate Alex Bowman cycled into the lead for a lap before he surrendered the lead to Suarez, who would pit after leading a lap for himself on Lap 46. By then, Ty Dillon, who had yet to pit, cycled into the lead while Michael McDowell, who pitted earlier, was assessed a pass-through penalty for a commitment line violation.

    By the time Ty Dillon pitted just past the Lap 50 mark, which completed the first cycle of green flag pit stops, Chastain cycled back into the lead ahead of Reddick. Behind, Byron moved up to third ahead of Truex and Hamlin while Kyle Busch, Elliott, Logano, Larson and Buescher were running in the top 10.

    At the Lap 60 mark, Chastain, who was trying to lap Noah Gragson, continued to lead by a tenth of a second over a hard-charging Reddick and by more than a second over third-place Byron while Truex and Hamlin remained in the top five. With Gragson refusing to relent to the leaders during the proceeding lap, Reddick gained a strong run on Chastain through the first two turns before he drew himself alongside Chastain’s No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and assumed the lead, thus becoming the second leader of the event.

    Fifteen laps later, Reddick, who nearly lost the lead amid a side-by-side battle with Chastain six laps earlier, was leading by half a second over Chastain, who continued to keep Reddick within his sights. Meanwhile, third-place Byron trailed by more than two seconds ahead of Truex and Hamlin while Elliott, winner of last year’s Cup event at Nashville, carved his way up to sixth in front of Kyle Busch and Larson. In addition, Bell was up in ninth ahead of AJ Allmendinger, winner of Saturday’s Xfinity event at Nashville.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 90, Reddick, sporting The Big 615 radio station on Tuneln captured his third stage victory of the 2023 Cup season after fending off Chastain by four-tenths of a second. Byron and Truex followed suit in third and fourth along with Hamlin while Elliott, Kyle Busch, Larson, Bell and Allmendinger were scored in the top 10. By then, 25 of 36 competitors were scored on the lead lap.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Reddick pitted for service. Following the pit stops, the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 piloted by Byron managed to exit pit road first with the lead ahead of Chastain, Reddick, Truex, Hamlin and Larson. Amid the pit stops, Kyle Busch and Harvick were both penalized for speeding on pit road.

    The second stage started on Lap 97 as Byron and Chastain occupied the front row. At the start, Truex launched a three-wide challenge on Chastain and Byron through the first two turns and the backstretch. All three continued to battle tightly amid three tight lanes for a full lap and they would all continue to battle tightly by the Lap 100 mark. Then during the following lap, Truex managed to launch ahead in his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota TRD Camry and assume the lead with a clear racetrack around him while Byron and Chastain battled for second in front of Reddick and Bell.  

    By Lap 110, Truex was leading by nearly a second over Byron and Chastain while Reddick and Bell remained in the top five. Behind, Hamlin was in sixth ahead of Elliott, Blaney, Larson and Buescher while Bowman, Allmendinger, Ty Gibbs, Aric Almirola and Erik Jones were running in the top 15.

    Fifteen laps later, Truex stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Byron followed by Reddick, Chastain and Bell while Hamlin, Elliott, Larson, Blaney and Buescher were running in the top 10. By then, Allmendinger and Bowman continued to duel fiercely for 11th while Kyle Busch had carved his way up to 16th. In addition, Harvick was up in 20th while Logano had fallen to 19th.

    Nearly 10 laps later, the event’s second round of green flag pit stops commenced as Austin Dillon and Haley pitted. They were soon followed by Ty Gibbs and Kyle Busch as Reddick, Byron, Chastain, Bell, Larson, Blaney, Bowman, Almirola, Buescher, Bowman and Erik Jones pitted. Then on Lap 138, Truex surrendered the lead to pit as teammate Hamlin cycled into the lead.

    Then on Lap 138, the caution flew when Reddick, who had just pitted and was trying to cycle his way back onto pit road, spun towards the pit road entrance as a result of a loose right-rear wheel, which the wheel popped out of the car and rolled down towards the pit road wall as Reddick spun backward on pit road. During the caution period, Hamlin, Keselowski and Wallace, all three of whom had yet to pit, pitted, but all three were able to gain a bevy of spots from second through fourth as Truex cycled back into the lead. As a result of spinning and losing the wheel on pit road, Reddick was assessed a tail end of the line penalty as he lost two laps in the process.

    Just as the field restarted under green on Lap 146, the caution quickly returned amid a stacked restart as Keselowski struggled to launch forward when Blaney, who restarted within the top 20, got hit in the rear by Kyle Busch. While Busch briefly spun in front of Bowman, Blaney slid his No. 12 Menards/Pennzoil Ford Mustang all the way toward the bottom of the track and past the pit road exit before making head-on contact with the inside wall as his event came to an end just shy of the halfway mark.

    During the proceeding restart on Lap 152, the field fanned out entering the first turn as teammates Truex and Hamlin battled for the lead in front of Bubba Wallace. With Byron launching his attack on Wallace for third during the following lap, teammates Truex and Hamlin continued to duel for the lead. Despite pulling away from third-place Byron by seven-tenths of a second, Truex and Hamlin continued to battle dead even for the lead until Hamlin managed to rocket ahead with a clear racetrack and the lead on Lap 157.

    At the Lap 165 mark, Hamlin was leading by four-tenths of a second over a lurking Truex while Byron, Chastain and Wallace were scored in the top five. Behind, Bell was in sixth ahead of Elliott, Allmendinger, Larson and Erik Jones while Keselowski, Harvick, Ty Gibbs, Buescher and Daniel Suarez were in the top 15.

    Ten laps later, Hamlin retained the lead by four-tenths of a second over teammate Truex while Chastain moved up to third ahead of Byron and Wallace.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 185, Hamlin captured his fourth stage victory of the 2023 Cup season. Teammate Truex settled in second ahead of Chastain, Byron and Bell while Wallace, Elliott, Allmendinger, Harvick and Erik Jones were scored in the top 10.

    During the stage break, the leaders led by Hamlin pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Hamlin retained the lead after exiting first ahead of teammate Truex, Byron, Chastain, Bell, Elliott and Harvick. Amid the pit stops, Wallace, who pitted from sixth, exited pit road just outside the top 15 after enduring a slow pit service from his pit crew while Austin Cindric was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    With 108 laps remaining, the final stage started as teammates Hamlin and Truex occupied the front row. At the start and with the field fanning out, Hamlin retained the lead ahead of Truex and Chastain while the field behind jostled for positions.

    With 100 laps remaining, Hamlin was leading by four-tenths of a second over teammate Truex while Chastain, Bell and Byron were in the top five. Behind, Kevin Harvick carved his way up to sixth while Elliott, Suarez, Ty Gibbs and Logano occupied the top 10. Meanwhile, Erik Jones was in 11th while Keselowski, Buescher, Wallace, Larson, Allmendinger, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch, Stenhouse and Harrison Burton were mired in the top 20, with 30 of 36 starters running on the lead lap.

    Ten laps later, Hamlin stabilized his advantage to within two-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Truex while third-place Chastain trailed by more than a second. Hamlin would continue to lead teammate Truex by a tenth of a second another 10 laps later while Harvick carved his No. 4 Busch Light Peach Ford Mustang up to fourth as he trailed the lead by more than three seconds. Soon after with 74 laps remaining, Chastain battled and overtook Truex for second as he tried to launch his charge on Hamlin for the lead.

    Then with 70 laps remaining, Chastain gained a strong run on Hamlin exiting the frontstretch as he returned to the lead over Hamlin while Truex trailed in third by seven-tenths of a second. By then, Harvick retained fourth as he trailed by more than a second while Chase Elliott was in fifth and trailing by more than five seconds.

    With 61 laps remaining, late trouble struck for Harvick, who was starting to challenge Truex for third, as he fell off the pace and pitted under green to address a flat right-rear tire to his No. 4 entry. Not long after, another cycle of green flag pit stops slowly commenced as Elliott pitted followed by Truex, Corey LaJoie and Cindric. The leader Chastain would then pit with 58 laps remaining followed by Hamlin and after the pit stops, Chastain managed to blend back on the track ahead of Truex and Hamlin while more competitors pitted under green.

    With 45 laps remaining and with most of the field having made a pit stop under green, Kyle Busch was leading by more than seven seconds over Bowman, but both were in need of another pit stop to make it to the event’s scheduled distance. Meanwhile, third-place Chastain, the first competitor on four fresh tires and a full tank of fuel, was trailing by more than 14 seconds while Truex and Hamlin were in the top five.

    Then with nearly 40 laps remaining, Kyle Busch surrendered the lead to pit under green. Busch’s move gave Bowman the lead while Chastain cut the deficit to trail by more than four seconds. Once Bowman pitted his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 under green with 34 laps remaining, Chastain, who started to approach lapped traffic, reassumed the lead ahead of a hard-charging Truex, who kept Chastain close within his sights.

    Down to the final 25 laps of the event, Chastain was leading by a tenth of a second over Truex, who was trying to gain more ground on Chastain for the lead through every turn and straightaway, while third-place Hamlin trailed by more than three seconds.

    Ten laps later, Chastain, who started to experiment with different racing lanes to place a reasonable gap between himself and Truex, started to stretch his advantage to eight-tenths of a second over Truex while third-place Hamlin trailed by more than four seconds.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Chastain continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over Truex as third-place Hamlin trailed by more than four seconds. Behind, Elliott and Byron were in the top five while Larson, Bell, Erik Jones, Allmendinger and Keselowski occupied the top 10.

    With five laps remaining, Chastain extended his advantage to eight-tenths of a second over Truex, who was slowly losing ground on Chastain in his bid for a second consecutive victory in recent weeks.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Chastain remained as the leader by seven-tenths of a second over Truex. With Truex unable to gain ground to mount a final lap charge, Chastain was able to navigate his way around Nashville for a final time and cycle back to the finish line to capture his first elusive checkered flag of the 2023 Cup season.

    With the victory, Chastain, the championship runner-up finisher from last season, became the 11th different competitor to win through the first 17 regular-season events and place himself in prime contention to make the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs. He also notched his third Cup career victory, his first in 42 races and since winning at Talladega Superspeedway in April 2022. The Floridian also achieved his first oval-shaped victory and the first win for Trackhouse Racing since teammate Daniel Suarez won at Sonoma Raceway in June 2022.

    Ironically, Chastain extended Chevrolet’s winning streak at Nashville to three consecutive seasons in the three seasons the Cup Series has competed at Music City.

    “[The] Only thing sweeter [than winning] is this Georgia watermelon, I gotta tell you!” Chastain, who smashed a watermelon on the frontstretch, exclaimed on NBC. “This is incredible. This is why every little kid out there, anywhere in the world, when you get criticized and you’re going to if you’re competitive, they will try to tear you down. You will start believing them [that] you can’t do it. You have to go to your people, trust in the process, read your books, trust the big man’s plan upstairs and just keep getting up and going to work. I gotta tell you, a lot of self-reflection through all of this, but I had a group that believed in me and they didn’t let me get down. They bring rocket ships and I just try to point them into Victory Lane…It’s absolutely incredible the fight that we have.”

    “[The fun]’s just a desire to win,” Chastain added. “It’s just so hard at this level and it’s the best of the best. It’s where I’ve wanted to be since I was 18 years old. It’s a Cup win. I don’t care what happened the last month or by the rest of my life. It’s a freaking Cup win!”

    Truex, the winner of the previous Cup scheduled event at Sonoma, ended up in second place after leading 50 laps, though he maintained the lead in the regular-season standings, while teammate Hamlin rallied from wrecking late at Sonoma to settle in third at Nashville after leading 81 laps.

    “[I] Just needed to get the lead,” Truex said. “Once we lost it, I probably made a bad move, taking the bottom [lane] on the restart. Just too loose on the long runs. I could hang with whoever was leading. Just could never get off the corner good enough to make a move. Just lacking soundbite and then overall, just burning the rear tires off too much. Just really loose at the end of the race there as well. Just needed a little bit. Got lots of speed. Just could never get the balance where it needed it to be. Without having clean air, it was difficult. Overall, a good night for our Bass Pro/Tracker Toyota Camry. The guys are doing a great job. Just that close again. If we can keep doing this, we’ll be in good shape.”

    “I just think we had a third-place car the entire race,” Hamlin said. “I thought [Truex] was a little better. [Chastain], obviously, came on strong there at the end. That’s all we had with our FedEx Ground Toyota. It’s an optimized day. It’s a day with no mistakes and we gave ourselves a chance. Just didn’t have quite a fast enough car to go up and contend.”

    Meanwhile, Elliott notched his fourth top-five result of the season by finishing fourth, where he still trails the top-16 cutline to make the Playoffs by 64 points, while teammate Larson rallied to finish fifth.

    Byron, Bell, Erik Jones, Kyle Busch and AJ Allmendinger finished in the top 10. Notably, Suarez, who crashed into Chase Briscoe at the event’s conclusion while trying to congratulate teammate Chastain on the track, ended up 12th after starting the event at the rear of the field. In addition, rookie Ty Gibbs settled in 14th in front of Bubba Wallace, Bowman ended up 17th, Logano fell back to 19th, Harvick finished 24th after never recovering from his late tire issue and Reddick could only work his way up to 30th following his early spin and tire issue.

    There were 21 lead changes for 12 different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 24 laps. In total, 21 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    With nine regular-season events remaining of this year’s Cup Series schedule, Martin Truex Jr. continues to lead the regular-season standings by 18 points over both William Byron and Ross Chastain while Christopher Bell trails by 45 points and Kyle Busch trails by 48.

    William Byron, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are currently guaranteed spots for the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the regular-season stretch. Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace and Daniel Suarez currently occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs based on points, with Suarez occupying the 16th and final vacant spot by two points over Alex Bowman, 10 over rookie Ty Gibbs, 24 over AJ Allmendinger, 27 over Michael McDowell, 45 over Corey LaJoie, 51 over Austin Cindric and 55 over Justin Haley.

    Results.

    1. Ross Chastain, 99 laps led

    2. Martin Truex Jr., 50 laps led

    3. Denny Hamlin, 81 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    4. Chase Elliott, one lap led

    5. Kyle Larson

    6. William Byron, five laps led

    7. Christopher Bell, three laps led

    8. Erik Jones

    9. Kyle Busch, 12 laps led

    10. AJ Allmendinger

    11. Brad Keselowski, two laps led

    12. Daniel Suarez, one lap led

    13. Austin Dillon

    14. Ty Gibbs

    15. Bubba Wallace

    16. Ryan Preece

    17. Alex Bowman, nine laps led

    18. Chris Buescher

    19. Joey Logano

    20. Corey LaJoie

    21. Harrison Burton

    22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down

    23. Justin Haley, one lap down

    24. Kevin Harvick, one lap down

    25.  Aric Almirola, one lap down

    26. Noah Gragson, one lap down

    27. Austin Cindric, one lap down

    28. Michael McDowell, one lap down

    29. JJ Yeley, two laps down

    30. Tyler Reddick, two laps down, 33 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    31. Chase Briscoe, two laps down

    32. Ty Dillon, two laps down, four laps led

    33. Brennan Poole, three laps down

    34. Josh Bilicki, three laps down

    35. Todd Gilliand, four laps down

    36. Ryan Blaney – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ inaugural event at the Chicago Street Course in Downtown Chicago, Illinois. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, July 2, at 5:30 p.m. ET on NBC.