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Author: Andrew Kim

  • Briscoe extends dominance by winning Xfinity Playoff opener at Las Vegas

    Briscoe extends dominance by winning Xfinity Playoff opener at Las Vegas

    Prior to the start of this year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series season, Chase Briscoe’s goal was to achieve eight wins in order to consider himself a potential Cup Series competitor for the 2021 season. Following a dominating run and a late restart in the Alsco 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 26, Briscoe fulfilled his goal after claiming his eighth victory of the season over Noah Gragson.

    The win marked Briscoe’s 10th of his Xfinity career in his 77th series start as this marked the second time this season where he achieved back-to-back victories after winning last weekend’s regular-season finale at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    The starting lineup was based on four statistical categories: current owner’s standings, the driver’s result from a previous Xfinity race, the team owner’s result from a previous Xfinity race, and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Xfinity race. With that, Chase Briscoe started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Austin Cindric, the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season champion.

    Dexter Bean, Jesse Little, and Austin Hill failed pre-race technical inspection twice and all lost pit selection for the next race in the schedule, though they retained their starting spots for the race at Vegas.

    When the green flag waved and the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs commenced, Briscoe squeaked ahead with the lead and was able to lead the first lap ahead of Cindric. Behind, Ross Chastain moved up to third place followed by Noah Gragson and Anthony Alfredo while Justin Allgaier, who started in third place in his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro, fell back to sixth place in front of Justin Haley.

    By the fifth lap, Briscoe was leading by more than seven-tenths of a second over Cindric while Chastain and Gragson battled for third place. Behind, Ryan Sieg and Harrison Burton were in eighth and ninth while Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric, Brandon Jones, and Brandon Brown were running inside the top 15.

    It did not take long until the first caution of the race flew on Lap 8 when Kyle Weatherman made contact with the wall on the frontstretch and spun, where his No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro came to a rest near the Turn 1 inside wall and in front of the pace car while blocking it from entering the track to pace the field under caution.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 13, Chastain made a move on the outside of Briscoe and made a three-wide move on Briscoe and Cindric before challenging Cindric for the lead. Cindric, however, was able to retain the lead in his No. 22 Menards/NIBCO Ford Mustang when the field cycled back to the start/finish line.

    With Cindric leading, Chastain retained second place ahead of Briscoe and Gragson while Alfredo, racing in his No. 21 Sim Seats Chevrolet Camaro, moved up to the fifth place. Behind, Haley was in sixth place followed by Sieg while Allgaier and Herbst battled for an eighth-place ahead of Burton.

    By Lap 17 and with Cindric extending his advantage to more than a second over Chastain, Gragson and Alfredo overtook Briscoe for third and fourth place while Sieg moved up to the sixth place.

    A few laps later, the caution flew when Austin Hill, winner of Friday night’s Truck Series Playoff race at Vegas, spun entering Turn 2. The caution for Hill’s spin was ruled as the competition caution planned on Lap 20. Under caution, some like Playoff contender Brandon Brown and Timmy Hill pitted while the rest led by Cindric remained on track.

    The race restarted under green on Lap 23 with Cindric and Chastain on the front row followed by Sieg, Gragson, Haley, Briscoe, Allgaier, and Alfredo. At the front, Cindric retained the lead through Turn 1 until Chastain made a move on the outside lane in Turn 2 to take the lead.

    Behind Chastain, Sieg received a boost from Gragson to move into second place while Cindric was stuck in a battle with Briscoe, Haley, and Gragson for third place. Behind, Alfredo fell back to seventh place in front of Herbst, Brandon Jones, Burton, Michael Annett, Allgaier, and Daniel Hemric.

    On Lap 27, Sieg, racing in his No. 39 CMRroofing.com Chevrolet Camaro started to close in on Chastain for the lead as he was a tenth of a second behind. Entering turn 4, Sieg made a move beneath Chastain and had the lead until reaching Turn 2 when Chastain regained his momentum on the outside lane and retained the lead. While both battled for the lead, Briscoe moved up to third place followed by Gragson while Alfredo moved up to fifth place. Cindric fell back to seventh place in between Haley and Herbst while Hemric, racing in his No. 8 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Camaro, moved up to the ninth place.

    By Lap 35, Chastain was still leading by nearly six-tenths of a second over Sieg while Briscoe trailed by less than a second. Behind, Hemric and Playoff contender Brandon Jones continued to battle hard for the eighth place along with Herbst.

    With the laps in the first lap continuing to dwindle, the battle for the lead continued to intensify between Chastain and Sieg as Briscoe joined the party. On Lap 39, Briscoe raced on the outside lane in Turn 3 to overtake Sieg for second place and he made a crossover move beneath Chastain entering Turn 4 while on the gas to take the lead.

    Though Briscoe had the lead, Chastain continued to pounce for the lead back. Not long after, however, Chastain got into the outside wall entering Turn 4 and sustained minimal damage to his No. 10 Chevy Accessories Camaro. Chastain’s contact with the wall allowed Briscoe to extend his advantage.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 45, Briscoe emerged ahead and was able to claim his sixth stage win of the season. Chastain, whose brake bias knob fell off, settled in second place despite the late contact with the wall followed by Sieg and Gragson. Alfredo was scored in fifth place followed by Haley, Cindric, Hemric, Brandon Jones and Herbst.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Briscoe retained the lead after exiting pit road in first place followed by Sieg and Chastain.

    The second stage started on Lap 51 with Briscoe and Sieg on the front row followed by Cindric, Chastain, Brandon Jones, and Alfredo. At the start, Briscoe and Sieg battled dead even through Turns 1 and 2 before Briscoe cleared the field and retained the lead. Behind, Chastain and Jones battled for third place while Cindric, who was in fifth place, slipped entering Turn 1 and lost positions to Alfredo and Gragson.

    By Lap 55, Briscoe was still leading by more than three-tenths of a second over Sieg while Alfredo moved up to third place. Meanwhile, Chastain was stuck in a battle with Gragson, Jones, and Cindric for fourth place as Haley started lurking behind his fellow Playoff contenders for the lead.

    Five laps later, on Lap 60, Briscoe, racing in his No. 98 FIELDS Ford Mustang, maintained his advantage by nearly a second over Sieg while third-place Gragson trailed by four seconds. Alfredo continued to trail Gragson for third place while Cindric was in fifth place. Behind, Chastain fell back to seventh place following a battle with Brandon Jones and with teammate Haley behind. Allgaier was back in 12th place in between Harrison Burton and Brett Moffitt.

    By Lap 70, Briscoe was still leading by more than a second over Sieg with Gragson behind by less than two seconds. Alfredo was in fourth place followed by Cindric, Brandon Jones, and Haley. Teammate Chastain was in eighth place ahead of Hemric, Herbst, Allgaier, and Burton. Annett and Brandon Brown were the two lowest-running Playoff contenders in 14th and 15th while Jeremy Clements and Myatt Snider were in 16th and 17th.

    Five laps later, on Lap 75, Briscoe maintained his advantage to less than a second over Gragson, who overtook Sieg for second place, while Cindric overtook Alfredo for fourth place. Chastain, on the other hand, fell back to ninth place in between Hemric and Allgaier.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the second stage and with the leaders starting to encounter lapped traffic, Gragson, racing in his No. 9 Bass Pro Shops/True Timber Camo Chevrolet Camaro, started to close in on Briscoe for the lead as he was approximately three-tenths of a second behind.

    With less than five laps remaining in the second stage, Gragson lost his momentum after encountering lapped traffic, which allowed Briscoe to stabilize his advantage to half a second. Though Gragson fought back, Briscoe was able to hold on by a narrow margin and claim his seventh stage victory of the season after winning the second stage on Lap 90. Cindric settled in third place followed by Sieg, who radioed air conditioning issues to his car. Alfredo was scored in fifth place followed by Brandon Jones, Haley, Hemric, Allgaier and Herbst. By then, Chastain, Burton, Annett and Brown settled in the top 15.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Briscoe retained the lead after exiting pit road in first place followed by Gragson, Cindric, Jones, Alfredo, and Sieg.

    The final stage started with 104 laps remaining and with Briscoe and Gragson on the front row followed by Cindric and Jones. At the start, Briscoe and Gragson battled for the lead before Briscoe retained his advantage entering Turns 3 and 4. Behind Briscoe and Gragson, Cindric retained third place followed by Alfredo and Jones while Allgaier moved up to sixth place ahead of Sieg.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 100, Briscoe extended his advantage to less than eight-tenths of a second over Gragson.

    With approximately 95 laps remaining, Alfredo got loose entering Turn 1 following contact with Hemric while racing in ninth place, but he managed to keep his car straightened and continue to run in front of Hemric on the track.

    Five laps later, with 90 laps remaining, Briscoe was still leading by two seconds over Gragson followed by Cindric, Allgaier, and Brandon Jones. Haley, Sieg, and Chastain were running in sixth through eighth while Alfredo and Hemric rounded out the top 10. Burton was in 11th place followed by Moffitt, Herbst, Annett, Clements, and Brown.

    With under 70 laps remaining and the track settling into night racing conditions, Briscoe’s No. 98 Ford continued to lead by more than three seconds over Gragson and more than five seconds over Cindric. Meanwhile, Allgaier trailed by more than 10 seconds in fourth place followed by Jones, Sieg, Haley, Hemric, Chastain and Harrison Burton.

    Ten laps later, with 60 laps remaining, Briscoe continued to extend his advantage to less than five seconds over Gragson. Meanwhile, Sieg overtook Jones for fifth place with Allgaier and Cindric next on his front windshield. Behind, Chastain fell back to 10th place behind teammate Haley, Hemric, and Burton.

    With approximately 55 laps remaining, pit stops under green started to occur as Burton pitted followed by Hemric, Jones, Herbst, Gragson, Cindric, Allgaier, Chastain, Haley, Briscoe, Alfredo and Sieg. By then, Brandon Brown had made an early pit stop.

    When the field cycled through the pit stops under green and with less than 50 laps remaining, Annett, who has yet to pit in his No. 1 Pilot/Flying J Chevrolet Camaro, emerged with the lead followed by Briscoe, Cindric, Gragson, Allgaier and Jones. Sieg fell back to ninth place after he overshot his pit box.

    With 45 laps remaining, the caution flew due to a loose tire from Joe Graf Jr.’s pit box that came to a rest on the infield grass. Under caution, Annett pitted along with Harrison Burton, Sieg, Alfredo, Chastain, Clements, and Herbst while Briscoe reassumed the lead. By then, 15 cars were scored on the lead lap, including all 12 Playoff contenders.

    The race restarted under green with 40 laps remaining and with Briscoe and Cindric on the front row. At the start, Briscoe and Cindric battled dead even for the lead before Briscoe retained the lead while cycling back to the start/finish line. Behind, JR Motorsports’ competitors Gragson, Allgaier, and Hemric battled inside the top five followed by Burton, Jones, and Annett. Sieg was in ninth place while Herbst was in 10th.

    With 35 laps remaining and with Briscoe ahead by more than a second over Cindric, the battling for positions behind continued to ensue as Alfredo moved up to eighth place followed by Herbst, Sieg, Jones, Haley, and Chastain. Gragson settled in third place followed by teammates Hemric and Allgaier while Burton and Annett were scored in sixth and seventh.

    Five laps later, with 30 laps remaining, Briscoe stabilized his advantage to more than two seconds over Cindric while Gragson trailed by more than three seconds in third place. Behind fourth-place Hemric, Harrison Burton, who struggled in the middle portions of the race, muscled his way into fifth place while Annett overtook teammate Allgaier for sixth place. Alfredo, Sieg, and Herbst were running inside the top 10 followed by Jones, Haley, and Chastain. Brandon Brown was the lowest-running Playoff contenders in 15th.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the race, Briscoe, who radioed vibrating concerns to his car but continued to lead, extended his advantage to more than six seconds over Cindric, who had Gragson closing in on him for the position. Burton was up into fourth place followed by teammates Annett, Hemric, and Allgaier while Alfredo, Sieg, and Herbst continued to run inside the top 10.

    With 13 laps remaining, the caution flew due to the stalled car of Alex Labbe, who was unable to limp back to pit road. The caution all but evaporated Briscoe’s lead of more than six seconds over Cindric and Gragson. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Briscoe retained the lead followed by Gragson, Annett, Burton, and Cindric. During the pit stops, Alfredo dropped out of the top 10 following a slow pit stop due to lug nuts falling off of his tires. Following the pit stops, Brown was sent to the rear of the field due to a choose cone violation.

    With nine laps remaining, the race restarted under green with Briscoe and Gragson on the front row. At the start, Briscoe and Gragson battled dead even before Briscoe was able to muscle through and retain the lead. Behind, Chastain was bumped by Cindric and got loose entering Turn 4 while battling for a top-10 spot. Though he was able to save the car, he fell all the way back to 15th place and was out of contention for a strong result.

    Down to the final five laps of the race, Briscoe extended his advantage to less than a second over Gragson while Hemric moved up to third place. Teammates Annett and Allgaier were in the top five followed by Burton, Sieg, Cindric, Jones, and Alfredo. A few laps later, Allgaier and Sieg overtook Annett for spots in the top five. By then, no one had anything for Briscoe, who maintained his advantage to more than a second over Gragson.

    On the final lap, Briscoe continued to lead by more than a second. With no challengers closing in behind him, Briscoe was able to come back around to the finish line and claim his eighth checkered flag of the season.

    With his Vegas victory, Briscoe secured himself a spot to the Round of 8 in the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs. He also became the first competitor to sweep both Xfinity races at Vegas in a season and he recorded the 13th victory of the season for Ford.

    “First off, incredible car by everybody at Stewart-Haas [Racing],” Briscoe said on NBCSN. “That made my job way too easy, honestly. It was a super fast FIELDS Ford Mustang. Happy to get them in Victory Lane. This is their only [sponsored] race they do all year. The restart, I knew that if I could just take the lead on the restart, I’d be ok, but I was spinning the tires so bad all night for whatever reason…We’ve had a lot of wins this year, but this was by far our most dominant car. I’m so glad that I can sleep a little bit easier this week going into Talladega and the [Charlotte] Roval, and just enjoy’em.”

    Though he earned his spot in the Round of 8 in the Playoffs, Briscoe sets his focus on achieving more victories for the remainder of the postseason and placing himself in position to achieve his first NASCAR championship at Phoenix Raceway in November while he continues to await his racing plans for next season.

    “I knew this team is fully capable of achieving that [winning] and even more,” Briscoe added. “I just can’t say thank you enough to Gene Haas, Tony Stewart, everybody that lets me drive these race cars. It’s been an unbelievable season. We still got a lot, six more wins we can try to get and obviously, a championship. So that’s what we’re gonna try to do. Just so happy to start the Playoffs like this.”

    Gragson battled back from a bloody nose early in the race to finish in second place followed by teammates Hemric and Allgaier while Sieg battled back for a strong top-five result.

    “It was a good day overall for our Bass Pro Shops True Timber team,” Gragson said on NBCSN. “I felt like we were really good, the best I’ve ever been here. [I] Just didn’t have enough for [Briscoe]. We’ll keep on working, but these guys did a heck of a job. A really good improvement from where we’ve been these past couple of weeks. Damn, I wanted to win this one so bad at my home town, but we’ll try again at Talladega…the car looks good, we were pretty fast, but came up short.”

    “That’s what this 8 team set out to do was, hopefully, try to give ourselves an opportunity to race for an owners’ championship,” Hemric said on PRN Radio. “Jeb Burton did a great job the last two weeks leading into the Playoffs to get us in this position. Tonight was a good night of putting some coins in the bucket as we continue towards the second race in the Playoffs. Really proud of everyone on this South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet. We had a rough go back in the spring, but we had a couple of good restarts there at the end and got us a top five. We’re gonna take it and move on.”

    “Really proud of all the guys on this BRANDT Professional Agriculture Camaro,” Allgaier said on NBCSN. “We battled a lot of adversity early. Just felt like we were behind the eight ball. We were able to make good adjustments on the car and get ourselves in better track position at the end there by the Choose Rule and gutted out a finish. These points are so important. Every position counts. As bad as we started the night off, I was getting a little flustered under the collar. These guys rallied behind me and gave me the car we needed at the end. We were able to pull off a solid top-five and still be OK in the points. We lost a few tonight but still have a good cushion. We got two crazy races these next few [weeks].”

    “It’s huge for the CMR team and the guys did an awesome job all night,” Sieg said on NBCSN. “Just the driver did one little mess up, but we’re getting back to what we were running. I was trying to get something to drink. My helmet hose fell off end of stage one, so I was trying to get something to drink under that green flag and just kind of missed my stopping points on pit road. Just screwed me up a little bit, but we got it back. Just super, super excited to be plus nine in the Playoffs, headed to Talladega and we got the [Charlotte] Roval, which something can always happen. Just can’t be prouder of this team and all that they’ve done…Just can’t wait to get to the next two [races]. It’s been a fun first [Playoff] race, already.”

    Cindric finished in sixth place while Annett, Alfredo, Harrison Burton, and Haley finished in the top 10.

    “Frustrating [night],” Cindric said on NBCSN. “I definitely think we deserved to not finish as well as we should’ve. We put ourselves in position, but a lot of good lessons learned tonight. We made our car better throughout the night, we kept up with the track well. For the first time in a long time, everyone’s running the bottom [lane] and I’m running the top on both ends. We got a good points bank, but can’t take that for granted. [We] Gotta keep getting better. When [Briscoe] can walk away like that, you gotta make sure you step your game up.”

    “We just weren’t good enough tonight,” Burton said on PRN Radio. “We really struggled all day today and into the night, we got a little bit better, but not much. That’s tough because these next few races are gonna be wild so for us, this was a big race. We didn’t do our job during the regular season to build up a cushion as big as we needed to with Playoff points. It’s biting us now, so now, it’s gonna be hard the next two weeks, gonna be fighting for every point and that’s what makes the Playoffs so fun, I guess, is to watch that battle for every point. We’re gonna have to be in it, for sure.”

    “The car was a bit on the tight side, but it wasn’t so far off,” Haley said on PRN Radio. “Obviously, the Nos. 10 and 11 was struggling on speed, both pretty terrible there. I’m not sure where we missed it, but it definitely wasn’t there. Thankfully, we got two race tracks ahead of us that are good. Still on the positive side of things, I believe. Still got a top 10 out of it, somehow. We, actually, were looking good there for sixth or seventh and then, got behind on track position, just too tight on that last restart. Proud of these LeafFilter Gutter Protection boys on this Kaulig Chevrolet, but just needed a little bit more, especially for the second round.”

    Playoff contenders Brandon Jones, Herbst, Brandon Brown, and Chastain finished 11th, 12th, 15th, and 16th.

    There were eight lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 28 laps.

    Results.

    1. Chase Briscoe, 164 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner
    2. Noah Gragson
    3. Daniel Hemric
    4. Justin Allgaier
    5. Ryan Sieg, three laps led
    6. Austin Cindric, 10 laps led
    7. Michael Annett, eight laps led
    8. Anthony Alfredo
    9. Harrison Burton
    10. Justin Haley
    11. Brandon Jones
    12. Riley Herbst
    13. Jeremy Clements
    14. Brett Moffitt
    15. Brandon Brown
    16. Ross Chastain, 15 laps led
    17. Austin Hill, one lap down
    18. Josh Williams, one lap down
    19. Myatt Snider, one lap down
    20. Stefan Parsons, one lap down
    21. Colby Howard, two laps down
    22. Tommy Joe Martins, two laps down
    23. Jesse Little, two laps down
    24. Gray Gaulding, three laps down
    25. Bayley Currey, three laps down
    26. B.J. McLeod, three laps down
    27. Joe Graf Jr., four laps down
    28. Timmy Hill, four laps down
    29. Dexter Bean, five laps down
    30. Matt Mills, six laps down
    31. Kody Vanderwal, nine laps down
    32. Alex Labbe – OUT, Electrical
    33. Jeffrey Earnhardt, 34 laps down
    34. Vinnie Miller – OUT, Too slow
    35. Chad Finchum – OUT, Suspension
    36. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Accident

    Playoff standings.
    1. Chase Briscoe – Advanced
    2. Austin Cindric +53
    3. Noah Gragson +36
    4. Justin Allgaier +28
    5. Justin Haley +14
    6. Brandon Jones +13
    7. Ryan Sieg +9
    8. Harrison Burton +2
    9. Ross Chastain -2
    10. Michael Annett -10
    11. Riley Herbst -14
    12. Brandon Brown -20

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series will return at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, Oct. 3, for the second Round of 12 race in this year’s Xfinity Playoffs. The race will occur at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Harvick awarded pole position for Cup Playoff race at Vegas

    Harvick awarded pole position for Cup Playoff race at Vegas

    In what has been a dominating season for him and his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford team, Kevin Harvick will start on pole position for the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, September 27.

    Harvick, who won last weekend’s Playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway, was awarded the pole based on four stats: current owner points standings, driver’s results, and team owner’s results from a previous Cup race, and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race.

    Sunday’s race at Vegas will mark the fifth time this season, the second time at Vegas, and the third time in the previous five Cup races where Harvick will lead the field on pole position as he continues his quest for a second Cup championship.

    Sunday’s race at Vegas will also serve as the first race in the Round of 12 in the 2020 Cup Playoffs after last weekend’s race at Bristol featured the first four contenders (Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Cole Custer, and Matt DiBenedetto) eliminated from the Playoffs.

    Kyle Busch, who aims to snap his 29-race winless drought of this season at his home track this weekend, will start alongside Harvick on the front row. Chase Elliott, Aric Almirola, and Joey Logano will start in the top five.

    Clint Bowyer will start in sixth place followed by Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman, and Kurt Busch. Denny Hamlin, coming off a historic announcement to field a NASCAR Cup Series team with NBA legend Michael Jordan and to have Bubba Wallace as the team’s driver in 2021, will start in 10th place. Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski will start in 11th and 12th.

    Starting in positions 13-26 are Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Michael McDowell, Jimmie Johnson, Matt DiBenedetto, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Preece, Cole Custer, Bubba Wallace, Ty Dillon, John Hunter Nemechek, and Christopher Bell.

    Starting in positions 27-39 are Ryan Newman, William Byron, Daniel Suarez, Gray Gaulding, Corey LaJoie, Quin Houff, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Joey Gase, Brennan Poole, Timmy Hill, J.J. Yeley, Josh Bilicki, and Chad Finchum.

    The NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will occur on Sunday, September 27, at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Almirola, Kurt Busch and Bowyer claim final transfer spots to the Round of 12

    Almirola, Kurt Busch and Bowyer claim final transfer spots to the Round of 12

    The 2020 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 19, was the site of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff’s Round of 16 finale. Following an eventful 500-mile battle under the lights at Thunder Valley, with a number of competitors vying for transfer spots to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs, four competitors had their title hopes for this season eliminated. While some were left disappointed, others were left with relief feelings of transferring to the second round. Among those left satisfied included Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch and Clint Bowyer, all of whom were three of 12 competitors who will continue to battle for the title entering the second round of the Playoffs.

    For Almirola, he came into Saturday night’s race at Bristol with a four-point cushion above the top-12 cutline after finishing ninth and eighth during the first two races of this year’s Playoffs at Darlington Raceway and at Richmond Raceway, respectively.

    Starting in 10th place in his No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang, Almirola dealt with early loose-handling conditions. Under caution past the Lap 30 mark, he pitted for fresh tires and adjustments and was able to drive up to as high as sixth place on the ensuing restart. During a long green flag run, Almirola fell back to the top 15 and went on to conclude the first stage on Lap 125 in 18th place.

    Restarting in 17th place for the second stage, Almirola was able to fight his way back inside the top 10, where he spent throughout the stage. Racing in ninth place by Lap 236 and gaining a spot on pit road, he went on to conclude the second stage in seventh place as he earned a handful of stage points.

    Restarting in seventh place for the final stage, he made his way into the top five with less than 100 laps remaining. With approximately 92 laps remaining, the caution flew for a multi-car wreck and Almirola was one of six competitors left on the lead lap. Hitting pit road for the final time under caution, Almirola restarted in sixth place and was able to drive his way up to fifth place with 50 laps remaining. For the remainder of the race, Almirola retained fifth place on the track as his top-five result was more than enough for him to transfer into the second round of the Playoffs.

    Almirola’s career-high sixth top-five result at Thunder Valley not only extended his momentum and surge in competing for the title, but it also extended the Floridian’s consistent stretch since June as he claimed his 14th top-10 result since June at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    “Yes, we’re moving on to round two in the Playoffs and keeping our championship hopes alive,” Almirola said in a post-race statement on Twitter. “We had a top five tonight at Bristol, which was a great run for us. We missed it a bit to start. [Crew chief Mike] Buga [Bugarewicz] and the guys just kept fighting and kept adjusting. I was scrapping in the car to get everything I could get. We drove back into the top 10 after falling behind and then, was able to make some more adjustments and drive up into the top five and finish fifth. Really proud of everybody on this race team. Excited to be going on to round two in the Playoffs. Thank you to Smithfield, Ford,…everybody that makes this deal go round. It felt so good to have 30,000 fans back in the stands tonight. That was really nice tonight. Looking forward to Vegas, kicking off round two in the Playoffs and seeing if we can’t go get some more.”

    Since this year’s Playoffs began at Darlington Raceway, Kurt Busch came into the postseason with a game plan and a competitive approach to contend for this year’s championship since he won his first and only title in 2004. After finishing eighth and 13th during the first two Playoff races, Busch and his No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team were also four points above the top-12 cutline.

    Lining up in 13th place, the Las Vegas, Nevada, native dropped back inside the top 20 during the early portions of the race. He was scored in 17th place by Lap 30 and under caution. Restarting in 16th place on the ensuing restart and after pitting while addressing loose-handling conditions to his race car, Busch methodically made his way towards the front and was able to crack the top 10 as the long run under green progressed. By the time the first time concluded on Lap 125, Busch was scored in sixth place as he collected valuable stage points.

    Restarting inside the top 10 for the second stage, Busch was able to carve his way into the top five despite battling loose-handling conditions to his car. He kept himself well inside the top five throughout the stage and he brought the No. 1 car home in fifth place when the second stage concluded, thus collecting more stage points.

    Lined up in fifth place for the final stage, Busch quickly fell back to 10th place while reporting a vibration to his No. 1 car. He surrendered his track position to make an unscheduled pit stop with approximately 175 laps remaining. Nearly twenty-five laps later and by the time he returned to the track, he was scored in 26th place, three laps behind the leaders and on the bubble zone in vying for a transfer spot to the Playoffs. For the remainder of the race, Busch gained one of his laps back, but he was unable to make up the lost time and positions from the vibration issues. When the checkered flag flew, Busch finished in 15th place, two laps behind the leaders. His result, nonetheless, was enough for him to transfer into the second round of the Playoffs.

    Though Kurt Busch has yet to score his first victory of this season, his 15th-place result marked his third consecutive top-15 result to start the Playoffs as he sets his focus on the second round of the Playoffs, beginning next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his home track.

    Photo by Tim Jarrold for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “It was a good day, we had a loose wheel and we battled after that, but our stage points are what really helped the Monster Energy Chevy tonight.” Busch said. “That gave us the cushion we needed to absorb the problem that we had. All-in-all we advanced and that’s what we expected to do and that is what we have to continue to do. We will do it through teamwork and execution. The next round we have a mile-and-a-half [Talladega] Superspeedway and then the [Charlotte] Roval. We’ve just got to be on our toes, keep adjusting and adapt to all the things that are coming our way in the next round.”

    For Bowyer, his results during the first two races of this year’s Playoffs have been like his 26-race regular-season stretch, where they have been consistent. Having finished 10th at Darlington and Richmond, the Emporia, Kansas, native started the night at Bristol holding sole possession of the 12th and final transfer spot to the Round of 12 by a mere three points over William Byron.

    Starting in 11th place in his No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang, Bowyer was scored in 10th place through the first 30 laps of the race while under caution. Throughout the stage and under a long green flag run, the handling of Bowyer’s car went away as he was fighting loose conditions. Losing spots on the track, he went on to conclude the stage in 19th place. 

    Restarting in 16th place for the second stage, Bowyer kept himself inside the top 20 throughout the stage. By then, however, he was scored outside of the top-12 cutline and was in jeopardy of not advancing to the second round of the Playoffs. Then, in the closing laps of the stage, good fortune came for Bowyer and his No. 14 team when William Byron, whom Bowyer was battling for a transfer spot in the Playoff standings, wrecked. Pitting under caution and finishing in eighth place in the second stage while also collecting a handful of stage points, Bowyer moved back inside the top-12 cutline.

    Scored in eighth place for the final stage, Bowyer began to make his way into the top five. With approximately 80 laps remaining, he was one of six competitors scored on the lead lap following an on-track incident. Restarting in second place on the ensuing restart, Bowyer dropped back to sixth place as he battled with teammate Aric Almirola for position. Knowing he needed to race cautiously for the remainder of the event, Bowyer brought the No. 14 car home in sixth place and was able to race his way into the second round of the Playoffs.

    Bowyer’s accomplishment allowed three of Stewart-Haas Racing’s four-car lineup to transfer into the Round of 12 in the Playoffs. For Bowyer, notching three consecutive top-10 results to start the Playoffs gave him an extra sense of boost to conclude this season on a high note with his racing plans for next still currently undetermined.

    “I was struggling, way too loose pretty much all night,” Bowyer said in a post-race conference on Zoom. “I saw [Byron’s wreck]. That’s a shame for William. He had a good run going. It’s short track racing. You don’t have time to think about points and all that stuff. There’s nothing you can do. You attack the race track one hundred percent every lap, especially at a bull ring like this. I love these short tracks. Obviously, [I] was hoping to be a little bit better, but at the end of the day, we did what we came here to do. That was to advance. You come here to win the race, but proud of [teammate] Kevin Harvick and everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing for winning the race here, taking care of business with the Nos. 10 and 14. We’ll move on and live to see another round here in the Playoffs.”

    With their accomplishments, Almirola, Kurt Busch and Bowyer join Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and Kyle Busch as the 12 competitors who will continue to compete for this year’s Cup title in the Round of 12 in the Playoffs.

    Almirola, Kurt Busch and Bowyer, along with their fellow competitors, will return for the next scheduled NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, September 27, at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Blaney, Custer and DiBenedetto fail to transfer in the 2020 Cup Playoffs

    Blaney, Custer and DiBenedetto fail to transfer in the 2020 Cup Playoffs

    While the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 19, was a good race for some, it was a disappointing night for others, particularly those vying for a transfer spot to the Round of 12 in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs and came into Bristol on the outside of the top-12 cutline in the standings. When the checkered flag flew, the championship runs for Ryan Blaney, Cole Custer and Matt DiBenedetto came to an end as they joined William Byron in failing to transfer to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs.

    For Custer, he was coming off 12th- and 14th-place results during the first two Playoff races of this season. Despite the top-15 results, he was eight points below the top-12 cutline to advance to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs.

    Starting back in 12th place while battling with early loose landing conditions to his No. 41 HaasTooling.com/Autodesk Ford Mustang, the Ladera Ranch, California, native was in 14th place by Lap 30 under the competition caution. On the ensuing restart, Custer jumped to 11th place and he continued to run in that position through Lap 50. Twenty-five laps later, he was back in 21st place. By Lap 100, Custer had fallen back to 24th place. By the time first stage concluded on Lap 125, he settled in 24th place.

    Throughout the second stage, Custer continued to struggle with the handling of his No. 41 Ford as he was mired outside the top 20 on the track. Falling a lap behind the leaders, he could only move up to 21st place when the second stage concluded on Lap 250, the halfway point of the race.

    Battling tight conditions to his car and still pinned a lap behind the leaders while also struggling to keep pace with his Stewart-Haas Racing teammates, Custer was on the verge of being eliminated while running below the top 20. With 100 laps remaining, he fought his way up to 16th place. Though he was scored in 13th place under the final 100 laps of the race, he made multiple pit stops to have the front nose of his car repaired as a result of making contact prior to a restart. The loss of track positions and the laps behind the leaders ended his run towards the front as he crossed the finish line in 23rd place, three laps behind the leaders.

    With his result, Custer was eliminated from title contention, having missed the cutline by 28 points, while teammates Kevin Harvick, Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer advanced to the Round of 12. Being eliminated from title contention was a disappointing outcome for the Californian in a season where he achieved his first Cup career win at Kentucky Speedway in July and wrapped up the 2020 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title in being the lone rookie candidate to make this year’s Playoffs.

    “We just struggled here,” Custer said. “I don’t know why. I’ve always liked Bristol, it just hasn’t come together this year here. We’ve just really struggled. I just can’t thank everybody enough at SHR, everybody at HaasTooling.com, Autodesk. I just wish we had a better night. We were just a little bit off. I think we can hang our heads high on what we’ve done this year, but we still have a lot of races to win the rest of this year, so we just have to keep building.”

    If there was an underdog that was a part of this year’s Playoffs, it was DiBenedetto in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang. For DiBenedetto, he was coming off 21st- and 17th-place results during the first two races of the Playoffs. With his pair of results, the Grass Valley, California, native was 25 points below the top-12 cutline and needed a strong run at Bristol Motor Speedway to keep his title hopes alive.

    Starting in 16th place in the No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford Mustang, DiBenedetto had a decent opening run on Saturday night as he settled inside the top 15 on the track. Nearing the Lap 30 mark and when the first caution flag of the race flew, DiBenedetto and the No. 21 crew made an early gamble and came out of pit road with the lead following a two-tire pit stop. Restarting in first place on Lap 40, he led a total of seven laps, including under caution, before he was overtaken by Brad Keselowski on Lap 43. Despite only have two fresh tires compared to the majority of the field, DiBenedetto continued to run in second place. For nearly the next 50 laps, he continued to run in second place until he was overtaken by Chase Elliott. From there, DiBenedetto continued to slide backwards throughout the long run under green as he dropped out of the top five. When the first stage concluded on Lap 125, he was out of the top 10 and was scored in 12th place as he failed to record a stage point.

    In the early laps of the second stage, DiBenedetto was in 15th place. By then, he was scored outside of the top-12 cutline in the Playoff standings. As the race progressed, he dropped back to the top 20. Near the Lap 190 mark, things started to fall apart for DiBenedetto when he was forced to pit under green due to a loose right-rear wheel as a result of running over debris on the track. By the time he returned to the track, he was three laps behind the leaders and was unable to regain the lost laps for the remainder of the second stage.

    For the final half of the 500-lap race, DiBenedetto was en route to regain the lost laps from the second stage. Running in 11th place at one point in the race, he, ultimately, crossed the finish line in 19th place, three laps behind the leaders. As a result, he fell 41 points shy of transferring to the second round in the Playoffs.

    The end result served as a disappointing outcome for DiBenedetto, who started this season as the newest driver of the iconic No. 21 Ford Mustang for Wood Brothers Racing and achieved two top-five results and seven top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, including a 12th-place run in the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway in August, to make this year’s Playoffs.

    “If we didn’t have bad luck, we wouldn’t have any luck at all,” DiBenedetto said on NBCSN. “I don’t know. It’s just frustrating. I wanted to get Menards, Dutch Boy, this team a good run like they deserve because we’ve had a rough couple of weeks. Had a loose wheel, overcome it, drive through the entire field and a lot of green flag [run]. We get seventh hoping for a caution, but either way, we drove in the top 10, good run. And I was screaming debris in [Turn] 1 three damn times and we found it. We ran it over multiple times and that cuts the right rear [tire], and it just ruins our day.”

    Though he was disappointed in being eliminated from title contention, DiBenedetto remained positive and was pleased with the opportunity in making his first Playoff appearance as a title contender and experiencing the competitiveness with the Wood Brothers Racing team this entire season. Though he does not have his racing plans for next season set, he sets his primary focus towards the final seven races of this season in earning as many strong results before the season concludes.

    “I can’t possibly explain to people the emotional roller coaster of doing this for a living,” DiBenedetto added. “I am very appreciative to do it, love it and I hope I’m driving for this team next year and hope to keep on doing it. We have a lot to build off of. We’re just barely getting started. It is tough. I’m glad we made the Playoffs, I’m proud of my team. Tonight shows the fight we have as a team, rebounding like that. I just hate we missed the next round and had some not good races, bad luck, you name it. We got a lot of season left. We still have a lot of position in position to fight for. We have fast race cars like you see tonight. So, we still have a lot of stuff left and hopefully, lot of good things to come.”

    A few days prior to the Bristol Night Race, Blaney issued a stern warning to his fellow competitors and the competition that he would do whatever it took, especially with a fast race car, to move others out of his path to win by any means and keep his title hopes alive. After coming off finishes of 19th and 13th in the first two races of this year’s Playoffs, Blaney was 27 points below the top-12 cutline in the Playoff standings and in jeopardy of not transferring to the second round in the postseason.

    Starting in 14th place, Blaney wasted no time making his way to the front in the No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang. By Lap 60 and after methodically fighting his way towards the front, he was scored in fifth place while his two Penske teammates, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, were also running at the front. Initially primed for a strong result in the first stage, things slowly backfired as the race went into a long run under green. During the run, he dropped out of the top five and out of the top 10 as he continued to lose more spots while battling tight conditions. By the time the first stage concluded on Lap 125, Blaney was mired back in 23rd place.

    Throughout the second stage, Blaney was mired back in and out of the top 20 on the track and was struggling to fight his way back to the front. During an eight-lap dash to the conclusion of the stage, however, he was able to march his way back inside the top 15 and conclude the stage in 11th place, missing an opportunity claim a stage point by one position.

    Needing to win and give it his all in the final stage, Blaney started the final stage on a strong note as he made his way back into the top 10 and not long after, in the top five. Less than 150 laps remaining, however, Blaney pitted under green due to a right front issue on his No. 12 Ford. Falling back, Blaney managed to work his way back to 13th place, two laps down, when the checkered flag flew and he finished.

    The top-15 result, however, was not enough for Blaney to keep his championship hopes alive as he missed the top-12 cutline by 37 points. The end result at Bristol served as a disappointing outcome for Blaney and his No. 12 Ford team following an up-and-down 26-race regular-season stretch, where he won at Talladega Superspeedway in June, achieved eight top-five results, 11 top-10 results and started the season with veteran crew chief Todd Gordon. Blaney’s team was also hit with a 10-point penalty prior to the Playoff opener at Darlington Raceway early in September due to an improperly mounted ballast that was discovered on his car, a penalty that had Todd Gordon suspended for one race.

    “We started off tight and then that second run, we got really tight after the competition caution,” Blaney said on NBCSN. “[We] Lost a lot of track position. After that, we kind of was able to drive up through there. I think we got to fifth or sixth at one time. We got super tight again and it went really long. That just kind of made it worse. We just got behind there. The track just swung really tight. I was tight all night, but it swung really tight on us. That was just the wrong direction that the track needed to be at. That stinks. I thought we got our car pretty close there in the second half of the race, second stage and then, we were on the cycle of pitting and getting laps down and was on old stuff. Unfortunate end for this No. 12 group, but I’m really proud of the effort this year. We’re not done, for sure. We can still go try to win races and try to get fifth in points. Thanks to Advance Auto Parts, Menards and Ford for what they do. We got seven more races.”

    Blaney, Custer and DiBenedetto, along with their fellow competitors, will return for the next scheduled NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, September 27, at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Byron’s title hopes ends at Bristol

    Byron’s title hopes ends at Bristol

    A long season filled with on-track challenges, resilience and late momentum for William Byron, crew chief Chad Knaus and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team ended with a disappointing outcome in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 19. Following an on-track incident with a lapped car in the closing laps of the second stage throughout the main event, Byron ended his night in the garage and as one of four competitors who were knocked out of title contention this season.

    For Byron, he was coming off a fifth-place run at Darlington Raceway, the Playoff opener in the beginning of September, and a 21st-place result last weekend at Richmond Raceway. Coming into Bristol, he was three points below the top-12 cutline and he needed a strong run under the lights at Thunder Valley to transfer into the Round of 12 of the Playoffs.

    Starting in 15th place, Byron gained four spots on the track through the first 30 laps of the race and just as the first caution of the race flew for an on-track incident. During the ensuing restart, he was able to crack the top 10 as he continued to methodically work his way towards the front. When the first stage concluded on Lap 125, Byron and the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE were scored in eighth place as he collected a handful of stage points. By then, the Charlotte native moved back inside the top-12 cutline.

    Restarting in seventh place when the second stage started, Byron remained within the top 10 on the track for the majority of the stage and was in position of transferring to the second round of the Playoffs.

    It all came to a crashing end, however, with less than 20 laps remaining in the second stage. He was running in 10th place when he ran into the back of Christopher Bell, who checked up for the lapped car of Joey Gase, and sustained front-nose damage with smoke coming out of the No. 24 car. The damage was enough to force Byron to nurse his No. 24 Chevrolet to the garage, where he parked it and climbed out dejected as his hopes of winning at Bristol and advancing to the second round of the Playoffs came to an end.

    The final scoreboard placed Byron in 38th place, 268 laps shy of the finish, while teammates Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman transferred to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs after finishing seventh and 16th, respectively.

    “I think [Gase] – it was like a black and green car – checked up in the middle of the straightaway,” Byron said on NBCSN. “As fast as we were running the top [lane], I was riding behind [Christopher Bell] and I had, literally, nowhere to go. You can’t stop in the middle of the straightaway when everybody’s so committed to the top like that. Just ridiculous that that’s what takes us out. I thought, honestly, we had a shot to run top five or seven. The car was really, really good. We just needed a couple good pit stops. We were running ninth or 10th there. Just super disappointing. I gotta go back and watch that because that was ridiculous.”

    The late misfortune of not advancing to the Round of 12 in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs served as a disappointing end to Byron’s run for a first Cup title following an up-and-down 26-race regular-season stretch, where he finished in last place in the season-opening Daytona 500 due to an early accident, earned nine top-10 results and rallied by scoring his first Cup career victory in his 98th career start at Daytona, the regular-season finale, in August and to claim a Playoff berth for this season, second of his career.

    The Charlotte native will remain as a Hendrick Motorsports competitor in the NASCAR Cup Series through 2022.

    Byron, along with his fellow competitors, will return for the next scheduled NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, September 27, at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Harvick scores ninth Cup victory of 2020 at Bristol

    Harvick scores ninth Cup victory of 2020 at Bristol

    Having won two weeks ago at Darlington Raceway and securing his spot to the second round of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Kevin Harvick came into the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 19, with an objective to win again and extend his momentum to a dominating season. Under the lights at Thunder Valley and with the grandstands packed with a limited number of fans, Harvick accomplished his mission after outlasting a vicious battle from Kyle Busch over the final 40 laps and grabbing another thrilling victory of this season. The victory marked Harvick’s career-high ninth of the season and the 58th of his Cup career, which kept him in ninth place in the all-time Cup wins list.

    The starting lineup was based on four statistical categories: current owner standings, the driver’s result from a previous Cup race, the team owner’s result from a previous Cup race and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. With that, Team Penske’s two-car lineup occupied the front row with Brad Keselowski on pole position and teammate Joey Logano starting next to him.

    Prior to the race, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Erik Jones started at the rear of the field due to their respective cars failing pre-race inspection twice. J.J. Yeley also dropped to the rear of the field due to a driver change along with Bubba Wallace and Corey LaJoie, both due to unapproved adjustments.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Keselowski jumped ahead with the lead as he led the opening lap while Kevin Harvick moved up to second place over Logano. Behind, Chase Elliott moved up to fourth place followed by Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman and Austin Dillon.

    Five laps into the race, Keselowski stabilized a nearly two-tenths of a second lead over Harvick. Behind, teammates Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer battled for eighth place in front of teammate Cole Custer, all of whom were also vying for transfer spots to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs. Settling behind Custer were Ryan Blaney and Matt DiBenedetto, both of whom started the evening below the top-12 cutline.

    With the first 10 laps of the race complete and the early racing around the circuit settling in, Keselowski continued to stabilize his advantage to nearly three-tenths of a second over Harvick followed by Logano, Elliott and Truex. Behind, teammates Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Jones made their way into the top 30 after starting at the rear of the field.

    On Lap 18, Harvick made his way into the lead after passing Keselowski. Two laps later, Harvick started to extend his advantage to nearly a second over Keselowski followed by teammate Logano, Elliott and Truex while Austin Dillon was closing in for a top-five spot. Way behind the leaders, Kyle Busch was using the high lane to march his way to the front. By then, he was scored inside the top 25. 

    The first caution of the race flew near the Lap 30 mark when contact from Jimmie Johnson entering Turn 2 sent Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spinning and making head-on contact into the inside wall just before he slid across the banking in Turn 3. The damage to Stenhouse’s No. 47 Kroger Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, which was engulfed in flames and spilling oil through Turns 3 and 4, was enough to end his night with a wrecked race car. The caution for Stenhouse’s incident served as the competition caution originally planned on Lap 30. By then, Harvick was ahead by nearly two seconds over Keselowski.

    Under competition caution, the leaders pitted and DiBenedetto, driving the Wood Brothers Racing’s No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford Mustang, emerged with the lead following a two-tire stop. Tyler Reddick exited in second place after he also elected for a two-tire stop followed by Keselowski (the first on four tires), Logano, Harvick and Elliott. During the pit stops, Kyle Busch was pinned behind Daniel Suarez in his pit box and was shuffled all the way back to 25th place. In addition, Ryan Newman was sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road. 

    When the race restarted on Lap 40, DiBenedetto retained the lead followed by Keselowski and Logano. On Lap 43, Keselowski reassumed the lead from DiBenedetto. Behind, Reddick slipped back to ninth place behind Logano, Elliott, Bowman, Almirola, Blaney and Truex.

    By Lap 50, Keselowski extended his advantage to more than a second over DiBenedetto while Logano also trailed by more than a second. Meanwhile, Harvick was in 10th place followed by teammate Cole Custer, Christopher Bell, Austin Dillon, Bowyer and William Byron. Hamlin was in 16th followed by Kurt Busch while Kyle Busch was back in 22nd behind Erik Jones.

    Ten laps later, on Lap 60, Keselowski was still ahead by nearly two seconds over DiBenedetto while Logano was locked into a battle with Elliott for third place. In addition, Blaney and his No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang cracked the the top five while Almirola and Truex stared to catch Alex Bowman for sixth place. By then, Harvick was in ninth, Byron was in 13th, Hamlin was in 15th and Kyle Busch moved back into the top 20. With that, all 16 Playoff contenders were running inside the top 20.

    Another 10 laps later, on Lap 70, and with the leaders starting to approach lapped traffic, Keselowski and his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang were ahead of second-place DiBenedetto by more than two seconds with Logano and Elliott trailing by approximately three seconds. By then, Kyle Busch and his No. 18 Skittles Toyota Camry continued to muscle towards the front in 14th place behind Austin Dillon’s No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.

    With the laps winding down in the first stage, Keselowski was still leading by more than two seconds over DiBenedetto, who was still holding strong with two fresh tires, while Elliott made his way into third place over Logano. Blaney continued to run in fifth place while Harvick muscled his way into sixth place in front of Bowman and Truex. In addition, Kyle Busch made his way up to ninth place followed by Almirola, Reddick and Byron. Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon, Hamlin and Clint Bowyer were running in the top 20 while Cole Custer was the lowest-running Playoff competitor in 24th place. 

    By Lap 93, Elliott made his way into second place after passing DiBenedetto. In addition, Harvick passed Blaney and started to track DiBenedetto and Logano for more. Additionally, Kyle Busch started to challenge Blaney for sixth place.

    When the field reached the Lap 100 mark, Keselowski was still ahead by more than a second over Elliott. Behind, Kyle Busch made a bold move on the inside lane in Turn 3 to move into fourth place ahead of DiBenedetto and Harvick. Soon after, Busch moved into third place after passing Logano. By then, Harvick was still stuck behind DiBenedetto as Bowman started to join the party. 

    With the battling around the track continuing to intensify, the battle for the lead started to ignite as Elliott cut the deficit to a tenth of a second over Keselowski. On Lap 107, Elliott and his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE emerged with the lead over Keselowski. 

    By Lap 110, Elliott extended his advantage to nearly a second over Keselowski while Blaney fell all the way back to 14th place. Kyle Busch was still in third place followed by Logano, Harvick and Bowman while DiBenedetto had fallen back into eighth place ahead of Kurt Busch and Byron.

    With five laps remaining in the first stage, on Lap 120, Elliott was still leading by less than a second over Kyle Busch, who continued to close for the lead while encountering heavy lapped traffic, while Harvick passed Keselowski to move into third place. 

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 125, Elliott was able to claim his seventh stage win of the season. Kyle Busch settled in second place followed by Harvick, Bowman and Bell. Kurt Busch, Keselowski, Byron, Logano and Bubba Wallace were scored in the top 10. With his top-10 result in the first stage, Logano clinched his spot for the Round of 12 in the Playoffs. By the time the first stage concluded, Hamlin, DiBenedetto, Truex, Almirola, Bowyer and Austin Dillon were in 11th, 12th, 15th, 18th, 19th and 20th. In addition, Blaney fell all the way back to 23rd place ahead of Custer.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Kyle Busch emerged with the lead followed by Elliott, Harvick, Bowman and Kurt Busch. Prior to the restart and under the Choose Rule effect, Bowman moved up to the front row beneath Kyle Busch while Elliott and Logano lined up in the second row. Byron and Harvick lined up in the third row followed by Kurt Busch, Hamlin, Keselowski and Wallace, 

    The second stage started on Lap 136 with Kyle Busch launching ahead with the lead while Bowman was able to move in front of teammate Elliott and retain second place. Elliott, Harvick, Logano and Kurt Busch retained third through sixth in a single-file line followed by Keselowski, Byron, Hamlin and Bell. Behind, Truex and DiBenedetto were in 14th and 15th while running in front of teammates Bowyer and Almirola. Custer and Austin Dillon were mired back in 21st and 22nd while Blaney was back in 26th. 

    By Lap 150, Kyle Busch was ahead by less than a second over Elliott. Harvick and Logano moved up to third and fourth while Bowman settled back in fifth place ahead of Kurt Busch and Keselowski. By then, Bowyer, Custer, DiBenedetto and Blaney were scored outside the top-12 cutline in the Playoff standings.

    Ten laps later, on Lap 160, Elliott cut Kyle Busch’s advantage to nearly six-tenths of a second while Harvick was trailing the two leaders by more than a second. Logano continued to run in fourth place followed by Kurt Busch, Bowman, Hamlin, Keselowski and Byron. Truex was back in 14th in front of Erik Jones, DiBenedetto, Bowyer and Almirola. Austin Dillon was mired back in 21st followed by Blaney and Custer while names like Ryan Newman, Daniel Suarez and Corey LaJoie were pinned a lap behind the leaders.

    By Lap 175, Kurt Busch was scored in fifth place ahead of Hamlin while Bowman slipped back to seventh place. At the front, Kyle Busch was still leading by four-tenths of a second over Elliott with Harvick closing in on his rear bumper for the spot. Meanwhile, DiBenedetto and Blaney were mired back in 19th and 20th while Austin Dillon and Custer were in 21st and 23rd. 

    Nearing the Lap 190 mark, DiBenedetto made a pit stop under green due to a loose right-rear wheel. By the time he returned to the track, he was three laps behind the leaders as his title hopes for this season was slowly diminishing. At the front, Kyle Busch continued to lead despite encountering lapped traffic while Elliott and Harvick continued to battle for second place. 

    When the raced reached its 200-lap mark, Elliott and Harvick closed in to the rear bumper of Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Toyota for the lead while Custer, who was in 23rd place, was fighting to remain on the lead lap. Behind, Logano and Hamlin were still in the top five followed by Kurt Busch, Bowman, Bell, Keselowski and Byron. Almirola was in 13th while Bowyer was in 16th place, two spots ahead of Blaney. Truex and Austin Dillon were mired back in the top 20. 

    Nearing the Lap 220 mark, Truex made a pit stop under green due to a tire issue as a result of tapping the Turn 2 outside wall a few laps earlier, where he went straight into the wall. During Truex’s incident, teammate Hamlin, who had nowhere else to go, ran into the back of Truex’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota. Despite the damage to the front nose of his No. 11 FedEx Toyota, Hamlin continued to run in sixth place and the race remained under green.

    By Lap 220, Kyle Busch was still leading by more than a second over Harvick and Elliott while Logano and Kurt Busch were in the top five. Ten laps later, on Lap 230, Harvick and Elliott were less than a second behind Kyle Busch while Logano and Kurt Busch continued to run inside the top five. Hamlin continued to run in sixth place despite the damage while Keselowski, who fell back inside the top 20, was lapped by Kyle Busch. 

    With less than 20 laps remaining in the second stage, the caution flew when smoke started billowing out of the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE driven by William Byron as a result of Byron running into the back of Christopher Bell, who checked up for the lapped car of Joey Gase, and damaging the front nose of his Chevrolet on the track. The smoke was enough to send Byron to the garage as his hopes of moving to the second round of the 2020 Playoffs came to an end.

    Under caution, the leaders pitted and Kyle Busch retained the lead following his pit stop ahead of Harvick and Logano. 

    With eight laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted and Kyle Busch received a strong start to retain the lead. Harvick was in second place followed by Logano, Elliott and Kurt Busch. By then, teammates Almirola and Bowyer moved inside the top 10 along with Austin Dillon while Blaney was outside the top 10.  

    The second stage concluded under caution when Ryan Newman spun in Turn 2. At the front of the field when the stage concluded, the leader Kyle Busch was able to claim his second stage victory of the season. Harvick was scored in second place followed by Elliott, Logano and Kurt Busch. Bowman, Almirola, Bowyer, Erik Jones and Austin Dillon settled in the top 10 ahead of Blaney and Keselowski. With his result in the second stage, Elliott clinched his spot for the second round of the Playoffs.

    In terms of points, Bowyer moved back inside the top-12 cutline while Custer, DiBenedetto, Blaney and Byron were scored outside of the cutline and in position of being eliminated from title contention.

    Under the stage break, some like Keselowski, Bell, Matt Kenseth, Michael McDowell, Truex and Hamlin pitted while the rest led by Kyle Busch, Harvick and Elliott remained on the track. Prior to the restart and under the Choose Rule effect, Logano moved up to restart in second place beneath Kyle Busch while Harvick and Kurt Busch restarted in the second row.

    With 240 laps remaining, the final stage commenced and Kyle Busch retained the lead following a strong start on the outside lane. Harvick moved up to second place in front of Logano while Elliott and Kurt Busch were in the top five. Behind, Blaney’s car started to come back alive as he moved up to eighth place behind Bowyer following his early struggles. In addition, Austin Dillon fought his way back to 10th place. 

    With 220 laps remaining, Harvick started to battle Kyle Busch for the lead. A lap later, Harvick emerged with the lead for the first time since Lap 34 following a pass on the outside lane. By then, Elliott was in third place ahead of Logano followed by Kurt Busch, Bowman, Blaney, Bowyer, Jones and Almirola. Austin Dillon was back in 11th place, Keselowski was in 13th and Custer was all the way back in 23rd. DiBenedetto was mired back in 24th while Truex was back in 28th. 

    Down to the final 200 laps of the race, the battle for the lead between Harvick and Kyle Busch continued to ignite while Keselowski was lapped by the leaders as he was battling power steering issues to his No. 2 Ford. In addition, Bowman made an unscheduled pit stop due to a vibration report on the No. 88 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. Elliott continued to run in third place while Logano and Kurt Busch settled in the top five. Blaney, who was still scored outside of the top-12 cutline in the Playoff standings, continued to march forward in sixth place while Bowyer, grasping with sole possession of the 12th and final transfer spot in the Playoffs, was in seventh place.

    With less than 190 laps remaining, Blaney made his way into the top five in fifth place followed by Bowyer. At the front, Harvick continued to lead by approximately half a second over Kyle Busch while Elliott and Logano continued to run in third and fourth. A few laps later, Keselowski, who was black-flagged and pitted to address the issues to his No. 2 Ford, made the turn to the garage.

    Fifteen laps later, with 175 laps remaining in the race, Harvick stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Kyle Busch while Elliott, Logano and Blaney continued to run in the top five. By then, non-title contenders like Erik Jones, Reddick and Jimmie Johnson were running inside the top 10. In addition, Kurt Busch, who was running in 12th place, made an unscheduled pit stop under green due to a loose wheel on his No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.

    Down to the final 150 laps of the race, Harvick extended his advantage to less than two seconds over Kyle Busch while Elliott trailed by less than six seconds. Meanwhile, Bowyer moved up into fourth place followed by Reddick, Logano, Johnson, Jones, Almirola and Austin Dillon. By then, Blaney, who fell back to 13th place, was lapped by Harvick as only 12 competitors were scored on the lead lap. Soon after, Blaney made a pit stop under green due to a right front issue.

    With approximately 130 laps remaining, 10 competitors were scored on the lead lap. Not long after, Logano made a pit stop under green as Harvick continued to lead. 

    With 120 laps remaining, Harvick was still leading by less than four seconds over Kyle Busch. Behind, Elliott remained in third place, trailing the two leaders by six seconds, while Bowyer was in fourth place in front of Reddick and Johnson. Almirola was in eighth, Austin Dillon was in ninth and DiBenedetto was in 11th, a lap behind.

    Down to the final 100 laps of the race, Harvick continued to navigate his way through the lapped traffic and maintain a nearly six-second lead over Kyle Busch. By then, eight competitors were scored on the lead lap while Austin Dillon was lapped in ninth place. In addition, pit stops under green started to occur as Hamlin pitted. 

    With 93 laps remaining, the caution flew when James Davison spun and made contact into the Turn 1 wall following on-track contact with Austin Dillon. The contact into Davison was a result of Dillon reacting to Harvick, who was slowing down, pulling his car below the apron and was initially prepared to pit before opting out due to the wreck, thus escaping with no damage. The wreck also nearly collected Custer, Truex and Johnson as Davison’s No. 53 car was coming back down from the banking. By then, six cars were scored on the lead lap.

    Under caution, the leaders pitted and Harvick retained the lead followed by Kyle Busch, Bowyer, Reddick and Almirola. Prior to the restart and under the Choose Rule effect, Bowyer moved into second place and beneath teammate Harvick on the front row while teammates Jones and Kyle Busch lined up in the second row. 

    With 82 laps remaining, the race restarted and the outside lane continued to prevail as Harvick retained the lead followed by Kyle Busch and Bowyer. Jones settled in fourth followed by Reddick and Almirola with only six competitors scored on the lead lap. DiBenedetto was the first competitor a lap behind in seventh place followed by Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece and Michael McDowell.

    At the front, the battle for the lead between Harvick and Kyle Busch started to ignite with 70 laps remaining. With both separated by three-tenths of a second, Busch would gain a run running on the outside lane entering the turns, but Harvick would have enough momentum entering the straightaways to maintain his advantage while running on the inside lane.

    Ten laps later, with 60 laps remaining, Kyle Busch gained another run towards the rear bumper of Harvick’s No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang in his pursuit for the lead. Despite his late charge, Harvick managed to stabilize his advantage by less than half a second over Busch’s No. 18 Toyota. Behind, Erik Jones trailed by nearly three seconds while Bowyer was in fifth place in between Reddick and Almirola.

    With less than 45 laps remaining, Harvick approached a handful of lapped traffic that included Austin Dillon and Blaney. With Harvick stalled behind the lapped cars of Blaney and Gray Gaulding, Kyle Busch made a move beneath Harvick and reassumed the lead with 41 laps remaining, though Harvick kept Busch within his sights.

    With approximately 30 laps remaining, Harvick reassumed the lead following a tight, vicious battle with Kyle Busch, who was being held up by Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang. By the time both cleared Logano, Harvick was back ahead by four-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch while Jones trailed by two seconds. 

    With approximately 20 laps remaining, Harvick and Kyle Busch continued to run in first and second, separated by two-tenths of a second. Meanwhile, Bell made contact into the wall after cutting a tire, but the race remained under green. 

    Down to the final 15 laps of the race, Harvick was still ahead by two-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch while Jones was behind by approximately a second and trying to close in on the two leaders. Five laps later, with 10 laps remaining, Kyle Busch continued to close by being a tenth of a second behind Harvick and with Jones trailing in third place by a second.

    With five laps remaining, only three-tenths of a second separated Harvick and Kyle Busch with Erik Jones behind by eight-tenths of a second. Though Kyle Busch continued to remain within sight of Harvick, he could not close the gap to his rear bumper. 

    On the final lap, Harvick was still ahead with a narrow margin over Kyle Busch. Entering Turn 3, Busch gained a run and tried to run into the back bumper of Harvick’s No. 4 Ford to loosen him up for the lead and the win. He could not, however, draw himself to the rear bumper of Harvick entering the turn as Harvick had enough momentum to win and claim the checkered flag by three-tenths of a second over Busch.

    With his victory, Harvick became the first competitor to claim two victories in this year’s Cup Playoffs, he claimed his third win at Bristol Motor Speedway and he notched his 35th win while driving for Stewart-Haas Racing in NASCAR’s premier series. In addition, Stewart-Haas Racing claimed its 65th Cup career win while Ford claimed its 17th victory of 2020.

    “Yeah! Bristol, baby!” Harvick exclaimed on the frontstretch on NBCSN. “Man, I just wanna say thank you to all the fans. Thank you, guys! I was so jacked up when we started this race because of you guys and Bristol Motor Speedway. Just proud of everybody on our Busch Light Ford…To beat Kyle Busch at Bristol, I kind of got myself in a little bit of a ringer there. I hit a lapped car and got a hole in the right-front nose, but just kept fighting. We don’t have anything else to lose. We were here to try to win a race. I know how much [crew chief] Rodney [Childers] really enjoys coming here. Hell, how could you not enjoy coming here with all this enthusiasm. Everybody’s tired of being at home! I’m glad we’re all here having a hell of a time. Thank you!”

    Kyle Busch settled in a disappointing second-place result for the fourth time this season and for his 12th top-five result of this season despite rallying from the rear of the field as his winless streak to the 2020 Cup season extended to 29 races. Though Busch was displeased with the lapped traffic, particularly at Logano, for interfering with his chances of beating Harvick, the lone silver lining for Busch and his No. 18 team was transferring to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs with an opportunity to defend last year’s title.

    “[I] Just didn’t have enough there at the end,” Busch said on pit road on NBCSN. “The guys did a great job and gave me a really good piece tonight to contend and at least be up there and be close. Unfortunately, just didn’t have enough. Lapped cars were definitely a problem, but it’s part of racing. You got to try to get around them where you can. There’s just no room for me to do what I needed to do on a couple of those opportunities to get pass them. [Harvick], obviously, had the better car, the faster car, than us tonight. [Crew chief] Adam [Stevens] made some good adjustments on that last run in order to keep us in the ball game and keep us close…I don’t know. Just come up short. What do you say?”

    Erik Jones finished in third place for his seventh top-five result of this season and as the highest-finishing non-title contender followed by Reddick. Teammates Almirola and Bowyer finished fifth and sixth as both Stewart-Haas Racing competitors transferred to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs. Elliott ended his night in seventh place, a lap behind, while Buescher, Preece and McDowell finished in the top 10. Jimmie Johnson finished 17th in his 38th and final run at Bristol.

    Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon, Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch transferred into the Round of 12 in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Cole Custer, Matt DiBenedetto, Ryan Blaney and William Byron were eliminated from title contention.

    There were 14 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 50 laps.

    Results.

    1. Kevin Harvick, 226 laps led, 

    2. Kyle Busch, 159 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    3. Erik Jones

    4. Tyler Reddick

    5. Aric Almirola, one lap led

    6. Clint Bowyer

    7. Chase Elliott, one lap down, 23 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    8. Chris Buescher, one lap down

    9. Ryan Preece, one lap down

    10. Michael McDowell, two laps down

    11. Joey Logano, two laps down

    12. Austin Dillon, two laps down

    13. Ryan Blaney, two laps down

    14. Matt Kenseth, two laps down

    15. Kurt Busch, two laps down

    16. Alex Bowman, two laps down

    17. Jimmie Johnson, two laps down

    18. Ty Dillon, three laps down

    19. Matt DiBenedetto, three laps down, seven laps led

    20. John Hunter Nemechek, three laps down

    21. Denny Hamlin, three laps down, one lap led

    22. Bubba Wallace, three laps down

    23. Cole Custer, three laps down

    24. Martin Truex Jr., four laps down

    25. Ryan Newman, four laps down

    26. Daniel Suarez, five laps down

    27. Gray Gaulding, 12 laps down

    28. Christopher Bell, 13 laps down, one lap led

    29. Quin Houff, 17 laps down

    30. J.J. Yeley, 21 laps down

    31. Joey Gase, 37 laps down

    32. Garrett Smithley, 64 laps down

    33. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Steering

    34. Brad Keselowski, 88 laps down, 82 laps led

    35. James Davison – OUT, Accident

    36. Reed Sorenson – OUT, Electrical

    37. Timmy Hill – OUT, Steering

    38. William Byron – OUT, Accident

    39. Josh Bilicki – OUT, Fuel pump

    40. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident

    Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings.

    1. Kevin Harvick – Advanced

    2. Denny Hamlin – Advanced

    3. Brad Keselowski – Advanced

    4. Joey Logano – Advanced

    5. Chase Elliott – Advanced

    6. Martin Truex Jr. – Advanced

    7. Alex Bowman – Advanced

    8. Austin Dillon – Advanced

    9. Aric Almirola – Advanced

    10. Kyle Busch – Advanced

    11. Clint Bowyer – Advanced

    12. Kurt Busch – Advanced

    13. Cole Custer – Eliminated

    14. Matt DiBenedetto – Eliminated

    15. Ryan Blaney – Eliminated

    16. William Byron – Eliminated

    The Round of 12 in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will commence at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the South Point 400. The race will occur on Sunday, September 27, at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Las Vegas Motor Speedway to run NASCAR Playoff races without fans

    Las Vegas Motor Speedway to run NASCAR Playoff races without fans

    Las Vegas Motor Speedway announced that no fans will be allowed to attend the upcoming NASCAR races throughout the facility and grandstands on September 25-27, 2020. The announcement came as the track was unable to receive approval from Steve Sisolak, Governor of Nevada, to have fans in attendance for the races throughout the weekend and with LVMS next on the racing schedule following this weekend’s events at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    “To say we’re disappointed that we will conduct the South Point 400 playoff weekend without fans would be a gross understatement,” Chris Powell, President of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, said. “Our staff has been working – many of them remotely – since the February Pennzoil 400 to prepare the speedway for our playoff triple-header. But we must adhere to Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak’s directive that limits gatherings due to Covid-19. While we disagree with this policy, we have no choice but to oblige. We certainly regret this situation for the thousands of race fans who won’t be able to attend our NASCAR-weekend events.”

    People are not permitted to attend sporting events or concerts under Nevada’s current re-opening phase, with groups being limited to no more than 50 people. Only essential personnel and team members will be permitted to enter the infield facilities and for the Truck, Xfinity and Cup Playoff races at the track next weekend.

    Fans who purchased tickets ahead of the NASCAR triple-header weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be contacted by the speedway ticket services department to discuss credits for future races or refunds.

    “We’re hopeful that we will be able to welcome all of our fans back for our two race weekends in 2021,” Powell added. “Those dates will be announced soon, and we look forward to getting things back to normal.”

    Prior to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the hiatus of this year’s racing season in March, Las Vegas Motor Speedway was one of four racetracks that hosted NASCAR events on February 21-23, 2020. The upcoming Truck, Xfinity and Cup races at Vegas are set as Playoff races, with the Truck race serving as the second Round of 10 Playoff race on September 25, the Xfinity race serving as the Playoff opener on September 26 and the Cup race serving as the first Round of 12 Playoff race on September 27.

    With Friday night’s announcement, Las Vegas Motor Speedway joins a host of other Cup tracks, including Darlington Raceway (May), Charlotte Motor Speedway (May), Bristol Motor Speedway (May), Atlanta Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway (June), Pocono Raceway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Kansas Speedway (July), Michigan International Speedway, Dover International Speedway and Richmond Raceway, that have not permitted fans to attend NASCAR races. The upcoming Cup postseason races at Bristol Motor Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Kansas Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and the season finale at Phoenix Raceway are set to welcome limited number of fans to attend the facility and watch the races from the grandstands.

    The NASCAR Truck Series Playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will occur on Friday, September 25, at 9 p.m. ET on FS1, the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff race at LVMS will occur on Saturday, September 26, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN and the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at LVMS will occur on Sunday, September 27, at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • 2020 Formula One mid-season review

    2020 Formula One mid-season review

    The 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship season has officially reached its halfway point in a bizarre season like none other in recent years. Mired by a delayed start spanning four months and changes to its racing schedule amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the sport, celebrating its 70th anniversary of the first Formula One season, is currently in its third off-weekend break from a 17-race schedule revised from 22 before the drivers and the teams embark on an eight-race stretch to the conclusion of this season. With that, here is a rundown of all that has occurred throughout this year’s competitive F1 season as the competitors and teams prepare to finish this season on schedule while also setting their sights for next season and beyond. 

    Through the first nine Formula One races of this season, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team leads the Constructors’ standings with 325 points while its two-driver lineup, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, lead the way in the Drivers’ standings. Even in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic across the globe, the resilience and dominance of the Mercedes team led by Team Principal & CEO Toto Wolff continues to be exemplified on the track and on a race weekend. With eight Drivers’ championships, six consecutive constructors’ championships and 109 career wins in F1, the team strives to achieve another pair of championships (Drivers’ and Constructors’ standings) and extend the winning legacy brought forth by the late Niki Lauda, three-time F1 champion and a former non-executive chairman of Mercedes.

    For Hamilton, the reigning six-time Formula One champion from Stevenage, England, who is on the cusp of tying Michael Schumacher for the most F1 titles at seven, the 2020 season marks his second consecutive season where he has achieved six victories through the first nine races of a new season. He started off on a rough note this season by being penalized to a fourth-place result in the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg after making late contact with Alexander Albon. Since then, he went on to claim Grand Prix victories at Styrian, Hungary, Silverstone, Spain, Belgium and the recent GP event in Tuscany, Italy. With 90 career wins in F1, Hamilton is one victory away in tying Schumacher for the most wins of all time at 91. By finishing no lower than seventh place through the first nine races of the season, Hamilton leads the standings by 55 points over teammate Valtteri Bottas. Though he is primed for another championship run this season and a shot at making history on the track, Hamilton has yet to confirm his racing plans for the 2021 Formula One season. 

    Teammate Bottas, who is in his fourth season with Mercedes and achieved a career-best second place in the Drivers’ standings last season, has had a consistent start to this season that started off on a high note when he won the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg. Since winning his eighth career F1 race, Bottas has achieved six additional podium results, including three second-place results, a fifth-place result in the Italian Grand Prix and a season-low 11th-place result in the British Grand Prix. The Nastola, Finland, native trails teammate Hamilton by 55 points as he attempts to become the sixth competitor to win an F1 title while driving for Mercedes. Unlike Hamilton, Bottas is already set to remain with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team for the 2021 Formula One season.

    Trailing behind in second place in the Constructors’ standings and with a total of 173 points is the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing team with Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon currently driving for the team. Having achieved four Drivers’ and Constructors’ championships, none since 2013, the team managed by Team Principal Christian Horner has been lurking behind the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari in recent years. With Ferrari struggling to keep pace this season, Red Bull Racing is currently the second-best team in the garage and aims to take the next step forward to return to the top of the standings and back as champions of the world.

    After achieving seven career victories in Formula One from 2016 to 2019 and notching a career-best third-place result in the Drivers’ standings last season, Max Verstappen approached the 2020 season with momentum and high expectations to challenge Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas for this year’s title run. His season did not start off on a strong note, however, in the Austrian Grand Prix when his car experienced electrical issues. The 22-year-old Dutch competitor rebounded the following three races by finishing in the podium, including back-to-back runner-up results. In the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix in Silverstone, United Kingdom, he achieved his first victory of the season and became the first non-Mercedes competitor to win in 2020 while recording the 63rd F1 career win for Red Bull Racing. He went on to achieve two additional podium results the following two races, but is coming off back-to-back retirements in two Grand Prix races in Italy. He is situated in third place in the Drivers’ standings behind the two Mercedes competitors and trails Hamilton by 80 points while he continues to pursue his first F1 title. While multiple Formula One competitors have contracts set to expire this season or next season, Verstappen is locked into a contract with Red Bull Racing through 2023.

    For Albon, who took over one of Red Bull Racing’s two rides late last season and recorded enough impressive results to earn a full-time seat with Red Bull this season, the first half of the 2020 season has been an up-and-down year for him. During the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix, Albon was involved in a late incident with Lewis Hamilton while battling for a podium spot (marking his second incident with Hamilton since Brazil in 2019). He rebounded the following six races by posting top-10 runs in all of them while achieving a best result of fourth place. After finishing 15th in the Italian Grand Prix, Albon achieved his elusive maiden podium result, third place, in the Tuscan Grand Prix. Albon’s first podium result came in his 30th start in F1 as he became the first Thai competitor to achieve an F1 podium result. Through the first nine races, Albon is in fifth place in the Drivers’ standings as he trails Hamilton by 127 points. Unlike Verstappen, Albon and Red Bull have yet to announce if their partnership will continue beyond this season.

    The third-best team in the Constructors’ standings with 106 points is the McLaren F1 Team with Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz Jr. driving for the team. Having achieved 12 drivers’ championships and eight constructors’ titles, none in either category since 2008, the team currently managed by CEO Zak Brown has struggled in keeping pace with the competition for wins and titles since the start of the 2013 season. From 2013 to 2018, the team’s best result in the Constructors’ standings was fifth place (twice) In addition, Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button recorded the team’s lone podium results during the six-year span. Last season, the competitiveness of the team began to turn around for the better as the team’s two competitors, Sainz and Norris, racked up strong results, including a podium result with Sainz in Brazil, to place the team in fourth place in the Constructors’ standings. By being the third-best team through the first half of this season, McLaren aims to extend their current on-track success, return to competitive form like from the past and contend for their first F1 win since the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix.

    For Norris, who achieved 11 top-10 results and concluded last season in 11th place in the Drivers’ standings, the 20-year-old competitor from Bristol, England, kicked off a new season of racing on a positive note by finishing in third place and claiming his maiden podium in F1 as a result of Lewis Hamilton being penalized for a late on-track incident with Alexander Albon and Norris finishing 4.8 seconds behind Hamilton, thus promoting him to the podium. At age 20 years, seven months and 22 days old, Norris became the third-youngest competitor to achieve an F1 podium result. Since his podium result, Norris has finished in the top 10 in all but one event. He is currently in fourth place in the Drivers’ standings, trailing Hamilton by 125 points, and looks to add his name as a potential title threat for this season and for years to come.

    For Sainz, who achieved 13 top-10 results, his maiden podium in the Brazilian Grand Prix and a sixth-place result in the Drivers’ standings last season, this season has been an up-and-down season for him. The 26-year-old competitor from Madrid, Spain, opened this season by recording three consecutive top-10 results. For the next four races, however, he only achieved one additional top-10 result and he did not make the starting grid for the Belgian Grand Prix due to a power unit issue. Nonetheless, he rallied the following race by notching a career-best second-place result in the Italian Grand Prix and claiming his second career podium result in Formula One. An early elimination due to a wreck in the recent Tuscan Grand Prix, however, places Sainz in 11th place in the Drivers’ standings, 149 points behind Hamilton. Nonetheless, Sainz aims to join Fernando Alonso, a two-time F1 champion, as the lone competitors from Spain to win a Formula One race. Unlike Norris, who will remain with McLaren next season, Sainz is set to join Scuderia Ferrari for the 2021 season, replacing Sebastian Vettel.

    Next is the BWT Racing Point F1 Team, the first team with double-digit points at 92 and currently ranked in fourth place in the standings with Lance Stroll and Sergio “Checo” Perez driving for the team. The team has experienced an abundance of bright on-track moments and results in their second full-time F1 season under the Racing Point banner with Otmar Szafnauer serving as the CEO & Team Principal of the team and with Canadian billionaire businessman Lawrence Stroll supporting the team as a part-owner. The only controversial moment for the team this season was when Racing Point was docked 15 points and fined €400,000 between the two GP events in Silverstone as a result of fielding RP20 race cars at the beginning of this season that had an identical design to the 2019 Mercedes car, a protest that was launched by Renault and upheld by the FIA upon review of the team’s use of rear brake ducts that were not refined while being used into the DNA of the RP19 car. Despite the controversy, 15 top-10 results between three competitors through the first nine races have kept the team in contention of emerging as the third-best team for this season. The team is also set to rebrand as Aston Martin F1 Team in 2021.

    For Lance Stroll, the 20-year-old son of Lawrence Stroll and who achieved six top-10 results and a 15th-place result in the Drivers’ standings last season, this season marks his strongest start to a Formula One season compared to his previous three seasons. After retiring in the season opener in the Austrian Grand Prix due to engine issues, Stroll went on a seven-race stretch of finishing inside the top 10. This included a third-place result in the Italian Grand Prix, which marked his first podium achievement since finishing in third place in the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Though he retired in the recent event, the Tuscan Grand Prix, following a late accident, he is in sixth place in the Drivers’ standings, which would mark a career-best result for him, and is 133 points behind Hamilton. Despite a strong start to this season, Stroll has yet to confirm his racing plans for next season.

    For Perez, who achieved 11 top-10 results and a 10th-place result in the Drivers’ standings last season, this season marks his strongest start to a new season of racing in three years. The 30-year-old Guadalajara, Mexico, native started the season by notching three consecutive top-10 results. His season, however, took a downhill turn when he was forced to sit out of both Silverstone races and was replaced by Nico Hülkenberg after being tested positive for COVID-19 symptoms. Once he returned to the track, Perez went on to finish in the top 10 through the last four races. His best results have been a pair of fifth-place finishes (Spain and Tuscan GP) as he strives to achieve his first podium result since finishing in third place in the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Despite his results, Perez will not be remaining with the team that is set to be rebranded to Aston Martin and his future plans in racing is currently unknown. 

    For Hülkenberg, who was left without a full-time ride for this season following a three-year run with Renault, this season marks his first absence from the season-opening race since he failed to take the starting grid for the 2013 Australian Grand Prix. The opportunity for the Emmerich am Rhein, West Germany, native to return to F1 came during both races at Silverstone when Sergio Perez tested positive for COVID-19 symptoms. For the British Grand Prix, he was due to start in 13th place, but he did not make the grid due to an engine failure. Returning for the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, Hülkenberg redeemed himself by starting in third place and finishing in seventh place. The seventh-place result marked his 96th top-10 result in his 178th career start in Formula One as he is still pursuing his first elusive podium result. Though Hülkenberg is not a full-time competitor this season and has not raced since August, the six points he recorded at Silverstone are more than Kimi Räikkönen, Antonio Giovinazzi, Kevin Magnussen, Nicholas Latifi, George Russell and Romain Grosjean combined through the first half of this season. Despite his two-race stint at Silverstone, Hülkenberg is still searching for a full-time ride and a return to F1 racing next year.

    Rounding out the top five and the first half of the Formula One teams in the Constructors’ standings is the Renault DP World F1 Team, currently with 83 points and with Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon driving for the team managed by Cyril Abiteboul and Marcin Budkowski. Having won two championships in 2004 and 2005, the team has finished no higher than third place in the standings since winning back-to-back titles. From 2009 to 2019, the team emerged as the fifth-best team in the final Constructors’ standings three times, including last season. This season, through the first nine races, Renault is situated in fifth place in the Constructors’ standings, ironically, and have tallied 11 top-10 results between its two-car lineup. Like the Racing Point organization, Renault is set to be rebranded as Alpine F1 Team and sport the French national colors of red, white and blue on their race cars. The team is also set to feature two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso as one of their two competitors for next season as they strive to return to championship contention. The 2021 F1 season will mark Alonso’s return to the sport since he retired in 2018 and his return to Renault since 2009.

    For Ricciardo, this season, which marks his second with Renault, started off as a season for him to rebound and reignite his past achievements and competitiveness on the track throughout his career and following a disappointing 2019 season highlighted with eight top-10 results and a ninth-place result in the Drivers’ standings. The season, however, did not start on a high note when he retired early due to overheating issues. Nonetheless, Ricciardo has achieved a total of six top-10 results through the first nine races of this season and he is ranked in seventh place in the Drivers’ standings while trailing Hamilton by 137 points. Finishing as high as fourth place three times on the track indicates how hungry he is in returning to the podium and winning an F1 race for the first time since 2018. Despite the recent strides and strong results on the track, Ricciardo is set to join McLaren next season and be a teammate to Lando Norris.

    For Ocon, who made his return to full-time Formula One racing this season following a one-year absence, the 2020 season was a year for him to rejuvenate his career and past success when he drove for Force India/Racing Point F1 Team. The 24-year-old Évreux, France, native started the season with an eighth-place result before he retired the following race due to overheating issues. Over the next seven races, he has achieved four top-10 results, a best result of fifth place, and one additional retirement. He is ranked in 12th place in the Drivers’ standings and is 160 points behind Hamilton while also being 13 points behind in cracking the top-10 mark. Ocon is set to remain with Renault and be a teammate to Fernando Alonso next season.    

    The team that leads the second half of the 10-team field in this year’s Formula One grid/standings with 66 points is Scuderia Ferrari with Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc currently driving for the team led by Team Principal Mattia Binotto. Having won 16 Constructors’ championships and 15 Drivers’ championships since 1950, the Ferrari powerhouse organization has struggled on the track throughout this season. With the team emerging as the second- or third-best team over the last decade, only two podium results through nine races this season marks their worst since 2014 as the team aims to rebuild itself back into competitive form approaching next season.

    For Vettel, a four-time Formula One champion and a 53-time race winner who achieved only one victory and a fifth-place result in the Drivers’ standings last season, the 2020 season marks his slowest start to an F1 season in recent years. He started the season with a 10th-place result in the Austrian Grand Prix. Over the next eight races, Vettel has achieved four additional top-10 results and two retirements. Thus far, his best on-track result is sixth place, which occurred in the Hungarian Grand Prix. He is in 13th place in the Drivers’ standings and trails Hamilton by 173 points with a tall mountain to climb to fight his way back into winning contention. After six seasons with Ferrari, including this season, Vettel is set for a fresh start by joining Aston Martin F1 Team in 2021.

    For Leclerc, who is in his second season with Ferrari and achieved his first two victories in Formula One last season before concluding the season in fourth place in the Drivers’ standings, this season has also been a struggle. Unlike Vettel, this season started off on a promising note for Leclerc when he finished in second place in the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix. Since then, Leclerc has managed to achieve one additional podium result, third place at the British GP, and two additional top-10 results. Mired within his season are three retirements as he is in eighth place in the Drivers’ standings and trails Hamilton by 141 points. Unlike Vettel, Leclerc is set to remain with Ferrari for next season.

    Next is the newly formed Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda team, the last team in the current Constructors’ standings with double-digit points at 53 and with Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat driving for the team. Formerly known as Toro Rosso and as a junior team to Red Bull Racing with the philosophy of providing newcomers a chance to compete in Formula One, the team was rebranded to promote the AlphaTauri fashion brand, a parent company of Red Bull, while continuing to run on Honda engines. In addition to retaining drivers Gasly and Kvyat, Franz Tost remains as Team Principal of the team, Graham Watson remains as Team Manager and Jody Egginton runs as Technical director. On the track this season, the results have been mixed between Gasly and Kvyat from one race to another. The team’s lone highlight has been winning at the Italian Grand Prix in September with Gasly, indicating how primed the team is in pursuing more victories in the near future.

    For Gasly, who was demoted from Red Bull Racing to Toro Rosso in the late stages of last season but concluded the season on a high note by scoring his maiden podium in the Brazilian Grand Prix with a second-place run, this season has provided its share of the highs and lows. The 24-year-old Rouen, France, native finished seventh in the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix and recorded three additional top-10 results through the Belgium Grand Prix. Then, at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, Gasly shined the brightest of the field when he emerged with the lead late in the race following a stop-and-go penalty involving Lewis Hamilton and held off Carlos Sainz to win his first Formula One career race. With his accomplishment, he became the 109 different competitor to win a Formula One race and the first French F1 competitor to win since Olivier Panis made the last accomplishment in the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix. The win vindicated his resilience to triumph against his struggles and his potential in competing for wins on a weekly basis. Coming off his recent Grand Prix event in Tuscany, Italy, where he was involved in an opening lap multi-car wreck, Gasly is in 10th place in the Drivers’ standings and is 147 points behind Hamilton. Despite the success this season, Gasly has yet to confirm his racing plans for next season and beyond.

    For Kvyat, who achieved a podium result last season during the German Grand Prix along with a total of 10 top-10 results before finishing in 13th place in the Drivers’ standings, his results of this season’s first half mirrors his progress from the first nine races of last season. He started the season by finishing 12th in the Austrian Grand Prix. Since then, he recorded four top-10 results, including a best result of seventh place in the Tuscan Grand Prix, and has sustained only one DNF. Despite the progression, he is in 14th place in the standings, 180 points behind Hamilton, and needs to gain 33 points to crack the top 10 in the Drivers’ standings. Like Gasly, Kvyat has yet to confirm his racing plans for next season and beyond.

    The first team in line with single-digit points, four, is the Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen team with Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi driving for the team currently led by Frédéric Vasseur. Since the team began racing under the Alfa Romeo Racing banner in 2019, their two-car lineup have achieved a total of 15 top-10 results through the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix. Their best results are fourth and fifth place with Räikkönen and Giovinazzi in the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix. Like last season, the team continues to run as the eighth-best team on the grid.

    For Räikkönen, who is in his second season with Alfa Romeo and achieved nine top-10 results and a final result of 12th place in the Drivers’ standings last season, just a single top-10 result marks the lowest top-10 results he has recorded through nine races into a season. Having won his first and only F1 title in 2007, Räikkönen’s lone top-10 result this season was a ninth-place result in the Tuscan Grand Prix. He is tied for 16th place in the Drivers’ standings and with his first two points to this season. Räikkönen has yet to announce his racing plans for next season and beyond.

    For Giovinazzi, who is in his second full-time season in F1 racing and recorded four top-10 results and a final result of 17th place in the Drivers’ standings last season, the 2020 season started off on a promising note in ninth place. Since then, his next highest result on the track over the next eight races was 14th. In addition, he has sustained two retirements. He is tied for 16th place in the Drivers’ standings with Räikkönen and with two points recorded this season. Like Räikkönen. Giovinazzi has yet to announce his racing plans for the 2021 F1 season.

    Trailing behind with only a single team point in ninth place in the Constructors’ standings through the first nine races is the Haas F1 Team with Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean driving for the team led by the team’s principal Guenther Steiner. Compared to their previous four seasons in F1, where the results have been up and down between its two-car lineup, the first half of the 2020 season has been a down season for the team as they continue to struggle in keeping pace with the competition like all of last season. 

    For Magnussen, who is in his fourth season with the Haas organization and has achieved only four top-10 results last season, just a single top-10 result through the first nine races into an F1 season marks his lowest since 2016. His top-10 result, nonetheless, remains the lone highlight for the Haas team this season. Aside from the top-10 result, Magnussen has finished no higher than 12th place while he has also sustained five retirements this season, including the season opener in Austria and the two recent Grand Prix races in Italy. Currently, the 27-year-old Magnussen from Roskilde, Denmark, has yet to confirm his racing plans for the 2021 F1 season.

    For Grosjean, who has been with the Haas F1 team since its inception in 2016 and who notched three top-10 results last season, the 2020 season marks the first time where he has completed the first nine races without a single top-10 result and without recorded points. Grosjean started the season with a retirement in the Austrian Grand Prix. Though he was able to finish the next eight races, he has finished no higher than 12th place (twice). He joins Nicholas Latifi and George Russell as the lone F1 competitors to achieve zero top-10 results through the first nine races of this season. Like Magnussen, Grosjean has yet to announce his racing plans for next season.

    Finally, the Williams Racing team occupies the 10th and final spot in the Constructors’ standings with no points recorded this season and with Nicholas Latifi and George Russell driving for the team. Having won seven Drivers’ championships and nine Constructors’ titles, none since 1997, the team slipped back in the standings since finishing in third place in 2015 and have been the 10th-place team on the grid since 2018. Amid a struggling start to this season, the Williams team was acquired by Dorilton Capital, an American investment group, for €152 million. Following the purchase of the team, Claire Williams, Team Principal of Williams, departed from the team following the Italian Grand Prix. Though the team remains under the Williams banner and operates in the United Kingdom, the Williams family is no longer involved in Formula One racing since the team’s inception in 1977 by Sir Frank Williams.

    For Latifi, who is in his first full-time season in F1 racing and spent the previous two seasons as a test/reserve competitor, this season started off on a promising note when he finished in 11th place in the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix and came up one spot short in recording a point for the Williams team. Since the season opener, he has achieved an additional 11th-place result in the Italian Grand Prix, which marks his highest result this season. Despite the on-track struggles and strives, the good news for Latifi is that he is set to remain with Williams for the 2021 F1 season.

    For Russell, a former Formula 2 champion who is currently in his second season in F1 racing and concluded his first full-time season last year in 20th place in the Drivers’ standings, this season started off on a low note when he retired due to fuel pressure issues. Over the next eight F1 races, the 22-year-old King’s Lynn, United Kingdom, native finished in the top 15 three times and his highest result is 11th place, which occurred in the Tuscan Grand Prix. He joins teammate Latifi and Grosjean as the lone F1 competitors to record zero points through the first half of this season. Like Latifi, Russell is set to remain with Williams for the 2021 F1 season.

    With the first half of the 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship season complete, the second half of the season will commence on September 27 at Sochi Autodrom for the Russian Grand Prix followed by the return of Nürburgring for the Eifel Grand Prix on October 11 and at Portimão’s Algarve International Circuit for the Portuguese Grand Prix on October 25. Next on the revised schedule will be the Emilia Romangna Grand Prix at Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy, on November 1 followed by the Turkish Grand Prix at Tuzla’s Intercity Istanbul Park on November 15. Formula One will then race at the Bahrain International Circuit for the Bahrain Grand Prix on November 29 followed by the Sakhir Grand Prix at Bahrain’s Outer Circuit layout on December 6. The revised 17-race schedule will conclude at Yas Marina Circuit for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 13.

  • Mike Shiplett to reach 150 Cup starts as crew chief at Bristol

    Mike Shiplett to reach 150 Cup starts as crew chief at Bristol

    A significant milestone is in the making for Mike Shiplett, crew chief for this year’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoff contender and Rookie-of-the-Year recipient Cole Custer. When the Cup Series competes in this weekend’s Playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Shiplett will call his 150th race in NASCAR’s premier series as a crew chief.

    A native of Amherst, Ohio, Shiplett grew up working on street stock cars for local short track racing with his uncle before he raced his prepared street stock across Ohio at age 16, eventually moving up to late model stock cars. He went on to attain a degree in diesel technology at the University of Northwestern Ohio in 1992. Afterwards, he joined Liberty Racing as a mechanic in the American Speed Association in 1995, which made the eventual move to the NASCAR Truck Series.

    In 1998, Shiplett moved to North Carolina and worked as a car chief for the No. 75 Butch Mock Motorsports team that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. Following the 2000 season, Shiplett joined forces with Ultra Motorsports in 2001 and continued to work as a car chief. Two years later, he joined Evernham Motorsports and another four years later, he worked as a crew chief for Evernham’s Xfinity Series program. Working with seven competitors in the 2007 NASCAAR Xfinity season, Shiplett won his first two NASCAR career races as a crew chief with Kasey Kahne.

    In 2008, when Evernham Motorsports became Gillett-Evernham Motorsports, Shiplett was named a full-time NASCAR Cup Series crew chief for the No. 10 Dodge team that started the season with Patrick Carpentier, the 1997 CART Rookie of the Year and Champ Car competitor from LaSalle, Quebec, Canada, behind the wheel. The 2008 season marked Shiplett’s first as a Cup crew chief. From 2008 to 2009, Shiplett worked with five different drivers (Patrick Carpentier, Terry Labonte, Mike Wallace, Reed Sorenson and A.J. Allmendinger) while remaining with the team that became Richard Petty Motorsports in 2009. In August 2008, Shiplett served as a crew chief for Carpentier for the NASCAR Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, where he finished 25th. Following the 2009 season, Shiplett called 66 Cup career races.

    In 2010, Shiplett worked as a full-time Cup crew chief with Allmendinger and the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford team. Together, Allmendinger and Shiplett achieved a pole position at Phoenix Raceway in April, two top-five results and eight top-10 results as Allmendinger concluded the season in 19th place in the final standings. Following the 2010 season, Shiplett reached 100 Cup races as a crew chief.

    For the first 19 Cup races of the 2011 season, Shiplett remained as crew chief for Allmendinger and the No. 43 RPM Ford team as Allmendinger earned one top-five result, four top-10 results and was ranked in 16th place in the standings following the recent Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July. Afterwards, Shiplett was replaced by Greg Erwin for the remainder of the season and Allmendinger went on to conclude the season in a career-best 15th place in the final standings.

    In 2012, Shiplett scaled back to the Xfinity Series and worked at Turner Motorsports. He served as a crew chief for 23 Xfinity races while working with Kasey Kahne and Brad Sweet, both of whom split driving roles in the No. 38 Great Clips Chevrolet. He also served as a crew chief for Kahne in the Truck Series race at Rockingham Speedway in April, where Kahne went on to win.

    From 2013 to 2014, Shiplett rejoined Richard Petty Motorsports and was involved with the team’s research-and-development program. He also served as an Xfinity Series crew chief for Corey LaJoie in the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November when LaJoie made his series debut.

    In 2015, Shiplett rejoined the Xfinity Series and worked as a crew chief for HScott Motorsports with Chip Ganassi Racing and the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro team driven between Kyle Larson, Justin Marks and Brennan Poole. Shiplett remained with the organization when the No. 42 car returned only under the Chip Ganassi Racing banner in 2016. From 2015 to 2018, Shiplett won a total of 15 Xfinity races between Larson, Marks, Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain and John Hunter Nemechek.

    After Chip Ganassi Racing’s Xfinity program shut down due to sponsorship woes, Shiplett joined Stewart-Haas Racing to serve as crew chief for Cole Custer and the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang team. Together, Custer and Shiplett had great success all season long as they achieved seven victories, six poles, 17 top-five results, 24 top-10 results and an average result of 9.0. In the end, however, Custer and Shiplett finished in second place in the final standings behind the champions Tyler Reddick and crew chief Randall Burnett of Richard Childress Racing.

    Following a successful 2019 Xfinity Series season, Stewart-Haas Racing named Shiplett as a full-time crew chief of the No. 41 Haas Ford Mustang driven by Custer for the 2020 season as Custer entered this season as a Rookie-of-the-Year contender. Through the first 16 Cup races of this season, Custer and Shiplett achieved one top-five result, two top-10 results and were ranked in 25th place in the regular-season standings.

    The following race at Kentucky Speedway, however, Custer took advantage on a two-lap shootout and made a bold four-wide pass for the lead on the final lap and against names like Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. to achieve his first Cup career victory in his 20th series start. The win was also Shiplett’s first in the Cup level as the victory guaranteed Custer, Shiplett and the No. 41 team a spot in the 2020 Cup Playoffs. Custer and Shiplett went on to achieve three additional top-10 results throughout the regular-season stretch. By the time the 2020 Cup Playoff field was set following the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway in August, Custer was named the 2020 Cup Rookie of the Year since he was the lone rookie candidate to make the 16-car Playoff field.

    Through the first two Cup Playoff races of this season, Custer and Shiplett achieved 12th- and 14th-place results at Darlington Raceway and at Richmond Raceway. Currently, Custer is eight points below the top-12 cutline and is one of four competitor who are on the brink of elimination from title contention entering this weekend’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    Catch Shiplett’s milestone start at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Saturday, September 19. The race will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Kansas Speedway to host fans for Cup Playoff race in October

    Kansas Speedway to host fans for Cup Playoff race in October

    Kansas Speedway will open its facilities for limited number of fans to attend the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at the track on Sunday, October 18. The track will allow up to 10,000 fans to attend to watch the race. The news comes as other select tracks remaining in this year’s schedule continue to work with NASCAR, safety/medical experts and local/state authorities in allowing fans to attend the remaining scheduled races across the grandstands.

    For those who attend the facility and watch the race from the grandstands, they will be directed to specific parking areas while separated from other parked vehicles, screened upon entering and will be assigned to new, socially distanced seating areas near original seating areas. All who attend, from the grandstands to those who reserved campground spots, will be required to keep six feet apart from one another and abide by social distancing protocols. The infield areas of the track will be open only for competition-based personnel, thus excluding infield experiences for the fans. Coolers and glass containers of any type will not be permitted inside the facility, tailgating will not be permitted before and after the Cup race and those who are three years of age or older while attending must wear face coverings. Clear bags, no more than 18″x18″x14″, will be permitted inside the facility and limited “Grab’N Go” and track/NASCAR merchandise will be available for purchase via cashless transactions. In addition, multiple hand washing/sanitizing stations will be provided. All of these protocols will be in effect as Kansas Speedway works with health/government officials to ensure the safety for those who attend and throughout the race.

    Camping sites at certain areas at and around the facility, including the GEICO Turns 1, 3 and 4 and Backstretch Terraces along with the GEICO Martinsville, Phoenix, Daytona White and Blue Campgrounds will be permitted for campers and self-contained registered vehicles. For any camper who exits the track, they will be screened upon leaving and re-entering to the track and to their camping spot.

    The Cup Playoff race at Kansas in October will serve as the first Round of 8 Playoff race of this season and will be the only event throughout the weekend that will open for fans to attend and watch from the grandstands. The ARCA Menards Series championship event along with the scheduled Gander RV & Outdoors Truck and Xfinity Series Playoff events at Kansas on October 16-17 are not scheduled to have fans in attendance. In addition, race-day experiences that include GEICO Reserved Infield/Tend/Richmond Camping, pre-race passes/FanWalk tickets, ignition garage hospitality, suites, FanVision/Scanner Rentals, Interactive Displays/Fan Engagement Areas, Paid/Premium Tailgate Parkings and Public Transportation services will not be available throughout the weekend.

    “At Kansas Speedway, we have a tradition of fantastic Playoff racing, and what better treat for our fans than to have them witness that in person,” Pat Warren, President of Kansas Speedway, said in a statement. “I know the drivers feed off the excitement of having the fans on hand, and we are enthusiastic for the opportunity to welcome them back to the track, offering a safe, healthy environment for everyone.”

    On July 23-25, NASCAR raced at Kansas Speedway with no fans in attendance. It all started with the Cup race on July 23 under the lights, which marked the final weekday race of this season, followed by the Trucks and ARCA on July 24. It all capped off with the Trucks and Xfinity running on July 25.

    The fall Kansas race joins a host of other tracks that have hosted a Cup race with limited fans in attendance, including Homestead-Miami Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Daytona International Speedway and Darlington Raceway. The upcoming Cup Playoff races at Bristol, Talladega, Texas and the finale at Phoenix Raceway are also scheduled to host limited fans in attendance.

    The NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race, Hollywood Casino 400, at Kansas Speedway will occur on Sunday, October 18, at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.