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Author: Andrew Kim

  • Kaulig Racing to surpass 200 combined NASCAR Xfinity starts at Daytona

    Kaulig Racing to surpass 200 combined NASCAR Xfinity starts at Daytona

    For Kaulig Racing, Daytona International Speedway has and will always remain a special place for the team with many significant meanings. The team made its Cup and Xfinity Series debuts at Daytona, the team recorded three stage victories last season at Daytona and the team achieved its first top-10 result at Daytona. In addition, the 2.5-mile superspeedway venue in Daytona Beach, Florida, has always been a competitive place for the team in having their cars running towards the front. Above all, Daytona will always be known as the track where the team achieved its first career win and trophy in NASCAR last July. Now, at the same track where the team achieved its first of four current victories, Kaulig Racing is set to surpass a significant milestone start in their fifth season of NASCAR racing. When the team’s three-car lineup takes the green flag in this weekend’s race at Daytona under the lights, Kaulig Racing will surpass 200 starts in NASCAR.

    Prior to the 2016 season, Matt Kaulig, owner of LeafFilter Gutter Protection, decided to field a single-car team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Kaulig Racing, while forming an alliance with Richard Childress Racing. In addition, Matt Kaulig hired Blake Koch as driver of the team’s No. 11 Chevrolet Camaro sponsored by LeafFilter Gutter Protection while veteran Chris Rice also joined the team to serve as general manager and crew chief. In Kaulig’s first NASCAR race at Daytona International Speedway in February, Koch achieved a ninth-place result after starting ninth. He finished no higher than 12th the following six races before he finished eighth at Richmond Raceway in April. Throughout the regular season, Koch earned 15 top-15 results and was one of 12 Xfinity competitors to make the inaugural Xfinity Playoffs. After finishing 11th, 14th and 12th through the first round of the Playoffs (three races), Koch was one of eight competitors to advance to the second round. He achieved results of ninth, 14th and eighth in the second round, but he failed to advance to the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway by a narrow margin. He proceeded to finish 20th in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway and he capped off Kaulig Racing’s first season in NASCAR competition with five top-10 results and in a successful seventh place in the final standings.

    Koch remained as driver of the No. 11 LeafFilter/Kaulig Racing Chevrolet for the 2017 Xfinity Series season. He started the season with a 15th-place result in the season opener at Daytona followed by a 40th-place result at Atlanta due to being involved in an early accident. From Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March through Richmond in April, he went on to earn five top-15 results. At Talladega Superspeedway in May, Koch earned his first career pole and the first for Kaulig Racing. He ended his race in 31st place, however, after being involved in a multi-car wreck prior to the start of the final stage. From Charlotte Motor Speedway in May through Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, Koch finished no higher than 13th before he achieved an eighth-place result the following race at Iowa Speedway. For the final seven races of the regular season, he earned six top-15 results and made his second consecutive appearance in the Xfinity Playoffs as a title contender. Throughout the regular season, he also achieved two stage wins (Daytona in July and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in August). Compared to last season, however, Koch was eliminated from title contention following the first round (three races), where he finished 17th, 19th and 25th. He was able to achieve a sixth-place result in the penultimate event of the season at Phoenix in November before he finished 16th at the finale at Homestead. Overall, he concluded the season with five top-10 results and an 11th-place result in the final standings.

    In 2018, following the departure of Koch, Ryan Truex, who had also departed from Hattori Racing Enterprises following the 2017 NASCAR Truck Series season, was named as a full-time driver of the No. 11 Bar Harbor/Sea Watch International/Phantom Fireworks/LeafFilter Chevrolet led by Chris Rice. Truex started the season on a high note by finishing in seventh place in the season opener at Daytona and after having a late shot in winning the race. He went on to achieve seven consecutive top-15 results through Richmond Raceway in April and was ranked in seventh place in the regular-season standings. After finishing 38th the following race at Talladega due to being involved in an early accident, Truex and the No. 11 Chevrolet team finished in the top 15 from Dover International Speedway in May through Iowa Speedway in July. At the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in August, Truex recorded the first top-five result for Kaulig Racing after finishing fifth. At Indianapolis Motor Speedway in September, Kaulig fielded a newly formed second operation, the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro, driven by the 2018 Daytona 500 Austin Dillon. Starting 32nd, Dillon finished eighth. Following Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September, Truex had earned three more top-15 results and he qualified for the Xfinity Playoffs based on points. During the first round (three races) of the Playoffs, however, Truex earned finishes of 11th, 16th and 10th, and was one of four competitors who was eliminated from title contention. Following the finale at Homestead, where Truex capped off the season with a 15th-place result, 11 top-10 results in total and a 12th-place result in the final standings, Kaulig Racing achieved 100 starts in NASCAR (all coming in the Xfinity Series).

    For the 2019 Xfinity Series season, Kaulig Racing parted ways with Truex and brought along Winamac, Indiana’s Justin Haley as a full-time driver of the No. 11 LeafFilter Chevrolet Camaro led by veteran crew chief Nick Harrison. In addition, Kaulig fielded the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro on a part-time basis and the ride was shared between Ross Chastain, Austin Dillon, Elliott Sadler and A.J. Allmendinger. In addition, Nutrien Ag Solutions joined the team as a key partner alongside LeafFilter. During the season opener at Daytona, Haley and Chastain each won a stage before they finished 17th and 13th respectively. For the first 15 Xfinity races of the season, Haley recorded 11 top-10 results with a best finish of fifth place at Charlotte in May. In addition, Austin Dillon drove the No. 10 Chevrolet in three races while earning a best result of fourth place at Las Vegas in March. Chastain made two additional starts in the No. 10 car, earning a best result of eighth place at Chicagoland Speedway in June, and Sadler competed at Richmond, his home track, in April, where he finished 12th.

    For the next scheduled race at Daytona in July, Kaulig Racing fielded three cars, with Haley in the No. 11 LeafFilter Chevrolet, Allmendinger making his first of select starts in the No. 10 Cornerstone Produce Group Chevrolet and Chastain in the team’s newly formed No. 16 Ellsworth Advisors Chevrolet. Throughout the race, all three Kaulig cars were dominant as Chastain won the first stage while Allmendinger won the second. On the final lap, with Chastain and Haley running first and second approaching the finish line, Allmendinger made his way up to third place and all three Kaulig teammates streaked across the line to record the first NASCAR career win for the team as Chastain achieved his second series win at the World Center of Racing. The victory at Daytona came in Kaulig Racing’s 115th career race fielding race cars with a simple objective: win and deliver trophies for the team. Though Allmendinger was disqualified and stripped from his stage points and third-place result due to failing post-race technical inspection, the first- and second-place results for Chastain and Haley remained in effect.

    Following the victory, however, tragedy hit the team two races later. A day after the Xfinity event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July, Nick Harrison, Haley’s crew chief, died at age 37 due to suffering from multiple health issues. For the remainder of the season, new crew chiefs that included Alex Yontz, Lennie Chandler and Byron Daley filled in atop Kaulig Racing’s pit boxes and to lead its competitors on the track with Chris Rice also assisting the team’s efforts.

    For the remainder of the 2019 Xfinity season, Haley recorded eight additional top-10 results as he made the Playoffs before being eliminated following the first round and concluding the season in 12th place in the final standings. Allmendinger made four additional starts with Kaulig Racing, all coming in road course events in the No. 10 Chevrolet, where he recorded the second career win for the team and his first series victory since 2013 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval in October. Chastain made two additional starts in Kaulig Racing’s No. 10 car towards the conclusion of the season, where he finished 10th at Kansas in October and second at Texas in November. Austin Dillon made an additional start at Indianapolis in September, where he finished 34th due to fuel pump issues. Finally, Sadler made his second start of the season along with his 855th and final NASCAR career start at Las Vegas in September, where he finished 10th.

    For this season, 2020, Kaulig Racing fielded two full-time operations and one part-time operation in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Chastain was named as full-time competitor of the No. 10 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet Camaro led by crew chief Bruce Schlicker, Haley remained as a full-time competitor of the No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet Camaro led by crew chief Alex Yontz and Allmendinger was named a part-time competitor of the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro sponsored by Ellsworth Advisors. In addition, Kaulig fielded the No. 16 Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE driven by Haley and led by Billy Scott throughout Daytona Speedweeks in an effort of making this year’s 62nd running of the Daytona 500.

    During the qualifying session on February 9 that determined the front row for the 500 and starting lineups for the Bluegreen Vacations Duel events on February 13, Haley was one of the two fastest non-chartered competitors along with veteran Brendan Gaughan to be guaranteed a starting spot for the Daytona 500 based on qualifying speed as he accomplished Matt Kaulig’s dream of competing in the Daytona 500 in the Cup Series. Starting in 33rd place in the 500, Haley rallied from being involved in a late incident to finish in 13th place.

    In the Xfinity Series, Kaulig Racing started off the year 2020 on a low note as Haley was the lone Kaulig competitor to compete in the season opener at Daytona, where he finished sixth. Chastain and Allmendinger, however, had mechanical issues to their respective Chevrolet Camaros and both recorded the slowest lap times that prevented them in making the 40-car field. Chastain was able to compete at Daytona in RSS Racing’s No. 38 Chevrolet Camaro when veteran Jeff Green relinquished his seat to allow Chastain to gain early points towards his full-time slate this season. Allmendinger, however, was unable to make the field in time for the race. Despite the slow start, Haley and Chastain went on to record top-10 results in the following four series races.

    Through the first seven races of the 2020 season, Haley and Chastain each achieved a total of five top-10 results. Allmendinger made his first series start at Bristol in June, where he rallied from a spin to finish 10th. At Atlanta Motor Speedway in June, with Kaulig Racing fielding three cars, Allmendinger won in the No. 16 Chevrolet after leading the final 37 laps and holding off Noah Gragson. The victory was Allmendinger’s fourth of his Xfinity Series career, first on an oval-shaped track and the third career win for Kaulig Racing. Two races later at Homestead, Allmendinger claimed the Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus following a fourth-place run. The following race at Talladega, Haley received a draft from teammates Chastain and Allmendinger on the final lap to pass Jeb Burton and achieve his first Xfinity career victory in his 47th series start. To August 2020, Haley is one of 33 competitors to achieve a win across NASCAR’s three major division series as he also recorded the first win for sponsor LeafFilter. While Kaulig Racing achieved its second victory of the season and fourth overall, the team was also victorious as Chastain, who finished in second place, claimed the Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus. Chastain would go on to win his second Dash 4 Cash bonus of the season at Pocono Raceway the following week after finishing second again.

    Through 21 Xfinity races this season, following a Dover doubleheader, Haley has achieved a win along with six top-five results and 13 top-10 results as he is also guaranteed a spot in this year’s Xfinity Playoffs based off of his victory at Talladega. Though he has no victories recorded thus far, Chastain has achieved nine top-five results and 18 top-10 results as he is ranked in fourth place in the regular-season standings and is 388 points above the top-12 cutline to make the Playoffs. Allmendinger has made seven starts this season and has achieved one victory at Atlanta, five top-five results and seven top-10 results. He is scheduled to make two more Xfinity starts this season.

    All three competitors are scheduled to compete in the upcoming Xfinity Series race at Daytona and surpass start No. 200 for a team that is in its early stages towards success in NASCAR.

    Catch Kaulig Racing’s milestone start at Daytona on Friday, August 28, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • A long, bizarre regular season is set to cap off at Daytona

    A long, bizarre regular season is set to cap off at Daytona

    It has been six months (28 weeks; over 190 days) since the drop of the first green flag of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, which occurred at Daytona International Speedway for the 62nd running of the Daytona 500. Since the start of the season in February through last weekend in the second half of August, a lot has happened both on and off the track.

    It has forced the competitors, teams and the sport to change its approach prior to and following a racing event in looking out for the social well-being of others while also continuing to be competitive towards one another for wins and points. Now, following a 25-race Cup regular-season stretch spanning seven months, it all comes to the final regular-season event of the season that will determine the 16 competitors who will contend in this year’s postseason battle for the championship and where it will all be determined…at Daytona.

    Flashback to February 16 and 17 when the Daytona 500 occurred; the season started off on a harrowing note when veteran Ryan Newman was involved in a vicious accident approaching the finish line while competing for the win as he rolled upside down and was rammed into the driver’s side by the on-rushing Corey LaJoie before he came to a rest on his roof with flames and fuel leaking out of his car. For nearly two days, the racing community froze while awaiting Newman’s status as he was extracted from his car and transported to a local hospital in Florida. Then came the photo and the clip of Newman walking and exiting the hospital holding the hands of his two daughters. For approximately a month, all seemed to return to normal and the 2020 racing season could resume with a lot of anticipation on the line.

    Then came the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March that changed everything. With a number of races postponed, all on-track activities wiped clean from the slate following the opening NASCAR races (four Cup, four Xfinity and two Truck races) and a season on a hiatus along with the rest of the world, NASCAR was faced with a challenge like none other in previous seasons. While the competitors turned to racing online and attended to personal matters for nearly two months, it was no secret that all were anxious to return to the race track and reignite their competitiveness since the start of the season.

    Then, like a spark igniting into flames, the season was back to on-track racing in May after NASCAR released its first installment of a revised schedule across the Carolinas followed by another wave across the East Coast. Following a triumphant return throughout May, which included a number of national division races run at Darlington Raceway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway, the season started to come into full swing and became salvageable with NASCAR racing slated on weekdays and multiple series competing twice or three times a day in a revised schedule featuring familiar racing venues. Additionally, doubleheader and triple-header series races on weekends turned into quadruple-header weekends or even went as high as featuring five major division races per weekend.

    Of course, with a season being salvaged, sacrifices to the schedule were made as tracks that include Chicagoland Speedway, Sonoma Raceway, Watkins Glen International, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Iowa Speedway, Eldora Speedway and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park cancelled their scheduled racing events this season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. New to this year’s Cup regular season amid the schedule changes include weekday races at tracks that include Darlington, Charlotte, Martinsville Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway and at Kansas Speedway, the All-Star Race running at Bristol in July, a pair of doubleheader races at Michigan International Speedway and at Dover International Speedway to go along with a Pocono Raceway doubleheader near the end of June and the first stock car racing event at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course.

    In the midst of a salvageable season and with races being checked off a handful at a time per week came a new weekly approach for the competitors and teams to piece together their cars and equipment in time for race day and race trim with no practice nor qualifying sessions held prior to the main event. It was not an easy task for the competitors and crew members as they also had to remain vigilant, healthy, strong and aware of their surroundings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with competitors like Jimmie Johnson, Austin Dillon, Brendan Gaughan and Spencer Davis being diagnosed with the disease at least once.

    In addition, throughout June, the NASCAR community paused for a moment of unity and solidarity towards the social justice movement and following a number of deaths and incidents involving racial injustices towards African Americans. This included the stance of solidarity against racism all competitors and teams exemplified at Talladega Superspeedway on June 22 towards Bubba Wallace, driver of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE and NASCAR’s lone African-American competitor in the Cup Series, when a noose was discovered in Wallace’s garage stall prior to race day, though the FBI investigation concluded that Wallace was not a victim of a hate crime.

    One thing that remained unchanged since the on-track season resumed and amid the challenges across society was the competitiveness shared amongst the drivers and the teams towards one another while battling for wins, records/milestones, every point and every position as possible through every lap and every turn.

    Since the season resumed on May 17 at Darlington through last weekend’s doubleheader events at Dover International Speedway on August 22-23, NASCAR checked off 22 Cup races in 99 days (including the All-Star Race at Bristol). During the 99-day span and including the Xfinity Series and the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, NASCAR also checked off 50 races off of its revised schedule.

    Finally, with the Cup schedule back to its regular, unchanged weekend approach of racing and done from midweek racing and additional doubleheaders for the time being, this year’s regular season comes full circle with the final race prior to the Playoffs set to occur back at Daytona International Speedway. Already set to occur on Saturday, August 29, the regular-season finale at Daytona, though it can provide the unexpected, promises to be a thrilling one with the competitors on the bubble or on the outside of the Playoff cutline giving it their all to keep their championship hopes for this season alive. Following Daytona and the conclusion of a long regular season that includes the start in February, the 10-race stretch in the Playoffs will commence on September 6 back at Darlington Raceway for the Southern 500.

    Currently, 13 competitors have locked up spots for this year’s Playoffs (10 based on regular-season wins and three based on points) led by this year’s regular-season champion Kevin Harvick following a 25-race regular-season stretch. Teammate Clint Bowyer can potentially clinch a spot in the 2020 postseason should he record three or more stage points within the first two stages at Daytona or if he finishes 34th or better this upcoming Saturday. That leaves two spots up for grabs with Matt DiBenedetto and William Byron occupying the spots inside the cutline following Dover while others that include Jimmie Johnson, Erik Jones, rookie Tyler Reddick, rookie Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael McDowell and Ryan Newman are among others who have a final opportunity to win or point their way into the Playoffs should they also survive what promises to be an eventful run at the World Center of Racing in Daytona Beach, Florida.

    Catch the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale at Daytona on August 29 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • 2020 Formula One schedule finalized

    2020 Formula One schedule finalized

    More than a month after a delayed start, the ongoing 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship season, celebrating its 70th anniversary of the first F1 season, has a full schedule implemented and established.

    This season, 17 Grand Prix races will make up the overall schedule as Istanbul, Turkey; Sakhir, Bahrain; and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates will conclude the season with a four-race stretch, starting in mid-November through mid-December.

    For the first time since May 2011, Formula One will be returning to Intercity Istanbul Park in Turkey for the Turkish Grand Prix on November 15. Two weeks later, the sport will run a pair of races on consecutive Sundays at Sakhir’s Bahrain International Circuit on November 29 and on December 6 for the Bahrain Grand Prix and the Sakhir Grand Prix. Finally, the season will cap off at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 13.

    The back-to-back races at Bahrain International Circuit marks the second time this season where a Formula One track will host two Grand Prix races at in the midst of the schedule shakeup. On August 2 and 9, F1 raced twice at the United Kingdom’s Silverstone Circuit for the British Grand Prix and the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.

    Formula One has been racing at Bahrain since 2004 (minus the 2011 season that was cancelled due to the Bahraini anti-government uprising/protests). The sport has also been racing at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit since 2009 and as the season finale, except from 2011 to 2013 that occurred at Brazil.

    The final four-race stretch to this season and of the finalized schedule will occur two weeks after the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Italy, which will occur on November 1. In the wake of the finalized 2020 F1 season, the sport confirmed that the Chinese Grand Prix, which was previously postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, has been cancelled for this season. China joins a host of other nations/countries that includes Australia, Canada, United States of America, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Monaco, Azerbaijan, France, Singapore and the Netherlands that will not host a Grand Prix race this season.

    “We are proud to announce that Turkey, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi will be part of our 2020 season,” Chase Carey, Chairman and CEO of Formula One, said. “This year has presented Formula 1 and the world with an unprecedented challenge and we want to pay tribute to everyone across Formula 1, the FIA, the teams, and our partners who have made this possible. While we are all disappointed that we have not been able to return to some of our planned races this year we are confident our season has started well and will continue to deliver plenty of excitement with traditional, as well as new, races that will entertain all our fans.”

    Formula One also disclosed in a released statement that a number of races in 2020 will allow a limited number of fans in attendance while the sport continues to work with each promoter to finalize the capacity/hospitality details. In addition, F1 will continue to work with all promoters and local authorities in determining travel restrictions and health procedures to ensure the safety of all individuals due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic globally.

    The 2020 Formula One season was scheduled to start in March, but it was delayed through the beginning of July due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, six races of this season are complete. Following the latest Grand Prix event at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which occurred on August 16, the reigning six-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton leads the drivers’ standings by 37 points over Max Verstappen and 43 over teammate Valtteri Bottas, all of whom are the only race winners through the first six F1 races thus far. Charles Leclerc, Lance Stroll, Alexander Albon and Lando Norris are among the remaining 17 competitors who trail in the drivers’ standings by 87 points or more. In addition, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team powered by Mercedes engines, the reigning eight-time drivers’ and six-time constructors’ championship team, leads the constructors’ standings by 86 points over Aston Martin Red Bull Racing powered by Honda engines, 158 over BWT Racing Point F1 Team powered by BWT Mercedes engines, 159 points over McLaren F1 Team powered by Renault engines and 160 over Scuderia Ferrari powered by Ferrari engines.

    The 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship season will resume on August 30 at Stavelot’s Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix.

  • 2020 Xfinity Series Playoff outlook following Dover doubleheader

    2020 Xfinity Series Playoff outlook following Dover doubleheader

    Following a pair of eventful NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Dover International Speedway, another name has been added to this year’s Playoff grid with five regular-season races remaining until the 12-car Playoff field is established.

    In a season that has had its share of the ups and the downs, veteran Justin Allgaier turned his season into good fortunes and at the right timing after he won the first Xfinity Dover event of a doubleheader weekend on Saturday, August 22, and for his first win since November 2019 at Phoenix Raceway. With the victory, Allgaier remains as the only Xfinity Series competitor to make every Xfinity Playoffs since its inception in 2016.

    While Allgaier won on Saturday, Chase Briscoe rallied from a wreck a day earlier to win for the sixth time this season following a late battle with Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric. The victory reignited Briscoe’s season-long momentum as he continues his pursuit for his first Xfinity Series championship and while his plans for next season remain undetermined.

    Through the first 21 races of this year’s Xfinity Series season, Allgaier and Briscoe are among seven competitors to be guaranteed spots in the Playoffs based on wining throughout the regular season. The list also includes regular-season points leader Austin Cindric, Noah Gragson, rookie Harrison Burton, Brandon Jones and Justin Haley.

    The first competitor who continues to emerge as the highest Xfinity competitor in points with no victories thus far is Ross Chastain. Though he came close on both occasions this weekend at Dover, finishing third on Saturday and second on Sunday, the Floridian has nine top-five results and 18 top-10 results under his belt, the most among the field despite having no victories yet this season. With five regular-season races remaining, Chastain and his No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet team are 388 points above the top-12 cutline and in prime position of making the Playoffs.

    Trailing behind him in points is veteran Michael Annett and his No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet team. Following strong results in both Dover races, where he finished ninth on Saturday and eighth on Sunday, the Iowa native has 12 top-10 results under his belt this season and is 204 points above the cutline while he attempts to make his third Xfinity Playoffs as a title contender.

    The next two competitors in points are rookie Riley Herbst and Ryan Sieg. Like Annett, Herbst recorded a pair of top-10 results at the Monster Mile to tally his top-10 results this season to 12. He is currently 116 points above the cutline and looking to join teammate Burton in the battle for the series title and the Rookie-of-the-Year title. Sieg, on the other hand, left Dover with a pair of top-15 results and despite starting towards the front on Sunday. With a total of 12 top-15 results through the Dover doubleheader, Sieg is 88 points above the cutline and is five races away in making his third career appearance in the Xfinity Playoffs as a title contender.

    Finally, Brandon Brown continues to hold sole possession of the 12th and final spot to the Playoffs following a 14th-place run on Saturday and a 16th-place run on Sunday. While he started on the front row on Sunday, he struggled in keeping pace with the leaders and gaining more valuable stage points. Nonetheless, the Woodbridge, Virginia, native is ahead of the cutline by 31 points.

    The first two competitors who continue to trail the cutline are journeyman Jeremy Clements and rookie Myatt Snider. After finishing in the top 15 on Saturday and the top 20 on Sunday, Clements is 31 points behind the cutline. Snider, on the other hand, recorded a pair of top-20 results at the Monster Mile as he trails by 58 points.

    Among other competitors who continue to trail the cutline by 96 or more points include Josh Williams, rookie Jesse Little, B.J. McLeod, rookie Joe Graf Jr. and Tommy Joe Martins.

    The battle for the final spots to the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs continues next weekend on August 28 at Daytona International Speedway, which will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • 2020 Cup Playoff outlook after Dover doubleheader

    2020 Cup Playoff outlook after Dover doubleheader

    Following a 25-race regular-season stretch spanning seven months and a bizarre season highlighted with doubleheader races and midweek races to make up the lost time amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it all comes down to one regular-season race to determine the 16-car field to this year’s Cup Playoffs and the rest who will set their championship sights for next season. With Daytona International Speedway set to host the regular-season finale next weekend on Saturday, August 29, NASCAR is in for an all-out, competitive show of pack racing and every competitor giving it their all every lap for momentum or for a final push to the Playoffs.

    Two competitors that have momentum for this year’s Playoffs are Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin after both emerged victorious following both Dover Cup races. While Hamlin reignited his pursuit for his first Cup championship with a win on Saturday, Harvick knocked another one out of the park after claiming his seventh victory of the season and wrapping up the regular-season championship.

    Both Harvick and Hamlin remain as two of 10 Cup competitors to have already clinched a spot in the Playoffs based on winning throughout the regular season, a list that includes Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon and rookie Cole Custer.

    Following the Dover doubleheader races, however, 13 spots have been reserved for competitors involved in the Playoffs. The first to qualify based on points was Aric Almirola. Since June at Homestead-Miami Speedway, consistency was on Almirola’s side as his No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang team logged in nine consecutive top-10 results all the way through early August at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Despite recording two top-10 results during the previous five races, including both Dover races, the seventh-place result at the Monster Mile on Sunday was enough for the Floridian to qualify for the postseason after being 112 points above the top-16 cutline. With that, Almirola will make his fourth career appearance in the Playoffs as a championship contender.

    “Great job from everyone on bouncing back today,” Almirola said. “I need to do better, we all need to do better, and we just need to keep grinding with the playoffs coming up. We didn’t have a clean race today again and still found ourselves leading laps and running in and around the top-five. Our goal when we started the season was to make Daytona not matter before the playoffs and we accomplished that goal by clinching our spot in the playoffs today. Looking forward to heading there with no pressure and racing one last time for that regular-season win.”

    In what has been a roller coaster season a year after winning his second Cup championship, Kyle Busch capped off an up-and-down weekend at Dover by securing his spot to the Playoffs with a 91-point cushion above the top 16 in the standings. Since the green flag waved in February at Daytona International Speedway, the majority of the regular season has been filled with near misses and disappointment for Busch and his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team. Despite scoring 11 top-five results and 13 top-10 results, the Las Vegas native sustained eight finishes outside the top 20 throughout the regular season as he struggled in claiming his first victory of the season. With no additional winners throughout the regular season, however, Busch was able to maintain his place inside the top-16 cutline and will now set his sights towards the Playoffs with an opportunity to defend his series title.

    “It was a long day with our Interstate Batteries Camry,” Kyle Busch said. “We worked on the car overnight and wanted to improve on yesterday’s finish. Got run into the back of near the beginning, and I’m not sure what exactly that did to our car. We just couldn’t quite get it handling like we wanted to or even like it did yesterday. We just kept fighting all day and did the best with what we had.”

    Like brother Kyle, Kurt Busch has had an up-and-down regular season mired with four top-five results and 14 top-10 results with his last victory still dating back to last July at Kentucky Speedway. With consistency being key to his season, nonetheless, the Las Vegas native and his No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team were able to make the Playoffs with a 72-point cushion as Busch will receive an opportunity to win his first Cup title since 2004.

    “We have been consistent in our hunt for the playoffs all season,” Kurt Busch said. “With today‘s finish, not what we hoped for, but we locked-in! I’m proud of everybody at Chip Ganassi Racing. Teamwork is what it’s all about.”

    Despite an up-and-down weekend at Dover, Clint Bowyer remains in prime position of making his ninth career appearance in the Playoffs. In a season filled with two top-five results and seven top-10 results, all with new crew chief Johnny Klausmeier, Bowyer can clinch his spot for the Cup Playoffs early should he collect enough stage points within the first stage of next weekend’s race at Daytona.

    “Overall, a good weekend,” Bowyer said. “Good day yesterday, had a decent day going today doing what we needed to and had a little hiccup with left front on the last stop. We’ll have to wait until next week to lock us in the playoffs.”

    If there was one competitor left grinding his gears following a pair of Cup Dover races, it was Matt DiBenedetto. After finishing 20th on Saturday at the Monster Mile, DiBenedetto started on pole position on Sunday and received an opportunity to collect more points and build on his cushion towards the top-16 cutline. Despite a strong start, where he led the first 11 laps, he ended his race in 17th place when the checkered flag flew. DiBenedetto’s 21st top-20 result of this season left him with only a nine-point cushion approaching next weekend’s race at Daytona.

    “Dover killed us,” DiBenedetto said. “We were pretty horrendous both days. I just tried to make the most of it that we could and it just wasn’t much. It was the perfect storm of really losing a lot of points and having a rough weekend. Going to Daytona. I hate to be negative but if we were going somewhere else I would feel better about it because we have been pretty strong at most tracks aside from here. I have struggled here. Going to Daytona and the Ford’s are strong but I have ended up at the infield care center the last two years there. We keep getting caught up in everyones mess. I am going to sit and hope and pray all week that we can just come out of there clean and make the playoffs. We shouldn’t be this close to the bubble. It is frustrating. A couple weeks messed us up. Getting wiped out at Texas and Kansas and then really hurt us points wise and then we come here and really hurt ourselves here. It has been a tough go of circumstances and going to Daytona is going to make it quite an uncomfortable week.”

    In the battle for the 16th and final spot to the Playoffs, four points separate Hendrick Motorsports’ drivers William Byron and Jimmie Johnson with Byron and the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team ahead of Johnson and the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team.

    While Johnson remains in prime position of pointing his way in, Erik Jones’ hopes of making this year’s Playoffs took another hit following two results outside the top 10 at the Monster Mile. In a season highlighted with five top-five results, eight top-10 results and with his future uncertain, Jones’ results of 12th and 22nd have the Byron, Michigan, native trailing the cutline by 50 points entering Daytona.

    Another competitor who will likely need to win at Daytona next weekend to make the Playoffs is rookie Tyler Reddick. Despite recording two top-five results and seven top-10 results throughout the regular season, having no victories logged in have left the Californian and the reigning two-time Xfinity Series champion behind in points. Following results of 13th and 18th at Dover, Reddick trails the cutline by 69 points.

    “We started off with our No. 8 Cat App Chevrolet a lot better than yesterday,” Reddick said. “I was able to roll through the turns a lot smoother and just needed a bit more rear security. I thought maybe that issue would be cleared up as the track began to rubber up, but it just never tightened up quite as much as I needed it to. The adjustments that my crew chief, Randall Burnett, and the team made through Stage 1 and 2 helped fight that looseness, but I still needed even more stability to really carry speed into the corner like I needed to. At the end of Stage 2, we took a big swing on our adjustments, which did help solve the rear security issue, but took it almost to the other extreme and made it too tight to turn. The day didn’t go how we wanted it to, but I’m proud of our team. No one gave up, and we worked hard all race long. This isn’t over for us yet. We still have one more chance to make the Playoffs at Daytona International Speedway, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

    The rest of the competitors who trail by 176 or more points and will need a win or a miracle at Daytona next weekend to qualify for the Playoffs include rookie Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael McDowell, Ryan Newman, rookie John Hunter Nemechek, Ty Dillon, Matt Kenseth, Corey LaJoie, Ryan Preece, Daniel Suarez, rookie Brennan Poole and rookie Quin Houff.

    The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series regular season and the battle for the final spots to the Playoffs will wrap up next weekend on August 29 at Daytona International Speedway, which will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Byron and Johnson separated by four points for the final Playoff spot following Dover doubleheader

    Byron and Johnson separated by four points for the final Playoff spot following Dover doubleheader

    One race. Four points. That is all that will determine whether William Byron will have an opportunity to qualify for his second Cup postseason appearance of if teammate Jimmie Johnson will return to the Playoffs and receive one final opportunity to win his record-setting eighth Cup championship in his swan song season.

    Following an eventful doubleheader weekend at Dover International Speedway, it was a tale of two stories for both Hendrick Motorsports’ teammates that have both competitors closer to one another for a spot in the 2020 Cup Playoffs and leaving one another to ponder which one of the two would make it in or if both could race their way inside the cutline following next weekend’s regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway.

    Prior to the Dover doubleheader, 25 points separated both competitors with Byron and the No. 24 Chevrolet team ahead of Johnson and the No. 48 Chevrolet team. On Saturday, August 22, the tables turned as Byron struggled with the handling of his race car and came home a disappointing 28th-place, four laps behind the leaders. Johnson, on the other hand, had a strong run at one of his strongest tracks as he collected a handful of stage points following both stages and finished in seventh place. By then, he was back inside the top-16 cutline to the Playoffs by three points over Byron.

    On Sunday, August 23, it was game on between both HMS teammates as Johnson aimed to repeat his strong run on Saturday while Byron was seeking redemption to what has been an up-and-down season. With both starting outside the top 10, both made their way within the top-10 running order. On this occasion, it was Byron who came out on the upper hand as he finished in third place in the first stage while Johnson was back in eighth place. In the second stage and around the Lap 100 mark, Johnson’s race and Playoffs hopes seemed to have evaporated when he was caught speeding on pit road and was sent to the rear. Despite the misfortune, Johnson benefitted on a long green flag run to finish ninth in the second stage. The only problem was that Byron finished sixth and gained a handful more points on Johnson.

    Throughout the final stage, Byron methodically worked his way into the top five with Johnson trailing behind him. With approximately 25 laps remaining, a late caution flew and both competitors pitted for the final time along with the rest of the leaders. During the pit stops, however, Johnson and crew chief Cliff Daniels opted for a two-tire pit stop to emerge with the lead. Byron, who opted for a four-tire pit stop along with crew chief Chad Knaus, exited and was lined up in sixth place with less than 20 laps remaining in the race. When the race restarted under green, Johnson was ahead for three turns until he was overtaken by the eventual winner Kevin Harvick. After losing the runner-up spot to Truex, Johnson was riding in third place on two fresh tires just ahead of Byron and teammate Alex Bowman. When the checkered flag waved, Johnson was able to finish in third place for his fourth top-five result of this season while Byron ended up in fourth place and notched his first top-five result of this season.

    Including the stage points both received along with their top-five results, Byron reassumed the 16th and final transfer spot to the Playoffs by four points over Johnson with three spots to the Playoffs still vacant and only one race left to determine the 16 competitors who will compete for this year’s Cup championship and who will be among the rest who will be eliminated early from title contention.

    For Byron, the fourth-place on Sunday left the Charlotte native pleased with his run as he looks to turn his regular season filled with up-and-down results into good fortune throughout the Playoffs as a title contender for himself, Chad Knaus and the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team. Ironically, Chad Knaus is still the only crew chief to qualify for every Playoffs since its inception in 2004.

    “It’s like a completely different race car, completely different race for us [Sunday than Saturday],” Byron said on NBCSN. “We had the car doing the things we wanted it to do on most runs. It just felt good out there. I knew at the beginning of the race we were kind of keeping pace with [Truex] and [Hamlin] back in the pack. We made a few passes. As soon as we got the track position, we were staying up there. I think we were a little bit behind ‘cause we really didn’t have any notebook from yesterday. We wholesaled the car. I think if we had another race at it [at Dover], we probably could’ve done a little bit better. Overall, this is good for our AXALTA team. Going to Daytona, where it’s gonna be just insane. I don’t think you can really points race. You’re just gonna have to hope that things fall your way and be aggressive.”

    “It’s good to be on the good side [in the Playoff standings], I guess,” Byron added. “What’s better is that there’s two to three guys within reach, or one guy within reach, really. Really two spot up for grabs. I hope Jimmie and I can both get those spots next week. Just happy with what we did overnight. Go from four laps down to finish in the top five is something to be said. That’s definitely a lot better.”

    For Johnson, it ended being a pair of top-10 runs in his final two runs at Dover (38 overall) at a track where he has achieved 11 victories and has had a bevy of success since his rookie Cup season. While he was both pleased and disappointed with his results, he realizes the task at hand next weekend and vows to give it all to make his final Playoffs appearance as a championship contender for himself, Cliff Daniels and the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team.

    “I actually had a little bit of hope, thinking that [the two-tire stop] would work, thinking clean air would be so important and we were still fast the run before,” Johnson said on NBCSN. “There were a lot of laps on those left-side tires. It just didn’t pan out, but I really appreciate Cliff’s courage to bet on me and give me a shot. We certainly improved our finish where we were running. All in all, a great call. Very proud of this Ally Chevrolet and everybody on this Ally team and all the hard work they’re putting in. I’m good with [the third-place result]. I want more. I know I’m capable of more and I know this team is. That’s our mission. I’m not gone forever. Just trying to slow down a little bit. I’ll be holding a steering wheel for years to come and it’s all about trying to win races.”

    “I’m gonna do my best to forget about [making the Playoffs],” Johnson added. “There really isn’t any worrying that I can do this week to help me on a plate track. Studying, worrying, any of that’s not gonna make a difference. [We’ll] Go down there [at Daytona], say a few prayers, maybe say a prayer per lap and see how that plays out, I guess. We’ll race hard and if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”

    Byron and Johnson, along with their fellow competitors, will return next weekend for the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway on August 29, which will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Harvick records milestone win for Ford at Dover, clinches regular-season championship

    Harvick records milestone win for Ford at Dover, clinches regular-season championship

    The moment Kevin Harvick, who started 17th, stormed to the lead in the the closing laps of the first stage, it was lights out for the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford compared to the rest of the competition. From there, Harvick went on to sweep both stages and storm to a dominating win in the second Drydene 311 event at Dover International Speedway on Sunday, August 23.

    The victory was Harvick’s seventh of the season, third at Dover and the 56th of his NASCAR Cup Series career. In addition, Harvick notched the 700th Cup career win for Ford and he clinched his first regular-season championship after maintaining the lead in the regular-season standings by 134 points over Denny Hamlin.

    The starting lineup was based on the results from Saturday’s Cup event, where only the top-20 finishers were inverted for Sunday’s race. With that, Matt DiBenedetto started on pole position and was joined on the front row by Ryan Newman.

    Kurt Busch and Alex Bowman started at the rear of the field after they elected to race in backup cars on Sunday along with Garrett Smithley due to an engine change.

    When the green flag waved, DiBenedetto took off with the lead and he led the first lap while Aric Almirola worked his way to second place after passing Newman. Behind, Austin Dillon was in fourth while Chris Buescher moved up to fifth.

    Shortly after, Ryan Blaney moved up into the top five as he was running in fourth place behind Newman and in front of Austin Dillon, teammate Tyler Reddick and Buescher. 

    While the competitors around the track continued to battle early and hard for positions, the caution flew around the fifth lap when contact from Joey Logano entering Turn 4 got Ricky Stenhouse Jr. loose as Stenhouse spun and made contact with the inside wall backwards. In the ensuing chaos, Chase Elliott sustained damage to the front nose of his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE after running into the rear bumper of Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry while Garrett Smithley and Joey Gase spun entering Turn 4 as Gase made hard contact with the outside wall.

    Following the wreck, Elliott and Gase retired while Kyle Busch, Stenhouse and Smithley continued. Under caution, Erik Jones made a pit stop after he sustained minimal damage to his No. 20 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 11, Almirola and his No. 10 Smithfield Hometown Original Ford Mustang gained a strong start on the inside lane to take over the lead from DiBenedetto and the Wood Brothers Racing’s No. 21 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang. Behind, Blaney moved up to second place while DiBenedetto settled in third place ahead of Newman. Reddick moved up to fifth place in front of teammate Austin Dillon and Brad Keselowski. 

    Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin and his No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry were in 12th place in front of William Byron while Jimmie Johnson and his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE were in 15th in front of Kevin Harvick. Martin Truex Jr. was in 17th ahead of Bubba Wallace and Matt Kenseth. Kurt Busch was back in 22nd while Alex Bowman was in 24th. Jones was in 27th while Kyle Busch was back in 29th. 

    Following the first 20 laps, Almirola was leading by a second over Blaney followed by DiBenedetto, Reddick and Austin Dillon. Behind Logano moved up to eighth place after passing Newman while rookie Cole Custer was scored in seventh behind Keselowski. Buescher, on the other hand, had fallen back to 10th in front of Clint Bowyer.

    Six laps later, on Lap 26, the battling behind the leaders continued to ensue as Hamlin moved into the top 10 after passing Newman. Just behind him, Harvick moved up to 11th while Truex was in 13th ahead of Buescher. Shortly after, Harvick passed Hamlin for 10th place while Truex moved up to 12th. Meanwhile, Byron was in 13th place and running two spots ahead of teammate and rival for the final Playoff spot, Johnson. Way behind, Kyle Busch was in 24th while Kurt Busch was in 25th.

    Just past the Lap 30 mark, the caution returned due to debris spotted on the track. Under caution, most of the leaders led by Almirola, DiBenedetto and Keselowski pitted while others led by Blaney, Byron and Kurt Busch remained on track.

    When the race restarted on Lap 39, Blaney took off with the lead following a strong start on the outside lane while Byron moved up to the runner-up spot. By the following lap, DiBenedetto, the first one on fresh tires, made his way up to third place followed by Keselowski while Kurt Busch fell back to fifth place. Behind, Austin Dillon was in sixth place in front of Johnson, Almirola, Logano and Custer. Harvick was up in 11th and primed to move back into the top 10 while Bowyer, Hamlin and Truex were in 13th, 14th and 15th.

    By Lap 50, Blaney and his No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang were leading by more than a second over Byron and his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. DiBenedetto, Keselowski and Kurt Busch continued to run inside the top five while Almirola passed Johnson to move into seventh place. Harvick and Logano were in ninth and 10th while Bowyer, Hamlin and Truex continued to run within the top 15. Wallace was in 17th in between Alex Bowman and Jones while Buescher and Kenseth were in the top 20. Newman was back in 22nd ahead of Daniel Suarez while Kyle Busch was back in 25th in between Ty Dillon and rookie Christopher Bell.

    Six laps later, Harvick continued his march to the front as he passed Austin Dillon and Kurt Busch to move up to sixth while Johnson continued to retain ninth place ahead of Logano. Towards the front, Keselowski muscled his way to third place and DiBenedetto and Almirola continued to battle while Harvick joined the party.

    With all the battling around the track continuing to take place, Blaney was still leading by more than a second over Byron. By Lap 62, however, Harvick moved up to third place after passing Keselowski. Four laps later, Harvick and his No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang moved into second place after passing Byron as he started to reel in to race leader Blaney for the first stage win with a fast car.

    On the penultimate lap of the stage, Harvick took the lead from Blaney following a pass on the outside lane and he was gone from there as he claimed the first stage on Lap 70 and his sixth stage victory of the season. Blaney settled in second behind Harvick while Byron, Almirola, and Keselowski were scored in the top five followed by Logano, DiBenedetto. Johnson, Kurt Busch and Austin Dillon.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Harvick retained the lead following a stellar stop from the No. 4 pit crew. Blaney exited second ahead of Byron, Logano and Keselowski. Following the pit stops, however, Almirola was sent to the rear of the field due to speeding on pit road.

    Shortly after, the red flag was displayed and the race was halted for more than 12 minutes due to safety workers repairing the concrete/pavement in between Turns 3 and 4.

    Once the engines re-fired, the cars returned under cautious pace and the racing under green resumed on Lap 78, Harvick rocketed away with the lead on the outside lane followed by Blaney and Logano while Byron fell back to fourth. Behind, Hamlin and Keselowski battled for fifth place while Truex, Johnson and DiBenedetto were battling in the top 10 ahead of Bowyer and his No. 14 Haas Automation Ford Mustang.

    More than 10 laps later on Lap 90, Harvick was still leading by more than a second over Blaney and more than two seconds over Logano and Byron with Hamlin trailing by more than four seconds and Keselowski by more than five seconds. With Byron in fourth, teammate Johnson was in eighth ahead of DiBenedetto, Bowyer and Kurt Busch. Rookies Custer and Reddick were in 12th and 14th while Jones was in 15th ahead of Wallace, Kenseth and Kyle Busch. Almirola was back in 21st ahead of Austin Dillon and Bell while Newman was in 25th.

    Just shy of the Lap 100 mark, the caution returned due to a spin involving Corey LaJoie in Turn 2 following contact with Ty Dillon. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Logano emerged with the lead after exiting first ahead of Harvick and Blaney while Truex and Hamlin exited inside the top five ahead of Byron. Following the pits stops, however, Johnson was sent to the rear of the field due to speeding on pit road. 

    When the race restarted on Lap 106, Logano and Harvick battled dead even through Turns 1 and 2 before Logano and his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang prevailed by clearing Harvick and the field. Blaney, Hamlin and Truex continued running in a single-file lane in the top five followed by Byron, Keselowski, Bell, Kurt Busch and DiBenedetto. Soon after, Bell and DiBenedetto battled intensely for ninth place with Custer and Bowyer trailing behind.

    At the front, Harvick started to intimidate Logano for the lead. After spending the previous few laps trying to gain a run and navigate his way around Logano, Harvick prevailed and reassumed the lead on Lap 115. Meanwhile, Byron was in sixth while Johnson was up to 23rd.

    By Lap 130, with the field settling into single-file racing, Harvick was still leading by more than a second over Logano with Blaney trailing by less than three seconds. Hamlin and Truex were still in the top five followed by Byron. Keselowski, Kurt Busch, DiBenedetto and Bowyer continued racing in the top 10 while Almirola was in 13th in between Bowman and Reddick. Austin Dillon was in 15th ahead of Jones, Johnson, Kenseth, Buescher and Kyle Busch. Wallace was back in 23rd ahead of Newman and Michael McDowell.

    Ten laps later and on Lap 140, Harvick was at the front of the field by more than two seconds over Logano with Blaney and Hamlin trailing by less than five seconds. 

    Another twenty five laps later and past the halfway mark, Harvick extended his advantage to more than seven seconds over Penske teammates Logano and Blaney. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Hamlin and Truex were in fourth and fifth as both continued to reel in the Penske teammates. Behind, Byron was in fifth place while teammate Bowman, racing in a backup car, was in sixth. Behind, Johnson was up in 12th in between Stewart-Haas Racing’s Bowyer and Almirola while Kurt Busch was in 10th behind Keselowski and Custer. DiBenedetto was in 15th ahead of Buescher and Reddick while Kyle Busch was in 19th. Behind, competitors like Jones, Newman, Wallace, McDowell, Bell, Ryan Preece, LaJoie, Suarez and Ty Dillon were pinned a lap behind the leaders.

    By Lap 180 and with the laps in the second stage winding down, Harvick continued to extend his advantage as he was leading by more than eight seconds over Logano. Behind, Hamlin and Truex made a three-wide move on Blaney as Hamlin moved up to third place in front of Truex while Blaney was back in fifth place in front of Byron.

    With no challengers mounting close behind his fast car, Harvick streaked across the start/finish line to claim the second stage on Lap 185 for his seventh stage victory of the season. By then, he clinched the regular-season championship and will earn an extra 15 points towards the 2020 Cup Playoffs in September. Logano settled behind Harvick followed by Hamlin, Truex and Blaney. Byron, Bowman, Custer, Johnson and Keselowski were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Harvick retained the lead followed by Logano, Hamlin, Truex, Byron and Blaney. Prior to the start of the final stage, Hamlin opted to restart beneath Harvick on the front row while Logano restarted in the second row and on the outside lane next to Truex’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry.

    With approximately 190 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Harvick rocketed away with the lead. Logano moved up to second place ahead of Hamlin and Truex while Byron, Bowman and Blaney battled for more. Johnson was in 10th place ahead of Kurt Busch while Almirola worked his way back to 12th in front of teammate Bowyer. DiBenedetto was back in 15th while Kyle Busch was in 18th ahead of Reddick. Jones, meanwhile, was in 27th and pinned a lap behind the leaders.

    At the Lap 200 mark and with 111 laps remaining, Harvick was leading by more than a second over Logano with Hamlin trailing by more than two seconds and Truex and Byron trailing by less than four seconds.

    With 100 laps remaining, Harvick’s advantage extended to more than two seconds over Logano while Hamlin and Truex were stabilized in third and fourth. Byron was in fifth, four spots ahead of teammate Johnson with Almirola trailing Johnson. Almirola and Bowyer were in 10th and 11th followed by Kurt Busch. DiBenedetto was still in 15th while Kyle Busch made his way up to 16th.

    Four laps later, the caution returned when rookie Quin Houff got loose and spun in Turn 1 from the outside lane and down to the banking. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Harvick retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Logano, Hamlin, Truex, Bowman and Byron.

    With 90 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Harvick, once again, jumped ahead with the advantage. While Hamlin and Logano pursued Harvick for the lead, Truex retained fourth place ahead of Bowman, Byron and Blaney while Bowyer passed teammate Custer for eighth place. Behind, Johnson was back in 13th behind Keselowski and ahead of Kyle Busch while Kurt Busch and DiBenedetto were back in 17th and 18th.

    With less than 85 laps remaining, Hamlin dropped off the pace and made an unscheduled pit stop to address a loose wheel as his hopes of winning two Dover races in one weekend evaporated.

    At the front, Harvick continued to lead by two seconds over Logano while Truex trailed by more than three seconds. Hamlin’s misfortune moved Hendrick Motorsports’ teammates Bowman and Byron back into the top five while Stewart-Haas Racing’s Bowyer and Almirola battled for seventh place. Johnson moved back into 10th place behind Custer while Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch moved up to 13th and 15th.

    Less than 60 laps remaining, Harvick’s advantage grew to more than three seconds over Logano while Truex trailed the leaders by less than five seconds. Behind Bowman and Byron, Almirola was up in sixth place in front of Blaney while Johnson was in ninth in between teammates Bowyer and Custer. Not long after, Bowyer and Johnson passed Blaney and then, Johnson passed Bowyer to move into seventh place.

    With 50 laps remaining and with dark clouds starting to overshadow the track, Harvick was leading by more than four seconds over Logano while Truex trailed by five seconds. Byron was in fifth place while Johnson continued his march towards the front in seventh place. By then, Blaney had fallen back to 11th place while Custer and Austin Dillon occupied the final spots in the top 10.

    With less than 40 laps remaining, Harvick’s advantage grew to more than five seconds over Logano as he was also navigating his way through lapped traffic. Meanwhile, Johnson passed Almirola to move up to sixth place as he started to pursue his teammate/Playoff rival Byron for more.

    Down to under 25 laps remaining, the caution returned when LaJoie made contact with the Turn 3 outside wall after cutting a right-front tire. The caution all but evaporated Harvick’s advantage of more than five seconds over Logano, Truex and Bowman while Johnson was behind Byron by more than a second for fifth place.

    Under caution, the leaders pitted and Johnson emerged with the lead following a gusty two-tire pit stop. Harvick exited in second followed by Harvick, Truex, Bowman, Logano and Byron.

    With 17 laps remaining, the racing under green resumed as Johnson and his No. 48 Chevrolet retained the lead for three turns. Through Turns 3 and 4, however, Harvick was back in command with the lead as Johnson retained second place in front of Truex. Byron, meanwhile, was in fourth place.

    Four laps later, Truex moved into second place as Johnson had teammates Byron in the No. 24 car and Bowman in the No. 88 car in his rearview mirror. Another four laps later and with 10 laps remaining, Harvick extended his lead to nearly three seconds over Truex while Johnson was still in third place just ahead of teammates Byron and Bowman. Behind, Kyle Busch battled Custer for the final spot in the top 10.

    For the final five laps, while the field around the track continued to battle for positions, Harvick was long gone from the field and he had enough of a big cushion over Truex to streak his No. 4 Ford across the finish line and grab another win to a dominating season and in his quest for his second Cup championship.

    With 56 Cup career wins, Harvick moved into a tie with Kyle Busch for ninth place on the all-time NASCAR Cup wins list. In addition, Harvick became the third competitor to clinch the regular-season title since its inception in 2017 as he also recorded the 63rd Cup career win for Stewart-Haas Racing.

    “I have to thank everybody on our Mobil 1 Ford Mustang,” Harvick said in Victory Lane on NBCSN. “Congratulations to Ford on their 700th Cup win. Just really got to thank everybody on this team. [Crew chief] Rodney [Childers] and everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing for overcoming what happened yesterday with the track bar, being able to nail the balance today. Man, what a year. What a seven years. Just really, really proud of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing for being able to drive this car. Week after week, they just put so much effort into making this thing go fast and it’s just been a great year. I love the grit about our race team. I think that’s what Gene Haas and Tony Stewart have built at Stewart-Haas Racing. Sometimes, we don’t have the fastest car, but we have guys that are willing to just suck it up and win. We have a weak link on that day, somebody else is gonna carry the team. Just really proud of that because that’s what it’s all about. You’re only as good as the people around you, and we have great people.”

    Truex rallied from vibration issues in the closing laps to finish in the runner-up spot for the second day in a row. Compared to Saturday’s run in the late stages, Truex had nothing for race winner Harvick.

    “Definitely not the same way [as Saturday],” Truex said. “I thought, if anything, we were probably a little bit worse today. We tried some things overnight, definitely didn’t do what we hoped it would do. Live and learn. It was a tough day. The Bass Pro Camry had good speed. It was just a handful again. Just never could get it to do what we wanted it to do. We fought hard, we battled. We executed well. Came home with a good result. We’ll keep working to try to get a little bit better. A finish [at Daytona] would be fabulous. If not, hopefully, we’ll pay it forward with a little bit of luck for Talladega in the Playoffs.”

    Behind, Johnson held off teammates Byron and Bowman to finish in third place in his 38th and final event at the Monster Mile. With their results and the stage points both earned on Sunday, Byron holds sole possession of the 16th and final spot to the Playoffs by four points over teammate Johnson heading into next weekend’s regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway.

    Logano finished in sixth place while Almirola, Keselowski, Austin Dillon and Custer finished in the top 10 ahead of Kyle Busch, Blaney, Kurt Busch, Buescher and Kenseth. 

    Based on their top-15 results, Almirola and the Busch brothers secured spots for this year’s Cup Playoffs based on points along with Bowyer, who finished 16th, ahead of DiBenedetto.

    Sunday’s Cup race capped off an eventful weekend of motorsports racing at the Monster Mile that involved a Cup race on Saturday, two Xfinity Series races on back-to-back dates, a Truck Series and an ARCA Menards Series event on Friday. Prior to Harvick’s win, the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway occurred, with Takuma Sato achieving his second Indy title over Scott Dixon and Graham Rahal.

    There were 15 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 40 laps.

    Results.

    1. Kevin Harvick, 223 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    2. Martin Truex Jr.

    3. Jimmie Johnson, three laps led

    4. William Byron

    5. Alex Bowman

    6. Joey Logano, 15 laps led

    7. Aric Almirola, 22 laps led

    8. Brad Keselowski

    9. Austin Dillon

    10. Cole Custer

    11. Kyle Busch 

    12. Ryan Blaney, 37 laps led

    13. Kurt Busch

    14. Chris Buescher

    15. Matt Kenseth

    16. Clint Bowyer

    17. Matt DiBenedetto, 11 laps led

    18. Tyler Reddick

    19. Denny Hamlin

    20. John Hunter Nemechek

    21. Bubba Wallace

    22. Erik Jones, one lap down

    23. Corey LaJoie, one lap down

    24. Ryan Newman, one lap down

    25. Michael McDowell, one lap down

    26. Ryan Preece, one lap down

    27. Christopher Bell, one lap down

    28. Daniel Suarez, two laps down

    29. Ty Dillon, two laps down

    30. Brennan Poole, six laps down

    31. B.J. McLeod, eight laps down

    32. Josh Bilicki, nine laps down

    33. Reed Sorenson, nine laps down

    34. Quin Houff, nine laps down

    35. Garrett Smithley, 15 laps down

    36. Timmy Hill – OUT

    37. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 96 laps down

    38. J.J. Yeley – OUT

    39. Chase Elliott – OUT, Accident

    40. Joey Gase – OUT, Accident

    The NASCAR Cup Series will return to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 and the site of the final regular-season event on Saturday, August 29, where the 2020 Cup Playoffs will be determined. The race will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Briscoe snaps a one-month dry spell; rallies to win at Dover

    Briscoe snaps a one-month dry spell; rallies to win at Dover

    From a wreck on Saturday to a win on Sunday, Chase Briscoe capped off an up-and-down weekend at Dover International Speedway by winning the second Drydene 200 event on August 23 in a backup car and following a late battle with Ross Chastain. The victory was Briscoe’s sixth of the season, first since early July at Indianapolis and the eighth of his NASCAR Xfinity Series career.

    The starting lineup was based on the results from Saturday’s first Xfinity race at Dover, where only the top-15 finishers were inverted. With that, Brett Moffitt, who finished 15th on Saturday, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Brandon Brown.

    Chase Briscoe started at the rear of the field after moving to a backup car along with Daniel Hemric due to a driver change. Anthony Alfredo, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Alex Labbe and Vinnie Miller also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments. Noah Gragson and Myatt Snider retained their starting spots for Sunday’s event, but both lost their pit stall selection for next week due to two pre-race technical failures.

    When the green flag waved and the second Xfinity Dover race commenced, Moffitt jumped to an early advantage through Turns 1 and 2. Justin Haley moved up to second place followed by rookie Riley Herbst while Brown fell back to fourth place in front of Noah Gragson. 

    By the third lap, Justin Allgaier, coming off his first win of this season at Dover on Saturday and who started 15th, moved up to eighth place. Ryan Sieg, on the other hand, fell back to 12th place behind rookie Harrison Burton while Austin Cindric was scored in 10th place.

    Following the first 10 laps, the first caution of the race flew due to an incident involving Earnhardt and Miller in the backstretch, where they made contact with one another and towards the outside wall before Miller made more contact against the Turn 3 outside wall. By then, Moffitt was still leading over Haley, Herbst, Gragson and Allgaier. Ross Chastain was in seventh place ahead of Cindric and Michael Annett while Burton was in 10th. Brandon Jones was in 14th, Chase Briscoe was in 16th and Alfredo, who rallied from power issues that forced him to start at the rear of the field, was in 20th ahead of Daniel Hemric.

    Under caution, few like Timmy Hill, Stephen Leicht, Matt Mills and Korbin Forrister pitted.

    When the race restarted around the Lap 15 mark, Moffitt retained the lead following a strong start. Haley and Herbst battled for second place while behind, Brown got loose underneath Gragson in Turn 3. Brown and Gragson were able to prevent their cars from spinning despite sliding sideways as they continued running inside the top 10. 

    Towards the front, Chastain took over second place followed by Herbst while Haley fell back to fourth in front of teammates Allgaier and Gragson. Meanwhile, Moffitt retained the lead through Lap 20 and when the competition caution flew.

    Under caution, only a few that included Brandon Jones, Hemric, Josh Williams, Stephen Leicht, Kody Vanderwal and Matt Mills pitted while the rest remained on track. Prior to the restart, Burton was sent to the rear due to a choose cone violation.

    When the race restarted on Lap 24, Moffitt and Chastain battled dead before Chastain emerged with the lead the following lap. Behind, Allgaier continued to muscle his way to the front after taking over third place from Herbst. In addition, Gragson passed Haley for fifth place while Cindric and Briscoe moved up to seventh and eighth. Hemric also emerged in the top 10 as he battled Brandon Brown for more.

    Following Lap 30, Chastain was ahead by nearly a second over Moffitt and more than a second over Allgaier. Behind, Jones, racing on fresh tires, was in 18th. Five laps later, Chastain extended his advantage to more than a second over Moffit and nearly two seconds over Allgaier. Gragson moved back up into the top five while Haley, Briscoe, Cindric and Hemric battled for sixth place.

    Another five laps later and with the laps in the first stage dwindling, Chastain continued to extend his advantage to more than two seconds over Allgaier and Moffitt. Proving he had a fast car throughout Saturday’s Xfinity Dover race and in the early stages of Sunday’s event, Chastain raced to his first stage victory of the season on Lap 45. Allgaier settled in second followed by Moffitt, Herbst and Gragson. Briscoe, Cindric, Haley, Hemric and Brown were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Jones emerged with the lead following a two-tire pit stop. Behind, Allgaier beat Chastain to exit in second place, but the first on four fresh tires. Following the stops, however, Herbst was sent to the rear of the field due to an uncontrolled tire violation.

    When the second stage started past the Lap 50 mark, Allgaier muscled ahead with the lead. Behind, Chastain and Briscoe made a three-wide move on Jones to move up followed by Cindric while Jones fell back to fifth place. In addition, Gragson took over seventh place from Hemric while Burton moved up to ninth ahead of Haley. Shortly after, Alfredo joined the battle as he battled Burton for a top-10 spot.

    While the batting around the track among multiple competitors continued to ensue, Allgaier was ahead by two-tenths of a second over Chastain and with Briscoe and Cindric trailing closely behind the two leaders. By Lap 60, the top-four competitors were ahead by more than a second over fifth-place Jones and more than two seconds over sixth-place Gragson.

    Past the Lap 60 mark, the caution returned due to an incident in Turn 2 involving Earnhardt and Herbst. Under caution, few that included Jeremy Clements, B.J. McLeod, Kody Vanderwal and Chad Finchum pitted while the rest remained on track.

    On Lap 69, the race restarted and the battle for the lead ignited between Allgaier, Chastain, Briscoe and Cindric. The following lap, Briscoe moved up to second place and he grabbed the lead the next lap. While Briscoe led his first lap of the day, Chastain and Cindric battled for third place followed by Gragson while Hemric moved up to sixth place after passing Jones.

    By Lap 80, Briscoe was ahead by six-tenths of a second over Allgaier while Chastain, Cindric and Gragson continued running inside the top five. Behind, Hemric and Jones were in sixth and seventh and Moffit was in eighth ahead of Haley and Burton. Alfredo was in 11th ahead of Brown and Michael Annet, Sieg was in 14th ahead of Snider and Herbst was in 16th.

    For the final 10 laps of the second stage, Briscoe was able to power away from the field and claim his fifth stage of the season on Lap 90. Allgaier settled in second followed by Chastain, Cindric and Gragson. Hemric, Jones, Moffitt, Burton and Haley were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Briscoe retained the lead after exiting pit road first following a four-tire stop followed by Cindric, Hemric, Chastain, Burton and Jones while Allgaier fell back to eighth place. The race went from bad to worse for Allgaier, who dropped to the rear of the field due to an uncontrolled tire violation. Labbe also dropped to the rear of the field due to crew member interference.

    With nearly 100 laps remaining, the final stage started and Briscoe retained the lead following a strong start on the outside lane. Chastain moved up to second place over Cindric while Burton moved up to fourth place over Hemric. Gragson and Jones also joined the battle involving Burton and Hemric.

    Three laps later and at the halfway mark on Lap 100, Briscoe was ahead by nearly a second over Chastain, who continued to run ahead of Cindric for the runner-up spot. Another 10 laps later and with 90 laps remaining, Briscoe was still leading by more than a second over Chastain and Cindric. Hemric and Burton settled in the top five ahead of Gragson, Annett, Jones, Herbst and Moffitt. Meanwhile, following his uncontrolled tire violation penalty, Allgaier raced his way back up to 14th behind Alfredo, Haley and Sieg. Brown was in 15th, Snider was in 17th and Clements was in 19th.

    With 80 laps remaining and while the laps continued to dwindle, Briscoe stabilized his advantage to nearly a second over Chastain with Cindric trailing by two seconds. Hemric trailed by less than four seconds while Burton trailed by more than four seconds. Gragson settled in sixth while Annett and Jones battled for seventh. Allgaier, meanwhile, was up to 11th.

    Twenty laps later and with 60 laps remaining, Briscoe extended his advantage to two seconds over Chastain followed by Cindric, Hemric and Burton. Behind, Allgaier was back in the top 10 as he was running in 10th place.

    With approximately 40 laps remaining and with only 11 cars on the lead lap, Hemric was the first of the lead-lap competitors to make a green flag pit stop for fresh tires and fuel to complete the race to its distance. Shortly after, Burton made the turn to pit road, but he was penalized for a commitment line violation after he locked up his tires, nearly slid while turning down the banking and failed to keep all four tires inside the pit road entrance line. Haley, not long after, pitted along with race leader Briscoe, Cindric, Moffitt and Chastain.

    While the pit stops under green continued to cycle through, Stefan Parsons spun while entering pit road. At the same time, Chastain and Briscoe made contact with one another as Chastain blocked and attempted to retain his spot ahead of Briscoe, who approached him with full speed, bumped him and struggled to navigate his way around Chastain’s No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet. Shortly after, Briscoe bumped and moved Chastain out of the way in Turn 3. 

    At the front, after Jones pitted, Gragson retained the lead ahead of Annett, Allgaier and Alfredo, but all needed to make a final pit stop to complete the race to its distance. Behind, Briscoe was in sixth ahead of Chastain, Cindric and Hemric.

    With less than 20 laps remaining, Annett was the leader after teammate Gragson pitted. Behind, Briscoe was ahead by less than two seconds over Chastain. Shortly after, Briscoe extended his advantage over Chastain after Chastain struggled to navigate his way through three lapped cars.

    With 12 laps remaining, Briscoe reassumed the lead after Annett pitted. By then, he was ahead by nearly three seconds over Chastain while Cindric started to close within Chastain for the runner-up spot.

    Under 10 laps remaining, Briscoe continued to stabilize his advantage to nearly three seconds over Chastain and Cindric. For the remainder of the race and with a decent advantage, Briscoe was able to navigate his way through lapped traffic and claim his sixth checkered flag of the season.

    The victory was the 17th in the Xfinity Series for Stewart-Haas Racing since joining forces with Fred Biagi as Briscoe currently leads the current Xfinity field with the most wins of this season (six). In addition, Briscoe recorded his third victory of this season with crew chief Richard Boswell and the 11th for Ford (ninth since June).

    “At the beginning of the race, as soon as we took the green [flag], I knew that I was gonna be really good,” Briscoe said on MRN. “The car was way better than what it was yesterday and really what I was looking for. I think we were able to finish sixth in the first stage from the back. I knew that if we could just get clean air, I was gonna be in really good shape. That long run, I felt like I was not the greatest, but just having clean air helped. The green flag cycle, I lost the race last year because I didn’t come to pit road hard enough. I still, obviously, gave up a lot of time to Ross [Chastain]. I got to get a lot better at that. I didn’t want a caution because I had such a big lead, but I was wanting a caution so I didn’t have to do green flag pit stops. Overall, super happy to get HighPoint.com back in Victory Lane. It feels like it’s been forever and it’s only been a month and a half. Hopefully, we can carry this momentum into the Playoffs.”

    While celebrating his win, Briscoe took a moment to address his on-track contact with Chastain.

    “Me and Ross, I feel like, always race really hard, but we normally keep it clean,” Briscoe added. “I knew that Ross would’ve did the exact same thing in my situation, especially if I’d done what I did off of pit road. I packed air on him, I didn’t hit him. I think once I packed air on him, he slowed up so much. I was so close, I hit him eventually, but I didn’t wreck him. I think he knew I wasn’t very happy after getting ran down the apron. I just moved him out of the way. He’s trying to win his first race of the year. His job is to not let cars pass him…that’s the same as my job. I did what I did.”

    Chastain finished in second place for his ninth top-five result of the season followed by Cindric, who has finished in the top five in the last nine Xfinity races. Despite the contact with Briscoe, Chastain expressed no hard feelings towards the race winner.

    “I’m just proud of this whole Moose Fraternity team, this No. 10 car, this Kaulig Racing group,” Chastain said. “We’ve been working at it. We didn’t have the speed to start the year. We had high expectations. We’ve been working as a group. I’m just proud that we came here with no practice and we had a car capable of winning both days. We just needed a few more things to go our way. I think if we came back and raced again tomorrow, we probably had one. We keep getting one spot better every day. Our changes overtime were incredible. They were exactly what I needed. Once the race went on, then I needed a little more. It’s one of those things, it’s tough right now…this whole Kaulig group is getting hot and getting fast at the right time.”

    “Obviously, a solid day,” Cindric added. “Not the best. We tried some things overnight. Probably the first doubleheader, we tried some things and it didn’t work. It didn’t help when we didn’t have track position. We weren’t able to work our way as forward as quickly we did yesterday on our PPG Ford Mustang. [We] Scored some solid points and move on to Daytona and try to have a little fun there.”

    Jones and Hemric rounded out the top five following stellar runs. Finishing in the top 10 were Gragson, Allgaier, Annett, Herbst and Moffitt as only the top-seven competitors finished on the lead lap. Following his pair of penalties, Burton finished in 11th place ahead of Haley.

    There were 12 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 24 laps.

    With his pair of podium results, Cindric continues to lead the regular-season series standings by 62 points over Briscoe and 97 over Gragson.

    Results.

    1. Chase Briscoe, 107 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Ross Chastain, 24 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    3. Austin Cindric, one lap led

    4. Brandon Jones, eight laps led

    5. Daniel Hemric

    6. Noah Gragson, 11 laps led

    7. Justin Allgaier, 19 laps led

    8. Michael Annett, one lap down, five laps led

    9. Riley Herbst, one lap down

    10. Brett Moffitt, one lap down, 25 laps led

    11. Harrison Burton, one lap down

    12. Justin Haley, one lap down

    13. Anthony Alfredo, one lap down

    14. Ryan Sieg, one lap down

    15. Tommy Joe Martins, two laps down

    16. Brandon Brown, two laps down

    17. Alex Labbe, two laps down 

    18. Myatt Snider, three laps down

    19. Jeremy Clements, three laps down

    20. David Starr, three laps down

    21. Joe Graf Jr., three laps down

    22. Josh Williams, three laps down

    23. Jesse Little, three laps down

    24. Chad Finchum, four laps down

    25. B.J. McLeod, four laps down

    26. Colby Howard, four laps down

    27. Kody Vanderwal, four laps down

    28. Stefan Parsons, four laps down

    29. Jeffrey Earnhardt, five laps down

    30. Matt Mills, six laps down

    31. Stephen Leicht, eight laps down

    32. Korbin Forrister – OUT, Brakes

    33. Bayley Currey – OUT, Engine

    34. Timmy Hill – OUT, Overheating

    35. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Suspension

    36. Vinner Miller – OUT, Accident

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series will run its next scheduled race at Daytona International Speedway on August 28, which will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Hamlin conquers first Dover victory following a late pass; leads a JGR 1-2-3 finish

    Hamlin conquers first Dover victory following a late pass; leads a JGR 1-2-3 finish

    Denny Hamlin, who came into this weekend mounted with confidence, saved his best for the end after winning the first Drydene 311 event on Saturday, August 22, of a doubleheader weekend at Dover International Speedway following a late pass on teammate Martin Truex Jr. The victory was Hamlin’s sixth of the season (tied with Kevin Harvick for the most throughout the regular season), his first at Dover in his 29th attempt and the 43rd of his NASCAR Cup Series career.

    The starting lineup was based on three statistical categories: current owner points standings, the results from a previous Cup race and the fastest lap from a previous Cup race. With that, Chase Elliott, coming off his historic victory at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Denny Hamlin. 

    Rookie Brennan Poole started at the rear of the field due to failing pre-race inspection multiple times along with Daniel Suarez and Joey Gase, both of whom also started at the rear due to unapproved adjustments. In addition, Garrett Smithley, who was sent to the rear of the field, was assessed a pass-through penalty down pit road at the start of the race due to an impound procedure infraction.

    When the green flag waved, Elliott launched ahead with an early jump to clear the field with the lead. Behind, Hamlin cleared the field to move into the runner-up spot in Turn 2 followed by teammate Martin Truex Jr. Jimmie Johnson and Joey Logano. Behind, William Byron was in sixth place and in front of Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick once the first lap was complete.

    By the fifth lap, Elliott was ahead by more than a second over Hamlin. Teammates Johnson and Byron, both of whom were battling for the final spot to the Playoffs, were in sixth and seventh while Bowyer moved into third place ahead of Truex and Logano. 

    Not long after, the caution flew the following lap when Kurt Busch, who was battling for a top-10 spot, spun and made head-on contact with the inside wall on the backstretch after being tapped by Erik Jones entering the turn. During the ensuing incident, Jones also received right-rear damage after getting hit by Alex Bowman and his No. 88 Acronis Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. The heavy left-front damage to his No. 1 Gearwrench Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was enough to end Kurt Busch’s race in the garage and out of the race in last place of the 40-car field.

    Under caution, Jones and Bowman made a pit stop to have the damage repaired to their respective machines. Chris Buescher, Corey LaJoie, Timmy Hill and rookie Christopher Bell also pitted.

    When the race restarted around the Lap 10 mark, Elliott retained the lead following a strong start. Hamlin followed pursuit in the runner-up spot with Bowyer, Logano and Truex in the top five. Behind, Harvick and Byron battled for sixth place in front of Johnson.

    By the 20th lap, Elliott was still ahead by more than a second over Hamlin. Behind, Harvick made his way into the top five after passing Truex. When the competition caution flew on Lap 25, Elliott was ahead by more than half a second over Hamlin followed by Bowyer, Harvick and Logano. By then, Byron and Johnson were in seventh and eighth followed by Keselowski while rookie Tyler Reddick was in 10th place. Ryan Blaney was in 11th place ahead of Kyle Busch and rookie Cole Custer while Aric Almirola was in 14th. Matt DiBenedetto, Austin Dillon and Matt Kenseth were in 16th, 18th and 19th while Bubba Wallace was in 21st. Ryan Newman and Erik Jones were in 24th and 25th.

    Under the competition caution, nearly the entire field pitted and Logano exited first followed by a two-tire pit stop. Blaney and Almirola also gained spots up the leaderboard following two-tire pit stops while Hamlin edged Elliott as the first car to exit on four fresh tires.

    When the pit stops concluded, Austin Dillon, who made his return behind the wheel after being absent last weekend at Daytona due to being diagnosed with COVID-19 symptoms, emerged with the lead after opting not to pit followed by Kenseth, Newman, Chris Buescher, Bell and Logano. Following the stops, Harvick made two extra pit stops to have lug nuts tightened on his No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang.

    When the race resumed under green past the Lap 30 mark, Austin Dillon cleared Kenseth for the lead in Turn 2. Behind, Hamlin moved up to sixth while Elliott was back in 10th and after making the slightest of contact with Bowyer. By Lap 35, with Austin Dillon leading by more than a second over Kenseth, Buescher was in third place followed by Logano, Hamlin and Newman. Elliott was still stuck back in 11th place behind Almirola and Blaney.

    By Lap 45, Austin Dillon extended his advantage to more than three seconds over Hamlin, who was charging to the front on fresh tires, followed by Kenseth, Logano and Bowyer. Five laps later, Dillon’s advantage decreased to above a second over Hamlin. Kenseth, on old tires, was still holding strong in third place ahead of teammates Logano, Keselowski and Bowyer. Behind, Truex was in eighth ahead of Newman, Johnson was in 11th in between Almirola and Blaney, Harvick moved up from 30th to 14th ahead of Elliott and Byron and Kyle Busch was in 18th. Jones was back in 21st followed by DiBenedetto and Wallace while Bowman was in 28th.

    On Lap 59, Hamlin emerged with the lead over Austin Dillon while a variety of battles around the track among a multitude of competitors continued to ensue. For the remainder of the first stage under a dozen laps remaining, Hamlin was able to cruise to the stage win on Lap 70 and for his sixth stage victory of the season. Austin Dillon settled in second place, more than four seconds behind Hamlin, followed by Keselowski, Bowyer and Truex. Logano, Harvick, Johnson, Buescher and Almirola settled in the top 10. By then, Blaney and Kyle Busch were in 11th and 12th while Elliott fell back to 17th after leading the first 28 laps of the race. Byron was all the way back in 21st.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Hamlin retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Truex, Bowyer, Keselowski and Austin Dillon. During the pit stops, Elliott had a slow stop and dropped all the way back to 28th. Following the pit stops, however, Kenseth was sent to the rear after being nabbed with a pit road speeding penalty.

    The second stage commenced under green on Lap 77, and Hamlin cleared the field with the lead through Turn 2 followed by teammate Truex and Bowyer. A lap later, Johnson moved up to sixth after passing Logano while Kyle Busch battled Almirola for ninth place. 

    By Lap 85, Hamlin was still ahead by more than half a second over teammate Truex followed by Bowyer, Keselowski and Austin Dillon. Behind, Harvick was in eighth place in between Logano and Kyle Busch.

    When the race reached its 100-lap mark, Hamlin stabilized his advantage to nearly a second over teammate Truex. Bowyer was still in third place followed by Keselowski and Johnson, who was 19 spots ahead of teammate Byron and in prime position of moving back into the top-16 in the standings. Harvick was in eighth place, but pursuing for more while racing behind Logano and Austin Dillon. 

    Twenty laps later, on Lap 120, Hamlin and his No. 11 FedEx Toyota were still at the front by more than two seconds over teammate Truex and his No. 19 SiriusXM Toyota. Bowyer and Keselowski were still in third and fourth followed by Johnson, whose No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was 18 spots ahead of teammate Byron. Harvick was in sixth ahead of Logano and Kyle Busch while Austin Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Almirola were in ninth, 10th and 11th. Blaney was in 12th followed by rookies Reddick and Custer while Jones was in 15th. Elliott was back up in 16th followed by Newman and DiBenedetto while Buescher, Wallace and Bell were in 20th, 21st and 22nd.

    Not long after, Byron was lapped by Hamlin as he continued to struggle with the handling of his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE and keeping pace with the leaders, leading to him and crew chief Chad Knaus voicing their frustrations over the radio.

    Thirteen laps later, pit stops under green started as Harvick made the turn to pit road followed by Bell, Custer, rookie John Hunter Nemechek and Jones. The ensuing laps, Bowyer made his pit stop under green followed by Logano, Almirola, Truex, Blaney, Austin Dillon, Johnson and race leader Hamlin. During the cycle of pit stops under green, Johnson nearly collided with Stenhouse Jr. on the track, who slowed and made a late turn to pit road in Turn 3 in front of Johnson, who was coming with full speed, and caused Johnson to react swiftly to the right to avoid a collision.

    When most of the pit stops concluded and the field cycled through, DiBenedetto emerged with the lead on Lap 143. Buescher was in second followed by Byron, McDowell and Bowman while Hamlin and Truex were in seventh and eighth.

    On Lap 160, DiBenedetto made his pit stop under green and another lap later, Hamlin bolted his way around Byron to move back into the lead followed by Truex. By then, 19 competitors were pinned a lap behind the leaders, names that included Newman, Wallace, Bell, Ty Dillon, Buescher, Ryan Preece, Kenseth, Nemechek, DiBenedetto and Suarez. Shortly after, Almirola made an unscheduled pit stop under green to address a loose wheel.

    With five laps remaining in the second stage, Hamlin stabilized his advantage to more than a second over teammate Truex. Bowyer was still holding strong in third place followed by Kyle Busch, Keselowski and Harvick. Johnson was in eighth while Byron was back in 25th and two laps behind the leaders following his pit stop under green. 

    With no competition lurking behind and with a dominating car, Hamlin ran away with the second stage victory on Lap 185 as he claimed his series-leading seventh stage victory of the season. By then, he had lapped Blaney, who was in 15th. Truex was in second followed by Bowyer, Kyle Busch and Keselowski. Harvick, Johnson, Logano, Stenhouse and Elliott were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Truex, on this occasion, emerged with the lead over Hamlin. Teammate Kyle Busch exited in third place followed by Bowyer and Keselowski. Following pit stops, however, Austin Dillon was sent to the rear of the field due to being nabbed a pit road speeding penalty.

    When the final stage started with 119 laps remaining, Truex, who restarted on the outside lane, jumped with the lead ahead of teammate Kyle Busch, who restarted on the inside lane in second place. Hamlin, who restarted in the second row on the outside lane next to Keselowski, was back in fourth. Behind, Bowyer was in fifth ahead of Logano while Harvick, Elliott, Johnson and Stenhouse were running in the top 10. By then, Johnson was 20 spots ahead of Byron, who continued to struggle to keep pace with the leaders and his teammate for the final spot in the Playoffs.

    With 100 laps remaining, Truex stabilized his advantage to nearly a second over Kyle Busch and his green No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry. Hamlin was in third place, trailing by, followed by Keselowski, Bowyer, Logano and Harvick. Elliott was in eighth followed by teammate Johnson and Stenhouse. By then, 18 competitors were running on the lead lap with Ty Dillon running in 18th.

    Ten laps later, Truex, who was pursuing his first win since June at Martinsville Speedway, was still ahead by less than a second over teammate Kyle Busch and two seconds over his other teammate, Denny Hamlin. By then, with the Playoff picture dominating the headlines in the final races of the regular season, Johnson was in ninth, Jones was in 12th, Reddick was in 14th, DiBenedetto was in 16th ahead of Buescher, Almirola was in 21st in between Newman and Bell, Wallace was in 25th and Byron was back in 29th.

    Another 10 laps later and with the race continuing to dwindle under green, Truex was still leading teammate Kyle Busch by half a second with Hamlin trailing by less than two seconds.

    Under 70 laps remaining, Buescher made a pit stop under green followed by Bowman. Shortly after, Hamlin passed teammate Kyle Busch for the runner-up spot and encountered a bevy of lapped traffic while continuing to pursue teammate Truex for the lead. Behind, with lapped traffic starting to interfere those on the lead lap, Harvick was in sixth place in between Keselowski and Elliott.

    With 60 laps remaining, Harvick and Elliott made a pit stop under green and they were soon joined by Logano, Johnson, Newman, Bowyer and Kyle Busch. Not long after, Hamlin and Truex also made pit stops under green.

    While most of the field pitted, others that included new leader Keselowski had yet to make a stop while they opted to stretch their fuel cell to the fullest as possible. Under 50 laps remaining and with Keselowski, Stenhouse and Reddick pitting, Austin Dillon, who had yet to make a pit stop under green, was leading by more than 11 seconds followed by Truex, Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Bowyer, Harvick and Elliott.

    Under 40 laps remaining, Austin Dillon and his No. 3 Dow/Behr Ultra Scuff Defense Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE were still leading by four seconds over Truex, who continued to chip away Dillon’s huge advantage on old tires and low fuel. Then, with approximately 30 laps remaining, Truex reassumed the lead while Austin Dillon, who was hoping for a caution to cycle back with the leaders, pitted and was eventually lapped.

    Under 20 laps remaining, Truex was leading by nearly a second over teammate Hamlin with teammate Kyle Busch trailing by less than six seconds. Ten laps later and with 10 laps remaining, however, the battle for the lead started brewing with Hamlin drawing himself right to the rear bumper of Truex and challenging for the lead while Truex struggled to navigate his way around the lapped car of Almirola. 

    A lap later, Hamlin emerged with the lead after gaining a huge run through Turns 3 and 4, crossing beneath Truex and sliding up in front of Truex in Turn 1 to clear him for good through Turn 2. Another lap later, Hamlin was ahead by four-tenths of a second over Truex. When Hamlin started the final lap, he was ahead by nearly a second from teammate Truex. With his teammate unable to gain a run to challenge the lead back, Hamlin was able to cross the finish line in first place and take the checkered flag for the win by more than a second. 

    With the win, Hamlin recorded the 150th Cup win for Toyota and the 183rd Cup win for Joe Gibbs Racing. He also recorded his 12th Cup victory with crew chief Chris Gabehart. Sunday’s Dover event marked the first time since Homestead last November where three Joe Gibbs Racing competitors rounded out the podium results. Hamlin’s victory marked the ninth time since June where a Cup race was won by either Hamlin or Kevin Harvick as Hamlin continued his pursuit and momentum for his first Cup championship.

    “I’ve been running down the leaders these last few weeks, but I haven’t been able to get there,” Hamlin said in Victory Lane on NBCSN. “We just didn’t control that restart there and we just had to battle back. We had to go back and get it. [I] Just was able to work the top line there a little bit to get some momentum and it looked like our car was just a little bit better at moving around tp different lines. Proud of this whole FedEx Office team. This Camry was fast today. It was just unbelievable how good it was. Pit crew did an amazing job. Win No. 43. This is pretty awesome.” 

    “People always ask when you have Q&A’s, ‘What’s your least favorite track?’” Hamlin added. “I always say Dover just because I’m not good here. I love the track. I just haven’t been very good here, but we just have unbelievable cars right now. It just seems like we’re coming to the race track prepared. I’m putting the work in and we’re getting results because of it.”

    Truex, who led 88 laps, settled in the runner-up spot for his ninth top-five result of the season followed by teammate Kyle Busch, who led three laps and recorded his 11th top-five result. Following the race, Truex was straightforward in expressing his displeasure with the lapped car of Almirola for holding him up and allowing Hamlin to pass him for the lead and the win.

    “Really, I think if [Almirola] just wasn’t pinned in on the bottom [lane] in front of me, I would’ve been fine,” Truex said. “Every time I tried to move up to get some air on my car, he just slide up in front of me like an idiot. He’s the reason we lost the lead but in the end, we weren’t good enough. I thought that [Hamlin] was better than us all day long. We got the lead there in the pits and was able to use clean air to our advantage. I was never happy with the car all day long. The SiriusXM Camry was fast, but the balance was all over the place. It was firing off tight and getting really loose on the long runs. At the end, [there was] nothing I could do. Just out of control, sideways.”

    “We had a pretty fast Interstate Batteries Camry,” Busch said. “We made it all the way upfront and did a good job there. The time that we put tires on under green, the car was really fast, really good. So, I was optimistic keeping up with Truex. Then once we got tires on it, I could, maybe, keep up or be faster. We were so tight at the end. It went from being four, five numbers loose to four, five numbers tight. A ten number swing in just putting tires on. Crazy how that happens, but [we] come home with a good solid third place. [I] Got two good teammates, notebook, everything that they got to lean on. Hopefully, we can work on some things for tonight, get ourselves better and try to come out here with a win tomorrow.”

    Harvick recorded a strong fourth-place result followed by Elliott, who earned his ninth top-five result. Bowyer, Johnson, Logano, Keselowski and Stenhouse finished in the top 10.

    Almirola, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Bowyer and DiBenedetto continue to remain inside the top-16 cutline following their runs on Saturday. With his seventh top-10 result of this season, Johnson holds sole possession of the 16th and final spot to the Playoffs by three points over teammate Byron, who concluded his long race in 28th place. Jones finished 12th and he trails the top-16 cutline by 22 points while Reddick, who finished 13th, trails by 45 points.

    DiBenedetto finished 20th and will start on the pole for Sunday’s Cup Dover race, second of the weekend, alongside 19th-place finisher Newman.

    There were 15 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 21 laps.

    With his 16th top-five result, Harvick continues to lead the regular-season series standings by 100 points over Hamlin.

    Results.

    1. Denny Hamlin, 115 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    2. Martin Truex Jr., 88 laps led

    3. Kyle Busch, three laps led

    4. Kevin Harvick

    5. Chase Elliott, 27 laps led

    6. Clint Bowyer

    7. Jimmie Johnson

    8. Joey Logano

    9. Brad Keselowski, nine laps led

    10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap

    11. Cole Custer

    12. Erik Jones

    13. Tyler Reddick, one lap down

    14. Ryan Blaney, one lap down

    15. Austin Dillon, one lap down, 49 laps led

    16. Chris Buescher, one lap down

    17. Aric Almirola, two laps down

    18. Ty Dillon, two laps down

    19. Ryan Newman, two laps down

    20. Matt DiBenedetto, two laps down, 17 laps led

    21. Alex Bowman, two laps down

    22. Christopher Bell, two laps down

    23. Matt Kenseth, two laps down, one lap led

    24. John Hunter Nemechek, two laps down

    25. Ryan Preece, two laps down

    26. Michael McDowell, three laps down

    27. Bubba Wallace, three laps down

    28. William Byron, three laps down, one lap led

    29. Corey LaJoie, three laps down

    30. Daniel Suarez, five laps down

    31. J.J. Yeley, nine laps down

    32. Josh Bilicki, 12 laps down

    33. Quin Houff, 13 laps down

    34. Timmy Hill, 13 laps down

    35. Joey Gase, 18 laps down

    36. Brennan Poole – OUT, Rear end

    37. Garrett Smithley – OUT, Battery

    38. B.J. McLeod – OUT, Handling

    39. Reed Sorenson – OUT, Handling

    40. Kurt Busch – OUT, Accident

    The NASCAR Cup Series will return the following day, August 23, for its second doubleheader series event of the weekend at Dover, which will air at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Bristol Motor Speedway to welcome fans for NASCAR races in September

    Bristol Motor Speedway to welcome fans for NASCAR races in September

    More than a month after featuring select fans in attendance for NASCAR’s annual exhibition event, Bristol Motor Speedway will open its facilities and grandstands to allow fans to return in attendance for the upcoming NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series races on September 18-19.

    The Xfinity and Cup Series are slated to return to Bristol Motor Speedway on September 18 and 19 as part of a quadruple-header week of racing that also involves the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series. The Xfinity Series event on September 18, the Food City 300, will occur at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN with the race serving as the final regular-season event of the season, where the 12-car Xfinity Playoff field will be determined. The Cup Series event on September 19, the Bass Pro Shops Night Race, will occur at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN with the event serving as the third and final Round of 16 event during the 2020 Cup Playoffs.

    “We are thrilled that fans will be joining us this September for both the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race and Food City 300,” said Jerry Caldwell, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Bristol Motor Speedway, said. “We realize hosting major events here with fans during these unprecedented times comes with great responsibility. We anticipate a similar crowd size to July’s NASCAR All-Star Race for Saturday’s event and we will reduce capacity further for Friday night’s race. We will continue to be steadfast in our execution of our protocols and modified procedures to ensure these events are as safe as possible for everyone involved.”

    Bristol Motor Speedway officials noted that all fans who attend the events in September are required to wear a face covering/mask in common areas (gates, concessions, restrooms and concourse areas) and will have their temperatures checked upon entering the facility. In addition, all ticketing transactions will be conducted digitally to reduce touch points, enhanced cleaning/sanitation will be provided in highly public areas, hand sanitizers will be provided for the fans throughout the track’s facility and the fans will be encouraged to wear masks upon exiting the facility when the races are concluded. Social distancing will be in effect and encouraged for all fans upon entering the grandstand seats, but all spectators who are inside the facility are permitted to remove their masks after arriving in their grandstands seats while socially distancing oneself from others.

    “The opportunity to safely welcome back a limited number of guests for the first-ever NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race in Bristol Motor Speedway history is certainly a privilege that our team doesn’t take for granted,” Caldwell added. “Our extensive plan that we used successfully in July during the NASCAR All-Star Race, which has been utilized as a blueprint recently by other sports leagues in their planning to conduct live events, definitely meets or exceeds all recommended state and local guidelines. We remain in constant communication with local and state leaders and NASCAR about our safety plan and we’ll continue to carefully work with them to ensure we’re doing everything we can to keep our customers, participants, employees and surrounding communities safe.”

    Exact attendance figures for the races will vary based on group sizes and keeping fans socially distanced from one another. Bristol Motor Speedway noted that masks will provided for fans, if needed. Fans will also be permitted to bring one clear bag (14x14x14) with food and beverages, but no coolers. The fans will also have options to park freely at Speedway Parking near the corner of White Top Road and Highway 394 or opt for paid parking at neighboring properties, but shuttles and trams will not operate during the events.

    This marks the second time this season where Bristol Motor Speedway will allow fans to attend a NASCAR event. On July 15, the 36th running of the NASCAR All-Star Race occurred at Bristol Motor Speedway after the event was moved earlier to Bristol from Charlotte Motor Speedway due to an increase in COVID-19 cases in North Carolina and to allow fans to attend the event. Approximately 20,000 fans were in attendance throughout Bristol Motor Speedway’s grandstands, starting from the NASCAR All-Star Open to the All-Star Race occurring under the lights and when Chase Elliott notched his first All-Star victory, which made this the biggest crowd attendance since the COVID-19 pandemic paused all sporting events throughout the United States of America.

    The NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series races at Bristol, both to occur on September 17, will proceed with no fans in attendance.