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Author: Andrew Kim

  • Harvick sweeps Michigan in one weekend

    Harvick sweeps Michigan in one weekend

    Like his run from a day earlier at Michigan International Speedway, Kevin Harvick had a fast car and had to fight off all comers to earn a victory. That was the case on Sunday, August 9, when Harvick held off a late challenge from Denny Hamlin in the final laps to win the Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan and to sweep both Cup races at the Irish Hills on the same weekend. The victory was Harvick’s sixth of this season, fifth at Michigan and the 55th of his Cup Series career. 

    The starting lineup was based on the results from Saturday’s Cup race at Michigan, where the top-20 finishers were inverted while the latter 20 competitors started as finished on Saturday. Chris Buescher, who finished 20th, was scheduled to start on pole position, but he started at the rear of the field in a backup car. As a result, William Byron and Clint Bowyer, both of whom finished 14th and 19th on Saturday, started on the front row and led the field to the start on Sunday.

    In addition to Buescher, the following competitors, including Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, rookie Tyler Reddick, Aric Almirola, Michael McDowell, Ryan Preece, rookie John Hunter Nemechek and rookie Cole Custer, started at the rear of the field in backup cars. Rookie Brennan Poole also started at the rear of the field for an engine change, Daniel Suarez and Reed Sorenson both dropped to the rear of the field due to failing pre-race inspection twice and Josh Bilicki started at the rear of the field due to a driver change. 

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Byron and Bowyer battled dead even for the lead with Bowyer squeaking ahead to lead the first lap. Behind, Austin Dillon was assessed a pass-through penalty for unapproved adjustments made on the grid prior to the race.

    The following lap, Jimmie Johnson and Matt DiBenedetto overtook Byron for position with rookie Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones and Kurt Busch trailing behind. By then, Bowyer was ahead with the lead by nearly half a second.

    By the fifth lap, Kyle Busch muscled his way up to seventh after overtaking brother Kurt and Wallace in Turn 2 a lap earlier. Behind, Ryan Blaney was in ninth, Chase Elliott was in 11th ahead of Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski. Denny Hamlin was in 17th, teammate Martin Truex Jr. was in 19th and Tyler Reddick was in 20th ahead of Alex Bowman. Rookie Cole Custer was in 25th ahead of Ryan Newman, Aric Almirola and Daniel Suarez.

    Five laps later and 10 laps into the race, Bowyer stabilized his early advantage by more than a second over Johnson followed by Bell, DiBenedetto, Byron and Jones. Two laps later, Bell, the fastest competitor on the track, moved into the runner-up spot after passing Johnson. Another lap later, Johnson lost momentum entering Turn 3 and fell back to sixth place while being overtaken by DiBenedetto, Byron and Jones. 

    By Lap 15, Harvick, winner of Saturday’s Cup Michigan race, cracked the top 10 after passing Wallace. Ahead of him, Kyle Busch was in eighth ahead of Blaney while Logano, Elliott, Keselowski and Hamlin were running in 12th through 15th.

    Five laps later and 20 laps into the race, Bowyer was still leading by more than two seconds over Bell, who continued to chop off Bowyer’s advantage. DiBenedetto was still in third place while Byron and Jones battled for fourth. The Busch brothers followed suit while Blaney and Harvick were in eighth and ninth. Johnson, meanwhile, had fallen back to 10th with Logano lingering behind him. By then, Wallace was in 15th ahead of Reddick, Truex was in 24th behind Almirola and Austin Dillon was back in 33rd place following his opening lap pass-through penalty.

    With the laps in the first stage dwindling, Bowyer and his No. 14 DEKALB Ford Mustang were still ahead and cruising by three seconds over Bell and his No. 95 Procore Toyota Camry. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch and his No. 18 M&M’s Fudge Brownie Toyota Camry continued to work towards the front as he moved into third place followed by Jones, Byron and DiBenedetto. Blaney was in seventh followed by Harvick, one of the fastest competitors on the track. Kurt Busch was in ninth while Logano was in 10th ahead of Johnson, Elliott, Hamlin and Keselowski. Reddick was in 17th behind Wallace while Truex was stuck back in 22nd.

    With no competition trailing behind him for the lead, Bowyer was able to navigate his way through lapped traffic and cruise to the first stage win on Lap 40 while claiming his third stage win of the season and crucial stage points towards making the Playoffs. Bell settled in second place followed by Kyle Busch, DiBenedetto and Jones. Byron, Blaney, Harvick, Kurt Busch and Logano settled in the top 10. 

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Kyle Busch emerged with the lead after exiting pit road first following a stellar stop by the No. 18 M&M’s crew. Harvick moved up to second place followed by teammate Bowyer, Byron and Jones. Following the first round of pit stops, Blaney, who was in the top 10, made another pit stop to fill up the fuel tank of his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang. 

    Prior to the restart and with the choose rule implemented, Byron moved up from fourth to second place and restarted beneath Kyle Busch on the front row, Johnson moved up from seventh to restart in third place alongside Harvick in the second row and Bowyer dropped back to sixth to restart on the outside lane in the third row alongside Logano.

    The second stage started on Lap 47 and Kyle Busch jumped to an early advantage with drafting help from Harvick. Not long after, Harvick made a three-wide move on Kyle Busch and Byron entering Turn 2 to take the lead and pull away. Busch settled in second followed by Bowyer, Byron and Jones. A lap later, Keselowski made his way into the top five after moving up to fourth. Behind, Bell was back in eighth following a slow stop under the first stage break. 

    By Lap 60 and with less than 100 laps remaining of the overall race, Harvick was leading by more than a second over Keselowski and Kyle Busch. Bowyer was in fourth followed by Bell, Jones, Logano, DiBenedetto, Elliott and Hamlin. Kurt Busch was in 11th followed by Almirola and Byron, Johnson and Bowman. Blaney was in 18th behind Reddick and ahead of Truex and Wallace. Matt Kenseth and Newman were in 16th and 23rd.

    Ten laps later, Harvick, who started to approach lapped traffic, was still ahead of the field by two seconds over Keselowski and more than three seconds over Kyle Busch. Bell was still in fourth place followed by Bowyer, Jones, Hamlin, Logano, Elliott and Almirola. Johnson and Byron were back in 14th and 15th behind Blaney while Truex was in 17th. 

    At the halfway mark on Lap 78, Harvick extended his advantage to more than three seconds over Keselowski with Kyle Busch trailing by more than four seconds, Bell by nearly six seconds and Bowyer by nearly seven seconds. Like his race-winning performance from Saturday and with the same car he drove to yesterday’s win, Harvick was able to drive away from the field and easily claim the second stage on Lap 85 for his fifth stage victory of the season. Keselowski settled in second place followed by Kyle Busch, Bell and Bowyer. Hamlin, Jones, Almirola, Logano and Blaney were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Harvick retained the lead after exiting pit road first ahead of Kyle Busch. Keselowski, Bowyer and Hamlin exited in the top five followed by Bell. Prior to the restart, Hamlin moved up to the front row to restart beneath Harvick, Kyle Busch fell back to fourth to restart on the outside lane alongside Blaney. Elliott and Keselowski restarted behind on the third row followed by DiBenedetto and Bowyer.

    Under 65 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. During the restart, Hamlin and Blaney boosted ahead with the lead and both competitors battled dead even before Blaney squeaked ahead with the top spot. Behind, Harvick and Hamlin battled for the runner-up spot followed by Elliott, Kyle Busch and Keselowski. Meanwhile, Bowman and Truex, both of whom struggled, were in 10th and 11th while Bowyer was in 12th ahead of Jones, Reddick and Bell. Byron was in 17th ahead of Kenseth while Johnson was in 20th behind Wallace.

    With around 60 laps remaining, Keselowski, who muscled his way up to the runner-up spot, made a move beneath Blaney in Turn 1 and challenged for the lead when he got loose and slipped up into Blaney as both Penske teammates wrecked across the Turn 2 outside wall. With the caution returning, the wreck eliminated Blaney and Keselowski from race-winning contention and the overall race.

    “I just lost it,” Keselowski said following his release from the infield care center on NBCSN. “It’s my fault. I feel really bad for my teammate, Ryan Blaney. He didn’t deserve that. I just came off of Turn 4 and [Harvick] was behind me. He gave me a push and I swear, I went into the corner like 20 mph faster than I had been all day. [I] Got pass [Hamlin] and went to get underneath [Blaney]. It just slipped, lost the back a little bit. I went to correct it and he was there, and I wiped him out and myself out.”

    “It’s unfortunate for the whole Penske organization,” Blaney added. “We had two fast cars, battling for the lead. It stinks that happened. He had a run like he said. He didn’t think he had a big of a run as he had and just got loose and unfortunately, got us both. That’s a shame to end our day like that with the Knauf/Menards Ford Mustang. We were so fast…Got the lead…It’s unfortunate, but it’s not going to carry over. Mistakes happen.”

    Under caution, Bowman made a pit stop after sustaining damage during the incident. Bowyer, who also sustained minimal damage to his car, remained on track inside the top 10. Prior to the restart, Kyle Busch moved up to restart beneath teammate Hamlin on the front row. Kurt Busch and Harvick restarted on the second row in front of Bell and Elliott.

    The race restarted under green with 55 laps remaining and Harvick made his way back to the lead over Hamlin. Elliott moved into third followed by Kyle Busch and Almirola. Kurt Busch charged his way up to sixth followed by DiBenedetto, Truex, Johnson and Bell. Meanwhile, Bowyer, who sustained a tire rub during the restart, made an unscheduled pit stop and was trapped a lap behind the leaders.

    Shortly after, the caution returned when Bell spun in Turn 2 after sustaining a flat tire. The caution was as a saving grace for Bowyer, who received the free pass and returned on the lead lap. 

    Under caution, nearly the entire field pitted and Hamlin exited pit road first after only taking fuel to his No. 11 FedEx Toyota, the first of many who elected to pit for only fuel. DiBenedetto exited in second after he also took only fuel to his car followed by Harvick, who opted for a two-tire stop. At the front, Almirola remained on track to inherit the lead, though he miscommunicated with his crew over code words and had meant to pit with the leaders.

    When the race restarted with 47 laps remaining, teammates Almirola and Harvick battled for the lead with Harvick leading the following lap before Almirola cleared his teammate for the lead the next lap. Behind, DiBenedetto moved up to third place followed by Truex, who made a three-wide move on Kurt Busch and Hamlin to move into the top five for the first time. Logano was in seventh followed by Jones, Kyle Busch and Newman. 

    With 40 laps remaining, Harvick made his way back to the lead after passing Almirola, though Almirola and his No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang remained competitive on old tires and low fuel. Truex was up in third place followed by DiBenedetto and Hamlin. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch was in ninth ahead of Johnson and Jones, Austin Dillon was up to 13th, Byron was in 15th and Bowyer was in 18th.

    Ten laps later and with 30 laps remaining, Harvick was still leading by two-tenths of a second over his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Almirola while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Truex and Hamlin battled for third place. Kurt Busch trailed by more than four seconds with brother Kyle up to sixth.

    Seven laps later, with the leaders approaching lapped traffic, teammates Truex and Hamlin passed Almirola to move up to second and third with Truex trailing race leader Harvick by less than a second. 

    With less than 20 laps remaining, the caution returned due to debris from Bowman’s No. 88 Adam’s Polishes/ChevyGoods.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, who had sustained a flat tire entering Turn 4 and near the pit road entrance. The caution was as a saving grace for Almirola, who was on the brink of having to make an unscheduled pit stop under green.

    Under caution, Almirola along with some that included DiBenedetto, Wallace, Kenseth, Michael McDowell, rookie John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Preece and Daniel Suarez pitted while most of the leaders led by Harvick remained on track.

    With 15 laps remaining, the race restarted under green with Harvick and Hamlin on the front row in front of Truex and Logano. At the restart, Harvick retained the lead while teammates Truex and Hamlin battled for the runner-up spot. Teammate Kyle Busch made his way to fourth after passing brother Kurt and with DiBenedetto behind. 

    Two laps later, Hamlin settled in the runner-up spot in front of teammates Truex and Kyle Busch. By then, Harvick was ahead by nearly a second. Meanwhile, Almirola, following his pit stop, was up to eighth on fresh tires behind Elliott. 

    With less than 10 laps remaining, Harvick was leading by six-tenths of a second over Hamlin, who was slowly closing in towards Harvick, while teammates Truex and Kyle Busch battled for third place. During this time, Bowman made another unscheduled pit stop after making contact with the wall and sustaining another flat tire.

    With the laps dwindling, Hamlin continued to chop off Harvick’s advantage as he drew himself to being three-tenths of a second behind Harvick. While Hamlin remained within sight of Harvick’s rear bumper and made a few attempts to pass for the lead through the turns, Harvick was able to retain his advantage entering the straightaways.

    With two laps remaining, Hamlin gained a run in Turn 1 when Harvick lifted, but he also lifted entering Turn 2 as Harvick stabilized his advantage to nearly three car lengths. On the final lap, Harvick was still ahead with Hamlin still lurking behind. In Turn 3, Harvick remained on the inside lane while Hamlin went on the outside lane. Entering Turn 4, Hamlin gained a huge run on Harvick and got to his rear bumper. With the checkered flag waving and the leaders coming across the finish line through the frontstretch, Harvick was able to beat Hamlin by 0.093 seconds to grab a thrilling win.

    The victory was the 13th of the season for Ford, the manufacturer’s 42nd Cup victory since 2018 and the seventh of the season for Stewart-Haas Racing. With his two victories this weekend, Harvick tallied his top-five results of this season to 15 and top-10 results to 19. A day after tying the late Lee Petty for 11th place on the NASCAR Cup all-time wins list, Harvick has tied NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace for 10th place on the all-time wins list. 

    “It was a big challenge [on the battle with Hamlin],” Harvick said in Victory Lane on NBCSN. “Our Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang got really tight there in [Turns] 3 and 4. I could run really good through [Turns] 1 and 2 still, but I was just tight on that other end all day. I just got to thank all of my guys. They did a great job all weekend on pit road. Great pit calls. It’s been a long time since I’ve raced back-to-back days, let alone in the Cup car. I’ve never accomplished that, obviously, but we’ve done that a couple times this year. For us, it’s worked out pretty good. When you look at my team, we’ve been together for seven years now, and you look at the confidence that everybody has in each other, the details of the racecars and the thought of everything that goes into everything we do is untouchable.”

    Hamlin settled in the runner-up spot for his 12th top-five result of this season as this also marks the ninth time where he has finished first or second this season. Teammates Truex and Kyle Busch finished third and fourth while Logano held off Almirola to finish fifth.

    “Once we finally got to second, I knew we had something for [Harvick],” Hamlin said. “We got stalled there. He was tight, I was tight. We were better, that’s for sure. He just had the track position and could control the lanes there. [I] Wished I had Turns 1 and 2 to go do over again when we both lifted off of [Turn] 2 there. I should’ve faked low and went high, but I thought I could maybe get to the quarter panel and shoved him even higher. Just couldn’t quite do it, but proud of this whole FedEx Ground Toyota team. Obviously, a very strong run. We just needed a little bit more. Overall, I thought we just had a good-handling car and that’s what allowed us to keep pace there. I thought our whole team did a great job of adjusting overnight. We’re just plugging along here. [I] Really hate giving up wins to [Harvick]. I got tremendous respect for everyone on [the No. 4] team and Kevin. As we’ve gotten older, we’ve gotten wiser, learned to really appreciate what each other does on the race track and obviously, they’re have a great season as well.”

    “We battled back,” Truex said. “The car was pretty far off to start the race. We’re all pretty disappointed in that, obviously. Really proud of the effort to get the Auto-Owners [Insurance] Camry back upfront. Just really proud of our race team. We keep bringing top-three cars to the race track and the Playoffs are coming. So, we need to keep doing that. Just off at the start and had to rebound. Definitely, a different story than yesterday but pretty much, the same result. I was doing all I could to get up there. I got too tight there at the end. Just fought the balance too much all day. Wicked loose to start and wicked tight at the end. We’ll keep digging.”

    Almirola, DiBenedetto, Austin Dillon, Elliott and Kurt Busch rounded out the top 10. Jimmie Johnson finished 11th in his final run at Michigan while Bowyer ended his run in 14th place.

    There were 10 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 24 laps.

    With two victories this weekend and with four regular-season races remaining until the start of the 2020 Cup Playoffs, Harvick continues to lead the regular-season series standings by 137 over Keselowski and 140 over Hamlin.

    Results.

    1. Kevin Harvick, 90 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Denny Hamlin, six laps led

    3. Martin Truex Jr.

    4. Kyle Busch, four laps led

    5. Joey Logano

    6. Aric Almirola, nine laps led

    7. Matt DiBenedetto

    8. Austin Dillon

    9. Chase Elliott

    10. Kurt Busch

    11. Jimmie Johnson

    12. William Byron

    13. Ryan Newman

    14. Clint Bowyer, 43 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    15. Matt Kenseth

    16. Ryan Preece

    17. Christopher Bell

    18. Ty Dillon

    19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    20. Chris Buescher

    21. Bubba Wallace

    22. Corey LaJoie

    23. John Hunter Nemechek

    24. Tyler Reddick

    25. Cole Custer

    26. Daniel Suarez

    27. Erik Jones

    28. Michael McDowell

    29. J.J. Yeley, two laps down

    30. Brennan Poole, three laps down

    31. Reed Sorenson, three laps down

    32. Quin Houff, three laps down

    33. Josh Bilicki, four laps down

    34. Garrett Smithley, four laps down

    35. Timmy Hill, six laps down

    36. Alex Bowman – OUT, Tire

    37. James Davison, nine laps down

    38. Ryan Blaney – OUT, four laps led

    39. Brad Keselowski – OUT

    Next weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series will race for the first time on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course layout as the 2020 Playoffs approaches its starting point. The race at Daytona will occur on August 16 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Harvick claims the first Cup Michigan race of the weekend

    Harvick claims the first Cup Michigan race of the weekend

    Following a late battle and the slightest of contact with Kyle Busch in the closing laps, Kevin Harvick prevailed through a series of late restarts and in overtime against Brad Keselowski to win the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday, August 8, the first of two NASCAR Cup Series races at Michigan of the weekend. The victory was Harvick’s fifth of the season, fourth at Michigan and the 54th of his Cup Series career.

    The starting lineup was based on a random draw. Joey Logano started on pole position for the second time this season and was joined on the front row with Denny Hamlin. 

    Prior to the race, NASCAR confiscated the spoilers from the Roush Fenway Racing two-car lineup of Ryan Newman and Chris Buescher during the pre-race inspection process. With both teams violating Section 12.4.12.b (spoiler section) of the NASCAR Cup rule book, both competitors dropped to the rear of the field and they were also docked 20 driver/owner points. In addition, their crew chiefs (Scott Graves and Luke Lambert) were each fined $25,000 for the infraction. Jimmie Johnson and Joey Gase also dropped to the rear of the field due to their respective cars failing pre-race inspection twice.

    When the green flag and the race commenced following a 45-minute delay because of the delayed Xfinity Series race occurring at Road America, Logano received a push from Aric Almirola on the outside lane to jump to an early lead as he led the first lap. The following lap, Hamlin attempted to pass Logano on the inside lane, but he lost his momentum entering Turn 2 as Logano retained the lead while Almirola challenged Hamlin for the runner-up spot. Behind, Kevin Harvick was in fourth followed by Alex Bowman, teammate Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski, all of whom battled one another through Turns 3 and 4. 

    In Turn 1, Keselowski lost his momentum and dropped all the way back to 12th behind rookie Tyler Reddick, who was fresh off a one-year contract extension deal with Richard Childress Racing. 

    After the first 10 laps, Logano, who reported a vibration, was still leading by less than two-tenths of a second over Hamlin with teammates Almirola and Harvick trailing behind and battling one another for third place. A few laps later, Almirola dropped out of the top five after being overtaken by Harvick and Kurt Busch. 

    On Lap 14, Hamlin made a move beneath Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford in Turn 3 and both battled dead even for the lead through Turns 4 and 1. While Hamlin led the 15th lap, Logano cleared Hamlin for the lead back in Turn 2 just as the competition caution flew. Prior to the competition caution, Ryan Blaney made a green flag pit stop for early adjustments and fresh tires for the ensuing restart. At the time of caution, Almirola had fallen back to 10th place and Martin Truex Jr. was in sixth while Harvick, Bowman and Kurt Busch were scored in the top five. Erik Jones and Chase Elliott were in 11th and 12th while Matt DiBenedetto and William Byron were in 14th and 15th. Clint Bowyer was in 16th, Jimmie Johnson was in 17th and Ryan Newman was in 29th. 

    Under caution, a majority of competitors led by Keselowski, Almirola, Elliott, rookie Cole Custer, Byron, Austin Dillon and Newman pitted while the rest led by Logano, Hamlin, Reddick and Harvick remained on track. 

    The race restarted on Lap 19 and Hamlin received a push from Reddick on the inside lane to move into the lead through Turns 1 and 2. Behind, Logano, who restarted on the outside lane, retained the runner-up spot followed by Harvick, Kurt Busch and Bowman. A lap later, Truex cut a right-front tire in Turn 3 after making contact with Reddick in Turn 2. He was able to keep his car off the wall and return to pit road for two fresh right-side tires. The misfortune, however, cost Truex two laps.

    At the front, Harvick gained a run on Hamlin in Turn 4 and was able to pass Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota to emerge with the lead on Lap 23. Behind, Blaney bolted his way into sixth place followed by Reddick and Jones. 

    By Lap 30, Harvick was ahead by two-tenths of a second over Hamlin. Kurt Busch was in third followed by Blaney, Bowman and Jones. Elliott was in eighth while Logano was back in ninth following contact with Kyle Busch in Turn 2. Bowyer was in 12th, Johnson was in 14th, Byron was in 17th and Almirola was in 18th. Truex was in 36th while Reddick, who had been running inside the top 10, was back in 35th after making an unscheduled pit stop under green a few laps earlier.

    With no one behind him nor close enough to challenge for the lead, Harvick was able to cruise to the win in the first stage on Lap 40 as he claimed his third stage victory of the season. Hamlin trailed in second place and above half a second followed by Blaney, Kurt Busch and Keselowski. Jones, Bowman, Elliott, Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were scored in the top 10. Logano had fallen back to 18th while battling loose-handling conditions to his car.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Hamlin exited pit road first ahead of Harvick following a stellar pit stop from the FedEx crew. Blaney exited in third place followed by Keselowski and Kurt Busch.

    Prior to the start of the second stage and with the new choose rule implemented, Harvick dropped from second to fourth to restart on the outside lane while Keselowski was lined up in second place and beneath Hamlin on the front row. In addition, Jones moved up from sixth to third as the second car to restart on the bottom lane while Bowyer moved up from ninth to fifth.

    The second stage started on Lap 47 and Hamlin gained a huge run on the outside lane to retain the lead. While the field behind battled intensely against one another and raced three to four wide for position, Blaney took the lead on Lap 49. Harvick settled right behind Blaney in second followed by Kurt Busch while Hamlin and Keselowski battled for fourth. 

    By Lap 55, Blaney was still ahead by less than four-tenths of a second over Harvick followed by Kurt Busch and Jones, who gained a huge run on the outside lane to pass both Hamlin and Keselowski for position a few laps earlier. Bowman trailed behind in seventh followed by Bowyer, Kyle Busch and Bubba Wallace. Elliott and Logano were in 12th and 15th while Johnson was in 17th. Reddick, who took the wave around to return to the lead lap under the first stage break, was in 26th while Truex was in 34th, still a lap behind. 

    Five laps later and with less than 100 laps remaining of the overall race, Blaney was still leading by less than half a second over Harvick with Michigan natives Jones and Keselowski lingering behind. Soon after, Hamlin joined the party as he battled teammate Jones and Keselowski for position inside the top five.

    With Blaney leading by less than two-tenths of a second over Harvick on Lap 67, the Busch brothers started to close in towards the top-five competitors for position. By Lap 76, Harvick benefitted from Blaney getting stuck behind a lapped car to reassume the lead. By then, Reddick made another unscheduled pit stop after he reported a flat tire to his No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. Behind the leaders, Keselowski moved up to third after passing Hamlin, who earlier nearly wrecked with the lapped car of Timmy Hill. Both competitors continued to battle intensely for the spot as the laps of the second stage continued to dwindle.

    Like his run to the conclusion of the first stage, Harvick was able to pull away from Blaney by less than a second and not worry about any lapped traffic to win the second stage on Lap 85 and claim his fourth stage victory of the season. Blaney settled in second followed by Hamlin, Jones and Keselowski. Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Bowman, Bowyer and Johnson settled in the top 10. 

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Harvick, this time, exited pit road with the lead followed by Hamlin, Blaney, Keselowski and Kyle Busch.

    The final stage under green occurred with 65 laps remaining and Hamlin, who restarted on the inside lane, received a push from teammate Jones to move into the lead. In Turn 3, however, Jones and Harvick attempted to place Hamlin in a three-wide situation for the lead. While Jones slipped and dropped back into the top 10, Harvick was able to muscle his way back into the lead. Keselowski advanced to the runner-up spot over Hamlin while Blaney and Kyle Busch moved into the top five.

    The caution returned shortly after when rookie John Hunter Nemechek spun in a flurry of circles on the frontstretch following contact with Chris Buescher. With the caution, Truex received the free pass and cycled back to the lead lap. Under caution, few that included Buescher, Corey LaJoie, Newman, Almirola, Reddick and Nemechek pitted while the rest remained on track.

    With 58 laps remaining, the race restarted and Harvick was able to clear Hamlin on the outside lane to retain the lead. Keselowski and Hamlin battled again for the runner-up spot followed by Kyle Busch and Bowyer while Blaney, Johnson, rookie Christopher Bell, Jones and Elliott settled in the top 10. 

    Eight laps later, the caution returned for another spin in Turn 4 involving Nemechek. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Kyle Busch emerged with the lead after only taking fuel for his No. 18 M&M’s Fudge Brownie Toyota Camry. Jones and Truex followed suit after they elected for only fuel to their respective Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas followed by Elliott and Bell, both of whom opted for a two-tire stop. Harvick also opted for a two-tire stop to remain within sight of the lead.

    Prior to the restart and with the choose rule implemented, Harvick moved up to the front row on the inside lane beneath Kyle Busch while Austin Dillon and Jones lined up right behind the leaders. Keselowski lined up in fifth next to Truex followed by Hamlin and Elliott.

    With 46 laps remaining, the race restarted and Kyle Busch received a push from teammate Jones to retain the lead on the outside lane. A lap later, Harvick made a move beneath Kyle Busch in Turn 1 to reassume the lead. Behind, Truex passed teammate Jones and started to challenge teammate Kyle Busch for the runner-up spot. 

    With 40 laps remaining and with fuel in question for the leaders to complete the race to its scheduled distance, Harvick was still ahead by less than eight-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch followed by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Truex and Jones. Elliott was in fifth place followed by Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Logano, Bell and Hamlin with Blaney in 11th.

    Ten laps later, Harvick extended his advantage to more than a second over teammates Kyle Busch and Truex. Jones was in fourth while Elliott prevailed in a battle with Keselowski for fifth place. Behind, Hamlin was still running in 11th and trailing Team Penske’s Logano and Blaney for a spot in the top 10.

    With 26 laps remaining, the caution returned for a third incident involving Nemechek in Turn 3, who made contact with the outside wall and sustained heavy rear end damage. Compared to his previous two incidents, this recent incident ended Nemechek’s race in the garage as he will move to a backup car for Sunday’s race at Michigan.

    Under caution, some like Logano, Blaney, Bowyer, DiBenedetto, Michael McDowell, Matt Kenseth and Buescher pitted while the rest remained on track. Prior to the restart, Jones dropped back to sixth to restart as the fourth car on the outside lane while Elliott moved up to second and alongside Harvick on the front row. Keselowski and Kyle Busch were lined up behind the two leaders and in front of teammates Hamlin and Truex.

    With 18 laps remaining, the race restarted and Elliott powered his way into the lead on the inside lane. While the field fanned out and battled for positions through the straightaways and the turns, Elliott maintained a narrow advantage over Harvick a lap later followed by a flurry of Toyota competitors led by Kyle Busch, Truex, Bell, Jones and Hamlin. 

    Five laps after the restart and with the battle for the lead intensifying, the caution returned after Ryan Preece made contact with the outside wall in Turn 2. Under caution, some like Reddick and Kenseth pitted while the rest remained on track. Prior to the restart, Kyle Busch elected to restart on the inside lane beneath Elliott on the front row. Behind, Harvick and Hamlin restarted alongside one another in the second row. 

    The race restarted with nine laps remaining and Kyle Busch received a push from teammate Hamlin to take the lead through Turns 1 and 2. In Turn 3, however, Kyle Busch slipped following close racing with Harvick, which nearly involved contact between the two, and Harvick reassumed the lead while Busch lost his momentum and fell back to the top 10. Shortly after, the caution flew when rookie Cole Custer made hard contact into the outside wall in Turn 3 and retired from the race, thus moving him to a backup car for Sunday’s race at Michigan. At the time of caution, Harvick was leading followed by Elliott, Hamlin, Blaney, Wallace, Jones and Truex while Kyle Busch was back in ninth. The race eventually went into a red flag period for nearly six minutes to allow the clean-up crew to clear the incident site in Turn 3 caused by Custer. 

    Prior to the restart when the race resumed under caution, Hamlin elected to restart beneath Harvick on the inside line and on the front row in front of Wallace and Elliott with teammates Blaney and Keselowski in the third row. 

    The race restarted with three laps remaining and Harvick and Hamlin battled dead even for the lead entering Turn 1. It was there where Wallace attempted to make a three-wide move for more, but it was not enough as Harvick reassumed the lead in Turn 2. Elliott moved up to second followed by Blaney, Keselowski and Truex while Hamlin and Wallace dropped back to sixth and seventh. In Turn 4, Austin Dillon, McDowell and Newman wrecked in Turn 4 as the caution returned and the race went into overtime. 

    Prior to the overtime attempt, Keselowski restarted on the front row beneath Harvick in front of Hamlin and Elliott. Wallace and Blaney were lined up in the third row followed by Johnson and Truex.

    In the first overtime attempt, Harvick and Keselowski battled dead even against one another through half a circuit with both not prevailing ahead of the other and receiving not drafting help from behind. In Turn 3, however, Harvick cleared Keselowski for the lead on the outside lane entering Turn 4. On the final lap, Harvick’s No. 4 Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang were ahead by two-tenths of a second over Keselowski’s No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang. Though Keselowski remained within sight of Harvick, he was unable to gain any draft for the lead as Harvick was able to claim the checkered flag in first place and win by less than three-tenths of a second. 

    The victory was also the 12th of the season for Ford and the sixth for Stewart-Haas Racing. With his 54th career win, Harvick moved into a tie with the late Lee Petty for 11th place on the all-time series wins list.

    “This was an awesome car to drive today,” Harvick said on NBCSN. “The restarts were obviously a handful, but our Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang was really fast today and we held on for the long run and would really go on the short run and did everything we needed it to do. I think that the confidence is high when we come to Michigan. It’s a race track that’s been really good to us and just fits our style of cars. [Crew chief] Rodney [Childers] and [the No. 4 crew] have given me great racecars at Michigan every time we’ve come… I can’t say enough about our whole organization. Since we’ve come back from COVID, the work that these guys and gals are putting in at the race shop and the organization, they’ve had a lot of really good training from Tony Stewart in awkward situations on how to prepare for things. Thanks, Smoke!”

    “I knew I needed to be right there [with Kyle Busch],” Harvick added regarding the contact with Kyle Busch. “I couldn’t tell if I touched him. I knew I wanted that side draft there. I knew that we had a fast enough car to pass him, but I knew that I needed to take the opportunity I had and I needed to side draft him.”

    Keselowski finished in second place as he came one spot short of winning at his home track. Truex ended his race in third place followed by Blaney and Kyle Busch, who nipped teammate Hamlin at the line for a top-five run. 

    “[Harvick] is just super fast in the corners and the straightaway,” Keselowski said. “He was definitely the best car out here today. We put a good effort to kind of maximize our day and that is what we did, finished second. Proud of everyone on the Discount Tire Ford Mustang team. We will go back to work on it and hopefully find a little bit more for the race [Sunday].”

    “I just didn’t get loose and turn up to the wall by myself,” Kyle Busch said regarding the contact with Harvick. “I don’t know whether he hit me or it was just air. It was close enough that it disturbed my car and made me have to get out of [the gas] real bad and chase it real bad. Thankfully, we kept it out of the fence and at least try to salvage something out of it. That’s a pretty good run for us there. I felt like we had a fast car, but it was the best of the rest. [Harvick] was lights out. He deserved to win the race, anyways. It was a race for second today, overall. We’ve been fighting hard all year. We’ve been running well enough for good finishes. We just aren’t getting them. Today was another indication of that. We should’ve finished second, I guess, but a top five it is.”

    Hamlin, Elliott, Logano, Wallace and Kurt Busch rounded out the top 10. Buescher finished 20th and will start on pole position for the second Cup Michigan race on Sunday, August 9, alongside Bowyer with the top-20 finishers on Saturday being inverted for Sunday.

    Jones, who will not be remaining with Joe Gibbs Racing after this season, finished 11th and is 16 points behind 14th-place finisher Byron for the 16th and final spot to the 2020 Playoffs with five regular-season races remaining. Reddick, who finished 18th, is 19 points behind while Johnson, who finished 12th, is 22 points behind. DiBenedetto and Bowyer, both of whom finished 15th and 19th, are 40 and 41 points above the top-16 cutline while Wallace, who notched a career-high fourth top-10 result of this season, remains 123 points below the cutline.

    There were 12 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 43 laps.

    With his victory, Harvick continues to lead the regular-season series standings by 94 points over Keselowski, 127 over Hamlin and 128 over Blaney.

    Results.

    1. Kevin Harvick, 92 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    2. Brad Keselowski

    3. Martin Truex Jr.

    4. Ryan Blaney, 27 laps

    5. Kyle Busch, four laps led

    6. Denny Hamlin, 10 laps led

    7. Chase Elliott, nine laps led

    8. Joey Logano, 18 laps led

    9. Bubba Wallace

    10. Kurt Busch

    11. Erik Jones

    12. Jimmie Johnson

    13. Christopher Bell

    14. William Byron

    15. Matt DiBenedetto

    16. Aric Almirola

    17. Matt Kenseth 

    18. Tyler Reddick

    19. Clint Bowyer

    20. Chris Buescher

    21. Alex Bowman

    22. Corey LaJoie

    23. Ty Dillon

    24. Daniel Suarez

    25. Ryan Preece

    26. J.J. Yeley, one lap led

    27. Quin Houff

    28. Ryan Newman 

    29. Michael McDowell

    30. Reed Sorenson

    31. Austin Dillon

    32. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    33. Timmy Hill, two laps down

    34. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident 

    35. Garrett Smithley – OUT, Steering

    36. John Hunter Nemechek – OUT, Accident

    37. Brennan Poole – OUT, Engine

    38. James Davison, 58 laps down

    39. Joey Gase – OUT, Transmission

    The NASCAR Cup Series will return the following day, August 9, for its second Michigan race of the season, which will air on 4:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Clements to make 350th Xfinity start at Road America

    Clements to make 350th Xfinity start at Road America

    A lot is on the line for journeyman Jeremy Clements and his family-owned team approaching the final nine NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season races of this year. For this weekend’s race at Road America, a track where he won at in upset fashion and secured his spot to the Playoffs in 2017, Clements aims to repeat the competitiveness, the pace and the road course magic he and his team exhibited from three seasons ago to propel himself back into title contention this season. Also in the midst of his battle for a postseason berth is the fact that he will making his 350th career start in the Xfinity Series (the only major division series in NASCAR he has ever raced in) when the green flag waves at Road America on Saturday, August 8.

    A native of Spartanburg, South Carolina, and who started his racing career by driving go-karts, Clements worked his way up in racing modifies and stock cars, winning feature events and track championships, before racing in Late Models and the ARCA Series. The 2003 season was where he made his first start within NASCAR’s three major division series at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colorado, and in the No. 71 Chevrolet for Young Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He started 35th and finished 31st in his series debut.

    It was not until 2007 when Clements returned to the series and competed in the final five races of the season, driving the No. 36 Chevrolet for McGill Motorsports. His best finish within his five starts was 23rd at Charlotte in October. Throughout the 2008 and 2009 racing seasons, Clements made select Xfinity starts in his family-owned team, Jeremy Clements Motorsports, while practicing and qualifying cars for Joe Gibbs Racing, notably at Kentucky in 2008 and at Iowa in 2009. Late in the 2009 season, Clements competed in six races in the No. 0 Chevrolet for JD Motorsports, where he earned a best result of 12th at Auto Club Speedway in October.

    Clements started the 2010 Xfinity Series season with plans of competing in the opening three races in the No. 0 Chevrolet for JD Motorsports. After failing to qualify for the season opener at Daytona, Clements scaled back to the No. 04 Chevrolet for JD Motorsports. Throughout the 2010 season and the 35-race schedule, he made 16 starts and failed to qualify for seven races. At Gateway in October 2010, Clements notched his first top-10 career result (10th place).

    For the 2011 season, Clements competed on a full-time basis with his family-owned team, Jeremy Clements Racing, and sporting the No. 51 alongside his car. He recorded nine top-20 results with a best finish of 14th in September. The following season, Clements returned for another full-time racing role. All of his starts came while driving for JCR, but his car number was 4 for Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July and at Richmond Raceway in September. During the two races where Clements ran the No. 4 car, Ty Dillon sported the No. 51 alongside his car under the Richard Childress Racing banner during his developing races in the series. Clements’ best results in 2012 were a pair of 10th-place finishes at Dover International Speedway in June and at Indianapolis. After the season concluded, Clements surpassed 100 career starts in the Xfinity Series.

    Clements started the 2013 season by finishing 33rd in the season opener at Daytona, but he was suspended indefinitely for using a racial slur during an ESPN interview. Missing the next two events, where Ryan Sieg drove Clements’ No. 51 car, Clements returned the following race at Bristol Motor Speedway in March and competed the rest of the 33-race schedule. His best results were a ninth-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway in May and a 10th-place finish during the inaugural race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

    From 2014 to 2016, Clements remained as a full-time Xfinity Series competitor for his family-owned team and he notched a total of six top-10 results between the three seasons. His best runs were a fourth-place finish at Talladega in April 2016, a sixth-place result at Road America in June 2014 and a sixth-place result at Bristol in August 2016. His best points result between the three seasons was 14th in 2015. By then, he surpassed 200 Xfinity career starts.

    For the first 22 races of the 2017 Xfinity Series season, his seventh as a full-time competitor, Clements had recorded only one top-10 result, which was a seventh-place result at Iowa Speedway in June. The following race at Road America was where Clements rose to the occasion and shined under the spotlight as he was closing in towards race leader and rookie Matt Tifft in the final laps. Through Turns 12 and 13, Clements gained a big run to draw himself right to the rear bumper of Tifft’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry. In Turn 14, Clements attempted to pass Tifft for the lead when he got loose and collided into Tifft as both spun through the turn. With no caution falling, Clements was able to quickly straighten his No. 51 Chevrolet Camaro, take the lead and bolt away from the field for one final lap to achieve his first NASCAR triumph in his 256th career start. Of all the achievements that came with Clements’ victory, the biggest one of all was that the win clinched the journeyman and his team a spot in the 2017 Xfinity Series Playoffs with an opportunity to win his first NASCAR championship. For the remainder of the season, however, he finished no higher than 16th and settled in a career-best 12th place in the final standings.

    In 2018 and 2019, Clements achieved a total of six top-10 results, a best finish of fourth place at Bristol in August, and he missed the Playoffs during both seasons. His best points result was 14th in 2019. By then, he surpassed 300 career starts.

    This season, through the first 17 Xfinity Series races, Clements has achieved three top-10 results with a best result of third place at Pocono Raceway in June. With 11 top-15 results in total, Clements and his family-owned No. 51 Chevrolet team are currently 32 points below the top-12 cutline to secure a spot into this year’s Playoffs and for the second career time.

    Catch Clements’ milestone start at Road America on August 8 at noon ET on NBCSN.

  • Bottas to remain at Mercedes for 2021 F1 season

    Bottas to remain at Mercedes for 2021 F1 season

    Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team announced that Valtteri Bottas will be remaining with the team for the 2021 Formula One World Championship season, thus removing himself from the Silly Season equation and completing half of Mercedes’ two-car lineup for next season.

    Bottas, a native from Nastola, Finland, has been racing for Mercedes in Formula One since 2017, when he joined the organization following the surprising retirement of Nico Rosberg, who had just won the 2016 F1 World Championship. Following the first three races into the 2017 season, Bottas notched his first F1 career win and first with Mercedes in the Russian Grand Prix in April. Since then, through August 2020, Bottas has won eight career races while achieving 39 podium results and 60 top-10 results. Last season, he finished a career-best second place in the championship standings.

    This season, Bottas won the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in July. He recorded podium results for the following Grand Prix events at Spielberg, Austria, and at Mogyoród, Hungary. Last weekend, at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone, United Kingdom, he finished 11th after suffering a tire puncture in the final laps. He is ranked in second place in the Drivers’ standings and is 30 points behind teammate Lewis Hamilton, the reigning six-time Formula One champion who has won the previous three races of this season.

    “I’m very happy to stay with Mercedes in 2021 and build on the success we’ve enjoyed together already,” said Bottas. “Thank you to everyone in the team and the wider Mercedes family for their continued support and their trust in me. I’m very proud to represent this great team and the three-pointed star on our journey together again next year. The past few years have been all about continuous improvement, working on every aspect of my performance. I’m confident that today I’m the strongest I’ve ever been, but I can always raise the bar. Mercedes embraces the same philosophy: They always want to get better and are always hungry for more. Ever since I fell in love with F1 as a kid it’s been my dream to one day become world champion. I’m in the fight for the title this year and staying with Mercedes puts me in the best possible position to compete for it next season as well.”

    “We are very excited that Valtteri will stay with the team for at least one more season,” Toto Wolff, Mercedes Team Principal, added. “We’re seeing the strongest Valtteri we’ve ever seen this year – in terms of his on-track performance, but also physically and mentally. He is second in the championship, finished the last season in P2 and plays a very important part in our overall team performance. I’m confident that we have the strongest driver pairing in F1 today and signing Valtteri is an important first step in retaining this strength for the future. Valtteri is a hard-working, straightforward guy who has a good relationship with the entire team – including his team-mate, which is not a given when both drivers are fighting for the championship. I’m looking forward to seeing him continue to raise the bar together with us this year and in 2021.”

    The confirmation of Bottas remaining with Mercedes for another season completes another puzzle piece to the 2021 Formula One driver-team lineup, with many big names still uncertain about their racing plans beyond this season. It all started back in May, when Scuderia Ferrari announced that four-time Formula One World champion Sebastian Vettel will be departing the team at the conclusion of this season. A few days later, Carlos Sainz Jr., currently driving for the McLaren F1 Team, was named a Ferrari competitor on a two-year basis, where he will be a teammate to Charles Leclerc next season. At the same time, Daniel Ricciardo was announced as Sainz’s replacement, where he will be a McLaren teammate to Lando Norris next season. Perhaps, the biggest news came in July, when Fernando Alonso, two-time Formula One World champion who retired from racing in F1 following the 2018 season, announced that he will be returning to the sport next season and drive for the Renault DP World F1 Team alongside Esteban Ocon. In mid-July, the Williams-Mercedes team announced that they will retain their current driver lineup for next season, featuring Nicholas Latifi and George Russell.

    Among the current competitors who have yet to announce their racing plans for 2021 and beyond include Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Räikkönen, Alexander Albon, Pierre Gasly, Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen. Another name who is in talks about returning to full-time Formula One racing next season is Nico Hülkenberg, who had a short stint at the British Grand Prix in filling in the BWT Racing Point F1 Team car driven by Sergio Perez, who was absent due to being tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently awaiting his next negative test result of the virus to return to racing.

    The 2020 Formula One World Championship season will resume on August 9 at the United Kingdom’s Silverstone Circuit for the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.

  • Logano to start on pole at Michigan on Saturday

    Logano to start on pole at Michigan on Saturday

    For the second time since this season amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Joey Logano will start on pole position after his name was randomly drawn to lead the field for Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway on August 8, the first of two Cup races of the weekend at the Irish Hills.

    Logano, a three-time Cup Michigan winner and a two-time winner this season, is one of 10 Cup competitors to be guaranteed a spot in the 2020 Playoffs by virtue of his regular-season victories. Through the first 20 races of this year’s Cup season and his first with crew chief Paul Wolfe, he has also recorded five stage victories, five top-five results and nine top-10 results, including a fourth-place result last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    Denny Hamlin, a two-time Michigan winner who finished in the runner-up spot last weekend at New Hampshire, will start on the front row alongside Logano and for the fourth time this season. Kevin Harvick, the regular-season points leader and a three-time Michigan winner, will start third alongside teammate Aric Almirola, who has started on pole position by virtue of a random draw three times this season.

    Brad Keselowski, winner of last weekend’s Cup race at New Hampshire who is fresh off a one-year contract extension to remain with Team Penske and a Michigan native who has yet to win a Cup race at his home track, will start in fifth place followed by Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch. Ryan Blaney will start 11th alongside Martin Truex Jr.

    Starting in positions 13-26 are Ryan Newman, rookie Tyler Reddick, Matt DiBenedetto, rookie Cole Custer, Jimmie Johnson, Austin Dillon, William Byron, Matt Kenseth, Michael McDowell, Chris Buescher, Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace, rookie Quin Houff and J.J. Yeley.

    Starting in positions 27-39 are rookie Brennan Poole, James Davison, rookie Christopher Bell, Reed Sorenson, rookie John Hunter Nemechek, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Garrett Smithley, Ty Dillon, Ryan Preece, Corey LaJoie, Daniel Suarez, Timmy Hill and Joey Gase.

    The starting lineup for the second Michigan race on Sunday, August 9, will be determined based on the finishing result from Saturday, where the top-20 finishers on Saturday will be inverted for Sunday’s race while the bottom-20 finishers will start on Sunday as finished on Saturday.

    The first Cup Michigan race on August 8 will occur at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN while the second Michigan race on August 9 will occur at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Byron to surpass 150 starts across NASCAR following Michigan

    Byron to surpass 150 starts across NASCAR following Michigan

    In the midst of his battle for a postseason berth this season, William Byron is also set to achieve a significant milestone of his racing career. By competing in the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader races at Michigan International Speedway, Byron will reach and surpass 150 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series (Truck, Xfinity and Cup Series).

    A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, and a student at Liberty University, Byron’s debut within NASCAR’s three major division series came in November 2015 at Phoenix Raceway and in the No. 9 Liberty University Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the NASCAR Truck Series. By then, he had achieved the 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series (ARCA) East championship and was named as a full-time driver for KBM for the 2016 Truck Series season. Byron’s Truck debut at Phoenix in 2015 was cut short six laps into the event following a multi-truck wreck.

    Byron started the 2016 campaign with a 13th-place result at Daytona, which was followed by a 32nd-place result at Atlanta due to an engine failure and a third-place result at Martinsville Speedway. At Kansas Speedway in May, Byron benefitted from an accident on the final lap and final corner involving leaders Johnny Sauter and Ben Rhodes to achieve his first Truck Series career win in his fifth series start. Following his first victory, Byron’s season skyrocketed with sensational results that included wins at Texas Motor Speedway, Iowa Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Pocono Raceway and at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. By then, he was a member in the postseason and deemed a title favorite. Everything, however, came to a crushing defeat at Phoenix in November when Byron’s engine blew up and the mechanical issue prevented the Charlotte native and his No. 9 Toyota team from transferring to the Championship Round with an opportunity of winning the title. Despite the misfortune, he rebounded by winning the finale at Homestead and concluding the season in fifth in the final standings. Overall, Byron concluded the season with seven victories (the most among a Truck rookie candidate), three poles, 11 top-five results, 16 top-10 results, 727 laps led and an average result of 9.2. In addition, he was named the 2016 Truck Rookie of the Year as he also recorded the owners’ title for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

    In August 2016, Byron signed a multi-year contract with Hendrick Motorsports that included an opportunity for him to race in the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series season with JR Motorsports. Driving the No. 9 Liberty University/AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro led by crew chief Dave Elenz, Byron commenced his rookie Xfinity season with a ninth-place result at Daytona. Twelve races into the season, he finished in the top 10 six times. At Michigan in June, Byron was edged by Denny Hamlin by 0.012 seconds. The following race at Iowa Speedway, Byron was not to be denied as he scored his first Xfinity triumph. He responded again the following race by achieving his second series career victory at Daytona International Speedway. Three races later, Byron recorded another win of the season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway following an intense battle with Paul Menard. Through 31 of 33 Xfinity races, Byron recorded three victories, two poles, 10 top-five results and 20 top-10 results as he was also a member of the Playoffs. At Phoenix in November, Byron benefitted from a late two-tire pit stop to win and clinch his spot to the Championship Round at Homestead. During the finale at Homestead, Byron made a late pass on teammate and championship rival Elliott Sadler to finish in third place and achieve his first NASCAR Xfinity Series championship over Sadler, teammate Justin Allgaier and Daniel Hemric. In addition to achieving his first NASCAR Xfinity title and becoming the second rookie candidate to win the series title, Byron recorded the second championship for JR Motorsports.

    The 2018 season provided a new start of Byron’s racing career as he graduated to the NASCAR Cup Series to pilot the iconic No. 24 AXALTA/Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 led by crew chief Darian Grubb. Byron started his rookie Cup season on a down note, finishing 23rd in the Daytona 500 and achieving one top-10 result through the first 18 races of the season. The end of July and beginning of August provided Byron’s highest moments of the season as he achieved back-to-back top-10 results at Pocono Raceway and at Watkins Glen International. Overall, Byron wrapped up his rookie Cup season with four top-10 results, 61 laps led and an average result of 22.1. He was also able to wrap up the 2018 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title over Bubba Wallace.

    In 2019, Byron was paired with seven-time championship-winning crew chief Chad Knaus, who was formerly with seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson. The Charlotte native started a new season of racing on a high note by winning his first Cup career pole position for the 61st running of the Daytona 500. With his accomplishment, Byron became the third competitor to win the pole for the 500 driving the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. He led 44 laps throughout the 500 and was in position of posting a strong result until a late wreck left him in 21st place in the final running order. Byron’s highest result for the following five races was 15th at Auto Club Speedway in March. At Texas, where he made his 100th across NASCAR’s three major division series, Byron recorded his first top-10 result of the season (sixth). For the remaining 20 regular-season races, Byron achieved three top-five results, eight top-10 results and three additional poles as he made his first appearance as a Cup postseason contender. He went on to achieve four more top-10 results and another pole before concluding the season in a career-best 11th place in the standings. Though he did not win a race, Byron notched career-high stats that included five top-five results, 13 top-10 results, five poles, 233 laps led and a best average result of 14.9. His other highlight to the season was winning the first stage of the All-Star Open at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May in a photo finish over Bubba Wallace, a win that transferred Byron and the No. 24 team to the All-Star Race. He finished ninth in the main event.

    This season, Byron started off with early momentum by winning the second Duel qualifying race at Daytona International Speedway and to line up in fourth place for the Daytona 500. He, however, finished last of the 40-car field following a wreck past the one-quarter mark of the race. Through the first 20 races of this season, he has achieved six top-10 results and an average result of 17.6. He is 15 points above the top-16 cutline with six regular-season races remaining until the 2020 Cup Playoffs field is determined.

    In his 149 previous starts across NASCAR’s three major division series, Byron has achieved 11 wins, 10 poles, 28 top-five results, 61 top-10 results and over 1,300 laps led.

    Catch Byron’s milestone start at Michigan on August 8 at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Bell to reach 150 starts across NASCAR following Michigan

    Bell to reach 150 starts across NASCAR following Michigan

    A significant milestone is in the making for Christopher Bell as the NASCAR Cup Series enters its upcoming doubleheader feature at Michigan International Speedway. By the time the Cup Series completes its two races at Michigan on back-to-back dates, Bell will achieve 150 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series (Truck, Xfinity and Cup Series).

    A native of Norman, Oklahoma, who started his racing career on dirt and won the 2013 USAC National Midget Series title, Bell made his debut within NASCAR’s three major division series at Iowa Speedway in June 2015, driving the No. 51 Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Finishing in fifth place in his Truck debut, Bell returned for the upcoming races at Kentucky Speedway and at Eldora Speedway in KBM’s No. 54 Toyota Tundra. After finishing 17th at Kentucky, Bell achieved his first NASCAR Truck career win at Eldora after leading a race-high 106 of 154 laps and prevailing over a late battle with Bobby Pierce. He made four more Truck starts for the remainder of the 2015 season, notching one top-10 result at Texas Motor Speedway in November.

    The following season, Bell was promoted as driver of the No. 4 JBL Toyota Tundra for KBM led by Jerry Baxter for the 2016 Truck Series season. In his first race in the No. 4 truck at Daytona International Speedway in February, Bell was involved in two separate incidents. He rallied from his incidents and was in position of recording a strong result until he was involved in a frightening accident on the final lap, where he barrel rolled nearly a dozen times past the start/finish line before coming to rest on all four wheels. He survived the incident and was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. The following race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bell was leading in the closing laps until he blew a right-front tire and smacked the outside wall in Turn 4 at full speed. Despite the accident, Bell emerged uninjured. It took until June, nine races into the season, for Bell to achieve his second Truck Series career win, first on a paved track, at Gateway. In addition to winning at Gateway, Bell racked up nine top-five results, 17 top-10 results, 197 laps led and an average result of 9.5. He qualified for the postseason and made it all the way to the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he settled in third place in the final standings.

    In 2017, Bell remained with KBM but was paired with Ryan “Rudy” Fugle. Following an eighth-place finish at Daytona, Bell recorded his first victory of the season at Atlanta. Through 22 of 23 Truck races, Bell achieved five victories, five poles, 14 top-five results and 20 top-10 results. The results allowed Bell to make the postseason and all the way to the Championship Round at Homestead. At Homestead, Bell finished in the runner-up spot and clinched his first NASCAR Truck Series championship over Johnny Sauter, Austin Cindric and Matt Crafton. In addition to recording his first NASCAR title, he also recorded the second championship for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Throughout the 2017 season, Bell also made his eight NASCAR Xfinity Series career starts between the No. 18 and No. 20 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. During the eight races, he recorded his first Xfinity career win at Kansas Speedway in October following a late dust-up with teammate Erik Jones. He also achieved three top-five results and five top-10 results.

    The following season, Bell graduated to a full-time driving role in the Xfinity Series and in the No. 20 Rheem/GameStop Toyota for JGR led by crew chief Jason Ratcliff. Following the first seven races of the season, Bell recorded his first win of the season at Richmond in April following a late battle with Noah Gragson. In July, Bell made history as he notched three consecutive Xfinity wins at Kentucky Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and at Iowa Speedway. Thus, he became the first Xfinity competitor to win three consecutive races in a season since Dale Earnhardt Jr. made the last accomplishment in 1999. Qualifying for the Playoffs on the strength of his victories and consistent runs throughout the regular season, Bell achieved wins at Richmond Raceway, Dover International Speedway and at Phoenix Raceway to make the Championship Round at Homestead with an opportunity of winning his first Xfinity championship. For the finale, however, Bell suffered a flat right-rear tire in the final laps and finished 11th, thus finishing in fourth place in the final standings and missing the Rookie-of-the-Year title to the eventual champion Tyler Reddick. Nonetheless, Bell concluded the season on a positive note with seven wins, five poles, 18 top-five results, 20 top-10 results, 759 laps led and an average result of 11.1.

    Bell remained in the Xfinity Series with JGR for the 2019 season. At Auto Club Speedway in March, Bell reached 100 starts between the Xfinity and Truck Series. Throughout the season, Bell was dominant as he earned victories at Atlanta, Bristol, Dover, Iowa, New Hampshire, Road America, Richmond and Texas, all while making the Playoffs and earning a spot for the Championship Round at Homestead. Though he came into the finale with momentum, he finished fifth at Homestead and concluded the season in third place in the final standings. Despite the result of not achieving his first Xfinity title, Bell recorded career-high stats that included eight wins, six poles, 20 top-five results, 21 top-10 results, 2,005 laps led and an average result of 9.1.

    This season started off on a fresh note for Bell, who graduated to the NASCAR Cup Series to drive the No. 95 Toyota Camry for Leavine Family Racing led by Ratcliff. Through last weekend’s Cup race at New Hampshire, the first 20 races of his Cup career, Bell has achieved one top-five result, five top-10 results, four laps led and an average result of 20.4. He is currently ranked in 23rd in the regular-season standings and is 129 points below the top-16 cutline with six regular-season races remaining until the 2020 Cup Playoffs field is determined.

    All told, Bell has recorded 23 wins, 18 poles, 68 top-five results, 92 top-10 results and over 4,100 laps led in his previous 148 starts between NASCAR’s three major division series.

    Catch Bell’s milestone start at Michigan on August 9, which will occur at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Austin Dillon to surpass 250 Cup starts following Michigan

    Austin Dillon to surpass 250 Cup starts following Michigan

    When Austin Dillon completes this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader races at Michigan International Speedway, he will achieve a significant milestone of his racing career. By taking the green flag for the first Michigan race on Saturday, August 8, Dillon will reach 250 starts as a Cup competitor. He will then surpass his 250th start the following day on Sunday, August 9.

    A native of Welcome, North Carolina, and the eldest grandson of NASCAR championship owner and Hall of Famer Richard Childress, Dillon made his debut in NASCAR’s premier series at Kansas Speedway in October 2011, driving the No. 98 Curb Agajanian/Reagan Centennial/Camping World/Curb Records Chevrolet. By then, he was a full-time NASCAR Truck Series competitor for Richard Childress Racing and vying for the championship in the iconic No. 3 Chevrolet Silverado. He started and finished 26th in his Cup debut.

    The following season, Dillon made one Cup start at Michigan International Speedway in June. By then, he had achieved the 2011 Truck Series championship and was a rookie Xfinity Series competitor for RCR in the No. 3 Chevrolet Impala. Driving the No. 33 American Ethanol Chevrolet for RCR and led by veteran crew chief Gil Martin, Dillon started 22nd and finished 24th.

    In 2013, while entered as a full-time Xfinity Series competitor, Dillon made his first Daytona 500 career start in February. Driving the No. 33 Honey Nut Cheerios/Kroger Chevrolet SS for RCR, Dillon started in eighth and finished 31st. Over the course of the season, he competed in four more Cup races in RCR’s No. 33 Chevrolet and in four races in Phoenix Racing’s No. 51 Chevrolet. He also made two starts in the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing as an interim competitor, filling in for the injured Tony Stewart. His best Cup result throughout the 2013 season was an 11th-place run at Michigan in June. At Talladega Superspeedway in October, while driving Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet, Dillon was running in third place on the final lap and was prepared to establish a race-winning move until he was involved in an accident on the final lap, where he was launched in the air after being hit by Casey Mears before he landed on the ground on all four tires. He ended his race in 26th place.

    In December 2013, a month after winning his first Xfinity Series championship, Dillon was named driver of the No. 3 Dow Chemicals/Cheerios/Bass Pro Shops/American Ethanol Chevrolet SS for the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series season led by Gil Martin. Dillon’s entrance as a rookie Cup candidate also marked the return of the No. 3 car in NASCAR’s premier series since the 2001 Daytona 500, where the sport’s icon Dale Earnhardt lost his life following an accident on the final lap and where Childress opted to retire the number following the race.

    Dillon’s first run in the No. 3 Chevrolet in the Cup Series started off on a high note by winning the pole position for the 2014 Daytona 500 with a pole-winning lap at 196.019 mph. Dillon’s accomplishment marked the first time the No. 3 car started on pole for the Daytona 500 since 1996 as he also became the 40th competitor to start on pole position for the 500, fourth to do so driving the No. 3 car. He also became the fifth rookie candidate to start on pole position for the Daytona 500 and the youngest pole winner of the 500 at age 23 years, nine months and 27 days old (a record that was supplanted in 2016 by Chase Elliott). During the main event, Dillon rallied from being involved in a late multi-car wreck to finish ninth. Throughout his rookie season, Dillon achieved one top-five result, four top-10 results, 10 laps led and an average result of 17.5. He concluded the season in 20th in the final standings and fell short of the Rookie-of-the-Year title to Kyle Larson.

    For the first 15 races of the 2015 season, Dillon achieved only one top-10 result and was situated in 23rd in the regular-season standings. The following race at Sonoma Raceway, veteran Richard “Slugger” Labbe replaced Gil Martin as Dillon’s crew chief. The following race at Daytona International Speedway, Dillon was involved in a harrowing accident on the final lap on the frontstretch, when he was launched into the air past the finish line and smashed into the catchfence before coming to rest on his roof and being hit by a spinning Brad Keselowski. Despite the accident that demolished the No. 3 Chevrolet, Dillon emerged with a bruised tailbone and forearm. Amazingly, he was able to finish in seventh place before the wreck. Finishing the year with Labbe, Dillon recorded a top-five result, four more top-10 results and an average result of 21.0. He concluded the season in 21st in the final standings.

    Dillon started off the 2016 on a strong note, finishing ninth in the Daytona 500 before achieving two back-to-back top-10 results at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and at Phoenix. He went on to achieve his second Cup career pole at Auto Club Speedway in March before finishing fourth at Martinsville Speedway in April. By then, with four top-10 finishes under his belt, Dillon was ranked in seventh in the regular-season standings. Dillon went on to record six additional top-10 results and enough consistent results to make his first appearance in the Playoffs. By then, he also surpassed 100 Cup career starts. Dillon would conclude the season in 14th in the final standings, but he achieved a career-high four top-five results, a career-high 13 top-10 results, two poles and a best average result of 15.9.

    For the first 11 races of the 2017 Cup season, Dillon achieved only one top-five result and was situated in 22nd in the regular-season standings. For the upcoming race, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Justin Alexander replaced Slugger Labbe as Dillon’s crew chief. In his first race with Alexander, Dillon survived on low fuel to achieve his elusive first Cup career win at his home track and in his 133rd series start. To August 2020, Dillon is one of 33 competitors to win across NASCAR’s three major division series. The victory marked the first since October 2000 where the No. 3 car won a Cup race and it guaranteed Dillon’s team a spot in the 2017 Playoffs. Finishing the year off with Alexander, Dillon achieved three top-five results, four top-10 results and an average result of 18.6 before concluding the season in a career-high 11th place.

    The 2018 season started off on a high note for Dillon, where he dodged a late carnage and took the lead on the final lap following an incident with Aric Almirola to win the 60th running of the Daytona 500. In addition to achieving his second Cup career win and becoming the 39th driver to win NASCAR’s prestigious event, Dillon’s first Daytona 500 triumph came on the 20th anniversary where the late Dale Earnhardt won his first and only Daytona 500 in 1998. The 500 win was also the first for RCR since 2007 and in the first Cup race for the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. For the remainder of the season, Dillon achieved another top-five result and seven more top-10 results along with an average result of 17.5 before he concluded the season in 13th in the final standings.

    In 2019, Dillon reunited with crew chief Danny Stockman Jr., whom he won the 2011 Truck and 2013 Xfinity titles with Dillon. Following the first seven races of the year, Dillon reached 200 Cup career starts at Texas Motor Speedway in March. Though he won three poles, he achieved six top-10 results and an average result of 19.5. Missing the 2019 Playoffs, Dillon concluded the season in 21st in the final standings.

    This season, reuniting with Alexander, Dillon has achieved two top-five results, five top-10 results and an average result of 16.7 through the first 20 Cup races. He has also recorded a win, third of his career, at Texas Motor Speedway in July and is one of 10 competitors to be guaranteed a spot for the 2020 Playoffs.

    Catch Dillon’s milestone start in the first Michigan International Speedway race on August 8, which will air at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Greg Ives to reach 200 Cup starts as crew chief following Michigan

    Greg Ives to reach 200 Cup starts as crew chief following Michigan

    A significant milestone is in the making this weekend for Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE driven by Alex Bowman in the NASCAR Cup Series. When the Cup Series completes its upcoming doubleheader races at Michigan International Speedway, Ives will achieve 200 starts in NASCAR’s premier series as a crew chief.

    A native of Bark River, Michigan, Ives graduated from Michigan Technological University with an engineering degree in 2003 and joined Hendrick Motorsports as a mechanic for the No. 24 Chevrolet team driven by Jeff Gordon the following year. As a lead engineer for the No. 48 Chevrolet team driven by Jimmie Johnson and led by crew chief Chad Knaus, Ives was part of Johnson’s historic run of winning five consecutive Cup championships from 2006 to 2010.

    Following the 2012 season, Ives spent the next two seasons in the NASCAR Xfinity Series as a crew chief for Regan Smith in 2013 and rookie Chase Elliott in 2014. In his two-year role as crew chief, Ives achieved his first five career wins, two poles, 23 top-five results and 44 top-10 results. In addition, he achieved his first NASCAR championship in 2014 with Elliott.

    In July 2014, Ives was named crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS team for the 2015 NASCAR Cup Series season following the departure of veteran Steve Letarte, who joined NBC Sports as an analyst. Nine races into his rookie season as a Cup crew chief, Ives notched his first career win with Earnhardt Jr. in May 2015 at Talladega Superspeedway, the same venue where he also achieved his first Xfinity career win in 2013 with Regan Smith. Throughout the 2015 season, the combo also won at Daytona International Speedway in July and at Phoenix Raceway in November while racking up 16 top-five results and 22 top-10 results. When the final checkered flag of the 2015 Cup season waved, they concluded the season in 12th in the final standings.

    The 2016 season was an eventful season for Ives and the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team. For the first 18 races, Earnhardt Jr. drove the No. 88 car to five top-five results and six top-10 results, and they were situated in 13th place in the regular-season standings. The following race, however, Earnhardt Jr. was sidelined due to suffering concussion-like symptoms. When Earnhardt Jr. opted out of racing for the remainder of the 2016 season, Ives worked with Alex Bowman and Jeff Gordon for the final 18 races. With Gordon, the No. 88 team achieved two top-10 results and seven laps led. With Bowman, the team achieved a pole position at Phoenix in November along with three top-10 results and 200 laps led.

    In 2017, Ives reunited with Earnhardt Jr. with Earnhardt receiving medical clearance to return to racing. Following the first eight races of the season, where the combo only achieved one top-five result, Earnhardt Jr. announced his retirement from full-time NASCAR racing following the 2017 season. Three months later, Bowman was named as Earnhardt Jr.’s successor of the No. 88 Chevrolet with Ives to continue to lead the team. Throughout the 2017 season, though he was absent for two races, Ives achieved one top-five result, eight top-10 results and two poles with Earnhardt Jr. before concluding the season in 21st in the final standings. By then, he surpassed 100 Cup starts as a crew chief.

    In 2018, following Earnhardt Jr.’s retirement and with Bowman behind the wheel of the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro, the combo started off on a high note by winning the pole position for the Daytona 500. Throughout the season, however, Bowman and Ives achieved three top-five results and 11 top-10 results. Though they made the Playoffs, they concluded the season in 16th in the final standings.

    The following season, it took until the first 16 races into the new season for Bowman to achieve his first Cup career win at Chicagoland Speedway in June. Bowman’s victory also snapped a three-year winless drought for Ives and the No. 88 team since their last victory in November 2015. Throughout the 2019 season, the two achieved seven top-five results and 12 top-10 results as they made the Playoffs again before concluding the season in 12th in the final standings, four spots higher than the previous season.

    Through the first 20 races of this season, Bowman and Ives have achieved one victory at Auto Club Speedway in March. They have also achieved two top-five results and six top-10 results, and they are one of 10 teams to be guaranteed a spot in the 2020 Cup Playoffs. Heading into this weekend’s doubleheader races at Michigan, Ives’ home track, the U.P. native has achieved five career wins, four poles, 34 top-five results and 70 top-10 results in his sixth year as a Cup crew chief for Hendrick Motorsports.

    Catch Greg Ives’ milestone at Michigan on August 9 at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Phil Surgen named crew chief for Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 42 Cup team

    Phil Surgen named crew chief for Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 42 Cup team

    Chip Ganassi Racing released a statement, naming Phil Surgen as crew chief for the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team driven by Matt Kenseth for the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader races at Michigan International Speedway.

    Surgen, who works as a race engineer for CGR and has been part of the team since 2016, will also be atop the No. 42 pit box as crew chief for the 2003 Cup champion for the balance of this year’s Cup season, replacing veteran Chad Johnston, who has also been with the team since 2016 and won six races as the No. 42 crew chief from 2016 to 2019.

    Surgen served as an interim crew chief for the No. 42 team driven by former CGR driver Kyle Larson at Michigan in June 2016 when Johnston was suspended for one race and fined $20,000 following a post-race infraction the previous race at Pocono Raceway, where the No. 42 Chevrolet was discovered with a missing lug nut during the post-race inspection process. In Surgen’s one-race term as crew chief at Michigan, Larson finished in third place.

    The No. 42 team originally led by Johnston started this year with Larson behind the wheel. Through the first four races, the driver and the team notched three top-10 results, including a best result of fourth place at Phoenix Raceway in March. In April, during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, Larson was suspended by NASCAR and released from his ride with Chip Ganassi Racing for using a racial slur during a live iRacing event. When the season resumed in May at Darlington Raceway, Kenseth was named as driver of the No. 42 Chevrolet for the remainder of the 2020 season. Through 16 races, Kenseth has recorded two top-10 results, a best result of second place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, five top-15 results and two DNFs. He has also led a total of 12 laps and has recorded an average result of 20.63. The driver and the team sit in 28th place in the regular-season standings and are 210 points below the top-16 cutline to qualify for the 2020 Cup Playoffs with six regular-season races remaining until the postseason field is determined.

    The upcoming NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader races at Michigan International Speedway will occur on August 8-9. The race on August 8 will occur at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN while the race on August 9 will occur at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.