AVONDALE, Ariz. — In the first two races of the Round of 8, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series has faced two controversial spins by Joey Logano and Bubba Wallace. Logano has dodged the question about the spin, but Wallace opened up this weekend about his spin at Texas Motor Speedway.
“Until they do anything, no,” Wallace said to NBC Sports reporter Dustin Long in response about any potential repercussions. “I’m not the only one to do it. I’m racing for myself. Not for Larson. Not for Chevrolet at that moment. For myself and going multiple laps down.”
So, NASCAR did something. Saturday morning, they announced a 50 point penalty and a $50,000 fine on the Richard Petty Motorsports driver.
During a green-flag pit cycle, Wallace’s car had a flat tire. NASCAR elected to keep the race green in hopes for no debris and that the No. 43 Ford Mustang could safely make it back to pit road for service. Wallace spun in Turn 2, which forced NASCAR to bring out the caution. While that kept Wallace on the lead lap, it also affected Playoff drivers. Kyle Larson was very open about his displeasure.
“Sometimes you end up on the right side of it and whatnot,” Larson said. “But last week, we didn’t so obviously that’s why I was upset. We all have done it; I’ve done it. I got penalized a lap and still was able to recover and win. We’ve all done it, but it can affect the race.”
And affect the race it did. Larson was in a position for a strong finish as he was running in the top five at the time. He lost track position on the untimely yellow and finished 12th last weekend at Texas. Although Larson gained more points than the next six drivers ahead of him, he looks at it as a missed opportunity for his team.
He also felt it was an opportunity for NASCAR to research data for throttle manipulation.
“We looked at Bubba’s data the next day,” Larson shared. “You could definitely see because we have SMT where you have the digital car, you could see him like swerving, he turns right and at the same time he turns left and stabs the throttle and spins out. It’s whatever at this point.”
Scott Miller, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, met with media on Saturday morning at ISM Raceway to discuss the infraction.
“If we feel like it’s on purpose and we have enough information to determine that 100% it’s on purpose, we will react,” Miller said. “The reaction today was after a complete admission of guilt, so that’s really what led to the penalty happening today. That was a full admission of something that has been abuzz in the garage and the media. (A warning instead of a penalty) wasn’t an option.”
With this penalty and how it was assessed, NASCAR has sent a clear message to all drivers across all three series.
“Just keep your mouth shut.”
That’s what Dale Jarrett said on the air during NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, and explained that if a driver is in a situation where they may go a lap down to simply spin out in a way to cause a caution and never admit guilt.
NASCAR did meet with drivers to remind them of the Playoffs, clean racing and a “good show for the fans.”
Richard Petty Motorsports will not appeal the decision by NASCAR.
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Stewart Friesen wins at ISM Raceway in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series in Friday’s Lucas Oil 150, as the Championship 4 are now officially set for next weekend’s title-deciding race.
“We’ve got a badass piece for next week, too,” stated a confident Friesen, as he locked himself into next Friday’s championship race.
After facing an opening-lap penalty for beating polesitter Austin Hill to the line on the initial start, Friesen battled his way back to the front, leading 44 laps in the 150 lap event.
“It was a great race car,” said Friesen, who was sent to the rear of the field after getting to the stripe ahead of Hill, who spun his tires on the initial start. “We were able to pass ‘em all, pass ‘em all clean.
“Great race car, great race team. We’ll all celebrate tomorrow, and then it’s game on.”
The other three drivers to join him will be Ross Chastain, Matt Crafton and last year’s champion, Brett Moffitt.
“My main concern for the day was getting us locked into the owner points as well,” Moffitt said. “We got both jobs done today.”
Chastain declared points for the Truck series partway through the season, and now finds his team as one of the four who will race for the 2019 title.
“Man, this is crazy — a dream come true though,” Chastain said.
Crafton was below the cutoff line, but was strong all day and earned many points from Stage 1 and 2 to earn his way into Miami.
“I didn’t have anything to lose and everything to gain,” Crafton said. “And that’s the way I drove it from the green flag to the checkered flag.”
Brandon Jones was the highest finishing non-Playoff driver in the runner-up position. With roughly 30 laps remaining, he radioed to his crew to ask about Friesen’s point status. When his crew chief responded that Friesen was essentially locked in, the No. 19 driver drove more aggressively after the leader. He, however, fell short when they battled through lapped traffic.
At the end of the night, two drivers were eliminated: Hill and Tyler Ankrum. Ankrum missed the first three races of the year but was able to make it as far as the Round of 6 before missing the final round. Even he didn’t realize he would make it this far but looked back on the year with much to learn. As he reflected on his year, he felt some races were missed opportunities but was still proud of what he was able to accomplish as one of the bigger underdogs of the field.
“For me, I think there’s one or two races we should have won, but didn’t win,” Ankrum stated when reviewing his first full-time season as a whole. “I think Pocono is one of those. I think I could have done a lot better at Canada finishing wise. Bristol could have been a lot better with electrical issues there and then Las Vegas, burning up two pistons. Stuff like that I look back on and those things are out of my control, and I think we could have had a really good race, then we didn’t.
“In most people’s eyes, we’ve overachieved or exceeded our expectations, which I’m really proud of. For me, personally, I’m really proud of what we’ve done here this year. Not just based off of what we’ve done on the racetrack, but also between what we’ve done as a team working really well together and become a family.”
As for Hill, he knew he needed to stay ahead of Ankrum and Crafton. He started strong by earning the pole in qualifying earlier in the day and was able to outrun Ankrum during the race, who finished six laps down. But Crafton beat Ankrum overall both in finishing position and with points collected with 15 more points. That gave Crafton the edge over Hill by just a handful of points to push Hill below the cutoff line.
“We were getting eaten up on the restarts, and were put in the middle 3-wide sometimes,” Hill shared after the race. “When we had a really long run, we were okay. That last run, we tried to loosen it up but it was the tightest we ever were. We just didn’t perform; we didn’t execute like we were supposed to. We had high hopes after qualifying on the pole, and we just fell back like an anchor.”
The last race of the season will be held next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
On Monday, Penske Entertainment Corp. purchased Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IndyCar Series as the Hulman family hands over control of the prestigious speedway after 74 years of motorsports entertainment.
“Great day for our family and our team,” Roger Penske said in a text message to The Associated Press.
Tony Hulman has owned the complex for 74 years, just after a four-year drought of racing following World War II. With this move, Penske will now become the fourth owner in the track’s 110-year history.
This move came just a couple of weeks after NASCAR and the International Speedway Corporation (ISC) announced their merger in an effort to further advance fan experience enhancement at more tracks across the schedule after some races have started to see an increase in TV viewership. IndyCar is on a similar positive slope as more fans are tuning in to the races and more sponsors are developing an interest in the sport.
Penske’s success in both series is no secret. Brad Keselowski won his first Brickyard 400 driving for Team Penske. Penske holds the record for the most Indianapolis 500 victories as an owner with 18, including earlier this year with Simon Pagenaud. The organization also earned its 15th championship this year when IndyCar crowned Josef Newgarden.
According to documents to various IndyCar teams on Monday regarding the news, the sale is expected to close in early January.
“We have found the ideal steward of the company and its iconic assets,” the document states. “Penske Corporation — with its 64,000-plus employees and more than $32 billion in consolidated revenue — will bring tremendous energy, leadership and resources to IMS, IndyCar and IMSP.
“For a number of years, the Hulman & Company management and board have engaged outside advisors and experts to consider the full range of strategic options available. Ultimately, it was decided to focus on the possible sale of the company and finding a buyer that would be the best steward of the company and its iconic assets.”
Even rival team owners chimed in with positive insight on the acquisition.
“I think it’s good. It’s really good, it’s great,” Chip Ganassi told Associated Press. “The place is going to be run like a business now.”
“Roger has always strived to do great things for both IMS and Indy car racing, and I’m sure he will continue to do so in this new ownership position,” team owner Michael Andretti stated. “Both the Indy 500 and the NTT IndyCar Series have been on a rise, and I look forward to the continued climb.”
But it hasn’t just been fellow competitors who see eye-to-eye concerning the purchase. McLaren, who will join IndyCar as the newest competitive manufacturer in 2020, is also looking forward to the growth of the sport with the purchase. Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren, has been a longtime Indianapolis businessman who also has a racing marketing background.
“I cannot think of a better owner than Roger Penske and his corporation to ensure the future and growth of IndyCar,” Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren, told the AP. “His business acumen and dedication to IndyCar racing and passion for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is second-to-none,” he said.
Todd Gilliland won his first career NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) race at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday. Gilliland’s No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota passed Ross Chastain on Lap 191 and held the lead after a late final restart into overtime.
“It feels amazing. This place is really hard to win at. This Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra is not as pretty as we hoped it would be when we crossed the start-finish line, but man, it looks even better with water and Gatorade on it. Can’t thank JBL, Toyota, all the fans enough. Thank you guys for sitting around. I think that was a good finish. I don’t really know. Luckily we were out front. Just wish we could’ve been a little bit faster all weekend, but as a driver that’s what you always hope for and this thing was fast enough today.” Gilliland said.
Johnny Sauter finished third, Grant Enfinger fourth and Timmy Hill finished fifth.
The playoff contenders Brett Moffitt, Austin Hill and Tyler Ankrum were involved in wrecks and Matt Crafton had to change a battery and computer system on lap 81. Crafton finished 23rd, Ankrum was 25th, Austin Hill 26th and Moffitt was the lowest-finishing playoff contender in the 29th position.
“We had a good Tundra. We were just kind of hanging around there in 10th. We kept on getting shuffled back and getting moved out of the way. We had good speed. I know a lot of guys are having a lot of issues right now. I know Matt (Crafton) and I know (Austin) Hill. Those were really the two guys we were racing around the bubble and so was the 45 (Ross Chastain). We’ll see when we head to Phoenix.” Ankrum said.
The series heads to ISM Raceway for the Lucas Oil 150 on Nov. 8, 8:30 p.m. ET.
The four highest-ranked playoff drivers after ISM Raceway will battle for the NGOTS championship on Friday, Nov. 15, at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Series standings after Martinsville:
1 Brett Moffitt (P) 3107 2 Stewart Friesen (P) 3097 3 Ross Chastain (P) 3082 4 Austin Hill (P) 3071 5 Matt Crafton (P) 3062 6 Tyler Ankrum # (P) 3056
Race Results for the 21st Annual NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 – Saturday, October 26, 2019 Martinsville Speedway – Martinsville, VA – 0.526 – Mile Paved Total Race Length – 201 Laps – 105.726 Miles
For those focused on the Playoff drivers in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, it became a matter of who would be struck down next.
Todd Gilliland prevailed at Martinsville Speedway in an overtime finish, holding off Ross Chastain, who if victorious would have been the first driver to lock himself into the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He instead now sits just 20 points above the cutoff line.
The bright side for Chastain is he was the only Playoff driver in the top five.
With no Playoff drivers yet locked into the final race of the season, Martinsville proved yet again that it is fully capable of shuffling the points standings, creating uncertainty, and causing drama and chaos for all the race teams. After Talladega Superspeedway last weekend, and the paperclip short track on Saturday, the Truck series has just one race left to determine who will race for a championship. How did everyone fare at the short track this weekend?
Stage One Winner Suffers Race-Ending Damage
The Stage 1 winner and last year’s series champion, Brett Moffitt, was involved in several incidents throughout the day. That damage eventually caused fatal issues to the engine of the No. 24 Silverado after only 122 of 200 scheduled laps. He would finish in 29th position after leading 80 laps.
“That’s Martinsville. It’s a bummer,” Moffitt said on Fox Sports.
“People just racing too aggressive too early. Everyone at GMS (Racing) gave me a really fast CMR Construction & Roofing Chevrolet. It’s a bummer to see them like this. This was one of those dominant trucks that we’ve had a few times this year. I felt like no matter what as long as we stayed clean, we were gonna win the thing.”
Moffitt recognized quickly though that he dodged a bullet, as many other Playoff drivers also had issues including a “Big One” that brought out a 15-minute red flag.
“I guess the good takeaway is that we have a nice points buffer depending on how this all plays out going into Phoenix,” said the point leader coming into today’s race and after the checkered flag dropped. “Certainly not in a must-win situation. We just gotta go have a good day at Phoenix.”
Crafton Openly Criticizes Spec Engine for Rough Day
Despite having a competitive truck, Matt Crafton stalled under a yellow flag during Stage 2. With pit cycles in front of him, the No. 88 ThorSport Racing Ford was forced to come down pit road for evaluation. The pit crew changed the battery, the ECU and more regarding electronic and motor concerns before being able to get back onto the track.
“Yeah, exactly, it was horrible,” Crafton said in response to one reporter’s question. “Three of the six (Playoff) trucks out for similar issues where we’re handcuffed and forced to run. We had a phenomenal truck. When I’d fall back, I could be two tenths faster than the leaders there at the end of the race when we were tire for tire. Something out of our control, again.”
It wasn’t too long ago when the spec engine program was under fire. Several NASCAR Truck Series title contenders faced engine failures in the final race of the first playoff elimination round at Las Vegas Motor Speedway earlier this season. Three of the four Thorsport Racing vehicles — Johnny Sauter, Crafton and Grant Enfinger — finished 29th, 30th and 31st in Vegas, respectively. Sauter and Enfinger were the two drivers eliminated from the Playoffs that round because of the finishes. Crafton slid by on points.
On Saturday, Crafton was faced with a very similar issue and now heads to ISM Raceway where he hopes to slide by on points once again.
Big One Collects Two Title Contenders, Nine Trucks in Total
The “Big One” isn’t just for Daytona or Talladega. A nine-truck crash coming out of Turn 2 brought out the red flag for roughly 15 minutes. When the smoke cleared, two more Playoff drivers were caught up in the incident: Austin Hill and Tyler Ankrum.
A slip by one of the front runners bottled up the middle of the pack on a restart. When some drivers attempted three, even four-wide passing out of Turn 2, chaos ensued. Other drivers involved included the regular-season champion Enfinger and Stage 2 winner Sam Mayer — the 2019 K&N Pro Series East champion.
Hill took his truck to the garage and was done for the day. Ankrum tried to return to the race, but could not make minimum speed. He was eventually black flagged, and would finish the day with a DNF. They would finish 25th (Anrkum) and 26th (Hill).
Friesen Recovers to Sixth After Late Spin
On Lap 149, Martinsville attempted to take on another championship contender. Stewart Friesen was battling Sauter when he knocked into Friesen to send him spinning out of Turn 4. The caution would wave, and Friesen would use pit strategy and other yellow flags to climb his way up to sixth.
Friesen didn’t hit anything, and all his competitors avoided him, so he came down pit road for fresh tires and fought his way back up to sixth. He also avoided other wrecks, including two separate incidents on the final lap.
But looking throughout the race, it could have been a much different story. For now, he sits second in points, 35 points above the cutoff line. Currently, no driver is locked in, but he could join Moffitt to potentially lock himself in depending on how he finishes in both stages at the final Round of 6 race.
After a wild race at Martinsville, here’s how the playoff picture looks with no drivers locked in: Moffitt (+45), Friesen (+35), Chastain (+20), Hill (+9), Crafton (-9) and Ankrum (-15). The Truck series will compete next at ISM Raceway with the Lucas Oil 150 (Friday, Nov. 8 at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1). Two drivers will be eliminated from the playoffs at the conclusion of that race.
With just three races left before crowning the 2019 champion, the Playoffs points standings in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series is tight, including one championship favorite now below the cutoff line.
Ross Chastain crashed from the lead with six laps remaining, Stewart Friesen was the only Playoff driver to earn any additional Playoff points by winning a stage, and Austin Hill was frustrated at the field when he was unable to find a drafting partner to score additional points at the conclusion of the second stage. It also didn’t help any of the six remaining drivers as none of the Playoff teams could capture the checkered flag to secure their spot in the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. NASCAR issued a post-race penalty on Johnny Sauter to hand the win to then second-place finisher, Spencer Boyd.
Now, only two drivers have more than a 20-point cushion, while the other four are fighting for the last two spots with the last three drivers separated by just two points.
The Truck Series races at Martinsville Speedway and ISM Raceway during their Round of 6 before two are eliminated. Let’s review what happened Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway that shook up the Playoffs.
Chastain Takes Blame for “Big One” in Closing Laps
With six laps to go, Chastain learned the hard way that he can only block once.
Down the backstretch, the inside lane of Grant Enfinger and Harrison Burton had reached the peak of their momentum on Chastain, so the Niece Motorsports driver moved high to start blocking and using the charge from the outside lane. As the field entered Turn 3, Sheldon Creed and Todd Gilliland continued to work together to make a move around Chastain. They first moved high, then down to the middle lane to peek a bumper inside of the leader.
Chastain blocked high successfully but started the carnage when blocking low.
To no fault of his own, Creed hooked the rear bumper of Chastain to send him spinning. Chastain would then collect nine other trucks to create what would be the only “Big One.”
He took all the blame.
“I definitely turned left on (Creed),” he shared with FOX Sports after being evaluated and released from the infield care center. “Sorry to everybody that got taken out. My Niece Motorsports boys and girls deserve better. The Car Shield Chevy was fast enough to go compete for the win.
That one’s on me. I’m so glad we get to go onto Martinsville and Phoenix and redeem ourselves to keep winning and press the attack.”
After declaring for the points championship in the Truck series earlier this year, his focus remains the same: that same Truck championship.
“I will go try to win practice, try to win qualifying and try to win the race, and just go execute. That was poor execution on my part. Again, sorry to everybody involved, but we’ll go on and just execute. That’s my job, and that’s what we’re gonna go do.”
Playoff Drivers Struggle Against Controversial Penalties
On Lap 51, NASCAR issued a penalty on two Playoff drivers, as Stewart Friesen and Brett Moffitt were caught locking bumpers to draft away from the pack. They were leading at the time but came down pit road to serve a stop-and-go penalty. While they rallied back to finish fourth and fifth, they both know it could have easily been a different story if a “Big One” had happened while they marched back to the front. Being eligible for the championship just added more to the drama.
“I don’t really know what to say about anything,” Friesen said. “I didn’t see it. I have no idea, no clue. But we were fortunate to get back to the lead lap and get a fifth out of it.”
Although Moffitt has a 45 point buffer above the cutoff line, he wanted proof of their two trucks locking bumpers. The hard part is that no television coverage could catch exactly when they were locking bumpers.
“I would love to see it, love to see where we locked bumpers because I was very conscious of it and staying off him, giving him a bubble,” Moffitt shared after the race. “I would love to see proof. Everyone’s pushing the limit.
“Now had that played out like Daytona where we (went to) the back and ended up in a wreck I’d be a little more upset about it, but the fact we had really good Chevrolets here and were able to rebound – all three of us. It’s frustrating but ultimately we did our job and out-pointed everyone in the playoffs.”
Sheldon Creed (front) and Brett Moffitt (back) appear to potentially lock bumpers driving through the tri-oval, but no penalty was issued. Photo courtesy of Stephanie McLaughlin with Speedway Media.
To make matters more controversial about the call, there were other instances throughout the race where two trucks would clearly lock bumpers and serve no obligated penalty. Possibly the biggest missed call was on the final lap.
Eventual race winner Boyd locked bumpers with Riley Herbst to create a run to the lead. The attempted pass between Herbst and Sauter caused Sauter to go below the yellow line, which is not allowed at all by the leader. Sauter would be penalized and hand the win to Boyd.
“So those are tough calls and I think there were several instances where we were all looking at each other,’‘Is that too much? Is that too much?’” said NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition Scott Miller who addressed media questions on the officiating calls after the race. “So, there was really no other choice but to make that call (on Moffitt and Friesen).”
However, the same driving that NASCAR claimed Moffitt and Friesen did was also executed by Boyd and Herbst fighting for the win on the final lap. No call was made.
Austin Hill Frustrated with Competition and Lack of Stage Points
While Hill is currently in the third position in the Playoffs, he sure would like to have more of a points gap going into the next two races. He clearly understood how valuable stage points are in a time like now, and with a points structure where each position is just one point, it’s a spot in the season where every point matters.
Austin Hill (No. 16) had trouble finding drafting help, as depicted here. Ross Chastain (No. 45) would get drafting help from behind, while competitors behind Hill would find a way to battle around. Photo courtesy of Stephanie McLaughlin with Speedway Media.
But for some reason, Hill just wasn’t able to find a drafting partner to work with during the race. That cost him valuable spots, and eventually valuable points by not executing strongly at the conclusion of either stage.
“I was really frustrated all day about that,” Hill said. “I didn’t really have any help from anybody – whether a Toyota was behind me or anyone else. It didn’t matter. No one seemed to want to work with me. It was tough all day.
“We were leading that second stage and with two (laps) to go, they had such a big run, there was no way to really block that outside lane coming. I tried to stay on the bottom because I knew I had two Toyotas behind me and then they bailed on me.”
That tough fighting and loss of potential points could be vital as the Round of 6 continues. Hill finished the race in sixth but collected just 35 points. In comparison, Moffitt and Friesen finished fourth and fifth and collected 51 and 48 points respectively — over 10 stage points each more than Hill.
After the race, Hill now sits just 12 points above the cutoff line.
“Still a decent points day, just not what we wanted. At least we didn’t end up on the wrecker like a few of them did. All in all, it was a decent points day and we’ll go on to Martinsville.”
Let’s face it. Erik Jones just never had a true shot in the 2019 Playoffs. This now makes it the second consecutive year in the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series.
And what was a story of an uprising season now becomes a story of “what if” as the Round of 16 comes to a conclusion with Jones being one of the four drivers eliminated from the postseason brackets.
“It’s frustrating; it’s frustrating not to even have a chance,” Jones remarked about the early incident in the must-win situation at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Jones won earlier this year in the iconic Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway to secure his spot in the Playoffs, setting himself up for a great run into the postseason. The seasoned Joe Gibbs Racing driver had his eyes set on making it deep into the Playoffs to get his No. 20 Craftsman Toyota team a chance at a golden ticket to the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway by winning one of the final races. By winning one of the races in the Round of 8 (Martinsville, Texas or Phoenix), it wouldn’t matter where he was in the points battle as he would automatically earn a spot to race for a championship in the last race of the year.
However, if there were a list of racing deals that are out of the hand of the driver, Jones has checked all of those in the opening three races of the Playoffs. At Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Richmond Raceway and this past weekend on the Roval, the on-track incidents were no fault of his own.
Vegas: On the Stage 2 opening restart, Jones had fought his way into the top 10 when the transmission stuck in second gear, bringing his car behind the wall for repairs and finished in the 36th position.
Richmond: Jones finished fourth in what would be a 1-2-3-4 finish for Joe Gibbs Racing, but NASCAR officials discovered that the car failed post race inspection for a rear-wheel alignment infraction. This disqualified Jones to a last-place finish.
Charlotte: A chain reaction crash caused Jones to get hit from behind entering Turn 1. The spin and light contact with the wall was no concern to the team, but a punctured radiator brought fatal overheating issues, ending their race early.
“The damage wasn’t bad at all, we had that fixed completely,” Jones shared after his fourth DNF at the Roval, and his second consecutive last-place finish. “Kind of a freak deal. Usually a wreck like that wouldn’t end your day by any means.”
Just like his untimely exit of the Playoffs last year, Jones is now in the same position this year: again, to no fault of his own.
“It’s frustrating; it’s frustrating not to even have a chance to run the whole race,” said the dejected 2017 Rookie of the Year driver. “We didn’t make it to the first stage and it wasn’t our fault, and that’s probably the most frustrating part, to get taken out and there was nothing you can do about it.”
Earlier in the month, Jones announced he signed a contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing. With silly season rumors arising between Matt DiBenedetto, driver of the affiliated Leavine Family Racing team, and Christopher Bell, current NASCAR Xfinity Series points leader and Toyota Racing Development driver, there was uncertainty for Jones’ future stakes. Now, he can say for certainty that he has another shot with his team in 2020.
“I put my heart and soul into this and this race team.,” he said in a team release. “I’ve been racing with JGR since 2014 and it’s really cool to be able to continue with the foundation we’ve built over the years and hopefully win more races and contend for championships together.”
He still has seven more races in 2019 to put circumstances behind him and keep on pace with where he was before. In the last four races, Jones’ best finish was 36th at Vegas. Before that, Jones scored five top four finishes in the previous seven races, including the Darlington victory. That hot streak at the end of the regular season was abruptly met by misfortune in the Round of 16. He has a lot of talent he wants to prove: to his team, to his fans, to his competition and to himself. He’s just trying to hold his head high in some dark days of his young racing career.
“[We] have to keep going all year, win some more races, and come back and start over again in next year’s Playoffs.”
This
car was mean-looking and low slung. The roofline didn’t rise any
higher than a Lamborghini. The tires were huge; the widest I’d seen
since the last time I was in a sprint car. Maybe that’s why my neck
started to ache halfway through the race. The cornering speed of this
car was amazing.
My
car owner, Dan Merservey Sr., just kept asking, “Stephen, are you
having fun?” Heck, yes. Just standing beside it was fun. Actually
driving it was euphoric.
New England’s Pro-4 Modified Series is a leftover gem from an age when short tracks ruled the country. Their four-cylinder, open wheel asphalt racing machines are fast and loud. The unlimited engine packages make almost three hundred horsepower, more than enough to propel their lightweight modified racers at mind-numbing speeds.
Look,
the prerequisites for racing are pretty simple. Most racers want to
have loads of fun. They want to drive cars that look good… like
real racing machines. They want to race on a reasonable budget and
get plenty of seat time at historic racing venues. The fundamental
force behind all of their decisions is financing, which means they
can’t join a series that requires them to buy a new car and engine
combination every few years.
The car I drove at New Hampshire’s Hudson International Speedway this summer was built in the mid-1980s and was fast enough to run in the top five. That’s an incredible lifespan for a racing car. Even more important is the fact that the series has been around for decades and the organization’s prime directive is to make sure the oldest cars in the field still have a chance for a good finish. No one gets left behind because they couldn’t afford a new chassis or engine. My 35-year old chassis ran with the best of them.
The
motors are simple and within the grasp of anyone with decent
mechanical skills. And you don’t have to buy a seventy thousand
dollar engine for your six thousand dollar chassis in order to be
competitive. The Pro-4 Series offers two divisions – Limited and
Unlimited – to accommodate any engine budget.
The
cars are real racing machines. The Pro-4 modifieds didn’t “use to
be” a 1980’s Monte Carlo or a 1990’s Dodge Neon. They were
never street cars. They are purpose built for competition. When you
sit inside a Pro-4 modified, there’s no doubt that you’re in a
real racing car. They look like it and they sound like it. The rumble
of a Pro-4 engine is entirely satisfying for both the driver and the
people in the grandstands. And remember, no one knows modified racing
like the folks in New England, where this form of motorsport has been
wildly popular since the 1970’s.
The
Pro-4’s drive like an over-powered go kart, or perhaps a midget.
The driver is constantly working to keep the rear end under him,
modulating throttle and opposite lock to keep the car straight. A
Pro-4 modified will challenge your nerve in the corners. No matter
how deep you drive it in, you always come out the other side knowing
you could have gone just a bit faster.
This
is a series that checks a lot of boxes. Good people. Great tracks. A
high fun factor. A rules package that creates excellent competition.
But in my opinion, it’s greatest value can be described in one
sentence…
The Pro-4 Series returns more racing miles per dollar than any short track series I’ve seen in a long time.
And isn’t that what we’re all after?
Stephen
Cox
Sopwith
Motorsports Television Productions
Driver,
FIA EGT Championship & Super Cup Stock Car Series
LAS VEGAS, NV — Martin Truex Jr. becomes the first driver to lock himself into the Round of 12 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series Playoffs. The No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the South Point 400.
It is his fifth win of the season, but it also came during a string of races with a combination of finishes. Since his last win at the road course of Sonoma Raceway, he has earned three top fives, but also four finishes of 15th position or worse.
“We took a gamble, qualified 24th,’’ said Truex, who led 32 laps. “For a while, it wasn’t looking too smart with the 4 (Harvick) out front. Got the right adjustments in the end. Had a great car all day long.
“Hell of a way to make a championship run. Get some good bonus points, move on to the next round, see what we can do there.’’
Kevin Harvick led 47 laps in total, but fell short in the closing laps to finish second.
“I knew the Gibbs cars would be tough,’’ the 2014 Cup champ said. “Martin was just so much better on the second half of the run. He made up that ground there, was able to stay close enough to us. My car started to get loose and push the front. It was just in kind of a four-wheel drift.
“We did some things this weekend that we probably will have to undo going forward. I think we can do a little bit better going forward.’’
Earlier in the race, Brad Keselowski appeared to have engine issues, with the No. 2 Ford team pulling the hood up to investigate internal issues with the racecar. Whether they were able to dodge a bullet or get diagnose the issue, the car seemed to run at full speed. He fell back as far as outside of the top 20 late in the race, but was able to charge his way through the field to finish third.
Chase Elliott was the highest finishing Chevrolet and finished fourth, leading 12 laps. Ryan Blaney rounded out the top five with his fifth place effort. The rest of the top 10 was filled with Playoff drivers: Alex Bowman, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano and Ryan Newman respectively.
For Byron, it was his first Playoff race of his young career. However, his crew chief Chad Knaus has now been in every Playoff since its formation back in 2004.
“Survive the whole race and try to compete,” said Byron who finished a career-high at Vegas with a seventh place run. “I was really happy with that (finish). We have to be aggressive coming up. Richmond’s going to be a tough short track.”
Drivers got aggressive on the restarts, as many went three-wide into Turn 1. Photo courtesy of Rachel Schuoler for Speedway Media.
The rest of the Playoff drivers finished outside of the top 10. Aric Almirola led earlier in the race and stayed in the top 10 for most of the race, but finished 13th.
“The goal was to leave here in a decent in the points,” Almirola shared after the race. “We just gotta fight hard. Nobody’s going to give it to you. Every point matters, every stage matters.”
Denny Hamlin finished 15th, and Kyle Busch, with multiple issues throughout the race, wound up 19th. Busch hit the wall on Lap 4, and went two laps down early in the race. He was able to rally back to battle for a top five run until a collision with Garrett Smithley knocked the nose of the car and the splitter askew. The handling of the car seemed to be destroyed, and he fell back to finish a lap down.
Pole sitter Clint Bowyer fell back early and was not able to recover. The No. 14 Ford ended the event in the 25th position after leading just the opening lap. Erik Jones had transmission issues that put him behind the wall for 15 laps until the team could make repairs to the car. He finished 36th, 13 laps down. Kurt Busch hit the outside wall in Turn 3 after a left front flat tire caused from contact between him and Truex Jr. on a restart on Lap 185. He would finish in last place, the 39th position.
LOGANO SHOWING EARLY STRENGTH IN STAGE ONE
Logano started 22nd, but took over the race lead by Lap 34. Photo courtesy of Rachel Schuoler for Speedway Media.
As the green flag dropped, drivers were aggressive right out of the gate. While Bowyer was on pole for the first time in 12 years, Daniel Suarez took over the race lead over the next several laps after his Stewart Haas Racing teammate led the first lap. A couple drivers made quick climbs through the field, including non-Playoff driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who made his way up as high as third in the running order.
But the opening laps proved the drama of the Playoffs was alive and well. On Lap 4, Kyle Busch got loose in Turn 2 and hit the wall. The race stayed green, but he was forced to come down pit road a few laps later to replace a flat right rear tire. The crew spent a few extra seconds to pull sheet metal away to provide clearance for the new tires. He would eventually end up two laps down further into the stage.
Just passed halfway through Stage 1, Almirola took over the lead. However, that was short lived as Logano took over the race lead on Lap 34. He originally started in the 22nd position. During green flag pit stops, all drivers came for fuel and tires except for Michael McDowell, who wanted to stretch out his run as far as they could go. The driver of the No. 34 Ford eventually came down pit road, cycling the lead back to Logano who went on to win the stage.
PLAYOFF HOPES SCATTER FOR MANY DRIVERS IN STAGE TWO ONWARD
On the restart, Jones appeared to potentially miss a shift or have a mechanical issue with the transmission of his Toyota Camry as he was stuck in second gear. The crew diagnosed the issue behind the wall in the garage, and the Southern 500 winner was able to rejoin the race 15 laps down.
No one appeared to have any major issues during the second set of green flag pit stops, but Elliott had one of the biggest gains on pit road and found his way up to second in the later half of the stage. Truex was able to get around late in the run, but it Logano seemed to be the car to beat. Truex won Stage 2.
During the pit stops at the conclusion of the Stage 2, Larson received a safety violation penalty and was forced to restart at the tail end of the field. At the time, he had worked his way up into the third position. Front runners ran aggressive on the restart of the final stage. Byron made contact with a few drivers, and had a flat tire to spin on the exit of Turn 4. No contact with the wall was made, so he was able to continue but the yellow flag did fly. Teammate Elliott saw him on pit road as his crew replaced the tires, and backed off to allow him to stay on the lead lap.
Logano, Harvick and Elliott (outside to inside) battle for second behind race leader and eventual race winner Truex. Photo courtesy of Rachel Schuoler for Speedway Media.
Cars were four-wide during the restart. Contact between Truex and Kurt Busch caused the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro to have a tire rub on the left front. The team went back on forth on if they should come down pit road, but the decision was just a lap too late. His left front tire gave way down the backstretch, and the 2004 champion was not able to get the car slowed in time. He hit the outside wall in Turn 3, and came to rest at the entrance to pit road. He would be the first car out of the race and finish in last place.
With 50 laps to go, Harvick led over Truex and Keselowski. The Team Penske driver had the hood up earlier in the race on pit road as the team was diagnosing strange performance issues, but they were able to resolve those and fight their way into the top three. The other big mover was Kyle Busch, who moved into the top 10 for the first time in the day.
In the closing laps, a few drivers decided to stretch their run as far as they could. Unlike Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race where fuel mileage played a potential role, it was definitely too far for their cars to go in one run. Two drivers included Byron and Larson stayed on track to see if a caution would get them in a strong position. At this point, all other Playoff drivers were a lap down according to scoring.
It was not meant to be. The race stayed green, and the rest of the field was forced to pit. Harvick was able to regain the lead, but Truex was able to fight his way around and take over the lead on Lap 248.
As Kyle Busch climbed his way to start battling for the top five, he chose the middle lane when battling with Elliott and Bowman. Smithley however was in the middle lane running slower than Busch expected. The No. 18 Toyota slammed into the rear of the lapped car, caving in the nose and tweaking the splitter on the right front. Busch fell far off pace to finish in 19th, one lap down.
Out front, Truex led the remaining 20 laps to win his fifth race of the season. The victory secures his spot into the next round. The Cup series will compete next at Richmond Raceway as the Round of 16 continues.
LAS VEGAS, NV — In Saturday’s Rhino Pro Truck Outfitters 300 for the NASCAR Xfinity Series, it came down to a gamble on fuel mileage strategy. For three drivers who elected to stretch to the last drop, they were all successful. One driver that had the biggest statement at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was Gray Gaulding who finished seventh for SS-Green Light Racing.
“Yeah, I saved my rear end off,” said a relieved Gaulding. “I did everything I could to make sure.”
The relief came after extending the green flag pit window to a total of 70 laps, 74 including caution flag laps that began the final run to the checkered.
“They said it was going to be close, but about 20 laps to go, they said ‘You’re good.’ So I thought I could pick it up a little bit, but the racer in my thought that I needed to save as much as I can, even if they say I might not need to. Luckily enough, I saved enough fuel. The calculations were dead on because I ran out right at the checkered flag. It says a lot about that call, but what a place to do it in Vegas. People roll the dice every day, and we rolled the dice to get in. We got a great finish, but didn’t get in (the Playoffs).”
The finish became the team’s fourth top 10 of the 2019 season. The last time team owner Bobby Dotter had this many top 10 finishes in a single season was back in 1995 when he drove himself. Gaulding knew he was with an old school team that knew how to get it done the old school way.
“It’s about the people,” Gaulding was quick to state. “Bobby Dotter is the best owner I’ve ever drove for, and he rolled the dice on me to put me in the car. Look at where they were last year with their old driver, now look where they are today. Not in the cocky or arrogant way, I feel like I’m really doing my job and doing it well, but I know it’s not from a lack of effort from my guys and everybody that works their tails off on these racecars.
“It’s so fun, I’m having a blast.”
In the 21-year-old driver’s first full-time season with the Xfinity Series, he missed the Playoffs by just one spot in the points. He was too far back to point his way in, so he knew he was in a tough spot, even back in February at season start. But to be as close as they were, both with points and a few surprising runs throughout the season, was a testament to the fight they have within.
“You can always be disappointed,” he continued when asked about his thoughts on being the first car missing the Playoffs. “But the thing is; look at where we were in February. Did anyone pick us to make the Playoffs? Probably zero out of a hundred. Nobody even talked about us, thought about us, and the last three months, everybody is starting to watch us. We’re running good, we’re running up front. We almost won at Talladega.
“At the end of the day, we weren’t supposed to but to be even in the conversation and be there, fighting for a spot, that just says a lot about where the team was last year to now. We’re just going to keep fighting and do what we do best.”
The team’s quick growth this past year has been multiple avenues. The team’s only other top 10 finishes in recent years were by Xfinity “road ringer” Andy Lally, so the surge has been a surprise to some. Gaulding isn’t taking it for granted but celebrating when he can as they find success during the team’s growth. He can’t put his finger exactly on the reason for their success, but he again quickly pointed to his team.
“My crew chief Patrick (Donahue) and I gel well together,” he declared showing his gratitude with their teamwork over the season. “We got that love-hate relationship. I love him like a brother. When he does something wrong, I let him know, and when I do something wrong, he lets me know. It makes for a good marriage and a good combination. He’s just got my stuff getting really good week in and week out, especially on the big tracks. We’re down on motor, we’re down on everything. So to be able to show up and to finish in the top 10 on a mile and a half with these big motors, it says a lot about our race cars and what I’m doing.”
Despite missing the Playoffs, Gaulding is now the highest-seeded driver outside of the Playoffs. He currently has a 21 point lead over Jeremy Clements, and wants to not only say he’s the best outside of the Playoffs but show that his crew can compete against the bigger budget teams.
“I’m going to my favorite track next weekend (Richmond),” said Gaulding excitedly. “You can count on seeing me up front. I feel like what we learned in the Spring will make it even better next week. That just says a lot about what we’re doing. We’re taking the races we went to the first race and making them better the second time. I’m pretty damn good at Richmond. Richmond is my favorite track on the schedule, along with Bristol. Any short track, I feel like I can make up the difference for the car.”
There’s a lot of positive vibes going around the team and within the driver, but there’s uncertainty with the 2020 year. Gaulding is hopeful yet optimistic he can prove that he’s right where he belongs.
“My goal is that I want to be here. I want to be in the same position. Obviously a lot of things have to work out, but I know I can beat these guys. If we had full ECR Engines (Earnhardt-Childress Racing) every week and we had all the tires, I think we can beat the bigger teams. I got a lot of fight in me, and my guys got a lot of fight in them.
“I think going into next year, we’re going to see a lot of great things happening to me and my race team.”
We’re all focused on who can spoil the Playoffs with a win to secure their seat for the next round. It’s not a bad idea to also keep an eye on a young and hungry Virginia driver to spoil the Xfinity Playoffs. It’ll be a spoiler that many didn’t predict back in February.
