Author: SM Staff

Martin Truex Jr. Holds Off Kyle Busch to Win Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma

SONOMA, Calif. ⁠— In a technical caution-free race, Martin Truex Jr holds off Kyle Busch in the closing laps to win the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway in the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series.

“What a season we’ve turned this into,” Truex said in Victory Lane after tying Kyle Busch with the most victories in the current season. “This group, they’re unbelievable. Hopefully we can keep this going.”

Truex claimed his third career victory at the California road course, second in a row and the first with the returning Carrousel. The race was caution-free besides the stage ending yellow flags.

“With the Carousel, the big left-hand corner, it really changed things up,” he explained not knowing exactly how the weekend was going to go for the No. 19 Toyota team. “Took a while to figure that out in practice. But luckily, we were able to just make the right tweaks. I had confidence that when the track got hot and slick on the long runs, we had what we needed.

“Just a matter if we had enough speed to get there, and we did today.”

Truex didn’t place in the top 10 in Stage 1 with the varying pit strategies. Many teams elected to come to pit road before the two-to-go mark, signifying the close of pit road. Roughly the top 15 positions could pit without going a lap down, and when some leaders came down pit road, that gave more openings deeper in the pack to come down pit road. He placed seventh in Stage 2.

Kyle Busch closes the gap on teammate and leader Truex after front end damage from contact with Ryan Blaney. Photo courtesy of Patrick Sue-Chan for Speedway Media.

With 20 laps to go, Kyle Busch had a different strategy in mind by manipulating the cycle to have fresher tires on the final run. At times, he ran a full second faster than his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, but fell 1.861 seconds short of the win.

“Yeah, any time I had to lean on the left rear, I just didn’t have the drive that I needed,” Busch said. “Actually tried to hold on to it, trying to save it. I knew that was going to be our problem — that had been our problem all day long. You get closer, you’re like, ‘OK, I can get him, I better go, pounce on him fast, so then he doesn’t have the time to pick up the pace.’

“But it didn’t work. He was obviously saving a lot. I knew he was going to be saving a lot, have enough to be able to most likely hold us off. I was right. I still tried everything I could to get there and ran real hard. Sucks to finish second to a teammate, but it’s good for the company. Overall Martin is really, really good here. I’m just pumped that I actually ran good here.”

Ryan Blaney was the top finishing Ford in third, and Matt DiBenedetto fights for his best career finish of fourth. Stage 2 winner, Denny Hamlin, rounds out the top five. Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, Erik Jones, Aric Almirola and pole sitter Kyle Larson finish in the top 10. Larson now holds three consecutive poles as the home track native, and claimed his best career finish.

Other notables across the field include Daniel Hemric, Austin Dillon and Ryan Preece who all ran toward the front of the NASCAR K&N Pro West Series race. They finished 15th, 24th and 29th respectively. William Byron led all of Stage 1, including winning the first stage, but finished in the 19th position. Saturday night’s NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series winner Ross Chastaine made the overnight flight to start today’s race and finished 33rd. Chase Elliott was battling for a top five position, but a loss of oil pressure eliminated him after 60 laps, finishing 37th. Cody Ware pulled into the garage during the final stage, where he was treated in the infield care center for carbon monoxide poisoning. He was released after treatments.

The NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series will compete next at Chicagoland Speedway on June 30.

Fin	St	#	Driver	Sponsor / Owner	Car	Laps	Status
1	8	19	Martin Truex, Jr.	Bass Pro Shops (Joe Gibbs)	Toyota	90	running
2	7	18	Kyle Busch	M&M’s Hazelnut (Joe Gibbs)	Toyota	90	running
3	9	12	Ryan Blaney	PPG (Roger Penske)	Ford	90	running
4	19	95	Matt DiBenedetto	Procore Thanks DW Throwback (Leavine Family Racing)	Toyota	90	running
5	6	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Ground (Joe Gibbs)	Toyota	90	running
6	23	4	Kevin Harvick	Mobil 1 (Stewart Haas Racing)	Ford	90	running
7	21	6	Ryan Newman	Wyndham Rewards (Jack Roush)	Ford	90	running
8	32	20	Erik Jones	Craftsman (Joe Gibbs)	Toyota	90	running
9	15	10	Aric Almirola	Smithfield (Stewart Haas Racing)	Ford	90	running
10	1	42	Kyle Larson	Credit One Bank (Chip Ganassi)	Chevrolet	90	running
11	14	14	Clint Bowyer	Rush Truck Centers (Stewart Haas Racing)	Ford	90	running
12	11	48	Jimmie Johnson	Ally (Rick Hendrick)	Chevrolet	90	running
13	16	1	Kurt Busch	Monster Energy (Chip Ganassi)	Chevrolet	90	running
14	12	88	Alex Bowman	Axalta (Rick Hendrick)	Chevrolet	90	running
15	25	8	Daniel Hemric	Poppy Bank (Richard Childress)	Chevrolet	90	running
16	10	37	Chris Buescher	Hellmann’s (JTG-Daugherty Racing)	Chevrolet	90	running
17	5	41	Daniel Suarez	Ruckus (Stewart Haas Racing)	Ford	90	running
18	22	2	Brad Keselowski	America’s Tire (Roger Penske)	Ford	90	running
19	2	24	William Byron	Hertz (Rick Hendrick)	Chevrolet	90	running
20	18	38	David Ragan	#ThanksDW (Bob Jenkins)	Ford	90	running
21	17	17	Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.	Roush Performance / Thanks DW (Jack Roush)	Ford	90	running
22	24	21	Paul Menard	Menards / Richmond (Wood Brothers)	Ford	90	running
23	3	22	Joey Logano	Shell / Pennzoil (Roger Penske)	Ford	90	running
24	26	3	Austin Dillon	Dow Coatings (Richard Childress)	Chevrolet	90	running
25	13	34	Michael McDowell	Love’s Travel Stops (Bob Jenkins)	Ford	89	running
26	30	43	Bubba Wallace	World Wide Technology (Richard Petty Motorsports)	Chevrolet	89	running
27	31	13	Ty Dillon	GEICO Military (Germain Racing)	Chevrolet	89	running
28	28	36	Matt Tifft	Acquire Investments (Bob Jenkins)	Ford	89	running
29	20	47	Ryan Preece	Kroger (JTG-Daugherty Racing)	Chevrolet	89	running
30	29	96	Parker Kligerman	TRD 40th Anniversary (Gaunt Brothers)	Toyota	89	running
31	35	00	Landon Cassill	Share (StarCom Racing)	Chevrolet	89	running
32	27	32	Corey LaJoie	GMN (Archie St. Hilaire)	Ford	89	running
33	37	15	Ross Chastain	Low-T Centers (Jay Robinson)	Chevrolet	89	running
34	33	77	Justin Haley	Formula One Imports (Spire Motorsports)	Chevrolet	88	running
35	38	27	Reed Sorenson	VIPRacingExperience.com (Jay Robinson)	Chevrolet	88	running
36	34	52	Cody Ware	SBC Contractors (Rick Ware)	Chevrolet	64	fatigue
37	4	9	Chase Elliott	NAPA Auto Parts (Rick Hendrick)	Chevrolet	60	engine
38	36	51	J.J. Yeley	Jacob Companies (Rick Ware)	Ford	53	fuel pump

June 23, 2019

Kyle Larson will lead the field into the carousel at Sonoma

SONOMA, Calif. – Kyle Larson sweeps both qualifying sessions and will start on pole for the third straight year for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway with a time of 94.784 seconds at 95.712 mph.

“I guess the trend with my three poles is winning a pole and then struggling in the race,” said Larson who claimed his first Busch Pole Award of the season. “Hopefully, we’ll have something different for tomorrow. I feel good.”

Larson bested the improving Hendrick driver of William Byron (95.669 mph) in his No. 24 Hertz Chevrolet.

“We did a mock (qualifying) run yesterday in practice and ran a good lap,” said Larson who ran the fastest time in Friday’s practice session. “I kind of over-drove the first session and then the next session I said, ‘I’m going to calm down and not make any mistakes,’ and I probably under-drove just a little. In the carousel, I think I gave up a little speed, but I feel like I made up some time in other areas, too. It’s cool to get a third pole in a row here at my home track.”

Joey Logano qualified third at 95.618 mph, but believes he knows exactly where he lost the time he needed for a pole speed run.

“I feel like my lap was pretty good,” Logano shared as his team was less than a tenth behind Larson’s pole-setting speed. “I was just a little loose. I feel like I got through it mainly pretty decent. I got a little loose off of (Turn) 10. If I could find one spot, I got too loose off 10 trying to throttle up too aggressively and stuck half my left sides up in the dirt and got loose and knocked a few mile an hour off on the exit, compared to what I would have been.

Larson claims his first Busch Pole Award for the 2019 season at his home track at Sonoma Raceway. Photo courtesy of Rachel Schuoler for Speedway Media.

“Maybe that’s a tenth (of a second), maybe a half a tenth. I don’t know. I have to go back and look. All I needed was nine-hundredths, so that’s probably the spot I’m looking at.”

Chase Elliott qualified fourth, ahead of Stewart-Haas Racing’s Daniel Suarez. Denny Hamlin was the top Toyota in the qualifying order, ahead of Kyle Busch who spun off Turn 4 multiple times in Friday’s practice sessions. Defending race winner Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Jimmie Johnson and Alex Bowman also made the second qualifying round and will start Sunday’s race eighth through 12th, respectively.

The first road course race of the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series at Sonoma Raceway will start coverage at 3 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Rank	Driver	Number	Make	Time	Speed
1	Kyle Larson	42	Chevrolet	1:34.784	95.712
2	William Byron	24	Chevrolet	1:34.827	95.669
3	Joey Logano	22	Ford	1:34.878	95.618
4	Chase Elliott	9	Chevrolet	1:34.898	95.597
5	Daniel Suarez	41	Ford	1:35.260	95.234
6	Denny Hamlin	11	Toyota	1:35.287	95.207
7	Kyle Busch	18	Toyota	1:35.367	95.127
8	Martin Truex Jr.	19	Toyota	1:35.399	95.095
9	Ryan Blaney	12	Ford	1:35.507	94.988
10	Chris Buescher	37	Chevrolet	1:35.668	94.828
11	Jimmie Johnson	48	Chevrolet	1:36.156	94.347
12	Alex Bowman	88	Chevrolet	1:36.374	94.133
13	Michael McDowell	34	Ford	1:35.449	95.046
14	Clint Bowyer	14	Ford	1:35.485	95.010
15	Aric Almirola	10	Ford	1:35.624	94.872
16	Kurt Busch	1	Chevrolet	1:35.746	94.751
17	Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.	17	Ford	1:35.749	94.748
18	David Ragan	38	Ford	1:35.821	94.677
19	Matt DiBenedetto	95	Toyota	1:35.926	94.573
20	Ryan Preece	47	Chevrolet	1:36.070	94.431
21	Ryan Newman	6	Ford	1:36.106	94.396
22	Brad Keselowski	2	Ford	1:36.118	94.384
23	Kevin Harvick	4	Ford	1:36.130	94.372
24	Paul Menard	21	Ford	1:36.281	94.224
25	Daniel Hemric	8	Chevrolet	1:36.294	94.211
26	Austin Dillon	3	Chevrolet	1:36.457	94.052
27	Corey LaJoie	32	Ford	1:36.484	94.026
28	Matt Tifft	36	Ford	1:36.781	93.737
29	Parker Kligerman	96	Toyota	1:37.006	93.520	*
30	Bubba Wallace	43	Chevrolet	1:37.020	93.506
31	Ty Dillon	13	Chevrolet	1:37.040	93.487
32	Erik Jones	20	Toyota	1:37.530	93.018
33	Justin Haley	77	Chevrolet	1:37.911	92.656
34	Cody Ware	52	Chevrolet	1:38.432	92.165
35	Landon Cassill	00	Chevrolet	1:38.719	91.897
36	J.J. Yeley	51	Chevrolet	1:39.161	91.488
37	Kyle Weatherman	15	Chevrolet	1:42.283	88.695
38	Reed Sorenson	27	Chevrolet			*

* – had to qualify on time

June 22, 2019

NASCAR drivers honor Darrell Waltrip with Throwback paint schemes

SONOMA, Calif. – This weekend’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 returns the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series to Sonoma Raceway, the furthest west they visit in their annual schedule. It will be the first of three road courses on the 2019 schedule which includes the reinstatement of the carousel last raced in the late ’90s. The K&N Pro West Series will also join the Cup drivers with their race on Saturday.

Darrell Waltrip will also broadcast his final race this weekend.

Over the past several weeks, NASCAR, drivers, teams, tracks and sponsors have all pitched in their appreciation of Waltrip’s Hall of Fame legacy since he announced his retirement from the booth at Bristol Motor Speedway.

“This sport has rewarded me time and time and time again,” Waltrip shared in the media center a couple of months ago at Bristol. “Not just with trophies and the success on the track but with friends, people I’ll never forget. They say you get what you give. Well, I gave a lot, but I got a whole lot more in return.”

And that whole lot more giving in return didn’t stop. A few drivers took the initiative to dedicate a throwback paint scheme.

David Ragan practices on Friday in his #ThanksDW Mustang at Sonoma Raceway. Photo courtesy of Patrick Sue-Chan for Speedway Media.

David Ragan, driver of the No. 38, decided to have his car wrapped with the official hashtag, #ThanksDW. His hood was a headshot of Darrell Waltrip from the booth, and the back had Darrell’s infamous term “Boogity.”

“I think Darrell is one of those guys like Richard Petty, Junior Johnson back in the early days,” Ragan shared reflecting on Waltrip’s legacy in the sport. “He had a really successful driving career, and then he went on to make a real impact on the broadcast side. He’s really dedicated his whole life to NASCAR racing.”

Many drivers spend time outside of NASCAR to catch up with other lifetime hobbies and step out of the spotlight to settle down and enjoy life. Carl Edwards comes to mind as one of the more recent drivers that even car owner Joe Gibbs shared on the Dale Jr. Download that he is still baffled to this day as to why Edwards stepped away from NASCAR.

However, Waltrip stuck with the NASCAR scene.

“A lot of guys you see retire, so you don’t really get to hear from them again. So for him to own race teams to being in the broadcast booth and have a big impact driving cars behind the wheel. He’s definitely one of the biggest influencers we’ve had over the past 40 years.”

For those who knew Waltrip or listened to his broadcasting over the years, he was an honest announcer who called the races as they were.

“When I was a rookie coming into the scene, Darrell was a little bit of a critic for me,” said Ragan as he looked back on his early memories of Waltrip. “I wasn’t running as good as I should have right out of the bat, and I think Darrell’s very honest without that much of a filter. That’s what makes Darrell a cool guy.

“Just don’t mess up your Boogity, Boogity, Boogity.”

Matt DiBenedetto lays down some practice laps around the original carousel at Sonoma Raceway. Photo courtesy of Rachel Schuoler for Speedway Media.

The next driver was Matt DiBenedetto, who drives the No. 95 Procore Toyota for Levine Family Racing. Their affiliation with Joe Gibbs Racing has given DiBenedetto a new spike in confidence. Despite the recent turn of poor luck on their side, he led the most laps of his career in the Daytona 500 before crashing out of the race. He also had a string of mishaps out of his control in the month of March and was on pace to challenge for the win at Bristol before an unscheduled pit stop put him in an uphill battle where he finished 12th. Despite the unforeseen circumstances, his average finishing position has improved by three spots.

But this weekend at Sonoma, his team created a paint scheme in honor of Waltrip’s early racing career. Darrell raced in the No. 95 Mercury and Chevrolet from 1972 to 1974 with 19 top 10 finishes, including runner-up finishes at Darlington and Texas World Speedway (not to be confused by Texas Motor Speedway).

“It was all of us at the team,” Dibenedetto shared in the media center at Sonoma when asked who originally came up with the idea for the paint scheme. “It’s exciting for us because DW has meant a lot to me. He helped me out last year, sponsored my race car at Phoenix. He’s always been a really good person.”

At Phoenix last year, Matt DiBenedetto was racing for GoFas Racing in the No. 32 Ford. The team headed to Phoenix with no sponsorship, after an early season sponsor fallout situation. He originally posted on Twitter sharing the team was not in financial danger and would still make the race, but made the announcement to allow for the potential opportunity of a new sponsor to step in. Not only did he get a big sponsor to take the race with Zynga Poker, but many drivers and NASCAR community members stepped up to help sponsor Matt’s car, including Darrell Waltrip.

“So we all talked about Sonoma and talked to our sponsor Procore,” Matt continued, “And they were on board with us running a paint scheme thrown back to when DW drove the 95 car in the early days of his career.”

Darrell Waltrip drives around Sonoma Raceway in his original Daytona winning “Tide Ride.” Photo courtesy of Patrick Sue-Chan for Speedway Media.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also decided to run a No. 17 throwback of Darrell Waltrip, keeping it authentic with chrome numbers around the car. The two-time NASCAR Most Popular Driver ran this number for Rick Hendrick at NASCAR’s top level from 1987 into part of the 1998 season, making this his most driven number.

While Darrell drove his “Tide Ride” as the No. 17 and winning the 1989 Daytona 500 in that car, the white, gray and red striped car with the chrome numbers on the sides was introduced in 1991 when he began to drive as a driver/owner with Western Auto as his new primary sponsor.

“With as much as he’s done in the sport on and off the track, Darrell will definitely be missed,” Stenhouse said. “I have enjoyed all the sit-downs and seeing his passion that he has for the sport. I’ve gotten to pay homage to him with two Darlington throwback schemes so it will be extra special to drive his iconic paint scheme for his last appearance in the booth.”

ICYMI: @StenhouseJr will pay tribute to @AllWaltrip this weekend @RaceSonoma.

Take a look 📸👇 pic.twitter.com/PZMi4lnaSO
— RFK Racing (@RFKracing) June 19, 2019

Denny Hamlin also took the opportunity before practice on Friday to introduce his throwback paint scheme for the new Darlington tradition. The reveal showed Darrell’s No. 11 which he drove from 1981 to 1986 when he drove for Junior Johnson.

“In 2016 when I won the Daytona 500, FedEx gave me the opportunity to choose my own paint scheme for the July Daytona race,” Denny shared during the reveal at Sonoma Raceway. “I had two that I really liked, so we had the shop vote on it. We thought this would be a great idea to honor someone who’s been a big influence for myself and everyone in NASCAR.”

Hamlin also shared memories growing up in the grandstands and watching the competitors on the track.

“I knew he was tough,” Hamlin chuckled when asked about the name of Darrell Waltrip. “I grew up a huge Bill Elliott, but Waltrip was one of the toughest competitors.”

Waltrip and Hamlin then pulled back the cover to officially reveal the paint scheme to be raced later this year in the iconic Southern 500.

“Well, first of all, I’m flattered,” Waltrip shared when he saw the new paint scheme for the first time. “This is one of my favorite paint schemes that I raced. What made this special to me was that this was my car and my team. We started in 1991. We had some pretty good days with this car. Of course, I guess my favorite number is probably the No. 17, but I’ll always love car No. 11.”

“This is the winningest number in NASCAR.”

The crowd shared their input as well.

“You like this?” Waltrip asked the audience while pointing to the car.

The crowd cheered.

“That thing is gonna look great on the race track. Thank you for the tribute.”

June 22, 2019
Noah Gragson Survives a Wild Procore 200 at Sonoma

SONOMA, Calif. ⁠— With a mixture of Cup and Xfinity Series regulars and one of the largest fields in the season, Noah Gragson wins a wild Procore 200 at Sonoma Raceway in the NASCAR K&N Pro West Series after three overtime attempts.

On a restart just before halfway through the race, Noah Gragson gained a large lead going into the first set of turns climbing the hill. Officials declared he jumped the start, and Gragson had to serve a pass-through penalty. However, that seemed to only light a fire in the NASCAR Xfinity Series regular as he began to charge through the field.

“I was trying to not leave anything on the table,” said Gragson after recovering from the mid-race restart violation.

Gragson not only returned with a team that helped get his national exposure, but took them to victory lane in his old school fashion of ‘pitching’ the car better than the competition.

“That new Carousel section is definitely a challenge,” said Gragson. “It feels good to be able to meet that challenge.

“It’s like running a mile. If I’m throwing up, hopefully it’s not like I’m sick. I’m all right. But if I’m throwing up after the race, I guess that means that I did a good job because I’ll be in Victory Lane hopefully. The only times I’ve thrown up after the races were when I’ve won, so it feels good.”

Ryan Preece (left) and Daniel Hemric (right) lead the field during one of the three overtime restarts. Photo courtesy of Patrick Sue-Chan for Speedway Media.

Ryan Preece officially restarted all overtime attempts in the lead, as the K&N Series do not have timing loops around the road course. All restarts were set by the running order of the last officially timed lap. Gragson was technically second to cross the line when the checkered and yellow flew. However, there was a third flag covered in black; Preece was penalized after NASCAR officials declared the No. 47 Chevrolet jumped the green flag on the final overtime restart.

“To get robbed like that, it’s just (expletive),” Preece declared as he walked away after a short interview. “I just like to win.”

Preece wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Hemric, who started alongside him during all the overtime attempts, felt the restarts were all fair.

“I felt it was fair,” Hemric shared with reporters after being asked about Preece’s violation. Hemric started alongside Preece in all the overtime restarts.

Gragson bested a couple Monster Energy Cup Series regulars, as Hemric was posted second with Cup series teammate Austin Dillon finishing third. Xfinity Series regular Cole Custer took fourth with David Mayhew fifth. Preece was dropped to 20th place in the 31-car field, scored as the final driver on the lead lap.

Earlier in the race, points leader Derek Kraus suffered a fuel pump failure. The crew was able to get the part replaced and the No. 16 Napa Auto Parts Toyota was only three laps down. Kraus was able to get the Lucky Dog free passes he needed to get back on the lead lap with roughly 10 laps to go.

The major concern for their team was with the field double the size, there were more points to be lost where a DNF would become the amount of two when comparing the points. Kraus realized this and fought his way to fighting for a top 10 finish. As he was climbing through the field, he was caught up in a spin by Jack Wood, which set up the race for an overtime finish. Kraus would also get caught up in yet another incident during the final overtime attempt, and officially finished in the 19th position.

Kraus currently still leads the NASCAR K&N Pro West Series points standings by just one point over Hailie Deegan.

June 22, 2019

Bell wins the CircuitCity.com 250 at Iowa

Christopher Bell led 186 of 250 laps on Sunday to win the NASCAR Xfinity series Circuitcity.com at Iowa Speedway. This was his fourth victory of the season and his second straight win at Iowa.

It was his 12th victory in 55 Xfinity Series races.

“Man, I got to win at Dover on Mother’s Day weekend, or, I guess it was the week before with my mom there,” Bell said. “Now I just won on Father’s Day with my dad here, so it was pretty special.”

Bell dominated the race in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, sweeping all the stages.

Pole-sitter Cole Custer led the first 51 laps before Bell was able to pass him for the lead during the first stage and Custer ultimately finished second.

When asked about the contact with Bell which led to him losing the lead, Custer said, “I think it was racing. I think every driver will agree that this place puts on the best racing that we go to, so it was fun. Christopher (Bell) and them had the best car all day. I feel like we caught up to them a good amount. We just need a little more time to work on it.”

Justin Allgaier earned third place in his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet followed by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Harrison Burton in fourth while Zane Smith finished fifth in the JRM No. 8. Noah Gragson finished sixth and was the highest finishing rookie.

Tyler Reddick had a flat tire right before the finish of Stage 1, putting him two laps down. He finished 15th and holds the series points lead by 51 points over Bell.

Xfinity Series Race Number 14
Race Results for the 9th Annual CircuitCity.com 250 presented by Tamron – Sunday, June 16, 2019
Iowa Speedway – Newton, IA – 0.875 – Mile Paved
Total Race Length – 250 Laps – 218.75 Miles

Fin	Str	No	Driver	Team	Laps	S1Pos	S2Pos	Pts	Status
1	2	20	Christopher Bell	Ruud Toyota	250	1	1	60	Running
2	1	0	Cole Custer	FIELDS Ford	250	2	2	53	Running
3	14	7	Justin Allgaier	BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet	250	3	5	48	Running
4	10	18	Harrison Burton(i)	Dex Imaging Toyota	250	5	3	0	Running
5	3	8	Zane Smith	LaPaz Margarita Mix Chevrolet	250	6	6	42	Running
6	4	9	Noah Gragson #	Switch Chevrolet	250	4	0	38	Running
7	9	98	Chase Briscoe #	Nutri Chomps/Bomgaars Ford	250	0	0	30	Running
8	6	23	John Hunter Nemechek #	Allegiant Chevrolet	250	8	9	34	Running
9	12	1	Michael Annett	TMC Transportation Chevrolet	250	10	7	33	Running
10	7	22	Austin Cindric	Menards/Richmond Ford	250	9	4	36	Running
11	11	19	Brandon Jones	1st Foundation Toyota	250	0	8	29	Running
12	13	51	Jeremy Clements	RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet	250	0	0	25	Running
13	8	11	Justin Haley #	LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet	250	7	10	29	Running
14	18	8	Gray Gaulding	Chevrolet	250	0	0	23	Running
15	5	2	Tyler Reddick	TAME the BEAST Chevrolet	249	0	0	22	Running
16	19	7	Ray Black II	ISOKERN Fireplaces & Chimneys Scuba Life Chevrolet	249	0	0	21	Running
17	23	36	Josh Williams	Starbrite Star Tron/Simcraft Chevrolet	249	0	0	20	Running
18	17	28	Shane Lee	Circuit City Toyota	248	0	0	19	Running
19	21	21	Joe Graf Jr.	Eat Sleep Race Chevrolet	247	0	0	18	Running
20	33	15	Tyler Matthews	Line Tec Services Chevrolet	247	0	0	17	Running
21	20	42	Chad Finchum	MBM Motorsports Toyota	246	0	0	16	Running
22	32	1	Ryan Repko	The McLain Group Chevrolet	245	0	0	15	Running
23	28	99	Ryan Ellis	The Wes Cook Band Toyota	244	0	0	14	Running
24	27	90	Ronnie Bassett Jr.	Bassett Gutters and More Chevrolet	244	0	0	13	Running
25	22	4	Stephen Leicht	SEM Chevrolet	204	0	0	12	Brakes
26	26	5	Matt Mills	J.F. Electric Chevrolet	123	0	0	11	Electrical
27	34	74	Mike Harmon	The Journey Home Project/Charlie Daniels Chevrolet	120	0	0	10	Brakes
28	37	66	Stan Mullis	LasVegas.net Toyota	109	0	0	9	Power Steering
29	25	0	Garrett Smithley	teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet	106	0	0	8	Hub
30	16	39	Ryan Sieg	C2 Freight Resources Chevrolet	78	0	0	7	Fuel Pressure
31	15	86	Brandon Brown #	Vero True Social Chevrolet	76	0	0	6	Engine
32	31	78	Vinnie Miller	Pit Viper/Koolbox Chevrolet	48	0	0	5	Accident
33	30	35	Joey Gase	Iowa Donor Network Toyota	46	0	0	4	Accident
34	24	52	David Starr	Franklin Signs & Graphics Chevrolet	30	0	0	3	Engine
35	29	89	Morgan Shepherd	Visone RV Chevrolet	23	0	0	2	Brakes
36	38	13	Timmy Hill	CrashClaimsR.US Toyota	21	0	0	1	Electrical
37	35	38	Jeff Green	RSS Racing Chevrolet	16	0	0	1	Electrical
38	36	93	Josh Bilicki	Ziegler Auto Group Chevrolet	10	0	0	1	Electrical

June 16, 2019

A deeper look beyond Kyle Busch’s win total

Over the past couple of years in NASCAR, one of the biggest topics of conversation has been the buzz about the win column. It comes up once in a while such as when Jeff Gordon tied Dale Earnhardt at Phoenix in 2007 or when Jimmie Johnson won his elusive seventh title.

Some of the unanswered questions have revolved around whether Johnson could catch and pass his mentor on the all-time win list or if Kevin Harvick can break into the top 10 list of victories.

However, one driver, in particular, is setting records and reaching for more. Kyle Busch’s 55th career win this past Sunday at Pocono Raceway tied him for ninth on the all-time list with Rusty Wallace.

“It’s pretty special,” Busch said of his milestone win mark. “We just keep doing what we’re supposed to do. It’s pretty cool to get with and eclipse many of these great names that helped build our sport to what it is today and have been icons, for that matter.”

Fans and media have now set eyes on the next target for Busch’s career, The Intimidator. Dale Earnhardt holds 76 career wins in the Cup Series. Some argue that he was on pace to continue to be competitive enough to increase that number before his tragic death on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. No matter your opinion, what all these drivers have accomplished is truly a remarkable feat in the world of motorsports.

Looking deeper into the numbers, Busch’s win was exactly one month after his 34th birthday. When compared to other 55 win milestones, Wallace captured his final Cup victory at Martinsville Speedway at 47 years, 8 months and 4 days. Johnson and Darrell Waltrip each won their 55th race at age 36, with Waltrip winning his sixth of what would become seven consecutive victories at Bristol Motor Speedway. Jeff Gordon dominated the June race at Michigan International Speedway to take victory number 55 of his career at the young age of just 29 years. And Dale Earnhardt’s 55th career win took place in his famous drive in the 1993 World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He was 42-years-old at the time.

One thing we won’t know until later is if or when Kyle Busch may go on a winless streak or stop winning altogether.

This past Tuesday marked two years since Jimmie Johnson’s last victory in a points-paying race. But, two years ago, no one even considered the possibility that the win would signal the beginning of an ongoing two-year race win drought. Between 2012 and 2017, Johnson was averaging four victories a season, and since his rookie year in 2002, he had won at least two races each year. Since his win at Dover in 2017, Johnson has earned four top-five finishes, 22 top 10s and only one pole. The past two years have seen his worst average starting position and the No. 48 team have only led roughly a hundred laps.

“It’s had its ups and downs,” Johnson shared last month regarding his winless streak. “I didn’t have a lot of success in my career before driving this 48 car and I learned a lot of lessons on my journey climbing the ropes. I’ve had to fall back on that experience.

“There’s also been some truth and reality in that our cars just haven’t been where they [were] and we have to get them better. I’ve made mistakes, the team has made mistakes so it’s been a journey, to say the least, but it hasn’t broken me. I love what I do. I have an intense desire to compete, to win and succeed at a high level and I know in time we’ll get back to our winning ways. I’m trying to be patient and I’ve been patient through those races and I’m hoping we can turn it around.”

Even teammate Chase Elliott shared a similar outlook on the current situation at Hendrick Motorsports after a top-five finish at Pocono, saying, “We’re good, not great.”

Kyle Busch waves a “200 Wins” flag in celebration of his 200th career victory in NASCAR’s premier top touring series. Photo by Rachel Schuoler of Speedway Media.

Busch, however, shows no signs of slowing down and his team continues to be competitive week after week. He was one of the ‘Big 3’ contenders last year and is on track this year to become the best of the ‘Big 3’ in 2019.

But, a Hall of Fame career is about more than wins. It encompasses a driver’s entire career, including the highs and lows.

Tony Stewart, a 2019 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, won his last championship in 2011 as a driver-owner, the first to do so since Alan Kulwicki in 1992. He was poised to win many more races and potentially another championship. The following year, his No. 14 car went to victory lane three more times. However, the final four years of his career resulted in just two more victories, including one that many will remember because of the final lap battle with Denny Hamlin at Sonoma.

FOX announcer and racing legend Jeff Gordon didn’t have a Hall of Fame career every year he was behind the wheel. In the three years between 2008 and 2010, the Rainbow Warriors were victorious in just one race. Previously, he dominated the Cup schedule winning at least three races in all but three years of his first 15 years in NASCAR. He was able to find his groove again to win at least one race per year in his last five years of full-time racing and finished with 93 career wins in his Cup career.

It is truly remarkable what Kyle Busch has been able to accomplish so far this year. ‘Rowdy’ won his 200th career victory across all three top series of NASCAR earlier this year in the Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway and went on to capture his 55th Cup win at Pocono. It will definitely be a few years before he can possibly match Earnhardt’s 76 wins, as there are still 39 other hungry drivers to beat each race.

“It’s amazing to watch him and all of us that are in the sport at the same time as he is, I think we will be thankful later that we got to watch him because he is fantastic and unquestionably one of the best that’s ever strapped into a stock car,” NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition Scott Miller told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio after Busch’s 55th win at Pocono.

But will he get there? He is certainly on track to do so. Regardless of what the future holds, Busch will undoubtedly one day take a seat in the Hall of Fame. We cannot and should not take his success for granted.

June 6, 2019

Kyle Busch is victorious on the Tricky Triangle in the Pocono 400

Despite the field seeking out more speed and track position with various pit strategies, Kyle Busch led 79 laps to win his 55th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway in the Pocono 500, tying Rusty Wallace on the all-time win list.

“I just can’t say enough about everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing,” Busch said in Victory Lane. “Everybody that works there works so hard to build these awesome Camrys. We’ve had an amazing roll this year here so far. We’ve been doing well.

“We feel like we’ve kind of given away a couple of wins that we thought we had a shot for, but overall, it’s been awesome to get back to Victory Lane here. Pocono’s been a struggle, but it’s a lot better now.”

Busch’s fourth win of the season came after beating Brad Keselowski by 2.224 seconds. He led a few laps during pit cycles, but was able to fight his way up after the final restart to get close to Busch. His No. 2 Penske Ford wasn’t quite as strong.

“We didn’t have speed enough to pass guys, but we could run with them,” Keselowski said. “We wanted a little bit more to be able to pass everybody, but you had to be so much faster that you just try to execute the best you can and hope things fall the right way. “They fell decent, just not good enough to win today.”

Erik Jones finished in the third position, followed by Talladega winner Chase Elliott. Clint Bowyer completed the top five.

“I feel like if Kyle [Busch] and I had been on four tires, we would’ve been pretty even,” Jones said with a positive outlook with his third place effort after a dead last finish in last weekend’s Coca-Cola 600. “Good day overall, it would have had to really be a perfect scenario for us to win today, but we had a good car. The Dewalt Camry was fast, and it was fast all weekend.”

“We’ve been good, but not great,” Elliott shared with FOX Sports after the race when evaluating their current overall situation.

Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, pole winner William Byron and Aric Almirola rounded out the top 10.

Three front runners had struggles in the race. First, Kevin Harvick was in contention for the win, but a late race pit-road penalty changed their outcome. On Lap 124, they were caught with an uncontrolled tire and were forced to serve a pass-through penalty. Harvick dropped off the lead lap and finished his day at Pocono in the 22nd spot.

Last week’s winner Martin Truex Jr. was victorious in three of the last five points-paying races. However, his attempt for his fourth win of the season fell short after 91 laps into the race when his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota went behind the wall with an engine issue. His team finished 35th for the day.

The third driver who was a strong contender early in the race was Kyle Larson. The Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet driver led 35 laps and won the race’s first two stages. On a late race restart, Larson slapped the outside wall after contact with Clint Bowyer. He was forced to pit with damage to the right rear and at risk of blowing a tire. He finished one lap down in the 26th position.

The weekend was a rough start for Erik Jones and Chris Buescher as they failed pre-qualifying inspection on Saturday. Since cars were impounded after Busch Pole Qualifying, the inspection also served as pre-race inspection. This resulted in the car chief for both teams being ejected for the race weekend, Jason Overstreet (No. 20) and Doug Powers (No. 37). Both drivers have been coming from strong recent finishes, with Jones finishing in the top-six in two of the last three races and Buescher with two consecutive top-10 results.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races next weekend at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, June 9.

Monster Energy Cup Series Race Number 14
Race Results for the 38th Annual Pocono 400 – Sunday, June 2, 2019
Pocono Raceway – Long Pond, PA – 2.5 – Mile Paved
Total Race Length – 160 Laps – 400. Miles

Fin	Str	No	Driver	Team	Laps	S1Pos	S2Pos	Pts	Status
1	2	18	Kyle Busch	M&M’s Hazelnut Toyota	160	0	0	40	Running
2	5	2	Brad Keselowski	Wabash National Ford	160	3	4	50	Running
3	4	20	Erik Jones	DeWalt Toyota	160	0	0	34	Running
4	12	9	Chase Elliott	NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet	160	0	0	33	Running
5	3	14	Clint Bowyer	Haas Automation Ford	160	0	0	32	Running
6	6	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Office Toyota	160	0	0	31	Running
7	16	22	Joey Logano	Shell Pennzoil Ford	160	8	2	42	Running
8	9	41	Daniel Suarez	Haas Automation Demo Days Ford	160	7	10	34	Running
9	1	24	William Byron	Hendrick Autoguard Chevrolet	160	2	3	45	Running
10	13	10	Aric Almirola	Valley Technical Academy Ford	160	5	0	33	Running
11	21	1	Kurt Busch	Monster Energy Chevrolet	160	0	6	31	Running
12	17	12	Ryan Blaney	Menards/Libman Ford	160	6	0	30	Running
13	23	8	Daniel Hemric #	Kalahari Resorts and Conventions Chevrolet	160	0	9	26	Running
14	24	37	Chris Buescher	Kroger Thrill of the Grill Chevrolet	160	0	8	26	Running
15	15	88	Alex Bowman	Axalta Chevrolet	160	0	0	22	Running
16	19	6	Ryan Newman	Wyndham Rewards Ford	160	0	5	27	Running
17	22	95	Matt DiBenedetto	Toyota Express Maintenance Toyota	160	0	0	20	Running
18	14	21	Paul Menard	Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford	160	10	0	20	Running
19	8	48	Jimmie Johnson	Ally Chevrolet	160	0	0	18	Running
20	28	34	Michael McDowell	Dockside Logistics Ford	160	0	0	17	Running
21	26	43	Bubba Wallace	Victory Junction Chevrolet	160	0	7	20	Running
22	11	4	Kevin Harvick	Busch Light Father’s Day Ford	159	4	0	22	Running
23	29	47	Ryan Preece #	Kroger Chevrolet	159	0	0	14	Running
24	32	15	Ross Chastain(i)	Low T Center Chevrolet	159	0	0	0	Running
25	34	51	Bayley Currey(i)	Jacob Companies P-40 Warhawk Ford	159	0	0	0	Running
26	7	42	Kyle Larson	Credit One Bank Chevrolet	159	1	1	31	Running
27	25	13	Ty Dillon	GEICO Chevrolet	158	0	0	10	Running
28	35	27	* Reed Sorenson	VIPRacingExperience.com Chevrolet	157	0	0	9	Running
29	36	77	Quin Houff	Spire Motorsports Chevrolet	157	0	0	8	Running
30	27	38	David Ragan	ExploriaResorts.com Ford	156	0	0	7	Running
31	31	0	Landon Cassill(i)	Madison Group Chevrolet	154	0	0	0	Running
32	18	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Fastenal Ford	146	0	0	5	Accident
33	30	36	Matt Tifft #	Surface Sunscreen Ford	128	0	0	4	Running
34	37	52	JJ Yeley	Steakhouse Elite Chevrolet	110	0	0	3	Running
35	20	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Bass Pro Shops Toyota	91	9	0	4	Engine
36	33	32	Corey LaJoie	VisoneRV Ford	68	0	0	1	Accident
37	10	3	Austin Dillon	Dow Chevrolet	28	0	0	1	Accident

June 2, 2019

Weekend schedule for Charlotte

This Memorial Day weekend the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 60th running of the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday evening while the Xfinity Series hits the track Saturday for the Alsco 300.

The ARCA Menards Series will also compete at Charlotte Thursday night for the General Tire 150. There will be two hours of practice beginning at 11:30 a.m. with qualifying at 5 p.m. The race is scheduled for a 9 p.m. start and will be televised on FS1.

All times are Eastern.

Thursday, May 23

2:35 p.m.- 3:25 p.m.: Monster Energy Cup Series First Practice – Airing on FS1 at 3 p.m.
4:05 p.m.- 4:55 p.m.: Xfinity Series First Practice – FS1
6:05 p.m.-6:55 p.m.: Xfinity Series Final Practice – FS1
7:05 p.m.: Monster Energy Cup Series Qualifying – Single Vehicle/One Lap All Positions – FS1/PRN

Friday, May 24
No events scheduled

Saturday, May 25

8:35 a.m.-9:25 a.m.: Monster Energy Cup Series Second Practice – FS1
9:35 a.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – Single Vehicle/One Lap All Positions – FS1
11:05 a.m.-11:55 a.m.: Monster Energy Cup Series Final Practice – FS1
1 p.m.: Xfinity Series Alsco 300 (Stages 45/90/200 Laps = 300 Miles) – FS1/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Sunday, May 26

6 p.m.: Monster Energy Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 (Stages 100/200/300/400 Laps = 600 Miles) – FOX/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

May 23, 2019
Full schedule for Charlotte All-Star weekend

For one night a year, throw the points out the window as the Monster Energy All-Star teams take to their hometown track for the Annual All-Star Race. The Xfinity teams have one final week off before Charlotte but the Truck Series is back in action Friday night under the lights. Here is how you can watch all of the action.

All times are Eastern.

Friday, May 17

9:05 a.m. – 9:55 a.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series first practice – NASCAR.com/live

10:35 a.m. – 11:25 a.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series final practice – NASCAR.com/live

11:35 a.m. – 12:25 p.m: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice COMBINED Open and All-Star – NASCAR.com/live

1:05 p.m. – 1:55 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series OPEN final practice – NASCAR.com/live

2:05 p.m. – 2:25 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series All-Star final practice – NASCAR.com/live , FS1 (Delayed)

2:35 p.m.: Pit road speed practice (All-Star Group 1) NASCAR.com/live

2:45 p.m.: Pit road speed practice (All-Star Group 2) NASCAR.com/live

4:35 p.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series Pole Qualifying (Single Vehicle/One Laps All Positions) – FS1

6:00 p.m.: NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying OPEN teams – (Single Vehicle/Two Laps) – FS1

7:00 p.m.: NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying All-Star teams – (Single Vehicle/Three Laps All Positions, Mandatory Pitstop) – FS1/PRN

8:30 p.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series North Carolina Educational Lottery 200 (Stages 30/60/134 Laps = 201 MILES) – FS1/MRN

Saturday, May 18

6 p.m.: Monster Energy Open Race (Stages 20/20/10 laps) – FS1/PRN

8 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race (Stages 30/20/20/15 laps) – FS1/PRN

All-Star Race – Rules, Format, Eligibility

May 16, 2019
Rebuilding My Totally-Not-Collectible Mustang, Part 5

The Stephen Cox Blog is presented by “Porsche Legend: The Penske L&M Porsche That Made Racing History”

The first performance tests for my 1980 Ford Mustang “restomod” are complete and the early signs are very positive.

Along with the 1974 and 1981 models, the 1980 Mustang is arguably the least desirable of any Ford pony car ever built and is certainly not worth the money and effort for a restoration. But the car has tremendous sentimental value for my family. I bought the car in early 1982 as the second owner. My wife and I dated in this car and I’ve since put over 240,000 miles on the odometer. So this is a labor of love. Nostalgia is all the value this car needs.

The Mustang’s original 2.3 liter, four-cylinder engine and 4-speed manual transmission have been replaced by a 347 cubic inch Ford Windsor small block with a Tremec 5 speed gearbox from McGunegill Engine Performance of Muncie, Indiana (which, thankfully, also happens to be the home of a local drag strip).

The car is still severely handicapped by its original 2.73 open differential, which is scheduled for future replacement. To make matters even worse, the subframe connectors have not yet been installed. So other than the engine, the car is still very much in stock condition.

347 CI Windsor small block Ford stroker engine from McGunegill Engine Performance, Muncie IN

We made just five passes in an effort to post a 0-60 baseline. I had no intention of taking the car to the very edge of its performance envelope. The goal was simply to establish a baseline of performance by which to judge the success or failure of future modifications to the car.

The first two runs were experimental. I spun the right rear tire on takeoff and used third gear, quickly realizing that neither was a good idea. Not only does a single-tire burnout leave an embarrassing skid mark on the pavement, but it also means you’ve wasted your only method of propulsion. Not good. The 0-60 times hovered around 7.3 seconds. That’s not terrible, but I knew we could do much better.

At this point in the car’s evolution, the way to get the best 0-60 time is to avoid spinning the rear tire and stay in second gear all the way to 60 mph, thereby eliminating the final shift. I tried that on the third pass, but I smoked the right rear again on the shift to second gear and ended up at 6.9 seconds.

The final two passes were more successful, producing very respectable 0-60 times of 5.99 and 5.97 seconds. The key was to run the car harder and longer in first gear in order to allow a hard shift into second at full throttle that wouldn’t spin the rear tires.

I’m sure the car could do even better with a few more runs and a bit of tinkering. It could probably get into the mid 5-second range with some effort, but that would probably be asking more from a stock 2.73 open differential than it’s prepared to deliver. I decided to quit while I was ahead.

Cox’s new book on the Penske L&M Porsche is now available on Amazon.

We were successful in establishing 5.9 seconds as the car’s baseline 0-60 mph performance barometer with a reliable and consistent digital scoring system, and that’s enough for now. With the addition of a 9 inch Ford rear end with 3.73 gears and subframe connectors, that 0-60 time will probably drop into the 4-second range. That puts it on par with the 2019 Mustang Bullitt, the 2018 Mustang GT, the 2017 Dodge Challenger T/A 392 and many other modern muscle cars.

The little Mustang still runs on standard pump gasoline and it’s mild enough for the Mrs. and me to take to the local drive-in theater and a few old drive-in restaurants, two of our favorite summer pastimes. Yet it’s light years ahead of anything Ford envisioned in 1980. So far, so good.

Stephen Cox

Sopwith Motorsports Television Productions

Driver, FIA EGT sportscar championship & Super Cup Stock Car Series

Co-host, Mecum Auctions on NBCSN

May 10, 2019