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Category: NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR Cup Series

  • NASCAR postpones summer Cup race at Talladega

    NASCAR postpones summer Cup race at Talladega

    The NASCAR Cup Series’ GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway has been postponed due to inclement weather.

    The Cup Series’ 13th race of the 2020 season at Talladega, ninth since the sport’s return from the COVID-19 pandemic, was scheduled to run on Sunday, June 21, at 3 p.m. ET. The race was delayed, however, when lightning reports, storms and rain occurred around the track. Despite attempts from the jet dryers to have the track dried, the inclement weather kept reoccurring and NASCAR decided to reschedule the event to Monday, June 22, at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.

    When the green flag waves on Monday, Martin Truex Jr. will start on pole position based on a random draw and will start alongside teammate and last weekend’s Homestead winner Denny Hamlin. A competition caution is planned for on Lap 25 with the race to span 188 laps (500 miles).

  • Smithley to drive for B.J. McLeod Motorsports at Talladega

    Smithley to drive for B.J. McLeod Motorsports at Talladega

    Garrett Smithley will be driving the No. 78 Chevrolet Camaro for B.J. McLeod Motorsports in the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, June 21, where he will start at the rear of the 40-car field.

    Smithley’s move to B.J. McLeod Motorsports will mark the third team the Ligonier, Pennsylvania, native has driven for this season. Through the first 13 races of this year’s Cup season, he competed in eight with Rick Ware Racing and two with Spire Motorsports while sitting out the 62nd running of the Daytona 500. Sunday’s event will mark his first NASCAR premier series start in one of the world’s fastest superspeedway venues in Alabama. He has competed at Talladega in the last four seasons in the Xfinity Series, achieving a best result of 10th in 2018 while driving for JD Motorsports.

    Smithley’s move to B.J. McLeod Motorsports for Talladega comes a day after it was announced that team owner/driver B.J. McLeod will be driving the No. 77 OilFire Rye Whiskey Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Spire Motorsports on Sunday. James Davison, a native from Melbourne, Australia, who has a deep racing background in sports cars and IndyCar along with making four Xfinity Series career starts, was initially scheduled to make his Cup Series debut this Sunday at Talladega with Spire Motorsports. Though Davison was approved to run earlier this week, NASCAR reconsidered their approval for the Australian to run the superspeedway event since there will be no practice or qualifying session prior to the race. Davison will wait until next weekend at Pocono Raceway to make his Cup and NASCAR oval debut with Spire Motorsports.

    The NASCAR Cup Series’ 13th race of the season at Talladega Superspeedway will air on June 21 at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Joe Gibbs Racing to surpass milestone start at Talladega

    Joe Gibbs Racing to surpass milestone start at Talladega

    A week after celebrating a milestone win with Denny Hamlin at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Joe Gibbs Racing will achieve another milestone this upcoming weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. When the green flag drops on Sunday, June 21, for the NASCAR Cup Series’ 13th race of the 2020 season, JGR will surpass 2,500 combined Cup starts among its four-car lineup and in the organization’s 29th season in NASCAR.

    Through 12 races this season, JGR has won four races (three with Hamlin and one with Martin Truex Jr.) and has recorded 24 top-10 results (made between its four-car lineup).

    Founded in 1991, JGR, owned by legendary NFL coach and three-time Super Bowl championship-winning coach Joe Gibbs, fielded a full-time entry in the 1992 Cup Series season, the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet driven by Hickory, North Carolina’s Dale Jarrett and led by crew chief Jimmy Makar. In their first season in NASCAR competition, Jarrett finished 19th in the overall standings with eight top-10 results. The following season, with his father, Ned, calling the final lap action on CBS Sports, Jarrett held off Dale Earnhardt to record the team’s first ever NASCAR win in the season-opening Daytona 500. Jarrett and the No. 18 team would record 12 more top-five finishes (17 more top-10 finishes) before concluding the season in fourth in the overall standings.

    Following the 1994 season, Jarrett left the organization after winning once and finishing 16th in the standings the previous year. He was replaced by Bobby Labonte, a native from Corpus Christi, Texas, and younger brother of Terry Labonte, the 1984 Cup champion. After the first 10 races, Labonte recorded his first Cup career win in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He went on to sweep both Michigan Cup events before finishing 10th in the final standings. Overall, he recorded seven top-five results, 14 top-10 results and two poles to go along with his first three career victories in 1995. After the 1996 season, where Labonte won once and finished 11th in the final standings, JGR made a manufacturer change from Chevrolet to Pontiac. Between 1997-98, Labonte won three races, notched six poles and recorded 36 top-10 results with a best points result of sixth in 1998. By then, J.D. Gibbs, Joe Gibbs’ son, was named team president of JGR and the team was establishing its facility in Huntersville, North Carolina.

    In 1999, JGR expanded to a two-car operation as Columbus, Indiana’s Tony Stewart joined the organization, driving the No. 20 Home Depot Pontiac led by crew chief Greg Zipadelli. Stewart notched his first NASCAR Cup career win at Richmond International Raceway in September and won two more races before finishing fourth in the final standings and claiming the Rookie-of-the-Year title. His teammate, Labonte, won five races and finished second in the standings to Jarrett, who celebrated his first Cup title.

    The following season, team owner Joe Gibbs and JGR achieved their first NASCAR Cup championship with Labonte, who won four races, including the Brickyard 400, and recorded 24 top-10 results in the 34-race schedule to wrap up the first title for the team and himself by 265 points over Dale Earnhardt. Two years later, Stewart rallied from finishing last in the season-opening Daytona 500 to win his first Cup title and second for the team in a season where he won three races and recorded 21 top-10 results. The next season, JGR returned to fielding Chevrolets as Stewart and Labonte won two races a piece and finished seventh and eighth in the final standings.

    In 2005, where the team had achieved 42 Cup career wins, JGR expanded to a three-car operation as Long Beach, California’s Jason Leffler was assigned to pilot the No. 11 FedEx Chevrolet led by crew chief Dave Rogers and as a new teammate to Stewart and Labonte. In August, Leffler was released from the team, having missed one race and finishing as high as 12th on track. Terry Labonte along with Hamlin and Phoenix, Arizona’s J.J. Yeley took turns driving the car for the remainder of the season as Rogers was eventually replaced by Mike Ford. Labonte also had a difficult season as he recorded four top-five results, seven top-10 results and finished 24th in the final standings. Despite the struggles, JGR won its third NASCAR Cup title with Stewart, who won five races, recorded 17 top-five results and 25 top-10 results, which was enough for the Hoosier native to wrap up his second series title by 35 points over Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards.

    In 2006, JGR featured a new lineup as Yeley replaced Labonte to drive the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet while Hamlin was promoted as a full-time driver of the No. 11 FedEx Chevrolet. Stewart remained as driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet. Yeley recorded three top-10 results the entire season and finished 29th in the final standings while Stewart was unable to defend his championship after failing to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Cup title, though he won five races overall. Hamlin, meanwhile, won his first two Cup career victories in both Pocono Raceway events, including the non-point Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway in February, and recorded 20 top-10 results to make the Chase and settle in third in the final standings. In the end, he was awarded the 2006 Rookie-of-the-Year title.

    Two years later, JGR made a manufacturer change from Chevrolet to Toyota and replaced Yeley with Las Vegas, Nevada’s Kyle Busch as driver of the No. 18 Toyota Camry sponsored by M&M’s and Interstate Batteries. By then, Gibbs, who had returned to the NFL as head coach for the Washington Redskins in 2004, retired from coaching football in January. Four races into the 2008 season, Busch became the fifth different driver to win driving for JGR after accomplishing his task at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March while also recording the first Cup win for Toyota. Through September, JGR operations won eight more Cup races between Busch and Hamlin. The team, however, struggled in the final 10 races, only winning once with Stewart at Talladega in October, before finishing eighth, ninth and 10th in the final standings. Despite the late struggles in the Cup season, JGR had a successful season in the Xfinity Series, winning 19 races between four competitors and clinching the owner’s title.

    In 2009, where the team had achieved 68 Cup wins, JGR welcomed young Middletown, Connecticut’s Joey Logano to the Cup lineup, where he was assigned to the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry when Stewart decided to join forces with Gene Haas and become a driver/owner of Stewart-Haas Racing. In June, Logano recorded his first Cup career win in a rain-shortened event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after gambling late on fuel. He would record six more top-10 results before settling in 20th in the final standings and claiming the Rookie-of-the-Year title. Hamlin, meanwhile, won four races and settled in fifth in the final standings. Busch also won four races, but on-track inconsistencies throughout the summer prevented him from making the Chase by eight points, where he settled in 13th in the final standings. He was, however, able to record the first Xfinity Series championship for JGR after winning nine races throughout the season.

    In 2012, with the reigning championship-winning crew chief Darian Grubb atop his pit box, Hamlin recorded the 100th Cup win for the organization at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September, which marked his fifth of five wins that season. By then, Kyle Busch had won eight more races with the team since 2010 while Logano notched his second series win at Pocono Raceway back in June 2012. In addition, owner Joe Gibbs achieved his third Xfinity owner’s championship in 2010.

    The following season, JGR replaced Logano with the 2003 NASCAR Cup champion Matt Kenseth as the new driver of the No. 20 Toyota Camry sponsored by Dollar General and Husky Tools. In Kenseth’s first season with the team, he won a season-high seven races, three poles and recorded 20 top-10 results before settling in second in the final standings, 19 points behind the champion Jimmie Johnson. Busch rebounded from a difficult 2012 season to win four races, record 16 top-five results, 22 top-10 results and finish a career-best fourth in the standings. Hamlin, meanwhile, struggled with on-track performance, which started when he was involved in a harrowing last-lap accident at Auto Club Speedway following contact with Logano, a wreck that caused Hamlin to miss four races due to a collapsed vertebra. He would return in May and win the season finale at Homestead in November, which allowed him to extend his season-winning streak to eight.

    Two years later, where the team had achieved 114 Cup career wins, JGR expanded to a four-car lineup while welcoming Columbia, Missouri’s Carl Edwards to the organization and as driver of the No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry. The 2015 season was a banner year for JGR as all four competitors recorded multiple wins, including the organization’s first All-Star win with Hamlin, and were competitive throughout the season. Above all, the team achieved its fourth Cup title with Kyle Busch, who missed the first 11 Cup races of the season due to suffering a massive compound fracture in his lower right leg and a small fracture in his left foot as a result of wrecking in the Xfinity Series opening race at Daytona and slapping into a concrete wall not installed with SAFER barriers. Following a three-month absence, Busch would return and win four races throughout the summer months, including the Brickyard 400, and record enough points to qualify for the Chase, where he was consistent to make the Championship Round and won the season finale at Homestead to lock up the first series title for himself, crew chief Adam Stevens and for Toyota along with JGR’s first championship since 2005. Overall, the team won a combined 14 races in 2015.

    The following season, with new crew chief Mike Wheeler atop the pit box, Hamlin edged Martin Truex Jr. by 0.010 seconds to win his first career Daytona 500 and record the first 500 win for JGR since 1993. It also marked the first Daytona 500 victory for Toyota. All four JGR drivers won a combined 12 races in the 36-race schedule, including the Brickyard 400 with Busch, but fell short of winning back-to-back Cup titles. The team achieved success in the Xfinity Series, winning 19 races between five drivers and the 2016 Xfinity championship with Monterrey, Mexico’s Daniel Suarez. Over the next two Cup seasons, JGR operations would win 17 more races and surpass 150 Cup victories. In addition, Suarez would be promoted to the Cup Series in 2017 to replace Edwards following his sudden retirement from the sport. The following season, Kenseth was replaced by Byron, Michigan’s Erik Jones, who won his first Cup career race with the team at Daytona in July.

    Prior to the 2019 season, tragedy struck for the organization when team president J.D. Gibbs died at age 49 in January due to complications following a long battle with a degenerative neurological disease, a disease which Gibbs had undergone treatment for in recent years. The following month, the team rallied by winning the Daytona 500 with Hamlin, the driver who the late Gibbs played a fundamental role in bringing Hamlin to drive for the organization. The 500 win was Hamlin’s second of his career, the third for JGR, the second for Toyota and the first for new crew chief Chris Gabehart as Hamlin led a JGR one-two-three finish to the win followed by Kyle Busch and Jones. In April, Martin Truex Jr., the 2017 NASCAR Cup champion who joined JGR to replace Suarez prior to the season, won his first race with the team at Richmond. The 2019 season was another banner season for JGR as all four competitors recorded a win (19 overall) and Kyle Busch clinched the fifth Cup title for the team, second for the driver, at Homestead.

    Prior to the 2020 NASCAR season, Joe Gibbs was among five inductees, including Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte, to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on January 31. To this day, Gibbs remains the only person to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

    This season, Hamlin recorded the team’s fourth Daytona 500 win in February and has won two more races while Truex recorded his first victory of the season at Martinsville Speedway on June 10. Following Hamlin’s win last weekend at Homestead, JGR has 180 Cup career wins between 10 drivers. In addition to four Cup victories, JGR has notched four Xfinity wins (one with Kyle Busch, Brandon Jones and two with rookie Harrison Burton) and one ARCA Menards Series win (Ty Gibbs) this season.

    Heading into this weekend’s event at Talladega, JGR has won a Cup race at the superspeedway venue four times, none since 2014 with Hamlin, and has achieved 53 top-10 results since racing at the track in 1992. In the current Cup lineup, all competitors, but Erik Jones, have won at least once at Talladega within NASCAR’s three national major division series.

    The NASCAR Cup Series’ upcoming race at Talladega will air on June 21 at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Gaughan to achieve milestone start at Talladega

    Gaughan to achieve milestone start at Talladega

    When the green flag waves to commence Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, veteran Brendan Gaughan will reach a milestone of his own. By starting this weekend at Talladega, Gaughan will reach 500 starts between NASCAR’s three national major division series in his swan song season of racing.

    A grandson of the late Las Vegas gaming pioneer Jackie Gaughan and the son of Michael Gaughan, owner of South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa, Brendan Gaughan started his racing career with off-road racing, where he won three consecutive Class 10 SNORE (Southern Nevada Off-Road Enthusiasts) championships from 1991-93 before racing in the SODA (Short-course Off-road Drivers Association) series. His first appearance in NASCAR was at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his home track, in the Truck Series, where he drove for Walker Evans and finished 24th. In 2002, he fielded the No. 62 Dodge sponsored by NAPA Auto Parts in the NASCAR Truck Series with his father, where he won his first two career races and claimed the Rookie-of-the-Year title. The following season, while sponsored by Orleans Hotel & Casino, Gaughan won a career-high six races and had the series’ championship lead entering the season-finale event at Homestead-Miami Speedway until he was knocked out following late crash and finished fourth in the final standings.

    In 2004, Gaughan was promoted to the NASCAR Cup Series, where he drove the No. 77 Kodak Dodge for Penske-Jasper Racing. He achieved four top-10 results, including a career-best third at Talladega Superspeedway in October 2004, and fell short of the Rookie-of-the-Year title to Kasey Kahne. The following season, Gaughan returned to the Truck Series, where he spent the next four seasons driver between his father Michael and owner Tom Mitchell. While Gaughan did not win the next four seasons, he achieved 11 top-five results, 25 top-10 results and 65 laps led with a best result of 11th in the 2007 standings.

    The following two seasons, Gaughan raced in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Rusty Wallace Racing, where he notched six top-five results, 17 top-10 results and one career pole with a best result of ninth in the 2009 standings. After spending the 2011 season racing in the Truck Series with Germain Racing, Gaughan ran a part-time schedule across NASCAR’s three national major division series for Richard Childress Racing in 2012, where he finished in the top five four times in the Truck Series and in the top 10 five times in the Xfinity Series.

    After racing the entire 2013 Truck Series schedule with RCR, where he earned 13 top-10 results and a final result of seventh in the championship standings, Gaughan returned to the Xfinity Series in 2014, where he drove the No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Camaro for RCR. After 98 attempts in the series, Gaughan captured his first Xfinity career win at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, following a late battle with Chase Elliott and Alex Tagliani. Three months later, Gaughan captured his second series win at Kentucky Speedway after battling Elliott and teammates Ty Dillon and Brian Scott. The wins marked his only top-five results of the season despite tallying his top-10 finishes to seven and finishing eighth in the final standings. The following season, Gaughan remained with RCR and went winless, but managed to secure 14 top-10 results and a final result of ninth in the standings. He also competed in eight races for team owner Jay Robinson, scoring a best result of 28th at Atlanta in March and at Daytona in July.

    In 2016, the year the Xfinity Series adopted to the Playoff-elimination format as the Cup Series, Gaughan relied on consistency to make the postseason, but was eliminated from title contention in the penultimate round after Phoenix in November. He concluded the season with four top-five results, 16 top-10 results and a final result of 12th in the standings. The following season, Gaughan made the postseason through consistency, but was eliminated following the first round by a single point. He concluded the 2017 Xfinity season with eight top-10 results and a final result of 10th in the standings. In addition, Gaughan competed in four Cup races (both Daytona and Talladega events) while driving the No. 75 Chevrolet for Beard Motorsports, led by crew chief Darren Shaw and owned by former driver Mark Beard, under an alliance with RCR and powered with ECR Engines. Gaughan’s best performance was a seventh-place result at Daytona in July.

    The following season, Gaughan retired from full-time racing while electing to compete in all Cup superspeedway races for Beard Motorsports in the No. 62 Chevrolet and in three Xfinity races with RCR and the No. 3 Chevrolet on the road-course events at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Road America and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. His best performances in his seven-race schedule were 12th-place results at the Cup Daytona race in July, the Xfinity Mid-Ohio race in August and the Cup Talladega race in October. The following season, Gaughan remained with Beard Motorsports and competed in all four Cup superspeedway events at Daytona and Talladega. His best finish was an eighth-place result at Talladega in April, but Gaughan’s memorable moment of 2019 was at the second Talladega race in October, where he was battling for the lead before he was swept up in a multi-car wreck and barrel rolled in the air before landing on all four wheels and emerging uninjured. He settled in 27th.

    In January of this season, Gaughan announced his retirement from racing after competing the four Cup superspeedway races of 2020 for Beard Motorsports and in the No. 62 Beard Oil/South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. A week before the Daytona 500, Gaughan was one of two competitors driving for non-chartered teams to secure a spot for the 500-mile event based on qualifying speed. A week later, Gaughan avoided a harrowing last-lap wreck involving Ryan Newman to finish seventh in his fifth and final Daytona 500 career start, which also marks his last Cup start to date before this Sunday at Talladega.

    In addition to achieving NASCAR start number 500, this weekend will mark Gaughan’s 10th Cup career start at Talladega and one of two opportunities for the veteran to achieve his first win in NASCAR’s premier series in his 64th series start and in an illustrious racing career spanning beyond 20 years with 10 national major division series victories, four poles and 154 top-10 results.

    The NASCAR Cup Series will race at Talladega on June 21 at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Cup rookies prepare for first tackle at Talladega

    Cup rookies prepare for first tackle at Talladega

    It has been a month since NASCAR returned to on-track racing amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and a number of firsts have occurred since the sport’s return. From midweek races to series’ doubleheaders at the same track and even quadruple-header weekends among the sport’s three major national division series, NASCAR has provided its share of resolving the unexpected and creating memories through the first half of the 2020 season. With Talladega Superspeedway next on the schedule, the unexpected is a term that every driver and team can annually anticipate from the drop of the green flag to the checkered. It is also a venue that can provide the element of surprise for anyone, especially for this year’s Cup rookie class.

    When the first green flag of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season flew at Daytona International Speedway in February, six rookies embarked on a yearlong journey filled with firsts and a new approach towards each track like none other from their previous seasons. This weekend will mark their first time racing at Talladega, one of the world’s fastest racing venues, in NASCAR’s premier series, which has not raced on a superspeedway event since the Daytona 500 in February.

    For years, Talladega is a track that does not yield a simple race-winning path for anyone after 500 miles. It is a track that requires patience, aggression and boldness for any competitor to emerge victorious ahead of a steaming pack of other competitors fighting towards the same goal. It is also a track that can make any dreams come true. Since its inception in 1969, 11 competitors have scored their first Cup win at Talladega, not since Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made the last accomplishment in 2017, which provides a golden opportunity for any rookie competitor to shine and rise to the occasion against NASCAR’s elite.

    Twelve races into the 2020 season, the reigning two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Tyler Reddick leads the Cup rookie standings. The Corning, California, native is coming off a career run last weekend at Homestead, where he finished fourth and picked up his first top-five career finish in the Cup Series. To go along with two additional top-10 results and fast racecars prepared by his team and crew chief Randall Burnett, Reddick is slowly peaking towards his first Cup win. When it comes to Talladega, there are two advantages for Reddick. The first is that Reddick is a former winner at the superspeedway event, having won last year’s Xfinity race at the track despite encountering early on-track issues. The second is that his team, Richard Childress Racing, has a rich history at Talladega with 12 wins, six poles and over 70 top-10 results, achieving results with names like Dale Earnhardt, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer. With the results, Reddick looks to add his name to RCR legacy’s at the superspeedway venue in Alabama and extend his recent stretch of solid performances.

    Pursuing Reddick in the rookie standings is John Hunter Nemechek. The second-generation driver from Mooresville, North Carolina, has achieved three top-15 results since May, including his first top-10 career finish at Darlington Raceway (ninth), and has displayed a model of consistency in his first full-time season in NASCAR’s premier series. Nemechek has raced at Talladega seven times between the Xfinity and Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, his best result being sixth in the 2017 Truck Series season and last year’s Xfinity Series season. An advantage Nemechek has towards Talladega is that his team, Front Row Motorsports, is competitive at superspeedway events (Daytona and Talladega). Since FRM’s started racing in the Cup Series in 2005, the team has notched 20 top-10 results, more than half coming at Talladega. In addition, Talladega serves as the track where the team notched its first Cup career win in 2013, when David Ragan and David Gilliland recorded a thrilling one-two finish for the team. With his consistent start, Nemechek looks to take the next step to finish at the front of the field and etch his name as the next upset winner at the world’s fastest racing venues.

    Next is Christopher Bell. The Norman, Oklahoma, native has achieved a multitude of accomplishments in racing, from sprint cars to stock cars. This includes winning the 2013 USAC National Midget title, three Chili Bowl sprint car titles, a NASCAR win at Eldora, the 2017 Truck Series championship and a combined 23 wins across the Truck and Xfinity Series in 14 different tracks, including his first road course win at Road America last season. There are a handful of accomplishments that Bell has yet to achieve, among which includes winning a Cup race and winning a superspeedway event. Thus far, Bell has achieved three top-10 results in his rookie Cup season and has raced at Talladega five times between the Xfinity and Truck Series, his best result being second in the 2017 Truck Series season and third in last year’s Xfinity Series season. His team, Leavine Family Racing, is competitive at superspeedway events despite scoring two top-10 career finishes at Talladega and his crew chief, Jason Ratcliff, has won at the track once in the 2011 Xfinity season with Kyle Busch. With his recent stride in producing decent results, Bell also looks to take the next step in his rookie Cup season by finishing towards the front and placing himself in position to emerge as an upset winner at a track that is very familiar with upset tales.

    While the last seven results since May have not fallen in the favors of Cole Custer, the Ladera Ranch, California, native remains in pursuit of his first breakthrough moment in the Cup Series while driving for one of the sport’s competitive teams, Stewart-Haas Racing. Entering this weekend, Custer has achieved one top-10 career finish in the Cup Series and has raced at Talladega four times between the Xfinity and Truck Series, with a best result of ninth in the 2018 Xfinity season. In 2018, Stewart-Haas Racing achieved its first Cup win at Talladega on a day where all four SHR cars led the field the majority of the race before Aric Almirola scored a breakthrough win of his career. This serves as an advantage for Custer to race towards the front competitively with a championship-winning team and possibly achieve his moment in NASCAR’s premier series.

    When it comes to Talladega Superspeedway, Brennan Poole has a notable moment at the track that is deemed heartbreaking. In 2016, Poole, driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, dodged a last-lap incident between Joey Logano and Elliott Sadler in the tri-oval to nip Justin Allgaier at the finish line and score what appeared to have been his first Xfinity Series career win. Upon reviewing the footage, however, NASCAR determined that Sadler, who had managed to straighten his car and continued to race despite wrecking, was ahead of the field at the moment of caution, which resulted in Sadler winning while Poole was demoted to third. To date, this remains the closest Poole has come in winning at Talladega. The Woodlands, Texas, native has raced at the track three additional times between the Truck and Xfinity Series, but all finishes have been outside the top 20. In his first 12 Cup career starts this season, Poole has recorded a career-best result of 16th from this year’s Daytona 500, but has finished as high as 24th in the last seven races. This weekend serves as an opportunity for Poole to hone his driving skills against the current Cup stars and claim the win that was taken away from him four years ago.

    Lastly, Quin Houff also looks to achieve a breakthrough moment of his racing career on the track. Through the first 12 races of this season, Houff has finished in the top 30 twice (Darlington & Bristol) while sustaining three DNFs and finishing outside the top 30 in five of the last six Cup races. Houff’s team, StarCom Racing, has raced in NASCAR since 2017 and has finished in the top 15 twice, both coming at Daytona and Talladega. Like Poole, Houff sets his focus on this weekend to etch his name against the sport’s elite.

    This year’s rookie Cup class are among six of multiple stars that includes Matt DiBenedetto, William Byron, James Davison, Ty Dillon, Brendan Gaughan, Gray Gaulding, Joey Gase, Timmy Hill, Corey LaJoie, Michael McDowell, B.J. McLeod, Ryan Preece, Daniel Suarez, Bubba Wallace and J.J. Yeley who will pursue their first win in the Cup Series this weekend at Talladega.

    All Cup Series competitors, including this year’s rookie class, will receive their first of two opportunities this season to conquer Talladega on June 21 with the race to air at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Earnhardt Jr., Stefanik, Farmer voted into NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2021, Ralph Seagraves to receive Landmark Award

    Earnhardt Jr., Stefanik, Farmer voted into NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2021, Ralph Seagraves to receive Landmark Award

    Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mike Stefanik and Red Farmer were voted into the 2021 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame Tuesday evening. Earnhardt and Stefanik were chosen from the Modern Era ballot while Farmer will represent the Pioneer Era.

    Ralph Seagraves, an official with the R.J. Reynolds Company and instrumental in the Winston brand sponsorship, was named as the recipient of the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.

    Earnhardt is a two-time Daytona 500 winner, claiming the checkered flag in 2004 and 2014 and was voted as NASCAR’s most popular driver from 2003 until 2017 when he retired from driving full-time and transitioned to a broadcasting career with NBC Sports. He won two Xfinity Series titles in 1998 and 1999 and had 26 victories during his Cup Series career. His JR Motorsports Xfinity team has earned three championships with 48 wins.

    Earnhardt shared his thoughts on being nominated and the events leading up to Tuesday’s announcement.

    “When that list of nominees came out I was so honored to be on that sheet,’’ Earnhardt said. “I couldn’t believe my name was on that sheet to be honest with you. I know those guys and their body of work. I was good with just being on the sheet and was going to be happy with that,’’ he continued.

    “It’s such a great feeling that someone feels like I made an impact on the sport,’’ Earnhardt said. “And I know my numbers, the wins, the lack of a championship; I know what my numbers are. And I feel like I was chosen based on that but also based on the impact off the race track and being an ambassador for the sport.” 

    Early in his career, Earnhardt realized that he would always be compared to his father but he also knew that it was an impossible legacy to live up to and that he would have to carve his own path.

    “There was a point in my career where I started to think, okay I’m not going to win seven championships, I’m not maybe even going to win one championship,’’ Earnhardt said. “I’m not going to win 100 races, might not even win 40 races. So what can I do? 

    “If I can’t do that, and there were a lot of people that wanted me to be Dale Earnhardt, not just be the Intimidator but they wanted me to be as successful as he was and to drive like him, aggressively, spinning people out. Whatever they thought dad was, that’s what they wanted me to emulate.

    “And when I realized that I’m not going to be able to win those races, I’m not going to be able to win a championship, I started to think of what I could do outside of that. What else could I control that would help the sport and be a good ambassador for the sport.

    “I wasn’t always perfect, but I started focusing in those areas and being accessible, being available, being accountable and I feel like I did a decent job at that. I don’t want to sit here and measure it, that’s up to someone else, but I’m pretty happy with that part of my career when it comes to the impact I had on the sport. I’m very happy with it considering the fact I didn’t have that success my father did but yet I was able to move the needle a little bit in the mainstream media.’’


    Mike Stefanik, who died in a plane crash on Sept. 15, 2019, won nine championships during his career, seven in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and two in the NASCAR East Series. He holds the Whelen Modified series record in championships, wins, poles, top fives and top 10s and is tied for ninth on the all-time series wins list.

    Red Farmer, a member of the Alabama Gang, has a win total that is uncertain but estimates put it at more than700. At almost 90-years-old, he is still competing on short tracks. He claimed three consecutive championships from 1969-71 in the Late Model Sportsman division and ran 36 races in the Cup Series with a best finish of fourth (twice). In 1998 he was named as one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers.

    He has raced against the best in NASCAR in a career that began in 1953 and was thrilled to be included in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

    “I had to catch my breath there for a minute,’’ he said, “This is the biggest honor you could ever get. I started down there on the beach in 1953. I’ve been in NASCAR a long time and got to run against a lot of great drivers.’’

    Details for the 2021 NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony have yet to be announced.

  • From Hank Aaron to Bubba Wallace, A “Track” Record of Success

    From Hank Aaron to Bubba Wallace, A “Track” Record of Success

    Diversity

    It’s defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “the inclusion of different types of people (such as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization”

    For Andrew Murstein, most of his professional career has been all about diversity and helping minority business owners. Today as President and COO of Medallion Financial Corp, a business his grandfather started in the 1930’s he is taking things to a higher gear… literally. His family ran one of the largest Small Business Administration (SBA) lenders in the United States. 100% of their loans were given to women and minority owned businesses at low rates so that they could start their own business or help them grow. When Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron joined the Board of Murstein’s Company, the groundwork was set to change the sports world.

    Diversity was something that Murstein learned about at a young age from what he was taught by his parents and the environment of the public schools that he attended. The Board of Directors at Medallion was always a diverse group that included among others…

    Ben Ward, the first African-American police commissioner in the history of New York City.

    Former New York State Governor Mario Cuomo, a champion for equal rights.

    And Aaron, the legendary home run champion who faced racism and death threats during and after his successful journey of breaking Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record.

    Murstein would apply what he learned in the business world and he would eventually bring ground breaking diversity to NASCAR with the purchase of Richard Petty Motorsports.

    In 2017, RPM turned to Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. to take the reins of the iconic number 43, made famous by legendary NASCAR driver Richard Petty. Wallace became the first full-time African-American driver at the highest level of NASCAR since Wendell Scott in 1971. Bubba Wallace and RPM have taken center stage in that nationwide outrage over the senseless death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers during an arrest in Minnesota a few weeks ago.

    “From the moment that Richard Petty and I bought the team, we were focused on diversity and inclusiveness,” said Murstein. “I have learned so much from Hank Aaron over the years and have been inspired by him. I thought of him when we had an opening a few years ago for a new driver and we immediately choose Bubba. I always thought Bubba had the potential in his own way to be a game-changer for NASCAR and break barriers like the great Hank Aaron did in baseball”

    The 26-year-old Wallace is a product of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program that was developed to attract minorities and females to the sport. He totaled six Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series win and became the first African-American since Wendell Scott to win a NASCAR race when he reached Victory Lane at Martinsville in 2013. In his rookie NASCAR Cup Series season back in 2018, Wallace finished second in the Daytona 500 and racked up a pair of top-ten finishes.

    Wallace has been at the forefront in terms of change in NASCAR as well as throughout the country over the last couple of weeks. Things moved quickly behind the scenes at RPM following the public outcry and that included teamwork and a quick response from NASCAR.

    Before the NASCAR Cup Series race in Atlanta on June 7th, Wallace was seen wearing a black t-shirt with the words “I CAN’T BREATHE” and, the words that Floyd delivered to the police officers as they were caught on video applying a hold that ultimately took his life. Also on the shirt were the words “BLACK LIVES MATTER” which has become the nationwide rallying cry for the denouncing of systemic racism and the demand to end racial injustice.

    Wallace would also make a request to NASCAR during a live prime-time CNN interview that the Confederate Flag be banned from all races, tracks and.

    “No one should feel uncomfortable when they come to a NASCAR race,” Wallace told CNN on June 8th. “It starts with confederate flags. Get them out of here.”

    On Wednesday June 10th, NASCAR agreed as they took Wallace’s request and put pen to paper on a new rule prohibiting the flag from being displayed at related events and properties. That night, at the NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville, Wallace received nationwide attention for driving RPM’s famous 43 car that was painted black and on the car in bold letters was the hashtag #BLACKLIVESMATTER.

    Wallace had a strong showing in the race that night finishing 11th and that day has certainly changed his life with plenty of new fans, national notoriety, and lots of inquiries from celebrities and star athletes. New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara, who had never been to a NASCAR raced, reached out to Bubba on social media to extend his support. NASCAR then invited Kamara to this past Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami and the running back attended wearing Wallace 43 apparel.

    “Even Hank Aaron reached out to congratulate us on all that we accomplished,” said Murstein. “Through the years I have been with Hank when an untold number of people approached him for his autograph or just to say how much they admire him, including everyone from Alex Rodriquez to President Bush to President Clinton. For Hank to reach out on his own, and tell you that he’s impressed, well then you know it’s a pretty big deal.”

    Aaron and Wallace have a couple of things in common. One is that they both hail from Mobile, Alabama and the other is that they have both looked racism straight in the face. Aaron went through a tough time in 1974 when he approached Babe Ruth’s all-time home run mark and subsequently broke The Bambino’s” record.

    “Hank played with great poise and class during such a difficult period int the United States,” said Murstein. “He had death threats and hate mail constantly because of his skin color. Hank understands on a different scale what Bubba has been going through as NASCAR’s only full-time African-American driver in nearly fifty years.”

    Wallace’s request to have the Confederate Flag removed from NASCAR events certainly opened up some eyes around the country, but when he raced around the track at Martinsville in that black car, it was a defining moment in NASCAR history and could also serve as a turning point for Bubba’s career and for the success of Richard Petty Motorsports. While Bubba has gained well-deserved acclaim for the courage and conviction to drive that car, the idea to have #BLACKLIVESMATTER on the Chevrolet was not just Wallace’s.

    It came from within the RPM family and then Wallace took it to another level.

    “Bubba immediately loved it,” said Murstein. “The team then worked with him to design what I feel is one of the best cars ever designed in NASCAR.”

    “From Richard Petty to Andy Murstein, everybody at RPM is standing behind me and believing in me on track and also following me through this journey off track and letting me find my way and find my voice in standing up for what’s right”, said Wallace.

    Bubba has enjoyed some terrific performances this season including a fifth-place finish in the Duel 1, sixth place at Las Vegas, tenth place at Bristol, eleventh-place last week at Martinsville and a 13th place finish this past Sunday at Homestead. Murstein and Petty rolled the dice when they signed Wallace three years ago and now, they are starting to see progress and perhaps a true star in the making.

    Success can take some time, but now Wallace is showing improvement and he’s gaining momentum in terms of new fans.

    “He’s been getting better and better,” said Murstein. “That’s what you want to see from a star, learning and progression. He also seems to rise to the occasion much like the great athletes do like Reggie Jackson, who Richard and I spent time with before the Daytona race. Bubba seems to step it up and perform at another level in big moments.”

    Bubba’s success, coupled with speaking out against racial injustice and continuing to “steer” towards diversity, has also had a tremendous impact on the team. Sponsors are the lifeblood of any racing team as more revenue can lead to better equipment and resources and that can eventually lead to winning races. It seems as if Wallace and RPM are gaining more attention, much of it this past week with Bubba’s many media appearances, and that has led to inquiries from potentials sponsors.

    Over the last week, Murstein’s phone has been blowing up.

    “The outpouring of support from both fans and potential sponsors has been like anything I have ever seen,” said Murstein. “Many Fortune 500 companies and companies of all sizes want to be a part of what he is creating. It’s very rare when an athlete can make such a difference not just while performing, but outside of his or her sport as well and have such a major positive change in the world. Bubba has not only been doing that, but I feel the best is yet to come.”

    These are certainly interesting times in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the sports world but NASCAR was the first major sport to return from suspension, albeit with no fans in attendance. However, when fans are eventually permitted to return to the racetracks, expect to see more Bubba Wallace 43 gear in the crowd. He is a future star in NASCAR but he is also gaining popularity for the change he is trying to help create when it comes to diversity.

    Between “The King” Richard Petty, who is loved and embraced by motorsports fans the world over, and Murstein who has the passion and know how to make it all happen, Bubba has the perfect support staff to help him accomplish that. The world can’t wait to see what sponsors will also support this cause, and what lies ahead for this budding superstar and this legendary team.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Homestead

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Homestead

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kevin Harvick: Harvick struggled at Homestead, finishing 26th, one lap down. He still leads the points standings, with an eight-point edge over Joey Logano.

    “I’m not used to finishing outside the top five,” Harvick said, “much less the top 10. Me in 26th place? That just doesn’t look right. It’s kind of like seeing Clint Bowyer’s head on a raving dancer’s body. I’ve seen the real Clint Bowyer dance. He does indeed have ‘moves like Jagger.’ That is, the moves of a 76-year-old man.”

    2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin won at Homestead in dominant fashion, sweeping all stages and leading 137 laps.

    “I had a spirited battle with Chase Elliott on the track,” Hamlin said. “I had a spirited battle with Corey Lajoie on Twitter. They both finished second.”

    3. Chase Elliott: Elliott battled Denny Hamlin late at Homestead, but couldn’t get around the No. 11 Toyota and settled for second.

    “Joey Logano did me no favors,” Elliott said. “I guess he’s still irritated by what happened at Bristol. Heck, I already apologized, but he’s still being a dick about it. He’s also being petty. So, this is the first time that calling someone ‘Richard Petty’ was meant as an insult.”

    4. Joey Logano: Contact with Ryan Newman ruined Logano’s night at Homestead and he finished two laps down in 27th place.

    “I got loose,” Logano said, “hit the wall, and clipped the Oscar Mayer No. 6 car. Many people, including nearly all of my enemies, would say that’s ‘weiner on weiner’ crime.”

    5. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 10th at Homestead and now has seven consecutive top-10 finishes.

    “Due to several weather delays,” Keselowski said, “the race didn’t end until 11 p.m. Hmmm. Eleven o’clock at night in Florida? I hear that’s just when the real action starts in this state.”

    6. Ryan Blaney: Blaney was strong at Homestead, leading 70 laps and his way to a third-place finish.

    “Trucks Series driver Ray Ciccarelli said he wouldn’t race again in response to NASCAR’s new Confederate flag ban,” Blaney said. “Then he said he might. All you need to do is look at Ray’s record as a driver, and you’ll see that his latest crusade is a lost cause.”

    7. Kyle Busch: Busch finished sixth at Homestead as Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin took the win.

    “I won the Craftsman Trucks race on Saturday night,” Busch said, “which snapped a two-race Trucks winless streak. And speaking of ‘streaks,’ a lot of other drivers might call me an ‘ass,’ but I have the shortest ‘skid marks‘ of any drivers.”

    8. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished 12th at Homestead and is sixth in the points standings, 53 out of first.

    “My JGR teammate Denny Hamlin started on the pole,” Truex said, “won the first two stages, and completed the deal with the win. Not only did Denny ‘sweep’ on the track, I also hear he ‘mopped the floor’ with Corey LaJoie on Twitter. Oh well.”

    9. Alex Bowman: Bowman came home 18th in the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead.

    “Just a week after the Confederate flag was banned,” Bowman said, “we ran the ‘Dixie Vodka 400.’ That’s interesting. Personally, I hate vodka. I hate it so much, I started a club of like-minded people. I call it a ‘hate group.’”

    10. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished 16th at Homestead.

    “The tunnel that leads to the track was named in my honor,” Johnson said. “The joke is it does lead to the track, but doesn’t lead to Victory Lane.”

  • Homestead features unique top-15 notables

    Homestead features unique top-15 notables

    While Denny Hamlin earned a milestone win in his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday night’s Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the 12th race of the 2020 season, there were a multitude of competitors who earned strong results and left Miami satisfied with their performances.

    The first was Tyler Reddick. Coming into Miami, Reddick had earned two top-10 results in the last six Cup races and was situated in 18th in the regular-season standings. The key aspect Reddick and his team had was the speed to run toward the front and it was only a matter of time before he could utilize the speed to earn a strong result. When the race proceeded under the lights in Homestead, the California native shined against the veterans and fellow future stars as he ran within the top five all race long despite starting 24th, led his first three career laps in the series and finished within the top three in both stages while earning valuable stage points in his quest to make the playoffs.

    In the final laps, Reddick was within sight of the leaders before he drove his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE home in a solid fourth-place in his first Cup start at Homestead, a track where he won at the last two seasons in the Xfinity Series that clinched him the overall championships. With his fourth-place result, Reddick notched his first top-five finish in his 14th Cup Series career start along with his fourth top-10 result as he is two points shy of cracking the top 16 in the Cup standings. In addition, Reddick leads the Cup Rookie-of-the-Year standings by 70 points over John Hunter Nemechek, who finished 19th at Homestead. With Reddick’s top-five result, this marked the first time since 2007 where a rookie candidate finished inside the top 10 at Homestead.

    “I’m really proud of my Chevy Cares Chevrolet team and the effort we showed today,” Reddick said. “We had really good speed today and were able to run up front pretty much all night long. The men and women of RCR and ECR did a great job preparing us with a fast racecar to bring down to my favorite track on the circuit. We were able to use that speed to our advantage and race into the top 10 within the first 30 laps, and were able maintain that track position…We got a little too tight by the end of the night to really make the fence work like I wanted, but all in all, it was a solid effort tonight. I’ve won the past two times I’ve come here, granted in the Xfinity Series, but it was so fun to be ripping the fence with three of the best tonight in the NASCAR Cup Series. It was a hard-fought battle and one we can build momentum off of.”

    For this season, there were two rookies who finished in the top-10 results at Homestead as Christopher Bell also earned a decent result of eighth in Leavine Family Racing’s No. 95 Toyota Camry. For the Oklahoma native, the run at Miami and since NASCAR’s return in May produced a major turnaround from the start of his rookie Cup season. Following the first four races of the season, Bell’s average finish in the Cup Series was 29th to go along with two DNFs and a best result of 21st. The following six races, Bell improved his average result to 20th and he was able to claim his first two top-10 career results in the Cup Series. Starting 36th, Bell methodically carved his way through the field and found himself running inside the top 10 throughout the final stage. When the checkered flag flew, Bell finished eighth for his career-best finish in the Cup Series along with his third top-10 result in his 12th series start. The result allowed Bell to gain one position in the standings from 25th to 24th.

    “Our Rheem Camry was really, really loose to start the night and then [crew chief] Jason [Ratcliff] did a great job adjusting on it got it pretty close to where I was happy and then we were able to pick our way though there,” Bell said. “The races are so long – there are so many yellows – that I really wasn’t worried about our starting position. I knew that if we had a car that was good; we were going to get up front. I’m not going to say that we’re ready to make the next step, but at least we are being competitive the majority of weeks and we just have to keep it up.”

    Next was Aric Almirola. Prior to Homestead, the Florida native, in his third season driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, had an average-finishing result of 17.5 in the first 11 races and only three top-10 results. In addition, his highest-finishing result in the last four Cup races was a 20th-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway despite starting on the front row for three consecutive weeks by virtue of a random draw. At Homestead, Almirola started 21st, but by Lap 40, he proved that he had a strong car as he was in eighth. He finished fifth in the first stage and salvaged a 10th-place run in the second stage, which allowed him to gain valuable points towards making the playoffs. With the race progressing in a long green-flag stretch, Almirola kept his No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang near the front and was able to finish in fifth for his first top-five result in this year’s Cup season and his second at Miami. With his finish, Almirola moved from 14th to 13th in the series standings and sets his sights on next weekend’s race at Talladega Superspeedway, the site of Almirola’s last Cup victory dating back to October 2018.

    “Man, we finally had a nice clean day today,” Almirola said. “We really needed that as a team. We haven’t raced a full race yet without having something go wrong. This proves we have the speed we need to compete this season if we continue to run clean with no mistakes. Homestead is not an easy track to earn a top-five at either. To get our first of the season here shows we have a lot of potential.”

    Following a difficult midweek race at Martinsville Speedway, where a broken crush panel left him exposed to extreme heat behind the steering wheel and retiring in the closing laps while needing medical attention, Sunday’s run at Homestead felt like a win on a day that was already special for Austin Dillon. Prior to the main event, the Welcome, North Carolina, native and his wife, Whitney, celebrated the birth of the couple’s son, Ace. When the green flag dropped, Dillon, who started 16th, was able to navigate his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE inside the top 10, where he spent a majority of the race. Despite finishing eighth in the second stage and earning a handful of points towards his quest to make the playoffs, Dillon was running seventh towards the beginning of the final stage when he was penalized following a pit stop and sent to the rear for an uncontrolled tire violation. Despite the penalty, Dillon was able to carve his way through the field and finish in seventh for his fourth top-10 result of this season, his second in a row at Miami and to move from 17th to 16th in the series standings.

    “We took our No. 3 Dow / Behr Ultra Scuff Defense Chevy to a top-ten [result],” Dillon said. “That was a fun race for the Dow Coatings team. We were not good to start – we started from the back a couple of times. Made big adjustments – [crew chief] Justin [Alexander] made a good adjustment about halfway through the race to allow us to get some stage points. Things started turning for us and we got a good restart. And then a caution came out, pitted and we had a tire that got away. Unfortunate, but we kept our heads down and dug hard. We were able to come all the way back to P-7. Strong run for our team.”

    Four days after finishing in the top 10 at Martinsville Speedway, momentum continues to roll towards the favor of William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team as they capped off their first back-to-back top-10 results of the 2020 Cup Series season. Starting 22nd, Byron’s car came to life under the lights in Miami as he battled inside the top five most of the race along with teammates Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman. He finished eighth in the first stage and fifth in the second stage as he also collected valuable stage points in his quest to make the playoffs. When the checkered flag flew, Byron settled in ninth for his fourth top-10 result of the season and his first at Homestead. With the result, Byron gained one position in the standings from 16th to 15th.

    “We had a good and solid night and honestly it was nice to be able to run in the top five,” Byron said. “We continued to adjust on the car as the race went along there. Hopefully we can continue to string runs together like we had tonight and be able make the right adjustments at the right point in the race to be in contention in the end. We’re getting close to that first win we just need to continue working on a couple things to get faster. On to Talladega.”

    Last but not least, Bubba Wallace, who has been a key spokesperson in highlighting social injustice treatment/police brutality towards African Americans, raising prominence of the Black Lives Matter movement within the racing community and whose call to have the display of the Confederate flag banned from all NASCAR events approved and granted from NASCAR a few days later, backed up his strong performance at Martinsville Speedway with a decent performance and a late rally at Homestead. Starting 17th, Wallace spent the majority of the race inside the top 20, where he would finish in both stages. With the race progressing towards a long green-flag stretch, Wallace was able to move within the top 15 in the closing laps and settle in 13th for his fifth top-15 finish of the season, third in the last four Cup races, and his best result in Miami, which left the Alabama native situated in 20th in the standings.

    The NASCAR Cup Series will return on June 21 to race at Talladega Superspeedway for the second superspeedway event of the season. The race will air at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Four Takeaways From The Baptist Health 200 At Homestead Miami Speedway

    Four Takeaways From The Baptist Health 200 At Homestead Miami Speedway

    For the first time in nearly 19 years, the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series visited Homestead Miami Speedway on a non-championship weekend. 

    It was unusual for sure, as we are normally used to talking about the four drivers who are running for a championship, the Championship 4. But this time it wasn’t just about the championship drivers, the event was treated like another normal race and without the championship pressure. 

    What was normal was Kyle Busch, who was back in the field and was back to his normal dominance that is usually the case whenever he enters a Truck Series event. The All-Time wins list leader found his way back to victory lane after a couple of dull races over the last two weeks. 

    Despite Busch getting the victory, there were some noticeable things we may have missed and that were quite unusual. 

    Here are this week’s Four Takeaways following Round No. 5 of the 2020 season. 

    1. Sheldon Creed Plows Into Pit Road Barriers- In what is to be remembered for a longtime and unfortunately for the wrong reason, Sheldon Creed plowed into the water/sand barriers prior to pit road entry. This isn’t the first time this kind of circumstance has happened, nor will it be the last. But, it sure created quite the buzz on Twitter. In fact, a popular account on social media going by the name of nascarcasm, provided us with an entertaining meme that was Days of Thunder esque.

      https://twitter.com/nascarcasm/status/1271986909296963586
    2. Raphael Lessard Continues To Impress– In the recent few weeks, Truck Series rookie, Raphael Lessard has seen moderate success. At Charlotte, the Canadian was able to lead his first laps as a rookie. Saturday night at Homestead, Lessard showed his talents again being consistent. He was able to place the No. 4 Toyota Tundra eighth in Stage 1 and 10th in Stage 2. Lessard even ran as high as fourth at one point during the race, but just barely missed out on a top 10 finish, where he placed 11th.
    3. Spencer Davis Enjoys Top 15 Outing- Spencer Davis has been quietly consistent over the last few weeks, which sometimes is a good thing. Ever since taking ownership of the No. 11 Toyota at Charlotte, the Georgia native has had its fair share of success. Davis finished 12th at Las Vegas and excluding the finishes of Charlotte and Atlanta, he has been able to place his Toyota in the top 15. If Davis can catch a few breaks later this season, we’ll be able to see this take place more often. A solid job by Davis and his team.
    4. Tough Night For Some GMS Trucks- While Tyler Ankrum and Chase Elliott were able to enjoy top five finishes, Brett Moffitt and Zane Smith did not enjoy the race as much as their teammates did. On lap 21, Moffitt and Smith were taken out of the race due to an accident in Turn 4. Both drivers had a hard hit, but were thankfully okay as they were released from the infield care center. However, both were regulated to a 36th and 37th place finish, respectively. Here’s hoping Pocono will be a better outing for them in a couple of weeks.