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Category: NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR Cup Series

Hamlin earns milestone win at Homestead

Denny Hamlin outlasted multiple weather delays due to lightning strikes and a late duel with Chase Elliott to win the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway for his third win of the season. It was his third in Miami and his 40th NASCAR Cup Series career win, moving him into a tie with NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin for 19th place on the all-time Cup wins list.

The starting lineup was based on a random draw. Hamlin started on pole position and was joined on the front row by Joey Logano. Quin Houff started at the rear of the field due to failing pre-race inspection twice along with B.J. McLeod due to unapproved adjustments.

Delayed for nearly an hour due to scattered rain and lightning reported near the track, the race was able to roll under green-flag conditions for the opening three laps, where Logano, who started on the bottom lane, took an early lead and was followed by teammate Brad Keselowski. Shortly after, the first caution of the day flew on the fourth lap due to a lightning strike reported near the area. The field led by Logano was directed to pit road as the red flag was displayed.

Following a delay of more than two hours, all drivers and crew members returned to their respective positions as the track was cleared for racing to resume. When the race returned to green on the ninth lap, Logano retained the lead over Hamlin, who settled in second while being pursued by Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick.

By Lap 20, Logano, Keselowski and Hamlin separated themselves from the pack by three seconds over fourth-place Harvick, who was being pursued by Elliott and rookie Tyler Reddick, who started in 24th. A lap later, the caution flew when Ryan Newman slid below the apron through Turns 3 and 4 after sustaining a flat right-rear tire. He was able to nurse his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford back to pit road to have the tire changed. Immediately, NASCAR declared the caution for Newman to serve as the competition caution initially established for Lap 25. At the time of caution, Kyle Busch was back in 10th after starting fourth and Jimmie Johnson was in 18th after starting ninth. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Logano retained the lead followed by Harvick, Reddick, Hamlin and Elliott. Following the pit stops, Matt Kenseth made another pit stop to address a loose wheel while Ty Dillon was assessed a pit road speeding penalty.

When the race restarted on Lap 25, Logano received a bump from Reddick to retain the lead as Reddick battled Elliott for second. A lap later, Blaney made a three-wide move on Harvick and Hamlin in Turn 3 to move into fourth. Four laps later, Elliott emerged as the new leader after passing Logano in Turn 1 while Reddick wasted no time challenging Logano for the runner-up spot. Two laps later, just as Blaney was about to challenge teammate Logano for third, the fourth caution of the race flew due to another lightning strike reported outside the track. The field was directed to pit road and the race was placed in a red-flagged situation.

Following a weather delay of nearly 40 minutes, the red flag was lifted and the drivers were cleared to return to their cars and reignite their engines. Once the cars returned to track under caution, the field pitted. Following the pit stops, Logano sustained damage after making contact with Houff. Behind, Harvick and Matt DiBenedetto also sustained damage to their respective machines when the field stacked up behind Logano. Harvick and DiBenedetto would pit again to have the damage addressed and repaired, sending them to the rear of the field.

When the race restarted under green-flag conditions under the lights on Lap 37, Blaney made a charge on the outside lane to take the lead by the time the field cycled back to the start/finish line. Eight laps later, Blaney was ahead by more than a second over Hamlin, who slid in front of Elliott entering Turn 2 to move in the runner-up spot. Reddick and Keselowski followed suit.

By Lap 60, Blaney was still ahead by more than a second over Hamlin and Reddick. Aric Almirola, who started 21st, moved up to fourth and was trailing the leaders by four seconds followed by Elliott. During this time, Chris Buescher and William Byron, both of whom started 13th and 22nd, were in ninth and 10th while the Busch brothers of Kyle and Kurt, both of whom started fourth and 10th, were in 11th and 12th. Truex, who started sixth and was coming off his midweek win at Martinsville Speedway, was in 13th while Newman recovered from his early spin to settle in 14th. Harvick and Logano were back in 15th and 17th while Johnson was trapped in 26th. During this time, Erik Jones made an unscheduled pit stop to address a loose wheel.

With the laps of the first stage dwindling, a battle for the lead started brewing as Hamlin caught Blaney. Hamlin made several attempts in charging his No. 11 FedEx Toyota on the inside lane through the corners and try to clear Blaney entering the straightaways, but Blaney would gain momentum from rim-riding towards the outside wall to maintain his advantage through the straightaways. With four laps remaining in the stage, Hamlin moved back to the lead and was able to stabilize his lead to above a second. From there, Hamlin was able to fend off Blaney to win the first stage on Lap 80, his second of the season. Blaney finished second followed by Reddick, Elliott and Almirola. Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Byron, Bowyer and Buescher finished in the top 10. By then, teammates Kyle Busch and Truex were in 11th and 12th, Harvick was in 14th, Logano was in 20th and Johnson was in 25th.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Hamlin retained the lead followed by Elliott, Blaney, Bowman and Reddick. Once most of the leaders completed their stops, Logano remained on pit road to continue to have the front-nose damage repaired, but he was able to exit pit road in front of the pace car and remain on the lead lap. In addition, Johnson spent extra time on pit road as his crew went to work to repair a roof flap on top of his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet.

The start of the second stage on Lap 88 featured an intense duel between Hamlin and Elliott for one full lap with Elliott edging ahead at the line. By the next lap, Elliott was able to clear Hamlin for the lead as Blaney followed in second. Behind, Reddick was challenged by Hendrick Motorsports’ teammates Bowman and Byron for fourth while Kyle Busch was in seventh. On Lap 91, Blaney reassumed the lead and three laps later, Elliott dropped to fifth after being overtaken by Hamlin, Reddick and Byron. With three Hendrick Motorsports’ drivers of Byron, Elliott and Bowman running inside the top six, the fourth HMS driver, Johnson, was in 23rd. Unlike Blaney, who was leading, his teammate, Joey Logano, was trapped in 29th. By Lap 100, Blaney was still in command by more than a second over Hamlin and Reddick with Byron trailing by nearly three seconds and both Bowman and Kyle Busch by nearly five seconds.

While the race progressed, green-flag pit stops started to occur on Lap 117 when Newman made a pit stop. Following the stops six laps later, Hamlin reassumed the lead by two seconds over Blaney as Reddick trailed by seven seconds and teammates Byron and Elliot trailed by nearly 10 seconds. Kyle Busch and Truex were in seventh and ninth while Harvick was in eighth. Keselowski was in 14th, rookie Christopher Bell was in 16th and Bubba Wallace was in 20th.

By Lap 150, Hamlin was ahead by nearly five seconds over Blaney, who was in a fierce battle with Reddick for the runner-up spot. Elliott trailed by six seconds, Byron trailed by 10 seconds and Bowman by 12 seconds. In addition, drivers like John Hunter Nemechek, Newman, Cole Custer, Johnson, Logano, Kenseth, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ty Dillon and Suarez were behind by a lap. Three laps later, Blaney dropped to fourth as Reddick and Elliott moved up the leaderboard. When the second stage concluded on Lap 160, Hamlin won the stage followed by Reddick, Elliott, Blaney and Byron. Bowman, Truex, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch and Almirola finished in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Hamlin exited pit road first followed by Elliott, Reddick, Blaney, Byron and Bowman. Kurt Busch was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

When the final stage started with 99 laps remaining, Hamlin received a push from Reddick to maintain the lead through Turns 1 and 2 and clear the field. Elliott and Reddick duked for the runner-up spot while the rest of the field fanned out across the track while battling one another for positions. The caution returned three laps later when Logano and Newman made contact with one another and against the outside wall through Turns 1 and 2. Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road and Hamlin exited the pits first again followed by Elliott, Reddick, Blaney, Truex and Byron. Following the stops, Austin Dillon was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

With 92 laps remaining, the green flag flew and Hamlin received another shove from Reddick to maintain the lead. In addition, Blaney went three-wide with Elliott and Reddick in Turn 2 before moving into second by Turn 4. Both Blaney and Elliott remained within sight of one another while pursuing Hamlin for the lead. Behind, Reddick fended off a charge from Byron to remain in fourth as he started to pursue Elliott for more. Meanwhile, Almirola was in sixth, Bell was in eighth and Jones, who had rallied from his early unscheduled pit stop, was in ninth in front of teammate Truex. Harvick and Kyle Busch were in 10th and 11th while DiBenedetto and Wallace were in 13th and 15th.

With 75 to go, Blaney caught Hamlin for the lead and two laps later, he was able to return to the lead. A lap later, Hamlin returned the favor and threw himself back to the top spot. While Hamlin and Blaney battled, Elliott joined the battle as the top three were ahead by a second over fourth-place Reddick. Not long after, Elliott moved into second and started to pursue Hamlin for the lead.

As the run progressed, Hamlin was able to stabilize his lead under a second over Elliott with Blaney trailing by nearly two seconds. With 61 to go, Harvick’s night went south as he made an unscheduled pit stop due to a flat tire, which left him two laps behind the leaders. Three laps later, Buescher made an unscheduled pit stop after meeting the same fate as Harvick. In addition, Bowman made a scheduled pit stop for four fresh tires. Shortly after, green-flag pit stops started to occur as Stenhouse, Ryan Preece and Austin Dillon pitted. Following the stops, Elliott cycled back to the lead followed by Hamlin with Blaney, Reddick and Jones in the top five.

With 40 to go, Elliott stabilized his lead by more than a second over Hamlin and more than four seconds over Blaney. A lap later, Kenseth, who was running inside the top 10 and was the only competitor who had yet to make a scheduled green-flag pit stop, pitted. Eight laps later, Hamlin was able to cut the deficit to half a second as he started to gain ground on Elliott on the long runs. Another three laps later, Hamlin gained a huge run in Turn 2 to pass Elliott for the lead after Elliott struggled to lap Logano, who refused to yield to the leaders. As the laps continued to dwindle to the final stages, the battle for the lead remained between two cars as Hamlin led a hard-charging Elliott by half a second with Blaney trailing by two seconds.

With 17 to go, Hamlin started to stretch his advantage to nearly a second over Elliott as Blaney started to close within Elliott for the runner-up spot. A lap later, Elliott was able to trim the deficit to two-tenths of a second as leader Hamlin started to approach lapped traffic. Another two laps later, Elliott was behind by a tenth of a second as Reddick started to creep towards the leaders, making it a four-car battle for the win.

With eight to go, Reddick moved into third, but Blaney retook the position a lap later. During this time, Hamlin was leading Elliott by four-tenths of a second and was establishing a possible run for Hamlin as Blaney and Reddick lost ground to the leaders. In addition, Jones made an unscheduled pit stop after making contact with the wall.

In the final laps, Elliott made contact with the wall, which allowed Blaney to challenge him for second while Hamlin to stabilize his lead over a second. With no late cautions nor challenges falling on him, Hamlin was able to cruise around the track for a final circuit and take the checkered flag to claim another win at Homestead.

With the win, Hamlin also became the first three-time winner of this year’s Cup season as he also recorded the 180th Cup win for Joe Gibbs Racing. The win also came as Hamlin’s crew chief, Chris Gabehart, returned to the track following his four-race suspension for the fallen ballast at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.

“Definitely, [the crew] just made our car really good,” Hamlin said on FOX. “This is the setup based on what we had in the fall here last year going for the championship. I had a strong car all day, obviously, with the laps led and was able to get around Chase there at the end. This whole FedEx team’s just done a phenomenal job with this Camry. This one’s real special. Gotta thank Coca-Cola, the Jordan brand, FedEx, all of our partners, everyone at JGR for putting together great race cars and keep digging and getting ourselves a little bit better. It seems like the end of these races seems to be Chase’s long suit, best suit. I knew that if I was just patient and ran the pace that I was comfortable with, we were gonna be hard to beat in the long run.”

Elliott held off Blaney to finish second, less than a second behind Hamlin, while Reddick notched a solid fourth-place run for his first top-five finish in the Cup Series.

“This Camaro just needed to get through lapped traffic a little better,” Elliott said on MRN. “That’s really about it. I thought, other than that, we did everything we needed to do.”

“We could be running 20th every week,” Blaney said on Zoom. “You’re proud of the runs that you’ve created in a speed our team’s got. I’m proud of that. Yeah, it stinks we haven’t won, but the way I look at it is just keep running up towards the front like that. Just proud with the speed we have and that we’re close. Just little things will go a long way when you’re this close. If you have to find 15 spots worth of speed, that’s when it’s troublesome. Just proud of the effort. [I’m] Not frustrated or anything. Hopefully, we can keep this up and just keep getting better week in and week out.”

Almirola recorded a strong fifth-place result while Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Bell, Byron and Keselowski rounded out the top 10 as 15 competitors finished on the lead lap. Johnson finished 16th, one lap down, in his 20th and final start at Homestead. Everyone except for J.J. Yeley finished the race on the track.

The race featured 17 lead changes with seven different leaders. There were six cautions for 27 laps.

Harvick, who finished 26th and was a lap behind, continues to lead the Cup Series regular-season standings by eight points over Elliott and 29 over Logano.

Results:

1. Denny Hamlin, 137 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

2. Chase Elliott, 27 laps led

3. Ryan Blaney, 70 laps led

4. Tyler Reddick, three laps led

5. Aric Almirola

6. Kyle Busch, two laps led

7. Austin Dillon

8. Christopher Bell

9. William Byron

10. Brad Keselowski, one lap led

11. Clint Bowyer

12. Martin Truex Jr.

13. Bubba Wallace

14. Matt DiBenedetto

15. Michael McDowell

16. Jimmie Johnson, one lap down

17. Kurt Busch, one lap down

18. Alex Bowman, one lap down

19. John Hunter Nemechek, one lap down

20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down

21. Erik Jones, one lap down

22. Cole Custer, one lap down

23. Chris Buescher, one lap down

24. Ryan Preece, one lap down

25. Matt Kenseth, one lap down

26. Kevin Harvick, one lap down

27. Joey Logano, two laps down, 27 laps led

28. Ty Dillon, two laps down

29. Corey LaJoie, three laps down

30. Ryan Newman, four laps down

31. Daniel Suarez, four laps down

32. Brennan Poole, seven laps down

33. Quin Houff, eight laps down

34. Timmy Hill, 10 laps

35. B.J. McLeod, 11 laps down

36. Joey Gase, 12 laps down

37. Josh Bilicki, 22 laps down

38. J.J. Yeley – OUT, Fuel pump

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

June 15, 2020
CHEVY NCS AT HOMESTEAD: Team Chevy Advance

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
DIXIE VODKA 400
HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY
HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA
JUNE 14, 2020

HOMESTEAD FOR RACE #12

The revised NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) schedule continues on Sunday, June 14th with the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. For the past 18 years (2002-’19), the Florida venue hosted the annual season-ending championship event in November, but it was re-positioned on the 2020 calendar to be a Spring Break affair on March 22. However, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the 267-lap, 400-mile contest now marks the 12th race on the tour.

NASCAR has taken initial steps in introducing the return of guests to its events, and Homestead-Miami Speedway is the first part of this process. Up to 1,000 South Florida service members, representing the Homestead Air Reserve Base and U.S. Southern Command in Doral, will be on hand as honorary guests to view the race from the grandstands.

STARTING LINEUP
The NCS race will be a one-day show with no practice and no qualifying. Owner points and a random draw have again set the starting lineup. Here are Team Chevy’s top-20 starters:

5th Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hooters Camaro ZL1 1LE
8th Alex Bowman, No. 88 Llumar Camaro ZL1 1LE
9th Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE
10th Kurt Busch, No. 1 GEARWRENCH Camaro ZL1 1LE
16th Austin Dillon, No. 3 DOW/BEHR Ultra Scuff Defense Camaro ZL1 1LE
17th Bubba Wallace, No. 43 World Wide Technology Camaro ZL1 1LE
19th Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., No. 47 Kroger Camaro ZL1 1LE
20th Matt Kenseth, No. 42 Credit One Bank Camaro ZL1 1LE

BOWTIE BULLETS
· Jimmie Johnson is Chevrolet’s most recent winner at Homestead-Miami Speedway – Nov. ’16. In 19 starts, the career-Chevrolet driver has 2 pole positions, five (5) top-five’s, and 11 top-10 finishes
· Victories by current Chevrolet drivers also include:
Kurt Busch, No. 1 GEARWRENCH Camaro ZL1 1LE has one win (2002)

HOMESTEAD HISTORY
· Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, is looking for one more highlight in his final career race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he has already made history. Johnson has clinched each of his seven championships there, including an unprecedented five consecutive (2006-’10). In 2016, he won at Homestead and clinched his historic seventh title, which tied Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty for the all-time record.

MIAMI MAKES 50
· Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hooters Camaro ZL1 1LE will make his 50th NCS career start on a 1.5-mile track on Sunday, June 14th. In his previous 49 races (on 1.5-mile venues), he has led 590 laps. Most recently, Elliott scored his second career 1.5-mile track win at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 28.

TYLER REDDICK’S NO. 8 CAMARO ZL1 1LE TO RUN CHEVY CARES PAINT SCHEME
Chevrolet is Committed to Helping in Uncertain and Challenging Times:
· Chevy Clean Dealers use enhanced vehicle cleaning measures with CDC-approved cleaners
· OnStar® Crisis Assist emergency services available to current Chevrolet owners
· A helping hand to heroes with the Chevrolet First Responder Discount
· The fight to save lives with medical equipment by converting GM plants in Kokomo Indiana to build ventilators, and Warren, Michigan to make thousands of surgical masks each day.
· Chevrolet is a company that cares. Visit ChevyCares.com to learn more.

TUNE-IN
FOX will telecast the 267-lap race live at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 14th. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HOOTERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 3rd IN STANDINGS
“I am looking forward to getting down to Homestead this weekend. It will be interesting to see how different the handling of our cars is at the track in the summertime. This will be our first race of the season with Hooters so hope we can put on a good show for them and be in contention throughout the day.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 LLUMAR CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 7th IN STANDINGS
“Getting back to an intermediate track should be good for this No. 88 team. We have a really strong intermediate program and it has been providing good results so far this season. Miami is a track where you can typically run the wall. It will be a quick turnaround from Martinsville, but everyone back at Hendrick Motorsports has been working hard to get these Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE’s set up and ready to go before the next event.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 GEARWRENCH CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 10th IN STANDINGS
“Going to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the first time, not being Championship weekend in almost two decades. It will be a much quieter type weekend, but the intensity of the track, the speed and the tire drop-off, all that will be the same; just a little bit different environment not being Championship Weekend. We didn’t run all that well there last year but our teammates with the No. 42 Camaro was hooked-up in that upper groove and that’s the setup that we’re going to emulate. We just need to get there and execute as a team, on pit road, short- run and long-run speed; the spotter has been doing a great job, we need to continue to find the right holes, because you’ve got to be aggressive in order to keep or improve your position right now.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 16th IN STANDINGS
“It’s going to be different to be running at Homestead in the summer verse the last race of the year for sure. I think the top groove is going to be even more dominant probably than it usually is. It’s a racetrack that the preferred line usually migrates up towards the wall where there’s more banking up there. Plus, the wall helps you turn some. I plan on running right against the wall. I’m interested to see if that’s the case though when we get racing.”

“I think I move around and search less for a line at Homestead than a lot of other race tracks we race at. You still have to move around though to find that line that works best for your car’s handling and find grip. I just think it’s a track that no matter what, as a driver you know you need to make speed against the wall. I think with when we’re racing, finding that line early on is going to be critical for this year’s race though.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW/BEHR ULTRA SCUFF DEFENSE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 17th IN STANDINGS
WHAT’S IT LIKE RACING AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY?
“It’s one of the best tracks. I think it’s the most driver-friendly track. It’s fun. Actually, it’s not really friendly because you can get into the wall pretty easily, but it’s so much fun to run right up against the fence. You have to be disciplined in how you drive that track and save your tires. It’s an epic race. It’s always intense.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CHEVROLET CARES CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 18th IN STANDINGS
YOU’VE WON YOUR LAST TWO RACES AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY, GRANTED IN A DIFFERENT SERIES. DOES THAT PROVIDE ANY EXTRA CONFIDENCE HEADING INTO THIS WEEKEND?
“It’s tough to know if that experience will help me this weekend. These Cup cars are just so difficult to drive, especially in the dirty air like we saw at Atlanta and Fontana. Once the tires start to go away, it’s really easy to prohibit any progress on someone who is catching you on the track by moving into the lane they’re using. I even had that happen to me at Darlington last month. Being fast against the fence will be important to our long run speed this weekend, but how much we’ll be able to capitalize on that will depend on where we start a run because tires will start to fall off, and other drivers will start to move up and take your line away. It’s hard to maintain and close on other cars when they start doing that. It’s just a new challenge that comes with the Cup Series for me. We’ll need to have some versatility built into our No. 8 Chevy Cares Chevrolet this weekend, and all that depends on outright speed, what balance we bring to the track and the rest of the little things we need to have a fast car.”

BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 20th IN STANDINGS
HOW DOES HOMESTEAD COMPARE TO OTHER 1.5-MILE TRACKS WE GO TO?
“I don’t think Homestead-Miami Speedway compares to other tracks – it’s the true oval. It does not have a have a dog-leg or a kink in the straightaway. I think you can compare grip levels to Fontana (Auto Club Speedway), Atlanta (Motor Speedway) or Darlington (Raceway) – it is just so unique. It is one of a kind; it’s really fun. Homestead is one of those races where, now that we moved it from the last race of the year, we should go there five or six times because it is that fun. Homestead is a race within itself. You have to manage your tires and manage your stuff. But you also have to have a good balance underneath you and not just stuck in a certain part of the track going nowhere. You still have to make good time. I have struggled there with our Cup car, but it’s another race we’ll go and figure out.”

JERRY BAXTER, CREW CHIEF FOR THE NO. 43 WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
“On Sunday, we’re heading down to the Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 World Wide Technology (WWT) Camaro ZL1 1LE. It’s the car that we ran at the second Darlington (S.C.) Raceway event – it’s a pretty good piece. Bubba won at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2014 in the NASCAR Truck Series – so, his confidence is strong.”

“We start in the 17th-place on Sunday, which is a better draw than what we have had in quite some time, so that’s good. It’s going to be very hot. It definitely seems like we have some momentum building after the Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. We had a good run, moved-up two more spots in the points, so we’ll see what happens.”

TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO FOR YOUR BOAT CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 28th IN STANDINGS
“Going to Homestead in June is going to be a different curveball, since it will be more of a day race and hotter than what we’ve dealt with in years past. I think it’s going to be a little more unique. It’s obviously a track that tire wear, fall off and lap time speed is pretty high, so it’s going to fall into a similar category as Darlington and Atlanta, which we as a team have had polar opposite results at. Matt (Borland) and I have done a lot of work in communicating about where to hit the happy medium of improving on Darlington and fix the issues from Atlanta. I’m looking forward to Homestead though. Matt and I actually ran our first race together there as driver and crew chief, and had a really strong finish that day. Hopefully we can recoger some of that magic in our GEICO For Your Boat Camaro ZL1 1LE.”

MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 CREDIT ONE BANK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 31st IN STANDINGS
“Homestead is a very unique mile-and-a-half track. Turns 1 and 2 have more banking than turns 3 and 4 because the back stretch is elevated, so you kind of drive uphill off Turn 2 and that corner has much more grip. Then you drive downhill off of Turn 4 and that’s a real tricky corner. Both ends are a lot different. Seems the good guys can run the bottom-middle early in the run and make some moves, and then the grove kind of migrates towards the top. Then there’s those few guys, though maybe not quite so much last year, that can make the very top work well. Depending on your car’s balance, you can usually move around the track and find something that works well for you. It’s usually November when we go there, so it’s going to be totally different conditions during the day and being super-hot down there in June. Should be an interesting race.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics

Manufacturers Championships:
Total (1949-2019): 39
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)

Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

Drivers Championships:
Total (1949-2019): 31
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)

Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016

Event Victories:
Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)

2020 STATISTICS:
Wins: 2
Poles: 3
Laps Led: 1,009
Top-five finishes: 16
Top-10 finishes: 42

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 788 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 717
Laps led to date: 235,315
Top-five finishes to date: 4,030
Top-10 finishes to date: 8,324

Total NASCAR Cup wins by corporation, 1949 to date

General Motors: 1,122
Chevrolet: 788
Pontiac: 154
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65

Ford: 792
Ford: 692
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 191
Chrysler: 59

Toyota: 146

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics

Manufacturers Championships:
Total (1949-2018): 39
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)

Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

Drivers Championships:
Total (1949-2018): 31
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)

Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016

Event Victories:
Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)

2020 STATISTICS:
Wins: 2
Poles: 3
Laps Led: 1009
Top-five finishes: 16
Top-10 finishes: 42

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 788 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 717
Laps led to date: 235,315
Top-five finishes to date: 4,030
Top-10 finishes to date: 8,324

Total NASCAR Cup wins by corporation, 1949 to date

General Motors: 1,122
Chevrolet: 788
Pontiac: 154
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65

Ford: 792
Ford: 692
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 191
Chrysler: 59

Toyota: 146

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

June 13, 2020
Together we stand

As a journalist, we are taught to always remain objective and to report the news without injecting our personal opinion.

Today I am breaking that rule.

It has taken me some time to absorb everything that has transpired in recent weeks precipitated with the killing of George Floyd. And even more time to understand that this wasn’t an isolated incident but rather an indication of a much deeper problem in our country.

I struggled to understand how we as a society have continued to ignore the continued trend of violence and racial inequality that is still pervasive in our society. And on a more personal level, how had I become blinded to the reality of it?

As someone who grew up in the south, I am no stranger to stereotypes. We are often perceived as ignorant rednecks and closeted racists with a naïve view of the world. But as with most stereotypes, there is only a small grain of truth in these assumptions.

Though I am a southerner my closest ties to my heritage are with my Native American ancestors. If anyone should understand the realities of persecution and injustice, it should be me.

I had to ask myself again, how had I become so blind?

As many have come forward lately with their stories, particularly Bubba Wallace, the answer suddenly dawned on me. When others look at me, they don’t see a southerner or a Native American. All they see is a white person.

From that point on, it became clear that there is no way that I could understand the reality of being Black. I can never fully grasp the complexities of their lives. All I can do now is listen and learn.

That is my promise. I will listen to their stories and learn from their experiences. I will look at the world from their viewpoint, not my own.

If we stand together as one, there is nothing that we can’t accomplish.

June 12, 2020
Denny Hamlin on pole for Cup Series race at Homestead

Denny Hamlin will start from the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It is the first pole this season for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver and the 34th of his Cup career.

Team Penske driver Joey Logano will join him on the front row with his teammate Brad Keselowski starting in third. Kyle Busch will start fourth in the No. 18 JGR Toyota and Hendrick Motorsport’s Chase Elliott will round out the top-five.

The lineup was determined by a random draw as explained below.

Positions 1-12: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points.

Positions 13-24: Random draw among charter teams in those positions in owner points.

Positions 25-36: Random draw among charter teams in those positions in owner points.

Positions 37-39 will be filled out by open, non-chartered teams in order of owner points.

The Dixie Vodka 400 will be televised Sunday on FOX at 3:30 p.m. ET with radio coverage provided by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The stages are 80/160/267 laps for 400.5 miles.

The Dixie Vodka 400 will close out a full weekend of racing that also includes an Xfinity Series doubleheader and a Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series race.

Complete Starting Lineup:

1) Denny Hamlin

2 Joey Logano

3 Brad Keselowski

4) Kyle Busch

5) Chase Elliott

6) Martin Truex Jr.

7) Kevin Harvick

8) Alex Bowman

9) Jimmie Johnson

10) Kurt Busch

11) Ryan Blaney

12) Clint Bowyer

13) Chris Buescher

14) Ryan Newman

15) Erik Jones

16) Austin Dillon

17) Bubba Wallace

18) John Hunter Nemechek

19) Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

20) Matt Kenseth

21) Aric Almirola

22) William Byron

23) Matt DiBenedetto

24) TylerReddick

25) JJ Yeley

26) Corey LaJoie

27) Josh Bilicki

28) Brennan Poole

29) Joey Gase

30) Michael McDowell

31) Quin Houff

32) Ty Dillon

33) Ryan Preece

34) BJ McLeod

35) Cole Custer

36) Christopher Bell

37) Daniel Suarez

38) Timmy Hill

39) Reed Sorenson

June 11, 2020
Weekend Schedule for Homestead-Miami Speedway

This weekend NASCAR travels to Homestead-Miami Speedway for a full weekend of completion that includes a double-header for the Xfinity Series, a Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series race and the Dixie Vodka 400 Cup Series event Sunday afternoon.

Denny Hamlin will start on the pole for the Dixie Vodka 400 and Harrison Burton scored the pole for Saturday’s Xfinity Series Hooters 250, both based on a random draw. The Xfinity pole for Sunday’s Contender Boats 250 will be based on the race results of the Hooters 250 with an inverted top-15. The pole winner for the Truck Series was chosen by a random draw as well, based on the owners’ point standings, with Austin Hill claiming the top spot.

All times are Eastern.

Saturday June 13

3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Hooters 250 (Stages 40/80/167 Laps = 250.5 miles) FOX/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

7:30 p.m.: Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Baptist Health 200 (Stages 30/60/134 Laps = 201 Miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Sunday June 14

Noon: Xfinity Series Contender Boats 250 (Stages 40/80/167 Laps = 250.5 miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

3:30 p.m.: NASCAR Cup Series Dixie Vodka 400 (Stages 80/160/267 Laps = 400.5 Miles) FOX/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

June 11, 2020
Blaney rallies from difficult start to finish runner-up at Martinsville

Momentum is the keyword that is building toward Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Team Penske Ford as Blaney notched his fifth top-5 result of the season, fourth since mid-May, by finishing second in the Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. His second runner-up finish of the season did not come without early drama.

Coming off his 100th top-five national series result last Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Blaney drew the pole position. By the first lap, however, he was overtaken for the lead. Following an early caution and restart on Lap 13, Blaney was stuck on the outside lane and fell out of the top five. By Lap 30, however, Blaney was out of the top 10 and continued fading while battling loose-handling conditions.

Once the competition caution was displayed on Lap 60, Blaney was one of several competitors pinned a lap behind along with teammate Brad Keselowski while his other teammate, Joey Logano, was in command of the field. Under caution, Blaney pitted for major adjustments to his No. 12 Ford. When the racing resumed under green, the handling of Blaney’s car slowly started to improve as he raced his way into the free pass position.

With the laps dwindling in the first stage, Blaney received his wish and returned on the lead lap following a late caution due to a stalled car on pit road. Following a 10-lap dash to the conclusion of the first stage, Blaney would finish 19th while watching from a distance as teammate Logano won the stage.

By Lap 170, in the second stage, Blaney raced his way back into the top 10 as he methodically worked his way to the front. By Lap 220, Blaney had worked his way back into the runner-up position, passing Logano and trailing Jimmie Johnson as far back as two seconds. With the second stage spanning into a green-flag run, Blaney settled in second in the second stage behind Johnson while collecting valuable stage points toward the playoffs.

The final stage, which started with 229 laps remaining in the race, was where Blaney made his move for the lead as he battled dead even with Johnson for one circuit before clearing him the following lap. He would lead 12 laps before Logano reassumed the lead. After Logano led the next 23 laps, Blaney returned to the lead as Keselowski, who struggled early, would make his way to third, placing all three Penske cars in the podium positions. Blaney would lead the next 22 laps until the caution flew with 175 laps remaining for a single-car wreck in Turn 2. Under caution, Blaney and his teammates along with the field pitted, but Blaney’s crew struggled on pit road as the driver exited pit road in eighth. To make matters worse, Blaney was sent to the rear of the field due to a pit road penalty, when one of his crew members jumped over the No. 12 pit wall too early.

When the race restarted, Blaney would carve his way back toward the front while teammates Logano and Keselowski duked for the lead. With approximately 100 laps remaining, Blaney was back in the top 10 and with 75 to go, he was back in the top five. As the laps dwindled to its final laps, Blaney continued pressing for more positions over the green-flag run as he caught teammates Logano and Keselowski for position. After passing them both, he began to pursue Martin Truex Jr. for the lead. By then, with 40 to go, Truex was long gone as he continued to stretch his lead beyond five seconds over Blaney. When the checkered flag flew, Blaney finished second, nearly five seconds behind Truex, for his fifth top-10 result at Martinsville.

With his fifth top-five result of this season and second runner-up result, Blaney advanced from seventh to sixth in the regular-season series standings and is 91 points behind points leader Kevin Harvick while he continues to pursue his first win of the season and first with veteran crew chief Todd Gordon.

“It was a very interesting race,” Blaney said. “We started off really bad. I mean, we went from starting on the pole to being a lap down in 60 laps. That’s kind of tough to do. We found a way to do that. We already dug ourselves a hole early. We pitted. Actually after the first pit stop, we got our car a lot better, a lot better…We got the Lucky Dog there right before the first stage end. After that, we drove all the way up to second. We had a great long‑run car. That was great. To be able to get the lead there at the start of the third stage, kind of biding our time, taking care of our stuff. Caution came out. We got a penalty on pit road. That set us all the way back again with not a lot of laps to go. We had 170 to go. Last restart we started ninth. [Truex] just got away from me. I couldn’t run him down. By the time I got to second, he was gone. My stuff was a little worn out having to pass a lot of cars.”

Blaney’s result capped off a solid run for Team Penske as teammates Keselowski and Logano finished third and fourth, which marked the first time since March 2019 where Penske’s three-car lineup finished in the top five.

Next for Blaney is Homestead-Miami Speedway, a track where he has raced at the last five seasons with a best result of 11th last November. The race will air on June 14 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

June 11, 2020
Wallace displays strong performance at Martinsville

The final scoreboard of the Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway showed Bubba Wallace and the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet finishing in 11th, one position shy of notching a top-10 result. The result, however, was not indicative of Wallace’s race throughout the night as he displayed strong and solid competitiveness toward the front against NASCAR’s elite and at a track where he has won twice in NASCAR’s national series.

Starting 23rd based on a random draw and sporting a special Black Lives Matter unity scheme on his car, Wallace methodically worked his way to the front and was inside the top 15 at the time of the competition caution on Lap 60. Throughout the first stage on a long green-flag run, Wallace continued to gain more positions on track and was able to make his way as high as ninth. In the closing laps of the stage, a late caution flew due to a stalled car on pit road. When all the leaders pitted, but one, Wallace opted for a two-tire change and exited pit road first, which put him on the front row with 10 laps remaining in the first stage. When the race returned to green, Wallace was quickly overtaken by Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson before settling in a battle with Martin Truex Jr. Though Truex was able to advance in the final laps, Wallace was able to finish fifth in the first stage and collect valuable stage points towards his bid to make the playoffs.

Under the stage break, Wallace gave up track position to pit. When the second stage started, however, Wallace was able to, again, methodically work his way toward the front. Thirty laps into the second stage, on Lap 170, Wallace was in 13th. With 50 laps remaining in the second stage, Wallace was back in the top 10, running eighth. Over the course of the 50-lap run under green, Wallace would gain two more positions on track and settle in sixth in the second stage as he gained more valuable points towards the playoffs.

Under the stage break, Wallace pitted and exited in sixth. Throughout the final stage, which commenced with 229 laps remaining, Wallace would slip back to 10th and then to 12th after pitting for four tires and adjustments under caution with less than 175 laps remaining. With 75 laps remaining, Wallace had fallen back to 17th, but was able to make his way back into the top 15 with less than 60 laps remaining. With the laps dwindling under green, Wallace was able to gain four more spots on track and take the checkered flag in 11th behind Johnson as Truex emerged victorious.

With his fourth top-15 finish of this season, his 14th in 87 Cup career starts, Wallace is 20th in the regular-season series standings and is 245 points behind points leader Kevin Harvick.

“Our left-front tire wasn’t getting-off the ground completely [during pit stops], so we had to do three pumps,” Wallace said. “That was unfortunate, but man, our car was so good. Our Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was so good on the long runs, so we definitely did not need those cautions towards the end of the race. All-in-all, great job to come here and execute with no practice at my favorite track. I’ll tell you what, it was awesome to race with 7-Time [Jimmie Johnson] there at the end. Jimmie Johnson has won so many times here and when we’re running him down – that’s hats off to my guys. Good job, fellas!”

Next for Wallace is Homestead-Miami Speedway, a track where Wallace has raced at the last two seasons with a best result of 21st in 2018. The race will air on June 14 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

June 11, 2020
Johnson notches top-10 result in penultimate run at Martinsville

Jimmie Johnson’s winless drought spanning above 100 races continued following the Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Nonetheless, it was a stellar night for the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and nine-time Martinsville winner as he came away with his first stage win of the season, led 70 laps and settled in the top 10.

Johnson started 21st based on a random draw, but was able to carve his way into the top 10 by the 30th lap. Ten laps later, Johnson peaked his way into the top five. Under the competition caution scheduled on Lap 60, Johnson pitted and exited in sixth. The driver of the No. 48 Ally/Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet spent the majority of the first stage running in the top 10. Under a late caution in the closing laps of the first stage, Johnson moved up to fourth. In a 10-lap dash to the conclusion of the first stage, Johnson managed to move to third, where he was able to finish and pick up a handful of stage points.

The second stage was where Johnson flexed his muscles. Remaining on track with some of the leaders, Johnson started the stage in third but moved into second over a long green-flag run. By then, his other three Hendrick Motorsports teammates (Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and William Byron) were running inside the top 10. Then on Lap 202, Johnson, who gained ground on race leader Joey Logano when Logano encountered lapped traffic, made his move to the lead. As the green-flag run continued, Johnson was able to maintain a healthy advantage over the field, leading as high as two seconds. His advantage worked to perfection as Johnson remained uncontested and was able to cruise to the win in the second stage, his first stage win of the season.

When the final stage started with 229 laps remaining, Johnson was quickly overtaken by Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and Logano. Fifteen laps later, Johnson dropped back to fifth. Throughout the final stage, Johnson raced within the top five but started fading as he was scored in 10th with 75 laps remaining. With the race continuing to run under green, Johnson was unable to mount a late rally back to the front as he settled in 10th, watching from a distance as Martin Truex Jr. emerged victorious.

With his sixth top-10 result of the season and the 25th of his illustrious career at Martinsville Speedway, Johnson jumped from 13th to 11th in the standings and is 151 points behind points leader Kevin Harvick.

“We had a great car tonight and then, just didn’t keep up with the track,” Johnson said. “My pit crew was on fire, they got me spots every time on pit road. We are gaining on it, so I wish the result was better but overall, still a positive night.”

Next on Johnson’s schedule is Homestead-Miami Speedway, a track where Johnson celebrated his seven Cup championships but has not finished in the top 10 since winning the race and his seventh title in 2016. The race will air on June 14 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

June 11, 2020
Truex reigns supreme under the lights at Martinsville

In NASCAR’s first night race at Martinsville Speedway, Martin Truex Jr. captured his first NASCAR Cup Series win of the season in the Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at the paper clip-shaped track. With the victory, Truex achieved his second consecutive win at Martinsville, his eighth driving for Joe Gibbs Racing and the 27th of his Cup career. The win was also the first for former lead engineer James Small as a crew chief.

The starting lineup was based on a random draw. Ryan Blaney, who achieved his 100th top-five NASCAR national touring series career finish last Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, drew the pole position. Aric Almirola started on the front row for the second consecutive race. Joey Gase started at the rear of the field and was assessed a pass-through penalty at the start of the race due to his car failing pre-race technical inspection five times.

When the green flag waved, Almirola prevailed on the outside lane to jump to an early lead. It did not take long for the first caution to fly on the fourth lap due to fallen debris in Turn 2 that came off of Austin Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet, where Dillon sustained a flat right-rear tire at the start.

When the race resumed on the 13th lap, Almirola was able to clear Blaney on the inside lane in Turn 2 to retain the lead. Behind, Bowyer, who restarted in the second row on the outside lane, dropped multiple positions as he was overtaken by Joey Logano, Truex, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Chase Elliott. By Lap 16, Logano moved into second followed by Truex. Like Bowyer, Blaney lost positions to the Busch brothers after being stuck on the outside lane.

On Lap 20, Logano took the lead from Almirola as Truex quickly moved into second. The Busch brothers and Elliott also advanced into the top five as Almirola dropped to sixth in three laps. By Lap 30, Logano held a two-second advantage over Truex and Kurt Busch. Behind the leaders, Jimmie Johnson, who started 21st, was in seventh and Corey LaJoie, who started 25th, was in 13th. Almirola and Blaney, both of whom started on the front row, had fallen to 10th and 11th. In addition, Brad Keselowski, who started sixth, fell to 18th while Denny Hamlin, who started 12th, dropped to 21st. Ten laps later, Elliott, who moved to second five laps earlier, was more than three seconds behind Logano, followed by Kurt Busch, Bowyer, Johnson and Kevin Harvick while Truex fell back to seventh. Almirola and Blaney continued to fade in the running order and outside the top 10 due to handling issues.

By Lap 42, Hamlin and Keselowski were lapped by Logano. Three laps later, Matt DiBenedetto, William Byron and Bubba Wallace were running in sixth, seventh and 13th while Michael McDowell was making his way in the top 10.

When the competition caution flew on Lap 60, Logano was ahead by nearly nine seconds and had lapped a multitude of names that included Keselowski, Hamlin, Cole Custer, Daniel Suarez, Ty Dillon, Blaney, Christopher Bell, John Hunter Nemechek, Matt Kenseth, Almirola, Kyle Busch and Alex Bowman. By then, 18 cars were scored on the lead lap with Tyler Reddick being the last, but Bowman was able to receive the free pass under caution as the first car scored one lap behind. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Logano retained the lead followed by Elliott, Bowyer, DiBenedetto, Byron and Johnson. Kyle Busch, who was lapped, also pitted to have damage repaired as a result of making contact with the wall.

When the race restarted on Lap 68, Logano took off with the lead while Elliott and Bowyer battled against one another for second. By the next lap, Bowyer cleared Elliott in Turn 2 as Elliott settled in third in front of Byron. By Lap 80, Logano held a lead less than half a second over Bowyer followed by Elliott while Kurt Busch moved to fourth over Byron. DiBenedetto, Johnson and McDowell were in seventh, eighth and 10th while Wallace, Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Reddick were in the top 15. Hamlin, who was stuck in 31st, was reporting overheating problems to his No. 11 Toyota.

By Lap 100, Logano was leading above a second over Bowyer. Meanwhile, Kurt Busch was in third followed by Elliott, Truex, Byron, Harvick, Johnson, DiBenedetto and Wallace. Blaney was in 20th, Keselowski was in 24th, Kyle Busch was in 25th and Kenseth and Almirola were in 27th and 28th. Two laps later, Harvick, running seventh, reported a dead battery to his No. 4 Ford and was told he could go 180 more laps before he needed repairs.

Ten laps later, the caution returned when Timmy Hill, who was in position to receive the free pass and return on the lead lap, stalled on pit road. Under caution, the leaders pitted except for LaJoie. Following the pit stops, Wallace exited first after taking two tires while Logano, the first with four fresh tires, followed behind in second. Bowyer, Johnson, Truex and Harvick exited behind Logano. During the caution, Blaney returned on the lead lap while Stenhouse Jr. was nabbed with a speeding penalty.

With 10 laps remaining in the first stage, the race restarted and LaJoie prevailed on the inside lane to retain the lead while Logano and Bowyer went three-wide with Wallace to move up to second and third. By Turn 4 the following lap, Logano was back in the lead. A lap later, Bowyer moved to second followed by Johnson as LaJoie drifted toward the back. Meanwhile, Wallace was locked in a heated battle with Truex for fourth. While a multitude of battles between competitors ensured, Logano was able to drive away and win the first stage by half a second over Bowyer. Johnson finished third followed by Truex and Wallace while Elliott, Kurt Busch, Harvick, DiBenedetto and Byron finished in the top 10.

Under the stage break, most of the leaders remained on track while others like Elliott, Kurt Busch, Byron, Wallace, Ryan Newman and Blaney pitted. The following lap, Truex, who remained on track in the top five, made an unscheduled pit stop to have his right-front fender repaired as a result of damaging it following on-track contact with Harvick. In addition, Truex was penalized for a commitment line violation while trying to enter pit road, which forced him to restart in 22nd. Austin Dillon, who was still multiple laps behind, was also penalized for a commitment line violation.

The second stage started on Lap 140 and Logano retained the lead after clearing Bowyer in Turn 2. Johnson settled in third while DiBenedetto and McDowell battled for fourth. Ten laps later, Logano maintained his advantage by half a second over Bowyer while all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers were in the top 10. During this time, Reddick was in 10th, McDowell had fallen back to 11th and Erik Jones was the highest-running Toyota driver in 18th. By Lap 170, Johnson was in second and was trailing Logano by more than a second. Blaney, who was a lap behind early in the race and restarted 14th, was back in the top 10 in eighth, Wallace was in 13th and Truex and Keselowski were in 21st and 22nd.

With the race settling in a long green-flag run, Logano maintained his advantage by more than a second over Johnson and started to encounter lapped traffic as the field settled in single-file racing. On Lap 202, Johnson, who was able to narrow his deficit to Logano when Logano caught lapped traffic, made his move on the inside lane and took the lead, where he started to stretch his advantage to half a second. By Lap 220, Johnson extended his lead to above a second over Blaney, who overtook teammate Logano for second. Harvick, Elliott, Bowman and Byron were running fourth through seventh while Wallace worked his way back to eighth. Kurt Busch and Bowyer were in the bottom half of the top 10 while Keselowski was in 16th. Truex was mired in 19th while his teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin were in 25th and 27th.

By Lap 230, Johnson extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Blaney, more than three seconds over Logano and four seconds over Harvick. By Lap 250, Johnson was ahead by 1.5 seconds over Blaney, more than five seconds over Logano and more than six seconds over Harvick. Wallace had worked his way back to sixth while Keselowski was in 12th. Truex was in 16th, the highest-running Toyota driver, while Bowyer had fallen back to 18th and was lapped.

Uncontested, Johnson cruised to the second stage win, his first of the season, above a second over Blaney. Logano, Bowman and Harvick finished in the top five while Wallace, Byron, Elliott, Kurt Busch and Reddick finished in the top 10. Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Johnson exited pit road first followed by Blaney, Logano, Bowman, Harvick, Wallace and Byron. During the caution, Byron was sent to the rear of the field after being penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

The final stage started with 229 laps remaining as Johnson and Blaney battled against one another for one full lap. A lap later, Blaney used the high lane to clear Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet for the lead entering Turn 4. The following lap, Logano made his move on the inside lane to move into second. Behind the leaders, Bowman began to develop a left-rear tire rub after making contact with Keselowski.

With 216 laps remaining, Logano moved back to the lead after passing Blaney in Turn 3. By then, Johnson dropped to fifth as Harvick and Elliott moved up to third and fourth. Sixteen laps later, with 200 to go, Logano settled to a lead nearly half a second over Blaney as only 16 competitors were scored on the lead lap. Keselowski moved into fifth after overtaking Johnson while Bowman was in seventh despite the mild tire rub to his No. 88 Chevrolet. Reddick and Truex were eighth and ninth, Wallace was in 10th while battling Kurt Busch and Newman and Byron were in 13th and 15th.

With 175 to go, the caution returned when David Starr spun through Turns 1 and 2 and made contact with the outside wall after being tapped by Jones. At the time, Blaney, who took the lead nineteen laps earlier, was ahead by nearly a second over teammates Keselowski and Logano followed by Harvick, Johnson, Elliott and Bowman. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Logano was able to exit first followed by Keselowski, Johnson, Elliott and Truex while Blaney fell back to eighth. The situation went from bad to worse for Blaney, who was sent to the rear of the field due to a crew member jumping over the pit wall too early.

With 168 to go, the race restarted and Logano cleared Keselowski by Turn 2 to maintain the lead. Keselowski settled in second while Elliott battled on the outside lane to move into fourth over teammate Johnson followed by Truex, who rallied from his commitment line violation at the conclusion of the first stage.

With 150 to go, a three-way battle for the lead started brewing as Keselowski drew himself right to the rear bumper of Logano’s No. 22 Ford with Elliott right behind Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford. During this time, Almirola made a pit stop to have the batteries changed due to an alternator issue to his No. 10 Ford. By the time he returned, he was 13 laps behind the leaders.

With 136 to go, as the leaders approached heavy lapped traffic, Keselowski moved aggressively on the inside lane to take the lead after Logano was pinned behind the lapped car of LaJoie on the outside lane. A lap later, Truex moved into second as Logano slipped to third followed by Elliott and Harvick. Six laps later, Truex emerged with the lead. By then, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates (Kyle Busch, Jones and Hamlin) were running 20th through 22nd. During this time, Johnson was in seventh, Roush Fenway Racing teammates Newman and Buescher were in the top 10 behind DiBenedetto and Wallace was in 12th, one position ahead of Blaney.

With 103 to go, the caution flew when rookie Quin Houff spun entering Turn 2. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Truex exited first followed by Keselowski, Logano, Elliott, Bowman, Harvick and Johnson.

When the race restarted with 97 to go, Truex took off with the lead and Logano moved into second over Keselowski while Bowman, racing with a damaged left-rear fender, moved into fourth over teammate Elliott. At the time the race resumed to green, Austin Dillon exited his car on pit road and had to be cooled off due to being exposed to fumes and heat as a result of the knocked out crushed panels from the cut tire Dillon sustained at the start of the race. Dillon would end his night in the garage and on a stretcher headed for the infield care center while receiving oxygen and fluids to continue to cool off.

With 75 to go, Truex settled to a lead of nearly a second over Logano. Meanwhile, Blaney, who rallied from his late pit road penalty, was in fifth followed by Bowman while Johnson had fallen to 10th ahead of Newman. Byron was in 12th followed by Bowyer while Wallace had fallen back to 17th.

As the laps continued to dwindle, Truex extended his advantage to two seconds over teammates Logano and Keselowski with Blaney pursuing by three seconds and Elliott by four seconds. With 40 to go, Truex settled to a lead nearly three seconds over Blaney, who overtook his teammates and was trying to pursue Truex. Twenty laps later, Truex extended his advantage to four seconds as only 15 competitors were scored on the lead lap. With 10 to go, Truex stabilized his lead to nearly five seconds over Blaney and nearly six laps for Keselowski as he started to approach lapped traffic.

Despite the heavy lapped traffic, Truex cautiously worked his way through each corner and remained uncontested through the final circuits as he claimed the checkered flag to win by more than four seconds over Blaney and become the seventh winner of this year’s Cup Series season.

Prior to the 2019 Cup season, Truex was 0-80 in short track wins. After tonight, he has won four of the last six short-track races.

“We’ve been working a long time on trying to figure this place out and just chipping away at it,” Truex said. “The last couple of years, we’ve been really strong. [October 2018] was a heartbreaker going at the end of the race there, last year to get the win and this year. Hats off to the guys. We started the first run, pushed the right-front tire off and were terrible. Really good adjustments by the guys, I wanna thank all of them, SiriusXM, Bass Pro [Shops], Auto-Owners [Insurance], everybody that makes this possible. Congrats to James [Small] on his first win. He’s doing an awesome job. It’s a big day for us. We did what we had to do. Thanks to everybody back at [Joe Gibbs Racing] for working through all these tough times and everything else. It feels a little strange out here, to be honest.”

Blaney rallied from struggling early in the race to finish second for his fifth top-five finish of the season followed by teammates Keselowski and Logano while Elliott settled in fifth. Bowman, DiBenedetto, Byron, Kurt Busch and Johnson finished in the top 10 as only 14 competitors finished on the lead lap.

The race featured 14 lead changes with eight different leaders. There were seven cautions for 52 laps.

Harvick continues to lead the regular-season series standings by 28 points over Logano and 47 over Elliott.

Results:

1. Martin Truex Jr., 132 laps led

2. Ryan Blaney, 34 laps led

3. Brad Keselowski, five laps led

4. Joey Logano, 234 laps led, Stage 1 winner

5. Chase Elliott, one lap led

6. Alex Bowman

7. Matt DiBenedetto

8. William Byron

9. Kurt Busch

10. Jimmie Johnson, 70 laps led, Stage 2 winner

11. Bubba Wallace

12. Ryan Newman

13. Chris Buescher

14. Michael McDowell

15. Kevin Harvick, one lap behind

16. Tyler Reddick, one lap behind

17. Clint Bowyer, one lap behind

18. Corey LaJoie, one lap behind, five laps led

19. Kyle Busch, one lap behind

20. Erik Jones, three laps behind

21. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., three laps behind

22. Ty Dillon, three laps behind

23. Matt Kenseth, three laps behind

24. Denny Hamlin, three laps behind

25. John Hunter Nemechek, three laps behind

26. Ryan Preece, four laps behind

27. Daniel Suarez, six laps behind

28. Christopher Bell, six laps behind

29. Cole Custer, six laps behind

30. Brennan Poole, six laps behind

31. J.J. Yeley, seven laps behind

32. David Starr, 21 laps behind

33. Aric Almirola – OUT, Battery, 19 laps led

34. Quin Houff, 26 laps behind

35. Joey Gase, 36 laps behind

36. Garrett Smithley, 50 laps behind

37. Austin Dillon – OUT, Fatigue

38. Reed Sorenson – OUT, Electrical

39. Timmy Hill – OUT, Fuel Pump

Next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Homestead-Miami Speedway, which will occur on June 14 and cap off a quadruple-header weekend of racing in south Florida. The race will air at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

June 11, 2020
Opinion: NASCAR should be proud of its response to the recent protests

I can already hear the cringe and feel the heat radiating off of those reading this title and getting angry. To be fair, I don’t really care one way or another. In a world of violent dissent and injustice, no sport is better versed to speak out on the recent protests against systemic racism than NASCAR given it’s roots in the Jim Crow-era South back in the day.

On Sunday before the NASCAR Cup Series event at Atlanta, the pre-race ceremonies were directed toward the recent Black Lives Matter protests, with several drivers going as far as to make recordings of themselves speaking out for the need for change in how we as people need to be more aware toward the plights of our fellow men and women regardless of difference. Along with that several crew members were seen holding up shirts regarding BLM and emblazoned with George Floyd’s likeness and his last words, which were “I Can’t Breathe.” Floyd was killed by Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin on May 25; his death was the catalyst for the widespread protests which are now taking place to protest police brutality and systemic racism.

Along with that, during the pace laps before the green flag NASCAR President Steve Phelps stopped the field on the track to speak on the need for change not only in our sport but in our community before taking a moment of silence to reflect on those affected by racial injustice. NASCAR official Kirk Price, who is black, was also seen kneeling on pit road before the event.

All in all, it’s safe to say NASCAR has been responding to these protests amazingly; perhaps the best out of the sports world. That’s especially when taking into consideration the NFL’s response to Colin Kaepernick’s peaceful protests from a few years back. One of the driving forces behind NASCAR’s response to the BLM protests has been Cup driver Bubba Wallace, the only black driver in the series. Wallace and fellow Cup driver Ty Dillon held a discussion on Dillon’s Instagram page, where they discussed Wallace’s experiences with racism and what the NASCAR community could do to listen and better themselves in the face of such injustice and inequality. Wallace followed this up with appearances on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s podcast, the Dale Jr. Download, and on CNN where he was interviewed by Don Lemon.

Of course, leave it to social media to foul up a beautiful, powerful thing. Check Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, wherever. There’s a lot of positivity and pride coming from those places, but there’s also an asinine amount of people threatening to boycott and leave the sport. Fine, let them. It’s just difficult to understand why it’s so hard for people to actually sit down and listen and try to understand why these protests are being held, and why NASCAR responded the way it did.

Let’s put it this way – white privilege does exist. I explained it like this to my mother: When the Black Lives Matter movement first came about, I thought it had a good message behind it. Maybe they were a bit extra, because “didn’t All Lives Matter?” I spent my time talking about it with black acquaintances trying to prove to them and myself that I was “aware” of my white privilege and therefore I was “trying” to avoid using it. I know in retrospect I was still pretty ignorant, because the thing was I was speaking from white privilege while trying to deny my own white privilege.

As a white man, when I get pulled over, say, for going 86 in a 70 (happened in 2011 on my way to my first editor job at a newspaper in Memphis, Texas. Good times.), my first thought was “I hope the ticket isn’t too big.” That, and “Maybe I could talk the Sheriff and the Justice of the Peace into maybe lowering it for me.” They actually ended up lowering it for me. But for a lot of black people, when they get pulled over their first thought is, “I hope I don’t die today.”

I hope I don’t die today. That’s an emotion that a lot of us feel during our lives – I hope I don’t die today. I don’t want to die. But a lot of us are so caught up in our white privilege that we’re almost comfortable in it. A lot of times our biggest concern is who is on the pole for Martinsville, or if the No. 98 can win the Xfinity Series title this season. But for a lot of our black peers (or any of our peers of colors for that matter), there’s a chance they could face a form of racial indignity or worse on a daily basis. And our modus operandi for the whole thing has just been “Oh darn. That’s too bad.” Seriously – we’re okay with this?

There are those who are angry saying that NASCAR shouldn’t be getting “all political.” Where were you at when the Daytona 500 Trump Rally happened in February? Where were you when the presidential limo paced the field of the Great American Race? Are you really against politics in NASCAR or just politics you don’t agree with in NASCAR? Because when all is said and done, speaking out on the injustices and crimes committed against our fellow men and women such as Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Michael Brown, Philando Castile, so on and so forth…none of that is political. It’s about doing what’s right for the people that we share this community and this world with.

Not all cops are bad. Not all whites are racist. But until we suffocate systemic racism, and truly adhere to idea that black lives truly do matter, then “All Lives Matter” is just lip service without action. Of course all lives matter, but we’e operating under the notion that some lives matter more than others. This is unacceptable. This isn’t how good people should operate.

Still, there are those who get angry because buildings and businesses have been burned and looted saying that they only support peaceful protesters. What did you say when Kaepernick took a knee before every football game? Did you support his right to peaceful protest? Or did you call him a son of a bitch for “disrespecting the American flag (please, read up on the U.S. Flag Code before you insult Old Glory with your hypocrisy. I beg of you.)?” If your primary concern is the structural damage of buildings burned and vandalized by these protests and not of the injustice suffered by people of color, then you’re a part of the problem. John F. Kennedy once said, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” Where are we now, guys?

We can do better. We need to do better. We’re better than the people making jokes at the expense of protesters and victims alike. We’re better than supporting the divisiveness of our country. We can listen, we can change. NASCAR, who once initially denied a black man his first Cup Series win on the basis of his skin color, proved that on Sunday and has been killing it with their response to the BLM protests. This is the first time in a long time I have truly been proud to be a NASCAR fan and I know there are thousands more who feel the same way.

What drove this home was a Reddit thread in the subreddit r/pics. A user had posted a picture of Wallace wearing a BLM shirt under his firesuit, and the response was nothing short of overwhelming to see. Sure, there were jokes and cries of “Virtue Signaling!” and “Fire him!” and “I’mma bet the Nascar rednecks hated that!”, but ultimately the responses were positive and several users admitted that they were going to follow and support NASCAR based off of their support for the protests and their call for change in our communities.

On that note, good job, NASCAR. This is the response you need in this day and age.

June 9, 2020