Category: NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR Cup Series

William Byron captures pole and sets record for Coca-Cola 600

William Bryon earned the Busch Pole Award Thursday evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600, becoming the youngest pole winner in the event’s history.

The 21-year-old Charlotte native earned the pole in his Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet with a 183.424 mph lap. It was his second Cup Series pole and the second this season after starting up front for the season-opening Daytona 500.

“This is a dream come true,” Byron said after qualifying. “Obviously I grew up in Charlotte and came to this race every year. So, it’s a dream come true to qualify on the pole with Hendrick Motorsports just across the street and all the hard work and everybody at Chevrolet giving us fast race cars. This is pretty cool. I can’t think of a better way to start the weekend.

“Winning the pole is a good first step for this weekend. After all those nights of running the Summer Shootout and Winter Heat around here (as a child), I spent a lot of time wondering what it would be like to run the big track. It’s really cool (to win the pole on it). I’ve run one (Coca-Cola 600) here and it didn’t go so great, so the one thought I’ve had in my head this week was to make it better this year, because honestly it was miserable last year. I’ve taken that and used it as added motivation for this year. I don’t really like having the ‘youngest’ term attached to me. I’ve always been the young guy. I really just look at myself as a race car driver.”

Aric Almirola will start in second after a lap of 183.069 mph in his No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.

“I got everything I could out of it,” he said. ” If somebody else gets in there maybe they might be able to do something different, but I felt like I got everything I could out of it. Surprisingly, it was a handful to drive so I’m proud of that lap.”

The defending race winner, Kyle Busch, qualified third in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at 182.933 mph. Austin Dillon will start fourth with Kevin Harvick in fifth.

Daniel Suarez, Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Daniel Hemric round out the top 10 starting positions.

Jimmie Johnson, with four Coca-Cola 600 wins (2003, 2004, 2005, 2014), will start in 15th.

Tune into the 60th running of the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on FOX with radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

May 23, 2019
Weekend schedule for Charlotte

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

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

All times are Eastern.

Thursday, May 23

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

Friday, May 24
No events scheduled

Saturday, May 25

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

Sunday, May 26

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

May 23, 2019
Toyota MENCS Race Recap – Charlotte All-Star Race

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Charlotte Motor Speedway – All-Star Race
May 18, 2019

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Kyle Larson*
2nd, Kevin Harvick*
3rd, KYLE BUSCH
4th, Joey Logano*
5th, Darrell Wallace Jr.
10th, MARTIN TRUEX JR
18th, DENNY HAMLIN
19th, ERIK JONES
*non-Toyota driver

All four Joe Gibbs Racing Camry’s qualified for tonight’s All-Star event after capturing wins in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) season.

Kyle Busch was the highest-finishing Toyota driver in third place while Martin Truex Jr. also captured a top-10 finish

Busch led 15 laps (of 85) in the second stage of the four-stage event.

TOYOTA QUOTES

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Hazelnut Spread Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

Are the aero problems you referenced something you fought throughout the race?

“All year long. This M&M’s Camry was fast, but just not fast enough by itself on restarts. Couldn’t hold off the guys behind us and fought aero problems after that.”

How strong was the car in the race?

“We had a really fast M&M’s Camry. Probably was the only guy to pass for the lead after a given set of laps. On restarts, we couldn’t go anywhere, we just weren’t fast enough, but we had long run speed. That’s all there is to it.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops / Tracker ATVs / USO Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 10th

How did your race go tonight?

“It wasn’t good for us. We had a really strong Camry and got to the front early. We lost track position and then go it back, lost it, got it back, lost it and got wrecked. It’s the All-Star race. If you’re not the first couple of guys, you’re in a bad spot. No fun.”

May 19, 2019
Larson shines brightest in Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race

By: Charlotte Motor Speedway

In a race full of stars, Kyle Larson shined brightest in Saturday’s Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

After a stirring drive to the front from the rear of the field, Larson held off Kevin Harvick over the final laps to become the first driver to win the Monster Energy Open and the All-Star Race on the same night. The driver of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet made moves high, low and in the middle to assume the point in the final 15-lap dash for $1 million.

Harvick reeled in Larson over the final circuits but wasn’t able to make a pass to capture his second consecutive All-Star Race triumph, finishing a scant 0.322 seconds in arrears of Larson – who won in a Monster Energy Cup Series car for the first time since 2017.

Larson had to sweat out advancing into the All-Star Race, taking a car he believed was the event’s best and having to fight out a win in the final stage of the Monster Energy Open to advance to the big show. From there, Larson quickly asserted himself – moving into seventh before the first stage ended.

Harvick appeared to be the man to beat for much of the night. His pink, Millennial-themed machine had the measure of the field in the early going before a loose wheel robbed Harvick of track position.

Amid three- and four-wide battles through the pack and exciting, wheel-to-wheel racing previously reserved for tracks larger than 1.5 miles, the 35th running of the biggest all-star event in sports delivered in spectacular style – particularly for the race winner, whose Victory Lane drought came to an end in lucrative fashion.

Following Larson and Harvick, who led a race-high 33 laps, Kyle Busch finished third after hitting the wall late in the race. Joey Logano, the 2016 race winner and defending series champion, was fourth. Bubba Wallace – in his first All-Star Race after winning Stage 2 of the Open-ended up fifth in Richard Petty Motorsports’ first All-Star Race since 2015.

KYLE LARSON, No. 42 Advent Health Chevrolet (Race Winner): “Gosh, after the year we’ve had, I wouldn’t have guessed that we would get our first win at the All-Star Race. But the way the format is and how crazy the race is, it kinda helps us out. We always seem to run good on this weekend, so it just feels like a big relief to finally get a win. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to victory lane in a stock car. After being close to winning this race a couple years ago and then allowing Joey (Logano) to get by, it feels really good to get some redemption. … What makes this race so exciting is the short runs, people are going crazy. Even though it’s a 20-lap run, there’s still a caution or two in each segment because everybody is just going nuts. The restarts were wild.”

CHAD JOHNSTON, No. 42 Advent Health Chevrolet (Winning Crew Chief): “It was a good time for us. We’ve had a rough year. We’ve had a lot more speed than we’ve shown in points, obviously. We haven’t been able to string together any finishes until as of late. We come off a third-place finish in Dover and a seventh-place finish at Kansas, and with the exception of Phoenix, those are the only races we haven’t had issues. To come here to the All-Star Race and to be able to take home a million dollars is huge for us and hopefully a stake in the ground for a turning point for us.”

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Busch Beer Millennial Car Ford (Runner-Up): “That’s how you take the fastest car and don’t win the race with it. We had an incredible Busch Beer Ford. (Crew chief) Rodney (Childers) and the guys on the team did an incredible job. It was unfortunate. The guys did a great job preparing a race car, and we weren’t ready to make a pit stop on pit road tonight. We just need to be ready to race; we’ve done it all year. We just need to show up (and not) have it be a disaster. They’ve been great all year and tonight wasn’t great, that’s for sure. We spotted the whole field and started tail-back with 15 laps to go. Once they get single-file, as soon as they drive in your lane, they’d push up a groove, so you’ve got to go where they aren’t. (Larson) was fast enough to run the bottom, and that’s where I needed to run to really make time.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Hazelnut Spread Toyota (Third-Place Finisher): “We had a really fast M&Ms Camry. Probably was the only guy to pass for the lead after a given set of laps. On restarts, we couldn’t go anywhere. We just weren’t fast enough, but we had long-run speed. That’s all there is to it.”

May 18, 2019
Clint Bowyer wins pole for All-Star Race at Charlotte
Clint Bowyer captured the pole for Saturday’s Monster Energy All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was his first pole in the event which features a $1 million prize.

Qualifying required each participant to complete three qualifying laps with one four-tire pit stop with no pit road speed limit. Bowyer’s best lap time of 136.371 mph and his 14.8-second pit stop in his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford was enough to earn the top starting position. It will be his 10th All-Star Race.

“Our Fords are extremely fast, frustrated that we haven’t been able to break into victory lane. We’re poised to do that. I’m telling you, the Stewart-Haas cars have been extremely fast,” Bowyer said. “Kevin (Harvick) showed his muscle last week in Kansas, had a mishap and didn’t get his win. We’ve been knocking on the door at Richmond and Bristol and Martinsville.

“With our 14 car, I’m very proud of the job that Buga (Mike Bugarewicz, crew chief) and everybody has been doing. That was the difference tonight. Tonight was all about going fast and getting the most out of three laps and I do love the aspect that you add that pit crew. It gives them a time to shine. My pit crew has been doing a jam-up job all season long and they were a big part of that. I call that a win. That is a victory. That’s something that’s not just a qualifying lap. It’s a total team effort.”

Kyle Busch, who fell short of the pole in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota by .177 seconds, said, “I thought everything about the lap actually was pretty good. I’m not sure how fast the lap itself was — how fast our car was on the lap.

“I felt like my progressiveness onto pit road and pit road speed was relatively good, and then the braking point and being able to just chatter the tires all the way into the box was really close. Really on the money there. I thought we got all we could get out of it.”

Kevin Harvick, Bowyer’s teammate, will start third with his fastest lap time of 136.068 mph as Austin Dillon and Martin Truex Jr. round out the top five.

Harvick seemed pleased that his qualifying run went smoothly, saying, “I think I could have got a little better in the braking onto pit road was okay, a little better time in the braking and I spun the tires a little bit too much leaving the stall, but in the end you don’t want to make any big mistakes and I think we accomplished that.”

Of the remaining drivers who have already qualified for the All-Star Race, Ryan Newman will start sixth followed by Erik Jones, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola, Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch.

Qualifying for the Open was held prior to All-Star qualifying and Richard Childress Racing’s Daniel Hemric won the pole.

“I said on the radio this is the first box checked for the weekend,” Hemric said. “You’ve got to bring the fastest race car you can, and we’ve done that. Hopefully, we can do our jobs tomorrow and do what we need to do to get in the All-Star race and really have some fun.”

Fifteen drivers have qualified for the race and another three will join the lineup after the Monster Energy Open which will precede the All-Star Race Saturday night at 6 p.m. ET. The Open will consist of three stages and each stage winner will earn a spot in the All-Star Race. One final driver will be chosen from the Fan Vote, making a total of 19 competitors for the All-Star event.

This year’s All-Star race is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET Saturday on FS1 and will include four stages of 30, 20 and 20 laps with a final 15-lap shootout.

Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.
May 17, 2019
Full schedule for Charlotte All-Star weekend

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

All times are Eastern.

Friday, May 17

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Saturday, May 18

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

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

All-Star Race – Rules, Format, Eligibility

May 16, 2019

All-Star Race – Rules, Format, Eligibility

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway Saturday evening for the 35th running of the All-Star Race with a $1 million prize up for grabs.

Jimmie Johnson leads the way with four All-Star wins in 2003, 2006, 2012 and 2013. Kevin Harvick is the defending race winner with one other victory in 2007.

Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano complete the list of active drivers who have won the All-Star Race, with one victory each.

This year’s event will include four stages consisting of 30, 20 and 20 laps with a final stage of 15 laps. During Stages 1-3 both green and yellow flag laps will count. Only green flag laps will count in the final stage. Pit stops are not mandatory.

NASCAR’s Overtime rules will be in effect. During the final stage, if the race is restarted with less than two laps remaining, there will be an unlimited number of attempts to ensure that the race will finish under green flag conditions.

This year’s race will add two technical elements to the cars. The first component is a single-piece carbon fiber splitter/pan. It is hoped that the splitter will “provide a more stable aero platform and create more consistent performance in traffic.” The All-Star cars will also be “configured with a radiator exit duct through the hood. This will separate aerodynamic performance and engine temperatures, creating more parity across the field.”

There are currently 15 drivers eligible for the All-Star Race. Competitors must have won a points-paying race in 2018 or 2019, be a full-time driver who is a former winner of the All-Star race or a past Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion.

The fifteen eligible drivers include Aric Almirola, Ryan Blaney, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Harvick, Johnson, Erik Jones, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr.

Drivers can also qualify by participating in the Monster Energy Open. The Open will be held at 6 p.m. ET on FS1 Saturday and will consist of three stages,(20, 20, 10 laps). The winner of each stage will earn a spot in the All-Star Race.

The final driver will be determined by the Fan Vote, bringing the total to 19 drivers for the All-Star event. In 2008 Kasey Kahne earned a spot in the All-Star race through the Fan Vote and went on to win the All-Star race, the only driver to ever do so.

The Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race is set for May 18 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

Monster Energy Open Entry List

Entry	Veh #	Driver	Organization	Crew Chief	Mfg	Sponsor
1	00	Landon Cassill (i)	StarCom Racing	Joe Williams Jr	Chevrolet	Elongator Tailgates
2	8	Daniel Hemric	Richard Childress Racing	Luke Lambert	Chevrolet	Bass Pro Shops / Caterpillar
3	13	Ty Dillon	Germain Racing	Matt Borland	Chevrolet	GEICO Military
4	15	Ross Chastain (i)	Premium Motorsports	Patrick Tryson	Chevrolet	TBD
5	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	Roush Fenway Racing	Brian Pattie	Ford	Fastenal
6	21	Paul Menard	Wood Brothers Racing	Greg Erwin	Ford	Menards \ Knauf
7	24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chad Knaus	Chevrolet	TBA
8	32	Corey LaJoie	GO FAS Racing	Randy Cox	Ford	Freedom Hard
9	34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Drew Blickensderfer	Ford	Dockside Logistics
10	36	Matt Tifft	Front Row Motorsports	Michael Kelley	Ford	Surface Sunscreen / Tunity
11	37	Chris Buescher	JTG Daugherty Racing	Trent Owens	Chevrolet	Kroger Your Personal Pit Stop
12	38	David Ragan	Front Row Motorsports	Seth Barbour	Ford	MDS Transport
13	41	Daniel Suarez	Stewart-Haas Racing	Billy Scott	Ford	ARRIS
14	42	Kyle Larson	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chad Johnston	Chevrolet	Advent Health
15	43	Bubba Wallace	Richard Petty Motorsports	Derek Stamets	Chevrolet	World Wide Technology
16	46	Joey Gase (i)	Motorsports Business Mgt	Mark Labretone	Toyota	MBM Motorsports
17	47	Ryan Preece	JTG Daugherty Racing	Tristan Smith	Chevrolet	Kroger
18	51	Cody Ware (i)	Petty Ware Racing	Michael Hillman	Ford	JACOB COMPANIES
19	52	Bayley Currey (i)	Rick Ware Racing	George Church	Chevrolet	TBA
20	53	BJ McLeod (i)	Rick Ware Racing	TBA	Chevrolet	TBA
21	66	Timmy Hill (i)	Motorsports Business Mgt	Brian Keselowski	Toyota	MBM Motorsports
22	77	Quin Houff	Spire Motorsports	Peter Sospenzo	Chevrolet	TBD
23	88	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Greg Ives	Chevrolet	TBA
24	95	Matt DiBenedetto	Leavine Family Racing	Michael Wheeler	Toyota	Anest Iwata

May 15, 2019

NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kansas

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Kyle Busch: Busch was in contention for the in on Saturday night at Kansas before a flat right-rear tire ruined his night. He finished 30th, three laps down.

“That ends my streak of top-10 finishes,” Busch said. “But 11 top 10’s and three wins in the first 12 races is quite a feat. So, when people ask me how I’m doing, I could say, ‘I can’t complain.’ But that would be a lie.”

2. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski surged late and held on in overtime to win the Digital Ally 400 at Kansas. It was his third win of the season, and Team Penske’s fourth triumph of the year.

“I got an awesome start on the final restart,” Keselowski said. “Some say I went too early. But let’s face it, NASCAR is a sport in which, almost exclusively, white men can jump.”

3. Joey Logano: Logano came home 15th at Kansas as Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski took the win.

“After my car failed post-qualifying inspection two times,” Logano said, “my crew chief Todd Gordon was sent packing, which was a real downer for the team. So, here is the order of events at Kansas for us: ‘rejected, ejected, dejected.’”

4. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished fourth in the Digital Ally 400, posting his third consecutive top-five finish. He is fourth in the Monster Energy Cup points standings, 55 out of first.

“I feel good about the season,” Elliott said. “I feel like I’m fast enough, mature enough, and talented enough to win the championship. Nothing would satisfy me more than taking the Monster Energy Cup championship trophy and holding it over my head, which is what my dad Bill has been doing with his one Cup trophy since I started racing.”

5. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished 19th at Kansas.

“Well,” said Truex, “you can’t win them all. And, if you drive for Stewart-Haas Racing, you can’t win any of them.”

6. Kevin Harvick: Harvick was the car to beat early at Kansas, but a flat tire with 90 laps to go forced him out of pit sequence. He finished 13th and is now third in the points standings, 38 out of first.

“I’m extremely frustrated with our bad luck,” Harvick said. “I’m at a loss for words, and also at a loss for races. Stewart-Haas Racing is still winless on the year. But, as an organization, we have to stay positive. Our attitude must be ‘un-defeated.’”

7. Kurt Busch: Busch finished seventh at Kansas, posting his eighth top 10 of the year.

“I think the NASCAR rules package actually made for better racing,” Busch said. “I actually heard cheers from the fans in the stands. So, amazingly, it had the opposite effect on my brother Kyle, because it silenced him.”

8. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 16th, one lap down, at Kansas as Joe Gibbs Racing managed to place only one car in the top 10.

“It was a very disappointing day,” Hamlin said. “But after the last race at Dover, even a result as mediocre as 16th, is a ‘breath of fresh air.’ And I needed that after suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning at Dover. Carbon monoxide is colorless, like the NASCAR fan base, and odorless, unlike the NASCAR fan base, and tasteless, like Tony Stewart.”

9. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished fifth at Kansas after scrapping with Erik Jones in the closing laps.

“Jones blatantly blocked me,” Bowyer said. “At a race in my home state, no less. And this native is restless.”

10. Alex Bowman: Bowman took second at Kansas for his third straight runner-up finish.

“I’m making progress,” Bowman said, “and so is Hendrick Motorsports. Even Jimmie Johnson scored a top-10 finish. That was his fifth top 10 of the year. So, in the 12 races thus far this year, Jimmie has been out of the top 10 seven times. And that’s why we now call Jimmie ‘Seven-time.’”

May 13, 2019
Brad Keselowski wins in a thriller at Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Brad Keselowski won in an overtime finish at Kansas Speedway for his third victory of the season and his first since 2011 at the 1.5-mile speedway in Kansas City, Kansas.

“Yeah, this was a great day, and that’s what I’ve been known for my whole career is just never give up,” Keselowski said in his victory lane interview. We were behind big time with just 40 or 50 to go. The yellow came out, we were on pit road, we were trapped a lapped down. We dug out of that hole, and then the restarts, a couple of opportunities, the holes were there, I took it, and it stuck. And the next thing I knew I was running second or third behind Alex Bowman. I was able to make just the right move at the right time to clear him. Alex was super, super strong, and he got a little tight off of Turn 2 and I had the run wall and glued to it and built this big run.”

The Digital Ally 400 was broken into 80/80/107 laps to make up the three stages.

Eleven drivers had failed post-qualifying inspection before the race started and had to line up at the back of the field which meant that several drivers moved up starting positions.

Stage 1 saw barely any incidents. There were was a competition caution on Lap 30 due to overnight rain. The first incident of the night took place on Lap 60 when Denny Hamlin spun off Turn 4 and had the crush panels pushed in. William Byron was penalized for removing equipment, a jack post, on pit road.

Before the stage ended, there was a range of leaders from Chase Elliott to Kevin Harvick. Harvick completely dominated the first stage and wound up winning Stage 1 after leading three times for 57 laps, nearly half the stage.

Stage 2 saw the same thing, but this time there was a little more strategy involved throughout the stage with drivers up front who were normally not up front. This included Chris Buescher and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. who were trying a different strategy, however, they eventually had to end up pitting.

There were no cautions throughout Stage 2 as it went clean the whole way with Elliott winning the second stage. Harvick wound up second with Jones third, Bowman fourth, Stenhouse fifth, Buescher sixth, Kurt Busch seventh, Clint Bowyer eighth, Kyle Busch ninth and Kyle Larson rounding out the top 10 for Stage 2 which ended on lap 160.

The third and final stage began on lap 168, and the stage saw several more cautions.

On Lap 219, Ryan Newman’s tire went out into the grass and caught on fire. On Lap 221 during the pit stops, Kyle Busch was penalized for driving through too many pit boxes. After adding some additional laps to get the restart order correct, the green flag came out on Lap 228 with unique names like Bowman, Buescher, Stenhouse and Tyler Reddick up front. Another caution flew with 30 to go for debris in Turn 2.

There was intense side-by-side racing for the lead for 19 laps until the final caution came out with just seven laps to go for the No. 95 of Matt DiBenedetto who was leaking fluid in Turn 2.

This would eventually set up an overtime restart with just two laps to go. There were side-by-side battles with Stenhouse, Bowman and eventually Keselowski, who took the lead on Lap 261 and held on for the last 11 laps to win his third race of the season, his first since Martinsville.

Coming into the race, Keselowski had an idea what to expect during the race.

“It’s hard to say where it will go,” Keselowski said in regards to the rules package. “I feel like the season breaks down into thirds. Maybe I am repeating myself to some of the people in the room. You know, you have the first third, your second third, and the final part with the Playoffs, and with that in mind, Kansas to me is like the break to me in the first third of the season and the beginning of the middle stretch. I think we see things start to settle out by then at the end of the West Coast swing start of the season. There’s a lot that comes and goes, and you try to understand the rules; all the engineering behind it is a little bit tough.

“When we get to this part of the season, you really have to shine because this is what you got. So it’s nice to be able to win right here today, it’s always nice to win, but in light of those thoughts or beliefs I guess, it’s a good sign for us for sure.”

Keselowski led twice for 12 laps and earned five Playoff points.

Bowman, Erik Jones, Elliott, Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Larson, Reddick and Buescher rounded out the top-10 finishers.

There were seven cautions for 41 laps and 23 leaders among 12 lead changes.

Up Next: The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads home next weekend to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the annual running of the All-Star Race.

May 11, 2019
Kevin Harvick wins pole at Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — For the third time this season and the 28th of his career, Kevin Harvick earned the pole position at Kansas Speedway on Friday evening.

It was Harvick’s fifth pole at the 1.5-mile speedway located in Kansas City, Kansas. Harvick laid down a lap time of 30.131 seconds and a speed of 179.217 mph.

The No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing driver has been quite successful at Kansas Speedway amassing three wins in 26 starts, eight top fives, 14 top-10 finishes, and 751 laps led.

His teammates weren’t that far away, as they took the first four spots. Aric Almirola placed second, hometown favorite Clint Bowyer third and Daniel Suarez fourth.

Talladega winner Chase Elliott was fifth, Dover winner Martin Truex Jr. was sixth, rookie William Byron was seventh, Kyle Larson eighth, Brad Keselowski ninth and Alex Bowman rounded out the top-10 starters for Saturday’s Digital Ally 400.

Other notables include Erik Jones who qualified 11th, Bubba Wallace in 12th, Kyle Busch in 13th, Kurt Busch in 14th, Denny Hamlin will start 17th, Jimmie Johnson in 18th and Ryan Blaney in 19th. Joey Logano will start 20th, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 21st, Austin Dillon 22nd, Ryan Newman in 28th and Tyler Reddick in 30th. Reddick, the reigning Xfinity Series champion, will be making his second Cup Series start driving the Richard Childress Racing No. 31 Chevrolet.

With some unknowns going into Saturday’s race, Harvick explains if we’ll see the single-file racing that Kansas is known for or if we will see something like we did at Texas several weeks ago.

“I think it’s going to be very similar to Texas,” Harvick said. “You’ll see some wild restarts and I think you’re gonna see guys check up with a swarm of cars that they catch you. You know, I think for us the closing rate has been very good when you catch a draft off a car. I don’t think it’s going to be one big pack. You’re going to see that for seven to eight or nine, or 10 laps on the restart like you did at Texas because you do have multiple lanes here but as you run through the night, I think you’re going to see some tire strategy. I don’t think tire fall off is going to be near as bad as it has been in the past. There is still going to be some there, but we haven’t seen a lot today and it’s going to be cooler tomorrow night. I think the exact style of race is going to be hard to tell you, as the conditions are going to be when it is dark.”

Harvick will be looking for his fourth win at Kansas in Saturday’s race.

May 10, 2019