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NASCAR Cup Series

  • Byron capitalizes late for dramatic overtime victory at Phoenix

    Byron capitalizes late for dramatic overtime victory at Phoenix

    A week after cashing in with a dramatic overtime victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, William Byron conquered the desert valley amid a late caution period, a two-tire strategy and two late-race restarts to fend off the field and win the United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, March 12.

    The 25-year-old Byron from Charlotte, North Carolina, led two times for 64 of 317 over-scheduled laps in an event where he led early before keeping his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports entry towards the front of the field while teammate Kyle Larson dominated the event. Then as Kevin Harvick emerged late and was headed for a potential victory, a caution for Harrison Burton’s spin with 10 laps remaining enabled Byron and crew chief Rudy Fugle to draw themselves back into contention by opting for a two-tire strategy to battle teammate Larson through two restarts. During the second restart that sent the event into overtime, Byron peeked ahead of Larson with a bump from Tyler Reddick to clear the field and navigate around the Phoenix circuit for a final lap before cruising to his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victory in recent weeks.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Kyle Larson notched his first Cup pole of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 130.237 mph in 27.642 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Denny Hamlin, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 129.931 mph in 27.707 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Zane Smith dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his No. 38 Front Row Motorsports entry.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Larson rocketed with the lead on the inside lane as the field fanned out through the frontstretch dogleg. With the field continuing to fan out and jostle for early positions through the first two turns and entering the backstretch, Larson cleared the field and was able to lead the first lap ahead of teammate Byron, who also ignited an early charge at the front. Shortly after, however, Byron muscled his No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 beneath Larson’s No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through the dogleg and entering Turn 1 to assume the lead. Byron was then able to stretch his advantage to half a second over teammate Larson by the fifth lap while Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Christopher Bell occupied the top five on the track.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Byron was leading by more than six-tenths of a second over teammate Larson followed by Hamlin, Keselowski and Bell while Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick, Daniel Suarez and Michael McDowell were running in the top 10. By then, rookie Ty Gibbs in 11th followed by Kyle Busch, Erik Jones, Kevin Harvick and Chris Buescher while Alex Bowman, Martin Truex, Bubba Wallace, Chase Briscoe and Joey Logano, who got loose after contact with Truex in Turn 1, rounded out the top 20.

    At the Lap 25 mark, Byron extended his advantage to more than two seconds over teammate Larson while third-place Hamlin trailed by more than four seconds. While Keselowski and Bell remained in the top five, Reddick moved up to seventh behind Blaney, Chastain fell back to eighth in front of teammate Suarez and Ty Gibbs cracked the top 10 in front of Kyle Busch, McDowell and Harvick.

    Ten laps later, Byron stretched his advantage to more than three seconds over teammate Larson while third-place Hamlin trailed by more than six seconds. By then, Bell and Blaney moved up into the top five while Reddick was up in sixth in front of Keselowski, Chastain, Harvick and Suarez as Kyle Busch remained in 11th.

    By Lap 50, Byron stabilized his advantage to more than two seconds over teammate Larson. By then, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Hamlin and Bell trailed by more than five seconds while fifth-place Reddick trailed by more than eight seconds. Meanwhile, Harvick remained in ninth behind Blaney, Keselowski and Chastain while Kyle Busch cracked the top 10 in front of Suarez, McDowell, Buescher, Erik Jones and Gibbs.

    A few laps later, BJ McLeod fell off the pace after his car went wide in Turn 4, but he was able to limp his car back to pit road without drawing the caution as Byron retained a steady advantage over teammate Larson. McLeod’s issue came after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. scraped the outside wall entering Turn 1 while running within the top 25.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 60, Byron, who swept both stages en route to his dominant victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway a week ago, notched his third stage victory of the 2023 Cup season. Teammate Larson settled in second followed by Bell, Hamlin and Reddick while Blaney, Chastain, Harvick, Keselowski and Kyle Busch were scored in the top 10. By then, 23 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap while names like Logano, Stenhouse, rookie Noah Gragson, Austin Cindric, Justin Haley, Corey LaJoie, Austin Dillon and Harrison Burton were mired a lap down. Logano, however, was the beneficiary of the first stage’s break period by receiving the free pass and cycling his way back to the lead lap.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap competitors led by Byron pitted, but teammate Larson managed to beat Byron off of pit road to inherit the lead. Bell exited pit road in third followed by Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Chastain. Following the pit stops, AJ Allmendinger and Ty Dillon were penalized for speeding on pit road. Reddick.

    The second stage started on Lap 68 as teammates Larson and Byron occupied the front row. At the start, both Hendrick Motorsports teammates dueled for the lead as the field fanned out again through the frontstretch dogleg. Amid a tight battle, Larson, who used the dogleg at the start to maintain his battle for the lead against Byron, was able to peek ahead with the lead on the inside lane as he then cleared Byron during the following lap. With Larson ahead of teammate Byron for the lead, Hamlin was under attack from teammate Bell and Chastain for third while Keselowski was in sixth ahead of a battle for seventh between Harvick and Kyle Busch.

    At the Lap 75 mark, Larson was leading by eight-tenths of a second over teammate Byron followed by Hamlin, Bell and Chastain while Keselowski, Harvick, Reddick, Kyle Busch and Blaney were in the top 10. By then, Buescher, Bowman, Suarez, Wallace and McDowell were running in the top 15 while Briscoe, Erik Jones, Truex, Gibbs and Josh Berry rounded out the top 20. Ryan Preece, Aric Almirola, Logano and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the 24-car field of competitors running on the lead lap.

    Through the first 100 scheduled laps, Larson continued to lead by half a second over teammate Byron, who kept his Hendrick teammate within his sights and started to close in. Bell trailed by more than four seconds in third place followed by teammate Hamlin and Chastain while Harvick, Keselowski, Reddick, Kyle Busch and Blaney were battling in the top 10.

    Ten laps later, Larson retained his advantage to nearly a second over teammate Byron as Bell and Hamlin remained in third and fourth, respectively. By then, Harvick, who started 15th, cracked the top five after overtaking Chastain a few laps earlier while Keselowski, Blaney, Kyle Busch and Reddick ran in the top 10.

    Another eight laps later, the first round of green flag pit stops ensued as Hamlin pitted his No. 11 SHINGRIX Toyota TRD Camry. The leader Larson would pit during the following lap followed by teammate Byron, Bell, Blaney, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Chastain and others. Once Keselowski pitted on Lap 120 after leading a lap for himself and with most of the lead lap competitors having made a pit stop, Larson cycled his way back to the lead followed by Byron, Hamlin, Harvick and Chastain. Following the pit stops, McDowell, Erik Jones and Cindric were penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Kyle Busch’s steady run to the front evaporated when he was nabbed for two different penalties: one for an uncontrolled tire violation and for speeding on pit road.

    Then on Lap 137, the caution flew when Almirola went dead straight into the outside wall in Turn 4 past the start/finish line with the right-front tire coming off of Almirola’s No. 10 Go Bowling Ford Mustang while the Floridian nursed his damaged car back to his pit stall. After making a pit stop to have a new right-front wheel attached to his car, Almirola then had to reverse his car back to his pit stall to address a broken right-rear toe link. By then, he was assessed a two-lap penalty for having the broken wheel come off on the track. Back on the track, Larson was out in front ahead of teammate Byron, Hamlin, Harvick and Chastain while Bell, who endured a slow pit stop during the first round of green flag pit stops, was battling Keselowski for seventh.

    During the caution period, the leaders led by Larson returned to pit road for service and Larson retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Byron, Hamlin, Harvick, Chastain and Keselowski.

    With the event restarting under green on Lap 146, Larson retained the lead ahead of teammate Byron while running on the inside lane as the field fanned out through the frontstretch dogleg and entering the first two turns. As the field cycled back to the frontstretch, Larson was able to keep his No. 5 entry out in front of the field while a multitude of competitors behind, including Bell, jostled for positions. By then, Harvick carved his No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang into third place while Hamlin and Keselowski occupied the top five.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 156, Larson was leading by nearly a second over teammate Byron followed by Harvick, Keselowski and Hamlin while Bell, Reddick, Chastain, Blaney and Bowman were in the top 10. By then, Bubba Wallace was up in 11th ahead of Buescher, Briscoe, Suarez and Josh Berry while Logano, Preece, Truex, Gibbs and Kyle Busch were mired in the top 20. In addition, 23 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap while names that included Austin Dillon, Gragson, Corey LaJoie, Cindric, Stenhouse, Justin Haley and Harrison Burton were mired a lap down.

    Nearly 20 laps later, Larson retained the lead by more than a second over runner-up and teammate Byron while third-place Harvick trailed by two seconds as he started to gain ground on the two Hendrick leaders. By then, fourth-place Keselowski trailed by more than four seconds, fifth-place Reddick trailed by more than five seconds and sixth-place Hamlin trailed by nearly six seconds.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 185, Larson captured his first stage victory of the 2023 Cup season. Teammate Byron settled in second, trailing by more than a second, while Harvick settled in third, trailing by more than two seconds. Keselowski, Reddick, Hamlin, Bell, Blaney, Chastain and Briscoe were scored in the top 10 while 23 of 38 starters were recorded on the lead lap. This stage break period enabled Austin Dillon, who was in 24th, to cycle back to the lead lap with the free pass benefit.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Larson pitted and Larson edged Harvick and Byron amid three lanes to retain the lead, with Keselowski, Reddick and Bell following suit. Following the pit stops, Ty Gibbs was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    With 118 laps remaining, the final stage started as Larson and Harvick occupied the front row. At the start, Larson and Harvick dueled for the lead as the field fanned out to four and five lanes through the dogleg and the backstretch. With the field continuing to fan out and jostled for positions when returning to the frontstretch, Larson managed to retain the lead ahead of Harvick and Byron as he continued to use the inside lane to his advantage.

    Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Larson continued to lead followed by Harvick, Byron, Bell and Reddick while Keselowski, Hamlin, Blaney, Briscoe and Bowman occupied the top 10 as 24 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    With 75 laps remaining, Larson extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Harvick while third-place Byron trailed by six seconds. As Toyota competitors Bell and Reddick ran in the top five, Keselowski continued to run in sixth followed by Hamlin, Briscoe, Blaney and Bowman while Logano, Buescher, Chastain, Suarez and Kyle Busch were mired in the top 15.

    Not long after, another round of green flag pit stops ensued as Logano, McDowell and Corey LaJoie pitted along with Harvick, Bell, Byron, Briscoe, Hamlin, Suarez, Preece, the leader Larson and others. During the pit stops, Suarez was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    Back on the track with nearly 60 laps remaining, Erik Jones, who had yet to pit, was leading by more than seven seconds over Larson, who had Harvick reeling in on him for the potential lead by nearly two-tenths of a second as a result of Harvick pitting under green a lap prior to Larson. Then with 52 laps remaining, Larson caught and overtook Jones for the lead. Harvick then moved his No. 4 entry back into second place a lap later but was trailing Larson by a second.

    Then with 44 laps remaining, The Closer struck as Harvick overtook Larson from the frontstretch to Turn 1 to assume the lead, much to Larson’s crew chief Cliff Daniel’s displeasure. As Harvick started to pull away by half a second over Larson, Bell trailed in third place by more than four seconds while Byron and Reddick occupied the top five.

    With less than 30 laps remaining, Harvick extended his advantage to more than a second over Larson while third-place Bell trailed by more than five seconds over Bell. Byron and Reddick remained in the top five while Blaney, Keselowski, Briscoe, Hamlin and Chastain were scored in the top 10 as 21 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap. By then, Erik Jones had made a pit stop under green and was mired in 23rd, a lap down.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Harvick continued to extend his advantage as he was now leading by more than three seconds over Larson while third-place Bell trailed by more than five seconds. Harvick would continue to stretch his lead to more than five seconds as the event was nearing its final 10-lap mark.

    Just then with 10 laps remaining, the caution flew when Harrison Burton spun just past the frontstretch and below the dogleg, with the driver shredding debris from his right-front tire as he limped back to his pit stall. During the caution period, the lead lap competitors led by Harvick pitted and Larson regained the lead after only opting for a two-tire pit stop. Teammate Byron followed suit in second along with Blaney, Chastain, Kyle Busch and Hamlin, all of whom elected for two fresh tires, while Harvick, the first competitor opting for four fresh tires, dropped back to seventh.

    Down to the final three laps, the event proceeded under green as Larson, who started on the inside lane, and teammate Byron, who lined up as the lead competitor on the outside lane, occupied the front row. At the start, Larson blocked Blaney to retain the lead over him and Byron as the field fanned out through the frontstretch and entering the first two turns. Shortly after, however, the caution returned and the event was sent into overtime for a multi-car wreck in Turn 2 that started when Allmendinger and Gragson made contact, which resulted with Allmendinger spinning as Gibbs also scraped the outside wall. With Larson still out in front over Byron and Blaney, Harvick was mired back in seventh behind Denny Hamlin.

    At the start of the first overtime attempt, teammates Larson and Byron battled dead even for the lead through the frontstretch dogleg in front of the pack as the competitors behind jostled for late positions. Then as Larson and Byron continued to duel through the backstretch, Blaney and Reddick, who had four fresh tires, joined the battle as Blaney drew Byron and Larson in a three-wide battle while Reddick gave Byron a bump exiting the backstretch. This allowed Byron to muscle ahead on the outside lane while Reddick and Blaney continue to duel against Larson for second place.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Byron remained as the leader ahead of a three-wide battle involving Blaney, Larson and Reddick. Through Turns 1 and 2, Blaney and Reddick tried to gain a run on Byron, but the latter pulled away entering the backstretch. With Reddick boxed in between Blaney and Larson, this allowed Byron to cycle his way back to the frontstretch with no late challenges and claim his second consecutive checkered flag of the 2023 season.

    With the victory, Byron notched his sixth NASCAR Cup Series career victory in his 184th series start and his first at Phoenix as he became the first repeat winner of the 2023 Cup season. In addition, he notched the 293rd Cup victory for Hendrick Motorsports and the 99th for the No. 24 in NASCAR’s premier series.

    “I owe the last couple of weeks to [crew chief Rudy Fugle],” Byron said on FOX. “He’s done a really good job strategy-wise and execution-wise. We’ve done a good job to put ourselves in those positions on the front row with a shot at the end. Just thanks to everybody back at Hendrick Motorsports [for] putting together great cars and just doing a great job. This is a big credit to them, the engine shop, Mr. [Rick] Hendrick, everybody. Cool to have Valvoline back on the car. Really historic looking paint scheme, so nice to get it into Victory Lane.”

    Amid a flurry of late battles during the overtime shootout, Blaney navigated his way into the runner-up result followed by Reddick, who nabbed his first top-five result of the season. Larson, who led a race-high 202 laps, ended up fourth while Harvick, who led 36 laps and was aiming for a 10th victory at Phoenix, settled in fifth.

    “Well, we got lucky with the one caution,” Larson said. “[The] Team made a great call to take two [tires] and get us out to the lead. Restarts were just tough. I felt like I ran William [Byron] up pretty high and was expecting him to lose some grip, but he did a really good job of holding us up to his outside and clear me down the [backstretch]. I’m pissed off, but a great fight by the team. Great car. Way better than where we were last year. It’s a long season, but hopefully, we’re in the Final Four when we come back here in November and can have a run just similar to [today] with speed and try to execute a little bit better at the end.”

    “I’d always rather be on offense,” Harvick said. “I just didn’t get a couple of cars when that first caution came out and kind of lost our chance, and still thought I had a chance there at the end. Those cars were quite a bit slower, but they get all jammed up. That’s the way it goes. Just smoked’em up until the last caution. [The crew] did a great job with our Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang. Just didn’t need that caution at the end.”

    Bell came home in sixth while Briscoe, Kyle Busch, Bowman and Josh Berry completed the top 10 on the track.

    There were 10 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 35 laps. In addition, 24 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Following the fourth event of the 2023 Cup Series season, Alex Bowman leads the regular-season standings by three points over Kevin Harvick, six over Ross Chastain, 10 over William Byron and 17 between Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell.

    Results.

    1. William Byron, 64 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    2. Ryan Blaney

    3. Tyler Reddick

    4. Kyle Larson, 201 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    5. Kevin Harvick, 36 laps led

    6. Christopher Bell

    7. Chase Briscoe

    8. Kyle Busch

    9. Alex Bowman

    10. Josh Berry

    11. Joey Logano

    12. Ryan Preece

    13. Michael McDowell

    14. Bubba Wallace

    15. Chris Buescher

    16. Austin Dillon

    17. Martin Truex Jr.

    18. Brad Keselowski

    19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    20. AJ Allmendinger

    21. Erik Jones

    22. Daniel Suarez

    23. Denny Hamlin

    24. Ross Chastain

    25. Austin Cindric, one lap down

    26. Corey LaJoie, one lap down

    27. Justin Haley, one lap down

    28. Ty Gibbs, one lap down

    29. Noah Gragson, one lap down

    30. Ty Dillon, two laps down

    31. Zane Smith, two laps down

    32. Todd Gilliland, three laps down

    33. Aric Almirola, four laps down

    34. Cody Ware, six laps down

    35. Harrison Burton, seven laps down

    36. BJ McLeod – OUT, Fuel pump

    Next on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is a trip back to the south for the series’ first of two visits of this season at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, March 19, at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Kyle Larson tops Cup Series qualifying to win Busch Light Pole at Phoenix

    Kyle Larson tops Cup Series qualifying to win Busch Light Pole at Phoenix

    Kyle Larson was fasted in NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Phoenix Raceway and claimed the Busch Light Pole Award for Sunday’s United Rentals Work United 500. He led the session in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a 130.237 mph lap, earning his second career pole at Phoenix and his 15th career pole.

    Larson also topped the practice session Friday and explained the significance of starting on the pole at the one-mile track.

    “It means a lot,” Larson said. “Qualifying is really important here. We got the pole in 2021 and that really helped us win the championship race. Joey (Logano) had an extremely fast car in the fall last year, but he got the pole as well and won. So I think that number one pit stall means a lot.

    “Happy to be quick this weekend,” he added, “quick in practice and have it translate to qualifying.”

    Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin was second fastest (129.931 mph) followed by Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron (129.922 mph). Brad Keselowski will start fourth in the No. 6 RFK Racing Ford (129.762 mph) and JGR’s Christopher Bell rounded out the top five at in his JGR Toyota (129.580 mph).

    Ross Chastain, Michael McDowell, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch and Erik Jones completed the top-10 in qualifying.

    The United Rentals Work United 500 is scheduled for Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX with radio coverage by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Starting Lineup:

  • Weekend schedule for Phoenix

    Weekend schedule for Phoenix

    The NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series head to Phoenix Raceway this weekend while the Camping World Truck Series is off until March 18 at Atlanta Speedway. The ARCA Menards Series will kickstart the racing action with the General Tire 150 at 8 p.m. Friday night.

    Chase Elliott is recovering from a broken left tibia he sustained in a snowboarding incident and JR Motorsports driver, Josh Berry, will fill in as the relief driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at all of the oval tracks. IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car driver, Jordan Taylor, is slated to drive the No. 9 at Circuit of The Americas. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe won his first Cup Series race last spring at the 1-mile track and is the defending race winner.

    Drivers to watch during the Xfinity United Rentals 200 at Phoenix include Austin Hill who has been on a hot streak with two wins in three events this season and Cup Series regular Kyle Busch.

    Busch will make his second Xfinity start this season at Phoenix and is currently tied with Mark Martin for the most Xfinity Series wins at a single track. Busch has 11 wins at Phoenix and Martin won 11 races at Rockingham Speedway.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, March 10

    5 p.m.: ARCA Practice – No TV
    6 p.m.: ARCA Qualifying – Impound, Timed, All Entries – No TV

    6:35 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – All Entries – FS2

    7:40 p.m.: ARCA Driver Intros
    8 p.m.: ARCA General Tire 150 (150 Laps, 150 Miles) FS2/MRN/SiriusXM

    Saturday, March 11

    12:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – FS1
    1:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – FS1
    Impound: Single Vehicle, 1 Lap, All Entries – FS1

    2:05 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying – Impound
    Group A & B, Single Vehicle, 1 Lap, 2 Rounds
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM

    4 p.m.: Xfinity Driver Intros
    4:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series United Rentals 200
    Stages end on Laps 45/90/200 – 200 miles
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    Purse: $1,385,615

    Post Xfinity Series race – NASCAR Press Pass

    Sunday, March 12

    3 p.m.: Cup Driver Intros
    3:30 p.m.: Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500
    Stages end on Laps 60/185/312 – 312 miles
    FOX/MRN/SiriusXM
    Purse: $7,453,660
    Post Cup Series race – NASCAR Press Pass

  • Tales from the beat: A deer in headlights

    Tales from the beat: A deer in headlights

    On Aug. 25, 2013, HBO aired an episode of “The Newsroom,” titled “Red Team III.” In its third act, Will McAvoy recounts to the team of Atlantis Cable News’ defense attorneys about various historical figures and events: Claudette Colvin, Guiseppe Zangara and the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. He caps off each tale with “what if” scenarios revolving around how if one or a few tiny variables changed, then it would have a colossal knock-on effect on the trajectory of the United States.

    I mention this, because I sometimes ponder the night of Sept. 9, 2017, and how a misplaced headset, a Sheetz cup of coffee, drowsiness and a Virginia state trooper prevented me from smashing into either a deer or guardrails.

    One night in Virginia

    About an hour earlier, I wrapped up my coverage of the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway. Kyle Larson took the checkered flag and set the field for the playoffs. That was after, of course, I went back up to the press box to retrieve a Racing Electronic headset that I accidentally left up there, came back down and found the door to the infield pedestrian tunnel padlocked. Thus, I walked around the Turns 1 and 2 grandstands to the infield vehicle tunnel on the backstretch.

    At this point, I’m roughly 30 minutes from the interchange where Interstate 64 merges with I-81. At this point, I’ve been awake for almost 24 hours straight and had another two hours of driving to get to my Airbnb in Roanoke, Virginia. My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim (can you tell I like “Hotel California?”). So I stopped at a Sheetz for coffee.

    Fast forward roughly 20 minutes later, I cruise down I-64, barely awake. A woman in a white jeep flashes her brights to signal she wants to pass. So I shift over to the outer lane and she speeds by me.

    Now if you’ve ever driven down I-64 going to or from Richmond, you’ll know how the Virginia State Police loves to hide its cars in between the giant trees that separate I-64’s east and westbound lanes. Sure enough, out of the corner of my eye, I spot a black-hooded Ford Taurus. A few seconds later, I see red and blue lights flash in my rear-view mirror. Thinking it’s for me, I flip my turn signal and prepare to pull over. As my foot hovers over the brake pedal, however, it zooms by my car and pulls over the white jeep.

    I breathed a sigh of relief and kept driving. Thankful I wouldn’t have to call my parents in the middle of the night to explain why I was pulled over and got a ticket in Central Virginia.

    Shake hands with danger

    Roughly a minute later, I’m about a mile from the interchange. As I round a turn, I spot a deer in the middle of the road. My eyes widen and I scream, “Oh shit!” I yank the wheel to the right and avoided the deer, but now my 2013 Ford Fusion’s pointed at a guardrail. So I jerk the wheel to the left and spin out. All the while, thinking, “Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!”

    Eventually, my car stops.

    My hands trembled and I was breathing heavily. Once it occurred to me the car was motionless, I breathed another sigh of relief. Then my relief turned to terror when I realized I was on the road, sideways. With the driver’s side facing the direction of oncoming traffic. So then I slowly turned towards the window.

    Not another car in sight.

    Promptly, I pulled off the road and onto the shoulder, hopped out and circled the car. I spotted no damage and no flat spots on the tires. Satisfied nothing was wrong, I got back in and drove away.

    Piecing the puzzle

    It wasn’t until a year or two ago that I thought back on the night and realized the chain of events that both put me in and avoided a greater mess. The time I lost retrieving my headset, the cup of Sheetz coffee, the woman in the white jeep and the happenstance of the presence of a state trooper.

    All of it coalesced into placing me in that exact moment of spacetime.

    Change any one of these variables even slightly, and I’m either not in that position at all, or I or the white jeep plow into a deer or guardrail.

    Maybe it’s only interesting to me, but those kind of minute details fascinate me.

    Talk about tales from the beat.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Las Vegas

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Las Vegas

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Ross Chastain: Chastain started eighth and finished 12th in the Pennzoil 400.

    “Kyle Busch won last week in California,” Chastain said. “I wanted to put myself in his place this week and win at Las Vegas. On that note, what would you get if you put Kyle in my car? ‘No. 1 with a bullet.’”

    2. Alex Bowman: Bowman finished third in the Pennzoil 400 and Hendrick Motorsports went 1-2-3 at Las Vegas.

    “My Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott will miss a few races after breaking his tibia in a snowboarding accident in Colorado,” Bowman said. “Chase had surgery and is recovering. Luckily, it’s all uphill from here.”

    3. William Byron: Byron won Stages 1 and 2 on his way to the win at Las Vegas. A quick final pit stop put him ahead of Kyle Larson, and Byron, with two fresh tires, passed Martin Truex Jr. for the lead with two laps to go.

    “When I have a car like that,” Byron said, “I feel like I’m pretty much unbeatable. If we can duplicate that on a weekly basis, I don’t think I can be stopped, except possibly by a freak roller skating accident.”

    4. Kyle Busch: After winning at California a week ago, Busch was not in contention for the win at Las Vegas and finished 14th.

    “I really had nothing good to say about my car,” Busch said. “Last week, people weren’t surprised to see me in Victory Lane. In Vegas, people weren’t surprised to see me complaining. My car owner is also famous for Richard Childress Wine. Now, with me, he’s known for ‘Richard Childress Whine.’”

    5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished ninth in the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas.

    “This is my last year as a full-time Cup driver,” Harvick said. “If that ends with a championship, that will be great. Whatever the outcome, my plan is to pack my bags, minus guns and ammo, and ride off in the sunset, but definitely not on a snowboard.”

    6. Joey Logano: Logano won the Busch Light pole but struggled with grip and handling before a spin ended his day with 88 laps left. He finished last in 36th.

    “I took a spin through the infield grass and that ended my day,” Logano said. “Like a few people, I can say I left Vegas with a lot of ‘green.’”

    7. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 11th at Las Vegas and is sixth in the points standings.

    “We race in Phoenix next week,” Hamlin said. “And that will end this season’s ‘West Coast Swing.’ I think I can speak for all drivers and say that none of us like swinging in the West Coast.’ If Tim Richmond were alive today, though, I think he would totally disagree with me.”

    8. Kyle Larson: Larson was leading at Las Vegas with 4 laps to go before Aric Almirola’s spin resulted in a caution. In the ensuing pit stops, William Byron’s stop was a bit quicker, allowing Byron to come out ahead. Byron passed Martin Truex Jr. for the win, while Larson settled for the runner-up spot.

    “It was an exciting race,” Larson said, “for the final two laps. The other 265 laps certainly lacked any drama whatsoever. In other words, it was a lot like the paint scheme of my No. 5 Chevrolet—-extremely boring.”

    9. Daniel Suarez: Suarez finished 10th at Las Vegas, posting his third top 10 of the season.

    “First Kyle Busch and his gun incident in Mexico,” Stenhouse said. “Then Chase Elliott breaks his leg in a snowboarding accident. I don’t know what possibly could be next, but it will probably be someone shooting themselves in the foot.”

    10. Christopher Bell: Bell finished fifth at Las Vegas, recording his second top-five finish of the year.

    “Danica Patrick joined Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer in the Fox broadcasting booth,” Bell said. “I think Danica brings a lot to the booth and makes it better. Ask Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., and he’ll tell you she’s what you call the ‘Ex-factor.’”

  • Byron caps dominant run with thrilling overtime victory at Las Vegas

    Byron caps dominant run with thrilling overtime victory at Las Vegas

    In an event dominated by a trio of Hendrick Motorsports competitors, William Byron benefitted from a two-tire pit strategy during a late caution period to win the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in overtime on Sunday, March 5.

    The 25-year-old Byron from Charlotte, North Carolina, led five times for a race-high 176 of 271 over-scheduled laps in an event where he swept both stages and kept his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports entry upfront throughout the event. In the closing laps, however, he found himself trailing teammate Kyle Larson by more than two seconds.

    Initially set for a runner-up finish, Byron and crew chief Rudy Fugle seized an opportunity when Aric Almirola drew a caution with four laps remaining by opting for two fresh tires and exiting pit road ahead of Larson. From there, Byron battled Martin Truex Jr., who remained on the track on old tires, through three turns before rocketing away from the field and cruising to the first victory of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season for himself and for Hendrick Motorsports.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Joey Logano recorded his first Cup pole of the season and the 27th of his career after posting a pole-winning lap at 186.053 mph in 29.024 seconds. Joining him on the front row was William Byron, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 185.153 mph in 29.165 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Tyler Reddick dropped to the rear of the field after making an engine change to his No. 45 23XI Racing entry along with Harrison Burton, who competed in a backup car after wrecking his primary car during Saturday’s practice session. BJ McLeod also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his car.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Logano checked out with a strong start on the inside lane as he retained the lead for a full cycle before leading the first lap while the field behind fanned out and jostled for positions. With Logano leading, Byron battled and fended off Ryan Blaney for the runner-up spot while Kyle Larson was in fourth ahead of Ross Chastain, rookie Ty Gibbs, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin.

    Then on the 10th lap, Byron tracked and overtook Logano with a strong move entering Turns 3 and 4 to assume the lead. Larson would soon follow in the runner-up spot while Logano fell back to third in front of Chastain and Blaney.

    Through the first 25 scheduled laps, Byron was leading by more than a second over teammate Larson followed by Chastain, Christopher Bell and Hamlin while Logano, Blaney, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. Behind, Bubba Wallace was in 11th ahead of Kevin Harvick and Tyler Reddick while Alex Bowman and Austin Cindric were running in the top 15. Meanwhile, Erik Jones was in 16th ahead of Michael McDowell, Chris Buescher, Aric Almirola and Daniel Suarez while Josh Berry, who was filling in the No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the injured Chase Elliott, was mired back in 29th. By then, Gibbs had fallen back to 22nd, Chase Briscoe was in 25th, Harrison Burton was mired in 28th and Austin Dillon was back in 31st.

    Then on Lap 32, Blaney, who was running in 10th place, pitted his No. 12 Pennzoil/Menards Ford Mustang under green. Blaney’s pit stop commenced the first cycle of green flag pit stops as Truex pitted followed by Hamlin, Cindric, Ryan Preece, Harrison Burton, Gibbs, rookie Noah Gragson, Logano, Harvick, Bell and Kyle Busch, who got into the backstretch’s outside wall a few laps earlier and had fallen out of the top 10. The leader Byron would soon pit on Lap 37 followed by teammate Larson as Keselowski cycled to the lead for a lap before he too pitted and gave the lead to Reddick. Following the pit stops, Michael McDowell and Gragson were penalized for speeding on pit road. Gragson’s event, however, went from bad to worse when he was penalized for speeding again while serving his first speeding penalty. Gibbs was also penalized for having too many crew members over the pit wall during his pit stop.

    By Lap 41 and with the first round of green flag pit stops completed, Byron cycled his No. 24 Raptor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 back into the lead followed by teammate Larson while Chastain, Bell and Hamlin were in the top five. By then, Keselowski was up in sixth place followed by Truex while Wallace, Kyle Busch and Logano were in the top 10.

    At the Lap 50 mark, Byron was out in front by nine-tenths of a second over teammate Larson followed by Chastain, Bell and Hamlin, all of whom, retained their respective spots in the top five while Keselowski, Truex, Wallace, Kyle Busch and Logano continued to run in the top 10. Behind, Blaney was in 11th while Reddick was up in 12th after starting at the rear of the field. Meanwhile, Harvick was in 14th in front of Erik Jones, Suarez was back in 18th and the following names that included Briscoe, Josh Berry and Austin Dillon were mired as the last competitors on the lead lap from 25th to 27th.

    Fifteen laps later, Byron continued to lead by half a second over teammate Larson, who was slowly gaining ground on his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, while Chastain, Bell and Hamlin remained in the top five. By then, Keselowski had fallen back to 10th while Truex, Wallace, Kyle Busch and Bowman moved up to sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively. In addition, Reddick was in 11th while Team Penske’s Logano and Blaney fell back to 12th and 15th.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 80, Byron claimed his first stage victory of the 2023 Cup season after retaining the lead by four-tenths of a second over teammate Larson, who settled in second. Chastain settled in third ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Bell and Hamlin while Truex, Bowman, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Busch and Keselowski were scored in the top 10. By then, 22 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap while names that included Preece, Berry, Austin Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Briscoe, Burton, McDowell and Gibbs were trapped a lap down.

    Under the stage break, the entire lead lap field led by Byron pitted and Byron retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by teammate Larson, Hamlin, Chastain, Truex and Bell. During the pit stops, Reddick, who pitted from 11th, was blocked by AJ Allmendinger and had to back up to leave his pit stall, thus dropping him to 20th.

    The second stage started on Lap 89 as teammates Byron and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, Byron rocketed with the lead ahead of teammate Larson as the field fanned out behind while jostling for positions. With Byron slowly checking out with a stable lead, Larson was being intimidated by Hamlin for the runner-up spot while Bell, Truex and Chastain jostled for fourth. Behind, Bowman challenged Wallace for seventh while Keselowski and Erik Jones were in the top 10.

    Through the first 100 scheduled laps, Byron was leading by more than a second over teammate Larson followed by Chastain while Bell, Bowman and Truex were in the top six. Meanwhile, Hamlin fell back to seventh in front of Wallace while Keselowski and Kyle Busch were scored in the top 10. Behind, Harvick was in 12th, Logano was still mired in 14th, Blaney was back in 17th behind Suarez and Cindric was running in 22nd, with 23 competitors scored on the lead lap. By then, on-track troubles ensued for a number of competitors running towards the middle and the rear of the field, among which included Gibbs who sustained left-front damage to his car and Berry making contact with the backstretch’s outside wall. Suarez and Buescher also encountered issues after they made contact with one another.

    Twenty laps later, Byron extended his advantage to more than two seconds over teammate Larson while their third teammate Bowman was up in third, trailing by more than seven seconds, in front of Bell and Truex while Chastain fell back to sixth in front of Hamlin.

    Shortly after, Buescher pitted under green while most of the front-runners remained on the track. Then on Lap 124, Truex commenced the second wave of green flag pit stops as he pitted followed by teammate Bell, Chastain, Wallace, Keselowski and a bevy of competitors. Larson would also pit by Lap 126 along with Hamlin while Byron and Bowman pitted during the following lap. Once the second wave of green flag pit stops was completed, Byron cycled back to the lead by more than two seconds over teammate Larson while Bell, Bowman and Chastain were running in the top five.

    At the halfway mark between Laps 133 and 134, Byron was leading by more than two seconds over teammate Larson followed by Bell, Bowman and Chastain while Wallace, Truex, Keselowski, Hamlin and Kyle Busch were competing in the top 10. By then, 23 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap while names like McDowell, Gibbs, Berry, Austin Dillon, Gragson, Burton, Briscoe and Stenhouse were not on the lead lap.

    By Lap 150, Byron stabilized his advantage to six-tenths of a second over teammate Larson and more than eight seconds over teammate Bowman, thus placing three Hendrick Motorsports competitors on the podium spots. By then, Bell and Truex were running in the top five while Wallace, who briefly ran in the top five a few laps earlier, was back in sixth in front of Chastain, Hamlin, Keselowski and Kyle Busch.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 165, Byron notched his second consecutive stage victory of the 2023 Cup season and of the event. Teammate Larson settled in second in front of teammate Bowman while Truex, Bell, Wallace, Chastain, Hamlin, Keselowski and Harvick were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap competitors led by Byron returned to pit road for service and Byron retained the lead upon exiting pit road followed by teammates Larson and Bowman while Truex, Chastain and Bell exited in fourth through sixth, respectively. During the pit stops, Kyle Busch had issues exiting his pit stall while situated behind Reddick’s car, which was blocking Busch’s, as he dropped to 15th.

    With 94 laps remaining, the final stage started under green as teammates Byron and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, Byron muscled ahead on the inside lane and pulled away through the first two turns in front of Larson while Bowman settled in third. Behind, Truex was in fourth while Wallace battled Bell, Chastain, Suarez and Hamlin within the top 10. Wallace and Bell would continue to engage in a fierce side-by-side battle for fifth place while Suarez closed in on both.

    Then with 84 laps remaining, the caution flew when Logano, who was engaged in a tight three-wide battle with Keselowski and Kyle Busch for spots in the top 15, made slight contact with Keselowski as he smacked the outside wall entering Turn 4 before spinning his No. 22 Pennzoil Ford Mustang across the grass while barely avoiding Stenhouse. Despite limping his car back to his pit stall, Logano’s pit crew exceeded the seven-minute Damaged Vehicle Policy rule while trying to repair the No. 22 entry, which ended his long afternoon in the garage.

    During the caution period, the leaders led by Byron returned to pit road and Hamlin emerged with the lead following a two-tire pit stop. Bowman exited in second place and as the first competitor with four fresh tires while Larson, Byron, Suarez, Truex and Wallace followed suit. During the pit stops, Erik Jones backed up his No. 43 Legacy Motor Club entry to return to his pit stall to tighten a loose left-front wheel.

    With 78 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green as Hamlin and Bowman occupied the front row. At the start, Hamlin maintained the lead while the field behind fanned out to three lanes through the backstretch. In the process, Truex, who pulled a bold three-wide move through the backstretch, moved up to second followed by Bowman and Larson while Byron was back in sixth behind Chastain. Shortly after, however, the Hendrick trio of Bowman, Larson and Byron overtook Truex as they launched their charge on Hamlin.

    Then with 71 laps remaining, Larson, who stalked and battled with Hamlin for the top spot, succeeded in grabbing the lead from Hamlin while Chastain battled and overtook Bowman and Byron for third. Behind, Reddick was in sixth and was in the process of grabbing more against the Hendrick drivers before he got loose toward the outside lane and wall between Turns 1 and 2, which dropped him to 10th. As the series of battles ensued around the track continued, Harvick was up in sixth behind Byron, Bowman and Truex while Chastain fell back in seventh in front of Wallace and Suarez.

    With 60 laps remaining, Larson was leading by more than a second over Hamlin while Byron, Bowman and Truex were scored in the top five. Chastain was in sixth while Harvick, Wallace, Blaney and Suarez occupied the top 10 in front of Reddick, Kyle Busch, AJ Allmendinger, Keselowski and Aric Almirola. Meanwhile, Bell, who restarted 10th during the previous restart, was back in 20th after reporting a vibration to his No. 20 SiriusXM Toyota TRD Camry.

    With less than 50 laps remaining, Larson continued to lead by six-tenths of a second in front of Hamlin while third-place Byron trailed by more than two seconds. Bowman remained in fourth followed by Truex while Chastain, Harvick, Blaney, Wallace and Suarez battled in the top 10. Shortly after, another round of green flag pit stops ensued as Hamlin pitted followed by the leader Larson. Truex would also pit along with Kyle Busch, Harvick, Austin Dillon, Byron, Chastain, Reddick, Erik Jones, Wallace, Suarez and others. During the pit stops, Gragson was busted for speeding on pit road for a third time in the event.

    Back on the track with less than 45 laps remaining, Keselowski, who had yet to pit, was leading followed by Larson, Hamlin, Byron and Truex, all of whom pitted earlier. Keselowski, however, would pit with 40 laps remaining as Larson cycled back to the lead by more than a second over Hamlin and more than two seconds over Byron.

    Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Larson extended his advantage to more than three seconds over teammate Byron as Hamlin fell back to third. Truex and Bowman were running in the top five while Chastain, Harvick, Wallace, Blaney and Kyle Busch contended in the top 10. By then, Suarez and Bell were back in 11th and 12th, Reddick was mired back in 15th and Keselowski fell back to 18th in front of Ty Gibbs.

    With 20 laps remaining, Larson stabilized his advantage to more than four seconds over teammate Byron and more than six seconds over third-place Hamlin. Larson continued to lead by more than three seconds over Byron with 10 laps remaining and by more than two seconds with five laps remaining.

    Then with four laps remaining, the caution flew when Almirola got loose and slapped his No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang into the outside wall in Turn 4. The caution all but erased Larson’s steady advantage of more than two seconds over Byron and sent the event into overtime. During the caution period, Truex remained on the track on old tires and inherited the lead while the rest of the leaders led by Larson pitted. Following the pit stops, Byron, who opted for two fresh tires, edged teammate Larson to exit pit road first followed by Hamlin, Bowman, Chastain and Wallace.

    At the start of the first overtime attempt, where Truex and Byron occupied the front row, Byron challenged Truex dead even through the first two turns while the field behind fanned out to three and four lanes. As Truex tried to peek ahead entering Turn 3, the two fresh tires played into the favors of Byron as he rocketed away with the lead while clearing the field.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Byron was out in front over Truex, who had Bowman, Larson, Wallace and Bell jostling behind him. Then entering the backstretch, Larson and Bowman threaded Truex through three lanes as they overtook him for second and third. By then, however, their teammate Byron was gone. With a multi-car wreck erupting on the backstretch that involved Allmendinger, Preece and McDowell, Byron remained as the leader and was able to cycle his way back to the frontstretch to claim his first checkered flag of the season.

    In addition to becoming the third different winner through the first three races of the 2023 season, Byron notched his fifth career victory in NASCAR’s premier series, his first at Vegas and his first since winning at Martinsville Speedway in April 2022. He also recorded the third consecutive victory of the season for Chevrolet, the 292nd career win for Hendrick Motorsports and the 98th victory for the No. 24 in the Cup circuit.

    “[I’ve] just been really confident about the group of guys that I have on this No. 24 team,” Byron said on FOX. “They work extremely hard. We spent a lot of time in the off-season just going through running at the sim [simulator] with Chevy and running on iRacing and just trying to get better as a race car driver and as a team. It’s all about the team. It’s a great pit crew. This RaptorTough.com Chevy was awesome. When we got back in traffic, it was a little bit tight, but we knew we had speed, so we just had to have the right things play out and [crew chief] Rudy [Fugle] made a good call. It was good. I knew [the pit crew] could get it done at the end. Luckily, it worked out there. Excited for the year.”

    Meanwhile, Larson, who led 63 laps and was poised for the victory during the race’s scheduled distance, settled for a disappointing runner-up result. This season marks his second consecutive runner-up result in the spring Cup event at Vegas.

    “It’s just part of Cup racing,” Larson said. “It seems like kind of [count] laps down, lap by lap and then, sure enough, the yellow lights come on. You just got to get over that and then try to execute a good pit stop. I thought I did a really good job getting to my pit sign and getting to the commitment line. I had a gap to William behind me. Their pit crew must have just did a really good job and got him in front of us. That gave up the front row to us, so I knew I was in trouble with [Truex] staying out. I felt like William was gonna get by him. Just a bummer that we didn’t end up the winner, but all in all, William probably had a little better car than I had today. Their pit crew executed when they needed to at the end.”

    Bowman came home in third place, thus placing three Hendrick Motorsports competitors in the top three, while Bubba Wallace capped off a strong run by finishing fourth and achieving his first top-five run of the season following two consecutive DNFs. Bell rallied late to complete the top five in fifth while Cindric, Truex, Justin Haley, Harvick and Suarez finished in the top 10.

    “If you can somehow get a good restart, get to the white flag and they crash, you can win the [race],” Truex said. “It almost happened. We were second at the white, we were second into Turn 1 on the last lap and just got tight and got into a bad spot off of [Turn] 2. Lost momentum down the [backstretch]. All in all, it was a solid day for our Bass Pro Shops Camry TRD. Everybody did a good job. I think we were about a third-place car or maybe fourth. Just a good solid day. We’re in Vegas. We might as well roll the dice and like everybody says, you come here to gamble. We gave up a few spots, but all in all, it was a solid day.”

    Notably, Josh Berry finished 29th while filling in for the injured Chase Elliott. In addition, Hamlin ended up 11th in front of Chastain, Blaney rallied for 13th, Kyle Busch ended up 14th in front of Reddick, Keselowski settled in 17th and Ty Gibbs ended up as the highest-finishing rookie in 22nd.

    There were 13 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 26 laps. Only 18 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Following the third event of the 2023 Cup Series season, Ross Chastain continues to lead the regular-season standings by three points over Alex Bowman, 21 over Kevin Harvick, 25 over Daniel Suarez, 27 over Martin Truex Jr. and 30 over Denny Hamlin.

    Results:

    1. William Byron, 176 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    2. Kyle Larson, 63 laps led

    3. Alex Bowman, two laps led

    4. Bubba Wallace

    5. Christopher Bell

    6. Austin Cindric

    7. Martin Truex Jr., three laps led

    8. Justin Haley

    9. Kevin Harvick

    10. Daniel Suarez

    11. Denny Hamlin, 10 laps led

    12. Ross Chastain

    13. Ryan Blaney

    14. Kyle Busch

    15. Tyler Reddick, three laps led

    16. Aric Almirola

    17. Brad Keselowski, five laps led

    18. AJ Allmendinger

    19. Erik Jones, one lap down

    20. Corey LaJoie, one lap down

    21. Chris Buescher, one lap down

    22. Ty Gibbs, one lap down

    23. Ryan Preece, one lap down

    24. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down

    25.  Michael McDowell, one lap down

    26. Harrison Burton, two laps down

    27. Austin Dillon, two laps down

    28. Chase Briscoe, two laps down

    29. Josh Berry, two laps down

    30. Noah Gragson, two laps down

    31. Todd Gilliland, three laps down

    32. BJ McLeod, five laps down

    33. JJ Yeley, six laps down

    34. Ty Dillon, six laps down

    35. Cody Ware, 12 laps down

    36. Joey Logano – OUT, DVP, nine laps led

    Next on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, for the series’ third and final stretch of a three-race West Coast swing. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, March 12, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Joey Logano claims NASCAR Cup Series Pole at Las Vegas

    Joey Logano claims NASCAR Cup Series Pole at Las Vegas

    Joey Logano earned the NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Pole Award Saturday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a lap time of 29.024 seconds at 186.053 mph in his Team Penske Ford. It was his first pole this season and the 27th of his career.

    “The car was wicked good,” Logano said. “It really just handled well and obviously has really good speed which is what you hope for when you get here. You hope you make the right changes and adjustments from the fall when we were here last.

    “Obviously, we were pretty good then but you have to keep evolving and trying things. It gets a little nerve-wracking when you try to make these changes that you are married to for the most part when practice starts.

    “I think Paul (Wolfe) made some great changes there, some good decisions, gave me a really fast Pennzoil Mustang today that has good speed in it. Hopefully that transfers to the race tomorrow. I think it will. We have some fine-tuning to do in race trim which we will talk about tonight and try to make some adjustments tomorrow morning.”

    William Byron qualified second in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

    I felt good (during qualifying). That was a wide open lap there, so I’m not sure what I could have done different. Maybe cut a little bit of the track off (turn) four and I could have just let the car kind of wind out. I’m happy with the lap though. Being second is good. Not pumped to be second for the fact of not getting the pole, but at least it’s a good starting spot. I’m excited for that.

    “We just need a good, solid day tomorrow with the No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevy. Hopefully we can get ourselves a win and move up the points standings.”

    Logano’s teammate, Ryan Blaney, was third fastest in his No. 12 Ford. Ty Gibbs was the fastest qualifying rookie and will start fourth in the No. 54 Toyota with Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch rounding out the top five.

    Harrison Burton hit the wall during practice in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford and was unable to qualify. He will go to a backup car and will start at the rear of the field for Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube.

    Tyler Reddick will start at the back of the field due to an engine change in his No. 45 12XI Racing Toyota.  

    Live Fast Motorsports driver, BJ McLeod, who did not practice or qualify due to a transaxle issue, will also start at the rear of the field in his No. 78 Chevrolet.

    The Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube will air live on FOX Sunday at 3:30 p.m. with radio coverage by PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

  • Chase Elliott sidelined after surgery to repair fractured leg

    Chase Elliott sidelined after surgery to repair fractured leg

    NASCAR 2020 Cup Series champion Chase Elliott will miss an indefinite number of races after undergoing surgery Friday night to repair the fractured tibia of his left leg. The injury occurred while Elliott was snowboarding in Colorado.

    Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, emphasized that Elliott’s recovery was their top priority.

    “Chase’s health is our primary concern. He’s spoken with several members of our team and is understandably disappointed to miss time in the car. Of course, he has our full support, and we’ll provide any resources he needs.”

    When asked about a probable return date for Elliott, Jeff Andrews, president and general manager, said, “At this point in time, we would expect this obviously to be several weeks. But beyond that, I don’t have a timeline to offer for you. We will obviously work with Chase and his doctors in the future to help determine that.”

    “But again, I just can’t reiterate enough that for Mr. Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports, the most important thing is Chase’s health and his well-being. We will work with him on that timeline.

    “We’re going to race a long time together with Chase Elliott, and we’re going to win a lot more races together. It’s certainly a little bit of a setback, and obviously, Chase is very disappointed, but again, I want to reiterate that the most important thing is Chase’s health. We’ll have his seat ready for him when he’s healthy and ready to get back into a race car.”

    Andrews also confirmed that the team does not prohibit their drivers from taking part in activities that could result in injuries.

    “These guys have to go out and live a life outside of the race track, and certainly what Chase was doing was not anything abnormal for him,” Andrews stated. “He’s an experienced snowboarder. He’s been doing it most of his life, and it was an accident. A similar injury could happen falling off a mountain bike or stepping off a curb while you’re jogging. It was an accident, and Chase feels awful about it, but our stance is just that – it was an accident, and our guys have to go out and live their lives.”

    JR Motorsports Xfinity Series driver, Josh Berry, is scheduled to substitute for Elliott this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

    Berry characterized it as both a challenge and an opportunity.

    “It’s going to be a great challenge,” he said, “but that comes with a lot of opportunity in there, as well. We’ve talked – I don’t think we have a lot of expectations for how this is going to go. Obviously my focus is winning a Xfinity Series Championship this year, but to get this opportunity to get some experience in a Cup car is great for me. Obviously I want to be in the Cup Series one day, so you never know what could happen.

    “We’re just trying to be realistic. As for this, I’ll be available for these guys whenever they need me and hopefully I can do a good job for them.”

    Hendrick Motorsports has also applied for a playoff waiver. This would allow Elliott to remain championship eligible even though he will not compete in all of the regular season races. If granted, he would have to win a race or earn enough points to contend for the championship.  

  • Weekend schedule for Las Vegas

    Weekend schedule for Las Vegas

    NASCAR travels to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend with a full schedule of competition in all three series.

    During the 2022 season, we saw 19 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers in victory lane. Will the trend continue this year?

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the season-opening Daytona 500 and last week, Kyle Busch won at Auto Club Speedway in only his second start with Richard Childress Racing.

    Las Vegas Stats:

    NASCAR Cup Series – Jimmie Johnson leads the series with four victories at Las Vegas in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010. There are eight active drivers who have previously won at the 1.5-mile track led by Brad Keselowski (2014, 2016, 2018) and Joey Logano (2019, 2020, 2022) with three victories each.

    NASCAR Xfinity Series – Three NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers head to Las Vegas hoping to add another win to their resume. JR Motorsports driver Josh Berry has won twice, in 2021 and 2022, along with current Cup Series driver Kyle Busch with two wins in 2016 and March 2019. Busch will be driving the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet this weekend. Tyler Reddick has one previous win in September 2019 and will be competing in the No. 24 Sam Hunt Racing Toyota.

    NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – It will be a busy three days for Kyle Busch who is also entered in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at his home track driving the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Chevrolet. In six Truck Series starts at Las Vegas, he has three wins. Previous winners in the series include John Hunter Nemechek (2021), Christian Eckes (2020), Grant Enfinger (2018) and Ben Rhodes (2017).

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, March 3

    4:35 p.m.: Truck Series Practice – FS1
    5:05 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying – FS1
    6:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – FS1
    7:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – FS1
    9 p.m.: Truck Series Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 presented by Westgate Resorts
    Green Flag: 9:13 p.m.
    Distance: 201 miles – 134 Laps
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 30, Stage 2 ends on Lap 60, Final Stage ends on Lap 134
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $703,062

    Saturday, March 4

    1:35 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – FS2/FS1 at 2 p.m.
    2:20 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying – FS1
    4:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 300 – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    Green Flag: 4:49 p.m.
    Distance: 300 miles – 200 Laps
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 45, Stage 2 ends on Lap 90, Final Stage ends on Lap 200
    FS1/PRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $1,716,356

    Sunday, March 5

    3:30 p.m.: Cup Series Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube
    Green Flag: 3:49 p.m.
    Distance: 400 miles – 267 laps
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 80, Stage 2 ends on Lap 165, Final Stage ends on Lap 267
    FOX/PRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $8,960,174

  • Kyle Busch claims first win for Richard Childress Racing at Fontana

    Kyle Busch claims first win for Richard Childress Racing at Fontana

    In only his second NASCAR Cup Series race for Richard Childress Racing, Kyle Busch earned his 61st career win in the No. 8 RCR Chevrolet. It was his fifth triumph at Auto Club Speedway and the 19th consecutive season that Bush has been to victory lane in the series.

    The win advanced Busch to first all-time over Richard Petty, who had wins in 18 consecutive seasons.  Kyle and Kurt Busch also broke a record for the most victories brothers with a combined Cup Series win total of 95 races, overtaking Bobby and Donnie Allison with the most wins among brothers.

    Busch was ecstatic after the race.

    “I think it’s just phenomenal,” he said post-race. “I can’t thank Richard and Judy (Childress) enough. I can’t thank Austin (Dillon) for calling me and getting me talking and getting me this opportunity to be able to come over here to RCR and be a part of Chevrolet and be able to race this Lucas Oil Camaro today. To be able to put it up front like that, man.

    “The guys did a great job, Randall (Burnett, crew chief), everybody that has worked so hard during the off-season. We’ve done a lot of sim stuff; we’ve done a lot of testing in general just with trying to get up to speed, systems and all that sort of stuff. But man, there’s nothing more rewarding than being able to go to Victory Lane.”

    Chase Elliott finished second in his No. 8 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy, rebounding from a disappointing 38th-place finish in the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway.

    “Just really proud of our team,” he said after the race. “We obviously didn’t run very good there toward the end of the year last year, and everybody really went to work hard over the winter to try and get better.

    “Appreciate everybody on our NAPA team for just sticking with it and sticking with each other. Obviously, I think we still have some work to do, but it was really nice to just see a lot of that hard work pay off and have the car driving like we were wanting it to do. So that’s always a good thing. Appreciate everybody’s effort; everybody at Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet.”

    Elliott also acknowledged Busch’s win while looking ahead to the next race.

    “Congratulations to Kyle (Busch). For him to leave and then to go get the job done like that is pretty cool. He’s always been really good to me, so happy for them.

    “Looking forward to getting to Vegas and hopefully competing for some more wins.”

    Chevrolet was dominant with Ross Chastain finishing in third after leading a race-high 91 laps and winning the first two stages followed by Daniel Suárez in fourth, giving Chevrolet four of the top five spots. Kevin Harvick completed the top five in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.  

    Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon and Joey Logano completed the top 10.

    Several cars were taken out of contention after a multi-car accident during a restart on Lap 86, including pole-sitter Christopher Bell, Aric Almirola, Ryan Blaney, Ryan Preece and Tyler Reddick.

    There were 8 cautions for 38 laps during the race and 28 lead changes among 13 drivers.