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NASCAR Cup Series

  • Chase Elliott confident his team can ‘run and compete with the best of the garage’

    Chase Elliott confident his team can ‘run and compete with the best of the garage’

    Chase Elliott scored his first win of the season last week at Dover Motor Speedway, effectively putting to rest any concerns that he or his team were struggling this year.

    Elliott, however, was never worried.

    “I feel like we’ve been solid at times,” he said, “and had a lot of pace. We just hadn’t been able to put an entire race together until last Sunday. We just have to do more of that and try to be better, better execute the entirety of an event. I think as long as we’re doing those things, I think we can run and compete with the best of the garage. I feel confident in that; just as confident in that today as I did three weeks ago.”

    And though it may have seemed that he was not performing as well as expected, Elliott has led the driver standings since his sixth-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the fifth race of the Cup Series season.

    He’s in good company as Chevrolet teams have won seven of the races this year while Fords and Toyotas have only two wins each.

    “I think it’s like what my dad has always said over the years and has tried to teach me; it’s a rollercoaster and it’s going to continue to evolve. There is going to be a time where that’s not the case. I’m a Chevy guy and I want that to always be the case. But that’s just not how it works.

    “You’re going to go through periods where you’re going to struggle and you’re going to have to go back to work and get better. I think 2016, ’17, ’18 – I guess more ’17 and ’18 – we were certainly behind and needed to be better. We tried to come together as a manufacturer and, fortunately, we were able to do that. I think Chevrolet should take a lot of pride in that, and the teams within that banner should take a lot of pride in that, too.

    “I can’t say that anything just miraculously changed overnight. I think it’s just the way this deal works. You’re going to go through those periods and you have to ride that wave while it’s good in a positive manner, just like you do when it’s bad. And just accept that’s the way it’s going to be sometimes. That can be a hard thing to accept in certain periods, but I am a believer that I think that’s just how this works and I don’t ever see that really changing.”

    Looking ahead to Sunday’s Goodyear 400, Elliott is unsure what to expect with inconsistent results the last couple of years. In 2020, he had finishes of fourth (May 17), 38th (May 20) and 20th in September. Last year he finished seventh in May and 31st in September.

    “I feel like we’ve been really sporadic here for whatever reason,” he said. “Hopefully, this week is better.”

  • Kerry Tharp and Darlington Raceway ready to welcome fans with open arms

    Kerry Tharp and Darlington Raceway ready to welcome fans with open arms

    While Kerry Tharp’s official title is President of Darlington Raceway, ringmaster of the traveling show we call NASCAR might be a more apt description, especially during a Throwback weekend.

    From coordinating numerous activities including an 80’s Dance Party, food, music, track trivia, prizes and a Throwback Parade to dealing with the aftermath of an aberrant rain and hail storm, Tharp and his staff are behind the scenes making certain that the show will go on.

    Anytime you’re present for a Throwback event at Darlington you can expect to see NASCAR Hall of Famers and veteran drivers and the upcoming weekend is no exception. Richard Petty will wave the green flag as the honorary starter for the Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington. Petty, Bobby Labonte and Bill Elliott will then share their expertise with the FOX Sports broadcast team of Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer during the race. Petty will join them during Stage 1, Labonte will take over for Stage 2 and Elliott will be in the booth for the final stage.

    “I think it’s pretty cool that they’re adding those guys up in the booth,” Tharp said, “because I think each of them is all from a different era and I think each of them will provide their own unique perspective on the race and on the weekend.”

    There will also be some unique pre-race activities.

    On Friday before the Camping World Truck Series race, Ron Hornaday Jr. will complete a parade lap in a 1975 Ford Bronco and on Saturday Randy LaJoie will pilot a 1966 Mustang Shelby before the Xfinity Series event. Prior to the Cup Series race Sunday afternoon, Hall of Fame inductee Red Farmer will take a spin around the track in a Wood Brothers Racing car that Neil Bonnet drove.

    Another highlight, Tharp said, will feature “one of the team owners, Justin Marks, (Trackhouse Racing) who is going to drive the No. 33 Skoal Bandit car that Harry Gant drove here at Darlington. That will allow fans to get a real good visual of Throwback cars.”

    Darlington Raceway, known as the track Too Tough to Tame, is one of the most unique and challenging venues on the NASCAR circuit. Add the new Next Gen car into the mix and it’s difficult to predict who will end up in victory lane.

    Tharp believes that the racing might be even better than what we’ve seen in the past.

    “I think it’s going to be better,” he said. “When we had the tire test here, the people from Goodyear were very encouraged about the tire wear. Darlington is famous for the tires falling off, so I think you’re gonna see that on Sunday in the Cup Series and I think the new car is going to be challenging for the drivers to maneuver.

    “I’m not very good at predicting who will win but I will say that Joe Gibbs Racing has certainly had great history here at Darlington with Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. all winning here multiple times. I think you’re probably going to have to go through that team in order to get a win here.

    “But you take a look and see how successful Hendrick has been this year and also some of the first-time winners, whether it be Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe, or even Austin Cindric and I think you could see a first-time winner here. I think anything could happen.”

    Winning races is always the goal for the drivers and teams but for Tharp, it’s all about the fans and ensuring that they have a memorable experience.

    “Just being able to see the fans enjoying themselves whether it be in the campgrounds or the stands, we missed that for about 2 1/2 years with the pandemic,” he said. “I’m looking forward with a lot of anticipation to seeing that again.”

    It hit home for Tharp during the pandemic as NASCAR ran races without fans in attendance.

    “The race that we had in May of 2020 when we brought back live racing and sports back to this country. There hadn’t been any live sports in about 8 or 9 weeks and we were the first to bring it back. There were no fans in the stands and that was very, very different.

    “I can remember Kevin Harvick won that race and he got out of his car after his burnout. He got out and usually, there are a lot of cheers and even a lot of boos, but there was nothing.

    “It was dead silent.

    “I’ll never forget that. And I think that’s why you never take your fan base for granted.”

  • Weekend Schedule for Darlington Raceway

    Weekend Schedule for Darlington Raceway

    This week NASCAR travels to Darlington Raceway for the fan-favorite Throwback Weekend featuring special paint schemes and activities that pay tribute to NASCAR tradition.

    Hall of Fame members Richard Petty, Bobby Labonte and Bill Elliott will help set the mood and share their expertise as they join the FOX Sports broadcast team during the Cup Series Goodyear 400.

    Petty will join Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer during Stage 1, followed by Labonte during Stage 2 while Elliott will be in the booth for the final stage.

    Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers with four wins at the 1.366-mile, Too Tough to Tame, track. Martin Truex Jr. is the defending race winner.

    Justin Allgaier won the Xfinity Series race at Darlington last year and is hoping to repeat and claim his first victory of 2022.

    The Camping World Truck Series is back on the schedule after a couple of weeks off. It will be the series 10th race at Darlington. Ben Rhodes (2020) and Todd Bodine (2010) are the only active drivers on the entry list for Darlington that have won at the track.

    Throwback Paint Schemes

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, May 6

    3 p.m.: Truck Series Practice/All Entries – FS1

    3:30 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying (Impound) Single Vehicle/1 Lap/All Entries – FS1

    5 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice/All Entries – FS1

    5:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Impound) Single Vehicle/1 Lap/All Entries – FS1

    7:30 p.m.: Truck Series Dead on Tools 200
    Distance: 200.1 miles (147 Laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 45, Stage 2 ends on Lap 90, Final Stage ends on Lap 147
    FS1/MSN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $712,347

    Saturday, May 7

    10:30 a.m.: Cup Series Practice – Groups A & B – FS1/MSN/SiriusXM

    11:05 a.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Impound) (Groups A & B) Single Vehicle/1 Lap/2 Rounds – FS1/MSN/SiriusXM

    1:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Mahindra ROXOR 200
    Distance: 200.1 miles (147 Laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 45, Stage 2 ends on Lap 90, Final Stage ends on Lap 147
    FS1/MSN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $1,273,583

    Sunday, May

    3:30 p.m.: Cup Series Goodyear 400
    Distance: 400.2 miles (293 laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 90, Stage 2 ends on Lap 185, Final Stage ends on Lap 293
    FS1/MSN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $7,292,599

  • Almirola to make 400th Cup career start at Darlington

    Almirola to make 400th Cup career start at Darlington

    Embarking in his 11th and final full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Aric Almirola is primed to achieve a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, the driver of the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang will achieve career start No. 400 in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Tampa, Florida, Almirola made his inaugural presence in the Cup Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March 2007. By then, he had made 10 career starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and 29 starts in the Truck Series as he was competing on a part-time schedule with Joe Gibbs Racing. Driving the No. 80 Chevrolet Monte Carlo for JGR, Almirola started 31st and finished 41st in his Cup debut after being involved in an early accident.

    Later in the 2007 season, Almirola transitioned from Joe Gibbs Racing to Dale Earnhardt Inc. as he piloted the No. 01 Chevrolet in five of the remaining 13 Cup races to the schedule. His best result during his span was a 30th-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway in October.

    In 2008, Almirola served as a co-primary driver of the No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet Impala alongside NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin. His first start of the season occurred at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, where he achieved his first top-10 career finish in eighth place. He then made 11 additional starts throughout the 2008 Cup season, where he collected two 13th-place results (Bristol Motor Speedway in August and Talladega Superspeedway in October). He also led 53 laps at Martinsville Speedway in October before falling back to 20th place. When the final checkered flag of the 2008 season flew, Almirola capped off his part-time Cup campaign by finishing in 35th place in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November following an early spin.

    Almirola commenced the 2009 Cup Series season as a full-time competitor in DEI’s No. 8 Chevrolet Impala. He finished 30th in the 51st running of the Daytona 500 after being involved in two separate incidents, but rallied three races later by finishing 21st at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March. Following the first seven races of the season, however, Almirola’s full-time Cup ride with DEI was cut short due to sponsorship issues. Returning to compete in four Xfinity and 16 Truck Series races for the remainder of the 2009 season, he also made an additional Cup start at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September, where he drove the No. 09 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet Impala to a 29th-place result.

    Almirola entered the 2010 season with plans of competing with Phoenix Racing on a full-time basis in the Cup Series while also racing in the Camping World Truck Series for Billy Ballew Motorsports. His Cup plans with Phoenix Raceway, however, came to an early end after he failed to qualify in three of the first seven scheduled events and finished no higher than 39th, which was sat Bristol in March. He then set his main focus towards vying for the 2010 Truck title with Billy Ballew Motorsports, where he went on to win his first two Truck career races and finish in second place in the final standings. He also competed in eight Xfinity races with JR Motorsports. A month prior to the 2010 Cup season’s conclusion, however, Almirola drove the No. 9 Ford Fusion for Richard Petty Motorsports at Martinsville as an interim competitor in place of veteran Kasey Kahne, who left RPM for Red Bull Racing. Finishing 21st at Martinsville, Almirola ended up competing in the final four Cup races of the season with RPM. During this short span, he notched his first career top-five result in the Cup Series after finishing fourth in the season finale at Homestead in November.

    After spending the 2011 season in the Xfinity Series with JR Motorsports, where he earned 18 top-10 results and finished in fourth place in the final standings, Almirola was signed by Richard Petty Motorsports to drive the iconic No. 43 Ford Fusion for the 2012 Cup season. Almirola started the season by finishing in 33rd place in the 54th running of the Daytona 500 after being involved in a late multi-car accident. He managed to finish 12th at Phoenix Raceway, but fell back to 24th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. During the first nine events of the season, he had one top-10 result logged in, which was an eighth-place result at Martinsville in April. After finishing 12th at Talladega and 19th at Darlington Raceway in May, Almirola captured his first Cup career pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600. Despite finishing in 16th place in the Coke 600, Almirola rebounded the following week at Dover International Speedway by finishing in sixth place. From Pocono Raceway in June through Richmond Raceway in September, Almirola finished no higher than 17th place on the track, which were enough to prevent him from qualifying for the 2012 Cup Playoffs. At Kansas Speedway in October, he led 69 laps but was involved in three separate incidents that dropped him to 29th place in the final running order. He rallied during the following event at Martinsville by finishing fourth. He then capped off the season with a seventh-place result at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November and a 20th-place result in the final standings. 

    Remaining at Richard Petty Motorsports for the 2013 Cup season, Almirola finished 13th in the 55th running of the Daytona 500 and 15th during the following race at Phoenix. Following the first 10 Cup races of the season, he was coming off four consecutive top-10 results and was in eighth place in the regular-season standings. The early consistency for Almirola and the No. 43 team, however, did not last for the remainder of the 26-race regular-season stretch as he achieved only one top-five result, which was a season-best fifth place at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July, and failed to make the Playoffs. He went on to conclude the 2013 season in 18th place in the final standings along with six top-10 results and a career-best average result of 18.8. Following the 2013 season, Almirola surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series. 

    After inking a three-year extension to remain at Richard Petty Motorsports, Almirola commenced the 2014 season with a 39th-place result in the Daytona 500 after being involved in a late multi-car accident. Three races later, he captured his first top-three result in the Cup circuit after finishing in third place at Bristol Motor Speedway behind Roush Fenway Racing’s Carl Edwards and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 

    When NASCAR returned to Daytona in July, which marked the halfway point of the season, Almirola had achieved one top-five result and three top-10 results, but came into Daytona with an opportunity to grab a victory and race his way into the 2014 Cup Playoffs. During the race, Almirola dodged two multi-car accidents and outlasted the field, including late challenges from Brian Vickers, Kurt Busch and Casey Mears, to retain the lead when the race was red-flagged and deemed official on Lap 112 of 160 due to heavy precipitation. The call handed Almirola his first Cup career victory in his 125th series start as he snapped five-year winless drought for Richard Petty Motorsports. Almirola’s first Cup victory marked the first win for the No. 43 since 1999, which was last made by the late John Andretti at Martinsville Speedway. It also occurred 30 years to the day where Richard Petty recorded his unprecedented 200th and final NASCAR win at Daytona. With his victory, Almirola clinched a spot for the 2014 Cup Playoffs.

    Following the breakthrough victory at Daytona, Almirola recorded two top-10 results for the remaining eight regular-season races before entering the Playoffs as one of 16 competitors vying for the 2014 Cup championship. He, however, was one of four competitors who was eliminated from title contention following the Round of 16 despite finishing as high as sixth place at New Hampshire in September. Despite his early exit from title contention, Almirola went on to finish the season in a career-best 16th place in the final standings and with a career-high seven top-10 results.

    Following a breakthrough 2014 season, Almirola started the 2015 season with a 15th-place result in the 57th running of the Daytona 500 followed by an 11th-place run at Atlanta. Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, he achieved two top-five results and 14 top-15 results. During the regular-season finale at Richmond in September, Almirola, who was within striking distance of the lead, recorded a strong fourth-place result, which would mark his season-best result, but he missed the Playoffs by 17 points. He went on to notch one additional top-five run and four top-10 results for the remaining 10 Playoff races before finishing in 17th place, best of the non-Playoff competitors, in the final standings. In light of missing the Playoffs, he achieved a career-best average-finishing result of 17.9, compared to his average result of 21.4 in 2014 when he won a race and made the Playoffs.

    Remaining at Richard Petty Motorsports for a fifth consecutive season, Almirola’s 2016 season started with a 12th-place result in the 58th running of the Daytona 500. He then finished in 15th place during the following race at Atlanta despite being involved in a four-car wreck during an overtime shootout to the finish. Compared to his previous two seasons, the 2016 season was a disappointing season for Almirola, who achieved only one top-10 result, which was a season-best eighth-place result at Talladega in October, and an average result of 23.3 before falling back to 26th place in the final standings. Following the 2016 season, Almirola surpassed 200 career starts in the Cup Series.

    Returning for a sixth full-time Cup season with RPM in 2017, Almirola commenced the season on a high note by finishing in fourth place in the 59th running of the Daytona 500. During the first 10 scheduled races, he achieved three top-10 results, including another fourth-place result at Talladega despite being penalized 35 points for a post-race infraction. 

    Then during the following race at Kansas Speedway in May, Almirola was involved in a late horrific accident, where he collided into Joey Logano and Danica Patrick’s cars at full speed in Turn 1 as both competitors wrecked in front of Almirola seconds prior to his involvement. The impact launched the back of Almirola’s car off the ground amid a shower of flames and sparks before his No. 43 Ford came to rest against the outside wall. Following the incident, Almirola had to be extricated from his car and placed on a stretcher, where he was airlifted to the University of Kansas Hospital. It was later determined that he had suffered a compression fracture of his T5 vertebrae. While Almirola spent time recovering from his injuries, he was absent for eight races, including the All-Star Open/Race weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. During his absence, Regan Smith, Bubba Wallace and Billy Johnson each took turns piloting the No. 43 Ford Fusion.

    In July at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Almirola, who received medical clearance to return to race, finished in 24th place. Given seven races to try to win and position himself into the top-30 in the standings to make the Playoffs through an injury waiver, he finished no higher than 12th place and was unable to compete for the 2017 title. Nonetheless, he collected three top-10 results, including a fifth-place result at Talladega in October, as he finished in 29th place in the final standings. He also recorded an average-finishing result of 18.8, which matched his result from 2013.

    A week and a half prior to the 2017 Cup season’s conclusion in November, Almirola announced a new partnership with Stewart-Haas Racing to drive the No. 10 Ford team for the 2018 Cup Series season, where he replaced Danica Patrick. Three months later, Almirola made his first Cup start with SHR in the 60th running of the Daytona 500. During the event, he was leading on the final lap when Austin Dillon made contact and turned Almirola into the outside wall in Turn 3, which spoiled Almirola’s opportunity in winning the Daytona 500 for the first time as he ended up in 11th place and with a wrecked race car. 

    During the first 16 Cup races of the new season, Almirola recorded seven top-10 results and 14 top-15 results. By then, he was ranked in 10th place in the regular-season standings. He went on to record three additional top-10 results and secure a spot in the 2018 Playoffs based on points and following a strong consistent regular-season stretch despite having no victories under his belt. 

    Returning to the Playoffs for a second time and following a three-year absence, Almirola commenced his title run in September by finishing sixth at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and fifth at Richmond Raceway. Despite finishing in 19th place at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in September, he transferred to the Playoff’s Round of 12 in a three-way tie-breaker that included Kyle Larson and saw seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson eliminated from title contention.

    After leading 64 laps and finishing 13th at Dover in October due to being involved in a late multi-car incident, Almirola, who was still within reach of transferring from the Round of 12 to 8, came into the following race at Talladega Superspeedway with an opportunity to fulfill his first victory as a Stewart-Haas Racing competitor. After spending the majority of the race running towards the front with his Stewart-Haas Racing teammates, he capitalized on a late two-lap restart and with teammate Kurt Busch running out of fuel on the final lap to hold off teammate Clint Bowyer entering the tri-oval and capture his first elusive victory of the season along with his second Cup career victory. The victory earned Almirola and his No. 10 SHR Ford team a one-way ticket into the Playoff’s Round of 8.

    After finishing 10th the following week at Kansas, Almirola finished 11th, eighth and fourth respectively in the Round of 8. Despite the results, he failed to advance to the Championship 4 round at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he capped off the season in ninth place on the track. While he did not emerge as a Cup champion, the 2018 season stands as Almirola’s productive season to date that includes a win, a career-high four top-five result, a career-high 17 top-10 results, a career-high 181 laps led, a career-best average-finishing result of 12.8 and a career-best points result of fifth place.

    With the 2018 season in the record books, Almirola entered the 2019 Cup season with high aspirations of repeating his on-track success from the previous season, beginning with the 61st running of the Daytona 500. His season, however, started off on a low note when he was involved in a late multi-car accident and was scored in 29th place. He rebounded the following six weeks by finishing in the top 10 in all of them. Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Almirola and his No. 10 SHR team achieved 10 top-10 results, as Almirola qualified for his third Cup Playoffs. After finishing 13th, 16th and 14th respectively during the Round of 16, however, he was eliminated from title contention. With his 2019 title hopes coming to an early end, he went on to capture two top-five results, including a season-best second place behind teammate Kevin Harvick at Texas Motor Speedway in November, and conclude the season in 14th place in the final standings. Overall, he recorded a pole, three top-five results and 12 top-10 results despite logging in zero victories. In addition, Almirola surpassed 300 Cup career starts.

    The 2020 Cup Series season, which marked Almirola’s third full-time campaign with Stewart-Haas Racing, started off with the Floridian wrecking out of the season-opening Daytona 500. Two weeks later, he finished eighth at Auto Club Speedway, which he backed up with another eighth-place result at Phoenix in March. When NASCAR returned to on-track competition for a Darlington Raceway doubleheader feature in May amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Almirola finished 12th and seventh respectively. From a pair of Charlotte Motor Speedway events in May to Martinsville Speedway in June, he finished no higher than 15th. Then, beginning at Homestead in June through New Hampshire in July, he recorded nine consecutive finishes inside the top five or top 10. During this streak, he also started on pole position three times through a random draw. To go along with two additional top-10 results during the final six regular-season events, Almirola clinched a spot to the 2020 Playoffs for the fourth time in his career and third in a row in recent years. Three consecutive top-10 results during the Round of 16 transferred the driver of the No. 10 SHR Ford into the Round of 12, but his title hopes came to an end following finishes of 17th, 37th and 16th respectively. Despite settling in 15th place in the final standings, he achieved a career-high six top-five results and 18 top-10 results. His total laps led of 305 throughout the season was also his personal best. 

    The 2021 Cup season marked a difficult start for Almirola, who won the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona in February but ended up in 34th place in the 63rd running of the Daytona 500 after being involved in an early multi-car wreck. Through the first 16 scheduled events, his best result was sixth at Richmond in April while he finished outside of the top 20 10 times. He then rallied at Nashville Superspeedway in June, where he started on pole and finished fourth, but finished no higher than 14th place during the following four events.

    Then at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Almirola persevered through his difficult start to 2021 by leading twice for 25 laps, including the final 20, to win over Christopher Bell and claim his third NASCAR Cup career victory. The victory, which was Almirola’s first since winning at Talladega in 2018, sent the driver and his No. 10 SHR team into the 2021 Cup Playoffs. During the Playoff’s Round of 16, however, he missed the cutline to the Round of 12 by two points despite logging in three consecutive top-20 results. Capping off the season with back-to-back sixth-place results on the track, Almirola capped off his 10th full-time season in the Cup Series in 15th place in the final standings.

    In January 2022, Almirola announced his intentions to retire from full-time NASCAR competition at the conclusion of the season. He commenced his final full-time season with a fifth-place run during the 64th running of the Daytona 500 in February followed by back-to-back top-10 results before finishing no higher than eighth place during the next eight events. He is currently ranked in 11th place in the drivers’ standings.

    Through 399 previous Cup starts, Almirola has achieved three victories, three poles, 27 top-five results, 88 top-10 results, 899 laps led and an average-finishing result of 19.0.

    Almirola is set to make his 400th Cup Series career start in the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, May 8, with the event’s coverage to occur at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Chase Elliott: Elliott led the final 53 laps at Dover and captured the win in the DuraMAX Drydene 400, his first victory of the season.

    “Now,” Elliott said, “all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers have a win. I’m just sad that I was last to the parity.”

    2. Ross Chastain: Chastain led 86 laps and came home third at Dover.

    “I tangled with Martin Truex Jr. on the final lap,” Chastain said. “Martin came out on the losing end of that when he spun out. Martin then gave me a piece of his mind, which was good, because I actually enjoy ‘picking the brain’ of my older, more experienced competitors.”

    3. Kyle Busch: Busch, while leading, pitted under green on lap 322. Unfortunately, a caution flew seconds later, costing Busch the lead and track position. He recovered to finish seventh.

    “There’s nothing I can do about that,” Busch said, “except continue to live by the good old Kyle Busch motto: ‘When the going gets tough, Kyle Busch starts complaining.’”

    4. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished 26th at Dover, only his second result outside the top 20 this season.

    “Bill Elliott, Bobby Labonte, and Richard Petty will be in the Fox Sports booth next week at Darlington,” Blaney said. “That’s NASCAR royalty right there. Now, they won’t all be in the booth at the same time, mind you. That would make the booth ‘royally skewed.’”

    5. Alex Bowman: Bowman finished fifth at Dover, posting his third top-five of the season.

    “Denny Hamlin is really struggling this season,” Bowman said. “But we all know Denny as one of the most determined drivers in the game. He’ll do whatever it takes to make a comeback. I mean, he’ll drive the wheels off his car if he has to.”

    6. Joey Logano: Logano finished 29th at Dover, four laps down.

    “It was just an overall bad day for Penske Racing,” Logano said. “I was four laps down. Ryan Blaney was three laps down, and Austin Cindric was 309 laps down. So basically, lead-lap cars ran circles around us all day.”

    7. William Byron: After wrecking in Saturday’s practice, Byron was forced to go to a backup car and struggled to a 22nd at Dover.

    “It’s always hard to get a backup car up to speed,” Byron said. “In fact, we put the ‘back’ in ‘backup.’”

    8. Kyle Larson: Larson blew two tires on Lap 156 and fell a lap down, but came back strong to post a sixth at Dover.

    “And speaking of ‘unexpected releases of air,’” Larson said, “Dover’s Monster Beef And Cheddar Sandwich is really gastro-intestinally infamous.

    “And speaking of ‘unexpected releases of liquid,’ the ‘DuraMAX Drudene 400’ sounds like a description of a bulk value package of super-absorbent adult diapers.”

    9. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished 12th at Dover, falling down the order when his battle for third with Ross Chastain sent Truex spinning.

    “I had words with Chastain after the race,” Truex said. “Actually, just two words. And there were seven letters total in those two words. It’s not what you think. Those two words were ‘re’ and ‘venge.’”

    10. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished ninth in the DuraMAX Drydene 400 at Dover.

    “Hunt Brothers Pizza was my primary sponsor for the Dover race,” Harvick said. “I’ve had a long-standing relationship with them. ‘They’ve been with me for years,’ which is something you can also say about the actual Hunt Brothers Pizza once you’ve eaten it.”

  • Elliott conquers Dover for first Cup victory of 2022

    Elliott conquers Dover for first Cup victory of 2022

    The one-day wait was worth the wait for Chase Elliott, who rose to the occasion in the late stages to win the rain-postponed DuraMAX Drydene 400 at Dover Motor Speedway on Monday, May 2, for his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season.

    The 2020 Cup champion from Dawsonville, Georgia, led three times for 73 of 400-scheduled laps and rocketed away from Ross Chastain during a 53-lap dash to the finish before beating Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to conquer the Monster Mile in Dover, Delaware, for the second time in his career.

    With on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday, Chris Buescher notched his first NASCAR Cup Series career pole after turning in a pole-winning lap at 160.149 mph in 22.479 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Denny Hamlin, who recorded a fast lap at 159.744 mph in 22.536 seconds. 

    Prior to the event, William Byron and Josh Bilicki dropped to the rear of the field in backup cars along with Kurt Busch due to a steering adjustment. Rookies Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland also started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their cars.

    When the green flag waved and the race started on a cloudy afternoon on Sunday, Buescher rocketed with an early advantage over the field as he went on to lead the first lap while Chase Elliott moved up to second place over Hamlin, who was under threat by Kyle Larson for more. Behind, Ryan Blaney was able to settle into fifth place ahead of Alex Bowman, Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain.

    Through the first 10 laps, Buescher continued to lead ahead of Elliott, Hamlin, Larson and Blaney while Bowman, Suarez, Chastain, Kyle Busch and Bubba Wallace occupied the top 10.

    Nine laps later, Hamlin moved his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry into the lead over Buescher’s No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang. 

    On Lap 40, a scheduled competition caution flew with Hamlin retaining the lead over Larson, Buescher, Elliott, Blaney and the rest of the field. By then, 27 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap. 

    Under the competition caution, the leaders pitted and Hamlin retained the lead ahead of Larson, Buescher, Elliott and Chastain.

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 45, Larson and Hamlin dueled for the lead until Hamlin used the outside lane to retain the top spot. Behind, Chastain moved into third place followed by Buescher, Elliott and Blaney while Suarez and Kyle Busch battled for seventh place as more battles ensued behind in the field. 

    By Lap 50, Hamlin was leading by nearly a second over Larson followed by Chastain, Buescher and Elliott while Blaney, Kyle Busch, Suarez, Bowman and Stenhouse were scored in the top 10.

    On Lap 68, the caution flew due to precipitation on the track. During the caution period, the competitors remained on track under a cautious pace. Soon after, nearly the entire field led by Hamlin pitted while Larson, Elliott, Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell, Aric Almirola and William Byron remained on the track.

    Then on Lap 78, the field led by Larson was brought down to pit road and the race was red-flagged due to the precipitation intensifying around the circuit. More than an hour later and with the jet dryers unable to enter the circuit due to the increased precipitation, NASCAR declared that the event would be postponed to Monday.

    When the field returned to action on Monday under a cautious pace, Blaney surrendered third place to make a pit stop and for adjustments to his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang.

    By Lap 83, the race resumed under green. At the start, Larson retained the lead over teammate Elliott and Truex while Hamlin bolted his way into the top five on four fresh tires as he challenged Byron for fourth place, which he succeeded. Soon after, Hamlin was challenged by teammate Truex for the spot while Byron and Bell battled for fifth place in front of Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola. 

    Four laps later, however, the caution flew when rookie Austin Cindric got loose and smacked the outside wall in Turn 3. In the process, rookie Todd Gilliland was hit and spun into the wall by Blaney.

    Another five laps later, the race proceeded under green. At the start, teammates Larson and Elliott dueled for the top spot through the first turn until Elliott managed to assume the lead for the first time. Behind, Hamlin, who rocketed to third place during the previous restart, retained the spot ahead of teammates Christopher Bell and Truex. Behind, Byron was in sixth while Kyle Busch and Chastain battled for seventh place.

    At the Lap 100 mark, Elliott was leading by more than seven-tenths of a second over Hamlin while Larson, Bell and Truex occupied the top five. Byron retained sixth ahead of Chastain, Kyle Busch, Buescher and Bowman while Brad Keselowski, Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kevin Harvick and Justin Haley were in the top 15. Bubba Wallace was back in 16th ahead of Daniel Suarez, Ryan Preece, Kurt Busch and Erik Jones while Blaney was back in 27th behind Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano, Michael McDowell and Chase Briscoe. By then, Cindric retired to the garage.

    By Lap 110, Hamlin trailed Larson by two-tenths of a second in a bid for the lead while Larson and Bell battled for third place in front of Truex and Chastain. Two laps later, Hamlin overtook Elliott to reassume the lead. At the same time. Chastain made a bold three-wide move on Truex and Larson to move into fourth place.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 120, Hamlin claimed his second stage victory of the season. Elliott settled in second followed by Bell, Chastain, Truex, Larson, Byron, Buescher, Kyle Busch and Keselowski.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Hamlin, who exited pit road with the lead, lost the left-front wheel as the wheel came off of his car. With Hamlin returning to pit road, Chastain assumed the lead followed by Bell, Truex, Elliott, Byron and Buescher.

    The second stage started on Lap 128 as Chastain and Bell occupied the front row, At the start, Chastain retained the lead while Truex, Buescher and Elliott all overtook Bell for positions in the top five. In the process, Bell made an unscheduled pit stop after falling off the pace with the driver suspecting a loose wheel on his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota TRD Camry. The issue cost Bell two laps, though he continued.

    Back on the track on Lap 135, Chastain’s No. 1 Pitbull Tour 2022 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was leading by four-tenths of a second over Truex’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota TRD Camry while third-place Buescher trailed by less than a second. Elliott and Kyle Busch occupied the top five ahead of Byron, Larson, Keselowski, Harvick and Stenhouse.

    On Lap 156, the caution returned when Larson spun his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the frontstretch and made light contact with the inside wall after cutting a tire. At the moment of caution, Chastain retained the lead by six-tenths of a second over Truex while Buescher, Elliott and Kyle Busch remained in the top five.

    Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road and Chastain exited with the top spot ahead of Truex, Justin Haley, Elliott and Keselowski.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 163, Chastain retained the lead while Haley moved his No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into second place ahead of Truex, Elliott, Keselowski and Kyle Busch while Harvick and Buescher battled for seventh place.

    By Lap 175, Chastain was leading by nearly nine-tenths of a second over Truex while Haley, Elliott and Keselowski were scored in the top five. Kyle Busch retained sixth ahead of Buescher, Harvick, Byron and Blaney.

    On Lap 188 and just as Truex issued a challenge on Chastain for the lead, the caution flew when AJ Allmendinger made contact with Kurt Busch entering Turn 2, which got Busch’s No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota TRD Camry loose before the car spun and made contact with the inside wall. 

    Under caution, some competitors like Haley, Bowman, Allmendinger, Tyler Reddick, Wallace, Suarez, Austin Dillon and Ty Dillon remained on the track while the rest led by Truex pitted.

    When the race proceeded under green on Lap 194, Haley assumed the lead while teammate Allmendinger overtook Bowman for the runner-up spot, thus placing both Kaulig Racing competitors in the top-two spots. 

    A lap later, however, the caution returned when Joey Logano, who was struggling with pace, slid sideways and made contact with the outside wall in Turn 1 following contact with Erik Jones exiting the frontstretch. 

    As the race restarted at the halfway mark on Lap 200, Haley retained the lead over teammate Allmendinger while Bowman muscled his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the runner-up spot. Way behind the field, Ty Dillon got bumped and loose in Turn 3, but the race proceeded under green as Dillon continued to lose spots on the track. 

    Back at the front, Haley was leading by two-tenths of a second over Bowman while Reddick was locked in a battle with Kyle Busch for fourth place behind Allmendinger.

    By Lap 210, Bowman made a bold move through Turn 2 to move into the lead over Haley as Kyle Busch joined the battle. Two laps later, however, Busch rocketed his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry from third to first after overtaking both Haley and Bowman on the frontstretch. With Elliott and Allmendinger remaining in the top five, Truex, Chastain and Hamlin battled within the top-10 mark.

    At the Lap 225 mark, Kyle Busch, who celebrated his 37th birthday, was leading by nearly two seconds over Elliott while Bowman, Truex and Byron were in the top five. Behind, Hamlin, following his early pit road issues, was in sixth ahead of Haley, Allmendinger, Chastain, Reddick, Harvick, Stenhouse, Erik Jones, Wallace, Buescher, Blaney, Almirola, Suarez, Chase Briscoe and Keselowski. By then, Larson was in 23rd behind Bell while Harrison Burton was the highest-running rookie candidate in 27th.

    Seven laps later, Reddick made an unscheduled pit stop under green due to a shredded right-front tire as he lost two laps in the process. Shortly after, Ty Dillon made an unscheduled pit stop to address a flat right-front tire. 

    Just past the Lap 240 mark and while Kyle Busch maintained a one-and-a-half second advantage over Elliott, the caution flew when Cody Ware got loose and smacked the outside wall on the frontstretch. In the process of his spin, Ware clipped Hamlin as Hamlin was sent backward against the inside wall with right-side damage to his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry, thus making his afternoon tougher to overcome. 

    Under caution, Blaney and Harrison Burton remained on the track while the rest led by Kyle Busch pitted.

    With three laps remaining in the second stage, Blaney retained the lead while teammates Kyle Busch and Truex overtook Burton for second and third. Behind, Elliott nearly made contact with the outside wall on the frontstretch while battling Chastain. 

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 250 in a flurry of late jostling for positions, Blaney fended off Kyle Busch to claim his fifth stage victory of the season. Bowman settled in third ahead of Truex, Stenhouse, Chastain, Erik Jones, Burton, Buescher and Elliott.

    Under the stage break, Blaney, whose strategy to win the second stage worked, pitted along with Burton and Austin Dillon, whose pit crew lifted the hood of Dillon’s No. 3 Breztri Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for adjustments, while the rest led by Kyle Busch remained on the track.

    With 143 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. At the start and with the field fanning out to multiple lanes, Kyle Busch retained the lead over Bowman while Stenhouse moved into third place. Shortly after, Chastain overtook Truex for fourth place in front of Erik Jones. By then, Larson was back in the top 10 in ninth place ahead of teammate Elliott. 

    With 125 laps remaining, Kyle Busch continued to lead by more than half a second over Bowman while Stenhouse, Chastain and Truex remained in the top five. Erik Jones remained in sixth place ahead of Larson, Elliott, Buescher and Aric Almirola while Allmendinger, Bell, Harvick, Keselowski, Byron, Corey LaJoie, Michael McDowell, Haley, Preece and Wallace. By then, Reddick and Blaney were mired outside of the top 20 while Hamlin was back in 27th ahead of Austin Dillon.

    Fifteen laps later, Kyle Busch, who lapped Austin Dillon, stabilized his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Bowman while Chastain, Truex and Stenhouse remained in the top five.

    Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Kyle Busch was leading by more than a second over Bowman while Chastain, Truex, Stenhouse, Elliott, Larson, Erik Jones, Buescher and Bell occupied the top 10. Almirola was in 11th ahead of Allmendinger, Harvick, LaJoie, McDowell, Preece, Haley, Byron, Blaney and Wallace while Briscoe, Suarez, Keselowski and Hamlin were scored on the lead lap. By then, names like Reddick, Custer, Austin Dillon and Harrison Burton were lapped. In addition, Logano was mired in 30th and three laps behind the leaders while Kurt Busch was in 32nd and eight laps behind.

    Just as Kyle Busch and Bowman peeled off the track to pit under green, the caution flew when the right-front tire off of Allmendinger’s No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 came off in Turn 1. 

    Under caution, the majority of leaders that did not pit prior to the caution led by Truex pitted and Chastain assumed the lead after exiting with the top spot ahead of Truex, Elliott, Bell, Stenhouse and Larson. Prior to the restart, Kyle Busch and Bowman took the wave around to return to the lead lap.

    Down to the final 70 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Chastain took off with a brief advantage until he was pressured by Elliott for more. 

    Four laps later, the caution flew when Suarez and LaJoie made contact entering Turn 3, which sent LaJoie into the outside wall while Suarez spun and forced the field to scatter. 

    With 61 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Chastain and Elliott dueled for the lead through the first two turns with Elliott briefly peaking ahead until Chastain fought back on the outside lane. 

    During the following lap, both Chastain and Elliott made contact through Turn 2, but both continued to battle dead even for the top spot. They made contact again during the next lap, but both continued to battle for the lead in a heated battle until the caution returned when Reddick spun and wrecked his No. 8 Guaranteed Rate Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the backstretch. At the moment of caution, Chastain retained the lead over Elliott.  

    With 53 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Elliott prevailed on the inside lane to move his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the lead while Chastain was left in a battle against Stenhouse for the runner-up spot. Following an intense battle for a few laps, Stenhouse took the runner-up spot while Chastain settled in third ahead of Truex and Bell.

    Under the final 50 laps of the event, Elliott was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Stenhouse while Chastain, Truex, Bell, Erik Jones, Larson, Bowman, Buescher and Kyle Busch occupied the top 10. 

    With 35 laps remaining, Elliott extended his advantage to more than a second over Stenhouse while Chastain, Truex and Bell remained in the top five. 

    Fifteen laps later, Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 continued to lead by more than a second over Stenhouse’s No. 47 Kroger/Frozen Farmer Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, who started to have Chastain and Truex reel in on him for the runner-up spot. With Bell in fifth, Bowman and Kyle Busch were up in sixth and seventh followed by Larson, Erik Jones and Buescher. Meanwhile, Harvick was in 11th ahead of teammate Briscoe, Haley, Wallace, Suarez and Cole Custer.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Elliott remained the leader by more than two seconds over Stenhouse while Chastain and Truex battled for third place ahead of Bell. By then, 17 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    With five laps remaining, Elliott stabilized his advantage to less than two seconds over Stenhouse while working his way through lapped traffic. Meanwhile, Chastain continued to fend off Truex for third place.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Elliott continued to lead by nearly two seconds over Stenhouse. Having no competition closing in on him for a final circuit, Elliott cycled his way back around to the frontstretch and streaked across the finish line for his first victory of the season as the caution flag flew for a final lap incident involving Chastain and Truex.

    With his first victory of the season, Elliott became the ninth different winner through the first 11 events of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. The Dover victory marked Elliott’s second at the Monster Mile, the 14th of his Cup career, his first since winning at Road America in July 2021 and his first oval victory since winning the 2020 season finale at Phoenix Raceway, where he celebrated his first Cup championship. 

    In addition, Hendrick Motorsports achieved its 22nd overall win at Dover Motor Speedway, leaving the team 15 victories shy of reaching 300 Cup career victories, as all four HMS competitors have recorded a victory this season. 

    “[I] Just had some good circumstances finally,” Elliott said on FS1. “Really appreciate [crew chief] Alan [Gustafson] and our entire team. We were just sticking with it. We’ve had some tough races over the last four or five months and just great to get NAPA back to Victory Lane. Great to get Hendrick Motorsports back to Victory Lane. Just so proud. This one means a lot in a lot of different ways. Just appreciate all the effort. Thanks to all the fans for coming out. You are always awesome. Hope to see this big crowd here next year. Just a huge thanks to everybody involved. It’s been a fun day and we’re certainly gonna enjoy it. Like I told [the crew] after the race, they’ve been deserving of one for a while. Glad we could get it across the line first. We’ll enjoy it for a few days and go to work next week.”

    Finishing two-and-a-half seconds behind Elliott with a stellar runner-up result was Stenhouse, who notched the first top-five result of the season for himself and JTG-Daugherty Racing following a difficult start to the year. 

    “It’s been a rough start to the season,” Stenhouse said. “Our short track program’s been off and then all of our other good races that we’ve had good runs going, something always happens. Really good to put this all together. It was a really great day for us. I felt like we had a car capable of winning. The pit crew did a great job keeping us up front all day. This feels good. Hopefully, we can carry this momentum on the big tracks. The tracks we got coming forward are really good tracks for us. That was a lot of fun. Lot of battling. It was tough to pass, but it was fun running through lapped traffic. I really wished we had a 70-lap run to the end there, but all in all, our Kroger team’s doing a great job and looking forward to carrying that momentum on.”

    Meanwhile, Chastain came home in third place despite making contact with Truex on the final lap that sent Truex sideways and into the inside wall on the backstretch. The incident dropped Truex to 12th place in the final running order while Bell, who rallied from his early issues, and Bowman finished in the top five. 

    Following the event, Chastain and Truex met on pit road and exchanged words before Truex walked away.

    “[Truex and I] were talking about where we were gonna go finishing next week,” Chastain said. “Super proud of this effort. I thought we were a fifth-place car and a couple of guys had misfortune with the caution coming out. That cycled us to the lead. The pit crew was incredible. They were just picking up spots every stop and got us the lead. I’m racing with champions and I got beat.”

    Larson, Kyle Busch, Buescher, Harvick and Erik Jones finished in the top 10 as 15 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    There were 17 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured 13 cautions for 75 laps.

    With his first victory of the season, Chase Elliott leads the regular-season standings by 50 points over Ryan Blaney, 65 over William Byron and Kyle Busch, 69 over Alex Bowman, 80 over Ross Chastain, 82 over Martin Truex Jr. and 83 over Kyle Larson.

    Results.

    1. Chase Elliott, 73 laps led

    2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    3. Ross Chastain, 86 laps led

    4. Christopher Bell

    5. Alex Bowman, two laps led

    6. Kyle Larson, 19 laps led

    7. Kyle Busch, 103 laps led

    8. Chris Buescher, 18 laps led

    9. Kevin Harvick

    10. Erik Jones

    11. Justin Haley, 19 laps led

    12. Martin Truex Jr., five laps led

    13. Chase Briscoe

    14. Daniel Suarez

    15. Cole Custer

    16. Bubba Wallace, one lap down

    17. Michael McDowell, one lap down

    18. Corey LaJoie, one lap down

    19. Aric Almirola, one lap down

    20. Brad Keselowski, one lap down

    21. Denny Hamlin, one lap down, 67 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    22. William Byron, one lap down

    23. Austin Dillon, two laps down

    24. Harrison Burton, two laps down

    25. Ryan Preece, two laps down 

    26. Ryan Blaney, three laps down, eight laps led, Stage 2 winner

    27. Ty Dillon, four laps down

    28. Todd Gilliland, four laps down

    29. Joey Logano, four laps down

    30. Tyler Reddick, 10 laps down

    31. Kurt Busch, 12 laps down

    32. Josh Bilicki, 19 laps down

    33. AJ Allmendinger – OUT, Brakes

    34. Cody Ware – OUT, Dvp

    35. BJ McLeod – OUT, Brakes

    36. Austin Cindric – OUT, Dvp

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Darlington Raceway, the first of two series events at the venue in Darlington, South Carolina, on Sunday, May 8, which marks Mother’s Day and the sport’s annual Official Throwback weekend. The event is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • NASCAR postpones spring Cup event to Monday at Dover

    NASCAR postpones spring Cup event to Monday at Dover

    NASCAR has postponed the Cup Series’ DuraMAX Drydene 400 at Dover Motor Speedway from Sunday, May 1, to Monday, May 2, due to inclement weather. The caution flag flew on Lap 67 due to persistent rain and the event was red-flagged with the competitors parked on pit road before eventually being called on Lap 78 of 400.

    The rain and overshadowing clouds, which had been looming over the track at the start of the event, increased throughout the afternoon and prevented the track-drying efforts from drying the circuit within a reasonable time for the event to proceed on Sunday.

    This marks the first time a Cup event has been postponed to an extra day due to inclement weather since the Cup Playoff event at Talladega Superspeedway in October 2021.

    Currently, Kyle Larson, who was one of seven competitors who did not pit is scored the race leader followed by teammate Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr. and William Byron. Christopher Bell, Aric Almirola, Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman and Kyle Busch occupy the top 10 with 29 of 36 starters scored on the lead lap.

    The remainder of the DuraMAX Drydene 400 at Dover Motor Speedway will occur on Monday, May 2, at 12 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Miami Grand Prix: Favorites to Podium

    Miami Grand Prix: Favorites to Podium

    We’re on to the fifth Grand Prix of the 2022 Formula 1 season, and racers are pumped on the circuit after the recently concluded Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. So far, we’ve seen four races out of a scheduled twenty-three for the season. And it’s great to see this year’s championship already showing near completion among the drivers.

    Formula 1 analysts at betnaija.ng takes a look at the favorites for the fifth Grand Prix of the season – the “Miami Grand Prix.” While the competition is still in its early stages, it’ll not be easy to speculate a winner aside from giving a probable guess. However, winners of different races can be predicted with a reasonable degree of surety based on previous races and recent forms of drivers.

    We have seen the first three positions being battled to the final minute, which bodes well for an interesting season. Drivers are on the edge because nobody knows who’ll emerge with all that important 20+ points. However, like all sporting events, there are bound to be favorites before an encounter. At the same time, it doesn’t mean these contenders will always emerge up top above other competitors.

    Where & When will the Miami Grand Prix Happen

    Although there were speculations about the exact venue of the event, we’ve come to understand that it’ll take place at the Miami International Autodrome. At the same time, the main event will start on Sunday, 8th May, 190:30 (GMT).

    Setting up a Grand Prix at this stage has been in the cards since 2019. Although it was supposed to be added to the 2021 season, delayed construction of the track saw it removed. The ten-year signed contract is expected to start running in 2022.

    Favorites to Win the Miami Grand Prix

    It isn’t easy to pinpoint an outright winner. However, we can make some accurate speculations about certain drivers expected to make it to the podium by the end of the race.

    • Max Verstappen

    Of course, when picking a winner of any race throughout this season, it’ll be hard to escape the defending F1 champion. It’s no surprise he’s won two of the first four races this season – even though some critics would argue that’s below standard for an ‘in-form’ championship winner.

    • Charles Leclerc

    If you’ve been following up with the championship this season, this shouldn’t be the first you hear of the Ferrari driver’s name. Lately, he’s been performing brilliantly, with two wins out of a possible four. He set the fastest lap on two occasions, including the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, in which he came out second. At the moment, he’s looking like the only contender battling Max for the championship.

    • Louis Hamilton

    At the moment, Mercedes’ most successful driver seems to be out of sorts, but we don’t expect the trend to last for long. The Miami Grand Prix may be the race he needs to return to dominance. Regardless of not winning a race yet, and having his best finish (yet) at the Bahrain Grand Prix, where he came out third. The legend’s name will always be in the mix of contenders until he stops being the first driver for Mercedes’ F1 team.

  • Weekend schedule for Dover

    Weekend schedule for Dover

    This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series and the Xfinity Series travel to the one-mile concrete paved oval of Dover Motor Speedway, aptly nicknamed, the Monster Mile.

    Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. lead all active Cup Series drivers with three previous wins at the track. Chase Elliott leads the driver standings by a margin of 21 points but is still searching for his first win of the season.

    The Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash program continues at Dover. Noah Gragson, last week’s winner at Talladega Superspeedway, has the best average finish of 9.7 at Dover. He’ll be competing against AJ Allmendinger, Ryan Sieg and Landon Cassill for the $100,000 prize.

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is off this weekend but returns to competition at Darlington Raceway on May 6.

    Press Pass will be available throughout the weekend.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, April 29

    1:15 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series East Practice/Qualifying – No TV
    3 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – FS1
    3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – FS1
    5:30 p.m.: ARCA General Tire 125 race – MRN

    Saturday, April 30

    10:30 a.m.: Cup Series Practice – FS1/MRM/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    11:15 a.m.: Cup Series Qualifying– FS1/MRM/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    1:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series A-GAME 200
    200 miles = 200 laps
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 45, Stage 2 ends on Lap 90, Final Stage ends on Lap 200
    FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    The Purse: $1,419,713
    Defending Race Winner: Austin Cindric

    Sunday, May 1

    3 p.m.: Cup Series DuraMAX Drydene 400 presented by RelaDyne
    400 miles = 400 laps
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 120, Stage 2 ends on Lap 250, Final Stage ends on Lap 400
    FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    The Purse: $7,205,230
    Defending Race Winner: Alex Bowman

  • Ozzy Tyres: Taking over the world of e-commerce in the wheels and tyres niche

    Ozzy Tyres: Taking over the world of e-commerce in the wheels and tyres niche

    It has become one of the most trusted companies in the whole of Australia for multiple reasons.

    It is so amazing to know and read more about all those brands and businesses that go beyond doing the usual and offer people they cater to something that can easily set them apart from the rest in the industry. It is so important today to speak more about all those businesses and brands that have the power to make a positive difference in the industries they step with the robust vision and mission to not just take it over but also create a unique niche for themselves in ways more than one. Who would have thought that the motor vehicle manufacturing industry would also see the rise of many such incredible brands, manufacturers, and businesses that would take the industry to the next level of success? We came to learn about one such incredible company called Ozzy Tyres, which has been doing all of that and much more with its wheels and tyres, packaging them in sets and selling them online after making them big in the wholesale and the retail realms.

    If it is about buying wheels and buying tyres online, specifically about black wheels, hyper black wheels, 4×4 wheels, Hilux wheels, Holden wheels, Ford Falcon wheels, etc., or black rims, euro rims, JDM rims, Mag wheels, hyper black mag wheels, Toyota Hilux 4×4 wheels and everything related to that, it is hands down Ozzy Tyres. The motor infrastructure company is based in Australia and spread across the country digitally and physically through retail shops at different locations. Its extensive range of products in wheels and tyres, be it mag wheels, 4×4 wheels, alloy wheels, black rims, 4wd wheels, 4wd rims, 4×4 wheels, and tyre packages, and the much-talked-about company’s many other robust products in terms of the best wheels and tyres and so much more have become the talk of the town in the whole of Australia for varied reasons, but at the core of Ozzy Tyres, it is the honesty with which the company has been creating waves of growth in the whole of the industry across Australia. This particular trait has what helped Ozzy Tyres, and all its products become a top choice for car lovers, drivers, vehicle owners, and the rest as they feel compelled to buy from them online now, especially after seeing how the said brand has been spreading its wings in the digital realm in recent times.

    Ozzy Tyres offers as amazing as 300 different styles of wheels offered in a variety of colours and more than 1,000 different tyres. It has definitely upped the game of motor vehicle manufacturing in Australia in ways more than one, which is also one of the prime reasons why Ozzy Tyres has made its mark already with having more than 25 years of experience in the industry. Today, Ozzy Tyres, with its retail, wholesale and online business, has made its mark in the industry, which already overflows with a lot of other players as well. They have been well-known importers in Australia and have even offered prices that have been quite economical for all those seeking the best services in buying wheels and tyres online or otherwise in the country. Buying wheels and tyres online or digitally with Ozzy Tyres has become a matter of ease and convenience for all those seeking the best services in the industry or the ones who need wheels and tyres in the middle of their journeys. They can do that by contacting them through their website, and their executives can prove to be of great help.

    Ozzy Tyres have been selling exciting packages on wheels and tyres and began manufacturing them five years ago and still has managed to do and be their best in the ever-so-competitive markets. Also, the company is the first to offer packages of wheelsets and tyre sets online for customers. Offering all this in the latest designs, showcasing the innovation of the team behind Ozzy Tyres is also one of the important factors that have made all their offerings and products sought-after.

    To know more, follow it on Instagram @ozzytyres or visit its website, http://www.ozzytyres.com.au/.