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NASCAR Cup Series

  • Brian Pattie to call 500th Cup career race as crew chief at Martinsville

    Brian Pattie to call 500th Cup career race as crew chief at Martinsville

    A significant milestone achievement is in the making for Brian Pattie, crew chief for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series. By participating in this weekend’s 400-mile Cup event at Martinsville Speedway, Pattie will call his 500th event as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series. 

    A native of Zephyrhills, Florida, Pattie made his debut as a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief at Watkins Glen International in August 1999, where he was paired with Canadian Ron Fellows and the No. 87 NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet team. By then, he was in his fifth season working for NEMCO Motorsports and had made select starts as a crew chief for the organization between the Camping World Truck Series and Xfinity Series. In Pattie’s first event as a Cup crew chief, Fellows started seventh and notched a runner-up result behind Jeff Gordon.

    Pattie spent the following two seasons working as a crew chief for NEMCO Motorsports that was campaigning on a part-time basis in the Xfinity Series and making limited Cup Series starts on the road course events (Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen). Paired with Fellows, Pattie and Fellows made a total of three starts between 2000 and 2001, where Fellows did not finish during his three starts.

    Then in 2002, Pattie reunited with Hendrick Motorsports and worked as a crew chief in a total of 22 events for the team’s No. 25 Chevrolet entry that started the season with driver Jerry Nadeau. Making his first appearance of the season at Darlington Raceway in March, Pattie led Nadeau and the No. 25 team to only one top-10 result, which was an eighth-place at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, through seven events, which concluded at Richmond Raceway in May. Prior to the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, Nadeau was replaced by Joe Nemechek due to performance issues. Pattie and Nemechek, however, struggled through the following 15 scheduled events as they finished no higher than 18th place before Pattie was replaced by Peter Sospenzo for the rest of the 2002 season.

    From 2003 to early 2008, Pattie scaled back to the Xfinity Series. During the 2003 season, he took over as the team manager for NEMCO Motorsports before joining Chip Ganassi Racing in mid-2004 and reassuming his role as crew chief for CGR’s “all-star” entry that was shared between Reed Sorenson, Casey Mears and Jamie McMurray. During the following five seasons at CGR, Pattie achieved three victories and tallied his win column to 11, with his previous eight victories occurring at NEMCO.  

    Then in June 2008, Pattie returned to the Cup Series as a crew chief for Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 42 Dodge team. By then, Montoya had undergone his third crew chief change of the season after posting a single top-five result (second place at Talladega Superspeedway in April) through the first 16 scheduled events. Making his first appearance at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Pattie led Montoya and the No. 42 team to a single top-five result, which was a fourth-place result at Watkins Glen in August, and a 25th-place result in the final driver’s standings.

    Remaining as Montoya’s crew chief in 2009 as Chip Ganassi Racing merged with Dale Earnhardt Inc. and swapped manufactures from Dodge to Chevrolet, Pattie and Montoya had a breakout season, where they achieved two poles, 12 top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch. They nearly won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July before Montoya, who led a race-high 116 of 160 laps, was penalized for speeding on pit road during a cycle of green flag pit stops with 35 laps remaining, which relegated him back to 11th place in the final running order. Nonetheless, Pattie led Montoya and the No. 42 Chevrolet team into the 2009 Cup Playoffs and with an opportunity to compete for the title. The duo earned four consecutive top-four results at the start of the Playoffs, but only two top-10 results during the remaining six events as the No. 42 team settled in eighth place in the final standings.

    Through the first 21 events of the 2010 Cup season, Pattie and Montoya achieved three poles, four top-five results and eight top-10 results, but a series of inconsistent results prevented the team from returning to the Playoffs. Nonetheless, the duo scored a breakthrough victory at Watkins Glen in August after Montoya led 74 of 90 laps en route to his second Cup career victory as Pattie achieved his first win in NASCAR’s premier series as a crew chief. Pattie and Montoya went on to record five additional top-10 results through the remaining 14 scheduled events before settling in 17th place in the final standings. By then, Pattie surpassed 100 career events as a Cup Series crew chief.

    Pattie initially commenced the 2011 Cup Series season as Montoya’s crew chief for a third full-time season, where they achieved two poles, two top-five results and six top-10 results during the first 19 scheduled events. Following New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July, however, Pattie was replaced by Jim Pohlman for the remainder of the season.

    Then five months later, Pattie was named a full-time Cup Series crew chief for the No. 15 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota Camry team piloted by Clint Bowyer for the 2012 season. Following two top-five results and eight top-10 results during the first 15 scheduled events, Pattie and Bowyer achieved their first victory with MWR after Bowyer led a race-high 71 of 112 and fended off the field during a two-lap shootout to emerge victorious at Sonoma Raceway in June. Ten races and an additional five top-10 results later, the duo rallied from a midway spin and survived a late fuel mileage battle to claim a second victory of 2012 at Richmond Raceway in September, which marked the regular season finale before the Playoffs commenced. 

    Pattie, Bowyer and MWR began their charge for the 2012 Cup championship by posting three consecutive top-10 results during the first three Playoff events. After being involved in a last lap multi-car wreck at Talladega Superspeedway in early October, they rallied the following weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway by claiming a third victory of the season after Bowyer fended off Denny Hamlin in another fuel mileage battle to the finish. Four races later, Pattie and Bowyer, both of whom were coming off three consecutive top-six results, were within striking distance of narrowing the deficit of the championship battle. Then at Phoenix Raceway in November, their title hopes evaporated after Bowyer was involved in a late controversial incident with Jeff Gordon, where Gordon retaliated from an earlier contact with Bowyer by wrecking Bowyer head-on into the Turn 3 wall and igniting a scuffle between the two respective crew members in the garage area. Pattie and Bowyer managed to record a runner-up result in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but settled in second place in the final standings and 39 points shy of the title to Brad Keselowski. While they did not emerge as the champions, Pattie and Bowyer collected a total of three victories, 10 top-five results, 23 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 10.9 in their first campaign with MWR

    The 2013 Cup Series season saw Pattie and Bowyer return to the Playoffs, but only achieve 10 top-five results, 19 top-10 results and a seventh-place result in the final standings as they were unable to record a single victory. The consistent season for the duo, however, was overshadowed with their involvement in manipulating the final results at Richmond in September, where Bowyer spun intentionally late in the event and gave teammate Martin Truex Jr. an opportunity to capitalize on a three-lap shootout and make the 2013 Cup Playoffs. A few days after Richmond, MWR was fined $300,000 and docked 50 driver/owner points, which knocked Truex out of the Playoffs while Bowyer, who had secured a Playoff spot prior to Richmond, remained in the postseason. In addition, all three MWR crew chiefs, including Pattie, were placed on probation for the remainder of the season. In the midst of the controversy, Pattie surpassed 200 Cup events as a crew chief.

    Following two consistent seasons at MWR, Pattie and Bowyer struggled in 2014, where they only achieved five top-five results and 15 top-10 results as they did not make the Playoffs and fell back to 19th place in the final standings. Pattie then spent the first 16 events of the 2015 season with Bowyer, where they recorded four top-10 results, before MWR underwent a crew chief swap to the team’s two-car effort that saw Pattie move to the No. 55 Toyota team piloted by David Ragan while Billy Scott took over as Bowyer’s crew chief. Pattie’s best result with Ragan in 20 races was 12th place at Daytona in July. When the 2015 Cup Series season concluded, MWR ceased operations.

    The 2016 Cup Series season marked a new beginning for Pattie, who joined Roush Fenway Racing as a crew chief for the No. 16 Ford Fusion team piloted by veteran Greg Biffle. The new duo, however, struggled with consistency as they managed a single top-five result together throughout the 36-race schedule, which was a fifth-place result at New Hampshire in July. Failing to make the 2016 Cup Playoffs, Biffle settled in 23rd place in the final standings. Despite being absent for four events, two of which stemmed from post-race violations discovered at Charlotte Motor Speedway between late May and early June, Pattie surpassed 300 Cup events as a crew chief.

    The following season, Pattie, who remained at RFR, was paired with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the No. 17 Ford Fusion team. Pattie and Stenhouse collected four top-10 results through the first nine scheduled events and were coming off a fourth-place effort at Richmond Raceway in April. Then during the following event at Talladega in May, the duo, which started on pole position, emerged victorious after Stenhouse outlasted a late battle with Kyle Busch during an overtime restart to claim his first Cup career victory. The victory snapped a three-year winless drought for Roush Fenway Racing and a five-year winless drought for Pattie.

    Seven races later, Pattie and Stenhouse went to Victory Lane for a second time in 2017 after Stenhouse survived another overtime restart to win at Daytona in July. The pair of superspeedway victories were enough for the No. 17 RFR Ford team to qualify for the 2017 Cup Playoffs. Despite finishing no higher than 15th place during the Playoff’s Round of 16, Pattie and Stenhouse earned valuable stage points to transfer to the Round of 12 by a mere margin. Their 2017 title hopes, however, came to an end during the Round of 12 after finishing no higher than 13th place during the round’s three events. Nonetheless, they capped off their season with two top-10 results during the final four scheduled events and a 13th-place result in the final standings.

    Compared to the 2017 season, the 2018 and 2019 Cup seasons were difficult seasons for both Pattie and Stenhouse as they accumulated a total of four top-five results and eight top-10 results, with their best result in the standings being 18th in 2018. In the midst of the two seasons, Pattie surpassed 400 Cup events as a crew chief. 

    In 2020, Pattie and Stenhouse both departed RFR and joined JTG-Daugherty Racing, where Stenhouse took over the No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. They commenced the season on a high note by claiming the pole position for the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in February. During the main event, however, Stenhouse was penalized late for advancing his position below the double yellow line “out of bounds” zone. He was then involved in a late collision while trying to pit under green and relegated back to 20th place in the final running order. Despite posting three top-five results during the following 12 scheduled events, a series of inconsistent results prevented the duo from making the 2020 Cup Playoffs in their first campaign with JTG-Daugherty Racing. Finishing no higher than 12th place during the 10 Playoff events, Pattie and Stenhouse finished in 24th place in the final standings.

    Remaining at JTG-Daugherty Racing in 2021, Pattie and Stenhouse commenced the season with six consecutive top-20 results before notching a strong runner-up result at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course in April. They managed a sixth-place effort at Nashville Superspeedway in June before enduring another inconsistent season as they missed the Playoffs and settled in 22nd place in the final standings.

    Through 499 previous Cup events, Pattie has achieved with six victories, nine poles, 56 top-five results and 127 top-10 results while working with eight different competitors. He and Stenhouse have finished no higher than 10th place during the first seven events of the 2022 season and they are ranked in 28th place in the regular season standings.

    Pattie is scheduled to call his 500th Cup Series event at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, April 9, with coverage to occur at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Richmond

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Richmond

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Ryan Blaney: Blaney started on the pole at Richmond and finished seventh.

    “That’s two straight poles for me,” Blaney said, “and my third this season. I’m collecting Busch Light Pole Awards faster than I can get rid of them in yard sales.”

    2. Chase Elliott: Elliott started strong at Richmond but experienced handling issues in the final stage that kept him out of the top 10. He finished 14th and is tied with Ryan Blaney atop the points standings.

    “The No. 9 Chevy was just good,” Elliott said, “but not great. What my car needed was a shot of adrenaline, much like ‘A Shoc’ performance energy drink would provide for a person, or Brad Keselowski’s mechanic would provide for his engine.”

    3. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex led 80 laps and won Stage 2 at Richmond on his way to a fourth-place finish, posting his first top-five of the season.

    “Just when you think you’ve heard it all in NASCAR,” Truex said, “the term ‘pit stop choreography’ became a thing at Richmond. Let’s be honest, footwork is an important part of all aspects of racing. For example, I’d like to take my right foot and work it towards the behind of my crew chief James Small, who screwed up our pit strategy at Richmond.”

    4. William Byron: Byron led 122 laps at Richmond but couldn’t hold off the fresh tires of Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota down the stretch. Byron held on for third and is fourth in the points standings.

    “If you’re on old tires at Richmond,” Byron said, “you’re a ‘sitting duck.’ If you can’t handle your alcohol and pass out in the bleachers without sunblock, you’re also a sitting duck. And you’ll likely leave with a sunburn and one less eyebrow.

    “I had the Liberty University paint scheme on my No. 24 Chevy. When that’s on your car and you’re leading, everybody’s watching, including Jerry Falwell, Jr.”

    5. Ross Chastain: Chastain, last week’s winner at COTA, recorded a 19th at Richmond, one lap down to the leaders.

    “It just wasn’t my day,” Chastain said. “I’m frustrated. But my day wasn’t altogether ‘fruitless,’ because, just as was the case a week ago at COTA, I smashed a watermelon. But this time, it was out of frustration.”

    6. Alex Bowman: Bowman came home eighth in the Toyota Owners 400 for his fourth top 10 of the year.

    “Congratulations to Denny Hamlin for winning the race,” Bowman said. “He had a slow start to the season, but Denny kept working hard knowing wins would come his way. You could say he ‘got what was coming to him,’ which is something Denny is dying to say about me.”

    7. Joey Logano: Logano finished 17th at Richmond, one lap down.

    “We’re off to Martinsville for a Saturday night race and the renowned half-mile track,” Logano said. “I always look forward to racing there, especially when I’m not looking behind me for Matt Kenseth.”

    8. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin passed William Byron with five laps remaining and held off Kevin Harvick to win the Toyota Owners 400 Richmond. It was Hamlin’s first win of the year as well as his first top 10 of the year.

    “You could say I got the ‘monkey’ off my back,” Hamlin said. “Unfortunately, that monkey was on the back of another larger monkey, which is still on my back. And has paid rent through mid-November.”

    9. Chase Briscoe: Briscoe finished 11th at Richmond.

    “As expected,” Briscoe said, “tire management was a big factor in the race. It’s one thing to ‘nurse’ your tires; it’s another thing to ‘doctor’ your tires, which is something you’d expect Brad Keselowski’s team to do.”

    10. Kevin Harvick: Harvick surged late and chased eventual race winner Denny Hamlin to the line at Richmond. Harvick settled for the runner-up spot, his best finish of the year.

    “I was hoping to get close enough to Hamlin to ‘take a swipe’ at him,” Harvick said. “Does that mean I was going to wreck him? Maybe, but really what I hoped to gain by saying ‘take a swipe’ was a sweet sponsorship deal with a credit card company.”

  • Hamlin rebounds with a dramatic Cup victory at Richmond

    Hamlin rebounds with a dramatic Cup victory at Richmond

    In a season that has been mired with on-track difficulties and misfortunes for Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota, all three responded back with vengeance after emerging victorious in the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway on Sunday, April 3, with Hamlin delivering in the late stages.

    The 41-year-old Hamlin for Chesterfield, Virginia, executed a pit strategy by pitting with less than 50 laps remaining to methodically carve his way to the front before overtaking William Byron, who was contending for the win through a different pit strategy as he pitted earlier than Hamlin, with five laps remaining. From there, Hamlin then fended off a hard-charging Kevin Harvick to grab his elusive first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2022 season and to become the seventh different winner through the first seven scheduled events. 

    With on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday, Ryan Blaney captured his third pole in four races with a pole-winning lap at 119.782 mph. Joining him on the front row was William Byron, who posted a qualifying speed at 119.585 mph.

    Prior to the main event, rookie Austin Cindric dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his No. 2 Team Penske Ford Mustang. In addition, Greg Biffle and Justin Haley were assessed drive-through penalties through pit road at the start of the event and had a crew member of their respective teams ejected from Sunday’s main event due to their respective cars failing Saturday’s inspection three times, which prevented them from recording a qualifying lap.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Blaney jumped ahead with an early advantage as he went on to lead the first lap and break away ahead of Byron, Kyle Busch, Chase Briscoe and the field. Shortly after, Martin Truex Jr. battled and overtook Erik Jones for fifth place.

    With a series of battles ensuing around the three-quarter mile short track, the first caution of the event flew on the ninth lap when Kurt Busch fell off the pace through the frontstretch a lap earlier due to a fuel pump issue. As he was trying to limp his No. 45 Embrace Home Loans Toyota TRD Camry back to pit road, he then came to a stop on the backstretch as he was lapped by the field.

    Under caution, some like Kyle Larson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. pitted while the rest led by Blaney remained on the track. By then, Kurt Busch, who needed a push from a wrecker, took his car to the garage,

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 15, Blaney took off with another strong start as he retained the lead while Byron and Kyle Busch battled for the runner-up spot. Behind, Ross Chastain, winner of last weekend’s event at Circuit of the Americas who restarted in sixth place, marched his way into third place after overtaking Truex and Kyle Busch before Busch reassumed third. Busch then tried to overtake Byron’s No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the runner-up spot, but the latter was able to retain the spot as the run progressed. 

    Through the first 25 scheduled laps, Blaney was the leader by approximately six-tenths of a second over Byron and Kyle Busch while Chastain and Truex were in the top five. Briscoe was in sixth followed by Christopher Bell, Erik Jones, Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick. 

    By Lap 50, Blaney continued to lead as he stretched his advantage to more than a second over Byron while third-place Kyle Busch trailed by more than three seconds. Chastain and Truex remained in the top five followed by Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin. Brad Keselowski was in 11th place ahead of Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson while Aric Almirola Chris Buescher, Cindric, Ty Dillon and rookie Harrison Burton occupied the top 20. Briscoe, who started towards the front, was falling back in 21st ahead of Daniel Suarez, Stenhouse, Cole Custer and rookie Todd Gilliland while Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace, Justin Haley, AJ Allmendinger and Cody Ware were in the top 30.

    Nearing the Lap 65 mark, Blaney stabilized his strong start and advantage to more than a second over Byron while Chastain was in third place ahead of Kyle Busch and Truex. By then, Hamlin was back in 11th while Keselowski marched his way into ninth place after overtaking Harvick. In addition, names like Cole Custer, Allmendinger, Corey LaJoie and Michael McDowell were lapped

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 70, Blaney, who had never led a lap at Richmond prior to Sunday’s event and whose best result at Richmond was 10th place that occurred during last September, captured his third stage victory of the 2022 season after leading all scheduled laps. Byron settled in second ahead of Chastain, Truex, Kyle Busch, Elliott, Bell, Logano, Keselowski and Harvick.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted for their first round of adjustments and Blaney retained the lead after exiting pit road with the lead ahead of Chastain, Elliott, Bell, Kyle Busch and Truex while Byron fell back to eighth. During the pit stops, Alex Bowman was penalized for pitting outside of his pit box. 

    The second stage started on Lap 80 as Blaney’s No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang and Chastain’s No. 1 iFly Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 occupied the front row. At the start, the field fanned out after Elliott, who restarted on the second row, spun the tires. While Blaney maintained the lead ahead of Chastain, Kyle Busch moved his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry into fourth place ahead of Elliott’s No. 9 A SHOC Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 while Bell was in third place. Behind, Logano and Byron battled for seventh place in front of Keselowski, Harvick and Hamlin while Truex retained fifth place. 

    At the one-quarter mark on Lap 100, Blaney, who was the only leader thus far but was experiencing brake shakes to his No. 12 Ford, was leading by nearly seventh-tenths of a second over Chastain while Bell, Kyle Busch and Elliott occupied the top five. Truex was back in sixth ahead of Logano, Keselowski, Byron and Harvick while Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Erik Jones, Larson and Cindric were in the top 15. 

    Twenty-five laps later, Blaney continued to lead by nearly nine-tenths of a second over Bell, who overtook Chastain for the spot, while Elliott and Kyle Busch remained in the top five.

    Shortly after, pit stops under green ensued as Truex pitted followed by Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Buescher, Byron, Cindric, Harvick, Suarez, Reddick, Allmendinger, Bowman, Harrison Burton, Bubba Wallace, Larson and race leader Blaney. Soon after, Elliott pitted along with Logano, Chastain and Ty Dillon.

    Back on the track nearing the Lap 130 mark, Bell assumed the lead followed by teammate Hamlin, Erik Jones, Aric Almirola, Austin Dillon, Elliott, Briscoe and Gilliland, all of whom were on the lead lap but needing a pit stop. 

    By Lap 150, Bell continued to lead by more than nine seconds over teammate Truex, who was charging towards the front on fresh tires, while their third teammate, Hamlin, was back in third place. Meanwhile, Austin Dillon and Todd Gilliland had pitted while Almirola was in the top 10 and continuing to run on worn tires like Bell. 

    Shortly after, Almirola and Hamlin surrendered their spots on the track to pit along with Bell while Truex moved into the lead by Lap 155.

    At the Lap 175 mark, another round of pit stops under green commenced as Chastain pitted followed by Blaney, Harvick, Logano, Elliott, Kyle Busch, Harvick, Keselowski and race leader Truex. Also pitting included Reddick, Bowman, Larson, Harrison Burton, Cindric, Ty Dillon, Suarez, Byron and Stenhouse pitted.

    Back on the track, Bell returned to the lead as he reignited his one pit stop strategy followed by teammates Hamlin and Truex, both of whom were trailing by no more than 15 seconds. Also on the same one-stop strategy with Bell and Hamlin included Erik Jones, Almirola and Austin Dillon while Truex was the first competitor on the track with four fresh tires and on a two-stop strategy.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 200, Bell continued to lead by more than six seconds over teammate Truex while Hamlin, Chastain, Blaney, Elliott, Logano, Kyle Busch, Harvick and Larson were scored in the top 10. By then, 17 competitors were scored on the lead lap.

    Eleven laps later, Truex reassumed the lead over teammate Bell with the conclusion of the second stage approaching.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 230, Truex claimed his third stage victory of the season. Behind, Bell made the one-stop strategy pay to perfection as he settled in second followed by Chastain, Logano, Blaney, Elliott, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Larson and Keselowski.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Truex retained the lead followed by Bell, Chastain, Logano, Kyle Busch and Blaney.

    With 160 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Truex retained the lead as he took off with a strong start while teammate Bell fended off Chastain to retain the runner-up spot until Joey Logano joined the party. Not long after, Logano moved his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang to the runner-up spot over Bell’s No. 20 SiruisXM Toyota TRD Camry. Behind, Chastain got bumped by Blaney as he slipped out of the racing groove and was losing spots while Kyle Busch moved in fourth. 

    Under the final 155 scheduled laps, the caution flew due to Cody Ware getting into the Turn 2 wall after making contact with Erik Jones while Stenhouse also made contact with Ware. Under caution, some like Buescher, Suarez, Hamlin, Byron and Austin Dillon pitted while the rest led by Truex remained on the track.

    With 148 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Truex rocketed away with another strong restart while Bell issued another challenge on Logano for the runner-up spot. Behind, Kyle Busch and Blaney battled for fourth while Harvick battled with Chastain for sixth place. In addition, teammates Elliott and Bowman battled for eighth place.

    Four laps later, the caution returned when contact between Ty Dillon and Cole Custer entering Turn 2 created a chain reaction incident that resulted with Custer sending Cindric’s No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang spinning in a cloud of smoke. Under caution, a majority of the field led by Truex pitted while the rest led by Byron remained on the track.

    With 137 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Byron maintained the lead followed by Suarez while Truex battled and overtook Austin Dillon for third place while running on four fresh tires. Teammate Hamlin and Blaney also made their march to the front while teammate Bell was being held up by Dillon. 

    Seventeen laps later, Byron was leading ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Truex, Hamlin and Kyle Busch while Blaney was in fifth ahead of the fourth JGR competitor, Bell. Harvick was in seventh ahead of Suarez, Larson and Austin Dillon while Chastain was back in 11th ahead of Bowman, Briscoe, Reddick and Logano.

    Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Byron continued to lead by nearly half a second over Truex while Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Blaney remained in the top five. Harvick muscled his No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang into sixth place followed by Bell, Larson, Suarez and Austin Dillon. By then, 19 competitors were scored on the lead lap.

    Nearly 10 laps later, pit stops under green commenced as Harvick pitted followed by Elliott, Bell, Hamlin, Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Reddick, Harrison Burton and race leader Byron. 

    Back on the track, Truex, who remained on the track, was leading followed by teammate Kyle Busch, Blaney, Larson and Suarez while Chastain, Briscoe, Logano, Bowman and Cindric were in the top 10. Byron, the first competitor with four fresh tires, was in 11th place despite being pinned a lap behind the leaders. 

    Under the final 80 laps, Blaney surrendered third place to pit along with Logano, Larson, Briscoe, Cindric, Kyle Busch, and Trackhouse Racing’s Suarez and Chastain. Then with 75 laps remaining, Byron cycled his way back to the lead as Truex pitted along with Bowman.

    Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Byron was leading by nearly five seconds over Hamlin followed by Harvick, Truex and Bell. By then, sixth-place Kyle Busch was black-flagged for having tape on the front grille of his No. 18 Toyota, thus needing to pit to have the tape removed. In addition, Keselowski had made a pit stop under green.

    Not long after, another round of pit stops under green initiated as names like Austin Dillon, Harvick, Bell, Reddick, Elliott, Harrison Burton and Hamlin pitted. With more pitting, Byron continued to lead by nearly six seconds over Truex, both of whom were five competitors scored on the lead lap but still needing to pit.

    With 30 laps remaining, Byron continued to lead by less than three seconds over Truex while Larson, Blaney and Briscoe were in the top five. Meanwhile, Hamlin, the first competitor on four fresh tires, settled in sixth place followed by Harvick, Bowman, Logano and Bell.

    Ten laps later, Byron remained in the lead by more than two seconds over Truex and less than five seconds over third-place Larson. Meanwhile, Hamlin and Harvick, both of whom were running on fresher tires than the top-three competitors, were trailing by less than 11 seconds as they both continued to pursue the leaders.

    Another five laps later, Hamlin’s gap to Byron reduced to less than seven seconds and Harvick’s gap reduced to seven seconds while Truex, who was more than a second ahead, started to close in on Byron in a bid for the lead.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event and with the leaders mired in lapped traffic, Byron was leading by half a second over Truex while Hamlin moved into third place, trailing by less than three seconds. Soon after, Harvick overtook Larson to move into fourth place.

    With five laps remaining, Hamlin, who overtook teammate Truex to move into the runner-up spot despite being blocked by the lapped car of Harrison Burton, managed to close in and move his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry into the lead. Behind, however, Harvick made his way into the runner-up spot over Byron as Byron started to fade on worn tires while Harvick started to reel in on Hamlin for the win.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Hamlin and Harvick were running nose to tail with the former leading by four-tenths of a second over the latter. Then in Turn 1, Hamlin made a bold three-wide move on Almirola and Logano to clear himself of lapped traffic through the backstretch while Harvick was still trying to navigate himself through Almirola and Logano. With the gap stabilizing to approximately half a second, Hamlin had just enough muscle and power to cycle back to the frontstretch and beat Harvick by more than half a second to win. 

    The victory at Richmond was Hamlin’s fourth at his home track, the 47th of his Cup Series career and the 16th season where he has won at least one event. The victory was also a first of the season for both Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota, which featured the all new Toyota TRD Camry in Victory Lane for the first time.

    Prior to Sunday’s event, Hamlin’s average-finishing result through the previous six events was 24.0 that was coupled with three DNFs, three results outside of the top 25 and no top-10 results as he was scored outside of the top 20 in the regular season standings. With the Richmond victory, Hamlin is now guaranteed a spot in the 2022 Cup Playoffs. 

    “Great strategy there,” Hamlin, who only led the final five laps, said on FOX. “[I] Just drove as hard as I could. Just so proud of this whole FedEx Camry team. Man, just never giving up. There was no doubt in my mind. Maybe just a little, but [the crew] got this car right there towards the end. Wow. Just unbelievable. We needed a data point. We needed something. A good run to balance ourselves on other tracks and obviously, I think we got it here.”

    Meanwhile, Harvick, who was seeking his first victory since winning at Bristol Motor Speedway in September 2020, settled in second place for his best result of the 2022 season thus far while Byron, who led 122 laps, finished in third place for his career-best result at Richmond.

    “Yeah, just really proud of everyone on our Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for just staying in there, having a great strategy and doing everything that they did all day,” Harvick said. “It was really the first clean day that we’ve had all year. [Our] Cars have been fast. [I] Had a shot there at the end. I wanted to be close enough with the white [flag] to just take a swipe at [Hamlin], but the lapped cars there got in the way and I lost a little bit of ground. Still a great day for us and just hopefully, a little momentum in a positive direction.”

    Truex, who initially launched a challenge on Byron for the win, slipped back to fourth place despite leading 80 laps while Larson completed the top five on the track.

    “It’s frustrating, but it’s part of it here,” Truex said. “It’s part of the whole day. Obviously, we did good there for a while. [Crew chief] James [Small] did a great job all day with strategy, getting us upfront, getting us the lead. Our Auto-Owners Camry TRD was just super fast out front. Super fast in clean air. At the end there, I think we just tried to gamble and tried to gamble on beating [Byron]. He ended up doing our strategy, which we both screwed up. Obviously, heads up the other way, I think we had the best car, but it doesn’t matter. Overall, just really proud of our guys. A big step in the right direction from Phoenix. Completely different mindset coming here and after today, what we can do going forward. Excited about that.”

    Bell, Blaney, Bowman, Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon finished in the top 10.

    There were 13 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 35 laps. Sixteen of 37 starters finished on the lead lap.

    With their top-15 results, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott are tied for the lead in the regular season standings as they both lead by 19 points over Martin Truex Jr., 23 over William Byron, 26 over Joey Logano, 27 over Ross Chastain and 29 over Alex Bowman.

    Results.

    1. Denny Hamlin, five laps led

    2. Kevin Harvick

    3. William Byron, 122 laps led

    4. Martin Truex Jr., 80 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    5. Kyle Larson

    6. Christopher Bell, 63 laps led

    7. Ryan Blaney, 128 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    8. Alex Bowman

    9. Kyle Busch, one lap led

    10. Austin Dillon

    11. Chase Briscoe

    12. Tyler Reddick

    13. Brad Keselowski

    14. Chase Elliott

    15. Chris Buescher

    16. Daniel Suarez

    17. Joey Logano, one lap down, one lap led

    18. Harrison Burton, one lap down

    19. Ross Chastain, one lap down

    20. Austin Cindric, one lap down

    21. Aric Almirola, two laps down

    22. Cole Custer, two laps down

    23. Erik Jones, two laps down

    24. Ty Dillon, two laps down

    25. Todd Gilliland, three laps down

    26. Bubba Wallace, three laps down

    27. AJ Allmendinger, four laps down

    28. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., four laps down

    29. Justin Haley, four laps down

    30. Michael McDowell, five laps down

    31. Corey LaJoie, eight laps down

    32. Landon Cassill, 10 laps down

    33. JJ Yeley, 10 laps down

    34. BJ McLeod, 14 laps down

    35. Kurt Busch, 109 laps down

    36. Cody Ware – OUT, Accident

    37. Greg Biffle – OUT, Suspension

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ first Saturday night event of the season at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia, on April 9. The event is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Three Camaro ZL1’s qualify in the top-10 at Richmond Raceway

    Three Camaro ZL1’s qualify in the top-10 at Richmond Raceway

    William Byron will lead the field to the green Sunday afternoon from the front row after qualifying second.  

    FOX will telecast the NASCAR Cup Series EchoPark Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway live at 3:30 p.m. ET tomorrow, Sunday, April 3. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

    TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:

    2nd WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1
    5th ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1
    8th ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 ONX HOMES / IFLY CAMARO ZL1
    14th DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 COMMSCOPE CAMARO ZL1
    15th CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 A SHOC CAMARO ZL1
    16th TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 GUARANTEED RATE CAMARO ZL1
    21st KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1
    23rd LANDON CASSILL, NO. 77 VOYAGER: CRYPTO FOR ALL CAMARO ZL1
    25th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BREZTRI CAMARO ZL1
    26th AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 ACTION INDUSTRIES CAMARO ZL1
    28th ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1
    30th TY DILLON, NO. 42 CHEVYLINERS.COM CAMARO ZL1
    31st COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 NATIONS GUARD CAMARO ZL1
    32nd RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 SUNNYD CAMARO ZL1
    36th JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 LEAFFILTER GUTTER PROTECTION CAMARO ZL1
    37th GREG BIFFLE, NO. 44 NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1

    TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:

    1st Ryan Blaney (Ford)
    2nd William Byron (Chevrolet)
    3rd Kyle Busch (Toyota)
    4th Chase Briscoe (Ford)
    5th Erik Jones (Chevrolet)

    FOX will telecast the NASCAR Cup Series EchoPark Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway live at 3:30 p.m. ET tomorrow, Sunday, April 3. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

  • Ford Performance NASCAR: Blaney Wins Third Straight Pole, Takes Top Spot at Richmond 

    Ford Performance NASCAR: Blaney Wins Third Straight Pole, Takes Top Spot at Richmond 

    Ford Performance Notes and Quotes

    NASCAR Cup Series

    Toyota Owners 400 Qualifying

    Saturday, April 2, 2022

    Ford Qualifying Results:

    1st – Ryan Blaney

    4th – Chase Briscoe

    7th – Kevin Harvick

    10th – Aric Almirola

    11th – Joey Logano

    12th – Cole Custer

    17th – Harrison Burton

    18th – Chris Buescher

    19th – Brad Keselowski

    20th – Austin Cindric

    22nd – Todd Gilliland

    24th – Michael McDowell

    33rd – Cody Ware

    34th – BJ McLeod

    35th – JJ Yeley

    POLE-WINNING PRESS CONFERENCE

    RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford Mustang — THIS HASN’T BEEN YOUR BEST TRACK, BUT THINGS HAVE BEEN GETTING BETTER.  WHAT HAS CHANGED AT THIS PLACE FOR YOU?  “I will say it’s definitely not been my best place at all.  I struggled here really bad for years and I still don’t feel like I’m great here at all or let alone very good.  We’ve worked really hard on figuring out what to do better here from myself to how we kind of unload with the car to be more competitive in the race, and that’s been years in progress of me just trying to figure out what the heck I need to do.  I feel like everyone has done a really good job to bring a fast car.  Qualifying on the pole here is one thing.  Racing here is a completely other thing.  It’s great we got the pole, but now it’s time to switch to race mode and, ‘OK, what do we have to do to be able to hold on in the race?’  The new car is a little bit different here driving-wise.  It’s kind of a fresh start for me having a new car here at this place and just working really hard with everybody at Penske on the 12 team to figure out, ‘OK, what do I need to do to just get more competitive here.’  Even though it’s not in the playoffs this year, you don’t want to run bad anywhere.  You need to be able to adapt to different racetracks, so just a fast car and a lot of hard work.”

    HOW MUCH WAS SAVING THAT ONE LAP BY DESIGN AND THEN TO HAVE IT WORK OUT?  “We planned on running two.  I feel like most guys were better on their second lap and we just put down a good lap on our first lap and Josh called me off of two.  I think that helped out, for sure.  The air-pressure stuff, we didn’t really bank on having crazy high air-pressure for like we just need one lap, but it just worked out that way to where we were able to save half-a-lap on tires and I think that definitely played into it.”

    HAVE YOU SEEN THINGS CHANGE THE LAST 5-7 YEARS WHERE THIS SPORT HAS BECOME MORE CUT-THROAT TO WHERE GUYS HAVE TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO WIN?  “Yeah.  I feel like it’s all situational.  Obviously, the playoff system and the way it is you have to take your opportunity when you can to try to get in – win and get in.  The deal last week, a lot of people gave Ross a hard time for that, but he got moved first and he moved AJ back and the 48 was unfortunately just kind of an innocent bystander, but I thought it was fair game last week.  Restarts get more aggressive, ramped up than I’d say they used to be.  I wish I could tell you why, but that’s just kind of the way it is and you have to adapt and do the same as everyone else because if you’re not the aggressor, you’re getting used up by somebody else who is going to be the aggressor on these restarts and throughout the race.  I think just a huge emphasis on winning, especially when you’re going for your first win.  I think that’s fair, but that’s kind of the way things are right now.  You have to be the aggressor to an extent.  You can’t really do anything malicious.  I’ve never really been that way, but you have to do what it takes to try to win the race and put yourself in the best spot possible to have a good end of the season.”

    ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT TAKING CARE OF TIRES WHEN YOU MENTION RACING DIFFERENTLY?  “Yeah.  The tires fall off so bad here and you have to kind of be able to separate the two from qualifying.  You’re not gonna run any laps in the race like we just ran in qualifying as far as how you drive the car.  You just can’t abuse the tires like that or else you’re really gonna be struggling, so we made a really long run in practice.  We made one 45-lapper and just try to get your head back in that mindset of, ‘OK, this is what I’ve got to do to save my tires,’ and things like that.  It’s just such a different mindset from qualifying to the race here, I feel like, more than most other racetracks that we go to just because the pace slows down so much and your grip after three laps just continues to go away.  So changing that mindset up and trying to change your car up a little bit to account for that and hopefully, we hit it right and hopefully I can do a good job tomorrow and learn from what we’ve learned here in the past.”

    YOU WERE FASTEST IN 10-LAP AVERAGE?  “Yeah, I felt like we were OK there.  We’ll try to get better, just like late in a run – like 35 laps on.  There were some guys that were better than us, so just trying to work on that.”

    WHAT ABOUT THIS NEW CAR HAS ALLOWED YOU TO QUALIFY SO WELL?  “Yeah, it’s been really neat and fun Saturdays for sure.  I think that’s three poles in a row for us – every time we’ve qualified – Phoenix, COTA and here.  It’s been a lot of fun.  I don’t know.  I wish I could pull one thing out.  Obviously, really fast race cars.  Jonathan Hassler has done a great job of unloading pretty quick this year, right away, and then backing it up with pretty fast race cars even though some of the finishes we’ve had hasn’t really reflected on how we’ve been running this year.  I feel like we’ve had a really good year, it’s just trying to clean some stuff up and get some things better.  We’ve got really fast race cars.  I thought the race car kind of saved me a little bit today in the second round.  I thought I had a pretty ugly lap I put together and the car had enough speed to put up a good lap.  Everyone on the 12 group, Jonathan Hassler and everybody, is doing a good job and continue to do it.”

    CONSIDERING THE SEVERITY OF LOSING A WHEEL.  HAVE YOU SPENT MORE TIME FOCUSING ON THAT ASPECT OF YOUR PIT STOPS?  “It’s a big penalty.  We’ve tried to put a big emphasis on that from day one.  When there was a handful of guys who had that problem at Daytona that kind of got sorted out as far as the way they make the wheels.  To be honest with you, we’ve kind of been too hesitant on that to an extent of having too much torque on our nuts – making sure that doesn’t happen and it slows the stop down by making sure of that.  So, it’s a balancing act between the two.  How tight do you want these things to get torqued each pit stop, which you’re losing time, but the penalty and the risk is huge.  We have a great pit department.  They do a great job on figuring out what things need to happen and what things absolutely cannot happen.  It’s about communication, too, from changer and jackman.  I mean, those guys have to be on the same page.  If the jackman drops it early and the changer doesn’t know, it’s a bad deal.  We’ve put a big emphasis on it, for sure, but sometimes it kind of catches guys out to where you don’t know maybe if it’s loose and it comes off before you can even get to pit road.  It’s not like last year where I’ve got a few lug nuts off, I’ve got to come back down and put lugnuts on it.  You’re most likely not making it back to pit road if it’s that loose, so it’s a thing our team really has focused on because it’s a big penalty – for a lot of guys.”

    F1 ANNOUNCED A THIRD U.S. RACE BEING ADDED TO VEGAS.  WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT AND IS IT BECOMING A COMPETITION FOR THIS SPORT AND OTHER FORMS OF MOTORSPORTS IN THE U.S.?  “I don’t think it’s a competition.  Have at it.  Come over here.  I love F1.  I think if you ask anybody in motorsports, you’re just fans of other forms of motorsport.  You’re fascinated by what’s different and what’s the same, how they operate compared to us.  I got the chance to go to an F1 race in Spa a few years ago and it was really, really cool just to see their world.  There are a lot of similarities in how it operates, but a lot of different things, so I think it’s great.  It’s cool that they’re coming to two brand new tracks in the U.S. from Miami and then Vegas, so I think it’s great and it’s definitely not a competition.  It’s not gonna hurt our sport any.  I think it’s just great to have a different form of motorsport over here because for the longest time there were no F1 races in America very much and I think it’s good to have more interest from America into the F1 scene.  I think it helps motorsports all around,j so I would definitely like to go to the race if I get the chance next year, but, no, I think it’s just great for motorsports in general and I welcome them with open arms.”

  • Weekend schedule for Richmond

    Weekend schedule for Richmond

    This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series and the Xfinity Series head to Richmond Raceway where the Next Gen car will make its debut on the first points-paying short track race of the season.

    The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will begin the racing action Friday with practice and qualifying, culminating with the ‘Virginia Is For Racing Lovers 150’ at 6:30 p.m. ET. The race will be televised on FloRacing.com (with a paid subscription) and radio coverage will be provided on MRN. The Camping World Truck Series is off but will return on Thursday, April 7 at Martinsville Speedway.

    All times are Eastern.

    Saturday, April 2

    8:30 a.m.: Xfinity Series Practice for all entries – FS1

    9 a.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (impound) Single vehicle, 2 laps, all entries – FS1

    10:30 a.m.: Cup Series Practice (Group A & B) – FS1/MRN

    11:15 a.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (impound) (Group A & B) Single vehicle, 1 lap, 2 rounds – FS1/MRN

    1:30 p.m. ET: Xfinity Series ToyotaCare 250
    Distance: 187.5 miles (250 Laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 75, Stage 2 ends on Lap 150, Final Stage ends on Lap 250
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    The Purse: $1,453,684
    Defending race winner: Noah Gragson

    Sunday, April 3
    3:30 p.m.: Cup Series Toyota Owners 400
    Distance: 300 miles (400 laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 70, Stage 2 ends on Lap 230, Final Stage ends on Lap 400
    FOX/MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    The Purse: $7,110,735
    Defending race winner: Alex Bowman

  • McDowell to make 400th Cup career start at Richmond

    McDowell to make 400th Cup career start at Richmond

    Competing in his 16th season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Michael McDowell is scheduled to achieve a milestone start. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s event at Richmond Raceway, the driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford Mustang will make his 400th career start in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Glendale, Arizona, and a former champion of the Star Mazda Championship region, McDowell had made five career starts between the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series before being announced as a Cup Series competitor and in Michael Waltrip Racing’s No. 00 Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing, beginning at Martinsville Speedway in March 2008. McDowell’s promotion to NASCAR’s premier series came after Dale Jarrett, the 1999 Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer, retired from competition while David Reutimann took over Jarrett’s No. 44 Toyota. Starting in 34th place, McDowell finished 26th in his Cup debut after cutting a tire in the closing laps.

    The following weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, McDowell was involved in a horrific accident during his qualifying session, where he got loose entering Turn 1, veered into the outside SAFER barriers head-on at over 180 mph, rolled over on his roof and barrel rolled seven times down to the apron before coming to rest on all four wheels. Despite the wild ride, McDowell was able to emerge uninjured as his wreck exemplified the effectiveness of modern safety enhancements made, from the SAFER barriers to the HANS device and the 2008 Car of Tomorrow stock car, to keep the competitors safe in the event of an on-track incident. McDowell went on to finish 33rd in the main event.

    Following the Texas incident, McDowell continued to drive MWR’s No. 00 Toyota in the Cup Series from Phoenix Raceway in April through Kansas Speedway in September. During this span, his best on-track result was 20th at Richmond Raceway in September. McDowell, however, was released by the team for the rest of the season after he failed to qualify at Kansas Speedway in September.

    The following season, McDowell campaigned on a full-time basis in the Xfinity Series, starting with JTG Daugherty Racing before transitioning to MacDonald Motorsports and Whitney Motorsports. His first Cup Series start of the 2009 season did not occur until September at Richmond, where he drove the No. 36 Toyota for Tommy Baldwin Racing to a 41st-place result after retiring early due to an engine issue. He competed in seven additional Cup races with Tommy Baldwin, where he did not finish in all of them and was credited with a result no higher than 38th place.

    McDowell started the 2010 season on a high note by driving the No. 55 Toyota Camry for Prism Motorsports to a 14th-place result in the first of two duel races at Daytona International Speedway in February. The result rewarded him with one of two transfer spots to the 52nd running of the Daytona 500. During the main event, however, he finished 33rd due to a drive shaft issue. He competed in 23 additional events throughout the 36-race schedule, where he failed to finish in all but one race, which was at Talladega Superspeedway in October as he finished 35th, two laps behind the leaders.

    McDowell competed in 32 of the 36-race schedule in 2011 with nearly all of his starts occurring with HP Racing. His best result with HP Racing was a 30th-place result at Sonoma Raceway in June. Then in November at Texas, he served as an interim competitor in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota Camry and in place of Kyle Busch, who was suspended by NASCAR throughout the weekend as a result of intentionally wrecking NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. in the early stages of the Truck Series event at the Lone Star state two days prior to the Cup event. During the event, however, McDowell, who struggled with pace, finished in 33rd place, three laps behind the leaders. He went on to conclude the season in 36th place in the final standings.

    In 2012, McDowell remained with HP Racing that was renamed to Phil Parsons Racing. Driving the team’s No. 98 Ford Fusion in all but six of the 36-race Cup schedule, his best result was a 23rd-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway in August as he settled in 37th place in the final standings, one spot lower from 2011. By then, McDowell surpassed 100 career starts in the Cup Series.

    Following the 2013 Cup season, where he competed in all but three races between three organizations (Phil Parsons Racing, Front Row Motorsports and HScott Motorsports) while achieving his first top-10 career finish during the 55th running of the Daytona 500 in February (ninth place), McDowell joined Leavine Family Racing to pilot the No. 95 Chevrolet SS for the 2014 season. He failed to qualify for the 56th running of the Daytona 500, but went on to compete in 19 of the 36-race schedule. His best on-track result during this span was seventh place in the rain-shortened Coke Zero 400 at Daytona in July.

    McDowell continued to drive for Leavine Family Racing in 2015, where he made 16 starts with the team and finished no higher than 20th place at Watkins Glen International in August, and in 2016 when LFR formed an alliance with Circle Sport and changed manufacturers from Ford to Chevrolet. Starting the 2016 Cup season in the No. 59 Chevrolet SS, McDowell finished in 15th place in the 58th running of the Daytona 500. He then split driving responsibilities of the No. 95 LFR Chevrolet with Ty Dillon throughout the season, where he finished 10th at Daytona in July, 12th at Richmond in September and 14th at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October. He concluded the season by finishing in 10th place at Homestead-Miami Speedway and a career-best 30th place in the final standings. By then, McDowell surpassed 200 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    The 2017 Cup Series season marked McDowell’s first time competing the entire 36-race schedule as he remained at Leavine Family Racing for a fourth consecutive season. Throughout the season, he earned his first top-five career result after finishing fourth at Daytona in July along with 14 top-20 results before finishing in 26th place in the final standings, which marked his first top-30 result in a driver’s standings.

    In 2018, McDowell moved to Front Row Motorsports to pilot the No. 34 Ford Fusion, where he replaced Landon Cassill. He commenced the season with a ninth-place finish in the 60th running of the Daytona 500 in February. He went on to record nine additional top-20 results, a career-high 33 laps led and a 26th-place result in the final standings for a second consecutive season.

    Returning to Front Row Motorsports for the 2019 season, McDowell started the season by finishing in fifth place in the 61st running of the Daytona 500. This marked his third top-10 result in the 500. He then achieved three additional top-15 results over the next 29 Cup races before he logged in another fifth-place result at Talladega in October. He went on to finish in 27th place in the final standings. Following the 2019 season, McDowell surpassed 300 Cup career starts.

    In 2020, McDowell notched a career-high four top-10 results throughout the 36-race schedule with his best on-track result being a seventh-place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July. He ended the season improving four spots from his result in the 2019 driver’s standings by settling in 23rd place in the 2020 standings.

    Then in 2021, McDowell, who returned to FRM for a fourth consecutive season, pulled off the upset by claiming his first elusive Cup Series victory in the 63rd running of the Daytona 500 after dodging a multi-car wreck on the final lap while running in third place. The victory snapped McDowell’s 358-race winless drought, which marks the second-largest winless streak in NASCAR history prior to a first victory and right behind Michael Waltrip’s 463-race drought prior to claiming his first win in the 2001 Daytona 500. With the victory, McDowell became the 40th different competitor to win the Daytona 500 and the 196th different competitor to win in the Cup Series as he recorded the first 500 victory for Front Row Motorsports. The 500 win guaranteed McDowell and his No. 34 FRM team a spot into the 2021 Cup Playoffs.

    The early momentum into 2021 for McDowell did not stop there as he finished eighth during the following weekend at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, which was followed by a sixth-place result at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Seven races later, McDowell collected a strong third-place result at Talladega in April following a late battle with eventual winner Brad Keselowski. He went on to collect a seventh-place result at the Circuit of the Americas in May before entering the 2021 Cup Playoffs for the first time in his career. His title hopes, however, came to an end during the Round of 16 after finishing no higher than 24th during the opening round’s three events. Nonetheless, he finished a career-best 16th place in a season where he claimed his first victory, a career-high five top-10 results and a career-best average result of 20.5.

    Through 399 previous Cup starts, McDowell has achieved one victory, five top-five results, 18 top-10 results, 118 laps led and an average-finishing result of 29.0. His highest-finishing result through the first six scheduled events of 2022 is seventh, which occurred in the 64th running of the Daytona 500 in February, and he currently sits in 26th place in the regular season standings.

    McDowell is scheduled to make his 400th Cup Series career start at Richmond Raceway on Sunday, April 3, with coverage to occur at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: COTA

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: COTA

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Chase Elliott: Elliott was a factor at COTA for most of the day and finished 4th.

    “I’d like to apologize to Kyle Busch for spinning him early in the race,” Elliott said. “Hopefully, I’ll set a good example for Kyle. Probably won’t work though. What’s even less likely than Kyle apologizing for something? Him accepting an apology.”

    2. Ross Chastain: Chastain came out on top in a thrilling final two laps at COTA, bumping A.J. Allmendinger into Alex Bowman to take the lead and secure the win.

    “That was my first win in the NASCAR Cup series,” Chastain said. “There was also another first: it was the first time an indoor skydiving sponsor appeared on any NASCAR ride. It’s called ‘iFly,’ and is for those who think real skydiving is ‘iffy.’

    “But if anyone has a problem with the way I won, they can enjoy, on my dime, an outdoor skydiving adventure, without a parachute.”

    3. Ryan Blaney: Blaney started on the pole and finished 6th in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA, posting his 3rd top 10 of the season.

    “Congratulations to Ross Chastain,” Blaney said. “I was impressed by his driving, and even more impressed by his victory celebration, which was spiking a watermelon from atop his car. Apparently, that watermelon is the only thing he treats worse than the cars in front of him.”

    4. Alex Bowman: Bowman briefly led on a wild final lap at COTA before he was bumped out of the front when Ross Chastain slapped A.J. Allmendinger into Bowman. Bowman recovered to finish second.

    “Chastain really did a number on A.J. and myself,” Bowman said. “As Denny Hamlin might say, he ‘absolutely hacked’ us.

    “And speaking of Denny Hamlin, he’s 24th in the points standings. So basically, he needs a win to get into the playoffs. And I have no doubt he’ll get it, as long as it’s not the last race of the season.”

    5. Joey Logano: Logano struggled in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA, suffering three spins and limping home with a 31st-place finish.

    “My former teammate Brad Keselowski’s team received a huge penalty for a rules violation,” Logano said. “They ‘modified a single-source supply part.’ Those five words sound a little technical, so here is another five words that says the same thing: ‘You cheated and got caught.’”

    6. William Byron: Byron came home 12th at COTA as Hendrick Motorsports placed three drivers in the top 12.

    “There were quite a few ‘road course ringers’ in the race,” Byron said. “One of them was a driver named ‘Joey Hand’ in the race. That’s ‘Joey Hand,’ not to be confused with the late Mafia capo ‘Joey Hands,’ a name which is as Mafia as it gets, much like ‘Dick Trickle’ is a name which is as NASCAR as it gets.”

    7. Chase Briscoe: Briscoe was challenging for the win late at COTA, but was shuffled back on a restart and then fell further back when he pitted for fresh tires. He finished 30th.

    “Sure I’m disappointed,” Briscoe said. “But at least my hero and car owner Tony Stewart was in the Fox broadcasting booth. I know Tony has to get fidgety standing in a booth for four hours. For one thing, he’s not sitting in a car, but what’s even worse for Tony is he has to go that long without cursing.”

    8. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex took new tires late and surged through the field to place a solid 7th-place finish.

    “Fresh tires mean everything in the sport of NASCAR,” Truex said. “And, with each winner this year being under 30, fresh faces mean everything in this sport.

    9. Aric Almirola: Almirola finished 19th at COTA, and after three straight top 10’s to begin the season, has failed to crack the top 10 in his last three races.

    “Wrestling great ‘The Undertaker’ rode along in the pace car,” Almirola said. “That had to be frightening for the pace car driver. You don’t want to be stuck in a car with a ‘dead man,’ and certainly not if he ‘R.I.P.’s‘ a fart.”

    10. Tyler Reddick: Reddick started 4th and finished 5th at COTA, and is 10the in the points standings.

    “It’s a good finish,” Reddick said, “but I feel like I had a car good enough to win. Of course, having 3CHI as my primary sponsor means I feel like I should always finish higher.

    “And speaking of ‘3CHI,’ I think they’re expanding to the edible food market, with a delicious product called ‘3CHI’s Pizza.’”

  • Chastain grabs first Cup victory in a wild finish at COTA

    Chastain grabs first Cup victory in a wild finish at COTA

    From losing the lead to earning it back with the finish in sight, Ross Chastain etched his name as a first-time NASCAR Cup Series winner after outdueling AJ Allmendinger and Alex Bowman in an overtime attempt to capture the second annual EchoPark Automotive Texas Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, March 27.

    The 29-year-old Chastain from Alva, Florida, led four times for a race-high 31 of 69 over-scheduled laps as he bumped and moved Allmendinger out of the racing groove along with Bowman to reclaim the lead that was briefly taken from him through the final two corners and recorded the long-awaited, first win in NASCAR’s premier series for himself and for Trackhouse Racing in the team’s second season in competition.

    With on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday, Ryan Blaney claimed his second NASCAR Cup Series pole of the year and the eighth of his career after posting a pole-winning speed at 92,759 mph. Joining him on the front row was Daniel Suarez, who posted a fast qualifying lap at 92.741 mph.

    Prior to the event, Michael McDowell, AJ Allmendinger, Erik Jones, Loris Hezemans, Boris Said, Josh Bilicki and Joey Hand dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective machines. In addition, Andy Lally was assessed a pass-through penalty at the start of the event for failing the pre-qualifying technical inspection process three times.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Blaney and Suarez dueled for the top spot through the first two turns until Blaney just managed to peak ahead entering a series of left and right-hand turns (Turns 3 through Turn 10). With the field fanning out before settling in a single-file line for the turns, Suarez then made his move beneath Blaney and took the lead in Turn 11. 

    Through the 3.41-mile, 20-turn circuit, and when the field returned to the start/finish line, Suarez led the first lap followed by Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Cole Custer and Joey Logano. Denny Hamlin was in sixth ahead of rookie Austin Cindric, Justin Haley, Alex Bowman and Chase Briscoe. 

    During the following lap, Loris Hezemans was penalized for cutting the corners through the esses. Meanwhile, Suarez continued to lead by more than a second over Blaney while Reddick, Custer and Hamlin occupied the top five.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Suarez was leading by more than a second over Blaney followed by Reddick, Logano and Cindric while Custer, Alex Bowman, Hamlin, Haley and Ross Chastain were in the top 10. Christopher Bell was in 11th followed by teammate Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe and Kurt Busch while Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Kevin Harvick, Chris Buescher and William Byron occupied the top 20. AJ Allmendinger, winner of Saturday’s Xfinity event in Austin, was in 21st ahead of Martin Truex Jr., Austin Dillon, rookie Todd Gilliland and Erik Jones while rookie Harrison Burton, Ty Dillon, Aric Almirola, Kaz Grala and Joey Hand were in the top 30. Michael McDowell was back in 31st ahead of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Brad Keselowski, Corey LaJoie, Josh Bilicki, Cody Ware, Andy Lally, Loris Hezemans and Boris Said, who was also assessed a penalty for cutting the corner.

    Five laps later and by the Lap 10 mark, Suarez remained as the leader by nearly seven-tenths of a second over Blaney while third-place Reddick trailed by more than four seconds. Cindric was in fourth while Bowman was in fifth ahead of Logano, Custer, Chastain, Larson and Haley. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch fell all the way back to 28th after spinning his No. 18 Skittles Toyota TRD Camry in Turn 12 following contact with Chase Elliott’s No. 9 LLumar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

    Another few laps later, pits stops under green commenced as Harvick, LaJoie, Almirola, Hamlin, Joey Hand, Allmendinger, Buescher, Kyle Busch, Truex, Bell, Wallace, Byron, McDowell, Gilliland, Ty Dillon, Erik Jones, Kurt Busch and Grala pitted. Chastain, Cindric and Custer also pitted prior to pit road closing for the conclusion of the first stage. During the pit stops, Austin Dillon was penalized for an unrolled tire violation while Gilliland was also penalized for an equipment interference. Meanwhile, Suarez remained as the leader.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 15, Suarez cruised his No. 99 CommScope Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to his first stage victory of the season. Blaney settled in second followed by Bowman, Logano, Larson, Haley, Elliott, Briscoe, Harrison Burton and Cindric.

    Under the stage break, some led by Blaney pitted while the rest led by Cindric remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 17 as Cindric and Reddick occupied the front row. At the start, Cindric launched ahead with the top spot through the first turn while Ross Chastain challenged and overtook Reddick for second place. As the field fanned out and scrambled through the first turn, disaster struck for Daniel Suarez as he got hit and spun, thus sustaining a flat left-rear tire as he was left to limp his car back to pit road under a cautious pace. Then as the field navigated through the left and right-hand turns (Turns 3 and 10), Larson spun, but the race proceeded under green as both Larson and Suarez pitted.

    Back at the front and through the long straightaway between Turns 11 and 12, Chastain and Cindric dueled dead even for the lead while Reddick lurked behind. As Chastain tried to take the lead through Turn 12, Cindric fought through Turns 13 and 14 as he retained the lead while Reddick challenged Chastain for second. Meanwhile, Hamlin moved his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry into fourth place followed by Custer, Bell, Allmendinger, Byron, Buescher and Truex.

    By Lap 20, Cindric was leading by half a second over Chastain while Reddick, Hamlin and Allmendinger were in the top five. Custer was in sixth ahead of Byron, Bell, Truex and Kyle Busch. Meanwhile, McDowell was assessed a drive-through penalty through pit road for cutting a corner while Larson and Suarez were back in 33rd and 39th following their incident.

    Five laps later, Cindric stabilized his advantage by six-tenths of a second over Chastain while Allmendinger, Reddick and Hamlin occupied the top five. By then. Cody Ware and Loris Hezemans were penalized for cutting the course.

    Nearing the Lap 30 mark and the conclusion of the second stage, another round of pit stops under green commenced as Buescher pitted along with Bell, Truex, Erik Jones, Harvick, Elliott, Bowman, Briscoe, Haley, Joey Hand, Larson, LaJoie, Gilliland and McDowell. Meanwhile, Chastain issued another on-track challenge on Cindric for the lead entering Turn 11. Just as Chastain used the outside lane to overtake Cindric for the lead entering Turn 19, both pitted along with Reddick, Allmendinger, Byron. During the pit stops, LaJoie and Byron were both penalized for speeding on pit road.

    Back on track, Hamlin, who came into this weekend in 25th place in the standings, inherited the lead followed by teammate Kyle Busch and Logano

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 30, Hamlin notched his first stage victory of the season. Teammate Kyle Busch settled in second ahead of Logano, Blaney, Almirola, Austin Dillon, Harrison Burton, Chastain, Cindric and Bubba Wallace.

    Under the stage break, some led by Hamlin pitted while the rest led by Team Penske’s Logano and Blaney remained on the track. During the pit stops, Ty Dillon was penalized for improper fueling.

    With 36 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. At the start and with the field fanning out, Logano bobbled and locked up the brakes of his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang entering the first turn as he went off the course, which allowed Chastain to rocket back to the lead followed by Allmendinger, Cindric and Reddick while Blaney fell back to fifth.

    A lap later, Cindric, who was in third place, spun his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang off the front nose of Reddick’s No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Turn 10 and was narrowly dodged by the field as the race proceeded under green. In addition, Joey Hand spun in Turn 1 following contact with Almirola. Not long after, however, the caution flew due to debris reported in Turn 11. By then, Chastain was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Allmendinger.

    Under caution, names like Logano, Cindric, Stenhouse, Grala, Cody Ware and Joey Hand pitted while the rest led by Chastain remained on the track. During the pit stops, Stenhouse was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    With 32 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Chastain fended off Allmendinger through the first turn to retain the lead while the field fanned out entering the second turns and the series of left and right-hand turns. As the field continued to scramble for positions entering Turns 10, 11 and 12, Briscoe moved into third place followed by Reddick and Blaney while Elliott started to make his charge to the front in sixth place.

    When the field returned to the start/finish line, Chastain continued to lead by half a second over ex-teammate Allmendinger followed by Briscoe, Reddick and Elliott. Meanwhile, Blaney was in sixth ahead of Custer, Truex, Bowman and Larson as the field continued to duke for positions. 

    Then with 28 laps remaining, the caution returned when Erik Jones stalled his No. 43 Focus Factor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Turn 11 as he needed a wrecker to return to pit road. Earlier, Christopher Bell pitted and had the hood of his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota TRD Camry up as his crew went to work to diagnose steering issues.

    Under caution, the entire field pitted and Chastain exited with the top spot followed by Briscoe, Reddick, Bowman, Allmendinger and Kyle Busch.

    Down to the final 25 scheduled laps, the race restarted under green At the start, Chastain dueled with Briscoe and briefly went off the course with Briscoe in Turn 1 until Chastain retained the lead entering Turn 2 and through the series of left and right-hand turns (Turns 3 through 10). Then in Turn 11, Briscoe moved his No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang out in front of Chastain’s No. 1 ONX Homes/iFly Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 until Chastain fought back from Turns 12 to Turn 19. Meanwhile, Logano spun in Turn 12.

    Back at the front in Turn 20, both Chastain and Briscoe remained dead even until Briscoe managed to clear Chastain entering the first turn. Not long after, however, the caution returned when the left-rear wheel off of Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 Leidos Toyota TRD Camry came off, resulting with Wallace stopping on track in Turn 17 and needing assistance to return to pit road.

    Under caution, some like Logano pitted while the rest led by Briscoe remained on the track.

    With 22 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start and with the field fanning out, Briscoe retained the lead through the first turn ahead of Chastain while Allmendinger was in third ahead of Reddick. Then in Turn 11, Chastain made his move and overtook Briscoe for the lead while Allmendinger quickly challenged Briscoe for the runner-up spot. 

    Under the final 20 scheduled laps, Chastain was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Briscoe while third-place Allmendinger trailed by more than a second. Meanwhile, Reddick and Kyle Busch battled for fourth place until the latter prevailed while Bowman also moved into the top five. Elliott, Cindric, Hamlin and Truex were in the top 10 followed by Larson, Blaney, Harvick, Byron, Custer, McDowell, Austin Dillon, Haley, Almirola and Stenhouse.

    A few laps later, Ty Dillon spun in Turn 11 while Boris Said was penalized for cutting the course. Back at the front of the field, Chastain continued to lead by four-tenths of a second over Briscoe, who started to close in on Chastain for the top spot, while third-place Allmendinger trailed by more than a second.

    A lap later, Briscoe briefly went off course in Turn 11, which allowed Allmendinger to move into second place while Chastain continued to lead. Bowman remained in fourth place while teammate Elliott was in fifth following an earlier battle with Kyle Busch. In addition, Reddick was back in seventh ahead of Cindric, Blaney and Larson.

    Then with 15 laps remaining, the caution flew when Stenhouse’s No. 47 SunnyD Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 came to a stop past Turn 11. Prior to the caution, names like Truex, Harvick, Almirola, Custer, LaJoie, Grala, Ty Dillon and Erik Jones pitted.

    Under caution, some like Hamlin, Gilliland, Larson, Kurt Busch, Byron, Austin Dillon, Logano, Brad Keselowski and Bilicki pitted while the rest led by Chastain remained on the track.

    Down to the final 12 scheduled laps, the race restarted under green. At the start, Briscoe bolted his car beneath Chastain’s in a three-wide bid for the lead while Allmendinger challenged on the outside lane. Chastain, however, fought back as he retained the lead entering the second turn while Reddick rocketed to second place. Then through the series of left and right-hand turns (Turns 3 to 10), Briscoe went off the course and was initially penalized for his maneuver as he blended back in seventh place behind Kyle Busch. After NASCAR deemed that he was forced off the course, however, the penalty was withdrawn.

    Back at the front, Chastain remained as the leader over Reddick, Allmendinger and the field that continued to scatter and jostle for positions. Behind, Cindric and Grala spun in Turn 11. While the race remained under green following Cindric’s incident, the caution returned when fluid was reported on the frontstretch.

    Under caution, Briscoe pitted from seventh place for four fresh tires along with Harrison Burton and Cindric while the rest led by Chastain remained on the track.

    With nine laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start and through the uphill climb to the first turn, Chastain managed to fend off Allmendinger by the end of Turn 2, even running him off the racing groove, to retain the lead while Cole Custer spun. Following the series of left and right-hand turns (Turns 3 through Turn 10), Joey Hand collided into Hamlin in Turn 11, sending Hamlin around. Five turns later, Grala sent Almirola sideways. In spite of all the incidents, the race remained under green.

    Back at the front, Chastain was leading by two-tenths of a second over Allmendinger while Reddick was in third place ahead of Elliott and Bowman. Behind, Kyle Busch was in sixth ahead of Blaney, Truex, Bell and McDowell. While Allmendinger kept occupying Chastain’s rear view mirrors to close-quarters racing, Chastain was able to maintain the lead and not let his former teammate overtake him.

    Just then, the caution flew with six laps remaining due to Loris Hezemans coming to a stop in Turn 3. At the moment of caution, Chastain had managed to maintain a steady advantage over Allmendinger.

    Down to the final three laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Chastain and Allmendinger dueled for the lead entering the first turn until Reddick made a bold three-wide move through the first turn to take the lead. Shortly after, however, the caution returned and the race was sent into overtime due to a wreck that involved Kurt Busch, Larson and Logano in Turn 2.

    At the start of the first overtime attempt and with the field fanning out up the hill, Chastain reassumed the lead and Allmendinger moved into second place followed by Bowman while Reddick fell back to fourth. Behind, the field scrambled for positions.  

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Chastain was leading by nearly a second over Allmendinger while third-place Bowman trailed by more than a second. Through the esses and Turn 11, Chastain maintained the lead despite having Allmendinger and Bowman close in for the lead and the win. Behind, Kyle Busch spun through the esses while the race proceeded under green. 

    Then in Turn 12, Allmendinger gained a huge run to pull himself behind Chastain’s bumper. After Chastain briefly went wide in Turns 13 and 14, Allmendinger seized an opportunity through Turns 15 and 16 and ran into the rear of Chastain, which sent Chastain wide as Allmendinger took the lead while Bowman challenged Chastain for the runner-up spot. 

    Through Turns 17 and 18, Chastain bumped Allmendinger as Bowman bolted his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the lead. With Bowman in brief control, Chastain bumped and got Allmendinger loose as he came darting into Bowman and both collided in Turn 19, resulting with Allmendinger spinning and Bowman running off the course. This allowed Chastain to reassume the lead entering Turn 20. With no competition lurking behind, Chastain was able to navigate his way through the final frontstretch and claim the first checkered flag for himself and for Trackhouse Racing owned by Justin Marks and Pitbull in NASCAR’s premier series.

    With the victory, Chastain, who came into Austin with three consecutive top-three results, became the 201st different competitor to win a NASCAR Cup Series event along with becoming the third first-time winner and the sixth different winner through the first six scheduled events of the 2022 Cup season. He also became the 39th different competitor to achieve a victory across NASCAR’s top three national touring series (Camping World Truck, Xfinity and Cup) with his last victory occurring at Pocono Raceway in the Truck Series in July 2019. In addition to the driver and organization, the Austin victory produced a first NASCAR win for crew chief Phil Surgen.

    Upon returning to the frontstretch for his victorious burnout and salute to the fans, Chastain reignited his trademark victory by smashing a watermelon before being greeted by team owner Justin Marks.

    “That’s insane to go up against some of the best with AJ [Allmendinger],” Chastain said on FOX. “I know he’s gonna be upset with me, but we raced hard. Both of us. He owes me one, but when it comes to a Cup win, man, I can’t let that go down without a fight…People don’t know how good this group is. I can’t believe [owner] Justin Marks hired me to drive this car.” 

    “[The watermelon]’s never tasted sweeter, I gotta tell you,” Chastain added. “I don’t know. I don’t know how we got back by. I was so worried about AJ on the second-to-last restart that I let Tyler [Reddick] drive by both of us. AJ’s so good. I’ve learned so much from him. And then it was like, ‘How do I go beat the guy?’ He taught me so much. I’ve learned so much from so many people…It crossed my mind like we’re not gonna win. We’re on old tires, but I couldn’t think that way. I thought neutral. Chevrolet and everything they do for me, gave me the tools to try to go and execute and we did it.”

    In the midst of the chaos, Bowman came home in second place, more than a second behind Chastain, while Allmendinger ended up in 33rd place following his spin.

    “We had a really fast Ally Camaro,” Bowman said. “I’ve really been trying to do a better job as a race car driver at these road courses and I felt like from where we started in the weekend, I accomplished that. Proud of [crew chief] Greg [Ives] and all the guys. [I] Hate that we didn’t come away with the win, but happy for Ross getting his first win. It’s been a crap weekend, so I’m ready to get home and see [my] dogs and move on to next weekend. Glad to come away with a second-place finish.”

    “At the end of the day, we all gotta look at ourselves in the mirror and if you’re okay with it, you’re okay with it,” Allmendinger said. “Each person’s different. More than anything, proud of Kaulig Racing. The Action Industry Chevy was so fast. I think if we could’ve had just a long run, nobody was gonna touch us. Pit stops were great. Everybody at Kaulig Racing, all the men and women. It’s just lot of sleepless nights for them right now trying to just get these cars to the next race. I was doing everything I could to try to sweep the weekend for them. We were that close. At the end of the day, each person’s gotta make the move that they’re comfortable with and that’s fine. At the end of the day, we know we had a shot to win the race. It’s tough to win a Cup race, so when you put yourself on a position to legitimately run upfront all day and have a shot to win it, it’s a pretty great day. Unfortunately, I needed about two more corners.”

    Christopher Bell, who came into Circuit of the Americas in 29th place in the standings and with a best on-track result of 10th place, notched his first top-five result in third place while Elliott and Reddick finished in the top five.

    Blaney, Truex, Cindric, Erik Jones and Austin Dillon recorded top-10 results.

    There were 13 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 13 laps.

    With his fourth-place result, Chase Elliott continues to lead the regular season standings by 13 over Ryan Blaney, 23 over Joey Logano, 25 over Alex Bowman, 28 over Ross Chastain and 33 over William Byron.

    Results.

    1. Ross Chastain, 31 laps led

    2. Alex Bowman 

    3. Christopher Bell

    4. Chase Elliott

    5. Tyler Reddick, two laps led

    6. Ryan Blaney, one lap led

    7. Martin Truex Jr.

    8. Austin Cindric, 11 laps led

    9. Erik Jones

    10. Austin Dillon

    11. Kevin Harvick

    12. William Byron

    13. Michael McDowell

    14. Brad Keselowski

    15. Justin Haley

    16. Todd Gilliland

    17. Harrison Burton

    18. Denny Hamlin, three laps led, Stage 2 winner

    19. Aric Almirola

    20. Ty Dillon

    21. Chris Buescher

    22. Josh Bilicki

    23. Cole Custer

    24. Daniel Suarez, 15 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    25. Kaz Grala

    26. Boris Said

    27. Cody Ware

    28. Kyle Busch

    29. Kyle Larson

    30. Chase Briscoe, two laps led

    31. Joey Logano, two laps led

    32. Kurt Busch

    33. AJ Allmendinger, one lap down, two laps led

    34. Loris Hezemans – OUT, Rear gear

    35. Joey Hand – OUT, Suspension

    36. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Engine

    37. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Drivetrain

    38. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Suspension

    39. Andy Lally – OUT, Suspension

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Richmond Raceway for a 400-mile feature in Richmond, Virginia. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, April 3, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: COTA

    Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: COTA

    Circuit of The Americas
    Sunday, March 27, 2022
    3.41-Mile Road Course
    3:30 PM ET
    Location: Austin, Texas
    TV: Fox logo
    Event: NASCAR Cup Series (6 of 36)
    Radio: SiriusXM, PRN

    5 KYLE LARSON
    Age: 29 (July 31, 1992)
    Hometown: Elk Grove, California
    Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina
    Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
    Standings: 12th

    No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

    MAY SHOWERS: In last May’s inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of The Americas, Kyle Larson finished second to Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott after a persistent rain turned into a heavy downpour that ended the race 14 laps short of its scheduled distance of 68 laps. It marked Larson’s third consecutive runner-up finish. The Elk Grove, California, native followed that with three consecutive wins while also winning the $1 million non-points NASCAR All-Star Race during that four-week stretch after COTA.

    LONE STAR: Larson won three road course events in 2021, the most ever during a Cup Series season. Victories at Sonoma Raceway in June, Watkins Glen International in August and the Charlotte ROVAL in October were integral during his 10-win championship season.

    HOME RACE: For the second consecutive race weekend, Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com team will wear their “home” white uniforms at Circuit of The Americas. Home races occur in markets where there are Hendrick Automotive Group dealerships nearby, and the Austin, Texas, area is home to two of them. Be sure to follow Hendrick Automotive Group’s social media channels and visit HendrickCars.com to view the complete home and away schedule.

    NOT HIS FIRST RODEO: Larson has led at least one lap in all five races this year – one of only three drivers to do so. The other two are Ryan Blaney and Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron. Dating back to last year, Larson has led at least one lap in the last 15 Cup Series races – nine more than his previous best. Only two Hendrick Motorsports drivers have posted longer streaks: Jeff Gordon in 1995 (19) and Geoff Bodine in 1986 (17).

    ROAD COURSE RINGERS: Only two Hendrick Motorsports drivers have scored more wins on road course than Larson. On serpentine layouts in the Cup Series, the all-time winningest driver is NASCAR Hall of Famer Gordon with nine while current teammate Elliott has crossed the line first on seven occasions.

    MULTI-TALENTED: Since the start of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, only eight drivers have posted multiple wins, including all four Hendrick Motorsports teammates. Larson’s 11 victories in that span are equal to the four non-Hendrick Motorsports drivers combined: Martin Truex Jr. (four wins), Ryan Blaney (three), Kyle Busch (two) and Denny Hamlin (two).

    TWENTY-SOMETHINGS: The last 11 Cup Series races have all been won by drivers under the age of 30 – the longest streak ever in NASCAR’s top division. Larson is responsible for five of those victories: Auto Club Speedway earlier this year and Phoenix Raceway, Texas Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway and the Charlotte ROVAL in 2021.

    9 CHASE ELLIOTT
    Age: 26 (Nov. 28, 1995)
    Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
    Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia
    Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
    Standings: 1st

    No. 9 LLumar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

    DEFENDING WINNER: Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 LLumar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, heads into the weekend as the defending winner of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of The Americas. Last season’s inaugural race at COTA was a wet and wild affair with rain steadily pouring on the track. Elliott was in the lead with 14 laps remaining when the event was paused due to standing water on the track. The race was called shortly thereafter due to the weather with Elliott celebrated as the winner. It was the first of his two victories during the 2021 season and was the milestone 800th win for manufacturer Chevrolet.

    FOLLOW THE POINTS LEADER: Early season consistency is paying off for Elliott and the No. 9 team. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native left his home track of Atlanta Motor Speedway atop the Cup Series points standings after leading 29 laps and earning his third top-10 finish of 2022. Going into the sixth points-paying race of the year, he has a seven-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.

    ROAD COURSE KING: At only 26 years old, Elliott has already proven his road-racing prowess. He leads all active drivers with seven victories on road courses and ranks third on NASCAR’s all-time road-course winners list, trailing only Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. Elliott’s seven road-course wins have come in the last 14 Cup Series road races (50%).

    GOOD COMPANY: In 19 Cup Series starts on road courses, Elliott has an average finish of 7.89 with seven wins, 11 top-five finishes and 13 top-10s. His average finish is not only the best among active drivers but ranks third all-time among drivers with five or more starts. He trails only NASCAR legends Fireball Roberts and Buck Baker.

    2021 ROAD COURSE RECAP: In his seven starts last season on road courses, Elliott earned two wins (COTA and Road America), two runner-up finishes and five total top-five finishes. The Hendrick Motorsports driver also earned two stage wins and led 102 laps. The two race victories brought his career total to seven across five road courses. Elliott is the only driver in the Cup Series history to post wins on five different road courses.

    FIRST DUBYA: Elliott’s first career Cup win came in 2018 at the Watkins Glen International road course. The series’ four-time most popular driver started from the third position and led 52 of 90 laps en route to the victory. He is now a Cup Series champion (2020) with 13 points-paying race wins.

    AG’S WINNING ROAD: On Sunday, No. 9 crew chief Alan Gustafson will call his 41st road-course race from a top the pit box. In those starts, he’s led his teams to seven wins – all with Elliott – along with 14 top-five finishes and 20 top-10s.

    LLUMAR COLORS: LLumar, a brand of automotive window tint and paint protection film manufactured by Eastman, will have its colors carried on the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 this weekend at COTA. It’s the first of two races that the brand will serve as primary partner during the 2022 season. Following Sunday’s race, LLumar will be back on board Elliott’s No. 9 at Martinsville Speedway in April. LLumar was the primary partner last year at COTA when Elliott captured the inaugural win at the track.

    A SHOC UNVEIL: On Wednesday, A SHOC Energy unveiled a new paint scheme for the 2022 season. Bold fiery red, yellow and orange colors add to the updated look of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Fans will get their first glimpse of the new paint scheme on the track at Richmond Raceway in April and again at Daytona International Speedway in August.

    24 WILLIAM BYRON
    Age: 24 (Nov. 29, 1997)
    Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
    Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina
    Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
    Standings: 4th

    No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

    DOUBLE THREAT: Pulling double duty this past weekend, William Byron started off Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway behind the wheel of his No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for NASCAR Cup Series practice. He then flew to North Carolina to compete in Saturday night’s Easter Bunny 150 at Hickory Motor Speedway, where he dominated the race in the No. 24 entry for Wilson Motorsports and captured his third super late model win of 2022. Byron flew back to Atlanta for Sunday’s Cup race where he led a personal-best 111 laps, including the one that mattered most, to secure his third career Cup Series win and his first at the newly configured venue.

    LEADING THE CHARGE: So far in 2022, only three drivers have led laps in all five Cup Series events: Byron, Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney. Byron has led the second-most laps of the three drivers (148). The streak of five consecutive races with laps led is the second-longest of Byron’s Cup career. In 2019, he led laps in seven consecutive races.

    BATTING A THOUSAND: With his 111 laps led Sunday at Atlanta, Byron has surpassed 1,000 laps led during his time in the Cup Series. Currently with 1,007, he’s led more laps at the elite Cup level than he did in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series combined.

    RACKING UP POINTS: So far in 2022, Byron has captured two stage wins, both coming in stage one in the last two races. His pair of stage wins are tied for the most this season with three others. This year, the driver of the No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has collected the most Cup Series stage points (55) and playoff points (seven).

    THE TWO-FOUR: With Byron’s win at Atlanta, he now has three in the Cup Series in the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. Combined with Jeff Gordon, who won 93 times with the iconic car number, the No. 24 now has 96 total points-paying victories in the Cup Series. The 96 wins at the highest level of competition are the fourth-most by a car number and are approaching the mark of the No. 3 (100 wins) and the No. 2 (101 wins).

    ROAD RESULTS: The 19-turn Circuit of The Americas made its debut on the Cup Series schedule last year. In the 2021 event, drivers battled rain for the entire weekend, but that didn’t stop Byron from being fastest overall in practice. He went on to qualify fifth before running up front early in the race. He was caught up in an on-track incident but was able to rally back through the field to 11th before the race was called early due to weather conditions. In his Cup Series career, Byron has made 15 starts on road courses, collecting three pole awards and five top-10 results while leading 122 laps. He also has two stage wins on road courses – tied for the fourth most all-time.

    COMING FOR THE TOP SPOT: Going into Sunday’s race at COTA, Byron has secured the pole position in three of the last six road-course events where qualifying has been held. He’s earned the top starting spot at the Charlotte ROVAL in 2019, Road America last June and the Indianapolis Road Course in August.

    ROAD-READY RUDY: Just like the rest of the field, crew chief Rudy Fugle called his first Cup Series race at the Circuit of The Americas last season. After showing speed throughout the weekend, he led the No. 24 team in repairs after an on-track incident that allowed Byron to rally to an 11th-place finish. In total, the duo has seven road-course starts together in the Cup Series. Aside from his Cup-level road course experience in 2021, Fugle has seven other road races under his belt – all coming in the Camping World Truck Series. In those seven starts, the Livonia, New York, native has one win (Erik Jones in 2015), three top-five finishes and five top-10s. One of his truck starts was with Byron in 2016 when the duo raced to a 10th-place finish at Canadian Motorsports Park.

    RAPTOR® TOUGH: Unveiled earlier today, Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will sport the RAPTOR® brand this weekend at the Circuit of The Americas. After debuting last season, RAPTOR® will return in 2022 for multiple races with Byron and the No. 24 team. RAPTOR® is a durable protective coating and bed liner that is designed to tolerate the toughest climatic conditions and can be applied to a wide range of substrates from steel, wood, concrete and plaster to plastics and composites. Resistant to common fuels, U.V., scratches, and stains, RAPTOR® is available at local paint distributors, auto parts stores and can be purchased from online retailers like Amazon. For a better look at Byron’s new No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, click here.

    48 Alex Bowman
    Age: 28 (April 25, 1993)
    Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
    Resides: Concord, North Carolina
    Crew Chief: Greg Ives
    Standings: 9th

    No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

    ATL RECAP: On Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Alex Bowman tallied a top-10 finish and continued his climb up the NASCAR Cup Series standings. The 28-year-old driver finished the first stage in seventh and the second stage in 19th en route to a 10th-place result. He fought back from losing a laps due to a pit road penalty and is now ninth in points, just 31 back of leader and teammate Chase Elliott.

    UP FRONT: Since the start of the 2018 season, Bowman has eight top-10 finishes on road courses – tied for the fifth-most in the Cup Series. In 2021, the 28-year-old driver placed eighth after leading three laps in the rain-shortened race at Circuit of The Americas. He also notched a ninth-place finish at Sonoma Raceway and a 10th-place result at the Charlotte ROVAL.

    RACK ‘EM UP: Bowman accumulated 187 points across seven road course starts in 2021, ranking him as the 10th in points scored in Cup Series road races.

    TURNING LEFT: Bowman has 15 starts on road courses in his Cup Series career. In those races, he has amassed one runner-up finish, two top-fives, eight top-10s, and an average result of 11.5. His most recent finish on a road course was the Charlotte ROVAL where he placed 10th.

    IVES ON THE ROAD: On Sunday at COTA, Greg Ives will make his 22nd road-course start as a Cup Series crew chief. The Bark River, Michigan, native has two top-five finishes and 10 top-10s from atop the pit box.

    HOMETOWN HERO: Parker Winebrenner, aerodynamics engineer for the No. 48 Ally Racing team, will return to his home state this weekend at COTA. A native of Houston, Weinbrenner began working with Ives and Bowman just before the duo’s first win at Chicagoland Speedway in 2019. His motor sports career started when he worked on a Trans Am TA2 Chevrolet Camaro test car in January 2018. Winebrenner went on to work for Napoleon Motorsports and helped in the Pirelli World Challenge Series, which both competed at COTA, before making his way to Hendrick Motorsports.

    TRUCKIN’ IN TEXAS: On Saturday, Bowman will strap into the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Motorsports in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. HendrickCars.com will serve as the team’s primary sponsor while Ally, Bowman’s full-time sponsor in the Cup Series, will be showcased on the truck’s decklid and lower-rear quarter panels.

    THREE OF FIVE: Through five NASCAR Cup Series races thus far in 2022, Hendrick Motorsports has posted three wins – each with a different driver. It is the first time since 1956 (Carl Kiekhafer Racing) that a team has earned three victories with three drivers in the first five races of a season. The earliest a single organization has ever won with four different drivers is race No. 12, which was accomplished in 2017 by Hendrick Motorsports and in 2016 by Joe Gibbs Racing.

    ROAD SHOW: Hendrick Motorsports has won 25 points-paying races on road courses, nearly twice the total of any other team in NASCAR Cup Series history. Since the organization was founded in 1984, it has won 29% of the 85 road-course events it has competed in with a record-setting seven different drivers. JGR is the next-best team on road courses with 13 victories.

    THE HIGH ROAD: In addition to its 25 victories, Hendrick Motorsports holds the road-course records for Cup Series pole positions (21), stage wins (12), top-five finishes (74), top-10s (130) and laps led (2,020). It has led 828 more laps on road courses than any other team.

    TWENTY AND 21: Since the beginning of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, Hendrick Motorsports has won 20 points-paying races. During that period, all other teams combined have posted 21 victories.

    THE BIG THREE-OH: Hendrick Motorsports has led in each of the last 30 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series races. The team holds the all-time record for the most consecutive Cup races led at 74, which occurred between 2007 and 2009. It also holds the series’ second-longest streak of 55 that happened from 1995 to 1997.

    SPEAKING OF 30: Drivers under the age of 30 have won the last 11 Cup Series races dating back to last season – something that has never occurred in NASCAR history. Eight of the 11 races have been won by Hendrick Motorsports, which in 2021 became the first team to ever record victories with four different drivers under 30 years old in a single season.

    HIGH MILEAGE: Since Hendrick Motorsports was founded in 1984, it has led a record 98,932.113 miles in points-paying Cup Series races. The team is less than 1,068 miles from hitting 100,000 led at NASCAR’s top level. Last season, Hendrick Motorsports led 5,662.77 miles. Through four races in 2022, it has led 474.64 miles, including 217.14 Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    QUOTABLE /

    Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the dry conditions expected this weekend at COTA: “It will be like a new track for us. Last year, I felt like it was dry for only a couple laps during the entire weekend. We’re definitely looking forward to it because the Hendrick Motorsports road course program has been strong.”

    Larson on the first road course race for the Next Gen car: “I drove it in a test the day after the (Charlotte) ROVAL (race). It was good to have an immediate comparison between the two generations of cars, but a lot of changes and updates (to the car) have occurred since then.”

    Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on returning to COTA: “The entire field had only two laps in dry conditions last year, and that was during qualifying. We don’t have many data points to draw from. We will be able to pull a little from the ROVAL, but so much has changed since then. The general characteristics of the car haven’t really changed, but physical parts, pieces, components and rules are way different.”

    Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing at COTA with the Next Gen car: “COTA is our first road course race with this car. I don’t think anybody has really driven it a lot on road courses. We had the test at Charlotte there early on, but it seemed like every team was kind of rotating drivers through. So I don’t think any of us got a ton of time with it, but you know these cars, really a lot of the design pieces come from a road race background – some of the things they (NASCAR) see on the IMSA side of things. I really think they’re probably going to suit road racing well. I think they’ll be fine, and I don’t know that the race will look a ton different, honestly. I think the cars will drive fine. Certainly, getting used to those small things that are going to be a little bit different and the shifting and the brakes (will be important). Just how they act at some of those different style of corners. I think it will be fine.”

    Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the first road course race with the Next Gen car: “I’m excited to do it. I personally didn’t go over to Charlotte (to the test). We were in the middle of a championship battle, so we were focused on that. This will be my first time to work with the car at a road course and start that process. There are certainly a lot of unknowns and a lot of things that we’ve got to understand and adapt. And even from the ROVAL test, the cars and configurations have changed from then, so, yeah, a lot to learn. It’s exciting. This car, on paper, is really well suited to perform at a road course, so I think it will be a lot of fun. The car should be really good and it should be very competitive. We’ll do our best to get as much of an advantage as possible. I’m looking forward to it. I’ve always loved road racing, and it’s a fun challenge. COTA is a great track. It’s got everything. It has fast corners and slow corners and long, sweeping corners, and quick transition corners, and braking zones and elevation changes. The track has every component you could imagine, so it makes it a lot of fun to go out there and race.”

    William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on what his Atlanta win means to him: “This one was a tough win to get. It was really a hybrid between Daytona and a mile-and-a-half. We had to make a lot of adjustments going into Sunday, and I’m really proud of my team to improve on what we had in practice by a significant amount to allow us to be competitive. It’s great to get a win so early, in just the fifth race of the season. With this new car you don’t what can happen, and it’s nice to have that win already. Now we can really be aggressive.”

    Byron on his thoughts for this weekend at the Circuit of The Americas: “I think it’s going to be crazy. You talk about last year and we were really good in practice in the rain. Unfortunately, we got damage in the race and had a hard time coming back from it. I think this year is going to be a totally different beast. In terms of the No. 24 team, I think we’ve had really good speed on the road courses, but we haven’t’ gotten the win yet at that kind of track. We need to work hard this weekend and hopefully by Sunday we have a good idea of what we have and we can compete for that win. I’m excited for it. I don’t think it will be as unpredictable as last year, but at the same time it’s the first time on a road course with the Next Gen car in competition. It will be a good challenge.”

    Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on what the Atlanta win means for the team: “The win at Atlanta was huge. To be able to get a win so early in the season, it not only is an extra boost of confidence, but it opens up the door for what we can do in races moving forward. Last year we won early and were consistent, but we didn’t capitalize on wins or playoff points. This year, we’re looking to change that. With one win already, we can now be aggressive and chase those playoff points to put us in a better position in the playoffs.”

    Fugle on his approach for this weekend at COTA: “This weekend should be interesting to say the least, and a bit of a question mark to be honest. There’s not many notes from last year that can correlate to this weekend with the way the weather is looking right now. Last year we had nothing but rain. This weekend looks warm and sunny. It’s definitely going to take a few laps to get adjusted. With such limited time in practice, too, this year, the hope is to get a couple clean laps in the session to give us an idea of what adjustments to make for not only qualifying but for the race on Sunday. It’s going to be a learning curve for sure though.”

    Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on driving in the Truck Series ahead of the Cup Series race: “I am excited to have an opportunity to drive the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Motorsports ahead of Sunday’s race. I think any time you can get behind the wheel of a different race car and make laps, it only makes you a better driver. I like putting myself in uncomfortable situations so when I get into my Cup car, I am more relaxed and see things a little bit slower. The ability to slow the race down helps me make better decisions in the moment and ultimately be more competitive and race for more wins.”

    Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his expectations for Sunday’s race at COTA: “I’m excited to get to Austin and take another swing at COTA. Obviously, with last year’s race ending short because of the rain, we didn’t get a good base of what the track is like. We finished eighth last year, so hopefully we can improve on that and take home another win this season.”

    Ives on Bowman driving a truck on Saturday: “To have Alex get in the truck race will help him get some experience in dry conditions and see how the track evolves as the race progresses. He’s a racer at heart, so I know he is excited for another opportunity to get strapped into a new race car and compete with the best in the series.”