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Category: NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR Cup Series

  • Harvick set to move into second place on NASCAR national series starts list following Martinsville

    Harvick set to move into second place on NASCAR national series starts list following Martinsville

    Racing for a championship spot is not the only task at hand for Kevin Harvick for this upcoming weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoff event at Martinsville Speedway. By taking the green flag at Martinsville on Sunday, November 1, the 2014 Cup champion is set to achieve another major accomplishment to his racing resume. That accomplishment is moving into second place on NASCAR’s national series starts list with his 1,186th career start.

    Following Wednesday night’s Cup event at Texas Motor Speedway, where he finished 16th, Harvick reached 1,185 career starts between NASCAR’s top three national series (Truck: 123, Xfinity: 346, Cup: 716). He also moved into a tie with NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty, who made all of his 1,185 career starts in the Cup level, for second place on the all-time national series starts list.

    Through 1,185 career starts, Harvick has amassed 119 wins, 60 poles, 459 top-five results, 709 top-10 results and over 27,000 laps led between NASCAR’s top three division series. He has also achieved two Xfinity Series championships (2001 and 2006) and one Cup championship (2014). Other accomplishments include the 2007 Daytona 500, three Brickyard 400 victories, two Coca-Cola 600 wins, two NASCAR All-Star Race wins, two Southern 500 victories and the 2001 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title.

    Once Harvick surpasses Petty’s mark in national career starts, veteran Joe Nemechek will be next on Harvick’s radar. Nemechek holds the all-time record for starts between NASCAR’s top three national series with 1,197 career starts. He has made eight Xfinity starts and one Truck start throughout the 2020 season.

    This season, which marks his seventh season driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing, Harvick has claimed a career-high nine victories, 20 top-five results, 26 top-10 results and the 2020 Cup regular-season championship through 34 of the 36-race schedule. He also became the 17th competitor to reach 700 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series, a feat he made at Texas Motor Speedway in July 2020.

    Harvick enters this weekend’s Playoff event at Martinsville with a 42-point cushion for the finale at Phoenix Raceway scheduled on Sunday, November 8, as he attempts to qualify for the Championship 4 round and contend for his second Cup title.

    Catch Harvick’s milestone start at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, November 1, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Keselowski to start on pole position at Martinsville

    Keselowski to start on pole position at Martinsville

    The 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski was awarded the pole position for the upcoming Cup Series Playoff race, the Xfinity 500, at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, November 1.

    Keselowski, who finished in sixth place in the recent Cup event at Texas Motor Speedway on Wednesday, October 28, was awarded the pole position based on four stats: current owner’s standings, the driver’s results from a previous Cup race, the owner’s results from a previous Cup race and the fastest lap established from a previous Cup race.

    Keselowski, a two-time winner at Martinsville, enters this weekend’s event holding sole possession of the fourth and final transfer spot to the Championship 4 round, the top-four cutline, in the Playoff standings by 25 points as he aims to compete for his second Cup title for the season finale at Phoenix Raceway scheduled on Sunday, November 8.

    Martin Truex Jr., who finished in the runner-up spot at Texas and is 36 points below the cutline, will join Keselowski on the front row. Alex Bowman, who is 25 points below the cutline, will start in third place followed by Denny Hamlin, who is 27 points above the cutline, and Kurt Busch, who is 81 points below the cutline and faces a “must-win” situation to retain his hopes for a second Cup title.

    Kevin Harvick, who is 42 points above the cutline, will start in sixth place followed by Joey Logano, a 2020 Cup championship finale contender, and Chase Elliott, who is 25 points below the cutline.

    Kyle Busch, winner of Wednesday’s race at Texas, will start in ninth place and as the highest non-title contender on the starting grid alongside Ryan Blaney.

    Starting in positions 11-25 are Christopher Bell, Matt DiBenedetto, William Byron, Austin Dillon, Cole Custer, Clint Bowyer, Tyler Reddick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Erik Jones, Aric Almirola, Ryan Newman, Ryan Preece, John Hunter Nemechek, Michael McDowell and Ty Dillon.

    Starting in positions 26-39 are Corey LaJoie, Jimmie Johnson, Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez, Brennan Poole, Matt Kenseth, Bubba Wallace, Josh Bilicki, Timmy Hill, Quin Houff, Garrett Smithley, James Davison, J.J. Yeley and Joey Gase.

    The Xfinity 500 is scheduled to occur on Sunday, November 1, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Ryan Newman – Martinsville Advance

    Ryan Newman – Martinsville Advance

    Team: No. 6 Guaranteed Rate Ford Mustang
    Crew Chief: Scott Graves
    Twitter: @Roush6Team, @RoushFenway and @RyanJNewman
    Race Format: 500 laps, 263 miles, Stage Lengths: 130-130-240
    Xfinity 500 – Sunday, Nov. 1 at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

    ADVANCE NOTES

    Quick Turnaround to Martinsville for Sunday Cup Race

    · Just four days removed from a rare Wednesday night finish after a long weather-delayed race in Texas, the NASCAR Cup Series will battle once again for 500 miles at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, with just two races left in the 2020 campaign.
    · Sunday’s starting lineup will be set by three competition-based metrics, rewarding both season-long and single-race performance, and will be announced later in the week.
    · Four weeks of NASCAR action were completed prior to the COVID-19 hiatus with races at Atlanta, Homestead, Texas, Bristol, Richmond, Talladega, Dover and Martinsville postponed before the schedule later picked back up in mid-May.

    Newman Historically at Martinsville

    · Newman – a former winner at Martinsville – will make his 38th Cup start at the .526-mile track on Sunday. In 37 prior events, he has an average finish of 14.7 with 17 top-10s and eight top fives.
    · Newman won the spring race back in 2012, leading the final 12 laps after starting fifth. He has completed more than 97 percent of the laps, and finished top-10 more than 45 percent of the time.
    · Dating back two races, Newman has finished 10th (fall 2019) and 12th (summer 2020), and has an average finish of 10.5 in the last three fall events overall.
    · Outside of his win in 2012, Newman’s other top finishes include a runner-up result in 2007 and two third-place finishes (2004, 2014).
    · Newman has an average starting spot of 11th at ‘The Paperclip,’ with three career poles (2002, 2004, 2009).

    Scott Graves Historically at Martinsville

    · Graves will call his ninth Cup race at Martinsville this weekend, where he is coming off two-straight top-12s including a best finish of 10th last fall with Newman.
    · Prior to 2019, Graves had a best finish of 15th with Daniel Suarez in 2017.

    QUOTE WORTHY
    Newman on racing at Martinsville:
    “I’ll be glad to get back to a short track this weekend, one where we have strung together a pair of good runs in the last two races. After a not so solid spring race last year, we fought back for a top-10 last fall, and backed that up with another solid run just a few months back. We’re excited to once again improve and see what we can do, in what should be an exciting short-track race come Sunday.”

    Last Time Out
    Newman battled back from starting middle of the pack in the extended race at Texas to finish 19th in the Guaranteed Rate Ford.

    Where They Rank
    Newman is 25th in driver points after 31 points races in his 2020 campaign. In owners’ points, the No. 6 is 23rd.

    On the Car
    Guaranteed Rate returns to Newman’s Ford at Martinsville, as part of the overall 12-race schedule for the brand to close out the 2020 slate.

    About Guaranteed Rate

    Guaranteed Rate is one of the largest retail mortgage lenders in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the Company has more than 5,000 employees in nearly 350 offices across the U.S., and is licensed in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Since its founding in 2000, Guaranteed Rate has helped hundreds of thousands of homeowners with home purchase loans and refinances and funded more than $30 billion in loans in 2019 alone. The Company has cemented itself as Positively Different by introducing innovative technology, such as the world’s first Digital Mortgage, by offering low rates and by delivering unparalleled customer service. Honors and awards include: Top Lender for Online Service for 2018 by U.S. News & World Report; No. 3 ranking in Scotsman Guide’s Top Retail Mortgage Lenders 2019; Top Lender 2016, 2017 and 2018 by Chicago Agent magazine; Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplaces list for seven consecutive years; and Best Online Mortgage Lender, Best Mortgage Lender for VA loans and Best Conventional Mortgage Lender by NerdWallet in 2019. Visit rate.com for more information.

  • Kyle Busch survives three-day delay; snaps winless drought at Texas

    Kyle Busch survives three-day delay; snaps winless drought at Texas

    On one of NASCAR’s longest delayed events due to weather issues, the season-long winless drought for Kyle Busch ended under the lights at Texas Motor Speedway after the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion survived a late challenge from teammate Martin Truex Jr. while on a dry tank of fuel to win the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 on Wednesday, October 28. The victory was Busch’s fourth at Texas and the 57th of his Cup career, keeping him in 10th place on the all-time wins list.

    The starting lineup was based on four stats: current owner’s standings, driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Cup race and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. With that, Kevin Harvick started on pole position for the sixth time this season and was joined on the front row with Joey Logano, winner of last weekend’s Playoff race at Kansas Speedway and a 2020 NASCAR Cup Series championship contender.

    Prior to the race, Martin Truex Jr. and his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team were issued severe penalties after NASCAR confiscated the spoiler from Truex’s car and noted that his car failed pre-race inspection twice. As a result, NASCAR issued a 20-point driver/owner dock towards Truex and his team with the driver being sent to the rear of the field for the Texas event. The penalty places Truex in a 51-point deficit below the top-four cutline in the Playoff standings. In addition, crew chief James Small was suspended for today’s race at Texas and fined $35,000. Car chief Blake Harris was named Truex’s interim crew chief for today’s race at Texas. 

    Along with Truex, Daniel Suarez and Chad Finchum started at the rear of the field due to their respective cars failing pre-race inspection twice. Timmy Hill and Garrett Smithley also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective cars.

    When the green flag waved and the race started on a misty, cloudy afternoon, Kevin Harvick jumped ahead with an early strong lead. Brad Keselowski moved his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang into second place on the inside lane as the field behind battled through two lanes.

    By the third lap, Harvick was ahead by six-tenths of a second over Playoff contender Brad Keselowski with Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney pursuing behind.

    It did not take long until the first caution flew on the fifth lap when Chris Buescher got loose and made contact with the outside wall through Turns 1 and 2, though he was able to continue while multiple laps after sustaining damage to his No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang.

    When the race restarted on the eighth lap, Harvick jumped ahead and retained the lead while Keselowski and Bowman battled for second. 

    Through the first 10 laps, Harvick continued to lead by nearly a second over Keselowski and Bowman while Logano, Elliott, Matt DiBenedetto and Ryan Blaney battled for position behind. 

    By Lap 20, Harvick extended his advantage to nearly two seconds over Keselowski with Bowman trailing by more than two. Logano was in fourth followed by DiBenedetto and Blaney while Elliott slipped back to seventh. Denny Hamlin was in eighth followed by Austin Dillon and Aric Almirola. By then, Jimmie Johnson was in 13th in between teammate William Byron and Kyle Busch while Martin Truex Jr. was in 19th in between Clint Bowyer and Christopher Bell. Kurt Busch was the lowest-running Playoff contender in 21st. 

    Shortly after, the caution flew when J.J. Yeley spun and backed his No. 27 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE into the outside wall entering Turn 2, thus sustaining significant damage to his car. With the wreck occurring past Lap 20, it served as the competition caution initially planned on Lap 25.

    Under caution, the leaders pitted for early service and Harvick retained the lead after only taking a two-tire pit stop and with mixed strategy ensuing throughout pit road. Bowman exited in second place following a fuel-only stop followed by Hamlin, DiBenedetto, Logano and Cole Custer. Following the pit stops, Kyle Busch was assessed a penalty for speeding on pit road. In addition, Blaney made another pit stop to address loose lug nuts on the left-front tire of his No. 12 DEX Imaging Ford Mustang. 

    The race restarted under green on Lap 27 with Harvick and Bowman on the front row. Entering Turn 1, Hamlin, who restarted on the second row, ran into early issues when he attempted to make a run on the outside of Bowman and got loose. With his No. 11 FedEx Shipathon Toyota Camry wiggling up the track, he lost a multitude of positions as he dropped out of the top 20 on the track. 

    A lap later, the leader Harvick encountered issues of his own after he drifted up and smacked the outside wall hard on the right side of his No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang entering Turn 2. Bowman quickly moved into the lead as the field scattered throughout Turn 2 to avoid Harvick, who dropped all the way towards the rear of the field. 

    With Harvick reporting smoke inside his cockpit, he made an unscheduled pit stop a few laps later to have the tires and the damage to the right side of his car addressed. By the time he returned to the track, he lost two laps to the leaders. By then, teammate Custer got loose through Turn 1 and entering Turn 2 with his No. 41 Autodesk/HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang nearly making contact with the outside wall, though he continued.

    Back at the front, Bowman continued to lead followed by Logano, DiBenedetto, Truex and Elliott while Jimmie Johnson moved up to sixth place.

    By Lap 40, Bowman was still ahead by nearly a second over Logano while DiBenedetto, Truex and Elliott were in the top five. Johnson retained sixth place followed by Clint Bowyer, Erik Jones, Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski. Hamlin was all the way back in 26th place while Harvick was in 36th place, a lap down. 

    Three laps later, the caution returned due to weather issues and the misty, cloudy conditions surrounding the track. Under caution, the leaders pitted and mixed strategy ensued again with Bowyer exiting in first place following a fuel-only stop. Jimmie Johnson, Erik Jones and Logano followed in second through fourth after only opting for fuel while Truex exited in fifth place on two fresh tires. Leader Bowman, who opted for a four-tire stop, exited in 18th place. Harvick, who did not opt to take the wave around to return to the lead lap, pitted for an extended service to his No. 4 Ford, though he was able to continue following his early incident. 

    With the misty, wet conditions continuing to fall and surround the track, the competitors were brought down to pit road and the race went under a red flag period on Lap 52. At the time of the race being put in a hiatus, Bowyer was scored as the leader followed by Jimmie Johnson, Erik Jones, Logano and Truex while Elliott, Blaney, Austin Dillon, Keselowski and Kyle Busch were in the top 10.

    Following a three-day weather delay, the competitors were able to re-fire their cars and return to the track under cautious pace. While nearly all of the competitors exited pit road, Harvick, who was still scored a lap behind the leaders, remained on pit road to have the damage on the right side repaired. Under caution, some like Austin Dillon and Kurt Busch came back around to pit while the rest led by Bowyer remained on the track.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 56, Bowyer jumped ahead with the lead and Erik Jones moved up to second place while Johnson slipped entering Turn 2 and fell back to fifth place behind Martin Truex Jr. and Logano. 

    Three laps later, the caution returned when Matt Kenseth got loose entering Turn 4 and was bumped by Hamlin, who spun and collected Bubba Wallace as both cars wrecked across the grass with Wallace’s No. 43 DoorDash Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE clipping Aric Almirola’s No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang before making hard contact into the outside wall. The incident knocked Kenseth and Wallace out of contention.

    Under caution, some like Hamlin, Almirola, Ryan Newman, Corey LaJoie, John Hunter Nemechek, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kurt Busch, Daniel Suarez, Timmy Hill, Josh Bilicki, Chad Finchum, Buescher and Harvick pitted while the rest led by Bowyer remained on the track. By then, Harvick returned on the lead lap.

    When the race restarted on Lap 68, Bowyer and Truex battled dead even for the lead for a full circuit with Bowyer still able to retain the lead. The following lap, Bowyer cleared Truex and continued to lead while Erik Jones settled behind teammate Truex. By then, Logano and Johnson were in the top five.

    By Lap 75, Bowyer continued to lead followed by teammates Truex and Erik Jones while Logano and Johnson were still in the top five. Ryan Blaney was in sixth followed by teammate Keselowski, Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch. By then, Alex Bowman was in 18th while Kurt Busch, Hamlin and Harvick were in 20th, 21st and 22nd. 

    A lap later, the caution returned due to debris reported on the track near Turn 4. Under caution, some like Christopher Bell, Bowman, Kurt Busch, Newman, Timmy Hill and Chad Finchum pitted while the rest led by Bowyer pitted.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 81, Bowyer and Truex battled dead even for the lead for a full circuit again with Bowyer leading by a nose when the field returned to the start/finish line. The following lap, Truex led a lap for himself before Bowyer reassumed the lead the following lap and cleared Truex’s No. 19 Toyota the next lap.

    With Bowyer leading Truex and Jones, Blaney moved into fourth followed by teammate Logano and DiBenedetto. Johnson was in seventh followed by teammates William Byron and Elliott while Keselowski and Austin Dillon battled for 10th. By then, Harvick and Hamlin moved into the top 20 in front of Bowman while Kurt Busch was in 24th. 

    By Lap 90, Bowyer was still leading by nearly half a second over teammates Truex and Jones while Blaney was in fourth. Behind, Logano was in fifth ahead of Johnson and Byron while DiBenedetto, Elliott and Austin Dillon were in the top 10. By then, Keselowski was back in 13th, Harvick was in 15th in between teammate Custer and Kyle Busch, Hamlin was in 18th, Bowman was in 19th and Kurt Busch was in 21st.

    Ten laps later and at the Lap 100 mark, Bowyer continued to lead by nearly two-tenths of a second over Truex, who remained within striking distance of Bowyer’s rear bumper, while Jones and Blaney trailed behind in third and fourth. Johnson moved up to fifth place over Logano while Byron, Elliott, Austin Dillon and DiBenedetto were in the top 10. 

    Coming to two laps remaining to the conclusion of the first stage, Truex gained a run through Turns 1 and 2 and had a run on Bowyer for the lead, but Bowyer was able to block and prevent Truex from making a run beneath him as Bowyer retained the lead. Despite encountering a few lapped cars in the process, Bowyer was able to hold off Truex and win the first stage on Lap 105 as he collected his fourth stage victory of the season. Truex settled in second followed by Jones, Blaney and Johnson while Byron, Elliott, Logano, Austin Dillon and DiBenedetto settled in the top 10. By then, Harvick, Keselowski and Bowman were in 15th, 16th and 17th while Kurt Busch and Hamlin were in 19th and 20th.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Bowman emerged with the lead after only opting for fuel. Bell exited in second place following a two-tire stop while Bowyer, Truex, Jones, Blaney and Johnson, all of whom opted for a four-tire pit stop, followed behind. Following the pit stops, Bell surrendered his track position to make an extra pit stop.

    The second stage started on Lap 111 with Bowman and Bowyer on the front row. At the start, Truex pushed Bowman into the lead as he battled Bowyer for second place. Both Truex and Bowyer continued to battle for the runner-up spot as most of the field behind also battled through two lanes.

    On Lap 112, Blaney made a three-wide move on Truex and Bowyer in Turn 2 before Truex backed out while Bowyer continued to retain second place on the outside lane while also locked into a battle with Bowyer. Behind, Johnson started to pressure Truex for fourth place while Bowman continued to lead. 

    By Lap 116, Blaney cleared Bowyer for second and Johnson pulled away from Truex for fourth as he went to work on Bowyer for more. By then, Bowman continued to lead by less than half a second. Behind, Elliott was in sixth, Harvick was in ninth ahead of Kurt Busch and Logano, Keselowski was in 15th and Hamlin was back in 19th. 

    By Lap 120, Johnson, who was able to overtake Truex for third, started to put pressure on Blaney for second place while Bowman continued to lead by half a second. Bowyer settled in fifth ahead of Elliott and Austin Dillon while Harvick, Kurt Busch and Logano were in the top 10. 

    Ten laps later, Bowman continued to lead by nearly a tenth of a second over Blaney, who continued to close in for the lead, while Johnson, Truex and Bowyer continued to run in the top five. Elliott, Austin Dillon, Harvick, Kurt Busch and Jones were in the top 10 while Logano was in 12th. Hamlin and Keselowski were back in 18th and 19th. 

    Four laps later, the caution returned when Joey Gase spun and tapped the outside wall through Turns 1 and 2. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Blaney emerged with the lead after only opting for fuel on his stop. Truex exited in second place following a two-tire pit stop followed by Austin Dillon, Elliott and Bowyer with a number of mixed strategy ensuing.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 138, Blaney and Truex battled dead even for a full circuit before Truex was able to lead the following lap. Soon after, Blaney gained a huge run on the bottom lane in Turn 1 to reassume the lead as Bowyer and Austin Dillon started to join the party. 

    By Lap 145, Blaney continued to lead by half a second over Truex while Bowyer, Austin Dillon and Harvick were in the top five. Kyle Busch was in sixth followed by Elliott, Logano, Bowman and Nemechek. Hamlin was in 11th in front of Johnson, Keselowski was in 17th and Kurt Busch was back in 22nd behind Ryan Preece.

    Five laps later, Blaney retained the lead by a tenth of a second over Truex, who started to close in and mount a challenge for the lead, with Bowyer settling in third. Kyle Busch moved into fourth place ahead of Austin Dillon and Elliott while Harvick fell back to seventh.

    On Lap 155, Truex gained a run beneath Blaney entering Turn 2 and took the lead after spending the last several laps trying to gain a run and pass Blaney for the lead. Behind, Kyle Busch started to close in on Blaney for second place while Bowyer and Austin Dillon continued to run in the top five. 

    By Lap 160, Truex was ahead by four-tenths of a second over Blaney with Kyle Busch trailing by seven-tenths of a second. Bowyer and Austin Dillon were in the top five followed by Elliott, Harvick, Logano, Bowman and Nemechek. Hamlin was in 13th, Keselowski was in 15th and Kurt Busch was back in 23rd. 

    At Lap 167, the halfway mark, Truex continued to lead by less than four-tenths of a second over Blaney with Kyle Busch trailing by a second. Bowyer and Austin Dillon continued to run in the top five followed by a battle between Harvick and Bowman, both battling in front of Elliott. 

    By Lap 175, Truex was out in front by three-tenths of a second over Blaney while Kyle Busch trailed by more than a second in third place. Bowyer and Austin Dillon continued to run in the top five.

    Shortly after, Harvick, who was running in seventh behind Bowman, made a green flag pit stop after reporting a vibration to his car. By the time he returned to the track, he was back in 29th place and scored a lap behind the leaders.

    On Lap 185, Kyle Busch moved into second place over Blaney while teammate Truex continued to lead by more than a second. Bowyer continued to run in fourth place while Bowman moved into fifth place over Austin Dillon. By then, Elliott, Johnson, Logano and Bell were in the top 10. 

    Ten laps later and with the laps in the second stage dwindling, pit stops under green commenced as Blaney pitted. Shortly after, Austin Dillon pitted for only fuel. On Lap 198, Truex pitted under green as teammate Kyle Busch took the lead, with Truex falling off the pace. By then, Bowman made a two-tire pit stop under green along with teammate Johnson. Byron, Kurt Busch, Logano, Elliott also made a pit stop along with Kyle Busch. Keselowski also pitted for only fuel on his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang. Following the pit stops, Elliott made another pit stop to address a vibration to his No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. The late issue cost Elliott a lap to the leaders.

    By Lap 203 and with most of the pit stops under green completed, DiBenedetto emerged with the lead. A lap later, he pitted and Almirola emerged with the lead followed by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Jones, Kyle Busch and Truex. Another lap later, Almirola pitted and Jones took the lead. 

    With three laps remaining in the second stage, Jones pitted and Kyle Busch took the lead. With clean air, Busch was able to pull away and maintain his advantage as he claimed the second stage win on Lap 210 and his third stage victory of the season. Truex settled in second followed by Bowman, Keselowski and Blaney while Bell, Austin Dillon, Bowyer, Stenhouse and Harvick settled in the top 10. By then, Logano and Kurt Busch were in 15th and 17th while Hamlin was in 19th. 

    Under the stage break, nearly all of the leaders pitted, except for leader Kyle Busch, Bowyer, Logano, DiBenedetto and Hamlin. Following the pit stops, Truex exited in first after only taking fuel to his car. 

    With 118 laps remaining, the final stage commenced with Kyle Busch and Bowyer on the front row followed by Logano, DiBenedetto, Hamlin, Truex, Blaney, Bowman, Byron and Kurt Busch while Johnson and Harvick were on the sixth row.

    At the start, Kyle Busch and Bowyer battled dead even for the lead for one full circuit with Bowyer leading the following lap. The next lap, Busch reassumed the lead while DiBenedetto battled Bowyer for second place. Behind, Logano and Hamlin battled for fourth place as Bowman and Truex joined the party. Not long after, Truex overtook Bowman and teammate Hamlin as he went to work on Logano for more. At the front, Bowyer returned to second place over DiBenedetto and went to work on Kyle Busch for the lead. 

    With 110 laps remaining and the race settling into dark conditions, Kyle Busch continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over Bowyer and with DiBenedetto trailing by less than a second. Truex made his way into fourth followed by Logano, Hamlin, Bowman, Kurt Busch, Johnson and Keselowski. By then, Harvick was in 14th behind Blaney and Austin Dillon. Elliott was mired back in 25th, a lap down.  

    Soon after, Truex overtook DiBenedetto for third place while Logano was still mired in fifth place in front of Hamlin, Bowman, Kurt Busch and Keselowski. At the front, Kyle Busch continued to lead by a narrow margin over Bowyer.

    With 100 laps remaining, Kyle Busch continued to lead by nearly two-tenths of a second over Bowyer while Truex, DiBenedetto and Logano were in the top five. Hamlin, Keselowski, Bowman, Kurt Busch and Blaney were in the top 10 ahead of Johnson, Bell, Byron, Custer and Austin Dillon. Harvick was in 17th behind Tyler Reddick while Elliott was in 24th, the first car a lap down to the leaders. 

    Shortly after, Keselowski overtook Hamlin and teammate Logano to move into the top five while Bowman and Kurt Busch closed in on Hamlin for seventh place. 

    With 90 laps remaining, Kyle Busch stabilized his advantage by nearly six-tenths of a second over Bowyer while Truex, DiBenedetto and Keselowski continued to run in the top five. Blaney, Logano, Bowman, Bell and Hamlin were scored in the top 10 followed by Kurt Busch. Harvick continued to run in 17th while Elliott, who was still a lap behind, moved up to 23rd place.

    Ten laps later, the gap between leader Kyle Busch and runner-up Clint Bowyer expanded by more than a second. While Truex continued to run in third place, Keselowski moved into fourth place in front of DiBenedetto, Blaney and Logano while Bowman, Bell and Hamlin continued to run in the top 10.   

    Two laps later, Bowyer surrendered second place to pit under green as he was out of fuel. Kyle Busch continued to lead followed by teammate Truex, Keselowski, Blaney, DiBenedetto and Logano. Meanwhile, Harvick, who was back in 18th, issued concerns about his tires chattering. 

    With 70 laps remaining, Kyle Busch continued to lead by more than six seconds over teammate Truex while Keselowski, Blaney and Bell were scored in the top five. DiBenedetto, Bowman, Logano, Kurt Busch and Hamlin were in the top 10. Harvick was in 19th while Elliott was mired back in 22nd. Bowyer was back in 24th and trapped a lap behind the leaders.

    Three laps later, leader Kyle Busch made a pit stop under green. Not long after, Logano pitted under green as Truex continued to lead followed by Bell, who overtook Blaney, DiBenedetto and Keselowski for position.

    Soon after, Harvick and Hamlin pitted under green along with DiBenedetto, Keselowski, Byron, Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon, Truex, Johnson, Bowman, Newman, Blaney, Custer and Elliott.

    With 55 laps remaining, Bell was scored as the leader followed by Kyle Busch, Bowyer, Truex and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. A lap later, Bell pitted and Busch reassumed the lead, though Busch was told that he was short on fuel to finish the race. 

    Shortly after, Johnson pitted and the hood of his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE went up as a billow of smoke started blowing out of the exhaust pipe of Johnson’s machine with engine issues occurring. The engine issue was catastrophic and enough to end Johnson’s strong run into the garage and in 36th place in his 35th and final run at Texas Motor Speedway.

    With less than 50 laps remaining, Bowyer emerged with the lead followed by Kyle Busch, Truex, Bell and Blaney. By then, Keselowski and Bowman were in sixth and seventh, Kurt Busch was in ninth ahead of Hamlin and Logano and Harvick was in 19th. Elliott was mired back in 22nd. 

    With 40 laps remaining and the laps continuing to dwindle, Bowyer continued to lead followed by Kyle Busch, though both were in question of having enough fuel to complete the race to its distance. Behind by more than five seconds were Truex and Bell while Blaney was in fifth. Keselowski, Bowman, Kurt Busch, DiBenedetto and Hamlin were in the top 10 ahead of Logano while Harvick and Elliott were still mired back in 19th and 22nd. 

    With 30 laps remaining, Bowyer retained the lead by less than four seconds over Kyle Busch with Truex and Bell trailing by five seconds. Blaney continued to trail by less than 12 seconds in fifth place while Bowman, Keselowski, Kurt Busch, DiBenedetto and Hamlin were in the top 10. 

    Seven laps later, Bowyer’s hopes of winning in his final rodeo at Texas Motor Speedway came to an end as he pitted under green for fuel. With Bowyer out of contention, Kyle Busch assumed the lead while teammate Truex moved into second place followed by Bell. 

    Down to the final 20 laps of the race, Kyle Busch was ahead by a second over teammate Truex with Bell trailing by more than a second. Blaney and Bowman moved up into the top five while Keselowski, Kurt Busch, DiBenedetto, Hamlin and Logano moved into the top 10. Harvick was back in 17th, the final car on the lead lap, while Elliott was in 21st. 

    Five laps later, Kyle Busch continued to lead by a second over teammate Truex with Bell lurking behind by more than a second and a half and with the leaders starting to catch lapped traffic. 

    With 10 laps remaining, Kyle Busch stabilized his advantage by more than a second over teammate Truex, who continued to track his teammate for the lead and a potential spot to the Championship Round, while Bell continued to remain in pursuit for the lead. By then, Harvick was lapped by Busch as Truex started to close in by less than a second.

    Down to the final five laps, Kyle Busch continued to lead by a second over teammate Truex as the leaders started to approach more lapped traffic. By then, Bell started to lose ground as he trailed by more than three seconds in third place and with Blaney and Bowman in the top five. 

    With two laps remaining, Kyle Busch was still running strong with the lead and by more than a second over teammate Truex. He continued to lead as he started the final lap of the race. 

    For one final circuit, Truex got the deficit down under a second but it was not enough as Kyle Busch was able to streak across the finish line in first place and win by four-tenths of a second over Truex. 

    With his victory, Kyle Busch extended his winning streak to 16 consecutive seasons as he snapped his 33-race winless drought dating back to November 2019 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he won his second Cup title. Despite Busch’s hopes of defending his title evaporating, the two-time champion expressed a huge sigh of relief upon bowing to the crowd with the checkered flag in celebration. 

    “[I] Just kept getting great leadership and mentoring from [crew chief] Adam [Stevens] and [spotter] from Tony [Hirschman], and those guys just keep talking to me, keep reminding me about saving [fuel] and being able to do what I could, trying to stay in the draft as much as I could on the straightaways,” Busch said on NBCSN. “It ran out coming right in here to do a burnout, so I had enough to get a little bit of a burnout. I don’t know if I’ll make it back [to Victory Lane.]”

    “I can’t say enough about Adam Stevens and everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing,” Busch added. “This Skittles Zombie machine looks bad to the bone. It’s really, really awesome! We got [the win]. I was nervous a little bit like the whole last run, but I’ve been in this position so many times. It’s like the last three laps though, that’s like winning the championship. That’s how nervous it was. I can’t believe it. We’re ready to fight next year. We’ll be back…We don’t ever give up.” 

    Truex settled in second place as he came up one position shy of winning and racing his way into the Championship 4 round. Including the 20-point penalty for having his spoiler confiscated during pre-race inspection on Sunday, the 2017 Cup champion trails the top-four cutline by 36 points entering next weekend’s final Playoff elimination race at Martinsville Speedway.

    “We knew [Kyle Busch] was close,” Truex said on NBCSN. “Hell of an effort by the Bass Pro guys and everybody that helps us. It just seems like one of them years, we’re second, third, fourth. We’re right there a lot. We just needed a little bit more to be better. Coming here, we had a lot of confidence and obviously, we had a strong run. This time of the year, Playoffs, second’s great, but it’s not good enough. Excited about Martinsville. I know we can win there. We showed that in the past, but it’s a new race and a new week. We’ll have to figure out how to be better when we’ve been there. I feel like everybody will get better. Looking forward to it, excited about the opportunity to get to do this and hopefully, put ourselves in another championship race.”

    Bell notched a career-best Cup result of third place while Blaney and Bowman rounded out the top five. Keselowski, Kurt Busch, DiBenedetto, Hamlin and Logano finished in the top 10. Harvick ended his night in 16th place while Elliott came home in 20th place. Bowyer finished 17th in his 30th and final run at Texas.

    There were 23 lead changes for 11 different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 47 laps.

    Results.

    1. Kyle Busch, 90 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Martin Truex Jr., 53 laps led 

    3. Christopher Bell, five laps led

    4. Ryan Blaney, 20 laps led

    5. Alex Bowman, 43 laps led

    6. Brad Keselowski

    7. Kurt Busch

    8. Matt DiBenedetto, two laps led

    9. Denny Hamlin

    10. Joey Logano

    11. Austin Dillon

    12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    13. William Byron

    14. Cole Custer

    15. Tyler Reddick

    16. Kevin Harvick, one lap down, 28 laps led

    17. Clint Bowyer, one lap down, 89 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    18. Ryan Preece, one lap down

    19. Ryan Newman, one lap down

    20. Chase Elliott, one lap down

    21. Erik Jones, one lap down, two laps led

    22. John Hunter Nemechek, two laps down

    23. Aric Almirola, two laps down, one lap led

    24. Ty Dillon, two laps down

    25. Corey LaJoie, three laps down

    26. Michael McDowell, three laps down

    27. Daniel Suarez, six laps down

    28. Brennan Poole, six laps down, one lap led

    29. Josh Bilicki, eight laps down

    30. Timmy Hill, nine laps down

    31. Garrett Smithley, nine laps down

    32. Reed Sorenson, 13 laps down

    33. Quin Houff, 18 laps down

    34. Chris Buescher, 24 laps down

    35. Chad Finchum, 24 laps down

    36. Jimmie Johnson – OUT, Engine

    37. Joey Gase – OUT, Suspension

    38. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Accident

    39. Matt Kenseth – OUT, Accident

    40. J.J. Yeley – OUT, Accident

    Bold indicates Playoff contenders.

    Playoff standings.

    1. Joey Logano – Advanced

    2. Kevin Harvick +42

    3. Denny Hamlin +27

    4. Brad Keselowski +25

    5. Alex Bowman -25

    6. Chase Elliott -25

    7. Martin Truex Jr. -36

    8. Kurt Busch -81

    Next on the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Martinsville Speedway for the Xfinity 500, which marks the third and final race of the Round of 8 in the Playoffs and where this year’s Cup Championship 4 field will be determined. The race is scheduled to occur on Sunday, November 1, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Bobby Labonte Challenges Race Fans at Virtual Phoenix Raceway

    Bobby Labonte Challenges Race Fans at Virtual Phoenix Raceway

    NASCAR Legend Offering iRacing Experience of a Lifetime

    CHARLOTTE, N.C. – (October 28, 2020) – Now an experienced, competitive virtual racer, NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Labonte is preparing to take on some of his biggest fans on November 5, just 72 hours before NASCAR crowns its 2020 champion at Phoenix Raceway. It’s a unique opportunity for ultimate racing fans who’ve dreamed of competing against one of the best in the sport.

    A limited number of tickets for the iRacing event are still available for purchase through Engage, which allows fans to not only race Labonte, but also to participate in a 30-minute virtual Q&A session.

    The event is set for 8:30 pm EST on Thursday, November 5, with 30 minutes of practice laps around Phoenix Speedway’s one mile, low-banked tri-oval before they begin running qualifying laps. The fastest driver after two qualifying laps will win the pole and start the 40-lap race against a field that includes Labonte.

    Once the checkered flag flies, fans will have the exclusive opportunity to hang out with Labonte over Discord, ask questions about his racing career or pick up some expert tips on virtual racing. Each guest will receive a personalized video from Labonte thanking them for participating in the iRacing experience.

    “It’s been a lot of fun taking part in iRacing this season with so many great drivers, and I’m thrilled to be able to do this with race fans,” said Labonte. “I love iRacing and I am excited to finally get to connect with fans who love it, too. This experience will be extra special for everyone, including me, because we will have just raced against each other when the Q&A starts.”

    As a virtual racer this season, Labonte participated in NASCAR Cup Series races broadcast on Fox Sports and also jumped into several other series including Fox’s Wednesday Night iRacing Series. As an experienced iRacer known to race anything, Labonte also made a guest iRacing appearance in the Ferrari Challenge Series and has been spotted in iRacing events around the virtual world – from Indycar to Sport Car to dirt racing.

    “I got on board with virtual racing back in the 90’s, consulting on an old Windows video game called NASCAR Racing 2,” said Labonte. “It’s impressive to see how far the technology has come, and what a great platform iRacing has created for drivers and fans alike.”

    This November marks 20 years since Labonte took home the NASCAR Cup Series trophy. More recently, he’s competed in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series and was a first-timer in the Modified Division at NASCAR’s famed Bowman Gray Stadium. For 2021, Labonte is one of eight professional drivers currently slated to compete in the newly-formed Superstar Racing Experience, an IROC-style series for racing legends.

    Tickets for his virtual racing event can be purchased for $82 each at letsengage.com/Bobby. Participants must have their own iRacing software and a suitable wifi connection for both the race and the Discord chat.

    About Bobby Labonte
    Bobby Labonte is not only a successful NASCAR driver and NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2020 inductee, he is also a successful television race analyst, businessman, and philanthropist. Labonte is in his sixth year as a race analyst and his third season on FS1’s NASCAR RACE HUB show. He currently owns Breaking Limits, a full-service marketing, public relations, sponsorship, and events agency, he’s a co-owner of Longhorn Chassis, a successful dirt late model and modified chassis and fabrication business and he leads the Bobby Labonte Foundation, which works in partnership with the local community to empower parents, families, and children to build a strong foundation for childrens’ futures.

  • Rudy Fugle named crew chief for William Byron and No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team

    Rudy Fugle named crew chief for William Byron and No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team

    CONCORD, N.C. (Oct. 26, 2020) – Hendrick Motorsports has named Rudy Fugle as the crew chief for William Byron and the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. He will join the organization in mid-November.

    The 36-year-old Fugle is one of the most successful crew chiefs at the NASCAR national series level. He has won two driver championships and five owner titles in the Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series. As a crew chief for Kyle Busch Motorsports since 2013, he has recorded 28 truck victories, which tie him for the second-most in series history.

    Fugle will replace current No. 24 crew chief Chad Knaus, who was recently named Hendrick Motorsports’ vice president of competition effective at the completion of the 2020 racing season.

    “We’re pleased to welcome Rudy,” said Jeff Andrews, general manager of Hendrick Motorsports. “His teams have consistently performed at a championship level for many years. We believe he’s an excellent fit for our culture and will mesh extremely well with our other crew chiefs and competition personnel. In addition, Rudy and William have proven to be a successful combination with a high level of communication and trust in one another.”

    A native of Livonia, New York, Fugle holds a mechanical engineering degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In 2006, he began his NASCAR career with Robert Yates Racing before joining Germain Racing in 2008. With KBM, he has won truck races with six different drivers: Byron, Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, Erik Jones, Greg Biffle, and Noah Gragson.

    “The opportunity to join Hendrick Motorsports is incredible for me and my family,” Fugle said. “The No. 24 has always been one of the premier teams in racing. We have the owner, the driver, the people and the resources to continue that tradition. William is a great talent, and we have a very strong working relationship. I’m confident in what this team can accomplish and look forward to the challenge of competing at the Cup level.”

    In 2016, Fugle and then-rookie Byron won seven truck races in 23 starts. That season, the pair led 21% of all possible laps and earned the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series owner championship. Byron, 22, is closing out a 2020 season in which he won his first career NASCAR Cup Series race (Daytona) and made his second consecutive playoff appearance.

    “I’m excited to work with Rudy again,” Byron said. “We have a great team in place, and I know he will be the right leader to keep moving us forward. I’ve seen first-hand what he’s capable of, his competitive nature and the high standards he has. With Rudy, I believe we’ll have a chance to win every single time we go to the racetrack, which is what both of us expect.”

    ABOUT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS:
    Founded by Rick Hendrick in 1984, Hendrick Motorsports has earned 261 points-paying race victories and a record 12 car owner championships in the premier NASCAR Cup Series. The organization fields four full-time Chevrolet teams on the Cup circuit with drivers Chase Elliott, William Byron, Jimmie Johnson and Alex Bowman. Headquartered in Concord, North Carolina, Hendrick Motorsports employs more than 600 people. For more information, please visit HendrickMotorsports.com or interact on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

  • Newgarden claims victory at St. Pete, Dixon gathers Sixth IndyCar Championship

    Newgarden claims victory at St. Pete, Dixon gathers Sixth IndyCar Championship

    Josef Newgarden would claim victory for Team Penske to conclude the 2020 IndyCar season. Scott Dixon finished on the podium with a third-place run to claim his sixth IndyCar championship.

    “Happy to get a win out here,” Newgarden stated. “So proud of my team, they were on it all year. I don’t think I would change one thing that we did and they were perfect all season in my eyes. Just short, but a decent way to go into the off season with another victory and to hold our head up high.”

    Will Power and Alexander Rossi would lead the front row to the green flag. Power would pull a second gap over Rossi as the field tackled the Floridan street course.

    Laps later Rossi took the lead over Power as the No. 12 would struggle with downshifting. Colton Herta would later run down the Penske car as the No. 88 would pass Power on the outside into Turn One. James Hinchcliffe would follow in tow and also take a spot away from Power.

    Scott McLaughlin and Felix Rosenqvist would be one of the first drivers to pit early on. Rinus Veekay would also come in laps later. Not many would pit early on, but would keep their cars out on the track.

    As the drivers hit the Lap 30 mark, Dixon would bring his car down pit road. A great number of the drivers would pit laps later to ignite the pit cycle.

    Rosenqvist suffered a puncture on Lap 33 after contact with Santino Ferrucci. For Newgarden, he would be able to eke out Power as the cycle of stops concluded. As a result, he would be upwards in the fifth position, while Dixon would remain in 11th.

    Power’s issues would continue to grow as he would bring out the yellow on Lap 37. His car would go up into the marbles and hit the wall, sustaining massive left side damage to his No. 12, knocking him out of the running.

    Rossi would lead the field on the restart from Herta. Another yellow would shortly fly when Ferrucci’s No. 18 crashed into the Turn 2 wall. Conor Daly would experience some issues under yellow as his No. 20 would have a puncture on the left rear tire.

    On the restart, Rossi would have a good launch on Herta. The No. 88 would drop backward as Hinchcliffe would reel him in. At the back of the pack, calamity would strike as McLaughlin and Veekay would crash in Turn 1. The No. 3 would look underneath but spin out into the path of Veekay.

    Rossi would maintain his ground on the launch while Rosenqvist would try and get his lap back. Dixon would be stuck in a battle between Jack Harvey, Rahal, and Oliver Askew, with Dixon passing the three of them to get upward to the sixth position.

    Oliver Askew would get past Ryan Hunter-Reay for the ninth position. Hunter-Reay would continue to drop as he would fall outside the Top 10 at the end of Lap 54. Marco Andretti would begin to lurk forward as he would pass Rahal into Turn 1 to take seventh away shortly afterwards.

    Herta would overdrive the corner, losing two spots to Hinchcliffe and Newgarden.

    The No. 1 would come down pit road on Lap 66. Dixon would come in a lap later. Once again green flag pit stops would ignite.

    On Lap 70 Rossi would spin out of Turn 3, hitting the inside wall and bringing out the full course caution. Rossi’s crash reshuffled the order as many drivers would come down pit road.

    Herta would have the launch over Hinchcliffe with Alex Palou in third. Andretti and Sato would make contact, cutting the No. 98’s tire as he would crash into the barriers. A full course yellow would fly.

    Hinchcliffe would spin out under yellow in Turn 14 and hit Harvey’s car after attempting to merge back onto the racing surface.

    With 21 laps to go Herta would lead the field once again. However, Palou and Newgarden would pass the No. 88. Newgarden would muscle his way to the lead. Dixon would move his way up to third while Sebastien Bourdais and Simon Pagenaud would collide but with not much damage. Askew would hit the barriers after contact with Sato, bringing out another yellow.

    Newgarden would lead the way with 16 laps to go with Herta, Dixon, and Pato O’Ward rounding out the top spots. O’Ward would march up to second with a dive underneath Herta. On Lap 86 O’Ward would look for the lead into Turn 1 but to no avail. Herta would go wide and would drop outside the Top 10.

    With six laps to go Palou would hit pit road, Rosenqvist would also pit as they would have to top off on their fuel.

    Newgarden pulled the gap over O’Ward as he would win the finale at St. Petersburg. Dixon would finish in third and claim his sixth championship.

    “It feels really cool to finally celebrate something here,” Dixon said. “We have a lot of memories, some of them not so great. It’s nice to be in this situation to celebrate with loved ones. For me, it’s just the people that make this possible and this journey we’ve been on for so long now with this team. This is a great way to top it off this year.”

    Newgarden’s win marks the 17th win of his IndyCar career. Dixon’s championship run has made him just one championship short of tying the record set by A.J. Foyt’s seven.

  • Weekend schedule for Texas

    Weekend schedule for Texas

    NASCAR heads to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend for Race 2 in the Round of 8 as the Playoffs continue.

    Among the active drivers in the Cup Series, Jimmie Johnson has seven wins while Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch have three wins each at Texas. Matt Kenseth has won twice at the 1.5-mile track. Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman and Austin Dillon each have one previous win.

    Last weekend’s winners at Kansas Speedway, Logano in the Cup Series, Chase Briscoe in the Xfinity Series and Brett Moffitt in the Truck Series, have clinched a spot in the Championship 4.

    All times are Eastern.

    Saturday, Oct. 24

    4:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 (Stages 45/90/200 Laps = 300 Miles) NBCSN/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Pole: Chase Briscoe

    Sunday, Oct. 25

    Noon: Truck Series SpeedyCash.com 400 (STAGES 35/70/147 Laps = 220.5 Miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Pole: Sheldon Creed

    3:30 p.m.: Cup Series Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 (Stages 105/210/334 Laps = 501 Miles) NBCSN/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Pole: Kevin Harvick

  • Almirola to reach 350 Cup starts at Texas

    Almirola to reach 350 Cup starts at Texas

    A significant milestone is in the making for Aric Almirola, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series winner and driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s Cup event at Texas Motor Speedway, Almirola will achieve his 350th career start in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Tampa, Florida, Almirola’s debut in NASCAR’s premier series occurred at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March 2007. By then, he made 10 career starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and 29 starts in the Truck Series. Driving the No. 80 Joe Gibbs Driven Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing, Almirola started 31st and finished 41st in his Cup debut after being involved in an early accident.

    Later in the 2007 season, Almirola transitioned from Joe Gibbs Racing to Dale Earnhardt Inc. and he piloted the No. 01 U.S. Army Chevrolet in five of the remaining 13 scheduled Cup races. His best result during his five-race stretch with DEI was 30th place, which occurred at Talladega Superspeedway in October.

    In 2008, Almirola remained with Dale Earnhardt Inc. and served as a co-primary driver of the No. 8 U.S. Army Chevrolet Impala along with veteran Mark Martin. Following the first four races of the season, Almirola made his first Cup start of the season at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, where he collected his first top-10 career finish in eighth place. He made 11 additional starts throughout the 2008 Cup season, where he collected two 13th-place results in the fall and led 53 laps at Martinsville Speedway in October before being shuffled back to a 20th-place result. He capped off the season by finishing in 35th place in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.

    Almirola started the 2009 season as a full-time Cup Series competitor of the No. 8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. He started the season by finishing in 30th place in the Daytona 500 after being involved in two separate incidents. Following the first seven races of the season, however, Almirola’s full-time Cup ride with DEI came to an end due to sponsorship issues. He, ultimately, went on to compete in four Xfinity and 16 Truck Series races throughout the 2009 season.

    For the 2010 season, Almirola started the season with plans of competing on a full-time basis in the Cup Series with Phoenix Racing while also racing in the Truck Series for Billy Ballew Motorsports. Following the first seven races of the season, where he failed to qualify for three and finished no higher than 39th, he parted ways with Phoenix Racing and competed the remainder of the season with Billy Ballew Motorsports in the Truck Series, where he went on to win his first two Truck career races and finish in second place in the final standings. He also competed in eight Xfinity races with JR Motorsports. In October, Almirola served as an interim competitor of the No. 9 Budweiser Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports at Martinsville after Kasey Kahne left RPM for Red Bull Racing. Almirola ended up competing in the final five Cup races of the season with RPM, where he notched a career-best fourth-place result in the season finale at Homestead in November.

    After spending the 2011 season in the Xfinity Series with JR Motorsports, where he finished in fourth place in the final standings, Almirola returned to the Cup Series for the 2012 season as a full-time competitor of the iconic No. 43 Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports. Almirola started the 2012 season by finishing in 33rd place in the season-opening Daytona 500 after being involved in a late multi-car accident. His best result during the first nine races was an eighth-place result at Martinsville in April.

    For the next scheduled race at Talladega Superspeedway, Almirola was paired with veteran Mike Ford, who replaced Greg Erwin. Finishing in 12th place at Talladega and in 19th place the following week at Darlington Raceway, Almirola captured his first Cup career pole for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Despite finishing in 16th place in the Coke 600, Almirola rebounded the following week at Dover International Speedway by finishing in sixth place. 

    From Pocono Raceway in June through Richmond Raceway in September, Almirola finished no higher than 17th place on the track. After missing the Playoffs, he was paired with veteran Todd Parrott for the upcoming race at Chicagoland Speedway. For the remaining 10 Cup races of the season, Almirola captured one top-five result, two top-10 results, a total of 72 laps led and a 20th-place result in the final standings.

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

    Prior to the 2014 season, which marked Almirola’s third season with Richard Petty Motorsports, RPM announced a three-year contract extension for Almirola to remain as driver of the No. 43 Ford with Smithfield Foods and its brands serving as key primary sponsors. Almirola was also paired with crew chief Trent Owens.

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

    Entering Daytona International Speedway in July, Almirola achieved one top-five result and three top-10 results, with an opportunity grab an upset victory and race his way into the 2014 Cup Playoffs. During the race, Almirola dodged two multi-car accidents and outlasted the field, including late challenges from Brian Vickers, Kurt Busch and Casey Mears, to retain the lead when the race was red-flagged and deemed official on Lap 112 due to rain, thus giving Almirola his first Cup career victory in his 125th series start. Almirola’s first Cup win marked the first win for the Richard Petty Motorsports’ No. 43 car since 1999, which was last made by the late John Andretti. The victory also occurred 30 years to the day where Richard Petty recorded his unprecedented 200th and final NASCAR win at Daytona. With his victory, Almirola clinched a spot for the 2014 Cup Playoffs.

    Following his upset victory at Daytona, Almirola recorded two top-10 results for the remaining eight regular-season races before entering the Playoffs and as one of 16 competitors with an opportunity to win the championship. Following finishes of 41st, sixth and 28th in the first three races of the Playoffs, Almirola was one of four competitors who were eliminated from title contention. Despite the early exit from title contention, he went on to finish the season in 16th place in the final standings and with a career-high seven top-10 results.

    Determined to return to the Playoffs, Almirola started the 2015 Cup season with a 15th-place result in the Daytona 500 followed by an 11th-place run at Atlanta. Through 25 of the 26-race regular-season stretch, he achieved only one top-five result and 13 top-15 results. During the regular-season finale at Richmond in September, Almirola recorded a strong fourth-place result, but he missed the Playoffs by 17 points. He went on to record one additional top-five run and four top-10 results for the remaining 10 Playoff races before finishing in 17th place in the final standings. In addition, he achieved a career-best result of 17.9, compared to his average result of 21.4 in 2014 when he won a race and made the Playoffs.

    Remaining with Richard Petty Motorsports for a fifth consecutive season, Almirola started the 2016 season with a 12th-place result in the Daytona 500. He finished in 15th place the following race at Atlanta despite being involved in a four-car wreck during overtime. Compared to his previous two seasons, the 2016 season was a down season for Almirola, who achieved only one top-10 result and an average result of 23.3 before concluding the season in 26th place in the final standings. Following the 2016 season, Almirola surpassed 200 Cup career starts.

    Returning for a sixth full-time Cup season with RPM and with new full-time crew chief Drew Blickensderfer, Almirola started the season on a high note by finishing in fourth place in the Daytona 500. For the first 10 races of the season, he achieved three top-10 results, despite being penalized 35 points following the recent event at Talladega for a post-race infraction. 

    For the following race at Kansas Speedway, Almirola was involved in a late harrowing accident involving Danica Patrick and Joey Logano, where he could not slow his No. 43 Smithfield Ford in time and rammed into Logano at full speed as the rear end of Almirola’s car came off the ground amid a shower of sparks. Following the incident, where Logano and Patrick were able to emerge uninjured, Almirola had to be extricated from his car and placed on a stretcher, where he was airlifted to the University of Kansas Hospital. It was later determined that he had suffered a compression fracture of his T5 vertebrae. While Almirola spent time recovering from his injuries, he was absent for eight races, including the All-Star Open/Race weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. During his absence, Regan Smith, Bubba Wallace and Billy Johnson each took turns piloting the No. 43 Smithfield Ford.

    In July at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Almirola returned to the track and finished in 24th place. Despite missing the Playoffs, he remained in the No. 43 seat for the remaining 18 races of the season, where he collected three top-10 results and finished in 29th place in the final standings. He also recorded an average result of 18.8.

    In September, two months before the season’s conclusion, Almirola and Smithfield Foods announced their departure from RPM at season’s end. Two months later, both announced that they will be joining Stewart-Haas Racing and the No. 10 Ford team led by Johnny Klausmeier for the 2018 Cup Series season.

    Three months later, Almirola made his first Cup start with SHR in the 60th running of the Daytona 500. During the event, he ran consistently and was able to move into the lead over Denny Hamlin at the start of the final lap. Entering the backstretch, Almirola continued to lead, though he had Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace closing in on him for the lead and the win. Entering Turn 3, however, Dillon made contact and turned Almirola, which sent Almirola’s No. 10 Ford into the outside wall and out of contention while Dillon went on to win. Instead of a possible trip to Victory Lane in one of NASCAR’s crown-jewel events, Almirola ended his race in 11th place and with a wrecked race car. 

    For the first 16 Cup races of the season, Almirola recorded seven top-10 results and 14 top-15 results, as he was also ranked in 10th place in the regular-season standings. He went on to record three additional top-10 results and secure a spot in the 2018 Playoffs based on points and following a strong consistent regular-season stretch with no victories. 

    Almirola opened his second appearance in the Playoffs as a title contender by finishing sixth at Las Vegas and in fifth at Richmond. Despite finishing in 19th place at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, he was able to transfer into the Round of 12 in the Playoffs on a three-way tie-breaker along with Kyle Larson and over Jimmie Johnson.

    After leading 64 laps and finishing 13th the following week at Dover due to being involved in a late multi-car incident, Almirola came into the following race at Talladega Superspeedway with a “Checkers or Wreckers” mindset. After spending the majority of the race running towards the front with his Stewart-Haas Racing teammates, he capitalized on a late restart and with teammate Kurt Busch running out of fuel on the final lap to hold off teammate Clint Bowyer and capture his first elusive victory of the season. With his second Cup career win and first with SHR, Almirola transferred into the Round of 8 in the 2018 Cup Playoffs.

    After finishing 10th the following week at Kansas, Almirola finished 11th, eighth and fourth in the Round of 8. Despite the results, he failed to advance to the Championship 4 round at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he finished ninth. Though he missed an opportunity to contend for his first Cup title, Almirola capped off a successful and productive 2018 season with SHR with a win, a career-high four top-five result, a career-high 17 top-10 results, a career-high 181 laps led and a career-best points result of fifth place.

    With the 2018 season complete, Almirola approached the 2019 season with high aspirations of being a title threat and contending for wins, beginning with the 61st running of the Daytona 500. His season, however, started off on a low note when he was involved in a late multi-car accident and ended his run in 29th place. He rebounded the following six weeks by finishing in the top 10 in all of them. 

    Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Almirola and the No. 10 Smithfield/SHR team achieved 10 top-10 results, as Almirola qualified for his third Cup Playoffs as a title contender. After finishing 13th, 16th and 14th through the first three races of the Playoffs, however, he was eliminated from title contention. Unable to produce a late rally for this year’s title run, he went on to capture two top-five results, including a season-best second place behind teammate Kevin Harvick at Texas Motor Speedway in November, and conclude the season in 14th place in the final standings despite not winning once throughout the season. Following the 2019 season, Almirola surpassed 300 Cup career starts.

    Almirola remained with SHR for the 2020 season, but was paired with crew chief Mike Bugarewicz while Johnny Klausmeier was reassigned. For the third consecutive year, Almirola’s season started off on a down note after he was involved in a late multi-car accident that took him out of contention of winning his first 500 title.

    Following the first 11 Cup races of this season, Almirola achieved three top-10 results and was in 14th place in the regular-season standings. For the next scheduled race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Almirola and the No. 10 team began to turn the tide as they went on a nine-race stretch of finishing in the top five or top 10 on the track. After finishing in seventh place at New Hampshire in July, he was ranked in eighth place in the regular-season standings. Ultimately, he went on to record two additional top-10 results and secure a spot in this year’s Playoffs, which marked his fourth career appearance in the Playoffs as a title contender.

    Entering the 2020 Cup Playoffs with momentum and high expectations, Almirola advanced into the Round of 12 after finishing ninth, eighth and fifth in the first round of the Playoffs spanning three races. His momentum, however, came to an end during the second round, where he finished 17th, 37th and 16th during the following three races and failed to advance to the Round of 8. He went on to finish in 13th place in last weekend’s event at Kansas.

    Through October 2020, Almirola has achieved two Cup career victories, two poles, 24 top-five results and 78 top-10 results in 349 previous starts in the Cup circuit. He is set to remain with Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2021 Cup Series season.

    Catch Almirola’s milestone start at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, October 25, at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Harvick to start on pole position at Texas

    Harvick to start on pole position at Texas

    Kevin Harvick, the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion, was awarded the pole position for the upcoming Cup Series Playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway, the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500, on Sunday, October 25.

    Harvick, who led a race-high 85 laps and finished in second place in last weekend’s Playoff race at Kansas Speedway, earned the pole based on four stats: current owner’s standings, the driver’s results from a previous Cup race, the owner’s results from a previous Cup race and the fastest lap established from a previous Cup race.

    The pole award marks the sixth time of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, third in the Playoffs, where Harvick and his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang team will lead the field to the start of an event. Currently, Harvick is 41 points above the top-four cutline in his efforts to make the Championship 4 round and contend for his second Cup title. In addition, Harvick enters this weekend’s event at Texas with extra momentum as he has won the last three fall Texas races.

    Joey Logano, winner of last weekend’s Playoff race at Kansas and a 2020 NASCAR Cup Series championship contender, will start alongside Harvick on the front row. Teammate Brad Keselowski will start in third place followed by Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman, all of whom produced strong results at Kansas.

    Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin will start in sixth and seventh followed by Kurt Busch, who looks to rebound following his late engine failure at Kansas.

    Kyle Busch will start in ninth place and as the highest non-title contender on the starting grid alongside Ryan Blaney and followed by William Byron and Austin Dillon.

    Rounding out positions 13-26 are Aric Almirola, Matt DiBenedetto, Christopher Bell, Cole Custer, Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher, Clint Bowyer, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael McDowell, John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson.

    Rounding out positions 27-40 are Ty Dillon, Corey LaJoie, Ryan Preece, Daniel Suarez, Brennan Poole, Matt Kenseth, J.J. Yeley, Quin Houff, Reed Sorenson, Timmy Hill, Josh Bilicki, Garrett Smithley, Joey Gase and Chad Finchum.

    The Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway will occur on Sunday, October 25, at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.