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  • Allmendinger notches $100,000 bonus for Kaulig Racing at Homestead

    Allmendinger notches $100,000 bonus for Kaulig Racing at Homestead

    A day after late pit road penalties knocked teammates Ross Chastain and Justin Haley out of potential race-winning contention, Kaulig Racing returned with three cars to the starting grid for the Contender Boats 250 at Homestead-Miami Speedway as Haley and AJ Allmendinger were two of four competitors contending for the second Dash 4 Cash bonus. Following two overtime restarts, Allmendinger was able to claim the $100,000 bonus with a fourth-place result as all three Kaulig competitors finished in the top six.

    The starting lineup for Sunday’s race was based on having the top-15 finishers from Saturday inverted with the next 15-finishing competitors starting Sunday as they finished on Saturday and new entries rounding out the field. Haley, who finished 13th at Miami on Saturday, was the highest-starting Kaulig Racing competitor in third while Chastain, who finished ninth, started seventh. Allmendinger started at the rear of the field since he did not compete in Saturday’s race at Homestead.

    When the green flag dropped, it did not take long for Chastain to flex his muscles early as he took the lead from Myatt Snider on the second lap. He led for a total of seven laps before he was overtaken by Chase Briscoe. When the competition caution flew on Lap 20, Chastain had fallen back to fourth while fighting the balance and grip of his car. Haley was back in sixth while Allmendinger was able to work his way up to 16th. Following another caution in the closing laps of the first stage, all Kaulig Racing teammates were in the top 15 while continuing to fight the grip levels and balance of their respective Chevrolet Camaros. Under the caution, Chastain gave up track position to pit while Haley and Allmendinger remained on track with the leaders. Following a four-lap dash to the conclusion of the first stage, Haley finished 14th while Allmendinger and Chastain finished 17th and 33rd.

    Following pit stops under the stage break, Chastain remained on track to inherit the lead for the start of the second stage while Haley and Allmendinger moved to 10th and 11th after pitting. When the second stage started, Chastain led four laps before being overtaken by Brandon Jones. As the laps progressed, Chastain and Allmendinger were running inside the top 10 while Haley was in 12th. In the closing laps, Allmendinger reported loose conditions to his No. 16 Ellsworth Advisors Chevrolet Camaro while Chastain and Haley were battling tight conditions and falling back from the leaders. When the second stage concluded, Allmendinger finished 10th and earned a stage point while Chastain and Haley finished 12th and 15th.

    When the final stage started with 78 laps remaining, all three Kaulig teammates restarted ninth through 11th and spent the majority of the stage racing within the top 10 and 15. During the run and following green-flag pit stops, all Kaulig competitors were behind a lap from the leaders. With the race dwindling to its final laps, the Kaulig competitors appeared to have top-10 runs solidified despite being a lap down when the caution flew with two laps remaining for a single-car incident in Turn 3. By then, Allmendinger, who was the first competitor a lap behind, was the recipient of the free pass to return on the lead lap while Haley and Chastain took the wave around.

    In the first overtime attempt, Allmendinger made contact with rookie Riley Herbst while battling for a top-five spot, which turned Herbst into a wreck with JR Motorsports’ Michael Annett and Daniel Hemric. Everyone else behind, including Haley and Chastain, were able to scatter pass the wreck with no damage, though Haley and Chastain pitted under caution.

    In the second overtime attempt, all three Kaulig competitors restarted inside the top seven and Chastain was able to carve his way to settle in third while watching Briscoe beat Jones to win the race right in front of him. Behind him, Allmendinger fended off Noah Gragson to finish fourth for his second consecutive top-five finish in his second start of this season and emerge as the highest-finishing Dash 4 Cash contender, thus winning the second $100,000 bonus of the 2020 season. Haley settled in sixth.

    “We fought hard trying to figure out how to make the car better,” Allmendinger said on MRN. “At the end, we made it the best, but we were still about a ninth-place car. I fought hard to get Ellsworth Advisors $100,000, for Chevrolet, ECR, LeafFilter Gutter Protection, for sure. Can’t thank Xfinity enough for all they do and I guess we get to go to Talladega and do it again, right?!”

    With their results, Allmendinger and Haley will contend for the next Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus at Talladega Superspeedway next weekend along with Briscoe and Jones.

    With his second top-five result of this season, Chastain dropped from fourth to fifth in the standings, but is 61 points behind points leader Gragson. With his sixth top-10 result of this season, Haley remained in seventh in the standings, but is 105 points behind Gragson.

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series will return on June 20 at Talladega Superspeedway, where the race will air at 5:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Two races, two strikes for Gragson at Homestead

    Two races, two strikes for Gragson at Homestead

    If there was one competitor who left both NASCAR Xfinity Series events of this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway with disappointment and feelings of déjà vu, it was Noah Gragson. The Las Vegas native driving for JR Motorsports had the car to beat in both racing events in Miami. Then like a bomb, his dominating performance en route to victory was halted by late-race cautions that would flip the cards on the table and allow his fellow competitors to emerge with late-race victories. While Saturday’s loss was difficult, Sunday’s loss came with a hard, bitter ending for Gragson.

    Starting 13th, Gragson started at the rear of the field in a backup car but proved that he had a race-winning car when the green flag dropped. After carving his way through the field, Gragson was able to race up to sixth when the competition caution flew on Lap 20. Twelve laps later, Gragson was able to make his way into the top five when the caution returned following a two-car wreck on the backstretch. In the final four laps of the first stage, Gragson would be overtaken by two competitors for two positions and would finish in sixth.

    The second stage was where Gragson flexed his muscles as he restarted in the top five but started to make his move to the front. Gragson spent a good portion of the stage battling hard with teammate Daniel Hemric, Brandon Jones and Harrison Burton for the runner-up spot before making his charge for the lead, occupied by Austin Cindric. On Lap 68, Gragson took the lead and was gone as he kept his car rim-riding towards the outside lane and toward the wall to gain speed from the corners to the straightaways, which allowed him to extend his lead. Like yesterday’s event, Gragson was uncontested and won the second stage while also collecting his fifth stage win of the season.

    Following a smooth pit stop from his pit crew, Gragson retained the lead for the start of the final stage with 78 laps remaining. For the start of the final stage, Gragson would battle Cindric for the lead before the latter gained the upper advantage. With 61 laps remaining, Cindric made an unscheduled pit stop due to sustaining a flat tire as a result of making contact with the outside wall, which allowed Gragson to reassume the lead. By then, he was more than three seconds over runner-up Chase Briscoe and continued to stretch while remaining close to the wall to gain more speed.

    Following green-flag pit stops and exiting second on track, Gragson returned to the lead with 36 laps remaining and was maintaining a healthy lead over Briscoe. He was cruising his way to another win of the season, redemption following his loss on Saturday and his second consecutive $100,000 bonus from the Dash 4 Cash program when déjà vu struck and the caution flew with two laps remaining when Cindric cut another tire and spun in Turn 3.

    Under caution, Gragson fell to second as Briscoe’s pit crew got Briscoe ahead of him exiting the pits. On the first overtime attempt, Gragson slipped to third as Jones moved into second, moments before the caution returned for a multi-car wreck that knocked out Gragson’s teammates Hemric and Michael Annett. In the second overtime attempt, Gragson was unable to mount a rally back to the front as he settled in fifth, the highest-finishing JR Motorsports competitor, after being passed by two more competitors. Teammates Annett and Justin Allgaier finished 18th and 22nd while Hemric, who was unable to finish following his late wreck, settled in 31st.

    While Gragson parked his No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro on pit road, he watched as Briscoe celebrated his third race win of the season while AJ Allmendinger was awarded the second Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus.

    “[I’m] Gonna have to start working on myself because that’s unacceptable on my standards,” Gragson said on MRN. “[Crew chief] Dave Elenz and the rest of the team, they did an unbelievable job to set up the car. We had the lead there at the end and the caution [fell] with a lap and a half to go. These guys, they work their tails off and it’s not to run fifth. It’s to win these races. Gonna keep on focus, keep positive. Super thankful for this team and them sticking behind me. Gonna keep working on myself and try to be better next time, just learn from the opportunity and just take the positives from today.”

    With his seventh top-10 result of this year’s Xfinity Series season to go along with two race victories, the bonus points for winning the second stage and leading a race-high 81 laps, Gragson leads the regular-season standings by 18 points over Briscoe and 45 over Burton.

    Gragson, along with his fellow competitors, will return for the next series race at Talladega Superspeedway on June 20, where the race will air at 5:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Briscoe rallies from penalty to win at Homestead in overtime

    Briscoe rallies from penalty to win at Homestead in overtime

    From a penalty to victory lane in a span of two days, Chase Briscoe outlasted the field in two overtime attempts to claim a thrilling win in the Contender Boats 250 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the second of a series doubleheader weekend in Miami. It was his fifth NASCAR Xfinity Series career victory and third of this season.

    The win was also Briscoe’s first with interim crew chief and veteran Greg Zipadelli, who filled in for the suspended Richard Boswell after Briscoe’s team was penalized for a fallen ballast off of Briscoe’s car prior to yesterday’s series race at Homestead. In addition to crew chief Boswell, car chief Nick Hutchins and engineer D.J. Vanderley were also suspended for the next four series races.

    The starting lineup was based on the results from Saturday’s event at Homestead, where the top-15 finishers from Saturday were inverted for Sunday’s race and the remaining spots were placed in the finishing order from Saturday. New additions were placed at the rear of the field. With his 15th-place result on Saturday, Myatt Snider started on pole position and was joined on the front row by Brandon Brown. Daniel Hemric, Carson Ware and Jairo Avila Jr. started at the rear of the field due to driver changes along with Justin Allgaier and Kody Vanderwal, both racing in backup cars. Noah Gragson also started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments.

    When the green flag dropped, Snider received a boost from Justin Haley on the inside lane to jump to the lead. By the time Snider led the first lap, Ross Chastain moved into second and was able to take the lead the following lap. Briscoe, who started ninth, moved into second and three laps later, Austin Cindric raced into third.

    On Lap 8, Briscoe made a move on the inside lane in Turn 1 and took the lead from Chastain. Three laps later, Cindric took the lead and was able to stabilize his lead to a comfortable margin over Briscoe. Cindric was able to maintain the lead by nearly two seconds over Brandon Jones and Briscoe when the field reached the competition caution on Lap 20. At the time of caution, Harrison Burton was in seventh after starting 15th with teammates Gragson and Allgaier were in sixth and eighth after both started at the rear of the field. Alfredo was in 10th after starting 12th and Hemric and Allmendinger were in 12th and 16th after starting at the rear of the field. Snider and Brown had fallen back to 11th and 29th. Under the competition caution, a majority of competitors remained on the track while some like Ryan Sieg and Riley Herbst pitted for early adjustments.

    The race restarted on Lap 24, and Cindric retained the lead after receiving a strong start on the inside lane. Briscoe, who restarted on the outside lane, was shuffled back to fifth as Jones, Burton and Haley moved up the leaderboard along with Allgaier. By Lap 31, while most of the competitors continued battling for positions, Sieg, who restarted in 22nd but on fresh tires, had charged all the way up to second. The caution flew a lap later when Caesar Bacarella and Tommy Joe Martins wrecked on the backstretch. Under caution, the leaders remained on the track while a few including Chastain and Michael Annett pitted.

    When the race restarted with four laps remaining in the first stage, a four-wide battle for the lead took place between Cindric, Sieg, Jones and Allgaier through Turns 1 and 2 before Sieg took the lead in Turn 3. Sieg was able to pull away from the field and win the first stage on Lap 40 for his second stage win in two days and by nearly two seconds over Annett, who made a miraculous charge after pitting prior to the restart. Cindric, Jones and Allgaier finished in the top five followed by Gragson, Burton, Hemric, Timmy Hill and Bayley Currey.  

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Cindric led Jones, Burton, Gragson and Annett. Sieg and Allgaier, both of whom pitted in the top three, fell back to 20th and 23rd after both had issues on pit road, where Allgaier clipped a tire out of Sieg’s pit box while entering his own pit box and then had issues exiting his pit stall while backing up to avoid making contact with Jeffrey Earnhardt. Chastain, who pitted in the closing laps of the stage, remained on track and assumed the lead.

    The second stage started on Lap 47 and Jones went three-wide with Chastain and Cindric to take the lead entering Turn 1. Four laps later, Cindric returned to the lead. By Lap 55, Cindric stretched his advantage to more than a second over Jones who was locked in a four-car battle with Hemric, Gragson and Burton. Two laps later, Hemric moved into second as Briscoe joined the battle. Their battle allowed Cindric to continue to extend his advantage to over two seconds through Lap 60. 

    As the race progressed, Gragson moved into second followed by Burton, Briscoe and Jones while Hemric had fallen back to sixth ahead of Allmendinger. Allgaier was in ninth while Sieg was stuck in 26th.

    On Lap 68, Gragson took the lead from Cindric and started to rocket away from the field while using the outside lane toward the wall to his advantage. Just like the majority of yesterday’s Xfinity race at Homestead, Gragson remained uncontested and cruised to the win of the second stage on Lap 80. Cindric finished second, trailing by nearly four seconds, followed by Jones, Briscoe and Hemric. Burton, Allgaier, Annett, Alfredo and Allmendinger finished in the top 10. Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Gragson retained the lead followed by Briscoe, Burton, Hemric and Cindric.

    The final stage started with 78 laps remaining and Gragson received a bump from Burton on the inside lane to retain the lead. Two laps later, Cindric raced his way back to second followed by Briscoe while Burton, Hemric and Jones battled for fourth. Six laps later, Cindric reassumed the lead, where he started to stretch his advantage by more than a second over Gragson, who was challenged by Briscoe for the runner-up spot.

    With 60 to go, Gragson raced his way back to the lead after Cindric scrubbed the wall. The damage cut Cindric’s right-rear tire as he was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop to address the flat tire. Once Cindric returned to the track, he was in 23rd, a lap behind, while Gragson was ahead by more than three seconds over Briscoe and nearly seven seconds over Hemric, Jones, Allgaier, Burton and Herbst.

    With 50 to go, Gragson stabilized his lead to above four seconds over Briscoe while Jones, Burton and Hemric continued battling for third while behind by more than 10 seconds. Soon after, green-flag pit stops commenced as teammates Chastain and Haley pitted. During the green-flag pit stops, Allgaier was slowing his car to make the left-hand turn to pit road right in front of teammate Hemric, which caused Hemric to lock up his front brakes and circle around the track for another lap to make his stop, which cost him time from the lead. Once nearly the entire field pitted, Josh Williams emerged with the lead before pitting a lap later and allowing Cindric to take the lead. Two laps later, Gragson reassumed the lead as he started to pull away.

    With 20 to go, Gragson, who continued rim-riding toward the outside wall, was ahead by over three seconds over Briscoe and 11 seconds over Cindric. Teammates Jones and Burton were locked in a heated battle for fourth while Hemric was back in sixth. During this time, Allgaier made an unscheduled pit stop after sustaining a flat tire from scrubbing the wall. Alfredo also pitted after making contact with the wall.

    With 10 to go, Briscoe narrowed the deficit to less than two seconds over Gragson, who slowly started to approach lapped traffic but remained running toward the outside near the wall. A few laps later, Burton made an unscheduled pit stop due to a flat tire which ended his hopes to win twice in two days. 

    In the final five laps, Briscoe started to close toward Gragson, cutting his deficit to less than a second, but he soon made contact with the wall, which allowed Gragson to stabilize his advantage back to over a second. 

    Just as Gragson was about to take the white flag to start the final lap, Cindric wrecked in Turn 3 after cutting a right-rear tire, which drew the caution and set the race into overtime. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Briscoe beat Gragson off pit road first following a stellar pit stop. Hemric exited third followed by Jones, Herbst and Annett.

    In the first overtime attempt, Briscoe maintained the lead and Jones took second away from Gragson. The caution quickly returned for a multi-car wreck in Turn 2 that started when Allmendinger got into the back of Herbst, sending Herbst and Annett against one another toward the outside wall while Hemric was clipped and made head-on contact with the inside wall as everyone else scattered to avoid the wreckage.

    In the second overtime attempt, Briscoe and Jones battled for the lead while Gragson made contact with the outside wall in Turn 2 and fell back to the top 10. On the final lap, Briscoe was able to clear Jones for the lead and hold off the Georgia native for one final circuit and by 0.072 seconds at the finish line to win the race and to become the first three-time winner of the series this season.

    “Just a testament to our team,” Briscoe said on MRN (Motor Racing Network). “Yesterday, we were so good and today, I don’t know what our deal was. We were still good, but we weren’t near as good as we were yesterday. I don’t know if it was the heat or what. We were able to find some speed up on the top [lane] that last run. I just kept trying to run the fence harder and harder and harder. I knew that if I could get to Noah, I felt like I’d put enough pressure on him after running him down the straightaway that he would make mistakes. With two [laps] to go, I was just trying to get more and more and more, and I was already on the edge. The caution, absolutely, fell perfect. The pit crew did an unbelievable job to get us upfront. Definitely a team win. [Jones] had a big run coming off of [Turn] 4 just because I drove it in so deep on the bottom so he could get to me. It almost cost me. It’s pretty dang cool for me, growing up a die-hard Tony Stewart fan to get a win with [crew chief] Zippy. That’s pretty cool. Happy that we can get our Ford Performance Racing School car in victory lane. We, definitely, weren’t the best car today, but I felt like we were yesterday. It’s nice to get some redemption.”

    Jones finished second followed by Chastain while Allmendinger beat Gragson for fourth and claim the second Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus. With his accomplishment, Allmendinger became the 12th different driver to win the $100,000 bonus from the Dash 4 Cash program in the last five seasons.

    “We fought hard trying to figure out how to make the car better,” Allmendinger said on MRN. “At the end, we made it the best, but we were still about a ninth-place car. I fought hard to get Ellsworth Advisors $100,000, for Chevrolet, ECR, LeafFilter Gutter Protection, for sure. Can’t thank Xfinity enough for all they do and I guess we get to go to Talladega and do it again, right?!”

    The fifth-place result did very little to satisfy Gragson after dominating both Xfinity races in Miami and to fall short in the closing laps.

    “[I’m] Gonna have to start working on myself because that’s unacceptable on my standards,” Gragson said on MRN. “[Crew chief] Dave Elenz and the rest of the team, they did an unbelievable job to set up the car. We had the lead there at the end and the caution [fell] with a lap and a half to go. These guys, they work their tails off and it’s not to run fifth. It’s to win these races. Gonna keep on focus, keep positive. Super thankful for this team and them sticking behind me. Gonna keep working on myself and try to be better next time, just learn from the opportunity and just take the positives from today.”

    Allmendinger, Brisoce, Jones and Chastain will contend for the third Dash 4 Cash bonus next weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.

    Haley, Snider, Burton and Herbst finished sixth through ninth and as the only competitors to finish on the lead lap while Cindric, the first car a lap down, finished 10th.

    The race featured 20 lead changes with eight different leaders. There were six cautions for 28 laps.

    Gragson retained the lead in the Xfinity Series regular-season standings by 18 points over Briscoe and 45 over Burton.

    Results:

    1. Chase Briscoe, 11 laps led

    2. Brandon Jones, five laps led

    3. Ross Chastain, 11 laps led

    4. AJ Allmendinger

    5. Noah Gragson, 81 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    6. Justin Haley

    7. Myatt Snider, one lap led

    8. Harrison Burton

    9. Riley Herbst

    10. Austin Cindric, one lap down, 60 laps led

    11. Anthony Alfredo, one lap down

    12. Josh Williams, one lap down, one lap led

    13. Joe Graf Jr., one lap down

    14. Colin Garrett, one lap down

    15. Jesse Little, one lap down

    16. Jeffrey Earnhardt, one lap down

    17. Colby Howard, one lap down

    18. Michael Annett, one lap down

    19. Ryan Sieg, two laps down, seven laps led, Stage 1 winner

    20. Tommy Joe Martins, two laps down

    21. Chad Finchum, two laps down

    22. Justin Allgaier, three laps down

    23. Alex Labbe, three laps down

    24. Matt Mills, three laps down

    25. Timmy Hill, three laps down

    26. Bayley Currey, four laps down

    27. Jeremy Clements, four laps down

    28. Carson Ware, four laps down

    29. Vinnie Miller, four laps down

    30. Caesar Bacarella, six laps down

    31. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Crash

    32. Stefan Parsons, 26 laps down

    33. Kody Vanderwal – OUT, Power steering

    34. B.J. McLeod – OUT, Clutch

    35. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Fire

    36. Brandon Brown – OUT, Overheating

    37. Ja Junior Avila – OUT, Electrical

    38. Stephen Leicht – OUT, Handling

    Next on the Xfinity Series schedule is Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, which will occur on June 20 at 5:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Alfredo notches career-best result at Homestead

    Alfredo notches career-best result at Homestead

    In the first of two NASCAR Xfinity Series events of the weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, there was Harrison Burton claiming a thrilling, upset win to add to his sensational start to his rookie season. There was Dale Earnhardt Jr. putting on a fascinating show to win in his lone start of this season. Then, there was Anthony Alfredo, who made a late charge to finish in fourth and achieve his first top-five result in his fourth Xfinity Series career start.

    Starting 21st based on a random draw, Alfredo methodically worked his way to the front and was able to carve his way to 13th on Lap 20 right as the competition caution was displayed. Alfredo restarted 11th and was able to remain inside the top 15 for the duration of the first stage, where he finished 14th.

    Following a stellar pit stop under the stage break, Alfredo made his first appearance in the top 10 in ninth. Throughout the second stage, Alfredo would remain in the bottom half of the top-10 running order and would finish in eighth, thus earning valuable stage points.

    Following adjustments made to his No. 21 iRacing Chevrolet Camaro, Alfredo continued running well inside the top 10 throughout a 75-lap green-flag stretch, but as one of multiple cars behind a lap from the leaders. When the caution flag flew for a single-car wreck with seven laps remaining, Alfredo was in seventh and was the recipient of the free pass to return on the lead lap. In a two-lap shootout, Alfredo restarted seventh and was able to make a late charge, which included passing Dale Earnhardt Jr., to finish fourth and record the second top-five result for Richard Childress Racing’s No. 21 Chevrolet team led by rookie crew chief Andy Street after Myatt Snider finished fifth at Bristol Motor Speedway on June 1.

    In four Xfinity Series starts this season, Alfredo has earned three top-10 results. His fourth-place result, however, was his first top-five finish in the series and gives the 21-year-old rookie from Ridgefield, Connecticut, more momentum toward his part-time status with Richard Childress Racing.

    “[A] Very solid day for our iRacing Chevrolet Camaro,” Alfredo said. “[The] Richard Childress Racing guys stayed on top of it. I think I got us a little bit behind, needed a little more of an adjustment earlier for that long run, but once we got up on the fence [on the outside lane], it was so much fun. I’ve never done that before.”

    “It was my first time racing at Homestead,” Alfredo added. “Running it right against the wall’s not only fun, but it’s cool to take speed out of it and I think we got it even better for that green-white-checkered finish, where we restarted seventh. We raced really hard for the wave around, and we got it. We were able to pit, restart seventh, last car on the lead lap, and high-sided a couple of guys, went three-wide on the top and brought it home fourth. Almost had third, too. I’m really pumped about that. I learned a bunch. The best part of it is that we get to do it again tomorrow. We get to translate everything we’ve learned, but I’m just really, really, really excited now because I have a better place to start with everything I learned.”

    Alfredo will return and make his fifth Xfinity Series start the following day, June 14, for the second Homestead event of the weekend. The race will air at noon ET on FS1.

  • Earnhardt Jr. impresses in lone NASCAR start of 2020

    Earnhardt Jr. impresses in lone NASCAR start of 2020

    In his lone NASCAR Xfinity Series start of this season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. put on a thrilling show at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the competition, his pit crew, the studio crew at or absent from the track and the fans watching from home. After spending the majority of the day battling for the lead against NASCAR’s future generation of stars, Earnhardt Jr. would take the checkered flag in fifth following a two-lap shootout to the finish.

    Starting 12th based on a random draw and in his No. 8 Hellmann’s Chevrolet Camaro from JR Motorsports, Earnhardt Jr. carved his way into the top 10, settling in seventh by Lap 20 when the competition caution flew. When the race returned to green on Lap 25, Earnhardt Jr. continued racing inside the top 10. With two laps remaining in the first stage, the caution returned due to an engine failure in Kody Vanderwal car, which forced the first stage to conclude under caution. By then, Earnhardt Jr. finished in seventh.

    The second stage was where Earnhardt Jr. started to flex his muscles as he moved into the top five and started to set his sights toward the lead and in the mix of a battle with teammate Noah Gragson, Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric. By Lap 57, Earnhardt Jr. was in second and continued battling with Gragson, Chastain and Cindric for the top spot. When the second stage concluded, Gragson would win the stage as Earnhardt Jr. finished fourth behind Cindric and Chastain.

    Following a stellar pit stop under the stage break, Earnhardt Jr. exited pit road with the lead where he led four laps under caution. On the following restart, with 80 laps remaining, Earnhardt Jr. would be overtaken for the lead as he fell back to fourth. For the majority of the final stage and in a 75-lap green-flag run, he would settle within the top five and reignite his battle for the lead with Chastain, Cindric and Gragson.

    With 31 laps remaining, following a late cycle of green-flag pit stops, Earnhardt Jr. was in second, pursuing Gragson by double digits. When a late caution returned with seven laps remaining for a single-car spin in Turn 1, Earnhardt Jr. pitted with the field and exited third.

    On a two-lap shootout to the finish, Earnhardt Jr. restarted in third behind Gragson and gave his teammate a shot for him to retain the lead, but both JR Motorsports’ competitors would be overtaken for position at the start of the final lap. When the checkered flag flew, Harrison Burton stormed to an upset win while Earnhardt Jr. settled in fifth, two spots behind Gragson.

    The top-five result was Earnhardt Jr.’s 70th of his Xfinity Series career, which came in his 142nd series start. It was also his 354th top-10 result between the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, a result that left one of NASCAR’s Most Popular Drivers and former Daytona 500 champion satisfied with his run.

    “Man, I was so rusty,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “You see I was having trouble getting around [Chastain] there early in the race. That’s just ’cause I don’t have enough time to be able to trust where the car’s gonna end up, setting it in the corners. It was a lot of fun. I was rusty all the way through. We had it sailing there a few times, got some good speed out of the car, we were gaining on [Gragson] and I thought, ‘I’ll just keep driving it. No reason to try to save anything.’ He was so good on them long runs, we weren’t gonna catch him anyways. Hate we got that late yellow [flag] because our cars didn’t fire off very good. You saw it at the end of the race. We couldn’t go. It takes our cars a couple of corners.”

    Even with his solid run, Earnhardt Jr. will hang up his helmet and fire suit for this season as Daniel Hemric will return to the driver’s seat of the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro the following day, June 14, where he will be one of four competitors contending for the second Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus.

    “I’m gonna let [Daniel Hemric] have at it [tomorrow],” Earnhardt Jr. added. “That’s a lot of fun. This is a top, elite form of motorsports, in my mind, next to Cup. It’s not easy to get out there and compete with them boys. They’re so good and race so hard. My time’s running out.”

    Earnhardt Jr.’s other two teammates, Michael Annett and Justin Allgaier, finished sixth and 32nd.

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series will return for its second race of a doubleheader weekend at Homestead the following day, June 14. The race will air at noon ET on FS1.

  • NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Homestead

    NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Homestead

    Coming off a thrilling finish last Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series heads back to South Florida and Homestead-Miami Speedway carrying some momentum.

    It’s an unusual trip for not only the Truck Series but the other two series, as this will be the first time in quite some time, the series will be racing in the middle of the summer compared to racing in November. For the longest time, the Truck Series finale was slated at Homestead dating back to 2002. You have to go back 19 years ago in the year 2001 when the series did not compete in November. In ’01, the Truck Series competed in March. The earliest the series ever competed at the track was February of 2000. So yes, there have been races at Homestead where it was not scheduled for November, but a very long time ago.

    Coming back to the present, racing in the middle of summer will create some very hot and slick conditions at the 1.5-mile speedway, which, for some drivers, will play into their favor.

    Last week, ThorSport Racing driver, Grant Enfinger, in slick conditions, scored the victory for the second time this year and now comes to Homestead hoping to click off another victory. Though there will be 38 other drivers competing for the victory and one of them hopes to keep Enfinger’s momentum in the rearview by getting a victory for themselves.

    Here is this week’s preview for the Baptist Health 200.

    1. Austin Hill – This may be an obvious pick to some of you but hear me out. After falling short by a matter of seconds last Saturday, the Georgia native is hungry for a race win and has the truck/team capable to do it. Last November, the No. 16 Hattori Racing Team scored the victory by sweeping both of the stages, leading the majority of the race (56 laps) and taking the checkered flag. Not only does Hill have a good chance from a statistical standpoint, but HRE will bring back the race-winning truck, hoping to do the same thing they did in November, which is to win. Hill was solid last November and crew chief, Scott Zipadelli, has been with three different drivers going back to 2017. Zipadelli also won the race/championship with former team driver Brett Moffitt back in November of 2018. This team and driver will be tough to beat come Saturday. Hill also is starting on the pole.
    2. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt has had solid success in the past two races at Homestead, including a victory and winning the championship back in 2018. In the 2019 event, Moffitt competed with his new team, GMS Racing. The Iowan native started fourth and nabbed a fifth-place finish back in November. Moffitt also was able to lead three laps and placed the truck fourth in both stages. When Moffitt won the ’18 race, he led 59 laps en route to victory in just his first Truck start at the track. Despite having limited Truck experience, Moffitt does have other series starts, such as competing in the Cup Series several years ago. With that in mind, it’ll be hard to stop the momentum of Moffitt at Homestead. The team is still searching for their first victory of the year. and that just might come Saturday night.
    3. Matt Crafton – Speaking of experience, Matt Crafton has the most starts of all active drivers, with 13 dating back to 2001. Since that debut, Crafton has had a mixed bag of results at the 1.5-mile speedway but has also enjoyed recent success. Homestead has been the site where the California native has collected three Truck Series championships. The first one was in 2013 and he went back to back in 2014. Crafton also took the title home in last year’s event after placing runner up and leading nine laps. It wasn’t until 2015 however, when the ThorSport driver scored his first victory at Homestead. In total, Crafton has scored four top fives and 11 top-10 finishes with 154 laps led which has produced an average finish of 10.4. In the 2019 event, Crafton finished sixth in Stage 1 and second in Stage 2. Should Crafton pull off the win, it would be a special victory, as he celebrated a birthday Thursday.
    4. Christian Eckes – By finally scoring a top-five finish last week at Atlanta in 2020, Eckes is rolling into Homestead hoping to grab another top-five finish. The Kyle Busch Motorsports driver does have one start at the 1.5-mile speedway, which came a few months ago in November. Eckes started second and finished third after leading 26 laps in his first outing. He was unable to score any stage points, but finishing second was a goal achieved for that night. This time around, it wouldn’t be shocking should Eckes pull off the victory this Saturday. The No. 18 team will be using a chassis that Noah Gragson used to score his first victory at Kansas in 2018. Cup Series regulars William Byron and Christopher Bell have also won with this truck. Eckes will roll off in the fourth position on the starting grid.
    5. Sheldon Creed – After having a couple of rough results at Las Vegas and last week at Atlanta, Creed and the No. 2 GMS Racing team will hope to turn things around with a great finish this weekend. The Alpine, California native has made two starts with finishes of fifth and ninth. Not only has Creed been able to finish inside the top-10 in both races, but he has also piloted the No. 2 Chevy to stage finishes in both races as well, with an average finish of 7.0. Creed starts eighth on Saturday and has a decent chance to win.

    Since 1996, Homestead-Miami Speedway has been host to 24 Truck Series races with many different winners. Some of those winners include Dave Rezendes, Kenny Irwin Jr, Mike Wallace, Andy Houston, Ted Musgrave, Ron Hornaday Jr, Bobby Hamilton, Kasey Kahne, Todd Bodine Mark Martin, Johnny Benson Jr, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Johnny Sauter, Cale Gale, Bubba Wallace, Matt Crafton, William Byron, Chase Briscoe, Brett Moffitt and Austin Hill.

    Kyle Busch and Todd Bodine have the most victories with two apiece. This weekend, Sauter, Crafton, Moffitt, and Hill have a chance to tie that feat set by Busch and Bodine.

    Toyota has 10 victories, Ford 6 victories, Chevrolet 5 wins and Dodge has just two wins.

    Caution flags have been hit or miss at Homestead for a Truck Series race. The most ever flown was back in 1997 when 11 cautions flew for 52 laps. The fewest amount of cautions ever seen was one caution for four laps in 2002. The most ever lead changes was 17, three times, in ’97, ’99, and ’10. The fewest ever lead changes were five also set in the 2002 race.

    In addition, the race winner has come from the pole four times (2003, 2015, 2016, and 2017). The lowest a race winner has ever started to win was 18th set by Bodine in 2008.

    Since stages were implemented in 2017, Christopher Bell, Ben Rhodes, Grant Enfinger, Brett Moffitt, and Austin Hill have all won stages. Hill has been the only driver who has swept both stages, which occurred in last year’s event.

    Stages will be broken into 30/60/134 to make up the 201-mile race.

    The Baptist Health 200 can be seen on Fox Sports 1 and heard on MRN Radio Saturday, June 13 at 6 p.m. ET.

  • NASCAR prepares for a first series doubleheader feature at Homestead

    NASCAR prepares for a first series doubleheader feature at Homestead

    A new milestone will be etched in the NASCAR history books on June 13-14 when the NASCAR Xfinity Series races twice at Homestead-Miami Speedway in south Florida. It will mark the first time in NASCAR’s modern era (1972-present) where a NASCAR national division series will race twice on consecutive days at the same venue.

    Prior to the 2020 season, the NASCAR Cup Series was set to run the sport’s first division series’ doubleheader weekend at Pocono Raceway near the end of June. When the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, it caused a major shakeup to the racing schedule that was in its early stages and paused all on-track racing activities for nearly two months. By the time the season returned in mid-May, a wave of NASCAR national division races were rescheduled to run not only on weekends but also on weekdays and as many as four races a week. Among the changes NASCAR made to the schedule included additional division series’ doubleheaders at the same track, most of which will make up the canceled events of this season amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

    For this weekend’s Xfinity Series doubleheader at Homestead, the first series race at the 1.5-mile track is scheduled to run on June 13 following the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series event at the track. The second series race scheduled for the following day on June 14 will not only occur prior to the NASCAR Cup Series’ only scheduled race at Miami. It will also serve as a replacement race for the Iowa Speedway race originally scheduled on June 13 which was cancelled when NASCAR elected not to race at Iowa for the first time since 2008. As previously announced, NASCAR races scheduled at Iowa, Sonoma Raceway, Chicagoland Speedway and the spring Richmond Raceway events were canceled for this season.

    Through eight Xfinity races this season, six competitors have won a race, among which includes Chase Briscoe, who leads the series standings by four points over Noah Gragson and by 32 over rookie Harrison Burton. With an Xfinity Series doubleheader at Homestead set for this weekend, NASCAR is in for a number of treats:

    • The June 13 race at Homestead will mark the only scheduled start of the season for Dale Earnhardt Jr., one of NASCAR’s Most Popular Drivers, a two-time Daytona 500 champion and a championship-winning driver and owner in the series. Since becoming a semi-retired competitor in 2018, Earnhardt Jr. has finished in the top five in his last two series starts (fourth at Richmond in 2018 and fifth at Darlington in 2019). He has also raced at Homestead in the series five times with a best result of second in 1999, which should give him a fair advantage in his one-race deal against a multitude of the sport’s future stars.
    • The June 14 race will serve as the second of four Dash 4 Cash events this season. Gragson, winner of the first Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway and AJ Allmendinger, the upset race winner at Atlanta, will contend for this weekend’s bonus along with Justin Haley and Daniel Hemric.
    • This season marks the first time where Homestead will host an Xfinity race early in the season after spending the last 25 years as the series finale.
    • With two series races at the same track in the same weekend, it creates more opportunities for Xfinity Series regulars to compete for race wins or gain valuable points towards the playoffs. For names like Briscoe, Gragson, Burton, Austin Cindric, Justin Allgaier, Brandon Jones and Ross Chastain, this weekend presents two opportunities for them to extend their strong start to this season. For names like Haley, Riley Herbst, Ryan Sieg, Anthony Alfredo and Myatt Snider, this weekend presents two opportunities for them to win for the first time in their Xfinity Series careers. In 25 series races at Homestead, four competitors notched their first career win in Miami (Kevin Lepage, Kasey Kahne, Regan Smith and Cole Custer).

    The Xfinity doubleheader at Homestead will serve as the first of more doubleheaders scheduled to occur this season, among which includes the Cup Series’ doubleheader at Pocono Raceway on June 27-28, an Xfinity doubleheader at Kentucky Speedway on July 9-10 and the Truck Series’ doubleheader at Kansas Speedway on July 24-25. A possibility of more doubleheaders could occur as NASCAR has yet to release the remainder of the 2020 schedule from August to November.

    The first Xfinity Series race at Homestead will air on June 13 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the second will air on June 14 at noon ET on FS1.

  • Blaney rallies from difficult start to finish runner-up at Martinsville

    Blaney rallies from difficult start to finish runner-up at Martinsville

    Momentum is the keyword that is building toward Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Team Penske Ford as Blaney notched his fifth top-5 result of the season, fourth since mid-May, by finishing second in the Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. His second runner-up finish of the season did not come without early drama.

    Coming off his 100th top-five national series result last Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Blaney drew the pole position. By the first lap, however, he was overtaken for the lead. Following an early caution and restart on Lap 13, Blaney was stuck on the outside lane and fell out of the top five. By Lap 30, however, Blaney was out of the top 10 and continued fading while battling loose-handling conditions.

    Once the competition caution was displayed on Lap 60, Blaney was one of several competitors pinned a lap behind along with teammate Brad Keselowski while his other teammate, Joey Logano, was in command of the field. Under caution, Blaney pitted for major adjustments to his No. 12 Ford. When the racing resumed under green, the handling of Blaney’s car slowly started to improve as he raced his way into the free pass position.

    With the laps dwindling in the first stage, Blaney received his wish and returned on the lead lap following a late caution due to a stalled car on pit road. Following a 10-lap dash to the conclusion of the first stage, Blaney would finish 19th while watching from a distance as teammate Logano won the stage.

    By Lap 170, in the second stage, Blaney raced his way back into the top 10 as he methodically worked his way to the front. By Lap 220, Blaney had worked his way back into the runner-up position, passing Logano and trailing Jimmie Johnson as far back as two seconds. With the second stage spanning into a green-flag run, Blaney settled in second in the second stage behind Johnson while collecting valuable stage points toward the playoffs.

    The final stage, which started with 229 laps remaining in the race, was where Blaney made his move for the lead as he battled dead even with Johnson for one circuit before clearing him the following lap. He would lead 12 laps before Logano reassumed the lead. After Logano led the next 23 laps, Blaney returned to the lead as Keselowski, who struggled early, would make his way to third, placing all three Penske cars in the podium positions. Blaney would lead the next 22 laps until the caution flew with 175 laps remaining for a single-car wreck in Turn 2. Under caution, Blaney and his teammates along with the field pitted, but Blaney’s crew struggled on pit road as the driver exited pit road in eighth. To make matters worse, Blaney was sent to the rear of the field due to a pit road penalty, when one of his crew members jumped over the No. 12 pit wall too early.

    When the race restarted, Blaney would carve his way back toward the front while teammates Logano and Keselowski duked for the lead. With approximately 100 laps remaining, Blaney was back in the top 10 and with 75 to go, he was back in the top five. As the laps dwindled to its final laps, Blaney continued pressing for more positions over the green-flag run as he caught teammates Logano and Keselowski for position. After passing them both, he began to pursue Martin Truex Jr. for the lead. By then, with 40 to go, Truex was long gone as he continued to stretch his lead beyond five seconds over Blaney. When the checkered flag flew, Blaney finished second, nearly five seconds behind Truex, for his fifth top-10 result at Martinsville.

    With his fifth top-five result of this season and second runner-up result, Blaney advanced from seventh to sixth in the regular-season series standings and is 91 points behind points leader Kevin Harvick while he continues to pursue his first win of the season and first with veteran crew chief Todd Gordon.

    “It was a very interesting race,” Blaney said. “We started off really bad. I mean, we went from starting on the pole to being a lap down in 60 laps. That’s kind of tough to do. We found a way to do that. We already dug ourselves a hole early. We pitted. Actually after the first pit stop, we got our car a lot better, a lot better…We got the Lucky Dog there right before the first stage end. After that, we drove all the way up to second. We had a great long‑run car. That was great. To be able to get the lead there at the start of the third stage, kind of biding our time, taking care of our stuff. Caution came out. We got a penalty on pit road. That set us all the way back again with not a lot of laps to go. We had 170 to go. Last restart we started ninth. [Truex] just got away from me. I couldn’t run him down. By the time I got to second, he was gone. My stuff was a little worn out having to pass a lot of cars.”

    Blaney’s result capped off a solid run for Team Penske as teammates Keselowski and Logano finished third and fourth, which marked the first time since March 2019 where Penske’s three-car lineup finished in the top five.

    Next for Blaney is Homestead-Miami Speedway, a track where he has raced at the last five seasons with a best result of 11th last November. The race will air on June 14 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Wallace displays strong performance at Martinsville

    Wallace displays strong performance at Martinsville

    The final scoreboard of the Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway showed Bubba Wallace and the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet finishing in 11th, one position shy of notching a top-10 result. The result, however, was not indicative of Wallace’s race throughout the night as he displayed strong and solid competitiveness toward the front against NASCAR’s elite and at a track where he has won twice in NASCAR’s national series.

    Starting 23rd based on a random draw and sporting a special Black Lives Matter unity scheme on his car, Wallace methodically worked his way to the front and was inside the top 15 at the time of the competition caution on Lap 60. Throughout the first stage on a long green-flag run, Wallace continued to gain more positions on track and was able to make his way as high as ninth. In the closing laps of the stage, a late caution flew due to a stalled car on pit road. When all the leaders pitted, but one, Wallace opted for a two-tire change and exited pit road first, which put him on the front row with 10 laps remaining in the first stage. When the race returned to green, Wallace was quickly overtaken by Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson before settling in a battle with Martin Truex Jr. Though Truex was able to advance in the final laps, Wallace was able to finish fifth in the first stage and collect valuable stage points towards his bid to make the playoffs.

    Under the stage break, Wallace gave up track position to pit. When the second stage started, however, Wallace was able to, again, methodically work his way toward the front. Thirty laps into the second stage, on Lap 170, Wallace was in 13th. With 50 laps remaining in the second stage, Wallace was back in the top 10, running eighth. Over the course of the 50-lap run under green, Wallace would gain two more positions on track and settle in sixth in the second stage as he gained more valuable points towards the playoffs.

    Under the stage break, Wallace pitted and exited in sixth. Throughout the final stage, which commenced with 229 laps remaining, Wallace would slip back to 10th and then to 12th after pitting for four tires and adjustments under caution with less than 175 laps remaining. With 75 laps remaining, Wallace had fallen back to 17th, but was able to make his way back into the top 15 with less than 60 laps remaining. With the laps dwindling under green, Wallace was able to gain four more spots on track and take the checkered flag in 11th behind Johnson as Truex emerged victorious.

    With his fourth top-15 finish of this season, his 14th in 87 Cup career starts, Wallace is 20th in the regular-season series standings and is 245 points behind points leader Kevin Harvick.

    “Our left-front tire wasn’t getting-off the ground completely [during pit stops], so we had to do three pumps,” Wallace said. “That was unfortunate, but man, our car was so good. Our Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was so good on the long runs, so we definitely did not need those cautions towards the end of the race. All-in-all, great job to come here and execute with no practice at my favorite track. I’ll tell you what, it was awesome to race with 7-Time [Jimmie Johnson] there at the end. Jimmie Johnson has won so many times here and when we’re running him down – that’s hats off to my guys. Good job, fellas!”

    Next for Wallace is Homestead-Miami Speedway, a track where Wallace has raced at the last two seasons with a best result of 21st in 2018. The race will air on June 14 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Johnson notches top-10 result in penultimate run at Martinsville

    Johnson notches top-10 result in penultimate run at Martinsville

    Jimmie Johnson’s winless drought spanning above 100 races continued following the Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Nonetheless, it was a stellar night for the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and nine-time Martinsville winner as he came away with his first stage win of the season, led 70 laps and settled in the top 10.

    Johnson started 21st based on a random draw, but was able to carve his way into the top 10 by the 30th lap. Ten laps later, Johnson peaked his way into the top five. Under the competition caution scheduled on Lap 60, Johnson pitted and exited in sixth. The driver of the No. 48 Ally/Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet spent the majority of the first stage running in the top 10. Under a late caution in the closing laps of the first stage, Johnson moved up to fourth. In a 10-lap dash to the conclusion of the first stage, Johnson managed to move to third, where he was able to finish and pick up a handful of stage points.

    The second stage was where Johnson flexed his muscles. Remaining on track with some of the leaders, Johnson started the stage in third but moved into second over a long green-flag run. By then, his other three Hendrick Motorsports teammates (Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and William Byron) were running inside the top 10. Then on Lap 202, Johnson, who gained ground on race leader Joey Logano when Logano encountered lapped traffic, made his move to the lead. As the green-flag run continued, Johnson was able to maintain a healthy advantage over the field, leading as high as two seconds. His advantage worked to perfection as Johnson remained uncontested and was able to cruise to the win in the second stage, his first stage win of the season.

    When the final stage started with 229 laps remaining, Johnson was quickly overtaken by Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and Logano. Fifteen laps later, Johnson dropped back to fifth. Throughout the final stage, Johnson raced within the top five but started fading as he was scored in 10th with 75 laps remaining. With the race continuing to run under green, Johnson was unable to mount a late rally back to the front as he settled in 10th, watching from a distance as Martin Truex Jr. emerged victorious.

    With his sixth top-10 result of the season and the 25th of his illustrious career at Martinsville Speedway, Johnson jumped from 13th to 11th in the standings and is 151 points behind points leader Kevin Harvick.

    “We had a great car tonight and then, just didn’t keep up with the track,” Johnson said. “My pit crew was on fire, they got me spots every time on pit road. We are gaining on it, so I wish the result was better but overall, still a positive night.”

    Next on Johnson’s schedule is Homestead-Miami Speedway, a track where Johnson celebrated his seven Cup championships but has not finished in the top 10 since winning the race and his seventh title in 2016. The race will air on June 14 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.