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  • NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Texas II

    NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Texas II

    The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series gets back on track this Friday night in the Lone Star state at Texas Motor Speedway for race number nine of the 2019 season after a couple of weeks off.

    Normally, the summer race would be the site of the first of two races of the season with the final race taking place in November and being one in the Playoffs. However, the schedule changed this year by placing the November race in early spring and using the summer race as the final race for the Truck Series at Texas Motor Speedway. It will also be the first of many standalone races for the series as well.

    The Truck Series will have a unique twist when they get on track Friday night, as the series will introduce the Triple Truck Challenge over the span of the next three races. Should a driver win at Texas Friday night, Iowa or Gateway, Gander Outdoors will award the driver an additional $50,000 bonus for winning any of these events. If the driver wins two out of three, the title sponsor awards $150,000. Win all three and the driver will earn themselves $500,000. That’s extra motivation for any driver to win throughout the upcoming races.

    With that said, there are currently 33 Trucks entered on the preliminary entry list for the SpeedyCash.com 400.

    Here are five drivers to keep an eye on Friday night.

    1. Johnny Sauter – It shouldn’t be a surprise that Sauter tops this list and there’s a reason why. He has a stellar track record at the 1.5-mile track and has always run well. Sauter has only finished outside the top-10 in five races there, while every other finish is either a win or a top-10. He has five wins (sweeping the 2012 season, 2016, 2017 and 2018). With those five wins, Sauter has collected 11 top fives and 17 top-10 finishes along with 368 laps led. He also has four poles with the last coming in the November race. His average start is 8.4 with an average finish of 6.1. Sauter has never had a DNF at Texas and has completed 100% of the laps dating back to his first start in 2005. It would be a mistake to bet against the two-time champion. Only something catastrophic or an ill-handling truck would prevent Sauter from having a great finish. Don’t be surprised if you see the Wisconsin native wheel the No. 13 into victory lane on Friday night.

    2. Grant Enfinger – Texas could be the site of Enfinger’s first checkered flag of the season. The Thorsport driver has just five starts with a best finish of third coming in his first outing in 2017 with the No. 98 team. Since then, he’s earned three top fives and four top-10 finishes with 16 laps led. In the spring race, Enfinger earned the front row starting position by starting on the pole and wound up fourth after leading eight laps. He won the first stage while finishing seventh in Stage 2. Enfinger only has one finish outside the top-10 that came in the November race last year, finishing 12th. In the summer race last year, he finished fourth after starting eighth and led seven laps. Look for Enfinger and the No. 98 Thorsport team to be a strong contender this weekend.

    3. Todd Gilliland – Gilliland only has three starts at the 1.5-mile track in the Lone Star state with a best finish of sixth in the summer race last year. The No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports driver even started on the outside pole and led 62 laps. He finished fourth in November and wound up 14th in the previous race in March of this year. At 1.5 mile tracks this year, Gilliland’s best finish came at Kansas last month with a finish of third where he challenged for the win late. Other finishes include ninth at Atlanta, seventh at Las Vegas and seventh at Charlotte. Gilliland has faced a lot of pressure to perform lately and he Triple Truck Challenge just might give him a little extra motivation to win this Friday night.

    4. Stewart Friesen – Speaking of first-time winners, there could be one this weekend and it might be the No. 52 Halmar Racing driver Stewart Friesen. He has five starts with a best finish of second twice (2018 and March of 2019). His first two outings did not go well with finishes of 22nd and 14th. However, since the summer race, Friesen finished second, eighth and second. The Canada native sat on the pole and led 13 laps last year in the summer race. Those finishes have led to 26 laps led and an average finish of 9.6 at Texas. Friesen has been close multiple times to victory lane, falling short to Kyle Busch in March. Friday night could be redemption for Friesen and the No. 52 Halmar Racing team.

    5. Greg Biffle – When people see the entry list this week, they’ll see a familiar name making a one-off start and his first race in quite some time. NASCAR fans will see Greg Biffle entered in the famed No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Truck Friday night. It will be his first Truck Series start since 2004 at Homestead where he finished eighth. Before making the jump to the Cup Series, the Washington State native used the Truck Series as a stepping stone to get to the Busch Series and eventually to the Cup Series in 2002. Biffle won the Truck Series championship 19 years ago in 2000. In his championship season, he earned five wins, 18 top fives and 18 top 10 finishes. In 1999, the year before he won the championship, Biffle set the record in the Truck Series by winning nine races, the most in a single season. Only one driver has come close and that was William Byron in 2016 when he earned seven wins that season. At his last Texas start in November of 2000, he finished 25th driving for Jack Roush. However, he won that year as well at Texas. Biffle practiced in Kyle Busch’s truck at Texas earlier this March to adjust to the truck. It will be interesting to see how the 2000 Truck Series champion performs this Friday night.

    Cory Roper will be back with his own team this week, driving the No. 04 Roper Racing Ford, Codie Rohrbaugh will be in the No. 9, Trey Hutchens will compete in the No. 14, Anthony Alfredo will pilot the No. 15, Ted Minor will be in the No. 25, Scott Stenzel will drive the No. 34 and Kyle Benjamin will be in the No. 45.

    Texas Motor Speedway has hosted 43 Truck Series races dating back to its first year in 1997.

    Johnny Sauter has the most wins with five, while former series regular Brendan Gaughan is the only driver to win four in a row and that occurred in the 2002-2003 season.

    The list of winners include Kenny Irwin Jr, Tony Raines, Dennis Setzer, Jay Sauter, Greg Biffle, Bryan Reffner, Jack Sprague, Travis Kvapil, Todd Bodine, Clint Bowyer, Ted Musgrave, Ron Hornaday, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Jeb Burton, Ty Dillon, Matt Crafton, Erik Jones, William Byron, Christopher Bell and Justin Haley.

    The lowest a race winner has ever come from to win was 22nd set by Todd Bodine in 2004. The race winner has started on the pole five times and includes drivers Jay Sauter, Biffle, Reffner, Bowyer and Bodine, who was the last to do so in 2007.

    The Truck Series will be on-track Thursday afternoon with two practice sessions. The first occurs at 2:05 p.m. ET and the final is set for 6 p.m. ET. There will be no live TV coverage for either practice session. Qualifying is scheduled for Friday afternoon at 5:35 p.m. ET with no live TV coverage as well.

    The SpeedyCash.com 400 green flag will fly shortly after 9 p.m. ET live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio. The event will see three stages as usual with the first stage ending on Lap 40, the second stage on Lap 80 and the final stage on Lap 167.

  • Harrison Burton paces only ARCA practice, wins pole at Pocono

    Harrison Burton paces only ARCA practice, wins pole at Pocono

    When the ARCA Menards Series teams got to Pocono Raceway this morning, they would have to wait for nearly half the morning to get on track. Showers and thunderstorms were in the area and made for a wet race track.

    Weepers were also a problem during track drying and with limited time, ARCA officials decided to forego qualifying and used the shortened practice session to set the field for today’s race.

    Harrison Burton was the fastest in the 30-minute practice session and will start on the pole for the  General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200. This continued Venturini Motorsports’ hot streak of earning a front row starting spot. This will be his first pole in the ARCA Menards Series in over 14 races for the 18-year-old.

    Last week’s winner, Ty Majeski, was fifth fastest in the practice session thus earning him a fifth place starting spot.

    2. Riley Herbst
    3. Michael Self
    4. Hailie Deegan
    5. Ty Majeski
    6. Joe Graf Jr
    7. Raphael Lessard
    8. Cole Glasson
    9. Christian Eckes
    10. Bret Holmes
    11. Travis Braden
    12. Ed Pompa
    13. Bobby Gerhart
    14. Tim Richmond
    15. Scott Melton
    16. Tommy Vigh Jr
    17. Brad Smith
    18. Dick Doheny

    While showers and thunderstorms plagued the area earlier this morning, there will be no weather woes for Friday night’s #AnywhereIsPossible 200.

    The race can be seen on Fox Sports 2 a little after 5:30 p.m. ET and 80 laps will make up the 200-mile race.

  • Ty Majeski wins ARCA General Tire 150 in overtime finish

    Ty Majeski wins ARCA General Tire 150 in overtime finish

    The ARCA Menards Series came to Charlotte Motor Speedway for a rare Thursday night event and its second race back since returning last year after a few years of hiatus.

    Eighth-place qualifier Ty Majeski took the checkered flag for his first ARCA victory, holding off defending series champion Sheldon Creed and Gus Dean in a two-lap overtime dash for the checkered. Majeski took advantage of dominant pole sitter Michael Self’s issues when he brought out the caution on Lap 85 by spinning in the first turn. Self stayed out on the race track in hopes of trying to stay as the leader, but everyone else, including Majeski, came down to pit road under the caution. Majeski took the lead with four to go and was able to hang on through three overtimes to earn the win in just his 11th start.

    “Ah man, this is unbelievable, I can’t even believe this,” Majeski said in his post-race interview with Fox Sports 1. “From losing my ride this year [in the Xfinity Series], it was like January or February when this deal finally came together. Chad (Bryant, Team Owner) took a chance on me. We both have a lot to prove. This is a great win for everybody. We have a great sponsor on board, Crestliner. This is freaking awesome! We have the [Alan] Kulwicki colors on, that’s where I kind of cut my teeth in the late model racing and jump start my career. For it to come full circle and come to victory lane, and the polish victory lap, it doesn’t get any better.”

    The General Tire 150 got underway shortly after 8 p.m. ET. Self earned the pole earlier in the day, thus continuing the Venturini Motorsports pole streak ever since the season started at Daytona. Former NHRA driver Tanner Gray put the No. 54 DGR-Crosley Toyota on the outside pole for his mile-and-a-half debut.

    When the green flag fell, the action was exciting and intense from the get-go.

    On the start, the No. 9 of Codie Rohrbaugh spun his tires and jacked up the field a little bit. This saw Self pull away from the field and lead early on. The first caution of the night came out on the fifth lap for Venturini Motorsports driver Christian Eckes, who had a left front tire go down in Turn 3. After a few laps under green, he would bring out another caution on lap 10 for another flat left front tire. Another caution was seen on Lap 16 for the No. 35 of David Dodson, who crashed off the fourth turn.

    The race was restarted on Lap 22 and when Joe Graf Jr. was penalized on the restart for passing before the start-finish line. Graf had to come down pit road to serve a pass-through penalty. The next caution flew on Lap 51, as the No. 06 of Con Nicolopoulos ran into trouble on pit road. At this time Self’s machine began to smoke. While Self and his No. 25 Venturini Motorsports team worked to assess what was happening, ARCA officials let the team stay on the track without being black flagged for leaking oil, as the smoke would eventually go away when the race would go back green.

    Another caution would fly on Lap 58 when the No. 69 of Scott Melton spun on the backstretch. Afterward, the race saw a long green flag run where Self would dominate the field until Creed began to run down the leader with 25 laps to go. Self kept a manageable lead over Creed and was looking to be just the second driver to earn the pole and win the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in an ARCA event since Ryan Newman in 2001.

    Following Self’s spin and gamble on the restart, which saw the rest of the field pit for tires and Creed being sent to the tail of the longest line for being penalized on the restart, Bret Holmes took the lead before Riley Herbst was sent into the wall after contact with Creed. On Lap 102 following the first overtime restart, Codie Rohrbaugh made contact with the wall off the second turn. This set up the final restart with Majeski coming out on top over Creed and Dean.

    “Yeah we had a bad adjustment there,” Majeski said to Fox Sports 1 when describing his late-race rally to the front. “I don’t know if it was the scuff tires that we qualified on or going to stickers that freed the car up. We were way too free. We got a caution there at the end. Paul (Andrews, Crew Chief) made a great adjustment. Ah man, this is so cool!”

    Michael Self and the No. 25 Venturini Motorsports team finished fifth after rebounding from his late-race issues.

    “I just made a mistake,” Self told Fox Sports 1 in his post-race interview after his spin in Turn 1 to bring out the caution. “I just got greedy, I guess. That was just dumb on my part. Just an idiotic move. This Sinclair No. 25 was such an incredible car today, I mean that thing was so fast. I got in and got a little bit free, you know getting right there, borderline free all night. That run was right on the edge and I totally blew it. But you know what, we came out with an okay points day. Thanks to everyone here, thanks to General Tire for putting this race on. This was a blast. Compared to last year, I’ll take it. We’re going to Pocono and I just have to learn.”

    This was Majeski’s second start of 2019, leading 14 laps en route to the victory. Self led the most laps with 91.

    Official Results

    1. Ty Majeski
    2. Sheldon Creed
    3. Gus Dean
    4. Harrison Burton
    5. Michael Self
    6. Tanner Gray
    7. Christian Eckes
    8. Bret Holmes
    9. Travis Braden
    10. Thad Moffitt
    11. Andy Seuss
    12. Joe Graf Jr
    13. Bryan Dauzat
    14. Scott Melton
    15. Tommy Vigh Jr
    16. Codie Rohrbaugh
    17. Willie Mullins
    18. Jason Miles
    19. Riley Herbst
    20. Brandon McReynolds
    21. Devin Dodson
    22. Con Nicolopoulos
    23. Brad Smith
    24. Dick Doheny
    25. C.J. McLaughlin- Withdrew Before Start Of The Race

  • William Byron captures pole and sets record for Coca-Cola 600

    William Byron captures pole and sets record for Coca-Cola 600

    William Bryon earned the Busch Pole Award Thursday evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600, becoming the youngest pole winner in the event’s history.

    The 21-year-old Charlotte native earned the pole in his Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet with a 183.424 mph lap. It was his second Cup Series pole and the second this season after starting up front for the season-opening Daytona 500.

    “This is a dream come true,” Byron said after qualifying. “Obviously I grew up in Charlotte and came to this race every year. So, it’s a dream come true to qualify on the pole with Hendrick Motorsports just across the street and all the hard work and everybody at Chevrolet giving us fast race cars. This is pretty cool. I can’t think of a better way to start the weekend.

    “Winning the pole is a good first step for this weekend. After all those nights of running the Summer Shootout and Winter Heat around here (as a child), I spent a lot of time wondering what it would be like to run the big track. It’s really cool (to win the pole on it). I’ve run one (Coca-Cola 600) here and it didn’t go so great, so the one thought I’ve had in my head this week was to make it better this year, because honestly it was miserable last year. I’ve taken that and used it as added motivation for this year. I don’t really like having the ‘youngest’ term attached to me. I’ve always been the young guy. I really just look at myself as a race car driver.”

    Aric Almirola will start in second after a lap of 183.069 mph in his No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.

    “I got everything I could out of it,” he said. ” If somebody else gets in there maybe they might be able to do something different, but I felt like I got everything I could out of it. Surprisingly, it was a handful to drive so I’m proud of that lap.”

    The defending race winner, Kyle Busch, qualified third in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at 182.933 mph. Austin Dillon will start fourth with Kevin Harvick in fifth.

    Daniel Suarez, Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Daniel Hemric round out the top 10 starting positions.

    Jimmie Johnson, with four Coca-Cola 600 wins (2003, 2004, 2005, 2014), will start in 15th.

    Tune into the 60th running of the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on FOX with radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

  • Brennan Poole and Stewart Friesen earn top-3 finishes at Charlotte

    Brennan Poole and Stewart Friesen earn top-3 finishes at Charlotte

    After missing the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway due to the lack of sponsorship, Brennan Poole and the No. 30 On Point Motorsports team returned with redemption in mind and wanting more after last week.

    Poole and the No. 30 team started 17th and quietly ran under the radar all night long. But when it mattered most during a late race restart with three to go, he found himself inside the top three with a shot at the upset win for a small underfunded team.

    Poole tried all he could to chase down race leader Kyle Busch, but ultimately, wound up 1.115 seconds short.

    Poole was ecstatic about his second place finish, despite not being able to chase down Busch for the race win.

    “I just gave it everything I had,” Poole said in his Fox Sports 1 post-race interview. “I found a little something there running on the top lane of the restarts and it worked out really good. I can’t thank MadVapes, Blu this weekend. It sucks that we missed Kansas last week. The work that the guys do with literally no funding is ridiculous. Ran second tonight to Kyle Busch with a broken sway bar. So, pretty proud of the effort. I know we got a lot more chances with this coming up in our future to get this Toyota Tundra to victory lane, but I’m excited tonight and I may even go grab a beer when I get home.”

    It was Poole’s first top five of his Truck Series career in over 10n starts and the best finish of his Truck Series career.

    After a heartbreak last weekend in Kansas, Stewart Friesen, driver of the No. 52 Halmar Racing Chevrolet was looking to rebound this weekend at Charlotte and he almost did just that.

    Friesen started second and ran inside the top-10 most of the night, finishing fifth and sixth in both stages. He was up front and found himself in the top five late in the race, but had to settle for another top-five finish, finishing third for his fourth top five of the year.

    “These guys work so hard,” Friesen said to MRN Radio. “All of these guys work so hard. Thanks to Chris Larsen, Team Chevy and GMS Fab Shop. They got their heads down and working hard, we’re catching them. Kyle (Busch) ended up spanking us at the end here. I know he got out and had that good run there, but we got some good notes. We’re going to keep working on it and get them at the end of the year when the money is on the line. Speaking of money on the line the next three weeks, thanks to Gander Outdoors. That’s pretty badass. We put up a lot of money to race our modified in modified country in the northeast. We’re going to go to our two favorite tracks, Texas and Iowa, and this is not my favorite track, so I’m ready to get out of here.”

  • ThorSport Racing places three drivers in the top-10

    ThorSport Racing places three drivers in the top-10

    It was a solid night for the Ohio based ThorSport Racing team with three of their four drivers finishing inside the top-10 with the exception of Johnny Sauter who wound up 17th after stalling on a late race restart.

    Ben Rhodes, the highest finisher among his teammates, earned a fourth-place finish. Rhodes was up front for most of the race. He led the first couple of laps before settling into the top five for most of the race. In the first stage, Rhodes and the No. 99 Carolina Nut Company Ford F-150 finished fourth after leading a couple of laps early. However, in Stage 2, the Kentucky native fell back a little bit after pit stops and finished eighth.

    Rhodes would find himself near the front again as the race continued to wind down. On a late race restart with three to go, he had the chance to run down eventual race winner Kyle Busch for a shot at the win and what would have been his first victory since Kentucky of last year. However, the No. 99 ThorSport team wound up fourth, the highest of the ThorSport finishers.

    “Yeah, a little bit up and down,” Rhodes told MRN Radio describing his night at Charlotte. “Kind of missed the, I guess the audible that everyone pulled when me and Todd (Gilliland) stayed out. We had to drive through the field tonight. I’m wore out, that was a lot of work. I mean we had a fast Carolina Nut F-150. The guys at ThorSport, everyone back at home, Duke and Rhonda Thorson did an amazing job getting all their ThorSport trucks fast. Matt Crafton got the pole and I thought we were going to get second, but we were having a few issues with looseness. We know how to fix it, we’ll have to go home and do our homework, and we’ll be ready for the big money race at Texas.”

    Crafton, in the No. 88 Menards Ford F-150, finished one spot behind his teammate Rhodes to round out the top five finishers.

    Crafton’s day started off well by collecting the pole for the second straight week in a row and even winning the first stage. After winning the first stage, however, Crafton could not catch the leaders. He would fight in the top five, but could never get back to the front. Crafton was good enough to finish fourth in Stage 2. But alas, his winless streak is still intact as Crafton would earn his fifth top five of the year.

    “We were actually really, really tight in the first half of the race, three-quarters of the race,” Crafton said to MRN Radio. “We were able to free it up in the end. Still needed a little bit more. The 51 (Kyle Busch) was definitely class of the field. All in all, I mean it wasn’t bad. We still have room for improvement, this group keeps getting better and better each week. As bad as we struggled last year, it feels good to run top five and top three and lead laps again.”

    After finishing third in both stages, Enfinger, the No. 98 Champion Power Equipment driver, finished inside the top-10 in the ninth position.

    “Not the finish we deserved but had a good truck all night,” Enfinger said in his post-race tweet. “These guys have been great all year on pit road and everyone who works for ThorSport Racing has brought us great F-150s. Hungry to get us a win.”

    Sauter would be last of the ThorSport teammates finishing 17th after stalling on a late race restart.

  • Ryan Preece captures career-best finish with third at Talladega

    Ryan Preece captures career-best finish with third at Talladega

    It was an exemplary day for the Chevrolet teams as they claimed the top three spots at Talladega but it was especially meaningful for Ryan Preece.

    Preece survived three multi-car crashes Sunday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway to claim his best career finish. Driving his JTG Daugherty Racing No. 47 Chevrolet, he claimed the first top five of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career with a third-place finish in the GEICO 500.

    It also earned him the title of Sunoco Rookie of the Race. His previous best finish was eighth in the season-opening Daytona 500. It was the rookie’s 15th start and only his second experience competing at Talladega.

    “It was awesome,” Preece said. “I was only here one other time and that was in an Xfinity car in 2016 and I was running third with three to go and went for the hole and got flushed.

    “So, I wasn’t going to do that today. Ultimately, it was a perfect situation for Chevy there on that restart, being able to line up and push each other and really not give the other manufacturers an opportunity to get by us. So, a great day for Kroger and a great day for JTG and hopefully we can use this momentum moving forward.”

    Earlier in the week, Preece spoke with the media about his career and his expectations going forward.

    “It’s been full of highs and lows for sure, but something that, you know, hard work and never giving up always prevail,” he said. “So we just have to keep heading in that direction and, I feel like ultimately by the middle of the season, towards the end of the season, we should be hitting our stride and be exactly where I want to be. It’s just, it takes time. We’re working on that and, obviously I’m extremely thankful for the opportunity that JTG Jody and Tad and, and Brad and Gordon that have given me, and Kroger being behind me 110%. I get those texts every single week from all those guys. It’s a good feeling to know that no matter what, at the end of the day, they’re proud of me and we’re just going to keep moving forward.”

    If today’s result is any indication, Preece is ahead of schedule and definitely headed in the right direction.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

  • Elliott name back in victory lane at Talladega

    Elliott name back in victory lane at Talladega

    With four different crashes in the final seven laps, Chase Elliott emerged victorious in the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series.

    “Obviously it could have gone both ways but fortunately everybody stayed together and stayed the course and had some help on that last lap with the caution,” Elliott said. “I just appreciate all the support. This is unbelievable. This is special. This is close to home for me. It feels a little bit like a home race.

    “We’ll take it. Unbelievable feeling. The crowd was intense. We’re proud to get it done for them.”

    Elliott is the first driver for the 2019 season to break the win streak by Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske. He edged his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman, who was disappointed to not have a chance at the win coming to the line despite scoring his career-best finish.

    “I’m not just going to let him win, right?” Bowman asked rhetorically. “I’ve got to try. I knew I could get to his quarter panel. I was pretty confident I could get to his quarter panel through the tri-oval. Who knows who is going to get to the line first? At that point, I thought I could do it. Depends on the car behind you, where he goes.

    “It would have been fun to try, but happy for Chase, Nationwide (Bowman’s sponsor), everybody that lets us keep doing this thing. I’m glad to kind of turn the season around. It’s been a rough start to the year. These guys deserve way better than the finishes they’ve had. To come home second, it’s not a win, but headed in the right direction.”

    Ryan Preece also scored his best career Cup series finish with a third place run. Upon further video evidence, Joey Logano unofficially finishes in fourth just slightly ahead of Daniel Hemric, who also got his best career finish. The rest of the top 10 finishing positions were Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Brendan Gaughan, Aric Almirola and Kyle Busch. Busch now extends his top-10 finishing streak to 10 for the 2019 season.

    Three Multi-Car Wrecks at Talladega

    The race officially ended under caution on the final lap as William Byron tangled with David Ragan on the back stretch. The two drivers collected Kyle Larson and Jeffrey Earnhardt. Both Larson and Earnhardt spun toward the inside wall, with Larson beginning to flip moments before impact with the inside SAFER barrier. The No. 42 Chevrolet tumbled and began to flip multiple times before finally coming to rest on the wheels. However, with Stenhouse spinning on the front stretch as the field took the white flag, the combination of debris on the track a few hundred feet before the start-finish line and Larson’s flip on the back stretch, NASCAR had to throw the yellow. Erik Jones spun in Turns 3 and 4 with two laps to go, but was able to continue on right away.

    “That was probably the longest flip I’ve ever had,” Larson said after he was checked out of the infield care center. “I didn’t know if it would ever stop. It was a little bit scary, but thankfully I’m all right.”

    A separate incident occurred with just seven laps remaining, as Chris Buescher’s No. 37 Chevrolet got turned by Aric Almirola on the backstretch. For the majority of that previous lap, Almirola kept looking to the inside to make a three-wide pass, but tucked back in line. However, on the back stretch, Almirola made contact with Buescher as he fell back in line and started a five-car crash. Buescher’s car hit the outside wall, then was t-boned by Matt DiBenedetto’s No. 95 Toyota, lifting Buescher’s car in the air. Martin Truex Jr. made slight contact, but avoided most of the wreck and was able to continue in the race. Justin Haley, who was making his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut, was not so fortunate and had his great debut end after hitting DiBenedetto in the side.

    “We just got turned,” Buescher told FOX. ”Good position there with just a handful of laps to go. Just got turned right, destroyed our race car.”

    The red flag lasted for 8 minutes and 47 seconds.

    Back in the first stage, another multi-car wreck took out a few other major contenders as well. Just 10 laps into the race, Bubba Wallace had a strong run on Ryan Blaney. While the two bump drafted around, Blaney’s car got sideways but he was able to correct it. Wallace was not, and spun toward the inside across traffic. Clint Bowyer’s car slid up and collected his Stewart-Haas teammate Kevin Harvick. Michael McDowell and Matt Tifft were also collected, and those four retired from the race immediately.

    “The No. 22 (Joey Logano) pulled up and he checked up a little bit,” Wallace said of the crash. “I went to go to the bottom, where I was safe. I don’t know if I crossed (Blaney’s) bumper or whatever. But it got him wiggled down and shoved me even farther down than I wanted to go.

    “So I went back up just to stay off the apron and it just unloaded. It’s just unfortunate, but I tried not to wreck my buddy, Ryan, and it cost our day and some others’.”

    Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota also received damage, and went a few laps down early. After hitting the wall on Lap 83, Hamlin took his car to the garage with mechanical failures and would not return to the race. Jimmie Johnson received damage after running over debris from McDowell’s car. On Lap 25, Johnson hit the wall in Turn 3. He was able to get his Chevrolet to pit road, but was out of contention after finishing nine laps down.

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competes next at Dover International Speedway on May 5.

    Monster Energy Cup Series Race Number 10
    Race Results for the 50th Annual GEICO 500 – Sunday, April 28, 2019
    Talladega Superspeedway – Talladega, AL – 2.66 – Mile Paved
    Total Race Length – 188 Laps – 500.08 Miles

    FinStrNoDriverTeamLapsS1PosS2PosPtsStatus
    1119Chase ElliottMountain Dew/Little Caesar’s Chevrolet1884157Running
    2988Alex BowmanNationwide Chevrolet1882253Running
    33047Ryan Preece #Kroger Chevrolet1880034Running
    4822Joey LoganoMoneyLion Ford1880935Running
    558Daniel Hemric #Caterpillar Chevrolet1880835Running
    6141Kurt BuschMonster Energy Chevrolet1880636Running
    7246Ryan NewmanAcorns Ford1886035Running
    82962* Brendan Gaughan(i)BeardOilDstrbtng/SthPntHtl&Casino Chevrolet188000Running
    9210Aric AlmirolaSmithfield Ford1880028Running
    102218Kyle BuschM&M’s Chocolate Bar Toyota18891030Running
    113632Corey LaJoieSchuler Systems Ford1880026Running
    121641Daniel SuarezCoca-Cola Orange Vanilla Ford1885031Running
    1342Brad KeselowskiSnap On Ford1880024Running
    1413Austin DillonDow Chevrolet1883537Running
    15712Ryan BlaneyMenards/Knauf Ford1880429Running
    161721Paul MenardQuick Land Tire & Auto Center Ford1880021Running
    171313Ty DillonGEICO Chevrolet1881030Running
    183727* Reed SorensonLow-T Centers Chevrolet1880019Running
    192720Erik JonesSTANLEY Toyota1880018Running
    202019Martin Truex JrBass Pro Shops Toyota1880017Running
    212524William ByronHertz Chevrolet1887328Running
    223381* Jeffrey Earnhardt(i)Xtreme Concepts Toyota187000Accident
    231538David RaganShriners Hospital for Children Ford1870014Accident
    241042Kyle LarsonClover Chevrolet1870717Accident
    25617Ricky Stenhouse JrFifth Third Bank Ford1878015Accident
    263415Ross Chastain(i)Chevrolet187000Running
    273596* Parker Kligerman(i)TRD 40th Anniversary Toyota186000Running
    284051Cody Ware(i)JACOB Companies Ford184009Running
    29314Clint BowyerToco Warranty Ford182008Running
    303137Chris BuescherTide Pods Chevrolet181007Accident
    312695Matt DiBenedettoProcore Toyota1811007Accident
    323877Justin Haley(i)Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet180000Accident
    332148Jimmie JohnsonAlly Chevrolet178004Running
    34320Landon Cassill(i)Home Town Lenders Chevrolet154000Running
    353952Stanton BarrettHUSKI CHOCOLATE Chevrolet132002Suspension
    362311Denny HamlinFedEx Express Toyota80001Accident
    371836Matt Tifft #Surface Suncreen/Tunity Ford11001Accident
    38194Kevin HarvickBusch Beer Flannel Ford11001Accident
    392843Bubba WallaceWorld Wide Technology Chevrolet10001Accident
    401234Michael McDowellLove’s Travel Stops Ford10001Accident


  • Austin Dillon claims Busch Pole award at Talladega

    Austin Dillon claims Busch Pole award at Talladega

    Austin Dillon earned the Busch Pole Award at Talladega Superspeedway and will lead the field to green for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500.

    Dillon drove his No. 3 Chevrolet at a lap speed of 192.544 mph winning his first pole at Talladega. It was his second pole this season and the fifth of his Cup Series career.

    But it was particularly significant for a number of other reasons. Dillon turned 29-years-old Friday and his team, Richard Childress Racing, is celebrating their 50th anniversary in the sport as Talladega commemorates their 50th year as a NASCAR track.

    It was also Richard Childress Racing’s first pole at Talladega in 25 years, since Dale Earnhardt earned the pole for the team in 1994.

    “I’m a numbers kind of guy,” Dillon said, “and you correlate all those numbers together – it’s the 50th anniversary for RCR, 50th for Talladega. Talladega is where RCR kind of started in 1969. I’m pumped to be here in the No. 3 car. Danny Stockman (crew chief) and the boys did a great job building a fast car and you want to go out there and make some noise and they did that. I give all the credit to those guys. Tomorrow it’s up to us to keep that car up front and hopefully make a real iconic win for RCR and everyone here at Talladega.”

    Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola will start second in Sunday’s race after a 192.131 mph lap.

    “I think we got pretty close to backing up what we ran in the first round there but I felt like the wind picked up a little bit more. I don’t know if that was it or what the case was. All in all, it was a great run for us,” Almirola said. “I am happy about starting on the front row with good track position to start the race and a good pit stall. All those things matter.”

    Clint Bowyer, Brad Keselowski and Daniel Hemric round out the top five starting positions.

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will start sixth, followed by Ryan Blaney, last year’s winner Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, rounding out the top 10.

    Tune into the GEICO 500 Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on FOX with radio coverage provided by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

  • Tyler Reddick overcomes adversity to win at Talladega Superspeedway

    Tyler Reddick overcomes adversity to win at Talladega Superspeedway

    It was a beautiful day for a race at Talladega Superspeedway for the MoneyLion 300, as you could feel the excitement start to build during pre-race ceremonies. Although, for several drivers and crewmembers, their hearts were heavy after the news that Brenda Jackson, the Mother of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Miller, had passed away earlier this week.

    Four drivers were a little more anxious as they were eligible for the Dash 4 Cash, which gives the highest finishing driver of the four an extra $100,000. The eligible drivers were Tyler Reddick, Cole Custer, Justin Allgaier, and Austin Cindric.

    One driver overcame a speeding penalty, running over a jack stand, and being involved in an accident that did significant damage to the right side of his car. Reddick, driving his No.2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, would overcome all that adversity and still get his first win at Talladega for himself and for car owner Richard Childress in an Xfinity Series Race. To top that off he also won the Dash 4 Cash money.

    “Hell of a job for all our guys at RCR Chevrolet,” Reddick commented. “I tried to take us out of the race so many times and somehow we got back in the mix, and back to the lead.” With a big smile, Reddick added, “We had a good day.”

    Stage 1 started with Michael Annett and Reddick on the front row. There was some great side by side racing at the start with everyone jockeying for position. The only caution was for the spinning car of Brandon Jones. Reddick would easily win the stage after leading 21 of the 25 laps.

    Stage 2 when the drivers hit pit road before the start Reddick got a little too much of a push from Ross Chastain and both drivers were busted for speeding. When the stage started they were pretty much running single file. There were no cautions in this stage, however, Reddick got loose and tagged the wall causing pretty significant damage to the right side of the car. Noah Gragson went on to win the stage.

    The final stage of the race is where patience and probably some tempers wore off. Talladega being known for its “Big One” meant pretty much the only safe drivers were the ones in the front. Reddick once again brushed the wall but didn’t bring out the caution flag. There were several cautions in this stage. One of them took out two of the four Dash 4 Cash drivers, Allgaier and Custer; it also involved Cindric, Stephen Leicht, and Ryan Sieg.

    The final caution with only four laps left brought out the red flag for cleanup of the track. Jeffrey Earnhardt got loose and collected Allgaier, Timmy Hill, David Starr, Jeremy Clements, and Alex Labbe. Until this point, Earnhardt was having another great run driving the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. The race restarted with two laps to go and Reddick was able to keep his top spot to win the race.

    I want to give a great shout out to Gray Gaulding, driving his No. 08 SS Green Light Racing Chevrolet brought his car home in second place. What a great run he had going today.

    Bringing his car home in third place was Christopher Bell in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

    Chase Briscoe and Cindric would round out the top five. John Hunter Nemechek, Justin Haley, Josh Williams, Landon Cassill, and Chris Cockrum finished sixth through 10th, respectively.

    Reddick leads the Xfinity Series Standings with 413 points, Bell is second with 381 points, Cindric is third with 339 points, Custer is in fourth with 338 points, and rounding out the top five is Allgaier with 298 points.

    The Xfinity Series heads next to Dover International Speedway on Saturday, May 4th.

    Xfinity Series Race Number 9
    Race Results for the 28th Annual MoneyLion 300 – Saturday, April 27, 2019
    Talladega Superspeedway – Talladega, AL – 2.66 – Mile Paved
    Total Race Length – 113 Laps – 300.58 Miles

    Fin Str No Driver Team Laps S1Pos S2Pos Pts Status
    1 2 2 Tyler Reddick Roland Chevrolet 113 1 10 51 Running
    2 8 8 Gray Gaulding Panini/NASCARRcgExp/WldwdSfty Chevrolet 113 5 0 41 Running
    3 10 20 Christopher Bell Rheem/Johns Manville Toyota 113 7 6 43 Running
    4 9 98 Chase Briscoe # Nutri Chomps/Runnings Ford 113 0 4 40 Running
    5 17 22 Austin Cindric MoneyLion Ford 113 3 0 40 Running
    6 15 23 John Hunter Nemechek # Fire Alarm Services INC Chevrolet 113 10 0 32 Running
    7 5 11 Justin Haley # LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 113 8 8 36 Running
    8 16 36 Josh Williams StarTron/StarBrite/GnrlFrmltns Chevrolet 113 0 0 29 Running
    9 22 4 Landon Cassill Flex Seal/Contec Chevrolet 113 0 0 28 Running
    10 18 17 Chris Cockrum ADVANCEDCOMMUNICATNGRP Chevrolet 113 0 0 27 Running
    11 14 9 Noah Gragson # ARMOUR Vienna Sausage Chevrolet 113 9 1 38 Running
    12 33 0 Garrett Smithley Flex Tape Chevrolet 113 0 0 25 Running
    13 6 8 Brett Moffitt(i) ISM Connect Chevrolet 113 0 0 0 Running
    14 28 52 David Starr Whataburger Chevrolet 113 0 0 23 Running
    15 32 86 Brandon Brown # Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet 113 0 0 22 Running
    16 4 39 Ryan Sieg Alabama Soda Blasting Chevrolet 113 4 3 36 Running
    17 26 5 Matt Mills J.F. Electric Toyota 113 0 0 20 Running
    18 13 19 Brandon Jones 1st Foundation Toyota 113 0 7 23 Running
    19 29 78 Vinnie Miller Pit Viper Toyota 113 0 0 18 Running
    20 35 42 Max Tullman Top Tier Toyota 113 0 0 17 Running
    21 34 99 Cody Ware LORDCO Auto Parts Toyota 113 0 0 16 Running
    22 25 15 BJ McLeod teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet 113 0 0 15 Running
    23 31 74 Mike Harmon Woobies Shoes Chevrolet 111 0 0 14 Running
    24 20 1 Stephen Leicht Flex Glue Chevrolet 111 0 0 13 Running
    25 24 90 Alex Labbe Alpha Prime USA Chevrolet 111 0 0 12 Running
    26 7 18 Jeffrey Earnhardt iK9 Toyota 110 0 0 11 Accident
    27 30 51 Jeremy Clements RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet 108 0 0 10 Accident
    28 11 7 Justin Allgaier Hellmanns/FghtHngrSprkChnge Chevrolet 108 6 2 23 Accident
    29 19 66 Timmy Hill VSI Racing/Overkill Motorsports Toyota 108 0 0 8 Accident
    30 3 10 Ross Chastain Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet 105 2 5 22 Gear Cooler
    31 1 1 Michael Annett TMC Transportation Chevrolet 95 0 9 8 Accident
    32 12 0 Cole Custer JACOB Companies Ford 94 0 0 5 Accident
    33 23 93 Josh Bilicki CMR Construction & Roofing Chevrolet 86 0 0 4 Transmisson
    34 36 7 Ray Black II ISKRNFrplcs&Chmny/ScbaLf Chevrolet 65 0 0 3 Accident
    35 21 38 Jeff Green C2 Freight Resources Chevrolet 52 0 0 2 Engine
    36 37 13 Chad Finchum JamesCrtrAttrnyatLaw/CrshClmsR.US Toyota 36 0 0 1 Gear
    37 27 35 Joey Gase DonateLife/RgstrMe.org/Cmpgn/Gase Toyota 35 0 0 1 Engine