Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Category: Race Central

Race Central Stories

  • Christopher Bell Wins Wild Truck Race at Texas

    Christopher Bell Wins Wild Truck Race at Texas

    Christopher Bell held on to win the winstaronlinegaming.com 400 after a wild finish at Texas Motor Speedway. This was his second series win in 2017 and his fourth career win in the Truck Series.

    It was round seven for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in the 2017 season. The race had three stages. Forty laps made up Stages 1 and 2, while 87 laps made up Stage 3. Noah Gragson and Johnny Sauter set the front row in qualifying earlier in the day.

    After Stage 1 began, Noah Gragson had a strong truck early and led his first ever laps in the Truck Series. However, there were a few cautions that took place on Lap 3 for Austin Cindric and Lap 7 for Jordan Anderson. Barring a few cautions early, there were some long green flag runs.

    Last week’s winner, Johnny Sauter, took the lead on Lap 20. From there, Sauter held on to win the Stage 1. Even after pit stops, Sauter won the race off pit road.

    Stage 2 began on Lap 47, with Sauter and Chase Briscoe on the front row. With Sauter dominating most of the stage, Christopher Bell, after starting 21st, took the lead on Lap 70. Not much action happened in Stage 2, and Bell, eventually went on to win Stage 2.

    Stage 3 took place on Lap 86, with Bell and teammate, Myatt Snider, on point. Long green flag runs were the story in the final stage until a caution came out with 50 laps to go for Stewart Friesen who hit the wall on the frontstretch.

    After a restart with 43 laps to go, there were six laps of green flag racing until another caution took place for Snider, who spun off Turn 2.

    Race leader Bell had to survive a few more restarts after having two more cautions on Lap 137 and on Lap 157. During those laps, Chase Briscoe had come alive to be a strong contender for the win.

    With the restart taking place with eight laps to go, it looked like the race would stay green. However, Kaz Grala and Myatt Snider got together in a crash, thus bringing out a caution.

    The restart took place with two laps to go, as Bell and Briscoe were the race leaders. Briscoe had gotten a little bit of an edge on Bell, but Bell stayed side-by-side with him until the final caution took place after the leaders crossed the finish line. The caution was for Timothy Peters and Austin Wayne Self who got into each other, sending Peters into the grass and causing him to flip several times before eventually landing upside down. After the crazy crash, Peters was able to walk away under his own power. He was evaluated and released from the Texas Motor Speedway infield care center.

    However, there was another issue that was taking place and that was deciding the winner. Both Briscoe and Bell were in a dead heat at the finish line. After some confusion, and video reviewing by the NASCAR officials, NASCAR declared Christopher Bell as the race winner.

    There were 10 cautions for 42 laps and five leaders among eight lead changes.

    The next scheduled NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race is Saturday night June 17 at Gateway Motorsports Park.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/T1707_UNOFFRES-Texas-Truck-Race-results-6-9-17.pdf” title=”T1707_UNOFFRES Texas Truck Race results 6-9-17″]

     

  • Kyle Busch Soars to Coors Light Pole at Pocono

    Kyle Busch Soars to Coors Light Pole at Pocono

    LONG POND, Pa. — Running his fastest lap of the day in the final round of Friday’s knockout qualifying, Kyle Busch won the pole position for Sunday’s Axalta presents the Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway (3 p.m. ET on FS1) by a comfortable margin.

    The only driver to top 179 mph in three rounds of time trials, Busch covered the 2.5-mile distance at the triangular track in 50.237 seconds (179.151 mph) to earn his second Coors Light Pole Award of the season, his third at Pocono and the 21st of his career.

    In the money round, Busch powered his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to a .171-second over fellow Camry driver Martin Truex Jr. (178.543 mph). As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular season enters its second half, Busch and Truex, the series leader, will start 1-2 for their second straight race, having qualified first and second, respectively, at Dover.

    Despite slipping slightly at the entrance to Turn 3, Busch gained substantial time through that corner.

    “I thought I got through Turn 1 pretty good,” said Busch, whose crew chief, Adam Stevens, is serving a four-week suspension because the left rear tire on Busch’s car fell off (because of unattached lugs) during the team’s first pit stop last week at Dover. “I thought I got through Turn 2 just OK, and entering Turn 3, I felt I slipped a little too much, actually.

    “As it stopped slipping, I was like, ‘Wow, it’s got great grip right now — go!’ I was able to get the gas down and stick really well off Turn 3. I did notice that I was able to shift early and felt like I got a really good exit there. I didn’t know how good a lap it was going to be. It took forever to pop up on my screen.

    “And once they said it was a 50.20, I said ‘Well, that’s faster than the last round. Hopefully, that’s good enough.’”

    Matt Kenseth qualified third, as Toyotas grabbed the top three spots on the grid. The three Fords of Ryan Blaney, Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski followed in fourth through sixth. Kyle Larson, who ran the fastest lap in the first round (178.625 mph), was seventh in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.

    “The first round was really good for us,” Larson said. “Our Target Chevy drove really nice. I didn’t even feel like I was driving hard. So, the second round, I tried to get a little more, and I just got loose into (Turn) 1 and screwed up my whole lap.

    “And then the third round there, I backed my entry up into (Turn) 1 and still got loose in but was able to get to the bottom, and then I just got really tight off of (Turn) 1 and it killed my lap. Turns 2 and 3 are pretty good, but I just killed it there in Turn 1.”

    Jamie McMurray, Joey Logano and Ryan Newman were eighth, ninth and 10th.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start at the rear of the field after over-revving his engine during Friday’s opening practice, necessitating a change of the power plant. Under NASCAR’s one-engine rule, that means a mandatory start at the back.

    “I blew the engine up,” Earnhardt explained in a tweet. “Went into 2nd gear (aiming for fourth) and grenaded it. Will have to start last Sunday… Our rev limiter is 9500. It turned 12,615 before it gave up.”

    Earnhardt ran one lap in the first round of qualifying and was 28th fastest, but he will drop to the rear for the green flag.

    “If there’s a race track you’ve got to start in the back and not have a very good pit selection, this is the one to do that at,” Earnhardt said after his run. “Since we’re required to start on the tires we qualify on, we really just planned on making one lap. We went out there and we had our car set-up like we are going to try to start tomorrow (for practice) in race trim.

    “We just went out there and made one single lap to really kind of get a directional idea of where we want to go tomorrow. It allowed us to take pictures of our car and know where the travels and everything is. That way we don’t put any more laps on our tires that we have to start on Sunday.”

    Race lineup 

  • Truex’s Season After 13 Races

    Truex’s Season After 13 Races

    In 2015, Martin Truex Jr. went from longtime journeyman to a breakout contender with a win at Pocono Raceway. In 2016, he went from breakout contender to legitimate championship contender, achieving his first multi-win season of his career. He shows no signs of slowing down this season after 13 races.

    He opened the season with a 13th-place finish in the Daytona 500 and followed it up with an eighth-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He put on a dominant drive and took advantage of Brad Keselowski’s ailing car in the closing laps to win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

    The next races included 11th at Phoenix, fourth at Fontana, 16th at Martinsville, eighth at Texas, eighth at Bristol — in addition to 116 laps led and a late speeding penalty — and 10th at Richmond.

    Truex’s only lousy finish on the season was a 35th at Talladega Superspeedway, thanks to getting caught up in a late race multi-car wreck.

    He rebounded with a 104-lap led victory drive at Kansas Speedway.

    Truex left Charlotte Motor Speedway the points leader after leading 233 laps and finishing third.

    He led 102 laps and brought his car home to a third-place finish at Dover International Speedway.

    Statistically, he’s on track to have the best season of his career. He’s amassed double the top-fives he accrued in each of the lasted two seasons and is already halfway to eclipsing his top-10 total from 2016.

    But where Truex has excelled over the competition is the accumulation of stage points, stage wins and playoff points. In addition to the 10 playoff points he’s acquired via his two wins, he’s collected eight additional playoff points as a result of his eight stage wins through the season. This includes a clean sweep of the stages and race victory at Las Vegas.

    While many were caught off guard on just how important stage points would be this season, Truex said his team had a plan from the start on how to tackle it.

    “We planned it all. We said this was exactly how we were going to do it and here we are,” Truex said. “Everybody comes with the same plan and it starts with being consistent and running up front each and every week and having fast race cars and we’ve been able to do that.

    “At the same time, we’ve been able to not make mistakes, be consistent, not a lot of issues and I think our only really bad races was Talladega and that’s Talladega. We’ve been able to just get more points than everybody so just a job well done by our team and all of our guys. It’s really going better than we even imagined so far. It’s been fun and it’s been a real treat to be consistently up front each week, leading laps and I’m having a blast right now so I’m having fun.”

  • Larson Fastest in First Cup Practice at Pocono

    Larson Fastest in First Cup Practice at Pocono

    Kyle Larson topped the chart in first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Pocono Raceway.

    The driver of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet was the fastest with a time of 50.758 and a speed of 177.312 mph. Kyle Busch was second in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 50.780 and a speed of 177.235 mph. Matt Kenseth was third in his No. 20 Gibbs Toyota with a time of 50.865 and a speed of 176.935 mph. Kevin Harvick was fourth in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford with a time of 50.966 and a speed of 176.588 mph. Joey Logano rounded out the top-five in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford with a time of 50.973 and a speed of 176.564 mph.

    Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top-10.

    Trevor Bayne, who ran the 27th fastest single lap, posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 168.195 mph.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. suffered engine problems after eight laps early in the session and changed motors. He’ll start from the tail-end of the field on Sunday.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/C1714_PRAC1.pdf”]

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview Texas – Spring

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview Texas – Spring

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to the Lone-Star state on Friday night for the seventh race of the season. There are 28 entries on the preliminary entry list this week.

    Here are the ones to watch in tomorrow night’s winstaronlinegaming.com 400 race at Texas Motor Speedway.

    In the last five spring races at Texas, there have been three different winners with Matt Crafton being the only repeat winner entered.

    Matt Crafton – Crafton has posted two wins (2014, 2015) and five top-five finishes in the spring races at Texas. Considering his past performance at this track, look for another strong run Friday night.

    Christopher Bell – In his only start at Texas coming last year, Bell suffered a blown engine and was credited with a last-place finish. Bell is looking for redemption at Texas and that could come tomorrow night. Bell has gotten off to a good start, posting the fastest speed in the first Truck Series practice Thursday evening.

    John Hunter Nemechek – Nemechek was strong in last year’s spring race, posting a seventh place finish. However, when his father, Joe Nemechek drove the truck in 2015 and 2014, he posted one top-1o and one top-five finish. The NEMCO Motorsports stable is expected to have another decent finish at Texas.

    Johnny Sauter – Sauter, the current Trick Series points leader, is coming off last week’s victory with a head of momentum. In June of 2012, Sauter won the spring race giving him three top-five and five top-1o finishes in the last five spring races. Expect him to be a strong contender at Texas on Friday.

    Ben Rhodes – Rhodes is still searching for his first career win. He came close at Kansas earlier this season, which was a 1.5-mile track, the same as Texas. In the spring of 2016 at Texas, Rhodes posted an 11th place finish, thus giving him one top-15 finish.

    Qualifying is slated for Friday at 5:35 p.m. ET. It will not be televised but you can follow along here. The green flag is expected to drop for the winstaronlinegaming.com 400  at 8:19 p.m. and will be broadcast on FS1.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Texas-Truck-Series-Entry-List-June-2017-T1707_ENTNUM.pdf” title=”Texas Truck Series Entry List June 2017 T1707_ENTNUM”]

  • Pocono Raceway – Did You Know?

    Pocono Raceway – Did You Know?

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the XFINITY Series head to Pocono Raceway this week while the Camping World Truck Series travels to Texas Motor Speedway. The Cup Series “Axalta presents the Pocono 400” headlines the weekend’s competition, Sunday at 3 p.m. on FS1. Thirty-nine drivers are entered in the Cup event.

    But did you know that one of those 39 drivers is Darrell Wallace Jr., who will make his Cup Series debut at Pocono in the iconic No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford? On Monday, Wallace was named as the interim driver for Aric Almirola who is recovering from injuries sustained in an accident at Kansas Speedway on May 13.

    Wallace is determined to make the most of this opportunity.

    “I know I’ll go out there and prove to everybody inside the racetrack, outside the racetrack, on the TV, that I belong in the Cup Series,” he said. “Do the best that I can.  Give an extra 200% each and every time I climb in the car for Ford, for Richard Petty, for everybody on the team, for Smithfield, to go out there and make the opportunity the greatest it has been.”

    Did you know that the weekend will feature another first during the XFINITY Series Pocono Green 250? FOX will feature a special drivers-only broadcast that will be called by active Cup Series drivers? Kevin Harvick will handle the play-by-play announcing and will be joined by Joey Logano and Clint Bowyers as analysts. Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will cover pit road while Danica Patrick and Denny Hamlin host the event coverage from the Hollywood Hotel studio.

    While we’re talking about firsts, we can’t forget the winner of the inaugural race in 1974, Richard Petty. But did you know that prior to 2012, all of the Cup races at Pocono were 500 miles? Beginning in 2012 the race length was shortened to 400 miles. There have been 78 Cup Series races at the 2.5-mile track, one race each year from 1974-1981 and two races per year since 1982.

    Thirty-five different drivers have won at Pocono with Jeff Gordon leading the way with six wins. Of the active drivers, five have multiple wins at the track including Denny Hamlin (four), Jimmie Johnson (three), and Kurt Busch (three). Kasey Kahne and Dale Earnhardt Jr. both have two wins.

    Kurt Busch is the defending race winner but did you know he has the series-best driver rating (105.7)? The Stewart-Haas Racing driver also has 13 top fives, 18 top 10s and two poles at Pocono. He is currently 16th in the points standings.

    Denny Hamlin (105.6) has the second-best driver rating followed by Jimmie Johnson (104.8), Chase Elliott (102.7) and Kyle Larson (95.6). All of these drivers are in the top-10 of the series standings but both Hamlin and Elliott are still searching for their first win this year.

    But did you know that the best chance for victory at Pocono begins with qualifying well? The pole is the most proficient starting position, having produced 15 winners while nine races have been won from the second starting position.

    Only seven drivers have swept Pocono in a single season. They include Bobby Allison (1982), Bill Elliott (1985), Tim Richmond (1986), Bobby Labonte (1999), Jimmie Johnson (2004) and Denny Hamlin (2006).

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the latest to sweep Pocono in 2014. In his past 11 starts at the track, Earnhardt has nine top-10 finishes including two wins and a runner-up finish last June.

    Tune in to FS1 this Sunday at 3 p.m. for the Pocono 400 to find out who will take home the trophy. In the meantime, watch the video below as Earnhardt holds off Kevin Harvick for the Pocono sweep.

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

     

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Pocono and Texas

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Pocono and Texas

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the XFINITY Series head to Pocono Raceway this weekend while the Camping World Truck Series travels to Texas Motor Speedway. There are 39 drivers on the entry list for the Cup Series Axalta presents the Pocono 400 race.

    Please check below for the complete schedule. All times are Eastern.

    Thursday, June 8:

    On Track – Texas Motor Speedway:
    4-4:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Practice – No TV (Follow live)
    6-6:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Practice – No TV (Follow live)
    8-8:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Final Practice – No TV (Follow live)

    Friday, June 9:
    On Track – Pocono Raceway:
    11 a.m.- 12:25 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – FS1
    1- 1:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series Practice – FS1
    3- 3:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series Final Practice – FS1
    4 p.m.: Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FS1

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    9 a.m.: Ty Dillon
    9:15 a.m.: Daniel Suarez
    9:30 a.m.: Darrell Wallace Jr.
    10:15 a.m.: Kurt Busch
    10:30 a.m.: Cole Custer, Brennan Poole, Brendan Gaughan
    12:45 p.m.: Martin Truex Jr.
    1:15 p.m.: Chris Buescher
    1:45 p.m.: Ryan Newman
    5 p.m.: Post-Cup Series Qualifying

    Garage Cam: (Watch live)
    10:30 a.m.: Cup Series
    12:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series

    On Track -Texas Motor Speedway:
    5:35 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – No TV (Follow live)
    8 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series winstaronlinegaming.com 400 (167 laps, 250.5 miles – FS1

    Saturday, June 10:

    On Track – Pocono Raceway:
    9:35 a.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FS1
    11:30 a.m.- 12:25 p.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – FS1
    1 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Pocono Green 250 (100 laps, 250 miles) – FOX – Special Drivers-Only Broadcast with on-air time of 12:30 p.m. ET

    Press Conference: (Watch live)

    3:30 p.m.: Post-XFINITY Series Race

    Sunday, June 11:
    On Track – Pocono Raceway:
    3 p.m.: Cup Series Axalta presents the Pocono 400 (160 laps, 400 miles) – FS1

    Press Conference: (Watch live)
    6 p.m.: Post-Cup Series Race

    Race Details:

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
    Race: winstaronlinegaming.com 400 – Texas Motor Speedway
    Date: Friday, June 9
    Time: 8 p.m. ET
    TV: FS1, 7:30 p.m. ET
    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Distance: 250.5 miles (167 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 40), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 80), Final Stage (Ends on lap 167)

    NASCAR XFINITY Series
    Race: Pocono Green 250 – Pocono Raceway
    Date: Saturday, June 10
    Time: 1 p.m. ET
    TV: FOX, 12:30 p.m. ET
    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Distance: 250 miles (100 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 25), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 50), Final Stage (Ends on lap 100)

    Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
    Race: AXALTA presents the Pocono 400 – Pocono Raceway
    Date: Sunday, June 11
    Time: 3 p.m. ET
    TV: FS1, 1:30 p.m. ET
    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Distance: 400 miles (160 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 50), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 100), Final Stage (Ends on lap 160)

    Complete TV Schedule

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

     

     

     

  • Kurt Busch Pounds Wall Twice in Dover Cup Race

    Kurt Busch Pounds Wall Twice in Dover Cup Race

    By Lap 65, Kurt Busch was in second place and looked to have a car to run up front Sunday at Dover in the AAA 400 Drive for Autism. However, by Lap 97, he was in the garage and out of the race after hitting the wall a second time.

    Busch lined up inside of Kyle Larson on the Lap 65 restart and edged ahead of him going into Turn 1. But rounding the turn, Busch got loose underneath Larson. He overcorrected, turned up the track, hit Brad Keselowski, who swerved up to the high line to avoid the spinning Busch and sent him into the outside wall in Turn 2. Busch continued his slide through the turn before coming to a stop near the exit of Turn 2 in the middle of the track.

    “I got loose on a restart, it’s my bad as a driver. My bad,” Busch said. “We had good speed in our car and just couldn’t finish. You can’t make mistakes out here and we did.”

    “Yeah, one of them racing deals,” Keselowski said. “These cars rely so much on aerodynamics. We saw that early with guys being able to stay out on two tires even with a lot of tire wear. I don’t know if it was Kurt’s fault, just one of them racing deals. We line-up double-file and somebody got loose and just took us out. What a bummer. Just one of them racing deals.”

    Busch soldiered on in the race until his left-rear tire came apart entering Turn 1 on  Lap 97, sending him spinning through the turn and rear-first into the outside wall.

    Keselowski leaves Dover seventh in points, 135 back of leader Martin Truex Jr. while Busch leaves 16th, 254 behind.

  • Johnson Wins on Late Restart at the Monster Mile

    Johnson Wins on Late Restart at the Monster Mile

    Jimmie Johnson got the better of Kyle Larson on the final restart of the AAA Drive for Autism 400 to win for the 11th time in his career at Dover International Speedway.

    Larson got a lousy restart on the outside lane, allowing Johnson to pull ahead. Ty Dillon got loose exiting Turn 2 and came down in front of Ryan Newman. His car turned back up the track and was t-boned by Erik Jones, triggering a multi-car pileup on the backstretch and ending the race under caution as Johnson had crossed the overtime line and the caution flew when he was rounding Turn 4.

    The win ties him with Cale Yarborough for fifth on NASCAR’s all-time wins list.

    “I never thought I would end up here in NASCAR as a kid racing in the dirt out in Southern California,” Johnson said. “I was a big Cale Yarborough fan and I remember going to a race in Oklahoma with my parents and my brother. We were driving across the country and we pulled up to a Hardee’s. I had no idea it was a burger stand and I really thought when I walked in the door I was going to Cale Yarborough’s race shop (laughs). It was very disappointing. I had a burger and left and then understood the world of sponsorship.

    “To be here and tie him at 83 wins is amazing. We just got the tribute helmet. I wasn’t sure how quickly we’d be, or if we’d be able to go there, and get it done. But, Cale, you’re the man. Thank you for all you have done for our sport.

    “To be a part of one team and one sponsor, Lowe’s, Chevrolet, Valvoline, Gatorade, and with the support of the fans, this is an amazing day.”

    Larson came home second after leading a race-high of 241 laps.

    “Jimmie did a good job. A lot better job than I did,” Larson said. “I spun my tires. I just spun my tires pretty bad. I tried taking off not using a lot of throttle and still spun my tires pretty bad. I knew we were both probably going to spin pretty bad, but I wasn’t getting great launches all day. I was always having to fight people off into Turn 1 when I was the leader. But, you know, my team gave me a great Target Chevy again. I thought we were the best car today, me and the No. 78 (Martin Truex, Jr.) I thought we were really good. I definitely, obviously, didn’t need that last caution there. I was just cruising trying to log some laps, get to the end. I saw the lapper in front of me blow a right-front and wasn’t too worried. I thought maybe the outside lane would take off good. I just didn’t do a great job.”

    Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the podium.

    Ryan Newman and Chase Elliott rounded out the top-five.

    Daniel Suarez, Jamie McMurray, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Danica Patrick rounded out the top-10.

    Kyle Busch led the field to the green flag at 1:19 p.m. When he left pit road under the first caution, his left-rear wheel came off completely. This was caused by the air gun used to fasten the lug nuts into place being set to reverse. This handed the lead to Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    On the ensuing restart, Martin Truex Jr. took the race lead and only lost it under the fourth caution when Larson opted not to pit.

    Going down the backstretch on lap 79, Truex gave a tap to Larson to loosen him entering Turn 3, took the lead and won the first stage. Larson, as well as 11 others, opted not to pit under the stage break caution and assumed the race lead.

    Aside a few laps under the seventh caution that were lead by Michael McDowell, Larson led most of the second stage. It was on the lap 211 when Truex passed under Larson in Turn 1 to take the lead and drove on to win the second stage.

    Larson took back the lead from Truex prior to the restart of the final stage and controlled the race until a cycle of green flag stops occurred with 65 laps to go and caution flew, in the middle of green flag stops, with 62 to go when Regan Smith suffered a tire failure and slammed the wall in Turn 2.

    The caution cycled Ty Dillon to the race lead, who held it for 23 laps. Meanwhile, Larson powered by Johnson’s outside to take second with 42 to go and drove by Dillon’s outside in Turn 4 with 39 to go to retake the lead.

    In the closing laps, Larson was pulling away from Johnson and had the race in check. But with four to go, David Ragan suffered a right-front tire failure and slammed the wall in Turn 2, sending the race into overtime and setting up the run to the finish.

    Ryan Sieg brought out the first caution for a solo spin in Turn 1 on lap 17. Stenhouse suffered a right-front tire failure and slammed the wall in Turn 2 on lap 47. He slammed the wall a second time in Turn 4 and brought out the third caution on lap 62. On the lap 65 restart, Kurt Busch got loose rounding Turn 1, overcorrected and turned up track into Brad Keselowski, taking both of them out. On lap 96, his left-rear tire came apart, his car spun out and slammed the wall in Turn 1. Danica Patrick spun out in Turn 4 on lap 144. Joey Logano suffered a right-front tire failure and slammed the wall in Turn 3. Paul Menard and Chris Buescher were collected in a two-car wreck on the backstretch with 58 to go.

    The race lasted three hours, 52 minutes and six seconds at an average speed of 104.955 mph. There were 17 lead changes among nine different drivers and 15 cautions for 72 laps.

    Truex leaves Dover with a nine-point lead over Larson.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/C1713_UNOFFRES.pdf”]

  • Kyle Larson finishes off dominant NASCAR XFINITY Series run at Dover

    Kyle Larson finishes off dominant NASCAR XFINITY Series run at Dover

    By Reid Spencer
    NASCAR Wire Service

    DOVER, Del. – Saturday’s One Main Financial 200 ended as it started – as a two-man show with polesitter Kyle Larson on top.

    Larson and Ryan Blaney were in a class by themselves at Dover International Speedway in the 11th NASCAR XFINITY Series race of the season. In winning for the third time in six starts this season, Larson led 137 of the 200 laps to Blaney’s 28.

    In fact, Larson now has three wins, a second and a third this season for an average finish of 2.5 – numbers that could rival those of another Kyle, XFINITY Series all-time victory leader Kyle Busch.

    “Our cars have been really good on both sides, (Monster Energy NASCAR) Cup and XFINITY,” Larson said. “Especially XFINITY, we’ve been extremely good. We’ve done a really good job adjusting to this new (lower-downforce) aero package.

    “This is the best car I’ve had here. At a lot of the tracks we’ve gone to, it seems like this is the best XFINITY car I’ve had this time around. Just a lot of fun. Hats off to (crew chief Mike) Shiplett and the rest of the mechanics at the shop and the engineers – the real reason I’m getting to run up front more often.”

    A first-time winner at Dover, Larson collected the eighth victory of his career, finishing 1.173 seconds ahead of Blaney. Third-place Daniel Suarez crossed the stripe 14.078 seconds behind the race winner.

    Cole Custer ran fourth, followed by Ryan Reed and William Byron, but Byron got the biggest consolation prize. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate collected a $100,000 bonus as the highest-finishing series regular among four drivers eligible for the prize in the last of four Dash 4 Cash events this season.

    But the day belonged to Larson, who led the first 63 laps and had to win a drag race with Blaney to secure victory in the first 60-lap stage. After the second stage, won by Darrell Wallace Jr., divergent pit strategies shuffled Larson and Blaney to 13th and 14th, respectively, for a restart on Lap 128.

    To Blaney, that was the key moment in the race, as his No. 22 Ford lost positions in a near-wreck with Wallace and couldn’t close on Larson despite a subsequent restart on Lap 141, after Blake Koch tangled with Daniel Hemric and Brennan Poole and nosed into the inside wall.

    “We almost got wrecked when the 6 (Wallace) got loose below whoever that was, the white car (the No. 90 of Brandon Brown), and that actually cost us the race,” Blaney said. “That allowed Larson to get by us, and he set sail from there, even though there was another restart.

    “He was about three rows ahead of us, and I couldn’t run him down by the time I got to second.”

     

    NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – OneMain Financial 200
    Dover International Speedway
    Dover, Delaware
    Saturday, June 3, 2017
    1. (1) Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 200.
    2. (2) Ryan Blaney(i), Ford, 200.
    3. (3) Daniel Suarez(i), Toyota, 200.
    4. (14) Cole Custer #, Ford, 200.
    5. (17) Ryan Reed, Ford, 200.
    6. (8) William Byron #, Chevrolet, 200.
    7. (9) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 200.
    8. (18) Darrell Wallace Jr., Ford, 200.
    9. (6) Matt Tifft #, Toyota, 200.
    10. (11) Ty Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 200.
    11. (12) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200.
    12. (5) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 199.
    13. (10) Daniel Hemric #, Chevrolet, 199.
    14. (23) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 199.
    15. (26) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 199.
    16. (19) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 199.
    17. (32) Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, 199.
    18. (25) Ben Kennedy #, Chevrolet, 199.
    19. (22) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 198.
    20. (15) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 198.
    21. (20) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 198.
    22. (28) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 197.
    23. (29) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 197.
    24. (34) Ray Black II, Chevrolet, 191.
    25. (40) Mike Harmon, Dodge, 191.
    26. (27) Jordan Anderson(i), Chevrolet, Suspension, 188.
    27. (33) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, Track Bar, 176.
    28. (7) Austin Dillon(i), Chevrolet, Power Steering, 175.
    29. (13) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, Parked, 174.
    30. (21) Dylan Lupton, Toyota, 170.
    31. (24) Spencer Gallagher #, Chevrolet, 166.
    32. (16) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, Steering, 135.
    33. (36) David Starr, Chevrolet, 107.
    34. (31) Chad Finchum, Chevrolet, Engine, 105.
    35. (4) Erik Jones(i), Toyota, Engine, 100.
    36. (39) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, Overheating, 99.
    37. (30) Harrison Rhodes, Chevrolet, Engine, 91.
    38. (35) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Handling, 50.
    39. (37) Timmy Hill, Toyota, Accident, 39.
    40. (38) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, Electrical, 13.

    Average Speed of Race Winner: 96.709 mph.

    Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 04 Mins, 05 Secs. Margin of Victory: 1.173 Seconds.

    Caution Flags: 10 for 45 laps.

    Lead Changes: 7 among 6 drivers.

    Lap Leaders: K. Larson(i) 1-63; A. Dillon(i) 64-67; K. Larson(i) 68-87; R. Blaney(i) 88-115; D. Wallace Jr. 116-122; R. Reed 123-127; D. Suarez(i) 128-146; K. Larson(i) 147-200.

    Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): K. Larson(i) 3 times for 137 laps; R. Blaney(i) 1 time for 28 laps; D. Suarez(i) 1 time for 19 laps; D. Wallace Jr. 1 time for 7 laps; R. Reed 1 time for 5 laps; A. Dillon(i) 1 time for 4 laps.

    Stage #1 Top Ten: 42,22,20,9,48,1,7,6,21,16

    Stage #2 Top Ten: 6,22,1,7,42,9,21,48,11,14