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  • Allmendinger rallies from late penalty to win at Mid-Ohio

    Allmendinger rallies from late penalty to win at Mid-Ohio

    From a late penalty to victory, AJ Allmendinger became the first repeat winner at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course after the Los Gatos, California, native fended off teammate Justin Haley, Ty Gibbs and the field in overtime to win the B&L Transport 170 at Mid-Ohio on Saturday, June 5, as he also claimed his second victory of this year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

    The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Xfinity event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Xfinity race. With that, Austin Cindric, the regular-season points leader, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Ty Gibbs, winner of Friday’s ARCA Menards Series event at Mid-Ohio and last weekend’s event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    Prior to the event, Kris Wright and Ryan Ellis dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Cindric and Gibbs battled for the lead through the first two turns.

    It did not take long, however, for the first caution of the event to fly when Noah Gragson drove off the track and through the grass, where he destroyed the front nose from his car that was also leaking fluid and smoke. Behind, Cody Ware spun in Turn 2. While Ware continued, Gragson parked his battered car between Turns 2 and 3 as his race came to an early end.

    Following the incident, the race restarted on the fifth lap. At the start, Cindric maintained the lead followed by Gibbs, Harrison Burton, Jeb Burton, Justin Allgaier and the field.

    Three laps later, the caution returned when Tommy Joe Martins due to fluid on the course when the engine from Tommy Joe Martins’ machine expired.

    Another four laps later, the race restarted, with Cindric and Gibbs retaining the front row. At the start, Gibbs made his move beneath Cindric’s No. 22 PPG Ford Mustang to take the lead. Cindric, though, was quick to reassume the advantage in Turn 4, where he continued to fend off Gibbs and lead when the field returned to the start/finish line.

    On Lap 15, AJ Allmendinger muscled his No. 16 Ramco Specialties Chevrolet Camaro into the lead over Cindric. 

    Three laps later and with Allmendinger still leading, Harrison Burton damaged the front nose and splitter from his No. 20 Dex Imaging Toyota Supra after going off-course in Turn 1. Despite the incident, the race continued to run under green.

    In the final laps of the first stage, names like Ty Gibbs, Daniel Hemric, Andy Lally and Myatt Snider pitted for fuel. Back on the track, Allmendinger continued to lead by more than three seconds over Cindric. 

    In Turn 9, Miguel Paludo spun in the gravel trap, but the race continued to run under green. With a healthy advantage over the field, Allmendinger was able to navigate his way back to the start/finish line and win the first stage on Lap 25. Cindric was scored in second place followed by Haley, Jeb Burton, Justin Allgaier, Brandon Jones, Riley Herbst, Alex Labbe, Michael Annett and Jeremy Clements.

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Allmendinger pitted while Gibbs, Snider, Hemric, Ryan Sieg and Lally remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 30 with Gibbs and Hemric on the front row. At the start, Gibbs maintained the lead over Hemric, Snider and the field. Cindric, meanwhile, was back in seventh while Allmendinger was in fifth behind Andy Lally. By then, Justin Allgaier took his car to the garage due to a mechanical issue.

    Just past the Lap 40 mark and with Gibbs still leading, the caution flew due to Jeremy Clements stalling his car in the Acura Bridge.

    Four laps later, the race restarted. At the start, Allmendinger, who restarted alongside Gibbs, made his move to take the lead in Turn 2. By Turn 5, teammate Justin Haley moved into the runner-up spot while Gibbs was shuffled back in third in front of Brandon Jones, Hemric and Jeb Burton.

    On Lap 46, trouble ignited for Daniel Hemric, who limped back to pit road after he blew a left-rear tire, which damaged the left-rear side of Hemric’s No. 18 Poppy Bank Toyota Supra. He was able to limp back to pit road and keep the race running under green.

    Not long after, Allmendinger pitted along with Gibbs, Lally, Brett Moffitt, Josh Williams and Miguel Paludo. During the pit stops, however, Allmendinger was penalized for failing to meet minimum pit stop time and was required to start at the rear of the field for the final stage.

    Back on the track, Haley assumed the lead in his No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet Camaro. With the clean air, Haley was able to claim the second stage victory on Lap 50 by nearly two seconds over Brandon Jones. Jones settled in second followed by Jeb Burton, Herbst, Cindric, Labbe, Snider, Brandon Brown, Annett and Ryan Ellis.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted for tires with some opting to pit again for fuel. During the stops, Andy Lally was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

    With 20 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Ryan Sieg and Cindric started on the front row. At the start, Cindric muscled to the lead on the outside lane in Turn 1 while the field behind scrambled for positions.

    Down to the final eight laps of the event, Cindric was leading by nearly 11 seconds over Gibbs while Allmendinger, following his penalty, was in third place, trailing by 13 seconds. Moffitt was in fourth followed by Michael Annett and Haley.

    Then, the caution flew when Jeb Burton spun in Turn 4 and was stuck in the gravel trap. Under caution, the leaders remained on the track.

    With five laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, Allmendinger quickly made his move beneath Gibbs and Cindric entering Turn 1. With all three competitors making contact against one another in a three-wide battle, Allmendinger returned to the lead past the first turn. As Brett Moffitt moved into the runner-up spot, contact from Gibbs Annett and Haley resulted with Cindric getting hit and spinning in the grass, which ended Cindric’s hopes of winning.

    Despite the incident, the race continued to run under green as Allmendinger retained the lead. Not long after, however, the caution flew due to a multi-car incident in Turn 6 that involved Kris Wright, Alex Labbe and Kyle Weatherman with everyone else scattering around the circuit to avoid the incident.

    Under caution, Moffitt, who was running in the runner-up spot, lost power as a result of a fuel pump issue and stalled on the track, effectively ending his hopes of battling for the win.

    With the race sent into overtime, Allmendinger received a strong start through the first turn to maintain the lead over teammate Haley and Gibbs while everyone else scattered and scrambled for positions through the first two turns.

    When the final lap started, Allmendinger maintained a decent advantage over Haley and Gibbs. With the leaders clearly out in front, chaos ensued behind, starting with Riley Herbst getting into Miguel Paludo in Turn 1 as Paludo spun. Shortly after, Andy Lally bumped into Herbst and sent Herbst’s No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang spinning in Turn 2.

    Back to the front, Allmendinger continued to lead Haley and Gibbs through Turns 4 and 5. Having the lead in his sole possession, Allmendinger was able to navigate his way through the 13-turn circuit for a final time to claim the checkered flag and win.

    With his second victory of the season, Allmendinger became the first multi-winner of the Xfinity Series event at Mid-Ohio since its inception in 2013. He also claimed his seventh Xfinity career victory, his fifth on a road course and the 10th career win for Kaulig Racing.

    “I mean, I’m not gonna lie, I was a little upset,” Allmendinger said on FS1 when mentioning about the penalty. “But we win and lose as a team so I was gonna fight until the checkered flag flew. I knew we had the best car…This Ramco Specialties Chevrolet had some massive rear grip. I lost the restart, [Gibbs] opened up a gap and I know these guys will do it to me, so I barreled in there when I saw a gap and I was gonna come out on the other side clean. That’s all I got there.”

    Haley settled in second place for his first top-five result of the season while Ty Gibbs came home in third place and notched his sixth top-five result in seven Xfinity starts this season.

    “First of all, congrats to AJ,” Haley said. “That’s amazing. This is LeafFilter’s home, this is [team owner] Matt Kaulig’s home. To finish one-two here is really special. Obviously, you want the LeafFilter car to go to Victory Lane, but I thought we were a little better than AJ there at the end, but I had so much damage. I was just on the splitter so hard…Really, really special day here.”

    Brandon Jones finished in fourth place followed by Andy Lally. Brandon Brown finished in sixth place followed by Annett, Josh Berry, Ryan Sieg and Josh Williams.

    Hemric settled in 12th while Cindric ended his race in 14th after leading a race-high 30 laps. Riley Herbst and Paludo finished 21st and 27th following their spins on the final lap.

    There were seven lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 23 laps.

    Cindric continues to lead the regular-season standings by 96 points over Allmendinger.

    Results.

    1. AJ Allmendinger, 23 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    2. Justin Haley, seven laps led, Stage 2 winner

    3. Ty Gibbs, 16 laps led

    4. Brandon Jones

    5. Andy Lally

    6. Brandon Brown

    7. Michael Annett

    8. Josh Berry

    9. Ryan Sieg, two laps led

    10. Josh Williams

    11. Alex Labbe

    12. Daniel Hemric

    13. Jade Buford

    14. Austin Cindric, 30 laps led

    15. Cody Ware

    16. Jeb Burton

    17. Gray Gaulding

    18. Ryan Vargas

    19. Matt Jaskol

    20. Landon Cassill

    21. Riley Herbst

    22. Colby Howard

    23. Matt Mills

    24. Jesse Little

    25. Preston Pardus

    26. Kyle Weatherman

    27. Miguel Paludo

    28. Ryan Ellis

    29. Myatt Snider

    30. Joe Graf Jr., one lap down

    31. Brett Moffitt – OUT, Fuel pump

    32. Kris Wright – OUT, Accident

    33. Jeremy Clements, 10 laps down

    34. Jeffrey Earnhardt, 10 laps down

    35. Justin Allgaier, 11 laps down

    36. David Starr, 12 laps down

    37. Bayley Currey – OUT, Electrical

    38. Harrison Burton – OUT, Accident

    39. Tommy Joe Martins – OUT, Engine 

    40. Noah Gragson – OUT, Accident 

    Next on the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is a trip to the Lone Star state for a 250-mile event at Texas Motor Speedway, which will occur on Saturday, June 12, at 4 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Weekend schedule for Sonoma and Mid-Ohio

    Weekend schedule for Sonoma and Mid-Ohio

    The NASCAR Cup Series travels to Sonoma Raceway this weekend for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 while the NASCAR Xfinity Series will compete at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Saturday afternoon.

    NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series has a week off and will return to competition on June 12 at Texas Motor Speedway.

    Martin Truex Jr. leads all active Cup Series drivers with three wins at Sonoma (2013, 2018, 2019) and would love to capture a third consecutive victory.

    “I’ve been waiting for a while to go back to Sonoma and try to get the three-peat,” Truex said. “Sonoma is such a fun track and it’s a great part of the country. It’s beautiful and always great weather. I can’t wait to get there and see all of our fans in California that we haven’t seen in quite a while.”

    His biggest rival may be Chase Elliott who has won five of the last six Cup Series road course races. And you can never count out Kyle Busch who has won twice (2008, 2015) at Sonoma.

    There have been seven Xfinity Series races run at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with seven different winners. Austin Cindric was the most recent driver in victory lane in 2019. He also has three more road course wins at Watkins Glen (2019), the Daytona Road Course (2020) and Road America (2020).

    Due to the pandemic, this will be NASCAR’s first time back at the track since June 2019.

    There will be no practice or qualifying sessions for the Cup and Xfinity Series due to COVID-19 protocols established by NASCAR.

    The starting lineups will be determined by the following metrics formula:
    • 25 percent: Driver’s finishing position from the previous race
    • 25 percent: Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race
    • 35 percent: Team owner points ranking
    • 15 percent: Fastest lap from the previous race

    Notes: There will be a competition caution for the Cup Series on Lap 10 but no competition caution is scheduled for the Xfinity Series race.

    All times are Eastern.

    Saturday, June 5

    1 p.m.: Xfinity Series B&L Transport 170
    Green Flag: 1:13
    Distance: 169.35 miles (75 Laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 25, Stage 2 ends on Lap 50, Final Stage Ends on Lap 75
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Pole: Austin Cindric

    Sunday, June 6

    4 p.m. Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway
    Green Flag: 4:14
    Distance: 226.8 miles (90 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 20),
    Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 40), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 90)
    FS1/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Pole: Kyle Larson

    Sonoma Raceway Data
    Season Race #: 15 of 36 (06-06-21)
    Track Size: 2.52-miles
    Number of Turns: 12 varying
    Track: Multi-Elevational Road Course
    Race Length: 90 laps / 226.8 miles
    Stage 1 and 2 Length: 20 laps (each)
    Final Stage Length: 50 laps

    Sonoma Raceway NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying & Race Information:

    • Track qualifying record (2.52-miles): Kyle Larson, Chevrolet (95.901 mph, 94.598 secs. on 06-22-19)
    • Track qualifying record (1.99-miles): Kyle Larson, Chevrolet (96.568 mph, 74.186 secs. on 06-27-15)
    • Track race record (2.52-miles): Martin Truex Jr., Toyota (83.922 mph, (02:42:09) on 06-23-19)
    • Track race record (1.99-miles): Clint Bowyer, Toyota (83.624 mph, (02:39:55) on06-24-12)
    • 2019 pole winner (last race): Kyle Larson, Chevrolet (95.712 mph, 94.784 secs. on 06-22-19)
    • 2019 race winner (last race): Martin Truex Jr., Toyota (83.922 mph, (02:42:09) on 06-23-19)

    Sonoma Raceway Qualifying Information:

    • Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch lead all active drivers in the series in starts at Sonoma with 19 each.
    • Kyle Larson leads the series in average starting position at Sonoma with a 2.5 in seven starts.
    • 18 different NCS drivers have won at least one pole at Sonoma and three are entered this weekend.  Kyle Larson (3), Joey Logano (1), and Kurt Busch (1).
    • Larson leads all active drivers in poles at Sonoma with three (2017, 2018, 2019).
    • The youngest series Sonoma pole winner is Joey Logano (June 26, 2011 – 21 years, 1 month, 2 days).
    • Five different manufacturers in the NCS have won a pole at Sonoma.  Chevrolet leads with 16 poles, Ford seven, Pontiac three, Toyota three, and Dodge with two.

    Sonoma Raceway Race Information:

    • 19 different NCS drivers have won at Sonoma and four are entered this weekend.  Martin Truex Jr. (3), Kyle Busch (2), Kevin Harvick (1), and Kurt Busch (1).
    • NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon leads the series in wins at Sonoma with five victories.
    • Martin Truex Jr. leads all active drivers in wins at Sonoma in the NCS with three victories (2013, 2018, 2019).
    • Chase Elliott leads all active NCS drivers in road course wins with six victories (Watkins Glen, two; Charlotte ROVAL, two; Daytona RC, COTA).
    • The youngest series Sonoma winner is Kyle Busch (June 22, 2008 – 23 years, 1 month, 20 days).
    • Five of the 31 (16.13%) NCS races at Sonoma have been won from the pole, making it the most proficient starting position in the field.
    • Hendrick Motorsports leads the NCS in wins at Sonoma with six victories (Jeff Gordon with five and Jimmie Johnson with one).
    • Six different manufacturers have won in the NCS at Sonoma.  Chevrolet leads with 11 victories, Ford eight, Toyota five, Dodge three, Pontiac two, and Buick with one.
    • Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch lead all active NCS drivers in top 10s at Sonoma with 10 each.
    • Clint Bowyer leads all active NCS drivers in average finish at Sonoma with a 10.077. 
    • Martin Truex Jr. leads all active NCS drivers at Sonoma with 213 laps led in 15 starts.

    Top 12 Sonoma Driver Ratings

    1. Kurt Busch – 105.2
    2. Martin Truex Jr. – 96.8
    3. Kevin Harvick – 94.5
    4. Kyle Busch – 93.7
    5. Chase Elliott – 89.4
    6. Ryan Newman – 85.7
    7. Denny Hamlin – 84.9
    8. Kyle Larson – 83.0
    9. Joey Logano – 82.7
    10. Brad Keselowski – 78.9
    11. Ryan Blaney – 77.7
    12. Daniel Suarez – 74.9

    Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2020 races (15 total) among active drivers at Sonoma Raceway.

  • Larson achieves historic victory for Hendrick Motorsports in the Coca-Cola 600

    Larson achieves historic victory for Hendrick Motorsports in the Coca-Cola 600

    History was made under the lights at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 30, as Kyle Larson raced his way to a dominating victory in the Coca-Cola 600 and made Hendrick Motorsports the winningest team in the NASCAR Cup Series. The Elk Grove, California, native led a race-high 327 of 400 laps from pole position, including the final 49 laps, to muscle away from his teammates and the competition before recording the biggest victory for himself and for HMS on Memorial Day weekend.

    Qualifying occurred on Saturday, May 29, and Kyle Larson captured the pole position with a pole-winning speed at 180.282 mph. Joining him on the front row was Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in his No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.

    Prior to the event, Kurt Busch and B.J. McLeod dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments.  

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Larson was able to squeak ahead with the top spot as he led the first lap while teammate Chase Elliott battled Stenhouse for the runner-up spot. Behind, a series of side-by-side battles occurred as William Byron battled Kevin Harvick for fourth place while Austin Dillon overtook Alex Bowman for sixth place. 

    Through the first 47 laps of the event, it was Larson and his No. 5 MetroTech Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE that was leading the field and dominating.

    Shortly after, the first round of green flag pit stops occurred as Martin Truex Jr. and Ross Chastain pitted. They were soon followed by Bowman, Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, Austin Dillon, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Chris Buescher, Larson, Elliott and others. During the pit stops, Chastain remained on pit road and his crew pulled the hood up on his No. 42 AdventHealth Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to address a broken oil pump belt. 

    With most of the pit stops completed, Brad Keselowski, who was trying to stretch the fuel in his car to the fullest, led six laps before Matt DiBenedetto and rookie Anthony Alfredo led the following three laps. Afterwards, Larson returned to the lead.

    With five laps remaining under the first stage, Daniel Suarez made a pit stop under green due to a flat right-front tire. 

    Back on the track, Larson was able to set sail at the front and cruise to the first stage victory on Lap 100, thus claiming his seventh stage victory of the season. Teammates Elliott and Byron crossed the start/finish line in second and third followed by Harvick and Austin Dillon. Kyle Busch, teammate Truex, Reddick, Stenhouse and Bowman were scored in the top 10. 

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Larson retained the lead following a stellar service from his pit crew.

    The second stage started on Lap 107 with teammates Larson and Elliott on the front row. At the start, Larson pulled ahead on the bottom lane to maintain the lead ahead of Elliott and Harvick through the first two turns.

    By Lap 110, Larson was ahead by half a second over Elliott while Harvick and Byron engaged in a fierce battle for third place. A few laps later, Harvick prevailed over his battle with Byron as Kyle Busch went to work on Byron for fourth place.

    On Lap 132, Elliott, coming off his victory at the Circuit of the Americas, was able to move his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE into the lead for the first time of the event.

    On Lap 140, Kurt Busch took his No. 1 Gear Wrench Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to the garage after reporting a broken belt issue to his machine, a similar issue that eliminated teammate Chastain from competition.

    Not long after, another round of green flag pit stops occurred as Brad Keselowski pitted followed by Stenhouse, Byron, Kyle Busch, Bowman, Truex, Bubba Wallace, rookie Chase Briscoe, Larson, Elliott, Harvick and others. While entering and exiting pit road, Larson and Elliott battled dead even to be on top of one another before the former prevailed.

    By Lap 153, Larson returned to the lead after Bell pitted. 

    Twenty laps later, the caution returned when Kurt Busch, who had returned to the track while multiple laps behind, retired due to an engine failure when smoke billowed out of his car. Busch’s retirement was his third of the season and his seventh finish outside the top 20 through the first 15 events of this season.

    Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road and Bowman emerged with the lead following a two-tire pit stop. Hamlin and Logano, both of whom also took two tires, exited in second and third followed by Larson, the first competitor with four fresh tires. 

    With 23 laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted. At the start, Bowman was able to retain the lead, but Hamlin moved his No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry to the top spot three laps later. Behind, however, Elliott was quick to move into the runner-up spot followed by teammates Bowman and Larson.

    After leading the next three laps, Hamlin lost the lead to Elliott. Five laps later, however, Larson reassumed the lead. From there, he was able to cruise to the second stage victory on Lap 200 and claim his eighth stage victory of the season. Teammates Elliott and Byron settled in second and third followed by Kyle Busch, Reddick, Harvick, Bowman, Buescher, Hamlin and Austin Dillon.

    Under the stage break, the entire field drove down to pit road and paused for a moment of silence in remembrance of the fallen during Memorial Day weekend. When the competition resumed, the leaders pitted and Larson was able to retain the lead ahead of his Hendrick Motorsports’ teammates.

    The third stage started on Lap 207 as Larson received another strong start to retain the lead ahead of his teammates and the field.

    By Lap 210, Larson held a narrow advantage over Byron followed by Elliott, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Bowman, Hamlin, Logano, Reddick and Wallace.

    On Lap 231, Byron emerged with the lead, where he went on to lead 17 laps. By Lap 253, though, Larson returned to the lead.

    With five laps remaining in the third stage, the caution flew when Ryan Newman lost a right-front tire and pounded the outside wall in Turn 3. The incident was enough to end the third stage under caution, with Larson claiming his third stage victory of the 600-mile event and the ninth of this season. Teammate Byron followed in the runner-up spot and ahead of Kyle Busch, Elliott, Bowman, Reddick, Hamlin, Austin Dillon, Wallace and Harvick.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Larson retained the lead after exiting in first place followed by Kyle Busch. Following the pit stops, Wallace was assessed an equipment interference penalty while Blaney was caught speeding on pit road.

    With 94 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as the two Kyles led the field to the green flag. At the start, Kyle Busch challenged Larson for one lap, even leading a lap, before Larson cleared Busch for the lead entering the backstretch during the following lap. In the process, Elliott retook the runner-up spot and Busch got loose while battling Byron for third place.

    Down to the final 90 laps of the event, Larson was ahead by half a second over teammates Elliott and Byron, both of whom were battling to keep up with their dominating teammate.

    With less than 55 laps remaining and with green flag pit stops ensuing, Reddick led for three laps before Blaney took over the top spot for the following two laps.

    Under the final 50 laps, Larson moved back into the lead after Blaney pitted.

    Twenty laps later, Larson, who was lapping traffic in front of him, was out in front by a reasonable margin over teammates Elliott and Byron, with Kyle Busch in fourth and Bowman in fifth. 

    Under the final 10 laps, Larson continued to lead by a big margin over teammate Elliott. With seven laps remaining, Larson’s advantage to Elliott was more than 10 seconds. 

    With five laps remaining, Larson remained as the leader by more than 10 seconds over Elliott. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch battled and overtook Byron for third place.

    When Larson started the final lap of the event, he stabilized his advantage to more than 10 seconds over Elliott. With no challenges lurking behind, Larson was able to come back around and claim the checkered flag for the win.

    In his seventh full-time season and career start No. 238, Larson captured his eighth NASCAR Cup Series career victory, his second win of the season, his first victory at Charlotte and his first crown jewel event in NASCAR with his first Coke 600 title. He also joined teammate Bowman and Truex as the only competitors to win multiple races through the first 15 races of this year’s Cup season. 

    “It feels good,” Larson said on FOX. “It was not easy. I felt like I had to fight off William [Byron] and Chase [Elliott] a lot. It kind of worked out there that last run. [Erik Jones] had to pit and pulled out in front of me. I just towed with him for a while and stretched my lead out. We had a good car there that last run. Awesome, it feels great to be the guy that helped Mr. [Hendrick] break that record finally. This is awesome…Just very lucky that Mr. H was able to put a deal for me. It’s just awesome. I’m living dream, for sure.”

    With Larson’s victory, Hendrick Motorsports achieved its 12th Coke 600 title and surpassed Petty Enterprises with the most victories in the Cup Series with career win No. 269, an achievement that left team owner Rick Hendrick beaming on pit road.

    “Number one, Richard Petty is the king of NASCAR and he’s done so much for this sport,” Rick Hendrick said. “Man, this is so awesome. All I could think about was the first win, all the drivers. I wanna thank every driver that’s ever driven, ever won a race and the one’s that didn’t win. It’s unbelievable. I can’t really get it in my brain right now ‘cause I just thought something’s gonna happen. But man, what a good job [the drivers] did tonight. I’m just looking forward to the rest of the year when I’m glad [win No.] 269 is over. I’m glad it’s over.”

    Elliott, who was making his 200th Cup career start and led 22 laps, settled in second place for the third time this season followed by Kyle Busch.

    “Yeah, I was happy for the boss [Rick Hendrick], happy for Kyle [Larson] and [crew chief] Cliff [Daniels], and everybody on the No. 5 team,” Elliott said. “They’ve been kicking ass since February. They deserve to win and rightfully so. They did a great job tonight, ran a great race, made no mistakes and the best car won. Proud of [Hendrick Motorsports]. Man, I feel like everybody’s, like I’ve been saying, been pulling in the same direction and it’s really showing. Just proud of our company and excited as the No. 9 team’s, specifically, for more opportunities ahead and try to get better, and see if we can get dialed in.”

    “We had nothing for the Hendrick cars,” Busch said. “Overall, just a really good night for us. This M&M’s Camry was fast. [Crew chief] Ben [Beshore] and the boys did a really, really good job. I appreciate for what all we had, it was enough to be able to go out there, run strong and try to break’em [Hendrick drivers] up. I didn’t want them to finish one-two-three-four again, so at least I could get in the middle of them there, but overall, a good job…We had a solid night tonight. Hopefully, good for the points and hopefully, we can keep this momentum rolling.”

    Teammates Byron and Bowman finished in the top five as all four Hendrick Motorsports’ competitors finished in the top five. Austin Dillon, Hamlin, Buescher, Reddick and Harvick completed the top 10.

    Keselowski finished 11th followed by Stenhouse, Blaney, Wallace and Suarez. Logano fell back to 17th ahead of Matt DiBenedetto and Briscoe was the highest-finishing rookie competitor in 23rd. Martin Truex Jr., a two-time Coke 600 winner, ended his night in 29th following a late tire issue.

    There were 23 lead changes for 13 different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 26 laps. 

    Denny Hamlin continues to lead the regular-season standings by 76 points over Kyle Larson and William Byron, with Chase Elliott trailing by 92 points.

    Results.

    1. Kyle Larson, 327 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 & 3 winner

    2. Chase Elliott, 22 laps led

    3. Kyle Busch, one lap led

    4. William Byron, 19 laps led

    5. Alex Bowman, five laps led

    6. Austin Dillon, one lap led

    7. Denny Hamlin, three laps led

    8. Chris Buescher

    9. Tyler Reddick, six laps led

    10. Kevin Harvick

    11. Brad Keselowski, six laps led

    12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 

    13. Ryan Blaney, two laps led

    14. Bubba Wallace

    15. Daniel Suarez, two laps down

    16. Erik Jones, two laps down

    17. Joey Logano, two laps down

    18. Matt DiBenedetto, two laps down, two laps led

    19. Corey LaJoie, two laps down

    20. Michael McDowell, two laps down

    21. Cole Custer, three laps down

    22. Aric Almirola, three laps down

    23. Chase Briscoe, three laps down

    24. Christopher Bell, three laps down, three laps led

    25. Anthony Alfredo, three laps down, three laps led

    26. Ryan Preece, three laps down

    27. Ryan Newman, four łaps down

    28. Justin Haley, five laps down

    29. Martin Truex Jr., nine laps down

    30. Cody Ware, 11 laps down

    31. B.J. McLeod, 11 laps down

    32. Quin Houff, 11 laps down

    33. James Davison, 12 laps down

    34. Garrett Smithley, 13 laps down

    35. Josh Bilicki, 18 laps down

    36. David Starr, 31 laps down

    37. Ross Chastain, 41 laps down

    38. Kurt Busch – OUT, Engine

    Next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ return to the West Coast and at Sonoma Raceway following a one-year absence. The race will occur on Sunday, June 6, at 4 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Ty Gibbs rebounds to win Xfinity race at Charlotte

    Ty Gibbs rebounds to win Xfinity race at Charlotte

    Ty Gibbs recovered from a spin in Stage 2 to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and claim his second victory in only six series starts.

    He led the final 20 laps in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54 Toyota and was the highest-finishing rookie in his Xfinity debut at the 1.5-mile track.

    His surge to the front was not without difficulty. As Gibbs moved to pass Chase Briscoe who was leading the race, Gibbs inadvertently took the air off Briscoe’s car causing him to spin off Turn 2. Briscoe would have to settle for a 6th place finish.

    Gibbs apologized on the team radio for the incident, saying, “I wasn’t trying to wreck him. I was trying to race him. That was never my intention.”

    After the win, he took a moment to apologize again to Briscoe and his team.

    “First off,” he said, “I just want to say sorry to the 99 and Chase and his crew. I didn’t hit him, but I definitely helped him out with him getting loose there, and it was not my intention. Already wrecked myself so, I just want to say sorry to them more importantly than this entire win.”

    But nothing could take away from the excitement of claiming another victory for the 18-year-old who is running a part-time Xfinity Series schedule.

    “It’s just awesome,” Gibbs said. “I’ll take it. This is a good day — we got one more (race) to go. So, I just want to say thank you all the fans out there and hell, yeah!”

    Briscoe was disappointed, but said, “It felt like there at the end we just made the wrong adjustment and I was too tight. But truthfully, Ty was probably going to get me either way. After leading that many laps (60), it’s frustrating for sure.”

    Austin Cindric placed second in his Team Penske No. 22 Ford, after finishing fourth in both Stage 1 and 2.

    “Talking to everyone, it sounds like we were the most boring race car on the race track,” he said. “We took up residence in P4 for about the entire race. If that meant I had a good restart, a bad restart, a good pit stop, a bad pit stop, we were still P4. I felt like we weren’t good enough to make moves to get to the front, but we were good enough to maintain where we were. There’s definitely more for us to gain, but overall, we really executed well today. I can’t really complain.”

    Harrison Burton finished third, followed by Brandon Brown and Tyler Reddick to round out the top five. Briscoe, Ty Dillon, Brandon Jones, Jeb Burton and Jeremy Clements finished sixth-10th, respectively.

    Cindric leads the standings by 84 points over second-place Harrison Burton. AJ Almendinger (-108), Daniel Hemric (-108) Justin Allgaier (-133), Jeb Burton (-137), Justin Haley (-172), Jeremy Clements (-191), Noah Gragson (-197) and  Myatt Snider (-211) round out the top-10 in the driver standings.

    The Xfinity Series travels to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for its next race on Saturday, June 8, at 1 p.m. ET on FS1.

    Official Results:

    1. (8)  Ty Gibbs #, Toyota, 200.
    2. (4)  Austin Cindric, Ford, 200.
    3. (13)  Harrison Burton, Toyota, 200.
    4. (32)  Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, 200.
    5. (16)  Tyler Reddick(i), Chevrolet, 200.
    6. (2)  Chase Briscoe(i), Ford, 200.
    7. (10)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 200.
    8. (14)  Brandon Jones, Toyota, 200.
    9. (9)  Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 200.
    10. (6)  Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 200.
    11. (26)  Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200.
    12. (1)  Riley Herbst, Ford, 200.
    13. (28)  Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 200.
    14. (33)  Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, 200.
    15. (22)  Chad Finchum, Toyota, 200.
    16. (20)  Ryan Vargas #, Chevrolet, 200.
    17. (25)  Jade Buford #, Chevrolet, 200.
    18. (30)  Jesse Little, Toyota, 200.
    19. (11)  Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 200.
    20. (31)  Cody Ware, Toyota, 200.
    21. (34)  Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 199.
    22. (17)  Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 199.
    23. (21)  Stefan Parsons, Chevrolet, 199.
    24. (19)  Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 199.
    25. (15)  Brett Moffitt, Chevrolet, 198.
    26. (7)  Myatt Snider, Chevrolet, 196.
    27. (23)  Noah Gragson, Chevrolet, Accident, 187.
    28. (3)  Daniel Hemric, Toyota, Accident, 186.
    29. (27)  Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet, Accident, 186.
    30. (29)  Colby Howard, Chevrolet, 184.
    31. (12)  Ryan Sieg, Ford, Accident, 151.
    32. (18)  Josh Berry #, Chevrolet, Accident, 150.
    33. (5)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, Brakes, 128.
    34. (36)  Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, Engine, 114.
    35. (24)  Matt Mills, Chevrolet, Accident, 103.
    36. (35)  Grant Enfinger(i), Toyota, Accident, 26.

  • John Hunter Nemechek gets KBM back on track with Charlotte win

    John Hunter Nemechek gets KBM back on track with Charlotte win

    After finishing fifth, eighth, and 12th during the last three races, John Hunter Nemechek brought the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports truck back to victory lane at Charlotte Motor Speedway with their first win since Richmond this past April.

    “Started today, hitting the fence in the third lap of practice and having to fix our truck and luckily we were able to fix it,” Nemechek said. “I didn’t hit the fence too hard, I don’t know how I didn’t pancake the right side. Overall, the team did an awesome job repairing it.”

    “You couldn’t really pass during that first stage, the PJ1 wasn’t really run in yet and everybody was kind of bottom hunting. Pit crew did an awesome job during the first stop, which helped us gained track position, and led from there on out. We had a dominate truck I feel like. We got damage there when the 13 (Johnny Sauter) ran into someone who was stopped on the top. Knocked our camera off that created a big hole in the roof. Overall, a solid victory, and nice to get our third win.”

    Nemechek started fourth based on the metric system after qualifying was canceled due to afternoon rain showers. From there, the Mooresville, North Carolina native finished third in Stage 1, took the lead on Lap 39 to win Stage 2 and regained the lead on Lap 72. He went on to win his third Camping World Truck Series win of the 2021 season.

    Todd Gilliland and the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports truck were given the pole position.

    Stage 1: Lap 1 – Lap 34

    Stage 1 was relatively caution-free as the 2020 Truck Series champion, Sheldon Creed, dominated the stage and took home his first stage victory of the year. Gilliland, Nemechek, Austin Hill, Zane Smith, Tyler Ankrum, Derek Kraus, Matt Crafton, Ben Rhodes and Hailie Deegan completed the Top 10 finishers for Stage 1.

    Stage 2: Lap 38 – Lap 60

    Nemechek shone in the second stage when he gained the lead one lap after the restart. Two cautions would slow the stage. The first one occurred on Lap 49 when the No. 15 of Tanner Gray and the No. 32 of Bret Holmes both made hard contact in Turn 4 causing damage to both trucks. The second caution came on Lap 55 as Stage 1 winner, Creed, wrecked in Turn 4. It appeared as though Creed was going to save the truck but he was collected by the No. 23 of Chase Purdy, eventually ending Creed’s night due to too much damage.

    During the caution, race leader Nemechek came down pit road for a pit stop.

    A one-lap dash restart ended Stage 2 and this time, the No. 21 of Zane Smith took the green-checkered flag followed by Austin Hill, Majeski, Kraus, Truex, Crafton, Hocevar, Friesen, Enfinger and Nemechek to round out the top 10. Unfortunately for Smith, he was penalized for having pit crew members over the wall too soon.

    Stage 3: Lap 68 – Lap 134

    On Lap 72, Nemechek retook the lead and had a comfortable advantage heading into the final pit stops with 33 laps to go when he pitted. However, things got interesting with 20 to go, when the No. 13 of Johnny Sauter and the No. 14 of Trey Hutchens had a scary accident on the frontstretch. Sauter had nowhere to go when Hutchens was slowed on the fronstretch and he hit the back of the No. 14 hard, causing major damage to both trucks. Sauter suffered extensive damage as the entire right side of his truck was torn off with the chassis of the truck exposed.

    Meanwhile, Nemechek was leading the race and had some minor damage above the windshield. After the late yellow, there was a restart with 10 laps to go. His only challenger during the final laps was the youngster, Carson Hocevar, who was trying to chase down Nemechek for his first win.

    But ultimately, Nemechek hit his marks as the race wound down and brought home Kyle Busch Motorsport’s third win of the season.

    Carson Hocevar, Ben Rhodes, Stewart Friesen, Todd Gilliland, Chandler Smith, Ty Majeski, Derek Kraus, Austin Hill, and Zane Smith completed the Top 10.

    Nemechek led three times for 71 laps en route to victory. There were five cautions for 31 laps and 12 lead changes among nine different leaders.

    Official Results of the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway:
    1. John Hunter Nemechek, led 71 laps
    2. Carson Hocevar, led five laps
    3. Ben Rhodes
    4. Stewart Friesen, led one lap
    5. Todd Gilliland, led five laps
    6. Chandler Smith
    7. Ty Majeski
    8. Derek Kraus
    9. Austin Hill
    10. Zane Smith, won Stage 2, led 13 laps
    11. Christian Eckes, led three laps
    12. Ryan Truex, led one lap
    13. Hailie Deegan, 1 lap down
    14. Grant Enfinger, 1 lap down
    15. Jack Wood, 1 lap down
    16. Tyler Ankrum, 1 lap down, led two laps
    17. Austin Wayne Self, 1 lap down
    18. Timmy Hill, 1 lap down
    19. Bayley Currey, 1 lap down
    20. Drew Dollar, 1 lap down
    21. Dawson Cram, 1 lap down
    22. Tanner Gray, 1 lap down
    23. Kris Wright, 2 laps down
    24. Danny Bohn, 3 laps down
    25. Cory Roper, 5 laps down
    26. Spencer Boyd, 6 laps down
    27. CJ McLaughlin, 7 laps down
    28. Akinori Ogata, 9 laps down
    29. Keith McGee, 11 laps down
    30. Matt Crafton, 20 laps down
    31. Johnny Sauter, OUT, Accident
    32. Trey Hutchens III, OUT, Accident
    33. Jennifer Jo Cobb, OUT, Suspension
    34. Chase Purdy, OUT, Damage Vehicle Policy
    35. Sheldon Creed, OUT, won Stage 1, led 33 laps
    36. Bret Holmes, OUT, Accident
    37. Tate Fogleman, OUT, Rear Gear
    38. Timothy Peters, OUT, Steering

    Up Next: The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will head to Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday June 12 live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio at 1:00 p.m./ET.

  • Elliott wins rain-shortened, inaugural Cup event at COTA

    Elliott wins rain-shortened, inaugural Cup event at COTA

    The inaugural EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, featured wet, slick conditions, wild racing and major milestone victories for Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet after Chase Elliott emerged victorious for the first time this season on Sunday, May 23. The reigning Cup Series champion took the lead on Lap 50 and retained the top spot by Lap 54 while on low fuel when NASCAR made the race official due to late, inclement weather that ended the race 14 laps from its scheduled distance.

    Qualifying occurred on Sunday, May 23, prior to the main event. Tyler Reddick started on pole position with a pole-winning qualifying lap at 92.363 mph and was joined on the front row with Kyle Larson. Aric Almirola, rookie Chase Briscoe, Chris Buescher, Erik Jones, Cody Ware, James Davison, rookie Anthony Alfredo, Daniel Suarez and Denny Hamlin started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments.

    Prior to the race, the competitors made a pit stop to change for slick tires with reports of precipitation nearing the circuit. During the pit stops, teammates Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski was forced to start at the rear of the field due to having tape pulled from their cars, which was not permitted at the time.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Cindric made a move on Reddick in the first turn to take the lead while the field fanned out and jostled for positions early in the race through the first two turns and the esses. For one full lap, the competitors made their way through the 20-turn circuit in a calm, consistent pace as Cindric led the first lap.

    Under the first lap, names like Byron, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and Kevin Harvick pitted early for wet tires. 

    At the front, Cindric was leading followed by A.J. Allmendinger, Kyle Busch, teammate Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson. Reddick, meanwhile, was back in sixth place followed by Christopher Bell, Michael McDowell, Bubba Wallace and Kurt Busch.

    By the second lap, Allmendinger pitted for fresh tires along with Reddick. A lap later, names like Kyle Busch, Larson, Bell, Matt DiBenedetto and James Davison made their pit stops for tires.

    Through the first five laps of the event, Cindric, who continued to run on slick tires, was in a commanding lead over Truex. Shortly after, he made a pit stop as Truex, who started the race on rain tires, took over the lead followed by Michael McDowell, Bubba Wallace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and teammate Ryan Preece. Cindric, following his pit stop, fell back to ninth place behind Logano.

    Three laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Daniel Suarez, who went off course in Turn 13 but managed to continue, stalled on the course due to a mechanical issue and needed a wrecker to have his car pushed to the garage.

    Under caution, some like leader Truex pitted while the rest led by McDowell remained on the track.

    The race restarted on Lap 9 with McDowell and Wallace on the front row. At the start and with the field fanning out, McDowell retained the lead. From Turn 3 through Turn 10, the field continued to navigate through the rain as McDowell led Logano and Cindric. Behind, Denny Hamlin spun in Turn 9, but he continued. 

    By Lap 10, McDowell was still leading followed by Logano, Cindric, William Byron and Kurt Busch. Stenhouse was back in sixth followed by Chase Briscoe, DiBenedetto, Wallace and Chris Buescher. In Turn 12, Logano made his move beneath McDowell and as McDowell’s car wobbled, the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang driven by Logano muscled to the lead.

    With the laps in the first stage dwindling, Garrett Smithley went off course and drove his car through the gravel before returning on the track and continuing. Not long after, Corey LaJoie spun off course entering Turn 12. Then, DiBenedetto ran into the right-rear quarter panel of Byron’s No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, damaging both competitors as Byron pitted.

    Back at the front, Logano continued to lead. Through the turns and the slick conditions, Logano was able to come back around and claim the first stage on Lap 15, which marked his third stage victory of the season. McDowell crossed the start/finish line in second place followed by Kurt Busch, Larson and Cindric. Buescher and Briscoe were scored in sixth and seventh. Ross Chastain, who slid off course in Turn 11, crossed the line in eighth followed by Kyle Busch and DiBenedetto, who continued despite the damage on his car. 

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

    The second stage started on Lap 18 with Logano and McDowell retaining the front row. At the start, Logano retained the lead followed by Kurt Busch as the field fanned out again. In Turn 4, Ryan Newman spun after getting loose underneath Ross Chastain, but he prevented the car from sustaining any damage.

    Through the twists and turns from Turn 3 through 10 and the long straightaway in Turns 11 and 12, Logano continued to lead followed by the Busch brothers, McDowell and Chastain. 

    Behind, Ryan Blaney, who got hit by Christopher Bell, spun and went off course as a result of a cut right-rear tire. In the ensuing chaos, the caution flew when Kevin Harvick, who lifted off the throttle through the long straightaway, got hit from behind by Wallace’s car, which sent Harvick into the guardrails and with heavy damage. Stenhouse also received damage following the contact. The damage knocked Bell and Wallace out of contention along with Harvick, who car was leaking fluid, while Blaney and Stenhouse continued. 

    Under caution, some like Larson, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Truex, Newman and Byron pitted while the rest led by Logano remained on the track.

    When the race resumed on Lap 24, Chastain moved a bold three-wide move on Logano and Kyle Busch entering Turn 1 to take the lead followed by Ryan Preece. Through Turns 9 and 10, Preece overtook Chastain for the lead and he retained the top spot entering Turn 11. Kyle Busch was in third followed by Cindric, Chase Elliott and Logano.

    Then, the caution returned when Truex ran into the rear of McDowell, which sent Truex’s hood up and blocked his view. With Truex off the pace, Cole Custer rammed into the rear of Truex’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry at full speed, which nearly sent Truex’s car upside down before coming back to rest on all four wheels while Custer made contact with the SAFER Barriers before coming to a stop on fire. Truex and Custer were able to exit their respective machines following the wreck. Following the incident, the race was red-flagged for nearly 21 minutes. At the time of the incident, Chastain was leading Preece, Kyle Busch, Cindric and Elliott.

    When the red flag was lifted following a lengthy cleanup, the field made their way to pit road under caution and the teams were allowed to service their respective cars with the driver’s vision. Later on, Chastain led a handful of competitors down pit road while the rest led by Preece remained on the track. Prior to the start, NASCAR announced that all restarts for the remainder of the event will be single-filed.

    Following a delay, the race restarted under green on Lap 28. At the start, Kyle Busch took the lead followed by Cindric while Preece fell back to third. Behind, Austin Dillon, who was in sixth, was assessed a drive-through penalty for cutting through the esses. 

    Back at the front, Cindric returned to the lead by the time the field returned in Turn 11 before Kyle Busch took it back in Turn 12. When the field returned to the straightaway heading towards the start/finish line, Kyle Busch retained the lead followed by Cindric, Preece, Elliott and Reddick. 

    With the laps in the second stage dwindling, the battle for the lead continued to heat up between Kyle Busch and Cindric, though Busch refused to relinquish the top spot. With Busch prevailing, Chase Elliott started to challenge Cindric for the runner-up spot. By then, names like Newman, Erik Jones and Quin Houff encountered on-track issues of their own.

    With a clear track in front of him, Kyle Busch, winner of Saturday’s inaugural Xfinity Series event at the Circuit of the Americas, was able to come back around and win the second stage on Lap 32, which marked his second stage victory of the season. Elliott was scored in second place followed by Reddick, Cindric, Corey LaJoie, Larson, Preece, A.J. Allmendinger, Briscoe and Alex Bowman.

    Under the stage break, some led by LaJoie pitted while the rest led by Kyle Busch remained on the track.

    With 33 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Kyle Busch retained the lead followed by Cindric, Reddick, Briscoe and Elliott. With the field navigating its way through the esses and through Turns 9, 10 and 11, Busch remained in the lead while the field fanned out. Behind, Brad Keselowski spun in Turn 11 following contact with Newman.

    Under the final 30 laps of the event, Kyle Busch was leading by less than six seconds over Larson. Elliott was in third place followed by Logano, Reddick and Allmendinger. Cindric and Chastain battled for seventh followed by McDowell and Kurt Busch. Behind, Stenhouse spun following contact from Quin Houff. In addition, Davison and LaJoie went off track separately. Soon after, Reddick spun in Turn 20.

    With 27 laps remaining, the leader Kyle Busch pitted along with Elliott. Busch’s move handed the lead to Larson followed by Logano and Chastain. Two laps later, Chastain overtook Logano for the runner-up spot. Not long after, Kurt Busch, Chastain’s teammate, moved into third place. At the front, Larson continued to lead by three-and-a-half seconds.

    Behind, more pit stops ensued as Allmendinger pitted along with Reddick, DiBenedetto, McDowell and others, By then, rain started to make its way back on the circuit.

    With 24 laps remaining, Chastain moved into the lead as Larson pitted under green. Kurt Busch joined Larson on pit road for service along with Logano, Briscoe and Ty Dillon. The following lap, Preece and Buescher pitted. Another lap later, Chastain, who last pitted on Lap 27, pitted along with Byron.

    Back on the track, Alex Bowman, winner of last weekend’s event at Dover, took the lead as Kyle Busch moved back into second place. Elliott was in third place followed by Hamlin and Larson.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event and with light precipitation falling on the circuit, Bowman continued to lead while Elliott remained in front of Kyle Busch, Larson and Hamlin for the second-place spot. Logano was in sixth followed by rookie Anthony Alfredo, Chastain, Austin Dillon and Kurt Busch. Allmendinger was in 12th in front of Briscoe, Reddick and Cindric were in 16th and 17th and Byron was in 19th.

    Two laps later, Elliott took the lead entering Turn 20 while Bowman pitted for fresh tires along with Hamlin. Larson, who trailed teammate Elliott by six seconds, moved into second place followed by Kyle Busch, Logano and Chastain. Shortly after, radio chatters about the fuel window between Elliott, Larson and Busch started to occur, with Elliott and Busch reportedly not having enough for the finish while Larson had enough to complete the race to its distance.

    With 16 laps remaining, Kyle Busch brought his No. 18 M&M’s Mix Toyota Camry into pit road for fresh tires and enough fuel for the scheduled distance.

    Back to the front, the No. 9 LLumar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE piloted by Elliott continued to lead by more than 12 seconds over the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE piloted by Larson. Behind, Kurt Busch overshot Turn 12, nearly clipping his brother Kyle and Austin Dillon, where he drove his car through the gravel and grass, spun the car to the right direction and continued without getting stuck in the wet mud.

    With 15 laps remaining, the caution flew due to visibility and the current track conditions with the circuit wet and light precipitation making its way on the track. Not long after, the field was brought down to pit road and the race was red-flagged.

    As rain continued to fall, NASCAR made the race official 14 laps shy of its scheduled distance and Elliott, the leader at the time, was declared the winner. The victory in the inaugural Circuit of the Americas event marked Elliott’s 12th NASCAR Cup Series career win and his six road course career victory as he became the 11th different driver to record a victory this season. In addition, Elliott recorded the 268th Cup win for Hendrick Motorsports, moving the team to a tie with Petty Enterprises for the most all-time Cup victories, and the 800th Cup victory for Chevrolet.

    “Man, I couldn’t be more excited,” Elliott said on FS1. “I’ve never won a rain race before, so that’s kinda cool. Just super proud of our team for just continuing to fight. We kinda starting the day, we weren’t very good and just kept pushing myself, kept making some good changes throughout the day and got to where I thought we were on pace with those guys at the end. So, really proud of that. It’s not the greatest thing ever to have a rain race win if it’s your first one, but I think it’s okay if it’s down the road, so I’m pretty excited about that. Looking forward to next week and trying to keep it rolling.”

    Larson settled in the runner-up spot for the fourth time this season while Logano finished in third place. Chastain notched his first top-five result in the Cup Series by finishing fourth while Allmendinger concluded his run with a strong fifth-place result, thus recording the first top-five result in the Cup Series for Kaulig Racing.

    Rookie Chase Briscoe recorded his first top-10 career result by finishing sixth while McDowell, Bowman, Reddick and Kyle Busch finished in the top 10.

    Byron settled in 11th, Hamlin finished 14th, teammates Blaney and Keselowski finished 17th and 19th, Ty Dillon finished 21st, Cindric came home in 25th and Kurt Busch fell all the way back in 27th.

    There were 11 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 12 laps. 

    Hamlin continues to lead the regular-season standings by 98 points over Byron, 110 over Larson, 111 over Logano and 116 over Elliott.

    Results.

    1. Chase Elliott, five laps led

    2. Kyle Larson, four laps led

    3. Joey Logano, 14 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    4. Ross Chastain, four laps led

    5. A.J. Allmendinger

    6. Chase Briscoe

    7. Michael McDowell, three laps led

    8. Alex Bowman, three laps led

    9. Tyler Reddick

    10. Kyle Busch, 12 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    11. William Byron

    12. Austin Dillon

    13. Chris Buescher

    14. Denny Hamlin

    15. Ryan Preece, two laps led

    16. Erik Jones

    17. Ryan Blaney

    18. Anthony Alfredo

    19. Brad Keselowski

    20. Corey LaJoie

    21. Ty Dillon

    22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    23. Matt DiBenedetto

    24. Ryan Newman

    25. Austin Cindric, four laps led

    26. Aric Almirola

    27. Kurt Busch

    28. Garrett Smithley

    29. James Davison

    30. Josh Bilicki

    31. Kyle Tilley

    32. Cody Ware, one lap down

    33. Daniel Suarez, eight laps down

    34. Quin Houff – OUT, Dvp

    35. Martin Truex Jr. – OUT, Accident, three laps led

    36. Cole Custer, – OUT, Accident

    37. Kevin Harvick – OUT, Accident 

    38. Christopher Bell – OUT, Accident

    39. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Accident

    40. Justin Haley – OUT, Steering

    Next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, during Memorial Day weekend. The event is slated to occur on Sunday, May 30, at 6 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Gilliland wins the inaugural Camping World Truck Series race at the COTA

    Gilliland wins the inaugural Camping World Truck Series race at the COTA

    Todd Gilliland took the lead from Tyler Ankrum with six laps to go and won Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) Toyota Tundra 225. This was the NCWTS inaugural race at the 3.41-mile, 20-turn Austin, Texas, road course, called The Circuit of The Americas (COTA).

    This was Gilliland’s first win of the season, second of his NCWTS career, and his first with Front Row Motorsports.

    “I definitely did a lot of stuff wrong but that’s what I love about road course racing, there’s 20 turns here, 20 opportunities to pass but also make mistakes,’’ Gilliland said.

    Kaz Grala finished second, Ankrum third, Grant Enfinger fourth and Sheldon Creed rounded out the top-five finishers.

    Gilliland won stage one but the jackman went over the wall too soon and he had to start from the tail of the field for stage two. Ben Rhodes won stage two, his first stage win of the season.

    The NCWTS heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway next Friday for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at 8:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Circuit of The Americas
    Austin, Texas
    Saturday, May 22, 2021
    (5) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 41.
    (2) Kaz Grala, Chevrolet, 41.
    (1) Tyler Ankrum, Chevrolet, 41.
    (23) Grant Enfinger, Chevrolet, 41.
    (3) Sheldon Creed, Chevrolet, 41.
    (21) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 41.
    (17) Carson Hocevar #, Chevrolet, 41.
    (15) Zane Smith, Chevrolet, 41.
    (9) Austin Hill, Toyota, 41.
    (11) Ben Rhodes, Toyota, 41.
    (26) Paul Menard, Toyota, 41.
    (6) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 41.
    (13) Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, 41.
    (28) Hailie Deegan #, Ford, 41.
    (4) Matt Crafton, Toyota, 41.
    (29) Austin Wayne Self, Chevrolet, 41.
    (16) Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 41.
    (8) Parker Chase, Toyota, 41.
    (24) Camden Murphy, Chevrolet, 41.
    (12) Ryan Truex, Chevrolet, 41.
    (19) Derek Kraus, Toyota, 41.
    (27) Johnny Sauter, Toyota, 41.
    (32) Lawless Alan, Toyota, 41.
    (22) Timmy Hill, Chevrolet, 41.
    (30) Tate Fogleman, Chevrolet, 41.
    (14) Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, 41.
    (31) Chase Purdy #, Chevrolet, 41.
    (33) Jack Wood, Chevrolet, 41.
    (25) Michele Abbate, Toyota, 41.
    (34) Cory Roper, Ford, 41.
    (36) Tanner Gray, Ford, 40.
    (18) Timothy Peters, Chevrolet, 40.
    (20) Chandler Smith #, Toyota, 39.
    (35) Roger Reuse, Chevrolet, 38.
    (10) Christian Eckes, Toyota, Suspension, 36.
    (7) Cameron Lawrence, Chevrolet, 34.

    Average Speed of Race Winner: 70.79 mph.
    Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 58 Mins, 30 Secs. Margin of Victory: 7.941 Seconds.
    Caution Flags: 2 for 2 laps.
    Lead Changes: 8 among 6 drivers.Lap Leaders: K. Grala 1-11;T. Gilliland 12-13;S. Creed 14-23;B. Rhodes 24-26;M. Crafton 27;S. Creed 28-31;T. Ankrum 32-35;T. Gilliland 36-41.
    Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Sheldon Creed 2 times for 14 laps; Kaz Grala 1 time for 11 laps; Todd Gilliland
    2 times for 8 laps; Tyler Ankrum 1 time for 4 laps; Ben Rhodes 1 time for 3 laps; Matt Crafton 1 time for 1 lap.
    Stage #1 Top Ten: 38,02,26,88,99,32,52,4,2,56
    Stage #2 Top Ten: 99,88,19,2,26,02,45,32,38,11

  • Bowman leads a 1-2-3-4 finish for Hendrick Motorsports at Dover

    Bowman leads a 1-2-3-4 finish for Hendrick Motorsports at Dover

    It was an historic day for Hendrick Motorsports as Alex Bowman assumed the lead under the final 100 laps following a stellar pit stop from his crew and went on to beat teammate Kyle Larson and win the Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway on Sunday, May 16, as he also led a 1-2-3-4 finish for the HMS organization.

    The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Cup event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. With that, Martin Truex Jr., winner of last weekend’s event at Darlington Raceway, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Denny Hamlin, teammate and the regular-season points leader.

    Prior to the race, Chase Elliott dropped to the rear of the field due to his car failing pre-race inspection twice. Ryan Newman also dropped to the rear due to unapproved adjustments. Josh Berry, who was making his NASCAR Cup debut in the No. 77 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports, also dropped to the rear of the field due to a driver change as he replaced Justin Haley, who was absent from the Cup event and Saturday’s Xfinity Series event due to COVID-19 protocols.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Truex launched ahead with the lead followed by Kyle Larson, Hamlin and Kyle Busch. Truex, though, was able to lead the first lap with the field behind jostling for position.

    Through the first 10 laps of the event, Truex continued to lead by half a second over Larson and nearly seven-tenths of a second over William Byron. Hamlin was in fourth followed by Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Chris Buescher and Christopher Bell.

    Five laps later, Byron, who had taken over the runner-up spot over teammate Larson, started to close in on Truex for the lead. Another lap later, Byron powered his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to the lead. 

    By Lap 20, Byron was leading teammate Larson and Harvick while Truex slipped back to fourth place ahead of teammate Hamlin.

    By Lap 30 and with the leaders approaching lapped traffic, Byron continued to lead by a narrow margin over teammate Larson. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch, who was running in the top 10, had fallen back to 12th place after reporting a mechanical issue to his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry.

    When the field reached the competition caution on Lap 35, Byron maintained the lead over teammate Larson, Harvick, Truex and Hamlin. By then, Chase Elliott, who started at the rear of the field, was in 17th while Kyle Busch, who continued to have mechanical issues with his car, had fallen back to 23rd. In addition, names like Ryan Preece, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, Cole Custer and Aric Almirola were spared from being lapped by Byron.

    Under the competition caution, the leaders pitted and Larson was able to exit pit road ahead of teammate Byron. Following the pit stops, Tyler Reddick, Corey LaJoie and Michael McDowell were sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road.

    When the race restarted on Lap 40, Larson took off with the lead followed by Harvick.

    By Lap 50, Larson was out in front by half a second over Harvick while Byron, Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin were in the top five. Chris Buescher was in sixth followed by Brad Keselowski, Logano, Alex Bowman and Elliott. Truex was back in 11th followed by Austin Dillon, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace and rookie Chase Briscoe. Kyle Busch was in 29th, the final car on the lead lap.

    Three laps later, Kyle Busch, who continued to battle engine issues, was lapped by Larson. Meanwhile, Byron, who continued to run in third place, radioed brake issues to his car.

    Through the first 70 laps of the event, Larson remained in the lead by nearly two seconds over Harvick followed by Byron. Behind, Corey LaJoie pitted due to a flat tire.

    Five laps later, Larson extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Harvick followed by Byron, Blaney and Hamlin. Buescher, Logano, Keselowski, Elliott and Bowman all remained in the top 10 ahead of Austin Dillon and Truex, who was struggling with pace.

    At the Lap 100 mark, Larson continued to lead by more than four seconds over Harvick followed by Byron, Blaney and Hamlin. Elliott moved up to sixth followed by Buescher, Logano, Bowman and Keselowski.

    In the closing laps of the first stage, Larson increased his advantage to more than seven seconds. Behind, Hamlin moved up to second place followed by Blaney, Harvick and Elliott while Byron fell back to sixth.

    On the final lap of the first stage, Chase Briscoe, who was trying to remain on the lead lap ahead of leader Larson, scrubbed the outside wall in Turn 1, though he was able to prevent the car from spinning. The debris from Briscoe’s damaged car was enough for the first stage to conclude under caution as Larson was able to claim his fifth stage victory of the season. Hamlin maintained the runner-up spot followed by Blaney, Elliott and Harvick while Byron, Logano, Bowman, Buescher and Keselowski were in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Larson maintained the lead following his pit service. Hamlin exited in second place followed by Elliott, Blaney and Logano. Soon after, Truex made another pit stop to have damage to the front of his car repaired.

    The second stage started on Lap 129 with Larson and Hamlin on the front row. At the start, Larson maintained the lead while Elliott drew his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE alongside Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry for the runner-up spot.

    By Lap 135, Larson was leading by eight-tenths of a second over teammate Elliott followed by Blaney, Hamlin and Logano. Harvick, Buescher, Austin Dillon, Kurt Busch and Byron were in the top 10. 

    Through the first 150 laps of the event, Larson remained as the leader followed by teammate Elliott, Blaney, Hamlin and Logano. Harvick was in sixth followed by Byron, Buescher, Austin Dillon and Alex Bowman. Kurt Busch and Keselowski were in 11th and 12th, Truex was in 14th ahead of Daniel Suarez, Bubba Wallace was in 17th behind Tyler Reddick and Kyle Busch was in 36th, eight laps behind. By then, names like Cole Custer, Erik Jones, Ryan Newman, Ryan Preece, Christopher Bell, Matt DiBenedetto, Michael McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were a lap behind.

    More than 20 laps later, the caution returned when Josh Berry scrubbed the wall in Turn 2. Prior to the pit road opening for the leaders, Blaney pitted to have a hole on the front of his car fixed and due to a flat tire. When the pits opened, the leaders pitted and Larson retained the lead after exiting ahead of Elliott, Hamlin, Harvick and Byron.

    When the race restarted on Lap 176, Larson launched ahead with a strong start followed by Elliott and Hamlin while Harvick and Byron battled for fourth place. In addition, Bowman, the fourth Hendrick Motorsports competitor, joined the party in sixth place.

    By Lap 190, Larson extended his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over teammate Elliott while Hamlin, Byron and Harvick continued to run in the top five. A few laps later, Penske teammates Logano and Keselowski nearly made contact with one another in Turn 1 while battling for eighth place. 

    At the halfway mark on Lap 200, Larson was leading by nearly a second over teammate Elliott while teammate Byron trailed by nearly five seconds. Hamlin was in fourth while Bowman was in fifth, marking all four Hendrick Motorsports competitors in the top five. Harvick was in sixth followed by Kurt Busch, Keselowski, Austin Dillon and Aric Almirola.

    By Lap 220, all four Hendrick Motorsports competitors were running first through fourth, with Larson leading Elliott, Bowman moving up in third and Byron back in fourth. Hamlin was in fifth followed by Harvick, Kurt Busch, Keselowski, Austin Dillon and Almirola. Logano, meanwhile, was in 13th behind Reddick and Truex.

    Despite having teammate Elliott closing in for the lead, Larson was able to pull away late as he approached lapped traffic and win the second stage on Lap 240 for his sixth stage victory of the season. Elliott followed behind in second place followed by teammates Bowman and Byron while Hamlin was in fifth. Harvick, Kurt Busch, Keselowski, Austin Dillon and Reddick were scored in the top 10. By then, names like Wallace and Logano remained on the lead lap.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Larson retained the lead following another stellar stop from his pit crew followed by Bowman, Elliott, Byron and Kurt Busch.

    With 152 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Larson rocketed away with another strong start while teammates Bowman and Elliott battled for the runner-up spot. Behind, a three-wide battle ensued between Harvick, Keselowski and Hamlin with Harvick moving into sixth place behind Kurt Busch while ahead of Keselowski and Hamlin. 

    Down to the final 135 laps of the event, Larson was out in front by more than two seconds over teammate Bowman with teammate Byron trailing by nearly three seconds and teammate Elliott trailing by three seconds. Kurt Busch, meanwhile, remained in fifth followed by Harvick, Keselowski, Hamlin, Austin Dillon, Reddick, Blaney, Ross Chastain, Almirola, Logano, Suarez and Truex.

    Fifteen laps later, Larson stabilized his advantage to nearly three seconds over teammate Bowman with his other two teammates, Byron and Elliott, trailing by more than four seconds. Harvick was in fifth place, trailing by more than seven seconds, after overtaking former teammate Kurt Busch.

    Down to the final 100 laps of the race, Larson remained in the lead followed by teammates Bowman, Byron and Elliott with Harvick in fifth. A lap later, though, the caution returned when Aric Almirola made hard contact into the Turn 3 outside wall after he blew a right-front tire, with fire eventually flaming out of Almirola’s car. The on-track incident marked Almirola’s fifth DNF and his sixth result of 30th or worse this season. 

    Under the caution period, the leaders pitted and Bowman, whose pit crew clocked off a fast pit service, emerged with the lead ahead of teammates Larson, Elliott and Byron with Harvick coming out in fifth.

    With 92 laps remaining, the race restarted and Bowman maintained the lead over Larson and Elliott. Behind, Harvick overtook Byron for fourth with Hamlin lurking behind.

    Six laps later, the caution returned when a bump from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. sent rookie Anthony Alfredo sideways and spinning to the inside wall in Turn 2, where he made contact with the wall. In the midst of the incident, Stenhouse and Keselowski received minor damage to their respective machines.

    Under caution, a majority of competitors led by Hamlin pitted while the rest led by Bowman remained on the track. Overall, all four Hendrick competitors along with Harvick, Tyler Reddick, Daniel Suarez and Bubba Wallace remained on the track.

    With 81 laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, Bowman pulled ahead followed by Larson while Elliott struggled to launch on the inside lane. Despite Larson challenging teammate Bowman for the lead through Turns 1 and 2, Harvick pulled his No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang alongside Larson’s No. 5 Nations Guard Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in Turn 3, which allowed Bowman to maintain the lead.

    While Bowman continued to lead under the final 75 laps, Larson remained within sight of the lead by nearly seven-tenths of a second followed by Elliott, Harvick and Byron. Suarez and Reddick maintained sixth and seventh while Wallace battled owner Hamlin for eighth place.

    Just then, debris drew the caution, which jumbled the field and erased Bowman’s lead over teammate Larson. Under caution, a majority of the leaders remained on the track while others like Logano, Custer pitted.

    The race restarted with 70 laps remaining and with teammates Bowman and Larson on the front row. At the start, Bowman maintained the lead followed by Larson and Elliott while Byron retook fourth place over Harvick.

    Under the final 60 laps of the event, on-track battling occurring and with weather threats looming near the track, Bowman remained as the leader under half a second over a hard-charging Larson followed by Elliott, Byron and Harvick. Reddick, Suarez, Hamlin, Wallace and Logano were in the top 10 followed by Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Kurt Busch, Custer and Truex.

    With 50 laps remaining, Bowman continued to lead by half a second over teammate Larson with teammates Elliott and Byron remaining in third and fourth. Harvick remained in fifth followed by Reddick, Suarez, Logano, Hamlin and Wallace, who had Blaney challenging him for more.

    Down to the final 35 laps of the event, Bowman was leading by more than a second over teammate Larson while Elliott, Byron and Harvick stabilized themselves in the top five. Reddick, Logano, Suarez, Hamlin and Wallace also stabilized themselves in the top 10.

    With 20 laps remaining, the gap between leader Bowman and runner-up Larson remained to more than a second, with teammate Elliott behind by more than two seconds and teammate Byron trailing by more than seven seconds. Harvick remained in fifth place while Logano overtook Reddick for sixth place. A few laps later, Custer overtook Wallace for 10th place.

    Under the final 10 laps, the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE driven by Bowman continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Larson, who continued to lose ground on his teammate for the top spot. Bowman maintained his healthy advantage under the final five laps of the event. 

    With no challengers closing in to his rear bumper, Bowman was able to come back around and claim the checkered flag ahead of his three HMS teammates.

    The Dover victory marked Bowman’s first at the Monster Mile, fourth of his Cup Series career and second of this season as he joined Martin Truex Jr. as the only multi-winners of this year’s Cup season. He also returned the iconic No. 48 car to Victory Lane at Dover for the first time since 2017 made by Jimmie Johnson, who won at Dover 11 times. The 1-2-3-4 finish was a first for HMS and the fourth time done by a NASCAR team.

    “We won Richmond and then had a really rough couple weeks there,” Bowman said on FS1. “[We] Went to some really good race tracks for us and struggled. [I] Told the guys last week, ‘We’re still the same team that did it at Richmond.’ It’s another really good place for us. I’m just so pumped for Ally. It feels right to put the No. 48 back in Victory Lane here after how many races this car has won here. Mr. [Hendrick] is here, I don’t think I’ve won with him here befrore, so that’s really cool. Just so proud of this pit crew. It was a rough off-season for us and a big void to fill…The whole pit crew’s doing a really good job. Thanks to my spotter, Kevin Hamlin, for coaching me there at the end. It was fun racing Kyle [Larson] and glad to get Hendrick Motorsports another win.”

    With the Dover victory and career win No. 267, Hendrick Motorsports is one win away from tying Petty Enterprises for the most victories all-time in the Cup Series. In addition, Chevrolet is one win away from achieving 800 victories in NASCAR’s premier series.

    “I can guarantee you, this is the most nervous I’ve ever been in a race,” Rick Hendrick said. “Great day for the organization. Alex, congratulations to him. This is a sign of the guys working together and bringing good stuff to the track. I don’t think it’ll hit me till tomorrow that we were able to finish 1-2-3-4. That’s pretty hard to do, things can happen, pit stops, tires, anything. That’s a first. We’ll take it. It’s a great day for us.”

    Larson, who led a race-high 263 laps, crossed the finish line in second place, two seconds behind, and for his third runner-up result of the season. 

    “I felt like all of us, HMS guys, were pretty equal, so it was like whoever got out to the lead was gonna be hard to beat,” Larson said. “[Bowman’s] team just really did a good job on that pit stop, gain control of the race and never really had a shot after that. That one restart, I got to his bumper and got him loose, but [Harvick] was coming, so we had to let each other go, but hard to be disappointed with that second. I felt like I did everything I could. We led a lot of laps, won both stages. Good points, but I would’ve liked to have been one spot better…What a day for Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet. Thanks to everybody at the shop, the engine shop. This is pretty amazing…That’s a pretty special day, for sure.”

    Elliott finished in third place, three-and-a-half seconds behind, as he has yet to win this season. Byron capped off the 1-2-3-4 finish for Hendrick Motorsports by finishing fourth as he also captured his 11th consecutive top-10 result.

    Logano emerged as the highest-finishing non-Hendrick Motorsports competitor by finishing fifth while Harvick, Hamlin, Reddick, Suarez and Custer finished in the top 10. 

    Wallace claimed his first top-15 finish of this season and for 23XI Racing by finishing 11th ahead of Blaney, Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon and Chastain. Keselowski finished 16th, Truex came home in 19th and Kyle Busch capped off his long afternoon in 27th. Josh Berry finished 30th in his Cup debut.

    There were 10 lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 41 laps. 

    Denny Hamlin continues to lead the regular-season standings by 101 points over William Byron and 102 over Martin Truex Jr.

    With the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season stretch halfway complete, 10 competitors (Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman, William Byron, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell and Michael McDowell) are currently guaranteed a spot in the Playoffs based on winning at least once. Denny Hamlin would also be guaranteed a spot based on leading the regular-season standings. Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Austin Dillon, Chris Buescher and Tyler Reddick are inside the top-16 cutline to the Playoffs as winless competitors, with Reddick ahead by 17 points over Matt DiBenedetto, 30 over Kurt Busch, 32 over Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 38 over Ryan Newman, 49 over Bubba Wallace, 56 over Daniel Suarez and 58 over Ross Chastain.

    Results.

    1. Alex Bowman, 98 laps led

    2. Kyle Larson, 263 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    3. Chase Elliott

    4. William Byron, 21 laps led

    5. Joey Logano

    6. Kevin Harvick

    7. Denny Hamlin, two laps led

    8. Tyler Reddick

    9. Daniel Suarez

    10. Cole Custer

    11. Bubba Wallace

    12. Ryan Blaney

    13. Kurt Busch

    14. Austin Dillon

    15. Ross Chastain

    16. Brad Keselowski

    17. Chris Buescher

    18. Ryan Preece, one lap down

    19. Martin Truex Jr., one lap down, 16 laps led

    20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down

    21. Christopher Bell, four laps down

    22. Erik Jones, four laps down

    23. Ryan Newman, four laps down

    24. Matt DiBenedetto, five laps down

    25. Michael McDowell, five laps down

    26. Corey LaJoie, seven laps down

    27. Kyle Busch, seven laps down

    28. Anthony Alfredo, eight laps down

    29. Quin Houff, 12 laps down

    30. Josh Berry, 12 laps down

    31. Cody Ware, 13 laps down

    32. Garrett Smithley, 17 laps down

    33. James Davison, 18 laps down

    34. Josh Bilicki, 19 laps down

    35. Chase Briscoe, 65 laps down

    36. B.J. McLeod – OUT, Engine

    37. Aric Almirola – OUT, Accident

    Next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is a trip to Austin, Texas, for the series’ inaugural event at the Circuit of the Americas for the EchoPark Texas Grand Prix. The event is slated to occur on Sunday, May 23, at 2:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Cindric perseveres to win the XFINITY Series Drydene 200 at Dover

    Cindric perseveres to win the XFINITY Series Drydene 200 at Dover

    Reigning Xfinity champion Austin Cindric captured his third victory of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season Saturday in the Drydene 200 at Dover International Speedway. Cindric also won the season opener at Daytona and again at Phoenix Raceway in March.

    Cindric started in 16th place but methodically made his way to the front to lead 51 of the 200 laps in his Team Penske No. 22 Ford en route to his 11th Xfinity Series career win.

    With this victory, he has increased his lead in the Xfinity Series standings to 62 points over Daniel Hemric in second.

    “Every win means so much and everyone that is in this series — I have the unique opportunity to know what I am doing in the future. I respect the guys that I am racing around are trying to get to the top level. I know I have that for me down the road but I have to bring that same energy that I am racing against. These wins are really hard to come by. It sucks that we have had some bad races recently that make this one feel so much better. This is my favorite race track that we go to,” Cindric said.

    Josh Berry finished second for his third top-five this season in the JR Motorsports No. 8 Chevrolet, passing his teammate Justin Allgaier with 28 laps to go and captured the Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus.

    “It could have been one spot better, we were so good today,” Berry said. “That last run we just fired off too free. Me and Justin got racing each other and the 22 (Cindric) got away. We just weren’t quite as good in that last run as the run before. It’s tough. But when you’re in the top two or three all day, there’s still a lot to be proud of.”

    Justin Allgaier finished third, AJ Allmendinger fourth and rookie Ty Gibbs finished fifth.

    “It’s just a hard track for me. I feel like this is one of my harder ones. I feel like I’m learning as I go. I’m kind of frustrated. I think I could have ran a little better. We had a good day overall. I will take a top-five any day. We will keep on going,” Gibbs said.

    The Xfinity Series heads to the Circuit of the Americas for the Pit Boss 250 on Saturday, May 22 at 4 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. This will be the series’ first event at the Austin Texas road course.

    NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Number 10
    Race Results for the 40th Annual Drydene 200 – Saturday, May 15, 2021
    Dover International Speedway – Dover, DE – 1. – Mile Concrete
    Total Race Length – 200 Laps – 200. Miles

    FinStrNoDriverTeamLapsS1PosS2PosS3PosPtsStatus
    11622Austin CindricCar Shop Ford20083051Running
    268Josh Berry #Tire Pros Chevrolet20021054Running
    327Justin AllgaierBRANDT Chevrolet20012053Running
    4716AJ AllmendingerHyperice Chevrolet20034048Running
    51454Ty Gibbs #Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota20079038Running
    6520Harrison BurtonDEX Imaging Toyota20045044Running
    7111Michael AnnettPilot Flying J myRewards Plus Chevrolet20007034Running
    81239Ryan SiegCMR Construction and Roofing/A-Game Ford20090031Running
    9118Daniel HemricPoppy Bank Toyota20000028Running
    101968Brandon BrownBrandonbilt Foundations Chevrolet20000027Running
    111310Jeb BurtonChevy Chevrolet20000026Running
    12851Jeremy ClementsFirst Pacific Funding Chevrolet20000025Running
    13102Brett MoffittDestiny Homes Chevrolet19900024Running
    143123JJ YeleyOur Motorsports Chevrolet19900023Running
    1539Noah GragsonBass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/BRCC Chevrolet19966032Running
    16152Myatt SniderTaxSlayer Chevrolet19900021Running
    172098Riley HerbstMonster Energy Ford198010021Running
    18280Jeffrey EarnhardtForeverLawn Chevrolet19800019Running
    191836Alex LabbeProlon/rousseau/Silver Wax Chevrolet19800018Running
    201744Tommy Joe MartinsGilreath Farms Red Angus Chevrolet19800017Running
    212499BJ McLeod(i)Chevrolet1980000Running
    223247Kyle WeathermanThin Blue Line USA/Police Week 2021 Chevrolet19800015Running
    232717Cody WareNurtec ODT Chevrolet19700014Running
    242674Bayley Currey(i)Childrens National Chevrolet1960000Running
    25376Landon CassillDrydene Chevrolet19600012Running
    26234Ryan Vargas #Drydene Chevrolet19500011Running
    27395Matt MillsJ.F. Electric Toyota19500010Running
    282515Colby HowardDrydene Chevrolet1940009Running
    29367Joe Graf Jr.Z GRILLS Chevrolet1930008Running
    302266Timmy Hill(i)ATS Alarm Tech Toyota1930000Running
    314052Gray GauldingPanini Chevrolet1920006Running
    323026John Hunter Nemechek(i)ACME Toyota18210800Running
    333448Jade BufordBig Machine Spiked Coolers Chevrolet1550004Engine
    343590Kyle SiegIndependent Metal Strap Ford830003Accident
    35419Brandon JonesMenards/Pelonis Toyota685008Accident
    36911Zane Smith(i)LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet670000Accident
    373378Jesse LittleApex Wireless Chevrolet570001Accident
    382992Josh WilliamsAlloy Employer Services Chevrolet570001Accident
    393813Matt JaskolAuto Parts 4 Less Toyota560001Accident
    402161David StarrSpecial Report w/ Bret Baier Toyota180001Overheating
  • Martin Truex Jr. wins the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway

    Martin Truex Jr. wins the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway

    Martin Truex Jr. captured his third NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) win of the season on Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. Truex Jr. dominated the race by leading 248 of the 293 laps and swept both stages. This was his 30th NCS career win in 561 series starts. He is the only multi-race winner this year.

    It was also the first time that a stage winner has ever claimed the checkered flag at Darlington.

    “I’m extremely proud of everyone on this Auto-Owners Camry. I think this flat black is a throwback to you, Regan (Smith), when you won here. It’s really cool to throw back to Furniture Row. Hopefully, Barney Visser (owner, Furniture Row Racing) is out here watching. I know, Regan, you and I both owe him a lot, but this one is for Furniture Row. It’s pretty cool.” Truex said.

    Kyle Larson closed on Truex Jr. in the closing laps but had to settle for second place, earning his seventh top-10 finish this season.

    “I was surprised that I was able to get to him. I caught him really; like, I closed on pit road and then I caught him pretty quickly once we were on track. I closed right in, and actually had an opportunity to get by him in the middle of (Turns) 1 and 2, but I thought I’d stay patient and maybe get him to use his stuff up. He was just a little bit better than I was in the long runs.” Larson said.

    Kansas winner Kyle Busch finished third and was pleased with the overall progress his team has made.

    “Yes, solid day overall. Definitely better than some of our other 750 package races, but just missing a little bit on the long run. It seemed like we could fire off with (Martin) Truex there and hang with him a little bit. Actually, we would catch him for about five laps and then it was over. Just trying to hold on after that point. Overall, real good day.”

    William Byron was fourth and Denny Hamlin finished fifth. Chase Briscoe was the highest-finishing rookie with an 11th place result.

    Hamlin leads the series with 529 points. Truex (-75), Byron (-101), Joey Logano (-123) and Ryan Blaney (-124) round out the top five in the driver standings.

    There were no major issues in the post-race inspection. The No. 18 (Busch), 24 (Byron), 4 (Harvick), 12 (Blaney) and 8 (Reddick) will be taken to the R&D Center for further inspection. The No. 22 (Logano) had two lug nuts not safe and secure and the No. 17 (Buescher) had one lug nut not safe and secure.

    NEXT RACE: Sunday, May 16th at Dover International Speedway on FS1 at 2 p.m. ET

    NASCAR Cup Series Race No. 12 Race Results for the 2nd Annual Goodyear 400
    Sunday, May 9, 2021
    Darlington Raceway – Darlington, SC – 1.366 – Mile Paved
    Total Race Length – 293 Laps – 400.238 Miles
    FinStrNoDriverTeamLapsS1PosS2PosS3PosPtsStatus
    1419Martin Truex Jr.Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota29311060Running
    2145Kyle LarsonHendrickCars.com Throwback Chevrolet29345048Running
    3318Kyle BuschM&M’s Toyota29302043Running
    4524William ByronValvoline Throwback Chevrolet29393043Running
    5711Denny HamlinSport Clips Toyota29324048Running
    624Kevin HarvickMobil 1 Throwback Ford29350037Running
    769Chase ElliottHooters Throwback Chevrolet29380033Running
    81612Ryan BlaneyAdvance Auto Parts Ford29379035Running
    91117Chris BuescherFifth Third Bank Ford293010029Running
    10206Ryan NewmanKohler Generators Ford29200027Running
    112214Chase Briscoe #HighPoint.com Throwback Ford29200026Running
    12108Tyler ReddickQuartz Hill Records Chevrolet29238036Running
    131222Joey LoganoShell Pennzoil Ford29267033Running
    142120Christopher BellRheem Toyota29206028Running
    151842Ross ChastainMcDonald’s Chevrolet29100022Running
    1693Austin DillonBass Pro Shops Chevrolet29100021Running
    171948Alex BowmanAlly Throwback Chevrolet291100021Running
    182643Erik JonesSTP Chevrolet29100019Running
    19821Matt DiBenedettoMenards/Dutch Boy Ford29000018Running
    202847Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Kroger/Tide Chevrolet29000017Running
    212323Bubba WallaceRoot Insurance Toyota29000016Running
    22307Corey LaJoieIn Memory of Alan Kulwicki Chevrolet29000015Running
    231599Daniel SuarezCamping World Throwback Chevrolet29000014Running
    2412Brad KeselowskiFreightliner Ford29000013Running
    252937* Ryan PreeceVelveeta Chevrolet29000012Running
    262538Anthony Alfredo #We Care Ford28900011Running
    271334Michael McDowellFr8 Auctions Ford28800010Running
    283177Justin Haley(I)FOE Mother’s Day Chevrolet2880000Running
    293453JJ Yeley(i)FatBoy Ice Cream Chevrolet2860000Running
    30350Quin HouffBos Klein/RCA Chevrolet2860007Running
    313615James DavisonHOPEGIVERS Throwback Chevrolet2860006Running
    323278BJ McLeod(i)CorvetteParts.net/Keen Parts Ford2850000Running
    333752Josh BilickiInsurance King Throwback Ford2450004Running
    343351Cody Ware(i)NURTEC ODT Throwback Chevrolet1880000Driveshaft
    35171Kurt BuschMonster Energy Chevrolet1060002Accident
    362441Cole CusterHaasTooling.com Mother’s Day Ford970001Accident
    372710Aric AlmirolaSmithfield/Winn-Dixie Ford50001Accident

    Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 14 Mins, 21 Secs. Average Speed: 123.562 MPH Margin of Victory: 2.571 Seconds

    Stage 1 Top 10: 19, 11, 8, 5, 4, 22, 12, 9, 24, 48
    Stage 2 Top 10: 19, 18, 24, 11, 5, 20, 22, 8, 12, 17

    Failed to Qualify: None.

    Caution Flags: 6 for 36 laps; Laps: 7-11 (#10 Incident Backstretch [None]); 23-28 (#18 Incident Turn 4/Competition Cuation [None]); 92-97 (Stage 1 Conclusion [1]); 100-104 (#41, 38 Incident Backstretch [14]); 108-114 (#1, 23 Incident Frontstretch [None]); 187-193 (Stage 2 Conclusion [43]).

    Lead Changes: 19 among 10 drivers; B. Keselowski 1-4; K. Harvick 5-13; K. Busch 14-21; M. Truex Jr. 22-24; T. Reddick 25; C. Ware(i) 26; M. Truex Jr. 27-60; T. Reddick 61; R. Chastain 62-71; M. Truex Jr. 72-92; D. Hamlin 93; M. Truex Jr. 94-110; D. Hamlin 111-114; M. Truex Jr. 115-144; C. Buescher 145; K. Harvick 146; C. Bell 147-149; M. Truex Jr. 150-187; K. Busch 188; M. Truex Jr. 189-293.

    Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Chase Briscoe, #14
    (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series