Category: Race Central

Race Central Stories

Joey Logano holds off the field to win at Phoenix
Joey Logano found victory lane Sunday afternoon at Phoenix Raceway. It was Logano’s 25th win of his career and second of the season, making him the first repeat winner of the 2020 NASCAR Cup season.

Chase Elliott earned the pole, with Kevin Harvick taking the second spot. Martin Truex Jr. would start at the rear due to an engine change.

Stage 1:

We saw action early when Elliott and Harvick led the field to the green. The two would nearly collide in Turn 3 of the opening laps but would keep their cars straight. The two of them would be inseparable as laps later they would battle it out for the race lead, with Harvick eventually taking the top spot.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. would find troubles as his No. 47 would hit the in Turn 1 going underneath J.J. Yeley. The No. 47 would receive rear damage to his Chevrolet, bringing out the first caution.

A restart would ensue and Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, and Brad Keselowski would find troubles as the three collided into the Turn 3 wall. Blaney would be knocked out of the race while Hamlin and Keselowski would be able to keep on going.

Kevin Harvick would fend off the field to win Stage 1.

Elliott, Logano, Matt DiBenedetto, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, Truex, Aric Almirola, Tyler Reddick, and Erik Jones would round out the rest of the Top 10.

Stage 2:

Elliott would lead the first few laps of the stage before Harvick would retake the race lead. However, the No. 9 would fight back and respond by taking the lead back. Keselowski would march his way forward as he would pass by Harvick for the second spot.

Halfway into the stage, Austin Dillon would blow a right front tire, causing the No. 3 to slap the Turn 1 wall, bringing out the yellow.

During pit stops, Logano would get a penalty due to an uncontrolled tire, Harvick would lose spots due to a lengthy pit stop.

Keselowski and Elliott would lead the field down on the restart, but the two would have a close skirmish with each other into Turn 2, giving Truex an opportunity to lead some laps. Elliott and Keselowski would pass the No. 19 shortly after.

Elliott’s lead would be short-lived as he would come down pit lane, reporting a loose wheel, giving Keselowski the first position.

Rookie Tyler Reddick would climb his way toward the Top 5 as he would pass Kyle Busch for position.

Elliott was on the hard charge, trying to pass cars left and right in order to get back onto the lead lap. A caution with two laps to go into the stage would fly when Garrett Smithley’s car would blow up.

As a result, Keselowski got the stage win. For Elliott, he would get the free pass thanks to the yellow.

Harvick, Truex, Reddick, Kyle Busch, Almirola, Logano, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Larson, and Cole Custer would finish out the Top 10 at the end of Stage 2.

Stage 3:

Keselowski and Truex would lead the field down, and Reddick would move his way towards the second position immediately.

Reddick, Logano, and Harvick would later duke it out, going three-wide into Turn 3. Reddick would drive the car wide, dropping him all the way down to ninth.

Elliott, who had issues back in Stage 2, lurked his way into the Top 10 with 101 laps to go. Quin Houff would blow up off of Turn 2 a few laps later, sending the StarCom Chevy into the outside wall.

The field would immediately flood pit road. Truex was the first one off due to a two-tire stop. Reddick, Jones, and Christopher Bell would follow along with two tires as well.

The two-tire strategy would not pay off, as Truex, Reddick, Jones, and Bell would fall backward in position, while those with four new tires would surge their way past.

Logano and Harvick would pull away from the field until a crash in Turn 1 by Jones and Custer would bunch the field back up. A plethora of cautions would follow upon the restarts.

Reddick, who had a promising run throughout, would have a right-front tire go down, sending the rookie into the Turn 2 wall. Chris Buescher would have a left front go down after contact with Bell, resulting with the No. 17 hitting the Turn 1 wall.

Truex, on a restart, would get a shove from Almirola, sending his Bass Pro Shops Toyota hard into the Turn 1 wall, knocking him out of the race. Logano, who was trying to block Bowman, had a close call and saved it in the dogleg.

Keselowski and Bowyer would lead the front row on the restart, but Logano would close in on the two and would discard them quickly. Harvick would later move Keselowski to take second away. With nine laps to go, Ross Chastain would spin off of Turn 4 after contact with William Byron.

A four-lap shootout would arise, and Logano would have to hold off the field again when John Hunter Nemechek and Stenhouse collided off of Turn 4.

It led to NASCAR Overtime, and with a solid restart, Logano would run away from Harvick to secure the victory at Phoenix.

There were 20 lead changes for seven different leaders. There were 12 cautions for 73 laps.

Results:
1. Joey Logano – 60 laps led
2. Kevin Harvick – 67 laps led, Stage 1 winner
3. Kyle Busch
4. Kyle Larson – two laps led
5. Clint Bowyer
6. Kurt Busch
7. Chase Elliott – 93 laps led
8. Aric Almirola
9. Cole Custer
10. William Byron
11. Brad Keselowski – 82 laps led, Stage 2 winner
12. Jimmie Johnson
13. Matt DiBenedetto
14. Alex Bowman
15. Ty Dillon
16. Michael McDowell
17. Chris Buescher
18. Ryan Preece – one lap led
19. Bubba Wallace
20. Denny Hamlin
21. Daniel Suarez
22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
23. Ross Chastain
24. Christopher Bell
25. John Hunter Nemechek
26. JJ Yeley
27. Corey LaJoie
28. Erik Jones – three laps down
29. Joey Gase – three laps down
30. Reed Sorenson – four laps down
31. Brennan Poole – OUT
32. Martin Truex Jr. – 11 laps led, OUT
33. Tyler Reddick – OUT
34. Quin Houff – OUT
35. Garrett Smithley – OUT
36. Austin Dillon – OUT
37. Ryan Blaney – OUT
38. Timmy Hill – OUT
March 8, 2020
Brandon Jones takes the win at Phoenix Raceway

The NASCAR Xfinity Series raced at sunny Phoenix Raceway in the LS Tractor 200. NASCAR Cup regulars Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski joined the Xfinity drivers for the race. With Busch’s record many assumed that he would lead the race and it would be boring. It was anything but, especially for Brandon Jones who passed Busch in his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, with 20 laps to go for the lead and the win.

This is Jones’s second career win and first for this season. It also is the 500th victory for Toyota in NASCAR’s top three national series.

I can’t believe he (Busch) left the bottom open. We’re so strong on the top lane.” Jones said, “ Toyota is the manufacturer to be with, I love those guys so much, it’s like a family working with them.” He added, “Coach Gibbs is great, life is good. We’re going to work hard and we’re going to get big results because of it.”

Stage 1 only saw one caution for a minor incident with Ray Black Jr. Busch and Cindric had a great battle for the lead swapping it back and forth but on the last lap Justin Allgaeir swept in and took the Stage 1 win.

Stage 2 also only had one minor caution. Allgaier was strong and ran out front for several laps until Busch took the lead over on Lap 75. It looked like Busch was going to win this stage but on the last lap Noah Gragson snuck in there to take the stage win.

Stage 3 is where all the action happened. There were three cautions, only one of which involved more than one car, none had serious damage. There was a lot of great side by side racing. On Lap 47 Busch was back on top again and looked like he would cruise to the finish, only Jones’ car was getting bigger in his mirror. On Lap 20 Busch left the bottom open and that was all Jones needed to take the lead and the checkered flags. Last weeks’ winner Harrison Burton was also able to get his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota past Busch for second place, while Busch finished third in his No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Driver Dillon Bassett was upset with Brandon Brown and met him on pit road but before he could get out of the car Bassett reached in and a small fight ensued. Needless to say, both of them and their crew chiefs got called to meet with NASCAR.

Keselowski and Haley rounded out the top five. Chase Briscoe, Noah Gragson, Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain, and Riley Herbst finished sixth through 10, respectively.

Burton is in the points lead with 176 points over Briscoe who has 173 points.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads next to Atlanta Motor Speedway.

March 7, 2020
Alex Bowman dominates at Auto Club
After showcasing a ton of speed at Las Vegas, Alex Bowman struck gold Sunday afternoon as he found himself celebrating in victory lane at Auto Club Speedway.

“We’ve been so good to start this season,” Bowman said. “We started the season very poorly really over the last two years, and it just means the world to show up at the racetrack and have the first run on the racetrack really be almost perfect and just be able to really fine-tune the race car. Greg Ives has made the right calls. So, we’ve got to go win a bunch more, but man, it feels good to have one this early.”

It was Bowman’s second win of his NASCAR Cup Series career. The Arizona native led 110 laps in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to cruise toward victory.

Stage 1:

Before the field took the green flag, Auto Club Speedway commemorated seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson as he led the field in a five-wide salute during the pace laps in what could be his final start at the two-mile oval.

As the field formed back to double-file formation, it was Clint Bowyer leading the way, with Johnson starting second as the green flag waved.

Johnson was looking for the race lead early on but would fall back as teammate Bowman would inherit the runner-up spot behind leader Bowyer.

Bowman would also take a lunge at Bowyer but would be unable to capitalize, resulting in Kurt Busch and Johnson swiftly passing the No. 88. The three of them would spar back and forth for the second position, with Bowman holding off the two Chevrolets.

Bowyer’s early lead would be short-lived as Bowman’s No. 88 would take the top spot, with teammate Johnson immediately following behind in second as Bowyer gradually began to fade.

Ryan Blaney slowly marched his way forward and by the halfway point of Stage 1, he was up to the second position.

Pit stops would ensue on Lap 27 as Martin Truex Jr. would ignite the cycle. By the end of it, Bowman would be the leader.

Kyle Larson would find trouble after Denny Hamlin gave the No. 42 a push into Turn 1, putting the McDonald’s Chevrolet into the outside wall. It would put Larson two laps down.

Bowman would remain unchallenged after the cycle and would win Stage 1.

Blaney, Johnson, Aric Almirola, Busch, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Matt DiBenedetto, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Busch would round out the top 10.

Stage 2:

It initially looked as though Kurt Busch was the first one off after everybody came down pit lane. However, the No. 1 missed his pit stall, putting him toward the back. As a result, it transferred the lead over to Johnson.

Johnson took the lead on the restart but Blaney and Bowman would make it three-wide on the seven-time champ, allowing Blaney’s No. 12 to take first place.

The two Hendrick Motorsports cars would put up a fight against the Team Penske car, but Blaney would fend off the duo and pull away.

Christopher Bell suffered mechanical issues during the green flag run, knocking the No. 95 Toyota out of the race.

Pole-sitter Bowyer had a left front tire go down on Lap 93, bringing out a yellow shortly after pit stops.

Blaney would be in charge of the restart, and while he was able to pull away, his other competitors were duking it out. Bowman and Keselowski made aggressive moves around Logano and William Byron to gain some track position, and Elliott would march his way towards the Top 5.

Blaney’s lead would remain unchallenged as he would cruise on to win Stage 2.

Bowman, Johnson, Keselowski, Truex, Elliott, Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Erik Jones, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the Top 10 for stage points.

Stage 3:

Johnson was the leader at the beginning of the stage but was quickly hounded by Bowman as he passed the No. 48 off of Turn 2. Blaney and Truex were in hot pursuit, making it four wide among the leaders.

Truex would briefly hold the lead, but Bowman would fight back. The two would swap back and forth, but Truex would fend off Bowman. But as the laps wound down, Bowman would reclaim the lead over the No. 19 and would pull a gap over the opposition.

Another pit cycle would begin as everyone came in for some fresh rubber and fuel.

Frontrunner Truex had issues during his stop, as the pit gun would malfunction when tending to the right rear tire, costing him valuable track position.

Bowman and Blaney would be the leaders after the cycle, giving themselves plenty of distance between the fourth through sixth place drivers of Johnson, Elliott, and Kurt Busch.

The three Chevrolets would battle for the fourth position, with Elliott edging out Kurt Busch for the spot while Johnson’s car began to fade. Truex’s day would continue to go downward when he slapped the Turn 4 wall trying to overtake Hamlin, allowing Keselowski to overtake the No. 19.

Near the closing stages of the race, Blaney would have to come down pit lane due to a corded tire with only three laps to go, giving up a second-place run at the time.

For Bowman, redemption was sweet as he crossed the line to secure the win. It provided a statement as he showcased his muscle around the California track.

“You know, we started this year so strong,” Bowman said. “I feel like I’ve got a lot on my side that I’m doing better. My life is kind of a lot more organized than it was back then, and Greg and all the guys, they’re just on point. We’ve unloaded the last two weeks, I don’t think we’ve had to make a change in the race car from how it came off the truck. That makes my job a heck of a lot easier. I’m just so proud of this team, Hendrick Motorsports, Hendrick horsepower under the hood, the whole shop back home. They work their butts off. We put a lot of effort into this new car, and it’s obviously working well.”

There were 16 lead changes among eight different drivers and only three cautions for 13 laps.

Blaney retains the points lead by 11, over Logano.
1. Alex Bowman – 110 laps led, Stage 1 Winner
2. Kyle Busch
3. Kurt Busch
4. Chase Elliott
5. Brad Keselowski – six laps led
6. Denny Hamlin
7. Jimmie Johnson – ten laps led
8. Aric Almirola
9. Kevin Harvick
10. Erik Jones
11. Tyler Reddick
12. Joey Logano
13. Matt DiBenedetto
14. Martin Truex Jr. – three laps led
15. William Byron – one lap led
16. Chris Buescher
17. Ross Chastain
18. Cole Custer – one lap down
19. Ryan Blaney – one lap down, 54 laps led, Stage 2 winner
20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – one lap down, 6 laps led
21. Kyle Larson – one lap down
22. Michael McDowell – one lap down
23. Clint Bowyer – one lap down, ten laps led
24. Austin Dillon – one lap down
25. John Hunter Nemechek – one lap down
26. Ty Dillon – one lap down
27. Bubba Wallace – two laps down
28. Daniel Suarez – two laps down
29. Corey Lajoie – three laps down
30. Ryan Preece – three laps down
31. JJ Yeley – three laps down
32. Brennan Poole – five laps down
33. Joey Gase – seven laps down
34. Garrett Smithley – seven laps down
35. Quin Houff – eight laps down
36. Reed Sorenson – nine laps down
37. Timmy Hill – 16 laps down
38. Christopher Bell – OUT
March 1, 2020
Harrison Burton gets first win at Auto Club Speedway

It was a beautiful day for the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Auto Club Speedway for the Production Alliance Group 300. For one driver it was even more special as he is one of the few who can say he won his very first Xfinity Series race on Leap Day. Who is the lucky driver? It was Harrison Burton in only his 12th start. Burton, who drives the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, took the checkered flag after a caution filled final stage.

“It’s awesome!” Burton exclaimed, “I’m so proud of our guys, it’s really awesome, it feels so good to win.” He further stated, “When you go through a little bit of a drought, you doubt yourself especially after last year, we struggled a little bit.”

Stage 1 went caution free with Brandon Jones taking the stage win.

Stage 2 went pretty much the same as stage one. There weren’t any cautions and Jones won the second stage too. It was looking as if no one would be able to touch Jones, until the third stage.

The final stage of the race was the exact opposite of the first two. They say that cautions breed cautions and this stage was proof of that. There were several drivers vying up front including Chase Briscoe and Daniel Hemric. The cautions flew fast mostly for cut tires and a couple of spins. There was a mini big one that a few drivers like Brandon Brown and Michael Annett got caught up in but most cars were able to continue the race.

The two drivers who could get the closest to Jones were Riley Herbst who took second in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and Austin Cindric who placed third in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

When asked what he needed at the end to catch Burton, Herbst commented,” A few more laps. This Monster Energy Supra was really fast. I’m really proud of Harrison, me and him have worked so hard this off season.”

Austin Cindric said, “Obviously it is great to continue the consistency. I think we had a car capable of winning, especially with some of the attrition there at the end. Execution kind of bit us today. I had to get brave on some restarts. We were better than the 20 and 18 there at the end but you just need track position sometimes. Overall, I couldn’t be prouder of my Odyssey Battery Ford Mustang team for where we came from after unloading to being a race winning car. Just not enough laps in the race for us.”

Rounding out the top five were Ryan Sieg and Justin Haley. Anthony Alfredo, Daniel Hemric, Ross Chastain, Jeremy Clements, and Josh Williams finished sixth through 10, respectively.

Harrrison Burton has the points lead with 136 points over second place Chase Briscoe with 126 points.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads next to Phoenix Raceway on March 7.

February 29, 2020
Bowyer notches fourth career Cup Series pole at Auto Club Speedway
With a time of 40.086 seconds and a speed of 179.614 mph, Kansas native Clint Bowyer qualified on the pole for this Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Raceway. Bowyer narrowly edged out fan-favorite Jimmie Johnson for the pole by 0.007 seconds. However, the qualifying run surprised the Stewart-Haas Racing driver.

“Certainly that is where you want to be,” Bowyer said. “Honestly, I didn’t really see that in the car. We didn’t run a qualifying lap yesterday. We made some changes in happy hour and the car kind of woke up and showed some speed but honestly, we were kind of focused on downforce and doing what we needed to do in traffic.”

“That being said, that thing rocketed to the top there and he told me the lap time and I was like, ‘Damn, I think that is on the pole.’ Again, the sun was coming out and that changed the qualifying day quite a bit as the sun came out and it was right before us. I was watching the Gibbs cars go and you could see on SMT with the data we have now you can visibly see everyone starting to really jerk on the wheel in the middle of one and two and get loose. I was like, ‘Oh damn, here I go. I am fixing to see the same thing.’ Sure enough, I got in there and she just kind of slid in the slot and I didn’t have to chase it up the track.”

“I just gave it one big catch and it pointed and shot off the corner and I was able to keep the throttle down. Then you see the 48 car, the last car out, the story of his last race at home. I figured there was no way we were going to win. I was better coming to the green and then better through one and two but then all of a sudden off of two he had a really good run and got ahead of me into three and four. Honestly, he was ahead of me off of four even, but I just pulled it down just a little bit more than he did down the front straightaway and just barely got him. That is what qualifying is all about with this product where you are all but wide open. It comes down to your balance and how the car is trimmed out and things like that. It makes it interesting and nerve-wracking as well because it is all so close.”

For now, this will be Jimmie Johnson’s last race at his hometown racetrack in Southern California. The California native just almost knocked out Bowyer for the pole but had to settle for second. Despite not getting the pole, Sunday’s race will be just as special for Johnson, as his kids will get to wave the green flag to start the race.

“It will be super special,” Johnson said. “I wish we were one spot further ahead and clearly off turn four there I ran a little more distance to the start-finish. It is such a fine balance to try to understand how much you can open up and let the engine run. Clearly I did too much, but that’s just the competitor in me. Very special weekend for me and I can’t wait to see my girls up in the flag stand waving the green flag.”

There was more qualifying news as both Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr. failed inspection. Busch failed twice and was still able to do a qualifying lap, while Truex failed three times and did not get to post a lap. Both Busch and Truex will be starting from the rear tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s race can be seen on FOX with a start time of 3:30 p.m. ET.

Starting lineup:
1. Clint Bowyer
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Alex Bowman
4. Kurt Busch, will start in the rear
5. Kevin Harvick
6. Aric Almirola
7. Joey Logano
8. Michael McDowell
9. Kyle Larson
10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
11. Chris Buescher
12. Matt DiBenedetto
13. Chase Elliott
14. Bubba Wallace
15. Brad Keselowski
16. Ryan Blaney
17. Kyle Busch
18. Cole Custer
19. Tyler Reddick
20. Ryan Preece
21. William Byron
22. Christopher Bell
23. John Hunter Nemechek
24. Ty Dillon
25. Austin Dillon
26. Corey LaJoie
27. Ross Chastain
28. Denny Hamlin
29. Erik Jones
30. J.J. Yeley
31. Daniel Suarez
32. Brennan Poole
33. Reed Sorenson
34. Joey Gase
35. Quin Houff
36. Garrett Smithley
37. Timmy Hill
38. Martin Truex Jr. – did not make a qualifying run due to inspection failures
February 29, 2020
NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings-Daytona
Friday night saw the opening season for the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series. It was no ordinary season opener as the series is celebrating its 25th anniversary dating back to 1995.

Every time there is a Truck Series race, you can normally expect one of two things, an exciting action-packed race or one driver who dominates the entire event. That’s what Friday night’s season opener NextEra Energy Resources 250 featured on Valentine’s day. Race fans saw a photo-finish between underdog Jordan Anderson and veteran Grant Enfinger to the finish line. Enfinger was able to just beat Anderson for the win by 0.010 seconds for the closest Truck Series finish in Daytona history.

While those two drivers certainly stole the show in Daytona, there were others that flew under the radar and still wound up with a great finish. Here are this week’s power rankings.
1. Austin Hill – Hill continued his strong Daytona performance by finishing sixth in Friday night’s race. He led 11 laps and finished seventh and fourth in both stages respectively. It wasn’t the win Hill was hoping for, but the Georgia native did a nice job of avoiding all the chaos that broke out during the race. It will be interesting to watch this team in their second year together with Hill as the driver and see if they can rattle off more wins.
2. Grant Enfinger – No doubt Enfinger was the story of the night when all was said and done. The Alabama native finally got Daytona crossed off his checklist but it didn’t come easy for him. Enfinger had to work his way up to the front several times including getting shuffled to the back from the lead with 24 to go. At that point, a victory seemed unlikely or even a top-10 finish. But a crash with three to go set up an overtime restart with Enfinger in the lead. He had to throw a couple of blocks, one to Ross Chastain and the other to Jordan Anderson, but Enfinger got it done by .010 seconds. It was certainly a nice way to start the season as he now has secured a spot in the Playoffs. Going forward the No. 98 ThorSport Racing team can be a lot more aggressive and take more risks on-track.
3. Johnny Sauter – Sauter had an up and down night in the No. 13 Tenda Ford F-150. He was penalized after making a pit stop after Stage 2 concluded when an uncontrolled tire rolled out of his pit stall. The Wisconsin native also barely missed the big one when his teammate Ben Rhodes spun in front of him with three laps to go. Sauter was able to miss it and brought his truck home with a seventh-place finish. The ThorSport Racing driver finished fifth and eighth in both stages while leading no laps.
4. Jordan Anderson – We would be remiss if we didn’t talk about Jordan Anderson’s best finish of his Truck Series career. Anderson tried all he could to get the first elusive win of his career in what would have been a popular victory for the fans. By mere inches, the team owner finished second to Enfinger beating and banging to the line. Anderson found himself in second on the backstretch on the last lap and came oh so close to for his first career win. This will no doubt be a momentum builder for the No. 3 team who is now in an alliance with AM Racing.
5. Riley Herbst – It looks like the experience somewhat paid off for Herbst and the No. 51 team. The Las Vegas, Nevada native started out on the right foot by qualifying on the pole Friday afternoon. Herbst continued his strong performance by winning Stage 1 and finishing fifth in the second stage. After the first two stages, chaos erupted for Herbst. The No. 51 driver was caught up in two accidents, one on Lap 67 and one with three to go on Lap 99. Still, Herbst wound up with a 12th place finish after leading 21 laps.
February 18, 2020
Hamlin wins second consecutive Daytona 500
It took two overtimes and a 24-hour delay, but Denny Hamlin won the Daytona 500 for the second consecutive time of his career. This is the first time a driver has won back to back 500s since Sterling Marlin in 1994-1995. Hamlin narrowly edged Ryan Blaney to the line to notch his 38th career Cup Series win.

“I just feel like I’m a student of the game,” Hamlin said. “I never stop learning and trying to figure out where I need to put myself at the right time.

“It doesn’t always work [but] we’ve defied the odds here in the DAYTONA 500. I just trust my instincts and so far they’ve been good for me. I can’t do it without the car. That’s [enabling me] to make those race-winning moves.”

The Daytona 500 was originally scheduled to run on Sunday but only 20 laps were completed before rain showers came through the area and postponed the race for the second time in the event’s history. Pole sitter Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led all 20 laps before the race was moved to Monday.

Then came Daytona 500 x2 a little after 4 p.m. ET.

Stage 1: Lap 1- Lap 65

The race was restarted on Lap 25 after a few drivers made their pit stops. Brad Keselowski took the lead for a couple of laps before Aric Almirola took the lead and then eventually Chase Elliott. The field was in fuel conservation mode for most of Stage 1 before an accident on Lap 60 that involved William Byron and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on the backstretch derailed that plan. Byron’s car was totaled in the aftermath and finished in 40th place.

There was a three-lap dash at the end of Stage 1 which saw Georgia native Elliott pick up the stage win. Alex Bowman, Aric Almirola, Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Blaney, Stenhouse, Matt DiBenedetto, Chris Buescher and Ty Dillon were the top-10 finishers.

Stage 2: Lap 71- Lap 130

After staying in the back for all of Stage 1, the Toyota’s of Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell and Martin Truex Jr. were at the front for the start of the second stage. A 19-lap run to start the second stage was stopped after a wreck on Lap 90 that involved Quin Houff and Reed Sorenson. Kevin Harvick also had some damage to his right-rear and was forced to pit under yellow. Several other leaders also pitted.

Then, there was a long green-flag run of 36 laps to the end of Stage 2. Hamlin was the victor for the second stage after leading the last 42 laps of that stage. Kyle Busch, Stenhouse, Truex, Ross Chastain, Johnson, Elliott, Blaney, Logano, and Buescher completed the top-10 finishers for Stage 2.

After Stage 2 was done pit stops came and there were some mishaps during the stops. Elliott took a gas can with him outside the box, which fell off of the car and onto pit road. Truex then hit the gas can on pit road. Following the incident, Elliott was penalized for removing equipment from the pit box. Harvick was also penalized for pitting too soon.

Stage 3: Lap 135- Lap 209

As we saw in Stage 2, another long green-flag run of 49-laps broke out. During this run, Stenhouse was penalized with 39 to go as he dove below the yellow line while passing someone. He had to serve a stop and go penalty which eventually took him out of contention for the win after having such a strong run early.

Then as in most cases, once the laps wind down, intensity increases and we saw that on Lap 183 where a multi-car wreck happened on the backstretch. A bump draft from Logano to Almirola sent Keselowski’s car spinning into the wall collecting several others. Drivers involved included Johnson, Bubba Wallace, Truex, Blaney, Austin Dillon, Justin Haley, Bowman, Chastain, David Ragan, John Hunter Nemechek, Tyler Reddick, Buescher, DiBenedetto, Brendan Gaughan, Logano, and Ty Dillon. Due to the incident, a red flag of 12 minutes and five seconds was seen.

Not much later after a restart with 10 to go, the No. 27 of Sorenson and the No. 66 of Timmy Hill collided with each other bringing out the seventh caution of the night.

Another big wreck occurred with two laps to go. Chastain went to make a move on the inside but came up the track and made contact with Ryan Preece in Turn 1. Logano, Elliott, Reddick, Ty Dillon, Almirola, Bell and McDowell were collected in this one.

Since the wreck happened with two to go, this sent us to NASCAR Overtime where it would be a green-white-checker finish, meaning, once the field takes the last lap, the next flag ends it. But, Bowyer went spinning shortly after the restart because of slight contact with Haley and McDowell.

Then came another overtime and the final restart on Lap 208 with a two-lap dash to the finish. Hamlin had a strong run on the outside coming to the checkered flag. Blaney was also in contention to win but Hamlin narrowly edged out Blaney to win his second Daytona 500.

“I’m the odd man out there,” Hamlin said to MRN Radio about winning his second Daytona 500. “I don’t belong with any of those guys names, those are legends of our sport obviously, Hall of Famers. I’m just the student of the game and those guys are the teachers.”

Hamlin led three times for 79 laps, won Stage 2 and picked up six playoff points following this win.

There were nine cautions for 39 laps and 23 lead changes among 13 drivers.

The end of the race, however, was overshadowed by a wreck on the last lap. Ryan Newman’s car took several hard hits and was engulfed in flames. He was taken to the Halifax Medical Center where he was later reported to be in serious condition but with injuries that were not life-threatening.
1. Denny Hamlin, won Stage 2, led 79 laps
2. Ryan Blaney, led four laps
3. Chris Buescher
4. David Ragan
5. Kevin Harvick
6. Clint Bowyer
7. Brendan Gaughan
8. Corey LaJoie
9. Ryan Newman, led 15 laps
10. Kyle Larson
11. John Hunter Nemechek
12. Austin Dillon
13. Justin Haley
14. Michael McDowell
15. Bubba Wallace
16. Brennan Poole
17. Chase Elliott, won Stage 1, led 23 laps
18. Erik Jones, one lap down
19. Matt DiBenedetto, two laps down
20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr, three laps down
21. Christopher Bell, OUT, Crash
22. Aric Almirola, four laps down
23. Joey Gase, six laps down
24. Alex Bowman, six laps down
25. Ross Chastain, OUT, Crash
26. Joey Logano, OUT, Crash
27. Timmy Hill, OUT, Crash
28. Tyler Reddick, OUT, Crash
29. Ryan Preece, OUT, Crash
30. Ty Dillon, OUT, Crash
31. Reed Sorenson, OUT, Crash
32. Martin Truex Jr, OUT, Crash
33. Kurt Busch, OUT, Crash
34. Kyle Busch, OUT, Engine
35. Jimmie Johnson, OUT, Crash
36. Brad Keselowski, OUT, Crash
37. Cole Custer, OUT, Rear end
38. B.J. McLeod, OUT, Crash
39. Quin Houff, OUT, Crash
40. William Byron, OUT, Crash
Up Next: The NASCAR Cup Series heads out west to Las Vegas for the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, live on FOX at 3:30 p.m. ET.
February 17, 2020

Noah Gragson captures first Xfinity Series win at Daytona

Noah Gragson was in the right place at the right time and grabbed his first Xfinity Series win in the season-opening NASCAR Racing Experience 300 at Daytona International Speedway in the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevy. He took the lead from Chase Briscoe on the final restart of the race and was scored as the winner when a caution came out on the last lap.

The final restart came on Lap 118 of the 120-lap race as Gragson moved to the lead. A multi-car wreck in Turn 3 brought out the final race caution on Lap 120 and he was declared the winner, besting second-place Harrison Burton by 0.631 seconds.

It was the 21-year-old’s first victory in the series in 37 starts but it was the seventh win at Daytona for car owner, JR Motorsports, who has now won three of the season-openers in a row.

He thanked everyone who has helped him along the way, particularly team owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“Man, I’m speechless right now,” Gragson said. “I didn’t think this would come. But there’s so many people who made this possible for me, Dustin Ash back at home, the O’Hanley family, Jefferson Pitts Racing, Kyle Busch Motorsports, everybody who’s helped me get to this point.

“I spent a lot of time with Dale Jr. this week, talked to him for about two hours, and wanted to be a better speedway racer. He told me, go have fun; wreckers or checkers; you’ve got to manage your gaps, be there at the end, and just go lead the damn thing. That’s what we did.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Harrison Burton finished second in his debut race for the team.

Although he conceded it was a great finish, he had hoped for more and credited his fallen friend, John Andretti, whose presence he felt during the race.

“Not as great as it could have been, which is unfortunate,” Burton said. “There was a couple times where we almost got wrecked, and we kind of barely squeaked out of it, so I know I had John Andretti kind of over my shoulder watching me for that. That was really cool. There was a couple times this weekend in general where I blew a tire in practice and somehow didn’t wreck. Had a lot of help there from him.”

Timmy Hill, who qualified for the upcoming Daytona 500 in the Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2, finished third, saying, “I just feel like this year is kicking off on a great note. Making the Daytona 500 on Thursday was awesome. I didn’t think it could get any better. Third place was a nice finish. I thought we could’ve had a shot at the win.”

Brandon Jones and Chase Briscoe rounded out the top five as Justin Haley, Brandon Brown, Ray Black Jr., Ryan Sieg and Alex Labbe completed the top 10 finishers.

Unofficial Race Results
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Number 1
Race Results for the 39th Annual NASCAR Racing Experience 300 – Saturday, February 15, 2020
Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, FL – 2.5 – Mile Paved

Fin	Str	No	Driver	Laps	S1Pos	S2Pos	S3Pos	Pts	Status
1	12	9	Noah Gragson	120	4	9	0	49	Running
2	8	20	Harrison Burton #	120	8	0	0	38	Running
3	26	66	Timmy Hill	120	0	0	0	0	Running
4	6	19	Brandon Jones	120	0	8	0	36	Running
5	10	98	Chase Briscoe	120	10	10	0	34	Running
6	3	11	Justin Haley	120	5	2	0	46	Running
7	11	68	Brandon Brown	120	0	6	0	35	Running
8	16	7	Ray Black II	120	0	0	0	29	Running
9	9	39	Ryan Sieg	120	0	4	0	35	Running
10	19	36	Alex Labbe	120	9	0	0	29	Running
11	2	1	Michael Annett	119	2	0	0	35	Accident
12	34	52	JJ Yeley	119	0	0	0	25	Running
13	22	0	BJ McLeod	119	0	0	0	24	Running
14	25	78	Vinnie Miller	119	0	0	0	23	Running
15	36	47	Joe Nemechek(i)	119	0	0	0	0	Running
16	35	74	Mike Harmon	119	0	0	0	21	Running
17	20	15	Robby Lyons II	119	0	0	0	20	Running
18	31	6	David Starr	119	0	0	0	19	Running
19	18	4	Jesse Little #	118	0	0	0	18	Accident
20	33	13	Chad Finchum	118	0	0	0	17	Running
21	32	99	Josh Bilicki	117	0	0	0	16	Running
22	23	38	Ross Chastain	115	0	7	0	19	Running
23	4	8	Jeb Burton	114	1	3	0	32	Accident
24	24	2	Brett Moffitt(i)	114	0	0	0	0	Accident
25	15	22	Austin Cindric	113	6	5	0	23	Accident
26	17	92	Josh Williams	113	0	0	0	11	Accident
27	21	93	CJ McLaughlin	113	0	0	0	10	Running
28	29	51	Jeremy Clements	113	0	0	0	9	Running
29	14	90	Caesar Bacarella	112	0	0	0	8	Accident
30	13	7	Justin Allgaier	107	3	1	0	25	Accident
31	30	5	Matt Mills	101	0	0	0	6	Electrical
32	7	18	Riley Herbst #	59	0	0	0	5	Accident
33	1	21	Myatt Snider	59	7	0	0	8	Accident
34	27	25	Chris Cockrum	59	0	0	0	3	Accident
35	28	61	Austin Hill(i)	37	0	0	0	0	Accident
36	5	8	Joe Graf Jr #	37	0	0	0	1	Accident

February 15, 2020

Noah Gragson Wins NASCAR Racing Experience 300; Final DAYTONA 500 Practice Led by Former Champion Joey Logano
- Logano, Five Others Top 200 mph in Practice
- 62nd Annual DAYTONA 500 Set for 2:30 p.m. Sunday
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 15, 2020) – Noah Gragson won the NASCAR Racing Experience 300 on Saturday to open the NASCAR Xfinity Series season at Daytona International Speedway.

Gragson, driving the No. 9 Bass Pro Shops/BRCC Chevrolet for JR Motorsports and car owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., emerged from a tight battle after the race’s final restart on Lap 118 of the 120-lap/300-mile race being held for the 62nd time at the “World Center of Racing.” Gragson took the lead on Lap 118 and kept it until a Turn 3 multi-car incident brought out the yellow flag on Lap 120 to effectively end the race under caution.

Gragson nipped runner-up Harrison Burton (No. 20 Dex Imaging Toyota) by 0.631 seconds. Timmy Hill (No. 66 VSI Racing/RoofClaim.com Toyota) finished third.

After getting his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, the 21-year-old Gragson celebrated like a veteran – and a champion – by climbing the frontstretch fencing and gesturing to the fans in attendance.

“That was bad-ass,” Gragson said. “I’m so thankful for this opportunity and I’m very proud of this team. I spent a lot of time with Dale Jr. this week. I talked to him for about two hours. I wanted to be a better superspeedway racer.

“He told me to go have fun … wreckers or checkers … you’ve got to manage your gaps … be there at the end … and just go lead the damn thing. And that’s what we did.”

Added Earnhardt, winner of 17 races at Daytona International Speedway during his NASCAR career: “We just sat down and talked about all the scenarios you find yourself in, in the draft. I like sharing that information with drivers. This was just a great day for JR Motorsports.

“This (going to Gatorade Victory Lane) never gets old. You know, I don’t expect I’ll ever do it again as a driver, so I’ll take these whenever they’re coming, right? If I can get in here as an owner or part of any kind of success like this, it’s a great feeling.”

Also on Saturday, the last of four practice sessions was held for Sunday’s 62nd annual DAYTONA 500 (2:30 p.m. ET; TV – FOX; Radio – MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Joey Logano, the 2015 DAYTONA 500 champion, led the practice with a fast lap of 200.517 mph in the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford. Logano was one of six drivers to post laps above 200 mph; there surely would have been more if 14 drivers had not opted to bypass the session.

One of those sitting out was defending and two-time DAYTONA 500 champion Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota). In fact, none of the five Toyota drivers in the field took part. That seemingly play-it-safe approach seemed reasonable. No matter where you qualify, if you switch to a back-up car or change an engine, you must go to the rear of the field at the start of the race. And going from back-to-front is no easy task in this 40-car field.

“Towards the end, I can see it being very aggressive,” Logano predicted. “Everyone is racing so hard. Everyone knows what it means to win the DAYTONA 500, how big of a deal it is. And you know you’re going to see some aggressive driving out there and that usually causes crashes.”

The DAYTONA 500 opens the season for the NASCAR Cup Series; it will be watched by a sellout crowd.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (No. 47 Kroger Chevrolet) will start on the DAYTONA 500 pole. Alex Bowman (No. 88 Valvoline Chevrolet) will roll off alongside Stenhouse.

Tickets for the 50th annual DAYTONA Supercross on March 7 and all other Daytona International Speedway events can be purchased online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP. Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and Snapchat, and by downloading Daytona International Speedway’s mobile app, for the latest Speedway news throughout the season.
February 15, 2020
Enfinger wins in photo-finish at Daytona over Anderson
After an overtime restart, Grant Enfinger narrowly won in a photo-finish against Jordan Anderson coming to the line. The two drivers beat and banged off one another until the checkered flag flew at Daytona International Speedway. However, in what was the closest Truck Series race in history, the Alabama native, Enfinger, broke a two-year drought dating back to Las Vegas.

“It would have been a good story for Jordan to win, but it was a better story for us,” Enfinger said to MRN Radio. “He gave us some good shoves there and I knew he was going to try and make a move and he did. I wasn’t confident the bottom line was going to carry or not, but I was 100% confident in my spotter Chris Lambert as he talked me through there good. I gave some shoves and tried to block his momentum, and get off of him and I kind of stalled him to eventually beat him back to the line. Just an unbelievable Ford F-150 we had here, 100th win for Ford in the Truck Series, the 25th anniversary for Duke and Rhonda Thorson. God has blessed me with an incredible opportunity and maybe this season is the year for us.”

Tonight’s race at Daytona was the season opener for the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series. Though race fans would have to wait a little while after the scheduled start time as a small rain shower moved through the area delaying the start of the race by more than half an hour.

Stages were broken into 20/20/60 laps to make up the 100-lap race and rookie Riley Herbst was on the pole.

Stage 1: Lap 1- Lap 20

It appeared Stage 1 was going to be calm and collected with no incidents. However, a big incident occurred with five to go, as the No. 45 of Ty Majeski’s truck went upside down on its roof going into Turn 1 causing a red flag. Based on a replay, the No. 38 of Todd Gilliland made slight contact with the No. 12 of Tate Fogleman who then bumped into the No. 22 of Austin Wayne Self, while the two collected Majeski’s truck which made him flip. This incident would cause a seven-minute and 59 seconds red flag.

A one-lap dash would set up a restart in Stage 1. Pole sitter Herbst took the stage win, while Tyler Ankrum, Christian Eckes, Brett Moffitt, Johnny Sauter, Stewart Friesen, Austin Hill, Grant Enfinger, Raphael Lessard and Todd Gilliland completed the top-10 for Stage 1.

Stage 2: Lap 25- Lap 40

There were no incidents in this stage as it went green the whole way. However, the No. 21 of Zane Smith had a window net down and was black flagged, and had to come down pit road to fix his issue. Then on Lap 35, the No. 9 of Codie Rohrbaugh got turned coming to pit road but saved the truck from crashing and no caution was thrown.

Enfinger would wind up winning the second stage as Ben Rhodes, Ankrum, Hill, Herbst, Lessard, Friesen, Sauter and Sheldon Creed were the top-10 finishers in Stage 2.

Stage 3: Lap 45- Lap 104

There was a 20 lap green flag run taking place from Lap 45 to Lap 65. In fact, a few laps after lap 65, several drivers were thinking about making their last pit stop of the night in the coming laps. But a caution slowed the pace when the No. 00 of Angela Ruch spun in Turn 3 and caused a multi-vehicle wreck. Fogleman, Bryan Dauzat, Eckes, Smith and Brennan Poole were among the ones involved in the incident.

A restart came with 25 to go and things were shaping up for another exciting finish at Daytona, especially in the Truck Series. The Trucks were racing hard all night and some drivers were making big risky moves in hopes of winning the race or pulling off the upset. In fact, in the first time around it looked like there was going to be a photo-finish as the trucks were three wide several rows back. As normally happens with Daytona late in the race, a caution came out for a big wreck in Turns 1 and 2.

The No. 99 of Ben Rhodes got loose and almost took out race winner Enfinger in the process, but instead took out several other drivers including, Ankrum, Tanner Gray, Sauter, Herbst, Crafton, Gilliland, Friesen, Gus Dean, Jesse Little, Korbin Forrister and Eckes to name a few.

Eventually, this put some drivers who had been riding around in the back the whole race up front at the end with a shot to win.

The caution set up an overtime restart on Lap 104, just four laps past the advertised distance. On the white flag, the No. 40 of Ross Chastain had a huge run on Enfinger but Enfinger blocked and Chastain got shuffled out of the draft. The racing wasn’t done yet. This set up an unique opportunity for fan favorite and a potential upset, Jordan Anderson, who was running second with a head of momentum.

Eagerly trying to find a way and time his moment to make the move, Anderson pulled out just a few feet from the finish line to try to pass Enfinger. Enfinger saw Anderson on the outside and the two bounced off one another, but in the end, it was the Alabama native Enfinger who took home the checkered flag just inches ahead of Anderson.

“We had a good Ford F-150 last year,” Enfinger added to MRN Radio. “We could push pretty good, but we couldn’t lead. We tried to make improvements for Talladega, but we were terrible there. The guys at ThorSport Racing cut everything off of here. The roof, the chassis, everything in sight and we came back with a really good piece, and that was the difference. I fell into the sucker hole with 20 laps to go and I thought I lost my opportunity. Then I thought they were going to wreck, so I tried to get to an escape root to the bottom and they didn’t wreck. When it was time to go, I shot to the outside and was able to avoid that mayhem.”

The win was Enfinger’s third win of his career and his first since Las Vegas in 2018, breaking a two-year win drought. He led four times for 41 laps and picked up six playoff points en route to victory.

As Anderson watched the replay on pit road and his excitement was evident.

“Grant, Grant, what are you doing door-slamming me man? I came here in 2015 and emptied my bank account to try to come down here and run. To be in a position to even go for a win at Daytona, man, I’m a kid that just wanted to go racing from South Carolina.

“I thought we set him up good. We tried to follow Ross (Chastain) there and push him. I know he got loose, and I got up on Grant’s bumper there in (Turn) 4 and got a good run. It was like NASCAR Thunder 2003 all over again. I’m like, ‘God, I can do this!’ And I pushed him out of the way, and I thought we had it.”

There were five cautions for 26 laps including one red flag along with 15 lead changes among seven different drivers.

Official Results
1. Grant Enfinger, led 41 laps, won Stage 2
2. Jordan Anderson
3. Codie Rohrbaugh
4. Derek Kraus
5. Natalie Decker
6. Austin Hill, led 11 laps
7. Johnny Sauter
8. Ross Chastain
9. Sheldon Creed, led two laps
10. Jason White
11. Zane Smith
12. Riley Herbst, led 21 laps
13. Brett Moffitt
14. Cory Roper
15. Matt Crafton
16. Todd Gilliland
17. Brennan Poole
18. Korbin Forrister
19. Spencer Boyd, one lap down
20. Raphael Lessard, one lap down
21. Stewart Friesen, one lap down, led 13 laps
22. Christian Eckes, one lap down, Stage 1 winner
23. Tanner Gray, OUT, Accident
24. Jesse Little, OUT, Accident
25. Ben Rhodes, OUT, Accident, led 17 laps
26. Gus Dean, OUT, Accident
27. Tyler Ankrum, OUT, Accident
28. Angela Ruch, OUT, Accident
29. Bryan Dauzat, OUT, Accident
30. Tate Fogleman, OUT, Accident
31. Austin Wayne Self, OUT, Accident
32. Ty Majeski, OUT, Accident
February 14, 2020

Category: Race Central

Stage 1:

Stage 2:

Stage 3:

Starting lineup: