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  • Todd Gilliland’s Night Ends with Disappointing Fourth Place Finish

    Todd Gilliland’s Night Ends with Disappointing Fourth Place Finish

    In what could have been the night for his first victory in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, it quickly turned into a night of disappointment for the 18-year-old rookie, Todd Gilliland.

    Gilliland was just a half lap away from taking home his first ever truck series victory at Texas Motor Speedway. Unfortunately, fuel issues with his truck on the backstretch denied him his first win and relegated him to a fourth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway Friday night.

    “We were in position to win that race … it sucks, it’s horrible. We were just a touch short on fuel,” said Gilliland. “I didn’t know there was anything happening (on fuel). I’m incredibly disappointed … but I’m super-proud to be in position to be fighting for wins.

    “It’s just heartbreak and kind of disbelief. You’re a half-lap away from my first win at a place like this that’s so special and after everything we did today coming from the back, I felt like we executed a perfect race, honestly. Besides lacking a little bit of speed to beat some of those guys straight-up. With what our cards were dealt for the race, we ran 100 percent perfect, I felt like, minus the last half-lap. That’s all we can do is look forward now. It’s over and just need to move on.”

    Gilliland finished 10th and ninth respectively in both stages and led for a race-high 60 laps while Justin Haley took home the winner’s trophy for his third victory of the season at Texas.

     

  • Blaney leads Ford brigade to Texas Busch Pole Award

    Blaney leads Ford brigade to Texas Busch Pole Award

    Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service

    FORT WORTH, Tex. – Ryan Blaney may have exited the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, but that doesn’t mean the desire to win has left the driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford.

    Running the fastest lap of the day in the final round of Friday’s knockout qualifying session at Texas Motor Speedway, Blaney sped around the 1.5-mile track in 26.932 seconds (200.505 mph) to earn the top starting spot for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

    In winning his first Busch Pole Award at Texas, his third of the season and the fifth of his career, Blaney fell just short of the track record (26.877 seconds at 200.915 mph) set by Kurt Busch in November of last year. Nevertheless, Blaney’s lap in the money round was the second fastest ever run on a 1.5-mile intermediate speedway.

    Blaney, who paced the first round but fell to eighth in the second, beat playoff driver Clint Bowyer (200.230 mph) by .037 seconds when it counted. Kevin Harvick (199.941 mph) qualified third, as Ford drivers swept the top five spots on the grid and seven of the top eight.

    “We just seemed to get tighter round to round,” Blaney said. “We just kept freeing it up, and I messed up Round 2 pretty bad. I got really greedy in (Turn) 1 and drove in there too deep. So we freed it up even more, and I backed my entry up, and that helped it out …

    “It felt really fast. That’s what you get with this nighttime qualifying. High speeds. Speeds pick up, and it has been cool here today. We’ve had a really good Ford all day, and it is nice to back it up in qualifying. It doesn’t mean a lot if you are fastest in practice and blow it in qualifying … I’m excited to see how it is in race trim in Saturday’s practice.”

    With Aric Almirola qualifying fourth and Kurt Busch eighth, Stewart-Haas Racing placed all four of its drivers in the top seven, and all four are still in contention for the series championship. Brad Keselowski was fifth fastest, giving Team Penske two drivers in the top five.

    Toyota driver Denny Hamlin was seventh with the only non-Ford in the top eight. Team Penske driver Joey Logano — already qualified for the Nov. 18 Championship 4 race at Homestead by virtue of last Sunday’s victory at Martinsville, was eighth quickest after topping the second round at 200.267 mph.

    Playoff driver Martin Truex Jr. will start 13th on Sunday after Almirola bumped him out of the final round by .001 seconds.

    “I got a little loose on Turn 3 in my last lap there,” Truex said. “If I didn’t mess that up, I probably would have been in. It’s a sensitive track, really fast. For whatever reason, we’ve been off qualifying since they redid this place.

    “I haven’t quite figured out what I need for qualifying. In our race trim, we’ve been really good here. We’ll see. We’ll work harder on it (Saturday in practice) and see on Sunday.”

    Chase Elliott, winner of two Playoff races, will start 16th. Ninth-place qualifier William Byron, Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, was the only Chevrolet driver to crack the top 12.

  • Logano punches his ticket to Miami after late race drama

    Logano punches his ticket to Miami after late race drama

    Joey Logano won the First Data 500 at Martinsville on Sunday afternoon after a chaotic battle for the win against Martin Truex Jr. He scored his second win of the season and punched his ticket to the Championship 4 at Homestead.

    “That was just a hard great race. NASCAR racing at its finest. It was a lot of bumper banging towards the end and a hard race. You know, we didn’t wreck each other. We bumped into each other a lot and that is what this sport was built on. I know a lot of fans out there aren’t too happy about it but it is racing and that is what NASCAR is about and what stock car racing is. I am just glad we finally won here,” Lagano said in victory lane.

    Logano led 309 laps. Denny Hamlin came in second, with Truex, Kyle Busch, and Brad Keselowski rounding out the top five.

    Kyle Busch led the field to the green after winning the pole on Saturday. It was a struggle for him early as it took teammate Denny Hamlin 32 laps to take the lead from him. Busch fell to third when Clint Bowyer was able to take another position from him.

    The first caution came out on Lap 43 when Jeb Burton crashed into the wall. Kyle Busch selected the first pit stall coming out of the pits which gave him the advantage and was able to retake the lead after the pit stops. Alex Bowman was penalized for speeding in the pits.

    The race started slow for some of the playoff drivers but they were all making a run at getting a top 10 finish to end Stage 1. Chase Elliott and Truex were two drivers that started further back and drove toward the top 10.

    The race lead was flipping around between Kyle Busch and Hamlin. They had a nice battle throughout the entire stage. Jimmie Johnson spun out on Lap 71 bringing out the second caution.  Most of the leaders stayed out as we saw Jamie McMurray and teammate Kyle Larson pit. No major damage was reported for Johnson following his spin.

    Hamlin won Stage 1. Truex was the fastest car on the track closing Stage 1. He finished the stage in the seventh position. The only playoff driver out of the top 10 was Chase Elliott finishing 11th and missing out on any playoff points. Hamlin led 29 laps of the stage.

    The race off pit road during the stage break had Logano surpassing the Joe Gibbs teammates and taking the lead. Bowyer made contact with Erik Jones giving him some damage in the right front. Ryan Blaney had an uncontrolled tire and was forced to start in the back for Stage 2.

    Logano got a great jump in the restart and he never looked back from then. The Busch brothers had some good door to door battles for third at the beginning of the run. Hamlin went back to fourth because of it.

    On Lap 173 we saw a good battle between Truex and Bowyer as they made contact for the fifth position. Logano had a dominant stage as he started lapping many of the cars. By Lap 207 he had lapped half of the field. Drivers Larson and Blaney were put down a lap by Logano.

    Kevin Harvick had a pretty tough stage. He dropped out of the top 10 on Lap 212. Truex continued his surge to the front as he took fourth from Kurt Busch.

    AJ Allmendinger and Ty Dillon had good Stage 2 runs as both cars made their ways into the top 15 and were able to stay on the lead lap. We saw Harvick go down a lap at the end of Stage 2 when he was in the 15th position.

    Hamlin closed in on Logano in the final laps of the stage for a side by side finish favoring Logano. Logano dominated Stage 2 but found some trouble holding off Hamlin. Logano was able to hold the lead during the stage break edging in front of Hamlin off pit road. Ryan Newman was caught speeding, he was supposed to restart sixth.

    Going into the final stage, teams started to adjust their strategies as the radar showed some rain heading towards the race track. The final stage started pretty clean with Logano holding the lead on the restart. Logano was taking care of the lead while there was a lot of mixing up behind him.

    Truex didn’t have a good restart dropping him a few spots to sixth. It was eventful for Johnson who entered the top 10 on Lap 285 after overcoming the spin earlier in the race.

    Truex started to settle down laps into the run when he started to get some positions back that he lost on the restart. He eventually moved up to second as the run continued. Harvick was the playoff driver that struggled the most during the last run. He was maintaining in the top 15.  Almirola’s car was the fastest around Lap 330 when he moved up to sixth.

    Logano’s lead began to diminish as he was seeing Truex close in on him after Lap 154. Truex’s car was handling much better in the corners when they started battling for the lead. He was able to take the lead from Logano on Lap 360. This was Truex’s first time on the lead in the afternoon after starting the race in 33rd.

    A caution came out shortly after Truex took the lead when Byron got into the wall on Lap 366. The radar was showing the rain getting closer to the track by this time. Truex held on to the lead with Logano behind him on pit road.

    On Lap 374 the green flag came out for the restart with Truex continuing to lead the field. Logano maintained the second spot as he was inching toward Truex. Almirola started to lose spots after restarting forth because he was not able to get his car to the bottom line. Logano retook the lead from Truex on Lap 377.

    A caution came out on Lap 382 after Timmy Hill’s car caught fire on pit road. Bowyer led cars behind him into pit road. Elliott came out in front of the pits with the group starting from ninth.

    Logano held off Truex on the restart and Brad Keselowski started to come into the picture after he was able to take third following the restart. A caution came out a few laps later for Larson. It appeared that he had some mechanical issue after a lot of smoke caused him to exit his vehicle.

    The green flag was back out on Lap 415 with Logano leading into the first turn. Keselowski took second from Truex. He was able to get to Logano’s side and take the lead from him shortly after. Keselowski started the race at the rear for unapproved adjustments.

    Truex dropped all the way to sixth. Logano and Hamlin’s battle for second started to heat up. This gave Keselowski an advantage and extended his lead. A caution came out on Lap 457 after playoff contending Bowyer made contact with Johnson and spun. He was running outside the top 10 at the time.

    The leaders came down pit road during the caution with Logano coming out in front of everyone else. Most of the drivers took four tires.

    The restart was led by Logano with 37 laps left. He was able to lead going into Turn 1 but there were some hectic battles behind him. Kyle Busch, Keselowski, and Truex had some bumpy battles for the few positions behind Logano.

    “We had a good run there. We were really good on the short runs but we struggled a little bit on the long runs and it just didn’t end up playing out there for us at the end. It is good to see Joey (Logano) get to victory lane. Happy for Team Penske,” Keselowski said.

    The final 10 laps had some intense racing between Logano and Truex for the lead. Side by side racing in the final few laps as Logano was able to put a bumper on Truex in the final corner to take the win.

    Next week we head to Fort Worth for the AAA Texas 500.

    Post Martinsville Playoff Standings

    1. Joey Logano: 1 win
    2. Kyle Busch: +46
    3. Martin Truex Jr: +25
    4. Kevin Harvick: +25
    5. Kurt Busch: -25
    6. Chase Elliott: -31
    7. Clint Bowyer: -42
    8. Aric Almirola: – 50

    Monster Energy Cup Series Race
    Unofficial Race Results for the 70th Annual First Data 500 – Sunday, October 28, 2018
    Martinsville Speedway – Martinsville, VA – 0.526 – Mile Paved
    Total Race Length – 500 Laps – 263. Miles

    Pos St Car Driver Team Make
    1 10 22 Joey Logano (P) Shell Pennzoil Ford
    2 3 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota
    3 33 78 Martin Truex Jr. (P) 5-hour ENERGY/Bass Pro Shops Toyota
    4 1 18 Kyle Busch (P) M&M’s Halloween Toyota
    5 7 2 Brad Keselowski Thomas Built Buses Ford
    6 6 41 Kurt Busch (P) Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford
    7 19 9 Chase Elliott (P) SunEnergy1 Chevrolet
    8 16 31 Ryan Newman E-Z-GO Chevrolet
    9 8 19 Daniel Suarez ARRIS Toyota
    10 12 4 Kevin Harvick (P) Busch Beer Ford
    11 5 10 Aric Almirola (P) Smithfield Ford
    12 34 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet
    13 13 37 Chris Buescher Bush’s Chili Beans Chevrolet
    14 15 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger ClickList Chevrolet
    15 23 13 Ty Dillon GEICO Chevrolet
    16 17 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald’s Chevrolet
    17 14 88 Alex Bowman Nationwide Chevrolet
    18 36 38 David Ragan MDS Transport Ford
    19 18 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fifth Third Bank Ford
    20 4 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Moen Ford
    21 2 14 Clint Bowyer (P) Rush Truck Centers Ford
    22 35 21 Paul Menard Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford
    23 24 6 Matt Kenseth Wyndham Rewards Ford
    24 28 72 Cole Whitt MOEN Chevrolet
    25 20 34 Michael McDowell Dockside Logistics Ford
    26 21 20 Erik Jones DeWalt Toyota
    27 29 96 * DJ Kennington(i) Xtreme Concepts/iK9 Toyota
    28 27 95 Regan Smith WRL General Contractors Chevrolet
    29 22 15 Ross Chastain(i) Ternio Chevrolet
    30 25 3 Austin Dillon Dow Chevrolet
    31 38 23 JJ Yeley(i) Adirondack Tree Surgeons Toyota
    32 32 99 * Landon Cassill(i) StarCom Fiber Chevrolet
    33 39 51 Jeb Burton(i) Jacob Companies Chevrolet
    34 37 43 Bubba Wallace # Pioneer Records Management Chevrolet
    35 30 00 Joey Gase(i) Donate Life Chevrolet
    36 26 32 Matt DiBenedetto Keen Parts/CorvetteParts.net Ford
    37 9 42 Kyle Larson First Data/Clover Chevrolet
    38 40 66 * Timmy Hill(i) Rewards.com Toyota
    39 11 24 William Byron # Liberty University Chevrolet
    40 31 7 * Hermie Sadler II I Virginia Lottery Chevrolet
  • Johnny Sauter Dominates At Martinsville With Win; Grabs Spot In Championship 4

    Johnny Sauter Dominates At Martinsville With Win; Grabs Spot In Championship 4

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series took center stage today at the paperclip, Martinsville Speedway. It was the site for the start of the Round of 6 for the playoff drivers and the site for one driver who clinched his spot in the Championship 4 for the championship race at Homestead Miami.

    Johnny Sauter collected his sixth win of the season and 23rd of his career after leading 148 of the scheduled 200 laps.

    “You don’t get them (trucks) like that everyday,” Sauter told MRN Radio. “Just proud of Joe, everybody at GMS Racing. With our ISM Connect Chevrolet, it was a good day to be in a Chevrolet, that’s all I can tell you. Just pumped up. Just gotta thank everyone that helps us out. Maury Gallagher, the whole Gallagher family, this is a special win and obviously racing for a championship at Homestead.”

    With qualifying early Saturday morning, Todd Gilliland won the pole with teammate, Harrison Burton alongside.

    Stage 1 went for 50 laps and saw one minor incident that took place on lap 36, which saw Chad Finley spin and hit the wall. Under the yellow, Todd, Burton, Friesen along with others pitted.

    Sauter assumed the lead with seven to go for the restart. He held on to win Stage 1. As soon as the caution came out, Sauter and team elected to stay out for Stage 2.

    Stage 2 began on lap 60 and went to lap 100. There was one caution during the stage and it was after the restart, as Stewart Friesen had a left rear tire go down after contact from Jeb Burton.

    The restart came on lap 67 and it went green for the remaining stage as Sauter came home again with the stage win.

    After everyone pitted except for Kyle Benjamin, the final stage went green with 89 to go.

    A few laps after the restart, Myatt Snider and John Hunter Nemechek made slight contact, thus giving Nemechek a left front rub.

    Sauter was enjoying his five second lead until another caution was displayed with 48 to go, as Dawson Cram  spun around off Turn 4 after slight contact from Friesen.

    The final caution of the race fell with 41 to go. It saw Chase Purdy and Grant Enfinger spin around in Turns 1 and 2.

    On the restart before the caution, Snider made a dive bomb and took the lead. However, with a restart of 33  to go, Sauter retook the lead.

    From there, Sauter held on to win the sixth race of the season and the 23rd of his career.

    “Believe it or not we came here with a completely different set-up when it all rained out,” he told MRN Radio. We were like now. Joe said, we have to put it back the way it was in the spring. I didn’t think we were that good in the spring. It was good today and track position is so important, and we played it right by passing those guys at the front early on and just pumped up!”

    With today’s win at Martinsville, Sauter and the No. 21 GMS Racing team are now locked in to the Championship 4 at Homestead Miami. However, it’s not going to change the way he races at Texas and ISM Raceway.

    “Do what we always do,” Sauter said to MRN Radio. “Race like hell, you know what I mean!? We race hard no matter what, I’m not changing the way we drive for points, you know what I’m saying? We’re in a position to win the race and get wiped out, that’s the way it goes. Just pumped up to be able to compete for the championship.  We got a pretty good piece going on at Homestead. It would be awesome to get another win at Texas and Phoenix. Six wins this year, it’s been a dream season and we just have to cap this off with a championship.”

    Other playoff drivers finished second (Brett Moffitt), Sixth (Justin Haley), Seventh (Noah Gragson), 13th (Matt Crafton), and 14th (Grant Enfinger).

    Playoff Points
    1. Johnny Sauter (W, Advanced at Homestead)
    2. Noah Gragson +24
    3. Brett Moffitt +15
    4. Grant Enfinger +2

    Below the cutline
    5. Justin Haley -2
    6. Matt Crafton -10

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race
    Unofficial Race Results for the 20Th Annual Texas Roadhouse 200 Presented
    By Alpha Energy Solutions – Saturday, October 27, 2018
    Martinsville Speedway – Martinsville, VA – .526 Mile Paved
    Total Race Length – 200 Laps – 105.2 Miles

    Pos St Car Driver Team Make
    1 8 21 Johnny Sauter (P) ISM Connect Chevrolet
    2 17 16 Brett Moffitt (P) AW N.C./AISIN Group Toyota
    3 16 13 Myatt Snider # Louisiana Hot Sauce Ford
    4 4 41 Ben Rhodes The Carolina Nut Co. Ford
    5 5 17 Kyle Benjamin(i) Crosley Brands/DGR Crosley Toyota
    6 13 24 Justin Haley (P) Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet
    7 3 18 Noah Gragson (P) Safelite AutoGlass Toyota
    8 2 51 Harrison Burton Morton Buildings Toyota
    9 12 46 Christian Eckes Craftsman Toyota
    10 9 23 Timothy Peters AutosbyNelson.com Chevrolet
    11 11 52 Stewart Friesen We Build America Chevrolet
    12 1 4 Todd Gilliland # JBL/SiriusXM Toyota
    13 10 88 Matt Crafton (P) Chi-Chis/Menards Ford
    14 6 98 Grant Enfinger (P) Protect the Harvest Ford
    15 22 30 Jeb Burton(i) Strutmasters.com/SparrowRanch.org Toyota
    16 14 75 Parker Kligerman Global Building Contractors/Food Country USA Chevrolet
    17 25 25 Tyler Dippel America First/Turning Point USA Chevrolet
    18 19 54 Tyler Ankrum Ma y’s Hawaii/Crosley Brands Toyota
    19 15 2 Sheldon Creed AM Ortega/United Rentals Chevrolet
    20 7 02 Austin Hill Young’s Building Systems/Randco Chevrolet
    21 27 99 Chase Purdy Bama Buggies Chevrolet
    22 21 63 Kyle Donahue First Responder Racing Chevrolet
    23 29 22 Austin Wayne Self GO TEXAN Chevrolet
    24 23 83 Dawson Cram RGS Products/THP Chevrolet
    25 24 49 DJ Kennington SobrietyNation.org Chevrolet
    26 26 3 Jordan Anderson Commercial Property Services Chevrolet
    27 28 45 Justin Fontaine # ProMATIC Automation/Superior Essex Chevrolet
    28 31 15 Brad Foy Strutmasters.com Chevrolet
    29 32 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb Driven2Honor Chevrolet
    30 18 8 John Hunter Nemechek(i) Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Chevrolet
    31 30 20 Tanner Thorson Go Share Chevrolet
    32 20 33 Chad Finley Airlift/Strutmasters.com Chevrolet

     

     

  • Full weekend schedule for Martinsville

    Full weekend schedule for Martinsville

    Staff  Report | NASCAR.com

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Camping World Truck Series will be in action at Martinsville Speedway while the NASCAR Xfinity Series is off. The Monster Energy Series heads to the first race of the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Playoffs, while the Camping World Truck Series enters the first race in the Round of 6. Check out the full schedule below, which is subject to change.

    Note: All times are ET

    FRIDAY, Oct. 26
    12:05-12:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series first practice (no TV) (Follow live)
    2:05-2:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice (no TV) (Follow live)

    PRESS PASS (Watch live)
    10:30 a.m.: Timothy Peters
    10:45 a.m.: Justin Haley, Johnny Sauter
    11 a.m.: Matt Crafton, Grant Enfinger
    11:15 a.m.: Noah Gragson, Brett Moffitt

    SATURDAY, Oct. 27
    9-9:50 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice, CNBC/NBC Sports App (Follow live)
    10:05 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Qualifying, FS1 (Follow live)
    11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, CNBC/NBC Sports App (Follow live)
    1 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Texas Roadhouse 200 presented by Alpha Energy Solutions (200 laps, 105.2 miles), FS1 (Follow live)
    4:05 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Follow live)

    PRESS PASS (Watch live)
    8:15 a.m.: Chase Elliott
    10:30 a.m.: Clint Bowyer
    10:45 a.m.: Kyle Busch
    2:45 p.m.: Post-NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race
    4:45 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying

    SUNDAY, Oct. 28
    2:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series First Data 500 (500 laps, 263 miles), NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Follow live)

    PRESS PASS (Watch live)
    6 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race

    MORE: How to find NBCSN

  • Chase Elliott wheels into Victory Lane at Kansas as the Round of 12 Concludes

    Chase Elliott wheels into Victory Lane at Kansas as the Round of 12 Concludes

    Chase Elliott won the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on Sunday afternoon. Elliott is really starting to heat up heading into the Round of 8 next week after scoring his second victory in the Round of 12 and his third Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win this season.

    He spoke about the team’s strategy as they continue in the Playoffs and the emphasis on winning races.

    “The points game is nice I guess to play. Really you just need to care about winning,” Elliott said. “If you’re trying to win, putting yourself in position to win, that’s way more important than just barely trying to squeak through. Having the ability to win, do it weekly, putting yourselves in those positions week by week is the most important thing. If we can do that these next three weeks, I think we can give ourselves a chance.”

    Joey Logano started the race on the pole and led the field to the green flag quickly maintaining the lead. It only lasted one lap for clean racing. Daniel Suarez brushed the wall on the second lap and made slight contact with Alex Bowman. Suarez then pitted.

    Stage 1 was an adventure for Kyle Larson. Larson started the race at the tail of the field because he had to go to a backup car after wrecking his primary on Friday during practice. By Lap 15 he was already in the 20th position. Larson needed a win to advance to the next round of the playoffs.

    Alex Bowman was in the same position as Larson. He also needed a win to advance. He hit the wall on Lap 24 while he was trying to run the high line. Nothing major happened to his car and he continued running.

    By Lap 45 all of the Playoff drivers had pit once under green. No serious changes to the leaderboard happened during the pit stops.

    The first caution of the race came out on Lap 56 when William Byron had an engine failure in his vehicle. It was a long cleanup since he dropped a lot of oil on the track and on some pit boxes.

    When the lead lap cars went in to pit under caution there were three drivers that elected to just take two tires. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. did not pit and led the field to the green on Lap 64 for the restart. His lead did not last too long as he fell back quickly with Ryan Blaney taking the lead.

    There was a great battle between teammates Logano and Blaney toward the end of the stage as both were going hard for the lead. Kevin Harvick got into the picture while the teammates kept swapping positions. Logano was able to hold off Harvick and Blaney to win Stage 1. With Harvick finishing second, it clinched his spot in the Round of 8.

    No major changes happened during the pit stops. All the leaders went in as expected and Logano led the field for the start of Stage 2. Blaney was able to take the second position away from Harvick on the restart. Harvick was able to come back and take the spot back on Lap 96.

    Larson became a contender in the race during Stage 2. He found himself in the sixth position behind Kyle Busch by Lap 101.

    Kurt Busch had a rough day. The speed in his car was not where he wanted it to be as he started to fall off in Stage 2. The battle between Harvick and Blaney seemed like it was happening all day. Blaney was able to take the second spot back from Harvick on Lap 115.

    Green flag pit stops in Stage 2 started on Lap 119 with Martin Trux Jr. being the first car to pit. Aric Almirola and Kurt Busch were hit with penalties for uncontrolled tires as Busch’s bad day continued to get worse.

    Brad Keselowski tried staying out on the track many laps after everyone had gone in to pit, hoping to catch a caution. That did not work and he finally had to pit on Lap 140. Harvick took over the lead and went on to win Stage 2.

    There was a good battle in the pits during the caution. Larson gained three positions during his time on pit road. Denny Hamlin was penalized for speeding on pit road. Kyle Busch and Logano clinched their spots in the Round of 8 after Stage 2.

    Harvick and Elliott led the field on the restart to start the final stage. Kurt Busch continued down a lap but kept creeping in and out of the playoff picture the whole afternoon.

    Elliott made some nice gains after being able to catch Blaney and taking away the second position from him. Larson was also able to come in and challenge Blaney for the third position.

    On lap 208 Kyle Busch was able to pass Larson and Blaney at the same time moment that Blaney scrapped the wall. Blaney eventually dropped to fifth and his minor issues put him outside the cutoff line for the next round late in the race.

    “Obviously it was a mistake I made trying to work hard to catch those guys and I pushed too hard and got in the fence. It is all my fault. Whether it would have worked out for us or not, I don’t know,” Blaney said.

    Kyle Larson was the first car to go in for green flag pit stops.

    A big change in the race happened after leader Harvick was penalized for speeding during his pit stop. This positioned Chase Elliott to take the lead when the field cycled out after the pits.

    “Today wasn’t great from my standpoint. Our Busch Lite Ford was really fast and leading the race there and I got a speeding penalty. That was my fault. I tried to get a little too much and wound up going too fast. We will take it one week at a time,” Harvick said after the race.

    Kyle Busch started to show late speed with under 30 laps to go. He was cutting down on Elliott’s lead. With 15 laps to go there were signs that Busch was getting close to Elliott but he had a hard time at the end. This gave Larson some life as he approached Busch. None were able to get passed Elliott as a result.

    Kyle Busch had to settle with second place with Larson finishing third. Erik Jones and Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top five.

    Blaney, Keselowski, Larson, and Bowman were eliminated from the Playoffs as we head to the Round of 8 next week at Martinsville.

    “We won three races and did all that. I feel like we can go win Martinsville next week so I am excited about that but of course, the ultimate goal is to win a championship and we won’t have an opportunity to do that this year.” Keselowski said.

    The drivers advancing to the Round of 8:

    1. Kyle Busch
    2. Kevin Harvick
    3. Martin Truex Jr.
    4. Clint Bowyer
    5. Kurt Busch
    6. Joey Logano
    7. Chase Elliott
    8. Aric Almirola

    Monster Energy Cup Series Race
    Unofficial Race Results for the 18th Annual Hollywood Casino 400 – Sunday, October 21, 2018
    Kansas Speedway – Kansas City, KS – 1.5 – Mile Paved
    Total Race Length – 267 Laps – 400.5 Miles

    Pos St Car Driver Team Make
    1 13 9 Chase Elliott (P) Mountain Dew Chevrolet
    2 7 18 Kyle Busch (P) M&M’s Halloween Toyota
    3 27 42 Kyle Larson (P) McDonald’s Trick. Treat. Win! Chevrolet
    4 6 20 Erik Jones Craftsman Toyota
    5 12 78 Martin Truex Jr. (P) Bass Pro Shops/5-hour ENERGY Toyota
    6 5 2 Brad Keselowski (P) Discount Tire Ford
    7 4 12 Ryan Blaney (P) Menards/Wrangler Riggs Ford
    8 1 22 Joey Logano (P) Shell Pennzoil Ford
    9 10 88 Alex Bowman (P) Nationwide Chevrolet
    10 3 10 Aric Almirola (P) Smithfield Ford
    11 23 3 Austin Dillon Dow Chevrolet
    12 2 4 Kevin Harvick (P) Busch Light Ford
    13 14 14 Clint Bowyer (P) Dekalb Ford
    14 9 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota
    15 16 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet
    16 21 37 Chris Buescher Bush’s Chili Beans Chevrolet
    17 20 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald’s Trick. Treat. Win! Chevrolet
    18 11 41 Kurt Busch (P) Haas Automation/Mobil 1 Ford
    19 28 38 David Ragan MDS Transport Ford
    20 15 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fastenal Ford
    21 25 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger ClickList Chevrolet
    22 22 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet
    23 31 32 Matt DiBenedetto Plan B Sales Ford
    24 8 19 Daniel Suarez ARRIS Toyota
    25 30 13 Ty Dillon GEICO Chevrolet
    26 29 43 Bubba Wallace # Transportation Impact Chevrolet
    27 24 34 Michael McDowell Coburn Supply Company Ford
    28 26 95 Regan Smith Tommy Williams Drywall Chevrolet
    29 35 00 Landon Cassill(i) Share Foundation Chevrolet
    30 19 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Rehydrate Ford
    31 36 23 JJ Yeley(i) BK Racing Toyota
    32 18 21 Paul Menard Menards/NIBCO Ford
    33 38 51 BJ McLeod(i) Jacob Companies Chevrolet
    34 34 72 Corey LaJoie Dragonchain Chevrolet
    35 37 99 * Kyle Weatherman StarCom Fiber Chevrolet
    36 39 7 * Reed Sorenson Harrah’s North Kansas City Chevrolet
    37 33 96 * Jeffrey Earnhardt Xtreme Concepts/iK9 Toyota
    38 17 24 William Byron # Unifirst Chevrolet
    39 32 15 Ross Chastain(i) Durkin Tactical Chevrolet
    40 40 66 * Timmy Hill(i) Ternio Toyota

     

    Follow on Twitter for updates: @BryanR_305

  • John Hunter Nemechek Nabs First Career Xfinity Win At Kansas Speedway

    John Hunter Nemechek Nabs First Career Xfinity Win At Kansas Speedway

    The Xfinity Series hit the track at Kansas Speedway for the Kansas Lottery 300 and what an interesting race it turned out to be. Two drivers would stay up front and battle for the lead, but only one driver could win. John Hunter Nemechek, in his No.42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, grabbed his first career Xfinity Series win after battling hard with Daniel Hemric.

    Although Nemechek isn’t eligible for the Playoffs, he’s looking for a ride for next year and today’s win may make the difference he needs. It was also a special win for him as his father, Joe Nemechek, swept the Xfinity Series race and the Cup Series race in 2004. Nemechek was a little boy back then but knew it was a special day for his father.

    “It means a lot especially in Kansas in 2004, I forget how old I was, my dad swept the weekend in the Xfinity Series and Cup Series,” Nemechek told reporters. “It’s pretty special,” Nemechek added. “Huge thank you to Fire Alarm Services and Chip Ganassi Racing and Chip for giving me this opportunity.”

    Stage 1 had a wild start to the race when pole sitter Hemric took the green flag. Justin Allgaier got loose and spun taking out several Playoff contenders, not to mention himself. Also involved in the crash were Christopher Bell, Austin Cindric, Cole Custer, Michael Annett, Ryan Truex, Spencer Gallagher, and Chase Briscoe. Custer was the only Playoff driver able to continue, however, he didn’t have any power steering. There were a couple of minor cautions after the big one but they were only one car accidents. Hemric led every lap in the stage and took the stage win.

    During Stage 2 the drivers settled down into the race and there were only a couple of minor cautions. During the race, the strong wind blew off the hood of Ross Chastain’s car and was demolished when the drivers behind him ran over it. Midway through the stage Nemechek and Hemric battled for the lead and Nemechek would take the lead. The stage ended under caution after driver Ryan Preece hit the wall. Nemechek was the winner of Stage 2.

    The final stage of the race started with Hemric’s No.21 Richard Childress Chevrolet back in the lead with Nemechek right behind him. It looked as if it would be an easy win for Hemric who had a good lead over Nemechek when the caution came out for the stalled car of Vinnie Miller.

    Matt Tifft didn’t pit under the yellow to take the race lead with Elliott Sadler behind him. Sadler’s team strategy was to take two tires only getting him on the front row on the restart. However, both drivers strategies failed as Nemechek quickly took the lead and didn’t look back. Hemric led a total of 128 of the 200 laps and finished in the runner-up spot. At the end of the race, there were only eight cars on the lead lap.

    “I thought the restart wasn’t really that bad,” stated Hemric. “I had a vibration the last fifteen laps. I don’t know if the tires equalized or what. It’s frustrating. I just didn’t have what he had, that last run it was unbelievable how fast that thing was taking off.” He ended by saying, “its all gonna work out the way it’s supposed to.”

    Sadler driving his No.1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet ended the race in third place, after the call for two tires only.

    “It was a wild race which we’ve seen in the Xfinity Series the last couple of years,” Sadler commented. “Always the first race of a round gets kinda crazy, everything happens so quick and so fast. We’ve put our best foot forward and we’ll build on this going to Texas. Being in second place is great but we still have a lot of work left to do.”

    Shane Lee and Tyler Reddick would round out the top five. Matt Tifft, Ryan Reed, Ty Majeski, Ryan Sieg and Jeremy Clements finished sixth through 10 respectively.

    The Playoff Standings after today’s race are as follows: Hemric +23, Sadler +14, Reddick +11, Bell +1, Tifft -1, Allgaier -5, Custer -23, and Cindric -43

    The Xfinity Series is off next week. They head next to Texas Motor Speedway Nov. 3.

  • Full weekend schedule for Kansas

    Full weekend schedule for Kansas

    Staff Report | NASCAR.com

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series will be in action at Kansas Speedway while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is off. The Monster Energy Series heads to the final race of the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Playoffs, while the Xfinity Series enters the first race in the Round of 8. Check out the full schedule below, which is subject to change.

    Note: All times are ET

    FRIDAY, Oct. 19
    2:05-2:55 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Follow live)
    3:05-3:55 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series first practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Follow live)
    5-5:50 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Follow live)
    7:10 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Follow live)

    PRESS PASS (Watch live)
    12:30 p.m.: Kyle Larson
    12:45 p.m.: Ryan Blaney
    1 p.m.: Alex Bowman
    1:15 p.m.: Aric Almirola
    1:30 p.m.: Christopher Bell, Cole Custer and Daniel Hemric
    3:30 p.m.: Clint Bowyer
    8 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying

    SATURDAY, Oct. 20
    10:30-11:20 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series second practice, CNBC/NBC Sports App (Follow live)
    11:40 a.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series pole qualifying, CNBC/NBC Sports App (Follow live)
    1:05-1:55 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Follow live)
    2:55 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Kansas Lottery 300 (200 laps, 300 miles), NBC/NBC Sports App (Follow live)

    PRESS PASS (Watch live)
    5:30 p.m.: Post-NASCAR Xfinity Series race

    SUNDAY, Oct. 21
    2:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 (267 laps, 400.5 miles), NBC/NBC Sports App (Follow live)

    PRESS PASS (Watch live)
    11 a.m.: Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award
    5:30 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race

    MORE: How to find NBCSN

    Playoff Standings – Field will be cut to eight contenders at the conclusion of the Kansas Speedway Hollywood Casino 400.

    1. Aric Almirola  – Win – Will Advance
    2. Chase Elliott  – Win – Will Advance
    3. Kevin Harvick +63
    4. Kyle Busch +46
    5. Joey Logano +39
    6. Kurt Busch +30
    7. Clint Bowyer +21
    8. Martin Truex +18
    9. Brad Keselowski -18
    10. Ryan Blaney -22
    11. Kyle Larson -36
    12. Alex Bowman -68

     

  • Almirola rolls to a Victory following a last lap pass at Talladega

    Almirola rolls to a Victory following a last lap pass at Talladega

    Aric Almirola won the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 1000 Bulbs 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday afternoon securing his spot in the Round of 8. This is his second career Cup Series win.

    “I felt like I kept giving it away and I was so disappointed for all these guys behind me because they’re awesome. They’re the best. I’m with the best team in the garage and I felt like I kept letting them down not winning a race. Today, the Good Lord was shining on us and we went to Victory Lane. We did it, finally,” said Almirola in victory lane.

    Kurt Busch led the field to the start of the race backed up by his three Stewart-Haas Racing teammates. It only took three laps for someone to have a problem as David Ragan’s car lost power on Lap three.

    There was a point in the race where the Stewart-Haas cars and the Hendrick Motorsports’ cars controlled the first eight spots. The first caution came out on Lap 11 due to a spin by Jeffrey Earnhardt. The leaders went down to pit road but there was no major change in position.

    Paul Menard ran into problems on Lap 15 expressing to his crew that something had broken in his car. Luckily no contact was made with any other cars.

    It was a seven-car breakaway until the Penske cars were able to reach the lead pack and make an impact on the lead. Kyle Busch got pushed off the lead pack as it seemed that his car was handling poorly. Brad Keselowski pitted after he reported that he had a vibration putting him a lap down. The vibration was caused by a left-rear loose wheel.

    Kurt Busch won Stage 1 followed by his Stewart-Haas teammates.

    Ryan Blaney gained five spots during the pit stops. That put him in the lead for the beginning of Stage 2. Chase Elliott went down pit road before everyone else causing him to restart at the rear of the field.

    Jimmie Johnson spun out by himself hitting the wall on Lap 63 giving him damage on the left-front part of the car. This brought out a caution. The leaders pit during the caution and Kevin Harvick took the first spot from Ryan Blaney. Blaney had a bad stop and came out eighth. Most of the drivers took fuel only.

    It was a good battle following the restart for the lead by Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick. Harvick was able to get the best help by his teammates.

    Michael McDowell had an early exit to the race when he had a hub failure forcing him to the garage on Lap 81. Keselowski was able to fight back to the lead lap breaking into the top 10 near the end of Stage 2.

    A playoff driver with a potential issue was Martin Truex Jr. He wasn’t running the best of races and was reporting that he was a hearing something in the rear-end of the car. More problems for playoff drivers came on Lap 103 when Kyle Larson blew a tire causing him to spin and giving him damage to the right-front fender. Most of the leaders stayed out during the caution.

    Kevin Harvick continued to lead following the restart giving him the Stage 2 win. His three teammates backed him up in the running order.

    Brad Keselowski, William Byron, Jamie McMurray and Bubba Wallace stayed out during the stage caution. Pit road penalties were given to Eric Jones, David Ragan and Jimmie Johnson.

    Things started to heat up in the final stage with cars racing side by side and battling for positions. William Byron took the lead on Lap 123 from Keselowski.

    On Lap 127 Keselowski was able to retake the lead after making a strong move on Byron. A caution came out on Lap 136 after Jamie McMurray spun in the tri-oval hitting the wall.

    The leaders pit with Kurt Busch taking the lead. It was the four Stewart-Haas cars on the inside lane with the Penske cars on the outside lane. Busch was able to hold the lead following a 12 car breakaway on Lap 151.

    A caution came out on Lap 160 after a tire was rolling in the infield grass. A lot of the cars further in the field elected to pit during the caution. Kurt Busch led the field on the restart with his teammates slowly getting lined up behind him. With 20 to go the Stewart-Haas cars controlled the first four spots.

    It was Stewart-Haas Racing against the rest of the field. There was plenty of hard racing after the four-car breakaway but the field was not able to catch them.

    On Lap 186, Alex Bowman, William Byron and JJ Yeley were involved in a crash at the back of the pack. This gave the field some life to contend for the win.

    Overtime came into effect at the end and fuel became a problem for some drivers. Harvick and Blaney were forced to pit right before they went green which counted them out of contention for the win.

    It was Kurt Busch with Aric Almirola side by side for the final restart with wrecks going on behind them. They stayed green going into the final turn when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had a great run and pushed that energy to Almirola. When Busch ran out of fuel on the final lap, Almirola was clear and secured the victory.

    Busch, who finished 14th, was disappointed but praised the competitiveness of the Stewart-Haas Racing team.

    “It was a very different Talladega for me. I really enjoyed leading the race, working with my teammates,” Busch said. “I’m really happy a Stewart-Haas car won, but the four of us, I’ve never seen so much synergy. We knew we were gonna have to race when we got to Kansas. It would have been nice to have the win. We’re here to win. That’s what Monster Energy wants. Thanks to them. That’s what Team Haas wants. Thanks to Gene, Tony Stewart, everybody. But there were two human element calls there at the end. I don’t know why we ran an extra lap under yellow and why there wasn’t the yellow for a dispatch of an ambulance.”

    Clint Bowyer, who finished second, said “I was happy for Aric. He had that race won last week (at Dover), and it was me that brought out the caution. I feel like he got a little redemption there.

    “Was happy that we finished second.  I think it was second, second and second (in all three stages). As far as our day went, we needed to be a little bit better.”

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano rounded out the top five.

    With one race to go in the Round of 12, these are the four drivers in elimination positions going into Kansas next week: Brad Keselowski (-18), Ryan Blaney (-22), Kyle Larson (-26) and Alex Bowman (-68).

    Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race
    Unofficial Race Results for the 50Th Annual 1000Bulbs.Com 500 – Sunday, October 14, 2018
    Talladega Superspeedway – Talladega, AL – 2.66 Mile Paved
    Total Race Length – 193 Laps – 513.38 Miles

    Pos St Car Driver Team Make
    1 4 10 Aric Almirola (P) Smithfield Bacon for Life Ford
    2 2 14 Clint Bowyer (P) Cummins/Rush Truck Centers Ford
    3 12 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. SunnyD Ford
    4 10 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota
    5 20 22 Joey Logano (P) Shell Pennzoil Ford
    6 23 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger ClickList Chevrolet
    7 6 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet
    8 15 20 Erik Jones Craftsman Toyota
    9 30 21 Paul Menard Menards/Dutch Boy Ford
    10 25 95 Regan Smith Procore Chevrolet
    11 34 42 Kyle Larson (P) Credit One Bank Chevrolet
    12 28 62 * Brendan Gaughan(i) FALSE
    13 24 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Rehydrate Ford
    14 1 41 Kurt Busch (P) Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford
    15 29 13 Ty Dillon GEICO Chevrolet
    16 13 19 Daniel Suarez Stanley Toyota
    17 21 3 Austin Dillon American Ethanol e15 Chevrolet
    18 37 00 Joey Gase(i) PFK Foundation Chevrolet
    19 17 43 Darrell Wallace Jr. # Medallion Bank/Petty’s Garage Chevrolet
    20 8 24 William Byron # Hertz Chevrolet
    21 26 37 Chris Buescher Bush’s Chili Beans Chevrolet
    22 38 99 * Landon Cassill(i) StarCom Fiber Chevrolet
    23 11 78 Martin Truex Jr. (P) Bass Pro Shops/5-hour ENERGY Toyota
    24 36 15 Ross Chastain(i) Xchange of America/Solomon Plumbing Chevrolet
    25 22 31 Ryan Newman Liberty National Chevrolet
    26 9 18 Kyle Busch (P) M&M’s Toyota
    27 18 2 Brad Keselowski (P) Miller Lite Ford
    28 3 4 Kevin Harvick (P) Jimmy John’s Ford
    29 19 12 Ryan Blaney (P) REV Ford
    30 27 32 Matt DiBenedetto Dude Wipes Ford
    31 5 9 Chase Elliott (P) NAPA Nightvision Lamps Chevrolet
    32 40 72 Corey LaJoie Winn Dixie Chevrolet
    33 7 88 Alex Bowman (P) Nationwide Chevrolet
    34 33 7 * DJ Kennington(i) Wilride Transport Ltd Chevrolet
    35 31 1 Jamie McMurray Winter Park Construction/Arctic Cat Chevrolet
    36 32 23 JJ Yeley(i) Steakhouse Elite Ford
    37 35 96 * Jeffrey Earnhardt Xtreme Concepts/iK9 Toyota
    38 39 51 Cody Ware Jacob Companies Chevrolet
    39 16 38 David Ragan 1000Bulbs.com Ford
    40 14 34 Michael McDowell Speedco/Rotella Ford

     

    Follow on Twitter for updates: @BryanR_305

  • Kurt Busch’s Busch Pole Award leads SHR sweep of top four ‘Dega starting spots

    Kurt Busch’s Busch Pole Award leads SHR sweep of top four ‘Dega starting spots

    Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service

    TALLADEGA, Ala. – All four Stewart-Haas Racing cars were amply endowed with speed for Saturday’s knockout qualifying session at Talladega Superspeedway.

    Kurt Busch was just glad he got the pick of the litter.

    “Four Stewart-Haas Fords — I’m really happy that I got the fast one,” Busch quipped after winning the pole for Sunday’s 1000Bulbs.com 500 (2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and leading an SHR sweep of the top four starting spots for the second race in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs’ Round of 12.

    The Busch Pole Award was Busch’s fifth of the season and the 27th of his career. What’s more, his final-round lap at 195.804 mph (48.906 seconds) ended a quest dating to his first race in the Cup series in 2000.

    “We’re on the pole!” Busch said. “This is my first restrictor-plate pole ever. Ever! It took me almost 20 years. I got one!”

    Busch beat teammate Clint Bowyer (195.301 mph) for the top starting spot by .126 seconds, a huge margin relative to the rest of the top 12. Kevin Harvick (195.186 mph) qualified third, followed by Aric Almirola (194.571 mph).

    “With Stewart-Haas cars 1-2-3-4 at this race in the playoffs, it really sets the tone,” Busch said. “Now we’ve got to execute on Sunday.”

    The time trials, however, were a tale of two organizations, not just one. Behind the four SHR entries were all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers, with last week’s Dover winner, Chase Elliott, leading the way into the fifth starting position. Jimmie Johnson, Alex Bowman and William Byron were close behind.

    “With all four guys in the top 12, it’s a strong showing for us,” said Byron, whose lap time of 49.420 seconds (193.768 mph) was identical to Bowman’s. “That should be good for Sunday. Qualifying doesn’t reflect totally on how things will shake out Sunday and how you are going to race. But it should be fine.

    “With the four of us together at the start, we have an opportunity to stay in front of some of the possible situations, but you don’t control much out there, and everything gets so shuffled during the race, it’s hard to know. But I feel good about where we are right now. We’ll see what happens.”

    All four SHR drivers are competing for the series championship. Elliott and Bowman are still title contenders for Hendrick.

    Playoff driver Kyle Busch qualified ninth in the fastest Toyota, with reigning series champion Martin Truex Jr. claiming the 11th starting position.

    “You always want to make the second round, and you hope you can do a little better,” said Truex, who has never won a restrictor-plate race. “We thought we picked up some speed, and we gained one spot, beat the 17 (12th place qualifier Ricky Stenhouse Jr.).

    “Better than none, and we’ll go get them tomorrow.”

    The remaining four playoff drivers qualified as follows: Brad Keselowski 18th, Ryan Blaney 19th, Joey Logano 20th and Kyle Larson 34th.

    With the playoff field set to be cut from 12 drivers to eight on Oct. 21 at Kansas Speedway, Bowyer and Almirola currently are tied for ninth in the standings, 10 points below the cut line.

    RELATED: Unofficial qualifying results | Lineup, team rosters