Category: RC NASCAR Cup

Race Central NASCAR Cup Series news and information

Weekend schedule for Texas

NASCAR heads to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. The Camping World Truck Series and the Xfinity Series will hit the track Saturday as the NASCAR Cup Series closes out the weekend with the All-Star Race Sunday night.

Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson won the pole for the All-Star Race via random draw Tuesday afternoon.

The starting lineup for the All-Star Open was determined by driver points. Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick will start on the pole.

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

The starting lineups will be determined by the following metrics formula:

• 25 percent: Driver’s finishing position from the previous race
• 25 percent: Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race
• 35 percent: Team owner points ranking
• 15 percent: Fastest lap from the previous race

All times are Eastern.

Saturday, June 12

1 p.m.: Truck Series SpeedyCash.com 220 (Stages 35/70/147 laps = 220.5 miles)
FS1/MRN/Sirius XM NASCAR Radio
Defending race winner: Kyle Busch
Pole: John Hunter Nemechek

4 p.m.: Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 250 (Stages 40/80/167 laps = 250.5 miles)
FS1/PRN/TSN2/Sirius XM NASCAR Radio
Defending race winner: Austin Cindric
Pole: AJ Allmendinger

Sunday, June 13

6 p.m.: Cup Series All-Star Open
Pole determined by driver points: Tyler Reddick
FS1/MRN/TSN3/Sirius XM NASCAR Radio

8 p.m.: Cup Series All-Star Race (Rounds 1-4: 15 laps) (Round 5: 30 laps) (Round 6: 10 laps)
Defending race winner: Chase Elliott
Pole was chosen via a random draw: Kyle Larson
FS1/MRN/TSN3/Sirius XM NASCAR Radio

Click here for more info on the All-Star Race at Texas – format, eligibility and more.

Did you know?

2020 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Chase Elliott won last year’s All-Star Race.

The NASCAR All-Star Race has previously been held at three tracks: Charlotte Motor Speedway (1985, 1987-2019) Atlanta Motor Speedway (1986) and Bristol Motor Speedway (2020).

This year’s race includes seven former winners: Ryan Newman (2002), Kevin Harvick (2007, 2018), Kurt Busch (2010), Denny Hamlin (2015), Joey Logano (2016), Kyle Busch (2017), Kyle Larson (2019), and Chase Elliott (2020).

Darrell Waltrip won the inaugural race in 1985. Bill Elliott, Chase Elliott’s father, won the event in 1986 in his home state of Georgia.

Dale Earnhardt won in 1987 aided by the legendary “Pass in the Grass.”

Michael Waltrip, now a Fox Sports NASCAR commentator, won the 1996 race by becoming the first to do so through winning the Open.

Kasey Kahne (2008) is the only All-Star Race winner who earned his way into the race from the All-Star Open Fan Vote.

Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson, now running a partial schedule in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, earned the most All-Star Race victories with four (2003, 2006, 2012-13).

Lineup for All-Star Open

Start pos.	Driver	Car #	Team
1	Tyler Reddick	8	Richard Childress Racing
2	Chris Buescher	17	Roush Fenway Racing
3	Matt DiBenedetto	21	Wood Brothers Racing
4	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	47	JTG Daugherty Racing
5	Ross Chastain	42	Chip Ganassi Racing
6	Bubba Wallace	23	23XI Racing
7	Daniel Suarez	99	Trackhouse Racing Team
8	Erik Jones	43	Richard Petty Motorsports
9	Chase Briscoe	14	Stewart-Haas Racing
10	Aric Almirola	10	Stewart-Haas Racing
11	Corey LaJoie	7	Spire Motorsports
12	Anthony Alfredo	38	Front Row Motorsports
13	Quin Houff	00	StarCom Racing
14	James Davison	15	Rick Ware Racing
15	Josh Bilicki	52	Rick Ware Racing
16	Austin Cindric	33	Team Penske
17	Cody Ware	51	Rick Ware Racing
18	BJ McLeod	78	Live Fast Motorsports
19	Justin Haley	77	Spire Motorsports
20	Garrett Smithley	53	Rick Ware Racing
21	Timmy Hill	66	MBM Motorsports
22	David Starr	13	MBM Motorsports

Lineup for All-Star Race

Start pos.	Driver	Car #	Team

1	Kyle Larson	5	Hendrick Motorsports
2	Kyle Busch	18	Joe Gibbs Racing
3	Christopher Bell	20	Joe Gibbs Racing
4	Cole Custer	41	Stewart-Haas Racing
5	Austin Dillon	3	Richard Childress Racing
6	Chase Elliott	9	Hendrick Motorsports
7	Joey Logano	22	Team Penske
8	William Byron	24	Hendrick Motorsports
9	Brad Keselowski	2	Team Penske
10	Martin Truex Jr.	19	Joe Gibbs Racing
11	Michael McDowell	34	Front Row Motorsports
12	Kevin Harvick	4	Stewart-Haas Racing
13	Kurt Busch	1	Chip Ganassi Racing
14	Ryan Newman	6	Roush Fenway Racing
15	Alex Bowman	48	Hendrick Motorsports
16	Denny Hamlin	11	Joe Gibbs Racing
17	Ryan Blaney	12	Team Penske
18	Winner Open Round 1
19	Winner Open Round 2
20	Winner Open Round Final Round
21	Fan Vote

June 10, 2021

All-Star Race at Texas – format, eligibility, lineup and more

This weekend, NASCAR heads to Texas Motor Speedway. The All-Star Race will take center stage Sunday evening as the top drivers compete for the opportunity to take home the $1,000,000 prize.

It will be the 37th running of the All-Star Race and the first time that Texas has hosted the event.

Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson won the pole for the All-Star Race via random draw Tuesday afternoon. The starting lineup for the All-Star Open was determined by driver points and Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick will start on the pole.

You can also still vote your favorite driver into the All-Star Race, one vote each day per email address. Vote here for one eligible driver. When you vote you will have the option to share your vote on Twitter and Facebook to get bonus votes, for a total of four votes per day.

The top 10 vote-getters as of June 8, in alphabetical order:

Aric Almirola, Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain, Matt DiBenedetto, Timmy Hill, Erik Jones, Corey LaJoie, Tyler Reddick, Daniel Suarez and Bubba Wallace.

All-Star Open Format:

The NASCAR All-Star Open will be comprised of 50 laps for a total of 75 miles. There will be three rounds. Round 1 and 2 will be 20 laps each with a final round of 10 laps.
The winner of each round will advance to the All-Star Race. One more driver will advance to the main event as determined by the fan vote. The driver will be the one who has received the most votes among those who would otherwise be ineligible.

When & Where to Watch/Listen:

Sunday, June 13
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Broadcast: FS1/MRN/TSN3/Sirius XM NASCAR Radio

All-Star Race Format:

The NASCAR All-Star Race will be comprised of 100 laps for a total of 150 miles. There will be six rounds. The starting lineup for Round 1 was determined by a random draw.

Rounds 1 – 4 will be 15 laps each, Rounds 5 will be 30 laps and Round 6 will be 10 laps.
Round 2 Invert: At the beginning of Round 2 the field will be inverted via a random draw (minimum of eight will be inverted/maximum of 12 will be inverted) and will be shown live on FS1.

Round 3 Invert: At the beginning of Round 3, the entire field will be inverted.

Round 4 Invert: At the beginning of Round 4, the field will be inverted via a random draw (minimum of eight will be inverted/maximum of 12 will be inverted).

Round 5 Invert: The entire field will be inverted based on each driver’s cumulative finish from Rounds 1-4. The lowest cumulative finisher will start on the pole and continue through the field with the highest cumulative finisher starting last.

Round 5 Pit Stop: All cars will be required to pit for a mandatory four-tire stop during Round 5.

Round 6: For the final 10-lap shootout for the win, the lineup will be set by the finishing order of Round 5.

When & Where to Watch/Listen:

Sunday, June 13
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Broadcast: FS1/MRN/TSN3/Sirius XM NASCAR Radio

Notes:

Only green flag laps will count.

The fastest team on the mandatory pit stop during Round 5 of the All-Star Race will receive a $100,000 bonus.

Eligibility and Requirements:

There are 17 drivers eligible for the All-Star Race. (2020-21 Cup Series race winners and full-time drivers who are past All-Star winners or past Cup Series champions)

Lineup for All-Star Open Race

Start pos.	Driver	Car #	Team
1	Tyler Reddick	8	Richard Childress Racing
2	Chris Buescher	17	Roush Fenway Racing
3	Matt DiBenedetto	21	Wood Brothers Racing
4	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	47	JTG Daugherty Racing
5	Ross Chastain	42	Chip Ganassi Racing
6	Bubba Wallace	23	23XI Racing
7	Daniel Suarez	99	Trackhouse Racing Team
8	Erik Jones	43	Richard Petty Motorsports
9	Chase Briscoe	14	Stewart-Haas Racing
10	Aric Almirola	10	Stewart-Haas Racing
11	Corey LaJoie	7	Spire Motorsports
12	Anthony Alfredo	38	Front Row Motorsports
13	Quin Houff	00	StarCom Racing
14	James Davison	15	Rick Ware Racing
15	Josh Bilicki	52	Rick Ware Racing
16	Austin Cindric	33	Team Penske
17	Cody Ware	51	Rick Ware Racing
18	BJ McLeod	78	Live Fast Motorsports
19	Justin Haley	77	Spire Motorsports
20	Garrett Smithley	53	Rick Ware Racing
21	Timmy Hill	66	MBM Motorsports
22	David Starr	13	MBM Motorsports

Lineup for All-Star Race

Start pos.	Driver	Car #	Team

1	Kyle Larson	5	Hendrick Motorsports
2	Kyle Busch	18	Joe Gibbs Racing
3	Christopher Bell	20	Joe Gibbs Racing
4	Cole Custer	41	Stewart-Haas Racing
5	Austin Dillon	3	Richard Childress Racing
6	Chase Elliott	9	Hendrick Motorsports
7	Joey Logano	22	Team Penske
8	William Byron	24	Hendrick Motorsports
9	Brad Keselowski	2	Team Penske
10	Martin Truex Jr.	19	Joe Gibbs Racing
11	Michael McDowell	34	Front Row Motorsports
12	Kevin Harvick	4	Stewart-Haas Racing
13	Kurt Busch	1	Chip Ganassi Racing
14	Ryan Newman	6	Roush Fenway Racing
15	Alex Bowman	48	Hendrick Motorsports
16	Denny Hamlin	11	Joe Gibbs Racing
17	Ryan Blaney	12	Team Penske
18	Winner Open Round 1
19	Winner Open Round 2
20	Winner Open Round Final Round
21	Fan Vote

June 9, 2021

Larson scores a dominant win at Sonoma

On a bright, sunny Sunday afternoon in Sonoma, California, the hometown hero shined brightly at Sonoma Raceway after Kyle Larson held off teammate Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr. and the field through several late race restarts to win the Toyota/Save Mart 350 for his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and first on a road course.

The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Cup event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. With that, Kyle Larson, winner of last weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with teammate Chase Elliott.

Prior to the event, rookie Anthony Alfredo started at the rear of the field due to a pre-race inspection violation, a move that resulted with his crew chief Seth Barbour being ejected for the event and Derrick Finley serving as Alfredo’s interim crew chief. Scott Heckert also started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Larson took off with the lead through the first two turns and entering Turn 3A ahead of teammates Elliott and William Byron while the field scattered behind while competing for positions.

Through the 12-turn circuit, Larson led the first lap followed by teammates Elliott and Byron while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were in the top five. By then, Larson was out front by more than a second.

The following lap, Larson extended his advantage to more than two seconds while Byron, Hamlin and Kyle Busch remained in the top 10.

By the third lap, Christopher Bell coasted to pit road after reporting fuel pump issues to his No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry, an issue that cost him a lap from the leaders despite having the ECU in his car restored.

Through the first five laps of the event, Larson’s No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was leading by more than four seconds over Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, with Byron’s No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE trailing in third place by nearly five seconds. Teammates Hamlin and Kyle Busch continued to run in the top five followed by Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick and Tyler Reddick. Meanwhile, Martin Truex Jr., who started 19th, was in 11th followed by Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney and Bubba Wallace.

Two laps later, Hamlin overtook Byron for third place while Bowman overtook Austin Dillon for sixth place. By then, Larson continued to lead by more than four seconds while Truex was scored in the top 10.

Near the Lap 10 competition caution, names like Kyle Busch, Bowman, Ross Chastain, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael McDowell, Erik Jones, Ryan Newman, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace and rookie Chase Briscoe pitted for tires under green.

Just as the field was approaching the start/finish line for the 10th lap, Larson pitted approaching Turn 11 along with teammate Elliott, Truex, Joey Logano, Kurt Busch and others. Following the sequence of events, Hamlin assumed the lead followed by Brad Keselowski as the competition caution flew on Lap 10.

Under caution, Hamlin pitted along with Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, Cole Custer, Logano and others, giving the front row back to Hendrick Motorsports’ Larson and Elliott.

When the race restarted on Lap 13, Larson retained the lead over teammate Elliott through the first three turns and entering the fourth turn while behind, Kyle Busch challenged Byron for third place through Turns 5 and 6, as Truex was running in the top five.

By Lap 15, Larson was leading by more than a second over teammate Elliott while Kyle Busch was in third place, trailing by less than four seconds. Byron remained in fourth place, though he had Truex challenging him for the spot.

Not long after, however, Byron dropped from fourth to eighth after being overtaken by Truex, Bowman, Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick, starting from Turn 4 through Turn 8. Behind, Hamlin received nose damage to the front of his No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry while running in the mid-pack.

In the closing laps of the first stage, names like Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Newman pitted under green. During the stops, Wallace was penalized due to speeding on pit road. Soon after, Michael McDowell pitted along with Byron, Buescher and Daniel Suarez.

Back on the course, Larson continued to lead by more than three seconds over teammate Elliott. With a comfortable advantage and gap over his teammate, Larson was able to navigate his way through the 12-turn road course one final time to win the first stage on Lap 20, thus claiming his 10th stage victory of this season. Elliott followed behind in second place followed by Kyle Busch, teammate Truex, Bowman, Austin Dillon, Reddick, Kurt Busch, Matt DiBenedetto and Erik Jones.

Under the stage break, a majority of names like Larson, Elliott, Kyle Busch, Truex, Bowman and others pitted while the rest led by new leader Kurt Busch remained on the track. In total, 14 competitors remained on the track with Larson back in 15th.

The second stage started on Lap 24 with Kurt Busch and Matt DiBenedetto on the front row. At the start, Busch cleared DiBenedetto and retained the lead through the first two turns, with Keselowski, Blaney and Hamlin in the top five. Meanwhile, Christopher Bell rallied from his early issues to run in sixth place ahead of Cole Custer and Byron.

When the field returned to the start/finish line to complete Lap 25, Kurt Busch continued to lead followed by DiBenedetto, Keselowski, Blaney and Hamlin while Bell, Byron, Custer, Buescher and Chastain were in the top 10. Elliott, meanwhile, was in 11th followed by Larson while Truex was in 14th and Kyle Busch was in 16th.

As the laps progressed, teammates Elliott and Larson continued to battle intensely over one another as they were stuck behind Bell, with the latter prevailing over both through Turn 6A. Meanwhile, Reddick made an unscheduled pit stop following contact with Bowman.

On Lap 28, Byron emerged as the new leader after he overtook Kurt Busch in Turn 11. With Busch back in second, DiBenedetto was in fourth in between Team Penske’s Keselowski and Blaney.

By Lap 30, Byron was out in front by more than three seconds over teammate Kyle Larson, who managed to carve his way near the front, while Kurt Busch was back in third. Behind, Keselowski was in fourth followed by Truex, Elliott, Kyle Busch, Blaney, Hamlin and Chris Buescher while DiBenedetto was back in 11th

A lap later, the caution flew when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made hard right-side contact against the wall entering Turn 1 and went off course in the dirt as a result of a flat right-front tire.

Under caution, some of the competitors in the field led by Byron pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track.

With six laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green as Larson and Truex started on the front row. At the start, Larson retained the lead through the first two turns over Truex and the field fanning out to two lanes.

In the closing laps of the second stage, Larson continued to lead followed by Truex, Logano, Bowman and Chastain. Meanwhile, Corey LaJoie and Erik Jones, both of whom made on-track contact that resulted with Jones nearly going off the course, were in sixth and 23rd.

Soon after, Chase Briscoe, Wallace, Suarez, Jones and Reddick pitted. In addition, Truex pitted along with Chastain. During the pit stops, Wallace made a full cycle around the track with a left tire before returning to pit road for a second stop, though he lost a lap to the leaders.

Back on the course, Larson continued to lead with a healthy margin over Joey Logano. Continuing to flex his muscles, Larson was able to come back around and claim the second stage on Lap 40, thus claim his 11th stage victory of the season. Logano trailed behind by more than six seconds followed by Bowman, Kurt Busch and Elliott. Teammate Byron, Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Hamlin and Bell were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, some like Larson, Logano, Bowman, Preece, Aric Almirola pitted while the rest led by Kurt Busch, Elliott, Byron, Kyle Busch and Keselowski remained on the track.

With 46 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Kurt Busch took off with the lead through the first two turns followed by Elliott, Byron, Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Bell and a steaming pack of cars.

At the halfway mark on Lap 45, Elliott moved into the lead for the first time after overtaking Kurt Busch through Turns 11 and 12. Truex, who restarted 15th, was in 13th in between Buescher and Chastain while Larson, who restarted 21st, was in 16th in between Alfredo and Suarez.

With 40 laps remaining, Elliott continued to lead by nearly four seconds over Kyle Busch, who moved his No. 18 Sport Clips Toyota Camry in front of brother Kurt’s No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. Truex and Larson worked their way up to fourth and fifth while Keselowski, Byron, Chastain, Bell and Blaney were in the top 10.

During the next few laps, Truex and Larson navigated their way around Kurt Busch to move into third and fourth. Afterwards, Larson overtook Truex’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry for third place as he had Kyle Busch next on his sights. Meanwhile, Elliott continued to lead by more than four seconds.

Nearing the final 35 laps of the event, the Busch brothers along with Blaney, Byron and others pitted under green. By then, Elliott was leading by three seconds over teammate Larson.

Back on the track, the battle for the lead intensified between teammates Elliott and Larson, with the former fending off the latter through every turns and corner while Truex trailed by two seconds.

With 33 laps remaining, Larson prevailed over his intense battle with Elliott after overtaking him in Turn 7 to reassume the lead, with Truex narrowing the gap to more than a second. Meanwhile, Jones was in fourth followed by Logano, Bowman, Reddick, Briscoe, Hamlin and Almirola.

A few laps later, Truex overtook Elliott for the runner-up spot. By then, names like Hamlin, Chastain pitted under green.

With 29 laps remaining, Elliott surrendered his track position to pit under green along with Erik Jones while Larson continued to run on the circuit with a two-second advantage over Truex. Not long after, Truex pitted. By then, Bowman, who went off the course through Turns 5 and 6, also pitted along with Aric Almirola and Briscoe.

Soon after, Larson pitted and surrendered the lead to Logano. By the time Larson exited pit road, Truex was able to cycle in front of Larson on fresh tires.

Not long after, Larson was able to navigate his way around Truex through Turn 7 and move within striking distance of reassuming the lead with the finish in sight. By then, Logano pitted under green.

With 21 laps remaining, Larson returned to the lead after he overtook Kyle Busch. Truex, meanwhile, was still in third while Elliott was battling Keselowski for fifth. Soon after, Truex moved into the runner-up spot over Kyle Busch as he was trailing Larson by more than two seconds.

Then, the caution flew due to Quin Houff coming to a stop in Turn 6. By then, Keselowski pitted, though he was later penalized due to equipment coming over his pit stall too soon.

Under caution, a majority of the leaders returned to pit road and Larson exited pit road in front of Truex, Elliott and others. Back on course, Logano remained on course along with Reddick, LaJoie and Alfredo, where they were followed by Larson, Truex and Elliott.

With 16 laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, Logano maintained the lead through the first two turns and heading into Turn 3A while Larson quickly moved up to fourth place followed by teammate Elliott.

Through Turn 7 and the Esses, Larson moved up into third place followed by Elliott while Truex was stuck in seventh.

By the time the field returned to the start/finish line under the final 15 laps, Larson was up into second place behind Logano while Elliott and Truex were in fourth and sixth. Then, approaching Turn 8, Larson, racing on fresh tires, reassumed the lead over Logano.

Then, the caution returned when Chastain and LaJoie made contact in Turn 11, sending both cars spinning and in front of incoming traffic. In the ensuing chaos, Kevin Harvick, Byron, Bell, Bowman and Erik Jones sustained damage.

Under caution, nearly the entire field remained on the track while Harvick pitted to have the damage on his car addressed.

With 11 laps remaining, the race restarted with Larson and Logano comprising the front row. At the start, Larson and Logano battled dead even through the first two turns before Larson cleared Logano’s No. 22 AutoTrader Ford Mustang entering Turn 3A.

Through the Esses and Turns 10, 11 and 12 with 10 laps remaining, Larson continued to lead while teammate Elliott overtook Logano for the runner-up spot. Truex moved up into fourth place followed by Kyle Busch and Chastain.

With eight laps remaining, Larson was leading by nearly three seconds over teammate Elliott with Truex, Logano and Kyle Busch running in the top five.

Three laps later, the caution flew when Ryan Preece spun in the Esses. While Preece was trying to recover, he was hit and turned by an oncoming Cody Ware in a heavy dust cloud, with Ware coming to a rest near the tire barriers as both competitors sustained damage to their respective machines.

Under caution, nearly the entire field led by Larson, Elliott and Truex remained on the track while few like Keselowski and Reddick pitted.

With three laps remaining, the race restarted with teammates Larson and Elliott comprising the front row. At the start, Larson managed to clear teammate Elliott to remain as the leader through the first two turns and heading into the third turn. Elliott retained the runner-up spot followed by Truex and the field.

The caution, however, returned quickly when Alfredo, who was primed for a top-10 result, and Bell spun following contact with Bowman in Turn 4. The incident was enough to send the race into overtime.

In overtime, Larson and Elliott engaged in a side-by-side battle for the lead through the first turn before the former emerged on top in Turn 2. Through the first four turns and the following three turns, Larson continued to lead despite being pressured by Elliott as Truex settled himself in third place.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson was leading by nearly six-tenths of a second over teammate Elliott with Truex trailing by one-and-a-half seconds.

Elliott gained ground briefly on Larson entering Turn 8 before Larson was able to retain his steady advantage through the Esses and Turn 10. After calmly navigating his way through Turns 11 and 12, Larson was able to come back around and take the checkered flag to win by six-tenths of a second over Elliott.

In addition to claiming his second consecutive victory of this season and first on a road course, Larson recorded his ninth NASCAR Cup Series career victory, third of the season and the 270th win for Hendrick Motorsports. He also became the 20th different competitor to win a Cup race at Sonoma Raceway and the first competitor to sweep the day at Sonoma after he claimed the first two stages en route to his dominating victory.

“It was not easy,” Larson said on FS1. “Any road course isn’t easy. Just trying to keep it on track is tough, especially when you got two of the best behind you on that last restart. I felt like I did a good job the one [restart] before and stretch it out a little bit and then, [I] didn’t want to give it another try at it, but [Elliott] kept the pressure on. Martin was strong, too, but what a car. This is unbelievable. I thought I would be okay today, but I just didn’t know how I would race. Our car was really good there and I can’t say enough about it. Northern California, this will always be home to me, even if I live out on the East Coast now…Look forward to just keeping this streak going.”

Elliott, who led 13 laps, claimed the runner-up spot for a second consecutive week, fourth overall this season, while Truex, winner of the previous two Sonoma races, rallied from a three-race stretch of finishing outside the top 15 to finish in third place.

“I wish I knew [where Larson was better],” Elliott said. “I would’ve tried to give him a little better run, but congrats to Kyle, [crew chief] and Cliff [Daniels], everybody on the No. 5 team. They’ve been doing an amazing job. Really proud of our NAPA group, though. I felt like we were a lot better there at the end than we were at the beginning, and definitely, the best I’ve ever been here, I feel like, at Sonoma, in particular. Pleased with that. I wished we could’ve gotten another spot, but we’ll try again.”

“[We were beaten] Just a little bit everywhere, I felt like,” Truex added. “Right handers, I couldn’t quite lean on the left rear like I needed to and didn’t quite have the drive off. More so than that, I didn’t have the short-run speed. I think the really long runs was our only chance there. All those cautions at the end, they killed any chance we had. Proud of the guys on the Bass Pro Toyota. Just not quite good enough. The Hendrick cars are really strong right now, they’re really fast, making a lot of grip, making our job tough, but like I said, we needed long runs at the end, not all those cautions.”

Logano finished fourth while Kyle Busch, a two-time winner at Sonoma, completed the top five on the track.

Kurt Busch, a former winner at Sonoma, claimed his first top-10 result since Homestead-Miami Speedway in February by finishing sixth while teammate Chastain, Hamlin, Bowman and Blaney finished in the top 10.

Erik Jones, Daniel Suarez, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace and Brad Keselowski finished in the top 15 while Chase Briscoe was the highest-finishing rookie competitor in 17th. Harvick came home in 21st, Bell fell back to 24th and Ben Rhodes finished 30th in his Cup debut. Michael McDowell and Ryan Newman finished 28th and 33rd after both were turned and spun in Turn 11 on the final lap.

There were 13 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 18 laps. In total, 33 of the 37 starters finished on the lead lap.

Hamlin continues to lead the regular-season standings by 47 points over Larson with Elliott trailing by 73 points.

Results.

1. Kyle Larson, 57 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

2. Chase Elliott, 13 laps led

3. Martin Truex Jr.

4. Joey Logano, five laps led

5. Kyle Busch, two laps led

6. Kurt Busch, eight laps led

7. Ross Chastain

8. Denny Hamlin, two laps led

9. Alex Bowman

10. Ryan Blaney

11. Erik Jones

12. Daniel Suarez

13. Austin Dillon

14. Bubba Wallace

15. Brad Keselowski

16. Chris Buescher

17. Chase Briscoe

18. Corey LaJoie

19. Tyler Reddick

20. Cole Custer

21. Ryan Preece

22. Kevin Harvick

23. Matt DiBenedetto

24. Christopher Bell

25. James Davison

26. Scott Heckert

27. Aric Almirola

28. Michael McDowell

29. Josh Bilicki

30. Ben Rhodes

31. Anthony Alfredo

32. Garrett Smithley

33. Ryan Newman

34. Cody Ware – OUT, Accident

35. William Byron – OUT, Accident, five laps led

36. Quin Houff – OUT, Rear gear

37. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Engine

Next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ annual All-Star Open and Race events at Texas Motor Speedway, both scheduled to occur on Sunday, June 13. The NASCAR All-Star Open will air at 6 p.m. ET on FS1 while the All-Star Race will commence at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

June 6, 2021
Weekend schedule for Sonoma and Mid-Ohio
The NASCAR Cup Series travels to Sonoma Raceway this weekend for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 while the NASCAR Xfinity Series will compete at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Saturday afternoon.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All times are Eastern.

Saturday, June 5

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

Sunday, June 6

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

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

Sonoma Raceway NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying & Race Information:
- Track qualifying record (2.52-miles): Kyle Larson, Chevrolet (95.901 mph, 94.598 secs. on 06-22-19)
- Track qualifying record (1.99-miles): Kyle Larson, Chevrolet (96.568 mph, 74.186 secs. on 06-27-15)
- Track race record (2.52-miles): Martin Truex Jr., Toyota (83.922 mph, (02:42:09) on 06-23-19)
- Track race record (1.99-miles): Clint Bowyer, Toyota (83.624 mph, (02:39:55) on06-24-12)
- 2019 pole winner (last race): Kyle Larson, Chevrolet (95.712 mph, 94.784 secs. on 06-22-19)
- 2019 race winner (last race): Martin Truex Jr., Toyota (83.922 mph, (02:42:09) on 06-23-19)
Sonoma Raceway Qualifying Information:
- Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch lead all active drivers in the series in starts at Sonoma with 19 each.
- Kyle Larson leads the series in average starting position at Sonoma with a 2.5 in seven starts.
- 18 different NCS drivers have won at least one pole at Sonoma and three are entered this weekend. Kyle Larson (3), Joey Logano (1), and Kurt Busch (1).
- Larson leads all active drivers in poles at Sonoma with three (2017, 2018, 2019).
- The youngest series Sonoma pole winner is Joey Logano (June 26, 2011 – 21 years, 1 month, 2 days).
- Five different manufacturers in the NCS have won a pole at Sonoma. Chevrolet leads with 16 poles, Ford seven, Pontiac three, Toyota three, and Dodge with two.
Sonoma Raceway Race Information:
- 19 different NCS drivers have won at Sonoma and four are entered this weekend. Martin Truex Jr. (3), Kyle Busch (2), Kevin Harvick (1), and Kurt Busch (1).
- NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon leads the series in wins at Sonoma with five victories.
- Martin Truex Jr. leads all active drivers in wins at Sonoma in the NCS with three victories (2013, 2018, 2019).
- Chase Elliott leads all active NCS drivers in road course wins with six victories (Watkins Glen, two; Charlotte ROVAL, two; Daytona RC, COTA).
- The youngest series Sonoma winner is Kyle Busch (June 22, 2008 – 23 years, 1 month, 20 days).
- Five of the 31 (16.13%) NCS races at Sonoma have been won from the pole, making it the most proficient starting position in the field.
- Hendrick Motorsports leads the NCS in wins at Sonoma with six victories (Jeff Gordon with five and Jimmie Johnson with one).
- Six different manufacturers have won in the NCS at Sonoma. Chevrolet leads with 11 victories, Ford eight, Toyota five, Dodge three, Pontiac two, and Buick with one.
- Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch lead all active NCS drivers in top 10s at Sonoma with 10 each.
- Clint Bowyer leads all active NCS drivers in average finish at Sonoma with a 10.077.
- Martin Truex Jr. leads all active NCS drivers at Sonoma with 213 laps led in 15 starts.
Top 12 Sonoma Driver Ratings
1. Kurt Busch – 105.2
2. Martin Truex Jr. – 96.8
3. Kevin Harvick – 94.5
4. Kyle Busch – 93.7
5. Chase Elliott – 89.4
6. Ryan Newman – 85.7
7. Denny Hamlin – 84.9
8. Kyle Larson – 83.0
9. Joey Logano – 82.7
10. Brad Keselowski – 78.9
11. Ryan Blaney – 77.7
12. Daniel Suarez – 74.9
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2020 races (15 total) among active drivers at Sonoma Raceway.
June 4, 2021
Larson achieves historic victory for Hendrick Motorsports in the Coca-Cola 600

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results.

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

2. Chase Elliott, 22 laps led

3. Kyle Busch, one lap led

4. William Byron, 19 laps led

5. Alex Bowman, five laps led

6. Austin Dillon, one lap led

7. Denny Hamlin, three laps led

8. Chris Buescher

9. Tyler Reddick, six laps led

10. Kevin Harvick

11. Brad Keselowski, six laps led

12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

13. Ryan Blaney, two laps led

14. Bubba Wallace

15. Daniel Suarez, two laps down

16. Erik Jones, two laps down

17. Joey Logano, two laps down

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

19. Corey LaJoie, two laps down

20. Michael McDowell, two laps down

21. Cole Custer, three laps down

22. Aric Almirola, three laps down

23. Chase Briscoe, three laps down

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

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

26. Ryan Preece, three laps down

27. Ryan Newman, four łaps down

28. Justin Haley, five laps down

29. Martin Truex Jr., nine laps down

30. Cody Ware, 11 laps down

31. B.J. McLeod, 11 laps down

32. Quin Houff, 11 laps down

33. James Davison, 12 laps down

34. Garrett Smithley, 13 laps down

35. Josh Bilicki, 18 laps down

36. David Starr, 31 laps down

37. Ross Chastain, 41 laps down

38. Kurt Busch – OUT, Engine

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

May 31, 2021
Elliott wins rain-shortened, inaugural Cup event at COTA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results.

1. Chase Elliott, five laps led

2. Kyle Larson, four laps led

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

4. Ross Chastain, four laps led

5. A.J. Allmendinger

6. Chase Briscoe

7. Michael McDowell, three laps led

8. Alex Bowman, three laps led

9. Tyler Reddick

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

11. William Byron

12. Austin Dillon

13. Chris Buescher

14. Denny Hamlin

15. Ryan Preece, two laps led

16. Erik Jones

17. Ryan Blaney

18. Anthony Alfredo

19. Brad Keselowski

20. Corey LaJoie

21. Ty Dillon

22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

23. Matt DiBenedetto

24. Ryan Newman

25. Austin Cindric, four laps led

26. Aric Almirola

27. Kurt Busch

28. Garrett Smithley

29. James Davison

30. Josh Bilicki

31. Kyle Tilley

32. Cody Ware, one lap down

33. Daniel Suarez, eight laps down

34. Quin Houff – OUT, Dvp

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

36. Cole Custer, – OUT, Accident

37. Kevin Harvick – OUT, Accident

38. Christopher Bell – OUT, Accident

39. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Accident

40. Justin Haley – OUT, Steering

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

May 23, 2021
Bowman leads a 1-2-3-4 finish for Hendrick Motorsports at Dover

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results.

1. Alex Bowman, 98 laps led

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

3. Chase Elliott

4. William Byron, 21 laps led

5. Joey Logano

6. Kevin Harvick

7. Denny Hamlin, two laps led

8. Tyler Reddick

9. Daniel Suarez

10. Cole Custer

11. Bubba Wallace

12. Ryan Blaney

13. Kurt Busch

14. Austin Dillon

15. Ross Chastain

16. Brad Keselowski

17. Chris Buescher

18. Ryan Preece, one lap down

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

20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down

21. Christopher Bell, four laps down

22. Erik Jones, four laps down

23. Ryan Newman, four laps down

24. Matt DiBenedetto, five laps down

25. Michael McDowell, five laps down

26. Corey LaJoie, seven laps down

27. Kyle Busch, seven laps down

28. Anthony Alfredo, eight laps down

29. Quin Houff, 12 laps down

30. Josh Berry, 12 laps down

31. Cody Ware, 13 laps down

32. Garrett Smithley, 17 laps down

33. James Davison, 18 laps down

34. Josh Bilicki, 19 laps down

35. Chase Briscoe, 65 laps down

36. B.J. McLeod – OUT, Engine

37. Aric Almirola – OUT, Accident

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

May 16, 2021

Martin Truex Jr. wins the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NASCAR Cup Series Race No. 12 Race Results for the 2nd Annual Goodyear 400

Sunday, May 9, 2021
Darlington Raceway – Darlington, SC – 1.366 – Mile Paved
Total Race Length – 293 Laps – 400.238 Miles

Fin	Str	No	Driver	Team	Laps	S1Pos	S2Pos	S3Pos	Pts	Status
1	4	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota	293	1	1	0	60	Running
2	14	5	Kyle Larson	HendrickCars.com Throwback Chevrolet	293	4	5	0	48	Running
3	3	18	Kyle Busch	M&M’s Toyota	293	0	2	0	43	Running
4	5	24	William Byron	Valvoline Throwback Chevrolet	293	9	3	0	43	Running
5	7	11	Denny Hamlin	Sport Clips Toyota	293	2	4	0	48	Running
6	2	4	Kevin Harvick	Mobil 1 Throwback Ford	293	5	0	0	37	Running
7	6	9	Chase Elliott	Hooters Throwback Chevrolet	293	8	0	0	33	Running
8	16	12	Ryan Blaney	Advance Auto Parts Ford	293	7	9	0	35	Running
9	11	17	Chris Buescher	Fifth Third Bank Ford	293	0	10	0	29	Running
10	20	6	Ryan Newman	Kohler Generators Ford	292	0	0	0	27	Running
11	22	14	Chase Briscoe #	HighPoint.com Throwback Ford	292	0	0	0	26	Running
12	10	8	Tyler Reddick	Quartz Hill Records Chevrolet	292	3	8	0	36	Running
13	12	22	Joey Logano	Shell Pennzoil Ford	292	6	7	0	33	Running
14	21	20	Christopher Bell	Rheem Toyota	292	0	6	0	28	Running
15	18	42	Ross Chastain	McDonald’s Chevrolet	291	0	0	0	22	Running
16	9	3	Austin Dillon	Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet	291	0	0	0	21	Running
17	19	48	Alex Bowman	Ally Throwback Chevrolet	291	10	0	0	21	Running
18	26	43	Erik Jones	STP Chevrolet	291	0	0	0	19	Running
19	8	21	Matt DiBenedetto	Menards/Dutch Boy Ford	290	0	0	0	18	Running
20	28	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Kroger/Tide Chevrolet	290	0	0	0	17	Running
21	23	23	Bubba Wallace	Root Insurance Toyota	290	0	0	0	16	Running
22	30	7	Corey LaJoie	In Memory of Alan Kulwicki Chevrolet	290	0	0	0	15	Running
23	15	99	Daniel Suarez	Camping World Throwback Chevrolet	290	0	0	0	14	Running
24	1	2	Brad Keselowski	Freightliner Ford	290	0	0	0	13	Running
25	29	37	* Ryan Preece	Velveeta Chevrolet	290	0	0	0	12	Running
26	25	38	Anthony Alfredo #	We Care Ford	289	0	0	0	11	Running
27	13	34	Michael McDowell	Fr8 Auctions Ford	288	0	0	0	10	Running
28	31	77	Justin Haley(I)	FOE Mother’s Day Chevrolet	288	0	0	0	0	Running
29	34	53	JJ Yeley(i)	FatBoy Ice Cream Chevrolet	286	0	0	0	0	Running
30	35	0	Quin Houff	Bos Klein/RCA Chevrolet	286	0	0	0	7	Running
31	36	15	James Davison	HOPEGIVERS Throwback Chevrolet	286	0	0	0	6	Running
32	32	78	BJ McLeod(i)	CorvetteParts.net/Keen Parts Ford	285	0	0	0	0	Running
33	37	52	Josh Bilicki	Insurance King Throwback Ford	245	0	0	0	4	Running
34	33	51	Cody Ware(i)	NURTEC ODT Throwback Chevrolet	188	0	0	0	0	Driveshaft
35	17	1	Kurt Busch	Monster Energy Chevrolet	106	0	0	0	2	Accident
36	24	41	Cole Custer	HaasTooling.com Mother’s Day Ford	97	0	0	0	1	Accident
37	27	10	Aric Almirola	Smithfield/Winn-Dixie Ford	5	0	0	0	1	Accident

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

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

Failed to Qualify: None.

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

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

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

May 9, 2021

Kyle Busch celebrates his birthday and his first Cup Series win of the season at Kansas

Perhaps it was fate for a driver named Busch to win the Cup Series Buschy McBusch Race 400 at Kansas Speedway on his birthday. Or maybe it was simply a talented driver having the dominant car toward the end of the race when it matters the most.

Kyle Busch’s win at Kansas capped off a weekend sweep after claiming the Camping World Truck Series victory Saturday night. It was his 58th Cup Series win in 581 starts and his sixth top-10 finish this season.

“Just a great day to be able to put this M&Ms Camry up front,” Busch said after the race. Great to be able to get everyone back in Victory Lane again this early in the season and get those points going our way.”

Even Busch couldn’t help but see the humor of the situation, adding, “I just remembered it’s the Buschy McBusch Race and a Busch won. What do you know?”

But what he was really excited about was getting the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota back to victory lane.

“You talk about ups and downs of racing – there’s been a lot of downs of life for us. I have a great opportunity and a great job, no doubt.” Busch said. “Just a great day to be able to put this M&M’s Mix Camry up front. Want to thank Hy-Vee, our retail partner. They did a huge promotion for us this year with M&M’s and Rowdy Energy. It’s cool to get everybody back to victory lane again this early in the season.”

Busch was the stage one winner and Kyle Larson won stage two, leading a race-high 132 laps. Larson, however, got into the wall on the final restart while trying to push Ryan Blaney to the lead, and finished 19th. Blaney had to settle for a 21st place finish.

“Hate that I screwed that up and cost us a good finish,” Larson said.

Harvick finished second and has yet to win this season but was pleased with how competitive his car was during the race and how the team effectively used pit strategy to put themselves in the best possible position.

“We had the right pit strategy once the cautions came out there. We had the pit road penalty and came in for tires and Rodney made a great call of coming back in to put tires on and that kind of put us on the offense. We were able to be really aggressive on the two restarts we had at the end and were able to make up some ground. Everybody on our Busch Light Ford Mustang did a great job today of just hanging in there. We made a few mistakes, but we made our car better throughout the whole day and were more competitive than we had been in the last couple mile-and-a-half races.”

Brad Keselowski finished third for his fifth top-five this year.

“We weren’t quite as fast as we wanted to be. The Gibbs cars were real fast and Kyle Larson was screaming fast, so a very similar race for us to Vegas, kind of right there on that edge of the top five. We just need a little bit more, but we almost stole one there with pitting and the yellow came out there with 10 to go and it was just kind of the restart chaos and we all run into each other, whether it’s me running into someone or somebody else running into somebody it’s just part of it, but, all in all, not a bad day for the Verizon 5G Ford Mustang.”

Matt DiBenedetto and Chase Elliott rounded out the top-five. Chase Briscoe placed 20th and was the highest-finishing rookie.

The Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway on May 9 for the Goodyear 400 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

NASCAR Cup Series Race Number 11

Race Results for the 2nd Annual Buschy McBusch Race 400
Sunday, May 2, 2021
Kansas Speedway – Kansas City, KS – 1.5 – Mile Paved
Total Race Length – 267 Laps – 400.5 Miles

Fin	Str	No	Driver	Team	Laps	S1Pos	S2Pos	S3Pos	Pts	Status
1	9	18	Kyle Busch	M&M’s Mix Toyota	267	1	2	0	59	Running
2	4	4	Kevin Harvick	Busch Light For The Farmers Ford	267	7	10	0	40	Running
3	1	2	Brad Keselowski	Verizon 5G Ford	267	4	4	0	48	Running
4	5	21	Matt DiBenedetto	Dickies/Menards Ford	267	0	0	0	33	Running
5	17	9	Chase Elliott	UniFirst Chevrolet	267	6	5	0	43	Running
6	15	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota	267	0	7	0	35	Running
7	11	8	Tyler Reddick	Childress Vineyards Chevrolet	267	3	8	0	41	Running
8	16	17	Chris Buescher	autoTempest Ford	267	0	0	0	29	Running
9	2	24	William Byron	Axalta Chevrolet	267	5	0	0	34	Running
10	6	3	Austin Dillon	Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Off Road Chevrolet	267	0	0	0	27	Running
11	21	99	Daniel Suarez	Camping World Chevrolet	267	0	0	0	26	Running
12	20	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Freight Toyota	267	9	3	0	35	Running
13	3	34	Michael McDowell	CarParts.com Ford	267	0	0	0	24	Running
14	24	42	Ross Chastain	Clover Chevrolet	267	0	0	0	23	Running
15	28	1	Kurt Busch	Monster Energy Chevrolet	267	0	0	0	22	Running
16	14	6	Ryan Newman	Hy-Vee Ford	267	0	0	0	21	Running
17	29	22	Joey Logano	AAA Insurance Ford	267	0	0	0	20	Running
18	25	48	Alex Bowman	Ally Chevrolet	267	0	0	0	19	Running
19	32	5	Kyle Larson	HendrickCars.com Chevrolet	267	2	1	0	37	Running
20	19	14	Chase Briscoe #	HighPoint.com Ford	267	0	0	0	17	Running
21	7	12	Ryan Blaney	Menards/Moen Ford	267	8	6	0	24	Running
22	38	33	* Austin Cindric(i)	MoneyLion Ford	267	0	0	0	0	Running
23	22	38	Anthony Alfredo #	Dude Wipes Ford	266	0	0	0	14	Running
24	10	41	Cole Custer	HaasTooling.com Ford	266	0	0	0	13	Running
25	27	43	Erik Jones	Black Entrepreneur Initiative Chevrolet	266	0	0	0	12	Running
26	13	23	Bubba Wallace	Dr. Pepper Zero Sugar Toyota	266	0	0	0	11	Running
27	26	7	Corey LaJoie	Nations Guard Chevrolet	265	0	0	0	10	Running
28	8	20	Christopher Bell	Rheem Toyota	265	10	9	0	12	Running
29	18	10	Aric Almirola	Smithfield/Price Chopper Ford	264	0	0	0	8	Running
30	31	77	Justin Haley(i)	NASCAR TRUCKS AT KNOXVILLE Chevrolet	263	0	0	0	0	Running
31	30	78	BJ McLeod(i)	Celsius Ford	260	0	0	0	0	Running
32	12	37	* Ryan Preece	Nature Valley Chevrolet	259	0	0	0	5	Accident
33	36	53	Garrett Smithley(i)	Smart Sanitizer Chevrolet	259	0	0	0	0	Running
34	23	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Kroger/Energizer Chevrolet	258	0	0	0	3	Accident
35	35	15	Joey Gase(i)	Explore Branson Chevrolet	258	0	0	0	0	Running
36	33	51	Cody Ware(i)	Nurtec ODT Chevrolet	257	0	0	0	0	Running
37	34	0	Quin Houff	8 Ball Chocolate Whiskey Chevrolet	256	0	0	0	1	Running
38	39	55	* Matt Mills(i)	Siebert Electric/J.F. Electric Ford	255	0	0	0	0	Running
39	37	52	Josh Bilicki	RBR Aviation Ford	250	0	0	0	1	Running

Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 5 Mins, 21 Secs.
Average Speed: 129.647 MPH
Margin of Victory: .336 Seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: 18, 5, 8, 2, 24, 9, 4, 12, 11, 20
Stage 2 Top 10: 5, 18, 11, 2, 9, 12, 19, 8, 20, 4

Caution Flags: 7 for 36 laps; Laps: 27-30 (Competition [78]); 82-87 (Stage 1 Conclusion [37]); 162-167 (Stage 2 Conclusion [17]); 231-235 (Debris Frontstretch [99]); 246-249 (#11 Incident Turn 1 [48]); 254-257 (#33, 47 Incident Backstretch [6]); 259-265 (#20, 37, 47 Incident Turn 4 [14]).

Lead Changes: 18 among 6 drivers; B. Keselowski 1-63; K. Larson 64; B. Keselowski 65-73; K. Larson 74-76; K. Busch 77-83; K. Larson 84-121; R. Stenhouse Jr. 122-144; K. Larson 145-162; K. Busch 163; K. Larson 164-167; K. Busch 168; K. Larson 169-212; C. Buescher 213-225; K. Larson 226-230; D. Hamlin 231; K. Larson 232-236; D. Hamlin 237-242; K. Larson 243-256; K. Busch 257-267.

Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Chase Briscoe, #14

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

May 2, 2021

Keselowski prevails in overtime for sixth victory at Talladega

Brad Keselowski rallied from being involved in an accident following the first stage involving his teammate Joey Logano to add his name as a NASCAR Cup Series winner in 2021 after overtaking Matt DiBenedetto on the final lap before holding off Michael McDowell and William Byron to win the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, April 25.

Keselowski’s first victory of the season, which occurred in his 423rd career start, came with a bonus as he became the third competitor in the Cup Series history to win at Talladega six times.

The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Cup event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. Denny Hamlin, the regular-season points leader, was scheduled to start on pole position, but he dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments. With that, Joey Logano and Alex Bowman, winner of last weekend’s Cup event at Richmond Raceway, started on the front row.

Along with Hamlin, teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Christopher Bell along with Bubba Wallace, B.J. McLeod and Harrison Burton, making his Cup Series debut with Gaunt Brothers Racing, dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments. Cody Ware also started at the rear of the field due to his car failing pre-race inspection twice.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Logano moved from the bottom lane to the outside lane and in front of William Byron to retain the lead. Byron, however, drew himself alongside Logano as he led the first lap by a narrow margin as the field fanned out to two lanes in a pack.

While Logano and Byron battled for the lead in front of a bevy of cars in a pack, Kyle Larson pitted after reporting temperature and engine issues to his No. 5 Chevrolet. Despite trying to continue while multiple laps down, the engine issues on Larson’s car was enough to terminate his run early.

By the fifth lap and with the lead group running in a single-file line, Logano was leading followed by teammate Brad Keselowski, Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick and rookie Chase Briscoe. Cole Custer and Chris Buescher were in sixth and seventh followed by Ryan Preece, Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain.

By the 10th lap, Logano remained out in front of a three-wide pack battling for positions at the front.

Two laps later, Wallace moved his No. 23 Door Dash Toyota Camry to the lead followed by Kevin Harvick. Another three laps later, though, Harvick moved to the outside lane and received a push from Brad Keselowski to lead a lap for himself.

Entering Turn 1, Harvick moved in front of Wallace for the lead followed by Keselowski while Wallace remained as the first car leading the inside lane. By then, names like Ross Chastain, Michael McDowell, Tyler Reddick and teammate Austin Dillon were in the top 10 along with Kyle Busch, Logano, Kurt Busch and Christopher Bell.

When the competition caution flew on Lap 25, Kyle Busch, who took over the top spot on Lap 22, was the leader followed by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Logano, Chase Elliott and others.

Under the competition caution, most of the leaders pitted and Hamlin exited in first followed by teammate Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Bell, Byron and Kurt Busch. During the pit stops, Harrison Burton was assessed a pit road penalty for removing the gas can out of his pit stall. Truex was also penalized for speeding on pit road along with Ryan Preece due to a crew member jumping over the wall too soon.

Back on the track, a handful of competitors that include rookie Chase Briscoe, Corey LaJoie, Erik Jones, Aric Almirola, Ryan Newman, rookie Anthony Alfredo, Justin Haley, B.J. McLeod, Timmy Hill and J.J. Yeley remained on the track. They all, though, pitted prior to the restart.

When the race restarted on Lap 30, Hamlin retained the lead over teammate Kyle Busch while the field quickly fanned out to three lanes.

By Lap 35 and with the field still fanned out to three lanes, Hamlin remained in the lead on the outside lane followed by Keselowski while Kyle Busch mounted a challenge in the inside lane with drafting help from Byron. Wallace, meanwhile, was in the middle lane in front of Elliott, but shuffled out of the lead draft after challenging for the top spot earlier.

The caution returned on Lap 39 due to Joey Gase spinning in Turn 4. Under caution, some like Harvick, Wallace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Tyler Reddick, Matt DiBenedetto, Kurt Busch, Aric Almirola and Daniel Suarez pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track.

When the field restarted on Lap 43, the No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry piloted by Hamlin retained the lead followed by Blaney and the pack.

By Lap 50, Blaney was leading followed by teammate Logano, Cole Custer, Matt DiBenedetto and Harvick while Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Byron, Preece and Bubba Wallace were in the top 10. A lap later, though, DiBenedetto stormed to the lead. Another two laps later, Preece moved his No. 37 Chevrolet to the lead.

With the laps in the first stage dwindling, a majority of competitors within the lead pack started to establish their run for the top spot held by DiBenedetto. Entering the backstretch and on the final lap of the first stage, however, contact from Stenhouse turned Hamlin into third-place Logano, which sent Logano’s No. 22 AutoTrader Ford Mustang sideways and airborne after being hit by Stenhouse as Logano flipped over and spun in a circle on his roof before flipping back on all four wheels and coming to rest below the apron near Turn 3. Logano emerged uninjured following his accident, though his race concluded after leading 10 laps. In the midst of Logano’s wild ride, teammate Keselowski, Wallace and Stenhouse sustained damage.

The caution for the wreck concluded the first stage of the race, with DiBenedetto scored as the leader and calming his maiden stage victory in the Cup Series followed by Blaney, Elliott, Hamlin and Byron. Buescher, Bowman, McDowell, Harvick and Bell were running in the top 10.

Under the stage break, a majority of the leaders pitted while some like Ryan Newman, Suarez, Kaz Grala, Quin Houff, Yeley, Justin Haley, McLeod and Timmy Hill remained on the track. They all, though, pitted prior to the restart.

The second stage started on Lap 66 with Chase Elliott and Hamlin on the front row. When the field returned to the tri-oval and the start/finish line, Hamlin was back in the lead.

By Lap 75 and with the field fanning out to three lanes in a tight pack for the lead, Hamlin was scored as the leader followed by DiBenedetto, Byron, Preece and Chastain while Harvick, Truex, Kurt Busch, Elliott and Bell were in the top 10.

Nearly 10 laps later, a majority of Chevrolet competitors pitted under green. During the process, Suarez and Chastain were penalized for speeding on pit road.

By Lap 90, Hamlin was still out in front followed by DiBenedetto, Truex, Bell and Custer while Blaney, Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Harvick and Buescher were in the top 10. With the field spread out around the superspeedway, names like Elliott, Chastain and Suarez were pinned a lap behind the leaders.

A few laps later, a majority of the Ford competitors pitted under green. Not long after, the Toyota competitors pitted. Following the stops, Harvick and Buescher were nabbed with pit road speeding penalties. Hamlin, who overshot his pit stall during his stop, was also penalized for speeding on pit road. While serving his penalty, things went from bad to worse for Hamlin, who was busted with another pit road speeding penalty.

At the halfway mark on Lap 94, Preece emerged as the leader followed by Chevrolet competitors Byron, Kurt Busch, Bowman, Austin Dillon and Erik Jones.

By Lap 100, Preece continued to lead followed by Byron, Kurt Busch, DiBenedetto and Keselowski while Custer, McDowell, Kyle Busch, Wallace and Bell were in the top 10. Hamlin, following his pair of pit road speeding penalties, was mired back in 36th place and scored a lap behind the leaders.

Four laps later, the caution returned due to fluid on the track that came from Kurt Busch’s No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE with smoke steaming out from Busch’s car. While nursing his car back to pit road, a fire broke out underneath Busch’s car and the 2004 Cup champion took his car to the garage to address an oil cooler issue.

Under caution, some like Bowman, Truex, Blaney, Reddick, Harvick, Buescher and Elliott pitted while the rest led by Byron remained on the track. During the pit stops, Harvick was penalized due to a crew member jumping over the wall too soon.

When the race restarted on Lap 109, Byron and DiBenedetto battled dead even for the lead, though Byron retained the top spot.

Prior to Lap 112, DiBenedetto and Kyle Busch made contact while battling for the lead exiting Turn 3, where DiBenedetto was trying to block Kyle Busch. Though both competitors dipped below the apron and lost the lead, both prevented their cars from spinning. At the front, Bubba Wallace returned to the lead.

With five laps remaining in the second stage, Wallace continued to lead followed by Keselowski, McDowell, Byron and Blaney as the field continued to battle in two lanes.

With two laps remaining in the stage, however, a multi-car wreck erupted entering the tri-oval when a bump from teammate Truex sent Hamlin, who was a lap down, bouncing off the outside wall and a chain reaction ensued behind with Truex, Bowman, Elliott and Byron wrecking on the frontstretch.

The wreck was enough to end the second stage under caution as Bubba Wallace claimed his first stage victory in the Cup circuit. Keselowski charged his way to second place followed by McDowell, Kyle Busch, Preece, Blaney, Buescher, Stenhouse Bell and Harrison Burton.

Under the stage break, the majority of the leaders returned to pit road except for Newman, Grala, Yeley, McLeod and Custer. The first competitor to exit pit road in first was Blaney followed by Almirola, Wallace, McDowell, Kyle Busch and Keselowski. Shortly after, Newman, Grala, Yeley, McLeod and Custer pitted.

Prior to the restart, a majority of competitors returned to pit road to top off on fuel for the final stage.

With 62 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Blaney received a push from his friend Wallace to retain the top spot over Almirola and McDowell. With Wallace remaining on the inside lane, he was shuffled out of the battle for the lead due to a lack of competitors running on his lane. Meanwhile, Blaney retained the top spot on the outside line and with a bevy of cars behind him.

Shortly after, Blaney reported debris on his front grille despite leading the race. With Almirola moving his No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang to the lead on Lap 131, Blaney was able to tuck behind Almirola’s car and remove the debris from his car.

With 50 laps remaining, Almirola continued to lead followed by Blaney, McDowell, Keselowski, Chris Buescher, DiBenedetto, Austin Dillon, Preece, Briscoe and Erik Jones, all of whom were among several competitors running in a single-file lane on the outside lane led by Blaney. Bubba Wallace was in 12th behind Ross Chastain, Kyle Busch was in 14th in front of teammate Bell, Harvick was in 21st followed by Newman and Truex, Elliott was in 25th and Byron was in 27th in front of Harrison Burton. Hamlin was in 34th, two laps behind, while Kurt Busch was in 36th, six laps behind.

Down to the final 40 laps of the event, Ross Chastain muscled his No. 42 Caregility Chevrolet into the lead with drafting help from teammate Kurt Busch, who was multiple laps behind. Kyle Busch moved into second place followed by teammate Bell while Almirola was shuffled back in fourth place despite leading the outside lane ahead of Blaney and McDowell.

With 35 laps remaining, the top-30 competitors were separated by less than two seconds. At the front, Chastain continued to lead followed by Kyle Busch and teammate Bell while Harvick mounted a challenge for the top spot on the outside lane.

Not long after, a wave of competitors led by Chastain reduced their speed on the bottom lane to pit under green. During the process, Stenhouse spun following a bump from Quin Houff and made light contact with the inside wall near the pit road entrance. Despite the incident, the race remained under green. Following the pit stops, Newman was penalized for speeding on pit road.

Back on the track and with 30 laps remaining, the top-10 positions were filled by Ford competitors led by Harvick. A lap later, another wave of competitors led by Harvick pitted under green. During this process, Newman was penalized a second time for speeding on pit road again.

With the field cycling through following the pit stops, Christopher Bell emerged as the leader followed by Chastain, Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick and Erik Jones. Harvick was shuffled back to sixth place followed by teammate Almirola, McDowell, Keselowski and Briscoe. With 26 laps remaining, though, Chastain reassumed the lead while Bell was shuffled back into fifth place.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event, the top-18 competitors were separated by a second, with Chastain still leading followed by Kyle Busch and Erik Jones, who moved up to the outside lane in front of McDowell as he challenged for second place and more.

With 18 laps remaining, Erik Jones muscled his No. 43 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE into the lead followed by DiBenedetto, Bubba Wallace, Chastain and Keselowski while Kyle Busch was in sixth.

A lap later, the caution flew due to a single-car incident in Turn 2 involving Quin Houff, an incident that occurred in front of the leaders as the leaders took evasive action to avoid the incident.

Under caution, some like Jones, DiBenedetto, Custer, Truex, Wallace, Kyle Busch, Reddick, Blaney and Kaz Grala remained on the track while others pitted for fuel to make it to the finish. By then, 27 of the 40-car field were scored on the lead lap.

With 12 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Jones retained the lead on the inside lane followed by Chastain and Wallace, but DiBenedetto fought back on the outside lane with drafting help from Truex. When the field returned to the start/finish line, DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang for the iconic Wood Brothers Racing team emerged with the lead.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, DiBenedetto was leading followed by Truex, Kyle Busch, Blaney, Keselowski, Harvick and Jones. Shortly after, Penske drivers Blaney and Keselowski lined up behind DiBenedetto.

Behind, Truex, who was running towards the front in the final laps, fell out of the lead pack and pitted due to a flat tire.

With five laps remaining, DiBenedetto continued to lead followed by Blaney, Keselowski, Harvick and McDowell. Meanwhile, Byron started to mount a challenge on the inside lane with drafting help from Jones, Kyle Busch and Chastain.

Two laps later and with the field starting to fan out with competitors establishing their run to the front, the caution returned due to a tire carcass spotted on the frontstretch, which came off of Truex’s car after he lost another tire.

Under caution, some like Kyle Busch and Wallace pitted while the rest led by DiBenedetto remained on the track.

With the race sent into overtime, the race restarted with DiBenedetto and Blaney on the front row. At the start, DiBenedetto retained the lead through Turns 1 and 2. Through the backstretch, however, Harvick drafted Blaney to the front, but DiBenedetto retained the lead through Turn 3 and the tri-oval as he started the final lap of the race.

With the field bunched up and fanned out to two lanes entering Turns 1 and 2, Keselowski drew his No. 2 MoneyLion Ford Mustang alongside DiBenedetto and received a push from McDowell and Harvick to take the lead while DiBenedetto had no drafting help on the outside lane.

Through Turn 3, Keselowski continued to lead followed by McDowell and Harvick while DiBenedetto was split in a three-wide battle with Erik Jones and Byron as the field fanned out to three lanes.

Entering the tri-oval, Jones spun following contact with Kaz Grala and made contact with the outside wall as the field scattered to avoid him. With Chastain also spinning coming to the start/finish line, McDowell made a move to the outside of Keselowski, but it was not enough as Keselowski managed to fend off McDowell and a hard-charging Byron to cross the finish line with the lead and the victory, having led only the final lap of the race.

With his first victory of the 2021 season and the 35th of his Cup career, Keselowski tied Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon for the second-most victories at Talladega (six). In addition, he became the third Team Penske competitor and the ninth different competitor to record a win through the first 10 Cup races of this season.

“Man, what an awesome day today to bring the MoneyLion Ford Mustang into Victory Lane,” Keselowski said. “The whole race I had a couple opportunities to take the lead, but I just kept thinking, ‘Man, keep your car in one piece.’ We’ve been so close here and it just didn’t seem to want to come together here the last few years and I’ve been on kind of a four-year drought here, but it’s nice to get number six. I would have never dreamed I’d tie Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. here. That’s something. Those guys are really legends. I’m just really proud of my team. We had an accident there early and they recovered and got it fixed up to where I could keep running…That’s pretty cool.”

Behind Keselowski, William Byron edged Michael McDowell by 0.001 seconds to claim the runner-up spot. The third-place finish marked McDowell’s second consecutive top-five result on a superspeedway venue, which also comes after he won this year’s Daytona 500.

“I felt like it was pretty close,” McDowell said. “I am just so thankful to everybody at this Front Row Motorsports team. We have fast superspeedway cars. This Ford Mustang was fast. It has been a great season for us. I really felt like I was in a good spot again working with Brad and drug back off of him coming off of Turn 4. I thought I would have the run, but just didn’t suck him down enough. It was a great run and I am glad there is another Ford Mustang in Victory Lane. I am thankful to all our partners. It has been a great year. To get a top-five and to be running in the top-10 and have a win says a lot for this team and [team owner] Bob Jenkins for giving me the opportunity.”

Harvick finished fourth followed by Matt DiBenedetto, who led 28 laps and was in position to claim his first Cup career victory. While he did not leave Talladega as a winner, DiBenedetto was still smiling as he recorded his first top-five result of the season.

“It’s tough, but it’s just all so circumstantial,” DiBenedetto said. “We talked about it a lot before the race and it’s tough. Our day will come. I’m just lucky to drive this thing and have the support from everybody. The fans, they are so awesome. Driving for the Wood Brothers is really a dream come true. Gosh, it’s hard to come so close to so many of these things. The Fords are so fast. They believe in me, the whole Ford camp. They do an excellent job. The Mustangs are great…Our day will come. We’ll get there. I just appreciate the support from everybody.

Kaz Grala recorded an impressive sixth-place result in his third Cup career start while Reddick, teammate Austin Dillon, Blaney and Custer finished in the top 10.

Rookies Chase Briscoe and Anthony Alfredo finished 11th and 12th, Chastain finished 16th after pounding the inside wall head-on while sliding across the finish line, Wallace finished 19th behind JGR’s Bell and Kyle Busch and Harrison Burton finished 20th in his Cup debut. Erik Jones settled in 27th following his wreck on the final lap.

There were 35 lead changes for 17 different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 34 laps.

Despite his issues at Talladega, Denny Hamlin continues to lead the regular-season standings by 87 points over teammate Truex, 93 over Logano, 95 over Byron and 100 over Blaney.

Results.

1. Brad Keselowski, one lap led

2. William Byron, 12 laps led

3. Michael McDowell

4. Kevin Harvick, 12 laps led

5. Matt DiBenedetto, 28 laps led, Stage 1 winner

6. Kaz Grala

7. Tyler Reddick

8. Austin Dillon

9. Ryan Blaney, 11 laps led

10. Cole Custer

11. Chase Briscoe, one lap led

12. Anthony Alfredo

13. Ryan Newman, two laps led

14. Ryan Preece, nine laps led

15. Aric Almirola, 16 laps led

16. Ross Chastain, 12 laps led

17. Christopher Bell, two laps led

18. Kyle Busch, six laps led

19. Bubba Wallace, 16 laps led, Stage 2 winner

20. Harrison Burton

21. Chris Buescher

22. Corey LaJoie

23. Daniel Suarez

24. Chase Elliott, three laps led

25. B.J. McLeod

26. J.J. Yeley

27. Erik Jones – OUT, Accident, seven laps led

28. Cody Ware, one lap down

29. Timmy Hill, one lap down

30. Justin Haley, one lap down

31. Martin Truex Jr., two laps down

32. Denny Hamlin, three laps down, 43 laps led

33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., five laps down

34. Joey Gase, five laps down

35. Kurt Busch, six laps down

36. Josh Bilicki, 11 laps down

37. Quin Houff – OUT, Accident

38. Alex Bowman – OUT, Dvp

39. Joey Logano – OUT, Accident, 10 laps led

40. Kyle Larson – OUT, Engine

Next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is a trip to the midwest at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, May 2, with the event to occur at 3 p.m. ET on FS1.

April 25, 2021