Kevin Harvick took his seventh Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win of the season at Michigan International Speedway in Sunday’s Consumers Energy 400, leading 108 laps and sweeping all three stages for the third time in 2018. The win gave Stewart-Haas Racing a season sweep at Michigan, as Clint Bowyer took the win there in June.
It was his 44th Cup Series win which ties him with NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott for 17th on the all-time wins list.
Harvick took the checkered flag 3.23 seconds ahead of second-place Brad Keselowski.
“We kind of clawed all day and had some good restarts with the Discount Tire Ford and got all we could get out of it but just ended up one spot short and that is so frustrating,” Keselowski said after the race.
Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top-five with Kurt Busch, Aric Almirola, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, and Joey Logano rounding out the top-10.
The race was slowed by eight cautions for 37 laps, while there were 15 lead changes among nine drivers.
“What a car,” Harvick said. “The most important thing is winning races right now and positioning yourself for Homestead. And that’s all we want to do. We don’t want to learn anything, we don’t want to work on anything, we want to win.”
Harvick was met on the start-finish line by his son Keelan, who walked up the track and retrieved the checkered flag from the starter’s stand before riding along with his father on the way to Victory Lane.
“He told me before the race, ‘Dad, if you win, I want to go out and wave the checkered flag.’ And I said, ‘Well if you do that, you’ve got to take the victory lap with me,’” Harvick said of Keelan’s post-race antics.
He went on to describe the importance of sharing the experience with his son.
“For him to be here and able to do that and be a part of NASCAR and bring your son to work and do all the things that we get to do with our kids, I have had him with me by myself the last three weeks and we have had a ball. I couldn’t be happier to be a dad and be a part of NASCAR where they let your family come to the race track and be a part of it.”
There are three races left before the championship Playoffs begin in Las Vegas next month. The MENCS tour goes under the lights at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, Aug. 18, on NBC Sports.
Unofficial Race Results for the Consumers Energy 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race
Denny Hamlin led all rounds of qualifying Friday evening at Michigan International Speedway to score his 28th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series pole and his first at the 2-mile track.
He posted a final-round lap speed of 202.794 mph in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and will lead the field to green in Sunday’s Consumers Energy 400. Teammate Kyle Busch will join Hamlin on the front row, qualifying second with a 202.731 lap in his No. 18 Toyota.
This was the second time Hamlin and Busch have started 1-2 mirroring last week’s front row at Watkins Glen International.
“We’re starting to see results,” Hamlin said. “I mean you can definitely see that we’re gaining speed, gaining momentum, very optimistic about this week. You know this is a racetrack that we’ve had success at before. We’ve never qualified on the pole here before but we have a car that has been driving good all day and if we can duplicate that and have it driving the same in race trim it should be a great day for us.”
Busch described his qualifying effort, saying, “I thought 3 and 4 went OK. Certainly, I don’t think it was my best time through there. The first couple of runs, we’d been fighting ‘loose,’ so you kind of drive a little differently to be ready for the loose situation, and then on the final run, we were tight.”
“You guard your entry or guard your center or whatever you do for the loose, and that doesn’t happen, and you’re tight, and then you’re too tight because you guarded for the loose. Just ever so slightly just missed it, I guess. Overall, I didn’t think we were going to qualify there, so we’re certainly pleased with that.”
Kevin Harvick qualified third followed by Erik Jones in fourth. Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon and Ryan Newman will start fifth and sixth while Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Alex Bowman round out the top 10.
Bowman was the only Hendrick Motorsports driver to advance to the final round. Teammates, Jimmie Johnson, William Byron and Chase Elliott will start 19th, 20th, and 21st, respectively.
Daniel Suarez, who was third fastest in the first Cup Series practice, was unable to post a time after getting loose in the first round of qualifying in Turn 2 and hitting the outside wall. He will start from the back of the field Sunday.
“We were loose in practice and then it was a little bit tight and I told my guys that I wanted the front to work a little bit better and we just crossed the line,” Suarez said. “We were fast and when we have moments like that, it’s very hard to catch the car. I felt like I actually caught the car, but then once I got to the grey, it was like being on ice. We’re fortunate, the car is still very fast and the car is not too bad. We just have to fix it and hopefully, tomorrow come back for practice and get ready for the race.”
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Mooresville, NC – Xtreme Concepts has named Jeffrey Earnhardt as the driver of the No. 96 XCI Racing Toyota Camry entry for the remainder of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, excluding Bristol Motor Speedway. Earnhardt drove the No. 96 Toyota Camry at Pocono Raceway in July, and will continue his efforts with the team this weekend at Michigan in the Consumers Energy 400 on Sunday, August 12.
“I am excited to be partnered with Xtreme Concepts, Nine Line Apparel, iK9 and everyone who has come on board to make this possible,” commented Jeffrey Earnhardt. “We had a solid run at Pocono Raceway with the Gaunt Brothers Racing team, and I am looking forward to growing the relationship with the team and bringing home some good finishes this year.”
Xtreme Concepts Incorporated (www.xtremeconcepts.com), based in Birmingham, Alabama is worldwide leader in providing turnkey security solutions, special operations training and technology integration to Government agencies, Department of Defense and commercial entities on a global scale. Its sister company, iK9, LLC, is a comprehensive Canine Solutions provider for detection and service dogs, along with professional handler education.
“We are very pleased to continue our relationship with Jeffrey Earnhardt and have him as our driver for the remainder for the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season,” remarked Xtreme Concepts CEO, Landon Ash. “Jeffrey has shown an unparalleled commitment to improvement on the track, and we are confident we will field a competitive car each week. Off the track, he is an excellent ambassador for the sport through his work and dedication, to our veteran’s and their families.”
Earnhardt will pilot the No. 96 Xtreme Concepts Toyota Camry for 13 races through the remainder of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season including Michigan International Speedway this weekend, Darlington on September 2, Indy on September 9, Las Vegas Motor Speedway on September 16, Richmond Raceway on September 22, Charlotte Motor Speedway on September 30, Dover on October 7, Talladega on October 14, Kansas on October 21, Martinsville on October 28, Texas on November 4, Phoenix on November 11 and Homestead on November 18.
For more information on Xtreme Concepts visit www.xtremeconcepts.com. For up to date information on Gaunt Brothers Racing visit www.gauntbrothersracing.com.
After 98 career starts in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Chase Elliott finally got the proverbial monkey off his back at Watkins Glen.
Much like his famous father Bill back in 1983, the Dawsonville, Georgia native scored his first career MENCS race at a road course. Just like his father, he had to endure many runner-ups before celebrating that inaugural Cup victory.
This time, the 22-year-old racer made his magical moment happen at the legendary 2.45-mile road course in his 99th start.
Starting third, Elliott was a factor throughout today’s GoBowling at the Glen despite finishing 19th in Stage 1.
Parlaying pit strategy with a fast No. 9 SunEnergy 1 Chevy Camaro, Elliott battled defending race winner Martin Truex Jr tenaciously before taking the lead en route to a Stage 2 win.
From there on, it was a cat and mouse game between Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. in the final laps. Needless to say, Elliott had to earn his first win in the premier division.
Surely, Elliott tried mightily to hold off one of the title threat triumvirates in the final 15 laps.
“Holy cow!” Elliott exclaimed after the race. “What a thrill. I don’t know what to say. I’m so thrilled. So much relief. Worked on it for three years. I was able to get it done!”
Not surprisingly, the No. 9 team has showcased some speed in recent weeks. In fact, Elliott has won at least one stage in a race since the Foxwoods Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
All told, Elliott soaked in the moment and reflected on the struggles that led to his team’s recent rejuvenation.
“Man, it’s such a relief,” Elliott said. “Had some hard times to get here and learned a lot personally and had to have a good group around me to keep pushing me. This is a helluva day.”
The final laps played out like an action film or a thriller, as fans stood on their feet, particularly on the final lap. Forced to make a split second decision going into turn one, Elliott’s choice proved to be the correct one on this day.
“I was starting to wheel hop and I knocked it out of gear to not spin out,” Elliott observed. “I had a big enough gap where Martin (Truex Jr) wasn’t near me. What a day.”
Elliott’s first Cup win was truly special as he got to celebrate it with his father Bill in Victory Lane. Notably, the Georgian also snapped a 37-race winless streak for Hendrick Motorsports that dated back to the spring race at Dover in 2017.
Meanwhile, race runner-up Truex was able to cross the finish line on fumes while third-place finisher Kyle Busch overcame a fueling issue. Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones, Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray, William Byron, Kurt Busch, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-10.
Next up for the MENCS drivers and teams will be the Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway (Sunday, August 12 at 2:30 p.m. on NBCSN). Fellow Chevrolet racer Kyle Larson hopes to return to the winner’s circle as he bids for his third straight summer race victory at MIS.
Ninety-eight was the number of times Chase Elliott fired his engine without winning in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Eight was the number of times he finished runner-up. Every time he came up short the last two and a half years, there was no one harder on Elliott than Elliott. Over and over, he walked into the deadline room after a race in which he dominated and beat himself into the ground.
However, it was never a matter of if. Only when the kid who not too many years ago posed with his father Bill Elliott in victory lane at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and roamed the garage with him would do the same.
On August 5, 2018, there was no dejection and there was no “Elliott was his own worst enemy.” Instead, to the thunderous applause of a sold-out crowd in attendance at Watkins Glen International, he took the fight to and passed points leader Kyle Busch for the race lead, he led the remaining 63 laps, drove his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to and over the limit and held off defending series champion Martin Truex Jr. to finally win for the first time in the Cup Grand National Series.
“Holy cow! What a thrill! I don’t know what to say. I’m just so thrilled and so emotional,” Elliott said. “There’s so much relief you know; it’s been working on three years and I hadn’t won a one and came here with a good opportunity today. I was able to get it done. But, just thanks to all the fans. I hope all my buddies are ready to get rowdy tonight because it’s going to be a good one.”
During the post-race cool down lap, Elliott ran out of gas and came to a halt down the short chute. As a number of drivers slowed down to congratulate him, teammate Jimmie Johnson pushed him to the start/finish line to start the post-race celebration.
“Well, I just appreciate the support and the respect on the race track,” said Elliott. “Jimmie (Johnson) has been one of my heroes for a long, long time. I leaned on him a lot over this past off season and I always lean on him, but certainly a lot throughout this off season just about the opportunities I’ve had in the past and not closing them out. He has been a big supporter of mine and that was one of the coolest things ever and I will never forget it.”
He hi-fived his crew, before hopping on the roof of his car to soak in the moment, as the fans showered him in cheers.
“That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen and I just want you all to know that. And, I am very grateful. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Let’s go get some more.”
The adulation continued in victory lane, as Darrell Wallace Jr., teammate Alex Bowman, the aforementioned Kyle Busch and his father, NASCAR Hall of Fame member Bill Elliott, congratulated Chase Elliott.
“I don’t know how to describe it,” said Bill Elliott. “I was standing over there and kind of letting the laps run down and I was thinking, you know, what’s going to go wrong now? He (Chase Elliott) held it together and low and behold, (Martin) Truex runs out of gas. It’s just that luck went our way today.”
While Chase Elliott and the rest of the Hendrick Motorsports organization struggled for most of the season, he picked up his the last three races, with stage victories and Top-10 finishes in each.
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – AUGUST 05: Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 SunEnergy1 Chevrolet, leads Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 5-hour ENERGY/Bass Pro Shops Toyota, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series GoBowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 5, 2018 in Watkins Glen, New York. Photo: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images
Starting the afternoon in upstate New York third, Elliott quickly challenged Denny Hamlin for the race lead snaking up the esses, before being usurped by Busch in the inner-loop on the second lap. On the 27th circuit, Elliott hugged the tail-end of Busch from the bus stop to Turn 10, before Busch pulled aside to let Elliott take the lead.
While he didn’t lose it again, Martin Truex Jr. took the fight to him in the closing 14 laps, getting his closest to passing Elliott in the final three laps. Truex missed a mark in the inner-loop with two to go and Elliott pulled away. Heading into Turn 1 on the final lap, however, Elliott carried too much speed into the turn and ran wide, allowing Truex to pull alongside him briefly. The fight ended down the short chute when Truex ran out of fuel.
“Yeah, so I had a decent gap coming to the white and I felt really good about it,” Elliott said. “I felt too good about it apparently. I got into (Turn) 1 a little hard and started wheel hopping and had to knock it out of gear to keep from spinning out and got… obviously I missed the corner because of that. Luckily, I had a good enough gap to where he didn’t get up next to me and didn’t miss it too bad. So, what a day.”
Elliott’s victory was the 250th Strictly Stock Series victory for Hendrick Motorsports. It also made Elliott the 192nd different driver to win in the series.
He leaves Watkins Glen 11th in points, 315 back of Kyle Busch.
Despite starting 28th due to failing post-qualifying inspection, Kyle Busch was a man on a mission in today’s Gander Outdoors 400 at Pocono.
Finishing fourth in Stage 1, Busch and his crew parlayed some pit strategy at the end of Stage 2 for track position in Stage 3.
All told, Busch’s path to the front was not without some hardy challenges from his Joe Gibbs Racing stablemates.
“(Daniel) Suarez, man, I can’t say enough about my teammates,” Busch excitedly said. “What an awesome race! He was probably the third best car. He gave us a run for our money on the restarts. Last one, I spun my tires a bit too much and he got a good run. That gave (Erik) Jones a good opportunity.”
Certainly, as Busch took the field to green on lap 163, Suarez equaled the 2015 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion’s restart effort.
Running side-by-side heading into turn one, Jones saw a possible chance at victory as he ran inside of Suarez to make it three wide between the JGR clan.
However, Busch’s experience and powerful No. 18 Caramel M&M’s Toyota Camry was just too much on this race day. Drawing daylight between himself and Suarez, the 33-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada native drove his way to his sixth win of the 2018 MENCS season.
“Can’t say enough about Adam Stevens and all my guys,” Busch acknowledged. “Man, we fought it all weekend.”
Remarkably, Busch continued the winning ways of the MENCS triple threat. By all means, this season has turned into a regular season heavyweight match among NASCAR’s most aggressive veterans.
“What’s crazy is how this year keeps going,” Busch observed. “Harvick gets one, we get one, Truex gets one. We’re back and forth. We answered the fight this weekend without the fastest car.”
Meanwhile, Suarez made earnest challenges to prevent Busch from repeating his Pocono victory from last year. In the end, the Monterrey, Mexico native recognized how close he was to his first MENCS win.
“We lost the balance a little bit (in the beginning) and made some adjustments,” Suarez said. “We made the car better. I thought we were a solid top-five car. In a short run, I felt like we were the best car. It hurts to be close.”
Perhaps the biggest scare of the race was Bubba Wallace’s lap 155 crash. The rookie racer reportedly lost his brakes heading into Turn 1, resulting in a savage hit that destroyed both ends of his No. 43 Mile 22 Chevy Camaro.
Fortunately, the mild-mannered Wallace expressed gratitude and his trademark sense of humor following his horrifying accident.
“I’m OK,” Wallace said. “That was a huge hit. Everyone, back at home, I’m okay. Hardest one of my career. I was just telling them here, ‘There’s no feeling like being helpless in that situation going off into Turn 1.’ It scared the hell out of me.
We’re good. Bit my cheek, banged my foot off the pedal. I’m okay though. I’ll wake up tomorrow and I’ll be a little sore. The safety has come a long ways. It’s good to be able to climb out of the car. They gave me an ultrasound. No twins or anything.”
Ultimately, Busch prevailed with Suarez, Alex Bowman, Kevin Harvick, Jones, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, and Denny Hamlin taking top-10 finishes from the “Tricky Triangle.”
From scenic Long Pond, Pennsylvania to the Finger Lakes region of New York State, the MENCS tour prepares for next Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and MRN Radio.
Post-qualifying tech dealt a Saturday shake-up to the starting lineup for Sunday’s Gander Outdoors 400 after the cars driven by the five of the top six qualifiers — including the initial front row of Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch — failed inspection at Pocono Raceway.
Harvick was fastest in the first and final round of Busch Pole Qualifying, but his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford did not pass the body scan portion post-qualifying inspection. The same fate occurred with the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of second-fastest qualifier Kyle Busch, but his car failed at the chassis station of the inspection process.
The ruling elevated Daniel Suarez, third on the original unofficial speed chart, to a first-time pole winner in the Monster Energy Series. His speed of 176.988 mph in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota stands as the pole-winning lap of record.
A total of 13 cars failed the inspection process the first time through. Scott Miller, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition, explained the process in a media gathering as inspection was nearing its conclusion.
“It’s pretty obvious what’s happened here. There was 13 cars that didn’t pass the post-qualifying inspection,” Miller said. “Most of the problems were centered around the body scan, but not all. Some were mechanical measurements with the rear toe. But quite heavy on the body scans, 13 cars. We’re disappointed in this, but we’re certainly confident in our process and the teams didn’t do a real good job here today.”
In addition to Harvick and Busch, the qualifying speeds for Kyle Larson (initially the fourth-fastest qualifier), Joey Logano (fifth) and rookie William Byron (sixth) were disallowed. Others further back in the field with qualifying speeds thrown out: Clint Bowyer’s No. 14 Ford, Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Ford, Aric Almirola’s No. 10 Ford, Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet, Paul Menard’s No. 21 Ford, Austin Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet, Bubba Wallace’s No. 43 Chevrolet, Kasey Kahne’s No. 95 Chevrolet.
All 13 will start from the rear of the 40-car field in Sunday’s 400-miler (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM), ranked in order of their rank in the Monster Energy Series standings.
Both Harvick and Kahne’s car failed three times and the penalty for that is the loss of their car chiefs — Robert Smith (No. 4 team) and Ben Leslie (No. 95 team) — and a 10-point penalty in the driver and owner championship standings. Logano and Menard’s cars failed twice and both of their respective car chiefs — Raymond Fox (No. 22 team) and William Curwood (No. 21 team) were ejected as well.
It’s the first season for the new inspection process and NASCAR’s Optical Scanning Station, which maps and checks vehicle bodies for conformance to the rules. It’s also the second time this season that the Monster Energy Series has been subject to inspection immediately after qualifying under the enhanced weekend schedule. The other occurrence was at Chicagoland Speedway, where only four cars lost their starting spots.
“This is only the second time we’ve done this and I don’t think the teams want to be sitting here in this situation, either,” Miller said when asked if the severity of the penalties might change after Saturday’s issues. “But I think they tested the waters and it didn’t work out too good for them today. So, hopefully, the next time we have one of these inspections, they’ll be able to get closer to right and we won’t have this.”
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will both be in action at Pocono Raceway this week and the NASCAR Xfinity Series will be at Iowa Speedway. Check out the full schedule below, which is subject to change.
Note: All times are ET
POCONO Friday, July 27 Noon-12:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, No TV (Follow live)
2-2:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, No TV (Follow live)
PRESS PASS (Watch live)
11 a.m.: Kids Drive NASCAR
11:15 a.m.: Grant Enfinger, Justin Haley and Brett Moffitt
IOWA Friday, July 27
5:05-5:55 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series first practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Follow live)
6:35-7:25 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Follow live)
POCONO Saturday, July 28 9-9:50 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice, CNBC/NBC Sports App (Follow live)
10 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying, FS1 (Follow live)
11:40 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, CNBC/NBC Sports App (Follow live)
1 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Gander Outdoors 150 (60 laps, 150 miles), FS1 (Follow live)
4:10 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Follow live)
PRESS PASS (Watch live)
8:15 a.m.: Jimmie Johnson
8:30 a.m.: Aric Almirola
10:30 a.m.: Bubba Wallace and Richard Petty
10:45 a.m.: Jeffrey Earnhardt
2:30 p.m.: Post-NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race
5 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying
IOWA Saturday, July 28
3:05 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Follow live)
5:20 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series U.S. Cellular 250 presented by The Rasmussen Group (250 laps, 218.75 miles), NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Follow live)
POCONO Sunday, July 29 2:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Gander Outdoors 400 (160 laps, 400 miles), NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Follow live)
PRESS PASS (Watch live)
11:30 a.m.: Gander Outdoors
5:30 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race
Here are some thoughts I had of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort and Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
BREAKOUT RACE FOR ARIC ALMIROLA
Prior to today, Aric Almirola never led more than 78 laps in an entire season. While he didn’t lead the race-high (that was claimed by Kurt Busch), we’ll probably look back at today as the day he went from journeyman to a driver who can compete for wins.
LOUDON, N.H. – JULY 22: Aric Almirola, driver of the #10 Smithfield Ford, leads a pack of cars during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 22, 2018 in Loudon, New Hampshire. Photo: Robert Laberge/Getty Images
Almirola first took the lead after running down and overtaking teammate Kurt Busch, using lap traffic as a pick to drive by him on the inside line in Turn 1, with 89 laps to go. While teammate Kevin Harvick cycled out ahead of him for the lead during a cycle of green-flag stops with 74 to go, Almirola again used lapped cars as a pick to power by Harvick in Turn 3 and regain the lead with 69 to go.
After teammate Clint Bowyer tagged the wall in Turn 3 with 45 to go, forcing a caution, Almirola exited the pits in third. He fell to sixth on the final restart, before rallying back to a third-place finish.
“I laid back off of Harvick’s bumper a little bit, was trying to time the restart to roll up to him and Kyle,” he said. “Kyle went right at the beginning, maybe even slightly before. He went right at the beginning, if nothing else, of the restart zone. It caught me off guard. Earlier in the race they had been dragging the restart out further in the restart zone. I was kind of anticipating that. When Kyle fired, I was caught off guard. When I fired, I just spun the tires because I wasn’t prepared. That was totally my bad. Instead of giving myself a fighting chance to go up there and win, race those guys for the win, I fell back to sixth and had to battle back to third.”
His podium finish was also his ninth Top-10 of the season, the most of any season of his career. He’s also raised his performance to a point where a Top-five finish disappoints him.
“I’m disappointed. You think I’d be really excited to run top five and I’m not,” Almirola said. “We had the best car hands-down. There’s no doubt in my mind. We gave it away on pit road and then I gave it away again on the restart. I spun the tires on the restart and didn’t even give myself a fighting chance, so I’m just really frustrated. Chicago, we had a car capable of winning and we didn’t execute today again with another car capable of winning, and we didn’t get our Smithfield Ford Fusion in Victory Lane. It’s just frustrating.
“They say you’ve got to lose some before you win some and I feel like we’ve lost some now and it’s time to stop it and go to Victory Lane. I’m really proud of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing. They’re giving me incredible race cars and we showed up with cars capable of running in the top five and challenging to win races these last seven weeks. I’m really proud of everybody back at the shop. I’m really proud of Johnny Klausmeier and all the guys on this 10 team. We’re gonna get Smithfield and Ford Motor Company and Mobil 1 and everybody that helps us out to Victory Lane really soon.”
PERFORMANCE TURN-AROUND AT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS
The lackluster performance of the Chevrolet camp this season have been well documented, and no stable exemplified the growing pains more than Hendrick Motorsports. Yesterday at Loudon, however, they exhibited signs of improved performance.
LOUDON, N.H. – JULY 22: Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, leads a pack of cars during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 22, 2018 in Loudon, New Hampshire. Photo: Robert Laberge/Getty Images
Chase Elliott led a season-high of 23 laps, won a stage and finished fifth, at a track that’s not served him well.
“I was shocked, to be honest with you, that we ran even that good,” Elliott said. “Our whole NAPA group did a great job overnight. I really have no idea where that came from. I hope it wasn’t dumb luck. Hopefully, we can keep it rolling because it’s really nice to be able to go up there and lead some laps. I know it wasn’t the right part of the race, but still, leading laps for us is big compared to what we’ve been doing. I’m proud of the effort. I appreciate everybody’s effort back at Hendrick and the chassis shop and engine shop and Chevrolet and all the folks that are working hard to try to get better. We took a step in the right direction.”
Jimmie Johnson ran Top-10 for the majority of the race (average position was 9.6). He was realistic about his performance woes, as he thought Top-10 was where they need to be.
“Top five right now on sheer speed is something we are achieving and trying to get to,” he said. “We scored some great points in the stages, I think (I) finished third and seventh or something like that. All-in-all we had a good day, always could be better, but a nice solid step forward.”
Both ran a higher average position than their season to date average.
Alex Bowman and William Byron also ran higher than their season to date average and finished higher than their season to date average finish.
Now one race is by no means an indication of season performance, but if the performance of Bowman, Byron, Elliott and Johnson improves going forward, we’ll look back at this race as the day the USS Hendrick Motorsports dislodged itself from the shoal.
CASUALLY-DRESSED BROADCAST BOOTH
While NBC’s lap-by-lap announcer Rick Allen took to pit road, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Letarte donned T-Shirt attire to call the race from the booth.
How was it? Well as Nick Bromberg of Yahoo Sports put it on Twitter…
This NBC broadcast so far feels like three guys just sitting at a bar discussing what’s happening on the TVs in front of them.
As someone who regularly watches episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000, I thought it was an interesting change of pace to see three personalities commentate on the race in a more casual fashion. While Allen did well on pit road, the booth was rough at times with the lack of lap-by-lap direction. But overall, it was serviceable.
While I think Allen is best suited for the booth, I’m fine with Earnhardt going T-Shirt casual the rest of the season. And I’m not the only one.
For those who've never seen/watched a race at @NHMS, passing here is a premium. You have to set up the pass for three or four laps, before making your move. #NASCAR
LOUDON, N.H. – JULY 22: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Beer Ford, celebrates with a burnout after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 22, 2018 in Loudon, New Hampshire. Photo: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images
While New Hampshire isn’t high on my list of favorite tracks, and I even tweeted that we should only race once a year at Loudon, the PJ1/VHT/TrackBite/Sticky Stuff and its diminishing returns as the race ran on made for an intriguing race. Yeah, it dragged a few times, but passing wasn’t a Herculean task and the leader never pulled too far away from the second-place car that clean air was the be all end all.
Loudon has been described as “Martinsville on steroids.” Well, that was the case yesterday, as lap traffic negated the clean air advantage. It allowed Harvick to reel in Kyle Busch and bump him out of the groove with four laps to go and steal the victory.
“…your goal is to not wreck him (Busch). Your goal is to move him out of the groove, get away from him far enough because you know they’re going to be mad. Today that was the situation. I knew his car was going to get wide. He was going to be tough to pass. Kyle Busch is one of the toughest to pass when he has control of the race. For me, that was the moment that I needed to make it happen, drive away, he finished second, right?”
The Foxwoods Resort and Casino 301 was the cap to a fantastic weekend of racing: From Chase Briscoe edging out Grant Enfinger to win the Camping World Truck Series race at Eldora, to Christopher Bell out-racing Brad Keselowski in the run to the finish of the XFINITY Grand National Series race at Loudon, all three races delivered.
Sitting center at the podium in the deadline room at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a disappointed Aric Almirola put on a forced smile as he elaborated on his third-place finish.
“You’d think I’d be happy (smiling). We had an incredible Smithfield Ford Fusion today, felt like it was the car to beat, for sure. We got out front there and felt really good about it, felt comfortable. That last caution there, we came down pit road leading, went out third, lost control of the race. Then I spun my tires on the restart and didn’t even give myself a fighting chance to go race for the win.
“Just frustrated on all parts that we didn’t execute the way we needed to to try and win. Chicago we had a car capable of winning, and didn’t get it done. Here again, had a car capable of winning, didn’t get it done.”
After usurping the lead from teammate Kevin Harvick with 69 laps to go and with a car that gained speed over long runs, Almirola had the race in check. That long-run advantage evaporated, however, when teammate Clint Bowyer hit the Turn 3 wall with 45 to go. A pit miscue on the left-front tire cost him the lead.
On the ensuing restart with 39 to go, he spun his tires and fell back to sixth in the running order. While Harvick nudged Kyle Busch out of the groove in the closing laps to win, Almirola rallied to a third-place finish.
“I laid back off of Harvick’s bumper a little bit, was trying to time the restart to roll up to him and Kyle (Busch),” Almirola said. “Kyle went right at the beginning, maybe even slightly before. He went right at the beginning, if nothing else, of the restart zone. It caught me off guard. Earlier in the race they had been dragging the restart out further in the restart zone. I was kind of anticipating that. When Kyle fired, I was caught off guard. When I fired, I just spun the tires because I wasn’t prepared.”
While his runs in the first two stages weren’t notable, he finished 10th in the first stage and fifth in the second, Almirola first took the lead with 89 to go when he used lap traffic as a pick to overtake teammate Kurt Busch for the lead. He surrendered the lead to pit 15 laps later and cycled back to second, right behind Harvick. With 69 to go, he used lap traffic as a pick again to pass Harvick for the lead in Turn 3, which he maintained until the aforementioned caution with 45 to go.
“It’s frustrating. But everybody keeps telling me, ‘You got to lose some before you win some.’ So we’ve lost some. Time to stop it, time to go to Victory Lane. We’re capable. We have a race team capable of doing it. Our cars are really fast. Just ready to go get to Victory Lane next week. Where we going next week? Pocono, perfect. Let’s go.”
Almirola led 42 laps (his highest since Kansas in 2012), earned his first Top-five of the season and leaves Loudon 11th in points.
