Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Category: RC NASCAR Cup

Race Central NASCAR Cup Series news and information

  • Darlington Southern 500 – Did You Know?

    Darlington Southern 500 – Did You Know?

    DARLINGTON, S.C. — The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway this Labor Day weekend for the Bojangles’ Southern 500. This is the third straight year of Darlington’s throwback campaign and this edition will focus on the 1985-89 era. There are 40 drivers on the entry list and, as of today, 32 will run retro paint schemes to honor the rich history of the sport.

    The tributes are as varied as the drivers. Did you know that three different Cup Series drivers will feature a salute to Dale Earnhardt? Earnhardt has nine Darlington victories, second only to David Pearson. Jeffrey Earnhardt’s No. 33 car will feature a green and white scheme that resembles the one his grandfather drove in the XFINITY Series in the 1980s. Austin Dillon’s No. 3 Chevy and Ryan Newman’s No. 31 will honor Earnhardt’s yellow and blue Wrangler scheme. This particular paint scheme is similar to the one Earnhardt drove in 1987 when he won his first Southern 500.

    Jamie McMurray will pay tribute to David Pearson, who leads all drivers with 10 Darlington wins, Brad Keselowski will honor Rusty Wallace’s 1994 “Midnight” paint scheme and Trevor Bayne’s car will represent the scheme that Mark Martin drove when he claimed the first Cup victory for Roush Fenway Racing at North Carolina Motor Speedway in 1989.

    Other drivers being honored includes Davey Allison (Corey LaJoie), Bobby Allison (Matt DiBenedetto) and Alan Kulwicki (Michael McDowell). Check out this preview of all the Darlington throwback paint schemes.

    Darlington Raceway’s throwback weekend pays homage to a tradition that began on Sept. 4, 1950, when they hosted NASCAR’s first 500-mile race. There were 75 drivers entered into the event but did you know that the race was won by Johnny Mantz? It was his first and only win in the Cup Series. There have been 113 Cup races at the 1.366-mile track and 49 different drivers have won.

    Martin Truex Jr. is the defending race winner and is one of only six active drivers who has visited Victory Lane at Darlington. Jimmie Johnson leads all drivers with three victories while Kevin Harvick (2014), Matt Kenseth (2013), Denny Hamlin (2010) and Kyle Busch (2008) have one win each. But did you know that the last 11 races have been won by 11 different drivers?

    With only two races remaining in the regular season, the Southern 500 should deliver a night to remember. Capture the Coors Light Pole Award and you’re one step closer to victory. The pole is the most proficient starting position at Darlington. It has produced 20 winners while 17 drivers have won from the second place starting position. But did you know that the deepest in the field that a race winner has started is 43rd? That driver was Johnny Mantz in the Darlington inaugural Cup Series race in 1950. Qualifying for this year’s Southern 500 will be held Saturday at 1:45 p.m. ET.

    Tune in this weekend for all the on-track action beginning with the first Cup Series practice Friday at 1 p.m. ET followed by the final practice at 3:30 p.m. The Southern 500 closes out the weekend Sunday at 6 p.m. on NBCSN.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

     

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Darlington and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Darlington and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

    DARLINGTON, S.C. — The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the XFINITY Series head to Darlington Raceway as the Camping World Truck Series travels to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Darlington will close out the “The Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR” with The Bojangles’ Southern 500 Sunday at 6 p.m.

    There are 40 drivers on the entry list for the Southern 500 battling for a berth in the Cup Series playoffs as the regular season winds down with only two more chances to secure a spot. Tune into NBCSN for coverage of the Cup and XFINITY Series events while FS1 will televise the Truck Series race.

    Please check below for the complete schedule of events. All times are Eastern.

    Friday, September 1

    On Track-Darlington:
    12-12:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series Practice – NBCSN
    1-1:55 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – NBCSN
    2:30-3:25 p.m.: XFINITY Series Final Practice – NBCSN
    3:30-4:55 p.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – NBCSN

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    10:15 a.m.: Jeremy Clements
    10:30 a.m.: Elliott Sadler
    11:45 a.m.: Jimmie Johnson
    12 p.m.: Chase Elliott
    12:15 p.m.: Clint Bowyer and Mark Martin
    2:45 p.m.: Martin Truex Jr.
    5:20 p.m.: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    Garage Cam: (Watch live)
    11:30 a.m.: XFINITY Series
    12:30 p.m.: Cup Series

    Saturday, September 2

    On Track-Darlington:
    12:05 p.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN
    1:45 p.m.: Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN
    3:30 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Sports Clips Haircuts VFW 200 (147 laps, 200.8 miles) – NBCSN

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    2:30 p.m.: Post-Cup Series Qualifying
    6 p.m.: Post-NASCAR XFINITY Series Race

    On Track-Canadian Tire:
    9:30 a.m.:  Camping World Truck Series Practice (Watch live)
    11:35 a.m.: Camping World Truck Series Final Practice (Watch live)
    5:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – FS2

    Sunday, September 3

    On Track-Canadian Tire:
    2 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Chevrolet Silverado 250 (64 laps, 157.37 miles) – FS1

    On Track-Darlington:
    6 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles’ Southern 500 (367 laps, 501.3 miles) – NBCSN

    Press Conference: (Watch live)
    2 p.m.: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Darrell Waltrip
    3 p.m.: Bill Elliott
    10:30 p.m.: Post-Cup Series Race

    Complete TV Schedule

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

    Race Details:

    NASCAR XFINITY Series
    Race: Sport Clips Help a Hero 200
    Place: Darlington Raceway
    Date: Saturday, Sept. 2
    Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
    TV: NBCSN, 3 p.m. ET
    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Distance: 200.8 miles (147 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 45), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on lap 147)

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
    Race: Chevrolet Silverado 250
    Place: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
    Date: Sunday, Sept. 3
    Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
    TV: FS1, 2 p.m. ET
    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Distance: 157.37 miles (64 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 20), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 40), Final Stage (Ends on lap 64

    Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

    Race: Bojangles’ Southern 500
    Place: Darlington Raceway
    Date: Sunday, Sept. 3
    Time: 6 p.m. ET
    TV: NBCSN, 5:30 p.m. ET
    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Distance: 501.3 miles (367 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 100), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 200), Final Stage (Ends on lap 367)

     

  • Jones Finishes Runner-Up in Career Night

    Jones Finishes Runner-Up in Career Night

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — Erik Jones put on a career-best performance, leading over half the race, but it wasn’t enough to beat Kyle Busch in the waning laps of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    Having won the pole the day prior, he led the field to the green flag. It wasn’t long, 60 seconds in fact, before his first stint in front was cut short, when Chase Elliott passed him exiting Turn 4 to take the lead. He took it back from Elliott two laps later.

    His next stint lasted a little longer, going 45 laps before he left the bottom lane open in Turn 2, which allowed Kyle Larson to get alongside and pass him going into Turn 3.

    While Jones didn’t get back to the front during the remainder of the first stage, he passed Larson on the final lap of the stage to finish second.

    He exited pit road with the race lead and held the lead until Busch swung by him on the high-side in Turn 3 to take the lead on Lap 166. He used Brad Keselowski as a pick to pass Busch and retake the lead on Lap 180, only to get held up by Paul Menard and getting passed right back by Busch on Lap 198.

    After a two-car wreck in Turn 3 on Lap 227, Jones opted to short-pit the end of the second stage to set up for the run to the checkered flag. He finished fifth in the second stage.

    With leader Matt Kenseth pitting under the stage break, Jones inherited the race lead and was unchallenged during the long 93-lap green flag stint from Lap 257 to Lap 354. On the ensuing restart on Lap 360, Busch went on the attack via the high-side in Turn 4 to take the lead on Lap 361.

    After a single-car incident on the backstretch on Lap 396 and the lead cars pitted, Jones exited with the race lead.

    The run to the finish with 79 laps to go had him line up first on the bottom, Kenseth to the outside in second and Busch in third behind Jones. Busch made it by Kenseth with 72 to go and set his sights on Jones. With 56 to go, Jones got loose in Turn 3, allowing Busch to dive underneath and take the lead exiting Turn 4.

    Busch started to pull away, but ran into heavy lapped traffic with 22 to go, allowing Jones to close in. But just as lapped traffic slowed Busch down, it slowed him down in his quest to catch Busch. He finally ran out of time and came home second.

    “It’s a bummer, I mean you can’t lie. I thought we had a really good day and we fought hard all day. We had our ups and downs and led a lot of laps and didn’t have quite enough at the end,” Jones said. “Kyle (Busch) is really good here. But we had a good 5-hour Energy Camry. Just needed a little more at the end. It’s just unfortunate we didn’t have it. I did what I could, but it just wasn’t quite enough.”

    Jones leaves Bristol 16th in points, 129 behind Kenseth for the final playoff spot. Barring a major penalty by Kenseth’s team at Darlington Raceway and/or Richmond International Raceway, Jones can’t mathematically point his way into a playoff spot. He must win at Darlington and/or Richmond to clinch a spot.

  • Kyle Busch Completes Weekend Sweep with Late Pass at Bristol

    Kyle Busch Completes Weekend Sweep with Late Pass at Bristol

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — Kyle Busch made a late pass on Erik Jones in the waning laps of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race and held off his late charge to complete the weekend sweep at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    Jones led the field to the green on the final restart of the night with 79 laps to go. Busch, who a few laps prior had passed Matt Kenseth for second, went underneath Jones exiting Turn 4 to retake the lead with 56 to go. Lapped traffic prevented Busch from completely pulling away, but the same lapped traffic also stopped Jones from getting too close to him to threaten his lead.

    In the end, Busch drove on to his 40th career victory in 450 career starts.

    “Erik Jones put up a whale of a fight. That was all I had. I was running with my arm hanging out. My arms are jello and my throat hurts, but man that’s awesome. Can’t say enough about everybody on my Joe Gibbs Racing team. Adam Stevens and the guys are phenomenal. Car might not’ve been perfect. I’m never perfect. I never feel like we’re perfect, but this Caramel Camry was fast. So proud of these guys. So proud of my team. So proud of “Rowdy Nation.” This one’s for you!”

    Jones finished second and Denny Hamlin rounded out the podium.

    Kenseth and Kurt Busch rounded out the top-five.

    Ryan Newman, Trevor Bayne, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top-10.

    RACE SUMMARY

    Jones led the field to the green flag at 7:47 p.m. It only took 60 seconds into the race for Chase Elliott to pass him exiting Turn 4 and take the lead on Lap 4. Jones retook the lead two laps later. He left the bottom open in Turn 2, allowing Busch to pass him entering Turn 3 on Lap 51.

    When the first caution flew on Lap 61 and the leaders opted to pit, Larson exited the pits with the lead. He led for awhile, until he was held up by a lapped Brad Keselowski in Turn 1, which allowed Busch to go high and take the lead on Lap 114.

    Busch and Larson battled back and forth in the closing laps of the first stage, ending with Busch giving the chrome bumper to Larson going into Turn 1 on the final lap of the stage in order to win it.

    Under the stage break, Jones exited the pits with the race lead. He held it until Busch swung to the high side of Jones in Turn 3 to retake the lead on Lap 166. Jones responded on Lap 180 by using Keselowski as a pick to pass Busch for the lead. Not long after, Jones himself was held up by Paul Menard, which allowed Busch to retake the lead on Lap 198.

    After a two-car wreck in Turn 3, Busch and the leaders elected to pit. Kenseth was the first of those who didn’t, assumed the race lead and drove on to win the second stage.

    Jones took back the race lead under the stage break. Busch powered by Jones up high in Turn 4 to take the lead on Lap 361. Jones regained the lead on pit road under the event’s seventh caution.

    Landon Cassill’s shunt, hit on the inside wall and hard hit on the outside wall in Turn 1 with 84 to go set up the run to the finish.

    CAUTION SUMMARY

    Caution flew for the first time on Lap 61 when Aric Almirola made contact with the wall and fell dramatically off the pace, on the racing surface. The second flew on Lap 125 for the end of the first stage. The third came out when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. hit the wall in Turn 2 on Lap 200. The fourth flew on Lap 227 for a two-car wreck in Turn 3 involving Austin Dillon and Jeffrey Earnhardt. The fifth was for the end of the second stage on Lap 250. The sixth was for Trevor Bayne slamming the wall in Turn 1 on Lap 354. The seventh flew on Lap 396 when Elliott hit the inside wall on the backstretch. The seventh flew for Cassill’s hard lick with the outside wall in Turn 1 with 84 to go.

    NUTS & BOLTS

    The race lasted two hours, 46 minutes and 37 seconds, at an average speed of 95.969 mph. There were 21 lead changes among six different drivers and eight cautions for 53 laps.

    Truex leaves with a 101-point lead over Kyle Busch.

    Elliott, Kenseth and Jamie McMurray maintain the final playoff spots with two races remaining in the regular season.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/C1724_UNOFFRES.pdf”]

  • Jones Takes Pole Position at Thunder Valley

    Jones Takes Pole Position at Thunder Valley

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — Erik Jones will lead the field to the green flag tomorrow night after winning the pole for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 77 Furniture Row Racing Toyota posted a final round time of 14.891 and a speed of 128.082 mph.

    “It’s cool anytime you get your first pole, but to the Bristol (night race), that’s pretty cool. I’m just excited,” Jones said. “We’ve got a really good 5-hour Energy Camry. We had a really good week last week, and we’ve done a good job keeping the momentum going so far. Hoping for a good day tomorrow night. Obviously, really excited to get this race going now and see what we can do.”

    Kyle Larson will start second with a time of 14.984 and a speed of 128.057 mph. Kasey Kahne will start third with a time of 15.005 and a speed of 127.877 mph. Chase Elliott will start fourth with a time of 15.031 and a speed of 127.656 mph. Matt Kenseth will round out the top-five with a time of 15.042 and a speed of 127.563 mph.

    Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer and Ryan Blaney will round out the top-10.

    Jamie McMurray and Daniel Suarez will round out the 12 drivers that made the final round of qualifying.

    Kyle Busch, who won the pole for both the Truck and XFINITY race this weekend, got loose entering Turn 3 on his first run of the second round and failed to advance. He’ll start 18th.

    Timmy Hill failed to make the race.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/C1724_QUALRES.pdf”]

  • Blaney Fastest at Bristol in Final Cup Practice

    Blaney Fastest at Bristol in Final Cup Practice

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — Ryan Blaney topped the chart in final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford was the fastest with a time of 14.926 and a speed of 128.554 mph. Kyle Larson was second in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 14.983 and a speed of 128.065 mph. Ryan Newman was third in his No. 31 Wood Brothers Racing Chevrolet with a time of 15.016 and a speed of 127.784 mph. Jamie McMurray was fourth in his No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 15.051 and a speed of 127.487 mph. Kyle Busch rounded out the top-five in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 15.078 and a speed of 127.258 mph.

    Chris Buescher, Trevor Bayne, Erik Jones, AJ Allmendinger and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top-10.

    Matt Kenseth, who clocked in the 13th-fastest single lap, posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 125.930 mph.

    First Cup Series Practice Results

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/C1724_PRACFINAL.pdf”]

  • Hamlin Fastest in First Cup Practice at Bristol

    Hamlin Fastest in First Cup Practice at Bristol

    BRISTOL, Tenn. — Denny Hamlin topped the chart in first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 14.848 and a speed of 129.230 mph. Kyle Busch was second in his No. 18 Gibbs Toyota with a time of 14.489 and a speed of 129.221 mph. Kasey Kahne was third in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 14.881 and a speed of 128.943 mph. Ryan Blaney was fourth in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford with a time of 14.884 and a speed of 128.917 mph. Clint Bowyer rounded out the top-five in his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford with a time of 14.946 and a speed of 128.382 mph.

    Matt Kenseth, Martin Truex Jr., Erik Jones, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top-10.

    Jamie McMurray, who clocked in the 13th-fastest single lap, posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 126.604 mph.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/C1724_PRAC1.pdf”]

  • Kahne and Suarez taken out in late wreck at Michigan

    Kahne and Suarez taken out in late wreck at Michigan

    Kasey Kahne and Daniel Suarez’s day ended on Lap 140 of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 when the two collided in Turn 2 at Michigan International Speedway.

    Kahne was making a pass underneath Suarez in Turn 1 when he drifted up into Suarez’s path. Because he hadn’t cleared Suarez, he came across his nose, slid up the track and slammed the outside wall in Turn 2. Suarez, who was pushed up the track from the contact, partially submarined underneath the left-rear side of Kahne’s car, dealing terminal damage to his car.

    His car about spun out, before stabilizing and drifted down towards the apron. Kahne’s car, meanwhile, clung near the wall for a few more seconds, before the back-end came out from underneath him and sent him down onto the apron, where he came to rest.

    “We had to fight from the back and had a good Liftmaster Chevrolet. We kept working to get up there. Daniel (Suarez) was going backwards and I was going by and I ran the bottom,” Kahne said. “I expected we could be close off the corner, and I was just coming off and then we hit. So, I don’t know. I expected to run side-by-side down the backstretch, but not give a lot of room, because you don’t. Nobody does. But I was making the pass and I don’t know how we hit. Ruined it. It’s over.”

    “I was very, very tight. I was trying to hold my line. I think the 5 was passing me (and) went up a little bit too soon for me. I was trying to leave him some room. I (got) out of the throttle at that point, but I don’t know if he was told it was already time to go up. I don’t know. It’s just unfortunate because we came from a streak of top-fives and now this is going to be the end of it. We’re going to regroup and come back stronger next week.”

    While the wreck doesn’t affect Kahne’s playoff chances, as he has a win at Indianapolis to fallback on, it doesn’t help Suarez, who’s now 17th in points and 139 behind Matt Kenseth in the cutoff spot.

  • Dominant Keselowski drive ends in disappointing finish

    Dominant Keselowski drive ends in disappointing finish

    Brad Keselowski led a race-high of 105 laps, but got shuffled back on the final restart and wound up with a mediocre finish in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

    Starting from pole position, Keselowski led all but three laps that fell during a cycle of green flag stops, and won the first stage.

    He continued his dominant run through the second stage, only ceding the race lead on Lap 111 to hit pit road. This time, however, Martin Truex Jr., who pitted a few laps earlier, cycled ahead of him in the running order. This lead to Truex taking over the race lead when the pit cycle concluded and winning the second stage, with Keselowski finishing second.

    On the ensuing restart on Lap 128, Keselowski raced side-by-side with Truex for 75 percent of the lap, before edging ahead of Truex exiting Turn 4 to take the race lead. But Truex powered by him to retake the lead the next lap, and Keselowski didn’t return to the lead again.

    He took just right-side tires on, what was originally, the final round of stops with 39 laps to go to regain lost track position. Truex still cycled ahead of him, but he found himself in position to end the day with a solid finish. A flurry of late cautions, however, pushed him down the running order.

    Keselowski restarted 11th on the overtime restart, but was swallowed up on the bottom lane and wound up finishing 17th.

    “It just didn’t come together there at the end, but it was nice to lead a bunch of laps,” Keselowski said. “That was good and something I was really proud of, but I just didn’t have enough to really run with the 77 and the 78. We tried a little strategy to kind of get something out of it, but the way it all played out I ended up getting the bottom lane on the restarts and getting absolutely swallowed. We tried. We put in as much effort as we could. We knew we didn’t have as much as those two, but we gave it 100 percent effort and I was really proud of my team for that.”

    Keselowski leaves Michigan fifth in points, 213 back of Truex.

  • Larson splits Furniture Row duo in overtime to win at Michigan

    Larson splits Furniture Row duo in overtime to win at Michigan

    Kyle Larson extended his Michigan International Speedway win streak to three by passing the Furniture Row Racing drivers in overtime of the Pure Michigan 400.

    Restarting fourth, Larson gave a shove to race leader Martin Truex Jr., then dove under him, splitting him from teammate Erik Jones in second, and took the lead heading into Turn 1. The race was all Larson’s from there, as he drove on to his fourth career victory in 134 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts.

    “I was running a few options through my head of what to do if I got a good jump, and that was one of them and it worked out perfect. I can’t believe that happened. We were struggling all day. We were definitely not as good as the last two times we won here, but we preserved and had a great restart at the end.”

    Truex and Jones round out the podium.

    Ryan Newman and Trevor Bayne round out the top-five.

    “Oh, it was just a good run for the Velveeta Shells & Cheese Chevrolet,” Newman said. “Luke (Lambert, crew chief) did a great job making the call for us to stay out and caught the break there with the No. 22’s (Joey Logano) tire. We got a couple of good restarts and make it a little bit out of nothing. We were challenged all day and struggled a little bit, but it seems like whenever we’ve got this Velveeta name on the car we end up in the top 5.”

    “It’s refreshing. We’ve had a tough couple of months not getting the results we thought that we deserved. Today, to get a result feels really good,” Bayne said. “We had fast car early on. We had fuel strategy at the end. Probably gonna have a shot to beat the 78 if it stayed green. Got a caution and I was like, ‘Oh man, here goes Indy again.’ We had a good first restart. The second restart was even better. We were able to push the 42 up to the lead and getting into (Turn) 3 I tried to go for it from the top and hit the Speedy Dry, got loose, and came home fifth. Cost us a couple spots. Man, when you’re in that position you have to go for it. I wouldn’t have slept good at night if I didn’t stuff it in there and try something. It just didn’t stick. It feels really good for our team.”

    Chris Buescher, Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Jamie McMurray and Kyle Busch round out the top-10.

    RACE SUMMARY

    Brad Keselowski led the field to the green flag at 3:19 p.m. He led all but three laps (Erik Jones led those three during a cycle of green flag stops) on his way to winning the first stage.

    It was the mostly the same story through the second stage. Only this time, Truex, who pitted a few laps earlier than Keselowski, cycled ahead of him in the running order, took over the race lead when Kyle Busch pitted on Lap 114 and drove on to win the second stage.

    Keselowski regained the lead for a lap on the Lap 129 restart, edging out Truex exiting Turn 4, but Truex took it back going into Turn 1.

    Everyone started hitting pit road for the final cycle of green flag stops with 41 laps to go, with Truex doing so a lap later. Jones pitted from the lead with 39 to go, as did Keselowski, handing the lead to Denny Hamlin. He hit pit road with 23 to go, giving the lead to Busch.

    Joey Logano suffered a right-front flat running down the backstretch with 15 to go, and debris from said flat brought out a caution with 14 to go. Busch pitted under the caution, handing the lead back to Truex.

    He got an excellent restart with nine to go, diving down in front of Jones heading into Turn 1. But as he was pulling away from the field, caution flew for a two-car wreck in Turn 2, setting up the overtime finish.

    CAUTION SUMMARY

    The first caution flew on Lap 61 for the end of the first stage. The second caution flew on Lap 121 for the end of the second stage. The third caution flew when Kasey Kahne came across the nose of Daniel Suarez, sending them both into the outside wall in Turn 2 on Lap 139. The fourth caution flew with 14 laps to go for debris on the backstretch. The fifth and final caution flew for a wreck involving Michael McDowell and Paul Menard.

    NUTS & BOLTS

    The race lasted two hours, 40 minutes and 38 seconds, at an average speed of 150.903 mph. There were 14 lead changes among seven different drivers and five cautions for 28 laps.

    Truex leaves with a 129-point lead over Larson. Elliott, McMurray and Matt Kenseth leave maintaining the final three playoff spots.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/C1723_UNOFFRES.pdf”]