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Tag: Brad Keselowski

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Road America

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Road America

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kyle Larson: Larson contended all day at Road America, but was spun out late by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman. Larson eventually finished 16th.

    “Alex apologized,” Larson said. “It was a sincere apology, so Alex, much like his braking into that corner, was ‘truly sorry.’”

    2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin overcame early brake issues to post a fifth in the Jockey Made In America 250.

    “Kyle Busch had a clutch problem last week at Pocono,” Hamlin said. “I can certainly empathize, because I myself have ‘clutch’ problems, most often in the final race of the season.”

    3. Chase Elliott: Elliott started 34th after failing to post a qualifying time, but methodically worked his way into the lead, passing Matt DiBenedetto on Lap 38, and then overtaking Kyle Busch with 17 to go. Elliott then cruised to victory.

    “I wasn’t able to complete a full qualifying lap,” Elliott said. “So, I didn’t even register a lap time, which has to be the ultimate in ‘bad timing.’”

    4. Kyle Busch: Busch started 40th but quickly found his way to the front and eventually finished third at Road America.

    “I made my way to the front of the field so fast,” Busch said, “even troopers in Mooresville, North Carolina had to take notice.”

    5. Alex Bowman: Bowman finished 22nd at Road America.

    “I made a crucial error and wrecked Kyle Larson late in the race,” Bowman said. “What do you say to a teammate whom you just wrecked? Oddly enough, it’s the same thing you say to your team after a win—‘I did it!’ But maybe leave off the exclamation point.”

    6. Joey Logano: Logano finished 15th in the Jockey Made In America 250.

    “As is typical on a road course.” Logano said, “there was a lot of passing. Obviously, a better name for this race would have been the ‘Jockey For Position 250.’”

    7. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex overcame a pit road speeding penalty to record a ninth at Road America.

    “NASCAR raced at Road America for the first time in 65 years,” Truex said. “It’s awesome to be racing here, and in the great state of Wisconsin. Wisconsin is considered part of the ‘heart of America;’ with NASCAR fans here, it’s considered, at least for three days, the ‘heart attack of America.’”

    8. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 27th at Road America.

    “The No. 4 Chevrolet sported the Busch Light Apple paint scheme,” Harvick said. “If I’m reluctant to give you my honest opinion of the taste of Busch Light Apple, just tell me to ‘spit it out,’ and I’ll happily oblige.”

    9. William Byron: Byron started on the pole at Road America and was in contention until a late mistake sent him off course. Byron finished a disappointing 33rd.

    “I just made a stupid error,” Byron said, “and it cost me a top-five finish. My No. 24 Liberty University Chevy was set up perfectly. It handled like a dream. Despite having the word ‘Liberty’ on it, the car was anything but ‘free.’”

    10. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 13th in the Jockey Made In America 250.

    “A driver named Kyle Tilley drove the No. 78 car,” Keselowski said. “Tilley is from a place called Bath, England. From what I hear, it’s a great place for any NASCAR fans to visit. But first, I suggest they visit Bath, America.”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Pocono

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Pocono

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kyle Larson: Larson took second in Sunday’s Visit The Pocono Mountains 350 after falling just short in Saturday’s race.

    “Congratulations to Kyle Busch,” Larson said. “He took a crappy situation and made it great. He did the opposite when he drove the No. 5 car for Hendrick Motorsports.”

    2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin led late at Pocono but had to pit on the final lap for gas, dropping him to 14th.

    “If we could have had just a few more drops of gas,” Hamlin said, “we certainly would have found another way not to win the race.”

    3. Kyle Busch: Busch battled transmission issues at Pocono, but played the fuel mileage game perfectly and won the Explore The Pocono Mountains 350.

    “I was stuck in fourth gear and had no clutch,” Busch said. “Despite that, crew chief Adam Stevens told me I could win. I told him he was ‘full of it.’ He said, ‘No, but your fuel tank is.’”

    4. Alex Bowman: Bowman finished seventh on Sunday at Pocono, one day after winning Saturday’s Cup race.

    “Jeff Gordon accepted the vice chairman role at Hendrick Motorsports,” Bowman said. “I think everyone expects him to flourish in an executive role. The cycle is nearly complete. Jeff’s gone from ‘Boy Wonder’ to ‘Board Wonder.’”

    5. William Byron: Byron won Stage 2 and led the final stage until he was forced to pit for fuel with two laps remaining. He finished 12th.

    “There’s no worse feeling in racing than coming up short on gas,” Byron said. “Sometimes, when you’re fuel gauge says ‘E,’ what it’s really saying is ‘You’re F‘ed.’”

    6. Chase Elliott: Elliott suffered a flat right-front tire on lap 102 and fell a lap down. He eventually finished 27th.

    “All three of my Hendrick Motorsports teammates finished in the top 12,” Elliott said. “My finish won me an award HMS likes to call the ‘Rear-Ender Award,’ which means you finished last among the four Hendrick drivers. In other words, it means you’re not Kyle Larson.”

    7. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished fourth in the Visit The Pocono Mountains 350.

    “I just want to assure fans that you can simultaneously visit the Pocono Mountains,” Harvick said, “and the Mountains Of Busch.”

    8. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex won Stage 1 and finished 11th in the Explore The Pocono Mountains 350.

    “Congratulations to my Joe Gibbs teammate Kyle Busch,” Truex said. “He took lemons and made lemonade. That could be why many people consider Kyle the ‘yellow liquid’ of auto racing.”

    9. Joey Logano: Logano finished 10th at Pocono.

    “I can’t remember the last time I actually felt like I could win,” Logano said. “I just know we need to step it up. Like Kyle Busch, we need to find that extra gear.”

    10. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski came home third at Pocono, posting his first top-five since a third at Kansas in early May.

    “I had forgotten what a top five felt like,” Keselowski said. “In fact, I had become accustomed to finishing outside the top 20. Actually, that should help me acclimate pretty easily when I start driving for Roush-Fenway Racing.”

  • Kyle Busch coasts to a thrilling victory at Pocono

    Kyle Busch coasts to a thrilling victory at Pocono

    From clutch issues to Victory Lane, Kyle Busch played a late fuel strategy to perfection after overtaking teammate Denny Hamlin prior to the final lap and coasting for a final full lap on a dry tank to win the Explore the Pocono Mountains 350 at Pocono Raceway, the second of a Pocono Cup doubleheader weekend, on Sunday, June 27.

    The starting lineup was based off the results from Saturday’s Cup event at Pocono, with the top-20 finishers being inverted for Sunday’s event. Chris Buescher, who finished 20th, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Michael McDowell, who finished 19th on Saturday. 

    Prior to the event, names like Cole Custer, Ryan Newman, Kyle Larson, Ryan Preece, Ross Chastain, Corey LaJoie and rookie Anthony Alfredo started at the rear of the field in back-up cars. Justin Allgaier also started at the rear of the field after replacing Justin Haley in the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, with Haley opting to sit out following his hard wreck in the Xfinity Series event occurring early Sunday at Pocono.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Buescher pulled ahead on the outside lane to retain the lead over McDowell and the field through the first turn and entering the second turn.

    Through the first lap, Buescher was out in front followed by McDowell, Christopher Bell, Martin Truex Jr. and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Behind, Daniel Suarez was in sixth followed by Aric Almirola, Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick.

    The following lap, the first caution of the race flew when rookie Anthony Alfredo made hard contact with the outside wall in Turn 2.

    When the race restarted on the sixth lap, Buescher peaked ahead until he slipped entering the first turn and lost his momentum along with a bevy of spots. Buescher’s slip-up allowed McDowell to move to the lead followed by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Truex and Bell. Behind, Aric Almirola made his way to fourth followed by Stenhouse, Suarez, Keselowski, Reddick and Wallace as Buescher fell all the way back to 12th.

    Through the first 10 laps of the event, McDowell remained in the lead by a narrow margin over Truex and Bell while Almirola, Stenhouse, Keselowski, Suarez, Wallace, Kyle Busch and Reddick were running in the top 10. By then, Kurt Busch was in 11th in front of Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick and Buescher. Chase Elliott was in 16th in front of rookie Chase Briscoe and teammate William Byron, Austin Dillon was in 20th behind Erik Jones and Alex Bowman, winner of the first Cup Pocono doubleheader event, was in 21st in front of Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson and Matt DiBenedetto. Ryan Newman, meanwhile, was in 29th.

    Three laps later, Truex moved his No. 19 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry into the lead. Teammate Bell quickly followed in his No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry to assume the runner-up spot while McDowell fell back to third in front of Almirola’s No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang.

    By Lap 20, Truex was out in front by more than a second over teammate Bell while Almirola, McDowell and Kyle Busch were in the top five. McDowell was back in sixth followed by Ryan Blaney and Bubba Wallace. Stenhouse was situated in ninth ahead of Suarez. Meanwhile, Logano and Harvick were in 12th and 13th, Elliott was still mired back in 15th in between teammate Byron and Kurt Busch, Bowman was back in 21st behind Hamlin and Larson was in 22nd in front of Erik Jones.

    Five laps later, Truex extended his advantage to more than two seconds over teammate Bell. Behind, Almirola, Keselowski and Kyle Busch remained in the top five ahead of Blaney and Wallace, with McDowell settling in eighth ahead of Stenhouse and Suarez.

    Shortly after, Hamlin brought his No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry to pit road under green. A lap later, his teammates, Bell and Kyle Busch, pitted. Meanwhile, the fourth Joe Gibbs Racing competitor, Truex, remained on the track and in the lead. During this process, Hendrick Motorsports’ competitors Elliott and Byron also pitted.

    At the front, Truex held a comfortable advantage over runner-up Almirola. With no lead lap challengers closing in approaching Lap 30, Truex was able to come back around and claim the first stage victory as he also claimed his fourth stage victory of the 2021 season. Almirola settled in second followed by Keselowski, Blaney and Wallace while McDowell, Stenhouse, Reddick, Suarez and Logano were scored in the top 10. By then, Byron, who was in 33rd, managed to beat Truex at the start/finish line to return on the lead lap.

    Under the stage break, nearly all of the leaders pitted and Truex retained the lead following his exit from his pit stall. Back on track, names like Keselowski, teammate Blaney, Austin Dillon, Bell, Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Elliott and Byron remained on the track. During the pit stops, Larson remained on pit road to have the front nose of his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE assessed after he ran into the rear of Hamlin on a restart.

    The second stage started on Lap 35 with Keselowski and Bell starting on the front row. At the start, Keselowski received a push from teammate Blaney to retain the lead through the first turn over Bell. Behind, Kyle Busch retained fourth place ahead of Byron, Hamlin and the field.

    By Lap 40, Keselowski continued to lead over teammate Blaney, Bell, Kyle Busch and Byron. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch, who was running in the top five, radioed issues to his No. 18 M&M’s Mini’s Toyota Camry as the car was popping out of fourth gear.

    Five laps later, teammates Keselowski and Blaney pitted, moving Kyle Busch to the lead. Larson, who reported overheating issues to his car, also pitted during this process. Earlier, Austin Dillon pitted.

    Through the first 50 laps of the event, Kyle Busch remained as the leader by nearly three-tenths of a second over Byron, with Bell, Hamlin and Elliott in the top five. Truex was in sixth followed by Almirola, Ross Chastain, Logano and Harvick. Not long after, Blaney made another pit stop to address a loose right-front wheel, a move that dropped him a lap behind the leaders.

    By Lap 60, Kyle Busch continued to lead by three-tenths of a second over Byron. Bell, teammate Hamlin and Elliott continued to run in the top five followed by Truex, Almirola, Chastain, Logano and Bowman.

    On Lap 65, Byron brought his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to pit road under green. By then, Daniel Suarez pitted. With Byron pitting from the runner-up spot, teammates Bell and Hamlin moved up to second and third behind their third teammate and leader, Kyle Busch. By then, all four Joe Gibbs Racing competitors were running in the top five, with Elliott in fourth.

    A few laps later, Kevin Harvick brought his No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang to his pit stall for service under green. 

    At the halfway mark on Lap 70, Kyle Busch was the leader followed by teammate Bell, Elliott, teammate Truex and Almirola. Chastain moved up to sixth followed by Logano, Bowman, Reddick and Kurt Busch. A lap earlier, Hamlin pitted.

    During the ensuing laps, Ryan Newman pitted along with Bell, Elliott, Truex, Chastain, Almirola, Kurt Busch, Bowman, Logano, Ryan Preece, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and others. During the sequence, Kyle Busch, who surrendered the lead to pit, had to receive a push from his crew after stalling his car with the car getting stuck in gear and not moving.

    Back on course and on Lap 75, Bubba Wallace was leading followed by DiBenedetto, Byron, Keselowski, Hamlin and Bell. Two laps later, Wallace pitted and Byron inherited the lead with Keselowski in second.

    By Lap 80, Byron was leading by more than two seconds over Keselowski, with Hamlin, Bell and Elliott in the top five. Truex was in sixth followed by Larson, Almirola, Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon.

    With the laps in the second stage concluding, Hamlin managed to overtake Keselowski for the runner-up spot. By then, Byron was clear out in front by more than two seconds. With a clear sight in front amid the lapped traffic, Byron was able to claim his second stage victory on Lap 80 as he also recorded his second stage victory of the season. Hamlin settled in second followed by Keselowski, Bell, Elliott, Truex, Kyle Busch, Larson, Almirola and Chastain.

    Under the stage break, some led by Keselowski pitted while others led by Byron remained on the track. During the pit stops, Kyle Busch spent extra time in his pit stall to have the shifter and gear issue on his car addressed. Despite pitting for a second time for repairs, Busch remained on the lead lap.

    With 50 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Byron received a push from Hamlin to remain as the leader. Behind, Elliott charged to third place followed by Bell, teammate Truex, Almirola and Bowman as the field battled intensely for positioning. 

    Two laps later, the caution flew due to debris that came off the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE piloted by Erik Jones, who earlier had a left-front tire flat.

    Under caution, some led by Byron and Hamlin pitted while the rest led by Elliott remained on the track. During the sequence, Elliott, who faked coming to pit road, was penalized for not maintaining his position on the track under caution, sending him back to fourth as Bell moved back to the lead.

    With 44 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Bell and Bowman started on the front row. At the start, Bowman received a push from Ross Chastain on the inside lane to move into the lead over Bell. Behind, Chastain challenged Bell for the runner-up spot while Elliott and Harvick battled dead even for fourth place in front of Almirola and Keselowski. 

    Back to the frontstretch, Harvick made a bold three-wide move to move into the runner-up spot after Bell and Chastain made contact against one another. Following the contact, Chastain’s No. 42 McDonald’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE went up the race track in Turn 1 with a flat tire following the contact with Bell. 

    Then entering the frontstretch, Elliott made contact with Bell, sending Bell sideways. Though Bell sustained right-rear damage to his car, he prevented the car from spinning sideways as the race proceeded under green. The contact scattered the field as Bell fell out of contention. Both Bell and Chastain pitted following their on-track incident. 

    Back up front, Bowman was the leader by nearly seven-tenths of a second over Harvick, with Keselowski, Blaney and Reddick in the top five. McDowell was up in sixth followed by Elliott, Almirola, Kurt Busch and Hamlin.

    Under the final 40 laps, Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE fell off the pace due to a flat right-front tire as he made the trip to pit road for four fresh tires. Not long after, Matt DiBenedetto pitted along with Logano.

    With 35 laps remaining, Bowman continued to lead by four-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Harvick, with third-place Keselowski trailing by more than a second. Soon after, names like Blaney and Austin Dillon pitted. In addition, Elliott made a second pit stop due to another flat tire.

    Down to the final 30 laps of the event, the battle for the lead intensified as Bowman led by less than three-tenths of a second over Harvick. Soon after, Almirola surrendered his spot on the track to pit along with Stenhouse, who had smoke trailing out of the tailpipe of his No. 47 Scott Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE as he made the left-hand turn to the garage.

    Two laps later, Harvick pitted along with McDowell. Another three laps later, more pit strategy occurred as Bowman surrendered the lead to pit for fuel for his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, giving the lead to the No. 2 Freightliner Ford Mustang piloted by Brad Keselowski. 

    Nearing the final 20 laps of the event, Tyler Reddick surrendered the runner-up spot to pit.

    With 20 laps remaining and the fuel strategy conversation continuing among multiple teams, Keselowski, who was in question about having enough fuel to make it to the finish, was leading by over Byron. Kurt Busch, Hamlin and Larson were in the top five followed by Kyle Busch, Wallace, Preece, Briscoe and Suarez. Harvick, who had enough fuel to complete the race to its scheduled distance, was in 13th behind Truex while Bowman was in 15th behind Blaney.

    Five laps later, Keselowski continued to lead by more than three seconds over Byron, with Kurt Busch, Hamlin and Larson remaining in the top five. Harvick, meanwhile, was still mired back in 13th behind Truex as Blaney, Bowman and Reddick were in 14th, 15th and 16th.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Keselowski was leading by more than 11 seconds over Byron, with Kurt Busch, Hamlin, Larson, Kyle Busch and the field trailing by more than 21 seconds. Harvick, meanwhile, was up in 10th place behind Ryan Newman.

    Two laps later, Keselowski, who last pitted on Lap 87, surrendered the lead to pit for fuel, with the former Cup champion not having enough to initially complete the remainder of the race. Despite pitting for fuel, Keselowski managed to pick up speed and pull ahead of Harvick as both awaited the fuel fate of the front-runners.

    Back on course, Byron inherited the lead followed by Hamlin, the Busch brothers, Larson and Wallace. 

    With five laps remaining, Byron, who was trying to conserve fuel, was leading by more than two seconds over Hamlin with Kyle Busch also joining the party. By then, Keselowski and Harvick were in seventh and eighth.

    Then with two laps remaining, Byron, who last pitted on Lap 94, pitted as teammates Hamlin and Kyle Busch moved into first and second. 

    Shortly after, Hamlin fell off the pace exiting Turn 2 as he ran out of fuel. Despite trying to block his teammate, Kyle Busch assumed the lead on the outside lane entering the frontstretch as he started the final lap of the race. With Busch out in front and Hamlin pitting, Kyle Larson moved into second place, trailing by more than seven seconds. By then, Kurt Busch pitted.

    With the gas tank in the No. 18 Toyota running dry, Kyle Busch, who last pitted on Lap 95, was able to navigate his way around the triangle circuit for a final time and come back around to take the checkered flag and steal the win a day after finishing in the runner-up spot in the first Cup Pocono doubleheader event.

    The victory marked Busch’s second of this season, fourth at Pocono and the 59th of his NASCAR Cup Series career. It was also Busch’s second of the season with rookie Cup crew chief Ben Beshore.

    “[The car’s] Stuck in fourth gear,” Busch said on NBCSN. “About out of gas. Just saving, just riding, just playing the strategy the best we could with what was given to us. Just can’t say enough about everybody on my team, everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota, [Toyota Racing Development], all the work that they’re putting in and everything. Sometimes, these races aren’t always won by the fastest car, but I still felt like we had the fastest car. Even though we were in the back and behind and having to come back and having to persevere, being stuck in fourth gear, no clutch, all that stuff, it’s all burned out. Nothing left in his M&M’s Mini’s Camry. It was awesome today…This is really awesome to pull off another win here at Pocono. Feels good.”

    Behind, Larson, who struggled throughout the event and wrecked a day ago while leading on the final lap, had enough fuel to come home in second place as he collected his ninth top-two result of the season.

    “It’s surprising finish for us. Our HendrickCars.com Chevy was really loose for a majority of the race, then we got a lot of nose damage there on one of the restarts. Was off on speed. I felt like after that. [Crew chief] Cliff [Daniels] and everybody did a really, really good job managing the race, coached me through saving fuel there at the end. [I] Was hoping that [Kyle Busch] was going to run out. I saw [Hamlin] running out. I was, ‘Okay, they’re teammates, they got to be close to running out.’ [Busch] did pit a lap after us under caution. That actually probably won them the race. But, yeah, second-place finish, I thought we would be outside of the top-20. A lot of points throughout the race today; we’ll take it. Happy about the effort for sure all weekend.”

    Keselowski and Harvick, both of whom were charging hard on fuel, finished in third and fourth while Bubba Wallace achieved his first top-five result of the season and for 23XI Racing by finishing fifth.

    “We knew we were in a worse position than [Kyle Busch],” Wallace said. “It was just racing our race. I was trying to do the best that I could, but all in all, really solid weekend. First top five for the team. I think that’s a little pen to the paper action there to re-sign and re-up there. All in all, just happy with how the weekend went. Smooth sailing for the most part. Today was a little bit trickier, but perseverance. Just got to battle through it and proud of everybody here.”

    Blaney, Bowman, Preece, Reddick and Logano finished in the top 10.

    Byron, following his late pit stop, ended up in 12th behind Truex while Hamlin, who was a lap away from capturing his first victory of the season until he ran out of fuel, fell all the way back to 14th.

    “We had our hands tied up behind our backs,” Byron said. “Definitely had the fastest car. The caution didn’t fit us perfectly. We had control of the race there and was right on our number to make it or not, and just didn’t work out. Really fast car. The AXALTA Chevrolet was awesome. Sucks to lose’em like that, but I feel like we had everything we needed in the car. Just couldn’t save enough fuel as far back as we were. Just part of it, but thanks to the guys.”

    “The result is we’ve pitted on the last lap for three weeks in a row,” Hamlin said. “That’s tough. I hate seeing the white [flag], ended up coming to pit road. It’s just so frustrating, but fuel mileage’s got us the last two weeks and lug nuts the week before, but we’re running fast. We’re getting a little better. I think that overall, we had a little bit more speed this weekend than what we’ve had in the past few weeks. Just can’t see the checkered right now.”

    Truex settled in 11th, Austin Dillon and Suarez finished 13th and 15th, Almirola came home in 16th ahead of McDowell, Kurt Busch fell all the way back to 20th behind Chris Buescher, rookie Chase Briscoe finished 21st, Justin Allgaier finished 25th as a substitute competitor for Spire Motorsports, Chastain and Elliott ended up in 26th and 27th and Bell ended his strong run in 32nd behind Erik Jones.

    There were 12 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 15 laps.

    With eight races remaining until the 2021 Cup Playoffs commences, Hamlin continues to lead the regular-season standings by four points over Larson. Eleven competitors (Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Christopher Bell and Michael McDowell) are guaranteed Playoff spots based on winning at least once through the first 19 regular-season events. Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Austin Dillon, Tyler Reddick and Kurt Busch occupy the remaining five spots as winless competitors, with Busch ahead by three points over Chris Buescher, 48 over Daniel Suarez, 54 over Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Bubba Wallace, 60 over Matt DiBenedetto and 72 over Ross Chastain. 

    Results.

    1. Kyle Busch, 30 laps led

    2. Kyle Larson

    3. Brad Keselowski, 31 laps led

    4. Kevin Harvick

    5. Bubba Wallace, three laps led

    6. Ryan Blaney

    7. Alex Bowman, 18 laps led

    8. Ryan Preece

    9. Tyler Reddick

    10. Joey Logano

    11. Martin Truex Jr., 19 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    12. William Byron, 22 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    13. Austin Dillon

    14. Denny Hamlin, one lap led

    15. Daniel Suarez

    16. Aric Almirola

    17. Michael McDowell, seven laps led

    18. Matt DiBenedetto

    19. Chris Buescher, six laps led

    20. Kurt Busch

    21. Chase Briscoe

    22. Ryan Newman

    23. Corey LaJoie, one lap down

    24. Cole Custer, one lap down

    25. Justin Allgaier, one lap down

    26. Ross Chastain, one lap down

    27. Chase Elliott, one lap down

    28. Cody Ware, one lap down

    29. B.J. McLeod, one lap down

    30. James Davison, three laps down

    31. Erik Jones, four laps down

    32. Christopher Bell, five laps down, three laps led

    33. Quin Houff, five laps down

    34. Anthony Alfredo, six laps down

    35. Josh Bilicki, eight laps down

    36. Garrett Smithley – OUT, Engine

    37. Timmy Hill – OUT, Handling

    38. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Engine

    Next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Road America, the series’ return to the track near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, since 1956. The event is slated to occur on Sunday, July 4, during Independence Day weekend at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Bowman notches a thrilling, last-lap victory at Pocono

    Bowman notches a thrilling, last-lap victory at Pocono

    After losing the lead and having a potential victory slip out of his hands to his teammate Kyle Larson in the final laps, Alex Bowman earned redemption and came out on top after a flat tire allowed Bowman to overtake his Hendrick Motorsports’ teammate on the final lap and win the Pocono Organics CBD 325 at Pocono Raceway, the first of a Pocono weekend doubleheader, on Saturday, June 26. The victory allowed Bowman to claim his third NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2021 season and his first in the Tricky Triangle circuit in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

    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 Cup event at Nashville Superspeedway, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with teammate William Byron.

    Prior to the event, Cole Custer started at the rear of the field due to multiple pre-race inspection failures.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Larson received a push from Joey Logano on the outside lane to clear teammate Byron and take off with the lead entering the first turn. Behind, Logano made his way into the runner-up spot along with Ross Chastain, thus dropping Byron back to fourth. 

    With the field jostling early for positioning, Larson led the first lap ahead of Logano, Chastain, Byron and Kevin Harvick, with Denny Hamlin in sixth ahead of the Busch brothers, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Austin Dillon.

    By the fifth lap, Byron, who was running in third place the previous lap, muscled his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE into the lead over teammate Larson and Logano. Behind, Harvick was in fourth while Chastain fell back to fifth ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. 

    Meanwhile, Chase Elliott, coming off his disqualification run at Nashville Superspeedway, was mired back in 27th place after sustaining damage at the start of the race. Ahead, Brad Keselowski was in 12th behind Daniel Suarez, Tyler Reddick was in 13th ahead of Aric Almirola and Matt DiBenedetto, Martin Truex Jr. was in 16th ahead of Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman was in 18th, Ryan Blaney was in 23rd behind Erik Jones and rookie Chase Briscoe was in 25th behind Chris Buescher. 

    Four laps later, the first caution of the event flew due to debris reported in Turn 2. By then, NASCAR informed the teams that the caution for debris will serve as the competition caution initially planned on the 12th lap.

    Under caution, some like Chastain, Truex, Wallace, Blaney, DiBenedetto, Jones, Briscoe, Ryan Newman, Ryan Preece and Elliott pitted while the rest led by Byron remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Corey LaJoie was busted with a pit road speeding penalty.

    When the race restarted on Lap 12, Byron received a push from teammate Larson through the first turn to retain the lead as the field behind battled through two lanes for one full lap. 

    Just as the field returned to the frontstretch and crossed the start/finish line, the second caution of the event flew when Brad Keselowski, who was trying to make a crossover move on Cole Custer, bumped and turned Custer hard into the outside wall, effectively ending Custer’s first of two weekend runs at Pocono early and sending him to a back-up car for Sunday’s event.

    Under caution, few like Keselowski, Newman, Preece and Elliott pitted while the rest led by Byron remained on the track.

    When the race restarted on Lap 17, Byron retained the lead while Kyle Busch, who restarted on the front row, fended off Larson for the runner-up spot, with Harvick and Logano in the top five. Not long after, Kyle Busch was able to muscle his No. 18 M&M’s Mini’s Toyota Camry into the lead over Byron.

    By Lap 20, Kyle Busch was leading by nearly four-tenths of a second over Byron, with third-place Larson trailing by more than a second. Harvick and Logano were in the top five followed by Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Daniel Suarez, Austin Dillon and Reddick.

    A few laps later, Aric Almirola, Christopher Bell and Alex Bowman pitted under green as part of a strategic plan.

    Back on the track, Kyle Busch extended his advantage to more than a second over Byron. With a clear course in front of him, Busch, who managed to lap teammate Bell, was able to cruise away from the field and win the first stage on Lap 25, thus claiming his third stage victory of the season. Byron settled in second followed by teammate Larson, Logano and Harvick while Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Suarez, Austin Dillon and Reddick were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, some of the leaders led by Kyle Busch pitted while others led by Logano remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 29 with Logano and Reddick restarting on the front row. At the start, Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang rocketed to the lead with drafting help from Kurt Busch’s No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE while Chastain, Blaney and Truex all overtook Reddick through the first turn.

    By Lap 35, Logano continued to lead by nearly a second over Kurt Busch, with teammate Chastain, Blaney and Truex in the top five. Bubba Wallace was in sixth followed by Reddick, Keselowski, DiBenedetto and Newman. Meanwhile, Larson, Byron and Kyle Busch, all of whom were battling their way back to the front on fresh tires, were in 13th, 14th and 15th. Hamlin was in 16th ahead of Harvick, Suarez, Almirola and Jones.

    Through the first 40 laps of the event, Logano remained as the leader followed by Kurt Busch, Chastain, Blaney and Truex while Larson, Byron and Kyle Busch were in 10th, 11th and 12th. By then, Reddick peeled off the race track to pit under green.

    By Lap 45, Logano surrendered the lead to pit followed by Kurt Busch as Chastain took over the lead ahead of Blaney and Truex. A few laps later, Newman and Austin Dillon also pitted under green.

    Through the first 50 laps of the event, Chastain, racing in his No. 42 McDonald’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, was leading by six-tenths of a second over Blaney, while Truex, Wallace and Keselowski continued to run in the top five. Larson, meanwhile, worked his way back to sixth place ahead of teammates Bowman and Byron while Kyle Busch was in ninth ahead of Hamlin.

    Three laps later, the caution flew when Newman, who made a pit stop not long ago, got loose, spun and made contact with the outside wall in Turn 1 as he sustained damage to the left side of his car.

    Under caution, nearly the entire field led by Chastain pitted while some like the Busch brothers, Michael McDowell, Logano and Reddick remained on the track. 

    The race restarted on Lap 57 with the Busch brothers starting on the front row. At the start, Kyle Busch managed to pull ahead of brother Kurt through the first turn while Byron, racing on two fresh tires, battled with Logano for fourth place behind McDowell.

    With the field battling intensely for positioning around the Tricky Triangle, the caution returned two laps later when contact from rookie Anthony Alfredo and Corey LaJoie sent LaJoie making contact with the outside wall and spinning across the frontstretch.

    When the race restarted on Lap 63, Kyle Busch retained the lead followed by brother Kurt and Logano while McDowell slipped back to fourth ahead of Byron. As the field fanned out to multiple lanes behind, Byron was able to move into fourth place followed by Blaney and Larson, all of whom overtook McDowell for positioning.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 65, Kyle Busch was leading by nearly half a second over Kurt Busch while Logano, Byron and Blaney were in the top five. Larson was in sixth followed by McDowell, Reddick, Hamlin and Truex. Elliott, meanwhile, was in 13th behind Wallace and Keselowski, Chastain was in 15th behind Bowman and Harvick was in 16th ahead of Suarez, Briscoe, Almirola and Jones.

    By Lap 70, Kyle Busch extended his advantage to more than two seconds over brother Kurt, while Logano, Byron and Larson were in the top five.

    Just then, the caution returned when Chastain, who made right-side contact with the wall in Turn 2, spun in Turn 3 while trying to peel off the track to pit road, though he was able to make it back to his pit stall. At the time of caution, McDowell pitted for service.

    Under caution, some like Kurt Busch pitted while the rest led by Kyle Busch pitted.

    With two laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted. At the start and with the field fanning out to multiple lanes approaching the first turn, Kurt Buch retained the lead ahead of Logano, Larson, Byron and Blaney. 

    Capitalizing in a two-lap shootout, Kurt Busch managed to fend off the field to claim the second stage on Lap 77 and win his second stage of this season. Larson crossed the start/finish line in second followed by Logano, Byron, Blaney, Hamlin, Truex, Bowman, Kyle Busch and Keselowski.

    Under the stage break, some like Elliott, Alfredo, Justin Haley, Chastain, LaJoie and others pitted while the rest led by Kurt Busch remained on the track.

    With 49 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Kurt Busch received a huge push from Larson on the outside lane to clear Byron prior to reaching the first turn. With Kurt Busch and Larson out in front, Logano overtook Byron for third while Blaney settled in fifth ahead of Hamlin, Truex, Kyle Busch and the field.

    A lap later, the battle for the lead intensified as Larson took over the top spot through Turn 2. Through the following turn, Kurt returned the favor before Larson utilized the outside lane to his advantage to clear Kurt Busch and assume the top spot through the frontstretch.

    With 40 laps remaining, Larson was leading by over Kurt Busch, with Logano, Blaney and Byron running in the top five. Bowman was in sixth followed by Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Wallace and Suarez. By then, names like Truex, Harvick and Bell pitted. 

    During the next three laps, names like Logano, Almirola, Byron, Blaney, DiBenedetto, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon, Erik Jones and Keselowski pitted under green. The leader Larson also pitted along with Wallace, Suarez, Kurt Busch, Bowman. Following the pit stops, Austin Dillon was busted for speeding on pit road while DiBenedetto was penalized for removing the gas can out of his pit stall. While serving his first penalty, the race went from bad to worse for DiBenedetto, who was busted for speeding on pit road.

    Back on the track, Hamlin, who has yet to pit, was leading followed by teammate Kyle Busch, McDowell, Reddick and Elliott. 

    With 33 laps remaining, Kyle Busch peeled off the track for fuel under green and managed to exit pit road and pull ahead of Larson.

    Three laps later, Hamlin was leading by nearly 15 seconds over McDowell, with Reddick, Elliott and Chris Buescher running in the top five. Rookie Anthony Alfredo was in sixth followed by Cody Ware, Ryan Preece, James Davison and Kyle Busch, who was still ahead of Larson.

    Another few laps later, Hamlin surrendered the lead to pit for two fresh tires and fuel. By the time he returned to the track, he was overtaken by Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson, both of whom had enough fuel for the finish and were battling intensely to be ahead of one another with the rest of the leaders needing to pit. 

    Back at the front, McDowell was leading followed by Reddick, Buescher and Elliott while the two Kyles battled for fifth with 25 laps remaining.

    A lap later, Reddick pitted, moving Buescher and Elliott to second and third while Kyle Busch continued to remain ahead of Larson in fourth.

    Shortly after, the caution flew due to debris spotted in Turn 2. Under caution, a number of competitors led by McDowell pitted while the rest led by Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson remained on the track.

    With 19 laps remaining, the race restarted with Kyle Busch and Bowman starting on the front row ahead of Larson and Blaney. At the start, the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE driven by Alex Bowman powered his way into the lead on the inside lane entering the first turn while Kyle Busch fended off Larson for the runner-up spot. A lap later and with the field jostling for late positioning, Larson took over the runner-up spot and pursued teammate Bowman for the lead while Busch was pressured by Byron for more. 

    Four laps later, Bowman continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over teammate Larson while third-place Kyle Busch trailed by nearly a second. Byron was in fourth followed by Blaney, Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Reddick, Logano, Harvick, Suarez and Wallace.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Bowman maintained a three-tenths-of-a-second advantage over teammate Larson, with both pulling away from third-place Kyle Busch by more than a second. Despite repeated challenges from Larson, Bowman retained the top spot through every corner and straightaway, including blocking his teammate and thwarting his teammate’s momentum to assume the top spot.

    With five laps remaining, Larson gained a run through the frontstretch and attempted to extend his momentum through the inside lane, but Bowman pulled the block. While Larson attempted to crossover on the outside lane, Bowman retained the top spot. 

    A lap later, Larson finally succeeded after he gained another run and overtook teammate Bowman through Turn 2 after side-drafting him. By then, Kyle Busch cut the deficit to be under a second behind the two Hendrick Motorsports’ teammates. Larson, however, started to pull away with the lead.

    With the white flag waving and the final lap of the race occurring, Larson was ahead by more than a second over teammate Bowman with Kyle Busch trailing by less than two seconds. 

    Then, trouble occurred for Larson, whose No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE lost a left-front tire and went dead straight into the outside wall in Turn 3, thus smacking the wall and losing his momentum. With Larson scraping the wall and limping back to the finish line, Alex Bowman reassumed the lead on the final corner and was able to come back around to take the checkered flag and grab the win.

    The victory was Bowman’s fifth of his NASCAR Cup Series career in his 207th series start and third of the season since taking over the iconic No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports car. Bowman, who signed a two-year contract extension to remain at Hendrick Motorsports a week ago, also became the third competitor to achieve three or more victories of this season.

    In addition, Hendrick Motorsports’ competitors have won the last seven Cup events in recent weeks, including the All-Star Race, and 10 of the first 18 regular-season points-paying races of 2021.

    “I don’t even know what to think,” Bowman said on NBCSN. “I hate to win one that way, but hell yeah, I’ll take it. Super proud of this Ally No. 48 team. Man, we kind of gave the lead away. We’re on two tires, just got super tight. Tried to hold [Larson] off as long as I could, but can’t say enough about everybody at Team Hendrick right now. From top to bottom, everybody’s just putting great race cars on the track. [Crew chief] Greg [Ives] and all the guys did a really good job. Man, we didn’t run that good all day, so I’m kind of in shock. I don’t know what to say to you guys…Heck yeah. I’ll take it.”

    While Bowman celebrated, Larson, who made significant contact with the wall, coasted across the finish line in ninth place and with a wrecked race car as his hopes of winning four consecutive Cup races in recent weeks were spoiled on the final lap. The wreck will force Larson to move to a back-up car for Sunday’s Cup event at Pocono.

    “I guess, disbelief still,” Larson, who made a trip to the infield care center, said. “I don’t know. A little bit laughable just because I can’t believe it. Hate that we didn’t get another win. It would’ve been cool to win five in a row, but just wasn’t meant to be, I guess, today. I felt something like right in the middle of the tunnel [turn], wasn’t quite sure what it was yet and then, it finally shredded halfway through the little short chute there and couldn’t turn. Hate that we didn’t get the win, but cool that Alex still did. Cool to keep Mr. [Hendrick]’s streak going, but hate that we didn’t get HendrickCars.com into Victory Lane. But, we’ll try and start another streak tomorrow.”

    Kyle Busch settled in second place, nearly seven-tenths of a second behind, while Byron, Hamlin and Blaney finished in the top five.

    Kurt Busch notched a strong sixth-place result while Logano, Harvick, Larson and Keselowski finished in the top 10.

    Reddick, Elliott, Suarez, Wallace and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. earned top-15 finishes, Truex settled in 18th behind Almirola and Bell, Austin Dillon ended up in 21st in front of Erik Jones and rookies Chase Briscoe and Anthony Alfredo finished 24th and 26th.

    There were 14 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 25 laps.

    With eight races remaining until the 2021 Cup Playoffs commences, Hamlin continues to lead the regular-season standings by eight points over Larson. Eleven competitors (Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Christopher Bell and Michael McDowell) are currently guaranteed Playoff spots based on winning at least once through the first 18 regular-season races of this season. Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Austin Dillon, Tyler Reddick and Kurt Busch occupy the remaining five vacant spots as winless competitors, with Busch ahead by four points over Chris Buescher, 42 over Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 55 over Daniel Suarez, 62 over Matt DiBenedetto.

    Results.

    1. Alex Bowman, 16 laps led

    2. Kyle Busch, 30 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    3. William Byron, 13 laps led

    4. Denny Hamlin, 11 laps led

    5. Ryan Blaney

    6. Kurt Busch, 12 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    7. Joey Logano, 18 laps led

    8. Kevin Harvick

    9. Kyle Larson, 15 laps led

    10. Brad Keselowski

    11. Tyler Reddick

    12. Chase Elliott

    13. Daniel Suarez

    14. Bubba Wallace

    15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    16. Aric Almirola

    17. Christopher Bell

    18. Martin Truex Jr.

    19. Michael McDowell, five laps led

    20. Chris Buescher

    21. Austin Dillon

    22. Erik Jones

    23. Ryan Preece

    24. Chase Briscoe

    25. Cody Ware

    26. Anthony Alfredo

    27. Justin Haley

    28. James Davison

    29. Garrett Smithley

    30. B.J. McLeod

    31. Quin Houff

    32. Matt DiBenedetto, one lap down

    33. Ross Chastain, one lap down

    34. Josh Bilicki, two laps down

    35. Timmy Hill, four laps down

    36. Corey LaJoie, five laps down

    37. Ryan Newman – OUT, Accident

    38. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident

    The NASCAR Cup Series will return for its second event of the weekend at Pocono and to cap off a doubleheader weekend on Sunday, June 27, with the event to occur at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Larson achieves second All-Star Race win at Texas

    Larson achieves second All-Star Race win at Texas

    The 2021 comeback season for Kyle Larson continued under the lights in the Lone Star state after the Elk Grove, California, native prevailed over a late battle against Brad Keselowski and Chase Elliott to win the NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, June 13, and claim his second All-Star career victory.

    The starting lineup was determined via random draw, with Kyle Larson, winner of last weekend’s Cup event at Sonoma Raceway, starting on pole position and Kyle Busch joining him on the front row. 

    Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick and Aric Almirola transferred to the All-Star Race following their respective segment victories in the All-Star Open along with Matt DiBenedetto, winner of this year’s All-Star Fan Vote.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced for Round 1, the field battled dead even through the first two turns and entering the backstretch led by the two Kyles. At the start/finish line, Kyle Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry led the first lap over Larson’s No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.

    Then in Turn 1, the caution waved when Christopher Bell got sideways in Turn 1, though he was able to straighten the car on the apron and not sustain any damage to his No. 20 CRAFTSMAN Toyota Camry. Bell was the only competitor who pitted under caution, with caution laps not counting in the race.

    When the race restarted on a 14-lap dash through the first round, the two Kyles battled dead even for the lead again for one full lap before Busch prevailed the following lap. With Kyle Busch leading, Cole Custer challenged Larson for the runner-up spot ahead of Chase Elliott and William Byron with the field battling intensely for spots.

    Through the first five laps of the event, Kyle Busch was leading by three-tenths of a second over Larson, with Byron, Custer and Elliott in the top five. Joey Logano and Austin Dillon were in sixth and seventh followed by Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick. 

    Two laps later, Larson overtook Kyle Busch to assume the lead for the first time. At the same time, Byron challenged Busch for the runner-up spot, though the former retained the spot.

    Not long after, Kyle Busch attempted to challenge Larson back for the lead on the inside lane, but Larson retained the top spot on the outside lane entering the backstretch. Soon after, Byron also took over the runner-up spot while Elliott and Custer battled for fourth.

    By Lap 12, the battle for the runner-up spot heated up as Elliott joined teammate Byron and Kyle Busch in an attempt to overtake both. With Larson still leading, Byron was able to clear himself to remain in second while Kyle Busch continued to battle Elliott for third place. 

    Back at the front, Larson was able to fend off teammate Byron and Kyle Busch to claim Round 1 on Lap 15. Byron, Kyle Busch, Elliott and Custer settled in the top five followed by Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Ross Chastain and Logano.

    Under the first break, the leaders pitted for early adjustments. Prior to the second round, the top-12 competitors were inverted in positions, a decision made via random draw. The move made Ryan Blaney and Kevin Harvick start on the front row.

    When Round 2 started on Lap 16, Blaney received a push from Chastain to retain the lead entering the first turn. Soon after, Chastain attempted to make a move on the outside lane for the lead, but his plan backfired as Keselowski took over the runner-up spot while Chastain was left in a battle with Chase Elliott. Behind, Harvick drifted back to eighth.

    The following lap, Chastain got Blaney sideways entering Turn 1, but Blaney maintained the lead and straightened his No. 12 Menards/Wrangler Ford Mustang, though he was left in a battle with teammate Keselowski for the lead.

    At the front, teammates Blaney and Keselowski battled dead even for the lead, with Keselowski fighting on the inside lane and Blaney on the outside. Chastain, meanwhile, was in third followed by Elliott and the Busch brothers.

    By Lap 20, Blaney was leading by a narrow margin over teammate Keselowski while Chastain, Kurt Busch, Elliott, Byron, Kyle Busch, Logano, Martin Truex Jr. and Custer were in the top 10. 

    Five laps later, Penske’s Blaney and Keselowski were running first and second followed by Chip Ganassi Racing’s Chastain and Kurt Busch, with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch in fifth and Hendrick Motorsports’ Elliott running in sixth. 

    When Round 2 concluded on Lap 30, Blaney survived an intense, competitive battle for the lead as he was the leader followed by teammate Keselowski, Chastain, Kurt Busch, Byron, Elliott, Kyle Busch, Custer, Denny Hamlin and Logano.

    Under the second break, the leaders returned to pit road for more adjustments. 

    Prior to the third event, the entire field was inverted, giving DiBenedetto and Almirola the front row. 

    When Round 3 started on Lap 31, DiBenedetto cleared Almirola to lead the field as Michael McDowell challenged Almirola for the runner-up spot. Behind, Ryan Newman challenged Harvick for fourth as Alex Bowman joined the party. 

    A few laps later, McDowell made a bid for the lead through the backstretch, but DiBenedetto received a push from Almirola’s No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang through Turn 4 to remain in the lead entering the backstretch.

    By Lap 35, DiBenedetto was leading by a narrow margin over McDowell followed by Bowman, Almirola and Larson. Newman was in sixth followed by Christopher Bell, Austin Dillon, Hamlin and Harvick.

    Two laps later, Bowman moved his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE into the lead.

    By Lap 40, Bowman was leading by half a second over DiBenedetto, with Almirola, McDowell and Newman in the top five,

    With the field behind battling for position, Bowman was able to retain the top spot and claim Round 3 on Lap 45. DiBenedetto was in second place followed by Almirola, McDowell, Newman, Larson, Hamlin, Bell, Byron and Harvick.

    Under the round break, the leaders returned to pit road for adjustments as the race transitioned to evening conditions.

    Prior to the fourth round, the top-nine competitors via random draw were inverted, placing Byron’s No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE into the lead.

    When Round 4 started on Lap 46, Byron and Bell battled side-by-side for the lead for one full lap before the former prevailed. Soon after, Larson made his way into the runner-up spot over Bell while DiBenedetto, Bowman and Hamlin battled for fourth. Elliott was mired back in ninth while Kyle Busch was in 17th.

    By Lap 50 and at the halfway mark, Byron was leading by two-tenths of a second over teammate Larson, with Bell trailing by six-tenths of a second. DiBenedetto and Hamlin battled for fourth while Bowman, Elliott, Blaney, Newman and McDowell were in the top 10.

    With the laps in the fourth round dwindling, Larson started to catch teammate Byron for the lead as he decreased the deficit to a tenth of a second.

    Despite being challenged by his teammate for the lead, Byron was able to hold on to the lead and win Round 4 on Lap 60 by a tenth of a second over Larson. Hamlin, Bell, Elliott, Blaney, Bowman, DiBenedetto, Almirola and Newman were scored in the top 10.

    Under the round break, the leaders pitted for another round of adjustments.

    The lineup for the fifth round was determined via the cumulative results from the first four rounds, giving Byron the lead and teammate Larson the runner-up spot.

    When Round 5 started on Lap 61, the entire field battled dead even led by teammates Byron and Larson.

    The following lap, names like Hamlin, Bell, DiBenedetto, Reddick, Truex, Harvick and McDowell made a mandatory pit stop under green. Soon after, Kyle Busch pitted along with Newman and Austin Dillon. Then, Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon were assessed a penalty for speeding on pit road.

    Back on track, Byron was leading followed by teammates Larson, Elliott and Bowman, with Kurt Busch and Keselowski in fifth and sixth. Soon after, Blaney pitted along with Custer.

    By Lap 70, all four Hendrick Motorsports competitors were running first through fourth, with Byron still out in front. By then, Custer and Kurt Busch made their mandatory pit stop under green.

    Through Lap 75, Byron continued to lead, though he was one of eight competitors that had yet to pit.

    Not long after, Byron pitted along with Larson, Elliott, Bowman and Chastain. Through the next three laps, Keselowski, Logano and Almirola were the final round of competitors to make a mandatory pit stop.

    Just then, the caution flew when Chastain, who had just pitted, spun in Turn 1 following contact from Newman. At the time of caution, Keselowski, who was the last competitor to pit, was able to cycle ahead with the lead over Elliott, Byron and Larson. 

    Under caution, few names like Chastain, Kyle Busch and DiBenedetto pitted. By then, Kyle Busch received the free pass and returned to the lead lap while Austin Dillon was still trapped a lap behind.

    When the race restarted on Lap 80, Keselowski and Elliott battled dead even for the lead, with Elliott leading the next lap by a nose. With the battle for the lead heating up in the closing laps, Elliott was able to take the rocket ahead with the lead on the outside lane through the following lap followed by teammates Byron and Larson as Keselowski slipped back to fourth.

    By Lap 85, Elliott was still leading by more than a tenth of a second over teammate Byron. Keselowski moved back into third place followed by Larson and Blaney while Logano was in sixth.

    When Round 5 concluded on Lap 90, Elliott was able to fend off teammate Byron to remain in the lead. Larson and Blaney settled in third and fourth followed by Keselowski, Logano, Hamlin, Bowman, Kurt Busch and Almirola.

    Under the final round break, Austin Dillon received the free pass and returned on the lead lap, making all 21 competitors scored on the lead lap entering the final round. Few names like Harvick, McDowell, Newman, Reddick, DiBenedetto and Austin Dillon pitted while under caution.

    Following the mandatory green flag pit stops from all competitors during the fifth round, it was announced that Chase Elliott’s pit crew led by crew chief Alan Gustafson earned $100,000 for being the fastest pit crew of the evening.

    The lineup for the final round was determined via the results from the fifth round, keeping Elliott and Byron on the front row.

    When the Final Round started on Lap 90 and for a 10-lap shootout to the finish, Elliott peaked ahead in Turn 1 before Blaney made a bold three-wide move while going for the lead over Larson and Byron, with Byron falling back. Through the backstretch, Blaney and Elliott engaged in a heated battle, with Elliott receiving a push from Larson to squeak ahead.

    The following lap, teammates Elliott and Larson battled dead even for the lead across the line and for nearly a full circuit before Keselowski bolted his way to the lead beneath Elliott and Larson through Turns 3 and 4. Though Keselowski led the following lap, Larson fought back on the outside lane and reassumed the top spot with seven laps remaining.

    With five laps remaining, Larson was leading by nearly a tenth of a second over Keselowski, with Elliott trailing by two-tenths of a second and Logano and Blaney running in the top five. Despite being pressured by Keselowski and Elliott, Larson continued to hold strong with the lead.

    Down to the final three laps of the event, Larson continued to lead by a tenth of a second over Keselowski, with Elliott trailing by three-tenths of a second and slowly falling back. 

    When the final lap started, Larson was ahead by nearly three-tenths of a second over Keselowski, who continued to trail Larson closely, but not have enough to complete his run to the lead. Through the backstretch and Turn 3, Larson stabilized his narrow margin over Keselowski to come back around the finish line and take the checkered flag on Lap 100, thus winning the All-Star Race and a million dollars.

    With the victory, Larson became the eighth competitor to claim multiple All-Star victories as he won his first All-Star event since 2019. In addition, he recorded the 10th All-Star victory for Hendrick Motorsports and the first for crew chief Cliff Daniels.

    FORT WORTH, TEXAS – JUNE 13: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, and crew chief Cliff Daniels celebrate in victory lane after winning the NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway on June 13, 2021 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images).

    “Honestly, I can’t believe it,” Larson said on FS1. “That second run there, we were really bad and I was like, ‘Man, we’re in trouble.’ I went backwards that round, so I was like we got an uphill battle and did not imagine myself winning this race today. Cliff and everybody works so hard on this thing, made some good adjustments during those first, second and third rounds, and got us in position. That last restart worked exactly how I needed it to do…I can’t believe it.”

    Keselowski finished in second place in his 13th appearance in the All-Star event, which marked his third runner-up event in the event.

    “It feels like to run second to the Hendrick cars right now is kind of an accomplishment,” Keselowski said. “They’re just stupid fast. I had [Larson] off of Turn 4, but they just have so much speed. He just motored right on back by me like damn. It feels like a first in class day for the Discount Tire Ford. [Crew chief] Jeremy Bullins and the team did a great job of executing and getting us in position. We just didn’t have enough speed to make the most of it, but good execution day and I’m proud of that.”

    Elliott, winner of last year’s All-Star event at Bristol Motor Speedway, settled in third place. Logano and teammate Blaney finished in the top five. Bowman, teammate Byron, Almirola, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch completed the top 10 on the track.

    There were 10 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured seven cautions. All 21 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Kyle Larson, 17 laps led

    2. Brad Keselowski, five laps led

    3. Chase Elliott, 12 laps led

    4. Joey Logano

    5. Ryan Blaney, 15 laps led

    6. Alex Bowman, nine laps led

    7. William Byron, 30 laps led

    8. Aric Almirola

    9. Kyle Busch, six laps led

    10. Kurt Busch

    11. Christopher Bell

    12. Michael McDowell

    13. Martin Truex Jr.

    14. Cole Custer

    15. Kevin Harvick

    16. Tyler Reddick

    17. Matt DiBenedetto, six laps led

    18. Ross Chastain

    19. Austin Dillon

    20. Ryan Newman

    21. Denny Hamlin 

    Next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ inaugural event at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday, June 20, with the event to occur at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN as FOX’s coverage of this year’s NASCAR season concludes.

  • Larson achieves historic victory for Hendrick Motorsports in the Coca-Cola 600

    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.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: COTA

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: COTA

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 14th in the EchoPark Texas Grand Prix, only his fourth finish outside the top 10 this season.

    “I’m just happy to make it out of there alive,” Hamlin said. “Like Kevin Harvick said, it was too dangerous to be racing in those conditions. Obviously, visibility was a factor for the drivers and for NASCAR officials, because they apparently couldn’t see jack. But what better place to be shielded from treacherous elements than an ivory tower.”

    2. Kyle Larson: Larson finished second at the Circuit of The Americas as Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott took the win.

    “The track at the Circuit of The Americas was built for Formula 1 racing,” Busch said. “Prior to 2014, F1 cars were distinguishable by their engines’ high-pitched whine. Many NASCAR drivers are distinguishable by their high-pitched whines about racing in the rain.”

    3. Chase Elliott: Elliott won the rain-shortened EchoPark Texas Grand Prix after 54 laps, giving Hendrick Motorsports its 268th win, tying Petty Enterprises for most all-time by an organization.

    “I like HMS’s chances to take the top spot outright,” Elliott said. “Why? As you know, Petty Enterprises is defunct. That’s not to be confused with ‘de-funk,’ which is how NASCAR fans sanitize their campers after a weekend at a NASCAR infield.”

    4. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex’s day at Cota ended early on Lap 24 when Cole Custer rear-ended him as rain severely limited visibility.

    “Visibility was terrible,” Truex said. “If I had to give it a grade, I would give visibility a ‘C minus.’”

    5. William Byron: Byron suffered an early flat tire at COTA, but recovered to salvage a 12th place finish..

    “I also got rear-ended by Matt DiBenedetto,” Byron said. “There seemed to be a lot of that happening at COTA—drivers wildly ramming into the back of another. And talk about an awkward situation, when the rammee confronts the rammer and asks, ‘How’d your front end get into my back end?’”

    6. Kevin Harvick: Harvick crashed hard in the rain on Lap 19 at COTA in a chain-reaction wreck also involving Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace, and Christopher Bell. Harvick finished 37th. Afterward, Harvick decried NASCAR’s decision to race in the severely wet conditions.

    “That was the most dangerous racing I’ve ever been involved in,” Harvick said. “Correction. Second-most dangerous. I’ve raced against Kyle Busch when he was mad at me.”

    7. Joey Logano: Logano won Stage 1 in the EchoPark Texas Grand Prix and finished third, posting his sixth top-five of the season.

    “I think NASCAR fans love wet-weather racing,” Logano said. “They actually cheered when they saw the grooved tires go on. It may be one of the only times you’ll see NASCAR fans fly the ‘Do Tread On Me’ flags.”

    8. Alex Bowman: Bowman finished eighth at COTA as Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson finished 1-2.

    “This was the first NASCAR Cup race at the Circuit of The Americas,” Bowman said. “Say what you will about treacherous conditions, a rain-shortened race and disgruntled drivers, but we certainly ‘made a splash.’”

    9. Kyle Busch: Busch won Stage 2 at COTA and finished 10th.

    “I led 12 laps,” Busch said, “and eclipsed the 18,000 laps led mark. Now, I don’t see myself catching Richard Petty. He led over 51,000 laps in his career. That’s okay, because no one’s ever going to mistake me for a king. The closest I’ve ever come to royalty is being called a ‘princess.’”

    10. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished a disappointing 19th in the Texas Grand Prix at COTA.

    “Matthew McConaughey served as grand marshal for Sunday’s race,” Keselowski said. “McConaughey is a superstar, so when he said, ‘Drivers, start your engines,’ the crowd went wild. In other words, the ‘joint was lit.’”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished seventh at Dover, posting his tenth top 10 of the season.

    “I unveiled my new racing shoe,” Hamlin said. “It’s called the ‘Jordan Racer 1,’ and it comes with a heat shield built right into the heel. Chances are very good that it will eventually be the hottest shoe on the market.”

    2. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished 19th at Dover, one lap down.

    “It just wasn’t our day,” Truex said. “And that sucks, because I’m really fond of that ‘Miles The Monster’ trophy. Now, I can’t tell you exactly why I like that trophy so much. In other words, I can’t give you a ‘concrete’ reason why it appeals to me.”

    3. William Byron: Byron dealt with early brake issues at Dover, but overcame them on his way to a fourth in the Drydene 400.

    “My brake pedal was going all the way to the floor,” Byron said. “That’s not good, although technically, I did have the ‘pedal to the metal.’”

    4. Kyle Larson: Larson won Stages 1 and 2 but couldn’t hold off Hendrick teammate Alex Bowman for the win. Larson finished second as HMS took the top four spots.

    “Losing is the pits,” Larson said. “Oh, did I say ‘Losing is the pits?’ I meant to say ‘Losing in the pits,’ because that’s what we did. Did I say ‘we?’ I meant to say ‘they.’”

    5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick took sixth at Dover and is now eighth in the points standings.

    “It was good to see fans in the stands at Dover,” Harvick said. “Especially some without masks. Now, the fans’ full return won’t be complete until they’re allowed to be out full force in a track infield. And experience tells me that the only way to fully appreciate infield fans is without a mask, because they smell so bad you can taste them.”

    6. Alex Bowman: Bowman won the race off pit road on the final pit stop and led the final 98 laps to win the Drydene 400 at Dover.

    “Hendrick Motorsports cars swept the top four,” Bowman said. “They call that a ‘train,’ and they tell me no one’s run one that well at HMS since Tim Richmond.”

    7. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski suffered a lug nut mishap late at Dover, which forced an extra pit stop to correct. The lost track position left the driver of the No. 2 Penske Mustang with a 16th-place finish.

    “Did you see the guy dressed as Kyle Busch in the stands?” Keselowski said. “It made my day. Now there’s two Kyle Busch’s I can call an ‘ass.’ That would be called the ‘ass-ass-ination’ of Kyle Busch.”

    8. Joey Logano: Logano finished fifth at Dover behind the Hendrick Motorsports 1-2-3-4 finish.

    “That’s the epitome of a ‘sweep,’” Logano said. “So, basically, Hendrick took the broom to the rest of us. And speaking of ‘taking a broom,’ that’s also how Teresa Earnhardt traveled.”

    9. Kyle Busch: Busch suffered early engine issues at Dover and finished 27th, seven laps down, in the Drydene 400.

    “There was a fan in the stands dressed exactly like me,” Busch said. “I’m flattered, but mostly surprised, that anyone would go out of their way to look like me.”

    10. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished third at Dover as Hendrick Motorsports swept the top four spots.

    “I started from the rear because of multiple inspection failures,” Elliott said. “That seems to be a weekly occurrence for me. You know it may be a problem when NASCAR officials spend as much time under your hood as your mechanics.”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Darlington

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Darlington

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex swept Stages 1 and 2 at Darlington and held off Kyle Larson in the closing laps of the final stage to take the win, his third of the year.

    “I could feel Kyle coming,” Truex said. “Heck, I thought he was going to pass me. When he got to within a second, I said a word that needed to be censored, out of my own frustration.”

    2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin grazed the wall late at Darlington, but held on to post a fifth in the Goodyear 400.

    “I’m still winless,” Hamlin said, “and it’s very frustrating. Since I can’t win any, I’m offering ‘bonus points’ to anyone who can tell me how to break this slump.”

    3. William Byron: Byron finished fourth at Darlington and is third in the points standings.

    “Daytona, Darlington, and Kansas announced that upcoming summer and fall races will be held with fully open grandstands,” Byron said. “And you can best believe the same people that complained about not being able to attend a race will be the same ones complaining that they’re sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with a fellow NASCAR fan.”

    4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished sixth at Darlington.

    “I think all drivers can agree that the ‘higher horsepower-lower downforce’ package is great,” Harvick said. “We all call it the ‘How Tim Richmond Liked His Women.”

    5. Kyle Larson: Larson finished second in the Goodyear 400 at Darlington after falling just short of catching Martin Truex Jr. in the final stage.

    “I was so close to Truex I could taste it,” Larson said. “But I couldn’t quite get there. Therein lies the difference between me and Truex: ‘I got caught.’”

    6. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski started on the pole and finished 24th at Darlington.

    “It was true for me on Sunday,” Keselowski said. “Darlington is the track that’s ‘too tough to tame.’ My No. 2 Ford Mustang, at least for the day, was called the car that’s ‘too tough to tame.’ The handling was off all day.”

    7. Joey Logano: Logano suffered a pit lane speeding penalty on the final pit stop of the race and finished a disappointing 13th at Darlington.

    “The No. 22 Ford’s paint scheme honored Mario Andretti’s first Formula 1 victory in 1971,” Logano said. “But really, I doubt NASCAR fans care at all about Formula 1, or Formula 2, 3, or 4, for that matter. In other words, it’s a matter of ‘zero F’s given.’”

    8. Kyle Busch: Busch overcame an early spin to post a third-place result at Darlington.

    “My car’s paint scheme celebrated M&M’s 80th anniversary,” Busch said. “M&M’s has been a sponsor of mine for years, and I’m sure having their logo on my car has made them millions. So, they’ve really exploited me and my car for their gain. Talk about ‘milk’ chocolate.”

    9. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished seventh at Darlington and is eighth in the points standings.

    “My car honored 1992 Cup champion Alan Kulwicki,” Elliott said, “and featured the throwback Hooters paint scheme. Rumor has it that Kulwicki once visited the ‘private back room’ at one particular Hooters, where he allegedly received a ‘Polish victory lap dance.’”

    10. Ryan Blaney: Blaney tagged the wall late while running in the top five and settled for an eighth in the Goodyear 400.

    “NASCAR just revealed the ‘Next Gen’ car,” Blaney said. “At first glance, it looks really cool, sleek, and futuristic. On second glance, it didn’t pass inspection.”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Talladega

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Talladega

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin was penalized twice for speeding on pit lane, and later suffered damage in a late crash. He finished 32nd, three laps down.

    “I got caught speeding while serving the penalty for my first speeding infraction,” Hamlin said. “NASCAR officials told me, ‘Better luck next time.’

    “Bubba Wallace will be the center of a Netflix series that chronicles his season with newly-formed 23XI Racing. If you’d like to know more, do a Google search for ‘NASCAR streaming’ and kindly ignore the results that explain how drivers relieve themselves in their cars.”

    2. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski survived at Talladega and used a last-lap pass to win the Geico 500, his sixth Talladega triumph.

    “Roger Penske met with his Penske Racing drivers earlier this week,” Keselowski said, “and he told us that a replay of our last lap crash at Daytona in February would be unacceptable. His words really stuck with me. You could say the words of the man who built the Penske trucking empire really ‘moved’ me.”

    3. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex suffered damage when a Brad Keselowski block sent Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin into the wall and into the path of Truex. Truex eventually finished 31st, two laps down.

    “It was good to see fans in the Talladega infield,” Truex said, “and it’s also good to see them partying hard and consuming alcohol at a rate that would make a liver blush. You could say they’re ‘BAC.’”

    4. Joey Logano: Logano crashed out at Talladega with a lap to go in Stage 1. Logano finished 39th.

    “My No. 22 Ford went airborne after I made contact with Denny Hamlin,” Logano said. “As Denny’s primary sponsor is FedEx, that’s called getting ‘air mailed.’

    “Congratulations to my teammate Brad Keselowski for his win, and congratulations to Jeb Burton for winning the Xfinity race on Saturday. That was his first Xfinity win. Jeb is the son of Jeff Burton, and the nephew of ‘Wadd Button.’”

    5. William Byron: Byron survived a late Stage 2 accident that collected three Hendrick Motorsports cars and rebounded to take the runner-up finish at Talladega.

    “Talladega is always a battle of attrition,” Byron said. “It’s all about survival and making educated decisions that are beneficial despite all the chaos going on around you. And on that note, it’s a good time to reiterate that NASCAR will not mandate that drivers get the COVID vaccination. It makes sense, because there’s no way NASCAR will inspect their drivers as strictly as they do their cars.”

    6. Kevin Harvick: Harvick led 12 laps and finished fourth in the Geico 500.

    “My No. 4 Ford advertised a product called ‘Dog Brew By Busch,’” Harvick said. “Just to be clear, this product does not contain alcohol. That means dogs won’t get drunk when they drink it, and humans will be very drunk when they inevitably drink it.”

    7. Christopher Bell: Bell finished 17th at Talladega.

    “Hip-hop duo Tag Team served as the race’s grand marshals,” Bell said. “They’re famous for the song ‘Whoomp! (There It Is).’ I think it was awesome that NASCAR tabbed Tag Team to give the ‘Start Your Engines’ command. It was a bold selection. Could it have been bolder? Only if NASCAR had chosen Tag Team to deliver the convocation.”

    8. Ryan Blaney: Blaney was a factor on the final lap at Talladega and finished ninth as Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski took the win.

    “If you’re leading the next-to-last lap at Talladega,” Blaney said, “you’re what we call a ‘sitting duck.’ To quote Matt DiBenedetto, who led that penultimate lap, ‘Quack.’”

    9. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished 24th at Talladega.

    “I’m very disappointed,” Chase Elliott said. “For finishing 24th, for sure, but mostly for finishing 18 spots behind a driver named Kaz Grala, who may or may not be an Israeli self-defense discipline.”

    10. Kyle Larson: Larson blew an engine only seven laps in at Talladega and finished last.

    “My car overheated almost immediately,” Larson said, “so I completed only three laps. That’s totally unacceptable. And I was pissed. As I was pulling my No. 5 Chevrolet into the garage, I thought, ‘The car and I both are ‘coming in hot.’”