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  • Haley to compete in All-Star Race for Spire Motorsports

    Haley to compete in All-Star Race for Spire Motorsports

    Justin Haley, coming off his first NASCAR Xfinity Series career win at Talladega Superspeedway, will compete in this year’s NASCAR Cup All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday, July 15. 

    The Winamac, Indiana, native became eligible for the annual All-Star event when he scored his first Cup career victory at Daytona International Speedway in July 2019 in a rain-shortened race, though he is not a full-time Cup competitor. The win came in Haley’s third Cup career start, which was the earliest a Cup driver scored a first career win since Trevor Bayne won the 2011 Daytona 500 in his second series start. 

    Haley will be driving the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Spire Motorsports, the same organization he drove to his first Cup win, while sponsored by the Fraternal Order of Eagles. In addition, Haley, who became the 32nd driver to win across NASCAR’s three major division series, will also become the ninth NASCAR Next alumnus to compete in the annual exhibition race.

    Haley is in his second full-time season in the Xfinity Series with Kaulig Racing, where he has won once and notched seven top-10 results through 11 races. His lone Cup start this season came in February in the 62nd running of the Daytona 500, where he drove the No. 16 Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Kaulig Racing and finished 13th.

    With Haley’s entrance, 15 Cup competitors have secured their spots for the first All-Star Race to run at Bristol, including Matt Kenseth. The remaining competitors have until the event to either win any of the four regular-season series races prior to the All-Star Race (Pocono doubleheader, Indianapolis and Kentucky), transfer via the NASCAR All-Star Open that will occur prior to the All-Star Race on July 15 or as a final measure, be eligible for the Fan Vote win.

    This year’s All-Star Race at Bristol will mark the first time the annual event will occur outside of Charlotte Motor Speedway as Charlotte, North Carolina, continues to deal with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This will also be the first and only time in 2020 where the Cup cars will sport number logos towards the rear wheel instead of the car’s doors, a move that will provide more space for sponsor logos to appear on the car’s side and which serves as a test for NASCAR for possible, future uses.

    Further announcements regarding the format of the All-Star Race will be announced at a later date.

  • NASCAR Xfinity Series Power Rankings – Bristol I

    NASCAR Xfinity Series Power Rankings – Bristol I

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series continued their stretch of racing this past week as another Monday night race was completed at the “Fastest Half-Mile,” Bristol Motor Speedway.

    In what was an action-packed race, that saw 12 cautions for 85 laps, Noah Gragson made a late-race maneuver (that moved teammate Justin Allgaier) and was victorious for the second time this season.

    The No. 9 Plan B Sales Chevrolet was a fast car early on after leading a stretch of 46 laps, before averaging a top-five to top-10 run mid-race.

    As Gragson scored the victory, many other Xfinity drivers scored their best finish of the season, and for some, the best finish of their career.

    This week’s Power Rankings sees a shakeup among the drivers.

    With that in mind, here are this week’s Power Rankings following the Cheddar’s 300 at Bristol.

    1. Chase Briscoe – After a miserable Charlotte outing where he finished 20th, the Indiana native looked to rebound this week at Bristol and have a strong run. With no qualifying in place as of now, Briscoe started the No. 98 Ford in the 11th position. He spent the majority of the race running inside the top-10, averaging sixth, never once falling outside the top-10. In the stages, Briscoe finished third in Stage 1 and fifth in Stage 2. He was in contention late with an overtime restart with two to go, restarting outside of eventual race winner Noah Gragson. Ultimately, Briscoe drove the No. 98 Highpoint.com Ford to second place and scored his fourth top-five of the season.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
    2. Noah Gragson – The Las Vegas native shined under the lights in the early going and was there when it counted. Gragson moved his teammate Allgaier out of the way in the last two laps which led to a furious Allgaier, as Gragson picked up the victory for the second time his season. Despite that late-race move, the No. 9 JR Motorsports driver, was up front early and won the first stage. Gragson then piloted the Chevrolet to a second-place finish in Stage 2. Even though the late-race incident might cause some tension between the two teammates, Gragson is solidly locked in the Playoffs with a second win, should the playoffs still take place.

      Previous Week Ranking- Not Ranked
    3. Brandon Brown – Brown continued his early season momentum after finishing eighth last week at Charlotte, to another season best by finishing seventh at Bristol. The Virginia driver’s last seventh-place finish came at the season opener back in February at Daytona. He was unable to score any stage points in either stage, however, the team continues to ride high on their last few weeks of solid top-10 finishes. Don’t be surprised if Brown can slip into a top-five finish here soon.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fourth
    4. Daniel Hemric – The No. 8 South Point Casino and Hotel driver came home to a quiet sixth-place finish Monday night at Bristol. Hemric started eighth and ran the same position throughout the race. He did fell back to 23rd at one point in the race, due to a pit road speeding penalty. Despite that, Hemric spent 94 percent of the race in the top-15, before rallying to another top-10 finish, the fourth of the year for Hemric in six starts.

      Previous Week Ranking – Third
    5. Harrison Burton – It was a solid night for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who was awarded the pole after the random draw. Burton had a strong car early on but fell out of the top-10 in the first stage and did not receive any stage points. Eventually, the No. 20 team rallied back to a fourth-place finish in the second stage. Burton led the first 25 laps of the race and would lead again for two more times with a total of 81 laps led. When the checkered flag flew, the North Carolina driver finished fourth, his fifth top-five of the season.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked

    Fell Out

    1. Ross Chastain – From first to worst in one week, Chastain never really got a chance to show what he was capable of in the race. He never got to lead a lap and was the reason for the first caution flag of the night. He and Austin Cindric were caught up in a battle before Chastain’s car moved up the racetrack. He would spin out in the process and collected Cindric in the going. While he was able to get back out to the track, the Floridian finished in 28th position, numerous laps down.

      Previous Week Ranking – First
    2. Austin Cindric- The Team Penske driver was caught up in Chastain’s incident on Lap 7 of the race, resulting in his back bumper and deck lid being torn to shreds. An upper A-frame damage was too much for the No. 22 team to fix and he was credited with a 36th place finish.

      Previous Week Ranking – Second
    3. Michael Annett – Annett was among several drivers that were unfortunately caught up in the wreck with no wrongdoing on his part. He barely escaped the sitting car of Ross Chastain. Annett’s car tore the whole back bumper off of Chastain’s car and sustained major damage to the No. 1 Chevy. The night was done early for the JR Motorsports driver, as he would be credited with a last-place finish.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fifth

  • Tough ending for Kaulig Racing at Bristol

    Tough ending for Kaulig Racing at Bristol

    Following an up-and-down result last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kaulig Racing traveled to Tennessee for the next NASCAR Xfinity Series scheduled race at Bristol Motor Speedway, fielding three cars as AJ Allmendinger joined Ross Chastain and Justin Haley to the team’s lineup. When the checkered flag dropped under the lights, Allmendinger emerged with a top-10 result while Haley and Chastain were left with disappointing finishes outside the top 15.

    With the race’s lineup determined by a random draw, Haley and Chastain started fourth and sixth while Allmendinger, who started his first Xfinity event since the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval in September, started 27th. In the opening laps of the race, Haley and Chastain displayed early speed by moving to third and fourth. Disaster struck, however, on the fifth lap, when Chastain blew a right-front tire entering Turn 4 and made contact with Austin Cindric against the outside wall. The contact sent Chastain around, where he was clipped by an oncoming Michael Annett. Despite sustaining significant rear-end damage to his No. 10 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet, Chastain’s crew was able to make repairs to keep the driver on the lead lap.

    When the race restarted on Lap 16, Haley settled in third. He remained in the top five as the laps dwindled while Allmendinger methodically worked his way up through the field. Nearly 10 laps later, however, Chastain was forced to pit under green for more repairs needed to his car. He eventually took his car behind the wall where his crew was able to continue making repairs. He would eventually return to the track multiple laps down.

    At the time of the competition caution on Lap 35, Haley was third and Allmendinger was able to race his way to 18th. When the race completed its first stage, Haley was fourth, Allmendinger raced his way into the top 10 in eighth and Chastain was 31st, more than 30 laps behind. Following pit stops under the stage break, Haley exited eighth while Allmendinger returned on track in 11th.

    When the second stage started on Lap 98, Haley moved into second but slipped to third the following restart. On Lap 121, a bump from Ryan Sieg sent Allmendinger spinning in Turn 3, drawing the event’s sixth caution. Despite the contact, Allmendinger was able to keep Kaulig Racing’s No. 16 Ellsworth Advisors Chevrolet sideways below the apron without sustaining any damage or contact from anyone else. He pitted for fresh tires and returned on track.

    By Lap 155, Allmendinger battled his way within the top 10 while Haley continued racing in the top five, spending most of the race in third. At the conclusion of the second stage, Haley was third and Allmendinger was 10th. Chastain was in 28th, 30 laps behind the leaders.

    Throughout the start of the final stage, Haley continued battling in the top five and Allmendinger continued battling inside the top 10. With 81 laps remaining, Haley moved into second after passing Noah Gragson and started his pursuit for the lead toward Justin Allgaier. During this time, however, Allmendinger made an unscheduled pit stop to have the left-side tires changed. By the time he returned on track, he was three laps behind the leaders.

    As the laps dwindled, Haley started to chip away his one-second deficit from Allgaier. With less than 60 laps remaining, Haley drew himself within a tenth of a second from Allgaier, who was struggling behind lapped traffic and was ready to pounce for the lead. With the battle for the lead brewing, the caution flew with eight laps remaining for a single-car spin in Turn 4. Under caution, Haley pitted with the leaders and dropped to fourth. Allmendinger remained on the track while Chastain pitted as both were still multiple laps behind.

    The following restart with 45 to go, Haley made contact with rookie Riley Herbst in Turn 2. The contact sent Herbst spinning and slapping the outside wall while Haley proceeded in third with cosmetic damage and a dragged splitter to his No. 11 LeafFilter Chevrolet. Despite the damage, Haley remained on track while reporting no significant fender damage. When the race restarted with 36 to go, Haley fell to fourth but returned to third two laps later after forcing his way below Brandon Jones in Turn 2.

    With approximately 20 laps remaining, Haley’s race went south when he slipped in Turn 1 and scrubbed the outside wall in Turn 2 while trying to race his way back to second. The contact cut a tire on Haley’s machine, where he was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop as his chances of winning his first Xfinity race evaporated for another week.

    Through two additional cautions and a late restart that extended the race into overtime, Allmendinger was able to race his way back on the lead lap. On the overtime restart, Allmendinger was able to race his way to a 10th-place result for his third top-10 result in his sixth start with Kaulig Racing. Haley settled in 17th, four laps behind the leaders, while Chastain ended his long race in 28th, 48 laps behind. All Kaulig teammates watched from a distance as Gragson held off Chase Briscoe and Jones to win at Thunder Valley.

    With the result, Haley is eighth in the series standings, 79 points behind points leader Briscoe, while Chastain dropped from third to fifth and is 52 points behind.

    Allmendinger is scheduled to make seven more Xfinity races this season with Kaulig Racing. Chastain and Haley, along with their fellow competitors, will return for the next series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on June 6 at 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Gragson rallies from late incident to win at Bristol in overtime

    Gragson rallies from late incident to win at Bristol in overtime

    It was not an ideal move that Noah Gragson had in mind when he wrecked his teammate Justin Allgaier for the lead in the closing laps, but it was one that resulted in the Las Vegas native winning the Cheddar’s 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway following an overtime shootout. The victory was Gragson’s second of his NASCAR Xfinity Series career in his 43rd series start, second of this season and his first national touring series win at Bristol. The victory was the 48th in the series for JR Motorsports.

    The starting lineup was based on a random draw. Rookie Harrison Burton drew the pole position and was joined on the front row with teammate Brandon Jones. Carson Ware started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments.

    When the green flag dropped, Burton took the lead followed by Jones. Allgaier, who started 10th, made a bold move on the outside lane to gain positions, but he slipped too high entering Turn 2 and barely touched the wall, though he continued without sustaining any serious damage. The following turn, three other competitors that included Jesse Little nearly made contact with one another but all three continued. 

    The first caution of the race flew on the fifth lap when Ross Chastain, who cut a right-front tire in Turn 3, got loose and made contact with Austin Cindric entering Turn 4, sending Cindric hard against the outside wall as Chastain spun and was clipped by Michael Annett, who had nowhere to go. All three sustained significant damage to their respective cars. Annett and Cindric retired while Chastain, who sustained damage to the rear end of his No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, was able to continue on the lead lap.

    The race restarted on the 16th lap and Burton was able to maintain the lead despite being pressured by Jones. Justin Haley settled in third while Daniel Hemric, Chase Briscoe and Allgaier battled hard for fourth. On Lap 18, Haley made the slightest of contact with Jones in Turn 3, sending Jones up the track and out of the racing groove. The following lap in Turn 3, Jones got loose again and dropped more positions. By Lap 24, Jones fell back to 10th after being passed by Vinnie Miller. The following lap, Chastain pitted for more repairs as he dropped out of the lead lap and out of race-winning contention.

    On Lap 27, Haley made a run below Burton for the lead but was stalled by a lapped car which caused him to lose ground on the lead and battle Gragson for second. Despite encountering tight lapped traffic, Burton was able to maintain the lead and Gragson was able to take second from Haley at the time of the competition caution on Lap 35. Under caution, Jones along with Chad Finchum, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Colby Howard and Timmy Hill made a pit stop while the rest of the field remained on track.

    When the race restarted on Lap 42, Burton benefitted on the outside lane to maintain his lead. Gragson retained second while Haley, who restarted third, spun his tires and dropped to fifth behind Ryan Sieg and Briscoe. Four laps later, Gragson made his move below the bottom of Turn 2 and took the lead from Burton. By Lap 60, Gragson was able to maintain his advantage by six-tenths of a second over Burton. The second caution of the day flew on Lap 63 due to debris from Joe Nemechek’s car in Turn 3. Under caution, Burton pitted from the runner-up position to have minimal damage he sustained from hitting the debris repaired. Four other competitors pitted while everyone else remained on track.

    The following restart on Lap 68, Gragson received a push from teammate Allgaier. The contact allowed Gragson to boost ahead with the lead while Allgaier moved to second over Briscoe. By Lap 75, A.J. Allmendinger, who started 27th in his first Xfinity event of the season, made his way in the top 10, running ninth. From there, Gragson was able to lead the field through the conclusion of the first stage on Lap 85 and win the stage despite encountering lapped traffic. Allgaier settled in second followed by Briscoe, Haley and Hemric. Riley Herbst, Jones, Allmendinger, Sieg and Myatt Snider finished in the top 10.

    Under caution, most of the leaders pitted while Burton, who pitted early, remained on track and reassumed the lead. Jones pitted for two tires and was the first off pit road. Jeremy Clements only took fuel and exited fifth behind Allgaier and Briscoe. Gragson suffered a slow pit stop and came out in sixth. Following the pit stops, Hemric was nabbed with a speeding penalty and sent to the rear of the field.

    The second stage started on Lap 98 and Briscoe ran into the back of Burton which allowed Burton to boost ahead with the lead. Haley moved to second after Briscoe slipped in Turn 3 and fell back to fifth behind Gragson and Allgaier. Jones, who restarted second with two fresh tires, fell back to sixth. The caution returned three laps later for an incident in Turn 1 involving Hill and Vinnie Miller.

    Six laps later, the race restarted with Burton maintaining the lead. During the restart, Allgaier used the outside lane to move into second over Haley. Gragson fell to fifth while battling Ryan Sieg and Briscoe for position. By Lap 119, Gragson moved back to fourth after passing Jones, who was battling loose conditions. Two laps later, the caution flew when Sieg made contact with Allmendinger in Turn 3 while battling for seventh. The contact resulted in Allmendinger sliding below the apron, but he was able to proceed without sustaining damage. He and Hill pitted while the rest of the field remained on track.

    When the race restarted on Lap 128, Allgaier mounted a challenge for the lead below Burton and was able to take it. On Lap 137, Tommy Joe Martins made contact with the outside wall but the race proceeded under green. Four laps later, just as Gragson moved Burton out of the racing groove in Turn 1 to move back to second, the caution returned when Patrick Emerling wrecked through Turns 2 and 3 following contact with Bayley Currey. The race was red-flagged for nine and a half minutes to give the safety officials time to clean the fluid from Emerling’s No. 02 Our Motorsports Chevrolet from the bottom of Turn 2 through the high groove in Turn 3. When the red flag was lifted, the majority of the field remained on track while Sieg, Clements and Miller pitted.

    When the green flag returned on Lap 148, Allgaier made the bottom lane work to his advantage as he powered away with the lead followed by Gragson. A lap later, Haley used the outside lane to take third from Burton. By Lap 155, Allgaier and Gragson gapped third-place Haley by more than a second. Meanwhile, Josh Williams engaged in a battle with Allmendinger for a top-10 spot while Hemric rallied from his penalty to race in eighth while battling Snider. 

    Despite encountering lapped traffic, which included Joe Graf Jr., Allgaier was able to hold off teammate Gragson to win the second stage. Haley and Burton finish third and fourth while Briscoe was able to pass Jones following a bump-and-run move to finish fifth. Jones, Hemric, Snider, Herbst and Allmendinger finished in the top 10.

    Under caution, nearly the entire field pitted and Allgaier was able to barely avoid making contact on pit road with Gragson, who was exiting his pit stall, to maintain the lead. Gragson, Jones, Haley and Briscoe followed pursuit. During the pit stops, Sieg and Miller remained on track to inherit the front row for the start of the final stage.

    With the final stage starting on Lap 182, Allgaier used the high lane to reassume the lead. A lap later, Sieg challenged Allgaier on the bottom lane for one circuit before Allgaier moved up the track in Turn 3 and allowed Gragson to move to second from Sieg. By Lap 190, Sieg, battling on old tires on the high lane, fell back to ninth. 

    With 100 laps remaining, Allgaier’s lead over Gragson was less than half a second. Haley moved to third followed by Jones, Hemric and Briscoe. Five laps later, Allgaier was able to extend his advantage by nearly a second over Gragson. By then, Allmendinger was eighth following his late spin and Burton was back in 10th.

    With 81 laps remaining, Haley passed Gragson in Turn 2 to move into second and started pursuing Allgaier for the lead. At this time, however, his teammate, Allmendinger, made an unscheduled pit stop to have the right-side tires of his No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet changed. The late misfortune cost him multiple laps behind the leaders.

    As the laps dwindled, Allgaier started to approach lapped traffic but he was able to maintain the lead despite Haley gaining more ground for the lead. With less than 60 to go, Haley caught Allgaier for the lead when Allgaier was experiencing difficulties trying to lap Clements and Brandon Brown. Just as the lead between the two Justins intensified, the caution flew with 52 to go when Martins spun in Turn 4. Under caution, the leaders pitted. Herbst exited pit road first after taking two tires followed by Allgaier, Gragson, Haley and Hemric.

    When the race restarted with 45 to go, Allgaier took advantage of the high lane to lead the field through Turn 2. At the same time, the caution quickly returned when Herbst and Haley made contact that resulted in Herbst being turned in Turn 2 and slapping the outside wall. Herbst pitted, but ended his day due to the damage while Haley remained on track in third despite sustaining cosmetic damage to his No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet.

    The next restart came with 36 to go. Allgaier maintained his lead while Jones, who restarted fourth, rocketed to second. Gragson used the high lane to take second and Haley forced his way underneath Jones to move to third and Jones fell to the clutches of Briscoe for fourth. With approximately 20 to go, Haley, who was trying to pursue Gragson for second, slipped high in Turn 1 and scrubbed the wall, causing him to fall off the pace. He was able to nurse his car back to pit but the incident cost him multiple laps and his hopes of winning his first Xfinity race.

    Just when the race appeared to have been sealed by Allgaier, the caution flew with 13 to go when Colby Howard blew a left-front tire and stopped in Turn 2. The leaders remained on track under caution. When the race restarted with seven to go, Allgaier maintained the lead, but Gragson made his move to challenge for the lead a lap later. He moved below his teammate in Turn 2 and raced side by side with him through Turn 3 before edging out with the lead in Turn 4. Then, he ran into the side of his teammate in Turn 1, causing Allgaier to slip into the outside wall before spinning and making hard contact into the Turn 2 inside wall, drawing a caution with five to go. Gragson was able to continue with the lead followed by Briscoe, Burton, Jones and Snider. Allgaier drove his damaged No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet back to pit road but the damage was enough to end Allgaier’s strong race in his pit stall.

    The incident between the two JR Motorsports teammates sent the race into overtime. In the first overtime attempt, Gragson led the field through Turn 1. In Turn 2, Jones attempted to split Gragson and Briscoe through the middle, but was unable to make enough room for himself to make the move occur. By the time the field returned to Turn 4 for the start of the final lap, Gragson managed to clear Briscoe and was able to fend off Briscoe for one final circuit to claim the checkered flag first.

    “Really, [I] apologize to Justin and the No. 7 team,” Gragson said on FOX Sports 1. “That’s not how I want to race, but I saw the position open up. He, kind of, slipped off the bottom the lap before and I tried to get to the bottom and I just got too loose. All of us top-five guys – really everybody on the field – this track’s like ice out there right now. We were slippin’ and slidin’. What a heck of a night for this No. 9 team. It’s Bristol, baby! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I sucked here. My crew chief believed in me and he wanted me to come back and run with them. Dave Elenz is the man.”

    “The team did a great job getting us track position we needed,” Allgaier said on PRN radio. “I’m more mad at myself for making a mistake and slippin’ off the bottom, but yeah we got wrecked. We had the car to beat all night and unfortunately, we don’t have anything to show for it. I hate it for my guys. We’ll rebound and we’ll come back next weekend.”

    Briscoe finished second followed by Jones and Burton as the trio will join Gragson in battling for the first Dash 4 Cash bonus this upcoming weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Myatt Snider edged Hemric to finish fifth for his first career top-five finish in the Xfinity Series. Hemric rallied in sixth while Brandon Brown, Clements, Josh Williams and Allmendinger rounded out the top 10.

    There were 10 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured 12 cautions for 85 laps.

    Briscoe continues to lead the Xfinity Series regular-season standings by nine points over Gragson and 26 over Burton.

    Results.

    1. Noah Gragson, 55 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    2. Chase Briscoe

    3. Brandon Jones

    4. Harrison Burton, 81 laps led

    5. Myatt Snider

    6. Daniel Hemric

    7. Brandon Brown

    8. Jeremy Clements

    9. Josh Williams

    10. A.J. Allmendinger

    11. B.J. McLeod 

    12. Vinnie Miller

    13. Joe Graf Jr.

    14. Timmy Hill

    15. Jeffrey Earnhardt, two laps down

    16. Ryan Sieg, three laps down, six laps led

    17. Justin Haley, four laps down, one lap led

    18. Justin Allgaier – OUT, 156 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    19. Colby Howard, seven laps down

    20. Bayley Currey, eight laps down

    21. Kody Vanderwal, 10 laps down

    22. Carson Ware, 14 laps down

    23. Tommy Joe Martins, 19 laps down

    24. Chad Finchum, 26 laps down

    25. Matt Mills – OUT, Clutch

    26. Jesse Little, 43 laps down

    27. Riley Herbst – OUT, Accident, four laps led

    28. Ross Chastain, 48 laps down

    29. Patrick Emerling – OUT, Accident

    30. Mason Massey, 192 laps down

    31. Ronnie Bassett Jr. – OUT, Engine

    32. Joe Nemechek – OUT, Accident

    33. Alex Labbe – OUT, Overheating

    34. Stephen Leicht – OUT, Suspension

    35. Jeff Green – OUT, Ignition

    36. Austin Cindric – OUT, Accident

    37. Michael Annett – OUT, Accident

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series will travel to Hampton, Georgia, and race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on June 6. The race will air at 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Bristol

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Bristol

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 11th in the Supermarket Heroes 500 at Bristol. He leads the points standings by 14 over Joey Logano.

    “It was an exciting finish,” Harvick said. “That’s the opposite of a smooth finish, which is what you get with Busch beer. Now, consider my sponsor obligations complete.”

    2. Joey Logano: Logano took the lead from Denny Hamlin on lap 489, but was later pushed into the wall by an overly-aggressive Chase Elliott. Logano finished 21st.

    “I gave Chase a piece of my mind after the race,” Logano said. “And I gave him a piece of my hand, the middle finger.”

    3. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski fell into the victory at Bristol when Chase Elliott and Joey Logano made contact battling for the lead. Keselowski slipped by for the victory, his second in the last three races.

    “That win fell into my lap,” Keselowski said. “So it only makes sense that I celebrate with a lap dance.”

    4. Chase Elliott: Elliott got loose and pushed Joey Logano into the wall, costing Logano the win as the two battled for the lead late at Bristol. Elliott finished 22nd and took blame after the race.

    “Joey gave me a stern talking-to,” Elliott said. “That is, as stern a talking-to one can give while wearing a mask and reading glasses.”

    5. Alex Bowman: Bowman was caught up in a Lap 298 crash triggered by Jimmie Johnson. Bowman’s day was done, and he finished 37th.

    “‘Jimmie’s my teammate and a legend in the sport,’” Bowman said. “Those are the words the Hendrick Motorsports publicist asked me to say. And he asked me to say them seven times, no less.”

    6. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin led late at Bristol, but was passed by Joey Logano late in the race. Hamlin then spun after making contact with the rear of Logano’s No. 22 Chevrolet and ultimately finished 17th.

    “That’s a win I let slip away,” Hamlin said. “A few weeks ago at Charlotte, I dropped the ballast. At Bristol, I dropped the ball.”

    7. Ryan Blaney: Blaney spun in Turn 2 on Lap 198 and was then crashed into by Ty Dillon, who had nowhere to go. Blaney finished 40th and is sixth in the points standings.

    “I got a little too high going into Turn 2,” Blaney said. “And I was running in second when it happened. So, I went from ‘Thunder Valley’ to ‘Blunder Alley‘ in just a matter of seconds.”

    8. Kyle Busch: Busch finished fourth at Bristol.

    “So much for my rivalry with Chase Elliott,” Busch said. “It looks like Chase and Joey Logano are feuding. And that’s just what NASCAR needed. Or is it? If an on-track incident leads to a calm, rational conversation afterward, then that’s definitely not what NASCAR needs.”

    9. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson spun Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. on lap 298, triggering the “Big One” at Bristol. Johnson survived relatively unscathed to finish third.

    “I didn’t think I hit Stenhouse that hard,” Johnson said. “So, let’s just consider it his ‘brush’ with greatness.”

    10. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished 20th at Bristol and is seventh in the points standings, 68 out of first.

    “The lower downforce package really improved the racing at Bristol,” Truex said. “As we saw so many times last year, too much downforce keeps the cars on the track, and fans in their seats.”

  • Bristol features unique names with top-10 results

    Bristol features unique names with top-10 results

    The conclusion of the Food City presents the Supermarkets Heroes 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway will go down with Brad Keselowski stealing the win in a wild finish after leaders Chase Elliott and Joey Logano wrecked in the final laps. While Keselowski emerged as the overall victor, there were other competitors who left Bristol feeling victorious and satisfied with their results following a difficult start to this season.

    First, there was Clint Bowyer. Prior to NASCAR’s anticipated return to racing following a two-month hiatus amid the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, the Kansas native was 13th in the series standings and had notched two top-10 results. Since the sport’s return, Bowyer struggled with capping off a strong start with a strong race car with a strong result. Most notably, the second Darlington race on Wednesday was a race where Bowyer had the race well within his hands after winning the first two stages and leading a race-high 71 laps until he cut a tire, spun and finished 22nd. In the Coca-Cola 600, he was involved in a single-car wreck four laps shy of the first quarter stage of the race and finished 39th. On Thursday at Charlotte, he was penalized twice for speeding on pit road on different occasions and salvaged a 16th-place result.

    At Bristol, Bowyer started 23rd based on a random draw, but was able to move inside the top 20 through the first 60 laps. By the time the first stage concluded, Bowyer gained more positions to move up to 12th. Starting the second stage fighting tight conditions, Bowyer would keep his car intact and move into the top 10 before finishing sixth at the conclusion of the second stage. Throughout the final stage, Bowyer raced inside the top 15 while avoiding more carnage surrounding him. With 30 laps remaining, Bowyer restarted ninth on fresh tires but was able to move up to fifth prior to a late caution. With five laps remaining, Bowyer avoided the Logano-Elliott skirmish to come out second behind Keselowski, where he would finish for his best result of the season. With his second top-five result of the season, Bowyer jumped from 14th to 12th in the standings.

    “We actually struggled pretty bad with our setup,” Bowyer said. “I don’t know, it was floating the nose really bad up off the corner all day long. I could gain and make some ground up in the center of the corner in, and in the middle, but if I had to pass somebody and turn underneath of them, I didn’t have the real estate. I was needing [Keselowski] to be a little bit closer. I wasn’t gonna feel bad about moving him, but it just didn’t materialize.”

    For seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, his swan song season in the series has been mixed with up-and-down results. Prior to the pandemic, Johnson was fifth in the standings. After last week’s race at Charlotte, he had fallen all the way back to 16th with three top-10 results under his belt. He had a strong runner-up result in the Coca-Cola 600 stripped away due to a post-race inspection failure which cost him a bevy of points.

    At Bristol, Johnson, who started 24th, methodically worked his way through the field and was well inside the top 10 prior to the first stage’s conclusion. He would finish 10th in the first stage. He spent the majority of the race inside the top 10 before opting to pit prior to the end of the second stage, where he finished 13th. In the final stage, Johnson moved his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet into the top five, running as high as second before being shuffled back to sixth in the closing laps. Following a late caution and the final restart with five laps remaining, Johnson kept his car intact to move and finish third for his best result of the season. Johnson’s fourth top-10 result of 2020 allowed him to move from 16th to 15th in the standings.

    “Wild and crazy night, for sure,” Johnson said. “Very strong performance for us. Really proud of the guys keeping our chins up through the last four weeks. We’ve had fast cars, really haven’t had the results to show for it. To put together a solid race, start to finish, great pit stops, fast car, be a threat. We need more long runs. There’s only one long race in the whole race. We were battling for the lead with Kyle [Busch]. I wish there were more long runs because our car didn’t have the short run speed in it.”

    For Austin Dillon, momentum is the key word to summarize the driver and the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team. Coming into Bristol, Dillon had notched two top-10 results with a best result of fourth at Las Vegas in March. Dillon started 20th and was able to race his way inside the top 15 at the conclusion of the first stage. He would finish 15th again following the second stage and would remain on track under the stage break to move into the top five. He spent the majority of the first half of the final stage running inside the top 10 until he blew a right-front tire and smacked the outside wall with 172 laps remaining. The day went from good to bad to worse when Dillon was one of four drivers speeding on pit road and sent to the rear. Despite speeding on pit road again with 68 to go and falling to the rear, Dillon would recover to make his way back in the top 15 while also avoiding the late carnage. With five laps remaining, Dillon was ninth but was able to pick up three more spots to finish sixth behind Erik Jones for his second consecutive top-10 finish of this season. He dropped one spot in the standings from 15th to 16th, though he notched his third top-10 result of 2020.

    “The Symbicort Chevrolet was good when it mattered,” Dillon said. “We worked really hard today; hard-fought battle. We were pretty fast there at the end. [Crew chief] Justin [Alexander] made a great call to take tires with 38 laps to go and it showed up. We’re close, we’re getting there. Love how these races are playing out. Getting closer and closer!”

    Like his teammate and childhood hero Jimmie Johnson, a top-10 result was what William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team needed following a string of on-track challenges not only since NASCAR’s return at Darlington, but since the start of this season. Starting with a 40th-place result in the Daytona 500, the Charlotte native has finished in the top 10 once, which came at Phoenix in March. Coming off a 12th-place result at Charlotte, Byron started 13th and spent the first stage of the race mired in and out of the top 20. By the second stage, Byron was able to methodically work his way inside the top 10. He ran as high as fifth before settling in seventh following the second stage. He made contact with the wall at the start of the final stage, which dropped him all the way back to the top 20. He would spend the rest of the race working his way back into the top 10 while dodging the late carnage. When all was said and done, Byron was able to take the checkered flag in eighth, which was the highest he has finished since finishing second at Martinsville in October 2019. With his second top-10 result of the season, Byron gained one position from 17th to 16th in the standings.

    “It was a tough race at the start for us, but we finished eighth which was good,” Byron said. “Lately, we’ve had damage and just a lot of things go wrong for us. We just really needed a good finish and we did today. Once we finally got our track position back, we stayed up towards the top 10 and kept ourselves up there.”

    For Christopher Bell, it was not only a day where he matched his career-best result in the Cup Series. It was a day where he looked like a Cup veteran in only his ninth series start and after rallying from finishing outside the top 20 in the first five races of 2020. Starting 35th, Bell nearly made his way into the top 20 by Lap 60. Ultimately, he would finish 25th following the first stage. Then came a near-harrowing moment for the Oklahoma native on Lap 229, when he was able to escape a multi-car wreck through Turns 2 and 3, a wreck that collected his fellow rookie contenders Cole Custer and Tyler Reddick. Bell would continue to finish 17th in the second stage. Remaining on track under the caution after pitting the previous caution, Bell found himself running in the top 10. He ran as high as fourth before settling inside the top 10 throughout the green-flag run. Disaster struck, however, under caution with less than 70 laps remaining following a pit stop, where Bell was sent to the rear due to an uncontrolled tire violation. He would work his way back to the top 15 in the closing laps and would survive to a ninth-place result, making him the highest-finishing rookie in the race. With his second career top-10 result and third top-15 finish in the last four races, Bell is 25th in the standings.

    “We battled back and have begun to see some results, which is good,” Bell said. “It’s nice to be getting some results after the start of the season we had. We are continuing to build and get better, which is the goal. I’m a rookie and I’m learning more every race.”

    Last but not least, if there was someone who desperately needed a strong result following a string of dismal luck, it was Bubba Wallace and the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet team. Coming into Bristol, Wallace had four top-20 finishes under his belt and had failed to finish the last two Cup races at Charlotte. Starting 36th, Wallace nearly cracked the top 20 through the first 60 laps. He would finish 22nd in the first stage. He made his way inside the top 20 at the start of the second stage, but under caution past the 200-lap mark, Wallace was caught speeding on pit road, which sent him to the rear. He was able to dodge a multi-car wreck on Lap 229 despite making contact with Ryan Preece. When the second stage was complete, Wallace was 19th. Under the stage break, he remained on track to place himself in the top 10. When the race returned to green, Wallace slowly fell back to the top 15 on old tires. Under caution, however, with less than 170 laps remaining, Wallace was again tabbed with a speeding penalty that sent him to the rear. He would spend the duration of the next green-flag run working his way back to the top 10, which he was able to do so less than 60 to go. He would ignite a multi-car wreck with 36 to go that involved Aric Almirola and Martin Truex Jr., but he would proceed while continuing to fight to stay in the top 10. On the final five-lap dash to the finish, he had enough to edge Kevin Harvick and finish 10th for his best result since finishing sixth at Las Vegas. With his second top-10 result, Wallace is 22nd in the standings.

    “All-in-all, it was a good day at the Bristol Motor Speedway,” Wallace said. “It was fun there at the end. It was wild – that race had pretty much everything. We will carry some momentum over – finally got a good finish after two bad ones. We got the bad juju off our back and we will go onto the Atlanta Motor Speedway! We’ve got some work to do there. I am excited about the speed we’ve been bringing to the track each week. We need to tweak some things to get us to the next level. We are knocking on the door.”

    All competitors will return for the next scheduled NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on June 7. The race will air at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Keselowski says ‘NASCAR has struck gold’ with current racing format

    Keselowski says ‘NASCAR has struck gold’ with current racing format

    Brad Keselowski won the tumultuous Supermarket Heroes 500 race at Bristol Motor Speedway in an action-packed event that included 17 cautions and 21 lead changes among seven drivers.

    The win was his second this season and his 32nd Cup Series career victory. It was also unexpected.

    With only two laps remaining, Joey Logano and Chase Elliott were racing each other for the lead and collided. Keselowski was in the perfect position to take advantage of the mishap and drove his No. 2 Team Penske Ford to the front to claim the checkered flag.  

    In an interview after the race, Keselowski discussed the current one-day format that precludes any practice or qualifying sessions and whether that has led to more mistakes during the races.

    While many may look at this situation as bad for the sport, he had a different perspective.

    “Well, mistakes make for great racing,” Keselowski said. “When you watch rookies run at some of these tracks, it’s a lot of fun. I think you look at the lower tiered series, they’re some of the most fun races to watch because the drivers make a lot of mistakes; that creates a lot of action.”

    He further explained why we don’t typically see mistakes in the Cup Series.

    “I think sometimes you get to the Cup level, whether it’s the setup, drivers’ experience, you don’t see a lot of mistakes”, he said, “People misinterpret that as the cars are really easy to drive. It’s really just the opposite of that. These guys are pros, really good.”

    And though he offered several possibilities as to why there have seemingly been more miscues on the track, he is convinced that it has made NASCAR more competitive and exciting to watch.

    “For whatever reason, whether it’s not having a chance to work on the cars, practice, the drivers not getting those experiences, we’re seeing more mistakes with this format, this style of racing, the no-practice type stuff,” Keselowski suggested. 

    “I don’t think that’s a bad thing.  I think that makes for better racing in a lot of different ways. So I hope we keep it up.

    “I said earlier this week that I feel like NASCAR struck gold with these formats. I stand by that. These are great formats. We’ve seen some of the best racing we’ve ever seen in NASCAR accordingly. I’m not just saying that because I’m in Victory Lane. I think a lot of people would say this was a tremendous race, and I hope they enjoyed it.”

    You could argue that Keselowski’s opinion is biased. But there is no question that Bristol Motor Speedway delivered short track racing at its best.

  • Keselowski wins a thrilling race at Bristol

    Keselowski wins a thrilling race at Bristol

    A week after stealing a late victory in the Coca-Cola 600, Brad Keselowski found himself at the right place at the right time to win the Food City presents the Supermarket Heroes 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway after leaders Chase Elliott and Joey Logano tangled in the final laps. The victory was Keselowski’s second of the season, third at Bristol and the 32nd of his NASCAR Cup Series career. The victory was also his second with his new crew chief Jeremy Bullins as Team Penske claimed its 13th Cup win at Bristol.

    The starting lineup was based on a random draw. Keselowski drew the pole position and was joined on the front row with Aric Almirola. Gray Gaulding and Ryan Preece started at the rear of the field after their respective cars failed pre-race technical inspection twice.

    When the race started, Keselowski launched ahead on the outside lane and was followed by his teammates Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano. After the first lap, Almirola dropped to sixth, while stuck on the bottom lane, as Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. moved into the top five. The majority of the competitors spent the first seven laps jostling for positions, slipping sideways and nearly racing three-wide through every corner until the first caution flew on the eighth lap, when Ryan Newman slipped sideways in Turn 1 and spun the following turn. He proceeded with no damage.

    The following restart on the 12th lap, Keselowski, again, rocketed with the lead followed by Truex, who passed Blaney for second. Keselowski was able to fend off Truex to lead the field through the first competition caution of the day on Lap 20. At the time of caution, Jimmie Johnson, who started 24th, was 11th while rookie Christopher Bell, who started 35th, was 21st.

    Under caution, most of the leaders remained on track while 21 cars behind pitted. All took four tires, except for Denny Hamlin, Daniel Suarez and Chris Buescher, who pit for two tires. Corey LaJoie nabbed a pit road speeding penalty and was sent to the rear of the field. In addition, Chris Buescher returned to pit road to have a new scoring transponder installed to his No. 17 Ford. Despite the extra stop, he was allowed to retain his restart spot in 25th.

    The race restarted on Lap 30, and Keselowski maintained his advantage on the outside lane. Almirola moved back to second followed by Kyle Busch as Truex fell to fourth. By Lap 35, Logano started making the bottom groove work to his advantage as he passed Truex for fourth. Three laps later, he moved to third over Kyle Busch while Stenhouse, who started 16th, moved to sixth and Truex drifted back to eighth. 

    When the second competition caution flew on Lap 60, Keselowski was still in the lead, having led all the laps. Under caution, the leaders pitted, except for DiBenedetto, who pitted under caution on Lap 23. Keselowski exited with the lead followed by Almirola, Blaney, Logano and Kyle Busch. During the pit stops, Busch nearly ran over Clint Bowyer’s rear tire changer while exiting his pit stall and to avoid hitting Bowyer’s car. The situation soured for Busch, who was sent to the tail end of the field for speeding on pit road along with Suarez.

    When the race restarted on Lap 67, Keselowski made a move on the inside lane to retake the lead from DiBenedetto. Blaney would take second followed by Elliott and Almirola. Logano would move to fifth while DiBenedetto fell back to sixth. 

    On Lap 84, Blaney made a move underneath Keselowski in Turn 3 and took the lead. Two laps later, Elliott moved to second. On Lap 104, Elliott challenged Blaney for the lead as he attempted to move in front of him on the inside lane entering Turn 2. After spending the next two corners challenging his friend for the lead, Elliott took it from Blaney in Turn 1 a lap later and was able to clear him in Turn 2. Blaney attempted a crossover move in Turn 3, but Elliott used the outside lane to his advantage and maintained the lead through Turn 4. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch, who started at the rear of the field following his speeding penalty, had only made his way back up to 18th after passing his brother, Kurt.

    When the race reached its conclusion of the first stage on Lap 125, Elliott, coming off his breakthrough win at Charlotte on Thursday, won his fourth stage of the season. Blaney was able to finish second followed by teammate Keselowski and Almirola, both of whom were repeatedly battling one another for position. Logano was fifth followed by Harvick, DiBenedetto, Hamlin, Stenhouse and Johnson.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted for four tires and Blaney was able to beat Elliott off pit road to reassume the lead. Logano exited third followed by Keselowski and Hamlin, who gained three positions on pit road. DiBenedetto was tabbed with a speeding penalty and sent to the rear while Alex Bowman made an extra pit stop for loose lug nuts.

    The second stage started on Lap 137, with Blaney taking off on the outside lane. A lap later, Keselowski moved to second over Elliott. By Lap 150, Johnson moved to sixth followed by Hamlin, Bowyer was ninth, Kenseth was 12th and Kyle Busch was 13th. John Hunter Nemechek was the highest-running rookie in 14th.

    On Lap 170, Keselowski, who gained a huge momentum in Turn 2, made a move below Blaney in Turn 3 to take the lead when Blaney lost a little momentum in the turn. Four laps later, Blaney mounted another charge through Turns 4 and 1 on the bottom and was about to regain his lead before Keselowski used the high lane to zip past his teammate and pull away. Meanwhile, Byron, who restarted 24th on Lap 135, was up to 14th.

    On Lap 185, Stenhouse, Logano and Johnson went three wide for seventh on the track in Turn 2 as Logano and Johnson made contact while being stuck behind the lapped car of Brennan Poole. Stenhouse was able to take the position from both drivers and Johnson went three-wide with Logano and Poole to take eighth in Turn 4.

    The caution returned on Lap 199, when Blaney, who was trying to hunt Keselowski back down for the lead, slipped on the high lane through Turns 1 and 2 and spun. His car came to rest on the straightaway near the wall and was clobbered by Ty Dillon, who was unable to slow his car and avoid making contact with Blaney. The collision destroyed the front nose of Blaney’s No. 12 Ford while Dillon sustained damage to the right-front fender. Both competitors would end their race in the garage.

    Under caution, the leaders pitted for four tires. Elliott was able to exit pit road first followed by Keselowski, Hamlin, Harvick and Almirola.

    The race restarted on Lap 208 with Elliott maintaining the lead. Harvick and Keselowski battled for second followed Byron who challenged Hamlin for a top-five spot. The caution returned on Lap 212 when Joey Gase spun in Turn 2. Five laps later, the race restarted and Elliott, again, powered through with the lead followed by Harvick as Keselowski, who spun his tires, fell to third. The caution quickly returned when Bayley Currey stalled his No. 53 Chevrolet in Turn 2.

    When the race resumed on Lap 222, Elliott maintained the lead over the field. A lap later, Logano uses the high lane to move to second over Harvick. Keselowski, who lifted in Turn 3, fell back to fifth. On Lap 225, Logano peaked for the lead in Turn 4, but slipped in Turn 1, making contact with Elliott, but Elliott was able to maintain the lead. 

    The caution returned on Lap 229 for a multi-car wreck, when Stenhouse, who stepped out of the gas to avoid hitting Kenseth in Turn 2, was turned by Johnson and made hard contact into the inside wall. Stenhouse’s No. 47 Chevrolet came back across the track, where he piled up with Kurt Busch, Bowman, Cole Custer, and Tyler Reddick in Turn 3. Preece and DiBenedetto were also involved as they spun below the apron. The race was red-flagged for 11 minutes and 35 seconds to give the safety crew time to clean the accident scene.

    When the red flag was lifted, the pit road opened under caution and a handful of competitors like Truex, Johnson, Kenseth, Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace pitted. DiBenedetto and Preece also pitted for repairs to their respective cars.

    The restart on Lap 235 saw Elliott maintaining the lead on the outside lane while Hamlin moved into second. The caution returned four laps later when Preece made contact with the outside wall in Turn 3. Under caution, Almirola pitted and Suarez, who was three laps down early in the race, was able to race his way back on the lead lap after receiving the free pass.

    Four laps later, with seven laps left in the second stage, Elliott rocketed to the lead as Hamlin spun his tires on the inside lane. Elliott would cruise to the win in the second stage by less than a second over Hamlin. The stage win was Elliott’s fifth of this season. Harvick finished third followed by Logano and Kyle Busch. Bowyer, Byron, Jones, Keselowski and Buescher finished in the top 10. By then, the race was also halfway complete.

    Under the stage break, Elliott led most of the field to pit road while Hamlin remained on track to inherit the lead followed by Kyle Busch, Johnson, Austin Dillon, Kenseth, Bell, Ryan Newman, Wallace, Michael McDowell, Almirola and Suarez. Following the pit stops, Elliott exited first followed by Logano, Harvick, Bowyer, Keselowski and Byron while Truex gained four spots.

    The race restarted on Lap 262 and Hamlin was able to maintain the lead followed by teammate Kyle Busch. Johnson, who restarted third, slipped in Turn 4 and fell back to sixth while being overtaken by Austin Dillon, Almirola and Bell. While the majority of the competitors started to race aggressively and hard for position, Chris Buescher and Byron each made contact with the wall, but continued. On Lap 269, Buescher tagged the wall a second time in Turn 1 and pitted for a cut right-front tire, which drew a caution. By the time the caution flew, Elliott, who restarted 12th, was up to 10th behind Newman.

    When the race restarted on Lap 274, Hamlin, this time, benefitted from the inside lane to maintain the lead over Busch. Five laps later, Busch made a move on the inside lane to return to the lead over his teammate. Eleven laps later, DiBenedetto took his No. 21 Ford to the garage due to a broken front-tire rod.

    With 200 laps remaining, Busch stabilized his lead to nearly two seconds over Hamlin, who was engaged in a heated battle with Almirola. Johnson was in fourth and Elliott was in 10th, battling Harvick. Bell, Austin Dillon, Kenseth and Logano were fifth through eighth while Wallace fell back to 15th. Bowyer and Keselowski were 11th and 12th.

    With 178 laps remaining, Johnson moved into the runner-up spot, trailing Busch by more than three seconds. Four laps later, Almirola moved to third and a lap later, Bell moved to fourth. The caution fell two laps later, when Austin Dillon smacked the outside wall due to a flat right-front tire. Under caution, the field pitted. Busch exited first followed by Hamlin, Logano, Almirola and Elliott. However, Logano, Keselowski, Wallace and Austin Dillon were all sent to the rear due to speeding on pit road.

    The race restarted with 165 to go and Busch managed to hold the lead on the inside lane followed by Hamlin. Elliott moved fourth to third while Johnson moved from sixth to fifth. The caution returned with 145 laps remaining, when Newman spun through Turns 1 and 2 for the second time. Under caution, most of the leaders remained on track while some, starting with Almirola, pitted. Truex, Byron, Kenseth, Logano, Nemechek, Wallace, Austin Dillon, McDowell, Corey LaJoie and Newman also pitted.

    With 140 laps remaining, the race returned to green and Hamlin used the outside lane to retake the lead from Kyle Busch. 

    As the laps dwindled, Busch started reeling in to teammate Hamlin for the lead, behind by two-tenths of a second, with Johnson lurking right behind as the leaders also started to catch lapped traffic. With 84 to go, Busch used the lapped car of J.J. Yeley to, finally, retake the lead from Hamlin, who was overtaken by Johnson for second two laps later in Turn 4.

    With 68 to go, the caution returned when Harvick got into the Turn 1 wall after making contact with Jones. The leaders pitted and Hamlin, who pitted from third, reassumed the lead followed by Johnson, Busch, Elliott, Truex and Logano, who gained four spots. Bell was sent to the rear of the field due to an uncontrolled tire violation along with Austin Dillon, who was speeding on pit road.

    The race restarted with 61 to go, and Hamlin launched ahead on the high lane followed by Elliott and Johnson. Kyle Busch fell back to sixth. Six laps later, Elliott gained a huge run on the inside lane in Turn 3 and nearly cleared himself for the lead before Hamlin used the high lane to battle back and clear Elliott the following lap. With 43 to go, Elliott established a crossover move to the inside of Hamlin and was inches away from taking the lead when the caution flew as Gaulding slapped the wall through Turns 1 and 2. At the time of caution, Hamlin was deemed the leader. 

    Hamlin maintained the lead on a restart with 37 to go while Logano moved to second. The caution returned a lap later, when a bump from Wallace in Turn 1 sent Almirola into the left side of Truex, who had slipped and lost momentum in Turn 3, that sent Truex spinning while Almirola and McDowell wrecked against the outside wall. 

    With the race restarting with 29 to go, Hamlin retained the lead followed by Logano and Kyle Busch. Byron moved to fifth while Johnson fell back to seventh as Elliott passed Kyle Busch for third. With 15 to go, the top-four competitors, (Hamlin, Logano, Elliott, Busch), were separated by less than one second. 

    With 12 to go, Hamlin slipped in Turn 1, allowing Logano and Elliott to make their way past Hamlin in Turn 2. The following turn, Logano slipped and made contact with the wall, which resulted in Elliott going to the lead and Hamlin making contact with Logano and spinning into the path of the lapped car of B.J. McLeod in Turn 4, which drew a caution the following lap and set the race for a late showdown to the finish.

    When the race restarted with five laps remaining, Elliott launched with a slight advantage over Logano, who came back a lap later to squeak ahead with the lead. Entering Turn 4, with three laps remaining, Logano managed to clear Elliott on the inside lane, but not without being bumped by Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet through Turn 1 as Elliott made a move on the inside lane to draw even with Logano’s No. 22 Ford while making contact again. In Turn 3, Elliott slid into Logano and both went up and against the outside wall, which allowed Keselowski to take the lead. Bowyer came out in second followed by Kyle Busch as the field scattered to avoid Logano and Elliott. For the final two laps, Keselowski was able to beat Bowyer by less than four-tenths of a second to steal an overwhelming win at Thunder Valley. 

    “Oh, my goodness!” Keselowski said. “I think everybody on this Discount Tire Ford Mustang team is gonna go to Vegas. Is it open yet? ‘Cause things have been going our way from the luck of the draw and the qualifying to the last few laps there. We couldn’t get anything to go our way the start of the race with cars staying out and kept getting the bottom lane on the restarts. Nothing was working out. Right at the end, we came in, we put two tires on the lefts and drove up to fourth or sixth, I guess. We put ourselves in position. I didn’t know what was gonna happen, but I knew if I just kept my eye open, something might happen and sure enough, it did. Incredible day! This was a never-give-up effort and that’s where we’re coming as a team.”

    Logano and Elliott limped home in 21st and 22nd. After taking the checkered flag and parking their wrecked race cars on pit road, they met to discuss the incident.

    “[Elliott] wrecked me,” Logano said. “He got loose underneath me. The part that’s frustrating is, afterwards, a simple apology like be a man, come up to somebody and say, ‘Hey, my bad.’ I had to force an apology, which, to me, is childish. Anyways, man, we had a good recovery with our AutoTrader Mustang and had a shot to win and that’s all you can hope for. [I] passed him clean. It’s hard racing at the end, I get that. It’s hard racing, but, golly man, be a man and take the hit when you’re done with it.”

    “Just going for the win,” Elliott said. “Trying to get underneath him, got really loose in. I don’t know if I had a tire going down or if I just got loose on entry, but as soon as I turned off the wall, I had zero chance in making it. I’ll certainly take the blame. I think I just got loose and got up into him. I felt like that was my shot. He was really good on the short run. I felt like I had to keep him behind me right there in order to win the race with only three, four laps to go. I hate we both wrecked, but you can’t go back in time now.”

    Bowyer settled in second followed by Johnson in his penultimate race at Bristol. Teammates Kyle Busch and Jones rounded out the top five. Austin Dillon, Kurt Busch, Byron, Bell and Wallace finished in the top 10. 

    The race featured 21 lead changes with seven different leaders. There were 17 cautions for 102 laps.

    Harvick continues to lead the Cup regular-season series standings by 24 points over Logano, 45 over Elliott and 55 over Keselowski. 

    Results:

    1. Brad Keselowski, 115 laps led

    2. Clint Bowyer

    3. Jimmie Johnson

    4. Kyle Busch, 100 laps led

    5. Erik Jones

    6. Austin Dillon

    7. Kurt Busch

    8. William Byron

    9. Christopher Bell

    10. Bubba Wallace

    11. Kevin Harvick

    12. Ryan Preece

    13. John Hunter Nemechek

    14. Michael McDowell

    15. Ryan Newman

    16. Matt Kenseth

    17. Denny Hamlin, 131 laps led

    18. Daniel Suarez

    19. Timmy Hill

    20. Martin Truex Jr.

    21. Joey Logano, two laps led

    22. Chase Elliott, 88 laps, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    23. Chris Buescher, four laps down

    24. Brennan Poole, six laps down

    25. J.J. Yeley, eight laps down

    26. Garrett Smithley, 11 laps down

    27. Quin Houff, 17 laps down

    28. B.J. McLeod – OUT, Accident

    29. Aric Almirola – OUT, Accident

    30. Gray Gaulding – OUT, Accident

    31. Matt DiBenedetto, 44 laps down, four laps led

    32. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Fuel Pressure

    33. Joey Gase – OUT, Too Slow

    34. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident

    35. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident

    36. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident

    37. Alex Bowman – OUT, Accident

    38. Bayley Currey – OUT, Accident

    39. Ty Dillon – OUT, Accident

    40. Ryan Blaney – OUT, Accident, 60 laps led

    The NASCAR Cup Series will travel to Hampton, Georgia, to race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on June 7. The race can be seen at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • NASCAR postpones upcoming national series events at Charlotte and Bristol

    NASCAR postpones upcoming national series events at Charlotte and Bristol

    NASCAR announced a pair of postponements for its upcoming national series races at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway.

    The NASCAR Cup Series event at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Alsco Uniforms 500 has been postponed from Wednesday, May 27, to Thursday, May 28, due to persistent rain. The 500-mile race will be aired at 7 p.m. ET on FS1. It will mark the second Cup event at Charlotte this week and cap off a quadruple-header weekend at NASCAR’s home base.

    In addition, the NASCAR Xfinity Series upcoming event at Bristol Motor Speedway has been postponed from Saturday, May 30, to Monday, June 1. The race will also air at 7 p.m. ET on FS1. The rescheduling was made to give the teams the time needed to transport and set up their equipment in time for race day.

    The Cup event at Bristol for the Supermarket Heroes 500, scheduled for Sunday, May 31, at 3:30 p.m. on FS1, remains as scheduled.

    When the green flag drops for Thursday night’s Cup event at Charlotte, Hendrick Motorsports’ teammates William Byron and Alex Bowman will start on the front row and lead the field to the start. The starting lineup was based on the results from Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte on May 24, with the top-20 finishers from the event being inverted for Thursday’s event.

    As announced on May 27, the starting lineup for the upcoming NASCAR events, beginning this weekend for the Xfinity and Cup doubleheader at Bristol, will be decided based on a random draw in groups of 12 with the final spots to be based on their order of eligibility/owner points. Pit selections will be based on the results from the previous events, followed by new entries in order of points.

  • Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Race at Bristol

    Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Race at Bristol

    The Truck Series visited Bristol Motor Speedway Thursday night for the 16th race of the season and the beginning of the 2019 Playoffs. The 2018 Truck Series champion Brett Moffitt won the event and is locked into the next round. He will not have to worry about the wildcards of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park or Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

    Ross Chastain finished third after being dominant throughout the race. Chastain led 78 laps, won Stage 1 and finished second in Stage 2. Chastain is currently second in the playoff points standings, -16 behind Moffitt.

    While Moffitt and Chastain were expected to have great runs, others did not as their night went from bad to worse. Some drivers who are in the Playoffs have already dug themselves in a hole following Bristol and will need some big breaks over the next two races if they want to keep fighting for the championship.

    Here is a look at this week’s Four Takeaways from the UNOH 200.

    1. Chandler Smith Continues Impressive Run – Smith competed in his fourth Truck Series race of the 2019 season, his first since Iowa. While it was his first race back since June you wouldn’t know it. Smith came into Bristol looking to win and confident with his short-track dominance in his young career. He started seventh, finished fifth in Stage 1 and third in Stage 2. While Smith was certainly a contender in the late parts of the race, especially the final restart that came with four to go, he had to settle for a runner up finish. Still, it was not bad for his first outing at Bristol in a truck. But by finishing up front, Smith’s expectations might be raised a little too high about a full-time ride next season after his 18th birthday. Though, as Busch has stated, nothing is set in stone yet for the 2020 Truck Series season.

    2. Bad to Worse For Decker – Natalie Decker and the No. 54 DGR-Crosley team just can’t seem to catch a break this season after being involved in an incident in every race since her first outing at Daytona. At Bristol, the night went bad to worse for the Wisconsin native. Decker spun around on Lap 137 and then was involved in an accident on the front stretch on Lap 183. The second accident is where things got heated between her and her crew. Decker was being pushed by the tow truck to the garage area but got spun around again by the wrecker after going too fast. This is when her spotter, Kevin Hamlin, came in and said, “That’s it, I’m taking my sh*t off, I’m outta here.” Decker’s crew chief told her that she needs to start listening to her spotter a lot more. To make matters worse, it was the most talked about incident on social media. The audio from the team was also eventually uploaded after the race was over. It’s been a difficult season for Decker. Perhaps, it may be time to step down a series for Decker in order to gain more experience at the bigger tracks.

    3. Wrecks, Wrecks and More Wrecks – Bristol and the Truck Series are known for wrecks and we saw a lot of them on Thursday night. There were 12 cautions for 73 laps. It’s what we have come to expect from the Truck Series at Bristol and it always adds to the excitement.

    4. Mayer Has Rough First Start – Rookie sensation Sam Mayer was making his first Truck Series start at Bristol this past Thursday night for the No. 21 GMS Racing team. Before the race, Mayer was in victory lane after winning the K&N Pro Series East. Shortly after, he had to jump into a truck and hope he would be in a position to have a shot at the win. However, the GMS driver was involved in an accident late on Lap 194. The accident ended his hopes for a strong outing in his first Truck Series start, as Mayer finished 21st and out of the race. It is possible that he may have the opportunity to compete in some more Truck Series races in the 2020 season for GMS.