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2020 Cup Playoff outlook after Indianapolis

With the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series regular season in its second half, there are 10 races remaining until the Cup Playoffs commence. Currently, six competitors are separated by 56 points for the 16th and final spot to the Playoffs while eight spots remain vacant for anyone in or out of the cutline to secure an early ticket to the postseason and with an opportunity to contend for the series championship.

Following the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at the Brickyard, the 16th race of the season, eight competitors are guaranteed a spot in the Playoffs based on a win. Kevin Harvick leads the way in the regular-season standings on the strength of four wins, including his recent one at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski, both of whom trail Harvick by 85 and 88 points, are also guaranteed a spot by virtue of a victory. Others that are locked into the Playoffs with wins include Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr. and Alex Bowman.

The first three competitors that occupy eight vacant spots to the Playoffs as winless competitors, following Indianapolis, are Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch. For Almirola, a race where he rallied from vibration concerns and an early unscheduled pit stop to finish third, his fifth consecutive top-five result was a result that stabilized his advantage from the top-16 cutline as he is 105 points inside the cutline and with an opportunity to make his third consecutive Playoffs.

“We’re doing such a good job of being consistent,” Almirola said. “We’re bringing great race cars and we’re being really consistent running up front, so just really proud of this team and just want to keep it going. It’s fun to run up front like that.”

For Kyle Busch, a sixth-place result marked a strong rebound from his 38th-place result last Sunday at Pocono Raceway due to a wreck. The result was his ninth top-10 result of the season as he is 10th in the regular-season standings and is 101 points above the top-16 cutline. The result, however, leaves him with a 16-race winless drought dating back to November 2019 at Homestead as he is still trying to pursue his first win of the 2020 season.

“We just kept getting off on pit strategy with the Skittles America Mix Camry,” Kyle Busch said. “We had a valve stem come off the left rear [tire] on a stop and that put us in the back. Then we had vibrations at various points throughout the race with different sets of tires so we had to stay on top of that and make sure we changed those. Each time, that would put us on the back. I struggled to pass anybody most of the day, but somehow got spots on restarts. I was able to salvage a sixth-place finish and will head to Kentucky next week.”

For his brother, Kurt, an early misfortune on pit road left the driver of the No. 1 Monster Energy/Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet team in 13th when the checkered flag flew. The result dropped Kurt Busch from 10th to 11th in the standings as he is 97 points above the cutline. He is also facing a 33-race winless drought dating back to July 2019 at Kentucky Speedway, which, ironically, marks the next destination for the Cup Series.

Among those still inside the top-16 cutline are Matt DiBenedetto, Clint Bowyer and William Byron, who won the first stage but blew a left-front tire in the closing laps of the second stage. With a 27th-place result, which snapped his five-race stretch of finishing in the top 15, Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team are 32 points above the cutline to the Playoffs.

“Our Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was super-fast today,” Byron said. “It just sucks because we have had a lot of these things happen this year. It’s not a fault of anyone, it just happens and it’s a bummer for sure. We’ve had fast cars and it feels like we always have bad luck when we do. That’s what hurts even more. We just need to bring that same speed to Kentucky and hopefully we won’t have any issues there. To be leading the race like that and have a tire issue is, I guess, a good way to go out. We’ll just see what we can do in Kentucky.”

Despite missing his first Cup race in 663 races after testing positive of COVID-19, Jimmie Johnson still remains in the cutline by 36 points. His schedule for the remainder of his swan song season as a full-time competitor, however, remains undetermined as he awaits his upcoming COVID-19 tests and clearance from his physicians.

Behind, Austin Dillon holds sole possession of the 16th and final transfer spot to the Playoffs by six points after finishing 18th despite running inside the top 10 the majority of the day at Indianapolis and gaining valuable stage points by finishing in the top five in the first two stages.

“We had a really strong Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet today at the Brickyard and it was fun to be able to earn stage points in Stages 1 and 2 and lead laps,” Austin Dillon said. “Our Chevy was handling really well all day so we really only needed to make small adjustments throughout the race…Definitely not the finish we wanted or deserved today, but I’m proud of our effort. We had a lot of positives with earning stage points and leading laps.”

The first competitor who trails the top-16 cutline is Erik Jones. Coming off an up-and-down weekend at the Pocono doubleheader, Jones ended his race in the garage after being involved in a harrowing accident in the second stage when he cut a right-front tire in Turn 3. His 33rd-place dropped him from 16th to 17th in the standings as he is behind by six points.

“It’s a shame; it’s kind of the story of our season,” Jones said. “We’ve just had a rough year, and things are just not going our way. Hopefully, we can just turn it around, keep bringing fast cars and have things turn around for us.”

With an eighth-place result and his fourth top-10 result of his rookie Cup season at Indy, rookie Tyler Reddick is 18th in the standings as he and his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team trail the cutline by 16 points.

“We had a great No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet when we could run in clean air and record some good lap times, but unfortunately we struggled in dirty air, like a lot of our competitors today,” Reddick said. “Any time we were battling someone side by side or from behind them, our car would just build way too tight and make it tough to gain or hold track position. We just had an up-and-down day, falling back early and then playing some strategy to stay out to start Stage 3 from the fifth spot…I was able to capitalize on the final restart with fresher tires and race up to eighth place, which is a great finish for our day. We had to grind it out today, but it turned out in our favor.”

Behind Reddick, Bubba Wallace accomplished another respectable finish this season in his quest to make his first Playoffs. By finishing ninth and notching his third top-10 result of his junior year, Wallace gained two spots in the standings and is situated in 19th, 42 points behind the cutline, as he attempts to place a Richard Petty Motorsports entry in the Playoffs for the first time since 2014.

“I guess it is good to be frustrated when you finish in the ninth place,” Wallace said. “All-in-all, it was a good day for this No. 43 World Wide Technology Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. It was fast. We just did not have the handling underneath us. It was good down the straightaways. It did not want to turn very well – specially behind traffic. One of the more frustrating days being behind cars and just trying to maneuver. So, coming out of there with a top-10 finish is good momentum going to the Kentucky Speedway – another good track for us. We will continue the good vibes and keep staying on [crew chief] Jerry [Baxter] to produce good finishes for us.”

Trailing by 48 is Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who finished 36th after being involved in a bizarre wreck on pit road and ending his day early. Those who are in the top 30 in the points standings and still remain in contention for the Playoffs include Chris Buescher, rookie John Hunter Nemechek, Michael McDowell, rookie Christopher Bell, rookie Cole Custer, Ryan Newman, Ty Dillon, Matt Kenseth, Corey LaJoie and Ryan Preece.

The road to the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs continues on Sunday, July 12, at Kentucky Speedway, which will air at 2:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

July 6, 2020
First Cup Pocono race features unique top-15 notables

While Kevin Harvick walked away with his first NASCAR Cup Series win at Pocono Raceway following a 19-year dry spell, there were other competitors who left the first Pocono race of the weekend satisfied with their runs involving late-race strategy and finishes inside the top 15.

The first was Clint Bowyer. Starting 18th, Bowyer remained in 18th through the competition caution on Lap 13. Surrendering his track position to pit for early adjustments, Bowyer fell back to 24th. Through two restarts, he settled in 25th when the first stage concluded. He spent the majority of the following stage racing within the 20s, but when some competitors opted to pit under green, Bowyer was back up in 11th. Following a late debris caution, he pitted. Through two restarts, he was able to carve his way to 13th following the second stage. In the final stage, under 40 laps remaining, Bowyer made a green-flag pit stop along with a bevy of lead-lap cars that would get him the fuel he needed to make it to the end. Fifteen laps later, Bowyer was running in 14th and delivering strong lap times. For the remainder of the race, Bowyer and his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang was able to work his way into the top 10 as he settled in seventh when the race concluded. Coming off four disappointing races, where he finished no higher than 11th at Homestead, the seventh-place result was Bowyer’s fourth top-10 result of this season and his best finish since finishing second at Bristol on May 31. It was also a result that kept Bowyer inside the top-16 in the Cup regular-season standings.

“We were really loose and in traffic, we were terrible,” Bowyer said. “But, I think we found our direction in the last part of the race. We had a vibration late or I think we could have gotten more spots. What a swing! [Crew chief] Johnny Klausmeier and my guys did a good job calling the race.”

Next was Michael McDowell. Starting 26th McDowell was able to work his way up to 19th following the first stage and in 16th following the second stage. Restarting 14th under 50 laps remaining for the final stage, McDowell shined as he worked his way into the top 10. As the green-flag run stretch, a multitude of competitors, even for those running towards the front, pitted while McDowell was among a handful who remained on track. Once most of the pit stops cycled through, McDowell and his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford Mustang team was running inside the top five and was one of seven cars yet to pit. With 20 laps remaining, McDowell passed Ryan Newman to lead a lap before he surrendered his track position to pit under green. Once he exited pit road, McDowell was still in contention for a top-10 result, which he was able to move into eighth in the final laps. When the checkered flag flew, McDowell crossed the line in eighth for his first top-10 result of this season, the ninth of his career and his first since finishing fifth last October at Talladega Superspeedway. The result was also McDowell’s best in a non-superspeedway event in the Cup Series. With teammate John Hunter Nemechek finishing eighth the previous race at Talladega and McDowell earning his eighth-place result in the first Pocono race, this marked the first time where Front Row Motorsports’ entries earned top-10 results in consecutive weeks.

“Well, that was an exciting run,” McDowell said. “[Crew chief] Drew [Blickensderfer] made a great call. Strategy was the big part of it today. Our car was really fast on the long run, which let us stay out long and make good lap times, and end up taking only two tires at the end to get some track position. Luckily, it stayed green and everything went our way. Really proud of everybody at Front Row [Motorsports]. Fast race car all day long and I’m just glad we got a top 10 here, kept the momentum rolling. We get to do all again tomorrow. We’ll reload and get to do it again.”

Another competitor who gambled late on fuel to post a decent result was Chris Buescher. Starting 24th, Buescher was able to carve his way to 17th through the competition caution on Lap 13. He went on to finish 19th in the first stage and 20th in the second stage, though his No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Mustang was fifth at one moment in the second stage. Restarting 18th for the final stage, Buescher was one of seven competitors who decided to stretch his fuel cell as far as possible while the green-flag run progressed and as most of the lead-lap cars pitted. With teammate Ryan Newman leading in the late stages, Buescher was running in third. Under 20 laps remaining, Buescher inherited the lead and led three laps before making a green-flag pit stop. Once Buescher returned on track, he spent the next 17 laps working his way back to the front. On the final lap, Buescher was able to pass Matt Kenseth to finish 10th and secure his fourth top-10 result of this season in his 14th Cup race with Roush Fenway Racing.

“Well, another top 10 for our Fastenal Mustang,” Buescher said. “First Pocono is in the books, a little bit delayed, but we had a really good run. Had some good strategy, we had good speed. [I] Was happy with our racecar. We get to work on it a little bit for tomorrow, kind of fine tuned and be able to hit the ground running. We’re excited to get going and try to build off of this, and try to do a little better yet.”

Finishing right behind Buescher was Matt Kenseth. Starting 22nd, Kenseth was scored in 23rd and he went on to finish 23rd and 14th in the following two stages. With 37 laps remaining, Kenseth was among many competitors who made a green-flag pit stop with enough fuel to complete the remainder of the race. From there, Kenseth awaited as a handful of competitors peeled off the track to pit road. Under 15 laps remaining, the 2003 Cup champion was scored in 10th and was appeared to finish in the top 10 despite enduring late handling issues. On the final lap, he was overtaken for position and settled in 11th, seven spots ahead of teammate Kurt Busch. While he came one spot short of earning his second top-10 result of this season, the 11th-place result marked Kenseth’s third top-15 result of the 2020 season in his 10th race driving the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE and his best result since finishing 15th at Atlanta on June 7. In the previous three Cup races prior to Saturday’s race at Pocono, Kenseth had finished no higher than 23rd and was coming off a 40th-place finish, last, at Talladega due to mechanical issues. By finishing 11th, Kenseth was also the highest-finishing Chevrolet competitor of the Cup race.

After running inside the top five midway in the race, Matt DiBenedetto settled for a top-15 result following a late cycle of green-flag pit stops. Starting 21st, DiBenedetto had a strong No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang to start the race as he gained 10 spots and was scored in 11th through the first 13 laps. Through the remainder of the first stage, DiBenedetto was able to work his way into the top 10 and finish seventh while earning crucial stage points for the Playoffs. Continuing to battle his way towards the front with a strong car, DiBenedetto was able to finish fifth in the second stage and earn more valuable stage points. Following a final green-flag pit stop under 40 laps remaining in the final stage, DiBenedetto crossed the line in 13th for his ninth top-15 finish in his 14th race with the Wood Brothers.

Finally, Ryan Newman concluded his day with a top-15 run after leading in the late laps on a dry tank of fuel. Starting 13th, Newman had fallen back to 20th through the competition caution, but he progressively worked his way back to finish 14th and 12th in the first two stages. The final stage was where Newman rose to the occasion as he inherited the lead with 33 laps remaining. With Newman in the lead, this marked the third race where he led a lap since returning from his injuries in the season-opening Daytona 500. On this occasion, Newman led 13 laps. A lap after losing the lead to Michael McDowell, Newman made a green-flag pit stop. Once he returned on the track, he was still in the top 15, running near his teammate Chris Buescher. While Buescher marched on into the top 10, Newman settled in 15th for his sixth top-15 result since returning at Darlington Raceway in May.

The NASCAR Cup Series will return for a second race at Pocono as part of the doubleheader feature on June 28 at 4 p.m. ET on FS1.

June 28, 2020
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.

June 1, 2020
Bowyer notches fourth career Cup Series pole at Auto Club Speedway
With a time of 40.086 seconds and a speed of 179.614 mph, Kansas native Clint Bowyer qualified on the pole for this Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Raceway. Bowyer narrowly edged out fan-favorite Jimmie Johnson for the pole by 0.007 seconds. However, the qualifying run surprised the Stewart-Haas Racing driver.

“Certainly that is where you want to be,” Bowyer said. “Honestly, I didn’t really see that in the car. We didn’t run a qualifying lap yesterday. We made some changes in happy hour and the car kind of woke up and showed some speed but honestly, we were kind of focused on downforce and doing what we needed to do in traffic.”

“That being said, that thing rocketed to the top there and he told me the lap time and I was like, ‘Damn, I think that is on the pole.’ Again, the sun was coming out and that changed the qualifying day quite a bit as the sun came out and it was right before us. I was watching the Gibbs cars go and you could see on SMT with the data we have now you can visibly see everyone starting to really jerk on the wheel in the middle of one and two and get loose. I was like, ‘Oh damn, here I go. I am fixing to see the same thing.’ Sure enough, I got in there and she just kind of slid in the slot and I didn’t have to chase it up the track.”

“I just gave it one big catch and it pointed and shot off the corner and I was able to keep the throttle down. Then you see the 48 car, the last car out, the story of his last race at home. I figured there was no way we were going to win. I was better coming to the green and then better through one and two but then all of a sudden off of two he had a really good run and got ahead of me into three and four. Honestly, he was ahead of me off of four even, but I just pulled it down just a little bit more than he did down the front straightaway and just barely got him. That is what qualifying is all about with this product where you are all but wide open. It comes down to your balance and how the car is trimmed out and things like that. It makes it interesting and nerve-wracking as well because it is all so close.”

For now, this will be Jimmie Johnson’s last race at his hometown racetrack in Southern California. The California native just almost knocked out Bowyer for the pole but had to settle for second. Despite not getting the pole, Sunday’s race will be just as special for Johnson, as his kids will get to wave the green flag to start the race.

“It will be super special,” Johnson said. “I wish we were one spot further ahead and clearly off turn four there I ran a little more distance to the start-finish. It is such a fine balance to try to understand how much you can open up and let the engine run. Clearly I did too much, but that’s just the competitor in me. Very special weekend for me and I can’t wait to see my girls up in the flag stand waving the green flag.”

There was more qualifying news as both Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr. failed inspection. Busch failed twice and was still able to do a qualifying lap, while Truex failed three times and did not get to post a lap. Both Busch and Truex will be starting from the rear tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s race can be seen on FOX with a start time of 3:30 p.m. ET.

Starting lineup:
1. Clint Bowyer
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Alex Bowman
4. Kurt Busch, will start in the rear
5. Kevin Harvick
6. Aric Almirola
7. Joey Logano
8. Michael McDowell
9. Kyle Larson
10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
11. Chris Buescher
12. Matt DiBenedetto
13. Chase Elliott
14. Bubba Wallace
15. Brad Keselowski
16. Ryan Blaney
17. Kyle Busch
18. Cole Custer
19. Tyler Reddick
20. Ryan Preece
21. William Byron
22. Christopher Bell
23. John Hunter Nemechek
24. Ty Dillon
25. Austin Dillon
26. Corey LaJoie
27. Ross Chastain
28. Denny Hamlin
29. Erik Jones
30. J.J. Yeley
31. Daniel Suarez
32. Brennan Poole
33. Reed Sorenson
34. Joey Gase
35. Quin Houff
36. Garrett Smithley
37. Timmy Hill
38. Martin Truex Jr. – did not make a qualifying run due to inspection failures
February 29, 2020
10-Time NASCAR Cup Series Race Winner Returns to No. 14 Ford Mustang

Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) has extended its relationship with driver Clint Bowyer, keeping the 10-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner in the team’s No. 14 Ford Mustang for 2020.

The 2020 season will mark Bowyer’s fourth year with SHR and his 15th in the NASCAR Cup Series. The 40-year-old from Emporia, Kansas, took over the No. 14 Ford in 2017 following the retirement of three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and 2020 NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart. Bowyer recently made his 500^th career NASCAR Cup Series start last Sunday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway and he is in the NASCAR Playoffs for the second straight year.

“Clint Bowyer is a racer to his core who brings passion and energy to our race team,” said Stewart, who co-owns SHR with Haas Automation founder Gene Haas. “He’s exactly who I wanted to drive my No. 14 car and we’re very happy to have him continue with Stewart-Haas Racing.”

Bowyer’s renewal with SHR comes at an appropriate time. He is a proud member of the Sunflower State and it’s where the NASCAR Cup Series races this weekend with the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City.

“I’m proud to be back with Stewart-Haas Racing next year and very happy to announce it the week leading into my home race,” Bowyer said. “This is a team filled with racers who love to compete, and as a racecar driver, it’s exactly where you want to be. Great equipment, great teammates, and we’re all backed by great people, which starts at the top with Tony and Gene. They know how to build some fast Ford Mustangs and I’m the lucky guy who gets to drive ‘em.”

Bowyer has seven top-five and 15 top-10 finishes so far this season and is currently 11^th in the playoff standings. In his last NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas in May, Bowyer qualified second and finished fifth.

The Hollywood Casino 400 is the sixth race of the 10-race playoffs and the final race in the Round of 12. It starts at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

About Stewart-Haas Racing:

Stewart-Haas Racing is the title-winning NASCAR team co-owned by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation – the largest CNC machine tool builder in North America. The Kannapolis, North Carolina-based organization fields four entries in the NASCAR Cup Series – the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Kevin Harvick, the No. 10 Ford Mustang for Aric Almirola, the No. 14 Ford Mustang for Clint Bowyer and the No. 41 Ford Mustang for Daniel Suárez. The team also competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with two fulltime entries – the No. 00 Ford Mustang for Cole Custer and the No. 98 Ford Mustang for Chase Briscoe. For more information, please visit us online at www.StewartHaasRacing.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/StewartHaasRacing, on Twitter @StewartHaasRcng and on Instagram @StewartHaasRacing.

October 17, 2019
Harvick and Bowyer advance to Round of 12 after strong finishes

It was almost a happy day for Kevin Harvick who led 34 laps but was passed for the win late in the going. Harvick qualified sixth, placed eighth in Stage 1 and fifth in Stage 2.

He recycled out as the leader after pit stops concluded with 29 to go. However, cautions late in the going caught him at the wrong time and he was passed by Elliott on Lap 103 and eventually wound up with a third-place finish. Regardless of the top-five finish, Harvick was already locked into the Round of 12.

“I thought it was a great day for us,” Harvick said to PRN Radio. “Everybody on our Jimmy Johns Ford did a great job. From last year to this year, to have the improvement and Watkins Glen to now. We knew we were off from the Hendrick cars on speed and they put me in a great position to win the race if the caution didn’t come out. I kept seeing that 9 (Elliott) getting closer and closer and didn’t really see the 88 (Bowman), but I saw he had fresher tires.”

“Just proud of everyone at Stewart-Haas. We worked hard to be competitive and it paid off.”

Harvick will be seeded in the fifth position, 18 points behind Kyle Busch. The third-place finish was Harvick’s 11th top five of the year.

His teammate Clint Bowyer had a similar day. The Emporia, Kansas native had a strong car starting fifth, finishing third in both stages and at one point he was third after a restart. Bowyer was also up front at one point in the race before wheel hopping and losing a couple of spots.

However, Bowyer and his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team did what they needed to do and are advancing to the Round of 12.

“Going into the weekend, our backs were against the wall,” Bowyer said to PRN Radio. “We answered the call in qualifying. First of all, Mike (Bugarewicz, Crew Chief) answered the call unloading a fast car off the box. We qualified well, ran up front and passed cars. We did all the things we needed to do. Very proud of that race team, you never give up. It just shows, we were down and out after Vegas, could have easily been bummed out and gave up, but we didn’t and stuck to it.”

“Had a good race last weekend and top five here. That’s good momentum and going to some racetracks that are good. I am not going to start this thing off on the wrong foot again like we did in Vegas.”

Bowyer will be seeded 12th going into the next round of the Playoffs, 46 points behind Busch.

September 29, 2019
Clint Bowyer Leads a Stewart Haas Sweep by Winning the Pole for the South Point 400

Stewart Haas Racing sweeps the top four starting spots, and this time they get to keep it. Clint Bowyer will lead his Ford teammates by winning the Busch Pole Award for the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series.

“I’m as shocked as you are,” Bowyer exclaimed in the media center.

Reason for the surprise is that it was Bowyer’s third career pole in the Cup series. His last pole came on this date in 2007 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway when qualifying was originally held on Friday. He went on to lead 222 laps and claim his first career win. The race was also the Playoff opener for that year’s postseason. It had been 431 races between the veteran driver’s pole awards.

“Something is wrong with them if I beat them to a pole,” Bowyer said jokingly on the NBCSN broadcast. “I’m telling you that car is a bullet.

“Tomorrow’s a whole new day. The thing’s got to turn left at the end of the straightaway tomorrow and it has to do it for a long time, unlike just one lap today. Just timing is everything and we had some good fortune.”

Bowyer bested his teammates, with Daniel Suarez, Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola starting just behind him. The team had originally earned the first four starting positions earlier this year at Kansas, but post-qualifying inspection found two of the cars illegal, invalidating their times. Former Stewart Haas driver Kurt Busch rounded out the top five.

“Qualifying well is important,” Almirola shared after his fourth place qualifying run. “I am happy about that and really proud of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing. There is so much effort going in week in and week out, and I feel really good about where we are at.”

The first non-Playoff drivers were the Richard Childress Racing teammates of Daniel Hemric and Austin Dillon, who will start sixth and seventh respectively. Chase Elliott, Jimmie Johnson and Michael McDowell complete the top 10 starting positions.

“It hurts to not be in the Playoffs,” Johnson shared before qualifying with Bob Pockrass for NASCAR on FOX. “It really bothers me at the end of the day, but that’s good that it has that effect on me. We’re going to use that as fuel to get us back where we need to be.”

Denny Hamlin was the fastest Toyota driver, and will start 13th. Other Playoff drivers through the first half of the field include William Byron (14th), Kyle Larson (15th), Ryan Newman (17th), Brad Keselowski (18), Alex Bowman (19th) and Kyle Busch (20th).

The Playoff drivers that struggled the most in qualifying include Joey Logano (22nd), Ryan Blaney (23rd), Martin Truex Jr. (24th) and Erik Jones (26th).

The green flag for the first race of the Playoffs will wave on Sunday, September 15 for the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

September 14, 2019
Bowyer, Newman make 2019 playoffs

In what has been an up and down year for Clint Bowyer’s No. 14 team, the Kansas native made it into the Playoffs. Bowyer came into the Indy race facing the possibility of elimination but the Stewart-Haas Racing driver clinched a spot with a fifth-place finish.

“I definitely think we got the ship in the right direction,” Bowyer said to PRN Radio. “Talking about the ship, it was setting sail for the 4 car today. That’s a Stewart-Haas car, that’s a Ford Mustang. I’m excited about our momentum, single-digit finishes here with three in a row, rolling into the Playoffs. We finally got some mojo, some things going on our side. So we just got to keep that together and roll off into the Playoffs and move on to some rounds.”

Roush Fenway Racing driver Ryan Newman Racing also raced his way into the Playoffs by earning an eighth-place finish Sunday afternoon at Indy. Newman started 22nd and worked hard for his ninth top-10 of the season.

“Our credentials don’t show a lot for leading laps, poles, wins and stuff like that,” Newman told PRN Radio. “The effort that went into that, might be that of a guy that’s leading the points. We’ll just have to keep on going. Real proud of everybody at Roush Fenway getting this Acorns into the Playoffs. These next three races, there’s no guarantee getting into the next 10.”

September 9, 2019
Bubble Drivers Running for a 2019 Playoff Spot – Who Will Make It?
With just six more races left in the regular season for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, six drivers in 13th through 18th place are within 31 points of each other. It’s a tight race for those last few spots, and a win could spoil the party even further.

But who has the best shot with six tracks nowhere near related to each other?

I’m talking about Pocono Raceway first, then the high speed Watkins Glen International Raceway. After that, we go to our last 2-mile oval of the year at Michigan International Speedway, with Bristol Motor Speedway as the last race in August. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series holds their Labor Day tradition at the track “Too Tough To Tame”, Darlington Raceway, and then the legendary Brickyard 400 to close out the regular season.

Maybe Pocono has some relation to a couple of these tracks with its three differing corners, but as a whole, these six circuits are incomparable to each other.

So let’s first look at the drivers in that tight battle for those last four points positions and who I feel will make the Playoffs.

Kyle Larson (+14, 13th in points)

Surprisingly, Larson is at the top of the bubble gap, sitting 13th in points. Even though the current package does not showcase his talent, he has finished in the top-10 in half of the races this season and currently sits higher than most would have anticipated. However, 14 points aren’t much of an advantage for Larson considering a few missed top-10 stage finishes could eliminate that cushion.

“I feel okay about it (his Playoff position) but thankful the rest of the bubble guys had issues this last race (at New Hampshire) because I DNFed and only lost nine points to the cutoff,” Larson said. “I was surprised by that.

“I do feel like our cars are definitely fast enough and capable and should be in the playoffs. As far as speed goes, I feel good about it. But obviously, I’ve got to just not make mistakes to give up a lot of points, like I could have this last weekend.”

He is 31 points ahead of both Jimmie Johnson and Daniel Suarez, who are tied in points but below the cutoff. However, Larson doesn’t take that for granted, knowing how quickly he can lose points, can’t rely on other drivers having bad days and understanding that a win from a driver below him can quickly shake things up.

Larson has a lot of strong tracks coming up, including Pocono where he won two stages and led 35 laps in the race this June, and Michigan where he has won before. If the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing team can hold their own and put together a couple good runs, they could either win their way in or squeeze in on points. My prediction is that he’ll make the Playoffs.

Erik Jones (+11, 14th in points)

“That Jones Boy” holds 14th in the points standings, despite having some strong runs and holds the most top fives and top 10’s in the year compared to these other drivers. Out of the entire Joe Gibbs Racing camp, Jones is the only one lacking a win and risking a Playoff spot.

Jones believes that if his team can clean up a few mishaps and have a little luck on their side, he could get his second career victory to lock himself into the Playoffs.

“Some of it has been our own fault. Phoenix, we had a loose wheel to start the race, blow a tire, get in the wall, ruins our day,” Jones shared earlier this summer at Daytona International Speedway. “Charlotte, we blow a right front; whether that is our fault or not, I don’t know.

“There is Bristol, loose wheel, go three laps down. There have been so many races where you take yourself out of it. That’s what you can’t do in this sport and try to make the playoffs. We have had fast cars; Sonoma, we had another good car, but we had to start in the back. Chicago, we had an okay car, but we made a good day out of it. We’ve got good cars; we just need to have things go our way. We need to execute better on our end on all fronts. Make sure we are doing all we can to get the best finish that we can.”

While he does have four top 10 finishes in the last five races, he also does have three finishes of 30th or worse, including a last-place finish after crashing out of the Coca-Cola 600 after 22 laps. That inconsistency and this tight points race could hurt him, so my vote is that Jones will miss the Playoffs after a few bad runs at places he could have gained ground.

Ryan Newman (+4, 15th in points)

The veteran knows how to close the deal in tight situations. While he may not have winning equipment at this time, Newman does know how to put together good enough runs to be exactly that: “good enough”.

I don’t mean that in a negative sense at all. In fact, of all the drivers in this list, I’d say he’s the best at this exact type of war, know when and where to pick his battles.

Take a look back in 2014. When driving for Richard Childress Racing, he was just one position shy of making the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He overcame this by punting Larson through Turns 3 and 4 to gain the extra position he needed to change his outcome. Putting Larson into the wall coming to the checkered flag gave Newman the position and point he needed to get into the final spot for the championship run in the season finale, knocking out Jeff Gordon from contention for his potential fifth championship.

It doesn’t matter the job, the obstacles, or the track. Newman knows how to get it done. He will make the 2019 Playoffs when you put that challenge in front of him. Mark my word that he’ll be in the first round of the Playoffs as a contender.

Clint Bowyer (+0, 16th in points)

When looking back to last year, Clint Bowyer was in a much different position than he is now. At this point in 2018, Bowyer had two wins at Martinsville Speedway and Michigan (June, rain-shortened), so the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team was already locked into the Playoffs. He had 10 top-10 finishes and was on pace for a good run in the postseason.

This season has been a different story though. He is already one DNF shy of matching last year’s totals, and has no wins to lock himself in.

However, with the tracks coming up, Bowyer has potential.
- Pocono (June): Fifth
- Sonoma (road course): 11th
- Bristol: 7th, with top-10 finishes at Richmond and Martinsville
Bowyer doesn’t want to go another six years without a victory, so look for him to challenge for a win and a few other strong finishes to solidify himself into the regular season. I’m going to lean more toward Bowyer making the Playoffs this year.

Jimmie Johnson (-17, 17th in points)

Jimmie Johnson is now over two years since his last Cup series victory, Dover in June 2017. And while Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet have started to find their groove, 7-Time has struggled to find consistency.

For the past four races, he’s had two top-five finishes, and two 30th place finishes. While his average start and finishing positions have improved compared to the last two years, his inconsistent results could put him into jeopardy for a Playoff position. This has put him in the first spot below the cutoff line.

With the tracks coming up and who he would have to beat on track for those spots, this could be Johnson’s first year where he will not be a part of the 16 drivers running for a championship in 2019. My vote says that this will stand.

Daniel Suarez (-17, 18th in points)

Daniel Suarez has had a roller coaster of a season. A couple of top five runs, two crashes at both Daytona races and everywhere else in between has ended him up here, 17 points below the last Playoff spot.

He had a fantastic run at Kentucky. He won the pole, led 52 laps and finished eighth. However, he only collected 29 points in total.

These last few races have been the worst in collecting stage points when compared to the other five drivers. Suarez started out strong by collecting a lot of stage points, salvaging a few where he crashed out, was caught a lap down or struggled to find speed later in the race.
- Daytona (February): finished 33rd, but collected 14 points, almost double his finishing position’s worth to salvage his season-opener DNF.
- Texas: finished third and collected 11 more points than the second-place finisher (Bowyer).
- Richmond: finished 18th but collected seven more points than 19th.
But since the June Pocono race when Suarez was 13th in points, he has only collected six stage points over six races, five at Daytona’s first stage and just one point from a 10th place running in the first stage at Loudon. He will need to pick up the pace on the stage points like he was at the beginning of the year if he’s going to secure his spot.

Suarez is hungry for his first win though. He’s not running for stage points. He’s working to put himself into a position to win. While that’s an extremely valuable experience, it will cost him those critical stage points. It depends on what he values more, but if he’s willing to sacrifice a win for six more races, my guess is that he’ll fight his way back into the Playoffs.

Drivers for the Win

With those six drivers, it’s truly anybody’s spot, just a matter of who wants it more, and maybe who might get a little luckier than others.

It doesn’t stop there. I feel there are two other drivers that could spoil the party with either a late-season surge or sneak in a potential win.

Austin Dillon (-124, 22nd in points)

Although his best finish this season is sixth, Austin Dillon has been well-known to get surprise wins at big races. His two career victories were a last lap ‘crash’ of Aric Almirola in last year’s Daytona 500, and a fuel gamble win at the 2017 Coca-Cola 600. He also earned three poles, and has led the most laps of his career in a single season already here in 2019 (69 laps).

But despite these numbers, Richard Childress Racing hasn’t really competed much up front for a win. When Dillon has led, it’s mostly due to his pole run and getting some front running time before getting caught up in traffic after green flag pit stops or losing the lead after catching lap traffic.

Don’t put it behind the No. 3 team to sneak in another big win, though. They’ve done it two years in a row, so the Brickyard 400 or the Southern 500 could be his third iconic victory at NASCAR’s top level.

Matt DiBenedetto (-176, 24th in points)

It looks like bad luck is finally behind the Hickory, NC driver. After leading the most laps of his career in a single race to kick of the season at the Daytona 500, the No. 95 team had speed, but little to no luck on their side. From mechanical failures to pit stop mishaps, ‘Guido’ has the potential to gather more strong runs than what the numbers show at this time. However, with his top five run at Sonoma Raceway, a top 10 at Daytona, then another top five at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the Leavine Family Racing team has found their stride and the chemistry to run more consistent.

Even more so, Matt DiBenedetto feels confident at the “driver’s” tracks. Sonoma, a very technical and slow road course, was a perfect example of that as he drove through the field in the closing laps to finish fourth.

“I’ve had this one circled,” DiBenedetto shared after his finish at Sonoma. “Places like Bristol, Phoenix, here. I’ll be honest, this year has been tough because the rules are so different where it makes it a little tougher for the driver to make a difference at some of these bigger race tracks. It’s a lot of car speed and track position, so it’s been tough and mentally challenging.

“So these places where you can just get on the wheel and show the strength of your team and how we can execute, those are the ones we circled off. I was so glad, I knew we could get a good run here.”

There are a couple of these types of tracks coming up. Watkins Glen is another road course on the schedule for DiBenedetto to showcase his right-hand turns. Bristol is where he finished sixth in 2016 back with BK Racing. Then Darlington is a race where some drivers can show their strength of being able to wheel a car at high speeds on a very unforgiving race track. Don’t put it past the No. 95 team to sneak in a potential victory and spoil the party for those higher in the standings.

Six completely different tracks mean we’re going to see two different races each weekend. My hope is that NBC, MRN and PRN can highlight this race within the race to let fans see exactly what I’m talking about. We may even see some desperate moves made by some drivers to get that extra point securing their spot and knocking out another. The Tricky Triangle is up first.
July 26, 2019
Clint Bowyer satisfied with top 10 finish

It has been a frustrating season for Clint Bowyer and his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team. His best finish this season was second at Texas in March. Since then, Bowyer has had up and down results.

It seems as though when Bowyer would finish in the top five or top 10 in one race, he would wind up the 20s or 30s in the next race. He’s finished seventh at Bristol, third at Richmond, 29th at Talladega, ninth at Dover and fifth Kansas, while finishing 24th at Charlotte, fifth again at Pocono, 35th at Michigan, 11th at Sonoma, 37th at Chicago and 34th at Daytona prior to Kentucky.

After the stretch of bad luck, Bowyer and his team were hoping to leave Kentucky Speedway with a decent finish, at least a top-10, and if the opportunity presented itself, a win. He came close to doing just that.

On Friday afternoon, he qualified in the seventh position giving him good track position at a track where you need it if you want to have a shot at the win.

As the race started, Bowyer had a decent car throughout the night. He ran as low as 34th, obviously after green flag pit stops. He finished 18th in Stage 1 but earned a fifth-place finish in Stage 2.

When Stage 3 began, Bowyer was out front leading the race with former teammate Kurt Busch. He led from Lap 164 to Lap 201 for 38 laps. It would be the only time Bowyer was out front, as he would settle for a sixth-place finish.

At the end of it all, Bowyer was pleased with the effort and the speed of his No. 14 team.

“It was really crazy,” Bowyer told PRN in his post-race interview. “You look at that and think, could’ve, would’ve, should’ve with a fifth place run right there. However, with the month of June we had, where you go for it in that situation and get wrecked out, we can’t afford any of those. We gave up a position there. Again, you’re frustrated with that, but a good momentum boost for our team, a positive night for us.”

“Made some good calls on the box, Mike (Bugarewicz, Crew Chief) gave us some good track position. Our cars are really fast out front. Our Stewart-Haas cars have shown great speed, we have to work on race trim in traffic, things like that. We have some good tracks coming up for us, have a little positive mojo back for a change. Hell, I’ll take it.”

It was Bowyer’s ninth top-10 finish of the season and he currently sits 14th in the playoff standings. He will need more consistent finishes like those and possibly a win if he wants to compete for a championship later this season.

July 14, 2019