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Joe Gibbs Racing announces 2021 crew chief lineup

Joe Gibbs Racing revealed its crew chief lineup for the 2021 NASCAR season, featuring a handful of changes to the organization’s powerhouse stable between the Cup and Xfinity Series.

Adam Stevens, two-time Cup Series championship crew chief, will move to JGR’s No. 20 Toyota Camry team and serve as crew chief for Christopher Bell, who is to embark on his first full-time season with JGR in NASCAR’s premier series. Ben Beshore, a former engineer for JGR’s No. 18 team, will become a full-time Cup Series crew chief for the No. 18 Toyota team and be paired with two-time Cup champion Kyle Busch.

Stevens is coming off his sixth full-time season as crew chief for the No. 18 Toyota team in the Cup circuit, having won two championships and 28 races with Kyle Busch. Beshore is coming off his second full-time season in the Xfinity Series as a crew chief, where he led Harrison Burton to four victories and the 2020 Xfinity Series Rookie-of-the-Year title. He won four Xfinity races with Kyle Busch in 2019.

Chris Gabehart, reigning two-time Daytona 500 winning crew chief, will remain atop the pit box of the No. 11 Toyota Camry team driven by reigning three-time Daytona 500 champion Denny Hamlin while James Small, coming off his first full-time season as a Cup crew chief, will also return as crew chief for the No. 19 Toyota Camry team driven by former Cup champion Martin Truex Jr. for the 2021 Cup season.

In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, veteran Jason Ratcliff will return to JGR and serve as crew chief for Harrison Burton and the No. 20 Toyota Supra team. Ratcliff is coming off a full-time Cup Series season as crew chief for Christopher Bell and Leavine Family Racing, which ceased operations following the 2020 season.

Jeff Meendering will remain as crew chief for Brandon Jones and the No. 19 Toyota Supra team while veteran Dave Rogers will also return as crew chief for the No. 18 Toyota Supra team set to be driven by Daniel Hemric, JGR’s newest competitor, in 2021.

Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images.

“We go through a process at the conclusion of every season that includes evaluating each of our teams,” Joe Gibbs, Owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, said. “We believe our crew chief lineup for 2021 will best position each team and driver for success across both series.”

JGR also announced plans to field a fourth entry, the No. 54 Toyota Supra, for the 2021 Xfinity Series season led by crew chief Chris Gayle. Gayle is coming off his fourth full-time season as a Cup crew chief, where he worked with Erik Jones, who transitioned to Richard Petty Motorsports for the 2021 season. The driver lineup and schedule of the No. 54 operation will be announced at a later date.

“We take a lot of pride in our depth of talent across our entire organization,” Gibbs added. “All of our crew chiefs are proven winners. We are also looking forward to bringing the No. 54 Toyota Supra back to the track in 2021 with an exciting team of drivers.”

Joe Gibbs Racing’s new driver-crew chief pairings will debut at Daytona International Speedway in February 2021.

November 17, 2020
Hemric lands full-time ride with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2021

Daniel Hemric has a team to call home for the 2021 NASCAR season. That team is Joe Gibbs Racing after it was announced that Hemric will be joining the organization and drive the No. 18 Toyota Supra on a full-time basis in next year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

Hemric, a 29-year-old native from Kannapolis, North Carolina, is coming off a part-time season with JR Motorsports, where he recorded seven top-five results, 12 top-10 results and an average result of 16.2 in 21 starts throughout the 33-race schedule. He also earned a pair of runner-up finishes last season and contributed to JRM’s No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro team finishing in ninth place in the 2020 Xfinity Owners’ standings.

Hemric’s move to JGR next season will mark the third different team he has driven for in the past three seasons. It will also mark his first full-time season in NASCAR since the 2019 Cup Series, where he captured the Rookie-of-the-Year title, and first in the Xfinity Series since 2018.

In two previous full-time seasons in the Xfinity Series with Richard Childress Racing (2017 and 2018), Hemric earned a combined 23 top-five results and 39 top-10 results. He also made the Championship 4 round in both seasons, finishing fourth in the 2017 final standings and third in the 2018 final standings.

With a combined 175 starts across NASCAR’s top three national touring series (50 in the Truck Series, 87 in the Xfinity Series and 38 in the Cup Series), Hemric is still pursuing his first victory.

“It’s been quite a roller coaster ride for me over the last few years, but I can’t say how thankful I am for the opportunity to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing,” Hemric said. “Their reputation speaks for itself. I know they have high expectations for me, as I do as well, and I could not be more excited to chase the Xfinity Series championship with them next season.”

With Hemric set to join JGR, he will be a teammate to Brandon Jones, a three-time race winner of the 2020 Xfinity Series season, and Harrison Burton, the 2020 Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year who won his first four races this past season. This also completes JGR’s full-time Xfinity Series lineup for the 2021 season.

We’re excited to have Daniel join our Xfinity Series team,” Steve de Souza, Executive Vice President of Xfinity Series and Development for Joe Gibbs Racing, said. “He has proven the ability to run up front and we believe his experience and consistency will be a benefit to our overall program. We look forward to him competing with Brandon [Jones] and Harrison [Burton] for wins and contending for a championship.”

Riley Herbst, who drove the No. 18 Toyota full-time in 2020, will be departing the organization and pursue another opportunity in racing to be announced.

Sponsorship and crew chief details for Hemric will be announced at a later date.

November 12, 2020
Haley notches a thrilling win at Daytona

At the start of the final lap of the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway, all three Kaulig Racing competitors led by A.J. Allmendinger and followed by Ross Chastain and Justin Haley were running at the front with an opportunity to win. When the checkered flag flew, two Kaulig competitors made contact and wrecked while the third competitor, Haley, escaped the carnage on the final lap to win at Daytona.

The victory was Haley’s second of his Xfinity Series career, second of this season after winning his first Xfinity career race at Talladega Superspeedway in June and the fifth NASCAR win overall for Kaulig Racing.

The starting lineup was based on three statistical categories: current owner points standings, the results from a previous Xfinity race and the fastest lap from a previous Xfinity race. With that, Chase Briscoe, coming off his victory at Dover International Speedway in part of a doubleheader weekend, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Ross Chastain.

Rookie Riley Herbst was the only competitor to drop to the rear of the field due to an improperly mounted ballast discovered from his No. 18 Monster Energy Toyota Supra during the pre-race technical inspection, resulting in his car chief being ejected. In addition, he was assessed a pass-through penalty at the start of the race. Ryan Sieg, Josh Williams and Tim Viens retained their starting spots, but they all lost a pit stall selection for next weekend’s series race at Darlington Raceway due to multiple pre-race technical failures.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Briscoe received a push from Austin Cindric at the start to jump to an early lead. The top-eight competitors led by Briscoe ran in a single-file lane following by a bevy of competitors racing in double lanes for one lap around the superspeedway venue as Briscoe led the first lap.

The following lap, with Briscoe still leading, Cindric settled in second followed by Kaulig Racing’s Ross Chastain and Justin Haley while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones and Harrison Burton were running inside the top six. Anthony Alfredo was in seventh place ahead of Brandon Brown, Alex Labbe and Brett Moffitt while JR Motorsports’ four-car lineup led by Noah Gragson and including Justin Allgaier, Daniel Hemric and Michael Annett were running inside the top 16.

By the fifth lap, Briscoe was still leading Cindric, Chastain and a bevy of cars racing in a single-file lane followed by a scattered pack racing in two lanes. Trailing the lead pack by more than 34 seconds was Herbst following his opening lap penalty.

Shortly after, the first caution of the race flew when rookie Joe Graf Jr. spun across the tri-oval/frontstretch, made contact with the outside wall and damaged his car following contact with Jeffrey Earnhardt as Caesar Bacarella also sustained damage. Following his incident, Graf was limping his No. 08 Bucked Up Chevrolet Camaro back to pit road when the right-rear tire on his car shredded and left a multitude of debris scattered across Turn 2. The shredded right-rear tire and the damage to the right side of Graf’s car also left his car beyond repairable to continue.

Following the incident, NASCAR declared the caution involving Graf, Earnhardt and Bacarella as the competition caution originally planned on the 10th lap. Under caution, few like Moffitt, Earnhardt, A.J. Allmendinger, Chad Finchum, Ryan Sieg and Herbst pitted while the rest led by Briscoe remained on track.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 11, Briscoe jumped ahead on the outside lane and moved in front of Cindric’s No. 22 Odyssey Battery Ford Mustang on the inside lane to retain the lead through Turn 1. Entering Turn 2, however, Haley made a charge on the outside lane and started to battle with Cindric for the runner-up spot.

A lap later, just as Haley started to mount a challenge on Briscoe and Cindric for the lead, a rough start became worse for Bacarella as he wrecked on the backstretch and sustained heavy damage to the front nose of his No. 90 Alpha Prime/Maxim Chevrolet, thus brining out the second caution of the race. In addition, John Jackson was slowly limping back to pit road.

Under caution, some like teammates Gragson, Hemric, Allgaier and Annett along with Moffitt, Allmendinger and Sieg pitted while the rest led by Briscoe remained on the track.

The race restarted under green on Lap 17, and Briscoe jumped ahead and moved in front of Cindric with the lead again. In Turn 1, Burton mounted a challenge on the outside lane as he and Briscoe battled dead even for the lead. When the field returned to the tri-oval, Briscoe and his No. 98 Ford Performance Racing School Ford Mustang were ahead by a nose over Burton and his No. 20 Dex Imaging Toyota Supra with the entire pack running close behind the leaders.

Two laps later, on Lap 20, Briscoe, who has led every lap thus far, was still ahead with the lead and in front of Cindric, Haley, Chastain, Alfredo and Brown. Not long after, Gragson, fresh off a one-year contract extension with JR Motorsports, started to move into the top five on the outside lane with his three teammates (Allgaier, Hemric and Annett) tucked behind.

On Lap 23, Haley emerged with the lead followed by teammate Chastain and Alfredo while Briscoe fell back to fourth place alongside Brown.

While the battling for the lead continued to intensify, the caution returned a lap later for an accident in Turn 1 involving Earnhardt, teammate B.J. McLeod and Kody Vanderwal, who came to rest below the Turn 1 infield grass with the hood raised above his No. 52 The Swag Spot Chevrolet.

Under caution, some like Alfredo, Labbe, rookie Jesse Little, Myatt Snider, Josh Williams, Timmy Hill, Sieg and Allmendinger pitted while the rest led by teammates Haley and Chastain remained on track.

For the conclusion of the first stage, the field restarted under green for a one-lap shootout. At the start, Haley and his No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet Camaro jumped ahead and moved in front of teammate Chastain on the inside lane while retaining the lead. In addition, he pulled away in Turn 1 before Cindric and Chastain came charging along with the pack through Turns 2 and 3. Despite the run, Haley was able to fend off the field to win the first stage on Lap 30 and for his third stage victory of the season. Chastain settled in second place followed by Cindric, Brown and Briscoe while Herbst, Gragson, Allgaier, Jones and Hemric were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the majority of the leaders pitted and Chastain emerged with the lead ahead of Briscoe and Haley. Following the pit stops, however, a number of competitors led by Hill, Labbe, Allmendinger, Williams, Moffitt, Sieg and Snider remained on track to occupy the top-seven positions.

The second stage started on Lap 34 with Hill leading as Allmendinger quickly made his way to second place. Back in seventh place in Turn 2 while also gaining a draft back to the front was Chastain with teammate Haley and Cindric also making their move back to the front. With the competitors running close to one another in a pack, Allmendinger made his way into the lead followed by teammates Chastain and Haley on Lap 36.

On Lap 40, with Allmendinger continuing to lead teammates Chastain and Haley followed by Cindric, the caution flew when contact from Briscoe and Jones, who was turning across the nose of Briscoe’s No. 98 Ford in Turn 3, resulted in Jones being spinning sideways as a multi-car erupted in Turn 4. The accident involved all four competitors from JR Motorsports (Gragson, Hemric, Allgaier and Annett) along with Moffitt, Labbe, Brown, Alfredo, Snider, Colby Howard and Tommy Joe Martins.

When the race restarted on Lap 45, Allmendinger retained the lead on the inside lane followed by Cindric and Chastain. Shortly after, the caution returned for a multi-car wreck in Turn 3 when Allgaier, who was trying to continue after being involved in the first multi-car wreck, spun after cutting a tire and triggered another multi-car wreck that involved Labbe, Joey Gase, Snider, Brown and Jeremy Clements. Following the wreck, the race was red-flagged for more than 11 minutes while the safety workers cleaned up the carnage area in Turn 3.

When the race resumed under cautious pace and under green near the 50th lap, Allmendinger and Cindric battled for the lead through Turns 1 and 2. By then, Brown retired in the garage. Allmendinger, nonetheless, was able to retain the lead with his teammates Chastain and Haley tucked right behind. Meanwhile, Cindric dropped out of the top five after receiving no drafting help on the outside lane.

At the halfway mark, Lap 50, Allmendinger and his No. 16 Ellsworth Advisors Chevrolet Camaro were still leading teammates Chastain and Haley followed by Herbst and Burton. A few laps later, the caution returned due to debris on the backstretch. Under caution, some like Chastain, Allmendinger, Haley and Hemric pitted while others led by teammates Herbst and Burton remained on track.

With five laps remaining in the second stage, Herbst moved in front of teammate Burton to emerge with the lead. Behind, Cindric, Allmendinger and Chastain wasted no time carving their way back to the front. The following lap, Gray Gaulding and his No. 07 Walk-Ons.com Chevrolet Camaro owned by Bobby Dotter started to challenge Herbst for the lead with Allmendinger behind.

With three laps remaining in the stage, Gaulding emerged with the lead while Allmendinger started to challenge Herbst for second place on the outside lane. On the final lap of the stage, with his Kaulig Racing teammates tucked behind him, Allmendinger was able to pass Gaulding on the backstretch and hold on to win the stage for his second stage victory of the season and the fourth of his career. Teammate Chastain muscled his way to second place followed by teammate Haley, Gaulding and Annett. Herbst, Burton, Briscoe, Cindric and Sieg settled in the top 10. By then, 25 competitors were running on the lead lap. In addition, names like Justin Allgaier, Noah Gragson, Brett Moffitt and Brandon Brown were out of the race.

Under the stage break, some like teammates Allmendinger, Chastain, Haley and Sieg remained on track while the rest led by Gaulding, Cindric and Briscoe pitted.

With less than 40 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green and Allmendinger moved in front of teammates Chastain and Haley to retain the lead. While Allmendinger and Chastain managed to clear the field, Haley was locked in a battle for third place with Sieg. Not long after, Sieg was black-flagged due to having a rear bumper cover loose on his No. 39 CMRroofing.com Chevrolet.

Remaining on track for three laps, Sieg made the turn to pit road to have the bumper cover addressed. At the same time, Hemric was also black-flagged to have a rear bumper replaced and addressed on his No. 8 Poppy Bank Chevrolet. Following his stop, however, Hemric was assessed a drive-through penalty on pit road for having too many crew members over the wall during his service.

With 30 laps remaining and with the laps continuing to wind down, Allmendinger and his No. 16 Ellsworth Advisors Chevrolet Camaro continued to lead a 10-car breakaway running in a single-file lane. Teammates Chastain and Haley were in second and third followed by Briscoe, Josh Williams and Cindric. Annett, the lone JR Motorsports competitors in the top 10, was in seventh followed by Herbst, Burton and Gaulding.

Five laps later, Allmendinger was still ahead of a 10-car breakaway followed by teammates Chastain and Haley while rookie Jesse Little, running in 11th place and leading the next wave of cars, was trailing by nine seconds. Another five laps later, with 20 laps remaining, Allmendinger continued to lead teammates Chastain and Haley, though all three Kaulig Racing Chevrolets were in question about having enough fuel to complete the race to its distance compared to their challengers behind them.

Under 15 laps remaining, the top-10 competitors led by Allmendinger were separated by nearly four seconds while the 11th-place car led by Little was trailing by 20 seconds. Five laps later and with 10 laps remaining, the following competitors of Cindric, Briscoe, Annett and Herbst overtook Haley for position while Allmendinger and Chastain continued to lead. By then, 16 competitors were running on the lead lap and the top-nine competitors were ahead of 10th-place Williams by nearly 10 seconds.

With five laps remaining and the top-nine competitors at the front still settling in a single-file line, nose to nose and bumper to bumper, Allmendinger was leading teammate Chastain while Cindric and Briscoe were behind.

With two laps remaining, entering Turn 1, Chastain and Briscoe attempted to pull beneath Allmendinger for the lead, but Allmendinger kept his car ahead of the pack after blocking the run. Chastain and his No. 10 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet Camaro remained in second while Briscoe fell back to seventh.

When the final lap of the race started, Allmendinger was still leading and blocking Chastain, Cindric and Haley. Entering Turn 3, Chastain gained a run through Turn 2 and he attempted to make a move beneath Allmendinger for the lead and the win. Chastain ended up giving his teammate a bump in the turn that turned Allmendinger sideways as he spun with a multi-car wreck erupting that collected Chastain, Annett and Cindric.

In the midst of the wreck, Haley dodged the carnage involving his teammates and came out on top as he was able to cruise across the finish line to grab a thrilling victory at Daytona.

The victory was Haley’s second at Daytona after he won his first NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona last July in a rain-shortened race while driving for Spire Motorsports. Including his three NASCAR Truck Series career victories in 2018, Haley has won six races across NASCAR’s three major division series. In addition, Haley’s last three victories across NASCAR have occurred on superspeedway venues.

“An amazing effort by Kaulig Racing,” Haley said on the frontstretch on NBCSN. “Obviously, I hate that A.J. and Ross got together there. As you guys at home can see, [team owner] Matt Kaulig, [team president] Chris Rice, we built a team and a family. We all work as one. Extremely proud of this LeafFilter Gutter Protection crew. [I] Can’t believe it. Two superspeedway wins in a row. Gotta say something for [spotter] Kevin Hamlin on the booth, too. Just a little lucky there. We got shoved out and I was a little frustrated, but that’s why you never give up. These things are so unpredictable. An incredible effort today. We swept everything [stages and race win]. Extremely proud of everyone.”

Haley’s victory at Daytona was also redemption from the Xfinity Series race at Daytona in July 2018, where Haley, driving for GMS Racing, made a bold three-wide pass for the win on Kyle Larson and Elliott Sadler entering the tri-oval for the win. While he was able to clear both competitors and streak across the finish line in first place, he completed his pass with his left-side tires crossing beneath the double yellow line zone. As a result, Haley was disqualified and demoted back to the last car on the lead lap while Larson was awarded the win.

“[I] Parked it right here on the double yellow line [area] where I went down too low about two years ago in a Xfinity race,” Haley added. “A little humor there.”

Behind Haley, Gray Gaulding tied his career-best result of second place in his 43rd series start followed by Briscoe, Herbst and Burton. Chastain, Annett and Cindric limped across the line in sixth, seventh and eighth while Williams and Little finished in the top 10. Allmendinger, who was unable to limp his car back to the finish line, ended his race in 15th place.

Following the race, Allmendinger made the mandatory post-race trip to the infield care center. Both Kaulig Racing teammates, at the end, expressed no ill will towards one another with Chastain defending his move and attempt to win to lock himself into the Xfinity Playoffs.

“Hopefully, we get some good ratings on that one,” Chastain said on pit road on NBCSN. “Terrible to run into your teammate like that. It must be my fault, though. It’s unfortunate, we did everything right all night. Man, we just got to win. This No. 10 car, Nutrien Ag Solutions. [I] Did everything right to be the best teammate I could. I haven’t always been. Last lap, I don’t back down and I’m gonna go for it. If I wasn’t there, if I watch the replay, but he got turned, so it wasn’t completely into the bumper. I hate it, man! It’s not gonna help me moving forward. It doesn’t matter how many races each of us run. We’re supposed to go for the win. Team rules the last 10 laps, and we all stayed committed. I hated that Justin got shoved out there with 10 or five [laps] to go. Coming to the checkered, what am I supposed to do? Just finish second? Not this guy.”

“It’s the way it is,” Allmendinger added in the infield care center on NBCSN. “We’re proud of everybody at Kaulig Racing for building really fast Chevys. [I] Wanted to do everything I could to get that Ellsworth Advisors Chevy in Victory Lane. I try to take care of my teammates, but it is what it is. It’s for the win. Ross is going for the championship and going for a win there. I saw him get low and I thought he’d, maybe, take care of me a little bit, considering I was there. He’s going for the win. It is what it is. It’s just disappointing. We were gonna have another 1-2-3 Kaulig finish at Daytona. It’s part of life, it’s racing. More importantly, congrats to my little bro, Justin Haley, and at least getting a Kaulig Racing Chevy in Victory Lane. That’s the most important thing. We’re bringing more trophies home for Matt Kaulig and that’s all that matters. He’s going for the win. I get it.”

There were nine lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 28 laps.

With his top-10 result, Cindric continues to lead the regular-season series standings by 58 points over Briscoe.

Results.

1. Justin Haley, nine laps led, Stage 1 winner

2. Gray Gaulding, two laps led

3. Chase Briscoe, 22 laps led

4. Riley Herbst, four laps led

5. Harrison Burton

6. Ross Chastain, one lap led

7. Michael Annett

8. Austin Cindric

9. Josh Williams

10. Jesse Little

11. Vinnie Miller

12. Colby Howard

13. Brandon Jones

14. Tommy Joe Martins

15. A.J. Allmendinger – OUT, Accident, 58 laps led, Stage 2 winner

16. Matt Mills, one lap down

17. Mike Harmon, one lap down

18. Tim Viens, one lap down

19. Myatt Snider, one lap down

20. Jeremy Clements, two laps down

21. Anthony Alfredo, two laps down

22. Timmy Hill, three laps down, four laps led

23. Ryan Sieg, four laps down

24. Daniel Hemric, eight laps down

25. Chad Finchum – OUT, Engine

26. Brandon Brown – OUT, Dvp

27. Brett Moffitt – OUT, Accident

28. Joey Gase – OUT, Dvp

29. Justin Allgaier – OUT, Accident

30. Alex Labbe – OUT, Accident

31. Noah Gragson – OUT, Accident

32. B.J. McLeod – OUT, Accident

33. Jeffrey Earnhardt – OUT, Accident

34. Kody Vanderwal – OUT, Accident

35. John Jackson – OUT, Handling

36. Caesar Bacarella – OUT, Accident

37. Joe Graf Jr. – OUT, Accident.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will run its next scheduled race at Darlington Raceway on September 5 at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

August 29, 2020
Briscoe snaps a one-month dry spell; rallies to win at Dover

From a wreck on Saturday to a win on Sunday, Chase Briscoe capped off an up-and-down weekend at Dover International Speedway by winning the second Drydene 200 event on August 23 in a backup car and following a late battle with Ross Chastain. The victory was Briscoe’s sixth of the season, first since early July at Indianapolis and the eighth of his NASCAR Xfinity Series career.

The starting lineup was based on the results from Saturday’s first Xfinity race at Dover, where only the top-15 finishers were inverted. With that, Brett Moffitt, who finished 15th on Saturday, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Brandon Brown.

Chase Briscoe started at the rear of the field after moving to a backup car along with Daniel Hemric due to a driver change. Anthony Alfredo, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Alex Labbe and Vinnie Miller also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments. Noah Gragson and Myatt Snider retained their starting spots for Sunday’s event, but both lost their pit stall selection for next week due to two pre-race technical failures.

When the green flag waved and the second Xfinity Dover race commenced, Moffitt jumped to an early advantage through Turns 1 and 2. Justin Haley moved up to second place followed by rookie Riley Herbst while Brown fell back to fourth place in front of Noah Gragson.

By the third lap, Justin Allgaier, coming off his first win of this season at Dover on Saturday and who started 15th, moved up to eighth place. Ryan Sieg, on the other hand, fell back to 12th place behind rookie Harrison Burton while Austin Cindric was scored in 10th place.

Following the first 10 laps, the first caution of the race flew due to an incident involving Earnhardt and Miller in the backstretch, where they made contact with one another and towards the outside wall before Miller made more contact against the Turn 3 outside wall. By then, Moffitt was still leading over Haley, Herbst, Gragson and Allgaier. Ross Chastain was in seventh place ahead of Cindric and Michael Annett while Burton was in 10th. Brandon Jones was in 14th, Chase Briscoe was in 16th and Alfredo, who rallied from power issues that forced him to start at the rear of the field, was in 20th ahead of Daniel Hemric.

Under caution, few like Timmy Hill, Stephen Leicht, Matt Mills and Korbin Forrister pitted.

When the race restarted around the Lap 15 mark, Moffitt retained the lead following a strong start. Haley and Herbst battled for second place while behind, Brown got loose underneath Gragson in Turn 3. Brown and Gragson were able to prevent their cars from spinning despite sliding sideways as they continued running inside the top 10.

Towards the front, Chastain took over second place followed by Herbst while Haley fell back to fourth in front of teammates Allgaier and Gragson. Meanwhile, Moffitt retained the lead through Lap 20 and when the competition caution flew.

Under caution, only a few that included Brandon Jones, Hemric, Josh Williams, Stephen Leicht, Kody Vanderwal and Matt Mills pitted while the rest remained on track. Prior to the restart, Burton was sent to the rear due to a choose cone violation.

When the race restarted on Lap 24, Moffitt and Chastain battled dead before Chastain emerged with the lead the following lap. Behind, Allgaier continued to muscle his way to the front after taking over third place from Herbst. In addition, Gragson passed Haley for fifth place while Cindric and Briscoe moved up to seventh and eighth. Hemric also emerged in the top 10 as he battled Brandon Brown for more.

Following Lap 30, Chastain was ahead by nearly a second over Moffitt and more than a second over Allgaier. Behind, Jones, racing on fresh tires, was in 18th. Five laps later, Chastain extended his advantage to more than a second over Moffit and nearly two seconds over Allgaier. Gragson moved back up into the top five while Haley, Briscoe, Cindric and Hemric battled for sixth place.

Another five laps later and with the laps in the first stage dwindling, Chastain continued to extend his advantage to more than two seconds over Allgaier and Moffitt. Proving he had a fast car throughout Saturday’s Xfinity Dover race and in the early stages of Sunday’s event, Chastain raced to his first stage victory of the season on Lap 45. Allgaier settled in second followed by Moffitt, Herbst and Gragson. Briscoe, Cindric, Haley, Hemric and Brown were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Jones emerged with the lead following a two-tire pit stop. Behind, Allgaier beat Chastain to exit in second place, but the first on four fresh tires. Following the stops, however, Herbst was sent to the rear of the field due to an uncontrolled tire violation.

When the second stage started past the Lap 50 mark, Allgaier muscled ahead with the lead. Behind, Chastain and Briscoe made a three-wide move on Jones to move up followed by Cindric while Jones fell back to fifth place. In addition, Gragson took over seventh place from Hemric while Burton moved up to ninth ahead of Haley. Shortly after, Alfredo joined the battle as he battled Burton for a top-10 spot.

While the batting around the track among multiple competitors continued to ensue, Allgaier was ahead by two-tenths of a second over Chastain and with Briscoe and Cindric trailing closely behind the two leaders. By Lap 60, the top-four competitors were ahead by more than a second over fifth-place Jones and more than two seconds over sixth-place Gragson.

Past the Lap 60 mark, the caution returned due to an incident in Turn 2 involving Earnhardt and Herbst. Under caution, few that included Jeremy Clements, B.J. McLeod, Kody Vanderwal and Chad Finchum pitted while the rest remained on track.

On Lap 69, the race restarted and the battle for the lead ignited between Allgaier, Chastain, Briscoe and Cindric. The following lap, Briscoe moved up to second place and he grabbed the lead the next lap. While Briscoe led his first lap of the day, Chastain and Cindric battled for third place followed by Gragson while Hemric moved up to sixth place after passing Jones.

By Lap 80, Briscoe was ahead by six-tenths of a second over Allgaier while Chastain, Cindric and Gragson continued running inside the top five. Behind, Hemric and Jones were in sixth and seventh and Moffit was in eighth ahead of Haley and Burton. Alfredo was in 11th ahead of Brown and Michael Annet, Sieg was in 14th ahead of Snider and Herbst was in 16th.

For the final 10 laps of the second stage, Briscoe was able to power away from the field and claim his fifth stage of the season on Lap 90. Allgaier settled in second followed by Chastain, Cindric and Gragson. Hemric, Jones, Moffitt, Burton and Haley were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Briscoe retained the lead after exiting pit road first following a four-tire stop followed by Cindric, Hemric, Chastain, Burton and Jones while Allgaier fell back to eighth place. The race went from bad to worse for Allgaier, who dropped to the rear of the field due to an uncontrolled tire violation. Labbe also dropped to the rear of the field due to crew member interference.

With nearly 100 laps remaining, the final stage started and Briscoe retained the lead following a strong start on the outside lane. Chastain moved up to second place over Cindric while Burton moved up to fourth place over Hemric. Gragson and Jones also joined the battle involving Burton and Hemric.

Three laps later and at the halfway mark on Lap 100, Briscoe was ahead by nearly a second over Chastain, who continued to run ahead of Cindric for the runner-up spot. Another 10 laps later and with 90 laps remaining, Briscoe was still leading by more than a second over Chastain and Cindric. Hemric and Burton settled in the top five ahead of Gragson, Annett, Jones, Herbst and Moffitt. Meanwhile, following his uncontrolled tire violation penalty, Allgaier raced his way back up to 14th behind Alfredo, Haley and Sieg. Brown was in 15th, Snider was in 17th and Clements was in 19th.

With 80 laps remaining and while the laps continued to dwindle, Briscoe stabilized his advantage to nearly a second over Chastain with Cindric trailing by two seconds. Hemric trailed by less than four seconds while Burton trailed by more than four seconds. Gragson settled in sixth while Annett and Jones battled for seventh. Allgaier, meanwhile, was up to 11th.

Twenty laps later and with 60 laps remaining, Briscoe extended his advantage to two seconds over Chastain followed by Cindric, Hemric and Burton. Behind, Allgaier was back in the top 10 as he was running in 10th place.

With approximately 40 laps remaining and with only 11 cars on the lead lap, Hemric was the first of the lead-lap competitors to make a green flag pit stop for fresh tires and fuel to complete the race to its distance. Shortly after, Burton made the turn to pit road, but he was penalized for a commitment line violation after he locked up his tires, nearly slid while turning down the banking and failed to keep all four tires inside the pit road entrance line. Haley, not long after, pitted along with race leader Briscoe, Cindric, Moffitt and Chastain.

While the pit stops under green continued to cycle through, Stefan Parsons spun while entering pit road. At the same time, Chastain and Briscoe made contact with one another as Chastain blocked and attempted to retain his spot ahead of Briscoe, who approached him with full speed, bumped him and struggled to navigate his way around Chastain’s No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet. Shortly after, Briscoe bumped and moved Chastain out of the way in Turn 3.

At the front, after Jones pitted, Gragson retained the lead ahead of Annett, Allgaier and Alfredo, but all needed to make a final pit stop to complete the race to its distance. Behind, Briscoe was in sixth ahead of Chastain, Cindric and Hemric.

With less than 20 laps remaining, Annett was the leader after teammate Gragson pitted. Behind, Briscoe was ahead by less than two seconds over Chastain. Shortly after, Briscoe extended his advantage over Chastain after Chastain struggled to navigate his way through three lapped cars.

With 12 laps remaining, Briscoe reassumed the lead after Annett pitted. By then, he was ahead by nearly three seconds over Chastain while Cindric started to close within Chastain for the runner-up spot.

Under 10 laps remaining, Briscoe continued to stabilize his advantage to nearly three seconds over Chastain and Cindric. For the remainder of the race and with a decent advantage, Briscoe was able to navigate his way through lapped traffic and claim his sixth checkered flag of the season.

The victory was the 17th in the Xfinity Series for Stewart-Haas Racing since joining forces with Fred Biagi as Briscoe currently leads the current Xfinity field with the most wins of this season (six). In addition, Briscoe recorded his third victory of this season with crew chief Richard Boswell and the 11th for Ford (ninth since June).

“At the beginning of the race, as soon as we took the green [flag], I knew that I was gonna be really good,” Briscoe said on MRN. “The car was way better than what it was yesterday and really what I was looking for. I think we were able to finish sixth in the first stage from the back. I knew that if we could just get clean air, I was gonna be in really good shape. That long run, I felt like I was not the greatest, but just having clean air helped. The green flag cycle, I lost the race last year because I didn’t come to pit road hard enough. I still, obviously, gave up a lot of time to Ross [Chastain]. I got to get a lot better at that. I didn’t want a caution because I had such a big lead, but I was wanting a caution so I didn’t have to do green flag pit stops. Overall, super happy to get HighPoint.com back in Victory Lane. It feels like it’s been forever and it’s only been a month and a half. Hopefully, we can carry this momentum into the Playoffs.”

While celebrating his win, Briscoe took a moment to address his on-track contact with Chastain.

“Me and Ross, I feel like, always race really hard, but we normally keep it clean,” Briscoe added. “I knew that Ross would’ve did the exact same thing in my situation, especially if I’d done what I did off of pit road. I packed air on him, I didn’t hit him. I think once I packed air on him, he slowed up so much. I was so close, I hit him eventually, but I didn’t wreck him. I think he knew I wasn’t very happy after getting ran down the apron. I just moved him out of the way. He’s trying to win his first race of the year. His job is to not let cars pass him…that’s the same as my job. I did what I did.”

Chastain finished in second place for his ninth top-five result of the season followed by Cindric, who has finished in the top five in the last nine Xfinity races. Despite the contact with Briscoe, Chastain expressed no hard feelings towards the race winner.

“I’m just proud of this whole Moose Fraternity team, this No. 10 car, this Kaulig Racing group,” Chastain said. “We’ve been working at it. We didn’t have the speed to start the year. We had high expectations. We’ve been working as a group. I’m just proud that we came here with no practice and we had a car capable of winning both days. We just needed a few more things to go our way. I think if we came back and raced again tomorrow, we probably had one. We keep getting one spot better every day. Our changes overtime were incredible. They were exactly what I needed. Once the race went on, then I needed a little more. It’s one of those things, it’s tough right now…this whole Kaulig group is getting hot and getting fast at the right time.”

“Obviously, a solid day,” Cindric added. “Not the best. We tried some things overnight. Probably the first doubleheader, we tried some things and it didn’t work. It didn’t help when we didn’t have track position. We weren’t able to work our way as forward as quickly we did yesterday on our PPG Ford Mustang. [We] Scored some solid points and move on to Daytona and try to have a little fun there.”

Jones and Hemric rounded out the top five following stellar runs. Finishing in the top 10 were Gragson, Allgaier, Annett, Herbst and Moffitt as only the top-seven competitors finished on the lead lap. Following his pair of penalties, Burton finished in 11th place ahead of Haley.

There were 12 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 24 laps.

With his pair of podium results, Cindric continues to lead the regular-season series standings by 62 points over Briscoe and 97 over Gragson.

Results.

1. Chase Briscoe, 107 laps led, Stage 2 winner

2. Ross Chastain, 24 laps led, Stage 1 winner

3. Austin Cindric, one lap led

4. Brandon Jones, eight laps led

5. Daniel Hemric

6. Noah Gragson, 11 laps led

7. Justin Allgaier, 19 laps led

8. Michael Annett, one lap down, five laps led

9. Riley Herbst, one lap down

10. Brett Moffitt, one lap down, 25 laps led

11. Harrison Burton, one lap down

12. Justin Haley, one lap down

13. Anthony Alfredo, one lap down

14. Ryan Sieg, one lap down

15. Tommy Joe Martins, two laps down

16. Brandon Brown, two laps down

17. Alex Labbe, two laps down

18. Myatt Snider, three laps down

19. Jeremy Clements, three laps down

20. David Starr, three laps down

21. Joe Graf Jr., three laps down

22. Josh Williams, three laps down

23. Jesse Little, three laps down

24. Chad Finchum, four laps down

25. B.J. McLeod, four laps down

26. Colby Howard, four laps down

27. Kody Vanderwal, four laps down

28. Stefan Parsons, four laps down

29. Jeffrey Earnhardt, five laps down

30. Matt Mills, six laps down

31. Stephen Leicht, eight laps down

32. Korbin Forrister – OUT, Brakes

33. Bayley Currey – OUT, Engine

34. Timmy Hill – OUT, Overheating

35. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Suspension

36. Vinner Miller – OUT, Accident

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will run its next scheduled race at Daytona International Speedway on August 28, which will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

August 23, 2020
Daniel Hemric speeds to first career pole at Kansas
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Daniel Hemric captured the pole for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway with a time of 30.32 and 178.047 mph. This was Hemric’s first career Cup Series pole.

Hemric is looking for a new ride next year and this pole is good timing for the rookie driver.

“I’m not really going to say it boosts confidence,” Hemric says regarding the pole. “It’s cool to get a checkmark off this race team. Myself being a small part of it, it’s good to get that. Through all of this stuff, I haven’t felt like my confidence has not wavered on way or another, but in the makes of everything going on right now, to a personal side to a racing side trying to align all of that stuff and position yourself in the future, it doesn’t hurt to win the pole.”

With Hemric qualifying on the pole, the starting grid will have some different faces at the top for the start of tomorrow’s race. David Ragan put down a lap of 30.36 in his No. 38 Ford Mustang to put himself in second which was his best qualifying effort of the season.

“I hope we can be the fastest on Sunday too,” Ragan said. “We made adjustments on our Ford Mustang last night anticipating a little warmer race on Sunday. We looked at the weather and we looked at what we did here in the spring and so we really didn’t think much of qualifying. It is what it is on these impound races. I was surprised to see the speed that Michael (McDowell) had in his car. I was optimistic knowing our cars were pretty close. To be on the Front Row is awesome for the start of the race on Sunday. Hopefully, we can make some adjustments and be a top-10 or top-15 car on Sunday.”

Ryan Blaney was third, Brad Keselowski fourth, Kyle Larson fifth, Michael McDowell sixth, Ryan Newman seventh, Daniel Saurez eighth, Austin Dillon ninth and Bubba Wallace rounded out the top-10 qualifying spots.

Kevin Harvick was not able to put down a lap in today’s qualifying session. Harvick failed inspection three times before passing on the fourth time due to a tech issue. With the issue, the No. 4 Stewart Haas Racing driver will start last in tomorrow’s race.

The No. 19 of Martin Truex Jr. also had tech problems prior to qualifying. Truex failed twice and lost his car chief for the weekend plus the loss of 15 minutes of practice time for next weekend at Martinsville. However, Truex gets to keep his spot (11th).

Official Qualifying Results
1. Daniel Hemric
2. David Ragan
3. Ryan Blaney
4. Brad Keselowski
5. Kyle Larson
6. Michael McDowell
7. Ryan Newman
8. Daniel Suarez
9. Austin Dillon
10. Bubba Wallace
11. Martin Truex Jr
12. Jimmie Johnson
13. Aric Almirola
14. Chase Elliott
15. Kurt Busch
16. Alex Bowman
17. Matt Tifft
18. Kyle Busch
19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
20. Erik Jones
21. Clint Bowyer
22. Paul Menard
23. Denny Hamlin
24. Ty Dillon
25. William Byron
26. Chris Buescher
27. Matt DiBenedetto
28. Ryan Preece
29. Joey Logano
30. Landon Cassill
31. Corey LaJoie
32. Parker Kligerman
33. Ross Chastain
34. Reed Sorenson
35. Garrett Smithley
36. J.J. Yeley
37. Josh Bilicki
38. Timmy Hill
39. Joey Gase
40. Kevin Harvick
The start of tomorrow’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway is slated for 2:30 p.m. ET live on NBC for the final race in the Round of 12.
October 19, 2019
Daniel Hemric looks ahead to new opportunities

In mid-September, Richard Childress Racing announced they were releasing Daniel Hemric after the conclusion of the 2019 season as the driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet.

In response to the news, Hemric posted a tweet saying, “Forever grateful to Richard & everyone at @RCRracing for the opportunity. I’m disappointed it ended like this, but we’ve got nine more races together & some team goals that are still within reach. I’m going to do all I can to make sure we get those & finish the season strong.”

A little over three weeks later, Hemric’s goals remain unchanged. He spoke about his mindset Friday at Talladega Superspeedway, the site of his best finish this year.

“The game plan, he said, “from a professional side, has still been the same. The goals you set out to accomplish in February, and really dating back three years ago with RCR, those all stay the same.”

This year was Hemric’s first full-time season of competition in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The 28-year-old has one top-five and two top-10s in 30 races that include a fifth-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway in April. Prior to that, he drove for RCR in the Xfinity Series in 2017 and 2018 and qualified for the Championship both years.

For now, the racing takes precedence but Hemric is also looking ahead to what is next.

“I’ve got to figure out another path,” Hemric said. “Personally, you’ve had to kind of grind it out and spend what would typically be your off-days away from the race track doing just that and trying to position yourself and align yourself in a situation where you can continue on and move forward past Homestead as things go down the way they’re going to go down. But the race track stuff hasn’t really changed a whole lot. We still try to go to the race track and do our jobs.”

While looking for new opportunities, the key says Hemric, is to remain true to himself.

“I think just do your thing and be yourself and that’s what I’ve always tried to do and I feel very grounded by the fact,” he explained. “I think that’s why I’ve had the opportunities to get to where I’m at today. I try not to really veer too far off that course and just try to do what feels right to me and I think along the way I’ve been able to establish and build and create a lot of incredible partnerships.”

For now, Hemric’s main focus is clear.

“If we can accomplish our goals of winning Rookie of the Year, finish as high in the points as we can, and knowing that when I cross the finish line at Homestead, I know I gave them everything I had from day one together until the checkered flag flew.”

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

October 11, 2019
Richard Childress Racing to release Daniel Hemric after 2019 season

Staff Report | NASCAR.com

Richard Childress Racing announced Tuesday it will release Daniel Hemric as the driver of the team’s No. 8 Chevrolet following the 2019 season.

Hemric is in his first full-time Monster Energy Series season with the organization.

“Richard Childress Racing (RCR) has exercised its option and will release Daniel Hemric as driver of the No. 8 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Camaro ZL1 effective at the conclusion of the 2019 NASCAR race season,” a team statement read. “Daniel is a very talented driver and an outstanding person. We’d like to thank him for his commitment and dedication to RCR the past three years and wish him continued success in his future endeavors. Additional information on RCR’s Cup program will be announced at a later date.”

Hemric, 28, has one top-five finish and two top 10s through 27 races this year. His best showing is a third-place run at Chicagoland. He’s coming off a 17th-place result at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Prior to the 2019 season, the Kannapolis, North Carolina, native drove the No. 21 Chevrolet for RCR’s NASCAR Xfinity Series program. He qualified for the Championship 4 in both 2017 and 2018, with a best finish of third in the final 2018 standings. Hemric logged 23 top-five finishes in that two-year stretch.

RELATED: More from Richard Childress Racing

His move to the Monster Energy Series was announced in September 2018, with a number change coming in December. The No. 31 previously driven by Ryan Newman became the No. 8 for Hemric.

The number has long been associated with the Earnhardt family, which has deep ties to the Kannapolis community that Hemric also calls home. Dale Earnhardt Jr. broke into NASCAR’s top series with the No. 8, and his father and grandfather had used the number in several different racing series.

“I’m disappointed it ended like this, but we’ve got nine more races together,” Hemric said, in part, of the news.

His full tweet:

Daniel Hemric✔@DanielHemric

Forever grateful to Richard & everyone at @RCRracing for the opportunity. I’m disappointed it ended like this, but we’ve got nine more races together & some team goals that are still within reach. I’m going to do all I can to make sure we get those & finish the season strong.

September 17, 2019
Dillon and Hemric qualifying times disallowed
It was announced by NASCAR after the Monster Energy Cup Series qualifying that the times of Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 of Austin Dillon and the No. 8 of Daniel Hemric were disallowed due to having unapproved alternators.

As a result of the L1 infraction, Dillon and Hemric will lose 10 driver points and 10 owner points will be deducted as well. Each crew chief will also face a $25,000 fine. Dillon originally qualified seventh and Hemric was 11th but they will now start from the back of the field for the Consumers Energy 400 Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.

Updated starting lineup:
1. Brad Keselowski
2. Kevin Harvick
3. William Byron
4. Alex Bowman
5. Clint Bowyer
6. Chase Elliott
7. Ryan Blaney
8. Joey Logano
9. Paul Menard
10. Jimmie Johnson
11. Daniel Suarez
12. Aric Almirola
13. Kurt Busch
14. Denny Hamlin
15. Martin Truex Jr
16. Erik Jones
17. Kyle Larson
18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
19. Matt Tifft
20. Ryan Newman
21. Ty Dillon
22. Kyle Busch
23. Michael McDowell
24. David Ragan
25. Chris Buescher
26. Bubba Wallace
27. Matt DiBenedetto
28. Landon Cassill
29. Ryan Preece
30. Ross Chastain
31. Corey LaJoie
32. Quin Houff
33. Austin Theriault
34. Cody Ware
35. Reed Sorenson
36. Spencer Boyd (Making first Cup Series start)
37. Austin Dillon
38. Daniel Hemric
August 9, 2019
NASCAR Rookie Rundown following Pocono/Iowa

With NASCAR’s national touring divisions edging closer toward their respective Playoffs, the top rookies in each division are clamoring to stake their spots in their championship races. The rookie race in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is contained among three drivers (Ryan Preece, Daniel Hemric, and Matt Tifft) who are racing more among themselves, while Xfinity Series rookies have finally broken into the win column following Chase Briscoe’s win at Iowa.

The same can be said for the Gander Outdoors Truck Series, as Tyler Ankrum scored his first win at Kentucky, highlighting what has been an up-and-down season for the 18-year-old Californian. The win definitely gives momentum over fellow Truck standouts Sheldon Creed and Harrison Burton.

MENCS – Richard Childress Racing driver Hemric has started to come around as the season has progressed, as evidenced by his Pocono finish on Sunday where he finished seventh. His second top-10 of 2019 comes ahead of some stout runs in recent weeks where, with the exception of Kentucky and Loudon, he’s been lingering in the top-20. This includes a streak from the June Pocono race to Daytona where he finished as high as 12th, but no lower than 19th.

The No. 8 Luke Lambert-led team has had speed on the mile-and-a-half speedways, as Hemric qualified third at Chicago, but now it’s a matter of connecting the dots for Hemric as the team is still in its building phase.

Meanwhile, performance in Preece’s JTG-Daugherty Racing camp has remained a constant, running in the top-25 unless sidetracked with issues both on-track and mechanical. He’s shown that his primary strength lies in superspeedways, although his third-best finish of 2019 was a 16th at Martinsville. Other than that, it’s that consistency that might keep him from a Rookie of the Year victory. Still, being a rookie is about learning and growing, and given time Preece may become a contender. But there’s a ceiling at JTG-Daugherty, and he may be hitting it right now with Tristan Smith.

Meanwhile, at Front Row Motorsports, there is definite improvement for Tifft. He’s made it easy on his team, only being slowed by two DNFs in 21 starts, and as a result, he was able to boost his career-best finish from a 20th at Phoenix to a ninth-place run at Daytona. A recent Crew Chief swap with teammate David Ragan sent season-long CC Mike Kelley to the 34 while Seth Barbour helped lead Tifft’s No. 36 to one of its better outings of the season as they finished 23rd at Pocono, a week after the team finished 24th at Loudon.

The No. 36 Mustang has been finishing in the top-30 every race since Michigan, and although that isn’t saying much when compared to the other rookies on this, for a completely new team that was formed before the season began it’s definitely a step forward. At this rate, it isn’t unreasonable to expect regular top-25s out of that camp in the near future.

Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 98 Ford Performance Ford, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway on July 27, 2019 in Newton, Iowa. Photo by Jeff Curry/Getty Images.

Xfinity – The Xfinity Series rookie race has now yielded a race winner, as Briscoe joined his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Cole Custer as a winner this season when he won at Iowa. Briscoe is not only a weekly contender; he’s also a championship favorite now as he’s scored a win, eight top-fives, and 14 top-10s in 19 starts. He isn’t just consistent; he’s strong. He’s been in or among the leaders weekly, and there’s little doubt that Iowa will be his only win this season.

Meanwhile, the best result JR Motorsports rookie Noah Gragson has been able to put together was a second at Michigan, but considering JRM has gone from division powerhouse to not breaking into the win column yet this season isn’t Gragson’s fault. Still, four top-fives and 11 top-10s in 19 starts is nothing to frown at as a rookie. He’s only finished off of the lead lap in four races, but one of those was a sixth at Kentucky, so it isn’t for lack of effort. He’s been consistent, but the JRM strength isn’t there.

It’ll be interesting to see where the No. 11 of Justin Haley goes from this point on this season. He’s been as strong as the top rookies in the division this season, but following the death of Crew Chief Nick Harrison, the team will no doubt be faced with a firmer resolve to succeed in his honor. He’s currently ninth in points with two top-fives and 14 top-10s in 19 starts this season, including an eighth at Iowa with Interim CC Alex Yontz (who also led the team to a 10th at Michigan).

Haley came close to victory at Daytona, proving the No. 11 Kaulig Racing team has the strength and resolve to contend for wins, and as good as Haley is with his equipment (zero DNFs in 2019), it’ll be no surprise when he does score a win.

John Hunter Nemechek has had a roller coaster rookie campaign in 2019. He has three top-fives (including a second at Las Vegas) and 11 top-10s in 19 starts but sits in 10th in the standings as he’s been sidelined with three crash DNFs. He placed third at Iowa, and considering he knows what it takes to win in the series and run near the front, he’ll post more strong finishes this season.

However there’s a catch: GMS Racing’s Xfinity effort isn’t as strong as Ganassi Racing’s 2018 Xfinity effort was, as Nemechek was a Ganassi development driver when he won at Kansas last year. He can get a win, and GMS has an Xfinity Series win, and he’s come close this season to Victory Lane, but it’ll take a little more luck than it did last season to seal the deal.

Harrison Burton goes inside of GMS Racing driver Brett Moffitt at Pocono. Photo by Kirk Schroll

NGOTS – Harrison Burton still continues to lead the Truck Series rookie class with seven top-fives and nine top-10s in 14 starts, which currently leaves him fifth in points with his No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports team. Despite the strong showings, though, he can’t seem to finish any higher than third-place, a feat he’s accomplished four times this season.

It’s granted that Burton feels a bit of pressure in his role as a full-time rookie; he’s with a championship-winning organization that has yielded some of the hottest names in NASCAR in recent memory. There’s also pressure considering that the No. 18 is the flagship entry in an organization that has put it in Victory Lane countless times. But unlike his snake-bitten teammate Todd Gilliland, Burton stands a higher chance of placing strongly in the Playoffs and even scoring a win.

Sheldon Creed, however, is not too far behind Burton; with four top-10s he’s currently ninth in points. There’s still pressure on him as he is with a championship-winning organization as well, not to mention his teammate, defending champion Brett Moffitt, has already won twice this year. But Creed needs to exercise a modicum of balance. He’s aggressive behind the wheel, and although it’s nice that there’s a driver who is up on the wheel and ready to get the job done, he’s put himself in situations that have left him with a wrecked truck.

He’s been up front a lot in 2019 and led a lot of laps, so it’s not entirely impossible he parks it in Victory Lane by the end of the season.

Tyler Dippel has definitely been on the underdog side of things, as he’s managed to put himself in the top-15 more often than not. His season highlight so far was when he finished eighth in the first Texas race of 2019, but aside from that his No. 02 Young’s Motorsports entry has only finished outside the top-25 once this season (a crash at Daytona left him in 29th). He’s quietly consistent, and although his equipment may not be top-notch, he’s posting good, solid results that could land him a ride with a solid team down the road.

Tyler Ankrum, on the other hand, got a late start on the season driving for DGR-Crosley Racing, and he’s making up for it in spades. Despite losing a sponsor and being relegated to a couple of appearances in Joe Nemechek’s No. 87, he’s scored a win at Kentucky as well as three top-fives and five top-10s. At Pocono on Saturday he put his No. 17 Toyota in the runner-up spot to Ross Chastain, scoring his second-straight top-two finish, thus showing that the young Californian means business.

Ankrum keeps his equipment together and stays out of wrecks (his save at Texas in June was nothing short of legendary), and considering the No. 17 has momentum he could very well win again this season. If their sponsorship issues can get squared up soon, he could post some more strong results when the Playoffs come around.

July 30, 2019
Noah Gragson Survives a Wild Procore 200 at Sonoma

SONOMA, Calif. ⁠— With a mixture of Cup and Xfinity Series regulars and one of the largest fields in the season, Noah Gragson wins a wild Procore 200 at Sonoma Raceway in the NASCAR K&N Pro West Series after three overtime attempts.

On a restart just before halfway through the race, Noah Gragson gained a large lead going into the first set of turns climbing the hill. Officials declared he jumped the start, and Gragson had to serve a pass-through penalty. However, that seemed to only light a fire in the NASCAR Xfinity Series regular as he began to charge through the field.

“I was trying to not leave anything on the table,” said Gragson after recovering from the mid-race restart violation.

Gragson not only returned with a team that helped get his national exposure, but took them to victory lane in his old school fashion of ‘pitching’ the car better than the competition.

“That new Carousel section is definitely a challenge,” said Gragson. “It feels good to be able to meet that challenge.

“It’s like running a mile. If I’m throwing up, hopefully it’s not like I’m sick. I’m all right. But if I’m throwing up after the race, I guess that means that I did a good job because I’ll be in Victory Lane hopefully. The only times I’ve thrown up after the races were when I’ve won, so it feels good.”

Ryan Preece (left) and Daniel Hemric (right) lead the field during one of the three overtime restarts. Photo courtesy of Patrick Sue-Chan for Speedway Media.

Ryan Preece officially restarted all overtime attempts in the lead, as the K&N Series do not have timing loops around the road course. All restarts were set by the running order of the last officially timed lap. Gragson was technically second to cross the line when the checkered and yellow flew. However, there was a third flag covered in black; Preece was penalized after NASCAR officials declared the No. 47 Chevrolet jumped the green flag on the final overtime restart.

“To get robbed like that, it’s just (expletive),” Preece declared as he walked away after a short interview. “I just like to win.”

Preece wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Hemric, who started alongside him during all the overtime attempts, felt the restarts were all fair.

“I felt it was fair,” Hemric shared with reporters after being asked about Preece’s violation. Hemric started alongside Preece in all the overtime restarts.

Gragson bested a couple Monster Energy Cup Series regulars, as Hemric was posted second with Cup series teammate Austin Dillon finishing third. Xfinity Series regular Cole Custer took fourth with David Mayhew fifth. Preece was dropped to 20th place in the 31-car field, scored as the final driver on the lead lap.

Earlier in the race, points leader Derek Kraus suffered a fuel pump failure. The crew was able to get the part replaced and the No. 16 Napa Auto Parts Toyota was only three laps down. Kraus was able to get the Lucky Dog free passes he needed to get back on the lead lap with roughly 10 laps to go.

The major concern for their team was with the field double the size, there were more points to be lost where a DNF would become the amount of two when comparing the points. Kraus realized this and fought his way to fighting for a top 10 finish. As he was climbing through the field, he was caught up in a spin by Jack Wood, which set up the race for an overtime finish. Kraus would also get caught up in yet another incident during the final overtime attempt, and officially finished in the 19th position.

Kraus currently still leads the NASCAR K&N Pro West Series points standings by just one point over Hailie Deegan.

June 22, 2019