While Kevin Harvick emerged with the upper hand over his fellow Playoff contenders by winning the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff opener in the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Alex Bowman produced strong results for themselves after finishing in fifth and sixth place under the lights and in their pursuit for this year’s Cup title.
For Byron, he started the race in third place and with momentum fresh off of his first Cup career victory at Daytona International Speedway, a victory that locked himself and his No. 24 Chevrolet team into the Playoffs. When the race started, Byron raced inside the top five and was scored in fourth place when the competition caution flew on Lap 25. In the ensuing restart past the Lap 30 mark, he slipped back to sixth place, but was able to work his way back to fourth place following the first round of green flag pit stops around Lap 70. When the race restarted on Lap 86, Byron was back in eighth place. For the remainder of the first stage, he remained in eighth place and he collected a handful of stage points.
Restarting in the top 10 to start the second stage, he dropped back and was battling inside the top 15. Struggling to keep pace with the leaders under dark conditions than earlier, Byron was forced to settle in 12th place when the second stage concluded. During the final stage that started with approximately 130 laps remaining, he methodically worked his way back into the top 10 and was poised for a top-10 result in the final laps. Following an incident involving teammate Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr., however, Byron gained a few more spots on the track and was scored in fifth place when he crossed the line and took the checkered flag.
The fifth-place result marked Byron’s third consecutive top-five result in recent weeks as the Charlotte native is in ninth place in the standings and nine points above the top-12 cutline.
“It was a struggle [early],” Byron said on NBCSN. “We just kind of kept slowly losing track position whether it was the restart or pit stop. After we got some of it back, I felt like we gotten our car just good enough that prior run to kind of run higher than most guys and that worked out pretty good for us on the final two runs. We just kind of have to find that lane and get our car in the track a little bit more. The combination of those two and some track position kind of got us up towards the top 10 and we were able to get a top five, so that’s nice. It’s good. We rallied [tonight]. It wasn’t pretty all 500 miles, but this really isn’t a track that we have a ton of notes on. We wrecked out early in the spring, so we had to get some of those spots back. Hopefully, we can go on to Richmond and have a pretty good run there.”
For Bowman, he started his run in the Playoffs in fourth place, but he was up into second place in the opening laps behind teammate Chase Elliott. Though he lost a spot as the early run under green progressed, Bowman was able to stabilize himself in third place when the competition caution flew on Lap 25. Restarting in second place in the ensuing restart, the Arizona native started to lose spots on the track and as the run progressed. Falling out of the top five, he was able to stabilize himself in the top 10 following a pit stop under green with the lead lap competitors and retain sixth place when the first stage concluded.
Throughout the second stage, Bowman contended well inside the top 10 and was able to work his way up to fourth place when the second stage concluded, thus collecting more stage points. Starting in the top five for the final stage, Bowman was poised to continue his charge back to the front. During the early portions of the final stage, however, he dropped all the way back inside the top 20 due to a pit road miscue, where the jack dropped during service to his No. 88 Chevrolet. Through most of the final stage, he worked his way back into the top 15 and then, the top 10. He was poised for a top-10 run in the final laps when contact between teammate Elliott and Truex while battling for the lead allowed Bowman to gain a few more spots on the track. When the checkered flag flew, Bowman crossed the line in sixth place.
With his ninth top-10 result of this season, Bowman is in fifth place in the Playoff standings and is 19 points above the top-12 cutline.
“I think we were definitely a little better on the long runs,” Bowman said on NBCSN. “[I] Came in fourth and went out like 18th. The jack had one job and it didn’t do its job, but my pit crew nails it every week. They’re one of the fastest crews on pit road. That stuff will happen. That’s part of this sport, but really pumped for everybody at [Hendrick Motorsports]. Obviously, [Byron] had a good run, [Chase Elliott] had a good run going and [teammate Jimmie Johnson] was really fast, too. Four really fast race cars. My cars looks so cool tonight. It’s so cool to be able to drive a Jimmie Johnson paint scheme. Man, that was pretty crazy. Big thanks to ChevyGoods and Truck Hero. [I] Had a good race car. Just hard to recover from that [pit road miscue], but we’ll move on to Richmond next week.”
With Byron and Bowman leading the way out of the four-car lineup from Hendrick Motorsports at Darlington Raceway, Elliott, a title contender, dropped all the way back to 20th place following his late incident while Jimmie Johnson, a non-title contender, settled in 18th place in his 24th and final run at Darlington.
Teammates Byron and Bowman, along with their fellow Playoff contenders, will return for the next NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
While Kevin Harvick came out on top and celebrated a thrilling win in the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Austin Dillon and Joey Logano rallied from their share of challenges throughout Sunday night’s race to record second- and third-place results as they kicked off the 2020 Cup Playoffs on a strong note.
For Austin Dillon, his race started off at the rear of the field when unapproved adjustments to his No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE forced Dillon to surrender his 12th-place starting spot on the grid and take the green flag behind the leaders.
Following the first 25 laps of the race, Dillon, who was battling a tight-handling race car, managed to crack the top 30 as he was scored in 29th place. Dillon’s progression throughout the race continued as he was able to complete a smooth green flag pit stop during the stage and settle in 15th place, two spots behind teammate Tyler Reddick, when the first stage concluded on Lap 115.
Throughout the second stage, Dillon continued to make his way to the front and he was able to rack up a handful of stage points following the stage’s conclusion on Lap 230, where he was posted in eighth place.
Under 50 laps remaining, Dillon and the No. 3 Chevrolet made its way into the top five and appeared to have a fourth-place run settled to open this year’s Playoffs. With 15 laps remaining and following an incident involving leaders Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Elliott, Dillon moved up to second place and had an opportunity to strike for the lead as he was catching race leader Kevin Harvick in the closing laps.
On the final lap, Dillon cut Harvick’s advantage down to six-tenths of a second and he continued to narrow his deficit through Turn 2. Entering Turns 3 and 4, Dillon went high and gained a huge run through the turns in an attempt to draw even with Harvick coming to the finish line. The run, however, was not enough for Dillon to challenge Harvick for the win as Dillon came up three-tenths of a second short to Harvick for the win.
The runner-up result marked Dillon’s third top-five result of the season, his best result since winning at Texas Motor Speedway in July and his best start to the Playoffs as a title contender (fourth season making the postseason). With his second-place finish, Austin Dillon is ranked in eighth place in the Playoff standings and is 10 points above the top-12 cutline.
“I was just trying all I could,” Dillon said on NBCSN. “I can’t thank American Ethanol enough. We’ve had E15 in these cars, have made a million miles on it and they’ve been a great partner of mine. Man, it would’ve been nice to get that win and lock ourselves into the next round, but heck of a finish for our whole No. 3 team. We had a really good long run car and Harvick was getting tighter and tighter. I’d caught him earlier in the run and he’d kind of take my low line down there in [Turn] 1 and 2. That was where I was really good. What a fun race, really happy that I got a great run for [late NASCAR Hall of Famer] Junior Johnson. He’s one of my heroes. We’re really tight with our family…Man, so close! It’s been fun. We just gotta keep on pluggin’. Richmond’s next week and we’ve got another short-track car for’em. We showed up when it mattered. I mean, a lot of people count you out, but I don’t count myself out or this team. I feel like we’ve brought good race cars all year, really progressed throughout races and made good changes. Sometimes, it just don’t fall your way, but we got that win at Texas and it was some momentum that we needed. We’re just gonna keep continuing doing our thing.”
Logano’s run, on the other hand, was more eventful throughout the race. Starting in 13th place, Logano was able to work his way and settle into the top 10 through the first 25 laps and when the competition caution flew. Following a four-tire pit stop with air adjustments to his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang, Logano proceeded to running inside the top 10 throughout the first stage while his teammates and title contenders, Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney, battled early issues of their own. When the first stage concluded on Lap 115, Logano was scored in seventh place as he collected a handful of stage points.
The second stage was where Logano’s struggles along with his teammates occurred as all three Penske competitors struggled to keep pace with the leaders. When the second stage concluded on Lap 230, Logano was the highest-running Penske competitor on the track in 17th place while Keselowski and Blaney were in 18th and 20th.
At the start of the final stage, a stack up on a restart resulted with Logano sustaining rear end damage to his car after he was hit by Corey LaJoie. Not long after, the caution flew and Logano pitted along with his teammates to have the damage assessed. From there, Logano started to charge his way back to the front. Following a restart with 41 laps remaining, Logano found himself back inside the top five and as the lone Penske competitor to be running inside the top five.
With the laps winding down, it appeared that Logano was content for a fifth-place run. When leaders Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Elliott got tangled up in Turn 1 and both dropped out of race-winning contention, however, Logano was able to gain a couple more spots on the track as he was in third place behind Kevin Harvick and Austin Dillon. For the final 15 laps, however, Logano was unable to close the gap between himself and the two leaders as he settled in third place, two seconds behind, when he crossed the finish line under the checkered flag.
With his seventh top-five result of this season and his fourth at Darlington in the Cup Series, Logano is ranked in third place in the Playoff standings and is 27 points above the top-12 cutline.
“Man, hard fought,” Logano said. “We kind of were decent, it’s just so hard to pass with these big spoilers on the car at this racetrack. That makes it challenging. We had a right-front go down the last lap of the second stage, hit the wall and we did a good job fixing the car and then strategy worked well, so [crew chief] Paul [Wolfe] did great there, and then they had an amazing pit stop the last stop, had a good restart and all of a sudden I was like, ‘Shoot, we could win this thing.’ To see what the left-rear looks like after that I was pretty impressed to get whatever we got. It’s funny how the team always tells you, ‘How does the damage look?’ ‘It looks great. It looks great.’ You get out and you’re like, ‘Whoa!’ Overall, that’s what we needed to do. We need to come out of these playoffs running hard and having a solid top three finish to start the playoffs with a couple stage points is a good way to start.”
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images.
Dillon and Logano, along with their fellow Playoff contenders, will return for the second Cup Playoff race at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
Fifteen laps prior to Kevin Harvick winning the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, the battle for the win of the first 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff event was shaping up between Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Elliott. Then, the tables turned when contact between both competitors knocked them both out of race-winning contention with 15 laps remaining. When the checkered flag flew, both finished outside the top 15 on the track and were left with damaged race cars.
Throughout the main event at Darlington on Sunday, September 6, Elliott and Truex were the class of the field, with both leading a combined 310 of the event’s 367-scheduled laps. At the start of the race, Elliott, who started on pole position, rocketed out of the gate by leading the first 71 laps. Leading nine more laps, Truex, who started sixth, took his turn to the front following a restart past the Lap 80 mark. He went on to lead 32 laps and claim the Stage 1 victory. His strong pace on the track continued throughout the second stage, where he led 103 laps and went on to claim the second stage.
Under 120 laps remaining, Truex was back atop the leaderboard, where he led 59 laps before Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick took turns at the front. Following a late debris caution and a restart with less than 50 laps remaining, Elliott received a push from Harvick to reassume the lead, though Truex kept Elliott’s rear bumper within his sights.
Coming to 15 laps remaining and after stalking Elliott for several laps, Truex gained a run in Turn 3 and was able to utilize his momentum to pull his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry beneath Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE past the start/finish line. Emerging out in front entering Turn 1 and with a faster car, Truex attempted to slide in front of Elliott’s nose to clear him for the lead and the win. Instead, they came into contact with one another and both scrubbed the outside wall, with Truex out in front.
Following the incident, Truex was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop the following lap due to a flat tire. Elliott, however, remained on track, though his chances of winning evaporated as Harvick took the lead. For the remaining 15 laps, Elliott continued to fade towards the rear of the field as competitor after competitor passed him for position. When the checkered flag flew, Elliott dropped back to 20th place on the lead lap while Truex limped home in 22nd place, a lap down.
With their results and stage points collected throughout the race, Truex is ranked in sixth place in the Playoff standings and is 16 points above the top-12 cutline to advance to the second round of the Playoffs. Elliott is in seventh place and is 12 points above the cutline.
“[Truex] had a run on me there off of [Turn] 4 and he just kind of cleared himself into [Turn] 1,” Elliott said on NBCSN. “He was close, but he wasn’t all the way clear, obviously. I hate it. Obviously, we had a fast NAPA Camaro, fast enough to contend. We needed a little pace there to extend our lead instead of playing defense, but regardless I thought we were in a good spot. I ran the bottom in [Turn] 3 and 4 to see if there was anything left down there, that’s what kind of gave him the run and then he just slid up in to my left front, I felt like and on we went.”
“Just not enough room there for both of us,” Truex, who won the first Playoff race the previous three of four seasons, said on NBCSN. “[I] Thought I had enough of a run to clear [Elliott]. I think it was close, obviously. I thought I had enough of a momentum and distance on him that he was gonna let me in there. I didn’t expect him to be on my right rear and I was committed. Once I figured he was still there, nothing I could do. Really unfortunate for our Bass Pro Toyota. Unbelievable job by the guys. A smokin’ fast race car, obviously. Lot to be proud of. I hate it for the No. 9 team. There was nothing intentional. Just two guys going for the win. Not enough room for both of us there. If it was my fault, I apologize. I really felt like I had the position to get him into [Turn] 1. It’s how it goes. We’ll see what goes on from here…It looked like we were gonna get the lead there and that would’ve been big. Sometimes, things just don’t work out. We gave it our all and come up short.”
Both Elliott and Truex, along with their fellow Playoff contenders, will return for the next NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Richmond Raceway, which will occur on Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
Kevin Harvick capped off a thrilling triple-header Labor Day weekend of racing at Darlington Raceway and opened the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs by winning the Cook Out Southern 500. Harvick’s opportunity of winning came with 15 laps remaining following a late incident involving leaders Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Elliott while Harvick was back in third place. With Truex pitting and Elliott falling off the pace, Harvick was able to snatch the lead and fend off a late charge from Austin Dillon to notch another victory of this season and continue his quest for a second Cup championship.
The starting lineup was based on four statistical categories: current owner standings, the driver’s result from a previous Cup race, the team owner’s result from a previous Cup race and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. With that, Chase Elliott started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Denny Hamlin.
Prior to the race, Playoff contender Ryan Blaney dropped to the rear of the field and his crew chief Todd Gordon was suspended for the main event due to an improperly mounted ballast discovered on Blaney’s No. 12 Menards/Maytag Ford Mustang during pre-race inspection. Blaney’s team was also docked 10 driver/owner points as a result of the ballast, leaving him with a one-point deficit to start this year’s Playoffs. With Gordon out, Travis Geisler, Team Penske’s competition director, served as an interim crew chief for Blaney at Darlington. In addition, Playoff contender Austin Dillon and Joey Gase dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments along with Ross Chastain due to a driver change.
When the green flag waved and the 2020 Cup Playoffs commenced, Elliott and Hamlin battled dead even through Turns 1 and 2 before Elliott managed to clear Hamlin entering Turn 3 and come back around to lead the first lap.
With Elliott in the lead, teammate Alex Bowman moved into second place followed by Martin Truex Jr. while Hamlin fell back to fourth in front of William Byron and Kevin Harvick.
Five laps into the race, 14 of the 16 Playoff contenders were running in the top-14 positions on the track led by teammates Elliott and Bowman. Behind, Jimmie Johnson was the highest-running non-title contender in 15th place. Way behind, Blaney was in 26th while Austin Dillon was in 31st.
Five laps later and following the first 10 laps of the race, Elliott was still leading by nearly a second over teammate Bowman while Truex, Hamlin and Byron were in the top five. Harvick was settled in sixth place followed by teammate Aric Almirola, Brad Keselowski, Clint Bowyer and Joey Logano. The Busch brothers were in 11th and 12th while Johnson moved up to 13th ahead of Matt DiBenedetto and Cole Custer. Behind, Bubba Wallace was in 17th behind Tyler Reddick, Erik Jones was in 18th, Matt Kenseth was in 20th behind Chris Buescher, John Hunter Nemechek was in 22nd, Christopher Bell was in 25th and Ryan Newman was in 27th. Blaney was in 21st while Austin Dillon made his way into the top 30.
By Lap 20, Elliott extended his advantage to more than a second over Truex, who passed Bowman to move into second place. Behind, Harvick and Hamlin battled for fifth place while Keselowski moved up to seventh place.
On Lap 25, the competition caution flew with Elliott and his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at the front of the pack ahead of Truex, Bowman, Byron and Hamlin while Harvick, Keselowski, Almirola, Logano and Bowyer were in the top 10. By then, Blaney was scored in 21st while Austin Dillon was in 29th.
Under the competition caution, the lead lap competitors pitted and Elliott retained the lead after exiting pit road first by a nose over Truex followed by Bowman, Hamlin, Harvick and Byron. Prior to the restart and under the Choose Rule lane effect, Truex elected to restart in fourth place and in the second row on the outside lane while teammates Bowman and Byron moved up to restart in second and third. Logano and Hamlin restarted on the third row while teammates Bowyer and Harvick restarted on the fourth row
When the race restarted under green on Lap 31, Elliott retained the lead after clearing Bowman’s No. 88 ChevyGoods.com/Truck Hero Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in Turn 3. Behind, Truex charged his way back to second place followed by teammate Hamlin while Bowman settled in fourth place in front of Harvick. Byron fell back to sixth ahead of Keselowski while Johnson and Logano battled for eighth.
By Lap 35, Elliott and his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet were ahead by nearly three-tenths of a second over Truex. Behind, Harvick moved up to fourth and Johnson was gaining ground on Keselowski for seventh place. A few laps later, Byron passed teammate Bowman for fifth place.
With the first 40 laps of the race complete, Elliott was still leading by half a second over Truex and after leading every lap thus far. In addition, all 16 Playoff contenders were scored in the top 20 on track with nine in the top 10.
A few laps later, Playoff contenders Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer made contact, where Busch ran into the back of Bowyer’s rear bumper and loosened him up in Turn 1 before passing him for 10th place. With Kyle up to 10th, Kurt Busch was in 12th place in between Bowyer and Erik Jones.
Following the first 50 laps of the race, Elliott extended his advantage by more than a second over Truex. Elliott’s three teammates from Hendrick Motorsports (Byron, Bowman and Johnson) were running in fifth, sixth and seventh while Harvick and Hamlin were in fourth and fifth.
By Lap 60 and with the leaders catching and making their way past lapped traffic, it was still Elliott with the lead by more than a second over Truex followed by Harvick and Hamlin, both of whom continued to battle intensely for position. Johnson, meanwhile, continued to march towards the front as he was in sixth place ahead of Bowman and reeling in on teammate Byron for more while Keselowski and Logano battled for eighth place. Behind, Kurt Busch and Bowyer overtook Kyle Busch for 10th and 11th. Blaney and Austin Dillon were in 16th and 18th while Almirola, DiBenedetto and Custer were back in 15th, 19th and 21st.
Not long after, Austin Dillon made a pit stop under green due to a flat right rear tire. When the race surpassed the Lap 70 mark and with Elliott still ahead of Truex with the lead, a few competitors like Nemechek and Newman pitted. In addition, Kyle Busch pulled his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry to pit road for a pit stop. Shortly after, pit stops under green for the leaders continued as Bowman pitted. When the pit stops concluded, Elliott retained the lead ahead of Truex.
The second caution flew past the Lap 80 mark due to debris on the track that started when Keselowski cut a right-front tire following contact with Almirola before he made contact with the outside wall near Turn 3, thus sustaining damage to the right side of his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang.
Under caution, nearly the entire field led by Elliott pitted for service, fresh tires and fuel. Following the stops, Truex emerged with the lead after exiting pit road in first place followed by teammate Hamlin and Elliott. By then, Keselowski lost a lap to the leaders while his No. 2 crew went to work to repair the damage to the car. Back on the track, Kurt Busch and Wallace moved up to first and second when both opted to remain on track on old tires.
With the race restarting on Lap 86, Kurt Busch and Truex battled dead even through the first three turns before Truex and his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry cleared Busch’s No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE entering Turn 4 to take the lead. While Wallace dropped out of the top five and was clinging inside the top 10, Kurt Busch retained second place followed by Elliott, Johnson, Hamlin, Bowman, Logano and Byron.
When the race reached its 100-lap mark, Truex was leading by more than two seconds over Elliott and Johnson. Kurt Busch was back in fifth in between Hamlin and Bowman while Byron was in eighth behind Logano. Harvick was in ninth ahead of Kyle Busch and Jones while Blaney was in 13th in between Bowyer and Reddick. Bowyer, Austin Dillon and Custer were in 12th, 16th and 17th while DiBenedetto was back in 26th. Keselowski was back in 31st place and a lap behind following his incident.
Five laps later and with 10 laps remaining in the first stage, Johnson and his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, muscled his way into second place after passing teammate Elliott a lap earlier in Turn 4.
Though Johnson had a fast race car and started to reel in Truex for the lead, Truex was able to stabilize his advantage by four seconds and win the first stage on Lap 115 for his third stage victory of the season. Johnson settled in second followed by Elliott, Hamlin and Kurt Busch while Bowman, Logano, Byron, Kyle Busch and Harvick were scored in the top 10.
Under the stage break and with the skies setting into darkness, the leaders pitted for service and adjustments with Truex retaining the lead after exiting pit road in first place. Following the pit stops, Elliott moved up to second followed by Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Logano and Kyle Busch while Johnson fell all the way back to eighth place following a slow pit stop.
The second stage started on Lap 121 with Truex and Hamlin on the front row followed by Logano, Elliott, Johnson and Kurt Busch while Blaney made an unscheduled pit stop prior to the restart to address a flat left-rear tire. At the front, Truex managed to clear Hamlin entering Turn 2 to retain the lead while Elliott moved up to second place.
By Lap 130, Truex was ahead by nearly eight-tenths of a second over Elliott with Hamlin trailing by more than a second. Johnson was in seventh behind Kyle Busch while Harvick was in ninth in between Bowman and Jones. Kurt Busch and Logano were in fourth and fifth while Byron was in 12th in between Reddick and Bowyer. Way behind the leaders, Blaney was in 31st and two laps behind.
Ten laps later and on Lap 140, Truex was still ahead by more than two seconds over Elliott, who had made contact with the wall a few laps earlier but continued to run on the track in second place. Hamlin, Kurt Busch and Logano were in the top five while Johnson was in sixth place ahead of Kyle Busch.
Another eight laps later, Hamlin and Kurt Busch overtook Elliott to move into second and third. By then Truex’s advantage grew to more than three seconds.
Just past the Lap 155 mark, Harvick made a pit stop under green. Nearly 15 laps later and on Lap 170, Truex was still ahead by more than four seconds over Kurt Busch followed by Hamlin while Elliott and Logano battled for fourth place ahead of Johnson.
By then, pit stops under green started to commence as DiBenedetto pitted along with Corey LaJoie, Ryan Preece, Johnson, Newman, Christopher Bell, Bowman, Jones, Custer, Bowyer, Hamlin and Kyle Busch. When the pit stops under green cycled through, Harvick emerged with the lead by eight seconds over Truex with Johnson back up to third place.
Just shy of the Lap 180 mark, the caution returned when Wallace got loose and spun entering Turn 4. Under caution, the leaders led by Harvick pitted, but Truex emerged with the lead after exiting ahead of Harvick on pit road in first place. Following the pit stops, Custer was sent to the rear for speeding on pit road.
With the race reaching Lap 185 and past its halfway mark, the race restarted under green. At the front, Truex muscled his way back to the lead after passing Hamlin in Turn 2 while Harvick moved up to second place by Turns 3 and 4. With Hamlin in third, Johnson was in fourth followed by Bowman, Kyle Busch, Jones and Austin Dillon. Byron was in 11th behind Kurt Busch while Elliott was back in 14th behind Logano and Matt Kenseth.
Nearly five laps later and on Lap 190, Truex was ahead by half a second over Harvick with Hamlin trailing by less than a second. By then, 12 of the 16 Playoff contenders were running inside the top 15, with eight being scored in the top 10. In addition, Penske teammates Keselowski and Blaney, both of whom raced their way back on the lead lap under the last caution involving Wallace, were in 19th and 24th.
Ten laps later and on Lap 200, Truex stabilized his lead by seven-tenths of a second over Harvick with Hamlin trailing by less than two seconds. By then, Wallace took his No. 43 Cash App Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to the garage due to mechanical issues.
Another 20 laps later and on Lap 220, Truex was still ahead by more than four seconds over teammate Hamlin with Harvick, Johnson, Bowman and Kyle Busch trailing by six or more seconds.
For the remainder of the second stage, Truex was able to extend his advantage by more than five seconds to claim the stage victory on Lap 230 as he claimed his fourth stage win of the season. Hamlin settled in second followed by Harvick, Bowman and Johnson, who made late contact with the outside wall, while Kyle Busch, Jones, Austin Dillon, Bowyer and Kurt Busch were scored in the top 10. By then, 24 of the 39-car field were running on the lead lap. In addition, DiBenedetto was pinned a lap behind the leaders in 27th place while Custer was in 24th, the final car on the lead lap.
Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Hamlin emerged the lead over teammate Truex following his pit stop. Harvick exited in third place followed by Bowman, Kyle Busch, Jones, Austin Dillon, Johnson and Elliott.
With 132 laps remaining and the lights shining around the track, the race restarted under green with Hamlin and Bowman on the front row. At the start, a stack-up behind occurred that left Logano with damage to the rear end of his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang, where he was hit by Corey LaJoie.
Following an intense battle for the lead, Hamlin and his No. 11 Federal Express Toyota Camry cleared the field with the lead in Turn 3 followed by teammate Truex. Harvick also moved up to third place while Bowman fell back to fourth. While Joe Gibbs Racing’s Jones and Kyle Busch moved up to fifth and sixth, Johnson was stuck in a battle with Kurt Busch for seventh place. In addition, Bowyer was starting to battle Austin Dillon for ninth place with teammate Almirola joining the party.
With 123 laps remaining, the caution returned when John Hunter Nemechek cut a right-front tire and made contact with the outside wall in Turn 1 with sparks flying out from his No. 38 Citgard Ford Mustang. Under cautions, the leaders returned to pit road for service and Truex reassumed the lead following his pit stop ahead of teammate Hamlin with Kyle Busch, Harvick and Johnson scored in the top five. During the stops, Bowman dropped from fourth to 14th due to a jack issue during his pit stop. In addition, Logano and Blaney pitted to have the damage on their respective Fords addressed. Under caution, Bell took his No. 95 Rheem Toyota Camry to the garage due to a mechanical issue.
The race restarted under green with 117 laps remaining and with teammates Truex and Kyle Busch on the front row. At the start, Truex launched ahead with the lead through Turn 1 before Busch initiated a challenge in Turn 2. Truex, however, was able to clear Busch through Turns 3 and 4 with the lead while Hamlin pulled a crossover move in an attempt to pass Busch for second place.
Behind the three Joe Gibbs Racing competitors, Harvick and Kurt Busch started to reel in Hamlin for third place while Bowyer was in sixth and Elliott moved up to seventh ahead of teammate Johnson. Jones was in ninth, Almirola was in 10th ahead of teammate Custer and Keselowski rallied his way back into 12th place.
With 100 laps remaining, Truex was out in front by more than a second over teammate Kyle Busch with teammate Hamlin trailing by three seconds. By then 12 of the 16 Playoff contenders were running no lower than 14th, with eight scored in the top 10. Meanwhile, Logano was back in 17th while teammate Blaney was back in 24th. In addition, Byron was in 18th while DiBenedetto was in 20th.
Ten laps later and with 90 laps remaining, Truex’s lead grew to nearly two seconds over teammate Kyle Busch with teammate Hamlin still lurking behind by less than four seconds. Harvick and Kurt Busch stabilized their spots in the top five followed by Bowyer, who reported voltage issues to his No. 14 PEAK Ford Mustang. Elliott was in seventh ahead of Jones while Johnson was in ninth ahead of Almirola, Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Custer and Bowman.
With approximately 85 laps remaining, Johnson made a pit stop under green. Shortly after, Austin Dillon pitted. Then, pit stops under green for most of the lead lap competitors commenced as Bowman, Blaney, Logano and Harvick pitted. During the stops, Ty Dillon was assessed a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road.
With 70 laps remaining, Truex was still out in front by more than two seconds over teammate Kyle Busch and more than three seconds over teammate Hamlin. By then, the top-six competitors led by Truex had yet to pit.
Four laps later, Bowyer pitted under green. Shortly after, Keselowski pitted. With 60 laps remaining, Truex and teammate Kyle Busch pitted while Hamlin assumed the lead. Another lap later, Hamlin missed the pit road entrance when he struggled to turn his car below the apron in Turn 3 towards the entrance, was hit by Johnson and was unable to slow his car in time to make the turn to the pit road entrance. As a result, he had to cycle around the track for another circuit before he could enter pit road successfully and pit for service. The late misfortune dropped Hamlin out of race-winning contention.
Following the stops from the Joe Gibbs Racing competitors, Harvick was back at the front by less than a second over Elliott and coming to 55 laps remaining. Nearly eight laps later, just as Elliott passed Harvick for the lead, the caution flew due to debris on the backstretch. Under caution, the competitors on the lead lap pitted and Elliott retained the lead after beating Harvick by a nose off of pit road.
With 41 laps remaining, the race restarted under green with Elliott and Truex on the front row followed by Harvick, Austin Dillon, Jones and Almirola. At the start, Elliott and Truex duked for the lead through Turn 1 before Elliott cleared Truex for the lead following a push from Harvick. Truex and Harvick went to work in battling one another for position and closing in on Elliott for the lead while Logano made his way up to fifth place with a damaged rear end and behind Austin Dillon’s No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.
With Elliott maintaining a three-tenths of a second advantage over Truex, Jones was back in sixth place in front of Almirola and Byron while Kyle Busch was in ninth place ahead of Bowman. Hamlin was in 14th behind Kurt Busch, Custer and Bowyer while Johnson was in 16th behind Keselowski.
Under 30 laps remaining, Elliott’s advantage grew to less than a second over Truex with Harvick trailing by less than two seconds. Behind, Bowman made his way into ninth place after passing Almirola while Byron and Kyle Busch were in seventh and eighth. Jones was the highest-running non-title contender in sixth place while Johnson was in 15th.
With 20 laps remaining, the battle for the lead started to ignite with Truex trailing Elliott by less than two-tenths of a second and continuing to close to the rear bumper of Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet. Behind, Harvick and his No. 4 Busch Beer Ford Mustang trailed the two leaders by more than five seconds with Austin Dillon and Logano continuing to run in the top five.
With 15 laps remaining, Truex gained a huge run on Elliott entering Turn 4 as he crossed beneath him past the start/finish line to take the lead. In Turn 1, however, Truex tried to slide up in front of Elliott, but they made contact and both made contact against the outside wall. Despite the damage, Truex continued with the lead while Elliott continued to run in second place, trailing by less than two seconds.
Shortly after, Truex pitted due to sustaining a flat right-rear tire. Back on the track, Harvick assumed the lead and was followed by Austin Dillon while Elliott started to fade out of race-winning contention.
With 10 laps remaining, Harvick was ahead by six-tenths of a second over Austin Dillon followed by Logano, Jones and Byron while Elliott dropped back to eighth place after being passed by teammate Bowman and Kyle Busch. Elliott would continue to lose more positions as he was off the pace with the field.
With the laps winding down and the leaders approaching lapped traffic, Harvick was still out in front while Austin Dillon continued to keep Harvick in his sights for the lead. However, with five laps remaining, Harvick started to extend his advantage to a second over Austin Dillon with Logano trailing by less than two seconds.
When Harvick started the final lap, he was still ahead by six-tenths of a second over Austin Dillon. For one final circuit, Austin Dillon got the deficit down to less than three-tenths of a second, but it was not enough through Turns 3 and 4 as Harvick managed to streak across the finish line in first place and add a second Southern 500 title to his racing resume.
The victory was Harvick’s eighth of this season, his fourth win since August and the 57th of his Cup career, which he surpassed fellow competitor Kyle Busch and moved into ninth place on the NASCAR Cup Series all-time wins list. In addition, Harvick’s win was the 15th of the season for Ford and the ninth of the season for Stewart-Haas Racing. With the victory, Harvick clinched his spot to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs.
Ironically, Darlington Raceway served as the track where NASCAR made its return to on-track racing back in May amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and where the race was also won by Harvick. Compared to May, where the grandstands were empty, Harvick’s victory on Sunday evening at Darlington was met by a chorus of cheers from the fans with up to 8,000 spectators allowed to attend the race from the grandstands, something that delighted Harvick upon saluting the fans with his win.
“The first thing I wanna say is, ‘Welcome back, fans!’ Woo!” Harvick exclaimed on the frontstretch on NBCSN. “This interview’s a hell of a lot more fun with you guys up there. [I] Just wanna say thank you to everybody from NASCAR, all of you fans here in South Carolina…Just wound up fighting all night long. This Busch Beer Ford Mustang wasn’t where we wanted it to be, but the leaders got tangled up there and the next thing you know, we were racing for the win. Anytime you can win the Southern 500, it’s a good day. This is one of the most prestigious races in our sport and this is one of the most prestigious race tracks in our sport. Anytime you can win at Darlington, it’s a big deal. Man, Southern 500!”
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Austin Dillon rallied from starting at the rear of the field to post a strong runner-up result while Logano made a nice rally from his incident at the start of the final stage to finish in third place. Jones, the reigning Southern 500 winner, finished in fourth place as he emerged as the highest-finishing non-title contender in the field while Byron rallied to finish in fifth place and record his third consecutive top-five result.
Playoff contenders Bowman, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Almirola and Bowyer finished inside the top 10 on the track. Keselowski finished 11th ahead of Custer, Hamlin finished 13th, Elliott faded back to 20th and Truex ended his night in 22nd, a lap behind the leaders. DiBenedetto finished 21st, a lap down, while Blaney finished 24th, the lowest-finishing Playoff contender in the field.
There were 18 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 34 laps.
Results.
1. Kevin Harvick, 32 laps led
2. Austin Dillon
3. Joey Logano
4. Erik Jones
5. William Byron
6. Alex Bowman, one lap led
7. Kyle Busch
8. Kurt Busch, five laps led
9. Aric Almirola
10. Clint Bowyer
11. Brad Keselowski
12. Cole Custer
13. Denny Hamlin, 19 laps led
14. Matt Kenseth
15. Ryan Newman
16. Michael McDowell
17. Ryan Preece
18. Jimmie Johnson
19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
20. Chase Elliott, 114 laps led
21. Matt DiBenedetto, one lap down
22. Martin Truex Jr., one lap down, 196 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner
23. Tyler Reddick, one lap down
24. Ryan Blaney, one lap down
25. Daniel Suarez, three laps down
26. Chris Buescher, three laps down
27. Ty Dillon, four laps down
28. Brennan Poole, five laps down
29. Ross Chastain, seven laps down
30. J.J. Yeley, seven laps down
31. Quin Houff, 10 laps down
32. Josh Bilicki, 11 laps down
33. Joey Gase, 16 laps down
34. Christopher Bell, 18 laps down
35. Timmy Hill – OUT, Overheating
36. John Hunter Nemechek – OUT, Accident
37. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Accident
38. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Transmission
39. James Davison – OUT, Engine
*Bold indicates Playoff contenders
Playoff standings
1. Kevin Harvick – Advanced
2. Denny Hamlin +54
3. Joey Logano +27
4. Brad Keselowski +22
5. Alex Bowman +19
6. Martin Truex Jr. +16
7. Chase Elliott +12
8. Austin Dillon +10
9. William Byron +9
10. Kyle Busch +7
11. Kurt Busch +4
12. Aric Almirola +0
13. Clint Bowyer -0
14. Cole Custer -3
15. Matt DiBenedetto -17
16. Ryan Blaney -17
Next on the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Richmond Raceway for the Federated Auto Parts 400 and the second Playoff race of the season. The race will occur on Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
A significant milestone is in the making for Johnny Klausmeier, crew chief of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang driven by Clint Bowyer in the NASCAR Cup Series. When the green flag waves on September 6 at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500, Klausmeier will achieve 100 starts as a Cup crew chief.
A native of Perry Hall, Maryland, who is the son of an auto repairman, Carl Klausmeier, and a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) with a mechanical engineering degree, Johnny Klausmeier was a race engineer for Stewart-Haas Racing when he made his crew chief debut at Pocono Raceway in June 2016 for the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kurt Busch. By then, veteran Tony Gibson, who was crew chief for Busch and the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Chevrolet team, was serving a one-race suspension due to violating a section of the NASCAR Rule Book related to lug nuts infraction following the previous event, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
During the main event at Pocono and with former championship crew chief Greg Zipadelli alongside Klausmeier atop the No. 41 pit box, Busch took the lead with 32 laps remaining and survived on fuel to beat Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski to win. With Busch picking up his first victory of the 2016 Cup season and guaranteeing himself a spot in the Playoffs, Klausmeier recorded his first Cup victory in his first race as a crew chief. A week later, Gibson returned atop the pit box of Busch’s No. 41 team and for the remainder of the season while Kluasmeier returned to his role as engineer for SHR.
At Watkins Glen International in August 2017, Klausmeier returned as an interim crew chief for Kurt Busch and his No. 41 Ford team in place of Tony Gibson. Starting in 18th place, Busch finished in sixth place in Klausmeier’s one-race stint as a crew chief.
A month after the 2017 season concluded, Stewart-Haas Racing announced its crew chief lineup for the 2018 Cup season, with Klausmeier being promoted as a full-time Cup crew chief for Aric Almirola and the No. 10 Smithfield Ford team.
Klausmeier’s first race as a full-time crew chief with Almirola was the Daytona 500 in February. During the event, Almirola, who was consistent throughout the event, took the lead on the penultimate lap and he started the final lap of the race. He was leading with two turns remaining until Austin Dillon made contact and turned Almirola into the outside wall entering Turn 3. Instead of a possible trip to Victory Lane with a new team and a new full-time crew chief, Almirola concluded the race in 11th place and with a wrecked race car while Dillon went on to win his first Daytona 500 crown.
From Atlanta Motor Speedway in February through Martinsville Speedway in March, Almirola and Klausmeier achieved six consecutive top-15 results, with Almirola ranked in 11th place in the regular-season standings. For the remaining 20 Cup regular-season races, Almirola and Klausmeier achieved went on to achieve eight additional top-10 results and 12 top-15 results. When the regular-season concluded at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in September, Almirola qualified for his second Cup postseason appearance as a title contender as Klausmeier made his first postseason appearance as a crew chief.
During the Round of 16, the first Playoff stretch at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Richmond Raceway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, Almirola achieved results of sixth, fifth and 19th as he transferred to the Round of 12 in a three-way tie along with Kyle Larson, both of whom eliminated Jimmie Johnson from title contention. The following Playoff race at Dover International Speedway in October, which marked the start of the Round of 12, Almirola was leading in the closing laps until a late caution came out due to a single-car incident involving teammate Clint Bowyer. Opting to pit for four fresh tires and restarting back in the top 10, he was involved in a late multi-car accident while trying to fight his way back to the front. Instead of another possible trip to Victory Lane with Klausmeier, Almirola concluded the race in 13th place.
The following Playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway, Stewart-Haas Racing came into the event with a plan involving teamwork. For nearly the entire race, the four SHR competitors led by Kurt Busch ruled the track and all were primed to finish 1-2-3-4 on the track when a late caution fell due to a multi-car wreck. During overtime, teammates Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch ran out of fuel and Almirola was able to take the lead on the final lap and hold off Bowyer to achieve his first elusive victory of the season and first with SHR. The win at Talladega marked the second Cup victory for both Almirola and Klausmeier as both secured a spot to the Round of 8 in the Playoffs.
After winning at Talladega and finishing in 10th place at Kansas Speedway to cap off the Round of 12, Almirola and Klausmeier achieved results of 11th, eighth and fourth in the Round of 8 at Martinsville, Texas and at Phoenix. Despite the results, Almirola fell short in advancing to the Championship Round along with teammates Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch while Kevin Harvick was the lone Stewart-Haas Racing competitor who contended for the title. Almirola went on to finish in ninth place in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November as he and Klausmeier capped off the season in fifth place in the final standings.
Coming off a productive 2018 season, Klausmeier remained as Almirola’s crew chief for the 2019 Cup season. The combo started off the season with a 32nd-place result at the Daytona 500 in February due to being involved in a late multi-car accident, but they rebounded with six consecutive top-10 results from Atlanta in February to Texas in April. For the remaining 19 Cup regular-season races, Almirola and Klausmeier went on to achieve four additional top-10 results and 11 top-15 results as Almirola and Klausmeier made the Cup Playoffs for the second year in a row.
During the Round of 16 in the Playoffs, Almirola finished 13th, 16th and 14th in the round’s three-race stretch, but he was one of four competitors who failed to transfer to the Round of 12. For the remaining seven races of the season, Almirola and Klausmeier achieved two additional top-five results, including a runner-up result at Texas in November, and they concluded the season in 14th place in the final standings.
Following a two-year run with Almirola, Stewart-Haas Racing made changes to three of its four crew chief lineup for the 2020 Cup season. With that, Klausmeier was named crew chief for Clint Bowyer and the No. 14 Ford Mustang team while Mike Bugarewicz was named crew chief for Almirola and the No. 10 Ford Mustang team.
In Klausmeier’s first race with Bowyer, which occurred at the Daytona 500 in February, the Emporia, Kansas, native rallied from being involved in a late incident to finish in sixth place. Following the first four Cup races with Klausmeier atop the pit box and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bowyer achieved his first top-five result at Phoenix Raceway in March and was ranked in 13th place in the regular-season standings.
When the NASCAR Cup Series returned to on-track racing for a pair of races at Darlington Raceway in May, Bowyer and Klausmeier achieved a 17th-place result in the first Darlington event and both were dominant in the second Darlington event, where Bowyer won the first two stages of the race before he was involved in a late spin and settled in 22nd place. Three races later, Bowyer aand Klausmeier achieved their best result of second place at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Bowyer and Klausmeier have achieved one pole, three stage wins, two top-five results, seven top-10 results and 182 laps led. With both making this year’s Playoffs and their third consecutive postseason season, Bowyer will start the Playoffs in 13th place in the standings with 2,004 points as he and Klausmeier pursue their first Cup title.
Catch Klausmeier’s milestone start at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, September 6, at Darlington Raceway, which will occur at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
A significant milestone is in the making for Ross Chastain, a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series competitor for Kaulig Racing and part-time competitor in the NASCAR Cup and Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series. By the time Chastain completes this weekend’s Xfinity and Cup doubleheader events at Darlington Raceway, he will achieve 350 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series (Truck, Xfinity and Cup Series).
A native of Alva, Florida, who grew up as a watermelon farmer for his family’s farm and started racing after watching his father hobby racing, Chastain started his career by winning in late models and Fastruck Series races. His first start within NASCAR’s three major division series occurred at Lucas Oil Raceway in July 2011, where he drove the No. 66 Chevrolet Silverado for Turn One Racing in the NASCAR Truck Series. Starting 15th, Chastain finished 10th in his series debut. He went on to compete in four additional Truck races with Turn One Racing.
In 2012, Chastain was named a full-time competitor of the No. 08 Toyota Tundra for SS-Green Light Racing as he entered the Truck Series as a Rookie-of-the-Year contender. Throughout the 22-race season, Chastain achieved four top-10 results, a career-best third-place run at Bristol Motor Speedway in August and he concluded the season in 17th place in the final standings. He made one start in the No. 07 Chevrolet Silverado for SS-Green Light Racing at Phoenix, where he finished 33rd.
The following season, Chastain competed in 14 Truck races with Brad Keselowski Racing and in the No. 19 Ford F-150 led by Chad Kendrick. His first start with the team was at Daytona International Speedway in February, where he finished 14th. He went on to finish 20th at Martinsville Speedway in April and ninth at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. He achieved his first top-five result of the season at Pocono Raceway in August. Two races later at Iowa Speedway, Chastain was dominant as he started on pole position and led a race-high 116 of 212 laps, only to be overtaken by James Buescher on a late restart and settle in a career-best second place. He went on to finish third at Talladega Superspeedway in October and second at Phoenix in November following a late battle with eventual winner Erik Jones. He finished in eighth place in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway and capped off his 14-race stint at BKR with four top-five results, seven top-10 results and his first two career poles.
In 2014, Chastain competed in his first seven NASCAR Xfinity Series races along with three Truck Series races. He competed between Viva Motorsports, Hattori Racing Enterprises and TriStar Motorsports in the Xfinity circuit, with his best result being 10th place at Kentucky Speedway in September. He competed between RBR Enterprises and Win-Tron Racing in the Truck Series, with his best result being 11th place at Homestead in November.
For the 2015 season, Chastain was named a full-time competitor for JD Motorsports in the Xfinity Series. Making 31 starts in JDM’s No. 4 Chevrolet Camaro and two in JDM’s No. 01 Chevrolet Camaro, Chastain achieved four top-10 results and a career-best result of ninth place at Daytona in February. He concluded the season in 15th place in the final standings.
Between 2016 and 2017, Chastain continued to drive for JD Motorsports and the No. 4 Chevrolet on a full-time basis in the Xfinity Series. Following the 2016 season, he surpassed 100 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series. He finished 15th in the final standings in 2016 and 16th in 2017. Between June and July 2017, Chastain achieved back-to-back top-10 results, which included a career-best fourth-place result at Iowa Speedway. He also made a total of eight starts in the Truck Series with Bolen Motorsports, where his best result was seventh place at Martinsville Speedway in April. In addition, he made his first two NASCAR Cup Series career starts in both Dover International Speedway races while driving for Premium Motorsports. He finished 20th in his debut at the Monster Mile in June and 38th in his second start in October.
The 2018 season was an eventful season for Chastain, who made 34 starts in the Cup Series, 33 starts in the Xfinity Series and seven starts in the Truck Series. In the Truck circuit, he made a total of seven starts between Beaver Motorsports, Premium Motorsports and Niece Motorsports. His best result was seventh place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September. In the Cup circuit, he competed in 34 of 36 races with Premium Motorsports. His best results were an 18th-place result at Texas Motor Speedway in April and a 20th-place result at Las Vegas in September.
For the first 23 Xfinity Series of the season, Chastain recorded one top-five result and six top-10 results, all while during his fourth season with JD Motorsports. Then, in September, Chastain made his first of three starts in the No. 42 DC Solar Chevrolet Camaro for Chip Ganassi Racing led by crew chief Mike Shiplett at Darlington Raceway. During the main event, Chastain started on pole position for the first time in his career, led a race-high 90 laps and won the first two stages. His strong run, however, was spoiled following a late on-track incident with Kevin Harvick as Chastain ended his race in 25th place. Competing the following race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for JD Motorsports, Chastain returned to the No. 42 team at Las Vegas in September seeking redemption. During the main event, Chastain dominated again as he won the first two stages and led a race-high 180 laps. This time, Chastain sealed the deal after beating Justin Allgaier to achieve his first career win across NASCAR’s three major division series. His first Xfinity career win, which occurred in his 132nd series start and also occurred in the regular-season finale at Vegas, was enough for the Floridian to secure a spot in the 2018 Xfinity Playoffs as he introduced his celebratory trademark by smashing a watermelon.
During his first run in the Xfinity Playoffs, Chastain went on to finish in second place at Richmond in September, which also marked his final start with Chip Ganassi Racing. Returning to JD Motorsports, he finished 12th at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval and 13th at Dover. When the dust settled, Chastain was beaten by Matt Tifft for the final transfer spot to the Round of 8 by three points. He went on to conclude the season in a career-best 10th place in the final standings as he also achieved a career-high three top-five results, eight top-10 results and 272 laps led. Following the 2018 season, he surpassed 200 career starts across NASCAR.
In November 2018, it was announced that Chastain would compete in the No. 42 DC Solar Chevrolet Camaro for Chip Ganassi Racing on a full-time basis for the 2019 Xfinity Series season. The announcement came a month after Chastain revealed plans to compete in the Cup Series for Premium Motorsports. However, the team ceased operations in January when DC Solar was raided by the FBI. Fortunately, Chastain was picked up by Niece Motorsports to compete in the Truck Series on a part-time basis led by crew chief Phil Gould and by JD Motorsports for 30 Xfinity races. In addition, he signed a three-race deal to pilot the No. 10 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing.
Competing in all three series’ openers at Daytona International Speedway, Chastain finished third in the Truck Series with Niece Motorsports, 13th in the Xfinity Series with Kaulig Racing after winning the second stage and 10th in his first Daytona 500 start with Premium Motorsports. Through the beginning of June, Chastain competed in the first 12 Xfinity races and recorded a best result of seventh place at Las Vegas in March. He also competed in the first eight Truck races with Niece Motorsports, achieving top-10 results in all of his starts and collecting his first Truck career win at Kansas Speedway in May following a late pass on Stewart Friesen. To cap off his eventful start to this season, he competed in the first 14 Cup races with Premium Motorsports.
On June 4, Chastain declared himself a full-time Truck Series competitor to contend for points and the series title with Niece Motorsports. In order to achieve his goal of making the Playoffs, he would have to win again throughout the regular-season stretch and be scored inside the top 20 in the standings. After finishing in 10th place at Texas Motor Speedway following his announcement, Chastain achieved his second victory of the season at Iowa Speedway following a dominating performance. Following the race, however, Chastain was disqualified due to his truck failing post-race technical inspection and NASCAR awarded the win to runner-up finisher Brett Moffitt. Chastain’s disqualification from winning was a first in NASCAR since Emanuel Zervakis was disqualified from winning at North Carolina’s Wilson Speedway in April 1960 due to an oversized fuel tank.
Chastain rebounded the following race with vengeance after scoring a late win at Gateway’s World Wide Technology Raceway and collecting a $50,000 for winning a Triple Truck Challenge race. This time, Chastain’s win at Gateway was ruled official. After finishing seventh at Chicagoland Speedway and fourth at Kentucky Speedway the following two races, Chastain made himself Playoff eligible after moving into the top 20 in the standings. The following race, he achieved his third victory of his career/season at Pocono Raceway and he entered the postseason as a title favorite. During the Playoffs, Chastain achieved three top-five results and five top-10 results as he made the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway. During the finale, however, he finished fourth at Homestead and fell short of his first NASCAR championship to Matt Crafton. Despite the final outcome, he logged in a successful season in the Truck circuit, where he recorded three wins, a pole, 10 top-five results, 19 top-10 results, an average result of 8.6 and 591 laps led before concluding the season in a career-best second place. In the end, he was named the 2019 Truck Most Popular Driver.
Chastain’s on-track success in 2019 did not only come from the Truck Series. At Daytona in July, while piloting Kaulig Racing’s No. 16 Ellsworth Advisors Chevrolet Camaro, Chastain led a 1-2-3 finish for the team across the line as he achieved his first victory at Daytona, second of his Xfinity career and the first NASCAR win for Kaulig Racing. Despite teammate A.J. Allmendinger being disqualified from third place for failing post-race technical inspection, Chastain’s victory and teammate Justin Haley’s runner-up result were deemed official by NASCAR. He made a total of seven additional Xfinity starts since June, where he also finished in second place at Texas in November behind Christopher Bell while driving for Kaulig. Overall, he capped off the 2019 Xfinity season with a win, a pole, two top-five results and eight top-10 results between JD Motorsports and Kaulig Racing.
On the Cup side, Chastain made 35 starts in the No. 15 Chevrolet for Premium Motorsports. His best results were a 10th-place result at the Daytona 500 in February and a 12th-place result at Talladega Superspeedway in October.
In total, Chastain made 77 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series in 2019. Early into the season, he broke Kyle Busch’s record in competing in the most consecutive races across all three series to start a season. Following the 2019 season, he surpassed 300 career starts across NASCAR.
Three months after winning at Daytona, Chastain was named a full-time competitor of the No. 10 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing led by crew chief Bruce Schlicker for the 2020 Xfinity Series season. Prior to the 2020 season, he also planned to compete in select Truck Series races with Niece Motorsports and in the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE sponsored by AdventHealth in the Cup Series for the Daytona 500 and the Coca-Cola 600. His No. 77 ride was under a partnership between Spire Motorsports and Chip Ganassi Racing.
Chastain started the 2020 season by finishing in eighth place in the Truck opener at Daytona with Niece Motorsports. For the Xfinity opener, however, he initially failed to qualify for the event, along with teammate A.J. Allmendinger, due to mechanical issues. Nonetheless, he was able to compete when veteran Jeff Green relinquished his seat at RSS Racing. Chastain went on to finish 22nd in the Xfinity opener. For the Daytona 500, he made a late charge to the front until he was involved in a multi-car accident and settled in 25th place.
Through September 2, Chastain has made eight starts in the Truck Series with Niece Motorsports and has recorded one top-five result and five top-10 results. He has also made seven Cup starts between Spire Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing, where he served as an interim competitor for the injured Ryan Newman. His best results in the series include a 16th-place run at Daytona in August and a pair of 17th-place results at Auto Club Speedway in March and at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July.
Through the first 22 Xfinity Series races of this season and as a full-time competitor, Chastain has recorded one stage win, two Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonuses, nine top-five results and 19 top-10 results. He is currently in third place in the Xfinity regular-season standings and is 420 points above the top-12 cutline to make the Playoffs and with four regular-season races remaining. Thus far, his average result is 8.8.
While Chastain is set to compete in this weekend’s Xfinity and Cup races at Darlington, he will also be sporting a special white, red, blue and gold paint scheme to his No. 77 Spire Motorsports/Dirty Mo Media Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE on the Cup side while paying tribute to the late NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt and his 1976 Hy-Gain Chevy.
Catch Chastain’s milestone start on Sunday, September 6, at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500, which will occur at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
A significant milestone is in the making for Michael Annett, driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. When Annett takes the green flag this weekend at Darlington Raceway, he will achieve 400 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series (Truck, Xfinity and Cup Series).
A native of Des Moines, Iowa, who achieved two ARCA career victories from 2007 and 2008, Annett made his debut within NASCAR’s top three division series at the Milwaukee Mile in June 2008, where he piloted the No. 22 Toyota Tundra for Bill Davis Racing in the NASCAR Truck Series. He finished in sixth place in his series debut and two races later, he earned a career-best runner-up result at Kentucky Speedway. He made a total of eight starts in the Truck Series in 2008 (seven with Bill Davis Racing and one with Germain Racing). He also made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, where he drove the No. 03 Toyota for Germain Racing and finished 36th.
In 2009, Annett campaigned on a full-time basis in the Xfinity Series as a rookie candidate and in the No. 15 Toyota Camry led by crew chief Bruce Cook for Germain Racing. Throughout his rookie season, Annett achieved four top-10 results (best result of sixth place at Auto Club Speedway in October) and he concluded the season in 10th place in the final standings. He remained with Germain Racing for the 2010 Xfinity season, where he achieved two top-10 results and concluded the season in 13th place in the final standings and with crew chief Ryan “Rudy” Fugle.
In 2011, Annett moved to Rusty Wallace Racing to pilot the No. 62 Toyota Camry with primary sponsorship from Pilot Flying J and led by crew chief Rick Viers in the Xfinity Series. For the first 13 races of the season, he finished no higher than 13th place. For five of the next six races, however, he achieved five top-10 results. He nearly won at Daytona International Speedway in July after taking the lead on the final lap with two corners remaining. He, however, lost the draft with teammate Steve Wallace and settled in sixth place. For the final 15 races of the season, he achieved two additional top-10 results and he concluded the season in ninth place in the final standings. By then, he surpassed 100 career starts across NASCAR’s three major division series.
For the 2012 season and after Rusty Wallace Racing ceased operations due to lack of sponsorship, Annett made the move to Richard Petty Motorsports to drive the No. 43 Ford Mustang sponsored by Pilot Flying J and led by crew chief Philippe Lopez. Annett had a successful run in the series, where he achieved his first six top-five career results, led by a pair of third-place results at Daytona International Speedway in July and at Dover International Speedway in September. He also earned a total of 17 top-10 results and he claimed the Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July following a sixth-place result. When the season concluded, he ended up with a career-best fifth place in the final standings.
Annett started off the 2013 Xfinity season on a rough note, when he was involved in a late multi-car accident in the season opener at Daytona and had dislocated and fractured his sternum. Missing the first eight races of the season and while Aric Almirola and Reed Sorenson filled in for Annett, he returned at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, where he finished 17th. For the remainder of the season, he achieved one top-five result and a total of four top-10 results before he concluded the season in 15th place in the final standings.
Following a five-year run in the Xfinity Series, Annett moved up to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2014 and he entered the series as a rookie candidate in the No. 7 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet SS for Tommy Baldwin Racing led by veteran Kevin “Bono” Manion. Making his series debut at the Daytona 500, Annett was involved in a late multi-car wreck and finished in 37th place. Throughout the 36-race stretch, Annett only achieved four top-20 results and he concluded the season in 33rd place in the final standings. He also competed in the NASCAR Truck Series race at Eldora Speedway for NTS Motorsports, where he raced his way into the main event following a final qualifying race and finished 25th. By then, he surpassed 200 career starts across NASCAR.
The following season, Annett remained in the Cup Series, but he made the move to HScott Motorsports to pilot the team’s second car, the No. 46 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet SS, led by crew chief Jay Guy. Annett achieved a career-best result of 13th place in the Daytona 500. The following week, however, Annett initially failed to qualify for the upcoming race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Nonetheless, Annett still got to race at Atlanta when Brian Scott relinquished his seat, the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet SS, since Annett was competing for Cup points. Driving under the Hillman-Circle Sport LLC banner, Annett finished 29th. The remaining 34 races of the season, however, was a disappointing one as Annett finished no higher than 23rd place and he concluded the season in 36th place in the final standings. He also failed to qualify at Talladega Superspeedway in October.
Returning for a third season in the Cup circuit with Hscott Motorsports in 2016, Annett’s best result throughout the 36-race schedule was 20th, which occurred at Daytona in July. At Bristol Motor Speedway in August, Justin Allgaier filled in as an interim competitor when Annett suffered from flu-like symptoms. Prior to the season concluding, Annett declared himself a free agent for the 2017 season.
After three seasons in the Cup Series, Annett scaled back down to the Xfinity Series for the 2017 season and joined forces with JR Motorsports to pilot the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro sponsored by Pilot Flying J, TMC Transportation and Allstate Parts & Service Group, and led by crew chief Jason Stockert. Annett started the season with a 14th-place run at Daytona followed by a 15th-place run at Atlanta. Two races later, he achieved his first top-10 result of the season at Phoenix (ninth place). Through the first 22 races of the season, Annett recorded a total of five top-10 results. At Road America in August, Annett achieved a career-best runner-up result behind Jeremy Clements. Following his result, Annett dedicated his run to Adam Wright, a mechanic at JR Motorsports who died in a car accident a week prior to Road America. Annett went on to make the 2017 Xfinity Series Playoffs before he was eliminated from title contention at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October. He wrapped up the season in ninth place in the final standings and with seven top-10 results. By then, he surpassed 300 career starts across NASCAR.
Returning for a second full-time season with JRM in 2018, Annett struggled with on-track consistency. For the first 21 races of the season, he finished no higher than 11th. A week later, he recorded his first top-10 result at Bristol in August. By then, he was paired with new crew chief Travis Mack. He only achieved one additional top-10 result (10th place at Darlington Raceway) throughout the regular-season stretch while he also recorded five DNFs. Following the regular-season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September, Annett failed to make the Playoffs. He went on to conclude the season in 14th place in the final standings.
For the 2019 Xfinity season, Annett remained at JRM, but assumed driving responsibilities of the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro with crew chief Travis Mack remaining with Annett. To start the season and with American Heart Association co-sponsoring the No. 1 car along with Pilot Flying J, Annett responded back to all of his past struggles throughout his career by winning the season opener at Daytona and achieving his first victory across NASCAR’s three major series in his 230th Xfinity career start. The victory guaranteed Annett’s No. 1 team a spot in the Playoffs. His early success did not stop there as he recorded a total of five top-five results and 15 top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch. He also achieved his first career pole at Talladega in April. During the Playoffs, Annett earned finishes of ninth, 15th and sixth in the first round, spanning three races, to advance to the Round of 8. He finished fourth, 11th and ninth in the second round, but he failed to transfer to the Championship Round at Homestead. He concluded the season with an 11th-place run at Homestead and a ninth-place result in the final standings. Though he fell short of the 2019 Xfinity title, Annett achieved a career-high six top-five results, 19 top-10 results and 94 laps led throughout the season.
This season, his fourth consecutive season with JRM, Annett started off the season with an 11th-place run at Daytona and after being involved in a multi-car accident on the final lap. Through the first 22 races of this season, he has recorded three top-five results and 13 top-10 results, and he is in eighth place in the regular-season standings. He has also started on pole position for three consecutive races in the summer (Texas, Kansas and Road America) by virtue of a random draw amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to making his ninth Xfinity career start at Darlington this weekend and while he continues to secure one of 12 spots for this year’s Xfinity Playoffs, Annett is set to sport a special Oreo scheme to his No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro that his boss and former NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove to an Xfinity win at Daytona in February 2002.
Catch Annett’s milestone start at Darlington Raceway on Saturday, September 5, at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
Chase Elliott was awarded the pole position and will lead the field to the start of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff opener at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, September 6, for the Cook Out Southern 500.
The starting lineup was based on a modified metric formula to the starting lineup for an upcoming NASCAR race based on four stats: the driver’s result from a previous Cup race, the owner’s result from a previous Cup race, the current owner’s points standings and the fastest lap recorded from a previous race. The owner’s finishing result is a new category that was added as part of the lineup formula on September 1 and will affect the starting positions for any car/team that changes a competitor from a previous race.
In addition, with the 2020 Cup Playoffs set to commence this weekend at Darlington, the competitors competing in the Playoffs will occupy the top starting positions on the grid. Even after every round of the Playoffs, consisting of three races per round and where four competitors will be eliminated from title contention after each round until the Championship Round, the competitors still contending for the championship will line up ahead of the rest of the field on the grid for an upcoming race.
Elliott, who finished in the runner-up position in last weekend’s regular-season event at Daytona International Speedway, will lead the field to the start of a Cup race for the third time this season. This season marks Elliott’s fifth consecutive season of making the Cup Playoffs as he will contend for his first championship in NASCAR’s premier series (second division title after winning the 2014 Xfinity Series championship).
In addition, with the upcoming race at Darlington Raceway set to occur on Labor Day weekend and known as NASCAR’s throwback weekend, celebrating the past, present and future of the sport, Elliott is one of a multitude of competitors who will be sporting throwback-inspired schemes on race day on Sunday. Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE will mirror the 2009 scheme that teammate and seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson sported when he achieved his record-setting fourth consecutive championship as he pays tribute to Johnson’s final full-time season of racing in NASCAR.
Denny Hamlin, a three-time Darlington winner who will sport a special purple, white and orange throwback scheme to his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry while paying tribute to the inception of Federal Express in 1973 and when NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough competed in the No. 11 car during the same year, will start alongside Elliott on the front row. This season marks Hamlin’s 14th postseason season as a title contender as he pursues his first Cup title.
William Byron, fresh off his first Cup career victory last weekend at Daytona and a two-year contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports, will start in third place in a patriotic scheme that mirrors the scheme Jimmie Johnson sported when he achieved his record-leading fourth All-Star win in 2013. Teammate Alex Bowman will start alongside Byron in the second row and in a scheme that mirrors the 2006 scheme Johnson sported when he achieved his first of seven Cup titles.
Brad Keselowski, sporting a Discount Tire scheme that mirrors his 2010 Xfinity Series championship scheme, will start in fifth place alongside Martin Truex Jr., who will sport a black, yellow and red Bass Pro Shops throwback scheme that mirrors the scheme former competitor Hank Parker Jr. sported at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2003 while driving for Chance 2 Motorsports and which marked the first primary sponsorship of Bass Pro Shops.
Ryan Blaney, who will sport a blue, yellow, orange, red and white Menards throwback scheme while paying tribute to former competitor Paul Menard and his early career in racing, will start in seventh place followed by Kevin Harvick, who will sport a retro blue and white Busch Beer scheme on his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang; teammate Clint Bowyer, who will sport a blue, white and red PEAK Antifreeze scheme that mirrors the scheme former competitor Kyle Petty sported when he achieved his third Cup career victory at Rockingham Speedway in 1990; and teammate Aric Almirola, fresh off a one-year contract extension with SHR and who will sport a special red and white throwback scheme that mirrors the scheme the late NASCAR Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts sported in the 1957 season, where he won eight races.
Matt DiBenedetto, who will be sporting a red and white throwback scheme to his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang that pays tribute and was also driven by names like Tiny Lund, Glenn Wood and Marvin Panch, will start in 11th place alongside Austin Dillon, who will sport a white and red throwback scheme to his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE that pays tribute to the late NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson.
Joey Logano will start in 13th place and in a red and white throwback scheme that mirrors the scheme the 1983 NASCAR Cup champion Bobby Allison sported in 1985 while Cole Custer, the 2020 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year recipient, will line up in 14th place in a red and white scheme that pays tribute to the late NASCAR Hall of Famer Curtis Turner and the 1965 Ford Galaxie he drove in his final Cup season.
Finally, Kyle Busch will line up in 15th place in a throwback No. 18 M&M’s Toyota scheme that mirrors the scheme driven by former competitor/veteran Elliott Sadler in 2004 while brother Kurt will start in 16th place.
Bubba Wallace, the first non-Playoff contender, will start in 17th place followed by John Hunter Nemechek, teammate Michael McDowell and Chris Buescher. Christopher Bell will start in 21st place alongside Jimmie Johnson, who will make his 24th and final start at Darlington and is set to sport a special red, white, blue and black scheme that pays tribute to seven-time Cup champions Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.
Rounding out the field in positions 25-39 are Brennan Poole, Tyler Reddick, Ty Dillon, Matt Kenseth, Corey LaJoie, Daniel Suarez, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Erik Jones, Ryan Newman, Quin Houff, Timmy Hill, Reed Sorenson, Ryan Preece, James Davison, J.J. Yeley, Josh Bilicki and Joey Gase.
The Cook Out Southern 500, which marks the first race of the 2020 Cup Playoffs, will occur on September 6 at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
Darlington Raceway in South Carolina will host limited fans for the 71st annual running of the Southern 500 on Sunday, September 6, with the NASCAR Cup Series set to return for a third race at the track.
The announcement comes as NASCAR prepares to return to Darlington for two days of racing action throughout Labor Day weekend, which also marks the Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR. The action will start on Saturday, September 5, for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 event followed by the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race and the Cup Series Southern 500 race on Sunday, September 6.
“The Southern 500 is a time-honored tradition in motorsports, so we look forward to creating new NASCAR Cup Series Playoff memories with fans returning to Darlington Raceway,” Kerry Tharp, Darlington Raceway President, said. “After successfully hosting the sport’s return to competition in May, the track Too Tough To Tame will be ready to welcome fans back for a safe race experience.”
The attendance of race fans for the Southern 500 will be limited in accordance with public health officials and local, state and federal authorities along with any other safety protocols and procedures. Fans who have purchased tickets ahead of time for the race will be reseated in new locations, while making them as comparable as possible with original seating, with new lower ticket pricing available. All guests who attend the race at the track will be screened prior to entering the facility, required to wear face coverings/masks and distance one another six feet apart.
This year’s Southern 500 marks the first race of the 2020 Cup Playoffs and the first of three events in the Round of 16. Darlington Raceway also marks the site of NASCAR’s return to on-track racing in May 17 amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that was followed by a second Cup race on May 20 and an Xfinity Series event on May 21.
The upcoming Cup race at Darlington does not mark the only occasion where limited fans were allowed to attend a race at the grandstands amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Tracks that include Homestead-Miami Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Road America opened their facilities for select fans to attend the race and experience the live on-track action from the grandstands. Daytona International Speedway is set to have fans in attendance for the upcoming races on August 14-16 and on August 28-29.
The NASCAR triple-header action at Darlington Raceway will commence on September 5 at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC for the Xfinity Series followed by the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series return to Darlington on September 6 at 2 p.m. ET on FS1. The action will cap off with the Southern 500 and the 2020 Playoff opener on September 6 at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN for the Cup Series.
Sometimes in NASCAR, we tend to focus only on the wins and losses. And nothing makes us happier than an all-out rivalry, a good guy to cheer for and a bad guy to heckle.
But then we are reminded that, in the end, it’s only racing. The significance of what happens on the track diminishes when we are confronted with the stark realities of life.
Wednesday night, social media was buzzing over the contact between Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott during the Toyota 500 at Darlington Raceway. The argument over whether the contact was intentional or simply bad timing by Busch was debated throughout the night.
But in the midst of this controversy, we learned that Xfinity Series driver, Chase Briscoe and his wife, Marissa, had lost the child they were expecting. Briscoe shared the heartbreaking news on social media.
Yesterday was the hardest day of my life,” he posted on Twitter. “Marissa Briscoe and I heard the worst news any soon-to-be parent could hear. That we wouldn’t be welcoming our daughter to the world on December 1st. I know God has a plan and we may not understand it but we seek Him and trust Him.”
While the NASCAR community grieved with them over their loss, reality took precedence as Briscoe prepared to compete in the Toyota 200 race Thursday afternoon at Darlington. It was the first race for the series since March 7 as the COVID-19 pandemic soon precluded any sporting events.
It was also Briscoe’s first race since receiving the devastating news. It was time to go back to work. One can only guess at the strength it took to compartmentalize his emotions and concentrate on the task before him.
As the race wound down and we saw Briscoe fighting to retain the lead with Busch on his back bumper, the NASCAR world held their collective breath until he crossed the finish line to collect the checkered flag.
When he climbed out of his car, tears streaming down his face, his emotions told the story of unimaginable grief that we hoped was momentarily eased with the joy of winning the race.
“This is for my wife. This has been the hardest week I’ve ever had to deal with,” Briscoe said. “When I took the lead, I was crying in my car. This is more than a race win. This is the biggest win of my life after the toughest day of my life. To be able to beat the best there is so satisfying.”
Sometimes in NASCAR, we tend to focus only on the wins and losses. Thanks to Briscoe for reminding us of what is truly important.
