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  • DiBenedetto survives Daytona, qualifies for first Cup Playoffs

    DiBenedetto survives Daytona, qualifies for first Cup Playoffs

    While William Byron raced his way into the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs after claiming a thrilling first career win in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on August 29, there was another competitor who was left beaming following the race. That competitor was Matt DiBenedetto, driver of the No. 21 Ford Mustang for the legendary Wood Brothers Racing Ford team, after the Grass Valley, California, native made the 2020 Cup Series Playoff field following an eventful 12th-place run at Daytona.

    Starting 15th, DiBenedetto came into Daytona with a nine-point cushion above the top-16 cutline and battling names like Clint Bowyer, William Byron and Jimmie Johnson for one of three open spots to the Playoffs.

    DiBenedetto did not finish in the top 10 following the first stage (50 laps), but he was able to record a seventh-place result following the second stage (100 laps) and collect a handful of stage points for himself and for the Wood Brothers Racing team. By then, he was still ahead of Byron and Johnson in the points standings. Throughout the final stage of the race, while DiBenedetto was racing around his Ford teammates and towards the lead pack, he was able to dodge two multi-car wrecks, including the second one with two laps remaining that occurred right in front of him, to nurse the No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford Mustang across the line in 12th place. In the end, DiBenedetto claimed a spot in the postseason after he finished five spots ahead of Johnson (17th place) while Byron also secured a spot after winning.

    Even after climbing out of his car with his mask on, his grin could be seen as he accomplished his goal of making his first NASCAR Cup Playoffs as a title contender in his sixth season in NASCAR’s premier series and first driving the iconic No. 21 car for the Wood Brothers Racing team.

    “We made it!” DiBenedetto exclaimed on NBC. “I don’t care how we did it. I wasn’t, obviously, super thrilled with the finish. We couldn’t get going there on the restart. I don’t care. My goal was to come in here and make it. We had some really good competitors. Obviously, Jimmie [Johnson] and Willy B. [William Byron]. Congrats to him on his first win. Man, I wanted this so bad for this team, for Menards, Dutch Boy, Motorcraft, Quicklane and the Wood Brothers! Man, driving for the Wood Brothers. It’s something special. We’ll celebrate tomorrow and have a good day. It’s gonna be time to get to work, but I’m so glad we made the Playoffs. This team deserves this. I’m mentally tired after that one.”

    The result left DiBenedetto both jubilated and emotional following a six-year voyage and journey to his first Cup postseason appearance as a title contender, from starting his Cup career with BK Racing before competing in two seasons with Go Fas Racing. Then came last season, where DiBenedetto had a career year while driving for Leavine Family Racing that included an opportunity to win at Bristol Motor Speedway in August, only to have the win taken away by Denny Hamlin in the closing laps. Fearing that his racing career was in jeopardy following his loss at Bristol and with no racing plans originally established for 2020, he was given an opportunity to drive the No. 21 Ford for the Wood Brothers Racing team and take the next step up in his racing career.

    Since the Daytona 500 in February through the regular-season finale at Daytona, DiBenedetto was able to record seven top-10 results and notch enough consistent runs inside the top 20, including the regular-season finale, to make the Playoffs based on points. DiBenedetto’s accomplishment marks the second time the Wood Brothers Racing team will be part of the NASCAR Cup Playoffs. In addition, DiBenedetto joins Cole Custer as the lone newcomers of this year’s Cup Playoffs.

    Even throughout the race at Daytona, DiBenedetto had to fend off the stress of competing for a postseason berth against some of NASCAR’s elite while also navigating his way to the finish at Daytona International Speedway in one piece.

    “That was the most stressful situation inside a race car I’ve even been in my life hands down,” DiBenedetto added. “I’ve never been in a situation like that. It’s unreal that it came down to the three of us and racing like right next to each other at Daytona where it shuffles around like crazy. I was calm going into the week and I really have to thank my career path for grooming me for this type of situation ’cause it’s been a tough fight and it makes me so appreciate of these situations. I was calm, but my wife wasn’t. My wife, Taylor, I know she is crying happy at home…I held it together and just had to deal with it the best in the car.”

    DiBenedetto’s first run as a title contender in this year’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will begin on Sunday, September 6, at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500 at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Byron scores first Cup career win at Daytona; 2020 Cup Playoff field is set

    Byron scores first Cup career win at Daytona; 2020 Cup Playoff field is set

    Dropping the hammer and refusing to lift out of the throttle at the right timing and in a last-stretch effort to keep his championship hopes alive, William Byron raced his way into the 2020 NASCAR Cup Playoffs after forcing his way into the lead with two laps remaining and holding off the field in overtime to score his first Cup career win in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway under the lights on August 29. The victory was Byron’s first in his 98th career start in NASCAR’s premier series as he became the 11th Cup competitor to clinch a spot into the Playoffs by winning a regular-season race.

    The starting lineup was based on three statistical categories: current owner points standings, the results from a previous Cup race and the fastest lap from a previous Cup race. With that, Kevin Harvick, coming off his victory in the second of a Dover International Speedway doubleheader last weekend and who is the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season champion, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Martin Truex Jr. Austin Dillon dropped to the rear of the field due to failing pre-race technical inspection twice along with Clint Bowyer due to unapproved adjustments.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, the field battled two by two for a full circuit until Truex was able to move in front of Harvick and lead the first lap. The following lap, Harvick gained a push from Brad Keselowski in Turn 2 and was able to come back around to lead the second lap by a nose over Truex’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry.

    Approaching the third lap, William Byron made a move on the outside lane with drafting help from teammate Alex Bowman and started to challenge Harvick for the lead through the tri-oval and in Turn 1 with sparks flying beneath Byron’s No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. 

    On the fifth lap, Harvick was still leading, but the outside lane led by Byron gained a huge run entering Turns 1 and 2. Though the inside lane led by Harvick gained a run through Turns 3 and 4, Byron was able to lead a lap for himself on the sixth lap. 

    Through the early stages of the race and the opening 10 laps, the competitors running on the outside lane would gain an advantage through Turns 1 and 2, but the competitors on the inside lane would gain an advantage through Turns 3, 4 and the tri-oval, which kept the field dead even against one another while racing two to three wide approaching and past the start/finish line.

    By Lap 10, Byron, racing on the outside lane, was back in the lead as he held a narrow advantage over teammate Bowman, rookie Cole Custer, Erik Jones and rookie Tyler Reddick all on the outside lane while Harvick was in sixth place and the first car running on the inside lane. In addition, J.J. Yeley was slowly limping his car back to pit road. Three laps later, Harvick dropped below the yellow line in Turn 2 and surrendered track position towards the front to tuck behind Ryan Newman’s No. 6 Guaranteed Rate Ford Mustang in 24th place to have debris removed from the grille of his No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang.

    Back at the front on Lap 14, Byron and the No. 24 car were still leading ahead of teammate Bowman, Custer, Jones, Reddick, Kyle Busch and rookie John Hunter Nemechek all on the outside lane with Keselowski leading a pack of cars on the inside lane.

    For the next six laps, Byron was able to remain ahead of a bevy of competitors in a single-file line through the competition caution flew on Lap 20. By then, Jones and Reddick were in fourth and fifth behind Custer while names like Daniel Suarez, Nemechek, rookie Christopher and Michael McDowell were in the top 10. Jimmie Johnson was in 11th ahead of Denny Hamlin, Keselowski, Truex and Ryan Blaney while Matt Kenseth, Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott and Joey Logano were in 16th, 18th, 19th and 20th. Matt DiBenedetto was in 21st ahead of Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman and Chris Buescher while teammates Aric Almirola and Harvick were in 26th and 28th. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was in 30th behind teammate Ryan Preece while Clint Bowyer was in 33rd in between Brendan Gaughan and Austin Dillon.

    Under the competition caution, nearly the entire field led by Byron pitted while names like Almirola, Truex, Harvick, Stenhouse and Ross Chastain, all of whom were racing towards the rear of the field, remained on track. Shortly after, the remaining cars that remained on track pitted prior to the restart.

    Nearing the 25-lap mark, the race restarted under green with teammates Byron and Bowman on the front row. At the start, Byron moved in front of teammate Bowman on the inside lane to retain the lead. With Reddick running in third place behind the two leading Hendrick Motorsports competitors, Jones, who was scored in fourth place, was the first car to form a pack on the inside lane.

    Not long after, Johnson moved up to fourth place while the inside lane led by Jones followed by teammate Kyle Busch and including Keselowski and Logano. After a handful attempts in trying to move in front of the Chevrolet brigade on the outside lane led by Byron, Jones emerged with the lead followed by his teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin on Lap 29.

    A lap later and with the pack continuing to battle intensely within the draft, Jones was still leading teammate Kyle Busch and Bell followed by McDowell, Logano and Kenseth. By then, Byron was back in seventh place.

    On Lap 34, Byron returned to the lead followed by teammate Bowman, Reddick and Logano while Jones and Kyle Busch fell back to fifth and seventh. Two laps later, Logano emerged with the lead as the field continued to battle dead even in a pack for the top spot. 

    By Lap 40, Logano was still leading over teammate Blaney and his No. 12 Body Armor Ford Mustang followed by Jones, Kyle Busch, Bell and Hamlin. In addition, Byron was in 10th behind DiBenedetto and ahead of Reddick and Johnson, who earlier made a move on the inside lane in Turn 3 but lost his momentum when no one opted to go with him. Way behind the pack and trailing by approximately nine seconds, Bowyer was in 34th ahead of teammates Almirola and Harvick.

    With approximately five laps remaining in the first stage, a pack of cars on the inside lane led by Reddick and his No. 8 KC Motorgroup Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE started to charge towards the front on the inside lane as he was in fifth place while pursuing for more on the track.

    At the start of the final lap of the first stage, Jones attempted to make a move on Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang for the lead, but Logano blocked his momentum and retained his advantage through Turns 1 and 2. By then, the competitors running towards the front started to battle intensely for many positions as possible with Reddick, Johnson and Byron starting to charge on the inside lane. In Turn 3, Reddick gained a run and tried to side-draft Logano for the lead. Logano, nonetheless, was able to have enough horsepower on the outside lane and drafting help from Jones through Turn 4 to win the first stage on Lap 50 and for his fifth stage victory of the season. Jones settled in second in front of Reddick, Blaney and Johnson while Bell, Byron, McDowell, Hamlin and Kyle Busch were scored in the top 10. 

    In terms of the battle for the final three spots to the Playoffs, Bowyer was able to clinch a spot for this year’s postseason, though he finished 33rd in the first stage. With Bowyer’s accomplishment, all four Stewart-Haas competitors have made the Playoffs for the second time in the last three seasons. In addition, with Bowyer securing a Playoff spot, that left two spots vacant. Thus far, DiBenedetto was inside the top-16 cutline by three points and Byron was ahead by two with teammate Johnson trailing by two. The remaining competitors led by Jones and Reddick were placed in a “must-win” situation to make the Playoffs.

    Under the stage break, the majority of the field led by Logano pitted while some led by Keselowski remained on track. Prior to the start of the second stage, however, Keselowski pitted along with Harvick, Logano, Almirola, Newman, Hamlin, Chastain, DiBenedetto, Buescher and Custer to top off their respective cars with fuel. Following the pit stops, however, Hamlin was penalized and sent to the rear of the field due to not entering pit road in a single-file line.

    The second stage started on Lap 55 with Bell and Jones at the front of the pack. At the start, Jones gained a push from Johnson on the outside lane to move into the lead. With Jones leading and in a “must-win” situation to make the Playoffs, Johnson settled in second place followed by Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kurt Busch and Kenseth. Bowman and his No. 88 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE were in fifth ahead of teammate Chase Elliott and Austin Dillon while Bell and Kyle Busch were back in eighth and ninth just ahead of Wallace.

    By Lap 60, Jones and his No. 20 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry were still leading over Johnson and his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. Kurt Busch and Kenseth were still in third and fourth followed by Bowman, Elliott, Austin Dillon, Bell, Kyle Busch and Wallace (all of whom were part of a bevy of competitors running in a single-file lane on the outside lane). In addition, names like Ricky Stenhouse Jr., rookie Brennan Poole, Nemechek and DiBenedetto were running in the top 15.

    A few laps later, Wallace dropped out of the lead pack due to power issues on his No. 43 World Wide Technology Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, an issue he was able to diagnose and fix while racing at the back of the pack. Shortly after, on Lap 65, a number of Chevrolet competitors including Byron, Johnson, Elliott, Bowman, Reddick, Austin Dillon, Kenseth and Kurt Busch pitted for fuel under green as part of a strategic call to complete the remainder of the second stage on fuel. Another lap later, the next wave of competitors including Jones, Bell, Poole and rookie Quin Houff pitted for fuel. 

    Back on the track, Kyle Busch and his No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry assumed the lead followed by Stenhouse, Nemechek, DiBenedetto and Logano. Then, on Lap 72, Suarez, who has finished no higher than 18th place all season long, assumed the lead followed by Ty Dillon, Corey LaJoie, Wallace, Hamlin and Kyle Busch as a bevy of cars running in a single-file lane started to approach the lead group. 

    Eight laps later and at the halfway mark on Lap 80, Suarez and his No. 96 CommScope Toyota Camry from Gaunt Brothers Racing were still leading over Ty Dillon, Wallace and Kyle Busch. With Hamlin in fifth, names like Stenhouse, Nemechek, DiBenedetto and LaJoie were running in the top 10. Logano was in 10th ahead of teammate Blaney, Newman was in 13th ahead of McDowell, Harvick was in 18th ahead of teammates Bowyer and Almirola, Keselowski was in 21st, Johnson was in 24th ahead of Kurt Busch and Elliott, Jones was in 28th and Byron was in 31st ahead of Reddick and Bell.

    With 12 laps remaining in the second stage, names like Ty Dillon, Wallace, LaJoie and Gaughan pitted for fuel while Suarez continued to lead over ex-teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin. Three laps later and with the laps in the second stage winding down, Logano gained a huge run on the outside lane followed by teammate Blaney, Truex and a bevy of cars through Turns 2 and 3 to reassume the lead over Suarez.

    With five laps remaining in the second stage, the Chevrolet pack led by Johnson caught back up to the lead pack as Johnson started to make his move towards the front. Approaching two laps remaining, Kyle Busch made a green flag pit stop for fuel.

    At the front, Logano was still ahead followed by teammate Blaney with Truex leading the outside lane and pushing for more. At the start of the final lap of the second stage, Johnson, who was in fourth, attempted to make a move beneath Bowyer for more, but Bowyer blocked and was nearly turned in the process entering Turn 1.

    Despite the intensity that was occurring behind him, Logano was able to hold off the field to win the second stage on Lap 100 and for his sixth stage victory of the season. Truex settled in second place followed by Bowyer, Kurt Busch and Johnson while Keselowski, DiBenedetto, Stenhouse, Blaney and Bell settled in the top 10.

    In terms of the Playoff picture following the second stage, DiBenedetto was still ahead of the top-16 cutline by five points and Johnson ahead by four with Byron now trailing by four points as a result of Byron failing to gain stage points in the second stage while Johnson and DiBenedetto did.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted for fuel and Logano retained the lead following a stellar four-tire pit stop. Prior to the restart, Harvick and Hamlin were among a number of competitors who made a pit stop for final adjustments and to top off their respective cars with fuel.

    With 55 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green with Logano and Truex leading the field. In Turn 1, Truex received a push from Johnson and was just able to slide in front of Logano to move into the lead. Bowyer was in third place followed by the Busch brothers and Johnson. Behind, DiBenedetto was battling Kenseth for seventh place.

    Five laps later and with 50 laps remaining, Truex was still the leader ahead of Logano and a pack of cars running two to three wide. By then, the top-24 competitors were separated by less than a second.

    Two laps later, Logano and Bowyer gained a drafting run on the outside of Truex through Turns 2 and 3 as Logano moved back to the lead. Truex, however, was able to reassume the advantage the following lap followed by teammate Kyle Busch, Johnson, Elliott and Kurt Busch while Logano dropped back to sixth.

    With 41 laps remaining and the battle for the top spot within the lead pack continuing to intensify and with two- to three-wide racing ongoing, Kyle Busch moved into the lead while Johnson fell out of the draft and was clinging within the top-15 running order. Another lap later, Johnson was scored in 13th while Byron and DiBenedetto were scored in fifth and 13th while Elliott and Kurt Busch were running in second and third behind Kyle Busch. By then, Johnson was scored outside of the cutline in the standings.

    Another lap later, things got tight for the lead pack running three wide as the field had to avoid Chastain, who was being lapped and was running as close to the outside wall in Turn 3. In addition, entering Turn 4, Blaney wiggled following contact with Jones, but he managed to straighten his car without spinning it in the middle of the pack.

    With 35 laps remaining, the Chevrolet competitors led by Elliott and including Kurt Busch, Byron, Stenhouse, Bowman, Wallace, Austin Dillon, Reddick, Johnson and Kenseth made a pit stop under green for fuel. Another lap later, the Toyota competitors led by Kyle Busch and including Hamlin, Jones, Truex, Bell and Suarez pitted. Poole and Chastain also pitted with the Toyota competitors.

    With 30 laps remaining, 13 Ford competitors led by Logano and followed by DiBenedetto, McDowell, Buescher and Nemechek were at the front of the pack. Shortly after, the Ford competitors led by Logano and including Buescher, Nemechek, Newman, Keselowski, Bowyer, McDowell, Blaney, Almirola, Harvick, LaJoie and Custer pitted for fuel.

    Back on track, Kyle Busch assumed the lead followed by teammate Hamlin, Byron, Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon and a number of competitors running in a single-file line with less than 30 laps remaining. With the laps continuing to wind down, the competition heating up towards the front and with 20 laps remaining, Kyle Busch was still leading ahead of teammate Hamlin, Byron, Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon and Logano. Behind, Johnson was in 20th and scored outside of the top-16 cutline behind Byron and DiBenedetto, who was in 17th. In addition, Stenhouse, who made a handful of attempts to grab the lead on the inside lane, was back in 12th.

    With 18 laps remaining, the caution flew when James Davison spun in Turn 3. Under caution, some like Byron, Elliott, Johnson, Bowman, Blaney, Almirola, Harvick, Ty Dillon, Buescher, Newman and Suarez pitted while the rest led by Kyle Busch remained on track.

    The racing under green resumed with 13 laps remaining and with teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin on the front row. At the start, Kyle Busch moved in front of Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry to retain the lead. Three laps later, with the competition at the front heating up and with 10 laps remaining, Kyle Busch was still leading ahead of Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Bell, McDowell, Buescher and a multitude of cars.

    A lap later, Kurt Busch and his No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE gained a run underneath brother Kyle to lead a lap, but Kyle reassumed the lead past the tri-oval. Behind, Reddick started to gain a huge run on the outside lane. In Turns 2 and 3, Reddick made a move beneath Kyle Busch for the lead. 

    In Turn 3, Reddick moved up the track and tried to squeeze and slide in front of Busch’s No. 18 Toyota. While trying to slide in front of Busch’s car, however, they touched and made contact with the outside wall. In addition, a chain reaction accident erupted that collected Jones, Kurt Busch, Truex, Austin Dillon, Stenhouse, Ryan Preece, McDowell and Newman. In the midst of the wreck, DiBenedetto along with teammates Johnson and Byron made it through with no damage to their respective cars. Following the carnage, Hamlin emerged with the lead over Reddick and the race was red-flagged for 10 minutes.

    When the red flag was lifted and the race resumed under green with five laps remaining, Hamlin and Reddick battled for the lead dead even through Turn 1 while Reddick gained a push from Buescher and his No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang to move into the lead in Turn 2. The following lap, Logano drafted Hamlin to the lead and blocked a run from Bowyer while Reddick fell back to fourth.

    In Turn 1, the following lap, Wallace started to form a third line on the outside lane and started to draft Logano to the front. With two laps remaining, Logano crossed over Hamlin at the tri-oval to move back into the lead while Wallace started to mount a challenge on the outside lane. 

    Entering Turn 1, however, Hamlin made contact with Logano and he bumped into Wallace, though all three kept their respective cars pointing straight. In addition, Byron stuck his nose in between Wallace, Logano and Hamlin in a four-wide battle for the lead as more contact was made amongst the leaders. With sparks flying underneath his car, Logano was turned off the front nose of DiBenedetto and made hard contact against the outside wall before being hit by Custer. In addition, another multi-car accident erupted that collected Reddick, Kenseth, Bell, Bowman, Suarez and Nemechek. Also involved was Johnson, who was hit by Kenseth across the outside wall, spun and sustained heavy damage to his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet. Following the accident, where Byron, Wallace and DiBenedetto managed to escape the carnage, the race was red-flagged for more than five minutes.

    When the second red flag period was lifted and the race restarted under green in overtime, Hamlin and Byron were on the front row ahead of Bowyer and DiBenedetto. Way behind the leaders, Johnson continued on the lead lap following repairs to his car.

    At the front, Byron received a push from Bowyer on the inside lane to take the lead ahead of Hamlin. In Turn 2, however, Bell and his No. 95 Rheem Toyota Camry gained a run to Byron’s rear bumper. When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Byron was still ahead. Behind, Truex moved up to second after passing Bell and started to challenge Byron for the lead on the outside lane. In Turn 1, Bowyer and his No. 14 Haas Automation Ford Mustang slipped following contact with Hamlin and he made contact with the outside wall. Behind him, Harvick, who had made contact with Buescher a lap earlier in Turn 2, also got into the wall amid a shower of sparks after cutting a tire.

    At the front and with no caution flying, Truex and Byron continued to battle dead even for the lead and the win. Right behind them through Turn 2, LaJoie spun and made contact with the wall after being bumped by Bell while Almirola and Ty Dillon also wrecked. With still no caution flying and with Bell making contact with the wall, Byron fought back on the inside lane entering Turn 3 and received a push from teammate Elliott and his No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to retain the lead while Truex lost his momentum after being placed in a three-wide battle with Hamlin and Brendan Gaughan.

    Entering Turn 4 and with the checkered flag flying, Byron was able to hold off Elliott and a small pack of cars to streak across the finish line in first place and grab a win and a spot in the Playoffs. 

    With the victory, Byron recorded the 260th NASCAR Cup career win for Hendrick Motorsports and the first win for the No. 24 car since November 2015 at Martinsville Speedway, which was last made by NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon. In addition, Byron and Gordon are the only competitors to record a Cup win while driving the No. 24 car. The Charlotte native also became the 195th competitor to win a Cup race, the second first-time winner of this season and the 34th competitor to record a win across NASCAR’s three major division series (Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series). In addition, crew chief Chad Knaus recorded his first Cup win since June 2017 at Dover International Speedway and he extended his Playoff appearance as a title contender to 17 consecutive seasons.

    Ironically, this marked the third consecutive season where the second Cup race at Daytona’s oval-shaped circuit produced a first-time winner (Erik Jones in 2018 and Justin Haley in 2019).

    “This is incredible, man,” Byron said on NBC at the tri-oval and with fans present at the facility. “I’m just extremely blessed. It’s been a hard couple of year in the Cup Series and trying to get my first win, try to gel with this team and these guys have done an awesome job today and got us in the Playoffs. It’s amazing, man. [Daytona is] Probably the hardest track to points race. We didn’t have a great Stage 2, kind of got back in the pack, got shuffled when everyone went single file. [I] Thought my hopes were up there. We were racing around [DiBenedetto] and [Johnson] in the final stage. I was like, ‘Man, I got to really make something happen.’ Luckily, I was able to push [Wallace], [Logano] and him made some contact and opened up a hole for me. I wasn’t gonna lift, so it’s awesome. Thanks to Liberty University, Chevrolet. Thanks to God. It’s amazing.”

    Elliott finished in second place nearly two weeks after he won on Daytona’s road course layout. Teammates Hamlin and Truex finished third and fourth while Wallace made a late rally to finish in fifth place for his third top-five career finish in the Cup Series.

    Blaney finished in sixth place while Bowman, Gaughan, Buescher and Keselowski rounded out the top 10.

    DiBenedetto finished 12th and secured one of two final spots to the Playoffs while Johnson finished 17th and failed to make the postseason in his final full-time season of racing.

    “First and foremost, congratulations to my teammate getting his first Cup win like that,” Johnson said. “This setting and the drama to go with it – that’s a big win for Chad Knaus and William Byron. I’m really happy for those guys. I really felt like we had a way to transfer, to win, or point our way in the way it went in the first two stages. Things just got ugly down in turn one. Unfortunate, but that’s plate racing. The last couple of months, we’ve been really getting our act together and running well. Definitely disappointed to not be in the Playoffs – that was the number one goal to start the year. But, when I look back at the disqualification at Charlotte and then missing the Brickyard 400 due to my COVID-19 positive test and only miss it by six points – we did all that we could this year. I’m so thankful for Hendrick Motorsports and the career that I’ve had there, the relationship with Ally and their continued support for this race team. [Crew chief] Cliff Daniels and these guys on my team – they pour their guts out for me. There’s 10 races left, 10 trophies to go chase and we’ll have to focus our efforts there.”

    “We made it!” DiBenedetto exclaimed. “I don’t care how we did it. I wasn’t, obviously, super thrilled with the finish. We couldn’t get going there on the restart. I don’t care. My goal was to come in here and make it. We had some really good competitors. Obviously, Jimmie [Johnson] and Willy B. [William Byron]. Congrats to him on his first win. Man, I wanted this so bad for this team, for Menards, Dutch Boy, Motorcraft, Quicklane and the Wood Brothers! Man, driving for the Wood Brothers. It’s something special. We’ll celebrate tomorrow and have a good day. It’s gonna be time to get to work, but I’m so glad we made the Playoffs. This team deserves this. I’m mentally tired after that one.”

    Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, William Byron, Austin Dillon, Cole Custer, Aric Almirola, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Matt DiBenedetto will make up the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff field.

    Drivers that include Jimmie Johnson, Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael McDowell, Ryan Newman, John Hunter Nemechek, Ty Dillon, Matt Kenseth, Corey LaJoie, Ryan Preece, Daniel Suarez, Brennan Poole and Quin Houff missed the Playoffs and will not contend for this year’s championship battle.

    There were 35 lead changes for 16 different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 21 laps.

    Results.

    1. William Byron, 24 laps led

    2. Chase Elliott

    3. Denny Hamlin, nine laps led

    4. Martin Truex Jr., 14 laps led

    5. Bubba Wallace

    6. Ryan Blaney, one lap led

    7. Alex Bowman, one lap led

    8. Brendan Gaughan

    9. Chris Buescher

    10. Brad Keselowski, one lap led

    11. John Hunter Nemechek

    12. Matt DiBenedetto

    13. Christopher Bell, two laps led

    14. Michael McDowell, two laps led

    15. Brennan Poole

    16. Ross Chastain

    17. Jimmie Johnson

    18. Aric Almirola, one lap led

    19. Clint Bowyer

    20. Kevin Harvick, six laps led

    21. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Accident

    22. Ty Dillon – OUT, Accident

    23. Quin Houff, two laps down

    24. Timmy Hill, three laps down

    25. Austin Dillon, three laps down

    26. Daniel Suarez – OUT, Accident, 19 laps led

    27. Joey Logano – OUT, Accident, 36 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    28. Matt Kenseth – OUT, Accident

    29. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    30. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident

    31. Joey Gase, six laps down

    32. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident

    33. Kyle Busch – OUT, Accident, 31 laps led

    34. Kurt Busch – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    35. Erik Jones – OUT, Accident, 15 laps led

    36. Ryan Newman – OUT, Accident

    37. Ryan Preece – OUT, Accident

    38. Josh Bilicki, 13 laps down

    39. James Davison – OUT, Accident

    40. J.J. Yeley – OUT, Engine

    The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will commence on September 6 at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500. The race will air at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Haley notches a thrilling win at Daytona

    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. 

  • Bowyer and Truex to move into 15th place on all-time Cup consecutive starts list at Daytona

    Bowyer and Truex to move into 15th place on all-time Cup consecutive starts list at Daytona

    A unique milestone is in the making for Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr., former NASCAR Xfinity Series champions and current Cup Series competitors, approaching this weekend’s regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway. By the time both Cup veterans complete this Saturday’s event at Daytona, both will surpass former NASCAR veteran Kasey Kahne and move into a tie with one another in 15th place on the all-time Cup consecutive starts list with 530 consecutive starts.

    For Bowyer, his current streak of 529 consecutive starts in NASCAR’s premier series spans all the way back to the 2006 Daytona 500 in February. By then, Bowyer was prepared to run his first full-time season in the Cup Series and in the No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing with support from crew chief Gil Martin. In addition, he had made one previous start in the Cup Series at Phoenix in April 2005, where he started 25th and finished 22nd in RCR’s No. 33 Chevrolet.

    From 2006 to 2008, Bowyer made 108 consecutive starts in the No. 07 Chevrolet for RCR, where he earned his first two Cup career victories in 2007 and 2008. He also achieved two poles, 16 top-five results, 45 top-10 results and a best result of third place in the 2007 standings.

    From 2009 to 2011, he remained at RCR, but assumed driving responsibilities of the No. 33 General Mills/BB&T Chevrolet led by crew chief Shane Wilson. During his three seasons in the No. 33 car (108 consecutive races), Bowyer achieved three wins, 15 top-five results and 50 top-10 results. His best result in the final standings while driving RCR’s No. 33 car was 10th place in 2010.

    From 2012 to 2015, Bowyer changed gears as he moved to Michael Waltrip Racing to pilot the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry led by Brian Pattie. During his four-year run with MWR (144 consecutive races), Bowyer achieved three victories, 27 top-five results and 69 top-10 results with a best result in the final standings being second place in 2012. Following the closure of MWR, Bowyer spent one season racing with HScott Motorsports, where he only achieved three top-10 results and concluded the 2016 Cup season in 27th place in the final standings.

    Since 2017, Bowyer drives the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1/PEAK/Haas Automation/One Cure Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing. From 2017 to 2019, where he worked with crew chief Mike Bugarewicz and made 108 consecutive starts, he achieved two wins, one pole, 22 top-five results and 47 top-10 results. His best result in the final standings during the three seasons he drove SHR’s No. 14 car was ninth place in 2019.

    This season, through the first 25 Cup races and his first season with crew chief Johnny Klausmeier, Bowyer has achieved three stage wins, two top-five results and seven top-10 results. He is currently in 11th place in the regular-season standings and with a 57-point cushion above the top-16 cutline in the standings, he can secure a spot for the 2020 Cup Playoffs should he notch three or more points at Daytona.

    Ironically, Truex’s current streak of 529 consecutive starts in the Cup Series also spans back to the 2006 Daytona 500 when he entered the season as a full-time Cup Rookie-of-the-Year candidate and in the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. with support from crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion. By then, he made a total of nine previous Cup starts in DEI’s No. 1 Chevrolet in 2004 and 2005.

    From 2006 to 2009, Truex made 144 consecutive starts in DEI’s No. 1 Chevrolet. During his four-year run, he earned his first career win and notched three poles. In addition, he recorded 13 top-five results and 36 top-10 results. His best result in the standings during the four seasons with DEI was 11th place in 2007.

    From 2010 to 2013, Truex competed in 144 consecutive races in the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing, first with Pat Tryson before Chad Johnston came on board midway in 2011. During his four-year run with MWR, Truex achieved one win along with three poles, 18 top-five results, 53 top-10 results and a best result in the standings of 11th place in 2012.

    After departing MWR due to sponsorship issues, Truex joined Furniture Row Racing to drive the No. 78 Furniture Row car in 2014, first with Todd Berrier before Canadian Cole Pearn was assigned crew chief in 2015. From 2014 to 2018 (180 consecutive races), Truex’s career skyrocketed as he notched 17 wins, 12 poles, 56 top-five results and 91 top-10 results. In 2017, Truex won his first NASCAR Cup Series championship with Pearn after winning the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He also finished second and fourth in the final standings in 2018 and 2015.

    Since 2019 and after Furniture Row Racing ceased operations following the 2018 season due to a lack of funding and sponsorship, Truex has been driving the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops/Auto-Owners Insurance/SiriusXM Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Last season, Truex won seven races and recorded 15 top-five results and 24 top-10 results throughout the 36-race schedule before he concluded the season as the championship runner up in the final standings behind teammate Kyle Busch.

    This season, through the first 25 Cup races and his first season with new crew chief James Small following Pearn’s departure from NASCAR, Truex has won once and has also recorded two stage wins, 10 top-five results and 16 top-10 results. He is ranked in fourth place in the regular-season standings. Compared to Bowyer, Truex is one of 10 competitors that have already clinched a spot in the 2020 Cup Playoffs based on winning throughout the regular season.

    In addition to Kasey Kahne (529 consecutive starts), both Bowyer and Truex surpassed Richard Petty (513) and Tony Stewart (521) on the all-time consecutive starts list in the Cup circuit earlier this season. They also hold the second longest active streak in consecutive starts of the current Cup field behind Kevin Harvick, who just completed his 665th consecutive start and surpassed Jimmie Johnson to move into the top five in the all-time starts list.

    Catch Bowyer and Truex’s milestone start at Daytona on August 29 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Weekend schedule for Daytona and Gateway

    Weekend schedule for Daytona and Gateway

    This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series and the Xfinity Series head to Daytona International Speedway in Florida while the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series travel to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in Illinois.

    The Cup Series race at Daytona will serve as the regular season finale with the start of the postseason Playoffs set to begin on Sept. 6 at Darlington Raceway.

    There are 13 drivers who have already earned a spot in the Cup Series 16-driver Playoff field. They include Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon and Cole Custer.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, August 28, 2020

    7:30 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona (Stages 30/60/100 Laps = 250 Miles) NBCSN/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020

    11:30 a.m.: ARCA Menards Series final practice at Gateway – No TV

    6:15 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Dutch Boy 150 at Gateway (120 Laps, 150 Miles) TrackPass/MRN

    7:30 p.m.: Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona NBC/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Stages 50/100/160 Laps = 400 Miles) Pole: Kevin Harvick

    Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020

    Noon: Truck Series CarShield 200 Presented by CK Power at Gateway (Stages 55/110/160 Laps = 200 Miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

  • Newman to make 750th start across NASCAR at Daytona

    Newman to make 750th start across NASCAR at Daytona

    A significant milestone is in the making for veteran Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 6 Ford Mustang for Roush Fenway Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series, as he battles for a spot in this year’s Playoffs. When the green flag waves in the upcoming Cup race at Daytona International Speedway, Newman will achieve 750 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series (Truck, Xfinity and Cup Series).

    A native of South Bend, Indiana, who started his racing career in the United Midget Auto Racing Association and the All-American Midget Series before moving to USAC, Newman achieved three ARCA victories while driving for team owner Roger Penske in 2000 before he made his first NASCAR start at Phoenix in the Cup Series in November 2000. Driving the No. 02 Alltel Ford for Penske led by crew chief Matt Borland, Newman started 10th and finished 41st due to an engine failure.

    In 2001, while Newman was pursuing his B.S. degree in engineering at Purdue University, he competed in 15 Xfinity Series events and seven Cup Series events for Penske. In the Xfinity side, he achieved his first career win at Michigan International Speedway in August. He also earned six poles, two top-five results, eight top-10 results and an average result of 12.6. In the Cup side, he achieved his first career pole for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte’s Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May. Despite a strong start, where he led the first 10 laps, he wrecked in Turn 3 the following lap and retired in last place of the 43-car field. Overall, he earned two top-five results, including a career-best runner-up finish at Kansas Speedway in September behind Jeff Gordon, in seven Cup starts.

    In 2002, Newman graduated to a full-time driving role for Penske and in the No. 12 Alltel Ford for Penske led by Borland. Through the first 11 races, Newman earned a pole and four top-10 results, including a second-place finish at Richmond in May. The following race, which was The Winston (All-Star Race) at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Newman was one of two competitors to transfer to the main event from The Winston Open after winning the No Bull 5 Sprint. In a five-lap shootout in the main event, Newman held off Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win The Winston and a total of $750,000. He became the first Cup competitor to win The Winston after transferring from the Open since Michael Waltrip made the last accomplishment in 1996 and the first to do so from the No Bull 5 Sprint. From the Coca-Cola 600 in May through Richmond in September, Newman earned 11 top-10 results and four runner-up finishes. The following race at New Hampshire, Newman achieved his first Cup career win in his 35th series start. For the final nine races of the 2002 season, Newman earned five six top-10 results and three poles before he concluded the season in sixth place in the final standings. In the end, Newman emerged as the Rookie-of-the-Year recipient over Jimmie Johnson with 14 top-five results and 22 top-10 results. His six poles were the most achieved by a rookie competitor.

    Newman started off the 2003 season on a rough note by flipping in the Daytona 500 in February following contact with Ken Schrader. It took until Texas Motor Speedway in April for Newman to achieve his first victory of the season and the second of his Cup career. The 2003 Cup season was an up-and-down season for the Indiana native. The pros to the season were the driver of the No. 12 Alltel/Penske Dodge achieving a season-high eight victories (winning at tracks like Dover, Chicagoland, Pocono, Michigan, Richmond and Kansas), 17 top-five results and 22 top-10 results. In addition, Newman earned a season-high 11 poles and was nicknamed “The Rocket Man” for his strong qualifying efforts and pole awards. The downside to Newman’s sophomore season was that he earned seven DNFs, including his flip at Daytona and after triggering a vicious 27-car wreck in the early laps at Talladega in April when he blew a tire in the middle of the pack, made hard contact against the Turn 1 outside wall and nearly flipped. He went on to conclude the season in sixth place in the final standings.

    Throughout the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series season, Newman won two races (Michigan in June and Dover in September) and recorded nine poles. He also earned 11 top-five results and 14 top-10 results as he was one of 10 competitors to make the inaugural postseason battle in the Cup Series. He concluded the season in seventh-place in the final standings. Prior to the conclusion of the 2004 season, Newman surpassed 100 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series.

    In 2005, Newman remained as a full-time competitor of the No. 12 Alltel/Penske Dodge in the Cup Series while he also competed in nine Xfinity Series races in the No. 39 Alltel/Penske Dodge. Throughout the 2005 Cup season, he won only one race (New Hampshire in September) and he earned eight poles, eight top-five results and 16 top-10 results. In addition, he made the Playoffs and concluded the season in sixth place in the final standings for the third time in his career. In nine Xfinity starts, he won six races, including the season finale at Homestead while also winning at Watkins Glen, Michigan, Bristol, Dover and Charlotte.

    In 2006, Newman remained as a full-time competitor of the No. 12 Alltel/Penske Dodge in the Cup Series while he also competed in six Xfinity races in the No. 39 Mobil 1/Alltel/Penske Dodge. The 2006 Cup season was a down season for the Indiana native, who went winless and only earned two poles, two top-five results and seven top-10 results. In addition, he missed the Playoffs and concluded the season in 18th place in the final standings. His best result in the Xfinity Series was a runner-up finish at Auto Club Speedway in February. Following 2006, Newman surpassed 200 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series.

    Throughout the 2007 Cup season, Newman achieved five poles, seven top-five results and 15 top-10 results before he concluded the Cup season in 13th place. He also made eight Xfinity starts, where he earned two top-five results and three top-10 results. In 2008, Newman received a draft from teammate Kurt Busch to pass Tony Stewart on the final lap and win the 50th running of the Daytona 500. The victory was Newman’s 13th of his Cup career, it snapped his winless drought dating back to September 2005 and it was the first Daytona 500 win for team owner Roger Penske. Despite winning the 500, Newman only achieved one more top-five results, one pole and a total of eight top-10 results before he concluded the season in 17th place in the final standings. Throughout the season, he made two Xfinity starts (Watkins Glen in the No. 22 FitzBradshaw Racing and at Homestead in the No. 33 Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick Inc.). He also made his NASCAR Truck Series debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway in October while driving the No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado for KHI, which he won following a late battle with NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. To August 2020, Newman is one of 33 competitors to achieve a win across NASCAR’s three major division series. Following 2008, he also surpassed 300 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series.

    Midway into the 2008 season, Newman announced his departure from Penske to drive for the newly formed Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009. Driving the No. 39 U.S. Army/Haas Automation Chevrolet for SHR with support from crew chief Tony Gibson, Newman finished 36th in his first start with SHR. Though he did not record a victory, the 26-race regular-season stretch was a consistent run for Newman as he achieved 12 top-10 results and made the 2009 Playoffs along with teammate/owner Tony Stewart, which marked his first appearance in the Playoffs since 2005. At Talladega in October, he was involved in a harrowing accident in the closing laps when he was sent airborne and landed upside down on Kevin Harvick’s hood before he slid across and down the banking on his roof and flipped once before he came to rest on his roof. He was able to emerged uninjured. For the final 10 races, he earned three more top-10 results and concluded the season in ninth place in the final standings. Throughout the 2009 season, he made 10 Xfinity starts between the No. 33 Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick Inc., the No. 5 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports and the No. 1 Chevrolet for Phoenix Racing. His best run was at Talladega in April, where he started on pole and was in prime position of winning before he was edged by David Ragan at the finish line. He also made two Truck starts in the No. 2 Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick Inc. as he finished in fourth place in both races.

    Through the first six races of the 2010 Cup season, Newman finished no higher than fourth place. The following race at Phoenix, Newman, sporting the Tornados Ruiz Foods colors on his car and racing on two fresh tires on a two-lap shootout, overtook Jeff Gordon for the lead and held off Gordon to win as he achieved his first victory since the 2008 Daytona 500 and his first with Stewart-Haas Racing. He also recorded the first victory for veteran crew chief Tony Gibson. Though he missed the Playoffs and concluded the season in 15th place in the final standings, Newman and the No. 39 Chevrolet team achieved 12 additional top-10 results and a pole. He also made 12 Xfinity starts, all with Phoenix Racing, and he earned seven top-10 results.

    Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch of the 2011 Cup season, Newman won one race (New Hampshire in July) and earned 13 top-10 results as he made the Playoffs for the fourth time in his career. For the remaining 10 races of the season in the Playoffs, Newman recorded four additional top-10 results and concluded the season in 10th place in the final standings while Tony Stewart went on to win his third Cup championship. Newman also competed in one Xfinity event and one Truck event throughout 2011, both with Turner Motorsports. Following 2011, he surpassed 400 starts.

    After finishing in the top 10 in two of the first five Cup races in 2012, Newman, sporting the Outback Steakhouse colors on his No. 39 SHR Chevrolet, made a late pass for the at Martinsville Speedway in April following a restart collision that knocked out Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer, and he went on to win following a late battle with A.J. Allmendinger. Throughout the season, he earned six top-five results and 14 top-10 results before he concluded the season in 14th place in the standings while missing the Playoffs for the second time in the last four seasons. He also made one Xfinity start at Texas in November with Turner Motorsports, where he finished 19th.

    For the first 19 races of the 2013 Cup season, Newman earned eight top-10 results. The following race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, his home track, he started off the weekend by achieving his 50th Cup career pole. On race day, he and crew chief Matt Borland opted for a two-tire pit stop in the closing laps to beat Jimmie Johnson and achieve his first victory of the season at Indianapolis in front of a home crowd. For the next five Cup races, Newman earned two additional top-five results. At Richmond in September, he took the lead late in the race and was in position of claiming a second victory and qualifying for the Playoffs when Clint Bowyer spun late in the race. Following an ensuing pit stop, where Newman exited in fifth place, he made his way up to third place, but he missed the Playoffs in a tiebreaker with Martin Truex Jr., Bowyer’s teammate. A few days later, however, Newman replaced Truex in the Playoffs along with Jeff Gordon after NASCAR determined that Bowyer’s spin was intentional in an effort for Truex to make the Playoffs and place two Michael Waltrip Racing cars in the postseason. He went on to achieve six additional top-10 results before he concluded the season in 11th place in the final standings. He also competed in the inaugural Truck Series race at Eldora Speedway, where he finished in third place. Following 2013, Newman surpassed 500 starts.

    After five seasons with Stewart-Haas Racing, Newman joined forces with Richard Childress Racing to drive the No. 31 Caterpillar/Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS led by crew chief Luke Lambert in 2014 while SHR expanded to a four-car operation as Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch joined the organization. He finished 22nd in his first start with RCR in the Daytona 500 and went on to achieve nine top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch to make the Playoffs. For the first eight races in the Playoffs, he earned five top-10 results. At Phoenix in November, Newman made a heroic bump and last lap pass on rookie Kyle Larson to finish in 11th place and earn a spot in the Championship Round at Homestead. At Homestead, he finished second on track and in the final standings to race winner and the champion Kevin Harvick. Overall, he earned five top-five results and 16 top-10 results in his first season with RCR and the runner-up result in the standings was his best in his 13th full-time season in the Cup Series.

    Throughout the 2015 and 2016 Cup seasons, Newman earned seven top-five results and 25 top-10 results while achieving a best points result of 11th place in 2015. He also made one Truck start at Kansas in May in the No. 8 NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet, where he finished second. Following 2016, Newman surpassed 600 starts. In 2017, following the first three races, Newman and crew chief Luke Lambert gambled in the closing laps by remaining on track on old tires with the lead. In a two-lap shootout, Newman held off Larson to win his first Cup race since the 2013 Brickyard 400 and his first with RCR. He concluded the 2017 season with a total of seven top-five results, 13 top-10 results and a 16th-place result in the final standings along with his Phoenix win.

    After five seasons with Richard Childress Racing and coming off a disappointing 2018 season, where he only earned nine top-10 results and concluded the season in 17th place in the final standings, Newman moved to Roush Fenway Racing to pilot the iconic No. 6 Ford Mustang in the 2019 Cup Series season led by crew chief Scott Graves. Newman finished 14th in his first race with RFR in the Daytona 500 and he earned nine top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch to make the Playoffs. Following finishes of 10th, fifth and 32nd in the first round (three races) of the Playoffs, he was eliminated from title contention. He went on to earn three additional top-10 results and conclude the season in 15th place in the final standings. Following 2019, Newman surpassed 700 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series.

    This season, Newman started off 19th full-time season in the Cup Series on a harrowing note. He was in prime position of winning his second Daytona 500 entering the frontstretch until a bump from Blaney turned Newman’s No. 6 Ford across the track and into the outside wall, where he flipped upside down and was hit on the driver’s side by an oncoming Corey LaJoie. The impact launched Newman into the air and across the finish line in ninth place before he came to rest on his roof with oil leaking and flames bursting out of his car. Following the accident, Newman was transported to a local hospital in Florida, where he sustained serious but non life-threatening injuries. Nearly two days after his accident, Newman walked out of the hospital while holding the hands of his daughters. With Newman recovering from a head injury, Ross Chastain drove Newman’s No. 6 car in three races.

    In May, when NASCAR returned to on-track racing in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Newman was medically cleared to return to racing. He achieved a pair of top-15 results in his first two races back since his injuries at Darlington Raceway. He went on to earn six additional top-15 results in 22 starts through the first 25 Cup races of this season. He is currently ranked in 25th place in the regular-season standings, 245 points below the top-16 cutline, and is in a “must-win” scenario to make the 2020 Cup Playoffs.

    Catch Newman’s milestone start and final bid to make the 2020 Cup Playoffs at Daytona on Saturday, August 29, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Harvick awarded pole position for regular-season finale at Daytona

    Harvick awarded pole position for regular-season finale at Daytona

    Kevin Harvick, the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season champion, will start on pole position in the Cup Series regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, August 29.

    Harvick, who is coming off a dominating victory in the second of a Dover doubleheader weekend on August 22-23 and earned Ford’s 700th Cup career win, will lead the field to the green flag for the third time this season as this marks the second time he was awarded the Busch Pole Award based on NASCAR’s new competition-based formula weighing the field/starting lineup for an upcoming race on three statistical categories: the results from a previous Cup race, current positioning in the owner points standings and the fastest lap from a previous Cup race. At the conclusion of Saturday’s race at Daytona, the driver of the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing will officially be awarded the regular-season championship trophy and 15 bonus points towards the Playoffs as he pursues his second Cup title.

    Martin Truex Jr., who finished in second place in both Dover races last weekend, will start alongside Harvick on the front row as he continues to pursue his first Cup win at Daytona and on a superspeedway venue. Penske teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski will start third and fourth while Aric Almirola, who clinched a spot in the Playoffs based on points last weekend, will round out the top-five starting grid.

    Hendrick teammates William Byron and Jimmie Johnson, both of whom are separated by four points for the final spot to the Playoffs, will occupy the third row and in sixth and seventh. Teammate Alex Bowman will start in eighth place while Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin, winner of the first Dover race last weekend, will start in the top 10. Brothers Kyle and Kurt Busch, both of whom clinched spots for the Playoffs based on points will start 11th and 13th while Austin Dillon will start in between the Busch brothers. Clint Bowyer and Matt DiBenedetto, both of whom occupy two of the final three vacant spots to the Playoffs entering Daytona, will start in 14th and 15th.

    Starting in positions 16-28 are rookie Cole Custer, Chris Buescher, rookie Tyler Reddick, Matt Kenseth, Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Newman, rookie Christopher Bell, rookie John Hunter Nemechek, Corey LaJoie, Michael McDowell, Chase Elliott and Ryan Preece.

    Starting in positions 29-40 are Ty Dillon, Daniel Suarez, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., rookie Brennan Poole, J.J. Yeley, rookie Quin Houff, Timmy Hill, Ross Chastain, Joey Gase, James Davison, Josh Bilicki and veteran Brendan Gaughan.

    The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale at Daytona, which will determine the 2020 Cup Playoff field, will occur on August 29 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Kaulig Racing to surpass 200 combined NASCAR Xfinity starts at Daytona

    Kaulig Racing to surpass 200 combined NASCAR Xfinity starts at Daytona

    For Kaulig Racing, Daytona International Speedway has and will always remain a special place for the team with many significant meanings. The team made its Cup and Xfinity Series debuts at Daytona, the team recorded three stage victories last season at Daytona and the team achieved its first top-10 result at Daytona. In addition, the 2.5-mile superspeedway venue in Daytona Beach, Florida, has always been a competitive place for the team in having their cars running towards the front. Above all, Daytona will always be known as the track where the team achieved its first career win and trophy in NASCAR last July. Now, at the same track where the team achieved its first of four current victories, Kaulig Racing is set to surpass a significant milestone start in their fifth season of NASCAR racing. When the team’s three-car lineup takes the green flag in this weekend’s race at Daytona under the lights, Kaulig Racing will surpass 200 starts in NASCAR.

    Prior to the 2016 season, Matt Kaulig, owner of LeafFilter Gutter Protection, decided to field a single-car team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Kaulig Racing, while forming an alliance with Richard Childress Racing. In addition, Matt Kaulig hired Blake Koch as driver of the team’s No. 11 Chevrolet Camaro sponsored by LeafFilter Gutter Protection while veteran Chris Rice also joined the team to serve as general manager and crew chief. In Kaulig’s first NASCAR race at Daytona International Speedway in February, Koch achieved a ninth-place result after starting ninth. He finished no higher than 12th the following six races before he finished eighth at Richmond Raceway in April. Throughout the regular season, Koch earned 15 top-15 results and was one of 12 Xfinity competitors to make the inaugural Xfinity Playoffs. After finishing 11th, 14th and 12th through the first round of the Playoffs (three races), Koch was one of eight competitors to advance to the second round. He achieved results of ninth, 14th and eighth in the second round, but he failed to advance to the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway by a narrow margin. He proceeded to finish 20th in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway and he capped off Kaulig Racing’s first season in NASCAR competition with five top-10 results and in a successful seventh place in the final standings.

    Koch remained as driver of the No. 11 LeafFilter/Kaulig Racing Chevrolet for the 2017 Xfinity Series season. He started the season with a 15th-place result in the season opener at Daytona followed by a 40th-place result at Atlanta due to being involved in an early accident. From Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March through Richmond in April, he went on to earn five top-15 results. At Talladega Superspeedway in May, Koch earned his first career pole and the first for Kaulig Racing. He ended his race in 31st place, however, after being involved in a multi-car wreck prior to the start of the final stage. From Charlotte Motor Speedway in May through Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, Koch finished no higher than 13th before he achieved an eighth-place result the following race at Iowa Speedway. For the final seven races of the regular season, he earned six top-15 results and made his second consecutive appearance in the Xfinity Playoffs as a title contender. Throughout the regular season, he also achieved two stage wins (Daytona in July and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in August). Compared to last season, however, Koch was eliminated from title contention following the first round (three races), where he finished 17th, 19th and 25th. He was able to achieve a sixth-place result in the penultimate event of the season at Phoenix in November before he finished 16th at the finale at Homestead. Overall, he concluded the season with five top-10 results and an 11th-place result in the final standings.

    In 2018, following the departure of Koch, Ryan Truex, who had also departed from Hattori Racing Enterprises following the 2017 NASCAR Truck Series season, was named as a full-time driver of the No. 11 Bar Harbor/Sea Watch International/Phantom Fireworks/LeafFilter Chevrolet led by Chris Rice. Truex started the season on a high note by finishing in seventh place in the season opener at Daytona and after having a late shot in winning the race. He went on to achieve seven consecutive top-15 results through Richmond Raceway in April and was ranked in seventh place in the regular-season standings. After finishing 38th the following race at Talladega due to being involved in an early accident, Truex and the No. 11 Chevrolet team finished in the top 15 from Dover International Speedway in May through Iowa Speedway in July. At the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in August, Truex recorded the first top-five result for Kaulig Racing after finishing fifth. At Indianapolis Motor Speedway in September, Kaulig fielded a newly formed second operation, the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro, driven by the 2018 Daytona 500 Austin Dillon. Starting 32nd, Dillon finished eighth. Following Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September, Truex had earned three more top-15 results and he qualified for the Xfinity Playoffs based on points. During the first round (three races) of the Playoffs, however, Truex earned finishes of 11th, 16th and 10th, and was one of four competitors who was eliminated from title contention. Following the finale at Homestead, where Truex capped off the season with a 15th-place result, 11 top-10 results in total and a 12th-place result in the final standings, Kaulig Racing achieved 100 starts in NASCAR (all coming in the Xfinity Series).

    For the 2019 Xfinity Series season, Kaulig Racing parted ways with Truex and brought along Winamac, Indiana’s Justin Haley as a full-time driver of the No. 11 LeafFilter Chevrolet Camaro led by veteran crew chief Nick Harrison. In addition, Kaulig fielded the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro on a part-time basis and the ride was shared between Ross Chastain, Austin Dillon, Elliott Sadler and A.J. Allmendinger. In addition, Nutrien Ag Solutions joined the team as a key partner alongside LeafFilter. During the season opener at Daytona, Haley and Chastain each won a stage before they finished 17th and 13th respectively. For the first 15 Xfinity races of the season, Haley recorded 11 top-10 results with a best finish of fifth place at Charlotte in May. In addition, Austin Dillon drove the No. 10 Chevrolet in three races while earning a best result of fourth place at Las Vegas in March. Chastain made two additional starts in the No. 10 car, earning a best result of eighth place at Chicagoland Speedway in June, and Sadler competed at Richmond, his home track, in April, where he finished 12th.

    For the next scheduled race at Daytona in July, Kaulig Racing fielded three cars, with Haley in the No. 11 LeafFilter Chevrolet, Allmendinger making his first of select starts in the No. 10 Cornerstone Produce Group Chevrolet and Chastain in the team’s newly formed No. 16 Ellsworth Advisors Chevrolet. Throughout the race, all three Kaulig cars were dominant as Chastain won the first stage while Allmendinger won the second. On the final lap, with Chastain and Haley running first and second approaching the finish line, Allmendinger made his way up to third place and all three Kaulig teammates streaked across the line to record the first NASCAR career win for the team as Chastain achieved his second series win at the World Center of Racing. The victory at Daytona came in Kaulig Racing’s 115th career race fielding race cars with a simple objective: win and deliver trophies for the team. Though Allmendinger was disqualified and stripped from his stage points and third-place result due to failing post-race technical inspection, the first- and second-place results for Chastain and Haley remained in effect.

    Following the victory, however, tragedy hit the team two races later. A day after the Xfinity event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July, Nick Harrison, Haley’s crew chief, died at age 37 due to suffering from multiple health issues. For the remainder of the season, new crew chiefs that included Alex Yontz, Lennie Chandler and Byron Daley filled in atop Kaulig Racing’s pit boxes and to lead its competitors on the track with Chris Rice also assisting the team’s efforts.

    For the remainder of the 2019 Xfinity season, Haley recorded eight additional top-10 results as he made the Playoffs before being eliminated following the first round and concluding the season in 12th place in the final standings. Allmendinger made four additional starts with Kaulig Racing, all coming in road course events in the No. 10 Chevrolet, where he recorded the second career win for the team and his first series victory since 2013 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval in October. Chastain made two additional starts in Kaulig Racing’s No. 10 car towards the conclusion of the season, where he finished 10th at Kansas in October and second at Texas in November. Austin Dillon made an additional start at Indianapolis in September, where he finished 34th due to fuel pump issues. Finally, Sadler made his second start of the season along with his 855th and final NASCAR career start at Las Vegas in September, where he finished 10th.

    For this season, 2020, Kaulig Racing fielded two full-time operations and one part-time operation in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Chastain was named as full-time competitor of the No. 10 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet Camaro led by crew chief Bruce Schlicker, Haley remained as a full-time competitor of the No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet Camaro led by crew chief Alex Yontz and Allmendinger was named a part-time competitor of the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro sponsored by Ellsworth Advisors. In addition, Kaulig fielded the No. 16 Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE driven by Haley and led by Billy Scott throughout Daytona Speedweeks in an effort of making this year’s 62nd running of the Daytona 500.

    During the qualifying session on February 9 that determined the front row for the 500 and starting lineups for the Bluegreen Vacations Duel events on February 13, Haley was one of the two fastest non-chartered competitors along with veteran Brendan Gaughan to be guaranteed a starting spot for the Daytona 500 based on qualifying speed as he accomplished Matt Kaulig’s dream of competing in the Daytona 500 in the Cup Series. Starting in 33rd place in the 500, Haley rallied from being involved in a late incident to finish in 13th place.

    In the Xfinity Series, Kaulig Racing started off the year 2020 on a low note as Haley was the lone Kaulig competitor to compete in the season opener at Daytona, where he finished sixth. Chastain and Allmendinger, however, had mechanical issues to their respective Chevrolet Camaros and both recorded the slowest lap times that prevented them in making the 40-car field. Chastain was able to compete at Daytona in RSS Racing’s No. 38 Chevrolet Camaro when veteran Jeff Green relinquished his seat to allow Chastain to gain early points towards his full-time slate this season. Allmendinger, however, was unable to make the field in time for the race. Despite the slow start, Haley and Chastain went on to record top-10 results in the following four series races.

    Through the first seven races of the 2020 season, Haley and Chastain each achieved a total of five top-10 results. Allmendinger made his first series start at Bristol in June, where he rallied from a spin to finish 10th. At Atlanta Motor Speedway in June, with Kaulig Racing fielding three cars, Allmendinger won in the No. 16 Chevrolet after leading the final 37 laps and holding off Noah Gragson. The victory was Allmendinger’s fourth of his Xfinity Series career, first on an oval-shaped track and the third career win for Kaulig Racing. Two races later at Homestead, Allmendinger claimed the Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus following a fourth-place run. The following race at Talladega, Haley received a draft from teammates Chastain and Allmendinger on the final lap to pass Jeb Burton and achieve his first Xfinity career victory in his 47th series start. To August 2020, Haley is one of 33 competitors to achieve a win across NASCAR’s three major division series as he also recorded the first win for sponsor LeafFilter. While Kaulig Racing achieved its second victory of the season and fourth overall, the team was also victorious as Chastain, who finished in second place, claimed the Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus. Chastain would go on to win his second Dash 4 Cash bonus of the season at Pocono Raceway the following week after finishing second again.

    Through 21 Xfinity races this season, following a Dover doubleheader, Haley has achieved a win along with six top-five results and 13 top-10 results as he is also guaranteed a spot in this year’s Xfinity Playoffs based off of his victory at Talladega. Though he has no victories recorded thus far, Chastain has achieved nine top-five results and 18 top-10 results as he is ranked in fourth place in the regular-season standings and is 388 points above the top-12 cutline to make the Playoffs. Allmendinger has made seven starts this season and has achieved one victory at Atlanta, five top-five results and seven top-10 results. He is scheduled to make two more Xfinity starts this season.

    All three competitors are scheduled to compete in the upcoming Xfinity Series race at Daytona and surpass start No. 200 for a team that is in its early stages towards success in NASCAR.

    Catch Kaulig Racing’s milestone start at Daytona on Friday, August 28, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • A long, bizarre regular season is set to cap off at Daytona

    A long, bizarre regular season is set to cap off at Daytona

    It has been six months (28 weeks; over 190 days) since the drop of the first green flag of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, which occurred at Daytona International Speedway for the 62nd running of the Daytona 500. Since the start of the season in February through last weekend in the second half of August, a lot has happened both on and off the track.

    It has forced the competitors, teams and the sport to change its approach prior to and following a racing event in looking out for the social well-being of others while also continuing to be competitive towards one another for wins and points. Now, following a 25-race Cup regular-season stretch spanning seven months, it all comes to the final regular-season event of the season that will determine the 16 competitors who will contend in this year’s postseason battle for the championship and where it will all be determined…at Daytona.

    Flashback to February 16 and 17 when the Daytona 500 occurred; the season started off on a harrowing note when veteran Ryan Newman was involved in a vicious accident approaching the finish line while competing for the win as he rolled upside down and was rammed into the driver’s side by the on-rushing Corey LaJoie before he came to a rest on his roof with flames and fuel leaking out of his car. For nearly two days, the racing community froze while awaiting Newman’s status as he was extracted from his car and transported to a local hospital in Florida. Then came the photo and the clip of Newman walking and exiting the hospital holding the hands of his two daughters. For approximately a month, all seemed to return to normal and the 2020 racing season could resume with a lot of anticipation on the line.

    Then came the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March that changed everything. With a number of races postponed, all on-track activities wiped clean from the slate following the opening NASCAR races (four Cup, four Xfinity and two Truck races) and a season on a hiatus along with the rest of the world, NASCAR was faced with a challenge like none other in previous seasons. While the competitors turned to racing online and attended to personal matters for nearly two months, it was no secret that all were anxious to return to the race track and reignite their competitiveness since the start of the season.

    Then, like a spark igniting into flames, the season was back to on-track racing in May after NASCAR released its first installment of a revised schedule across the Carolinas followed by another wave across the East Coast. Following a triumphant return throughout May, which included a number of national division races run at Darlington Raceway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway, the season started to come into full swing and became salvageable with NASCAR racing slated on weekdays and multiple series competing twice or three times a day in a revised schedule featuring familiar racing venues. Additionally, doubleheader and triple-header series races on weekends turned into quadruple-header weekends or even went as high as featuring five major division races per weekend.

    Of course, with a season being salvaged, sacrifices to the schedule were made as tracks that include Chicagoland Speedway, Sonoma Raceway, Watkins Glen International, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Iowa Speedway, Eldora Speedway and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park cancelled their scheduled racing events this season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. New to this year’s Cup regular season amid the schedule changes include weekday races at tracks that include Darlington, Charlotte, Martinsville Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway and at Kansas Speedway, the All-Star Race running at Bristol in July, a pair of doubleheader races at Michigan International Speedway and at Dover International Speedway to go along with a Pocono Raceway doubleheader near the end of June and the first stock car racing event at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course.

    In the midst of a salvageable season and with races being checked off a handful at a time per week came a new weekly approach for the competitors and teams to piece together their cars and equipment in time for race day and race trim with no practice nor qualifying sessions held prior to the main event. It was not an easy task for the competitors and crew members as they also had to remain vigilant, healthy, strong and aware of their surroundings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with competitors like Jimmie Johnson, Austin Dillon, Brendan Gaughan and Spencer Davis being diagnosed with the disease at least once.

    In addition, throughout June, the NASCAR community paused for a moment of unity and solidarity towards the social justice movement and following a number of deaths and incidents involving racial injustices towards African Americans. This included the stance of solidarity against racism all competitors and teams exemplified at Talladega Superspeedway on June 22 towards Bubba Wallace, driver of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE and NASCAR’s lone African-American competitor in the Cup Series, when a noose was discovered in Wallace’s garage stall prior to race day, though the FBI investigation concluded that Wallace was not a victim of a hate crime.

    One thing that remained unchanged since the on-track season resumed and amid the challenges across society was the competitiveness shared amongst the drivers and the teams towards one another while battling for wins, records/milestones, every point and every position as possible through every lap and every turn.

    Since the season resumed on May 17 at Darlington through last weekend’s doubleheader events at Dover International Speedway on August 22-23, NASCAR checked off 22 Cup races in 99 days (including the All-Star Race at Bristol). During the 99-day span and including the Xfinity Series and the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, NASCAR also checked off 50 races off of its revised schedule.

    Finally, with the Cup schedule back to its regular, unchanged weekend approach of racing and done from midweek racing and additional doubleheaders for the time being, this year’s regular season comes full circle with the final race prior to the Playoffs set to occur back at Daytona International Speedway. Already set to occur on Saturday, August 29, the regular-season finale at Daytona, though it can provide the unexpected, promises to be a thrilling one with the competitors on the bubble or on the outside of the Playoff cutline giving it their all to keep their championship hopes for this season alive. Following Daytona and the conclusion of a long regular season that includes the start in February, the 10-race stretch in the Playoffs will commence on September 6 back at Darlington Raceway for the Southern 500.

    Currently, 13 competitors have locked up spots for this year’s Playoffs (10 based on regular-season wins and three based on points) led by this year’s regular-season champion Kevin Harvick following a 25-race regular-season stretch. Teammate Clint Bowyer can potentially clinch a spot in the 2020 postseason should he record three or more stage points within the first two stages at Daytona or if he finishes 34th or better this upcoming Saturday. That leaves two spots up for grabs with Matt DiBenedetto and William Byron occupying the spots inside the cutline following Dover while others that include Jimmie Johnson, Erik Jones, rookie Tyler Reddick, rookie Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael McDowell and Ryan Newman are among others who have a final opportunity to win or point their way into the Playoffs should they also survive what promises to be an eventful run at the World Center of Racing in Daytona Beach, Florida.

    Catch the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale at Daytona on August 29 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Weekend schedule for Daytona Road Course

    Weekend schedule for Daytona Road Course

    NASCAR heads to Daytona International Speedway this weekend where all three of the top national series will compete on the 3.56-mile road course for the first time in the sport’s history. The ARCA Menards Series will also compete and kicks off the events Friday evening with the General Tire 100.

    The NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series race and ARCA Menards Series races were originally scheduled for Watkins Glen International on August 14-16. The NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series was realigned from the Iowa Speedway race that was scheduled for June 12.

    Kevin Harvick will start on the pole for Sunday’s GoBowling 235. The lineup was determined using a new formula that is based on finishing position from the previous race (50%), ranking in team owner points (35%) and the fastest lap from the previous race (15%).

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, August 14

    2 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series final practice – No TV

    5 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series General Tire 100 (28 laps, 101.8 miles) MAVTV/MRN

    Saturday, August 15

    3 p.m.: Xfinity Series UNOH 188 (Stages 15/30/52 laps, 187.72 miles) NBCSN/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Sunday, August 16

    Noon: Truck Series Sunoco 159 (Stages 12/25/44 laps, 158.85 miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    3 p.m.: Cup Series GoBowling 235 (Stages 15/30/65 laps, 234.65 miles) NBC/MRN/ SiriusXM NASCAR Radio


    Starting Lineup for GoBowling 235 

    Starting spotDriverCar #Team
    1Kevin Harvick4Stewart-Haas Racing
    2Denny Hamlin11Joe Gibbs Racing
    3Martin Truex Jr.19Joe Gibbs Racing
    4Kyle Busch18Joe Gibbs Racing
    5Joey Logano22Team Penske
    6Aric Almirola10Stewart-Haas Racing
    7Chase Elliott9Hendrick Motorsports
    8Kurt Busch1Chip Ganassi Racing
    9Matt DiBenedetto21Wood Brothers Racing
    10Austin Dillon3Richard Childress Racing
    11Jimmie Johnson48Hendrick Motorsports
    12Clint Bowyer14Stewart-Haas Racing
    13William Byron24Hendrick Motorsports
    14Ryan Newman6Roush Fenway Racing
    15Christopher Bell95Leavine Family Racing
    16Matt Kenseth42Chip Ganassi Racing
    17Brad Keselowski2Team Penske
    18Tyler Reddick8Richard Childress Racing
    19Bubba Wallace43Richard Petty Motorsports
    20Erik Jones20Joe Gibbs Racing
    21Chris Buescher17Roush Fenway Racing
    22Ryan Preece37JTG Daugherty Racing
    23Ty Dillon13Germain Racing
    24Ryan Blaney12Team Penske
    25Ricky Stenhouse Jr.47JTG Daugherty Racing
    26Cole Custer41Stewart-Haas Racing
    27Alex Bowman88Hendrick Motorsports
    28John Hunter Nemechek38Front Row Motorsports
    29Corey LaJoie32Go FAS Racing
    30Michael McDowell34Front Row Motorsports
    31Daniel Suarez96Gaunt Brothers Racing
    32JJ Yeley27Rick Ware Racing
    33Brennan Poole15Premium Motorsports
    34Reed Sorenson77Spire Motorsports
    35Quin Houff0StarCom Racing
    36Timmy Hill66Motorsports Business Management
    37Gray Gaulding53Rick Ware Racing
    38Joey Gase51Petty Ware Racing
    39Brendan Gaughan62Beard Motorsports