Tag: Ford

  • Hailie Deegan joins ThorSport Racing for 2023 Truck Series season

    Hailie Deegan joins ThorSport Racing for 2023 Truck Series season

    Hailie Deegan silenced the rumors of her future plans by announcing that she will be driving the No. 13 truck for ThorSport Racing for the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season. The news comes as ThorSport Racing will also be changing manufacturers by returning to Ford following a two-year run with Toyota.

    The 28-year-old Deegan from Temecula, California, is coming off her second full-time campaign in the Truck Series, where she recorded a career-high two top-10 results, including a career-best sixth-place result at Talladega Superspeedway in October while driving for David Gilliland Racing. With an average-finishing result of 22.1 throughout the 23-race schedule, she concluded the season in 21st place in the driver’s standings and was named the 2022 Truck Series Most Popular Driver, which marked the second consecutive season where she claimed the accolade.

    Deegan, who joined Ford Performance as part of its driver development program entering the 2020 season, moves to ThorSport and remains a Ford competitor following two full-time seasons with David Gilliland Racing, which is set to be rebranded to TRICON Garage and change manufacturers from Ford to Toyota.

    Through 46 career starts in the Truck Series, Deegan has achieved three top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 21.4. Her best result in a Truck Series standings is 17th place, which occurred during her rookie season in 2021. Prior to the Truck Series, Deegan finished in third place in the 2020 ARCA Menards Series standings after finishing in the top 10 in all but three of the 20-race schedule. She is also a three-time winner in the ARCA Menards Series West

    Deegan’s move to ThorSport Racing completes the team’s driver lineup for the upcoming Truck season as three-time Truck champion Matt Crafton, two-time Truck winner Ty Majeski and the 2021 Truck champion Ben Rhodes will be remaining with the organization. While all three competitors made the 2022 Truck Series Playoffs, Majeski and Rhodes both recorded victories and transferred all the way to the Championship 4 round, where they finished second and fourth, respectively, in the final standings. Christian Eckes, who drove for ThorSport this past season and recorded his first series victory with the team at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September 2021, will not be remaining with the organization as he will be moving to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing.

    With her plans for the 2023 season set, Deegan’s first campaign with ThorSport Racing is set to occur at Daytona International Speedway on February 17. The event’s coverage is slated to occur at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Cindric prevails for first Cup triumph at the Daytona 500

    Cindric prevails for first Cup triumph at the Daytona 500

    In a late war of attrition between the young guns and the veterans, rookie Austin Cindric captured the main spotlight to commence a new season of NASCAR competition by winning the 64th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 20, and capturing his first NASCAR Cup Series career victory after fending off the field during an overtime attempt.

    The 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion from Mooresville, North Carolina, led four times for 21 laps, including the final eight, to fend off challenges from teammate Ryan Blaney, ex-teammate Brad Keselowski and Bubba Wallace on the final lap to grab his first win in his eighth career start in NASCAR’s premier series and in his first event driving the No. 2 Ford Mustang for Team Penske as a full-time Cup Series rookie candidate.

    The starting lineup was determined through two single-car qualifying rounds on Wednesday, February 16, followed by the Bluegreen Vacations Duels on Thursday, February 17. Kyle Larson, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, started on pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 181.159 mph and was joined on the front row with teammate Alex Bowman, who qualified at 181.046 mph. Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher, both of whom represent the newly named Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, occupied the second row after each won their respective Duel events.

    Prior to the event, George Spencer, the engineer for Chase Briscoe and the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang team, and JD Frey, the car chief for Daniel Hemric and the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team, were ejected from the event due to their respective cars failing pre-race inspection twice. In addition, Hemric was assessed a drive-through penalty at the start. Joey Logano also dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car along with Jacques Villeneuve, who dropped to the rear due to an engine change.

    When the green flag waved and the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season commenced, Larson jumped with an early advantage and moved in front of teammate Bowman from the tri-oval through the back straightaway while running on the inside lane. The outside lane, however, proved to be the fastest, preferred lane for a majority of competitors as Keselowski received drafting help from Ford teammates Austin Cindric, Chris Buescher and Michael McDowell to move into the lead entering Turns 3 and 4.

    When the field returned to the start/finish line, Brad Keselowski, making his first start as a driver/co-owner of the No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford Mustang, led the first lap ahead of Cindric and Buescher while Larson settled in fourth ahead of Michael McDowell, the reigning Daytona 500 champion. By then, Hemric served his drive-through penalty through pit road.

    By the fifth lap, a majority of the competitors were running in a long single-file line on the outside lane as Keselowski was leading Cindric, Buescher, McDowell and Kyle Busch. Christopher Bell, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Bubba Wallace and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were in the top 10 while rookie Harrison Burton was the lead car on the inside lane in 14th place while receiving drafting help from names like Chase Elliott, Daniel Suarez, Aric Almirola and Denny Hamlin.

    Two laps later, the momentum for the competitors running on the inside lane gained momentum towards the ones running on the outside lane as Kyle Busch, who darted to the inside lane, moved his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry to the front of the pack followed by teammate Bell. Soon after, Busch was engaged in a side-by-side battle with Keselowski’s No. 6 Kohler Generators Ford Mustang for the top spot.

    Through the first 10 laps of the event and with the field continuing to engage in close-quarters racing through multiple lanes, Keselowski, who fought back on the outside lane to retake the lead on Lap 8, was leading followed by Cindric, Buescher, McDowell and Stenhouse while Kyle Busch fell back to sixth ahead of Erik Jones, Bell, Larson and Truex. By then, Hemric was lapped behind the field.

    Five laps later, Jacques Villeneuve was lapped by the field as Keselowski continued to lead a bevy of competitors running towards the outside lane while Kyle Busch was the lead car for multiple competitors running on the inside lane.

    By Lap 20, Keselowski remained out in front on the outside lane ahead of Cindric, Buescher, McDowell, Stenhouse and a majority of the competitors while Kyle Busch continued to serve as the lead car on the inside lane with drafting help from his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Bell and Truex along with 23XI Racing’s Kurt Busch and Bubba Wallace.

    Seven laps later, the battle for the lead reignited between Keselowski and Kyle Busch as Busch received drafting help from his Toyota teammates on the inside lane to return to the lead. 

    Through the first 30 laps of the event, Kyle Busch remained as the leader of the field by a narrow margin over teammate Keselowski while Bell, Cindric, Truex, Buescher, Kurt Busch, McDowell, Wallace and Denny Hamlin were in the top 10. By then, Greg Biffle, making his return to the Cup Series following a five-year absence, took his No. 44 NY Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the garage due to an engine issue. 

    By Lap 35, a majority of the field moved to the inside lane as Kyle Busch continued to lead ahead of Bell, Truex, Kurt Busch, Wallace, Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Keselowski and William Byron.

    A few laps later, the first round of green-flag pit stops commenced as names like Cindric, Blaney, McDowell, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Cole Custer, David Ragan, Aric Almirola and Chase Briscoe pitted. During the following lap, a majority of competitors led by Kyle Busch pitted. Then during the following lap and with another wave of competitors pitting, Villeneuve spun near the pit road entrance, but he proceeded without making contact with the wall as the race continued to run under green. In the midst of the pit stops, Ty Dillon was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    Then on Lap 40, the first caution of the event flew when Kaz Grala lost a right-rear wheel of his No. 50 Money Team Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Turn 2. At the same time, Briscoe got bumped by Cindric entering Turn 1 and spun his No. 14 Mahindra Ford Mustang, though he continued without sustaining any significant damage. Under caution, some like Larson and Bowman pitted.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 45, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano occupied the front row ahead of Hamlin and Harrison Burton. At the start, Busch jumped ahead through Turns 1 and 2, but Logano used the outside lane to his advantage as he received a push from Burton’s No. 21 Motorcraft/DEX Imaging Ford Mustang to challenge Busch for the lead.

    Through the first 50 laps of the event, Kyle Busch was leading ahead of teammates Hamlin and Bell while Byron and Kurt Busch were in the top five. By then, Elliott, rookie Todd Gilliland, McDowell, Logano and Ross Chastain were in the top 10. 

    Shortly after, the caution returned when Justin Haley lost a right-front tire from his No. 31 LeafFilter Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Turn 1. Under caution, some like Noah Gragson, Harvick, Custer, and Almirola pitted while the rest led by Kyle Busch remained on the track.

    On Lap 56, the race proceeded under green as teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin occupied the front row. At the start, Busch, who restarted on the outside lane, jumped with another strong advantage before moving in front of teammate Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry to retain the lead. Behind, Byron challenged Logano for third place with drafting help from Harrison Burton. During the following lap, Byron moved his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the lead through the back straightaway as he also moved in front of Busch’s No. 18 Toyota. 

    Then with the field engaged in close-quarters racing through double lanes, Harrison Burton received a push from Truex to challenge Byron for the lead.

    By Lap 60, Burton was leading ahead of Keselowski before Truex mounted his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota TRD Camry alongside Burton’s car in Turn 1 in a bid for the lead. 

    Two laps later, however, the caution flew for a multi-car that started when Harrison Burton, who was challenging Truex for the lead, got bumped and turned off the front nose of Keselowski entering the back straightaway as he made contact with Byron, Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Bell. While Byron slid and pounded the inside wall head-on, Burton’s No. 21 Ford went airborne and landed upside down on the roof before flipping back on all four wheels and coming to rest with a destroyed race car. Also involved were Ross Chastain and Alex Bowman. Despite the incident, Burton emerged uninjured as his strong start to the race came to an early end along with Byron, Hamlin and Chastain.

    The multi-car wreck concluded the first stage scheduled for Lap 65 under caution as Truex claimed the first stage victory of the season. Keselowski settled in second ahead of Todd Gilliland, Stenhouse, Logano, Austin Dillon, Kurt Busch, Erik Jones, Larson and Elliott.

    Under the stage break, some including Kurt Busch, who received minor damage from the multi-car wreck, pitted early. Not long after, the remainder of the field led by Truex pitted for service.

    The second stage started on Lap 71 as Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney occupied the front row. At the start, Jones and Blaney dueled through the first two turns until Blaney received a push from teammate Cindric to clear Jones for the lead and retain the top spot when he returned to the start/finish line. 

    By Lap 75 and with the field fanning out to double lanes, Blaney continued to lead ahead of teammate Cindric and Jones, both of whom battled dead even for the runner-up spot. Chris Buescher and Stenhouse were in the top five ahead of Kevin Harvick, Daniel Suarez, Keselowski, Larson and Gilliland.

    Fifteen laps later on Lap 90, Blaney remained as the leader ahead of teammate Cindric, Buescher, Harvick and Keselowski as the field settled in a long single-file line towards the inside lane.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 100, Blaney was leading ahead of teammates Cindric, Buescher, Harvick, Gilliland, Custer, McDowell, Ty Dillon and Briscoe as Ford competitors occupied nine of the top-10 spots. Almirola, Logano, Larson, Gragson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Tyler Reddick, Erik Jones, Truex, Wallace and Kyle Busch were running in the top 20 ahead of Kurt Busch, Daniel Suarez and Elliott, all of whom were running under three seconds behind the leader. Hemric, Corey LaJoie, Austin Dillon were in 24th, 25th and 26th followed by Landon Cassill, Codey Ware, David Ragan and Jacques Villeneuve, all of whom were on the lead lap.

    Shortly after, names like Austin Dillon, Hemric, LaJoie, Cassill, David Ragan and Corey Ware pitted under green as Blaney continued to lead the field. During the pit stops, Cassill nearly clipped two of Cody Ware’s crew members while trying to exit his pit stall.

    Then on Lap 107, a wave of competitors led by Blaney pitted, but Keselowski and Buescher managed to exit pit road ahead of Blaney. During the next lap, another wave led by Truex pitted. In the midst of the pit stops, Briscoe slid past his pit stall while Elliott stalled his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on pit road. In addition, Suarez was busted for speeding on pit road and forced to serve a drive-through penalty through pit road.

    By Lap 110, Keselowski returned to the lead followed by Buescher, Blaney and the field. A few laps later, Custer pitted for a second time due to not getting fuel in his car during his first stop.

    Through Lap 120, Keselowski continued to lead ahead of Buescher, Blaney, Harvick and Gilliland while Larson, who was running within the top 10, formed a line on the outside lane in his bid for the lead followed by Stenhouse, Logano and Truex. 

    Then five laps later, Larson motored his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the lead, but Keselowski fought back on the inside lane after receiving a push from ex-teammate Logano. As Larson drifted back into the top 10 while receiving no drafting help, Keselowski retained the lead ahead of Logano, Truex, Wallace and Cindric.

    Then approaching the final lap of the second stage, Briscoe blocked Keselowski in an attempt to remain on the lead lap. Entering Turn 1, Keselowski moved to the inside lane in an attempt to pass Briscoe, but the rest of the field drafted with Briscoe as Logano moved his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang into the lead followed by Truex and Wallace. Then entering the tri-oval, Truex made his move beneath Logano and edged Logano to claim the second stage victory on Lap 130. Logano settled in second followed by Wallace, Keselowski, Stenhouse, Cindric, Buescher, Harvick, Larson and Gilliland.

    Under the stage break, the field returned to pit road for service and Keselowski exited with the lead followed by Cindric, Larson, Wallace and Harvick. During the pit stops, McDowell was penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Logano made a second trip to pit road to have the lug nuts on his car tightened. 

    With 63 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Keselowski quickly moved in front of Cindric to retain the lead and gain momentum. Behind, Wallace was in third while Harvick gained a run on the outside lane. 

    Soon after, Keselowski led a seven-car breakaway from the field followed by Cindric, Wallace, Erik Jones, Blaney, Buescher and Briscoe while Harvick fell back in a side-by-side battle with Gragson, who was piloting the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in his Cup debut.

    Down to the final 50 laps of the event and with the majority of the field running on the inside lane while the rest settled on the outside lane, Keselowski was leading ahead of Cindric, Wallace, Jones and Blaney. 

    Just then, the caution flew when Tyler Reddick got bumped and turned off the front nose of Villeneuve entering the frontstretch and came across the path of Truex, Kurt Busch and Logano, with the former sustaining front-nose damage while the latter two spinning towards the tri-oval grass as Stenhouse also sustained damage. In the aftermath of the wreckage, Logano and Reddick needed assistance from wreckers to get their stuck cars out of the grass, which dropped them out of lead lap contention. 

    Under caution, the field pitted for a potential final round of fresh tires, fuel and adjustments as Cindric exited with the top spot following a two-tire pit stop ahead of Wallace, Blaney and Jones,  all of whom took fuel only, while Keselowski exited in fifth place with two fresh tires.

    With 41 laps remaining, the green flag waved. At the start, Cindric retained the lead ahead of teammate Blaney and Jones while Wallace got shoved out of the top five while making an attempt for the lead on the outside lane. 

    During the following lap, Cindric was out in front of a four-car breakaway followed by Blaney, Jones and Keselowski while Briscoe, Wallace and the field closed in through Turns 3 and 4. 

    Another three laps later, Kyle Busch shoved Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota TRD Camry to the lead on the outside lane as Cindric fought back on the inside lane with drafting help from Blaney’s No. 12 Menards Blue DEF Ford Mustang.

    With 35 laps remaining and the field engaged in a duel and close-quarters racing, Wallace, who had Kyle Busch pushing him on the outside lane, battled Cindric, who had teammate Blaney pushing him on the inside lane, for the lead. By then, the top-15 competitors were separated by half a second.

    Five laps later, Wallace and Cindric continued to duel dead even for the lead. Soon after, the inside lane gained a brief advantage as Cindric cleared Wallace to assume full command of the lead followed by Blaney, Erik Jones, Keselowski and Briscoe while Wallace was back in sixth alongside McDowell’s No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang.

    Another five laps later, the outside lane regained their momentum as Kyle Busch shoved Wallace back to the lead ahead of Cindric. Soon after, Wallace and Kyle Busch cleared the field and moved in front of Cindric’s No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang. By then, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. started to formulate a run for the lead on the outside lane with drafting help from Chris Buescher’s No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang.

    With 20 laps remaining, the battle for the lead and the win continued to intensify as Wallace and Stenhouse engaged in a heated duel for the top spot. While Stenhouse’s No. 47 Kroger Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 had drafting help from Buescher, Wallace continued to fight back on the inside lane with drafting support from Kyle Busch.

    Two laps later, the outside lane prevailed as Stenhouse started to lead a multi-car breakaway followed by Buescher, Larson, Gilliland, Harvick and Erik Jones. The field soon settled in a long single-car line on the outside lane as Wallace was mired back in 11th.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event and with fuel in question for the front-runners, Stenhouse, who was told he had enough fuel to finish, continued to lead. Then just as the intensity started to crescendo with the competitors fanning out to double lanes, a multi-car wreck erupted just past the start/finish line when Harvick, who got caught up in an accordion effect with Buescher and Larson, slipped sideways off the front nose of Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet and clipped Gragson, who pounded the inside wall head-on in front of Larson, which destroyed his car. Also involved were Erik Jones, Elliott and rookie Todd Gilliland, who also impacted the inside wall head-on. The wreck was enough for NASCAR to pause the race for approximately five minutes before the field proceeded under caution.

    When the race proceeded under green with six laps remaining, Stenhouse and Cindric engaged in a heated battle for the lead before Cindric started to pull away on the inside lane with drafting help from Blaney. As the field returned to the start/finish line, Stenhouse got turned off the front nose of Keselowski and bounced off of Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota before spinning and slapping the outside wall as Buescher got collected in the carnage. The wreck evaporated Stenhouse’s hopes of winning his first Daytona 500 as he was unable to continue.

    The late incident involving Stenhouse was enough to send the event into overtime. At the start, Cindric jumped with an early advantage and immediately moved in front of teammate Blaney from the outside to the inside lane to retain the lead. Through the back straightaway, Keselowski received a push from Briscoe to try to close in on Cindric on the outside lane. 

    When the white flag waved, Cindric was still leading by a narrow margin over teammate Blaney, Keselowski and the field. Through the first two turns and the back straightaway, Cindric continued to maintain his ground on the inside lane with teammate Blaney settling behind him while Keselowski continued to lurk but not close on the outside lane. 

    Then entering Turns 3 and 4, Cindric started to pull away followed by Blaney and Wallace while Keselowski could not gain drafting help from Briscoe. Entering the frontstretch and the tri-oval, Briscoe then squeezed himself past Keselowski towards the outside wall as Blaney and Wallace mounted a final challenge on Cindric for the win. As Blaney made a move to the outside of Cindric, Cindric blocked Blaney while making slight contact with his Penske teammate. That opened the door for Wallace to pounce, but at the finish line, Cindric edged Wallace by 0.036 seconds to win as another multi-car wreck erupted behind, among which were involved included Blaney and Keselowski.

    With the victory, Cindric, who won in NASCAR’s first points-paying event with the new Next Gen stock cars, became the 41st different competitor to win the Daytona 500 and the ninth to notch a first Cup career victory in the 500 as he delivered the 17th 500 triumph for the Ford nameplate, the first for crew chief Jeremy Bullins and the third for Team Penske and team owner Roger Penske, who turned 85 years old. In addition, Cindric became the 199th different competitor to win in NASCAR’s premier series and the 37th different competitor to achieve a victory across NASCAR’s top three national touring series (Camping World Truck, Xfinity and Cup).

    Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “Oh my god!” Cindric exclaimed on FOX. “You know what makes [winning] better. A packed house! A packed house at the Daytona 500! I’ve got so many people to thank, first and foremost. Roger Penske, happy birthday! Oh my gosh! [I] Appreciate Ryan [Blaney] being a great teammate. Obviously, he wants to win this one. I’m so pumped for Discount Tire, Menards, Ford, everyone who works so hard with this Next Gen car through this whole process. I am so excited. This makes up for losing a [Xfinity] championship last race I did.”

    “I’m surrounded by great people,” Cindric added. “That’s all there is to it. I know there’s gonna be highs and lows being a rookie in a field of drivers this strong. I’m just grateful for the opportunity. [I’m] Excited to climb the mountain we got ahead of us on this No. 2 team. We’re in the Playoffs! That’s one good box check, but oh my gosh! What an awesome group of fans. What an awesome race car. Just really thankful.” 

    Behind Cindric was Wallace, who nursed his car with a damaged right-front fender to tie his best Daytona 500 result with a runner-up result while Briscoe made a late charge to finish third, which marks his first top-five result in the Cup circuit. Blaney fell back to fourth despite getting consumed in the final lap accident while Aric Almirola commenced his final full-time Cup season in fifth place.

    “What could have been, right?” Wallace said. “Just dejected, but the thing that keeps me up is just the hard work that we put into our speedway stuff. The hard work from everybody at 23XI [Racing]. Proud of them. Can’t thank them enough. I knew this was a big move last year for me to go out and be competitive. We’re showing that. There’s always a first race into the season. You’re getting through everything, but when you come out of the gates like that, it’s empowering. It’s encouraging, so thanks to everybody back at the shop. McDonald’s almost got them another [win], back-to-back superspeedway wins. That would’ve been awesome, especially with them being in the 500. Just short…Great Speedweeks, though. We come home second. I’m gonna be pissed off about this for a while. I was happy on the first second-place we got a couple years ago. This one sucks when you’re that close, but all in all, I’m happy for our team. Happy for our partners and on to California.”

    “I needed to be able to get to Brad [Keselowski to win],” Briscoe said. “He was having to drag so much brake for me to be able to help him that I wished I was more help. I felt like if I could’ve just locked on, I could’ve gotten him up there. To be sleeping on couches and volunteering at shops six or seven years ago, and now to have a chance to win the Daytona 500 at the end, to finish third and start the year off with these Mahindra Tractors folks and HighPoint.com, all the people that get us to the race track. We wanna be a Playoff contender this year and having a good run here is a good start. [I] Wished we could’ve had one more lap. You never know what could happen, but yeah, super cool to finish third.”

    “Coming to the restart there for the green-white-checkered, I really had those thoughts like, ‘Man, this is gonna be a storybook ending coming down here for my last full-time season with this team,” Almirola said. “Having Shane [Smith, President and CEO of Smithfield] and so many people from Smithfield here. I felt like I was in a great spot. It still hurts. It’s an awesome feeling. I’m gonna miss that, coming down the white flag lap, feeling like you have a shot to win the Daytona 500. That’s an incredible feeling. Just so proud of Ford for getting to Victory Lane…This is incredible to come here and almost feel like we had a shot at getting it done. Dang it. So close.”

    Kyle Busch, McDowell, Ragan, Keselowski and Elliott finished in the top 10 as 15 competitors finished on the lead lap.

    Truex settled in 13th behind Daniel Hemric, Daniel Suarez ended up in 18th ahead of Kurt Busch and Logano finished 21st ahead of Villeneueve. Stenhouse, Harvick and Larson were scored in 28th, 30th and 32nd after having their opportunities to win the 500 spoiled due to the late carnage.

    There were 36 lead changes for 13 different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 37 laps.

    Following the first event of the 2022 Cup Series event, Austin Cindric and Brad Keselowski are locked in a tie for the lead in the regular-season standings by five points ahead of Martin Truex Jr., seven over Bubba Wallace and 13 ahead of Chase Briscoe and Ryan Blaney.

    Results.

    1. Austin Cindric, 21 laps led

    2. Bubba Wallace, 12 laps led

    3. Chase Briscoe

    4. Ryan Blaney, 36 laps led

    5. Aric Almirola

    6. Kyle Busch, 28 laps led

    7. Michael McDowell

    8. David Ragan

    9. Brad Keselowski, 67 laps led

    10. Chase Elliott

    11. Ty Dillon

    12. Daniel Hemric

    13. Martin Truex Jr., 11 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    14. Corey LaJoie

    15. Landon Cassill

    16. Chris Buescher, one lap down

    17. Cody Ware, one lap down

    18. Daniel Suarez, one lap down

    19. Kurt Busch, two laps down

    20. Cole Custer, two laps down

    21. Joey Logano, three laps down, one lap led

    22. Jacques Villeneuve, three laps down

    23. Justin Haley, three laps down

    24. Alex Bowman, four laps down

    25. Austin Dillon, four laps down

    26. Kaz Grala, five laps down

    27. BJ McLeod, five laps down

    28. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident, 16 laps led

    29. Erik Jones – OUT, Accident, three laps led

    30. Kevin Harvick – OUT, Dvp

    31. Noah Gragson – OUT, Accident

    32. Kyle Larson – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    33. Todd Gilliland – OUT, Accident

    34. Christopher Bell – OUT, Accident

    35. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident

    36. Greg Biffle, 65 laps down

    37. Denny Hamlin – OUT, Accident

    38. William Byron – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    39. Harrison Burton – OUT, Accident, three laps led

    40. Ross Chastain – OUT, Accident

    With the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season underway, the competitors will be embarking on a three-race West Coast swing over the next three weeks, beginning with the return of Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, following a one-year absence. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, February 27, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • McDowell upsets the competition, scores first Cup triumph in the Daytona 500

    McDowell upsets the competition, scores first Cup triumph in the Daytona 500

    The ultimate upset was made under the lights at Daytona International Speedway after Michael McDowell avoided a multi-car pileup on the final lap to win the 63rd annual running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 14, and claim his first NASCAR Cup Series triumph. McDowell’s first Cup career victory came in his 358th start in NASCAR’s premier series, which marked the second-most starts in the series prior to a first Cup win.

    The front row for this year’s Daytona 500 was determined on Wednesday, February 10, following a qualifying session, with the rest of the lineup determined on Thursday, February 11, following two Bluegreen Vacations Duel events at Daytona. With that, Alex Bowman started on pole position. William Byron, the outside pole-sitter, was due to start on the front row with teammate Bowman, but he dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car. The move allowed Austin Dillon, winner of the second Daytona Duel event, to move up to the front row to start alongside Bowman.

    Along with Byron, the following competitors that include Brad Keselowski, rookie Chase Briscoe, Kaz Grala, rookie Anthony Alfredo, Cole Custer and Ross Chastain also dropped to the rear of the field in backup cars. Martin Truex Jr. dropped to the rear of the field due to an oil cooler change along with Erik Jones, who did so following an engine change. Bubba Wallace also dropped to the rear of the field due to his car failing pre-race inspection twice, thus resulting with his car chief being ejected for the event. 

    When the green flag waved and the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season commenced, Bowman, who started on the outside lane, crossed over the bottom lane to jump to an early lead in front of Austin Dillon. Shortly after, he moved back to the outside lane in front of Kevin Harvick, who gave him a clear bump ahead of the field through the backstretch and entering Turn 3. 

    Bowman was able to lead the first lap before Harvick made a move to the bottom lane. Bowman, however, was able to retain the lead with his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE receiving drafting help from Kyle Busch through the backstretch until Harvick made a charge on the inside lane entering the tri-oval. Harvick was able to lead the following lap by a nose over Bowman.

    During the third lap, the crew members and the fans saluted the three fingers to pay tribute to Dale Earnhardt, seven-time NASCAR Cup champion, Hall of Famer and the 1998 Daytona 500 champion who died 20 years ago following an accident on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. 

    Shortly after, the first caution of the race flew when Derrike Cope, the 1990 Daytona 500 champion, blew a right-front tire and made contact against the outside wall in Turn 3. By then, Harvick was the leader followed by teammate Aric Almirola, Christopher Bell, Ryan Newman and Bowman.

    Under caution, names like Michael McDowell, Matt DiBenedetto, Byron, Truex, Austin Cindric, Cole Custer, Alfredo, Cody Ware, Briscoe, Grala, B.J. McLeod, Denny Hamlin, Josh Bilicki, Quin Houff and Wallace pitted while the rest led by Harvick remained on the track.

    The race restarted on the seventh lap with Stewart-Haas Racing’s Harvick and Almirola at the top of the field. At the start, Harvick quickly transitioned to the bottom lane to move in front of teammate Almirola’s No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang. The top lane, however, prevailed through Turns 1, 2 and the backstretch as Ryan Newman rocketed to the lead followed by Joey Logano. Nonetheless, Harvick was able to retain the lead by a nose over Newman when the field returned to the start/finish line.

    By Lap 10 and with the field starting to fan out from double lanes to triple lanes, Harvick was still out in front followed by teammate Almirola, Bell, Bowman and Kyle Busch. A few laps later, Bowman became the first car to lead the outside lane as he challenged for the lead followed by Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson. Meanwhile, Harvick continued to lead followed by teammate Almirola.

    Three laps later, trouble ensued at the front when a bump from Bell, who was being pushed by teammate Kyle Busch, got Almirola loose, where he made contact with Bowman as both wrecked against the outside wall and in the middle of the straightaway with a multitude of competitors approaching them. What then followed was a multi-car wreck that involved Newman, Ryan Blaney, Kurt Busch, Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones, DiBenedetto, Chris Buescher, Jamie McMurray, David Ragan, Tyler Reddick, Truex and Byron, who nearly flipped on his side before spinning and coming to rest on the muddy grass in Turn 3.

    In the midst of the on-track work for the safety workers to remove the wrecked cars, the race was red-flagged due to reports of lightning within eight miles of the superspeedway, which was followed by rain and on-track precipitation. At the time of the rain, Harvick was still the leader followed by Bell, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott. Larson, Ryan Preece, Joey Logano, McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were in the top 10.

    Five hours and 40 minutes later, the red flag was lifted and the majority of competitors returned to the track under caution, beginning on Lap 15, and under the lights as the skies darkened. By then, names like Alfredo, Almirola, Blaney, Bowman, Buescher, DiBenedetto, Jones, Newman, Ragan and Suarez were ruled out of the remainder of the race.

    Under caution, everyone pitted, except for Kaz Grala and B.J. McLeod. After leading 10 laps under caution, Grala pitted along with McLeod. Bell, Kyle Busch and a few others also pitted to top off on fuel for the end of the first stage.

    When the green flag waved and the race resumed on Lap 29, Elliott was the leader while Austin Dillon started along him. Through the backstretch, Dillon received a push from Ryan Preece to take the lead. The following lap, Cole Custer battled on the outside lane to lead a lap for himself. 

    Shortly after, Hamlin shoved Custer out of the draft in Turn 1 and became the lead car on the outside lane. He went on to assume command of the field. 

    By Lap 35, Hamlin was leading Keselowski, Wallace, Kyle Busch and Logano with the field settling in a single-file line. Meanwhile, Byron, who was three laps behind the leaders and still competing in a damaged No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, was black-flagged for a loose rear bumper cover.

    Two laps later, the caution returned when Quin Houff cut a tire after running over the bumper cover from Byron’s car and made contact with the outside wall in the frontstretch. His incident also involved Chase Briscoe as both sustained damage and slid down to the apron near Turn 1. Briscoe continued despite the incident while Houff was knocked out of the race.

    The race resumed under green on Lap 43. At the start, Hamlin received a push from teammate Kyle Busch on the outside lane while Keselowski received a push from Bubba Wallace on the inside lane. 

    Through the backstretch and after briefly shoving Keselowski to the lead, Wallace made a three-wide move on Keselowski and Hamlin, which sent Keselowski back into the top 10. At the front, Hamlin retained the lead followed by Kyle Busch, Preece, Austin Cindric, Wallace, Austin Dillon and Logano. 

    By Lap 50 and with the field settling in a single-file lane on the outside lane, Hamlin continued to lead followed by teammate Kyle Busch, Preece, Cindric and Austin Dillon while Larson, Wallace, Harvick, Keselowski and Bell were in the top 10. By then, Joey Logano and Chase Elliott were in 13th and 14th behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Custer. In addition, 22 of the 40-car field were competing on the lead lap, with 12 out of the race.

    Ten laps later and with five laps remaining in the first stage, Hamlin was still out in front followed by teammate Kyle Busch, Preece, Cindric and Austin Dillon. Larson, Wallace, Harvick, Keselowski and Bell were in the top 10 while Custer, Logano, Stenhouse, Elliott and LaJoie were in the top 15.

    At the start of the final lap of the first stage, Austin Dillon made his move to the inside lane along with Larson. In addition, Preece also moved in front of Dillon, but teammates Hamlin and Kyle Busch blocked the move on the inside lane. Through the backstretch, Kyle Busch got shuffled out of the lead draft when Preece and a multitude of cars moved to the outside lane and right behind Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry.

    Though Hamlin had a steaming pack of cars behind him, he was able to retain the lead and win the first stage on Lap 65. Preece settled in second place followed by Austin Dillon, Larson and Cindric. Bell, Wallace, Logano, Ross Chastain and Custer settled in the top 10, all of whom earned stage points. Kyle Busch fell back to 12th in front of Keselowski and Elliott. 

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Hamlin retained the lead. Meanwhile, Jamie McMurray received the free pass and returned to the lead lap.

    The second stage commenced on Lap 71 with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Hamlin and Bell on the front row followed by Cindric, Austin Dillon, Logano and Larson. At the start, Hamlin received a push from Cindric to retain the lead. Shortly after, Hamlin moved in front of teammate Bell on the inside lane, but Cindric, winner of the Xfinity Series season-opening event at Daytona a day ago, mounted a charge on the outside lane in his No. 33 Verizon 5G Ford Mustang as he had Penske teammates Logano and Keselowski pushing him to the lead.

    After leading two laps, Hamlin stormed back to the lead while Cindric fell back to seventh. A lap later, Bell made his way to the front followed by teammate Kyle Busch while Hamlin fell back to third. Austin Dillon, Cindric and Harvick moved up the leaderboard while Harvick was in seventh place and the lone car on the bottom lane.

    Another two laps later, the field settled in a long single-file line as Bell was out in front followed by teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin. Austin Dillon was in fourth followed by Cindric, Logano, Larson, Elliott, Wallace and Chastain. Harvick, meanwhile, was shuffled back to 11th in front of Preece, Keselowski, Stenhouse and McMurray.

    Not long after, the leader Bell reported debris on the grille of his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota Camry. Nonetheless, he continued to lead teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin while Austin Dillon, Cindric and Logano remained in pursuit.

    By Lap 90, Bell continued to lead followed by teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin. Austin Dillon and Cindric continued to run in the top five followed by Logano, Larson, Elliott, Wallace and Chastain, all of whom were locked in a single-file lane. Harvick was in 11th followed by Stenhouse, teammate Preece, Keselowski and McMurray while Michael McDowell, Custer, LaJoie, Kaz Grala and Joey Gase were in the top 20.

    When the field reached the halfway mark on Lap 100, three Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas led by Bell and followed by Kyle Busch and Hamlin were all still at the front. Austin Dillon and Cindric remained in the top five followed by Logano, Larson, Elliott, Chastain and Preece. Behind, Wallace, who attempted to make a move to the front on the inside lane, was shuffled back to 13th in between Keselowski and Harvick.

    Four laps later, pit stops under green commenced as a number of Ford drivers pitted, including Cindric, Logano, Keselowski, Harvick, Briscoe and Custer. McDowell, racing in his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stop Ford Mustang, also pitted. Another three laps later, the Toyota drivers pitted, including Bell, Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Wallace. Not long after, a bevy of Chevrolet drivers led by Austin Dillon, Larson and Elliott pitted. Prior to the Chevrolets pitting, Preece pitted alone.

    When the field cycled back with 20 laps remaining in the second stage, Hamlin was back in front followed by Wallace. Shortly after, Wallace got shuffled out of the draft from Kyle Busch. Not long after, Bell got loose in Turn 1 after sustaining a left-rear tire and made contact with Stenhouse, who went on to make contact with Larson, before spinning entering the backstretch. Grala, LaJoie and McMurray, who spun, were also sustained damage while the rest of the field managed to avoid the incident and a spinning Bell. 

    Under caution, a handful of competitors led by Hamlin remained on the track while the rest pitted. In addition, Grala came to his pit stall with the right rear of his No. 16 Hyperice Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE on fire. Though he tried to continue, Grala’s Daytona 500 debut came to an end as fire continued to burst out of his car.

    When the race resumed under green on Lap 117, Hamlin and Harvick led the field on the front row. At the front, Hamlin retained the lead and he moved in front of Harvick on the outside lane entering the backstretch. Shortly after, Logano received a draft from Kyle Busch on the bottom lane to lead the following lap. Entering the tri-oval, Harvick and Logano pulled a three-wide move on Hamlin with Harvick returning to the lead entering the backstretch. 

    The following lap, Wallace drafted his owner Hamlin to the front while Keselowski mounted a challenge beneath Hamlin. The outside lane, however, prevailed with a bevy of competitors opting to move up on the outside lane and Hamlin retaining the lead. Wallace was in second followed by Harvick, Elliott and Austin Dillon. McDowell was in sixth followed by Keselowski, Preece, Logano and Kyle Busch. By then, the field settled in a long single-file lane on the outside lane.

    At the start of the final lap of the second stage, Wallace made his move beneath Hamlin to take the lead followed by a bevy of competitors, including McDowell and Keselowski. Through the backstretch, Logano, receiving drafting help from Kyle Busch, formed a third lane as the pack started to battle intently and tight against one another. 

    With the field entering Turn 3 and the tri-oval, Hamlin received a push from Harvick on the outside lane to reassume the lead over Wallace’s No. 23 DoorDash Toyota Camry and claim the second stage on Lap 130. Harvick settled in second followed by Wallace, Elliott and Austin Dillon. Logano, McDowell, Larson, Kyle Busch and Keselowski were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Austin Dillon exited in first place. Hamlin exited in second place followed by McDowell, Harvick, Wallace and Logano. Following the pit stops, Larson was penalized for a safety violation.

    With 64 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Austin Dillon moved his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in front of Hamlin to retain the lead. His lead, however, did not last long was Hamlin retuned to the top point with drafting help from Harvick, though he got squirrelly while being drafted by Harvick’s No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang. Dillon settled in third place, the first car on the bottom lane, as he battled Logano and Kyle Busch. 

    With 60 laps remaining, Hamlin was leading Harvick, Logano, Kyle Busch and Cindric while Custer, Austin Dillon, Elliott, Preece and McMurray were in the top 10. Larson was in 12th while Wallace was back in 14th in front of Keselowski, McDowell and Bell. By then, 18 cars were scored on the lead lap. 

    Ten laps later and with 50 laps remaining, Hamlin was still out in front followed by Harvick, Logano, Kyle Busch and Cindric. Custer, Austin Dillon, Elliott, Preece and McMurray were still in the top 10. Larson was in 12th, Keselowski was in 14th and Wallace was in 16th. By then, the field returned to a long single-file lane on the outside lane. 

    Another 10 laps later and with the next round of pit stops under green lurking, the field remained in a long single-file lane on the outside lane as Hamlin was still leading Harvick, Logano, Kyle Busch and Cindric. Custer was in sixth followed by Austin Dillon, Elliott, Preece and McMurray.

    Down to the final 30 laps of the race, Hamlin continued to lead followed by teammate Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Elliott and Preece. 

    Shortly after, pit stops under green commenced when Ford names like Logano, Harvick, Cindric, Custer, Keselowski and McDowell pitted. Not long after, a bevy of Chevrolet competitors pitted. Shortly after, the Toyota drivers led by Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Wallace pitted.

    When the field cycled back on the track, Logano was able to assume command of the race followed by Harvick as Kyle Busch and Hamlin, both of whom exited pit road ahead of the field, were unable to blend in front of the lead pack with enough speed and retain the top spots.

    With 24 laps remaining, Logano, racing in his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang, was leading Harvick, Custer, Keselowski and McDowell. Ross Chastain was in sixth followed by Austin Dillon, Elliott, Kyle Busch and Preece. Wallace was in 11th while Hamlin fell back to 13th behind Larson.

    Four laps later and with the laps winding down, Logano was still at the top of the field followed by Harvick, Custer, Keselowski and McDowell as Fords comprised the top-five spots on the track. Chastain was the leading Chevrolet competitor in sixth while Kyle Busch was the leading Toyota competitor in ninth. By then, Wallace, who made another pit stop to address a vibration concern, was in 17th and a lap behind. In addition, the top-12 competitors, all within more than a second of one another, were locked in a single-file lane as Hamlin was back in 12th.

    Down to the final 15 laps of the race and with 15 competitors on the lead lap, the field remained in a single-file lane as Logano continued to lead followed by Harvick, Custer, Keselowski and McDowell. By then, Bell was pinned a lap behind along with Wallace. In addition, Hamlin remained in 12th place, three spots behind teammate Kyle Busch. 

    With 10 laps remaining, Logano remained at the front as the first of four Ford competitors leading the way followed by Harvick, Keselowski and McDowell. Behind, Austin Dillon was the leading Chevrolet competitor in fifth as he worked his way to the front followed by Elliott. Kyle Busch was in seventh followed by Larson, Hamlin and Chastain.

    Down to the final five laps of the race, the field remained in a long single-file lane with Logano still leading Harvick, Keselowski, McDowell and Austin Dillon.

    Logano continued to lead with three laps remaining while the driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet driven by Austin Dillon, currently scored in fifth, was preparing his move as Elliott was in sixth. 

    With two laps remaining, however, Keselowski, racing in his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang, gained a run and was able to move behind teammate Logano as McDowell also moved up while Harvick was shuffled out. When the final lap of the race started, Logano was still out in front followed by teammate Keselowski. 

    Through the backstretch, Keselowski received a push from McDowell and closed in on Logano as he prepared to execute his move for the win. Entering Turn 3, however, the two Penske teammates made contact and a multi-car wreck ensued. In the midst of the carnage, Keselowski made head-on contact against the outside wall before being slammed hard by Kyle Busch as Keselowski’s No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang went up against the outside wall and shredded against the catchfence amid a shower of flames and sparks. In addition, Logano slid up and clipped Chastain, who also made contact with Preece, before being hit by Wallace. Cindric and Custer were also involved in the midst of the fiery accident.

    The wreck ended the race under caution and at the moment of caution, McDowell was ahead of the field and declared the winner as he recorded his first career victory in NASCAR’s biggest event of the season.

    With his victory, McDowell became the 40th driver to win the Daytona 500, the eighth competitor to record a first Cup career victory in the 500 and the 196th competitor overall to win a NASCAR Cup Series race. The victory was the first for Front Row Motorsports since August 2016 (third overall), the second for crew chief Drew Blickensderfer and the 16th Daytona 500 victory for the Ford nameplate. In addition, McDowell became the third competitor to win the 500 after leading only the final lap.

    “I just can’t believe it,” McDowell said on FOX. “I’ve just got to thank God. So many years just grinding it out, hoping for an opportunity like this. I’ve got to thank Love’s Travel Stops, Speedco, [team owner] Bob Jenkins for giving me this opportunity. I’m so thankful. Such a great way to get a first victory. Daytona 500, are you kidding me?! We’re the Daytona 500 champions! We had our Ford partners at the end and they all crashed, but luckily I was able to make it through. I’m just so thankful. God is good.”

    Elliott, the reigning series champion, came home in second place as he achieved his best result in the 500 in his sixth attempt to win it.

    “I felt like we had a fast car,” Elliott said. “We weren’t as good as I thought we were on Thursday. I felt like we did a really good job executing today. Staying out of trouble, that’s not something I’ve done a very good job of here in this race, so I’m glad we could at least finish this one and have something to build on for when we come back and try to do better.”

    Austin Dillon, the 2018 Daytona 500 champion, finished in third place followed by Harvick and Hamlin, who came up short in his bid to win three consecutive Daytona 500 titles.

    “Yeah, you know you’ve just got to be thankful to be around at those moments at the end,” Dillon said. “I pulled out to see if the bottom would work and just didn’t get enough of a run. It was close. I’ve got to thank all my sponsors like Bass Pro Shops and everybody that helps this program. We were here all weekend scoring points and that’s all I can ask for…What can I say? Chevy was really close. I had fun working with my guys tonight in the Chevy camp.”

    Preece came home in sixth place with a wrecked car followed by Chastain and McMurray. LaJoie and Larson rounded out the top 10.

    Logano, Keselowski and Kyle Busch ended their nights in 12th, 13th and 14th following their vicious wreck. The wreck evaporated Keselowski’s hopes of winning his first 500 title in his 12th attempt along with Kyle Busch, who made his 17th attempt to win it.

    “[I] Had a big run down the backstretch, went to make the pass to win the Daytona 500 and it ended up really bad,” Keselowski said following his release from the infield care center. “[I] Don’t feel like I made a mistake, but I can’t drive everyone else’s car. Frustrating, the Discount Tire Ford was not the fastest, but [crew chief] Jeremy Bullins and the whole team did a great job of keeping us in position and right then, we were in position. That’s exactly where I want to be running second on the last lap at Daytona with this package. Had the run, made the move. Then it didn’t work out.”

    “Pandemonium, I guess,” Logano said. “Chaos struck. [Keselowski] kept trying to back up, trying to get a run. I was trying to back up to him and try to keep the runs from being too big. I guess he got to the back of [McDowell] and it ended up being a really big run coming at me, and it seemed we all just collided in one spot. Real bummer. None of the Penske cars won, but at least a Ford won…I hate that we didn’t win with our Shell/Pennzoil Mustang. I feel like we had a great shot, being where we were and leading on the last lap, but if we couldn’t win, I’m really happy to see McDowell win this thing.”

    “It’s to be expected,” Kyle Busch said. “Just a matter of time before it all breaks loose and whatever happens happens. I saw a window to the outside and all of a sudden, I had [Keselowski] on my hood…Got clobbered a few good times and just fortunate that I’m all good. Our M&M’s Camry, that one won’t live to see another day. Hopefully, we’ll be back here next week and have a better go around on the [Daytona] road course and get back after it.”

    Cindric was scored in 15th place in his Cup debut while Briscoe was the highest-finishing Rookie-of-the-Year contender in 19th place. Wallace finished in 17th place in his first run with 23XI Racing.

    There were 22 lead changes for 13 different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 40 laps.

    Following the first race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, Austin Dillon leads the regular-season standings by six points over Hamlin, eight over Harvick, 10 over Elliott and 12 over McDowell and Preece.

    Results.

    1. Michael McDowell, one lap led

    2. Chase Elliott, three laps led

    3. Austin Dillon, seven laps led

    4. Kevin Harvick, 17 laps led

    5. Denny Hamlin, 98 laps led, Stage 1 and 2 winner

    6. Ryan Preece

    7. Ross Chastain

    8. Jamie McMurray

    9. Corey LaJoie

    10. Kyle Larson, one lap led

    11. Cole Custer, one lap led

    12. Joey Logano – OUT, Accident, 26 laps led

    13. Brad Keselowski – OUT, Accident

    14. Kyle Busch – OUT, Accident

    15. Austin Cindric – OUT, Accident, two laps led

    16. Christopher Bell, one lap down, 32 laps led

    17. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., two laps down

    19. Chase Briscoe, three laps down

    20. Joey Gase, four laps down

    21. Cody Ware, four laps down

    22. Kurt Busch, five laps down

    23. B.J. McLeod, five laps down

    24. Josh Bilicki, six laps down

    25. Martin Truex Jr., seven laps down

    26. William Byron, nine laps down

    27. Tyler Reddick, 12 laps down

    28. Kaz Grala – OUT, dvp, 10 laps led

    29. Quin Houff – OUT, Accident

    30. Ryan Blaney – OUT, Accident

    31. Chris Buescher – OUT, dvp

    32. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, dvp

    33. Matt DiBenedetto – OUT, dvp

    34. Aric Almirola – OUT, Accident

    35. Alex Bowman – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    36. Daniel Suarez – OUT, Accident

    37. David Ragan – OUT, Accident

    38. Ryan Newman – OUT, Accident

    39. Erik Jones – OUT, Accident

    40. Derrike Cope – OUT, Accident

    With the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season underway, the next event on the schedule is the series’ return to Daytona International Speedway for the series’ second points-paying event on the road course layout. The event will occur on Sunday, February 21, at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • RSS Racing fielding Fords for 2021 NASCAR season

    RSS Racing fielding Fords for 2021 NASCAR season

    With a new season of NASCAR competition a month away, RSS Racing will be changing manufacturers from Chevrolet to Ford for the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. With the manufacturer change, RSS Racing will be powered by Roush Yates engines. Remaining as a full-time driver of the team’s No. 39 Ford Mustang is Ryan Sieg, who will receive full sponsorship support from CMR Construction and Roofing.

    The 2021 Xfinity Series season will mark Sieg’s first full-time campaign in Fords following seven full-time seasons competing in Chevrolets. Through 2020, Sieg has made 235 career starts in the Xfinity Series while recording 12 top-five results, 32 top-10 results, 129 laps led and an average result of 18.2.

    “I would like to thank Chevrolet and ECR for a great run, but it was time for something new.” Sieg stated. “We are a small family owned race team so to have this opportunity to align ourselves with Roush Yates and Ford it is truly incredible.”

    Sieg and RSS Racing are coming off a career-best 2020 season, where the Tucker, Georgia, native recorded a career-best second-place result at Talladega Superspeedway in October, two stage victories, seven top-five results, 11 top-10 results, 103 laps led and an average result of 15.5. In addition, Sieg made the 2020 Xfinity Series Playoffs and went on to finish in 10th place in the final standings.

    Throughout the 2020 Xfinity Series season, seven different competitors competed for RSS Racing, with Ryan Sieg competing as a full-time driver of the No. 39 Chevrolet while five others competed in the No. 93 Chevrolet (Joey Gase, Jeff Green, C.J. McLaughlin, Josh Reaume and Myatt Snider). In addition, the No. 38 RSS Racing Chevrolet was fielded for select events (Ross Chastain and Jeff Green). Of the 33-race schedule, Sieg and Myatt Snider recorded a total of 14 top-10 results for the team.

    Sieg and RSS Racing will embark on their first full-time season with Ford in the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, February 13, at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Custer wraps up 2020 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title

    Custer wraps up 2020 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title

    Following a seven-month regular-season voyage and an eventful regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway on August 29, the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff field is set as 16 competitors will compete for this year’s Cup title in a 10-race postseason stretch, beginning next weekend at Darlington Raceway in September. Of the 16 competitors that have qualified for the Playoffs, one competitor is also celebrating a major achievement to this season. That competitor is Cole Custer, who was named this year’s Cup Rookie-of-the-Year recipient.

    The 22-year-old native from Ladera Ranch, California, wrapped up the title by being the only rookie Cup candidate of this season to make the Playoffs and since he will emerge as the highest-finishing rookie candidate in the standings. The Cup Rookie-of-the-Year Award marks the first time Custer has achieved the award within NASCAR’s three major division series after he came into this season competing against fellow Truck and Xfinity Series competitors Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, John Hunter Nemechek and Brennan Poole. Quin Houff was also part of this year’s rookie battle.

    Following a productive path through NASCAR’s touring series, including finishing the 2018 and 2019 Xfinity Series seasons as the championship runner-up behind Reddick, Custer was promoted to a full-time driving role in the 2020 Cup Series season and in the No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing led by veteran crew chief Mike Shiplett. By then, Custer had already made three previous starts in NASCAR’s premier series in 2018. In addition, Reddick, Bell, Nemechek, Poole and Houff were also set to compete for the first time in the Cup circuit as full-time competitors.

    For the first 15 races of his rookie season, Custer achieved one top-10 result (ninth place at Phoenix Raceway in March) and was ranked in 26th place in the regular-season standings. The turning point for Custer and his team came the following race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, where Custer notched his first top-five career result in fifth place. The following race at Kentucky Speedway, he made a bold four-wide move against teammate Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney on the final lap to storm to his first Cup career victory in his 20th series start. Custer’s victory at Kentucky guaranteed himself a spot in this year’s Playoffs.

    For the remaining nine regular-season events, Custer went on to record three additional top-10 results while Reddick, Bell, Nemechek, Poole and Houff were unable to record a win to make the Playoffs and challenge Custer for the rookie title through the season finale at Phoenix in November.

    With his accomplishment, Custer is the sixth competitor from the NASCAR Next initiative to earn the Cup Rookie-of-the-Year Award, an accomplishment that has also been made by Kyle Larson, Brett Moffitt, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones and William Byron. He also became the first competitor to achieve the Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title while driving for Stewart-Haas Racing as his three SHR teammates (Aric Almirola, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick) have also made this year’s Playoffs.

    Based on his victory at Kentucky and points he earned throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Custer will start the Playoffs ranked in a three-way tie with teammate Aric Almirola and Austin Dillon for 10th place in the standings with 2,005 points. He and Matt DiBenedetto are the lone newcomers to qualify for the Cup Playoffs as title contenders.

    Custer’s first run to a Cup championship in the Playoffs will begin on Sunday, September 6, at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500, which will occur at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Harvick records milestone win for Ford at Dover, clinches regular-season championship

    Harvick records milestone win for Ford at Dover, clinches regular-season championship

    The moment Kevin Harvick, who started 17th, stormed to the lead in the the closing laps of the first stage, it was lights out for the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford compared to the rest of the competition. From there, Harvick went on to sweep both stages and storm to a dominating win in the second Drydene 311 event at Dover International Speedway on Sunday, August 23.

    The victory was Harvick’s seventh of the season, third at Dover and the 56th of his NASCAR Cup Series career. In addition, Harvick notched the 700th Cup career win for Ford and he clinched his first regular-season championship after maintaining the lead in the regular-season standings by 134 points over Denny Hamlin.

    The starting lineup was based on the results from Saturday’s Cup event, where only the top-20 finishers were inverted for Sunday’s race. With that, Matt DiBenedetto started on pole position and was joined on the front row by Ryan Newman.

    Kurt Busch and Alex Bowman started at the rear of the field after they elected to race in backup cars on Sunday along with Garrett Smithley due to an engine change.

    When the green flag waved, DiBenedetto took off with the lead and he led the first lap while Aric Almirola worked his way to second place after passing Newman. Behind, Austin Dillon was in fourth while Chris Buescher moved up to fifth.

    Shortly after, Ryan Blaney moved up into the top five as he was running in fourth place behind Newman and in front of Austin Dillon, teammate Tyler Reddick and Buescher. 

    While the competitors around the track continued to battle early and hard for positions, the caution flew around the fifth lap when contact from Joey Logano entering Turn 4 got Ricky Stenhouse Jr. loose as Stenhouse spun and made contact with the inside wall backwards. In the ensuing chaos, Chase Elliott sustained damage to the front nose of his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE after running into the rear bumper of Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry while Garrett Smithley and Joey Gase spun entering Turn 4 as Gase made hard contact with the outside wall.

    Following the wreck, Elliott and Gase retired while Kyle Busch, Stenhouse and Smithley continued. Under caution, Erik Jones made a pit stop after he sustained minimal damage to his No. 20 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 11, Almirola and his No. 10 Smithfield Hometown Original Ford Mustang gained a strong start on the inside lane to take over the lead from DiBenedetto and the Wood Brothers Racing’s No. 21 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang. Behind, Blaney moved up to second place while DiBenedetto settled in third place ahead of Newman. Reddick moved up to fifth place in front of teammate Austin Dillon and Brad Keselowski. 

    Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin and his No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry were in 12th place in front of William Byron while Jimmie Johnson and his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE were in 15th in front of Kevin Harvick. Martin Truex Jr. was in 17th ahead of Bubba Wallace and Matt Kenseth. Kurt Busch was back in 22nd while Alex Bowman was in 24th. Jones was in 27th while Kyle Busch was back in 29th. 

    Following the first 20 laps, Almirola was leading by a second over Blaney followed by DiBenedetto, Reddick and Austin Dillon. Behind Logano moved up to eighth place after passing Newman while rookie Cole Custer was scored in seventh behind Keselowski. Buescher, on the other hand, had fallen back to 10th in front of Clint Bowyer.

    Six laps later, on Lap 26, the battling behind the leaders continued to ensue as Hamlin moved into the top 10 after passing Newman. Just behind him, Harvick moved up to 11th while Truex was in 13th ahead of Buescher. Shortly after, Harvick passed Hamlin for 10th place while Truex moved up to 12th. Meanwhile, Byron was in 13th place and running two spots ahead of teammate and rival for the final Playoff spot, Johnson. Way behind, Kyle Busch was in 24th while Kurt Busch was in 25th.

    Just past the Lap 30 mark, the caution returned due to debris spotted on the track. Under caution, most of the leaders led by Almirola, DiBenedetto and Keselowski pitted while others led by Blaney, Byron and Kurt Busch remained on track.

    When the race restarted on Lap 39, Blaney took off with the lead following a strong start on the outside lane while Byron moved up to the runner-up spot. By the following lap, DiBenedetto, the first one on fresh tires, made his way up to third place followed by Keselowski while Kurt Busch fell back to fifth place. Behind, Austin Dillon was in sixth place in front of Johnson, Almirola, Logano and Custer. Harvick was up in 11th and primed to move back into the top 10 while Bowyer, Hamlin and Truex were in 13th, 14th and 15th.

    By Lap 50, Blaney and his No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang were leading by more than a second over Byron and his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. DiBenedetto, Keselowski and Kurt Busch continued to run inside the top five while Almirola passed Johnson to move into seventh place. Harvick and Logano were in ninth and 10th while Bowyer, Hamlin and Truex continued to run within the top 15. Wallace was in 17th in between Alex Bowman and Jones while Buescher and Kenseth were in the top 20. Newman was back in 22nd ahead of Daniel Suarez while Kyle Busch was back in 25th in between Ty Dillon and rookie Christopher Bell.

    Six laps later, Harvick continued his march to the front as he passed Austin Dillon and Kurt Busch to move up to sixth while Johnson continued to retain ninth place ahead of Logano. Towards the front, Keselowski muscled his way to third place and DiBenedetto and Almirola continued to battle while Harvick joined the party.

    With all the battling around the track continuing to take place, Blaney was still leading by more than a second over Byron. By Lap 62, however, Harvick moved up to third place after passing Keselowski. Four laps later, Harvick and his No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang moved into second place after passing Byron as he started to reel in to race leader Blaney for the first stage win with a fast car.

    On the penultimate lap of the stage, Harvick took the lead from Blaney following a pass on the outside lane and he was gone from there as he claimed the first stage on Lap 70 and his sixth stage victory of the season. Blaney settled in second behind Harvick while Byron, Almirola, and Keselowski were scored in the top five followed by Logano, DiBenedetto. Johnson, Kurt Busch and Austin Dillon.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Harvick retained the lead following a stellar stop from the No. 4 pit crew. Blaney exited second ahead of Byron, Logano and Keselowski. Following the pit stops, however, Almirola was sent to the rear of the field due to speeding on pit road.

    Shortly after, the red flag was displayed and the race was halted for more than 12 minutes due to safety workers repairing the concrete/pavement in between Turns 3 and 4.

    Once the engines re-fired, the cars returned under cautious pace and the racing under green resumed on Lap 78, Harvick rocketed away with the lead on the outside lane followed by Blaney and Logano while Byron fell back to fourth. Behind, Hamlin and Keselowski battled for fifth place while Truex, Johnson and DiBenedetto were battling in the top 10 ahead of Bowyer and his No. 14 Haas Automation Ford Mustang.

    More than 10 laps later on Lap 90, Harvick was still leading by more than a second over Blaney and more than two seconds over Logano and Byron with Hamlin trailing by more than four seconds and Keselowski by more than five seconds. With Byron in fourth, teammate Johnson was in eighth ahead of DiBenedetto, Bowyer and Kurt Busch. Rookies Custer and Reddick were in 12th and 14th while Jones was in 15th ahead of Wallace, Kenseth and Kyle Busch. Almirola was back in 21st ahead of Austin Dillon and Bell while Newman was in 25th.

    Just shy of the Lap 100 mark, the caution returned due to a spin involving Corey LaJoie in Turn 2 following contact with Ty Dillon. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Logano emerged with the lead after exiting first ahead of Harvick and Blaney while Truex and Hamlin exited inside the top five ahead of Byron. Following the pits stops, however, Johnson was sent to the rear of the field due to speeding on pit road. 

    When the race restarted on Lap 106, Logano and Harvick battled dead even through Turns 1 and 2 before Logano and his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang prevailed by clearing Harvick and the field. Blaney, Hamlin and Truex continued running in a single-file lane in the top five followed by Byron, Keselowski, Bell, Kurt Busch and DiBenedetto. Soon after, Bell and DiBenedetto battled intensely for ninth place with Custer and Bowyer trailing behind.

    At the front, Harvick started to intimidate Logano for the lead. After spending the previous few laps trying to gain a run and navigate his way around Logano, Harvick prevailed and reassumed the lead on Lap 115. Meanwhile, Byron was in sixth while Johnson was up to 23rd.

    By Lap 130, with the field settling into single-file racing, Harvick was still leading by more than a second over Logano with Blaney trailing by less than three seconds. Hamlin and Truex were still in the top five followed by Byron. Keselowski, Kurt Busch, DiBenedetto and Bowyer continued racing in the top 10 while Almirola was in 13th in between Bowman and Reddick. Austin Dillon was in 15th ahead of Jones, Johnson, Kenseth, Buescher and Kyle Busch. Wallace was back in 23rd ahead of Newman and Michael McDowell.

    Ten laps later and on Lap 140, Harvick was at the front of the field by more than two seconds over Logano with Blaney and Hamlin trailing by less than five seconds. 

    Another twenty five laps later and past the halfway mark, Harvick extended his advantage to more than seven seconds over Penske teammates Logano and Blaney. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Hamlin and Truex were in fourth and fifth as both continued to reel in the Penske teammates. Behind, Byron was in fifth place while teammate Bowman, racing in a backup car, was in sixth. Behind, Johnson was up in 12th in between Stewart-Haas Racing’s Bowyer and Almirola while Kurt Busch was in 10th behind Keselowski and Custer. DiBenedetto was in 15th ahead of Buescher and Reddick while Kyle Busch was in 19th. Behind, competitors like Jones, Newman, Wallace, McDowell, Bell, Ryan Preece, LaJoie, Suarez and Ty Dillon were pinned a lap behind the leaders.

    By Lap 180 and with the laps in the second stage winding down, Harvick continued to extend his advantage as he was leading by more than eight seconds over Logano. Behind, Hamlin and Truex made a three-wide move on Blaney as Hamlin moved up to third place in front of Truex while Blaney was back in fifth place in front of Byron.

    With no challengers mounting close behind his fast car, Harvick streaked across the start/finish line to claim the second stage on Lap 185 for his seventh stage victory of the season. By then, he clinched the regular-season championship and will earn an extra 15 points towards the 2020 Cup Playoffs in September. Logano settled behind Harvick followed by Hamlin, Truex and Blaney. Byron, Bowman, Custer, Johnson and Keselowski were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Harvick retained the lead followed by Logano, Hamlin, Truex, Byron and Blaney. Prior to the start of the final stage, Hamlin opted to restart beneath Harvick on the front row while Logano restarted in the second row and on the outside lane next to Truex’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry.

    With approximately 190 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Harvick rocketed away with the lead. Logano moved up to second place ahead of Hamlin and Truex while Byron, Bowman and Blaney battled for more. Johnson was in 10th place ahead of Kurt Busch while Almirola worked his way back to 12th in front of teammate Bowyer. DiBenedetto was back in 15th while Kyle Busch was in 18th ahead of Reddick. Jones, meanwhile, was in 27th and pinned a lap behind the leaders.

    At the Lap 200 mark and with 111 laps remaining, Harvick was leading by more than a second over Logano with Hamlin trailing by more than two seconds and Truex and Byron trailing by less than four seconds.

    With 100 laps remaining, Harvick’s advantage extended to more than two seconds over Logano while Hamlin and Truex were stabilized in third and fourth. Byron was in fifth, four spots ahead of teammate Johnson with Almirola trailing Johnson. Almirola and Bowyer were in 10th and 11th followed by Kurt Busch. DiBenedetto was still in 15th while Kyle Busch made his way up to 16th.

    Four laps later, the caution returned when rookie Quin Houff got loose and spun in Turn 1 from the outside lane and down to the banking. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Harvick retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Logano, Hamlin, Truex, Bowman and Byron.

    With 90 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Harvick, once again, jumped ahead with the advantage. While Hamlin and Logano pursued Harvick for the lead, Truex retained fourth place ahead of Bowman, Byron and Blaney while Bowyer passed teammate Custer for eighth place. Behind, Johnson was back in 13th behind Keselowski and ahead of Kyle Busch while Kurt Busch and DiBenedetto were back in 17th and 18th.

    With less than 85 laps remaining, Hamlin dropped off the pace and made an unscheduled pit stop to address a loose wheel as his hopes of winning two Dover races in one weekend evaporated.

    At the front, Harvick continued to lead by two seconds over Logano while Truex trailed by more than three seconds. Hamlin’s misfortune moved Hendrick Motorsports’ teammates Bowman and Byron back into the top five while Stewart-Haas Racing’s Bowyer and Almirola battled for seventh place. Johnson moved back into 10th place behind Custer while Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch moved up to 13th and 15th.

    Less than 60 laps remaining, Harvick’s advantage grew to more than three seconds over Logano while Truex trailed the leaders by less than five seconds. Behind Bowman and Byron, Almirola was up in sixth place in front of Blaney while Johnson was in ninth in between teammates Bowyer and Custer. Not long after, Bowyer and Johnson passed Blaney and then, Johnson passed Bowyer to move into seventh place.

    With 50 laps remaining and with dark clouds starting to overshadow the track, Harvick was leading by more than four seconds over Logano while Truex trailed by five seconds. Byron was in fifth place while Johnson continued his march towards the front in seventh place. By then, Blaney had fallen back to 11th place while Custer and Austin Dillon occupied the final spots in the top 10.

    With less than 40 laps remaining, Harvick’s advantage grew to more than five seconds over Logano as he was also navigating his way through lapped traffic. Meanwhile, Johnson passed Almirola to move up to sixth place as he started to pursue his teammate/Playoff rival Byron for more.

    Down to under 25 laps remaining, the caution returned when LaJoie made contact with the Turn 3 outside wall after cutting a right-front tire. The caution all but evaporated Harvick’s advantage of more than five seconds over Logano, Truex and Bowman while Johnson was behind Byron by more than a second for fifth place.

    Under caution, the leaders pitted and Johnson emerged with the lead following a gusty two-tire pit stop. Harvick exited in second followed by Harvick, Truex, Bowman, Logano and Byron.

    With 17 laps remaining, the racing under green resumed as Johnson and his No. 48 Chevrolet retained the lead for three turns. Through Turns 3 and 4, however, Harvick was back in command with the lead as Johnson retained second place in front of Truex. Byron, meanwhile, was in fourth place.

    Four laps later, Truex moved into second place as Johnson had teammates Byron in the No. 24 car and Bowman in the No. 88 car in his rearview mirror. Another four laps later and with 10 laps remaining, Harvick extended his lead to nearly three seconds over Truex while Johnson was still in third place just ahead of teammates Byron and Bowman. Behind, Kyle Busch battled Custer for the final spot in the top 10.

    For the final five laps, while the field around the track continued to battle for positions, Harvick was long gone from the field and he had enough of a big cushion over Truex to streak his No. 4 Ford across the finish line and grab another win to a dominating season and in his quest for his second Cup championship.

    With 56 Cup career wins, Harvick moved into a tie with Kyle Busch for ninth place on the all-time NASCAR Cup wins list. In addition, Harvick became the third competitor to clinch the regular-season title since its inception in 2017 as he also recorded the 63rd Cup career win for Stewart-Haas Racing.

    “I have to thank everybody on our Mobil 1 Ford Mustang,” Harvick said in Victory Lane on NBCSN. “Congratulations to Ford on their 700th Cup win. Just really got to thank everybody on this team. [Crew chief] Rodney [Childers] and everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing for overcoming what happened yesterday with the track bar, being able to nail the balance today. Man, what a year. What a seven years. Just really, really proud of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing for being able to drive this car. Week after week, they just put so much effort into making this thing go fast and it’s just been a great year. I love the grit about our race team. I think that’s what Gene Haas and Tony Stewart have built at Stewart-Haas Racing. Sometimes, we don’t have the fastest car, but we have guys that are willing to just suck it up and win. We have a weak link on that day, somebody else is gonna carry the team. Just really proud of that because that’s what it’s all about. You’re only as good as the people around you, and we have great people.”

    Truex rallied from vibration issues in the closing laps to finish in the runner-up spot for the second day in a row. Compared to Saturday’s run in the late stages, Truex had nothing for race winner Harvick.

    “Definitely not the same way [as Saturday],” Truex said. “I thought, if anything, we were probably a little bit worse today. We tried some things overnight, definitely didn’t do what we hoped it would do. Live and learn. It was a tough day. The Bass Pro Camry had good speed. It was just a handful again. Just never could get it to do what we wanted it to do. We fought hard, we battled. We executed well. Came home with a good result. We’ll keep working to try to get a little bit better. A finish [at Daytona] would be fabulous. If not, hopefully, we’ll pay it forward with a little bit of luck for Talladega in the Playoffs.”

    Behind, Johnson held off teammates Byron and Bowman to finish in third place in his 38th and final event at the Monster Mile. With their results and the stage points both earned on Sunday, Byron holds sole possession of the 16th and final spot to the Playoffs by four points over teammate Johnson heading into next weekend’s regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway.

    Logano finished in sixth place while Almirola, Keselowski, Austin Dillon and Custer finished in the top 10 ahead of Kyle Busch, Blaney, Kurt Busch, Buescher and Kenseth. 

    Based on their top-15 results, Almirola and the Busch brothers secured spots for this year’s Cup Playoffs based on points along with Bowyer, who finished 16th, ahead of DiBenedetto.

    Sunday’s Cup race capped off an eventful weekend of motorsports racing at the Monster Mile that involved a Cup race on Saturday, two Xfinity Series races on back-to-back dates, a Truck Series and an ARCA Menards Series event on Friday. Prior to Harvick’s win, the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway occurred, with Takuma Sato achieving his second Indy title over Scott Dixon and Graham Rahal.

    There were 15 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 40 laps.

    Results.

    1. Kevin Harvick, 223 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    2. Martin Truex Jr.

    3. Jimmie Johnson, three laps led

    4. William Byron

    5. Alex Bowman

    6. Joey Logano, 15 laps led

    7. Aric Almirola, 22 laps led

    8. Brad Keselowski

    9. Austin Dillon

    10. Cole Custer

    11. Kyle Busch 

    12. Ryan Blaney, 37 laps led

    13. Kurt Busch

    14. Chris Buescher

    15. Matt Kenseth

    16. Clint Bowyer

    17. Matt DiBenedetto, 11 laps led

    18. Tyler Reddick

    19. Denny Hamlin

    20. John Hunter Nemechek

    21. Bubba Wallace

    22. Erik Jones, one lap down

    23. Corey LaJoie, one lap down

    24. Ryan Newman, one lap down

    25. Michael McDowell, one lap down

    26. Ryan Preece, one lap down

    27. Christopher Bell, one lap down

    28. Daniel Suarez, two laps down

    29. Ty Dillon, two laps down

    30. Brennan Poole, six laps down

    31. B.J. McLeod, eight laps down

    32. Josh Bilicki, nine laps down

    33. Reed Sorenson, nine laps down

    34. Quin Houff, nine laps down

    35. Garrett Smithley, 15 laps down

    36. Timmy Hill – OUT

    37. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 96 laps down

    38. J.J. Yeley – OUT

    39. Chase Elliott – OUT, Accident

    40. Joey Gase – OUT, Accident

    The NASCAR Cup Series will return to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 and the site of the final regular-season event on Saturday, August 29, where the 2020 Cup Playoffs will be determined. The race will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Wallace to make 100th Cup start at Dover

    Wallace to make 100th Cup start at Dover

    A major milestone is in the making for Bubba Wallace, driver of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE and NASCAR’s current lone African-American competitor in the Cup Series. When the green flag waves on Saturday, August 22, at Dover International Speedway, Wallace will reach 100 starts in the sport’s premier series and in his third full-time season competing against NASCAR’s elite.

    A native of Mobile, Alabama, Wallace was already a rising star in NASCAR entering June 2017, having won six ARCA Menards Series East races and five NASCAR Truck Series races while competing in his third season in the Xfinity Series with Roush Fenway Racing. By then, Aric Almirola was in his sixth season as driver of the No. 43 Smithfield Ford Fusion for Richard Petty Motorsports.

    When Almirola was injured and diagnosed with a compression fracture of his T5 vertebrae after being involved in a vicious multi-car accident at Kansas Speedway in May, Richard Petty Motorsports named Wallace as an interim competitor of the No. 43 Smithfield Ford, beginning at Pocono Raceway in June. Wallace’s interim role at Pocono not only marked his Cup debut, but he also became the first African-American competitor to compete in the Cup Series since Bill Lester made the last accomplishment in 2006. At Pocono, Wallace qualified 16th and finished 26th in his Cup debut after being hampered with a handful of pit road speeding penalties. Following the race, where he congratulated his longtime friend, fellow competitor and first-time winner Ryan Blaney, Wallace passed out and required medical attention.

    Wallace made three additional starts in 2017 in the No. 43 car at Michigan International Speedway in June, Daytona International Speedway and at Kentucky Speedway (both in July). His best results during those three races were a 15th-place result at Daytona and an 11th-place result at Kentucky. The following race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Almirola was medically cleared to return to competition and Wallace was left without a full-time ride for the remainder of the season after his Xfinity ride at Roush Fenway Racing was terminated due to sponsorship issues. He made one start in the Truck Series at Michigan in August, where he won driving for MDM Motorsports, and one additional start in the Xfinity Series at Chicagoland Speedway in September, where he finished 10th driving for Biagi-DenBeste Racing.

    In mid-October, amid months of speculation, NASCAR Hall of Famer and team owner Richard Petty named Bubba Wallace as a full-time competitor of the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season, which Wallace entered as a Rookie-of-the-Year candidate as he also became the first African-American competitor to compete on a full-time basis in the Cup Series since the late NASCAR Hall of Famer Wendell Scott made the last accomplishment in 1971.

    Wallace made his first start in the No. 43 Chevrolet in the first of two Can-Am Duel races at Daytona International Speedway in February, where he dodged a handful of on-track incidents to finish in third place behind race winner Blaney and Joey Logano. Wallace’s third-place result in the duel event earned him the seventh-place starting spot for the 60th running of the Daytona 500 three days later. Prior to the 500, Wallace received support from a number of star athletes, including Super Bowl XLV champion Charles Woodson, Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron and Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton. During the Daytona 500, Wallace made a late charge and edged Denny Hamlin by a nose to finish in second place behind race winner Austin Dillon. Though he did not win the race, he won the hearts of fans over his strong performance and he cherished the result during his post-race press conference by sharing a tearful hug with his mother and family. Wallace also became the highest-finishing African-American competitor in the Daytona 500, eclipsing the previous record made by Scott’s 13th-place result in 1966.

    Following his historic run in the Daytona 500, Wallace finished no higher than 20th place in the next five Cup races before he earned his second top-10 career finish (eighth-place) at Texas Motor Speedway. The following race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Wallace had a historic run in the making when he took the lead from Brad Keselowski on Lap 375 of 500 and led his first six laps in the Cup Series and in a blue and orange No. 43 STP Chevrolet that mirrored the scheme Richard Petty sported when he dominated stock car racing in the past. Though Wallace was primed for a strong result at Bristol, he ended his race with a disappointing 16th-place finish following handling issues. For the remainder of his rookie Cup season, Wallace earned one additional top-10 result (10th at Phoenix) and was beaten by William Byron for the Rookie-of-the-Year title. Overall, Wallace earned one top-five result, three top-10 results and an average result of 24.5 throughout the 36-race schedule before he concluded the season in 28th place in the final standings.

    Wallace started off the 2019 season with lead engineer Derek Stamets as his new crew chief following Blickensderfer’s departure from RPM to Front Row Motorsports. For the first 12 Cup races of the season, Wallace finished no higher than 17th place (Martinsville in March). The following race, which was the Monster Energy Open at Charlotte Motor Speedway, was where Wallace flexed his muscles after he fended off a late charge from Daniel Suarez to win the second of three stages in the Open and transfer to his first All-Star Race of his career. Wallace’s success continued during the main event, where he finished in fifth place. His other success to the 2019 season occurred at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he dodged a series of carnages to finish in third place behind race winner Kevin Harvick and Logano. The third-place result marked his first top-five result since finishing second in the 2018 Daytona 500 and the second crown-jewel event where he earned a podium result. Wallace, however, recorded four additional top-15 results before he concluded the season in 28th place in the final standings and with an average result of 23.9.

    This season, Wallace reunited with veteran crew chief Jerry Baxter, who won five Truck races with Wallace in 2013 and 2014 with Kyle Busch Motorsports. Wallace started off the season by finishing 15th in the Daytona 500. He rebounded the following race by finishing in sixth place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after opting to remain on track on old tires for a two-lap shootout to the finish. He went on to finish 27th and 19th in the next two Cup races before COVID-19 paused this year’s racing season through May. By then, Wallace was in 18th place in the regular-season standings.

    Since the return of racing at Darlington Raceway in May through last weekend at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, Wallace has earned three additional top-10 results, seven additional top-15 results and an average result of 19.8. He is currently in 21st place in the regular-season standings and is 165 points below the top-16 cutline to make this year’s Cup Playoffs. He has yet to announce his racing plans for next season and beyond.

    In addition to his competitiveness on the track, Wallace, this season, has become the face of NASCAR’s involvement in the Black Lives Matter movement and speaking out on the abuse of African Americans by the police. At Martinsville Speedway, he sported a special black scheme on his No. 43 Chevrolet that featured the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter and the phrase “Compassion, Love, Understanding.” Shortly after at Talladega Superspeedway, where a noose was discovered in Wallace’s garage stall, all the competitors and crew members joined Wallace to the front of the pit road in a show of solidarity through the national anthem and prior to the race. Despite the incident being determined that Wallace was not a target of a hate crime and the backlash that followed suit towards the competitor of the iconic No. 43 car, Wallace vows to continue to maintain his stance against his doubters and race towards history both on and off the track.

    Catch Wallace’s milestone start on August 22 at Dover at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Johnson and Buescher record strong top-five results at Daytona RC

    Johnson and Buescher record strong top-five results at Daytona RC

    While Chase Elliott achieved a historic win in the inaugural Daytona International Speedway Road Course event on Sunday, August 16, teammate Jimmie Johnson and Chris Buescher achieved much-needed runs inside the top five and in their quest to contend for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series championship battle.

    For Johnson, who sported a new white and purple primary scheme to his No. 48 Ally/Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, his race started in 11th place. Following the opening lap, the seven-time Cup champion made his way into the top 10. Throughout the first stage spanning 15 laps, he continued to methodically work his way towards the front and was scored in third place when the stage concluded, thus collecting a handful of stage points.

    Due to a series of pit strategies made among multiple competitors, Johnson restarted in 20th place for the stage of the second stage and after he made a pit stop for four fresh tires and fuel under the first stage’s break. Throughout the second stage that also spanned 15 laps, he raced and battled within the top 15 to top 20. Despite sustaining a hole to the front nose of his car due to contact on the restart to start the second stage, Johnson was able to settle in 14th place when the second stage concluded.

    Restarting in sixth place for the final stage, Johnson was running in fourth place and battling for more when the race was delayed due to weather with less than 30 laps remaining. Nearly half an hour later and when the race restarted, he continued to flex his muscles as he worked his way as high as second place, trailing teammate Chase Elliott, before he fell back to fifth.

    With five laps remaining, Johnson was poised for a top-three result behind Elliott and Denny Hamlin when the caution due to a single-car incident flew with five laps remaining. During a final three-lap dash to the finish, Johnson continued to battle for a spot in the top five before he crossed the finish line in fourth place, three spots behind race winner/teammate Elliott.

    Johnson’s third-place result in the inaugural Daytona Road Course event marked his best result and first top-five result since finishing third at Bristol Motor Speedway in May. It also marked his 12th career top-five result at Daytona in his penultimate run at the world center of racing. Despite his top-five run, Johnson trails teammate William Byron by 25 points for the 16th and final spot to the 2020 Playoffs with three regular-season races remaining.

    “Good job to everyone on my No. 48 Ally Chevy team,” Johnson said. “I just lacked that rear grip at the end there. That was a really fun and a solid day, that’s what we needed and now we go to my favorite track – Dover. So proud of Chase, what a road racer he is.”

    For Buescher, who carried a special message on his No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Mustang in celebration of a 10-year partnership between RFR and sponsor Fastenal, his race started back in 21st place. Following the first 10 laps, however, he was back in 24th place. When the first stage concluded on Lap 15, he was scored in 30th due to making a pit stop under green two laps earlier. Restarting in 14th place for the start of the second stage, Buescher spent most of the run inside the top 20 before he made a pit stop under green. When the second stage concluded, he was in 23rd.

    Lining up in 13th place for the final stage, Buescher was in ninth place when the race was delayed for nearly half an hour due to weather. When the race resumed with 26 laps remaining, he continued to race inside the top 10 before he pitted under 20 laps remaining. When he returned on the track, he was back in the top 15 and was charging to get back into the top 10. By the time he moved up to ninth place, the caution flew with five laps remaining due to a single-car incident.

    During a three-lap dash to the finish, Buescher wasted no time charging his way into the top 10 and for more as he made his first appearance inside the top five. When the checkered flag flew, he was able to cross the finish line in fifth place and as the highest-finishing Ford competitor.

    The fifth-place result was Buescher’s sixth of his Cup career and his best since finishing in third place in the Daytona 500 in February. With his result, however, he is 174 points below the top-16 cutline and will likely need a race win to qualify for the 2020 Cup Playoffs with three regular-season races remaining.

    “That was just a fun day for our Fastenal Ford Mustang team,” Buescher said. “We needed that after a couple of hard weeks. Some decent runs and some bad luck and that was fun. I was able to mix it up and steadily work our way forward. We kept learning as we went and there at the end we got beat up. All four corners of this Mustang are beat up but we got the finish out of it. That was a good one. A good day.”

    Johnson and Buescher, along with their fellow Cup competitors, will return next weekend for a pair of NASCAR Cup Series races at Dover International Speedway. The first Cup Dover event will occur on Saturday, August 22, at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN while the second Dover race will occur on Sunday. August 23, at 4. p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Keselowski to make 400th Cup start at Daytona RC

    Keselowski to make 400th Cup start at Daytona RC

    With the NASCAR Cup Series set to race for the first time at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, Brad Keselowski is set to achieve a milestone start of his racing career. By taking the green flag at Daytona on Sunday, August 16, Keselowski will reach 400 career starts in the Cup Series and in his 11th full-time season in the series.

    A native of Rochester Hills, Michigan, Keselowski was already a rising star in the 2008 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, racing for JR Motorsports, when he made his first two Cup career starts late in the season. Driving the No. 25 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet Impala for Hendrick Motorsports, Keselowski finished 19th in his Cup debut at Texas Motor Speedway on November 2 followed by the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 16, where he finished 23rd.

    The following season, aside from competing on a full-time basis with JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, Keselowski competed on a part-time basis in the Cup Series between the No. 25 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports and the No. 09 Miccosukee Resorts & Gaming Chevrolet for Phoenix Racing. At Talladega Superspeedway, in his fifth series start, Keselowski battled and made contact with Carl Edwards on the final lap through Turn 4 to grab the lead and notch his first Cup career victory in upset fashion while Edwards spun, was hit by Ryan Newman and went airborne before colliding against the catch fence while upside down and came to a halt shy of the finish line. The victory was also the first for James Finch, owner of Phoenix Racing, as Keselowski also secured a starting spot for the 2009 All-Star Race. Through August 2020, Keselowski is one of 11 competitors to record a first Cup career victory at Talladega.

    Keselowski competed in a total of 12 Cup races throughout the 2009 season between Phoenix Racing and Hendrick Motorsports, and earned four top-10 results (his victory at Talladega included). For the final three Cup races of the 2009 season, Keselowski drove the No. 12 Dodge for team owner Roger Penske. His best result was a 25th-place result in the season finale at Homestead Miami Speedway in November.

    For the 2010 season, Keselowski competed on a full-time basis for the Penske organization in both the Xfinity and Cup Series. He made his Daytona 500 debut in February, where he finished 36th after being involved in an early multi-car wreck. After finishing 21st and 26th the next two races, he was primed for a top-10 run the following race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was during the closing laps, however, where Carl Edwards, who was irritated from being involved in an earlier incident caused by Keselowski, intentionally spun Keselowski in Turn 4 as Keselowski’s No. 12 Dodge went airborne, flipped over and made hard contact against the outside wall before rolling back on all four wheels and coming to rest against the top lane in Turn 1. Despite the incident, Keselowski emerged uninjured as NASCAR would park Edwards for the remainder of the race. Keselowski struggled throughout his first full-time Cup season, though he earned his first career pole at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September, recorded a seventh-place result in the All-Star Race in May and recorded back-to-back 10th-place results in October. When the 2010 Cup season concluded, he settled in 25th in the final standings. Keselowski, nonetheless, had a breakout season in the Xfinity Series, where he won six races, recorded 29 top-10 results and achieved the series championship, the first for himself and the first for Roger Penske

    In 2011, Keselowski remained with the Penske organization, but transitioned to the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge led by his Xfinity championship crew chief Paul Wolfe. For the first 12 Cup races into the season, Keselowski recorded one top-five result (third at Darlington Raceway in May) and one pole (Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May) while he finished outside the top 20 five times. At Kansas Speedway in June, Keselowski gambled on fuel in the closing laps to beat Dale Earnhardt Jr., his mentor, and claim his second Cup triumph. The victory was Keselowski’s first since winning at Talladega in 2009, the first of the season for the Penske organization and the first Cup victory for Paul Wolfe.

    In August, Keselowski was in a testing session at Road Atlanta when he was involved in a vicious accident, where he made head-on contact into a concrete wall at nearly 200 mph, and broke his left ankle. Despite the injuries that also included back pains, Keselowski continued to race in the Cup Series. Not long after the accident, Keselowski held off Kyle Busch to claim his second victory of the season at Pocono Raceway. After finishing second and third the next two races, Keselowski responded back by claiming his unprecedented third win of the season at Bristol Motor Speedway under the lights. With a sixth-place finish the following race at Atlanta, Keselowski locked himself into the 2011 Playoffs. Throughout the postseason, he earned four top-five results before he settled in an impressive fifth place in the final standings.

    Keselowski started the 2012 season with his second consecutive DNF in the Daytona 500 after being involved in a late multi-car wreck. Three races later, Keselowski prevailed in a late battle with Matt Kenseth to win at Bristol Motor Speedway for his first victory of the season. Throughout the 26 regular-season stretch, Keselowski achieved wins at Talladega in May and at Kentucky Speedway in June as he secured a spot into the 2012 Playoffs. By then, he also surpassed 100 Cup career starts.

    During the first Playoff race at Chicagoland Speedway in September, Keselowski prevailed in a late battle with Jimmie Johnson to win for the fourth time of the season as his quest for the Cup title over Johnson ignited. Two races later, Keselowski achieved his unprecedented fifth win of the season at Dover International Speedway following a late battle on fuel mileage. By then, Keselowski was leading the championship standings. Though Keselowski continued running and earning top-10 results throughout the Playoffs, Johnson reassumed the points lead following back-to-back victories at Martinsville Speedway and at Texas Motor Speedway in late October and early November. Then, during the following race at Phoenix, Keselowski was back atop the standings after dodging a handful of incidents in the final laps and taking advantage of Johnson wrecking out midway into the race to finish sixth. Entering the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Keselowski was leading the standings by 20 points over Johnson. When the checkered flag flew in the finale, Keselowski finished in 15th place, but he achieved his first Cup championship while Johnson was eliminated late in the race due to a rear gear issue. The Cup championship was the first for Keselowski in his third season in competition, the first for Roger Penske and the last for Dodge with the manufacturer withdrawing from the sport following the 2012 season.

    Piloting a Ford Fusion, Keselowski started off the 2013 season with four consecutive top-five finishes. Despite earning 11 top-10 results throughout the 26 regular-season stretch, inconsistent results and failing to achieve a win throughout the regular season cost him an opportunity to defend his title as he failed to make the Playoffs. Nonetheless, he earned five top-five results for the remaining 10 races, which included his lone win of the season at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October, before he concluded the season in 14th place in the final standings.

    Keselowski rallied back the following season with three consecutive top-three results to start the season, which included a victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as he secured his spot into the 2014 Playoffs. He went on to earn victories at Kentucky, New Hampshire and at Richmond, and he recorded the 400th all-time win for Team Penske as he entered the Playoffs with the top seed based on his four regular-season wins. He started the Playoffs by winning at Chicagoland Speedway and advancing into the second round. In the first two races of the second round, Keselowski was involved in incidents on the track and was left in the danger zone of not advancing into the third round of the Playoffs. Though he made rivals for his aggressive driving, among which included Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart, he responded back by winning at Talladega and securing a spot into the third round of the Playoffs. Keselowski’s late misfortunes, however, continued, starting at Martinsville, where he was involved in a late multi-car accident late in the race, followed by Texas, where he made contact with Jeff Gordon on a late restart, an incident that cost Gordon a shot for the victory and led to a brawl on pit road following the race. Despite finishing fourth the following race at Phoenix, Keselowski was eliminated from title contention and he went on to conclude the season in fifth place in the final standings. Though he came up short in achieving his second Cup title, he earned a career-high six victories, a career-high five poles and 20 top-10 results.

    Throughout the 2015 season, Keselowski achieved one victory (Auto Club Speedway in March), nine top-five results and a career-high 25 top-10 results before he concluded the season in seventh place in the final standings. By then, he surpassed 200 Cup career starts. From 2016 to 2017, Keselowski won a total of seven races, including his first victories at Daytona, Atlanta and Martinsville, and achieved 43 top-10 results with a best points result of fourth place in 2017 after making it all the way to the Championship Round. By then, he surpassed 300 Cup career starts.

    In 2018, Keselowski won the non-point Clash at Daytona International Speedway in February, but went winless for the first 24 races of the season. The following race at Darlington Raceway, Keselowski won the Southern 500 and achieved his first crown-jewel event win in NASCAR. He backed it up the following race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Brickyard 400, while recording the first NASCAR Cup victory at Indianapolis for Roger Penske. For the 2018 Playoff opener at Las Vegas, Keselowski won and achieved the 500th win for Team Penske across motorsports. Despite winning three races in consecutive weeks, he concluded the season in eighth place in the final standings after being eliminated from title contention following the second round.

    Last season, Keselowski recorded the first victory for the new Ford Mustang in the Cup Series at Atlanta, the second race of the season. He went on to win at Martinsville in March and at Kansas in May. Though he achieved 19 top-10 results, he was eliminated from title contention following the second round of the Playoffs and he concluded the season in eighth place in the final standings and for the second year in a row.

    This season, through the first 22 races of the 2020 Cup season and his first full season with crew chief Jeremy Bullins, Keselowski has won three times (Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, Bristol in May and at New Hampshire in July) to tally his win column to 33. He has also achieved six stage wins, nine top-five results and 16 top-10 results. He is currently ranked in second place in the regular-season standings and trails points leader Kevin Harvick by 137 points. A day after winning at New Hampshire, Keselowski also announced that he will be remaining with Team Penske for the 2021 Cup season.

    Catch Keselowski’s milestone start in the inaugural Cup Series race at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course on August 16 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Kyle Busch, Almirola remain in Playoff contention with top-six runs at Michigan

    Kyle Busch, Almirola remain in Playoff contention with top-six runs at Michigan

    While Kevin Harvick capped off an eventful NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader weekend at Michigan International Speedway with back-to-back victories, Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola kept themselves in guaranteed spots for this year’s Playoffs after both notched top-10 results on Sunday, August 9, at the Irish Hills. To go along with their results from the first Michigan race on Saturday, August 8, and the stage points they collected during the two Michigan races, both left the Irish Hills satisfied with their runs as they continue to set their sights towards the postseason and an opportunity to win the 2020 Cup title.

    A day after having a potential shot of winning evaporated following the slightest of contact with eventual winner Harvick, Kyle Busch started Sunday’s race in 16th place and with vengeance. When the green flag waved, Busch wasted no time working his way towards the front. Following the first five laps, he had worked his way into the top 10 as he was running in seventh. Late in the first stage, the Las Vegas native made his way into the top five as he was scored in third. Ultimately, he would retain third place when the first stage concluded as he collected a chunk load of stage points towards the Playoffs. Following a stellar pit stop under the stage break, Busch emerged with the lead for the start of the second stage. At the start of the second stage, Busch, who led four laps, was quickly overtaken by Harvick for the lead. Nonetheless, Busch remained towards the front as he grabbed another third-place result in the second stage along with more stage points.

    Following a pit stop under the second stage break, Busch restarted in second place for the final stage. For the remainder of the race and under the final 65 laps, he kept his No. 18 M&M’s Fudge Brownie Toyota Camry within the top 10 and battled for a top-five spot alongside teammates Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. When the checkered flag flew, Busch settled in fourth place, one spot higher than his fifth-place result on Saturday. Even though his winless streak of this season extended for another week and to 22 races, Busch’s 10th top-five result of this season kept the reigning Cup champion 140 points above the top-16 cutline with four regular-season races remaining until the 2020 Cup Playoffs commences.

    “At the end of the day, we slowed down a little bit on the long runs,” Kyle Busch said on NBCSN. “That’s just what we had. We got about all we could get out of the day. I felt like [Harvick] was the best car, [Brad Keselowski] was second best, [Hamlin] at the end showed up and was pretty fast, but [Truex] and myself were really even. That’s about all we had. Great day again for the M&M’s Fudge Brownie Camry. We come to Michigan not normally looking for top-five days, but this has been two good days. Hopefully, we can keep some momentum rolling and get ready to go next week [at Daytona], turn right and turn left. Yesterday and today, the car drove great. Best driving car I’ve had here at Michigan…We stayed consistent with many of the things that we were doing from yesterday just to have a good solid effort of it today and not screw anything up.”

    Compared to Busch, Aric Almirola had an up-and-down weekend at Michigan that ended up on a positive note. A day after finishing 16th, Almirola, who was scheduled to start in fifth place, dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car. Throughout the first stage and the first 40 laps, he methodically carved his way through the field and was scored in 19th. Starting 16th in the second stage, he cracked the top 10 throughout the run under green. By the time the second stage concluded, he finished eighth and collected a handful of stage points.

    Starting 11th in the final stage, Almirola flexed his muscles as he made his way into the top five. Under 50 laps remaining, however, Almirola and his No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang emerged with the lead under caution through miscommunication when he had meant to pit with the leaders. For the ensuing restart, he led nine laps before he was overtaken by Harvick. While the run progressed, Almirola remained well inside the top 10, but needed a caution to complete the race with a shot of winning. A caution for debris under 20 laps remaining saved Almirola from pitting under green and falling a lap behind. When he pitted, however, he fell back near the top 20 while most of the leaders elected to remain on track. For the remainder of the race, Almirola benefited from the four fresh tires and fuel to charge his way back to the top 10. He had a shot in overtaking Joey Logano for fifth place in the final laps, but he was unable to navigate his way around Logano as he crossed the finish line in sixth place. Almirola’s 13th top-10 result of this season has the Floridian 158 points above the cutline and in a stable position of making his fourth postseason appearance.

    “We overcame a lot today,” Almirola said on NBCSN. “We had to start in the back with a backup car, drove literally from 32nd all the way up to sixth and then, had that miscue on pit road about what we were doing for pitting. Led some laps there, which was nice but I knew that we were in trouble ’cause everybody else could make it on fuel and we couldn’t. So, we pitted, got four tires on [the car] and drove from 22nd back up to sixth again in about 12 laps. Really proud of [crew chief Mike] Buga [Bugarewicz] and all the guys on this team. Yesterday was not a very good day. It was a learning experience and a character-building experience. We learned so much from that and [prepared a] completely different racecar and a different mentality for today, back to what we’ve been running the last couple of months and we’ve had a lot more success on this. Excited to go these next few weeks and get ready for the Playoffs. I don’t know what to expect for next weekend at the Daytona road course but nonetheless, we’ve got a great car, great team and we’re excited about the Playoffs when they come.”

    Almirola and Busch, along with their fellow Cup competitors, will return on Sunday, August 16, for the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at the Daytona International Speedway road course layout, which will occur at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.