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Tag: Ford EcoBoost 300

  • Byron Out-Races Sadler in Waning Laps to Win XFINITY Title at Homestead

    Byron Out-Races Sadler in Waning Laps to Win XFINITY Title at Homestead

    Exactly one year ago, William Byron stood in victory lane at Homestead-Miami Speedway, having won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season-finale the week after his title hopes went up in smoke with his engine. Today, a week after he punched his ticket with a victory in the Arizona desert, he dueled it out with JR Motorsports teammate Elliott Sadler in the final laps of the 2017 NASCAR XFINITY Series season to claim the championship in his name.

    Both drivers hit pit road to make their final stop of the Ford EcoBoost 300 on Lap 145, and Sadler exited in front of Byron. Byron caught and passed him going into Turn 1 on Lap 149 to take over the championship lead.

    With 38 laps to go, when Sadler got loose in Turn 3 and sent Byron towards the wall. Whether he made contact with it can’t be determined. Eventually, Sadler passed him going into Turn 1 to take the lead in the championship fight.

    Byron caught back up to Sadler with 24 to go, thanks to lap traffic, but couldn’t make the pass, thanks to making contact with the wall in Turn 4 with 22 to go.

    “He was really good on the long run,” Byron said of his battle with Sadler. “We weren’t as good on the long run, but we had massive short-run speed.”

    He finally caught and passed Sadler in Turn 3 with nine to go, after Sadler failed to complete a pass on Ryan Preece.

    In an act of desperation, Sadler turned Preece in Turn 4 with five to go. But the race remained green and Byron drove on to a third-place finish, clinching the 2017 XFINITY Series championship.

    “Just thankful for God giving me this opportunity and everyone around me to get me to this point. This is incredible and very thankful for everyone that’s supported me along the way.

    “I went to Martinsville (Speedway) when I was seven years old, watching the 48 car (Jimmie Johnson) win the race, and dreamed about running for Mr. (Rick) Hendrick and I got that opportunity with Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. when I was 16 years old, and it just took off from there. Can’t not believe all the people around me that’ve helped made this happen, and thankful for this team. That’s what made it happen.”

    After the race, Sadler quickly got out of his car to confront Preece and two XFINITY Series officials had to restrain him from doing anything other than yell.

    “Well he cost us a championship, but he’s not even racing anybody,” Sadler said. If he wasn’t slowing us down, the 9 (Byron) never would have gotten to us. If you’re going to race people like that in this sport, you’re not going to make it very far. You gotta have respect. It’s definitely a shame to be that close and not pull it off. I just appreciate my race team. I let them down tonight. I should’ve took care of business when I got to Ryan.

    “It was definitely a letdown to lose one like this.”

    Preece responded to Elliott’s “he’s not racing anybody” claim with the fact that he was “hired to race this race for the owner championship.”

    “We weren’t anywhere near the 22 (Sam Hornish Jr.), but we were racing the 9 (Byron),” Preece said. “It’s pretty much what I said. If it was the 7 (Justin Allgaier) and the 1 (Elliott Sadler) or anyone else that wasn’t in for that owner championship, probably, I definitely would have just laid right over. I’ve been an Elliott Sadler fan growing up, so if I wanted somebody to win that owner championship, or driver championship, it would have been him. Just, I can’t not listen to my owner. I can’t not listen to my, the guy who’s paying you in the end, so it’s just a tough deal. It’s crappy in the end – but I hate controversy.”

    As for the “move” he made on Sadler…

    “With what move? I was ahead of him,” he said. “If anything – if there was no contact, I was going to let him go that corner. I pulled down in the middle, not running the top because I was letting him go. I mean, I don’t know. The only thing I could’ve done different was realistically gave up second in the owner championship and finished third. You know, hindsight 20/20, we ended up there because of what happened, but I also – as soon as the 9 got me, I was going to let him go. I don’t know much more that I could really do, other than, than lay over on Joe (Gibbs) and Steve (deSouza, EVP of XFINITY and Development for Joe Gibbs Racing). If they came over the radio and said ‘hey, give up second in the owner championship and let these guys race,’ I would’ve done it. I’m just – team orders. I’m not afraid to lay over if it means – but just doing what I’m told.”

    And as for what Preece could’ve done different…

    “To be honest with you, if there’s a person you don’t want to cost a championship to it’s Elliott Sadler,” he added. “You know, I’m just trying to do team orders here. I was racing for an owner championship. Yeah, we weren’t racing for the win right there, but we were still racing the 9. I got to thank Joe Gibbs for giving me this opportunity, Safelite Auto Glass, Toyota, everybody involved there. It felt – just, you know it’s not where I want to be right there, but obviously I hate it, but can’t take it back.”

  • Custer Puts on Clinic in XFINITY Season Finale at Homestead

    Custer Puts on Clinic in XFINITY Season Finale at Homestead

    Cole Custer led all but 18 laps on his way to dominating and winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    He first took the lead from Tyler Reddick going into Turn 1 on the fifth lap, and aside from the one time Reddick exited ahead of him under the first stage break caution, he never lost it. Custer won both stages, led 182 laps and put all but eight cars a lap down on his way to scoring his first career victory in 38 XFINITY Series starts.

    “We definitely had something to prove this weekend. We were so close to making it last weekend and (we) really wanted to end strong.  We were really good this weekend. Our Haas Automation Mustangs are unreal. We wanted to really have a good showing on Ford Championship Weekend. Even though we weren’t in it, we wanted to win. Hopefully, we can sweep it tomorrow. Obvious we have some good cars in the hunt tomorrow.”

    Sam Hornish Jr. finished second and William Byron finished third, clinching for him the 2017 NASCAR XFINITY Series championship.

    “I don’t know that I took a breath the last 20 laps,” said Byron. “That was incredible. I just have to thank this team. This is awesome. Elliott (Sadler, teammate) raced me clean and we just raced hard for it. I just can’t believe this. I’ve just got to thank God for giving me this platform to perform. I can’t believe this. I’m tired, whew. Thanks to all the fans here this evening, this is an unbelievable crowd, I just can’t believe it.”

    Reddick and Ryan Preece rounded out the top-five.

    Brennan Poole, Matt Tiftt, Elliott Sadler, Michael Annett and Ty Majeski rounded out the top-10.

    NOTES OF INTEREST

    Caution flew only three times: Two for stage breaks and one for a spin in Turn 2 on Lap 20 by JJ Yeley. Only six cars retired from the race.

    Daniel Hemric’s chances at the title came to an end when he made an unscheduled stop on Lap 62 for battery issues. He rejoined the race 12 laps down.

    One day after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship, Christopher Bell retired from the race with engine issues on Lap 79.

    With his runner-up finish, Hornish clinched the 2017 XFINITY Series owners championship for Roger Penske’s No. 22 team.

    NUTS & BOLTS

    The race lasted two hours, 12 minutes and 13 seconds, at an average speed of 136.140 mph. There were five lead changes among two different drivers and three cautions for 14 laps.

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  • The White Zone: The Chase has run its course

    The White Zone: The Chase has run its course

    “The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading…” and I’m here to say that the Chase has run it’s course and it’s time NASCAR do away with it.

    Now right off the bat, I know this might be a tad hypocritical of me to say given I once wrote an article admonishing fans for still hating the Chase. I’ve abandonded that point of view and now don’t look upon the Chase as favorably.

    There is probably nothing more polarizing in the world of NASCAR today than the Chase. Since it’s inception in the 2004 Nextel Cup season, it’s been a source of constant angst that’s divided the fanbase of the sport for a number of reasons.

    The original Chase was less of a “playoff” like in stick and ball sports and more of a 10-race “miniseason.” In it’s first season, Kurt Busch recovered from literally losing a wheel to win the championship by a margin of eight points over Jimmie Johnson, then a record for the closest points finish in NASCAR history.

    As time went on, more and more changes made it more and more artificial and conveluted.

    In 2014, NASCAR implemented the elimination format style of the Chase. This was more like a “playoff” with eliminations and rounds, rather than it being a miniseason.

    This was the format that took the cake in artificiallity. It ensures that no matter what happens, four drivers will always vie for the title at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    They went a step further this year and added the same format to the XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series.

    For me, it came to a head today.

    On the final restart of the Ford EcoBoost 300, Cole Whitt, who opted not to pit and assumed the lead on 30-lap old tires, spun his tires and cost Erik Jones and Justin Allgaier a chance at winning the XFINITY Championship.

    While it was a dumb move on his part, it was the reaction that I don’t agree with and what led to this column.

    There was a lot of people chastizing him for determining the outcome of the championship the way it occured.

    My take on that is this: Whitt has every right to be there. This is racing! Just because Jones was competing for the title didn’t mean Whitt was obligated to move out of the way for him.

    Just because he had no chance of winning the race – by the way, would you tell me if my Tennessee Volunteers will play in the Sugar Bowl this season while you’re looking in your crystal ball – doesn’t mean he doesn’t get to be there. We harp on other drivers when they decide to lay back and not go for the win, yet criticize Whitt for doing exactly that.

    MAKE UP YOUR MINDS!!!

    But it was this one tweet in particular from Jeff Gluck of USA Today that led to this column.

    The part that caught my eye, and led to this column, was suggesting that maybe NASCAR should’ve stepped in and told Cole Whitt he couldn’t restart up front so he wouldn’t interfere with the championship fight. (I’ll come back to this in a moment)

    Now to be fair, he did issue a retraction of that statement in a later tweet.

    So Jeff, if you’re reading this, I’m not directing my ire at you. I just used your earlier tweet for reference.

    I hate to play the hypothetical game, but let’s say hypothetically NASCAR did step in and tell Whitt, who, even on worn out tires, was leading the race, to take a hike and let championship contender Sadler, Jones or Allgaier in first. If that happened, well, let’s just say I hope Mike Bagley, Pete Pistone, Jim Noble, Chocolate Myers, Dave Moody and anyone else at SiriusXM NASCAR Radio would still has vacation days to burn, because they would not want to be present when those people call in on Monday.

    Fans would be irate, and rightly so, at NASCAR explicitly manipulating the outcome of a race. It would instantly validate every last claim of manipulating the outcome of races that has ever been levied against the people that run NASCAR.

    So what does this have to do with my original thesis? It’s my proof that the Chase has done more harm to the sport than its done good and it’s time we put it in the vault labelled “Good on paper, but poorly executed idea” along with the Car of Tomorrow.

    My plane is about to take off so I must get going.

  • Suarez makes history with title victory in Miami

    Suarez makes history with title victory in Miami

    Daniel Suarez made history in South Florida as a victory in Miami made him the champion of the XFINITY Series.

    Starting on the pole, he dominated the race, leading 133 of the 200 laps. However, the championship the whole race was never a lock for the native of Mexico, as each of the Championship 4 drivers spent time at the head of the field.

    It started to intensify with 57 laps to go when all four of the title contenders held the top four spots in the running order for around 10 laps. It peaked with Erik Jones taking the lead with 43 to go before debris slowed the race.

    Suarez worked his way back to the lead on the restart with 37 to go. From there, it was game on to the finish. Justin Allgaier made contact with the wall running in second with 20 to go and Jones made contact with the wall running down his teammate for the lead with 15 and 13 to go.

    Ray Black Jr. spun exiting Turn 4 and brought out the caution with 10 to go. Elliott Sadler exited pit road first but restarted second because, Cole Whitt, on much older tires, opted not to pit.

    Mike Bumgarner, Sadler’s interim crew chief, pleaded with the 14 team to take the bottom lane on the restart, but they wouldn’t. Sadler restarted as the lead bottom car.

    On the restart with three to go, Whitt spun his tires and backed up Jones and Allgaier, costing them a chance at a championship.

    Sadler gunned ahead, but Suarez jumped to the outside, took the lead and scored the victory and the championship.

    It’s his third victory in 68 career XFINITY Series starts, third of 2016 and first at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    He’s also the first foreign-born champion in any NASCAR national series.

    Sadler came home third.

    “It’s heartbreaking to be that close and to kind of be in position there in the end,” Sadler said. “The guys made a great call to put me in that spot. Yeah, I’m sad for myself, but I’m more sad for my sponsors, my team my guys in the shop. I love them to death. All the hard work they put in these cars. I wanted to win this championship for them really bad.”

    He also addressed his team pleading with the 14 team to let them have the top lane on the final restart.

    “I just wanted to see if they would let us have the top and just let us four race for it because he was on such old tires,” he added. “He decided to stay up there.”

    “I made a mistake on the restart,” Sadler continued. “He didn’t go and I was a little intimidated and I let Daniel get a good run on me. Congratulations to him and his team. He did a really good job on that restart. I messed up a little bit.”

    Allgaier came home fourth. Jones finished ninth and secured Sunoco Rookie of The Year honors.

    A major incident of note took place on lap 137 Jordan Anderson slammed into the back of Jeremy Clements on the backstretch, who was slowing down to avoid hitting the 16 of Ryan Reed in the middle of a lazy spin.

    The race lasted two hours, 34 minutes and 34 seconds at an average speed of 116.455 mph. There were 21 lead changes among 11 different drivers and seven cautions for 39 laps.

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