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  • Harvick sweeps Michigan in one weekend

    Harvick sweeps Michigan in one weekend

    Like his run from a day earlier at Michigan International Speedway, Kevin Harvick had a fast car and had to fight off all comers to earn a victory. That was the case on Sunday, August 9, when Harvick held off a late challenge from Denny Hamlin in the final laps to win the Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan and to sweep both Cup races at the Irish Hills on the same weekend. The victory was Harvick’s sixth of this season, fifth at Michigan and the 55th of his Cup Series career. 

    The starting lineup was based on the results from Saturday’s Cup race at Michigan, where the top-20 finishers were inverted while the latter 20 competitors started as finished on Saturday. Chris Buescher, who finished 20th, was scheduled to start on pole position, but he started at the rear of the field in a backup car. As a result, William Byron and Clint Bowyer, both of whom finished 14th and 19th on Saturday, started on the front row and led the field to the start on Sunday.

    In addition to Buescher, the following competitors, including Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, rookie Tyler Reddick, Aric Almirola, Michael McDowell, Ryan Preece, rookie John Hunter Nemechek and rookie Cole Custer, started at the rear of the field in backup cars. Rookie Brennan Poole also started at the rear of the field for an engine change, Daniel Suarez and Reed Sorenson both dropped to the rear of the field due to failing pre-race inspection twice and Josh Bilicki started at the rear of the field due to a driver change. 

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Byron and Bowyer battled dead even for the lead with Bowyer squeaking ahead to lead the first lap. Behind, Austin Dillon was assessed a pass-through penalty for unapproved adjustments made on the grid prior to the race.

    The following lap, Jimmie Johnson and Matt DiBenedetto overtook Byron for position with rookie Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones and Kurt Busch trailing behind. By then, Bowyer was ahead with the lead by nearly half a second.

    By the fifth lap, Kyle Busch muscled his way up to seventh after overtaking brother Kurt and Wallace in Turn 2 a lap earlier. Behind, Ryan Blaney was in ninth, Chase Elliott was in 11th ahead of Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski. Denny Hamlin was in 17th, teammate Martin Truex Jr. was in 19th and Tyler Reddick was in 20th ahead of Alex Bowman. Rookie Cole Custer was in 25th ahead of Ryan Newman, Aric Almirola and Daniel Suarez.

    Five laps later and 10 laps into the race, Bowyer stabilized his early advantage by more than a second over Johnson followed by Bell, DiBenedetto, Byron and Jones. Two laps later, Bell, the fastest competitor on the track, moved into the runner-up spot after passing Johnson. Another lap later, Johnson lost momentum entering Turn 3 and fell back to sixth place while being overtaken by DiBenedetto, Byron and Jones. 

    By Lap 15, Harvick, winner of Saturday’s Cup Michigan race, cracked the top 10 after passing Wallace. Ahead of him, Kyle Busch was in eighth ahead of Blaney while Logano, Elliott, Keselowski and Hamlin were running in 12th through 15th.

    Five laps later and 20 laps into the race, Bowyer was still leading by more than two seconds over Bell, who continued to chop off Bowyer’s advantage. DiBenedetto was still in third place while Byron and Jones battled for fourth. The Busch brothers followed suit while Blaney and Harvick were in eighth and ninth. Johnson, meanwhile, had fallen back to 10th with Logano lingering behind him. By then, Wallace was in 15th ahead of Reddick, Truex was in 24th behind Almirola and Austin Dillon was back in 33rd place following his opening lap pass-through penalty.

    With the laps in the first stage dwindling, Bowyer and his No. 14 DEKALB Ford Mustang were still ahead and cruising by three seconds over Bell and his No. 95 Procore Toyota Camry. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch and his No. 18 M&M’s Fudge Brownie Toyota Camry continued to work towards the front as he moved into third place followed by Jones, Byron and DiBenedetto. Blaney was in seventh followed by Harvick, one of the fastest competitors on the track. Kurt Busch was in ninth while Logano was in 10th ahead of Johnson, Elliott, Hamlin and Keselowski. Reddick was in 17th behind Wallace while Truex was stuck back in 22nd.

    With no competition trailing behind him for the lead, Bowyer was able to navigate his way through lapped traffic and cruise to the first stage win on Lap 40 while claiming his third stage win of the season and crucial stage points towards making the Playoffs. Bell settled in second place followed by Kyle Busch, DiBenedetto and Jones. Byron, Blaney, Harvick, Kurt Busch and Logano settled in the top 10. 

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Kyle Busch emerged with the lead after exiting pit road first following a stellar stop by the No. 18 M&M’s crew. Harvick moved up to second place followed by teammate Bowyer, Byron and Jones. Following the first round of pit stops, Blaney, who was in the top 10, made another pit stop to fill up the fuel tank of his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang. 

    Prior to the restart and with the choose rule implemented, Byron moved up from fourth to second place and restarted beneath Kyle Busch on the front row, Johnson moved up from seventh to restart in third place alongside Harvick in the second row and Bowyer dropped back to sixth to restart on the outside lane in the third row alongside Logano.

    The second stage started on Lap 47 and Kyle Busch jumped to an early advantage with drafting help from Harvick. Not long after, Harvick made a three-wide move on Kyle Busch and Byron entering Turn 2 to take the lead and pull away. Busch settled in second followed by Bowyer, Byron and Jones. A lap later, Keselowski made his way into the top five after moving up to fourth. Behind, Bell was back in eighth following a slow stop under the first stage break. 

    By Lap 60 and with less than 100 laps remaining of the overall race, Harvick was leading by more than a second over Keselowski and Kyle Busch. Bowyer was in fourth followed by Bell, Jones, Logano, DiBenedetto, Elliott and Hamlin. Kurt Busch was in 11th followed by Almirola and Byron, Johnson and Bowman. Blaney was in 18th behind Reddick and ahead of Truex and Wallace. Matt Kenseth and Newman were in 16th and 23rd.

    Ten laps later, Harvick, who started to approach lapped traffic, was still ahead of the field by two seconds over Keselowski and more than three seconds over Kyle Busch. Bell was still in fourth place followed by Bowyer, Jones, Hamlin, Logano, Elliott and Almirola. Johnson and Byron were back in 14th and 15th behind Blaney while Truex was in 17th. 

    At the halfway mark on Lap 78, Harvick extended his advantage to more than three seconds over Keselowski with Kyle Busch trailing by more than four seconds, Bell by nearly six seconds and Bowyer by nearly seven seconds. Like his race-winning performance from Saturday and with the same car he drove to yesterday’s win, Harvick was able to drive away from the field and easily claim the second stage on Lap 85 for his fifth stage victory of the season. Keselowski settled in second place followed by Kyle Busch, Bell and Bowyer. Hamlin, Jones, Almirola, Logano and Blaney were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Harvick retained the lead after exiting pit road first ahead of Kyle Busch. Keselowski, Bowyer and Hamlin exited in the top five followed by Bell. Prior to the restart, Hamlin moved up to the front row to restart beneath Harvick, Kyle Busch fell back to fourth to restart on the outside lane alongside Blaney. Elliott and Keselowski restarted behind on the third row followed by DiBenedetto and Bowyer.

    Under 65 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. During the restart, Hamlin and Blaney boosted ahead with the lead and both competitors battled dead even before Blaney squeaked ahead with the top spot. Behind, Harvick and Hamlin battled for the runner-up spot followed by Elliott, Kyle Busch and Keselowski. Meanwhile, Bowman and Truex, both of whom struggled, were in 10th and 11th while Bowyer was in 12th ahead of Jones, Reddick and Bell. Byron was in 17th ahead of Kenseth while Johnson was in 20th behind Wallace.

    With around 60 laps remaining, Keselowski, who muscled his way up to the runner-up spot, made a move beneath Blaney in Turn 1 and challenged for the lead when he got loose and slipped up into Blaney as both Penske teammates wrecked across the Turn 2 outside wall. With the caution returning, the wreck eliminated Blaney and Keselowski from race-winning contention and the overall race.

    “I just lost it,” Keselowski said following his release from the infield care center on NBCSN. “It’s my fault. I feel really bad for my teammate, Ryan Blaney. He didn’t deserve that. I just came off of Turn 4 and [Harvick] was behind me. He gave me a push and I swear, I went into the corner like 20 mph faster than I had been all day. [I] Got pass [Hamlin] and went to get underneath [Blaney]. It just slipped, lost the back a little bit. I went to correct it and he was there, and I wiped him out and myself out.”

    “It’s unfortunate for the whole Penske organization,” Blaney added. “We had two fast cars, battling for the lead. It stinks that happened. He had a run like he said. He didn’t think he had a big of a run as he had and just got loose and unfortunately, got us both. That’s a shame to end our day like that with the Knauf/Menards Ford Mustang. We were so fast…Got the lead…It’s unfortunate, but it’s not going to carry over. Mistakes happen.”

    Under caution, Bowman made a pit stop after sustaining damage during the incident. Bowyer, who also sustained minimal damage to his car, remained on track inside the top 10. Prior to the restart, Kyle Busch moved up to restart beneath teammate Hamlin on the front row. Kurt Busch and Harvick restarted on the second row in front of Bell and Elliott.

    The race restarted under green with 55 laps remaining and Harvick made his way back to the lead over Hamlin. Elliott moved into third followed by Kyle Busch and Almirola. Kurt Busch charged his way up to sixth followed by DiBenedetto, Truex, Johnson and Bell. Meanwhile, Bowyer, who sustained a tire rub during the restart, made an unscheduled pit stop and was trapped a lap behind the leaders.

    Shortly after, the caution returned when Bell spun in Turn 2 after sustaining a flat tire. The caution was as a saving grace for Bowyer, who received the free pass and returned on the lead lap. 

    Under caution, nearly the entire field pitted and Hamlin exited pit road first after only taking fuel to his No. 11 FedEx Toyota, the first of many who elected to pit for only fuel. DiBenedetto exited in second after he also took only fuel to his car followed by Harvick, who opted for a two-tire stop. At the front, Almirola remained on track to inherit the lead, though he miscommunicated with his crew over code words and had meant to pit with the leaders.

    When the race restarted with 47 laps remaining, teammates Almirola and Harvick battled for the lead with Harvick leading the following lap before Almirola cleared his teammate for the lead the next lap. Behind, DiBenedetto moved up to third place followed by Truex, who made a three-wide move on Kurt Busch and Hamlin to move into the top five for the first time. Logano was in seventh followed by Jones, Kyle Busch and Newman. 

    With 40 laps remaining, Harvick made his way back to the lead after passing Almirola, though Almirola and his No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang remained competitive on old tires and low fuel. Truex was up in third place followed by DiBenedetto and Hamlin. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch was in ninth ahead of Johnson and Jones, Austin Dillon was up to 13th, Byron was in 15th and Bowyer was in 18th.

    Ten laps later and with 30 laps remaining, Harvick was still leading by two-tenths of a second over his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Almirola while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Truex and Hamlin battled for third place. Kurt Busch trailed by more than four seconds with brother Kyle up to sixth.

    Seven laps later, with the leaders approaching lapped traffic, teammates Truex and Hamlin passed Almirola to move up to second and third with Truex trailing race leader Harvick by less than a second. 

    With less than 20 laps remaining, the caution returned due to debris from Bowman’s No. 88 Adam’s Polishes/ChevyGoods.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, who had sustained a flat tire entering Turn 4 and near the pit road entrance. The caution was as a saving grace for Almirola, who was on the brink of having to make an unscheduled pit stop under green.

    Under caution, Almirola along with some that included DiBenedetto, Wallace, Kenseth, Michael McDowell, rookie John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Preece and Daniel Suarez pitted while most of the leaders led by Harvick remained on track.

    With 15 laps remaining, the race restarted under green with Harvick and Hamlin on the front row in front of Truex and Logano. At the restart, Harvick retained the lead while teammates Truex and Hamlin battled for the runner-up spot. Teammate Kyle Busch made his way to fourth after passing brother Kurt and with DiBenedetto behind. 

    Two laps later, Hamlin settled in the runner-up spot in front of teammates Truex and Kyle Busch. By then, Harvick was ahead by nearly a second. Meanwhile, Almirola, following his pit stop, was up to eighth on fresh tires behind Elliott. 

    With less than 10 laps remaining, Harvick was leading by six-tenths of a second over Hamlin, who was slowly closing in towards Harvick, while teammates Truex and Kyle Busch battled for third place. During this time, Bowman made another unscheduled pit stop after making contact with the wall and sustaining another flat tire.

    With the laps dwindling, Hamlin continued to chop off Harvick’s advantage as he drew himself to being three-tenths of a second behind Harvick. While Hamlin remained within sight of Harvick’s rear bumper and made a few attempts to pass for the lead through the turns, Harvick was able to retain his advantage entering the straightaways.

    With two laps remaining, Hamlin gained a run in Turn 1 when Harvick lifted, but he also lifted entering Turn 2 as Harvick stabilized his advantage to nearly three car lengths. On the final lap, Harvick was still ahead with Hamlin still lurking behind. In Turn 3, Harvick remained on the inside lane while Hamlin went on the outside lane. Entering Turn 4, Hamlin gained a huge run on Harvick and got to his rear bumper. With the checkered flag waving and the leaders coming across the finish line through the frontstretch, Harvick was able to beat Hamlin by 0.093 seconds to grab a thrilling win.

    The victory was the 13th of the season for Ford, the manufacturer’s 42nd Cup victory since 2018 and the seventh of the season for Stewart-Haas Racing. With his two victories this weekend, Harvick tallied his top-five results of this season to 15 and top-10 results to 19. A day after tying the late Lee Petty for 11th place on the NASCAR Cup all-time wins list, Harvick has tied NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace for 10th place on the all-time wins list. 

    “It was a big challenge [on the battle with Hamlin],” Harvick said in Victory Lane on NBCSN. “Our Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang got really tight there in [Turns] 3 and 4. I could run really good through [Turns] 1 and 2 still, but I was just tight on that other end all day. I just got to thank all of my guys. They did a great job all weekend on pit road. Great pit calls. It’s been a long time since I’ve raced back-to-back days, let alone in the Cup car. I’ve never accomplished that, obviously, but we’ve done that a couple times this year. For us, it’s worked out pretty good. When you look at my team, we’ve been together for seven years now, and you look at the confidence that everybody has in each other, the details of the racecars and the thought of everything that goes into everything we do is untouchable.”

    Hamlin settled in the runner-up spot for his 12th top-five result of this season as this also marks the ninth time where he has finished first or second this season. Teammates Truex and Kyle Busch finished third and fourth while Logano held off Almirola to finish fifth.

    “Once we finally got to second, I knew we had something for [Harvick],” Hamlin said. “We got stalled there. He was tight, I was tight. We were better, that’s for sure. He just had the track position and could control the lanes there. [I] Wished I had Turns 1 and 2 to go do over again when we both lifted off of [Turn] 2 there. I should’ve faked low and went high, but I thought I could maybe get to the quarter panel and shoved him even higher. Just couldn’t quite do it, but proud of this whole FedEx Ground Toyota team. Obviously, a very strong run. We just needed a little bit more. Overall, I thought we just had a good-handling car and that’s what allowed us to keep pace there. I thought our whole team did a great job of adjusting overnight. We’re just plugging along here. [I] Really hate giving up wins to [Harvick]. I got tremendous respect for everyone on [the No. 4] team and Kevin. As we’ve gotten older, we’ve gotten wiser, learned to really appreciate what each other does on the race track and obviously, they’re have a great season as well.”

    “We battled back,” Truex said. “The car was pretty far off to start the race. We’re all pretty disappointed in that, obviously. Really proud of the effort to get the Auto-Owners [Insurance] Camry back upfront. Just really proud of our race team. We keep bringing top-three cars to the race track and the Playoffs are coming. So, we need to keep doing that. Just off at the start and had to rebound. Definitely, a different story than yesterday but pretty much, the same result. I was doing all I could to get up there. I got too tight there at the end. Just fought the balance too much all day. Wicked loose to start and wicked tight at the end. We’ll keep digging.”

    Almirola, DiBenedetto, Austin Dillon, Elliott and Kurt Busch rounded out the top 10. Jimmie Johnson finished 11th in his final run at Michigan while Bowyer ended his run in 14th place.

    There were 10 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 24 laps.

    With two victories this weekend and with four regular-season races remaining until the start of the 2020 Cup Playoffs, Harvick continues to lead the regular-season series standings by 137 over Keselowski and 140 over Hamlin.

    Results.

    1. Kevin Harvick, 90 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Denny Hamlin, six laps led

    3. Martin Truex Jr.

    4. Kyle Busch, four laps led

    5. Joey Logano

    6. Aric Almirola, nine laps led

    7. Matt DiBenedetto

    8. Austin Dillon

    9. Chase Elliott

    10. Kurt Busch

    11. Jimmie Johnson

    12. William Byron

    13. Ryan Newman

    14. Clint Bowyer, 43 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    15. Matt Kenseth

    16. Ryan Preece

    17. Christopher Bell

    18. Ty Dillon

    19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    20. Chris Buescher

    21. Bubba Wallace

    22. Corey LaJoie

    23. John Hunter Nemechek

    24. Tyler Reddick

    25. Cole Custer

    26. Daniel Suarez

    27. Erik Jones

    28. Michael McDowell

    29. J.J. Yeley, two laps down

    30. Brennan Poole, three laps down

    31. Reed Sorenson, three laps down

    32. Quin Houff, three laps down

    33. Josh Bilicki, four laps down

    34. Garrett Smithley, four laps down

    35. Timmy Hill, six laps down

    36. Alex Bowman – OUT, Tire

    37. James Davison, nine laps down

    38. Ryan Blaney – OUT, four laps led

    39. Brad Keselowski – OUT

    Next weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series will race for the first time on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course layout as the 2020 Playoffs approaches its starting point. The race at Daytona will occur on August 16 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Harvick claims the first Cup Michigan race of the weekend

    Harvick claims the first Cup Michigan race of the weekend

    Following a late battle and the slightest of contact with Kyle Busch in the closing laps, Kevin Harvick prevailed through a series of late restarts and in overtime against Brad Keselowski to win the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday, August 8, the first of two NASCAR Cup Series races at Michigan of the weekend. The victory was Harvick’s fifth of the season, fourth at Michigan and the 54th of his Cup Series career.

    The starting lineup was based on a random draw. Joey Logano started on pole position for the second time this season and was joined on the front row with Denny Hamlin. 

    Prior to the race, NASCAR confiscated the spoilers from the Roush Fenway Racing two-car lineup of Ryan Newman and Chris Buescher during the pre-race inspection process. With both teams violating Section 12.4.12.b (spoiler section) of the NASCAR Cup rule book, both competitors dropped to the rear of the field and they were also docked 20 driver/owner points. In addition, their crew chiefs (Scott Graves and Luke Lambert) were each fined $25,000 for the infraction. Jimmie Johnson and Joey Gase also dropped to the rear of the field due to their respective cars failing pre-race inspection twice.

    When the green flag and the race commenced following a 45-minute delay because of the delayed Xfinity Series race occurring at Road America, Logano received a push from Aric Almirola on the outside lane to jump to an early lead as he led the first lap. The following lap, Hamlin attempted to pass Logano on the inside lane, but he lost his momentum entering Turn 2 as Logano retained the lead while Almirola challenged Hamlin for the runner-up spot. Behind, Kevin Harvick was in fourth followed by Alex Bowman, teammate Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski, all of whom battled one another through Turns 3 and 4. 

    In Turn 1, Keselowski lost his momentum and dropped all the way back to 12th behind rookie Tyler Reddick, who was fresh off a one-year contract extension deal with Richard Childress Racing. 

    After the first 10 laps, Logano, who reported a vibration, was still leading by less than two-tenths of a second over Hamlin with teammates Almirola and Harvick trailing behind and battling one another for third place. A few laps later, Almirola dropped out of the top five after being overtaken by Harvick and Kurt Busch. 

    On Lap 14, Hamlin made a move beneath Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford in Turn 3 and both battled dead even for the lead through Turns 4 and 1. While Hamlin led the 15th lap, Logano cleared Hamlin for the lead back in Turn 2 just as the competition caution flew. Prior to the competition caution, Ryan Blaney made a green flag pit stop for early adjustments and fresh tires for the ensuing restart. At the time of caution, Almirola had fallen back to 10th place and Martin Truex Jr. was in sixth while Harvick, Bowman and Kurt Busch were scored in the top five. Erik Jones and Chase Elliott were in 11th and 12th while Matt DiBenedetto and William Byron were in 14th and 15th. Clint Bowyer was in 16th, Jimmie Johnson was in 17th and Ryan Newman was in 29th. 

    Under caution, a majority of competitors led by Keselowski, Almirola, Elliott, rookie Cole Custer, Byron, Austin Dillon and Newman pitted while the rest led by Logano, Hamlin, Reddick and Harvick remained on track. 

    The race restarted on Lap 19 and Hamlin received a push from Reddick on the inside lane to move into the lead through Turns 1 and 2. Behind, Logano, who restarted on the outside lane, retained the runner-up spot followed by Harvick, Kurt Busch and Bowman. A lap later, Truex cut a right-front tire in Turn 3 after making contact with Reddick in Turn 2. He was able to keep his car off the wall and return to pit road for two fresh right-side tires. The misfortune, however, cost Truex two laps.

    At the front, Harvick gained a run on Hamlin in Turn 4 and was able to pass Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota to emerge with the lead on Lap 23. Behind, Blaney bolted his way into sixth place followed by Reddick and Jones. 

    By Lap 30, Harvick was ahead by two-tenths of a second over Hamlin. Kurt Busch was in third followed by Blaney, Bowman and Jones. Elliott was in eighth while Logano was back in ninth following contact with Kyle Busch in Turn 2. Bowyer was in 12th, Johnson was in 14th, Byron was in 17th and Almirola was in 18th. Truex was in 36th while Reddick, who had been running inside the top 10, was back in 35th after making an unscheduled pit stop under green a few laps earlier.

    With no one behind him nor close enough to challenge for the lead, Harvick was able to cruise to the win in the first stage on Lap 40 as he claimed his third stage victory of the season. Hamlin trailed in second place and above half a second followed by Blaney, Kurt Busch and Keselowski. Jones, Bowman, Elliott, Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were scored in the top 10. Logano had fallen back to 18th while battling loose-handling conditions to his car.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Hamlin exited pit road first ahead of Harvick following a stellar pit stop from the FedEx crew. Blaney exited in third place followed by Keselowski and Kurt Busch.

    Prior to the start of the second stage and with the new choose rule implemented, Harvick dropped from second to fourth to restart on the outside lane while Keselowski was lined up in second place and beneath Hamlin on the front row. In addition, Jones moved up from sixth to third as the second car to restart on the bottom lane while Bowyer moved up from ninth to fifth.

    The second stage started on Lap 47 and Hamlin gained a huge run on the outside lane to retain the lead. While the field behind battled intensely against one another and raced three to four wide for position, Blaney took the lead on Lap 49. Harvick settled right behind Blaney in second followed by Kurt Busch while Hamlin and Keselowski battled for fourth. 

    By Lap 55, Blaney was still ahead by less than four-tenths of a second over Harvick followed by Kurt Busch and Jones, who gained a huge run on the outside lane to pass both Hamlin and Keselowski for position a few laps earlier. Bowman trailed behind in seventh followed by Bowyer, Kyle Busch and Bubba Wallace. Elliott and Logano were in 12th and 15th while Johnson was in 17th. Reddick, who took the wave around to return to the lead lap under the first stage break, was in 26th while Truex was in 34th, still a lap behind. 

    Five laps later and with less than 100 laps remaining of the overall race, Blaney was still leading by less than half a second over Harvick with Michigan natives Jones and Keselowski lingering behind. Soon after, Hamlin joined the party as he battled teammate Jones and Keselowski for position inside the top five.

    With Blaney leading by less than two-tenths of a second over Harvick on Lap 67, the Busch brothers started to close in towards the top-five competitors for position. By Lap 76, Harvick benefitted from Blaney getting stuck behind a lapped car to reassume the lead. By then, Reddick made another unscheduled pit stop after he reported a flat tire to his No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. Behind the leaders, Keselowski moved up to third after passing Hamlin, who earlier nearly wrecked with the lapped car of Timmy Hill. Both competitors continued to battle intensely for the spot as the laps of the second stage continued to dwindle.

    Like his run to the conclusion of the first stage, Harvick was able to pull away from Blaney by less than a second and not worry about any lapped traffic to win the second stage on Lap 85 and claim his fourth stage victory of the season. Blaney settled in second followed by Hamlin, Jones and Keselowski. Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Bowman, Bowyer and Johnson settled in the top 10. 

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Harvick, this time, exited pit road with the lead followed by Hamlin, Blaney, Keselowski and Kyle Busch.

    The final stage under green occurred with 65 laps remaining and Hamlin, who restarted on the inside lane, received a push from teammate Jones to move into the lead. In Turn 3, however, Jones and Harvick attempted to place Hamlin in a three-wide situation for the lead. While Jones slipped and dropped back into the top 10, Harvick was able to muscle his way back into the lead. Keselowski advanced to the runner-up spot over Hamlin while Blaney and Kyle Busch moved into the top five.

    The caution returned shortly after when rookie John Hunter Nemechek spun in a flurry of circles on the frontstretch following contact with Chris Buescher. With the caution, Truex received the free pass and cycled back to the lead lap. Under caution, few that included Buescher, Corey LaJoie, Newman, Almirola, Reddick and Nemechek pitted while the rest remained on track.

    With 58 laps remaining, the race restarted and Harvick was able to clear Hamlin on the outside lane to retain the lead. Keselowski and Hamlin battled again for the runner-up spot followed by Kyle Busch and Bowyer while Blaney, Johnson, rookie Christopher Bell, Jones and Elliott settled in the top 10. 

    Eight laps later, the caution returned for another spin in Turn 4 involving Nemechek. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Kyle Busch emerged with the lead after only taking fuel for his No. 18 M&M’s Fudge Brownie Toyota Camry. Jones and Truex followed suit after they elected for only fuel to their respective Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas followed by Elliott and Bell, both of whom opted for a two-tire stop. Harvick also opted for a two-tire stop to remain within sight of the lead.

    Prior to the restart and with the choose rule implemented, Harvick moved up to the front row on the inside lane beneath Kyle Busch while Austin Dillon and Jones lined up right behind the leaders. Keselowski lined up in fifth next to Truex followed by Hamlin and Elliott.

    With 46 laps remaining, the race restarted and Kyle Busch received a push from teammate Jones to retain the lead on the outside lane. A lap later, Harvick made a move beneath Kyle Busch in Turn 1 to reassume the lead. Behind, Truex passed teammate Jones and started to challenge teammate Kyle Busch for the runner-up spot. 

    With 40 laps remaining and with fuel in question for the leaders to complete the race to its scheduled distance, Harvick was still ahead by less than eight-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch followed by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Truex and Jones. Elliott was in fifth place followed by Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Logano, Bell and Hamlin with Blaney in 11th.

    Ten laps later, Harvick extended his advantage to more than a second over teammates Kyle Busch and Truex. Jones was in fourth while Elliott prevailed in a battle with Keselowski for fifth place. Behind, Hamlin was still running in 11th and trailing Team Penske’s Logano and Blaney for a spot in the top 10.

    With 26 laps remaining, the caution returned for a third incident involving Nemechek in Turn 3, who made contact with the outside wall and sustained heavy rear end damage. Compared to his previous two incidents, this recent incident ended Nemechek’s race in the garage as he will move to a backup car for Sunday’s race at Michigan.

    Under caution, some like Logano, Blaney, Bowyer, DiBenedetto, Michael McDowell, Matt Kenseth and Buescher pitted while the rest remained on track. Prior to the restart, Jones dropped back to sixth to restart as the fourth car on the outside lane while Elliott moved up to second and alongside Harvick on the front row. Keselowski and Kyle Busch were lined up behind the two leaders and in front of teammates Hamlin and Truex.

    With 18 laps remaining, the race restarted and Elliott powered his way into the lead on the inside lane. While the field fanned out and battled for positions through the straightaways and the turns, Elliott maintained a narrow advantage over Harvick a lap later followed by a flurry of Toyota competitors led by Kyle Busch, Truex, Bell, Jones and Hamlin. 

    Five laps after the restart and with the battle for the lead intensifying, the caution returned after Ryan Preece made contact with the outside wall in Turn 2. Under caution, some like Reddick and Kenseth pitted while the rest remained on track. Prior to the restart, Kyle Busch elected to restart on the inside lane beneath Elliott on the front row. Behind, Harvick and Hamlin restarted alongside one another in the second row. 

    The race restarted with nine laps remaining and Kyle Busch received a push from teammate Hamlin to take the lead through Turns 1 and 2. In Turn 3, however, Kyle Busch slipped following close racing with Harvick, which nearly involved contact between the two, and Harvick reassumed the lead while Busch lost his momentum and fell back to the top 10. Shortly after, the caution flew when rookie Cole Custer made hard contact into the outside wall in Turn 3 and retired from the race, thus moving him to a backup car for Sunday’s race at Michigan. At the time of caution, Harvick was leading followed by Elliott, Hamlin, Blaney, Wallace, Jones and Truex while Kyle Busch was back in ninth. The race eventually went into a red flag period for nearly six minutes to allow the clean-up crew to clear the incident site in Turn 3 caused by Custer. 

    Prior to the restart when the race resumed under caution, Hamlin elected to restart beneath Harvick on the inside line and on the front row in front of Wallace and Elliott with teammates Blaney and Keselowski in the third row. 

    The race restarted with three laps remaining and Harvick and Hamlin battled dead even for the lead entering Turn 1. It was there where Wallace attempted to make a three-wide move for more, but it was not enough as Harvick reassumed the lead in Turn 2. Elliott moved up to second followed by Blaney, Keselowski and Truex while Hamlin and Wallace dropped back to sixth and seventh. In Turn 4, Austin Dillon, McDowell and Newman wrecked in Turn 4 as the caution returned and the race went into overtime. 

    Prior to the overtime attempt, Keselowski restarted on the front row beneath Harvick in front of Hamlin and Elliott. Wallace and Blaney were lined up in the third row followed by Johnson and Truex.

    In the first overtime attempt, Harvick and Keselowski battled dead even against one another through half a circuit with both not prevailing ahead of the other and receiving not drafting help from behind. In Turn 3, however, Harvick cleared Keselowski for the lead on the outside lane entering Turn 4. On the final lap, Harvick’s No. 4 Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang were ahead by two-tenths of a second over Keselowski’s No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang. Though Keselowski remained within sight of Harvick, he was unable to gain any draft for the lead as Harvick was able to claim the checkered flag in first place and win by less than three-tenths of a second. 

    The victory was also the 12th of the season for Ford and the sixth for Stewart-Haas Racing. With his 54th career win, Harvick moved into a tie with the late Lee Petty for 11th place on the all-time series wins list.

    “This was an awesome car to drive today,” Harvick said on NBCSN. “The restarts were obviously a handful, but our Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang was really fast today and we held on for the long run and would really go on the short run and did everything we needed it to do. I think that the confidence is high when we come to Michigan. It’s a race track that’s been really good to us and just fits our style of cars. [Crew chief] Rodney [Childers] and [the No. 4 crew] have given me great racecars at Michigan every time we’ve come… I can’t say enough about our whole organization. Since we’ve come back from COVID, the work that these guys and gals are putting in at the race shop and the organization, they’ve had a lot of really good training from Tony Stewart in awkward situations on how to prepare for things. Thanks, Smoke!”

    “I knew I needed to be right there [with Kyle Busch],” Harvick added regarding the contact with Kyle Busch. “I couldn’t tell if I touched him. I knew I wanted that side draft there. I knew that we had a fast enough car to pass him, but I knew that I needed to take the opportunity I had and I needed to side draft him.”

    Keselowski finished in second place as he came one spot short of winning at his home track. Truex ended his race in third place followed by Blaney and Kyle Busch, who nipped teammate Hamlin at the line for a top-five run. 

    “[Harvick] is just super fast in the corners and the straightaway,” Keselowski said. “He was definitely the best car out here today. We put a good effort to kind of maximize our day and that is what we did, finished second. Proud of everyone on the Discount Tire Ford Mustang team. We will go back to work on it and hopefully find a little bit more for the race [Sunday].”

    “I just didn’t get loose and turn up to the wall by myself,” Kyle Busch said regarding the contact with Harvick. “I don’t know whether he hit me or it was just air. It was close enough that it disturbed my car and made me have to get out of [the gas] real bad and chase it real bad. Thankfully, we kept it out of the fence and at least try to salvage something out of it. That’s a pretty good run for us there. I felt like we had a fast car, but it was the best of the rest. [Harvick] was lights out. He deserved to win the race, anyways. It was a race for second today, overall. We’ve been fighting hard all year. We’ve been running well enough for good finishes. We just aren’t getting them. Today was another indication of that. We should’ve finished second, I guess, but a top five it is.”

    Hamlin, Elliott, Logano, Wallace and Kurt Busch rounded out the top 10. Buescher finished 20th and will start on pole position for the second Cup Michigan race on Sunday, August 9, alongside Bowyer with the top-20 finishers on Saturday being inverted for Sunday.

    Jones, who will not be remaining with Joe Gibbs Racing after this season, finished 11th and is 16 points behind 14th-place finisher Byron for the 16th and final spot to the 2020 Playoffs with five regular-season races remaining. Reddick, who finished 18th, is 19 points behind while Johnson, who finished 12th, is 22 points behind. DiBenedetto and Bowyer, both of whom finished 15th and 19th, are 40 and 41 points above the top-16 cutline while Wallace, who notched a career-high fourth top-10 result of this season, remains 123 points below the cutline.

    There were 12 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 43 laps.

    With his victory, Harvick continues to lead the regular-season series standings by 94 points over Keselowski, 127 over Hamlin and 128 over Blaney.

    Results.

    1. Kevin Harvick, 92 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    2. Brad Keselowski

    3. Martin Truex Jr.

    4. Ryan Blaney, 27 laps

    5. Kyle Busch, four laps led

    6. Denny Hamlin, 10 laps led

    7. Chase Elliott, nine laps led

    8. Joey Logano, 18 laps led

    9. Bubba Wallace

    10. Kurt Busch

    11. Erik Jones

    12. Jimmie Johnson

    13. Christopher Bell

    14. William Byron

    15. Matt DiBenedetto

    16. Aric Almirola

    17. Matt Kenseth 

    18. Tyler Reddick

    19. Clint Bowyer

    20. Chris Buescher

    21. Alex Bowman

    22. Corey LaJoie

    23. Ty Dillon

    24. Daniel Suarez

    25. Ryan Preece

    26. J.J. Yeley, one lap led

    27. Quin Houff

    28. Ryan Newman 

    29. Michael McDowell

    30. Reed Sorenson

    31. Austin Dillon

    32. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    33. Timmy Hill, two laps down

    34. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident 

    35. Garrett Smithley – OUT, Steering

    36. John Hunter Nemechek – OUT, Accident

    37. Brennan Poole – OUT, Engine

    38. James Davison, 58 laps down

    39. Joey Gase – OUT, Transmission

    The NASCAR Cup Series will return the following day, August 9, for its second Michigan race of the season, which will air on 4:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Almirola to start on pole at New Hampshire

    Almirola to start on pole at New Hampshire

    For the third time this season, Aric Almirola will start on pole position after his name was drawn to lead the field for the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race, the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    Almirola, who started on pole by virtue of a random draw twice this season at Pocono Raceway in June and at Texas Motor Speedway in mid-July, comes into New Hampshire with a best result of third place in 2018. This will also mark the 10th time where the Floridian and his No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang team will start in the top five by virtue of a random draw since May when NASCAR returned amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. He is also ranked in eighth place in the regular-season standings and is 134 points above the top-16 cutline with seven races remaining until the 2020 Cup Playoffs commences.

    Joining Almirola on the front row will be Denny Hamlin, the recent Cup Series winner last week at Kansas Speedway who finished in the runner-up spot at New Hampshire a year ago. Chase Elliott will start in third place followed by Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch. Clint Bowyer will start sixth followed by Kevin Harvick, the regular-season points leader and winner of the last two New Hampshire races. Alex Bowman, Joey Logano and Kurt Busch will start in the top 10 followed by Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney.

    Starting in positions 13-25 are rookie Tyler Reddick, rookie Cole Custer, Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Erik Jones, Michael McDowell, Matt DiBenedetto, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Austin Dillon, Chris Buescher and Ty Dillon.

    Starting in positions 26-38 are James Davison, Garrett Smithley, Joey Gase, J.J. Yeley, Ryan Preece, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., rookie Quin Houff, Corey LaJoie, rookie Brennan Poole, rookie Christopher Bell, rookie John Hunter Nemechek, Daniel Suarez and Timmy Hill.

    The Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway will occur on August 2 at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Keselowski and Truex fall short of the win at Kansas

    Keselowski and Truex fall short of the win at Kansas

    While Denny Hamlin celebrated a win on Thursday night’s Super Start Batteries 400 at Kansas Speedway, Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. emerged with second- and third-place results following a strong run from start to finish in the 19th NASCAR Cup Series race of this season.

    For Keselowski, who featured the Wabash National colors on his No. 2 Team Penske Ford Mustang for the first time this season and started the Kansas race in seventh based on a random draw, it was a race where the 2012 Cup champion gained a multitude of stage points, including a win in the second stage, and led a total of 30 laps while running towards the front and contending for the win. Though Keselowski had the pace to move into second place and close towards Hamlin’s rear bumper in the final laps on four fresh tires compared to Hamlin’s two, he could not navigate his way to the front as he finished within a half a second to Hamlin in the runner-up spot a year after winning the first Kansas Cup race. The strong result marked Keselowski’s seventh top-five result of this season as he also achieved his 200th top-10 Cup career finish. While Keselowski is already guaranteed a spot in the Playoffs by virtue of his two season wins in May, he moved into the runner-up spot in the standings and trails points leader Kevin Harvick by 97 points. The runner-up spot comes as Keselowski continues to await his racing plans for 2021.

    “[Hamlin and I] were pretty equal,” Keselowski said on NBCSN. “He had two tires, I had four tires. He was just really strong on the restarts. He and the [Joe] Gibbs [Racing] cars could pull everybody by about a car length on the restarts and they did a great job there taking advantage of it. We weren’t able to do anything with that. [I] Thought [that we were] even on the race track, but just a little bit behind on restarts. Tonight was a really good night for us here at Kansas with our Wabash Ford Mustang. This is as good as we’ve been on the mile and a halfs [tracks]. We’ve been really consistent. Last week was not our best at Texas, but this was good. Nice midweek race, leading stages, leading laps, winning stages. Just one spot short of the win.”

    For Truex, who swept both Kansas races in 2017 and started fifth based on a random draw, his first appearance at the front came on Lap 28 following the competition caution. From there, Truex and his No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry went on to record a top-five finish in the first stage and a top-10 finish in the second stage to collect a bevy of stage points towards the Playoffs. Like Keselowski, Truex ran towards the front throughout the race as he led 44 laps overall. After surviving a series of late carnages, Truex was able to work his way up to third with less than 10 laps remaining. While the 2017 Cup champion had a fast car in the late stages, what he did not have was time to navigate his way around Hamlin and Keselowski for the win as he settled in third, less than a second behind, when the checkered flag flew. The solid top-five result was Truex’s fourth of the season as he is seventh in the regular-season standings, 161 points behind Harvick. He is also guaranteed a spot in the 2020 Cup Playoffs by virtue of his win at Martinsville Speedway in June.

    “[I] Just ran out of time,” Truex said on NBCSN. “The Auto-Owners Camry was really strong all night. It was a battle all night just to get the track position back. These things are so difficult in traffic. You lose a few more spots than you hope on a restart and you just got to dig. Proud of the effort. Our cars are fast, the guys are doing a good job and that’s what we need to be doing. We’ll keep digging and we got some wins coming. The cautions didn’t fall the way we needed it to tonight. We needed everybody to be taking four [tires] and we could’ve controlled the race from there, I think.”

    Keselowski and Truex, along with their fellow NASCAR Cup Series competitors, will return for the next scheduled race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on August 2, which will air at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Matt McCall set for 200th Cup race as crew chief at Kansas

    Matt McCall set for 200th Cup race as crew chief at Kansas

    When the green flag waves on Thursday, July 23, for the Super Start Batteries 400 at Kansas Speedway, Matt McCall will achieve a significant milestone of his racing career. McCall, who currently serves as crew chief for Kurt Busch and the No. 1 Monster Energy/Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team, will reach 200 starts as a Cup crew chief.

    A native of Denver, North Carolina, and a graduate from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a major in mechanical engineering, McCall started his racing career at age nine as a go-kart driver. He would go on to win the 2004 Super Sport track championship at Hickory Motor Speedway. He also achieved two UARA-Stars titles in 2005 and 2009. In October 2003, he made his NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series debut at Martinsville Speedway. Driving the No. 56 Denver Marine/Hot Wheels Chevrolet for Danny McCall, Matt McCall finished 21st, two laps behind, in his series debut.

    In 2006, McCall competed in five NASCAR Xfinity Series races and two ARCA Menards Series races. In February, driving the No. 55 CitiFinancial Ford for Yates Racing, McCall started and finished in the runner-up spot behind veteran Bobby Gerhart at Daytona International Speedway in his ARCA debut. His other ARCA start was at Kentucky Speedway in May, where he started fifth and finished third. McCall’s first Xfinity race was at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, where he qualified 21st and finished 24th in Yates Racing’s No. 90 CitiFinancial Ford. His other four Xfinity starts came at Nashville Superspeedway in April, Dover International Speedway in June, Nashville in June and at Martinsville Speedway in July, where his respective finishes were 42nd, 41st, 34th and 26th.

    After being released from Yates Racing, McCall joined Richard Childress Racing as a race engineer. In July 2013, McCall served as an interim crew chief for veteran Jeff Burton and the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet team in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In McCall’s first NASCAR race as a crew chief, Burton finished 43rd, last place, due to a mechanical issue. McCall also made one Truck start at Bristol Motor Speedway in August and in the No. 92 BTS Tire & Wheel Distributors Chevrolet for team owner Ricky Benton, where he started 27th and finished 22nd.

    Following the 2014 season, McCall departed RCR and joined Chip Ganassi Racing to serve as a Cup Series crew chief for Jamie McMurray and the No. 1 McDonald’s/Cessna Chevrolet team. In McCall’s first full season as crew chief, McMurray achieved four top-five results, 10 top-10 results and made his first Chase for the Cup before settling in 13th in the final standings and despite achieving no wins throughout the season. Between 2016 and 2017, McMurray and McCall did not win, but they achieved a combined five top-five results, 29 top-10 results and made the Chase in both seasons, finishing 13th in the 2016 standings and 12th in the 2017 standings. In 2018, McMurray and McCall did not win and they did not make the Playoffs as they only achieved two top-five results, eight top-10 results and a final points result of 20th.

    In 2019, McCall remained with Chip Ganassi Racing, but was paired with the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kurt Busch, who replaced McMurray as driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet with Monster Energy sponsoring him. For the first 17 Cup races of the season, McCall and Busch achieved four top-five results, two runner-up results, nine top-10 results. The following race at Daytona International Speedway, Busch and McCall were in position to win before they, along with others, decided to pit late in the race for tires and fuel. The strategy, however, did not fall into the favors for Busch when a lightning strike near Daytona paused and eventually, made the race official as Busch was scored back in 10th.

    The following race at Kentucky Speedway, McCall achieved his first NASCAR Cup Series win as a crew chief when Kurt Busch held off brother, Kyle, in a two-lap shootout to grab a thrilling win, a victory that guaranteed Busch and the No. 1 team a spot in the 2019 Cup Playoffs. Busch and McCall would record seven more top-10 results for the remainder of the season before settling in 13th in the final standings. The combo also achieved three stage wins throughout the 2019 season.

    Through the first 18 Cup races of this season, McCall and Busch have achieved a pole, a stage win, four top-five results and 11 top-10 results. They are ranked ninth in the regular-season standings and are 108 points above the top-16 cutline to the Playoffs.

    Catch McCall’s milestone start in the Super Start Batteries 400 at Kansas Speedway on July 23 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Harvick to reach milestone start at Texas

    Harvick to reach milestone start at Texas

    When the green flag waves for the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 19, Kevin Harvick will achieve a milestone start in his Cup career. By competing in Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at the Lone Star state, Harvick will become the 17th competitor to reach 700 starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    Entering the 2001 season, Harvick was initially slated to compete in select Cup races for Richard Childress Racing while competing for the team on a full-time basis in the Xfinity Series. Everything, however, changed in February when an accident on the final lap and final corner of the Daytona 500 claimed the life of seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt. The following week, Harvick was promoted to a full-time racing schedule in the Cup level and in the No. 29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet, renumbered from 3. He made his series debut at Rockingham’s North Carolina Speedway, where he finished 14th. Two races later, Harvick edged Jeff Gordon by 0.006 seconds to score his first Cup career win at Atlanta Motor Speedway in his third series start. By then, Harvick became the fastest first-time Cup winner in the modern era. The win was well received from the crowd and in the NASCAR community as Harvick paid tribute to Earnhardt by performing a victory lap the opposite direction of the track while saluting three fingers to the crowd.

    Harvick went on to clinch his second Cup career victory in the inaugural race at Chicagoland Speedway in July. When the 2001 season concluded, he recorded six top-five results and 16 top-10 results in 35 of the 36-race schedule, and he settled in ninth in the final standings. In addition, Harvick was named the recipient of the 2001 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year award. Ironically, Harvick would also win his first Xfinity Series championship.

    In 2002, his sophomore Cup season, Harvick recorded two top-10 results in the first seven races of the season. The following week in April, Harvick was suspended for the Cup race at Martinsville Speedway for rough driving in the Truck Series at Martinsville a day earlier, where he intentionally spun Coy Gibbs during the race. Kenny Wallace drove Harvick’s No. 29 car, where he finished 32nd. Though Harvick returned the following week, his next nine finishes were outside the top 10, with a best result coming at Daytona in July, where he won his first Cup career pole and finished 11th. By then, his crew chief, Kevin Hamlin, was replaced by Gil Martin. The following race at Chicagoland, Harvick rallied from a spin to beat Jeff Gordon and claim his first victory of the 2002 season. Despite scoring his third Cup career win, Harvick achieved five top-five results and eight top-10 results throughout the 2002 season as he concluded the season in 21st in the final standings.

    Harvick and the No. 29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet team rebounded in 2003 by winning the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway from the pole in August. He also achieved 11 top-five results and 18 top-10 results while leading a career-high 569 laps and settling in fifth in the final standings. He started the season working with Gil Martin, but concluded the season with Todd Berrier. By then, Harvick had surpassed 100 Cup career starts.

    After going winless in 2004 and winning once in 2005, finishing 14th in the final standings in both seasons, Harvick’s first breakout year came in 2006, where he won five races at four different tracks, including Phoenix, Watkins Glen, Richmond and New Hampshire. Making his first Chase appearance, he concluded the season in fourth in the final standings while achieving a pole, 15 top-five results and 20 top-10 results along with 895 laps led. To go along with his successful 2006 campaign in the Cup Series, where he surpassed 200 series starts, Harvick also won his second Xfinity Series championship.

    In 2007, sporting the Shell/Pennzoil colors on his No. 29 Chevrolet, Harvick kickstarted a new season of racing by edging Mark Martin by 0.020 seconds to win the 49th running of the Daytona 500. He went on to win his first All-Star Race at Charlotte’s Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May while cashing in one million dollars. Harvick went on to record four top-five results and 15 top-10 results throughout the 2007 Cup season, which he concluded in 10th in the final standings.

    Harvick went winless the following season, but achieved seven top-five results and 19 top-10 results to conclude the season in fourth in the final standings. In 2009, Harvick won the non-point Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway in February and finished second in the rain-shortened Daytona 500 to Matt Kenseth a week later. The season, however, was mired with inconsistent runs for Harvick and the No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet team as Harvick only achieved five top-five results and nine top-10 results before concluding the season in 19th in the final standings. Early in the season, Todd Berrier was replaced by Gil Martin as Harvick’s crew chief. By then, Harvick had surpassed 300 Cup career starts.

    Harvick rallied the following season by winning three races at three different tracks, including Talladega, Daytona and at Michigan. With 16 top-five results, 26 top-10 results and serving as the points leader for the majority of the regular season, Harvick remained in title contention through the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he concluded the season in third in the final standings and 41 points shy of the title to Jimmie Johnson.

    In 2011, Harvick welcomed Budweiser and Jimmy John’s as his new Cup primary sponsors when Shell/Pennzoil left Richard Childress Racing for Penske Racing. Harvick achieved four wins in 2011 at four different tracks, including Auto Club Speedway, Martinsville, Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600 and at Richmond. He achieved nine top-five results and 19 top-10 results throughout the season before concluding the year in third in the final standings. In 2012, Harvick surpassed 400 starts in the Cup level. During the season, he achieved his lone victory at Phoenix, the penultimate race of the year, to go along with five top-five results and 14 top-10 results. He finished the season in eighth in the final standings.

    In 2013, Harvick’s final year racing for Richard Childress Racing, he achieved four victories, nine top-five results and 21 top-10 results while also recording his first pole award since 2006. He remained in contention through the finale before he concluded the season in third in the final standings, 34 points shy of the title to Johnson.

    The 2014 season came with a fresh start for Harvick, who moved to Stewart-Haas Racing to drive the No. 4 Chevrolet SS while paired with crew chief Rodney Childers, but having familiar sponsors like Budweiser and Jimmy John’s supporting him. After finishing 13th in the Daytona 500 while being involved in a wreck on the final lap, Harvick led a race-high 224 laps and recorded his first victory with SHR at Phoenix the following week in March. He would record his second victory of the season at Darlington Raceway, the Southern 500, in April. The two victories throughout the regular season were enough for him to qualify for the Playoffs. In October, Harvick scored a win at Charlotte Motor Speedway to advance to the Round of 8. A week after making his 500th Cup start at Texas Motor Speedway in November, Harvick recorded a clutch win at Phoenix to advance to the Championship Round with an opportunity to win his first Cup title. During the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Harvick benefited late on fresh tires to beat Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano, and claim his first NASCAR Cup championship by winning the finale. With the title, Harvick became the 30th Cup competitor to win a championship in NASCAR’s premier series as he also recorded the second title for Stewart-Haas Racing and the first for crew chief Rodney Childers.

    Between 2015 and 2016, Harvick recorded seven victories, three poles, 40 top-five results, 55 top-10 results and led a combined 3678 laps with a best points result of second in 2015 to Kyle Busch. In 2017, Harvick remained with Stewart-Haas Racing, but was racing in Fords when SHR decided to field Fords in NASCAR following a longtime partnership with Chevrolet. Throughout the season, Harvick recorded two victories at two different tracks, Sonoma and Texas. To go along with four poles, 14 top-five results and 23 top-10 results, Harvick raced his way to the Championship Round, but concluded the season in third in the final standings. By then, Harvick had surpassed 600 Cup starts.

    The 2018 season was a career year for Harvick and the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford team, where the driver won a career-high eight races while also achieving four poles, 23 top-five results and 29 top-10 results, stats that allowed Harvick to make the Championship Round at Homestead. Harvick, however, concluded the season in third in the final standings for the second consecutive year.

    Last season, Harvick won four races at four different tracks, including New Hampshire, Michigan, Indianapolis and Texas. To go along with six poles, 15 top-five results and 26 top-10 results, Harvick made the Championship Round for the fifth time in the last six years. For the third consecutive year, Harvick concluded the season in third in the final standings.

    This season, in his 20th full-time season in the Cup Series, Harvick has achieved four Cup victories, the wins coming at Darlington, Atlanta, Pocono and at Indianapolis, to tally his win total in the Cup Series to 53. He has also recorded 10 top-five results and 14 top-10 results as he leads the regular-season standings by 88 points over Brad Keselowski.

    Prior to the 2020 Cup season, only 15 competitors had achieved 700 starts in NASCAR’s premier series. Harvick is set to become the second competitor to reach the 700-mark start in the Cup level. On July 5, Kurt Busch, a former teammate to Harvick at Stewart-Haas Racing, made his 700th career start in his 20th full-time season of racing.

    Catch Harvick’s milestone start in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas on July 19 at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Logano to reach 600 starts across NASCAR at Texas

    Logano to reach 600 starts across NASCAR at Texas

    When Joey Logano takes the green flag for the upcoming O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 19, he will reach a significant milestone of his racing career. By starting this weekend’s race at the Lone Star state, Logano will reach 600 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series, (NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series).

    A native of Middletown, Connecticut, Logano’s racing career started at age six when he was racing quarter midgets. After racing in Late Models and various stock cars series throughout his early youth, he competed in the Camping World East Series, (known today as ARCA Menards Series East), in 2007. He ended up winning the series championship in a season where he won five races, including the Toyota All-Star Showdown at California’s Irwindale Speedway in October.

    The 2008 season would serve as Logano’s breakthrough year, which started when he won his first ARCA Series race in his series debut at Rockingham Speedway in May. More than three weeks later, he made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Dover International Speedway. Driving the No. 20 GameStop Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, he finished sixth in his series debut. The following race at Nashville Superspeedway in June, Logano recorded his first career pole. During the race at Nashville, Logano led 64 laps before he was involved in a wreck shy of the halfway mark and he settled in 31st. The following race at Kentucky Speedway, Logano started on pole for a second consecutive race and this time, he led 76 laps and scored his first Xfinity career win in his third series start. With his victory, Logano became the youngest winner in the Xfinity Series at age 18 years and 21 days, (surpassing Casey Atwood’s record of 18 years, 10 months and nine days old accomplished in 1999). He competed in 16 more Xfinity races in 2008, where he recorded 12 top-10 results, a pair of runner-up results at Milwaukee and Gateway in June and two more poles at Richmond in September and at Homestead in November. By finishing 10th in the finale at Homestead, Logano also delivered Joe Gibbs Racing’s first owners’ title in the Xfinity Series. He also competed in one NASCAR Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway in October, where he finished 26th while driving for HT Motorsports.

    In August 2008, Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Logano will be moving up to the NASCAR Cup Series to drive the iconic No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry in 2009, replacing Tony Stewart, who was set to form and drive for Stewart-Haas Racing. Prior to his rookie Cup season, he made his series debut at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September 2008, driving the No. 96 Home Depot/DLP HDTV Toyota Camry for Hall of Fame Racing in a technical partnership with JGR. Finishing 32nd in his Cup debut, he qualified for two more Cup races at Kansas Speedway in September with Hall of Fame Racing and at Texas Motor Speedway in November with JGR. His finishes were 39th and 40th.

    Entering the 2009 season as a Cup Rookie-of-the-Year candidate, Logano made his first Cup start in the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota in the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway in February, where he finished last of the 28-car field after being involved in an early multi-car wreck. He rebounded by finishing fourth in the first Gatorade Duel at Daytona, but finished last of the 43-car field in the rain-shortened Daytona 500 after being involved in a single-car wreck near the midway point of the race. After finishing no higher than 13th in the first eight Cup races of 2009, Logano recorded his first top-10 result at Talladega Superspeedway in April. The following month at Darlington Raceway, he had a stellar performance, where he led 19 laps and finished ninth. He would record another ninth-place result in the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte’s Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The previous week, he won the Fan Vote and made his All-Star Race debut, where he finished eighth. In June at New Hampshire, Logano’s home track and the same racetrack where he made his Cup debut the previous season, he rallied from a midway spin to stretch his fuel cell to the fullest and emerge with the lead over Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch when the caution fell due to rain. Shortly after, the race was declared official due to weather and Logano was awarded his first Cup win in his 20th series start. With the victory, he became the youngest Cup winner at age 19 years, one month and four days old. For the remainder of his rookie Cup season, he recorded three more top-10 results, including a fifth-place result at Charlotte in October and a third-place result at Talladega in November, and he claimed the Rookie-of-the-Year title over Scott Speed despite finishing 20th in the final standings.

    Throughout the 2009 season, Logano also competed in 22 of 35 NASCAR Xfinity Series races. He won five races in five different tracks that included Nashville, Kentucky, Chicagoland, Kansas and at Auto Club Speedway. He also recorded four poles, 13 top-five results and 16 top-10 results, all while driving Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 GameStop Toyota Camry.

    In 2010, Logano went winless, but he recorded his first Cup career pole at Bristol Motor Speedway in March. He recorded seven top-five results and 16 top-10 results while concluding the year in 16th in the standings, four spots better than his rookie season. He also competed in 25 of the 35-race schedule in the Xfinity Series, where he won two races and eight poles while recording 15 top-five results and 24 top-10 results. By then, Logano had surpassed 100 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series.

    The year 2011 was one of Logano’s disappointing years, though he reached 200 division starts in NASCAR. In the Cup Series, he went winless again, but he recorded two poles, four top-five results and six top-10 results while concluding the season in 24th in the final standings with no opportunity in making the Chase and competing for the title. In the Xfinity Series, Logano recorded a single victory at Daytona International Speedway in July. He also recorded a pole, eight top-five results and 15 top-10 results in 22 starts.

    The following season, Logano was paired with veteran crew chief Jason Ratcliff when longtime crew chief Greg Zipadelli left JGR for Stewart-Haas Racing. In his first 13 Cup races with Ratcliff, Logano’s only top-10 results came in the season-opening Daytona 500 in February and at Dover in June. Shortly after, Logano dominated and prevailed over a late battle with his childhood hero, Mark Martin, to notch his second NASCAR Cup career win at Pocono Raceway, first since winning the rain-shortened event at New Hampshire in 2009. With the breakthrough win, Logano became the first Cup competitor to win a race from the pole in 30 races as he also claimed his first Cup victory in a race spanning through its scheduled distance. The victory was also the first in the Cup Series for crew chief Ratcliff. Throughout the 2012 Cup season, however, he recorded two poles, two top-five results and 12 top-10 results while concluding the season in 17th in the final standings, missing the Chase in his fourth season in the series.

    The 2012 Xfinity Series season was Logano’s breakout year, where he won a season-high nine races in eight different tracks, among which included Auto Club, Talladega, Darlington, Dover, Michigan, Bristol, Charlotte and Phoenix. Throughout the 33-race Xfinity schedule, he competed in 22 races and along with his nine victories, he recorded six poles, 12 top-five results and 17 top-10 results, all while serving as one of many competitors who contributed to delivering the fourth Xfinity owners’ title to Joe Gibbs Racing.

    The 2013 season came with a fresh start for Logano when he was released from Joe Gibbs Racing and the Connecticut native joined forces with team owner Roger Penske to drive the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion led by crew chief Todd Gordon while paired with the reigning Cup champion Brad Keselowski. In his first Cup season with the Penske organization, Logano won at Michigan in August 2013, recorded two poles, a career-high 11 top-five results, a career-high 19 top-10 results and a career-high 323 laps led, all while making his first Chase appearance and finishing eighth in the final standings. He also competed in 15 Xfinity Series races in the No. 22 Hertz/Discount Tire Ford Mustang for the Penske organization, where he won three races and was one of four competitors who contributed to delivering the first Xfinity owners’ championship for Roger Penske by a single point. In addition, he made three NASCAR Truck Series starts in the No. 19 Reese Towpower/Draw-Tite Ford F-150 for Brad Keselowski Racing. His best result was a runner-up finish at Rockingham Speedway in April behind rookie Kyle Larson. By then, he had surpassed 300 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series.

    The following season, Logano recorded five wins in the NASCAR Cup Series in five different tracks that included Texas, Richmond and Bristol in the regular season, and New Hampshire and Kansas in the Chase. To go along with a pole, 16 top-five results, 22 top-10 results and 993 laps led throughout the season, Logano was one of four competitors vying for the 2014 Cup title in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. During the finale, a late pit road error, where the jack dropped and the driver lost numerous spots on pit road, cost Logano and the No. 22 Penske team a shot for the title as he settled in fourth in the final standings. Throughout the 2014 season, Logano competed in 10 Xfinity races, where he went winless despite recording three poles and nine top-10 results, and serving as one of five competitors who contributed to achieving the second consecutive owners’ title for Team Penske in the Xfinity Series. He also made two Truck starts for Brad Keselowski Racing, finishing third and 18th in his two races.

    In 2015, Logano won a season-high six races, including the Daytona 500, Watkins Glen International following a last-lap pass on Kevin Harvick, a victory in the Bristol Night Race for the second consecutive year and three consecutive races in the Round of 12 in the Playoffs at Charlotte, Kansas and Talladega. Logano’s championship hopes, however, came to an end during the Round of 8, starting at Martinsville Speedway in November when he was deliberately wrecked out by Matt Kenseth as a result of retaliation when Logano spun Kenseth for the win at Kansas a couple weeks earlier. The following week at Texas, Logano’s blew a tire and spun while damaging his car, where he ended up in 40th. Despite finishing third the next week at Phoenix, Logano was eliminated from title contention as he concluded the season in sixth in the final standings and in a year where he recorded six poles, 22 top-five results and 28 top-10 results. He also made 11 starts in the Xfinity Series, where he won four races, and one start in the Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway in March, where he won for the first time in the series. To July 2020, Logano is one of 33 competitors to win across NASCAR’s three major division series. At the time the 2015 season concluded, Logano had also surpassed 400 starts across the three division series.

    In 2016, Logano won three races, including the All-Star Race at Charlotte and the penultimate race of the season at Phoenix that enabled him to secure a spot in the Championship Round at Homestead. At Homestead, he rallied from a late restart incident, where he made contact with title contender Carl Edwards, to finish fourth in the finale, but runner up in the title battle behind Jimmie Johnson. He also made 13 starts in the Xfinity Series and won twice.

    Following a dismal 2017 season, where he won a single race at Richmond that was encumbered due to a violation discovered during post-race inspection that prevented him from making the Playoffs, Logano had surpassed 500 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series. In 2018, he won three races and claimed his first Cup championship with a victory in the finale at Homestead. With the championship, Logano became the 34th competitor to win a Cup title as he also recorded the second Cup championship for Team Penske and the first for crew chief Todd Gordon.

    Following a productive 2019 season, where he won two races and finished fifth in the final standings, Logano started the 2020 Cup season by making his 400th series start in the Daytona 500, his first race paired with veteran crew chief Paul Wolfe. After finishing 26th due to being involved in a late accident, Logano rebounded by winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway following a late restart. Two weeks later, Logano won for the second time of this season at Phoenix.

    Through the first 17 Cup races of this season, Logano has recorded three top-five results and seven top-10 results. He is ranked fifth in the regular-season standings, trailing points leader Kevin Harvick by 111 points, but is guaranteed a spot in the 2020 Playoffs by virtue of his two recorded wins this season.

    In his previous 599 division starts in NASCAR, Logano has won 25 Cup races, 30 Xfinity races and one Truck race.

    Catch Logano’s milestone start in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on July 19 at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Harvick benefits on strategy, outduels Hamlin for first Pocono triumph

    Harvick benefits on strategy, outduels Hamlin for first Pocono triumph

    In his 39th attempt at a track dubbed the Tricky Triangle, Kevin Harvick scratched Pocono Raceway off of his bucket list. Harvick exited ahead of teammate Aric Almirola with 37 laps remaining following a two-tire pit stop, inherited the lead twenty laps later and held off a late challenge from Denny Hamlin to win the Pocono Organics 325, the first of two Pocono Raceway events this weekend, for his third NASCAR Cup Series win of the season and the 52nd of his career.

    The starting lineup was based on a random draw. Almirola, coming off his third-place result at Talladega Superspeedway backwards, drew the pole position and was joined on the front row with Ryan Blaney, who won at Talladega. Rookie Brennan Poole started at the rear of the field after his car failed pre-race inspection twice along with Josh Bilicki due to unapproved adjustments.

    Delayed by scattered rain, the field ran extra pace laps under caution. When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Blaney made an attempt for the lead on the inside lane, but he got loose entering Turn 1, which allowed Almirola to clear with the lead through the Long Pond Straightaway as Kyle Busch moved into second. On the fifth lap, Blaney retook second and was followed by teammate Joey Logano while Kyle Busch slipped back to fourth. 

    At the front, Almirola was able to maintain his advantage by a second over Logano and above two seconds over Blaney through the competition caution on Lap 13. By then, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Matt DiBenedetto, both of whom started 14th and 21st, moved up to 10th and 11th while Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick, both of whom started fifth and ninth, had fallen back to 12th and 15th. Under caution, the top-eight competitors remained on track while a majority led by Jimmie Johnson pitted for early adjustments. When the pit stops cycled through, 14 competitors remained on track while Johnson was in 15th, the first car on fresh tires.

    When the green flag flew and the race resumed on Lap 17, a handful of competitors running in the middle of the pack fanned out in racing five- to six-wide past the start/finish line before settling into side-by-side racing through Turn 1. Meanwhile, Almirola retained the lead followed by Logano while Blaney and Kyle Busch battled for third. The caution returned when rookie Quin Houff spun in Turn 2 and made contact with the inside wall.

    The following restart, on Lap 21, Logano, who was lined up with teammates Blaney and Brad Keselowski, was able to race alongside Almirola entering Turn 1 before he took the lead through the Long Pond Straight. By then, Chase Elliott, who was racing on fresh tires, moved into the top five after passing Kurt Busch. Two laps later, drivers like Denny Hamlin, Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and rookie Christopher Bell pitted under green as part of a strategic move for the following stage. While most of the battling for track position occurred just outside the top 10, Logano was able to cruise to the first stage win. Almirola finished second followed by Blaney while Kyle Busch and Elliott finished in the top five. Kurt Busch, DiBenedetto, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman and Erik Jones finished in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, some led by Logano remained on track while others like Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Johnson, Clint Bowyer, rookie Tyler Reddick, Ryan Newman, Jones, Bubba Wallace, rookie Cole Custer, Ryan Preece, Michael McDowell and Daniel Suarez pitted. Following the pit stops, Reddick was assessed a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road.

    The second stage started on Lap 31, where Almirola was able to return to the lead after restarting on the bottom lane. Logano dropped to second while Elliott moved into third after passing Blaney. By then, DiBenedetto moved into the top five while Bowman, Austin Dillon and William Byron were running seventh through ninth. 

    By Lap 35, Hamlin was in 13th followed by Harvick and Kyle Busch while Johnson was in 20th. Over the next 10 laps, Blaney, Kurt Busch, Logano, DiBenedetto and Bowman made a green-flag pit stop. A lap later, on Lap 46, Almirola pitted under green along with Elliott. Their pit stops allowed Truex, who last pitted on Lap 14, to take the lead followed by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Hamlin and Kyle Busch, all of whom were running with distinct pit strategies. Byron was in fourth followed by Austin Dillon, Chris Buescher and Jones.

    By Lap 55, Truex was ahead by three-tenths of a second over Hamlin with Kyle Busch trailing by nearly two seconds. Behind, Harvick was in seventh, Matt Kenseth was in ninth and Bell was the highest-running rookie in 10th with Nemechek and Reddick in 12th and 13th. Johnson was in 14th followed by Wallace while Bowyer was in 20th. Almirola was in 24th followed by Logano, Blaney, Elliott, Kurt Busch and DiBenedetto, all of whom trailed the leaders by 28 seconds.

    Over the next five laps, Nemechek, Buescher and Austin Dillon made a green-flag pit stop. On Lap 60, Hamlin passed teammate Truex to inherit the lead. At the same time, Byron made a green-flag pit stop. Shortly after, Truex pitted along with Kenseth as his two teammates, Kyle Busch and Jones, moved into second and third. By then, Harvick and Bell were in the top five while Almirola was in 14th. A lap later, Johnson made a pit stop, but nearly made contact with the lapped car of Bilicki while trying to enter his pit box.

    With 13 laps remaining in the second stage, J.J. Yeley blew a left-front tire following contact with Nemechek the previous lap entering Turn 4 and drew a caution when the tire shredded and debris scattered from Yeley’s car. Under caution, nearly the entire field led by Hamlin and Kyle Busch pitted with Hamlin exiting first on four fresh tires. Following the pit stops, Ty Dillon was assessed a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road. When the field cycled through, Almirola remained on track and returned the lead followed by Logano, Blaney, Elliott, Truex, Kurt Busch, Bowman, DiBenedetto and Byron.

    The green flag returned with eight laps remaining in the second stage and Almirola was able to fend off teammates Logano and Blaney to retain the lead through Turn 1. By then, Hamlin wasted no time carving his way to seventh. Two laps later, Jones lifted off the throttle entering Turn 4 and Reddick made contact with Jones’ No. 20 Toyota as both slid towards the inside wall with Jones pounding the wall head-on and Reddick sustaining heavy damage to the right side of his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. The caution fell following the wreck. Jones retired, moving him into a backup car for Sunday’s second Cup Pocono race, while Reddick continued. Under caution, a handful of competitors, including Kurt Busch, Byron, Austin Dillon, Johnson and Custer, pitted. On the track, Stenhouse stalled his car due to low fuel pressure and pitted to address the issue.

    With two laps remaining in the second stage, Almirola and Logano raced dead even through Turn 1 before Almirola cleared Logano on the outside lane through the first turn. With a majority of competitors jostling for positions in the two-lap dash, Almirola was able to win the second stage by three-tenths of a second over Logano for his first stage win of the 2020 season and gain crucial points towards the Playoffs. Truex settled in third followed by Blaney and DiBenedetto while Bowman, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Elliott finished in the top 10. 

    Under the stage break, only a handful of competitors that included Blaney, Elliott, Ty Dillon and Byron pitted while the rest remained on track. Elliott spent extra time in his pit box to have his right rear fender repaired. In addition, he turned down a bungee chord to hold his car in fourth gear, which popped out, as he will manage the gear himself for the remainder of the race. To make matters worse, he was penalized due to an uncontrolled tire violation and restarted towards the tail end of the lead lap car.

    The final stage commenced with 48 laps remaining as Almirola received a push from DiBenedetto to retain the lead. On the Long Pond Straight, Harvick went three wide with Logano and DiBenedetto to move into second. Logano fell back to sixth as DiBenedetto, Truex and Hamlin passed him.

    Eight laps later, Almirola was still ahead by six-tenths of a second over Harvick with DiBenedetto trailing by nearly four seconds. Truex, Logano and Hamlin were running fourth through sixth while Bowman, Newman, Kyle Busch and Bell were running inside the top 10. Shortly after, the following competitors of Blaney, Logano, Keselowski, Truex, Kyle Busch, Byron and Johnson made a green-flag pit stop. Over the next two laps, Bowman pitted along with teammate Elliott, Wallace, Bowyer and DiBenedetto.

    With 37 laps remaining, teammates Almirola and Harvick made their green-flag pit stops, but Harvick exited ahead of Almirola following a two-tire stop. Their services gave the lead to Hamlin followed by Newman, Michael McDowell, Buescher and Preece. Others competitors that pitted during this time included Nemechek, Kurt Busch, Bell, Austin Dillon and Kenseth. Five laps later, Hamlin surrendered the lead to pit for two fresh tires as Newman moved into the lead. By then, the top-seven competitors were still racing out on old tires and low fuel while Harvick, the first with fresh tires and a full tank of gas, was in eighth.

    With 23 laps remaining, Ty Dillon pitted for fuel while the top-six cars led by Newman continued running on the track as the leaders on low fuel and worn tires. Three laps later, McDowell passed Newman to move into the lead. Buescher was in third behind McDowell and Newman followed by Preece and Stenhouse. Shortly after, McDowell, Newman and Stenhouse pitted, giving the lead to Buescher. Another lap later, Preece pitted as Harvick moved into second, trailing Buescher by more than 11 seconds.

    Six laps later, Buescher pitted and Harvick assumed the lead with Hamlin, Almirola, Truex, Bell and Kyle Busch trailing. Another two laps later, Bowman made an unscheduled pit stop to address a flat right-rear tire and minimal damage to the right side of his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. The race remained under green-flag conditions with no debris reported on the track from Bowman’s car.

    With the laps dwindling, Hamlin, who reported vibrating issues to his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, started to narrow his deficit from Harvick, who was approaching lapped traffic. With 10 laps remaining, Harvick was ahead by less than a second over Hamlin with Almirola trailing by nearly 13 seconds, Bell by nearly 16 seconds and teammates Kyle Busch and Truex by approximately 18 seconds. 

    Three laps later, with seven to go, Logano made an unscheduled pit stop after blowing a left-front tire, but the race remained under green. By then, Elliott was lapped by Harvick, who was still a second ahead over Hamlin and more than 12 seconds ahead of Almirola. Another three laps later, Harvick, who had lapped Wallace, stabilized his lead to more than a second over Hamlin, who continued reporting vibrating concerns to his car. The following lap, Hamlin decreased his deficit to less than half a second to Harvick as the battle between the two veterans ignited. Though Hamlin nearly drew himself to the rear bumper of Harvick in the Long Pond Straightaway, Harvick gained a huge run entering Turn 4, which stalled Hamlin’s progress.

    When the final lap started, Harvick was ahead by three-tenths of a second over Hamlin. In the Long Pond Straight, Harvick was able to increase his lead by another three-tenths of a second after he broke Hamlin’s draft towards Harvick, which gave the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford the advantage and the gap he needed to claim his first elusive checkered flag at Pocono.

    Coming into this weekend’s doubleheader, Harvick’s previous best result at Pocono was second four times. With his first win at the Tricky Triangle, Kentucky Speedway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval remain the only active Cup tracks where Harvick has yet to fill in a win column. In addition, Harvick joined Hamlin as the only three-time winners of this year’s Cup season with 14 races completed as he also recorded the third Cup victory of 2020 for Stewart-Haas Racing and the eighth for the Ford nameplate.

    “[I] Just gotta thank everybody on our Head for the Mountains Busch Beer Ford Mustang,” Harvick said on FOX. “We weren’t where we needed to be to start the start. Lost a bunch of track position. Came back, made some great strategy calls and we were able to get out front and make some good laps. It’s great to, finally, check Pocono off the list. Everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing has done such a great job with all of our cars every time we’ve come here over the last seven years. I guess we just need special paint schemes to get to Victory Lane. Just glad it didn’t rain all day. I think in the end, it’s gonna come down to strategy and what you need to do [on Sunday].”

    Hamlin finished second, more than seven-tenths of a second behind Harvick, for his eighth top-five result of this season followed by Almirola, who led a race-high 61 of the event’s 130-scheduled laps and earned his third consecutive top-five result this season. 

    “[The vibration]’s bad,” Hamlin said. “It was like someone loosened all the [lug] nuts on the car. It’s unfortunate. We got there and we came there from a long way back. Had a strong FedEx Camry. With about 15, 20 to go, the vibration just got really, really bad. Still, it would’ve been tough to pass. Even though we got there, it was gonna be tough to get around [Harvick]. Man, our car was extremely, extremely fast. [I’m] Optimistic for tomorrow’s race, for sure.”

    “We opted to score a lot of points [in the stages], and that probably hurt us on strategy a little bit, but I’m really proud of [crew chief Mike] Buga [Bugarewicz] and these [No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford] guys,” Almirola said. “They’ve been bringing some awesome race cars. I felt like we were tit-for-tat there with [Harvick] when we were on older tires and in clean air. We’re trying to keep the momentum going. Three top fives in a row. I’m really proud of my race team.”

    Bell and Kyle Busch finished in the top five. Truex, Bowyer, McDowell and Keselowski finished sixth through ninth while Buescher passed Kenseth with two laps remaining to finish 10th. Ryan Preece finished 20th and will start on the pole position for the second Pocono race on Sunday, where he will share the front row with 19th-place finisher Austin Dillon. Melbourne, Australia’s James Davison finished 34th, five laps behind the leaders, in his Cup debut.

    There were 10 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 21 laps. Only 21 of the 40-car field finished on the lead lap.

    With his victory, Harvick stabilized his lead in the Cup Series regular-season standings by 29 points over Blaney and 47 over Logano.

    Results:

    1. Kevin Harvick, 17 laps led

    2. Denny Hamlin, 10 laps led

    3. Aric Almirola, 61 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    4. Christopher Bell

    5. Kyle Busch

    6. Martin Truex Jr., 14 laps led

    7. Clint Bowyer

    8. Michael McDowell, one lap led

    9. Brad Keselowski

    10. Chris Buescher, three laps led

    11. Matt Kenseth

    12. Ryan Blaney

    13. Matt DiBenedetto

    14. William Byron

    15. Ryan Newman, 13 laps led

    16. Cole Custer

    17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    18. Kurt Busch

    19. Austin Dillon

    20. Ryan Preece

    21. Jimmie Johnson

    22. Bubba Wallace, one lap down

    23. Corey LaJoie, one lap down

    24. John Hunter Nemechek, one lap down

    25. Chase Elliott, one lap down

    26. Ty Dillon, one lap down

    27. Alex Bowman, one lap down

    28. Daniel Suarez, two laps down

    29. Brennan Poole, three laps down

    30. Tyler Reddick, four laps down

    31. J.J. Yeley, five laps down

    32. Josh Bilicki, five laps down

    33. Garrett Smithley, five laps down

    34. James Davison, five laps down

    35. Timmy Hill, five laps down

    36. Joey Logano, six laps down

    37. Joey Gase, nine laps down

    38. Erik Jones – OUT, Accident

    39. BJ McLeod – OUT, Transmission

    40. Quin Houff – OUT, Accident

    The Cup Series’ second Pocono race as part of the doubleheader feature will air the following day, June 28, at 4 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • The Final Word – If only all races were like Talladega

    The Final Word – If only all races were like Talladega

    For the third time this season, NASCAR presented a race worth watching. I am not talking about those good ole boys and girls who have the sport in their blood, who love it, cannot live without it no matter what it looks like. I am talking about those who demand an entertaining three-hour experience if they are going to spend the time to take it all in. Talladega delivered.

    This is what drew people to NASCAR in the first place. They did not know a Fonty Flock from a Smokey Yunick, but they knew what they liked. Tons of action, lots of speed, disaster possibly just around the corner, watching guys doing things we could never pull off on our best day, or even contemplate on our drunkest. On Sunday, Talladega delivered.

    Back in the day, we talked about boys who went by the names of Petty, Roberts, Yarborough, Allison, Earnhardt, Gordon, and Stewart, to name a select few. Today, we once again talk about an Elliott, as the son of Bill from Dawsonville took the prize in the end. Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, and Ryan Preece led three Chevrolets across the line as, for once, the manufacturers made it known they wanted to win. They wanted their representatives to work together to make that happen. Limit what you do for the Ford and Toyota guys. Win one for the Camaro. In the end, thanks to some fine wheelmen and good fortune, Talladega delivered.

    It was a day when sometimes they got too close to the line, and what you would expect would happen at 200 mph at close quarters did happen. Kevin Harvick lasted just 10 laps. Denny Hamlin survived 80. Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer were running at the end, but their odds of winning were about the same as your own. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was front and center most of the day but wrecked by the end. If you were looking for fireworks, Talladega delivered.

    Were the FOX announcers great, keeping you informed and entertained? They did not have to be. The race, the actual event, kept us watching all on its own. Sure, we could talk once more about what changes FOX should make, and what NBC did last season, but we’ve flogged that horse past the point of what the SPCA or even Rodrigo Duterte could tolerate. You wanted a race, you got a race. Talladega delivered.

    Daytona. Bristol. Talladega. Ten races, but only three that kept the viewing public glued to their seats, even if they were nowhere to be seen at that track in Tennessee a few weeks back. To be honest, I was so focused on the race, I could not tell you how many empty seats there might have been in the wilds of Alabama. If they could not or would not make the effort to take this one in, that would have been a shame. Talladega delivered.

    Next week, they are in Dover. The Monster Mile they call it. It has been around for 50 years. Miles the Monster, holding a full sized Cup car up in the air, has been there since 2008. The last time the Cup boys visited there was last October. The winner, the youngest ever to do so at the venue, was one Chase Elliott. Will Dover bring us the same kind of experience as we enjoyed this past weekend? Hell no. Few tracks deliver like Talladega can.

  • Ford Performance NASCAR: Harvick Captures Phoenix Cup Pole

    Ford Performance NASCAR: Harvick Captures Phoenix Cup Pole

    Ford Notes and Quotes

    Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)

    Can-Am 500 Qualifying (ISM Raceway,
    Avondale, AZ.)

    Friday, November 9, 2018

    Ford Qualifying Results:

    1st
    – Kevin Harvick

    3rd
    – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    4th
    – Ryan Blaney

    9th
    – Joey Logano

    11th
    – Paul Menard

    12th
    – Brad Keselowski

    14th
    – Kurt Busch

    16th
    – Clint Bowyer

    17th
    – Matt Kenseth

    18th
    – Aric Almirola

    23rd
    – Michael McDowell

    27th
    – Matt DiBenedetto

    31st
    – David Ragan

    39th
    – Cody Ware

    POLE-WINNING PRESS CONFERENCE

    KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Busch Light Ford Fusion –

    “It’s been a good day for us.  All we concentrated on was qualifying and obviously, we had some good adjustments to the car right there at the end and I was actually able to drive the car without screwing it up.  It was definitely a good lap for us and came at a good time.”

    CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT ADJUSTMENTS YOU MADE?

    “No.”

    HOW DIFFERENT WAS IT WORKING WITH TONY GIBSON TODAY?

    “Everything went smooth.  I think as you guys are quickly figuring out it’s more about people than it is about cars, so we’ve got a lot of good people and obviously a lot of experience with Tony and those guys did a great job filling the roles. You can’t drive a slow car fast and you can’t beat good people.”

    DO YOU TAKE SOLACE KNOWING YOU’RE AT ISM THIS WEEKEND WHERE YOU’VE HAD SO MUCH SUCCESS?
    “No, I just deal with the facts.  I know where we are.  I know what our plan is and we don’t look
    back.”

    WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION WHEN YOU FOUND OUT ABOUT THE PENALTY THIS WEEK?  “I just drive.  That’s my job.”

    DO YOU PERFORM BETTER WHEN YOUR BACK IS AGAINST THE WALL?  DO YOU RISE TO THE OCCASION?

    “I try to, but it’s been good for us to have challenges, so it’s fun.”

    DO YOU REALLY MEAN IT’S FUN?  WHAT MAKES YOU STEP UP IN TIMES LIKE THIS?

    “Fast cars and good people.”

    RODNEY STATED THE ISSUE AND FELT IT WAS AN INSIGNIFICANT TYPE OF ADVANTAGE.  PEOPLE STILL SUGGEST THAT WAS A GREAT THING THAT HELPED YOU.  IS IT FRUSTRATING OR BOTHERSOME THAT IF IT’S SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE INSIGNIFICANT OR A MINOR THING THAT PEOPLE ARE NOT GIVING YOU GUYS AS MUCH CREDIT OR PEOPLE ARE LOOKING DOWN UPON YOU GUYS?

    “Look I don’t need credit.  I don’t care about credit.  I don’t care what people think.  I don’t build the cars.  I couldn’t tell you what’s on the car.  What’s good. What’s bad. That’s their job and I drive it.  I show up and do the best that I can and obviously you’ve seen the statements and the things from Stewart-Haas Racing and the best thing that shows up are results on the race track. I drive and try to do the best that I can and we go from there.”

    ONE OTHER THING IS JOEY LOGANO SAID HE’S THE FAVORITE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP.  WHAT’S YOUR FEELING ON THAT?

    “I’m just worried about Phoenix.”

    ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Ford Fusion –

    DESCRIBE YOUR LAP ON THE TRACK.

    “We were just off.  The car had speed in practice, but the balance was just not quite right. I was definitely looking for a little more and then right there we were just still off in the balance. The times are so close and so tight that you’ve got to be so precise and my car just struggling to get the grip I need out of it to go make lap time there, so we’ll get ready for tomorrow.  This is an interesting race.  A lot can happen and we can still win coming from 18th.”

    DID YOU GET INTO THE WALL ON YOUR LAP?

    “I took a little bit of the decal off, that’s all.”

    RACE TRIM TOMORROW WILL SET THE STAGE FOR SUNDAY, SO WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE REST OF THE WEEKEND?

    “Today is important. You want to qualify up front and give yourself a good pit selection and good opportunity to control the race and start up front and do all the things you need to do to get track position and all those things, but we missed it. We just weren’t as good as we needed to be there, so we’ll have to drive from 18th and try and pass a lot of cars.”

    RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 PPG Ford Fusion –

    “That’s not bad.  We got better each round, which is good, so that was nice, but we just didn’t quite have the speed and obviously not pole speed, but it was good. We got faster each round and played around with a lot of stuff, so hopefully our car is better in race trim tomorrow. We’ll see.”

    PAUL MENARD, No. 21 Menards/Cardell Ford Fusion –

    “We just have been struggling on entry. It seems like as the grip comes up and you try to charge the corner a little bit harder I just got looser in, so the last round wasn’t our friend. I’m proud of our guys though. We have a decent starting spot and good pit selection and we’ll make a day out of it.”

    JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion –

    “It was OK. I think we were like 15th in practice and we qualified ninth, so we got our car a little bit better.  I was pretty good down in the one and two area, but in three and four I think I lost it all down there. This hasn’t been our strongest track the last couple of years, so I guess that’s a little progress. We’ll see how it is tomorrow in race trim.”