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  • Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 24 car to achieve 1,000 Cup career starts at The Glen

    Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 24 car to achieve 1,000 Cup career starts at The Glen

    A significant milestone start is in the making for the Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 24 car, which is currently competing in its 29th full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series and being piloted by William Byron. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s event at Watkins Glen International, the No. 24 HMS car will reach 1,000 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    The No. 24 car competing under the Hendrick Motorsports banner made its debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway in November 1992, the final event of the season, with Jeff Gordon, a California-Indiana native who was competing in the Xfinity Series, piloting the car after being recruited by team owner Rick Hendrick. Starting 21st, Gordon finished 31st in his series debut after retiring due to an accident. Gordon’s Cup debut was one of three headlines highlighting the 1992 Atlanta event, with the others being seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty making his 1,184th and final career start in NASCAR and driver/owner Alan Kulwicki capturing the season’s championship over Bill Elliott.

    Gordon competed as a full-time HMS competitor in the 1993 Cup season, driving the No. 24 HMS Chevrolet Lumina led by crew chief Ray Evernham. Despite the season being a winless one, Gordon achieved a pole, seven top-five results and 11 top-10 results before finishing in 14th place in the final standings. In addition, Gordon captured the 1993 Cup Rookie-of-the-year title.

    The following season, it took the first 11 races of the schedule for Gordon to capture his first victory in NASCAR’s premier series, which occurred in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway following a late two-tire pit stop call from Evernham that gave Gordon the track position to win. The victory was also the first for the No. 24 overall in NASCAR history. Eight races later, Gordon achieved his second Cup career win in the inaugural Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In addition to his first two NASCAR Cup career victories, Gordon recorded a pole, seven top-five results and 14 top-10 results before finishing in eighth place in the final standings.

    In 1995, Gordon won seven of the 31 races in the schedule and he managed to beat seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt by 34 points to capture his first NASCAR Cup Series championship, which was also a first for Hendrick Motorsports.

    From 1996 to 2000, Gordon and the No. 24 HMS car achieved 43 race victories, 23 poles, 98 top-five results and 118 top-10 results. They also captured back-to-back Cup championships in 1997 and 1998 along with two Daytona 500s (1997 and 1999), a second Brickyard 400 title (1998), four Southern 500s (1995-98), two Coca-Cola 600s (1997 and 1998) and two All-Star Races (1995 and 1997). By then, Gordon surpassed 50 Cup career victories. During the 2000 season, the No. 24 team was led by crew chief Brian Whitesell, who won three races with Gordon.

    In 2001, Gordon and the No. 24 HMS team received a new crew chief, Robbie Loomis, a former crew chief for Richard Petty and Petty Enterprises. During the season, Gordon drove the No. 24 Chevrolet to six victories, six poles, 18 top-five results and 24 top-10 results. He also added a third All-Star title and a third Brickyard 400 victory to his resume. When the season concluded, Gordon went on to claim his fourth Cup championship.

    From 2002 to 2004, Gordon and HMS’ No. 24 team earned 11 victories, 13 poles, 44 top-five results, 65 top-10 results and top-five results in the final standings, with a best result of third place in 2004. By then, Gordon surpassed 60 Cup career victories.

    In 2005, Gordon kickstarted the season on a high note when he drove the No. 24 Chevrolet Monte Carlo to his third Daytona 500 victory, which marked his 70th career win in the Cup circuit. Despite winning two more times during the following eight races, Gordon failed to make the Playoffs following an inconsistent regular-season stretch. He managed to achieve a win at Martinsville Speedway in October before settling in 11th place in the final standings. By then, the driver and team welcomed Steve Letarte as their new crew chief.

    Following the 2006 season, where Gordon won twice, made the Playoffs and finished sixth in the final standings, Gordon and the No. 24 HMS Chevrolet team achieved a productive 2007 Cup season, where the driver won six races and notched seven poles, 21 top-five results, a modern-era record 30 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 7.3. The victories in 2007 totaled Gordon’s career victories to 81 as he also surpassed the late Dale Earnhardt for sixth place on the all-time wins list. Despite leading the standings for the majority of the season, Gordon settled in the runner-up position in the final standings and 77 points shy of a fifth Cup title to teammate Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team.

    In 2008, Gordon and the No. 24 HMS team went winless for the first time since 1993, with the driver managing four poles, 13 top-five results, 19 top-10 results and a seventh-place result in the final standings. He rebounded the following season by winning at Texas Motor Speedway in April, which snapped a 47-race winless drought for Gordon and the No. 24 team. Gordon went on to record a pole, 16 top-five results, 25 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 10.2 before finishing in third place in the final standings behind teammates Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin. During the 2010 season, however, Gordon and the No. 24 team went winless for the second time in three seasons. The four-time Cup champion only achieved a pole, 11 top-five results and 17 top-10 results before settling in ninth place in the final standings.

    Entering the 2011 season, Hendrick Motorsports reshuffled its crew chief lineup that saw Letarte paired with Dale Earnhardt Jr. while Gordon and the No. 24 Chevrolet team were led by crew chief Alan Gustafson. It only took the first two races into the 2011 season for Gordon, Gustafson and the No. 24 team to snap a career-long 66-race winless drought and return to Victory Lane at Phoenix Raceway in February following a late battle with former teammate Kyle Busch. The driver and team went on to win at Pocono Raceway in June and at Atlanta Motor Speedway in September. By then, Gordon achieved his 85th Cup career victory and was ranked in third place on the all-time wins list behind Richard Petty and David Pearson. Including the three victories, Gordon and the No. 24 team achieved a pole, 13 top-five results, 18 top-10 results and a spot in the Playoffs before finishing in eighth place in the final standings.

    The 2012 Cup season was a roller coaster season for Gordon and the No. 24 HMS team, which started the season with a harrowing rollover accident in the Shootout at Daytona in February followed by an engine failure in the Daytona 500 and seven results outside of the top 20 through the first 11 scheduled events. After finishing in the top 10 in six of the following nine events, Gordon notched a rain-shortened victory at Pocono Raceway in August and placed himself in contention to make the Playoffs. Despite finishing 21st and 28th the following two weekends, Gordon earned three consecutive top-three results and secured the final spot in the Playoffs. While he achieved another round of three consecutive top-three results through the first four races of the Playoffs, Gordon’s title hopes came to an end midway by October. The low point of his career occurred at Phoenix in November, when Gordon intentionally wrecked championship contender Clint Bowyer in the closing laps as a result of an earlier on-track contact between the two. The incident led to a brawl in the garage as Gordon was fined $100,000 and docked 25 points. Gordon, though, rebounded the following week at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the final event of the 2012 season, when he held off Bowyer in a fuel-mileage battle to win and claim his 87th Cup career victory. When the season concluded, Gordon managed to claim 10th place in the final standings.

    After finishing in sixth place in the final standings in 2013 while recording a single victory at Martinsville in October, Gordon and the No. 24 HMS team won four races in 2014 (Kansas Speedway in May, Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, Michigan International Speedway in August and at Dover International Speedway in September). By then, Gordon surpassed 90 Cup career victories. He went on to record three poles, 14 top-five results and 23 top-10 results as he entered the Playoffs as a title favorite. A late incident and brawl with Brad Keselowski at Texas in November, however, prevented Gordon and the No. 24 team from earning a spot in the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November as Gordon concluded the season in sixth place in the final standings. 

    Coming off a strong 2014 season, Gordon announced in January 2015 that the upcoming Cup season would be his last as a full-time competitor. Gordon kickstarted his final NASCAR season by winning his second pole award for the Daytona 500. The achievement also marked Gordon’s 23rd consecutive season of winning a pole in a Cup season. Despite finishing 33rd in the 500 following a last-lap wreck and earning 13 top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Gordon managed to secure a spot in the Playoffs for the 11th and final time in his career. At Martinsville in November, Gordon secured the lead late and fended off veteran Jamie McMurray in a two-lap shootout to score his 93rd Cup career win and earn a one-way ticket to the Championship Round at Homestead. His final hopes for a fifth time, however, came to an end after Gordon finished sixth in the finale and third in the final standings in his 797th and final start in HMS’ No. 24 car.

    Following Gordon’s retirement, Chase Elliott, the 2014 Xfinity Series champion from Dawsonville, Georgia, took over the driving responsibilities of the No. 24 HMS Chevrolet SS with continuous support from Alan Gustafson for the 2016 season. In his first laps in the No. 24 car, Elliott won the pole position for the season-opening Daytona 500 and became the youngest pole-sitter of the 500 at age 20. During the main event, however, Elliott finished 37th following an early accident. He rebounded the following week at Atlanta by finishing eighth and recording his first top-10 result in the Cup Series. While he did not achieve a victory in his rookie season, Elliott achieved his first two Cup career poles, 10 top-five results, 17 top-10 results and a spot in the 2016 Cup Playoffs before finishing in 10th place in the final standings. Elliott also claimed the Rookie-of-the-Year title in his first season piloting the iconic No. 24 HMS car.

    In a similar fashion to the previous season, the No. 24 HMS car commenced the 2017 Cup season on pole position for the Daytona 500 as Elliott achieved his second consecutive 500 pole. Finishing in 14th place in the 500, Elliott and the No. 24 team went on to achieve 12 top-five results, 21 top-10 results and a spot in the Playoffs before finishing in fifth place in the final standings. By then, Elliott had collected seven runner-up results in his first two Cup seasons.

    For the 2018 season, William Byron, the reigning Xfinity Series champion from Charlotte, North Carolina, took over the No. 24 HMS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 as a full-time Cup rookie while Elliott transitioned to sport his father Bill’s famous number, 9. In addition, former Cup championship-winning crew chief Darian Grubb was named crew chief for Byron and the No. 24 team while Gustafson remained as Elliott’s crew chief. In his first full-time Cup season while piloting the No. 24 car, Byron recorded four top-10 results before finishing in 23rd place in the final standings. Despite an inconsistent season, Byron managed to capture the 2018 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title over Bubba Wallace as he became the third competitor to achieve the rookie title as driver of Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 24 car.

    In 2019, Byron and the No. 24 team received a new crew chief as Chad Knaus, seven-time Cup championship-winning crew chief who was a pit crew member of the No. 24 car in the mid-1990s, inherited the leadership role for the team following a 17-year run with Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 HMS team. The new relationship between Byron and Knaus commenced on a high note when Byron rocketed the No. 24 Chevrolet to pole position for the Daytona 500. Despite finishing 21st in the 500 following a late multi-car wreck, Byron earned nine top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, which were enough for him to make his first appearance in the Playoffs. His title hopes, however, came to an end following the second round as Byron and the No. 24 team finished in 11th place in the final standings. While he did not record a victory, Byron earned a career-high five poles, five top-five results. 13 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 14.9.

    The No. 24 car commenced the 2020 season on a strong note when Byron won the second Bluegreen Vacations Duel event at Daytona prior to the Daytona 500. The 500 event, however, ended on a disappointing note for Byron, who wrecked early and settled in 40th, dead last. Through the first 25 regular-season event, Byron recorded eight top-10 results and was above the top-16 cutline to the Playoffs by a mere margin. Everything changed, though, during the following event at Daytona in August when Byron notched his first Cup career victory and secured his spot in the Playoffs. By then, he joined Jeff Gordon as the only competitors to achieve a victory in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports car. Byron also snapped a two-year winless drought for crew chief Chad Knaus, who appeared in the Playoffs for a 17th consecutive season. Following an early exit in the Playoffs following the first round, however, Byron went on to finish 14th in the final standings.

    This season, Byron and the No. 24 team received a new crew chief as Ryan “Rudy” Fugle joined Hendrick Motorsports and replaced Knaus, who became HMS’ vice president of competition. The move was a reunion for Byron and Fugle, who guided Byron to seven NASCAR Truck Series wins in 2016 when Byron competed for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Three races into this season, Byron and Fugle captured a dominating win at Homestead, which marked Byron’s second Cup career triumph following two consecutive results outside of the top 20 to start the new season. The victory was also a first for Fugle in the Cup circuit.

    Through the first 22 Cup events of this season, the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports car piloted by Byron has achieved a win, a pole, eight top-five results and 14 top-10 results, with the team currently ranked in sixth place in the regular-season standings.

    Through 999 previous starts, HMS’ No. 24 car has achieved four championships, 95 victories, 90 poles, 364 top-five results, 558 top-10 results and 26,514 laps led with three different competitors.

    The No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports car is set to make its 1,000th career start in NASCAR’s premier series at Watkins Glen International on Sunday, August 8, with the race scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman assessed L1 penalties after New Hampshire

    Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman assessed L1 penalties after New Hampshire

    NASCAR issued L1 penalties to the No. 9 team of Chase Elliott and the No. 48 team of Alex Bowman Thursday afternoon. It was determined that the teams had violated Section 20.6.1e in the NASCAR Rule Book.

    The rule under engine assembly states that when the long block is sealed, “the engine must be used in the same vehicle number the next time it is used.”

    As a result of the infraction, both teams had 25 points deducted from the driver and team owner standings. Alan Gustafson, the No. 9 team crew chief, and Greg Ives, the No. 48 crew chief, were each issued a $50,000 fine.

    NASCAR also suspended Hendrick Motorsports executive vice president and general manager, Jeff Andrews, and Scott Maxim, HMS director of track engine support, for the next Cup Series event.

    Hendrick Motorsports issued a statement on the penalties.

    “Due to an administrative error, one of our sealed engines assigned to the No. 9 car was unintentionally allocated to our No. 48 team at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Although the engine passed technical inspection and absolutely no competitive advantage was gained, we acknowledge NASCAR’s process was not followed correctly in this instance. The rules regarding the assignment of sealed engines are clear, and we understand and respect their decision to issue a penalty. We apologize for the mistake and have taken steps to ensure it will not be repeated.”

    All of the Hendrick Motorsports drivers are currently eligible to advance to the Playoffs. The penalty moves Elliott (2 wins) from fifth place to sixth in the standings while Bowman (3 wins) remains in 11th place. Kyle Larson is currently second with four wins and William Byron, with one win, is third.

    There are only four Cup Series races left in the regular season with the next scheduled race at Watkins Glen International on Aug. 8.

  • Richard Boswell to call 100th Xfinity race as crew chief at New Hampshire

    Richard Boswell to call 100th Xfinity race as crew chief at New Hampshire

    A significant milestone start is in the making for Richard Boswell, crew chief for Riley Herbst and the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. By participating in this weekend’s Xfinity event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Boswell will call his 100th Xfinity race as a crew chief.

    A native of Friendship, Maryland, Boswell, whose father, Dickie, was a successful late model competitor, grew up competing in racing, where he won multiple World Karting Association national titles in 1998 before competing in late models in 2001. In 2006, Boswell joined JR Motorsports and competed in the Hooters Pro Cup Series. As part of JRM’s racing program, Boswell made his lone NASCAR national touring series start at Memphis International Raceway in the Xfinity Series in October 2009. Driving the No. 5 JRM Chevrolet, Boswell started third and finished 23rd.

    Due to sponsorship issues, Boswell’s racing career as a driver came to an early close. Boswell, though, worked on becoming a crew chief in NASCAR by earning his mechanical engineering degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He continued to work for JR Motorsports and eventually joined Hendrick Motorsports, where he was a part of the No. 48 Chevrolet team piloted by Jimmie Johnson, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion.

    In 2016, Boswell made his debut as a NASCAR crew chief in November 2016 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the final Xfinity Series event of the season, for Cole Custer and the No. 5 JR Motorsports Chevrolet team. During the event, Custer started 18th and finished 17th.

    The following season, Boswell was selected to crew chief one of Stewart-Haas Racing’s two newly formed Xfinity Series entries, which competed in six events while being piloted by Kevin Harvick, the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion. During the six-race schedule, Boswell and Harvick finished in the top 10 in all of their appearances, with their best result being a runner-up finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.

    Boswell returned as crew chief for Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 98 Ford Mustang for 12 Xfinity Series events in 2018, where the ride was shared between Harvick, veteran Aric Almirola and rookie Chase Briscoe. By then, SHR formed a partnership with Biagi-DenBeste Racing. Throughout the part-time season, Boswell earned his first two career victories as a crew chief, the first with Harvick at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February and the second with Briscoe at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval in October. The team also earned four top-five results and five top-10 results between Almirola, Briscoe and Harvick.

    Following two part-time seasons, Boswell was named crew chief for Briscoe and the No. 98 SHR Ford Mustang team for the entire 33-race Xfinity Series schedule in 2019. Throughout the season, Boswell and Briscoe achieved a win at Iowa Speedway in July. They also achieved two poles, 13 top-five results, 26 top-10 results, an average-finishing result of 8.2 and a spot in the 2019 Xfinity Playoffs, where Briscoe remained in title contention before being eliminated prior to the Championship Round. Despite finishing in fifth place in the final standings, Briscoe locked up the 2019 Xfinity Rookie-of-the-Year title.

    Remaining as an Xfinity crew chief for Briscoe and SHR in 2020, it only took two races into the season for Boswell and Briscoe to earn their first victory of the season, which occurred at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in February. At Darlington Raceway in May, Boswell and Briscoe achieved their second victory of the season when Briscoe fended off Kyle Busch in a thrilling finish.

    Following the first of a Homestead-Miami Speedway doubleheader weekend feature in June, Boswell was suspended from the following four Xfinity races due to a safety violation involving dropped ballast from Briscoe’s car prior to the event. Also suspended with Boswell were car chief Nick Hutchins and engineer DJ Vanderley. With Boswell suspended, Greg Zipadelli, competition director at Stewart-Haas Racing and a former championship-winning crew chief, filled in as Briscoe’s interim crew chief, where they won in three out of four races.

    Returning at Kentucky Speedway in July, the momentum for Boswell, Briscoe and the No. 98 SHR Ford team continued as Briscoe went on to win at Dover International Speedway in August and at Bristol Motor Speedway in September. 

    When the 2020 Xfinity Playoffs commenced, Boswell and Briscoe notched a dominating victory at Las Vegas in September. They went on to win at Kansas Speedway in October, a victory that secured the driver, crew chief and the team a spot in the Championship Round at Phoenix Raceway in November. During the finale, however, Briscoe ended up in ninth place on the track and behind his three fellow title contenders in the final standings. Overall, Boswell achieved six victories, 13 top-five results and 19 top-10 results in 29 races with Briscoe.

    For the 2021 season, Boswell remained in the Xfinity Series and as crew chief for SHR’s No. 98 Ford team. While Briscoe moved up to the Cup Series with SHR, however, Riley Herbst joined the team to pilot the No. 98 car as a full-time Xfinity driver. Through the first 18 Xfinity events of this season, Boswell and Herbst have achieved a pole, two top-five results, five top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 18.7. They are ranked in 13th place in the regular-season standings.

    Through 99 previous Xfinity events, Boswell has achieved nine victories, three poles, 37 top-five results and 61 top-10 results with five different competitors. 

    Boswell is set to call his 100th Xfinity Series career race as a crew chief at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 17, with the event scheduled to occur at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Bowman notches a thrilling, last-lap victory at Pocono

    Bowman notches a thrilling, last-lap victory at Pocono

    After losing the lead and having a potential victory slip out of his hands to his teammate Kyle Larson in the final laps, Alex Bowman earned redemption and came out on top after a flat tire allowed Bowman to overtake his Hendrick Motorsports’ teammate on the final lap and win the Pocono Organics CBD 325 at Pocono Raceway, the first of a Pocono weekend doubleheader, on Saturday, June 26. The victory allowed Bowman to claim his third NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2021 season and his first in the Tricky Triangle circuit in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

    The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Cup event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. With that, Kyle Larson, winner of last weekend’s Cup event at Nashville Superspeedway, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with teammate William Byron.

    Prior to the event, Cole Custer started at the rear of the field due to multiple pre-race inspection failures.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Larson received a push from Joey Logano on the outside lane to clear teammate Byron and take off with the lead entering the first turn. Behind, Logano made his way into the runner-up spot along with Ross Chastain, thus dropping Byron back to fourth. 

    With the field jostling early for positioning, Larson led the first lap ahead of Logano, Chastain, Byron and Kevin Harvick, with Denny Hamlin in sixth ahead of the Busch brothers, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Austin Dillon.

    By the fifth lap, Byron, who was running in third place the previous lap, muscled his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE into the lead over teammate Larson and Logano. Behind, Harvick was in fourth while Chastain fell back to fifth ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. 

    Meanwhile, Chase Elliott, coming off his disqualification run at Nashville Superspeedway, was mired back in 27th place after sustaining damage at the start of the race. Ahead, Brad Keselowski was in 12th behind Daniel Suarez, Tyler Reddick was in 13th ahead of Aric Almirola and Matt DiBenedetto, Martin Truex Jr. was in 16th ahead of Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman was in 18th, Ryan Blaney was in 23rd behind Erik Jones and rookie Chase Briscoe was in 25th behind Chris Buescher. 

    Four laps later, the first caution of the event flew due to debris reported in Turn 2. By then, NASCAR informed the teams that the caution for debris will serve as the competition caution initially planned on the 12th lap.

    Under caution, some like Chastain, Truex, Wallace, Blaney, DiBenedetto, Jones, Briscoe, Ryan Newman, Ryan Preece and Elliott pitted while the rest led by Byron remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Corey LaJoie was busted with a pit road speeding penalty.

    When the race restarted on Lap 12, Byron received a push from teammate Larson through the first turn to retain the lead as the field behind battled through two lanes for one full lap. 

    Just as the field returned to the frontstretch and crossed the start/finish line, the second caution of the event flew when Brad Keselowski, who was trying to make a crossover move on Cole Custer, bumped and turned Custer hard into the outside wall, effectively ending Custer’s first of two weekend runs at Pocono early and sending him to a back-up car for Sunday’s event.

    Under caution, few like Keselowski, Newman, Preece and Elliott pitted while the rest led by Byron remained on the track.

    When the race restarted on Lap 17, Byron retained the lead while Kyle Busch, who restarted on the front row, fended off Larson for the runner-up spot, with Harvick and Logano in the top five. Not long after, Kyle Busch was able to muscle his No. 18 M&M’s Mini’s Toyota Camry into the lead over Byron.

    By Lap 20, Kyle Busch was leading by nearly four-tenths of a second over Byron, with third-place Larson trailing by more than a second. Harvick and Logano were in the top five followed by Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Daniel Suarez, Austin Dillon and Reddick.

    A few laps later, Aric Almirola, Christopher Bell and Alex Bowman pitted under green as part of a strategic plan.

    Back on the track, Kyle Busch extended his advantage to more than a second over Byron. With a clear course in front of him, Busch, who managed to lap teammate Bell, was able to cruise away from the field and win the first stage on Lap 25, thus claiming his third stage victory of the season. Byron settled in second followed by teammate Larson, Logano and Harvick while Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Suarez, Austin Dillon and Reddick were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, some of the leaders led by Kyle Busch pitted while others led by Logano remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 29 with Logano and Reddick restarting on the front row. At the start, Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang rocketed to the lead with drafting help from Kurt Busch’s No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE while Chastain, Blaney and Truex all overtook Reddick through the first turn.

    By Lap 35, Logano continued to lead by nearly a second over Kurt Busch, with teammate Chastain, Blaney and Truex in the top five. Bubba Wallace was in sixth followed by Reddick, Keselowski, DiBenedetto and Newman. Meanwhile, Larson, Byron and Kyle Busch, all of whom were battling their way back to the front on fresh tires, were in 13th, 14th and 15th. Hamlin was in 16th ahead of Harvick, Suarez, Almirola and Jones.

    Through the first 40 laps of the event, Logano remained as the leader followed by Kurt Busch, Chastain, Blaney and Truex while Larson, Byron and Kyle Busch were in 10th, 11th and 12th. By then, Reddick peeled off the race track to pit under green.

    By Lap 45, Logano surrendered the lead to pit followed by Kurt Busch as Chastain took over the lead ahead of Blaney and Truex. A few laps later, Newman and Austin Dillon also pitted under green.

    Through the first 50 laps of the event, Chastain, racing in his No. 42 McDonald’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, was leading by six-tenths of a second over Blaney, while Truex, Wallace and Keselowski continued to run in the top five. Larson, meanwhile, worked his way back to sixth place ahead of teammates Bowman and Byron while Kyle Busch was in ninth ahead of Hamlin.

    Three laps later, the caution flew when Newman, who made a pit stop not long ago, got loose, spun and made contact with the outside wall in Turn 1 as he sustained damage to the left side of his car.

    Under caution, nearly the entire field led by Chastain pitted while some like the Busch brothers, Michael McDowell, Logano and Reddick remained on the track. 

    The race restarted on Lap 57 with the Busch brothers starting on the front row. At the start, Kyle Busch managed to pull ahead of brother Kurt through the first turn while Byron, racing on two fresh tires, battled with Logano for fourth place behind McDowell.

    With the field battling intensely for positioning around the Tricky Triangle, the caution returned two laps later when contact from rookie Anthony Alfredo and Corey LaJoie sent LaJoie making contact with the outside wall and spinning across the frontstretch.

    When the race restarted on Lap 63, Kyle Busch retained the lead followed by brother Kurt and Logano while McDowell slipped back to fourth ahead of Byron. As the field fanned out to multiple lanes behind, Byron was able to move into fourth place followed by Blaney and Larson, all of whom overtook McDowell for positioning.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 65, Kyle Busch was leading by nearly half a second over Kurt Busch while Logano, Byron and Blaney were in the top five. Larson was in sixth followed by McDowell, Reddick, Hamlin and Truex. Elliott, meanwhile, was in 13th behind Wallace and Keselowski, Chastain was in 15th behind Bowman and Harvick was in 16th ahead of Suarez, Briscoe, Almirola and Jones.

    By Lap 70, Kyle Busch extended his advantage to more than two seconds over brother Kurt, while Logano, Byron and Larson were in the top five.

    Just then, the caution returned when Chastain, who made right-side contact with the wall in Turn 2, spun in Turn 3 while trying to peel off the track to pit road, though he was able to make it back to his pit stall. At the time of caution, McDowell pitted for service.

    Under caution, some like Kurt Busch pitted while the rest led by Kyle Busch pitted.

    With two laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted. At the start and with the field fanning out to multiple lanes approaching the first turn, Kurt Buch retained the lead ahead of Logano, Larson, Byron and Blaney. 

    Capitalizing in a two-lap shootout, Kurt Busch managed to fend off the field to claim the second stage on Lap 77 and win his second stage of this season. Larson crossed the start/finish line in second followed by Logano, Byron, Blaney, Hamlin, Truex, Bowman, Kyle Busch and Keselowski.

    Under the stage break, some like Elliott, Alfredo, Justin Haley, Chastain, LaJoie and others pitted while the rest led by Kurt Busch remained on the track.

    With 49 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Kurt Busch received a huge push from Larson on the outside lane to clear Byron prior to reaching the first turn. With Kurt Busch and Larson out in front, Logano overtook Byron for third while Blaney settled in fifth ahead of Hamlin, Truex, Kyle Busch and the field.

    A lap later, the battle for the lead intensified as Larson took over the top spot through Turn 2. Through the following turn, Kurt returned the favor before Larson utilized the outside lane to his advantage to clear Kurt Busch and assume the top spot through the frontstretch.

    With 40 laps remaining, Larson was leading by over Kurt Busch, with Logano, Blaney and Byron running in the top five. Bowman was in sixth followed by Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Wallace and Suarez. By then, names like Truex, Harvick and Bell pitted. 

    During the next three laps, names like Logano, Almirola, Byron, Blaney, DiBenedetto, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon, Erik Jones and Keselowski pitted under green. The leader Larson also pitted along with Wallace, Suarez, Kurt Busch, Bowman. Following the pit stops, Austin Dillon was busted for speeding on pit road while DiBenedetto was penalized for removing the gas can out of his pit stall. While serving his first penalty, the race went from bad to worse for DiBenedetto, who was busted for speeding on pit road.

    Back on the track, Hamlin, who has yet to pit, was leading followed by teammate Kyle Busch, McDowell, Reddick and Elliott. 

    With 33 laps remaining, Kyle Busch peeled off the track for fuel under green and managed to exit pit road and pull ahead of Larson.

    Three laps later, Hamlin was leading by nearly 15 seconds over McDowell, with Reddick, Elliott and Chris Buescher running in the top five. Rookie Anthony Alfredo was in sixth followed by Cody Ware, Ryan Preece, James Davison and Kyle Busch, who was still ahead of Larson.

    Another few laps later, Hamlin surrendered the lead to pit for two fresh tires and fuel. By the time he returned to the track, he was overtaken by Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson, both of whom had enough fuel for the finish and were battling intensely to be ahead of one another with the rest of the leaders needing to pit. 

    Back at the front, McDowell was leading followed by Reddick, Buescher and Elliott while the two Kyles battled for fifth with 25 laps remaining.

    A lap later, Reddick pitted, moving Buescher and Elliott to second and third while Kyle Busch continued to remain ahead of Larson in fourth.

    Shortly after, the caution flew due to debris spotted in Turn 2. Under caution, a number of competitors led by McDowell pitted while the rest led by Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson remained on the track.

    With 19 laps remaining, the race restarted with Kyle Busch and Bowman starting on the front row ahead of Larson and Blaney. At the start, the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE driven by Alex Bowman powered his way into the lead on the inside lane entering the first turn while Kyle Busch fended off Larson for the runner-up spot. A lap later and with the field jostling for late positioning, Larson took over the runner-up spot and pursued teammate Bowman for the lead while Busch was pressured by Byron for more. 

    Four laps later, Bowman continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over teammate Larson while third-place Kyle Busch trailed by nearly a second. Byron was in fourth followed by Blaney, Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Reddick, Logano, Harvick, Suarez and Wallace.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Bowman maintained a three-tenths-of-a-second advantage over teammate Larson, with both pulling away from third-place Kyle Busch by more than a second. Despite repeated challenges from Larson, Bowman retained the top spot through every corner and straightaway, including blocking his teammate and thwarting his teammate’s momentum to assume the top spot.

    With five laps remaining, Larson gained a run through the frontstretch and attempted to extend his momentum through the inside lane, but Bowman pulled the block. While Larson attempted to crossover on the outside lane, Bowman retained the top spot. 

    A lap later, Larson finally succeeded after he gained another run and overtook teammate Bowman through Turn 2 after side-drafting him. By then, Kyle Busch cut the deficit to be under a second behind the two Hendrick Motorsports’ teammates. Larson, however, started to pull away with the lead.

    With the white flag waving and the final lap of the race occurring, Larson was ahead by more than a second over teammate Bowman with Kyle Busch trailing by less than two seconds. 

    Then, trouble occurred for Larson, whose No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE lost a left-front tire and went dead straight into the outside wall in Turn 3, thus smacking the wall and losing his momentum. With Larson scraping the wall and limping back to the finish line, Alex Bowman reassumed the lead on the final corner and was able to come back around to take the checkered flag and grab the win.

    The victory was Bowman’s fifth of his NASCAR Cup Series career in his 207th series start and third of the season since taking over the iconic No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports car. Bowman, who signed a two-year contract extension to remain at Hendrick Motorsports a week ago, also became the third competitor to achieve three or more victories of this season.

    In addition, Hendrick Motorsports’ competitors have won the last seven Cup events in recent weeks, including the All-Star Race, and 10 of the first 18 regular-season points-paying races of 2021.

    “I don’t even know what to think,” Bowman said on NBCSN. “I hate to win one that way, but hell yeah, I’ll take it. Super proud of this Ally No. 48 team. Man, we kind of gave the lead away. We’re on two tires, just got super tight. Tried to hold [Larson] off as long as I could, but can’t say enough about everybody at Team Hendrick right now. From top to bottom, everybody’s just putting great race cars on the track. [Crew chief] Greg [Ives] and all the guys did a really good job. Man, we didn’t run that good all day, so I’m kind of in shock. I don’t know what to say to you guys…Heck yeah. I’ll take it.”

    While Bowman celebrated, Larson, who made significant contact with the wall, coasted across the finish line in ninth place and with a wrecked race car as his hopes of winning four consecutive Cup races in recent weeks were spoiled on the final lap. The wreck will force Larson to move to a back-up car for Sunday’s Cup event at Pocono.

    “I guess, disbelief still,” Larson, who made a trip to the infield care center, said. “I don’t know. A little bit laughable just because I can’t believe it. Hate that we didn’t get another win. It would’ve been cool to win five in a row, but just wasn’t meant to be, I guess, today. I felt something like right in the middle of the tunnel [turn], wasn’t quite sure what it was yet and then, it finally shredded halfway through the little short chute there and couldn’t turn. Hate that we didn’t get the win, but cool that Alex still did. Cool to keep Mr. [Hendrick]’s streak going, but hate that we didn’t get HendrickCars.com into Victory Lane. But, we’ll try and start another streak tomorrow.”

    Kyle Busch settled in second place, nearly seven-tenths of a second behind, while Byron, Hamlin and Blaney finished in the top five.

    Kurt Busch notched a strong sixth-place result while Logano, Harvick, Larson and Keselowski finished in the top 10.

    Reddick, Elliott, Suarez, Wallace and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. earned top-15 finishes, Truex settled in 18th behind Almirola and Bell, Austin Dillon ended up in 21st in front of Erik Jones and rookies Chase Briscoe and Anthony Alfredo finished 24th and 26th.

    There were 14 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 25 laps.

    With eight races remaining until the 2021 Cup Playoffs commences, Hamlin continues to lead the regular-season standings by eight points over Larson. Eleven competitors (Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Christopher Bell and Michael McDowell) are currently guaranteed Playoff spots based on winning at least once through the first 18 regular-season races of this season. Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Austin Dillon, Tyler Reddick and Kurt Busch occupy the remaining five vacant spots as winless competitors, with Busch ahead by four points over Chris Buescher, 42 over Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 55 over Daniel Suarez, 62 over Matt DiBenedetto.

    Results.

    1. Alex Bowman, 16 laps led

    2. Kyle Busch, 30 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    3. William Byron, 13 laps led

    4. Denny Hamlin, 11 laps led

    5. Ryan Blaney

    6. Kurt Busch, 12 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    7. Joey Logano, 18 laps led

    8. Kevin Harvick

    9. Kyle Larson, 15 laps led

    10. Brad Keselowski

    11. Tyler Reddick

    12. Chase Elliott

    13. Daniel Suarez

    14. Bubba Wallace

    15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    16. Aric Almirola

    17. Christopher Bell

    18. Martin Truex Jr.

    19. Michael McDowell, five laps led

    20. Chris Buescher

    21. Austin Dillon

    22. Erik Jones

    23. Ryan Preece

    24. Chase Briscoe

    25. Cody Ware

    26. Anthony Alfredo

    27. Justin Haley

    28. James Davison

    29. Garrett Smithley

    30. B.J. McLeod

    31. Quin Houff

    32. Matt DiBenedetto, one lap down

    33. Ross Chastain, one lap down

    34. Josh Bilicki, two laps down

    35. Timmy Hill, four laps down

    36. Corey LaJoie, five laps down

    37. Ryan Newman – OUT, Accident

    38. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident

    The NASCAR Cup Series will return for its second event of the weekend at Pocono and to cap off a doubleheader weekend on Sunday, June 27, with the event to occur at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Larson wins an eventful inaugural Cup event at Nashville

    Larson wins an eventful inaugural Cup event at Nashville

    Having enough fuel in the tank when it mattered most, Kyle Larson’s comeback season continued following a dominating victory in the inaugural Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday, June 20. The Elk Grove, California, native led a race-high 264 of 300 laps and had enough fuel to beat a hard-charging Ross Chastain by more than four seconds in the final laps to achieve his fourth consecutive victory in the NASCAR Cup Series in recent weeks.

    Qualifying occurred on Sunday, June 20, and Aric Almirola started on pole position after recording a pole-winning lap at 161.992 mph. Kyle Busch, who earned his 100th Xfinity Series career victory at Nashville on Saturday, joined Almirola on the front row.

    Prior to the event, William Byron, Erik Jones and Quin Houff started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective cars. In addition, Ryan Blaney made the left-hand turn to pit road and into his pit stall to have damage to his left-rear quarter panel repaired. The move dropped Blaney to the rear of the field. 

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Chase Elliott darted his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to the outside of Almirola’s No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang in a bid for the lead. His plan, however, halted in Turn 1 when he nearly got sideways after getting out of the racing groove. Behind Elliott, teammate Alex Bowman also slipped from the groove and on the outside lane.

    Just then, the caution flew when Quin Houff made contact with the outside wall through Turns 1 and 2 after losing a tire, an incident that eliminated him from contention following the first two turns. At the time of caution, Kyle Busch was the leader followed by Almirola, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano and Cole Custer, with Elliott back in sixth.

    When the race restarted on the fifth lap, Kyle Busch and Almirola duked for the lead through the first two turns until Kyle Larson, winner of the last three Cup events, including the All-Star Race, made a three-wide move in-between Busch and Almirola to snatch the lead. With Larson’s No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE out in front, the field behind battled for early positioning.

    By Lap 10, Larson was leading by nearly a second over Kyle Busch while Aric Almirola and Joey Logano, both of whom made contact that nearly sent Logano in the infield a lap earlier in Turn 4, were in third and fourth. Cole Custer was in the top five followed by Matt DiBenedetto, Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kevin Harvick.

    Ten laps later, Larson stretched his advantage to one-and-a-half seconds over Kyle Busch while Almirola, Logano and Custer continued to run in the top five. DiBenedetto and Bowman remained in sixth and seventh while Elliott, Harvick and Stenhouse battled for eighth place. Rookie Chase Briscoe was in 12th, Tyler Reddick and Brad Keselowski were in 14th and 15th, Denny Hamlin was battling Daniel Suarez for 16th, Bubba Wallace was in 19th, Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman were in 21st and 22nd, William Byron and Martin Truex Jr. were in 24th and 25th and Ryan Blaney was in 28th behind Erik Jones. 

    Through the first 30 laps of the event, Larson continued to lead by more than a second over Kyle Busch, who continued to track Larson. Almirola remained in third place followed by Logano and Custer. DiBenedetto also remained in sixth place followed by Stenhouse, Elliott, Bowman and Harvick.

    By Lap 40, the battle for the lead between the two Kyles ignited as Kyle Busch closed in on Larson for the lead, with both encountering lapped traffic. By then, Blaney made a pit stop under green. Soon after, Martin Truex Jr. made the turn to pit road for his service. 

    Not long after, pit stops under green commenced as Bubba Wallace pitted along with William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Daniel Suarez, Alex Bowman, Christopher Bell, DiBenedetto, Harvick, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski and others. During this sequence, the leaders, Larson and Kyle Busch, pitted along with Elliott.

    With the green flag pit stops continuing, the caution flew when Reddick, who just completed his pit service, spun entering Turn 2 through the grass while trying to return to the main track. 

    Under caution, a handful of competitors that had not yet pitted under green, led by Kurt Busch, pitted. Names like Almirola, Michael McDowell and Stenhouse also pitted.

    Prior to the restart, a number of competitors took the wave around to return to the lead lap and when the field cycled back, Kyle Busch was the leader over Larson.

    The race restarted on Lap 52, with the two Kyles out in front. At the start, Kyle Busch jumped ahead and moved in front of Larson to retain the lead. A lap later, though, Larson made his move beneath Busch’s No. 18 Pedigree Toyota Camry to reassume the lead. 

    Another two laps later, a rough start to the day for Blaney went worse when his No. 12 Menards/Duracell Ford Mustang shot up the track and made hard contact against the Turn 1 outside wall following a brake issue, an incident that ended his day with a wrecked race car.

    When the race restarted on Lap 61, the two Kyles battled dead even for the lead through Turn 1 until Larson gained the advantage on the outside lane entering Turn 2, thus keeping Larson in the lead. 

    A few laps later, Elliott moved into the runner-up spot while Stenhouse started to challenge Kyle Busch for the lead. Kurt Busch, meanwhile, was in fifth followed by Logano, Almirola, Erik Jones, DiBenedetto and Bowman. 

    By Lap 70, Larson was leading by more than a second over teammate Elliott, with Stenhouse in third ahead of the Busch brothers. Almirola and Logano were in sixth and seventh followed by Erik Jones, DiBenedetto and Bowman. 

    Eight laps later, the caution flew when Justin Haley and Chris Buescher made hard contact into the outside wall separately in Turns 1 and 2. Haley’s incident was due to a brake rotor while Buescher’s incident was due to hitting a piece of debris on the track. The incident ended Buescher’s run, with broken rotors and loss of fluid.

    Under caution, some led by Larson pitted while the rest led by Elliott remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Bowman was sent to the rear of the field due to speeding on pit road. 

    With five laps remaining in the first stage, the race restarted as Elliott and Kurt Busch started on the front row. At the start, Elliott and Kurt Busch battled for the lead while Daniel Suarez was in third ahead of Erik Jones and the field. Behind, Larson, racing on fresh tires, charged his way into fourth place while Kyle Busch was also trying to march his way forward.

    With the field behind jostling for positioning, Elliott was able to retain the lead and claim the first stage on Lap 90, thus recording his second stage victory of the season. Kurt Busch settled in second followed by Larson, Suarez and Kyle Busch. Austin Dillon, Stenhouse, Keselowski, Logano and DiBenedetto were scored in the top 10. 

    Under the stage break, names like Elliott, Kurt Busch, Suarez, Austin Dillon and Truex pitted. During the pit stops, Truex was penalized due to a pit entry violation, where he did not enter pit road in a single-file line with his fellow competitors. In addition, Kurt Busch made another pit stop due to a loose wheel. 

    Back on the track, Larson, who pitted earlier, remained on the track to assume the lead followed by Kyle Busch, Stenhouse, Logano and DiBenedetto.

    The second stage started on Lap 97, and Larson retained the lead over Kyle Busch through the first two turns. Behind, Stenhouse overtook Logano for third followed by Denny Hamlin while Ross Chastain and DiBenedetto battled for sixth. Harvick, meanwhile, was back in the top 10 in eighth followed by Christopher Bell and Custer.

    At the Lap 100 mark, Larson was leading by more than a second over Kyle Busch and Stenhouse, who started to challenge Busch for the runner-up spot. Hamlin moved into fourth followed by Logano, DiBenedetto, Chastain, Harvick, Bell and Custer.

    Ten laps later, Larson extended his advantage to nearly three seconds over Stenhouse. Hamlin, Logano and Chastain were in the top five while Kyle Busch, who was battling handling issues, fell back to sixth.

    By Lap 125, Larson continued to lead by more than two seconds over Stenhouse, with third-place Hamlin trailing by less than seven seconds. Chastain was in fourth followed by Logano, Kyle Busch, Harvick, Almirola, Bell and Custer. Meanwhile, DiBenedetto was losing spots on the track due to an engine issue.

    Seven laps later, the caution returned when Bubba Wallace spun in Turn 2 after losing a left-rear tire. Under caution, the leaders pitted. Following the pit stops, Truex was penalized again, this time for speeding on pit road. In addition, teammate Bell was penalized due to an uncontrolled tire violation.

    On Lap 138, the race restarted under green, with Larson and Hamlin on the front row. At the start, Kyle Busch challenged Larson for the lead. Despite his challenge, Larson retained the lead when the field returned to the start/finish line. 

    Not long after, Stenhouse overtook Kyle Busch for the runner-up spot while Logano prevailed in a battle with Hamlin for fourth.

    By Lap 150, Larson was leading by over two seconds over Stenhouse, with Kyle Busch, teammate Hamlin and Kevin Harvick in the top five. Almirola was in sixth ahead of Logano, Byron, Chastain and Elliott.

    On Lap 173, the caution returned due to debris on the track that came from Cole Custer, who lost a right-rear tire after he also lost his brakes.

    Under caution, the leaders pitted and Briscoe exited in first following a two-tire stop. Reddick exited in second followed by Larson, the first competitor on four fresh tires. Austin Dillon was in fourth and Kyle Busch was in fifth.

    With five laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted. At the start, Briscoe took off with the lead followed by Larson while Reddick struggled on the start as the field was also bunched up and fanned out to three lanes entering Turn 2.

    The following lap, Larson overtook Briscoe in Turn 2 to reassume the lead. Behind, Kyle Busch charged his way to fourth ahead of teammate Hamlin while Elliott was in seventh behind teammate Byron. Reddick, meanwhile, had fallen out of the top 10 while trying to keep his car straightened on old tires. 

    As the field continued to scramble for late positioning, Larson was able to cruise to the second stage victory on Lap 185 and record his 12th stage victory of the season. Austin Dillon edged Briscoe for the runner-up spot while Byron edged Kyle Busch for fourth place. Hamlin, Elliott, Stenhouse, Almirola and Harvick were scored in the top 10. 

    Under the stage break, some like Briscoe, Truex, Bell, Austin Dillon, Reddick, Erik Jones, Ryan Newman, Wallace and McDowell pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track.

    With 110 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as teammates Larson and Byron led the field on the front row. At the start, Larson utilized the outside lane to retain the lead over teammate Byron while Kyle Busch was challenged by teammate Hamlin and Stenhouse for third. Soon, Elliott challenged Stenhouse for fifth with Kurt Busch lurking behind. 

    Six laps later, the caution flew when Ryan Preece spun in Turn 2. Under caution, some like Chastain, Bowman, Reddick, McDowell, Corey LaJoie, Suarez and DiBenedetto pitted.

    With 98 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Byron got loose and nearly clipped Larson sideways in Turn 1, but Larson was able to retain the lead through Turn 2. As Larson led teammate Byron, teammate Elliott was in third ahead of Hamlin and Kurt Busch. Stenhouse and Harvick battled for sixth followed by Briscoe, Almirola and Logano. Kyle Busch, meanwhile, was in 17th as he continued to battle handling issues to his car.

    With 90 laps remaining, Larson was leading by more than a second over teammate Byron, with teammate Elliott trailing by more than two seconds. Hamlin was in fourth followed by Kurt Busch, Harvick, Stenhouse, Briscoe, Almirola and Logano.

    Seven laps later, the event’s 10th caution flew when Wallace spun for a second time in Turn 2. Under caution, nearly all of the leaders pitted as Larson exited in first. Harvick, meanwhile, boosted his way to second place followed by Byron, Kurt Busch and Hamlin. Back on track, Chastain was the leader after he remained on the track without pitting.

    With 78 laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, Larson powered away from Chastain to reassume the lead while Byron, who battled with Chastain and Harvick through Turn 2, moved back up to second. 

    Down to the final 75 laps of the event, Larson was leading by seven-tenths of a second over teammate Byron while Chastain, Harvick and Elliott were in the top five. Kurt Busch was in sixth followed by Briscoe, Hamlin, Almirola and Logano. Truex was in 12th behind teammate Bell, Keselowski was in 14th and Kyle Busch was in 18th ahead of Austin Dillon and Bowman.

    Soon after, the caution returned due to Briscoe making contact with the outside wall in Turn 3 after he lost his brakes.

    Under caution, names like Chastain, Suarez, Keselowski, Stenhouse, Reddick, Jones, Bowman, Corey LaJoie, Wallace, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon and others pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track.

    The race restarted with 68 laps remaining, and Elliott made slight contact with teammate Byron in a three-wide bid for the lead. With Elliott backing out, Larson was able to receive another strong start on the outside lane to retain the lead over Byron. Behind, Harvick overtook Elliott in third while Kurt Busch continued to hold strong in fifth ahead of Almirola and the field.

    With 50 laps remaining, Larson was leading by two seconds over teammate Byron while Harvick, Elliott and Kurt Busch were in the top five. By then, Larson used the lapped car of J.J. Yeley to clear some debris off of his car. Almirola was in sixth and challenging Busch for the top-five spot, with Hamlin, Chastain, Bell and Stenhouse in the top 10. 

    Fifteen laps later, Larson continued to lead by more than three seconds over teammate Byron. Harvick was in third followed by teammate Almirola and Elliott. Kurt Busch fell back to sixth in front of teammate Chastain while Hamlin, Stenhouse and Bell were in the top 10.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Larson was out in front by more than four seconds over teammate Byron, with Harvick, Almirola and Chastain in the top five. Kurt Busch was in sixth ahead of Stenhouse, Elliott, Bell and Hamlin. 

    With 10 laps remaining and fuel questions beginning to arise from a multitude of teams, Larson was leading by more than five seconds over teammate Byron. Harvick remained in third followed by Chastain and Almirola. Kurt Busch was in sixth followed by Stenhouse, Bell, Suarez and Hamlin.

    A few laps later, Truex pitted. Meanwhile, Chastain, who had enough fuel to the finish, overtook Harvick for third place and went to work on Byron for second place, which he succeeded.

    With five laps remaining, Larson, who remained in question about having enough fuel to the finish, was leading by more than five seconds over a hard-charging Chastain.

    Down to the final two laps, Hamlin and Kurt Busch ran out of fuel, with Hamlin pitting while Kurt Busch continued to run on the track.

    Back at the front, Larson continued to lead by more than five seconds over Chastain as he started the final lap of the race. Having enough fuel in his tank, Larson was able to coast his car around the circuit for a final time and take the checkered flag to win in Music City nation.

    With the inaugural victory in Nashville and a Gibson Guitar trophy, Larson achieved his 10th NASCAR Cup Series career victory and fourth of the season since returning as a full-time competitor. In addition, Hendrick Motorsports has won the six Cup events, including the All-Star Race.

    “Yeah, it was a great day,” Larson said on NBCSN. “We never really had to run behind people. When my teammates got out in front again, it would’ve probably been hard to pass them. The Valvoline Chevrolet was really good. It could cut the middle of the corner really well and our pit crew did an awesome job again. That number one pit stall helps a bunch, too. This crowd’s awesome…We had enough rubber and enough fuel leftover to do a good burnout there at the end. I can’t say enough about everybody at Hendrick Motorsports…I just hope we can keep it going.”

    Settling in a career-best runner-up result was Ross Chastain, who also achieved his second top-five result of this season and of his career.

    “We had the speed to run top five all day, but I sped on pit road and I boxed us in our pit box,” Chastain said. “For most of the day, I was so loose entry of Turn 1, just almost like wheel-hopping, bouncing the right rear. So, I really struggled, and finally, the last three runs of the race, [crew chief] Phil Surgen and this Clover Chevy team, they got it where I could hustle it and that’s what I needed. At the end, I didn’t want a caution. I knew Kyle [Larson] was out there. Just get to second and we’ll be happy with it.”

    Byron finished third followed by Almirola, who achieved his first top-five result of the season, and Harvick, who ran out of fuel coming to the finish line. 

    Stenhouse came home in sixth place followed by Suarez, Kurt Busch, Bell and Logano.

    Kyle Busch settled in 11th following a long battle with handling issues, Elliott fell to 13th after reporting concerns of a flat right-rear tire to his car, teammates Hamlin and Truex finished 22nd and 23rd, Keselowski came home in 24th following brake issues and DiBenedetto settled in 25th. Bowman finished 15th, Reddick settled in 19th ahead of Erik Jones and Bubba Wallace and rookie Chase Briscoe ended his run in 32nd.

    Following the race, Elliott was disqualified due to his car having five lug nuts not secured. As a result, he was credited with a 39th-place result and he was not awarded his playoff point from the Nashville event.

    There were 14 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured 11 cautions for 60 laps.

    With nine regular-season races remaining until the 2021 Cup Playoffs commences, Hamlin continues to lead the regular-season standings by nine points over Larson. Eleven competitors, (Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Christopher Bell and Michael McDowell), are guaranteed positions for the Playoffs along with Denny Hamlin, who leads the regular-season standings. Kevin Harvick, Austin Dillon, Tyler Reddick and Chris Buescher occupy the remaining postseason spots as winless competitors, with Kurt Busch trailing the top-16 cutline by 24 points, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. trailing by 43, Matt DiBenedetto trailing by 46, Ross Chastain trailing by 50, Daniel Suarez trailing by 61, Bubba Wallace trailing by 77 and Ryan Newman trailing by 81.

    Results.

    1. Kyle Larson, 264 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Ross Chastain, four laps led

    3. William Byron

    4. Aric Almirola, one lap led

    5. Kevin Harvick

    6. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    7. Daniel Suarez

    8. Kurt Busch, three laps led, Stage 1 winner

    9. Christopher Bell

    10. Joey Logano

    11. Kyle Busch, 10 laps led

    12. Austin Dillon

    13. Ryan Newman 

    14. Alex Bowman

    15. Corey LaJoie 

    16. Michael McDowell

    17. Anthony Alfredo

    18. Tyler Reddick

    19. Erik Jones

    20. Bubba Wallace, one lap down

    21. Denny Hamlin, one lap down

    22. Martin Truex Jr., one lap down

    23. Brad Keselowski, one lap down

    24. Matt DiBenedetto, two laps down

    25. Garrett Smithley, two laps down

    26. Josh Bilicki, two laps down

    27. J.J. Yeley, two laps down

    28. B.J. McLeod, five laps down

    29. Joey Gase, five laps down

    30. Cole Custer, 48 laps down

    31. Chase Briscoe – OUT, Accident five laps led

    32. Ryan Preece – OUT, Brakes

    33. Chad Finchum – OUT, Rear end

    34. David Starr – OUT, Brakes

    35. Justin Haley – OUT, Accident

    36. Chris Buescher – OUT, Accident

    37. Ryan Blaney – OUT, Accident

    38. Quin Houff – OUT, Accident

    39. Chase Elliott – Disqualified, 13 laps led

    Next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ second annual Pocono Raceway doubleheader feature on June 26-27. The first Cup event of the weekend on Saturday, June 26, will occur at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN and the second on Sunday, June 27, will occur at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Larson achieves second All-Star Race win at Texas

    Larson achieves second All-Star Race win at Texas

    The 2021 comeback season for Kyle Larson continued under the lights in the Lone Star state after the Elk Grove, California, native prevailed over a late battle against Brad Keselowski and Chase Elliott to win the NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, June 13, and claim his second All-Star career victory.

    The starting lineup was determined via random draw, with Kyle Larson, winner of last weekend’s Cup event at Sonoma Raceway, starting on pole position and Kyle Busch joining him on the front row. 

    Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick and Aric Almirola transferred to the All-Star Race following their respective segment victories in the All-Star Open along with Matt DiBenedetto, winner of this year’s All-Star Fan Vote.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced for Round 1, the field battled dead even through the first two turns and entering the backstretch led by the two Kyles. At the start/finish line, Kyle Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry led the first lap over Larson’s No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.

    Then in Turn 1, the caution waved when Christopher Bell got sideways in Turn 1, though he was able to straighten the car on the apron and not sustain any damage to his No. 20 CRAFTSMAN Toyota Camry. Bell was the only competitor who pitted under caution, with caution laps not counting in the race.

    When the race restarted on a 14-lap dash through the first round, the two Kyles battled dead even for the lead again for one full lap before Busch prevailed the following lap. With Kyle Busch leading, Cole Custer challenged Larson for the runner-up spot ahead of Chase Elliott and William Byron with the field battling intensely for spots.

    Through the first five laps of the event, Kyle Busch was leading by three-tenths of a second over Larson, with Byron, Custer and Elliott in the top five. Joey Logano and Austin Dillon were in sixth and seventh followed by Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick. 

    Two laps later, Larson overtook Kyle Busch to assume the lead for the first time. At the same time, Byron challenged Busch for the runner-up spot, though the former retained the spot.

    Not long after, Kyle Busch attempted to challenge Larson back for the lead on the inside lane, but Larson retained the top spot on the outside lane entering the backstretch. Soon after, Byron also took over the runner-up spot while Elliott and Custer battled for fourth.

    By Lap 12, the battle for the runner-up spot heated up as Elliott joined teammate Byron and Kyle Busch in an attempt to overtake both. With Larson still leading, Byron was able to clear himself to remain in second while Kyle Busch continued to battle Elliott for third place. 

    Back at the front, Larson was able to fend off teammate Byron and Kyle Busch to claim Round 1 on Lap 15. Byron, Kyle Busch, Elliott and Custer settled in the top five followed by Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Ross Chastain and Logano.

    Under the first break, the leaders pitted for early adjustments. Prior to the second round, the top-12 competitors were inverted in positions, a decision made via random draw. The move made Ryan Blaney and Kevin Harvick start on the front row.

    When Round 2 started on Lap 16, Blaney received a push from Chastain to retain the lead entering the first turn. Soon after, Chastain attempted to make a move on the outside lane for the lead, but his plan backfired as Keselowski took over the runner-up spot while Chastain was left in a battle with Chase Elliott. Behind, Harvick drifted back to eighth.

    The following lap, Chastain got Blaney sideways entering Turn 1, but Blaney maintained the lead and straightened his No. 12 Menards/Wrangler Ford Mustang, though he was left in a battle with teammate Keselowski for the lead.

    At the front, teammates Blaney and Keselowski battled dead even for the lead, with Keselowski fighting on the inside lane and Blaney on the outside. Chastain, meanwhile, was in third followed by Elliott and the Busch brothers.

    By Lap 20, Blaney was leading by a narrow margin over teammate Keselowski while Chastain, Kurt Busch, Elliott, Byron, Kyle Busch, Logano, Martin Truex Jr. and Custer were in the top 10. 

    Five laps later, Penske’s Blaney and Keselowski were running first and second followed by Chip Ganassi Racing’s Chastain and Kurt Busch, with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch in fifth and Hendrick Motorsports’ Elliott running in sixth. 

    When Round 2 concluded on Lap 30, Blaney survived an intense, competitive battle for the lead as he was the leader followed by teammate Keselowski, Chastain, Kurt Busch, Byron, Elliott, Kyle Busch, Custer, Denny Hamlin and Logano.

    Under the second break, the leaders returned to pit road for more adjustments. 

    Prior to the third event, the entire field was inverted, giving DiBenedetto and Almirola the front row. 

    When Round 3 started on Lap 31, DiBenedetto cleared Almirola to lead the field as Michael McDowell challenged Almirola for the runner-up spot. Behind, Ryan Newman challenged Harvick for fourth as Alex Bowman joined the party. 

    A few laps later, McDowell made a bid for the lead through the backstretch, but DiBenedetto received a push from Almirola’s No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang through Turn 4 to remain in the lead entering the backstretch.

    By Lap 35, DiBenedetto was leading by a narrow margin over McDowell followed by Bowman, Almirola and Larson. Newman was in sixth followed by Christopher Bell, Austin Dillon, Hamlin and Harvick.

    Two laps later, Bowman moved his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE into the lead.

    By Lap 40, Bowman was leading by half a second over DiBenedetto, with Almirola, McDowell and Newman in the top five,

    With the field behind battling for position, Bowman was able to retain the top spot and claim Round 3 on Lap 45. DiBenedetto was in second place followed by Almirola, McDowell, Newman, Larson, Hamlin, Bell, Byron and Harvick.

    Under the round break, the leaders returned to pit road for adjustments as the race transitioned to evening conditions.

    Prior to the fourth round, the top-nine competitors via random draw were inverted, placing Byron’s No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE into the lead.

    When Round 4 started on Lap 46, Byron and Bell battled side-by-side for the lead for one full lap before the former prevailed. Soon after, Larson made his way into the runner-up spot over Bell while DiBenedetto, Bowman and Hamlin battled for fourth. Elliott was mired back in ninth while Kyle Busch was in 17th.

    By Lap 50 and at the halfway mark, Byron was leading by two-tenths of a second over teammate Larson, with Bell trailing by six-tenths of a second. DiBenedetto and Hamlin battled for fourth while Bowman, Elliott, Blaney, Newman and McDowell were in the top 10.

    With the laps in the fourth round dwindling, Larson started to catch teammate Byron for the lead as he decreased the deficit to a tenth of a second.

    Despite being challenged by his teammate for the lead, Byron was able to hold on to the lead and win Round 4 on Lap 60 by a tenth of a second over Larson. Hamlin, Bell, Elliott, Blaney, Bowman, DiBenedetto, Almirola and Newman were scored in the top 10.

    Under the round break, the leaders pitted for another round of adjustments.

    The lineup for the fifth round was determined via the cumulative results from the first four rounds, giving Byron the lead and teammate Larson the runner-up spot.

    When Round 5 started on Lap 61, the entire field battled dead even led by teammates Byron and Larson.

    The following lap, names like Hamlin, Bell, DiBenedetto, Reddick, Truex, Harvick and McDowell made a mandatory pit stop under green. Soon after, Kyle Busch pitted along with Newman and Austin Dillon. Then, Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon were assessed a penalty for speeding on pit road.

    Back on track, Byron was leading followed by teammates Larson, Elliott and Bowman, with Kurt Busch and Keselowski in fifth and sixth. Soon after, Blaney pitted along with Custer.

    By Lap 70, all four Hendrick Motorsports competitors were running first through fourth, with Byron still out in front. By then, Custer and Kurt Busch made their mandatory pit stop under green.

    Through Lap 75, Byron continued to lead, though he was one of eight competitors that had yet to pit.

    Not long after, Byron pitted along with Larson, Elliott, Bowman and Chastain. Through the next three laps, Keselowski, Logano and Almirola were the final round of competitors to make a mandatory pit stop.

    Just then, the caution flew when Chastain, who had just pitted, spun in Turn 1 following contact from Newman. At the time of caution, Keselowski, who was the last competitor to pit, was able to cycle ahead with the lead over Elliott, Byron and Larson. 

    Under caution, few names like Chastain, Kyle Busch and DiBenedetto pitted. By then, Kyle Busch received the free pass and returned to the lead lap while Austin Dillon was still trapped a lap behind.

    When the race restarted on Lap 80, Keselowski and Elliott battled dead even for the lead, with Elliott leading the next lap by a nose. With the battle for the lead heating up in the closing laps, Elliott was able to take the rocket ahead with the lead on the outside lane through the following lap followed by teammates Byron and Larson as Keselowski slipped back to fourth.

    By Lap 85, Elliott was still leading by more than a tenth of a second over teammate Byron. Keselowski moved back into third place followed by Larson and Blaney while Logano was in sixth.

    When Round 5 concluded on Lap 90, Elliott was able to fend off teammate Byron to remain in the lead. Larson and Blaney settled in third and fourth followed by Keselowski, Logano, Hamlin, Bowman, Kurt Busch and Almirola.

    Under the final round break, Austin Dillon received the free pass and returned on the lead lap, making all 21 competitors scored on the lead lap entering the final round. Few names like Harvick, McDowell, Newman, Reddick, DiBenedetto and Austin Dillon pitted while under caution.

    Following the mandatory green flag pit stops from all competitors during the fifth round, it was announced that Chase Elliott’s pit crew led by crew chief Alan Gustafson earned $100,000 for being the fastest pit crew of the evening.

    The lineup for the final round was determined via the results from the fifth round, keeping Elliott and Byron on the front row.

    When the Final Round started on Lap 90 and for a 10-lap shootout to the finish, Elliott peaked ahead in Turn 1 before Blaney made a bold three-wide move while going for the lead over Larson and Byron, with Byron falling back. Through the backstretch, Blaney and Elliott engaged in a heated battle, with Elliott receiving a push from Larson to squeak ahead.

    The following lap, teammates Elliott and Larson battled dead even for the lead across the line and for nearly a full circuit before Keselowski bolted his way to the lead beneath Elliott and Larson through Turns 3 and 4. Though Keselowski led the following lap, Larson fought back on the outside lane and reassumed the top spot with seven laps remaining.

    With five laps remaining, Larson was leading by nearly a tenth of a second over Keselowski, with Elliott trailing by two-tenths of a second and Logano and Blaney running in the top five. Despite being pressured by Keselowski and Elliott, Larson continued to hold strong with the lead.

    Down to the final three laps of the event, Larson continued to lead by a tenth of a second over Keselowski, with Elliott trailing by three-tenths of a second and slowly falling back. 

    When the final lap started, Larson was ahead by nearly three-tenths of a second over Keselowski, who continued to trail Larson closely, but not have enough to complete his run to the lead. Through the backstretch and Turn 3, Larson stabilized his narrow margin over Keselowski to come back around the finish line and take the checkered flag on Lap 100, thus winning the All-Star Race and a million dollars.

    With the victory, Larson became the eighth competitor to claim multiple All-Star victories as he won his first All-Star event since 2019. In addition, he recorded the 10th All-Star victory for Hendrick Motorsports and the first for crew chief Cliff Daniels.

    FORT WORTH, TEXAS – JUNE 13: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, and crew chief Cliff Daniels celebrate in victory lane after winning the NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway on June 13, 2021 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images).

    “Honestly, I can’t believe it,” Larson said on FS1. “That second run there, we were really bad and I was like, ‘Man, we’re in trouble.’ I went backwards that round, so I was like we got an uphill battle and did not imagine myself winning this race today. Cliff and everybody works so hard on this thing, made some good adjustments during those first, second and third rounds, and got us in position. That last restart worked exactly how I needed it to do…I can’t believe it.”

    Keselowski finished in second place in his 13th appearance in the All-Star event, which marked his third runner-up event in the event.

    “It feels like to run second to the Hendrick cars right now is kind of an accomplishment,” Keselowski said. “They’re just stupid fast. I had [Larson] off of Turn 4, but they just have so much speed. He just motored right on back by me like damn. It feels like a first in class day for the Discount Tire Ford. [Crew chief] Jeremy Bullins and the team did a great job of executing and getting us in position. We just didn’t have enough speed to make the most of it, but good execution day and I’m proud of that.”

    Elliott, winner of last year’s All-Star event at Bristol Motor Speedway, settled in third place. Logano and teammate Blaney finished in the top five. Bowman, teammate Byron, Almirola, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch completed the top 10 on the track.

    There were 10 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured seven cautions. All 21 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Kyle Larson, 17 laps led

    2. Brad Keselowski, five laps led

    3. Chase Elliott, 12 laps led

    4. Joey Logano

    5. Ryan Blaney, 15 laps led

    6. Alex Bowman, nine laps led

    7. William Byron, 30 laps led

    8. Aric Almirola

    9. Kyle Busch, six laps led

    10. Kurt Busch

    11. Christopher Bell

    12. Michael McDowell

    13. Martin Truex Jr.

    14. Cole Custer

    15. Kevin Harvick

    16. Tyler Reddick

    17. Matt DiBenedetto, six laps led

    18. Ross Chastain

    19. Austin Dillon

    20. Ryan Newman

    21. Denny Hamlin 

    Next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ inaugural event at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday, June 20, with the event to occur at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN as FOX’s coverage of this year’s NASCAR season concludes.

  • Larson scores a dominant win at Sonoma

    Larson scores a dominant win at Sonoma

    On a bright, sunny Sunday afternoon in Sonoma, California, the hometown hero shined brightly at Sonoma Raceway after Kyle Larson held off teammate Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr. and the field through several late race restarts to win the Toyota/Save Mart 350 for his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and first on a road course.

    The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Cup event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. With that, Kyle Larson, winner of last weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with teammate Chase Elliott.

    Prior to the event, rookie Anthony Alfredo started at the rear of the field due to a pre-race inspection violation, a move that resulted with his crew chief Seth Barbour being ejected for the event and Derrick Finley serving as Alfredo’s interim crew chief. Scott Heckert also started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Larson took off with the lead through the first two turns and entering Turn 3A ahead of teammates Elliott and William Byron while the field scattered behind while competing for positions.

    Through the 12-turn circuit, Larson led the first lap followed by teammates Elliott and Byron while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were in the top five. By then, Larson was out front by more than a second.

    The following lap, Larson extended his advantage to more than two seconds while Byron, Hamlin and Kyle Busch remained in the top 10. 

    By the third lap, Christopher Bell coasted to pit road after reporting fuel pump issues to his No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry, an issue that cost him a lap from the leaders despite having the ECU in his car restored.

    Through the first five laps of the event, Larson’s No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was leading by more than four seconds over Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, with Byron’s No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE trailing in third place by nearly five seconds. Teammates Hamlin and Kyle Busch continued to run in the top five followed by Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick and Tyler Reddick. Meanwhile, Martin Truex Jr., who started 19th, was in 11th followed by Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney and Bubba Wallace.

    Two laps later, Hamlin overtook Byron for third place while Bowman overtook Austin Dillon for sixth place. By then, Larson continued to lead by more than four seconds while Truex was scored in the top 10.

    Near the Lap 10 competition caution, names like Kyle Busch, Bowman, Ross Chastain, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael McDowell, Erik Jones, Ryan Newman, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace and rookie Chase Briscoe pitted for tires under green.

    Just as the field was approaching the start/finish line for the 10th lap, Larson pitted approaching Turn 11 along with teammate Elliott, Truex, Joey Logano, Kurt Busch and others. Following the sequence of events, Hamlin assumed the lead followed by Brad Keselowski as the competition caution flew on Lap 10.

    Under caution, Hamlin pitted along with Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, Cole Custer, Logano and others, giving the front row back to Hendrick Motorsports’ Larson and Elliott. 

    When the race restarted on Lap 13, Larson retained the lead over teammate Elliott through the first three turns and entering the fourth turn while behind, Kyle Busch challenged Byron for third place through Turns 5 and 6, as Truex was running in the top five.

    By Lap 15, Larson was leading by more than a second over teammate Elliott while Kyle Busch was in third place, trailing by less than four seconds. Byron remained in fourth place, though he had Truex challenging him for the spot. 

    Not long after, however, Byron dropped from fourth to eighth after being overtaken by Truex, Bowman, Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick, starting from Turn 4 through Turn 8. Behind, Hamlin received nose damage to the front of his No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry while running in the mid-pack.

    In the closing laps of the first stage, names like Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Newman pitted under green. During the stops, Wallace was penalized due to speeding on pit road. Soon after, Michael McDowell pitted along with Byron, Buescher and Daniel Suarez.

    Back on the course, Larson continued to lead by more than three seconds over teammate Elliott. With a comfortable advantage and gap over his teammate, Larson was able to navigate his way through the 12-turn road course one final time to win the first stage on Lap 20, thus claiming his 10th stage victory of this season. Elliott followed behind in second place followed by Kyle Busch, teammate Truex, Bowman, Austin Dillon, Reddick, Kurt Busch, Matt DiBenedetto and Erik Jones. 

    Under the stage break, a majority of names like Larson, Elliott, Kyle Busch, Truex, Bowman and others pitted while the rest led by new leader Kurt Busch remained on the track. In total, 14 competitors remained on the track with Larson back in 15th.

    The second stage started on Lap 24 with Kurt Busch and Matt DiBenedetto on the front row. At the start, Busch cleared DiBenedetto and retained the lead through the first two turns, with Keselowski, Blaney and Hamlin in the top five. Meanwhile, Christopher Bell rallied from his early issues to run in sixth place ahead of Cole Custer and Byron. 

    When the field returned to the start/finish line to complete Lap 25, Kurt Busch continued to lead followed by DiBenedetto, Keselowski, Blaney and Hamlin while Bell, Byron, Custer, Buescher and Chastain were in the top 10. Elliott, meanwhile, was in 11th followed by Larson while Truex was in 14th and Kyle Busch was in 16th.

    As the laps progressed, teammates Elliott and Larson continued to battle intensely over one another as they were stuck behind Bell, with the latter prevailing over both through Turn 6A. Meanwhile, Reddick made an unscheduled pit stop following contact with Bowman.

    On Lap 28, Byron emerged as the new leader after he overtook Kurt Busch in Turn 11. With Busch back in second, DiBenedetto was in fourth in between Team Penske’s Keselowski and Blaney.

    By Lap 30, Byron was out in front by more than three seconds over teammate Kyle Larson, who managed to carve his way near the front, while Kurt Busch was back in third. Behind, Keselowski was in fourth followed by Truex, Elliott, Kyle Busch, Blaney, Hamlin and Chris Buescher while DiBenedetto was back in 11th

    A lap later, the caution flew when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made hard right-side contact against the wall entering Turn 1 and went off course in the dirt as a result of a flat right-front tire.

    Under caution, some of the competitors in the field led by Byron pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track.

    With six laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green as Larson and Truex started on the front row. At the start, Larson retained the lead through the first two turns over Truex and the field fanning out to two lanes.

    In the closing laps of the second stage, Larson continued to lead followed by Truex, Logano, Bowman and Chastain. Meanwhile, Corey LaJoie and Erik Jones, both of whom made on-track contact that resulted with Jones nearly going off the course, were in sixth and 23rd. 

    Soon after, Chase Briscoe, Wallace, Suarez, Jones and Reddick pitted. In addition, Truex pitted along with Chastain. During the pit stops, Wallace made a full cycle around the track with a left tire before returning to pit road for a second stop, though he lost a lap to the leaders.

    Back on the course, Larson continued to lead with a healthy margin over Joey Logano. Continuing to flex his muscles, Larson was able to come back around and claim the second stage on Lap 40, thus claim his 11th stage victory of the season. Logano trailed behind by more than six seconds followed by Bowman, Kurt Busch and Elliott. Teammate Byron, Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Hamlin and Bell were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, some like Larson, Logano, Bowman, Preece, Aric Almirola pitted while the rest led by Kurt Busch, Elliott, Byron, Kyle Busch and Keselowski remained on the track.

    With 46 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Kurt Busch took off with the lead through the first two turns followed by Elliott, Byron, Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Bell and a steaming pack of cars.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 45, Elliott moved into the lead for the first time after overtaking Kurt Busch through Turns 11 and 12. Truex, who restarted 15th, was in 13th in between Buescher and Chastain while Larson, who restarted 21st, was in 16th in between Alfredo and Suarez.

    With 40 laps remaining, Elliott continued to lead by nearly four seconds over Kyle Busch, who moved his No. 18 Sport Clips Toyota Camry in front of brother Kurt’s No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. Truex and Larson worked their way up to fourth and fifth while Keselowski, Byron, Chastain, Bell and Blaney were in the top 10.

    During the next few laps, Truex and Larson navigated their way around Kurt Busch to move into third and fourth. Afterwards, Larson overtook Truex’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry for third place as he had Kyle Busch next on his sights. Meanwhile, Elliott continued to lead by more than four seconds.

    Nearing the final 35 laps of the event, the Busch brothers along with Blaney, Byron and others pitted under green. By then, Elliott was leading by three seconds over teammate Larson.

    Back on the track, the battle for the lead intensified between teammates Elliott and Larson, with the former fending off the latter through every turns and corner while Truex trailed by two seconds.

    With 33 laps remaining, Larson prevailed over his intense battle with Elliott after overtaking him in Turn 7 to reassume the lead, with Truex narrowing the gap to more than a second. Meanwhile, Jones was in fourth followed by Logano, Bowman, Reddick, Briscoe, Hamlin and Almirola.

     A few laps later, Truex overtook Elliott for the runner-up spot. By then, names like Hamlin, Chastain pitted under green.

    With 29 laps remaining, Elliott surrendered his track position to pit under green along with Erik Jones while Larson continued to run on the circuit with a two-second advantage over Truex. Not long after, Truex pitted. By then, Bowman, who went off the course through Turns 5 and 6, also pitted along with Aric Almirola and Briscoe.

    Soon after, Larson pitted and surrendered the lead to Logano. By the time Larson exited pit road, Truex was able to cycle in front of Larson on fresh tires. 

    Not long after, Larson was able to navigate his way around Truex through Turn 7 and move within striking distance of reassuming the lead with the finish in sight. By then, Logano pitted under green. 

    With 21 laps remaining, Larson returned to the lead after he overtook Kyle Busch. Truex, meanwhile, was still in third while Elliott was battling Keselowski for fifth. Soon after, Truex moved into the runner-up spot over Kyle Busch as he was trailing Larson by more than two seconds. 

    Then, the caution flew due to Quin Houff coming to a stop in Turn 6. By then, Keselowski pitted, though he was later penalized due to equipment coming over his pit stall too soon.

    Under caution, a majority of the leaders returned to pit road and Larson exited pit road in front of Truex, Elliott and others. Back on course, Logano remained on course along with Reddick, LaJoie and Alfredo, where they were followed by Larson, Truex and Elliott. 

    With 16 laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, Logano maintained the lead through the first two turns and heading into Turn 3A while Larson quickly moved up to fourth place followed by teammate Elliott. 

    Through Turn 7 and the Esses, Larson moved up into third place followed by Elliott while Truex was stuck in seventh. 

    By the time the field returned to the start/finish line under the final 15 laps, Larson was up into second place behind Logano while Elliott and Truex were in fourth and sixth. Then, approaching Turn 8, Larson, racing on fresh tires, reassumed the lead over Logano.

    Then, the caution returned when Chastain and LaJoie made contact in Turn 11, sending both cars spinning and in front of incoming traffic. In the ensuing chaos, Kevin Harvick, Byron, Bell, Bowman and Erik Jones sustained damage.

    Under caution, nearly the entire field remained on the track while Harvick pitted to have the damage on his car addressed. 

    With 11 laps remaining, the race restarted with Larson and Logano comprising the front row. At the start, Larson and Logano battled dead even through the first two turns before Larson cleared Logano’s No. 22 AutoTrader Ford Mustang entering Turn 3A. 

    Through the Esses and Turns 10, 11 and 12 with 10 laps remaining, Larson continued to lead while teammate Elliott overtook Logano for the runner-up spot. Truex moved up into fourth place followed by Kyle Busch and Chastain.

    With eight laps remaining, Larson was leading by nearly three seconds over teammate Elliott with Truex, Logano and Kyle Busch running in the top five. 

    Three laps later, the caution flew when Ryan Preece spun in the Esses. While Preece was trying to recover, he was hit and turned by an oncoming Cody Ware in a heavy dust cloud, with Ware coming to a rest near the tire barriers as both competitors sustained damage to their respective machines.

    Under caution, nearly the entire field led by Larson, Elliott and Truex remained on the track while few like Keselowski and Reddick pitted.

    With three laps remaining, the race restarted with teammates Larson and Elliott comprising the front row. At the start, Larson managed to clear teammate Elliott to remain as the leader through the first two turns and heading into the third turn. Elliott retained the runner-up spot followed by Truex and the field.

    The caution, however, returned quickly when Alfredo, who was primed for a top-10 result, and Bell spun following contact with Bowman in Turn 4. The incident was enough to send the race into overtime.

    In overtime, Larson and Elliott engaged in a side-by-side battle for the lead through the first turn before the former emerged on top in Turn 2. Through the first four turns and the following three turns, Larson continued to lead despite being pressured by Elliott as Truex settled himself in third place. 

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson was leading by nearly six-tenths of a second over teammate Elliott with Truex trailing by one-and-a-half seconds. 

    Elliott gained ground briefly on Larson entering Turn 8 before Larson was able to retain his steady advantage through the Esses and Turn 10. After calmly navigating his way through Turns 11 and 12, Larson was able to come back around and take the checkered flag to win by six-tenths of a second over Elliott.

    In addition to claiming his second consecutive victory of this season and first on a road course, Larson recorded his ninth NASCAR Cup Series career victory, third of the season and the 270th win for Hendrick Motorsports. He also became the 20th different competitor to win a Cup race at Sonoma Raceway and the first competitor to sweep the day at Sonoma after he claimed the first two stages en route to his dominating victory.

    “It was not easy,” Larson said on FS1. “Any road course isn’t easy. Just trying to keep it on track is tough, especially when you got two of the best behind you on that last restart. I felt like I did a good job the one [restart] before and stretch it out a little bit and then, [I] didn’t want to give it another try at it, but [Elliott] kept the pressure on. Martin was strong, too, but what a car. This is unbelievable. I thought I would be okay today, but I just didn’t know how I would race. Our car was really good there and I can’t say enough about it. Northern California, this will always be home to me, even if I live out on the East Coast now…Look forward to just keeping this streak going.”

    Elliott, who led 13 laps, claimed the runner-up spot for a second consecutive week, fourth overall this season, while Truex, winner of the previous two Sonoma races, rallied from a three-race stretch of finishing outside the top 15 to finish in third place.

    “I wish I knew [where Larson was better],” Elliott said. “I would’ve tried to give him a little better run, but congrats to Kyle, [crew chief] and Cliff [Daniels], everybody on the No. 5 team. They’ve been doing an amazing job. Really proud of our NAPA group, though. I felt like we were a lot better there at the end than we were at the beginning, and definitely, the best I’ve ever been here, I feel like, at Sonoma, in particular. Pleased with that. I wished we could’ve gotten another spot, but we’ll try again.”

    “[We were beaten] Just a little bit everywhere, I felt like,” Truex added. “Right handers, I couldn’t quite lean on the left rear like I needed to and didn’t quite have the drive off. More so than that, I didn’t have the short-run speed. I think the really long runs was our only chance there. All those cautions at the end, they killed any chance we had. Proud of the guys on the Bass Pro Toyota. Just not quite good enough. The Hendrick cars are really strong right now, they’re really fast, making a lot of grip, making our job tough, but like I said, we needed long runs at the end, not all those cautions.”

    Logano finished fourth while Kyle Busch, a two-time winner at Sonoma, completed the top five on the track. 

    Kurt Busch, a former winner at Sonoma, claimed his first top-10 result since Homestead-Miami Speedway in February by finishing sixth while teammate Chastain, Hamlin, Bowman and Blaney finished in the top 10.

    Erik Jones, Daniel Suarez, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace and Brad Keselowski finished in the top 15 while Chase Briscoe was the highest-finishing rookie competitor in 17th. Harvick came home in 21st, Bell fell back to 24th and Ben Rhodes finished 30th in his Cup debut. Michael McDowell and Ryan Newman finished 28th and 33rd after both were turned and spun in Turn 11 on the final lap.

    There were 13 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 18 laps. In total, 33 of the 37 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Hamlin continues to lead the regular-season standings by 47 points over Larson with Elliott trailing by 73 points.

    Results.

    1. Kyle Larson, 57 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    2. Chase Elliott, 13 laps led

    3. Martin Truex Jr.

    4. Joey Logano, five laps led

    5. Kyle Busch, two laps led

    6. Kurt Busch, eight laps led

    7. Ross Chastain

    8. Denny Hamlin, two laps led

    9. Alex Bowman

    10. Ryan Blaney

    11. Erik Jones

    12. Daniel Suarez

    13. Austin Dillon

    14. Bubba Wallace

    15. Brad Keselowski

    16. Chris Buescher

    17. Chase Briscoe

    18. Corey LaJoie

    19. Tyler Reddick

    20. Cole Custer

    21. Ryan Preece

    22. Kevin Harvick

    23. Matt DiBenedetto

    24. Christopher Bell

    25. James Davison

    26. Scott Heckert

    27. Aric Almirola

    28. Michael McDowell

    29. Josh Bilicki

    30. Ben Rhodes

    31. Anthony Alfredo

    32. Garrett Smithley

    33. Ryan Newman

    34. Cody Ware – OUT, Accident

    35. William Byron – OUT, Accident, five laps led

    36. Quin Houff – OUT, Rear gear

    37. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Engine

    Next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ annual All-Star Open and Race events at Texas Motor Speedway, both scheduled to occur on Sunday, June 13. The NASCAR All-Star Open will air at 6 p.m. ET on FS1 while the All-Star Race will commence at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Larson achieves historic victory for Hendrick Motorsports in the Coca-Cola 600

    Larson achieves historic victory for Hendrick Motorsports in the Coca-Cola 600

    History was made under the lights at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 30, as Kyle Larson raced his way to a dominating victory in the Coca-Cola 600 and made Hendrick Motorsports the winningest team in the NASCAR Cup Series. The Elk Grove, California, native led a race-high 327 of 400 laps from pole position, including the final 49 laps, to muscle away from his teammates and the competition before recording the biggest victory for himself and for HMS on Memorial Day weekend.

    Qualifying occurred on Saturday, May 29, and Kyle Larson captured the pole position with a pole-winning speed at 180.282 mph. Joining him on the front row was Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in his No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.

    Prior to the event, Kurt Busch and B.J. McLeod dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments.  

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Larson was able to squeak ahead with the top spot as he led the first lap while teammate Chase Elliott battled Stenhouse for the runner-up spot. Behind, a series of side-by-side battles occurred as William Byron battled Kevin Harvick for fourth place while Austin Dillon overtook Alex Bowman for sixth place. 

    Through the first 47 laps of the event, it was Larson and his No. 5 MetroTech Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE that was leading the field and dominating.

    Shortly after, the first round of green flag pit stops occurred as Martin Truex Jr. and Ross Chastain pitted. They were soon followed by Bowman, Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, Austin Dillon, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Chris Buescher, Larson, Elliott and others. During the pit stops, Chastain remained on pit road and his crew pulled the hood up on his No. 42 AdventHealth Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to address a broken oil pump belt. 

    With most of the pit stops completed, Brad Keselowski, who was trying to stretch the fuel in his car to the fullest, led six laps before Matt DiBenedetto and rookie Anthony Alfredo led the following three laps. Afterwards, Larson returned to the lead.

    With five laps remaining under the first stage, Daniel Suarez made a pit stop under green due to a flat right-front tire. 

    Back on the track, Larson was able to set sail at the front and cruise to the first stage victory on Lap 100, thus claiming his seventh stage victory of the season. Teammates Elliott and Byron crossed the start/finish line in second and third followed by Harvick and Austin Dillon. Kyle Busch, teammate Truex, Reddick, Stenhouse and Bowman were scored in the top 10. 

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Larson retained the lead following a stellar service from his pit crew.

    The second stage started on Lap 107 with teammates Larson and Elliott on the front row. At the start, Larson pulled ahead on the bottom lane to maintain the lead ahead of Elliott and Harvick through the first two turns.

    By Lap 110, Larson was ahead by half a second over Elliott while Harvick and Byron engaged in a fierce battle for third place. A few laps later, Harvick prevailed over his battle with Byron as Kyle Busch went to work on Byron for fourth place.

    On Lap 132, Elliott, coming off his victory at the Circuit of the Americas, was able to move his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE into the lead for the first time of the event.

    On Lap 140, Kurt Busch took his No. 1 Gear Wrench Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to the garage after reporting a broken belt issue to his machine, a similar issue that eliminated teammate Chastain from competition.

    Not long after, another round of green flag pit stops occurred as Brad Keselowski pitted followed by Stenhouse, Byron, Kyle Busch, Bowman, Truex, Bubba Wallace, rookie Chase Briscoe, Larson, Elliott, Harvick and others. While entering and exiting pit road, Larson and Elliott battled dead even to be on top of one another before the former prevailed.

    By Lap 153, Larson returned to the lead after Bell pitted. 

    Twenty laps later, the caution returned when Kurt Busch, who had returned to the track while multiple laps behind, retired due to an engine failure when smoke billowed out of his car. Busch’s retirement was his third of the season and his seventh finish outside the top 20 through the first 15 events of this season.

    Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road and Bowman emerged with the lead following a two-tire pit stop. Hamlin and Logano, both of whom also took two tires, exited in second and third followed by Larson, the first competitor with four fresh tires. 

    With 23 laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted. At the start, Bowman was able to retain the lead, but Hamlin moved his No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry to the top spot three laps later. Behind, however, Elliott was quick to move into the runner-up spot followed by teammates Bowman and Larson.

    After leading the next three laps, Hamlin lost the lead to Elliott. Five laps later, however, Larson reassumed the lead. From there, he was able to cruise to the second stage victory on Lap 200 and claim his eighth stage victory of the season. Teammates Elliott and Byron settled in second and third followed by Kyle Busch, Reddick, Harvick, Bowman, Buescher, Hamlin and Austin Dillon.

    Under the stage break, the entire field drove down to pit road and paused for a moment of silence in remembrance of the fallen during Memorial Day weekend. When the competition resumed, the leaders pitted and Larson was able to retain the lead ahead of his Hendrick Motorsports’ teammates.

    The third stage started on Lap 207 as Larson received another strong start to retain the lead ahead of his teammates and the field.

    By Lap 210, Larson held a narrow advantage over Byron followed by Elliott, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Bowman, Hamlin, Logano, Reddick and Wallace.

    On Lap 231, Byron emerged with the lead, where he went on to lead 17 laps. By Lap 253, though, Larson returned to the lead.

    With five laps remaining in the third stage, the caution flew when Ryan Newman lost a right-front tire and pounded the outside wall in Turn 3. The incident was enough to end the third stage under caution, with Larson claiming his third stage victory of the 600-mile event and the ninth of this season. Teammate Byron followed in the runner-up spot and ahead of Kyle Busch, Elliott, Bowman, Reddick, Hamlin, Austin Dillon, Wallace and Harvick.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Larson retained the lead after exiting in first place followed by Kyle Busch. Following the pit stops, Wallace was assessed an equipment interference penalty while Blaney was caught speeding on pit road.

    With 94 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as the two Kyles led the field to the green flag. At the start, Kyle Busch challenged Larson for one lap, even leading a lap, before Larson cleared Busch for the lead entering the backstretch during the following lap. In the process, Elliott retook the runner-up spot and Busch got loose while battling Byron for third place.

    Down to the final 90 laps of the event, Larson was ahead by half a second over teammates Elliott and Byron, both of whom were battling to keep up with their dominating teammate.

    With less than 55 laps remaining and with green flag pit stops ensuing, Reddick led for three laps before Blaney took over the top spot for the following two laps.

    Under the final 50 laps, Larson moved back into the lead after Blaney pitted.

    Twenty laps later, Larson, who was lapping traffic in front of him, was out in front by a reasonable margin over teammates Elliott and Byron, with Kyle Busch in fourth and Bowman in fifth. 

    Under the final 10 laps, Larson continued to lead by a big margin over teammate Elliott. With seven laps remaining, Larson’s advantage to Elliott was more than 10 seconds. 

    With five laps remaining, Larson remained as the leader by more than 10 seconds over Elliott. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch battled and overtook Byron for third place.

    When Larson started the final lap of the event, he stabilized his advantage to more than 10 seconds over Elliott. With no challenges lurking behind, Larson was able to come back around and claim the checkered flag for the win.

    In his seventh full-time season and career start No. 238, Larson captured his eighth NASCAR Cup Series career victory, his second win of the season, his first victory at Charlotte and his first crown jewel event in NASCAR with his first Coke 600 title. He also joined teammate Bowman and Truex as the only competitors to win multiple races through the first 15 races of this year’s Cup season. 

    “It feels good,” Larson said on FOX. “It was not easy. I felt like I had to fight off William [Byron] and Chase [Elliott] a lot. It kind of worked out there that last run. [Erik Jones] had to pit and pulled out in front of me. I just towed with him for a while and stretched my lead out. We had a good car there that last run. Awesome, it feels great to be the guy that helped Mr. [Hendrick] break that record finally. This is awesome…Just very lucky that Mr. H was able to put a deal for me. It’s just awesome. I’m living dream, for sure.”

    With Larson’s victory, Hendrick Motorsports achieved its 12th Coke 600 title and surpassed Petty Enterprises with the most victories in the Cup Series with career win No. 269, an achievement that left team owner Rick Hendrick beaming on pit road.

    “Number one, Richard Petty is the king of NASCAR and he’s done so much for this sport,” Rick Hendrick said. “Man, this is so awesome. All I could think about was the first win, all the drivers. I wanna thank every driver that’s ever driven, ever won a race and the one’s that didn’t win. It’s unbelievable. I can’t really get it in my brain right now ‘cause I just thought something’s gonna happen. But man, what a good job [the drivers] did tonight. I’m just looking forward to the rest of the year when I’m glad [win No.] 269 is over. I’m glad it’s over.”

    Elliott, who was making his 200th Cup career start and led 22 laps, settled in second place for the third time this season followed by Kyle Busch.

    “Yeah, I was happy for the boss [Rick Hendrick], happy for Kyle [Larson] and [crew chief] Cliff [Daniels], and everybody on the No. 5 team,” Elliott said. “They’ve been kicking ass since February. They deserve to win and rightfully so. They did a great job tonight, ran a great race, made no mistakes and the best car won. Proud of [Hendrick Motorsports]. Man, I feel like everybody’s, like I’ve been saying, been pulling in the same direction and it’s really showing. Just proud of our company and excited as the No. 9 team’s, specifically, for more opportunities ahead and try to get better, and see if we can get dialed in.”

    “We had nothing for the Hendrick cars,” Busch said. “Overall, just a really good night for us. This M&M’s Camry was fast. [Crew chief] Ben [Beshore] and the boys did a really, really good job. I appreciate for what all we had, it was enough to be able to go out there, run strong and try to break’em [Hendrick drivers] up. I didn’t want them to finish one-two-three-four again, so at least I could get in the middle of them there, but overall, a good job…We had a solid night tonight. Hopefully, good for the points and hopefully, we can keep this momentum rolling.”

    Teammates Byron and Bowman finished in the top five as all four Hendrick Motorsports’ competitors finished in the top five. Austin Dillon, Hamlin, Buescher, Reddick and Harvick completed the top 10.

    Keselowski finished 11th followed by Stenhouse, Blaney, Wallace and Suarez. Logano fell back to 17th ahead of Matt DiBenedetto and Briscoe was the highest-finishing rookie competitor in 23rd. Martin Truex Jr., a two-time Coke 600 winner, ended his night in 29th following a late tire issue.

    There were 23 lead changes for 13 different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 26 laps. 

    Denny Hamlin continues to lead the regular-season standings by 76 points over Kyle Larson and William Byron, with Chase Elliott trailing by 92 points.

    Results.

    1. Kyle Larson, 327 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 & 3 winner

    2. Chase Elliott, 22 laps led

    3. Kyle Busch, one lap led

    4. William Byron, 19 laps led

    5. Alex Bowman, five laps led

    6. Austin Dillon, one lap led

    7. Denny Hamlin, three laps led

    8. Chris Buescher

    9. Tyler Reddick, six laps led

    10. Kevin Harvick

    11. Brad Keselowski, six laps led

    12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 

    13. Ryan Blaney, two laps led

    14. Bubba Wallace

    15. Daniel Suarez, two laps down

    16. Erik Jones, two laps down

    17. Joey Logano, two laps down

    18. Matt DiBenedetto, two laps down, two laps led

    19. Corey LaJoie, two laps down

    20. Michael McDowell, two laps down

    21. Cole Custer, three laps down

    22. Aric Almirola, three laps down

    23. Chase Briscoe, three laps down

    24. Christopher Bell, three laps down, three laps led

    25. Anthony Alfredo, three laps down, three laps led

    26. Ryan Preece, three laps down

    27. Ryan Newman, four łaps down

    28. Justin Haley, five laps down

    29. Martin Truex Jr., nine laps down

    30. Cody Ware, 11 laps down

    31. B.J. McLeod, 11 laps down

    32. Quin Houff, 11 laps down

    33. James Davison, 12 laps down

    34. Garrett Smithley, 13 laps down

    35. Josh Bilicki, 18 laps down

    36. David Starr, 31 laps down

    37. Ross Chastain, 41 laps down

    38. Kurt Busch – OUT, Engine

    Next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ return to the West Coast and at Sonoma Raceway following a one-year absence. The race will occur on Sunday, June 6, at 4 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Elliott to make 200th Cup start at Charlotte

    Elliott to make 200th Cup start at Charlotte

    Competing in his sixth full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Chase Elliott is within reach of a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the reigning series champion and driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE will achieve career start No. 200 in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Dawsonville, Georgia, Elliott made his inaugural presence in the Cup Series in 2015. By then, he was the reigning Xfinity Series champion driving for JR Motorsports and was named the successor of Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 24 Chevrolet for the 2016 Cup season, replacing four-time champion Jeff Gordon with Gordon set to retire from full-time racing following the 2015 season.

    Elliott made his Cup debut at Martinsville Speedway in March 2015, driving the No. 25 Chevrolet SS for Hendrick Motorsports. During the event, however, he was involved in an early on-track incident that damaged his car and broke the power steering. Following repairs in the garage, Elliott returned and finished 38th in his series debut. He went on to compete in four additional Cup races, which included Richmond Raceway in April, Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July at Darlington Raceway in September. His best results during his five-race Cup span were 16th at Richmond and a pair of 18th-place results at Charlotte and Indy. Elliott went on to finish in the runner-up position in the 2015 Xfinity Series standings while Gordon and the No. 24 team won at Martinsville in November and competed for the 2015 Cup title at Homestead-Miami Speedway before finishing in third place in the final standings.

    Assuming the No. 24 Chevrolet in 2016, Elliott kicked off his rookie Cup season on a high note by winning the pole position for the Daytona 500, thus becoming the youngest pole winner of the 500 at age 20, two months and 17 days, while recording the 10th 500 pole award for Hendrick Motorsports. During the main event, however, Elliott was involved in an early incident and finished 37th. He rebounded with his first top-10 career result in the Cup Series after finishing eighth at Atlanta Motor Speedway. 

    By September in his rookie season, Elliott claimed an additional pole at Talladega Superspeedway in April, two runner-up results in both Michigan International Speedway events, seven top-five results and 13 top-10 results, which were enough for him to make the 2016 Cup Playoffs. Finishing third, 13th and third in the Round of 16, Elliott advanced into the Round of 12. His title hopes, however, came to an end following the Round of 12 and following results of 33rd, 31st and 12th. Nonetheless, he capped off the season in 10th place in the final standings and with the Rookie-of-the-Year title. Overall, Elliott earned two poles, 10 top-five results, 17 top-10 results and an average result of 14.6 in his first full-time Cup season.

    Elliott commenced his sophomore Cup season, 2017, with his second consecutive Daytona 500 pole award. He went on to win the non-point Can-Am Duel at Daytona four days later. During the 500, Elliott led a total of 39 laps and was leading a pack of cars in the final laps until his No. 24 NAPA Chevrolet SS started sputtering on low fuel under the final three laps. Instead of a possible trip to Victory Lane for his first 500 triumph, he ended up in 14th place.

    By the time the 2017 regular-season stretch concluded in September, Elliott and the No. 24 team earned six top-five results and 14 top-10 results, which were enough for him to make the Playoffs. In the Round of 16, Elliott finished second, 11th and second as he advanced into the Round of 12. With results of second, 16th and fourth during the second round, he made his way into the Round of 8.

    At Martinsville in October, Elliott made his way into the lead in the closing laps and was on his way to win his first Cup race and claim a spot to the Championship Round at Homestead due in three races when a bump from Denny Hamlin sent Elliott into the Turn 3 outside wall, where he wrecked and fell all the way back in 27th place when the checkered flag flew. The incident was one that led to both competitors confronting one another on pit road following the race and mixed reaction from the crowd. With his titles hopes in jeopardy, Elliott finished eighth during the following race at Texas Motor Speedway. During the next race at Phoenix, he took over the lead late and was on his way to redeem himself until he was overtaken in the closing laps by Matt Kenseth. With Kenseth winning, Elliott finished in second place for the fifth time in 2017 (seventh since 2016) and was not able to earn a spot in the Championship Round. The driver went on to settle in fifth place in the final standings and with 12 top-five results, 21 top-10 results and an average result of 12.0.

    For the 2018 Cup season, Hendrick Motorsports switched Elliott’s number to 9, his father Bill’s iconic number, while newcomer William Byron was given the No. 24.

    Through the first 21 races of the season, Elliott earned a runner-up result at Richmond in April, five top-five results, 10 top-10 results and was in 12th place in the regular-season standings. In the following race at Watkins Glen International in August, Elliott led a race-high 52 of 90 laps and held off a late challenge from Martin Truex Jr. to claim his first elusive Cup career victory in his 99th series start and return the Elliott name back in Victory Lane in NASCAR’s premier series. As an added bonus, Elliott recorded the 250th Cup career victory for Hendrick Motorsports. He went on to earn three consecutive top-10 results before the Playoffs commenced in September. By then, he surpassed 100 Cup career starts.

    Despite crashing out in the Playoff opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he rebounded by finishing fourth at Richmond and sixth in the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course event to transfer from the Round of 16 to the Round of 12. He kicked off the second round in the Playoffs on a high note by claiming his second Cup career victory at Dover. As a result, he secured his spot for the Round of 8 in the Playoffs. Two races later, he claimed his third career win at Kansas Speedway. Following results of seventh, sixth and 23rd in the Round of 8, though, Elliott was eliminated from title contention. He went on to conclude the season in sixth place in the final standings and with 11 top-five results and 21 top-10 results.

    The 2019 Cup season started off on a low note for Elliott, who finished 17th after being involved in a late multi-car wreck. Through the first nine events of the season, he achieved a pole, a runner-up result at Martinsville in March and two top-10 results. During the following event at Talladega in April, Elliott led a race-high 45 laps and held off teammate Alex Bowman and the field on the final lap and in the midst of multiple wrecks behind to claim his first Cup victory of the season and the fifth of his career. He went on to win at Watkins Glen in August before the Playoffs commenced. 

    In October, Elliott claimed his third victory of the season at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course as he transferred from the Round of 16 to the Round of 12. He rallied from a 38th-place result at Dover the following week to finish eighth and second during the next two races (Talladega and Kansas), which were enough for him to claim the eighth and final transfer spot to the Round of 8. Elliott’s title hopes, however, came to an end following three consecutive results outside of the top 30 during the Round of 8. When the final checkered flag of the season flew, Elliott concluded the season with a total of three victories, four poles, 11 top-five results, 15 top-10 results and a 10th-place result in the final standings.

    Through the first seven races of the 2020 season, Elliott recorded three top-five results and was ranked in fourth place in the regular-season standings. He rebounded the following race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May by claiming his first victory of the season. He went on to win the All-Star Race at Bristol in July and the inaugural Cup event at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course layout in August.

    Despite finishing 20th in the Playoff opener at Darlington Raceway following a late incident, Elliott finished in the top 10 in the following two races and claim his spot in the Round of 12. He earned a spot in the Round of 8 following another victory at the Charlotte Roval. After winning at Martinsville in November, Elliott and his No. 9 team earned a spot in the Championship Round at Phoenix. Despite starting at the rear of the field in the championship finale, Elliott led a race-high 153 of 312 laps and fend off Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin to win the race and capture his first NASCAR Cup Series title in his fifth season in Cup competition, thus becoming the 34th competitor to win a Cup title and recording the 13th title for Hendrick Motorsports. In addition to his first Cup championship, Elliott capped off the season with a career-high five victories, 15 top-five results, 22 top-10 results, over 1,200 laps led and an 11.7 average-finishing result.

    Elliott is coming off his first victory of the 2021 season in the inaugural Circuit of the Americas event in Austin, Texas. Through the first 14 events of this season, he has also notched six top-five results and eight top-10 results. He is currently ranked in fifth place in the regular-season standings.

    Through 199 previous Cup starts, Elliott has achieved one championship, 12 career victories, nine poles, 65 top-five results, 104 top-10 results and an average result of 13.3.

    Elliott is slated to make his 200th Cup career start at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 30, with the event scheduled to occur at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Elliott wins rain-shortened, inaugural Cup event at COTA

    Elliott wins rain-shortened, inaugural Cup event at COTA

    The inaugural EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, featured wet, slick conditions, wild racing and major milestone victories for Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet after Chase Elliott emerged victorious for the first time this season on Sunday, May 23. The reigning Cup Series champion took the lead on Lap 50 and retained the top spot by Lap 54 while on low fuel when NASCAR made the race official due to late, inclement weather that ended the race 14 laps from its scheduled distance.

    Qualifying occurred on Sunday, May 23, prior to the main event. Tyler Reddick started on pole position with a pole-winning qualifying lap at 92.363 mph and was joined on the front row with Kyle Larson. Aric Almirola, rookie Chase Briscoe, Chris Buescher, Erik Jones, Cody Ware, James Davison, rookie Anthony Alfredo, Daniel Suarez and Denny Hamlin started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments.

    Prior to the race, the competitors made a pit stop to change for slick tires with reports of precipitation nearing the circuit. During the pit stops, teammates Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski was forced to start at the rear of the field due to having tape pulled from their cars, which was not permitted at the time.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Cindric made a move on Reddick in the first turn to take the lead while the field fanned out and jostled for positions early in the race through the first two turns and the esses. For one full lap, the competitors made their way through the 20-turn circuit in a calm, consistent pace as Cindric led the first lap.

    Under the first lap, names like Byron, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and Kevin Harvick pitted early for wet tires. 

    At the front, Cindric was leading followed by A.J. Allmendinger, Kyle Busch, teammate Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson. Reddick, meanwhile, was back in sixth place followed by Christopher Bell, Michael McDowell, Bubba Wallace and Kurt Busch.

    By the second lap, Allmendinger pitted for fresh tires along with Reddick. A lap later, names like Kyle Busch, Larson, Bell, Matt DiBenedetto and James Davison made their pit stops for tires.

    Through the first five laps of the event, Cindric, who continued to run on slick tires, was in a commanding lead over Truex. Shortly after, he made a pit stop as Truex, who started the race on rain tires, took over the lead followed by Michael McDowell, Bubba Wallace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and teammate Ryan Preece. Cindric, following his pit stop, fell back to ninth place behind Logano.

    Three laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Daniel Suarez, who went off course in Turn 13 but managed to continue, stalled on the course due to a mechanical issue and needed a wrecker to have his car pushed to the garage.

    Under caution, some like leader Truex pitted while the rest led by McDowell remained on the track.

    The race restarted on Lap 9 with McDowell and Wallace on the front row. At the start and with the field fanning out, McDowell retained the lead. From Turn 3 through Turn 10, the field continued to navigate through the rain as McDowell led Logano and Cindric. Behind, Denny Hamlin spun in Turn 9, but he continued. 

    By Lap 10, McDowell was still leading followed by Logano, Cindric, William Byron and Kurt Busch. Stenhouse was back in sixth followed by Chase Briscoe, DiBenedetto, Wallace and Chris Buescher. In Turn 12, Logano made his move beneath McDowell and as McDowell’s car wobbled, the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang driven by Logano muscled to the lead.

    With the laps in the first stage dwindling, Garrett Smithley went off course and drove his car through the gravel before returning on the track and continuing. Not long after, Corey LaJoie spun off course entering Turn 12. Then, DiBenedetto ran into the right-rear quarter panel of Byron’s No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, damaging both competitors as Byron pitted.

    Back at the front, Logano continued to lead. Through the turns and the slick conditions, Logano was able to come back around and claim the first stage on Lap 15, which marked his third stage victory of the season. McDowell crossed the start/finish line in second place followed by Kurt Busch, Larson and Cindric. Buescher and Briscoe were scored in sixth and seventh. Ross Chastain, who slid off course in Turn 11, crossed the line in eighth followed by Kyle Busch and DiBenedetto, who continued despite the damage on his car. 

    Under the stage break, some like Cindric pitted while the rest led by Logano remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 18 with Logano and McDowell retaining the front row. At the start, Logano retained the lead followed by Kurt Busch as the field fanned out again. In Turn 4, Ryan Newman spun after getting loose underneath Ross Chastain, but he prevented the car from sustaining any damage.

    Through the twists and turns from Turn 3 through 10 and the long straightaway in Turns 11 and 12, Logano continued to lead followed by the Busch brothers, McDowell and Chastain. 

    Behind, Ryan Blaney, who got hit by Christopher Bell, spun and went off course as a result of a cut right-rear tire. In the ensuing chaos, the caution flew when Kevin Harvick, who lifted off the throttle through the long straightaway, got hit from behind by Wallace’s car, which sent Harvick into the guardrails and with heavy damage. Stenhouse also received damage following the contact. The damage knocked Bell and Wallace out of contention along with Harvick, who car was leaking fluid, while Blaney and Stenhouse continued. 

    Under caution, some like Larson, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Truex, Newman and Byron pitted while the rest led by Logano remained on the track.

    When the race resumed on Lap 24, Chastain moved a bold three-wide move on Logano and Kyle Busch entering Turn 1 to take the lead followed by Ryan Preece. Through Turns 9 and 10, Preece overtook Chastain for the lead and he retained the top spot entering Turn 11. Kyle Busch was in third followed by Cindric, Chase Elliott and Logano.

    Then, the caution returned when Truex ran into the rear of McDowell, which sent Truex’s hood up and blocked his view. With Truex off the pace, Cole Custer rammed into the rear of Truex’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry at full speed, which nearly sent Truex’s car upside down before coming back to rest on all four wheels while Custer made contact with the SAFER Barriers before coming to a stop on fire. Truex and Custer were able to exit their respective machines following the wreck. Following the incident, the race was red-flagged for nearly 21 minutes. At the time of the incident, Chastain was leading Preece, Kyle Busch, Cindric and Elliott.

    When the red flag was lifted following a lengthy cleanup, the field made their way to pit road under caution and the teams were allowed to service their respective cars with the driver’s vision. Later on, Chastain led a handful of competitors down pit road while the rest led by Preece remained on the track. Prior to the start, NASCAR announced that all restarts for the remainder of the event will be single-filed.

    Following a delay, the race restarted under green on Lap 28. At the start, Kyle Busch took the lead followed by Cindric while Preece fell back to third. Behind, Austin Dillon, who was in sixth, was assessed a drive-through penalty for cutting through the esses. 

    Back at the front, Cindric returned to the lead by the time the field returned in Turn 11 before Kyle Busch took it back in Turn 12. When the field returned to the straightaway heading towards the start/finish line, Kyle Busch retained the lead followed by Cindric, Preece, Elliott and Reddick. 

    With the laps in the second stage dwindling, the battle for the lead continued to heat up between Kyle Busch and Cindric, though Busch refused to relinquish the top spot. With Busch prevailing, Chase Elliott started to challenge Cindric for the runner-up spot. By then, names like Newman, Erik Jones and Quin Houff encountered on-track issues of their own.

    With a clear track in front of him, Kyle Busch, winner of Saturday’s inaugural Xfinity Series event at the Circuit of the Americas, was able to come back around and win the second stage on Lap 32, which marked his second stage victory of the season. Elliott was scored in second place followed by Reddick, Cindric, Corey LaJoie, Larson, Preece, A.J. Allmendinger, Briscoe and Alex Bowman.

    Under the stage break, some led by LaJoie pitted while the rest led by Kyle Busch remained on the track.

    With 33 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Kyle Busch retained the lead followed by Cindric, Reddick, Briscoe and Elliott. With the field navigating its way through the esses and through Turns 9, 10 and 11, Busch remained in the lead while the field fanned out. Behind, Brad Keselowski spun in Turn 11 following contact with Newman.

    Under the final 30 laps of the event, Kyle Busch was leading by less than six seconds over Larson. Elliott was in third place followed by Logano, Reddick and Allmendinger. Cindric and Chastain battled for seventh followed by McDowell and Kurt Busch. Behind, Stenhouse spun following contact from Quin Houff. In addition, Davison and LaJoie went off track separately. Soon after, Reddick spun in Turn 20.

    With 27 laps remaining, the leader Kyle Busch pitted along with Elliott. Busch’s move handed the lead to Larson followed by Logano and Chastain. Two laps later, Chastain overtook Logano for the runner-up spot. Not long after, Kurt Busch, Chastain’s teammate, moved into third place. At the front, Larson continued to lead by three-and-a-half seconds.

    Behind, more pit stops ensued as Allmendinger pitted along with Reddick, DiBenedetto, McDowell and others, By then, rain started to make its way back on the circuit.

    With 24 laps remaining, Chastain moved into the lead as Larson pitted under green. Kurt Busch joined Larson on pit road for service along with Logano, Briscoe and Ty Dillon. The following lap, Preece and Buescher pitted. Another lap later, Chastain, who last pitted on Lap 27, pitted along with Byron.

    Back on the track, Alex Bowman, winner of last weekend’s event at Dover, took the lead as Kyle Busch moved back into second place. Elliott was in third place followed by Hamlin and Larson.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event and with light precipitation falling on the circuit, Bowman continued to lead while Elliott remained in front of Kyle Busch, Larson and Hamlin for the second-place spot. Logano was in sixth followed by rookie Anthony Alfredo, Chastain, Austin Dillon and Kurt Busch. Allmendinger was in 12th in front of Briscoe, Reddick and Cindric were in 16th and 17th and Byron was in 19th.

    Two laps later, Elliott took the lead entering Turn 20 while Bowman pitted for fresh tires along with Hamlin. Larson, who trailed teammate Elliott by six seconds, moved into second place followed by Kyle Busch, Logano and Chastain. Shortly after, radio chatters about the fuel window between Elliott, Larson and Busch started to occur, with Elliott and Busch reportedly not having enough for the finish while Larson had enough to complete the race to its distance.

    With 16 laps remaining, Kyle Busch brought his No. 18 M&M’s Mix Toyota Camry into pit road for fresh tires and enough fuel for the scheduled distance.

    Back to the front, the No. 9 LLumar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE piloted by Elliott continued to lead by more than 12 seconds over the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE piloted by Larson. Behind, Kurt Busch overshot Turn 12, nearly clipping his brother Kyle and Austin Dillon, where he drove his car through the gravel and grass, spun the car to the right direction and continued without getting stuck in the wet mud.

    With 15 laps remaining, the caution flew due to visibility and the current track conditions with the circuit wet and light precipitation making its way on the track. Not long after, the field was brought down to pit road and the race was red-flagged.

    As rain continued to fall, NASCAR made the race official 14 laps shy of its scheduled distance and Elliott, the leader at the time, was declared the winner. The victory in the inaugural Circuit of the Americas event marked Elliott’s 12th NASCAR Cup Series career win and his six road course career victory as he became the 11th different driver to record a victory this season. In addition, Elliott recorded the 268th Cup win for Hendrick Motorsports, moving the team to a tie with Petty Enterprises for the most all-time Cup victories, and the 800th Cup victory for Chevrolet.

    “Man, I couldn’t be more excited,” Elliott said on FS1. “I’ve never won a rain race before, so that’s kinda cool. Just super proud of our team for just continuing to fight. We kinda starting the day, we weren’t very good and just kept pushing myself, kept making some good changes throughout the day and got to where I thought we were on pace with those guys at the end. So, really proud of that. It’s not the greatest thing ever to have a rain race win if it’s your first one, but I think it’s okay if it’s down the road, so I’m pretty excited about that. Looking forward to next week and trying to keep it rolling.”

    Larson settled in the runner-up spot for the fourth time this season while Logano finished in third place. Chastain notched his first top-five result in the Cup Series by finishing fourth while Allmendinger concluded his run with a strong fifth-place result, thus recording the first top-five result in the Cup Series for Kaulig Racing.

    Rookie Chase Briscoe recorded his first top-10 career result by finishing sixth while McDowell, Bowman, Reddick and Kyle Busch finished in the top 10.

    Byron settled in 11th, Hamlin finished 14th, teammates Blaney and Keselowski finished 17th and 19th, Ty Dillon finished 21st, Cindric came home in 25th and Kurt Busch fell all the way back in 27th.

    There were 11 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 12 laps. 

    Hamlin continues to lead the regular-season standings by 98 points over Byron, 110 over Larson, 111 over Logano and 116 over Elliott.

    Results.

    1. Chase Elliott, five laps led

    2. Kyle Larson, four laps led

    3. Joey Logano, 14 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    4. Ross Chastain, four laps led

    5. A.J. Allmendinger

    6. Chase Briscoe

    7. Michael McDowell, three laps led

    8. Alex Bowman, three laps led

    9. Tyler Reddick

    10. Kyle Busch, 12 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    11. William Byron

    12. Austin Dillon

    13. Chris Buescher

    14. Denny Hamlin

    15. Ryan Preece, two laps led

    16. Erik Jones

    17. Ryan Blaney

    18. Anthony Alfredo

    19. Brad Keselowski

    20. Corey LaJoie

    21. Ty Dillon

    22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    23. Matt DiBenedetto

    24. Ryan Newman

    25. Austin Cindric, four laps led

    26. Aric Almirola

    27. Kurt Busch

    28. Garrett Smithley

    29. James Davison

    30. Josh Bilicki

    31. Kyle Tilley

    32. Cody Ware, one lap down

    33. Daniel Suarez, eight laps down

    34. Quin Houff – OUT, Dvp

    35. Martin Truex Jr. – OUT, Accident, three laps led

    36. Cole Custer, – OUT, Accident

    37. Kevin Harvick – OUT, Accident 

    38. Christopher Bell – OUT, Accident

    39. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Accident

    40. Justin Haley – OUT, Steering

    Next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, during Memorial Day weekend. The event is slated to occur on Sunday, May 30, at 6 p.m. ET on FOX.