Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: JTG Daugherty Racing

  • Ricky Stenhouse Jr. survives overtime shootout for wild Cup victory at Talladega

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr. survives overtime shootout for wild Cup victory at Talladega

    For the first time in 65 races, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. triumphantly drove his way to Victory Lane in the NASCAR Cup Series division after he edged Brad Keselowski in a photo finish during an overtime shootout to win the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, October 6.

    The 2023 Daytona 500 champion from Olive Branch, Mississippi, led five times for 19 of 195 over-scheduled laps in an event where he qualified 32nd and used the draft to muscle his way to second place after the first stage period. After avoiding carnage after the second stage period that knocked out the reigning series champion Ryan Blaney, Stenhouse spent the majority of the final stage period mixing up the competition with his fellow competitors and Playoff contenders amid a series of three and four-wide action as the competitors raced in tight formation and aggressively at the front.

    After barely dodging a track-record 28-car wreck on the backstretch with five laps remaining, where he got hit in the driver’s side by a spinning Austin Cindric but escaped with the lead, Stenhouse then outdueled and edged Brad Keselowski by 0.006 seconds amid an overtime shootout to claim his first elusive Cup Series victory of this year and become the third non-Playoff competitor to win throughout the 2024 Playoffs.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, October 5, Michael McDowell won his sixth Cup pole position this season and his career after he posted a pole-winning lap at 183.063 mph in 52.310 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender Austin Cindric, who clocked in his best qualifying lap at 182.424 mph in 52.493 seconds.

    Before the event, Playoff contender Daniel Suarez dropped to the rear of the field and was assessed a drive-through penalty after taking the green flag due to an unapproved adjustment made to the roof area of Suarez’s No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet entry during the event’s pre-race inspection process. While no additional penalties were warranted, Suarez’s car chief was ejected from Sunday’s event.

    Playoff contender Christopher Bell also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota entry, but he was assessed no drive-through penalty.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Michael McDowell and Austin Cindric dueled for the lead in front of two stacks of competitors running in two drafted lanes. Through the first two turns, McDowell muscled ahead from the inside lane with drafting help from teammate Todd Gilliland, but Cindric fought back through the backstretch and on the outside lane with drafting help from Kyle Busch. As Suarez served his drive-through penalty while the field fanned out entering the frontstretch, McDowell led the first lap over Cindric and Gilliland.

    Over the next four laps, the field fanned out to as wide as four lanes through every straightaway and corner before settling to three stacked lanes. At the front, McDowell, who transitioned from the inside to the outside lane, maintained the lead over Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher while Cindric and Ryan Preece followed suit ahead of Kyle Busch, Noah Gragson, Playoff contender Joey Logano, Todd Gilliland and Martin Truex Jr. By then, the top-39 competitors were separated by nearly two seconds while Suarez trailed the lead pack by 35 seconds. Meanwhile, Playoff contender Denny Hamlin, who started in the top 10 before he was shuffled out of the draft earlier, was mired in 37th place.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, the top-six spots were occupied by Ford competitors as McDowell retained the lead ahead of Keselowski, Gilliland, Playoff contender Ryan Blaney, Cindric and Buescher while Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch, Preece and Harrison Burton were racing in the top 10. Behind, Noah Gragson, Logano, Playoff contender Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr. and Playoff contender Kyle Larson were scored in the top 15 as Shane van Gisbergen, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Playoff contender Tyler Reddick, Corey LaJoie and Playoff contender Chase Briscoe were mired in the top 20. Meanwhile, Playoff contenders and Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman and William Byron were back in the top-25 mark while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Bell and Hamlin were scored in 33rd and 37th, respectively as Suarez, who was still mired in 40th place, trailed by 49 seconds.

    A lap later, the event’s first caution flew when Suarez, who was lapped by the leaders through the first two turns but opted to blend in with the lead and the draft, made contact with BJ McLeod while trying to move up in front of McLeod through the backstretch. The contact sent both into the outside wall before Suarez spun his No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 below the track and came to a rest with flat-spotted tires towards the Turns 3 and 4 apron as Byron barely dodged Suarez.

    During the first caution period, where Suarez limped his damaged car to pit road, a majority of the lead lap field led by McDowell pitted while the rest led by McLeod and including Bell and Hamlin remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Keselowski exited pit road first ahead of McDowell and Cindric while Austin Dillon, Gragson, Buescher, Blaney, Truex, Stenhouse and Preece were scored in the top 10. The remaining competitors who did not pit during the first cycle led by McLeod pitted before the restart, which handed the lead back to Keselowski.

    As the event restarted under green on Lap 16, Keselowski and McDowell dueled for the lead through the first two turns and in front of two stacked lanes. The field started to fan out through the backstretch as McDowell had Cindric drafting him on the outside lane while Keselowski had Austin Dillon drafting him on the inside lane. Through the frontstretch, McDowell reassumed the lead and he quickly transitioned his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang Dark Horse in front of Keselowski’s No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse to gain a draft from him while Cindric was trying to regain momentum with drafting help from Buescher. This forced McDowell to go on defense through two lanes while Kyle Busch was charging from a third drafting lane toward the outside lane.

    At the Lap 20 mark, the top 39 competitors were running within one second of one another and fanned out to three stacked lanes as McDowell held a slight advantage over Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Preece and Austin Dillon while Cindric, Gilliland, Gragson, Buescher and Justin Haley were racing in the top 10.

    Two laps later, McDowell nearly lost the lead to Preece through the frontstretch, but teammate Gilliland shoved McDowell back out front of the pack from the middle lane, where both Front Row Motorsports competitors went on defense to fend off Kyle Busch on the outside lane and Preece on the inside lane. As McDowell proceeded to lead the Lap 25 mark ahead of Gilliland and Kyle Busch, the trio of Cindric, Bowman and Blaney were the only Playoff contenders scored in the top 10 on the track.

    By Lap 30, the top 39 competitors were separated by one-and-a-half seconds as McDowell continued to lead while fending off teammate Gilliland, Cindric, Kyle Busch, Justin Haley and a bevy of competitors running in a stack of three drafted lanes. With Playoff contenders Cindric, Bowman and Blaney racing in the top 10, Hamlin, Logano, Larson and Reddick were mired inside the top-20 mark while Briscoe followed suit in 21st place. Meanwhile, Elliott and Bell were mired back in 25th and 28th, respectively, while Byron dropped to 33rd place.

    Nearing the Lap 40 mark, the field started to aggressively fan out to four tight lanes through every corner and straightaway as McDowell was being challenged by Haley for the lead. Haley assumed the top spot on Lap 38 while Cindric and Ross Chastain challenged him for the top spot amid a tight stack of three lanes. By then, McDowell had Haley racing in front of him amid the draft while Larson drafted Chastain to the lead at the Lap 40 mark towards the outside wall.

    Three laps later, a tight four-wide formation for the lead occurred as Chastain, Larson, Alex Bowman and Daniel Hemric all challenged one another for the lead in front of a bevy of competitors running in close-quarters racing amid the draft. Chastain would then muscle his No. 1 Busch Light Camo Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 ahead to lead at the Lap 45 mark while the rest of the field behind continued to duel against one another through four tight lanes. By then, 11 of 12 Playoff contenders were racing within the top-25 mark while five, including Larson, Bowman, Cindric, Bell and Hamlin were racing within the top-10 mark.

    At the Lap 50 mark, Chastain retained a narrow lead over a hard-charging Hemric, who had Hamlin drafting him, as a majority of the front-runners remained in a tight four-wide formation for the lead. Chastain along with Ty Gibbs and Larson would then break away from the pack by four-tenths of a second during the following lap before the field caught back up through the backstretch. Hemric would then get shuffled out of the draft through Turns 3 and 4 as Larson assumed the lead from teammate Bowman and Chastain during the next lap period.

    With the field fanned out to three tight-packed lanes, Chastain led the Lap 53 mark before Ty Gibbs aggressively made his move to the lead. With Chastain rocketing back ahead, Hamlin would then get briefly shuffled out of the lead draft as Larson, Bowman, Haley, Ty Gibbs, Cindric and others followed suit behind Chastain. By Lap 55, the aggressiveness of the front-runners intensified amid three lanes as Chastain remained on defense to fend off Larson, Cindric and Bowman at the front.

    When the first stage period concluded on Lap 60, Chris Buescher muscled his No. 17 Nexletol Ford Mustang Dark Horse to the front and fended off Stenhouse to claim his third Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Stenhouse followed suit in second as Byron, Larson, Bell, Reddick, Chastain, Briscoe, Cindric and Blaney were scored in the top 10 while the top 25 competitors were separated by less than two seconds. With seven of 12 Playoff contenders accumulating a first round of stage points, the remaining Playoff contenders that include Bowman, Logano, Elliott, Hamlin and Suarez ended up 11th, 17th, 19th, 23rd and 40th, respectively, with the latter pinned two laps behind.

    Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Buescher returned to pit road for service while select names including Shane van Gisbergen, Keselowski, rookie Zane Smith, Austin Dillon and Justin Haley remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Byron exited pit road first, followed by Buescher, Bell, Reddick, Stenhouse, Briscoe, Blaney, Cindric, Chastain and Ty Gibbs. Amid the pit stops, Gilliland was hit by Bubba Wallace and sent sliding towards his pit box while nearly dodging Byron in the process while Larson endured a slow pit stop after he had to reverse to exit his entry out of his pit box.

    During the following lap, van Gisbergen, Keselowski, Zane Smith and Austin Dillon would pit their respective entries while Haley remained on the track to inherit the lead. A bevy of names led by Haley and Hemric would then pit to top off on fuel a lap prior to the second stage’s start.

    The second stage period started on Lap 66 as Buescher and Reddick occupied the front row. At the start, Buescher and Reddick dueled for the lead in front of two stacked lanes running tightly as Chase Elliott was shoved out of the draft. With rookie Josh Berry trying to start a third drafting lane towards the outside wall, Reddick led the following lap by a hair over Buescher as both continued to duel for the top spot in front of Stenhouse, Bell, Briscoe and Blaney.

    Just past the Lap 70 mark and with the field returning to three-wide formation Buescher was leading both the race and a lane running towards the outside wall while McDowell led the middle lane. Meanwhile, Corey LaJoie led the inside lane as Buescher had drafting help from Bell to remain ahead of McDowell for the following lap.

    At the Lap 75 mark, LaJoie made his presence at the front known as he led ahead of John Hunter Nemechek, Buescher, Cody Ware and Bell while McDowell, Hamlin, Blaney, Ty Gibbs and Erik Jones were scored in the top 10 ahead of Cindric, Reddick, Logano, Stenhouse, Briscoe, Harrison Burton, Preece, Kyle Busch, AJ Allmendinger and rookie Carson Hocevar. With all four Hendrick Motorsports competitors mired back within the top-30 mark, McDowell, who reassumed the lead a lap earlier, dueled with Buescher for the lead as Burton, LaJoie, Briscoe and Bell followed suit while the top 26 competitors were separated under a second of one another.

    Two laps later, seven Ford competitors, including all four Stewart-Haas Racing competitors and McDowell, pitted under green for fuel. Amid the pit stops, Blaney was leading ahead of van Gisbergen, Cindric, Logano and Chastain while Keselowski and Gilliland, both of whom missed their marks while trying to pit with the Ford competitors and were forced to cycle around the superspeedway venue an extra lap, pitted during the following lap. By Lap 86, however, nine Ford competitors led by Buescher, all of whom pitted, trailed the lead by nearly 36 seconds as Blaney retained the lead.

    Within the Lap 90 mark, van Gisbergen, who assumed the lead two laps earlier, was leading as he was trying to fend off Blaney and Chastain through two stacked lanes while the top 27 competitors were separated within a second of one another.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 94, the lead pack aggressively lapped Keselowski, Cody Ware and Gilliland through the backstretch as van Gisbergen assumed the lead from Blaney, who was getting stalled by his fellow Ford competitors and caused the field to scatter and fan out. Just then, Truex spun his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE as he locked up the brakes while he was trying to enter pit road along with his Toyota teammates from Joe Gibbs Racing, 23XI Racing and Legacy Motor Club. The race, however, remained under green flag conditions as the Toyota competitors pitted primarily for fuel. Soon after, Truex was lapped as van Gisbergen retained the lead ahead of Chastain, Blaney, Elliott, Byron and Cindric.

    By Lap 100, van Gisbergen led the top-13 competitors to pit road for service under green as Hemric nearly ran into the rear of Kyle Busch while trying to reduce the speed of his car while Austin Dillon nearly missed his pit stall while pitting A lap earlier, more names including Chevrolet competitors Chastain, Byron, Bowman, Larson, Stenhouse and Suarez had pitted under green as Cindric cycled into the lead ahead of Elliott, van Gisbergen and Blaney. With the rest of the field, all of whom had pitted, slowly closing back in on the leaders amid the draft, the competitors within the field also started to scatter and fan out as Cindric retained the lead.

    Within the Lap 105 mark, the top 30 competitors were separated by more than a second as the field started to fan out to two drafted lanes. In the process, Cindric retained the lead, where he blocked teammate Blaney exiting the backstretch as Blaney had Kyle Busch drafting him while Elliott led the inside lane ahead of van Gisbergen, Byron, Bubba Wallace and Hemric. The aggressiveness of the draft amongst the front-runners intensified shortly after as Cindric and Elliott dueled for the lead in front of two stacked lanes through every corner and straightaway.

    On Lap 110, Cindric and Elliott continued to duel tightly against one another for the lead in front of two stacked lanes as the top-29 competitors were separated by two seconds. By then, five of 12 Playoff contenders were scored in the top 10, with 10 contenders racing within the top-20 mark.

    Seven laps later, McDowell, who was running towards the rear of the lead pack, pitted under green for fuel. By then, AJ Allmendinger was lapped while both Cindric and Elliott fiercely dueled for the lead in front of the pack.

    When the second stage period concluded on Lap 120, Playoff contender Austin Cindric fended off the pack to score his fourth Cup stage victory of the 2024 season while teammate Blaney was bumped by Bowman’s No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through the frontstretch. The contact resulted in Blaney getting loose and veering his No. 12 Pennzoil/Menards Ford Mustang Dark Horse back across the path of Chastain, where both collided against one another and towards the outside wall while teammate Logano, Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Reddick and LaJoie also sustained damage to their respective entries. Despite ending up eighth and 10th, respectively, Blaney and Chastain were knocked out of further contention, with the former concluding his event with a total of four stage points.

    Amid the carnage, Elliott settled in second place ahead of Kyle Busch, van Gisbergen and Byron while Bowman, Wallace and Larson occupied the remaining top 10 spots on the track. By then, the remaining Playoff contenders including Reddick, Hamlin, Briscoe, Logano, Bell and Suarez did not rack up any points during the second stage’s conclusion while Allmendinger claimed the free pass spot by being the first competitor scored a lap down ahead of Suarez and Anthony Alfredo.

    Under the stage break, a majority of the lead lap field led by Cindric returned to pit road, primarily for fuel, while others led by Reddick remained on the track. Following the pit stops and amid mixed strategies, Kyle Busch exited pit road first ahead of Cindric, Wallace, Elliott and Byron while Larson, van Gisbergen, Ty Gibbs, Bowman and Hemric followed suit in the top 10, with Bowman being penalized for removing equipment out of his pit box. Not long after, the remaining competitors who remained on the track led by Reddick pitted, which handed the lead to Busch.

    With 61 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Kyle Busch and Wallace occupied the front row. At the start, Busch received a strong shove from Cindric from the outside lane, where he maintained a steady lead through the first two turns and managed to break ahead through the backstretch. Wallace, however, fought back from the inside lane through Turns 3 and 4, but Busch would lead the following lap by a hair over Wallace. By then, the field fanned out to three drafted lanes as Buescher tried to ignite a charge toward the outside lane. Meanwhile, Wallace had drafting help from Byron on the inside lane while Busch, who led the next lap, had Cindric drafting him on the outside lane.

    Over the next four laps, Wallace managed to lead ahead of Busch as the front-runners returned to a three-wide formation. With 55 laps remaining, however, Buescher and Briscoe briefly rocketed away from the field through Turns 3 and 4 before the field caught back up through the frontstretch. As the field settled in by the following lap, a three-wide formation for the lead ensued as Allmendinger led both the race and the drafting lane toward the outside lane. With Allmendinger going on defense, he had Buescher, Briscoe and Cody Ware all closing in on him with Wallace, Kyle Busch, Gilliland, Byron, Logano and Cindric following suit.

    With 50 laps remaining, Logano, who suffered front nose damage to the front of his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse after he got collected in the second stage’s wreck that involved teammate Blaney, emerged with the lead in front of a stack of three-wide competition from the field, with Allmendinger, Cody Ware, Kyle Busch and Briscoe scored in the top five. By then, six of the remaining 11 Playoff contenders on the track were racing within the top-10 mark while the remaining four that included Reddick, Byron, Bell and Hamlin were mired within the top-30 mark.

    Ten laps later, Allmendinger, who spent the previous 10 laps trailing Logano before he overtook him amid the draft two laps earlier, was leading ahead of Logano, Briscoe, Gilliland and Buescher while Cindric, Stenhouse, Wallace, Austin Dillon and Elliott were scored in the top 10 as the top-34 competitors were separated by less than two seconds. By then, the field was locked in a three-wide formation at the front while Allmendinger had drafting help from Briscoe from the inside lane that enabled him to remain ahead of Logano and Cindric. The field then fanned out to four drafting lanes four laps later as both Logano and Cindric muscled ahead of Allmendinger.

    Down to the final 30 laps of the event, a three-wide battle for the lead between Allmendinger, Logano and Cindric continued to ensue in front of three stacked lanes as the top-35 competitors were separated by more than a second. By then, Logano, Cindric and Briscoe were the only Playoff contenders racing in the top-10 mark while seven additional contenders were racing within the top-25 mark. Meanwhile, Suarez was still mired a lap down in 36th place.

    Nine laps later, select names including Allmendinger, Hemric, van Gisbergen and Anthony Alfredo peeled off the track to pit for fuel under green. Back on the track, Cindric led with 20 laps remaining over Austin Dillon before Buescher, Wallace and Erik Jones pitted under green, with the former getting sideways and locking up his front tires while trying to reduce his pace before entering pit road.

    With 17 laps remaining, nine competitors led by Stenhouse and including Byron, Elliott, Larson and Suarez all pitted under green before a bevy of competitors led by Gilliland pitted under green during the following lap. By then, Gilliland was penalized for speeding while entering pit road as he locked up the front tires of his No. 38 Georgia Peanuts Ford Mustang Dark Horse as more names led by McDowell pitted.

    Back on the track and with a majority of the field, including those who pitted, settling in back within the racing groove, Cindric was leading ahead of Keselowski and Logano as the top 21 competitors were separated by less than two seconds with 15 laps remaining. In the ensuing laps, Cindric had Keselowski shoving him from the inside lane while Stenhouse launched a side-by-side duel from the outside lane with drafting help from Elliott.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, the top 29 competitors were separated by more than a second as both Cindric and Stenhouse continued to duel for the lead in front of two stacked lanes as Cindric and Stenhouse also continued to have drafting help from Keselowski and Stenhouse, respectively.

    Five laps later, Cindric continued to lead ahead of Stenhouse, Keselowski and a bevy of competitors racing in two-wide formation while Austin Dillon, who was mired in 29th place, tried to ignite a third drafting lane towards the outside wall.

    Shortly after, the caution flew when Keselowski gave the leader Cindric a huge bump in the rear, which got Cindric’s No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse loose and ramming into the left driver’s side of Stenhouse’s No. 47 Kroger/Palmolive Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 before he spun in the middle of the pack and scrambled the field, with nearly every competitor racing in the lead pack spinning and crashing into one another and towards the walls through the backstretch. Among those who were involved included Playoff contenders Elliott, Briscoe, Logano, Bowman, Bell and Reddick as pole-sitter McDowell was also left with a wrecked race car.

    The incident that collected a track-record 28 competitors was enough for the event to be sent into overtime as Stenhouse, who was hit in the driver’s side, escaped with the lead followed by Keselowski, Byron, Larson and Kyle Busch. It also placed the event in a red flag period for more than eight minutes before the scattered field led by Stenhouse resumed under a cautious pace. By then, Briscoe and Elliott, both of whom had their respective cars towed back to their pit stalls and were given clearance by NASCAR to have their cars repaired, managed to continue despite dropping out of the lead lap category while teammates Logano and Cindric were ruled out of the race.

    When the race returned under green flag conditions, the start of the first overtime attempt featured Stenhouse and Keselowski dueling for the lead while Hendrick Motorsports’ Byron and Larson followed suit ahead of Bell, Kyle Busch and Erik Jones. Stenhouse and Keselowski continued to battle dead even in front of two stacked lanes exiting the backstretch before they returned to Turns 3 and 4.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Stenhouse and Keselowski remained deadlocked against one another for the lead and in front of the field. Through Turns 1 and 2, Kyle Busch was shoved out of the draft by Erik Jones, which resulted in Busch drifting towards the rear of the field as both Stenhouse and Keselowski continued to duel while being drafted by Byron and Larson, respectively.

    Then through Turns 3 and 4, Keselowski muscled ahead and had both lanes under his control. Stenhouse, however, came storming back to draw even with Keselowski with drafting help from Byron’s No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entering the frontstretch while Keselowski had no drafting help from Larson and Bell. As the field fanned out approaching the start/finish line, Stenhouse edged Keselowski by 0.006 seconds to claim the checkered flag and be awarded his first Cup Series victory of the 2024 season.

    With the victory, Stenhouse, whose margin of victory (0.006 seconds) marks the sixth-closest finish recorded in the history of the Cup Series, snapped a 65-race winless drought dating back to his previous victory in the 2023 Daytona 500 as he scored his fourth career win in the Cup Series, all occurring between Talladega Superspeedway or Daytona International Speedway. The victory was the 14th of the season for the Chevrolet nameplate and the third ever for JTG-Daugherty Racing. Stenhouse also became the second competitor to win the Playoff event at Talladega as a non-Playoff contender since the inception of the current Playoff elimination-style format in 2014.

    Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “Man, this team has put a lot of hard work in,” Stenhouse, who dedicated his victory to those affected by Hurricane Helene, said on NBC. “Obviously, we haven’t won since the [Daytona] 500 in ’23. It’s been an up-and-down season. It was a lot of hard work this season, just trying to find a little bit of speed, but we knew this track is one of ours to come get. This means a lot winning here. Man, what a day. Just proud of this group. I’m looking forward to seeing [co-owner Brad Daugherty]. This win’s really, really special.”

    Brad Keselowski, who led two laps and just fell short of winning at Talladega in April earlier this season, settled in second place for the fourth time in 2024.

    “[Larson] gave me a good push down the frontstretch, but [Byron] was able to really stick with [Stenhouse],” Keselowski said. “[I] Needed a tiny bit there, but good finish for us. We’ve been knocking on the door on these plate tracks. [I] Hate that we didn’t bust through with the win, but happy to be right there in contention.”

    Meanwhile, Playoff competitors and teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson accomplished their goals of notching strong results at Talladega by finishing third and fourth, respectively. The third-place result was enough for Byron to clinch his spot into the Playoff’s Round of 8 based on points while Larson is scored 52 points above the top-eight cutline.

    “Just proud of my team,” Byron said. “[They] Brought a good car here. Thanks to my spotter Branden [Lines]. He did a great job all day. We missed a couple wrecks early on that were sketchy, just when we were saving fuel and things like that. Really happy to advance on points [in the Playoffs]. We’ll be on attack [mode] going in the Round of 8 and next week. Next week’s my home track, so I look forward to that place. Hopefully, get a win there.”

    “[This is my] Second top five of my career in general on speedways, so I’ll take that,” Larson added. “It’s really cool. Obviously, there’s a lot of luck that plays into just finishing these races. I feel like we do a great job and today just showed that. It’s cool to finally go into the [Charlotte] Roval with a 52-point gap. That race is stressful. It’s way more stressful to me than Talladega, so glad to not have to worry about it too much.”

    Erik Jones logged in the first top-five result of the season for both himself and Legacy Motor Club by finishing fifth while Playoff contender Christopher Bell, Justin Haley, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace and Playoff contender Denny Hamlin completed the top 10 in the final running order.

    With four of 12 Playoff contenders finishing in the top 10, the remaining Playoff contenders that include Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick, Daniel Suarez, Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney ended up 16th, 20th, 26th, 29th, 30th, 32nd, 33rd and 39th, respectively.

    With the results, the four Playoff contenders who enter next weekend’s Round of 8 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course below the top-eight cutline in the Playoff standings are Logano, Suarez, Cindric and Briscoe. Meanwhile, Reddick and Elliott occupy the final two transfer spots by 14 and 13 points, respectively, while Ryan Blaney escapes with a 25-point advantage from the cutline amid his Stage 2 accident that resulted in him finishing in the next-to-last position in the leaderboard.

    There were 66 lead changes for 24 different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 24 laps. In addition, 22 of 40 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 19 laps led

    2. Brad Keselowski, two laps led

    3. William Byron, one lap led

    4. Kyle Larson, one lap led

    5. Erik Jones

    6. Christopher Bell

    7. Justin Haley, four laps led

    8. Austin Dillon, one lap led

    9. Bubba Wallace, three laps led

    10. Denny Hamlin

    11. Martin Truex Jr.

    12. Cody Ware, one lap led

    13. Ty Gibbs

    14. Carson Hocevar

    15. Shane van Gisbergen, nine laps led

    16. Alex Bowman, one lap led

    17. Chris Buescher, 12 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    18. Corey LaJoie, five laps led

    19. Kyle Busch, seven laps led

    20. Tyler Reddick, two laps led

    21. Zane Smith

    22. BJ McLeod, one lap led

    23. Todd Gilliland, one lap down, two laps led

    24. Anthony Alfredo, one lap down

    25. Noah Gragson, one lap down

    26. Daniel Suarez, one lap down

    27. JJ Yeley, two laps down

    28. AJ Allmendinger, two laps down, nine laps led

    29. Chase Elliott, five laps down, one lap led

    30. Chase Briscoe, six laps down

    31. John Hunter Nemechek, seven laps down

    32. Austin Cindric – OUT, Accident, 29 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    33. Joey Logano – OUT, Accident, 19 laps led

    34. Harrison Burton – OUT, Accident

    35. Ryan Preece – OUT, Accident

    36. Josh Berry – OUT, Accident

    37. Michael McDowell – OUT, Accident, 42 laps led

    38. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    39. Ryan Blaney – OUT, Accident, six laps led

    40. Ross Chastain – OUT, Accident, 17 laps led

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. William Byron – Advanced

    2. Christopher Bell +57

    3. Kyle Larson +52

    4. Denny Hamlin +30

    5. Alex Bowman +26

    6. Ryan Blaney +25

    7. Tyler Reddick +14

    8. Chase Elliott +13

    9. Joey Logano -13

    10. Daniel Suarez -20

    11. Austin Cindric -29

    12. Chase Briscoe -32

    The Round of 12 in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is set to conclude next Sunday, October 13, at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in Concord, North Carolina, for the Bank of America ROVAL 400 and where the second of three elimination processes will occur. The event’s broadcast time is slated to occur at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Randall Burnett to call 200th Cup event as crew chief at Gateway

    Randall Burnett to call 200th Cup event as crew chief at Gateway

    In his sixth full-time season as a crew chief in the NASCAR Cup Series, Randall Burnett, crew chief for Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team, is within reach of achieving a milestone start. By participating in this weekend’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway, Burnett will call his 200th event as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Fenton, Missouri, Burnett is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a degree in mechanical engineering. He then spent 10 years at Chip Ganassi Racing, working in multiple engineering roles for the organization. During the span, Burnett served as Ganassi’s lead engineer for the No. 1 Chevrolet team piloted by Jamie McMurray, who won the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400 and the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the 2010 Cup Series season. Burnett also previously worked as the team engineer for CGR’s No. 42 Chevrolet team piloted by Juan Pablo Montoya in 2013 and Kyle Larson in 2014 and 2015.

    In 2016, Burnett made his debut as a Cup Series crew chief as he joined JTG-Daugherty Racing to lead AJ Allmendinger and the No. 47 Chevrolet team for the upcoming season. Participating in all but one of the 36-race schedule, Burnett and Allmendinger achieved a season-best runner-up result at Martinsville Speedway in April, two top-five results, nine top-10 results, a 17.9 average-finishing result and a 19th-place result in the final driver’s standings. The only event Burnett was unable to attend was Pocono Raceway in June, which he was serving a one-race suspension due to violating NASCAR’s lug nut procedures stemming from the previous event at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.

    Burnett remained as Allmendinger’s crew chief in the early stages of the 2017 Cup season. Despite achieving a third-place result in the season-opening Daytona 500, Burnett was suspended for three races due to three loose lug nuts that were discovered on Allmendinger’s entry following the second event of the schedule at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February. Sitting out for four events, Burnett returned for five additional Cup races with Allmendinger before being replaced by veteran Ernie Cope, who had filled in during Burnett’s suspensions, for the remainder of the season, beginning in May.

    Following his demotion as the crew chief for JTG-Daugherty Racing, Burnett joined Richard Childress Racing to serve as a crew chief for the organization’s No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Between 2017 to 2019, Burnett was an Xfinity Series crew chief for RCR in 89 races. During this span, he achieved six victories, six poles, 35 top-five results and 56 top-10 results, all while working with Austin Dillon, Daniel Hemric, Ben Kennedy, Paul Menard, Matt Tifft and Tyler Reddick. Burnett’s accomplishments as an Xfinity crew chief were guiding Hemric to the 2017 Xfinity Series Championship Round and winning the 2019 Xfinity Series title with Reddick, which marked Burnett’s first title in NASCAR as a crew chief.

    A month after winning the 2019 Xfinity Series title, Burnett was named a full-time Cup crew chief for Reddick, who was also promoted to NASCAR’s premier series, and the No. 8 RCR Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team for the 2020 season. Throughout the season, Burnett and Reddick achieved a season-best runner-up result at Texas Motor Speedway in July, three top-five results, nine top-10 results and a 19th-place result in the final standings, with Reddick ending up as the runner-up finisher to the Rookie-of-the-Year battle behind Cole Custer.

    Burnett remained as Reddick’s crew chief for the 2021 Cup season, where they achieved a single pole position at Circuit of the Americas in May along with a total of two runner-up results, three top-five results and 16 top-10 results in 35 events. The duo managed to claim the 16th and final berth in the 2021 Cup Series Playoffs, which marked their first presence in the Playoffs as title contenders, but they were eliminated following the Round of 16 after missing the Round of 12 cutline by two points. Burnett would then be absent from the finale at Phoenix Raceway in November due to COVID protocols as Reddick proceeded to finish in 13th place in the final standings.

    For the 2022 season, Burnett and Reddick recorded three top-10 results through the first eight-scheduled events before being one lap away of achieving their first Cup victory at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course in April, where Reddick was hit and spun by Chase Briscoe on the final lap and final corner as Reddick was then beaten by Kyle Busch by 0.330 seconds to settle in a disappointing runner-up result. Nine races later, redemption came for the duo after Reddick prevailed in a late battle against Chase Elliott to notch his first Cup career victory at Road America in July, which also marked Burnett’s first career win as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series.

    Another four races later, Burnett and Reddick solidified their spot into the 2022 Cup Playoffs after Reddick navigated his way amid a wild overtime shootout to win for the season time of the season at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. Despite having their Playoff hopes evaporated following respective finishes of third, 35th and 25th throughout the Round of 16, Burnett and Reddick notched their third Cup victory of the season during the Round of 12 opener at Texas Motor Speedway in September. They would then accumulate two top-10 results during the final six events on the schedule before settling in 14th place in the final standings.

    This past season, Burnett was paired with two-time Cup champion Kyle Busch, who replaced Reddick in RCR’s No. 8 entry as Reddick transitioned to 23XI Racing. Despite finishing in 19th place during the 65th running of the Daytona 500 amid a final lap multi-car wreck, the new duo quickly navigated their way to Victory Lane at Auto Club Speedway in February as Busch achieved his first win driving for RCR. Burnett and Busch would win at Talladega Superspeedway in April and at World Wide Technology Raceway in June as they would also accumulate a total of 14 top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch before securing their spot into the Playoffs. Despite finishing within the top 20 throughout the Round of 16 which enabled them to transfer into the Round of 12, their title hopes came to an end amid respective finishes of 34th, 25th and third throughout the Round of 12. Managing only a single top-five finish in the final four scheduled events, Burnett and Busch concluded their first campaign in 14th place in the final standings.

    Through 199 previous Cup events, Burnett has achieved six victories, six poles, 31 top-five results, 72 top-10 results and 957 laps led while working with three different competitors. He and Busch are currently ranked in 14th place in the 2024 regular-season standings on the strengths of two top-five results and five top-10 results through the first 14 scheduled events.

    Randall Burnett is scheduled to call his 200th Cup Series event as a crew chief at World Wide Technology Raceway for the Enjoy Illinois 300 on Sunday, June 2. The event’s broadcast time is slated to occur at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Stenhouse inks multiyear contract extension with JTG-Daugherty Racing

    Stenhouse inks multiyear contract extension with JTG-Daugherty Racing

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has inked a multiyear contract extension to continue to drive the No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry for JTG-Daugherty Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series division.

    The news comes as the 36-year-old Stenhouse from Olive Branch, Mississippi, is currently campaigning in his 12th full-time campaign in NASCAR’s premier series and fifth with JTG-Daugherty Racing, where he is ranked in 27th place in the current driver’s standings and has recorded two top-10 results through the first 11 events on the 2024 schedule. Currently, his highest on-track result is a fourth-place run at Talladega Superspeedway that occurred two weeks ago.

    “When I joined this team in 2020, I knew both the team and I were capable of putting the No. 47 in Victory Lane,” Stenhouse said. “Although I wish it came sooner, winning the Daytona 500 last year proved that we can win together. We have a fantastic group of guys at the shop, great management, solid partners, and an ever-improving program. I’m very excited to continue my relationship with the team. I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised to see what we have in store for the future.”

    Stenhouse, a two-time Xfinity Series champion (2011-12) and the 2013 Cup Series Rookie of the Year, joined forces with JTG-Daugherty Racing in 2020 after spending the previous seven seasons competing for Roush Fenway Racing. He commenced the season on a strong start by winning the pole position for the 62nd running of the Daytona 500. Three years later, Stenhouse won the Great American Race amid two overtime shootouts, which made him the 42nd competitor to win the Daytona 500 as he recorded both the first 500 victory and the second Cup career victory for JTG-Daugherty Racing. The victory also tallied Stenhouse’s total in the Cup circuit to three after he previously won the Daytona summer event at the Talladega spring event in 2017.

    Stenhouse’s 2023 Daytona 500 victory enabled both him and JTG-Daugherty Racing to make the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs, which marked their second time making the postseason battle for the series’ championship. They would end up in 16th place in the final driver’s standings.

    As a JTG-Daugherty Racing competitor, Stenhouse has achieved one victory, one pole, three runner-up results, eight top-five results, 22 top-10 results, 220 laps led and average finishes within the top-25 category as he strives to return to the Playoffs in 2024.

    “I am looking forward to continuing with Ricky [Stenhouse Jr.] as our driver of the No. 47,” Gordon Smith, team owner of JTG-Daugherty Racing, added. “He has been an asset to our team on and off the race track since joining us in 2020. Winning the Daytona 500 was a huge accomplishment for our small team, and I know we have more trips to Victory Lane in our future with Ricky at the wheel.”

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s next NASCAR Cup Series start of the 2024 season is set to occur at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, for the AdventHealth 400. The event’s broadcast time is scheduled to occur this Sunday, May 5, and air at 3 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Chris Buescher to make 300th Cup career start at Richmond

    Chris Buescher to make 300th Cup career start at Richmond

    Competing in his ninth full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Chris Buescher is set to achieve a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s event at Richmond Raceway, the driver of the No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse will make career start No. 300 in NASCAR’s premier series. 

    A native of Prosper, Texas, Buescher made his inaugural presence in the Cup Series at Auto Club Speedway in March 2015. By then, he was campaigning in his second full-time season in the Xfinity Series for Roush Fenway Racing. Driving the No. 34 Ford Fusion for Front Row Motorsports as an interim competitor for David Ragan, who was serving as an interim competitor for the injured Kyle Busch at Joe Gibbs Racing, Buescher started 33rd and finished a season-best 20th place in his Cup debut. He would pilot FRM’s No. 34 Ford for five additional Cup events, where he would earn three top-25 results at Martinsville Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway and at Talladega Superspeedway, respectively.  

    Nearly a month after winning the 2015 Xfinity Series championship, Buescher was announced as a full-time Cup Series competitor in Front Row Motorsports’ No. 34 Ford for the 2016 season. Through the first 20 regular-season events, the Texan finished no higher than 14th place on the track, which occurred at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, and was mired outside the top-30 mark in the standings. Then at Pocono Raceway in August, Buescher capitalized on a pit strategic call to assume the lead on Lap 127 and retain the lead prior to the event being red-flagged on Lap 138 and eventually being deemed official due to inclement weather, which resulted with NASCAR declaring Buescher the race winner as he notched his first Cup career in his 27th series start. With the victory, Buescher became the first Cup rookie candidate to win a NASCAR premier series event since Joey Logano won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2009 and he recorded the second career win for Front Row Motorsports.

    Following the Pocono victory, Buescher, who still needed to race his way above the top-30 cutline in the standings to be eligible to make the Playoffs, finished fifth at Bristol two races later. Despite finishing 30th, fifth, 35th, 17th and 24th, respectively, during the final five regular-season events, Buescher managed to vault himself above the cutline and make his inaugural presence in the Playoffs. Following respective finishes of 28th, 30th and 23rd throughout the Round of 16, however, he was eliminated from title contention. Finishing no higher than 16th during the final seven events on the schedule, Buescher capped off his first full-time Cup campaign in 16th place in the final standings. 

    The 2017 season presented another new beginning for Buescher, who joined JTG-Daugherty Racing to pilot the team’s second entry, the No. 37 Chevrolet SS. After finishing no higher than 11th during the first 16 events on the schedule, he notched his first top-10 result of the season after finishing 10th at Daytona in July. He then finished ninth at Indianapolis two races later before finishing sixth at Michigan International Speedway another three races later. Amid the results, Buescher did not qualify for the 2017 Cup Series Playoffs. Managing a sixth-place finish at Kansas Speedway in October, Buescher settled in 25th place in the final standings. Despite recording zero top-five results throughout the 2017 season, he managed to double his top-10 results in a season from two to four and boost his average-finishing result from his rookie Cup season from 26.1 to 21.4. 

    Buescher would remain at JTG-Daugherty Racing for the following two Cup seasons. During the two-year stint, he accumulated a total of two top-five results, six top-10 results and 14 laps led, with his best on-track results being a pair of fifth-place finishes during both Daytona events in 2018. In 2018, Buescher ended up in 24th place in the final standings and recorded an average-finishing result of 21.0 as he also surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series. During the 2019 season, he gained four spots to 20th place at season’s end and boosted his average-finishing result to 17.8. 

    Two months prior to the 2019 season’s conclusion, Buescher was announced to return to Roush Fenway Racing to pilot the No. 17 Ford Mustang for the 2020 season, where he replaced Ricky Stenhouse Jr. as Stenhouse made the transition to JTG-Daugherty Racing. Buescher commenced the season by finishing in third place during the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 after dodging a final lap harrowing accident involving teammate Ryan Newman. He then only accumulated an extra top-five result at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course in August, where he finished fifth, and a total of six top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, which were not enough for him to make the Playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. He would proceed to accumulate two additional top-10 results during the Playoffs before settling in 21st place in the final standings and with an average-finishing result of 19.6. 

    Throughout the 2021 Cup season, Buescher’s highest on-track result was a third-place finish at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in October. He initially finished in second place during the regular-season finale at Daytona in August, but was demoted to last place after his car failed post-race inspection amid a rear sub-frame assembly violation. With a total of eight top-10 finishes and 93 laps led, Buescher, who did not make the 2021 Cup Playoffs, settled in 19th place in the final standings and with an average-finishing result of 17.3. By then, he also surpassed 200 Cup career starts. 

    In 2022, Buescher, who commenced the season by winning the second Bluegreen Vacations Duel event at Daytona, settled in 16th place during the 64th running of the Daytona 500 before notching back-to-back top-10 results in March. At Dover Motor Speedway, the Texan nabbed his first Cup career pole position, where he would proceed to finish eighth. Then following a difficult May and early June period that included Buescher enduring a late rollover accident during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte followed by missing the inaugural event at World Wide Technology Raceway due to a positive COVID-19 test, he recorded a strong runner-up finish at Sonoma Raceway. Despite finishing third at Richmond Raceway in August and earning four additional top-10 results during the final 10 regular-season events, he fell short of making the 2022 Cup Playoffs.

    Buescher then rallied three races later by notching his second Cup career victory at Bristol in September after leading a race-high 169, including the final 61. The victory not only snapped a 222-race winless drought for Buescher, but it also snapped a five-year winless drought for the Roush organization as the Texan also recorded the first victory for the organization that had been rebranded to Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing. Finishing no higher than sixth during the final seven events on the schedule, Buescher settled in 21st place in the final standings. By then, he achieved double digits in top-10 results (10), led 194 laps throughout the season and recorded an average-finishing result of 17.9. 

    The 2023 Cup season was a career year for Buescher, who commenced the season by finishing fourth during the 65th running of the Daytona 500 after dodging a final lap multi-car wreck. After only recording a single top-10 result during his next nine starts, he then finished no lower than 18th during the following 12 regular-season events. Mired within the 12-race stretch were two top-five results and six top-10 results that kept Buescher and the No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing team in the mix of contending for a Playoff spot.

    Then at Richmond in July, Buescher led 88 laps and fended off Denny Hamlin during a three-lap shootout to score his first victory of the season and the third of his Cup career, which also enabled Buescher to clinch his spot for the 2023 Cup Playoffs. The following weekend, he led a race-high 52 laps and fended off a late challenge from Martin Truex Jr. to achieve back-to-back Cup victories for the first time in his career at Michigan International Speedway. Three races later, Buescher capped off the regular-season stretch by winning at Daytona after assuming the lead during an overtime shootout and leading the final two laps amid a 1-2 finish for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, with teammate/owner Brad Keselowski settling in second place.

    With two top-five results and three top-10 results achieved during the first six Playoff events of the 2023 season, Buescher managed to transfer from the Round of 16 to 8. Amid respective finishes of 11th, 21st and eighth throughout the Round of 8, however, his title hopes came to a late end as he was unable to transfer into the Championship 4 round.

    Nonetheless, Buescher proceeded to lead 18 laps and finish fifth during the season-finale event at Phoenix Raceway in November, which was enough for him to settle in a career-best seventh place in the final standings. Along with a career-high three victories, Buescher achieved career-high stats in top fives (nine), top 10s (17) and laps led (255) along with a new average-finishing result (12.1).  

    Through 299 previous Cup starts, Buescher has achieved five victories, one pole, 20 top-five results, 59 top-10 results, 626 laps led and an average-finishing result of 19.2. He has recorded four top-10 results through the first six events on the 2024 schedule, with his best result being a runner-up finish at Phoenix Raceway in early March. He is currently ranked in 12th place in the 2024 regular-season standings.

    Buescher is scheduled to make his 300th Cup Series career start at Richmond Raceway for the Toyota Owners 400 on Easter Sunday, March 31, with the event’s broadcast time slated to occur at 7 p.m. ET on FOX. 

  • Stenhouse to make 400th Cup career start at Phoenix

    Stenhouse to make 400th Cup career start at Phoenix

    With the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season set to conclude this weekend at Phoenix Raceway, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is set to achieve a milestone start of his own. By competing in this weekend’s Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway, the driver of the No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will reach career start No. 400 in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Olive Branch, Mississippi, Stenhouse made his inaugural presence in the Cup Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the Coca-Cola 600 in May 2011. By then, he was campaigning on a full-time basis for Roush Fenway Racing in the Xfinity Series and served as an interim competitor for his Xfinity teammate Trevor Bayne in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Fusion. Starting in ninth place, Stenhouse recorded an 11th-place finish in his Cup Series debut.

    The following season and after winning his first Xfinity Series championship, Stenhouse, who remained in the Xfinity circuit to defend his title, made four starts throughout the 2012 Cup Series season and in the No. 6 Ford Fusion for Roush Fenway Racing. His first start occurred during the 54th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, where he rallied from being involved in a late multi-car wreck to finish 20th. He proceeded to finish a season-best 12th at Dover before finishing 35th and 39th, respectively, during his next two starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway and at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    After winning his second consecutive Xfinity Series championship in 2012, Stenhouse was promoted to the Cup Series to pilot Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 17 Ford Fusion on a full-time basis, where he replaced the 2003 Cup champion Matt Kenseth as Kenseth moved to Joe Gibbs Racing. Stenhouse’s rookie Cup campaign commenced with a 12th-place finish in the 55th running of the Daytona 500.

    He proceeded to record his first Cup pole position at Atlanta Motor Speedway in September, six top-15 results and 18 top-20 results throughout the first 25 scheduled events. Despite not making the 2013 Cup Series Playoffs, the Mississippi native notched his first top-10 career result in the Cup circuit by finishing in 10th place during the regular-season finale at Richmond Raceway. He then finished eighth during the Playoff opener at Chicagoland Speedway the following weekend before achieving his first top-five finish in the form of a third-place run at Talladega Superspeedway in October five races later. Managing two top-20 finishes during the final three-scheduled events, Stenhouse capped off his rookie Cup Series season in 19th place in the final standings and claimed the Rookie-of-the-Year title over Danica Patrick. Overall, Stenhouse achieved a pole, one top-five result, three top-10 results, 35 laps led and an average finishing result of 18.9.

    The following season, Stenhouse commenced the 2014 Cup season by finishing seventh during the 56th running of the Daytona 500. Three races later, he notched a career-best runner-up result behind teammate Carl Edwards at Bristol Motor Speedway in March. He would then endure a difficult regular-season period that included only three additional top-10 results during his next 22 starts as he did not make the 2014 Playoffs. During the Playoffs, Stenhouse’s low point occurred when he did not qualify at Talladega. Managing a total of five top-20 results during his final nine starts of the season, with his best result being 15th at Martinsville Speedway, Stenhouse concluded his sophomore Cup season in 27th place in the final standings and with an average-finishing result of 22.4.

    The following two Cup seasons, Stenhouse accumulated a total of five top-five results, nine top-10 results, 37 top-20 results and nine laps led, with his best result being a runner-up finish behind Kevin Harvick at Bristol in August 2016. Despite not making the Playoffs during both seasons, he achieved a 25th-place result in the 2015 final standings with an average-finishing result of 24.3 and a 21st-place result following the 2016 season with an average-finishing result of 19.6. By then, he also surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    The 2017 Cup Series season was a breakout year for Stenhouse, who rallied from ending up 31st during the 59th running of the Daytona 500 amid a late multi-car wreck to finish fourth three races later at Phoenix Raceway amid a late pit strategy to remain on the track on old tires. After recording top-10 results in three of his next five starts, including a fourth-place run at Richmond Raceway, Stenhouse notched his second Cup career pole position at Talladega in May. He then proceeded to lead the first 13 laps and avoid a late multi-car pileup to overtake Kyle Busch on the final lap during an overtime restart and score his first career win in the Cup Series.

    By then, he achieved the first Cup victory for Roush Fenway Racing since teammate Carl Edwards won at Sonoma Raceway in June 2014 and the first for Roush’s No. 17 entry since Matt Kenseth won at Kansas Speedway in October 2012. Seven races later, Stenhouse scored his second Cup career victory at Daytona in July after overtaking David Ragan during an overtime restart. Despite recording seven top-20 results during his next nine starts, the pair of superspeedway victories cemented Stenhouse and the No. 17 team into the 2017 Cup Series Playoffs, which was the first for the Mississippi native. Stenhouse then managed to transfer from the Playoff’s Round of 16 to 12 despite notching three consecutive top-25 results during the first Playoff round. With respective finishes of 13th, 26th and 29th throughout the Round of 12, Stenhouse was eliminated from title contention. Nonetheless, he capped off the 2017 season with four consecutive top-15 results before settling in a career-best 13th place in the final standings. By then, Stenhouse had tied his highest mark of top-five results accumulated in a Cup season to four while also recording career-high stats in top 10s (nine) and laps led (56) with a career-best average-finishing result of 17.1.

    The following two seasons, Stenhouse went winless, but accumulated a total of four top-five results, eight top-10 results, 43 top-20 results and 242 laps led, with his best result being a third-place run at Talladega in October 2018. Despite leading 133 and 109 laps during the 2018 and 2019 seasons, respectively, he did not make the Playoffs during both seasons as he ended up in 18th place in the 2018 final standings with an average-finishing result of 19.4 and 23rd in the 2019 final standings with an average-finishing result of 20.5. By then, Stenhouse also surpassed 200 Cup career starts.

    In mid-September 2019, Roush Fenway Racing announced plans to replace Stenhouse with Chris Buescher for the 2020 Cup season. A month later, though, Stenhouse joined forces with JTG-Daugherty Racing to drive the No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE on a full-time basis for the upcoming Cup season. In his first start with JTG-Daugherty Racing, he notched his third Cup career pole for the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 after posting a pole-winning lap at 194.582 mph in 46.253 seconds. Despite leading 24 laps, Stenhouse was penalized late for advancing his position below the double yellow line boundary zone and was involved in a late incident during a green-flag pit stop cycle, which resulted in him finishing 20th.

    He rallied the following weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway by finishing third amid a late pit strategy for a two-lap shootout before finishing fourth at Charlotte in May and second at Talladega in June after being edged by Ryan Blaney by 0.007 seconds. Ultimately, Stenhouse recorded 13 top-20 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, which were not enough for him to make the 2020 Playoffs. With only six top-20 results recorded during the final 10 events on the schedule, including a 12th-place run at Texas Motor Speedway in October, Stenhouse concluded his first season with JTG-Daugherty Racing in 24th place in the final standings and with an average-finishing result of 22.6.

    The following two seasons, Stenhouse achieved two top-five results, seven top-10 results, 36 top-20 results and 112 laps led, including a pair of runner-up finishes at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course in March 2021 and at Dover Motor Speedway in May 2022. After missing the Playoffs during both seasons, Stenhouse ended up 22nd in the 2021 final standings with an average-finishing result of 19.7, where he notched top-18 results during the first nine-scheduled events, before dropping to 26th place in the 2022 final standings with average-finishing result of 22.8. By then, he also surpassed 300 Cup career starts.

    This season, Stenhouse’s fourth campaign with JTG-Daugherty Racing commenced on a high note with the driver leading the final 10 laps and fending off the field during two overtime attempts and amid two multi-car wrecks to win the 65th running of the Daytona 500 in February. The 500 victory made Stenhouse the 42nd different competitor to win the Great American Race in Daytona Beach, Florida.

    He also recorded his third Cup Series career victory, his first since winning at Daytona in July 2017 and the second overall for JTG-Daugherty Racing since the time last he won at Watkins Glen International with AJ Allmendinger in August 2014. Managing a total of seven top-10 results and 18 top-20 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Stenhouse secured a spot into the Cup Series Playoffs for the second time in his career. Following respective finishes of 16th, 23rd and 10th during the Round of 16, however, Stenhouse was one of four competitors to be eliminated from title contention.

    He has since finished no higher than ninth place during his next six Cup starts and he is currently ranked in 16th place in this year’s driver’s standings entering the season-finale event at Phoenix.

    Through 399 previous Cup starts, Stenhouse has achieved three victories, three poles, 22 top-five results, 54 top-10 results, 561 laps led and an average-finishing result of 20.5.

    Stenhouse is scheduled to make his 400th Cup Series career start in the 2023 series finale at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, November 5, with the event’s coverage to occur at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Mike Kelley to call 100th Cup event as crew chief at Kansas

    Mike Kelley to call 100th Cup event as crew chief at Kansas

    In his return as a full-time crew chief in the NASCAR Cup Series, veteran Mike Kelley is set to achieve a milestone mark. By participating in this weekend’s Cup Series Playoff event at Kansas Speedway, Kelley will call his 100th career race as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Pinellas County, Florida, Kelley, who competed as a Pinellas Park racer in the 1990s before becoming a crew member and car chief working with icons that included Dale Earnhardt, Ernie Irvan, Ray Evernham, Jack Roush and Kurt Busch, made his inaugural presence as a crew chief in the Cup Series at the start of the 2014 season when he was paired with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., whom Kelley worked with and won back-to-back Xfinity Series championships in 2011 and 2012. By then, Kelley had also racked up 12 career victories and 13 poles in the Xfinity circuit as a crew chief while working with eight different competitors.

    In their first event paired in the Cup Series, Kelley led Stenhouse and the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion team to a seventh-place result in the 56th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in February. Three races later, Stenhouse notched a career-best runner-up result at Bristol Motor Speedway in March as the No. 17 team cracked the top 10 in points. The remainder of the regular-season stretch, however, ended up being a struggle for both Stenhouse and Kelley as they only managed two additional top-10 results and dropped outside of the top-20 mark in the standings, which prevented them from making the 2014 Cup Playoffs. The low point for the duo was when both failed to qualify for the Playoff event at Talladega Superspeedway in October. For the other nine Playoff events, Stenhouse finished no higher than 15th before capping off the 2014 season in 27th place in the final standings.

    The following season, Kelley assumed the role as car chief for Stenhouse’s No. 17 Ford team while Nick Sandler, a former head engineer for Stenhouse’s teammate Carl Edwards, became Stenhouse’s new Cup crew chief. In 2016, however, Kelley returned to crew chief Stenhouse for a single event, which occurred at Talladega in May while on an interim role as Sandler was suspended for the event as a result of an unapproved steering wheel coupler that was found on Stenhouse’s car during the previous weekend’s practice session at Richmond Raceway. During the Talladega event, Stenhouse ended up 16th in the final running order after being involved in a multi-car wreck on the final lap.

    In 2019, Kelley departed Roush Fenway Racing and joined Front Row Motorsports as a full-time Cup crew chief for the No. 36 Ford Mustang team piloted by former Xfinity Series competitor Matt Tifft. Through the first 20-scheduled events, Tifft and Kelley could only manage to post three top-20 results and a single top-10 result, which occurred at Daytona in July, as they were mired in 31st place in the regular-season standings. Then for the final 16-scheduled events, Front Row Motorsports swapped Kelley’s team role that resulted with him becoming a crew chief for veteran David Ragan and the No. 38 FRM Ford Mustang team, a role that was previously held by Seth Barbour with Barbour assuming Kelley’s old role with Tifft. In spite of the move that reunited Kelley with Ragan, whom he notched two Xfinity victories with in 2009, the duo finished no higher than 11th for the remainder of the season as Ragan settled in 30th place in the final standings.

    Four years later, Kelley, who moved to JTG-Daugherty Racing in 2020 and served as a competition director for the organization and the team’s driver Stenhouse, was elevated to the role of becoming Stenhouse’s Cup crew chief for a second time. In their first driver-crew chief pairing with JTG-Daugherty Racing, Stenhouse and Kelley commenced this season on a high note by winning the 65th running of the Daytona 500 after Stenhouse survived two overtime attempts and retained the lead on the final lap amid a multi-car wreck to achieve an upset victory for himself and the team. The 500 victory was Kelley’s first overall as he also achieved his first Cup career win as a crew chief. With the 500 victory guaranteeing Stenhouse and Kelley a spot for the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs, the duo led the No. 47 team to an additional six top-10s and 13 top-15 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch before officially entering the Playoffs as one of 16 teams vying for this year’s title. Currently, Kelley and Stenhouse are coming off a 16th-place result in the Playoff opener at Darlington Raceway and are ranked in 15th place in the Playoff standings while being four points below the top-12 cutline to transfer to the Round of 12.

    Through 99 previous Cup events, Kelley has achieved one victory, three top-five results, 13 top-10 results and 26 laps led while working with three different competitors.

    Kelley is primed to call his 100th Cup Series event as a crew chief at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, September 10, at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Allmendinger to make 400th Cup career start at COTA

    Allmendinger to make 400th Cup career start at COTA

    In his return to full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition, AJ Allmendinger is set to achieve a milestone start. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas (COTA), the driver of the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will be making career start No. 400 in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Los Gatos, California, Allmendinger made his inaugural presence in NASCAR’s premier series in 2007, when he was named the driver of the No. 84 Toyota Camry for the newly formed Red Bull Racing. By then, he was coming off three full-time seasons in the Champ Car World Series, where he achieved the rookie title in 2004 and five victories along with a third-place result in the final standings in 2006. After failing to qualify for the first four events on the schedule, Allmendinger’s first start occurred at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, where he finished 40th after being involved in an early wreck in Turn 1. In total, he competed in 17 of 36-scheduled events, where his best result of the season was a 15th-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October followed by a 16th-place result at Atlanta Motor Speedway and an 18th-place run at Auto Club Speedway in September.

    The 2008 Cup season produced another difficult start for Allmendinger, who failed to qualify for the first three events, including the 50th running of the Daytona 500, before being replaced for the following five events. He then made his first start of the season at Talladega in April, where he finished 30th after being involved in a multi-car wreck on the final lap. After finishing no higher than 27th during his next two starts, he achieved a breakthrough moment in his early stock car career by winning the non-points All-Star Open at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, which enabled him to transfer to the All-Star Race as he went on to finish 17th. From Talladega in April through Kansas Speedway in September, Allmendinger managed to qualify and compete in the series. During the span, he achieved his first top-10 career result after finishing 10th at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July. He then achieved his career-best result of ninth place at Kansas before being released by Red Bull Racing. After being absent for the following event at Talladega, Allmendinger drove the No. 00 Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing on a one-race basis at Charlotte in October, where he finished 43rd, dead last, after being eliminated in an early wreck. He then competed in the final five scheduled events in the No. 10 Dodge Charger for Gillett Evernham Motorsports, where he finished in the top 16 in all but one of his five starts. Overall, Allmendinger competed in 27 of 36-scheduled events and concluded the season with an average-finishing result of 24.7.

    Allmendinger commenced the 2009 Cup season as the driver of the No. 44 Dodge for Richard Petty Motorsports while the team was unable to secure sponsorship for Allmendinger’s entry for the full season. Nonetheless, he commenced the season on a high note by finishing in third place during the rain-shortened 51st running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in February. Five races later, he secured his second top-10 result of the season by finishing ninth at Martinsville Speedway in March. Over the course of the season, where he managed to qualify and compete in all 36-scheduled events, Allmendinger racked up seventh-place results at Sonoma Raceway in June and at Dover Motor Speedway in September before notching two 10th-place finishes during the final three events of the season. When the final checkered flag of the 2009 season flew and with a total of 17 top-20 results, Allmendinger capped off the season in 24th place in the final standings.

    In 2010, Allmendinger replaced teammate Reed Sorenson as the driver of the iconic No. 43 Ford Fusion for RPM. After finishing no higher than 25th during the first three scheduled events, he achieved a new career-best result to his Cup resume after finishing sixth at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March. He would improve his best result in the series by finishing fourth at Watkins Glen International in August. By then, he had achieved his first career pole at Phoenix Raceway in April. While he did not make the 2010 Cup Playoffs, he accumulated a total of two top-five results, including a fifth-place run at Homestead in November, eight top-10 results, a career-high 181 laps led and an average-finishing result of 17.8 before finishing in 24th place in the final standings. Remaining in the No. 43 Ford in 2011, Allmendinger’s best result of the season was a fifth-place run in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May. Despite securing a single top-five result in 2011, he accumulated a career-high 10 top-10 results and recorded an average-finishing result of 16.1 before finishing in 15th place in the final standings. By then, he surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    At the conclusion of the 2011 season, Allmendinger moved to Team Penske to drive the No. 22 Dodge Charger for the 2012 season, where he replaced the 2004 Cup champion Kurt Busch. Allmendinger’s campaign with Penske commenced on a rough note after finishing 34th in the 54th running of the Daytona 500. He rallied five races later by notching a career-best runner-up result behind Ryan Newman amid a green-white-checkered shootout. During his next 11 starts with Team Penske, Allmendinger finished in the top 20 five times before notching back-to-back ninth-place runs at Sonoma and Kentucky Speedway in June. Then in July, Allmendinger was suspended indefinitely from NASCAR after failing a random drug test and violating NASCAR’s substance abuse program, where he was found to have taken amphetamine, which was a banned stimulant. By August, he was released by Team Penske and participated in the Road to Recovery program. After being reinstated by NASCAR in September, Allmendinger made four starts with Phoenix Racing between October and November, where his best result occurred at Charlotte after finishing 24th. Throughout the 2012 campaign, Allmendinger competed in all but 15 of 36 events.

    Allmendinger commenced the 2013 season as a part-time competitor between the IndyCar Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the Cup Series, where he competed in select events for Phoenix Racing. After recording four top-20 results during his first five part-time starts, he then transitioned between Phoenix Raceway and JTG-Daugherty Racing in select Cup events, beginning at Michigan International Speedway in June. With a total of 18 starts in 2013, Allmendinger’s best on-track result was a 10th-place run at Watkins Glen in August. By then, he surpassed 200 Cup career starts.

    In August 2013, Allmendinger was named a full-time competitor of the No. 47 Chevrolet SS for JTG Daugherty Racing for the 2014 season. He commenced the season with back-to-back 26th-place results before notching his first top-10 result of the season at Auto Club Speedway in March by finishing eighth. He then notched a sixth-place result at Richmond Raceway in April before collecting his first top-five result of the season at Talladega Superspeedway. Then at Watkins Glen in August, Allmendinger prevailed in several duels against Marcos Ambrose, including the last one during a two-lap shootout, to achieve his first Cup career victory in his 213th series career start, to record the first win for JTG-Daugherty Racing and to claim a spot to the 2014 Cup Playoffs. Allmendinger’s title run, however, came to an early end after three consecutive finishes outside of the top 10 during the Round of 16 left the Californian two points shy of transferring to the Round of 12. With a total of 17 top-20 results throughout the 36-race campaign, Allmendinger went on to finish in a career-best 13th place in the final standings.

    Remaining as a full-time Cup competitor for JTG-Daugherty Racing in 2015, Allmendinger was unable to return to Victory Lane nor make the Playoffs as he only achieved a total of three top-10 results, including a season-best sixth-place run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. Despite recording two poles during the season, he ended up in 22nd place in the final standings. He rallied during the following season by tripling his total top-10 results to nine and recording two top-five runs, including a season-best second place behind Kyle Busch at Martinsville in April. While he improved his average-finishing result from 23.1 to 17.8 in 2016, he went winless for a second consecutive season, missed the Playoffs and ended up in 19th place in the final standings.

    The 2017 Daytona 500 marked Allmendinger’s 300th Cup career start, where he achieved a strong third-place result. He then finished no higher than 17th during the following four events before managing a sixth-place run at Martinsville in April. With just three additional top-10 results during the following 20 regular-season events, Allmendinger did not accumulate enough points to make the 2017 Cup Playoffs. Finishing no higher than 14th during the final 10 events, he concluded the season in 27th place in the final standings.

    In comparison to the 2017 season, the 2018 Cup season produced a single top-five run for Allmendinger, which occurred at Daytona in July after he finished third. The season also produced a total of five top-10 results, but he managed to improve on his average-finishing result from the previous season from 22.0 to 21.3 and improve five spots in the standings from 27th to 22nd when the final checkered flag flew. At the conclusion of the 2018 season, however, Allmendinger was replaced by Ryan Preece at JTG-Daugherty Racing. He then joined NBC Sports as an analyst for the network’s IMSA Sports Car coverage before being recruited by Kaulig Racing to compete in select Xfinity events, which he continued through 2020 as he collected three victories in the process.

    In 2021, Allmendinger, who became a full-time Xfinity competitor for Kaulig, returned from a two-year absence in NASCAR’s premier series by making his first Cup start of the season at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course in the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Kaulig, where he finished seventh. His next two Cup starts occurred at COTA in May and at Road America in July, where he finished fifth and 29th, respectively. Then during the series’ inaugural event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, Allmendinger capitalized on a late run-in involving rookie Chase Briscoe and veteran Denny Hamlin to assume the lead during an overtime attempt and fend off the field to win and grab both the second Cup victory of his career and the first for Kaulig Racing in NASCAR’s premier series. His fifth and final Cup start of the season occurred at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in October, where he finished 38th due to an engine failure.

    Remaining as a part-time Cup competitor and a full-time Xfinity competitor for Kaulig Racing in 2022, Allmendinger competed in half of the 36-scheduled events, beginning at Phoenix in March as he finished 20th. His best results of the season included a runner-up result at Watkins Glen in August followed by a third-place result at Homestead-Miami Speedway and a fourth-place finish at Charlotte in October. At COTA in March, Allmendinger battled against Ross Chastain and Alex Bowman for the victory on the final lap until he was bumped by Chastain with two turns remaining, collided into Bowman and sent sideways into the gravel trap, where he plummeted to 33rd place in the final running order. In total, Allmendinger accumulated a total of eight top-10 results. By then, he was named a full-time competitor of the No. 16 entry for the 2023 Cup Series season.

    Through 399 previous Cup starts, Allmendinger has achieved two victories, four poles, 16 top-five results, 69 top-10 results, 559 laps led and an average-finishing result of 20.8. He is currently ranked in 17th place in the driver’s standings with his best result being a sixth-place finish in the 65th running of the Daytona 500.

    Should Allmendinger win this weekend’s event in Austin, Texas, he will join an exclusive club of competitors to win in Cup career start No. 400, a list that features Lee Petty, Richard Petty, David Pearson, Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson.

    Allmendinger is set to make his 400th Cup Series career start at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, March 26, with the event’s coverage slated to occur at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Stenhouse survives double overtime for first Daytona 500 title

    Stenhouse survives double overtime for first Daytona 500 title

    In NASCAR’s longest-ever running of the Great American Race to commence the sport’s 75th anniversary of competition, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. muscled his way to win the 65th annual running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 19, amid two overtime attempts and a series of late carnages.

    The 35-year-old Stenhouse from Olive Branch, Mississippi, rallied from a late pit road speeding penalty to take the lead from reigning series champion Joey Logano during the first of two overtime attempts. He then had to endure a second overtime attempt, where he nearly lost the lead on the final lap before a draft from Christopher Bell enabled Stenhouse to fend off Logano and remain ahead of him prior to a vicious multi-car wreck on the final lap that concluded the event under caution and sent the driver of the No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team to Victory Lane. In total, Stenhouse led the final 10 of 212 over-scheduled laps.

    The starting lineup was determined through two single-car qualifying sessions that occurred on Wednesday, February 15, followed by a pair of Bluegreen Vacations Duels that occurred on Thursday, February 16. For the third time in his career, Alex Bowman started on pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 181.686 mph in 49.536 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Kyle Larson, who posted the second-fastest qualifying lap at 181.057 mph in 49.708 seconds. Joey Logano and Aric Almirola occupied the second row after both won their respective Duels. The only competitor to drop at the rear of the field was Kyle Busch in a backup car after he wrecked his primary car during the second Duel event.

    When the green flag waved and the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season commenced, teammates Bowman and Larson dueled for the lead in front of two tight-packed lanes entering the first two turns. While Larson tried to pull ahead on the inside lane with drafting help from Logano, Bowman muscled away with the lead as he had a stronger draft on the outside lane followed by Almirola entering the backstretch. Larson then tried to pull even to Bowman’s No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the inside lane exiting the backstretch as he had Logano drafting him. As the field returned to the frontstretch, Larson managed to pull ahead and lead the first lap by a hair over Bowman as the field remained dead tight through two packed lanes.

    Through the first five scheduled laps and with the field remaining in tight formation through two tight-packed lanes, teammates Bowman and Larson remained dead even for the lead followed by Almirola, Logano and Christopher Bell while Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Corey LaJoie were in the top 10. Behind, Chris Buescher occupied 11th while Todd Gilliland, Michael McDowell, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Preece, Zane Smith and Noah Gragson were running in the top 20.

    At the Lap 10 mark, Bowman managed to break ahead with the lead followed by teammate Larson, while Almirola, Logano and Cindric were in the top five. By then, names like William Byron, Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe and Austin Dillon were mired outside the top 20 while Conor Daly, Travis Pastrana, rookie Ty Gibbs and Jimmie Johnson were running towards the rear of the field.

    Two laps later and just as Larson managed to break away from the pack with drafting help from Logano, Bell gained a strong run on both front-runners and made his move to the outside lane entering the frontstretch as he challenged Larson for the lead with drafting help from Bowman. He would prevail through the backstretch and clear the field with Bowman remaining right behind his No. 20 DeWalt/Rheem Toyota TRD Camry.

    By Lap 25, Bell was scored as the leader despite remaining in a tight side-by-side battle against Larson amid two packed lanes. Bowman, Almiorla, Logano, Cindric, Blaney, Elliott, LaJoie and Keselowski were running in the top 10 while Johnson and Kyle Busch were scored in 26th and 33rd, respectively. A few laps later, Ty Dillon fell off the pace and took his car to the garage following a mechanical issue to his Spire Motorsports entry while the race remained under green flag conditions.

    At the Lap 35 mark, Almirola ignited his challenge for the lead as he gained a draft from Cindric on the inside lane to lead a lap for himself ahead of Bell. By then, Conor Daly made a pit stop under green while names like Corey LaJoie, Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin emerged in the top 10. A lap later, however, Bowman navigated his way back into the lead as he had LaJoie pushing him while battling Bell.

    Then during the following lap, the Ford competitors led by Almirola and Logano peeled off the track and on pit road for their first service of the event. A bevy of Chevrolet competitors led by rookie Noah Gragson and Bowman would pit during the following lap while the rest of the field that included a multitude of Toyota competitors and Chevrolet competitor Kyle Busch pitted during the following lap. During the final wave of pit stops, newcomer Riley Herbst locked up the front tires and spun his No. 15 SunnyD Ford Mustang behind Busch while trying to enter pit road, but the event remained under green flag conditions. Herbst, however, was assessed a pass-through penalty for a commitment line violation. Despite remaining on track to lead two laps for himself before pitting by himself under green, Pastrana was also penalized with a pass-through penalty for driving his No. 67 Black Rifle Coffee Toyota TRD Camry through too many pit boxes while exiting his pit stall.

    By Lap 40 and with the first wave of pit stops being completed under green, Hamlin cycled his way into the lead followed by teammate Bell, Reddick, Briscoe and Almirola while Wallace, Cindric, Truex, Blaney and Kyle Busch were running in the top 10. Soon after, the field returned to competing within two tight-packed lanes as Briscoe drew himself in a side-by-side challenge against Hamlin for the lead.

    On Lap 52, early trouble struck for Bubba Wallace, who moved up to the outside lane while battling with Briscoe for the lead before he got bumped by a fast-charging Truex on the backstretch as he slapped the outside wall. Despite keeping his No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota TRD Camry straight, he dropped to the rear of the field, pitted under green and returned on the track as he would eventually lose a lap to the leaders. Amid Wallace’s issue, Truex moved into the lead followed by his Toyota teammates Hamlin, Bell, Tyler Reddick and Gibbs.

    By Lap 60, Truex retained the lead ahead of a long line of competitors that included teammates Hamlin and Gibbs while Almirola and Brad Keselowski were scored in the top five. By then, Jimmie Johnson was in eighth in between Ryan Preece and Kevin Harvick while Reddick and Bell were mired back in 12th and 25th, respectively.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 65, Keselowski, who commenced a late drafting charge to the front before overtaking Truex during the stage’s final lap with drafting help from a multitude of Ford competitors, claimed the first stage victory of the 2023 season. Ford competitors Preece, Buescher, Harvick and McDowell followed suit in the top five while Gibbs, Johnson, Almirola, Truex and Todd Gilliand were scored in the top 10, all of whom received the first wave of stage points. By then, names that included Hamlin, Byron, Cindric, Erik Jones, Kyle Busch, Justin Haley, Chase Elliott, Logano, Reddick and Blaney were running in the top 20 as 32 of 40 starters were scored on the lead lap. In addition, AJ Allmendinger received the free pass after managing to remain as the first competitor a lap down ahead of Wallace, Zane Smith and BJ McLeod.

    Under the stage break, the entire field led by Keselowski pitted and Preece exited with the lead followed by Keselowski, Harvick, Almirola and McDowell. During the pit stops, Buescher had to back up to get into his pit stall while Hamlin and Logano nearly made contact against one another, with Logano running his car into the grass, while trying to exit pit road amid a tight scramble.

    The second stage started on Lap 71 as Preece and Keselowski occupied the front row. At the start, Preece and Keselowski duked for the lead until Keselowski gained a draft from Almirola through the backstretch and moved in front of Preece’s No. 41 Haas Ford Mustang to lead a lap for himself. Almirola, however, was quick to challenge Keselowski on the outside lane as he had Cindric’s No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang drafting him while Keselowski remained in front of Preece and Harvick on the inside lane.

    Through the first 80 scheduled laps, Keselowski and Almirola continued to duke for the lead followed by Preece, Cindric and Harvick while Byron, McDowell, Buescher, Truex and Gilliland were in the top 10. Behind, Kyle Busch, Logano, Erik Jones, Hamlin, Blaney, Johnson, Larson, Elliott, Haley and Reddick were running in the top 20 while Gibbs, Bowman, Stenhouse, Ross Chastain, Briscoe, Harrison Burton, Bell, Gragson, Allmendinger and Daniel Suarez were mired in the top 30. Meanwhile, Austin Dillon was scored as the final competitor on the lead lap in 33rd while Wallace was still mired a lap down in 34th in front of Zane Smith and Pastrana.

    Ten laps later, Keselowski continued to lead on the inside lane followed by Preece and Harvick while McDowell and Almirola battled for fourth place in front of two tight-packed lanes.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 100, Keselowski retained the lead ahead of the pack and a long line of competitors running on the inside lane. By then, Preece remained behind Keselowski in the runner-up spot followed by Harvick, McDowell and Erik Jones while Johnson, Larson, Reddick, Stenhouse and Truex were running in the top 10. By then, Kyle Busch was trying to launch a second drafting lane on the outside lane as he was just scored outside of the top 10 while 33 of 40 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    Eight laps later, a multitude of competitors led by Kyle Busch and including a majority of Chevrolet competitors pitted under green for a second time while the rest of the field led by Keselowski remained on the track. Following the first wave of pit stops, Busch was assessed a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road. Shortly after, a small wave of competitors led by Keselowski pitted for service under green. A wave of Toyota competitors including Ford competitor Harvick, followed suit during the next lap before Logano led the final wave of competitors down to pit road by the Lap 110 mark.

    Once the green flag pit stops completed, Logano cycled into the lead followed by Buescher and Blaney. All three, however, were quickly caught by the field led by Reddick entering the frontstretch and chaos nearly ensued when Blaney and Buescher tried to stall the run from the pack. Once the field settled through two packed lanes, Logano retained the lead followed by teammate Blaney while Truex, Gibbs and Larson were in the top five. By then, Erik Jones, Buescher, Byron, Reddick and Harvick occupied the top 10.

    Then on Lap 118, the caution flew when Harvick bumped and got Reddick’s No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota TRD Camry loose in Turn 4 as he clipped Blaney while barely missing Truex before both veered sideways and hit the outside wall. While the oncoming competitors behind scrambled to avoid the carnage, Erik Jones veered sideway below the apron along with Larson before he spun backwards and was hit by Elliott while Suarez also made contact against Elliott. While Blaney continued despite falling off of the lead lap category, top names that included Elliott, Jones and Reddick were eliminated from contention. During the caution period, some led by Buescher pitted while others led by Logano remained on the track.

    With six laps remaining in the second stage, the race proceeded under green as Logano and Chastain occupied the front row. At the start, Logano rocketed away with the lead on the inside lane followed by Truex while Chastain was locked in a battle with AJ Allmendinger for third place. A lap later, Chastain drew his No. 1 AdventHealth Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 alongside Logano as he proceeded to lead a lap for himself before Logano returned the favor during the next lap. Chastain would then manage to reassume the lead and have both lanes to his control while Bowman and Logano dueled for second.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 130, Chastain edged Bowman by 0.015 seconds to claim the second stage victory. Logano settled in third while Stenhouse, Logano, Cindric, Truex, Byron, Allmendinger, Buescher and Bell were scored in the top 10 as the field fanned out to three lanes while streaking across the start/finish line.

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Chastain, except for Wallace, pitted for service and Almirola exited with the lead after only opting for fuel followed by Buescher, Byron, Larson and Cindric. During the caution period, Chastain was penalized for speeding while entering pit road along with Gragson, who was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation. Bell was also penalized for running over his air hose.

    With 63 laps remaining, the final stage started under green as Wallace and Almirola occupied the front row. At the start, Wallace jumped ahead with the lead as he had both lanes to his control through the first two turns. Through the backstretch, he moved from the bottom to the top lane to remain in front of Byron. This, however, allowed Almirola to gain the draft and move into the lead on the inside lane followed by Buescher as Larson also moved up to third.

    Two laps later, the caution returned due to debris in the form of a right-front tire that came off in Turn 2 and off of Blaney’s damaged No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang. During the caution period, names that included Larson, Byron, Briscoe, Logano, Gragson, Truex, Cody Ware, Allmendinger, Stenhouse, Gilliland, Zane Smith, Bowman, Logano and Kyle Busch pitted, mainly for fuel. During the pit stops, Bowman endured a slow pit service to have his car repaired after making contact with Gragson while trying to enter his pit stall.

    During the following restart with 57 laps remaining, Wallace and Almirola dueled for the lead for a second time before Almirola quickly pulled away on the inside lane as he was being drafted by Buescher and Harvick while Wallace had Cindric drafting him. During the following lap, Cindric along with a majority of competitors running on the outside lane overtook Wallace as Wallace lost the draft while being stuck in the middle of three packed lanes and fell back to 16th. Meanwhile, a side-by-side action for the lead was occurring between Almirola and Buescher.

    With 50 laps remaining, Buescher was leading ahead of teammate/owner Keselowski followed by Almirola, Hamlin and Harvick while LaJoie, Cindric, Haley, Preece and Johnson were in the top 10. Shortly after, Hamlin drew his challenge for the lead beneath Buescher’s No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang, but the latter remained within contention.

    Under the final 40 scheduled laps, the top-33 competitors on the track were separated by less than two seconds and within two packed lanes as Buescher continued to lead with drafting help from Keselowski while Almirola, Cindric and Preece settled in the top five ahead of Harrison Burton, McDowell, Hamlin, Suarez and Larson.

    Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Buescher retained the lead followed by a long line of competitors running on the outside lane, which included seven Fords occupying the top-seven spots that included Keselowski, Almirola, Cindric, Preece, Burton and McDowell. A lap later, Wallace pitted for fresh tires and fuel under green.

    Then with 25 laps remaining, a wave of competitors led by Buescher pitted under green, mainly for fuel, as Suarez took over the lead. The Toyota competitors led by Hamlin and Truex would pit during the following lap before a group of five led by McDowell pitted during the ensuing lap. More competitors led by Suarez would then pit with 21 laps remaining as Burton emerged with the lead. Shortly after, Burton pitted along with a handful of competitors including Logano. During the pit stops, Stenhouse was penalized for speeding while exiting pit road.

    Then with 19 laps remaining, the caution flew when a stack-up on the outside lane entering Turns 1 and 2 resulted with McDowell hitting and sending Preece sideways as Preece spun below the track and hit the right side of Johnson’s car before he shot back up to the wall and ignited a multi-car wreck that collected Truex, Briscoe, Gibbs and Harvick. At the moment of caution, Burton, who had just pitted under green, cycled into the lead followed by Logano, Byron, Kyle Busch and Larson while Austin Dillon, Suarez, Allmendinger, Keselowski and Gragson were running in the top 10.

    Down to the final 13 laps of the event, the race restarted under green as Burton and Logano occupied the front row. At the start, Burton and Logano battled dead even for the lead. As Burton tried to pull ahead through the backstretch, Logano gained the upper hand on the inside lane as he assumed the lead followed by Byron, Allmendinger and Larson. Then through the frontstretch, Logano’s car dipped below the double yellow lines. This caused a brief stack up as Byron was left in the middle of a three-wide battle and began losing spots after losing the draft. Then through the backstretch, Allmendinger forced his way below Logano as he took the lead followed by Larson as Logano was losing spots on the outside lane while nearly making contact with Burton.

    As the field fanned out and jostled for positions toward the front with 10 laps remaining, Keselowski cycled his way back into the lead followed by Buescher, Allmendinger, Larson and Busch. Busch would soon move up to third followed by teammate Austin Dillon and Byron while Allmendinger was slowly losing ground after losing the lead pack.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Keselowski was leading teammate Buescher while Busch settled in third as he had teammate Dillon and Byron drafting him while Stenhouse, Logano, Cindric, Bell and Larson in top 10.

    Then with four laps remaining, Busch dropped the hammer through the backstretch as he moved to the outside lane and was drafted into the lead followed by Dillon, Byron and Stenhouse while Keselowski and Buescher were stuck on the inside lane with no additional help as they dropped to fifth and sixth. Then as Busch led the field towards the frontstretch with the start/finish line within sight, the caution flew with two laps remaining and the event was sent into overtime when Suarez got turned and spun towards the frontstretch before getting his No. 99 Tootsies Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 stuck on the frontstretch grass.

    At the start of the first overtime attempt, Busch, who started on the outside lane alongside Dillon, jumped ahead before crossing over in front of Dillon’s No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Club Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to get the draft from his Richard Childress Racing teammate while Logano tried to rally on the outside lane. Logano would gain the upper hand through the backstretch as he had Stenhouse, Larson and Bell pushing him while Busch had to save his No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 from going off the track after getting bumped by Dillon. Then, Stenhouse moved to the inside of Logano as he took the lead followed by Larson. Not long after, however, the caution returned and the field was sent into a second overtime attempt when Dillon got bumped and turned by Byron exiting the backstretch as he bumped into Hamlin before sending himself and Byron for a spin. Both Dillon and Byron then veered back up the track and ignited another multi-car pileup in Turn 3 that involved Haley, Gilliland, Cindric, Burton, Gragson, Chastain, Zane Smith, Herbst and Johnson, whose strong run came to an end with a wrecked race car. In the midst of the carnage, Busch, who lost his teammate and drafting partner, fell back to sixth behind Logano and Allmendinger.

    At the start of the second overtime attempt, where Stenhouse and Larson occupied the front row, Stenhouse retained the lead despite receiving pressure from Logano, Larson, Busch and a pack of cars through double lanes through the backstretch and entering the frontstretch.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Stenhouse remained as the leader before being overtaken by both Logano and Larson exiting the frontstretch. Entering Turns 1 and 2, however, Stenhouse received a push from Bell on the inside lane to mount his way back to the front and draw himself alongside Logano. Then through Turns 1 and 2, Pastrana got bumped by Almirola as he clipped Larson and sent Larson’s No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 head-on into the outside wall. The contact triggered a massive wreck on the final lap that included Busch, Blaney, Cindric, Wallace, Keselowski, Hamlin and Allmendinger. The wreck on the final lap was also enough for NASCAR to conclude the event under caution and Stenhouse, who was low on fuel in overtime, emerged as the winner as he was out in front when the caution was displayed ahead of Logano and Bell.

    With the victory, Stenhouse became the 42nd different competitor to win the Daytona 500 as he notched his third NASCAR Cup Series career victory and snapped a 199-race winless drought, with his last victory occurring at Daytona in July 2017. He also recorded the second Cup career victory for JTG-Daugherty Racing, which celebrated a Daytona 500 pole with Stenhouse in 2020, as co-owners Jodi Geschickter and Brad Daugherty became the first female and African-American duo as co-owners of a car to win the 500. Stenhouse’s victory also occurred in his first race being reunited with veteran Mike Kelley, who led Stenhouse to back-to-back Xfinity Series championships in 2011 and 2012.

    Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “I think this whole off season [period], [crew chief] Mike [Kelley] just preached how much we all believed in each other,” Stenhouse, who celebrated by climbing the frontstretch catchfence, said on FOX. “[The team] left me a note on the car that said they believe in me and to go get the job done tonight. I made a few mistakes. We were able to battle back. This Kroger/Cottonelle team worked really, really hard this off-season. Great pit stops, Hendrick engines, glad a Chevy won. Man, this is unbelievable. This is the sight of my last win back in 2017. We worked really hard. We had a couple shots last year to get a win and fell short. It was a tough season, but man, we got it done. Daytona 500.”

    “I knew I was gonna take the top [lane for the second overtime],” Stenhouse added. “I was hoping [Logano] was gonna follow and he did. He was able to push us out. I went to the bottom [lane]. [Busch] and [Logano] got a huge run. [Larson] split me in the middle, but another fellow dirt racer with Bell gave me a good shot down the little short chute into [Turn] 1. Man, we were out front when the caution came out. We were out of fuel, so the fuel light was going crazy, but man, I hope you all [fans] had fun. That was a heck of a race!”

    While Stenhouse celebrated the victory, Logano, the reigning series champion, settled in a disappointing second place while Bell, Buescher and Bowman finished in the top five.

    “Second’s the worst, man,” Logano said. “You’re so close. Leading the white flag lap there, I was up front. Kyle gave me a good push and you’re watching in the mirror and you’re three wide across there…You think you’re racing to the checkered flag and you put yourself in the best position to try to win at the start/finish line, and just caution came out. You wish you could race to the end. Obviously, you can’t when they wreck that much. Congratulations to Ricky. There’s nothing like winning the Daytona 500. That’s why it stings so much finishing second, but still proud of the team, still proud of the effort coming off the championship last year and bringing this Shell/Pennzoil Mustang back toward the front and getting a Ford close to the front. Wish it was in Victory Lane, though.”

    “If you would’ve told me pre-race I was gonna run third, I would’ve jumped up and down and smiling ear to ear,” Bell said. “I am very happy and very, very thankful that I would get this Rheem and DeWalt Camry a good solid finish, but man, just so close to a crown jewel. I feel like if [the race] would’ve stayed green, I would’ve been on offense. Who knows, who knows, but very proud and thankful to be here at Joe Gibbs Racing. That’s really cool. Very, very happy for Ricky.”

    Allmendinger, who was involved in the final lap multi-car melee, rallied to come home in sixth place while Suarez, Blaney, Chastain and Riley Herbst achieved top-10 results. Notably, Pastrana finished 11th in his Cup debut, Harvick finished 12th in his 22nd and final Daytona 500 career start in front of Zane Smith, Hamlin fell back to 17th while Larson, Kyle Busch, Wallace, Almirola, Keselowski and Cindric ended up 18th through 23rd, respectively, after wrecking on the final lap. In addition, Conor Daly and Johnson ended up 29th and 31st, respectively, in the final running order.

    There were 53 lead changes for 21 different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 38 laps. At 212 laps (530 miles), this season marked the longest-ever running of the Daytona 500 in distance.

    Following the first event on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, Joey Logano leads the regular-season standings by two points over Chris Buescher, four over Ricky Stenhouse Jr., eight over Christopher Bell, 11 over Alex Bowman and 14 over Ross Chastain.

    Results.

    1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 10 laps led

    2. Joey Logano, 12 laps led

    3. Christopher Bell, 20 laps led

    4. Chris Buescher, 32 laps led

    5. Alex Bowman, 12 laps led

    6. AJ Allmendinger, one lap led

    7. Daniel Suarez, three laps led

    8. Ryan Blaney, one lap led

    9. Ross Chastain, six laps led, Stage 2 winner

    10. Riley Herbst

    11. Travis Pastrana, two laps led

    12. Kevin Harvick, one lap led

    13. Zane Smith

    14. Cody Ware

    15. Martin Truex Jr., 13 laps led

    16. Corey LaJoie

    17. Denny Hamlin, six laps led

    18. Kyle Larson – OUT, Accident, six laps led

    19. Kyle Busch – OUT, Accident, six laps led

    20. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Accident, five laps led

    21. Aric Almirola – OUT, Accident, 16 laps led

    22. Brad Keselowski – OUT, Accident, 42 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    23. Austin Cindric – OUT, Accident

    24. Noah Gragson, two laps down

    25. Ty Gibbs, two laps down

    26. Harrison Burton, two laps down, nine laps led

    27. Todd Gilliland, four laps down

    28. Michael McDowell, four laps down

    29. Conor Daly, six laps down

    30. BJ McLeod, eight laps down

    31. Jimmie Johnson – OUT, Accident

    32. Justin Haley – OUT, Accident

    33. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident

    34. William Byron – OUT, Accident

    35. Chase Briscoe – OUT, Accident, five laps led

    36. Ryan Preece – OUT, Accident, four laps led

    37. Erik Jones – OUT, Accident

    38. Chase Elliott – OUT, Accident

    39. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident

    40. Ty Dillon – OUT, Engine

    With the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season underway, the competitors and teams will be embarking on a three-race West Coast swing, beginning at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, which will mark the sport’s final competition at the two-mile speedway venue. The event is scheduled to occur on next Sunday, February 26, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Trent Owens to call 300th Cup event as crew chief at New Hampshire

    Trent Owens to call 300th Cup event as crew chief at New Hampshire

    A significant milestone start is in the making for Trent Owens, crew chief for Justin Haley and the No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team in the NASCAR Cup Series. By participating in this weekend’s Cup event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Owens will call his 300th career race as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Davidson, North Carolina, and the nephew of seven-time NASCAR champion and Hall of Famer Richard Petty who made select starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Owens made his debut as a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief at Texas Motor Speedway in April for Reed Sorenson and the No. 32 Braun Racing Toyota Camry team that campaigned in select Cup events. By then, Owens was also in his fifth season as an Xfinity Series crew chief for Braun Racing. Throughout the 2010 season, the No. 32 entry qualified for six events and notched a season-best 29th-place result at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July with Quebec’s Jacques Villenueve.

    Two years later, Owens made his lone appearance as a Cup Series crew chief at Daytona International Speedway in July for the 1988 NASCAR champion and Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, who piloted the No. 50 Chevrolet Impala for Turner Motorsports to a 37th-place result after being involved in a late multi-car wreck.

    In 2014, Owens became a full-time Cup Series crew chief for the first time as he was paired with Aric Almirola and the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford Fusion team. The duo commenced the season with a wreck and a 39th-place result in the 56th running of the Daytona 500, but rallied three races later by posting a third-place result at Bristol Motor Speedway in March. Another 14 races later, Owens and Almirola achieved their first career victory in the Cup Series in the rain-shortened Coke Zero 400 at Daytona in July. The victory occurred on the 30th anniversary where Richard Petty notched his record-breaking 200th victory in NASCAR’s premier series and it marked the first win for Petty’s iconic No. 43 since April 1999. With the victory and a guaranteed spot in the 2014 Cup Playoffs, Owens and Almirola were one of four teams eliminated following the Round of 16 despite finishing as high as sixth during the round. They went on to conclude the season in 16th place in the final standings. 

    The following season, Owens, Almirola and the No. 43 RPM Ford team managed to record three top-five results, one extra than 2014, and six top-10 results, one less than 2014. Despite finishing in fourth place at Richmond Raceway in September, they missed the 2015 Cup Playoffs by 17 points and they went on to finish in 17th place in the final standings.

    Remaining as Almirola’s crew chief for the 2016 Cup season, Owens led the No. 43 team to six top-15 results and a season-best 12th-place result in the 58th running of the Daytona 500. Despite surpassing 100 Cup appearances as a crew chief, he was replaced by veteran Drew Blickensderfer for seven of the remaining eight scheduled events.

    The 2017 Cup season marked a new beginning for Owens, who joined JTG-Daugherty Racing as a crew chief for Chris Buescher and the No. 37 Chevrolet SS team. The team’s best results were a pair of sixth-place results at Michigan International Speedway in August and at Kansas Speedway in October. To go along with an additional two top-10 results, Owens guided Buescher to a 25th-place result in the final standings.

    In 2018, Owens and Buescher commenced the season on a strong note by finishing in fifth place in the 60th running of the Daytona 500. The remaining 25 regular season events, however, were a struggle for the duo as they managed an additional fifth-place result at Daytona in July and were unable to make the 2018 Cup Playoffs. Following the first Playoff event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September, JTG-Daugherty Racing swapped the crew chiefs of the team’s two-car lineup that resulted with Owens paired with AJ Allmendinger and the No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team while Tristan Smith joined forces with Buescher. During the final nine scheduled events, Owens and Allmendinger achieved two top-10 results as the No. 47 team finished in 22nd place in the final standings, two spots ahead of Buescher. 

    In 2019, Owens, who remained at JTG-Daugherty Racing for a third consecutive season, reunited with Buescher as he returned atop the pit box of the No. 37 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team. Like the previous two seasons, however, the duo struggled with consistency as they only achieved four top-10 results, including a sixth-place result in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, before settling in 25th place in the final standings. By then, Owens surpassed 200 appearances as a Cup crew chief.

    The following season, Owens, who remained at JTG-Daugherty Racing for a fourth consecutive season, was paired with Ryan Preece, who took over the No. 37 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to make room for the team’s newest competitor, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., in the No. 47 Chevrolet. Appearing in all but one of the 36-race schedule, Owens and Preece recorded two top-10 results and a season-best result of ninth place at Bristol Motor Speedway Night Race in September before falling back to 29th place in the final standings.

    Owens, Preece and the No. 37 JTG-Daugherty Racing Chevrolet team entered the 2021 Cup season without a charter that would guarantee them a spot in every event of the new season. Despite this, they qualified for the 63rd running of the Daytona 500, where Preece finished sixth despite being involved in a multi-car wreck on the final lap. Preece then backed it up by finishing ninth at the Daytona Road Course. Overall, Owens and Preece recorded two additional top-10 results and a season-best fourth-place result at Daytona in August. Despite earning a starting spot for every scheduled event, they ended up in 27th place in the final standings.

    A month prior to the 2022 Cup Series season, Owens was named crew chief for Kaulig Racing’s No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team that was set to campaign on a full-time basis with Justin Haley serving as the driver. Owens’ first campaign with Haley and Kaulig Racing started off on a rough note when Haley, who was running towards the front, was eliminated in a late accident during the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in February. Two weeks later, Owens was suspended for four races after Haley’s No. 31 Chevrolet lost a right-front tire during the early stages of the 64th running of the Daytona 500. Despite Kaulig’s attempts to appeal the suspension, which kept Owens atop the No. 31 pit box for the following three events in the West Coast, the suspension was ultimately upheld in late March as Owens was absent from Atlanta Motor Speedway in March through Martinsville Speedway in April.

    A month later and following a stellar third-place run with Haley at Darlington Raceway, Owens was issued another four-race suspension after the No. 31 Chevrolet lost a left-rear tire upon exiting his pit stall during an early caution period at Kansas Speedway. Since returning atop the No. 31 pit box at Nashville Superspeedway in late June, Owens and Haley are coming off a strong seventh-place run at Atlanta. With two top-10 results during the first 19 scheduled events, the duo are ranked in 22nd place in the drivers’ standings as they trail the top-16 cutline to make the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs by 149 points.

    Through 299 previous Cup appearances, Owens has achieved one victory, nine top-five results and 33 top-10 results while working with 10 different competitors.

    Owens is scheduled to call his 300th Cup Series career event as a crew chief at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 17, with the event’s coverage to commence as 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Brian Pattie to call 500th Cup career race as crew chief at Martinsville

    Brian Pattie to call 500th Cup career race as crew chief at Martinsville

    A significant milestone achievement is in the making for Brian Pattie, crew chief for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series. By participating in this weekend’s 400-mile Cup event at Martinsville Speedway, Pattie will call his 500th event as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series. 

    A native of Zephyrhills, Florida, Pattie made his debut as a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief at Watkins Glen International in August 1999, where he was paired with Canadian Ron Fellows and the No. 87 NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet team. By then, he was in his fifth season working for NEMCO Motorsports and had made select starts as a crew chief for the organization between the Camping World Truck Series and Xfinity Series. In Pattie’s first event as a Cup crew chief, Fellows started seventh and notched a runner-up result behind Jeff Gordon.

    Pattie spent the following two seasons working as a crew chief for NEMCO Motorsports that was campaigning on a part-time basis in the Xfinity Series and making limited Cup Series starts on the road course events (Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen). Paired with Fellows, Pattie and Fellows made a total of three starts between 2000 and 2001, where Fellows did not finish during his three starts.

    Then in 2002, Pattie reunited with Hendrick Motorsports and worked as a crew chief in a total of 22 events for the team’s No. 25 Chevrolet entry that started the season with driver Jerry Nadeau. Making his first appearance of the season at Darlington Raceway in March, Pattie led Nadeau and the No. 25 team to only one top-10 result, which was an eighth-place at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, through seven events, which concluded at Richmond Raceway in May. Prior to the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, Nadeau was replaced by Joe Nemechek due to performance issues. Pattie and Nemechek, however, struggled through the following 15 scheduled events as they finished no higher than 18th place before Pattie was replaced by Peter Sospenzo for the rest of the 2002 season.

    From 2003 to early 2008, Pattie scaled back to the Xfinity Series. During the 2003 season, he took over as the team manager for NEMCO Motorsports before joining Chip Ganassi Racing in mid-2004 and reassuming his role as crew chief for CGR’s “all-star” entry that was shared between Reed Sorenson, Casey Mears and Jamie McMurray. During the following five seasons at CGR, Pattie achieved three victories and tallied his win column to 11, with his previous eight victories occurring at NEMCO.  

    Then in June 2008, Pattie returned to the Cup Series as a crew chief for Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 42 Dodge team. By then, Montoya had undergone his third crew chief change of the season after posting a single top-five result (second place at Talladega Superspeedway in April) through the first 16 scheduled events. Making his first appearance at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Pattie led Montoya and the No. 42 team to a single top-five result, which was a fourth-place result at Watkins Glen in August, and a 25th-place result in the final driver’s standings.

    Remaining as Montoya’s crew chief in 2009 as Chip Ganassi Racing merged with Dale Earnhardt Inc. and swapped manufactures from Dodge to Chevrolet, Pattie and Montoya had a breakout season, where they achieved two poles, 12 top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch. They nearly won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July before Montoya, who led a race-high 116 of 160 laps, was penalized for speeding on pit road during a cycle of green flag pit stops with 35 laps remaining, which relegated him back to 11th place in the final running order. Nonetheless, Pattie led Montoya and the No. 42 Chevrolet team into the 2009 Cup Playoffs and with an opportunity to compete for the title. The duo earned four consecutive top-four results at the start of the Playoffs, but only two top-10 results during the remaining six events as the No. 42 team settled in eighth place in the final standings.

    Through the first 21 events of the 2010 Cup season, Pattie and Montoya achieved three poles, four top-five results and eight top-10 results, but a series of inconsistent results prevented the team from returning to the Playoffs. Nonetheless, the duo scored a breakthrough victory at Watkins Glen in August after Montoya led 74 of 90 laps en route to his second Cup career victory as Pattie achieved his first win in NASCAR’s premier series as a crew chief. Pattie and Montoya went on to record five additional top-10 results through the remaining 14 scheduled events before settling in 17th place in the final standings. By then, Pattie surpassed 100 career events as a Cup Series crew chief.

    Pattie initially commenced the 2011 Cup Series season as Montoya’s crew chief for a third full-time season, where they achieved two poles, two top-five results and six top-10 results during the first 19 scheduled events. Following New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July, however, Pattie was replaced by Jim Pohlman for the remainder of the season.

    Then five months later, Pattie was named a full-time Cup Series crew chief for the No. 15 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota Camry team piloted by Clint Bowyer for the 2012 season. Following two top-five results and eight top-10 results during the first 15 scheduled events, Pattie and Bowyer achieved their first victory with MWR after Bowyer led a race-high 71 of 112 and fended off the field during a two-lap shootout to emerge victorious at Sonoma Raceway in June. Ten races and an additional five top-10 results later, the duo rallied from a midway spin and survived a late fuel mileage battle to claim a second victory of 2012 at Richmond Raceway in September, which marked the regular season finale before the Playoffs commenced. 

    Pattie, Bowyer and MWR began their charge for the 2012 Cup championship by posting three consecutive top-10 results during the first three Playoff events. After being involved in a last lap multi-car wreck at Talladega Superspeedway in early October, they rallied the following weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway by claiming a third victory of the season after Bowyer fended off Denny Hamlin in another fuel mileage battle to the finish. Four races later, Pattie and Bowyer, both of whom were coming off three consecutive top-six results, were within striking distance of narrowing the deficit of the championship battle. Then at Phoenix Raceway in November, their title hopes evaporated after Bowyer was involved in a late controversial incident with Jeff Gordon, where Gordon retaliated from an earlier contact with Bowyer by wrecking Bowyer head-on into the Turn 3 wall and igniting a scuffle between the two respective crew members in the garage area. Pattie and Bowyer managed to record a runner-up result in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but settled in second place in the final standings and 39 points shy of the title to Brad Keselowski. While they did not emerge as the champions, Pattie and Bowyer collected a total of three victories, 10 top-five results, 23 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 10.9 in their first campaign with MWR

    The 2013 Cup Series season saw Pattie and Bowyer return to the Playoffs, but only achieve 10 top-five results, 19 top-10 results and a seventh-place result in the final standings as they were unable to record a single victory. The consistent season for the duo, however, was overshadowed with their involvement in manipulating the final results at Richmond in September, where Bowyer spun intentionally late in the event and gave teammate Martin Truex Jr. an opportunity to capitalize on a three-lap shootout and make the 2013 Cup Playoffs. A few days after Richmond, MWR was fined $300,000 and docked 50 driver/owner points, which knocked Truex out of the Playoffs while Bowyer, who had secured a Playoff spot prior to Richmond, remained in the postseason. In addition, all three MWR crew chiefs, including Pattie, were placed on probation for the remainder of the season. In the midst of the controversy, Pattie surpassed 200 Cup events as a crew chief.

    Following two consistent seasons at MWR, Pattie and Bowyer struggled in 2014, where they only achieved five top-five results and 15 top-10 results as they did not make the Playoffs and fell back to 19th place in the final standings. Pattie then spent the first 16 events of the 2015 season with Bowyer, where they recorded four top-10 results, before MWR underwent a crew chief swap to the team’s two-car effort that saw Pattie move to the No. 55 Toyota team piloted by David Ragan while Billy Scott took over as Bowyer’s crew chief. Pattie’s best result with Ragan in 20 races was 12th place at Daytona in July. When the 2015 Cup Series season concluded, MWR ceased operations.

    The 2016 Cup Series season marked a new beginning for Pattie, who joined Roush Fenway Racing as a crew chief for the No. 16 Ford Fusion team piloted by veteran Greg Biffle. The new duo, however, struggled with consistency as they managed a single top-five result together throughout the 36-race schedule, which was a fifth-place result at New Hampshire in July. Failing to make the 2016 Cup Playoffs, Biffle settled in 23rd place in the final standings. Despite being absent for four events, two of which stemmed from post-race violations discovered at Charlotte Motor Speedway between late May and early June, Pattie surpassed 300 Cup events as a crew chief.

    The following season, Pattie, who remained at RFR, was paired with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the No. 17 Ford Fusion team. Pattie and Stenhouse collected four top-10 results through the first nine scheduled events and were coming off a fourth-place effort at Richmond Raceway in April. Then during the following event at Talladega in May, the duo, which started on pole position, emerged victorious after Stenhouse outlasted a late battle with Kyle Busch during an overtime restart to claim his first Cup career victory. The victory snapped a three-year winless drought for Roush Fenway Racing and a five-year winless drought for Pattie.

    Seven races later, Pattie and Stenhouse went to Victory Lane for a second time in 2017 after Stenhouse survived another overtime restart to win at Daytona in July. The pair of superspeedway victories were enough for the No. 17 RFR Ford team to qualify for the 2017 Cup Playoffs. Despite finishing no higher than 15th place during the Playoff’s Round of 16, Pattie and Stenhouse earned valuable stage points to transfer to the Round of 12 by a mere margin. Their 2017 title hopes, however, came to an end during the Round of 12 after finishing no higher than 13th place during the round’s three events. Nonetheless, they capped off their season with two top-10 results during the final four scheduled events and a 13th-place result in the final standings.

    Compared to the 2017 season, the 2018 and 2019 Cup seasons were difficult seasons for both Pattie and Stenhouse as they accumulated a total of four top-five results and eight top-10 results, with their best result in the standings being 18th in 2018. In the midst of the two seasons, Pattie surpassed 400 Cup events as a crew chief. 

    In 2020, Pattie and Stenhouse both departed RFR and joined JTG-Daugherty Racing, where Stenhouse took over the No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. They commenced the season on a high note by claiming the pole position for the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in February. During the main event, however, Stenhouse was penalized late for advancing his position below the double yellow line “out of bounds” zone. He was then involved in a late collision while trying to pit under green and relegated back to 20th place in the final running order. Despite posting three top-five results during the following 12 scheduled events, a series of inconsistent results prevented the duo from making the 2020 Cup Playoffs in their first campaign with JTG-Daugherty Racing. Finishing no higher than 12th place during the 10 Playoff events, Pattie and Stenhouse finished in 24th place in the final standings.

    Remaining at JTG-Daugherty Racing in 2021, Pattie and Stenhouse commenced the season with six consecutive top-20 results before notching a strong runner-up result at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course in April. They managed a sixth-place effort at Nashville Superspeedway in June before enduring another inconsistent season as they missed the Playoffs and settled in 22nd place in the final standings.

    Through 499 previous Cup events, Pattie has achieved with six victories, nine poles, 56 top-five results and 127 top-10 results while working with eight different competitors. He and Stenhouse have finished no higher than 10th place during the first seven events of the 2022 season and they are ranked in 28th place in the regular season standings.

    Pattie is scheduled to call his 500th Cup Series event at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, April 9, with coverage to occur at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.