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  • Truex on pole position for NASCAR All-Star Race

    Truex on pole position for NASCAR All-Star Race

    The 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. will start on pole position for the 2020 NASCAR All-Star Race on Wednesday, July 15, by virtue of a random draw. The lineup was revealed during Monday night’s coverage of NASCAR Race Hub on FS1.

    Truex, who is in his second season driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, is ranked seventh in the Cup Series regular-season standings and trails points leader Kevin Harvick by 132 points. He is guaranteed a spot in the 2020 Playoffs by virtue of his victory at Martinsville Speedway in June. He will also make his ninth career start in NASCAR’s All-Star feature.

    Joining Truex on the front row is Alex Bowman, who will make his third consecutive All-Star Race appearance. Ryan Blaney, who will make his fourth consecutive All-Star start, will start third followed by newcomer Justin Haley, who will make his All-Star Race debut. Kevin Harvick, a two-time winner of the All-Star Race, will start fifth.

    Matt Kenseth, the 2004 All-Star Race champion who will pilot the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE that won last year’s race with Kyle Larson, will start in sixth followed by the 2010 All-Star winner and teammate Kurt Busch. Rookie Cole Custer, coming off his thrilling victory last Sunday at Kentucky Speedway, will roll off the grid in eighth while making his All-Star Race debut. Brad Keselowski will start ninth while Kyle Busch, the 2017 All-Star Race champion, will round out the top 10.

    Ryan Newman, the 2002 All-Star Race champion, will start 11th alongside Joey Logano, winner of the 2016 All-Star feature. Chase Elliott will start 13th next to teammate Jimmie Johnson, a four-time All-Star Race winner who will make his 19th and final start in the featured race. Denny Hamlin, the 2015 All-Star champion, will start 15th while teammate Erik Jones will round out the top-16 field as competitors that have already been guaranteed a spot for the main event.

    The final four spots of the 20-car field will be determined following the NASCAR All-Star Open, which will occur prior to the All-Star Race on July 15. The leaders/winners of each of the three segments will advance to the All-Star Race and will be joined by the Fan Vote winner.

    This year’s All-Star Race will occur at Bristol Motor Speedway for the first time in NASCAR history. Among the rules featured for the race includes the Choose Rule, where the competitors must commit to the inside or outside lane for a restart while approaching a designated spot on the track; extra sponsor exposure, where the car number will move to the rear wheel and allow the exposure of sponsors; and underglow lights, where the car automatically qualified for the All-Star Race will have lights glowing beneath the racing vehicles. This will mark the first time where the underglow lights will be featured on the cars since Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson sported underglow lights to their cars during the Burnouts on Broadway spectacle as part of NASCAR’s Champion’s Week in Nashville last December.

    This year’s All-Star Race will feature four segments with 55 laps in the first segment, 35 in the second, 35 in the third and 15 for the fourth and final segment, a total of 140 laps where one million dollars awaits the winner.

    The 2020 NASCAR All-Star Race will air on July 15 at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • 2020 Cup Playoff outlook after Kentucky

    2020 Cup Playoff outlook after Kentucky

    With nine races remaining until the 2020 NASCAR Cup Playoffs commences, a new name has been added to the postseason field.

    After his thrilling, four-wide pass for the win on Sunday in the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway, rookie Cole Custer has gone from being an Xfinity Series title contender to a Cup Series rookie and now, a Cup Series winner in a span of nine months. Of all the records he accomplished with his victory at Kentucky, the biggest one of all is guaranteeing himself and his No. 41 Haas Automation/Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang team a spot in the postseason with an opportunity to contend for a Cup Series championship. In addition, he is set to become the 37th competitor to make the Cup Series Playoffs since its inception in 2004 and the first rookie contender to make the Playoffs since Chase Elliott and Chris Buescher qualified in 2016.

    Custer’s win at the Bluegrass State also stirred a major shakeup to the Playoff field with the Californian leaping from 25th to a spot within the top-16 postseason field. Through the first 17 Cup races of the 2020 season, nine competitors, including Custer, are guaranteed spots in the Playoffs by virtue of a win. That leaves seven spots vacant and many big names on the bubble or looking on the outside of the cutline with the postseason more than a month away from starting.

    The first competitor on the bubble is Aric Almirola, Custer’s teammate. Almirola and his No. 10 Smithfield/Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang team had a race-winning setup at Kentucky after leading a race-high 128 laps and winning the first stage. An eighth-place result was a result that was not in mind for the Floridian, who has not won a Cup race since Talladega Superspeedway in October 2018. The good news for Almirola is he holds a 133-point cushion above the top-16 cutline and he recorded five consecutive top-five results prior to Kentucky, which indicates that his No. 10 team is hitting their strides late into the regular season while preparing for a title run.

    Like Almirola, Kurt Busch had a strong run at Kentucky. Starting seventh, Busch was shuffled out of the top 10 at the start of the race, but he was able to work his way back towards the front as the run progressed. Restarting fifth with two laps remaining, the 2004 Cup champion also had an opportunity to repeat his magic from last year’s Kentucky race, where he won in a thrilling two-lap shootout against his brother, Kyle. This year, however, Busch could only work his way as high as fifth when the checkered flag flew. While he did not earn his first win of the 2020 season, he and his No. 1 Monster Energy/Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team are 104 points above the cutline.

    Unlike Kurt, Kyle Busch had a disappointing run at Kentucky. A two-time Cup winner at the Bluegrass State, he started on pole by virtue of a random draw. After leading the first nine laps, things fell apart for Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Toyota team, where they struggled in keeping pace with the leaders as the driver also fought grip issues. With less than 100 laps remaining, Busch nearly wrecked in Turn 4, but he was able to straighten his car and continue at the expense of losing multiple spots on the track. A 21st-place result left the reigning two-time Cup Series champion winless for another week into the 2020 season, but he remains 89 points above the cutline.

    If there was someone who had a great run at Kentucky on Sunday, it was Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang team. Starting 10th, DiBenedetto ran within the top five and top 10 throughout the race. On the final restart, he was able to charge his way from eighth to third when the checkered flag flew. DiBenedetto’s third-place result was his best since finishing in the runner-up spot at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in February. The podium spot was enough for DiBenedetto to stabilize himself above the cutline by 85 points.

    For Clint Bowyer, the Kentucky race was a day where late restarts hindered Bowyer’s run for a top-10 result. Starting 15th, Bowyer was able to work his way up to ninth when the first stage concluded. He was also in position for a top-10 result in the second stage, but a caution during a round of pit stops under green cost Bowyer spots as he could work his way back as high as 13th. In the final laps, Bowyer was in position to notch a top-10 result, but he was shuffled back to 14th when he crossed the finish line under the checkered flag. Bowyer’s eighth top-15 result of the season kept him 64 points above the cutline.

    For William Byron, it was a salvageable day for the Charlotte native and the No. 24 AXALTA/Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team. Starting 21st, Byron made his way within the top 10 in the opening laps, but struggled on the bottom lane the ensuing restart. He worked his way up to 15th when the first stage concluded. The second stage was where Byron struggled the most with loose conditions as he settled outside the top 20 when the stage concluded. Making his way up towards the top 15 in the final stage, an opportunity presented itself for Byron during a cycle of pit stops under green and he was leading with 38 laps remaining. The caution allowed Byron to pit for four fresh tires and line up in sixth for the following restart. The bottom lane, however, hindered Byron’s progress to move towards the front. Despite starting seventh with two laps remaining, he was shuffled back to 11th when the checkered flag flew. With his 11th top-15 result of his junior season in the Cup level, he is 47 points above the cutline.

    A week after COVID-19 symptoms prevented him from racing for the first time since his debut in the Cup Series, Jimmie Johnson came roaring into Kentucky with vengeance and with a grand opportunity to leap himself into the Playoffs in his swan song season in the series. For much of the race, it appeared that Johnson and his No. 48 Ally/Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team were growing closer and closer towards the front, working their way from starting 20th and running within the top 10. In the closing laps, Johnson was able to muscle his way into the top five and was lined up in third on a restart with 19 laps remaining with an opportunity to snatch the lead and his first win in over two years. Then, it came to a crushing blow when contact from Brad Keselowski sent Johnson sideways and out of contention. While Johnson was able to continue, the damage was done as he could only work his way back as high as 21st when the checkered flag flew. Even after missing last weekend’s race at Indianapolis followed by his result outside the top 20 at Kentucky, Johnson holds sole possession of the 16th and final spot to the Playoffs by 24 points as he is, already, setting his sights towards the upcoming regular-season races.

    With a 13th-place result, Austin Dillon finds himself outside the top-16 cutline by 24 points. The same goes for his Richard Childress Racing teammate and rookie Tyler Reddick, who trails by 41 points and continues to pursue his first Cup career win. Erik Jones, who struggled all race long at Kentucky with handling issues, finished 22nd as he and his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry team trail by 42 points. Like Jones, Bubba Wallace struggled with keeping up to pace with the leaders, and his 27th-place result, two laps behind, marked his seventh result outside the top 20. Wallace and the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team, however, remain in pursuit of the top-16 cutline by 84 points.

    Other notables that trail the top-16 cutline include Chris Buescher, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Christopher Bell, Michael McDowell, rookie John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Newman, Ty Dillon, Matt Kenseth, Corey LaJoie, Ryan Preece and Daniel Suarez.

    Next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on July 15, which starts with the All-Star Open at 7 p.m. ET on FS1 before the All-Star Race commences at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1. The next Cup points race is scheduled at Texas Motor Speedway on July 19, which will air at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Custer storms to first Cup career win at Kentucky

    Custer storms to first Cup career win at Kentucky

    In a two-lap sprint to the finish that produced an epic four-car battle for the win, rookie Cole Custer overtook Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick and Ryan Blaney on the final lap to score his first NASCAR Cup Series career win in the 10th annual running of the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway.

    The starting lineup was based on a random draw. Kyle Busch drew the pole position and started on the front row alongside Joey Logano. Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr. started at the rear of the field after their respective cars failed pre-race inspection twice.

    When the green flag waved and the 17th race of the 2020 Cup season started, Kyle Busch and Logano battled dead even through Turn 1 before Busch received a push from Aric Almirola in Turn 2 to retain the lead and lead the first lap. The following lap, Almirola and Keselowski each gained a spot while Logano fell back to fourth ahead of Alex Bowman. Behind, Kevin Harvick, who started third, had dropped to seventh.

    After spending the previous three laps trying to pass Kyle Busch for the lead, Almirola passed Busch on the inside lane in Turn 3 to assume command on the 10th lap. Five laps later, Almirola was leading by above half a second over Kyle Busch. Behind, Logano was in third approximately a second followed by Bowman, Keselowski, Matt DiBenedetto and Chase Elliott. Harvick was in eighth followed by Erik Jones and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 

    When the field reached the competition caution on Lap 25, Almirola had maintained his advantage by more than a second over Kyle Busch and more than two seconds over Logano. Harvick was in eighth while Austin Dillon, who started 19th, was in 13th ahead of William Byron. Jimmie Johnson was in 16th after starting 20th, rookie Tyler Reddick was in 18th ahead of Cole Custer, Denny Hamlin was in 21st after starting 12th and Bubba Wallace was in 26th ahead of rookie Christopher Bell. Martin Truex Jr. and Matt Kenseth, both of whom started at the rear of the field, were in 20th and 28th.

    Under the competition caution, the entire field pitted and Almirola retained the lead followed by Logano, Kyle Busch, Elliott, Bowman and Harvick. Following the pit stops, Ty Dillon was assessed a commitment line violation and was sent to the rear of the field for the restart.

    The green-flag racing resumed on Lap 30, and Logano, who received a push from Kyle Busch on the inside lane, challenged Almirola for the lead through the Turn 2 backstretch before Almirola cleared the field to retain the lead. Behind, Elliott moved into second and Harvick moved into fourth while Blaney and DiBenedetto battled for fifth. Kyle Busch had fallen back to 10th, Keselowski was back to 12th ahead of Truex and Johnson, and Hamlin drifted back to 24th ahead of Wallace. 

    By Lap 35, the majority of the field towards the front settled into racing in a single file line with Almirola still ahead by nearly a second over Elliott. Behind the leader Almirola, Blaney challenged and made a pass for fourth over Harvick while Truex made his first appearance in the top 10 after passing teammate Kyle Busch. Far behind the leaders, Hamlin continued to drop towards the rear of the field as he was scored in 26th after being overtaken by Wallace, Ty Dillon, Bell and Michael McDowell. His teammate, Erik Jones, was in 19th after running in the top 10 early in the race.

    Through the first 50 laps, Almirola stabilized his lead by more than seconds over Elliott and nearly four seconds over Logano. DiBenedetto moved up to fourth ahead of Harvick while Blaney fell back to sixth ahead of Bowman after his No. 12 Advance Auto Parts/Team Penske Ford Mustang popped out of gear. Truex was in 10th ahead of teammate Kyle Busch, Johnson and Austin Dillon while Keselowski was in 14th ahead of Byron. Custer was the highest-running rookie in 16th while Reddick and Bell were in 19th and 23rd. Kenseth and Ryan Newman were in 21st and 24th, Wallace was in 26th and Hamlin was in 28th.

    Nearly ten laps later, Almirola caught a bevy of competitors trying to remain ahead of Almirola and on the lead lap, starting with rookie John Hunter Nemechek. A handful of laps later, Almirola lapped Nemechek, Corey LaJoie and Wallace with McDowell, Newman and Hamlin ahead of him. Despite encountering the lapped traffic, Almirola maintained a steady lead over Elliott while DiBenedetto moved into third over Logano and Blaney, who continued to battle with shifter issues to his car.

    For the final laps, Almirola was able to cruise to the first stage win for his second stage victory of the season on Lap 80. By then, he lapped 25th-place Newman, but was unable to lap 24th-place Hamlin, who remained on the lead lap. In addition, Stenhouse sustained a flat tire as the stage concluded and he lost a lap in the process. Elliott was in second, four seconds behind, followed by Logano, DiBenedetto and Blaney while Harvick, Bowman, Kurt Busch, Bowyer and Truex were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Almirola exited first followed by Logano, DiBenedetto, Elliott and Blaney. Following the pit stops, Ty Dillon was penalized again, this time for speeding on pit road. In addition, Keselowski made another pit stop to have his lug nuts tightened.

    The second stage commenced on Lap 87, and both Almirola and Logano, again, battled dead even for the lead through Turns 1 and 2 before Almirola benefitted on the outside lane in Turn 3 to retain the lead. Logano settled in second, but was being pursued by DiBenedetto while teammates Elliott and Bowman were settled in the top five. Blaney was in sixth ahead of Truex and Bowyer. On Lap 92, Blaney moved into the top five after passing Bowman. Behind, Johnson moved into the top 10 in ninth after passing Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch. Harvick had fallen back in 14th behind teammate Custer while Hamlin was able to work his way up to 15th ahead of Reddick.

    When the raced reached its 100-lap mark, Almirola was still ahead by over a second over teammate Logano and two seconds over DiBenedetto. Blaney was in fourth ahead of Bowman while Truex overtook Elliott for sixth. Johnson was in ninth behind Bowyer, Kyle Busch was in 13th behind Reddick and teammate Hamlin was in 15th. Meanwhile, Harvick continued to lose positions as he was back in 19th ahead of Keselowski. Soon after, Harvick dropped out of the top 20, just behind Byron and Kenseth.

    Twenty laps later, Almirola and his No. 10 Smithfield Vote for Bacon/Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang stabilized a lead of more than two seconds over Logano and nearly four seconds over Blaney, who had overtaken DiBenedetto for position. Truex was in sixth in between Hendrick Motorsports’ teammates Bowman and Elliott while Johnson was in 10th behind Bowyer and Austin Dillon. Joe Gibbs Racing’s teammates Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Jones were in 13th, 15th and 17th, rookies Reddick and Custer were in 12th and 14th, and Byron and Harvick were back in 19th and 22nd. By then, 25 of the 38-car field were on the lead lap. 

    With the race reaching its halfway mark of the 267-lap feature, Blaney, who had overtaken teammate Logano for the runner-up spot earlier and had trimmed a chunk of Almirola’s lead, caught and challenged Almirola for the lead. On Lap 138, Blaney, who encountered shifter issues early in the race, benefited from the lapped car of Nemechek to overtake Almirola for the lead in Turn 3. A lap later, Blaney extended his lead to above a second over Almirola. Another five laps later, Logano moved into the runner-up spot while teammate Blaney was ahead by more than three seconds. At the same time, green-flag pit stops started to occur as Reddick pitted.

    With most of the leaders pitting under green, a handful of cars were on track led by Keselowski in the closing laps of the second stage. Just after Keselowski was making his green-flag stop, the caution flew on Lap 154 when Kenseth blew a left-rear tire and spun below the apron and back across the middle of Turns 3 and 4. Under caution, Kenseth pitted along with Harvick, Elliott and Byron. When the field cycled through, Keselowski emerged with the lead after beating Blaney to the start/finish line at the moment of caution from Kenseth’s spin.

    In a one-lap shootout to the conclusion of the second stage, Keselowski was able to edge teammate Blaney by 0.058 seconds to win the second stage and secure his fourth stage victory of the 2020 season. Custer settled in third followed by Logano and Truex while Bowman, Austin Dillon, Johnson, DiBenedetto and Jones settled in the top 10. During this time, Preece took his No. 37 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to the garage due to a transmission issue.

    Under the stage break, the majority of the leaders remained on track while some like Custer, Austin Dillon, Jones, Reddick, Harvick and Byron pitted. Also pitting was Kyle Busch, who was reporting shock issues to his No. 18 M&M’s Fudge Brownie/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry. 

    The final stage started with 100 laps remaining, and teammates Keselowski and Blaney battled against one another through Turn 1 before Keselowski cleared the field through the Turn 2 backstretch and retain the lead the following lap. Behind, Truex moved into second followed by Johnson as Blaney fell back to fourth. Meanwhile, Logano had fallen back to ninth. Three laps later, Kyle Busch, who was running in sixth, got super loose entering Turn 4, but was able to straighten his car and prevent it from spinning, though he fell back to 15th.

    Eight laps later, Truex started challenging Keselowski for the lead, trailing by approximately a tenth of a second, while Blaney overtook Johnson and moved back into fourth. With 86 laps remaining, Truex was able to overtake Keselowski for the lead. By then, his teammate, Kyle Busch, was in 24th, the last car on the lead lap while dealing with shock issues to his car. In addition, Almirola, who dominated throughout the race, was stuck in 10th.

    With 70 laps remaining, Truex was ahead by half a second over Keselowski while Blaney, who was still racing with one hand on the steering wheel while the other was holding the broken shifter, was behind by above a second. Johnson trailed by nearly three seconds while Kurt Busch was in fifth, trailing by more than four seconds. DiBenedetto, Elliott, Logano, Bowyer and Almirola were in the top 10. Ten laps later, Truex extended his advantage by more than two seconds over Keselowski followed by Blaney, Johnson and Kurt Busch.

    A lap later, the race’s second round of green-flag pit stops commenced as Johnson pitted. With 44 laps remaining, while most of the leaders have pitted, Keselowski returned to the lead along with a handful of cars. Behind the leaders, rookie Brennan Poole’s was smoking due to a left-rear tire hub, a lot through the turns, but he continued under green. A lap later, Keselowski pitted while Custer inherited the lead, but was among eight competitors who had yet to pit. 

    Then, with 38 laps remaining and just as Byron moved into the lead when Custer made his green-flag pit stop, the caution returned due to debris. At the same time, Austin Dillon, who was also about to pit but opted to remain on track under caution, spun and made minimal contact with the Turn 4 outside wall while returning to the track. Under caution, some drivers like Byron, Harvick, McDowell, Bell, Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon pitted. Johnson also pitted after making slight contact with the wall. When the field cycled through, Truex was back in the lead followed by Blaney, Kurt Busch, Keselowski and Byron. Harvick, McDowell, Bell, Austin Dillon and Johnson were in the top 10 with 23 cars on the lead lap.

    With the clouds hovering above the track and covering the bright sun, the race restarted with 30 laps remaining as Truex and Blaney battled against one another through Turns 1 and 2. In Turn 3, Truex cleared Blaney to retain the lead. Behind, Johnson, who made a three-wide move on the restart, was up to sixth as he would also return into the top five. At the front, Truex was ahead by two-tenths of a second over Blaney while Johnson was trailing by above a second. Behind, Harvick and Keselowski battled for fourth.

    While Blaney continued to pressure Truex for the lead, the caution returned with 24 laps remaining when Nemechek made contact with the outside wall entering Turn 2. Under caution, the majority of the leaders remained on track while some like Kyle Busch, Jones, Bowman, Almirola and Nemechek pitted. Nemechek would, ultimately, retire following his late incident.

    On the ensuing restart with 19 laps remaining, Johnson was pushing Blaney on the inside lane and attempted to move in front of Keselowski, who was peaking to Johnson’s left-hand quarter panel, when the two made contact on the frontstretch and Johnson spun his No. 48 Ally/Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE below the infield grass, where he was able to straighten his car despite losing all of his track positions. At the time of caution, Blaney emerged with the lead ahead of Truex.

    When the race restarted with 13 laps remaining, Harvick made his move on the inside lane in Turn 1 and went three wide with Truex and Blaney to emerge with the lead. Behind, Keselowski went three wide with Truex and Blaney before Truex moved into the runner-up spot. With the field behind scrambling for positions, Harvick was ahead by less than four-tenths of a second over Truex with Blaney in third, Keselowski in fourth and Austin Dillon in fifth. With 10 laps remaining, Harvick was ahead by around two-tenths of a second over Truex, who continued to pressure Harvick for the lead. Two laps later, the caution returned when Kenseth spun in Turn 4.

    The race restarted with two laps remaining as Harvick and Truex battled against one another through Turns 1 and 2. Behind, Blaney settled in third while Custer, racing on the outside lane, received a push from DiBenedetto to move into fourth ahead of Keselowski and Kurt Busch. In Turn 2, Truex got Harvick loose and nearly turned on the straightaway as they swapped lanes entering Turn 3. Truex gained a big run on the outside lane to squeak ahead, but Harvick stalled Truex towards his quarter panel as Blaney went three wide for the lead. On the fronstretch, Custer made it a four-wide battle on the outside lane before he came out on top in Turn 1 at the start of the final lap. Past the start/finish line, Blaney ran over a bump on the apron and came back into the side of Harvick, who bumped Truex as Harvick developed a massive left-rear tire rub to his No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza/Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang. At the front, Custer was able to hold off Truex for one final lap and cross the finish line above two-tenths of a second to claim his first Cup triumph in his 20th series start. 

    With his thrilling victory, Custer became the 194th driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race, the 33rd competitor to win across NASCAR’s three major national division series, the seventh alumnus from the NASCAR Next initiative to win a Cup race, the sixth Cup competitor to win at Kentucky and the first full-time Cup rookie to win a race since Chris Buescher won a rain-shortened race at Pocono in August 2016. In addition to becoming the seventh driver to win a Cup race for Stewart-Haas Racing, he recorded the 60th Cup victory for SHR and the first series win for veteran crew chief Mike Shiplett. 

    With the victory, Custer, who came into Kentucky in 25th place in the regular-season standings and trailing the top-16 cutline by 87 points, became the ninth different competitor to be guaranteed a spot in this year’s Cup Playoffs. As another bonus, the Californian became the 16th competitor to secure a spot for this year’s All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on July 15.

    “Man, we were so good all day,” Custer said on FS1. “Our car was so good. Obviously, it wasn’t the easiest track to pass on. That was the best car I’ve ever driven in my life. Everybody at SHR brought an unbelievable car. [Team owner] Gene [Haas], I can’t stress enough how thankful I am of him taking a shot at me. It, definitely, was not the start of the year that we wanted. We were way off at some places, but this was, by far, an unbelievable car. We put it all together and I can’t thank everybody enough.”

    In the first 15 Cup races of his rookie season, Custer’s best finish was a ninth-place result at Phoenix in March and his average result was 21.7 with two DNFs. Last weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he recorded his first top-five result in the Cup level, which hinted a sign of improvement for Custer, Shiplett and the No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Mustang team in adapting towards NASCAR’s weekly approach of experiencing the driving and handling conditions of a track on race day without practicing nor qualifying.

    “It’s not easy,” Custer added. “You got to adapt as much as you can and I think we’ve gotten better and better at that. It’s just unbelievable. I didn’t think that we were, coming here, coming to win. Now, we’re gonna be in the All-Star Race. I don’t have to run the Open. Hopefully, I can make it to Bristol.”

    Truex emerged as the highest-running Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota competitor in the runner-up spot followed by DiBenedetto, who claimed his second top-five result of the season. Harvick, who rallied from his early share of struggles and was in position to claim his first Kentucky triumph, ended his race in fourth and Kurt Busch, last year’s Kentucky winner, finished fifth. 

    “It was fun,” Truex said on FS1. “[I] Can’t say enough about the guys on the Auto-Owners Camry, everybody back at [Joe Gibbs Racing] went to work this week and tried to get back to what we used to do here. Just hats off to the guys, [crew chief] James [Small], everybody that made this unbelievable racecar. At the end there, we were a bit unlucky, losing the lead to Blaney on that first restart by a couple thousandths and then, again to [Harvick] when the caution came out. We were side by side. That’s, kind of, the way these things go, sometimes. Really proud of the effort, super fast racecar and [I] feel like we’re back in the game now.” 

    “Our Ford Mustang was not very good today, but we got a good break with the caution [with 38 laps remaining],” Harvick said on PRN Radio. “[I] Had a couple of good restarts there and got the car better. Still just not where we needed to be, but the restarts worked out in our favor. We were able to get the lead and Martin just misjudged there on the backstretch and got me sideways. I got out of the gas and that just brought everybody into the picture. Then, we were four wide on the front straightaway and [Blaney] hit the drain and came up and hit the side of the car. Then, I couldn’t see. Yeah, it got wild, but hey, that’s what you’re supposed to do. Just really happy for Cole Custer and everybody on the Haas Automation Ford Mustang. That’s pretty cool to get your first win. As much as I would’ve loved to win, I’m glad that we kept it in the company.”

    “It was crazy,” DiBenedetto said on PRN Radio. “We had a really good car. We could’ve contended for the win. It was really fast. But, yeah, [I] lost track position when things shuffled around. We had to do the wave around and me and my spotter, I got to give him a lot of credit, Doug Campbell. I told him, ‘I think we should win some sort of restart award.’ We were 18th because the track position had cycled out with seven [laps] to go or whatever. [I] Had two monstrous restarts and then pushed Cole there to the win, which, kind of, felt cool, but good for him. Congrats, but this was a big race for us having the Menards, Quaker State Ford Mustang in the Quaker State 400. So, I wished we could’ve won it, but circumstances didn’t work out. We’ll take the strong finish and a really fast car.”

    Blaney, Bell, Almirola, Keselowski and Reddick rounded out the top 10 while Johnson finished 18th in his 10th and final start at Kentucky. 

    There were 13 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 42 laps.

    With his top-five result, Harvick continues to lead the Cup Series regular-season standings by 88 points over Keselowski, 95 over Blaney and 100 over Elliott.

    Results.

    1. Cole Custer, five laps led

    2. Martin Truex Jr., 57 laps led

    3. Matt DiBenedetto, one lap led

    4. Kevin Harvick, 11 laps led

    5. Kurt Busch

    6. Ryan Blaney, 18 laps led

    7. Christopher Bell

    8. Aric Almirola, 128 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    9. Brad Keselowski, 34 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    10. Tyler Reddick

    11. William Byron, four laps led

    12. Denny Hamlin

    13. Austin Dillon

    14. Clint Bowyer

    15. Joey Logano

    16. Ty Dillon

    17. Ryan Newman

    18. Jimmie Johnson

    19. Alex Bowman

    20. Chris Buescher

    21. Kyle Busch, nine laps led

    22. Erik Jones

    23. Chase Elliott

    24. Michael McDowell

    25. Matt Kenseth

    26. Daniel Suarez

    27. Bubba Wallace, two laps down

    28. Corey LaJoie, three laps down

    29. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., three laps down

    30. J.J. Yeley, seven laps down

    31. Brennan Poole, eight laps down

    32. Josh Bilicki, 10 laps down

    33. Garrett Smithley, 10 laps down

    34. Joey Gase, 10 laps down

    35. Quin Houff, 12 laps down

    36. John Hunter Nemechek – OUT, Accident

    37. Timmy Hill – OUT, Electrical

    38. Ryan Preece – OUT, Transmission

    Next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the 36th annual running of the All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The NASCAR All-Star Open will occur first at 7 p.m. ET on FS1 followed by the All-Star Race at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1, both on July 15.

  • Hamlin to reach 700 starts across NASCAR’s major series at Kentucky

    Hamlin to reach 700 starts across NASCAR’s major series at Kentucky

    When the green flag waves on Sunday, July 12, for the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway, Denny Hamlin will reach a significant milestone of his racing career. By starting this Sunday’s Quaker State 400 at the Bluegrass State, Hamlin will reach 700 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series. 

    A native of Chesterfield, Virginia, who started his career by racing go-karts and Late Model Stock Cars, Hamlin made his first NASCAR division series start at the Indianapolis Raceway Park in August 2004. Racing as a development driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, Hamlin drove the No. 03 Decoma/Gibbs Performance Chevrolet for EJP Racing to a 10th-place result in his NASCAR Truck Series debut. He competed in four more Truck races with the team and made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Darlington Raceway in November 2004, where he drove JGR’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Performance Racing Oil Chevrolet to a 33rd-place result.

    The following season, Hamlin graduated to a full-time driving role in the No. 20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet in the Xfinity Series. Through the 35-race schedule, Hamlin went winless, but he recorded 11 top-10 results, a best finish of third at New Hampshire International Speedway in July and finished fifth in the final standings. In October, he made his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Kansas Speedway in JGR’s No. 11 FedEx Chevrolet, replacing Jason Leffler. He finished 32nd in his Cup debut, but he competed in the final six Cup races of the season. In those six races, he recorded three top-10 results and notched his first career pole at Phoenix International Raceway in November. His strong performances late in the season were enough for him to earn a full-time ride for the 2006 Cup Series season and in the No. 11 FedEx Chevrolet as one of three Cup competitors representing team owner Joe Gibbs.

    Based on his pole at Phoenix, Hamlin made his first start of the 2006 season in the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway in February. In his first superspeedway race in the Cup level, Hamlin won the 70-lap feature race and became the first rookie candidate to win the annual exhibition event at Daytona after beating icons like teammate Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson in a two-lap shootout. At Pocono Raceway in June, Hamlin started on pole and rallied from a spin due to a cut left-rear tire around the one-quarter mark of the race to claim his first Cup win in his 21st start. When the series returned at Pocono in July, Hamlin notched his second Cup career win as he swept both Pocono races and became the first rookie competitor to sweep two wins at the same track since Johnson made the last accomplishment at Dover in 2002. 

    Hamlin’s two wins along with earning 13 top-10 results throughout the 26 regular-season races were enough for him to qualify for the Chase, thus becoming the first Cup rookie candidate to make the premier series’ postseason battle for the title. He achieved six more top-10 results in the final 10 races before settling in third in the final standings, 68 points shy of the title. When the season concluded, Hamlin was named the 2006 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year recipient as he became the highest-finishing rookie candidate in the standings since the late James Hylton finished second in the 1966 standings.

    Throughout the 2006 season, Hamlin also raced as a full-time competitor in the Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing in the No. 20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet. He achieved his first two career wins in the series at Mexico City in March and at Darlington Raceway in May. He also competed in one Truck race for Morgan-Dollar Motorsports at Martinsville Speedway in October, where he finished eighth. At the conclusion of the 2006 season, Hamlin also surpassed 100 starts across NASCAR’s three major division series.

    Following the 2009 season, Hamlin had competed in 280 races across the three division series and had tallied 17 victories, nine in Xfinity and eight in Cup. By then, Hamlin was still in JGR’s No. 11 FedEx car, but sporting the Toyota nameplate, a move made by JGR in 2008 across NASCAR. The 2010 season was among Hamlin’s strongest seasons to date, where he won a season-high eight races, including one win in the XFINITY Series at Darlington, and was in contention to achieve his first Cup title until late misfortunes in the final two races left him 39 points shy of the title to Johnson. Prior to the season’s conclusion, Hamlin reached 300 starts across the sport’s division series.

    The following season, Hamlin also recorded a single victory across NASCAR’s three series. This included his first Truck Series triumph at Martinsville Speedway in October while driving for team owner/Cup teammate Kyle Busch. Through July 2020, Hamlin is one of 32 competitors to win a race across NASCAR’s three major division series. 

    Hamlin went on to surpass 400 starts following the 2012 season, 500 at the conclusion of the 2015 season and 600 when the 2017 season concluded. By then, he had tallied his Cup career wins to 31, his Xfinity career wins to 26 and his Truck career wins to two. Among his accomplishments included winning five races in 2012 with veteran Darian Grubb, recording the 100th Cup win for Joe Gibbs Racing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September 2012, winning in his 300th Cup career start at Talladega Superspeedway in May 2014, recording the 100th Xfinity victory for Toyota at Richmond International Raceway in April 2015, notching Joe Gibbs Racing’s first All-Star win at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May 2015, achieving his first Daytona 500 win in a photo finish with Martin Truex Jr. in February 2016 and winning his second Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in September 2017. His best points result from 2011 to 2017 was third in 2014, where he utilized consistency to make it all the way to the Championship Round, only to fall short of the title to Kevin Harvick.

    After going winless in 2018, which marked the first time he concluded a Cup Series season without a victory, Hamlin rebounded in 2019 by winning six races, including the 61st running of the Daytona 500 in February and the penultimate event at Phoenix in November to clinch his spot to the Championship Round, all while working with new/current crew chief Chris Gabehart. In the finale at Homestead, Hamlin had a potential-winning car in the closing laps and was prepared to make a late charge for the championship, but his title hopes were dashed due to overheating issues that forced Hamlin to make an unscheduled pit stop. He finished 10th in Miami and fourth in the final standings, watching from a distance as teammate Kyle Busch won his second Cup title.

    This season, through the first 16 Cup races, Hamlin has won four races, including the 62nd running of the Daytona 500. He has also recorded three stage wins, nine top-five results and 10 top-10 results in 2020. He is ranked fifth in the regular season standings and trails points leader Kevin Harvick by 109 points, though he is also guaranteed a spot in the Playoffs by virtue of his four regular-season victories.

    Sunday’s race at Kentucky will mark Hamlin’s 10th Cup start in the Bluegrass State, where he is set to start in 12th based on a random draw. In his previous nine starts at the track, Hamlin has logged four top-five results with a best result of third place in 2012 and in 2015. He holds an average result of 14.89 at Kentucky.

    Catch Hamlin’s milestone start in the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky on July 12 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Kyle Busch to start on Cup pole at Kentucky

    Kyle Busch to start on Cup pole at Kentucky

    In the previous 12 NASCAR Cup Series races that have run since May and since the sport’s return amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, eight of them featured a random draw that determined the starting lineup of each race. In those eight races, seven different competitors drew the pole position and led the field to the start. For the upcoming Cup Series race, the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway on Sunday, July 12, an eighth different Cup competitor will lead the field to the green flag. The pole winner for this weekend by virtue of a random draw will be Kyle Busch, the reigning two-time Cup Series champion.

    The Las Vegas, Nevada, native and driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing is ranked 10th in the regular-season standings, 176 points behind Kevin Harvick, and has recorded seven top-five results and nine top-10 results through the first 16 races. He is also riding a 16-race winless drought that scales back to November 2019 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the same day where he won his second Cup Series title. He is one of five Cup competitors to record a win at Kentucky in the track’s previous nine Cup races, having won the inaugural race in 2011 and again in 2015 during his first championship season.

    Joining Kyle Busch on the front row will be Joey Logano, who has won at Kentucky in the Xfinity Series for three consecutive seasons, (2008, 2009 and 2010). Kevin Harvick, the series points leader who is coming off his third Brickyard 400 win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend, will start third followed by teammate Aric Almirola and Alex Bowman. Brad Keselowski, who holds the most Cup victories at Kentucky with three, will start in sixth followed by Kurt Busch, winner of last year’s Kentucky Cup race following a late shootout with his brother, Kyle. Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr. and Matt DiBenedetto will start in the top 10 followed by Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin.

    Starting in positions 13-26 are Chris Buescher, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Clint Bowyer, Erik Jones, Matt Kenseth, Bubba Wallace, Austin Dillon, Jimmie Johnson, William Byron, rookie John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Newman, rookie Tyler Reddick, Garrett Smithley and Josh Bilicki.

    Starting in positions 27-38 are Corey LaJoie, rookie Quin Houff, rookie Cole Custer, Michael McDowell, rookie Brennan Poole, Ryan Preece, Ty Dillon, rookie Christopher Bell, Joey Gase, J.J. Yeley, Daniel Suarez and Timmy Hill.

    The Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway will air on Sunday, July 12, at 2:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • 2020 Cup Playoff outlook after Indianapolis

    2020 Cup Playoff outlook after Indianapolis

    With the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series regular season in its second half, there are 10 races remaining until the Cup Playoffs commence. Currently, six competitors are separated by 56 points for the 16th and final spot to the Playoffs while eight spots remain vacant for anyone in or out of the cutline to secure an early ticket to the postseason and with an opportunity to contend for the series championship.

    Following the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at the Brickyard, the 16th race of the season, eight competitors are guaranteed a spot in the Playoffs based on a win. Kevin Harvick leads the way in the regular-season standings on the strength of four wins, including his recent one at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski, both of whom trail Harvick by 85 and 88 points, are also guaranteed a spot by virtue of a victory. Others that are locked into the Playoffs with wins include Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr. and Alex Bowman.

    The first three competitors that occupy eight vacant spots to the Playoffs as winless competitors, following Indianapolis, are Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch. For Almirola, a race where he rallied from vibration concerns and an early unscheduled pit stop to finish third, his fifth consecutive top-five result was a result that stabilized his advantage from the top-16 cutline as he is 105 points inside the cutline and with an opportunity to make his third consecutive Playoffs.

    “We’re doing such a good job of being consistent,” Almirola said. “We’re bringing great race cars and we’re being really consistent running up front, so just really proud of this team and just want to keep it going. It’s fun to run up front like that.”

    For Kyle Busch, a sixth-place result marked a strong rebound from his 38th-place result last Sunday at Pocono Raceway due to a wreck. The result was his ninth top-10 result of the season as he is 10th in the regular-season standings and is 101 points above the top-16 cutline. The result, however, leaves him with a 16-race winless drought dating back to November 2019 at Homestead as he is still trying to pursue his first win of the 2020 season.

    “We just kept getting off on pit strategy with the Skittles America Mix Camry,” Kyle Busch said. “We had a valve stem come off the left rear [tire] on a stop and that put us in the back. Then we had vibrations at various points throughout the race with different sets of tires so we had to stay on top of that and make sure we changed those. Each time, that would put us on the back. I struggled to pass anybody most of the day, but somehow got spots on restarts. I was able to salvage a sixth-place finish and will head to Kentucky next week.”

    For his brother, Kurt, an early misfortune on pit road left the driver of the No. 1 Monster Energy/Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet team in 13th when the checkered flag flew. The result dropped Kurt Busch from 10th to 11th in the standings as he is 97 points above the cutline. He is also facing a 33-race winless drought dating back to July 2019 at Kentucky Speedway, which, ironically, marks the next destination for the Cup Series.

    Among those still inside the top-16 cutline are Matt DiBenedetto, Clint Bowyer and William Byron, who won the first stage but blew a left-front tire in the closing laps of the second stage. With a 27th-place result, which snapped his five-race stretch of finishing in the top 15, Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team are 32 points above the cutline to the Playoffs.

    “Our Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was super-fast today,” Byron said. “It just sucks because we have had a lot of these things happen this year. It’s not a fault of anyone, it just happens and it’s a bummer for sure. We’ve had fast cars and it feels like we always have bad luck when we do. That’s what hurts even more. We just need to bring that same speed to Kentucky and hopefully we won’t have any issues there. To be leading the race like that and have a tire issue is, I guess, a good way to go out. We’ll just see what we can do in Kentucky.”

    Despite missing his first Cup race in 663 races after testing positive of COVID-19, Jimmie Johnson still remains in the cutline by 36 points. His schedule for the remainder of his swan song season as a full-time competitor, however, remains undetermined as he awaits his upcoming COVID-19 tests and clearance from his physicians.

    Behind, Austin Dillon holds sole possession of the 16th and final transfer spot to the Playoffs by six points after finishing 18th despite running inside the top 10 the majority of the day at Indianapolis and gaining valuable stage points by finishing in the top five in the first two stages.

    “We had a really strong Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet today at the Brickyard and it was fun to be able to earn stage points in Stages 1 and 2 and lead laps,” Austin Dillon said. “Our Chevy was handling really well all day so we really only needed to make small adjustments throughout the race…Definitely not the finish we wanted or deserved today, but I’m proud of our effort. We had a lot of positives with earning stage points and leading laps.”

    The first competitor who trails the top-16 cutline is Erik Jones. Coming off an up-and-down weekend at the Pocono doubleheader, Jones ended his race in the garage after being involved in a harrowing accident in the second stage when he cut a right-front tire in Turn 3. His 33rd-place dropped him from 16th to 17th in the standings as he is behind by six points.

    “It’s a shame; it’s kind of the story of our season,” Jones said. “We’ve just had a rough year, and things are just not going our way. Hopefully, we can just turn it around, keep bringing fast cars and have things turn around for us.”

    With an eighth-place result and his fourth top-10 result of his rookie Cup season at Indy, rookie Tyler Reddick is 18th in the standings as he and his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team trail the cutline by 16 points.

    “We had a great No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet when we could run in clean air and record some good lap times, but unfortunately we struggled in dirty air, like a lot of our competitors today,” Reddick said. “Any time we were battling someone side by side or from behind them, our car would just build way too tight and make it tough to gain or hold track position. We just had an up-and-down day, falling back early and then playing some strategy to stay out to start Stage 3 from the fifth spot…I was able to capitalize on the final restart with fresher tires and race up to eighth place, which is a great finish for our day. We had to grind it out today, but it turned out in our favor.”

    Behind Reddick, Bubba Wallace accomplished another respectable finish this season in his quest to make his first Playoffs. By finishing ninth and notching his third top-10 result of his junior year, Wallace gained two spots in the standings and is situated in 19th, 42 points behind the cutline, as he attempts to place a Richard Petty Motorsports entry in the Playoffs for the first time since 2014.

    “I guess it is good to be frustrated when you finish in the ninth place,” Wallace said. “All-in-all, it was a good day for this No. 43 World Wide Technology Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. It was fast. We just did not have the handling underneath us. It was good down the straightaways. It did not want to turn very well – specially behind traffic. One of the more frustrating days being behind cars and just trying to maneuver. So, coming out of there with a top-10 finish is good momentum going to the Kentucky Speedway – another good track for us. We will continue the good vibes and keep staying on [crew chief] Jerry [Baxter] to produce good finishes for us.”

    Trailing by 48 is Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who finished 36th after being involved in a bizarre wreck on pit road and ending his day early. Those who are in the top 30 in the points standings and still remain in contention for the Playoffs include Chris Buescher, rookie John Hunter Nemechek, Michael McDowell, rookie Christopher Bell, rookie Cole Custer, Ryan Newman, Ty Dillon, Matt Kenseth, Corey LaJoie and Ryan Preece.

    The road to the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs continues on Sunday, July 12, at Kentucky Speedway, which will air at 2:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Kyle Busch to make 550th Cup start at Indianapolis

    Kyle Busch to make 550th Cup start at Indianapolis

    With big brother Kurt set to achieve a milestone start of his NASCAR Cup Series career, Kyle Busch will also make a milestone start of his own at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 5. By taking the green flag for the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400, the younger Busch will reach 550 starts in NASCAR’s premier series. The milestone comes in his 16th season racing in the Cup Series, 13th in the No. 18 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing.

    A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, and the younger brother to the 2004 Cup champion Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch made his Cup debut at his home track, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, in March 2004 and in the No. 84 CARQUEST Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. At the time, he was competing for the team on a full-time basis in the Xfinity Series, where he won five races, finished second in the final standings and claimed the series Rookie-of-the-Year title. He finished 41st in his Cup debut due to a crash and competed in five more races throughout the 2004 season, scoring a best result of 24th at California Speedway in September.

    The following season, Busch was promoted as full-time driver of the No. 5 Kellogg’s Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series. Following an up-and-down season, Busch achieved his first Cup win in his 31st series start at California Speedway in September 2005. At that time, Busch became the youngest winner in the Cup Series’ history at age 20 years, four months and two days. Despite missing the Chase for the Cup, Busch achieved his second Cup victory at Phoenix International Raceway in November 2005 following a late battle with Greg Biffle. To go along with a pole, nine top-five results and 13 top-10 results with a final standings result of 20th, Busch claimed the 2005 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title. Busch continued driving the No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet for HMS in 2006 and 2007, winning one race apiece and tallying one pole, 21 top-five finishes and 38 top-10 finishes with a best points result of fifth in 2007.

    When the 2007 season concluded, Busch was replaced at Hendrick Motorsports by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and he joined forces with Joe Gibbs Racing to pilot the No. 18 Toyota Camry sponsored by Mars Inc. and Interstate Batteries. In his first race with the team, Busch led a race-high 86 laps in the Daytona 500 before finishing in fourth. After finishing fourth the following week at Auto Club Speedway, Busch emerged as the points leader for the first time in his Cup career. Two races later, Busch notched his first win with JGR and recorded the first Cup win for crew chief Steve Addington and the Toyota nameplate at Atlanta Motor Speedway. From there, Busch went on a hot streak as he won seven more races across seven different tracks, (all of which he won at for the first time), and entered the 2008 Chase for the Cup as one of the title favorites. He, however, recorded three consecutive finishes outside the top 20 in the first three Chase races, which left him eliminated from title contention. He concluded the 2008 Cup season in 10th in the final standings.

    The following season, Busch won four races, which included his hometrack, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and winning on his 24th birthday at Richmond International Raceway in May, but he missed the Chase by eight points to Brian Vickers. Despite the up-and-down season in the Cup Series, he went on to win his first NASCAR Xfinity Series title after achieving nine victories throughout the season. The 2010 season was a record-breaking season for Busch as he won 24 races across NASCAR’s three major division series, three of which came in the Cup Series while paired with new crew chief Dave Rogers. The racing events at Bristol Motor Speedway from August 18-21 marked a major milestone moment for Busch, when he became the first NASCAR competitor to win across all three major division series in the same weekend at the exact racetrack. He made the Chase in 2010, but concluded the season in eighth in the final standings.

    Between 2011 and 2012, Busch tallied five Cup wins, three poles, 27 top-five finishes and 38 top-10 finishes, though he finished 12th and 13th in the final standings within the two years. By then, he had surpassed 100 wins across NASCAR’s three major division series and he had also won the inaugural Cup race at Kentucky Speedway in 2011. He rebounded in 2013 by winning four races and three poles along with 16 top-five results and 22 top-10 results to conclude the season in fourth in the final standings after making the Chase for the sixth time in his career. Among Busch’s Cup highlights in 2013 was dodging a last lap incident involving teammate Denny Hamlin and ex-teammate Joey Logano to win at Auto Club Speedway in March and winning at Texas Motor Speedway in April in his 300th series start. To July 2020, Busch is one of seven competitors to win in career start number 300.

    After winning only once in 2014 and concluding the season in 10th in the final standings, Busch was paired with Xfinity Series crew chief Adam Stevens for the 2015 Cup season. Then came February 21, when Busch was involved in a late multi-car wreck and made head-on contact into a concrete wall installed with no SAFER barriers. He was transported to the Halifax Medical Center, where he was diagnosed with a massive compound fracture in the lower right leg along with a small fracture in his left foot. The wreck left Busch on the sidelines for the first 11 Cup races into the season, though he was granted an injury waiver that would allow him to make the Chase as long as he met the qualification standards. In May, Busch returned as driver of JGR’s No. 18 Toyota and in June, he achieved his first victory of the season at Sonoma Raceway. The win at Sonoma completed the first phase for Busch to make the Chase as he needed consistent runs through September to be guaranteed a spot. He then went on a hot streak, winning three consecutive races, (Kentucky Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and at Indianapolis Motor Speedway), and earning enough consistent finishes and points to qualify for the Chase. Following a consistent run throughout the Chase, Busch raced his way into the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 22 and as the only JGR competitor still in contention for the title. On that day, Busch won the finale and claimed his first NASCAR Cup Series championship in his 11th season. To go along with Busch’s first title, it was the first Cup title for crew chief Adam Stevens, the first for Joe Gibbs Racing since 2005, the first for Mars Inc. and for Toyota. Busch also became the first competitor to win a Cup title despite not competing the entire season since Richard Petty made the last accomplishment in 1971.

    From 2016 to 2018, Busch won 17 more Cup races and tallied 14 poles, 53 top-five results and 75 top-10 results, all while reaching the Championship Round in all three seasons with a best result of second in 2017. Among his achievements within the three seasons included winning at Martinsville Speedway, Kansas Speedway and Pocono Raceway for the first time, winning his second straight Brickyard 400 victory in 2016, claiming his first All-Star win at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May 2017, winning across all three division series at Bristol in August 2017, becoming the first driver to record a win in every active NASCAR Cup track following his first Coca-Cola 600 victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May 2018 and surpassing 50 Cup wins following the 2018 season.

    Last season, in his 12th season driving for JGR, Busch reached his 500th Cup start at Atlanta in February, a week after finishing second to teammate Denny Hamlin in the season-opening Daytona 500. He finished sixth in his milestone start and in third the following week at his hometrack in Las Vegas. The following week, he achieved his first victory of the 2019 Cup season at Phoenix in March and returned the following week by winning at Auto Club Speedway. On that day, Busch recorded his 200th victory across NASCAR’s three major division series. He won two more races throughout the regular season to make the Playoffs. He was able to race his way into the Championship Round and win the finale at Homestead to claim his second Cup championship.

    This season, through the first 15 races of the 2020 Cup season, Kyle Busch has recorded seven top-five finishes and eight top-10 finishes, and is ranked 11th in the regular-season standings, trailing points leader Kevin Harvick by 158 points. He has won a total of 56 Cup races, though he continues to pursue his first victory of the season. Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will mark Busch’s 16th Cup start at the famed racetrack and at a place where he has won twice in back-to-back seasons in 2015 and 2016 along with recording 10 top-10 results and averaging a result of 12.47. He is also a four-time winner at the venue’s oval-shaped layout in the Xfinity Series. Busch will also look to become the third NASCAR competitor to achieve three Cup wins at Indianapolis.

    Catch Kyle Busch’s milestone start on July 5 for the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at 4 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Banner run for four Toyota competitors at Pocono

    Banner run for four Toyota competitors at Pocono

    It was a banner day for Kevin Harvick as he notched his first NASCAR Cup Series win at Pocono Raceway in his 39th attempt. It was also a banner run for the Toyota nameplate as four Toyota drivers earned top-10 results, three of which were top-five results, at the Tricky Triangle.

    The first was Denny Hamlin. Starting third based on a random draw, Hamlin fell back to fifth through the first 13 laps. Under the competition caution, he remained on track and was shuffled back to ninth on the following restart. Under three laps remaining in the first stage, the driver of the No. 11 FedEx/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota surrendered his track position to make a green-flag pit stop to set himself up for track position in the following stage. When the first stage concluded, Hamlin was in 36th. Under the stage break, Hamlin remained on track and gained a multitude of positions while his three JGR teammates pitted. Restarting 10th in the second stage, Hamlin slowly made his way towards the front as strategy became the theme throughout the stage and a multitude of competitors made green-flag pit stops. On Lap 60, Hamlin led his first lap of the day after passing teammate Martin Truex Jr., who peeled off to pit road. Hamlin would lead seven laps before pitting. With eight laps remaining in the second stage, Hamlin was in 10th when the caution flew. Through two late-stage restarts, Hamlin would settle in seventh in the second stage. Restarting seventh in the final stage with 48 laps remaining, Hamlin returned to the lead 11 laps later. Needing to pit to complete the race, Hamlin pitted five laps later for service. For the duration of the closing laps, Hamlin would carve his way back into second with Harvick ahead of him. Then, Hamlin started to report a bad vibration to his car. Despite the issue, Hamlin continued to narrow his deficit to Harvick with less than 10 laps remaining. With four laps remaining, Hamlin narrowed his deficit to less than half a second and was close to Harvick’s rear bumper. He was, however, unable to gain a draft to draw alongside Harvick and challenge for the win as he settled in second. With his runner-up result, Hamlin earned his eighth top-five result of this season and his 12th at Pocono to go along with his three regular-season victories this season and after leading 10 of the event’s 130-scheduled laps.

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

    Next was rookie Christopher Bell, who shined the brightest of this year’s Rookie-of-the-Year Cup field at a track where he won at in the 2017 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series season with Kyle Busch Motorsports. Starting 36th, Bell gained 10 spots to move into 26th through the competition caution on Lap 13. Through the following two restarts, Bell kept his No. 95 Rheem/Leavine Family Racing Toyota intact. With three laps remaining in the first stage, Bell, like Hamlin, made a green-flag pit stop for early adjustments to his car for the next stage, thus finishing 35th at the conclusion of the first stage. Throughout the second stage, Bell worked his way into the top 10 and was running inside the top five when the caution flew for debris with 13 laps remaining in the stage. Through another caution and two late restarts, Bell concluded the stage in 11th, one spot shy of earning a stage point. At the start of the final stage, Bell remained in contention for a top-10 spot when he made a green-flag pit stop with 39 laps remaining to have enough fuel to make it to the end. From there, Bell was able to work his way up to fourth when the checkered flag flew. The fourth-place result marked Bell’s first top-five career finish in his 14th NASCAR Cup Series start and his fourth top-10 result of this season and in the last eight races. The top-five result was a satisfactory run for Bell, who had finished no higher than 21st in the first six races of the 2020 season.

    “Whenever I started working with [crew chief] Jason [Ratcliff] two years ago in the Xfinity Series, well even before that, I started following him and I knew he was really aggressive on strategy to get his driver up front,” Bell said. “[It] Seems like the majority of the race tracks that we’ve been to the last couple weeks have just been, put four tires on and go, but Pocono is definitely a place where you can mix up strategy, pit early, pit before the stages and so forth. Obviously, Jason did a great job and got us up front and we had the car speed to stay up there.”

    In addition, Kyle Busch rallied from his recent strings of frustration to leave the first Pocono event with a strong top-five run. Starting fourth, Busch was the highest-running Toyota driver in fourth through the first competition caution on Lap 13. Restarting in fourth, Busch outlasted through two additional restarts to finish fourth and gain valuable stage points towards the Playoffs. Under the stage break, Busch pitted with two of his JGR teammates and restarted 23rd for the following stage. In the early portions of the stage, Busch was running towards the top 15, but once a wave of competitors pitted on Lap 46, Busch was in third behind teammates Truex and Hamlin. Busch kept his No. 18 M&M’s Mini’s/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota towards the front when a late caution in the second stage came out due to debris. Opting to pit, Busch was in 11th when the racing resumed with eight laps remaining in the second stage. Through another late-stage restart, Busch finished 10th. He restarted in eighth in the final stage and made his final pit stop under green with 40 laps remaining. As the race dwindled to its final laps, Busch was able to work his way up to fifth, where he finished after taking the checkered flag. Despite remaining winless to the 2020 season, the top-five result was Busch’s first since finishing second at Atlanta Motor Speedway on June 7 and his eighth top-10 result of the season.

    “We had some speed and there were laps that I could run with [Hamlin], but he could just do it lap after lap after lap where I was pushing everything I had to keep up with him there,” Busch said. “I just couldn’t do it. I would make the tires mad and would start to fall back. We were just a little tight all day. We really fought tight early on, but we made some really good adjustments and got it a lot closer and got it a lot better. Our strategy there worked out to get us in the top-five – that was about all we could ask for out of today. We got some really good ideas for tomorrow hopefully that will help us out and hopefully get us some speed so we can keep up with those front guys.”

    Finally, Martin Truex Jr. rallied from a disappointing ending last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway to add another top-10 result to this season. Starting 11th, Truex was in 14th through the competition caution, 13 laps, when he opted to make his first pit stop of the day for four fresh tires, fuel and adjustments. The pit stop dropped him back to 21st, and through two restarts, Truex could finish as high as 13th following the first stage. Restarting in 10th for the start of the second stage, Truex emerged with the lead on Lap 45. He led the next 14 laps before surrendering the lead to teammate Hamlin while making a green-flag pit stop. In the closing laps of the second stage, Truex was running inside the top five. Through two late restarts, Truex settled in third in the second stage. Restarting in third in the final stage, Truex was battling within the top five when he made a green-flag pit stop, a stop to get him to the finish. In the final laps, while battling teammate Kyle Busch for a top-five spot, Truex reported a vibration to his No. 19 SiriusXM/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Despite the late concerns, Truex was able to cross the finish line in sixth for his seventh top-10 result of this season after leading 14 laps.

    “We started in a decent spot and lost some spots early,” Truex said. “I thought we had a pretty decent SiriusXM Toyota early on and kind of had to do a little different strategy there. Stage one didn’t look too good, but I felt like we were pretty close with the car. We made some adjustments and got some track position through stage two, so we were able to get some decent stage points there. We were in a decent spot again towards the end and got a really bad vibration, so I was a little concerned that we were going to have a tire issue or something. Luckily, it held on and it wasn’t a great finish by any means, but a solid finish for sure and something we can work on for tomorrow.”

    For the remaining Toyota competitors, Daniel Suarez and Timmy Hill finished 28th and 35th while Erik Jones ended his race in 38th following a late accident in the second stage, a wreck that left Jones trailing the top-16 in the regular-season series standings by six points and moving into a backup car for the second Cup Pocono race on Sunday, June 28.

    The NASCAR Cup Series will return for a second race at Pocono as part of the doubleheader feature on June 28 at 4 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Kyle Busch victorious again at Homestead

    Kyle Busch victorious again at Homestead

    After a rough stretch of races, Kyle Busch piloted his No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota Tundra back to victory lane again at Homestead Miami Speedway, but it wasn’t all that easy for the Las Vegas native.

    Prior to the event going green, Busch had prerace inspection issues and had to drop to the rear and serve a pass-through penalty. It wasn’t until Lap 39 when the KBM driver would get back to the front to take the lead which he held for 58 laps, taking the Stage 2 victory. In the end, Busch had to persevere through a red flag and a late-race restart to take home his second victory of the year.

    “You’re always concerned about tires being better and having the opportunity to out-show you, but I felt like six laps was just the right amount, any more than that and it probably would have been a different outcome,” said Busch.

    “I knew the Cessna Beechcraft Toyota Tundra here was going to be awesome. Thanks to TRD and Rowdy Energy, everybody that helps us here and makes us so fast and want to say thanks to Big Machine Hand Sanitizer as well, they were on the quarter panel the last two weeks and we didn’t win and now they’re not here and we won.”

    Stage 1: Lap 1 – Lap 30

    When the race went green, not only the drivers were racing to the checkered flag, but NASCAR was as well due to potential impending weather in the area. With weather in the area, there was a lot of thrilling action from the start.

    Sheldon Creed would make slight contact with the wall early on, while the leaders battled with each other. Despite Creed hitting the wall, there would be no caution and last week’s runner-up Austin Hill led the field to the mandatory competition caution on Lap 15.

    After the caution, five laps later, another one ensued as a major wreck broke loose between Brett Moffitt and Zane Smith. Brennan Poole and Chase Elliott were also involved, albeit with slight damage to their vehicles. Unfortunately for Moffitt and Smith, their night was done early for too much damage and they were relegated to finishing 36th and 37th.

    A late-stage restart was seen and Niece Motorsports driver, Ross Chastain, passed Hill just before the stage completed. Chastain would end up winning the stage with Ben Rhodes, Hill, Grant Enfinger, Matt Crafton, Todd Gilliland, Christian Eckes, Raphael Lessard, Stewart Friesen, and Creed the top-10 finishers.

    Under the stage caution, several trucks stayed out including Eckes, Majeski, Ankrum, Poole, Kraus, Greenfield, Fogleman, Elliott, and Busch. Dawson Cram was too fast on pit road.

    Stage 2: Lap 35 – Lap 60

    Once Stage 2 began, Busch took the lead on Lap 39, which was the first time in the race for Busch to be out front.

    Other than a piece of debris out of the racing groove, Matt Crafton in the wall in Turn 4 with five to go in the stage and losing a tire, Stage 2 was caution free.

    With Stage 2 going caution free, Busch would take his first stage win of the night. Chastain, Hill, Eckes, Gilliland, Rhodes, Elliott, Kraus, Enfinger, and Lessard rounded out the top-10

    Stage 3: Lap 66 – Lap 134

    The third and final stage saw more action than the other previous stages.

    Beginning with Lap 69, Poole had a tire go down which brought out the caution. Charlotte winner, Elliott, was in the wall slightly but no caution.

    As a green flag run took place, green flag pit stops began with 39 to go. Eckes, Crafton and Poole played pit strategy during the normal cycle of stops. In order for the strategy to work, a caution had to be flown within their pit window. Alas, a caution was flown with 30 to go for Korbin Forrister who had problems with his No. 7 machine. Under the yellow, Eckes, Busch, Crafton and Rhodes among a few others came on to pit road to pit.

    During the pit stops, we saw a bizarre incident that occurred when Sheldon Creed in the No. 2 got called to pit road at the last second. However, it was too late for Creed to make a left-hand turn to pit road, which caused him to hit the water/sand barriers. As water and sand went everywhere, a 15-minute red flag was displayed.

    Once the red was lifted, a restart came with 24 to go. Busch would eventually take the lead a lap later and set the pace. But, the last caution flew with 12 to go for the No. 3 of Jordan Anderson, which set up a seven-lap dash to the finish.

    It only took Busch a couple of laps before he cleared the field and once he did so, he set sail to his 58th career victory in the Truck Series, and his third victory at Homestead, the first time in seven years.

    When asked if Busch would retire from the Truck Series as he approaches 100 in that series, he said it wouldn’t be that easy to kick him out.

    “If my name is on the door, I’ll run as many as I’ll possibly can,” Busch said. “You can’t get rid of me that easily. Maybe one day, they’ll fix the rules where I will run more or I can be like Mark Martin and run Trucks full time (after I retire from Cup). Perhaps one day, I’ll go Trucks full time and run for a championship. Who knows?”

    There were seven caution for 34 laps and six leaders among eight lead changes. Busch led twice for 82 laps.

    Official Results

    1. Kyle Busch, led 82 laps, won Stage 2
    2. Tyler Ankrum
    3. Ross Chastain, won Stage 1
    4. Chase Elliott
    5. Johnny Sauter
    6. Todd Gilliland
    7. Austin Hill
    8. Christian Eckes
    9. Matt Crafton
    10. Ty Majeski
    11. Raphael Lessard
    12. Tanner Gray
    13. Spencer Davis
    14. Stewart Friesen
    15. Derek Kraus
    16. Austin Wayne Self
    17. Grant Enfinger
    18. Ben Rhodes
    19. Brennan Poole
    20. Sheldon Creed
    21. Cory Roper
    22. Spencer Boyd
    23. Tate Fogleman
    24. Angela Ruch
    25. Tyler Hill, one lap down
    26. Gray Gaulding, one lap down
    27. Jennifer Jo Cobb, two laps down
    28. Codie Rohrbaugh, two laps down
    29. Ray Ciccareli, three laps down
    30. Clay Greenfield, 12 laps down
    31. Jordan Anderson, OUT, Crash
    32. Dawson Cram, OUT, Transmission
    33. Korbin Forrister, OUT, Crash
    34. Norm Benning, OUT, Handling
    35. T.J. Bell, OUT, Crash
    36. Brett Moffitt, OUT, Crash
    37. Zane Smith, OUT, Crash
    38. Bryant Barnhill, OUT, Transmission

    Up Next: The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series will take a few weeks off before returning to action at Pocono Raceway Saturday, June 27.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Atlanta

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Atlanta

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kevin Harvick: Harvick led 105 of the final 108 laps, dominating the last stage to win the Folds Of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta.

    “The No. 4 Chevy was awesome today,” Harvick said. “I knew we were going to be fast by just looking at our paint scheme. Busch beer and Hunt Brothers Pizza make a lethal combination, and not just in your stomach.”

    2. Joey Logano: Logano came home 10th at Atlanta, posting his fifth top 10 of the season.

    “I guess I could blame my performance on handling,” Logano said. “I didn’t have a handling problem last week at Bristol, because regarding the Chase Elliott wrecking me situation, I ‘handled’ it. Of course, I handled it not with a fist, but with the hand of compassion, which most would say has ruined too many budding feuds in this sport.”

    3. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished ninth at Atlanta.

    “It’s an unprecedented time in our sport,” Keselowski said. “Hopefully, things will change. But how must Richard Petty and Richard Childress be feeling for criticizing kneeling athletes in the past? Probably like ‘Dicks.’”

    4. Chase Elliott: Elliott started on the pole at Atlanta and finished eighth.

    “It’s always fun racing on Atlanta’s surface,” Elliott said. “The track can get pretty slick, especially on the turns with their 24 degree banking. And a ‘slippery slope’ fits in perfectly with NASCAR’s newfound political stance.”

    5. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex won Stages 1 and 2 at Atlanta, but couldn’t catch Kevin Harvick over the course of the final stage. Truex settled for third, right behind Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch.

    “Harvick had the best car when it counted,” Truex said. “In other words, he was in the driver’s seat. That meant I had to take a back seat.”

    6. Alex Bowman: Bowman finished 12th at Atlanta, and is eighth in the points standings.

    “It’s good to hear Bubba Wallace is doing better,” Bowman said. “I hear he got the ‘OK’ from doctors, right after they gave him the ‘IV.’”

    7. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished fifth at Atlanta and is now seventh in the Cup points standings, 94 out of first.

    “Wow,” Hamlin said, “Bubba Wallace passed out during an interview after the race. That’s one instance in which even Richard Petty says it’s okay to take a knee.”

    8. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished fourth in the Folds Of Honor QuikTrip 500.

    “And speaking of ‘Quik Trips,’” Blaney said, “NASCAR’s road to racial justice recognition should be over soon, once the fan base takes its stand, which certainly won’t be on a knee.”

    9. Kyle Busch: Kyle Busch finished second at Atlanta, claiming his second consecutive top-five result.

    “Now that the Trucks bounty is off my head,” Busch said, “I feel like I’ve found a renewed focus. Just give me a few races, and I’m sure I’ll become the ‘poster boy’ for something.”

    10. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished seventh at Atlanta and hasn’t won a race in over three years.

    “I think it’s great that we paused for a moment of silence before the start of the race,” Johnson said. “It would have been even better if we then paused for a moment of uncomfortable silence in honor of all the drivers and owners who haven’t spoken out against racial injustice.”