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Tag: Kyle Larson

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Bristol Dirt

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Bristol Dirt

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Christopher Bell: Bell led 100 laps and held off Tyler Reddick to win the Food City Dirt Race at Bristol.

    “I’m thrilled to get this win,” Bell said. “Not only is it big for the Playoffs, but I also got that big trophy plus a sweet gladiator sword. There are two things I can’t wait to do with that sword: 1, Show it off to my friends, and 2, ship it to Mexico and ask Kyle Busch to bring it back the next time he’s there.”

    2. Tyler Reddick: Reddick was on the charge late, attempting to catch Christopher Bell, but ran out of time and had to settle for his second consecutive runner-up finish in the Bristol Dirt Race.

    “If you saw my post-race interview with Fox’s Jamie Little,” Reddick said, “then you’re well aware that I’m used to coming up a little short.”

    3. William Byron: Byron finished 13th at Bristol.

    “My team was penalized again after failing inspection at Richmond,” Byron said. “But let’s be honest, we’re just trying to make our car faster; NASCAR keeps catching us. They’re preventing us from making a ‘fast getaway (with it).’”

    4. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished seventh at Bristol, as Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell captured the win.

    “Bell’s one of the best drivers on tracks like this,” Truex said. “His name has become synonymous with ‘dirt.’ The name ‘Denny Hamlin’ brings up similar associations, because his name is ‘Mud’ when it comes to retaliatory maneuvers on the track.”

    5. Ross Chastain: Chastain finished a disappointing 28th at Bristol, one lap down.

    “Dirt track racing is not my cup of tea,” Chastain said. “If I did have a cup of tea, I’m sure someone would have a problem with it. And with it being Easter, I’m sure I’d get crucified for it.”

    6. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished ninth at Bristol.

    “Michael Waltrip was joined on his Bristol ‘Grid Walk’ by the Easter Bunny,” Harvick said. “From what I understand, the Easter Bunny doesn’t speak, yet he’s still a better interviewer than Waltrip.”

    7. Kyle Larson: Larson started on the pole at Bristol and won Stage 1, but was knocked out of the race by Ryan Preece on Lap 177. He finished 35th.

    “I think Preece was retaliating for earlier contact between us,” Larson said. “Does he know who I am? Heck. Does he know who he is? Obviously not, because he’s out there trying to make a name for himself.”

    8. Joey Logano: Logano had an eventful day, full of spins and contact with other cars, and was finally knocked out of the race on Lap 96. He finished 37th.

    “My car was all over the place,” Logano said. “That place was ‘last.’”

    9. Kyle Busch: A broken shock with 13 laps to go ended Busch’s night in the Food City Dirt Race. He finished 32nd.

    “It wasn’t the finish I was looking for,” Busch said. “On the bright side, though, I got to shake hands with Tim Tebow. That’s probably as close as I’m gonna get to feeling the hand of God. That is, a God-awful NFL quarterback.”

    10. Ryan Blaney: Blaney ran near the front for the majority of the night at Bristol, but a spin on a restart with eight laps to go cost him a top-five finish. He finished 23rd.

    “The track conditions changed quite a bit over the duration of the race,” Blaney said. “If you took a look at the stands, you noticed that the track was the only thing ‘packed.’”

  • Bell strikes late with first Cup victory of 2023 at Bristol Dirt Course

    Bell strikes late with first Cup victory of 2023 at Bristol Dirt Course

    In a war of attrition match involving NASCAR’s elite around the Last Great Colosseum on dirt, Christopher Bell benefitted from a late strategic call to remain on the track. He then controlled the final stage to his advantage and motored his way to win the third annual running of the Food City Dirt Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course on Easter Sunday, April 9.

    The 28-year-old Bell from Norman, Oklahoma, led the final 100 of 250-scheduled laps. Once he gained control of the lead for the start of the final stage spanning 100 laps, the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota TRD Camry survived a flurry of on-track chaos, caution periods and challenges from former dirt veterans turned NASCAR premier series stars to claim the first checkered flag of the 2023 Cup Series season for himself and for the JGR organization.

    The starting lineup for the main event was determined through four 15-lap qualifying events that occurred on Saturday, April 8, where the 37 competitors that entered the main event accumulated points for their finishing results and passes by improving from their original starting spots during their respective heat events.

    With that, Kyle Larson, who won the third qualifying event after starting sixth and accumulating 15 points, claimed his second pole position of the 2023 Cup Series season. Joining him on the front row was Austin Dillon, who won the first qualifying event after starting fifth and earning 14 points.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Larson took off with the lead on the outside lane and pulled away as the field slipped and slid their way through the first two turns on the dirt. With the field returning to the frontstretch, Larson led the first lap ahead of Austin Dillon, who was being challenged early by Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick. As Larson continued to lead through the Lap 5 mark, he also extended his advantage to eight-tenths of a second over Austin Dillon while Ryan Preece moved up into the top five. By then, JJ Yeley, who qualified an impressive third place in his No. 15 Rick Ware Racing entry, had fallen back to eighth in front of Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano while Kyle Busch and Austin Cindric moved up to sixth and seventh.

    On the 10th lap, the first caution of the event flew when Bubba Wallace, who was running near the top 10, got loose entering Turn 2 and collected Logano, who spun Wallace right at the same time he got turned by William Byron and hit the sand barrels near the backstretch’s pit road entrance. Todd Gilliland then made contact with the outside wall after making contact with Byron, who was trying to straighten his No. 24 Raptor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Larson managed to fend off Austin Dillon for the lead while Bell, Reddick and Preece remained in the top five. During the event’s first caution period, names like Gilliland, BJ McLeod, Brad Keselowski and Logano pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track.

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 20, Larson fended off Bell and Austin Dillon to retain the lead while having the outside lane to his advantage as the field jostled and slid on the dirt between two lanes for positions. As Larson retained the lead over Austin Dillon and Bell, Reddick retained fourth while Kyle Busch started to challenge Preece for fifth.

    At the Lap 35 mark, Larson was leading by more than eight-tenths of a second over Austin Dillon and more than three seconds over third-place Bell while Kyle Busch and Reddick were in the top five. Preece, Blaney, Cindric, Chase Briscoe and Byron were in the top 10 while Michael McDowell, Alex Bowman, Bubba Wallace, JJ Yeley, Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., rookie Ty Gibbs, Erik Jones, Justin Haley and Matt Crafton occupied the top 20.

    Two laps later, the second caution of the event flew when Matt Crafton, who was filling in the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing entry for Cody Ware, spun between Turns 3 and 4 and barely made contact with the outside wall. In the process, Logano made slight contact with Crafton while jamming on the brakes to avoid colliding with Crafton.

    With the field restarting under green on Lap 45, Larson pulled away in his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 with the lead on the outside lane followed by Austin Dillon while Kyle Busch moved his No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 up to third in front of Bell. In addition, Blaney muscled his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang into the top five while Reddick fell back to sixth.

    Through the first 50 scheduled laps, Larson was leading by more than eight-tenths of a second over Austin Dillon while Dillon’s teammate Kyle Busch trailed in third by more than a second. As Bell and Blaney occupied the top five, Preece overtook Reddick for sixth while Briscoe, Byron and Cindric were in the top 10.

    Seven laps later, the third caution of the event flew when Brad Keselowski spun by himself in Turn 4 and continued without sustaining any damage to his No. 6 King’s Hawaiian Ford Mustang. By then, Erik Jones and Corey LaJoie had made on-track contact and pitted while falling out of the lead lap category.

    During the proceeding restart on Lap 64, Larson fended off Austin Dillon to retain the lead while Kyle Busch launched a challenge on teammate Dillon for second, which Dillon blocked Busch before the latter succeeded during the following lap. Meanwhile, Preece moved up to fourth followed by Blaney while Bell was back in sixth. As the field continued to jostle for positions, Larson retained a steady advantage over Richard Childress Racing’s Busch and Dillon, both of whom duked for second, as the event surpassed the Lap 70 mark.

    Then on the final lap of the first stage, the caution flew for a multi-car wreck in Turn 4 that involved Denny Hamlin and Josh Berry. The incident in Turn 4 was enough for the first stage scheduled on Lap 75 to conclude under caution as Larson captured his second stage victory of the 2023 Cup season. Teammates Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch were scored in second and third followed by Preece, Blaney, Bell, Briscoe, Reddick, Justin Haley and Byron. By then, 35 of 37 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Larson pitted under a six-minute, non-competitive break period while names that included Reddick, Wallace, Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Dillon remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 76 as Reddick and Truex occupied the front row. At the start, Reddick maintained the lead through the first two turns while teammate Wallace muscled his way into second over Truex. Behind, Larson, the first competitor on four fresh tires, was back in fifth behind Ty Dillon while Preece joined the battle.

    Four laps later and with the field jostling for positions while slipping and sliding in the dirt, the caution returned when Jonathan Davenport, a three-time Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series champion who was making his NASCAR debut with Kaulig Racing, got loose and spun entering Turn 4 as the field scattered to avoid him. By then, Reddick retained the lead in front of teammate Wallace, Truex, Ty Dillon and Larson, who made contact with Preece and sent Preece into the wall a few laps earlier. The on-track contact prompted Preece to pull his No. 41 United Rentals Ford Mustang alongside Larson’s to express his displeasure.

    With the event restarting under green on Lap 86, Reddick retained the lead as the field fanned out to three lanes through the turns and the straightaways. A lap later, however, the caution quickly returned when McDowell got loose and did a full 360 spin entering the backstretch, but he managed to drive away without being hit by the oncoming field.

    During the proceeding restart on Lap 94, Reddick rocketed with the lead on the outside lane while teammate Wallace fended off Truex and Ty Dillon to move to second as the field fanned out. A few laps later, trouble ensued for Daniel Suarez as he spun on the backstretch while Logano had smoke billowing out of his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang. Then shortly after, McDowell went for another 360 spin entering Turn 4, though he continued without sustaining any damage, while AJ Allmendinger made contact with the Turn 1 barriers. Amid all the issues, the event remained under green flag conditions as Reddick continued to lead. By then, Logano, who was aiming for a doubleheader sweep after winning Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series event on the Bristol Dirt, pitted and fell out of the lead lap category. He would eventually nurse his damaged car to the garage and retire in last place.

    Through the first 100 scheduled laps, Reddick was leading by six-tenths of a second over teammate Wallace followed by Truex, Ty Dillon and Kyle Busch while Preece, Blaney, Austin Dillon, Briscoe and Larson were scored in the top 10. Three laps later, however, the caution returned when Preece, who was running in the top 10, got loose and spun on the backstretch due to a broken right-rear toe link.

    As the event restarted on Lap 111, Reddick received another strong start on the outside lane to retain the lead followed by teammate Wallace, who restarted behind Reddick on the outside lane during the last several restarts to remain within striking distance of the lead. With both 23XI Racing competitors running towards the front, Kyle Busch was in third followed by Truex and Ty Dillon while Larson was back in sixth in front of Blaney and Austin Dillon. A few laps later, Ty Dillon made contact towards the Turn 2 outside wall and slipped out of the top 10, but the event remained under green flag conditions. Then towards the Lap 120 mark, Wallace lost a bevy of spots after making contact with the wall.

    Then at the halfway mark on Lap 125, the caution flew when Keselowski spun for a second time of the night, this time in Turn 2. By then, Reddick had maintained the lead over Busch, Austin Dillon, Larson, Bell and Truex while Wallace had plummeted back to 16th. In addition, Larson, who was running towards the front, made contact with the wall while battling Dillon for third before running into Bell to defend his spot.

    The following restart on Lap 131 saw Reddick retain the lead over Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon amid a stacked-up field while Larson tried to use the outside lane to slip and carve his way back to the front. Soon after, Erik Jones spun entering Turn 2, but the event remained under green as a tight battle for the lead between Reddick, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon and Larson ensued.

    Then on Lap 135, Busch pulled a slide job beneath Reddick entering Turn 4 to assume the lead. As Busch maintained the lead by a narrow margin over Reddick, Austin Dillon fended off Larson to remain in third while Bell was in fifth in front of Briscoe and Truex. Reddick, however, would seize an opportunity and overtake both Dillon and Busch in Turn 4 to reassume the lead on Lap 141 as Dillon and Busch engaged in a fierce battle for second with Larson closing in.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 150, Reddick captured his second stage victory of the 2023 Cup season. Dillon settled in second in front of Larson while Bell managed to overtake Kyle Busch to claim fourth while Briscoe, Truex, Blaney, Haley and Aric Almirola were scored in the top 10. By then, 32 of 37 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    Under the stage break, names that included Bell, Briscoe, Almirola, Byron, McDowell, Gilliland, Hamlin, Josh Berry and Ross Chastain remained on the track while the rest led by Reddick pitted during a six-minute break period.

    With 100 laps remaining, the final stage started as Joe Gibbs Racing’s Bell and Ty Gibbs occupied the front row. At the start, Bell retained the lead and checked out away from the field while Briscoe launched his way into second followed by Almirola, Gilliland and Berry as the field behind fanned out and jostled for late positions. Four laps later, however, the caution returned when Larson, who was trying to carve his way back to the front while on old tires after electing not to pit during the second stage’s break period, spun in Turn 4 as he plummeted below the leaderboard.

    During the following restart with 89 laps remaining, Bell retained the lead in front of Briscoe, Almirola, Gilliland and Berry amid a packed field. As Hamlin spun with 82 laps remaining through Turn 2, he continued without drawing a caution as his teammate, Bell, maintained a steady advantage over Briscoe while Almirola, Gilliland and Berry remained in the top five. By then, Kyle Busch was trying to carve his way back to the front as he navigated his way up to seventh behind teammate Austin Dillon as Byron joined the battle. Amid all the battles, however, Bell continued to lead as the laps began to dwindle.

    Then with 76 laps remaining, the caution flew when Larson, who got bumped and squeezed against the frontstretch’s wall with help from Preece, veered back left into Preece before spinning up against the track and wrecking against the Turn 1 outside wall. The damage to his No. 5 Chevrolet was enough to conclude Larson’s event in the garage while Preece continued. The incident, however, was not viewed kindly from Larson’s perspective and it hinted at retaliation from Preece, who made contact with the wall earlier with help from Larson.

    “Yeah, I’m guessing [Preece] was paying me back for whatever I did earlier,” Larson, who emerged from the infield care center uninjured, said. “He ran me straight into the fence, and my car was broke and we crashed. It sucks, but I should just be mad at myself for spinning out earlier and putting myself back there. Just sucks.”

    In the ensuing restart with 69 laps remaining, Bell retained the lead over Briscoe and Gilliland amid a flurry of jostles for positions within the field. A lap later, Austin Dillon worked his way back up to third as he went after Briscoe for second while Kyle Busch challenged Almirola for fifth. By then, Berry and McDowell, who endured two 360 spins, were running in the top 10 as Reddick tried to work his way back into the top 10.

    With nearly 60 laps remaining, Chastain spun in Turn 2, but the event remained under green as Bell continued to lead by three-tenths of a second over Briscoe while Austin Dillon trailed by seven-tenths of a second in third.

    With 50 laps remaining, Bell was leading by six-tenths of a second over Briscoe followed by Austin Dillon, Gilliland and Reddick while Kyle Busch, Berry, Stenhouse, Blaney and McDowell were in the top 10. By then, the event’s 12th caution period flew when rookie Noah Gragson spun in Turn 1 due to a broken toe link.

    With the field restarting with 43 laps remaining, Bell retained the lead on the outside lane while Briscoe, who restarted on the front row and the inside lane, maintained second over Austin Dillon as Reddick and Gilliland battled in the top five. As Austin Dillon and Reddick battled for third, the battle at the front began to slowly brew between Bell and Briscoe, with the former holding the top spot.

    Down to the final 30 laps of the event, the battle for the lead continued to intensify as Briscoe tried to navigate his way around Bell for the lead through the turns and the straightaways while third-place Reddick tried to close in on the two leaders. Despite having an opportunity to assume the lead through the backstretch, Bell managed to rocket away from Briscoe, who briefly stumbled through the frontstretch, as Reddick launched his challenge on Briscoe for second. He would succeed with 28 laps remaining as Briscoe fell back to third. Soon after, Briscoe made contact with the wall as Dillon and Blaney overtook him for top-five spots.

    With 20 laps remaining, Bell was leading by four-tenths of a second over Reddick while Blaney emerged in third place as he trailed the leaders by more than two seconds. Dillon, who scrubbed the wall, dropped to fourth in front of Briscoe while Gilliland, Stenhouse, Bowman, Truex and Haley were in the top 10.

    Nearly five laps later, the event’s 13th caution flew when Kyle Busch, who was being told to pick up his pace, spun entering Turn 4 while nearly collecting ex-teammate Hamlin as he quickly nursed his No. 8 Chevrolet onto pit road with suspension damage. By then, LaJoie had spun in Turn 4 without drawing a caution.

    Down to the final eight laps of the event, the race restarted as Bell rocketed away from Reddick and Blaney to retain the lead through the first two turns. Then through Turns 1 and 2, Briscoe made contact with Blaney and sent him spinning in the midst of oncoming competitors, but the event remained under green as Blaney continued without getting hit. By then, however, Bell had pulled away with the lead and Reddick was in second followed by Stenhouse, Austin Dillon, Briscoe and Gilliand.

    With five laps remaining, Bell continued to lead by more than half a second over Reddick while third-place Stenhouse trailed by more than a second.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Bell remained as the leader by three-tenths of a second over Reddick, who tried to close in on Bell for the lead and the win. Behind the leaders, a multi-car wreck erupted when Suarez got loose off the front nose of Buescher and collected Berry, where both spun across the backstretch as Preece and Chastain collided into Berry with significant damage. Amid the carnage, the event concluded under caution on the final lap. This enabled Bell to cycle his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota TRD Camry back to the frontstretch under a cautious pace and claim the checkered flag over Reddick.

    With the victory, Bell, a dirt racing specialist with three consecutive Chili Bowl Nationals sprint car victories and a former Truck Series winner at Eldora Speedway, became the seventh different winner through the first eight events on the 2023 Cup Series schedule. He recorded his fifth career win in NASCAR’s premier series, his first at Bristol, the first of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing and the second for the Toyota nameplate.

    “Man, let me tell you, those were some of the longest laps of my entire life,” Bell said on FOX. “This place is so much fun, whether it’s dirt or concrete. Whenever the cushion got up there on the top [lane], it was very tough because you couldn’t drive it super hard. Otherwise, you get sucked in. If you got your right front into it, you push a little bit. If you got your right rear into it, you’d slide. It was a lot of fun. Man, I’m just so grateful to be here, driving this No. 20 [car] for DeWalt, Joe Gibbs Racing. That was a lot of fun. Man, I just can’t get over how long those laps feel. It’s a 20-second lap and you’re moving the wheel 18 times a corner. It feels like a long time to get around there.”

    Reddick settled in second place on the Bristol Dirt Course for a second consecutive season while Austin Dillon, Stenhouse and Briscoe completed the top five.

    “It was a lot of fun, honestly,” Reddick said. “Really intense. Towards the end there, [I] definitely feel like I found a little bit more. I thought I had the edge, but I wasn’t quite there in the last couple laps. Definitely found it. Just hate it for everybody on this SiriusXM Toyota Camry TRD. Just needed to be a little bit closer than I was. I think with two [laps] to go, it would have been really bold to try to make that move work. Obviously, on the white flag coming into [Turns] 3 and 4, I was going to see. We’ll never know if it [would have] worked. Still a good rebound for us.”

    “I had a blast out there,” Dillon added. “I don’t care what anybody says about the dirt, the concrete. That was cool. That was one of the coolest races I’ve ever been in. [Speedway Motorsports] did a great job of making a track where you can just slide around, top to bottom, and it constantly was changing. It was a blast out there, really was. Just wished we could’ve brought home the win. We’ll keep working. Hopefully, we can carry this momentum. We got a lot of points tonight.”

    Haley emerged with a strong sixth-place result while Truex, Gilliland, Kevin Harvick and rookie Ty Gibbs completed the top 10 on the track.

    There were four lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured 14 cautions for 73 laps. In addition, 27 of 37 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Following the eighth event of the 2023 Cup Series season, Christopher Bell leads the regular-season standings by 13 points over Ross Chastain, 26 over Kevin Harvick, 39 over Kyle Larson, 46 over Tyler Reddick, 47 over Kyle Busch and 49 over Martin Truex Jr.

    Results.

    1. Christopher Bell, 100 laps led

    2. Tyler Reddick, 69 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    3. Austin Dillon

    4. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    5. Chase Briscoe

    6. Justin Haley

    7. Martin Truex Jr.

    8. Todd Gilliland

    9. Kevin Harvick

    10. Ty Gibbs

    11. Michael McDowell

    12. Bubba Wallace

    13. William Byron

    14. Erik Jones

    15. Harrison Burton

    16. AJ Allmendinger

    17. Brad Keselowski

    18. Chris Buescher

    19. Austin Cindric

    20. JJ Yeley

    21. Ty Dillon

    22. Denny Hamlin

    23. Ryan Blaney

    24. Ryan Preece

    25. Daniel Suarez

    26. BJ McLeod

    27. Josh Berry

    28. Ross Chastain, one lap down

    29. Alex Bowman, two laps down

    30. Corey LaJoie, three laps down

    31. Aric Almirola, 10 laps down

    32. Kyle Busch – OUT, Suspension, six laps led

    33. Noah Gragson, 45 laps down

    34. Matt Crafton – OUT, Engine

    35. Kyle Larson – OUT, Accident, 75 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    36. Jonathan Davenport – OUT, Accident

    37. Joey Logano – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ first of two scheduled visits this season to Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia. The event is scheduled for next Sunday, April 16, at 3 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Larson reigns supreme with first Cup victory of 2023 at Richmond

    Larson reigns supreme with first Cup victory of 2023 at Richmond

    Nearly a month after having a pair of victories within the West Coast region slip out of his grasp, Kyle Larson gained a needed late break to exit pit road ahead of the field and fend off the competition through two late-race restarts to win the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway on Sunday, April 2, for his first elusive NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2023 season.

    The 2021 Cup Series champion from Elk Grove, California, led four times for 93 of 400 scheduled laps in an event that was dominated by drivers between Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing. After enduring an up-and-down day, where he led in certain portions of the event before trailing the front-runners and slightly damaging his car amid contact with Daniel Suarez on pit road during the second stage, Larson capitalized on a pit stop under caution due to Tyler Reddick’s spin to beat the field off of pit road and cycle back to the lead. From there, he fended off substitute teammate Josh Berry and the competition through two restarts under the final 21 laps to grab his first victory of the season.

    With on-track qualifying that was scheduled to occur on Saturday canceled due to inclement weather, the starting lineup for the main event was determined through a qualifying metric system from NASCAR’s rulebook qualifying procedure. Based on the metric system, Alex Bowman, the series points leader, was awarded the pole position and was joined on the front row by Kyle Busch.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Bowman and Busch engaged in a side-by-side battle for the lead for a full lap before Busch was able to lead the first lap by a hair on the outside lane as the entire field battled in close-quarters racing through two lanes. Bowman, however, was able to clear Busch and the field during the following lap as he assumed the clean air with the lead. Behind, teammate William Byron battled and overtook Busch for second as Ross Chastain and Tyler Reddick proceeded to battle Busch for third.

    By Lap 10 and with a series of on-track battles continuing around the short circuit, Byron, who had been closing in on teammate Bowman for the lead, made a strong move to Bowman’s outside entering the frontstretch to assume the lead in his No. 24 Raptor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. He continued to lead the field through the Lap 20 mark while Bowman fell back to fourth as Chastain and Reddick overtook him. Soon after, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. muscled his way into the top five after overtaking Kyle Busch while Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin cracked the top 10 behind Kyle Larson and Austin Cindric.

    When the competition caution flew on Lap 30, Byron retained the lead by more than two seconds over Chastain and more than three seconds over third-place Reddick while Bowman, Stenhouse, Larson, Kyle Busch, Harvick, Cindric and Hamlin were in the top 10. By then, all 37 starters were scored on the lead lap, with names like Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Daniel Suarez, Brad Keselowski, rookie Ty Gibbs, Chase Briscoe, Bubba Wallace, Aric Almirola, Austin Dillon, Josh Berry, AJ Allmendinger and Erik Jones were in 11th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 17th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 25th, 26th, 27th and 29th. In addition, Chandler Smith, winner of Saturday’s Xfinity event at Richmond and who was making his Cup Series debut for Kaulig Racing, was back in 34th.

    During the competition caution, the entire field led by Byron pitted, and amid a jammed-packed exit off of pit lane, Chastain exited with the lead followed by Byron, Bowman, Reddick, Busch and Larson. During the pit stops, Hamlin was sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road along with Todd Gilliland, who was penalized for equipment interference. In addition, Stenhouse, who was running in the top five prior to the competition caution, endured a long pit stop due to a mechanical issue as he took his No. 47 Kroger Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the garage.

    During the following restart on Lap 38, the field fanned out to four lanes as Chastain rocketed his No. 1 Jockey Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 with the lead followed by Byron and Reddick while teammates Larson and Bowman battle for fourth. With Larson eventually overtaking Bowman for position, Logano followed suit to move his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang into the top five while Bowman was being pressured by Kevin Harvick for more. As Ryan Blaney moved up the leaderboard to eighth in front of Daniel Suarez and Keselowski, Kyle Busch slipped out of the top 10.

    Then on Lap 44, the caution flew when Hamlin, who was running just outside of the top 30 and was trying to rally from the rear of the field from his pit road speeding penalty, bumped and sent JJ Yeley sideways as Yeley backed his car into the Turn 1 outside wall with significant rear end damage. During the caution period, some like Suarez, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Preece, Aric Almirola, Erik Jones, Corey LaJoie, Allmendinger, Justin Haley, Ty Dillon and Chandler Smith pitted while the rest led by Chastain remained on the track.

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 50, Chastain struggled to launch on the gas, which allowed Byron and Larson to trap Chastain with a three-wide move as both Hendrick Motorsports competitors muscled away with the top-two spots. With Chastain falling back to third, teammates Byron and Larson engaged in a side-by-side duel for the lead for the following two laps until Byron managed to clear Larson and retain the lead. Behind, Harvick started to close in on his bid for the lead in fourth behind Chastain while a series of battles ensued within the middle of the pack.

    Just past the Lap 60 mark, Byron was leading by eight-tenths of a second over teammate Larson followed by Chastain and Harvick while Reddick was in fifth. By then, Logano was in sixth in front of Bowman, Keselowski, Bell and Briscoe while Kyle Busch was back in 12th. Meanwhile, Truex, who was the first competitor with four fresh tires after pitting during the previous caution period, carved his No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota TRD Camry up to 16th.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 70, Byron captured his fifth stage victory of the 2023 Cup season. Teammate Larson settled in second followed by Chastain, Harvick and Logano while Reddick, Bowman, Bell, Keselowski and Briscoe were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the entire field led by Byron returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Byron retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by teammate Larson, then Chastain, Harvick, Logano and Bowman. During the pit stops, Blaney and Allmendinger were penalized for speeding on pit road.

    The second stage started on Lap 79 as teammates Byron and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, Byron rocketed with the lead ahead of Larson, Chastain, Harvick and Logano while Bowman, who struggled with launch pace in his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on restarts, was being challenged by Chase Briscoe for sixth. As the field behind fanned out to three lanes, Byron maintained his advantage to six-tenths of a second over Larson. By Lap 82, however, Chastain navigated his way around Larson for second. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch was mired back in 10th behind Bell and Keselowski while Hamlin was battling Ryan Preece for 14th.

    On Lap 94, the caution returned when Blaney, who was running within the top 30 and trying to rally from his pit road speeding penalty during the first stage’s conclusion, bumped and sent Josh Berry’s No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 spinning in Turn 4, with Berry managing to keep his car off the wall with no damage. During the caution period, the entire field led by Byron returned to pit road for service and Byron retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Larson, Chastain, Bowman, Logano and Bell. During the pit stops, Harvick, who pitted from fifth place, endured a slow pit stop and fell back to 16th. In addition, Team Penske’s Logano and Cindric pitted for a second time, with Logano addressing a loose right rear wheel while Cindric addressed power issues to his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang.

    With the event restarting under green on Lap 101, the field fanned out to three lanes through the first two turns as Byron retained the lead over Larson and Chastain. Behind, Bowman slotted himself into fourth while Bell, the highest-running Joe Gibbs Racing competitor on the track, was in fifth. By then, Truex was up in eighth behind Suarez and Keselowski while Briscoe and Kyle Busch battled for ninth.

    Through the first 125 laps of the event, Larson, who assumed the lead over Byron in his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 a lap earlier, was leading by half a second over teammate Byron followed by Chastain, Bell and Bowman while Keselowski, Truex, Suarez, Hamlin and Briscoe were in the top 10. By then, Ty Gibbs was in 11th ahead of Kyle Busch Harvick, Preece and Bubba Wallace while Blaney, Reddick, Almirola, Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland occupied the top 20. Behind, Austin Dillon was in 21st followed by Harrison Burton, Logano, Berry and Corey LaJoie while Chris Buescher, rookie Noah Gragson, Haley, Ty Dillon and Cindric were in the top 30 as 35 of 37 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    Twenty-five laps later, Larson extended his advantage to more than two seconds over teammate Byron while Chastain and Bell battled for third in front of Bowman. By then, Buescher and Berry made pit stops under green while Ty Gibbs carved his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota TRD Camry into ninth place behind teammates Truex and Hamlin along with Keselowski. Meanwhile, Harvick had fallen back to 11th behind Suarez.

    Nearing the Lap 155 mark, green flag pit stops started to slowly commence as Reddick pitted his No. 45 SiriusXM Toyota TRD Camry. Truex, Kyle Busch, Gilliland and Logano would also pit nearing the Lap 160 mark followed by Byron. The leader Larson would then pit along with Bell, Burton, Chastain, Suarez, Harvick, Briscoe, Erik Jones and others. During the pit stops, Larson and Suarez made contact on pit road as Larson was trying to exit his pit stall while Suarez was trying to enter his. Amid the pit stops, Hamlin assumed the lead followed by teammate Gibbs, Blaney and Austin Dillon, all of whom had yet to make a pit stop. Once Hamlin pitted on Lap 166 along with Gibbs, Blaney and Dillon, Larson cycled his way back into the lead followed by Byron, Bell, Bowman, Chastain and Truex. Following the pit stops, Blaney was penalized for removing a wrench out of his pit box, an issue that would cost him a lap behind the leaders.

    By Lap 175, Larson was leading by half a second over teammate Byron while Bell, Bowman and Chastain were running in the top five. Truex was in sixth ahead of Keselowski while Berry navigated his way to eighth followed by Hamlin and Reddick as Harvick trailed behind in 11th.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 200, Byron, who assumed the lead from teammate Larson three laps earlier, was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Bell while Larson, who fell back to third, was battling tight conditions to his No. 5 entry as a result of the right-front fender damage from hitting Suarez’s No. 99 Quaker State Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on pit road. Truex and Bowman were in the top five followed by Chastain, Hamlin, Keselowski, Harvick and Ty Gibbs while 21 of 37 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    Seven laps later, Bell overtook Byron, who was stuck behind lapped traffic, particularly Harrison Burton, to move his No. 20 Rheem Toyota TRD Camry into the lead as he became the seventh different leader of the event. By then, teammate Truex overtook Larson for fourth while Hamlin was in fifth after claiming the spot over Bowman.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 230, Hamlin, who cycled his way around teammate Bell for the lead two laps earlier and rallied from his early pit road speeding penalty, claimed his first stage victory of the 2023 Cup season. Bell settled in second by Byron, Truex and Chastain while Keselowski, Bowman, Larson, Harvick and Ty Gibbs were scored in the top 10. By then, 19 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Hamlin pitted and Hamlin retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Byron, Truex, Bell, Bowman and Keselowski.

    With 160 laps remaining, the final stage started as Hamlin and Byron occupied the front row. At the start, Hamlin rocketed out his No. 11 SHINGRIX Toyota TRD Camry in front to retain the lead followed by Byron and Truex as the field behind jostled and fanned out for positions, among which included Logano as he tried to carve his way into the top 15. As the laps proceeded, Keselowski, who was in eighth in front of Chastain and Larson, radioed gearing issues to his No. 6 Solomon Plumbing Ford Mustang as his car kept coming out of fourth gear, though he continued under race pace.

    With 125 laps remaining, Hamlin was leading by half a second over teammate Truex while third-place Byron trailed by more than three seconds. Harvick and Bell were running in the top five followed by Larson, Bowman, Keselowski, Chastain and Preece while Wallace, Logano, Briscoe, Gibbs and Almirola were in the top 15.

    Then with nearly 110 laps remaining, another cycle of green flag pit stops commenced as Truex, who was closing in on teammate Hamlin for the lead, pitted along with Suarez, Josh Berry and Kyle Busch. By then, Allmendinger, who was not on the lead lap, had made a pit stop. Soon after, a multitude of names that included Larson, Bowman, Chastain, Gibbs, Briscoe, McDowell, Burton, Austin Dillon, Reddick, Byron, Cindric, Keselowski and Preece pitted as Hamlin continued to lead. With 107 laps remaining, however, Hamlin surrendered the lead to pit along with Bell and Harvick. During his pit stop, Hamlin endured a slow service for his pit crew to change the right-front tire. Once the last set of names that included Bubba Wallace, Logano and Blaney pitted, with Wallace being penalized for a safety violation after a crew member fell over the wall, Truex cycled his way into the lead with 105 laps remaining.

    With less than 100 laps remaining, Truex was leading by more than two seconds over Larson followed by Byron, Bowman and Bell while Chastain, Harvick, Almirola, Keselowski and Preece were in the top 10. By then, Hamlin was mired back in 12th following his slow pit service.

    Down to the final 95 laps of the event, however, the caution flew when rookie Noah Gragson got loose entering Turn 2 at full speed and slapped the outside wall with smoke billowing out of his No. 42 Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. During the caution period, the leaders led by Truex returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Truex retained the lead followed by Byron, Larson, Bowman, Harvick and Chastain.

    With 88 laps remaining, the event restarted under green as Truex and Byron occupied the front row. At the start, Truex launched ahead with the lead followed by Byron, Larson and Bowman as the field behind jostled for late positions, among which included Hamlin as he tried to make his way through the top 10.

    Down to the final 75 laps of the event, Truex was leading by four-tenths of a second over Byron followed by Larson, Bowman and Chastain while Harvick was in sixth ahead of Bell and Keselowski. By then, Hamlin carved his way only up to ninth while Logano was in 10th ahead of Almirola, Gibbs, Briscoe, Preece and Berry.

    Fifteen laps later, Truex continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second over Byron while Larson, Bowman and Bell remained in the top five. By then, Hamlin was back in 10th behind Logano, Kyle Busch was back in 17th behind Briscoe, Reddick was mired back in 20th and Wallace was in 22nd, a lap down.

    Another 10 laps later, Truex extended his advantage to more than a second over Byron as Larson, Bowman and Chastain remained in the top five followed by Harvick, Keselowski and Hamlin, who could not gain the lost ground on the leaders. By then, Briscoe pitted along with Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch, Preece, Harrison Burton and Ty Gibbs.

    Shortly after, Byron pitted as he was soon followed by Larson, Bowman, Chastain, Almirola, Harvick, Suarez and the leader Suarez. While most of the leaders had already made a pit stop, Bell was leading a group of seven competitors who had yet to pit. Bell would pit with 45 laps remaining along with teammate Hamlin as Keselowski cycled to the lead for a lap before he pitted and handed the lead to Berry. By then, Berry, McDowell and Gilliland had yet to pit while Byron, the first competitor who recently pitted, was in fourth ahead of Truex and Larson.

    Then with 33 laps remaining, Byron tracked and overtook teammate Berry for the lead. Truex would follow suit in second as Larson would eventually make his way into third. By then, Berry and McDowell remained on the track and in the top five.

    With 29 laps remaining, however, the caution flew when Reddick spun in Turn 2. By then, Byron, who was locked in a side-by-side battle for the lead with Truex, was deemed the leader over Truex. During the caution period, the leaders led by Byron returned to pit road and Larson emerged with the lead after exiting first amid a tight-packed field followed by teammate Berry, Truex, Byron, Harvick and Bell. During the pit stops, Hamlin was busted for speeding on pit road for a second time.

    During the following restart with 21 laps remaining, Larson peeked ahead of teammate Berry as the field started to fan out to multiple lanes entering the first turn. Through the first turn, however, Bell made contact with Byron and sent Byron spinning sideways into the outside wall as he plummeted below the leaderboard.

    The next restart with 14 laps remaining saw teammates Larson and Berry duke for the lead until Larson managed to clear Berry for the lead through the first two turns. As the field fanned out behind, Chastain and Truex battled for third behind Berry while Larson pulled away by half a second.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Larson was leading by eight-tenths of a second over teammate, Berry, while Chastain and Bell were in the top five. Truex fell back to sixth in front of McDowell, Bowman, Logano and Gibbs. Larson would retain the lead by nearly a second with five laps remaining while Truex slipped back to eighth.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson remained as the leader by more than a second over teammate Berry. With the clean air to his advantage and no late challenges lurking behind, Larson was able to cycle his No. 5 entry around the short track circuit for a final time and back to the frontstretch to claim his first checkered flag of the 2023 Cup Series season.

    With the victory, Larson notched his 20th career victory in NASCAR’s premier series and his second at Richmond as he became the sixth different winner through the first seven events on the schedule. The 2023 season also marked Larson’s sixth season with at least one Cup victory and his 14th driving the No. 5 car for Hendrick Motorsports.

    The victory was also the first for veteran Kevin Meendering, who served his third race as an interim Cup crew chief for Cliff Daniels as Daniels is currently serving his third of a four-race suspension stemming from NASCAR confiscating the louvers from all four Hendrick Motorsports’ entries and the team being penalized for modifying pieces of the car pertaining to the air direction over the hoods. All four HMS entries were reinstated their points earlier in the week while the crew chief suspensions and $400,000 fine from each entry remained in place.

    “It’s really cool,” Larson said on FS1. “We’ve been close to winning a couple [races]. William’s [Byron] been extremely good this year. It was probably gonna be between him, [Truex] and us. [Bell] was really good, so just things worked out. My pit crew had a great stop, so shoutout to Brandon Johnson. He’s out jackman, he just turned 30 today. Our spotter, Tyler Monn, he turned 30 today, so great day for them guys. What an awesome HendrickCars.com Chevy. I got into [Suarez] there on pit road sometime in the second stage. We were awful after that and I was hoping the damage was the reason why. [The pit crew] had to calm me down a little bit and get refocused, and I was able to get it done. Thanks to everyone on this team. [Crew chief] Cliff Daniels for everything he does to prepare the team to be as strong as we are without him on the box. Good to get a win and hopefully, many more.”

    Teammate Josh Berry, making his fourth Cup start as an interim competitor for the injured Chase Elliott, made his late pit strategy pay off to perfection as he notched a career-best second place while Chastain, Bell and Harvick finished in the top five.

    “Man, this is really cool,” Berry said. “I gotta give all the credit to this NAPA team, [interim crew chief] Tom [Gray], [regular crew chief] Alan [Gustafson],…everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. Man, they made some great calls. When we got some clean track, we weren’t running bad lap times. I’m so glad they tried something different there at the end to just get us up front because I felt like we were decent the whole time. Just getting in clear air there. Really a little too free to run with Kyle [Larson], but man, what a huge day. To come here and start at the back, no practice, qualifying, get spun out, worked through the field like that to a second place, it’s pretty cool.”

    McDowell, who also benefitted through a late pit strategy as Berry, came home in sixth place while Logano, Bowman, rookie Ty Gibbs and Keselowski completed the top 10 on the track.

    Notably, Truex fell back to 11th in front of Briscoe, Almirola, Kyle Busch and Todd Gilliland while Hamlin settled in 20th following his share of pit road speeding penalties. In addition, Chandler Smith finished 17th in his Cup Series debut behind Reddick, Wallace ended up 22nd in front of Suarez, Byron fell back to 24th after leading a race-high 117 laps and Blaney ended up in 26th, a lap down.

    There were 22 lead changes for 11 different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 54 laps.

    Following the seventh event of the 2023 Cup Series season, Alex Bowman leads the regular-season standings by four points over Ross Chastain, 34 over Christopher Bell, 35 over William Byron, 36 over Kevin Harvick and 41 over both Joey Logano and Kyle Larson.

    Results.

    1. Kyle Larson, 93 laps led

    2. Josh Berry, 10 laps led

    3. Ross Chastain, 16 laps led

    4. Christopher Bell, 26 laps led

    5. Kevin Harvick

    6. Michael McDowell

    7. Joey Logano

    8. Alex Bowman, eight laps led

    9. Ty Gibbs

    10. Brad Keselowski, one lap led

    11. Martin Truex Jr., 56 laps led

    12. Chase Briscoe

    13. Aric Almirola

    14. Kyle Busch, one lap led

    15. Todd Gilliland

    16. Tyler Reddick

    17. Chandler Smith

    18. Ryan Preece

    19. Harrison Burton

    20. Denny Hamlin, 71 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    21. Corey LaJoie

    22. Bubba Wallace, one lap led

    23. Daniel Suarez

    24. William Byron, 117 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    25. Austin Dillon, one lap down

    26. Ryan Blaney, one lap down

    27. AJ Allmendinger, one lap down

    28. Austin Cindric, one lap down

    29. Justin Haley, one lap down

    30. Chris Buescher, two laps down

    31. Erik Jones, two laps down

    32. Ty Dillon, two laps down

    33. Anthony Alfredo, four laps down

    34. Cody Ware, five laps down

    35. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 16 laps down

    36. JJ Yeley, 17 laps down

    37. Noah Gragson – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the third annual running of the Food City Dirt Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course in Bristol, Tennessee. The event is scheduled for next Sunday, April 9, on Easter at 7 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Reddick survives three overtime attempts for wild Cup victory at COTA

    Reddick survives three overtime attempts for wild Cup victory at COTA

    In a highly anticipated event featuring a star-studded lineup of competitors and new names across the grid, Tyler Reddick captured the main spotlight by winning the third annual running of the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, March 26, amid three overtime attempts and a dominant run since the start of the weekend.

    The two-time Xfinity Series champion from Corning, California, led a race-high 41 of 75 over-scheduled laps in an event where he utilized pit strategy and a fast race car to keep himself in contention towards the front. Swapping the lead with William Byron on several occasions before overtaking him with four laps remaining, Reddick then had to navigate his way around Austin’s 20-turn circuit through three overtime attempts and a series of carnages erupting behind him to muscle away from Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain and Byron to claim the first checkered flag for himself, 23XI Racing and Toyota of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, William Byron notched his first Cup pole of the 2023 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 93.882 mph in 130.760 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Tyler Reddick, who clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap at 93.783 mph in 130.898 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Michael McDowell dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports entry.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Byron jumped ahead with the lead as the field fanned out through the uphill climb to the first turn. With the field navigating its way into the first turn, Byron retained the lead through a series of right and left-hand turns from Turns 2 to 10 before approaching a steep left-hand turn in Turn 11. As the field approached the long straightaway between Turns 11 and 12, Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric battled for second with Daniel Suarez closing in after he overtook Jordan Taylor, a three-time IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar champion who was filling in the No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the injured Chase Elliott. Following the final series of turns from Turns 12 to 20, the field returned to the frontstretch as Byron led the first lap ahead of Reddick, Cindric, Suarez and Alex Bowman while Jordan Taylor fell back to ninth.

    Just then, the first caution of the event flew on the second lap when Brad Keselowski, who was running within the middle of the field, spun in between Turns 19 and 20. As a bevy of cars approaching Keselowski scattered to avoid him, Ty Dillon got pinched in between Todd Gilliland and Chris Buescher, which resulted in Buescher hitting Dillon as he veered sideways and slammed into the No. 84 Club Wyndham Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 piloted by seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson as Johnson spun with right-side damage while Dillon emerged with significant front nose damage to his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. The early incident was enough to knock both Dillon and Johnson out of contention while Keselowski continued.

    During the following restart on the fifth lap, the field fanned out again entering the first turn as Cindric, who restarted third, managed to motor his way past Byron and Reddick, both of whom went wide in Turn 1, to assume the lead entering the series of turns from Turns 2 to 10. As the field jostled for positions past the turns and entering the frontstretch between Turns 11 and 12, Cindric maintained the lead over Reddick and Byron with Suarez in fourth and AJ Allmendinger in fifth. By then, Taylor locked up the front tires entering Turn 11 while battling within the top 10 and nearly clipped Erik Jones, which caused him to drop back to 13th.

    A lap later, Chase Briscoe, who was running 17th, got hit by Justin Haley and spun in Turn 1, but the field remained under green flag conditions as Briscoe lost a bevy of spots on the track. By then, Joey Logano was assessed a pass-through penalty for shortcutting through the esses while running in 16th, all while Cindric retained the lead in front of Reddick and Byron. By the seventh lap, however, Reddick managed to cycle his No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota TRD Camry around Cindric’s No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang entering Turn 19 to assume the lead on the eighth lap.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Reddick was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Byron while third-place Cindric trailed by more than a second. Allmendinger and Suarez were running fourth and fifth while Bowman, Kyle Busch, Erik Jones, Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain were scored in the top 10. Behind, Bubba Wallace was in 11th ahead of Christopher Bell, Jordan Taylor and rookies Ty Gibbs and Noah Gragson while Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Preece, Tod Gilliland, Harrison Burton and Martin Truex Jr. occupied the top 20. By then, Kevin Harvick was in 22nd ahead of Ryan Blaney and Austin Dillon, former Formula One champion Kimi Räikkönen was in 25th, Keselowski was back in 27th, former Formula One champion Jenson Button was mired back in 31st in between Aric Almirola and Chase Briscoe and IndyCar competitor Conor Daly was in 34th. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin, Corey LaJoie and Michael McDowell were assessed penalties for cutting the course.

    Then during the following lap, trouble erupted when Bubba Wallace locked up the front tires and slammed into Larson with Erik Jones also sustaining damage in Turn 12. While limping his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 back to pit road, Larson endured more on-track issues when he got hit by Denny Hamlin and spun backward toward the pit wall in between Turns 19 and 20 at the same time when Wallace was pitting his wounded No. 23 MoneyLion Toyota TRD Camry as the caution returned. Despite the pair of incidents, Larson managed to continue while Wallace retired with a damaged oil line. By then, Cody Ware also endured on-track issues when he spun within the infield turns. In addition, names like Stenhouse, Harvick, Buescher, Keselowski, Almirola, Briscoe, Logano and LaJoie pitted.

    The following restart on Lap 15 also marked the conclusion of the first stage as Byron managed to edge Cindric to capture his fourth stage victory of the 2023 Cup season followed by Allmendinger, Bowman, Chastain, Suarez, Kyle Busch, Taylor, Bell and Ryan Preece. Compared to the first five events on the schedule, the caution flag did not display and the competitors proceeded under green as part of NASCAR’s new rules for this season, which highlighted that no caution periods would be mandated at the conclusion of stage breaks on road course venues that hold Cup Series events.

    With the second stage proceeding under green on Lap 15, the field fanned out and scrambled for positions through the first turn and the series of left and right-hand turns from Turns 2 to 10 with Byron retaining the lead over Cindric, Allmendinger, Bowman and Chastain.

    At the Lap 20 mark, Byron was leading by six-tenths of a second over Cindric followed by Allmendinger, Suarez and Chastain while Bowman, Ty Gibbs, Bell, Taylor and Reddick were in the top 10. By then, 34 of 39 starters were scored on the lead lap. Meanwhile, Blaney, who spun in Turn 15 a few laps earlier after getting hit by Larson, and Keselowski, who received an earlier tap from Blaney before spinning in Turn 12, plummeted down to 27th and 35th, respectively.

    Shortly after, green flag pit stops slowly commenced as Kyle Busch pitted his No. 8 Netspend Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 followed by Jenson Button, Almirola, Preece, Gilliland and Gibbs. Taylor would also pit a few laps later followed by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Truex and Bell. By Lap 23, Cindric pitted despite enduring issues with changing the right-rear tire along with Bowman and Chastain while Byron retained the lead ahead of Allmendinger.

    Once Byron surrendered the lead to pit his No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 under green prior to Lap 24, Reddick, who pitted prior to the conclusion of the first stage, cycled back into the lead. Behind, Allmendinger and Suarez also pitted while Austin Dillon, McDowell, Harvick and Larson emerged in the top five. By then, every competitor still running on the field made at least one pit stop with all on mixed pit strategies.

    By Lap 25, Reddick was leading by more than three seconds over Austin Dillon followed by McDowell, Harvick and Larson while Stenhouse, Buescher, Erik Jones, Briscoe and Logano were scored in the top 10. By then, Hamlin was in 11th ahead of Gragson, Kimi Räikkönen, Keselowski and Byron while Allmendinger, Kyle Busch, Suarez, Gibbs and Chastain were in the top 20. By then, Bowman was in 21st, Bell was back in 26th ahead of teammate Truex and Taylor had fallen back in 29th ahead of Cindric and Jenson Button. Meanwhile, Blaney was mired a lap down in 34th following his earlier on-track incident and spin.

    When the second stage concluded under green on Lap 30, Reddick captured his first stage victory of the 2023 Cup season while former teammate Austin Dillon trailed by more than seven seconds. McDowell, Harvick, Buescher, Stenhouse, Larson, Erik Jones, Briscoe and Gragson were scored in the top 10 while 33 of 39 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    With the final stage proceeding under green with 38 laps remaining, Hamlin and Keselowski pitted under green shortly after while Gibbs was penalized for cutting the course. Briscoe, Gragson, Larson and McDowell would eventually pit, with Larson being penalized for speeding on pit road. Then approaching Lap 32, Reddick surrendered the lead to pit along with Stenhouse while Buescher assumed the lead. Following Reddick’s pit stop, Byron managed to overtake Reddick on the track as he settled in third behind Buescher and Erik Jones while Reddick was back in 10th.

    A lap later, Byron reassumed the lead once Buescher pitted along with Erik Jones. This enabled Allmendinger to move into second followed by Suarez, Chastain and Kyle Busch while Reddick moved up to sixth. Another lap later, the event reached its halfway mark. By then, Gibbs was assessed another pass-through penalty for cutting the course while Reddick set the fastest lap of the event while running towards the top five.

    With 30 laps remaining, Byron was leading by a tenth of a second over a hard-charging Reddick followed by Allmendinger, Suarez and Chastain while Bowman, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Cindric and McDowell were mired in the top 10. A lap later, Reddick made his move beneath Byron in Turn 1 and moved back into the lead. Meanwhile, Logano pitted his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang under green while Bell, who spun in Turn 8, was in 14th.

    Three laps later, the caution flew due to debris reported in Turn 9. This occurred after Hamlin, who was running 17th, spun his No. 11 Interstate Batteries Toyota TRD Camry a turn prior and kicked up dirt on the course. During the caution period, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Reddick pitted for service that included fresh tires and enough fuel for the finish while Logano, who pitted a few laps prior to the caution, remained on the track along with Harrison Burton and Cody Ware. Following the pit stops, Reddick was the first competitor to exit pit road followed by Byron, Suarez, Chastain, Austin Dillon and McDowell. During the pit stops, Gibbs was penalized for pitting outside his pit box.

    With 25 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Logano and Harrison Burton occupied the front row. At the start, the field fanned out entering the first turn as Reddick launched his move beneath Logano for the lead. Despite grabbing it approaching the turn, Reddick wiggled and went wide, which allowed Byron to overtake him for the lead as Reddick was left to battle Chastain for second. Through the series of left and right-hand turns from Turns 2 to 10 and with the field still fanning out and jostling for late positions, Byron maintained the lead while Reddick was trying to navigate his way back into second. As the field continued to navigate through the next round of turns entering Turn 12, Suarez overshot the turn and lost a spot to fifth place on the track while Byron retained the lead ahead of Reddick, Chastain and Bowman.

    Two laps later, a side-by-side battle for the lead ignited between Reddick and Byron through the straightaway turn between Turns 11 and 12. Following a side-by-side, crossover and swapping duel fight between the top-two leaders through Turns 12 to Turn 20, Byron managed to retain the lead by a narrow hair over Reddick. During the following lap, Byron and Reddick continued to fight for the lead as Chastain started to close in on the two leaders. Through the infield turns, however, Reddick managed to pull ahead and remain ahead of Byron to retake the lead as Chastain started to challenge Byron for second. Meanwhile, fourth-place Bowman trailed by more than a second as he started to join the battle.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Reddick was leading by two-tenths of a second over Byron while third-place Chastain trailed by nine-tenths of a second. Behind, Bowman was in fourth place while Austin Dillon occupied fifth place. With Suarez, Bell, Harvick, Logano and McDowell running in the top 10, Allmendinger, who endured a slow pit stop during the last caution period, was mired in 11th while Jordan Taylor navigated his way into 19th place, six spots over Räikkönen and eight over Jenson Button. Meanwhile, Larson limped back to pit road with a broken toe link to his No. 5 entry while Preece, who was assessed a pass-through penalty for short-cutting the esses, was assessed another pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road while serving his first penalty.

    Five laps later, the Reddick and Byron, both of whom were instructed to save fuel, were separated by half a second, with Reddick leading while third-place Chastain trailed by more than a second. In the midst of the battles upfront, both Keselowski and Stenhouse spun through Turn 11, but the event proceeded under green. A few laps later, Hamlin and Kyle Busch pitted under green for enough fuel for the finish.

    Then with 12 laps remaining, Byron slipped and went off the course in Turn 8, which allowed Trackhouse Racing’s Chastain and Suarez to move up to second and third. Not long after, Suarez bumped and moved teammate Chastain out of his way in Turn 11 to claim second place while Reddick retained the lead by more than a second. Just then, the caution returned when Keselowski came to a stop in Turn 7. During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Reddick pitted while names like Bell, Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Räikkönen and Preece remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Reddick was the first competitor to exit first followed by Byron, Suarez, Bowman, Austin Dillon and McDowell while Chastain lost a bevy of spots amid a slow pit service.

    During the following restart with nine laps remaining, where Bell and Kyle Busch occupied the front row, Bell jumped ahead with a slight advantage as the field fanned out entering the first turn. Then as Reddick challenged Bell for the lead on fresh tires, carnage ensued behind as Allmendinger clipped and sent Austin Dillon around. At the same time, Chastain, who went wide to avoid Dillon, made contact with Erik Jones as he spun. With Chastain unable to pull away in Turn 1, the caution returned to being displayed. By then, Reddick reassumed the lead ahead of Bell while Byron was up in third followed by Kyle Bush and Truex.

    As the field restarted under green with seven laps remaining, Reddick jumped ahead with the lead. Through Turn 1, however, Reddick overdrove the first turn, which allowed Byron to draw back even and clear him for the lead entering the series of turns. Then through Turn 9, Bell got turned as he spun while running towards the front, but the event remained under green. With the field scrambling entering Turns 11 and 12, Byron was out in front ahead of Reddick and Kyle Busch while Truex and Suarez rounded out the top five.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Byron maintained the lead by half a second over Reddick while third-place Kyle Busch trailed by more than two seconds. With Suarez and Bowman in the top five, Truex was in sixth while McDowell, Preece, Logano and Gragson were in the top 10. By then, 31 of 39 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    Then entering Turn 11, Reddick, who kept Byron pressured for the lead, pounced on an opportunity to seize it back, which he did as he also fended off Byron through the straightaway from Turns 11 and 12 before maintaining the advantage through a series of turns from Turns 12 to 20. A lap later, the caution returned and the event was sent into overtime due to debris reported on the course as a result of Austin Dillon, who was penalized for cutting the esses earlier, shredding a left-rear tire on his No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

    With the event restarting in overtime, Reddick dueled against Byron amid the field fanning out before being locked into another side-by-side battle with Kyle Busch after he nearly overshot the turn. Behind, however, more on-track issues ensued in Turn 1 when Blaney got turned and spun. In front of him, Preece also got turned after making contact with Gibbs, which he also clipped Gragson. With the carnage ensuing behind, the event remained under green as Reddick maintained the lead over Kyle Busch and Byron. Then as Reddick was trying to motor his car back to the start/finish line to start the final lap, the caution returned and the event was sent into a second overtime attempt due to debris coming off of Blaney’s No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang while fluid was also leaking out of Preece’s damaged No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang.

    At the start of the second overtime attempt, Bowman, who restarted within the top 10 and fanned out in his move to the front, made contact with Suarez and the contact carried forth into Truex getting hit and spun in Turn 1 while Suarez plummeted below the field after stopping in front of Truex’s car. As Reddick remained ahead of Kyle Busch, Bowman and Byron with the lead, Justin Haley spun in Turn 11 while running in the middle of the pack, but the event remained under green. Then through the infield carousel turns, McDowell, Räikkönen and Bell also spun, but the event remained under green again. The caution, however, flew and the event was sent into a third overtime attempt due to debris on the course after Suarez shredded the left-front tire of his No. 99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. By then, Reddick was scored the leader ahead of Kyle Busch, Bowman and Byron while Chastain maneuvered his way back to fifth.

    When the event proceeded under green for the third overtime attempt, Reddick managed to fend off Bowman through the first turn to maintain the lead as the field bumped and jostled through the first turn. With Almirola falling off the pace, Reddick continued to navigate at the front through the series of turns from Turns 2 to 10. With more names like Logano, Bell and Suarez wrecking through the turns, Reddick retained the lead in front of Bowman, who had Kyle Busch pressuring him for second while Chastain was in fourth ahead of Byron.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Reddick, who was able to navigate his way back to the frontstretch without another caution to stall his progress, remained as the leader by a second over Bowman, who was drawn even and overtaken by Kyle Busch for second. Having a clear view in front of him for a final time through the 20-turn circuit while his challengers battled behind, Reddick was able to smoothly navigate his way back to the frontstretch and claim his first checkered flag of the 2023 campaign by more than a second over Busch.

    With the victory, Reddick became the third different winner at Circuit of the Americas in the venue’s three-year history of hosting NASCAR Cup Series events. By becoming the fifth different winner of the 2023 season, he also notched his third victory on a road course venue and his fourth career win in NASCAR’s premier series. The victory was also the first of the season and fourth overall for 23XI Racing while the Toyota nameplate notched its first Cup victory of 2023.

    “[The victory] means the world,” Reddick said on FOX. “This whole 23XI team has been working hard all winter long to make the road course program better and was extremely motivated to come in here and improve that performance. Just so proud of this Monster Energy Toyota Camry TRD. This whole team, Toyota, everybody. All the resources, everything they’ve been putting into this to help turn around the road course program means a lot. I’m out of gas, but I feel a little bit better with Monster Energy.”

    Meanwhile, Kyle Busch navigated his way around Alex Bowman for second place for his second top-two finish of the season. Bowman settled in third place for his second consecutive top-three finish at Circuit of the Americas while Chastain and Byron finished in the top five.

    “I don’t know if we could have [beaten Reddick],” Busch said. “Even if we were on equal tires, when we tested here, [Reddick’s team] were lights out and had us beat on the front side of the runs. We needed longer runs, but even today, for some reason, we just didn’t have the really great long-run speed. We had good middle run speed, but overall, for as much as effort and everything that we’ve put into coming here and focusing on this place and all the testing and everything that we’ve been able to do over the off-season, we come out of here with a really good finish.”

    “[Today] was really fun,” Byron said. “[Reddick’s team] were great all weekend. Tyler’s been great at the road courses. We made it a battle, for sure. Every time, crossovers, out-braking each other. That was a lot of fun. I hate that it kind of got down to restarts at the end. I got shoved off one time in second. We needed a top five and probably could’ve done some things different, but overall, a good day for the Liberty University Chevrolet. Good speed. Just, Tyler was so fast all weekend. I felt like, when I got the lead, I was just slipping and sliding, so it was fun.”

    With 30 of 39 starters finishing on the lead lap, Cindric, Stenhouse, Buescher, Gibbs and Todd Gilliland completed the top 10 on the track.

    Notably, Harvick finished 13th in his third and final start at Circuit of the Americas, Larson rallied for 14th, Hamlin fell back to 16th in front of teammate Truex, Blaney ended up 21st and Suarez settled in 27th in front of Logano. In addition, Jenson Button emerged as the highest-finishing open-wheel star in 18th while IMSA’s Jordan Taylor finished 24th and Formula One’s Kimi Räikkönen ended up 29th.

    There were 16 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 17 laps.

    Following the sixth event of the 2023 Cup Series season, Ross Chastain leads the regular-season standings by 19 over Kyle Busch, 25 over both Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick, 27 over Christopher Bell and 34 over Ryan Blaney.

    Results.

    1. Tyler Reddick, 41 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Kyle Busch

    3. Alex Bowman

    4. Ross Chastain

    5. William Byron, 28 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    6. Austin Cindric, two laps led

    7. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    8. Chris Buescher, one lap led

    9. Ty Gibbs

    10. Todd Gilliland

    11. Corey LaJoie

    12. Michael McDowell

    13. Kevin Harvick

    14. Kyle Larson

    15. Chase Briscoe

    16. Denny Hamlin

    17. Martin Truex Jr.

    18. Jenson Button

    19. Justin Haley

    20. Noah Gragson

    21. Ryan Blaney

    22. Harrison Burton

    23. Erik Jones

    24. Jordan Taylor

    25. Cody Ware

    26. Josh Bilicki

    27. Daniel Suarez, one lap led

    28. Joey Logano, one lap led

    29. Kimi Räikkönen

    30. Aric Almirola, one lap down

    31. Christopher Bell – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    32. Ryan Preece – OUT, Accident

    33. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident

    34. AJ Allmendinger – OUT, Accident

    35. Brad Keselowski – OUT, Driveshaft

    36. Conor Daly – OUT, Transmission

    37. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Accident

    38. Jimmie Johnson – OUT, DVP

    39. Ty Dillon – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ first of two scheduled events of this season at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, April 2, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Atlanta

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Atlanta

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Joey Logano: Logano started on the pole and was the class of the field at Atlanta, winning Stage 1 and leading 140 on his way to the win in the Ambetter Health 400.

    “I knew I would win this race,” Logano said, “because I ‘am better’ than everyone else.”

    2. Christopher Bell: Bell came home third at Atlanta as the top Toyota finisher. Bell helped Joey Logano to the win with a strong push that helped move Logano past Brad Keselowski.

    “Notice that no Hendrick Motorsports cars were racing for the win,” Bell said. “Atlanta Motor Speedway may have 28-degree banking in the turns, but at least on Sunday, it was a totally ‘level playing field.’”

    3. Kyle Busch: Busch survived a spin in the Kevin Harvick-Ross Chastain incident, and damage was minimal. Busch recovered to post a solid 10th at Atlanta.

    “NASCAR really came down hard on Hendrick Motorsports,” Busch said. “NASCAR must have found some really incriminating violations in those inspections. I may have been caught with a gun in Mexico, but at least it wasn’t a smoking gun.”

    4. William Byron: Byron was eliminated from the Ambetter Health 400 as an innocent victim of a crash with 71 laps left, caused when Kevin Harvick got loose in tight quarters and collected several cars.

    “And speaking of ‘innocent victim,’” Byron said, “most people are saying Hendrick Motorsports is not one after their huge penalties and fines as a result of failed inspections. It’s one thing to be the victim; it’s another thing to play the victim. One of those things we do very well.”

    5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick was a victim in one of two final stage wrecks at Atlanta. With 71 laps left, Harvick got loose with Ross Chastain right on his bumper, and Harvick spun into traffic, triggering a crash that involved 12 cars.

    “The easy way out would be for me to blame Chastain for causing the crash,” Harvick said. “Why? Because everyone would believe it, even Ross himself.”

    6. Ryan Blaney: Blaney posted his second consecutive top 10 with a seventh at Atlanta. He is fourth in the points standings,

    “NASCAR handed down quite a list of penalties, suspensions, and fines to Hendrick Motorsports,” Blaney said. “Heck, I bet when NASCAR made the announcement, they, like Hendrick themselves, probably used a ‘cheat sheet.’”

    7. Ross Chastain: Chastain had an eventful day at Atlanta on his way to a 13th-place finish in the Ambetter Health 400.

    “Obviously,” Chastain said, “my reputation precedes me. Just ask Kevin Harvick. Now, I’m being accused of wrecking people even when I don’t even touch them.”

    8. Kyle Larson: Larson was, unfortunately, running behind Aric Almirola with 52 laps left, as Almirola, on old tires, blew a right rear tire and collected Larson, who was competing in his 300th Cup series start.

    “I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Larson said, “much like the thousands of gamers who were listening to me back in April of 2020.

    “Hendrick Motorsport’s best finish was a 14th by Alex Bowman. It was a sad day for Hendrick. But I must say, I’ve seen worse days, pretty recently, actually.”

    9. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski settled for the runner-up spot at Atlanta, unable to hold off former teammate Joey Logano on the final lap. It was Keselowski’s best result of the year.

    “Me and Joey go way back,” Logano said. “Or at least Joey says I go way back, because he won the Cup last year; I won it way back in 2012.”

    10. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished sixth at Atlanta, joining Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Christopher Bell (third) and Ty Gibbs (ninth) in the top 10.

    “I was penalized 25 driver points and fined $50,000 for making intentional contact with Ross Chastain at Phoenix,” Hamlin said. “And, as I am prone to do, I’ll ‘admit’ it, and say it was worth every penny.”

  • Logano executes final lap pass for a thrilling Cup victory at Atlanta

    Logano executes final lap pass for a thrilling Cup victory at Atlanta

    The patience and determination to execute a winning move on the final lap amid the draft paid off for Joey Logano as he capped off a dominant run with a final lap victory in the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 19.

    The reigning two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion from Middletown, Connecticut, led five times for a race-high 140 of 260-scheduled laps and found himself in a prime position of battling for the victory against ex-teammate Brad Keselowski and a host of competitors running in two tight-packed lanes. After keeping the leaders within reach on the inside lane, Logano received a push from Corey LaJoie on the final lap to execute his race-winning move to the outside of Keselowski. Once he assumed the lead through the backstretch, the Connecticut native was able to pull away from the field and triumph both for the first time in the 2023 Cup season and at Atlanta.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Joey Logano notched his second Cup pole of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 177.374 mph in 31.256 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Austin Cindric, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 177.340 mph in 31.262 seconds, while his third teammate Ryan Blaney qualified third fastest on the grid with a speed of 177.215 mph in 31.284 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Christopher Bell, who spun during Saturday’s qualifying session, was the only competitor to drop to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota TRD Camry.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Logano jumped ahead and quickly crossed his No. 22 AutoTrader Ford Mustang from the outside to the inside lane in front of teammate Cindric to retain the lead ahead of two tight-packed lanes of competitors. As the field returned to the frontstretch, Logano led the first lap in front of his Team Penske teammates, all of whom were running on the outside lane, while the field remained in tight formation through two packed lanes.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Logano was leading ahead of teammates Cindric and Blaney while Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick were in the top five. Aric Almirola was in sixth, thus placing six Fords within the top-six spots, while Kyle Larson was the highest-running Chevrolet competitor in seventh. Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin and William Byron were in the top 10 while Chris Buescher, Michael McDowell, Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon, Justin Haley, Ross Chastain, rookie Noah Gragson, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Busch and Tyler Reddick occupied the top 20.

    Five laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Bubba Wallace, who was running towards the top 20, got loose and spun towards the inside wall in the backstretch, where he impacted the wall before his No. 23 DoorDash Toyota TRD Camry came to a rest in the backstretch. Despite limping his damaged car to pit road and returned following the repairs, he fell out of the lead lap category. At the moment of caution, Logano retained the lead in front of his Team Penske teammates and the field. During the caution period, some like Ricky Stenhouse Jr., BJ McLeod, Corey LaJoie, Harrison Burton, Martin Truex Jr., rookie Ty Gibbs, Ryan Preece and JJ Yeley pitted while the rest led by Logao remained on the track.

    When the event restarted on Lap 15, Logano and Keselowski dueled for the lead until Logano managed to pull away on the outside lane followed by teammates Cindric and Blaney. As Keselowski dropped to fourth, Larson and Hamlin battled for fifth amid two tight-packed lanes of competitors battling within the draft.

    By Lap 25, the inside lane led by Hamlin started to gain momentum as Hamlin challenged Cindric for second followed by Larson while Logano, who remained on the outside lane in front of his Team Penske teammates, continued to lead the field.

    Just past the Lap 40 mark, Logano retained the lead ahead of teammates Cindric and Blaney while Keselowski and Hamlin were running in the top five. Behind, Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, Larson and Truex were competing in the top 10 as the top-32 competitors were separated by more than three seconds. By the event surpassed the Lap 50 mark, the top-32 competitors were separated by nearly four seconds as Logano continued to lead the field. In addition, nearly the entire field migrated to the outside lane and in a long single-file line behind Logano.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 60, Logano captured his first stage victory of the 2023 Cup season. Teammate Cindric settled in second followed by Keselowski while Blaney, who tried to make his move to the front on the inside lane on the first stage’s final lap, fell back to fourth. Hamlin settled in fifth while Bell, Kyle Busch, Buescher, Suarez and Truex were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Logano pitted while diving into Atlanta Motor Speedway’s new pit road entrance on the apron at the start of Turn 3 under a cautious pace. Following the pit stops, Kyle Busch exited with the lead despite concerns of not having enough fuel fueled into his No. 8 Lenovo Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Keselowski exited second followed by Blaney, Cindric, Logano and Truex.

    The second stage started on Lap 67 as Kyle Busch and Keselowski occupied the front row. At the start, Busch and Keselowski battled for the lead, with the former managing to move in front of the field with drafting help from Blaney and in front of a bevy of Ford competitors. Two laps later, however, Blaney made his move in Turn 1 to assume the lead from Busch. Behind, Logano battled Busch for second on the inside lane while Keselowski remained within touch of the leaders. Not long after, however, a side-by-side battle ensued between Blaney and Busch with the field locked in two tight-packed lanes.

    By Lap 75, Busch was drafted back into the lead with help from Logano before Logano launched his attack to reassume the top spot. Behind, Blaney, Keselowski, Buescher, Cindric, Truex, Hamlin, Bell, Bowman and Byron battled for spots within the top 10 while 35 of 36 starters were separated by more than three seconds.

    Through the first 90 scheduled laps, Logano was leading a long line of competitors running towards the outside lane followed by Busch, Blaney, Keselowski and Buescher while Cindric, Truex, Hamlin, Bell and Bowman were scored in the top 10. Behind, Byron was in 11th ahead of Corey LaJoie, Daniel Suarez, Gragson and Austin Dillon while Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ross Chastain, Gibbs, Kevin Harvick and Larson were back in the top 20.

    At the Lap 100 mark, Logano continued to lead in front of Busch, Blaney, Keselowski and Buescher while the top-31 competitors scaling back to Chase Briscoe were separated by more than four seconds. By then, names like Harvick, Erik Jones, Aric Almirola, Michael McDowell, AJ Allmendinger, Harrison Burton and Tyler Reddick were mired outside the top 20 while Josh Berry, who was making his third start as an interim competitor for Chase Elliott was in 20th behind teammate Larson.

    Fifteen laps later, Logano retained the lead in front of Busch, Blaney, Keselowski and Buescher while Cindric, Truex, Hamlin, Bell and Bowman were running in the top 10. Another 10 laps later, Busch surrendered the runner-up spot to pit for fresh tires and fuel along with Truex, who had no fuel pressure reported to his car. Earlier, Austin Dillon nearly missed the pit road’s entrance as he had his car serviced.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 130, Logano remained out in front ahead of teammate Blaney, Buescher, Cindric and Hamlin while Bell, Bowman, Byron, Suarez and Stenhouse occupied the top 10. By then, Keselowski peeled off the track to pit along with Corey LaJoie and Ty Dillon.

    Two laps later, the Team Penske trio led by Logano, Blaney and Cindric pitted under green as Buescher cycled to the lead. Names that included Haley, Burton, Chastain, Suarez and Stenhouse would also pit. Amid the pit stops and with more front-runners pitting, Blaney was penalized with a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road. In addition, Preece was penalized for a commitment line violation.

    Back on the track and with nearly the entire field having made a pit stop under green, Bell, who had yet to pit and assumed the lead on Lap 137, was leading followed by Larson with nearly 20 laps remaining in the second stage. Once both pitted, Logano cycled his way back into the lead followed by teammate Cindric, Reddick, Byron and Buescher with 17 laps remaining in the second stage. Following his green flag pit stop, Bell managed to blend within the field and the draft in 13th in between LaJoie and Larson.

    With less than 10 laps remaining in the second stage, Logano continued to lead in front of teammate Cindric, Reddick, Byron and Buescher while the top-12 competitors were separated by a second. In addition, the top-30 competitors were scored on the lead lap while Blaney was mired two laps down following his speeding penalty.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 160, Cindric, who made a three-wide move on teammate Logano and Reddick through Turns 3 and 4, muscled his No. 2 Menards Ford Mustang to his first stage victory of the 2023 Cup season. Logano settled in second ahead of Bowman and Reddick while Byron, Buescher, Truex, Hamlin, Keselowski and LaJoie were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap competitors led by Cindric pitted and Aric Almirola cycled into the lead after only opting for fuel. Logano exited second followed by Cindric, Stenhouse, Bowman, Byron and Harvick. Following the pit stops, Buescher was penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Reddick made another trip to pit road to get enough fuel to his car.

    With 92 laps remaining, the final stage started as Almirola and Stenhouse occupied the front row. At the start, Almirola was drafted into the lead from Logano through the first two turns before Stenhouse fought back on the inside lane with drafting help from Byron. As the field returned to the frontstretch, Stenhouse emerged with the lead followed by Byron as Harvick charged his way towards the front. With Stenhouse retaining the lead, Byron settled in second along with Almirola while Harvick, who tried to charge to the lead on the inside lane, settled in fourth place on the outside lane. Meanwhile, Hamlin, the first competitor running on the inside lane and receiving drafting help from LaJoie, was locked in a battle with Logano for fifth.

    With 85 laps remaining, Hamlin emerged with the lead over Stenhouse as the field behind fanned out to two lanes while jostling for late positions. In the process, Larson moved up to fourth in front of Almirola, Harvick settled in seventh behind Keselowski, LaJoie was in eighth and Logano fell back to 12th behind Briscoe.

    Down to the final 75 laps of the event, Hamlin was leading in front of Byron, Harvick, Larson and Stenhouse while Chastain, Almirola, Keselowski, Buescher and Josh Berry were in the top 10. By then, 31 of 36 starters were separated by less than two seconds.

    Four laps later, however, Harvick, who was drafted into the lead with help from Chastain, got loose in front of Chastain’s front nose as his No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang veered sideways and backward before receiving a hard hit by Buescher and colliding against Berry and Byron in the backstretch as the caution returned. In the midst of a multi-car wreck, Kyle Busch, Harrison Burton and BJ McLeod were also involved as Harvick’s penultimate event at Atlanta, the track where he notched his first Cup career victory, came to a late end. Back at the front, Chastain managed to escape with the lead followed by Hamlin, Larson, Reddick and Almirola. During the pit stops, the leaders led by Chastain returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Almirola cycled his way back into the lead followed by Larson, Keselowski, Chastain (who got pushed into the grass while exiting pit road) and Reddick. During the pit stops, Hamlin made contact with Ty Dillon, who was trying to enter his pit stall.

    When the event restarted under green with 61 laps remaining, Almirola retained the lead with drafting help from Larson on the outside lane and was eventually able to control both lanes exiting the backstretch and back to the start/finish line. With Almirola out in front, Larson was in second followed by Keselowski, Chastain, Reddick and Bell while names like Bowman, Suarez, Hamlin and Haley were in the top 10.

    With 51 laps remaining, the caution returned when the leader Almirola veered sideways in Turns 3 and 4 after cutting a tire. With nowhere to go, Larson hit Almirola’s No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang before he got bumped from Reddick and clipped into the side of Haley’s No. 31 LeafFilter Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and veered back across to the frontstretch’s outside wall with a destroyed No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 as Suarez also sustained damage while trying to avoid Larson. With Almirola and Larson eliminated from contention, Keselowski dodged the carnage to assume the lead. Under the caution period, names like Chastain, Truex, Ty Dillon, Haley, Austin Dillon, Suarez and Berry pitted while the rest led by Keselowski remained on the track.

    During the following restart with 44 laps remaining, Keselowski, who was receiving constant guidance from veteran spotter TJ Majors, cleared the field along with Reddick as both remained first and second in front of the pack before Bowman squeezed in between both amid the draft. Soon after, Logano, with spotting help from Coleman Pressley, launched his charge to the front along with teammate Blaney, who rallied from his pit road penalty. In addition, Cindric worked his way up to fifth before eventually overtaking Reddick for fourth as Gibbs moved into the top six.

    With 35 laps remaining, Keselowski’s No. 6 King’s Hawaiian Ford Mustang was leading ahead of Logano’s No. 22 AutoTrader Ford Mustang while Team Penske’s Blaney and Cindric dueled for third in front of a bevy of competitors stacked tight in a draft. A lap later, Logano moved back into the lead followed by teammate Blaney as Keselowski fell back to third. With Reddick and Cindric in the top five, Bell, Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, Hamlin and Stenhouse battled within the top 10. With 30 laps remaining, however, Keselowski reassumed the lead from Logano as Toyota competitors Reddick, Bell and Hamlin made their way to the front. LaJoie also moved his No. 7 Celsius Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to fifth while Logano fell back to sixth, though he kept the leaders close within his sights on the inside lane.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event and with the field stacked to two tight-packed lanes in the draft, Keselowski was leading ahead of Reddick, Logano, Bell and Blaney while Hamlin, Cindric, LaJoie, Bowman and Kyle Busch were scored in the top 10. In addition, the top-23 competitors scaling back to Ty Dillon were separated by less than two seconds.

    With 10 laps remaining, Keselowski continued to lead over Logano, Reddick, Blaney and Bell as the top-23 competitors scaling back to Austin Dillon were trailing by a second. By then, Keselowski and Logano began to duel amid the draft for the lead, with the former managing to peak ahead. With the battles towards the front ensuing, Keselowski retained the lead with five laps remaining as he cleared the field with Reddick, Bell, Logano, Hamlin and LaJoie closing in.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Keselowski remained as the leader over Bell and the field that was fanning out. By then, Logano, who kept the leaders within reach on the inside lane, had drafting help from LaJoie to move back to the front and launch a final attack on Keselowski for the lead. Entering Turn 1, Keselowski moved to the inside lane to block Logano. He then tried to move back up the outside lane to block Logano again, but it was too late as Logano gained the momentum and the drafting help from a bevy of cars, including Bell, to reassume the lead through the backstretch. With the field fanning out through Turns 3 and 4, Logano managed to gain control of both lanes with the clean air and streak across the finish line first with the victory.

    With the victory, Logano notched his 32nd career victory in NASCAR’s premier series, his first since winning both the 2022 finale and championship at Phoenix Raceway in November and his first at Atlanta in his 19th series attempt. He also became the fourth different winner through the first five scheduled events on the 2023 season and delivered the first Cup victories of the season for both Team Penske and Ford.

    “First off, it’s so special to win Atlanta for me,” Logano, who credited spotter Coleman Pressley and his No. 22 team, said on FOX. “So many memories of me and my dad, racing right here on the quarter mile [design]. This is the full circle for us. So many memories of gritting over there with the Legends car and racing, having a big time and dreaming of going straight at the quarter mile and going onto the big track. That was always a dream to do it. To finally win here means so much to me personally but to this race team. The AutoTrader Mustang, this thing was an animal. It was very, very fast. [I] Was able to lead a ton of laps and race really hard there at the end. Get a good push from [Bell] to clear myself and enough of a push to get all the way to the end. Huge victory. Nice to get one early in the season. It always feels better, but what a great day for us…We’re coming home with the trophy, baby!”

    Keselowski, whose last Cup victory spans back to Talladega Superspeedway in April 2021, settled in second place, which was his best as a driver/co-owner of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, while Bell came home in third place after rallying from starting at the rear of the field. Behind, Corey LaJoie notched a career-best fourth-place finish while Reddick, who was battling sickness throughout the event, completed the top five.

    “The bottom run came with a huge run,” Keselowski said. “I don’t know how, and I thought I had it blocked. Joey just kept shaking and his car didn’t stall out. I couldn’t get the push down the [backstretch]. I thought, ‘I’ll get a push down the back’ and [Bell] just hauled down there. Great run, all in all, for our [Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing] No. 6 Hawaiian Ford Mustang. We were right there. Glad a Ford won. It was a heck of a battle. The coolest thing about this is two veterans showed that you can run a race here, side by side, bump drafting and not wreck the field. I think that’s the coolest thing. It can happen if you race respectfully and I thought everybody did a great job. We were right there. Proud of my team and the effort. Just not much we could do there. You just keep running like this and the good finishes and the wins will come.”

    “Whenever [Logano] and [Keselowski] got side by side, I felt like I lost the race,” Bell said. “Really, I think I screwed up whenever I went to the top [lane]. Coming to the white [flag] or one of those laps, I aborted on the bottom and went to the top, and gave [Logano] the bottom, which ultimately, got him the lead. That was disappointing, but ultimately, to come home third, I’m super happy with that. Great showing for our DeWalt Camry.”

    “It feels great,” LaJoie said. “Fourth is great for ourselves, these Camaros and our small team. Just a great points day. We started off the year [with the] West Coast wing, really solid and to come back here, it’s a bit of a crapshoot, but to get another career best [finish] here. I don’t expect to show up and instantly win a race. You just have to keep putting yourself in these positions like Joey. That’s why he wins all the time because he’s upfront all the time. As I get myself some more confidence, race around these guys, these guys see me up there racing with them, our day’s gonna come.”

    “This morning was kind of a struggle for me,” Reddick said. “[I] Didn’t get really any sleep through the early hours of the morning. Just really thankful that our Xfinity Toyota Camry TRD was handling as well as it was. We had a good car. I was trying to make sure all three of us [including Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell] could benefit from it. Unfortunately, I feel like my hesitancy cost us.”

    Hamlin, Blaney, Erik Jones, rookie Ty Gibbs and Kyle Busch completed the top 10 on the track as 23 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    There were 20 lead changes for 13 different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 34 laps.

    Following the fifth event of the 2023 Cup Series season, race winner Joey Logano leads the regular-season standings by a single point over Christopher Bell, five over Ross Chastain, 16 over Ryan Blaney, 17 over Brad Keselowski and 22 over Kevin Harvick.

    Results.

    1. Joey Logano, 140 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    2. Brad Keselowski, 47 laps led

    3. Christopher Bell, six laps led

    4. Corey LaJoie

    5. Tyler Reddick

    6. Denny Hamlin, 14 laps led

    7. Ryan Blaney, five laps led

    8. Erik Jones

    9. Ty Gibbs

    10. Kyle Busch, seven laps led

    11. Austin Cindric, five laps led, Stage 2 winner

    12. Noah Gragson

    13. Ross Chastain, five laps led

    14. Alex Bowman

    15. Todd Gilliland

    16. AJ Allmendinger

    17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., seven laps led

    18. Josh Berry

    19. Martin Truex Jr.

    20. Austin Dillon

    21. Michael McDowell

    22. Justin Haley

    23.  Ty Dillon

    24. Chase Briscoe, one lap down

    25. Cody Ware, two laps down, one lap led

    26. JJ Yeley, two laps down

    27. Bubba Wallace, five laps down

    28. Ryan Preece, 16 laps down

    29. Daniel Suarez – OUT, DVP

    30. Aric Almirola – OUT, Accident, 17 laps led

    31. Kyle Larson – OUT, Accident

    32. William Byron – OUT, Accident

    33. Kevin Harvick – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    34. Harrison Burton – OUT, DVP

    35. Chris Buescher – OUT, Accident, five laps led

    36. BJ McLeod – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Circuit of the Americas for the third annual EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, and for the series’ first road course event of the season. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, March 26, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • News analysis: Hendrick penalties

    News analysis: Hendrick penalties

    None of you asked for it, but I’ll break down the news, its significance and un-answered questions of Hendrick Motorsports’ penalty.

    The news

    NASCAR handed HMS an L2-level penalty, Wednesday, for unapproved modifications to the body of its cars, last weekend, at Phoenix Raceway. Each car’s crew chief (Cliff Daniels, Rudy Fugle, Alan Gustafson and Blake Harris) was handed a four-race suspension and fined $100,000. Furthermore, NASCAR docked each team 100 owner/driver points and 10 playoff points. Excluding the No. 9 team, which Josh Berry (who earns points in the XFINITY Series) drove in place of the injured Chase Elliott.

    These penalties drop Alex Bowman from the points lead to 23rd, William Byron to 29th and Kyle Larson to 32nd. Aside from Byron, this reset Larson to zero playoff points. Byron, however, resets to three.

    HMS announced it plans to appeal the penalties, but won’t request deferrals of suspensions. So four substitute crew chiefs will sit on the war wagons, this weekend, at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    Its significance

    On a scale of 1-10, this is a five.

    For most teams, this is a 10. With Hendrick, however, I doubt this holds them down. Considering that after NASCAR confiscated the parts, it still dominated Sunday’s race at Phoenix.

    SPOILER WARNING FOR SEASON 6 OF “MY HERO ACADEMIA”

    For NASCAR’s all-time winningest team, this isn’t Izuku Midoriya fighting Muscular during his forest lodge trip training. Rather, I suspect this will be Deku jobbing Muscular.

    I’ll go a step further and predict that by the halfway point of the season, Bowman, Byron and Larson make up the points they lost with this penalty.

    Un-answered questions

    I can’t really think of anything Wednesday’s penalty announcement left un-answered. This was pretty cut-n-dry and NASCAR confiscated the parts, before it let the Hendrick cars race, Sunday.

    That’s all, for now.

  • Larson to make 300th Cup career start at Atlanta

    Larson to make 300th Cup career start at Atlanta

    In his ninth full-time season as a NASCAR Cup Series competitor, Kyle Larson is within reach of achieving a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Cup event at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will reach career start No. 300 in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Elk Grove, California, Larson made his Cup Series debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October 2013. By then, he was a full-time Xfinity Series competitor for Turner Scott Motorsports, where he contended for the rookie title, and was set to join Chip Ganassi Racing to pilot the No. 42 Chevrolet SS for the 2014 season. Starting 21st in his Cup debut while driving the No. 51 Chevrolet SS for TSM, Larson ended up 37th following an engine failure. He then competed in three of the final four Cup events of the season with TMS, where he recorded a season-best result of 15th place in the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.

    Taking over the No. 42 Chevrolet while vying for the rookie Cup title in 2014, Larson’s season started off on a rough note with a 38th-place result in the 56th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway after being involved in a late multi-car wreck. He rallied three races later by notching his first top-10 career result in the Cup Series after finishing 10th at Bristol Motor Speedway in March. He then backed up his run at Bristol by achieving a career-best runner-up result at Auto Club Speedway after carving his way from starting in the top 10 and battling Kyle Busch for the win during a two-lap shootout. For the remaining 21 regular-season events, Larson achieved his first Cup career pole at Pocono Raceway in August along with four additional top-five results and nine top-10 results. Despite falling short of making the 2014 Cup Playoffs, he remained competitive throughout the Playoffs by finishing third at Chicagoland Speedway in September followed by two runner-up results during the next three scheduled events. To go along with two additional top-10 results during the final six scheduled events, Larson capped off his first full-time Cup season in 17th place in the final standings and as the highest-ranked competitor to not make the postseason. While he did not achieve a victory in the 2014 season, Larson claimed the Rookie-of-the-Year title on the strength of eight top-five results, 17 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 14.2.

    Throughout his second full-time Cup season in 2015, Larson finished no higher than third on the track as he also achieved a total of two top-five results, 10 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 19.3. In March, he was absent from competing at Martinsville Speedway after suffering a fainting spell a day prior to the main event. Missing the Playoffs for a second consecutive season, Larson concluded his sophomore season in 19th place in the final standings despite leading more laps throughout the season (115) compared to his rookie season (53).

    Commencing the 2016 season with a seventh-place result in the 58th running of the Daytona 500, Larson had achieved four top-five results and seven top-10 results in 23 scheduled events as he was battling within the Playoff cut line. By then, he had also notched a thrilling non-points victory in the All-Star Open against rookie Chase Elliott at Charlotte in May and was leading the All-Star Race in the closing laps until he collided against the wall with two laps remaining while battling Joey Logano. Then at Michigan International Speedway in August, Larson achieved his first elusive Cup career win in his 99th series start following a late battle against Elliott. The victory also snapped Chip Ganassi Racing’s two-year winless drought as it clinched Larson’s spot into the Playoffs for the first time in his career. Larson’s title hopes, however, came to an early end following respective finishes of 18th, 10th and 25th during the Round of 16. With four top-six results in the final seven scheduled events, including a strong runner-up result at Homestead in November, Larson capped off his junior campaign in ninth place in the final standings. To go along with his first Cup career victory, he also racked up 10 top-five results, 15 top-10 results, 379 laps led and an average-finishing result of 14.7 while surpassing 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    The 2017 Cup season generated Larson’s first competitive season of his career. He rallied from finishing 12th during the 59th running of the Daytona 500 after running out of fuel while leading on the final lap to post three consecutive runner-up results during the following three events. He then achieved his first victory of the season and the second of his Cup career at Auto Club Speedway in March after leading a race-high 110 of 202 laps and beating the field in a two-lap shootout. By then, he had assumed the points lead in the Cup standings for the first time in his career.

    Ten races later, he notched his second win of the season at Michigan in June after leading a race-high 96 of 200 laps while beating Elliott in a five-lap shootout. When NASCAR returned to Michigan in August, Larson capitalized on a two-lap shootout to overtake Martin Truex Jr. and achieve his third consecutive victory in the Irish Hills along with his third win of the season. Three races later, he capped off the regular-season stretch with momentum by capturing a late victory over Truex and the field at Richmond Raceway in September.

    Entering the 2017 Cup Playoffs as a title favorite, he transferred from the Round of 16 to 12 on the strength of five consecutive top-five results. His bid for the title, however, ended on a sour note following respective finishes of 10th, 13th and 39th during the Round of 12, including an early engine failure at Kansas Speedway in October that dropped the driver of the No. 42 entry below the top-eight cutline. Strapped with DNFs in three of the final four scheduled events, Larson settled in eighth place in the final standings. While he did not emerge as the champion, he capped off the season with four victories, three poles, 15 top-five results, 20 top-10 results, 1,352 laps led and an average-finishing result of 13.3.

    Aiming for redemption while entering his fifth full-time Cup campaign with CGR in 2018, Larson commenced the season with a 19th-place result in the 60th running of the Daytona 500. He went on to finish in the runner-up spot five times, in the top five eight times and in the top 10 14 times during the 26 regular-season stretch before clinching a spot in the Playoffs for a third consecutive season. Despite transferring from the Round of 16 to 12 while finishing no lower than 25th, his bid for the title came to an end amid three consecutive top-12 finishes and after being docked 10 points stemming from Talladega Superspeedway in October after his team violated NASCAR’s damaged vehicle policy by using unauthorized parts to repair the No. 42 Chevrolet. With two top-five finishes in the final four scheduled events, Larson ended up in ninth place in the final standings with no victories, three poles, 12 top-five results, 19 top-10 results, 782 laps led and an average-finishing result of 12.6.

    Through the first 10 scheduled events of the 2019 Cup season, Larson and the No. 42 team only achieved two top-10 results, an average-finishing result of 18.6 and were mired back in 21st place in the regular-season standings while also being strapped with three DNFs. This included a wild rollover wreck on the final lap at Talladega Superspeedway in April. After rallying with his first top-five result of the season by finishing third at Dover Motor Speedway in May, Larson achieved a memorable run a week later at Charlotte Motor Speedway by winning the All-Star Open before emerging victorious in the All-Star Race over Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch.

    With a total of nine top-10 finishes during the final 15 regular-season events in the schedule, Larson was able to make the Cup Playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. After transferring from the Round of 16 to 12 on the strength of three consecutive top-13 results, he snapped his 75-race winless drought by winning at Dover in October and secured a one-way ticket to the Round of 8 in the Playoffs. Despite finishing no lower than 12th in the Round of 8, he did not claim a spot in the Championship 4 finale at Homestead in November. He, however, capped off the season in sixth place in the final standings with a single victory to the season, a pole, eight top-five results, 17 top-10 results, 529 laps led and an average-finishing result of 15.1. By then, Larson had surpassed 200 Cup career starts.

    In the early stages of the 2020 Cup season, Larson recorded three top-10 results during the first four scheduled events before the season was placed on a two-month hiatus amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In April, however, Larson was suspended indefinitely from NASCAR and released by Chip Ganassi Racing after verbally using a live racial slur during a live iRacing event. Then six months later and following a yearlong sensitivity training, Larson was reinstated by NASCAR and was permitted to participate in NASCAR-related activities in January 2021. Amid his reinstatement, he was also signed by Hendrick Motorsports to pilot the organization’s iconic No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for the 2021 Cup season.

    Larson’s return to full-time Cup competition in 2021 ended up being a career season for the Californian, who started the season with a 10th-place result in the Daytona 500 despite being involved in a fiery multi-car wreck on the final lap. Three races later, he achieved a redemptive victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March after leading a race-high 103 of 267 laps as he recorded the first Cup victory for HMS’ No. 5 entry since July 2017.

    After finishing in the runner-up spot in four of the following 10 scheduled races, Larson claimed his second victory of the season in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May after leading a race-high 327 of 400 laps. With the victory, he made Hendrick Motorsports the winningest Cup team at 269, one better than Petty Enterprises. Larson then ignited a hot streak for himself and the No. 5 HMS team, beginning in June by winning at Sonoma Raceway, the All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway and the inaugural Cup event at Nashville Superspeedway.

    With four top-five results during the final nine regular-season events, including his fifth victory of the season at Watkins Glen International in August, Larson managed to overtake and beat Denny Hamlin to claim the 2021 Cup regular-season championship and enter the 2021 Playoffs with momentum. With four additional victories throughout the Playoffs, he managed to transfer all the way from the Round of 16 to the Championship 4 round at Phoenix Raceway in November. Then during the finale at Phoenix, Larson led a race-high 107 of 312 and fended off Truex in a 24-lap shootout to claim his unprecedented 10th victory of the season and win the 2021 Cup Series championship.

    In doing so, Larson became the 35th different competitor to win a championship in NASCAR’s premier series. He also recorded the 14th Cup title for Hendrick Motorsports and became the first champion to achieve 10 victories in a season since Jimmie Johnson made the last accomplishment in 2007. Overall, Larson capped off his championship season with 10 victories, two poles, a career-high 20 top-five results, a career-high 26 top-10 results, 2,581 laps led and an average-finishing result of 9.1.

    Entering the 2022 Cup season as the reigning champion, Larson commenced the season by capturing the pole position for the 64th running of the Daytona 500. Despite being involved in a late multi-car wreck and finishing 32nd in the 500, he rallied during the following weekend at Auto Club Speedway by beating Austin Dillon, Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez in a four-lap shootout to capture his second victory in Southern California and his first of the season.

    Six months later, he achieved his second victory of the season at The Glen following a late duel against AJ Allmendinger before securing a Playoff spot for a seventh consecutive season. While he was able to transfer from the Round of 16 to 12 on the strength of three consecutive top-12 results, he finished no higher than ninth during the Round of 12 and was eliminated from title contention by two points by finishing 35th at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in October.

    With his hopes of defending his series title evaporated, Larson managed to claim a dominant victory at Homestead before settling in seventh place in the final standings. By then, he capped off the season with three victories, four poles, 13 top-five results, 19 top-10 results, 635 laps led and an average-finishing result of 14.1.

    Through 299 previous Cup starts, Larson has achieved one championship, 19 victories, 15 poles, 91 top-five results, 148 top-10 results, 6,699 laps led and an average-finishing result of 14.2. He is currently ranked in a tie for fifth place in the 2023 Cup regular-season standings on the strength of two top-five results that include a runner-up result at Las Vegas and a fourth-place finish this past weekend at Phoenix.

    Should Larson win this weekend’s event in Hampton, Georgia, he will become the seventh different competitor to win in career start No. 300, a list that includes Ned Jarrett, Rusty Wallace, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski.

    Larson is scheduled to make his 300th Cup Series career start at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 19. The event’s broadcast is slated to occur at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Byron capitalizes late for dramatic overtime victory at Phoenix

    Byron capitalizes late for dramatic overtime victory at Phoenix

    A week after cashing in with a dramatic overtime victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, William Byron conquered the desert valley amid a late caution period, a two-tire strategy and two late-race restarts to fend off the field and win the United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, March 12.

    The 25-year-old Byron from Charlotte, North Carolina, led two times for 64 of 317 over-scheduled laps in an event where he led early before keeping his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports entry towards the front of the field while teammate Kyle Larson dominated the event. Then as Kevin Harvick emerged late and was headed for a potential victory, a caution for Harrison Burton’s spin with 10 laps remaining enabled Byron and crew chief Rudy Fugle to draw themselves back into contention by opting for a two-tire strategy to battle teammate Larson through two restarts. During the second restart that sent the event into overtime, Byron peeked ahead of Larson with a bump from Tyler Reddick to clear the field and navigate around the Phoenix circuit for a final lap before cruising to his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victory in recent weeks.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Kyle Larson notched his first Cup pole of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 130.237 mph in 27.642 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Denny Hamlin, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 129.931 mph in 27.707 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Zane Smith dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his No. 38 Front Row Motorsports entry.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Larson rocketed with the lead on the inside lane as the field fanned out through the frontstretch dogleg. With the field continuing to fan out and jostle for early positions through the first two turns and entering the backstretch, Larson cleared the field and was able to lead the first lap ahead of teammate Byron, who also ignited an early charge at the front. Shortly after, however, Byron muscled his No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 beneath Larson’s No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through the dogleg and entering Turn 1 to assume the lead. Byron was then able to stretch his advantage to half a second over teammate Larson by the fifth lap while Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Christopher Bell occupied the top five on the track.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Byron was leading by more than six-tenths of a second over teammate Larson followed by Hamlin, Keselowski and Bell while Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick, Daniel Suarez and Michael McDowell were running in the top 10. By then, rookie Ty Gibbs in 11th followed by Kyle Busch, Erik Jones, Kevin Harvick and Chris Buescher while Alex Bowman, Martin Truex, Bubba Wallace, Chase Briscoe and Joey Logano, who got loose after contact with Truex in Turn 1, rounded out the top 20.

    At the Lap 25 mark, Byron extended his advantage to more than two seconds over teammate Larson while third-place Hamlin trailed by more than four seconds. While Keselowski and Bell remained in the top five, Reddick moved up to seventh behind Blaney, Chastain fell back to eighth in front of teammate Suarez and Ty Gibbs cracked the top 10 in front of Kyle Busch, McDowell and Harvick.

    Ten laps later, Byron stretched his advantage to more than three seconds over teammate Larson while third-place Hamlin trailed by more than six seconds. By then, Bell and Blaney moved up into the top five while Reddick was up in sixth in front of Keselowski, Chastain, Harvick and Suarez as Kyle Busch remained in 11th.

    By Lap 50, Byron stabilized his advantage to more than two seconds over teammate Larson. By then, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Hamlin and Bell trailed by more than five seconds while fifth-place Reddick trailed by more than eight seconds. Meanwhile, Harvick remained in ninth behind Blaney, Keselowski and Chastain while Kyle Busch cracked the top 10 in front of Suarez, McDowell, Buescher, Erik Jones and Gibbs.

    A few laps later, BJ McLeod fell off the pace after his car went wide in Turn 4, but he was able to limp his car back to pit road without drawing the caution as Byron retained a steady advantage over teammate Larson. McLeod’s issue came after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. scraped the outside wall entering Turn 1 while running within the top 25.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 60, Byron, who swept both stages en route to his dominant victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway a week ago, notched his third stage victory of the 2023 Cup season. Teammate Larson settled in second followed by Bell, Hamlin and Reddick while Blaney, Chastain, Harvick, Keselowski and Kyle Busch were scored in the top 10. By then, 23 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap while names like Logano, Stenhouse, rookie Noah Gragson, Austin Cindric, Justin Haley, Corey LaJoie, Austin Dillon and Harrison Burton were mired a lap down. Logano, however, was the beneficiary of the first stage’s break period by receiving the free pass and cycling his way back to the lead lap.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap competitors led by Byron pitted, but teammate Larson managed to beat Byron off of pit road to inherit the lead. Bell exited pit road in third followed by Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Chastain. Following the pit stops, AJ Allmendinger and Ty Dillon were penalized for speeding on pit road. Reddick.

    The second stage started on Lap 68 as teammates Larson and Byron occupied the front row. At the start, both Hendrick Motorsports teammates dueled for the lead as the field fanned out again through the frontstretch dogleg. Amid a tight battle, Larson, who used the dogleg at the start to maintain his battle for the lead against Byron, was able to peek ahead with the lead on the inside lane as he then cleared Byron during the following lap. With Larson ahead of teammate Byron for the lead, Hamlin was under attack from teammate Bell and Chastain for third while Keselowski was in sixth ahead of a battle for seventh between Harvick and Kyle Busch.

    At the Lap 75 mark, Larson was leading by eight-tenths of a second over teammate Byron followed by Hamlin, Bell and Chastain while Keselowski, Harvick, Reddick, Kyle Busch and Blaney were in the top 10. By then, Buescher, Bowman, Suarez, Wallace and McDowell were running in the top 15 while Briscoe, Erik Jones, Truex, Gibbs and Josh Berry rounded out the top 20. Ryan Preece, Aric Almirola, Logano and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the 24-car field of competitors running on the lead lap.

    Through the first 100 scheduled laps, Larson continued to lead by half a second over teammate Byron, who kept his Hendrick teammate within his sights and started to close in. Bell trailed by more than four seconds in third place followed by teammate Hamlin and Chastain while Harvick, Keselowski, Reddick, Kyle Busch and Blaney were battling in the top 10.

    Ten laps later, Larson retained his advantage to nearly a second over teammate Byron as Bell and Hamlin remained in third and fourth, respectively. By then, Harvick, who started 15th, cracked the top five after overtaking Chastain a few laps earlier while Keselowski, Blaney, Kyle Busch and Reddick ran in the top 10.

    Another eight laps later, the first round of green flag pit stops ensued as Hamlin pitted his No. 11 SHINGRIX Toyota TRD Camry. The leader Larson would pit during the following lap followed by teammate Byron, Bell, Blaney, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Chastain and others. Once Keselowski pitted on Lap 120 after leading a lap for himself and with most of the lead lap competitors having made a pit stop, Larson cycled his way back to the lead followed by Byron, Hamlin, Harvick and Chastain. Following the pit stops, McDowell, Erik Jones and Cindric were penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Kyle Busch’s steady run to the front evaporated when he was nabbed for two different penalties: one for an uncontrolled tire violation and for speeding on pit road.

    Then on Lap 137, the caution flew when Almirola went dead straight into the outside wall in Turn 4 past the start/finish line with the right-front tire coming off of Almirola’s No. 10 Go Bowling Ford Mustang while the Floridian nursed his damaged car back to his pit stall. After making a pit stop to have a new right-front wheel attached to his car, Almirola then had to reverse his car back to his pit stall to address a broken right-rear toe link. By then, he was assessed a two-lap penalty for having the broken wheel come off on the track. Back on the track, Larson was out in front ahead of teammate Byron, Hamlin, Harvick and Chastain while Bell, who endured a slow pit stop during the first round of green flag pit stops, was battling Keselowski for seventh.

    During the caution period, the leaders led by Larson returned to pit road for service and Larson retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Byron, Hamlin, Harvick, Chastain and Keselowski.

    With the event restarting under green on Lap 146, Larson retained the lead ahead of teammate Byron while running on the inside lane as the field fanned out through the frontstretch dogleg and entering the first two turns. As the field cycled back to the frontstretch, Larson was able to keep his No. 5 entry out in front of the field while a multitude of competitors behind, including Bell, jostled for positions. By then, Harvick carved his No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang into third place while Hamlin and Keselowski occupied the top five.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 156, Larson was leading by nearly a second over teammate Byron followed by Harvick, Keselowski and Hamlin while Bell, Reddick, Chastain, Blaney and Bowman were in the top 10. By then, Bubba Wallace was up in 11th ahead of Buescher, Briscoe, Suarez and Josh Berry while Logano, Preece, Truex, Gibbs and Kyle Busch were mired in the top 20. In addition, 23 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap while names that included Austin Dillon, Gragson, Corey LaJoie, Cindric, Stenhouse, Justin Haley and Harrison Burton were mired a lap down.

    Nearly 20 laps later, Larson retained the lead by more than a second over runner-up and teammate Byron while third-place Harvick trailed by two seconds as he started to gain ground on the two Hendrick leaders. By then, fourth-place Keselowski trailed by more than four seconds, fifth-place Reddick trailed by more than five seconds and sixth-place Hamlin trailed by nearly six seconds.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 185, Larson captured his first stage victory of the 2023 Cup season. Teammate Byron settled in second, trailing by more than a second, while Harvick settled in third, trailing by more than two seconds. Keselowski, Reddick, Hamlin, Bell, Blaney, Chastain and Briscoe were scored in the top 10 while 23 of 38 starters were recorded on the lead lap. This stage break period enabled Austin Dillon, who was in 24th, to cycle back to the lead lap with the free pass benefit.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Larson pitted and Larson edged Harvick and Byron amid three lanes to retain the lead, with Keselowski, Reddick and Bell following suit. Following the pit stops, Ty Gibbs was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    With 118 laps remaining, the final stage started as Larson and Harvick occupied the front row. At the start, Larson and Harvick dueled for the lead as the field fanned out to four and five lanes through the dogleg and the backstretch. With the field continuing to fan out and jostled for positions when returning to the frontstretch, Larson managed to retain the lead ahead of Harvick and Byron as he continued to use the inside lane to his advantage.

    Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Larson continued to lead followed by Harvick, Byron, Bell and Reddick while Keselowski, Hamlin, Blaney, Briscoe and Bowman occupied the top 10 as 24 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    With 75 laps remaining, Larson extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Harvick while third-place Byron trailed by six seconds. As Toyota competitors Bell and Reddick ran in the top five, Keselowski continued to run in sixth followed by Hamlin, Briscoe, Blaney and Bowman while Logano, Buescher, Chastain, Suarez and Kyle Busch were mired in the top 15.

    Not long after, another round of green flag pit stops ensued as Logano, McDowell and Corey LaJoie pitted along with Harvick, Bell, Byron, Briscoe, Hamlin, Suarez, Preece, the leader Larson and others. During the pit stops, Suarez was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    Back on the track with nearly 60 laps remaining, Erik Jones, who had yet to pit, was leading by more than seven seconds over Larson, who had Harvick reeling in on him for the potential lead by nearly two-tenths of a second as a result of Harvick pitting under green a lap prior to Larson. Then with 52 laps remaining, Larson caught and overtook Jones for the lead. Harvick then moved his No. 4 entry back into second place a lap later but was trailing Larson by a second.

    Then with 44 laps remaining, The Closer struck as Harvick overtook Larson from the frontstretch to Turn 1 to assume the lead, much to Larson’s crew chief Cliff Daniel’s displeasure. As Harvick started to pull away by half a second over Larson, Bell trailed in third place by more than four seconds while Byron and Reddick occupied the top five.

    With less than 30 laps remaining, Harvick extended his advantage to more than a second over Larson while third-place Bell trailed by more than five seconds over Bell. Byron and Reddick remained in the top five while Blaney, Keselowski, Briscoe, Hamlin and Chastain were scored in the top 10 as 21 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap. By then, Erik Jones had made a pit stop under green and was mired in 23rd, a lap down.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Harvick continued to extend his advantage as he was now leading by more than three seconds over Larson while third-place Bell trailed by more than five seconds. Harvick would continue to stretch his lead to more than five seconds as the event was nearing its final 10-lap mark.

    Just then with 10 laps remaining, the caution flew when Harrison Burton spun just past the frontstretch and below the dogleg, with the driver shredding debris from his right-front tire as he limped back to his pit stall. During the caution period, the lead lap competitors led by Harvick pitted and Larson regained the lead after only opting for a two-tire pit stop. Teammate Byron followed suit in second along with Blaney, Chastain, Kyle Busch and Hamlin, all of whom elected for two fresh tires, while Harvick, the first competitor opting for four fresh tires, dropped back to seventh.

    Down to the final three laps, the event proceeded under green as Larson, who started on the inside lane, and teammate Byron, who lined up as the lead competitor on the outside lane, occupied the front row. At the start, Larson blocked Blaney to retain the lead over him and Byron as the field fanned out through the frontstretch and entering the first two turns. Shortly after, however, the caution returned and the event was sent into overtime for a multi-car wreck in Turn 2 that started when Allmendinger and Gragson made contact, which resulted with Allmendinger spinning as Gibbs also scraped the outside wall. With Larson still out in front over Byron and Blaney, Harvick was mired back in seventh behind Denny Hamlin.

    At the start of the first overtime attempt, teammates Larson and Byron battled dead even for the lead through the frontstretch dogleg in front of the pack as the competitors behind jostled for late positions. Then as Larson and Byron continued to duel through the backstretch, Blaney and Reddick, who had four fresh tires, joined the battle as Blaney drew Byron and Larson in a three-wide battle while Reddick gave Byron a bump exiting the backstretch. This allowed Byron to muscle ahead on the outside lane while Reddick and Blaney continue to duel against Larson for second place.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Byron remained as the leader ahead of a three-wide battle involving Blaney, Larson and Reddick. Through Turns 1 and 2, Blaney and Reddick tried to gain a run on Byron, but the latter pulled away entering the backstretch. With Reddick boxed in between Blaney and Larson, this allowed Byron to cycle his way back to the frontstretch with no late challenges and claim his second consecutive checkered flag of the 2023 season.

    With the victory, Byron notched his sixth NASCAR Cup Series career victory in his 184th series start and his first at Phoenix as he became the first repeat winner of the 2023 Cup season. In addition, he notched the 293rd Cup victory for Hendrick Motorsports and the 99th for the No. 24 in NASCAR’s premier series.

    “I owe the last couple of weeks to [crew chief Rudy Fugle],” Byron said on FOX. “He’s done a really good job strategy-wise and execution-wise. We’ve done a good job to put ourselves in those positions on the front row with a shot at the end. Just thanks to everybody back at Hendrick Motorsports [for] putting together great cars and just doing a great job. This is a big credit to them, the engine shop, Mr. [Rick] Hendrick, everybody. Cool to have Valvoline back on the car. Really historic looking paint scheme, so nice to get it into Victory Lane.”

    Amid a flurry of late battles during the overtime shootout, Blaney navigated his way into the runner-up result followed by Reddick, who nabbed his first top-five result of the season. Larson, who led a race-high 202 laps, ended up fourth while Harvick, who led 36 laps and was aiming for a 10th victory at Phoenix, settled in fifth.

    “Well, we got lucky with the one caution,” Larson said. “[The] Team made a great call to take two [tires] and get us out to the lead. Restarts were just tough. I felt like I ran William [Byron] up pretty high and was expecting him to lose some grip, but he did a really good job of holding us up to his outside and clear me down the [backstretch]. I’m pissed off, but a great fight by the team. Great car. Way better than where we were last year. It’s a long season, but hopefully, we’re in the Final Four when we come back here in November and can have a run just similar to [today] with speed and try to execute a little bit better at the end.”

    “I’d always rather be on offense,” Harvick said. “I just didn’t get a couple of cars when that first caution came out and kind of lost our chance, and still thought I had a chance there at the end. Those cars were quite a bit slower, but they get all jammed up. That’s the way it goes. Just smoked’em up until the last caution. [The crew] did a great job with our Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang. Just didn’t need that caution at the end.”

    Bell came home in sixth while Briscoe, Kyle Busch, Bowman and Josh Berry completed the top 10 on the track.

    There were 10 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 35 laps. In addition, 24 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Following the fourth event of the 2023 Cup Series season, Alex Bowman leads the regular-season standings by three points over Kevin Harvick, six over Ross Chastain, 10 over William Byron and 17 between Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell.

    Results.

    1. William Byron, 64 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    2. Ryan Blaney

    3. Tyler Reddick

    4. Kyle Larson, 201 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    5. Kevin Harvick, 36 laps led

    6. Christopher Bell

    7. Chase Briscoe

    8. Kyle Busch

    9. Alex Bowman

    10. Josh Berry

    11. Joey Logano

    12. Ryan Preece

    13. Michael McDowell

    14. Bubba Wallace

    15. Chris Buescher

    16. Austin Dillon

    17. Martin Truex Jr.

    18. Brad Keselowski

    19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    20. AJ Allmendinger

    21. Erik Jones

    22. Daniel Suarez

    23. Denny Hamlin

    24. Ross Chastain

    25. Austin Cindric, one lap down

    26. Corey LaJoie, one lap down

    27. Justin Haley, one lap down

    28. Ty Gibbs, one lap down

    29. Noah Gragson, one lap down

    30. Ty Dillon, two laps down

    31. Zane Smith, two laps down

    32. Todd Gilliland, three laps down

    33. Aric Almirola, four laps down

    34. Cody Ware, six laps down

    35. Harrison Burton, seven laps down

    36. BJ McLeod – OUT, Fuel pump

    Next on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is a trip back to the south for the series’ first of two visits of this season at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, March 19, at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Byron caps dominant run with thrilling overtime victory at Las Vegas

    Byron caps dominant run with thrilling overtime victory at Las Vegas

    In an event dominated by a trio of Hendrick Motorsports competitors, William Byron benefitted from a two-tire pit strategy during a late caution period to win the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in overtime on Sunday, March 5.

    The 25-year-old Byron from Charlotte, North Carolina, led five times for a race-high 176 of 271 over-scheduled laps in an event where he swept both stages and kept his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports entry upfront throughout the event. In the closing laps, however, he found himself trailing teammate Kyle Larson by more than two seconds.

    Initially set for a runner-up finish, Byron and crew chief Rudy Fugle seized an opportunity when Aric Almirola drew a caution with four laps remaining by opting for two fresh tires and exiting pit road ahead of Larson. From there, Byron battled Martin Truex Jr., who remained on the track on old tires, through three turns before rocketing away from the field and cruising to the first victory of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season for himself and for Hendrick Motorsports.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Joey Logano recorded his first Cup pole of the season and the 27th of his career after posting a pole-winning lap at 186.053 mph in 29.024 seconds. Joining him on the front row was William Byron, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 185.153 mph in 29.165 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Tyler Reddick dropped to the rear of the field after making an engine change to his No. 45 23XI Racing entry along with Harrison Burton, who competed in a backup car after wrecking his primary car during Saturday’s practice session. BJ McLeod also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his car.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Logano checked out with a strong start on the inside lane as he retained the lead for a full cycle before leading the first lap while the field behind fanned out and jostled for positions. With Logano leading, Byron battled and fended off Ryan Blaney for the runner-up spot while Kyle Larson was in fourth ahead of Ross Chastain, rookie Ty Gibbs, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin.

    Then on the 10th lap, Byron tracked and overtook Logano with a strong move entering Turns 3 and 4 to assume the lead. Larson would soon follow in the runner-up spot while Logano fell back to third in front of Chastain and Blaney.

    Through the first 25 scheduled laps, Byron was leading by more than a second over teammate Larson followed by Chastain, Christopher Bell and Hamlin while Logano, Blaney, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. Behind, Bubba Wallace was in 11th ahead of Kevin Harvick and Tyler Reddick while Alex Bowman and Austin Cindric were running in the top 15. Meanwhile, Erik Jones was in 16th ahead of Michael McDowell, Chris Buescher, Aric Almirola and Daniel Suarez while Josh Berry, who was filling in the No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the injured Chase Elliott, was mired back in 29th. By then, Gibbs had fallen back to 22nd, Chase Briscoe was in 25th, Harrison Burton was mired in 28th and Austin Dillon was back in 31st.

    Then on Lap 32, Blaney, who was running in 10th place, pitted his No. 12 Pennzoil/Menards Ford Mustang under green. Blaney’s pit stop commenced the first cycle of green flag pit stops as Truex pitted followed by Hamlin, Cindric, Ryan Preece, Harrison Burton, Gibbs, rookie Noah Gragson, Logano, Harvick, Bell and Kyle Busch, who got into the backstretch’s outside wall a few laps earlier and had fallen out of the top 10. The leader Byron would soon pit on Lap 37 followed by teammate Larson as Keselowski cycled to the lead for a lap before he too pitted and gave the lead to Reddick. Following the pit stops, Michael McDowell and Gragson were penalized for speeding on pit road. Gragson’s event, however, went from bad to worse when he was penalized for speeding again while serving his first speeding penalty. Gibbs was also penalized for having too many crew members over the pit wall during his pit stop.

    By Lap 41 and with the first round of green flag pit stops completed, Byron cycled his No. 24 Raptor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 back into the lead followed by teammate Larson while Chastain, Bell and Hamlin were in the top five. By then, Keselowski was up in sixth place followed by Truex while Wallace, Kyle Busch and Logano were in the top 10.

    At the Lap 50 mark, Byron was out in front by nine-tenths of a second over teammate Larson followed by Chastain, Bell and Hamlin, all of whom, retained their respective spots in the top five while Keselowski, Truex, Wallace, Kyle Busch and Logano continued to run in the top 10. Behind, Blaney was in 11th while Reddick was up in 12th after starting at the rear of the field. Meanwhile, Harvick was in 14th in front of Erik Jones, Suarez was back in 18th and the following names that included Briscoe, Josh Berry and Austin Dillon were mired as the last competitors on the lead lap from 25th to 27th.

    Fifteen laps later, Byron continued to lead by half a second over teammate Larson, who was slowly gaining ground on his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, while Chastain, Bell and Hamlin remained in the top five. By then, Keselowski had fallen back to 10th while Truex, Wallace, Kyle Busch and Bowman moved up to sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively. In addition, Reddick was in 11th while Team Penske’s Logano and Blaney fell back to 12th and 15th.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 80, Byron claimed his first stage victory of the 2023 Cup season after retaining the lead by four-tenths of a second over teammate Larson, who settled in second. Chastain settled in third ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Bell and Hamlin while Truex, Bowman, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Busch and Keselowski were scored in the top 10. By then, 22 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap while names that included Preece, Berry, Austin Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Briscoe, Burton, McDowell and Gibbs were trapped a lap down.

    Under the stage break, the entire lead lap field led by Byron pitted and Byron retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by teammate Larson, Hamlin, Chastain, Truex and Bell. During the pit stops, Reddick, who pitted from 11th, was blocked by AJ Allmendinger and had to back up to leave his pit stall, thus dropping him to 20th.

    The second stage started on Lap 89 as teammates Byron and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, Byron rocketed with the lead ahead of teammate Larson as the field fanned out behind while jostling for positions. With Byron slowly checking out with a stable lead, Larson was being intimidated by Hamlin for the runner-up spot while Bell, Truex and Chastain jostled for fourth. Behind, Bowman challenged Wallace for seventh while Keselowski and Erik Jones were in the top 10.

    Through the first 100 scheduled laps, Byron was leading by more than a second over teammate Larson followed by Chastain while Bell, Bowman and Truex were in the top six. Meanwhile, Hamlin fell back to seventh in front of Wallace while Keselowski and Kyle Busch were scored in the top 10. Behind, Harvick was in 12th, Logano was still mired in 14th, Blaney was back in 17th behind Suarez and Cindric was running in 22nd, with 23 competitors scored on the lead lap. By then, on-track troubles ensued for a number of competitors running towards the middle and the rear of the field, among which included Gibbs who sustained left-front damage to his car and Berry making contact with the backstretch’s outside wall. Suarez and Buescher also encountered issues after they made contact with one another.

    Twenty laps later, Byron extended his advantage to more than two seconds over teammate Larson while their third teammate Bowman was up in third, trailing by more than seven seconds, in front of Bell and Truex while Chastain fell back to sixth in front of Hamlin.

    Shortly after, Buescher pitted under green while most of the front-runners remained on the track. Then on Lap 124, Truex commenced the second wave of green flag pit stops as he pitted followed by teammate Bell, Chastain, Wallace, Keselowski and a bevy of competitors. Larson would also pit by Lap 126 along with Hamlin while Byron and Bowman pitted during the following lap. Once the second wave of green flag pit stops was completed, Byron cycled back to the lead by more than two seconds over teammate Larson while Bell, Bowman and Chastain were running in the top five.

    At the halfway mark between Laps 133 and 134, Byron was leading by more than two seconds over teammate Larson followed by Bell, Bowman and Chastain while Wallace, Truex, Keselowski, Hamlin and Kyle Busch were competing in the top 10. By then, 23 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap while names like McDowell, Gibbs, Berry, Austin Dillon, Gragson, Burton, Briscoe and Stenhouse were not on the lead lap.

    By Lap 150, Byron stabilized his advantage to six-tenths of a second over teammate Larson and more than eight seconds over teammate Bowman, thus placing three Hendrick Motorsports competitors on the podium spots. By then, Bell and Truex were running in the top five while Wallace, who briefly ran in the top five a few laps earlier, was back in sixth in front of Chastain, Hamlin, Keselowski and Kyle Busch.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 165, Byron notched his second consecutive stage victory of the 2023 Cup season and of the event. Teammate Larson settled in second in front of teammate Bowman while Truex, Bell, Wallace, Chastain, Hamlin, Keselowski and Harvick were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap competitors led by Byron returned to pit road for service and Byron retained the lead upon exiting pit road followed by teammates Larson and Bowman while Truex, Chastain and Bell exited in fourth through sixth, respectively. During the pit stops, Kyle Busch had issues exiting his pit stall while situated behind Reddick’s car, which was blocking Busch’s, as he dropped to 15th.

    With 94 laps remaining, the final stage started under green as teammates Byron and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, Byron muscled ahead on the inside lane and pulled away through the first two turns in front of Larson while Bowman settled in third. Behind, Truex was in fourth while Wallace battled Bell, Chastain, Suarez and Hamlin within the top 10. Wallace and Bell would continue to engage in a fierce side-by-side battle for fifth place while Suarez closed in on both.

    Then with 84 laps remaining, the caution flew when Logano, who was engaged in a tight three-wide battle with Keselowski and Kyle Busch for spots in the top 15, made slight contact with Keselowski as he smacked the outside wall entering Turn 4 before spinning his No. 22 Pennzoil Ford Mustang across the grass while barely avoiding Stenhouse. Despite limping his car back to his pit stall, Logano’s pit crew exceeded the seven-minute Damaged Vehicle Policy rule while trying to repair the No. 22 entry, which ended his long afternoon in the garage.

    During the caution period, the leaders led by Byron returned to pit road and Hamlin emerged with the lead following a two-tire pit stop. Bowman exited in second place and as the first competitor with four fresh tires while Larson, Byron, Suarez, Truex and Wallace followed suit. During the pit stops, Erik Jones backed up his No. 43 Legacy Motor Club entry to return to his pit stall to tighten a loose left-front wheel.

    With 78 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green as Hamlin and Bowman occupied the front row. At the start, Hamlin maintained the lead while the field behind fanned out to three lanes through the backstretch. In the process, Truex, who pulled a bold three-wide move through the backstretch, moved up to second followed by Bowman and Larson while Byron was back in sixth behind Chastain. Shortly after, however, the Hendrick trio of Bowman, Larson and Byron overtook Truex as they launched their charge on Hamlin.

    Then with 71 laps remaining, Larson, who stalked and battled with Hamlin for the top spot, succeeded in grabbing the lead from Hamlin while Chastain battled and overtook Bowman and Byron for third. Behind, Reddick was in sixth and was in the process of grabbing more against the Hendrick drivers before he got loose toward the outside lane and wall between Turns 1 and 2, which dropped him to 10th. As the series of battles ensued around the track continued, Harvick was up in sixth behind Byron, Bowman and Truex while Chastain fell back in seventh in front of Wallace and Suarez.

    With 60 laps remaining, Larson was leading by more than a second over Hamlin while Byron, Bowman and Truex were scored in the top five. Chastain was in sixth while Harvick, Wallace, Blaney and Suarez occupied the top 10 in front of Reddick, Kyle Busch, AJ Allmendinger, Keselowski and Aric Almirola. Meanwhile, Bell, who restarted 10th during the previous restart, was back in 20th after reporting a vibration to his No. 20 SiriusXM Toyota TRD Camry.

    With less than 50 laps remaining, Larson continued to lead by six-tenths of a second in front of Hamlin while third-place Byron trailed by more than two seconds. Bowman remained in fourth followed by Truex while Chastain, Harvick, Blaney, Wallace and Suarez battled in the top 10. Shortly after, another round of green flag pit stops ensued as Hamlin pitted followed by the leader Larson. Truex would also pit along with Kyle Busch, Harvick, Austin Dillon, Byron, Chastain, Reddick, Erik Jones, Wallace, Suarez and others. During the pit stops, Gragson was busted for speeding on pit road for a third time in the event.

    Back on the track with less than 45 laps remaining, Keselowski, who had yet to pit, was leading followed by Larson, Hamlin, Byron and Truex, all of whom pitted earlier. Keselowski, however, would pit with 40 laps remaining as Larson cycled back to the lead by more than a second over Hamlin and more than two seconds over Byron.

    Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Larson extended his advantage to more than three seconds over teammate Byron as Hamlin fell back to third. Truex and Bowman were running in the top five while Chastain, Harvick, Wallace, Blaney and Kyle Busch contended in the top 10. By then, Suarez and Bell were back in 11th and 12th, Reddick was mired back in 15th and Keselowski fell back to 18th in front of Ty Gibbs.

    With 20 laps remaining, Larson stabilized his advantage to more than four seconds over teammate Byron and more than six seconds over third-place Hamlin. Larson continued to lead by more than three seconds over Byron with 10 laps remaining and by more than two seconds with five laps remaining.

    Then with four laps remaining, the caution flew when Almirola got loose and slapped his No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang into the outside wall in Turn 4. The caution all but erased Larson’s steady advantage of more than two seconds over Byron and sent the event into overtime. During the caution period, Truex remained on the track on old tires and inherited the lead while the rest of the leaders led by Larson pitted. Following the pit stops, Byron, who opted for two fresh tires, edged teammate Larson to exit pit road first followed by Hamlin, Bowman, Chastain and Wallace.

    At the start of the first overtime attempt, where Truex and Byron occupied the front row, Byron challenged Truex dead even through the first two turns while the field behind fanned out to three and four lanes. As Truex tried to peek ahead entering Turn 3, the two fresh tires played into the favors of Byron as he rocketed away with the lead while clearing the field.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Byron was out in front over Truex, who had Bowman, Larson, Wallace and Bell jostling behind him. Then entering the backstretch, Larson and Bowman threaded Truex through three lanes as they overtook him for second and third. By then, however, their teammate Byron was gone. With a multi-car wreck erupting on the backstretch that involved Allmendinger, Preece and McDowell, Byron remained as the leader and was able to cycle his way back to the frontstretch to claim his first checkered flag of the season.

    In addition to becoming the third different winner through the first three races of the 2023 season, Byron notched his fifth career victory in NASCAR’s premier series, his first at Vegas and his first since winning at Martinsville Speedway in April 2022. He also recorded the third consecutive victory of the season for Chevrolet, the 292nd career win for Hendrick Motorsports and the 98th victory for the No. 24 in the Cup circuit.

    “[I’ve] just been really confident about the group of guys that I have on this No. 24 team,” Byron said on FOX. “They work extremely hard. We spent a lot of time in the off-season just going through running at the sim [simulator] with Chevy and running on iRacing and just trying to get better as a race car driver and as a team. It’s all about the team. It’s a great pit crew. This RaptorTough.com Chevy was awesome. When we got back in traffic, it was a little bit tight, but we knew we had speed, so we just had to have the right things play out and [crew chief] Rudy [Fugle] made a good call. It was good. I knew [the pit crew] could get it done at the end. Luckily, it worked out there. Excited for the year.”

    Meanwhile, Larson, who led 63 laps and was poised for the victory during the race’s scheduled distance, settled for a disappointing runner-up result. This season marks his second consecutive runner-up result in the spring Cup event at Vegas.

    “It’s just part of Cup racing,” Larson said. “It seems like kind of [count] laps down, lap by lap and then, sure enough, the yellow lights come on. You just got to get over that and then try to execute a good pit stop. I thought I did a really good job getting to my pit sign and getting to the commitment line. I had a gap to William behind me. Their pit crew must have just did a really good job and got him in front of us. That gave up the front row to us, so I knew I was in trouble with [Truex] staying out. I felt like William was gonna get by him. Just a bummer that we didn’t end up the winner, but all in all, William probably had a little better car than I had today. Their pit crew executed when they needed to at the end.”

    Bowman came home in third place, thus placing three Hendrick Motorsports competitors in the top three, while Bubba Wallace capped off a strong run by finishing fourth and achieving his first top-five run of the season following two consecutive DNFs. Bell rallied late to complete the top five in fifth while Cindric, Truex, Justin Haley, Harvick and Suarez finished in the top 10.

    “If you can somehow get a good restart, get to the white flag and they crash, you can win the [race],” Truex said. “It almost happened. We were second at the white, we were second into Turn 1 on the last lap and just got tight and got into a bad spot off of [Turn] 2. Lost momentum down the [backstretch]. All in all, it was a solid day for our Bass Pro Shops Camry TRD. Everybody did a good job. I think we were about a third-place car or maybe fourth. Just a good solid day. We’re in Vegas. We might as well roll the dice and like everybody says, you come here to gamble. We gave up a few spots, but all in all, it was a solid day.”

    Notably, Josh Berry finished 29th while filling in for the injured Chase Elliott. In addition, Hamlin ended up 11th in front of Chastain, Blaney rallied for 13th, Kyle Busch ended up 14th in front of Reddick, Keselowski settled in 17th and Ty Gibbs ended up as the highest-finishing rookie in 22nd.

    There were 13 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 26 laps. Only 18 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Following the third event of the 2023 Cup Series season, Ross Chastain continues to lead the regular-season standings by three points over Alex Bowman, 21 over Kevin Harvick, 25 over Daniel Suarez, 27 over Martin Truex Jr. and 30 over Denny Hamlin.

    Results:

    1. William Byron, 176 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    2. Kyle Larson, 63 laps led

    3. Alex Bowman, two laps led

    4. Bubba Wallace

    5. Christopher Bell

    6. Austin Cindric

    7. Martin Truex Jr., three laps led

    8. Justin Haley

    9. Kevin Harvick

    10. Daniel Suarez

    11. Denny Hamlin, 10 laps led

    12. Ross Chastain

    13. Ryan Blaney

    14. Kyle Busch

    15. Tyler Reddick, three laps led

    16. Aric Almirola

    17. Brad Keselowski, five laps led

    18. AJ Allmendinger

    19. Erik Jones, one lap down

    20. Corey LaJoie, one lap down

    21. Chris Buescher, one lap down

    22. Ty Gibbs, one lap down

    23. Ryan Preece, one lap down

    24. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down

    25.  Michael McDowell, one lap down

    26. Harrison Burton, two laps down

    27. Austin Dillon, two laps down

    28. Chase Briscoe, two laps down

    29. Josh Berry, two laps down

    30. Noah Gragson, two laps down

    31. Todd Gilliland, three laps down

    32. BJ McLeod, five laps down

    33. JJ Yeley, six laps down

    34. Ty Dillon, six laps down

    35. Cody Ware, 12 laps down

    36. Joey Logano – OUT, DVP, nine laps led

    Next on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, for the series’ third and final stretch of a three-race West Coast swing. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, March 12, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.