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  • Blaney and Elliott earn top-10 finishes, playoff bound

    Blaney and Elliott earn top-10 finishes, playoff bound

    Consistency is why Ryan Blaney did not have to worry about making the Playoffs. The No. 12 team had no wins coming into the Indy race but had seven top fives and 11 top-10 finishes.

    Blaney qualified ninth at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and was fairly consistent all afternoon during the Big Machine Vodka 400. He finished fourth in Stage 1 and third in Stage 2. The No. 12 driver even took the lead at one point off the restart and led once for 19 laps. Unfortunately, it would be the only time Blaney would be in the lead. Even with a few late-race yellows, they weren’t enough and left the Team Penske driver frustrated with a seventh-place finish.

    “Lost the lead when the caution came out on the pit stop cycle and not going to pass anybody,” Blaney frustratingly said to PRN Radio. “So, whoever was in the lead was the best car. We lost the lead and that was pretty much it.”

    Blaney will be seeded 12th in the Playoff standings.

    Chase Elliott, on the other hand, had quite an eventful day from the start. During the first caution, Elliott was bumped from behind and turned around on pit road. He was fairly quiet all day, not scoring any stage points and trying to make ground up. With the late-race cautions and the way pit strategy played out, Elliott claimed the ninth position after contact early on.

    “It was pretty much destroyed,” Elliott described to PRN Radio about his car. “Our NAPA team did a nice job to somehow piece it back together. The splitter is gone on the left front and the right side, I tore it off later. So yeah it was a long day. We kind of just had to fight and came with a top-10. All things considered, I thought it was okay.”

    Elliott is seeded seventh in the playoff grid.

  • Wallace scores best career finish since Daytona 500 in 2018

    Wallace scores best career finish since Daytona 500 in 2018

    Despite all the talk about who was in and who was out of the Playoffs, another driver received a lot of attention after the race was over. Bubba Wallace, driving the famed No. 43 of Richard Petty Motorsports, brought home the No. 43 World Wide Technology Chevrolet to a third-place finish.

    “I haven’t had a high like that since Daytona last year,” Wallace explained to PRN Radio. “Man, we unloaded with a ton of speed and we’ve been unloading with that last month and a half, two months. We just haven’t transitioned that over to the race but for some reason, it started off Saturday morning to right now. And it led to a third-place finish at Indy, a racetrack where I showed up last year for my first Cup debut and didn’t see the place until the drop of the green flag of the race.”

    “To come here, it just speaks volume to my guys at Richard Petty Motorsports are what they are able to do with such limited resources. I can’t thank World Wide Technology enough for making that big leap last year and making another leap with us this year. You know being here, jumping on our cars. We’re not where we want to be, but we can always be better. This is a hell of a day, just thankful and grateful to be here.”

    The third-place finish was Wallace’s first top-five of the season.

  • Harvick dominates at Indy

    Harvick dominates at Indy

    Kevin Harvick won the 26th annual Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard on Sunday. He dominated the race leading all but 42 laps en route to his second victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the 48th of his career.

    “Yeah, this is great. Got to say thanks to all the fans. Can’t tell you how much, yeah, that’s great. How much coming to Indianapolis means to me, as a kid I watched Rick Mears win Indy 500s and got to be around him as a kid, and he was my hero, so coming here and winning here is pretty awesome.” Harvick said.

    This was Harvick’s third victory of the season and his 17th top-10 finish in 2019.

    “Yeah, I don’t know if we had the best car, but we had the fastest car. We gave up the lead there on one of those restarts and then we came and pitted and the caution came out and it worked our way. We’ve given so many away just because of circumstances here, and the way that the caution flag fell today actually worked in our favor. It gave us control of the race and we were able to keep control of the race and not make any mistakes and here we are in Victory Lane at one of the greatest places on earth to race,” Harvick said.

    In a rare schedule that saw qualifying early Sunday morning, Harvick qualified on the pole. Stages were broken into 50/50/60 laps to make up the 160 lap race.

    Stage 1: Lap 1- Lap 50

    On Lap 12, potential playoff contender Daniel Suarez slapped the wall off Turn 2 and brought out the first caution of the day. Chaos broke out on pit road when an incident saw Chase Elliott get turned around causing a backup on pit road. Jimmie Johnson, Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace, William Byron and Austin Dillon were all involved.

    Johnson had the most damage and would have to come back down pit road for a right rear issue. After the restart, Kurt Busch had a left front tire rub which saw him making a pit stop shortly after on Lap 17. As a result of the incident on pit road, Truex had left front damage on his car. Also during this stint, Brad Keselowski reported a possible vibration, but it was minimal.

    The second caution flew on Lap 43 when the No. 00 of Landon Cassill hit the wall hard after a right-front tire went down. Cassill walked out under his own power and was okay.

    Under the caution, Joey Logano and Ryan Newman played pit strategy by staying out to get the top spots and everyone else wound up pitting.

    A restart came with four to go in Stage 1, however, the field was slowed once more with Erik Jones and Keselowski making contact with each other off Turn 2. Jones hit the wall hard and Keselowski’s car went sliding down to hit the tire barrier. Both drivers would be unharmed.

    Due to the incident so late in the stage, Stage 1 ended under yellow with Team Penske’s Joey Logano taking the stage win. Kyle Larson, Harvick, Ryan Blaney, Newman, Johnson, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman and Chris Buescher rounded out the top-10 stage finishers. A red flag would eventually come out to allow track workers to clean up the accident.

    Stage 2: Lap 57- Lap 100

    Stage 2 almost saw a long green-flag run to the end of the stage before a caution was brought out by Kyle Busch. His motor expired and his car came to a stop on pit road going up in smoke. NASCAR would fly the yellow flag due to the car being stopped.

    At the time of caution, Johnson was the leader and green flag pit stops were taking place. Harvick had already pitted on Lap 85 and caught a lucky break with the timing of the yellow. Harvick would cycle out as the leader for the restart. Like the ending of Stage 1, another caution was seen for debris in Turn 2 on Lap 97 and the stage ended under yellow once more.

    This time it was Harvick who would end up winning the stage. Logano, Larson, Blaney, Logano, Clint Bowyer, Suarez, Kurt Busch, Johnson and Byron were the top-10 stage finishers for Stage 2.

    Stage 3: Lap 105- Lap 160

    When Stage 3 began, a major wreck broke out in Turn 2 when Johnson hit the wall. This would end Johnson’s championship hopes for the first time in his career. Kurt Busch, Byron, Buescher, Menard, Kligerman and Daniel Hemric were also involved in the crash.

    In what seemed like a potential race losing moment for Harvick, Blaney took the lead for a short while before green flag pit stops began with 34 to go. Harvick pitted from the lead two laps later and once again, a caution was flown for the No. 42 of Larson who hit the wall.

    Two more yellows were seen. The first occurred with 26 to go for Bowman spinning off Turn 2 and hitting the inside wall on the backstretch. The other caution came with 14 to go when Matt Tifft hit the wall in Turns 1 and 2.

    This would set up a late race restart with nine to go. Logano was on the outside row and tried to make a move on Harvick on the backstretch. However, Harvick closed him off, checked out from the field and went on to win his third race of the season and the 48th of his career.

    “As long as I was side-by-side going into Turn 1, I just didn’t feel like they were going to pass me,” Harvick added to PRN Radio. “I felt like I could hold my car in the second lane for the first three corners and nobody ever made it to the fourth corner on the inside line. So for us, I just needed to stay side-by-side and I wasn’t trying the bottom again, and that didn’t work. Luckily, things worked our way.”

    With three wins this season, Harvick is going to compete for the championship and hopes to win his second title for the first time since 2013. Harvick led five times for 118 laps for his second career Indy win.

    There were nine cautions for 48 laps and 13 lead changes among eight drivers.

    Up Next: With the playoff grid set, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers began their 10 race playoff run next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

    Official Results

    1. Kevin Harvick, led 118 laps, won Stage 2
    2. Joey Logano, led 11 laps
    3. Bubba Wallace
    4. William Byron, led one lap
    5. Clint Bowyer
    6. Denny Hamlin
    7. Ryan Blaney, led 19 laps
    8. Ryan Newman
    9. Chase Elliott
    10. Paul Menard, led one lap
    11. Daniel Suarez
    12. Austin Dillon
    13. Ty Dillon
    14. Aric Almirola
    15. Chris Buescher
    16. Ryan Preece
    17. Michael McDowell
    18. Matt DiBenedetto
    19. Corey LaJoie
    20. David Ragan
    21. Alex Bowman
    22. Ross Chastain
    23. Reed Sorenson
    24. Ryan Sieg, three laps down
    25. B.J. McLeod, three laps down
    26. J.J. Yeley, three laps down
    27. Martin Truex Jr., four laps down
    28. Garrett Smithley, four laps down
    29. Josh Bilicki, five laps down
    30. Kurt Busch, five laps down
    31. Ricky Stenhouse Jr, seven laps down
    32. Matt Tifft, OUT, Crash
    33. Kyle Larson, OUT, Crash
    34. Daniel Hemric, OUT, Crash
    35. Jimmie Johnson, OUT, Crash
    36. Parker Kligerman, OUT, Crash
    37. Kyle Busch, OUT, Engine
    38. Brad Keselowski, OUT, Crash
    39. Erik Jones, OUT, Crash
    40. Landon Cassill, OUT, Crash

  • Suarez misses out on Playoffs

    Suarez misses out on Playoffs

    Daniel Suarez could not afford any trouble at Indy as he was tied with Ryan Newman after the Southern 500 in Darlington last week.

    It was a difficult day though for his No. 41 team with a qualifying effort of 20th. During the race, things got off to a rocky start early when he slapped the wall off Turn 2 and brought out the caution on Lap 12. Suarez had to come down pit road and make a pit stop so his team could check for potential damage. His car would be fine but he had a lot of ground to make up after restarting in the back.

    Due to the incident early on, he was unable to record a top-10 finish in Stage 1 but he did manage to finish sixth in the second stage. The No. 41 team tried to use a different strategy with 34 to go by coming down pit road and hoping there would not be a caution for the rest of the race. If the strategy worked, Suarez would have cycled out as the leader.

    However, cautions breed cautions and that would eventually cost Suarez a chance to make it to the PLayoffs. From here on out, Suarez will only be able to contend for wins as he missed the Playoffs by just a few points.

    “We did a good job, we just didn’t have enough speed,” Suarez said to PRN Radio. “We just have to keep working and we have 10 more races to get it into victory lane.”

  • Johnson’s playoff hopes end in crash

    Johnson’s playoff hopes end in crash

    Jimmie Johnson was a long shot coming into the Brickyard hoping to make the NASCAR Playoffs. And the No. 48 crew was below the cut line most of the race.

    At one point, the team caught a lucky break when a caution came out and Johnson was out front as the leader. However, the Hendrick Motorsports driver had to come down to pit road for his scheduled pit stop. Even with the pit stop, Johnson was able to finish eighth in Stage 2.

    Troubles arose when Stage 3 began as Johnson went to make a move in Turn 2 but eventually was turned and hit the wall. With the incident, Johnson was out of the race and his playoff hopes were over for 2019.

    “Yeah, it’s really disappointing. Unfortunately, we had a bad 25 races that led to the position we’re in here today and we needed a stellar day. I think we were having a strong day. I’m really proud of my team with what’s been going on.”

    When asked about the incident, Johnson said it was close racing.

    “The No. 1 car (Kurt Busch) had a little trouble on the restart. I’m on the inside going into the corner and it was just super tight. It’s unfortunate that happened. Certainly, it’s not what we needed on that restart. I couldn’t go below the white line and kind of got snipped there and turned around, and around and round we go.”

    This will be the first time in Johnson’s career that he has missed the Playoffs.

  • Jones and Keselowski involved in crash at Indy

    Jones and Keselowski involved in crash at Indy

    With just two laps left in Stage 1, a violent wreck occurred involving Erik Jones and Brad Keselowski off Turn 2. The No. 20 and the No. 2 made contact with each other, with Jones hitting the wall as Keselowski went sliding down the track, making hard contact with the tire barrier. Keselowski’s car was sideways on the barrier. Both drivers walked away.

    “Yeah, I’m good, I just got loose under Brad, the Toyota Camry was fast, I was trying to make up a spot before the stage end,” Jones explained to PRN Radio. “The 18 (Kyle Busch) got by and tried to follow him through, I just didn’t expect Brad to come down so much. Just drove in too hard and didn’t anticipate enough. Hate it for our guys, and for Brad, ruined both of our days. Both had fast cars, capable of battling up front and just didn’t work out. Get it out of the way this week, I guess and go on to Vegas next week and try to get our Playoffs started on the right foot.”

    Keselowski was able to walk away from the incident unscathed.

    “We were all racing there, some on tires and some not on tires,” Keselowski described to PRN Radio. “I couldn’t get by the guys on new tires in front of me, so I checked up, lost the nose and a couple of cars got underneath me and got down into Turn 2 and nobody had any air. We all just kind of lost there and wrecked. Next thing you know, we’re all in the fence and I found the one spot on the track with maybe the worst angle of the wall you could possibly have at a track like this and hit it. It was a pretty good lick, but we’re alright and we’ll move on to next week.”

  • Harvick qualifies on the pole at Indy

    Harvick qualifies on the pole at Indy

    Kevin Harvick qualified on the pole position for the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard on Sunday with a lap of 48.44 seconds and 185.766 mph. This was Harvick’s third pole position at The Brickyard.

    The Stewart-Haas Racing driver noted the importance of the starting spot in order to win the race.

    “It’s very important,” Harvick said to PRN Radio. “I wish we had that first pit stall to go with it to cap off the pole with our Mobil 1 Ford Mustang, but still a great job by our guys. Track position is going to be the name of the game today, having things fall your way but you’re still going have to have the handling of your car throughout the long runs in order to keep yourself out front and to have the option to put two tires on at any point.”

    “So there’s a number of things that’s going to come into play. The cloud cover obviously has changed things a little bit compared to the bright sun we had yesterday, so the track conditions are a little bit better today, so we’ll see how that affects the handling of the car.”

    Track position isn’t the only thing that’s important today. This race is also the last chance for bubble drivers to make the Playoffs that start next weekend in Las Vegas.

    Paul Menard qualified second, Clint Bowyer was third, Jimmie Johnson was fifth and Daniel Hemric qualified 11th. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will start 12th, Daniel Suarez was 18th and Ryan Newman will start in 22nd. All of these drivers face possible elimination in order to compete for the championship.

    NBCSN coverage of the Big Machine Vodka 400 starts at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. They will switch over to regular NBC with Countdown To Green at 1:30 p.m. ET.

    With potential threatening weather in the area and the potential for more, the start time of the race has been moved up to 2:05 p.m. ET.

    Stages will be 50/50/60 laps to make up the 160 lap race.

    Official Results

    1. Kevin Harvick
    2. Paul Menard
    3. Clint Bowyer
    4. Joey Logano
    5. Jimmie Johnson
    6. Brad Keselowski
    7. Kyle Busch
    8. Kurt Busch
    9. Ryan Blaney
    10. Aric Almirola
    11. Daniel Hemric
    12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
    13. Alex Bowman
    14. Erik Jones
    15. Bubba Wallace
    16. Chris Buscher
    17. David Ragan
    18. Austin Dillon
    19. Kyle Larson
    20. Daniel Suarez
    21. Michael McDowell
    22. Ryan Newman
    23. Ryan Preece
    24. Chase Elliott
    25. Ty Dillon
    26. Matt DiBenedetto
    27. Martin Truex Jr
    28. Matt Tifft
    29. William Byron
    30. Corey LaJoie
    31. Landon Cassill
    32. Parker Kligerman
    33. Denny Hamlin
    34. Ross Chastain
    35. B.J. McLeod
    36. Ryan Sieg
    37. Reed Sorenson
    38. Garrett Smithley
    39. Josh Bilicki
    40. J.J. Yeley
  • Weekend Schedule for Indianapolis

    Weekend Schedule for Indianapolis

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend for the final race of the regular season. Kyle Busch clinched the regular season championship after his third-place finish in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

    There are only two open spots in the Playoffs with four drivers on the bubble. Clint Bowyer (15th) has an eight-point lead over Daniel Suarez (16th) and Ryan Newman (17th). He has a 26-point lead over Jimmie Johnson in 18th.

    The Xfinity Series will also compete at Indy with two races remaining before their Playoffs begin. Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick can clinch the regular season championship if he has a 61-point lead at the end of the race over second-place Christopher Bell. He has a 51-point lead heading into the Indiana 250.

    Please see the complete schedule below. All times are Eastern.

    Friday, Sept. 6

    1:05 p.m. – 1:55 p.m.: Xfinity Series First Practice – NBC Sports App/Airing tape-delayed at 2 p.m. on NBCSN

    3:05 p.m. – 3:55 p.m.: Xfinity Series Final Practice – NBC Sports App/Airing tape-delayed at 4 p.m.

    Saturday, Sept. 7

    11:05 a.m. – 11:55 a.m.: Cup Series First Practice – NBCSN/NBC Sports App

    12:05 p.m. – Xfinity Series Qualifying – Impound (Single Vehicle/One Lap All Positions)

    1:30 p.m. – 2:20 p.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – NBCSN/NBC Sports App

    3 p.m.: Xfinity Series Indiana 250 (Stages 30/60/100 Laps = 250 Miles) NBCSN/NBC Sports App/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Sunday, Sept. 8

    10:35 a.m. – Cup Series Qualifying – Impound (Single Vehicle/One Lap All Positions) – NBCSN/NBC Sports App/PRN

    2 p.m.: Cup Series Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard (Stages 50/100/160 Laps = 400 Miles) – NBC/NBC Sports App/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

  • Win or bust for Cup Series drivers on the bubble

    Win or bust for Cup Series drivers on the bubble

    This weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will mark the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale for the second consecutive year. Last year we had to wait until the last race to determine the regular-season champion. But Sunday, in the wee hours of the morning at Darlington Raceway, Kyle Busch claimed that title after his third-place finish in the Bojangles’ Southern 500.

    It came as no surprise as Busch has been on fire this year, racking up four wins, 13 top fives and 21 top-10 finishes. Busch is now locked into the Playoffs and gained 15 bonus points to carry into the 10-race playoff series that begins Sept. 15 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Other drivers, however, are fighting possible elimination from competing for the championship, including seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson.

    Here are the playoff-clinching scenarios for this weekend’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

    1. Clint Bowyer – Bowyer currently sits 15th in the playoff points standings with a little bit of a buffer above the cut line. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver will likely need a win to compete for the championship but also can clinch if he leaves Indy with 48 points and a new winner is seen. Bowyer can also clinch with 46 points should there be a repeat winner or a win by Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, William Byron or Aric Almirola. However, Indy has been a tricky track for the Kansas native. He has zero wins, three top fives and four top-10 finishes with 43 laps led and an average finish of 14.2, with one DNF in 2017. The pressure will be on Bowyer and his No. 14 team to excel this weekend.

    2. Daniel Suarez – Like Bowyer, Suarez would also clinch with a win and with a repeat winner. It’s been a tough season for Suarez and the No. 41 team who has only earned three top fives and nine top-10 finishes. Suarez will need a lot of help this weekend as he only has one top-10 finish at Indy that came in the 2017 race. Suarez sits 16th on the bubble in a tie with Ryan Newman.

    3. Ryan Newman – Newman is tied with Suarez and sits 17th in the standings. The Roush Fenway Racing driver can get lucky by pointing himself way into the Playoffs by being tied with Suarez. Newman needs 54 points to clinch and help from Suarez. He has won at Indy, but that was in 2013 when Newman started first and finished first. Since then Newman has finishes of 11th twice, 31st, third and 10th.

    4. Jimmie Johnson – It’s been a rough season and summer stretch for the No. 48 Ally Racing team. Other than the exhibition win at Daytona, Johnson has not scored a win and has only amassed three top fives and eight top-10 finishes in 2019. The frustrating finishes this season have placed Johnson below the cut line in 18th. The seven-time champion likely needs a win at this point to lock himself into the Playoffs.

      For anyone else including Paul Menard, Chris Buescher, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Matt DiBenedetto, among all other drivers inside the top 30, it’s win or go home as the points difference is too much to make up even if they win the stages and lead the most laps.
  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Darlington

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Darlington

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kyle Busch: An engine change sent Busch to the rear at the start but he steadily climbed forward, ultimately falling short of catching Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Erik Jones, who secured his first win of the year.

    “I nearly pulled off the ‘last to first’ run,” Busch said. “I’ve done it many times, the first being when I was born after my older brother Kurt, only to finish first in my parents’ favorite child vote.”

    2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin was collected in a final stage wreck and finished 29th, his worst finish of the year.

    “It was a tough weekend,” Hamlin said. “I won the Xfinity Series race on Saturday, but I was disqualified for what’s known as a ‘ride-height violation.’ There’s a fine line between ‘high enough’ and ‘too high,’ and it’s just one of the many things that’s straddled in track infields every week.”

    3. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished 15th at Darlington, one lap down.

    “The race started 4 hours late,” Truex said. “That’s a long time. Drivers even had time for naps. Believe it or not, not racing makes you sleepy. Ask most fans, and they’ll tell you racing makes them sleepy.”

    4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished fourth at Darlington, and is now fourth in the points standings.

    “It was ‘throwback’ week at Darlington,” Harvick said. “That doesn’t mean Bubba Wallace was tossing the football with fans during a rain delay. It does mean that throwback stock cars had crappy paint schemes.”

    5. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski took fifth in the Bojangles’ Southern 500.

    “My No. 2 Mustang honored Rusty Wallace’s 1996 paint scheme,” Keselowski said. “It looked so much like Rusty’s version, Ryan Newman tried to wreck me.”

    6. Joey Logano: A cut tire forced an unscheduled pit stop midway through the race, and Logano limped home to a 14th-place finish at Darlington.

    “We appreciate all the fans who outlasted the rain delay and stayed until the end,” Logano said. “To those who didn’t, well, we’re not going to lose any sleep over it.”

    7. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished 19th at Darlington, two laps down, his night hindered by damage suffered in a lap 260 multiple-car accident.

    “My Hendrick teammate William Byron’s paint scheme was inspired by Cole Trickle’s car in the ‘Days Of Thunder’ movie,” Elliott said. “Personally, I would have much rather seen a paint scheme honoring the legendary Dick Trickle. That’s a paint scheme that would have been difficult to keep secret. In other words, it would have ‘leaked.’”

    8. Kurt Busch: Busch started fourth at Darlington and finished seventh at Darlington.

    “We’re headed to Indianapolis next,” Busch said. “There are some playoff spots on the line so I’m guessing you might see some drivers who don’t even win the race ‘kissing the bricks.’ If the actual win puts a driver in the Playoffs, you might see a ‘bricklayer.’”

    9. Kyle Larson: Larson took the runner-up spot in the Bojangles’ Southern 500, earning his fifth-straight top-10 finish.

    “Ryan Newman’s No. 6 car had the Oscar Mayer paint scheme,” Larson said. “The ‘Wienermobile’ even made an appearance. ‘Weinermobile’ is also what Ryan calls anything Kurt Busch is driving.”

    10. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished 13th at Darlington. He is now 10th in the Monster Energy Cup points standings and clinched a spot in the playoffs.

    “Ty Dillon’s crew chief Matt Borland failed a recent drug test,” Blaney said. “He claimed it was the result of his consumption of diet coffee. Borland defended himself by saying, ‘Say it ain’t so, Joe.’”