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  • NASCAR revokes Austin Dillon’s Playoff eligibility, fines Joey Logano amid controversial Cup finish at Richmond

    NASCAR revokes Austin Dillon’s Playoff eligibility, fines Joey Logano amid controversial Cup finish at Richmond

    NASCAR released the highly anticipated penalty report following this weekend’s Craftsman Truck & Cup Series actions at Richmond Raceway including the controversial finish during Sunday’s Cup event.

    Per the report, Austin Dillon, winner of Sunday’s Cook Out 400, has been stripped of his Playoff eligibility he initially achieved by winning the race. The penalty is a result of how the 2018 Daytona 500 champion from Welcome, North Carolina, claimed the victory, where he bumped and sent the leader Joey Logano for a spin through Turns 3 and 4 on the final lap. Dillon then veered dead left and sent Denny Hamlin, who was trying to overtake both, into the frontstretch’s outside wall and proceeded to claim the checkered flag for the victory, all during an overtime shootout.

    The on-track actions Dillon made were ones he chose to perform as last-resort actions to both win and race his way into the Playoffs, as he evoked while celebrating the victory on the frontstretch despite receiving harsh criticism from his fellow competitors, including Logano and Hamlin, and eventually leading to NASCAR emphasizing that Dillon crossed the line upon a three-day review.

    In addition to having his Playoff eligibility revoked, Dillon and his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team were docked 25 driver/owner points. As a result, Dillon, who jumped from 32nd to a guaranteed top-16 result in the standings, is strapped back in 31st place in the regular-season standings.

    “I think in all due respect to the appeal process, we looked at this and the totality of everything that happened as you enter Turn 3 and as the cars got to the start/finish line,” Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition, said. “So, as we look through all of that data, we came to the conclusion that a line had been crossed. Our sport has been based going for many, many years, forever, on good, hard racing. Contact has been acceptable. We felt like, in this case, that the line was crossed.”

    While Dillon received no race suspensions amid his actions, Brandon Benesch, Dillon’s spotter, was assessed a three-race suspension, beginning this weekend at Michigan, due to his concise vocalization of encouraging Dillon to “wreck him” in reference to Denny Hamlin approaching the finish line. Despite the phrase “wreck him” being heard through the in-car audio, team owner Richard Childress and Dillon’s crew chief Justin Alexander denied hearing the audio phrase while defending Dillon’s move.

    “If you look at at the crew chief and you look at the spotter, and view them as calming voices in the driver’s ear, in this case, we just felt like we’ve all listened to the audio,” Sawyer added. “We know exactly what was said. We just felt like that that’s not what we need spotters doing. That’s not what we need [from a] crew chief sitting on the box. They’re a calming voice to what the situation is in front of them, and they’re supposed to be spotting for the race, not making comments like were made, as we all know.”

    Nonetheless, Dillon is still credited as the official winner of last Sunday’s event at Richmond. He is also eligible to reclaim his 2024 Playoff eligibility status if he were to win any one of the remaining three regular-season events on the schedule, beginning this upcoming Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.

    In addition, Joey Logano, who ended up in 19th place after getting hit and spun by Dillon, has also been penalized with a $50,000 fine for violating NASCAR’s Member Code of Conduct policy. Logano’s penalty is a result of the 2018 Cup Series champion getting his damaged car sideways while nursing it through pit road following the checkered flag and nearly sideswiped several personnel, including officials, Dillon’s crew and family members near Dillon’s pit box while venting his frustration. Immediately after parking his car, a NASCAR official angrily confronted Logano inside of his cockpit for his actions before the confrontation simmered as Logano angrily exited his car and proceeded to call out Dillon for his actions to the media.

    Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “Some of this, we’ve got some work to do on our side,” Sawyer said while referencing Logano’s actions that led to the penalty. “There was a lot of people on pit road, and there always is. We have our officials out there. The drivers need to understand that. Totally understand the emotion — I get it, I’ve been there a few years back. But you have to respect the fact that we do have people on pit road. Our officials will be there, security will be there. We’ll do a better job on our side to make sure that families and young children and sponsors and of that nature are not on the hot side.”

    Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin, who ended up in the runner-up spot despite getting wrecked by Dillon approaching the finish line and was quick to criticize NASCAR for not taking immediate action to penalize competitors for wrecking one another for victories, was not penalized.

    Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    With Dillon currently bumped out of the 2024 Cup Series Playoff field, Chris Buescher, who exited Richmond three points below the top-16 cutline to make the Playoffs, is now above the cutline on a tie-breaker against Ross Chastain. In addition, Martin Truex Jr., Ty Gibbs and Bubba Wallace have each been elevated one spot up in the Playoff field.

    Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series event at Richmond, which served as the 2024 regular-season finale and was won by Ty Majeski, did not generate any team penalties.

    With the Craftsman Truck Series entering an off-week period, the NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to action following a four-week absence at Michigan International Speedway for the Cabo Wabo 250 this upcoming Saturday, August 17, at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network. The Cup Series also returns to action at Michigan for the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday, August 18, at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Brian Wilson to call 100th Cup event as crew chief at Michigan

    Brian Wilson to call 100th Cup event as crew chief at Michigan

    A significant milestone mark is in the making for Brian Wilson, crew chief for Austin Cindric and the No. 2 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse team in the NASCAR Cup Series. By participating in this weekend’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Wilson will call his 100th event as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A second-generation race engineer from Detroit, Michigan, Wilson grew up competing in go-karts. While working on his mechanical engineering degree at North Carolina State University, he was also a part-time worker for 10-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel’s racing team. After earning his degree, he worked as Kimmel’s full-time shock specialist.  

    In 2004, Wilson joined Team Penske and worked on the No. 77 Penske-Jasper Racing Dodge team that was competing in the NASCAR Cup Series division with Brendan Gaughan. Two years later, he became a shock specialist for Penske’s iconic No. 2 Dodge team driven by Kurt Busch, the 2004 Cup champion. By 2007, Wilson was a race engineer for the Penske organization. After spending the 2009 Cup season with Penske’s No. 12 Dodge team piloted by David Stremme, Wilson worked alongside crew chief Paul Wolfe and Brad Keselowski in the 2010 Xfinity Series season. During the season, Keselowski notched six victories and achieved the first NASCAR championship for team owner Roger Penske and the Penske organization.

    Wilson remained with Keselowski and Wolfe as the trio was assigned to Penske’s iconic No. 2 Dodge team in 2011. Their on-track success from the previous Xfinity season continued as Keselowski scored three victories, made the 2011 Cup Playoffs and finished in fifth place in the final standings. A year later, Keselowski achieved five victories and won the 2012 Cup championship, thus giving Roger Penske his first NASCAR Cup title.

    In 2016, Wilson made his debut as a crew chief, where he spent a majority of the season leading Penske’s No. 22 “all-star” program that was shared between Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney. At Charlotte Motor Speedway in October, Wilson notched his first career victory as a crew chief with Logano. He would return as a part-time crew chief for Penske’s No. 12 entry in 2017 with driving duties split between Sam Hornish Jr., Blaney and Logano, the latter of whom Wilson won with at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. From 2018 to 2021, Wilson would add 18 Xfinity victories to his resume and capture the 2020 series championship with Austin Cindric.

    During the 2017 season, Wilson made his inaugural appearance as a Cup Series crew chief at Auto Club Speedway, where he navigated Keselowski and the No. 2 Ford Fusion team to a runner-up result. He would return for three additional events throughout the season, all with the No. 2 team, as Keselowski finished in the top seven in all events.

    Five years later, Wilson was named a full-time Cup Series crew chief for the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang team that was set to be piloted by rookie Harrison Burton. Amid an early rollover wreck during the 64th running of the Daytona 500, Wilson and Burton would record a season-best third place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, two top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 22.8 before settling in 27th place in the final standings. Wilson would remain paired with Burton through the first 26-scheduled events of the 2023 season, where the duo notched two top-10 results before he reunited with Team Penske and paired with Cindric and the No. 2 Ford Mustang team as part of a Penske-Wood Brothers alliance swap as Jeremy Bullins returned atop the pit box of the No. 21 Wood Brothers team. For the final 10 races of the 2023 season, Wilson and Cindric notched two top-10 results before settling in 24th place in the final standings, seven spots ahead of Burton.

    Remaining paired with Cindric for the 2024 season, Wilson and Cindric only notched a single top-five result through 14 scheduled events. Then at World Wide Technology Raceway in June, Wilson notched his first career win in NASCAR’s premier series as a crew chief after Cindric capitalized on teammate Ryan Blaney running out of fuel on the final lap to score his second Cup career victory, snapping an 85-race winless drought and be guaranteed a spot into the 2024 Cup Playoffs. The duo have since recorded an additional top-10 result in the form of a seventh-place run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway over their next eight events following the Gateway victory.

    Through 99 previous Cup events, Wilson has achieved one victory, seven top-five results and 13 top-10 results while working with two different competitors as he strives to add a Cup Series championship to his resume.

    “It’s definitely been a journey, depends on how far back you want me to go,” Wilson, said during a Team Penske pre-race media coverage at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 19, said. “As a crew chief, it’s been great. I’ve learned a lot. Obviously, I’ve had a chance to work with both Austin [Cindric] and Harrison [Burton. Really enjoyed working with both of them. I’ve learned a lot. It’s a tough level of competition. I love it. You have to be on your toes every week, so I think that’s the biggest thing. Just figuring out what it takes to compete at this level. It was great to get a win [at Gateway].”

    Brian Wilson is scheduled to call his 100th Cup Series event as a crew chief at Michigan International Speedway for the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday, August 18. The event’s broadcast time is slated to occur at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Alan Gustafson to call 700th Cup event as crew chief at Michigan

    Alan Gustafson to call 700th Cup event as crew chief at Michigan

    The upcoming FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway is set to mark crew chief Alan Gustafson’s 24th NASCAR Cup Series event atop the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 pit box of the 2024 season. It will also mark a significant milestone achievement for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series championship-winning crew chief. By participating in this weekend’s Cup event at Michigan, Gustafson will call his 700th career race as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Ormond Beach, Florida, Gustafson was working on go-karts piloted by Casey Yunick, grandson of legendary car mechanic and designer Smokey Yunick, at eight years old. As a mechanic, he worked his way up to late models, legend cars and the Sports Cars Club of America region. After graduating from Seabreeze High School in Daytona Beach, Florida, Gustafson was pursuing a mechanical engineering degree at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University when he decided to relocate to Charlotte, North Carolina, and pursue a career in motorsports racing.

    In 1996, Gustafson joined Gary Moore’s Goody’s Dash Series team as a crew chief for Jimmy Foster. A year later, he became a crew chief for Addington Racing’s NASCAR Truck Series before making the jump to the Xfinity Series to work as an engineer for Diamond Ridge Motorsports. Another two years later, Gustafson, who was working for Jimmy Foster, was recruited by former NASCAR championship-winning crew chief Gary DeHart to work in Hendrick Motorsports’ chassis department. By 2000, he was working as a full-time shock specialist for HMS’ No. 5 Chevrolet team piloted by two-time Cup champion Terry Labonte before being named lead engineer for the No. 5 team another two years later.

    Entering the 2005 Cup season, Gustafson was named crew chief for the No. 5 Chevrolet team set to be piloted by Kyle Busch, who entered the season as a 2005 Cup rookie candidate. Throughout the 36-race schedule, Gustafson achieved his first two NASCAR victories as a crew chief, the first at Auto Club Speedway in September and the second at Phoenix Raceway in November with Busch. The duo went on to achieve a pole, nine top-five results and 13 top-10 results, with Busch claiming the 2005 Rookie-of-the-Year title despite finishing 20th in the final standings.

    Over the next two seasons, Gustafson remained as crew chief for Busch and the No. 5 team in the Cup circuit, where Busch achieved one victory apiece, made the Playoffs during both seasons and achieved a fifth-place result in the final standings in 2007. By then, Gustafson surpassed 100 Cup starts as a crew chief.

    In 2008, Gustafson remained as crew chief for HMS’ No. 5 Chevrolet team piloted by Casey Mears, the reigning Coca-Cola 600 winner, who replaced Busch as Busch joined Joe Gibbs Racing for the upcoming season. Throughout the 36-race schedule, Gustafson and Mears only achieved one top-five result and six top-10 results before finishing in 20th place in the final standings. 

    The 2009 Cup season was a competitive season for Gustafson, who was paired with veteran driver Mark Martin as Martin returned to full-time Cup competition for the first time since 2005 and as the successor of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. It took the first eight scheduled races of the 2009 season for Gustafson to return to Victory Lane in the Cup circuit after Martin achieved a dominant win at Phoenix in April, which snapped Martin’s 97-race winless drought and a 74-race winless drought for Gustafson. The momentum continued for the driver, crew chief and the No. 5 team as they won at Darlington Raceway in May, Michigan International Speedway in June and Chicagoland Speedway in July. Martin and Gustafson then achieved a fifth victory of the season at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September, which commenced the 2009 Cup Playoffs. They ended up as the championship runner-up to teammates Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus by 141 points. Nonetheless, they earned a total of five victories, seven poles, 14 top-five results and 21 top-10 results throughout the 36-race schedule.

    Compared to the 2009 season, however, Martin and Gustafson were unable to pursue another shot at a championship in 2010 as they missed the Playoffs, went winless and only achieved a pole, seven top-five results and 11 top-10 results before finishing in 13th place in the final standings. By then, Gustafson surpassed 200 Cup starts as a crew chief.

    For the 2011 season, Gustafson, who remained at HMS, transitioned from the No. 5 team to the No. 24 team as he was paired with four-time NASCAR Cup champion Jeff Gordon. Following a 28th-place run in the Daytona 500, Gustafson notched his first victory with Gordon at Phoenix in February, where Gordon rallied from an early wreck to dominate and fend off Kyle Busch to snap a 66-race winless drought. Gordon and Gustafson went on to achieve victories at Pocono Raceway in June and at Atlanta Motor Speedway in September along with a pole, 13 top-five results, 18 top-10 results and a spot in the 2011 Cup Playoffs before finishing in eighth place in the final standings.

    From 2012 to 2013, Gordon, Gustafson and the No. 24 team achieved a total of three victories, four poles, 19 top-five results and 35 top-10 results, with a best points result of sixth place in 2013. Then in 2014, the duo recorded four victories throughout the 36-race schedule, including the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, which marked Gustafson’s first crown-jewel victory in NASCAR. Having earned three poles, 14 top-five results and 23 top-10 results along with the victories, Gordon and Gustafson were poised to contend for the title until a late run-in and brawl with Brad Keselowski ended their hopes for a championship prior to the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, thus relegating them back to sixth place in the final standings. By then, Gustafson surpassed 300 starts in the Cup Series.

    In 2015, which marked Gordon’s 23rd and final full-time season as a NASCAR competitor, Gordon and Gustafson commenced the season by winning the pole position for the 57th running of the Daytona 500. They then rallied from a bumpy regular-season stretch to make the Playoffs and earn a spot in the Championship Round at Homestead following a sentimental victory at Martinsville Speedway in November, with Gordon earning one final opportunity to win his fifth title. During the finale, however, Gordon settled in sixth place on the track and third place in the final standings. Along with the Martinsville victory, Gordon and Gustafson achieved four poles, five top-five results and 21 top-10 results.

    Following Gordon’s retirement, Gustafson remained as crew chief for HMS’ No. 24 Chevrolet team piloted by Chase Elliott, the 2014 Xfinity Series champion and the successor of the No. 24 entry. In their first run together, Elliott secured the pole position for the upcoming Daytona 500, thus becoming the youngest competitor to win the pole for the 500. Elliott, however, finished 37th after being involved in an early accident. Despite the slow start, Elliott and Gustafson managed to record two poles, 10 top-five results and 17 top-10 results. While they qualified for the 2016 Cup Playoffs, the duo were eliminated from title contention following the Round of 12 and went on to finish in 10th place in the final standings. By the end of the season, Elliott captured the 2016 Cup Rookie of the Year title. In addition, Gustafson surpassed 400 Cup starts as a crew chief.

    In 2017, Gustafson commenced the season by making history as he became the first crew chief since Ernie Elliott to achieve three consecutive Daytona 500 poles, with Chase Elliott zooming to his second consecutive 500 pole. After winning the first of two Can-Am Duel events at Daytona, Elliott and Gustafson were in striking position of winning the 500 until Elliott fell back to 14th after running out of fuel with two laps remaining. Despite several opportunities presented for Elliott, Gustafson and the No. 24 team to win, they endured a second winless season. Nonetheless, they earned 12 top-five results, 21 top-10 results and a Playoff spot before being eliminated from title contention prior to the finale and ending up in fifth place in the final standings. During the season, Gustafson was suspended for the Cup Playoff event at New Hampshire in September stemming from an L1-level post-race penalty report during the previous event at Chicagoland Speedway.

    Gustafson remained as crew chief for HMS and Elliott in 2018, with Elliott piloting the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the new season. During the season, Gustafson was suspended for two races (Bristol Motor Speedway and Richmond Raceway in April) stemming from an illegal rear window penalty report at Texas Motor Speedway the previous week. Nonetheless, Gustafson returned to Victory Lane in the Cup Series in nearly three seasons after Elliott achieved his first elusive Cup victory at Watkins Glen International in August. Earning a one-way ticket to the Playoffs, Elliott and Gustafson won at Dover International Speedway and at Kansas Speedway in October before finishing in sixth place in the final standings. By then, Gustafson surpassed 500 Cup career starts as a crew chief. 

    After a winless start through the first nine events of the 2019 season, Elliott and Gustafson achieved their first victory of the year at Talladega Superspeedway in April. They went on to win at Watkins Glen in August and at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval in September before making the Playoffs and settling in 10th place in the final standings.

    The 2020 Cup season was a season to remember for Gustafson, who commenced the season with two victories with Elliott throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch amid the COVID-19 pandemic. During the Playoffs, Elliott went on to win at the Charlotte Roval in October and at Martinsville Speedway in November, which earned Elliott, Gustafson and the No. 9 Chevrolet team a spot in the Championship Round finale at Phoenix Raceway. During the finale, Elliott rallied from starting at the rear of the field to lead a race-high 153 of 312 and capture the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series championship along with the finale victory. The championship was a first for Gustafson in his 16th season as a crew chief along with the first for Elliott and the 13th overall for Hendrick Motorsports.

    Commencing the 2021 season as the reigning champions, Gustafson and Elliott recorded their first elusive victory of the season during the series’ inaugural, rain-shortened event at Circuit of the Americas in May. They went on to win at Road America in July and record 15 top-10 results during the 26-race regular-season stretch amid Gustafson being suspended for Watkins Glen in August due to the No. 9 entry failing pre-race inspection twice before qualifying for the 2021 Cup Playoffs. With four top-10 results during nine Playoff events, Gustafson and Elliott were able to transfer all the way from the Round of 16 to the Championship 4 and receive an opportunity to defend their series title. During the finale at Phoenix, however, Elliott finished fifth on the track and ended up in fourth place in the final standings. By then, Gustafson had surpassed 600 events as a Cup crew chief.

    In 2022, Gustafson and Elliott achieved their first victory of the season at Dover in May. They went on to win at Nashville Superspeedway in June, Atlanta Motor Speedway and Pocono Raceway in July before securing their seventh consecutive berth to the Playoffs. Throughout the Playoffs, the duo rallied from a rough start in the Rounds of 16 and 12 by winning at Talladega in October and transferring to the Round of 8. They were also able to accumulate enough points to transfer to the Championship 4 round for a third consecutive season. Their aim for a second Cup title, however, came to an end when Elliott was involved in a late-race incident with title rival Ross Chastain and ended 28th on the track. This, in turn, kept him in fourth place in the final standings for a second consecutive season.

    The 2023 season was a difficult season for both Gustafson and Elliott that started with the duo finishing 38th in the 65th running of the Daytona 500 after being involved in a multi-car wreck in the closing laps of the second stage. Despite rallying during the following weekend at Auto Club Speedway by finishing second to Kyle Busch, Elliott was then absent for the following Cup event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after injuring his leg while snowboarding in Colorado. With Elliott absent, JR Motorsports’ Xfinity Series competitor Josh Berry and sportscar racer Jordan Taylor piloted the No. 9 HMS entry over the next six races. Then in March, all four Hendrick Motorsports crew chiefs, including Gustafson, were issued a four-race suspension and a combined $400,000 fine as a result of NASCAR confiscating and noting issues to the hood louvers on all four HMS entries during the Phoenix weekend. The organization was also docked 100 owner points and 10 Playoff points between the four entries, but following an appeal process during the final week of March, the points were reinstated while the fines and suspensions remained intact. With Gustafson serving his four-race suspension, lead engineer Tom Gray filled in as an interim crew chief for the No. 9 HMS entry.

    After returning atop the No. 9 pit box along with Elliott at Martinsville in April, Gustafson navigated the No. 9 team to nine top-10 results for the final 18 regular-season events. The results, however, were not enough for Elliott, who was suspended from racing at World Wide Technology Raceway due to intentionally wrecking Denny Hamlin during the previous event at Charlotte during the 18-race stretch, to garner enough points to make the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs, which marked the first time the duo did not make the postseason bid for the title since being paired together. With five recorded top-10 results throughout the 10-race Playoff stretch, Gustafson and Elliott concluded the 2023 season in 17th place in the final standings.

    Striving for redemption, Gustafson and Elliott commenced the 2024 campaign with three top-10 results and six top-15 results through eight scheduled events. Then at Texas in April, the duo snapped a one-year winless drought and returned to Victory Lane after Elliott survived two overtime shootouts to claim the victory under caution and guarantee himself and the No. 9 team a spot into the Playoffs. Since the Texas victory, the No. 9 team recorded eight top-10 results over a 14-race span and they currently sit in third place in this year’s regular-season standings while trailing the points lead by six points.

    Through 699 previous Cup events, Gustafson has achieved one championship, 39 victories, 34 poles, 201 top-five results and 349 top-10 results while working with seven different competitors.

    Alan Gustafson is scheduled to call his 700th Cup Series event as a crew chief this upcoming Sunday, August 18, at Michigan International Speedway for the FireKeepers Casino 400. The event’s broadcast time is scheduled to commence at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Scott Graves to call 300th Cup event as crew chief at Michigan

    Scott Graves to call 300th Cup event as crew chief at Michigan

    A significant milestone mark is in the making for Scott Graves, crew chief for Chris Buescher and the No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford Mustang team in the NASCAR Cup Series. By participating in this weekend’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Graves will call his 300th event as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Clifton Spring, New York, Graves graduated from Texas Tech University with a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1994. Twelve years later, he teamed up with Roush Fenway Racing and worked as an engineer on Roush’s No. 99 Ford entry in the NASCAR Truck Series that was piloted by Erik Darnell. Another five years later, Graves worked as a team engineer for RFR’s No. 60 Ford Mustang team in the Xfinity Series, a team that achieved eight victories and went on to clinch the Xfinity Series’ owner’s championship with the help of drivers Carl Edwards and Billy Johnson.

    The 2012 season was Graves’ first as a crew chief, where he was atop the pit box of Roush’s No. 60 Ford Mustang team in four Xfinity Series races. Making his debut as a crew chief at Watkins Glen International in August, Graves went to Victory Lane for the first time with Carl Edwards capitalizing on a one-race return in the series. He returned to crew chief for Billy Johnson at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Trevor Bayne at Bristol Motor Speedway in August and Travis Pastrana at Richmond Raceway in September, respectively. Graves also made his crew chief debut in three NASCAR Cup Series races late in 2012, beginning at Dover International Speedway in September, where he worked with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Following a strong 12th-place result at Dover, Graves returned as Stenhouse’s Cup crew chief at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October and at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, respectively.

    In 2013 Graves was named crew chief for Stenhouse and the No. 17 RFR Ford Fusion team in the Cup Series, which marked Stenhouse’s first full-time season as a competitor in NASCAR’s premier series after winning back-to-back Xfinity titles. Throughout the 36-race schedule, Graves and Stenhouse achieved a pole, one top-five result and three top-10 results throughout the 36-race schedule, with the latter finishing in 19th place in the final standings and claiming the Rookie-of-the-Year title.

    For the following two seasons, Graves returned to the Xfinity Series and worked as crew chief for Chris Buescher and RFR’s No. 60 Ford Mustang team. During the two-year stint, Graves achieved three victories and the 2015 Xfinity Series championship with Buescher. After Buescher moved up to the Cup circuit with Front Row Motorsports, Graves joined Joe Gibbs Racing and worked as a crew chief for Daniel Suarez and the No. 19 Toyota Camry team. In their first season together, Graves and Suarez won three races and claimed the 2016 Xfinity Series championship, which marked Graves’ second consecutive title in the Xfinity circuit.

    Graves initially commenced the 2017 NASCAR season as crew chief for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota Camry team in the first four of five Xfinity Series races of the schedule. After going to Victory Lane with Kyle Busch at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March, Graves then moved up to the Cup Series and replaced Dave Rogers, who took an indefinite leave of absence, as the crew chief for Suarez and the No. 19 Toyota Camry team for the remaining 31 Cup events of the season. The move reunited Graves and Suarez after both won the 2016 Xfinity title. Together, the duo achieved one top-five result and 10 top-10 results as Suarez finished in 20th place in the final standings.

    Graves remained as Suarez’s crew chief for the majority of the 2018 Cup season. Following the first 30 events of the schedule, where Graves and Suarez achieved a pole, three top-five results and eight top-10 results, Graves was replaced by Dave Rogers for the final six events. Despite Suarez proceeding to finish in 21st place in the final standings with Rogers atop the No. 19 pit box, Graves still managed to reach 100 career events as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series before being replaced by Rogers.

    In September 2018, Graves was named crew chief for the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Mustang team and veteran Ryan Newman for the 2019 Cup season, a move that reunited Graves with RFR. Throughout the 36-race schedule, Graves and Newman made the Playoffs based on points and went on to finish in 15th place in the final standings after being eliminated from title contention following the Round of 16. In addition to making the Playoffs, the duo achieved three top-five results, 14 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 14.6.

    The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season was a roller coaster season for Graves, Newman and the No. 6 RFR Ford Mustang team that commenced on a harrowing note after Newman was bumped and turned by Ryan Blaney on the final lap of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway while leading the event. The contact resulted with Newman flipping over and being hit by an oncoming Corey LaJoie at full speed before flying in the air, sliding and coming to a rest upside down near the pit lane exit, all while he managed to claim ninth place in the final running order. While Newman was ruled out indefinitely due to his injuries following the accident, Graves spent the next three races working with interim competitor Ross Chastain, who finished no higher than 17th during the three-race stint. Despite Newman returning to competition at Darlington Raceway in May amid a two-month delay of competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he and Graves were unable to mount a comeback to make the Playoffs as they went on to conclude the season in 25th place in the final standings and with a single additional top-10 result throughout the final 32 events on the schedule.

    For the majority of the 2021 Cup season, Graves retained his role as the crew chief for Newman and the No. 6 RFR Ford Mustang team, where the duo achieved two top-fives and five top-10 results through 31 events, all despite missing the Playoffs. Then with five races remaining on the schedule, team owner Jack Roush swapped the two-car team’s pit crews and crew chiefs resulting in Graves transitioning to the No. 17 team piloted by Chris Buescher, whom Graves reunited with for the first time since 2015. Following the swap, Graves led Buescher and the No. 17 team to a season-best third-place result at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in October and a ninth-place run at Martinsville Speedway in October before Buescher settled in 19th place in the final standings, nine spots ahead of Newman. By then, Graves surpassed 200 Cup events as a crew chief.

    Through the first 16 events of the 2022 Cup season, Graves navigated the No. 17 Ford Mustang team that was rebranded to Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing to four top-10 results, all of which were made by Buescher as he had recorded a strong runner-up result at Sonoma Raceway in June and achieved his first Cup career pole at Dover Motor Speedway in late April. Amid the results, Graves was paired with Truck Series competitor Zane Smith at World Wide Technology Raceway in early June, where Smith replaced Buescher for a single event after the latter tested positive for COVID-19. Then coming off a 30th-place result at Nashville Superspeedway in late June, Graves was assessed a four-race suspension following a loose wheel infraction that occurred during the event. Despite RFK Racing’s attempt to appeal the penalty, which enabled Graves to participate in the following event at Road America, the team eventually withdrew its appeal as Graves was absent for four events throughout July.

    Returning by early August, Graves and Buescher recorded two top-10 results through the final four regular-season events but fell short of making the 2022 Cup Playoffs. Three races later, Graves achieved his first Cup career victory at Bristol Motor Speedway in September after Buscher led a race-high 169 laps, including the final 61, to achieve his second career win in NASCAR’s premier series, his first since 2016 and the first since Roush Fenway Racing rebranded to Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing. Following the breakthrough victory at Bristol, Graves would navigate Buescher and the No. 17 team to only a single top-10 result through the final seven-scheduled events before settling in 21st place in the final standings.

    The 2023 Cup Series season was Graves’ breakout season to date that commenced with him, Buescher and the No. 17 team to seven top-10 results throughout the first 21 events on the schedule. Then starting in late July through the end of August, Graves and Buescher ignited a hot streak that commenced with the duo winning at Richmond Raceway and securing a spot in the 2023 Cup Playoffs. They would then notch back-to-back victories in recent weeks after winning at Michigan International Speedway before capitalizing on an overtime shootout to win the regular-season finale at Daytona another three races later.

    Once in the Playoffs, the duo would record three top-10 results through the first six Playoff events, which were enough for them to transfer from the Round of 16 to 8. Amid respective finishes of 11th, 21st and eighth throughout the Round of 8. However, Graves and Buescher fell short of making the Championship 4 cutline. Nonetheless, they proceeded to lead 18 laps during the finale at Phoenix Raceway in November before Buescher ended up in fifth place on the track and in a career-best seventh place in the final driver’s standings.

    This season, Graves and Buescher have recorded five top-five results and nine top-10 results through 23 scheduled events, with the duo falling short of their first victory of the season to Kyle Larson at Kansas Speedway in May by 0.001 seconds. Despite being ranked in a tie for 13th place in the regular-season standings, they trail the cutline to make the Playoffs by three points with three regular-season events remaining on the schedule.

    Through 299 previous Cup events, Graves has achieved four victories, three poles, 28 top-five results and 79 top-10 results while working with six different competitors.

    Scott Graves is scheduled to call his 300th Cup Series event as a crew chief at Michigan International Speedway for the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday, August 18. The event’s broadcast time is slated to occur at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Richmond

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Richmond

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin started on the pole at Richmond and had a win in hand on the final corner, but was intentionally wrecked by Austin Dillon. Hamlin finished second.

    “I’d like to sarcastically welcome Austin Dillon to the Playoffs,” Hamlin said, “and go ahead and wish him a fond farewell from the Playoffs after Bristol on September 21st.”

    2. Kyle Larson: Larson finished seventh at Richmond, posting his 12th top 10 of the season.

    “I won the Knoxville Nationals on the dirt on Saturday night,” Larson said. “I like racing on any type of track. It just goes to show that I’m the best driver in NASCAR; that is, unless some bad news ‘surfaces.’”

    3. Tyler Reddick: Reddick finished third in the Cook Out 400 at Richmond.

    “Austin Dillon was simply out of control,” Reddick said. “In his defense, he was just doing what Pop Pop told him to. But I think NASCAR needs to take a strong stand against this type of dangerous driving. I think it’s only fair that Dillon be suspended for the first three races of the Playoffs.”

    4. Christopher Bell: Bell won Stage 1 at Richmond but was nabbed for speeding on pit road in Stage 3. The drive-through penalty likely cost him the win and he finished sixth.

    “Sometimes,” Bell said, “your car is so fast, you can’t help but go too fast. And sometimes, your car is so fast, NASCAR finds a way to penalize you just to make for a more competitive finish. And they definitely got what they asked for.”

    5. Ryan Blaney: Blaney came home 11th at Richmond.

    “I had a pretty good view of the crazy finish at the front,” Blaney said. “And I think NASCAR’s ambiguous reaction to Austin Dillon’s actions can be described with two words that have dual meanings: ‘fair game.’”

    6. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished ninth in the Cook Out 400.

    “This was the first points race in which we had two types of Goodyear tires to choose from,” Elliott said. “There was the ‘prime’ tire, which is the harder compound, and the ‘option’ tire, which is the softer compound. It definitely made things much more interesting, for drivers and fans alike. You could say the tire choice has ‘compounded’ interest.”

    7. William Byron: Byron finished 13th at Richmond.

    “Kyle Busch started the race with a wrap on his sprained wrist,” Byron said. “But he got some scissors in the pits and cut it off. I’m sure it still hurts though. So, Kyle is one driver who, should NASCAR decide to punish him, might actually be hurt by a ‘slap on the wrist.’”

    8. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 16th at Richmond.

    “NASCAR racing is back after a two-week break for the Olympic Games,” Bowman said. “Now it’s back to the gold, silver, and bronze NASCAR fans are accustomed to, which is Gold Bond, The Silver Bullet Coors Light, and bronzer for their fake tans.”

    9. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex suffered a blown engine on Lap 251 and finished 37th in the Cook Out 400 at Richmond.

    “My engine was ‘cooked,’” Truex said, “so I was ‘out.’”

    10. Bubba Wallace: Wallace came home fourth in the Cook Out 400, recording his fifth top 5 of the season.

    “Ross Chastain’s No. 1 car featured the image of a man in his underwear driving the car,” Wallace said. “It was the brainchild of Jockey, and obviously they overlooked the fact that they walked right into a cascade of ‘skid mark’ jokes.”

  • Austin Dillon shakes up 2024 Cup Series Playoff field with controversial, final-lap victory at Richmond

    Austin Dillon shakes up 2024 Cup Series Playoff field with controversial, final-lap victory at Richmond

    The final result of the 2024 Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway on Sunday, August 11, will go down in the record books as Austin Dillon snapped a two-year winless drought and raced his way into the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs by winning the race.

    An in-depth analysis of Dillon’s victory, however, will paint a distinct perspective of how he achieved it as he ground axes with Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin, both of whom were wrecked by Dillon on the final lap and final corner during an overtime attempt, that left both fuming and flabbergasted over Dillon’s path to victory.

    With two laps remaining, Dillon, who had a strong run throughout the event and had overtaken Hamlin for the lead with 29 laps remaining, had a smooth path and a steady advantage to victory evaporate when a two-car incident involving Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ryan Preece jumbled up the field for an overtime shootout.

    Despite retaining the lead during the caution period’s pit sequence, Dillon lost the lead to Joey Logano at the start of the overtime shootout. Then on the final lap and approaching Turns 3 and 4 before the finish line, Dillon gassed his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet entry into the rear of Logano and sent the latter’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry spinning through the turns and towards the outside wall.

    Dillon then steered dead left into the right rear of Denny Hamlin sending him hard against the frontstretch’s outside wall, as he zipped by both of them to claim the checkered flag in a dramatic finish for the ages.

    Despite receiving harsh criticisms from his fellow competitors over the incident, the last-lap victory did not derail Austin Dillon’s relief as he leapfrogged his way into the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs from outside the top-30 mark in the regular-season standings. It was his first win at Richmond and his fifth career win in NASCAR’s premier series.  

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, August 10, Denny Hamlin notched his third Cup Series pole position of the 2024 season with a pole-winning lap at 118.162 mph in 22.850 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Martin Truex Jr., who clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap at 117.822 mph in 22.916 seconds.

    When the green flag waved and the event commenced, teammates Hamlin and Truex dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. Hamlin managed to muscle his No. 11 FedEx Rewards Toyota Camry XSE ahead of Truex entering the frontstretch to lead the first lap. Hamlin retained the lead for the following lap ahead of Truex while rookie Josh Berry, Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott trailed in the top five followed by the rest of the field, all of whom commenced the event on prime tires.

    Through the first 10-scheduled laps and amid a series of early on-track battles, Hamlin was leading by half a second over teammate Truex followed by Berry, teammate Bell and Bubba Wallace while Joey Logano, Elliott, Austin Dillon, Chris Buescher and William Byron were running in the top 10. Behind, Tyler Reddick was situated in 11th place ahead of Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain while Ty Gibbs, rookie Carson Hocevar, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman and Noah Gragson trailed in the top 20 ahead of rookie Zane Smith, Daniel Suarez, Todd Gilliland, Erik Jones and Ryan Preece. Meanwhile, Brad Keselowski was mired in 28th place behind Corey LaJoie and Chase Briscoe, Michael McDowell was mired in 30th place and John Hunter Nemechek was in 32nd place behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    Ten laps later, Hamlin stabilized his advantage to nine-tenths of a second over teammate Truex while teammate Bell trailed in third place by two seconds. As Berry settled in fourth place, Logano cracked the top five ahead of Wallace, Elliott, Buescher, Austin Dillon and Byron while Reddick, Blaney, Chastain, Ty Gibbs and Larson continued to trail in the top 15.

    Another 15 laps later, Hamlin continued to lead ahead of teammates Bell and Truex, with the latter trailing by more than a second after the former overtook Truex for the spot through the backstretch. As Logano occupied fourth place, Wallace was up to fifth place after outlasting an earlier duel and on-track contact with Berry while Elliott, Buescher, Austin Dillon and Byron were running in the top 10. Reddick would then overtake Byron for 10th place a few laps later and Kyle Busch would be overtaken by Daniel Suarez for 18th place, which dropped Busch six places from his starting spot of 12th place, as Hamlin proceeded to stabilize his advantage to three-tenths of a second over teammate Bell by Lap 40.

    On Lap 45 and with the leaders mired in lapped traffic, Bell used the outside lane, starting in Turns 1 and 2, to muscle his No. 20 DeWalt Carpentry Solutions Toyota Camry XSE past Hamlin, where he cleared Hamlin by the frontstretch, as he assumed the lead for the first time. Soon after, teammate Truex joined the battle as he started to duel with Hamlin for the runner-up spot while Bell proceeded to stretch his advantage to eight-tenths of a second by the Lap 50 mark.

    Nearing the Lap 60 mark, Bell, who was mired in lapped traffic, continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second over teammate Hamlin and more than a second over teammate Truex while Logano and Wallace continued to trail in the top five, with Wallace trailing by more than four seconds. Behind, Elliott, Austin Dillon and Buescher followed suit from sixth to eighth, respectively, while Berry had dropped to ninth place ahead of Reddick, Byron, Blaney, Chastain, Larson, Suarez, Hocevar, Gibbs, Kyle Busch, Cindric and Gilliland.

    When the first stage period concluded on Lap 70, Bell captured his 10th Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Teammates Hamlin and Truex followed suit in second and third, respectively, along with Logano and Wallace while Elliott, Austin Dillon, Buescher, Reddick and Berry were scored in the top 10. By then, 28 of 37 starters were scored on the lead lap, including 28th-place Noah Gragson, while 29th-place Michael McDowell was awarded the free pass for being the first competitor scored a lap down. By then, however, top names including Corey LaJoie, Justin Haley, Ty Dillon, Harrison Burton, John Hunter Nemechek, Daniel Hemric, Riley Herbst and newcomer Parker Retzlaff were pinned a lap down.  

    Under the stage break, the entire lead lap field led by Bell pitted for a first round of service. Following the pit stops, Bell, who bumped and sent Erik Jones sideways as Jones was trying to enter his pit stall while Bell was exiting his, retained the lead after he exited pit road first ahead of teammates Hamlin and 19 while Logano, Elliott, Austin Dillon, Buescher, Chastain, Reddick and Byron followed suit in the top 10. Amid the pit stops, Wallace lost six spots as he exited pit road in 11th place while Ty Dillon was penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Daniel Suarez and Michael McDowell were the only two competitors to pit for option tires instead of prime tires.

    The second stage period started on Lap 80 as teammates Bell and Hamlin occupied the front row. At the start and with the field fanning out, Bell and Hamlin dueled for the lead for a full lap and they continued to duel for the following lap while Logano and Truex battled in close-quarters racing for third place. Despite Hamlin’s efforts to emerge ahead from the outside lane, Bell, who continued to run strong with slight damage to his front nose following his pit road contact with Erik Jones, fought back from the inside lane and refused to lift off the throttle as Truex and Logano continued to duel for third place in front of Austin Dillon and Elliott. Meanwhile, Suarez, racing on option tires, was up to eighth place after he restarted 16th as Hamlin just managed to clear Bell and have both lanes to his control with the lead by Lap 85.

    Just past the Lap 90 mark, Suarez continued his fast march to the front as he overtook Bell for the runner-up spot on his option tires. He then started to close in on Hamlin for the lead before he used the outside lane to overtake Hamlin and move his No. 99 Choice Privileges Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the lead on Lap 93. Suarez would proceed to lead by more than two seconds over Hamlin at the Lap 100 mark while Bell, Logano, Truex, Elliott, Austin Dillon, Chastain, Larson and Buescher were scored in the top 10 ahead of Reddick, McDowell, Wallace, Blaney and Byron. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch was mired in 16th place as he was ahead of Gibbs, Berry, Hocevar and Cindric on the track.

    By Lap 115, Suarez, who started to reduce his fast race pace to preserve his option tires, retained the lead by one-and-a-half seconds over Bell while Hamlin, Logano and Truex trailed in the top five ahead of Elliott, McDowell, Austin Dillon, Chastain and Larson.

    Five laps later, select names including Chase Briscoe, Harrison Burton, Bell, Cindric, Daniel Hemric and rookie Zane Smith pitted under green before Suarez surrendered the lead to pit for prime tires by Lap 123. Truex and McDowell also pitted with Suarez as Hamlin cycled into the lead. Then as more names including Logano, Chastain, Wallace, Berry, Erik Jones, Hamlin and Buescher pitted under green during the proceeding laps, Buescher reversed his No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang Dark Horse back into his pit stall to have a left-front tire tightened as Elliott led by the Lap 125 mark.

    Once Elliott pitted his No. 9 Coca-Cola Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 under green by Lap 128, teammate Larson cycled his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the lead as he was one of eight competitors who had not yet pitted under green while Bell, the first competitor who pitted, was in ninth place. More names including Byron, Kyle Busch and Blaney would pitted just past the Lap 130 mark while Larson continued to lead.

    On Lap 144, Bell cycled into the lead as runner-up Larson, who has yet to pit, continued to run on the track ahead of Suarez and Reddick, the latter of whom has also yet to pit. Behind, Truex, Hamlin and Logano were running fifth to seventh, respectively, while Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who had yet to pit, was in eighth place ahead of Chastain, McDowell, Wallace, Berry, Keselowski, Austin Dillon and Elliott.

    By Lap 149, Reddick pitted his No. 45 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE from the top three before Larson, who was aiming for a one-stop pit strategy for the second stage period and was coming off a Knoxville National victory, pitted a lap later. During the pit stops, where Nemechek and Stenhouse also pitted, Bell stretched his advantage to two seconds over Suarez while Truex, Hamlin and Logano were scored in the top five.

    By Lap 160, Bell stabilized his advantage to two seconds over Suarez as they were followed by Truex, Hamlin and Logano while Chastain, McDowell, Austin Dillon, Wallace and Elliott were racing in the top 10 ahead of Hocevar, Gilliland, Berry, Preece and Blaney. Meanwhile, Larson was mired in 23rd place, two spots behind Reddick, while Buescher was mired in 26th place ahead of Stenhouse and Keselowski. In addition, Kyle Busch was mired in 22nd place, Byron was in 16th place and Keselowski was scored a lap down in 28th place after he pitted for option tires.

     A few laps later, select names including Briscoe, Ryan Preece, Cindric and Harrison Burton pitted under green before Berry, who was running in 13th place, pitted his No. 4 P&G Supports Our Military Ford Mustang Dark Horse by Lap 166. Zane Smith, Gilliland and Gragson pitted not long after as Bell retained the lead by nine-tenths of a second by Lap 170.

    A lap after the Lap 170 mark, a series of front-runners, including Truex, Suarez, McDowell, Austin Dillon, Wallace, Buescher and Hocevar, pitted before Hamlin, Chastain, Logano, Blaney, Gibbs and the leader Bell pitted within the Lap 175 mark. Amid the pit stops, Truex, who pitted for prime tires, endured a slow pit service due to his pit crew having issues tightening the left-rear tire of Truex’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE as the jack dropped.

    Teammates Byron, Bowman and Elliott pit under green nearing the Lap 180 mark as Reddick cycled into the lead ahead of Larson, Suarez, Kyle Busch and Bell. With Kyle Busch pitting for option tires from the top five a few laps later, Reddick retained the lead by Lap 185 before he was overtaken by Suarez for the top spot.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 200, Suarez was leading by one-and-a-half seconds over Bell while Reddick, Hamlin, Larson, Logano, Austin Dillon, Stenhouse, McDowell and Wallace were racing in the top 10 ahead of Truex, Chastain, Hocevar, Keselowski, Berry, Byron, Elliott, Blaney, Ryan Preece, Gibbs and Kyle Busch, all of whom were scored on the lead lap. With 21st-place Busch attempting to gain spots while on the option tires after he un-lapped himself and trying to rally from his slow pit stop earlier, notables, including Buescher, Alex Bowman and Cindric were scored a lap down.

    Fifteen laps later, Suarez continued to lead by more than a second over Bell as Hamlin, Reddick and Logano followed suit in the top five. With Austin Dillon, McDowell, Wallace, Larson and Truex hovering in the top 10 on the track ahead of Hocevar, Chastain, Stenhouse, Byron and Elliott, Suarez retained the lead by a second on Lap 220.

    When the second stage period concluded on Lap 230, Suarez, coming off a one-year contract extension with Trackhouse Racing, captured his first Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Bell settled in second ahead of Hamlin, Logano and Austin Dillon as McDowell, Reddick, Wallace, Hocevar and Elliott were scored in the top 10, with Elliott making contact with Truex to claim the final stage spot and point. By then, 16 of 37 starters were scored on the lead lap while 16th-place Berry managed to fend off Kyle Busch to emerge as the first competitor who was scored a lap down and received the free pass.

    During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Suarez returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops and with a majority of the teams opting to pit for the option tires, Bell managed to edge Suarez off of pit road first while Hamlin, Logano, Austin Dillon, Reddick, McDowell, Wallace, Truex and Elliott followed suit in the top 10.

    With 160 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Bell and Suarez occupied the front row. At the start and with the field fanning out, Bell, who was racing on option tires, rocketed ahead with the lead from the inside lane while teammate Hamlin followed suit along with Logano, Reddick, Suarez and Dillon.

    Suarez started to lose pace from the majority of the field with his standard tires, where he was placed in a tight four-wide action in the backstretch and dropped out of the top-10 category, Reddick and Dillon moved up into the top five ahead of Wallace, Chastain, Hocevar, McDowell and Truex as Bell retained the lead over teammate Hamlin with 155 laps remaining. Logano would then move his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse into the runner-up spot over Hamlin as Bell led with 150 laps remaining.

    Then with 150 laps remaining, Truex’s strong event started to go south as he reported a loss of power to his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE. He would then pit under green during the following lap and drop out of the lead lap category as his pit crew lifted the hood of the car and with smoke coming out. With Truex’s car then being pushed behind the wall a few laps later due to his engine issues, Bell continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second with 140 laps remaining.

    As the event reached its final 125-lap mark, Bell stretched his advantage to a second over Logano as Hamlin, Reddick and Austin Dillon were scored in the top five. Behind, Wallace was in sixth place ahead of McDowell, Blaney, Chastain and Hocevar while Byron, Elliott, Berry, Stenhouse and Larson occupied the top 15 ahead of Suarez, Cindric, Buescher, Kyle Busch and Alex Bowman.

    Three laps later, teammates Larson and Byron pitted under green before Hamlin pitted his No. 11 FedEx Rewards Toyota Camry XSE a few laps later. Logano would then pit along with Berry, Reddick, Wallace, McDowell, Dillon, Blaney, Chastain, Buescher and the leader Bell, all of whom opted to switch from option to primary tires. During the pit stops, Bell was assessed a drive-through penalty for speeding on pit road along with Alex Bowman.

    As Bell served his drive-through penalty with 115 laps remaining, Elliott, who had a brief advantage, pitted as Suarez cycled into the lead. Bell, who was pinned back in 15th place following his speeding penalty, would un-lap himself with 112 laps remaining as Suarez had a three-second advantage over Hamlin during the proceeding laps. Suarez would then pit from the lead under green with 107 laps remaining as Hamlin cycled into the lead. By then, Preece and Gibbs pitted their respective entries while Logano, Reddick, Austin Dillon and Wallace moved up into the top five.

    Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Hamlin was leading by half a second over Logano followed by Austin Dillon, Reddick and Wallace while Chastain, Byron, McDowell, Larson and Berry were scored in the top 10 ahead of Hocevar, Stenhouse, Bell, Blaney, Elliott and Kyle Busch, all of whom were scored on the lead lap. Meanwhile, Suarez was the first competitor scored a lap down in 17th place following his green flag pit service.

    Fifteen laps later, Hamlin slightly stretched his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over a side-by-side battle between Logano and Austin Dillon for the runner-up spot, with the former managing to retain the spot from the outside lane. Behind, 23XI Racing’s Reddick and Wallace trailed in the top five as Chastain, Byron, McDowell, Larson and Berry continued to run in the top 10. With Suarez back on the lead lap in 16th place, Busch was mired back in 26th place and off the lead lap category after pitting under green earlier.

    Another 10 laps later, Hamlin’s lead extended to a second as Logano continued to fend off Austin Dillon for the runner-up spot. A few laps later, however, Dillon overtook Logano for the runner-up spot and he would proceed to shave off Hamlin’s advantage with a fast No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 with 70 laps remaining, where he trailed by two-tenths of a second and even got close to Hamlin’s rear bumper. By then, however, Logano pitted under green along with McDowell, Larson, Briscoe and Preece.

    As Chastain and Byron pitted under green with 67 laps remaining, the leader Hamlin pitted along with Reddick, Wallace, Berry, Buescher, Keselowski, Harrison Burton and Elliott before Austin Dillon, who inherited a brief lead, pitted during the following lap. Amid the pit stops, Bell was leading with less than 60 laps remaining.

    With 54 laps remaining and with nearly the entire field having made a pit stop, Hamlin and Austin Dillon rocketed past Suarez, who has yet to pit, on the track, with Bell having pitted under green earlier. Dillon would proceed to keep Hamlin close within his sights as he trailed the lead by less than half a second with less than 50 laps remaining while Logano, Suarez, Reddick and Wallace followed suit in the top six. By then, 14 competitors were scored on the lead lap while Bell was mired a lap down in 15th place. Soon after, Blaney, who was running near the top five, pitted for option tires with 45 laps remaining while Suarez pitted five laps later.

    Down to the final 35 laps of the event and with the leaders mired in lapped traffic, Hamlin maintained the lead by a tenth of a second over a hard-charging Austin Dillon while Logano, Reddick and Wallace continued to trail in the top five. Behind, Chastain, Larson, McDowell, Berry and Byron were in the top 10 as Hocevar, Bell, Elliott and Stenhouse rounded out the 14-car field of those scored on the lead lap while Suarez and Blaney were the first two competitors pinned a lap down.

    Over the next five laps, Austin Dillon pressured Hamlin for the lead through every corner, where he made contact with the latter for the top spot. Hamlin, however, managed to retain the top spot by a narrow margin with 30 laps remaining. Then a lap after Suarez zipped by Hamlin to un-lap himself on his tires, Dillon dueled with Hamlin for a full circuit with 29 laps remaining before he cleared Hamlin through the frontstretch and had control with the top spot during the following lap.

    With 20 laps remaining, Austin Dillon extended his advantage to nine-tenths of a second over Hamlin as Logano, Reddick and Wallace remained in the top five ahead of Chastain, Suarez, Larson, Hocevar and McDowell, with Suarez clocking in fast lap times on his option tires while the majority of the front-runners were running on primary tires. Suarez would navigate his way up to sixth place and trail the lead by 11 seconds while Dillon, who was mired in lapped traffic, continued to lead by nearly two seconds over Hamlin with 15 laps remaining.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Austin Dillon continued to lead by two-and-a-half seconds over Hamlin as they were followed by Logano, Reddick and Wallace while sixth-place Suarez still trailed the lead by eight seconds.

    Then with two laps remaining, the caution flew and the event was sent into overtime when Stenhouse and Preece made contact entering the first turn sending Preece spinning while Stenhouse hit the outside wall towards the first two turns. The incident, which occurred in front of Austin Dillon, erased Dillon’s steady advantage of three seconds over Hamlin.

    During the caution period, the leaders led by Austin Dillon pitted for their final set of option tires. Following the pit stops, Dillon’s No. 3 Bass Pro Shops pit crew executed a stellar pit service that allowed Dillon to exit pit road first as Logano, Hamlin, Reddick, Wallace, Suarez, Chastain, Blaney, Larson and Bell followed suit in the top 10.

    The start of the first overtime attempt featured Logano gaining the advantage from the outside lane while Austin Dillon appeared to struggle to launch from the inside lane. As the field fanned out through the first two turns, Logano managed to muscle ahead and clear Dillon to have both the lead and both lanes under his control through the backstretch

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Logano remained as the leader ahead of Austin Dillon as Hamlin, Reddick and Wallace followed suit. Through the first two turns and the backstretch, Dillon could not gain any ground on Logano. T

    hen through Turns 3 and 4, Dillon stood on the gas and ran into the rear of Logano, which sent Logano spinning towards the outside wall as Dillon also went up the track. With Hamlin then trying to overtake both approaching the frontstretch, Dillon veered dead left into Hamlin’s right-rear corner and sent Hamlin hard against the outside wall, which left Hamlin with a crumbled right-rear tire as his wheel hub broke. This allowed Dillon to move back into the lead as he claimed the checkered flag with the victory just as the caution flew.

    With the victory, Dillon, who recorded the 102nd career win for the number 3, tied Chris Buescher, Ward Burton, Dan Gurney, Alan Kulwicki, Tiny Lund, Dave Marcis, Jeremy Mayfield and Ralph Moody for 78th place on the all-time Cup Series wins list with five victories apiece. Dillon also snapped a 68-race winless drought that dates back to August 2022 at Daytona International Speedway as he also claimed his first short-track career victory and placed a Richard Childress Racing entry into Victory Lane in NASCAR’s premier series since teammate Kyle Busch made the last accomplishment at World Wide Technology Raceway in June 2023.

    The Richmond victory made Dillon the 13th competitor overall to clinch a spot into the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs based on winning throughout this year’s regular-season stretch as Dillon will make his sixth career appearance in NASCAR’s postseason battle for the championship.

    “It’s been two years and this is the first car I’ve had with a shot to win,” Dillon, who was emotional but defended his move, said on USA Network. “I felt like with two [laps] to go, we were the fastest car, obviously had to have a straightaway and Ricky [Stenhouse Jr.] wrecked [Preece]. I hate to do that [on Logano], but sometimes, you just got to [make it] happen. It’s been tough over the last two years, man. It means a lot. I hate it, but I had to do it. [I was willing to do] Whatever it takes. Whatever it takes. We just never give up. I can’t thank all the people that helped this team. You just got to get it done sometimes.”

    While Dillon celebrated with his pit crew and family on the frontstretch, Logano, who ended up in 19th place in the final running order, was left fuming over Dillon’s move that resulted in both him and Denny Hamlin with wrecked race cars. Amid his frustration over NASCAR’s decision to not penalize Dillon while also not mincing his words during his post-race comments, he hinted a little clue of a potential payback in the coming weeks to Dillon as the 2024 Playoffs looms.

    “It was chicken [expletive]. There’s no doubt about it,” Logano said. “[Dillon]’s four car lengths back. Not even close. Then he wrecks [Hamlin] and go along with it. Then, he’s gonna go up there and thank God and praise everything with his baby. It’s a bunch of BS. It’s not even freakin’ close. I get it, bump and run. I didn’t back up the corner at all. He came in there and drove through me. It’s ridiculous that that’s the way we race. Unbelievable. I get bump and runs. I do that. I would expect it, but from four car lengths back, he was never gonna make the corner and then, he wrecks the other car, [Hamlin] to go with it. What a piece of crap.”

    Meanwhile, Hamlin, who was credited with the runner-up result at the moment of caution despite wrecking on the frontstretch, was left the most flabbergasted over the incident and even appeared to criticize NASCAR’s lack of action to penalize competitors for wrecking one another for victories while also both criticizing and recognizing the situation Dillon was in to make the move and get into the Playoffs from a driver’s perspective.

    “It’s obviously foul, but it’s fair in NASCAR,” Hamlin said. “It’s just a different league where there is no penalties for rough driving or anything like that. It opens up the opportunity for Austin [Dillon] to be able to just do whatever he wants. The problem I had was that I got hooked in the right rear again. I’m just minding my own business and he turned left and hooked me in the right rear and blew my damn shoulder out. I don’t know. The record book won’t care about what happened. He’s gonna be credited with the win, but obviously, he’s just not gonna go far. You got to pay your dues back on stuff like that, but it’s worth it because they jump 20 positions in points. So I understand all that. There’s no ill will there. I get it. I just hate that I was part of it. It would’ve been fun if I was not one of the two guys that got taken out on the last corner, but I understand it. Doesn’t mean I have to agree about it and we’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

    Following the event, Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s Vice President of Competition, noted that the sanctioning body would review the final lap incident along with every audio and resource that played key roles in the incident, with any potential penalties to be announced this upcoming Tuesday.

    Hamlin’s 23XI Racing competitors, Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace, came home in third and fourth while Ross Chastain navigated his way through to fifth place.

    Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, rookie Carson Hocevar, Chase Elliott and Daniel Suarez completed the top 10 in the final running order.

    There were 26 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 23 laps. In addition, 19 of 37 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Following the 23rd event of the 2024 Cup Series season, Kyle Larson leads the regular-season standings by five points over Tyler Reddick, six over teammate Chase Elliott and 21 over Denny Hamlin.

    Results.

    1. Austin Dillon, 35 laps led

    2. Denny Hamlin, 124 laps led

    3. Tyler Reddick, eight laps led

    4. Bubba Wallace

    5. Ross Chastain

    6. Christopher Bell, 122 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    7. Kyle Larson, 17 laps led

    8. Carson Hocevar, two laps led

    9. Chase Elliott, five laps led

    10. Daniel Suarez, 93 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    11. Ryan Blaney

    12. Kyle Busch

    13. William Byron

    14. Josh Berry

    15. Michael McDowell

    16. Brad Keselowski

    17. Todd Gilliland

    18. Chris Buescher

    19. Joey Logano, two laps led

    20. Noah Gragson, one lap down

    21. Chase Briscoe, one lap down

    22. Ty Gibbs, one lap down

    23. Zane Smith, one lap down

    24. Austin Cindric, one lap down

    25. Ryan Preece, one lap down

    26. Ty Dillon, one lap down

    27. Justin Haley, two laps down

    28. Alex Bowman, two laps down

    29. Erik Jones, two laps down

    30. Daniel Hemric, two laps down

    31. John Hunter Nemechek, three laps down

    32. Harrison Burton, three laps down

    33. Riley Herbst, three laps down

    34. Corey LaJoie, four laps down

    35. Parker Retzlaff, six laps down

    36. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident

    37. Martin Truex Jr. – OUT, Engine

    Next on the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, August 18, and air at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • 23XI Racing’s Reddick, Wallace left with mixed emotions, miffed at Austin Dillon amid top-five runs at Richmond

    23XI Racing’s Reddick, Wallace left with mixed emotions, miffed at Austin Dillon amid top-five runs at Richmond

    For 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace, the sight of Austin Dillon igniting a controversial, final-lap chaos that included wrecking their team owner Denny Hamlin and leapfrogging his way into the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs by winning the Cook Out 400 left both with mixed feelings despite both emerging with stellar top-five results.

    For Reddick, who started in 10th place, he led eight of 408 over-scheduled laps in an event mired with various tire and pit strategies. Using pit strategy to remain in contention within the top-five and 10 marks while fighting the balance and adjustments of his No. 45 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE, the Corning, California, native was running in fourth place with two laps remaining when the event was sent into overtime following a two-car incident involving Ryan Preece and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with two laps remaining.

    Restarting in fourth place for the overtime shootout, Reddick retained the spot during the overtime shootout and navigated his way past a spinning Joey Logano and a wrecking Denny Hamlin through the frontstretch to initially finish in second place behind Austin Dillon, who wrecked the latter two to win the race. Ultimately, Reddick would end up in third place in the final running order after Hamlin was awarded the runner-up spot for maintaining race pace despite wrecking on the frontstretch.

    Reddick’s third-place result marked his fourth top-three finish over the last five races and his 10th top-five result through 23 scheduled events. He is currently guaranteed a spot in the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs based on winning at Talladega Superspeedway in April. He is also trailing Kyle Larson by five points for the lead in the regular-season standings with three regular-season events remaining on the calendar.

    Despite being dealt with handling issues throughout the event, Reddick took away the positives from his top-three result at Richmond as he continues to set his sights towards achieving his first Cup Series championship.

    “I feel like a year ago when we were here [at Richmond], we were really, really strong,” Reddick said on USA Network. “We had pace capable of winning the race. The handling was there and tonight, our handling wasn’t really great. We fought through it. We stayed in the mix. [Crew chief] Billy Scott, everybody on this No. 45 team did a great job on strategy. Overall, it was a good night for 23XI [Racing]. Wild way to end the night.”

    Like Reddick, Wallace and his No. 23 Leidos Toyota Camry XSE team executed for a second consecutive race by gaining valuable points to remain in Playoff contention.

    The Mobile, Alabama, native rolled off the starting grid in eighth place and gained six stage points by finishing fifth after the first stage period. Despite dropping to 11th place amid a slow pit service during the stage break, Wallace bounced back amid various pit and tire strategies that ensued throughout the second stage period to settle in eighth place and gain three additional stage points.

    Throughout the final stage period, Wallace raced in the top 10 and eventually worked his way into the top five, where he was running in fifth place during the event’s regulation before the event was sent into overtime. Retaining and restarting in fifth place for the overtime shootout, Wallace dodged the final lap carnage involving Logano and Hamlin to initially cross the finish line in third place before he was shuffled back to fourth.

    With the result, Wallace, who finished fifth at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the previous Cup-scheduled event in July, notched his fifth top-five result and his ninth top-10 result of the 2024 Cup Series season.

    The good news for Wallace was that the fourth-place result allowed the Alabama native to boost back above the top-16 cutline after he initially came into Richmond seven points below the cutline. The bad news, however, was that Austin Dillon’s victory that leaped Dillon from below the top-30 cutline in the regular-season standings and now has him automatically locked into the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs places Wallace on the bubble as he holds sole possession of the 16th and final transfer spot into the Playoffs by three points over both Chris Buescher and Ross Chastain.

    Despite being left frustrated with the outcome and lingering within the cutline by a mere margin, Wallace, like teammate Reddick, took away the positives gained from Richmond as he set his sights on the final three regular-season events to make his second consecutive Playoffs.

    Photo by Adam Lovelace for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “We knew we had to work coming in here, obviously being below [the cutline],” Wallace added. “Our team did just that. We fought hard. Man, we did not have the best day on pit road. Not from a lack of effort. I appreciate [my pit crew] getting better all night. They showed up when it mattered on the last stop. Kept us in it. Just executed all night. I appreciate the effort from my team. Nice to walk away here with a top-five finish. Still got a long way to go. Just got to keep fighting.”

    Amid the positives, Reddick and Wallace, both of whom had front row seats of the final lap carnage, were not shy to express their opinions over the incident that left their team owner, Denny Hamlin, with a wrecked race car after he was turned by Dillon approaching the finish line not long after the latter bumped and sent Joey Logano for a spin, all as last lap resorts to win and secure a spot into the Playoffs.

    “Joey [Logano] stole the words right from me,” Reddick added. “That was unbelievable. Racing hard for the win is one thing. Just plainly right hooking somebody is another. I know that sounds pretty biased coming from me about my boss, but if I was in his spot, I’d be pretty upset about it too. [NASCAR] put so much emphasis on winning races, people are gonna lose their minds and just do ridiculous stuff. That was pretty crazy.”

    “Man, I guess you can dump somebody and right rear somebody and be OK,” Wallace, who quickly reversed his congratulations to Dillon, added. “That’s funny how that works. In [the Playoff cutline] by three, got beat by the 3 [Austin Dillon] over a chicken [expletive] move.”

    The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season for 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace continues next Sunday, August 18, at Michigan International Speedway for the FireKeepers Casino 400. The event’s broadcast time is slated to commence at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Hamlin wins “unexpected” Cup Series pole, his third of 2024 at Richmond

    Hamlin wins “unexpected” Cup Series pole, his third of 2024 at Richmond

    Denny Hamlin was left stunned on pit road after he rallied from a slow practice session and barely transferred into the final round of qualifying to secure his third Busch Light Pole Award of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season for Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, August 10.

    The three-time Daytona 500 champion from Chesterfield, Virginia, was one of 10 competitors to transfer from two qualifying group rounds to the final round. During the process, Hamlin was the fifth and final competitor to transfer from the Group A qualifying round and was ranked in 11th place during the event’s lone practice session earlier on Saturday. Once in the final round, he posted his best qualifying lap at 118.162 mph in 22.850 seconds, which was enough to claim the top-starting spot over teammate Martin Truex Jr. at his home track.

    With the accomplishment, Hamlin, who notched his third Cup Series pole position of the 2024 season, secured his first top-starting spot since Nashville Superspeedway in June, his fourth at Richmond and his 43rd career pole, which keeps him in 13th place on the all-time Cup poles list and leaving him two shy of tying Hall of Famer Buck Baker for 12th place on the list. The pole award was also the sixth of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing and the eighth for the Toyota nameplate.

    In addition, Hamlin, a five-time Richmond winner, will attempt to sweep both Richmond Cup events in a season after he won at his home track in April. The last time Hamlin won the fall Richmond event was in September 2016.

    “We were the slowest car in the first round [of qualifying],” Hamlin said. “The team made great adjustments. That’s the bottom line to it. [The crew] told me if I backed up my time, we’d have a shot at [the pole]. Certainly, a great job to this whole FedEx Camry team. Certainly, unexpected given the practice and first round qualifying we had.”

    Joining Hamlin on the front row will be teammate Martin Truex Jr., a three-time Richmond winner who clocked in his best qualifying lap at 117.822 mph in 22.916 seconds as he is scheduled to make his final Cup start at Richmond on Sunday.

    Rookie Josh Berry will start in the top four for the fourth time this season after he qualified in third place. Berry will share the second row with Chase Elliott while Christopher Bell and Austin Dillon, the fastest competitor during the event’s practice session, will line up in the third row. Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick completed the top-10 starting spots while Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch, both of whom were among the remaining 27 competitors to not transfer into the final round of qualifying, will start 11th and 12th, respectively.

    Notably, William Byron, Ty Gibbs and Kyle Larson will start 13th through 15th, respectively, while Alex Bowman will start 17th. In addition, rookies Carson Hocevar and Zane Smith will line up in Row 10, Ross Chastain qualified 22nd as he will share Row 11 with teammate Daniel Suarez, Chase Briscoe qualified 25th and Brad Keselowski will take the green flag in 29th.

    Amid the star-studded lineup, Parker Retzlaff, an Xfinity Series regular for Jordan Anderson Racing, will round out the 37-car field in 37th place for his Cup Series debut on Sunday.

    All 37 Cup competitors entered for this weekend’s main event made the show.

    Qualifying position, best speed, best time:

    1. Denny Hamlin, 118.162 mph, 22.850 seconds
    2. Martin Truex Jr., 117.822 mph, 22.916 seconds
    3. Josh Berry, 117.601 mph, 22.959 seconds
    4. Chase Elliott, 118.105 mph, 22.861 seconds
    5. Christopher Bell, 117.570 mph, 22.965 seconds
    6. Austin Dillon, 117.770 mph, 22.926 seconds
    7. Chris Buescher, 117.463 mph, 22.986 seconds
    8. Bubba Wallace, 117.591 mph, 22.961 seconds
    9. Joey Logano, 117.096 mph, 23.058 seconds
    10. Tyler Reddick, 117.488 mph, 22.981 seconds
    11. Ryan Blaney, 119.095 mph, 22.671 seconds
    12. Kyle Busch, 118.069 mph, 22.868 seconds
    13. William Byron, 119.090 mph, 22.672 seconds
    14. Ty Gibbs, 117.925 mph, 22.896 seconds
    15. Kyle Larson, 119.016 mph, 22.686 seconds
    16. Noah Gragson, 117.837 mph, 22.913 seconds
    17. Alex Bowman, 118.796 mph, 22.728 seconds
    18. Austin Cindric, 117.801 mph, 22.920 seconds
    19. Carson Hocevar, 118.723 mph, 22.742 seconds
    20. Zane Smith, 117.447 mph, 22.989 seconds
    21. Daniel Suarez, 118.718 mph, 22.743 seconds
    22. Ross Chastain, 116.929 mph, 23.091 seconds
    23. Todd Gilliland, 118.582 mph, 22.769 seconds
    24. Corey LaJoie, 116.893 mph, 23.098 seconds
    25. Chase Briscoe, 118.385 mph, 22.807 seconds
    26. Ryan Preece, 116.600 mph, 23.156 seconds
    27. Erik Jones, 118.214 mph, 22.840 seconds
    28. Michael McDowell, 115.731 mph, 23.330 seconds
    29. Brad Keselowski, 117.976 mph, 22.886 seconds
    30. Ty Dillon, 115.716 mph, 23.333 seconds
    31. Harrison Burton, 117.596 mph, 22.960 seconds
    32. Daniel Hemric, 115.577 mph, 23.361 seconds
    33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 117.524 mph, 22.974 seconds
    34. Riley Herbst, 115.281 mph, 23.421 seconds
    35. John Hunter Nemechek, 117.402 mph, 22.998 seconds
    36. Justin Haley, 115.207 mph, 23.436 seconds
    37. Parker Retzlaff, 116, 435 mph, 23.189 seconds
  • Suarez retained by Trackhouse Racing for 2025 Cup Series season

    Suarez retained by Trackhouse Racing for 2025 Cup Series season

    In a season where he returned to Victory Lane in the NASCAR Cup Series and got married during a two-week summer break period, Daniel Suarez has another reason to celebrate afer inking a contract extension to continue to drive the No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry for Trackhouse Racing in 2025.

    The news comes as the 2016 Xfinity Series champion from Monterrey, Mexico, is currently campaigning in his eighth full-time campaign in NASCAR’s premier series and fourth with Trackhouse, a team that debuted in the Cup Series level in 2021 with Suarez.

    Through 22-scheduled events of the 2024 season, Suarez notched a victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February, where he edged Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch in a three-wide photo finish while beating Blaney by 0.003 seconds, to notch his second Cup career victory and snapped a 57-race winless drought. To go along with two top-five results and four top-10 results, he is ranked in 17th place in the 2024 regular-season standings, but is guaranteed a spot into the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs based on his Atlanta victory.

    In addition to Suarez, Freeway Insurance, which first sponsored the Mexican at Texas Motor Speedway in October 2021, will return to sponsor the No. 99 Chevrolet for one-third of the 2025 Cup events, including the 67th running of the Daytona 500 and the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

    “Trackhouse is home to me and I have enjoyed every minute I have been here,” Suarez said. “We plan to keep working, growing and winning more races. We can only do that with the support of my Amigos and Amigas at Freeway Insurance. They have backed me for the last several years and we have grown close with their customers and employees.”

    Suarez made his inaugural presence as a NASCAR Cup Series competitor at the start of the 2017 season, where he was elevated to pilot the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota entry following the departure of veteran Carl Edwards. By then, Suarez was also coming off the 2016 Xfinity Series championship. He would spend two full-time seasons (2017-18) at Joe Gibbs Racing before he drove for Stewart-Haas Racing and Gaunt Brothers Racing for the following two seasons (2019-20).

    In 2021, Suarez joined Trackhouse, where he ended up in 25th place in the final standings on the strenght of a single top-five result and four top-10 results. The following season, he had a breakout season, where he notched his first Cup career victory at Sonoma Raceway. The victory, which occurred in his 95th career start, made Suarez the first Mexican competitor to win in NASCAR’s premier series and it also guaranteed him and his No. 99 team into the Playoffs for the first time ever. Despite being eliminated from title contention following the Round of 12, Suarez settled in 10th place in the final standings. By then, he had notched career-high stats in top fives (six), top 10s (13) and laps led (280). He would then end up in 19th place in the 2023 standings after missing the Playoffs despite recording a total of 10 top-10 results.

    Through 273 previous starts in the Cup Series, Suarez has recorded two victories, three poles, 20 top-five results, 63 top-10 results, 706 laps led and an average-finishing result of 18.9 as he continues his pursuit to win his first Cup championship.

    “Everyone at Trackhouse Racing is pleased to continue the relationship with Daniel and Freeway Insurance,” Justin Marks, team owner of Trackhouse Racing, said. “Daniel has been vital to this team and its culture since the first day. Freeway joined that same year and we have all continued to grow together and will continue into 2025.”

    “We value our partnership with Trackhouse and Daniel Suárez who has become a powerful ambassador of our Freeway brand and an influential voice in our own diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Daniel’s story inspires us and deeply connects to the daily lives and goals of our Hispanic customers,” Cesar Soriano, Chief Executive Officer of Freeway Insurance, added. “Thousands of race fans have met Daniel at Freeway Insurance stores across the country, and we want him to meet and share his story with even more in 2025. He has been part of our national advertising initiatives and has introduced new customers to Freeway. We want to continue with that effort and scale our presence in NASCAR so when you see the No. 99 racing by you immediately think of Freeway Insurance.”

    With his plans for next season set, Daniel Suarez’s 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season resumes this upcoming Sunday, August 11, at Richmond Raceway for the Cook Out 400, where the event’s broadcast time is scheduled to commence at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • NASCAR Weekend Schedule for Richmond – August 2024

    NASCAR Weekend Schedule for Richmond – August 2024

    This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series and the Craftsman Truck Series head to Richmond Raceway for some short-track racing on the 0.75-mile asphalt oval. The NASCAR Xfinity Series has a week off and returns to competition on August 17 at Michigan International Speedway.

    Noteworthy: For the first time in a points-paying race, the Cup Series teams will have 2 tire options. The Prime tire will have yellow lettering on the sidewalls and the Option tire will have red lettering.

    1) Prime tire: A harder rubber compound designed for longevity but less grip
    2) Option tire: A softer rubber compound with more short-term grip but less longevity

    Each team will have six sets of Prime tires, including one set from qualifying, and two sets of Option tires. The two options cannot be mixed.

    The Cup Series teams will also have an extended practice and can use one set of each tire type during the 45-minute session.

    NASCAR Press Pass will be available post-qualifying and post-race for both series.

    All times are Eastern.

    Saturday, August 10
    2:30 p.m.: Truck Series Practice (FS1)
    3:00 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying (FS1)

    4:30 p.m.: Cup Series Practice (NBC Sports App/MRN)
    5:35 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (NBC Sports App/MRN)

    7:30 p.m.: Truck Series Race: Clean Harbors 250
    Stages 70/140/250 Laps = 187.5 miles
    FS1, MRN, SiriusXM
    Purse: $744,784

    Sunday, August 11
    6:00 p.m.: Cup Series Race: Cook Out 400
    Stages 70/230/400 Laps = 300 miles
    USA/MRN/SiriusXM
    Purse: $7,925,121