Tag: NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Nashville 2024

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished sixth in the Ally 400.

“The winner of the Nashville race wins a Gibson Les Paul guitar,” Blaney said. “That means Joey Logano won the guitar. And Joey holding a guitar looks about as natural as Denny Hamlin holding a Cup championship trophy.”

2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin started on the pole and had a sure win in hand with a lap to go when Austin Cindric spun after contact with Noah Gragson. After three unsuccessful overtime restarts, Hamlin had no choice but to pit for fuel. Hamlin dropped to 20th and after two more overtime restarts finished 12th.

“At some point,” Hamlin said, “you just gotta say ‘Enough is enough.’ That’s what my fuel tank said.”

3. Kyle Larson: Larson came home eighth in the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.

“With five overtime restarts and fuel gauges hitting ’empty’ right and left,” Larson said, “there was bound to be a fluky winner. And Joey Logano winning was a fluke. I know that’s crazy to say about a two-time Cup champion, because that’s big time, but Joey’s sucked big time this year.”

4. Christopher Bell: Bell swept Stages 1 and 2 at Nashville, but got loose and slammed the outside wall on lap 228. Bell was done for the race and finished 36th, his sixth result of 30th or worse this season.

“When I tell my team that I’m ‘loose,’” Bell said, “I now have to clarify whether it’s my car or my mouth.”

5. Tyler Reddick: Reddick finished second at Nashville, not quite able to get by Joey Logano in a race defined by five overtime restarts.

“You probably heard about the Bubba Wallace-Aric Almirola incident,” Reddick said. “It happened over a month ago, so I’m not sure why the story didn’t come out sooner. Usually, fights in NASCAR are a big deal. But I guess they’re only a big deal when they involve somewhat relevant drivers.”

6. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished 18th at Nashville after a flurry of overtime restarts extended the race from 300 laps to 331.

“I think NASCAR should revamp its restart procedures in cases in which several cars may run out of fuel,” Elliott said. “I know they won’t because they’re stupid, so I’ve got a radical solution that will help with the issue: fuel gauges displayed in the rear windows of cars.”

7. Ross Chastain: Chastain was solid all day at Nashville but was spun on a chaotic restart in the first overtime restart, sending Chastain’s No. 1 Chevy into the wall, ending his night. He finished 33rd.

“Busch Light is the sponsor on my car,” Chastain said. “And you probably saw commercials for Busch Light Peach. Commercials are made to encourage consumers to try a product. Considering the flavor of Busch Light Peach, it feels more like a dare.”

8. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished 24th in the Ally 400 after contact with Daniel Suarez on the final lap. Truex ran in the top 10 for most of the race but was victimized by the sheer volume of restarts and fuel issues.

“My career as a full-time driver is winding down,” Truex said. “But it’s races like this that make me want to say ‘I quit’ right now.”

9. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski made contact with Austin Dillon and spun, sending his rear end into the Turn 2 wall. Keselowski returned to the track after repairs and finished 25th, one lap down.

“Temperatures in Nashville were in the mid-90s during the race,” Keselowski said. “Inside the cars, temperatures approached the 120’s range. Just look at my profile pic—it’s the closest I’ll come to being described as ‘smoking hot.’”

10. Joey Logano: Logano won the Ally 400, with just enough fuel to cross the line in first after five overtime restarts thinned out the field. It was Logano’s first win of the year.

“First of all,” Logano said, “I’d like to thank my crew chief Paul Wolfe for convincing me I had enough fuel. Secondly, I’d like to thank the twenty or so cars that either wrecked or ran out of fuel ahead of me.”

July 1, 2024
Logano withstands five overtime attempts for fuel-mileage Cup victory at Nashville

In a first-half season stretch mired with an average-finishing result of 17.9 and eight results outside the top 20 through 18-scheduled events, Joey Logano turned his luck into good fortunes after surviving through a record-setting five overtime attempts while going 110 laps on his low tank of fuel to grab a thrilling NASCAR Cup Series victory in the fourth annual running of the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday, June 30.

The two-time Cup Series champion from Middletown, Connecticut, led the final nine of 331 over-scheduled laps in an event where he started 26th and was mired within the middle of the pack for the majority of the event before he steadily gained ground to race within the top 10 in the closing stages. Then running in 14th place with two laps remaining of the event’s scheduled distance, a series of opportunities presented themselves, allowing Logano to gamble by employing fuel strategy. By doing so, he was able to inch closer to the front when teammate Austin Cindric spun in the backstretch and sent the field into a first overtime period.

The event surpassed its third overtime attempt amid a series of multi-car incidents but was then sent into a fourth, knocking both Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch out of contention allowing Logano to cycle to the lead after the leader Denny Hamlin pitted for fuel. Following the fourth overtime attempt that was halted due to rookie Josh Berry wrecking in Turn 4, Logano then withstood late charges from Tyler Reddick and rookie Zane Smith for two laps during a fifth overtime attempt but had enough fuel to cross the finish line in first place by a mere margin. It was his first Cup victory of the 2024 season and guarantees him a spot in the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, June 29, Denny Hamlin notched his second Cup pole position of the 2024 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 160.354 mph in 29.859 seconds. Joining him on the front row was rookie Josh Berry, who clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap at 159.749 mph in 29.972 seconds.

Prior to the event, Justin Haley dropped to the rear of the field due to his Rick Ware Racing entry failing pre-race inspection multiple times. The penalty also resulted in Haley’s car chief JR Norris being ejected for the remainder of the weekend while Haley was assessed a drive-through penalty through pit road after taking the green flag.

When the green flag waved and the event commenced, Denny Hamlin rocketed his No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry XSE ahead of Josh Berry and teammate Christopher Bell entering the first two turns to retain the lead entering the backstretch. As the field behind fanned out through the backstretch, Hamlin proceeded to lead the first lap and teammate Bell followed suit in second while Kyle Larson and Brad Keselowski navigated past Berry to move up to third and fourth, respectively.

Over the next four laps, Hamlin stabilized his advantage to as high as half a second over teammate Bell while Larson, Keselowski and Berry continued to run in the top five ahead of William Byron, Tyler Reddick and Ty Gibbs. As a tight three-wide action for 18th place occurred between Martin Truex Jr., Ross Chastain and Noah Gragson, Hamlin remained in the lead.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Hamlin was leading by six-tenths of a second over teammate Bell followed by Larson, Keselowski and Reddick while Byron, Gibbs, Berry, Chris Buescher and Austin Cindric were running in the top 10. Behind, Chase Elliott occupied 11th place ahead of Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman, Bubba Wallace and rookie Carson Hocevar while Ryan Blaney, Chastain, Gragson, Truex and Michael McDowell were racing in the top 20 ahead of Harrison Burton, Corey LaJoie, Ryan Preece, Kyle Busch, Chase Briscoe, Joey Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Daniel Suarez, Corey Heim and Todd Gilliland.

Nearly seven laps later, Hamlin was stalled by Justin Haley, who was trying to remain on the lead lap following his opening lap penalty through pit road. This allowed Bell to zip his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota Camry XSE past both Hamlin and Haley through the backstretch as Bell moved into the lead, where he would proceed to lead at the Lap 20 mark.

By Lap 25, Bell was leading by seven-tenths of a second over teammate Hamlin as Keselowski, Larson and Reddick followed suit in the top five. Meanwhile, Gibbs trailed in sixth place by five seconds and Byron, Berry, Buescher and Elliott trailed in the top 10 while Cindric, Wallace, Bowman, Dillon and Blaney were mired in the top 15.

Then on Lap 37, a first round of green flag pit stops commenced as Bowman pitted his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 along with Busch, Austin Dillon and Cindric, with Busch barely sliding his No. 8 zone Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through his pit box. Chastain, Riley Herbst, Keselowski, Heim and Allmendinger would follow suit during the following lap before teammates Bell and Hamlin pitted prior to the Lap 40 mark. More names including Larson, Berry, Buescher, Elliott, Wallace and Blaney would pit as Gibbs cycled into the lead. Gibbs would then pit his No. 54 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry XSE from the lead on Lap 41 as Briscoe, Gragson, Daniel Suarez, Preece, Truex, Reddick and Byron all pitted their respective entries during the proceeding laps.

By Lap 50 and with most of the lead lap field having made a pit stop under green, McDowell was leading by one-and-a-half seconds over Logano followed by Stenhouse, Hemric and Gilliland. With all five still needing to make a pit stop, McDowell and Logano, the top two competitors on the track, radioed their plans to stretch their fuel tank to as high as Lap 75. Behind, Bell, the first competitor who pitted, trailed in sixth place along with teammate Hamlin, Keselowski, Larson and Gibbs.

Ten laps later, McDowell continued to lead by a second over Logano as Bell trailed in third place by seven seconds. With Hemric and Hamlin trailing in the top five, Stenhouse occupied sixth place in front of Larson, Keselowski, Gibbs and Reddick while Gilliland, Byron, Buescher, Wallace and Berry were scored in the top 15 ahead of Elliott, Bowman, Truex, Haley and Chastain.

Another four laps later, Logano pitted his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse under green from the runner-up spot. In the process, Bell moved into second place and trailed McDowell by five seconds while Hamlin was up third place ahead of Hemric and Larson. As Hemric and Stenhouse pitted their respective entries just past the Lap 70 mark, McDowell surrendered the lead to pit his No. 34 Love’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse on Lap 77. With his teammate Gilliland also pitting, Bell cycled back into the lead as Hamlin, Larson, Reddick and Keselowski all cycled up into the top five.

Just past the Lap 80 mark, Bell, who was trying to lap 25th-place running Preece, was being stalked by teammate Hamlin, who was trying to narrow the deficit amid Bell’s issues to navigate through lapped traffic. With Hamlin also trying to overtake the lapped competitors of Haley, Bell retained the lead as high as four-tenths of a second by Lap 85 just as he managed to lap Preece’s No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Meanwhile, third-place Larson trailed by three seconds while Reddick and Keselowski continued to run in the top five.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 90, Bell, winner of last weekend’s Cup event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, captured his eighth Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Teammate Hamlin trailed in second by six-tenths of a second while Reddick, Larson, Keselowski, Ty Gibbs, Byron, Chris Buescher, Truex and Bubba Wallace were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Bell returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Hamlin cycled into the lead after he edged teammate Bell to exit pit road in first place while Larson, Reddick, Keselowski, Gibbs, Byron, Logano, Buescher and Truex followed suit in the top 10.

The second stage period started on Lap 97 as teammates Hamlin and Bell occupied the front row. At the start, Hamlin muscled ahead from the inside lane to retain the lead while Bell fended off Larson to retain second. With the field fanning out and jostling through the backstretch, Reddick and Larson battled for third place ahead of Gibbs and Truex and Keselowski followed suit in seventh ahead of Byron and Wallace while Hamlin retained the lead by Lap 100.

At the Lap 110 mark, Hamlin was leading by four-tenths of a second over teammate Bell as Reddick, Gibbs and Larson were racing in the top five ahead of Keselowski, Truex, Byron, Elliott and Wallace. Behind, Buescher, Blaney, Chastain, Logano and Austin Dillon trailed in the top 15 as Berry, LaJoie, Gragson, Cindric and Heim were up in the top 20. Meanwhile, Bowman occupied 21st place ahead of Preece, Hocevar, Suarez and Burton while Chase Briscoe, AJ Allmendinger, Erik Jones and Kyle Busch were mired outside the top 30.

Nearly six laps later, the caution returned due to John Hunter Nemechek snapping sideways and spinning his No. 42 Massey Motor Freight Toyota Camry XSE across the grass in Turn 4. During the caution period, the lead lap field led by Hamlin returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops and amid mixed strategies, Bell exited first ahead of Keselowski, Buescher, Logano and Chastain, all of whom only opted for two fresh tires, while Hamlin exited sixth with four fresh tires. Amid the pit stops, Ross Chastain was penalized for equipment interference.

As the event restarted under green on Lap 122, Bell retained the lead over Keselowski and Buescher as the field fanned out entering the first two turns. With several three-wide actions ensuing within the top-10 marks, Reddick battled Gragson for fourth place as Elliott, Larson, Hocevar, Bowman, Gibbs and Truex followed suit. Meanwhile, Logano and Hamlin lost several spots on the track amid the start. As the battles ensued, the caution returned on Lap 125 due to Gibbs making contact with Bowman and spinning through the Turn 4 grass.

With the event restarting on Lap 130, the field fanned out multiple lanes entering the first two turns as Bell retained the lead. Amid the fanning out of the field, Reddick boosted his No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE into second place while Larson also overtook Keselowski for third place. With Keselowski trying to fend off a parade of competitors led by Elliott for fourth place, Bell stabilized his advantage to less than half a second over Reddick nearing the Lap 135 mark.

Then on Lap 135, the caution flew and the field led by Bell was directed to pit road before being placed in a red flag period due to a lightning strike reported near the circuit. One hour and 21 minutes later, the red flag was lifted and the field returned to the track under a cautious pace. During the caution period, select names including Bowman, Logano, Dillon, Chastain, Haley, LaJoie, Burton, Stenhouse, Hemric, Kyle Busch and John Hunter Nemechek pitted while the rest led by Bell remained on the track. Meanwhile, Austin Cindric was sent to the rear of the field due to his pit crew working on his car during the red flag period, where the crew pointed a fan to cool the car from pit lane to provide a cooling advantage from NASCAR’s perspective.

When the event restarted under green on Lap 140, Bell rocketed away from Reddick and Larson to retain the lead through the first two turns. Bell would proceed to lead the ensuing laps while Keselowski battled Elliott and Buescher for fourth place ahead of Byron, Hamlin and Truex. As Elliott then battled Buescher for fifth place while teammate Byron battled Hamlin and Truex for seventh place, Keselowski retained fourth place while Bell remained in the lead. As Byron got loose entering Turn 4 and lost a bevy of spots on the track, Bell stabilized his lead to four-tenths of a second over Reddick by Lap 145.

At the halfway mark on Lap 150, Bell was leading by six-tenths of a second over Reddick as Larson, Keselowski and Elliott trailed in the top five by two seconds. Behind, Hamlin occupied sixth place in front of teammate Truex, Buescher, Blaney and Gragson while Heim, Gibbs, Hocevar, Byron and McDowell trailed in the top 15. Briscoe, Chastain, Gilliland, Erik Jones and Suarez followed suit in the top 20 as Preece, Logano, Wallace, Allmendinger and Bowman were mired in the top 25 ahead of Burton, Cindric, Berry, Herbst and LaJoie.

Fifteen laps later, Bell extended his advantage to a second over Reddick as Larson, Keselowski and Hamlin were scored in the top five and trailing by less than four seconds. Bell would stabilize his lead to a second over Reddick by Lap 175 while third-place Larson trailed by three seconds. By then, Hamlin gained a spot to fourth place and Keselowski dropped to fifth while Elliott was mired in sixth ahead of Truex.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 185, Bell captured his ninth Cup stage victory of the 2024 season by sweeping both stage periods at Nashville. Reddick settled in second place ahead of Larson, who fended off Hamlin to claim an extra stage point before Hamlin would then run into the rear of Larson to express his displeasure over being forced up the track by Larson in Turn 1 prior to the stage’s conclusion. Keselowski ended up in fifth while Elliott, Truex, Blaney, Buescher and Gragson were scored in the top 10. By then, 36 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap.

During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Bell pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Bell retained the lead after he exited pit road first as teammate Hamlin, Reddick, Keselowski, Elliott, Blaney, Truex, Gragson, Gibbs and Chastain followed suit in the top 10. Amid the pit stops, Larson lost nine spots due to his No. 5 jackman dropping the jack on the right side of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 too early, which resulted in the jackman lifting the car back up to have the right-side tires tightened, as he exited pit road in 12th place behind Hocevar.

With 108 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as teammates Bell and Hamlin occupied the front row. At the start, Bell muscled ahead of Hamlin to retain the lead and have both lanes to his control while Reddick challenged his owner Hamlin for the runner-up spot. With Blaney occupying in fourth place ahead of Keselowski, Elliott and Truex, the battle for the runner-up spot between Hamlin and Reddick continued to intensify into a tight side-by-side battle while Truex started to battle dead even with Elliott for sixth place. As McDowell fell off the pace due to a gearing issue, Blaney started to close in on Hamlin for third place while Reddick retained second and Bell continued to lead with 100 laps remaining.

With 98 laps remaining, the caution flew due to Riley Herbst receiving a light tap from LaJoie, who got loose, that sent Herbt’s No. 15 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse sliding and scrubbing the outside wall in between Turns 1 and 2. The damage to his car was enough for Herbst to retire in the garage. During the caution period, select names led by Buescher pitted while the rest led by Bell remained on the track.

The start of the next restart period with 92 laps remaining did not last long as Erik Jones, who was mired in 25th place and pitted during the previous caution period, made contact into the outside wall in Turn 2 as he lost a right-front tire. By then, Bell, who made minor contact with teammate Hamlin during the short restart, lost the lead to Reddick. During the caution period, some led by Kyle Busch pitted while the rest led by Reddick remained on the track.

As the event restarted with 87 laps remaining, the field fanned out as Bell and Reddick battled dead even for the lead through the first two turns. As Truex made a bold three-wide move on both teammate Hamlin and Blaney to move up to third place, Reddick and Bell continued to duel for the lead for the following lap as Hamlin and Truex tried to join the battle. Then amid the side-by-side action between Reddick and Bell that proceeded for the next three laps, the caution returned due to Elliott, who was running in sixth place, snapping sideways and spinning his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through the frontstretch’s grass, though he continued without making any significant contact. During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Reddick and Bell pitted while the rest led by Blaney remained on the track.

With the event restarting with 75 laps remaining, where Blaney and Allmendinger occupied the front row, Blaney rocketed ahead from Allmendinger to retain the lead through the first two turns as LaJoie and Allmendinger battled for second place in front of a side-by-side battle between Wallace and Chastain. Logano then made his way in between both Wallace and Chastain in his attempt to move up to fourth place while Reddick and Hamlin were mired in 10th and 11th, respectively. Then amid the battles around the venue, the caution flew with 73 laps remaining as Bell’s strong run came to a sour end when he got loose underneath Larson while running 15th and made contact with the Turn 2 outside wall backward and on the driver’s left side as he was trying to fight his way back to the front. Amid the damage, Bell, who had multiple issues re-firing his damaged car to limp it back to pit road, retired in 36th place.

The start of the next restart period with 66 laps remaining featured the field fanning out and jumbling for late positions through the first two turns and the backstretch as Blaney retained the lead while Allmendinger fended off Chastain for the runner-up spot. With the battles around the circuit ensuing towards the front and the rear of the field, Blaney retained the lead by eight-tenths of a second over a tight battle between Allmendinger and Chastain for the runner-up spot as Busch, Hamlin and LaJoie engaged in a tight three-wide battle for eighth place. Meanwhile, Wallace occupied fourth place ahead of Logano, Berry and Buescher.

Two laps later, the caution returned as Keselowski, who was running just outside the top 15, received a tap from Austin Dillon entering Turn 1 as Keselowski spun and made hard rear-end contact to his No. 6 Consumer Cellular Ford Mustang Dark Horse against the outside wall in Turn 2. Then in front of Keselowski’s incident, Hocevar intentionally turned Harrison Burton in the backstretch and made contact with Gilliland in the process. During the caution period, select names led by LaJoie pitted while the rest led by Blaney remained on the track.

As the event restarted with 52 laps remaining, Blaney and Chastain dueled for the lead as Hamlin dived his No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry XSE below the apron in an attempt to gain more spots. Moving as high as seventh place during the proceeding lap while Logano, who restarted in the top 10, got loose in Turn 2 and lost a bevy of spots, Hamlin would then overtake both Busch and Berry to move up to fifth place with 50 laps remaining while Chastain, who had cleared Blaney earlier, was leading by half a second over Blaney and Wallace was left battling Allmendinger dead even for third place. Shortly after, however, Busch would battle fiercely with Hamlin to retain fifth place.

With 40 laps remaining, Chastain stretched his advantage to a second over Blaney while Wallace also trailed by more than a second in third place. As Busch muscled his No. 8 zone Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 ahead in fourth place, Hamlin navigated his way into fifth place while Allmendinger was trying to fend off Gibbs and Larson for sixth place. Meanwhile, Reddick was mired in 10th place behind Berry.

Nine laps later, Blaney, who was running short of fuel amid his earlier strategic call to remain on the track, surrendered the runner-up spot to pit his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang Dark Horse for fresh tires and fuel. Blaney’s pit stop, which pinned the reigning series champion a lap down, allowed Hamlin, who overtook Wallace earlier, to move up into second place while Chastain was leading by two seconds. With Wallace falling back to third, Busch and Larson were scored in the top five while Gibbs, Reddick, Truex, Allmendinger and Buescher trailed in the top 10 with 30 laps remaining.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Chastain stabilized his advantage to less than one-and-a-half seconds over a hard-charging Hamlin, who was steadily decreasing Chastain’s advantage, while Kyle Busch trailed in third place by three-and-a-half seconds. Behind, Larson overtook Wallace, who was trying to conserve on fuel and nurse his No. 23 Columbia Toyota Camry XSE, for fourth place, while Gibbs, Truex, Reddick, Buescher and Berry occupied the top 10 ahead of Haley, Austin Dillon, Allmendinger, Elliott and Suarez.

Five laps later, Hamlin decreased Chastain’s advantage to four-tenths of a second as he continued to close in on Chastain for the lead with a fast race car while Busch trailed by more than three seconds. Another lap later, Hamlin nearly got to Chastain’s rear bumper in Turn 1, but Chastain retained the lead by a narrow margin. Chastain would proceed to keep Hamlin mired in the dirty air and run in front of him while blocking him through every turn and straightaway with 10 laps remaining.

Then with seven laps remaining, Hamlin, who closed in on Chastain entering the frontstretch, capitalized on Chastain getting loose in Turn 1 while trying to block Hamlin’s Toyota to overtake him and claim the lead. With Hamlin stretching his advantage to half a second for the following lap, Larson, who overtook Busch for third place, trailed by less than three seconds. With Gibbs and Wallace running in fifth and sixth, respectively, Hamlin started to pull away with the lead with five laps remaining.

Then with two laps remaining, the caution flew and the event was sent into overtime as Austin Cindric, who was running outside the top 20, spun his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse amid contact with Noah Gragson in the backstretch. During the caution period and with a majority of front runners running low on fuel, some led by Wallace and including teammate Reddick, Buescher, Haley, Austin Dillon, Suarez, Berry, Heim and Preece pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track.

The start of the first overtime attempt lasted a single turn as Chastain, who was engaged in a side-by-side battle with Hamlin for the lead entering the first turn, received a tap from Larson entering Turn 1 that sent Chastain spinning backward into the outside wall as Gibbs collided into Chastain’s wrecked No. 1 Busch Country Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 while Busch slid up the outside wall as he was slamming the brakes to avoid hitting Chastain, whose strong run and hopes to defend his Nashville victory came to a bitter end.

Select names including Nemechek, Dillon and Hemric also wrecked amongst themselves amid a chain reaction as Hamlin escaped with the lead, where he was followed by Larson, Truex, Logano, Briscoe and Elliott. Despite making light contact with the wall, Busch, who kept his car running straight and running on the track, was given fourth place back due to maintaining a reasonable pace with the field while dodging the latest multi-car wreck.

Amid an extensive cleanup period, the start of the second overtime attempt lasted only two turns as a multi-car wreck erupted in the backstretch that involved Heim, Burton, Haley, Berry, Gilliland, Preece, Stenhouse, Hemric and Blaney. At the moment of caution, Hamlin, who was among several competitors running very low on fuel, retained the lead ahead of Larson, who made contact with Truex at the start of the overtime attempt, as Truex, Busch and Logano were scored in the top five. During the caution period and with the event sent into a third overtime attempt, the top seven competitors led by Hamlin and including Larson, Truex, Busch, Logano, Briscoe and Elliott, all of whom were running very low on fuel, remained on the track while LaJoie and Wallace, both of whom have enough fuel to finish, were lined up in eighth and ninth, respectively, as teammates Zane Smith and Hocevar were lined up in the top 12 behind Gragson, who was running low on fuel.

The start of the third overtime attempt only lasted past the start/finish line as Larson, who was stumbling on pace and ran out of fuel while restarting alongside Hamlin on the front row, caused a stack-up that resulted in Busch, who was bumping into Larson, getting bumped by Elliott and turned sideways into the frontstretch’s outside wall as the rest of the field scattered to avoid the chaos. The incident ended Busch’s run with a wrecked race car and his ninth result of finishing outside the top 20 while Larson coasted his car back to pit road for fuel.

During the caution period that sent the field into a fourth overtime attempt, the leader Hamlin and teammate Truex yielded their spots towards the front to pit for fresh tires and fuel while the rest led by Logano, who was also running very low on fuel, remained on the track to inherit the lead as he was followed by Briscoe, LaJoie, Zane Smith, Elliott and Bowman.

The start of the fourth overtime attempt nearly lasted a full lap before the caution was again drawn before the white flag due to Berry wrecking his No. 4 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse against the Turn 2 outside wall. Prior to the incident, Elliott, who restarted in fifth place, ran out of fuel and caused the field to fan out to avoid hitting Elliott as Elliott, who remained in the middle of the track, coasted his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to pit road.

During the caution period that sent the event into a fifth overtime period, LaJoie pitted to address a mechanical issue with his No. 7 Garner Trucking Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Prior to pit road being accessible to the field, Bowman pitted for fuel. Amid the process, Logano, who fended off Briscoe during the latest green-flag run, retained the lead ahead of Briscoe, Zane Smith, Preece, Reddick and Wallace.

The start of the fifth overtime attempt featured Logano rocketing his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse ahead of Briscoe and Zane Smith through the first two turns and the backstretch while Reddick launched a late charge to overtake both through the following two turns.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Logano remained in the lead by a tenth of a second over Reddick. Entering Turn 1, Reddick attempted to make a move on Logano on the outside lane, but Logano also went wide to fend off Reddick’s challenge. With more carnages erupting while the race remained under green flag conditions, Logano maintained the lead ahead of Reddick and Smith through the backstretch as he fended another attack from Reddick through Turns 3 and 4.

Despite having both Reddick and Smith set up a three-wide move on Logano through the frontstretch, Logano, whose fuel light started to blink as he was about to run out of fuel, stood on the gas and used the remaining fuel within his low tank to coast across the finish line and claim his first elusive checkered flag of the 2024 season by 0.068 seconds over Smith and 0.071 seconds over Reddick.

With the victory, Logano, who still had enough fuel for a few victorious burnouts before he ran out on the frontstretch, notched his 33rd career win in the NASCAR Cup Series, which tied him with Fireball Roberts in 27th place on the all-time wins list. In addition to claiming his first victory at Nashville in the Cup circuit, Logano achieved his first win since he won at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March 2023 and he extended his winning streak as a Team Penske competitor to 12 consecutive seasons. Logano had won the 2024 All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway six weeks ago despite the event not counting for Playoff points.

Logano’s Nashville victory also guarantees all three of Team Penske’s competitors in the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs, with Logano notching the fourth victory for the Ford nameplate and the third of the season for the Penske organization through the first 19 scheduled events. Prior to becoming the 11th winner of the 2024 season at Music City, Logano had held a 13-point advantage over Bubba Wallace for the final transfer spot into the Playoffs.

“It’s been a stressful few weeks trying to get into the Playoffs,” Logano said on NBC. “Being able to win here is huge for our season. It felt great to get that [win]. Boy, that feels good. I’m out of breath. We had it won off of [Turn] 4 and the caution came out. I was like, ‘Oh my god,’ but you can’t pit, like you kind of got to go for it. Boy, it was close, but we got to give a lot of credit to Roush Yates not only building horsepower, but build a fuel mileage that won today. When I went into [Turn] 3 and saw that [fuel] light [blinking], I was like, ‘Oh no, I’m gonna run out off of [Turn] 4.’ It just stumbled and spit and sputtered across the [finish] line. Trying to make the Playoff’s not easy these days with these Next Gen cars and everyone’s so equally matched. I made a lot of mistakes, even some tonight. It’s nice to be able to overcome. It’s a much-needed win, for sure.”

Behind Logano, rookie Zane Smith, who has finished no higher than 13th place through the first 18 events of the 2024 season, notched a career-best second place as he edged Tyler Reddick by 0.003 seconds, but fell 0.068 seconds shy of overtaking Logano at the finish line. The runner-up result left Smith with mixed emotions on pit road.

“My winning side of me is pissed with the second place, especially after hearing [Logano]’s gonna run out [of fuel] for the past 10 laps,” Smith said. “I wouldn’t have done anything different. I felt like I chose the right lane and it’s crazy just how much these cars drive with cleaner air. Just proud of our strategy there. [This season]’s been rough, no doubt, so just appreciate everyone at Spire Motorsports. You never know how many more opportunities you’re gonna have at a Cup win, so we’ll be thinking about that one. Just short, but obviously, proud of my second place. Top three [finish] in the Cup Series is awesome. Just proud of our day.”

Third-place finisher Reddick, however, was left visibly disappointed on pit road after falling short of the victory despite having fresher tires and enough fuel for the finish compared to Logano.

“It’s very disappointing,” Reddick said. “I’m trying my best, but it’s tough. I’m trying to keep it cool at the moment. I’m really upset about how [the race] ended. All the good cars ran out of fuel and we were in position to pass. [Logano] hadn’t been good all day long and didn’t get the job done.”

Behind the top three finishers, Ryan Preece and Chris Buescher finished in the top five while Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, Daniel Hemric and Noah Gragson rounded out the top 10 in the final running order.

Notably, Denny Hamlin, who led 70 laps, ended up in 12th place after pitting for fuel before the fourth overtime attempt. In addition, Chase Elliott, who spun through the frontstretch’s grass while approaching the finish line, slid to an 18th-place result while Martin Truex Jr., who wrecked on the final lap with help from Daniel Suarez entering the backstretch, fell back to 24th place.

“[My team and I] were fine with just running out of gas and we did under caution [following the third overtime attempt],” Hamlin said. “[Pitting] was the right call. I was going down pit lane out of gas. I was surprised [the race] lasted that many green-white-checkereds. It certainly stinks having about 15 seconds from a win at the end and then 10 seconds from the win at the end and then, we finished 12th. It’s just a part of it. That’s NASCAR Cup Series racing.”

There were 20 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured 15 cautions for 79 laps. In addition, 24 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

Following the 19th event of the 2024 Cup Series season, Kyle Larson leads the regular-season standings by 20 points over Chase Elliott, 43 over Denny Hamlin, 53 over Tyler Reddick, and 73 over Martin Truex Jr.

Results.

1. Joey Logano, nine laps led

2. Zane Smith

3. Tyler Reddick, 16 laps led

4. Ryan Preece

5. Chris Buescher

6. Ryan Blaney, 26 laps led

7. Bubba Wallace

8. Kyle Larson

9. Daniel Hemric

10. Noah Gragson

11. AJ Allmendinger, one lap led

12. Denny Hamlin, 70 laps led

13. Justin Haley

14. Alex Bowman

15. Austin Cindric

16. Carson Hocevar

17. Todd Gilliland

18. Chase Elliott

19. William Byron

20. Corey LaJoie

21. Chase Briscoe

22. Daniel Suarez

23. Ty Gibbs, two laps led

24. Martin Truex Jr.

25. Brad Keselowski, one lap down

26. Josh Berry – OUT, Accident

27. Kyle Busch – OUT, Accident

28. Harrison Burton – OUT, Accident

29. Corey Heim – OUT, Accident

30. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident

31. John Hunter Nemechek – OUT, Accident

32. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident

33. Ross Chastain – OUT, Accident, 45 laps led

34. Erik Jones – OUT, Suspension

35. Michael McDowell – OUT, Transmission, 31 laps led

36. Christopher Bell – OUT, Accident, 131 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner

37. Riley Herbst – OUT, Accident

38. Chad Finchum – OUT, Electrical

Next on the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the second annual running of the Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course in Downtown Chicago, Illinois. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, July 7, and air at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

July 1, 2024
Hamlin claims second Cup pole position of 2024 at Nashville
Denny Hamlin snatched the Busch Light Pole Award for the fourth annual running of the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday, June 29.

The three-time Daytona 500 champion from Chesterfield, Virginia, was one of 10 competitors from a total of 38 entered to compete in the event to transfer into the final round of qualifying for the pole position, with Hamlin transferring from Qualifying Group B. Once in the final round, he clocked in a fast-qualifying lap at 160.354 mph in 29.859 seconds, which was enough to dislodge rookie Josh Berry from the top starting spot as he will lead the field to the green flag for the 19th event on the 2024 schedule this upcoming Sunday.

With his accomplishment, Hamlin, who achieved the pole position by being the 10th and final competitor to run on the track, recorded his 42nd NASCAR Cup Series career pole, his second of the season, his first since Phoenix Raceway in March and his first at Nashville Superspeedway. The pole position also left Hamlin pleased as he attempts to rally from finishing no higher than 24th during his last three starts of this season.

“[I’m] Really happy with this whole FedEx Camry team,” Hamlin said. “They brought a great car today. Glad we were able to capitalize on it. The driver’s not been very good during qualifying session so far this year, but to get a good one today, that [number one] pit stall will help.”

Joining Hamlin on the front row for Sunday’s main event will be rookie Josh Berry, who clocked in his best qualifying lap at 159.749 mph in 29.972 seconds as he will start in second place in a Cup event for the second time in 2024. Berry is coming off a strong third-place result during last weekend’s Cup event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. While Berry is still pursuing a ride for the 2025 season, he is also continuing his pursuit to make the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs as he is currently 73 points below the top-16 cutline with eight regular-season events remaining.

Christopher Bell, Hamlin’s teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing who won at New Hampshire, will line up in third place with his best qualifying lap occurring at 159.849 mph in 29.954 seconds. Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick will start in the top five.

Brad Keselowski, William Byron, Ty Gibbs, Chris Buescher and Austin Cindric, all of whom transferred into the final qualifying round, will start sixth to 10th, respectively, while Austin Dillon and Alex Bowman, the first two competitors to not transfer into the final round, will line up 11th and 12th, respectively.

Notably, Corey Heim, who is piloting a third 23XI Racing entry co-owned by Hamlin and Michael Jordan, will start in 29th place as he will make his third Cup career start. In addition, Justin Haley, who clocked in the 33rd-fastest time at 156.588 mph in 30.577 seconds, will start at the rear of the field and serve a pass-through penalty through pit road during the event’s opening lap due to an unapproved adjustment that was made to his Rick Ware Racing entry during the pre-qualifying inspection process. The penalty also resulted in his car chief JR Norris being ejected for the remainder of the weekend.

Qualifying position, best speed, best time:
1. Denny Hamlin, 160.354 mph, 29.859 seconds
2. Josh Berry, 159.749 mph, 29.972 seconds
3. Christopher Bell, 159.845 mph, 29.954 seconds
4. Kyle Larson, 159.701 mph, 29.981 seconds
5. Brad Keselowski, 159.536 mph, 30.012 seconds
6. Tyler Reddick, 159.600 mph, 30 seconds
7. William Byron, 159.531 mph, 30.013 seconds
8. Ty Gibbs, 159.451 mph, 30.028 seconds
9. Chris Buescher, 159.064 mph, 30.101 seconds
10. Austin Cindric, 158.890 mph, 30.134 seconds
11. Austin Dillon, 158.422 mph, 30.223 seconds
12. Alex Bowman, 158.103 mph, 30.284 seconds
13. Chase Elliott, 158.407 mph, 30.226 seconds
14. Michael McDowell, 158.056 mph, 30.293 seconds
15. Carson Hocevar, 158.187 mph, 30.268 seconds
16. Noah Gragson, 157.895 mph, 30.324 seconds
17. Martin Truex Jr., 158.051 mph, 30.294 seconds
18. Ryan Blaney, 157.843 mph, 30.334 seconds
19. Chase Briscoe, 157.947 mph, 30.314 seconds
20. Ross Chastain157. 822 mph, 30.338 seconds
21. Corey LaJoie, 157.759 mph, 30.350 seconds
22. Ryan Preece, 157.309 mph, 30.437 seconds
23. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 157.645 mph, 30.372 seconds
24. Bubba Wallace, 157.221 mph, 30.454 seconds
25. Harrison Burton, 157.562 mph, 30.388 seconds
26. Joey Logano, 157.123 mph, 30.473 seconds
27. Kyle Busch, 157.298 mph, 30.439 seconds
28. AJ Allmendinger, 157.112 mph, 30.475 seconds
29. Corey Heim, 157.226 mph, 30.453 seconds
30. Riley Herbst, 156.185 mph, 30.656 seconds
31. Daniel Suarez, 156.691 mph, 30.557 seconds
32. Todd Gilliland, 155.849 mph, 30.722 seconds
33. Justin Haley, 156.588 mph, 30.577 seconds
34. Erik Jones, 155.768 mph, 30.738 seconds
35. John Hunter Nemechek, 156.532 mph, 30.588 seconds
36. Zane Smith, 155.561 mph, 30.779 seconds
37. Daniel Hemric, 156.501 mph, 30.594 seconds
38. Chad Finchum, 146.395 mph, 32.706 seconds
The 2024 Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway is set to occur on Sunday, June 30, and air at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
June 29, 2024
Weekend schedule for Nashville

This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series travels to Nashville Superspeedway for the fourth consecutive year. Chevrolet has dominated the series at the 1.33-mile concrete track. Ross Chastain is the defending Cup Series race winner as Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott (2022) and Kyle Larson (2021) also return as previous winners.

Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race is the 25th event for the series at Nashville. But only two past winners, Justin Allgaier (2022) and AJ Allmendinger (2023), are entered in this year’s race.

The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series returns to competition Friday evening after a 3-week break for the final race of the 2024 Triple Truck Challenge. Current Cup Series driver, Carson Hocevar, is the defending race winner.

Clint Bowyer will make his first NASCAR start since his retirement in 2020 and his first at Nashville Superspeedway. Bowyer will drive the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet in this weekend’s Truck Series Rackley Roofing 200.

NASCAR Press Pass will be available post-race for all series and post-Cup Series qualifying.

All times are Eastern

Friday, June 28
4:30 p.m.: Truck Series Practice
Timed: All Entries, 20 Minutes – FS2

5 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying
Impound: All Entries, Single Vehicle, 1 Lap – FS2

8 p.m.: Truck Series Rackley Roofing 200
Distance: 199.5 miles (150 Laps)
Stages end on Lap 45, Lap 95, Lap 150
FS2/MRN/SiriusXM
Purse: $897,631

Saturday, June 29
Noon: Xfinity Series Practice
Timed: Groups 1 & 2, 15 minutes each – USA

12:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying
Impound: All Entries, Single Vehicle, 1 Lap – USA

2:05 p.m.: Cup Series Practice
Timed: Groups A & B, 20 minutes each
USA/PRN/SiriusXM

2:50 p.m. Cup Series Qualifying
Impound: Groups A & B, Single Vehicle/1 Lap/2 Rounds
USA/PRN/SiriusXM

5 p.m.: Xfinity Tennessee Lottery 250
Distance: 250.04 miles (188 Laps)
Stages end on Lap 45, Lap 90, Lap 188
USA/PRN/SiriusXM
Purse: $1,420,381

Sunday, June 30
3:3 p.m.: Cup Series Ally 400
Distance: 399 miles (300 Laps)
Stages end on Lap 90, Lap 185, Lap 300
NBC/PRN/SiriusXM
Purse: $8,915,372

June 27, 2024

Nascar Cup Series Nashville Superspeedway race stats and notes

NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway
Sunday, June 30 at 3:30 p.m. ET | NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
View the complete weekend schedule

Track Length: 1.33 Mile Concrete Oval
Distance: 399 miles (300 Laps)
Stage 1: Ends on Lap 90
Stage 2: Ends on Lap 185
Final Stage: Ends on Lap 300

Race Notes

The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway was on June 20, 2021, and has produced three different race winners. Kyle Larson in 2021, Chase Elliott in 2022, and Ross Chastain in 2023.
All three winners started up front. Larson started fifth in 2022, Elliott in fourth, and Chastain from the pole. Notably, Denny Hamlin won the pole in 2022.
The 2023 race had 21 lead changes among 12 different leaders.
The 2022 race had 18 lead changes among seven different leaders.

Who to bet on

Hamlin has the best driver rating of 124.3, followed by Chastain at 123.8. Hamlin also has the best average start of 4.5 and has led 195 laps. Retiring Martin Truex Jr. has led 132 laps with an average start of with and an average finish of 12th. Hamlin also led 114 laps, the most laps of the 2022 race.

But you cannot count out Hendrick Motorsports drivers Elliott and Larson, who are currently tied in the NCS series driver standings. Both have an average finish in the top-5, and Elliott has already won the race at Nashville.

Past Race Statistics

Box Score Nashville Superspeedway – Ally 400
Provided by NASCAR Statistics at 6/17/2024 2:25:39 PM
Ally 400 From 2005-Present

No.	Driver	Avg Start	Avg Mid Race	Avg Finish	Avg Pos	Laps Top-15	% Laps in Top-15	Lap Led	% Laps Led	Total Races	Driver Rating
11	Denny Hamlin	4.5	1.5	4.5	3.8	594	99	195	32.5	2	124.3
1	Ross Chastain	4	8	3	5.8	556	92.7	99	16.5	2	123.8
19	Martin Truex Jr	8	1.5	12	3.7	583	97.2	132	22	2	117.8
9	Chase Elliott	9	10.5	2.5	7	564	94	43	7.2	2	114
5	Kyle Larson	5	14	4.5	10	524	87.3	0	0	2	98.6
20	Christopher Bell	15.5	12.5	7.5	9.1	486	81	3	0.5	2	96.9
8	Kyle Busch	23.5	14	15	11.7	406	67.7	66	11	2	93.5
24	William Byron	9	19.5	20.5	17.9	343	57.2	5	0.8	2	82.2
16	AJ Allmendinger	16.5	10	14.5	13.7	428	71.3	0	0	2	81.2
54	Ty Gibbs	16	10	14	13.6	232	77.3	0	0	1	80.9
45	Tyler Reddick	9	29	24	18.4	268	44.7	33	5.5	2	79.2
22	Joey Logano	3	11.5	14	12.1	438	73	4	0.7	2	77.7
12	Ryan Blaney	9.5	19.5	19.5	16.3	381	63.5	1	0.2	2	77.3
43	Erik Jones	23	11	9.5	15.5	272	45.3	0	0	2	76.5
99	Daniel Suárez	7.5	20.5	13.5	15.1	338	56.3	1	0.2	2	75.8
23	Bubba Wallace	19.5	14	13.5	16.2	252	42	0	0	2	75.6
17	Chris Buescher	13.5	10.5	24	14	452	75.3	0	0	2	70.7
6	Brad Keselowski	23.5	12.5	20	16.6	255	42.5	2	0.3	2	68.5
3	Austin Dillon	23	19.5	13.5	20.7	113	18.8	0	0	2	63.4
2	Austin Cindric	24	26.5	17	24.3	58	9.7	0	0	2	59.1
34	Michael McDowell	25.5	16.5	20.5	22	156	26	0	0	2	57
47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	26.5	18.5	19	20.8	26	4.3	0	0	2	56
41	Ryan Preece	25	31	16	25.1	0	0	0	0	1	55
21	Harrison Burton	28.5	14.5	23	21.9	105	17.5	0	0	2	52.8
51	Justin Haley	12	18.5	23	20.5	131	21.8	0	0	2	52.6
48	Alex Bowman	13.5	30.5	26.5	24.5	167	27.8	9	1.5	2	50.9
7	Corey LaJoie	29	19.5	20	23	41	6.8	0	0	2	50.4
10	Noah Gragson	30	22	26	24.5	18	6	0	0	1	43.5
50	Ty Dillon	31.5	27.5	31.5	28.6	9	1.5	4	0.7	2	35.7
14	Chase Briscoe	23	30.5	32.5	31	1	0.2	0	0	2	34.6
44	JJ Yeley	30.5	30.5	28.5	30.4	3	0.5	0	0	2	34.3
15	Cody Ware	31	27	27	29.4	1	0.3	0	0	1	34.3
38	Todd Gilliland	30	30	29.5	30.8	6	1	0	0	2	32.8
66	BJ McLeod	35	32	32	33.2	0	0	0	0	1	26

Average Running Position – Nashville Superspeedway – Ally 400
Provided by NASCAR Statistics at 6/17/2024 2:25:39 PM
Ally 400 From 2005-Present

Rank	No.	Driver	Team	Avg Finish	Average Place
1	19	Martin Truex Jr	Reser’s Fine Foods	12	3.712
2	11	Denny Hamlin	Interstate Batteries	4.5	3.752
3	1	Ross Chastain	Busch Light For the Farmers	3	5.772
4	9	Chase Elliott	NAPA Auto Parts	2.5	6.955
5	20	Christopher Bell	Rheem	7.5	9.102
6	5	Kyle Larson	HendrickCars.com	4.5	10.047
7	8	Kyle Busch	zone / Kwik Star	15	11.742
8	22	Joey Logano	Shell Pennzoil	14	12.147
9	54	Ty Gibbs	Monster Energy	14	13.577
10	16	AJ Allmendinger	Action Industries	14.5	13.735
11	17	Chris Buescher	Fastenal	24	13.97
12	99	Daniel Suárez	Kubota	13.5	15.11
13	43	Erik Jones	Family Dollar	9.5	15.532
14	23	Bubba Wallace	McDonald’s	13.5	16.19
15	12	Ryan Blaney	Advance Auto Parts	19.5	16.342
16	6	Brad Keselowski	King’s Hawaiian – Casey’s	20	16.582
17	24	William Byron	Liberty University	20.5	17.89
18	45	Tyler Reddick	McDonald’s	24	18.35
19	51	Justin Haley	MotoRad	23	20.493
20	3	Austin Dillon	Get Bioethanol	13.5	20.718
21	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	Kroger / NOS Energy Drink	19	20.758
22	21	Harrison Burton	Menards Masterforce Tools	23	21.91
23	34	Michael McDowell	Love’s Travel Stops	20.5	22.042
24	7	Corey LaJoie	Gainbridge/Iowa Hawkeyes	20	23.01
25	2	Austin Cindric	Menards Moen	17	24.307
26	10	Noah Gragson	Bass Pro Shops Winchester	26	24.45
27	48	Alex Bowman	Ally	26.5	24.475
28	41	Ryan Preece	Morton Buildings	16	25.133
29	50	Ty Dillon	AmeriVet Securities	31.5	28.608
30	15	Cody Ware	Jacob Construction	27	29.383
31	44	JJ Yeley	Beard Vet Coffee	28.5	30.448
32	38	Todd Gilliland	Ruedebusch	29.5	30.802
33	14	Chase Briscoe	Mahindra USA 30 Years	32.5	30.97
34	66	BJ McLeod	Truan Equipment	32	33.243

June 27, 2024

Chase Briscoe joins Joe Gibbs Racing on multi-year Cup Series basis, beginning in 2025

Chase Briscoe will etch a new beginning to his racing career for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season by joining forces with Joe Gibbs Racing on a multi-year basis to pilot the No. 19 Toyota Camry XSE entry.

Briscoe, a native of Mitchell, Indiana, who is currently campaigning in his fourth full-time season in the Cup Series with Stewart-Haas Racing, will be replacing 2017 Cup champion Martin Truex Jr. who announced his retirement from full-time NASCAR competition at this season’s conclusion 11 days ago during a press conference at Iowa Speedway.

Bass Pro Shops will continue to sponsor the No. 19 Toyota entry that is set to be piloted by Briscoe, beginning with the 67th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 16, 2025. James Small, an eight-time Cup Series race-winning crew chief, will retain his role atop the No. 19 pit box.

“I’m excited for this opportunity with Joe Gibbs Racing and Bass Pro Shops,” Briscoe said. “From a competition standpoint, [Joe Gibbs Racing] is the place to be if you want to go win races week in and week out and to race for the championship every year.

“I am blessed that [Bass Pro Shops founder] Johnny Morris and Bass Pro are on board to help us carry on the legacy of the 19 car. For me personally, being an avid outdoorsman, there’s a lot of pride in now being a part of the Bass Pro brand and I’m extremely grateful for this partnership. Getting to meet Johnny, I feel like I share a lot of the same values as him and Coach [Gibbs], and I’m ready to get to work and prove that they have made a great choice putting me in this car.”

The news of Briscoe joining Joe Gibbs Racing comes in light of his future teammate Christopher Bell accidentally spilling the news of Briscoe’s addition when asked about the shift of driver leadership within the organization during this past Friday’s press conference at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Once Bell realized he mentioned the name Chase taking over the vacant car, he instantly became silent and lowered the microphone while trying to fight off a guilty smile. Despite attempting to resume his statement, he stumbled through his words and shared more laughter with the media.

Ironically, Bell swept this past weekend’s Xfinity and Cup Series events at New Hampshire while Briscoe, who joked but brushed off the early leaked news, finished in the runner-up spot to Bell in the Cup event. In addition, Bell formally introduced Briscoe as the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing entry during Tuesday’s press conference that included team owner Joe Gibbs and Small.

Briscoe’s addition to Joe Gibbs Racing also comes as his current organization, Stewart-Haas Racing, announced its plans to cease operations after the 2024 season. The announcement was made in late May and left Briscoe and his current teammates (Josh Berry, Noah Gragson and Ryan Preece) free to pursue other opportunities for the 2025 season.

Briscoe, who grew up competing in sprint cars and racing on dirt, made his inaugural presence in the Cup Series division at the start of the 2021 season, where he replaced the retiring Clint Bowyer in the No. 14 Ford entry for Stewart-Haas Racing after spending the previous two seasons winning 10 races in the Xfinity Series.

After claiming the 2021 Rookie-of-the-Year title, Briscoe captured his first Cup career victory at Phoenix Raceway four races into the 2022 season. In doing so, he became the 200th competitor overall to win in NASCAR’s premier series. The Phoenix victory also automatically guaranteed Briscoe a spot into the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs, where he would transfer as far as the Round of 8 before settling in ninth place in the final standings.

Through 126 current starts in the Cup Series, Briscoe has accumulated one victory, two poles, 12 top-five results, 27 top-10 results with 494 laps led, and an average-finishing result of 18.7. He has also notched 11 career victories in the Xfinity Series and two in the Craftsman Truck Series. He achieved the Rookie-of-the-Year title in both divisions and contended for the 2020 Xfinity title as a Championship 4 finalist, where he ended up in fourth place in the final standings. He is also the 2016 ARCA Menards Series champion.

Currently, Briscoe trails the top-16 cutline to make the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs by 25 points as he has recorded two top-five results and six top-10 results through the first 18 scheduled events. His current average-finishing result is 16.3.

For the 2025 season, Briscoe is set to become the fourth competitor overall to pilot the No. 19 Toyota entry for Joe Gibbs Racing, an entry that has been piloted to Victory Lane 20 times in the Cup Series: five from Carl Edwards and 15 by Martin Truex Jr.

Photo by Simon Scoggins for SpeedwayMedia.com.

“We are extremely excited about the future of our 19 team with Chase [Briscoe] behind the wheel and the partnership with Johnny [Morris], J.P. [Morris] and everyone at Bass Pro Shops,” Joe Gibbs added. “I talk about it often, but one of the great things about our sport is the relationships you have the opportunity to build around your teams and certainly we are just so thankful to have that with everyone at Bass Pro Shops. We obviously do a lot of research before selecting our drivers and through the process everything kept pointing us back to Chase. With James’ [Small] leadership, Chase behind the wheel, and the support from Bass Pro, and of course Toyota, we couldn’t be more excited about the future of our 19 team.”

With his future plans set, Chase Briscoe’s 2024 Cup Series season, which will mark his fourth and last driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, continues with the upcoming Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. The event is scheduled for this upcoming Sunday, June 30, and will air at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

June 25, 2024
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: New Hampshire

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Christopher Bell: Bell won Stage 1 at New Hampshire and took charge after a long rain delay to win the USA Today 301.

“You probably heard that I let it slip that Chase Briscoe is taking over Martin Truex’s No. 19 car next year,” Bell said. “I guess that’s how I got the nickname ‘The Human Press Release.’”

2. Kyle Larson: Larson finished fourth at New Hampshire.

“When I heard the race was called the ‘USA Today 301,’” Larson said, “I said, understandably, ‘That’s news to me.’”

Chase Elliott: Elliott started on the pole at Loudon and finished 18th.

“I got sent for a spin when Joey Logano locked up his brakes and slid into me on a restart,” Elliott said. “I’m sure Joey didn’t do it on purpose. It was just a careless error on his part. As such, I could ‘care less’ about his apology.”

4. Tyler Reddick: Reddick finished sixth in the USA Today 301 in a race that was interrupted for several hours due to rain.

“We were in first when the rain started,” Reddick said, “so we would have won had it continued to rain. We were expecting rain and adjusted our strategy accordingly. The weather can change in an instant, and you have to adapt with the same level of speed. It’s called ‘precipitating a change.’”

5. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin won Stage 2 and finished 24th in the USA Today 301.

“I thought I would be more competitive after the rain delay,” Hamlin said “Oddly enough, as the moisture dissipated, my chances ‘dried up’ as well.”

6. Ross Chastain: Chastain finished 10th at New Hampshire.

“Congratulations to Christopher Bell,” Chastain said. “He got a huge lobster for winning the race. And all this time I thought a ‘crustacean’ was what they called people that spent a week in the Loudon campground without a shower.”

7. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex ran up front before a series of miscues late in the race knocked him out of contention for the win. He battled back to finish ninth.

“We had an issue with a tire on a pit stop on lap 188,” Truex said. “The right rear tire wasn’t completely secure, so the jackman had to come back around. In the end, the right rear tire, much like my chance to win, was screwed.”

8. Ryan Blaney: Blaney was set for a top-10 finish before he was collected in a late restart when Michael McDowell lost traction and came up the track. Blaney ultimately finished 25th.

“The threat of rain hovered over the race all day,” Blaney said. “And it finally came. So our cars were equipped with windshield wipers. I’m waiting for the day when every car’s wipers are plastered with sponsorship from Dude Wipes. I really wonder why that hasn’t already happened.”

9. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 28th in the USA Today 301.

“I guess I’ll get blamed for spinning Martin Truex Jr.,” Keselowski said. “Did I move up the track a little? Maybe. If I can’t give Martin a retirement gift, I can surely give him some retirement drift.”

10. William Byron: Byron finished 26th in the USA Today 301.”I haven’t won since Martinsville in early April,” Byron said. “That means I can’t win for losing.”

June 23, 2024
Bell perseveres through dry and slick conditions for dramatic Cup victory at New Hampshire

Christopher Bell survived a war of attrition both from Mother Nature that resulted with him racing on wet tires in the closing stages and through a series of late on-track chaos, including an overtime shootout, to win the rain-delayed USA Today 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, June 23.

The 2024 Coca-Cola 600 champion from Norman, Oklahoma, led three times for a race-high 149 of 305 over-scheduled laps in an event where he started in fourth place based on a performance metric formula due to the event’s qualifying session being canceled due to on-track precipitation. After assuming the lead from Chase Elliott on Lap 42, Bell would win the first stage period on Lap 70. Despite losing the lead on Lap 126 during an exchange of green flag pit stops, he remained in contention towards the front and was scored in ninth place when the event was placed in a red flag period due to a heavy round of precipitation with 82 laps remaining.

Amid a weather delay period that spanned more than two hours, Bell, who along with the rest of the field switched from dry to wet-weathered tires when the race resumed with 73 laps remaining, reassumed the lead from Tyler Reddick, who was leading during the red flag period, with 60 laps remaining. Despite having his momentum halted five times due to a series of on-track carnages that ensued, including the fifth and latest one that sent the field into overtime, Bell had enough horsepower and grip from the wet tires to speed away from Chase Briscoe and Josh Berry for two laps before cruising to his third NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2024 season.

With on-track qualifying that was scheduled to occur on Saturday, June 22, being canceled due to on-track precipitation, the starting lineup for the main event was determined through a performance metric formula. As a result, Chase Elliott was awarded the pole position and he shared the front row with Ryan Blaney, winner of last weekend’s Cup Series event at Iowa Speedway.

When the green flag waved and the event commenced half an hour early due to potential weather concerns, Chase Elliott rocketed his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 away from the field from the outside lane as he assumed an early advantage through the first two turns and through the backstretch. As Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney battled for the runner-up spot, Elliott led the first lap while the field behind continued to fan out and jostle for early spots.

During the next four laps, Elliott retained a comfortable advantage over Bell while Ross Chastain and Joey Logano battled Blaney for third place. Behind, rookie Josh Berry occupied sixth place while Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman and William Byron battled for seventh place in front of Martin Truex Jr. and Tyler Reddick. With Chastain and Logano overtaking Blaney to move up to third and fourth while Bowman fended off teammate Byron for seventh place, Elliott’s advantage was scored at two seconds by the fifth lap mark.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Elliott continued to lead by two seconds over Bell followed by Logano, Chastain and Berry while Blaney, Bowman, Byron, Truex and Reddick were scored in the top 10. Behind, Todd Gilliland was in 11th place ahead of Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson and Ty Gibbs while rookie Carson Hocevar, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, Justin Haley and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. occupied the top-20 spots ahead of Corey LaJoie, Noah Gragson, Chase Briscoe, Michael McDowell and Austin Dillon. Meanwhile, Harrison Burton, Austin Cindric, Daniel Suarez, John Hunter Nemechek and Erik Jones trailed in the top 30 while Ryan Preece, Kyle Busch, rookie Zane Smith, Daniel Hemric, Ty Dillon and Kaz Grala rounded out the 36-car field.

Ten laps later, Elliott stretched his early advantage to three seconds over Bell while Logano, Berry and Blaney followed suit in the top five. With Chastain retaining sixth place ahead of Truex, Bowman, Reddick and Byron, Hamlin and Gilliland swapped spots as Hamlin moved into 11th place while Gibbs, Larson and Keselowski followed suit.

Another 10 laps later, Elliott stabilized his advantage to two-and-a-half seconds over Bell while third-place Logano trailed by nearly five seconds. Meanwhile, Berry, who was the fastest competitor on the track earlier, retained fourth place as he trailed Elliott by five seconds while Blaney trailed the lead by six seconds in fifth place. In addition, Truex was in sixth place after he overtook Chastain for the spot a few laps earlier, Hamlin cracked the top 10 as he was up to ninth place while Byron dropped to 12th place.

Nearing the Lap 40 mark, Bell decreased Elliott’s advantage to two-tenths of a second as Elliott was lapping the competitors running at the rear of the field. With select names including Ty Dillon, Grala, Hemric and Kyle Busch lapped, Bell then drew his No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE into a side-by-side battle with Elliott for the following lap before he prevailed for the top spot by Lap 42. Amid the battle for the lead, Logano, Berry and Blaney continued to run in the top five while Truex was trying to gain more ground from sixth place.

At the Lap 50 mark, Bell extended his advantage to one-and-a-half seconds over Elliott while Logano, Blaney, Berry and Truex all trailed within four seconds in the top six. By then, Daniel Suarez and rookie Zane Smith joined Busch, Hemric, Grala and Ty Dillon as competitors to be lapped while Chastain, Hamlin, Bowman and Reddick occupied the top 10 spots on the track.

By Lap 60, Bell stretched his advantage to another second to two seconds over Elliott as third-place Logano trailed Elliott by half a second. In addition, teammate Blaney only trailed Logano by four-tenths of a second while Berry followed suit in fifth. With Truex retaining sixth ahead of teammate Hamlin and Chastain, Bowman and Reddick continued to round out the top 10 while Gibbs, Byron, Larson, Bubba Wallace and Gilliland occupied the top 15.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 70, Bell, who situated himself behind 27th-place Chase Briscoe, cruised to his seventh Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Behind, Logano managed to overtake Elliott on the final lap and final corner to capture second place followed by Blaney and Berry as Truex, Hamlin, Chastain, Reddick and Bowman were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Bell pitted for the first time. Following the pit stops, Bell retained the lead after he exited pit road first followed by Logano, Truex, Berry, Elliott, Blaney, Hamlin, Chastain, Gilliland and McDowell. Amid the pit stops, McDowell, who opted for a two-tire pit stop along with teammate Gilliland, was penalized for removing equipment from his pit box.

The second stage period started on Lap 77 as Bell and Logano occupied the front row. At the start, Bell fended off Logano through the first two turns to retain the lead while Elliott and Truex battled for third place. With Berry and Hamlin trailing closely in fifth and sixth, respectively, Bell continued to lead. Soon after, a tight three-wide battle between Elliott, Truex and Berry ensued for third place, with Berry prevailing from the outside lane through the first two turns. Berry and Truex then pressured Logano for the runner-up spot and they were able to overtake Logano just past the Lap 81 mark while Elliott pursued in fifth place. By then, Bell’s advantage grew to nearly a second.

By Lap 85, Bell was leading by a second over Berry while Truex, Logano and Hamlin followed suit in the top five. Behind, Elliott, who was struggling with the handling of his No. 9 Chevrolet, was overtaken by Blaney for sixth place while Bowman, Gibbs and Wallace were racing in the top 10 ahead of Larson, Chastain, Reddick, Byron and Gilliland.

At the Lap 100 mark, Bell continued to lead by two seconds over teammate Truex, who overtook Berry for the runner-up spot five laps earlier, while Logano and Hamlin were running in the top five. Behind, Blaney, Elliott, Gibbs, Bowman and Wallace continued to run in the top 10 while Larson, Chastain, Reddick, Byron, Gilliland, Chris Buescher, LaJoie, Hocevar, Justin Haley and Keselowski trailed in the top 20. By then, Gragson, Cindric and Briscoe were running 24th to 26th, respectively, while Kyle Busch and Suarez were mired a lap down in 32nd and 34th, respectively.

Fifteen laps later, Bell stabilized his advantage to more than a second over teammate Truex, who got the deficit as low as eight-tenths of a second earlier, while third-place Berry trailed by more than three seconds. Meanwhile, Logano and Hamlin trailed by five seconds in the top five as Blaney, Elliott, Gibbs, Bowman and Wallace were running in the top 10. Amid the battles towards the front, Kyle Busch was mired in 31st place behind teammate Austin Dillon and in jeopardy of going a second lap down.

Another four laps later, a cycle of green flag pit stops slowly commenced as Austin Cindric, who received the free pass during the first stage break period, pitted his No. 2 AutoTrader Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Harrison Burton, who was pinned a lap behind the leaders, would also pit shortly after before a bevy of names including Truex pitted by the Lap 125 mark. The leader Bell would also pit on Lap 124.

By Lap 135, Gilliland, who has yet to pit, was leading by 10 seconds over a tight battle between Joe Gibbs Racing’s Bell and Truex, both of whom were set to battle for the lead, while teammate Hamlin and Logano trailed by 13 seconds in the top five. Truex then executed a strong overtake on teammate Bell from the outside lane for the runner-up spot by Lap 136 while Gilliland continued to lead. Gilliland would proceed to lead by the Lap 140 mark despite his advantage to Truex decreasing to six seconds.

Then on Lap 141, the caution flew after Daniel Hemric, who was racing outside the top 30, spun his No. 31 Poppy Bank Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entering Turn 2. During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Gilliland and including Truex and Bell pitted while the rest led by Hamlin and including Logano and LaJoie remained on the track. Prior to the field pitting, Alex Bowman pitted when pit road was closed due to smoke coming out of his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. The issue would result in Bowman’s car being taken to the garage and eventually retiring in 36th place, dead last.

The start of the next restart period on Lap 148 featured Hamlin and Logano battling dead even for the lead for a full lap as the field behind fanned out to multiple lanes. With Hamlin prevailing and fending off Logano through the frontstretch, LaJoie and Bell battled for third place through the backstretch before Truex made it a tight three-wide battle through the frontstretch as Elliott tried to join the battle. LaJoie would then be overtaken by Truex, Bell and Elliott despite maintaining his momentum from the outside lane while Hamlin maintained the lead at the halfway mark on Lap 152, which made the event official.

Then on Lap 153, the caution returned after both Kyle Busch and Noah Gragson wrecked in Turn 2, with the former sliding into the latter and making left-rear contact with the outside wall. During the caution period, some including William Byron pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track.

As the event restarted under green on Lap 159, Hamlin and Logano dueled for the lead through the first two turns and through the backstretch while Truex was trying to split in between both. As the field fanned out to multiple lanes, Hamlin would fend off teammate Truex and Logano to retain the lead by the following lap while Bell and Blaney tried to pressure Logano for third place. In addition, Hamlin was trying to fend off teammate Truex for the lead.

At the Lap 170 mark, Hamlin’s No. 11 Yahoo! Toyota Camry XSE was ahead by eight-tenth of a second over teammate Truex’s No. 19 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry XSE while third-place Logano’s No. 22 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang Dark Horse trailed by more than a second. Bell and Blaney followed suit in the top five while Gilliland, Larson, Elliott, Berry and Chastain were racing in the top 10 ahead of Buescher, Haley, Gibbs, Reddick, LaJoie, Wallace, Gragson, Byron, Cindric and Preece.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 185, Hamlin fended off teammate Truex to capture his third Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Logano settled in third ahead of Bell and Blaney while Gilliland, Larson, Berry, Elliott and Chastain were scored in the top 10. By then, 28 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap.

During the stage break, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Hamlin pitted for service while Tyler Reddick and McDowell remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Larson exited pit road first ahead of Gilliland, Gragson, Cindric and Burton, all of whom elected for a two-tire pit service, while Hamlin exited in sixth place and as the first competitor on four fresh tires. Amid the pit stops, Truex endured a slow pit service due to issues having the right-rear tire tightened as he emerged in 26th place.

With 108 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Reddick and McDowell occupied the front row. At the start, Reddick launched ahead from McDowell and Larson to lead through the first two turns. The caution, however, quickly returned after Logano sent Elliott for a spin in Turn 2 due to locking up his left-front tire while both were battling just outside the top 10, with Elliott limping back to pit road with a flat left-front tire and Logano with a broken toe link, an issue that would result with him dropping out of the lead lap category.

The start of the next restart period with 102 laps remaining featured Reddick fending off McDowell to retain the lead while Larson was trying to overtake McDowell for the runner-up spot. With the field fanning out, Larson quickly went to work in battling Reddick for the lead until the caution returned with 101 laps remaining as LaJoie spun amid contact with Ryan Preece in the backstretch.

As the event restarted under green with 96 laps remaining, Reddick and McDowell battled dead even for the lead through the first two turns and through the backstretch as Reddick then received a bump from Larson to muscle ahead for the following lap. Larson, who quickly overtook McDowell for the runner-up spot, then battled Reddick dead even for the lead while Hamlin charged his way up to third place on four fresh tires. Hamlin and Larson would then battle fiercely for the runner-up spot as Blaney, McDowell and Gilliland battled for fourth place while Reddick retained the lead. The caution would then fly with 92 laps remaining after Truex got bumped by Keselowski and sent for a spin toward the frontstretch’s outside wall.

With the event restarting with 87 laps remaining, Reddick muscled his No. 45 SiriusXM Toyota Camry XSE ahead from Hamlin and Blaney entering the first two turns as Haley threw a three-wide move while trying to move up into the top five. Another two laps later and with Reddick still maintaining a steady advantage over Blaney and Hamlin, the caution returned due to Kyle Busch getting sideways after he was hit by Preece and before he received another bump from Stenhouse that sent him spinning towards the frontstretch’s inside wall.

Then with 82 laps remaining, the field led by Reddick was directed to pit road as the event was placed in a red flag period due to rain, which had been slowly approaching since the start of the final stage period, falling around the circuit.

Following a delay that spanned more than two hours, where the rain heavily increased before dissipating and where a lightning strike was reported eight miles away, the field led by Reddick returned to the track under a cautious pace. By then, all competitors had the tires on their respective entries changed to wet tires due to the wet conditions that were still present around the circuit. During the caution laps, Kyle Busch’s long event came to an abrupt end after he hit the outside wall in Turn 3 and damaged the right side of his No. 8 FICO Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Not long after, LaJoie spun his No. 7 Schluter Systems Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entering the backstretch while running at the rear of the field under a cautious pace.

When the event restarted under green with 73 laps remaining, Reddick rocketed away from the field as Blaney and Gilliland battled for second in the front of the field that fanned out through the first two turns and through the backstretch. With the field still fanned out through the frontstretch, Larson used the inside lane to charge his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 way up to third and Bell made his way into the runner-up spot while Reddick maintained the lead. Reddick would continue to lead by a second over a side-by-side battle between Larson and Bell with 70 laps remaining.

With 67 laps remaining, the caution flew after Chastain, who was in sixth place, received a bump from Haley and spun his No. 1 Kubota Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Turn 4, though he kept his car off the wall and was dodged by oncoming traffic, including Truex. During the caution period, some including Keselowski, Grala, LaJoie and Nemechek pitted, though all teams were not granted permission to change from wet to slick tires, while the rest led by Reddick remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Chastain, who had also pitted, had his wet tires changed but was ordered by NASCAR to have the wet tires reinstalled on his car.

The start of the next restart period with 60 laps remaining featured Reddick retaining the lead through the first two turns until Bell used the inside lane to rocket ahead with the lead through the backstretch. With Bell leading Reddick, Larson boosted his way up to third place followed by Blaney, Gilliland and McDowell as the field fanned out through every turn and straightaway.

With 50 laps remaining, Bell was leading by nearly three seconds over Blaney followed by Larson while Buescher was up to fourth place. Reddick slipped to fifth as he was racing ahead of Gilliland, Berry, Briscoe, McDowell and Elliott while Haley, Gibbs, Preece, Hamlin, Truex, Burton, Erik Jones, Gragson, Hocevar and Austin Cindric trailed in the top 20 followed by Stenhouse, Wallace, Austin Dillon, Byron and Keselowski.

Following another caution period with 46 laps remaining as LaJoie spun from 30th place in Turn 1 and another restart period with 39 laps remaining, Bell retained the lead from Blaney and Larson as the field fanned out through the first two turns and the backstretch. Behind the leaders, Briscoe, who was mired outside the top 20 during the red flag period, marched his No. 14 Zep Ford Mustang Dark Horse up to sixth place while battling McDowell for the spot as Reddick and Berry were in the top five.

The caution, however, would fly with 37 laps remaining when Gragson, who slid sideways below the apron in Turn 1, spun and clipped Wallace as Wallace veered head-on into the outside wall in Turn 1 and into the path of Austin Dillon with Gragson also colliding sideways into both as Cindric and Erik Jones also wrecked while trying to avoid the chaos. Following the incident, Wallace pulled his damaged No. 23 DraftKings Toyota Camry XSE in front of Gragson, who was receiving service in his pit stall, to express his displeasure over the incident before he limped his car to his respective pit stall and retired. During the caution period, the field led by Bell pitted under a non-competitive pit stop format, where the competitors were allowed to retain their respective positions and pit for a fresh set of wet weather tires.

With the event restarting with 27 laps remaining, Bell rocketed ahead from the outside lane as Blaney tried to follow suit. Larson then battled Blaney for the runner-up spot as Reddick was being pressured by McDowell for fourth place. As a tight battle between McDowell, Reddick, Briscoe and Haley ensued for fourth place, Bell proceeded to lead by less than half a second with fewer than 25 laps remaining while Berry was trying to catch Reddick and teammate Briscoe for sixth place.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Bell extended his advantage to a second over Blaney while Larson, McDowell and Berry trailed within two seconds. Behind, Haley was in sixth ahead of Briscoe, Reddick, Gilliland and Buescher while Burton, Elliott, Ty Dillon, Truex and Stenhouse followed suit in the top 15.

Following another late-race caution with 18 laps remaining due to Hocevar spinning his No. 77 Delaware Life Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Turn 3, the field led by Bell returned for another cycle of non-competitive pit stops and for another new set of wet tires. The start of the next restart period with nine laps remaining, however, did not last long as McDowell, who restarted alongside Bell on the front row, got loose underneath Blaney in Turn 1 as both performed a synchronous spin in Turn 2 without getting hit by oncoming traffic. With the event returning to caution conditions, Bell had escaped with the lead while Berry, Larson, Briscoe, Buescher and Haley followed suit in the top six.

During the proceeding restart with four laps remaining, Briscoe, who restarted alongside Bell on the front row, briefly battled with Bell through the frontstretch until Bell rocketed back ahead from the outside lane. In the ensuing process, Berry overtook teammate Briscoe for the runner-up spot through the backstretch and he commenced his charge on Bell for the lead while Buescher, Larson and Reddick followed suit in the top six. Just as Berry started to close in on Bell for the lead through the frontstretch with two laps remaining, the caution returned due to Keselowski spinning and stalling his No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse in Turn 1. Keselowski’s incident was enough to send the event into overtime despite darkness looming around the circuit.

At the start of the first overtime attempt, Bell received another strong restart from the outside lane while teammates Berry and Briscoe battled for the runner-up spot in front of Larson, Buescher and Reddick. With Briscoe and Berry battling dead even, Bell continued to muscle away with the top spot.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Bell remained as the leader by eight-tenths of a second ahead of a side-by-side battle between Berry and Briscoe. With the gap too far for both Berry and Briscoe to close back in, Bell was able to cruise his No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE smoothly around the New Hampshire circuit for a final time on his wet tires before he cycled back to the frontstretch and claim his third checkered flag of the 2024 Cup Series season.

With the victory, Bell, winner of NASCAR’s first oval event to conclude on wet tires and the fourth three-time race winner of the 2024 season, scored his ninth Cup Series career win, his first since winning the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May and his second at New Hampshire, with his first occurring in 2022. He also became the first competitor to sweep an Xfinity-Cup race weekend at New Hampshire since Brad Keselowski made the last accomplishment in 2014 as Bell won Saturday’s Xfinity event at the Magic Mile.

Bell’s victory was also the seventh of the season for the Toyota nameplate and the sixth of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing while his crew chief Adam Stevens notched his 37th career win in NASCAR’s premier series.

“You never know how this [race]’s gonna shake out whenever you change [the tires], so many things like that,” Bell said on USA Network. “Personally, I love adverse conditions because you’re always trying to think outside the box. Whenever we went back out, I was feeling around and felt like the normal Loudon groove was really slippery. I tried to just run down or run up, and [crew chief] Adam [Stevens] put the tune on this thing and it was turning really good. This is really cool because Rheem has won a lot here and we always have Watts on the car too. That is just really, really special. Hey [race fans], this [race] didn’t get shortened!”

Meanwhile, Briscoe edged teammate Berry in a photo finish to claim the runner-up spot for his best result of the season thus far as Berry settled in third place for the second time in 2024.

The runner-up finish prevailed in Briscoe’s efforts to make the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs as he gained 19 points and is 25 points below the top-16 cutline to be eligible for the Playoffs with eight regular-season events remaining on the schedule. The result also left Briscoe, who is still seeking a ride for the 2025 season amid Stewart-Haas Racing’s closure at the conclusion of the 2024 season, smiling on pit road after he was mired a lap down and running in the mid-pack region prior to the change of weather and track conditions.

“The rain saved us, for sure,” Briscoe said. “We were terrible in the dry [conditions]. We knew typically on the road courses, even ovals that we ran in the rain, we’ve been pretty good. Truthfully, I didn’t expect to drive up to second, but really good recovery for our Zep Ford. To come away with a chance at a win. It was fun, racing up there at the end and slipping and sliding around. If you would’ve told me two hours ago that we would run second, I don’t think I would’ve believed you, but overall, a great day for us and definitely needed one to turn the ship around. It’s been a real struggle. Good overall day, for sure.”

Like Briscoe, Berry was also left satisfied with the third-place run in an event where he started 10th and executed a strong performance on the track both on dry and wet conditions. Currently, Berry, who is also searching for a ride in 2025, is 73 points below the top-16 cutline to make his first Playoff appearance.

“The rain was a new opportunity for us and we capitalized,” Berry said. “The car was really good that second half. We cut up right through there, so just started out the day really strong and ended it strong too. Really solid day. A lot to be proud of. We’re gonna keep digging.”

Larson came home in fourth place while Chris Buescher rounded out the top five. Tyler Reddick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., John Hunter Nemechek, Martin Truex Jr. and Ross Chastain finished in the top 10.

There were six lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured 14 cautions for 85 laps. In addition, 29 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

Following the 18th event of the 2024 Cup Series season, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott are tied for the regular-season points lead as both are ahead in the standings by 40 points over Denny Hamlin, 48 over Martin Truex Jr., 60 over Tyler Reddick and 65 over Christopher Bell.

Results.

1. Christopher Bell, 149 laps led, Stage 1 winner

2. Chase Briscoe

3. Josh Berry

4. Kyle Laron

5. Chris Buescher

6. Tyler Reddick, 53 laps led

7. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

8. John Hunter Nemechek

9. Martin Truex Jr.

10. Ross Chastain

11. Ryan Preece

12. Todd Gilliland, 19 laps led

13. Erik Jones

14. Harrison Burton

15. Michael McDowell

16. Ty Gibbs

17. Carson Hocevar

18. Chase Elliott, 41 laps led

19. Austin Cindric

20. Ty Dillon

21. Daniel Suarez

22. Kaz Grala

23. Corey LaJoie

24. Denny Hamlin, 43 laps led, Stage 2 winner

25. Ryan Blaney

26. William Byron

27. Noah Gragson

28. Brad Keselowski

29. Justin Haley

30. Zane Smith, one lap down

31. Daniel Hemric, two laps down

32. Joey Logano, three laps down

33. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident

34. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Accident

35. Kyle Busch – OUT, Accident

36. Alex Bowman – OUT, Engine

Next on the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the fourth annual running of the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, June 30, and air at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

June 23, 2024
How 1950 became the most controversial season in NASCAR history

Modern-day NASCAR fans are often outspoken about their disdain for NASCAR’s current championship format. The NASCAR Cup Series uses a 10-race stretch of the season to crown their champion, pitting 16 drivers against each other in four rounds, with four drivers being eliminated after the first three rounds of the playoffs, with each round being made up of three races. That leaves four drivers to do battle in what is essentially a winner-take-all championship race.

If you think it doesn’t make sense for a sport that competes for nine months out of the year to crown its champion in three hours, join the club. Many NASCAR fans don’t get it either. On top of being confusing, the playoff system is inherently cloudy when examined under the lens of legitimacy.

Auto-racing is a cruel mistress. It gives and takes without rhyme or reason. A dominant performance can vanish in the blink of an eye, while in the same vein, a mediocre performance can be elevated to victory lane in a heartbeat. Unlike other sports, randomness and luck play far too big a part in racing to crown a champion based on one race, rather than a full season.

But believe it or not, there was a time when the way NASCAR crowned a champion was even more questionable. This is the story of the 1950 NASCAR Cup Series season, the stage for the worst championship battle in NASCAR history.

One look inside the NASCAR Hall of Fame immediately points out a red flag concerning the champion of the 1950 season, Bill Rexford, the only NASCAR Cup Series champion who is yet to be forever enshrined in NASCAR’s home for history. While he did only run 36 races in NASCAR’s premier series, he wasn’t half bad, and with a Cup Series title to his name, it almost seems like his birthright to have a place in the Hall. Further investigation into his championship season, however, proves that there’s a bigger reason that he is yet to sit among racing royalty.

1950 was only the second season of competition for NASCAR’s fledgling Strictly Stock Series. World War Two hero Red Byron had won the first championship in 1949, and Curtis Turner and Lee Petty were both expected to be championship contenders, granted that they could make it to all the races. Back in the day, hardly any drivers were able to make it to every race. It was only when Lee Petty proved that stock car racing was a viable way to earn a living that running all championship events became a reality. Nonetheless, the season began just as it does today, in Daytona Beach Florida. Rather than 500 miles on the 2.5-mile circuit, however, it was the 4.2-mile Daytona Beach and Road Course that played host to the season opener, as the Daytona International Speedway would not debut until 1959.

Harold Kite rode the wind en route to victory in his Lincoln, while Rexford’s title hunt got off to a rather inauspicious start with a 29th-place finish. It would be nearly two months before the Cup Series’ next race at the ill-fated Charlotte Speedway, the site of NASCAR’s first Cup Series race the year prior. Rexford improved to a 13th-place finish but still lacked any race-winning speed. The series took the week off on April 9th before returning to action the following week at the famed Langhorne Speedway.

One of the most dangerous venues in racing at the time, Langhorne crowned Curtis Turner as its victor, the first of two consecutive victories for NASCAR’s chief partygoer. Despite qualifying fifth and leading 18 laps, Rexford would wind up finishing 22nd due to an engine failure. He completed just 84 of the race’s 150 laps. Langhorne ended up being an important race for Rexford’s main championship competitor Lee Petty, who started a streak of nine consecutive top-11 finishes with a fifth-place effort.

Over a month later, the Martinsville Speedway would play host to the fourth round of the Grand National competition. Once again, it was Turner who walked away with the checkered flag, while Rexford notched his best result of the season, finishing 9th, 12 laps down. The next race on the Cup Series circuit was the aptly named Poor Man’s 500 in Canfield, Ohio. This race ended up being the only win of Rexford’s short NASCAR Cup Series career, as he led 80 of the race’s 200 laps, earning $1,400 for his triumph.

The rest of Rexford’s 1950 campaign was fairly mundane. While he did finally find consistency in his finishes, with just one finish outside of the top 15 in the next 11 races, he wasn’t able to make it back to victory lane. To make matters worse, his main rival for the championship, the aforementioned Lee Petty, couldn’t have a bad day. Aside from an issue at Hamburg that left him 27th, Petty finished no worse than seventh over the final six races of the season. It’s no wonder they called him Mr. Consistency.

The final race of the 1950 season was held at the Occoneechee Speedway in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Rexford entered the day with the championship points lead, but a young hotshot from Florida was hot on his tail. Fireball Roberts would eventually have his day in the sun, including a win in the 1962 Daytona 500, but on this day, it was Rexford who would claim the title. Despite a 29th-place points finish, Rexford had earned enough money over the season to claim his first Grand National Championship.

Did something about that last sentence sound odd to you? It wasn’t a mistake. In 1950, the points you earned in NASCAR races directly correlated to the prize money you won. If you won the Southern 500 at Darlington but competed in no other races over the course of the season, you could finish top-10 in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings. If you’re wondering how Johnny Mantz started just three races that year but still finished sixth in points, it all goes back to his lone NASCAR win at Darlington.

If you happen to peruse Racing Reference long enough, however, you’ll notice some mathematical discrepancies. Despite earning over 10,000 dollars in prize money, Johnny Mantz didn’t start anywhere close to enough races to dream of winning the Cup. That makes sense. What doesn’t however, is that Lee Petty easily earned more money than both Fireball Roberts and Bill Rexford, was more consistent than both of them, yet still lost the championship by a staggering 369 points. So, how did this happen? In order to explain, we have to take a walk down a rather crooked memory lane.

Every NASCAR fan knows the name of Bill France. A mechanic originally from Washington DC, he moved down to Florida in the 1930s to escape the harsh winters. After opening up his service station in Daytona Beach, he quickly learned he was a good race car driver and an even better promoter. After a few meetings in a smoke-filled room at the Streamline Hotel, NASCAR was born. But France, like many other racing promoters in those days, ruled with an iron fist. What Big Bill said went, whether or not you agreed with it. One of France’s biggest pet peeves was when his star drivers decided to run races that weren’t sanctioned by NASCAR.

France either didn’t see that it was impossible to make a living running only NASCAR-sanctioned events or ignored this fact altogether. In all honesty, the latter is probably true. This issue later got Curtis Turner banned from NASCAR for life, before France eventually repealed his decision after seeing how popular Turner was with fans. Before Curtis Turner drew the ire of Big Bill, however, it was Lee Petty who would fall victim to France’s displeasure.

With NASCAR taking a three-week break in the summer months of the 1950 season, Lee decided that it was probably in the best interest of his family if he put some food on the table. Rather than do this in what some considered an acceptable way like running illegal moonshine, he instead decided to do it the morally corrupt way, daring to run in stock car races that were unsanctioned by NASCAR. At least, that’s how Bill France saw it.

Petty was just 24 1/2 points out of the championship lead after the race at the Monroe County Fairgrounds on July 2, but when the series returned to action on July 23rd, it was revealed that Petty would have to start from scratch. Bill France stripped Petty of all 809 points he had accumulated through the first eight races of the 1950 season, leaving Petty in a near-impossible spot. However, Petty picked up the pieces and persevered, even winning the last race of the season at Occoneechee.

Without Lee Petty’s points being taken away, he would have easily won the Cup. Instead, he was robbed of being in the same company as Jeff Gordon as a four-time NASCAR champion – all because Bill France couldn’t get out of his own way.

Don’t get me wrong, Bill France is deservedly viewed as one of the most influential figures in NASCAR history. Without him, there is no NASCAR. But that doesn’t mean he was an angel, either. Many drivers from the early days of NASCAR spoke unfavorably of NASCAR’s founder, as it took time before France clearly defined the differences between the conniving criminals at the local short track and the shiny, national stage of the NASCAR Grand National competition.

Despite being buried in the history books, the 1950 NASCAR Cup Series season undoubtedly remains the most questionable championship battle in NASCAR history, and surely has a place among the worst championship battles in all of sports. The NASCAR Playoffs may not always crown the most deserving champion, but they certainly aren’t the worst way to crown a winner that NASCAR’s ever seen.

Count your blessings, NASCAR fans – the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

June 22, 2024
NASCAR Weekend schedule for New Hampshire

This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series head to New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Martin Truex Jr., who recently announced that this would be his final full-time season, is the defending race winner at the 1.058-mile track.

So far this season, 10 different drivers have won Cup Series races and have guaranteed their spot in the Playoffs – William Byron, Daniel Suárez, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney. That leaves only six available spots up for grabs.

Sam Mayer, Austin Hill, Chandler Smith, Justin Allgaier, Jesse Love, and Shane van Gisbergen have already raced their way into the Xfinity Series Playoffs via wins this year. Cole Custer has also earned a spot in the Playoffs as the points leader, leaving five available spots.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is off and will return to competition on Friday, June 28 at Nashville Superspeedway.

Friday, June 21
2:30 p.m.: Whelen Modified Tour Practice – No TV
5:45 p.m.: Whelen Modified Tour Qualifying – No TV

4:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – USA – Canceled due to rain
4:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – USA – Canceled due to rain

Saturday, June 22

10 a.m.:Whelen Modified Mohegan Sun 100 – FloRacing (Originally scheduled for 6:30 p.m.)
12:35 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – USA/PRN/SiriusXM
1:20 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying – USA/PRN/SiriusXM
Post-Cup Qualifying: NASCAR Press Pass

3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series SciAps 200 – USA/PRN/SiriusXM
Distance: 211.6 miles (200 laps)
Stages end on Laps 45, 90, 200
Purse: $1,270,055
Post Xfinity Race: NASCAR Press Pass
6:30 p.m.: Whelen Modified Mohegan Sun 100 – FloRacing

Sunday, June 23
2:30 p.m.: Cup Series USA Today 301 – USA/PRN/SiriusXM
Distance: 318.46 miles (301 Laps)
Stages end on Laps 70, Lap 185, Lap 301
Purse: $7,876,911 Post Cup Race: NASCAR Press Pass

June 20, 2024