NASCAR announced another shakeup to this year’s Memorial Day weekend events at Charlotte Motor Speedway as the Coca-Cola 600 has been postponed to occur on Monday, May 29, at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.
The news comes amid ongoing precipitation and steady rain that has and will continue to fall for the duration of Sunday, May 28, with no big weather breaks being indicated. This, in turn, will prevent the Coke 600 from starting at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday as initially scheduled, with NASCAR’s longest event on the schedule being postponed to Monday for the first time since 2009.
The news also means that the Coke 600 will occur after the Xfinity Series’ Alsco Uniforms 300 as part of a doubleheader feature on Memorial Day, with the Xfinity event now scheduled to start at 11 a.m. ET on FS1 after being bumped up from noon ET on Monday. The Xfinity event at Charlotte was initially scheduled to occur on Saturday, May 27, at 1 p.m. ET prior to the weather delay. Amid the weather concerns, the event was then bumped up to commence at noon ET on Saturday before the start was delayed amid the precipitation and eventually led to NASCAR to postpone the event to Monday morning.
For the Xfinity Series’ Alsco Uniforms 300, Justin Allgaier will lead the field from pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 181.172 mph in 29.806 seconds during a qualifying session that occurred on Friday, May 26. Joining him on the front row will be John Hunter Nemechek, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 180.246 mph in 29.959 seconds.
When the green flag waves for the Coke 600, William Byron, winner of the previous Cup Series event at Darlington Raceway two weeks ago, will lead the field from pole position. The 25-year-old Byron from Charlotte, North Carolina, was awarded the top starting spot based on a metric formula per the NASCAR Rule Book after the event’s qualifying session that was scheduled to occur on Saturday was canceled due to the steady precipitation. Joining him on the front row will be Kevin Harvick, a two-time Coke 600 winner who will be making his final 600-mile career start.
NASCAR announced changes to the remainder of this weekend’s Memorial Day feature events at Charlotte Motor Speedway due to ongoing inclement weather that has impacted on-track activities for Saturday, May 27.
The Xfinity Series’ Alsco Uniforms 300 that was scheduled to occur today at noon ET on FS1 has been postponed to occur on Monday, May 29, at noon ET. The news comes a day after NASCAR bumped the startup time for the 12th Xfinity event of the 2023 season an hour early from 1 p.m. ET to noon amid the inclement weather and increased rain that will remain persistent for the remainder of the weekend.
When the Xfinity event commences under green, Justin Allgaier will lead the field from pole position after posting a pole-winning qualifying lap at 181.172 mph in 29.806 seconds during the series’ qualifying session on Friday, May 26. Joining him on the front row will be John Hunter Nemechek, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 180.246 mph in 29.959 seconds.
In addition, the Cup Series’ Coca-Cola 600 practice and qualifying sessions that were originally scheduled to occur after the Xfinity event on Saturday have been canceled. With qualifying canceled, the starting lineup for the Coke 600 at Charlotte will be based on a metric formula per the NASCAR Rule Book system. As a result, William Byron, winner of the previous Cup points-paying event at Darlington Raceway two weeks ago, will lead the field from pole position. He will be joined on the front row with Kevin Harvick, a two-time Coke 600 winner who will be making his final career start in NASCAR’s longest events on the schedule.
The Coke 600 is still scheduled to occur on Sunday, May 28, at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.
NASCAR heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway for a triple-header schedule of events on Memorial Day weekend. The NASCAR Salutes Together with Coca-Cola program will also be back for the ninth season to pay tribute to the U.S. military members and their families.
The CRAFTSMAN Truck Series competes Friday evening followed by the Xfinity Series on Saturday, culminating with the main event on Sunday with the Cup Series Coca-Cola 600. The ARCA Menards Series will also precede the Truck Series race with the General Tire 150 at 6 p.m. on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Denny Hamlin is the defending winner of the 2022 Coca-Cola 600. Multiple race winners include Jimmie Johnson with eight wins, Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick have won three times, and Brad Keselowski has won twice.
JR Motorsports driver, Josh Berry, is the defending Xfinity Series race winner and is hoping to score his first checkered flag of the season. But, it may be a difficult feat to accomplish as there have been 10 different winners at Charlotte in the previous 10 races.
Austin Dillon was the last repeat winner, winning both races in 2015, followed by Denny Hamlin (2016), Joey Logano (2016), Ryan Blaney (2017), Alex Bowman (2017), Brad Keselowski (2018), Tyler Reddick (2019), Kyle Busch (2020), Ty Gibbs (2021) and Josh Berry (2022).
The 20 previous Truck Series races at Charlotte have produced 11 different race winners. Kyle Busch leads all drivers with eight trophies and has won seven out of the last 13 races.
NASCAR Press Pass will be available after the Truck, Xfinity and Cup Series races.
All times are Eastern.
Friday, May 26
11:40 a.m.: ARCA Practice – No TV 12:40 a.m.: ARCA Qualifying – No TV 1:35 p.m.: Truck Series Practice – FS1 2:05 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying – FS1 3:35 p.m.: Xfinity Practice – FS1 4:05 p.m.: Xfinity Qualifying – FS1
6 p.m.: ARCA General Tire 150 – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
8:30 p.m.: Truck Series North Carolina Education Lottery 200 FS1/MRN/SiriusXM Distance: 201 miles (134 Laps) Stages end on Lap 30, Lap 60 and Lap 134 The Purse: $767,542
Saturday, May 27
Noon: Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 300 – Postponedto Monday, May 29 at Noon FS1/PRN/SiriusXM Distance: 300 miles (200 Laps) Stage 1 ends on Lap 45, Stage 2 ends on Lap 90, Final Stage ends on Lap 200 The Purse: $1,317,391
7:05 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – FS1/PRN/SiriusXM – Canceled 7:50 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying – FS1/PRN/SiriusXM – Canceled
Sunday, May 28
6 p.m.: Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 FOX/PRN/SiriusXM Distance: 600 miles (400 Laps) Stage 1 ends on Lap 100, Stage 2 ends on Lap 200, Stage 3 ends on Lap 300, Final Stage ends on Lap 400 The Purse: $9,421,275
From an early speeding penalty to cashing in a million dollars in NASCAR’s revival of one of the sport’s oldest venues, Kyle Larson cruised to a dominant victory in the 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, on Sunday, May 21.
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion from Elk Grove, California, led two times for a race-high 145 of 200-scheduled laps in a weekend where he started 16th out of the 24-car field and rallied from speeding on pit road during a caution period past the Lap 15 mark to methodically carve his way through the field. After assuming the lead from pole-sitter Daniel Suarez on Lap 55 of 200, Larson never looked back as he also retained the lead during a 90-lap shootout to beat runner-up Bubba Wallace by more than four seconds and win the All-Star Race for the third time in his career.
The starting lineup for the main event was determined through a Pit Crew Challenge that occurred on Friday, May 19, two 60-lap heat events. with the drivers’ qualifying time determined based on their respective crew’s pit stop time through a four-tire pit stop and the timing lines being established one box behind and ahead of the designated pit box. The teams who delivered the fastest pit services would enable their respective entries to start towards the front of two All-Star Heat Races comprising 60 laps that occurred on Saturday, May 20, and that set the official starting lineup for the All-Star event.
At the conclusion of both events, Daniel Suarez, whose No. 99 Trackhouse Racing pit crew executed a fast pit stop service in 13.297 during the Pit Crew Challenge that put him on the pole for the first Heat Race, earned the pole position for the main feature after winning the first Heat. Joining him on the front row was Chris Buescher, whose No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing pit crew delivered a pit stop service in 13.381 seconds that enabled him to start on the pole for the second Heat Race and carried forth to the driver winning.
Suarez and Buescher were among 21 competitors to have earned a spot for the 2023 All-Star Race by virtue of winning a Cup Series points race between 2022-23 or being a former Cup and All-Star Race winner. The eligibility list included Joey Logano, Austin Dillon, Chase Briscoe, William Byron, Christopher Bell, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Tyler Reddick and Erik Jones.
The eligible competitors were joined by Josh Berry and rookie Ty Gibbs, both of whom transferred to the All-Star Race after finishing first and second, respectively, during the All-Star Open. The 24th and final starting spot went to rookie Noah Gragson, who was named the Fan Vote winner.
When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Suarez launched ahead with a strong start on the inside lane followed by Joey Logano and Chase Briscoe while Buescher, who started on the front row, struggled to launch on the outside lane, though he managed to draw even against Briscoe for third. As the field battled amid two lanes, Suarez managed to cycle back to the frontstretch with a clear view and lead the first lap.
During the second lap, Suarez retained the lead ahead of Logano followed by Briscoe and Christopher Bell while Buescher was struggling to transition from the outside to the inside lane for grip as he was locked in a tight battle against Denny Hamlin for fifth place. Buescher, however, would continue to lose more spots through Turns 3 and 4 as William Byron and Ryan Blaney overtook him. As the 24-car field settled in a long single-file formation, Suarez retained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Logano by the fifth lap.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Suarez was leading by four-tenths of a second over Logano followed by Hamlin, Byron and Briscoe while Blaney, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr. and Bell were in the top 10. Behind, Buescher dropped to 11th ahead of Kevin Harvick, Austin Cindric, Austin Dillon and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. while Ty Gibbs, Kyle Busch, Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, Josh Berry, Noah Gragson and Tyler Reddick trailed behind within the 24-car field.
Five laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Stenhouse, who slid up the track between Turns 3 and 4 and was trying to transition from the outside to the inside lane, got hit by Erik Jones as he spun his No. 47 Kroger/Coca-Cola Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 around in Turn 4 before proceeding without sustaining any significant damage. During the first caution period, names like Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, Wallace, Larson, Berry, Gragson, Reddick and Stenhouse pitted while the rest led by Suarez remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Larson was penalized for speeding on pit road.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 20, Suarez and Briscoe dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Suarez managed to peek ahead on the inside lane in his No. 99 Trackhouse Motorplex Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and retain the lead. Behind, Briscoe and Hamlin battled for second as Briscoe was trying to transition back to the inside lane. Despite losing spots to Hamlin and Logano, Briscoe managed to settle in fourth place in front of Elliott on the inside lane as the field behind fanned out to multiple lanes.
At the Lap 30 mark, Suarez was leading by over a tenth of a second over a hard-charging Hamlin followed by Logano, Briscoe and Elliott while Byron, Truex, Blaney, Keselowski and Buescher were running single file in the top 10. Behind, Gragson moved up to 11th ahead of Berry, Bell, Larson and Erik Jones while Reddick, Wallace, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch and Harvick trailed in the top 20.
Ten laps later, Suarez continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over Hamlin while Logano, Briscoe and Elliott remained in the top five. Behind, Larson carved his way up to eighth on fresh tires behind Byron and Truex while Bell, Kyle Busch and Harvick were mired from 18th to 20th, respectively. In addition, Chastain was back in 21st while Cindric, Gibbs and Stenhouse were stuck from 22nd to 24th, respectively.
Through the first 50 scheduled laps, Suarez stabilized his advantage to four-tenths of a second over Hamlin followed by Logano while Larson was up in fourth place. Briscoe fell back to fifth ahead of Elliott, Truex and Buescher while Byron and Blaney were scored in the top 10.
Five laps later, Larson, who overtook Hamlin and Logano earlier, made his move on the frontstretch beneath Suarez as he rocketed his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the lead. Larson started to pull away on fresh tires as he was scored as the leader by more than a second-and-a-half over Suarez at the Lap 60 mark. Behind, Logano overtook Hamlin for third while Briscoe was in fifth ahead of Elliott, Buescher, Truex, Blaney and Erik Jones.
Shortly after, Byron and Kyle Busch pitted under green, a move that dropped both competitors out of the lead lap category, as Larson remained as the leader by more than two seconds over runner-up Suarez and more than three seconds over third-place Logano.
At the Lap 75 mark, Larson extended his advantage by six seconds over Suarez as Logano, Hamlin and Briscoe remained in the top five. Behind, Elliott retained sixth ahead of Buescher while Wallace and Blaney moved up to eighth and ninth in front of Truex and Reddick. By then, Larson was also starting to approach Harvick and Keselowski to lap both former Cup champions while Cindric and Stenhouse were also lapped.
Just past the Lap 90 mark, Larson continued to lead by more than 11 seconds over Suarez while Wallace moved his No. 23 Columbia Sportswear Company Toyota TRD Camry up to third. Logano was back in fourth followed by Briscoe, Reddick and Hamlin while Elliott, Buescher and Blaney were running in the top 10. By then, 16 of 24 competitors were scored on the lead lap.
When the competition caution period flew on Lap 100, which marked the halfway point of the event, Larson had retained a commanding lead over Wallace, who overtook Suarez for the runner-up spot four laps earlier. By then, 16 of 24 competitors were still scored on the lead lap, none of which included Truex, Byron, Gragson, Harvick, Keselowski, Cindric, Kyle Busch and Stenhouse.
During the competition caution period, the lead lap competitors led by Larson pitted. Following the pit stops, Larson retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Wallace, Suarez, Reddick, Briscoe and Elliott. Amid the pit stops, Chastain, who exited pit road seventh, was penalized for speeding on pit road. Logano and Bell were also penalized for uncontrolled tire violations.
When the race resumed under green flag conditions with 90 laps remaining, Larson retained the lead on the inside lane as he took off followed by Wallace as Suarez battled Reddick for third. Reddick would then bump Suarez to assume third place as the field jostled for positions.
With 75 laps remaining, Larson was leading by more than a second over Wallace while third-place Reddick trailed by more than two seconds in his No. 45 Beast Unleashed Toyota TRD Camry. Suarez retained fourth as he too trailed by more than two seconds followed by Buescher while Elliott, Briscoe, Blaney, Erik Jones and Ty Gibbs were scored in the top 10. By then, names that included Harvick, Byron, Keselowski, Cindric, Kyle Busch, Gragson and Stenhouse were not scored on the lead lap category.
Down to the final 60 laps of the event, Larson extended his advantage to more than two seconds over runner-up Wallace while Reddick, Suarez and Buescher remained in the top five. Larson would continue to extend his advantage to three seconds over Wallace with 50 laps remaining and more than four seconds with 40 laps remaining.
With 25 laps remaining, Larson stabilized his advantage to more than three-and-a-half seconds over Wallace followed by Reddick as Briscoe carved his No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang up to fourth ahead of Elliott. Behind, Suarez was back in sixth ahead of Blaney while Buescher, Erik Jones and Gibbs remained in the top 10. Meanwhile, Logano was in 11th ahead of Hamlin, Chastain, Bell, and Truex while Berry, Austin Dillon, Harvick, Keselowski and Byron were strapped in the top 20.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Larson continued to lead by more than four seconds over Wallace while both third-place Reddick and fourth-place Briscoe trailed by more than seven seconds. Larson would stabilize his advantage to over four seconds over Wallace as the event reached its final five-lap mark.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson remained as the leader by more than three seconds over Wallace. Despite dealing with lapped traffic for the majority of his dominant run in the second half of the event, Larson was able to smoothly cycle his way around the short circuit for a final time and back to the frontstretch as he streaked across the finish line to claim his third checkered flag in the All-Star Race.
With the victory, Larson notched his third All-Star career victory overall and in his previous four All-Star starts as he became the first competitor to win the All-Star Race in three different venues (North Wilkesboro Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway). He joined Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt as competitors to win the All-Star Race three times. He also recorded the 11th All-Star Race victory for Hendrick Motorsports and the 21st for Chevrolet while becoming the first competitor to win a Cup Series event at North Wilkesboro Speedway since Gordon won the last points-paying event at the track in September 1996.
As an added bonus, Larson’s All-Star victory capped off a weekend sweep after he won Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series event at North Wilkesboro while driving for Spire Motorsports.
Photo by Andrew Boyd for SpeedwayMedia.com.Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images.
“I can’t even tell you what [the win] means,” Larson said on FS1. “This is my third All-Star win at my third different track. At a historical place like this. You guys in the crowd made this weekend so awesome. We could feel the atmosphere all weekend. So much fun there. That was old-school ass-whoppin’, for sure. We had a great car on the long run there. I was just thinking that, for sure, there was gonna be a caution, right? I got out to a big lead. I could see everybody’s cars were driving like crap in front of me, but I cannot thank this No. 5 team enough. We were God-awful all weekend. Obviously, I had some strategy work out there at the beginning, but we drove from dead last to the lead and checked out by 12 or 13 seconds, and then I could just pace myself there that last run. What an amazing car. Everything that my car did bad on Friday and Saturday did great today.”
Wallace, who started 10th, retained the runner-up spot he acquired towards the end of the first half of the event as his second-place finish marked his career-best result in his third start in the All-Star event. Wallace’s 23XI Racing teammate Reddick rallied from starting 20th to finish third and notch his best result in his second All-Star career start.
“[Larson’s] capability throughout the whole run [made the difference],” Wallace said. “He could attack hard and then have something there at the end. If this was any other race, I’d be excited, but it’s for a million dollars, you come up short and walk home with nothing. Tail tucked between our legs, but all in all, just continuing to ride the momentum train. I wanna get [sponsor] Columbia in Victory Lane. We come up one spot short, so congrats to Larson. He’s been on a rail lately, so just have to keep it going. Now, we show back up to home turf and really got to keep the momentum going there and get ourselves deeper in the Playoffs here. Excited to be where we’re at right now. Just come up one spot short.”
“[I] Just needed a little bit on the balance, but the Beast Unleashed Toyota Camry TRD was really fast,” Reddick added. “I made a mistake earlier in the race back in the first 100 laps and let Kyle [Larson] squeeze by and he really mowed through traffic. We lined up, obviously, behind him on that restart and we could kind of stay in touch, but he was able to just keep far enough away. Honestly, a good, solid car. I had more left in the tank than I thought. [I] Wished I could have that back, but solid effort by our guys and our team. We stumbled a little bit in the Pit Crew Challenge and started deep, but we were able to claw our way through it.”
Briscoe charged his way to a strong fourth-place finish followed by Elliott while Blaney, Suarez, Erik Jones, Ty Gibbs and Logano capped off their runs in the top 10.
Notably, Kevin Harvick finished 18th in his 23rd and final career All-Star Race. In addition, Hamlin ended up 13th in between teammates Bell and Truex, Josh Berry finished 15th while subbing the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the injured Alex Bowman, Buescher fell back to 16th, Keselowski settled in 19th in front of Byron and Kyle Busch concluded his long night in 22nd.
There were three lead changes for two different leaders. The race featured two cautions for 13 laps. While all 24 starters finished the event, 12 finished on the lead lap.
Results:
1. Kyle Larson, 145 laps led
2. Bubba Wallace
3. Tyler Reddick
4. Chase Briscoe
5. Chase Elliott
6. Ryan Blaney
7. Daniel Suarez, 55 laps led
8. Erik Jones
9. Ty Gibbs
10. Joey Logano
11. Ross Chastain
12. Christopher Bell
13. Denny Hamlin, one lap down
14. Martin Truex Jr., one lap down
15. Josh Berry, one lap down
16. Chris Buescher, one lap down
17. Austin Dillon, one lap down
18. Kevin Harvick, two laps down
19. Brad Keselowski, two laps down
20. William Byron, two laps down
21. Austin Cindric, two laps down
22. Kyle Busch, two laps down
23. Noah Gragson, three laps down
24. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., four laps down
Next on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the 64th running of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, May 28, during Memorial Day weekend at 6 p.m. ET on FOX.
Josh Berry along with rookies Ty Gibbs and Noah Gragson completed the starting grid for the 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race after all three transferred from the NASCAR All-Star Open at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Sunday, May 21.
Berry and Gibbs, both of whom started on the front row for the Open, raced their way into the main event after finishing first and second, respectively, during the Open while Gragson was revealed as the Fan Vote winner after rallying from a multi-car wreck to finish seventh on the track, thus claiming the final spot of the 24-car grid for the All-Star event that will follow suit.
The starting lineup for the event was determined through the NASCAR Pit Crew Challenge that occurred on Friday, May 20, with the drivers’ qualifying time determined based on their respective crew’s pit stop time through a four-tire pit stop and the timing lines being established one box behind and ahead of the designated pit box.
Following the Pit Crew Challenge, rookie Ty Gibbs was awarded the pole position after his No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing pit crew delivered the fastest pit stop overall at 13.012 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Josh Berry, an interim competitor for the injured Alex Bowman whose No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports pit crew posted a fast pit stop service at 13.677 seconds.
When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Ty Gibbs launched ahead in his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota TRD Camry with the lead on the inside lane as Michael McDowell made a bold three-wide move to the outside of the field as he tried to launch forward through Turns 1 and 2. McDowell, however, lost grip just as he cracked the top five and slipped back into the top 10 as Gibbs proceeded to lead the first lap. Behind, Berry maintained second in front of Justin Haley, Corey LaJoie, Todd Gilliland and Aric Almirola while McDowell fell back to seventh.
Through the first five scheduled laps, Gibbs was leading by nearly nine-tenths of a second over Berry, who had Haley closing in for second place while Todd Gilliland and Aric Almirola were running in the top five. Gibbs then extended his advantage to more than a second as the event surpassed its Lap 10 mark.
At the Lap 20 mark, Gibbs continued to extend his advantage by more than two seconds over Berry while third-place Haley trailed by more than three seconds. Almirola moved up in fourth followed by Gilliland while Harrison Burton, McDowell, Chandler Smith, Ryan Preece and AJ Allmendinger were in the top 10. Behind, Ryan Newman was in 11th while rookie Noah Gragson, Corey LaJoie, Josh Bilicki, JJ Yeley and Ty Dillon rounded out the field of 16 competitors currently running on the track.
By Lap 30, Gibbs retained the lead by more than three seconds over Berry while Almirola overtook Haley for third place. Behind, Gilliland retained fifth ahead of teammate McDowell and Burton while Chandler Smith, Preece and Allmendinger occupied the rest of the top 10 on the track.
When the competition caution flew on Lap 40, Gibbs had maintained the lead by more than three seconds over Berry while Almirola, Haley, Gilliland, McDowell, Allmendinger, Burton, Chandler and Newman were in the top 10. By then, Ty Dillon was lapped, but he received the free pass to cycle back on the lead lap.
During the competition caution period, the entire field led by Gibbs pitted for fresh tires, fuel and adjustments. Following the pit stops, Berry assumed the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Gibbs, Almirola, Gragson, Haley and Gilliland. Amid the pit stops, Harrison Burton, who exited pit road in eighth place, only opted to have his rear tires changed on his No. 21 Motorcraft/DEX Imaging Ford Mustang.
When the race restarted on Lap 47, Berry and Haley dueled for the lead as the field fanned out and battled in tight formation through the first two turns and the backstretch. During the following lap, however, Berry managed to pull ahead and assume the lead with a clear racetrack followed by Gibbs and Almirola while Haley fell back to fourth in front of McDowell.
Two laps later, the caution returned when Gragson, who was running sixth and ran into the rear of McDowell entering Turn 1, went too low and hit the inside wall before his No. 42 Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 shot back across the track and into the path of Gilliland as Gragson collided into the Turn 1 outside wall head-on along with Gilliland as Chandler Smith, Allmendinger and Newman were also collected. As Chandler Smith and Gilliand retired, Gragson managed to continue along with Allmendinger and Newman.
With the race restarting with 44 laps remaining, Haley challenged Berry for the lead on the outside lane while McDowell battled Gibbs for third place. Not long after, however, the caution quickly returned when McDowell, who tried to move in front of Gibbs for third place through Turns 3 and 4, got squeezed by Gibbs as he then made contact with Haley for second as both competitors went up the track and slapped the outside wall in Turn 4 hard.
During the following restart with 37 laps remaining, Berry and Almirola battled dead even for the lead until Berry muscled ahead on the inside lane. Behind, Almirola, who was stuck on the outside lane, was overtaken by Gibbs for second as Almirola tried to fend off teammate Preece and Allmendinger for more.
With 32 laps remaining, Gibbs reassumed the lead from Berry as Preece started to challenge Berry for second. In the midst of the battles at the front, Allmendinger and Almirola joined the battle in fourth and fifth while JJ Yeley and Gragson trailed behind in sixth and seventh.
Then with 23 laps remaining, Gibbs, who had maintained a steady lead over Berry through the backstretch, got held up and ran towards the apron by McDowell’s No. 34 Fr8Auctions Ford Mustang through Turns 1 and 2 before he then got shoved towards the inside wall through Turns 3 and 4 as McDowell expressed his on-track frustration to Gibbs over the late contact that eliminated McDowell and Haley from contention. This allowed Berry to reassume the lead in his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through the frontstretch while Gibbs managed to fend off Almirola for second place. In the process, McDowell, who lost a lap for repairs during the initial caution period, went two laps down.
With less than 20 laps remaining, Berry was leading by three-tenths of a second over Gibbs and Almirola while Preece and Allmendinger remained in the top five.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Berry, who lapped McDowell for a third time, continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over Gibbs with Almirola trailing by a second and trying to close in on Gibbs for a transfer spot to the All-Star Race.
With five laps remaining, Berry maintained the lead by more than a second over Gibbs as third-place Almirola cut his deficit to Gibbs by less than three-tenths of a second. Meanwhile, Preece and Allmendinger trailed the leaders by four seconds while Yeley maintained sixth as he trailed by more than eight seconds.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Berry remained as the leader by six-tenths over Gibbs as Almirola tried to ignite a final lap charge in his No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang on Gibbs for second through Turn 1. Almirola, however, could not execute the pass or bump on Gibbs to gain the spot as Gibbs pulled away. Back at the front, Berry managed to cruise away from the field and claim both the All-Star Open victory and a transfer spot to the 2023 All-Star Race by half a second over Gibbs.
With his accomplishment, Berry, a NASCAR Xfinity Series full-time competitor for JR Motorsports who led three times for 46 laps, achieved his first checkered flag of any type in NASCAR’s premier series. This year’s All-Star weekend marks Berry’s fourth start as an interim competitor of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports entry in place of the injured Alex Bowman and ninth overall for HMS as he will contend for his first opportunity of winning a million dollars. Berry’s Open victory also enabled all four Hendrick Motorsports entries to make the All-Star feature.
“I feel so relieved,” Berry said on FS1. “These guys deserve to be in this race so bad. Thank you so much to Hendrick Motorsports for believing in me and giving me this opportunity under circumstances. This is really cool. We were able to get the lead and stretch it out a little bit, and just kind of maintain it. I think the two best cars made it [to the All-Star Race]. We’ll just see what tonight gives us.”
Behind, Gibbs, the reigning Xfinity Series champion who led twice for a race-high 53 laps, fended off Almirola to finish second and race his way into his first career All-Star Race. Gibbs’ accomplishment enabled all four Joe Gibbs Racing competitors to make the main event.
Photo by Andrew Boyd for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“It’s really cool,” Gibbs said. “I feel like I’m kind of back here at Hickory Motor Speedway, honestly. It’s a worn-out racetrack, for sure. Just kind of looking for patches, looking for grip. I kind of understand [McDowell]’s frustration, but at Martinsville [Speedway], we were running 18th and they clobbered us and about wrecked us, so I think it’s, honestly, fair game. We got in [to the All-Star Race]. That’s all that matters.”
Lastly, rookie Noah Gragson, who recovered from his wreck nearing the halfway point to finish seventh, was awarded the 24th and final transfer spot to the All-Star Race by virtue of being the Fan Vote winner. The accomplishment marks Gragson’s first appearance in the All-Star Race as both Legacy Motor Club competitors will compete in the main event.
Photo by Andrew Boyd for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“It’s kind of bittersweet right now,” Gragson said. “[I] Got the Fan Vote so we can go racing. We want to race our way in, but grateful for the whole Legacy Motor Club team. Thank you fans for all the support and everything going into this. Voting, the cheers, everything. We fire and feed off your guys’ energy, so thank you. Unfortunate for our team [with the damaged car]. We’re gonna try to get [the car] back together and put a show for the fans. We’re gonna try and get up there.”
Aric Almirola finished the Open in third, but was among the remaining 13 competitors who did not make the 2023 All-Star Race along with Ryan Preece, AJ Allmendinger, JJ Yeley, Ty Dillon, Corey LaJoie, Josh Bilicki, Harrison Burton, Ryan Newman, Michael McDowell, Justin Haley, Todd Gilliland and Chandler Smith.
There were five lead changes for three different leaders. The race featured three cautions for 18 laps.
Results.
1. Josh Berry, 46 laps led
2. Ty Gibbs, 53 laps led
3. Aric Almirola
4. Ryan Preece
5. AJ Allmendinger
6. JJ Yeley
7. Noah Gragson
8. Ty Dillon
9. Corey LaJoie
10. Josh Bilicki
11. Harrison Burton
12. Ryan Newman, three laps down
13. Michael McDowell, three laps down
14. Justin Haley – OUT, Accident, one lap led
15. Todd Gilliland – OUT, Accident
16. Chandler Smith – OUT, Accident
The 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway will follow suit on Sunday, May 21, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.
In the return of NASCAR’s Pit Crew Challenge at a revived venue, the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota TRD Camry pit crew piloted by rookie Ty Gibbs and led by crew chief Chris Gayle achieved an advantage in their quest to make the 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race by winning the All-Star Pit Crew Challenge at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Friday, May 19.
The No. 54 JGR pit crew executed the top four-tire pit service time of the day at 13.012 seconds, which was enough to best 36 challengers and their respective pit crews as they claimed the $100,000 bonus. The result also awarded Gibbs, the reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion from Charlotte, North Carolina, the pole position for the 2023 NASCAR All-Star Open which will comprise 100 laps and occur on Sunday, May 21, at 5:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
This year’s Pit Crew Challenge made its first return since 2012 and served as part of NASCAR’s revival to the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, with the last NASCAR competition occurring in 1996 and was won by four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon.
During the Pit Crew Challenge, which determined the starting lineup for the All-Star Open and two 60-lap Heat Races, which will determine the official starting lineup for the All-Star Race, the 37 competitors who participated in the challenge drove their respective cars into a pit stall prior to entering and stopping at their assigned for their pit service, which would start the time. Once the pit crew completed the four-tire service, the competitors exited their pit stall and crossed the stall after their own, which would complete the time.
With the top starting spot for the All-Star Open, Gibbs, a 2023 Cup Series Rookie-of-the-Year contender who is currently campaigning in his first full-time season in NASCAR’s premier series, will attempt to race his way into this first All-Star Race event that will occur on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on FS1. Gibbs’ pit crew led by crew chief Chris Gayle include car chief Nate Bellows, fueler Peyton Moore, jackman Darrell Edwards, front-tire changer Blake Houston, rear-tire changer Mike Hicks and carrier Jacob Holmes.
“All credit to [the pit crew],” Gibbs said on FS1. “To be honest with you, I don’t think you should be interviewing me. You should be interviewing those guys. They work so hard. Thank you to all those boys out there. All those guys work so hard, so I appreciate them and all they do. I’m excited. We’ll see what happens. [I’m] Excited that NASCAR brought this [pit crew challenge] back. I really appreciate them giving these pit crew guys a shot.”
Joining Gibbs on the front row for the All-Star Open will be Josh Berry, who will also be making his fourth start as an interim competitor in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry for the injured Alex Bowman. Despite Bowman and the No. 48 team’s eligibility for this year’s All-Star Race after winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2022, Berry does not meet any automatic eligibility criteria for the event as he will attempt to race his way into the main event on Sunday. Nonetheless, the No. 48 pit crew delivered on Friday with the fifth overall and second for the All-Star Open pit stop time at 13.677 seconds.
Corey LaJoie will line up in third place for his starting spot for the All-Star Open while Harrison Burton, Justin Haley, Michael McDowell, Todd Gilliland, Ryan Preece, Aric Almirola and AJ Allmendinger will start in the top 10.
NASCAR All-Star Open Lineup (including pit stop time)
1. Ty Gibbs (13.012 seconds)
2. Josh Berry (13.677 seconds)
3. Corey LaJoie (13.911 seconds)
4. Harrison Burton (14.091 seconds)
5. Justin Haley (14.294 seconds)
6. Michael McDowell (14.509 seconds)
7. Todd Gilliland (14.707 seconds)
8. Ryan Preece (14.760 seconds)
9. Aric Almirola (14.776 seconds)
10. AJ Allmendinger (15.796 seconds)
11. Josh Bilicki (18.281 seconds)
12. Ty Dillon (18.447 seconds)
13. Chandler Smith (19.004 seconds)
14. Ryan Newman (20.300 seconds)
15. Noah Gragson (20.886 seconds)
16. JJ Yeley (21.066 seconds)
Meanwhile, Daniel Suarez and Chris Buescher were also left victorious after both achieved pole positions for the two Heat Qualifying Races that will occur on Saturday, May 20, beginning at 7:20 p.m. ET on FS1.
For Suarez, who received the second-fastest pit service from his No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team led by crew chief Travis Mack at 13.297 seconds, he will lead a group of 11 competitors overall to the start of the first Heat event, with the first Heat event determining the starting lineup of the inside lane for the All-Star Race. Joining him on the front row will be Chase Elliott, whose No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 pit crew posted the fourth-overall pit stop time at 13.572 seconds.
“[The pit crew] are legends,” Suarez said. “I’m very, very fortunate to have an amazing pit crew. We have amazing people and it’s showing. It’s amazing that we’re gonna have a good starting spot [for the Heat Race]. The car is pretty good. I’m confident that we’re gonna be able to keep our track position, have some fun and hopefully, be fighting for the big trophy on Sunday.”
Buescher, who received the third-fastest pit service from his No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford Mustang team led by crew chief Scott Graves at 13.381 seconds, will lead a group of 10 competitors to the start of the second Heat event that will follow suit at 8:15 p.m. ET on FS1 and determine the starting lineup of the outside lane for the All-Star Race. Joining him on the front row will be Austin Dillon, whose No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 pit crew posted the sixth-overall pit stop time at 13.712 seconds.
“That was awesome,” Buescher said. “I’m so proud of our group. You’re interviewing the wrong person. I had nothing to do with [the result]. I just got it for [the pit crew] and they did a heck of a job. [I’m] Gonna be watching all the on-track activities here these next two days and be ready for this race. We had a really good car in practice too, so I’m pumped right now. That’s awesome.”
Heat Race #1 Lineup
1. Daniel Suarez (13.297 seconds)
2. Chase Elliott (13.572 seconds)
3. Joey Logano (13.835 seconds)
4. Denny Hamlin (14.089 seconds)
5. Chase Briscoe (14.674 seconds)
6. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (15.063 seconds)
7. Austin Cindric (14.154 seconds)
8. Kevin Harvick (15.579 seconds)
9. Ryan Blaney (18.819 seconds)
10. Christopher Bell (20.064 seconds)
11. Erik Jones (21.359 seconds)
Heat Race #2 Lineup
1. Chris Buescher (13.381 seconds)
2. Austin Dillon (13.712 seconds)
3. William Byron (13.867 seconds)
4. Ross Chastain (14.373 seconds)
5. Kyle Larson (14.697 seconds)
6. Martin Truex Jr. (15.115 seconds)
7. Bubba Wallace (15.167 seconds)
8. Brad Keselowski (18.044 seconds)
9. Kyle Busch (19.531 seconds)
10. Tyler Reddick (21.034 seconds)
With the starting lineups for both the All-Star Open and the All-Star Race Heat events set, the first All-Star Race Heat event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, May 20, at 7:20 p.m. ET on FS1 followed by the second All-Star Race Heat event that will follow suit at 8:15 p.m. ET on FS1. The All-Star Open is scheduled to occur on Sunday, May 21, at 5:30 p.m. ET on FS1 while the All-Star Race will follow suit at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, all at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
William Byron was in the right place at the right time at Darlington Raceway and took advantage of the opportunity to score his third NASCAR Cup Series win of the season in overtime at the track “Too Tough to Tame.”
As the final laps wound down, Ross Chastain and Kyle Larson wrecked each other while racing for the win, bringing out the final caution flag and setting up an overtime finish in the Goodyear 400.
“Larson’s crew chief, Cliff Daniels, was furious and expressed his anger on the team radio.
How does that make any sense, running us into the fence? That’s three races he’s taken us out of—the 1 car—three races he’s taken us out of.”
Chastain, who finished 29th, took the blame for the incident but indicated it was not intentional.
“Full commit into Turn 1,” he said. “I got really tight and drove up and turned myself. I wanted to squeeze him. I wanted to push him up. We’d been racing back and forth all day. But I definitely didn’t want to turn myself.”
Bryon, now in the lead, led the field back to green and held off Kevin Harvick to capture his seventh career Cup Series victory and the 100th NASCAR win for the No. 24 car.
But it was also a bittersweet moment for Byron.
“Yeah, it’s pretty amazing,” he said. “My granddad passed away on Thursday, and just, man, I wish my family could be here. Just things have a way of working out, honestly. It just worked out that way today. We didn’t have the best third stage. We just kept battling, and things just kind of come back around. Definitely didn’t expect this.”
Kevin Harvick finished second followed by Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, and Bubba Wallace, rounding out the top five.
“We had a good car all day,” Harvick said. “We just never could get up towards the front in our Sunny Delight Ford Mustang. Struggled in traffic today, but we were really good at the second half of the run and just struggled at the beginning of the run.
“But we had good track position, then had a bad pit stop under green, and then wound up having everything work out there at the end, didn’t have anything for William. The front is torn up pretty good. But they did a great job and just kind of kept ourselves in the game, and you never know what’s going to happen.”
Martin Truex Jr. was dominant for much of the race, winning Stage 1 and leading 145 laps, but developed handling issues after contact with Chastain and finished in 31st.
“When we got into Chastain there at the end of the second stage going for the win in that, it knocked the toe out, so we were tight from there on out,” Truex said. “Just an unfortunate deal. There was plenty of room there, but he just came off the wall and hit me.
“Like I said, knocked the toe out in the right front. Pretty crappy from there, and then on that restart (Lap 281), I guess I just got real tight, and I don’t even know who I squeezed into the wall, but I apologize to them. Probably my fault, just got real tight and couldn’t stay down the track.”
Ross Chastain currently leads the Cup Series points standings. Christopher Bell is second (– 27), Harvick is third (– 29), Denny Hamlin is fourth (– 36) and William Bryon is fifth – 42.
A significant milestone start is in the making for Chris Gabehart, crew chief for Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota TRD Camry team in the NASCAR Cup Series. By participating in this weekend’s Cup throwback event at Darlington Raceway for the Goodyear 400, Gabehart will call his 150th event as crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series.
A native of Lafayette, Indiana, and a graduate of Purdue University with a degree in mechanical engineering, Gabehart’s career path to NASCAR began when he competed in go-karts at age 10 in the World Karting Association. He eventually moved up to late models and the ARCA Series before retiring in 2007 due to sponsorship and financial issues. Not long after, he became an engineer for Kyle Busch Motorsports’ late model and Truck Series program before teaming up with Joe Gibbs Racing as an engineer in both the Xfinity and Cup circuits. From 2016 to 2018, Gabehart became a crew chief for JGR in the Xfinity circuit, where he accumulated a total of nine victories with names that included Erik Jones, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Preece.
In 2017, Gabehart made his inaugural presence as a Cup Series crew chief for Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 JGR Toyota Camry team at Richmond Raceway in September. Gabehart’s role as a crew chief was an interim role for a one-race basis after Mike Wheeler, Hamlin’s full-time crew chief, was serving a two-race suspension due to illegal suspensions that were found on Hamlin’s race-winning car during the previous weekend at Darlington Raceway. With Gabehart atop the pit box of the No. 11 team at Richmond, Hamlin ended up in fifth place despite being involved in a last lap incident involving Martin Truex Jr.
In 2019, Gabehart was named a full-time crew chief for Hamlin and the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry team for the full Cup Series season. The new duo commenced the season on a high note by winning the 61st running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in February. The victory, which was the second 500 win for Hamlin and snapped his 47-race winless drought, served as a memorable one for the driver, crew chief and the JGR organization with the team mourning the loss of the team’s president and son of owner Joe Gibbs, J.D. Gibbs. Six races later, Gabehart and Hamlin achieved their second victory of the season at Texas Motor Speedway in March. They went on to win at Pocono Raceway in July and Bristol Motor Speedway in August before the 2019 Cup Playoffs commenced. With victories at Kansas Speedway in October and Phoenix Raceway in November, Gabehart and Hamlin managed to transfer all the way from the Round of 16 to the Championship 4 round at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November and compete for the series title. During the finale, however, Hamlin made a late unscheduled pit stop to fix an overheating issue to his car and ended up in 10th place on the track and in fourth place in the final championship standings. Overall, Gabehart achieved six victories, three poles, a career-best 19 top-five results, 24 top-10 results, 922 laps led and an average-finishing result of 9.5 in his first full-time Cup season with Hamlin.
Remaining as Hamlin’s crew chief for the 2020 Cup season, the duo commenced the season on a high note by winning the 62nd running of the Daytona 500, where Hamlin dodged a harrowing final lap wreck involving Ryan Newman to edge Ryan Blaney in a photo finish to repeat as a champion in the Great American Race. Their second victory of the season occurred five races later after Hamlin won a rain-shortened event at Darlington Raceway in May. Two races later at Charlotte Motor Speedway, however, Gabehart was suspended for the following four races due to ballast that fell out of Hamlin’s car prior to the start of the Coca-Cola 600. When Gabehart returned atop the pit box at Homestead in June, Hamlin ended up winning the event after leading a race-high 137 of 267 laps. The duo went on to win at Pocono in June, Kansas in July and Dover in August before making their second consecutive trip to the Playoffs. After finishing in the top 10 three times through nine Playoff events, including claiming a wild victory at Talladega Superspeedway in October, Gabehart and Hamlin managed to accumulate enough points and strong results to transfer all the way from the Round of 16 to the Championship 4 finale for a second consecutive time. During the finale, however, Hamlin ended up as the fourth highest-finishing competitor of the final four finalists both on the track and in the final standings for a second consecutive season. Despite being absent for four events, Gabehart managed to accumulate seven victories, 16 top-five results and 19 top-10 results with Hamlin and the No. 11 JGR team.
At the start of the 2021 Cup season, Gabehart and Hamlin fell short in their bid to win a third consecutive Daytona 500 as Hamlin settled in fifth place in the final running order. Despite going winless in the regular-season stretch, the No. 11 team accumulated 13 top-five results and 17 top-10 results in 26 races, which were enough for them to make the 2021 Cup Playoffs. At the start of the Playoffs, they achieved their first elusive win of the season at Darlington Raceway in September and a one-way ticket from the Round of 16 to 12 after Hamlin fended off a last lap challenge from Kyle Larson. Three races later, Gabehart and Hamlin clinched a spot for the Round of 8 after winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September. Despite finishing no higher than fifth during the Round of 8, they transferred to the Championship 4 finale. Given a third consecutive opportunity to contend for the title, Gabehart and Hamlin fell short in their third bid after finishing in third place both during the finale at Phoenix and in the final standings. With two victories achieved throughout the 2021 Cup season, Gabehart accumulated a total of 19 top-five results, a career-high 25 top-10 results, a career-high 1,502 laps led and an average-finishing result of 8.4 in his third season as a Cup crew chief with Hamlin. By then, Gabehart surpassed 100 Cup events called as a crew chief.
This past season, Gabehart and Hamlin rallied from finishing no higher than 13th during the first six scheduled events by achieving their first victory of the season at Richmond in April. Then in early May, Gabehart was issued a second four-race suspension from NASCAR for a loose wheel that came off of Hamlin’s car at Dover in late April. While JGR attempted to appeal the penalty, the penalty was denied by mid-May and Gabehart was suspended for four events that included the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May, the inaugural Cup event at World Wild Technology Raceway, Sonoma Raceway and Nashville Superspeedway in June. Amid Gabehart’s absence, Hamlin won the Coke 600 with engineer and interim crew chief Sam McAulay before finishing no higher than sixth during his following three starts. Upon returning at Road America in July, Gabehart and Hamlin finished in the top 10 three times during the final nine regular-season events on the schedule before the 2022 Cup Playoffs commenced. Despite finishing no lower than 13th throughout the Playoffs, the duo missed the cutline to the Championship 4 finale by a mere margin after Hamlin was overtaken by a bold move by title rival Ross Chastain on the final lap at Martinsville in November. With an eighth-place result in the finale, Gabehart and Hamlin concluded the season in fifth place in the final standings.
Through 149 previous Cup events, Gabehart has achieved 17 victories, five poles, 67 top-five results, 88 top-10 results and 4,064 laps led, all while working with Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team. The duo is coming off their first victory of the season at Kansas Speedway. To go along with a pole, three top-five results and five top-10 results through the first 12-scheduled events, they are tied with teammate Truex and the No. 19 JGR team for third place in the driver’s standings.
Gabehart is scheduled to call his 150th Cup Series event as a crew chief at Darlington Raceway for the Goodyear 400 on Sunday, May 14. The event’s broadcast time is scheduled to commence at 3 p.m. ET on FS1.
1. William Byron: Byron started on the pole at Kansas and recovered from an early speeding penalty, and a later brush with the wall, to finish third.
“It’s not about how you start,” Byron said, “it’s how you finish. Unless you finish by writing a $100,000 check to NASCAR for a failed inspection.”
2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin outdueled Kyle Larson in a wild finish at Kansas to win the AdventHealth 400. After a back-and-forth battle over the final laps, Hamlin got position on Larson and clipped Larson’s rear, spinning the Hendrick driver, but he held on to finish second.
“You can hear all about it on my new podcast,” Hamlin said. “It’s called ‘Actions Detrimental To Kyle Larson.’”
3. Kyle Larson: Larson finished second at Kansas after a spirited battle with Denny Hamlin over the closing laps. Hamlin clipped the rear of Larson’s car, and Larson hit the wall, while Hamlin took the win.
“Right in the middle of my interview after the race,” Larson said, “the Ross Chastain-Noah Gragson fight broke out. So it interrupted some harsh words I had in store for Denny Hamlin. So, that fight did me a favor: it prevented me from saying something I would greatly regret later.”
4. Christopher Bell: Bell finished last at Kansas after contact with Ross Chastain on Lap 157 sent him into the wall and out of the race.
“I guess Chastain is on a mission,” Bell said. “That mission is to touch everyone, with either his car or his fist.”
5. Ross Chastain: Chastain finished fifth at Kansas and then clashed with Noah Gragson after the race.
“If Noah Gragson has a problem with my driving,” Chastain said, “then he’s no different than 34 other drivers.”
6. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished eighth at Kansas.
“What else is new?” Truex said. “Ross Chastain ‘made contact’ with someone. Ross must have been pretty angry with Gragson because Ross was ‘right cross’ with him.”
7. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished 16th at Kansas.
“We’re gonna be talking about this Ross Chastain-Noah Gragson incident for a while,” Blaney said. “What’s most amazing is that, given Chastain’s various and multiple clashes with other drivers, I’m surprised he punched someone before they punched him.”
8. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 11th at Kansas and is fifth in the point standings.
“I was just named to ‘NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers’ list,” Harvick said. “There are a lot of drivers on that list that I respect a great deal, 73 to be exact. And then there’s Kyle Busch.”
9. Tyler Reddick: Reddick finished ninth in the AdventHealth 400.
“NASCAR ratings are down,” Reddick said. “But after Ross Chastain’s punch of Noah Gragson, I expect the impact to be anything but a black eye for the sport.”
10. Joey Logano: Logano rebounded from two consecutive 30th or worse finishes with a sixth at Kansas.
“My former Penske teammate Brad Keselowski had to be happy to see that Ross Chastain-Noah Gragson clash. Why? Well, for at least a day, Brad wasn’t the owner of the ‘most punchable face’ title.”
As Denny Hamlin celebrated his victory, Sunday, in the Advent Health 400, Noah Gragson approached Ross Chastain to chew him out. He grabbed him and the talk continued, until Chastain connected with his left cheek.
It ceased just as quickly as it started, after multiple officials swarmed them both to break up the fight.
“Sucks that they all get involved,” he said. “Just let us two work it out and finish it off.”
This stems from an incident during the race, in which Chastain put Gragson into the wall off Turn 4. Based on Gragson’s comments, post-race, it happened somewhere between Lap 200 and 210.
“Yeah, definitely crowded him up off of (Turn) 4, and he took a swipe at us in 3, and then he came down and grabbed a hold of me, and a very big man once told me we have a no-push policy here at Trackhouse,” Chastain said.
Gragson adds his name to the growing list of drivers displeased with Chastain’s aggressive style of racing. Most famous of which is Hamlin, who spent several laps, last season, at Gateway to put on some fun-dumb racing with him. Then again at The Clash and climaxed a few weeks later at Phoenix.
Only this time, Gragson was tired of nobody confronting Chastain.
“The guy just runs into everyone,” he said. “When you’ve got guys like Chase Elliott saying, ‘Go beat his ass,’ everyone is sick and tired of him and nobody has the balls to go up and get him.”
What repercussions this leads to for Chastain, down the road, only time will tell. For now, however, he leaves Kansas with a 27-point lead over Christopher Bell.
