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Greg Erwin to make 350th Cup start as crew chief at Richmond

A significant milestone is the making for Greg Erwin, a veteran crew chief who is atop the pit box of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang team driven by 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff contender Matt DiBenedetto. When the green flag waves this upcoming race weekend at Richmond Raceway, Erwin will reach 350 Cup races as a crew chief.

A native of Hatboro, Pennsylvania, Erwin graduated from Clemson University in 1992 with an engineering degree and he attained a motorsports engineering scholarship the following year in graduate school while volunteering to work with teams that included TriStar Motorsports. In 1995, his career in NASCAR started with Diamond Ridge Motorsports as an engineer while he worked with names like Jeff Green, Steve Grissom and Elliott Sadler. Following the 1995 season, Erwin transitioned to Team SABCO Racing as an engineer, where the team was eventually purchased and expanded by Chip Ganassi in 2001. In 2003, Erwin joined forces with Richard Childress Racing and worked as the team’s seven-post research and development program.

Entering the 2005 NASCAR Cup Series season, Erwin was promoted to crew chief for Robby Gordon and the No. 7 Robby Gordon Motorsports Chevrolet team. Erwin and Gordon failed to qualify for the 2005 Daytona 500, but they made their first start of the season the following race at Fontana’s California Speedway in February, where Gordon finished 35th due to an engine failure. Erwin and Gordon competed in 23 races throughout the 2005 season, where Gordon achieved one top-five result and two top-10 results before he concluded the season in 37th place in the final standings. The following season, Erwin completed his first full-time season in the Cup Series with Gordon, where he achieved one top-five result and three top-10 results before he finished in 30th place in the final standings.

For the first 12 races of the 2007 Cup season, Erwin remained with Robby Gordon and Gordon’s No. 7 team. Through the one-third segment of the season, Gordon finished no higher than 15th place. Afterwards, Erwin was named crew chief for the No. 16 Ford team owned by car owner Jack Roush and driven by Greg Biffle for the following race at Dover International Speedway in June. From Dover in June through Dover in September, Erwin and Biffle achieved two top-five results and six top-10 results, though Biffle failed to make the 2007 Playoffs. The following race at Kansas Speedway, Biffle was able to survive on fuel and coast across the finish line to achieve his first victory of the season as Erwin achieved his first Cup win as a crew chief. They went on to achieve two additional top-10 results and conclude the season in 14th place in the final standings.

In 2008, Erwin served as Biffle’s crew chief in all but one of the entire 36-race schedule (Auto Club Speedway in February). Following a consistent 26-race regular-season stretch, they achieved their first victory of the season at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the first Playoff race of the season. They backed it up the following week by winning at Dover. Overall, Erwin achieved two victories, two poles, 12 top-five results and 17 top-10 results with Biffle, who concluded the season in third place in the final standings. Prior to the conclusion of the 2008 Cup season, Erwin surpassed 100 Cup races as a crew chief.

In 2009, Biffle and Erwin went winless, but they achieved 10 top-five results and 16 top-10 results as Biffle made the Playoffs and concluded the season in seventh place in the final standings. They rebounded the following season by recording two wins, nine top-five results and 19 top-10 results, with Biffle finishing the season in sixth place in the final standings. Following the 2010 season, Erwin surpassed 200 Cup races as a crew chief.

For the first half of the 2011 Cup season, Erwin remained as Biffle’s crew chief in the Cup circuit, but they only achieved one top-five result and five top-10 results. Following Kentucky Speedway in July, Erwin was replaced by Matt Puccia as Biffle’s crew chief for the remainder of the season. Fortunately, Erwin was then named crew chief for the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford team driven by A.J. Allmendinger for the remainder of the season. In Erwin’s first race with the team at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Allmendinger finished 22nd. Erwin and Allmendinger went on to record six top-10 results for the remainder of the season as Allmendinger finished in 15th place in the final standings.

Erwin remained as crew chief for the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford team piloted by Aric Almirola. Following the first nine Cup races with Almirola, where he only achieved one top-10 result, Erwin, however, was replaced by veteran Mike Ford.

For the 2013 season, Erwin was named a full-time crew chief for Penske’s No. 12 Ford Mustang team driven by Sam Hornish Jr. in the NASCAR Xfinity Series as Hornish competed for the series title. Erwin and Hornish made a one-race appearance in the Cup Series at Kansas in April, where Hornish finished 37th due to being involved in a late multi-car accident. Erwin and Hornish went on to finish in second place in the final Xfinity Series standings as they missed the title by three points to Austin Dillon, crew chief Danny Stockton and Richard Childress Racing.

In 2014, Erwin was named competition director for Team Penske’s Xfinity Series program. Throughout the season, he served as a Cup interim crew chief for Brad Keselowski at Phoenix in March and he worked with Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 12 Ford team in two Cup races. He spent the 2015 season as an Xfinity crew chief for Penske’s No. 22 Ford Mustang team, where he notched seven victories and recorded Penske’s third consecutive owner’s title with Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Alex Tagliani piloting the No. 22 car throughout the season. The following season, he was named Penske’s Xfinity Series team manager while Brian Wilson served as the No. 22 team’s crew chief. He returned as crew chief for Penske’s No. 22 Ford team in the 2017 Xfinity season.

In August 2017, Erwin was named crew chief for the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford team and Paul Menard for the 2018 Cup season. In Erwin’s first race with Menard, the combo finished in sixth place in the 2018 Daytona 500 in February. Ultimately, they achieved one pole, one top-five result and seven top-10 results throughout the 36-race schedule as Menard finished in 19th place in the final standings.

The following season, Erwin and Menard achieved only four top-10 results as Menard concluded his second season with the Wood Brothers Racing in 19th place in the final standings. Earlier in the season, Menard dominated and was in race-winning position in the Clash at Daytona International Speedway in February until contact from eventual winner Jimmie Johnson knocked Menard out of contention as he was involved in a multi-car accident. Following the 2019 season, Erwin surpassed 300 starts as a Cup crew chief.

This season, Erwin remained as a crew chief for the Wood Brothers Racing team and driver Matt DiBenedetto, who joined the team following Menard’s departure from full-time racing. In Erwin’s first race with DiBenedetto, the combo finished 19th in the 2020 Daytona 500. The following race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, DiBenedetto made a late rally to finish in second place behind Joey Logano. Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, DiBenedetto achieved two top-five results and seven top-10 results. After finishing in 12th place at Daytona International Speedway in August, DiBenedetto claimed the 16th and final transfer spot to the 2020 Cup Playoffs. DiBenedetto’s accomplishment marked his first Cup postseason appearance as a title contender, Erwin’s third as a title contender and the Wood Brothers Racing’s second as a Playoff team.

Erwin and DiBenedetto are coming off a 21st-place result in the first Playoff race of this season at Darlington Raceway. They are ranked in 15th place in the Playoff standings and are 17 points below the top-12 cutline to advance to the second round of the 2020 Cup Playoffs.

Catch crew chief Greg Erwin’s milestone start at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

September 9, 2020
Kyle Busch to move into fifth place on all-time combined national series starts in NASCAR at Richmond

A significant milestone is in the making for Kyle Busch, a 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff contender and driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry. By the time Busch completes his two scheduled starts this weekend at Richmond Raceway between the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series, he will surpass Michael Waltrip and move into fifth place on NASCAR’s all-time combined national series starts with 1,174 starts between the Truck, Xfinity and Cup Series.

A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, Kyle Busch made his first appearance within NASCAR’s three major division series in 2001 in the Truck Series, where he drove the No. 99 Ford for car owner Jack Roush at age 16. His first start was at Indianapolis Raceway Park in August, where he started 23rd and finished ninth place. He competed in five additional Truck races with Roush and was set to compete at Fontana’s California Speedway in November when he was prohibited from competing since he was under 18 years of age in racing in events sponsored by Marlboro cigarettes. Shortly after, NASCAR imposed a rule where developing competitors were not allowed to compete within the sport until reaching the minimum age of 18, which began in 2002.

By 2003, Busch was a development driver for Hendrick Motorsports and competing in the ARCA Series, where he won his first two career races. In May, after turning 18 years of age, Busch made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Charlotte’s Lowe’s Motor Speedway while driving the No. 87 ditech.com Chevrolet under an alliance between Hendrick Motorsports and NEMCO Motorsports. In his first run in the series, Busch posted an impressive second-place result behind Matt Kenseth and received congrats from his older brother and current NASCAR star, Kurt. He competed in six additional starts in the Xfinity Series, where he posted another second-place result at Darlington Raceway in August and a seventh-place result at Rockingham’s North Carolina Speedway in November.

The 2004 NASCAR season was an eventful season for Busch, who competed the entire 34 Xfinity Series schedule with Hendrick Motorsports as a rookie candidate, made a one-race return in the Truck Series with team owner Rob Morgan and made his first six Cup career starts with HMS. In the Xfinity circuit, where he drove the No. 5 Lowe’s Chevrolet led by veteran Lance McGrew, Busch achieved five victories, five poles, 16 top-five results and 22 top-10 results before he concluded the season as the Rookie-of-the-Year winner and in second place behind Martin Truex Jr. In the Cup circuit, where he drove the No. 84 Carquest Chevrolet led by crew chief Gary DeHart, Busch’s best result was 24th place at California Speedway in September. In his one-race Truck start at Indianapolis Raceway Park in August, Busch finished 11th.

Busch’s career would skyrocket the following season as he was named a full-time NASCAR Cup Series competitor for Hendrick Motorsports, piloting the No. 5 Kellogg’s Chevrolet as a rookie candidate led by crew chief Alan Gustafson. During the season, he achieved his first two Cup career victories, one pole, seven top-five results and nine top-10 results before he was named the Rookie-of-the-Year recipient. He also won one race in 14 Xfinity Series starts and he claimed his first three Truck career victories in 11 starts throughout the season.

Through September 2020, Busch has made 155 career starts in the NASCAR Truck Series. He is the all-time Truck wins leader with 59 career victories, which he achieved while driving for Billy Ballew Motorsports and Kyle Busch Motorsports, and he is a seven-time Truck owner’s champion with KBM. He has also achieved 22 poles, 102 top-five results, 123 top-10 results and over 7,000 laps led in 18 years in the series. His current average result in the series is 6.8.

In addition, he has made 356 starts in the Xfinity Series and is also the all-time Xfinity wins leader with 97 career victories, which he achieved while driving for Hendrick Motorsports, Braun Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the 2009 Xfinity Series champion and holds the record for the most victories in a single Xfinity season (13 in 2010). He has achieved 10 or more victories in four Xfinity seasons. He has also achieved 68 poles, 219 top-five results, 257 top-10 results and over 19,000 laps led in 18 years in the series. His current average result in the series is 9.1.

Finally, he has made 561 starts in the Cup Series and has achieved 56 career victories, all while driving for HMS and JGR. He is the reigning two-time Cup Series champion and a two-time Cup regular-season champion who has achieved major victories like the 2018 Coca-Cola 600, the 2017 NASCAR All-Star Race, two Brickyard 400s, the 2012 Clash at Daytona International Speedway and the 2008 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. He has also achieved 32 poles, 211 top-five results, 310 top-10 results and over 17,000 laps led in 18 years in the series. His current average result in the series is 13.7.

To this day, Busch is the lone competitor to achieve a win across NASCAR’s three major division series in one weekend and to achieve a victory at every active NASCAR Cup Series track on the schedule.

This season, Busch has completed the first 27 Cup races and has also made four starts in the Xfinity Series and five starts in the Truck Series. He has achieved three Truck wins and one Xfinity win, but he is winless in the Cup circuit despite recording one stage win, 11 top-five results and 14 top-10 results. He is coming off a seventh-place result in the first Cup Playoff race of this season at Darlington Raceway and is in 10th place in the Playoff standings, seven points above the top-12 cutline to advance to the second round of the Playoffs.

In addition to competing in the Cup Series on a full-time basis with Joe Gibbs Racing, Busch is also scheduled to make his fifth and final Xfinity Series start this season with JGR in the first of a series doubleheader feature at Richmond Raceway.

Prior to this season, Kyle Busch made 1,136 across NASCAR’s three major division series. Once he surpasses Michael Waltrip this weekend at Richmond, Busch will trail Joe Nemechek (1195), Richard Petty (1185), Kevin Harvick (1178) and Mark Martin (1143) for the most starts between NASCAR’s three major division series (Truck, Xfinity and Cup).

Catch Kyle Busch’s milestone start at Richmond Raceway on Friday, September 11, at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN, where he will extend his streak of starts between NASCAR’s three major division series the following day for the Cup Series Playoff race on Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

September 9, 2020
Byron to make 100th Cup start at Richmond

A significant milestone is in the making for William Byron, a 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff contender and driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Hendrick Motorsports. When Byron takes the green flag this weekend at Richmond Raceway, he will reach 100 starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Byron was a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series competitor for JR Motorsports when he was announced as a full-time Cup competitor for Hendrick Motorsports in August 2017 for the 2018 season, replacing veteran Kasey Kahne. Near the end of August, HMS then announced that Byron will be driving the iconic No. 24 car sponsored by AXALTA and Liberty University in 2018 while Chase Elliott, who was in his second season driving the No. 24 car, will be driving the 9 car, a number his father, Bill, drove, the following season. Three months later, Byron went on to claim the 2017 Xfinity Series championship.

Byron made his Cup debut in the 2018 Daytona 500 with veteran Darian Grubb serving as his crew chief. He finished 23rd in his first start in NASCAR’s premier series after being involved in two separate incidents. Six races later, he recorded his first top-10 result, eighth place, at Texas Motor Speedway in April. Through the first 18 races of the season and in his rookie Cup season, Byron recorded one top-10 result and five top-15 results while also recording four DNFs. Near the end of July and the beginning of August, he recorded back-to-back top-10 results at Pocono Raceway (sixth place) and at Watkins Glen International (eighth place).

By the time the regular-season concluded in September at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Byron was ranked in 22nd place in the regular-season standings and failed to qualify for the 2018 Cup Playoffs. For the final 10 Cup races of the 2018 season, he recorded only one top-10 result (ninth place at Phoenix Raceway), he sustained four DNFs and he concluded the season in 23rd place in the final standings. Despite the challenges to his rookie season, Byron was able to beat Bubba Wallace for the Rookie-of-the-Year title.

In 2019, Byron was paired with seven-time championship-winning crew chief Chad Knaus, who completed a 17-year run with seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team in the Cup circuit. In Byron’s first run with Knaus, he recorded his first Cup career pole for the 2019 Daytona 500. Byron’s pole was the fifth year in a row where a car from Hendrick Motorsports earned the pole position for the Daytona 500 as he also recorded the 700th Cup pole for Chevrolet. Byron, however, finished 21st during the main event after being involved in a late multi-car accident.

Following the first six races of the 2019 season, where he finished no higher than 15th, Byron recorded his first top-10 result of the season at Texas Motor Speedway in April (sixth place). Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Byron achieved four poles, three top-five results and nine top-10 results. He was able to rack enough points and consistent runs to make the 2019 Cup Playoffs along with teammates Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman.

During the first round of the 2019 Cup Playoffs (three races), Byron finished seventh, 24th and sixth as he also claimed his fifth pole of the season at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. His results in the first round of the Playoffs were enough for him and the No. 24 team to transfer into the second round of the Playoffs. During the second round, he finished 13th, 33rd and sixth, and failed to advance to the third round of the Playoffs. Nonetheless, he went on to finish in second place at Martinsville Speedway in October and conclude his sophomore season in 11th place in the final standings.

Byron and Knaus started this season off by winning the second Bluegreen Vacations Duel qualifying race at Daytona International Speedway in February and lining up in fourth place for the Daytona 500. Despite starting the Daytona 500 strong, Byron’s run came to an end past the one-quarter mark of the race when contact from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. sent Byron spinning and making hard contact against the inside wall, ending his run in last place of the 40-car field.

For the first 18 Cup races of this season, Byron achieved four top-10 results and was ranked in 17th place in the regular-season standings. He went on to achieve four additional top-10 results over the next 12 races. After finishing eighth, 28th and fourth the next three races, Byron retained the final transfer spot to the 2020 Cup Playoffs by a mere margin over teammate Jimmie Johnson.

Then, the following week, Byron’s roller coaster start in the Cup circuit concluded after he held off teammate Chase Elliott and the field in a late shootout to score his first Cup career win at Daytona International Speedway, the regular-season finale, in his 98th series start. The victory allowed Byron, Knaus and the No. 24 team to claim a spot in the Playoffs. He also became the 19th different competitor to win while driving for Hendrick Motorsports, only the second competitor to win driving the No. 24 car along with NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon and he recorded the team’s 260th Cup career victory.

Byron, who is a Cup Playoff contender for the second consecutive season, is coming off a fifth-place result in the first Playoff race at Darlington Raceway. He is ranked in ninth place in the Playoff standings and is nine points above the top-12 cutline to advance to the second round of the Playoffs.

Catch Byron’s milestone start at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

September 9, 2020
Harvick to start on pole position at Richmond

The 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick will start on pole position for the upcoming Cup Playoff race at Richmond Raceway, the Federated Auto Parts 400, on Saturday, September 12.

Harvick, who won last Sunday’s first Playoff race of this season at Darlington Raceway and has punched his ticket to the second round of the Playoffs, was awarded the pole position based on four statistical categories: current owner points standings, the driver’s results, the owner’s results and the fastest lap time from a previous Cup race. This Saturday will mark the fourth time this season, third in the previous six races, where Harvick will start in first place and lead the field to the start of a Cup Series race.

Joey Logano, who finished in third place last Sunday at Darlington, will start alongside Harvick on the front row for Saturday’s race at Richmond while Austin Dillon, who earned a strong runner-up finish at Darlington, will start in third place. Alex Bowman and William Byron, teammates at Hendrick Motorsports, will start fourth and fifth followed by Kyle Busch, a six-time Richmond winner who has yet to record his first victory of this season.

Denny Hamlin, Busch’s teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing and a three-time Richmond winner, will start in seventh place followed by Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski and Aric Almirola. Clint Bowyer, a two-time Richmond winner, will start in 11th place followed by Chase Elliott, Cole Custer, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney and Matt DiBenedetto.

Erik Jones will start in 17th place and as the highest-starting non-title contender followed by Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Michael McDowell.

Starting in positions 21-29 are Ryan Newman, Tyler Reddick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Preece, Chris Buescher, Christopher Bell, Ty Dillon, Daniel Suarez and Brennan Poole.

Starting in positions 30-38 are Bubba Wallace, John Hunter Nemechek, J.J. Yeley, Quin Houff, Corey LaJoie, Reed Sorenson, Joey Gase, Timmy Hill and James Davison.

The second NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race of this season at Richmond Raceway will occur on September 12 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

September 9, 2020
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Darlington

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Kevin Harvick: Harvick took the win at Darlington after inheriting the lead when Chase Elliott and Martin Truex, Jr. hit the wall battling for the lead late.

“If this were the Olympics,” Harvick said, “I would have won the gold, while Eliott and Truex would have shared the silver, for handing me that win on a platter of such.”

2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 13th at Darlington.

“I missed getting into the pits late in the race,” Hamlin said, “and that cost me. I missed the left into the pits. Several other drivers made mistakes at Darlington. So I guess as far as making mistakes goes, it was ‘my turn.’”

3. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished 20th in the Cook Out Southern 500.

“Martin Truex Jr. tried to pass me for the lead and wasn’t clear,” Elliott said. “The result? We both hit the wall and lost our chances to win. So, in our tangle, there were no winners.”

4. Joey Logano: Logano finished third at Darlington, posting his seventh top-5 of the season

“It was ‘throwback’ weekend at Darlington,” Logano said. “Mine honored Bobby Allison. His brother Donnie will be honored whenever NASCAR has a ‘throw punch‘ weekend.”

5. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski hit the wall in Stage 1 and fell a lap down before recovering to post an 11th at Darlington.

“When you make a mistake at Darlington,” Keselowski said, “the wall makes you pay for it. Now, if Corey LaJoie hits the wall with his ‘Trump 2020’ car, the wall makes Mexico pay for it.”

6. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex swept Stages 1 and 2, but fell from contention after initiating contact while trying to pass Chase Elliott with 15 laps to go. Truex finished 22nd.

“I take full responsibility,” Truex said. “I said as much on Twitter, where my new Twitter handle is ‘@fault.’”

7. Ryan Blaney: Blaney suffered a flat rear tire early in Stage 2, and the ensuing pit stop left him a lap down. Unable to recover, he finished 24th.

“Even before that,” Blaney said, “I was docked 10 points and sent to the back of the field for improperly mounted ballast. That’s a pretty stiff punishment, and is also known as being ‘heavily penalized.’”

8. William Byron: Byron finished fifth at Darlington, just ahead of Handrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman.

“I just signed a two-year contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports,” Byron said. “I signed on the dotted line, while also making sure I didn’t sign below the yellow line.”

9. Kyle Busch: Busch finished seventh at Darlington and is 10th in the points standings.

“I’m the guy most people might be overlooking to win the championship,” Busch said. “My odds in Vegas to win the title are pretty slim. So, as far as oddsmakers go, ‘no one likes me to win.’ Remove the ‘to win’ part of that phrase, and you have another true statement.”

10. Aric Almirola: Almirola finished ninth in the Cook Out Southern 500 and is now 12th in the point standings.

“I’m sitting right on the playoff bubble,” Almirola said. “My Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick doesn’t have to worry about that. In fact, he’s thinking not about the ‘playoff bubble,’ but the ‘playoff bubbly.’”

September 7, 2020
Almirola and Bowyer post top-10 results in Playoff opener at Darlington
While Kevin Harvick celebrated another momentous victory of this season in the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on September 6 and punched his ticket to the second round of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, teammates Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer battled back from early struggles to their respective cars and persevered through a long night of racing to record top-10 results, thus opening the Playoffs on a decent note.

For Almirola, who started in 10th place, he started the race on a strong note as he kept his No. 10 Go Bowling Ford Mustang within the top 10, running as high as seventh place. Throughout the run, however, Almirola began battling loose-handling conditions as he lost track position and he was also involved in an incident past the Lap 80 mark involving Playoff contender Brad Keselowski, who cut a tire and drew out a caution due to debris. At the end of the first stage, he was scored in 18th place.

Restarting inside the top 20 at the start of the second stage, Almirola was able to work his way back into the top 15 and following adjustments to his car, he nearly cracked the top 10 before he settled in 11th place following the second stage. For the remainder of the run in the final stage, Almirola was able to work his way back into the top 10 on the track following a stellar pit stop from his crew and gaining track position. He was scored in seventh place prior to a late restart before he settled in ninth place when he crossed the finish line.

The top-10 result was Almirola’s 15th of the season and despite scoring no stage points throughout the race, he holds sole possession of the 12th and final transfer spot above the top-12 cutline in a tie-breaker over teammate Clint Bowyer, who finished right behind him.

“I think the downforce package has been a little bit different, for sure,” Almirola said in a post-race conference call. “I enjoy slipping and sliding around. Tires still seemed like they mattered, for sure. I think tires were a second-and-a-half to two seconds faster, so I’m excited about Richmond — going back to a short track package with low downforce and that’s been a good place for us, so I’m looking forward to there and Bristol and we’ll go from there…As far as Darlington compared to Las Vegas, I felt like I ran about the same as I would have at Las Vegas. I’ve been about a sixth to tenth place car at both places and that’s about what we ran tonight. We got in a little bit of a hole early in the race with some left-rear quarter panel damage that we had to fix on pit road and really put us in a spot to where we couldn’t capitalize on stage points, so that hurt us a little bit just not scoring any stage points, but we were able to battle back from that and get back to the top 10, which is where we felt like we were capable of running. I felt like we were a seventh to tenth place car and we finished ninth.”

For Bowyer, who started ninth, he was scored back in 10th place on the track when the competition caution flew on Lap 25. Though he had a car capable of running inside the top 10 and was able to work his way up to eighth place, he dropped back to 12th place, where he finished following the first stage. During the early run, he also had an on-track altercation with Kyle Busch, where both competitors made contact with one another for two consecutive laps and ended with Bowyer getting bumped by Kyle before he was passed for position in the top 10. Restarting inside the top 15 for the second stage, Bowyer received adjustments to his car throughout the run to improve the handling, which he was able to carve his way back into the top 10 and finish ninth when the second stage ended. As a result, he collected a couple of stage points.

Restarting in 11th place to start the final stage, Bowyer continued to methodically work his way towards the front as he worked his way up as high as sixth place on the track with his pit crew delivering strong service to his No. 14 PEAK Ford Mustang. With 66 laps remaining, however, he pitted to have a flat right-rear tire addressed. Though he returned to the track on fresh tires and was poised to gain more track position, a caution with less than 50 laps remaining due to debris evaporated Bowyer’s progress and chances of making a late rally for the win. Instead, he restarted inside the top 15 with approximately 40 laps remaining and made his way up to 10th place when the checkered flag flew and he crossed the finish line.

The top-10 result was Bowyer’s eighth of the season as he is ranked in 13th place in the Playoff standings and is tied with teammate Aric Almirola for the 12th and final transfer spot while being below the top-12 cutline.

“I certainly was hoping for more,” Bowyer said in a post-race conference call. “Frustrated to be honest with you. I have to go back and look at the race to see what happened with the debris. By the time that they picked it up I’d say it was way off the race track, so that kind of set us up to not have a not very good day. That put us in a hole. We were gonna be in the single digits for sure there, looking pretty good, but just had a lot of trouble. Right-rear — threw the rubber off the right-rear and had to pit there. It could have been catastrophic. At the end the left-rear was about to fall off of it, so we’ve got to clean some things up. I told you going into this we’ve got to put 10 races together. We’ve got to put whole races together. We can’t make these mistakes. If we can clean those up, we’re going to some good tracks for us — for us all, Aric, Kevin and all of us, we enjoy these short tracks. We’ve got a good short track program, so looking forward to what’s to come.”
Photo by Ted Seminara for SpeedwayMedia.com.
Following the race, however, disaster struck for Bowyer, when NASCAR discovered that his No. 14 Ford had two lug nuts not safely secured on his race car during post-race inspection. A similar discovery was made to Kyle Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry. As a result, both competitors will compete next weekend’s Playoff race at Richmond without their respective crew chiefs. Bowyer will have veteran Greg Zipadelli, Stewart-Haas Racing’s competition director, as an interim crew chief on a one-race basis next weekend.

Teammates Almirola and Bowyer, along with their fellow Cup contenders, will return for the next NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
September 7, 2020
Johnson records top-20 run in final start at Darlington

For the majority of Sunday night’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Jimmie Johnson drove like a legend as a non-title contender and down to his final 10 races as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series competitor. Despite recording top-five runs in both stages and having a car to contend for a possible victory, contact with fellow competitor Denny Hamlin and being shuffled towards the middle of the pack in the closing laps left the seven-time champion and his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet team with an 18th-place run in the final running order.

Starting in 22nd place while sporting a special blue, white, red and black scheme to his No. 48 Chevrolet and paying tribute to Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt (two of three seven-time champions in NASCAR), Johnson wasted no time making his way to the front. Five laps into the event, Johnson was scored in 15th place and he continued to march towards the front. Following the competition caution on Lap 25 and the ensuing restart past the Lap 30 mark, Johnson made his way into the top 10. Battling teammates and Playoff contenders William Byron and Alex Bowman for position (both of whom sported special Jimmie Johnson throwback schemes), Johnson was scored in the top five by Lap 60. Following a caution past the Lap 80 mark due to debris, his pursuit to the front continued on the ensuing restart when he moved up to third place and then passed teammate Chase Elliott for second place on the track. Unable to catch leader Martin Truex Jr., Johnson settled in second place in the first stage on Lap 115.

Following a slow pit stop under the stage break, Johnson was shuffled back to eighth place for the start of the second stage. Nonetheless, when the racing resumed under green, he methodically worked his way back towards the front. Racing as high as third place in the stage when he cycled through a green flag pit stop and gained a handful of track position, he settled in fifth place when the second stage concluded on Lap 230.

Starting in eighth place for the final stage, Johnson raced as high as fourth place before he dropped and settled inside the top 10. His race, however, went away with less than 50 laps remaining and during a cycle of green flag pit stops. After completing his stop and cycling his way back on the track, he made contact with Denny Hamlin, who struggled and missed the pit road entrance. The incident dropped Johnson and his No. 48 team back within the top 20. Trying to charge his way back towards the front, he ended up getting shuffled back to 18th place when the checkered flag flew.

In the end, Johnson emerged as the second highest-finishing non-title contender on the track in his 24th and final run at Darlington, a track where he won three times during his 19-year career run in NASCAR.

Johnson, along with his fellow competitors, will return for the next Cup event at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

September 7, 2020
Kurt Busch pleased with strategy, top-10 run in Playoff opener

If there was a competitor and a team that came into the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff opener at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, September 6, with a game plan, it was Kurt Busch and his No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team led by crew chief Matt McCall. Following a gusty call in the first stage to remain on the track on old tires for track position, the 2004 Cup champion was able to collect stage points within both stages and maintain track position inside the top 10 throughout the race before he battled back to record a solid eighth-place result in his quest for his second Cup title.

Starting in 16th place, Kurt Busch gained only three spots on the track in 13th place when the competition caution flew on Lap 25. Restarting in the top 15, Kurt was able to work his way into the top 10 as he was scored in eighth place by Lap 70. Following the first round of green flag pit stops and a caution just past the Lap 80 mark for debris, crew chief Matt McCall made the call for Kurt to remain on track, which he did along with Bubba Wallace while the majority of lead lap competitors behind him pitted. Leading two laps, he would be quickly overtaken by Martin Truex Jr. for the lead. Despite running on older tires compared to nearly the entire field, Kurt remained well inside the top five. When the first stage concluded on Lap 115, Kurt was able to maintain fifth place on the track and collect a handful of stage points.

Starting the second stage in fourth place, Kurt was able to race his way as high as second place by Lap 164. Following a green flag pit stop and a caution near Lap 180 for a spin involving Wallace, Kurt returned to pit road for four tires and an air pressure adjustment. Restarting in ninth place, Kurt was able to maintain 10th place on the track when the second stage concluded on Lap 230, thus collecting a single stage point.

Restarting in 10th place in the final stage, Kurt worked his way from the top 10 to the top five throughout the run. Following a late caution due to debris, he restarted in 11th place with approximately 40 laps remaining and was trying to battle his way back into the top 10 in the final laps. When leaders Truex and Chase Elliott tangled with 15 laps remaining, Kurt was able to gain a few more spots on the track and cross the finish line in eighth place, one spot behind brother Kyle but ahead of Playoff contenders Aric Almirola, Clint Bowyer, Brad Keselowski, Cole Custer and Denny Hamlin.

With his 15th top-10 result of this season, Kurt Busch is ranked in 11th place in the Playoff standings and is four points above the top-12 cutline.

“It was a great call by Matt McCall to stay out and use our strength,” Busch said on NBCSN. “Our strength was long run speed and it just seemed like our car needed 10-15 laps to get going on fresh tires. That put us in clean air, gave us a shot at trying to hang on to points and yeah, I gotta let some guys go. Otherwise, people will move you. You don’t want damage. I knew my job was to manage it. We got fifth. That was a great stage. Then we struggled with some of the loose and the tight on the Monster Energy Chevy. But all in all, when we were on that alternative strategy, I was loving it. That’s when you go back to old school Darlington and you’re out there for 60-70 laps at a time and you got to get every lap time you can when everybody else is on fresh tires. I was in the zone, I was feeling it and the yellow came out. We had to battle back, we got eighth. It was a good points night for us, but I wanted a little bit more out of Darlington.”

Kurt Busch, along with his fellow Cup Playoff contenders, will return for the next Playoff race at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

September 7, 2020
Byron and Bowman emerge with top-six results in Playoff opener

While Kevin Harvick emerged with the upper hand over his fellow Playoff contenders by winning the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff opener in the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Alex Bowman produced strong results for themselves after finishing in fifth and sixth place under the lights and in their pursuit for this year’s Cup title.

For Byron, he started the race in third place and with momentum fresh off of his first Cup career victory at Daytona International Speedway, a victory that locked himself and his No. 24 Chevrolet team into the Playoffs. When the race started, Byron raced inside the top five and was scored in fourth place when the competition caution flew on Lap 25. In the ensuing restart past the Lap 30 mark, he slipped back to sixth place, but was able to work his way back to fourth place following the first round of green flag pit stops around Lap 70. When the race restarted on Lap 86, Byron was back in eighth place. For the remainder of the first stage, he remained in eighth place and he collected a handful of stage points.

Restarting in the top 10 to start the second stage, he dropped back and was battling inside the top 15. Struggling to keep pace with the leaders under dark conditions than earlier, Byron was forced to settle in 12th place when the second stage concluded. During the final stage that started with approximately 130 laps remaining, he methodically worked his way back into the top 10 and was poised for a top-10 result in the final laps. Following an incident involving teammate Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr., however, Byron gained a few more spots on the track and was scored in fifth place when he crossed the line and took the checkered flag.

The fifth-place result marked Byron’s third consecutive top-five result in recent weeks as the Charlotte native is in ninth place in the standings and nine points above the top-12 cutline.

“It was a struggle [early],” Byron said on NBCSN. “We just kind of kept slowly losing track position whether it was the restart or pit stop. After we got some of it back, I felt like we gotten our car just good enough that prior run to kind of run higher than most guys and that worked out pretty good for us on the final two runs. We just kind of have to find that lane and get our car in the track a little bit more. The combination of those two and some track position kind of got us up towards the top 10 and we were able to get a top five, so that’s nice. It’s good. We rallied [tonight]. It wasn’t pretty all 500 miles, but this really isn’t a track that we have a ton of notes on. We wrecked out early in the spring, so we had to get some of those spots back. Hopefully, we can go on to Richmond and have a pretty good run there.”

For Bowman, he started his run in the Playoffs in fourth place, but he was up into second place in the opening laps behind teammate Chase Elliott. Though he lost a spot as the early run under green progressed, Bowman was able to stabilize himself in third place when the competition caution flew on Lap 25. Restarting in second place in the ensuing restart, the Arizona native started to lose spots on the track and as the run progressed. Falling out of the top five, he was able to stabilize himself in the top 10 following a pit stop under green with the lead lap competitors and retain sixth place when the first stage concluded.

Throughout the second stage, Bowman contended well inside the top 10 and was able to work his way up to fourth place when the second stage concluded, thus collecting more stage points. Starting in the top five for the final stage, Bowman was poised to continue his charge back to the front. During the early portions of the final stage, however, he dropped all the way back inside the top 20 due to a pit road miscue, where the jack dropped during service to his No. 88 Chevrolet. Through most of the final stage, he worked his way back into the top 15 and then, the top 10. He was poised for a top-10 run in the final laps when contact between teammate Elliott and Truex while battling for the lead allowed Bowman to gain a few more spots on the track. When the checkered flag flew, Bowman crossed the line in sixth place.

With his ninth top-10 result of this season, Bowman is in fifth place in the Playoff standings and is 19 points above the top-12 cutline.

“I think we were definitely a little better on the long runs,” Bowman said on NBCSN. “[I] Came in fourth and went out like 18th. The jack had one job and it didn’t do its job, but my pit crew nails it every week. They’re one of the fastest crews on pit road. That stuff will happen. That’s part of this sport, but really pumped for everybody at [Hendrick Motorsports]. Obviously, [Byron] had a good run, [Chase Elliott] had a good run going and [teammate Jimmie Johnson] was really fast, too. Four really fast race cars. My cars looks so cool tonight. It’s so cool to be able to drive a Jimmie Johnson paint scheme. Man, that was pretty crazy. Big thanks to ChevyGoods and Truck Hero. [I] Had a good race car. Just hard to recover from that [pit road miscue], but we’ll move on to Richmond next week.”

With Byron and Bowman leading the way out of the four-car lineup from Hendrick Motorsports at Darlington Raceway, Elliott, a title contender, dropped all the way back to 20th place following his late incident while Jimmie Johnson, a non-title contender, settled in 18th place in his 24th and final run at Darlington.

Teammates Byron and Bowman, along with their fellow Playoff contenders, will return for the next NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

September 7, 2020
Dillon and Logano post podium results in Playoff opener at Darlington

While Kevin Harvick came out on top and celebrated a thrilling win in the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Austin Dillon and Joey Logano rallied from their share of challenges throughout Sunday night’s race to record second- and third-place results as they kicked off the 2020 Cup Playoffs on a strong note.

For Austin Dillon, his race started off at the rear of the field when unapproved adjustments to his No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE forced Dillon to surrender his 12th-place starting spot on the grid and take the green flag behind the leaders.

Following the first 25 laps of the race, Dillon, who was battling a tight-handling race car, managed to crack the top 30 as he was scored in 29th place. Dillon’s progression throughout the race continued as he was able to complete a smooth green flag pit stop during the stage and settle in 15th place, two spots behind teammate Tyler Reddick, when the first stage concluded on Lap 115.

Throughout the second stage, Dillon continued to make his way to the front and he was able to rack up a handful of stage points following the stage’s conclusion on Lap 230, where he was posted in eighth place.

Under 50 laps remaining, Dillon and the No. 3 Chevrolet made its way into the top five and appeared to have a fourth-place run settled to open this year’s Playoffs. With 15 laps remaining and following an incident involving leaders Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Elliott, Dillon moved up to second place and had an opportunity to strike for the lead as he was catching race leader Kevin Harvick in the closing laps.

On the final lap, Dillon cut Harvick’s advantage down to six-tenths of a second and he continued to narrow his deficit through Turn 2. Entering Turns 3 and 4, Dillon went high and gained a huge run through the turns in an attempt to draw even with Harvick coming to the finish line. The run, however, was not enough for Dillon to challenge Harvick for the win as Dillon came up three-tenths of a second short to Harvick for the win.

The runner-up result marked Dillon’s third top-five result of the season, his best result since winning at Texas Motor Speedway in July and his best start to the Playoffs as a title contender (fourth season making the postseason). With his second-place finish, Austin Dillon is ranked in eighth place in the Playoff standings and is 10 points above the top-12 cutline.

“I was just trying all I could,” Dillon said on NBCSN. “I can’t thank American Ethanol enough. We’ve had E15 in these cars, have made a million miles on it and they’ve been a great partner of mine. Man, it would’ve been nice to get that win and lock ourselves into the next round, but heck of a finish for our whole No. 3 team. We had a really good long run car and Harvick was getting tighter and tighter. I’d caught him earlier in the run and he’d kind of take my low line down there in [Turn] 1 and 2. That was where I was really good. What a fun race, really happy that I got a great run for [late NASCAR Hall of Famer] Junior Johnson. He’s one of my heroes. We’re really tight with our family…Man, so close! It’s been fun. We just gotta keep on pluggin’. Richmond’s next week and we’ve got another short-track car for’em. We showed up when it mattered. I mean, a lot of people count you out, but I don’t count myself out or this team. I feel like we’ve brought good race cars all year, really progressed throughout races and made good changes. Sometimes, it just don’t fall your way, but we got that win at Texas and it was some momentum that we needed. We’re just gonna keep continuing doing our thing.”

Logano’s run, on the other hand, was more eventful throughout the race. Starting in 13th place, Logano was able to work his way and settle into the top 10 through the first 25 laps and when the competition caution flew. Following a four-tire pit stop with air adjustments to his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang, Logano proceeded to running inside the top 10 throughout the first stage while his teammates and title contenders, Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney, battled early issues of their own. When the first stage concluded on Lap 115, Logano was scored in seventh place as he collected a handful of stage points.

The second stage was where Logano’s struggles along with his teammates occurred as all three Penske competitors struggled to keep pace with the leaders. When the second stage concluded on Lap 230, Logano was the highest-running Penske competitor on the track in 17th place while Keselowski and Blaney were in 18th and 20th.

At the start of the final stage, a stack up on a restart resulted with Logano sustaining rear end damage to his car after he was hit by Corey LaJoie. Not long after, the caution flew and Logano pitted along with his teammates to have the damage assessed. From there, Logano started to charge his way back to the front. Following a restart with 41 laps remaining, Logano found himself back inside the top five and as the lone Penske competitor to be running inside the top five.

With the laps winding down, it appeared that Logano was content for a fifth-place run. When leaders Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Elliott got tangled up in Turn 1 and both dropped out of race-winning contention, however, Logano was able to gain a couple more spots on the track as he was in third place behind Kevin Harvick and Austin Dillon. For the final 15 laps, however, Logano was unable to close the gap between himself and the two leaders as he settled in third place, two seconds behind, when he crossed the finish line under the checkered flag.

With his seventh top-five result of this season and his fourth at Darlington in the Cup Series, Logano is ranked in third place in the Playoff standings and is 27 points above the top-12 cutline.

“Man, hard fought,” Logano said. “We kind of were decent, it’s just so hard to pass with these big spoilers on the car at this racetrack. That makes it challenging. We had a right-front go down the last lap of the second stage, hit the wall and we did a good job fixing the car and then strategy worked well, so [crew chief] Paul [Wolfe] did great there, and then they had an amazing pit stop the last stop, had a good restart and all of a sudden I was like, ‘Shoot, we could win this thing.’ To see what the left-rear looks like after that I was pretty impressed to get whatever we got. It’s funny how the team always tells you, ‘How does the damage look?’ ‘It looks great. It looks great.’ You get out and you’re like, ‘Whoa!’ Overall, that’s what we needed to do. We need to come out of these playoffs running hard and having a solid top three finish to start the playoffs with a couple stage points is a good way to start.”

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images.

Dillon and Logano, along with their fellow Playoff contenders, will return for the second Cup Playoff race at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

September 7, 2020