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Keselowski wins a thrilling race at Bristol

A week after stealing a late victory in the Coca-Cola 600, Brad Keselowski found himself at the right place at the right time to win the Food City presents the Supermarket Heroes 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway after leaders Chase Elliott and Joey Logano tangled in the final laps. The victory was Keselowski’s second of the season, third at Bristol and the 32nd of his NASCAR Cup Series career. The victory was also his second with his new crew chief Jeremy Bullins as Team Penske claimed its 13th Cup win at Bristol.

The starting lineup was based on a random draw. Keselowski drew the pole position and was joined on the front row with Aric Almirola. Gray Gaulding and Ryan Preece started at the rear of the field after their respective cars failed pre-race technical inspection twice.

When the race started, Keselowski launched ahead on the outside lane and was followed by his teammates Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano. After the first lap, Almirola dropped to sixth, while stuck on the bottom lane, as Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. moved into the top five. The majority of the competitors spent the first seven laps jostling for positions, slipping sideways and nearly racing three-wide through every corner until the first caution flew on the eighth lap, when Ryan Newman slipped sideways in Turn 1 and spun the following turn. He proceeded with no damage.

The following restart on the 12th lap, Keselowski, again, rocketed with the lead followed by Truex, who passed Blaney for second. Keselowski was able to fend off Truex to lead the field through the first competition caution of the day on Lap 20. At the time of caution, Jimmie Johnson, who started 24th, was 11th while rookie Christopher Bell, who started 35th, was 21st.

Under caution, most of the leaders remained on track while 21 cars behind pitted. All took four tires, except for Denny Hamlin, Daniel Suarez and Chris Buescher, who pit for two tires. Corey LaJoie nabbed a pit road speeding penalty and was sent to the rear of the field. In addition, Chris Buescher returned to pit road to have a new scoring transponder installed to his No. 17 Ford. Despite the extra stop, he was allowed to retain his restart spot in 25th.

The race restarted on Lap 30, and Keselowski maintained his advantage on the outside lane. Almirola moved back to second followed by Kyle Busch as Truex fell to fourth. By Lap 35, Logano started making the bottom groove work to his advantage as he passed Truex for fourth. Three laps later, he moved to third over Kyle Busch while Stenhouse, who started 16th, moved to sixth and Truex drifted back to eighth.

When the second competition caution flew on Lap 60, Keselowski was still in the lead, having led all the laps. Under caution, the leaders pitted, except for DiBenedetto, who pitted under caution on Lap 23. Keselowski exited with the lead followed by Almirola, Blaney, Logano and Kyle Busch. During the pit stops, Busch nearly ran over Clint Bowyer’s rear tire changer while exiting his pit stall and to avoid hitting Bowyer’s car. The situation soured for Busch, who was sent to the tail end of the field for speeding on pit road along with Suarez.

When the race restarted on Lap 67, Keselowski made a move on the inside lane to retake the lead from DiBenedetto. Blaney would take second followed by Elliott and Almirola. Logano would move to fifth while DiBenedetto fell back to sixth.

On Lap 84, Blaney made a move underneath Keselowski in Turn 3 and took the lead. Two laps later, Elliott moved to second. On Lap 104, Elliott challenged Blaney for the lead as he attempted to move in front of him on the inside lane entering Turn 2. After spending the next two corners challenging his friend for the lead, Elliott took it from Blaney in Turn 1 a lap later and was able to clear him in Turn 2. Blaney attempted a crossover move in Turn 3, but Elliott used the outside lane to his advantage and maintained the lead through Turn 4. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch, who started at the rear of the field following his speeding penalty, had only made his way back up to 18th after passing his brother, Kurt.

When the race reached its conclusion of the first stage on Lap 125, Elliott, coming off his breakthrough win at Charlotte on Thursday, won his fourth stage of the season. Blaney was able to finish second followed by teammate Keselowski and Almirola, both of whom were repeatedly battling one another for position. Logano was fifth followed by Harvick, DiBenedetto, Hamlin, Stenhouse and Johnson.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted for four tires and Blaney was able to beat Elliott off pit road to reassume the lead. Logano exited third followed by Keselowski and Hamlin, who gained three positions on pit road. DiBenedetto was tabbed with a speeding penalty and sent to the rear while Alex Bowman made an extra pit stop for loose lug nuts.

The second stage started on Lap 137, with Blaney taking off on the outside lane. A lap later, Keselowski moved to second over Elliott. By Lap 150, Johnson moved to sixth followed by Hamlin, Bowyer was ninth, Kenseth was 12th and Kyle Busch was 13th. John Hunter Nemechek was the highest-running rookie in 14th.

On Lap 170, Keselowski, who gained a huge momentum in Turn 2, made a move below Blaney in Turn 3 to take the lead when Blaney lost a little momentum in the turn. Four laps later, Blaney mounted another charge through Turns 4 and 1 on the bottom and was about to regain his lead before Keselowski used the high lane to zip past his teammate and pull away. Meanwhile, Byron, who restarted 24th on Lap 135, was up to 14th.

On Lap 185, Stenhouse, Logano and Johnson went three wide for seventh on the track in Turn 2 as Logano and Johnson made contact while being stuck behind the lapped car of Brennan Poole. Stenhouse was able to take the position from both drivers and Johnson went three-wide with Logano and Poole to take eighth in Turn 4.

The caution returned on Lap 199, when Blaney, who was trying to hunt Keselowski back down for the lead, slipped on the high lane through Turns 1 and 2 and spun. His car came to rest on the straightaway near the wall and was clobbered by Ty Dillon, who was unable to slow his car and avoid making contact with Blaney. The collision destroyed the front nose of Blaney’s No. 12 Ford while Dillon sustained damage to the right-front fender. Both competitors would end their race in the garage.

Under caution, the leaders pitted for four tires. Elliott was able to exit pit road first followed by Keselowski, Hamlin, Harvick and Almirola.

The race restarted on Lap 208 with Elliott maintaining the lead. Harvick and Keselowski battled for second followed Byron who challenged Hamlin for a top-five spot. The caution returned on Lap 212 when Joey Gase spun in Turn 2. Five laps later, the race restarted and Elliott, again, powered through with the lead followed by Harvick as Keselowski, who spun his tires, fell to third. The caution quickly returned when Bayley Currey stalled his No. 53 Chevrolet in Turn 2.

When the race resumed on Lap 222, Elliott maintained the lead over the field. A lap later, Logano uses the high lane to move to second over Harvick. Keselowski, who lifted in Turn 3, fell back to fifth. On Lap 225, Logano peaked for the lead in Turn 4, but slipped in Turn 1, making contact with Elliott, but Elliott was able to maintain the lead.

The caution returned on Lap 229 for a multi-car wreck, when Stenhouse, who stepped out of the gas to avoid hitting Kenseth in Turn 2, was turned by Johnson and made hard contact into the inside wall. Stenhouse’s No. 47 Chevrolet came back across the track, where he piled up with Kurt Busch, Bowman, Cole Custer, and Tyler Reddick in Turn 3. Preece and DiBenedetto were also involved as they spun below the apron. The race was red-flagged for 11 minutes and 35 seconds to give the safety crew time to clean the accident scene.

When the red flag was lifted, the pit road opened under caution and a handful of competitors like Truex, Johnson, Kenseth, Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace pitted. DiBenedetto and Preece also pitted for repairs to their respective cars.

The restart on Lap 235 saw Elliott maintaining the lead on the outside lane while Hamlin moved into second. The caution returned four laps later when Preece made contact with the outside wall in Turn 3. Under caution, Almirola pitted and Suarez, who was three laps down early in the race, was able to race his way back on the lead lap after receiving the free pass.

Four laps later, with seven laps left in the second stage, Elliott rocketed to the lead as Hamlin spun his tires on the inside lane. Elliott would cruise to the win in the second stage by less than a second over Hamlin. The stage win was Elliott’s fifth of this season. Harvick finished third followed by Logano and Kyle Busch. Bowyer, Byron, Jones, Keselowski and Buescher finished in the top 10. By then, the race was also halfway complete.

Under the stage break, Elliott led most of the field to pit road while Hamlin remained on track to inherit the lead followed by Kyle Busch, Johnson, Austin Dillon, Kenseth, Bell, Ryan Newman, Wallace, Michael McDowell, Almirola and Suarez. Following the pit stops, Elliott exited first followed by Logano, Harvick, Bowyer, Keselowski and Byron while Truex gained four spots.

The race restarted on Lap 262 and Hamlin was able to maintain the lead followed by teammate Kyle Busch. Johnson, who restarted third, slipped in Turn 4 and fell back to sixth while being overtaken by Austin Dillon, Almirola and Bell. While the majority of the competitors started to race aggressively and hard for position, Chris Buescher and Byron each made contact with the wall, but continued. On Lap 269, Buescher tagged the wall a second time in Turn 1 and pitted for a cut right-front tire, which drew a caution. By the time the caution flew, Elliott, who restarted 12th, was up to 10th behind Newman.

When the race restarted on Lap 274, Hamlin, this time, benefitted from the inside lane to maintain the lead over Busch. Five laps later, Busch made a move on the inside lane to return to the lead over his teammate. Eleven laps later, DiBenedetto took his No. 21 Ford to the garage due to a broken front-tire rod.

With 200 laps remaining, Busch stabilized his lead to nearly two seconds over Hamlin, who was engaged in a heated battle with Almirola. Johnson was in fourth and Elliott was in 10th, battling Harvick. Bell, Austin Dillon, Kenseth and Logano were fifth through eighth while Wallace fell back to 15th. Bowyer and Keselowski were 11th and 12th.

With 178 laps remaining, Johnson moved into the runner-up spot, trailing Busch by more than three seconds. Four laps later, Almirola moved to third and a lap later, Bell moved to fourth. The caution fell two laps later, when Austin Dillon smacked the outside wall due to a flat right-front tire. Under caution, the field pitted. Busch exited first followed by Hamlin, Logano, Almirola and Elliott. However, Logano, Keselowski, Wallace and Austin Dillon were all sent to the rear due to speeding on pit road.

The race restarted with 165 to go and Busch managed to hold the lead on the inside lane followed by Hamlin. Elliott moved fourth to third while Johnson moved from sixth to fifth. The caution returned with 145 laps remaining, when Newman spun through Turns 1 and 2 for the second time. Under caution, most of the leaders remained on track while some, starting with Almirola, pitted. Truex, Byron, Kenseth, Logano, Nemechek, Wallace, Austin Dillon, McDowell, Corey LaJoie and Newman also pitted.

With 140 laps remaining, the race returned to green and Hamlin used the outside lane to retake the lead from Kyle Busch.

As the laps dwindled, Busch started reeling in to teammate Hamlin for the lead, behind by two-tenths of a second, with Johnson lurking right behind as the leaders also started to catch lapped traffic. With 84 to go, Busch used the lapped car of J.J. Yeley to, finally, retake the lead from Hamlin, who was overtaken by Johnson for second two laps later in Turn 4.

With 68 to go, the caution returned when Harvick got into the Turn 1 wall after making contact with Jones. The leaders pitted and Hamlin, who pitted from third, reassumed the lead followed by Johnson, Busch, Elliott, Truex and Logano, who gained four spots. Bell was sent to the rear of the field due to an uncontrolled tire violation along with Austin Dillon, who was speeding on pit road.

The race restarted with 61 to go, and Hamlin launched ahead on the high lane followed by Elliott and Johnson. Kyle Busch fell back to sixth. Six laps later, Elliott gained a huge run on the inside lane in Turn 3 and nearly cleared himself for the lead before Hamlin used the high lane to battle back and clear Elliott the following lap. With 43 to go, Elliott established a crossover move to the inside of Hamlin and was inches away from taking the lead when the caution flew as Gaulding slapped the wall through Turns 1 and 2. At the time of caution, Hamlin was deemed the leader.

Hamlin maintained the lead on a restart with 37 to go while Logano moved to second. The caution returned a lap later, when a bump from Wallace in Turn 1 sent Almirola into the left side of Truex, who had slipped and lost momentum in Turn 3, that sent Truex spinning while Almirola and McDowell wrecked against the outside wall.

With the race restarting with 29 to go, Hamlin retained the lead followed by Logano and Kyle Busch. Byron moved to fifth while Johnson fell back to seventh as Elliott passed Kyle Busch for third. With 15 to go, the top-four competitors, (Hamlin, Logano, Elliott, Busch), were separated by less than one second.

With 12 to go, Hamlin slipped in Turn 1, allowing Logano and Elliott to make their way past Hamlin in Turn 2. The following turn, Logano slipped and made contact with the wall, which resulted in Elliott going to the lead and Hamlin making contact with Logano and spinning into the path of the lapped car of B.J. McLeod in Turn 4, which drew a caution the following lap and set the race for a late showdown to the finish.

When the race restarted with five laps remaining, Elliott launched with a slight advantage over Logano, who came back a lap later to squeak ahead with the lead. Entering Turn 4, with three laps remaining, Logano managed to clear Elliott on the inside lane, but not without being bumped by Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet through Turn 1 as Elliott made a move on the inside lane to draw even with Logano’s No. 22 Ford while making contact again. In Turn 3, Elliott slid into Logano and both went up and against the outside wall, which allowed Keselowski to take the lead. Bowyer came out in second followed by Kyle Busch as the field scattered to avoid Logano and Elliott. For the final two laps, Keselowski was able to beat Bowyer by less than four-tenths of a second to steal an overwhelming win at Thunder Valley.

“Oh, my goodness!” Keselowski said. “I think everybody on this Discount Tire Ford Mustang team is gonna go to Vegas. Is it open yet? ‘Cause things have been going our way from the luck of the draw and the qualifying to the last few laps there. We couldn’t get anything to go our way the start of the race with cars staying out and kept getting the bottom lane on the restarts. Nothing was working out. Right at the end, we came in, we put two tires on the lefts and drove up to fourth or sixth, I guess. We put ourselves in position. I didn’t know what was gonna happen, but I knew if I just kept my eye open, something might happen and sure enough, it did. Incredible day! This was a never-give-up effort and that’s where we’re coming as a team.”

Logano and Elliott limped home in 21st and 22nd. After taking the checkered flag and parking their wrecked race cars on pit road, they met to discuss the incident.

“[Elliott] wrecked me,” Logano said. “He got loose underneath me. The part that’s frustrating is, afterwards, a simple apology like be a man, come up to somebody and say, ‘Hey, my bad.’ I had to force an apology, which, to me, is childish. Anyways, man, we had a good recovery with our AutoTrader Mustang and had a shot to win and that’s all you can hope for. [I] passed him clean. It’s hard racing at the end, I get that. It’s hard racing, but, golly man, be a man and take the hit when you’re done with it.”

“Just going for the win,” Elliott said. “Trying to get underneath him, got really loose in. I don’t know if I had a tire going down or if I just got loose on entry, but as soon as I turned off the wall, I had zero chance in making it. I’ll certainly take the blame. I think I just got loose and got up into him. I felt like that was my shot. He was really good on the short run. I felt like I had to keep him behind me right there in order to win the race with only three, four laps to go. I hate we both wrecked, but you can’t go back in time now.”

Bowyer settled in second followed by Johnson in his penultimate race at Bristol. Teammates Kyle Busch and Jones rounded out the top five. Austin Dillon, Kurt Busch, Byron, Bell and Wallace finished in the top 10.

The race featured 21 lead changes with seven different leaders. There were 17 cautions for 102 laps.

Harvick continues to lead the Cup regular-season series standings by 24 points over Logano, 45 over Elliott and 55 over Keselowski.

Results:

1. Brad Keselowski, 115 laps led

2. Clint Bowyer

3. Jimmie Johnson

4. Kyle Busch, 100 laps led

5. Erik Jones

6. Austin Dillon

7. Kurt Busch

8. William Byron

9. Christopher Bell

10. Bubba Wallace

11. Kevin Harvick

12. Ryan Preece

13. John Hunter Nemechek

14. Michael McDowell

15. Ryan Newman

16. Matt Kenseth

17. Denny Hamlin, 131 laps led

18. Daniel Suarez

19. Timmy Hill

20. Martin Truex Jr.

21. Joey Logano, two laps led

22. Chase Elliott, 88 laps, Stage 1 & 2 winner

23. Chris Buescher, four laps down

24. Brennan Poole, six laps down

25. J.J. Yeley, eight laps down

26. Garrett Smithley, 11 laps down

27. Quin Houff, 17 laps down

28. B.J. McLeod – OUT, Accident

29. Aric Almirola – OUT, Accident

30. Gray Gaulding – OUT, Accident

31. Matt DiBenedetto, 44 laps down, four laps led

32. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Fuel Pressure

33. Joey Gase – OUT, Too Slow

34. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident

35. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident

36. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident

37. Alex Bowman – OUT, Accident

38. Bayley Currey – OUT, Accident

39. Ty Dillon – OUT, Accident

40. Ryan Blaney – OUT, Accident, 60 laps led

The NASCAR Cup Series will travel to Hampton, Georgia, to race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on June 7. The race can be seen at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.

June 1, 2020
Sweet redemption for Elliott at Charlotte
After the two previous races got away from Chase Elliott, he came back on Thursday evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway and found redemption. Following a late pass for the lead and benefiting from a green flag run to the finish, Elliott notched his first elusive NASCAR Cup Series win of the season in the rain-delayed Alsco Uniforms 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The victory was the seventh of his Cup career in his 157th series start and his second at Charlotte as Elliott became the sixth Cup regular to win this season. The victory came two days after Elliott celebrated a Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series bounty win at Charlotte over Kyle Busch.

“It feels awesome,” Elliott said. “Man, it’s been a tough week, for sure. We’ve had some tough losses, but that deal on Sunday night was a heartbreaker. It’s not the Coke 600, but any win in the Cup Series is really hard to get. Just appreciate my team. [Crew chief] Alan [Gustafson] made a great call there at the end to get it tuned up and luckily, the run went long and I think that fell in our favor.”

The race was postponed to Thursday evening after persistent rain canceled original plans for the event to run on Wednesday evening, May 27.

The starting lineup was based on the results from Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte on May 24, with the top-20 finishers from Sunday being inverted for the event. William Byron, who finished 20th in the Coke 600, started on pole position while teammate Alex Bowman joined him on the front row.

Josh Bilicki and J.J. Yeley were sent to the rear of the field due to driver changes from Sunday’s 600-mile race. Aric Almirola also started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments.

When the green flag dropped, Byron launched ahead of the field followed by DiBenedetto, who was drafting Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet from the start. After drafting Byron through Turn 1, DiBenedetto made a move on the inside lane in Turn 2 and took the lead entering Turn 3.

The field was feet away from starting the first lap of the race when the first caution came out as teammates Joey Gase and Garrett Smithley made contact with one another and wrecked in Turn 3. Gase sustained significant right-rear damage while Smithley entered pit road with significant right-side damage as flames engulfed the underneath of his No. 53 Chevrolet. Under caution, Ty Dillon made a pit stop after reporting power steering issues.

Following an extensive cleanup, the race restarted on the ninth lap. On this restart, Byron benefitted from the bottom lane and a push from teammate Bowman to lead the following lap, but DiBenedetto remained dead even with Byron for the next circuit. A lap later, Byron managed to clear DiBenedetto and slowly pull away with the lead as Bowman made his move to take second over DiBenedetto. Byron would be uncontested as he remained in the lead at the time of the competition caution on Lap 20. By the time the caution was displayed, DiBenedetto was able to retake second over Bowman.

Under caution, the majority of the field pitted, except for Joey Logano, Michael McDowell, Ryan Blaney and Bubba Wallace. With most of the front-runners opting to have two tires changed on their respective cars, Byron was able to exit pit road first followed by DiBenedetto, Bowman, Kurt Busch and rookie Christopher Bell. During his stop, Byron made contact with Corey LaJoie, who was turning left to enter his pit stall, while turning right to exit his pit stall. While Byron sustained minimal right-side damage to his car from the contact, he made an extra pit stop to have his left-side tires changed. During the pit stops, Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin were sent to the rear of the field after both sped on pit road.

On the following restart on Lap 24, Logano received a push from teammate Blaney and DiBenedetto on the bottom lane to inherit the lead as the field expanded to racing three-wide through Turns 2 and 3.

The caution flew five laps later, when Matt Kenseth spun in Turn 3, but was able to straighten and drive his No. 42 Chevrolet back to his pit stall. Just in front of him, Brad Keselowski, who was 16th, fell off the pace when he sustained a flat right-front tire.

Shortly after, the cars made their way to pit road and the race was red-flagged due to lightning and severe thunderstorms surrounding the racetrack. With the rain progressing, the Air Titans were dispatched on track.

Following a delay that spanned 74 minutes, the drivers returned to their cars and the race resumed under the lights as the skies fell into darkness. Under caution, Bell, Jimmie Johnson, rookie Custer, Bowyer and Daniel Suarez pitted while the others remained on track. Keselowski, Kenseth and Byron also pitted to have the damage to their respective machines repaired.

When the race restarted on Lap 34, Logano maintained the lead and was able to maintain a decent pace over DiBenedetto and Blaney. By Lap 45, Harvick, who started 16th, was fourth, Kyle Busch, who started 17th, was 11th and Elliott, who started 19th, was ninth. Jimmie Johnson, who started at the rear of the field, was in 19th. Hamlin and Bowyer, following their early pit road spending penalties, were running outside the top 20. Byron and Keselowski, following their pit stops for repairs under the previous caution, had made their way only up to 24th and 27th while Kenseth was trapped in 38th, one lap behind.

For the final 22-lap green-flag run, Logano was uncontested as he was able to win the first stage. Blaney made his way to second followed by DiBenedetto, Harvick and Bowman. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon, Kurt Busch, Elliott and Chris Buescher rounded out the top 10 at the conclusion of the first stage.

Under the stage break, the lead lap cars pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments. Logano was able to maintain his lead by exiting pit road first followed by Blaney, Harvick, Bowman and Kurt Busch. DiBenedetto, Buescher, Elliott, Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch exited in the top 10.

The restart on Lap 63 to start the second stage was where the fireworks on the track started to ignite as Logano maintained his advantage while being challenged by Blaney. While racing four-wide with Erik Jones, Stenhouse and Almirola through Turn 2, Kyle Busch and Almirola made contact in Turn 3, which cut Busch’s left rear tire and damaged his left rear quarter panel. Following the contact, Busch fell off the pace as everyone behind him scattered through Turns 3 and 4 to avoid hitting Busch’s No. 18 Toyota. The damage was enough to force Busch to make an unscheduled stop the following lap, where he fell out of the lead lap. During the tight racing, Ryan Newman also sustained a tire rub, but remained on track.

In the midst of the tight racing behind him, three laps later, Harvick was able to take the lead from Logano while Busch, two laps behind, still had damage to the left rear quarter panel. By Lap 70, Harvick checked out to a lead above a second over Logano. Two laps later, Bowman moved into second over Logano.

The caution returned on Lap 74, when rookies Quin Houff and Brennan Poole tangled in Turn 1, with both drivers making contact with the wall. Under caution, Harvick surrendered the lead to pit for four tires and fuel, giving the lead to Bowman, who was one of 14 cars who opted not to pit.

When the race restarted on Lap 79, Bowman received a push from Blaney to maintain the lead over the field. By Lap 93, Blaney moved to second after passing teammate Logano and was trailing Bowman by less than two seconds. Additionally, Elliott moved into fourth after passing Kurt Busch and Harvick, who restarted 17th, rallied his way to eighth. With all four Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas running outside the top 10, Hamlin was the highest-running JGR competitor in 17th while Kyle Busch was back in 37th, still trapped two laps behind and with a damaged left rear quarter panel.

The 100-lap mark featured unique names running inside the top 10 on track, with Austin Dillon in seventh followed by Bell and Wallace while Nemechek and Reddick were 11th and 12th.

While the majority of competitors continued jostling one another for positions, Bowman was able to drive his No. 88 Chevrolet to the win in the second stage over two seconds over Blaney. Logano held off Elliott to finish third followed by Harvick. Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon, Nemechek, Bell and Wallace finished in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Bowman exited first over Logano followed by Harvick, Blaney and Kurt Busch. Elliott exited sixth followed by Hamlin, who gained five positions following a stellar pit stop from his pit crew. Austin Dillon, Bowyer and Wallace exited in the top 10. During the pit stops, Bowyer was tabbed with a second pit road speeding penalty and was sent to the rear.

The restart of the final stage occurred with 86 laps remaining as Bowman maintained the lead over Logano after clearing him in Turn 3. A lap later, Harvick made his way to second. Three laps later, Harvick made a bold move on the outside lane entering Turn 4 to reassume the lead over Bowman. Additionally, Elliott passed Blaney and Logano to move to third.

With 74 laps remaining, Bowman’s race fell apart after he slipped entering Turn 4 and slapped the outside wall, damaging the right side of his No. 88 Chevrolet while attempting to narrow his deficit from Harvick. A lap later, Bowman pitted to have the damage repaired, which cost him a lead-lap finish, as the race remained green. During this time, Blaney moved to second followed by Elliott, Logano, Hamlin and Kurt Busch.

The caution returned with 64 laps remaining when Timmy Hill’s car fell off the pace in Turn 4. Under caution and following the pit stops, Harvick led the field off pit road while Hamlin gained three spots to move into second. Blaney, Kurt Busch, Elliott and Logano followed in pursuit. Jones was assessed a penalty and was held a lap in his pit box for pitting outside his box.

When the race restarted with 59 laps remaining, Harvick maintained his advantage with a bump from Blaney. Behind Harvick, the front-runners raced two-by-two through Turn 2 before Blaney cleared the field to move into second and Elliott pursued Hamlin for third. Behind, Stenhouse, making a late rally, took fifth from Kurt Busch.

With 50 laps remaining, Elliott and Blaney engaged in a heated battle for second behind Harvick while Stenhouse battled Hamlin for fourth.

With 43 laps remaining, Wallace, who spent the majority of the event running inside the top 10, made an unscheduled pit stop for a flat right-rear tire that was initiated from making contact with the wall. Shortly after, braking issues forced Wallace to park his car in the garage and end his race in the late stages.

With 27 laps remaining, Elliott, who persevered over his battle with Blaney and started to reel in Harvick, made a move on the inside lane in Turn 2 and used the lapped car of Suarez, running on the high lane, to take the lead. From there, Elliott started pulling away as Harvick started losing ground and positions.

For the final 27-lap stretch, Elliott placed himself in a familiar position from last Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, leading over the field. Unlike Sunday, Elliott, who increased his advantage above two seconds, was able to take the white flag and start the final lap of the race, thus ensuring the race would not fall into a late caution and overtime. For a final circuit, Elliott was able to navigate his No. 9 Chevrolet patiently behind lapped traffic and cross the finish line first under checkers to win as the lapped car of McDowell spun behind him.

“I was just waiting for the caution to come out, to be honest with you,” Elliott humorously said. “I thought either the caution was gonna come out, I was gonna break something or I was gonna crash. Just after the last couple of weeks, I just didn’t think surely it wast gonna go green to the end. Just glad it did and glad we’re, hopefully, back on the right path.”

Hamlin passed Blaney on the final lap to finish second in his first of four races with interim crew chief Samuel Mcaulay. Stenhouse Jr. finished fourth for his second top-five result of the season and Kurt Busch settled in fifth for his third top-five result of 2020.

Rounding out the top 10 were Logano, Keselowski, Austin Dillon, Truex Jr. and Harvick.

The race featured 14 lead changes with eight different leaders. There were seven cautions for 37 laps.

Harvick continues to lead the regular-season series standings by 14 points over Logano, 41 over Elliott and 43 over Bowman.

Results:
1. Chase Elliott, 28 laps led
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Ryan Blaney, two laps led
4. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
5. Kurt Busch
6. Joey Logano, 42 laps led, Stage 1 winner
7. Brad Keselowski
8. Austin Dillon
9. Martin Truex Jr.
10. Kevin Harvick, 63 laps led
11. Jimmie Johnson
12. William Byron, 11 laps led
13. John Hunter Nemechek
14. Tyler Reddick
15. Matt DiBenedetto, 10 laps led
16. Clint Bowyer
17. Ryan Newman
18. Cole Custer
19. Corey LaJoie
20. Aric Almirola
21. Christopher Bell
22. Chris Buescher
23. Matt Kenseth, one lap down
24. Ryan Preece, one lap down
25. Michael McDowell, one lap down, one lap led
26. Erik Jones, one lap down
27. Ty Dillon, one lap down
28. Daniel Suarez, one lap down
29. Kyle Busch, one lap down
30. Gray Gaulding, two laps down
31. Alex Bowman, two laps down, 51 laps led, Stage 2 winner
32. Quin Houff, three laps down
33. Timmy Hill, three laps down
34. J.J. Yeley, four laps down
35. B.J. McLeod, five laps down
36. Josh Bilicki, eight laps down
37. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Accident
38. Brennan Poole – OUT, Accident
39. Joey Gase – OUT, DVP
40. Garrett Smithley – OUT, Accident
With the Carolina spring stretch complete in NASCAR’s return to on-track racing, the Cup Series will travel to Bristol, Tennessee, to race at Bristol Motor Speedway on May 31. The race can be seen at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
May 28, 2020
NASCAR postpones upcoming national series events at Charlotte and Bristol

NASCAR announced a pair of postponements for its upcoming national series races at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway.

The NASCAR Cup Series event at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Alsco Uniforms 500 has been postponed from Wednesday, May 27, to Thursday, May 28, due to persistent rain. The 500-mile race will be aired at 7 p.m. ET on FS1. It will mark the second Cup event at Charlotte this week and cap off a quadruple-header weekend at NASCAR’s home base.

In addition, the NASCAR Xfinity Series upcoming event at Bristol Motor Speedway has been postponed from Saturday, May 30, to Monday, June 1. The race will also air at 7 p.m. ET on FS1. The rescheduling was made to give the teams the time needed to transport and set up their equipment in time for race day.

The Cup event at Bristol for the Supermarket Heroes 500, scheduled for Sunday, May 31, at 3:30 p.m. on FS1, remains as scheduled.

When the green flag drops for Thursday night’s Cup event at Charlotte, Hendrick Motorsports’ teammates William Byron and Alex Bowman will start on the front row and lead the field to the start. The starting lineup was based on the results from Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte on May 24, with the top-20 finishers from the event being inverted for Thursday’s event.

As announced on May 27, the starting lineup for the upcoming NASCAR events, beginning this weekend for the Xfinity and Cup doubleheader at Bristol, will be decided based on a random draw in groups of 12 with the final spots to be based on their order of eligibility/owner points. Pit selections will be based on the results from the previous events, followed by new entries in order of points.

May 27, 2020
Denny Hamlin’s team penalized following lost ballast at Charlotte

A major penalty was assessed to Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry driven by Denny Hamlin at the conclusion of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

According to the NASCAR Rule Book, Hamlin’s No. 11 team was found to have violated Safety Section 12.5.2.7.4.d Minimum Safety Penalty Options that referred to the loss/separation of added ballast from a racing vehicle during a race, qualifying or practice session.

As a result, Hamlin’s crew chief Chris Gabehart, car chief Brandon Griffeth and engineer Scott Simmons have been suspended for the next four NASCAR Cup Series races through June 10. With Joe Gibbs Racing opting to not appeal the penalty, race engineer Sam McAulay will serve as Hamlin’s interim crew chief, beginning on May 27 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In addition, veteran Eric Phillips will serve as Hamlin’s car chief while Scott Eldridge will join the team as a mechanic. The penalty came with no points loss for Hamlin and he is still in eighth in the Cup Series regular-season standings, 81 points behind leader Kevin Harvick, with two wins in 2020.

During the pace laps for the 600-mile event, a chunk of ballast (tungsten weight) slipped off the side rails of Hamlin’s car following a puff of smoke and came to rest near the exit of pit road on the racing surface. Hamlin was slated to start the main event in 13th, but he surrendered his starting spot to nurse his car to pit road and have his crew replace the component. He was unable to start the race with the rest of the field on the lead lap. By the time Hamlin returned on track, he was eight laps behind the leaders and fell back as far as nine laps behind. He would, ultimately, finish 29th, seven laps down.

Hamlin, along with his fellow competitors, will return on track for the next scheduled Cup Series event at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the Alsco Uniforms 500, on Wednesday, May 27, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

May 25, 2020
Tyler Reddick earns top 10 at Charlotte, moves into playoff contention

After qualifying fifth, rookie Tyler Reddick scored an eighth-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Sunday night in his No. 8 Richard Childress Chevrolet.

This continues a strong showing since the season resumed at Darlington Raceway where he finished seventh and 13th giving him two top-10 finishes and a top-15 in the last three races. It also moved him to 16th place in the standings, the cutoff for inclusion into the Playoffs.

The Richard Childress Racing driver spoke about his goals last week as he looked ahead to Charlotte.

“We’re right on the bubble (for 16-member playoff) so I’m going to stay focused and try to stay inside the top 16 or go for a win. That’s going to be my focus,” he said. “We probably could have had a top 10 (on Wednesday) if the race would have gone back to green (after Elliott’s crash), but we fought back from being as far back as 30th and when you’re running against the best of the best you’re not going to pass them all.”

Mission accomplished.

At the conclusion of the Coca-Cola 600, Reddick said, “I’m proud of the effort our No. 8 Alsco Uniforms Chevrolet team gave tonight. We fought hard all night to make our car better, and we took a gamble at the end, which almost paid off for us. The track just didn’t do quite what I hoped it would do tonight, but we still found a way to get a top 10 out of the race.”

While making the Playoffs may seem unlikely for the 24-year-old in his first season in the series, he is no stranger to winning. He has earned two Xfinity Series championships, one with JR Motorsports in 2018 and one with RCR last year.

Reddick is also aware that he has much to learn but is determined to make the most of each opportunity.

“I learned a lot tonight that I think we can take into account when we return to Charlotte Motor Speedway on Wednesday to help with our long run handling and speed. This is definitely a finish we can build on; 400 laps and 600 miles are done, and we’ll be ready to come back on Wednesday night.”

The Cup Series returns to Charlotte Motor Speedway Wednesday night for the Alsco Uniforms 500 at 8 p.m. on FS1.

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

May 25, 2020
Keselowski captures the Coca-Cola 600 in overtime

Seizing a late opportunity when it counted most, Brad Keselowski fought his way from the rear of the field and held off Jimmie Johnson in overtime to win the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The victory was Keselowski’s 31st of his NASCAR Cup Series career, his second at Charlotte and his third crown jewel win after claiming the Southern 500 and the Brickyard 400 in 2018. With his victory, Keselowski became the fifth competitor to win a race in the 2020 Cup season and the 36th to win NASCAR’s longest event of the season. He also captured his first Cup victory with crew chief Jeremy Bullins.

Qualifying was held earlier in the day with Kurt Busch starting on pole position and Johnson starting alongside on the front row. Matt DiBenedetto started at the rear of the field in a backup car after damaging his primary car entering Turn 4 while qualifying. Keselowski, Aric Almirola, Timmy Hill and J.J. Yeley also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments.

When the engines fired, early drama unfolded for recent Cup winner Denny Hamlin when a chunk of ballast/tungsten weight came out of the side rails of his No. 11 FedEx Toyota and fell on the race track while the field was exiting pit road and starting the pace laps. Following the opening pace laps, Hamlin surrendered his 13th-starting spot and made his way to his pit stall as his crew went to work to replace the component while the on-track safety workers removed the ballast from the racing surface.

When the green flag waved, Busch launched ahead and maintained a steady advantage over Johnson as the field ran single file. By the eighth lap, Hamlin’s crew repaired the missing component and he rejoined the field, but was eight laps behind the leaders.

A competition caution flew on Lap 20 with Busch having led all of the opening laps. The field made their way to pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments. Once the stops concluded, Busch maintained the lead. Behind him, Martin Truex Jr. jumped from sixth to second while Johnson dropped from second to fourth. Chris Buescher and Daniel Suarez were sent to the rear of the field due to a pit road penalty as their respective crew members were over the pit wall too early prior to the stops. Erik Jones was also sent to the rear due to an uncontrolled tire violation.

On a Lap 28 restart, Busch launched ahead followed by Truex and Chase Elliott while Johnson and rookie Tyler Reddick raced side by side, battling for fourth. The following lap, Johnson slipped up the racing groove in Turn 2 and dropped all the way back to 13th. Johnson’s misfortune moved Reddick to fourth and Joey Logano to fifth.

The second caution came out on Lap 49 due to rain. The field made their way to pit road, where the crew covered the cars and the competitors were allowed to exit their respective rides as the race was red-flagged in a rain delay.

Following a rain delay of 68 minutes, the drivers returned to their cars, restarted their engines and returned on track under caution as the sky darkened and the speedway lights came on. The field pitted on Lap 55 and Alex Bowman, who was 13th, exited pit road first following a gusty two-tire pit call made by crew chief Greg Ives. Truex, the first to take four tires, exited second followed by Elliott, Kurt Busch and Reddick. During the pit stop, Logano’s rear-tire changer slipped while making his way to change the right-rear tire, but the driver of the No. 22 Ford was able to exit out in sixth.

When the race restarted on Lap 58, teammates Bowman and Elliott pulled away from the field as the field scattered with a multitude of competitors duking side-by-side toward one another for position. On Lap 61, Elliott narrowed the gap to be within a tenth of a second behind Bowman, but his Hendrick Motorsports teammate retained the lead on two fresh tires.

Meanwhile, by Lap 68, Kyle Busch, who started 11th, moved up to sixth while his older brother, Kurt, fell back to seventh. Johnson, who restarted 11th, worked his way back into the top 10.

On Lap 76, Elliott was able to draw himself back to the rear bumper of Bowman, who was fighting loose conditions. In Turn 2, Elliott caught a whiff of a lead on the outside lane of Bowman and raced side-by-side with his teammate through the straightaway until he got loose in Turn 3. The slip by Elliott allowed Bowman to retain the lead and pull away by more than a second. Elliott was drawn back to a battle for second with Truex.

Lap 86 featured a save of the day as Blaney bumped into the rear bumper of Christopher Bell, causing Bell to slip sideways in Turn 3. Miraculously, Bell prevented his car from spinning and was able to straighten his car below the apron and rejoin the racing surface without a scratch while dropping from 13th to 19th.

With three laps remaining in the first stage, Truex gained a huge run on leader Bowman in Turn 4. He was establishing a possible pass for the lead when the caution came out as Clint Bowyer made hard contact into the Turn 1 wall due to a possible cut tire and parked his car against the wall in a shower of sparks. Bowyer emerged uninjured, but his night came to a disappointing end.

The stage concluded under caution with Bowman winning his second stage of the season. Truex finished second followed by Elliott, Reddick, Logano. Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Johnson, William Byron and Kurt Busch were in the top 10 at the time of caution. By then, Blaney, who started 26th, was 12th. Erik Jones, who was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation under pit stops on Lap 55, was 13th. Keselowski, who started at the rear due to unapproved adjustments, was 15th.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Bowman, again, maintained the lead. Behind him, Kyle Busch gained four spots to second followed by Truex, Elliott and Logano over Reddick.

When the second stage started on Lap 106, Bowman received a push from Truex to pull ahead of Busch. In Turn 4, Truex cleared Busch for second, where he would settle as Bowman started to pull away from the field.

As the race progressed, a multitude of competitors started racing two-wide, three-wide for position. In the midst of the battle, Ryan Newman moved to eighth behind Byron while Chris Buescher moved to 12th ahead of Kevin Harvick. Jones, who restarted 12th, continued to march his way forward to eighth while Reddick fell back to ninth. Matt Kenseth, who started fourth but was shuffled to midpack following the Lap 55 pit stop, had only made his way back to 18th. Bubba Wallace, who was running within the top 20, made an unscheduled pit stop, but took his No. 43 Chevrolet to the garage due to brake issues.

Green flag pit stops commenced on Lap 110 as the leaders entered pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments. During the pit sequence, Kenseth was tabbed with a speeding penalty, which cost him two laps. After most of the leaders pitted, by Lap 163, Johnson was one of seven drivers who did not stop. Johnson led three laps before he pitted for two tires. Two laps later, Ryan Preece surrendered the lead to his teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to pit. A lap later, Bowman reassumed command of the field and was up by two seconds over Truex and more than six seconds over Kyle Busch.

By Lap 185, Aric Almirola, who pitted on Lap 54 to have his front splitter repaired that sustained minimal damage from hitting the tungsten from Hamlin’s car, worked his way up to 16th. Hamlin, meanwhile, was back in 35th, trapped nine laps behind the leaders.

For the final laps, no one would have anything for Bowman as the Tucson, AZ, native cruised to the second stage win by more than three seconds over Truex and nearly nine seconds over Kyle Busch. Byron made a late surge to finish fourth ahead of teammate Elliott. Jones, Logano, Austin Dillon, Blaney and Johnson finished in the top 10.

Under caution during the halfway mark, the pace car led the field to pit road and the race halted for a 30-second silence of remembrance to pay tribute for the fallen service men and women on Memorial Day weekend.

When the cars returned to the track and the field made their way to pit road on the following lap for service, Bowman led the field off pit road first followed by Kyle Busch, Truex, Byron and Jones while Austin Dillon gained two spots to sixth. Disaster quickly ensued for Busch, whose No. 18 Toyota was caught exiting pit road beyond the pit road speed limit and was sent to the rear of the field.

A restart on Lap 209 featured the entire field locked in a heated side-by-side battle before Bowman cleared everyone in Turn 4. Six laps later, a three-way battle for the lead started brewing as Truex drew himself within a car length of Bowman’s No. 88 Chevrolet with Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet lurking. In addition, Jones joined the party and remained within striking distance of Byron.

On Lap 224, Truex used the lapped car of Joey Gase running on the outside lane to go three wide on the inside lane and, finally, pass Bowman for the lead. By Lap 235, Truex held a one and a half second lead over Bowman. During this time, Jones moved to third past Byron, Blaney moved past Austin Dillon for fifth and Kyle Busch worked his way to 16th following his penalty.

Meanwhile, Newman, who was running inside the top 20, made a pit stop with concerns of battery issues on Lap 237. Seventeen laps later, a second round of green flag stops started when Kurt Busch pitted. Four laps later, after most of the leaders pitted, Keselowski assumed the lead, but was one of three drivers that had yet to pit. Keselowski led seven laps before making the left-hand turn to pit road, allowing Truex to regain the lead and pull away by two seconds over teammate Jones.

On Lap 275, as Jones and Bowman were battling for second, the caution flag was displayed when Kenseth slipped in Turn 1 and slapped the outside wall. As Kenseth made his way to pit road to have the damage repaired, most of the leaders pitted as Logano, Harvick and Elliott opted to remain on track on old tires. Truex exited pit road first and one of seven drivers who pitted for two tires while Jones, who exited eighth, was the first competitor who had four tires changed on his machine.

With 19 laps remaining in the third stage, Logano made his way to the lead followed by Truex and Bowman as the field scattered while scrambling for positions. Logano, despite racing with only two fresh tires, was able to maintain his advantage in clean air while Harvick and Elliott slowly drifted out of the top 10 on old tires. As the laps dwindled, Bowman worked his way back to second and drew himself as close as two-tenths behind Logano, but he lost his momentum in Turn 3. With no late challenges being mounted towards him, Logano was able to win the second stage and claim his first stage victory of the season. Bowman was second followed by Blaney, Johnson, Truex. Kyle Busch, Jones, Keselowski, Austin Dillon and Byron finished in the top 10.

Under the next round of pit stops, DiBenedetto exited first, having pitted for two tires, followed by Logano, the first on four tires. Bowman, Truex, Kyle Busch and Johnson followed in pursuit.

The start of the final stage with 94 laps remaining provided another intense round of racing up-front as Truex shoved DiBenedetto into the lead through Turns 2 and 3. Logano, however, slipped in Turn 3 and nearly wiped out his teammate Blaney as he was shuffled all the way back to eighth. Six laps remaining, Truex reassumed the lead over DiBenedetto in Turn 3 as DiBenedetto was overtaken by Johnson for second a lap later. In the midst of the battle, Kurt Busch made an unscheduled pit stop due to a loose right-rear wheel, costing him a lap. With 75 laps remaining, Bowman moved to third while DiBenedetto dropped to fifth. Byron, Jones, Elliott and Blaney were in sixth, eighth, ninth and 10th while Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick were in 11th and 13th.

A caution came out with 52 laps remaining when Joey Gase spun in the Turn 4 infield. A lap later, leaders pitted and Johnson exited as the leader followed by Keselowski, Truex, Elliott and Byron. Logano, who exited 11th, was too fast exiting and sent to the rear.

While Johnson led the field to a restart with 47 laps remaining, Keselowski made his move on the inside lane to assume command in Turn 2 followed by Elliott as Johnson dropped to third. Truex, meanwhile, settled in fourth in front of teammates Byron and Bowman. With 38 laps remaining, Elliott seized an opportunity to pull alongside Keselowski in Turn 2 and he was able to snatch the lead the following turn.

With the laps dwindling and with a steady lead over Keselowski and Johnson, it had appeared that Elliott was en route to not only his first Coke 600 win, but also redemption following his late accident at Darlington last Wednesday.

Then, like a bomb, the caution flew with two laps remaining when teammate Byron blew a left-rear tire and spun below the apron in Turn 1. The late caution sent the race into overtime.

When pit road opened, Elliott led Truex, Kyle Busch and a bevy of competitors to pit. Eight competitors, however, remained on track as Keselowski reassumed the lead followed by Johnson, Bowman, Blaney, Austin Dillon, Reddick, DiBenedetto and Jones.

In overtime, Keselowski was able to clear the field in Turn 2 followed by Johnson and Blaney as the field scattered and the competitors scrambled for positions with little time remaining. On the final lap, Johnson gave it one attempt to draw himself to the rear bumper of Keselowski in Turn 2, but Keselowski managed to pull away through the final two corners and capture his first checkered flag of the 2020 season.

“[The win] means a lot to me,” Keselowski said. “Memorial Day’s a lot more about more than racing, but we’re glad to be able to do cool things like racing because of the freedom provided by those that are willing to make those sacrifices. I feel like I’ve thrown this race away a handful of times and I thought we were gonna lose it today. I know we’ve lost it the way Chase [Elliott] lost it and that really stinks. Today, we finally won it that way and I’m so happy for my team. We might not have been the fastest car today, but wow, did we just grind this one out. It’s a major [event]. It’s the Coke 600. That leaves one major left for me, the Daytona 500. We’re checking them off. I’m tickled to death. It’s a little overwhelming, to be honest.”

Elliott, who restarted 11th, fought his way back to third in two laps behind Johnson.

“It’s just part of it,” Elliott said. “Just trying to make the best decision you can and those guys are gonna do the opposite of whatever you do. You make decisions and live with’em. That was the decision we were put in. Part of it.”

During post-race inspection, however, disaster struck for Johnson when his No. 48 Chevrolet failed the rear alignment numbers in the Optical Scanning Station portion according to the NASCAR Rule Book. As a result, Johnson’s runner-up finish and 39 points earned, including 11 stage points, were stripped, leaving him with no points and a last-place finish of the 40-car field while marked disqualified. With Johnson’s disqualification, Elliott was promoted into the runner-up position followed by Blaney, Kyle Busch and Harvick. Truex, Kurt Busch, Reddick, Bell and Buescher finished in the top 10.

The race featured lead 20 changes with 11 different leaders. There were eight cautions for 52 laps. At 405 laps, 607.6 miles, this marked the longest Cup race ever in mileage.

Harvick continues to lead in the regular-season series standings by 23 points over Logano and 25 over Bowman.

Results:

1. Brad Keselowski, 21 laps led

2. Chase Elliott, 38 laps led

3. Ryan Blaney

4. Kyle Busch

5. Kevin Harvick

6. Martin Truex Jr., 87 laps led

7. Kurt Busch, 54 laps led

8. Tyler Reddick

9. Christopher Bell

10. Chris Buescher

11. Erik Jones

12. Cole Custer

13. Joey Logano, 26 laps led, Stage 3 winner

14. Austin Dillon

15. Aric Almirola

16. John Hunter Nemechek, one lap led

17. Matt DiBenedetto, six laps led

18. Michael McDowell

19. Alex Bowman, 164 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

20. William Byron – one lap down

21. Ross Chastain – two laps down

22. Ryan Preece – one lap led, two laps down

23. Corey LaJoie – two laps down

24. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – one lap led, three laps down

25. Ty Dillon – four laps down

26. Matt Kenseth – four laps down

27. Ryan Newman – five laps down

28. Daniel Suarez – six laps down

29. Denny Hamlin – seven laps down

30. Brennan Poole – seven laps down

31. Gray Gaulding – eight laps down

32. B.J. McLeod – 12 laps down

33. Garrett Smithley – 14 laps down

34. Timmy Hill – 15 laps down

35. Quin Houff – 15 laps down

36. Joey Gase – 20 laps down

37. J.J. Yeley – OUT

38. Bubba Wallace – OUT

39. Clint Bowyer – OUT

40. Jimmie Johnson – six laps led, DQ’d

May 25, 2020
Kurt Busch wins the pole for the Coca-Cola 600

In the first qualifying session since NASCAR’s return to on-track racing amid the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, Kurt Busch claimed the pole position for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Busch, driver of the No. 1 GEARWRENCH Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Chip Ganassi Racing, secured the pole with a time of 29.79 seconds at 181.269 mph, which was 0.009 seconds faster than Jimmie Johnson (29.799 seconds/181.214 mph).

The pole award was Busch’s 28th of his Cup Series career, second at Charlotte and first of the season. It also marked Busch’s first pole while driving for car owner Chip Ganassi and the first time the 2004 series champion won the pole since Talladega Superspeedway in October 2018.

“I’m just so proud of [crew chief] Matt McCall and all our guys and the way we have to communicate right now, and get through everything as far as those last-minute details and those fine adjustments,” Busch said on FOX Sports. “But, wow, what a Chevrolet brigade up front. This is pretty sweet! GEARWRENCH is on our car only a few times a year and I really want to push them up front. This is an awesome pole. I was more geared up, in my mind, towards downforce and being ready for 600 miles, so this means Matt McCall has something up his sleeve and we should be good tonight. This is a great run and happy birthday, Chip [Ganassi]!”

Johnson, an eight-time winner at Charlotte and four-time Coke 600 champion, will start on the front row in his 19th and final start in the 600-mile event.

Matt DiBenedetto will start the main event at the rear of the field in a backup car after he slapped the outside wall entering Turn 4 while attempting to complete his qualifying lap. Aric Almirola was also involved in an incident, where he spun entering Turn 4 and made the slightest of contact to the outside wall before spinning toward the infield. While the damage was repairable and prevented Almirola from dropping at the rear of the field in a backup car, he will start at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments. Brad Keselowski, J.J. Yeley and Timmy Hill will also drop to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments.

The race will commence on May 24 at 6:28 p.m. ET on FOX.

Starting lineup:

1. Kurt Busch

2. Jimmie Johnson

3. Chase Elliott

4. Matt Kenseth

5. Tyler Reddick

6. Austin Dillon

7. Joey Logano

8. Martin Truex Jr.

9. Brad Keselowski – will start at the rear of the field

10. William Byron

11. Kyle Busch

12. Alex Bowman

13. Denny Hamlin

14. Erik Jones

15. Christopher Bell

16. Ty Dillon

17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

18. Ryan Newman

19. Chris Buescher

20. Clint Bowyer

21. Ross Chastain

22. Kevin Harvick

23. Bubba Wallace

24. Corey LaJoie

25. John Hunter Nemechek

26. Ryan Blaney

27. Michael McDowell

28. Cole Custer

29. Ryan Preece

30. Quin Houff

31. Gray Gaulding

32. Timmy Hill – will start at the rear of the field

33. Matt DiBenedetto – will start at the rear of the field

34. J.J. Yeley – will start at the rear of the field

35. Brennan Poole

36. B.J. McLeod

37. Daniel Suarez

38. Garrett Smithley

39. Joey Gase

40. Aric Almirola – will start at the rear of the field

May 24, 2020
NASCAR schedule for Charlotte Motor Speedway

Charlotte Motor Speedway will host four races on four consecutive days, beginning with the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 this Sunday. Monday will feature the Xfinity Series Alsco 300 followed by the Gander Truck Series North Carolina Education Lottery 200 on Tuesday. The Cup Series will wrap up the events in Charlotte with the Alsco Uniforms 500 Wednesday evening.

The track will once again pay tribute to U.S. Armed Forces members who made the ultimate sacrifice with “600 Miles of Remembrance.” Each of the cars will display the name of a fallen soldier across the windshield.

All times are Eastern.

Sunday, May 24

Cup Series
Race: Coca-Cola 600
Qualifying: 2 p.m. (no practice)
Race Time: 6 p.m.
TV: FOX, 5:30 p.m.
Radio: PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
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)
2019 Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr.

Monday, May 25

Xfinity Series
Race: Alsco 300
Race Time: 7:30 p.m. (no practice or qualifying)
TV: FS1, 7 p.m.
Radio: PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 300 miles (200 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)
2019 Race Winner: Brad Keselowski

Tuesday, May 26

Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series
Race: North Carolina Education Lottery 200
Race Time: 8 p.m. (no practice or qualifying)
TV: FS1, 7:30 p.m.
Radio: MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 201 miles (134 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 134)
2019 Winner: Kyle Busch

Wednesday, May 27

Cup Series
Race: Alsco Uniforms 500
Race Time: 8 p.m. (no practice or qualifying)
TV: FS1, 7 p.m.
Radio: PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 310.6 miles (205 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 55),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 115), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 208)

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

May 24, 2020
Hamlin claims rain-shortened victory at Darlington

Playing a late-race strategy to his favor, Denny Hamlin emerged victorious in the rain-shortened Toyota 500 at Darlington Raceway. The win was Hamlin’s second of this season, third at Darlington and the 39th of his NASCAR Cup Series career, (which moved him into a tie with Matt Kenseth and Tim Flock on the all-time Cup wins list). In addition, Hamlin became the second multi-winner of this year’s Cup season and to win the first NASCAR Cup race on Wednesday night since 1984.

The starting lineup was based on the results from Sunday’s first Darlington race, May 17, with the top-20 finishers from Sunday being inverted for Wednesday night’s event. Ryan Preece, who finished 20th on Sunday, started on pole position while Ty Dillon, who finished 19th, joined Preece on the front row.

B.J. McLeod and Corey LaJoie were sent to the rear of the field due to multiple technical inspection failures. In addition, McLeod was assessed a drive-through penalty on pit road at the start of the race. Gray Gaulding and J.J. Yeley were also sent to the rear of the field for driver changes. Erik Jones was sent to the rear due to unapproved adjustments after his car was impounded.

When the green flag dropped, Ty Dillon, who started on the inside lane, took the lead early from Preece. It did not take long for the first caution flag of the race to fly on the third lap when rookie John Hunter Nemechek spun after contact with Kenseth entering Turn 4. He made contact with the outside wall and slid below the apron without being hit by the oncoming field. He limped to his pit stall with left-rear damage and a flat left-rear tire.

Restarting on the outside lane on the eighth lap, Dillon maintained the lead through Turn 1 while Preece was quickly overtaken by Team Penske’s Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney along with Clint Bowyer and Matt DiBenedetto for position. Two laps later, Logano made a move on the outside lane to take the lead from Dillon on Lap 10. The caution returned a lap later when Nemechek was involved in another single-car incident, this time in the backstretch.

When the field restarted on Lap 13, Dillon received a strong launch to reassume the lead over Logano in Turn 1, but was overtaken by Logano in Turn 3. Logano was able to retain the lead through the competition caution on Lap 25.

Under caution, the majority of the field pitted for four tires and Bowyer was able to beat the field off of pit road. When the race restarted on Lap 31, Bubba Wallace, who was one of five drivers who pitted on Lap 13, remained on track as the leader. It did not take long, however, for Bowyer on fresh tires to overtake Wallace for the lead. From there, he was able to maintain a reasonable gap over the field. By Lap 40, he was holding a 1.37 second lead over Blaney. Meanwhile, Alex Bowman, who started 19th, had worked his way to fourth behind Logano, while Kevin Harvick, who started 20th, had only raced his way up to 17th.

While Bowyer continued to lead, Martin Truex Jr., who restarted eighth, wasted no time marching his way to the front. By Lap 56, he was in second after overtaking Bowman for position. He was not, however, able to make up the deficit to Bowyer as Bowyer claimed the first stage by over three seconds over Truex. Blaney, Bowman and Logano finished in the top five under the first stage. Aric Almirola, who dodged a pit road penalty for an uncontrolled tire violation under the competition caution due to the tire getting hit out of the hands of one of his tire carriers, was sixth. Chase Elliott, Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Preece rounded out the top 10.

Under the stage break, Bowyer maintained the lead following a stellar service by his pit crew while Blaney moved into the runner-up spot over Truex. Bowman exited fourth while Matt Kenseth gained four spots up to fifth following his pit stop. Cole Custer was assessed a pit road penalty for an uncontrolled tire violation.

On a Lap 69 restart, the start of the second stage, Blaney mounted a challenge for the lead on the inside lane, but Bowyer was able to maintain the advantage through Turn 4. One lap later, Preece, who was running inside the top 10, had smoke billowing out of his car, but he was able to nurse his car back to pit road without drawing a caution. He would retire due to a mechanical issue.

On Lap 72, Chris Buescher spun following contact with Michael McDowell in Turns 1 and 2, but was able to prevent his car from sustaining further damage and without being hit by anyone else. Under caution, the top-13 cars led by Bowyer remained on track while Blaney led the rest of the field in pitting.

The following restart, on Lap 77, Bowyer maintained the lead but was pursued by Martin Truex Jr. Following another caution on Lap 82 when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wrecked in Turn 2, Bowyer led a bevy of competitors to pit road, giving the lead to Truex, who was one of 10 competitors who stayed out on track.

As the field restarted on Lap 87, Harvick mounted a challenge on the inside through Turn 3, but Truex maintained the lead. Five laps later, Blaney, who ran up front, made an unscheduled pit stop for repairs after making earlier contact with the wall and sustaining right-side damage to his No. 12 Ford.

On the 100th lap, Harvick took the lead from Truex and a lap later, Bowyer, who restarted 10th on fresh tires, raced his way back to second. Eight laps later, Cole Custer drew the race’s seventh caution after making contact with the Turn 2 wall and cutting his right-rear tire.

The leaders pitted under caution and Bowyer reassumed the lead followed by Truex while Harvick fell back to third. Daniel Suarez remained on track to lead a lap before he pitted, giving the lead back to Bowyer on Lap 111 and prior to the restart on Lap 113.

When the field restarted with 13 laps remaining in the second stage, Bowyer retained the lead while Elliott made his way to second over Truex. William Byron and Erik Jones followed pursuit inside the top five ahead of Harvick. Though he encountered lapped traffic in the closing laps, Bowyer was able to navigate his way through to win the second stage over Elliott and Truex as he collected additional bonus points towards the postseason. Jones, who rallied from starting at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments, finished fourth followed by Harvick. William Byron, Hamlin, Bowman, Logano and DiBenedetto finished in the top 10.

Under the stage break, Harvick edged Bowyer to reassume the lead on pit road. When the field restarted on Lap 133, teammates Ryan Newman and Chris Buescher, both of whom remained on track, led the field back to green. Newman received a push from Bowyer to take the lead while Harvick made a three-wide move over Jones and Buescher in an attempt for the lead. One lap later, Jones made a bold three-wide move over Bowyer and Newman to take the lead entering Turn 1. Elliott made his way to second while Bowyer fell back to fifth and was locked in a heated battle with Newman.

Meanwhile, Kyle Busch, who struggled with pace in the early stages of the race and endured radio issues, made his first appearance in the top five. By lap 145, Newman fell back to 13th and Buescher to 27th.

On Lap 150, Jones made contact with the wall but continued to lead. Eleven laps later, Elliott used the high lane to take the lead over Jones, whose car became tight following the contact with the wall. Hamlin made his way to third ahead of Harvick, Bowyer, Kyle Busch and Truex Jr. By Lap 168, Hamlin moved to second behind Elliott.

As the race dwindled in the final laps, green flag pit stops commenced with 54 laps remaining as the leaders, starting with Kyle Busch, made their way to pit road for four tires and fuel.

Four laps later, while most of the leaders completed their service, Kenseth spun in Turn 2 below the apron after sustaining a flat right-rear tire and while attempting to nurse his car back to pit road. When the caution flag flew, Brad Keselowski and Brennan Poole were the only lead-lap cars who did not pit as only five cars were scored on the lead lap. Under caution, Keselowski, Poole and Hamlin pitted. Elliott reassumed the lead, Kyle Busch received the free pass after being scored the first car one lap down and 23 cars took the wave around, giving 24 back on the lead lap prior to a restart with 42 laps remaining.

During the restart, Elliott maintained the lead on the outside lane, though he was heavily pressured by Keselowski and Hamlin. With 37 laps remaining, Keselowski drew himself alongside Elliott in an attempt for the lead in Turn 4, but Elliott retained his advantage in Turn 1.

Shortly after, the 10th caution flag flew when Bowyer spun in Turn 4 as a result of a cut right-rear tire from scraping the wall in Turn 2 four laps earlier. Under caution, the leaders pitted except for Hamlin, Poole and DiBenedetto. Following a stellar pit stop, Harvick was able to exit pit road first followed by Kyle Busch. Elliott and Keselowski fell back to fourth and sixth. Poole would later pit, but Hamlin and DiBenedetto retained the front-row starting spots with 34 to go.

On the ensuing restart with 29 to go, Hamlin was able to launch ahead of the field followed by teammate Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott. Once the field made their way back to Turn 4 the following lap, Elliott was able to surge into the runner-up spot behind Hamlin when Kyle Busch turned right and hooked Elliott, sending Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet head-on into the inside wall on the frontstretch. After climbing out of his car, Elliott gestured his displeasure to Busch.

Shortly after, rain started falling on the track under caution as Hamlin remained on track as the leader. With 20 laps remaining, the field made their way to pit road and the race was red-flagged for rain delay.

When the rain continued to fall, NASCAR declared the race official and Hamlin was awarded the win.

“I’ve got my happy face on, made sure I brought [my face mask] with me today,” Hamlin said in a FOX Sports 1 interview. “I just can’t thank FedEx, Toyota, Coca-Cola, Jordan brand, the whole JGR engine, fab shop. The pit crew did a great job today, everybody really. I was pretty happy with how it all turned out. [Darlington]’s a driver’s race track. You can move around and you can do different things to make your car handle and we got it right today.”

Kyle Busch settled in second and was met by Alan Gustafson, Elliott’s crew chief, on pit road after the race to discuss the incident, where Busch apologized for his involvement. Harvick finished third followed by Keselowski and Jones. Logano, Almirola, Jimmie Johnson, DiBenedetto and Truex rounded out the top 10.

The race featured 17 lead changes with 13 different leaders. There were 11 cautions for 54 laps.

Harvick leads the regular-season series standings by 34 points over Joey Logano and 39 over Alex Bowman.

Results:

1. Denny Hamlin, 12 laps led

2. Kyle Busch

3. Kevin Harvick, 10 laps led

4. Brad Keselowski, seven laps led

5. Erik Jones, 27 laps led

6. Joey Logano, 19 laps led

7. Aric Almirola

8. Jimmie Johnson

9. Matt DiBenedetto

10. Martin Truex Jr., 16 laps led

11. Christopher Bell

12. William Byron

13. Tyler Reddick

14. Ryan Newman, five laps led

15. Kurt Busch

16. Bubba Wallace, three laps led

17. Michael McDowell

18. Alex Bowman

19. Ty Dillon, eight laps led

20. Austin Dillon

21. Ryan Blaney

22. Clint Bowyer, 71 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

23. Chris Buescher

24. Corey LaJoie, one lap down

25. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down

26. Quin Houff, one lap down

27. Daniel Suarez, one lap down, one lap led

28. J.J. Yeley, one lap down

29. Joey Gase, one lap down

30. Matt Kenseth, two laps down

31. Cole Custer, two laps down

32. Gray Gaulding, two laps down

33. Timmy Hill, four laps down

34. Garrett Smithley, four laps down

35. John Hunter Nemechek, six laps down

36. B.J. McLeod, six laps down

37. Brennan Poole, OUT, one lap led

38. Chase Elliott, OUT, 28 laps led

39. Ryan Preece, OUT

May 21, 2020
New car, new team, same Matt Kenseth

Matt Kenseth accomplished the improbable Sunday in his debut with Chip Ganassi Racing driving the No. 42 Chevrolet to a 10th place finish at Darlington Raceway in The Real Heroes 400.

It was his first race back since he retired from the NASCAR Cup Series after the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2018, finishing off a lackluster season. But the time away was only one of the obstacles he faced. He had to acclimate to a new team with an unfamiliar crew chief and spotter. It was also his first race in a Chevrolet Camaro and his first experience with the high downforce, low horsepower package currently used in the Cup Series. And to make things more interesting, there was no practice or qualifying before the race.

The 2003 Cup Series Champion seemed undaunted by the challenges he faced although he did admit to being somewhat apprehensive at the beginning of the race.

“I would say to get prepared and get the mental mindset and everything ready to start the race was very difficult,” he said. “I was definitely anxious when they were getting ready to throw the green, firing off there in the first corner, and everything being new and different with having an extended period of time off. But really once we got into that second restart and ran three or four laps, I really felt pretty comfortable.”

With 39 wins to his credit, the 2003 Cup Series champion is known for his consistency and his dogged determination. And Kenseth’s competitors realize that it is never a good idea to underestimate him.

Race winner, Kevin Harvick, was not surprised by Kenseth’s top-10 result.

“Here’s the thing about Matt Kenseth, he should have never quit,” Harvick said. “Matt Kenseth was winning races when he retired. Matt Kenseth is going to be a huge part of that race team and making Chip Ganassi Racing better. He’s going to be great for the sponsors.”

As Kenseth looks forward his focus is on continuing to be competitive.

“Certainly, it feels good to be back,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of fun the last two or three weeks working with Chad (Johnston, crew chief) and my new team, and getting back on the race track and being competitive. You just don’t know, I wasn’t real competitive the last season that I raced and, certainly, the year before that really didn’t go the way I thought it should go or wanted it to go necessarily. It feels good to be back, to be wanted, to be part of that team and to get a good start. It’s only one race; I have a lot of racing to do and I realize I have a lot of improving to do. But it has been fun so far, for sure.”

In the meantime, he’s happy to be back racing and part of a team where he feels appreciated. And maybe, just maybe, he’ll get a shot at redemption.

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May 18, 2020