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  • Bell makes it an Xfinity three-peat at New Hampshire

    Bell makes it an Xfinity three-peat at New Hampshire

    Christopher Bell made the most of his one-race return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series by remaining undefeated at New Hampshire Motor Speedway following a dominating victory in the Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200 on Saturday, July 17. The Norman, Oklahoma, native quickly worked his way from starting 14th to sweep both stages and lead a race-high 151 of 200 laps before recording the win by more than six seconds over Justin Allgaier and Daniel Hemric.

    The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Xfinity event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Xfinity race. With that, Jeb Burton started on pole position and was joined on the front row with teammate Justin Haley.

    Prior to the event, Landon Cassill and Matt Mills dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective machines. Dawson Cram also started at the rear of the field due to a driver change.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Jeb Burton prevailed on the outside lane through the first two turns to take an early lead over teammate Haley, Austin Cindric and the field. 

    With the field fanned out to nearly four lanes through the backstretch, Jeb Burton was able to lead the first lap. Behind, Cindric moved up to second followed by AJ Allmendinger, Haley, Jeremy Clements, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, Harrison Burton, Brett Moffitt and Riley Herbst.

    By the fifth lap, Jeb Burton was leading by more than a second over Cindric, who had Allmendinger challenging him for the spot. Haley remained in fourth followed by Clements, Harrison Burton and Allgaier.

    Twelve laps later, Allmendinger overtook teammate Jeb Burton for the lead. Allmendinger then went on to retain the lead through Lap 20 before the competition caution flew.

    The race restarted on Lap 26 with Allmendinger and Cindric starting on the front row. Just as the field was approaching the start/finish line to restart under green, the caution returned for a restart pileup involving Riley Herbst, Brandon Jones, Brett Moffitt and Sam Mayer, an incident that sent the back end of the field scattering to avoid the calamity.

    Following the incident, the race restarted on Lap 30. Through the following 13 laps, Allmendinger remained out in front until he had Bell and teammate Harrison Burton challenging him with the first stage reaching its conclusion.

    With two laps remaining in the first stage, Bell, following a lengthy battle with Allmendinger and Harrison Burton, moved his No. 54 DeWalt Toyota Supra into the lead. Just as Allmendinger had a final lap effort established for Bell, the caution flew due to a wreck in Turn 1 involving Kyle Weatherman and Tommy Joe Martins. The incident ended the first stage under caution on Lap 45 with Bell in front of Allmendinger, Harrison Burton, Cindric, Daniel Hemric, Allgaier, Haley, Jeb Burton, Josh Berry and Clements.

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire field, except for Brandon Brown and Joe Graf Jr., pitted, and Bell was the first competitor to exit pit road.

    The second stage started on Lap 53 and Brown retained the lead through the first two turns until he was overtaken by Allmendinger. With Allmendinger back in the lead, Bell also made his way into the runner-up spot on the track.

    By Lap 56, Bell returned to the lead after he overtook Allmendinger for the top spot. Behind, Cindric was in third place ahead of Haley, Allgaier, Hemric, Jeb Burton, Noah Gragson, Brandon Brown, Myatt Snider and Josh Berry.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 90, Bell, who continued to dominate, was out in front. Cindric was scored in second followed by Hemric, Allmendinger, Allgaier, Haley, Berry, Harrison Burton, Gragson and Jeb Burton.

    Under the stage break, the entire field pitted and Bell retained the lead following his exit from pit road.

    With 102 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start and with the field battling for positions, Bell remained as the leader by a clear advantage over Allgaier, Hemric and the field.

    With 52 laps remaining, the caution returned when Patrick Emerling lost a right-front tire and smacked the outside wall approaching Turn 4. Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road and Bell retained the lead after exiting pit road with the lead.

    Down to the final 45 laps of the event, the race restarted under green as Joe Gibbs Racing’s Bell and Hemric filled the front row. At the start, Bell pulled ahead with the lead followed by Allgaier while Hemric fell back to third ahead of Cindric.

    A lap later, Gragson hit the outside wall in Turn 3 following contact with Allmendinger, but the race remained under green.

    Meanwhile, the battle for the lead ignited between Bell and Allgaier, with the latter pressuring the former. Despite Allgaier’s repeated challenges through the turns and the straightaways under the final 40 laps, Bell continued to lead.

    With 20 laps remaining, Bell continued to lead by nearly two seconds over Allgaier and Hemric.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Bell extended his advantage to nearly five seconds over Allgaier and Hemric. Cindric was back in fourth followed by Harrison Burton and Haley, who was more than 10 second behind.

    Despite being surrounded by lapped traffic through the final laps, Bell utilized his huge advantage to pull away and cruise to the finish line, where he claimed his third consecutive checkered flag at the Magic Mile.

    Along with his third consecutive Xfinity victory at New Hampshire, Bell achieved his 17th NASCAR Xfinity Series career victory in his 75th series start and the eighth victory of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 54 Toyota Supra team.

    “What I’ve got figured out is that I’ve got really, really fast race cars to drive,” Bell said on NBCSN. “I just love being here with Joe Gibbs Racing. All these Supras that I’ve had the last three times I’ve been here have been amazing. Hopefully my Camry is just as good tomorrow, but if feels good to win, finally got DeWalt in victory lane. I know it’s been a long time coming…Just really proud to be at Joe Gibbs Racing. Everyone here does an amazing job.”

    Allgaier held off Hemric to finish in the runner-up spot while Cindric and Harrison Burton completed the top five on the track.

    Haley, Snider, Josh Berry, Moffitt and Riley Herbst finished in the top 10.

    Teammates Jeb Burton and Allmendinger finished 11th and 12th while Gragson settled in 14th in front of Jeremy Clements.

    There were five lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 28 laps.

    With his top-five run, Austin Cindric continues to lead the regular-season standings by 82 over AJ Allmendinger and 113 over Daniel Hemric.

    Results.

    1. Christopher Bell, 151 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    2. Justin Allgaier

    3. Daniel Hemric

    4. Austin Cindric

    5. Harrison Burton

    6. Justin Haley

    7. Myatt Snider

    8. Josh Berry

    9. Brett Moffitt

    10. Riley Herbst

    11. Jeb Burton, 16 laps led

    12. AJ Allmendinger, 29 laps led

    13. Ryan Sieg

    14. Noah Gragson

    15. Jeremy Clements

    16. Brandon Gdovic

    17. Brandon Brown, four laps led

    18. Jade Buford, two laps down

    19. Kyle Weatherman, two laps down

    20. David Starr, two laps down

    21. Tommy Joe Martins, three laps down

    22. Josh Williams, three laps down

    23. JJ Yeley, three laps down

    24. Joe Graf Jr., three laps down

    25. Landon Cassill, two laps down

    26. Jeffrey Earnhardt, three laps down

    27. Dexter Bean, three laps down

    28. Jesse Little three laps down

    29. Ryan Vargas, four laps down

    30. Colby Howard, four laps down

    31. Patrick Emerling, four laps down

    32. Matt Mills, five laps down

    33. Spencer Boyd, six laps down

    34. Jordan Anderson, six laps down

    35. Dawson Cram, 16 laps down

    36. Alex Labbe, 26 laps down

    37. CJ McLaughlin – OUT, Electrical

    38. Brandon Jones – OUT, Electrical

    39. Sam Mayer – OUT, Accident

    40. Mason Massey – OUT, Accident

    The 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season will enter a two-week break period before returning on Saturday, August 7, at Watkins Glen International. The event is slated to start at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Weekend schedule for New Hampshire

    Weekend schedule for New Hampshire

    NASCAR heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for a weekend of competition with the Cup and Xfinity Series. The Camping World Truck Series is off but is set to return Saturday, August 7 at Watkins Glen International.

    Kaulig Racing driver Jeb Burton will start on the Xfinity Series pole which was determined by the driver’s finishing position in the previous race. Burton finished second to Kyle Busch last week at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    Kyle Bush will start on the Cup Series pole in his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 after being awarded the pole using the following NASCAR metrics formula.

    • 25 percent: Driver’s finishing position from the previous race
    • 25 percent: Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race
    • 35 percent: Team owner points ranking
    • 15 percent: Fastest lap from the previous race

    There are only five races remaining in the Cup Series regular season. Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr. have already clinched a spot in the 16-driver postseason Playoffs.

    The Xfinity Series regular-season has eight races left before the Playoffs begin. Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger and Austin Cindric have already clinched a spot in the 12-driver field.

    All times are Eastern

    Saturday, July 17

    12:45 p.m.: Whelen Modified Tour – Whelen 100 – NBC Sports Gold Trackpass

    3 p.m.: Xfinity Series – Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200
    Distance: 211.6 miles (200 Laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 45, Stage 2 ends on Lap 90, Final Stage ends on Lap 200
    NBCSN/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Pole: Jeb Burton

    Note: The ARCA Menards Series will also compete Saturday, July 17, at Berlin Raceway. The Zinsser SmartCoat 200 (200 laps/88 miles) will air live at 8 p.m. ET on MAVTV with a live stream available on NBC Sports Gold’s TrackPass.

    Sunday, July 18

    3 p.m.: Cup Series – Foxwoods Resort Casino 301
    Distance: 318.46 miles (301 Laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 75, Stage 2 ends on Lap 185, Final Stage ends on Lap 301
    NBCSN/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Pole: Kyle Busch

    New Hampshire Motor Speedway Data
    Season Race #: 22 of 36 (07-18-21)
    Track Size: 1.058-mile
    Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 2 to 7 degrees
    Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 2 to 7 degrees
    Banking/Frontstretch: 1 degree
    Banking/Backstretch: 1 degree
    Frontstretch Length: 1,500 feet
    Backstretch Length: 1,500 feet
    Race Length: 301 laps / 318.46 miles
    Stages 1 Length: 75 laps
    Stages 2 Length: 110 laps
    Final Stage Length: 116 laps

    New Hampshire Qualifying Data
    Track qualifying record: Brad Keselowski, Ford (140.598 mph, 27.090 secs.) on 09-21-14.
    2019 pole winner: Brad Keselowski, Ford (136.384 mph, 27.927 secs.) on 07-19-19.
    2020 pole winner: None due to pandemic restrictions.
    • Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch lead all active drivers in NCS starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with 37 each.
    • Erik Jones leads the NCS in an average starting position at New Hampshire with an 8.4 in five starts; followed by Kyle Busch with a 9.3 in 30 starts.
    • Ryan Newman leads the NCS in poles at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with seven poles (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2011 sweep, 2013).
    • Eight of the 22 NCS pole winners at New Hampshire are active this weekend. Ryan Newman (7), Brad Keselowski (3), Kyle Busch (3), Kevin Harvick (2), Jimmie Johnson (1), Clint Bowyer (1), Kurt Busch (1), and Martin Truex Jr. (1).
    • Five different manufacturers have won a pole in the NCS at New Hampshire; led by Chevrolet (18), Ford (10), Toyota (eight), Dodge (six), and Pontiac (one).

    New Hampshire Race Data
    Track race record: Jeff Burton, Ford (117.134 mph, 02:42:35) on 07-13-97.
    2019 race winner: Kevin Harvick, Ford (104.062 mph, 03:03:37) on 07-21-19.
    2020 race winner: Brad Keselowski, Ford (100.372 mph, 03:10:22) on 08-02-20
    • Seven of the 24 NCS New Hampshire Motor Speedway winners are active this weekend. Kevin Harvick (4), Denny Hamlin (3), Kurt Busch (3), Kyle Busch (3), Ryan Newman (3), Joey Logano (2), and Brad Keselowski (2).
    • Kevin Harvick (2006, 2016, 2018, 2019) leads active drivers in wins at New Hampshire with four victories.
    • Four drivers have posted consecutive wins at New Hampshire Motor Speedway: Jimmie Johnson (2003 sweep), Kurt Busch (2004 sweep), Matt Kenseth (2015 fall, 2016 spring), and Kevin Harvick (2018, 2019).
    • The first starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field in the NCS at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, producing more winners (six) than any other starting position (12.2%).
    • The deepest in the field that an active race winner has started at New Hampshire is 32nd, by Kurt Busch in the summer of 2003.
    • Joe Gibbs Racing leads the series in wins at New Hampshire in the NCS with 11 victories.
    • Denny Hamlin leads NCS in average finishing position at New Hampshire with a 9.6 in 27 starts.
    • Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in laps led at New Hampshire with 1,128 laps led in 30 starts.

    Top 10 Driver Ratings at New Hampshire
    Denny Hamlin……………………… 104.5
    Brad Keselowski…………………… 100.9
    Kyle Busch…………………………. 100.0
    Kevin Harvick………………………… 98.8
    Martin Truex Jr……………………… 95.5
    Chase Elliott…………………………. 91.1
    Kurt Busch……………………………. 89.3
    Kyle Larson………………………….. 87.9
    Ryan Newman………………………. 87.3
    Ryan Blaney…………………………. 86.8
    Cole Custer………………………….. 85.5
    Joey Logano…………………………. 83.2
    Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2020 races (29 total) among active drivers at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

  • Richard Boswell to call 100th Xfinity race as crew chief at New Hampshire

    Richard Boswell to call 100th Xfinity race as crew chief at New Hampshire

    A significant milestone start is in the making for Richard Boswell, crew chief for Riley Herbst and the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. By participating in this weekend’s Xfinity event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Boswell will call his 100th Xfinity race as a crew chief.

    A native of Friendship, Maryland, Boswell, whose father, Dickie, was a successful late model competitor, grew up competing in racing, where he won multiple World Karting Association national titles in 1998 before competing in late models in 2001. In 2006, Boswell joined JR Motorsports and competed in the Hooters Pro Cup Series. As part of JRM’s racing program, Boswell made his lone NASCAR national touring series start at Memphis International Raceway in the Xfinity Series in October 2009. Driving the No. 5 JRM Chevrolet, Boswell started third and finished 23rd.

    Due to sponsorship issues, Boswell’s racing career as a driver came to an early close. Boswell, though, worked on becoming a crew chief in NASCAR by earning his mechanical engineering degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He continued to work for JR Motorsports and eventually joined Hendrick Motorsports, where he was a part of the No. 48 Chevrolet team piloted by Jimmie Johnson, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion.

    In 2016, Boswell made his debut as a NASCAR crew chief in November 2016 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the final Xfinity Series event of the season, for Cole Custer and the No. 5 JR Motorsports Chevrolet team. During the event, Custer started 18th and finished 17th.

    The following season, Boswell was selected to crew chief one of Stewart-Haas Racing’s two newly formed Xfinity Series entries, which competed in six events while being piloted by Kevin Harvick, the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion. During the six-race schedule, Boswell and Harvick finished in the top 10 in all of their appearances, with their best result being a runner-up finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.

    Boswell returned as crew chief for Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 98 Ford Mustang for 12 Xfinity Series events in 2018, where the ride was shared between Harvick, veteran Aric Almirola and rookie Chase Briscoe. By then, SHR formed a partnership with Biagi-DenBeste Racing. Throughout the part-time season, Boswell earned his first two career victories as a crew chief, the first with Harvick at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February and the second with Briscoe at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval in October. The team also earned four top-five results and five top-10 results between Almirola, Briscoe and Harvick.

    Following two part-time seasons, Boswell was named crew chief for Briscoe and the No. 98 SHR Ford Mustang team for the entire 33-race Xfinity Series schedule in 2019. Throughout the season, Boswell and Briscoe achieved a win at Iowa Speedway in July. They also achieved two poles, 13 top-five results, 26 top-10 results, an average-finishing result of 8.2 and a spot in the 2019 Xfinity Playoffs, where Briscoe remained in title contention before being eliminated prior to the Championship Round. Despite finishing in fifth place in the final standings, Briscoe locked up the 2019 Xfinity Rookie-of-the-Year title.

    Remaining as an Xfinity crew chief for Briscoe and SHR in 2020, it only took two races into the season for Boswell and Briscoe to earn their first victory of the season, which occurred at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in February. At Darlington Raceway in May, Boswell and Briscoe achieved their second victory of the season when Briscoe fended off Kyle Busch in a thrilling finish.

    Following the first of a Homestead-Miami Speedway doubleheader weekend feature in June, Boswell was suspended from the following four Xfinity races due to a safety violation involving dropped ballast from Briscoe’s car prior to the event. Also suspended with Boswell were car chief Nick Hutchins and engineer DJ Vanderley. With Boswell suspended, Greg Zipadelli, competition director at Stewart-Haas Racing and a former championship-winning crew chief, filled in as Briscoe’s interim crew chief, where they won in three out of four races.

    Returning at Kentucky Speedway in July, the momentum for Boswell, Briscoe and the No. 98 SHR Ford team continued as Briscoe went on to win at Dover International Speedway in August and at Bristol Motor Speedway in September. 

    When the 2020 Xfinity Playoffs commenced, Boswell and Briscoe notched a dominating victory at Las Vegas in September. They went on to win at Kansas Speedway in October, a victory that secured the driver, crew chief and the team a spot in the Championship Round at Phoenix Raceway in November. During the finale, however, Briscoe ended up in ninth place on the track and behind his three fellow title contenders in the final standings. Overall, Boswell achieved six victories, 13 top-five results and 19 top-10 results in 29 races with Briscoe.

    For the 2021 season, Boswell remained in the Xfinity Series and as crew chief for SHR’s No. 98 Ford team. While Briscoe moved up to the Cup Series with SHR, however, Riley Herbst joined the team to pilot the No. 98 car as a full-time Xfinity driver. Through the first 18 Xfinity events of this season, Boswell and Herbst have achieved a pole, two top-five results, five top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 18.7. They are ranked in 13th place in the regular-season standings.

    Through 99 previous Xfinity events, Boswell has achieved nine victories, three poles, 37 top-five results and 61 top-10 results with five different competitors. 

    Boswell is set to call his 100th Xfinity Series career race as a crew chief at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 17, with the event scheduled to occur at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Kyle Busch caps off potential Xfinity Series career with a dominant victory at Atlanta

    Kyle Busch caps off potential Xfinity Series career with a dominant victory at Atlanta

    In what could be his final NASCAR Xfinity Series start of his illustrious racing career, Kyle Busch walked off as a winner after dominating and fending off the field in overtime to claim the inaugural Credit Karma Money 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 10. The victory made Busch five-for-five ini this year’s Xfinity season as he also claimed his 102nd career win in his 362nd series start.

    The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Xfinity event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Xfinity race. With that, Kyle Busch, winner of last weekend’s Xfinity event at Road America, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with teammate Daniel Hemric.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Kyle Busch rocketed away with the lead from the inside lane, where he led the first lap followed by AJ Allmendinger, Harrison Burton and Justin Haley while Hemric, who started on the outside lane, slipped out of the top five through the first two turns.

    Following the first five laps of the event, Kyle Busch was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Allmendinger, with Haley, Harrison Burton and Noah Gragson running in the top five. Jeremy Clements was in sixth followed by Hemric, Austin Cindric and Jeb Burton while Justin Allgaier and Brandon Jones were battling for 10th.

    Five laps later, Kyle Busch’s advantage grew to nearly two seconds over Allmendinger wile Haley, Harrison Burton and Gragson continued to run in the top five. By then, Austin Dillon, who filled in the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro in place of Michael Annett with Annett absent due to a leg injury, was battling for a top-25 spot after starting at the rear of the field.

    When the competition caution flew on Lap 20, Kyle Busch was out in front by nearly seven-tenths of a second over Allmendinger. Meanwhile, Harrison Burton was up in third followed by Gragson, Haley and Hemric.

    Under the competition caution, some led by Austin Cindric pitted while the rest led by Kyle Busch remained on the track.

    On Lap 24, the race restarted and Kyle Busch received another strong start to retain the lead while the field behind fanned out to three lanes. While Haley and Hemric struggled to launch on the outside lane, Allmendinger moved up to second followed by Harrison Burton and Gragson.

    By Lap 30, the No. 54 Extra Gum Toyota Supra driven by Kyle Busch was leading by six-tenths of a second over the No. 16 Hyperice Chevrolet Camaro piloted by Allmendinger. Harrison Burton, racing in the No. 20 Offerpad Toyota Supra, was in third followed by teammate Hemric, Gragson, Brandon Jones, Justin Allgaier, Brett Moffitt, Haley and Alex Labbe.

    With a clear, early advantage, Kyle Busch was able to cruise to the first stage victory on Lap 40. Allmendinger settled in second followed by Harrison Burton, Hemric, Gragson, Moffitt, Labbe, Haley, Brandon Jones and Austin Dillon.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Harrison Burton emerged with the lead followed by Hemric, Allmendinger, Gragson and Kyle Busch, who lost the lead following his service. 

    The second stage started on Lap 46 with Harrison Burton and Gragson starting on the front row. At the start, Gragson and Harrison Burton battled for the lead through the backstretch before Gragson pulled out ahead. Behind, Kyle Busch marched his way to third place behind teammate Harrison Burton before taking over the runner-up spot.

    By Lap 49, Kyle Busch returned to the lead after overtaking Gragson on the outside lane in Turn 3. Shortly after, the caution flew due to an incident on the frontstretch involving Matt Mills and veteran David Starr. 

    When the race restarted on Lap 55, Kyle Busch launched ahead with the lead followed by Gragson while Harrison Burton, Allmendinger and Hemric engaged in a three-wide battle for third in Turn 1. Through the backstretch, Hemric was able to prevail ahead over teammate Harrison Burton with Allgaier moving up to fifth over Allmendinger.

    By Lap 60, Kyle Busch continued to lead by four-tenths of a second over Gragson. Behind, Harrison Burton moved back into third place followed by Allmendinger and Hemric, who was being pressured by Allgaier and Moffitt for more. 

    Nearly three laps later, the caution returned when Josh Berry spun off of Turn 4, though he was dodged by the incoming traffic.

    On Lap 66, the race restarted and Kyle Busch was able to clear AJ Allmendinger entering Turn 2 to retain the lead while the field behind battled through multiple lanes for positioning.

    Through the first 70 laps of the event, Kyle Busch remained out in front by more than a second over Allmendinger, with Gragson, Allgaier and Hemric in the top five. Harrison Burton was back in sixth followed by Moffitt, Brandon Jones, Ty Dillon and Austin Dillon.

    Like he did in the first stage, Kyle Busch was able to muscle away from the field with a comfortable advantage and claim the second stage victory on Lap 80 by eight-tenths of a second over Allmendinger. Gragson, Allgaier, Hemric, Harrison Burton, Moffitt, Ty Dillon, Haley and Austin Dillon settled in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and this time, Kyle Busch exited pit road with the lead over Allmendinger, Gragson, Hemric and the field. Following the pit stops, Allmendinger was assessed a pit road speeding penalty. In addition, Harrison Burton pitted for a second time to have the lug nuts on his car tightened.

    With 77 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch and Hemric started on the front row. At the start, Kyle Busch received another start on the inside lane to retain the lead followed by Gragson while Hemric slipped back to third.

    Seven laps later, Kyle Busch stretched his advantage to more than a second over Gragson, with Moffitt running in third place ahead of Hemric and Allgaier. Running in the top 10 were Haley, rookie Sam Mayer, Austin Dillon, Cindric and Ty Dillon. Allmendinger, meanwhile, was in 16th behind teammate Jeb Burton while Harrison Burton was in 19th in front of Gray Gaulding.

    Not long after, the caution returned for an incident involving Gray Gaulding, who spun and hit the backstretch wall. Under caution, some led by teammates Gragson and Allgaier remained on the track while the rest led by Kyle Busch pitted.

    With 62 laps remaining, the race restarted. By then, Gragson surrendered his spot near the front to pit and have a flat tire addressed. At the start, Allgaier retained the lead over Haley while the field behind fanned out to multiple lanes between competitors on fresh tires over those with none.

    A few laps later, Allgaier was leading by nearly six-tenths of a second over Hemric, with Haley, Jeb Burton and Ty Dillon in the top five. By then, Kyle Busch was in ninth in between Cindric and Allmendinger while Harrison Burton was in 11th ahead of Moffitt.

    With 58 laps remaining, Hemric muscled his No. 18 Poppy Bank Toyota Supra into the lead over Allgaier. By then, Kyle Busch worked his way back into the top five. Another few laps later, Busch was up into second place and trailing teammate Hemric by more than a second.

    Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Hemric was still leading, but his advantage decreased to a second over his hard-charging teammate Kyle Busch. Allmendinger, meanwhile, trailed by more than two seconds while the Dillon brothers rounded out the top five ahead of Moffitt, Allgaier, Harrison Burton, Cindric and Haley.

    Five laps later, the caution returned for an incident involving Brandon Jones and Ryan Sieg in the backstretch, with Jones making hard contact against the outside wall. Under caution, names like Ty Dillon, Myatt Snider, Tommy Joe Martins and Gragson remained on the track while the rest led by Hemric and Kyle Busch pitted. Prior to the restart, Allgaier was sent to the rear of the field due to a commitment line violation,

    With 39 laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, the front-runners fanned out to three lanes before Hemric muscled to the lead followed by Kyle Busch on the outside lane. With Busch close behind, Hemric was leading while seeking his elusive first victory in NASCAR.

    With 30 laps remaining, Hemric continued to lead by three-tenths of a second over teammate Kyle Busch. Behind, Allmendinger and Moffitt battled for third followed by Harrison Burton, Austin Dillon, Haley, Cindric, Sieg and Clements. Allgaier, following his commitment line penalty, was in 12th while teammate Gragson was in 14th.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event and with the leaders catching lapped traffic, Hemric stabilized his advantage to nearly six-tenths of a second over teammate Kyle Busch, who was unable to close in for the lead despite keeping his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate within sight.

    Three laps later, the caution flew when Carson Ware spun on the backstretch. By then, Hemric stretched his advantage to nearly a second over Busch.

    Under caution, nearly all of the leaders pitted and Hemric exited pit road ahead of teammate Kyle Busch by a nose. Back on the track, Kyle Weatherman did not pit and assumed the lead.

    With 11 laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, Hemric moved himself quickly back to the front followed by Kyle Busch and the competitors on the inside lane. For Weatherman, however, his time at the front did not last long after a transmission issue while restarting resulted with him getting hit by Brandon Brown and Harrison Burton before spinning, thus bringing back the caution flag.

    Under caution, few like Harrison Burton, Myatt Snider and Tommy Joe Martins pitted while the rest led by Hemric remained on the track.

    With six laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Hemric and Allmendinger started on the front row in front of Kyle Busch and Allgaier. At the start, Allmendinger issued a challenge for the lead on Hemric, who had teammate Kyle Busch trying to push him out in front. While trying to maintain the lead, Hemric was then bumped by teammate Busch, who then was turned into Allmendinger and sent sideways while making hard contact with the outside wall in Turn 1. The incident all but spoiled another opportunity for Hemric to achieve his first NASCAR national touring series win.

    With Hemric out of contention, Kyle Busch was back out in front followed by Moffitt, Jeb Burton, Haley and Allmendinger. 

    Down to a two-lap shootout, the race restarted with Kyle Busch and Jeb Burton starting on the front row. At the start, Busch managed to clear Burton through the backstretch to retain the lead. While Burton kept Busch within his sights, the latter started to pull away and maintain a decent advantage when he started the final lap.

    For one final lap, Busch was able to keep Jeb Burton and Gragson at bay as he came back around and claimed the checkered flag for the win.

    In addition to winning for the 102nd time in the Xfinity circuit and winning in all five of his scheduled Xfinity starts, Busch also recorded his third series victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway and his 222nd NASCAR national touring series career victory.

    While celebrating on the frontstretch in front of the grandstands, Busch took a moment to address his late restart incident involving his teammate Daniel Hemric.

    “Yeah, I meant to push [Hemric], and I wanted to hit him, I just wanted to ht him forward and straight but turned him sideways a little bit, and I think he got more help on his right side,” Busch saaid on NBCSN. “Just trying to help a teammate there, and that’s why I restarted behind him. Overall, great day for our 54 car, but [Hemric] was better and deserved this win. So, I’m sorry to Daniel and all those guys. I hate it that all that transpired. That’s why this win is a little more somber than others have been. You don’t take solace in a win like that. But a win’s a win.”

    “Yeah, as far as I know, as far as what’s gonna happen right now, it’s never say never,” Busch, when addressing the potential end of his Xfinity Series career, added. “This is it.”

    Behind Busch, Jeb Burton claimed his second-best result in the series after finishing in the runner-up spot followed by Gragson. Haley came home in fourth place followed by Ty Dillon.

    Moffitt, Allgaier, Clements, Sam Mayer and Cindric finished in the top 10.

    Austin Dillon finished 11th wile filling in for Michael Annett. Allmendinger finished 13th, Riley Herbst came home in 19th, Myatt Snider fell back to 21st, Harrison Burton ended up in 24th and Hemric settled in 30th.

    “What could’ve been, right?” Hemric said. “That’s all you think about. On the flip side of it, you can’t change it. Obviously, I know it wasn’t intentional by no means…Our day will come.”

    There were 16 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured 10 cautions for 43 laps.

    Austin Cindric continues to lead the regular-season standings by 74 points over AJ Allmendinger and 112 over Daniel Hemric.

    Results.

    1. Kyle Busch, 97 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    2. Jeb Burton, one lap led

    3. Noah Gragson, five laps led

    4. Justin Haley

    5. Ty Dillon, four laps led

    6. Brett Moffitt

    7. Justin Allgaier, four laps led

    8. Jeremy Clements

    9. Sam Mayer

    10. Austin Cindric

    11. Austin Dillon

    12. Ryan Sieg

    13. AJ Allmendinger, two laps led

    14. Ryan Vargas

    15. Alex Labbe

    16. Tommy Joe Martins

    17. Jade Buford

    18. Josh Williams

    19. Riley Herbst

    20. Colby Howard

    21. Myatt Snider

    22. Jeffrey Earnhardt

    23. Josh Berry

    24. Harrison Burton, three laps led

    25. Joe Graf Jr.

    26. Matt Mills

    27. Ronnie Bassett Jr.

    28. Jesse Little

    29. Mason Massey

    30. Daniel Hemric, 45 laps led

    31. Brandon Brown – OUT, Accident

    32. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Accident, three laps led

    33. Santino Ferrucci, two laps down

    34. Bayley Currey, two laps down

    35. Gray Gaulding, four laps down

    36. Carson Ware – OUT, Accident

    37. CJ McLaughlin, 25 laps down

    38. Landon Cassill, 36 laps down

    39. Brandon Jones – OUT, Accident

    40. David Starr – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ return to New Hampshire Motor Speedway following a one-year absence. The event is scheduled to occur at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Weekend schedule for Atlanta and Knoxville

    Weekend schedule for Atlanta and Knoxville

    The NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series head to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend for the second time this season while the Camping World Truck Series travels to Knoxville Raceway for the series debut at the half-mile dirt oval.

    Six active Cup Series drivers have won previously at the 1.5-mile track. Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch lead the series with three wins each. Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch have two previous wins. Ryan Blaney, the most recent winner, and Denny Hamlin have each been to victory lane once.

    Only three active Xfinity Series drivers have won at Atlanta. Kyle Busch has two victories while Justin Allgaier and AJ Allmendinger have one win each. Busch (13) and Jeremy Clements (12) have the most starts among the active drivers in the Series.

    The Truck Series lineup at Knoxville Raceway will be set by four qualifying heat races prior to the main event. A random draw (in order of current owner points) will be used to determine the heat race and starting position for each driver. Only green-flag laps will count with no overtime rule.

    Drivers will earn points for their finish in the qualifying race and can also gain passing points (the difference between their starting position and finishing position). The points will determine their starting position for the feature event.

    The starting lineups for the Cup and Xfinity Series were determined by the following metrics formula:

    • 25 percent: Driver’s finishing position from the previous race
    • 25 percent: Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race
    • 35 percent: Team owner points ranking
    • 15 percent: Fastest lap from the previous race

    All times are Eastern.

    Thursday, July 8

    7:05 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice at Knoxville – FS1

    Friday, July 9

    7 p.m.: Truck Series at Knoxville Qualifying Race 1 (15 Laps) FS1/MRN
    7:15 p.m.: Truck Series at Knoxville Qualifying Race 2 (15 Laps) FS1/MRN
    7:30 p.m.: Truck Series at Knoxville Qualifying Race 3 (15 Laps) FS1/MRN
    7:45 p.m.: Truck Series at Knoxville Qualifying Race 4 (15 Laps) FS1/MRN
    9 p.m.: Truck Series Corn Belt 150 presented by Premier Chevy Dealers at Knoxville (Stages 40/90/150 laps = 75 miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Saturday, July 10

    3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Credit Karma Money 250 at Atlanta
    Stages 40/80/163 laps = 251.02 miles
    NBCSN/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN)
    Pole: Kyle Busch

    Sunday, July 11

    3:30 p.m.: Cup Series Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart at Atlanta
    Stages 80/160/260 laps = 400.4 miles
    NBCSN/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN)
    Pole: Chase Elliott

    Atlanta Motor Speedway Data:
    Season Race #: 21 of 36 (07-11-21)
    Track Size: 1.54-miles
    Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 24 degrees
    Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 24 degrees
    Banking/Frontstretch: 5 degrees
    Banking/Backstretch: 5 degrees
    Frontstretch Length:  2,332 feet
    Backstretch Length:  1,800 feet
    Race Length: 260 laps / 400.4 miles
    Stage 1 & 2: 80 Laps (each)
    Final Stage: 100 Laps

    Atlanta Qualifying and Race Data:

    Track qualifying record: Geoffrey Bodine, Ford (197.478 mph, 28.074 secs.) on 11-15-97
    2020 pole winner: None – Starting Lineup set by Metric Qualifying; Chase Elliott started in first.

    • Kevin Harvick leads all active drivers in NCS starts with 31 starts, followed by Kurt Busch with 30 and Ryan Newman with 29.
    • Ryan Newman leads all active drivers in the NCS in average starting position of 8.138 in 29 starts followed by Kyle Larson at 8.286 in 12 starts.
    • Nine of the Atlanta NCS pole winners are active this weekend.  Ryan Newman (7), Kevin Harvick (2), Aric Almirola (1), Denny Hamlin (1), Joey Logano (1), Kurt Busch (1), Kyle Busch (1), Martin Truex Jr. (1), and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (1)
    • Buddy Baker and Ryan Newman are tied for the ZNCS most poles at Atlanta with seven each and Newman holds the record for most consecutive poles with six (spring of 2003 through 2005).

    Track race record: Bobby Labonte, Pontiac (159.904 mph, 03:07:48) on 11-16-97.
    2020 race winner: Kevin Harvick, Ford (142.966 mph, 03:30:03) on 06-07-20.

    • Six former Atlanta winners are active this weekend.  Kevin Harvick (3), Kurt Busch (3), Brad Keselowski (2), Kyle Busch (2), Denny Hamlin (1), and Ryan Blaney (1).
    • Kevin Harvick (2001, 2018, 2020) and Kurt Busch (2002, 2009, 2010) lead all active series winners at Atlanta with three each.
    • The youngest NCS Atlanta winner is Kyle Busch (03/09/2008 – 22 years, 10 months, 7 days).
    • The most proficient starting position in the field at Atlanta is the fifth starting position with 16 wins, more than any other starting position.
    • The deepest in the field that an active race winner has started at Atlanta is 37th, by Jimmie Johnson in 2015.
    • Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins at Atlanta in the NCS with 14.
    • Nine different manufacturers have won in the NCS at Atlanta.  Chevrolet leads with 40, followed by Ford (34), Pontiac (11), Dodge (nine), Mercury (eight), Buick (four), Plymouth (four), Toyota (three) and Oldsmobile (one).
    • Kevin Harvick leads all active NCS drivers in laps led at Atlanta with 1,197 in 31 starts.

    Top 12 Driver Ratings at Atlanta
    Kevin Harvick……………………… 101.4
    Kyle Larson………………………….. 98.0
    Martin Truex Jr……………………… 96.7
    Denny Hamlin……………………….. 95.6
    Kurt Busch…………………………… 95.4
    Kyle Busch…………………………… 94.6
    Brad Keselowski……………………. 94.4
    Ryan Blaney…………………………. 91.0
    Chase Elliott…………………………. 89.9
    Joey Logano………………………… 83.3
    Ryan Newman………………………. 78.0
    Ricky Stenhouse Jr………………… 77.5

    Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2021 races (23 total) among active drivers at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

  • Chris Gayle to call 150th Xfinity race as crew chief at Atlanta

    Chris Gayle to call 150th Xfinity race as crew chief at Atlanta

    A significant milestone start is in the making for Chris Gayle, crew chief for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 54 Toyota Supra team piloted by multiple competitors in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. By participating in this weekend’s event at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Gayle will call his 150th Xfinity career race as a crew chief.

    A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Gayle spent two years as a student at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville before transferring to the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering in 2002. Not long after, he joined Joe Gibbs Racing to work as a race engineer.

    Eleven years later, Gayle, who was a senior engineer for Kyle Busch in the NASCAR Cup Series, was promoted to the crew chief role, where he was paired with veteran Elliott Sadler and JGR’s No. 11 Toyota Camry team for the 2013 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. Throughout the 33-race Xfinity schedule, Gayle and Sadler earned nine top-five results and 20 top-10 results before finishing in fourth place in the final standings.

    Eight races into the 2014 Xfinity season, Gayle earned his first NASCAR career victory as a crew chief at Talladega Superspeedway in April, where Sadler held off the field in a three-lap shootout to return to Victory Lane following a one-year winless season. They went on to earn a pole, seven top-five results and 25 top-10 results before settling in third place in the final standings.

    Prior to the 2015 season, Sadler departed JGR and the team shuffled its crew chief lineup, placing Gayle as crew chief for the team’s No. 54 Toyota Camry piloted by multiple competitors, starting with Kyle Busch for the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway in February. The season, however, started off on a harrowing note when Busch was involved in a late multi-car accident that saw his car make head-on contact into a concrete wall installed with no SAFER barriers and the driver being transported to a local hospital, where he suffered a massive compound fracture to his right leg and a fractured left foot.

    With Busch absent and recovering from his injuries, Gayle spent the following 11 Xfinity events working with Erik Jones, Denny Hamlin and Boris Said. When Busch returned at Michigan International Speedway in June, he and Gayle went to Victory Lane after Busch completed a late pass on Chase Elliott en route to his first win of the season and in his first Xfinity start since the Daytona accident. A week later, Gayle went to Victory Lane with Erik Jones at Chicagoland Speedway. 

    In total, Gayle achieved seven Xfinity victories in 2015, six with Kyle Busch and one with Erik Jones. In addition, he notched five poles, 17 top-five results and 23 top-10 results throughout the 33-race schedule for JGR’s No. 54 Toyota team, which settled in the runner-up position behind Team Penske’s No. 22 Ford Mustang team in the final Xfinity owners’ standings.

    Gayle remained as JGR’s Xfinity “all-star” crew chief in 2016, where he worked with Dakoda Armstrong, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Drew Herring, Sam Hornish Jr., Owen Kelly, Bobby Labonte, David Ragan and Matt Tifft, all of whom took turns piloting the No. 18 Toyota Camry throughout the season. Throughout the 33-race schedule, Gayle earned 11 victories (10 with Kyle Busch and one with Hornish), 11 poles (nine with Kyle Busch, one with Ragan and one with Tifft), 19 top-five results and 23 top-10 results. When the final checkered flag of the season flew, JGR’s No. 18 Toyota team ended up in fourth place in the owners’ standings.

    Following the 2016 Xfinity season, Gayle moved up to the NASCAR Cup Series, where he worked as a crew chief for Erik Jones and the No. 77 Furniture Row Racing Toyota Camry team. After a four-year run in the Cup Series, where Gayle earned two career victories between 2018 and 2019 with Erik Jones, Gayle returned to the Xfinity Series for the 2021 season, where he was assigned to JGR’s No. 54 Toyota Supra team piloted by multiple competitors, starting with Ty Dillon for the season-opening event at Daytona in February. 

    Following a 14th-place result with Dillon at Daytona, Gayle returned to Victory Lane the following weekend at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course with Ty Gibbs, grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, winning his first Xfinity race in his series’ debut. Since then, Gayle has achieved four additional victories this season, three with Kyle Busch and another with Ty Gibbs. Currently, with seventeen races of the 2021 season complete, JGR’s No. 54 team led by Gayle is ranked in second place in the owners’ standings.

    Through 149 previous Xfinity appearances, Gayle has achieved 25 victories, 20 poles, 63 top-five results and 102 top-10 results while working with 15 different competitors.

    Gayle is primed to call his 150th Xfinity race as a crew chief at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 10, with Kyle Busch scheduled to drive the No. 54 JGR Toyota Supra and with the race scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Kyle Busch conquers Road America for 101st Xfinity Series win

    Kyle Busch conquers Road America for 101st Xfinity Series win

    The streak of different winners at Road America in the NASCAR Xfinity Series was extended to a 12th season as Kyle Busch rallied from an early spin to win the Henry 180 on Saturday, July 3, after leading the final five laps of the event. The victory also extended Busch’s winning streak in this year’s Xfinity Series season to four wins in four starts along with achieving his 101st series victory.

    Qualifying occurred on Saturday, July 3, with rookie Ty Gibbs recording his first Xfinity career pole after logging a pole-winning lap at 107.532 mph. Joining him on the front row was Austin Cindric, winner of last weekend’s event at Pocono Raceway and the reigning Xfinity winner at Road America.

    Prior to the event, Noah Gragson (engine change) and Riley Herbst (backup car) dropped to the rear of the field along with Brett Moffit, Natalie Decker and Ryan Ellis (unapproved adjustments).

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, the entire field battled dead even entering the first turn until at the front, Gibbs was able to squeak ahead of Cindric and AJ Allmendinger through the Turn 2 straightaway and past the third right-hand turn. 

    Through Turn 3, the Turn 4 straightaway and the fifth left-hand turn, Gibbs retained the lead while Allmendinger bolted his way into the runner-up spot over Cindric, who was in front of Daniel Hemric, Kyle Busch, Justin Allgaier and Jeb Burton. Behind, Kaz Grala went wide in Turn 5 after locking up his brakes.

    From the left-hand Turn 5 through the right-hand Turn 14, the field settled in a competitive, single-file line with Gibbs still leading Allmendinger and Cindric.

    When the entire field returned to the start/finish line following 14 turns, Gibbs led the first lap followed by Allmendinger, Cindric, Busch and Hemric.

    After leading the first two laps, Gibbs was overtaken by Allmendinger, a former winner at Road America.

    On the fifth lap, the first caution of the event was displayed when Spencer Pumpelly, driving the No. 6 Chevrolet Camaro for JD Motorsports, spun in Turn 14 following a bump from Brandon Brown and got stuck in the gravel trap.

    Under caution, multiple names like Kyle Busch, Gibbs, Hemric, Justin Allgaier, Andy Lally, Brandon Jones, Harrison Burton, Ryan Sieg, Preston Pardus, Brett Moffitt, Myatt Snider, Josh Williams and Alex Labbe pitted for four fresh tires.

    The race restarted on the eighth lap as Allmendinger retained the lead over Cindric, Jeb Burton, Haley, Gragson, Annett and the field through the first three turns. Then in Turn 3, Kyle Busch spun into the grass following contact from Allgaier, though he was able to continue without any serious damage. Not long after, Gibbs was assessed a penalty for changing lanes during the restart.

    With the field continuing to battle for positioning around every turn, Allmendinger cruised to the first stage victory on Lap 10 as he claimed his fourth stage victory of the season. Cindric settled in second followed by Jeb Burton, Haley and Gragson. Gibbs crossed the start/finish line in sixth, but he was discredited from earning any stage points as a result of his restart violation. The move promoted Hemric to sixth followed by Allgaier, Annett, Josh Bilicki and Riley Herbst.

    Under the stage break, most of the leaders led by Allmendinger pitted while others led by Cindric and Gragson remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 12 with Cindric and Gragson restarting on the front row. At the start, Cindric peaked ahead briefly, but Hemric made a move to the outside of Cindric’s No. 22 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang to take the lead through the first turn. Through the first three corners, the Turn 4 straightaway and the left-hand Turn 5, Hemric and his No. 18 Poppy Bank Toyota Supra remained out in front while the field jumbled up while battling for positioning.

    Shortly after, the caution returned for a hard accident involving Sam Mayer and Preston Pardus. 

    When the race restarted on Lap 15, Allgaier took over the top spot over Hemric, where he led the following two laps. Then, Allmendinger moved back to the front of the field.

    With a series of battles occurring around the road course, Allmendinger, like he did in the first stage, was able to pull away and win the second stage on Lap 20, thus claiming his fifth stage victory of the season. Allgaier settled in second followed by Hemric, Haley, Busch, Jones, Gibbs, Cindric, Harrison Burton and Herbst. Moments before he crossed the start/finish line, Busch went off the track through the straightaway between Turns 11 and 12 as he kicked up dirt before continuing without serious damage.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted as Allgaier inherited the lead. Following the pit stops, Allmendinger was penalized due to his crew members jumping over the pit wall early, thus sending Allmendinger to the rear of the field.

    With 23 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Allgaier and Kyle Busch restarted on the front row. At the start, Allgaier was able to prevail over Busch to remain as the leader. With the field fanning out through the first two turns, Allgaier led Busch through the first three turns, the Turn 4 straightaway, the left-hand turns in 5 and 6, a brief straightaway in Turns 7 and 8, a long right-hand turn in 9 and 10, a long straightaway from Turn 10 to 12 and a pair of turns in 13 and 14 before returning to the start/finish line. 

    The following lap, Allgaier continued to lead, but he had Cindric closing in for the lead entering the first turn after Cindric overtook Kyle Busch for the runner-up spot. Then, through the second turn, Cindric made a move to the right of Allgaier’s No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro. Following a side-by-side battle through the straightaway and under the Sargento bridge, Cindric returned to the lead.

    With 20 laps remaining, Cindric was leading by more than four seconds over Gragson, with Allgaier being pressed by Busch and Gibbs for more. Haley was in sixth followed by Herbst, Hemric, Jones and Jeb Burton. 

    A lap later, the caution returned for a harrowing accident involving Spencer Pumpelly, who lost his brakes entering the first turn, spun through the gravel trap and plowed into the tire barriers, where the rear end of his No. 6 Chevrolet Camaro ended up on top of the barriers. 

    Under caution, nearly the entire field pitted while names like Brandon Jones, teammate Harrison Burton, Harvick, Josh Bilicki and Cody Ware remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Hemric was penalized due to a crew member jumping over the pit wall too soon.

    With 16 laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, Jones retained the lead over teammate Harrison Burton, Harvick and the field through the first three turns, the Turn 3 and 4 straightaway and through the left-hand fifth turn.

    The following lap and after navigating his way through the 14-turn circuit, Jones continued to lead followed by Harrison Burton and Cindric, who started to close in on Burton for more. After leading through the first four turns,, Jones locked up the brakes entering Turn 5 in front of Cindric, forcing Cindric to crossover to the left of Harrison Burton and Jones through the fifth turn. After going three wide with Burton and Jones, Cindric reassumed the lead entering the sixth turn.

    With Cindric out in front, Harrison Burton remained in second place. A lap later, Allgaier and Gibbs moved up the leaderboard followed by Gragson while Jones slipped back to sixth. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch was in eighth in front of Allmendinger.

    Then, through Turns 12 and 13, Gibbs moved up into second place followed by Allgaier and Gragson while Harrison Burton fell back to fifth. Behind, Kyle Busch and Allmendinger moved up to sixth and seventh.

    A few laps later, Jeb Burton and Brandon Jones spun in Turn 14, but the race remained under green as both plummeted on the leaderboard.

    With 11 laps remaining, Harrison Burton brought his No. 20 Dex Imaging Toyota Supra to pit road for service. Shortly after, the caution returned when Gibbs, who was running in the runner-up spot, came to a stop under the Corvette bridge in Turn 6 following a transmission failure to his No. 81 Monster Energy Toyota Supra, an issue that eliminated him from race-winning contention.

    Under caution, some led by Cindric pitted while the rest led by Gragson remained on the track.

    Down to the final eight laps, the race restarted under green as Gragson and Allmendinger started on the front row. At the start, Gragson jumped ahead with the lead followed by Kaulig Racing’s Haley and Allmendinger through the first turn. 

    Then, the caution returned when Snider made contact with Harrison Burton, spun and made light contact with the wall through the Turn 2 straightaway. Snider’s incident resulted in ensuing chaos behind as Cody Ware, Kris Wright and Natalie Decker wrecked and knocked down a number of advertising billboards through the Turn 2 straight In the midst of the incident, Cindric and Allgaier sustained damage to their respective machines, forcing both to pit under caution.

    With six laps remaining, the race restarted as Gragson and Haley started on the front row. At the start, Gragson received a bump from Allmendinger to retain the lead over Haley through the first three turns and through Turn 5. With Gragson’s No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro leading, Kyle Busch bolted his No. 54 M&M’s Ice Cream Toyota Supra into third place entering Turn 3 as he then challenged Allmendinger for the runner-up spot through Turns 5 and 6. 

    Then in Turn 8, Allmendinger made his move beneath Gragson and made contact with Gragson before he moved his No. 16 Hyperice Chevrolet Camaro back into the lead followed by Busch. Gragson, meanwhile, fell back to third in front of Haley, Harrison Burton and the field. 

    The following lap and with five laps remaining, Busch made his move beneath Allmendinger entering the first turn and made contact with Allmendinger, which gave Busch the advantage through the Turn 2 straightaway and Turn 3 to take the lead. From there, Busch started to pull away from the field.

    When the field returned to the start/finish line, Busch was leading by nearly a second over Allmendinger, with Gragson, Michael Annett and Haley in the top five. Jones and Harrison Burton followed in pursuit along with Harvick, Hemric and Herbst. Way behind the leaders, a multi-car wreck occurred in Turn 12, involving Ryan Sieg, Josh Bilicki, Ryan Ellis and Brett Moffitt. Despite the incident and the damage, the race proceeded under green.

    The following lap, Jones went off the track in Turn 1, but the race remained under green. By then, Busch extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Allmendinger.

    Down to the final two laps of the event, Busch remained out in front by more than two seconds over Allmendinger, who had Annett and Hemric closing in for the runner-up spot. Behind, Harrison Burton challenged Gragson for fifth place while Harvick was in seventh.

    When the final lap of the event started, Busch was the leader by more than three seconds. Behind, Annett and Hemric were in second and third after both passed Allmendinger, who was struggling with grip, through Turns 13 and 14. Not long after, Hemric moved into the runner-up spot in Turn 3.

    Back out in front, Busch continued to set sail with a comfortable advantage. With no pressure occurring in front of him and behind, Busch was able to navigate his way through the 14-turn circuit and climb up the road hill from Turn 14 to streak across the finish line and take the checkered flag for the win.

    With his victory, Busch is four-for-four in this year’s Xfinity Series season as he claimed his first triumph at Road America and extended his all-time lead in Xfinity Series victories to 101. He also recorded the first Xfinity win for crew chief Mark McFarland, with McFarland and Joe Gibbs Racing’s ARCA team assisting Busch’s efforts to the Xfinity win.

    With his Xfinity Series plans for the future uncertain now that he has achieved 100+ victories, Busch is scheduled to run his fifth and final series event of the season next weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    “Obviously, tires, that was the saving grace for us,” Busch said on NBC. “We had tires left over. [Allmendinger] didn’t. When we came in to put them tires on, I wasn’t sure we were gonna be able to get through that many cars, but man, I don’t know what happened the last couple restarts. Just melee at the start going down the straight. I couldn’t see what was happening. Then, there was a wreck between [Turns] 2 and 3, and was just fortunate to be on the right side in order to get by that stuff and get through that stuff without too much damage to our race car. Obviously, it was neat to have the opportunity to run this race today, get ready for tomorrow. Hopefully, tomorrow will look a lot like this day.”

    Hemric settled in the runner-up spot for the ninth time in his Xfinity Series career while Annett picked up his first top-five result of the season with a strong third-place effort.

    Allmendinger, who was aiming to become the first repeat winner in the Xfinity Series event at Road America, settled in fourth place while Harrison Burton finished in the top five.

    Harvick, Herbst, Cindric, Gragson and Haley finished in the top 10.

    Allgaier finished 12th, Jeb Burton came home in 14th, Kaz Grala settled in 18th in front of Brandon Jones and Snider ended up in 23rd behind Ryan Sieg. Ty Gibbs, following his late transmission issue, ended up 33rd.

    There were 12 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 11 laps.

    With an eighth-place run, Austin Cindric continues to lead the regular-season standings by 89 points over AJ Allmendinger as third-place Daniel Hemric trails by 105 points.

    Results.

    1. Kyle Busch, five laps led

    2. Daniel Hemric, three laps led

    3. Michael Annett

    4. AJ Allmendinger, 12 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    5. Harrison Burton

    6. Kevin Harvick

    7. Riley Herbst

    8. Austin Cindric, 10 laps led

    9. Noah Gragson, four laps led

    10. Justin Haley

    11. Brandon Brown

    12. Justin Allgaier, five laps led

    13. Andy Lally

    14. Jeb Burton

    15. Tommy Joe Martins

    16. Preston Pardus

    17. Josh Williams

    18. Kaz Grala

    19. Brandon Jones, four laps led

    20. Timmy Hill

    21. Alex Labbe

    22. Ryan Sieg

    23. Myatt Snider

    24. Cody Ware

    25. Kris Wright

    26. Stephen Leicht

    27. Landon Cassill

    28. Jeremy Clements, one lap down

    29. Josh Bilicki – OUT, Accident

    30. Ryan Ellis – OUT, Accident

    31. Brett Moffitt – OUT, Accident

    32. Natalie Decker – OUT, Accident

    33. Ty Gibbs – OUT, Transmission, two laps led

    34. Jade Buford – OUT, Suspension

    35. Sam Mayer – OUT, Accident

    36. Spencer Pumpelly – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is Atlanta Motor Speedway. The event will occur on Saturday, July 10, at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Weekend schedule for Road America

    Weekend schedule for Road America

    This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series and the Xfinity Series travel to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin to compete at Road America. It will mark the Cup Series first time back at the 4.048-mile road course since 1956.

    The first and only previous Cup Series race was held on August 12, 1956 and was won by NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Tim Flock. He led 17 laps in his Bill Stroppe Mercury and earned his fourth victory of the season.

    The Xfinity Series has been racing at Road America since 2010. Twenty-eight of the 40 drivers entered in the Cup Series race have competed in some of those Xfinity Series races. This should give them an advantage over the competitors who are making their debut at this challenging road course that features multiple elevations and 14 turns.  

    Both series will have practice and qualifying sessions.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, July 2

    4:05 – 4:55 p.m.: Xfinity Series practice – NBCSN

    Saturday, July 3

    11:35 a.m.: Xfinity qualifying (two rounds, multi-vehicle) NBCSN coverage will begin at Noon

    12:35 – 1:25 p.m.: Cup practice – NBCSN

    2:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Henry 180 (45 laps, 182.16 miles) NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Sunday, July 4

    11:05 a.m.: Cup qualifying (two rounds, multi-vehicle) CNBC

    2:30 p.m. – Cup Jockey Made in America 250 Presented by Kwik Trip (62 laps, 250 miles) NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Road America Data
    Season Race #: 20 of 36 (07-04-21)
    Track Size: 4.048-miles
    Track Type: Multi-Elevational Road Course
    Number of Turns: 14
    Race Length: 62 laps / 250.0 miles
    Stage 1 Length: 14 laps
    Stage 2 Length: 15 laps
    Final Stage Length: 33 laps

    NCS Road America Qualifying & Race Records:

    Track qualifying record: Frank Mundy (9 minutes, 27.52 seconds, 78.000 mph)

    • Two of the 40 NCS drivers entered this weekend have won at least one pole in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Road America.  AJ Allmendinger (2013, 2019) and Michael McDowell (2011).
    • None of the active NASCAR Cup Series drivers have won a pole in the NCS at Road America.

    Track race record: Tim Flock, Mercury (73.858 mph, 03:29:50) on August 12, 1956.

    • No active NCS drivers have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at Road America.
    • Four of the 40 NCS drivers entered this weekend at Road America have won in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Road America.  Austin Cindric (2020), Christopher Bell (2019), Michael McDowell (2016) and AJ Allmendinger (2013).
    • The inaugural NCS race in 1956 was won from the sixth starting position by Tim Flock in a Mercury.
  • Cindric emerges triumphant over Gibbs at Pocono

    Cindric emerges triumphant over Gibbs at Pocono

    Executing the race when it mattered most, Austin Cindric cycled to the lead under the final 15 laps and held off rookie Ty Gibbs amid the lapped traffic to win the Pocono Green 225 at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, June 27, as he claimed his fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season in his bid to defend his series title.

    The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Xfinity event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Xfinity race. With that, Harrison Burton started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Justin Allgaier.

    Prior to the event, Riley Herbst dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments. Jesse Iwuji also started at the rear of the field for a driver change.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Harrison Burton launched ahead with the lead on the outside lane, where he was pursued by Allgaier and the field fanning out to two lanes through the three tricky lanes.

    After leading the first lap, Harrison Burton was out in front by half a second over Allgaier, with AJ Allmendinger, Daniel Hemric and Jeb Burton in the top five. Noah Gragson was in sixth followed by Brandon Jones, rookie Ty Gibbs, Austin Cindric and Justin Haley.

    Following the first five laps of the evert, Harrison Burton continued to lead by seven-tenths of a second over Allgaier with Hemric in pursuit. Teammates Allmendinger and Jeb Burton continued to run in the top five while Gragson, Cindric, Gibbs, Haley and Brandon Jones were in the top 10. By then, newcomer Sam Mayer, piloting the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, was in 11th, Myatt Snider was in 19th in between Brandon Brown and rookie Josh Berry and Riley Herbst was in 24th.

    Five laps later, Harrison Burton remained in front of teammate Hemric by four-tenths of a second, with Allgaier trailing by less than a second. Behind, Cindric was in the top five behind Allmendinger while Mayer moved into the top 10 behind Gragson, Jeb Burton, Gibbs and Haley.

    Just then, the first caution of the event flew when Josh Williams spun and wrecked in Turn 1 following contact from Santino Ferrucci. Under caution, some like Mayer, Brandon Jones, Josh Berry, Michael Annett, Myatt Snider, Ryan Sieg and others pitted while the rest led by Harrison Burton remained on the track.

    When the race restarted on Lap 17, the field battled dead even until Harrison Burton was able to clear and retain the lead over Allgaier and Hemric. 

    With Harrison Burton out in front, a three-car battle ensued between Cindric, Allmendinger and Gibbs for fourth place. Behind, Haley got loose in Turn 2 and nearly clipped Gragson in Turn 2, but both managed to continue inside the top 10 without an incident. 

    On the final lap of the first stage, Hemric mounted a charge on teammate Harrison Burton for the lead, but Burton managed to keep his No. 20 Dex Imaging Toyota Supra out in front. In the end, he claimed the first stage victory on Lap 20 and his second stage victory of the season. Hemric settled in the runner-up spot followed by Allgaier, Cindric and Allmendinger while Gibbs, Gragson, Jeb Burton, Haley and Berry were in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, some led by Allgaier pitted while the rest led by Harrison Burton pitted.

    The second stage started on Lap 24 with Allgaier and Snider starting on the front row. At the start, Allgaier managed to clear Snider on the outside lane to retain the lead entering the first turn while a three-wide battle occurred behind between Haley, Hemric and Mayer for third place. 

    Shortly after, the caution flag returned for a big accident involving Haley, who made contact with Mayer into the outside wall and was turned as he made pounded the inside wall in Turn 1 before coming back across the track. His No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet Camaro was then hit by the No. 6 JD Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro piloted by Ryan Vargas before coming to a rest near the outside wall. Following the incident, Haley exited his battered car and laid down on the ground before being attended to by the medical personnel. After getting back up, Haley made the trip to the medical center, where he was evaluated and released. 

    The wreck placed the event in a red-flag period for over five minutes. When the red flag was lifted and the field proceeded in a cautious pace, few like Landon Cassill, Loris Hezemans and Ryan Sieg pitted while the rest led by Allgaier remained on the track.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 28, Allgaier boosted ahead from the field on the outside lane followed by Hemric and Harrison Burton while Snider fell back on the inside lane through the first turn.

    Returning back to the start/finish line, Hemric started to pursue Allgaier for the lead while Cindric challenged Snider for fourth place. 

    By Lap 30, Allgaier was leading by two-tenths of a second over Hemric while Harrison Burton trailed by four-tenths of a second. Cindric and Snider remained in the top five.

    The following lap, Hemric gained a run entering the frontstretch and drag-raced with Allgaier to the start/finish line before clearing Allgaier’s No. 7 Hellmann’s Chevrolet Camaro entering the first turn and taking the lead.

    On Lap 34, the caution returned when Harrison Burton got loose underneath Allgaier in Turn 1, spun and made left-side contact with the outside wall. The incident occurred as Burton was attempting to take over the runner-up spot over Allgaier. Despite returning to pit road, Harrison Burton’s race came to an end.

    Under caution, some led by Hemric pitted while the rest led by Ty Gibbs remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Hemric was assessed a pit road speeding penalty and sent to the rear of the field.

    With two laps remaining in the second stage, Gibbs and Noah Gragson battled dead even for the lead through the first turn before Gibbs managed to clear Gragson on the outside lane.

    Through the final lap and with the field behind battling for positioning, Gibbs managed to retain the top spot and claim the second stage victory on Lap 40, thus recording his second stage victory in his debut Xfinity Series season. Gragson settled in second followed by Brandon Jones, Snider and Herbst while Cindric, Jeb Burton, Allmendinger, Berry and Allgaier were in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, some led by Brandon Jones pitted while the rest led by Gibbs remained on the track.

    With 46 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Gibbs and Cindric started on the front row. At the start, Gibbs received a push from Gragson to retain the lead over Cindric entering the first turn. 

    At the halfway point on Lap 45, Gibbs was still leading by a narrow margin over Cindric and Gragson. Then, Gibbs got loose entering Turn 1, which allowed Cindric to assume the lead while Gragson challenged Gibbs for the runner-up spot. Just then, the caution returned when Riley Herbst wrecked his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang in Turn 2.

    When the race restarted with 41 laps remaining, Cindric retained the top spot on the outside lane while Gibbs challenged Gragson for the runner-up spot. Behind, Snider was in fourth followed by Brandon Brown, who had Allgaier, Jeb Burton and Allmendinger battling behind.

    At the front, Cindric continued to lead by a narrow margin over Gibbs with third-place Gragson trailing by half a second.

    With Cindric leading under the final 40 laps, Allgaier and Snider battled for fourth while Hemric and Allmendinger battled for seventh behind Jeb Burton. In addition, Mayer was battling ninth ahead of Brandon Jones.

    Down to the final 35 laps of the event, Cindric extended his advantage to nearly a second over Gibbs while Gragson trailed by more than two seconds. By then, Allgaier, who was in fourth place, pitted under green.

    A lap later, Snider, who took over fourth place, peeled his No. 2 Crosley Furniture Chevrolet Camaro into pit road for his service. The next lap, Gragson pitted along with Jeb Burton, Allmendinger, Josh Berry and Cindric, giving the lead back to Gibbs. The following lap, Gibbs pitted, which allowed Hemric to take the lead.

    With Hemric still leading, teammate Brandon Jones pitted for fuel the following lap. Mayer also pitted, but slid through his pit box during his service, which cost him the lead lap when he returned to the track.

    Under the final 30 laps, Hemric, who has yet to pit, continued to lead followed by Brett Moffitt, Jeremy Clements, Brandon Brown, Alex Labbe, Austin Hill, Tommy Joe Martins, Kyle Weatherman, Blaine Perkins and Landon Cassill. Far behind, Cindric was in 20th followed by Allmendinger, Brandon Jones, Allgaier, Gibbs, Gragson, Jeb Burton and Snider.

    With 20 laps remaining, Hemric continued to lead by mover 20 seconds over Clements, with Brown, Labbe and Martins in the top five. Cindric, meanwhile, worked his way up to seventh while Gibbs was in 10th. Allgaier was in 12th while Gragson was in 15th in front of Allmendinger.

    The following lap, Hemric pitted for four tires and fuel for his No. 18 Poppy Bank Toyota Supra. Then, disaster struck for Hemric, who was busted for speeding on pit road for a second time and was forced to serve a drive-through penalty through pit road. 

    With Hemric out of contention, Clements was leading by more than six seconds over Labbe while third-place Cindric was in third place. Gibbs moved up into fourth followed by Allgaier.

    Down to the final 15 laps of the event, Cindric was back out in front of the field as Clements and Labbe pitted. Gibbs moved back up into the runner-up spot followed by Allgaier, Ryan Sieg, Gragson and Allmendinger.

    With 10 laps remaining, Cindric was leading by more than three seconds over Gibbs while Allgaier, Gragson, Sieg and Allmendinger continued to run in the top six.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Cindric, who was approaching lapped traffic, continued to lead by three seconds over Gibbs. Behind, Allgaier remained in third place ahead of teammate Gragson and Allmendinger. Hemric, meanwhile, was mired back in seventh behind teammate Brandon Jones.

    With three laps remaining, Cindric nearly tangled with the lapped car of David Starr, which allowed the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Supra driven by Gibbs to cut the deficit within a second.

    When the final lap started, Cindric was leading by less than half a second over a hard-charging Gibbs. Through the first two turns, Cindric continued to lead over Gibbs. Then on the final turn, Gibbs attempted to draw himself to Cindric’s rear bumper, but he did not have enough momentum to complete the run, which allowed Cindric and his No. 22 Car Shop Ford Mustang to remain out in front and fend off Gibbs to take the checkered flag for the fourth time of this season.

    In addition to claiming his fourth victory of the season, Cindric collected his 12th NASCAR Xfinity Series career victory as he became the sixth different winner in six Xfinity events at Pocono Raceway, a streak that started since 2016.

    “Well, I didn’t know what happened to [David Starr] there,” Cindric said on NBCSN. “I went from a three-second lead to a half a second lead, so these thing’s never easy. I had to avoid two wrecks today, but it’s awesome to, obviously, be in front of all you great people. I’m so excited to see people back in the race track, get the Car Shop Ford Mustang to Victory Lane. I’m over the moon. We’ll keep putting our heads down. We gotta keep getting better. We got strong competition and lot of racing left.”

    The runner-up result was Gibbs’ second of the season in his eighth series career start. In his eight career Xfinity starts, Gibbs has finished in the top five in all but one, with his average result being 4.25.

    “The lapped cars, definitely, helped me, to my advantage,” Gibbs said. “There were just in the way and messed up. Cindric got stuck up behind them and I was luckily closing. Just put myself in a weird spot where I tried to go under him and maybe, give him a little tap, but I think I could’ve gotten wider and crossed him back over because he went low and I was stuck behind him in the air. Just learning. I’m very thankful to be here…I can’t thank everybody enough. This is a blast and a dream come true running the Xfinity Series.”

    Allgaier came home in third place followed by teammate Gragson and Allmendinger.

    Hemric, following his late speeding penalty, finished in sixth place followed by teammate Brandon Jones, Jeb Burton, Berry and Snider. 

    Sam Mayer settled in a disappointing 18th place, a lap down, in his Xfinity debut while Sieg, who was running short on fuel, fell all the way back to 17th.

    There were 11 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 21 laps.

    Austin Cindric continues to lead the regular-season standings by 101 points over AJ Allmendinger and 112 over Daniel Hemric.

    Results.

    1. Austin Cindric, 26 laps led

    2. Ty Gibbs, 11 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    3. Justin Allgaier, 10 laps led

    4. Noah Gragson, one lap led

    5. AJ Allmendinger

    6. Daniel Hemric, 18 laps led

    7. Brandon Jones

    8. Jeb Burton

    9. Josh Berry

    10. Myatt Snider

    11. Brett Moffitt

    12. Michael Annett

    13. Jeremy Clements, two laps led

    14. Santino Ferrucci

    15. Brandon Brown

    16. Alex Labbe, one lap led

    17. Ryan Sieg

    18. Sam Mayer, one lap down

    19. Jade Buford, one lap down

    20. Tommy Joe Martins, one lap down

    21. Landon Cassill, one lap down

    22. Jeffrey Earnhardt, one lap down

    23. Matt Mills, one lap down

    24. Colby Howard, one lap down

    25. Austin Hill, one lap down

    26. Kyle Weatherman, one lap down

    27. Loris Hezemans, one lap down

    28. Carson Ware, two laps down

    29. Jesse Little, two laps down

    30. Mason Massey, two laps down

    31. Jesse Iwuji, two laps down

    32. Joe Graf Jr., two laps down

    33. David Starr, three laps down

    34. Blaine Perrkins – OUT, Suspension

    35. Riley Herbst – OUT, Accident

    36. Joey Gase – OUT, Clutch

    37. Harrison Burton – OUT, Accident, 21 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    38. Justin Haley – OUT, Accident

    39. Ryan Vargas – OUT, Accident

    40. Josh Williams – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is a trip to Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, which will occur on Saturday, July 3, at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Weekend schedule for Pocono

    Weekend schedule for Pocono

    NASCAR heads to Pocono Raceway for a full weekend of racing featuring a Cup Series doubleheader. The Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series will also compete along with the ARCA Menards Series.

    The ARCA Menards Series will have an open (optional) practice session Thursday at 9 a.m. with the final practice on Friday at 2:15 p.m. and qualifying at 4 p.m.

    There will be no practice or qualifying sessions for the Cup, Xfinity or Truck Series events. The starting lineups will be determined by the following metrics formula, with one exception.

    The lineup for Sunday’s Cup Series Pocono Mountains 350 will be set by an invert of the top 20 finishing positions from Race 1 while the remainder of the field (21-38) will be based on the metrics formula.

    • 25 percent: Driver’s finishing position from the previous race
    • 25 percent: Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race
    • 35 percent: Team owner points ranking
    • 15 percent: Fastest lap from the previous race

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, June 25

    6 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 (80 laps, 200 miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Saturday, June 26

    12 p.m.: Truck Series CRC Brakleen 150 (Stages 15/30/60 laps = 150 miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Pole: Todd Gilliland

    3 p.m.: Cup Series Pocono Organics CBD 325 (Race 1) – Stages 25/77/130 laps = 325 miles (NBCSN/TSN2/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
    Pole: Kyle Larson

    Sunday, June 27

    12 p.m.: Xfinity Series Pocono Green 225 Recycled by J.P. Mascaro & Sons (Stages 20/40/90 laps = 225 miles) NBCSN/TSN3/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Pole: Harrison Burton

    3:30 p.m.: Cup Series Explore the Pocono Mountains 350 (Stages 30/85/140 laps = 350 miles) NBCSN/TSN3/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Cup Series Notes:

    Four active Cup Series drivers have wins at the Tricky Triangle led by Denny Hamlin with six and Kurt Busch with three. Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. have each won twice at Pocono.

    Hendrick Motorsport’s drivers have been on a hot streak, winning the last five races. Alex Bowman won at Dover, Chase Elliott at COTA and Kyle Larson at Charlotte, Sonoma and Nashville. It’s the fourth time in the team’s history that they have won five or more consecutive races (twice in 2007 and once in 2014).

    Xfinity Series Notes:

    Saturday will mark only the sixth time that the Xfinity Series has competed at Pocono. There have been five different winners in each of those previous five races. Since none of those drivers are competing this weekend, we’ll see a different driver in Victory Lane Sunday afternoon.

    The most experienced drivers include Justin Allgaier, Jeremy Clements, Ryan Sieg and Brandon Jones. They are the only full-time Xfinity drivers that have made every start at the track.

    Truck Series Notes:

    There have been 11 Truck Series races at Pocono and 10 different winners. Kyle Busch leads the series with two victories (2015, 2018).

    There are only three races remaining until the Truck Series Playoffs begin. Four drivers have wins (John Hunter Nemechek, Ben Rhodes, Todd Gilliland and Sheldon Creed) and are locked in, leaving six open spots.

    Pocono Raceway Data:
    Season Race #: 18 of 36 (06-26-21) & Season Race #: 19 of 36 (06-27-21)
    Track Size: 2.5-miles
    Banking/Turn 1: 14 degrees
    Banking/Turn 2: 8 degrees
    Banking/Turn 3: 6 degrees
    Frontstretch Length:  3,740 feet
    Backstretch Length:  3,055 feet
    Shortstretch Length:  1,780 feet
    Race Length: 130 laps / 325 miles
    Stage 1 Length: 25 Laps
    Stage 2 Length: 52 Laps
    Final Stage: 53 Laps

    Pocono Raceway NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying Information:
    2020 Pocono-1 pole winner: Aric Almirola started from the first starting position (Starting Lineup was determined by Random Draw)
    2020 Pocono-2 pole winner: Ryan Preece started from the first starting position (Starting Lineup was determined by Inverting the Field).
    Track qualifying record: Kyle Larson, Chevrolet (183.438 mph, 49.063 secs.) on August 1, 2014.

    • Kevin Harvick leads all active NCS drivers with 40 starts at Pocono Raceway.
    • Denny Hamlin leads all active series drivers in average starting position with a 7.400 in 32 starts.
    • 12 of the 46 Pocono Raceway Cup Series pole winners are active this weekend.  Kyle Busch (4), Denny Hamlin (3), Joey Logano (2), Kurt Busch (2), Ryan Newman (2), Brad Keselowski (1), Daniel Suarez (1), Kevin Harvick (1), Kyle Larson (1), Martin Truex Jr (1), Ryan Blaney (1), and William Byron (1).
    • Kyle Busch leads all active drivers at Pocono with four poles (Spring 2010, Fall 2015, 2017 sweep).
    • Eight different manufacturers have won a NCS pole at Pocono led by Chevrolet (34), followed by Ford (18), Toyota (9), Dodge (8), Pontiac (6), Buick (2), American Motors Company (1), and Oldsmobile (1). 

    Pocono Raceway NASCAR Cup Series Race Information:
    2020 Pocono-1 race winner: Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford on June 27, 2020 (134.467 mph, 2 Hrs, 25 Mins, 1 Sec.).
    2020 Pocono-2 race winner: Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota on June 28, 2020 (122.879 mph, 2 Hrs, 50 Mins, 54 Secs.).
    Track race record (200 laps): Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet (145.384 mph, 03:26:21) on June 12, 2011.

    • 38 different NCS drivers have won at Pocono and 10 winners are entered this weekend.  Denny Hamlin (6), Kyle Busch (3), Kurt Busch (3), Martin Truex Jr. (2), Kevin Harvick (1), Ryan Blaney (1), Chris Buescher (1), Joey Logano (1), Brad Keselowski (1), and Ryan Newman (1).
    • Joey Logano is the youngest Cup Series Pocono winner (June 10, 2012 – 22 years, 0 months, 17 days).
    • 16 of the 86 (19%) NCS races at Pocono have been won from the pole (14) or first starting position (two); the most recent was Kyle Busch on July 30, 2017.
    • The first starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (16) than any other starting position at Pocono in the NCS at a 19% winning percentage.
    • Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at Pocono with 17.
    • Eight different manufacturers have won in the NCS at Pocono.  Led by Chevrolet (32), followed by Ford (24), Toyota (10), Dodge (7), Pontiac (6), Buick (4), Mercury (2) and Oldsmobile (1).
    • Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers in laps led at Pocono with 785 laps led in 30 starts.

    NASCAR Cup Series 2021 Top 16 in the Driver Standings at Pocono Raceway:

    DriverAverage FinishDriver Rating
    Denny Hamlin11.3107.1
    Kyle Larson12.495.3
    William Byron9.788.4
    Chase Elliott14.395
    Joey Logano17.988
    Kyle Busch1695.3
    Martin Truex Jr14.788.1
    Kevin Harvick12100.1
    Ryan Blaney12.685.9
    Brad Keselowski1195
    Austin Dillon18.772
    Alex Bowman21.466.6
    Tyler Reddick32.548
    Christopher Bell21.580.9
    Chris Buescher20.364.3
    Michael McDowell28.447.5