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Tag: Richard Childress Racing

  • Jesse Love named 2024 Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year

    Jesse Love named 2024 Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year

    Jesse Love has officially been named the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year.

    Love, the reigning ARCA Menards Series champion from Menlo Park, California, was announced to replace Sheldon Creed as the driver of the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing (RCR) Chevrolet Camaro entry for the 2024 Xfinity Series season in late October 2023. Paired with two-time NASCAR championship-winning crew chief Danny Stockman Jr., Love commenced his inaugural campaign in the Xfinity circuit by winning the pole position for the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway in February. After winning the first stage period, he rallied from being involved in an early muti-car wreck to finish 20th.

    The following weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Love made history as he notched his second consecutive pole of the season and of his career, thus becoming the first competitor to win two poles in first two starts. The Californian would proceed to lead a race-high 157 laps and sweep both stages. During an overtime shootout, however, Love lost the lead as he fell off the pace due to stumbling on his low tank of fuel as he was relegated back to 12th place in the final running order.

    Then after finishing in the top 10 in five of his next six starts while also notching a runner-up result behind Chandler Smith at Phoenix Raceway in March, Love triumphed for the first time in the Xfinity Series at Talladega Superspeedway in late April after he led 28 laps, dodged a pair of late-race multi-car wrecks and withstood through two overtime shootouts. With his accomplishment, Love became the seventh competitor to record a first Xfinity career victory at Talladega and he became the 177th competitor overall to win in the Xfinity Series as he automatically locked up a guaranteed spot into the 2024 Xfinity Series Playoffs. Love’s Talladega victory was also the first for RCR’s No. 2 Chevrolet team since Myatt Snider won at Homestead-Miami Speedway in February 2021.

    Following the Talladega victory, Love proceeded to finish in the top five twice and rack up a total of seven top-10 throughout the remaining 17 regular-season events on the 2024 Xfinity schedule before the Xfinity Series Playoffs commenced. With respective finishes of ninth, sixth and 19th throughout the Round of 12, Love managed to claim the final transfer berth into the Round of 8 by a mere two points. His title hopes, however, came to an end despite finishing sixth, fourth and 12th, respectively, throughout the Round of 8. Nonetheless, Love would proceed to finish in sixth place during the 2024 Xfinity Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway, which was enough to settle in eighth place in the final driver’s standings.

    RCR’s No. 2 Chevrolet
    Photo by Jeff Clemons for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    With the 2024 Xfinity rookie title wrapped up, Love became the first California-raised competitor to achieve the title since Tyler Reddick made the previous accomplishment in 2018, the same season where he won his first championship, and the first competitor to claim the honors both as a Chevrolet competitor and while driving for Richard Childress Racing since teammate Austin Hill achieved his rookie title in 2022.

    Love’s closest rival for this year’s Xfinity rookie title was Shane van Gisbergen, a three-time Supercars champion from Auckland, New Zealand, who achieved his first three career victories in the Xfinity circuit, all of which his victories occurred on road-course events, and ended up in 12th place in the final standings after his Playoff hopes came to an end at the Round of 8’s conclusion. Love’s other rivals for the title included Leland Honeyman, Hailie Deegan and Dawson Cram. Honeyman settled in 22nd place in the final driver’s standings and Deegan lost her full-time ride at AM Racing halfway into the season while Cram transitioned between Mike Harmon Racing and DGM Racing halfway into the season after he lost his ride at JD Motorsports.

    With the rookie title achieved, Love is set to return for a second full-time Xfinity campaign with Richard Childress Racing and the organization’s No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro entry in 2025.

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series teams and competitors enter an off-season period before returning to action at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2025, for a new season of competition.

  • Trackhouse Racing denied Overturn of Martinsville Penalties from Appeals Panel; RCR, 23XI withdraw appeal attempt

    Trackhouse Racing denied Overturn of Martinsville Penalties from Appeals Panel; RCR, 23XI withdraw appeal attempt

    Trackhouse Racing lost its appeal in overturning the penalties levied to the organization’s No. 1 Chevrolet team for violating the Member Code of Conduct section from the NASCAR Rule Book following this past weekend’s Cup Series Playoff event at Martinsville Speedway.

    The No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet team piloted by Ross Chastain was one of three teams that came under scrutiny during the Martinsville event, where they and Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Chevrolet team piloted by Austin Dillon were both forming a side-by-side roadblock for Chevrolet teammate William Byron in the closing laps. During the time, Byron, a 2024 Cup Series Playoff contender, was trying to nurse his ill-handling car and race his way into the Championship 4 round over Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell.

    Ultimately, Byron would finish ahead of both Dillon and Chastain on the track in sixth place while Bell initially crossed the finish line in 18th place after he overtook Toyota teammate Bubba Wallace, who had fallen off the pace after claiming that he had a right-front tire going down, and accelerated his car against the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4 approaching the finish line during the final lap. Bell, however, would be relegated to 22nd place for illegally maneuvering his way to gain a spot to make the Championship 4 round by scraping the wall, which enabled Byron to claim the final title berth by four points.

    Two days after the event, Chastain along with Dillon and 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace were all levied massive penalties for attempting to manipulate the outcome of the Martinsville finish by providing an on-track advantage for their respective Playoff manufacturer teammates. The penalties levied included a $100,000 fine to both the drivers and owners, a dock of 50 driver/owner points and a one-race suspension to the competition executive, crew chief and spotter.

    Following the announcement of the penalties, all three of the competitors’ teams (Richard Childress Racing, Trackhouse Racing and 23XI Racing) declared intentions to appeal the penalties. By Thursday, November 7, Richard Childress Racing and 23XI Racing withdrew their penalty attempt, which left Trackhouse as the lone team attempting to appeal.

    Upon hearing Trackhouse’s appeal attempt, the National Motorsports Appeal Panel ruled that the team violated the initial rules set forth within the NASCAR Rule Book and upheld the penalties levied. As a result, Chastain’s crew chief Phil Surgen, spotter Brandon McReynolds and competition executive Tony Lunders remain suspended from participating in this weekend’s 2024 Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. Despite being docked 50 points, Chastain remains in 19th place in the driver’s standings.

    Following the decision of Trackhouse’s penalties being upheld, the panel, which included Kelly Housby, Lyn St. James and Steve York, released the following statement.

    “We feel in the best interest of racing and to protect the integrity of the sport, it was appropriate to uphold and affirm NASCAR’s decision with regard to the NASCAR rule 4.4, attempting to manipulate the outcome of the race.”

    In addition, Trackhouse took to social media to announce that the team will not be attempting to appeal the National Motorsports Appeals Panel’s decision to the Final Appeals Officer and focus to Phoenix.

    The penalties also resulted with the suspensions of crew chief Justin Alexander, spotter Brandon Benesch and team executive Keith Rodden from Richard Childress Racing, and crew chief Bootie Barker, spotter Freddie Kraft and team executive Dave Rogers from 23XI Racing. With the points penalties, Wallace dropped from 17th to 18th in the standings while Dillon dropped from 28th to 33rd in the standings.

    No penalties were levied to Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team and to William Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team, the latter of whom will be contending for the 2024 Cup Series championship against Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano along with 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick.

    The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season is set to conclude this upcoming Sunday, November 10, at Phoenix Raceway for the 2024 Championship Race, where a champion will be crowned. The finale’s broadcast time is slated to commence at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • NASCAR reveals extensive Martinsville penalty report

    NASCAR reveals extensive Martinsville penalty report

    NASCAR levied major penalties to three Cup Series teams for violating the sport’s Member Conduct sections within the Rule Book following this past weekend’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway that occurred on Sunday, November 3.

    The teams that were affected under the penalty report were Trackhouse Racing’s No. 1 Chevrolet team piloted by Ross Chastain, Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Chevrolet team piloted by Austin Dillon and 23XI Racing’s No. 23 Toyota team piloted by Bubba Wallace.

    In the closing laps of last Sunday’s event at Martinsville, both Chastain and Dillon were performing a side-by-side roadblock for oncoming competitors while remaining behind Chevrolet teammate William Byron, who was racing in sixth place at the time of the actions made between Chastin and Dillon. By then, the handling of Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet entry was fading as Byron was trying to retain his sixth-place spot that would enable him to claim the fourth and final berth to the Championship 4 round by a single point over Christopher Bell, who was racing a lap down in 19th place.

    Then prior to the final lap, Bubba Wallace, a Toyota teammate to Bell who was racing in 18th place and had been lapped earlier by the leaders, began to fall off the pace as he radioed a potential tire going down on his No. 23 Toyota entry. With Byron, Dillon, Chastain and a host of competitors overtaking Wallace’s slow entry through the frontstretch on the final lap, Bell then caught up to Wallace through the backstretch. Just as Bell overtook Wallace entering Turn 3 for 18th place, he got loose and hit the outside wall. Bell then proceeded to accelerate and scrape his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota entry through Turns 3 and 4 before he crossed the finish line. As a result, Bell initially overtook Byron in the Playoff standings to claim the final transfer spot to the Championship 4 round.

    Following an extensive review of the finish, however, Bell was levied a safety violation for maneuvering his way to the finish line while scraping the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4 since the move had been banned for future use, particularly since the start of the 2023 season amid Ross Chastain’s use of it in November 2022. As a result, Bell was demoted to 22nd place in the final running order, which kept him four points out of making his third consecutive Championship 4 appearance. In the process, Byron was awarded the final transfer berth as he is set to square off against reigning series champion Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick for the 2024 Cup Series championship this upcoming weekend at Phoenix Raceway.

    Despite the Championship 4 field being determined, Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, then said during the post-race conference at Martinsville that officials would also examine the actions and radio dialogue made by Chastain, Dillon and Wallace over their on-track actions while racing both Bell and Byron over any forms of manipulation and to provide an advantage for one Playoff competitor over the other.

    With the official determination and penalty report levied to Chastain, Dillon and Wallace on Tuesday, November 5, the trio and their respective teams have been fined $100,000 apiece and docked 50 driver/owner points. The points penalty dropped Wallace from 17th to 18th and Dillon from 28th to 34th in the driver’s standings, respectively, while Chastain retained 19th.

    In addition, each of their crew chiefs and spotters has been suspended from this upcoming weekend’s Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. The suspensions include Chastain’s crew chief Phil Surgen and spotter Brandon McReynolds, Dillon’s crew chief Justin Alexander and spotter Brandon Benesch, and Wallace’s crew chief Bootie Barker and spotter Freddie Kraft. Tony Lunders, Keith Rodden and Dave Rogers, all of whom serve as team executives for Trackhouse Racing, Richard Childress Racing and 23XI Racing, respectively, have also been suspended for participating in the finale.

    Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    Following the announcement of the penalties, Richard Childress Racing, Trackhouse Racing and 23XI Racing declared plans to appeal the penalties.

    The penalties to Chastain, Dillon, Wallace and their respective teams were not the only penalties levied from this past weekend’s triple-header events at Martinsville. In addition to Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet team, Richard Childress Racing’s No. 8 Chevrolet team piloted by Kyle Busch was assessed a safety violation due to a loose left-front wheel that detached off of Busch’s entry entering Turn 3 and prior to a restart with 94 laps remaining. As a result, front-tire changer Michael Russell and jackman Josh Sobecki were levied a two-race suspension, including the 2024 Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. Following the incident, Busch would proceed to finish 28th place, three laps down.

    Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    In the Xfinity Series, Chandler Smith, who finished in third place during last Saturday’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville, was fined $10,000 for being involved in a post-race altercation with Cole Custer, where the former swung a punch to the latter to express his displeasure over being bumped by Custer, who retaliated from being bumped by Smith earlier, during a late-race restart that knocked Smith out of contention to making the Championship 4 round. Meanwhile, Custer, who finished fourth at Martinsville, was able to claim a Championship 4 berth as he will square off against Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger and Austin Hill to defend his series’ title at Phoenix.

    In the Craftsman Truck Series, Ty Majeski, who finished in 11th place during last Friday’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville, was fined $12,500 for not performing a media obligation. The fine did not affect Majeski’s outcome of making the Championship 4 field as he is set to square off against Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger and Corey Heim for the series’ title at Phoenix.

    Next on the schedule is the 2024 season-finale events for NASCAR’s top three national touring series at Phoenix Raceway, where a champion in each series will be crowned. The Craftsman Truck Series finale at Phoenix is scheduled to occur this Friday, November 8, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1 while the Xfinity Series finale will follow suit this Saturday, November 9, at 7 p.m. ET on the CW Network. The Cup Series finale will cap off the weekend on Sunday, November 10, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • NASCAR reveals Homestead penalty report

    NASCAR reveals Homestead penalty report

    Conner Jones issued a one-race Truck Series Suspension

    Conner Jones was issued a one-race suspension for his on-track actions following this past weekend’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoff event at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 26 as part of a triple-header weekend in South Florida.

    Jones’s actions occurred on Lap 75 of 134, where he deliberately hit the rear end of Matt Mills’ No. 42 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST entry following an earlier altercation between both competitors. The contact from Jones got Mills loose before he veered to the right across the racetrack and hit the Turn 4 outside wall on the right side hard as Mills’ damaged truck then erupted in flames.

    Mills escaped the wreckage with the aid of medical personnel and was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. Two days later on October 28, he was released and took to social media to express his gratitude for the support he received during his recovery. He has also been medically cleared to race for this upcoming weekend’s event at Martinsville Speedway.

    Jones received a two-lap penalty for the incident and finished in 25th place of the 34-truck field. Following the event, he declined to speak to the media but later apologized for his actions through a statement.

    Jones, previously set to mark the 13th of 14 planned events on the Truck Series schedule during the upcoming weekend at Martinsville, will miss the race due to the suspension. However, he will return to action for next weekend’s season-finale event at Phoenix Raceway. As a result, former Truck Series champion Johnny Sauter, initially set to compete with Hattori Racing Enterprises, is will pilot Jones’ No. 66 ThorSport Racing Ford F-150 entry at Martinsville, per the qualifying order sheet.

    Layne Riggs Truck Series Team Issued L1 Penalty

    NASCAR also issued an L1-level penalty to the Craftsman Truck Series No. 38 Front Row Motorsports (FRM) Ford F-150 entry piloted by rookie Layne Riggs due to an improperly mounted ballast that resulted in Riggs starting at the rear of the field for the main event. Riggs would proceed to finish in 22nd place, the final truck scored a lap down, after he ran out of fuel while running in second place on the penultimate lap.

    Riggs’ No. 38 FRM Ford team was also docked 10 driver/owner points as a result of the ballast penalty, and crew chief Dylan Cappello was issued a one-race suspension. Amid the points penalty, Riggs remains in 11th place in the driver’s standings.

    Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    Three Xfinity Series crew chiefs fined $5,000 each

    Three Xfinity Series crew chiefs were issued fines due to a single lug nut that was not secured on each of their respective entries The crew chiefs penalized include Mardy Lindley, crew chief for Playoff contender Sam Mayer and the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro team, Andy Street, crew chief for Playoff contender and race winner Austin Hill and the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing (RCR) Chevrolet Camaro team and Joe Williams, crew chief for Kyle Sieg and the No. 39 RSS Racing Ford Mustang team.

    The lug nut penalty issued to RCR’s No. 21 team and the fine to Street do not affect Hill’s victory as he is already guaranteed a spot into this year’s Championship 4 round and compete for the 2024 Xfinity Series championship at Phoenix Raceway next Saturday.

    NASCAR Cup Series

    There were no penalties levied on any Cup Series teams following this past Sunday’s Playoff event at Homestead which was won by Playoff contender Tyler Reddick.

    The NASCAR Craftsman Truck, Xfinity and Cup Series divisions return to action this upcoming weekend at Martinsville Speedway for the final Round of 8 events for all three series. The Truck division will commence the weekend on Friday, November 1, at 6 p.m. ET on FS1 while the Xfinity division will occur the following day, November 2, at 4 p.m. ET on the CW Network. The Cup division will conclude the weekend on Sunday, November 3, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Austin Hill clinches first Championship 4 berth with dominant victory at Homestead

    Austin Hill clinches first Championship 4 berth with dominant victory at Homestead

    Austin Hill spent the previous four of five seasons falling one Playoff round short of reaching the Championship 4 round between two of NASCAR’s top three national touring series. But he is now bound for the Xfinity Series championship battle in 2024 after capping off a dominant run with a victory in the Credit One NASCAR AMEX Credit 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, October 26.

    The 30-year-old Hill from Winston, Georgia, led three times for a race-high 82 of 200-scheduled laps in an event where he started 16th but quickly carved his way through the field. After assuming the lead for the first time on Lap 41, Hill captured the first stage victory on Lap 45. He retained the lead for the entire second stage period and racked up an additional 10 crucial stage points towards his quest to remain above the top-four cutline in the Playoff standings by claiming another stage victory of the day.

    Then after flirting between challenging Playoff contender Cole Custer for the lead to trying to remain within sight of the lead for the majority of the final stage period, Hill executed his race-winning pass on Custer with 12 laps remaining following a late cycle of green flag pit stops that started with 43 laps remaining. With the clean air to his advantage, Hill proceeded to muscle away from Custer and lead the rest of the way before he emerged triumphant for his fourth Xfinity Series victory of the 2024 season to earn a one-way ticket to his first opportunity to contend for his first Xfinity title in this year’s finale.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, October 25, Playoff contender Chandler Smith notched his third Xfinity pole position of the 2024 season with a pole-winning lap at 163.305 mph in 33.067 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Sheldon Creed, who clocked in his best qualifying lap at 162.822 mph in 33.165 seconds.

    Prior to the event, the following names that include Anthony Alfredo, Jeremy Clements, Matt DiBenedetto and rookie Shane van Gisbergen dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries. In addition, DiBenedetto was assessed a pass-through penalty through pit road on the first lap due to his RSS Racing encountering multiple inspection failures.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, the field slowly fanned out through the frontstretch as teammates Chandler Smith and Sheldon Creed dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. With the outside lane to his advantage, Smith would muscle his No. 81 QuickTie Toyota Supra ahead with the lead entering Turn 3 and he would proceed to lead the first lap while Playoff contender Cole Custer and Aric Almirola challenged Creed for the runner-up spot.

    Over the next four laps and amid a series of early on-track battles, Chandler Smith extended his advantage to one second over teammate Almirola, who prevailed in his early three-car battle for the runner-up spot, while Custer prevailed in his early battle with Creed to move his No. 00 NXT Ford Mustang into third place. Behind, Playoff contender AJ Allmendinger was in fifth place ahead of Riley Herbst while Playoff contenders Sam Mayer, rookie Jesse Love and Justin Allgaier followed suit in the top nine. Behind, Parker Kligerman occupied 10th place as he was ahead of Playoff contenders Austin Hill and Sammy Smith while newcomer, William Sawalich, Ryan Sieg and Connor Zilisch were in the top 15.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Chandler Smith retained his early advantage to more than a second over Custer and Almirola as Allmendinger and Herbst were in the top five. Behind, Mayer, Love, Hill and Allgaier followed suit while Creed had dropped to 10th place and was prepared to lose the spot to Kligerman for the following lap. Meanwhile, Sammy Smith was the lowest-running Playoff contender in 13th place.

    Ten laps later, Chandler Smith stabilized his advantage to a second over Custer while Allmendinger, who carved his way up to third place, trailed by two seconds. Behind, Almirola settled in fourth place ahead of Mayer, Herbst and Hill while Love, Allgaier and Creed followed suit in the top 10 ahead of Kligerman, Ryan Sieg, Sawalich, Zilisch and Sammy Smith.

    Another 10 laps later, Chandler Smith’s advantage decreased to a tenth of a second over Custer, with the latter intimidating the former through every turn and straightaway. This left Smith to navigate through various lanes around Homestead to try to defend the top spot and as he was navigating through lapped traffic.

    A lap later, however, Custer used the outside lane to duel with Smith as he led a lap for himself by 0.001 seconds. He then muscled ahead through the first two turns and the backstretch from the outside lane to clear Smith and pull away from the latter, where he would proceed to lead the next lap. As Allmendinger started to close in on Smith for the runner-up spot, Custer retained the lead by eight-tenths of a second at the Lap 35 mark. Custer’s advantage then slightly decreased to two-tenths of a second over the new runner-up competitor Allmendinger as both were navigating through lapped traffic. Behind, Almirola would make his way into third place while Chandler Smith dropped to fourth place.

    Shortly after, Playoff contender Sammy Smith pitted his No. 8 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet Camaro after he made contact with the outside wall through Turns 1 and 2, where he then sustained a flat tire. Back on the track and as the leaders were mired in heavy lapped traffic, Almirola charged his No. 20 Samaritan’s Purse Toyota Supra into the lead on Lap 41. A three-wide battle for the lead then ensued between Custer, Almirola and Hill through the frontstretch for the following lap until Almirola briefly muscled back ahead through the first two turns. Hill then overtook and slid his No. 21 Bennett Chevrolet Camaro in front of Almirola’s Toyota entering the frontstretch to assume the lead on Lap 43 while Custer tried to challenge Almirola for the runner-up spot.

    When the first stage period concluded on Lap 45, Hill, who came into Homestead eight points below the top-four cutline to make the Championship 4 field, captured his fifth Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season. Almirola settled in second ahead of Creed, Allgaier and Custer while Mayer, Allmendinger, Herbst, Chandler Smith and Ryan Sieg were scored in the top 10. With six of eight Playoff contenders racking up the event’s first round of stage points by finishing in the top 10, the remaining Playoff contenders that include Love and Sammy Smith were mired in 11th and 36th, respectively.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Hill pitted for a first round of pit service. Following the pit stops, Hill retained the lead as he exited pit road first ahead of Almirola, Custer, Creed and Herbst while Allmendinger, Mayer, Allgaier, Love, Ryan Sieg and Chandler Smith followed suit. Amid the pit stops, Parker Retzlaff was penalized for speeding while exiting pit road.

    The second stage period started on Lap 52 as Hill and Almirola occupied the front row. At the start, the field fanned out through the frontstretch as Almirola and Hill dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch in front of Custer. Hill would then use the inside lane to muscle ahead of Almirola through Turns 3 and 4, where he would lead the following lap. Hill would maintain a reasonable lead over Almirola just past the Lap 55 mark while Custer, Allmendinger and Ryan Sieg followed suit in the top five.

    At the Lap 60 mark, Hill was leading by four-tenths of a second over Custer while Almirola, Allmendinger and Ryan Sieg continued to race in the top five. Behind, Love was in sixth place ahead of Chandler Smith, Creed, Allgaier and Kligerman as Herbst, Zilisch, Mayer, Brandon Jones and Sawalich were in the top 15. As Josh Williams, Ryan Truex, Kyle Weatherman, Jeb Burton and Kyle Sieg were mired in the top 20, Sammy Smith was scored in 27th place and on the lead lap.

    Six laps later, Herbst pitted his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang from 10th place after he scrubbed the outside wall and sustained right-side damage to his car. By then, Hill had fended off Custer to retain the lead. Hill’s advantage over Custer would stand to be at seven-tenths of a second at the Lap 70 mark while third-place Allmendinger trailed by a second. Meanwhile, as Almirola and Ryan Sieg were in the top five, teammates Chandler Smith and Creed battled for sixth place while Allgaier, who scrubbed the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4, was being pressured by Love for eighth place.

    By Lap 80, Hill extended his advantage to nearly two seconds over Custer while third-place Allmendinger trailed by two seconds and by three-tenths of a second to Custer. As Ryan Sieg and Almirola were in the top five, Creed retained sixth ahead of Allgaier, Chandler Smith, Love and Sawalich.

    Six laps later, the caution flew as Nick Leitz, who was racing within the top-25 mark, spun his No. 92 DGM Racing Chevrolet Camaro in Turn 2. The incident occurred not long after Leland Honeyman pitted due to hitting the wall. Leitz’s incident was enough for the second stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 90 to officially conclude under caution as Hill captured his sixth Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season and second of the day. Allmendinger muscled his way into second place ahead of Custer, Ryan Sieg and Almirola while Creed, Allgaier, Chandler Smith, Love and Sawalich were scored in the top 10. With six of eight Playoff contenders racking up the event’s second round of stage points, the remaining Playoff contenders that included Mayer and Sammy Smith were mired in 14th and 26th, respectively.

    During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Hill returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Hill retained the lead after he exited pit road first as he was followed by Custer, Almirola, Allmendinger, Love, Ryan Sieg, Creed, Chandler Smith, Sawalich and Allgaier. Amid the pit stops, Kyle Weatherman was penalized for speeding on pit road while Dylan Lupton was also penalized for pitting outside of his pit box.

    With 105 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced under green as Hill and Custer occupied the front row. At the start, Hill and Custer dueled for the lead in front of Almirola and Allmendinger as Hill assumed a brief lead entering the first turn. Custer then used the outside lane to regain the ground and draw even with Hill through the backstretch and the frontstretch, with Hill leading the next lap. Custer then tried to muscle ahead through the first two turns and the backstretch, but Hill pulled ahead of Custer. Custer then pulled a crossover move on Hill during the next lap and he moved his No. 00 NXT Ford into the lead while Hill was being challenged by Almirola for the runner-up spot. With Allmendinger, Ryan Sieg, Love and Chandler Smtih all closing ground towards the battle for the lead, Custer retained the lead with 102 laps remaining. Custer would proceed to lead the halfway mark with 100 laps remaining as Almirola, Hill, Sieg and Allmendinger followed suit.

    With 90 laps remaining, the battle for the lead between Custer and Hill that occurred a few laps earlier continued as the former maintained the preferred outside lane towards the outside wall to retain the top spot over the latter, who was trying to use the inside lane to gain a run through all corners. As Custer maintained a reasonable lead of two-tenths of a second over Hill, Almirola trailed in third place while Allmendinger was battling Love for fourth place. As Ryan Sieg, Allgaier, Chandler Smith, Mayer and Kligerman followed suit in the top 10, Sammy Smith was mired in 28th place and scored a lap down.

    Two laps later, Hill used the inside lane to execute another move beneath Custer and he managed to muscle ahead and reassume the lead. Hill proceeded to pull away with the lead by more than two seconds over Custer with 80 laps remaining while Almirola, Allmendinger and Love were scored in the top five.

    Then with 79 laps remaining, the caution flew when Josh Williams, who was racing in the top 15, blew a right-front tire entering Turn 1 and ran dead straight into Ryan Truex as Truex spun the No. 26 Toyota Genuine Parts Supra below the track. During the caution period, the lead lap field led by Hill returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Hill retained the lead after he exited pit road first and was followed by teammate Love, who gained three spots following a quick pit service from the No. 2 team. Custer, Almirola, Ryan Sieg, Creed, Chandler Smith, Allgaier, Mayer and Sawalich followed suit in the top 10. In the midst of the caution period, Sammy Smith received the free pass due to being the first competitor scored a lap down.

    The start of the next restart period with 73 laps remaining featured Hill muscling away from the field to retain the lead while Custer challenged Love for the runner-up spot through the backstretch. As the field behind fanned out to multiple lanes, Custer then proceeded to make a move beneath Hill through Turns 3 and 4 as he returned atop the leaderboard for the following lap. As the event reached its final 70-lap stretch, Custer retained the lead by four-tenths of a second over Hill before teammate Love overtook him for the spot a lap later. Ryan Sieg would overtake Hill for third place during the next lap as Love started to slowly close in on Custer for the lead.

    With 55 laps remaining, Custer stretched his advantage to two-and-a-half seconds over Love while third-place Ryan Sieg trailed by three-and-a-half seconds. Meanwhile, Hill retained fourth place ahead of Almirola and Allmendinger while Creed, Chandler Smith, Allgaier and Mayer were in the top 10 ahead of Herbst, Kligerman, Brandon Jones, Sawalich, Zilisch and Shane van Gisbergen. In the process, Sammy Smith was mired in 23rd place. A few laps later, Sawalich pitted under green with a flat tire after he slapped the outside wall.

    Ten laps later, Custer added another second to his lead as he was leading by three seconds over Love and he would grow his lead to four seconds for the following lap. Meanwhile, Hill trailed by more than four seconds in third place as Creed and Almirola were in the top five ahead of Allmendinger, Ryan Sieg, Allgaier, Mayer and Herbst.

    With 43 laps remaining, a cycle of green flag pit stops commenced as Almirola pitted from the top five. The leader Custer along with Hill, Love, Ryan Sieg, Zilisch, Ryan Truex and Jeb Burton pitted during the following lap before Sammy Smith pitted with 40 laps remaining. Shortly after and with more names pitting, Chandler Smith endured a slow pit service due to a jack issue during his green flag pit stop as teammate Creed, who was among several who had yet to pit, was leading.

    Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Creed continued to lead by two seconds over Allmendinger as Mayer, Kligerman, Jones and van Gisbergen, all of whom had yet to pit, were racing in the top six. Meanwhile, Custer, the first competitor who pitted, trailed the lead by 17 seconds in seventh place as Hill, Almirola and Love were in the top 10. Creed and Mayer, the latter of whom scraped the outside wall in Turns 1 and 2, then pitted during the following lap as Allmendinger cycled into the lead. With Kligerman then pitting not long after, Custer cycled his way up to third place as Allmendinger retained the lead.

    Five laps later, Custer overtook Jones for the runner-up spot as he trailed Allmendinger for the lead by nine seconds. Soon after, Hill would make his way up to third place as he trailed Custer for two seconds on the track while Allmendinger remained in the lead by seven seconds.

    Then with 21 laps remaining, Allmendinger pitted his No. 16 Modern Day Garage Chevrolet Camaro from the lead. This allowed Custer to cycle back into the lead, where he was ahead of Hill by more than a second while Almirola, Love and Jones were in the top five. Over the next six laps, Hill would steadily decrease Custer’s advantage as he was trailing Custer by seven-tenths of a second with 15 laps remaining.

    With 12 laps remaining and the leaders mired in lapped traffic, Hill, who gained a big run on Custer through the frontstretch and had been gaining ground using the inside lane, went to the outside lane entering Turns 1 and 2 as he battled dead even with Custer through the backstretch. Hill then used the outside lane to shoot his No. 21 Bennett Chevrolet into the lead through Turns 3 and 4, where he led the following lap. Hill would proceed to extend his advantage to a second over Custer with 10 laps remaining while third-place Almirola trailed by four seconds.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Hill continued to extend his late advantage as he was leading by two-and-a-half seconds over Custer. Meanwhile, third-place Almirola trailed by four seconds while Love and Herbst were mired in the top five ahead of Ryan Sieg, Creed, Allgaier, Mayer and Zilisch.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Hill remained as the leader by more than three seconds over Custer. Navigating his way through a pair of lapped competitors, Hill was able to smoothly navigate his No. 21 Chevrolet around the Homestead circuit for a final time before he cycled back to the frontstretch victorious and for his fourth Xfinity checkered flag of the 2024 season.

    With the victory, Hill, who is in his third consecutive season as a full-time competitor of the No. 21 Chevrolet Camaro entry for Richard Childress Racing, achieved his 10th career win in his 112th career start in the Xfinity Series, his first in the series at Homestead-Miami Speedway and his first since winning at Atlanta Motor Speedway in early September. Hill also recorded his first NASCAR national touring series victory at Homestead since winning the Craftsman Truck Series finale in 2019 as he delivered the 18th Xfinity victory of the 2024 season for the Chevrolet nameplate and the fifth for Richard Childress Racing.

    Above all, Hill, who spent four of the last five seasons having his Playoff berth end following the Round of 8 between the Truck and Xfinity divisions, clinched a berth into the Championship 4 round for the first time in his career. As a result, he joins AJ Allmendinger as the second competitor who will officially contend for the 2024 Xfinity Series championship at Phoenix Raceway two weeks from now.

    “I worked so hard at this,” Hill, who was emotional, said on the frontstretch on the CW Network. “A lot of people doubted me, but I wake up every day to prove everyone wrong, that I deserve to be here. I deserve to race for a championship. This No. 21 team deserves it just as much as I do. They work their asses off each and every day just like I do. I got to give up to those guys. They just gave me a hell of a car. I didn’t have to go run the wall. I could run, really, wherever I wanted to. I can honestly say I’ve never cried coming to the start/finish line. I couldn’t even get my emotions together going into Turn 1 after the checkered.”

    “I just had to be on it,” Hill added. “I made some mistakes today, but we rebounded. Pit crew was badass like they always are. I knew once we got off pit road and we were in touch with [Custer], I just had to go to work and not burn my right front or right rear [tires] up and just save it for the long run. As soon as I saw him start backing up to me, it was game on. This is amazing. To be able to go to the Final Four, I’ve worked so hard for this. My dreams came true.”

    Cole Custer, who led 67 laps, settled in second place as he ended up one spot short of clinching his early spot into the Championship 4 round. Nonetheless, Custer, who earned a total of 14 stage points at Homestead, currently occupies the fourth and final transfer spot to the Championship 4 by 28 points over Chandler Smith entering next weekend’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway as he continues his pursuit to defend his series title.

    “Man, I thought that second-to-last run, we had it,” Custer said. “That last run, for whatever reason, we got pretty free and [Hill] seemed like they got way better than what they were the second-to-last run. Sold points day. We’ll move into Martinsville. We’ve had good runs there before. Just got to bring everything we got there because you never know who’s going to win.”

    Aric Almirola settled in third place while rookie Jesse Love and Sheldon Creed finished in the top five. Riley Herbst, Ryan Sieg, Justin Allgaier, Sam Mayer and AJ Allmendinger completed the top-10 final running order.

    With six of eight Playoff contenders finishing in the top 10, the remaining two Playoff contenders that include pole-sitter Chandler Smith and Sammy Smith ended up 13th and 22nd, respectively. As a result, Allgaier is above the top-four cutline by 35 points while Chandler Smith, Love, Mayer and Sammy Smith are below the cutline.

    There were 10 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured three cautions for 19 laps. In addition, 16 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Austin Hill, 82 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner

    2. Cole Custer, 67 laps led

    3. Aric Almirola, one lap led

    4. Jesse Love

    5. Sheldon Creed, 12 laps led

    6. Riley Herbst

    7. Ryan Sieg

    8. Justin Allgaier

    9. Sam Mayer

    10. AJ Allmendinger, nine laps led

    11. Parker Kligerman

    12. Connor Zilisch

    13. Chandler Smith, 29 laps led

    14. Kyle Weatherman

    15. Anthony Alfredo

    16. Jeremy Clements

    17. Shane van Gisbergen, one lap down

    18. Brennan Poole, one lap down

    19. Brandon Jones, one lap down

    20. Jeb Burton, one lap down

    21. Ryan Truex, one lap down

    22. Sammy Smith, one lap down

    23. Parker Retzlaff, one lap down

    24. William Sawalich, one lap down

    25. Ryan Ellis, one lap down

    26. Kyle Sieg, one lap down

    27. Josh Williams, three laps down

    28. Brad Perez, three laps down

    29. Austin Green, three laps down

    30. Leland Honeyman, three laps down

    31. Mason Maggio, three laps down

    32. Dylan Lupton, four laps down

    33. Dawson Cram, four laps down

    34. Blaine Perkins, five laps down

    35. Armani Williams, seven laps down

    36. Thomas Annunziata – OUT, Ignition

    37. Nick Leitz – OUT, Suspension

    38. Matt DiBenedetto – OUT, Overheating

    *Bold indicates Playoff competitors

    Playoff standings

    1. AJ Allmendinger – Advanced

    2. Austin Hill – Advanced

    3. Justin Allgaier +35

    4. Cole Custer +28

    5. Chandler Smith -28

    6. Jesse Love -35

    7. Sam Mayer -47

    8. Sammy Smith -95

    The Round of 8 in the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs is set to conclude at Martinsville Speedway for the National Debt Relief 250, which will determine this year’s Championship 4 field. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, November 2, and air at 4 p.m. ET on the CW Network.

  • Sheldon Creed to make 100th Xfinity start at Las Vegas

    Sheldon Creed to make 100th Xfinity start at Las Vegas

    With four races remaining on the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule, Sheldon Creed is scheduled to achieve a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Xfinity Playoff event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Supra will make his 100th career start in the Xfinity circuit.

    A native of Alpine, California, Creed made his inaugural presence in the Xfinity Series at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in August 2017. By then, he had achieved back-to-back Stadium Super Truck championships (2016-17) and transitioned to stock car racing following his early success in SST and off-road competition. He had also made select starts within the ARCA Menards Series East and West divisions for MDM Motorsports and Jefferson Pitts Racing. Driving the No. 01 Chevrolet for JD Motorsports, Creed started 32nd and finished 34th in his Xfinity debut. He would return two races later at Road America, where he ended up in 38th place following an early vibration issue.

    From 2019 to 2021, Creed, who won the 2018 ARCA Menards Series championship, competed on a full-time basis in the Craftsman Truck Series for GMS Racing, where he won the 2020 series’ championship, accumulated eight victories and made the Playoffs during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. During the three-year span, he made two starts in the Xfinity Series. The first occurred at Daytona International Speedway in July 2019, where he drove the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports and ended up in 34th place after being involved in two separate multi-car wrecks. He then competed for BJ McLeod Motorsports during the 2021 finale at Phoenix Raceway, where he collected his first top-10 career finish by finishing in 10th place.

    In 2022, Creed graduated to the Xfinity Series on a full-time basis, where he replaced Myatt Snider as the driver of the No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing (RCR). Finishing sixth in his first start with RCR at Daytona in February, the Californian recorded nine top-10 results through 24 regular-season events as he spent the majority of the stretch mired outside of the top-12 cutline to make the 2022 Xfinity Series Playoffs. At Darlington Raceway in September, Creed attempted to pull a “video game” move on the final lap by scraping his No. 2 Chevrolet against the outside wall at full speed, but his momentum got stalled entering the frontstretch, which allowed Noah Gragson to overtake him for the victory as Creed, who had been battling Gragson and Kyle Larson for the victory, settled in a career-best runner-up result. After finishing 11th and 37th during the final two regular-season events on the schedule, he was unable to mount his way into the Playoffs. Recording another runner-up result at Martinsville Speedway in October along with a total of three top-10 results throughout the seven-race Playoff stretch, Creed ended up in 14th place in the final standings. Overall, he recorded four top-five results, 13 top-10 results, 155 laps led and an average-finishing result of 17.5 throughout his first full-time Xfinity campaign.

    Returning for a second full-time Xfinity campaign with RCR in 2023, Creed finished 34th and 23rd in the season’s first two events before notching five top-10 results, including a runner-up result at Talladega Superspeedway in April, during the next 10 events on the schedule. At Portland International Raceway in June, he notched his first career pole position and led a race-high 47 laps before ending in seventh place despite being spun by John Hunter Nemechek prior to the second stage’s conclusion and getting shuffled while battling for the lead amid a two-lap shootout. Despite finishing no higher than eighth during his next nine starts, Creed then recorded back-to-back runner-up results while contending for the victory. The first runner-up result occurred at Watkins Glen International in August after he assumed the lead during an overtime shootout before losing the lead to Sam Mayer after slipping out of the racing groove before the final lap. The second occurred at Daytona after he was edged by Justin Allgaier by 0.005 seconds. Concluding the regular-season stretch with an eighth- and third-place finish in two races, Creed earned a spot into the Xfinity Series Playoffs for the first time in his career.

    After finishing no lower than 11th throughout the Round of 12, he was able to earn the eighth and final transfer spot into the Round of 8 by two points over Daniel Hemric and four over Parker Kligerman. Then coming off a 15th- and 26th-place finish during the first two Round of 8 events, Creed placed himself in another opportunity to claim his first series victory during the Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway. During an overtime shootout, however, Creed, who bumped and rubbed fenders with teammate Austin Hill on the final lap and entering the final two turns, managed to take the lead from Hill in Turn 3 before he locked up the tires and briefly fell off the pace, which resulted with Hill ramming into the rear of Creed’s No. 2 entry as Hill was involved in a last-lap multi-car wreck. Amid the carnage, Creed was then edged at the finish line by Allgaier by 0.032 seconds, which marked his sixth runner-up result in the Xfinity circuit, as both Creed and Hill were unable to transfer into the Championship 4 round. Despite receiving harsh comments and criticisms from Hill and the RCR organization, Creed proceeded to finish in the runner-up spot for a seventh time during the finale at Phoenix in November, which resulted in the Californian settling in seventh place in the final standings. By then, Creed had earned three additional top-five finishes and two additional top-10 results compared to the 2022 season. He had also led 35 extra laps from the previous season and improved his average finishing result from 17.5 to 13.5.

    After announcing his departure from Richard Childress Racing a month before the 2023 season’s conclusion, Creed was announced as the driver of the No. 18 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2024 Xfinity season in December. He commenced his first season with team owner Joe Gibbs by finishing in second place behind former teammate Hill. Despite enduring a winless stretch throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, the Californian notched two poles, a total of six runner-up results, 13 top-five results and 17 top-10 results, which were enough for him to make the 2024 Playoffs. Despite finishing fifth and fourth, respectively, during the first two events of the Round of 12, Creed was involved in a multi-car wreck just shy of the Round of 12’s finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. While trying to finish the event, Creed’s car stalled on the course and he retired in 35th place. As a result, he fell short of transferring into the Round of 8 by seven points.

    As Creed continues his pursuit for his first elusive victory in the Xfinity Series for the remaining four races on this year’s schedule, he is set to join Haas Factory Team, an organization rebranded from Stewart-Haas Racing, in 2025.

    Through 99 previous Xfinity starts, Creed has achieved three poles, 26 top-five results, 48 top-10 results, 453 laps led and an average-finishing result of 15.1. To date, he holds the record for the most number of runner-up results without an Xfinity victory at 13. Currently, Creed’s 2024 stats in top fives (15), top 10s (19) and average-finishing result (12.3) are his best as he is also scored in 10th place in the standings.

    Sheldon Creed is scheduled to make his 100th Xfinity Series career start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Ambetter Health 302. The event is scheduled to occur this upcoming Saturday, October 19, and air at 7 p.m. ET on the CW Network.

  • Austin Dillon to make 400th Cup start at Watkins Glen

    Austin Dillon to make 400th Cup start at Watkins Glen

    Austin Dillon is primed to achieve a milestone in his 11th full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series. By competing in this weekend’s Cup Playoff event at Watkins Glen International, the driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing (RCR) Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will make his 400th career start in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Welcome, North Carolina, Dillon made his inaugural start in the Cup Series at Kansas Speedway in October 2011. At the time, he was campaigning in his second full-time season in the Craftsman Truck Series for Richard Childress Racing after clinching the Rookie of the Year title in 2010. Driving the No. 98 Chevrolet Impala for Curb Racing, Dillon finished 26th in his first Cup event.

    The following two seasons, Dillon competed full-time in the Xfinity Series for RCR, where he achieved the 2012 Xfinity Series’ Rookie of the Year title before notching the drivers’ championship a year later. During the two-year stint, he made 12 Cup Series starts, his first occurring at Michigan International Speedway in June 2012 as he piloted RCR’s No. 33 Chevrolet to a 24th-place finish. The remaining 11 Cup starts occurred in 2013, with his first being the 55th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway as he finished 31st.

    In total, Dillon made five Cup starts with RCR, four with Phoenix Racing and two with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) as an interim competitor for the injured three-time Cup champion Tony Stewart. Within the starts, he notched a season-best 11th-place finish at Michigan in June with RCR and a 14th-place run at Michigan in August with SHR. At Talladega Superspeedway in October, Dillon, who was driving the No. 14 SHR Chevrolet SS, was running in third place on the final lap when he slipped sideways off the front nose of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., came back across the track in the backstretch and was sent airborne after being rammed by Casey Mears, with the result dropping Dillon to 26th place in the final running order.

    Less than a month after winning the 2013 Xfinity Series title, Dillon was announced as a full-time Cup Series competitor in RCR’s No. 3 Chevrolet SS for the 2014 season, which marked the return of the No. 3 in NASCAR’s premier series for the first time since the 2001 Daytona 500, last piloted by the late seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt.

    Dillon commenced his rookie Cup season on a strong note by securing the pole position for the 56th running of the Daytona 500, which was his first in the series, and becoming both the fourth competitor to place a No. 3 entry and the fifth rookie candidate on the pole for the Great American Race. During the main event, Dillon, who led the opening lap, rallied after being involved in a late multi-car wreck to record his first top-10 result in the series with a ninth-place finish. He would then finish no higher than 11th three times during his next 16 starts before securing his first top-five result in the form of a fifth-place finish at Daytona in July.

    With only an additional top-10 result, being a 10th-place run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, occurring in the final eight regular-season events, Dillon was unable to qualify for the 2014 Cup Series Playoffs. He would proceed to finish no higher than eighth during the final 10 events on the schedule before settling in 20th place in the final standings and the runner-up spot behind Kyle Larson for the Rookie-of-the-Year title. Overall, Dillon achieved a single pole, one top-five result, four top-10 results, 10 laps led and an average-finishing result of 17.5 during his first full-time Cup Series season.

    Dillon’s sophomore Cup season in 2015 was mired with a harrowing final lap accident at Daytona in July, where his car went airborne after colliding with a spinning Denny Hamlin. He flew over four competitors and smashed upside-down into the frontstretch’s catchfence before the car came back on the speedway on the roof and was hit by a spinning Brad Keselowski before coming to a rest on the roof. Amid the wild wreck that ripped the engine out of the No. 3 car, Dillon, who managed to finish seventh before the wreck, emerged uninjured as he only sustained a bruised tailbone and a bruised forearm.

    The Daytona result would serve as one of Dillon’s five total top-10 results he earned throughout the 2015 Cup season, with his best on-track result being a fourth-place finish at Michigan International Speedway in August after leading 19 laps. After missing the Playoffs, Dillon settled in 21st place in the final standings with an average-finishing result of 21.0.

    Like his rookie Cup season, Dillon commenced his junior Cup Series season with a ninth-place result during the 58th running of the Daytona 500. Two races later, he recorded a strong fifth-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March followed by a ninth-place run at Phoenix Raceway before notching his second Cup career pole at Auto Club Speedway, an event where he would finish 24th. Nabbing three additional top-five results and a total of six top-10 results during the final 21 regular-season events, Dillon was able to race his way into his first career Cup Series Playoffs based on points.

    After finishing 14th, 16th and eighth throughout the Round of 16, Dillon transferred into the Round of 12. With respective finishes of 32nd, sixth and ninth throughout the Round of 12, however, he did not transfer to the Round of 8 amid a tie-breaker against Denny Hamlin. Scoring his second pole of the season at Texas Motor Speedway in November, Dillon finished no higher than 12th during the final four events on the schedule before settling in 14th place in the final standings. Overall, Dillon achieved two poles, four top-five results, a career-high 13 top-10 results, 17 laps led and an average finishing result of 15.9. He had also surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    Dillon began the 2017 Cup Series season with a 19th-place finish during the 59th running of the Daytona 500. Then after managing only one top-five finish during the first 11 events on the schedule, he scored his first Cup career victory in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May after overtaking seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson with two laps remaining and having enough fuel to coast his No. 3 Chevrolet across the finish line ahead of Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr.

    With the victory, Dillon became the 188th different competitor to win a Cup Series event and the seventh to notch a first Cup victory in the Coke 600. It was the first victory for the No. 3 since Dale Earnhardt won at Talladega Superspeedway in 2000. Despite finishing in the top 10 only twice during the final 14 regular-season events, the Coke 600 victory enabled Dillon to automatically advance to the Playoffs for a second consecutive season. After having his title hopes come to an early end after finishing no higher than 16th twice and not advancing past the Round of 16, Dillon proceeded to notch five top-15 results within the final seven events on the schedule before settling in a career-best 11th place in the final standings.

    Returning for a fifth full-time Cup campaign in 2018, Dillon commenced the season with a thriller after spinning Aric Almirola on the final lap to win the 60th running of the Daytona 500 and notch his second Cup career victory. With the accomplishment, Dillon, who only led the final lap and piloted a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to its first NASCAR victory in its first event, became the 39th competitor to win the Great American Race as he delivered the third Daytona 500 victory for Richard Childress Racing and the first for the No. 3 since Dale Earnhardt won his first and only 500 event in 1998.

    The victory also occurred 11 years to the day when Kevin Harvick delivered the second and latest 500 victory for RCR. With the 500 victory guaranteeing Dillon and the No. 3 team a spot in the 2018 Cup Series Playoffs, the North Carolina native proceeded to finish in the top 10 three additional times during the remaining 25 regular-season events. Having his title hopes eliminated early after finishing 11th, sixth and 39th throughout the Round of 16, Dillon proceeded to finish in the top 11 five times during the final seven events on the schedule before settling in 13th place in the final standings. Despite achieving one less top-five result from his previous season (two), he doubled his top-10 results (eight) and improved his average-finishing result from 18.6 to 17.5.

    After missing the 2019 Cup Series Playoffs and finishing 21st in the final standings, where he notched a total of six top-10 results, a career-high three poles and surpassed 200 Cup career starts throughout the season, Dillon began the 2020 Cup season with a 12th-place finish in the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 before notching a fourth-place run during the following event at Las Vegas. Then after recording three additional top-10 results during his next 15 starts, Dillon snapped an 88-race winless drought and returned to the Victory Lane in the Cup Series at Texas for the third time in his career after leading 22 laps and fending off teammate Tyler Reddick during a two-lap shootout.

    The Texas victory also enabled Dillon to clinch a spot in the 2020 Cup Series Playoffs, which marked his fourth time making the postseason title battle, as he concluded the regular-season stretch with two additional top-10 results, amid being absent from the Daytona International Speedway Road Course event in August following a positive COVID-19 test. After notching a strong runner-up result during the Playoff opener at Darlington Raceway in September followed by a fourth-place finish at Richmond Raceway and a 12th-place run at Bristol Motor Speedway, respectively, Dillon transferred into the Round of 12. After being eliminated from the Playoffs due to finishing no higher than 12th throughout the Round of 12, he secured two 11th-place finishes during the final four-scheduled events before tying his career-best result in the final standings in 11th place. Overall, Dillon still managed to notch a career-high 135 laps led along with a total of four top-five results, nine top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 16.2.

    Throughout the 2021 Cup Series season, where he reached 300 Cup career starts at season’s end, Dillon accumulated a total of eight top-10 results and a season-best third-place finish in the 63rd running of the Daytona 500. Despite winning the second Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona in February following a final lap where he overtook Bubba Wallace, Dillon did not make the 2021 Cup Series Playoffs and concluded the season in 17th place in the final standings. Nonetheless, he still secured a career-best average-finishing result of 14.4 on the strength of 27 top-15 results throughout the 36-race schedule.

    The 2022 Cup season began with a 25th-place finish during the 64th running of the Daytona 500, Dillon collected two runner-up results and a total of seven top-10 results throughout the following 24 regular-season events. Then during the regular-season finale at Daytona in August, he raced his way into the Playoffs after dodging a wreck that eliminated nearly the entire field with 23 laps remaining and withstanding a lengthy rain delay period to lead 10 laps and overtake Austin Cindric with three laps remaining before leading teammate Tyler Reddick across the finish line as part of a 1-2 finish for Richard Childress Racing.

    The victory was Dillon’s fourth of his Cup career and the fifth time he made the Playoffs. Although his title hopes were eliminated early after finishing no higher than 14th throughout the Round of 16, Dillon notched a fourth-place finish and two 10th-place runs during the final seven-scheduled events before ending up in 11th place in the final standings for the third time in his career. By then, Dillon notched career-high stats in top fives (five) and top 10s (11) while emerging with an average finishing result of 16.5.

    This past season, Dillon notched a strong runner-up result in the non-points Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Two weeks later, he was in contention and battling for the victory in the Daytona 500 before he was swept up in a multi-car wreck during an overtime shootout and ended up in 33rd place. Dillon proceeded to finish in the top five once and in the top 10 six times during the following 25 regular-season events but missed the Playoffs for the fifth time in his career. Finishing no higher than 10th throughout the 2023 Playoffs, Dillon ended up in 29th place in the final driver’s standings, the lowest of his career as a full-time Cup competitor.

    Dillon started the 2024 Cup Series season with only two top-10 results through the first 22 scheduled events, which left him mired outside the top-30 mark in the regular-season standings. Then at Richmond Raceway this past August, he endured a high-turned-low career moment that started when he assumed the lead from Denny Hamlin with 28 laps remaining. Initially poised the seal the victory during the event’s scheduled distance, the event was sent into overtime due to a late multi-car wreck. Despite retaining the lead during the event’s caution period, Dillon would lose the lead to Joey Logano at the start of the overtime shootout. Then on the final lap, Dillon stepped on the gas and bumped into Logano and sent him spinning through the final turn. Dillon then veered dead left and turned Hamlin into the frontstretch’s outside wall to reclaim the lead and streak across the finish line to win for the fifth time in his career.

    After initially guaranteeing himself and his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team a spot into the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs, disaster struck three days later after NASCAR revoked his Playoff eligibility due to the North Carolinian’s deliberate actions to win and make the postseason. Following two appeal processes made by Dillon and Richard Childress Racing, both of which were denied, Dillon plummeted back down towards the top-30 mark in the regular-season standings. Despite finishing in 15th place in the regular-season finale at Darlington, Dillon was unable to race his way back into the Playoffs, which he missed for the sixth time in his career.

    Through 399 previous Cup starts, Dillon has achieved five victories, six poles, 23 top-five results, 78 top-10 results, 411 laps led and an average-finishing result of 18.4. He is currently ranked in 29th place in the 2024 drivers’ standings.

    Austin Dillon is scheduled to make his 400th Cup Series career start at Watkins Glen International for the Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday, September 15, with the event’s broadcast scheduled to occur at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Austin Hill sweeps Atlanta for third Xfinity victory of 2024

    Austin Hill sweeps Atlanta for third Xfinity victory of 2024

    With his No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro entry sporting a special gold scheme to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his sponsor Bennett Transportation & Logistics, Austin Hill generated a late golden performance on the track to win the Focused Health 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 7.

    The 30-year-old Hill from Winston, Georgia, led the final 12 of 163-scheduled laps in an event where he started fourth place and spent the first stage period racing upfront getting shuffled within the top-10 mark throughout the second stage period. After spending most of the final stage period methodically carving his way back to the front amid the draft, Hill capitalized on the final restart period with 13 laps remaining to overtake Chandler Smith for the lead during the following lap. He then fended off a pair of final lap challenges from Chandler Smith and Corey Heim to notch his third NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the 2024 season, his fourth at his home track and his first series victory since late February.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup on Saturday, rookie Jesse Love notched his fourth Xfinity career pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 173.646 mph in 31.927 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Taylor Gray, who clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap at 173.489 mph in 31.956 seconds.

    Before the event, the following names that included AJ Allmendinger, Jeremy Clements, Ryan Ellis and Brennan Poole dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Jesse Love and Taylor Gray dueled for the lead in front of two stacked lanes through the first two turns and the backstretch until the outside lane led by Love gained the advantage as Love muscled ahead with drafting help from teammate Austin Hill. As the field returned to the frontstretch, Love led the first lap in his No. 2 Samsara Chevrolet Camaro.

    Over the next four laps and with the field briefly fanning out to three lanes before the majority of the filed settled in a long single-file line towards the outside wall, Love retained an early advantage ahead of teammate Hill and Justin Allgaier while Chandler Smith and Taylor Gray pursued in the top five. Behind, Sheldon Creed, Ryan Sieg, Cole Custer, rookie Shane van Gisbergen and Parker Kligerman were in the top 10 while Brandon Jones, Jeb Burton, Ryan Truex, Riley Herbst, Josh Williams, Sam Mayer, Sammy Smith, Corey Heim, Anthony Alfredo and Blaine Perkins were in the top 20 ahead of Parker Retzlaff, Brennan Poole, Kyle Sieg, AJ Allmendinger and Garrett Smithley.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Love continued to lead ahead of teammate Hill, Allgaier, Chandler Smith and Taylor Gray as the top-six competitors, including Creed, were separated by less than a second Meanwhile, the top 13 competitors were separated by within two seconds while the top 19 were separated by within three seconds.

    A lap later, the event’s first caution flew when Ryan Sieg, a Playoff bubble competitor, coasted to a halt in the backstretch due to a wiring issue as he fell out of the lead lap category while needing a wrecker to have his No. 39 Sci Aps Ford Mustang entry nursed back to his pit stall. Amid Sieg’s issues, Anthony Alfredo also encountered early issues due to scraping the outside wall and damaging the right side of his No. 5 Our Motorsports entry. During the caution period, some led by Sammy Smith and including AJ Allmendinger pitted while the rest led by Love remained on the track.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 16, Sheldon Creed and Love dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Love muscled ahead from the outside lane with drafting help from Chevrolet teammates Hill and Allgaier. With Creed falling back to fourth place, Love proceeded to lead the following lap as the majority of the field migrated towards the outside wall and behind Love. Meanwhile, Parker Kligerman, who was running within the top-10 mark, was trying to form a drafting lane on the inside lane ahead of van Gisbergen, Sam Mayer and Jeb Burton before he quickly moved back up the outside lane and with the pack. Amid the shuffles and battles within the lead pack, Love proceeded to lead the Lap 20 mark.

    At the Lap 25 mark, Allgaier, who spent the previous few laps dueling with Love for the lead from the inside lap despite having no drafting help, was out in front as he muscled his No. 7 Hellmann’s Chevrolet Camaro ahead of Love with the top spot and towards the outside lane. With Allgaier leading and the field behind slowly fanning out to two drafting lanes, Love was second ahead of teammate Hill, Creed and Cole Custer while Brandon Jones, Riley Herbst, Chandler Smith, Sam Mayer and Taylor Gray were scored in the top 10. Shortly after, the top-nine competitors were separated by less than a second and the top 19 were separated by less than four seconds as Allgaier continued to lead by the Lap 30 mark.

    Nearing the Lap 35 mark, the top 12 competitors were separated by less than two seconds as Allgaier remained out in front of Hill and Love while Herbst and Creed were scored in the top five ahead of Mayer, Brandon Jones, Custer, Chandler Smith, Taylor Gray, Ryan Truex and Corey Heim.

    When the first stage period concluded on Lap 40, Allgaier edged a hard-charging Hill by 0.012 seconds to score his 14th Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season. Hill settled in second ahead of Riley Herbst, Creed and Love while Mayer, Brandon Jones, Custer, Chandler Smith and Taylor Gray were scored in the top 10. By then, 34 of 37 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Allgaier pitted while others led by Allmendinger and Sammy Smith remained on the track. During the pit stops, Josh Williams was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    The second stage period started on Lap 47 as Allmendinger and Allgaier occupied the front row. At the start, both dueled for the lead entering the first two turns and the backstretch as the field fanned out to three lanes. With Cole Custer fanning out to boost his way up to fourth place, Allmendinger retained the lead from the outside lane over Allgaier as the former had Sammy Smith drafting him.

    Just past the Lap 50 mark, Allmendinger was leading ahead of Sammy Smith, Custer, Herbst and Mayer while Allgaier, Love, Hill, Creed and Gray were scored in the top 10 ahead of van Gisbergen, Brandon Jones, Kligerman, Chandler Smith and Ryan Truex.

    Ten laps later, Allmendinger retained the lead ahead of Sammy Smith, Custer, Herbst and Mayer while Allgaier, Love, Creed, Gray and Jones followed suit in the top 10 ahead of van Gisbergen, Hill, Kligerman, Chandler Smith, Corey Heim, Truex, Jeb Burton, Parker Retzlaff, Brennan Poole and Lawless Alan. With a majority of the field running in a single-file line towards the outside wall, Allmendinger continued to lead by the Lap 79 mark as the top 14 competitors were separated by three seconds.

    Then with three laps remaining in the second stage period, the caution flew after Mayer was turned across the frontstretch’s outside wall by Gray as Mayer, who hit the wall, proceeded with right-side damage to his No. 1 High Rock Vodka Chevrolet Camaro. As Mayer’s damaged car continued to zip through the frontstretch, his car then had flames bursting out from behind and Mayer proceeded to pull his car below the apron and park in the backstretch before exiting uninjured.

    The caution for Mayer’s incident was enough for the second stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 80 to officially conclude under caution as Allmendinger notched his first Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season. Sammy Smith settled in second ahead of Custer, Herbst and Allgaier while Love, Taylor Gray, Chandler Smith, van Gisbergen and Creed were scored in the top 10.

    During the stage break, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Allmendinger pitted for service while select names including Leland Honeyman, Jeremy Clements, David Starr and Garrett Smithley remained on the track. Following the pit stops and amid mixed strategies, teammates Gray and Creed exited first and second on two fresh tires. Amid the pit stops, Creed was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation while teammate Ryan Truex was penalized for pitting outside of his pit box. In addition, Hill ran into the rear of van Gisbergen after entering pit road.

    With 76 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Gray and Allmendinger occupied the front row. At the start, Gray and Allmendinger dueled for the top spot, with the former managing to retain the top spot. Amid the battles and with the field stacked to two lanes, Gray retained the lead with 70 laps remaining before teammate Chandler Smith would overtake him a lap later.

    With 66 laps remaining, the caution returned for van Gisbergen getting into the outside wall in Turn 4 while running inside the top 10 as he proceeded to nurse his No. 97 Quad Lock Chevrolet Camaro back to his pit stall with right-side damage. During the caution period, multiple names including Hill, Allgaier, Sammy Smith, Kligerman, Corey Heim, Jeb Burton and Creed pitted while the rest led by Chandler Smith remained on the track.

    The start of the following restart period with 59 laps remaining featured Chandler Smith and Gray dueling for the top spot as Smith retained the lead for the following lap. Three laps later, Smith was overtaken by Custer through the backstretch and Smith was left battling Herbst for the runner-up spot.

    The caution would then return with 55 laps remaining due to Jeb Burton losing a left front tire and spinning to the bottom of the track. During the caution period, select names including Blaine Perkins, van Gisbergen, Clements and Ryan Ellis pitted while the rest led by Custer remained on the track.

    As the race restarted with 48 laps remaining, Custer dueled and held off Gray to lead the field. Amid the late battles within the pack, Custer proceeded to lead with 40 laps remaining. By then, Chandler Smith was up to second ahead of Herbst, Love and Allmendinger while Josh Williams, Truex, Allgaier, Heim and Hill were in the top 10. After Custer led the next nine laps, Allmendinger overtook him with 31 laps remaining.

    Down to the final 25 laps of the event, Chandler Smith, who assumed the lead two laps earlier, was out in front of Allgaier, Custer, Hill and Gray as Love, Ryan Sieg, Williams, Herbst and Jones followed suit in the top 10, with the top-16 competitors separated by a second. By then, Creed made an unscheduled pit stop under green.

    With less than 20 laps remaining, Chandler Smith continued to lead ahead of Custer, Allgaier, Taylor Gray and Hill. Behind, Jones, who had tried to slide in front of Chandler Smith for the lead a few laps earlier but was unable to do so, slipped out of the top five on the inside lane, and was in seventh as the top 10 competitors were separated by less than a second. By then, Smith was also able to muscle ahead of Allgaier, who was trying to use the inside lane to slide in front of Smith but was unable to do so.

    Then with 19 laps remaining, the caution flew when Allgaier, who was dueling Custer for the runner-up spot, went up the track just past the backstretch and made contact with Custer and Gray. Custer was sent for a spin before he collided with teammate Herbst and Ryan Sieg as Allgaier and Gray were pinned against one another towards the outside wall as Love barely ran into the rear of Gray. The incident was enough for the event to be placed in a red flag period for 15 minutes.

    Once the red flag lifted and the field proceeded under a cautious pace, multiple names that included Love, Allmendinger, Brennan Poole, Parker Retzlaff, Clements, Nick Leitz, Blaine Perkins, Ryan Ellis, Garrett Smithley and David Starr pitted while the rest led by Chandler Smith remained on the track. Among those who pitted included Love, who had a rear bumper cover from Herbst’s car stuck atop the No. 2 Chevrolet.

    With the race restarting under green with 13 laps remaining, Chandler Smith and Hill dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch before Hill muscled ahead and tried to slide in front of Smith through Turns 3 and 4. Smith, however, pulled a crossover move on Hill through the frontstretch, but Hill would prevail from the outside lane through the first two turns as he would maintain the lead through the backstretch while Smtih was battling Josh Williams and Corey Heim for second place.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Hill was leading ahead of Chandler Smith and Williams while the rest of the field behind followed in close pursuit amid two stacked lanes. By then, the top 12 competitors were separated by less than a second while the top 19 were separated by under two seconds.

    With five laps remaining, Hill maintained a steady advantage ahead of Chandler Smith, Heim, Kligerman and Lawless Alan as the top-15 competitors were separated by less than two seconds. Allmendinger would then transition to the inside lane and try to gain a drafting run while battling Sammy Smith for sixth place, but he would then make contact with Alan and nearly send him spinning

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Hill, who nearly got sideways off the front nose of Chandler Smith as Smith made a move beneath Hill to duel with him exiting Turns 3 and 4, remained as the leader on the outside lane as Heim, who elected not to draft his Toyota teammate Smith from the inside lane, drafted Hill back out front ahead of Kligerman through the frontstretch.

    Then through Turns 1 and 2, Heim attempted to make a move to Hill’s outside, but Hill blocked and fended off Heim as the latter scraped his No. 26 Sam Hunt Racing Toyota Supra towards the outside wall. This allowed Hill to retain the top spot as Kligerman zipped by for second place. With Allmendinger and Chandler Smith following Kligerman and passing Heim, all four were unable to regain their momentum and catch Hill as Hill cycled his No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet Camaro back to the frontstretch and claimed the checkered flag by three-tenths of a second.

    With the victory, Hill notched his ninth Xfinity Series career win in his 105th series start, his seventh on a superspeedway venue and his fourth at Atlanta Motor Speedway, his home track. This season marks the first time Hill swept both Atlanta Xfinity events as he also notched the 96th Xfinity career victory for Richard Childress Racing and the 13th of the season for the Chevrolet nameplate.

    Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “Just resilience with this whole Bennett No. 21 team,” Hill said on USA Network. “Our Bennett Chevrolet wasn’t handling great all day. It had plenty of speed. Just the handle on it was tough all day. We had to dig deep for that [win]. [Chandler Smith] got into [Turn] 3 and had me jacked up. He’s doing what he has to do to try to win. [I’m] Very surprised that [Heim] pushed me there and didn’t go with a  Toyota and then, I thought that I messed up into [Turns] 1 and 2. I hate it that [Heim] got in the fence. I wasn’t trying to run him in the fence. I was just trying to get him aero-tight or get him aero-loose because that was happening to me a lot today.”

    “This is insane like to win with this gold car, Bennett’s 50th anniversary. This is their biggest race of the entire year,” Hill added. “To do this for our sponsor, it means a lot. We’re gonna celebrate this one because [the win] didn’t come easy.”

    With Hill winning the race, Parker Kligerman edged AJ Allmendinger by 0.004 seconds to finish in second place for the first time this season while Chandler Smith and Corey Heim rounded out the top five following their last-lap charges for the victory. To add to Hill being surprised about Heim not drafting with Chandler Smith and challenging him for the win, Smith was also left surprised and disappointed with not having the drafting help to challenge for the victory as his home track.

    “I expected my Toyota teammate to come with me and that didn’t happen,” Smith said. “It is what it is. I’m kind of speechless, honestly. There’s a lot of different things I could’ve done that I could’ve been more selfish and when I got clear, went to the bottom [lane] and cover that and just control the race, for sure, but I was trying to be a good teammate. It didn’t pay off for me today, as usual.”

    Rookie Jesse Love charged back up the field to finish sixth while Sammy Smith, Josh Williams, Brandon Jones and Ryan Truex finished in the top 10.

    There were 12 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 36 laps. In addition, 23 of 37 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Following the 24th event of the 2024 Xfinity Series season, Justin Allgaier continues to lead the regular-season standings by 34 points over Cole Custer, 67 over Chandler Smith and 71 over Austin Hill.

    Results.

    1. Austin Hill, 12 laps led

    2. Parker Kligerman

    3. AJ Allmendinger, 40 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    4. Chandler Smith, 28 laps led

    5. Corey Heim

    6. Jesse Love, 23 laps led

    7. Sammy Smith

    8. Josh Williams

    9. Brandon Jones

    10. Ryan Truex

    11. Kyle Weatherman

    12. Parker Retzlaff

    13. Lawless Alan

    14. Anthony Alfredo

    15. Brennan Poole

    16. Kyle Sieg

    17. Leland Honeyman, one lap led

    18. Mason Maggio

    19. Blaine Perkins

    20. Nick Leitz

    21. Ryan Ellis

    22. David Starr

    23. Garrett Smithley

    24. Jeb Burton, one lap down

    25. Sheldon Creed, three laps down, one lap led

    26. Riley Herbst, five laps down

    27. Shane van Gisbergen, six laps down

    28. Taylor Gray – OUT, Suspension, 12 laps led

    29. Jeremy Clements – OUT, Suspension

    30. Justin Allgaier – OUT, Accident, 19 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    31. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident, 27 laps led

    32. Ryan Sieg – OUT, Accident

    33. Morgen Baird, 21 laps down

    34. CJ McLaughlin – OUT, Engine

    35. Matt DiBenedetto – OUT, Oil Line

    36. Sam Mayer – OUT, Accident

    37. Dawsom Cram – OUT, Engine

    Next on the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York, for the Mission 200 at The Glen. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, September 14, and air at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Austin Dillon denied final overturn of Richmond penalties, faces “must-win” scenario to make 2024 Cup Playoffs at Darlington

    Austin Dillon denied final overturn of Richmond penalties, faces “must-win” scenario to make 2024 Cup Playoffs at Darlington

    Austin Dillon and Richard Childress Racing have lost their second and final appeal process in overturning Dillon’s penalty of having his NASCAR Cup Series victory at Richmond Raceway stripped from Playoff eligibility during a ruling made by Bill Mullis, NASCAR’s Final Appeal Officer, on Monday, August 26.

    The news comes 12 days after Dillon’s 2024 Cup Series Playoff eligibility was revoked by NASCAR due to actions the Welcome, North Carolina native made four days earlier on August 11 at Richmond. During the event, he wrecked both Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the final lap and final turn during an overtime shootout to win the race and leapfrog a majority of the competition in the regular-season standings to clinch a Playoff berth. The actions Dillon made were a last resort to secure a spot in the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs, with the driver, owner Richard Childress and crew chief Justin Alexander defending Dillon’s actions.

    Following the first announcement of his Playoff eligibility being revoked and Dillon’s No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team being docked 25 driver/owner points, Richard Childress Racing released a statement that cited the team’s intentions to appeal the penalties.

    The saga then continued this past Wednesday, August 21, when the National Motorsports Appeals Panel denied the team’s first appeal attempt and upheld the points deduction and revoked Playoff berth, but reduced Brandon Benesch’s, Dillon’s spotter who encouraged Dillon to wreck Hamlin approaching the finish line, suspension from three races to one. Richard Childress Racing, however, cited intentions to appeal the penalties to the Final Appeal Officer.

    Following the decision to deny Dillon and Richard Childress Racing’s final attempt to overturn the penalties, Mullis released a statement that explained his final ruling and supported the initial ruling made by the National Motorsports Appeals Panel:

    “The data presented today from SMT and IDAS systems indicate that more likely than not a rule violation did occur at Richmond Raceway on 8-11-24 by the No. 3 RCR car on the last lap of the race. [Rule 12.3.2.1.B Eligibility, race finishes must be unencumbered by violations of the NASCAR rules or other actions detrimental to stock car auto racing or NASCAR as determined in the sole discretion of NASCAR.]”

    With all appeal processes used and denied, Dillon, who is currently ranked in 29th place in the 2024 regular-season standings and has finished no higher than 17th in the two races following the Richmond victory, faces a “must-win” scenario ahead of this upcoming weekend’s regular-season finale at Darlington Raceway to race his way back into the 2024 Cup Series Playoff picture. Currently, he is 298 points below the top-16 cutline in the Playoffs standings.

    Dillon is one of several competitors who are currently below the top-16 cutline ahead of the regular-season finale at Darlington, a list that includes teammate Kyle Busch, Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe, Todd Gilliland, Carson Hocevar, Michael McDowell, Josh Berry, Noah Gragson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Erik Jones, Ryan Preece, Daniel Hemric, Justin Haley, John Hunter Nemechek, Corey LaJoie and Zane Smith.

    With 13 of 16 Playoff spots filled by regular-season winners, including this past weekend’s winner Harrison Burton, the remaining three vacant spots are currently occupied by Martin Truex Jr., Ty Gibbs and Chris Buescher on points, with the latter retaining the final transfer spot by 21 points over Bubba Wallace, 27 over Ross Chastain and 106 over Kyle Busch.

    Austin Dillon’s final attempt to make the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs on the track continues this upcoming Sunday, September 1, at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500 and for the 2024 regular-season finale. The event’s broadcast time is slated to occur at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing denied Overturn of Richmond Penalties from Appeals Panel

    Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing denied Overturn of Richmond Penalties from Appeals Panel

    Richard Childress Racing lost its appeal process in overturning Austin Dillon’s penalty of having his NASCAR Cup Series victory at Richmond Raceway stripped from Playoff eligibility following a hearing from the National Motorsports Appeals Panel on Wednesday, August 21.

    Dillon’s penalty stems from August 11, where he wrecked both Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the final lap and final corner to win at Richmond during an overtime shootout, actions Dillon mentioned as last-resort actions to race his way into the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

    Three days after the victory, however, NASCAR stripped Dillon’s Playoff eligibility, citing that he “crossed the line” with the actions he made to wreck both Logano and Hamlin on the final corner. In addition, his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team were docked 25 driver/owner points while Dillon’s spotter, Brandon Benesch, was assessed a three-race suspension for encouraging Dillon to wreck the leaders to win. Amid the penalties, Dillon was still credited as the official Richmond winner.

    Following the penalties that were handed down to Dillon and Richard Childress Racing, the organization released a statement, citing their plans to appeal the penalties.

    A week since, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel, which overheard and reviewed the appeal process made by Dillon and Richard Childress Racing, ruled that both had violated the Member Code of Conduct Penalty Options and Guidelines from the NASCAR Rule Book. Therefore, the loss of points and the Richmond victory not being credited towards Playoff eligibility for Dillon remained intact. The panel did reduce spotter Brandon Benesch’s suspension from three to one race.

    In addition to the decision being made, the panel, which included Tom DeLoach, Kelly Housby and Tommy Wheeler, released the following statement of their decision.

    “NASCAR represents elite motorsports and, as such, its drivers are expected to demonstrate exemplary conduct if its series’ championships are to be validated. In this case, the ‘line’ was crossed.”

    As a result of the penalties remaining intact, Dillon remains mired within the top-30 mark in the 2024 regular-season stretch and in a “must-win” situation to make the Playoffs with two regular-season events remaining on the schedule.

    Not long after the decision was made, Richard Childress Racing released a statement that expressed the team’s disappointment with the outcome and plans to appeal to the National Motorsports Final Appeal Officer, which is permitted per the NASCAR Rule Book.

    In the meantime, Austin Dillon’s on-track quest to race his way back into the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs continues this upcoming Saturday, August 24, at Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400, the penultimate regular-season event on this year’s schedule. The event’s airtime is slated to commence at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.