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  • Martin Truex Jr. rallies to win at Richmond, advances in Cup Series Playoffs

    Martin Truex Jr. rallies to win at Richmond, advances in Cup Series Playoffs

    From an opening lap penalty to Victory Lane, Martin Truex Jr. punched his ticket into the Round of 12 in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs after the former Cup champion led the final 51 laps and beat teammate Denny Hamlin by more than a second to win the Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute to First Responders at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, September 11.

    The victory came as Truex, who lined up on the front row, started the race by serving a pass-through penalty on pit road after jumping the initial start of the race over teammate Hamlin. Despite the penalty, Truex remained on the lead lap and methodically worked his way towards the front before leading three times for a total of 80 of 400 laps and running away from his teammates and fellow Playoff contenders as he took another step forward in pursuing his second championship.

    The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Cup event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season champion, was scheduled to start on pole position. However, his car failed pre-race inspection twice and as a result, he was sent to the rear of the field. With that, Denny Hamlin, winner of last weekend’s Cup Playoff opener at Darlington Raceway, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with teammate Martin Truex Jr.

    Along with Larson, Cole Custer started at the rear of the field due to his car failing pre-race inspection twice. Garrett Smithley also dropped to the rear of the field due to a driver change.

    During the pace laps, the crew members and fans raised their American flags and passed for a moment of silence to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks while honoring the first responders affected by the event.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Truex jumped ahead of teammate Hamlin at the start/finish line and took off with an early lead. Not long after, Truex was penalized with a restart violation for crossing the start/finish line and starting the race ahead of the pole-sitter. As a result, Truex surrendered the lead to teammate Hamlin while serving his penalty by driving through pit road.

    Back on the track, Hamlin was out in front by four-tenths of a second over Kurt Busch while the Team Penske trio — Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski — were in the top five. Kevin Harvick was in sixth ahead of Christopher Bell, Aric Almirola, Tyler Reddick and Alex Bowman, all of whom were in the Playoffs. Teammates Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott were in 11th and 12th followed by Kyle Busch while Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon, the first two non-Playoff contenders were in 14th and 15th. Michael McDowell was in 16th ahead of Ryan Preece, Matt DiBenedetto, Corey LaJoie and Chris Buescher.

    By Lap 10, Hamlin was still leading by nearly six-tenths of a second over Kurt Busch followed by the Penske trio, Harvick and Bell. Another ten laps later, Hamlin extended his advantage to nearly two seconds over Kurt Busch.

    When the competition caution flew on Lap 30, Hamlin continued to lead by nearly three seconds over Kurt Busch. By then, Harvick and Bell overtook Keselowski for fifth and sixth while Elliott was in the top 10. Meanwhile, Larson, who started at the rear of the field, was up in 19th while Truex, who was sent to the rear of the field following the start of the race, was in 29th, still on the lead lap.

    Under the competition caution, the leaders pitted and Kurt Busch emerged with the lead following a quick four-tire pit stop, where he was followed by Hamlin, Logano, Harvick and Blaney. During the caution period, Kyle Busch was assessed a pit road penalty for removing equipment out of his box.

    When the race restarted on Lap 36, Hamlin battled dead even with Kurt Busch as he led the following lap. Despite being pressured by Busch’s No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, Hamlin reassumed the lead as he was then pursued by Logano. While Blaney pressed Busch for more, Elliott was in fifth in front of Harvick and Keselowski.

    Then on Lap 40, the caution flew when Kurt Busch, who was in third, spun and made hard contact into the Turn 1 outside wall after cutting a left-rear tire. The wreck was enough to end Busch’s night in the garage and put a huge dent to his Playoff hopes.

    “I was just impressed with our speed and the way we unloaded and [the speed] we had in that first 30-lap run,” Kurt Busch said. “After the pit stop, something in the left rear wasn’t right. The guys said they got the tire tight. They made an adjustment and there was no rub and the left rear let go. I just radioed to them how loose the car was. Something happened with that left rear [tire]. It let go. It let go of our points and it let go of our whole season right now. I don’t know what we’re going to have to do at Bristol other than win. Now, we gotta dig out of this hole and give it out best.”

    With the race restarting on Lap 47, Hamlin continued to lead over the field.

    By Lap 55, Hamlin was leading by nearly a second over Blaney, with Logano, Elliott and Keselowski in the top five. Meanwhile, Larson and Truex were in 11th and 13th while Bowman, Byron, Kyle Busch and McDowell were in 15th, 19th, 23rd and 24th.

    With five laps remaining in the first stage, Hamlin continued to lead by nearly four over Logano and Elliott while Blaney settled in fourth. Meanwhile, Larson was in fifth after overtaking Keselowski. 

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 80, Hamlin, who led all but four laps in the stage, collected his seventh stage victory of the season. Elliott prevailed over a late battle with Logano to settle in second while Larson made his way up to fourth ahead of Blaney. Chastain placed in sixth while Keselowski, Truex, Harvick and Almirola were scored in the top 10. By then, Reddick, Bell, Kyle Busch, Bowman, Byron and McDowell were in 11th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 19th and 21st.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Hamlin retained the lead following his pit service and ahead of Elliott, Logano, Larson, Keselowski and Blaney.

    The second stage started on Lap 88. At the start, Hamlin launched ahead with a strong start on the inside lane while Elliott settled in second ahead of Logano. 

    Three laps later, Elliott muscled his No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE into the lead over Hamlin. Meanwhile, Chastain made a bold three-wide move on Larson and Truex through Turns 2 and 3 to move his No. 42 Moose Fraternity Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to fifth. 

    At the Lap 100 mark, Elliott was leading by nearly six-tenths of a second over Hamlin, with Keselowski, Chastain and Logano in the top five. Larson was in sixth ahead of Truex, Blaney, Kyle Busch and Harvick. Almirola, Byron, Bowman, Bell and Reddick were in the top 16 while McDowell was in 18th area of Erik Jones and rookie Chase Briscoe. Meanwhile, Austin Dillon was in 15th, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was in 17th, Matt DiBenedetto was in 21st, Ryan Newman was in 23rd, Bubba Wallace was in 25th behind Chris Buescher and Daniel Suarez was in 28th in between Ryan Preece and Justin Haley.

    Twenty laps later, Elliott continued to lead by more than a second over Hamlin while Chastain, the highest non-title contender, was up in third. Teammates Keselowski and Logano were in the top five followed by Kyle Busch and Truex. Larson was back in eighth while Blaney and Harvick were in the top 10 ahead of Almirola, Byron, Bowman, Bell, Austin Dillon and Reddick.

    Nearly 10 laps later, pit stops under green commenced as Daniel Suarez pitted followed by Reddick, Austin Dillon and Hamlin. Soon after, Elliott surrendered the lead to pit followed by Keselowski, Logano, Truex, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Blaney, Stenhouse, Bowman and others. By Lap 135, Larson surrendered his temporary lead to pit.

    By Lap 138, the No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry piloted by Hamlin emerged with the lead after overtaking Elliott earlier. By then, Bell and DiBenedetto pitted under green. 

    Twelve laps later, Hamlin was leading by nearly half a second over Elliott while Chastain continued to run in an impressive third place. Kyle Busch and Logano battled for fourth while Truex, Larson, Keselowski, Almirola and Blaney were in the top 10 while Bowman, Harvick, Byron, Bell and Reddick were in the top 16. McDowell, meanwhile, was in 31st and two laps behind.

    On Lap 162, Elliott made a bold three-wide move on Hamlin and the lapped car of Suarez to take the lead in Turn 3.

    Thirteen laps later, Elliott was out in front by half a second over Hamlin while third-place Kyle Busch trailed by more than four seconds. Truex, Larson and Logano were up in fourth, fifth and sixth while Chastain fell back to seventh ahead of Almirola, Bell and Keselowski. Blaney, meanwhile, was in 11th ahead of Bowman, Byron and Harvick.

    A few laps later, a second round of green flag pit stops occurred as Truex pitted followed by Hamlin, Corey LaJoie, Keselowski, Harvick, Byron, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon and Elliott. During the pit stops, Elliott slid through his pit box and was forced to reverse into his box while the jack was still on the car. The situation quickly went from bad to worse as the jack got wedged underneath Elliott’s car, which made it a long service for the No. 9 crew. 

    By Lap 187 and when the green flag pit stops concluded, Hamlin cycled back as the leader by more than two seconds over teammate Kyle Busch and nearly three seconds over his other teammate, Truex. Logano and Chastain were in the top five followed by Larson, Harvick, Keselowski and Byron. Bowman, Bell and Blaney were in 11th, 12th and 13th while Elliott was mired back in 15th, the last car on the lead lap.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 200, Hamlin continued to lead by more than two seconds over teammate Kyle Busch while Truex, Logano and Chastain were in the top five. By then, 15 competitors were scored on the lead lap, 13 of whom were Playoff contenders.

    Twenty laps later, Hamlin stabilized his advantage to nearly two seconds over teammate Kyle Busch while Truex, Logano and Larson remained in the top five ahead of Chastain. By then, Elliott, running in 15th, was a lap behind, though he kept leader Hamlin within his sights.

    Near the Lap 225 mark, Hamlin lapped the 14th-place car of Austin Dillon, leaving Dillon to battle Elliott to be the first competitor scored a lap behind. On Lap 231, however, Hamlin lapped the 13th-place competitor, Byron.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 235, Hamlin, who has led 161 laps, claimed his eighth stage victory of the season. Teammates Kyle Busch and Truex settled in second and third followed by Larson, Logano, Bell, Chastain, Almirola, Bowman and Harvick. Meanwhile, Elliott managed to overtake Austin Dillon and teammate Byron to move up to 13th and place himself as the first competitor scored a lap down, thus gaining the free pass under caution.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Hamlin retained the lead following another stellar stop followed by Truex, Kyle Busch, Larson and Bell. During the pit stops, Chastain was busted with a pit road speeding penalty.

    With 156 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Hamlin led a Joe Gibbs Racing 1-2-3-4 charge at the front, with Truex following in second ahead of Kyle Busch and Bell, who was under pressure from Logano.

    Eight laps later, the caution flew when Bubba Wallace pounded the Turn 1 outside wall and limped back to pit road with right-front damage. Under caution, some like Keselowski pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track.

    With 146 laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, Hamlin took off with another strong start followed by Truex while Kyle Busch and Bell battled for third, thus placing all four JGR competitors at the front of the field. Despite making contact with his teammate, Bell moved his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota Camry into third place ahead of Kyle Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry.

    Down to the final 140 laps of the event, Hamlin was ahead by nearly three-tenths of a second over teammate Truex while teammate Bell was in third and teammate Kyle Busch was in fourth ahead of Larson and Logano. Meanwhile, Elliott was in 11th behind Kevin Harvick and Keselowski was in 13th in between Aric Almirola and Austin Dillon.

    Nine laps later, Truex motored his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry into the lead for the first time of the evening.

    Another 11 laps later, Truex pulled ahead by more than a second over teammate Hamlin while teammates Kyle Busch and Bell remained in the top four. Larson was in fifth followed by Chastain. Logano, Harvick, Elliott and Austin Dillon.

    Under the final 110 laps of the event, another round of green flag pit stops commenced as Chastain, Suarez and Cole Custer pitted followed by Bowman, Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Harvick, Preece, DiBenedetto, Logano, Almirola, Blaney and others. Not long after, Truex surrendered the lead to pit along with Hamlin and Larson.

    Down to the final 100 laps of the event and with the green flag pit stops occurring, Bell, who has yet to pit, was leading followed by Chastain, who was a lap down but had already pitted.

    Two laps later, Ross Chastain, who notched a strong top-five result last weekend at Darlington Raceway, emerged with the lead by six-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch followed by Truex, Hamlin and Logano. By then, 13 competitors were scored on the lead lap, 11 of which were Playoff contenders, including Bell.

    Another six laps later, Kyle Busch moved into the lead for the first time of the evening after overtaking Chastain. 

    With 75 laps remaining, Kyle Busch extended his advantage to more than two seconds over teammate Truex while teammate Hamlin trailed by more than five seconds in third. Elliott carved his way back to fourth ahead of Chastain while Bell worked his way back to sixth. 

    By then, Larson was back in ninth behind Logano and Harvick.

    Under the final 60 laps, pit stops under green commenced again as Truex pitted along with Reddick, Keselowski, Blaney, Bowman, Harvick, Logano, Bell, Hamlin and Kyle Busch, the race leader. Soon after, disaster struck for Kyle Busch, who was forced to serve a drive-through penalty through pit road after he was caught speeding on pit road. 

    Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Truex emerged with the lead. By then, Larson pitted under green while Kyle Busch served his pit road penalty as the cycle of green flag pit stops were concluding.

    With 40 laps remaining, Truex was out in front by more than six seconds over teammate Hamlin while teammate Bell was in third, trailing by nearly nine seconds. Elliott and Logano were in the top five followed by Chastain, Harvick, Austin Dillon, Larson and Kyle Busch, all of whom were on the lead lap. Blaney, meanwhile, was the first competitor a lap down followed by teammate Keselowski, Bowman, Almirola and Reddick.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Truex stabilized his advantage to nearly five seconds over teammate Hamlin while teammate Bell trailed by more than 10 seconds. While Elliott and Logano remained in the top five, Kyle Busch was in ninth behind Chastain, Larson and Harvick.

    With 10 laps remaining, Truex remained as the leader by three-and-a-half seconds over teammate Hamlin. Behind, Larson and Chastain battled for sixth while Bell, Elliott and Logano remained in the top five. 

    Five laps later, Truex continued to stabilize his advantage to less than three seconds over his hard-charging, teammate Hamlin.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Truex was still leading by less than two seconds over teammate Hamlin. Having a comfortable advantage over the field, Truex was able to cycle back to the finish line and streak across the finish line to take the checkered flag and the win.

    The victory was Truex’s first since winning at Darlington Raceway in May, fourth of the season, third at Richmond and the 31st of his NASCAR Cup Series career, keeping him in 28th place on the all-time wins list and one behind of NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett. The win was also the eighth of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing. Above all, Truex advanced to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs, becoming the second to do so by winning in the Round of 16.

    “It’s a big day,” Truex said on NBCSN. “It’s an important day in our history. I think all of us here – yeah, we’re proud to win. This car’s amazing, and there’s so many people to thank, but what a day to win on. It reminds you that it’s a privilege it is to get to come out here and do this. All these great fans that come out here, we couldn’t do any of these types of things without the men and women that take care of us and all the first responders, police officers, firefighters, the military, you name it. NASCAR’s very patriotic…Very proud of everybody to be able to do this today.”

    “[The opening lap penalty] was frustrating, I’m not gonna lie,” Truex added. “I knew we’d have a good enough car to overcome it. It felt pretty good those first couple laps, so just one of those things. You got to put it out of your mind and you got to go race. We knew there was a lot on the line tonight, so very happy to get to do this and go to Bristol without any worries next week. It’s always fun.”

    Hamlin, who is already guaranteed a spot in the Round of 12 after winning last weekend’s Playoff opening event at Darlington Raceway, settled in second place for the second time this season and for the second consecutive time at Richmond.

    “Yeah, just a couple more [laps],” Hamlin, who led a race-high 197 laps, said. “Our pit stops were a little slow there and we lost about two or three seconds, maybe four on pit road on those two stops, and about a second and a half behind. We were coming, just we got off track with our car right there in the middle stages of the race, but overall [crew chief] Chris [Gabehart] and the team made great adjustments there at the end on the FedEx Camry. Just needed a couple more laps, that’s all. It’s the time where you got to bring your best. The whole [Joe Gibbs Racing] team, they brought fast cars for all of us today and I really wished we had gotten two [wins] in a row, but in regardless, still a great day for our team.”

    Bell secured a strong third-place result followed by Elliott, who rallied from his pit stop miscue near the halfway mark, and Logano.

    “I think, obviously, all of our Joe Gibbs Racing cars were extremely fast, so hats off to everyone back there at the shop, Toyota, [Toyota Racing Development] that gives us the resources that we need to come out here and do good,” Bell said. “We knew going into Richmond that this is one of our better racetracks, so we needed to capitalize on that and get all the points we could. We got some points there in Stage 2 and got a good finish out of it. Bristol is a really good racetrack for our company and me as a driver, but it’s a little bit – it’s just you can get caught up in stuff so easily at Bristol. It’s nice to have a buffer and hopefully, we can go to Bristol and have an uneventful event.”

    “I was super proud of our effort,” Elliott said. “Our entire Kelley Blue Book team did a great job preparing for this week and then coming and executing a really fast car. I’m really proud of that. I hate our incident on pit road happened. I don’t know what I would have done any different. I guess let [Chastain] go is a safe thing, but it’s so close and always hard to tell kind of when they’re going to get done on the left side. I hate that. I thought I was long in the box and backed up out of a precautionary measure, but yeah, I hate that. I know that Kyle [Busch] and Martin [Truex Jr.] were really fast there at the end. I’m not sure if we would have had anything for them, but I sure would have liked to have found out…Nice rebound after last week. Everything about Darlington, that last weekend was miserable. Nice to come here and just put together a solid night. I felt like we performed at a really high level that I know we’re capable of every week. We perform like that the rest of the season, I think we’ll be just fine.”

    “It seems like we had a little something for [the Gibbs cars] on the short runs,” Logano said. “I was hoping for, maybe, a caution, a good pit stop, good restart, maybe, I would’ve had something for them. Their long haul was tremendous. A lot of long runs tonight. That was where they were better than us. We were fifth place. Yes, it’s not a win, it’s not what we want, but it’s getting the points we need to get through to the next round. It’s a solid night. I think we were third in the first stage, fifth in the second and fifth as finished. Solid night at Richmond for the Shell/Pennzoil Mustang. I wanna win. I felt like this was one of our best shots to get it.”

    Meanwhile, Kyle Larson finished sixth and clinched his spot for the Round of 12 in the Playoffs based on points.

    “Yeah, it’s a lot better than we were here at Richmond earlier in the year,” Larson said. “At the beginning of the race, I thought I was going to have a really good shot to win, but we kind of lost the balance there and got it back a little bit there at the end. So, we probably finished where we deserved. [Kyle Busch] kind of had his problems, so maybe we finished one spot better. Not a bad day. To go to Bristol and know that we’re locked in is nice. We’ll try to be aggressive and get a win next week.”

    Chastain came home in seventh as he emerged as the highest non-title contender for a second consecutive week. Harvick, Kyle Busch and Blaney completed the top 10.

    Meanwhile, Alex Bowman, who won at Richmond in April, finished 12th and is tied with Kurt Busch for the 12th and final transfer spot heading into next weekend’s first Playoff elimination event at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    “I felt like we started the race struggling, didn’t have much drive and was also really tight in the center, so which do you work on, right?” Bowman said. “[Crew chief] Greg [Ives] and the guys did a really good job. We got our Ally No. 48 Camaro rolling really good at the end of Stage 2, drove it to like eighth, we were fast. Made no adjustments, put a set of Goodyears on it, and they weren’t the goodest of the Goodyears. That set [of tires] put us a lap down and really struggled to make up for that throughout the rest of the night. Unfortunately, we ended up 12th. Obviously, [I] could’ve ended up much worse…The guys right in front of us that we got to beat are all really good at Bristol. [I] Pretty much just got to go and try to win, but that’s a hole I dug myself last week when I smacked the fence on Lap 7…I feel like I can go get the job done. Just got to go do it.”

    Keselowski, Almirola and Reddick finished 13th, 14th and 15th while Byron dropped back to 19th, two laps behind the leaders. Michael McDowell ended his long night in 28th, five laps behind.

    There were 21 lead changes for eight leaders. The race featured five cautions for 30 laps. Only nine of tonight’s 37 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Martin Truex Jr., 80 laps led

    2. Denny Hamlin, 197 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    3. Christopher Bell, 10 laps led

    4. Chase Elliott, 58 laps led

    5. Joey Logano

    6. Kyle Larson, eight laps led

    7. Ross Chastain, four laps led

    8. Kevin Harvick

    9. Kyle Busch, 39 laps led

    10. Ryan Blaney, one lap down

    11. Austin Dillon, one lap down

    12. Alex Bowman, one lap down

    13. Brad Keselowski, one lap down

    14. Aric Almirola, one lap down

    15. Tyler Reddick, two laps down

    16. Chase Briscoe, two laps down

    17. Daniel Suarez, two laps down

    18. Matt DiBenedetto, two laps down

    19. William Byron, two laps down

    20. Ryan Newman, two laps down

    21. Erik Jones, two laps down

    22. Cole Custer, three laps down

    23. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., three laps down

    24. Chris Buescher four laps down

    25. Ryan Preece, four laps down

    26. Anthony Alfredo, four laps down

    27. Justin Haley, four laps down

    28. Michael McDowell, five laps down

    29. Corey LaJoie, five laps down

    30. BJ McLeod, seven laps down

    31. Garrett Smithley, 11 laps down

    32. Bubba Wallace, 12 laps down

    33. Joey Gase, 13 laps down

    34. JJ Yeley, 14 laps down

    35. Quin Houff, 14 laps down

    36. Josh Bilicki, 15 laps down

    37. Kurt Busch – OUT, Accident, four laps led

    Bold indicates Playoff contenders.

    Playoff standings.

    1. Denny Hamlin – Advanced

    2. Martin Truex Jr. – Advanced

    3. Kyle Larson – Advanced

    4. Joey Logano, +40

    5. Ryan Blaney, +28

    6. Kevin Harvick, +25

    7. Chase Elliott, +19

    8. Christopher Bell, +17

    9. Brad Keselowski, +13

    10. Kyle Busch, +8

    11. Aric Almirola, +3

    12. Kurt Busch, +0

    13. Alex Bowman, -0

    14. Tyler Reddick, -5

    15. William Byron, -18

    16. Michael McDowell, -38

    The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will continue next weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race and where the first round of eliminations will occur. The race is scheduled to occur on Saturday, September 11, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Dale Earnhardt Jr. posts top-15 result at Richmond

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. posts top-15 result at Richmond

    While Noah Gragson celebrated an emotional win at Richmond Raceway, his teammate and boss, Dale Earnhardt Jr., emerged with a smile across his face following a 14th-place run in his lone NASCAR Xfinity Series scheduled event of this season.

    The two-time Daytona 500 champion and 15-time NASCAR Cup Most Popular Driver started 30th based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Xfinity event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Xfinity race.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Earnhardt Jr., who drove his own-operated No. 8 Unilever “United for America” Chevrolet Camaro from JR Motorsports, wasted no time methodically working his way towards the front.

    By the fifth lap, he was up in 24th. Nearly five laps later, he cracked the top 20 on the track. He remained in the top 20 and settled in 19th place when the competition caution flew on Lap 35.

    When the race proceeded, Earnhardt Jr. continued to run inside the top 20, which he settled in, 19th, as the first stage concluded on Lap 75.

    After pitting for four fresh tires and adjustments to his car, Earnhardt Jr. restarted the second stage in the top 15. Nearing the Lap 100 mark, he managed to crack the top 10, running in ninth place at one point, before settling in 12th place when the stage concluded under caution on Lap 150.

    Following a four-tire pit stop under caution, Earnhardt Jr. made another appearance in the top 10 when the final stage started. By Lap 169 of 250, he was scored in seventh. During a caution period under the final 70 laps, Earnhardt Jr. elected to remain on the track on old tires, which placed him in third. Despite restarting towards the front, Earnhardt Jr. was quickly overtaken by competitors on fresh tires.

    With less than 30 laps remaining, Earnhardt Jr. pitted for fresh tires. Then, he was sent to the rear of the field after speeding on pit road, which effectively ended his hopes for a win. After making light contact with the outside wall to avoid an incident with 12 laps remaining, Earnhardt Jr. was able to continue and make his way up in 14th place through the final seven laps under green and when the checkered flag waved.

    While he did not contend for the win against his teammates and fellow competitors, Earnhardt Jr.’s top-15 result marked his first NASCAR event since competing at Homestead-Miami Speedway in June 2020 and his ninth Xfinity Richmond start.

    “[The young competitors] race hard there in the middle of the pack, especially around me,” Earnhardt Jr. said on NBCSN. “I was up for it. It was fun. We got to beating on some of them guys. They beat back on us. We got fenced off of Turn 4 and then, off of Turn 2 there late, but we didn’t have the car that I was looking for. Maybe, I just couldn’t figure out how to get it around the track. We tried hard and tried to make adjustments, couldn’t really figure out how to make the left front work. The car’s real tight, but it was fun. I love racing in the Xfinity Series. All these guys got so much heart and they just race so hard. You can tell they’re trying to prove themselves. It’s so much fun being out there with them and learning about those guys. You get to see how they race.”

    While his racing schedule for this season is complete, Earnhardt Jr. did not rule out competing in another Xfinity Series event for the 2022 season.

    “[I] Had fun,” Earnhardt Jr. added. “I’d like to do another [race]. Can’t wait to get back in [the car].”

    Rookie Sam Mayer is scheduled to pilot the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro for the remainder of this year’s Xfinity Series schedule, beginning next weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, September 17, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Gragson goes back-to-back with a win at Richmond

    Gragson goes back-to-back with a win at Richmond

    One week after snapping a 49-race winless drought at Darlington Raceway, Noah Gragson benefitted through a handful of late-race restarts and four fresh tires to lead the final 14 laps and win the Go Bowling 250 at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, September 11.

    The victory made Gragson the fourth multi-winner of this year’s Xfinity Series season as he claimed his fourth career win in the Xfinity circuit. This also marked the first time in Gragson’s racing career where he claimed back-to-back victories across NASCAR’s top three national touring series.

    The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Xfinity event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Xfinity race. With that, Austin Cindric started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Harrison Burton. Prior to the event, Ty Dillon and Bayley Currey started at the rear of the field due to driver change of their respective machines. Akinori Ogata also dropped to the rear for missing driver introductions.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Cindric jumped ahead with an early advantage over Harrison Burton to lead the first lap. Behind, Justin Haley boosted his way to third place followed by teammate Jeb Burton and Noah Gragson.

    Through the first five laps of the event, Cindric was leading by a narrow margin over Harrison Burton. Jeb Burton was up in third followed by Gragson and Justin Allgaier while Haley fell back to sixth. AJ Allmendinger, Jeremy Clements, Ryan Sieg and Daniel Hemric were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was making his lone Xfinity scheduled start of the season, was up in 24th after starting.

    By Lap 10, Cindric continued to lead by nearly half a second over Harrison Burton. By then, NASCAR crew members and fans paused for a moment of silence through Laps 9 to 11 and saluted with American fans in remembrance of the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

    Through Lap 20 and when the competition caution flew on Lap 35, Cindric was still out in front of the field. Under the competition caution, the leaders remained on the track. During this time, Jeb Burton’s car was pushed to pit road due to a battery issue.

    When the race restarted on Lap 43, Allmendinger and Harrison Burton challenged Cindric for the top spot, but Cindric maintained his ground and continued to lead. Two laps later, however, Allmendinger made his move beneath Cindric to take the lead. Shortly after, Allgaier and Harrison Burton moved up to second and third while Cindric slipped to fourth in front of Ty Gibbs.

    By Lap 70, Tommy Joe Martins, who pitted for fresh tires under the competition caution, emerged with the lead over Allmendinger.

    When the final lap of the first stage occurred, Martins was still leading by a narrow margin over Allmendinger. Then in Turn 3, Martins got briefly stalled behind the lapped car of David Starr. While Martins went high, Allmendinger went low and was able to edge Martins at the start/finish line to win the first stage on Lap 75 and claim his ninth stage victory of the season. Cindric rallied for third followed by Gibbs, JJ Yeley, Harrison Burton, Daniel Hemric, Gragson, Spencer Boyd and Patrick Emerling settled in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted for service. During the pit stops, Allmendinger got boxed into his pit stall while Allgaier encountered steering issues.

    The second stage started on Lap 84 as Cindric and Hemric filled out the front row. At the start, Hemric battled dead even with Cindric for a full lap before the former prevailed the following lap. Then the following lap, the caution flew when Tommy Joe Martins, who had a strong run in the first stage, spun following contact from Spencer Boyd.

    Five laps later, the race restarted and Hemric retained the top spot. By Lap 98, Ty Gibbs made his way to the lead.

    With four laps remaining in the second stage, the caution flew when CJ McLaughlin spun and wrecked off the front nose of Jade Buford in Turn 3. The wreck was enough for the second stage scheduled on Lap 150 to conclude under caution as Gibbs claimed his third stage victory of the season. Allmendinger ended up in second followed by Harrison Burton, Gragson, Hemric, Cindric, Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, Ryan Sieg and John Hunter Nemechek.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Hemric emerged with the lead followed by Gragson, Gibbs, Harrison Burton and Allmendinger.

    With 92 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Gragson managed to peak ahead of Hemric and Gibbs on the inside lane to take the lead for the first time. 

    Five laps later, Gragson was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Hemric, who was pursued by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Gibbs and Harrison Burton. Behind, Sam Mayer was in fifth followed by Allmendinger, Cindric, Allgaier, Earnhardt Jr. and John Hunter Nemechek.

    Another three laps later, Gibbs made a move to the outside of Gragson to reassume the lead. While Harrison Burton challenged Gragson for the runner-up spot, Hemric, meanwhile, fell back to 10th.

    Nearing the final 80 laps of the event, the caution flew for a spin involving Bayley Currey. Under caution, Ryan Sieg pitted while the rest led by Gibbs remained on the track. 

    With 74 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Harrison Burton overtook teammate Gibbs to lead for the first time. While Mayer was up in third, Allgaier charged his way up to fourth after overtaking teammate Gragson. 

    Six laps later, the caution returned due to Landon Cassill coming to a stop at the pit road entrance. Under caution, some led by Harrison Burton and Gibbs pitted while the rest led by Mayer, Haley and Earnhardt Jr. remained on the track.

    Under the final 63 laps, the race restarted under green. At the start, Mayer took off with the lead while the field bumped and fanned out to multiple lanes for a full lap between competitors on old or fresh tires. Meanwhile, Harrison Burton bolted his way up to third place on fresh tires after overtaking a multitude of competitors, including Earnhardt Jr.

    With 58 laps remaining, Harrison Burton reassumed the lead. A few laps later, Ty Gibbs took over the runner-up spot while Allmendinger challenged Mayer for third. Joining the battle were John Hunter Nemechek, Haley and Cindric. 

    Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Harrison Burton was leading by a second over teammate Gibbs, with Allmendinger, Nemechek and Cindric in the top five. Allgaier was in sixth followed by teammate Gragson, Alex Labbe, Hemric and Sieg. Meanwhile, Haley was in 12th ahead of Michael Annett, Mayer and Riley Herbst while Myatt Snider was in 16th, Brandon Jones was in 18th and Earnhardt Jr. was in 21st behind Jeb Burton.

    Ten laps later, Harrison Burton continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Gibbs. Meanwhile, Allmendinger continued to run in third followed by Nemechek, Cindric, Allgaier and Gragson. Behind the front-runners, Mayer and Earnhardt Jr. were in 20th and 21st.

    With 27 laps remaining, the caution flew due to Josh Williams spinning and backing his car into the Turn 2 outside wall following contact with Akinori Ogata. Under caution, the leaders led by Harrison Burton pitted while Allmendinger, Cindric and Brandon Jones remained on the track. During the pit stops, Earnhardt Jr. was penalized for speeding while Jeb Burton was also penalized for an uncontrolled tire.

    Down to the final 21 laps of the event, the rare restarted under green. At the start, Allmendinger peaked ahead with the lead and Cindric spun the tires on the outside lane while the field fanned out to multiple lanes entering the first turn and through the backstretch. Then, the caution returned for Martins wrecking in Turn 1.

    With 14 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Allmendinger jumped ahead of Brandon Jones, who spun the tires, as the field fanned out to multiple lanes again through the first turn and the backstretch. 

    A lap later, the caution flew due to Clements spinning on the frontstretch after getting turned by Myatt Snider. During the incident, Earnhardt Jr. made contact with the frontstretch outside wall while battling Kyle Weatherman. By then, Gragson emerged with the lead followed by Nemechek while Allmendinger slipped back to third. Under caution, Cindric pitted for tires.

    Down to the final seven laps of the event, the race restarted. At the start, Gragson retained the lead following a strong start followed by Nemechek and Allgaier while Allmendinger fell back to fourth ahead of Gibbs.

    With five laps remaining and the field fanning out across the track, Gragson continued to lead by half a second over Nemechek as Allgaier challenged Nemechek for more.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Gragson was ahead by half a second. Behind, Haley made his way to second followed by Nemechek, Allgaier and others. While Haley had a late charge established, Gragson was able to retain the lead and come back around to claim his second consecutive checkered flag of this season and his first at Richmond.

    After celebrating with his burnout, Gragson, who saluted the fans with an American flag, took a moment to pay tribute to the victims and those affected by the September 11 attacks 20 years ago today.

    “I knew [Haley] had tires, but the thing that really kept us alive were those two cautions at the end,” Gragson said on NBCSN. “Today’s not about this team or this win. It’s about everybody who lost their life 20 years ago. You got a lot of heavy hearts. At least in America, we can come together on this day. [I] Appreciate all you race fans for coming out. Man, it’s an emotional day. It’s a special day, but it’s not about us today.”

    “It’s really special to be able to come here to Richmond, to beat Dale [Earnhardt] Jr., which is pretty cool,” Gragson added. “I never thought I’d say that. We’re starting to get momentum at the right time. Appreciate everything, for sure. Very emotional.”

    Haley, winner at Daytona International Speedway in late August, finished in second place at Richmond for a second consecutive season while Nemechek, making his second Xfinity start of the season in the No. 26 Sam Hunt Racing Toyota Supra, finished third. 

    “I was fully prepared to do anything it took to win,” Haley said. “We had better tires. We were so fast. We showed a championship-caliber team there coming back through the field, taking a bad day and making it okay. That one’s definitely tough. It hurts, it stinks.”

    Allgaier placed fourth followed by Riley Herbst. Hemric, Gibbs, Brandon Brown, Harrison Burton and Jeb Burton finished in the top 10.

    Mayer finished 12th while Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 14th in his lone NASCAR start of the season.

    Cindric and Allmendinger shuffled back to 16th and 18th while Brandon Jones, Annett, Josh Berry, Snider and Clements finished 20th, 22nd, 24th, 25th and 26th.

    There were 15 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 58 laps.

    AJ Allmendinger continues to lead the regular-season standings by five points over Austin Cindric. With their top-20 runs, Jeremy Clements, Brandon Jones and Riley Herbst occupy the final three open spots to the 2021 Xfinity Series Playoffs with one regular-season event remaining. Herbst, the 12th-place competitor in the standings, is ahead by 66 points over Michael Annett, 93 over Ryan Sieg, 109 over Brandon Brown and 198 over Josh Williams.

    Results.

    1. Noah Gragson, 22 laps led

    2. Justin Haley

    3. John Hunter Nemechek

    4. Justin Allgaier

    5. Riley Herbst

    6. Daniel Hemric, 17 laps led

    7. Ty Gibbs, 67 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    8. Brandon Brown

    9. Harrison Burton, 43 laps led

    10. Jeb Burton

    11. Ty Dillon

    12. Sam Mayer, seven laps led

    13. Ryan Sieg

    14. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    15. Kyle Weatherman

    16. Austin Cindric, 50 laps led

    17. Mason Massey

    18. AJ Allmendinger, 39 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    19. Alex Labbe

    20. Brandon Jones

    21. Matt Mills

    22. Michael Annett

    23. Josh Williams

    24. Josh Berry

    25. Myatt Snider

    26. Jeremy Clements

    27. Bayley Currey

    28. David Starr, one lap down

    29. JJ Yeley, two laps down

    30. Jeffrey Earnhardt, two laps down

    31. Joe Graf Jr., two laps down

    32. Patrick Emerling, two laps down

    33. Spencer Boyd, two laps down

    34. Akinori Ogata, three laps down

    35. Ryan Vargas, four laps down

    36. Jade Buford, four laps down

    37. Tommy Joe Martins – OUT, Accident, five laps led

    38. Stephen Leicht, 30 laps down

    39. Landon Cassill – OUT, Ignition

    40. CJ McLaughlin – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is Bristol Motor Speedway, the final regular-season event of the season and where this year’s Xfinity 12-car Playoff field will be determined. The event is scheduled to occur on Friday, September 17, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Weekend schedule for Richmond

    Weekend schedule for Richmond

    The NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series travel to Richmond Raceway this weekend. This race is the second event in Round 1 of the Cup Series Playoffs. Denny Hamlin’s dramatic win this past Sunday at Darlington Raceway automatically advances him to the Round of 12.

    Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in the Cup Series with six wins at the 0.75-mile track.

    Kyle Busch62018 sweep, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009
    Denny Hamlin32016, 2010, 2009
    Kevin Harvick32013, 2011, 2006
    Brad Keselowski22020, 2014
    Joey Logano22017, 2014
    Kurt Busch22015, 2005
    Martin Truex Jr22019 sweep
    Alex Bowman12021
    Kyle Larson12017
    Ryan Newman12003

    There are only two more races in the Xfinity Series regular season. AJ Allmendinger, Austin Cindric, Justin Allgaier, Daniel Hemric, Harrison Burton, Justin Haley, Noah Gragson, Jeb Burton and Myatt Snider have already clinched a spot in the upcoming Round 1 of the Playoffs.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. will continue his tradition of returning to the Xfinity Series for one race each year and will compete at Richmond this weekend in the JR Motorsports No. 8 Chevrolet. He has four wins, six top fives and seven top 10s in eight starts in the series and has led 829 laps with an average finish of 6.4.

    Earnhardt’s car will feature a special paint scheme in recognition of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

    The Camping World Truck Series returns to action Thursday, Sept. 16 at Bristol Motor Speedway for the final race in the series Round of 10.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, Sept. 10

    7 P.M.: Whelen Modified Tour Virginia Is For Racing Lovers 150
    150 Laps
    Live on TrackPass and MRN
    (Tape-Delayed on NBCSN – Saturday, Sept. 18 at 2:30 p.m.)

    Saturday, Sept. 11

    2:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Go Bowling 250
    2:45: Green Flag
    Pole: Austin Cindric
    Competition Caution: Lap 35
    Distance: 187.5 miles (250 Laps)
    Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 75), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 150), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 250)
    TV: NBCSN/TSN
    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)

    7:30 p.m.: Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute to First Responders
    7:45 p.m.: Green Flag
    Pole: Kyle Larson
    Competition Caution: Lap 30
    Distance: 300 miles (400 Laps)
    Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 80), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 235), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 400)
    TV: NBCSN/TSN
    Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)

    Richmond Raceway Data

    Season Race #: 27 of 36 (09-11-21)
    Track Size: 0.75-miles
    Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 14 degrees
    Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 14 degrees
    Banking/Frontstretch: 8 degrees
    Banking/Backstretch: 2 degrees
    Frontstretch Length:  1,290 feet
    Backstretch Length:  860 feet
    Race Length: 400 laps / 300 miles
    Stage 1 Length: 80 laps
    Stage 2 Length: 155 laps
    Final Stage Length: 165 laps

    Top 12 Driver Ratings at Richmond

    Kyle Busch…………………………. 110.1
    Kevin Harvick……………………… 109.8
    Denny Hamlin……………………… 107.8
    Brad Keselowski………………….. 100.5
    Kurt Busch…………………………… 93.8
    Joey Logano………………………… 93.4
    Martin Truex Jr……………………… 93.3
    Christopher Bell…………………….. 91.1
    Kyle Larson………………………….. 87.6
    Ryan Newman………………………. 86.2
    Chase Elliott…………………………. 85.9
    Aric Almirola…………………………. 78.2

    Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2021 races (32 total) among active drivers at Richmond Raceway.

    Richmond Raceway Qualifying Data

    Track Qualifying Record: Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet (130.599 mph, 20.674 secs.) on September 4, 2013.
    2020 Playoff Race Pole Winner: Kevin Harvick – Metric Qualifying (Sept. 12, 2020)

    • Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch lead all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in starts at Richmond with 40 each.
    • Kyle Larson (13 starts) leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in average starting position at Richmond Raceway with an 8.769, followed by Denny Hamlin (29 starts) with a 9.690.
    • Denny Hamlin (2006, 2008 and 2016) leads all active pole winners at Richmond Raceway with three poles, followed by Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick with two each.
    • The youngest Richmond Cup pole winner: Brian Vickers (May 15, 2004 – 20 years, 6 months, 21 days).
    • A total of nine different manufacturers have posted at least one pole at Richmond Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series; led by Chevrolet (46); followed by Ford (34), Dodge (11), Toyota (10), Pontiac (six), Plymouth (five), Mercury (three), Buick (two) and Oldsmobile (two).

    Richmond Raceway Race Data

    Track Race Record: Dale Jarrett, Ford (109.047 mph, 02:45:04) on September 6, 1997.
    2020 Playoff Race Winner: Brad Keselowski, Ford (101.868 mph, 02:56:42) on September 12, 2020.

    • None of the Playoff winners at Richmond Raceway (2018-2020) have gone on to win the title the same season.
    • Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in wins at Richmond with six victories (spring 2009, spring 2010, spring 2011, spring 2012, 2018 sweep).
    • The first starting position is the most proficient starting position in the NASCAR Cup Series field at Richmond, producing more winners than any other starting position at Richmond Raceway with 24 victories.
    • Only three active drivers have been able to win from the pole or first starting position: Kyle Busch (2010), Brad Keselowski (2014) and Denny Hamlin (2016).
    • The deepest in the field that a NASCAR Cup Series race winner has started at Richmond Raceway is 32nd, by Kyle Busch in the spring race of 2018.
    • Joe Gibbs Racing leads the NASCAR Cup Series in victories at Richmond Raceway with 16 wins.
    • Chevrolet leads the series in wins at Richmond with 39 victories; followed by Ford (33), Dodge (17), Toyota (14), Pontiac (11) Plymouth (10), Buick (two), Oldsmobile (two) and Chrysler (one).

    From OddsChecker: Martin Truex Jr. favorite to win the Federated Auto Parts 400

    FEDERATED AUTO PARTS 400 WINNER ODDS 

    Driver Odds Implied chance 
    Martin Truex Jr. +550 15.4% 
    Denny Hamlin +650 13.3% 
    Kyle Busch +750 11.8% 
    Joey Logano +800 11.1% 
    Kyle Larson +850 10.5% 
    Brad Keselowski +1000 9.1% 
    Chase Elliott +1100 8.3% 
    Kevin Harvick +1200 7.7% 
    Christopher Bell +1800 5.3% 
    Alex Bowman +1800 5.3% 

  • CHEVY NCS at Richmond: Alex Bowman Press Conf. Transcript

    CHEVY NCS at Richmond: Alex Bowman Press Conf. Transcript

    NASCAR Cup Series
    Richmond Raceway
    Toyota Owners 400
    Team Chevy Press Conf. Transcript
    April 18, 2021

    ALEX BOWMAN TRIUMPHS AT RICHMOND RACEWAYTeam Chevy Takes 3 of the Top-10 RICHMOND, VA – (April 18, 2021) 

    Alex Bowman earned his first victory of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) season behind the wheel of his No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE in impressive fashion by taking the lead in the last 10 laps of the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway. Bowman rallied back from an earlier pit road penalty and then powered past Denny Hamlin, who had been the dominate leader throughout the race. 

    The feat marked Bowman’s first triumph at the .75-mile D-shaped oval, his third NCS career win, and secured him a spot in the NCS Playoff for a chance to compete for the 2021 championship title. The 27-year-old driver gave Team Chevy its 39th victory at Richmond Raceway, the 798th all-time win in NASCAR’s premier division, and the third of the 2021 season for Camaro ZL1 1LE. Bowman’s victory also celebrates the 266th NCS win for car owner, Rick Hendrick, and Hendrick Motorsports. 

    Bowman’s teammate, William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 1LE, finished seventh in the race; and Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon, aboard the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, was 10th to give Chevrolet three of the Top-10 overall. Rounding out the Top 5 finishers were Denny Hamlin (Toyota) in second, Joey Logano (Ford) third, Christopher Bell (Toyota) fourth, and Martin Truex, Jr. (Toyota) was fifth.  

    The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series continues with race 10 of the season, the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, on Sunday, April 25. FOX will telecast the race live at 2 p.m. ET. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. 

    ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
    THE MODERATOR: 

    We are joined by our race winner Alex Bowman. We’ll get right into questions for Alex. 

    Q. Do you find any poetry in Jimmie making his first INDYCAR start in the 48 car and you getting the win here today?

    ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, it’s really cool. There are so many different things going on right now, I almost didn’t even remember that it’s my first win in the 48, getting a 48 back in Victory Lane.No, it’s really special for a lot of reasons, just to win for Ally, to get the 48 back in Victory Lane. Obviously really emotional, losing Rowdy and Blakley this off-season. It’s been a lot. Obviously, Jimmie making his INDYCAR debut today, really cool. It’s probably over by now. Somebody fill me in on how he did, how eventful it was or wasn’t for him. Really, really cool. 

    Q. I think he finished 19th. He spun out early, got stalled, then got back going.

    ALEX BOWMAN: Nice. 

    Q. It was emotional for you after the race. Can you tell me a little bit about your relationship with Rowdy, how hard this off-season really was for you and your team?

    ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, I mean, our group has a lot of personalities, a lot of awkward people, I guess. Greg and myself are a bit awkward. We have some normal personalities. Rowdy was that big, outgoing personality that really kept the group pumped up in any situation, really held us all together. He was always happy, no matter what the circumstance was. He meant a ton to our race team. He’s probably the first guy when I filled in in the 88 back in the day to really make me feel super welcome, feel like he had my back. He was just a huge part of our team. 

    Q. Alex, you have had speed at times this year, but kind of been an up-and-down year in terms of putting together clean races. As the season moved along, did it start to creep into your mind that you didn’t have a win, some guys got wins that you didn’t think were going to do it, desperate, but maybe feeling a little bit that way?

    ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, somewhat. I think Bristol, we were probably good enough to win; broke fourth gear. Martinsville, probably good enough to win; we had some issues there. I feel like we’ve been capable, had race cars capable. Just haven’t put all the parts and pieces together, like you said.We weren’t in a great place with points, but now we’ve got a win and we don’t have to worry about that. I wouldn’t say we were desperate. I feel like we’ve had such fast race cars that we knew we were capable of doing a good job, getting into the Playoffs. This definitely eases the nerves a little bit. 

    Q. Can you take me through the restart, what you were thinking, if it went the way you thought it was going to go.

    ALEX BOWMAN: Did not go the way I thought it was going to go. We were pretty awful on short runs all day. To be honest with you, a caution came out, I was like, Man, we’re going to struggle to get out of here with a top five. Felt like we had such an amazing long run car, but really struggled on the short runs.We took off. My strong suit all day was being able to get into the corner really deep. I was able to get in deep, aside Denny. I knew I had the preferred lane, could probably clear him. I kind of figured he would get right back to me and be faster than us. When we drove away, I was like, Oh, my gosh, what’s happening? We had some really fast laps there. I was super loose the last couple laps. I did my best to get it back away. We just really improved the race car there, had a lot of grip taken off. 

    Q. Do you know what Greg did to the car?

    ALEX BOWMAN: I don’t have a clue. I didn’t see a wedge wrench go in it, so I would say air pressure stuff. Which is typically your go-to for short run versus long run stuff. It sure woke it up, that’s for sure. 

    Q. You obviously have proven yourself in the Cup Series by winning a couple times. How much does this win mean to you in terms of taking over this ride and working with Ally who have made such a big investment in you and Hendrick Motorsports?

    ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, it means a lot to get Ally a win, get the 48 back where it belongs. It’s been a rough start to the year. Ally has been super committed. J.B. and Andrea and everybody else over there have been amazing to work with. We talk a lot. They are so committed to this program. They do so much for us.So cool to get them a win. It means the world to me. Just very appreciative for them to have faith in me, to give me this opportunity. 

    Q. With you and two of your teammates already with wins fairly early in the season, how do you think that will help set you up for the Playoffs?

    ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, I mean, I think I was confident about the Playoffs. Obviously, this helps. This is a really important racetrack for the Playoffs. Short tracks are really important for the Playoffs. We’ve been really strong at the short tracks lately. Knowing kind of what we need to put ourselves in position to win these races, when we come back, is super important. The 9 is going to win super soon. It’s really great to see all four teams being so successful at HMS. A great group of guys. I really enjoy working with William, Kyle, and Chase. It’s been a lot of fun. It’s just cool to be a part of it. 

    Q. Denny said he’d rather be where he is at this point in the season without a win, because he’s smashing everybody, his words, rather than where you are right now with a win because I think he feels like he’s just running well. Would you feel the same way? Would you trade places with him at this point or do you like where you’re at?

    ALEX BOWMAN: I mean, I feel like lately we’ve been really, really fast each and everywhere we’ve gone. Atlanta, we ran third. Bristol, we’re the best car, break a transmission. Go to Martinsville, the 12 was probably the best car, but we were probably the second-best car. We have our issue there.Pretty happy with where we’re at right now. We’re going to a lot of places that statistically I’ve struggled at, like Martinsville and here, and running really, really well. I think when we get to the places that I feel like we’re actually good at, it’s going to be really, really good. 

    Q. What will your approach be moving forward? Now that you have a win, do you go for as many wins as possible or see what happens? What’s your approach?

    ALEX BOWMAN: We go to the racetrack every week to win. We’ve gone for every win as long as I’ve been driving these things. There’s never a sit back and relax mode at Hendrick Motorsports. We’re expected to race for wins. All of our partners want us to go out and win. That’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to win a lot of races this year hopefully. I feel like I have a great group of guys behind me to be able to make that happen. 

    Q. What would a superspeedway win at Talladega mean to you?

    ALEX BOWMAN: That would be pretty special. Not really for any reason aside from the fact that it’s Rowdy’s home track. Winning means a lot to get our car in Victory Lane, we miss him and Blakley a lot. Going to his home track, we’re able to win there, I know that would mean the world to him. We’re going to try our best to make it happen. 

    Q. I consider you sort of a short track guy or a guy that came from short track beginnings. Why are you surprised to win at a short track?

    ALEX BOWMAN: Not necessarily because it’s a short track. Just because it’s Richmond. We’ve had some pretty painful days here in the past. Really, really struggled. Felt like we got a little better last fall. We had a solid top 10 day. Definitely didn’t feel like we were in contention for a win then. To have one of the best race cars all day, overcome as much as we did, be able to go win on a restart against the guy that’s probably the best in the garage area here, is pretty special. It’s definitely surprising. We were bad on short runs, then we just won the race on a short run. Surprised for a lot of reasons. But happy to have that surprise. 

    Q. Do you think it’s the way that you and Greg and everybody have come together? You’ve had plenty of time to get used to each other. Just seemed like with the kind of relationship and how you all have pulled together that things are just starting to happen on the positive again.

    ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think we ended last season super strong. We had one of the best Playoff runs of anybody. We just didn’t have a big group of Playoff points to lean on to make that Round of 4. We started this year a little rough, but had fast race cars.Greg has a tall task when it comes to here in Martinsville specifically. I kind of drive the racetrack wrong. I can’t figure out how to force myself not to. So, he has to make a race car do a lot, do some things that aren’t really normal for this place. Instead of telling me, Hey, you need to do this different, you need to drive different. He just goes to work on making the race car do what I ask of it. It’s really paying off here lately. 

    Q. Do you have an update on a new nickname? I know you don’t like ‘Showman’ that much. More importantly, what kind of confidence or what did you learn from this race as a team that helps out when you know you’ve struggled at tracks like Phoenix and Martinsville in the past?

    ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, for sure, I don’t know on a nickname. I think I’m kind of stuck with it unfortunately.Really confident going to places that maybe I haven’t been good at in the past that Greg has really figured out what I need in the race car, putting a race car under me that’s going to give me what I need to succeed.Martinsville was a place that I struggled at. We were really fast last week. Obviously really fast today, as well. I think Greg and I are clicking really well. Just really confident in Greg’s ability to give me what I need.

    Q. It’s been since 2008 that Hendrick Motorsports has been in Victory Lane at Richmond. Do you remember where you were last time they were in Victory Lane, what you were doing?

    ALEX BOWMAN: 2008? Man, I was 15. I was running USAC Focus Midgets. I don’t know where, but probably racing somewhere. It’s really neat. This is a place that as a company we’ve struggled at for a while. To be able to come here and get a win is really cool. 

    Q. Looking ahead to next week, Talladega. Spring race at Talladega has been your stronger race of the two. Will you sleep a little bit better this week or is there always a little anxiety heading to Talladega?

    ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, nobody sleeps well going to Talladega. There’s a high probability of hitting stuff really hard (laughter). That’s just part of this race week. Superspeedways, we like to tear some stuff up. I think I made 12 laps at the Daytona 500 this year. Not going to sleep any better since we have a win, but at least we won’t have to hit the panic button because of points. 

    THE MODERATOR: Alex, thank you for taking some time with us. Congratulations on the win. We will see you next week. 

    ALEX BOWMAN: Thanks, guys. Have a good one. 

    FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
    About Chevrolet: Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found www.chevrolet.com.
  • CHEVY NCS at Richmond: Post-Race Notes and Quotes

    CHEVY NCS at Richmond: Post-Race Notes and Quotes

    NASCAR Cup Series
    Richmond Raceway
    Toyota Owners 400
    Team Chevy Post Race Notes and Quotes
    April 18, 2021

    TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
    POS. – DRIVER
    1st – ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
    7th – WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
    10th – AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
    12th – CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
    13th – KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 TUBI TV CAMARO ZL1 1LE

    TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
    POS. – DRIVER
    1st – Alex Bowman (Chevrolet)
    2nd – Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
    3rd – Joey Logano (Ford)
    4th – Christopher Bell (Toyota)
    5th – Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)

    The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Talladega Superspeedway for the GEICO 500 on Sunday, April 25, at 2 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. TEAM CHEVY.

    POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:
    ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE –
    Race Winner Quote

    LAST WEEK, ALEX BOWMAN WAS ONE OF THE FASTEST CARS AND IT ENDED IN HEARTBREAK FOR YOU GUYS. YOU COME BACK AND YOU SEAL THE DEAL TODAY, AFTER OVERCOMING A PIT ROAD PENALTY. HOW DID YOU GUYS OVERCOME THAT?

    “We just had a great race car; it’s as simple as that. Greg Ives (Crew Chief) and all the guys, they have to deal with me at short tracks and I drive these places really wrong. We kind of instead of trying to make me figure it out, we went to work on getting the race car where I needed it to be. Greg has done such an amazing job at making that happen.”

    “First and foremost, got to thank Ally and Chevrolet; everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. This one is for Rowdy and his family. Miss him and Blakley every day. Just means the world to be able to win for Ally. It’s definitely emotional, obviously, with how hard the off-season was on us. Appreciative for the opportunity and we have more races to win this year.” 

    HE’S TALKING ABOUT HIS PIT CREW MEMBER THAT LOST HIS LIFE IN THE OFF-SEASON. LET’S GO BACK TO THE END OF THIS RACE. YOU’RE BATTLING TWO GUYS THAT, COMBINED, HAVE WON IT FIVE TIMES. WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND AT THAT MOMENT?

    “To be honest with you, we were terrible on short runs. We restarted third and I’m like man, if we get out of here with a solid top-five, we’ll be good. We’ve overcome a lot today. I don’t know if Greg pumped the pressures way up or what he did, but that’s more grip than I’ve ever had in a race car at Richmond and it worked out really well. Getting to race a guy like Denny (Hamlin) at a place that this is really cool. I feel like we raced each other really clean, so I’m appreciative of that. It means a lot.” 

    WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 7th

    “It was a good day for us. We ran in the top-10 all day; sometimes top-five. Definitely were searching for more there at the end, but to come home seventh at a track that I’ve struggled at is good for us. We definitely know what we need to work on to get better. This is not a race that we had circled to do well, so it’s good to finish top-10 again and keep that streak alive.”

    “Congrats to Alex (Bowman) and the No. 48 team. They did a great job there at the end of the race to get their car to take off. That was pretty awesome. We’ll go onto Talladega (Superspeedway) and try to win that one.” 

    AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 10th

    “Solid day for our No. 3 Chevrolet team. I thought we had something taking off today. I felt like we were pretty good; drove up into sixth or seventh. We never really were as good as we were the last time we were here. Just couldn’t get that adjustment that really would make us go any better than we were before; just kind of a top-10 place car all day. At one point, we were way worse than that. Justin (Alexander, Crew Chief) did a good job making adjustments and the guys in the pits were solid. Can’t thank all the team at RCR and the No. 3 guys enough; working hard and putting in the effort. Tenth, for a battle, was good. We wanted more, but we’ll take a top-10.” 

    ERIK JONES, NO. 43 MEDALLION BANK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 19th

    “It was an up-and-down day for the No. 43 Medallion Bank Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. We started too tight and could not really do what we needed to do with our Chevrolet Camaro. We got it better as the day went, especially towards the end of the race. We started to really get some good speed and gain some track position. Just got too far behind, got caught on pit road when the caution flag came out, lost a lap early and could not get it back where we needed it to be. We will take a top-20 finish. We got some good notes and we will move on.”

    TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CAT #WHATPOWERSYOU CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 20th

    “We tried a lot of different things with our No. 8 Cat #WhatPowersYou Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE today to try to get the handling to where it needed to be and made some small gains throughout the race. It just seemed like we were a tiny bit off from what we had last year during our one visit to Richmond Raceway, so we’ll definitely be studying this one closely to be better when we come back in the fall. I was just a little too tight almost all day and then too loose in the final stage, which didn’t let me charge through the corners like I wanted. Richmond Raceway is a tough place to figure out in a Cup car, especially with it being just my second Cup start here, but I learned a lot. We’ll be ready when we come back here in September.”
    About Chevrolet: Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found www.chevrolet.com.

  • Bowman grabs a thrilling late victory at Richmond

    Bowman grabs a thrilling late victory at Richmond

    Alex Bowman saved his best performance for the last after overtaking Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano on a restart with 12 laps remaining to win the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway on Sunday, April 18, for his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2021 season. In addition, Bowman won after rallying from a pit road penalty prior to the final stage.

    The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Cup event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. With that, Martin Truex Jr., winner of last week’s Cup event at Martinsville Speedway, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Denny Hamlin, Truex’s teammate and the regular-season points leader.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Truex jumped ahead with an early advantage. He was followed by Chase Elliott and Joey Logano while Hamlin, the first car on the outside lane, dropped back to fourth. 

    Entering Turn 1, Logano slipped up wide and Hamlin was able to move up to third place entering Turn 3. At the front, though, Truex led the first lap over Elliott.

    By Lap 10, Truex was out in front by more than six-tenths of a second over teammate Hamlin, with Logano, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney in the top five. Kevin Harvick was in sixth followed by Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, William Byron and Austin Dillon.

    By Lap 25, Truex stabilized his early advantage by nearly eight-tenths of a second over Hamlin while Blaney, teammate Logano and Elliott remained in the top five. Harvick continued to run in sixth followed by Larson, Bell, Austin Dillon and Byron. 

    When the competition caution flew on Lap 30, Truex was leading by nearly a second over teammate Hamlin. By then, names like Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Bubba Wallace and Matt DiBenedetto were in the top 15. In addition, Alex Bowman was in 17th, Aric Almirola was in 19th ahead of teammate Cole Custer, Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman were in 21st and 22nd, rookie Chase Briscoe was in 24th behind Michael McDowell, Daniel Suarez was in 28th behind Austin Cindric and Erik Jones was in 29th. 

    Under the competition caution, the leaders pitted and Hamlin emerged with the lead following his four-tire service followed by teammate Truex, Blaney, Logano and Elliott. Larson, who came into pit road running in the top 10, dropped all the way back to 18th after receiving a packer on his car during his service.

    When the race restarted on Lap 37, Hamlin, this time around, prevailed on the outside lane to retain the lead while Logano moved up to second place over Truex. Behind, Byron moved his No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE into fourth place followed by Blaney while Elliott and Bell battled for sixth. 

    By Lap 50, Hamlin was leading by more than a second over Logano while Truex, Byron and Blaney stabilized themselves in the top five. Bell was in sixth followed by Elliott, Keselowski, Austin Dillon and Harvick.

    Through the first 65 laps of the event, Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry continued to lead by more than a second over Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang. Truex’s No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry was in third followed by Byron and Blaney. Bell, racing in his No. 20 SiriusXM Toyota Camry, was in sixth followed by Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Harvick and Alex Bowman. Elliott, meanwhile, had fallen back to 11th in front of Kyle Busch while Larson was mired back in 21st place and in between Ryan Newman and Austin Cindric.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 80, Hamlin was scored the leader as he achieved his fourth stage victory of the season. Truex prevailed in a late battle over Logano to settle in second followed by Byron and Blaney. Bell, Bowman, Austin Dillon, Keselowski and Harvick were scored in the top 10. By then, 29 of the 38 competitors were scored on the lead lap.

    Under the stage break, the leaders returned to pit road and Hamlin, Truex, Logano, Byron and Blaney.

    The second stage started on Lap 90 with teammates Hamlin and Truex on the front row. At the start, Hamlin retained the lead following a strong start while Truex retained second place ahead of Logano and Blaney. Meanwhile, Bowman started to challenge teammate Byron for a spot in the top five.

    By Lap 100, Hamlin continued to lead by a narrow margin over teammate Truex, who started to pressure his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate for the top spot. 

    Four laps later and following an intense battle with his teammate, Truex returned to the lead following a pass through Turns 2 and 3. By then, Logano continued to run in third place followed by Bowman while Harvick cracked the top five.

    By Lap 110, Truex started to stretch his advantage as he was less than a second ahead of teammate Hamlin. Logano and Bowman battled for third place followed by Harvick, Byron, Blaney, Keselowski, Bell and Kyle Busch. Meanwhile, Kurt Busch was in 13th behind teammate Ross Chastain, Austin Dillon and Elliott were in 15th and 16th, Larson was in 18th in front of Reddick and Bubba Wallace was in 20th ahead of Briscoe, Cindric and Newman.

    Through the first 125 laps of the event, Truex continued to lead by less than half a second over teammate Hamlin. Logano stabilized himself in third place followed by Bowman’s No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE and Harvick’s No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang.

    By Lap 135, green flag pit stops started as Harvick pitted along with Kyle Busch, Chris Buescher, leader Truex, Hamlin, Bell, Briscoe, Cole Custer, Logano, Byron, Kurt Busch, Chastain, Wallace, Larson and others.

    In the midst of the pit stops, the caution flew on Lap 140 when a tap from Cindric sent Newman spinning in Turn 3.

    Under caution, some like Austin Dillon, teammate Reddick, Brad Keselowski, DiBenedetto, Corey LaJoie, Daniel Suarez and others that had not yet pitted under green pitted.

    With the field cycling back under caution and some taking the wave around, Harvick emerged with the lead, where he was set to restart alongside Truex. By then, 20 competitors were scored on the lead lap while names like Larson, Wallace, Briscoe, Erik Jones, Cindric, Buescher, Custer, McDowell, Newman and others were pinned a lap behind.

    When the race restarted on Lap 147, Truex rocketed away from Harvick to reassume the lead. Hamlin muscled his way into second place, thus dropping Harvick to third and with Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski and Logano trailing behind.

    By Lap 160, Truex was out in front by a second over teammate Hamlin while Harvick, Logano and Keselowski continued to run in the top five. Reddick was in sixth followed by Bowman, DiBenedetto, Austin Dillon and Suarez. LaJoie was in 11th followed by Bell, Kyle Busch, Byron and Kurt Busch.

    Through the first 175 laps of the event, Truex’s advantage over teammate Hamlin decreased to nearly half a second, though the former remained out in front.

    Nearly 10 laps later, a second round of pit stops under green commenced as the leaders Truex and Hamlin pitted. Soon, Austin Dillon made the turn to pit road along with Bowman, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Corey LaJoie, Elliott, Suarez, Larson, Logano, Buescher, Briscoe and others.

    By Lap 193, Keselowski, who has yet to pit, was leading followed by Kurt Busch and Blaney while Hamlin, the first competitor with fresh tires, was in fourth ahead of teammate Truex. Logano was in sixth while everyone else behind, starting with seventh-place Bowman, were a lap behind.

    On Lap 207, Hamlin utilized the fresh tires to his advantage as he overtook Keselowski for the lead. Shortly after, Truex moved into second place followed by Logano as Keselowski slipped back to fourth. Prior to this, Kurt Busch and Blaney pitted.

    By Lap 225, Hamlin, who was encountering lapped traffic, including Elliott, was ahead by less than half a second over teammate Truex followed by Logano, Bowman and Harvick. 

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 235, Hamlin was able to navigate his way through the lapped traffic to claim his fifth stage victory of the season. Teammate Truex finished second followed by Logano, Bowman, Harvick, DiBenedetto, Kyle Busch, Byron, Bell and Almirola. By then, Elliott, who was in 12th, was able to remain as the first competitor scored a lap behind, thus giving him the free pass ticket for the caution. The result left names like Reddick, Kurt Busch, Suarez, Keselowski and others pinned a lap behind.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Hamlin retained the lead following another stellar service from his crew. Teammate Truex, Logano, Harvick, Kyle Busch and Byron. During the pit stops, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was panelized for equipment interference. In addition, Bowman was sent to the rear of the field due to an uncontrolled tire violation.

    With 153 laps remaining, the final stage started as JGR’s Hamlin and Truex led the field on the front row. At the start, Hamlin retained the lead followed by Logano and Truex while teammate Kyle Busch started to challenge his way to the front while running in fourth. 

    Under the final 150 laps, Logano issued a challenge on Hamlin for the race lead. Though he was able to draw himself even with Hamlin’s car, he was unable to pull ahead nor clear Hamlin as Hamlin retained the top spot. 

    Shortly after, the battle for the lead between Hamlin and Logano became a three-man battle for the lead as Truex joined the party. 

    With 135 laps remaining, Hamlin remained as the leader by less than half a second over Logano and a second over Truex. Kyle Busch, the third JGR competitor, remained in fourth place while trailing the leaders by more than two seconds while Harvick was back in fifth place, trailing by three seconds. Matt DiBenedetto, meanwhile, was in sixth followed by Bell, Byron, Almirola and Austin Dillon.

    With 110 laps remaining, Hamlin stabilized his advantage as he was leading by more than a second over Logano and more than two seconds over Truex.

    Not long after, another round of pit stops under green commenced as Suarez pitted along with Austin Dillon, Bowman, Reddick, the Busch brothers, Almirola, DiBenedetto and others. Leader Hamlin also pitted followed by Truex.

    During the pit stops, disaster struck for Truex, who was caught speeding on pit road during his service and was forced to serve a drive-through penalty on pit road.

    Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Hamlin was leading by nearly two seconds over Logano. Kyle Busch was in third followed by Harvick and Bell. Byron, teammate Bowman, Almirola, Austin Dillon and DiBenedetto were in the top 10. Truex, following his pit stop penalty, was in 12th place, the final car scored on the lead lap.

    With 75 laps remaining, Hamlin stabilized himself as the leader by nearly half a second over Logano. Kyle Busch, racing in his No. 18 M&M’s Red Nose Day Toyota Camry, continued to run in third place followed by teammate Bell and Harvick. Truex, meanwhile, was in 10th place while Chase Elliott was back as the final car on the lead lap in 12th place. 

    Under the final 70 laps of the event, the battle for the lead started to heat up as Hamlin had Logano closing in on him for the lead as both encountered lapped traffic.

    Five laps later, Logano emerged with the lead over Hamlin. By then, Elliott was lapped along with Austin Dillon. 

    Under the final 60 laps of the event, pit stops under green occurred as names like Byron, Bowman, Elliott, Jones, Logano, Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Harvick, Keselowski, Truex and others pitted. Earlier, Byron tried to enter pit road but he was forced to circle around the track another lap after failing to slow his car prior to the pit road entrance. 

    Following the pit stops, Kyle Busch was penalized for a commitment line violation and was forced to serve a pass-through penalty through pit road. 

    With 50 laps remaining, Logano was leading by more than a second over Hamlin followed by Bell, Bowman and Byron. Harvick, Almirola, Truex and DiBenedetto were running sixth through ninth. Kyle Busch, following his late pit road penalty, was back in 10th place and trapped a lap behind.

    Under the final 35 laps of the event, Logano, who was navigating his way through lapped traffic, was still ahead by nearly eight-tenths of a second over Hamlin. Bell was in third place and trailing the two leaders by nearly 13 seconds. Bowman was in fourth and Harvick was in fifth.

    With the laps winding down, the battle for the lead started to heat up as Hamlin closed back in on Logano’s rear bumper for the lead. He then started to challenge Logano on the inside lane, with Logano fighting back on the outside lane. Way behind the leaders, Bowman started to catch Bell for third place.

    Then with 20 lap remaining and the battle for the lead between Logano and Hamlin heating up, the caution flew when a cut right-rear tire sent Harvick sliding into the Turn 1 outside wall, where he slapped the wall and sustained significant rear end damage. 

    Under caution, the leaders pitted and Hamlin reassumed the lead following another stellar service from his pit crew. Logano exited pit road in second place followed by Bowman, Bell and Almirola.

    With 12 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Hamlin took off with the lead with a strong start while Bowman challenged Logano for the runner-up spot.

    The following lap, Bowman took over the runner-up spot over Logano, but he was not done as he immediately challenged Hamlin for the race lead on the inside lane.

    Following a battle beneath Hamlin’s Toyota, Bowman emerged with the lead with 10 laps remaining following a power move in Turn 1.

    With five laps remaining, Bowman was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Hamlin. Logano was back in third while Almirola and Bell were in the top five. Behind, Truex worked his way up to sixth place followed by Byron, Kyle Busch, DiBenedetto and Austin Dillon.

    With the leaders starting to catch a bevy of lapped traffic, Bowman continued to lead while Hamlin was trying to close back in on Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet for the lead. Despite cutting the deficit down to nearly four-tenths of a second, it was too little, too late for Hamlin and Logano as Bowman came back around to Turn 4 in the midst of the traffic and claim the checkered flag by 0.381 seconds for the win.

    While Bowman achieved his third NASCAR Cup Series career win and first of the 2021 season, the Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 48 car returned to Victory Lane since June 2017 at Dover International Speedway made by Jimmie Johnson. In addition, Hendrick Motorsports achieved its first victory at Richmond Raceway since September 2008 and its 266th Cup career victory as Bowman became the eighth different winner through the first nine events of the 2021 Cup season.

    During his interview, Bowman, who won for the first time since March 2020 at Auto Club Speedway, dedicated his Richmond win to William “Rowdy” Harrell, a Hendrick Motorsports’ pit crew member who died along with his wife Blakley in a car accident in the Florida Keys last November.

    “[Crew chief] Greg Ives and all the guys, they have to deal with me at short tracks and I drive these places really wrong,” Bowman said on FOX. “We kind of instead of trying to make me figure it out, we went to work on getting the race car where I needed it to be. Greg has done such an amazing job at making that happen…This one is for Rowdy and his family. Miss him and Blakley every day. Just means the world to be able to win for Ally. It’s definitely emotional, obviously, with how hard the off-season was on us. Appreciative for the opportunity and we have more races to win this year.”

    “To be honest with you, we were terrible on short runs,” Bowman added. “We restarted third and I’m like man, if we get out of here with a solid top-five, we’ll be good. We’ve overcome a lot today. I don’t know if Greg pumped the pressures way up or what he did, but that’s more grip than I’ve ever had in a race car at Richmond and it worked out really well. Getting to race a guy like Denny at a place that this is really cool. I feel like we raced each other really clean, so I’m appreciative of that. It means a lot.”

    Hamlin, who led a race-high 207 laps, settled in second place for his eighth top-five result through the first nine races of the season, though he did not claim his first victory of the season, while Logano, who led 49 laps and was originally in position of claiming his second victory of the season, finished third.

    “We just didn’t take off quite as good there at the end,” Hamlin said. “I tried to warm it up and do everything that I could, just [Bowman] had a little more on those last few laps and I couldn’t hold the bottom. Once he got the position, we were just shut down there. Great job by this FedEx Ground team…We will keep digging. We are dominating, just have to finish it.”

    Bell finished in fourth place for his second top-five result of the season while Truex settled in fifth place following his pit road penalty.

    Almirola, Byron, Kyle Busch, DiBenedetto and Austin Dillon finished in the top 10 as only 14 of the 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Elliott finished 12th, Keselowski settled in 14th, Suarez finished 16th, Larson crossed the line in 18th, Harvick dropped back to 24th behind teammates Briscoe and Custer, Bubba Wallace finished 26th and Newman fell back to 30th.

    There were 20 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 39 laps. 

    With his runner-up result, Hamlin continues to lead the regular-season standings by 81 points over teammate Truex, 82 over Logano, 124 over Byron, 130 over Blaney and 135 over Larson.

    Results.

    1. Alex Bowman, 10 laps led

    2. Denny Hamlin, 207 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    3. Joey Logano, 49 laps led

    4. Christopher Bell

    5. Martin Truex Jr., 107 laps led

    6. Aric Almirola

    7. William Byron

    8. Kyle Busch, one lap led

    9. Matt DiBenedetto

    10. Austin Dillon, one lap led

    11. Ryan Blaney

    12. Chase Elliott

    13. Kurt Busch

    14. Brad Keselowski, 25 laps led

    15. Ross Chastain, one lap down

    16. Daniel Suarez, one lap down

    17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down

    18. Kyle Larson, two laps down

    19. Erik Jones, two laps down

    20. Tyler Reddick, two laps down

    21. Corey LaJoie, two laps down

    22. Chase Briscoe, two laps down

    23. Cole Custer, two laps down

    24. Kevin Harvick, three laps down

    25. Chris Buescher, three laps down

    26. Bubba Wallace, three laps down

    27. Michael McDowell, four laps down

    28. Austin Cindric, four laps down

    29. Ryan Preece, four laps down

    30. Ryan Newman, five laps down

    31. Anthony Alfredo, five laps down

    32. B.J. McLeod, seven laps down

    33. James Davison, 10 laps down

    34. Quin Houff, 10 laps down

    35. Garrett Smithley, 11 laps down

    36. Cody Ware, 15 laps down

    37. Josh Bilicki, 16 laps down

    38. Justin Haley – OUT, Engine

    Next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Talladega Superspeedway, the first of two annual visits to the superspeedway venue for the series this season, with the first event to occur on Sunday, April 25, at 2 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Ford Performance NASCAR: Richmond Cup post-race quotes

    Ford Performance NASCAR: Richmond Cup post-race quotes

    Ford Performance Notes and Quotes


    NASCAR Cup Series — Toyota Owners 400


    Richmond Raceway | Sunday, April 18, 2021

    Ford Finishing Results:

    3rd – Joey Logano
    6th – Aric Almirola
    9th – Matt DiBenedetto
    11th – Ryan Blaney
    14th – Brad Keselowski
    22nd – Chase Briscoe
    23rd – Cole Custer
    24th – Kevin Harvick
    25th – Chris Buescher
    27th – Michael McDowell
    28th – Austin Cindric
    30th – Ryan Newman
    31st – Anthony Alfredo
    32nd – BJ McLeod
    37th – Josh Bilicki

    JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang — WHAT DID YOU NEED ON THAT FINAL RUN? 

    “We just needed more turn. We didn’t turn good enough to take off.  The 48 sure did.  They put the qualifying pressures in or something.  That thing took off like a rocket.  Denny and I caught him the last few laps, which was probably because they showed the adjustments they made to their car to make it fire off.  They started to pay a penalty at the end, but they were too far out.  Congratulations to them.  They beat us.  They beat us fair and square.  It stinks when you’re that close.  We were leading with a few to go.  Denny and I had a hell of a race.  It was pretty fun there for a minute, but here we are third.  It stings.  We were up there all day.  It’s a decent finish, don’t get me wrong, but wanted more for our Shell/Pennzoil Mustang.”

    WHAT HAPPENED ON THAT LAST RESTART?

    “Congratulations to them.  They beat us.  i think probably their adjustments they made on that final pit stop definitely made his car fire off really well.  He started to pay the penalty the last couple laps, but he was so far out that it didn’t matter.  It’s frustrating because we were so close with the Shell/Pennzoil Mustang and wanted to get our Ford in victory lane here and led some laps.  We made the pass on Denny and then we had a heck of a battle going back and forth.  He was tight when I passed him and then I was tight and he caught back up to me, so the track was changing there and we were both trying to keep up with it.  Dang it.  I hate being that close.  Third is decent, but to be that close and you’re on the front row on the final restart you think you’ve got a good shot at it and the front didn’t wake up for three laps.  Once it woke up, it was too late, so that’s part of it, I guess.”

    ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang —

    “Man I really battled for fifth there at the end but burnt up my tires on the outside in the process. Finally, a solid day for our Smithfield team. Everyone did their part and we were mistake-free today. Let’s fire it up and keep it rolling. “

    MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 21 Menards/Libman Ford Mustang —

    “It definitely feels long overdue that we got that top 10 finally, so that’s good.  We’ve had some rough circumstances that sort of put us in a hole to start the year, but we knew that we have plenty of speed and obviously a great team.  It was good to come here and at a track that I really wouldn’t consider one that I have a ton of success at in the past, so that was definitely rewarding.  It was a day full of just no forgiveness.  You couldn’t have any mistakes at all, so we started the race and we’re too far off.  We worked on the car a little bit and made the right calls and got great breaks and once we got track position and got up in the top 10 we had no problem staying up there.  That was good.  It was a really high pressure day because there was no room for mistakes with that much green flag here.  I’m proud of the team and having Menards and Libman on the car.  All good stuff and something to build on.  We’re climbing out of that hole in the points and gaining a lot quick.”

    HOW CONCERNED WERE YOU THAT YOU WERE IN A BAD SPOT WITHOUT TAKING THE WAVEAROUND AND ON OLDER TIRES FOR THE LAST RESTART? 

    “Yeah, I said right when that caution came out when the 18 had just passed us my quote was, ‘Perfect timing.’  Some things just don’t work out exactly right, but I can’t complain because we had everything go smooth the rest of the day before that.  That’s a nerve racking situation because you’re having a solid day and you know if we would have got that lucky dog or stayed on the lead there, which was just a matter of a couple laps, we got lapped before and then we would have been new tires and then you separate yourself from everybody behind that had the wave around and do all that, so that was definitely nerve wracking, but I knew we had a good buffer to the next guy that we were racing, which was the 3, so that was good to know that all we had to do was just restart, be smooth, don’t get in any incidents, and as long as it got sorted out I knew we would be fine and it worked out just fine for us.”

    YOU’VE BUILT SOME CONSISTENCY SINCE HOMESTEAD.  HOW HAS THIS JOURNEY BEEN LIKE? 

    “It’s rewarding.  I’m glad we’re finally getting on track and the runs that we deserve.  We started the year and just was nothing of our doing.  We couldn’t even look at it and say they were self-inflicted, it was just kind of bad circumstances, so something that was out of our control — not as bad a luck as Aric Almirola, but it just goes to show between him and I and kind of the rough starts to the season that sometimes things have to go your way and as easily as that momentum can be pretty bad, it can flip around and we haven’t even really had smooth races until today, but we’ve still be climbing up in the points.  It just shows the strength of our team and it’s rewarding to finally get that top 10 and be climbing up there in the points, digging out of that hole and doing what I’ve known all along that we’re more than capable of as a team.”

    WHAT WILL THIS NEXT MONTH HAVE TO BE LIKE TO GET BACK IN PLAYOFF CONTENTION? 

    “It’s tough.  There’s just a lot of guys that have won races and taken up some of those spots for the playoffs, so it makes it extra challenging.  I know that we can keep on hitting our stride, running consistent, having consistent runs.  Consistency is everything, so if we can do that, I have confidence we can climb up in the points where we belong because we’re just kind of getting going.  We still haven’t really had smooth races aside from today, although we’ve been finishing up in the top 15 and having OK runs.  We still haven’t had the greatest of circumstances, so I know that we’re getting on track, building up points and that we can climb up there where we belong, but it’s going to be very crucial the next month.  All of these races from here until the playoffs we don’t really have any margin for error at all and hopefully a win would be the best-case scenario, but we’ve got to just focus on consistency.”

    HAS THERE BEEN ANYONE ON YOUR TEAM THAT YOU’VE LEANED ON TO HELP GET YOU GUYS BACK ON TRACK?  

    “I think what I was proud of and have been proud of is that our entire team is like a family.  I get along and have relationships with every guy on our team and that’s how it has to be, so I don’t know if I could credit one person, but everybody on the team from Greg Erwin to Billy, our car chief, Doug Campbell, my spotter, the over-the-wall guys have kept a good attitude even through the start of the season when we had rough luck, just because we knew there’s nothing self-inflicted.  I have to give credit to everybody on the team.  Their attitude is great, which is a big deal.”

    AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 33 Verizon 5G Ford Mustang —

    “It’s an interesting race.  I definitely chose the wrong time to make a rookie mistake getting into the 6.  That’s definitely on me and that was a really vulnerable time for our strategy and that put us behind the eight-ball all day.  We tried to do some strategy to get us back and we ended up putting ourselves another lap down.  By the time stage three rolled around we were able to make some good adjustments and our Verizon 5G Ford Mustang was really good.  I wouldn’t say we were top five good, but I think we were good enough to run inside the top 10, top 15 so there’s a lot of positives.  I drove up to P20 under green, so lots to learn, but definitely wish I could get that stage two mistake back.”

    WHAT HAPPENED IN THAT INCIDENT WITH RYAN? 

    “It started off on pit road.  I got shoved in the left-rear by the 5 off of pit road and that put us three-wide going down the backstretch with the 6, who was already on the racetrack, and at that point I should have just bailed.  It’s one of those deals where you’re on colder tires and you’ve got a car with more laps on his tires and you’re kind of hoping that you can shuffle him out and when you’re racing for 20th it’s probably not the right thing to do, especially when you’re faster than the guys you’re around.  It’s just one of those deals, something that I know and should have done better, but didn’t and now I’m mad at myself for it, but that’s racing.”

  • Chevy NCS at Richmond: Alex Bowman race winner quote

    Chevy NCS at Richmond: Alex Bowman race winner quote

    NASCAR Cup Series
    Richmond Raceway
    Toyota Owners 400
    Team Chevy Winner Quote
    April 18, 2021

    ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Race Winner Quote 

    LAST WEEK, ALEX BOWMAN WAS ONE OF THE FASTEST CARS AND IT ENDED IN HEARTBREAK FOR YOU GUYS. YOU COME BACK AND YOU SEAL THE DEAL TODAY, AFTER OVERCOMING A PIT ROAD PENALTY. HOW DID YOU GUYS OVERCOME THAT?

    “We just had a great race car; it’s as simple as that. Greg Ives (Crew Chief) and all the guys, they have to deal with me at short tracks and I drive these places really wrong. We kind of instead of trying to make me figure it out, we went to work on getting the race car where I needed it to be. Greg has done such an amazing job at making that happen.

    “First and foremost, got to thank Ally and Chevrolet; everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. This one is for Rowdy and his family. Miss him and Blakley every day. Just means the world to be able to win for Ally. It’s definitely emotional, obviously, with how hard the off-season was on us. Appreciative for the opportunity and we have more races to win this year.” 

    HE’S TALKING ABOUT HIS PIT CREW MEMBER THAT LOST HIS LIFE IN THE OFF-SEASON. LET’S GO BACK TO THE END OF THIS RACE. YOU’RE BATTLING TWO GUYS THAT, COMBINED, HAVE WON IT FIVE TIMES. WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND AT THAT MOMENT?

    “To be honest with you, we were terrible on short runs. We restarted third and I’m like man, if we get out of here with a solid top-five, we’ll be good. We’ve overcome a lot today. I don’t know if Greg pumped the pressures way up or what he did, but that’s more grip than I’ve ever had in a race car at Richmond and it worked out really well. Getting to race a guy like Denny (Hamlin) at a place that this is really cool. I feel like we raced each other really clean, so I’m appreciative of that. It means a lot.”
    About Chevrolet: Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

  • John Hunter Nemechek claims second win of 2021 at Richmond

    John Hunter Nemechek claims second win of 2021 at Richmond

    John Hunter Nemechek continued his 2021 season success Saturday afternoon at Richmond Raceway after taking the lead with 17 to go from his teammate Chandler Smith. Nemechek led the final 17 laps en route to his eighth career Truck Series victory.

    “It’s a never-give-up attitude,” Nemechek said after the race. “I just can’t thank Kyle, everyone at Toyota and all our great partners. It’s pretty cool to be able to come out and here do what we did. We had a really fast truck and I’m super proud of all my guys and thankful for them.”

    Stages 70-70-110 made up the 250-lap race from Richmond Raceway. Ben Rhodes was on the pole via the qualifying metric system.

    Stage 1: Lap 1 – Lap 70

    Rhodes led through the first three laps of the stage before Grant Enfinger took the lead on Lap 4. Enfinger maintained the lead throughout the rest of the 66 laps and was only somewhat challenged as the Alabaman went on to take his first stage win of the season. Nemechek, Kyle Busch, Rhodes, Austin Hill, Carson Hocevar, Raphael Lessard, Todd Gilliland, Derek Kraus, and Stewart Friesen were the Top 10. During the stage break, Friesen was penalized for too fast on pit road as Spencer Boyd and Tyler Ankrum were both penalized for an uncontrolled tire.

    Stage 2: Lap 79 – Lap 140

    Just two cautions slowed the pace during the second stage. The first occurred on Lap 84 when the No. 12 of Tate Fogleman crashed in Turn(s) 3 and 4 after making contact with the No. 1 of Hailie Deegan and the second on lap 100, when the No. 10 of Jennifer Jo Cobb crashed off Turn 4.

    Nemechek showed early prominence in the second stage and took the stage victory. Stage 1 winner Enfinger followed closely behind in second, Rhodes was third as Austin Hill fourth, Busch fifth, Zane Smith, Lessard, Gilliland, Kraus, and Chandler Smith rounded out the Top 10. Unfortunately for Hill, he was penalized for speeding on pit road during the stage break and had to restart at the back for the final stage.

    Stage 3: Lap 150 – Lap 250

    Numerous cautions plagued the final stage which made the race run a little long. In fact, there were seven cautions during the final 100 laps. The final yellow of the race came out with 37 to go when the No. 02 of Kris Wright wrecked on the backstretch. Friesen, Lessard, Gray, and Deegan were involved as well.

    The yellow set up a restart with 29 to go with Chandler Smith looking for his first career win. The Talking Rock, Georgia native had a battle of his own as his team owner, Busch, was closing in, as was Nemechek. Smith held the lead momentarily before being passed by eventual race winner Nemechek with 17 to go.

    Nemechek made the pass on Smith to bring home his first Richmond win of the year with Busch, Ankrum, Smith and Johnny Sauter rounding out the top five.

    There were nine lead changes among six different drivers and 11 cautions for 79 laps. Race winner Nemechek led three times for 114 laps to claim the victory and gained six playoff points to his credit.

    Official Results following the ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway:

    1. John Hunter Nemechek, won Stage 2, led 114 laps
    2. Kyle Busch, led 26 laps
    3. Tyler Ankrum
    4. Chandler Smith, led 24 laps
    5. Johnny Sauter
    6. Todd Gilliland
    7. Ben Rhodes, led four laps
    8. Grant Enfinger, won Stage 1, led 71 laps
    9. Sam Mayer
    10. Austin Hill
    11. Sheldon Creed
    12. Carson Hocevar
    13. Stewart Friesen
    14. Zane Smith
    15. Derek Kraus
    16. Spencer Davis
    17. Hailie Deegan
    18. Matt Crafton, led 11 laps
    19. Austin Wayne Self
    20. Danny Bohn
    21. Timmy Hill
    22. Timothy Peters
    23. Raphael Lessard, 1 lap down
    24. Tanner Gray, 1 lap down
    25. Dawson Cram, 2 laps down
    26. Jett Noland, 3 laps down
    27. Spencer Boyd, 3 laps down
    28. Chase Purdy, 5 laps down
    29. Ryan Reed, 5 laps down
    30. Keith McGee, 6 laps down
    31. Cory Roper, 7 laps down
    32. Norm Benning, 10 laps down
    33. Josh Reaume, 10 laps down
    34. Howie DiSavino III, 29 laps down
    35. Kris Wright, OUT, Accident
    36. Codie Rohrabugh, OUT, Accident
    37. Brett Moffitt, OUT, Handling
    38. Jennifer Jo Cobb, OUT, Damage Vehicle Policy
    39. Tate Fogleman, OUT, Accident
    40. Ryan Truex, OUT, Rear Gear

    Up Next: The Camping World Truck Series will head to Kansas Speedway on Saturday, May 1, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET, live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio.