After starting on the pole and not yet winning a race, Friesen was looking for his first career win today at Martinsville Speedway.
He remained steady by finishing second in Stage 1 but dropped a few spots, finishing fourth in Stage 2. Friesen led twice for 18 laps, however, it was a quiet day for the No. 52 Halmar Racing Team as they wound up fifth for Stewart’s second top five of the season and the 13th of his career.
He also bettered his Martinsville finish from one year ago, where Friesen finished 20th that day after starting fifth. It was also his best Martinsville finish of his career this far.
“Yeah, that’s cool,” Friesen told MRN Radio. “I like to go win races though. It’s a tough pill to swallow when you go points racing for stage points and aren’t doing what the fast guys are doing getting track position. We battled back with the 24 (Brett Moffitt). The 24 dropped a blade on me a couple of times and I was a little timid, and knocked some guys out of the way. At the end, I was just trying to salvage a decent finish there because it was getting pretty wild.”
For Ross Chastain, the same story could be said, but just a higher finish than Friesen. At some points, it looked like he could win but late race cautions and Busch having the better truck ultimately cost him. Still, Chastain has been on a roll this season finishing third at Daytona, sixth at Atlanta, 10th at Las Vegas, and following it up today with a fourth-place finish at Martinsville. It’s his best ever finish and the second top five of the young 2019 season.
“I would say it’s a huge step for us (Niece Motorsports),” Chastain told MRN Radio. “It’s nice to be aggravated with fourth. Everyone didn’t tell me to come run this truck (No. 45) this year and I saw a lot of potential with Al Niece (Team Wwner), Cody Efaw (General Manager), and the whole TruNorth team. I’m glad I did and stuck with my gut.”
“Probably went too hard there to get that stage win and that was a big deal, and was wanting to get that,” Chastain continued to tell MRN Radio. “I just ran out of turn there at the end. I just got too tight. Definitely a lot to build on for sure and a clean race truck. We got a brand new race truck to bring to Texas next week and honestly, I’ve been looking more to Texas than here. So it’s a good sign of things to come.”
Chastain finished fifth in Stage 1 and won Stage 2, ultimately finishing fourth after leading twice for 53 laps.
The NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series makes the trip west this week to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for it’s first outing of two races this season.
It’ll be somewhat of a learning weekend, as the second Las Vegas race will be in the Playoffs and racing at night as well.
Last fall saw a thrilling finish take place late in the closing laps on a restart as Grant Enfinger took the checkers, and advanced on to the next round.
So who will take the checkers this time around?
Here’s a look at who could end up in victory lane this weekend in Sin City.
Currently, there was 34 trucks on the preliminary entry list, but due to an incident last week at Atlanta after the race, Chad Finley’s hauler driver went to the wrong tunnel and accidentally damaged the Las Vegas truck. As a result, the team withdrew from the Vegas race. Ray Ciccarelli has also withdrawn from the event.
Johnny Sauter – It’s hard to imagine counting Sauter out at any given race, especially when he has the second most starts among active drivers, with 11. However, his only win at Vegas came in 2009, his first start at he track, driving for ThorSport Racing. Since then, Sauter has not visited victory lane, but has finished second the past two times. Overall, he has four second place finishes, along with six top fives and eight top-10 finishes. Sauter has led 121 laps with an average finish of 7.0. He also finished second last weekend at Atlanta and looks to go back to victory lane.
Grant Enfinger – Enfinger won the last time the Truck Series visited Las Vegas. In the fall race, he led 40 laps and finished seventh in Stage 1 and won Stage 2. Enfinger has only one finish outside the top-10 that came in his first start there in 2012. In total, he has two top fives and four top-10 finishes, along with 45 laps led, and an average finish of 7.2. His driver rating was 91.5 percent in the 2018 fall race. Enfinger has 73 green flag passes and 66 quality passes equaling 90.4 percent. Look for Enfinger to contend for the win Friday night at Vegas.
Kyle Busch – Kyle is back in the No. 51 this week for his second of five Truck Series starts. He is coming off a historic win at Atlanta and he’ll be looking to continue his winning ways Friday night. He only has two starts, but his first start was all the way back in 2001 driving for Jack Roush, where he finished ninth. It wasn’t until the spring race of last year, where Busch was finally back in a truck at Vegas. To no one’s surprise, he went to victory lane after leading 55 laps and starting on the pole. He finished third in both stages. It’ll be hard to count out the winningest driver in the Truck Series.
Ben Rhodes – Rhodes has four starts at Vegas and won in 2017. In the 2017 race, he led 20 laps and finished sixth in Stage 1 and won Stage 2. Overall, Rhodes has two top fives and three top-10 finishes with an average finish of 6.0, and 24 laps led. His driver rating is 90.2 percent and he has made 65 quality passes. When Rhodes won in 2017, he had 27 quality passes and a driver rating of 124.4.
Ross Chastain – Chastain only has three starts at Vegas in the Truck Series. To many, he may not look like a threat to win, but he is certainly someone to keep an eye on as he is a sleeper. Last fall, he won the Xfinity race and finished seventh in the Truck Series race. Chastain has been on a strong roll as of late. He finished third at Daytona and sixth last week at Atlanta. At Vegas, Chastain has just 11 laps led. He may not win, but look for him to be inside the top-10 when the night is over.
Other Notables
Angela Ruch is back in the No. 8 truck for Nemco Motorsports. Her previous start came in Daytona a few weeks ago, where she finished eighth.
Stefan Parsons returns to the series this weekend for Tracy Lowe in the No. 1 machine. This will be Parson’s first truck race since Phoenix last fall where he finished 20th.
Ryan Reed is back driving the No. 17 DGR-CROSLEY truck. It’ll be his first start since 2012, where he also competed at Las Vegas for Wauters Motorsports. Reed finished 17th that day.
Jesse Iwuji will drive Josh Reaume’s No. 34 entry and Scott Stenzel is set to pilot D.J. Copp’s No. 63 machine.
Two
practices are scheduled for Thursday afternoon. The first will begin at 5:05
p.m. ET wth the final practice at 7:05 p.m. ET but there will be no live TV
coverage. Friday afternoon, it’s qualifying at 5:10 p.m. ET, live on FOX Sports
1. The NASCAR Gander Outdoors
Truck Series Strat 200 is slated for 9 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1
and MRN Radio.
The NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series headed north of Daytona this past weekend as they went to the typically sunny Atlanta Motor Speedway.
But it wasn’t so sunny on Saturday for the Truck Series, as fog, mist and even rain interfered during the Ultimate Tailgaiting 200 by delaying the race with nine to go.
However, as the race resumed, history was seen as Kyle Busch was back to his winning ways when he went to victory lane for career win No. 52 breaking Ron Hornaday’s former record for the most all-time Truck Series wins.
But who topped this weeks power rankings?
Grant Enfinger – After coming oh so close last weekend at Daytona, Enfinger finished third this weekend for the 20th top-five finish of his career. After qualifying was canceled, he lined up fifth. Enfinger carried his momentum throughout the race by finishing third in Stage 1 and eighth in Stage 2. A late restart was seen, but it wasn’t enough for Enfinger and the No. 98 Thorsport team as they wound up third.
Previous Week Ranking- First
2. Johnny Sauter – Sauter was looking to finally capture that Atlanta win this past weekend as he has no wins in his starts there. He lined up 12th when qualifying was rained out early Saturday morning, but it didn’t take him long to get to the front. Sauter finished fourth in both stages. He led twice for nine laps and had a shot to win late on a restart with five to go, but had to settle for a second place. Sauter might be a little disappointed with second, but it was much better than his Daytona outing. Sauter sits fourth, 18 points behind.
Previous Week Ranking- Not Ranked
3. Brett Moffitt – After being wrecked out last weekend, not of his doing, Moffitt rebounded for a solid but quiet fourth place finish even after an early pit road penalty early on. Moffitt didn’t contend much for the lead but came home fourth as he finished fifth in Stage 2. The No. 24 GMS team will look to put the past two weekends behind them and look forward to Las Vegas this weekend.
Previous Week Ranking- Not Ranked
4. Ross Chastain – Chastain and the small team of Niece Motorsports that could, followed up last week with another top-10 finish at Atlanta finishing sixth. He worked himself up to 10th in Stage 1 and seventh in Stage 2. Like others, Chastain had a shot to win late but his truck wasn’t enough and had to be content with a sixth-place.
Previous Week Ranking- 3rd
5. Austin Hill – The No. 16 Hattori Team was looking to carry their momentum over to Atlanta after winning at Daytona last week. The weekend got off to a rocky start, as the transmission and clutch broke in first practice, causing him to miss the entire practice. However, his day got somewhat better Saturday morning when heavy fog washed out qualifying and placed the team on the pole. While Hill finished fifth and sixth, respectively in both stages, he didn’t contend much for the win and settled for a seventh place finish after a quiet day.
Previous Week Ranking- Fourth
Fell Out
Matt Crafton – Crafton was running just great until that last caution, where a loose wheel caused him to make an extra pit stop and preventing him from having a shot at the win. Crafton finished 14th and his winless streak is still intact. Previous Week Ranking – 2nd
Spencer Boyd- Boyd was caught up in a wreck late with nine laps to go and was pretty much done for the day. After a strong finish at Daytona last week, Boyd wound up 25th. Previous Week Ranking – 5th
The NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series returned to action at the famous Daytona International Speedway this past Friday night for its 24th year in the running since their inception in 1995. As it did last season, the Truck Series did not disappoint and was, quite possibly, the most wildest truck race ever at Daytona.
For the first time this season, here’s a look at this weeks power rankings.
Grant Enfinger – A valiant effort set by Enfinger on Friday night, who came from two laps down and almost won the race. Enfinger was looking for his third career win, his second at a Superspeedway since 2016 at Talladega. He had a decent showing in the stages, as Enfinger finished fifth and sixth, respectively. Enfinger ultimately wound up second on the scoring pylon after finishing .278 seconds behind the race winner, Austin Hill. It was Enfinger’s 19th top five of his career.
Matt Crafton – Crafton was oh so close to breaking his winless streak, but he’ll have to wait until Atlanta to earn it. It didn’t come without hard work though and dodging crazy accidents. He missed the first big wreck on Lap 55 and somehow, Crafton barely skidded by on another big wreck toward the end of the race. He had a shot at the win on the first overtime, but after a second overtime, it killed any momentum, as Crafton was shuffled back and got hung up on the outside and fell back to ultimately finish fifth for his second top five at Daytona.
Ross Chastain – After finding himself out of a ride at Chip Ganassi Racing in the off-season this winter, it was Al Niece of Niece Motorsports to give him a shot at the wheel and an opportunity for the win. Chastain avoided the majority of the wrecks aside from spinning himself out to avoid an accident. He had a shot to win the race when he was pushing Enfinger, but due to an ill-handling truck, Chastain had to settle for a third-place finish. It was the sixth top-five finish of his career, Chastain’s first since 2013 at Phoenix for the defunct Brad Keselowski Racing.
Austin Hill – Some fans may say that Hill is another Cinderella story, as Hill earned his first career Truck Series win Friday night. It didn’t come without avoiding the major accidents, however. Hill barely missed the big one on Lap 100 and it was the one that gave him a chance at the win, as he came out of it unscathed. After being close on fuel with two overtimes, Hill managed to fend off veteran race drivers for the win. He led 39 laps and finished second in Stage 1. He also came back from a couple of penalties as well. It’ll be interesting to see if Hattori Racing can defend their title in 2019.
Spencer Boyd – Not a bad return for the former NASCAR Xfinity Series driver after not competing in the Truck Series for two years, especially not having any Daytona truck starts. Even though he did not finish in the top 10 in either stage, Boyd was there when it counted and maybe if he had a little bit more luck, he might have won. However, Boyd settled for a fourth place finish for his first top five of his career in the Truck Series.
The Truck Series continues their 23-race schedule for the second race of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where NASCAR will play host to the Xfinity/Truck Series doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.
With a little bit of luck and maybe if Austin Hill had run out of gas, Ross Chastain would have been an upset tonight for the small funded Niece Motorsports team at Daytona International Speedway.
However, Chastain had to settle for a third-place finish in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series NextEra Energy 250 .
“We didn’t qualify where we wanted too,” Chastain said to MRN Radio. “Just played it safe and we did all right, I did get in that one wreck there in (Turn) 3. That was my fault for spinning out. The truck held up and had plenty of speed at the end, and tried to push Grant (Enfinger), just wanted to give him a shot.”
“I didn’t feel like I had a shot from third, so just tried to bump draft him up there and the move didn’t quite work out.”
Another driver that could have been an upset in the race tonight was Spencer Boyd making his first Truck Series start at Daytona.
“This is something you dream of forever,” Boyd told MRN Radio. “You just always ask for that shot. Put me in a good truck, give me the opportunity to be up front. There was a big wreck there at the end, we knocked the nose in and it was unfortunate and once I got out to second, it was like a parachute. It was going to be tough. I needed to be tucked up behind someone.”
“I was behind Matt Crafton all night and took a lot of notes. Just to come away with a top five, first race of the year, being new to the trucks, being new to Young’s Motorsports is just a dream come true for me.”
On Friday at ISM Raceway, it was announced that Ross Chastain would be the next full-time driver for the No. 42 DC Solar Chevrolet with Chip Ganassi Racing for 2019.
“I’m trying not to throw up right now. It’s surreal,” Chastain said as he shared the announcement in the media center with team owner Chip Ganassi and CEO of DC Solar, Jeff Carpoff.
Chastain ran three races in 2018 with the No. 42 team, and did not disappoint. He dominated at Darlington Raceway, snagged his first career pole and was on pace for a victory until a late-race crash with Kevin Harvick delayed his first career win. That took place later in the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where he started his tradition of smashing a watermelon at the start-finish line in celebration. His runner-up finish at Richmond would be the third and final time driving the Chip Ganassi Racing car in 2018. But it was enough proof for both Ganassi and DC Solar.
“DC Solar is a great example of partnership,” said Ganassi. “Since coming to our organization, both of our teams have worked together to build a platform that is beneficial to their business. When we first talked about putting Ross in the car this year, this was something that Jeff and Paulette felt strongly about and Ross made the most of the opportunity running well in all three races and bringing home a win and a runner-up finish. We are looking forward to him continuing that success in 2019 and competing for his first NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship.”
Most of the exposure and convincing caught the eye of Carpoff, and Ganassi saw the success Chastain produced in a short amount of races behind the wheel. In the media center, as the announcement was made, Carpoff gave a fist pump in celebration. He was asked if he had any say with hiring Chastain full-time.
“DC Solar is excited to continue its partnership with CGR, and we’re extremely proud to sponsor Ross during the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity season,” Carpoff declared. “From the moment I met Ross, I knew there was something special about him, so the decision to support him came easy. Witnessing his raw talent, as well as his humility and gratitude for the opportunity, only confirmed that he would be a great representative for the DC Solar brand.”
Chastain was definitely nervous, yet excited about the new opportunities.
“I’m an eighth-generation farmer from Florida who was fortunate enough to get a shot in top-flight equipment. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone, especially my family, who helped me get to this point.
“I’ve had a great run with Johnny Davis Motorsports and it’s obvious I wouldn’t be in the position I am today without Johnny’s support. I have been racing everything that I can since breaking into NASCAR seven years ago. Until DC Solar and Chip (Ganassi) gave me a shot in Darlington, nobody knew who I was. I want to remain humble. I enjoy being the underdog.
“Excited or thrilled doesn’t begin to capture how I feel about joining CGR full time. I’m eager to take full advantage of the opportunity in front of me. The obvious goal is to win races, compete for an Xfinity Series Championship and represent DC Solar to the best of my ability.”
Chastain shared that he planned to still race with the Monster Energy Cup Series, as long as schedules did not conflict.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series held their first race of the championship Playoffs at Richmond International Raceway Saturday night for the Go Bowling 250, and one driver got one step closer to the championship trophy.
Christopher Bell, piloting his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, captured the win and earned that first Playoff spot moving him on to the second round. Bell took the lead from fellow championship contender Matt Tifft late in the race on what was the final restart of the night.
“It’s not very often you get to win with a car that’s not a winning car, so we’ll take it,” Bell commented. “Just thank you to my pit crew for the awesome pit stops tonight. I’m just pumped. I couldn’t be happier.”
Last week’s winner, Ross Chastain, had another great run in his final race driving the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. He finished the night in the runner-up spot.
“I just wanted to come in and do my job, I hope I did enough. That’s the scariest thing not knowing where this leads, but I know I’ve got a great group of people behind me in Florida,” Chastain stated. “I’ll let them keep guiding me through this crazy NASCAR world.”
Coming in third place was fan favorite driver Daniel Hemric in his No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
“I’m proud of how I executed here in the first race, first round Playoffs,” Hemric said, “We had a ton of speed from the time we unloaded it. We knew this was a really good opportunity race track for us, it’s one of my favorite race tracks if not the favorite race track I get to come to.”
Making the night of racing even more exciting was the return of Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the track. Earnhardt Jr. came out of retirement to run tonight and dominated much of the race, even capturing his first Xfinity stage win in Stage 2 of the event. He brought his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet home in fourth.
“It got my expectations all messed up,” Earnhardt said after the race. “Man, I’m like, ‘Dang, I’ve got to win now.’ But we didn’t have the car at the end. We started on the outside (on the final restart), which was kind of tough. Just didn’t have what we needed at the end. But I’m glad that we got to lead a lot of laps. We ran really good for all the people that came down to watch us.”
Rounding out the top five was Tifft as Elliott Sadler, Tyler Reddick, Brandon Jones, Shane Lee, and Reed finished sixth through 10th, respectively.
Stage 1 ran flag to flag without any cautions. Regular season champion Justin Allgaier proved strong as he, Hemric, and Bell all battled for the lead. Bell would come out on top and win the stage.
Stage 2 slowed the pace for one caution period when Ryan Reed got into the bumper of teammate Ty Majeski sending him hard into the wall. Bell and Hemric fought each other for the lead, however, late in the stage, Earnhardt Jr. took the lead from Bell to score the stage win. The driver on the move was Chastain after his pit crew told him that it was time to go.
The final stage had a few caution periods, most of which were minor. However, the race end came a little early for Allgaier after Cole Custer got into the back of him and spun him around. Earnhardt Jr. saw his win slip away when he lost the lead on the final pit stop of the night. Bell took the lead with 13 laps to go and didn’t look back until he took the checkered flag.
The Playoff leaderboard has Bell in first place with 2090 points, and moving on to round two with his win. Hemric is in second with 2062 points, Allgaier is third (2056) and Chastain is fourth with 2053 points. Elliott Sadler (2051), Tifft (2047), Tyler Reddick (2046) and Brandon Jones (2035) round out the top eight Playoff contenders.
The Xfinity Series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway next week on Saturday, Sept. 29.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Unofficial Race Results for the 38Th Annual Gobowling 250 – Friday, September 21, 2018 Richmond Raceway – Richmond, VA – .75 Mile Paved
Ross Chastain wins the final race of the NASCAR XFINITY Series regular season and the first of his career at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the DC Solar 300.
“We did it!” Chastain yelled on the frontstretch after celebrating with donuts over the race sponsor’s logo on the frontstretch grass, who also sponsored his car for that race.
Chastain first made headline news in NASCAR media a few weeks ago after the run-in with Kevin Harvick at Darlington. Harvick pinched him into the outside wall, and Chastain immediately retaliated by spinning him out on the same straightaway. His main concern was quickly turned to car owner Chip Ganassi, as he wasn’t sure how his boss would take his reaction on track. A tweet and a phone call showed nothing but pride and confidence in his driver.
“It was so scary when the call was made to take this deal,” Chastain shared in the media center. “[Johnny Davis] believed in me to drive the 4 car and to put me in that car years ago. That’s what my career needed. This [win] is bigger than the playoffs. I’m not trying to spin the story, but this is literally a kid from Florida, eighth generation farmer who started hobby racing when I was 13. It was never supposed to be this way, so that’s why it’s so much bigger.”
Runner-up finisher, Justin Allgaier, was the regular series champion, and will take 15 additional points into the playoffs, but isn’t planning to relax going into the Playoffs.
“Yes and no,” Allgaier said when asked if he felt comfortable with the extra point cushion. “I wanted those extra five bonus points. You gotta go for race wins, you gotta go for stage wins because it’s so challenging to keep the speed but also execute.”
Cole Custer was the third driver that battled at the front all race long, but finished in the third position after what he called a race with insane restarts.
“The restarts were insane,” Custer stated. “If you were fourth on back, you were fighting for your life to try to stay in front of guys because the track position was so important. So you’re trying to block and get as many runs as you can. I feel like every track we go to, we compete for a win but it’s about having it all fall into place.”
Christopher Bell and Elliott Sadler rounded out the top five. Ryan Preece, Brandon Jones, Ryan Truex, Austin Cindric and Spencer Gallagher finished in the remaining top ten positions.
Chastain wins both stages at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the DC Solar 300. Photo by Rachel Myers for Speedway Media.
Chastain Leads Most Laps, Wins Stage 1
Cole Custer started on pole and led the opening two laps, but Ross Chastain was able to get by him. Matt Tifft failed post-qualifying inspection four times, so had to serve a pass-through penalty on Lap 1, putting his car one lap down early on.
On Lap 5, the No. 5 JR Motorsports Chevrolet of Michael Annett slid through the grass after contact with Ryan Preece. A three-wide pass was attempted on the exit of Turn 4 with Ryan Sieg to the far outside. Annett noticed this at the last second and tried to turn sharper. This caused the rear tires to lose grip, and as he caught the car, he made contact with Ryan Preece which sent his car into the grass. Annett tried to drive around onto pit road, but his car expired on the apron of Turn 1. He finished 40th with his fifth DNF.
The track was slick all stage long, but Ross Chastain was able to lead the most laps and win the first stage. He lifted off the throttle to allow Ryan Preece to get a lap back. John Jackson, Jeff Green and Annett were the only three cars out of the race at this point.
The Field Continued to Hunt Down Chastain in Stage 2
Ryan Reed takes heavy damage after contact with Matt Tifft on the exit of Turn 4 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Both drivers were treated and released from the infield care center. Photo by Rachel Myers for Speedway Media.
Chastain’s pit crew were able to keep their driver in the lead. Most of the front runners kept their positions, except for Christopher Bell who lost a couple spots on pit road.
On Lap 65, Matt Tifft and Ryan Reed made heavy contact. In the middle of Turns 3 and 4, Tifft got loose and Reed had nowhere to go, as Reed drove into the left front of Tifft’s No. 2 car. That sent Tifft spinning in the opposite direction, and Reed with no right front panels and heavy damage to his right front wheel. His car rested along the frontstretch. Reed sat next to his car to catch his breath, but thankfully was able to walk away under his own power. Tifft took longer to get out of his car because his car rested with the driver’s side against the frontstretch wall. Both drivers were checked and released from the infield car center.
On the restart, Daniel Hemric got a great push from Custer to lead a couple laps, but Chastain was able to quickly hunt him down and put his No. 42 Chevrolet in the lead. He led the rest of the laps to close out the stage. Three more cars were declared out of the race: Stan Mullis, Matt Tifft and Ryan Reed. Timmy Hill spent 24 laps behind the wall to make some repairs, but was able to rejoin the race.
Everything Goes Wild in the Final Stage at Vegas
Again, Chastain’s pit crew, who are the same members for Kyle Larson’s NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series team, puts their Xfinity driver out on top. Custer lost five spots on this pit stop, allowing everyone else to gain a spot. However, NASCAR issued two penalties: Ryan Preece for speeding on pit road, and Cole Custer for an uncontrolled tire during his pit stop.
Daniel Hemric edges ahead of Ross Chastain on the restart. Photo by Rachel Myers for Speedway Media.
On the restart, Chastain started to get pressure throughout the entire first run as Daniel Hemric started to side draft on the exit of Turns 2 and 4, getting to his rear bumper or side drafting along the straights. That didn’t last too long as Chastain was able to get back around and continue leading. As the run went longer, it appeared that Chastain’s car handled better as the run continued. Toward the beginning of the final stage, both Timmy Hill and Mike Harmon retired from the race.
As the field was facing one of the longest green flag runs of the day so far, Ryan Preece spun on the exit of Turn 2, bringing out the yellow flag around Lap 125. The whole field came down for pit stops. Similar to the other pit stops in the day, the drivers at the front continued to keep most of their positions. Hemric lost a few spots and dropped to the fifth position. Brandon Jones received a penalty for an uncontrolled tire, and went to the back of the field for the restart from his sixth place position after his pit stops.
On the restart, Chastain continued to hold the lead. However, about ten laps into the run, Allgaier moved himself into the second position. After a few side by side battles and pass attempts, he was able to eventually move his No. 7 Chevrolet into the lead and become the first driver besides Chastain to lead more than five laps.
Later in the run on Lap 149, Allgaier radioed to his crew that the car was getting tight. He was passed by Chastain and Custer, but was able to keep pace with them. At the same time, David Starr went behind wall. Ten laps later, Chastain was able to battle through lap traffic faster and grow his lead to over two seconds.
The next yellow flag came out right as green flag stops began. Vinnie Miller spun on the track to bring out that yellow flag.
As for the green flag pit stops, Daniel Hemric, Shane Lee and Cole Custer were all on pit road. Hemric got full service, Lee elected to drive down all of pit lane by skipping his pit box, but Custer’s crew called an audible. They went from a four tire stop to a two tire stop, and with all the chaos over their radio, Custer started to leave his pit box before his jackman was able to clear his path. The crew member climbed over the hood of the car all while holding onto the jack, preventing a penalty of pit equipment leaving the pit box.
As the field came down pit road under yellow, Custer stalled the car and was in position to be in the top three, but lost a spot from that. Hemric was able to get back on the lead lap from all the pit cycles, but had to take the ‘wave around’ before the restart.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. calling the race from Turns 3 and 4 with NBC Sports. Photo by Rachel Myers for Speedway Media.
Green flag waved for the restart with 20 laps to go. Allgaier was to the outside of Chastain as both drivers slightly spun their tires but got great pushes from Custer and Reddick. As the leaders continued to battle side by side, the field had three-wide battles behind them. They started to go four-wide on the front stretch, but Custer put a block to keep it three-wide. That allowed Christopher Bell to clear him and hold the outside line in the middle of Turns 1 and 2. Contact from the driver on his inside made him loose on the exit of Turn 2. Since the field was already so close to each other, everyone stacked up quickly, and the worse of the accordion effect was Chase Briscoe. He was sent spinning to the inside wall. His No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford made heavy contact with the curvature of the safety crew’s track access. All four tires came off the ground from the impact and the car caught fire, but Briscoe was able to get out of his car under his own power.
The next restart was similar on the front row with Chastain on the inside and Allgaier to the outside, but the second row had a new set of pushers: Bell on the outside and Gallagher to the inside. Bell was able to push Allgaier, but Chastain got a stronger restart and pulled away from Gallagher. Going into Turn 1, Chastain slammed the door on Allgaier to clear him and secure the top spot.
On the second lap of the restart, Tyler Reddick hit the outside wall along the frontstretch while trying to block Brandon Jones, and came down in front of the second half of the field. As Reddick came down across the field, he clipped the right rear of Shane Lee, which sent him up into the field and collected his Richard Childress teammate, Daniel Hemric. Jones was the only one able to continue in the race.
With six laps to go, the field took the final restart. Chastain seemed to be flawless everywhere with his team: setup, pit stops and restarts. This was no different. Going into Turn 1, Chastain was able to clear Allgaier once again and never looked back. He led the most laps, as well as the one that counted to take the checkered flag.
“With two laps to go, I had a tear come down my face and I told myself, ‘Don’t cry,’” the Florida watermelon farmer told himself as he completed the closing laps.
The NASCAR XFINITY Series holds their Playoff opener at Richmond Raceway on September 21.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Unofficial Race Results for the Inaugural Dc Solar 300 – Saturday, September 15, 2018 Las Vegas Motor Speedway – Las Vegas, NV
The Xfinity Series took the Darlington Speedway by storm today for the VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200. It was a sunny warm day for the drivers and for some the heat was on. It looked as if Ross Chastain was going to take the win easily however one driver had his car in the right place at the right time.
Brad Keselowski in his No. 22 Penske Racing Ford took the lead after an exciting incident between race leader Chastain and Kevin Harvick took them both out of contention. Keselowski captured his first win at Darlington Speedway and the 39th of his career.
“Yeah, we had a really great Snap-On Ford Mustang and I could keep up with Ross (Chastain), but I couldn’t pass him. I tried to make the move to get by him and I just brushed the wall and him and Kevin got back by me and then they had their issue off of two and were just so strong that we pounced on it and took advantage of the opportunity. That’s a testament to this team. I drove five races this year and we’ve won three of them. That’s pretty darn good and I’m really proud of that,” Keselowski said.
Stage 1 had one incident on Lap 2 when Austin Cindric wrecked after contact with Ryan Truex. Cindric sustained heavy damage to his race car and was unable to continue in the race. Chastin, who started from the pole position, led every lap of the first stage.
During Stage 2 Harvick took the lead on the restart and led several laps of the stage. Fan favorite, Christopher Bell brought out the caution when he hit the wall with a cut tire and got a piece of Daniel Hemric’s car. The only other incident of the stage was for Brandon Jones who spun his car around. Chastain came out of the pits in the lead for the restart and won Stage 2 of the race.
The final stage of the race brought out excitement, tempers, and a few tears. With 33 laps to go in the race, Harvick saw his opening for the lead when he and Chastain came up on a lapped car. Harvick and Chastain went for the same space and Chastain ended up into the wall, then came down and spun Harvick. Harvick showed his displeasure with the incident by stopping in Chastain’s pit stall. Harvick in his post-incident interview referred to Chastain as an “inexperienced driver” putting the blame on Chastain for the incident. However, Chastain in his post-race interview saw the incident a little differently.
“I’m just trying to race and I’ll have to see the film, you know, and if I made a mistake it’s on me. Being the leader there I felt like I’m just trying to race, man, and we’ve been giving each other room all day.” With tears of frustration in his eyes, he added, “It’s unfortunate.”
Cole Custer stayed in the top of the field all day and came home second in his No.00 Stewart Haas Racing Ford.
“We just had a great Haas Automation Mustang. I can’t thank everybody in the shop enough,” he said, “Everybody at Ford Performance, they’ve given us great tools all year so I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.”
Tyler Reddick had a great run today in his No.9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet and crossed the finish line third. Denny Hamlin and Elliott Sadler rounded out the top five. Justin Allgaier, Matt Tifft, Ty Dillon, and Michael Annett finished sixth through 10th, respectively.
Allgaier leads the Xfinity Series point standings with 888 points, Sadler is in second with 872 points, Custer is in third with 871 points, Bell is in fourth with 852 points and Hemric rounds out the top five with 844 points.
The Xfinity Series heads next to Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 8.
Round round get around
I get around
Yeah
Get around round round I get around
It sure sounds cool when the Beach Boys sing it. It sure was kind of boring when we watched the drivers do the same at Phoenix.
Get around round round I get around
Ahh ooo ooo
Get around round round I get around
Ahh ooo ooo
The song ends like that every time. Same for NASCAR lately. Kevin Harvick won his third straight, maybe it was even unencumbered but we will have to wait on that. At least he was not the only car featured. Kyle Busch was strong all day and finished second. Chase Elliott was not, yet arrived later on to matter when it mattered to finish third. Not yet a win, but the result sends him back in the right direction. Denny Hamlin was a factor and, to a much lesser degree, so was pole sitter Martin Truex, Jr. as they completed our Top Five.
Excitement? No, not much. However, Chris Buescher was having a bad day, lost a right front, and forced a caution late in the second segment that at least shook up the running order some. Hey, you got to take it where you can get it. 37 cars were entered, and it is becoming more and more obvious that, strictly for entertainment value, we could even reduce that by a half dozen and not miss a beat. The only surprise in the Top 30 was Ross Chastain with a season best 27th for Jay Robinson’s team. On the outside we had Michael McDowell and Paul Menard, but I do not think anyone was surprised they were joined by D.J. Kennington, Timmy Hill, Gray Gaulding, Jeffrey Earnhardt, and Corey LaJoie.
Well, what have we got next? California. Beautiful Fontana. The track were excitement goes to die. Usually. Still, arriving on the west coast should come as good news for six-time winner Jimmie Johnson. Do you know who else has won there? Kyle Busch has three trophies, and probably thinks that it would be nice to claim a win after two straight runner-up finishes. Kasey Kahne, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, and Kurt Busch also have a victory there. As does Kevin Harvick. At least he has not won there since 2011. Over the past ten at Fontana he has just one win…was 2nd two out of the last three…and seven Top Tens.
What goes around comes around. Tell me, could we see a four-peat this Sunday?
Maybe he is getting bugged driving up and down the same old strip
Wants to find a new place where the kids are hip
Then again, maybe not. He seems to like winning. A lot.
