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  • Mike Bugarewicz to call 200th Cup race as crew chief at New Hampshire

    Mike Bugarewicz to call 200th Cup race as crew chief at New Hampshire

    A significant milestone start is in the making for Mike “Buga” Bugarewicz, crew chief for Aric Almirola and the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang team in the NASCAR Cup Series. By participating in this weekend’s event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Bugarewicz will call his 200th Cup career race as a crew chief.

    A native of Lehighton, Pennsylvania, Bugarewicz earned a B.S. and a M.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Penn State before joining Roush Fenway Racing as an engineer in December 2005, which marked the beginning of his racing career. From 2006 to 2013, Bugarewicz worked as an engineer within the Roush organization, where he also worked with names like Danny O’Quinn, David Ragan, Paul Menard, Matt Kenseth and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    In 2014, Bugarewicz became a lead race engineer for veteran driver Kevin Harvick, crew chief Rodney Childers and the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet team. The season was one to remember for Bugarewicz as Harvick, who was in his first season with SHR, captured five victories, eight poles, 14 top-five results, 20 top-10 results and the season’s Cup championship.

    Following a productive 2015 season with Harvick, where Harvick won three races before settling in second place in the final standings, Bugarewicz was named a Cup Series crew chief for three-time champion Tony Stewart and the No. 14 SHR Chevrolet team for the 2016 season, which marked Stewart’s final full-time season as a NASCAR competitor. A month prior to the season, however, Stewart suffered a back injury after being involved in a sand buggy accident outside of San Diego. With Stewart hospitalized and forced to miss the early portion of the upcoming season, Bugarewicz spent the first eight Cup events of the season and of his career with Brian Vickers and Ty Dillon. During this span, Vickers, who made five starts, finished as high as seventh at Martinsville Speedway in April while Dillon, who competed in the other three events, finished as high as 15th at Phoenix Raceway in March.

    At Richmond Raceway in April, Stewart was medically cleared to return to racing. In his first race with Bugarewicz, Stewart finished 19th. The following race at Talladega Superspeedway, Stewart, with relief help from Ty Dillon, was credited with a sixth-place result before he competed the following six races through the entire distance.

    Then at Sonoma Raceway in June, Bugarewicz achieved his first NASCAR victory as a crew chief when Stewart prevailed over a late battle with former teammate Denny Hamlin to snap an 84-race winless drought and collect his 49th Cup career win, a victory that also placed the No. 14 team in a guaranteed spot to make the Playoffs. After winning at Sonoma, Bugarewicz and Stewart earned four top-five results and recorded enough points through the final 10 regular-season events to secure their spot in the 2016 Cup Playoffs. Their run in the Playoffs, however, came to an end following the Playoff’s Round of 16, where Stewart finished 16th, 23rd and 13th in a three-race postseason stretch and missed the cutline to the Round of 12. Bugarewicz and Stewart went on to finish in 15th place in the final standings.

    Bugarewicz remained as crew chief for SHR’s No. 14 team in 2017 with the organization swapping manufacturers from Chevrolet to Ford. With Stewart retired, Bugarewicz was paired with veteran Clint Bowyer, who was named Stewart’s successor of the No. 14 car. Participating in all but two of the 36-race schedule, Bugarewicz and Bowyer achieved six top-five results, 13 top-10 results and an average result of 15.0. They, however, did not make the Playoffs as Bowyer settled in 18th place in the final standings.

    Following the first five events of the 2018 Cup season, Bugarewicz returned to Victory Lane when Bowyer scored a dominating win at Martinsville Speedway, the sixth event of the schedule, in March and snapped a 190-race winless drought. Ten races later, they won for the second time of the season at Michigan International Speedway in June, which was a rain-shortened event. Making the 2018 Cup Playoffs, Bugarewicz and Bowyer remained in title contention through the Round of 8, where they fell short of making the Championship Round and contending for the title at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November. Nonetheless, Bugarewicz and Bowyer achieved two victories, nine top-five results and 16 top-10 results before finishing in 12th place in the final standings.

    Remaining as crew chief for Bowyer and SHR’s No. 14 Ford team in 2019, Bugarewicz guided the driver and team to a pole, seven top-five results, 18 top-10 results and through the first two rounds of the Playoffs before finishing in ninth place in the final standings. By then, Bugarewicz had called more than 100 Cup races as a crew chief.

    For the 2020 season, Stewart-Haas Racing reshuffled most of its crew chief lineup, placing Bugarewicz as crew chief for Aric Almirola and the No. 10 SHR Ford Mustang team for the upcoming season. Bugarewicz achieved a second consecutive consistent season as he led Almirola to six top-five results, 18 top-10 results and through the first two rounds of the Playoffs before settling in 15th place in the final standings.

    Thus far, Bugarewicz and Almirola have recorded a pole, one top-five result and two top-10 results through the first 21 Cup races of the 2021 season. They also achieved a victory in the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel event at Daytona International Speedway in February and the NASCAR All-Star Open at Texas Motor Speedway in June. They are currently ranked in 27th place in the regular-season standings.

    Through 199 previous Cup appearances, Bugarewicz has achieved three victories, two poles, 34 top-five results and 76 top-10 results while working with five different competitors. 

    Bugarewicz is set to call his 200th Cup race as a crew chief at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 18, with the race scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Almirola to reach 350 Cup starts at Texas

    Almirola to reach 350 Cup starts at Texas

    A significant milestone is in the making for Aric Almirola, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series winner and driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s Cup event at Texas Motor Speedway, Almirola will achieve his 350th career start in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Tampa, Florida, Almirola’s debut in NASCAR’s premier series occurred at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March 2007. By then, he made 10 career starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and 29 starts in the Truck Series. Driving the No. 80 Joe Gibbs Driven Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing, Almirola started 31st and finished 41st in his Cup debut after being involved in an early accident.

    Later in the 2007 season, Almirola transitioned from Joe Gibbs Racing to Dale Earnhardt Inc. and he piloted the No. 01 U.S. Army Chevrolet in five of the remaining 13 scheduled Cup races. His best result during his five-race stretch with DEI was 30th place, which occurred at Talladega Superspeedway in October.

    In 2008, Almirola remained with Dale Earnhardt Inc. and served as a co-primary driver of the No. 8 U.S. Army Chevrolet Impala along with veteran Mark Martin. Following the first four races of the season, Almirola made his first Cup start of the season at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, where he collected his first top-10 career finish in eighth place. He made 11 additional starts throughout the 2008 Cup season, where he collected two 13th-place results in the fall and led 53 laps at Martinsville Speedway in October before being shuffled back to a 20th-place result. He capped off the season by finishing in 35th place in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.

    Almirola started the 2009 season as a full-time Cup Series competitor of the No. 8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. He started the season by finishing in 30th place in the Daytona 500 after being involved in two separate incidents. Following the first seven races of the season, however, Almirola’s full-time Cup ride with DEI came to an end due to sponsorship issues. He, ultimately, went on to compete in four Xfinity and 16 Truck Series races throughout the 2009 season.

    For the 2010 season, Almirola started the season with plans of competing on a full-time basis in the Cup Series with Phoenix Racing while also racing in the Truck Series for Billy Ballew Motorsports. Following the first seven races of the season, where he failed to qualify for three and finished no higher than 39th, he parted ways with Phoenix Racing and competed the remainder of the season with Billy Ballew Motorsports in the Truck Series, where he went on to win his first two Truck career races and finish in second place in the final standings. He also competed in eight Xfinity races with JR Motorsports. In October, Almirola served as an interim competitor of the No. 9 Budweiser Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports at Martinsville after Kasey Kahne left RPM for Red Bull Racing. Almirola ended up competing in the final five Cup races of the season with RPM, where he notched a career-best fourth-place result in the season finale at Homestead in November.

    After spending the 2011 season in the Xfinity Series with JR Motorsports, where he finished in fourth place in the final standings, Almirola returned to the Cup Series for the 2012 season as a full-time competitor of the iconic No. 43 Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports. Almirola started the 2012 season by finishing in 33rd place in the season-opening Daytona 500 after being involved in a late multi-car accident. His best result during the first nine races was an eighth-place result at Martinsville in April.

    For the next scheduled race at Talladega Superspeedway, Almirola was paired with veteran Mike Ford, who replaced Greg Erwin. Finishing in 12th place at Talladega and in 19th place the following week at Darlington Raceway, Almirola captured his first Cup career pole for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Despite finishing in 16th place in the Coke 600, Almirola rebounded the following week at Dover International Speedway by finishing in sixth place. 

    From Pocono Raceway in June through Richmond Raceway in September, Almirola finished no higher than 17th place on the track. After missing the Playoffs, he was paired with veteran Todd Parrott for the upcoming race at Chicagoland Speedway. For the remaining 10 Cup races of the season, Almirola captured one top-five result, two top-10 results, a total of 72 laps led and a 20th-place result in the final standings.

    Remaining with Richard Petty Motorsports for the 2013 Cup season, Almirola started the season by finishing 13th in the Daytona 500 before finishing 15th the following race at Phoenix Raceway. Following the first 10 Cup races of the season, he was coming off four consecutive top-10 results and was in eighth place in the regular-season standings. The consistency for Almirola and the No. 43 team, however, did not last for the remainder of the regular-season stretch, as he achieved only one top-five result and failed to make the Playoffs. He went on to conclude the 2013 season in 18th place in the final standings along with six top-10 results and a career-best average result of 18.8. Following the 2013 season, Almirola surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series. 

    Prior to the 2014 season, which marked Almirola’s third season with Richard Petty Motorsports, RPM announced a three-year contract extension for Almirola to remain as driver of the No. 43 Ford with Smithfield Foods and its brands serving as key primary sponsors. Almirola was also paired with crew chief Trent Owens.

    Almirola started the 2014 season with a 39th-place result in the Daytona 500 after being involved in a late multi-car accident. Three races later, he captured his first top-three result in the Cup circuit after finishing in third place at Bristol Motor Speedway behind Roush Fenway Racing’s Carl Edwards and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 

    Entering Daytona International Speedway in July, Almirola achieved one top-five result and three top-10 results, with an opportunity grab an upset victory and race his way into the 2014 Cup Playoffs. During the race, Almirola dodged two multi-car accidents and outlasted the field, including late challenges from Brian Vickers, Kurt Busch and Casey Mears, to retain the lead when the race was red-flagged and deemed official on Lap 112 due to rain, thus giving Almirola his first Cup career victory in his 125th series start. Almirola’s first Cup win marked the first win for the Richard Petty Motorsports’ No. 43 car since 1999, which was last made by the late John Andretti. The victory also occurred 30 years to the day where Richard Petty recorded his unprecedented 200th and final NASCAR win at Daytona. With his victory, Almirola clinched a spot for the 2014 Cup Playoffs.

    Following his upset victory at Daytona, Almirola recorded two top-10 results for the remaining eight regular-season races before entering the Playoffs and as one of 16 competitors with an opportunity to win the championship. Following finishes of 41st, sixth and 28th in the first three races of the Playoffs, Almirola was one of four competitors who were eliminated from title contention. Despite the early exit from title contention, he went on to finish the season in 16th place in the final standings and with a career-high seven top-10 results.

    Determined to return to the Playoffs, Almirola started the 2015 Cup season with a 15th-place result in the Daytona 500 followed by an 11th-place run at Atlanta. Through 25 of the 26-race regular-season stretch, he achieved only one top-five result and 13 top-15 results. During the regular-season finale at Richmond in September, Almirola recorded a strong fourth-place result, but he missed the Playoffs by 17 points. He went on to record one additional top-five run and four top-10 results for the remaining 10 Playoff races before finishing in 17th place in the final standings. In addition, he achieved a career-best result of 17.9, compared to his average result of 21.4 in 2014 when he won a race and made the Playoffs.

    Remaining with Richard Petty Motorsports for a fifth consecutive season, Almirola started the 2016 season with a 12th-place result in the Daytona 500. He finished in 15th place the following race at Atlanta despite being involved in a four-car wreck during overtime. Compared to his previous two seasons, the 2016 season was a down season for Almirola, who achieved only one top-10 result and an average result of 23.3 before concluding the season in 26th place in the final standings. Following the 2016 season, Almirola surpassed 200 Cup career starts.

    Returning for a sixth full-time Cup season with RPM and with new full-time crew chief Drew Blickensderfer, Almirola started the season on a high note by finishing in fourth place in the Daytona 500. For the first 10 races of the season, he achieved three top-10 results, despite being penalized 35 points following the recent event at Talladega for a post-race infraction. 

    For the following race at Kansas Speedway, Almirola was involved in a late harrowing accident involving Danica Patrick and Joey Logano, where he could not slow his No. 43 Smithfield Ford in time and rammed into Logano at full speed as the rear end of Almirola’s car came off the ground amid a shower of sparks. Following the incident, where Logano and Patrick were able to emerge uninjured, Almirola had to be extricated from his car and placed on a stretcher, where he was airlifted to the University of Kansas Hospital. It was later determined that he had suffered a compression fracture of his T5 vertebrae. While Almirola spent time recovering from his injuries, he was absent for eight races, including the All-Star Open/Race weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. During his absence, Regan Smith, Bubba Wallace and Billy Johnson each took turns piloting the No. 43 Smithfield Ford.

    In July at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Almirola returned to the track and finished in 24th place. Despite missing the Playoffs, he remained in the No. 43 seat for the remaining 18 races of the season, where he collected three top-10 results and finished in 29th place in the final standings. He also recorded an average result of 18.8.

    In September, two months before the season’s conclusion, Almirola and Smithfield Foods announced their departure from RPM at season’s end. Two months later, both announced that they will be joining Stewart-Haas Racing and the No. 10 Ford team led by Johnny Klausmeier for the 2018 Cup Series season.

    Three months later, Almirola made his first Cup start with SHR in the 60th running of the Daytona 500. During the event, he ran consistently and was able to move into the lead over Denny Hamlin at the start of the final lap. Entering the backstretch, Almirola continued to lead, though he had Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace closing in on him for the lead and the win. Entering Turn 3, however, Dillon made contact and turned Almirola, which sent Almirola’s No. 10 Ford into the outside wall and out of contention while Dillon went on to win. Instead of a possible trip to Victory Lane in one of NASCAR’s crown-jewel events, Almirola ended his race in 11th place and with a wrecked race car. 

    For the first 16 Cup races of the season, Almirola recorded seven top-10 results and 14 top-15 results, as he was also ranked in 10th place in the regular-season standings. He went on to record three additional top-10 results and secure a spot in the 2018 Playoffs based on points and following a strong consistent regular-season stretch with no victories. 

    Almirola opened his second appearance in the Playoffs as a title contender by finishing sixth at Las Vegas and in fifth at Richmond. Despite finishing in 19th place at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, he was able to transfer into the Round of 12 in the Playoffs on a three-way tie-breaker along with Kyle Larson and over Jimmie Johnson.

    After leading 64 laps and finishing 13th the following week at Dover due to being involved in a late multi-car incident, Almirola came into the following race at Talladega Superspeedway with a “Checkers or Wreckers” mindset. After spending the majority of the race running towards the front with his Stewart-Haas Racing teammates, he capitalized on a late restart and with teammate Kurt Busch running out of fuel on the final lap to hold off teammate Clint Bowyer and capture his first elusive victory of the season. With his second Cup career win and first with SHR, Almirola transferred into the Round of 8 in the 2018 Cup Playoffs.

    After finishing 10th the following week at Kansas, Almirola finished 11th, eighth and fourth in the Round of 8. Despite the results, he failed to advance to the Championship 4 round at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he finished ninth. Though he missed an opportunity to contend for his first Cup title, Almirola capped off a successful and productive 2018 season with SHR with a win, a career-high four top-five result, a career-high 17 top-10 results, a career-high 181 laps led and a career-best points result of fifth place.

    With the 2018 season complete, Almirola approached the 2019 season with high aspirations of being a title threat and contending for wins, beginning with the 61st running of the Daytona 500. His season, however, started off on a low note when he was involved in a late multi-car accident and ended his run in 29th place. He rebounded the following six weeks by finishing in the top 10 in all of them. 

    Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Almirola and the No. 10 Smithfield/SHR team achieved 10 top-10 results, as Almirola qualified for his third Cup Playoffs as a title contender. After finishing 13th, 16th and 14th through the first three races of the Playoffs, however, he was eliminated from title contention. Unable to produce a late rally for this year’s title run, he went on to capture two top-five results, including a season-best second place behind teammate Kevin Harvick at Texas Motor Speedway in November, and conclude the season in 14th place in the final standings despite not winning once throughout the season. Following the 2019 season, Almirola surpassed 300 Cup career starts.

    Almirola remained with SHR for the 2020 season, but was paired with crew chief Mike Bugarewicz while Johnny Klausmeier was reassigned. For the third consecutive year, Almirola’s season started off on a down note after he was involved in a late multi-car accident that took him out of contention of winning his first 500 title.

    Following the first 11 Cup races of this season, Almirola achieved three top-10 results and was in 14th place in the regular-season standings. For the next scheduled race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Almirola and the No. 10 team began to turn the tide as they went on a nine-race stretch of finishing in the top five or top 10 on the track. After finishing in seventh place at New Hampshire in July, he was ranked in eighth place in the regular-season standings. Ultimately, he went on to record two additional top-10 results and secure a spot in this year’s Playoffs, which marked his fourth career appearance in the Playoffs as a title contender.

    Entering the 2020 Cup Playoffs with momentum and high expectations, Almirola advanced into the Round of 12 after finishing ninth, eighth and fifth in the first round of the Playoffs spanning three races. His momentum, however, came to an end during the second round, where he finished 17th, 37th and 16th during the following three races and failed to advance to the Round of 8. He went on to finish in 13th place in last weekend’s event at Kansas.

    Through October 2020, Almirola has achieved two Cup career victories, two poles, 24 top-five results and 78 top-10 results in 349 previous starts in the Cup circuit. He is set to remain with Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2021 Cup Series season.

    Catch Almirola’s milestone start at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, October 25, at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Mike Shiplett to reach 150 Cup starts as crew chief at Bristol

    Mike Shiplett to reach 150 Cup starts as crew chief at Bristol

    A significant milestone is in the making for Mike Shiplett, crew chief for this year’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoff contender and Rookie-of-the-Year recipient Cole Custer. When the Cup Series competes in this weekend’s Playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Shiplett will call his 150th race in NASCAR’s premier series as a crew chief.

    A native of Amherst, Ohio, Shiplett grew up working on street stock cars for local short track racing with his uncle before he raced his prepared street stock across Ohio at age 16, eventually moving up to late model stock cars. He went on to attain a degree in diesel technology at the University of Northwestern Ohio in 1992. Afterwards, he joined Liberty Racing as a mechanic in the American Speed Association in 1995, which made the eventual move to the NASCAR Truck Series.

    In 1998, Shiplett moved to North Carolina and worked as a car chief for the No. 75 Butch Mock Motorsports team that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. Following the 2000 season, Shiplett joined forces with Ultra Motorsports in 2001 and continued to work as a car chief. Two years later, he joined Evernham Motorsports and another four years later, he worked as a crew chief for Evernham’s Xfinity Series program. Working with seven competitors in the 2007 NASCAAR Xfinity season, Shiplett won his first two NASCAR career races as a crew chief with Kasey Kahne.

    In 2008, when Evernham Motorsports became Gillett-Evernham Motorsports, Shiplett was named a full-time NASCAR Cup Series crew chief for the No. 10 Dodge team that started the season with Patrick Carpentier, the 1997 CART Rookie of the Year and Champ Car competitor from LaSalle, Quebec, Canada, behind the wheel. The 2008 season marked Shiplett’s first as a Cup crew chief. From 2008 to 2009, Shiplett worked with five different drivers (Patrick Carpentier, Terry Labonte, Mike Wallace, Reed Sorenson and A.J. Allmendinger) while remaining with the team that became Richard Petty Motorsports in 2009. In August 2008, Shiplett served as a crew chief for Carpentier for the NASCAR Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, where he finished 25th. Following the 2009 season, Shiplett called 66 Cup career races.

    In 2010, Shiplett worked as a full-time Cup crew chief with Allmendinger and the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford team. Together, Allmendinger and Shiplett achieved a pole position at Phoenix Raceway in April, two top-five results and eight top-10 results as Allmendinger concluded the season in 19th place in the final standings. Following the 2010 season, Shiplett reached 100 Cup races as a crew chief.

    For the first 19 Cup races of the 2011 season, Shiplett remained as crew chief for Allmendinger and the No. 43 RPM Ford team as Allmendinger earned one top-five result, four top-10 results and was ranked in 16th place in the standings following the recent Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July. Afterwards, Shiplett was replaced by Greg Erwin for the remainder of the season and Allmendinger went on to conclude the season in a career-best 15th place in the final standings.

    In 2012, Shiplett scaled back to the Xfinity Series and worked at Turner Motorsports. He served as a crew chief for 23 Xfinity races while working with Kasey Kahne and Brad Sweet, both of whom split driving roles in the No. 38 Great Clips Chevrolet. He also served as a crew chief for Kahne in the Truck Series race at Rockingham Speedway in April, where Kahne went on to win.

    From 2013 to 2014, Shiplett rejoined Richard Petty Motorsports and was involved with the team’s research-and-development program. He also served as an Xfinity Series crew chief for Corey LaJoie in the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November when LaJoie made his series debut.

    In 2015, Shiplett rejoined the Xfinity Series and worked as a crew chief for HScott Motorsports with Chip Ganassi Racing and the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro team driven between Kyle Larson, Justin Marks and Brennan Poole. Shiplett remained with the organization when the No. 42 car returned only under the Chip Ganassi Racing banner in 2016. From 2015 to 2018, Shiplett won a total of 15 Xfinity races between Larson, Marks, Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain and John Hunter Nemechek.

    After Chip Ganassi Racing’s Xfinity program shut down due to sponsorship woes, Shiplett joined Stewart-Haas Racing to serve as crew chief for Cole Custer and the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang team. Together, Custer and Shiplett had great success all season long as they achieved seven victories, six poles, 17 top-five results, 24 top-10 results and an average result of 9.0. In the end, however, Custer and Shiplett finished in second place in the final standings behind the champions Tyler Reddick and crew chief Randall Burnett of Richard Childress Racing.

    Following a successful 2019 Xfinity Series season, Stewart-Haas Racing named Shiplett as a full-time crew chief of the No. 41 Haas Ford Mustang driven by Custer for the 2020 season as Custer entered this season as a Rookie-of-the-Year contender. Through the first 16 Cup races of this season, Custer and Shiplett achieved one top-five result, two top-10 results and were ranked in 25th place in the regular-season standings.

    The following race at Kentucky Speedway, however, Custer took advantage on a two-lap shootout and made a bold four-wide pass for the lead on the final lap and against names like Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. to achieve his first Cup career victory in his 20th series start. The win was also Shiplett’s first in the Cup level as the victory guaranteed Custer, Shiplett and the No. 41 team a spot in the 2020 Cup Playoffs. Custer and Shiplett went on to achieve three additional top-10 results throughout the regular-season stretch. By the time the 2020 Cup Playoff field was set following the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway in August, Custer was named the 2020 Cup Rookie of the Year since he was the lone rookie candidate to make the 16-car Playoff field.

    Through the first two Cup Playoff races of this season, Custer and Shiplett achieved 12th- and 14th-place results at Darlington Raceway and at Richmond Raceway. Currently, Custer is eight points below the top-12 cutline and is one of four competitor who are on the brink of elimination from title contention entering this weekend’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    Catch Shiplett’s milestone start at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Saturday, September 19. The race will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Johnny Klausmeier to reach 100 Cup starts as crew chief at Darlington

    Johnny Klausmeier to reach 100 Cup starts as crew chief at Darlington

    A significant milestone is in the making for Johnny Klausmeier, crew chief of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang driven by Clint Bowyer in the NASCAR Cup Series. When the green flag waves on September 6 at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500, Klausmeier will achieve 100 starts as a Cup crew chief.

    A native of Perry Hall, Maryland, who is the son of an auto repairman, Carl Klausmeier, and a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) with a mechanical engineering degree, Johnny Klausmeier was a race engineer for Stewart-Haas Racing when he made his crew chief debut at Pocono Raceway in June 2016 for the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kurt Busch. By then, veteran Tony Gibson, who was crew chief for Busch and the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Chevrolet team, was serving a one-race suspension due to violating a section of the NASCAR Rule Book related to lug nuts infraction following the previous event, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    During the main event at Pocono and with former championship crew chief Greg Zipadelli alongside Klausmeier atop the No. 41 pit box, Busch took the lead with 32 laps remaining and survived on fuel to beat Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski to win. With Busch picking up his first victory of the 2016 Cup season and guaranteeing himself a spot in the Playoffs, Klausmeier recorded his first Cup victory in his first race as a crew chief. A week later, Gibson returned atop the pit box of Busch’s No. 41 team and for the remainder of the season while Kluasmeier returned to his role as engineer for SHR.

    At Watkins Glen International in August 2017, Klausmeier returned as an interim crew chief for Kurt Busch and his No. 41 Ford team in place of Tony Gibson. Starting in 18th place, Busch finished in sixth place in Klausmeier’s one-race stint as a crew chief.

    A month after the 2017 season concluded, Stewart-Haas Racing announced its crew chief lineup for the 2018 Cup season, with Klausmeier being promoted as a full-time Cup crew chief for Aric Almirola and the No. 10 Smithfield Ford team.

    Klausmeier’s first race as a full-time crew chief with Almirola was the Daytona 500 in February. During the event, Almirola, who was consistent throughout the event, took the lead on the penultimate lap and he started the final lap of the race. He was leading with two turns remaining until Austin Dillon made contact and turned Almirola into the outside wall entering Turn 3. Instead of a possible trip to Victory Lane with a new team and a new full-time crew chief, Almirola concluded the race in 11th place and with a wrecked race car while Dillon went on to win his first Daytona 500 crown.

    From Atlanta Motor Speedway in February through Martinsville Speedway in March, Almirola and Klausmeier achieved six consecutive top-15 results, with Almirola ranked in 11th place in the regular-season standings. For the remaining 20 Cup regular-season races, Almirola and Klausmeier achieved went on to achieve eight additional top-10 results and 12 top-15 results. When the regular-season concluded at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in September, Almirola qualified for his second Cup postseason appearance as a title contender as Klausmeier made his first postseason appearance as a crew chief.

    During the Round of 16, the first Playoff stretch at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Richmond Raceway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, Almirola achieved results of sixth, fifth and 19th as he transferred to the Round of 12 in a three-way tie along with Kyle Larson, both of whom eliminated Jimmie Johnson from title contention. The following Playoff race at Dover International Speedway in October, which marked the start of the Round of 12, Almirola was leading in the closing laps until a late caution came out due to a single-car incident involving teammate Clint Bowyer. Opting to pit for four fresh tires and restarting back in the top 10, he was involved in a late multi-car accident while trying to fight his way back to the front. Instead of another possible trip to Victory Lane with Klausmeier, Almirola concluded the race in 13th place.

    The following Playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway, Stewart-Haas Racing came into the event with a plan involving teamwork. For nearly the entire race, the four SHR competitors led by Kurt Busch ruled the track and all were primed to finish 1-2-3-4 on the track when a late caution fell due to a multi-car wreck. During overtime, teammates Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch ran out of fuel and Almirola was able to take the lead on the final lap and hold off Bowyer to achieve his first elusive victory of the season and first with SHR. The win at Talladega marked the second Cup victory for both Almirola and Klausmeier as both secured a spot to the Round of 8 in the Playoffs.

    After winning at Talladega and finishing in 10th place at Kansas Speedway to cap off the Round of 12, Almirola and Klausmeier achieved results of 11th, eighth and fourth in the Round of 8 at Martinsville, Texas and at Phoenix. Despite the results, Almirola fell short in advancing to the Championship Round along with teammates Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch while Kevin Harvick was the lone Stewart-Haas Racing competitor who contended for the title. Almirola went on to finish in ninth place in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November as he and Klausmeier capped off the season in fifth place in the final standings.

    Coming off a productive 2018 season, Klausmeier remained as Almirola’s crew chief for the 2019 Cup season. The combo started off the season with a 32nd-place result at the Daytona 500 in February due to being involved in a late multi-car accident, but they rebounded with six consecutive top-10 results from Atlanta in February to Texas in April. For the remaining 19 Cup regular-season races, Almirola and Klausmeier went on to achieve four additional top-10 results and 11 top-15 results as Almirola and Klausmeier made the Cup Playoffs for the second year in a row.

    During the Round of 16 in the Playoffs, Almirola finished 13th, 16th and 14th in the round’s three-race stretch, but he was one of four competitors who failed to transfer to the Round of 12. For the remaining seven races of the season, Almirola and Klausmeier achieved two additional top-five results, including a runner-up result at Texas in November, and they concluded the season in 14th place in the final standings.

    Following a two-year run with Almirola, Stewart-Haas Racing made changes to three of its four crew chief lineup for the 2020 Cup season. With that, Klausmeier was named crew chief for Clint Bowyer and the No. 14 Ford Mustang team while Mike Bugarewicz was named crew chief for Almirola and the No. 10 Ford Mustang team.

    In Klausmeier’s first race with Bowyer, which occurred at the Daytona 500 in February, the Emporia, Kansas, native rallied from being involved in a late incident to finish in sixth place. Following the first four Cup races with Klausmeier atop the pit box and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bowyer achieved his first top-five result at Phoenix Raceway in March and was ranked in 13th place in the regular-season standings.

    When the NASCAR Cup Series returned to on-track racing for a pair of races at Darlington Raceway in May, Bowyer and Klausmeier achieved a 17th-place result in the first Darlington event and both were dominant in the second Darlington event, where Bowyer won the first two stages of the race before he was involved in a late spin and settled in 22nd place. Three races later, Bowyer aand Klausmeier achieved their best result of second place at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Bowyer and Klausmeier have achieved one pole, three stage wins, two top-five results, seven top-10 results and 182 laps led. With both making this year’s Playoffs and their third consecutive postseason season, Bowyer will start the Playoffs in 13th place in the standings with 2,004 points as he and Klausmeier pursue their first Cup title.

    Catch Klausmeier’s milestone start at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, September 6, at Darlington Raceway, which will occur at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Harvick officially wraps up 2020 Cup regular-season title

    Harvick officially wraps up 2020 Cup regular-season title

    Even before Kevin Harvick climbed behind the wheel of his No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on August 29 and went on to finish in 20th place, he was already celebrating a major accomplishment of this season after he was awarded the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season championship trophy.

    This season marks Harvick’s 20th consecutive season of competing in NASCAR’s premier series and his seventh with Stewart-Haas Racing. Through the 26-race regular-season stretch, led by crew chief Rodney Childers, Harvick recorded seven victories, seven stage victories, 17 top-five results, 21 top-10 results and an average result of 6.6 while he has also led over 1,100 laps. Among his accomplishments this season include winning at Darlington Raceway in May following NASCAR’s return from a hiatus due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and backing it up with victories at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the first of a Pocono Raceway doubleheader weekend, the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, sweeping Michigan International Speedway in a doubleheader weekend and winning the second Dover International Speedway doubleheader while recording the 700th Cup win for the Ford nameplate. Once he first took the lead in the regular-season standings following Phoenix Raceway in March, he never looked back as he stormed ahead from the competition on a weekly basis.

    Having a competitive car towards the front throughout the regular season makes Harvick and his No. 4 Ford Mustang team a championship favorite entering the 2020 Cup Playoffs as he pursues his second Cup championship, the third title for Stewart-Haas Racing and the first title for Ford since 2018.

    In addition to becoming the third overall regular-season champion in the NASCAR Cup Series since its inception in 2017, Harvick was also awarded 15 bonus points and will start off the 2020 Cup Playoffs with the top seed with 2,057 points and ahead of Denny Hamlin (2047), Brad Keselowski (2029), Joey Logano (2022) and Chase Elliott (2020). He will also compete against his three Stewart-Haas Racing teammates (Aric Almirola, Clint Bowyer and Cole Custer) along with 12 other competitors throughout the 2020 postseason.

    Kevin Harvick’s pursuit for a second Cup title will commence on Sunday, September 6, at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500, which will occur at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Harvick to move into fifth place on the Cup consecutive starts list at Dover

    Harvick to move into fifth place on the Cup consecutive starts list at Dover

    A significant milestone is in the making for Kevin Harvick approaching this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader races at Dover International Speedway. By the time the Cup Series completes both Dover races on August 22 and 23, Harvick will move into fifth place on the all-time consecutive starts list with 665 consecutive starts.

    Harvick’s previous 663 consecutive starts spans all the way back to April 2002 at Talladega Superspeedway, where he returned from a one-race suspension following an on-track altercation with Coy Gibbs in the NASCAR Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway. From April 2002 at Talladega to November 2013 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, he made 424 consecutive starts in the No. 29 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. During his consecutive streak span with RCR, Harvick achieved 21 victories, six poles, 93 top-five results, 192 top-10 results and over 4,000 laps led. His best points result during his time with RCR was third place, which he achieved in 2010, 2011 and 2013.

    From February 2014 at Daytona International Speedway through August 2020 at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, Harvick’s streak of consecutive starts continued when he made the move to Stewart-Haas Racing to drive the No. 4 car. Through 239 consecutive starts with SHR, Harvick achieved 32 victories, 26 poles, 121 top-five results, 172 top-10 results and over 10,000 laps led. In 2014, Harvick captured his first NASCAR Cup Series championship in his first season with SHR after winning the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.

    Following the first 23 Cup races of this season, where Harvick has won six races and is the current regular-season points leader, he is tied with seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson with 663 consecutive starts. In addition to surpassing Johnson and moving into the top five in the all-time Cup consecutive starts list, Harvick is the leading active Cup competitor with the most consecutive starts among the current Cup field. Johnson’s streak came to an end in July when he tested positive for COVID-19 symptoms and was unable to compete at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a race that was ironically won by Harvick.

    With Harvick set to achieve 665 consecutive starts following this weekend, he continues to trail Jeff Gordon (797), Ricky Rudd (788), Bobby Labonte (704) and Rusty Wallace (697) for the most consecutive starts as a Cup Series competitor.

    Catch Harvick’s milestone starts at Dover International Speedway on August 22 and 23, with both races to air at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Harvick sweeps Michigan in one weekend

    Harvick sweeps Michigan in one weekend

    Like his run from a day earlier at Michigan International Speedway, Kevin Harvick had a fast car and had to fight off all comers to earn a victory. That was the case on Sunday, August 9, when Harvick held off a late challenge from Denny Hamlin in the final laps to win the Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan and to sweep both Cup races at the Irish Hills on the same weekend. The victory was Harvick’s sixth of this season, fifth at Michigan and the 55th of his Cup Series career. 

    The starting lineup was based on the results from Saturday’s Cup race at Michigan, where the top-20 finishers were inverted while the latter 20 competitors started as finished on Saturday. Chris Buescher, who finished 20th, was scheduled to start on pole position, but he started at the rear of the field in a backup car. As a result, William Byron and Clint Bowyer, both of whom finished 14th and 19th on Saturday, started on the front row and led the field to the start on Sunday.

    In addition to Buescher, the following competitors, including Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, rookie Tyler Reddick, Aric Almirola, Michael McDowell, Ryan Preece, rookie John Hunter Nemechek and rookie Cole Custer, started at the rear of the field in backup cars. Rookie Brennan Poole also started at the rear of the field for an engine change, Daniel Suarez and Reed Sorenson both dropped to the rear of the field due to failing pre-race inspection twice and Josh Bilicki started at the rear of the field due to a driver change. 

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Byron and Bowyer battled dead even for the lead with Bowyer squeaking ahead to lead the first lap. Behind, Austin Dillon was assessed a pass-through penalty for unapproved adjustments made on the grid prior to the race.

    The following lap, Jimmie Johnson and Matt DiBenedetto overtook Byron for position with rookie Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones and Kurt Busch trailing behind. By then, Bowyer was ahead with the lead by nearly half a second.

    By the fifth lap, Kyle Busch muscled his way up to seventh after overtaking brother Kurt and Wallace in Turn 2 a lap earlier. Behind, Ryan Blaney was in ninth, Chase Elliott was in 11th ahead of Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski. Denny Hamlin was in 17th, teammate Martin Truex Jr. was in 19th and Tyler Reddick was in 20th ahead of Alex Bowman. Rookie Cole Custer was in 25th ahead of Ryan Newman, Aric Almirola and Daniel Suarez.

    Five laps later and 10 laps into the race, Bowyer stabilized his early advantage by more than a second over Johnson followed by Bell, DiBenedetto, Byron and Jones. Two laps later, Bell, the fastest competitor on the track, moved into the runner-up spot after passing Johnson. Another lap later, Johnson lost momentum entering Turn 3 and fell back to sixth place while being overtaken by DiBenedetto, Byron and Jones. 

    By Lap 15, Harvick, winner of Saturday’s Cup Michigan race, cracked the top 10 after passing Wallace. Ahead of him, Kyle Busch was in eighth ahead of Blaney while Logano, Elliott, Keselowski and Hamlin were running in 12th through 15th.

    Five laps later and 20 laps into the race, Bowyer was still leading by more than two seconds over Bell, who continued to chop off Bowyer’s advantage. DiBenedetto was still in third place while Byron and Jones battled for fourth. The Busch brothers followed suit while Blaney and Harvick were in eighth and ninth. Johnson, meanwhile, had fallen back to 10th with Logano lingering behind him. By then, Wallace was in 15th ahead of Reddick, Truex was in 24th behind Almirola and Austin Dillon was back in 33rd place following his opening lap pass-through penalty.

    With the laps in the first stage dwindling, Bowyer and his No. 14 DEKALB Ford Mustang were still ahead and cruising by three seconds over Bell and his No. 95 Procore Toyota Camry. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch and his No. 18 M&M’s Fudge Brownie Toyota Camry continued to work towards the front as he moved into third place followed by Jones, Byron and DiBenedetto. Blaney was in seventh followed by Harvick, one of the fastest competitors on the track. Kurt Busch was in ninth while Logano was in 10th ahead of Johnson, Elliott, Hamlin and Keselowski. Reddick was in 17th behind Wallace while Truex was stuck back in 22nd.

    With no competition trailing behind him for the lead, Bowyer was able to navigate his way through lapped traffic and cruise to the first stage win on Lap 40 while claiming his third stage win of the season and crucial stage points towards making the Playoffs. Bell settled in second place followed by Kyle Busch, DiBenedetto and Jones. Byron, Blaney, Harvick, Kurt Busch and Logano settled in the top 10. 

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Kyle Busch emerged with the lead after exiting pit road first following a stellar stop by the No. 18 M&M’s crew. Harvick moved up to second place followed by teammate Bowyer, Byron and Jones. Following the first round of pit stops, Blaney, who was in the top 10, made another pit stop to fill up the fuel tank of his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang. 

    Prior to the restart and with the choose rule implemented, Byron moved up from fourth to second place and restarted beneath Kyle Busch on the front row, Johnson moved up from seventh to restart in third place alongside Harvick in the second row and Bowyer dropped back to sixth to restart on the outside lane in the third row alongside Logano.

    The second stage started on Lap 47 and Kyle Busch jumped to an early advantage with drafting help from Harvick. Not long after, Harvick made a three-wide move on Kyle Busch and Byron entering Turn 2 to take the lead and pull away. Busch settled in second followed by Bowyer, Byron and Jones. A lap later, Keselowski made his way into the top five after moving up to fourth. Behind, Bell was back in eighth following a slow stop under the first stage break. 

    By Lap 60 and with less than 100 laps remaining of the overall race, Harvick was leading by more than a second over Keselowski and Kyle Busch. Bowyer was in fourth followed by Bell, Jones, Logano, DiBenedetto, Elliott and Hamlin. Kurt Busch was in 11th followed by Almirola and Byron, Johnson and Bowman. Blaney was in 18th behind Reddick and ahead of Truex and Wallace. Matt Kenseth and Newman were in 16th and 23rd.

    Ten laps later, Harvick, who started to approach lapped traffic, was still ahead of the field by two seconds over Keselowski and more than three seconds over Kyle Busch. Bell was still in fourth place followed by Bowyer, Jones, Hamlin, Logano, Elliott and Almirola. Johnson and Byron were back in 14th and 15th behind Blaney while Truex was in 17th. 

    At the halfway mark on Lap 78, Harvick extended his advantage to more than three seconds over Keselowski with Kyle Busch trailing by more than four seconds, Bell by nearly six seconds and Bowyer by nearly seven seconds. Like his race-winning performance from Saturday and with the same car he drove to yesterday’s win, Harvick was able to drive away from the field and easily claim the second stage on Lap 85 for his fifth stage victory of the season. Keselowski settled in second place followed by Kyle Busch, Bell and Bowyer. Hamlin, Jones, Almirola, Logano and Blaney were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Harvick retained the lead after exiting pit road first ahead of Kyle Busch. Keselowski, Bowyer and Hamlin exited in the top five followed by Bell. Prior to the restart, Hamlin moved up to the front row to restart beneath Harvick, Kyle Busch fell back to fourth to restart on the outside lane alongside Blaney. Elliott and Keselowski restarted behind on the third row followed by DiBenedetto and Bowyer.

    Under 65 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. During the restart, Hamlin and Blaney boosted ahead with the lead and both competitors battled dead even before Blaney squeaked ahead with the top spot. Behind, Harvick and Hamlin battled for the runner-up spot followed by Elliott, Kyle Busch and Keselowski. Meanwhile, Bowman and Truex, both of whom struggled, were in 10th and 11th while Bowyer was in 12th ahead of Jones, Reddick and Bell. Byron was in 17th ahead of Kenseth while Johnson was in 20th behind Wallace.

    With around 60 laps remaining, Keselowski, who muscled his way up to the runner-up spot, made a move beneath Blaney in Turn 1 and challenged for the lead when he got loose and slipped up into Blaney as both Penske teammates wrecked across the Turn 2 outside wall. With the caution returning, the wreck eliminated Blaney and Keselowski from race-winning contention and the overall race.

    “I just lost it,” Keselowski said following his release from the infield care center on NBCSN. “It’s my fault. I feel really bad for my teammate, Ryan Blaney. He didn’t deserve that. I just came off of Turn 4 and [Harvick] was behind me. He gave me a push and I swear, I went into the corner like 20 mph faster than I had been all day. [I] Got pass [Hamlin] and went to get underneath [Blaney]. It just slipped, lost the back a little bit. I went to correct it and he was there, and I wiped him out and myself out.”

    “It’s unfortunate for the whole Penske organization,” Blaney added. “We had two fast cars, battling for the lead. It stinks that happened. He had a run like he said. He didn’t think he had a big of a run as he had and just got loose and unfortunately, got us both. That’s a shame to end our day like that with the Knauf/Menards Ford Mustang. We were so fast…Got the lead…It’s unfortunate, but it’s not going to carry over. Mistakes happen.”

    Under caution, Bowman made a pit stop after sustaining damage during the incident. Bowyer, who also sustained minimal damage to his car, remained on track inside the top 10. Prior to the restart, Kyle Busch moved up to restart beneath teammate Hamlin on the front row. Kurt Busch and Harvick restarted on the second row in front of Bell and Elliott.

    The race restarted under green with 55 laps remaining and Harvick made his way back to the lead over Hamlin. Elliott moved into third followed by Kyle Busch and Almirola. Kurt Busch charged his way up to sixth followed by DiBenedetto, Truex, Johnson and Bell. Meanwhile, Bowyer, who sustained a tire rub during the restart, made an unscheduled pit stop and was trapped a lap behind the leaders.

    Shortly after, the caution returned when Bell spun in Turn 2 after sustaining a flat tire. The caution was as a saving grace for Bowyer, who received the free pass and returned on the lead lap. 

    Under caution, nearly the entire field pitted and Hamlin exited pit road first after only taking fuel to his No. 11 FedEx Toyota, the first of many who elected to pit for only fuel. DiBenedetto exited in second after he also took only fuel to his car followed by Harvick, who opted for a two-tire stop. At the front, Almirola remained on track to inherit the lead, though he miscommunicated with his crew over code words and had meant to pit with the leaders.

    When the race restarted with 47 laps remaining, teammates Almirola and Harvick battled for the lead with Harvick leading the following lap before Almirola cleared his teammate for the lead the next lap. Behind, DiBenedetto moved up to third place followed by Truex, who made a three-wide move on Kurt Busch and Hamlin to move into the top five for the first time. Logano was in seventh followed by Jones, Kyle Busch and Newman. 

    With 40 laps remaining, Harvick made his way back to the lead after passing Almirola, though Almirola and his No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang remained competitive on old tires and low fuel. Truex was up in third place followed by DiBenedetto and Hamlin. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch was in ninth ahead of Johnson and Jones, Austin Dillon was up to 13th, Byron was in 15th and Bowyer was in 18th.

    Ten laps later and with 30 laps remaining, Harvick was still leading by two-tenths of a second over his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Almirola while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Truex and Hamlin battled for third place. Kurt Busch trailed by more than four seconds with brother Kyle up to sixth.

    Seven laps later, with the leaders approaching lapped traffic, teammates Truex and Hamlin passed Almirola to move up to second and third with Truex trailing race leader Harvick by less than a second. 

    With less than 20 laps remaining, the caution returned due to debris from Bowman’s No. 88 Adam’s Polishes/ChevyGoods.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, who had sustained a flat tire entering Turn 4 and near the pit road entrance. The caution was as a saving grace for Almirola, who was on the brink of having to make an unscheduled pit stop under green.

    Under caution, Almirola along with some that included DiBenedetto, Wallace, Kenseth, Michael McDowell, rookie John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Preece and Daniel Suarez pitted while most of the leaders led by Harvick remained on track.

    With 15 laps remaining, the race restarted under green with Harvick and Hamlin on the front row in front of Truex and Logano. At the restart, Harvick retained the lead while teammates Truex and Hamlin battled for the runner-up spot. Teammate Kyle Busch made his way to fourth after passing brother Kurt and with DiBenedetto behind. 

    Two laps later, Hamlin settled in the runner-up spot in front of teammates Truex and Kyle Busch. By then, Harvick was ahead by nearly a second. Meanwhile, Almirola, following his pit stop, was up to eighth on fresh tires behind Elliott. 

    With less than 10 laps remaining, Harvick was leading by six-tenths of a second over Hamlin, who was slowly closing in towards Harvick, while teammates Truex and Kyle Busch battled for third place. During this time, Bowman made another unscheduled pit stop after making contact with the wall and sustaining another flat tire.

    With the laps dwindling, Hamlin continued to chop off Harvick’s advantage as he drew himself to being three-tenths of a second behind Harvick. While Hamlin remained within sight of Harvick’s rear bumper and made a few attempts to pass for the lead through the turns, Harvick was able to retain his advantage entering the straightaways.

    With two laps remaining, Hamlin gained a run in Turn 1 when Harvick lifted, but he also lifted entering Turn 2 as Harvick stabilized his advantage to nearly three car lengths. On the final lap, Harvick was still ahead with Hamlin still lurking behind. In Turn 3, Harvick remained on the inside lane while Hamlin went on the outside lane. Entering Turn 4, Hamlin gained a huge run on Harvick and got to his rear bumper. With the checkered flag waving and the leaders coming across the finish line through the frontstretch, Harvick was able to beat Hamlin by 0.093 seconds to grab a thrilling win.

    The victory was the 13th of the season for Ford, the manufacturer’s 42nd Cup victory since 2018 and the seventh of the season for Stewart-Haas Racing. With his two victories this weekend, Harvick tallied his top-five results of this season to 15 and top-10 results to 19. A day after tying the late Lee Petty for 11th place on the NASCAR Cup all-time wins list, Harvick has tied NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace for 10th place on the all-time wins list. 

    “It was a big challenge [on the battle with Hamlin],” Harvick said in Victory Lane on NBCSN. “Our Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang got really tight there in [Turns] 3 and 4. I could run really good through [Turns] 1 and 2 still, but I was just tight on that other end all day. I just got to thank all of my guys. They did a great job all weekend on pit road. Great pit calls. It’s been a long time since I’ve raced back-to-back days, let alone in the Cup car. I’ve never accomplished that, obviously, but we’ve done that a couple times this year. For us, it’s worked out pretty good. When you look at my team, we’ve been together for seven years now, and you look at the confidence that everybody has in each other, the details of the racecars and the thought of everything that goes into everything we do is untouchable.”

    Hamlin settled in the runner-up spot for his 12th top-five result of this season as this also marks the ninth time where he has finished first or second this season. Teammates Truex and Kyle Busch finished third and fourth while Logano held off Almirola to finish fifth.

    “Once we finally got to second, I knew we had something for [Harvick],” Hamlin said. “We got stalled there. He was tight, I was tight. We were better, that’s for sure. He just had the track position and could control the lanes there. [I] Wished I had Turns 1 and 2 to go do over again when we both lifted off of [Turn] 2 there. I should’ve faked low and went high, but I thought I could maybe get to the quarter panel and shoved him even higher. Just couldn’t quite do it, but proud of this whole FedEx Ground Toyota team. Obviously, a very strong run. We just needed a little bit more. Overall, I thought we just had a good-handling car and that’s what allowed us to keep pace there. I thought our whole team did a great job of adjusting overnight. We’re just plugging along here. [I] Really hate giving up wins to [Harvick]. I got tremendous respect for everyone on [the No. 4] team and Kevin. As we’ve gotten older, we’ve gotten wiser, learned to really appreciate what each other does on the race track and obviously, they’re have a great season as well.”

    “We battled back,” Truex said. “The car was pretty far off to start the race. We’re all pretty disappointed in that, obviously. Really proud of the effort to get the Auto-Owners [Insurance] Camry back upfront. Just really proud of our race team. We keep bringing top-three cars to the race track and the Playoffs are coming. So, we need to keep doing that. Just off at the start and had to rebound. Definitely, a different story than yesterday but pretty much, the same result. I was doing all I could to get up there. I got too tight there at the end. Just fought the balance too much all day. Wicked loose to start and wicked tight at the end. We’ll keep digging.”

    Almirola, DiBenedetto, Austin Dillon, Elliott and Kurt Busch rounded out the top 10. Jimmie Johnson finished 11th in his final run at Michigan while Bowyer ended his run in 14th place.

    There were 10 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 24 laps.

    With two victories this weekend and with four regular-season races remaining until the start of the 2020 Cup Playoffs, Harvick continues to lead the regular-season series standings by 137 over Keselowski and 140 over Hamlin.

    Results.

    1. Kevin Harvick, 90 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Denny Hamlin, six laps led

    3. Martin Truex Jr.

    4. Kyle Busch, four laps led

    5. Joey Logano

    6. Aric Almirola, nine laps led

    7. Matt DiBenedetto

    8. Austin Dillon

    9. Chase Elliott

    10. Kurt Busch

    11. Jimmie Johnson

    12. William Byron

    13. Ryan Newman

    14. Clint Bowyer, 43 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    15. Matt Kenseth

    16. Ryan Preece

    17. Christopher Bell

    18. Ty Dillon

    19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    20. Chris Buescher

    21. Bubba Wallace

    22. Corey LaJoie

    23. John Hunter Nemechek

    24. Tyler Reddick

    25. Cole Custer

    26. Daniel Suarez

    27. Erik Jones

    28. Michael McDowell

    29. J.J. Yeley, two laps down

    30. Brennan Poole, three laps down

    31. Reed Sorenson, three laps down

    32. Quin Houff, three laps down

    33. Josh Bilicki, four laps down

    34. Garrett Smithley, four laps down

    35. Timmy Hill, six laps down

    36. Alex Bowman – OUT, Tire

    37. James Davison, nine laps down

    38. Ryan Blaney – OUT, four laps led

    39. Brad Keselowski – OUT

    Next weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series will race for the first time on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course layout as the 2020 Playoffs approaches its starting point. The race at Daytona will occur on August 16 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Almirola draws second pole of 2020 for Texas

    Almirola draws second pole of 2020 for Texas

    For the fifth time in 10 NASCAR Cup Series races of 2020, Aric Almirola’s name has been drawn to start on the front row for a Cup race. On this occasion, Almirola will start on pole position for the second time this season. That will be case when the driver of the No. 10 Smithfield/Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang will lead the field to the green flag on Sunday, July 19, at Texas Motor Speedway for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500, the 18th race of the 2020 Cup season as the series will also reach its halfway point of this year’s racing season.

    Almirola is already coming off an eventful week of racing, where he finished eighth at Kentucky Speedway after leading a race-high 128 laps on July 12 and won the first stage of the All-Star Open at Bristol Motor Speedway on July 15, a victory that allowed him to transfer to the All-Star Race, where he finished ninth out of a 20-car field. He is currently ranked eighth in the regular-season standings, trailing points leader/teammate Kevin Harvick by 171 points. Nonetheless, Almirola is 133 points above the top-16 cutline in his quest to qualify for this year’s 2020 Playoffs and is coming off six consecutive races of finishing in the top 10.

    Joining Almirola on the front row will be Ryan Blaney, who led a race-high 72 laps in the All-Star Race and was in position to win the event before he settled in sixth. Brothers Kurt and Kyle Busch will start on the second row in front of Kevin Harvick, who is set to make his 700th NASCAR Cup Series career start. Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin will start sixth and seventh followed by Chase Elliott, winner of this year’s All-Star Race. Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. will round out the top-10 starting positions followed by Matt DiBenedetto and Alex Bowman.

    Starting in positions 13-26 are Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Bubba Wallace, Ryan Newman, Chris Buescher, Clint Bowyer, William Byron, rookie Cole Custer, Jimmie Johnson, Austin Dillon, Matt Kenseth, Erik Jones, rookie Tyler Reddick, Ryan Preece and rookie Quin Houff.

    Starting in positions 27-40 are Garrett Smithley, rookie John Hunter Nemechek, Gray Gaulding, Ty Dillon, J.J. Yeley, rookie Brennan Poole, rookie Christopher Bell, Michael McDowell, Joey Gase, Corey LaJoie, Daniel Suarez, Timmy Hill, B.J. McLeod and Reed Sorenson.

    Catch the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on July 19 at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Kenseth, Almirola, Custer notch solid top-five results at Indianapolis

    Kenseth, Almirola, Custer notch solid top-five results at Indianapolis

    When the checkered flag flew following an eventful Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at the Brickyard, Kevin Harvick emerged victorious for his third title at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Behind Harvick featured a unique trio of top-five finishers as Matt Kenseth chased Harvick across the line while teammates Aric Almirola and rookie Cole Custer took the checkered flag in third and fifth.

    Coming into Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Kenseth’s best result in his previous 11 NASCAR Cup Series races for Chip Ganassi Racing was 10th at Darlington Raceway in May while he also recorded seven results outside the top 15. He was also coming off finishes of 11th and 12th last weekend in the Pocono doubleheader. Starting 21st on a random draw, the 2003 Cup champion worked his way up to 14th through the competition caution on Lap 13. Following a red flag period due to a huge wreck on pit road, Kenseth proceeded to run inside the top 15 for the majority of the first stage. Following a late caution and a four-tire stop for adjustments, Kenseth restarted in 16th with only a handful of laps remaining in the first stage, but was able to work his way back to 12th. At the start of the second stage, Kenseth worked his way into the top 10, where he remained throughout the second stage as he settled in sixth following the stage’s conclusion. The final stage was where Kenseth quietly flexed his muscles as he worked his way as high as third behind Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick in the closing laps. Following a late incident that eliminated Hamlin, Kenseth moved into second and was alongside Harvick with an opportunity to win in overtime. During the overtime attempt, however, Kenseth could not gain an early advantage over Harvick as he navigated his way around the famed racetrack for two final laps and finished in the runner-up position to Harvick. While he came short of grabbing a much-needed first win of the season, the second-place result marked Kenseth’s first top-five result since winning at Phoenix in November 2017 and the best result for Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 42 Chevrolet team since finishing fourth at Phoenix in March 2020. The runner-up finish was also Kenseth’s fourth in his 20th start at Indianapolis. The result moved Kenseth from 30th to 28th in the regular-season standings as he trails the top-16 cutline to the Playoffs by 138 points.

    “It was a great day for the 42 team today,” Kenseth said. “It’s always nice to be up front and be in contention late in the race. [Crew chief] Chad [Johnston] did a great job on the box with his calls today. We had a really good strategy and the best tires coming to the end of the race, lining up fourth behind the leader late in the race, but just couldn’t get it done to take the lead. I tried everything to get to the front, but just didn’t have quite enough to get around [Harvick]. If we had gotten to the lead though, I know we would have been hard to beat. All in all, though, a great race for us. It felt good to run up front and was a confidence booster for all of us. Looking forward to getting to Kentucky and carrying that momentum forward.”

    If there is a Cup competitor who has been on a roll in recent weeks, it is Almirola and the No. 10 Smithfield/Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang team. Coming off four consecutive top-five finishes in the previous four weeks and starting fifth on a random draw, Almirola was running inside the top five in the early stages of the race when he made an unscheduled pit stop on Lap 30 after reporting a vibration to his car. He was able to work his way back on the lead lap as the green-flag run progressed and finished 16th in the first stage. During the second stage, Almirola made another pit stop after reporting vibration concerns to his car, but he was able to finish 11th in the second stage. Throughout the final stage, Almirola worked his way back towards the front and was able to return into the top five with approximately 20 laps remaining. With 15 laps remaining, he passed teammate and rookie Cole Custer to move into fourth while he watched his other teammate, Harvick, trying to find a way to overtake Denny Hamlin for the lead. Following a late incident involving Hamlin, Almirola restarted in third behind Kenseth in overtime and was able to navigate his way to finish third when the checkered flag flew. Almirola’s third-place result marked the first time in his Cup career where he has notched five consecutive top-five results in a season as he also achieved his first top-five career finish at Indianapolis. With his result, he is ninth in the regular-season standings and is 105 points above the top-16 cutline.

    “We had such a great Smithfield Ford Mustang, but we kept having to get off-sequence on our pit strategy because we kept having tires come apart,” Almirola said. “They’d start to come apart and they would vibrate and shake so bad that I could hardly see where I was going, so we kept having to pit for that and it kept messing us up on our strategy and getting us off-sequence, but fortunately there at the end the caution came out when we needed it to and things finally went our way and we knocked out another top five, so just really proud of all the guys on this team. We’re doing such a good job of being consistent. We’re bringing great race cars and we’re being really consistent running up front, so just really proud of this team and just want to keep it going. It’s fun to run up front like that.”

    Finally, Custer rallied from an 11-race stretch of finishing no higher than 12th to achieve his first top-five run in NASCAR’s premier series. Starting 30th on a random draw, Custer dodged a bizarre accident on pit road under the competition caution that stacked up multiple cars running at the rear of the field. He was able to work his way into the top 20 before settling in 14th following the first stage’s conclusion. In the second stage, Custer made his first appearance in the top 10 before he finished in 13th. Following a pit stop for adjustments, Custer was lined up in 16th for the start of the final stage. He then worked his way back into the top 10 and was in the top five with 31 laps remaining. Following a late caution for a single-car wreck, Custer pitted and was lined up in sixth for the following late restart. From there, he was able to work his way into the top five and was one of three Stewart-Haas Racing drivers running in the top five along with Harvick and Almirola. When the caution returned for another single-car wreck that sent the race into overtime, Custer was lined up in fourth and behind teammate Harvick. In overtime, Custer gave teammate Harvick the push needed to allow Harvick to maintain the lead and notch a victory at Indianapolis for the team. Behind, Custer lost two spots to Almirola and Brad Keselowski, but he was able to take the checkered flag in fifth. The fifth-place result marked Custer’s first top-five career finish in the Cup Series and his best result since finishing ninth at Phoenix in March 2020. In addition, Custer was the highest-finishing rookie of the race with Tyler Reddick finishing eighth, Bell in 12th, John Hunter Nemechek in 15th, Quin Houff in 23rd and Poole in 35th. With his result, Custer moved from 26th to 25th in the regular-season standings and is 87 points behind the top-16 cutline.

    “It is awesome to have all of SHR running well here at Indy,” Custer said. “It is Tony’s [Stewart] backyard, so it is a huge race for us. For us, our team, this package has been exactly the opposite of what I am used to driving. For it to all come together today means a lot. Thanks to all the guys at SHR for bringing great race cars. HaasTooling.com went national this week, so check them out. I am psyched. I am really happy we finally had it all come together. I think it is just that I am getting better with the cars and knowing what to expect when we go to the track and getting better at what to bring in the cars to the track. It is a work in progress and having no practice doesn’t help that. I think it is all starting to come to us.”

    The NASCAR Cup Series will return to race at Kentucky Speedway on July 12, which will air at 2:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Harvick benefits on strategy, outduels Hamlin for first Pocono triumph

    Harvick benefits on strategy, outduels Hamlin for first Pocono triumph

    In his 39th attempt at a track dubbed the Tricky Triangle, Kevin Harvick scratched Pocono Raceway off of his bucket list. Harvick exited ahead of teammate Aric Almirola with 37 laps remaining following a two-tire pit stop, inherited the lead twenty laps later and held off a late challenge from Denny Hamlin to win the Pocono Organics 325, the first of two Pocono Raceway events this weekend, for his third NASCAR Cup Series win of the season and the 52nd of his career.

    The starting lineup was based on a random draw. Almirola, coming off his third-place result at Talladega Superspeedway backwards, drew the pole position and was joined on the front row with Ryan Blaney, who won at Talladega. Rookie Brennan Poole started at the rear of the field after his car failed pre-race inspection twice along with Josh Bilicki due to unapproved adjustments.

    Delayed by scattered rain, the field ran extra pace laps under caution. When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Blaney made an attempt for the lead on the inside lane, but he got loose entering Turn 1, which allowed Almirola to clear with the lead through the Long Pond Straightaway as Kyle Busch moved into second. On the fifth lap, Blaney retook second and was followed by teammate Joey Logano while Kyle Busch slipped back to fourth. 

    At the front, Almirola was able to maintain his advantage by a second over Logano and above two seconds over Blaney through the competition caution on Lap 13. By then, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Matt DiBenedetto, both of whom started 14th and 21st, moved up to 10th and 11th while Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick, both of whom started fifth and ninth, had fallen back to 12th and 15th. Under caution, the top-eight competitors remained on track while a majority led by Jimmie Johnson pitted for early adjustments. When the pit stops cycled through, 14 competitors remained on track while Johnson was in 15th, the first car on fresh tires.

    When the green flag flew and the race resumed on Lap 17, a handful of competitors running in the middle of the pack fanned out in racing five- to six-wide past the start/finish line before settling into side-by-side racing through Turn 1. Meanwhile, Almirola retained the lead followed by Logano while Blaney and Kyle Busch battled for third. The caution returned when rookie Quin Houff spun in Turn 2 and made contact with the inside wall.

    The following restart, on Lap 21, Logano, who was lined up with teammates Blaney and Brad Keselowski, was able to race alongside Almirola entering Turn 1 before he took the lead through the Long Pond Straight. By then, Chase Elliott, who was racing on fresh tires, moved into the top five after passing Kurt Busch. Two laps later, drivers like Denny Hamlin, Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and rookie Christopher Bell pitted under green as part of a strategic move for the following stage. While most of the battling for track position occurred just outside the top 10, Logano was able to cruise to the first stage win. Almirola finished second followed by Blaney while Kyle Busch and Elliott finished in the top five. Kurt Busch, DiBenedetto, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman and Erik Jones finished in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, some led by Logano remained on track while others like Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Johnson, Clint Bowyer, rookie Tyler Reddick, Ryan Newman, Jones, Bubba Wallace, rookie Cole Custer, Ryan Preece, Michael McDowell and Daniel Suarez pitted. Following the pit stops, Reddick was assessed a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road.

    The second stage started on Lap 31, where Almirola was able to return to the lead after restarting on the bottom lane. Logano dropped to second while Elliott moved into third after passing Blaney. By then, DiBenedetto moved into the top five while Bowman, Austin Dillon and William Byron were running seventh through ninth. 

    By Lap 35, Hamlin was in 13th followed by Harvick and Kyle Busch while Johnson was in 20th. Over the next 10 laps, Blaney, Kurt Busch, Logano, DiBenedetto and Bowman made a green-flag pit stop. A lap later, on Lap 46, Almirola pitted under green along with Elliott. Their pit stops allowed Truex, who last pitted on Lap 14, to take the lead followed by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Hamlin and Kyle Busch, all of whom were running with distinct pit strategies. Byron was in fourth followed by Austin Dillon, Chris Buescher and Jones.

    By Lap 55, Truex was ahead by three-tenths of a second over Hamlin with Kyle Busch trailing by nearly two seconds. Behind, Harvick was in seventh, Matt Kenseth was in ninth and Bell was the highest-running rookie in 10th with Nemechek and Reddick in 12th and 13th. Johnson was in 14th followed by Wallace while Bowyer was in 20th. Almirola was in 24th followed by Logano, Blaney, Elliott, Kurt Busch and DiBenedetto, all of whom trailed the leaders by 28 seconds.

    Over the next five laps, Nemechek, Buescher and Austin Dillon made a green-flag pit stop. On Lap 60, Hamlin passed teammate Truex to inherit the lead. At the same time, Byron made a green-flag pit stop. Shortly after, Truex pitted along with Kenseth as his two teammates, Kyle Busch and Jones, moved into second and third. By then, Harvick and Bell were in the top five while Almirola was in 14th. A lap later, Johnson made a pit stop, but nearly made contact with the lapped car of Bilicki while trying to enter his pit box.

    With 13 laps remaining in the second stage, J.J. Yeley blew a left-front tire following contact with Nemechek the previous lap entering Turn 4 and drew a caution when the tire shredded and debris scattered from Yeley’s car. Under caution, nearly the entire field led by Hamlin and Kyle Busch pitted with Hamlin exiting first on four fresh tires. Following the pit stops, Ty Dillon was assessed a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road. When the field cycled through, Almirola remained on track and returned the lead followed by Logano, Blaney, Elliott, Truex, Kurt Busch, Bowman, DiBenedetto and Byron.

    The green flag returned with eight laps remaining in the second stage and Almirola was able to fend off teammates Logano and Blaney to retain the lead through Turn 1. By then, Hamlin wasted no time carving his way to seventh. Two laps later, Jones lifted off the throttle entering Turn 4 and Reddick made contact with Jones’ No. 20 Toyota as both slid towards the inside wall with Jones pounding the wall head-on and Reddick sustaining heavy damage to the right side of his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. The caution fell following the wreck. Jones retired, moving him into a backup car for Sunday’s second Cup Pocono race, while Reddick continued. Under caution, a handful of competitors, including Kurt Busch, Byron, Austin Dillon, Johnson and Custer, pitted. On the track, Stenhouse stalled his car due to low fuel pressure and pitted to address the issue.

    With two laps remaining in the second stage, Almirola and Logano raced dead even through Turn 1 before Almirola cleared Logano on the outside lane through the first turn. With a majority of competitors jostling for positions in the two-lap dash, Almirola was able to win the second stage by three-tenths of a second over Logano for his first stage win of the 2020 season and gain crucial points towards the Playoffs. Truex settled in third followed by Blaney and DiBenedetto while Bowman, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Elliott finished in the top 10. 

    Under the stage break, only a handful of competitors that included Blaney, Elliott, Ty Dillon and Byron pitted while the rest remained on track. Elliott spent extra time in his pit box to have his right rear fender repaired. In addition, he turned down a bungee chord to hold his car in fourth gear, which popped out, as he will manage the gear himself for the remainder of the race. To make matters worse, he was penalized due to an uncontrolled tire violation and restarted towards the tail end of the lead lap car.

    The final stage commenced with 48 laps remaining as Almirola received a push from DiBenedetto to retain the lead. On the Long Pond Straight, Harvick went three wide with Logano and DiBenedetto to move into second. Logano fell back to sixth as DiBenedetto, Truex and Hamlin passed him.

    Eight laps later, Almirola was still ahead by six-tenths of a second over Harvick with DiBenedetto trailing by nearly four seconds. Truex, Logano and Hamlin were running fourth through sixth while Bowman, Newman, Kyle Busch and Bell were running inside the top 10. Shortly after, the following competitors of Blaney, Logano, Keselowski, Truex, Kyle Busch, Byron and Johnson made a green-flag pit stop. Over the next two laps, Bowman pitted along with teammate Elliott, Wallace, Bowyer and DiBenedetto.

    With 37 laps remaining, teammates Almirola and Harvick made their green-flag pit stops, but Harvick exited ahead of Almirola following a two-tire stop. Their services gave the lead to Hamlin followed by Newman, Michael McDowell, Buescher and Preece. Others competitors that pitted during this time included Nemechek, Kurt Busch, Bell, Austin Dillon and Kenseth. Five laps later, Hamlin surrendered the lead to pit for two fresh tires as Newman moved into the lead. By then, the top-seven competitors were still racing out on old tires and low fuel while Harvick, the first with fresh tires and a full tank of gas, was in eighth.

    With 23 laps remaining, Ty Dillon pitted for fuel while the top-six cars led by Newman continued running on the track as the leaders on low fuel and worn tires. Three laps later, McDowell passed Newman to move into the lead. Buescher was in third behind McDowell and Newman followed by Preece and Stenhouse. Shortly after, McDowell, Newman and Stenhouse pitted, giving the lead to Buescher. Another lap later, Preece pitted as Harvick moved into second, trailing Buescher by more than 11 seconds.

    Six laps later, Buescher pitted and Harvick assumed the lead with Hamlin, Almirola, Truex, Bell and Kyle Busch trailing. Another two laps later, Bowman made an unscheduled pit stop to address a flat right-rear tire and minimal damage to the right side of his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. The race remained under green-flag conditions with no debris reported on the track from Bowman’s car.

    With the laps dwindling, Hamlin, who reported vibrating issues to his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, started to narrow his deficit from Harvick, who was approaching lapped traffic. With 10 laps remaining, Harvick was ahead by less than a second over Hamlin with Almirola trailing by nearly 13 seconds, Bell by nearly 16 seconds and teammates Kyle Busch and Truex by approximately 18 seconds. 

    Three laps later, with seven to go, Logano made an unscheduled pit stop after blowing a left-front tire, but the race remained under green. By then, Elliott was lapped by Harvick, who was still a second ahead over Hamlin and more than 12 seconds ahead of Almirola. Another three laps later, Harvick, who had lapped Wallace, stabilized his lead to more than a second over Hamlin, who continued reporting vibrating concerns to his car. The following lap, Hamlin decreased his deficit to less than half a second to Harvick as the battle between the two veterans ignited. Though Hamlin nearly drew himself to the rear bumper of Harvick in the Long Pond Straightaway, Harvick gained a huge run entering Turn 4, which stalled Hamlin’s progress.

    When the final lap started, Harvick was ahead by three-tenths of a second over Hamlin. In the Long Pond Straight, Harvick was able to increase his lead by another three-tenths of a second after he broke Hamlin’s draft towards Harvick, which gave the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford the advantage and the gap he needed to claim his first elusive checkered flag at Pocono.

    Coming into this weekend’s doubleheader, Harvick’s previous best result at Pocono was second four times. With his first win at the Tricky Triangle, Kentucky Speedway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval remain the only active Cup tracks where Harvick has yet to fill in a win column. In addition, Harvick joined Hamlin as the only three-time winners of this year’s Cup season with 14 races completed as he also recorded the third Cup victory of 2020 for Stewart-Haas Racing and the eighth for the Ford nameplate.

    “[I] Just gotta thank everybody on our Head for the Mountains Busch Beer Ford Mustang,” Harvick said on FOX. “We weren’t where we needed to be to start the start. Lost a bunch of track position. Came back, made some great strategy calls and we were able to get out front and make some good laps. It’s great to, finally, check Pocono off the list. Everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing has done such a great job with all of our cars every time we’ve come here over the last seven years. I guess we just need special paint schemes to get to Victory Lane. Just glad it didn’t rain all day. I think in the end, it’s gonna come down to strategy and what you need to do [on Sunday].”

    Hamlin finished second, more than seven-tenths of a second behind Harvick, for his eighth top-five result of this season followed by Almirola, who led a race-high 61 of the event’s 130-scheduled laps and earned his third consecutive top-five result this season. 

    “[The vibration]’s bad,” Hamlin said. “It was like someone loosened all the [lug] nuts on the car. It’s unfortunate. We got there and we came there from a long way back. Had a strong FedEx Camry. With about 15, 20 to go, the vibration just got really, really bad. Still, it would’ve been tough to pass. Even though we got there, it was gonna be tough to get around [Harvick]. Man, our car was extremely, extremely fast. [I’m] Optimistic for tomorrow’s race, for sure.”

    “We opted to score a lot of points [in the stages], and that probably hurt us on strategy a little bit, but I’m really proud of [crew chief Mike] Buga [Bugarewicz] and these [No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford] guys,” Almirola said. “They’ve been bringing some awesome race cars. I felt like we were tit-for-tat there with [Harvick] when we were on older tires and in clean air. We’re trying to keep the momentum going. Three top fives in a row. I’m really proud of my race team.”

    Bell and Kyle Busch finished in the top five. Truex, Bowyer, McDowell and Keselowski finished sixth through ninth while Buescher passed Kenseth with two laps remaining to finish 10th. Ryan Preece finished 20th and will start on the pole position for the second Pocono race on Sunday, where he will share the front row with 19th-place finisher Austin Dillon. Melbourne, Australia’s James Davison finished 34th, five laps behind the leaders, in his Cup debut.

    There were 10 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 21 laps. Only 21 of the 40-car field finished on the lead lap.

    With his victory, Harvick stabilized his lead in the Cup Series regular-season standings by 29 points over Blaney and 47 over Logano.

    Results:

    1. Kevin Harvick, 17 laps led

    2. Denny Hamlin, 10 laps led

    3. Aric Almirola, 61 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    4. Christopher Bell

    5. Kyle Busch

    6. Martin Truex Jr., 14 laps led

    7. Clint Bowyer

    8. Michael McDowell, one lap led

    9. Brad Keselowski

    10. Chris Buescher, three laps led

    11. Matt Kenseth

    12. Ryan Blaney

    13. Matt DiBenedetto

    14. William Byron

    15. Ryan Newman, 13 laps led

    16. Cole Custer

    17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    18. Kurt Busch

    19. Austin Dillon

    20. Ryan Preece

    21. Jimmie Johnson

    22. Bubba Wallace, one lap down

    23. Corey LaJoie, one lap down

    24. John Hunter Nemechek, one lap down

    25. Chase Elliott, one lap down

    26. Ty Dillon, one lap down

    27. Alex Bowman, one lap down

    28. Daniel Suarez, two laps down

    29. Brennan Poole, three laps down

    30. Tyler Reddick, four laps down

    31. J.J. Yeley, five laps down

    32. Josh Bilicki, five laps down

    33. Garrett Smithley, five laps down

    34. James Davison, five laps down

    35. Timmy Hill, five laps down

    36. Joey Logano, six laps down

    37. Joey Gase, nine laps down

    38. Erik Jones – OUT, Accident

    39. BJ McLeod – OUT, Transmission

    40. Quin Houff – OUT, Accident

    The Cup Series’ second Pocono race as part of the doubleheader feature will air the following day, June 28, at 4 p.m. ET on FS1.