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  • Custer to make 100th Cup career start at Watkins Glen

    Custer to make 100th Cup career start at Watkins Glen

    Competing in his third full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Cole Custer is set to achieve a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Cup event at Watkins Glen International, the driver of the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang will reach 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Ladera Ranch, California, Custer made his Cup Series debut at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March 2018. By then, he was competing in his second season as a full-time Xfinity Series competitor for Stewart-Haas Racing. Driving the No. 51 Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing, Custer started 30th and finished 25th in his series debut. He competed in two additional Cup races for RWR at Pocono Raceway in June and at Richmond Raceway in September, where he finished 26th in both events.

    Following back-to-back runner-up results in the final Xfinity Series standings in 2018 and 2019, Custer was promoted to the NASCAR Cup Series as a full-time competitor for Stewart-Haas Racing and in the No. 41 Ford Mustang. He kicked off his rookie Cup season with a 37th-place result in the Daytona 500 following a rear end failure. He rebounded three races later by finishing ninth at Phoenix Raceway in March, which marked his first top-10 result in the Cup circuit. 

    After finishing no higher than 12th through the following 11 scheduled races, Custer notched his first top-five result in the Cup Series after finishing fifth at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July. Then, the Californian scored his first Cup career victory during the following weekend at Kentucky Speedway after he overtook Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. with a bold four-wide pass on the final lap and during an overtime attempt. The victory, which occurred in his 20th series start, made Custer the 194th different competitor to win in the Cup Series and it guaranteed the driver and his No. 41 SHR team a spot in the 2020 Cup Playoffs. Custer went on to record three additional top-10 results during the 26-race regular-season stretch before the Playoffs commenced. By then, Custer wrapped up the 2020 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title since he was the lone rookie contender to make the Playoffs and would finish higher in the standings than his fellow contenders (Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, John Hunter Nemechek, Brennan Poole and Quin Houff).

    After finishing no higher than 12th during the Round of 16 in the Playoffs, Custer’s title hopes came to an end as he was one of four competitors eliminated from the postseason. Nonetheless, he went on to record a ninth-place result at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval in October before capping off his rookie Cup season in 16th place in the final standings.

    Custer, who returned to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2021, kicked off his sophomore Cup season by finishing 11th in the Daytona 500. His lone highlights throughout the season, however, were a pair of 10th-place results (Talladega Superspeedway in April and Dover International Speedway in May) as he endured an inconsistent regular season stretch that prevented him from making the 2021 Cup Playoffs. Finishing no higher than 11th during the final 10 scheduled events, Custer capped off his sophomore Cup season in 26th place in the final standings.

    Through 99 previous Cup starts, Custer has achieved one victory, one pole, two top-five results, 11 top-10 results, 17 laps led and an average-finishing result of 20.7. This season, he achieved his first Cup career pole at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course in April and has recorded two top-10 results through the first 24-scheduled events, which are a pair of ninth-place runs at Atlanta Motor Speedway and at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in July. He is also ranked in 25th place in the regular-season standings and trails the top-16 cutline to make the 2022 Cup Playoffs by 363 points with two regular-season events remaining to the schedule.

    Custer is primed to make his 100th Cup Series career start at Watkins Glen International on Sunday, August 21, with the event’s coverage to occur at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Watkins Glen

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Watkins Glen

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kyle Larson: Larson took charge in Stage 3 and held off Chase Elliott to win at Watkins Glen, earning his fifth win of the season.

    “This was a lot like my win at Sonoma in June,” Larson said. “There, I held off Elliott late, just like I did at Watkins Glen. Trust me, life is so much better when you don’t ‘get caught.’”

    2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished fifth in the Go Bowling At The Glen.

    “Michael Jordan was at the race,” Hamlin said. “He was watching from the pits of Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 car, which we co-own. When Michael heard he’d be watching from the ‘pits,’ he got really excited, because he thought it would be in a casino.”

    3. Chase Elliott: Elliott started from the rear and almost pulled off the “worst-to-first” win, but couldn’t catch Hendrick teammate Kyle Larson, who scored his fifth win.

    “I failed pre-race inspection twice,” Elliott said. “Yeah, I said ‘twice.’ That’s a big ‘no-no.’ In any case, I had to start at the rear and my crew chief Alan Gustafson was ejected. Did it matter? Not really. I still was able to almost win the race, despite the penalties. Do I feel guilty about that? Yes, way more guilty than I feel about actually committing the penalties.”

    4. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex won Stage 2 and finished a strong third at Watkins Glen.

    “I’m disappointed,” Truex said. “Mostly because I didn’t fail inspection twice, didn’t have my crew chief ejected, and didn’t start from the rear, yet I still finished behind the guy who did. It’s hard to have a meaningful penalty in NASCAR when they are actually meaningless.”

    5. Kyle Busch: Busch finished fourth at Watkins Glen, sandwiched between Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin.

    “My brother Kurt is still looking for a ride for next season,” Busch said. “I told him if I hear of a team looking for a driver, I’d let him now. In other words, my ears will be ‘perked up,’ just not surgically.”

    6. Alex Bowman: Bowman came home 20th at Watkins Glen, the only Hendrick Motorsports driver outside the top-6.

    “How about You Tuber Tyler Hoover giving the ‘Start your engines’ command,” Bowman said. “That voice made me want to start my engine, then get as far away from him as possible. Hey, I like Norwegian death metal just as much as the next guy, but I like my grand marshals a bit more subdued.”

    7. William Byron: Byron finished sixth in the Go Bowling At The Glen as Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott scrapped for the win.

    “Larson and Elliott really led the way for Hendrick Motorsports,” Byron said. “Those guys dominate road courses. I like to think Alex and I are called the road course ‘B Team’ just because of our last names.”

    8. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished eighth at Watkins Glen.

    “Once again,” Harvick said, “my No. 4 Chevy sported the Busch Light Apple paint scheme. If you like Busch, and you like apples, you’re probably a reasonable person. If you like them together, you’re probably insane. But, by all means, buy a 12-pack.”

    9. Joey Logano: Logano won Stage 1 at Watkins Glen and eventually finished 22nd.

    “It was not a good day for Fords at Watkins Glen,” Logano said. “If Henry Ford were alive today, he’d be steaming. Actually, I guess he’d be combusting.”

    10. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski started on the pole at Watkins Glen and finished 35th in the GoBowling At The Glen.

    “I suffered two spins in Stage 1 alone,” Keselowski said. “It was a brake issue, so I told my crew exactly what you’d expect, ‘Make it stop.’”

  • Larson claims fifth checkered flag of 2021 at Watkins Glen

    Larson claims fifth checkered flag of 2021 at Watkins Glen

    Victory No. 5 was awarded to the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Watkins Glen International after Kyle Larson led the final 26 of 90 laps and fended off his teammate and a hard-charging Chase Elliott to win the Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday, August 8. The victory was Larson’s fifth of the season, which reignited his challenge for this year’s NASCAR Cup Series title.

    The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Cup event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. With that, Brad Keselowski, who is set to join Roush Fenway Racing as a driver and co-owner in 2022, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with teammate Joey Logano.

    Prior to the event, Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell started at the rear of the field due to their respective cars not complying with the technical rules related to the rear window air deflector. As a result, Alan Gustafson, Elliott’s crew chief, and Adam Stevens, Bell’s crew chief, have been suspended from participating in today’s Cup event along with being fined $25,000. Both competitors were docked 10 points. Engineer Tom Gray served as an interim crew chief for Elliott while car chief Chris Sherwood was atop the pit box of Bell’s team.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Keselowski managed to pull ahead of teammate Logano to assume an early advantage through the first turn and heading into the Esses. Through the Esses, the backstretch, the chicane and the seven-turn, 2.45-mile road course, Keselowski managed to lead the first lap while the field battled jostled for positioning.

    Following the first lap, Ryan Newman spun in Turn 1, but he managed to continued and the race proceeded under green.

    By the third lap, Keselowski was still leading by three-tenths of a second over teammate Logano, with Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. in the top five. Ryan Blaney was in sixth followed by Tyler Reddick, William Byron, Kevin Harvick and Alex Bowman.

    Through the first five laps of the event, Keselowski, racing in the No. 2 Wabash National Ford Mustang, continued to hold a slim lead over teammate Logano’s No. 22 Verizon 5G Ford Mustang and Larson’s No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. By then, Elliott and Bell were mired back in 23rd and 26th.

    On the ninth lap, Keselowski got loose while leading and spun in Turn 6. Keselowski’s misfortune allowed teammate Logano to slip by and take the lead just as the competition caution flew scheduled on Lap 10. Larson moved up to second place followed by Truex, Hamlin and Blaney while Keselowski, who quickly recovered following his spin, fell back to sixth.

    Under the competition caution, names like Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Elliott, Michael McDowell, Bubba Wallace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Preece, rookie Chase Briscoe and others pitted while the rest led by Logano remained on the track.

    When the race restarted on Lap 12, Logano managed to pull ahead of Larson and retain the lead through the first turn and heading into the Esses. While Larson kept Logano in his sights, Truex and Hamlin were in third and fourth while Reddick battled Blaney, Byron and Kyle Busch for a spot in the top five. 

    By Lap 15, Logano continued to lead by three-tenths of a second over Larson while third-place Truex and fourth-place Hamlin were approximately a second behind. By then, Reddick retained fifth ahead of Blaney, Byron, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Alex Bowman. Behind, Austin Dillon was in 11th ahead of Erik Jones, Keselowski was in 14th behind Matt DiBenedetto, Aric Almirola was in 15th in front of Ross Chastain and Bell, Elliott and Kurt Busch were in 18th and 20th, Briscoe was in 21st, Daniel Suarez and Bubba Wallace were in 22nd and 25th and Ryan Newman was in 26th ahead of Stenhouse and Michael McDowell.

    Not long after, some competitors led by Blaney and including Harvick, DiBenedetto, Ryan Newman, Chastain, Briscoe, Cole Custer, Wallace, Bell and Almirola pitted under green. The following lap, Truex pitted just as the pit road entrance closed to signal the end of the first stage nearing.

    Back on the track, Logano continued to lead by nearly half a second over Larson and more than a second over Hamlin. Despite being pressured by Larson, Logano managed to maintain the lead and capture the first stage victory on Lap 20, thus claiming his fourth stage victory of the season. Larson settled in second followed by Hamlin, Reddick, Byron, Kyle Busch, Bowman, Elliott, Austin Dillon and Erik Jones.

    Under the stage break, a majority led by Logano pitted while others led by Stenhouse and Truex remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 22. At the start, Briscoe, who restarted on the second row, made a bold three-wide move in a bid for the lead. Truex, however, was able to take over the lead over Briscoe through the first turn and the Esses. Behind, Kevin Harvick made his way to fourth ahead of Blaney, Bell and Matt DiBenedetto.

    Approaching Lap 24, the caution flew due to James Davison stalling his car near Turns 6 and 7. By then, Truex was leading by more than a second over Briscoe, with Stenhouse, Harvick and Bell running in the top five. Behind, Blaney spun through the Bus Stop, but he managed to continue. In addition, Keselowski pitted to address a braking issue to his car. 

    Under caution, names like Keselowski, Suarez, rookie Anthony Alfredo, Blaney and RC Enerson pitted while the rest led by Truex remained on the track.

    When the race restarted on Lap 27, Truex managed to retain the lead while Harvick, a former Glen winner who is pursuing his first victory of the season, muscled his way into the runner-up spot. Briscoe fell back to third ahead of Bell, DiBenedetto and Stenhouse.

    By Lap 30, Truex continued to lead by more than two seconds over teammate Bell, who out-braked Harvick entering the Bus Stop the previous lap to take over the runner-up spot. Briscoe and DiBenedetto were in the top five followed by Chastain, Stenhouse, Logano, Custer and Larson. Behind, Elliott, who was running in the mid-20s, pitted under green after he flat-spotted his tires.

    With three laps remaining in the second stage, Bubba Wallace and Corey LaJoie pitted under green. By then, Truex was leading by three seconds over teammate Bell.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 40, Truex remained uncontested as he claimed his fifth stage victory of the season. Bell settled in second, trailing by more than three seconds, while Harvick, Larson, Briscoe, Chastain, DiBenedetto, Hamlin, Logano and Kyle Busch were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, some featuring Hamlin pitted while the rest led by Truex remained on the track.

    With 47 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Truex launched ahead while Bell withstood his ground over Harvick to retain the runner-up spot. Through the Esses, the backstretch and the bus stop, the field settled in a single-file line as Truex remained at the front ahead of teammate Bell.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 45, Truex was leading by three-tenths of a second over teammate Bell while Larson was in third and trailing by more than six-tenths of a second. Chastain and Harvick were in the top five followed by Briscoe, Kyle Busch, Byron, Logano and DiBenedetto. Behind, Austin Dillon was in 11th ahead of Newman and Aric Almirola, Keselowski was in 15th behind teammate Blaney, Hamlin and Elliott were in 16th and 18th, Kurt Busch was in 21st ahead of Reddick and Wallace was in 24th ahead of Bowman and Suarez.

    Two laps later, Bell and Larson issued a challenge for the lead on Truex past the start/finis line and entering the first turn, but Truex managed to fend off the near three-wide battle from both competitors past the first turn and through the Esses.

    With 40 laps remaining, the top-three competitors — Truex, Bell and Larson — were separated by less than a second, with Truex continuing to lead over teammate Bell and Larson. Chastain and Harvick continued to run in the top five ahead of Briscoe, Kyle Busch, Byron, DiBenedetto and Hamlin. By then, Elliott moved up to 11th ahead of Logano.

    Four laps later, what became an intense three-car battle for the lead dwindled down to two after Larson locked up his brakes and bumped into Bell, thus sending Bell’s No. 20 Stanley Toyota Camry spinning in Turn 1, though he continued under green. 

    With Bell out of contention, Truex was leading by more than a second over Larson. Behind, Harvick and Chastain pitted under green. Back on track, another green-flag incident occurred in Turn 1 after Keselowski locked up entering the first turn and spun, clipping teammate Logano in the process as both Penske competitors spun and sustained damage to their respective Mustangs.

    In the ensuing laps, names like Briscoe, DiBenedetto, Newman and McDowell pitted under green. Truex, the race leader, also pitted along with runner-up Larson, giving the lead to Hamlin while Elliott moved up to second.

    With 30 laps remaining and a variety of pit strategy occurring, Hamlin continued to lead while Elliott surrendered the runner-up spot to pit. By then, names like Blaney, Bowman, Almirola, Chris Buescher, Wallace, Alfredo, Josh Bilicki, Reddick and Stenhouse had made a pit stop.

    On Lap 63, Kurt Busch took over the top spot after Hamlin brought his No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry for fuel. Two laps later, Kurt Busch pitted and Larson, who had managed to squeak ahead of Truex on pit road during his previous pit stop, emerged with the lead. By then, Custer and Suarez pitted.

    With 15 laps remaining, Larson was leading by nearly three seconds over Truex and nearly seven seconds over Elliott, who was the fastest competitor on the track. Behind, Kyle Busch and Byron were in the top five followed by Hamlin, Bell, Harvick, Chastain and Briscoe. 

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Larson continued to lead by less than five seconds over Truex, who also had the No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE piloted by Elliott in his rearview mirror.

    Not long after, Elliott overtook Truex’s No. 19 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry to move into the runner-up spot. By then, Elliott was more than five seconds behind teammate Larson.

    With five laps remaining, Larson maintained an advantage of approximately five seconds over teammate Elliott while Truex was trailing by more than seven seconds.

    Two laps later, Larson’s advantage was cut down to more than three seconds as Elliott continued to close in on his Hendrick Motorsports teammate. By then, the leaders were mired in lapped traffic.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson was leading by less than three seconds over teammate Elliott, who was given a final opportunity to win the event after starting at the rear of the field.

    Through the first turn, the Esses, the bus stop and the final corners, Larson was able to streak across the finish line and grab the win and the checkered flag by more than two seconds over teammate Elliott.

    In addition to claiming his fifth victory of the season, Larson captured his 11th NASCAR Cup Series career win and his second on a road course after winning at Sonoma Raceway in June. Larson also recorded the 10th Cup victory of the season for Hendrick Motorsports. With that, Larson, who signed a two-year contract extension to remain at Hendrick Motorsports nearly a month ago, drew himself into a tie with fifth-place finisher Denny Hamlin for the lead in the regular-season standings.

    “Yeah, it’s awesome,” Larson said on NBCSN. “I mean, it really just shows how good the organization is, all the people that they’ve assembled at their race shop, all the men and women. All four of us could not be getting these wins like we have been without them. Thanks to them, and thanks to everybody else I get to race for. Chase was already catching me pretty quick, even with me being in open track, so when I caught those, I think, four cars and got into [Anthony Alfredo] right here, I thought I would look at my mirror and [Elliott] would be right on me, but thankfully had a comfortable enough gap to where I could make a mistake like that…Thanks for everything you guys do for me, everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, Rick Hendrick, Jeff Gordon, [crew chief] Cliff Daniels, this whole 5 bunch. Another amazing car. I could tell from about Lap 3 after I stopped making a bunch of mistakes that we were going to have a car that could win today.”

    Elliott, who started at the rear of the field following a pre-race technical issue that left his crew chief Alan Gustafson suspended for the remainder of the day, settled in second place as he came one spot short in winning at The Glen for a third consecutive time.

    “I made too many mistakes to get the win, unfortunately, and made it too late in the race,” Elliott said. “Super proud of our team. Been kind of an uphill battle all day, but everybody was just super prepared coming into the day, and our NAPA team just did a really good job of fighting it. If I hadn’t have let them down there, I think we would have had a shot at it, but congrats to Kyle [Larson, race winner], Cliff, all the guys on the No. 5 [team]. Happy for everybody at HMS. Hendrick Motorsports has been working extremely hard, and not only do the people deserve to win, but Mr. [Rick] Hendrick deserves to win. Really happy for him, and I’ll try to clean some things up and make less mistakes next time. Maybe it’ll work out.”

    Behind, Truex came home in third place while teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin finished in the top five.

    Byron finished in sixth followed by Bell, Harvick, Briscoe and Reddick.

    Twenty-five of the 37 competitors in the field finished on the lead lap, with James Davison being the only competitor to retire due to electrical issues.

    There were seven lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured four cautions for six laps. 

    With three races remaining until the 2021 Cup Playoffs commences, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson are tied for the lead for the regular-season lead. Currently, 13 competitors (Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch, Aric Almirola, William Byron, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Christopher Bell and Michael McDowell) are guaranteed Playoff spots based on winning at least once throughout the regular season. Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Tyler Reddick continue to occupy the remaining three vacant spots to the Playoffs as winless competitors, with Reddick ahead by 15 points over teammate Austin Dillon, 135 over Chris Buescher, 147 over Matt DiBenedetto, 148 over Ross Chastain, 188 over Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 190 over Bubba Wallace, 219 over Chase Briscoe and 223 over Daniel Suarez.

    Results.

    1. Kyle Larson, 27 laps led

    2. Chase Elliott

    3. Martin Truex Jr., 34 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    4. Kyle Busch

    5. Denny Hamlin, six laps led

    6. William Byron

    7. Christopher Bell

    8. Kevin Harvick

    9. Chase Briscoe

    10. Tyler Reddick

    11. Matt DiBenedetto

    12. Ross Chastain

    13. Kurt Busch, two laps led

    14. Ryan Blaney

    15. Austin Dillon

    16. Aric Almirola

    17. Chris Buescher

    18. Cole Custer

    19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap led

    20. Alex Bowman

    21. Michael McDowell

    22. Joey Logano, 11 laps, Stage 1 winner

    23. Bubba Wallace

    24. Corey LaJoie

    25. Ryan Newman

    26. Anthony Alfredo, one lap down

    27. Erik Jones, one lap down

    28. Ryan Preece, one lap down

    29. Justin Haley, one lap down

    30. Kyle Tilley, one lap down

    31. Daniel Suarez, two laps down

    32. Quin Houff, two laps down

    33. Josh Bilicki, two laps down

    34. RC Enerson, two laps down

    35. Brad Keselowski, three laps down, nine laps led

    36. Garrett Smithley, three laps down

    37. James Davison – OUT, Electrical

    Next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ inaugural event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course layout, which will occur on Sunday, August 15, at 1 p.m. ET on NBC. 

  • Ty Gibbs scores third Xfinity career win at Watkins Glen

    Ty Gibbs scores third Xfinity career win at Watkins Glen

    In a late shootout between a future star and a pair of road-course ringers, rookie Ty Gibbs came out on top after the Charlotte, North Carolina, native fended off late challenges from AJ Allmendinger and Austin Cindric to win the Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey 200 at Watkins Glen International on Saturday, August 7. The victory at The Glen was Gibbs’ third of his Xfinity Series career and his third of the season while coming in his 10th series start.

    The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Xfinity event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Xfinity race. With that, Justin Allgaier started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Austin Cindric, winner of the recent Xfinity Glen event in 2019.

    Prior to the event, Ryan Sieg and Jesse Little started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective machines.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Allgaier and Cindric battled dead even for the lead until Cindric managed to pull ahead through the Esses. Through the backstretch, the Inner Loop, the Bus Stop and the seven-turn, 2.45-mile circuit, Cindric managed to lead the first lap. Behind, Ryan Sieg and David Smith spun in Turn 6, but the field continued to compete under green.

    Three laps later and while Cindric continued to lead, the caution flew due to Michael Munley wrecking into the tire barriers in Turn 5.

    The race restarted on the eighth lap. At the start, Cindric maintained the lead while AJ Allmendinger moved into second place over Allgaier while teammates Harrison Burton and Daniel Hemric battled in the top five ahead of their other teammate, Ty Gibbs, and the field.

    When the competition caution flew on Lap 10, Cindric was still leading. Under the competition caution, some led by Austin Dillon pitted while the rest remained on the track.

    On Lap 13, the race restarted with Cindric and Allmendinger leading the field. Behind, the No. 99 Chevrolet of Kyle Tilley was turned and spun past the start/finish line, but the race continued under green.

    At the front, Cindric maintained the lead ahead of Allmendinger, Daniel Hemric, Allgaier and Ty Gibbs. Behind, Kris Wright spun near Turn 11, but the race continued under green.

    In the closing laps of the first stage, names like Allgaier, rookie Ty Gibbs, Myatt Snider, Brandon Brown, Alex Labbe and Josh Williams pitted under green.

    Back at the front, Cindric remained uncontested and was able to win the first stage on Lap 20. Allmendinger settled in second followed by Hemric, Harrison Burton, Jeb Burton, Justin Haley, Gragson, Brandon Jones, Riley Herbst and Sam Mayer.

    Under the stage break, some led by Cindric and Allmendinger pitted while the rest led by Harrison Burton remained on the track. By then, Labbe lost an axle.

    The second stage started on Lap 24. At the start, Harrison Burton managed to retain the lead until his teammate, Brandon Jones, took it through the Esses. A lap later, Gibbs muscled his way into the lead. Behind, teammate Daniel Hemric spun in Turn 1, but he was able to continue with the race remaining under green.

    On Lap 34, the caution flew when Alex Labbe spun and got his car stuck in Turn 1. Under caution, names like Myatt Snider, Jeb Burton, Justin Haley and others pitted while the rest led by Gibbs remained on the track.

    When the race restarted on Lap 36, Allmendinger issued a challenge and managed to overtake Gibbs through the Esses.

    Despite being pressured by Gibbs, Allmendinger managed to retain the top spot over Gibbs and win the second stage on Lap 40. Settling in third was Cindric followed by Allgaier, Gragson, Herbst, Mayer, Michael Annett, Erik Jones and Hemric.

    Under the stage break, several names led by Allmendinger pitted while the rest led by Gibbs remained on the track.

    With 41 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Gibbs managed to fend off Cindric for the lead while Mayer moved up to third ahead of teammate Gragson and Harrison Burton. Two laps later, Gibbs managed to extend his advantage to more than a second over Cindric and the field.

    On Lap 49, the caution flew due to Matt Mills getting into the tire barriers out of the bus stop turn. The incident occurred as Mills was trying to avoid the No. 52 car of David Smith. 

    Under caution, few led by Hemric remained on the track while the rest pitted. During the pit stops, Riley Herbst was busted for speeding on pit road and rookie Sam Mayer was penalized for an over-the-wall too soon penalty.

    With 32 laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, Hemric, who did not pit under the last caution, led the field ahead of Bayley Currey and Brandon Jones. 

    On Lap 56, Hemric surrendered the lead to teammate Gibbs to pit. By then, Austin Dillon pitted and then took his No. 23 Our Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro to the garage due to a mechanical issue. 

    On Lap 59, Jeremy Clements spun following contact from Jeb Burton, but the race continued under green.

    Six laps later, Brandon Jones and Allgaier pitted for service. Shortly after, Kris Wright spun following contact with Sam Mayer in the bus stop, but the field continued under green.

    Then on Lap 68, the caution flew when Erik Jones, driving the No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro for Jordan Anderson Racing, lost his brakes and wrecked hard in Turn 6, with his damaged car getting stuck in the gravel trap.

    Under caution, names like Gibbs, Cindric, Allmendinger, Harrison Burton, Jeb Burton, Brandon Jones, Tommy Joe Martins, Landon Cassill, Kyle Weatherman, Allgaier and Clements remained on the track while the rest pitted.

    With 12 laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, Gibbs was leading until he went wide in Turn 1, which allowed Cindric to muscle ahead. While Gibbs, tried to peak ahead through Turn 7, Cindric maintained the lead. A lap later, though, Gibbs was back in the lead.

    Just under the final laps, the caution flew due to Kyle Weatherman stopping on the track in the backstretch and climbing out of his car.

    Down to the final four laps of the event, the race restarted. At the start, Allmendinger managed to pull ahead through the Esses. Behind, Hemric spun in Turn 1 again.

    A lap later, Gibbs was able to take the lead back from Allmendinger through Turn 6. From there, Gibbs went to work in fending off Allmendinger and Cindric with the top spot. Allgaier settled in fourth behind the three front-runners while Harrison Burton, Brandon Jones and Gragson battled for a spot in the top five.

    When the white flag waved to signal the final lap of the race, Gibbs remained ahead of Allmendinger and Cindric.

    For a final lap, Gibbs was able to navigate his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra through the seven-turn course and streak across the finish line in first place for his third checkered flag of the season.

    The victory was the 10th of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 54 Toyota Supra team, three of which came from Gibbs, as Gibbs also collected his second road-course victory of the season.

    “I felt like [Cindric] got a really great restart the restart before and he got a little wide,” Gibbs, who led a race-high 43 of 82 laps, said on CNBC. “First of all, I have to say thank you to the man above. That was probably the most fun race I’ve ever been in with AJ and with[Justin Allgaier] and [Cindric], those guys are very experienced veterans in this racing series. To be able to race and beat them just means a lot. I learned a lot from them too. I just can’t thank Monster Energy, [Toyota Racing Development]. My Toyota Racing Supra was super fast today and this is just a dream come true…This is just wonderful – I can’t even believe it.”

    Behind Gibbs, Allmendinger and Cindric, two road-course ringers and Xfinity Series full-time competitors whom led a combined 28 of 82 laps and battled for the win at The Glen in 2019, finished in second and third.

    “[The 54 car]’s a fast car,” Allmendinger said. “Ty was doing a great job. We weren’t very good a couple years ago, so we went with a completely different setup. The Hyperice Chevy was pretty solid; second-best race car, unfortunately. Gibbs is tough and that No. 54 car, all year, has been tough. Ty did a great job. He was clean, made a great move on me. I couldn’t do really anything to defend it…I’m ready to go win at the Brickyard [next weekend].”

    Allgaier came home in fourth while Harrison Burton finished in the top five. Brandon Jones crossed the finish line in sixth followed by Gragson, Jeb Burton, Haley and Sam Mayer.

    Michael Annett, who returned following a two-race absence, finished 11th ahead of Brandon Brown, Herbst, Josh Williams and Myatt Snider. Clements and Sieg finished 16th and 18th while Hemric fell back to 22nd following his late spin.

    There were 12 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 15 laps.

    With his 13th top-five result of the season, Austin Cindric continues to lead the regular-season standings by 80 points over AJ Allmendinger.

    Results.

    1. Ty Gibbs, 43 laps led

    2. AJ Allmendinger, six laps led, Stage 2 winner

    3. Austin Cindric, 22 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    4. Justin Allgaier

    5. Harrison Burton, three laps led

    6. Brandon Jones, one lap led

    7. Noah Gragson

    8. Jeb Burton

    9. Justin Haley

    10. Sam Mayer

    11. Michael Annett

    12. Brandon Brown

    13. Riley Herbst

    14. Josh Williams

    15. Myatt Snider

    16. Jeremy Clements

    17. Kris Wright

    18. Ryan Sieg

    19. Tommy Joe Martins

    20. Landon Cassill

    21. Jade Buford

    22. Daniel Hemric, seven laps led

    23. Preston Pardus

    24. Josh Bilicki

    25. Jeffrey Earnhardt

    26. Brett Moffitt

    27. Jesse Little

    28. Stephen Leicht

    29. Timmy Hill, one lap down

    30. Joe Graf Jr., one lap down

    31. Colby Howard, one lap down

    32. Bayley Currey, one lap down

    33. Dave Smith, two laps down

    34. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Electrical

    35. Michael Munley – OUT, Suspension

    36. Erik Jones – OUT, Accident

    37. Austin Dillon – OUT, Chassis

    38. Matt Mills – OUT, Accident

    39. Alex Labbe – OUT, Rear gear

    40. Kyle Tilley – OUT, Dvp

    Next on the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is another road course venue as the series will compete at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on Saturday, August 14. The event is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Austin Hill wins rain-shortened Truck Series race at Watkins Glen

    Austin Hill wins rain-shortened Truck Series race at Watkins Glen

    For the first time in 20 years, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series came back to Watkins Glen International Raceway for the final race of the 2021 regular season. Knoxville race winner, Austin Hill, claimed the victory, as the race was called just 11 laps short due to lightning in the area.

    “It was nerve-wracking that’s for sure, I didn’t know if we were going to go back green or not,” Hill said to Fox Sports 1 about the victory. “It feels so good to win on a road course. I’ve been wanting to win on a road course for a very long time, even back in the (NASCAR) K&N Pro Series days. I felt like, I always get around the road course very decent and finally, we have a race where everything went our way.”

    “I was biting my nails a little bit when that rain came. I didn’t know what was going to happen with the lightning and all that. Everybody at United Rentals, HRE (Hattori Racing Enterprises) they gave me a really good piece today and we were able to get it done.”

    Following the two-week hiatus due to the Olympic break, the NASCAR Truck Series was back in action Saturday afternoon as part of a doubleheader feature with the NASCAR Xfinity Series following the event shortly thereafter.

    Stages 20-25-27 originally made up the 72-lap event before lightning and rain came to the area late in the final stage.

    Austin Hill was on the pole via the metric qualifying system.

    There were multiple incidents in Stage 1. The No. 99 of Ben Rhodes and the No. 18 of Chandler Smith spun around in the first turn, however, no caution was thrown as both trucks were able to get fired back and going.

    One caution occurred in the stage on Lap 9 for the No. 45 of Chad Chastain who wheel-hopped into Turn 1 and crashed into the tire barrier.

    While there would be more spins including Rhodes spinning on Lap 10 and Matt Crafton on Lap 15, no more yellow flags were seen and Circuit of the Americus winner Todd Gilliland took the Stage 1 victory. Sheldon Creed, Derek Kraus, Josh Berry, Austin Wayne Self, AJ Allmendinger, Paul Menard, Stewart Friesen, Ben Rhodes and Ryan Truex completed the Top 10.

    Stage 2 had the least amount of incidents and remained caution-free. Austin Hill was strong throughout the stage and nabbed the Stage 2 victory. Nemechek, Allmendinger, Zane Smith, Creed, Ankrum, Hocevar, Gilliland, Rhodes and Mayer were the Top 10 finishers.

    As the final stage began with 23 laps to go, rain and lightning started to move into the area. On Lap 53 with 19 laps to go, the yellow flew once more for playoff-hopeful Derek Kraus who spun on the backstretch and came to a stop. Unfortunately, due to the incident, Kraus’s playoff chances were eliminated.

    The field went back green with around 16 to go but the racing continued for only four more laps. Due to lightning, the trucks were brought down to pit road and after a long delay, the race was eventually called, giving the checkered flag to Austin Hill.

    Regular-season champion John Hunter Nemechek finished second and will lead the playoff grid just 28 points above Hill heading into the World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway for the first race in the Round of 10.

    “Possibly, it’s hard to say with the high downforce package that we have on these trucks, dirty air is really bad,” Nemechek said about finishing runner-up. “You get super aero-tight behind other trucks and it kind of gives you a disadvantage being the second guy compared to being in clean air. Overall, we had a really fast Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra today. I feel like Austin (Hill) had the dominant truck all day. I do feel like we were better in certain spots, and he was better in other spots on the racetrack. Who knows what would have happened, he could have made a mistake, I could have made a mistake. It’s part of racing. I felt like if he would have slipped a little bit or if I could have gotten side-by-side with him, I feel like we probably could have made the pass and possibly drove off. I don’t know how fast, but I felt like we were playing cat and mouse with trading back who was faster on certain laps.”

    Official Playoff Standings for Round of 10:

    1. John Hunter Nemechek, 2,049 points
    2. Austin Hill, -28
    3. Ben Rhodes, -30
    4. Todd Gilliland, -34
    5. Sheldon Creed, -58
    6. Zane Smith, -40
    7. Matt Crafton, -45
    8. Carson Hocevar, -47
    9. Chandler Smith, -48
    10. Stewart Friesen, -48

    Tracks in the Round of 10 consist of Gateway, Darlington, and Bristol.

    There were five cautions for 10 laps and six leaders among seven different lead changes. Hill led three times for 35 laps en route to victory.

    Official Results following United Rentals 176 at Watkins Glen International Raceway:

    1. Austin Hill, won Stage 2, led 35 laps
    2. John Hunter Nemechek, led two laps
    3. Sheldon Creed
    4. Todd Gilliland, won Stage 1, led 18 laps
    5. Parker Kligerman
    6. Zane Smith, led four laps
    7. Tyler Ankrum
    8. Paul Menard
    9. Sam Mayer
    10. Carson Hocevar, led one lap
    11. Josh Berry
    12. Kaz Grala
    13. Christian Eckes
    14. Tanner Gray
    15. Ben Rhodes
    16. Austin Wayne Self
    17. Ryan Truex
    18. Corey Heim
    19. Hailie Deegan
    20. Stewart Friesen
    21. Derek Kraus
    22. Matt Crafton
    23. Johnny Sauter
    24. Timmy Hill
    25. Jack Wood, led one lap
    26. Tate Fogleman
    27. A.J. Allmendinger
    28. Danny Bohn
    29. Roger Reuse, 1 lap down
    30. Josh Reaume, 1 lap down
    31. Lawless Alan, 1 lap down
    32. Spencer Boyd, 2 laps down
    33. Chad Chastain, 3 laps down
    34. Taylor Gray, 8 laps down
    35. Jennifer Jo Cobb, 16 laps down
    36. Norm Benning, OUT, Too slow
    37. Grant Enfinger, OUT, Transmission
    38. Will Rodgers, OUT, Transmission
    39. Chandler Smith, Disqualified

    Note – Chandler Smith was disqualified from his finishing position for failing post-race heights. As a result everyone moves up a position. However, Smith still qualifies for the Truck Series playoffs despite losing points and finishing position in the process.

    Up Next: The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will begin their playoffs run at World Wide Technology Raceway on Friday, August 20, live at 9 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio.

  • Preece to make 100th Cup career start at The Glen

    Preece to make 100th Cup career start at The Glen

    Competing in his third full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Ryan Preece is within reach of a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Cup event at Watkins Glen International, the driver of the No. 37 JTG-Daugherty Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE will achieve 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Berlin, Connecticut, Preece made his Cup debut at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September 2015. By then, he was a veteran and a former champion in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Driving the No. 98 car for Premium Motorsports, Preece started 37th and finished 32nd in his series debut. He returned for the final four Cup races of the season, where he finished 42nd, 36th, 37th and 38th in the following races at Martinsville Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Phoenix Raceway and at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    In September 2018, Preece was named a full-time Cup driver of the No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for JTG-Daugherty Racing for the 2019 season, replacing AJ Allmendinger. By then, Preece was coming off two strong part-time seasons in the Xfinity Series with Joe Gibbs Racing, where he earned one victory apiece in each season.

    Making his debut with JTG-Daugherty Racing in the 2019 Daytona 500, Preece dodged a series of late multi-car incidents to finish in eighth place, which also marked his first top-10 result in NASCAR’s premier series. After finishing no higher than 16th during the following eight races, Preece notched a career-best third-place result at Talladega Superspeedway in April. He went on to earn another top-10 result, seventh, at Michigan International Speedway in August before finishing in 26th place in the final standings and in the runner-up spot for the 2019 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title behind Daniel Hemric.

    Preece continued to drive for JTG-Daugherty Racing for the 2020 season, but he transitioned from the No. 47 car to the No. 37 car formerly driven by Chris Buescher. During the season-opening Daytona 500, Preece was in position for a strong result until he was eliminated in a multi-car wreck in the final laps. His best results throughout the season were ninth place at Bristol Motor Speedway in September and 10th place at Talladega Superspeedway in October before finishing in 29th place in the final standings.

    Though he remained at JTG-Daugherty Racing for the 2021 season, Preece’s team entered this season without a charter and a guaranteed entry for all Cup races. In addition, Preece’s team only had sponsorship guarantees for 24 of the 36-race schedule. Uncertain of the future, Preece commenced the season on a strong note by finishing in sixth-place in the Daytona 500 despite being involved in a multi-car wreck on the final lap. He went on to finish ninth the following week at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course.

    Through the first 22 Cup events of this season, Preece has recorded three top-10 results, an average-finishing result of 22.1 and is ranked in 26th place in the regular-season standings, with plans on completing the remaining 14 events of 2021.

    Through 99 previous starts in the Cup circuit, Preece has achieved one top-five result, eight top-10 results and 25 laps led.

    Preece is primed to make his 100th NASCAR Cup Series career start at Watkins Glen International on Sunday, August 8, at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 24 car to achieve 1,000 Cup career starts at The Glen

    Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 24 car to achieve 1,000 Cup career starts at The Glen

    A significant milestone start is in the making for the Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 24 car, which is currently competing in its 29th full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series and being piloted by William Byron. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s event at Watkins Glen International, the No. 24 HMS car will reach 1,000 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    The No. 24 car competing under the Hendrick Motorsports banner made its debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway in November 1992, the final event of the season, with Jeff Gordon, a California-Indiana native who was competing in the Xfinity Series, piloting the car after being recruited by team owner Rick Hendrick. Starting 21st, Gordon finished 31st in his series debut after retiring due to an accident. Gordon’s Cup debut was one of three headlines highlighting the 1992 Atlanta event, with the others being seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty making his 1,184th and final career start in NASCAR and driver/owner Alan Kulwicki capturing the season’s championship over Bill Elliott.

    Gordon competed as a full-time HMS competitor in the 1993 Cup season, driving the No. 24 HMS Chevrolet Lumina led by crew chief Ray Evernham. Despite the season being a winless one, Gordon achieved a pole, seven top-five results and 11 top-10 results before finishing in 14th place in the final standings. In addition, Gordon captured the 1993 Cup Rookie-of-the-year title.

    The following season, it took the first 11 races of the schedule for Gordon to capture his first victory in NASCAR’s premier series, which occurred in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway following a late two-tire pit stop call from Evernham that gave Gordon the track position to win. The victory was also the first for the No. 24 overall in NASCAR history. Eight races later, Gordon achieved his second Cup career win in the inaugural Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In addition to his first two NASCAR Cup career victories, Gordon recorded a pole, seven top-five results and 14 top-10 results before finishing in eighth place in the final standings.

    In 1995, Gordon won seven of the 31 races in the schedule and he managed to beat seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt by 34 points to capture his first NASCAR Cup Series championship, which was also a first for Hendrick Motorsports.

    From 1996 to 2000, Gordon and the No. 24 HMS car achieved 43 race victories, 23 poles, 98 top-five results and 118 top-10 results. They also captured back-to-back Cup championships in 1997 and 1998 along with two Daytona 500s (1997 and 1999), a second Brickyard 400 title (1998), four Southern 500s (1995-98), two Coca-Cola 600s (1997 and 1998) and two All-Star Races (1995 and 1997). By then, Gordon surpassed 50 Cup career victories. During the 2000 season, the No. 24 team was led by crew chief Brian Whitesell, who won three races with Gordon.

    In 2001, Gordon and the No. 24 HMS team received a new crew chief, Robbie Loomis, a former crew chief for Richard Petty and Petty Enterprises. During the season, Gordon drove the No. 24 Chevrolet to six victories, six poles, 18 top-five results and 24 top-10 results. He also added a third All-Star title and a third Brickyard 400 victory to his resume. When the season concluded, Gordon went on to claim his fourth Cup championship.

    From 2002 to 2004, Gordon and HMS’ No. 24 team earned 11 victories, 13 poles, 44 top-five results, 65 top-10 results and top-five results in the final standings, with a best result of third place in 2004. By then, Gordon surpassed 60 Cup career victories.

    In 2005, Gordon kickstarted the season on a high note when he drove the No. 24 Chevrolet Monte Carlo to his third Daytona 500 victory, which marked his 70th career win in the Cup circuit. Despite winning two more times during the following eight races, Gordon failed to make the Playoffs following an inconsistent regular-season stretch. He managed to achieve a win at Martinsville Speedway in October before settling in 11th place in the final standings. By then, the driver and team welcomed Steve Letarte as their new crew chief.

    Following the 2006 season, where Gordon won twice, made the Playoffs and finished sixth in the final standings, Gordon and the No. 24 HMS Chevrolet team achieved a productive 2007 Cup season, where the driver won six races and notched seven poles, 21 top-five results, a modern-era record 30 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 7.3. The victories in 2007 totaled Gordon’s career victories to 81 as he also surpassed the late Dale Earnhardt for sixth place on the all-time wins list. Despite leading the standings for the majority of the season, Gordon settled in the runner-up position in the final standings and 77 points shy of a fifth Cup title to teammate Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team.

    In 2008, Gordon and the No. 24 HMS team went winless for the first time since 1993, with the driver managing four poles, 13 top-five results, 19 top-10 results and a seventh-place result in the final standings. He rebounded the following season by winning at Texas Motor Speedway in April, which snapped a 47-race winless drought for Gordon and the No. 24 team. Gordon went on to record a pole, 16 top-five results, 25 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 10.2 before finishing in third place in the final standings behind teammates Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin. During the 2010 season, however, Gordon and the No. 24 team went winless for the second time in three seasons. The four-time Cup champion only achieved a pole, 11 top-five results and 17 top-10 results before settling in ninth place in the final standings.

    Entering the 2011 season, Hendrick Motorsports reshuffled its crew chief lineup that saw Letarte paired with Dale Earnhardt Jr. while Gordon and the No. 24 Chevrolet team were led by crew chief Alan Gustafson. It only took the first two races into the 2011 season for Gordon, Gustafson and the No. 24 team to snap a career-long 66-race winless drought and return to Victory Lane at Phoenix Raceway in February following a late battle with former teammate Kyle Busch. The driver and team went on to win at Pocono Raceway in June and at Atlanta Motor Speedway in September. By then, Gordon achieved his 85th Cup career victory and was ranked in third place on the all-time wins list behind Richard Petty and David Pearson. Including the three victories, Gordon and the No. 24 team achieved a pole, 13 top-five results, 18 top-10 results and a spot in the Playoffs before finishing in eighth place in the final standings.

    The 2012 Cup season was a roller coaster season for Gordon and the No. 24 HMS team, which started the season with a harrowing rollover accident in the Shootout at Daytona in February followed by an engine failure in the Daytona 500 and seven results outside of the top 20 through the first 11 scheduled events. After finishing in the top 10 in six of the following nine events, Gordon notched a rain-shortened victory at Pocono Raceway in August and placed himself in contention to make the Playoffs. Despite finishing 21st and 28th the following two weekends, Gordon earned three consecutive top-three results and secured the final spot in the Playoffs. While he achieved another round of three consecutive top-three results through the first four races of the Playoffs, Gordon’s title hopes came to an end midway by October. The low point of his career occurred at Phoenix in November, when Gordon intentionally wrecked championship contender Clint Bowyer in the closing laps as a result of an earlier on-track contact between the two. The incident led to a brawl in the garage as Gordon was fined $100,000 and docked 25 points. Gordon, though, rebounded the following week at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the final event of the 2012 season, when he held off Bowyer in a fuel-mileage battle to win and claim his 87th Cup career victory. When the season concluded, Gordon managed to claim 10th place in the final standings.

    After finishing in sixth place in the final standings in 2013 while recording a single victory at Martinsville in October, Gordon and the No. 24 HMS team won four races in 2014 (Kansas Speedway in May, Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, Michigan International Speedway in August and at Dover International Speedway in September). By then, Gordon surpassed 90 Cup career victories. He went on to record three poles, 14 top-five results and 23 top-10 results as he entered the Playoffs as a title favorite. A late incident and brawl with Brad Keselowski at Texas in November, however, prevented Gordon and the No. 24 team from earning a spot in the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November as Gordon concluded the season in sixth place in the final standings. 

    Coming off a strong 2014 season, Gordon announced in January 2015 that the upcoming Cup season would be his last as a full-time competitor. Gordon kickstarted his final NASCAR season by winning his second pole award for the Daytona 500. The achievement also marked Gordon’s 23rd consecutive season of winning a pole in a Cup season. Despite finishing 33rd in the 500 following a last-lap wreck and earning 13 top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Gordon managed to secure a spot in the Playoffs for the 11th and final time in his career. At Martinsville in November, Gordon secured the lead late and fended off veteran Jamie McMurray in a two-lap shootout to score his 93rd Cup career win and earn a one-way ticket to the Championship Round at Homestead. His final hopes for a fifth time, however, came to an end after Gordon finished sixth in the finale and third in the final standings in his 797th and final start in HMS’ No. 24 car.

    Following Gordon’s retirement, Chase Elliott, the 2014 Xfinity Series champion from Dawsonville, Georgia, took over the driving responsibilities of the No. 24 HMS Chevrolet SS with continuous support from Alan Gustafson for the 2016 season. In his first laps in the No. 24 car, Elliott won the pole position for the season-opening Daytona 500 and became the youngest pole-sitter of the 500 at age 20. During the main event, however, Elliott finished 37th following an early accident. He rebounded the following week at Atlanta by finishing eighth and recording his first top-10 result in the Cup Series. While he did not achieve a victory in his rookie season, Elliott achieved his first two Cup career poles, 10 top-five results, 17 top-10 results and a spot in the 2016 Cup Playoffs before finishing in 10th place in the final standings. Elliott also claimed the Rookie-of-the-Year title in his first season piloting the iconic No. 24 HMS car.

    In a similar fashion to the previous season, the No. 24 HMS car commenced the 2017 Cup season on pole position for the Daytona 500 as Elliott achieved his second consecutive 500 pole. Finishing in 14th place in the 500, Elliott and the No. 24 team went on to achieve 12 top-five results, 21 top-10 results and a spot in the Playoffs before finishing in fifth place in the final standings. By then, Elliott had collected seven runner-up results in his first two Cup seasons.

    For the 2018 season, William Byron, the reigning Xfinity Series champion from Charlotte, North Carolina, took over the No. 24 HMS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 as a full-time Cup rookie while Elliott transitioned to sport his father Bill’s famous number, 9. In addition, former Cup championship-winning crew chief Darian Grubb was named crew chief for Byron and the No. 24 team while Gustafson remained as Elliott’s crew chief. In his first full-time Cup season while piloting the No. 24 car, Byron recorded four top-10 results before finishing in 23rd place in the final standings. Despite an inconsistent season, Byron managed to capture the 2018 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title over Bubba Wallace as he became the third competitor to achieve the rookie title as driver of Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 24 car.

    In 2019, Byron and the No. 24 team received a new crew chief as Chad Knaus, seven-time Cup championship-winning crew chief who was a pit crew member of the No. 24 car in the mid-1990s, inherited the leadership role for the team following a 17-year run with Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 HMS team. The new relationship between Byron and Knaus commenced on a high note when Byron rocketed the No. 24 Chevrolet to pole position for the Daytona 500. Despite finishing 21st in the 500 following a late multi-car wreck, Byron earned nine top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, which were enough for him to make his first appearance in the Playoffs. His title hopes, however, came to an end following the second round as Byron and the No. 24 team finished in 11th place in the final standings. While he did not record a victory, Byron earned a career-high five poles, five top-five results. 13 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 14.9.

    The No. 24 car commenced the 2020 season on a strong note when Byron won the second Bluegreen Vacations Duel event at Daytona prior to the Daytona 500. The 500 event, however, ended on a disappointing note for Byron, who wrecked early and settled in 40th, dead last. Through the first 25 regular-season event, Byron recorded eight top-10 results and was above the top-16 cutline to the Playoffs by a mere margin. Everything changed, though, during the following event at Daytona in August when Byron notched his first Cup career victory and secured his spot in the Playoffs. By then, he joined Jeff Gordon as the only competitors to achieve a victory in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports car. Byron also snapped a two-year winless drought for crew chief Chad Knaus, who appeared in the Playoffs for a 17th consecutive season. Following an early exit in the Playoffs following the first round, however, Byron went on to finish 14th in the final standings.

    This season, Byron and the No. 24 team received a new crew chief as Ryan “Rudy” Fugle joined Hendrick Motorsports and replaced Knaus, who became HMS’ vice president of competition. The move was a reunion for Byron and Fugle, who guided Byron to seven NASCAR Truck Series wins in 2016 when Byron competed for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Three races into this season, Byron and Fugle captured a dominating win at Homestead, which marked Byron’s second Cup career triumph following two consecutive results outside of the top 20 to start the new season. The victory was also a first for Fugle in the Cup circuit.

    Through the first 22 Cup events of this season, the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports car piloted by Byron has achieved a win, a pole, eight top-five results and 14 top-10 results, with the team currently ranked in sixth place in the regular-season standings.

    Through 999 previous starts, HMS’ No. 24 car has achieved four championships, 95 victories, 90 poles, 364 top-five results, 558 top-10 results and 26,514 laps led with three different competitors.

    The No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports car is set to make its 1,000th career start in NASCAR’s premier series at Watkins Glen International on Sunday, August 8, with the race scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Ty Gibbs’ full 2021 Xfinity schedule revealed

    Ty Gibbs’ full 2021 Xfinity schedule revealed

    Coming off an historic debut and victory at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, Ty Gibbs will return for an additional 14 NASCAR Xfinity Series races throughout the 2021 season for Joe Gibbs Racing.

    The 18-year-old grandson of NASCAR Hall of Famer and team owner, Joe Gibbs, from Charlotte, North Carolina, will make his second career start in the Xfinity circuit at Phoenix Raceway on March 13.

    He will then compete at Martinsville Speedway on April 9 followed by Darlington Raceway on May 8, Dover International Speedway on May 15, Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 29, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on June 5, Pocono Raceway on June 27, Road America on July 3, Watkins Glen International on August 7, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on August 14, Michigan International Speedway on August 21 and at Richmond Raceway on September 11. During the 2021 Xfinity Series Playoffs, he will also compete at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval on October 9 and at Kansas Speedway on October 23.

    JGR took to social media to reveal the announcement and Ty Gibbs’ schedule.

    With Gibbs’ full part-time Xfinity schedule revealed, he will also continue to pilot Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 54 Toyota Supra led by crew chief Chris Gayle.

    Gibbs made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut last weekend at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, where he led 14 laps and outlasted the field through two overtime attempts to record his first victory across NASCAR’s top three national touring series. By winning at Daytona in his debut, he became the sixth competitor to win in their series debut but the first to do so without a prior Cup start. He also became the 165 different competitor to record an Xfinity Series win and the 18th to do so while driving for his grandfather’s organization.

    In addition to a part-time Xfinity schedule, Gibbs currently competes as a full-time competitor in the ARCA Menards Series for JGR and in the No. 18 Toyota Camry led by crew chief Mark McFarland.

    With Gibbs’ next event on the schedule at Phoenix in March, Ty Dillon will return for the following two NASCAR Xfinity Series races with JGR at Homestead-Miami Speedway on February 27 and at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 6.

  • Watkins Glen will not host NASCAR race in 2020

    Watkins Glen will not host NASCAR race in 2020

    In NASCAR’s fourth installment of the 2020 schedule spanning through August, there is a familiar racetrack that is not featured on the list and will not appear for the remainder of this year. That racetrack is Watkins Glen International.

    This season, the iconic racetrack in Watkins Glen, New York, will not host any NASCAR national division series races, including those that were initially scheduled for August 15-16, 2020 for an Xfinity Series and Cup Series doubleheader. The news comes as NASCAR was unable to receive a quarantine waiver that would allow the sport to race in New York in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

    Instead, the races at The Glen will be replaced by NASCAR’s inaugural races on Daytona International Speedway’s road course layout on August 14-16, where the ARCA Menards Series and the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series will join the Xfinity and Cup Series in a historic quadruple-header weekend. NASCAR’s debut at Daytona’s road course comes six months early than its initial debut in February 2021 for the annual Busch Clash.

    Moments after the fourth installment of the 2020 NASCAR schedule was released, a statement from Watkins Glen International was also released, citing the sport’s decision to realign its races to Daytona and New York’s to ensure the health and safety for all individuals as their main priority due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “As a result of the ongoing pandemic, NASCAR has realigned the Go Bowling at The Glen NASCAR weekend to the Daytona International Speedway road course. While we are disappointed that we will not see our NASCAR fans at The Glen this year, we must prioritize the health and safety of our attendees, competitors and staff.”

    This will mark the first time since 1985 that NASCAR will not compete at The Glen in New York. Watkins Glen also joins Chicagoland Speedway and Sonoma Raceway as tracks that have canceled their scheduled Cup races this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The NASCAR Cup Series made its debut at Watkins Glen in 1957 for a 44-lap feature, which was won by the late NASCAR Hall of Famer Buck Baker. Following a six-year hiatus, the sport returned for the next two seasons in 1964 and 1965. It was not until the sport’s second return in 1986 where the road course became an annual race and has featured a race at The Glen through 2019. From its debut in 1957 through last season, 23 competitors have won a Cup race at The Glen. Chase Elliott is the recent Cup Series winner at the track, where he has also won at The Glen the previous two seasons.

    In addition, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will not race at The Glen for the first time since 2004. The series raced at The Glen from 1991 to 2001 and took a three-year hiatus from the track before returning in 2005. In the races held at The Glen, 15 competitors have recorded an Xfinity win at the track. Austin Cindric is the recent Xfinity Series winner at the track, where he notched his first series career victory following a late battle with A.J. Allmendinger. Watkins Glen joins a number of familiar racetracks to the Xfinity schedule that will not host a race this season, among which includes the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway and Iowa Speedway.

    Future plans for Watkins Glen International will be announced at a later date.

  • DiBenedetto continues to perform amidst silly season rumors

    DiBenedetto continues to perform amidst silly season rumors

    In the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series, the Cinderella story continues with Matt DiBenedetto as he claws his way to his fourth top 10 of the season by finishing sixth at Watkins Glen International.

    In fact, those were his very words when reflecting on his career.

    “I’ve fought and clawed my way to get where I am,” shared an emotional DiBenedetto with FOX Sports after his first career top-five earlier this season at Sonoma Raceway.

    But there is also a time when the Cinderella story becomes the norm. The Leavine Family Racing driver has now earned four top 10 finishes over the last seven races, two top 10 starting positions in the last three races, and has accumulated 83 points over the last three races.

    With just four races left before the Playoffs, the majority of the drivers advancing appears to be set. The recent surge of the No. 95 Toyota team adds a sense of the probability of mixing up the Playoffs with a win on the horizon more believable. In fact, this whole second half of the season has made them look to be Playoff competitive.

    DiBenedetto knows how to stay humble while putting together these strong performances at tracks he has circled on his 2019 schedule.

    “I’m nothing without my team and how good of a race car I have,” he said. “They give me good race cars, and me as a driver, and us as a team can go back to using my feet to drive, which we don’t do at some of the big tracks this year. You’re using your feet to drive.”

    The second road course of the year comes after an outspoken DiBenedetto told the media that any team in the NASCAR garage would be foolish to replace him. But as silly season lurks around this time every year, eyes have been focused mostly on what would happen with the seat of the No. 95 car. He understands the pressure but doesn’t let it impact his driving.

    “I’m fighting for my life,” he said. “Everybody knows. They see the headlines and the mess in the media. I hope I can stay with this team. I hope it’s for a long time.”

    The thing that “everybody knows” is the rumor of Christopher Bell’s promotion. The NASCAR Xfinity Series driver has been putting on a strong run for the championship, giving him a more open door for a Cup Series ride in 2020. The question is where, so talk has already started in the garage and among fans primarily between Erik Jones and DiBenedetto as the future predecessor.

    Bob Leavine, team owner of Leavine Family Racing, has stated publicly on Twitter that he intends to keep DiBenedetto in his seat. He also acknowledges that the business side of the sport can overrule his wishes.

    There are still a lot of unknowns left for this year and next. But it is definitely a positive when one of the best drivers to never win a Cup championship recognizes perseverance.