July 13, 3024

By HOLLY CAIN

NASCAR Wire Service

Long Pond, Pa. – Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs earned his second career NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Pole Position Saturday claiming the top starting spot for Sunday’s The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (2:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The 21-year old Gibbs will line up first in the No. 54 JGR Toyota, equaling his best previous series qualifying effort at Charlotte Motor Speedway this May. His lap of 170.039 mph around the 2.5-mile Pocono oval was .118-seconds faster than William Byron in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

“Definitely satisfying for sure,’’ Gibbs said, adding, “We were really fast and I just appreciate all the effort from my Monster Energy team, wouldn’t be here without them and all my sponsors. It was really really fun and the car is really good. So we’ll see what we can do and hopefully we can get a win tomorrow.’’

Three of the four JGR drivers advanced the final round of qualifying. And it was an all-JGR second row including Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 19 JGR Toyota and the track’s all-time winningest active driver, seven-time Pocono race winner Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 JGR Toyota.

Stewart-Haas Racing’s rookie Josh Berry and last week’s Chicago race winner, Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman will take the green flag from the third row. 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney, Spire Motorsports rookie Zane Smith and Penske’s Joey Logano round out the Top-10 drivers who advanced to the final round of qualifying.

Hendrick Motorsports’ teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, who are first and second in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings, will start 12th and 11th, respectively.

Reddick was fastest in practice with a lap of 168.231 mph in the No. 45 Toyota. He was second fastest to Truex in 10 Lap Consecutive Speed.

Hamlin, Truex, Bowman, Blaney and Logano are all past-Pocono winners. Both Hamlin (2006) and Blaney (2017) earned their first career NASCAR Cup Series wins at the Tricky Triangle.

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Alex Bowman earns NASCAR Cup Playoff berth with strategic Chicago win

 Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

July 7, 2024

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

CHICAGO—On a wet-and-dry day on the streets of Chicago, crew chief Blake Harris made the right call, and driver Alex Bowman promised to wet his whistle after ending an 80-race drought.

“The last time we won, we didn’t really get to celebrate—we’re going to drink so much damn bourbon tonight,” said Bowman, who clinched a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs with his victory in Sunday’s Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Race.

“It’s going to be a bad deal. I’m probably going to wake up naked on the bathroom floor again. That’s just part of this deal sometimes.”

Driving the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Bowman claimed the eighth victory of his career with a pass of sports car ace Joey Hand on Lap 51—moments before Josh Berry plowed into the tire barrier in Turn 2 of the 2.2-mile, 12-turn course to cause the fifth and final caution.

At that point, the race was on the clock, thanks to a heavy rain that had caused a lengthy stoppage after Lap 25. Facing a deadline of 8:20 p.m., with two laps to follow that point in the race, Bowman held off runner-up Tyler Reddick to win an event shortened from 75 to 58 laps because of the delay.

Harris got his first win as a crew chief by keeping Bowman out on older wet tires after the final caution. Neither Christopher Bell, who arguably had the best car in the race, nor Reddick could catch Bowman over the closing laps.

Bell’s charge to the front was blunted by a five-car melee, and Reddick nicked the wall and lost momentum on the final lap.

“We were catching Alex by a large margin there, and, I don't know, that puzzles me,” said Reddick, who finished second for the second straight week. “I clearly just screwed up. Trying to stay in the dry groove, and I had more than enough of dry groove… I cut the wheel a little too hard.”

Bowman crossed the finish line with a 3.447-second edge over Reddick to score his first win since March 6, 2022 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“Man, I broke my back (in a sprint car accident), had a brain injury, and we've kind of sucked ever since,” Bowman said. “I didn't… you start to second-guess if you're ever going to get a chance to win a race again.”

Enhancing Bowman’s opportunity on Sunday was the ill fortune that befell the top two contenders.

Halfway through the restart lap for Stage 2 (Lap 25), the complexion of the race changed dramatically. Chase Briscoe, out of control in his No. 14 Ford, slid toward the tire barrier in Turn 6 and clipped the rear of the Chevrolet of defending winner Shane van Gisbergen.

The impact propelled van Gisbergen’s Camaro nose-first into the outside wall at the exit from the corner, and the car came to rest, unable to continue. Van Gisbergen’s exit suddenly raised the stakes for the drivers who trailed him to the finish line in Stage 1.

After leaving the infield care center, van Gisbergen watched a replay of the incident.

“Just sort of turned in, looked pretty good and then just got smashed by someone (Briscoe),” the New Zealander said. “Just gutting. The car was really good. We were in the lead for a lot of that race and, you know, felt good taking off in the rain. That sucks—an unfortunate mistake by him, but I’m sure he didn’t mean it.

“But, yeah, when he just clipped me, there was nothing I could do. Of course I’m disappointed. We had a pretty amazing Camaro there… I felt like I was driving well within myself. It’s a shame to be out so early and a shame we couldn’t have a proper crack at it at the end.”

By the time Briscoe delivered the coup de grace to the No. 16 Chevy, Gibbs had wrested the lead from Zane Smith, who stayed out on older wet tires, and Bell, who was first off pit road during the stage break.

The field didn’t complete Lap 25 before NASCAR called the second caution of the race for heavy rain. After a red-flag period of 1 hour, 43 minutes, one second, the race resumed and went green on Lap 31, with Bell retaking the lead from Gibbs before completion of that circuit.

On Lap 34, pole winner Kyle Larson, in pursuit of Gibbs, hydroplaned into the Turn 6 tire barrier, damaging his No. 5 Chevrolet beyond repair.

In a race where late strategic calls scrambled the field, Gibbs led a race-high 17 laps and came home third, followed by Hand and Michael McDowell. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Todd Gilliland, William Byron, Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney completed the top 10.

Bell led 14 circuits, but he, Gibbs and Reddick pitted for slick tires on Lap 43 and couldn’t get back to the front.

For the second straight year, rain shortened the NASCAR Cup race at the Chicago Street Race, but the wet weather did little to diminish the festival atmosphere that captivated the Windy City throughout the weekend.

“I’ve raced about every street course in the country and a lot around the world, and you won’t find a backdrop like this,” said Hand, who led seven laps on wet tires before Bowman led the final eight.

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NASCAR Cup Series Race - Grant Park 165

Chicago Street Race

Chicago, Illinois

Sunday, July 7, 2024

                  1. (8)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 58.

                  2. (4)  Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 58.

                  3. (2)  Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 58.

                  4. (38)  Joey Hand, Ford, 58.

                  5. (3)  Michael McDowell, Ford, 58.

                  6. (33)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 58.

                  7. (26)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 58.

                  8. (27)  William Byron, Chevrolet, 58.

                  9. (19)  Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 58.

                  10. (17)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, 58.

                  11. (9)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 58.

                  12. (35)  Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 58.

                  13. (6)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 58.

                  14. (28)  Noah Gragson, Ford, 58.

                  15. (21)  Austin Cindric, Ford, 58.

                  16. (23)  Justin Haley, Ford, 58.

                  17. (30)  Zane Smith #, Chevrolet, 58.

                  18. (10)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 58.

                  19. (15)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 58.

                  20. (16)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 58.

                  21. (18)  Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 58.

                  22. (14)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 58.

                  23. (32)  Joey Logano, Ford, 58.

                  24. (13)  Carson Hocevar #, Chevrolet, 58.

                  25. (31)  Harrison Burton, Ford, 58.

                  26. (40)  Kaz Grala #, Ford, 58.

                  27. (20)  Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 58.

                  28. (39)  Josh Bilicki(i), Ford, 58.

                  29. (25)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 58.

                  30. (11)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 58.

                  31. (34)  Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 58.

                  32. (22)  Chase Briscoe, Ford, 58.

                  33. (24)  Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 58.

                  34. (29)  Ryan Preece, Ford, 58.

                  35. (12)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 57.

                  36. (36)  Josh Berry #, Ford, 57.

                  37. (7)  Christopher Bell, Toyota, Accident, 55.

                  38. (37)  AJ Allmendinger(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 48.

                  39. (1)  Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Accident, 33.

                  40. (5)  Shane Van Gisbergen(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 24.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  54.921 mph.

Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 19 Mins, 24 Secs. Margin of Victory:  2.863 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  5 for 19 laps.

Lead Changes:  9 among 6 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   K. Larson 0;T. Gibbs 1-11;S. Van Gisbergen(i) 12-14;C. Bell 15;S. Van Gisbergen(i) 16-21;Z. Smith # 22-24;T. Gibbs 25-30;C. Bell 31-43;*. Hand 44-50;A. Bowman 51-58.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Ty Gibbs 2 times for 17 laps; Christopher Bell 2 times for 14 laps; Shane Van Gisbergen(i) 2 times for 9 laps; Alex Bowman 1 time for 8 laps; * Joey Hand 1 time for 7 laps; Zane Smith # 1 time for 3 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 16,20,54,14,5,48,23,38,45,99

Stage #2 Top Ten: 60,48,6,77,19,10,31,47,21,11

Kyle Larson edges Ty Gibbs for Chicago Street Race pole

July 6, 2024

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

CHICAGO—Kyle Larson made the most of his last chance in qualifying on Saturday, edging Ty Gibbs for the pole position for the Grant Park 165 NASCAR Cup Series on the Chicago Street Course (4:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

On his final lap in the final round of time trials on the tight 2.2-mile course, Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet covered the distance in 87.836 seconds (90.168 mph) to outrun Gibbs (90.158 mph) by .010 seconds.

“It wasn’t perfect,” said Larson, who ran a track-record 90.496 mph (87.518 seconds) in the opening round. “It was better than my first lap (in the final round), but I think I had better grip potential on the first lap, so I wish I could have had a couple corners back there.

“Judging by the reaction from my spotter, it had to be pretty close on lap time, so really awesome to get a pole here in Chicago… (We’ve) checked the first box, and hopefully we can keep it going.”

The Busch Light Pole award was Larson’s series-best fifth of the season and the 21st of his career. His three victories this year, however, have come from starting positions of second, fourth and fifth.

Michael McDowell qualified third at 90.141 mph, followed by Tyler Reddick (89.923 mph) and defending race winner Shane van Gisbergen (89.813 mph).

“I was trying to get my Ford Mustang on the pole,” said McDowell, who won last year’s road race on the Indianapolis Grand Prix Course. “We were close, right? So proud of everybody. We made good changes in between Round 1 and 2 because I felt like Larson and SVG (van Gisbergen) sort of had everybody covered there.

“Then we went into that next round and made some gains and got close. You know what it means to get a pole and track position and all that. So we’re starting up front. We’ll have a great shot at it with the White Sox Ford Mustang.”

Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman, Daniel Suárez and Brad Keselowski claimed starting positions six through 10, respectively, though Keselowski spun into the wall during his first final-round lap and was off the pace when he finished the circuit.

Denny Hamlin, last year’s pole winner for the Chicago Street Race, narrowly missed the final 10 and will start 11th on Sunday.

William Byron, a three-time winner this season, suffered a power steering failure in the first round, requiring a complete replacement of the steering system. Byron will start from the rear of the field on Sunday after repairs.

Harrison Burton, in his final season in the Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford, ended the first round with a spin into a tire barrier, requiring a tow truck to remove the car. Josh Berry, named earlier in the week as Burton’s replacement next year, spun during the opening round and will start 36th in the 40-driver field.

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Joey Logano wins at Nashville after a record five overtime restarts

 James Gilbert/Getty Images

June 30, 2024

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

LEBANON, Tenn. – It took a record five overtime restarts to settle Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, but two-time series champion Joey Logano finally emerged as the race winner, securing his first win of the season and a bid into the 2024 Playoffs in dramatic fashion.

With race leaders falling out of contention with each late race restart – 31 extra laps and 15 total cautions on the day - Logano and his Team Penske team gambled that his No. 22 Ford Mustang had enough fuel for a final push to the checkered flag. Ultimately Logano’s Mustang turned 110 laps with that final tank of fuel. 

The reward was the trip to Victory Lane Sunday – the first for Ford at the 1.333-mile Nashville track - and a coveted ticket to the Playoffs for Logano and team.

Logano finished .068-seconds ahead of Spire Motorsports rookie Zane Smith – the best career showing for the former NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion. 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick was third, followed by Stewart-Haas Racing’s Ryan Preece and RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher.

The 34-year-old Logano said he wasn’t sure how much fuel was left or if he would definitely make it to the checkered, “I know into [turn] three, my fuel light came on and it stumbled across the line, so that was definitely all of it.

’We’ve got to give a lot of credit to Roush Yates, not only building horsepower but building fuel milage – that’s what won today,’’ said Logano, who still had enough fuel to do a brief victory burnout in front of the sold-out Nashville crowd that stayed to the epic end, despite a one hour, 21-minute red flag for rain only 136 laps into the 331-lap race.

“So proud of this team. It’s been a stressful few weeks trying to get in the Playoffs so being able to win here is huge for our season. Felt great to get that. It feels good for our team. 

“So much pressure. Trying to make the Playoffs is not easy these days in these Next Gen cars and everyone is so evenly matched,’’ he added. “I made a lot of mistakes, even some tonight and it’s nice to be able to overcome. .. This is a much-needed win for sure.’’

His crew chief Paul Wolfe confirmed Logano’s Mustang ultimately ran out of gas.

“We just got to the point. .. we’ve gotten this far, let’s just stick with it,’’ Wolfe said of the team staying out instead of pitting for fuel. “Fortunately it was enough, but he did run out on the last lap.’’

Even before all the extra laps, the race’s scheduled ending featured an amazing duel between pole-winner Denny Hamlin racing for what would have been a series best fourth victory and the 2023 Nashville winner Ross Chastain, racing for his first win of the season. For 30 laps they raced in front of the field with Hamlin cutting into Chastain’s lead before finally overtaking him with seven laps remaining in the originally scheduled 300-lap race.

But just as Hamlin and Chastain were seemingly settling the trophy, Logano’s teammate Austin Cindric spun out with four laps remaining, forcing the first overtime.

Hamlin and Chastain restarted next to one another on the first overtime, but Chastain was hit from behind by Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, whose Chevrolet’s splitter hit the apron and unintentionally moved into Chastain’s car. The accident eliminated Chastain and Hamlin had to hold off the field in two subsequent overtimes before having to pit himself for fuel – a decision the team struggled to make, but ultimately were forced to do.

That left Logano and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe on the front row for the fourth overtime restart. Smith had moved into second place around Briscoe when the final caution came out for SHR’s Josh Berry.

Only one (Reddick) of the top-11 cars lined up for the fifth overtime restart had won a race this season, but a highly motivated Logano got a stellar jump on the field at the drop of the flag and was able to keep the challengers behind with other incidents happening as the checkered flag flew.

“The winning side of me is pissed with the second place, especially after hearing the 22 [Logano] was going to run out for the past 10 laps, I don’t know how many restarts,’’ Smith said of his runner-up showing.

“But no, I wouldn’t have done anything different. I felt like I chose the right lane and it’s crazy how much different these cars drive with cleaner air. Just proud of our strategy there.’’ 

Logano’s Team Penske teammate and reigning series champ Blaney finished sixth, followed by 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace, Larson, Kaulig Racing’s Daniel Hemric and SHR’s Noah Gragson. 

There were nine race leaders and 20 lead changes on the day.

For much of the early day, last week’s winner Christopher Bell looked like he was positioned to earn the first back-to-back victories of his career. But pit strategy put Bell’s No. 20 JGR Toyota the farthest back in the field. He spun out alone in Turn 2, racing in 15th place on the restart with 74 laps remaining.

Bell swept the opening two stage wins to lead the series with nine stage victories on the season and was out front a race-best 131 of the first 229 laps  - more than twice as many laps as any other driver in the field at that point.

‘Just put myself in a bad spot, lost my cool, got back in traffic with all those yellow flags and put myself in a really bad spot going into [turn] one,’’ Bell said.

Larson’s eighth place showing was good enough to keep the NASCAR Cup Series championship lead by 20-points over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott, who was among those who had an incident on the race’s final lap. Hamlin is 43 points back with eight races remaining to decide the regular season champion.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to the Chicago Street Course for the Grant Park 165 next Sunday (4:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen is the defending race winner – claiming the trophy in his first ever series start.

--30--

NASCAR Cup Series Race - Ally 400

Nashville Superspeedway

Nashville, Tennessee

Sunday, June 30, 2024

          1. (26)  Joey Logano, Ford, 331.

          2. (36)  Zane Smith #, Chevrolet, 331.

          3. (6)  Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 331.

          4. (22)  Ryan Preece, Ford, 331.

          5. (9)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 331.

          6. (18)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, 331.

          7. (24)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 331.

          8. (4)  Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 331.

          9. (37)  Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 331.

          10. (16)  Noah Gragson, Ford, 331.

          11. (28)  AJ Allmendinger(i), Chevrolet, 331.

          12. (1)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 331.

          13. (33)  Justin Haley, Ford, 331.

          14. (12)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 331.

          15. (10)  Austin Cindric, Ford, 331.

          16. (15)  Carson Hocevar #, Chevrolet, 331.

          17. (32)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 331.

          18. (13)  Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 331.

          19. (7)  William Byron, Chevrolet, 331.

          20. (21)  Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 331.

          21. (19)  Chase Briscoe, Ford, 331.

          22. (31)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 331.

          23. (8)  Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 331.

          24. (17)  Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 331.

          25. (5)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 330.

          26. (2)  Josh Berry #, Ford, Accident, 327.

          27. (27)  Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, Accident, 319.

          28. (25)  Harrison Burton, Ford, Accident, 312.

          29. (29)  Corey Heim(i), Toyota, Accident, 312.

          30. (23)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, Accident, 312.

          31. (35)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, Accident, 306.

          32. (11)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, Accident, 305.

          33. (20)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, Accident, 304.

          34. (34)  Erik Jones, Toyota, Suspension, 287.

          35. (14)  Michael McDowell, Ford, Transmission, 239.

          36. (3)  Christopher Bell, Toyota, Accident, 227.

          37. (30)  Riley Herbst(i), Ford, Accident, 201.

          38. (38)  Chad Finchum(i), Ford, Electrical, 132.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  108.298 mph.

Time of Race:  4 Hrs, 3 Mins, 54 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.068 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  15 for 79 laps.

Lead Changes:  20 among 9 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   D. Hamlin 1-16;C. Bell 17-38;T. Gibbs 39-40;T. Reddick 41-45;M. McDowell 46-76;C. Bell 77-92;D. Hamlin 93-117;C. Bell 118-187;T. Reddick 188;C. Bell 189-208;T. Reddick 209-213;C. Bell 214;T. Reddick 215;C. Bell 216-217;T. Reddick 218-221;R. Blaney 222-233;A. Allmendinger(i) 234;R. Blaney 235-248;R. Chastain 249-293;D. Hamlin 294-322;J. Logano 323-331.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Christopher Bell 6 times for 131 laps; Denny Hamlin 3 times for 70 laps; Ross Chastain 1 time for 45 laps; Michael McDowell 1 time for 31 laps; Ryan Blaney 2 times for 26 laps; Tyler Reddick 5 times for 16 laps; Joey Logano 1 time for 9 laps; Ty Gibbs 1 time for 2 laps; AJ Allmendinger(i) 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 20,11,45,5,6,54,24,17,19,23

Stage #2 Top Ten: 20,45,5,11,6,9,19,12,17,10