Tag: Team Penske

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Alex Palou bags $500,000 in Thermal Club Challenge race

Alex Palou cruised to victory Sunday morning in IndyCar’s Thermal Club $1 Million Dollar Challenge exhibition race at The Thermal Club, a private motorsports club in Palm Springs, California, bagging himself half a million dollars.

Alex Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing Team celebrate winning the Thermal Club $1 Million Dollar Challenge race in victory lane (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)
  • Palou becomes half a million dollars richer
  • Empty pockets
  • Heat results
  • Main race results

3 min read

Palou becomes a half a million dollars richer

The Chip Ganassi Racing driver and reigning two-time IndyCar champion had been in control of his destiny all weekend long, qualifying on the pole, and then comfortably winning his heat race to start on pole for the main 20-lap 12 car feature race where victory never looked in doubt, leading all 20 laps, and taking the checkered flag with over five seconds over second place Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, who still won $350,000 for being runner-up.

The final race was divided into two ten-lap segments with a ten minute halftime break, with teams having to keep the same set of tyres on for the whole race.

Drivers like Colton Herta chose not to push for the first 10-lap segment and instead hanged back of the pack and sought to save his tyres for the second 10-lap segment.

Herta was able to go from tenth to fourth but still bagged himself $500,000 of the $1.7 million total purse, but was not able to reach Palou, who was out front in clean air all race long.

Palou said: “I was a bit surprised how the competitors did the first 10 laps, saving tires. I was like: ‘All right, that’s our game. I like it.”

When asked by NBC how he was going to spend his winnings he replied: “I need to buy a lot of diapers and pyjamas.”

Heat one runner up Scott McLaughlin was Alex Palou’s nearest competitor on track in the main race but two laps in, Palou had pulled a 1.7 second gap, and despite the halftime reset, Palou only extended the gap over McLaughlin further by over five seconds come the end of the race.

Alex Palou leads the Thermal Club main race with Scott McLaughlin in second (second), and Felix Rosenqvist in third (third) (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

Colton Herta only just made it into the main race in heat one by holding off rookie and fellow California native Nolan Siegel who was making his IndyCar Series debut, Ferrucci, and Will Power for sixth place, with only the top six out of the 14 drivers in heat one advancing to the main race.

Herta said: “Our strategy worked in the second half. Yeah I didn’t care. I went to feast in the second half.”

Heat one polesitter and Meyer Shank Racing driver Felix Rosenqvist had an impressive outing again, leading right where he left off in St. Pete, by holding off McLaughlin for the heat one win, and was able to bring the car home third and secure himself $250,000.

Empty pockets

Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Romain Grosjean did not share in the fortunes of Palou’s dominant display or his ex-Andretti teammates’ fourth place, nor did Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon, after he collided with Grosjean in the heat one race start in the turn one braking zone, sending Grosjean out of control into the pack as they went through the turn one hairpin, collecting innocent bystander Rinus VeeKay in the process, taking them both out of the race.

Romain Grosjean goes skidding across the sand in turn one moments before he collides with Rinus VeeKay in the start of heat 1 (Photo by Joe Skibinksi/Penske Entertainment)

Dixon was given a drive through penalty under green conditions following the restart for avoidance contact.

Grosjean said: “It’s not what I signed up to IndyCar for.”

It was intense heat two battle for Arrow McLaren with their drivers Callum Ilott, Alexander Rossi, and Pato O’Ward as they fought over seventh, with Rossi and O’Ward finding a way past Ilott, who was standing in for David Malukas and is not scheduled to compete in any more races, with Rossi managing to get past Meyer Shank Racing driver Tom Blomqvist for the final transfer spot.

Callum Ilott (front), Alexander Rossi (second), and Pato O’Ward (third) battle over seventh place in heat 2 (Photp by Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment)

Rossi then scrapped with two-time IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden following the halftime break in the main race, making contact on lap 12 and driving both wide off track, allowing Lundqvist and Herta to sneak by for fifth and sixth place respectively.

Rossi finally finished ahead of Newgarden in seventh after finding a cleaner way past by the end of the lap. Newgarden finished eighth.

Pietro Fittipaldi, who had finished in fifth place in heat one, was disqualified from the main race come the halftime break due to the team not getting the car full of fuel for the race, as required by IndyCar.

The next IndyCar Series race is the prestigious Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 21st with the race starting 3pm ET time.

Heat 1 results 

  1. Felix Rosenqvist
  2. Scott McLaughlin
  3. Josef Newgarden
  4. Christian Lundgaard
  5. Agustin Canapino
  6. Colton Herta
  7. Nolan Siegel
  8. Santino Ferrucci
  9. Will Power
  10. Kyle Kirkwood
  11. Sting Ray Robb
  12. Scott Dixon
  13. Rinus VeeKay
  14. Romain Grosjean

Heat 2 results 

  1. Alex Palou
  2. Marcus Armstrong
  3. Graham Rahal
  4. Linus Lundqvist
  5. Pietro Fittipaldi
  6. Alexander Rossi
  7. Pato O’Ward
  8. Tom Blomqvist
  9. Callum Ilott
  10. Christian Rasmussen
  11. Kyffin Simpson
  12. Marcus Ericsson
  13. Colin Braun

Main race results 

  1. Alex Palou
  2. Scott McLaughlin
  3. Felix Rosenqvist
  4. Colton Herta
  5. Marcus Armstrong
  6. Linus Lundqvist
  7. Alexander Rossi
  8. Josef Newgarden
  9. Christian Lundgaard
  10. Agustin Canapino
  11. Graham Rahal
  12. Pietro Fittipaldi

Featured Image:  Alex Palou celebrates winning the Thermal Club $1 Million Dollar Challenge Race (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

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Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge race preview

The NTT IndyCar Series are getting set to race for $1 million plus dollars near Palm Springs, California at the 17-turn three mile Thermal Club circuit, in a non-points paying exhibition race, the first of it’s kind since IndyCar’s Nikon 300 at Surfers Paradise in 2008.

The Thermal Club logo printed on the straight of the Thermal Club circuit (Photo by Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment)
  • Race day breakdown
  • Qualifying 
  • Full qualifying results 

5 min read

There is a $1.7 million total purse for the race, with the winning driver being awarded $500,000.

The race event will consist of two 10 lap/20 minute heat races on Sunday starting 8:45am PT/3:45pm UK time with the main race starting 9:30am PT/4:30pm UK time.

Full course yellow laps will not count towards the lap total during the heat races but the time will, the first that’s completed, either 10 laps or 20 minutes, will end each heat race.

Drivers will only be granted one set of tyres for their heat races.

The top six finishers from each heat race will advance to the main race to have a chance of winning the $500,000, with even second and third winning $350,000 and $250,000 respectively.

Callum Ilott (front), Pato O’Ward (middle), and Christian Lundgaard (rear) race around the Thermal Club circuit (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

The starting order for the heats was decided by two eight minute heat qualifying sessions, one for each of the two groups, Saturday afternoon that saw Felix Rosenqvist and Alex Palou take pole for each heat respectively.

The main race, the Sprint for the Purse, will be a 20-lap race broken down into two 10 lap segments, with a 10-minute halftime break after lap 10.

There will only be one set of tyres made available for the main race and will have no time limit for but will finish by all 20 laps being completed.

During the 10-minute halftime break, drivers will come pit road, and be able to take fuel and make adjustments.

Due to both groups of drivers only merging together for the main race with the top six from each groups’ heat races, group two have been awarded priority spots for equivalent starting positions for the main race due to Palou, who is in group two, laying down a faster pole time compared to Rosenqvist’s group one pole time.

There is a strong likelihood of teams infighting for the top six advancement through to the main race in both heats due to all three Team Penske cars being in group one, and all three Arrow Mclaren cars being in group two, three of the four Chip Ganassi Racing cars in heat two, as well as both Juncos Hollinger Racing cars of Romain Grosjean and Agustin Canapino starting next to each for heat one.

It is not the first time IndyCar have tried out heat racing, last doing so at the Iowa Speedway oval in 2012 and 2013, with current drivers Graham Rahal and Scott Dixon winning heat races in those events.

Current Indy NXT championship points leader and California native Nolan Siegel, is making his IndyCar Series debut at the event and qualified 12th for his heat one race.

Siegel was the 2023 IndyCar development series’ Rookie of the Year, and the 19-year-old is scheduled to also make IndyCar Series starts at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, the Indianapolis 500, and the Grand Prix of Toronto.

Nolan Siegel (front) and Christian Lundgaard (rear) race around the Thermal Club circuit (Photo by Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment)

Push to pass for the drivers is being made available for a total time of 40 seconds, for each qualifying session, the heat races and both 10-lap segments of the main race.

Qualifying

Qualifying consisted of two eight minute sessions, with the two group makeups being decided by a random draw, and only had one set of tires to lay down their qualifying laps.

Group 1 qualifying saw Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist bag a consecutive pole with a lap time of 1.38.5831, after grabbing pole two weeks ago in the season opener at St. Pete.

Rosenqvist talking to NBC said: “It’s so tricky out there, wind and dirt on the track. Felt confident. The speed is there.”

Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, who qualified third in group one, speaking to NBC said: “That was awesome, it was like an old-school Supercars shootout, you go out there, and bam bam bam.”

Andretti Global’s and California native Colton Herta struggled to put a fast lap together, lacking grip at the end of the session, and will start 11th out of 14th for heat one.

Group 2 qualifying saw a dramatic change in weather conditions after a late session red flag brought out by Marcus Ericsson, that saw Palou shoot to the top with a lap time of 1.38.5675, to secure pole for heat two.

Palou, who was quickest in both test sessions on Friday, speaking to NBC said: “Amazing, looking forward to tomorrow, happy with that. Had 14 seconds of push to pass, car was good.”

Palou’s pole lap came following the 10-minute red flag, that had been brought out by Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson after he lost his car over the bumps in turn eight as engaged push to pass, and went backwards into the tyre wall.

When the red flag was lifted, wind gusts had eased, creating more favourable conditions for the drivers.

Both Arrow McLaren teams of Callum Ilott and Pato O’Ward, who were sat one two on the timesheet at the time of the red flag, did not go out to do one final lap, unlike the other 11 drivers in group two, and ended up eighth and ninth for qualifying, over half a second down to Palou.

O’Ward speaking to NBC during the red flag said that the “track is very sensitive to heat and wind. I could never get the car to set, it was going in the opposite direction to where I wanted to go. It’s just really gusty and feels icy out there.”

Graham Rahal qualified third for heat two in his final lap attempt following the red flag.

Speaking to NBC Rahal described his attempt as “the old fashioned pull it out.”

Don’t miss the Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge race beginning 8:45am PT Sunday.

Full qualifying results

Group 1 qualifying results for Heat 1 

  1. Felix Rosenqvist
  2. Scott McLaughlin
  3. Rinus VeeKay
  4. Christian Lundgaard
  5. Josef Newgarden
  6. Will Power
  7. Romain Grosjean
  8. Agustin Canapino
  9. Scott Dixon
  10. Santino Ferrucci
  11. Colton Herta
  12. Nolan Siegel
  13. Kyle Kirkwood
  14. Sting Ray Robb

Group 2 qualifying results for Heat 2

  1. Alex Palou
  2. Marcus Armstrong
  3. Graham Rahal
  4. Linus Lundqvist
  5. Tom Blomqvist
  6. Pietro Fittipaldi
  7. Alexander Rossi
  8. Callum Ilott
  9. Pato O’Ward
  10. Kyffin Simpson
  11. Christian Rasmussen
  12. Colin Braun
  13. Marcus Ericsson

Featured Image: Colton Herta practices around the Thermal Club circuit in Friday’s test session (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

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It’s Bristol Baby! Food City 500 race preview

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Bristol Motor Speedway this Sunday, aka The Last Great Colosseum, to race around the concrete fastest half-mile oval in the world, as NASCAR returns to racing back on the concrete of Bristol for it’s Spring Bristol race for the first time since 2020, replacing the Bristol Dirt race after just three editions of the event.

  • Race preview
  • Current points standings 

3 min read

Sunday’s Food City 500 race is comprised of 500 laps (266.5 miles), broken down into three stages of 125, 125, and 250 laps, with qualifying for the race on Saturday at 5:50pm ET/9:50pm ET and the race starting on Sunday at 3:30pm ET/7:30pm UK time.

The half-mile 24-28 degree banked oval in Bristol, Tennessee never fails to deliver on action, with plenty of fierce elbows out racing, with door to door banging being a common occurrence.

To stay on the lead lap all race with no damage is almost a victory in itself at The Last Great Colosseum. Pitting under green here will cost you two laps to the leaders, due to the short length and furious nature of the track.

Denny Hamlin won the last concrete Bristol Cup race last September in the 2023 playoff Round of 16 cutoff race, leading over 100 laps, with him exclaiming to the fans post-race “I beat your favourite driver.”

Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Freight Direct Toyota, celebrates with a burnout in front of fans after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 16, 2023 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

The last spring concrete Bristol Cup race was in May 2020, originally postponed from April due to the covid pandemic, that saw Brad Keselowski win for Team Penske, where he swept both Bristol races in 2020.

Brad Keselowski, in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Food City presents the Supermarket Heroes 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on May 31st 2020 in Bristol, Tennessee (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Kyle Busch is king of Bristol for current Cup drivers, having won eight concrete Cup Bristol races dating back to 2007 and most recently in 2019. He has swept all three races during the autumn edition twice, winning the Truck, Xfinity, and Cup race in 2010 and 2017.

Busch also won the 2022 Bristol Dirt 250-lap race.

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing M&M’s Caramel Toyota celebrates winning the 2017 Bass Pro Shops Night Cup race and sweeping the weekend of races, holding up a broom to the fans, at Bristol Motor Speedway, August 19th 2007, in Bristol, Tennessee (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)

Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin are joint second for current cup drivers wins at Bristol with three wins each, while Joey Logano has two wins, as well as having won the 2021 Bristol Dirt race, and Chris Buescher and Kyle Larson also have a win.

Last week’s Phoenix Cup winner, Christopher Bell, also has a win at Bristol, having won the 2023 Bristol Dirt race. This is not a surprise given Bell’s extensive resume and success in his dirt racing career.

It’s close for bragging rights amongst the current Cup teams with Joe Gibbs Racing leading total Bristol Cup wins with 14, Team Penske with 13, and Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing with 12 wins each. All are chasing all-time Bristol Cup winning team of Junior Johnson & Associates with 16 wins.

Don’t miss the return of the Spring Bristol Cup race this Sunday at 3:30pm ET/7:30pm UK time.

Points standings (* = has 2024 race win, – = playoff cutoff line)

  1. Ryan Blaney – 151
  2. Kyle Larson* – 141
  3. Martin Truex Jr. – 141
  4. William Byron* – 134
  5. Tyler Reddick – 130
  6. Ty Gibbs – 130
  7. Ross Chastain – 129
  8. Denny Hamlin – 129
  9. Chase Elliott – 123
  10. Daniel Suarez* – 114
  11. Kyle Busch – 110
  12. Christopher Bell* – 102
  13. Alex Bowman – 99
  14. Bubba Wallace – 97
  15. Austin Cindric – 87
  16. Chris Buescher – 86
  17. Michael McDowell – 84
  18. Erik Jones – 84
  19. Chase Briscoe – 83
  20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – 80
  21. John Hunter Nemechek – 80
  22. Brad Keselowski – 75
  23. Corey LaJoie – 70
  24. Carson Hocevar – 70
  25. Daniel Hemric – 67
  26. Noah Gragson – 53
  27. Harrison Burton – 53
  28. Todd Gilliland – 52
  29. Justin Haley – 52
  30. Joey Logano – 51
  31. Josh Berry – 48
  32. Austin Dillon – 46
  33. Zane Smith – 40
  34. Kaz Grala – 37
  35. Ryan Preece – 28
  36. David Ragan – 17
  37. Derek Kraus – 11
  38. Jimmie Johnson – 9

Featured Image: Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Dollar General Toyota, leads the field back to green in the NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 17th 2016, in Bristol, Tennessee (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

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Josef Newgarden soars to third St. Pete victory

Josef Newgarden ruled the streets of St. Pete Sunday afternoon in IndyCar’s season opening race, leading 92 of the 100 laps to secure his third St. Pete win and first street course win for Team Penske after Penske went winless on street courses in 2023.

  • Josef Newgarden takes third St. Pete victory
  • Rest of race recap
  • Full race results/points standings 

3 min read

Newgarden converted his pole starting position to an over seven second lead over runner up Pato O’Ward come the checkered flag, with the win only ever looking in doubt when the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet machine lost three spots on pit road during the first pit stop cycle of the day but quickly gained them back and the lead after the restart.

Josef Newgarden and his No. 2 Chevrolet Team Penske team celebrate winning the 2024 GP of St. Pete (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

Newgarden said: “I had a lot of fun today. I think it’s so deserving for the work they (Team Penske) put in. We’ve worked really hard to close the gap. We didn’t have the speed we needed on road and street courses last year, at least on a consistency basis, and today we brought that speed.”

It was Newgarden’s 30th IndyCar Series win, passing Team Penske legend Rick Mears for 13th on the all-time IndyCar Series wins list.

Team Penske and Chevrolet have appeared to have got their street course package back on track, with all three Penske cars finishing in the top five with 2022 St. Pete winner McLaughlin finishing third and two-time St. Pete winner Will Power finishing fourth.

Last year Honda won all five street course races. Sunday saw Andretti Global’s Colton Herta, who won the 2021 edition of the race, be the highest finishing Honda in fifth.

Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward was Newgarden’s closest contender throughout the race, keeping Newgarden within two seconds of him until the final twenty laps where he extended it to an eight second lead while O’Ward had to drive with his rearview mirrors to keep the late charging McLaughlin and Power behind to hold on to the runners up position.

Josef Newgarden leads with Pato O’Ward giving chase (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

O’Ward said: “I think it’s a very solid foundation to what is going to be a very tight, very competitive rest of the year.”

Power and McLaughlin, on the softer alternate tyre were able to charge down O’Ward despite the No. 5 Arrow McLaren driver being on the harder primary tyre. Power had yet to take the alternate green lined tyre before his final pit stop, so as per IndyCar rules of having to run at least two laps on each tyre compound, Power was forced to take the softer tyre.

Rest of race recap

Josef Newgarden and Felix Rosenqvist led the 27-car field to green with Newgarden comfortably leading the opening stint.

The start of the St. Pete GP (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Armstrong brought out the first caution of the race on lap 26 when he locked up his No. 11 Ridgeline Honda in turn 10 slamming it into the outside tyre wall, taking himself out of the race.

Sting Ray Robb brought out the second of three cautions on lap 35 when he parked his No. 41 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet in the turn one escape road. Christian Lundgaard who had inherited the lead after not pitting during the previous caution due to pitting earlier in the race for a puncture, handed the lead back to Newgarden, who had raced past Rosenqvist and Herta to work back up to second prior to the caution.

Last year’s St. Pete winner Marcus Ericsson had to retire early from the race on lap 53 due to a mechanical failure. Ericsson had been running seventh before the failure.

Romain Grosjean’s late lunge on rookie Linus Lundqvist for 12th place on lap 68 saw the caution fly again as Lundqvist went spinning into the turn 10 outside tyre wall.

Lundqvist’s Chip Ganassi Racing team was able to replace his rear wing but would finish the race three laps down. Grosjean would later retire with gearbox failure after completing his drive through penalty for avoidable contact.

The next event is The $1 Million Challenge, a special, non-points race at 12:30 p.m. ET Sunday, March 24 at The Thermal Club near Palm Springs, California.

Full race results/points standings

  1. Josef Newgarden 54
  2. Pato O’Ward 40
  3. Scott McLaughlin 35
  4. Will Power 32
  5. Colton Herta 31
  6. Alex Palou 28
  7. Felix Rosenqvist 26
  8. Alexander Rossi 24
  9. Scott Dixon 22
  10. Rinus VeeKay 20
  11. Santino Ferrucci 19
  12. Kyle Kirkwood 18
  13. Callum Ilott 17
  14. Kyffin Simpson 16
  15. Pietro Fittapaldi 15
  16. Graham Rahal 14
  17. Tom Blomqvist 13
  18. Agustin Canapino 12
  19. Jack Harvey 11
  20. Christian Lundgaard 10
  21. Christian Rasmussen 9
  22. Colin Braun 8
  23. Rinus Lundqvist 7
  24. Romain Grosjean 6
  25. Marcus Ericcson 5
  26. Sting Ray Robb 5
  27. Marcus Armstrong 5

Featured Image: Josef Newgarden celebrates winning the 2024 GP of St. Pete (Photo by Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment)

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Grand Prix of St. Pete race preview

The traditional NTT IndyCar Series season opener, the Grand Prix of St. Pete in Florida, gets underway this Sunday with a 27-car grid including five rookies, with Josef Newgarden and Felix Rosenqvist locking out the front row for Sunday’s 100-lap race.

Start of the 2023 GP of St. Pete (Photo by Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment).
  • Race preview/qualifying 
  • Full qualifying results

3 min read

IndyCar returns to St. Petersburg, Florida for it’s season opener in what will be the 21st running of the Grand Prix of St. Pete; a 100-lap, 180 mile race around the streets of downtown St. Pete and the Albert Whitted Airport with the race starting at 12pm ET/4pm UK time.

The 14-turn temporary street circuit never fails to bring the action as last year’s race was won in the final laps as Pato O’Ward’s car temporarily lost power, allowing Marcus Ericsson to drive by and take the checkered flag three laps later.

Marcus Ericsson leads Pato O’Ward in the 2023 GP of St. Pete (Photo by Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment)

Saturday’s qualifying saw Team Penske’s two-time St. Pete winner Josef Newgarden  put his No. 2 PPG Chevrolet on pole with a 59.5714 second lap.

Newgarden said: “I get jacked up every time I show up for an IndyCar race. This is a rockstar team.”

One of Newgarden’s main goals for the 2024 season was to secure a pole position, It is Newgarden’s third St. Pete pole, having gone without a pole in the 2023 season, last being on pole for the 2022 Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle.

Josef Newgarden in the No. 2 PPG Chevrolet for Team Penske at St. Pete (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

Felix Rosenqvist, now racing for Meyer Shank Racing after being replaced at Arrow McLaren, joins Newgarden on the front row, having done a 59.5772 lap.

Rosenqvist said: “We don’t want to get carried away; the race is a different challenge. But we had a feeling from practice, from rolling off the truck, and that’s great.”

Rosenqvist broke the track record in the Group of 12 qualifying session with a lap of 59.2706 to advance to the Firestone Fast Six, beating Will Power’s 59.3466 lap in the Group of 12 session in 2022.

Six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon could only manage an 11th starting place. Dixon is still winless at St. Pete after 19 previous attempts.

Will Power also failed to make the fast six, with an eighth-place effort. Power had secured nine of the last 14 poles at St. Pete, also being a two-time winner, winning in 2010 and 2014, with Newgarden winning the 2019 and ’20 race respectively.

Tom Blomqvist was the best of the rookies, qualifying 17th with a lap time of 59.9968, driving for Meyer Shank Racing

Graham Rahal, Colton Herta, Scott McLaughlin, and Marcus Ericsson also have wins at St. Pete; 2008, 2021, 2022, and 2023 respectively.

Different for this years’ race is the turn three repave, removing heavy bumps that means drivers can now go flat out through the corner.

Also different is the use of lighter chassis components on the cars including a new 3D-printed titanium aeroscreen top frame, saving seven pounds, as well as the switch to a magnesium gearbox casing and bellhousing. This is all in preparation for the arrival of the 2.2-litre twin-turbocharged V6 engines with hybrid technology this summer.

Catch the 2024 Grand Prix of St. Pete on Sunday at 12pm ET/4pm UK time.

Full qualifying results

  1. Josef Newgarden
  2. Felix Rosenqvist
  3. Pato O’Ward
  4. Colton Herta
  5. Romain Grosjean
  6. Marcus Ericsson
  7. Rinus VeeKay
  8. Will Power
  9. Scott McLaughlin
  10. Marcus Armstrong
  11. Scott Dixon
  12. Christian Lundgaard
  13. Alex Palou
  14. Santino Ferrucci
  15. Alexander Rossi
  16. Callum Ilott
  17. Tom Blomqvist (R)
  18. Kyle Kirkwood
  19. Linus Lundqvist (R)
  20. Agustin Canapino
  21. Christian Rasmussen (R)
  22. Graham Rahal
  23. Kyffin Simpson (R)
  24. Sting Ray Robb
  25. Colin Braun (R)
  26. Pietro Fittipaldi
  27. Jack Harvey

Featured Image: 2023 GP of St. Pete (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)

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Ka-chow: Daniel Suárez wins Atlanta race in three-wide Pixar-esque photo finish

The Disney Pixar Cars movie intro came to life on Sunday night when Daniel Suárez edged Ryan Blaney by 0.003 seconds and Kyle Busch by 0.007 seconds in a three-wide finish in the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway to take his second Cup series win of his career and his first oval win.

Daniel Suarez, driver of the #99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet, crosses the finish line ahead of Kyle Busch, driver of the #8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet, and Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 BodyArmor Zero Sugar Ford, to win the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
  • Suárez wins
  • Blaney and Busch
  • Front Row Motorsports vs Team Penske
  • Rest of race recap
  • Full race results
  • Points standings

6 min read

In what had been a thrilling and intense restrictor plate race, with dynamic hypercompetitive pack racing all race long, came down to a five-lap shootout that Suárez lost control of on the restart as Blaney retook the lead, only on the final lap coming out of turn four for Kyle Busch and Suárez to pull up alongside Blaney, with Suárez surging ahead with side drafting and momentum on the top lane to win the third closest NASCAR Cup series race in history.

Suárez said: “It was so damn close. It was good racing. Ryan Blaney there, Kyle Busch, Austin Cindric also was doing a great job giving pushes. In the back straightaway he didn’t push me because he knew I was going to [screw] his teammate, but man, what a job. We wrecked [on] lap two. The guys did an amazing job fixing this car.”

Daniel Suarez, driver of the #99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

Suárez was caught up in an Atlanta record-breaking 16-car crash on lap two when Front Row Motorsport’s driver Todd Gilliland checked up to let teammate and polesitter Michael McDowell in on the top, causing a large stack up behind, pinballing Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace sideways, taking Josh Williams out of the race and later Noah Gragson as he would retire the car at the end of stage one as a result of the crash.

Suárez recovered from the crash but would narrowly escape further carnage when with 21 laps to go, Chase Briscoe boldly made it four-wide with Suárez on the bottom entering turn three resulting in Denny Hamlin collecting Briscoe, taking them both out of contention.

Suárez would find himself on the row front row inside of 30 laps to go, and would battle for the lead until taking the checkered flag.

It’s Suárez’s second Cup win, his first coming in the 2022 Sonoma road course race, both with Trackhouse Racing.

Daniel Suarez, driver of the #99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet, and crew celebrate in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

Reigning Cup series champion and race runner up Ryan Blaney was one of the cars to beat throughout the race, leading six times for 31 laps, including duelling with Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson for the lead in the first half of stage one, and staying up front for the second half of stage two, before leading for much of the final 40 laps prior to the checkered flag.

Blaney said: “I thought I laid back enough in [turns] one and two to not let both lanes get that big of a run. What a cool finish. Appreciate the fans for sticking around. That’s always a good time when we can do that, race clean, three-wide finish to the end. Happy for Daniel. Fun racing with Kyle. I can’t complain; I’ve won them by very, very little too, so I can’t complain too much when I lose them by that much.”

Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 BodyArmor Zero Sugar Ford, leads the field during the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

Third place Richard Childress Racing driver Kyle Busch had an up-and-down race being involved in three crashes including when Denny Hamlin spun off Busch’s front end as he came down on him with nine to go in stage one, at the beginning of stage three when Kaz Grala ran Busch very tight on the bottom of turn one before being collected by Busch as a result, and escaping the four-wide melee crash with Briscoe with Busch up top.

Busch even had to come from a lap down in the final stage after a serving a drive through speeding penalty under green but after getting the free pass, he found himself charging to the front inside of 50 to go through a four-wide manoeuvre and would fight to the checkered flag to try to claim his third Atlanta Cup win.

Busch said: “Typically whoever is behind getting into [turn] three prevails at the start finish line with the side draft and everything, so I was second to the 12 [Blaney] right there, and the 99 [Suárez] was the furthest back, and he made the ground back up with the side draft and stuff. It’s good to see Daniel get a win. We were helping each other, being Chevy team partners and working together there.”

The finishing order may have been different if Bubba Wallace, who is close friends with Blaney, had been able to lock bumpers and push Blaney in turns three and four on the final lap but instead washed up the race track and lost touch with the front three.

The race featured a record 48 lead changes amongst 14 different drivers. Suárez led twice for nine laps. The race saw 10 cautions for 65 laps of the 260 lap 400-mile race.

Front Row Motorsports vs Team Penske

It was a bittersweet day for Front Row Motorsports after competing with Team Penske for the top positions in the race.

Front Row’s Todd Gilliland led a career high of 58 laps, the most of anyone, on six separate occasions while Michael McDowell would lead five times for 27 laps including winning stage one in a one-lap shootout.

Michael McDowell, driver of the #34 Benebone Ford, lduring the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

Team Penske’s Joey Logano was due to start second but the reigning race winner was sent to the rear for the start of the race and had to serve a drive through penalty under green due to wearing a webbed left glove during qualifying that NASCAR deemed illegal due to violating NASCAR rule 14.3.1.1 governing driver protective clothing and equipment. It is possible that Logano wore the glove to gain a competitive advantage due to being able to manipulate the airflow more on the drivers side.

To Logano’s fortune, he was serving the drive through penalty as the 16-car crash on lap two happened, so was able to stay on the lead lap.

Stage two was a fierce battle between the two teams, as Gilliland led the opening segment with Logano behind, and McDowell inside the top five.

Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, Chris Buescher, driver of the #17 BuildSubmarines.com Ford, and Todd Gilliland, driver of the #38 Georgia Peanuts Ford, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

The second half of stage two saw Front Row’s race become undone as they first drifted back as their cars became tight before McDowell, during the green flag pit stop, wheel hopped entering pit road and collided with last week’s Daytona 500 winner William Byron, sending them both spinning into and off the wall. The race miraculously stayed green and both were able to continue with McDowell just one lap down after repairs.

After the green flag pit stop cycle, it was the Penske trio of Austin Cindric, Logano, and Blaney out front but Logano drifted back with a few laps to go and coming off turn two on the final lap crashed into the wall as his car got very tight, collecting Chris Buescher.

Cindric won stage two. Logano would finish the race several laps down following multiple repairs.

Front Row fell short in the final stage as despite Gilliland leading the start of stage three and again later, Gilliland had to pit for damage late on, and was forced to pit under green inside of 15 laps to go for right side tyres, taking him out of contention.

Todd Gilliland, driver of the #38 Georgia Peanuts Ford, pits during the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

McDowell gambled to stay out longer than most of the field in stage three to regain track position but was forced to pit with 35 laps to go as he began slipping down the order. McDowell still recovered to an eighth place finish.

Rest of race recap

Ross Chastain sent Georgia’s Chase Elliott for a spin as he pushed Elliott in the rear in turn three with 65 laps to go, as Chastain was fighting with Wallace for the free pass who was just one car length ahead.

Elliott rescued his car with a sideways drift in the turn three grass reminiscent of Lightning McQueen’s save at the end of the Cars movie.

Elliott was then caught up in Josh Berry’s crash with 12 to go spinning down the backstretch, but was able to recover to a 15th place finish.

Denny Hamlin, despite being involved in multiple crashes including with Busch and Buescher, led parts of the final stage, only to receive heavy damage in the Briscoe crash with 21 to go.

Hamlin’s teammate Martin Truex Jr. would lead parts of the final stage also, fighting Kyle Larson for control of the race.

The next race is the Pennzoil 400 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday 3rd March with the race starting at 3:30pm ET (8:30pm UK time).  

Full race results 

  1. Daniel Suárez
  2. Ryan Blaney
  3. Kyle Busch
  4. Austin Cindric
  5. Bubba Wallace
  6. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  7. Ross Chastain
  8. Michael McDowell
  9. Chris Buescher
  10. Ty Gibbs
  11. Harrison Burton
  12. Martin Truex Jr.
  13. Corey LaJoie
  14. Kaz Grala
  15. Chase Elliott
  16. Ryan Preece
  17. William Byron
  18. Daniel Hemric
  19. Carson Hocevar
  20. Justin Haley
  21. John Hunter Nemechek
  22. Austin Dillon
  23. Denny Hamlin
  24. B.J. McLeod
  25. Erik Jones
  26. Todd Gilliland
  27. Alex Bowman
  28. Joey Logano
  29. Josh Berry
  30. Tyler Reddick
  31. Chase Briscoe
  32. Kyle Larson
  33. Brad Keselowski
  34. Christopher Bell
  35. Zane Smith
  36. Noah Gragson
  37. Josh Williams

Points standings

*=win -=playoff cut line

  1. Kyle Busch – 77
  2. William Byron* – 76
  3. Austin Cindric – 76
  4. Bubba Wallace – 74
  5. Ryan Blaney – 69
  6. Chase Elliott – 65
  7. Daniel Suárez* – 64
  8. Ross Chastain – 62
  9. Alex Bowman – 60
  10. Martin Truex Jr. – 60
  11. Kyle Larson – 58
  12. Corey LaJoie – 57
  13. John Hunter Nemechek – 53
  14. Ty Gibbs – 50
  15. Chris Buescher – 49
  16. Christopher Bell – 47
  17. Erik Jones – 47
  18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – 44
  19. Denny Hamlin – 44
  20. Michael McDowell – 40
  21. Daniel Hemric – 40
  22. Chase Briscoe – 37
  23. Harrison Burton – 36
  24. Ryan Preece – 35
  25. Tyler Reddick – 31
  26. Noah Gragson – 29
  27. Zane Smith – 29
  28. Justin Haley – 29
  29. Carson Hocevar – 26
  30. Kaz Grala – 24
  31. Josh Berry – 20
  32. Todd Gilliland – 19
  33. Joey Logano – 18
  34. David Ragan – 17
  35. Austin Dillon – 16
  36. Brad Keselowski – 16
  37. Jimmie Johnson – 9

Featured image: Daniel Suarez, driver of the #99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet, crosses the finish line ahead of Kyle Busch, driver of the #8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet, and Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 BodyArmor Zero Sugar Ford, to win the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

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2024 Daytona 500: preview, schedule, lineup

 

NASCAR are racing on a Monday to get the Cup Series’ super bowl season opener underway at Daytona International Speedway, Florida, for the 66th running of the Daytona 500.

4 min read

  • Preview
  • Schedule
  • Lineup

Forty V8 Gen 7 stock cars will compete in the Great American Race in front of a sold out crowd at speeds over 200mph, on the high 31 degrees Daytona banking, inches apart from each other for 200 laps, in a bid to win one of NASCAR’s most prestigious prizes, the Harley J. Earl Trophy and forever immortalise themselves into the history books on stock car racing’s biggest day.

The Daytona 500 relinquished the usual Sunday race date due to heavy rain all day yesterday but it’s clear skies ahead for today’s running of NASCAR’s crown jewel event.

 

Last year saw Ricky Stenhouse Jr. win the Great American race for the first time with JTG Daugherty Racing in a double overtime finish after marching through the field from 31st with 20 laps to go.

There are seven active Daytona 500 winners in this year’s edition of the race including three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and two-time Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the #47 Kroger/Cottonelle Chevrolet, and crew celebrate in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series 65th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2023 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Schedule

The Daytona 500 race starts at 4pm ET (9pm UK time) with American actor and pro wrestler Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson giving the command to fire engines.

The race will be broken down into three stages of 65, 65, and 70 laps totaling 200 laps (500 miles). There is a grand purse of over $28 million up for grabs to be shared out amongst the 40 drivers and teams, making victory lane a very wealthy place to find yourself in post-race.

Grand Marshal Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson speaks to the media during a press conference after the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 was postponed due to weather at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 2024 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

It is likely we will see an overtime finish given five of the last six Daytona 500 races have had an overtime finish; where NASCAR reset the laps to two laps to go if there is a yellow flag brought out too close to the finish but before one lap to go, in an attempt to end the race finish under green racing conditions, with the race leader needing to take the one lap to go white flag at the start finish line to make the race end official regardless of whether or not the yellow flag comes out on the final lap. If the white flag isn’t taken due to a yellow flag being brought out, the field of cars are restacked and another NASCAR overtime will commence.

Lineup

2015 Daytona 500 winner Joey Logano secured the pole position for Team Penske on Wednesday night in the brand new Dark Horse Mustang, the first Daytona 500 pole for Team Penske, with fellow Ford driver and 2021 Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell, lining up alongside him for Front Row Motorsports, the first time Ford have swept the front row for the Daytona 500 grid since 2012 and ending Chevrolet’s 11-year streak of taking pole.

Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, (R) winner of the Daytona 500 pole award and Michael McDowell, driver of the #34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford, Front Row second fastest winner pose for a photo during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 14, 2024 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Lining up on row two are the two duel winners, Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell from Thursday night in the brand new Toyota Camry XSE, where rows 2-20 were decided for the 500 via two 60-lap heat races with a 42-car field split in half to compete in either heat.

Row three sees NASCAR’s most popular driver and 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott start 5th alongside 2022 Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric.

Row four is composed of three-time Daytona 500 pole winner Alex Bowman starting 7th and 2016, ’19, and ’20 Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin lining up 8th.

Row five sees breakout star and rookie Carson Hocevar lineup 9th in his first Daytona 500 start, with John Hunter Nemechek lining up 10th making his second Daytona 500 start, now driving for Legacy Motor Club.

2006 and 2013 Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson will start 23rd after narrowly qualifying for the Great American Race in Thursday night’s duel race passing rival qualifying challenger J.J. Yeley coming off turn four on the final lap to secure his spot in today’s race, with Yeley going home.

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #84 Carvana Toyota, and JJ Yeley, driver of the #44 100 Coconut Water Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel #1 at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2024 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Full lineup 

  1. Joey Logano (2015 Daytona 500 winner)
  2. Michael McDowell (2021 Daytona 500 winner)
  3. Tyler Reddick
  4. Christopher Bell
  5. Chase Elliott
  6. Austin Cindric (2022 Daytona 500 winner)
  7. Alex Bowman
  8. Denny Hamlin (2016, ’19, ’20 Daytona 500 winner)
  9. Carson Hocevar
  10. John Hunter Nemechek
  11. Erik Jones
  12. Harrison Burton
  13. Daniel Suárez
  14. Zane Smith
  15. Ty Gibbs
  16. Brad Keselowski
  17. Kyle Larson
  18. William Byron
  19. Chris Buescher
  20. Chase Briscoe
  21. Ross Chastain
  22. Justin Haley
  23. Jimmie Johnson (2006, ’13 Daytona 500 winner)
  24. Bubba Wallace
  25. Ryan Preece
  26. Kaz Grala
  27. Martin Truex Jr.
  28. AJ Allmendinger
  29. Corey LaJoie
  30. Josh Berry
  31. Todd Gilliland
  32. Ryan Blaney
  33. Austin Dillon (2018 Daytona 500 winner)
  34. Kyle Busch
  35. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2023 Daytona 500 winner)
  36. Riley Herbst
  37. Daniel Hemric
  38. Noah Gragson
  39. Anthony Alfredo
  40. David Ragan

Featured image: Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, and Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, lead the field to start the NASCAR Cup Series 65th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2023 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

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Ryan Blaney wins Coca-Cola 600, securing Team Penske crown jewel sweep

Ryan Blaney made the sweep happen for Team Penske for the first time with both United States crown jewel races on Memorial Day Weekend, the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600  being won by Team Penske. Blaney led 163 of the 400 laps of Monday’s rain-delayed Coca-Cola 600, won stage three, and took the chequered flag to end a 59-race drought, claiming his eighth Cup Series win.  

  • Blaney victorious 
  • William Byron one-place short
  • Kyle Larson spins
  • Elliott hooks Hamlin
  • Rest of race recap 
  • Full race results
  • Points standings
CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA – MAY 29: Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 BodyArmor Cherry Lime Ford, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 29, 2023 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)

Blaney said: “I might shed a tear. You start to get to feel like you can’t win anymore when you don’t win in a while. It kind of gets hard. So just super thankful to the 12 guys for believing in me. What a weekend with Newgarden and Roger winning at Indy and us winning the 600. I mean that’s just so cool.”

Blaney had to fend off a series of late race cautions and a fast Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron with Blaney lining up alongside Byron with 20 laps to go for what was the final restart, finishing the race over half a second in front.

Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 BodyArmor Cherry Lime Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 29, 2023 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Blaney replicated fellow Team Penske teammate Josef Newgarden’s celebration from Sunday’s Indy 500, where Josef Newgarden passed reigning Indy 500 champion Marcus Ericsson on the backstretch in a one-lap shootout, by leaping into the crowd in the frontstretch grandstand to take in the moment with the fans.

Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 BodyArmor Cherry Lime Ford, celebrates with fans after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 29, 2023 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)

Blaney’s dad, Dave Blaney, only ever NASCAR national series win came at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Xfinity Series in 2006. His dad joined Ryan in victory lane.

William Byron one-place short

Byron after being up front all race long, including leading 91 laps and winning stage one, comes up one place short. Byron had the edge in the first stage and regained the lead several times under yellow throughout the race thanks to a fast pit crew and No. 1 pit stall but Blaney’s short run speed was better overall, getting by Byron for the final time inside of 30 laps to go.

Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 BodyArmor Cherry Lime Ford, William Byron, driver of the #24 Liberty University Patriotic Chevrolet, and Chase Briscoe, driver of the #14 Mahindra Tractors Ford, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 29, 2023 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Byron said: “Really happy for Ryan. He really deserves it. He’s a good dude. Cool to see him get a win. The car was great tonight. Just not quite good enough. Pit crew was phenomenal on pit road. Just needed a little bit more.”

Larson’s bid for a second Coca-Cola 600

Kyle Larson, who attended Sunday’s Indy 500 with Tony Kanaan’s Arrow McLaren IndyCar team, after completing his IndyCar test, in preparation for his 2024 Indy 500 effort, found himself out of contention when on lap 375, he spun coming off turn two taking out himself, Ty Gibbs, who had a career day running inside the top 10 for much of the second half of the race, Christopher Bell and others, ending his chances of winning his second Coca-Cola 600 again.

Larson after being in the mid-pack in the early going had been inside the top five in the latter stages of the race prior to his spin. Larson’s crash set up the final 20 lap green flag run.

Chase Elliott hooks Denny Hamlin

Deep into the second stage of the 600 Chase Elliott hooked Denny Hamlin in the right rear sending him hard into the wall on the frontstretch at speeds over 150mph in retaliation to Hamlin squeezing Elliott into the wall for consecutive laps, ending both their races and leading Chase Elliott to being given a one race ban by NASCAR on Tuesday.

Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota, spins after an on-track incident with Chase Elliott during the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images)

Elliott, who needs a win to make the playoffs, due to being out of action for several weeks due to a fractured tibia from snowboarding earlier in the season, claimed he had lost steering of his car after hitting the wall.

Hamlin later in the race posted telemetry on social media showing that Elliott’s steering had not been damaged in any way meaning he had complete control of where to aim his race car implying he had been intentionally taken out.

A similar incident occurred last year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, between Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson when, following Laron squeezing Wallace into the turn four wall, Wallace turned down into Larson’s car at high speed on the frontstretch taking both cars out of the race with Wallace physically showing his displeasure to Larson out of the car also. Wallace received a one race ban.

It is not the first time Hamlin and Elliott have have ran into each other as in 2017, Hamlin dumped Elliott in the playoff race at Martinsville.

Rest of race recap 

After qualifying was rained out, William Byron based on having the highest average score determined by championship position, last week’s race finishing position, and fastest lap, led the field to green on a grey filled sky afternoon at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

William Byron, driver of the #24 Liberty University Patriotic Chevrolet, leads the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 29, 2023 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)

Seven-time Cup Series champion and Legacy Motor Club co-owner Jimmie Johnson, who was making his second start of the season, was running 25th but lost control of his No. 84 Chevrolet coming off turn two deep into stage one sending his car to the garage.

His Legacy Motor Club teammates Erik Jones, who was running inside the top-15, and Noah Gragson, both hit a piece of debris at the end of stage one, that punctured their radiators, sending them to the garage, taking them out of contention for having a solid points day.

William Byron just held off Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney to win stage one.

There was a temporary stop to the race after a rain shower swept through the area bringing out the red flag. A quick cleanup with the jet driers and racing resumed.

Late in stage two but prior to Elliott’s incident with Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski got together coming out of turn two bringing out the caution. Busch spun out but would recover quickly finding himself in the top by stage three.

Chris Buescher took over the lead with eight laps to go in stage two and went on to win stage two.

Ryan Blaney won stage three but Byron leapfrogged Blaney on pit road to reclaim the lead for the start of the final stage. Blaney took the lead back on the restart. 

Drivers pit during the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

With less than 80 laps to go, Tyler Reddick, who was running inside the top five, performed a phenomenal save coming off turn four after the car got away from under him.

Halfway through the final stage, Kevin Harvick, in his final full-time season, brought out a caution after spinning out off turn four before getting it straightened it out. Kyle Larson had just passed Busch for second.

Inside of 50 laps to go, Stenhouse Jr. shot Allmendinger up the track in turn 4 up into Logano sending Allmendinger for a spin and made light contact with Harrison Burton. Logano grazed the wall.

Toyota’s took the rest of the top five spots with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr, the 2019 Coca-Cola 600 winner finishing third, and 23XI Racing in Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick finishing fourth and fifth.

The next race for the NASCAR Cup Series is the Enjoy Illinois 300 race at World Wide Technology Raceway this Sunday with the green flag flying at 3:30pm ET.

Bubba Wallace, driver of the No. 23 Dr Pepper Strawberries & Cream Toyota, Harrison Burton, driver of the No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford, and Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Featured Image: Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 BodyArmor Cherry Lime Ford, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 29, 2023 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)

Full race results 

  1. Ryan Blaney
  2. William Byron
  3. Martin Truex Jr.
  4. Bubba Wallace
  5. Tyler Reddick
  6. Kyle Busch
  7. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  8. Chris Buescher
  9. Austin Dillon
  10. Zane Smith
  11. Kevin Harvick
  12. Alex Bowman
  13. Ryan Preece
  14. AJ Allmendinger
  15. Justin Haley
  16. J. J. Yeley
  17. Corey LaJoie
  18. Harrison Burton
  19. Brad Keselowski
  20. Chase Briscoe
  21. Joey Logano
  22. Ross Chastain
  23. Daniel Suarez
  24. Christopher Bell
  25. Aric Almirola
  26. Ty Gibbs
  27. Ty Dillon
  28. Michael McDowell
  29. BJ McLeod
  30. Kyle Larson
  31. Austin Cindric
  32. Erik Jones
  33. Todd Gilliland
  34. Chase Elliott
  35. Denny Hamlin
  36. Noah Gragson
  37. Jimmie Johnson

 Points standings 

(*=Locked into playoffs)

  1. Ross Chastain – 446
  2. Ryan Blaney* – 445
  3. William Byron* – 442
  4. Kevin Harvick – 438
  5. Martin Truex Jr.* – 433
  6. Christopher Bell* – 429
  7. Tyler Reddick* – 409
  8. Denny Hamlin* – 400
  9. Brad Keselowski – 394
  10. Kyle Busch* – 392
  11. Kyle Larson* – 377
  12. Chris Buescher – 368
  13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.* – 358
  14. Joey Logano* – 357
  15. Bubba Wallace – 327
  16. Alex Bowman – 296
  17. Chase Briscoe – 292
  18. Ty Gibbs – 281
  19. Daniel Suarez – 276
  20. Corey LaJoie – 258
  21. Austin Cindric – 254
  22. Michael McDowell – 250
  23. Justin Haley – 247
  24. Todd Gilliland – 244
  25. AJ Allmendinger – 237
  26. Aric Almirola – 233
  27. Erik Jones – 226
  28. Ryan Preece – 225
  29. Chase Elliott – 215
  30. Harrison Burton – 195
  31. Austin Dillon – 194
  32. Noah Gragson – 139
  33. Ty Dillon – 120
  34. B. J. McLeod – 78
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Joey Logano achieves childhood dream win at Atlanta

Joey Logano outduelled former Penske teammate and two-time Atlanta winner Brad Keselowski in the final laps of the Ambetter Health 400 on Sunday, with a push from Christopher Bell down the backstretch helping Logano clear the pack to win for the first time at Atlanta in the Cup Series.

  • Race summary
  • Rest of race recap
  • Full race results
  • Points standings 

It was a dominant display from Logano, having nabbed the pole from Penske teammate Austin Cindric by 0.006 of a second on Saturday, and going on to lead the most laps in Sunday’s race, leading 140 of the 260 laps, and also winning stage one before taking the chequers.

Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Autotrader Ford, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 19, 2023 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

The reigning Cup Series champion said: “Yeah, first off so special to win Atlanta for me. So many memories of me and my dad racing right here on the quarter mile. This is the full circle for us. So many memories gritting over there with the Legends car, racing, having a big time. Dreaming of going straight at the quarter mile and going onto the big track. That was always the dream to do it. To finally win here means so much to me here personally, but the team.”

The track has deep family ties for Logano, having lived at one of the condo’s at the race track for four years with his family whilst working his way through the racing ranks.

Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Autotrader Ford, celebrates with his father, Tom Logano, after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (Photo by Sean Gardner | Getty Images)

Logano and his Team Penske teammates executed a strong race plan all day long. After the trio qualified one-two-three for the race with Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney qualifying second and third respectively, they helped Logano lead from the off. They stayed together for most of the race including in the final twenty laps where they persisted on the bottom lane, not allowing Brad Keselowski and the top lane to run away with the race.

Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Autotrader Ford, and Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 King’s Hawaiian Ford, lead the field during the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 19, 2023 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

With six laps to go it appeared all momentum and hope for Logano and Team Penske had been lost but a reenergized bottom lane put Logano back in contention.

On the final lap, Corey Lajoie bump-drafted Logano into turn one propelling Logano to lead the top lane and race side-by-side with Keselowski before Bell bumped him down the backstretch and into the lead.

Logano said: “The Auto Trader Mustang; this thing was an animal. Very, very fast.”

Runner-up Brad Keselowski furthered a dominant Ford display, with Ford having taken the top eight spots in qualifying, a feat that Ford hadn’t reached since 1965.

Keselowski looked in control of the race until he could no longer halt the momentum of Logano and raced cleanly to the chequered flag. Keselowski led the second most laps with 47.

Keselowski said: “The coolest thing about this race is two veterans showed you can run a race here side by side, bump-drafting, and not wreck the field. It can happen if you race respectfully. I thought everybody did a great job.”

Corey LaJoie had a career best fourth place finish after running inside the top 15 for the majority of the race.

Rest of race recap 

Joey Logano and Austin Cindric led the field to green for the third Atlanta race since the 2021 repave where the banking was raised to 28 degrees in both corners, as well narrowing the corners, turning the track into a downsized Daytona superspeedway with the cars using the same race package used for Daytona and Talladega.

Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Autotrader Ford, leads the field to start the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 19, 2023 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Logano led the first 10 laps before a caution came out for an out of control Bubba Wallace when he got loose on the outside next to Kyle Busch coming off turn two, before spinning across the track into the wall. Wallace was able to continue the race after repairs but would finish 27th five laps down.

Early on in stage one saw Kevin Harvick lead the bottom lane, but was not able to take the lead away from Logano for long. The NASCAR veteran was competing in his final Spring Atlanta race before retirement, the race of which he won in just his third Cup start 22 years ago, driving for Richard Childress, only three weeks after Childress and the NASCAR world suffered the loss of Dale Earnhardt Sr. 

It was single file for the second half of stage one with Logano comfortably taking the stage win.

Stage two briefly saw a six-car breakaway at the front, midway through the fuel run in Logano, Kyle Busch, Blaney, Keselowski, Chris Buescher, and Cindric, before the rest of the pack came back to them.

Green flag pit stops just after 70 laps into stage two saw Ryan Blaney who had been running second behind Logano receive a speeding penalty for driving too fast on the apron in turn four in what is now part of pit entry, after NASCAR doubled the length of pit road entry, after the drivers had voiced safety concerns of having no runoff for pitting under green with the new configuration.

After serving the drive-through penalty, Blaney ended up being three cars in front of Logano trying to prevent his No. 12 BodyArmor SportWater Ford going two laps down before the stage break.

Blaney held on, with Cindric pinching the stage two win coming off turn four. Blaney would get the free pass later in the final stage.

The final stage saw both lanes in use with Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Denny Hamlin, and Harvick all taking turns to lead.

Disaster struck for Harvick when on lap 190, as he was sent around after Ross Chastain pushed air onto his rear bumper aggressively around the corner in turns one and two until Harvick’s car squirrelly lost control causing carnage for the field behind to avoid.

Buescher, Josh Berry, Daniel Suarez, Harrison Burton and BJ McLeod all got collected up in the mayhem.

 

Aric Almirola led the field back to green but on lap 209, on 72 lap old tyres, he blew a tyre in front of the pack, taking out Kyle Larson who was running second. Almirola had prior to the restart, gained 17 spots on pit road after taking fuel only under the caution.

The final 40 laps saw a duel between Logano and Keselowski, swapping the lead, before the duel intensified further with 13 laps to go.

Logano had help in his Penske teammates on the bottom, while the three Toyota’s in Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, and Denny Hamlin raced on the top, with Keselowski methodically blocking both lanes with help from his spotter TJ Majors.

Tyler Reddick, driver of the No. 45 Xfinity 10G Network Toyota, and Christopher Bell, driver of the No. 20 DeWalt Toyota, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (Photo by Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images)

Logano outduelled Keselowski on the final lap with help from LaJoie and Bell sending the Connecticut driver to victory lane at Atlanta for the first time in the Cup Series.

The next race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season is the 68-lap road-course race around Circuit of The Americas (COTA).

It’s a star-studded lineup for COTA’s Cup race with F1 champions Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen as well seven-time Cup Series champion as well as 2017 IMSA Champion Jordan Taylor all competing in the first road-course race of the season.

The race starts at 3:30pm ET.

Featured Image: Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Autotrader Ford, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (Photo by Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images)

Full race results 

  1. Joey Logano
  2. Brad Keselowski
  3. Christopher Bell
  4. Corey LaJoie
  5. Tyler Reddick
  6. Denny Hamlin
  7. Ryan Blaney
  8. Erik Jones
  9. Ty Gibbs
  10. Kyle Busch
  11. Austin Cindric
  12. Noah Gragson
  13. Ross Chastain
  14. Alex Bowman
  15. Todd Gilliland
  16. AJ Allmendinger
  17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  18. Josh Berry
  19. Martin Truex Jr.
  20. Austin Dillon
  21. Michael McDowell
  22. Justin Haley
  23. Ty Dillon
  24. Chase Briscoe
  25. Cody Ware
  26. JJ Yeley
  27. Bubba Wallace
  28. Ryan Preece
  29. Daniel Suarez
  30. Aric Almirola
  31. Kyle Larson
  32. William Byron
  33. Kevin Harvick
  34. Harrison Burton
  35. Chris Buescher
  36. BJ McLeod

Stage one 

  1. Joey Logano
  2. Austin Cindric
  3. Brad Keselowski
  4. Ryan Blaney
  5. Denny Hamlin
  6. Christopher Bell
  7. Kyle Busch
  8. Chris Buescher
  9. Daniel Suarez
  10. Martin Truex Jr.

Stage two

  1. Austin Cindric
  2. Joey Logano
  3. Alex Bowman
  4. Tyler Reddick
  5. William Byron
  6. Chris Buescher
  7. Martin Truex Jr.
  8. Denny Hamlin
  9. Brad Keselowski
  10. Corey LaJoie

Points standings after 5 of 36 races

  1. Joey Logano* – 177
  2. Christopher Bell – 176
  3. Ross Chastain – 172
  4. Ryan Blaney – 161
  5. Brad Keselowski – 160
  6. Kevin Harvick – `155
  7. Kyle Busch* – 153
  8. Martin Truex Jr. – 145
  9. Denny Hamlin – 140
  10. Daniel Suarez – 129
  11. Austin Cindric – 126
  12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.* – 124
  13. Chris Buescher – 122
  14. Corey LaJoie – 113
  15. Tyler Reddick – 111
  16. Bubba Wallace – 102
  17. AJ Allmendinger – 92
  18. Michael McDowell – 92
  19. Ty Gibbs – 90
  20. Alex Bowman – 85
  21. Erik Jones – 82
  22. Austin Dillon – 80
  23. Chase Briscoe – 72
  24. Noah Gragson – 68
  25. Todd Gilliland – 68
  26. Ryan Preece – 63
  27. Aric Almirola – 63
  28. William Byron* – 55
  29. Harrison Burton – 51
  30. Cody Ware – 50
  31. Chase Elliott – 49
  32. Kyle Larson – 43
  33. Ty Dillon – 31
  34. BJ McLeod – 27
  35. Travis Pastrana – 26
  36. Jimmie Johnson – 10
Posted on

Hendrick déjà vu: Byron beats Larson in overtime finish again to win Phoenix Cup race

Sunday saw William Byron, for two-weeks in a row, beat Kyle Larson in a overtime restart to win the Cup Series race, this time at Phoenix Raceway in the United Rentals Work United 500. Kevin Harvick had overtaken Larson for the lead with 43 laps to go but a caution with 11 laps to go for Harrison Burton blowing a tyre, saw Harvick lose the lead on pit road and fall back to seventh, having taken four tyres, while Larson and Byron came off pit road first and second on just two tyres. 

  • Race summary
  • Rest of race recap
  • Full race results
  • Point standings

William Byron had taken the lead away from pole-sitter Kyle Larson on lap two and went on to win stage one but Kyle Larson took the lead back on pit road during the stage break and won stage two.

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet, Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Shingrix Toyota, and Christopher Bell, driver of the No. 20 Rheem Toyota, race during the NASCAR Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway (Photo by Chris Graythen | Getty Images)

Heading towards the white flag, Tyler Reddick gave a helpful push to Byron coming down the backstretch heading, as Blaney, Larson and Byron were three-wide for the lead with Byron on the outside, helping Byron clear Larson and Blaney going into turn four to take the white flag and the checkered flag.

It’s Byron sixth career win and his first at Phoenix in the Cup Series.

William Byron celebrates his 6th career win by burning it down at the start finish line at Phoenix Raceway, March 12 2023 (Photo by Meg Oliphant | Getty Images)

Byron thanked crew chief Rudy Fugle for the win saying: “Owe the last couple weeks to him. He’s done a really good job strategy-wise, and execution-wise we’ve done a good job to put ourselves in those positions on the front row with a shot at the end.”

AVONDALE, ARIZONA – MARCH 12: William Byron, driver of the #24 Valvoline Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway on March 12, 2023 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

Kyle Larson led 201 of the 312 laps so was not too pleased to come in fourth after losing the win to Byron in the same fashion for two-weeks running, being beat in last week’s overtime restart in Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s 400-mile race, saying: “Restarts are just tough. [Byron] did a really good job of holding it to my outside, clearing me down the back. Yeah, I’m pissed off.”

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, reacts after finishing fourth in the NASCAR Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway (Photo by Susan Wong | NASCAR Studios)

Kevin Harvick aka “The Closer” was looking to become a 10-time Phoenix Cup Series winner. Having started 15th, he finished eighth and third in stages one and two respectively before in the final stage on a long green flag run passed Larson for the lead with 43 laps to go.

Harvick was clear sailing prior to the caution with 11 laps to go and was not able to gain any positions when the field went back to green with three laps to go before Noah Gragson, AJ Allmendinger, and Ty Gibbs wrecked in turns one and two sending the race into overtime.

Harvick said: “That’s the way it goes. Just smoked ’em up until the caution. They did a great job with our Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang. Didn’t need the caution at the end.”

It was Harvick’s 20th straight top-10 finish at Phoenix Raceway in the Cup Series.

Ryan Blaney had a strong race from start to finish coming home in the runner up spot. Blaney finished sixth and eighth in stage one and two respectively. The Team Penske driver was running sixth at the time of Burton blowing his tyre.

Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Dent Wizard Ford, races during the the NASCAR Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway (Photo by Cameron Richardson | NASCAR Studios)

Ford and former Penske teammate Brad Keselowski also had a strong race prior to the overtime finish, being ninth and fourth in stages one and two respectively before finishing eighteenth.

Josh Berry, subbing for the injured Chase Elliott, drove the No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet to an impressive 10th place finish. Berry was getting used up in stage one struggling to get inside the top 25. The full-time JR Motorsports Xfinity driver worked his way into the top 15 in the final stage before finishing one place behind Hendrick teammate Alex Bowman, placing all four Hendrick Chevrolet’s in the top-10.

Rest of race recap

The United Rentals 500 marked the debut of the new short track package, seeing a 30% reduction in downforce compared to last year’s short track package, due in part to halving the spoiler from four inches to two.

The cars were permitted to race in wet conditions  if they occurred during the race as part of NASCAR’s expansion to allow wet-weather racing at one mile or less sized oval tracks in addition to the road course races.

2021 Phoenix winner Kyle Larson led the field to green flag before Byron released Larson of the lead getting by on the inside of turn one on lap two.

Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, leads the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway on March 12, 2023 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

With under ten to go in stage one, BJ McLeod retired with a fuel pump issue before Ricky Stenhouse Jr. tagged the turn one wall running 25th but was able to continue. Byron led the rest of the laps to win stage one.

During the stage one caution break, Kyle Larson was able to win back the lead on pit road in part to having the number one pit stall at the end of pit road.

Aric Almirola brought out the caution on lap 139 after his wheel hub and tyre broke free. Larson was first off pit road again and went on to win stage two.

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 GoBowling.com Ford, breaks a right-front wheel during the NASCAR Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway (Photo by Susan Wong | NASCAR Studios)

Harvick started the final stage side-by-side with Larson on the restart but Larson quickly pulled away to a 2.5 second gap by lap 207.

Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway, with Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Hunt Brothers Ford Mustang behind, on March 12, 2023 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

During the rest of the final stage, the whole field split the 127-lap stage in half except Erik Jones who stayed out in the lead on old tyres until Kyle Larson caught and passed him for the lead on much fresher tyres with 52 laps to go. Jones was hoping for a caution to force everybody else down pit road again while with the lead but one didn’t come before having to pit. Jones finished 21st.

As the run went on Harvick closed back down the gap to Larson to just 0.3 seconds and cleared him coming out of turn three with 43 laps to go.

The crash that led to the overtime finish came from Gragson and AJ Allmendinger colliding into the turn two wall together, while Gibbs piled into the back of them after getting tangled with Corey Lajoie on the high lane in turn one.

Ty Gibbs, driver of the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota, drives his damaged car back to pit road during the NASCAR Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway (Photo by Susan Wong | NASCAR Studios)

The 2022 Hamlin-Chastain clash was revived on the final lap when Denny Hamlin washed up the race track in turn two dragging Chastain into the wall. Hamlin had spent most of the day in the top five but would only come home 23rd in the end, with Chastain 24th. Both had a long conversation with each other on pit road post-race.

The next race for the NASCAR Cup Series is the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway this Sunday, with the race starting at 3pm ET.

Featured image: William Byron, driver of the #24 Valvoline Chevrolet, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway on March 12, 2023 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

Full race results 

  1. William Byron
  2. Ryan Blaney
  3. Tyler Reddick
  4. Kyle Larson
  5. Kevin Harvick
  6. Christopher Bell
  7. Chase Briscoe
  8. Kyle Busch
  9. Alex Bowman
  10. Josh Berry
  11. Joey Logano
  12. Ryan Preece
  13. Michael McDowell
  14. Bubba Wallace
  15. Chris Buescher
  16. Austin Dillon
  17. Martin Truex Jr.
  18. Brad Keselowski
  19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  20. AJ Allmendinger
  21. Erik Jones
  22. Daniel Suarez
  23. Denny Hamlin
  24. Ross Chastain
  25. Austin Cindric
  26. Corey LaJoie
  27. Justin Haley
  28. Ty Gibbs
  29. Noah Gragson
  30. Ty Dillon
  31. Zane Smith
  32. Todd Gilliland
  33. Aric Almirola
  34. Cody Ware
  35. Harrison Burton
  36. BJ McLeod

Stage one 

  1. William Byron
  2. Kyle Larson
  3. Christopher Bell
  4. Denny Hamlin
  5. Tyler Reddick
  6. Ryan Blaney
  7. Ross Chastain
  8. Kevin Harvick
  9. Brad Keselowski
  10. Kyle Busch

Stage two 

  1. Kyle Larson
  2. William Byron
  3. Kevin Harvick
  4. Brad Keselowski
  5. Tyler Reddick
  6. Denny Hamlin
  7. Christopher Bell
  8. Ryan Blaney
  9. Ross Chastain
  10. Chase Briscoe

Points standings after 4 of 36 races 

  1. Alex Bowman – 154
  2. Kevin Harvick – 151
  3. Ross Chastain – 148
  4. William Byron* – 144
  5. Kyle Larson – 137
  6. Christopher Bell – 137
  7. Denny Hamlin – 125
  8. Ryan Blaney – 124
  9. Kyle Busch* – 122
  10. Martin Truex Jr. – 122
  11. Daniel Suarez – 119
  12. Joey Logano – 118
  13. Brad Keselowski – 115
  14. Chris Buescher – 112
  15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.* – 104
  16. Bubba Wallace – 92
  17. Austin Cindric – 81
  18. Corey Lajoie – 79
  19. Michael McDowell – 76
  20. Tyler Reddick – 72
  21. AJ Allmendinger – 71
  22. Austin Dillon – 63
  23. Ty Gibbs – 62
  24. Justin Haley – 60
  25. Chase Briscoe – 59
  26. Aric Almirola – 56
  27. Ryan Preece – 54
  28. Erik Jones – 53
  29. Chase Elliott – 49
  30. Harrison Burton – 48
  31. Todd Gilliland – 46
  32. Noah Gragson – 43
  33. Cody Ware – 38
  34. Travis Pastrana – 26
  35. BJ McLeod – 26
  36. Ty Dillon – 17
  37. Jimmie Johnson – 10
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