NASCAR

A.J. Allmendinger is having the time of his life in the last week. Just six days after winning his first NASCAR Cup Series race since 2014 at the series’ inaugural Indianapolis Road Course event, he held off Brandon Jones to win the Xfinity Series‘ New Holland 250 at Michigan International Speedway. It is his third win of the season as it further embeds him into the Xfinity championship battle. Although main title rival Austin Cindric started on the pole and dominated the opening stage (Ty Gibbs, Allmendinger, Myatt Snider, Noah Gragson, Daniel Hemric, Harrison Burton, Brandon Jones, Josh Berry, and Justin Haley rounded out the top ten), he would not survive into Stage #2 as the beginning of the segment was marked by a large wreck that collected him, Haley, Hemric, Snider, Brandon Brown, Joe Graf Jr., and Bubba Wallace. With Cindric out of the picture, Jeb Burton dominated the stage but Allmendinger would take the win. Burton was responsible for a caution of his own when his car stopped on the track on lap 117. Chevrolets led every lap in the final stage as Allmendinger sparred with Berry, who was racing on a substitute basis in Michael Annett‘s place and thus started at the rear as a driver change. However, Allmendinger took the spot on lap 122. Mason Massey and Colby Howard‘s accident forced an overtime session, while Gibbs spun while in the top ten to result in another GWC. After the race, Gibbs remarked on Twitter, “Looks like I ran straight outa talent”. Gibbs had won the previous day’s ARCA Menards Series race. Despite facing resistance from Jones who closed the gap to .163 seconds, he could not get by Allmendinger as he took his third win of the year. It is Allmendinger’s second oval victory of 2021 (third career). With Allmendinger’s win and Cindric finishing thirty-seventh, the former narrowed the gap to the championship leader from 82 to 35 points. “When you restart on the front row, the outside was the place to be and you also have to just hope you got a push,” said Allmendinger. “Brandon Jones, thank you so much. He pushed me every time. “I don’t want to wake up from this dream.” Berry finished fourth in relief duty, while Jade Buford notched Big Machine Racing‘s first top ten and his second career such finish in ninth. Wallace placed tenth in his first Xfinity start since he ran the first half of the 2017 season. Race results Finish Start Number Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Status 1 2 16 A.J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 139 Running 2 24 19 Brandon Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 139 Running 3 4 9 Noah Gragson JR Motorsports Chevrolet 139 Running 4 17 1 Josh Berry JR Motorsports Chevrolet 139 Running 5 6 20 Harrison Burton Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 139 Running 6 5 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 139 Running 7 8 98 Riley Herbst Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 139 Running 8 20 02 Brett Moffitt Our Motorsports Chevrolet 139 Running 9 19 48 Jade Buford Big Machine Racing Chevrolet 139 Running 10 36 61 Bubba Wallace* Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota 139 Running 11 11 51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet 139 Running 12 23 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Ford 139 Running 13 10 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 139 Running 14 27 5 Matt Mills B.J. McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet 139 Running 15 31 31 Jordan Anderson* Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet 138 Running 16 22 23 Tyler Reddick* Our Motorsports Chevrolet 138 Running 17 3 11 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 138 Running 18 14 92 Josh Williams DGM Racing Chevrolet 138 Running 19 18 44 Tommy Joe Martins Martins Motorsports Chevrolet 138 Running 20 29 26 Colin Garrett Sam Hunt Racing Toyota 138 Running 21 35 6 Ryan Vargas JD Motorsports Chevrolet 138 Running 22 37 66 David Starr MBM Motorsports Toyota 137 Running 23 30 0 Jeffrey Earnhardt JD Motorsports Chevrolet 137 Running 24 21 47 Kyle Weatherman Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet 137 Running 25 38 15 Colby Howard JD Motorsports Chevrolet 137 Running 26 15 4 Landon Cassill JD Motorsports Chevrolet 137 Running 27 40 52 Gray Gaulding Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet 137 Running 28 28 17 Carson Ware SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 136 Running 29 12 10 Jeb Burton Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 135 Running 30 26 78 Mason Massey B.J. McLeod Motorsports Toyota 125 Accident 31 13 36 Alex Labbé DGM Racing Chevrolet 123 Running 32 33 99 Jesse Little B.J. McLeod Motorsports Toyota 120 Accident 33 16 8 Sam Mayer JR Motorsports Chevrolet 114 Running 34 39 74 Bayley Currey* Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet 103 Accident 35 34 90 Caesar Bacarella DGM Racing Chevrolet 45 DVP 36 9 2 Myatt Snider Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 45 DVP 37 1 22 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 41 DVP 38 32 07 Joe Graf Jr. SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 37 DVP 39 7 18 Daniel Hemric Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 36 Accident 40 25 68 Brandon Brown Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet 35 Accid

Ford’s string of consecutive NASCAR Cup Series wins at Michigan International Speedway was extended to seven Sunday, courtesy of Ryan Blaney. He took his second win of the season by taking the lead on a restart inside the final 10 laps of the 200-lap FireKeepers Casino 400. “This is such a big deal for our company, for our employees,” Ford Performance Global Director Mark Rushbrook said. “To come here and race in front of all of our employees and their friends and families and have Ryan go get that win with Team Penske and Roush Yates power. We are taking the Heritage Trophy back to Dearborn.” Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson finished second and third. Kurt Busch was fourth, and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-five. “We were really fast there right before that last green flag stop,” Hamlin said. “We had run down the leaders from way back. I guess we restarted 18th. It was fast. We just didn’t need that caution – the second-to-last one. We got a good restart on the second-to-last one, and then, I tried to make a move on the 24 [Byron] and he was so concerned with me that he lost the lead, as well. Just crazy racing. Everyone is just sliding on each other, but it was a decent amount of fun.” Larson was up front for the restart at the beginning of the 80-lap third and final stage of the race after being among the drivers who stayed out during the caution between stages two and three. He still was the leader before pitting during a final cycle of green-flag pit stops on lap 159. But when the cycle finally completed on lap 174, Byron was the race leader with Larson in second. The yellow flag waved six times in the race, the fifth of those cautions for precipitation on lap 182. With only sprinkles hitting a portion of the track, the race was never red-flagged and restarted a few laps later with Byron still in the lead. Byron continued to run up front until Blaney got out in front of him on the final restart. “We were going to be fourth and the front row was open,” Blaney said of the final restart. “You have to take the front row. It gave us a shot to win the race and Kyle [Busch] gave us a really good push to get us clear into turn one, and then, I was playing defense. We were wide open, especially with Larson and William laying back and trying to get runs. That made it tough. It was cool to persevere all day. We didn’t start off very good, but we worked on it all day and found ourselves in a spot to capitalize on it at the end and did that. A very cool day and nice to be in victory lane here in Michigan. This is huge for Ford and Mr. Penske and a lot of fun.” Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch were stage winners. Larson started on the pole and led until a lap-20 competition caution. Hamlin was the first off pit road during the caution to restart with the lead, but Elliott passed him a lap later and took the stage-one win on lap 60. After pit stops, Larson was back up front to restart for stage two, but he lost that lead to Elliott on lap 80. The second stage included a cycle of green-flag pit stops. Kyle Busch, along with other Toyota drivers, pitted a few laps later than most of the other frontrunners and took only two tires to cycle to the lead late in the stage for a stage-two win on lap 120. The second stage came to a somewhat messy end when contact between Brad Keselowski and Austin Dillon sent Dillon head-on into the wall. “I was just trying to get as many stage points as I could get right there and did a good job of side-drafting and came down to the apron, and I’ve seen just one quick replay, but it was after the start/finish line,” Dillon said. “I was starting to come up off the apron, because it’s so rough down there. But I figured by that point, he would have given me a little room. I hate it. I’m thankful that the good Lord kept me safe today. That was a heck of a wreck, but I feel fine. I hate it for BREZTRI and my guys most of all. The built a rocket ship. They really wanted this one, and I did too. Just working our tails off right there. I think we would have had a shot to do something there at the end with our race car. It’s the best race car we’ve brought to the track at RCR this year, I feel like. It’s just a bummer, but we’ve got Daytona left and I just hate it. I don’t know why it happened, really. I thought I had a little room to come up, and he just held me down there a little bit too long, I guess.” The incident retired Dillon from the race while Keselowski continued to finish in the top-10. “We were really good in the sun. Those scattered clouds at the end took away a little too much handling, I think,” Keselowski said. “We had a pretty good Discount Tire Ford. I am bummed. I wanted, of course, to get a win and I hate that I had that contact with the 3 [Dillon]. That really sucks for everybody. It really hurt our day and, obviously, ruined his. That was crappy. So it goes.” Matt DiBenedetto finished sixth, Kyle Busch was seventh, Elliott eighth, Keselowski ninth, and Martin Truex Jr. finished 10th after falling outside the top-30 early in the race. “We had an eventful day with our Interstate Batteries Camry,” Kyle Busch said. “We had a good car, and for some reason, the set of tires we put on…

William Byron led the way in the final round of NASCAR Cup Series group qualifying at Indianapolis to earn the pole for the series’ inaugural event on the road course. Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet clocked in at 100.044 mph (1m27.765s) Sunday morning. He was the only driver to break the 100-mph mark. Earlier this week, Byron spent time in the Chevrolet simulator with NTT IndyCar Series driver Rinus VeeKay and picked up some tips and tricks. “Honestly, that might have helped my lap because I feel like through Turns 13 and 14 as you get up on the oval and go back to the right, he had an interesting technique there with the brakes,” Byron said after winning the pole. “So, I was quizzing him on it and trying to figure out what I could learn from it. Obviously, they use a lot more brake, they’re able to turn a lot faster than we are, but it was really cool to see how up to speed he was and I thank him for doing that. It was really cool.”

As darkness descended on New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday evening, NASCAR called for the checkered flag eight laps earlier than the 301-scheduled distance in the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 with Aric Almirola as the race leader. The win was the third of Almirola’s NASCAR Cup Series career but his first since 2018. It also was the first win of the 2021 season for the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing team. Almirola’s latest win was the fourth-straight at NHMS for Ford, though. “This is, by far, one of my favorite race tracks,” Almirola said. “I love coming up to the New England area and racing. I love this race track. I had this race won a couple years ago, and I gave it away. I lost it, and I am so glad to win a race here with this race team. God is so good. We’ve been through so much, and I’ve just stood the test and kept the faith. “The team, everybody, they’ve just been working so hard. Smithfield, Ford, Go Bowling, Pit Boss Grills, everybody, Honeystinger, Shady Rays Sunglasses. There have been so many people that have just continued to support us through the crappiest year ever, and, man, this feels so good for them. My pit crew, they did a phenomenal job on pit road. All the guys that work on this car, they just keep fighting. They just keep digging, bringing the best race car they can bring every week, and it is no doubt, we have struggled, but guess what? We’re going playoff racing.” NASCAR was unable to get its race to the scheduled distance at the track that lacks lighting because of a lengthy red flag for rain early in the race. Christopher Bell finished second after closing on Almirola as the leader had difficulty getting by lapped traffic in the final 10 laps. “I didn’t know how may laps they cut it short, but definitely, whenever I saw the board and saw that we were eight laps short, it stings, man,” Bell said. “I felt like I probably had a little better pace than him, and I was able to get to him. I know lapped cars were giving him a bad time, but I was able to get to him. It was going to be a heck of a race, but really proud of everyone on this Rheel Pristine Auction Camry. They did really good. Everyone on this 20 crew – we didn’t start out the greatest, and then, we were really good, probably the best we were all day right there at the end of the race. That’s all you can ask for is to have a shot at it and just wish we had eight more laps.” The Team Penske trio of Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney finished third through fifth. Logano’s top-five finish came after an early-race two lap penalty when his crew were caught working on the #22 car during the red flag. Bell was the only driver not behind the wheel of a Ford to finish in the top-six. Kevin Harvick was the sixth-place finisher after leading a race-high 66 laps, more laps than he led in the first 21 laps of the season, combined. After Keselowski and Blaney led laps early in the final stage, Almirola took the race lead on 246. He soon gave up that lead during a cycle of green-flag pit stops on lap 250. Matt DiBenedetto stayed out longer, hoping for NASCAR to throw in the proverbial towel and call the race official for darkness before finally making his stop on lap 274 and turning the lead back over to Almirola. The race got off to a messy start. By the time the red flag waved for rain upon the completion of eight laps, the precipitation had already resulted in a lap-six incident that led to the early-race retirement of Kyle Busch and significant damage to the car of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. Another JGR driver, Denny Hamlin; Alex Bowman; and Ross Chastain also slipped on the wet track but sustained less significant damage. “We started the race under a mist. It never should have gone green to begin with, but then, it kept getting worse and worse lap over lap,” Busch said. “The lap before I went into [turn] one and it shoved the nose really bad, and I was able to keep it under control. It wasn’t bad enough. The next time I went down there, hell, I lifted at the flag stand – maybe a little past the flag stand, don’t get too dramatic – and just backed it in. We’ve been talking about it for two laps that it was raining. There’s no sense in saying what I want to say; it doesn’t do you any good.” Busch started from the pole with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Truex alongside on the front row, and the two were running first and second until their early-race incident. Unlike Busch, Truex was able to continue after repairs. “It’s just ice. Slicks don’t stick to water. I think the 18 [Busch] and I had it the worst, because we were out front,” Truex said during the rain delay. We’re a half-a-lap ahead of the back of the field, so it’s the wettest when we get there. The lap before I went into [turn] one and about did the same thing, and I hollered on the radio that the track is wet. Like wet, wet. I tried to back it down, and I got in there and it just kept going. I couldn’t even slow it down. At some point, you have to turn the wheel, and that’s when it spins out. I don’t know. I hate it for Reser’s Fine Foods. We only have a few races with them and they have a lot of people here. We were excited for the opportunity to race here at one of my favorite tracks. Now we’re out[of contention for the…

The worlds of mainstream rap and stock cars have finally collided in possibly the strangest imaginable way: NASCAR serves as the backdrop for Post Malone’s new music video, “Motley Crew.” The song officially dropped on Friday from the six-time Grammy nominated artist who has also racked up 10 Billboard Music Awards, three American Music Awards, and an MTV Video Music Award. The video, which was directed by Cole Bennett and co-produced by DreVision Media, includes some stellar cameos from NASCAR drivers Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace alongside stars like Tommy Lee, Big Sean, French Montana, Tyga, Ty Dolla $ign, and several other names that I don’t recognize. This was mostly a collaboration with 23XI racing, the team owned by Hamlin and Michael Jordan and for which Wallace races. Wallace’s Root Insurance car features in the video, alongside a 23XI-wrapped car that’s designed to look like Hamlins, a traditional NRE No. 43 car, and a car with a Raising Cane’s Chicken wrap. “The Post Malone video was a good time,” Hamlin said. “I’m a fan of Post Malone and to be able to represent NASCAR and 23XI Racing in his latest music video was great. We experienced their side of things, now I’d love to get those guys to a race and show them around our team and the ins and outs of NASCAR, take them around the track in one of our Camrys and let them get the true feel of our cars. It was a good day overall. Looking forward to seeing the finished video this week with everyone else.” “It was a really cool experience,” Wallace said. “The whole thing came together pretty quick, but great opportunity and a lot of fun. These are the things that we need to continue to do to bring new eyes and fans to our sport. From meeting Post Malone, everyone involved, being in the video, seeing it all come together, whirlwind 24 hours, but awesome time.”

In dominating fashion, Kyle Larson won NASCAR‘s longest race Sunday night and in the process gave team owner Rick Hendrick a record 269th victory, most in NASCAR Cup Series history. Larson‘s win in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway was the eighth of his career and his second of the season, guaranteeing the driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet a spot in the playoffs. By the time he crossed the finish line at the end of 400 laps, Larson held a 10.051-second lead over runner-up and teammate Chase Elliott. The 1-2 finish was the third straight for Hendrick Motorsports. Only third-place finisher Kyle Busch found a way to break up the HMS party, with Hendrick drivers William Byron and Alex Bowman running fourth and fifth, respectively. Larson led 327 of the 400 laps, with his only real challenges coming from Elliott and Byron, who led 22 and 19 laps, respectively. “It feels great to be that guy who helped Mr. H break that record finally,” Larson said of the victory that broke a tie with Petty Enterprises for most wins in the series. Larson signed on with Hendrick to start the 2021 season. The car he drove to victory Sunday night bore the same number as the Chevrolet Geoff Bodine piloted at Martinsville Speedway on April 29, 1984 to give Hendrick‘s fledgling — and struggling — organization the first of those 269 wins. “It‘s been better than I ever could have imagined,” Larson said of his first 15 races with HMS. “For us to lead as many laps as we‘ve got this year (a series-best 1,105), to contend for as many wins as we have and now to get our second win in a crown-jewel event, too, it feels great. “I‘m just very lucky that Mr. H was able to put a deal (together) for me. It‘s just awesome. I‘m living a dream, for sure.” NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France was one of the first to congratulate Hendrick. “I am proud to congratulate Rick Hendrick and all of Hendrick Motorsports on breaking the all-time wins record for a NASCAR Cup Series race team, long held by the legendary Petty Enterprises team,” France said in a statement issued at the conclusion of the race. “With nearly 40 years of excellence, Hendrick Motorsports has set the gold standard for race team success. Rick Hendrick has already cemented his legacy as a NASCAR Hall of Famer, and now adds another incredible accomplishment to an exemplary NASCAR career.” Larson started from the pole and swept the first three stages, but not without challenges from Elliott and Byron. In fact, in the green-flag run after the second stage break, Byron passed Larson for the lead on Lap 231. During the subsequent exchange of pit stops, however, Larson came in for service one lap earlier than Byron and was roughly one second faster on and off pit road than his teammate. Larson built a lead of more than 2.5 seconds but spent more than 15 circuits trying to lap the No. 43 Chevrolet of Erik Jones, as Byron closed to his bumper. “Make him work for it,” Jones‘ spotter, Rick Carelli, radioed to his driver as he fought to stay on the lead lap, and Jones certainly followed those instructions. But Larson finally passed the No. 43 Camaro and began to pull away from Byron before Ryan Newman slammed the outside wall to cause the fourth and final caution of the race on Lap 296. The stage ended under yellow, with Larson the winner. Coincidentally, it was also Jones who pitted for fresh tires during the final run to the finish, returned to the track ahead of Larson and helped Larson build his winning margin. “I just towed with him for a while and stretched my lead out,” said Larson, who for the second time in his career followed three straight runner-up finishes with a pole and a victory. Austin Dillon ran sixth, followed by Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick and Kevin Harvick. Hamlin retained the series lead by 76 points over Larson and Byron, who are tied for second in the standings. The NASCAR Cup Series’ next race is Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 (4 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM) at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. Notes: Post-race inspection in the NASCAR Cup Series garage revealed no issues, validating the No. 5 Chevrolet’s victory. The Nos. 24 and 48 Chevrolets each had one lug nut not safe and secure, which will result in fines for the crew chiefs. The No. 77 Chevrolet had two lug nuts not safe and secure, which will result in a fine and a crew-chief suspension.

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series were the first NASCAR-sanctioned division to officially race at Circuit of the Americas with Saturday’s Toyota Tundra 225. Despite the race name, Chevrolet and Ford drivers dominated the day and the latter camp’s Todd Gilliland came out on top. Tyler Ankrum was the fastest qualifier earlier in the day when he set a lap time of 163.591 seconds at 75.041 mph, allowing him to start on the pole ahead of road ringer Kaz Grala. Cameron Lawrence, an IMSA driver making his NASCAR début, impressed by qualifying seventh for Reaume Brothers Racing’s best starting spot. Seven drivers failed to qualify including series regulars Spencer Boyd, Dawson Cram, and Jennifer Jo Cobb; the other four—Logan Bearden and the CMI Motorsports trio of Samuel Lecomte, John Atwell, and Brad Gross—were NASCAR newcomers. Grala, who scored a top ten in the first Truck road race at Daytona in February in a one-off, quickly took the lead and dominated the opening stage. However, Gilliland kept pace and caught him with two laps remaining, making the pass to win the segment after the two ran wide. Ankrum, Matt Crafton, Ben Rhodes, Sam Mayer, Stewart Friesen, John Hunter Nemechek, and Timmy Hill rounded out the top ten. Gilliland was among a variety of drivers who received pit penalties between stages and GMS Racing team-mates Sheldon Creed and Zane Smith, who topped Friday’s practice session, led the field to begin Stage #2. Creed, who won the Daytona Road Course in 2020 and the Stadium Super Trucks‘ X Games gold medal at COTA in 2015, led much of the stage before being one of many who pitted under green. Rhodes inherited the lead as a result and won the stage ahead of ThorSport Racing ally Crafton. Derek Kraus, Creed, Ankrum, Grala, Bayley Currey, Mayer, Nemechek, and Gilliland also finished in the top ten. Nemechek was penalised for pitting while pit road was closed and started the final stage at the rear. Rhodes, Crafton, and Kraus—all Toyota drivers—pitted between stages as Creed and Ankrum occupied the front row. It did not take long for the spins to mount with Kraus, Friesen, Tanner Gray, and Parker Kligerman all going around. Timothy Peters and Lawrence dropped off the pace due to damage or mechanical trouble. Creed, who won the most recent Truck race two weeks ago, continued to lead until Ankrum passed him with ten laps remaining. The reigning champion began to sink through the order as Gilliland moved by him and began chasing down Ankrum. Gilliland finally cleared Ankrum with six laps to go and drove off to his second career win and first since fall Martinsville 2019. It is Front Row Motorsports‘s first Truck victory since forming a Truck programme in 2020, and the team’s second victory of 2021 after Cup Series driver Michael McDowell won the Daytona 500. Gilliland’s father David, who runs FRM ally David Gilliland Racing and is a former Cup racer for FRM, celebrated with his son in Victory Lane. “Great race for us here at COTA,” began the younger Gilliland in a Twitter video. “First NASCAR winners here, that’s so cool. Just a great truck. […] Man, what a race. Started off in the rain and kinda ended up pretty dry and we were just able to pull away there at the end. Just such a fast truck.” Grala got by Ankrum to finish second, marking his third top ten in four national series starts in 2021. Creed led a race-high fourteen laps and finished fifth, preserving his 100% top-five Truck finishes on road courses. In his return to NASCAR after retiring in 2019, Paul Menard finished his first Truck race since 2007 just shy of the top ten in eleventh. Jack Wood (twenty-eighth) was the highest finisher of the three Truck Series-débuting drivers ahead of Michele Abbate (twenty-ninth) and Lawrence (thirty-sixth). Finish Start Number Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Status 1 5 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Running 2 2 02 Kaz Grala Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet 41 Running 3 1 26 Tyler Ankrum GMS Racing Chevrolet 41 Running 4 23 9 Grant Enfinger CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet 41 Running 5 3 2 Sheldon Creed GMS Racing Chevrolet 41 Running 6 21 32 Sam Mayer Bret Holmes Racing Chevrolet 41 Running 7 17 42 Carson Hocevar Niece Motorsports Chevrolet 41 Running 8 15 21 Zane Smith GMS Racing Chevrolet 41 Running 9 9 16 Austin Hill Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota 41 Running 10 11 99 Ben Rhodes ThorSport Racing Toyota 41 Running 11 26 66 Paul Menard ThorSport Racing Toyota 41 Running 12 6 4 John Hunter Nemechek Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota 41 Running 13 13 75 Parker Kligerman Henderson Motorsports Chevrolet 41 Running 14 28 1 Hailie Deegan David Gilliland Racing Ford 41 Running 15 4 88 Matt Crafton ThorSport Racing Toyota 41 Running 16 29 22 Austin Wayne Self AM Racing Chevrolet 41 Running 17 16 52 Stewart Friesen Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota 41 Running 18 8 51 Parker Chase Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota 41 Running 19 24 11 Camden Murphy Spencer Davis Motorsports Toyota 41 Running 20 12 40 Ryan Truex Niece Motorsports Chevrolet 41 Running 21 19 19 Derek Kraus McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Toyota 41 Running 22 27 13 Johnny Sauter ThorSport Racing Toyota 41 Running 23 32 34 Lawless Alan Reaume Brothers Racing Toyota 41 Running 24 22 56 Timmy Hill Hill Motorsports Chevrolet 41 Running 25 30 12 Tate Fogleman Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet 41 Running 26 14 45 Bayley Currey Niece Motorsports Chevrolet 41 Running 27 31 23 Chase Purdy GMS Racing Chevrolet 41 Running 28 33 24 Jack Wood GMS Racing Chevrolet 41 Running 29 25 30 Michele Abbate On Point Motorsports Toyota 41 Running 30 34 04 Cory Roper Roper Racing Ford 41 Running 31 36 15 Tanner Gray David Gilliland Racing Ford 40 Running 32 18 25 Timothy Peters Rackley WAR Chevrolet 40 Running 33 20 18 Chandler Smith Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota 39 Running 34 35 3 Roger…

The unique offer is sure to attract race fans with the chance to take on the high banks, running two full laps at highway speed around the 2.66-mile superspeedway. The event is being organized by the race track along with the Alabama National Guard, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC Foundation and the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH). Free COVID-19 tests and vaccinations will be offered between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. local time. The drive-through event is part of continued efforts to get the majority of United States population vaccinated. This is just the latest of many incentive-driven programs with the goal of protecting people from COVID-19. The pandemic has claimed nearly 600,000 American lives since it began. At the moment, just over 35% of the country is fully vaccinated.

After steadily making his way forward for most of the race, reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Austin Cindric wrangled the lead from Justin Allgaier with 51 laps remaining and then checked out on the field to claim his third trophy of the season in Saturday‘s Drydene 200 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. Josh Berry passed his JR Motorsports teammate Allgaier with 28 laps to go finishing runner-up and winning the prized Xfinity Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus check. Allgaier held onto third, followed by Kaulig Racing driver AJ Allmendinger and Joe Gibbs Racing‘s Ty Gibbs, who led all 125 laps en route to the ARCA Menards Series win at the Dover one-miler on Friday. For much of the race it looked like the JR Motorsports teammates, Allgaier and Berry, would settle the trophy between themselves. Allgaier won the first stage and Berry the second stage – their first stage wins of the season. Allgaier, a two-time Dover winner and the only driver in Saturday‘s field with a previous win at the track, led a race best 94 of the 200 laps. Berry led 48. But it was the methodical work of Cindric, 22, who was eighth at the end of Stage 1 and third in Stage 2 — who ultimately rallied for his series‘ best third victory. His 3.786-second margin of victory indicative of what the No. 22 Team Penske Ford was able to do once Cindric got out front. “I‘m fired up man, I love this race track more than anywhere else we go,” said a smiling Cindric, who now has 11 career Xfinity Series wins. “I love coming here.” “It is hard to believe but starting 16th at this joint, it isn‘t easy to pass,” Cindric continued. “We just kept at it the whole time. We made the right adjustments on pit stops and I feel like I have learned a lot about this race track, enough to get the Car Shop Ford Mustang into Victory Lane.” Harrison Burton, Michael Annett, Ryan Sieg, Daniel Hemric and Brandon Brown rounded out the top-10 finishers. There were eight caution periods on the afternoon — including a 10-minute red flag period to clean-up after a wreck involving Jesse Little, Matt Mills, Matt Jaskol and Josh Williams. But it was a caution-free affair once Cindric wrestled the lead from Allgaier in a tight door-to-door battle. Allgaier, who won his second race of the season last week at Darlington and joins Cindric as the series only multi-time winners of 2021, told his team he had some tire rub in that close-quarter racing with Cindric for the lead. And Allgaier‘s JR Motorsports teammate Berry was able to get by 22 laps later, settling the Dash 4 Cash prize. “It could have been one spot better, we were so good today,” Berry said. “That last run we just fired off too free. Me and Justin got racing each other and the 22 (Cindric) got away. We just weren‘t quite as good in that last run as the run before. It‘s tough. But when you‘re in the top-two or three all day, there‘s still a lot to be proud of.” Berry was the top finisher in a field of four eligible drivers in the final race of the year for the Dash 4 Cash program. Berry topped JR Motorsports teammates Allgaier and Gragson (who placed 15th), plus Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones — the first retiree among the group. Jones completed just 68 laps after contact with Zane Smith’s No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet sent both cars into the outside retaining wall. Smith was a late fill-in for Justin Haley, who is sitting out Dover’s doubleheader weekend because of COVID-19 protocols. This marks the first win at the notoriously tough Dover “Monster Mile” for Cindric and it‘s his first win since a torrid streak to open the year including wins in the season-opener at Daytona and another at the Phoenix one-miler. “Every win means so much and of everyone that is in this series — I have the unique opportunity to know what I‘m doing in the future,” Cindric said. “I respect that the guys that I am racing around are trying to get to the top level. I know I have that for me down the road, but I have to bring that same energy that I am racing against. “These wins are really hard to come by. It sucks that we have had some bad races recently, but that makes this one feel so much better.” With the victory, Cindric increased his Xfinity Series championship lead to 62 points over Hemric in second and 74 over Harrison Burton in third.

Martin Truex Jr. claimed his third NASCAR Cup Series win of 2021, 12 races into the season, Sunday when he took the checkered flag in the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. He remains the only multi-race winner, so far, this year. “I thought at times it could have been better, but obviously, it was better than everybody else’s, and that’s the key with this low downforce,” Truex said of his car. “Even this thing was a handful at the end of those long runs. You just have no tires left and you are sliding all over the place, and you can’t get ahold of it. You are just trying to manage your stuff. Awesome job by our Auto Owners Camry team today. Everybody at JGR [Joe Gibbs Racing]. It was definitely a hot rod. It looked like all of our cars were pretty good, too. Good day for the company. I’m really happy to win on Mother’s Day. Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mom’s out there, especially mine.” Truex dominated the race, leading 248 laps, including stage wins on lap 90 and lap 185. His second stage win came with a more than 14-second margin over then-second-place Kyle Busch. “We just had a good balance,” Truex said. “The car would do what I wanted it to do. I just had to manage those long runs. It was really loose that last run. I was nervous when the 5 [Kyle Larson] was catching us. We got mired in some traffic, there, and that’s always tough. Thanks to Auto Owners, Bass Pro Shops, TRD, Toyota, Cessna, Noble Aerospace, Garmin, Oakley, everybody that helps us, Reser’s Fine Foods. We are really lucky to get to do this. I’m so lucky to get to drive for these guys. What an awesome team we have. Hopefully, we can keep this rolling.” Kyle Larson came out second during the final cycle of green-flag pit stops in the final 50 laps. He closed on Truex and remained relatively close to the race leader for the rest of the race, looking to be the only driver to seriously challenge Truex for the win. Larson, like everyone else, fell short, though, having to settle for second. Two of Truex’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, also were in the top-five at the finish — Busch in third and Hamlin in fifth — to give JGR three cars in the top-five of the finishing order. William Byron finished fourth. After pole sitter Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick and Busch led laps early, Truex took his initial lead when Busch spun with a blown tire, bringing out the second caution of the race on lap 22. Once Truex took the lead, he never relinquished it on the race track. In contrast, Keselowski’s race was a struggle. After leading the opening laps, he dropped through the fields. When he made an unscheduled stop after contact with the wall on lap 166, he was three laps down. As Busch worked his way back toward the front, Hamlin ran second to Truex through most of the first 100 laps of the race. Truex gave up the lead to pit during the first cycle of green-flag pit stops on lap 61. Ross Chastain stayed out longer to lead 10 laps before Truex retook the lead on lap 72, passing Chastain before Chastain made his stop. Hamlin stayed out during a caution for Kurt Busch on lap 107 and restarted with the lead. But when the race restarted on lap 115, Truex, on newer tires, blew by to retake his customary position up front. Hamlin, with old tires, lost additional positions. “I was racing hard, and there’s no give and take,” Busch said of his wreck with a lapped car. “Guy’s running for the Lucky Dog; you can’t fault him for that. But you still have to race the track and the give the room to the lead lap guys. But man, just got ran into, got taken out and we’re on this end of it. It’s been too many times. It’s been a rough year and this just adds to it.” Truex gave up the lead, again, to pit during another green-flag cycle on lap 145. This time around, he cycled back to the lead on lap 150 with Byron in the second position. Busch got back to as high as second in the running order by lap 175, but Truex already had a lead of over 10 seconds. Truex had a large enough lead when the race field cycled through pit stops again after lap 220 than he managed to maintain the lead during the cycle, even during his pit stop on lap 226. Nine drivers finished on the lead lap. Kevin Harvick was sixth, Chase Elliott seventh, Ryan Blaney eight and Chris Buescher ninth. “Not a bad day. We ran, kind of, top-10 all day and just kind of hit the wall one too many times,” Blaney said. “I hit it a few times, and the last time, I really got into it trying to protect fifth, there. I just hurt it a little too much. Overall, I am proud of the effort. Here and Richmond are places that I have struggled at in the past, and we have had some decent runs at those this year, and I am really looking forward to coming back to these two places in the playoffs, so that is big that we seem to be learning a lot.” Ryan Newman finished 10th. The yellow flag waved six times, but the final stage ran caution-free after the yellow flag at the end of the second stage. The first caution came early on lap six when Aric Almirola spun and hit the wall as a result of contact from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. “I got wrecked. Pretty simple,” Almirola said. “We were really fast. We had to start last, and we were passing a bunch of cars. We were three-quarters of a second faster…

Reigning NASCAR Truck Series champion Sheldon Creed picked up his first win of the 2021 season thanks to avoiding a multitude of wrecks in the final 35 laps. Creed led the way on a restart with two of 147 laps remaining and quickly powered out to a sizeable lead. After taking the white flag, a caution was displayed – the fifth in the final 35 laps – when Hailee Deegan wrecked on the frontstretch. The caution ensured Creed’s victory at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, which also came with a $50,000 bonus as part of the Triple Truck Challenge. Should Creed win the next two races at Circuit of the Americas and Charlotte, he will collect an additional $500,000. The win is the sixth of Creed’s career and locks him into the series playoffs for the second consecutive season. Creed got in position to challenge for the win after avoiding getting caught up in a massive 17-truck pileup on a restart on Lap 118. He took the lead for the first time on Lap 140 and led only seven laps in the race. “It feels great,” Creed said after the race. “We didn’t have the best truck, that’s for sure. I was really tight and then I was wrecking loose. I was just doing everything I could. I was really aggressive on restarts and I’m sure I didn’t make any friends tonight but that’s what it takes. “I’ve just tried to stay focused. We’ve been struggling. We’ve been getting better trucks the last couple weeks and all I ask for is something I can race with. “I won an extra 50k tonight so – whooooo!” Ben Rhodes finished second, Carson Hocevar finished a career-best third, Matt Crafton was fourth and Grant Enfinger rounded out the top-five. Completing the top-10 were Johnny Sauter, Timmy Hill, John Hunter Nemechek, Austin Wayne Self and Jordan Anderson.

The next generation of NASCAR racecars was unveiled on Wednesday, May 5, and auto manufacturers hope the added character to the design will bring fans to the showroom floor. Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota worked with NASCAR to design their next racecar to look more like the production vehicles they sell on dealership lots – like it was in the earlier days of NASCAR. The new models look more like regular cars that have been “souped up,” NASCAR President Steve Phelps said. “When I look at this race car, it looks exactly like the race car that I can potentially buy on Monday,” Phelps said. “Getting back to our roots, getting back to kind of putting the stock back in stock car will help sell vehicles on Monday.” The new Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and Toyota Camry will make their debut in the 2022 Daytona 500. Besides changing the design to look more like normal cars, other changes include switching to larger, 18-inch forged aluminum wheels with one lug nut instead of five, switching to an independent rear suspension and going to a five-speed sequential transmission instead of the current four-speed H-pattern transmission. The new car will also be more compatible with a hybrid or fully electric engine, allowing NASCAR to transition away from the gas-powered engine in future years. “What Ford has made here with this Mustang, you’d be lying if you said this thing isn’t beautiful,” NASCAR driver Joey Logano said. “It looks aggressive, neat, just like what you see on the street. I think any Mustang enthusiast, Ford lover, would absolutely approve of what we’re going to bring to the racetrack.” The new cars have a few Michigan ties. Some of the development for the new Mustang happened at Ford’s Dearborn design center. Livonia’s Roush Advanced Composites is building multiple components of the car for teams, including the brake ducts. Jackson-based Technique Chassis will build the base frame for the car. NASCAR’s goals for the new car are to improve the racing and bring down costs for teams – potentially enticing other manufacturers to join the sport.

Former stock car driver Eric McClure has died at age 42, NASCAR announced on Sunday. The Washington County, Virginia, Sheriff’s Department confirmed McClure’s death to CNN. Emergency personnel were called to McClure’s home Sunday morning where they found his body. His body was sent to Virginia Department of Forensic Science in Roanoke for an autopsy, Washington County Sheriff Blake Andis told CNN. No cause of death has been provided, and McClure was active on social media as recently as Saturday.McClure raced in NASCAR for 14 years between 2003 and 2016, primarily in NASCAR’s second tier Xfinity Series. McClure competed in three races in the top tier Cup Series in his career.“We are saddened to learn of the passing of former driver and owner Eric McClure. NASCAR extends its deepest condolences to Eric’s family and friends,” NASCAR said in a statement. McClure experienced serious health problems in recent years, as he detailed to the Bristol Herald Courier in 2019. McClure told the newspaper after a series of serious health scares, he had been diagnosed with a severe musculoskeletal disorder. These disorders “are injuries or disorders of the muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, cartilage, and spinal discs,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.“A doctor told me that I had rhabdomyolysis. That put me on compartment syndrome and full kidney failure,” McClure said in 2019.After undergoing dialysis and multiple surgeries to save his limbs, McClure began to show signs of improvement, according to the Herald Courier, though he said he still experienced some numbness in his extremities.“I am sorry to learn of the death of NASCAR driver Eric McClure,” tweeted Virginia Republican Rep. Morgan Griffith. “He and his family have long been Southwest Virginians. My condolences to his loved ones.”McClure was father to seven children, all of them girls, NASCAR.com reports. His marriage to Miranda McClure ended with their estrangement, according to NASCAR.com, and in October 2020 McClure pleaded no contest to misdemeanor domestic violence charges stemming from a 2018 incident with his wife.

Kyle Busch completed the weekend double at Kansas Speedway, adding to his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win from Saturday with a win in the Buschy McBusch Race 400 NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday. The win on Busch’s 36th birthday was Busch’s first Cup Series victory of the 2021 season, 11 races into the year, and the first, ever, for crew chief Ben Beshore. “It’s awesome. Just such a testament to this team and everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing,” Busch said. “Ben Beshore, his first win as a Cup crew chief. It’s awesome to put M&M’s back in victory lane – M&M’s Mix on board with us here this weekend. Super thanks to our vendor partner, Hy-Vee; they did a cool promotion with Rowdy Energy and M&Ms a couple weeks ago. Great things going all around. It’s cool to come back to Kansas; it’s great to get back to victory lane. I have to thank my teammate, [Martin] Truex Jr. I forgot to mention it on television, but I just saw the replay, and he was behind me, pushing me and gave me one hell of a run down the frontstretch to get me clear. That was the winning ticket for us.” Kevin Harvick finished second after an uncontrolled-tire penalty during a lap 230 caution for the retrieval of another team’s uncontrolled tire. Brad Keselowski and Matt DiBenedetto finished third and fourth to, along with Harvick, put three Fords inside the top-four of the finishing order. Chase Elliott rounded out the top-five. “We had the right pit strategy once the cautions came out, there,” Harvick said. ”We had the pit-road penalty and came in for tires and Rodney [Childers, crew chief] made a great call of coming back in to put tires on, and that kind of put us on the offense. We were able to be really aggressive on the two restarts we had at the end and were able to make up some ground. Everybody on our Busch Light Ford Mustang did a great job today of just hanging in there. We made a few mistakes, but we made our car better throughout the whole day and were more competitive than we had been in the last couple mile-and-a-half races.” Kyle Larson dominated the race, leading 132 laps of the 267-lap race, but wound up 19th as a result of contact with Ryan Blaney and the wall just before the white flag. Blaney wound up 21st. Larson previously lost the lead to Denny Hamlin with 30 laps remaining, but retook the position when Hamlin got into the wall a few laps later. Hamlin hit the wall harder with 22 laps remaining, bringing out a caution. After another caution on lap 253 of the 267-lap race, Busch took his race-winning lead on a lap-258 restart. “You don’t know who’s going to pick behind you. You can guess, but you don’t really know. A couple of the times that I guessed, I guessed right,” Busch said of making the right lane-choice decision to take the lead. “A couple times I guessed, I guessed wrong. It’s just a matter of what’s going to happen behind you. I felt like if I could get Truex behind me, that would be the best thing for us. Being a teammate, he would help push, and I’d tell him when we’re going to get the best run we could, and it all worked.” Larson started in the 32nd position as a result of a blown engine a week earlier in the opening laps of the race at Talladega Superspeedway, but he got to the front to lead four laps in the opening 80-lap stage and dominate the race from the beginning of the second stage. Pole sitter Keselowski led most of the opening stage, running up front for 72 of the 80 laps before falling back to fourth as Busch led the final four laps of the stage en route to the stage-one win. “What’s really cool is that we started the race good and we worked our way forward from the start of the race,” Busch said “We made minor adjustments all day to the car and nothing really did anything. We kept getting tighter as the day went on, even though we were trying to free up. We did a long sim session this week; that was helpful. I feel like we’re really close for Kansas, at least, and what we can do and what we can learn on that. I look forward to, hopefully, being able to celebrate with my team and, hopefully, have a good night tonight. It’s cool to be able to work the way we did today.” Larson’s dominance after the first stage included a stage-two win at lap 160. After getting off pit road during the caution after the first stage, he continued to lead until pitting during a green-flag cycle of stops on lap 122. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. stayed out longer than everyone else during the cycle to lead laps and hope for a caution that didn’t come. Larson, on newer tires, was able to catch Stenhouse and retake the lead on lap 145 before Stenhouse finally made his pit stop. Larson, once back to the lead, maintained the position until another cycle of green-flag stop, the final one of the race. Larson, once again, gave up the lead to pit on lap 213. Chris Buescher, like Stenhouse before him, stayed out longer, waiting until 226 to make his pit stop. When Buescher finally stopped, Larson retook the lead. Martin Truex Jr. finished sixth, Tyler Reddick was seventh, Chris Buescher eighth, William Byron ninth, and Austin Dillon finished 10th. “At the end there, I was second through three and four and came off of four and the 2 [Keselowski] and the 4 [Harvick] somehow got linked together and went flying past me doing the old bump draft deal. When they got to turn one, the 4 never lifted and turned the 2 sideways right in…

Kyle Busch didn’t wait until Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race to celebrate his 36th birthday at Kansas Speedway. Busch got an early start on birthday festivities by winning the NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series Wise Power 200 on Saturday night, overtaking fellow Cup regular Ross Chastain in a double-overtime finish. Busch, a two-time NASCAR Cup champion allowed to compete in five trucks races a season, won his second trucks race in four starts this year in the No. 51 Cessna Toyota, sponsored by the Wichita-based aerospace company. Busch led 59 of the 134 laps but found himself having to come from behind on two re-starts after cautions came out with seven laps to go and again with two laps remaining. Busch, starting the second overtime in the second row behind Chastain and Zane Smith and alongside Bailey Currey, roared three-wide around Chastain and Austin Hill by .665 of a second for a record fifth-straight victory for Kyle Busch Motorsports and seventh in seven trucks races for Toyota. After Busch emerged from his car and took his trademark bow in front of several thousand fans allowed to attend the races this weekend, he appeared relieved to have survived the restarts. “The restarts were hectic for us,” Busch said. “Any time we started on the front row, we would always go backward. It just would not fire on the restarts for whatever reason. We definitely had a really good, strong long run truck. “We made it work on that last one. I was fourth in line, got a little bit of a bump from Todd (Gilliland) and got three-wide. I don’t know what else happened after that, but it was just trying to go where they weren’t by that point and get ourselves back up front.” Chastain, who won the 2019 trucks race at Kansas, settled for second in a Chevrolet; Hill, a 2020 trucks winner at Kansas, was third in a Toyota; Christian Eckes was fourth in a Toyota, and Busch’s teammate, John Hunter Nemechek was fifth. Because Nemechek, a two-time winner for KBM this season, finished the race as the trucks series points leader, he collected a $50,000 bonus from Camping World for his road crew. “It means a lot,” Nemechek said. “Our guys deserve it. They’ve been working their tails off. It’s nice to continue to gain on our points lead. We didn’t lose points to anyone. We made it even bigger tonight. So that’s a plus. “Overall, it was a solid performance coming in fifth. If that’s a bad day for us, then we’re doing pretty good, I feel like.” Meanwhile, if Busch needs more reasons to celebrate his birthday, Saturday night’s victory was his third trucks win at Kansas Speedway, tying Matt Crafton for the most trucks wins at the track. And his eight wins at Kansas Speedway across all three series — a Cup win in 2016 and four Xfinity Series wins. — are more than any other driver. So that might have been one of the reasons Busch selected Kansas as one of the five trucks races he’s entered this year. “Kansas is a good racetrack for us, we’ve run well here in the past,” Busch said. “I feel we’ve had a lot of races slip through our fingers here through the years. “It’s also so cool to win here in Cessna’s hometown … they’re from Wichita, not far away. I’m sure there was some Cessna fans in the stands cheering us on and we’re appreciative of them. “ The win also extended Busch’s all-time NASCAR record for wins across all three series to 215 — 57 Cup, 61 trucks (the most all-time) and 97 Xfinity (also the most all-time).