NASCAR

Elliott navigated a wild race Sunday, that included nine cautions and starting on wet tires, and held off Joey Logano to win for the second consecutive season on the Charlotte Roval. The win is also Elliott’s fourth consecutive victory on a road course in the Cup Series, including his previous win this season at the Daytona Road Course. He now has three wins on the 2020 season and nine in his career. The win also locked Elliott into the Round of 8 of the series playoffs. “Had a really good car,” Elliott said. “Just appreciate everybody that makes this deal go. We were solid here last year and I felt we took what we had and made it a little better. I did a better job, didn’t piledrive the barrier, that was good. “It’s always the best way to get through to win. I hope we can do something in the next round. I wish we’d got more today but we’ll take those 5 (playoff points) and see what we can do. “I feel like Hendrick dominated Charlotte for a long, long time. I hope we can get back to that. It’s too hard to get picky about where we win so we’ll take it.” Erik Jones finished third in the race, Kurt Busch fourth and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top-five. Completing the top-10 finishers were William Byron, Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman, Cole Custer and Clint Bowyer. Four drivers were eliminated from further title contention this season following Sunday’s race including reigning series champion Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Bowyer and Aric Almirola. “Just trying to get everything we can get. You throw a couple of ‘Hail Mary’s’ and they don’t work. That 9 car (Elliott) is spectacular here,” Kyle Busch said. “I followed him a couple of laps and he got smaller and smaller driving away.” On stage 1, Ty Dillon was among the first drivers in the race to change from wet tires to slicks, held off Bell to claim the Stage 1, his third stage victory of the 2020 season. DiBenedetto finished third, Byron fourth and Timmy Hill rounded out the top-five. Denny Hamlin started on the pole but Keselowski got around him in the frontstretch chicane to lead the first lap of the race. With five laps until the competition caution, Keselowski remained out front followed by Elliott and Truex. Elliott went to the outside of Keselowski in Turn 2 on Lap 8 to take the lead for the first time. Truex remained in third and Bowyer moved to fourth. On Lap 11, NASCAR issued a competition caution to allow teams to check tire wear and teams were also debating whether to change from wet to dry tires as the track began to dry out more and more. About half the teams elected to pit for tires, but Elliott stayed out and remained in the lead. On the restart on Lap 13, Elliott was followed by Truex and Bowyer. Chris Buescher had to restart from the rear of the field as he had a crew member over the wall too soon during his pit stop. As the field went through Turns 1 and 2, Truex got around Elliott for the lead as Bowyer moved into second. Bowyer then got past Truex in the frontstretch chicane to grab the lead for the first time in the race. With 10 laps remaining in the first stage, Bowyer opened up a 1.4-second lead on Truex as Elliott remained in third. On Lap 18, both Johnson and Bell pit under green for dry tires as the track continued to dry out. Ty Dillon, who pit during the competition caution to take on dry tires, made his way to sixth by Lap 20 and up to second on Lap 21. Ty Dillon went to the inside of Bowyer on the backstretch to take the lead on Lap 21. On Lap 23, a caution was displayed as John Hunter Nemechek became stuck off Turn 6 in the grass. A handful cars who were still on wet tires pit under the caution, including Bowyer, Kyle Busch and Truex. The race restarted with one lap remaining in the stage and Ty Dillon still leading the way. Jones had to start the race from the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his No. 20 Toyota prior to the start. On stage 2, Blaney held off Elliott in a two-lap dash to collect the Stage 2 victory. Bell ended up third, Truex fourth and Logano rounded out the top-five. Following the break between Stages 1 and 2, several drivers elected to pit but Bell stayed out and inherited the lead. On the restart on Lap 29, Bell was followed by Matt DiBenedetto and Byron. Byron got by Bell entering Turn 1 on Lap 30 to take the lead for the first time as DiBenedetto remained third. On Lap 33, Ryan Newman spun on the frontstretch but was able to get back going without a caution. Keselowski, Jones and DiBenedetto all spun in Turn 4 on Lap 34 but were able to continue without further incident. With 15 laps remaining in the stage, Byron continued to lead the way with Blaney and Logano not far behind. Entering Turn 1 on Lap 40, Blaney went to the inside of Byron and came away with the lead for the first time in the race. With 8 laps remaining in the stage, Blaney had built up a more than 3-second lead over Byron as Logano ran third. Elliott was fourth and Bowman fifth. Caution was displayed on Lap 47 after J.J. Yeley’s No. 77 Chevrolet became stuck in the grass off Turn 6. The race returned to green with two laps to go and Blaney still leading the way. Kyle Busch, his playoff hopes already in danger, slowed dramatically in Turn 5 with a flat left-front tire and made his way to pit road. On the final stage, Following the break between Stages 2…

A.J Allmendiger was no fan of racing in wet conditions as rain poured on Saturday night at the Charlotte Roval but he made the best of it as he emerged victorious in the chaotic race. Chase Briscoe had led the way after the start of the two lap overtime but he experienced a spin as he was going around Turn 1 which allowed Allmendiger to take the lead. He was later forced to spend one and a half laps of the 2.28 mile of the 17-turn Charlotte Roval track holding off Noah Gragson who put on a fight to try and win the second consecutive Charlotte Xfinity Series season. This win was the second for Allmendiger in the season and the fifth in his career in a race that saw 10 cautions and a thirty nine minute red flag for standing water on the track, as the whole race was run nearly entirely in the rain. Earlier on in the race Allmendiger was complaining repeatedly over the team radio that NASCAR should stop the race due to the rain. “I don’t know what we just witnessed, Chris Rice (crew chief) stuck with me, I’m not going to lie, I was complaining the whole race. That was miserable, crazy,” Allmendinger said. “Chase Briscoe was doing a fantastic job. I didn’t really have anything for him after a couple laps but I knew that final restart, I was going to do whatever I could.” “IMSA has headlights, so it’s not as bad. But in the infield, with no lights in there, and the world’s biggest jumbotron blaring in, you couldn’t see anything. I was just guessing where the corners were, just praying that when you hit the puddle, you don’t go sliding off the race track.” Daniel Hemric was able to finish third as Alex Labbe followed closely in fourth. Ross Chastain followed rounding out the top five. Austin Cindric, Cody Ware, Jade Buford, Michael Annett and Brandon Jones rounded out the top ten as Chase Briscoe ended up a disappointing 18th. “The driver just made a mistake,” Briscoe said. “With conditions like these, you need to be 100 percent and I tried to go 110 and it bit me. I felt like I did my job for about 95 percent of the day right.” “I just hit a puddle and it spun me out.” Four drivers were eliminated from competing in the Xfinity series playoffs following the Saturday night race and they were; Harrison Burton, Brandon Brown, Riley Herbst and Annett. On lap 1, Gragson started on the pole, led the first lap as Brett Moffitt wrecked at Turn 4 on the second lap bringing out the first caution for the race. Before the race returned to green, light rain begun pouring down and NASCAR gave the drivers a chance to change into wet tires under the caution. The race turned to ggreen on lap 7 as Justin Haley took the lead. However the lead was shortlived after Gragson got around Haley and Chastain reclaiming the lead. Chase Briscoe spun off at the exit of Turn 4 on lap 11 but was quickly able to get back in the race without any caution, he was running 5th by the tym he spun out and dropped all the way down to 13th by the time he was recovering from the spin. On lap 14, Noah Gragson also spun out and so did Kyle Weatherman. Nascar later put out a caution as multiple cars run off track on lap 15 including Ross Chastain, Mclaughlin and Ryan Vargas. Chase Briscoe was able to hold off Chastain in the last lap run to claim the stage 2 victory in the rain as it was his 10th stage victory of the 2020 season. Labbe was third, Cindric fourth and Gragson fifth. In the break between stage 1 and 2, many cars pit but Kaz Grala stayed out and lead the race all the way to the restart. Gragson was however able to take him though turn 1 and reclaim the top spot. Later on lap 24 Herbst moved into the second place after Grala and Brown missed the frontstretch and at the start of lap 26, Herbst got into Gragson on Turn 2 and knocked him off the course leading to a caution. On lap 31 a red flag was out as there was too much standing water on the track and after alsmost 39-minute delay, the race was back on as the rain was still pouring. The race restarted on lap 34 but it was not long before Justin Allgaier and Herbst wrecked coming off Turn 2 as the incident also took on Justin Haley, Preston Pardus and Annett. Allmendiger took the chance and inherited the lead. Briscoe later grabbed the lead on the race restart at Turn 1 on lap 37 as Williams hit the wall but was able to continue with the race. On Stage 3, Gragson wrecked between Turn 1 and 2 as the race still remained in green. Allmendiger was in the fifth position on lap 45. Chastain decided to pit from the second position to take on enough gas to make it to the finish of the race. Briscoe remained on the track and in the lead on the restart on Lap Allmendinger got around Briscoe through Turn 5 to retake the lead as Snider moved into second. Coming off Turn 17, Myatt Snider got loose which allowed Briscoe to move back into second. On Lap 56, Briscoe ran down Allmendinger on the backstretch and got around him in the backstretch chicane to retake the lead. With 10 laps remaining, the rain had lightened up quite a bit and Briscoe maintained about a 1-second lead over Allmendinger as Hemric ran third. On Lap 60, C.J. McLaughlin spun in Turn 1 and while he was trying to get back on track, he nearly collided with race leader Briscoe as the race was placed under caution again. The race returned to…

Matt DiBenedetto will be remaining with the Wood Brothers for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series, but his position will be later taken by Austin Cindric for the 2022 season. The Wood Brothers team, in a two part announcement said that they had signed DiBenedetto for one-year contract extension to drive the #21 Ford Mustang in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Season. However, team Penske had also announced that it had signed Austin Cindric, whose father Tim is the organisation’s president, to a multi-year contract extension that would see him transition to the Wood Brothers Organisation in 2022 after another year in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Cindric is currently running second in the Xfinity series behind Chase Briscoe with only five races to go in the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series, Briscoe will also run in select NASCAR Cup races in 2021. The Wood Brothers and Team Penske formed a technical alliance back in 2015 and the two teams have been working side by side in driver development opportunities in the past and most recently with the current team Penske driver Ryan Blaney. “As we continue to position our team for future success, it is important to make sure Austin continues his development in the Xfinity Series with Team Penske,” said team owner Roger Penske. “Austin has made great strides in recent years and he has become a consistent winner and a true championship contender this season.” “He will continue his natural progression and get some Cup Series experience in 2021. That will help him prepare for a full season in 2022 with the new NextGen car, racing the #21 Ford Mustang for Wood Brothers Racing.” he added. Austin Cindric went ahead to label the move as a big step in his long-term career. “I am humbled and motivated by the opportunity and the confidence that Team Penske, Ford Performance, the Wood Brothers, and all of our partners have expressed in my abilities and my development as a driver,” he said. “Every race car driver wants to advance in his career, and I can’t think of a better way to do that than on a clear path with Team Penske that will eventually lead to a full-time opportunity in the NASCAR Cup Series.” “I’m really excited for this next chapter in my development to continue working towards competing and trying to win at the highest level.” DiBenedetto joined the Wood Brothers this year and has already earned three top five finishes and eight top ten finishes so far this season. He also qualified for the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs for the first time. “It’s such an honour to be able to continue to drive for Wood Brothers Racing and have another year to grow with this organisation,” he said. “I am excited to learn from our 2020 notebook and I’m confident that with a full season under our belt and working together as a team, we will produce even better results.”

Daniel Suarez will be competing in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series with the new team entry in the Cup series, Trackhouse Racing. This comes through an announcement made by the organisation on Thursday. The team will be giving Suarez the chance to race in the Chevrolet car No.99 ZL1 1LE in the NASCAR Cup Series, and the team will debut in the Daytona 500 on February 14, 2021, the team was formed by Justin Marks who was a former NASCAR driver and formerly co-owned K&N Pro Series West team. The trackhouse team will partner technically with Richard Childress racing and will be using the ECR power units. “The formation of a top-level NASCAR Cup Series team has been a dream of mine for a long time,” Justin Marks told NASCAR.com. “A lot of hard work has transpired to get us to this point and I don’t think we could’ve ended up with better partners in RCR and Chevrolet and with a more passionate and committed driver than Daniel Suárez.” “Daniel’s drive and hunger to get to the top of this sport is palpable every time I am in his presence. We are building a team of winners and Daniel has delivered just about every time he’s sat in race winning equipment,” he added. “It’s my job now to put a car underneath him that will carry him to the highest echelon of the sport.” Suarez joins the Marks team after one season with Gaunt Brothers Racing. The former Xfinity Series champion has competed with three different teams in four seasons at the Cup Series level, earning 32 top-10 finishes. “I see in Trackhouse a great opportunity for me with a very strong group of people that share the same vision, commitment, and goals that I have,” said Suarez. “Justin has been involved in the racing world for over 20 years and understands the ins and outs of the sport both as a driver and from the business side. I have learned a lot in the last few years and have been very fortunate to be a part of very good organizations. “I have learned that this sport is about people, and I know we are going to work very hard to put together a talented team. Furthermore, getting the support from a strong manufacturer like Chevrolet will be a key to our success. My goal is simple, I want to win races.” Ty Norris will serve as president of racing operations for Trackhouse. Additional team personnel will be announced in the future. “I believe deeply in the direction NASCAR’s executive group is taking the sport,” Marks said. “There is a disruptive and courageous vision for the future taking place that is displayed by the incredible 2021 racing schedule and new ways of looking at a sustainable economic model culminating in the debut of the 2022 Next Gen car that, in my opinion, will lay the groundwork for a dramatic value proposition for future owners, media partners, stakeholders and sponsors for decades to come. “Everything Trackhouse will be doing in 2021 from a business development standpoint will be in the context of positioning ourselves to win races and championships as NASCAR embarks on a new chapter in 2022 and beyond.”

Hendrick Motorsports has decided to choose one of its drivers to replace Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Jimmie Johnson. Hendrick Motorsports made an announcement on Tuesday that Alex Bowman, who is currently driving No.88 Chevrolet for the team will move to the No.88 car for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Season. Bowman will be taking over Jimmie Johnson’s car and also his sponsor, Ally Financial. Johnson is set to retire completely from NASCAR at the end of 2020 season. Bowman will also be moving with Greg Ives, who is his current crew chief to the No.48 next year. Hendrick also mentioned that they will be naming the 2021 driver of the vacant No.88 Chevrolet seat at a later date. “We have tremendous faith in this team,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “Every season Alex gets better. Not only do we see it in the statistics, but his confidence and leadership have truly blossomed. Today he’s a proven winner and playoff contender, and his best years are ahead.” “Greg has won championships and races, and he brings the No. 48 pedigree that’s invaluable. When you add in the amazing enthusiasm and support from Ally, it’s quite a combination. Their partnership makes it all possible, and we look forward to celebrating many successes together in the future.” 27-year-old Alex Bowman is enjoying his best season in the NASCAR Cup Series so far. There are only five races remaining in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Season at the Tucson and Arizona. Bowman is one of the 12 drivers remaining in the playoffs. He secured a victory earlier on in the season at the Auto Club speedway, and also by the help of his crew chief, Ives they have together qualified for the playoffs for three straight seasons. “I’ve worked my entire life to be in a situation like this,” Bowman said. “The opportunity to drive a legendary car like the ’48’ with incredible support from Ally, it truly can’t get any better. I’m excited to build on my relationship with Greg, who is a championship-caliber crew chief and knows first-hand what the No. 48 is all about.” “The pieces are in place, and I’m grateful to Mr. Hendrick and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports and Ally. We’re ready to do it right,” he continued. “I can’t put my respect for Jimmie into words. To me, the No. 48 team’s legacy is about winning, but also how you go about your business. It’s leadership, confidence, work ethic, being a professional and holding yourself to a higher standard.” “No one will ever be Jimmie, and he’s given us a championship blueprint to follow.” Bowman concluded.

Denny Hamlin survived a post-race investigation to win the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Talladega, edging out Matt DiBenedetto in a photo-finish during the third period of overtime. A big accident on 187 of a scheduled 188 involving points leader Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr and Alex Bowman brought out the second red flag period of the race and sent it to overtime. The second period was then abandoned after Bubba Wallace (RPM Ford) spun into the wall after contact with Ryan Preece (JTG Daugherty Chevrolet) and collected Ryan Blaney’s Penske Ford in the ensuing melee. A Talladega-record 13th caution period once again neutralised the race as DiBenedetto, Chris Buescher and Chase Elliott all desperately tried to save enough fuel until the pitlane was opened. When the race restarted for the final time with a two-lap shootout, Buescher’s Roush Fenway Racing Ford got in behind DiBenedetto’s Wood Brothers Racing machine, with the duo dropping the rest of the field on lap 199. However, William Byron’s Hendrick Chevrolet managed to get between the two at the start of the final tour of the 2.6-mile superspeedway, allowing Erik Jones (Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) to slot into second behind DiBenedetto, with Buescher, Byron and Hamlin (JGR) leading the pursuing pack. The leading pair were caught at Turn 3, where Jones moved up the track to block Buescher and was sent high into the wall. DiBenedetto then moved low to block Byron’s run, resulting in contact that forced the Hendrick driver sideways while behind, the fast-catching Hamlin was forced onto the apron below the track limits line by Buescher. Byron gathered his car together and ran side-by-side with Hamlin until a late run from the recovering DiBenedetto and Jones on the high line lost him momentum, as Hamlin took the flag first in a photo finish, just 0.023s ahead of DiBenedetto. Jones crossed the line third, with Ty Dillon (Germain Racing Chevrolet) fourth and Byron fifth. NASCAR investigated Hamlin for the incident in which he went below the yellow line, but cleared him of any wrongdoing, securing his place in the next segment of the Playoffs. However, it did hand penalties to DiBenedetto (for forcing Byron below the line) and sixth-place on the road finisher Elliott (for improving position while out of track limits on the run to the flag) – both dropping to the rear of the cars that finished on the lead lap. DiBenedetto’s penalty elevated Jones to second and Dillon to third from Byron, but Elliott’s team succeeded in having his penalty overturned and Buescher punished for forcing him out of track limits. Behind Elliott and Ryan Newman (RFR Ford), Tyler Reddick took a ninth top 10 of the campaign for Richard Childress Racing, ahead of John Hunter Nemechek Front Row Motorsports Ford. Brennan Poole took a maiden career top 10 finish with ninth for his Premium Motorsports #15 Chevrolet Camaro, ahead of Preece who rounded out the top 10. Brad Keselowski (Penske) was caught up in a spin on the final lap and dropped to 18th, while Harvick’s repaired Stewart-Haas Ford trailed home 20th – the worst result for the regular season champion since a 26th at Homestead. Blaney, Joey Logano (Penske) and reigning champion Kyle Busch (JGR) all failed to add decent points to their tallies by virtue of being caught up in accidents throughout the race, meaning Logano and Busch must win at Charlotte next week to be assured of their place in the next Playoff round. In his final superspeedway race before retirement from NASCAR, Jimmie Johnson helped to trigger a big crash on lap 109 after being tapped by Clint Bowyer, which led to the first red flag being waved. Superspeedway-only driver Brendan Gaughan was one of the victims of the lap 109 pile-up – the retiring #62 Beard Motorsports driver’s final Cup race ending prematurely as a result.

Justitin Haley earned himself the first playoff win of the season after completing a season sweep of the NASCAR Xfinity series at Talladega. Chase Briscoe who was appearing to take his 10th win of the 2020 season as he led 73 out of 113 laps, got knocked out of the race after a contact with Noah Gragson as they were trying to block the cars following them. Haley took the lead as two laps were remaining to end the race and held strong to his lead when a caution came out in the final lap after there was a wreck at the back. Haley will be advancing to the semi-final round of the playoffs regardless of his performance next weekend at Charlotte Roval, this win was his third consecutive win in the NASCAR Xfinity series this season. “We had that penalty there and we struggled to get back – just bunny-hopping. Thankfully Kevin Hamlin, my spotter, was able to guide me through the bunny-hops and be able to go from the bottom (lane),” Haley said. “We were so far back with 10 to go. Matt Kaulig (the team owner), we love you. Three in a row. I guess I told you earlier I wasn’t saying it’s luck but three in a row is pretty hard to do on luck. “Just super thankful. This is such a blessing.” “Told the last series driver to win three superspeedway wins in a row was Dale Earnhardt Jr, to be in that class is pretty special. This is my third Talladega win. I’m going to have to build a bigger trophy case.” Haley said. Michael Anett finished second as Ryan Sieg closely followed in the third place. Noah Gragson and Brandon Jones finished 4th and 5th respectively rounding out the top five drivers in the race. The rest of the drivers who made it to the top 10 were Daniel Hemrick, Ross Chastain, Josh Williams, Garett Smithley and Brandon Brtown. On the other hand, Chase briscoe did not put an impressive performance as he finished 20th. “At the end you are doing everything you can to protect the runs and (Gragson) is doing everything he can to make moves. It is just part of racing here,” Briscoe said. “It was exciting at least on my end.” “I about wrecked two or three times trying to block. It was cool. He had talked to Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) about how to run this place and I had talked to Dale about how to run this place and it was weird because I knew what he was trying to do every time so I was trying to protect it.” Michael Annett, Riley Herbst, Harrison Burton and Brown and another four drivers sitting below the cut-off, are in danger of being eliminated in the title chase at the next weekend’s playoffs in Charlotte. In the first stage, Chase Briscoe took the lead as he held off Cindric to end up on top at the end of the stage. Jones was third as Haley and Anthony Alfredo rounded out the top 5. Chase Briscoe started on top but Gragson led at the line for Lap 1 and Allgaier led at the line on Lap 2 before Briscoe moved back to the top spot on Lap 3 with a push from Cindric. With only 10 laps remaining in the first stage, Briscoe and Cindric ran nose-to-tail with Allgaier third and Haley fourth. With five laps to go, Briscoe and Cindric remained out front with Haley moving into the third position. Following the break between Stages 2 and 3, most of the lead-lap cars pit but several stayed out, including A.J. Allmendinger, who inherited the lead. Justin Allgaier was penalized for having too many crew members over the wall during his top and had to restart the race from the rear of the field. On the restart on Lap 56, Allmendinger led the way followed by Timmy Hill. Gragson, the first off pit road, restarted fifth. With 50 laps remaining, Allmendinger maintained a small advantage over Gragson while Annett ran third. On Lap 76, as several teams were getting ready to head down pit road for green flag stops and slowing, both Austin Hill and Austin Cindric got knocked out of line and both slammed into the inside retaining wall. Jeffrey Earnhardt also got collected in the incident. “I had no chance of even making it to pit road. Really unfortunate,” Cindric said. “I really wanted to have a great run. Ran up front all day, unfortunately, circumstances kept me and Briscoe from being up front there. “Really sucks, but it’s part of racing.” Annett, Ryan Vargas and Haley all were penalized for pitting too soon and will have to restart from the rear of the field. After the remainder of the field pit under the caution, Brown was the first off pit road thanks to a fuel-only stop. On the restart on Lap 84, Brown led the way followed by Allgaier, Jones, Chastain and Briscoe. Briscoe powered back into the lead on Lap 85. On Lap 92, NASCAR displayed a caution for debris on the frontstretch. Most drivers remained on the track and Briscoe still led the way on the restart with 18 laps remaining. With 10 laps to go, Briscoe remained out front followed by Gragson, Hermric and Chastain.

Canadian driver Raphael Lessard earned his first win in the NASCAR Trucks playoffs at Talladega superspeedway despite interrupting the race and having a very wild finish. Lessard and Stewart Friesen led the trucks on a restart with only two out of the 94 laps remaining and they raced side by side as only one lap was remaining to the end of the race. The two truck drivers took turns to block any advancing truck which led to Friesen getting turned, creating a crash that ignited in the backstretch as the race was put under caution. Just as the caution was being displayed, Lessard emerged to be the race winner as he was getting a pushe from the back by Ben Rhodes and a fraction of a second ahead of Trevor Bayne. This win emerged to be the 19-year-old’s first win in the NASCAR National Series while having 24 career starts. “Oh my gosh, that was awesome. First of all, I just want to thank everyone at home, my team Kyle Busch Motorsports, I can’t believe it. It’s just my second superspeedway race.” Lessard said. “To get my first Truck series win here is amazing. I don’t know who was behind me but he gave me a heck of a push. I can’t thank him enough. He pushed me as hard as I could and I was just along for the ride…The caution came out at the right time. I’m so happy. I got to do a burnout after the win. I’m hoping I can do some more.” Lessard also added by revealing his struggles since he moved to Mooresville N.C back in January, as it was very difficult for him to see his family much due to the Covid-19 restrictions. “It’s a crazy year to be the first time moving from home and my family’s in Quebec, Canada,” he said. “I haven’t seen them in a while and I want to say to everyone. I needed that. We’ve had a tough season but this one feels really good.” Trevor Bayne ended up being second in the race as Chandler Smith closely followed in third place. Ben Rhodes and Codie Rohrbaugh finished fourth and fifth respectively rounding out the top five drivers in the race. Christian Eckes and Todd Gilliland were out of luck as they were eliminated from further title competition in the playoffs. There was a break between stage 2 and 3 and several drivers headed to the pits but Brett Moffitt decided to remain on the track and took the lead. On the race restart on lap 45, Moffitt held on to the lead as Sheldon Creed, Derek Kraus, Johnny Sauter and Ankrum closely followed. Later on lap 47 Gilliland appeared to be experiencing issues with his truck as he was slowing down. Tanner Gray on the other hand lost control of his truck as the field was checking up and crashed onto the inside wall. After the caution was out, the race resumed on lap 54 with Moffitt leading the pack as Creed and Kraus followed. On lap 55 Ben Rhodes was able to take the top spot, but a lap later the lead was snatched by Sauter. As there were only 30 laps remaining, Austin Hill and Derek Kraus headed to the pits for their final stop of the race but Hill was penalised for speeding at the pitlane and had to serve a drive through penalty. When the stops were completed on lap 82, Sheldon Creed retook the lead as Brett Moffitt and Kaz Grala closely followed. As 10 laps were remaining to the conclusion of the race, Creed maintained a very small lead over Moffitt as Friesen followed being in the third position. NASCAR displayed a caution on lap 88 as Creed shredded a tyre and slowed down Friesen taking the lead even before the caution was out. He remained on the track even on the race restart as two laps were remaining, other trucks headed to the pits. Advancing to the semifinal round of the playoffs were Rhodes, Matt Crafton, Brett Moffitt, Sheldon Creed, Grant Enfinger, Tyler Ankrum, Austin Hill and Zane Smith.

New rules have been released for the 2021 NASCAR Cup series and they will mainly target the High downforce and low downforce strategies for another time. Nashville and Darlington will be utilizing the low downforce 750hp package which is 250hp extra from the previous 500hp package, which all rounds longer than 1.1 miles ran for the 2020 NASCARCup season. Gen-6 will be bidding farewell to NASCAR at the end of 2021 season before the Next Gen car hits the track for the 2022 season. In addition to the high downforce and low downforce packages, the following changes on low downforce were also made: 1.Smaller rear spoiler, shrinking from an 8-inch height to 2.75 inches. 2. The front splitter overhang measures a quarter-inch (down from 2 inches), with approximately 2-inch wings (reduced from 10.5 inches). 3.Alterations to the radiator pan, removing its vertical fencing in an effort to reduce front-end downforce. The dimensions of the pan remain the same. “We constantly review the race packages to try to put on the best possible racing for our fans,” said NASCAR’s senior vice president of innovation and racing development, John Probst. “When we brought in the short track/road course package this season, Darlington was not part of it due to its unique size. We’ve been evaluating data from both race packages, as well as feedback from drivers, teams and OEMs and feel that the 750 hp/low downforce package best fits the track.”

Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing will be joining pact in the 2021 NASCAR Cup season so as to improve the Chevy engine performance. Hendrick and Childress racing teams have been the most successful teams in the 2019 NASCAR Cup season, and following its end they will be joining ventures which will be highly focussed on engine research and development and eventually come up with a common specification Chevrolet engine. “While our two championship-winning organizations will collaborate on research and development, our respective engine shop operations will continue to function independently as they currently do.” “We look forward to working together to fully leverage the knowledge and intellectual property of our two successful programs to advance Chevrolet’s engine for NASCAR.” Hendrick Motorsport and Richard Childress said in a joint statement. The new joint effort will be overseen on joint basis by Richie Gilmore(RCR) and Jeff Andrews from HMS who will also be joined by a steering comitee. Jeff Andrews recently received a promotion and is now the executive vice president and general manager Hendrick Mototrsports. Richie Gilmore on the other hand is the president ECR engines. The engines that has been produced by the collaboration of the two entities have earned a combined 39 wins at NASCAR national series championships 20 of which have been from the NASCAR elite series. The Chevrolet cars that have been taken to races by the two companies have won a combined 369 cup series which have all gained them points. However, Chevrolet have not gotten any championship win for the last three years. Jimmie Johnson was the last driver to win a championship for the team back in 2016, but this season the Chevrolet drivers have been able to get 4 out of the 12 remaining playoff slots and have achieved 5 combined victories. The remaining 8 Ford and Toyota drivers have gotten 22 victories of the season. The move by the two teams has followed Totota and Ford common venture to have an unified common engine builders over the recent years and they have been proving to be very competitive in the NASCAR series. “We started talking about this, Richie Gilmore at RCR and I, that the day was going to come when we really needed to figure out how to get these two programs together,” Andrews said in an interview on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “There’s a tremendous amount of talent and people, a tremendous amount of equipment and resources between the two programs, so how could we do this? how could we take the long-standing heritage between the two companies and get that together and start to work on an alliance that would produce the ultimate power train for Chevrolet NASCAR? “So, we have entered into that with them. We will maintain two separate facilities. When you step back and look at it, ultimately, when you have these resources and you have these people, you have to do what’s right for Chevrolet, first and foremost, to get them back to the front of the field and to get wins and championships.”

Kurt Busch became the first NASCAR Cup Series driver to book his spot in the next round of the Playoffs with victory in overtime at Las Vegas. Busch in the #1 Chip Ganassi Chevrolet had not followed the leading pack, headed by Denny Hamlin, in pitting midway through the final stage, and benefited when Jimmie Johnson’s car shed its right rear Goodyear tyre, bringing out the caution flags. While Hamlin and the rest of the leading gaggle, including Alex Bowman who undercut Hamlin during these stops by pitting on lap 232, dropped to a lap down, Busch – the sole driver in Playoff contention who did not pit – was able to take his stop and restart in second place, behind Wood Brothers Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto. Busch took the lap 243 restart on the inside line and muscled past the #21 of DiBenedetto to take the lead, before a John Hunter Nemechek spin seven laps later once again neutralised the race on the 1.5-mile oval circuit. Hamlin, who was running in 11th place then led a charge to pitroad of those who had lost out under the Johnson caution, with the likes of Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr, Alex Bowman, and Chase Elliott followed the #11 Joe Gibbs Toyota for fresh rubber. Bowman and Hamlin quickly began to carve through the field, before a final caution for William Byron’s spin after Christopher Bell’s car suffered a tyre failure. This sent the race into overtime, with none of the leaders opting to pit ahead of the two-lap shootout. Busch took the restart ahead of DiBenedetto, Ryan Blaney, Bowman and Hamlin, and quickly dropped the chasing pack, whilst Hamlin tried to fight his way past Blaney. Busch, who took 16th and 17th respectively in stages one and two, was untroubled throughout the overtime period, allowing the 2004 Cup champion to record his first win of 2020, 33rd of his career, first since Kentucky in July 2019, and ensure his place in the Round of 8 of the Playoffs. DiBenedetto equalled his best result of the season with second in his Ford, which also came at Las Vegas in February, ahead of stage two winner Hamlin, who scored his first top 10 finish since the Daytona road course race. Playoff hopefuls Truex Jr, Bowman and reigning champion Kyle Busch took fourth, fifth and sixth respectively, with the already eliminated Ryan Blaney the lead finisher for Team Penske in seventh. Erik Jones followed up third last time out at Bristol with eighth for JGR, ahead of Chris Buescher and Harvick – who recorded his 25th top 10 result of 2020 in an otherwise quiet afternoon for the polesitter in his #4 machine. Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson was hit with a pitlane speeding penalty midway through the 268-lapper, but fought back well to claim 11th, ahead of Penske duo Brad Keselowski (13th) and Joey Logano (14th). Logano had been a lap down for a majority of the race following lap 88 contact with Kyle Busch left the #22 with minor damage. Elliott had looked comfortable out in front during periods of stage one, which the #9 Hendrick driver claimed ahead of Hamlin, but struggled in the latter stages, coming home 22nd. Austin Dillon, who had been the star of the Playoffs with a strong Round of 16 looked set to continue his good form in his #3 Richard Childress machine, banking a pair of sixth place finishes in the two 80-lap segments. However, a suspected piece of debris damaged belts inside the engine of his Camaro, which led to a power steering failure, and left the #3 seven laps down in 32nd position at the flag. NASCAR Las Vegas race results – 268 lapsPos Driver Team Gap1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing –2 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing s3 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing s4 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing s5 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports s6 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing s7 Ryan Blaney Team Penske s8 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing s9 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing s10 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing s11 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports s12 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing s13 Brad Keselowski Team Penske s14 Joey Logano Team Penske s15 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing s16 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing s17 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing s18 Matt Kenseth Chip Ganassi Racing s19 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing s20 John Hunter Nemechek Front Row Motorsports s21 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports s22 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports s23 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing s24 Christopher Bell Leavine Family Racing s25 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports s26 Ty Dillon Germain Racing 1 Lap27 Corey LaJoie Go FAS Racing 1 Lap28 Darrell Wallace Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports 2 Laps29 Daniel Suarez Gaunt Brothers Racing 3 Laps30 Brennan Poole Premium Motorsports 3 Laps31 Gray Gaulding Rick Ware Racing 6 Laps32 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing 7 Laps33 J.J. Yeley Spire Motorsports 7 Laps34 Quin Houff StarCom Racing 9 Laps35 Joey Gase Petty Ware Racing 12 Laps36 Josh Bilicki Rick Ware Racing Suspension37 Timmy Hill MBM Motorsports Rear end38 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Accident39 Chad Finchum MBM Motorsports Overheating

Chas Briscoe achieved his ambitious goal he had set prior to the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity season by winning his eighth race in the season at the Las Vegas playoffs on Saturday night. Chase Briscoe led 164 out of 200 laps although he suffered a late race restart but was able to hold off Noah Gragson to win Saturday’s Alsco 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, completing a sweep of victories in both of the track’s Xfinity races this season. The victory in the Las Vegas playoffs locked Chase Briscoe into the semifinal round whatever his performance in the next race. He has eight 8 wins now in the season and ten in the three seasons he has competed. “We got it figured out here these last few races. This thing is on the rails around this place,” Briscoe said. “I’m super happy to start our playoffs this way. It’s been an unbelievable season but we have six more races to win. That’s what we are going to do. The championship is the priority right now. We still have more in the tank.” Briscoe added. Briscoe, in a Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing, won all three stages Saturday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, then beat hometown driver Noah Gragson on a late restart to grab control of the Xfinity Series title race. Briscoe earned an automatic berth into the second round of the playoffs and increased his series-best victory total. There will be a new Xfinity Series champion for the first time in three years this season and Briscoe is one of the favorites. “An incredible car by everybody at Stewart-Haas. That made my job way too easy, honestly,” Briscoe said. “We have had a lot of wins this year, but this is by far our most dominant car.” The Indiana native has been an inspiring story for underdogs, and this season was in doubt until sponsorship developed during the offseason to secure a second season at SHR. Chase Briscoe went into the year determined to win eight races and prove he deserves a spot in the Cup Series. Briscoe joined Jack Ingram and Sam Ard with a record eight wins; both Ingram and Ard won eight apiece in 1984. He also won last week at Bristol. Now that Briscoe has hit his mark of eight wins, he’s got his sights set on grabbing every trophy he can over the final six races of the season. He knew his No. 98 team was capable of a dominant season, which is why he felt comfortable making eight wins the mark to hit to argue his case for a Cup ride. “I knew this team was fully capable of achieving that and even more,” Briscoe said. “It has been an unbelievable season and we still have a lot, six more wins that we can try to get and a championship. That is what we are going to try to do.” Gragson, a Las Vegas native, finished second in a Chevrolet for JR Motorsports. He suffered a bloody nose in the middle of the race and it was bothersome over the final stretch. When a caution came out with 14 laps to go, Gragson got his shot to go head to head with Briscoe for the win. It took Briscoe a full lap to take control on the restart, and Gragson had nothing for him. Briscoe had built a lead of more than 6 seconds over Austin Cindric before the late caution, Gragson came off pit road in second and had his only chance at Briscoe on the restart. Cindric, the regular-season champion, didn’t have as strong of a Ford as Briscoe, but still was running second before the final caution. Team Penske told him he should do the opposite strategy as Briscoe but let Cindric make the final decision. Cindric followed Briscoe down pit road for the service, but a slow stop cost him four positions.

Austin Hill did not have the best Friday night at Las Vegas NASCAR Truck Playoffs which earned him a place in the semi-final round of the Series Playoffs. Hill took the lead for the first time after race restart on lap 96 of the 134 laps, as Sheldon Creed who had led for 89 laps tried to take on Hill, but the attempts failed. Sheldon Creed had come into contact with the wall as he was trying to get Hill but however managed to come 0.546 seconds behind Hill who led the race. This is the second win for Hill in 2020 and 6th victory of his career. “Right after Bristol, right after they took the checkered flag, I said ‘Let’s keep our heads up. We’re going to go to Vegas and win it’ and, heck, we did it,” Austin Hill said. “We didn’t have the best truck by no means. We had to fight a lot of adversity. In Stages 1 and 2 we weren’t good at all. The guys kept working on it. The pit crew did a hell of a job and I just had to go out there and get it and that’s what we did.” “Sheldon was definitely way faster than me. I was probably looking in my mirror more than I was looking out front. I knew he was better than we were. I knew I was going to have to protect.” Tanner Gray completed the race third, Stewart Frisen and Chandler Smith rounded out the top five as they were 4th and 5th respectively. Grant Enfinger, Zane Smith, Christian Eckes, Matt Crafton and Tyler Ankrum rounded up the top 10 drivers in the series playoffs. The next week’s race at Talladega will be the final race of the first rounds of the playoffs meaning that the lowest two drivers in points without a win will be eliminated in the fight for the Championship contention. All the drivers pit following the break between stage 2 and 3 and Creed was the first to come off the pits on the race restart on lap 68 as he continued to maintain the lead. After going wide, Creed was overtaken by Eckes on lap 69 but later on lap 73 Creed re-took the lead. On lap 78 Derek Kraus moved into second as Moffitt followed closely in 3rd. On lap 84, Ben Rhodes spun out on Turn 2 after contact with Friesen bringing out a caution and all the leading trucks pit. Creed maintained the lead on the race restart on lap 90 followed by Kraus and Johnny Sauter. Jordan Anderson got stopped at the exit of the pit road on lap 90 which brought the caution back out. On lap 96 the race was back on as Creed lead the race followed by Hill and Eckes. Hill later took the lead as Friesen came second. On lap 124 Creed came into contact with the wall as he was trying to take down Hill but still remained second. Friesen was in third as creed tried to close in on hill up to the end of the race.

Denny Hamlin is starting his own race car team in partnership with Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan and Bubba Wallace as the driver. Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner and top contender for this year’s Cup title, made the announcement on social media. The team will be a single-car Toyota entry aligned with Joe Gibbs Racing. “Eleven years ago I met Michael Jordan at a then-Charlotte Bobcats game and we became fast friends,” Hamlin wrote. “Not long after, I joined Jordan Brand as their first NASCAR athlete, our friendship has grown over the years and now we are ready to take it to the next level…Deciding on the driver was easy it had to be Bubba Wallace.” Hamlin said additional details about the new team would be forthcoming. Bubba Wallace is the only Black driver at NASCAR’s top level. There’s been speculation for months that Denny Hamlin was organizing some sort of ownership group as he expects NASCAR’s business model to become more favorable for team owners when the “Next Gen” car is released in 2022. NASCAR rules prohibit a current driver from owning a team and driving for another, but Hamlin works around the policy with Jordan as the primary owner. Jordan became a partial owner of the Bobcats in 2006 and bought the team outright in 2010, restoring the franchise to its original Hornets name. Hamlin has been a longtime season-ticket holder with courtside seats along the visitors’ bench. Jordan has twice traveled to the NASCAR season finale to watch Hamlin race for the championship. Hamlin, who’s 39, is still seeking his first title. Wallace, who has cobbled together about $18 million in sponsorship deals since he made social equality his platform, already said he’d leave Richard Petty Motorsports at the end of the season. “This is a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I believe is a great fit for me at this point in my career,” Wallace wrote in a social media post coordinated with Hamlin’s. “I am grateful and humbled that they believe in me and I’m super pumped to begin this adventure with them.”

Ross Chastain will finally get an opportunity next season to compete full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series after signing a deal to join Chip Ganassi Racing. The 27-year-old, will take over the driving duties of Ganassi’s No. 42 Chevrolet in 2021, as an official announcement of Chastain’s move is expected later on Monday multiple sources said. Chastain will replace veteran Matt Kenseth, who stepped into the car in May to replace former driver Kyle Larson, who was fired in April for using a racial slur during the broadcast of an iRacing event and remains indefinitely suspended by NASCAR. This season, Chastain has been competing full-time in the Xfinity Series with Kaulig Racing. He has yet to win, but advanced to the series playoffs and is ranked eighth in the series standings. He finished second in last Friday night’s race at Bristol, which marked his fifth runner-up finish of the 2020 season. Following the race on Friday night, Chastain was asked whether he would drive the No. 42 if the opportunity arose. “Are you kidding me? Of course,” he said. “Everyone in this whole entire garage would, yeah. I mean yeah who wouldn’t? Everyone would.” In his NASCAR career, Chastain owns a pair of wins in the Xfinity Series and three in Trucks. He also ran three Xfinity races in the 2018 season with CGR, winning at Las Vegas. He was also scheduled to run the full Xfinity season for Ganassi in 2019, but the deal fell apart in the offseason when the sponsor became embroiled in legal issues. Chastain competed in Cup, Xfinity and Truck races in 2019 – and contended for the Truck title – with other teams but continued to maintain his relationship with the Ganassi organisation. In January, CGR announced plans to help field Chastain in a Cup car in both the Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600 this season. He finished 25th and 21st, respectively, in the races.