With lots of discussion and questions about restarts in the drivers’ meeting prior to the race, here is what was surprising and not surprising after the checkered flag flew on the 55Th Annual Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Helio Castroneves, driver of the No. 3 Shell V-Power Team Penske Chevrolet, scored the pole for the ABC Supply 500, with his two Penske teammates nipping at his heels.
Standing by his No. 60 Ford Mustang post-race, Chris Buescher was visibly upset and reasonably so. Scott Graves had made the perfect call to get Buescher out front, but just a hiccup on the last restart prevented Buescher from visiting victory lane. Instead, he crossed the line in 11th.
Before Wednesday night, Tyler Reddick had never raced at Bristol Motor Speedway. Despite the inexperience, he was able to come away with a solid top-10 finish and the points lead.
On Wednesday night, Ryan Blaney experienced both sides of the coin as he was down a lap at one point, but was able to rebound to score the victory in the UNOH 200.
Juan Pablo Montoya leads the Verizon IndyCar Series championship with two races remaining for the second time in his career. He led the CART championship with two races to go in 1999 when he claimed his first Indy car championship.
While Danica Patrick may just have scored a brand new sponsor for the next race season, Stewart Haas Racing has another unique sponsor relationship with a nonprofit organization by the name of Code 3 Associates.
"Kevin underwent surgery today at Des Moines Mercy Hospital to address one of two fractures he suffered in his back following last week's accident at Knoxville Raceway. Both surgeries have been successful and the doctors are heartened by his progress.
Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Wurth Ford Mustang Dark Horse team turned in their fifth-consecutive top-10 finish - and 12th on the season to tie for the Cup Series lead - in Sunday's inaugural Anduril 250 on Naval Base Coronado.
Corey Heim executed a perfect late race pass on 23XI and Toyota teammate Tyler Reddick to notch his first career NASCAR Cup Series win Sunday afternoon in the inaugural San Diego Street Race at Naval Base Coronado.
