MARTINSVILLE, VIRGINIA - OCTOBER 31: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, leads the field during the NASCAR Cup Series Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 31, 2021 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)
Alex Bowman won the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway after contact with Playoff contender Denny Hamlin on lap 494 of the 500-lap race on the .526-mile short track on Sunday afternoon. Bowman got loose entering the turn and got into Hamlin, sending Hamlin into the outside wall.
The late caution flag set up a final green-white checkers finish with Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski who had to win to advance. At the time, the restart was like watching an exciting roulette wheel as to what drivers will be left at the end of the race. You can play roulette online at PlayAmo.com and catch some more excitement. Bowman was able to hold off both drivers and win.
While Bowman was trying to set up for his victory burnout, Hamlin also drove to the start-finish line, or also the victory lane at Martinsville, and bumped into the front of Bowman’s Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet.
“I just got loose in. I got in too deep (into Turn 3), knocked him out of the way, and literally let him have the lead back. For anybody that wants to think I was trying to crash him, obviously, that wasn’t the case, considering I literally gave up the lead at Martinsville to give it back to him.” Bowman said.
This was Bowman’s fourth win of the season and the sixth career victory for the 28-year-old from Tucson, Arizona driver.
Hamlin, who is fighting for his first NASCAR Cup Series title expressed his displeasure with Bowman after the race.
“He’s just a hack. He’s just an absolute hack. He gets his ass kicked every week by his teammates every week. He’s (expletive) terrible. He’s just terrible. He sees one opportunity and he takes it, but obviously, he’s got the fastest car every week and he runs 10th.” Hamlin said.
Kyle Busch finished second, Brad Keselowski third, Martin Truex Jr. fourth, and William Byron rounded out the top-five finishers on Sunday.
Championship contender Chase Elliott won stage one and stage two while leading a race-high of 289 laps. He clenched his Championship 4 berth mid-race after sweeping both stages but fell back into the field late in the final stage and finished 16th.
“Well, we’re moving on and that is all that matters. I had a really fast NAPA Chevy early and I made a couple of mistakes and kind of led us down the wrong path there for those last couple of runs, unfortunately. But the pace was certainly in the car.”
It has come down to Hendrick vs. Gibbs for NASCAR’s 2021 Cup Series championship.
The 2021 Cup championship will feature two Chevrolets against two Toyotas and two past champions, defending series champion Elliott, with two wins this season, and 2017 champion Martin Truex Jr. with four wins this season.
The two drivers that are trying to win their first championship are Kyle Larson, who has dominated this season by winning nine races, 19 top-5s and 25 top-10s and Hamlin with 2 wins, 18 top-5s, and 24 top-10s will be trying for the fourth time to win his first title.
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Phoenix Raceway with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship on Sunday, November 7, at 3 p.m. ET. on NBC, NBC Sports Gold, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosted the 1,000th NHRA race in series history Sunday afternoon. Entering Vegas, the points situation was heating up with just two races left in the Countdown to the Championship.
There was also history made as well. Steve Torrence captured his 50th career Top Fuel victory, while Cruz Pedregon eliminated Funny Car points leader Ron Capps in the final. Dallas Glenn won in Pro Stock after eliminating Erica Enders and Steve Johnson fought his way back with a victory in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class.
Funny Car
Don Schumacher Racing driver Ron Capps entered the Las Vegas Nationals with a one-point lead over his teammate Matt Hagan. Capps was looking to extend his lead and was well on his way in doing so before being halted by fourth-place contender Cruz Pedregon. Pedregon defeated the NAPA Auto Parts driver after Capps engine exploded in the right lane, giving Pedregon his second win of the season.
“I dropped a couple of races due to holeshots and I feel like we had a better race car than what we’ve shown,” Pedregon said. “I drove well today and we were able to answer the bell today. The car was so steady today. We have a good car and this team has been plugging away. The car runs right with everyone and it’s an honor to win the 1,000th NHRA race. I’m just glad to be a part of it. After winning today, we’re back in (the championship hunt). We just had to keep our nose to the grindstone and things worked out for us.”
Pedregon qualified in the seventh position following the three rounds and set the California native up with a first-round match with Tony Jurado. Pedregon was successful in his first-round win going 3.950 seconds and 329.58 mph to a quarterfinal round with Chris Morel. Morel advanced to the second round with an upset victory over John Force. The Snap-On driver won again with a 3.903 second and 324.20 mph pass to face Bob Tasca in the semis.
Meanwhile, Capps, who qualified in the eighth position, had a picture-perfect day and kept the points lead with a Round 1 victory over Tim Wilkerson. He set the pace with a time of 3.915 seconds and 323.74 mph to advance. His closest competitor Matt Hagan was eliminated in the first round after being defeated by Chris Morel.
From there, Capps scored victories over the No. 1 qualifier, Alexis DeJoria, in the quarterfinals and defeated John Force Racing’s Robert Hight in the semis to set up the final round match with Cruz Pedregon.
When the two cars rocketed off the line, Capps kept up with Cruz, but his engine unfortunately exploded and he fell short of a victory. The runner-up finish was Capps’ third of the season and the 63rd of his career.
“Being the Dodge//SRT Nationals Presented by Pennzoil, we were motivated to put this Pennzoil Dodge SRT Hellcat into the final round and winner’s circle,” Capps said. “You look at qualifying and look around and we didn’t qualify as well as we’d liked. It was one of our worst positions all season and we still had lane choice. That tells you how good this NAPA team has been all season. Then you have Tim Wilkerson first round. And we’re the last pair of Funny Cars, the 16th pair of nitro cars and we’re sitting there waiting and listening to so many of the other contenders fighting for a championship, (Matt) Hagan, J.R. (Todd), (John) Force, go out.
“It’s Halloween, but you think ‘how strange of a day.’ And we had to wait and wait for our first-round match-up with Tim. He beat us in the final at Indy and that’s such a tough car and team. We got by a close one there in that first round and that was huge. Then we had Alexis (DeJoria), the No. 1 qualifier, then Robert Hight, a three-time world champion, and Cruz Pedregon, another champion. That’s a ‘murderer’s row’ on race day. We had to fight every round and this Pennzoil/NAPA car was just so fun to drive. We had a lot of friends and folks from NAPA headquarters in Atlanta and from GearWrench and family members here all weekend, and that was huge to go rounds in front of all of them.”
“We’ll take any amount of points and Pomona is such an outlier with the points-and-a-half deal. There’s so many points up for grabs. I’m not even thinking about winning this thing. We’ll keep doing what we’ve been doing and it was unfortunate in the final round, but it was two Dodges battling it out and that makes our friends in Auburn Hills, Mich. proud and I can’t wait for Pomona. Two weeks cannot come soon enough.”
Funny Car Results
Cruz Pedregon
Ron Capps
Robert Hight
Bob Tasca III
Chad Green
Alexis DeJoria
Chris Morel
Paul Lee
Tim Wilkerson
Tony Jurado
Steven Densham
Bobby Bode
Matt Hagan
Jeff Diehl
J.R. Todd
John Force
Funny Car Championship Points Standings
Ron Capps, 2,585 points
Matt Hagan, -58
Cruz Pedregon, -83
J.R. Todd, -138
John Force, -155
Bob Tasca III, -168
Robert Hight, -173
Alexis DeJoria, -205
Tim Wilkerson, -303
Blake Alexander, -461
Top Fuel
Steve Torrence and the CAPCO boys just keep on rolling. Torrence gained his 50th career Top Fuel victory by defeating Team Scrappers Mike Salinas in the finals. Torrence qualified in the No. 2 position and extended his points lead over second-place Brittany Force by 105 heading into the final race of the season at Pomona.
“We’re not gonna do anything different,” he said of his approach,” Torrence said. “We’re just gonna go out there and try to win the race.
“This is just awesome,” he said of Sunday’s success, which earned him a unique version of the NHRA Wally trophy celebrating the organization’s 1,000th race. “All the glory goes to God and to my momma (Capco Racing boss ‘Momma Kay’ Torrence). To win the 1,000th NHRA race with these Capco boys is just unbelievable for a kid that had a dream to drive a Top Fuel car just one time.”
Torrence had a first-round match with Jim Maroney and won with a time of 3.751 seconds and 325.61 mph to face Tripp Tatum. Tatum had a major victory over Josh Hart in the first round. Meanwhile, Brittany Force faced Leah Pruett in the second and both drivers fouled on the tree but the win was given to Force as Pruett fouled first.
In the second round, the Kilgore, Texas native Torrence won over Tatum going 3.736 seconds and 328.62 mph to face No. 3 qualifier, Justin Ashley. Ashley had victories over Cameron Ferre and Alex Laughlin to set him up with Torrence in the semis. Torrence eliminated Ashley after laying down a time of 3.688 seconds and 329.58 mph to advance to the finals.
From there, Torrence was scheduled to face Mike Salinas, who was the previous Top Fuel winner back at Bristol a couple of weeks ago and it was at Bristol where both Torrence and Salinas faced each other as well. However, this time around, the victory went to the CAPCO driver for the 10th time in 2021.
Photo Courtesy of Mark Rebilas
The runner-up for Salinas was his third of the season and sixth of his Top Fuel career.
Top Fuel Results
Steve Torrence
Mike Salinas
Brittany Force
Justin Ashley
Billy Torrence
Alex laughlin
Tripp Tatum
Leah Pruett
Doug Kalitta
Shawn Langdon
Josh Hart
Clay Millican
Troy Buff
Jim Maroney
Antron Brown
Cameron Ferre
Top Fuel Championship Points Standings
Steve Torrence, 2,694
Brittany Force, -105
Mike Salinas, -172
Justin Ashley, -188
Billy Torrence, -283
Leah Pruett, -351
Clay Millican, -392
Antron Brown, -409
Shawn Langdon, -434
Doug Kalitta, -483
Pro Stock
Pro Stock returned to the races this weekend for a wild day of action. Dallas Glenn faced Erica Enders, who was second in points coming into Las Vegas. Glenn had a near-perfect reaction time of .001 compared to Enders’ .005 in the final round to claim the third win of his career, but the victory wasn’t easy.
First off, current Pro Stock points leader Greg Anderson kept the ball rolling by picking up the No. 1 qualifier in qualifying Saturday afternoon. The all-time winningest Pro Stock driver was paired in a first-round with Troy Coughlin Jr. Unfortunately for Anderson, his day was done early as Coughlin Jr. won by .001 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Glenn and Enders, eliminated Aaron Stanfield and Bo Butner, respectively, in the first round. In the second round, Glenn got a victory over Kenny Delco after Delco fouled which sent Glenn to face Mason McGaha in the semis. On Enders side of the coin, she got a victory over Matt Hartford and squared off with her teammate Troy Coughlin Jr. in the semis. Enders defeated Coughlin Jr. with a time of 6.680 seconds and a 203.61 mph pass.
“When I got by Aaron, I just relaxed and started clicking them off,” said Glenn, who posted a perfect .000 reaction time in a final round earlier this year. “I missed it a little in the semis against Mason and in the final, I was just trying to do everything I can. I had all the faith in this team and I knew the car was going to be good as long I did my job. I knew I was good on the tree, I hit all my shifts and I was just hoping the win light came on. It feels really good to go up there with a plan and then execute it.”
Pro Stock Results
Dallas Glenn
Erica Enders
Mason McGaha
Troy Coughlin Jr
Deric Kramer
Matt Hartford
Kenny Delco
Cristian Cuadra
Greg Anderson
Aaron Stanfield
Marty Robertson
Bo Butner
Alan Pruseinsky
Richie Stevens
Chris McGaha
Kyle Koretsky
Pro Stock Championship Standings
Greg Anderson, 2,565 points
Erica Enders, -32
Dallas Glenn, -109
Kyle Koretsky, -186
Troy Coughlin Jr, -220
Aaron Stanfield, -230
Chris McGaha, -253
Mason McGaha, -268
Matt Hartford, -296
Deric Kramer, -334
Pro Stock Motorcycle
After a disappointing first-round loss in Bristol to Ron Tornow, Johnson looked poised to bounce back at Vegas this weekend. He qualified in the second position with a time of 6.848 seconds and 196.24 mph for a first-round with No. 15 qualifier Charles Poskey.
Johnson won after going 6.874 seconds and 194.44 mph to claim his 251st Round 1 win. With the victory, he went on to face Angie Smith in the second round. Smith advanced by eliminating Scotty Pollacheck. In the semis, Johnson ended up facing Bristol winner Angelle Sampey and was once again a winner after laying down an ET of 6.877 seconds and 194.88 mph which saw him face Karen Stoffer in the finals.
During the final round match, Stoffer was able to leave first over Johnson but Stoffer went -.012 early and was eliminated in the finals, giving Johnson his third win of the year.
“It is very, very special to win this event, but it’s really about the championship,” Johnson said. “It took us 17 years to win our first national event and I’m a sucker for this sport. I really want to bring home a championship. I’d love to be a part of that championship fraternity and to be able to try to do it in our hometown is going to be really, really special.”
Stoffer had victories over Kelly Clontz, Jerry Savoie and the No. 1 qualifier Matt Smith.
The second-place finish was Stoffer’s 16th of her career and the second this year.
Pro Stock Motorcycle Results
Steve Johnson
Karen Stoffer
Matt Smith
Angelle Sampey
Jerry Savoie
Angie Smith
Chris Bostick
Eddie Krawiec
Joey Gladstone
Scotty Pollacheck
Andrew Hines
Kelly Clontz
Ryan Oehler
Freddie Camarena
Charles Poskey
Michael Phillips
Pro Stock Motorcycle Championship Standings
Matt Smith, 2,536 points
Steve Johnson, -20
Angelle Sampey, -30
Eddie Krawiec, -142
Karen Stoffer, -189
Scotty Pollacheck, -212
Angie Smith, -259
Joey Gladstone, -269
Andrew Hines, -327
Ryan Oehler, -355
Up Next: The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series will take one week off before heading to the final race of the 2021 season at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California November 11-14.
MARTINSVILLE, VIRGINIA - OCTOBER 31: Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, celebrates in the Ruoff Mortgage victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 31, 2021 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images).
The conclusion of the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, October 31, saw several competitors left with wrecked race cars and some expressing ill feelings towards others. Among those included several Playoff contenders fighting to remain in contention for the Championship 4 finale and the race winner, who had nothing to lose.
In the midst of the carnage and late chaos, Alex Bowman rallied from a late dust-up with Denny Hamlin to hold off Kyle Busch and claim his first triumph at Martinsville. The Tucson, Arizona, native served as the spoiler on a day where the Championship 4 field was set for next weekend’s finale at Phoenix Raceway.
The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Cup event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. With that, Kyle Larson, winner of the last three Cup scheduled events in the Playoffs, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Chase Elliott, Larson’s teammate and the reigning Cup Series champion.
Prior to the event, Denny Hamlin, one of the remaining eight Playoff contenders who was scheduled to start in third place, dropped to the rear of the field after his No. 11 FedEx Toyota failed pre-race inspection twice.
When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Larson, who started on the outside lane, jumped ahead with an early advantage and cleared teammate Elliott for the top spot through the first two turns. As he led the first lap, Truex also moved up to second, dropping Elliott to third in front of Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch.
Through the first 10 laps of the event, Larson’s No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was out in front by eight-tenths of a second over Truex’s No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry while Elliott, Keselowski and Logano were in the top five. Kyle Busch was in sixth followed by Logano, Kurt Busch, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell and Kevin Harvick. By then, Hamlin was in 29th behind Ryan Newman.
Ten laps later, Larson, who started to encounter lapped traffic, extended his advantage to more than a second over Truex, who had Elliott pressuring him for the runner-up spot. Playoff contenders Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Logano and Blaney were all still in the top 10 while Hamlin was preparing to move into the top 25.
Another 10 laps later, Larson continued to lead by more than a second over Truex and Elliott. With seven of the eight remaining Playoff contenders running first through seventh, Hamlin was mired in 25th behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Matt DiBenedetto.
By Lap 40, Larson was in heavy traffic despite leading by more than a second. Meanwhile, teammate Elliott overtook Truex for second place while Hamlin was still mired outside the top 20 in 23rd behind Cole Custer and within Larson’s sights of being lapped.
Through the first 50 laps of the event, Larson had his advantage decreased to less than half a second amid lapped traffic and with teammate Elliott catching him. While Truex, Keselowski and Kyle Busch were in the top five, Hamlin was in 21st behind Erik Jones. Logano was in sixth and teammate Blaney was in ninth.
Six laps later, Elliott muscled his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to the lead after overtaking teammate Larson through Turns 3 and 4.
When the competition caution flew on Lap 60, Elliott retained the lead ahead of teammate Larson and Truex while Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Logano, William Byron, Alex Bowman, Blaney and Austin Dillon were in the top 10. By then, Hamlin, who remained on the lead lap, was in 20th behind Erik Jones. In addition, only 22 of 38 competitors were on the lead lap.
Under the competition caution, the leaders pitted and Larson reassumed the lead after exiting his pit stall in first place ahead of teammate Elliott, Truex, Keselowski, Logano and Kyle Busch. Following the pit stops, Hamlin was penalized for speeding on pit road and sent to the rear of the field once again.
Seven laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Larson received another strong start on the outside lane to retain the lead through the first two turns and coming back to the start/finish line. Behind, Elliott battled Keselowski for second while Truex battled Byron for fourth. Soon after, Elliott cleared the field to retain second while Truex went to work on Keselowski for third. The following lap, Truex cleared Keselowski to retain third while Logano challenged Byron for fifth.
Just past the Lap 70 mark, the caution returned when Daniel Suarez made contact with Ryan Newman, sending Newman spinning in Turn 4 as he collected Michael McDowell while Hamlin carved his way through the incident.
On Lap 76, the race restarted under green. At the start, Larson again rocketed ahead with a strong start on the outside lane before moving back to the inside lane. Behind, Elliott retained second while Truex challenged Keselowski for third.
A few laps later, Keselowski dropped to fifth as Truex and William Byron moved up the leaderboard. While Kyle Busch and Blaney were in eighth and ninth, Hamlin was in 21st behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
On Lap 85, Elliott returned to the lead after overtaking teammate Larson for the top spot.
By Lap 90, Elliott was leading by eight-tenths of a second over teammate Larson while Truex, Byron and Keselowski remained in the top five. Kyle Busch, Logano and Blaney were in sixth, seventh and eighth while Hamlin was in 20th behind Erik Jones.
A few laps later, Blaney made contact with Austin Dillon entering the frontstretch and while battling in the top 10, which resulted with the left-rear fender of Blaney’s No. 12 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang sustaining cosmetic damage near the fuel cell.
Through the first 100 laps of the event, Elliott was leading by nearly six-tenths of a second over teammate Larson while Truex, Byron and Keselowski were in the top five. Kyle Busch and Logano were in sixth and seventh while Blaney, who was struggling with he left-rear damage, was back in 11th behind Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman and Christopher Bell. Meanwhile, Hamlin was in 16th behind Kevin Harvick, Bubba Wallace and Stenhouse.
Twenty laps later, Elliott, who was surrounded in lapped traffic, continued to lead by half a second over teammate Larson while Truex, Byron, Keselowski and Kyle Busch were in the top six. Logano was in eighth, Blaney was in 12th and Hamlin was in 14th behind Harvick.
When the first stage concluded on Lap 130, Elliott claimed his fifth stage victory of the season. Teammate Larson settled in second followed by Truex, Byron, Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Bowman, Logano and Aric Almirola. Blaney was in 12th behind Bell and Hamlin remained in 14th behind Harvick.
Under the stage break, the leaders returned to pit road and upon exiting the pits, Larson reassumed the lead followed by teammate Elliott, Truex, Kyle Busch, Keselowski and Byron. However, early disaster struck for Larson, who was busted for speeding on pit road and sent to the rear of the field.
The second stage started on Lap 140 as Elliott and Truex occupied the front row. At the start, Elliott retained the lead over Truex through the first two turns as Kyle Busch battled Keselowski for third.
A few laps later, Keselowski, who was mired on the outside lane, settled in sixth in between Bell and teammate Logano as Elliott led a long single-file line around the circuit.
By Lap 150, Elliott continued to lead by nearly four-tenths of a second over Truex while Kyle Busch, Byron and Bell were in the top five. Keselowski settled in sixth ahead of Bowman, Logano, Harvick and Almirola. Behind, Hamlin was in 11th in front of Bubba Wallace, Blaney was in 18th in between Tyler Reddick and rookie Chase Briscoe, and Larson was in 21st behind Austin Dillon.
Ten laps later, Elliott stabilized his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Truex while Byron was up in third. By then, Hamlin cracked the top 10 in 10th while Logano was back in 12th. In addition, Larson was back up in the top 20 while Blaney was still mired in 18th.
Another 15 laps later, Elliott continued to lead by more than a second over Truex while Byron, Bowman and Kyle Busch were in the top five. Keselowski was in seventh, Hamlin was up in ninth, Logano was back in 13th, Larson was in 15th and Blaney was back in 19th.
Nearing the Lap 200 mark, the caution flew due to an incident involving Austin Dillon in Turn 2, where Dillon lost a right-front tire and smacked the outside wall. At the time of caution, Blaney, who was 19th, was just able to remain ahead of the race leader Elliott and on the lead lap.
Under caution, the leaders pitted and Truex emerged with the lead after exiting the pits in first followed by Elliott, Byron, Bowman and Kyle Busch. Following the event, Tyler Reddick was penalized for speeding on pit road.
When the race restarted on Lap 202, Truex briefly retained the lead through the first two turns until Elliott fought back entering Turn 3 on the outside lane. After remaining dead even through the frontstretch, past the start/finish line and entering the first turn, Elliott muscled his No. 9 Chevrolet back to the lead through the backstretch on Lap 205.
With Elliott leading, Truex retained second ahead of Byron while Kyle Busch was in fourth ahead of Bowman, Bell and Keselowski. Hamlin and Larson were in eighth and ninth while Logano was falling back in 17th ahead of teammate Blaney.
By Lap 225, Elliott was leading by more than a second over teammate Byron while Truex, Bowman and Kyle Busch were in the top five. Bell, Hamlin, Keselowski, Almirola and Larson were in the top 10 while Team Penske’s Blaney and Logano were mired back in 17th and 18th.
Fifteen laps later, three Hendrick Motorsports competitors (Elliott, Bowman and Byron) were leading three Joe Gibbs Racing competitors (Truex, Bell and Hamlin). Keselowski and Larson were in ninth and 11th, Kyle Busch was in eighth behind Aric Almiorla, Blaney was in 14th behind Chris Buescher and Logano was still mired in 18th behind Bubba Wallace and Erik Jones.
At the halfway mark on Lap 250, Elliott continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Bowman while third-place Byron trailed by more less than two seconds. Truex retained fourth while Hamlin cracked the top five in fifth ahead of teammate Bell. Almirola, Kyle Busch, Keselowski and Kurt Busch were in the top 10 while Larson, Blaney and Logano were in 11th, 14th and 18th.
When the second stage concluded on Lap 260, Elliott, who was mired in lapped traffic, captured his sixth stage victory of the season. Teammates Bowman and Byron settled in second and third followed by Truex and Hamlin while Bell, Almirola, Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch rounded out the top 10. Larson ended up 11th, Blaney was in 13th and Logano was mired in 18th. By then, half of the 38 starters were scored on the lead lap.
By virtue of capturing both stage victories of the event and accumulating maximum stage points, Elliott became the second competitor to clinch a spot in the Championship 4 round alongside teammate Larson as he will receive an opportunity to defend his series championship.
Following both stages, teammates Hamlin and Truex were scored inside the top-four cutline to transfer to the Championship 4 finale while Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Blaney and Logano were scored outside the cutline.
Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Elliott, Bowman, Hamlin, Almirola, Byron and Truex. Following the pit stops, Kyle Busch was sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road.
With 231 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Elliott managed to clear teammate Bowman on the outside lane to retain the lead. Behind, Bowman retained second while Hamlin battled Almirola for third. Behind, Truex battled Larson for sixth as Hamlin took over third ahead of Almirola and Byron.
Ten laps later, Elliott was leading by more than a second over Hamlin, who overtook Bowman for the runner-up spot. Byron and Almirola were in the top five followed by Truex, Bell, Larson, Kurt Busch and Keselowski. Blaney was in 11th behind teammate Keselowski, Logano was in 17th and Kyle Busch was mired back in 20th behind Reddick. By then, Justin Haley pitted under green after experiencing a major left-rear tire rub.
Another 10 laps later, Elliott continued to lead while teammates Bowman and Byron moved up to second and third, dropping Hamlin to fourth.
Down to the final 200 laps of the event, Elliott was leading by nearly two seconds over teammate Bowman while third-place Byron trailed by more than three seconds. Hamlin remained in fourth ahead of Almirola followed by Truex and Larson while Bell, Blaney and Kurt Busch were in the top 10. Keselowski was in 11th, teammate Logano was in 15th and Kyle Busch was in 19th.
Ten laps later, the caution returned when Michael McDowell made contact with Corey LaJoie entering Turn 3, which resulted with LaJoie getting into Josh Bilicki and sending Bilicki sideways and into the outside wall.
Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road and Elliott, Hamlin, Bowman, Byron, Truex and Almirola. Following the pit stops, Wallace was penalized for speeding on pit road.
With 181 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Elliott rocketed away with the lead on the inside lane while Hamlin spun the tires on the topside lane as he was hit in the rear by Byron’s No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.
While Elliott retained the lead, Bowman also remained in second while Hamlin battled Truex for third. Shortly after, the caution flew due to an incident in Turn 3 involving Bilicki and Quin Houff, who made contact into the outside wall after being bumped by Bilicki. Following the incident, Houff retaliated by turning Bilicki in the backstretch. As a result, Houff was held five seconds in his pit stall as a penalty.
With 171 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Elliott retained the lead following a strong start on the outside lane over teammate Bowman while Hamlin stabilized himself in third ahead of teammate Truex and Byron. Behind, Almirola was in sixth while Larson battled with Bell for seventh.
Under the final 170 laps of the event, more issues came for Blaney, who was inside the top 15 but experiencing a left-rear tire rub near his damaged spot.
With 161 laps remaining, the caution returned when Newman, Cole Custer and Ross Chastain made contact entering Turn 2, which resulted with Newman getting sideways, clipping Chastain and making contact into the outside wall while Chastain went up the track in Turn 3 with a flat right-front tire and damage to the right side of his No. 42 Clover Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. As Chastain was trying to continue, Newman bumped into the side of Chastain’s car to express his displeasure for the contact.
Under caution, the leaders led by Elliott pitted while Joey Logano remained on the track.
With 155 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Logano, faced in a “must-win” situation to retain his title hopes, retained the lead through the backstretch ahead of Elliott. Behind, Bowman was in third while teammate Larson challenged Truex for fourth.
Six laps remaining, Elliott, racing on four fresh tires, reassumed the lead. Not long after, teammates Bowman and Larson methodically overtook Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang for second and third as Truex then issued a challenge on Logano.
With 142 laps remaining, the caution flew when Cole Custer spun in Turn 4. During the caution period, Truex radioed concerns about his car pushing water despite continuing in fourth.
Four laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Elliott aced the launch with a strong start on the outside lane, where he was pursued by Bowman, Truex and Larson. Behind, Byron moved into fifth while Hamlin challenged Logano for sixth.
With 122 laps remaining, the caution returned when Daniel Suarez spun in Turn 2.
Under caution, the leaders pitted and Elliott exited as the leader followed by Truex, Hamlin, Byron, Logano and Kyle Busch. Following the pit stops, Larson was nabbed with his second pit road speeding penalty of the day. In addition, Matt DiBenedetto was being held a lap for pitting outside his pit box.
Back on the track, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick remained on the track along with Custer while Elliott, the first competitor on four fresh tires, were in fourth.
With 116 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Austin Dillon briefly retained the lead for a full lap under green before Truex, who was ready to go on the restart and drew himself alongside Dillon, made his way into the lead the following lap. Behind, Hamlin made his way into the runner-up spot over Dillon while Elliott was mired in sixth behind Reddick and Logano.
With 111 laps remaining, Hamlin, following his eventful drive to the front all race long, emerged with the lead.
A few laps later, Elliott made contact with Logano in Turn 1, where he nearly turned Logano before he took over the fourth spot. Meanwhile, Hamlin continued to lead ahead of teammate Truex and Austin Dillon.
Down to the final 100 laps of the event and with the field scrambling around the track, Hamlin was leading by half a second over teammate Truex while Elliott, Austin Dillon and Bowman were in the top five. Logano was in sixth while Kyle Busch, Keselowski and Byron battled for positions. Blaney was in 16th while Larson was in 21st.
Ten laps later, Hamlin stabilized his advantage to half a second over teammate Truex while third-place Elliott continued to trail by more than a second. Logano, Keselowski and Kyle Busch remained in the top 10 while Blaney and Larson remained inside the top 20.
Another 15 laps later, Hamlin continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Truex. Bowman was up in third ahead of teammate Elliott while Keselowski, currently situated on the outside of the top-four cutline, was in fifth. Austin Dillon continued to ride strong in sixth while Logano, Byron, Almirola and Bell were in the top 10. Kyle Busch, who continued to deal with handling issues to his No. 18 M&M’s Halloween Toyota Camry, was in 11th ahead of brother Kurt while Blaney and Larson were in 15th and 16th.
With 64 laps remaining, the caution flew when Austin Dillon blew a right-front tire and made contact with the Turn 2 outside wall for a second time.
Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road and Hamlin exited with the lead followed by Bowman, Elliott, Truex and Keselowski.
With less than 60 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Hamlin retained the lead ahead of Bowman. While Elliott was in third, Truex was in fourth ahead of Byron and Keselowski.
Shortly after, Bowman issued a challenge on Hamlin for the lead. Despite Bowman’s efforts in overtaking Hamlin for the lead, Hamlin retained the lead. Behind, Keselowski, now within striking distance of making the top-four cutline to the finale, was mired in fourth and aggressively racing against Elliott for more. Meanwhile, Truex slipped to sixth in front of teammate Kyle Busch as he started to experience a left-front tire rub to his car.
With 46 laps remaining, the caution flew when Keselowski ran into the side of Elliott as Elliott spun in Turn 3, though he continued and pitted to have the damage repaired on his car. The incident occurred as both Cup champions were repeatedly battling for third place, with Keselowski wasting no time making his way to the front.
Six laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Hamlin retained the top spot ahead of Bowman and Keselowski. Not long after, the caution returned when Stenhouse spun in Turn 4 beneath Larson while Wallace sustained heavy damage to the front nose of his No. 23 DoorDash Toyota Camry after running into the rear of Elliott’s car.
Down to the final 34 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Hamlin rocketed away with another strong start while Keselowski battled Bowman for the runner-up spot.
Soon after, Truex, who was running behind Keselowski and Bowman with both making contact and resulting with Bowman getting a left-front tire rub, began to challenge both for second place. He attempted to make a three-wide move on both, but backed out and lost time and a handful of spots outside of the top five.
Then, Almirola made contact with Truex while battling him for sixth in Turn 1, which sent Truex wide. As Truex was trying to come back down to his rhythm, Kurt Busch made contact into him as Truex smacked the outside wall and lost more spots on the track. Soon after, the caution returned when Ryan Preece spun in Turn 2. By then, Truex was scored outside of the top-four cutline along with Keselowski while Kyle Busch found himself inside the cutline by a single point.
With 23 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Hamlin received another strong start on the inside lane to retain the lead while Bowman overtook Keselowski for second. The following lap, Bowman made his way into the lead. Hamlin, however, fought back in Turn 1 and bumped into Bowman to reassume the lead.
Behind Hamlin, Kyle Busch challenged Bowman for second along with Keselowski and Byron. Truex, meanwhile, was in 10th.
With 15 laps remaining, Hamlin continued to lead by a narrow margin over Bowman while Kyle Busch was trying to fend off Keselowski and Byron for third. Truex was in eighth, Logano was in 10th and Blaney was in 12th.
A few laps later, Bowman issued another side-by-side challenge for the lead against Hamlin, but he was unable to seal the deal as Hamlin retained the lead.
Down to the final 10 laps, Hamlin continued to lead by a narrow margin over Bowman. Kyle Busch and Keselowski were in third and fourth while Truex was in eighth while challenging Kurt Busch for a position. Once Truex overtook Kurt Busch for seventh, he moved back into the cutline by a single point over Kyle Busch with Keselowski trailing by six.
Then, the caution returned three laps later when Bowman, following his late intense, repetitive battle with Hamlin, made contact into Hamlin, sending Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota spinning into the Turn 3 outside wall, though Hamlin continued with little left-rear damage. The incident now placed Hamlin, who pitted for repairs, within the bubble zone of remaining inside the top-four cutline.
With the race sent into overtime, Bowman and Kyle Busch occupied the front row ahead of Keselowski and Truex. At the start, Bowman was able to retain the lead ahead of Kyle Busch, Keselowski and the field.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Bowman was still ahead by two-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Kyle Busch, who had to win to keep his title hopes alive. While Busch tried to establish a final lap effort, he could not close in to the rear bumper of Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet as Bowman continued to lead through Turn 3. Finally, through Turn 4 and while Busch had to maintain second ahead of Keselowski, Bowman was able to come back around and claim the checkered flag following an eventful turn of events.
The victory at Martinsville was Bowman’s fourth of the season and the sixth of his Cup career despite having his title hopes evaporated following the Round of 12. Bowman’s win was enough for Chevrolet to achieve its 40th Cup manufacturer’s title and first since 2015.
While trying to celebrate on the frontstretch, however, Bowman could not escape controversy as Hamlin, who ended the race in 24th place, pulled his car alongside Bowman’s. While Bowman attempted to pull away and tried to celebrate by looping the car around, Hamlin immediately pulled his car in front of Bowman’s and smoked his tires while pushing against Bowman’s and giving him two obscene gestures before he drove away under orders from his crew. Once Hamlin was gone, Bowman saluted the fans, who greeted him with a chorus of cheers, and claimed the checkered flag.
“I just got loose in,” Bowman said on NBC. “I got in too deep, knocked [Hamlin] out of the way and literally, let him have the lead back. For anybody who wants to think that I was trying to crash him, that obviously wasn’t the case, considering I literally gave up the lead at Martinsville to give it back to him. He’s been on the other side of that. He’s crashed guys here for wins. I hate doing it. Obviously, I don’t want to crash somebody. I just got in, got loose underneath him and spun him out. Regardless, we get a freakin’ Grandfather Clock. It’s pretty special. I’ve struggled here for a long time. I was trying to get the flag, do a backwards victory lap. Obviously, like I said, [I] hate we wrecked [Hamlin], but man, how about that for Chevrolet and Ally and everybody on this No. 48 team. The No. 48 car’s won here a bunch. It’s cool to do it again…Part of short track racing.”
Despite the incident, Hamlin’s 24th-place result was enough for him to earn a spot in the Championship 4 finale, where he will contend for his first NASCAR Cup Series championship. Hamlin, however, did not mince his words or ill feelings to Bowman following the incident and missing an opportunity of winning at his home track.
“[Bowman]’s just a hack,” Hamlin, who received a chorus of boos from the crowd, said. “He’s just an absolute hack. He gets his [expletive] kicked by his teammates every week. He’s [expletive] terrible, just terrible. He sees one opportunity and he takes it. Obviously, he’s got the fastest car every week and he runs 10th. He didn’t want to race us there. We had a good clean race. I moved up as high as I could on the racetrack to give him all the room I could and he still can’t drive. We got in [the Playoffs]. We did what we had to do, but I just wanted to race there at the end. He’s just terrible.”
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images.
Behind Bowman, Kyle Busch claimed second over Keselowski just before Keselowski, who made contact with Busch prior to the finish line, turned Busch in Turn 1 after the checkered flag. Truex held on for fourth place over Byron and was able to claim the fourth and final transfer spot to the Championship 4 finale by three points, where he will contend for his second Cup title. Busch and Keselowski, however, were eliminated from the Playoffs.
“The Auto-Owners Toyota Camry was good, first of all,” Truex said. “We had a solid day. We weren’t the winning car, but we were a third- or fourth-place car all day long and that’s where we ran. Everything’s going smooth and then, [Keselowski] and [Kyle Busch] came up there at the front kind of out of nowhere. I got some damage running side-by-side with [Keselowski], fell back and then, [Almirola] stuffed me three wide or whatever out of the groove down there in Turn 1 and 2 and then, the marbles and then, [Kurt Busch] come by and clip my left front, drove me into the fence off of [Turn] 2. I was like, ‘Oh damn, we’re in big trouble here.’ Then, [the crew] say we’re out. Just dig deep, fight back and do all we could do after that. [I] Got a little break after that last restart. A bunch of guys went to the bottom [lane] and I’d seen the hole up there and I was like, ‘I gotta go for it.’ That worked out for us. Just thanks to everybody that helps us all year long to get to this point, everybody at the shop…Hopefully, we can go to Phoenix next week and make [my partners] proud. We’re excited. That’s what we do this for. All these guys work so hard all week and all year long to have this opportunity. It’s a dream come true for me. I love racing with these guys. I love having this opportunity. We’ve had it before. We won one [championship] and lost a few really, really close. We’ll see what we can do. We had a great race at Phoenix in the spring and learned a lot about that racetrack. Hopefully, we can duplicate it.”
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images.
“We just missed last week [at Kansas Speedway],” Kyle Busch said. “That’s where we lost all the ground. Couldn’t come in here with 15 more points and we would’ve been fine on the cut, but it just wasn’t it and wasn’t meant to be. Obviously, it was Truex’s day. We had a Hail Mary opportunity there at the end and just didn’t materialize. All in all, just proud of the effort, for sure. We swung everything and anything at this thing today, and just couldn’t really make it come alive. Great effort. That was there, for sure. We just got to get better, with everybody included, the whole team, in order to be able to go race with the best and race for a championship, and we’re not gonna do that this year. Anytime you go into a season with Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing, this No. 18 M&M’s team, myself, you expect to be in contention and eligible [for the championship]. Anything other than that is a failure. I guess you get an F.”
“Well, at the start of the race, we were OK, and then, we got really tight in the middle of the race, finally got it freed up and the car started rolling,” Keselowski, who missed the cutline by eight points, said. “At the end, it was just super free. I was so loose. I got underneath [Elliott], got loose and spun him out, just all I could do to hold on to the car. We got it better and put ourselves in position. Just wasn’t quite strong enough there at the end. Disappointing. All in all, we gave it a great run here. Wished I could have last week at Kansas back, that’s for sure. I felt like I left the eight points that we were short there with some mistakes I made. All in all, proud of our team, proud of the effort that everybody put in. Disappointed for Team Penske to not get through to the final round, but we gave it our best. Frustrating day…Super proud of everything we’ve done together.”
Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. have made the Championship 4 round and will contend for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series championship. Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano have been eliminated from title contention.
“We’re moving on,” Elliott, who finished 16th, said. “That’s all that matters. I had a really fast NAPA Chevy early. I made a couple of mistakes and think led us down the wrong path for those last couple runs, unfortunately. The pace was certainly in the car. Great day for Hendrick Motorsports. Got two cars going into Phoenix and Alex getting the win. Wished we could’ve won it. I hate to be so fast all day and it not work out, but obviously, next week is what matters. That’s where our heads are at. Excited to get out there and have another shot at it…Really proud of this group to make it for a second consecutive year and being amongst those four cars is a big deal. Very excited to have a shot. I think we can run with the best of them and we’re looking forward to the opportunity.”
“Just a really bad job executing on my part,” Larson, who finished 14th, said. “Just way too aggressive on pit road, but me being locked in to the next round, I could be a little more aggressive. Just too aggressive too many times. My car was pretty decent the first half and I started getting tight in the middle. We adjusted on it. Then, I sped [on pit road] again and I was just stuck in traffic. [I] Knew I wasn’t gonna have a shot to win, so I was just trying not to piss anybody off. Came away with 14th. We’ll go on to Phoenix and try to get a championship.”
“From the get-go, we were struggling to get [the car] turning to two-thirds,” Logano, who finished 10th, said. “We raised the track bar and that made it loose everywhere except where I wanted it to turn. Put that back, tried something else and got at least closer, but all we’re doing is compromising at that point. We weren’t good enough. We didn’t get in, wasn’t close enough, didn’t fire off as fast enough. Now, we’ll got to Phoenix and try to finish as high as we can with the Shell/Pennzoil Mustang and this team. We fought hard this season. We just weren’t fast enough. We’ll fire away next week.”
“Overall, we just kind of missed it,” Blaney, who finished 11th, added. “We weren’t really great from the get-go. Worked hard on it all day. Had one run, I thought, we’d kind of got where we needed to be, drove up to eighth or seventh. I was like, ‘Alright, we got something now we can really work on.’ We made a change. The next run, we were back to where we were…Just wasn’t really the right combination today. Stinks, but appreciate everybody on the No. 12 group for working on it all night. It was wild out there, that’s for sure. Stinks we’re not gonna race for a championship at Phoenix, but I appreciate all the hard work this year…Still got one more race. Hopefully, we can go have a good run and maybe, get [crew chief] Todd [Gordon] one more win before he hangs it up.”
Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch, Erik Jones, Chris Buescher and Logano completed the top 10 on the track at Martinsville.
There were 15 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured 15 cautions for 91 laps.
With the Championship 4 field set, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season is set to conclude next weekend at Phoenix Raceway. The finale is scheduled to occur on Sunday, November 7, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, where a champion will be crowned.
NASCAR CUP SERIES MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY XFINITY 500 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT OCTOBER 31, 2021
ALEX BOWMAN, CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE SCORES VICTORY AT MARTINSVILLE Team Chevy Scores 18th NCS Victory of 2021
RIDGEWAY, Va. (October 31, 2021) – Behind the wheel of his No., 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, Alex Bowman stole the show and captured the checkered flag in the Xfinity 500, the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Round of 8 elimination race at Martinsville Speedway. The win is Bowman’s fourth of the 2021 season – first at the famed Virginia short track – and sixth career victory for the 28-year-old from Tucson, Arizona. Bowman’s trip to victory lane marked the 18th win of the season for the Camaro ZL1 1LE; the 58th for Chevrolet at Martinsville; and 813th all-time victory for Chevrolet in NASCAR’s premier division.
Heading into the Championship race weekend at Phoenix Raceway, Chevrolet occupies two of the four Championship 4 spots to battle for the Bowtie brand’s 33rd NCS Driver Championship. Chase Elliott entered into the vital Playoff race second in the Driver Standings, 34 points above the cutline. The 25-year-old driver took the green flag from outside of the front row, alongside teammate Kyle Larson, for the 500-mile race at the Virginia short track. Elliott swept the Stage wins, ultimately clinching his spot to advance to the Championship 4 at the conclusion of Stage Two and his chance to defend his Championship title. Elliott joins Larson in the Championship battle, who is making his first-career appearance in the Championship 4.
The Camaro ZL1 1LE took two of the top-five and four of the top-10 in the final running order. Hendrick Motorsports teammate, William Byron, drove his No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 1LE to a fifth-place finish, giving Byron his 12th top-five this season. Kurt Busch, No.1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE, finished 7th; and Erik Jones, No. 43 Goody’s Cool Orange Camaro ZL1, rounded out the Team Chevy top-10 in a strong eighth-place finish.
Kyle Busch (Toyota) was second, Brad Keselowski (Ford) was third and Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota) was fourth to round out the top-five finishers.
The NASCAR Cup Series season concludes next weekend at Phoenix Raceway with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship on Sunday, November 7, at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage of the 312-lap, 312-mile race can be found on NBC, NBC Sports Gold, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE; AND GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Race Win Press Conference Transcript:
THE MODERATOR: We’ll roll into our post-race press conference here at Martinsville. We’ve been joined by our race winner Alex Bowman.
Alex, give us your thoughts on the final laps and ultimately taking home the victory.
ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, definitely extremely happy to be able to get a fourth win for the 48 this year. It’s been a rough couple months on us since we started the Playoffs. To come here with such a fast race car, the capability of winning is awesome.
Hate that we got into the 11. Unintentional. I just got underneath him and spun him out. I’d be mad, too. I get it. But he’s been on the other side of that enough to understand. Glad to come out of it with a trophy.
THE MODERATOR: We’ll go to questions.
Q. (No microphone.) ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, so he crashed me at Texas last year. Texted me and apologized. Said he’d give me a ride on his jet.
I don’t know. We’re even, I guess, after that. He crashed the heck out of me there. He got loose underneath me, exact same thing just on a bigger racetrack. Yeah, sarcasm there obviously. Just my point is the shoe has been on the other foot. Like we’ve been on both sides of it.
Q. Has to be kind of a surreal thing. You’re doing your burnout, there’s a dude facing you, ramming your car. What was that moment like? ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, have you ever been to Bowman Gray Stadium? I’ve gone there and watched. That’s what it felt like. When they had that TV show with the mods running there, I watched the heck out of that. It was really entertaining then. Not so entertaining when you’re living it.
Just didn’t want to be a part of that, make us both look dumb. So I just tried to not be a part of it. I wasn’t going to try to do stuff like that. That’s not who I am.
Yeah, I understand why he’s mad. I’d be mad, too. I drove off into the corner, got loose, spun him out. At the same time I didn’t do it on purpose. If I did, I’d tell you. That’s part of it.
Q. Four wins for the season. Looking back at the year, great way to finish off the year. ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, these last couple months have been painful. It’s been so frustrating. Honestly, our teammates have kicked our butts for quite a while now. I think Greg and myself have both been pretty down and frustrated, not understood what was going on. We weren’t doing things any differently. We weren’t approaching weekends differently. We just have been off.
To come to a place that was probably our worst place when we started together, have such a good day, get another win, it feels great. Obviously four wins this year feels great. Wish we were in the Round of 4. We just need to figure out consistency and this team will be something really, really special.
THE MODERATOR: Crew chief Greg Ives has joined, as well.
Q. Greg, you have shown at times since you’ve been together you’ll string together four or five races, then these moments where things are going the other direction. Why is the lack of consistency a problem? GREG IVES: I don’t know. I’m still looking for it.
Obviously that’s a great question that doesn’t really have a great answer. Honestly, there’s times when it’s because you’re going to a racetrack that you’re not necessarily good at. Martinsville, Richmond were tough racetracks for us. We were able to come out and win at them. In the spring race I feel like we had a solid race car. To be able to come back here and probably even have a better one.
It’s hard to say. We took ourselves out early. I wish I a hundred percent knew what that was. I feel like as an organization we have contributed to success by being a great teammate and being somewhat innovative with certain setups and stuff like that.
Honestly, the consistency is something that’s always wavered for us for whatever reason. Last year the Playoffs was one of our most consistent ever. Summer was not. Before the Playoffs started I think you could say start of the year was really good for us, then middle and end has not been.
It’s a long year. It takes a lot of toll not only on us as driver and crew chief but the team as well. When you’re living it every day, sometimes — maybe I should ask the media, What do you guys see? When you’re so focused on it, sometimes the easiest thing just misses you.
Q. Alex, you doubled your career win total in one year. If somebody said before the year you’ll win four races this year, not make the Final 4, how would you have viewed that? ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, I mean, I think I was really confident coming into this year. We entered the Playoffs super strong last year. I feel like we didn’t get much credit for it, but I think we scored the second most points of anybody, didn’t have the Playoff points to fall back on because our summer wasn’t it needed to be. Finished sixth in points, were really fast.
I was confident coming into this year. But the thing that I’ve always circled is to just try to be consistent, consistently run well. We’ve struggled to do that. It’s really hard for me to be super excited right now. The beginning of the season if you told me I was going to win four times, I’d be pretty excited.
Wish we were going to Phoenix with a chance to win the championship. It has been painful to kind of go through the Playoffs the way they’ve been. But it’s awesome to at least start to end the year on a strong note.
Q. Alex, how do you race next weekend your teammates versus the Gibbs drivers? ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, for sure. Respectfully. I feel like I try to race as respectful as I can. Mistakes happen. Obviously today probably doesn’t appear that way. Like I drove off in the corner and jacked the 11 up, carried him off in the corner, passed him, then pulled over and let him go the next straightaway to try to pass him clean.
Respectfully next week, no matter who it is. We’re going there to get a trophy. At the same time we ought to be respectful with what those four guys have going on.
Q. When something like what happens today happens, how do you handle that? Will you two talk during the week? Not specifically you and Denny, but when it happens between two drivers, how do you handle something like that? ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, if the front straightaway thing wouldn’t have happened, I would have already talked to him.
I don’t like drama. I’m pretty shy and keep to myself, do my own thing. This isn’t the most comfortable situation for me. At the same time I’m paid to win races. That’s what we’re here to do. We’ll talk this week. He’s got so much going on with trying to go win a championship. Understandably he’s probably, after tonight, more focused on other things.
I think the last thing he wants is for us two to continue anything next week. We’ll just hopefully talk. He’s going to be mad. I have my side of the story. It’s not going to make him any happier, but I’ll tell him, we’ll go from there.
Q. Only thing I can guarantee you this year they had Denny and Chase on a commercial, guaranteed to be in the commercial next year. Clay loves to show the track. How do you feel about that? ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, I think big picture, at the end of the day, not really race car driver at some point. At some point we’re entertainers. Whether you loved it or hated it, you’re mad about it, you’re jumping for joy, a lot of people were probably pretty dang entertained. Hopefully it’s good for the sport. I think rivalries are good for the sport. It’s kind of what made NASCAR short-track racing.
Q. You’d want to be in the Championship 4 at Phoenix, but what kind of a boost does this victory give for your team? ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, we needed something after the Playoff run that we’ve had. Means a lot to me. I would assume to Greg.
I mean, obviously it can all go a different direction next week. If we could just end the season strong next week at Phoenix, that’s been a place that’s been pretty rough on us over the years. Going to the off-season with a lot of unknowns. Having positive momentum ending this way is good. GREG IVES: For sure, when the question about making it to the Championship 4 is never going to be a question before the consistency. For us always trying to get that momentum going into the off-season. Obviously there’s things we have done right, there’s things we’ve done not so well. We just got to continue to focus on that.
It means a lot for us to win here. Any Cup race, it’s such a tough sport. But to win here at Martinsville, the history, legacy, tragedy that happened here at Martinsville is a huge deal for me. I know it’s something that we want to represent well.
Q. Throughout the Playoffs Kyle has been wracking up wins. Sometimes the Hendrick drivers have been some of his toughest competition. At what point did you feel you were in that situation, where you felt you have a car that can contend? ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, honestly I was confident coming here after how strong we were in the spring. I felt really good really early. We gave guys a lot of breaks early in the race, which ended up putting me in situations that hurt us, like when the 12 brake-checked 3, cost us spots, we had damage, had to fix it on pit stops and stuff like that.
I think it probably masked how good we were early, but I think we had a really fast race car the whole time. Passed a ton of race cars today. Definitely felt strong all day.
Q. Greg, as the end of the race wound down, Alex found himself in the mix of Playoff drivers, were you focused on anything other than his situation? GREG IVES: Yeah, I mean, sometimes if you get too far past what your performance is, you lose sight, maybe get inconsistent.
For us knowing that we had a strong run in the spring and trying to build off of that. Alex drives this place different than our teammates. It requires a different setup for him. We’ve proved that Richmond, Martinsville and now again here that we’re able to take his feedback and tailor it to what he wants in a race car and come out successful.
For sure, like he said, early in the race there were times when you knew people were going to be aggressive and knew who had to win and who didn’t, just let it string out, knew we had a fast car, instead of taking a fender off of it, waiting for it to string out and get by them that way.
Q. Were you aware that Hamlin most likely was getting in as long as he stayed on the lead lap? Did that impact the way you raced him? ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, I knew he was pretty well locked in. I don’t think it really did. I think I would have raced him the way I did regardless. Made every attempt to race him clean. Finally just got loose underneath him.
I think this whole garage knows that I race pretty clean. You’re racing for wins on a short track, you’re maxed out. I was loose in all day, finally just got loose in.
I feel like if he was fighting for a Playoff spot or on the outside looking in, I would have raced him the same. Here to win races. At the end of the day that’s kind of all that matters.
Q. What are you going to do with the clock? ALEX BOWMAN: I don’t have a place for it. I haven’t even thought that far ahead. Way too much drama for my brain to process. I don’t really know what to do with myself up there. A little awkward.
Yeah, I don’t really have a good spot for it the way my house is. I’m going to have to knock a wall down or something, construction project going on this winter.
GREG IVES: Maybe we’ll do that tonight.
ALEX BOWMAN: Never know when Greg comes to the party. It gets pretty ugly sometimes. He sprayed beer on my ceiling once so anything can happen.
GREG IVES: How did that happen? Next question.
ALEX BOWMAN: Greg was no longer in the building. His name was Hansel.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
About Chevrolet Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M’S Halloween Toyota Camry Race Recap for the Xfinity 500
Date: Oct. 31, 2021 Event: Xfinity 500 (Round 35 of 36) Series: NASCAR Cup Series Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (.526-mile oval) Format: 500 laps, broken into three stages (130 laps/130 laps/240 laps) Note: Race extended one lap past its scheduled 500-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish. Start/Finish: 7th/2nd (Running, completed 501 of 501 laps) Point Standing: 9th (2,285 points, Does Not Advance to Championship 4) Race Winner: Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 2 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-130):
● Kyle Busch started seventh and finished sixth, earning five bonus points.
● The M&M’S Halloween driver was running fifth when the yellow flag was shown on lap 60 for the competition caution. He pitted for tires and an adjustment to help with tire chatter in the turns and restarted seventh on lap 68.
● On lap 126, Busch reported he needed more rear grip. He finished the stage in the sixth position and pitted at the break for tires and another chassis adjustment.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 131-260):
● Busch started third and finished ninth, earning two bonus points.
● The M&M’S Halloween driver began the second stage in third, but he said his racecar was still lacking rear grip early in the run.
● When the caution came out on lap 198, Busch was running fifth. He visited pit road for fresh tires and a major adjustment to help with the handling of his Toyota Camry, then lined up fifth for the lap-204 restart.
● On lap 237, Busch radioed that the M&M’s Halloween Toyota didn’t have the forward drive to hold off competitors on corner exit.
● Busch finished the stage in ninth and pitted under caution for adjustments and tires. The No. 18 was assessed a pit road speeding penalty, relegating Busch to 20th for the start of the final stage.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 261-501):
● Busch started 20th and finished second.
● The Las Vegas-native was mired in 17th after beginning the final stage in 20th. A caution on lap 339 allowed the M&M’s Halloween team to pit for fresh tires and adjustments, and Busch restarted just outside of the top-10.
● Busch continued to fight a tight-handling Toyota until making his final pit stop of the day on lap 437. He restarted sixth, but a series of cautions slowed his progress.
● Following another caution on lap 473, the M&M’s Halloween driver restarted fifth and made his way into the top-three.
● A caution with five laps remaining saw Busch in the second position with a chance to win and advance to the Championship 4 at Phoenix, but he was unable to get a jump on the restart and crossed the line in the runner-up position.
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Halloween Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:
“We just missed last week. That’s where we lost all the ground. Could have come in here with 15 more points, we would have been fine on the cut. Just wasn’t it. Wasn’t meant to be. Obviously it was Truex’s day. We had a Hail Mary opportunity there at the end. Just didn’t materialize. All in all, just proud of the effort for sure. We slung everything and anything at this thing M&M’S Halloween Camry today, couldn’t really make it come alive. Great effort. That was there for sure. We just got to get better, everybody included, the whole team, in order to be able to go race with the best and race for a championship. We’re not going to do that this year.”
Next Up:
The NASCAR Cup Series season finale is Sunday, Nov. 7, at Phoenix Raceway. The championship race starts at 3 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Custer Finishes 23rd at Martinsville Dixie Vodka Peach Cocktail Ford Driver Struggles With Balance of Racecar
Date: Oct. 31, 2021 Event: Xfinity 500 (Round 35 of 36) Series: NASCAR Cup Series Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (.526-mile oval) Format: 500 laps, broken into three stages (130 laps/130 laps/240 laps) Start/Finish: 24th / 23rd (Running, completed 501 of 501 laps) Point Standing: 26th with 547 points Note: Race extended one lap past its scheduled 500-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish. Race Winner: Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 2 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-130):
● Cole Custer started 24th and finished 22nd.
● When the green flag waved for the 500-lap race, the No. 41 Dixie Vodka Peach Cocktail Ford driver worked his way into the top-20 in only three laps and stayed there for a majority of the opening laps.
● As the green-flag run continued, Custer battled with a tightening Ford Mustang. He fell back to 26th by the time the competition caution came out on lap 60.
● During the competition caution, the No. 41 team pitted for four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment to combat the balance issue on the racecar. Custer rejoined the field 26th, the first car one lap down.
● The No. 41 Dixie Vodka Peach Cocktail team caught a break when the caustion came out just three laps later while Custer was running in the Lucky Dog position. He pitted during the caution for four fresh tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment during the caution.
● Custer continued to struggle with a tight racecar, making it difficult to turn. He finished 22nd in the stage.
● During the stage break, the No. 41 team brought Custer down pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 131-260):
● Custer started 22nd and finished 22nd.
● The No. 41 Dixie Vodka Peach Cocktail Ford Mustang ran 22nd in the opening laps of the stage. When the caution came out on lap 197, Custer reported to the team that he was still struggling to turn. The team pitted during the caution to put on four fresh tires, fill up on fuel and make a minor trackbar adjustment.
● As the rest of the stage went caution-free, the 23-year-old driver ran as high as 21st. Ultimately, he was unable to overcome the balance issues and finished 22nd.
● The No. 41 Dixie Vodka Peach Cocktail team came down pit road during the stage break for four tires, fuel and a double adjustment.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 261-501):
● Custer started 22nd and finished 23rd.
● The Ladera Ranch, California, native ran in 22nd at the start of the stage, one of only two cars one lap down.
● When the caution came out on lap 310, Custer reported that his Ford Mustang was still too loose getting into the corner. The No. 41 Dixie Vodka Peach Cocktail team called its driver to pit road for four tires, fuel and an adjustment.
● Another caution came out on lap 323. Custer reported that he “fired off tight.” The team pitted for just a wedge and trackbar adjustment. The Dixie Vodka Peach Cocktail Ford driver was in the Lucky Dog position and earned back his lost lap.
● Trouble found Custer on lap 357. Contact with another car caused the No. 41 Dixie Vodka Peach Cocktail Ford Mustang to spin, bringing out the caution. The team pitted to put on fresh tires.
● After the caution came out on lap 378, crew chief Mike Shiplett took a gamble and kept his driver out on track when the leaders pitted, hoping for a quick caution. Custer restarted third, but as the laps went green, the newer tires took over and Custer fell back to 22nd.
● On the lap-436 caution, Custer reported that he still needed help with the turn on his Ford Mustang. The team pitted for four fresh tires, fuel and another minor adjustment.
● Custer continued to report that his Ford Mustang was tight in the center and loose off the corners. Despite the balance issue, he made his way as high as 17th in the final 30 laps.
● In an overtime finish, Custer fought to stay in the top-20 but was unable to advance in the top lane and finished 23rd.
Notes:
● Alex Bowman won the Xfinity 500 to score his sixth career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fourth of the season and his first at Martinsville. His margin over second-place Kyle Busch was .472 of a second.
● There were 15 caution periods for a total of 91 laps.
● Twenty-five of the 38 drivers in the Xfinity 500 finished on the lead lap.
Cole Custer, driver of the No. 41 Dixie Vodka Peach Cocktail Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“Honestly, we just struggled all day. Martinsville is a tough track, and that proved to be true in this race. We struggled with the balance on the No. 41 Dixie Vodka Peach Cocktail Ford Mustang and just couldn’t get it right. Wish we could’ve gotten a better finish for Dixie Vodka, but we’ll head to Phoenix.”
Next Up:
The NASCAR Cup Series season finale is Sunday, Nov. 7, at Phoenix Raceway. The championship race starts at 3 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Harvick Soldiers to 12th-Place Finish at Martinsville
Date: Oct. 31, 2021 Event: Xfinity 500 (Round 35 of 36) Series: NASCAR Cup Series Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (.526-mile oval) Format: 500 laps, broken into three stages (130 laps/130 laps/240 laps) Start/Finish: 9th / 12th (Running, completed 501 of 501 laps) Point Standing: 6th with 2,318 points Note: Race extended one lap past its scheduled 500-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish. Race Winner: Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 2 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-130):
● Kevin Harvick started ninth and finished 13th.
● The No. 4 Unibet Ford Mustang steadily fell back and was 15th by the time the competition caution waved on lap 62.
● “Can’t get into the corner. Wants to lock up the tires. Plows up off (the corner),” said Harvick during the caution.
● Pitted for four tires and fuel with a track bar adjustment during the caution on lap 63.
● Lined up 13th for lap-68 restart. Ran a handful of laps before another caution on lap 73. Remained 13th.
● Grabbed 10th place shortly after lap-77 restart, but gradually dropped to 13th by the end of the stage.
● “It started off better, but it still doesn’t turn on long runs,” said Harvick. “I don’t have enough forward drive on exit.”
● Pitted for four tires and fuel with a right-rear wedge adjustment upon the conclusion of the stage.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 131-260):
● Harvick started ninth and finished 15th.
● Grabbed eighth place from Joey Logano on lap 153.
● Caution on lap 198 allowed Harvick to pit for four tires and fuel with another right-rear wedge adjustment.
● “That was definitely better,” said Harvick before the stop. “Still need help on the long run.”
● Lined up eighth for lap-204 restart, but some jockeying for position among others left Harvick 14th by lap 208.
● “I’m out of control… sideways!” said Harvick on lap 215 while running 15th.
● Harvick held steady in 15th through the end of the stage.
● “Slides the back and just won’t turn,” said Harvick about his Unibet Ford Mustang.
● Pitted for four tires and fuel with a right-rear wedge adjustment before the final stage began.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 261-500):
● Harvick started 12th and finished 12th.
● Dropped to 16th by lap 282.
● “Won’t turn and no rear grip on exit,” said Harvick during a caution on lap 311.
● Harvick used the caution to pit for four tires and fuel and to get another right-rear wedge adjustment.
● Lined up 14th for lap-320 restart before the caution flag waved again on lap 324. Was 15th for lap-330 restart.
● Was 14th when caution came out again on lap 340.
● Pitted on lap 341 for four tires, fuel and adjustments to left- and right-side wedge.
● Was 15th for lap-346 restart.
● “Hard to defend (position) when you can’t put the throttle down,” said a 15th-place Harvick before another caution on lap 359.
● Lined up 16th for lap-363 restart.
● Caution on lap 379 allowed Harvick to pit for four tires and fuel and a left-rear wedge adjustment. He restarted in 18th on lap 385.
● “Won’t turn. No rear grip as soon as you push the accelerator,” said Harvick while under caution on lap 437 and in 17th.
● Pitted on lap 438 for four tires, fuel and a right-rear wedge adjustment. Restarted in 14th on lap 444.
● The No. 4 Unibet Ford Mustang was 15th when the caution flag waved again on lap 456. Harvick opted to stay out for track position, where he restarted in 13th.
● Survived a barrage of yellow caution flags in the final 35 laps to finish 12th.
Notes:
● Since joining SHR in 2014, Harvick has only finished outside the top-20 once at Martinsville – a lone 33rd-place finish in October 2014.
● Alex Bowman won the Xfinity 500 to score his sixth career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fourth of the season and his first at Martinsville. His margin over second-place Kyle Busch was .478 of a second.
● There were 15 caution periods for a total of 91 laps.
● Twenty-five of the 38 drivers in the Xfinity 500 finished on the lead lap.
Next Up:
The NASCAR Cup Series season finale is Sunday, Nov. 7 at Phoenix Raceway. The championship race starts at 3 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
NASCAR CUP SERIES MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY XFINITY 500 TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES OCTOBER 31, 2021
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS. DRIVER 1st ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE 5th WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE 7th KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE 8th ERIK JONES, NO. 43 GOODY’S COOL ORANGE CAMARO ZL1 1LE 13th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 COWBOY CHANNEL CAMARO ZL1 1LE 14th KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE
TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS. DRIVER 1st Alex Bowman (Chevrolet) 2nd Kyle Busch (Toyota) 3rd Brad Keselowski (Ford) 4th Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota) 5th William Byron (Chevrolet)
The NASCAR Cup Series season concludes next weekend at Phoenix Raceway with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship on Sunday, November 7, at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Race Winner HIS WORD TO ME, WOW. WHY THE CONTACT WITH DENNY HAMLIN? WHAT HAPPENED THERE? “I just got loose in. I got in too deep, knocked him out of the way and literally let him have the lead back. For anybody that wants to think I was trying to crash him, obviously wasn’t the case considering I literally gave up the lead at Martinsville to give it back to him.”
“He’s been on the other side of that. He’s crashed guys here for wins. I hate doing it. Obviously I don’t want to crash somebody. I just got in, got underneath him, spun him out.”
“Regardless, we get a free grandfather clock, which is pretty special. I struggled here for a long time. I was trying to get the flag, do a backwards victory lap. Mark Martin thinks that’s cool. Mark Martin is my hero. Obviously, like I said, hate we wrecked the 11. But how about that for Chevrolet, Ally, everybody on this 48 team. 48 car won here a bunch. Cool to do it again.”
TO CLARIFY, THERE WAS OR WAS NOT INTENT IN YOUR SECOND CONTACT WITH DENNY? “No, I just got loose underneath. I’m not trying to drive underneath there and crash the guy. I got under him fair, under him clean. I just got sideways underneath him, spun him out. Hate to do that. Obviously unintentional. Part of short-track racing.”
AS YOU’RE CELEBRATING, HE PULLS UP TO YOU. WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO THAT? “Man, I wasn’t going to get into it. This isn’t Bowman Gray Stadium. This is the Cup Series. As much as we could have made the highlight reel, we might climb the fence here because I want to see, the fence might come down. One of those deals.”
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 GOODY’S COOL ORANGE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 8th “Really solid day at Martinsville Speedway for the No. 43 Goody’s Cool Orange Camaro ZL1 1LE. It was kind of an up-and-down day. There were times where I really didn’t think we were going to have the finish we did.”
“It kind of worked out there at the end. We had a set of tires we put on and the car kind of came back around to us, balance-wise, and we were able to come home with a top-10. Just good to keep the string going. We’ve had a good couple of runs here the last month. Hopefully, we can go to Phoenix (Raceway) next week and finish it out on another good note.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 COWBOY CHANNEL CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 13th “We had a fast Cowboy Channel Chevrolet today at Martinsville Speedway. It was good to lead laps and run up front. We fought hard today, coming back from damage in Stage 2 and cutting multiple right-front tires. Our forward drive was ridiculously good. We started the race 14th and quickly drove into the top-10, ultimately finishing Stage 1 seventh. It was really challenging once we fell back in the running order because we were in the middle of the pack and around a lot of other cars and a lot of action. We worked as a team to get back on the lead lap, though, and survived some wild action out there to finish 12th. Good job by everyone on this RCR team.”
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 14th TODAY, FOR YOU, WAS ALL ABOUT GETTING THE WIN. DESCRIBE YOUR RUN TODAY. “Not good. Just bad execution on my part on pit road. I felt like our car was probably top-three, top-five, at times; and there were times it was tenth or worse. But my team did a good job working on it. I just sped (on pit road) too late in the race there again. From then on, just tried to not make anybody upset, knowing that I’m not going to get back up there for a win. Just try to keep everybody on my good side.”
WHEN YOU’RE COMING OFF FROM THREE WINS IN A ROW AND YOU HAVE A DAY LIKE TODAY, HOW DO YOU MENTALLY REGROUP FROM IT FOR PHOENIX? “Honestly, the same way you treat the weeks after you win. You just kind of forget about it, move on and prepare for Phoenix. I’m excited about that. It’s cool that we get to race for our first championship. Hopefully, we can get it done.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 16th YOU CAME IN WITH SOME POINTS THAT REALLY HELPED IN THE END. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE TODAY? “Well, we’re moving on and that is all that matters. I had a really fast NAPA Chevy early and I made a couple of mistakes and kind of led us down the wrong path there for those last couple of runs, unfortunately. But the pace was certainly in the car.”
“Congrats to Alex (Bowman, race winner). It was a great day for Hendrick Motorsports; got two cars going to Phoenix and Alex getting the win here. Wish we could have won it. Hate to be so fast all day and it not work out, but obviously next week is what matters and that is where our heads are at. Excited to get out there and have another shot at it.”
HAVE YOU LEARNED A LOT THROUGH THIS YEAR IN BEING THE CHAMPION THAT MAY AID YOU NEXT WEEK? “I think just the experience last year and kind of going through all that. Not so much with the on-track stuff, but kind of the prep throughout the week and all the obligations and whatnot that are involved in doing that is nice. We have been there and we know how far we can push ourselves and what we need to do to get prepared. Honestly, we are a simple group. We probably won’t change it a lot and will go out there and try and execute a really nice race. Hopefully better than the rest.”
“Super proud of this team. I know it hasn’t been super pretty at times, but for us to keep fighting through these Playoffs and to get to Phoenix. When you get there, it’s anybody’s game to go out there in that Final Four. So, really proud of this group to make it for a second consecutive year and being amongst those four cars is a big deal. We’re excited to have a shot. I think we can run with the best of them and we are looking forward to the opportunity.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
About Chevrolet Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
Briscoe Finishes 22nd at Martinsville Rush Truck Centers Ford Hampered by Braking Issues, Sporadic Handling Difficulties
Date: Oct. 31, 2021 Event: Xfinity 500 (Round 35 of 36) Series: NASCAR Cup Series Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (.526-mile oval) Format: 500 laps, broken into three stages (130 laps/130 laps/240 laps) Start/Finish: 22nd / 22nd (Running, completed 501 of 501 laps) Point Standing: 23rd with 653 points Note: Race extended one lap past its scheduled 500-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish. Race Winner: Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 2 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-130):
● Chase Briscoe started 22nd and finished 19th.
● The No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford driver picked up three positions to 19th in the opening laps and held steady until the competition caution on lap 60. He said his racecar “fired off pretty good, got a little tight, but otherwise the exit’s good.” He pitted for four tires, fuel and slight left-side air-pressure adjustments. He restarted 15th when the race went back to green on lap 67.
● Just four laps later, a three-car incident in turn four brought out the caution flag with Briscoe running 16th. He stayed on track and restarted 15th on lap 76.
● Maintaining rear grip under braking proved problematic for Briscoe over the remainder of the stage. He dropped four positions before pitting at the break for four tires, fuel and further air-pressure adjustments.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 131-260):
● Briscoe started 18th and finished 19th.
● The No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford driver said his racecear had better forward bite early in the stage but needed help in all other aspects. He was running 21st when the caution flag flew on lap 196 for a single-car incident in turn two. He pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments and restarted 19th on lap 203.
● Briscoe held position until the end of the stage. He reported that, in addition to the steadily building tight condition, braking had become particularly problematic. He pitted during the break for four tires, fuel and adjustments.
Stage 3 Recap (Laps 261-501):
● Briscoe started 18th and finished 22nd.
● The No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford driver said braking continued to be a problem and was now his biggest issue. He was holding down 19th place when the caution flag flew on lap 309 for a three-car incident in turn three. He pitted for four tires, fuel and air-pressure and trackbar adjustments and restarted 17th on lap 319.
● Another caution flag flew on lap 324, this time for a two-car incident in turn three. Briscoe stayed on track and restarted 14th on lap 331.
● Brisco had fallen back to 17th in the eight-lap run to the next caution flag for a three-car incident in turn two. He said his handling felt improved, but the braking issues made things difficult. He pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments and restarted 17th on lap 347.
● A single-car incident in turn four brought out the caution on lap 357 with Briscoe having fallen back to 19th. He said the last round of adjustments did more harm than good. He pitted for a splash of fuel and a chassis adjustment and restarted 19th on lap 362.
● The 15-lap run to the next caution for a single-car incident in turn two saw Briscoe drop to 22nd. He made slight right-front contact with the spinning car of Daniel Suárez ahead of him. He pitted for a quick inspection and took four tires and fuel before restarting 21st on lap 384.
● Another single-car incident in turn two brought out the caution flag on lap 436 with Briscoe running 19th. He had just fallen off the lead lap, but he stayed on track to take the wave-around and restarted 19th on lap 443, back on the lead lap.
● Briscoe moved up to 18th when a two-car incident in turn four brought out the caution flag on lap 455. He pitted for four fresh tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment for the sprint to the finish. Briscoe restarted 16th on lap 460, and another incident brought out the caution flag on the restart lap. He restarted 15th on lap 465.
● As mayhem continued with another single-car incident, this one in turn two, the caution flag flew on lap 473. Briscoe had fallen back to 21st, having struggled on the previous restart, but he stayed on track and restarted 18th on lap 477.
● Tight handling persisted for Briscoe as he dropped four positions to 22nd in the 18-lap run to the next caution on lap 495 for a two-car incident in turn three. He pitted for tires and a chassis adjustment, restarted 22nd on lap 499 for the green-white-checkered finish and held his position along the way.
Notes:
● Briscoe was the highest finishing NASCAR Cup Series rookie for the 30th time this season.
● Briscoe’s 22nd-place result bettered his previous best finish at Martinsville – 27th, earned in his first start at the track in April.
● Alex Bowman won the Xfinity 500 to score his sixth career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fourth of the season and his first at Martinsville. His margin over second-place Kyle Busch was .472 of a second.
● There were 15 caution periods for a total of 91 laps.
● Twenty-five of the 38 drivers in the Xfinity 500 finished on the lead lap.
Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“Finishing on the lead lap at Martinsville is never a small accomplishment, but it was a frustrating day in a couple of areas. Braking is so important here, and I had little to no brakes for about the whole race. And that made it difficult to find just the right changes to make to help our struggle with a tight-handling racecar and keeping the rear end on the racetrack. We’ve got one more shot to get a good finish for everyone out at Phoenix, so we’ll try to take advantage of the extra track time and get something out of it.”
Next Up:
The NASCAR Cup Series season finale is Sunday, Nov. 7, at Phoenix Raceway. The championship race starts at 3 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
