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Larson captures the Bristol Night Race; Playoff’s Round of 12 is set

By
Andrew Kim
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Photo by Christian Gardner for SpeedwayMedia.com.

With an abundance of late battles, drama and tempers flaring around every corner, Kyle Larson took advantage of a late dust-up between teammate Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick to overtake Harvick with three laps remaining and drive away to win the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 18.

Larson, who had clinched his spot to the Round of 12 in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs coming into the event, claimed his sixth victory of the season as he is one of 12 competitors who will continue to pursue the 2021 Cup title in the following Playoff round.

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, Martin Truex Jr., winner of last weekend’s Playoff event at Richmond Raceway, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with teammate Denny Hamlin.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Truex flew away with the lead on the outside lane and proceeded to lead the first lap. Behind, Chase Elliott moved into second while Joey Logano battled Hamlin for third.

Through the first five laps of the event, Truex was out in front by a tenth of a second over Elliott while Hamlin, Logano and Christopher Bell were in the top five. Behind, Kyle Busch retained 10th ahead of Alex Bowman, Aric Almirola and William Byron.

A lap later, Elliott muscled his No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to the lead over Truex’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry.

By Lap 10, Elliott stretched ahead with the lead by half a second over Truex while Hamlin, Logano and Kyle Larson were in the top five. Brad Keselowski was in sixth followed by Kevin Harvick, Bell, Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney. By then, all 16 Playoff competitors were in the top 20, with Kurt Busch mired in mid-pack.

Ten laps later, Elliott continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over runner-up Hamlin and by two seconds over third-place Logano. Larson and Keselowski were in fourth and fifth followed by Harvick while Truex fell back to seventh. Blaney, Kyle Busch and Bell were in the top 10 while Alex Bowman, teammate William Byron, Aric Almirola and Michael McDowell were in the top 15. Tyler Reddick and Kurt Busch were in 17th and 22nd.

Another 10 laps later, Elliott stabilized his advantage to four-tenths of a second over Hamlin while Larson trailed by nearly two seconds in third. Meanwhile, Logano fell back to sixth behind Harvick and Truex continued to fall back in 10th in between teammate Bell and Bowman.

When the competition caution flew on Lap 40, Elliott remained in the lead over Hamlin and Larson. 

Under the competition caution, the leaders pitted and Elliott retained the lead ahead of Hamlin, Larson, Keselowski, Harvick and Truex.

When the race restarted on Lap 48, Elliott retained the lead following a strong start on the outside lane while teammate Larson also retained the runner-up spot ahead of Hamlin, Keselowski and Harvick. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch muscled his way to sixth followed by Ryan Blaney and the field.

Through the first 60 laps of the event, Elliott was leading by nearly half a second over Hamlin, who managed to overtake Larson earlier for the runner-up spot. Keselowski and Harvick were in the top five followed by Blaney, Byron, Kyle Busch, Truex and Bowman while Bell, Reddick, Aric Almirola, McDowell, Kurt Busch and Logano were in 12th, 13th, 15th, 17th, 21st and 23rd. Meanwhile, Austin Dillon was the highest non-title contender in 11th while Erik Jones was in 14th and rookie Chase Briscoe was in 16th. In addition, Ross Chastain, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Matt DiBenedetto were in the top 20 while Ryan Newman was in 22nd.

Fifteen laps later, Elliott continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over teammate Larson, who overtook Hamlin earlier and was slowly pursuing his Hendrick Motorsports’ teammate for the top spot. 

Another nine laps later, Larson used the lapped car of David Starr to overtake teammate Elliott and take the lead. Shortly after, Hamlin moved his No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry into the runner-up spot. Behind, Keselowski retained fourth ahead of Harvick, Blaney, Byron, Kyle Busch, Truex and Austin Dillon.

On Lap 91, Hamlin emerged as the fourth different leader of the event after overtaking Larson.

At the Lap 100 mark, Hamlin was leading by three-tenths of a second over Larson while Elliott, Keselowski and Blaney were in the top five. Harvick was in sixth followed by Byron, Kyle Busch, Truex and Bell while Bowman, Almirola, Reddick, McDowell, Kurt Busch and Logano were in 12th, 13th, 14th, 18th, 21st and 22nd.

Five laps later, Hamlin, the leader, nearly got turned by Cole Custer while trying to lap him, rookie Anthony Alfredo and a bevy of competitors. Despite the contact, Hamlin continued to lead by a decent margin over Larson and Elliott. 

By Lap 120, the battle for the lead ignited between Hamlin and Larson, both of whom were trapped behind Logano and Bubba Wallace as both were trying to remain on the lead lap. Two laps later, Larson took the lead. Another lap later, however, Hamlin returned the favor and overtook Larson while also lapping Wallace.

Following his late battle with Larson amid lapped traffic, Hamlin was able to retain the top spot and claim the first stage victory on Lap 125, thus claiming his ninth stage victory of the season. Larson ended up in second followed by Elliott, Keselowski, Blaney, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Bell, Truex and Byron. By then, 22 competitors were scored on the lead lap as Kurt Busch and Logano were spared from being lapped while Wallace received the free pass. On the other hand, names like Ryan Newman, Cole Custer, Daniel Suarez, Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece and Corey LaJoie were lapped.

Under the stage break, the leaders made the turn to pit road and Larson emerged as the leader followed by Elliott, Keselowski, Hamlin, Harvick and Blaney. Following the pit stops, however, Elliott was penalized for speeding on pit road.

The second stage started on Lap 135 and Larson rocketed away with a strong start followed by Keselowski while Hamlin spun the tires on the inside lane, though he settled in third ahead of Harvick, Bell, Blaney and Kyle Busch. 

On Lap 138, the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang piloted by Brad Keselowski moved into the lead beneath Larson’s No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. At the same time, Hamlin overtook Larson for second while Harvick and Blaney kept Larson in their sights.

Seven laps later, Hamlin reassumed the lead while Larson challenged Keselowski for the runner-up spot. Behind, Blaney moved his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang up to fourth and closed in on the three leaders while Harvick, sporting the Subway Restaurants colors on his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang, was in fifth ahead of Kyle Busch.

By Lap 150, Hamlin extended his advantage to a second over Larson while Keselowski, Blaney and Harvick were in the top five. Kyle Busch, Bell, Byron, Almirola and Reddick were in the top 10 while Larson was mired in 21st behind Kurt Busch. Logano, meanwhile, was in 18th.

On Lap 167, the caution flew when Newman made contact with Cole Custer in the outside wall in Turn 4 and proceeded to smack the outside wall in Turn 2, collecting Custer again. Behind, Suarez was hit by Wallace while he checked up to avoid the incident while Chris Buescher barely avoided the carnage.

Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road and Larson returned to the lead followed by Hamlin, Keselowski, Harvick, Blaney and Kyle Busch. During the pit stops, Almirola, who had reported smoke earlier, returned to his pit stall after being told that fluid was discovered inside the left-front tire. His pit crew then popped the hood up and diagnosed the issue before sending him back on the track in 28th place, the final car on the lead lap. Shortly after, Almirola pitted again for mechanical repairs as fuel from his car was reported on the track.

On Lap 181, the race restarted under green. At the start, Larson retained the lead on the outside lane while Hamlin moved up to second and Harvick battled Keselowski for third. Behind, Blaney and Kyle Busch battled for fifth ahead of Reddick and Bell.

By Lap 190, Larson was leading by half a second over Hamlin while Blaney, Harvick and Keselowski were in the top five. Kyle Busch retained sixth ahead of Reddick, Bell, Logano and Elliott. Meanwhile, Byron was in 11th, Truex was in 15th, McDowell and Kurt Busch were in 17th and 18th behind Bowman and Almirola, following his fluid and mechanical issue, was in 24th, still on the lead lap but now below the top-12 cutline to the Playoffs.

Through the first 200 laps of the event, Larson continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second over Hamlin while Blaney, Harvick and Keselowski remained in the top five. By then, Elliott was up in eighth in between Bell and Byron while Logano battled Erik Jones for 11th.

On Lap 220, the caution flew when rookie Anthony Alfredo got sideways in Turn 3 with help from Corey LaJoie and made contact with the outside wall in Turn 4, where his No. 38 Dude Wipes Ford Mustang was hit by an oncoming BJ McLeod and Justin Haley. The incident was enough for NASCAR to red-flag the event.

When the red flag was lifted, some led by Blaney pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track.

On Lap 232, the race restarted under green. At the start, Larson fended off Keselowski to remain as the leader while Hamlin battled Keselowski for the runner-up spot. Behind, Elliott was in fourth ahead of Kyle Busch and Bubba Wallace while Byron battled Harvick for seventh.

A few laps later, Byron, a competitor trying to remain in the Playoffs, engaged in a battle with Kyle Busch for sixth place while Wallace and Elliott moved up to fourth and fifth. 

With less than 10 laps remaining in the second stage, Larson continued to lead by a narrow margin over Hamlin and Keselowski while teammates Elliott and Byron were scored in the top five ahead of Harvick, Wallace and the field. Soon after, Alfredo scrapped the outside wall, but managed to pit without drawing a caution.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 250, the halfway mark, Larson captured his 14th stage victory of the season. Hamlin and Keselowski settled in second and third followed by Byron, who managed to overtake teammate Elliott. Harvick settled in sixth ahead of Blaney, Bell, Reddick and Kyle Busch. By then, Logano, Blaney and Harvick secured their spots for the Round of 12 in the Playoffs. 

Under the stage break, some led by Larson pitted while the rest led by Harvick and Blaney remained on the track. During the pit stops, Reddick, a Playoff competitor, pitted a second time to have a lug nut on the right rear of his car tightened.

With 241 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Harvick took off with the lead on the outside lane followed by Blaney, who battled Bell as Truex joined the battle. Behind, the field fanned out to three lanes as Hamlin and Larson, both racing on fresh tires, bolted their way back to the front. 

Six laps later, Blaney emerged as the new leader of the event. Behind, Hamlin was battling Almirola for fifth while Larson was in eighth behind Logano. Elliott was in 10th ahead of Chase Briscoe while Byron was in 12th ahead of Wallace and Keselowski.

With 220 laps remaining, Blaney was leading by half a second over Harvick while Bell, Hamlin and Larson were in the top five. Almirola was riding strong in sixth followed by Logano, Elliott, Byron and Truex while Bowman was in 11th ahead of Kyle Busch, and Keselowski. Meanwhile, Kurt Busch was mired in 22nd, McDowell was in 25th and Reddick was back in 26th.

Down to the final 200 laps of the event and while the leaders were mired behind lapped traffic, Blaney retained the lead over Harvick by a narrow margin. Bell was in third followed by Hamlin and Larson while Almirola, Logano, Elliott, Byron and Bowman were in the top 10. By then, McDowell, who was in 26th, was trying to remain on the lead lap.

Eight laps later, Harvick made his way into the lead over Blaney. By then, Bell, Larson and Hamlin were slowly catching the two leaders. Meanwhile, Elliott and Byron remained in seventh and eighth behind Almirola while Logano battled with Bowman, Kyle Busch and Keselowski for ninth place. By then, McDowell was lapped.

With 175 laps remaining, Harvick continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second over Larson while Blaney, Bell and Hamlin were in the top five ahead of Elliott, Byron, Bowman, Almirola and Kyle Busch.

Twelve laps later, Larson returned to the lead after overtaking Harvick. He then went to work to lap Playoff contender Kurt Busch, though Busch refused to give in. As Busch remained on the lead lap, Harvick closed back in on Larson’s rear bumper while Hamlin attempted to catch the two leaders.

Another eight laps later, Larson succeeded in lapping Kurt Busch as he went to work to lap Tyler Reddick, another Playoff contender.

With 150 laps remaining, Larson’s advantage was nearly a second over Harvick while Hamlin, Blaney and Bell were in the top five. By then, Larson lapped Austin Dillon as Dillon’s teammate, Reddick, was next on his radar.

Thirteen laps remaining, the caution returned for Quin Houff, who spun and wrecked in Turn 4 after cutting a left-rear tire. By then, Playoff contenders McDowell, Kurt Busch and Reddick were lapped while Larson was still leading ahead of Harvick.

Under caution, the leaders pitted and Larson retained the lead ahead of Hamlin, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Blaney and Elliott.

With 130 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Larson powered away with another strong start on the outside lane while Hamlin overtook Harvick for second. With the field shuffling and fanning out to three lanes behind, Kyle Busch battled Blaney for fourth ahead of Elliott, Byron was in eighth behind Bowman and Almirola was shuffled out of the top 10. By then, Bubba Wallace and Matt DiBenedetto, two non-Playoff contenders, were in ninth and 10th ahead of Truex.

Fifteen laps later, Larson was leading by three-tenths of a second over Hamlin while Harvick, Elliott and Blaney were in the top five. Teammates Bowman and Byron battled for seventh behind Kyle Busch while Wallace and DiBenedetto were in the top 10.

A few laps later, the caution returned for another incident involving Quin Houff, who cut the left-front tire this time. The incident was enough to terminate the remainder of his night race. 

Under caution, some led by Blaney pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track.

With 104 laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, Larson retained the lead entering the first turn while Hamlin issued a challenge on Harvick for the runner-up spot.

Then, with 101 laps remaining, Hamlin, who challenged Larson for the lead, made contact with Larson in Turn 4, which resulted with Hamlin going dead straight into the outside wall in Turn 1 with a flat right-front tire and drew the caution. 

Down to the final 93 laps of the event, the race restarted. At the start, Larson cleared teammate Elliott with a push from Harvick to retain the lead. While teammates Larson and Elliott battled for the lead, Kyle Busch used the high lane to move up to fourth in between Harvick and Bowman. Meanwhile, Erik Jones was up in eighth behind Truex and Byron while DiBenedetto and Wallace continued to run in the top 10.

Six laps later, Elliott returned to the lead after overtaking teammate Larson on the inside lane. 

With 75 laps remaining, Elliott was leading by four-tenths of a second over teammate Larson while Harvick, Kyle Busch and Byron were in the top five. By then, Byron was scored a single point outside of the top-12 cutline behind Almirola, who was in 17th in between Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick, who also remained in the hunt for a transfer spot.

Under the final 60 laps of the event, the battle for the lead intensified as Harvick challenged Elliott for the top spot. By then, Byron overtook Kyle Busch for fourth and was scored a single point inside the top-12 cutline over Almirola, who was back in 18th.

Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Elliott was still leading by two-tenths of a second over Harvick while Larson trailed by nearly six-tenths of a second. Byron, currently scored inside the top-12 cutline, was in fourth in front of Blaney, Kyle Busch, Bowman, Bell, Keselowski and Erik Jones. Truex and Logano were in 11th and 12th while Reddick was in 16th, Hamlin was in 18th ahead of Almirola and Kurt Busch was in 22nd.

Nearing the final 40 laps of the event, Kyle Busch pitted under green after suffering a flat tire. By the time he returned to the track, he was two laps behind and was placed on the verge of missing the top-12 cutline.

With 35 laps remaining, Harvick used several lapped cars, including Kyle Busch, to take the lead following several attempts to intimidate Elliott. Shortly after, Elliott, who was hit by Harvick after Harvick got loose, cut a left-front tire and pitted under green. 

Not long after, Bell, who was having a strong run in the making, pitted under green after cutting a tire and damaging the right-front side of his car. The incident also placed Bell in jeopardy of not advancing in the Playoffs. 

Back on track, Harvick continued to lead by a narrow margin over Larson, who continued to close in for the top spot. Meanwhile, Byron was up in third followed by Blaney and Bowman. Reddick was in 13th, Almirola was in 17th behind Wallace and Ross Chastain, Kurt Busch was in 19th and Kyle Busch was in 21st.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Harvick remained as the leader by nearly a second over Larson while teammate Byron was in third.

Then in the closing laps, Larson started to close back in on Harvick, who was being mired and slowed behind the lapped car of Elliott. Earlier, Elliott, who had returned to the track, ran into the side of Harvick to express his displeasure for the contact that cut Elliott’s tire and knocked him out of contention for the win. Now, Harvick, who had an advantage of more than a second over Larson near the final 10 laps, was losing ground behind Elliott as Larson closed in.

After trying to establish a run on Harvick during the previous laps, Larson seized an opportunity through the backstretch with four laps remaining as he went below Harvick and pulled off a daring, sliding move in front of Harvick entering Turn 4 to take the lead. Harvick then tried to crossover, which nearly turned Larson, but Larson withstood his ground and assumed command of the race with three laps remaining.

With Larson out in front, Byron joined the battle as he went to work on Harvick for second.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson was out in front by four-tenths of a second over Harvick and Byron. By then, Elliott yielded to teammate Larson. With time running out for Harvick, who was again held up by Elliott, Larson thundered his way to the victory at Bristol for the first time in his career.

With his sixth checkered flag of the season, first at Bristol and his 12th NASCAR Cup Series career win, Larson took another step closer in contending for his first Cup championship. In addition, he achieved the 275th NASCAR Cup win for Hendrick Motorsports.

“That was an awesome race!” Larson said on the frontstretch on NBCSN. “It was so cool to be able to race there for the win. Obviously, Harvick and Chase got together and Chase was upset and kind of held him up. It got Harvick having to move around and use his tires up off the bottom. I started to get some dives-in working off of [Turns] 1 and 2 and just got a big run, decided to pull the trigger, slide him and squeeze him a little bit. Then he had me jacked up through the frontstretch. It was wild. Had my hands full. Thanks to Valvoline and everybody who helps on this Hendrick Motorsports car. So cool. I love this place. This is, by far, my favorite track and this is why. You guys [fans] are amazing, loud. We feel the energy while we’re out there racing…I look forward to the rest of the year.”

While Larson celebrated on the frontstretch, tempers flared on pit road as Harvick and Elliott, both of whom pulled up together on pit road, climbed out of their cars and engaged in a heated face-to-face conversation. With NASCAR officials and crew members surrounding both competitors, the conversation turned heated as both competitors had to be separated by the officials and crew members, with Harvick tossing his glove towards Elliott and slamming his helmet on top of his own car.

Photo by Christian Gardner for SpeedwayMedia.com.

“I told [Elliott] it was kind of a chicken [expletive] move that he did there at the end,” Harvick, who received a chorus of boos from the crowd, said. “We’re racing for the frickin win at Bristol. We’re three wide in the middle and he throws a temper tantrum, like I was just trying to get the lead and race him hard. Then he pulls up in front of me and just sits there until I lose the whole lead, so I just hate it for our Subway Ford Mustang team to be able to lose a race like that. I watched him let [Byron] go by and then anytime you run into him, it’s a problem. [The fans] can boo all they want. I don’t care…I’m ready to rip somebody’s freaking head off.”

“Well, it’s something [Harvick] does all the time,” Elliott said. “He runs into your left side constantly at other tracks. Sometimes it does cut down your left side, other times it doesn’t. Did it to me in Darlington a few weeks ago because he was tired of racing me. Whether he did it on purpose doesn’t matter. At some point, you have to draw a line. I don’t care who he is or how long he’s been doing it. I’m going to stand up for myself and my team and we’re going down the road…I’m happy for Team Hendrick. Wish I could have got our Hooters Chevrolet in Victory Lane. But we’ll try again next week.”

The heated conversation between both competitors continued as Harvick and Elliott went inside Elliott’s hauler to further review and discuss the incident in private.

Meanwhile, Byron’s third-place result was enough for him to clinch the 12th and final transfer spot to the Round of 12 by two points over both Tyler Reddick and Aric Almirola, both of whom were eliminated from the Playoffs.

“Honestly, I don’t think I breathed for 100 laps,” Byron said. “It was, honestly, just trying to go as hard as you could. I had the best seat in the house for the leaders getting together. I was just trying to make as much speed as I could and felt like that was what our car had. We’re just trying to hold off [Blaney]. Just driving it as hard as you can. That’s a pretty awesome moment that we could pull through, being 18 points out coming into this race and finish third and advance is pretty amazing…I feel like we just had to get through this round. We had a really unfortunate start to it and made up for it tonight. Thanks to AXALTA, Chevrolet, Mr. Hendrick, everybody back at the shop. It’s pretty awesome.”

“Frustrating,” Almirola said. “Disappointed to have [our Playoff run] end like that just because we battled so much adversity throughout the night and got ourselves in position to where we’re running top 10 and doing what we needed to do. That caution came out there at the end where we had 18 laps on our tires. We stayed out and for whatever reason, when we re-fired on those tires, the car was on top of the race track, scathing, wouldn’t turn, didn’t have any side bite and just struggling. I don’t know. That’s not the way we wanted it to end, but we’ll keep going and battle it out the rest of the Playoffs and see if we can finish inside the top 10 in points.”

“Unfortunately, we certainly gave up more than two spots over the course this first round,” Reddick added. “Darlington or getting stuck down a lap at Richmond. Not just one key opportunity, but there was a number that was the difference. One situation, the situation tonight doesn’t really stick out as the one that makes it sting. It was just unfortunate that, getting in the Playoffs, we don’t have the pace that we had to just point our way into the Playoff leaderboard. To miss it by two [points]…Had the races that we did, it kind of adds up and for us to miss it by two and run the way we did, it isn’t a surprise. It stings, but we still get to go race the last six, seven races that we have on the schedule. Good tracks for us…Everything else on the race track will be the same, so we’ll go make the most out of those races.”

Despite their late on-track incidents, teammates Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell, both of whom finished 21st and 29th, managed to transfer to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs along with Alex Bowman, who achieved a strong fifth-place result.

“That was disappointing,” Bell said. “Overall, we still accomplished what we wanted to accomplish today. We were on our way to a nice finish and then, the flat tire really cost a lot of panic. Thankfully, we did our job. Got some stage points, performed well at Richmond last week, gave us a little bit of a buffer, and moving on…Take some momentum and move on to Vegas.”

“We just weren’t very good at being able to make up time on the leaders there,” Busch said. “[I] Was only going to be about fifth quick. We fought hard there all day long and had a flat there at the end and got way behind. I guess we made it [into the Round of 12], so that’s all that matters.”

“It was an interesting night, for sure,” Bowman said. “We were pretty awful to start the race and [crew chief] Greg [Ives] threw everything, including his laptop at it. I just started really at the race track and took a lot of adjusting on [the car] to get where we needed it. Obviously, it was really fast there at the end. Just proud of everybody on this No. 48 team for not giving up. My mistake at Darlington kind of put us in this box. Us and [Byron]. Really glad that [Byron] made it because I feel like, if they wouldn’t have, that would’ve been on me too. Just appreciative to make it through to this next round. Good track’s coming up for us this round. Just got to go do my job, not make any more mistakes and have a good rest of the Playoffs.”

Blaney finished fourth on the track while Keselowski, Truex, Erik Jones, Hamlin and Matt DiBenedetto completed the top-10 results.

There were 23 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 71 laps.

Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch and William Byron have transferred to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs. Tyler Reddick, Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch and Michael McDowell have been eliminated from title contention.

Results.

1. Kyle Larson, 175 laps led, Stage 2 winner

2. Kevin Harvick, 71 laps led

3. William Byron

4. Ryan Blaney, 45 laps led

5. Alex Bowman

6. Brad Keselowski, 10 laps led

7. Martin Truex Jr., five laps led

8. Erik Jones

9. Denny Hamlin, 65 laps led, Stage 1 winner

10. Matt DiBenedetto

11. Joey Logano

12. Tyler Reddick

13. Chase Briscoe

14. Ross Chastain

15. Austin Dillon

16. Bubba Wallace

17. Ryan Preece

18. Aric Almirola

19. Kurt Busch

20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down

21. Kyle Busch, one lap down

22. Daniel Suarez, two laps down

23. Chris Buescher, two laps down

24. Michael McDowell, two laps down

25. Chase Elliott, three laps down, 129 laps led

26. Corey LaJoie, three laps down

27. JJ Yeley, five laps down

28. Cole Custer, six laps down

29. Christopher Bell, seven laps down

30. Garrett Smithley, 13 laps down

31. Josh Bilicki, 18 laps down

32. David Starr, 18 laps down

33. James Davison, 26 laps down

34. Quin Houff – OUT, Accident

35. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, Accident

36. Justin Haley – OUT, Accident

37. BJ McLeod – OUT, Accident

38. Ryan Newman – OUT, Dvp

Bold indicates Playoff contenders.

Playoff standings.

1. Kyle Larson – Advanced

2. Denny Hamlin – Advanced

3. Martin Truex Jr. – Advanced

4. Ryan Blaney – Advanced

5. Kevin Harvick – Advanced

6. Joey Logano – Advanced

7. Chase Elliott – Advanced

8. Brad Keselowski – Advanced

9. Alex Bowman – Advanced

10. Christopher Bell – Advanced

11. Kyle Busch – Advanced

12. William Byron – Advanced

13. Tyler Reddick – Eliminated

14. Aric Almirola – Eliminated

15. Kurt Busch – Eliminated

16. Michael McDowell – Eliminated

The Round of 12 in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will commence next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the South Point 400. The event will occur on Sunday, September 26, at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN. 

Herta Continues Mastery of Laguna Seca with NTT P1 Award

By
Official Release
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MONTEREY, Calif. (Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021) – Colton Herta won the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey from the pole in 2019, the last time this NTT INDYCAR SERIES event took place at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

He’s halfway toward that dominant equation again at the track that could be nicknamed “Herta House.”

Herta earned the NTT P1 Award on Saturday with a top lap of 1 minute, 10.7994 seconds during the Firestone Fast Six in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda fielded by Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian. It was his seventh career pole and series high-tying third top spot of the season.

“I’m glad we ended up doing three (laps in final stint of qualifying) because I guess two wasn’t enough,” Herta said. “I really got to nail that third lap. The Gainbridge car was awesome, awesome being powered by Honda. What an amazing track. I love this place so much. Two for two for poles here.”

Herta has two poles and one victory at the 11-turn, 2.238-mile circuit that features the famous “Corkscrew” turn complex. His father, Bryan, who serves as his strategist, won INDYCAR SERIES races in 1998 and 1999 at this track, both also from the pole. Bryan Herta also won the pole here in 1997.

Live coverage of the 95-lap race starts at 3 p.m. (ET) Sunday on NBC and the INDYCAR Radio Network. A 30-minute warmup session will precede the race at noon (ET), live on Peacock Premium.

Andretti Autosport found a silver lining in a challenging season by seizing the front row, as Herta’s teammate Alexander Rossi qualified second at 1:10.9951 in the No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS/AutoNation Honda.

2014 series champion Will Power will start third after a top qualifying lap of 1:11.1317 in the No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet. Power appeared to qualify second, but his quickest lap was nullified after race officials deemed he didn’t slow during a local yellow triggered near the end of the session when Pato O’Ward spun in the Corkscrew turn.

Championship leader Alex Palou will start fourth in the No. 10 NTT Data Honda after a best lap of 1:11.3317. Palou leads second-place O’Ward by 25 points with two races remaining in the season.

Oliver Askew burnished his credentials while auditioning for a full-time ride in 2022 by qualifying fifth – tying his career best – at 1:11.8937 in the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda.

O’Ward will start sixth. His best lap in the Firestone Fast Six was nullified due to a penalty for his spin at the Corkscrew, with his second-best lap of 1:24.2715 standing up. But it still marked a significant recovery for the Mexican as he fights for the Astor Challenge Cup. O’Ward was 14th-quickest in the first practice Friday and dropped to 20th in pre-qualifying practice Saturday morning.

Among the other three drivers still mathematically eligible for the season championship, Chip Ganassi teammates Marcus Ericsson and Scott Dixon will start seventh and eighth, respectively. Ericsson is 75 points behind Palou in fifth in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, while six-time series champion Dixon is fourth, 49 points behind Palou, in the No. 9 PNC Bank Grow Up Great Honda.

Qualifying struggles continued for the second straight race for two-time series champion Josef Newgarden. He will start 17th in the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, failing to advance from the first round of qualifying after leading practice Friday and registering the 10th-quickest time in practice this morning.

Newgarden was fast in practice last weekend at Portland but struggled in qualifying, rallying to a fifth-place finish after starting 18th. He is third in the standings, 34 points behind Palou.

Any driver 55 points or more behind the leader after this race will be eliminated from championship contention entering the season-ending Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday, Sept. 26 at Long Beach, California.

Force Family Steals The Show On Friday At DEWALT NHRA Carolina Nationals

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Official Release
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  • John Force (Funny Car), Brittany Force (Top Fuel), Aaron Stanfield (Pro Stock) and Steve Johnson (Pro Stock Motorcycle) recorded the quickest times in Friday’s qualifying session for the DEWALT NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway
  • Tickets to Saturday’s and Sunday’s action are available at www.zmaxdragway.com

CONCORD, N.C. (Sept. 17, 2021) – Friday’s nitro-fueled festivities at zMAX Dragway saw the NHRA’s all-time winningest driver add another feather to his cap. Funny Car legend John Force scorched 1,000 feet of pavement to the tune of a 3.86-second, 331.18-mile-per-hour run to earn provisional pole for the DEWALT NHRA Carolina Nationals.

Force returns to the Bellagio of drag strips as its defending winner, having captured the Wally in May’s NGK NTK NHRA Four-Wide Nationals – his 152nd career victory.

“We were in the back (of the qualifying line), so we could see how everyone went, but it felt good,” said Force, who will go for the zMAX Dragway season sweep on Sunday. “I’m excited to be back here at Charlotte. I like to at least be in the hunt, and I’m in the hunt. (Saturday) is a new day. I’ve got to thank Bruton Smith, Marcus Smith, everybody here at zMAX Dragway. This is an amazing race track. Everybody’s running well on it.”

He wasn’t the only Force to be reckoned with on Friday.

Brittany Force continued the family dominance with a phenomenal 3.662-second, 331.85-mph pass to put the Top Fuel title contender in position for her eighth consecutive No. 1 qualifier result. Force tied her zMAX Dragway-record elapsed time with her first run of the weekend.

“It always feels good to come out with the first run of the night and be No. 1,” she said. “To be able to run like that was pretty impressive for the entire Monster Energy team. There’s a lot on the line in this Countdown and we really want to win, but right now we’re focusing on one run at a time, one win at a time. Eventually, we’ll get there.”

Aaron Stanfield stormed to the provisional top spot in Pro Stock qualifying by a scant .003 seconds over Erica Enders. Stanfield’s 6.575-second pass averaged 208.59 miles per hour, giving the third-generation driver the inside line on his first career No. 1 qualifier honor.

“I got on the radio afterward and said, ‘That was a really nice run,’” Stanfield said. “And, it was. I was a bit surprised it held up, because there are some great cars out there. I can’t say that it will or that it won’t hold up, but I hope it does.”

Steve Johnson’s 6.807-second, 196.47-mph run set the pace in Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying. Johnson will chase his third victory of the year and second in a row on Sunday.

“(Being provisional No. 1 qualifier) makes us feel really good,” Johnson said. “Our team is just growing. We have people helping us in all sorts of different areas and we’ve got our sponsors here as well. As the team grows, you get confidence in that.”

The forecast for Saturday’s action features plenty of sunshine, as the NHRA’s best drivers in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle duel for the top seed before Sunday’s all-important eliminations.

SCHEDULE:
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series qualifying continues on Saturday at 1:30 and 5:15 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Sunday.

TICKETS:
To purchase tickets, camping and upgrades to this weekend’s DEWALT NHRA Carolina Nationals, visit www.zmaxdragway.com or call 800-455-FANS (3267). For more information about the NHRA, visit www.NHRA.com.

FOLLOW ALONG:
Keep track of all of the latest news and information from zMAX Dragway by following on Twitter and Instagram or become a Facebook fan. Keep up with all the latest news and information with the Charlotte Motor Speedway mobile app.

Monster Energy Racing: Riley Herbst Bristol NXS Race Report

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Official Release
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Herbst Snares Third in Wild Finish at Bristol
Monster Energy Driver Secures Second Straight Playoff Berth

Date: Sept. 17, 2021
Event: Food City 300 (Round 26 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (.533-mile, concrete oval)
Format: 300 laps, broken into three stages (85 laps/85 laps/130 laps)
Start/Finish: 8th / 3rd (Running, completed 306 of 306 laps)
Point Standing: 10th (624 points, 419 out of first – IN THE PLAYOFFS)
Note: Race extended six laps past its scheduled 300-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Race Winner: AJ Allmendinger of Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Daniel Hemric of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Overview:
Riley Herbst delivered a strong third-place drive in the Food City 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race Friday night at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. It was his second straight top-five finish, as the driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang finished fifth in the series’ prior race at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. The string of strong runs punched Herbst’s ticket to the NASCAR Playoffs, as he finished 10th in the regular-season point standings to earn a spot in the 12-driver playoffs, which kick off Sept. 25 at Herbst’s hometown track – Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The third-place finish at Bristol was Herbst’s best result so far this season. It didn’t come easy. Herbst started eighth, but he got caught on the high-side of the .533-mile oval in the opening laps. This relegated him to 15th. But Herbst’s tenacity combined with savvy pit calls from crew chief Richard Boswell enabled the Monster Energy machine to line up first for a restart on lap 180. The resulting dogfight displaced Herbst to third, and despite a tight-handling racecar, he only fell back to sixth. As the race wound down toward its finish, Herbst kept his head while others lost theirs. A caution on lap 298 set up a green-white-checkered finish. The leaders beat and banged on each other in the final two laps, but Herbst kept his cool, pointing his Monster Energy Ford Mustang into the gaps left wide open as the leaders slammed doors and the wall. Herbst took third place from Justin Allgaier off turn four of the final lap while the race’s top protagonists– AJ Allmendinger and Austin Cindric – crashed and spun across the finish line, with Allmendinger nipping Cindric for the win and the regular-season championship.

Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“That was fun. A lot of people using their bumpers out here tonight and kind of what I expected just because it’s the regular-season cutoff and playoff points are on the line. It got aggressive, but it was cool. We kept ourselves in position. Richard Boswell and the 98 team gave us a really good strategy and a really good car. Once the caution came and the overtime happened, I knew it was gonna be kind of hectic. It’s just a product of Bristol. People got aggressive. Everybody wants to win at this place. This place is awesome. It was ten tenths there the last few laps and all hell kind of broke loose, but we were able to come away third and we’ll take it headed to Las Vegas. Thank you to Monster Energy and Ford Performance. Man, I’m so excited to go home next week and try to go race for a championship. It’s gonna be fun. I’ve been looking forward to going home for a long time and I think we can win at home next week and move to the Round of 8. We’re very capable of winning and we’re ready to go do it.”

Notes:
● This is Herbst’s second straight playoff appearance. He qualified for the 2020 postseason as an Xfinity Series rookie.
● Herbst’s third-place result bettered his previous best finish at Bristol – 10th, earned last August.
● Allmendinger’s victory in the Food City 300 was his ninth career Xfinity Series victory, his fourth of the season and his first at Bristol. His margin over second-place Cindric was .082 of a second.
● There were 10 caution periods for a total of 72 laps.
● Only 14 of the 40 drivers in the Food City 300 finished on the lead lap.
● Allmendinger and Cindric both lead the playoff standings as each hold a 24-point advantage over Allgaier, their nearest pursuer.
● Herbst is 11th in the playoff standings, 43 points behind the leaders.

Next Up:
The next event on the Xfinity Series schedule is the Alsco Uniforms 302 on Saturday, Sept. 25 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It is the first race of the seven-race playoffs and the first race in the Round of 12. It starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

RCR Post Race Report – Food City 300

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Official Release
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Myatt Snider and the No. 2 Crosley Brands Chevrolet Team Earn Solid, Top-10 Finish In Action-Packed Bristol Motor Speedway Night Race

Finish: 8th
Start: 17th
Points: 12th

“Our Crosley Brands Chevrolet was extremely fast tonight at Bristol Motor Speedway. My Richard Childress Racing guys brought such a good piece to the track and I couldn’t be prouder. To finish inside the top-10 in the regular season finale is a good way to build momentum heading into the NASCAR Playoffs next week. To start the race, our Camaro was tight center off, but when we were on a long run, it had so much speed. My crew chief, Andy Street, barely had to adjust on the balance all night, which is the sign of a good handling car. Racing at Bristol is a battle and there was a lot of beating and banging out there. I wish we didn’t tear up our car after the checkered, but there was nowhere for me to go at that point. We are now looking forward to Las Vegas.”

-Myatt Snider

Team Penske NASCAR Xfinity Race Report – Bristol

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Official Release
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Team Penske NASCAR Xfinity Race Report
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway
Race: Food City 300
Date: September 17, 2021

No. 22 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang – Austin Cindric

Start: 9th
Stage 1: 7th
Stage 2: 4th
Finish: 2nd
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 306/306
Laps Led: 75
Driver Point Standings (ahead of second): 1st (+0)

Notes:

  • Austin Cindric started ninth and finished second while crashing just past the start finish line in a wild NASCAR Overtime on Friday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. Cindric led 75 laps on his way to the second-place finish in the Food City 300 and ended the regular season with the No. 22 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang team earning another 10 playoff points to use in their Championship quest, finishing second in the regular season standings. The team enters the first NASCAR XFINITY Playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway next Saturday as the number one seed.
  • In the early laps of the race, Cindric drove the No. 22 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang into the top-five, reaching the fourth position prior to the lap 40 competition caution. During the run, the driver reported that the handling of his Mustang was building slightly free on corner entry. Cindric would later get trapped behind a car on the inside line on a restart, dropping him to the seventh position at the end of Stage 1. Crew chief Brian Wilson adjusted on the No. 22 Mustang with air pressure on the stage ending stop, looking to give Cindric additional entry security and center turn.
  • Despite radioing the team that the Mendards/Richmond Mustang was too tight in the opening laps of Stage 2, Cindric quickly found himself racing back inside the top-five. As the stage wore on, Cindric was able to move up, becoming the first car to make good lap times in the second and third lane around the high-banked concrete half-mile. Cindric remained in the top-five, finishing Stage 2 in the fourth position. On the stage ending stop, the team elected to make a trackbar adjustment to help with the No. 22 Menards/Richmond Mustang being too tight on fire-off.
  • With the trackbar adjustment working favorably, Cindric powered to the second position at lap 210 with only 90 laps remaining in the scheduled distance. Cindric would take the lead for the first time of the night at lap 230 before a caution at lap 240 which set up setting up the final stop of the race. The team delivered on a four-tire stop, sending Cindric back to the track with the lead.
  • While leading and lapping cars, Cindric received contact to his left rear, but maintained control of the No. 22 Menards/Richmond Mustang, driving out to a one-second lead and cruising to the win. With only three laps remaining, a caution flag was displayed for a spin in second-place, sending the race to NASCAR Overtime.
  • On the restart, Cindric received heavy left-side contact from eventual race winner AJ Allmendinger and then again from Justin Allgaier. Cindric was able to rally back to the second position, getting inside Allmendinger before the two made contact at the checkered flag. Cindric netted another 10-playoff points with his regular season performance and enters the NASCAR XFINITY Playoffs with 44 total playoff points.

Quote: “Yeah. Absolutely. I’m sure everybody in the grandstands tonight will remember this one. I certainly will. That’s two years in a row in this race that I feel like we should have won. That’s a lot of races in this neon yellow car that I feel like we should have won this year, so really disappointed for Menards, Richmond, Team Penske — all the hard work these guys put in. We put ourselves in position. That’s all you can ask for and I guess that’s short track racing.”

Ford Performance NASCAR: Cindric Finishes Second in Dramatic Final Lap at Bristol

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Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Xfinity Series — Food City 300
Bristol Motor Speedway | Friday, September 17, 2021

FORD FINISHING RESULTS
2nd — Austin Cindric
3rd — Riley Herbst
34th — Ryan Sieg

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 22 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang — YOU WILL MAKE HIGHLIGHTS AT BRISTOL FOR YEARS TO COME WITH THAT FINISH. “Yeah. Absolutely. I’m sure everybody in the grandstands tonight will remember this one. I certainly will. That’s two years in a row in this race that I feel like we should have won. That’s a lot of races in this neon yellow car that I feel like we should have won this year, so really disappointed for Menards, Richmond, Team Penske — all the hard work these guys put in. We put ourselves in position. That’s all you can ask for and I guess that’s short track racing.”

HOW DO YOU RESET YOUR MINDSET FOR THE PLAYOFFS? “I know how much it means to everybody else to beat us.”

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE FINAL LAP? “What happened on the last lap? The short summary is short track racing. The long summary is a lot of contact. Five-star bodies definitely made their money’s worth today. I’m surprised we were able to not cut a tire down in that situation, but just a lot of hard racing, a lot of guys wanted to win the race. I feel like, and I say with confidence, we were probably the ones that deserved to, but that’s not how these play out with these green-white-checkers and sometimes you’re vulnerable.”

DID YOU HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THAT LAST MOVE OFF OF FOUR OR WAS THAT DESPERATION? “I would say that was the exact same thing AJ did on the bottom of turn four the lap prior, just gassing up out of desperation. I would say it was a bit desperate, but monkey see, monkey do in that situation. Like I said in my TV interview, I don’t want to tear up race cars and can’t say I’m the one that instigated any of that. I had a shot to win. I mean, I’d love to see the margin there of two cars crashing across the finish line, but really close two years in a row.”

WHAT WERE YOU THINKING WHEN YOU NARROWLY MISSED SIEG TRYING TO GET TO PIT ROAD? “I thought that was really close. The 10 car had a tire go down. The 39 had a problem. I was just waiting for my caution. When we got to three to go I thought we were in a decent spot, but I’ve had a couple of these run green while I’ve been leading and I consider myself lucky every time it does and today it didn’t happen.”

DO THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT WITH AJ CHANGE NOW AFTER TONIGHT? “Yes and no. I feel like at a track like this it’s probably more pliable, but it doesn’t surprise me. That’s how AJ races. That’s how he’s always raced. He’s usually walked that fine line no matter what position he’s running on the racetrack. I respect him for it — not for tonight — but I respect him for it in general. He’s hungry. I think that’s proof. Not to sound arrogant, but how bad guys want to win, how bad guys want to beat us. We obviously did the right adjustments tonight and got ahead and stayed ahead of the track and I’m really proud of that and some nights that’s all you can do.”

IT’S A BIG POINT SWING. DO YOU FEEL THAT PLAYED INTO IT AT ALL? “Absolutely. You can look at it from a different perspective that I would rather AJ win than anybody else because I’d rather have two cars have the most playoff points than to be equally distributed throughout the field because then that devalues mine, so from that perspective, I don’t mind him winning as long as I’m ahead. That’s the caveat there.”

WILL YOU CHAT WITH HIM ABOUT THIS? “The funny thing is we fly on the same plane as Kaulig, so it’s kind of been funny the whole year. They sit in the front of the plane. They make us sit in the back of the plane, so I get to have some snarky comment every time I walk by AJ when we walk on the plane, so, if he doesn’t talk to me by then I’m sure I’ll hear something on Friday morning.”

YOU TOOK THE OUTSIDE AND ALLGAIER OPTED TO GO BEHIND YOU. WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS WHEN YOU SAW THAT HAPPEN? “I actually liked it because I thought Allgaier was the better car and I thought that was gonna trap AJ on the bottom, but obviously contact there off of four really screwed my run. I did have a point that I was clear, but the moment I pull down with a tight clear like that all AJ is gonna do release the brake and run into the back of me, so, like I said, two guys who both wanted to win the race really bad.”

DO YOU KNOW YOUR SNARKY COMMENT YET BEFORE GETTING ON THE PLANE? “I usually try to think of my rebuttal because he usually gets the first word and the last word, and I try to shut him up before he gets the last word.”

RILEY HERBST, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang — THAT WAS A WILD FINISH. “Yeah, that was fun. A lot of people using their bumpers out here tonight and kind of what I expected just because it’s the regular season cutoff and playoff points are on the line. It got aggressive, but it was cool. We kept ourselves in position. Richard Boswell and the 98 team gave us a really good strategy and a really good car. Thank you to Monster Energy and Ford Performance. Man, I’m so excited to go home next week and try to go race for a championship.”

HOW SPECIAL WILL IT BE TO START THE PLAYOFFS AT YOUR HOME TRACK? “It’s gonna be fun. I’ve been looking forward to going home for a long time and I think we can win at home next week and, like I said, I’m excited. We’re going to race for a championship.”

WHAT ABOUT THE FINAL RESTART? “Once the caution came and the overtime happened I knew it was gonna be kind of hectic. It’s just a product of Bristol. People got aggressive. Everybody wants to win at this place. This place is awesome. It was ten tenths there the last few laps and all hell kind of broke loose, but we were able to come away third and we’ll take it headed to Las Vegas.”

THOUGHTS ON LAS VEGAS NEXT WEEK? “We’re going to back to my home, Las Vegas, to try to go win and move to the Round of 8. We’re very capable of winning and we’re ready to go do it.”

Toyota Racing NXS Post-Race Recap — Bristol 9.17.21

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Official Release
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Joe Gibbs Racing Trio Qualifies for the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs
Hemric, Burton and Jones will vie for the Championship

BRISTOL, Tenn. (September 17, 2021) – Brandon Jones (fifth) led the way for Team Toyota in the Food City 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday evening. This was Jones’ ninth top-five finish of the 2021 season. All three Joe Gibbs Racing fulltime drivers locked themselves into the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs with Daniel Hemric seeded sixth, Harrison Burton eighth and Brandon Jones 10th.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Bristol Motor Speedway
Race 25 of 33 – 159.9 miles, 300 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, AJ Allmandinger*
2nd, Austin Cindric*
3rd, Riley Herbst*
4th, Justin Allgaier*
5th, BRANDON JONES
7th, HARRISON BURTON
10th, DANIEL HEMRIC
11th, TY GIBBS
21st, BRANDON GDOVIC
22nd, STEFAN PARSONS
30th, DAVID STARR
33rd, CHAD FINCHUM
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

BRANDON JONES, No. 19 YeeYee Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 5th

How do you feel about the race and your momentum heading into the Playoffs?

“This is exactly what we need to do truthfully is just have a good, solid run. We had decent stages – I think we finished eighth in both stages. There at the end, you never know what’s going to happen. I’ve been part of a lot of these races where these late-race restarts cause a lot of chaos and you can come and sneak in. I didn’t know what to expect, but that was my best shot at trying to come in here and win this race. Awesome day for YeeYee, I know they had a big deal setup in the fan zone so that was super cool for them so it was great to get them a top-five although I think we should be grateful for a top-five, we’re still hunting for that win. It’s awesome to go into the Playoffs with some momentum and we’ve got some good tracks coming up. Vegas is really good for us and looking forward to getting there.”

DANIEL HEMRIC, No. 18 Poppy Bank Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 10th

What happened in the closing laps of the race and how was your car tonight?

“A 10th place finish is not at all what this Poppy Bank Toyota Supra team had. We struggled a little bit on pit road all night. We maintained track position – I think the worst we were was second or third under green flag runs and then would lose a few spots on pit road, which is very uncharacteristic of our group. It was one of those nights. I’ve made some mistakes and I’m cleaning it up. Just wish we could have been in the mix there coming to the end. Then somebody got into me coming to two to go and got me out of the groove and that was it. Finally got the ball rolling. First time in a couple weeks that we had one of the fastest cars. That’s all you can ask for. Get my voice healed up and head to Vegas.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands plus our 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota has created a tremendous value chain and directly employs more than 47,000 in North America. The company has contributed world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama that begins production in 2021.

Through its Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.

Newgarden Paces Opening Practice at Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey

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Official Release
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MONTEREY, Calif. (Friday, Sept. 17, 2021) – Josef Newgarden isn’t going down without a big fight.

Two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Newgarden led practice Friday for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, turning a top lap of 1 minute, 11.7125 seconds in the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet after losing ground to championship leader Alex Palou last weekend at Portland International Raceway.

“Overall, we unloaded pretty good,” Newgarden said. “Small differences here or there, but for the most part globally it felt like the car was in the window. Just got to look after it.

“Obviously, things can change quickly. In Portland, we were pretty sorted out in practice one, we choked in qualifying and were pretty far off the pace. That’s the number one thing for us in the 2 car, have a consistent run all the way through. If we can do that, we’ll be in the fight.”

Newgarden enters this penultimate event of the season third in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES standings, 34 points behind leader Palou. It’s far from impossible he can rally for a third career title, but he’ll need to leapfrog Palou and second-place Pato O’Ward – 25 points behind Palou – to wear the crown. Titles can be captured at the top south african online casino where you can compare the best players.

Colton Herta was second at 1:11.7927 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda before going off course just past the famous Corkscrew turn complex in the final minute of the 45-minute session on the 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course on the beautiful Monterey Peninsula of Northern California. 2019 Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey winner Herta made no contact and continued to the pits.

“I think it’s tough to do a 45-minute session on one set of tires,” Herta said. “Waiting for most of it, waiting to see what kind of lap times guys were doing.

“Compared to when we were at the test, I think the track was a lot better. It was quite nice. Even though it seemed like it was similar temperature, seemed to be a little bit more grip today.”

Track activity resumes with a 45-minute practice at 1:45 p.m. (ET) Saturday, followed by NTT P1 Award qualifying at 5:05 p.m. (ET). Both sessions will be streamed live on Peacock Premium.

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Palou was third overall in the practice at 1:11.9750 in the No. 10 NTT Data Honda. Ed Jones was fourth at 1:12.0166 in the No. 18 SealMaster Honda, while 2016 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Alexander Rossi rounded out the top five at 1:12.0625 in the No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS/AutoNation Honda.

Among the other three drivers mathematically eligible to win the Astor Challenge Cup as season champion, Marcus Ericsson (fifth, 75 points behind) was 10th at 1:12.3564 in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Six-time series champion Scott Dixon (fourth, 49 points behind) ended up 11th at 1:12.4415 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Grow Up Great Honda, while O’Ward was 14th at 1:12.4982 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet.

Herta wasn’t the only driver to go off track while pushing for lap time toward the end of the session.

Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves nudged the tire barrier in Turn 2, also known as the Andretti Hairpin, with the nose of his No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda with about 18 minutes remaining. Then Rossi went off in Turn 3 and continued, while Sebastien Bourdais spun and continued in the No. 14 ROKiT/AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet.

Rookie of the Year points leader Scott McLaughlin also slowed in the final minute approaching the Corkscrew turn complex.

Live coverage of the 95-lap race starts at 3 p.m. (ET) Sunday on NBC, Peacock Premium and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Allmendinger spins and wins a wild finish at Bristol; locks up Xfinity regular season championship

By
Andrew Kim
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Photo by Christian Gardner for SpeedwayMedia.com.

The conclusion of the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, September 17, left a bevy of race cars wrecked and tempers flaring amongst a number of competitors, including the top-two finishers fighting for both the win and the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular season championship.

In a late overtime shootout between two potential championship favorites, AJ Allmendinger bumped and rubbed Austin Cindric for the lead before overtaking him on the final lap and just had enough to stay ahead of Cindric, who sent both competitors spinning and wrecking across the finish line, to win both the race and claim the regular season title. The finish of the event also provided a possible preview of this year’s Xfinity Series championship battle between two dominating competitors throughout this year’s Xfinity regular-season stretch.

The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Xfinity event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Xfinity race. With that, Noah Gragson, winner of last weekend’s event at Richmond Raceway, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with teammate Justin Allgaier.

Prior to the event, Josh Berry dropped to the rear of the field for filling in for veteran Michael Annett, who re-injured his right leg while working out. The move eliminated Annett in making the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs for the first time since 2018.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Gragson powered ahead with the lead on the outside lane followed by Daniel Hemric and the field. As Gragson led the first lap, Hemric retained second while Allgaier was trying to fend off Harrison Burton, rookie Ty Gibbs and Justin Haley in third.

On the fifth lap and while the field battled competitively early, Hemric emerged with the lead after passing Gragson, who led the first four laps, on the inside lane through Turns 4 and 1. Behind, Gibbs muscled his way into fourth behind Allgaier while Harrison Burton was left battling with Kaulig Racing’s Haley and Jeb Burton near the top five.

On the ninth lap, the first caution of the race flew when Brett Moffitt made contact with the outside wall in Turn 2, an incident that ended his hopes to make the Playoffs. By then, Harrison Burton fell back to eighth behind Austin Cindric while Josh Berry was up in 27th behind Spencer Boyd.

Seven laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Hemric retained the lead while Allgaier overtook teammate Gragson to move into second. Behind, Gibbs and Haley battled for fourth while Cindric and Jeb Burton battled for sixth.

By Lap 20, Hemric was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Allgaier while Gragson, Haley and Jeb Burton were in the top five. Cindric, Harrison Burton, Gibbs, Jeremy Clements and Brandon Jones were in the top 10 while AJ Allmendinger was in 12th behind Ryan Sieg.

Ten laps later, Hemric, who was approaching lapped traffic, continued to lead by a narrow margin over Allgaier while Haley was in third. Meanwhile, Cindric was up in fourth followed by Gragson. Behind, Gibbs was up in sixth followed by cousins Jeb and Harrison Burton. In addition, Allmendinger cracked the top 10.

On Lap 36, Allgaier made a move on Hemric, who was trapped behind the lapped car of Jade Buford, to move into the lead. Shortly after, Haley moved into second while Hemric got shuffled back to third.

When the competition caution flew on Lap 40, Allgaier was leading by three-tenths of a second over Haley while Hemric, Cindric and Gragson were in the top five. Gibbs, Jeb Burton, Harrison Burton, Allmendinger and Brandon Jones were in the top 10. By then, Ryan Sieg, Riley Herbst and Brandon Brown, all of whom were battling for spots in the Xfinity Series Playoffs, were in 11th, 12th and 13th, Myatt Snider was in 15th and Berry was in 19th.

Under the competition caution, some like Sieg and Jeremy Clements pitted while the rest led by Allgaier remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Spencer Boyd, who also pitted, dragged a gas can out of his pit box and on the track. When the gas can came off of Boyd’s machine, fuel spilled out on the racing surface, which required safety crews to remove the can.

When the race restarted on Lap 51, Allgaier continued to lead over the field.

By Lap 60, Allgaier was ahead by four-tenths of a second over Hemric and nearly seven-tenths of a second over teammate Gragson. Mayer was in fourth followed by Allmendinger, Cindric, Brandon Jones, Jeb Burton and Harrison Burton. Meanwhile, Gibbs was back in 11th, but locked in a battle with teammate Harrison Burton and Riley Herbst.

Fifteen laps later, Allgaier remained in the lead by nearly half a second over Hemric while third-place Gragson trailed by nearly a second. Meanwhile, light smoke and possible fluid was billowing out of the No. 1 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet Camaro driven by Berry. 

When the first stage concluded on Lap 85, Allgaier, who led 50 laps, was able to capture his second stage victory of the season. Hemric settled in second followed by Gragson, Haley, Mayer, Allmendinger, Cindric, Brandon Jones, Gibbs and Harrison Burton. By then, Berry, who pitted for fresh tires and to have the smoke assessed, took his car behind the wall.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Allgaier retained the lead ahead of the field following his pit service. Meanwhile, Jeremy Clements moved up to third after opting for no fresh tires during his pit service.

The second stage started on Lap 93 as teammates Allgaier and Gragson occupied the front row. At the start, Allgaier muscled into the lead on the outside lane while Hemric overtook Gragson for the runner-up spot. Behind, a pair of side-by-side battles occurred between Clements, Haley, Allmendinger and Cindric.

Two laps later, Haley, who was in fourth, slipped in Turn 1, which nearly placed him in a four-wide battle with teammate Allmendinger, Cindric and Clements entering Turn 2. With the field jumbled up, Allgaier continued to lead.

At the Lap 100 mark, Allgaier was leading by two-tenths of a second over Hemric followed by Gragson, Haley and Allmendinger. Cindric was in sixth ahead of Ty Gibbs while Jeb Burton, Mayer and Brandon Jones were in the top 10. 

Three laps later, the caution flew when BJ McLeod bumped and turned Tommy Joe Martins in the backstretch.

Another five laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Allgaier jumped ahead with a slight advantage over Hemric, who fought back on the inside lane. A lap later, Hemric muscled his way back into the lead. Not long after, the caution returned when Matt Mills wrecked on the frontstretch following contact from Boyd. After exiting his car, Mills expressed his displease to Boyd with an obscene gesture.

On Lap 116, the race restarted under green. At the start, Hemric retained the lead following another strong start while JR Motorsports’ teammates Gragson and Allgaier battled for second. Behind, Cindric was in fourth followed by Haley and Allmendinger.

By Lap 125, Hemric was out in front by six-tenths for a second over Allgaier while Gragson, Cindric and Haley remained in the top five ahead of Allmendinger, Gibbs and the field.

On Lap 136, Allgaier seized an opportunity to retake the lead after Hemric was mired behind lapped traffic.

At the halfway mark on Lap 150, Allgaier continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second over Hemric while Gragson, Cindric and Haley remained in the top five. Behind, Brandon Jones and Allmendinger battled for sixth while Gibbs, Maayer and Jeb Burton were in the top 10. Harrison Burton was in 12th behind Myatt Snider, Sieg was in 13th ahead of Herbst and Brandon Brown was in 17th area of Jeremy Clements and Sage Karam.

A few laps later, the caution flew when Allgaier, the leader who was trying to navigate his way through lapped traffic, made contact with the lapped car of Joe Graf Jr., wiggled and got sideways in Turn 1. Despite sliding sideways in the first turn, Allgaier managed to straighten his car and continue without sustaining any damage. 

Under caution, some led by Mayer pitted while the rest led by Hemric remained on the track. Under caution, Snider was busted for speeding on pit road.

With nine laps remaining in the second stage, the race resumed under green. At the start, Hemric fended off Allgaier on the outside lane to retain the lead while Gragson, Cindric and Haley battled in the top five. 

When the second stage concluded on Lap 170, Hemric secured his seventh stage victory of the season. Allgaier settled in second followed by Gragson, Haley, Cindric, Allmendinger, Gibbs, Brandon Jones, Sieg and Jeb Burton.

Under the stage break, some led by Allgaier pitted while others led by Jeb Burton, including those who pitted under the previous caution prior to the second stage’s conclusion, remained on the track. Following the pit stops, teammates Allgaier and Gragson were penalized for speeding on pit road.

With 121 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Jeb Burton moved and cleared Herbst for the lead in Turn 2. A lap later, though, Mayer used the outside lane to overtake Burton and move into the lead. 

Eleven laps later, Mayer was leading by a second over Jeb Burton while Herbst, Hemric and Cindric were in the top five. 

Nearing the final 100 laps of the event, the caution flew when Carson Ware cut a left-front tire in Turn 1 and went up the racetrack, though he managed to keep the car off the wall. 

With 96 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Mayer retained the lead on the outside lane while Jeb Burton and Hemric battled for second. Soon after, Hemric and Cindric overtook Jeb Burton for second and third before Cindric muscled into the runner-up spot.

Down to the final 90 laps of the event, Mayer was leading by nearly four-tenths of a second over Cindric while Hemric, Herbst and Allmendinger were in the top five. Jeb Burton was back in sixth ahead of Brandon Jones, Haley, Gibbs and Snider.

With 75 laps remaining, Mayer continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over Cindric while third-place Hemric trailed by more than two seconds. Herbst and Allmendinger remained in the top five followed by Jeb Burton, Brandon Jones and Allgaier, who rallied from his late pit road penalty. Gibbs and Snider were in the top 10 while Haley slipped back to 11th ahead of Sieg, Brandon Brown, Harrison Burton, Gragson and Jeremy Clements.

Four laps later, Cindric took advantage of Mayer getting stuck behind the lapped car of Tommy Joe Martins to challenge Mayer for the lead. After drawing himself alongside Mayer for a full lap, Cindric then made contact with Mayer and the outside wall in Turn 4 while trying to clear himself for the lead. Despite the contact, Cindric and Mayer continued to run in first and second

With 62 laps remaining, the caution flew for a two-car spin involving David Starr and Tommy Joe Martins on the frontstretch.

Under caution, the leaders pitted and Cindric remained as the leader ahead of Mayer and the field following his pit service.

With 53 laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, Cindric jumped ahead with a strong start while Allgaier challenged teammate Mayer for the runner-up spot. Behind, Brandon Jones moved up to fourth ahead of Herbst and Allmendinger.

With less than 50 laps remaining, Cindric was out in front by more than a second over Mayer while Allgaier, Brandon Jones and Allmendinger battled for third. Herbst was back in sixth ahead of Hemric, who had a slow pit stop under the previous caution. 

Soon after, Jeb Burton made contact with the wall after racing hard with Snider, which dropped him off the pace and eventually livid with Snider. After spending a lap below the apron, Burton then pitted under green to have the damaged right side of his car addressed.

Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Cindric, who was mired behind lapped traffic, was leading by three-tenths of a second over Mayer while Allgaier kept the two leaders in his sight. Allmendinger was in fourth while Hemric moved back up to fifth.

Seven laps later, Mayer drew himself towards Cindric, who was mired in lapped traffic, and attempted to take the lead, but Cindric fought back on the outside lane. By the time Cindric retained the lead to a reasonable margin, Mayer was left to battle with teammate Allgaier for the runner-up spot.

With 15 laps remaining, Cindric extended his advantage to more than a second over Mayer and Allgaier while fourth-place Allmendinger trailed by more than three seconds and fifth-place Hemric trailed by four seconds.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Cindric continued to lead by a second over Mayer, who was able to place a half-a-second gap over teammate Allgaier. 

With five laps remaining, Cindric, who continued to deal with lapped traffic, retained the lead by nearly a second over Mayer, who had teammate Allgaier reeling back in.

Just then, the caution flew coming to the final four laps when Allgaier, who was trying to navigate his way to the front through lapped traffic, made contact with teammate Mayer and sent him spinning along with Josh Williams entering Turn 2. The contact and the incident between the two JR Motorsports competitors erased a comfortable advantage for Cindric and sent the race into overtime.

When the race restarted in overtime, Cindric held a narrow lead over Allmendinger, who fought back on the inside lane through the first two turns. Then in Turn 3, Allmendinger bolted his way alongside Cindric and rubbed Cindric’s No. 22 Menards Ford Mustang through Turn 4. As both competitors got sideways, Allgaier drew his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro beneath both as the final lap started.

Just as Cindric and Allgaier were locked in a dead heat for the win, Allgaier made contact with Cindric in Turn 1, which opened the door for Allmendinger to overtake both competitors in a bold three-wide move entering Turn 2. As Cindric pursued Allmendinger for the win, Allgaier rubbed with Riley Herbt for third.

Then, entering the final turn, Cindric, knowing he was battling Allmendinger for the regular season title, made his way beneath Allmendinger and made contact with the Californian as both competitors veered sideways and headed for the inside wall. In the process, Allmendinger managed to edge Cindric by 0.082 seconds to claim the win. Moments after both slid across the finish line, though, Allmendinger and Cindric then made contact into the inside wall as Allmendinger veered back across the racetrack and was hit by teammate Haley and Snider.

Despite the accident, Allmendinger managed to claim his ninth career win in the Xfinity Series, fourth of the season and first at Bristol. In addition, he became the fifth different competitor to claim the Xfinity Series regular season title.

Moments after climbing out of his wrecked race car, Allmendinger, who was livid towards Cindric over being wrecked, saluted the fans before hopping into the ambulance and making the trip to the infield care center while Cindric was welcomed with mixed reaction from the crowd. While both competitors expressed no ill feelings towards one another, their on-track battle left both setting their sights for the series’ title.

“That was crazy at the end,” Allmendinger, who was released from the infield care center, said on NBCSN. “We had about a fourth-place car. My team did a great job. We just kept trying to work on it. You got a chance on the bottom [lane] and got in there. I slid into Austin trying to throttle up and stay on the bottom. Then into [Turn] 1, Allgaier had a run and there was contact there. [I] Went down into the last corner, I expected to get run into. It happened in the previous corner. It’s frustrating to get hit that hard coming to the checkered, but we’re battling for the win. It’s Bristol, baby. It’s what it’s all about. I haven’t had a lot of chances to ever in my life win at Bristol, so you know what, you get a chance to go do it, you got to do it. If I don’t take that chance, I don’t belong in a race car because my team deserves to win. Not the way you want to finish the race like that, destroying a lot of race cars. It’s a dream come true for this year. Thank you so much. Whether you love me or hate me for that, you know what, just keep being you guys [fans] because this is what makes this sport bad ass.”

“I thought we had a really great battle all season long up to this point,” Cindric said. “Congratulations to Kaulig [Racing] and AJ. Those guys didn’t want us to win really bad and I hate it completely destroyed our Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang. That’s all I got, man. I know what happened. I got drove into the door…AJ just drove straight through us. You’ll have that green-white-checkered racing. Man, what a hell of a race. I tried. That’s a big bummer. Sorry to everybody else that got involved in that wreck as well. That was really unfortunate…I just got booed and just got cheered. I don’t know what’s going on. Welcome to Bristol.”

Meanwhile, Riley Herbst came home in third place and secured his spot in the Playoffs along with fifth-place finisher Brandon Jones and 13th-place finisher Jeremy Clements. Names like Brandon Brown, Ryan Sieg and Josh Williams failed to qualify for the postseason battle for the title.

Allgaier and Jones finished in the top five on the track followed by Haley, Harrison Burton, Snider, Mayer and Hemric.

AJ Allmendinger, Austin Cindric, Justin Allgaier, Noah Gragson, Justin Haley, Daniel Hemric, Jeb Burton, Harrison Burton, Myatt Snider, Brandon Jones, Riley Herbst and Jeremy Clements have made the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs, and will compete for this year’s series title.

There were 11 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured 10 cautions for 72 laps. Only 14 of 40 starters finished on the lead lap.

Results.

1. AJ Allmendinger, one lap led

2. Austin Cindric, 75 laps led

3. Riley Herbst

4. Justin Allgaier, 92 laps led, Stage 1 winner

5. Brandon Jones

6. Justin Haley

7. Harrison Burton

8. Myatt Snider

9. Sam Mayer, 49 laps led

10. Daniel Hemric, 78 laps led, Stage 2 winner

11. Ty Gibbs

12. Noah Gragson, four laps led

13. Jeremy Clements

14. Brandon Brown

15. Ty Dillon, one lap down

16. Sage Karam, one lap down

17. Joe Graf Jr., one lap down

18. Gray Gaulding, one lap down

19. Alex Labbe, one lap down

20. Josh Williams, one lap down

21. Brandon Gdovic, one lap down

22. Stefan Parsons, two laps down

23. Tommy Joe Maartins, two laps down

24. Jeb Burton, three laps down

25. Jeffrey Earnhardt, three laps down

26. BJ McLeod, three laps down

27. Jade Buford, four laps down

28. Jesse Little, four laps down

29. Kyle Weatherman, five laps down

30. David Starr, six laps down

31. Spencer Boyd, eight laps down

32. Carson Ware, nine laps down

33. Chad Finchum, 24 laps down

34. Ryan Sieg – OUT, Fuel pump

35. Josh Berry, 91 laps down

36. Matt Mills – OUT, Accident

37. Ryan Vargas – OUT, Brakes

38. Bayley Currey – OUT, Brakes

39. Landon Cassill – OUT, Electrical

40. Brett Moffitt – OUT, Accident

The 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs is set to commence next Saturday, September 25, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with the event scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

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