Four Takeaways from the Truck Series race at Las Vegas

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September 28, 2020

Sheldon Creed leads the field during the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series World of Westgate 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on September 25, 2020. Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images.

The World of Westgate 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last Friday night, marked the second race of the 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Playoffs. After coming up short at Bristol the week prior, Brett Moffitt had hopes of bouncing back and potentially increasing his championship points lead over the rest of the playoff field.

However, Moffitt’s race was unfortunately forgettable for the most part, as the GMS Racing driver continued his winless streak, finishing 15th, after starting on the pole. Moffitt could only manage to lead one lap as Sheldon Creed passed his teammate on Lap 2. While the Las Vegas race looked like it was going to be dominated by Creed, he was eventually challenged by Austin Hill and the No. 16 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota Tundra, when Hill made the pass on Creed with 39 laps to go.

Hill was unchallenged during the final remaining laps and held on to score his second victory of the 2020 Truck Series season and advance to the Round of 8. Fortunately for Hill, he won’t have to worry about Talladega Superspeedway this Saturday afternoon after already winning at Las Vegas. However, the other playoff drivers will be hoping they won’t get collected in the “Big One.”

While the main focus is on the playoff drivers for the rest of the season, we’ll also take a look at what we might have missed in Friday night’s race at Las Vegas

Chandler Smith Sees Back to Back Top Five Finishes – The 2020 Truck Series season hasn’t been too kind to the highly regarded NASCAR prospect of Chandler Smith. Thus far, Smith has not had the luck he’s needed to finish inside the Top 10. He finished 22nd at Kentucky and 38th at Michigan due to a crash, 20th at Dover and 23rd at Gateway and Darlington. However, over the last three weeks, Smith has been picking up momentum since finishing 12th at Richmond. At Bristol, Smith finally cracked the top five for the first time since Phoenix of last fall. This past week at Vegas, the Georgian earned another fifth-place finish, resulting in back-to-back top-fives. Smith now has five Top 10 finishes in his Truck Series career.
Ryan Truex Earns Best Finish of 2020 – Ryan Truex has only competed in five Truck Series races this year but the New Jersey native has made the most of those opportunities. Aside from his finishes of 27th at Kentucky and 19th at Michigan, Truex has finished inside the Top 15 three times this season. On Friday night at Vegas, Truex earned his best finish of the year finishing 12th to go with his most recent best finish of 13th coming at Atlanta and Texas.
Dylan Lupton Returns – The Las Vegas race was sort of a “home sweet home” type of feeling for Dylan Lupton. Lupton made his first Truck Series start of the year last Friday night, competing in the No. 17 DGR-Crosley machine. Lupton’s last Truck Series start came last year at Phoenix, where he started 16th and finished 16th. He originally attempted Homestead but failed to qualify. However, Lupton was back in the series Friday night and had a respectable run by finishing 13th on the lead lap.
Get Well Soon Natalie – Before the 134 lapper got underway, Niece Motorsports driver Natalie Decker was unable to compete due to medical reasons. It was later reported by NASCAR in an official race report that she was facing fatigue issues. As the race was over, the Wisconsin driver was eventually cleared by NASCAR and released from the infield medical center. Decker later commented on Twitter that she would have some testing done to figure out what is wrong with her. Whatever that may be, here’s wishing Decker a speedy recovery. Unfortunately for Decker, she was credited with a last-place finish.

Kurt Busch achieves first triumph at Las Vegas; clinches Round of 8 spot

By

Andrew Kim

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September 28, 2020

EF37A0C9-0C71-421B-9473-12535C67CF48 — Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images.

For Kurt Busch, there is no greater feeling than winning at home. Taking the lead with over 30 laps remaining, the former Cup Series & Daytona 500 champion outlasted the field through two late restarts and persevered in a two-lap shootout to win the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, September 27, and achieve his first victory at his home track in his 22nd attempt. The win marked Busch’s 32nd of his NASCAR Cup Series career as it also snapped his 46-race winless drought dating back to July 2019 at Kentucky Speedway.

The starting lineup was based on four statistical categories: current owner standings, the driver’s result from a previous Cup race, the team owner’s result from a previous Cup race and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. With that, Kevin Harvick started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Kyle Busch.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Chase Elliott, who started in third place, jumped on the gas and overtook Harvick and Kyle Busch entering Turn 2 to lead the first lap. Behind, Joey Logano also moved up to second place while Austin Dillon battled Harvick and Kyle Busch for third place.

By the fifth lap, Elliott was ahead by less than two-tenths of a second over Logano while Kyle Busch settled in third place. Harvick continued to run in fourth place followed by Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr. while Austin Dillon joined the party. Behind, teammates Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer along with Alex Bowman and Ryan Blaney battled for spots inside the top 10. By then, the remaining 12 Playoff contenders were scored inside the top 15.

Following the first 10 laps of the race, Elliott continued to lead by more than a second over Logano followed by Kyle Busch, Harvick and Kurt Busch. Meanwhile, Bowman, Blaney and Truex battled for sixth place while Austin Dillon and Bowyer were running inside the top 10. Almirola fell back to 12th in front of Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson and Matt DiBenedetto.

With the early portions of the race continuing to progress, Elliott continued to stabilize and extend his advantage to more than three seconds over Kyle Busch, who overtook Logano earlier for the runner-up spot. During the early green flag run, Harvick overtook Logano for third place while Blaney moved into the top five ahead of Hamlin, Austin Dillon, Bowman, Truex and Kurt Busch.

When the competition caution flew on Lap 25, Elliott was still scored ahead of the field and by more than three seconds over Kyle Busch with Harvick, Logano and Blaney in the top five. By then, Hamlin, Austin Dillon, Bowman, Truex and Bower were running in the top 10 while Keselowski, Almirola and Kurt Busch were in 13th, 14th and 17th.

Under caution, the leaders pitted and Kyle Busch emerged with the lead after exiting pit road in first place. Harvick exited in second place followed by Hamlin, Logano and Elliott. Following the pit stops, Christopher Bell and William Byron were sent to the rear of the field due to speeding on pit road.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 30, teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin restarted on the front row followed by Hamlin, Logano, Elliott and Truex. At the start, Truex attempted to make a move beneath Logano, but Logano blocked him and was nearly turned in the process. At the front, Hamlin emerged with the lead followed by Kyle Busch, Logano, Harvick, Elliott and Truex.

The following lap, Elliott attempted to pull beneath Logano for position, but Logano pulled an aggressive block on Elliott and the two made contact. Both, nonetheless, continued to run towards the front despite the on-track altercation.

Shortly after, Logano moved into second place after passing Kyle Busch while Harvick, Truex and Elliott closing in behind. In addition, Bowyer and Bowman started to join the battle towards the front while Hamlin continued to lead by less than three-tenths of a second over Logano.

By Lap 40 and with the competitors towards the front continuing to battle, Hamlin continued to lead by half a second over Logano while Kyle Busch trailed by less than a second. Elliott and Truex were in the top five followed by Harvick, Bowman, Austin Dillon and Bowyer. Kurt Busch and Almirola were in 15th and 19th while Keselowski was mired back in 22nd. By then, Ryan Blaney was the highest-running non-title contender in 10th place while DiBenedetto, Erik Jones, Johnson and Bubba Wallace were running inside the top 15. Earlier, Tyler Reddick made an unscheduled pit stop due to a loose right-rear wheel.

Ten laps later, on Lap 50, Hamlin started to extend his advantage to nearly a second over Logano followed by Kyle Busch, Elliott and Harvick, who overtook Truex for position and was followed by Bowman. Meanwhile, Keselowski was still mired back in 21st while Byron moved up to 19th. By then, eight of the 12 Playoff contenders were running in the top 10. Bowyer was in 11th, Kurt Busch was in 14th and Almirola was in 16th.

Another ten laps later, on Lap 60, Hamlin stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Logano followed by Kyle Busch, Elliott and Harvick while Bowman, Austin Dillon, Blaney, Truex and Matt DiBenedetto were scored in the top 10. Bowyer was in 11th place ahead of Jimmie Johnson and Erik Jones while Almirola and Kurt Busch were in 14th and 15th. Keselowski was back in 20th place behind Cole Custer, William Byron, Bubba Wallace and Michael McDowell.

With 70 laps complete, Hamlin extended his advantage to three seconds over Logano. By then, eight of 12 Playoff competitors led by Hamlin were running inside the top 10. Bowyer was in 11th place, teammate Almirola and Kurt Busch were in 14th and 15th and Keselowski gained a spot to 19th place. Meanwhile, Blaney and DiBenedetto were the two highest-running non-title contenders in eighth and 10th.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 80, Hamlin retained the lead by two seconds over Logano as he claimed his ninth stage win of the season. Logano settled in second place followed by Kyle Busch, Elliott and Harvick while Austin Dillon, Blaney, Bowman, Truex and Bowyer were scored in the top 10. By then, Keselowski dropped back to 21st place.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Kyle Busch reassumed the lead following a stellar stop from his pit crew. Logano exited in second place followed by Hamlin, Elliott, Austin Dillon and Bowyer.

The second stage started on Lap 86 with Kyle Busch and Logano on the front row. At the start, Busch and Logano battled dead even for the lead as the field behind battled in a three-wide situation. Back at the line Logano led Lap 87, but in Turn 2, Hamlin made a bold three-wide move on teammate Kyle Busch and Logano to reassume the lead.

By the time the field returned to Turn 4, Logano started to slide out of the top 10 after he sustained a left-rear tire run on his No. 22 Pennzoil Ford Mustang as a result from contact with Kyle Busch. Two laps later, he pitted under green and he lost a lap to the leaders.

At the front, on Lap 90, Hamlin was ahead while Elliott started to close in on Hamlin for the lead. On Lap 91, Elliott passed Hamlin on the inside line through Turns 2 and 3 to return to the lead. Bowman was in third place followed by Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon while Truex, Harvick, Bowyer, Johnson and DiBenedetto were scored in the top 10.

On Lap 100, Elliott stabilized his advantage to more than half a second over Hamlin while Bowman, Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon continued to run inside the top five. Truex, Harvick and Bowyer were in the top 10 while Kurt Busch was in 12th place ahead of Keselowski and Almirola. Logano was mired back in 30th place.

Ten laps later, on Lap 110, Elliott continued to lead by less than a second over Hamlin followed by Bowman, Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon. While Truex and Harvick continued to run in sixth and seventh, Keselowski made his way up to 13th place behind Kurt Busch and Bowyer. Almirola was in 14th while Logano was still mired in 30th place. Johnson was in eighth place followed by Blaney and DiBenedetto while Byron made his way back up to 15th place ahead of Jones, Cole Custer, Bell, John Hunter Nemechek and McDowell. Matt Kenseth was in 21st ahead of Chris Buescher while Ryan Newman was in 25th behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

With approximately 150 laps remaining in the overall race, green flag pit stops started to occur as Truex pitted followed by Harvick, Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon, Elliott and Bowman. During the cycle of green flag pit stops, Kyle Busch had a slow stop due to a broken pit gun to change the tires. In addition, Johnson was assessed a speeding penalty on pit road while Kurt Busch slid slightly over his pit box.

Nearly six laps later and with most of the lead lap competitors pitting under green, Byron was scored as the leader followed by Buescher, Newman and Corey LaJoie, all of whom needed to pit. Elliott and Hamlin were back in fifth and sixth.

At the halfway mark on Lap 134, Byron continued to lead over Buescher, Newman, LaJoie, Elliott and Hamlin.

By Lap 140, teammates Buescher and Newman were running first and second on the track followed by Elliott, Hamlin, LaJoie and Truex. A few laps earlier, Byron pitted under green after leading 12 laps.

Five laps later, on Lap 145, Elliott reassumed the lead after Buescher pitted. Hamlin returned to second place followed by Bowman, Truex and Austin Dillon while Blaney was in sixth place. Prior to this, Newman also pitted under green.

With five laps remaining in the second stage and the leaders encountering lapped traffic, Elliott was scored as the leader by half a second over Hamlin followed by Bowman, Truex and Austin Dillon. Blaney, Harvick, DiBenedetto, Kyle Busch and Bowyer were in the top 10 followed by Byron, Almirola, Keselowski, Custer and Bell. Kurt Busch was in 17th while Logano was mired back in 27th.

With the laps in the second stage dwindling, Hamlin started to close in and challenge Elliott for the stage win. Though Hamlin continued to pounce behind him, Elliott was able to navigate his way through lapped traffic and win the second stage on Lap 160 for his eighth stage victory of the season. Hamlin emerged in second place followed by Bowman, Truex and Blaney while Austin Dillon, Harvick, Bowyer, DiBenedetto and Byron were scored in the top 10. Kyle Busch, Almirola and Keselowski were in 11th, 12th and 13th while Kurt Busch was in 17th and Logano was in 27th. Prior to the stage’s conclusion, Reddick scrubbed the Turn 1 outside wall after sustaining a flat right-front tire and he limped back to pit road with right-side damage on his No. 8 Caterpillar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Hamlin emerged with the lead after exiting pit road in first place followed by Bowman, Elliott, Truex, Blaney and Austin Dillon. Harvick fell back to 10th place behind Bowyer, DiBenedetto and Byron.

The final stage commenced with 102 laps remaining and with the sun starting to set. At the start, Bowman shoved Hamlin clear of Elliott and into the lead through Turns 1 and 2. Then, Bowman overtook Hamlin to assume the lead for the first time with 100 laps remaining.

With Bowman leading and Hamlin pursuing him, Elliott and Truex battled for third place while Blaney was in fifth place ahead of Bowyer, Austin Dillon, DiBenedetto, Byron and Custer.

Nearly five laps later, Hamlin reassumed the lead after overtaking Bowman. He then started to extend his advantage to nearly half a second while Elliott battled and overtook teammate Bowman for the runner-up spot. Truex and Blaney were in the top five followed by Bowyer, DiBenedetto, Austin Dillon, Byron and Harvick. Meanwhile, Keselowski moved up to 11th place while the Busch brothers were in 13th and 14th. Almirola was in 15th while Logano was mired back in 26th, a lap down.

With 80 laps remaining, Hamlin maintained a three-tenths of a second lead over Elliott while Bowman, Truex and Blaney were scored in the top five. Bowyer was in sixth place followed by DiBenedetto, Austin Dillon, Keselowski and Byron. Harvick and Kurt Busch were in 11th and 12th while Kyle Busch and Almirola were in 14th and 15th. Logano was still mired in 26th place behind Jimmie Johnson. Meanwhile, Nemechek, Custer and Bell were in 13th, 16th and 18th while Kenseth and Newman were in 20th and 23rd.

Two laps later, the caution flew due to debris spotted in Turn 2. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Hamlin retained the lead after exiting pit road in first place followed by Truex, Bowman, Elliott and Blaney. Following the pit stops, Austin Dillon was sent to the rear of the field due to a safety violation.

The race restarted under green with 71 laps remaining and with teammates Hamlin and Truex on the front row ahead of teammates Bowman and Elliott. At the start, Hamlin retained the lead in Turn 2 while DiBenedetto made a bold four-wide move on Bowman, Truex, Elliott and Blaney to move into second place.

While DiBenedetto went to work on Hamlin for the lead, Bowman retained third place followed by Truex, Blaney and Bowyer while Elliott fell back to seventh place ahead of teammate Byron. Not long after, Bowman moved into second place after passing DiBenedetto while Truex and Blaney joined the party. Behind, teammates Elliott and Byron battled for sixth place while Keselowski moved into ninth place over Bowyer, Harvick and Kyle Busch.

With 60 laps remaining and the track falling into night conditions under the track’s lights, Hamlin continued to lead by half a second over Bowman while DiBenedetto continued to hold strong in third place ahead of Truex, Blaney, Elliott and Byron. Keselowski moved up to eighth place followed by Erik Jones, Bowyer, Harvick and Kyle Busch. Almirola and Kurt Busch were in 14th and 15th while Austin Dillon, following his late pit road penalty, moved back up to 20th place. Logano, however, was mired in 28th place and was still a lap down.

Ten laps later, with 50 laps remaining, Hamlin extended his advantage to over Bowman. DiBenedetto retained third place while Elliott started to challenge Truex for fourth place and with Blaney lurking behind. Erik Jones moved up to seventh place in front of Byron, Keselowski, Harvick, Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Almirola.

By then, Austin Dillon, who was trying to work his way back to the front following his pit road penalty, pitted under green due to power steering and overheating issues, and to have broken belts replaced. Though he continued following the repairs, the late mechanical issues were enough to evaporate Dillon’s recent strings of strong results and to start the Round of 12 in the Playoffs.

Down to the final 40 laps of the race, Hamlin stabilized his advantage to less than a second over Bowman while Truex, one of the fastest cars on the track, moved into third place. DiBenedetto settled in fourth place while Blaney and Elliott battled for fifth place. Jones, Keselowski, Byron and Harvick were scored in the top 10 ahead of Bowyer, the Busch brothers, Almirola and Christopher Bell. Johnson was in 17th place behind Custer while Logano and Austin Dillon were in 27th and 33rd. Meanwhile, Kenseth and Newman were in 22nd and 23rd, Bubba Wallace was in 28th behind Logano and Buescher was in 18th ahead of Nemechek, McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Under the final 40 laps, green flag pit stops occurred as Kyle Busch pitted along with Harvick, Bowman, Blaney, Truex, Byron, Hamlin, Elliott, Bowyer and Keselowski.

Shortly after, the caution flew with 32 laps remaining due to debris coming off of Johnson’s No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE with Johnson sustaining a flat right-rear tire. By then, some that included DiBenedetto had yet to pit while Bowman passed Hamlin to emerge as the first car a lap down. Under caution, some that included Kurt Busch, Buescher, Nemechek, Bell, Kenseth and McDowell pitted. Ultimately, DiBenedetto cycled back as the leader of the race followed by Kurt Busch while Bowman was back in 10th place. Others that included Hamlin, Truex, Blaney, Elliott, Keselowski, Jones, Kyle Busch, Byron and Harvick would take the wave around to cycle back on the lead lap.

Following a cleanup session and when the field cycled through, the race restarted under green with 25 laps remaining and with DiBenedetto and Kurt Busch on the front row. At the start, the field expanded to three- and four-wide racing through the turns while Kurt Busch and DiBenedetto battled dead even for the lead.

With 23 laps remaining, Kurt Busch emerged with the lead over DiBenedetto while Bell, Nemechek and Newman moved into the top five over Kenseth and Buescher. Blaney carved his way to eighth place followed by Johnson and McDowell. Meanwhile, Playoff contenders Bowman, Hamlin, Elliott, Harvick, Truex and Keselowski were mired back in 11th through 16th.

Three laps later, with 20 laps remaining, Kurt Busch continued to lead by a narrow margin over DiBenedetto. Bell continued to settle in third place followed by Nemechek and Newman. Behind, Blaney and Bowman overtook Kenseth for sixth and seventh as both continued to march to the front with fast cars.

A few laps later, the caution flew when Nemechek spun below the apron in Turn 3 before he came up across the track, where he was avoided by the field, though Jones and Stenhouse made contact with one another and against the Turn 3 outside wall to avoid hitting Nemechek.

Under caution, some that included Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Truex, Harvick, Keselowski, Jones, Almirola and Byron pitted while the rest led by Kurt Busch and DiBenedetto remained on the track. In addition, Logano, the first car pinned a lap behind, received the free pass to return on the lead lap.

With 13 laps remaining, the race restarted under green with Kurt Busch jumping in front of DiBenedetto and retaining the lead. Behind, Blaney was the first competitor to peak out in a three-wide battle for positions while Bowman started to battle Newman, Bell and others for third place.

Down to the final 10 laps of the race, Bowman and Blaney, both of whom were the fastest cars on the track, started to gain ground on Kurt Busch and DiBenedetto for the lead while Hamlin also started to move back into the top five.

With eight laps remaining, Kurt Busch was still ahead by less than two-tenths of a second over DiBenedetto and Bowman was in third while Hamlin started to battle Blaney for fourth place and the field behind continued to dice for positions. During this time, Bell fell off the pace after making contact with the wall on the backstretch.

Shortly after, the caution returned when Byron spun across the frontstretch after bumping into Bell as LaJoie also sustained damage, which evaporated a slim lead for Kurt Busch and created an opportunity for Bowman, Hamlin and Blaney to pounce again.

The racing under green resumed with two laps remaining and with Kurt Busch and DiBenedetto on the front row followed by Bowman, Blaney, Hamlin and Newman. At the start, Kurt Busch jumped ahead with a strong start. In Turn 2 and with the field fanning out, Hamlin passed Bowman and DiBenedetto to move into second place through Turns 3 and 4 as Kurt Busch started the final lap of the race.

On the final lap, Hamlin was stuck in a battle with DiBenedetto for second place. By then, Bowman, Truex and Blaney battled for fourth through sixth on the track while Kyle Busch made his way up to seventh place. Though DiBenedetto cleared Hamlin for second place in Turn 2, Kurt Busch was starting to stabilize his narrow advantage entering Turn 3. In Turn 4, Kurt Busch was able to pull ahead and win by a tenth of a second over DiBenedetto.

With the win, Busch punched his ticket into the Round of 8 in the Playoffs as he became the 12th winner of this year’s Cup season while recording the first victory of the season for Chip Ganassi Racing. In addition to achieving its sixth victory of the season, Chevrolet achieved its 1,500th win across NASCAR’s three major division series (Cup, Xfinity and Truck).

“This is what kids dream of when they grow up racing,” Busch said in Victory Lane on NBCSN. “You dream of winning at your hometown track and for two decades, it’s kicked my butt. Tonight, with this Monster Energy Chevy, I’m in awe. I knew the race would come to us we needed it to get to nightfall. One of those quirky [crew chief] Matt McCall pit sequences finally unfolded. We got lucky. You got to be lucky and you have to be lucky in any race, but we did it tonight with teamwork and pulling through and just not giving up. This is Vegas.”

“[Hamlin] had ton of speed,” Busch added. “I was wide open and you just have to manipulate the draft. I pulled out some old drag racing skills on the restarts. I knew that that was our strong suit, I knew that that was the Ford’s weak suit. We just put ourselves in position and we held them off. [Team owner] Chip Ganassi was up in the suites somewhere and I could feel him breathing over my neck, ‘I wanna win,’ and we did it.”

DiBenedetto tied his career-best Cup result by finishing in second place as he came up one position shy of recording the 100th win for the Wood Brothers Racing team while Playoff contenders Hamlin, Truex and Bowman rounded out the top five.

“Two seconds at Vegas,” DiBenedetto said. “It’s tough to come that close, just wanted it so bad for this team. I love driving for the Wood Brothers. I want that number 100 [win] for them so bad and for Menards, the whole family and everything they do for us and the team, and having Duracell on the car this week, we’re keeping her charged up good. Our car was the best it had been at the end, just couldn’t get control on those restarts. [Kurt Busch] did a great job. We had completely different ratios for the restarts and once he gained control of the race, he played the right games on the restarts, knew what we had on our weakness there. Man, it’s tough to come that close. I just want it so bad, but I’m proud of the team. They did a great job. My pit crew did a great job tonight and really earned that one for us.”

“We had a dominant car today and I’m proud of the whole FedEx team for giving me such a great car,” Hamlin said. “By far the best car I’ve had in Las Vegas in a long time. It was really, really good. Happy with it and this new tire here. We’ll run that a few more times this year. Really encouraged by the way we ran, but very disappointed that we didn’t get a win. It’s just been the way that the playoffs have gone. Whoever stays out the longest puts themselves in a great spot to win. I feel good about it. I certainly had a great day. It’s something I’m happy about, it’s about how we ran and how fast we were. We restarted 13th there with just a few laps and then the top got shuffled and we were able to make some ground on the bottom. If either one of the cautions don’t happen, we’re still in great shape, but it took them like seven laps to get a piece of debris off and then we had debris right in the fuel window.”

“I guess it is good to be disappointed in a fifth-place finish,” Bowman said. “We did not need that caution to come out in the middle of the pit cycle like that. I thought it was going to be ok for us, but we just couldn’t get through traffic as well as we needed to. Our program is continuing to improve and I just feel like this is another Vegas race that go away from us. At least it was a good points day, which is what we need.”

Kyle Busch, who won at his home track in the Cup circuit in 2009, settled in sixth place while Blaney, Erik Jones, Buescher and Harvick rounded out the top 10.

“We weren’t great early on and didn’t quite have the long run speed,” Kyle Busch said. “We worked on it and I thought we were making some gains on it and then we got that damage and got way back in traffic. Then there towards the end, was just able to get lucky on a couple of the last restarts in order to pick off a few spots with the M&M’s Camry and get ourselves in a better position for the finish. It was a pretty dismal day I guess. I looked like it was going to be about 12th or 14th if we didn’t have some good moves on that last restart there to get us a sixth-place finish.”

Keselowski finished in 13th followed by teammate Logano while Almirola and Elliott finished 17th and 22nd. Austin Dillon ended his night in 32nd place. Jimmie Johnson finished in 11th place in his 22nd and final run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

There were 20 lead changes for 11 different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 36 laps.

Results.

1. Kurt Busch, 29 laps led

2. Matt DiBenedetto, eight laps led

3. Denny Hamlin, 121 laps led, Stage 1 winner

4. Martin Truex Jr.

5. Alex Bowman, five laps led

6. Kyle Busch, six laps led

7. Ryan Blaney, one lap led

8. Erik Jones

9. Chris Buescher, 10 laps led

10. Kevin Harvick

11. Jimmie Johnson

12. Clint Bowyer

13. Brad Keselowski, two laps led

14. Joey Logano, one lap led

15. Ryan Newman

16. Cole Custer

17. Aric Almirola

18. Matt Kenseth

19. Ryan Preece

20. John Hunter Nemechek

21. Michael McDowell

22. Chase Elliott, 73 laps led, Stage 2 winner

23. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

24. Christopher Bell

25. William Byron, 12 laps led

26. Ty Dillon, one lap down

27. Corey LaJoie, one lap down

28. Bubba Wallace, two laps down

29. Daniel Suarez, three laps down

30. Brennan Poole, three laps down

31. Gray Gaulding, six laps down

32. Austin Dillon, seven laps down

33. J.J. Yeley, seven laps down

34. Quin Houff, nine laps down

35. Joey Gase, 12 laps down

36. Josh Bilicki – OUT, Suspension

37. Timmy Hill – OUT, Rear end

38. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident

39. Chad Finchum – OUT, Engine

Bold indicates Playoff contender

Playoff standings.

1. Kurt Busch – Advanced

2. Kevin Harvick +61

3. Denny Hamlin +58

4. Brad Keselowski +16

5. Martin Truex Jr. +15

6. Joey Logano +11

7. Chase Elliott +10

8. Alex Bowman +9

9. Kyle Busch -9

10. Clint Bowyer -20

11. Aric Almirola -27

12. Austin Dillon -32

The Round of 12 in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will continue next Sunday, October 4, at Talladega Superspeedway for the YellaWood 500. The race will occur at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.

Ron Capps, Steve Torrence, Alex Laughlin, Matt Smith victorious in Gatornationals

By

Briar Starr

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September 27, 2020

NHRA Gatornationals — Photo Credit: NHRA

Sunday afternoon marked NHRA’s 51st Gatornationals located in Gainesville, Florida making up the postponed event from March due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Ron Capps in the Don Schumacher Racing NAPA Dodge Charger, Steve Torrence honoring the legendary Don Garlits paint scheme, Alex Laughlin in the Havoline Chevrolet and Matt Smith in the DENSO Auto Parts/Stockseth/MSR EBR machine were all celebrating in victory lane in their respective categories Sunday in Gainesville despite threatening skies in the background. Capps took the Funny Car win, while Torrence earned a win in Top Fuel, Laughlin in Pro Stock, and Smith in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

When Round 1 started, Capps was up against the No. 13 Qualifier John Smith’s Dodge Charger. The Round 1 meeting between Capps and Smith marked the first time in NHRA history the two would face each other. Capps beat Smith with a reaction time of .075 compared to Smith’s .089. From there, Capps won against Alexis Dejoria in Round 2 right before the semi-final. A scary moment, however, took place in the semi-final when Capps’s car exploded at the start/finish line and going sideways before Capps was able to park the car. Thankfully, Capps walked away without injuries and was able to advance to the finals against Tim Wilkerson. Despite the incident, Capps was able to put that behind him and beat Wilkerson with help of quicker reaction time than Wilkerson’s despite Wilkerson being quicker than Capps. The victory was Capps’ 66th of his Funny Car career.

“We all knew it was Tobler’s birthday and we all secretly wanted to win on his birthday,” Capps said. “But to bring out a car that we had as a backup, that’s never made it to the finish line and it goes 3.93 in the final round of the Gatornationals is crazy. He’s had that car up in the trailer since last year when we ran it at ‘Night Under Fire’ at Norwalk (Ohio) and made a check-out run with it and then he put it away for these occasions. With live TV pushing us, we had every team member of Don Schumacher Racing over here working on the car. It was unbelievable. Team members you’re battling against in the championship are over here helping our guys and it was cool. I’m so happy for Tobler and (assistant crew chief) Dustin (Heim) because to go up there in the final round and beat someone like (Tim) Wilkerson in a final is always tough to do but to do it with a car that has never been to a finish line, that’s NAPA Know How.”

“It was a crazy day today. There was a lot going on, probably more than a lot of fans realized. We’ve always got confidence that we can win a race. That NAPA Know How I brag about that (crew chief) Rahn Tobler has, I mean everybody’s got their favorite neighborhood mechanic at a NAPA AutoCare Center and Tobler to me is that guy. He’s the guy you can trust and the guy you can count on, and I’m confident we’ll do big things as we head into this final stretch.”

Ron Capps enjoys Gatornationals victory, Photo Courtesy of NHRA.

In the Top Fuel category, it was father-son squaring off against each other. with Steve and Billy Torrence in the final round. Steve, however, with the help of his Don Garlits paint scheme defeated his father Bill by going 3.809 seconds and 322.11 mph. Billy only went 320.74 mph and 3.810 seconds. Torrence, who qualified second on Saturday defeated Tony Schumacher’s car in Round 1, Doug Foley in the second round, and Leah Pruett in the semi-finals to ultimately help Steve win the Gatornationals.

By winning the Gatornationals, Steve took over the championship points lead from Doug Kalitta after Kalitta was eliminated in the first round by Terry McMillen. Kalitta had a 31 point advantage heading into the Gatornationals. Torrence now leads the standings by 22 points over Kalitta. The Top Fuel victory was Torrence’s third of the 2020 season and the 39th of his career.

“Don, I just want to say thanks for giving us an opportunity to run your car and to just celebrate the greatness of Don Garlits,” Torrence gushed after winning his third race of the season. “I never won here at Gainesville before, never even been to a final.
But today, we had magic. We were racing ‘Big Daddy’s’ car and we got a win for ole Dom (a reference to friend, and Capco crewman, Dom Lagana, who remains hospitalized with injuries suffered last month in a traffic accident.)”

Steve Torrence drove a modern day facsimile of Don Garlits’ Swamp Rat 14 dragster into the winners’ circle Sunday in the 51^st annual NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville, Fla. Torrence beat his dad, Billy, in the Top Fuel final to win for the first time in Florida. Photo Courtesy of Mark Rebilas.

For the Pro Stock division, Alex Laughlin, after qualifying fourth in his Camaro, won by defeating Aaron Stanfield in the final round. Laughlin in the Havoline Chevy won with a reaction time of .012, 7.068 seconds and 204.76 mph. Laughlin won in Round 1 after a close race against Bo Butner by 0.011 seconds, Kyle Koretsky in Round 2 and Jason Line in the semi-finals before advancing to the finals and facing Stanfield. The victory at Gainesville was Laughlin’s first after finishing runner-up last year to Butner.

“After the first qualifier, I thought we were going to win the race this weekend,” Laughlin said. “This track has always been really good to me. I was amped (in the finals) and I just went nuts when I saw the win light come on. What a weekend. More than anything, I just needed that this year with how awful a year it’s been. We had a completely brand new crew this weekend and we were just trying to find a routine. Everything just paid off.”

Alex Laughlin Gainesville Pro Stock Victory, Photo Courtesy of NHRA.

Finally, in Pro Stock Motorcycle, Matt Smith scored his first victory of the 2020 NHRA season Sunday in Gainesville. Smith had to face Andrew Hines in the finals but won as he was quicker with times of 6.843 seconds and 196.99 mph. Smith was the No. 1 qualifier after Saturday afternoon earning the 40th of his NHRA career and his second of the season. 2020 hasn’t been too kind to Smith, who has come up short multiple times, especially at the three Indy races. Smith lost to Ryan Oehler in the first Indy race in the finals but made everything perfect this weekend.

Smith scored victories over Kelly Clontz in Round 1, John Hall in the second round and eventually beating Indy winner Scotty Pollacheck in the semi-finals. Smith now has 25 career victories in his Pro Stock Motorcycle career. In addition, he takes the championship points lead as well.

“I’ve tried since 2006 to win this race and I’ve never been able to do it,” said Smith, a three-time world champ. “I’ve watched my dad do it a couple times and it means a lot to win it. I’ve always wanted to win Gainesville and leave with the points lead, and I was able to do it. Right now, I think Team MSR has the best team out here and we have the power to win this thing. We’ve just to keep everything together, but we have the power to win races and win a championship.”

Matt Smith Pro Stock Motorcycle Victory, Photo Courtesy of NHRA.

Updated Funny Car Standings

Jack Beckman, 569 points
Matt Hagan, -4
Tommy Johnson Jr, -57
Ron Capps, -83
Tim Wilkerson, -121
Bob Tasca III, -135
J.R. Todd, -149
Alexis Dejoria, -273
Cruz Pedregon, -303
Paul Lee, -311

Updated Top Fuel Standings

Steve Torrence, 548 points
Doug Kalitta, -22
Leah Pruett, -33
Billy Torrence, -115
Justin Ashley, -146
Shawn Langdon, -165
Terry McMillen, -171
Antron Brown, -175
Clay Millican, -211
Doug Foley, -332

Updated Pro Stock Standings

Jason Line, 515 points
Erica Enders, -2
Jeg Coughlin, -34
Alex Laughlin, -156
Matt Hartford, -186
Greg Anderson, -192
Chris McGaha, -214
Aaron Stanfield, -231
Bo Butner, -234
Deric Kramer, -235

Updated Pro Stock Motorcycle Standings

Matt Smith, 348 points
Scotty Pollacheck, -21
Andrew Hines, -28
Angelle Sampey, -48
Eddie Krawiec, -64
Ryan Oehler, -111
Angie Smith, -150
Hector Arana Jr, -158
Chris Bostick, -167
Steve Johnson, -170

Up Next: With the Gatornationals now complete, there are four NHRA races remaining in the 2020 season with the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis, Missouri next up on the schedule, taking place from Friday, Oct. 2 to Sunday, Oct. 4.

Briscoe extends dominance by winning Xfinity Playoff opener at Las Vegas

By

Andrew Kim

-

September 27, 2020

nxs_lvms2_briscoe_vl_092620 — Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images.

Prior to the start of this year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series season, Chase Briscoe’s goal was to achieve eight wins in order to consider himself a potential Cup Series competitor for the 2021 season. Following a dominating run and a late restart in the Alsco 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 26, Briscoe fulfilled his goal after claiming his eighth victory of the season over Noah Gragson.

The win marked Briscoe’s 10th of his Xfinity career in his 77th series start as this marked the second time this season where he achieved back-to-back victories after winning last weekend’s regular-season finale at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The starting lineup was based on four statistical categories: current owner’s standings, the driver’s result from a previous Xfinity race, the team owner’s result from a previous Xfinity race, and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Xfinity race. With that, Chase Briscoe started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Austin Cindric, the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season champion.

Dexter Bean, Jesse Little, and Austin Hill failed pre-race technical inspection twice and all lost pit selection for the next race in the schedule, though they retained their starting spots for the race at Vegas.

When the green flag waved and the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs commenced, Briscoe squeaked ahead with the lead and was able to lead the first lap ahead of Cindric. Behind, Ross Chastain moved up to third place followed by Noah Gragson and Anthony Alfredo while Justin Allgaier, who started in third place in his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro, fell back to sixth place in front of Justin Haley.

By the fifth lap, Briscoe was leading by more than seven-tenths of a second over Cindric while Chastain and Gragson battled for third place. Behind, Ryan Sieg and Harrison Burton were in eighth and ninth while Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric, Brandon Jones, and Brandon Brown were running inside the top 15.

It did not take long until the first caution of the race flew on Lap 8 when Kyle Weatherman made contact with the wall on the frontstretch and spun, where his No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro came to a rest near the Turn 1 inside wall and in front of the pace car while blocking it from entering the track to pace the field under caution.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 13, Chastain made a move on the outside of Briscoe and made a three-wide move on Briscoe and Cindric before challenging Cindric for the lead. Cindric, however, was able to retain the lead in his No. 22 Menards/NIBCO Ford Mustang when the field cycled back to the start/finish line.

With Cindric leading, Chastain retained second place ahead of Briscoe and Gragson while Alfredo, racing in his No. 21 Sim Seats Chevrolet Camaro, moved up to the fifth place. Behind, Haley was in sixth place followed by Sieg while Allgaier and Herbst battled for an eighth-place ahead of Burton.

By Lap 17 and with Cindric extending his advantage to more than a second over Chastain, Gragson and Alfredo overtook Briscoe for third and fourth place while Sieg moved up to the sixth place.

A few laps later, the caution flew when Austin Hill, winner of Friday night’s Truck Series Playoff race at Vegas, spun entering Turn 2. The caution for Hill’s spin was ruled as the competition caution planned on Lap 20. Under caution, some like Playoff contender Brandon Brown and Timmy Hill pitted while the rest led by Cindric remained on track.

The race restarted under green on Lap 23 with Cindric and Chastain on the front row followed by Sieg, Gragson, Haley, Briscoe, Allgaier, and Alfredo. At the front, Cindric retained the lead through Turn 1 until Chastain made a move on the outside lane in Turn 2 to take the lead.

Behind Chastain, Sieg received a boost from Gragson to move into second place while Cindric was stuck in a battle with Briscoe, Haley, and Gragson for third place. Behind, Alfredo fell back to seventh place in front of Herbst, Brandon Jones, Burton, Michael Annett, Allgaier, and Daniel Hemric.

On Lap 27, Sieg, racing in his No. 39 CMRroofing.com Chevrolet Camaro started to close in on Chastain for the lead as he was a tenth of a second behind. Entering turn 4, Sieg made a move beneath Chastain and had the lead until reaching Turn 2 when Chastain regained his momentum on the outside lane and retained the lead. While both battled for the lead, Briscoe moved up to third place followed by Gragson while Alfredo moved up to fifth place. Cindric fell back to seventh place in between Haley and Herbst while Hemric, racing in his No. 8 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Camaro, moved up to the ninth place.

By Lap 35, Chastain was still leading by nearly six-tenths of a second over Sieg while Briscoe trailed by less than a second. Behind, Hemric and Playoff contender Brandon Jones continued to battle hard for the eighth place along with Herbst.

With the laps in the first lap continuing to dwindle, the battle for the lead continued to intensify between Chastain and Sieg as Briscoe joined the party. On Lap 39, Briscoe raced on the outside lane in Turn 3 to overtake Sieg for second place and he made a crossover move beneath Chastain entering Turn 4 while on the gas to take the lead.

Though Briscoe had the lead, Chastain continued to pounce for the lead back. Not long after, however, Chastain got into the outside wall entering Turn 4 and sustained minimal damage to his No. 10 Chevy Accessories Camaro. Chastain’s contact with the wall allowed Briscoe to extend his advantage.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 45, Briscoe emerged ahead and was able to claim his sixth stage win of the season. Chastain, whose brake bias knob fell off, settled in second place despite the late contact with the wall followed by Sieg and Gragson. Alfredo was scored in fifth place followed by Haley, Cindric, Hemric, Brandon Jones and Herbst.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Briscoe retained the lead after exiting pit road in first place followed by Sieg and Chastain.

The second stage started on Lap 51 with Briscoe and Sieg on the front row followed by Cindric, Chastain, Brandon Jones, and Alfredo. At the start, Briscoe and Sieg battled dead even through Turns 1 and 2 before Briscoe cleared the field and retained the lead. Behind, Chastain and Jones battled for third place while Cindric, who was in fifth place, slipped entering Turn 1 and lost positions to Alfredo and Gragson.

By Lap 55, Briscoe was still leading by more than three-tenths of a second over Sieg while Alfredo moved up to third place. Meanwhile, Chastain was stuck in a battle with Gragson, Jones, and Cindric for fourth place as Haley started lurking behind his fellow Playoff contenders for the lead.

Five laps later, on Lap 60, Briscoe, racing in his No. 98 FIELDS Ford Mustang, maintained his advantage by nearly a second over Sieg while third-place Gragson trailed by four seconds. Alfredo continued to trail Gragson for third place while Cindric was in fifth place. Behind, Chastain fell back to seventh place following a battle with Brandon Jones and with teammate Haley behind. Allgaier was back in 12th place in between Harrison Burton and Brett Moffitt.

By Lap 70, Briscoe was still leading by more than a second over Sieg with Gragson behind by less than two seconds. Alfredo was in fourth place followed by Cindric, Brandon Jones, and Haley. Teammate Chastain was in eighth place ahead of Hemric, Herbst, Allgaier, and Burton. Annett and Brandon Brown were the two lowest-running Playoff contenders in 14th and 15th while Jeremy Clements and Myatt Snider were in 16th and 17th.

Five laps later, on Lap 75, Briscoe maintained his advantage to less than a second over Gragson, who overtook Sieg for second place, while Cindric overtook Alfredo for fourth place. Chastain, on the other hand, fell back to ninth place in between Hemric and Allgaier.

Down to the final 10 laps of the second stage and with the leaders starting to encounter lapped traffic, Gragson, racing in his No. 9 Bass Pro Shops/True Timber Camo Chevrolet Camaro, started to close in on Briscoe for the lead as he was approximately three-tenths of a second behind.

With less than five laps remaining in the second stage, Gragson lost his momentum after encountering lapped traffic, which allowed Briscoe to stabilize his advantage to half a second. Though Gragson fought back, Briscoe was able to hold on by a narrow margin and claim his seventh stage victory of the season after winning the second stage on Lap 90. Cindric settled in third place followed by Sieg, who radioed air conditioning issues to his car. Alfredo was scored in fifth place followed by Brandon Jones, Haley, Hemric, Allgaier and Herbst. By then, Chastain, Burton, Annett and Brown settled in the top 15.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Briscoe retained the lead after exiting pit road in first place followed by Gragson, Cindric, Jones, Alfredo, and Sieg.

The final stage started with 104 laps remaining and with Briscoe and Gragson on the front row followed by Cindric and Jones. At the start, Briscoe and Gragson battled for the lead before Briscoe retained his advantage entering Turns 3 and 4. Behind Briscoe and Gragson, Cindric retained third place followed by Alfredo and Jones while Allgaier moved up to sixth place ahead of Sieg.

At the halfway mark on Lap 100, Briscoe extended his advantage to less than eight-tenths of a second over Gragson.

With approximately 95 laps remaining, Alfredo got loose entering Turn 1 following contact with Hemric while racing in ninth place, but he managed to keep his car straightened and continue to run in front of Hemric on the track.

Five laps later, with 90 laps remaining, Briscoe was still leading by two seconds over Gragson followed by Cindric, Allgaier, and Brandon Jones. Haley, Sieg, and Chastain were running in sixth through eighth while Alfredo and Hemric rounded out the top 10. Burton was in 11th place followed by Moffitt, Herbst, Annett, Clements, and Brown.

With under 70 laps remaining and the track settling into night racing conditions, Briscoe’s No. 98 Ford continued to lead by more than three seconds over Gragson and more than five seconds over Cindric. Meanwhile, Allgaier trailed by more than 10 seconds in fourth place followed by Jones, Sieg, Haley, Hemric, Chastain and Harrison Burton.

Ten laps later, with 60 laps remaining, Briscoe continued to extend his advantage to less than five seconds over Gragson. Meanwhile, Sieg overtook Jones for fifth place with Allgaier and Cindric next on his front windshield. Behind, Chastain fell back to 10th place behind teammate Haley, Hemric, and Burton.

With approximately 55 laps remaining, pit stops under green started to occur as Burton pitted followed by Hemric, Jones, Herbst, Gragson, Cindric, Allgaier, Chastain, Haley, Briscoe, Alfredo and Sieg. By then, Brandon Brown had made an early pit stop.

When the field cycled through the pit stops under green and with less than 50 laps remaining, Annett, who has yet to pit in his No. 1 Pilot/Flying J Chevrolet Camaro, emerged with the lead followed by Briscoe, Cindric, Gragson, Allgaier and Jones. Sieg fell back to ninth place after he overshot his pit box.

With 45 laps remaining, the caution flew due to a loose tire from Joe Graf Jr.’s pit box that came to a rest on the infield grass. Under caution, Annett pitted along with Harrison Burton, Sieg, Alfredo, Chastain, Clements, and Herbst while Briscoe reassumed the lead. By then, 15 cars were scored on the lead lap, including all 12 Playoff contenders.

The race restarted under green with 40 laps remaining and with Briscoe and Cindric on the front row. At the start, Briscoe and Cindric battled dead even for the lead before Briscoe retained the lead while cycling back to the start/finish line. Behind, JR Motorsports’ competitors Gragson, Allgaier, and Hemric battled inside the top five followed by Burton, Jones, and Annett. Sieg was in ninth place while Herbst was in 10th.

With 35 laps remaining and with Briscoe ahead by more than a second over Cindric, the battling for positions behind continued to ensue as Alfredo moved up to eighth place followed by Herbst, Sieg, Jones, Haley, and Chastain. Gragson settled in third place followed by teammates Hemric and Allgaier while Burton and Annett were scored in sixth and seventh.

Five laps later, with 30 laps remaining, Briscoe stabilized his advantage to more than two seconds over Cindric while Gragson trailed by more than three seconds in third place. Behind fourth-place Hemric, Harrison Burton, who struggled in the middle portions of the race, muscled his way into fifth place while Annett overtook teammate Allgaier for sixth place. Alfredo, Sieg, and Herbst were running inside the top 10 followed by Jones, Haley, and Chastain. Brandon Brown was the lowest-running Playoff contenders in 15th.

Down to the final 20 laps of the race, Briscoe, who radioed vibrating concerns to his car but continued to lead, extended his advantage to more than six seconds over Cindric, who had Gragson closing in on him for the position. Burton was up into fourth place followed by teammates Annett, Hemric, and Allgaier while Alfredo, Sieg, and Herbst continued to run inside the top 10.

With 13 laps remaining, the caution flew due to the stalled car of Alex Labbe, who was unable to limp back to pit road. The caution all but evaporated Briscoe’s lead of more than six seconds over Cindric and Gragson. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Briscoe retained the lead followed by Gragson, Annett, Burton, and Cindric. During the pit stops, Alfredo dropped out of the top 10 following a slow pit stop due to lug nuts falling off of his tires. Following the pit stops, Brown was sent to the rear of the field due to a choose cone violation.

With nine laps remaining, the race restarted under green with Briscoe and Gragson on the front row. At the start, Briscoe and Gragson battled dead even before Briscoe was able to muscle through and retain the lead. Behind, Chastain was bumped by Cindric and got loose entering Turn 4 while battling for a top-10 spot. Though he was able to save the car, he fell all the way back to 15th place and was out of contention for a strong result.

Down to the final five laps of the race, Briscoe extended his advantage to less than a second over Gragson while Hemric moved up to third place. Teammates Annett and Allgaier were in the top five followed by Burton, Sieg, Cindric, Jones, and Alfredo. A few laps later, Allgaier and Sieg overtook Annett for spots in the top five. By then, no one had anything for Briscoe, who maintained his advantage to more than a second over Gragson.

On the final lap, Briscoe continued to lead by more than a second. With no challengers closing in behind him, Briscoe was able to come back around to the finish line and claim his eighth checkered flag of the season.

With his Vegas victory, Briscoe secured himself a spot to the Round of 8 in the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs. He also became the first competitor to sweep both Xfinity races at Vegas in a season and he recorded the 13th victory of the season for Ford.

“First off, incredible car by everybody at Stewart-Haas [Racing],” Briscoe said on NBCSN. “That made my job way too easy, honestly. It was a super fast FIELDS Ford Mustang. Happy to get them in Victory Lane. This is their only [sponsored] race they do all year. The restart, I knew that if I could just take the lead on the restart, I’d be ok, but I was spinning the tires so bad all night for whatever reason…We’ve had a lot of wins this year, but this was by far our most dominant car. I’m so glad that I can sleep a little bit easier this week going into Talladega and the [Charlotte] Roval, and just enjoy’em.”

Though he earned his spot in the Round of 8 in the Playoffs, Briscoe sets his focus on achieving more victories for the remainder of the postseason and placing himself in position to achieve his first NASCAR championship at Phoenix Raceway in November while he continues to await his racing plans for next season.

“I knew this team is fully capable of achieving that [winning] and even more,” Briscoe added. “I just can’t say thank you enough to Gene Haas, Tony Stewart, everybody that lets me drive these race cars. It’s been an unbelievable season. We still got a lot, six more wins we can try to get and obviously, a championship. So that’s what we’re gonna try to do. Just so happy to start the Playoffs like this.”

Gragson battled back from a bloody nose early in the race to finish in second place followed by teammates Hemric and Allgaier while Sieg battled back for a strong top-five result.

“It was a good day overall for our Bass Pro Shops True Timber team,” Gragson said on NBCSN. “I felt like we were really good, the best I’ve ever been here. [I] Just didn’t have enough for [Briscoe]. We’ll keep on working, but these guys did a heck of a job. A really good improvement from where we’ve been these past couple of weeks. Damn, I wanted to win this one so bad at my home town, but we’ll try again at Talladega…the car looks good, we were pretty fast, but came up short.”

“That’s what this 8 team set out to do was, hopefully, try to give ourselves an opportunity to race for an owners’ championship,” Hemric said on PRN Radio. “Jeb Burton did a great job the last two weeks leading into the Playoffs to get us in this position. Tonight was a good night of putting some coins in the bucket as we continue towards the second race in the Playoffs. Really proud of everyone on this South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet. We had a rough go back in the spring, but we had a couple of good restarts there at the end and got us a top five. We’re gonna take it and move on.”

“Really proud of all the guys on this BRANDT Professional Agriculture Camaro,” Allgaier said on NBCSN. “We battled a lot of adversity early. Just felt like we were behind the eight ball. We were able to make good adjustments on the car and get ourselves in better track position at the end there by the Choose Rule and gutted out a finish. These points are so important. Every position counts. As bad as we started the night off, I was getting a little flustered under the collar. These guys rallied behind me and gave me the car we needed at the end. We were able to pull off a solid top-five and still be OK in the points. We lost a few tonight but still have a good cushion. We got two crazy races these next few [weeks].”

“It’s huge for the CMR team and the guys did an awesome job all night,” Sieg said on NBCSN. “Just the driver did one little mess up, but we’re getting back to what we were running. I was trying to get something to drink. My helmet hose fell off end of stage one, so I was trying to get something to drink under that green flag and just kind of missed my stopping points on pit road. Just screwed me up a little bit, but we got it back. Just super, super excited to be plus nine in the Playoffs, headed to Talladega and we got the [Charlotte] Roval, which something can always happen. Just can’t be prouder of this team and all that they’ve done…Just can’t wait to get to the next two [races]. It’s been a fun first [Playoff] race, already.”

Cindric finished in sixth place while Annett, Alfredo, Harrison Burton, and Haley finished in the top 10.

“Frustrating [night],” Cindric said on NBCSN. “I definitely think we deserved to not finish as well as we should’ve. We put ourselves in position, but a lot of good lessons learned tonight. We made our car better throughout the night, we kept up with the track well. For the first time in a long time, everyone’s running the bottom [lane] and I’m running the top on both ends. We got a good points bank, but can’t take that for granted. [We] Gotta keep getting better. When [Briscoe] can walk away like that, you gotta make sure you step your game up.”

“We just weren’t good enough tonight,” Burton said on PRN Radio. “We really struggled all day today and into the night, we got a little bit better, but not much. That’s tough because these next few races are gonna be wild so for us, this was a big race. We didn’t do our job during the regular season to build up a cushion as big as we needed to with Playoff points. It’s biting us now, so now, it’s gonna be hard the next two weeks, gonna be fighting for every point and that’s what makes the Playoffs so fun, I guess, is to watch that battle for every point. We’re gonna have to be in it, for sure.”

“The car was a bit on the tight side, but it wasn’t so far off,” Haley said on PRN Radio. “Obviously, the Nos. 10 and 11 was struggling on speed, both pretty terrible there. I’m not sure where we missed it, but it definitely wasn’t there. Thankfully, we got two race tracks ahead of us that are good. Still on the positive side of things, I believe. Still got a top 10 out of it, somehow. We, actually, were looking good there for sixth or seventh and then, got behind on track position, just too tight on that last restart. Proud of these LeafFilter Gutter Protection boys on this Kaulig Chevrolet, but just needed a little bit more, especially for the second round.”

Playoff contenders Brandon Jones, Herbst, Brandon Brown, and Chastain finished 11th, 12th, 15th, and 16th.

There were eight lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 28 laps.

Results.

1. Chase Briscoe, 164 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner
2. Noah Gragson
3. Daniel Hemric
4. Justin Allgaier
5. Ryan Sieg, three laps led
6. Austin Cindric, 10 laps led
7. Michael Annett, eight laps led
8. Anthony Alfredo
9. Harrison Burton
10. Justin Haley
11. Brandon Jones
12. Riley Herbst
13. Jeremy Clements
14. Brett Moffitt
15. Brandon Brown
16. Ross Chastain, 15 laps led
17. Austin Hill, one lap down
18. Josh Williams, one lap down
19. Myatt Snider, one lap down
20. Stefan Parsons, one lap down
21. Colby Howard, two laps down
22. Tommy Joe Martins, two laps down
23. Jesse Little, two laps down
24. Gray Gaulding, three laps down
25. Bayley Currey, three laps down
26. B.J. McLeod, three laps down
27. Joe Graf Jr., four laps down
28. Timmy Hill, four laps down
29. Dexter Bean, five laps down
30. Matt Mills, six laps down
31. Kody Vanderwal, nine laps down
32. Alex Labbe – OUT, Electrical
33. Jeffrey Earnhardt, 34 laps down
34. Vinnie Miller – OUT, Too slow
35. Chad Finchum – OUT, Suspension
36. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Accident

Playoff standings.
1. Chase Briscoe – Advanced
2. Austin Cindric +53
3. Noah Gragson +36
4. Justin Allgaier +28
5. Justin Haley +14
6. Brandon Jones +13
7. Ryan Sieg +9
8. Harrison Burton +2
9. Ross Chastain -2
10. Michael Annett -10
11. Riley Herbst -14
12. Brandon Brown -20

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will return at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, Oct. 3, for the second Round of 12 race in this year’s Xfinity Playoffs. The race will occur at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Ford Performance NASCAR: Briscoe Dominates for Win in Playoff Opener

By

Official Release

-

September 27, 2020

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2020
ALSCO 300 – LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
FORD PERFORMANCE DRIVER – POST RACE QUOTES

FORD FINISHING RESULTS:
1st – Chase Briscoe
6th – Austin Cindric

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 98 Fields Ford Mustang — YOU SAID YOU NEEDED EIGHT WINS, HOW DID YOU GET THIS WIN TONIGHT AND HOW WORRIED WERE YOU ON THAT FINAL RESTART? “First off, an incredible car by everybody at Stewart-Haas. That made my job way too easy, honestly. It was a super fast Fields Ford Mustang and I am happy to get them in victory lane. This is the only race they do all year. The restart, I knew if I could take the lead on the restart I would be okay but I was spinning the tires so bad all night for whatever reason. I guess that Roush Yates horsepower. I am happy to get all our partners back in victory lane. We have had a lot of wins this year but this is by far our most dominant car and I am so glad I can sleep a little easier this week going into Talladega and the Roval and just enjoy them.”

IN FEBRUARY YOU SAID YOU NEEDED EIGHT WINS. AT THE TIME, WAS THAT WISHFUL THINKING OR THE GOAL THAT YOU NEEDED AND COULD GET? “I knew this team was fully capable of achieving that and even more. I just can’t say thank you enough to Gene Haas and Tony Stewart and everyone that lets me drive these race cars. It has been an unbelievable season and we still have a lot, six more wins that we can try to get and a championship. That is what we are going to try to do. I am so happy to start the playoffs like this. After the last couple weeks we had, to go to Bristol and win and now here is a pretty good way to start our playoffs.”

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 22 Menards Ford Mustang — A LOT OF THINGS HAPPENED TO YOU GUYS TO SHUFFLE YOU FROM A TOP-3 SPOT TONIGHT, WALK US THROUGH IT ALL: “Yeah, those deals, you are in a position, especially with some guys behind you that you are either going to put top of three or middle of three and I decided I wanted to be top of three and maybe it would have worked out, I don’t know. It is frustrating. I think we deserved to not finish as well as we should have. We put ourselves in that position. A lot of good lessons learned tonight. We made our car better throughout the night and kept up with the track well for the first time in a long time everyone was running the bottom and I am running the top on both ends. I guess it is groundhog day, I don’t know. Obviously we got a good points bank but we can’t take that for granted. We have to keep getting better. When the 98 can walk away like that you have to step your game up.”

SPEAKING OF THE 98, YOUR FORD TEAMMATE, HE HAS ADVANCED. IS HIS JOB AT TALLADEGA TO HELP YOU ALONG A LITTLE BIT? “I like the way you think. We will see. Maybe I have to buy him some asian food. He is big into hibachi these days. Maybe I need to get him some takeout a few nights this week.”

CHASE BRISCOE POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE

CHASE BRISCOE, NO. 98 FORD MUSTANG — YOU HAD A PRETTY DOMINATING PERFORMANCE TONIGHT. TALK ABOUT THE CAR YOU HAD TONIGHT AND HOW YOU GOT THE WIN: “Yeah, it was an unbelievable Mustang. Everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing to bring a car like that to the opening round of the playoffs is a huge confidence booster. I feel like it is a big statement. That thing was on rails. It was so easy to drive. It was by far the best race car I have had. That first stage we struggled a little bit but were still good enough to get up front and win that stage but after that it was so good to drive. I wish we could have that type of balance over these next six weeks because we will be really strong if we do. Outside of that, I am super happy to get Fields in victory lane. This is the only race they do all season long and to get them in victory lane is a big deal.”

HOW BIG OF A STATEMENT WAS THIS? “I feel like it was pretty big. Anything can change. Every week someone can find something or have a lot of speed. A lot of the races we have won this year we haven’t necessarily been the best car but tonight we were the best car by quite a bit. It made my job super easy and once again, just so thankful that I get to drive these race cars. It was so good to drive. I can’t put it into words. I think it was a really big statement to come out the first round of the playoffs, you want to start off good with a lot of momentum and we certainly have that now.”

IS IT MORE EXCITEMENT OR RELIEF? “Relief for sure. I am not the biggest superspeedway fan and in the Truck Series Talladega knocked me out of the playoffs. Even with the points gap we have, if you get crashed early and run 35th on back at Talladega it puts you in a tough spot going into the Roval where anything can happen too. Definitely going to sleep a lot better this week and I am actually looking forward to going to Talldega and the Roval now. Talladega is still going to be a whatever happens, happens. But I think it creates some situations at the Roval where we might be able to leap frog the field because we aren’t worried about stage points or points in general anymore. It opens up a lot of scenarios for the next two weeks.”

HAVE YOU WISHED AT ALL DURING THIS YEAR THAT YOU DIDN’T MAKE THE EIGHT WIN DEAL PUBLIC? “No. I am happy that we ended up doing it. I truly felt like we were capable of doing that. I knew we had really good race cars and even at the end of last year I felt like we ran up front a lot but weren’t able to seal the deal. Eight wins is a great season but we still have six wins to try to get and most importantly a championship. I feel like this is kind of a relief now because I feel like people can stop asking me about it all the time. It has been a big talking point all year long. I am super excited to get to eight. I wish we could have gotten there sooner. I feel like we gave away quite a few races but I am happy to get back to victory lane and start the playoffs this way.”

WHAT WAS IT LIKE RACING WITH RYAN SIEG UP IN THE TOP-THREE FOR MOST OF THE EARLY PART OF THIS RACE TONIGHT? “I think Ryan is super fast here. You go back to the first race this year and he was honestly probably the best race car and just got shuffled at the end. They have a ton of speed here. It is really cool to see those guys running good. For them, the start of the playoffs, I love watching the guys that don’t have the same funding as the big teams run good and it is awesome to see Ryan run that well. He is a really good race car driver and it was cool to see him up front. He was definitely fast for sure.”

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO DO THIS AT A TRACK LIKE VEGAS HAVING NOW SWEPT BOTH EVENTS THIS SEASON? “Whatever it is that we have as a company here. I feel like we are really strong. even going back to last year. I feel like we were the second best car by quite a bit next to Christopher Bell. This year, obviously we were really good. We weren’t near as good the first race as we were tonight. I knew with the hotter temperatures that we would be better than the first race. I could literally run everywhere. I could run the middle, the top, the bottom and at both ends. It didn’t matter. It felt like I was on train tracks, it was that good. Hopefully we can bring that same attitude and setup over the next six races. If we do I feel like we will be really hard to beat. Anything can change. We have to keep doing our deal and stay focused. This is the first check mark on the box that we need to do. We are on to the second round and that is no gimme and we need to do the next thing in the next round.”

IF THIS IS AN AUDITION STILL FOR YOU, WHAT DID YOU SHOW PEOPLE TONIGHT EVEN WHEN YOU HAD THE FASTEST CAR? “I think just being able to close it out. especially that last caution. It could have gone either way. I wasn’t very good on restarts at all. Just being able to close the deal. I think that is the biggest thing. We had a great race car but there are a lot of times the best car doesn’t win. It was a complete team effort. We all did our job to the best of our ability and it was enough tonight. I think that is the biggest thing to take away from it.”

DID YOU BRING THE SAME CAR THAT YOU WON WITH HERE IN FEBRUARY? IF SO, WHAT DID YOU DO DIFFERENT TONIGHT? “As far as I know, that was the same car we ran earlier in February. I know setup wise we were a little different. More toward what we ran here last year in the second race because temperatures we know would be close. We were good the first race but we weren’t as good as what we were the second race last year so we went with that and the weather conditions were almost identical as well so it just worked out.”

YOU CALLED YOUR SHOT. YOU WANTED THE EIGHT WINS AND YOU COME BACK AND GET TO EIGHT AT THE TRACK IN VEGAS WHERE THIS ALL STARTED FOR YOU BACK IN FEBRUARY: “Yeah, I hadn’t even thought about that. It is definitely cool that this is where we got our first win. Hopefully this isn’t our last win. There are six races left and the goal is to win all six of them. Obviously that won’t be the easiest thing to do but we just have to put ourselves in position. You just want to be in the hunt. That is all you can ask for in these playoff races. You just have to minimize mistakes and it is definitely cool to be able to close it out here as far as the eight win thing goes but we are focused on getting more wins. We aren’t going to stop at eight. It was a great benchmark to try to get to but now that we are there we are going to strive to get better and focus on this championship.”

YOU ARE IN A PRETTY RARE CATEGORY OF XFINITY REGULARS WITH THE MOST WINS THROUGH 27 RACES, TIED WITH SOME NAMES. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU? “It is an honor. Those guys are the ones that really were the benchmark of this series and who set the mark for a lot of these guys to be like. To be associated at all with those guys is a big deal and very humbling. We would like to win more and get ahead of them but anytime you can have your name with the likes of those guys is an honor and privilege it is neat for sure.”

BEFORE THE SEASON STARTED, WHAT WAS YOUR MAIN REASON FOR PICKING OUT A TARGET GOAL OF EIGHT WINS? “I felt confident in my guys and the ability to go drive race cars. With the experience side and confidence side this year I felt we were capable of doing that. We have the equipment capable of doing it and it just comes down to me doing my job properly and trying to execute all race long and that was the biggest thing behind it. I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t think it was achievable. It is really cool we were able to get there. I felt like we were capable of doing that as a race team and it is cool to back that up.”

BECAUSE THE CHAMPIONSHIP IS SUCH A HIT OR MISS THING BEING ONE RACE WINNER TAKES ALL, DO YOU THINK IT SPEAKS MORE FOR YOUR TEAM AND WHAT YOU HAVE ACCOMPLISHED BY FOCUSING ON THE NUMBER OF WINS AND WHERE YOU HAVE WON AND HOW OFTEN? “Certainly in today’s landscape it comes down to one race but we still had a great season regardless. I think if anything, just winning races kind of helps make your case if you don’t win the championship but we are still going to go there and try to win. If we don’t win the championship I would be lying to you if I said i wasn’t disappointed but at the same time we would keep our heads up knowing we had a really good season. Anytime you can win eight races it is a really great year. it is so different with how the playoffs work and how we crown a champion but at the same time the structure rewards winning and you have to win races to get to the Final Four and if we can get there it will be a huge thing for us. I dont’ think a championship necessarily defines if you had a good season or not. A perfect example is you could win 35 races and blow up at the beginning of Phoenix and you would finish fourth in the points. It is all so circumstantial to how your whole year went and we have had a great year so it will be a great season regardless.”

WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU PICKED UP THE MOST OVER LAST YEAR? “Obviously with the big three moving up it opened a lot of doors to go win races. The second half of last year we ran up front a lot and inside the top three or four in a lot of those races. At the end of the race we would get shuffled back or something weird would happen. Like Kansas, we were 14 laps away from going to the championship race. I knew we had the speed last year and with those three leaving it didn’t weaken the field but it opened a lot more opportunities to win. Those are three phenomenal race car drivers in really good race cars. Anytime they graduate it is going to open up the door. From an experience level, last year there were a lot of tracks I hadn’t been to before. To gain on that confidence from the end of last year, I felt we would be able to run up front a lot and I didn’t think we would win as much as we did at the beginning of the year. I knew our team had really good race cars and that is all you can ask for as a driver, to be able to try to show your talent and Stewart-Haas certainly does that every week.”

WERE YOU HAVING ISSUES IN THE CLOSING LAPS OF THE RACE? SOME KIND OF VIBRATION? “Yeah, before tha last caution I had a really bad vibration. I don’t know what it was. They said all the wheels were tight. I guess it was just that set of tires because once we switched over I didn’t have a vibration again. I don’t know if it was just a wheel out of balance or what. It was getting worse and worse as the run went on. I think we would have been okay to the end but it was definitely noticeable and in the back of my mind. I tried to back off the pace a little bit just to try to save it a little bit but we definitely had a vibration before that last caution.”

Toyota Racing NXS Post-Race Recap — Las Vegas 9.26.20

By

Official Release

-

September 27, 2020

BURTON DRIVES TO TOP-10 AT LAS VEGAS
Harrison Burton earns third straight top-10 finish

LAS VEGAS (September 26, 2020) – Rookie of the Year leader Harrison Burton (ninth) earned a top-10 finish to lead Toyota in the Alsco 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday evening. The three Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas ran together most of the night in the Playoff opener at Las Vegas with Brandon Jones (11th) and Riley Herbst (12th) following Burton to the line. With one race complete, Jones and Burton are both above the Playoff cutline as the series moves to Talladega Superspeedway

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS)
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Race 27 of 33 – 300 miles, 200 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Chase Briscoe*
2nd, Noah Gragson*
3rd, Daniel Hemric*
4th, Justin Allgaier*
5th, Ryan Sieg*
9th, HARRISON BURTON
11th, BRANDON JONES
12th, RILEY HERBST
17th, AUSTIN HILL
20th, STEFAN PARSONS
28th, TIMMY HILL
35th, CHAD FINCHUM
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

HARRISON BURTON, No. 20 DEX Imaging Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 9th

How was your race in Las Vegas this weekend?

“Yeah, it was a tough one to say the least. We really weren’t good to start the race, but I feel like we got better and better as we went. It just wasn’t good enough. If you give yourself a bad starting point at these places without practice, then you don’t have a chance to work up through it and you put yourself in a deficit. We were kind of fighting an uphill battle all night. Our DEX Imaging Toyota team gained some ground, but not enough.”

Next up is Talladega. Have you and your Joe Gibbs Racing teammates already talked strategy for the superspeedway?

“We kind of tried something different at Daytona earlier this year that seemed to help us a little bit on the plates. It is going to be interesting with all three of us not guaranteed in, what we have to do to kind of make sure we all make it in or what we have to do. I’m sure we will have a meeting before Talladega comes around, but I would expect it to be similar to Daytona where we worked together as a team and tried to stick as many Toyotas together as we can. We feel like once we get our cars together, we will be in pretty decent shape. We just have to get there and work together as a team. Hopefully, we can all work together for a collective goal.”

# # #

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold nearly 2.8 million cars and trucks (nearly 2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.

Through the 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.

Ty Gibbs claims ARCA Menards Series victory at Memphis

By

Briar Starr

-

September 27, 2020

Ty Gibbs, driver of the #18 Monster Energy/Terrible Herbst/ORCA Toyota, won the Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200 for the ARCA Menards Series at Memphis International Raceway on Saturday, September 26, 2020. — Photo Courtesy of (Barry Cantrell/ARCA Racing)

After winning at Winchester Speedway a week prior to Memphis, Ty Gibbs had high hopes of winning at Memphis International Raceway. Gibbs started on the pole but lost ground early due to potentially saving his equipment and tires. However, Gibbs made the pass for the lead and the eventual win following the Segment 3 restart on Lap 153 for his sixth ARCA Menards Series win of 2020.

“Yeah, this (win) means a lot here,” Gibbs told MAVTV. “My guys worked hard and we never gave up, and we came away with the win, was ale to beat all these guys out here. It (the win) was hard to work for, but we just never gave up. It was a fun time and thank you Tennessee.”

For the first time time in 19 years, ARCA Menards Series competition returned to Memphis International Raceway for race No. 18 of the year. Three segments made up the 200 lap event, with the first ending on Lap 75 and the second at Lap 150. The Sioux Chief PowerPex 200 also marked the championship race of the Sioux Chief Showdown Championship.

Segment 1: Lap 1 – Lap 75

Gibbs led early on in the Sioux Chief PowerPex 200 but was passed by the No. 23 of Bret Holmes on Lap 18. Meanwhile, the No. 15 entry of Drew Dollar struggled early on and nearly made contact with the No. 12 of D.L. Wilson on the backstretch. On Lap 20, two laps after Gibbs lost the lead, he dropped as far as back as eighth in the running order.

In addition, 2020 breakout star Sam Mayer, rallied from the back after the Wisconsin driver started in the rear due to changing a tire when qualifying was complete. Mayer cracked the top five at Lap 58.

When Lap 75 came for the first segment break, it was Bret Holmes who led the way with Dollar, Mayer, Deegan, Self, Gibbs, Moffitt, Wright, and Chandler Smith rounding out the Top 10.

Segment 2: Lap 80 – Lap 150

Just one caution flew for the second segment when the No. 15 of Drew Dollar made contact with the No. 32 of Gus Dean entering Turns 3 and 4. Dollar would also collect Deegan in the process as well which spun her No. 4 Monster Energy car sideways a little bit.

Surprisingly, this was the only caution that was seen in the second segment, which was once again dominated by the No. 23 of Holmes. Gibbs, Mayer, Deegan, Gray, Self, Thad Moffitt, Smith, Dollar and Wright were the Top 10.

Segment 3: Lap 153 – Lap 200

The changing moment of the race came on the final segment restart. Holmes lost the lead to Gibbs and begin riding around in second. Once it looked as though Gibbs would check out a caution flew with seven to go as the No. 17 of Taylor Gray suffered a right-rear flat tire thus setting up a late-race restart with three laps to go.

Even though Holmes tried his best with very few laps remaining, Ty Gibbs went on to claim the eighth checkered flag of his ARCA Menards Series career. Sam Mayer, Bret Holmes, Thad Moffitt, and Chandler Smith completed the top five.

After finishing in the second position, Mayer collected the 2020 Sioux Chief Showdown Championship.

“We didn’t win the battle, but we won the damn war,” Mayer, the 2020 Sioux Chief Showdown Champion said. “I’m so proud of these guys, it’s just awesome. What a race. This track was so green all day, and the tires were wearing on the right-front after the first (pit) stop. We were cutting it close, but had enough to finish there (at the end).”

Sam Mayer, driver of the #21 Chevy Accessories Chevrolet celebrates winning the Sioux Chief Showdown Championship for the ARCA Menards Series at Memphis International Raceway on Saturday, September 26, 2020. (Barry Cantrell/ARCA Racing)

There were four cautions for 17 laps and three lead changes among four different leaders.

Official Results following the Sioux Chief PowerPex 200 at Memphis International Raceway.

Ty Gibbs, led 58 laps
Sam Mayer
Bret Holmes, led 135 laps
Thad Moffitt
Chandler Smith
Michael Self
Hailie Deegan
,Drew Dollar, led 7 laps
Taylor Gray, 2 laps down
Kris Wright, 2 laps down
Gus Dean, 5 laps down
Mike Basham, 8 laps down
Tim Richmond, 13 laps down
Eric Caudell, OUT, Battery
Brad Smith, OUT, Transmission
D.L. Wilson, OUT, Overheating
Wayne Peterson, OUT, Vibration
Richard Garvie, OUT, Did Not Start

Up Next: The ARCA Menards Series will head to the dirt tracks of Illinois State Fairgrounds for the Illinois Truck & Equipment Allen Crowe 100 on Sunday, Oct. 4, live at 3 p.m. ET on MAVTV.

Gracie Trotter takes historic victory at Las Vegas Bullring

By

Briar Starr

-

September 26, 2020

Gracie Trotter, driver of the #99 ENEOS Toyota, celebrates after winning the General Tire 150 for the ARCA Menards Series West at the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 26, 2020. — Photo Courtesy of Miranda Alam/ARCA Racing

It was a historic day at the Las Vegas Bullring, as Gracie Trotter became the first female to win in ARCA competition. Grabbing the checkered flag wasn’t all that easy for Trotter, since she had to maintain the lead through numerous cautions near the end of the General Tire 150 and fend off a hard-charging Gio Scelzi and polesitter Jesse Love for her first career ARCA West win.

“The car was good,” Trotter said to NBCSN following her win. “I mean, it wasn’t tight or loose one bit. The car would roll through the corner pretty good. Today, we thought we were going to be a little bit tight, but (Crew Chief) Roger Bracken worked his magic today. I never had a perfect race car until today. I’m really happy we were able to get our first win!”

Prior to the General Tire 150, a qualifying session was held, and Jesse Love in his No. 19 Bill McAnally Toyota, sat on the pole with a time of 14.94 seconds.

Love, the Menlo Park, California native, led through the first 35 laps before being challenged by the No. 6 of Trevor Huddleston. Huddleston, however, became the first lead change of the race, passing Love for the top spot at Lap 36. Unfortunately for Huddlestone, his lead was short-lived as the No. 6 Bob Bruncati Ford ended up in the Turn 3 and 4 walls, and out of the race early.

With Huddleston eliminated from the race, this saw Bill McAnnally teammates Love and Trotter make up the Lap 54 restart. Love held the lead momentarily before Trotter took the top spot. Though, another caution flew just three laps later, when another Bob Bruncati machine saw trouble. This time, it was the No. 6 of Blaine Perkins, who hit the wall hard off the exit of Turn 2. The incident left Perkins out of the race and credited with a 10th place finish.

From that point on, Trotter would easily drive away from the field without much challenge from the back. Regardless, four more cautions would fly within the last 100 laps of the event. Two of them for debris on Laps 68 and 104, and then two for incidents. One occurred with 20 laps to go when Love accidentally made contact with the No. 88 of Bridget Burgess, which sent her spinning on the frontstretch. Eventually, the final yellow flew inside 15 to go, as the No. 50 of Holley Hollan was up in the Turn 3 wall.

After the numerous yellows, Love and Scelzi knew they had one final chance to make a last-ditch effort for the victory as the final restart came with nine laps to go. Despite their efforts, Trotter maintained the lead and took home the checkered flag in just her eighth ARCA Menards West Series start. Gio Scelzi, Jesse Love, Kyle Keller (making his ARCA debut competition), and Todd Souza rounded out the top five finishers in the General Tire 150.

With his third-place finish, Love gained his eighth top-five of the 2020 season and keeps the championship points lead over Blaine Perkins by seven points.

“Congratulations to the team (Bill McAnally), 1-2-3 is pretty a big deal,” Love said to NCBSN. “I’m not sure when the last time that happened for the West Series. Just super cool for Bill, he’s done a gat job managing the team, and getting everyone faster. But for us, we just got beat today. You win together, and lose together. We’ll get better and comeback better next month.”

There were six cautions for 25 laps, and seven lead changes among eight different leaders.

Official Results following the General Tire 150 at Las Vegas Bullring.

Gracie Trotter, led 95 laps
Gio Scelzi
Jesse Love, led 41 laps
Kyle Keller
Todd Souza
Takuma Koga
Bridget Burgess, 2 laps down
Bobby Hillis, JR, 4 laps down
Holley Hollan, 6 laps down
Blaine Perkins, OUT, Suspension
Joey Iest, OUT, Ignition
Trevor Huddleston, OUT, Suspension, led 14 laps

Up Next: The ARCA Menards West Series will head to All American Speedway on Friday, Oct. 23, live on NBC Sports Trackpass beginning at 7:05 p.m. ET with 125 laps making up the distance.

Austin Hill scores back to back fall Vegas victories

By

Briar Starr

-

September 26, 2020

It’s been a while since playoff contender Austin Hill has been in victory lane. But after taking the lead on Lap 95, the Hattori Racing driver held on for the rest of the way, fending off a late charge by Sheldon Creed to score his first victory since Kansas in July.

“I was probably looking in my mirror more than I was looking out front,” Hill conceded of keeping Creed behind. “I knew he was better than we were and I knew I was going to have to protect. We didn’t have the best truck tonight, by no means,” Hill added. “We had to fight a lot of adversity in Stages One and Two. We weren’t good at all and [crew chief] Scott [Zipadelli] and the guys kept working on it and got better and better.”

“The pit crew did a hell of a job on that last pit stop getting me in the position I needed and I just had to go out there and get it and that’s what we did.”

Stages 30-30-74 laps made up the 134 lap event from Las Vegas Motor Speedway. No Trucks were sent to the rear as all drivers passed inspection. However, Niece Motorsports driver Natalie Decker was not cleared to drive by NASCAR officials due to unspecified medical reasons. Unfortunately for the Wisconsin driver, Decker was credited with a last-place finish.

Stage 1: Lap 1 – Lap 30

Brett Moffitt started on the pole and led Lap 1 but was challenged and passed by his GMS Racing teammate Sheldon Creed at Lap 2. More action was seen on the backstretch with the No. 88 of Matt Crafton having to check up after close contact with Creed. Then on Lap 5, the No. 4 of Raphael Lessard had problems and had to pit for a flat right-front tire. Meanwhile, Jesse Iwuji was black-flagged by NASCAR for not having radio communication.

During the competition caution on Lap 10, returning NASCAR driver Travis Pastrana was penalized for speeding on pit road and was sent to the rear. In addition, Ben Rhodes had smoke coming from underneath his No. 99 Ford F-150. The Kentucky native would face more problems, reporting, “no power.”

Back up front, Creed took the stage win with Moffitt, Kraus, Enfinger, Zane Smith, Rhodes, Christian Eckes, Tanner Gray, Crafton, and Chandler Smith wrapping up the Top 10.

Stage 2: Lap 37 – Lap 60

After the restart for Stage 2, the first few laps were run cleanly. But that was not the case for the No. 3 of Jordan Anderson due to the truck suffering a flat right-rear tire.

Toward the end of the stage, the No. 83 of Tim Viens was black-flagged for not meeting minimum speed. Viens would continue to face these problems throughout the night before eventually getting parked for being too slow.

As Stage 2 was completed on Lap 60, Creed was once again victorious by sweeping the stages. Zane Smith, Moffitt, Kraus, Rhodes, Sauter, Eckes, Crafton, Austin Hill, and Gray were the Top 10.

Stage 3: Lap 67 – Lap 134

Momentarily following the Stage 3 restart, Eckes and Creed swapped the lead a couple of times before Creed eventually grabbed the top spot on Lap 73. The California native would stay out front through the next two cautions on laps 85 and 90 until Austin Hill took the lead on a Lap 95 restart.

As the laps started to wind down in the World of Westgate 200, Creed started to close back to the bumper of the No. 16 Toyota of Hill. At one point with 13 laps to go, Creed closed the gap to 0.250 seconds. Unfortunately for Creed, his chances would go south with 10 laps to go, as the Californian made slight contact with the Turn(s) 1 and 2 walls.

Despite Creed’s best efforts, Hill held off Creed to return back to victory lane for the second time at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the sixth victory of his Truck Series career.

Sheldon Creed, Tanner Gray, Stewart Friesen, Chandler Smith, Grant Enfinger, Zane Smith, Christian Eckes, Matt Crafton, and Tyler Ankrum rounded out the Top 10 finishers at Las Vegas.

“Just frustrated, the best track I’ve ever had,” Creed said. ”We’re all racing hard, this is the playoffs. I think I showed my hand too early.”

There were five cautions for 25 laps, and four lead changes among four different drivers.

Austin Hill led one time for 39 laps and gained five playoff points in addition to his victory. Hill is also locked into the Round of 8 in the Truck Series playoffs.

Playoff Points Standings following Race No. 2 in the Playoffs

Austin Hill (Advanced to Round of 8 by virtue of victory)
Sheldon Creed, +52 above the cut line
Brett Moffitt, +44 above the cut line
Zane Smith, +39 above the cut line
Grant Enfinger, +31 above the cut line
Tyler Ankrum, +15 above the cut line
Matt Crafton, +15 above the cut line
Christian Eckes, +6 above the cut line
Ben Rhodes -6 below the cut line
Todd Gilliland, -10 below the cut line

Official Results following the World of Westgate 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Austin Hill, led 39 laps, earned five playoff points (Playoff driver)
Sheldon Creed, won both stages, led 89 laps, earned two playoff points (Playoff driver)
Tanner Gray
Stewart Friesen
Chandler Smith
Grant Enfinger (Playoff driver)
Zane Smith (Playoff driver)
Christian Eckes, led five laps, (Playoff driver)
Matt Crafton (Playoff driver)
Tyler Ankrum (Playoff driver)
Johnny Sauter
Ryan Truex
Todd Gilliland (Playoff driver)
Dylan Lupton
Brett Moffitt, led one lap
Tate Fogleman
Tyler Hill
Conor Daly, 1 lap down
Spencer Davis, 1 lap down
Travis Pastrana, 1 lap down
Clay Greenfield, 1 lap down
Ben Rhodes, 2 laps down, (Playoff driver)
Austin Wayne Self, 2 laps down
Danny Bohn, 2 laps down
Ray Ciccarelli, 3 laps down
Chase Purdy, 3 laps down
Spencer Boyd, 5 laps down
Josh Reaume, 7 laps down
Derek Kraus, 9 laps down
Jesse Iwuji, 19 laps down
Jordan Anderson, OUT, Track Bar
Tim Viens, OUT, Too Slow
Jennifer Jo Cobb, OUT, Oil Tank
Dawson Cram, OUT, Accident
Natalie Decker, OUT, Fatigue

Up Next: The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series will head to Talladega Superspeedway for the conclusion of the Round of 10 Truck Series Playoff Saturday October 3 live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio at 1 p.m./ET.

Joe Graf Jr. | SS GreenLight Racing | Las Vegas Motor Speedway II NASCAR Xfinity Series Event Preview

By

Official Release

-

September 25, 2020

SS GreenLight Racing | NASCAR Xfinity Series

Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway | Alsco 300
Fast Facts
No. 08 SS GreenLight Racing Team:

Driver: Joe Graf Jr. (@JoeGrafJr)

Primary Partner(s): Bucked Up Energy | Core Development | EAT SLEEP RACE

Manufacturer: Chevrolet Camaro

Crew Chief: Patrick Donahue

Starting Position for Alsco 300: 27th (Event Formula)

Driver Points Position: 22nd

Owner Points Position: 27th

Chassis Intel: SSGLR Chassis No. 709; competed last at Richmond (Va.) Raceway on September 20, 2020 and September 21, 2020. (Start: 23rd | Finish: 19th)

Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines (ECR)

Notes of Interest:

Full of Energy: Bucked Up Energy and its sister products will continue its role as the primary partner of Graf’s No. 08 Chevrolet Camaro. Las Vegas Motor Speedway is the 18th race in a multi-year, multi-race deal with the former ARCA Menards Series winner.
Bucked Up is the everyman (or woman) energy drink. We don’t care about the color of your collar; whether blue or white, we all require energy to power our days. We want something that tastes like success, enhances mood and focus, and most of all delivers long-lasting energy.

Bristol Motor Speedway Recap: Joe Graf Jr.’s return to “Thunder Valley” did no go as smooth as his track debut in June. After struggling with the handling of the No. 08 Bucked Up Energy Chevrolet Camaro during the opening stage, Graf Jr. was making mprovements throughout the race, until he was spun by another car.

Bouncing back from the spin, Graf was unable to overcome a green-flag pit stop for a flat tire that hindered the opportunity to contend for a top-20 finish.
For the second consecutive race, Graf settled for a 27th place finish.

Joe Graf Jr. Xfinity Series Las Vegas Motor Speedway Starts: Joe Graf Jr. will make his second career start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Saturday afternoon’s race.

In February, Graf Jr. made his Sin City debut where he started 15th and led his first career Xfinity Series laps before finishing 20th in the No. 08 Core Development Group Chevrolet Camaro.

Joe Graf Jr. Xfinity Series Career Intermediate Nuggets: At tracks greater than 1.0-mile in size, Graf has competed in 14 NASCAR Xfinity Series races. He holds an average starting position of 24.1 and an average result of 20.7.

Joe Graf Jr. ARCA Menards Series Career Intermediate Nuggets: At tracks greater than 1.0-mile in size, Graf has competed in eight ARCA Menards Series races. He holds an average starting position of 11.8 and an average result of 12.9.

Races for Faces: Joe Graf Jr. is racing for a cause during Saturday afternoon’s Alsco 300 at Las Vegas. Graf is virtually participating in myFace’s Races for Faces, an event to raise awareness for myFace, an organization that helps kids and families living with craniofacial differences.

Graf will donate $10 a lap to myFace for every lap he completes during the Alsco 300. The 22-year-old also has a myFace team page, whether others can partake in their own race and bring attentiveness to the organization too.

Join Team Graf by clicking here.

Vote For Me: Voting is open for the 2020 edition of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Most Popular Driver.

Approved voters are allowed to vote for their favorite NASCAR Xfinity Series driver at least one time per day for the next two months through Mon., Nov. 9, 2020.

To cast your vote for Joe Graf Jr. visit, nascar.com/xfinitymostpopulardriver.

Back To School Too: While juggling a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule with SS GreenLight Racing, college life has resumed for Joe Graf Jr.

With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Graf Jr. has resorted to online classes at the University of New York, where he is pursuing a degree in business, media and sports management.

The Second Half: Despite the coronavirus pandemic which shuttered NASCAR Xfinity Series races for more than two months, the series recently reached the halfway point of their season at Kansas Speedway in late July.

Now, 26 races down, seven races to go, Graf Jr. is ranked 22nd in the Xfinity Series championship standings and looks to improve his average finish of 23rd over the final six weeks of the season.

Sneaker Mania: Along with the adrenaline of Motorsports competition, Joe Graf Jr. also has a vogue for hype sneakers. In his current collection, he owns and wears at least 80 limited edition sneakers – and his collection continues to grow every month.

Did You Know? While NASCAR Xfinity Series competition was idle during the coronavirus pandemic for two months, Joe Graf Jr. got busy.

Whether it was working out, spending time on iRacing in the Pro Series Invitational or Saturday Night Thunder, Graf recently gave an insider view on how his quarantine went and offered even a little insight on himself as a person.

Click here to watch the video.

From the Pit Box: Industry veteran Patrick Donahue is Joe Graf Jr.’s crew chief. He will crew chief his 180th NASCAR Xfinity Series races on Friday night. In his previous 179 races, he has two wins, eight top-five and 14 top-10 finishes to his resume.

He has nine prior Xfinity races as crew chief at Las Vegas with a best finish of fourth in March 1999 with Jeff Gordon.

The event was his debut as Xfinity Series crew chief 21 years ago.

This Is 2020: Entering Bristol, Graf Jr. has 29 career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts to his credit with four top-15 and 10 top-20 finishes. After 26 races in 2020, he stands 22nd in the championship standings with seven races remaining.

Hello From The Other Side: Graf Jr. has a teammate at SS GreenLight Racing. Veteran Gray Gaulding returns to the seat of the No. 07 SS GreenLight Racing Chevrolet on Friday night.

The 22-year-old will make his fourth Xfinity start of 2020, all with SS GreenLight Racing.

Follow on Social Media: For more on Joe Graf Jr. visit JoeGrafJr.com, like him on Facebook (Joe Graf Jr.), follow him on Twitter (@JoeGrafJr) and Instagram (@joegrafjr).

For more on SS GreenLight Racing, please like them on Facebook (SS GreenLight Racing) and follow them on Twitter (@SSGLR0708) and visit their website at SSGreenLight.com.
Joe Graf Jr. Pre-Race Quotes:

On Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway: “It was a tough finish for our No. 08 Bucked Up Energy Chevrolet. We struggled with the balance early in the race and got a couple laps down and never really could recover.

“We then got spun later and even had to pit under the green flag and lost the opportunity to make some gains during the final stage.

“27th is tough to swallow, but I believe in this team and we will bounce back next weekend at Las Vegas.”

On Races for Faces: “I’ve had a relationship with myFace for several years now and I’m proud that I’m able to have an impact on their Races for Faces event this year through the Xfinity Series race.

“The goal is to finish all 200 laps or more so we can make a contribution to a worthy foundation.”

On Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway: “I’m optimistic about returning to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend. It is going to be a hot one, but I am determined to get us a good finish for the guys on this SS GreenLight Racing team and our partner Bucked Up.

“There isn’t much racing left on the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule, so it’s important for us to go out there and give it everything we have so we can end the year on a high note.”

Race Information:

The Alsco 300 (200 laps | 300 miles) is the 27th of 33 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the 2020 schedule. The 36-car field will take the green flag shortly after 4:00 p.m. on Sat., Sept. 16, 2020, with live coverage on NBCSN, the Performance Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are local (Pacific).

About SS Green Light Racing:

As one of the most tenured teams in all of NASCAR, SS GreenLight Racing has been a developmental hub for drivers looking to climb the ranks. Led by owner and former driver Bobby Dotter, the team has fielded entries in either the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series or the Xfinity Series competition since 2001.

Coming off a successful 2019 Xfinity campaign, SS GreenLight Racing looks to build further momentum with their two-car program in 2020.

SpeedwayMedia.comOnline Resource for Motorsports Information

SpeedwayMedia.comOnline Resource for Motorsports Information

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Joe Graf Jr. | SS GreenLight Racing | Las Vegas Motor Speedway II NASCAR Xfinity Series Event Preview

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