Outfitted with an Incredible 650 Horsepower, Built By Legends’ Reimagined Skyline Represents the Pinnacle of Custom Automotive Design and Engineering
Throughout automotive history, few vehicles have maintained the level of prominence and commanded the level of respect as the Nissan Skyline. Originally introduced as a luxury vehicle in 1957, the Skyline evolved into a performance-based street vehicle between the 1960’s and into the early 2000’s. As the predecessor to the modern GT-R, the Skyline is globally recognized as one of the finest performance vehicles ever built, one whose sterling reputation has only grown in recent years following the street car’s appearances in several motion pictures including the Fast and Furious movie franchise. One brand specializes in revitalizing the Skyline to a degree that has never been seen before. Japanese automotive firm Built By Legends was founded on the premise that the existing Skyline platform deserved to be elevated with the finest components available in the modern marketplace to establish a new high watermark of GT-R performance and drivability.
Built By Legends is proud to showcase their second GT-R masterpiece built for everyday driving in the United States at the world’s most notorious automotive aftermarket show, SEMA. The latest world-class reimagining of the classic GT-R from Built By Legends once again implements modern performance and power while staying true to the legendary Japanese sports car’s original design and unparalleled driving experience. Following the expiration of the Imported Vehicle Safety Compliance Act earlier this year, Built By Legends R34 GT-R’s are now available in the U.S. for the first-time. Unavailable in the United States marketplace upon its debut in 1999, enthusiasts now finally have the chance to acquire the Built By Legends R34 GT-R and unequivocally experience one of the world’s finest cars.
“Our new R34 GT-R is a classic Skyline that enthusiasts have waited decades to drive. This is a spectacular urban street fighter prized for its nimble handling, perfectly balanced power, and lightweight engineering,” comments Built By Legends CEO & Co-Founder Masaharu Kuji. “The concept behind Built By Legends was to produce Japanese restomod vehicles in conjunction with the legendary designers and builders of the Japanese automotive industry. Incorporating modern techniques and materials, our focus is to restore and recreate the Japanese tuner cars that have been permanently ingrained in our memory for decades. We are taking these iconic Japanese cars of the 1980’s and 1990’s to an entirely new level so that they can be owned, driven and appreciated by enthusiasts all around the world.”
With tuning playing an important factor in the appeal of the Skyline historically, the new Built By Legends R34 GT-R is outfitted with a powerful 650-horsepower MINE’S MB7 engine built on a 24U N1 engine block mated to a 6-speed Getrag heavy-duty six-speed transmission. This intricately designed powertrain is seamlessly controlled by the MINE’S VX-ROM ECU system operating in concert with a MINE’S Carbon Air Intake Duct and Fuel Delivery Pipe along with R35-transplanted Airflow Meter and Injectors. Design and performance strategically intersect where Built By Legends provides color, material finish and machined details to the R34’s engine cover, service touchpoints and Titanium Tower Bar.
The process to upfit each base R34 is exacting and thorough. Chassis restoration and reinforcement is expertly handled by Garage Yoshida, famously known for the company’s “No Compromise” restoration work on Skyline GT-Rs. Yoshida san’s first step in this process involves carefully measuring each base vehicle’s frame and chassis using an intensive 108-point 3D alignment test. While at Garage Yoshida, each Built By Legends Skyline goes through a complete teardown to its bare chassis, first being fully measured by a 3D body alignment tester, then going on a Celette jig to have the re-engineered strut towers installed. From there, the chassis undergoes wet blasting, spot welding, and other reinforcements to accommodate the increased power of the engine. Fresh 5 layer paint with optional integrated MINE’S ghost stripes, built back with new parts or renewed powder coated parts all around, everything down to the individual nuts and bolts. The fully restored and reinforced chassis properly delivers the increased power from the finely tuned engine to the pavement.
Built By Legends implements a comprehensive 400 point spot welding program throughout the car across the front and rear window door openings and quarter glass to strengthen and stiffen the chassis. The company also completely refreshes each suspension component, replacing all bushing and bearings. Aragosta suspensions selected by MINE’S are then integrated, relying on a high-performance Type S sport suspension to provide the ultimate driving comfort. In an effort to balance out the enhanced engine output, the Built By Legends R34 GT-R incorporates a race-ready front and rear braking system from AP Racing that utilizes 6 pot calipers with RDD 356 mm rotors in the front and 4 Pot Caliper RDD 356 mm rotors in the rear. Period-correct custom Rays 21A 10.5J x 18 wheels wearing high-performance Bridgestone Potenza 71RS tires in 265/35R18 fitment make for a smoother ride than ever before from a performance street car.
The most iconic color to ever adorn the R34 Skyline is the legendary Bayside Blue, which Built By Legends’ latest masterpiece proudly wears. To ensure this Skyline makes an impression day or night, Built By Legends’ paint quality is truly world-class. The interior color also presents a luxurious touch and feel with a black and navy two-tone Ultrasuede®︎ interior for ultimate comfort for both driver and passenger. Every element of the R34’s interior was crafted to enhance driver comfort and engagement, improving upon original factory design in several ways that contribute to a feeling of enhanced performance and confidence. For example, Built By Legends installed Daiko rubber roof and floor sound and heat reduction sheets throughout the cabin for improved comfort and a better overall driving experience. High performance touches abound throughout the cockpit such as a MINE’S D-Shape steering wheel finished in Nappa leather and Alcantara alongside matching handbrake and aluminum racing pedals.
“First and foremost, it is of the utmost importance that each Built By Legends restomod preserves the GT-R’s integrity and pays homage to this legendary driving machine. While we do supply the modern performance upgrades necessary for high-performance driving today, our team always ensures that the end result does not significantly change the aspects of Skyline driving that so many enthusiasts have long enjoyed,” continues Kuji. “There was no better place to first showcase our completed work than the SEMA show. We are thrilled to share this GT-R with the world, and look forward to building the finest street cars for enthusiasts across the globe.”
From full bare chassis restoration to minor rusted panel replacements, Built By Legends offers a full range of service options tailored to meet a wide array of customer requests, including completely unmodified restorations. Clients are also able to choose between retaining the vehicle’s original look by incorporating as many OEM components as possible, or implementing performance upgrades throughout for a decidedly modern driving experience. Commission prices for the R34 start at $450,000 for build and restoration (not including the base vehicle, which Built By Legends can source for clients).
Built By Legends commissions take around 12 months to complete, with shipment available anywhere in the world. For more information on Built By Legends and the company’s R34 Skyline GT-R restomods, please visit www.builtbylegends.jp or email hello@builtbylegends.jp.
Ryan Blaney, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, won the elimination race in the Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway Sunday afternoon. He will defend his title next week at Phoenix Raceway, joined by Ryan Blaney, William Byron and Tyler Reddick in the quest for the 2024 champion title.
Blaney. passed Chase Elliott for the lead on Lap 486 of 500, and pulled away to win by 2.593 seconds. It was his third win this season and his 13th career victory.
It was a thrilling conclusion to the Playoff Round of 8 finale but it was not without controversy. In a close battle between Christopher Bell and William Byron for the final playoff spot, Bell made an unconventional move as he drove into the final corner, riding against the outside wall.
NASCAR officials reviewed the move and determined that Bell had committed a safety violation and issued a penalty. Bell lost four positions and was eliminated from championship contention, and Byron advanced to the Championship 4 Round, joined by Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano and Martinsville winner, Blaney.
Playoff Driver Quotes
Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford – Winner
“I’m worn out — I’ve got nothing left,” Blaney said, referring to a tense battle with Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson to take the lead in the final laps.
“Oh, my God, I’m tired. Good battle and this car hung on longer than most, and I could really make some ground.”
“The last 70 or so laps, I tried to save my rear (tires) the best I could, because that’s where I started struggling later in the runs,” said Blaney, who led 32 laps. “I hated I had to lay the bumper to some guys, but I had to do it. It was nice to pass the 9 (Elliott) clean. I laid the bumper to a couple guys that I wish I didn’t have to, but I needed to get going, so it was a long night.
“I appreciate everybody for getting (the No. 12 Ford) better through the night. Thank goodness. I think that’s the most tired I’ve been after a race in a long time.”
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – Finished 6th
“Yeah, I’ve never been a part of anything like this, so I don’t really know how to feel. I hate it for everyone involved, but I’m happy for this No. 24 Liberty University Chevy team. I’m happy for us moving on, and we’ll go on and focus on Phoenix (Raceway).”
Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford – Finished 10th
“It was a top-10. That’s what it was. The focus has been on Phoenix and hopefully, it pays a dividend next weekend where we can unload with a lot of speed and have a race car that can go up there and run up front and win a championship.”
Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota – Finished 34th
Reddick locked himself into the Playoffs with his win at Homestead-Miami Speedway; unfortunately, a mechanical issue that caused a fire in his car left him on the sidelines.
After the race he humorously posted on X: “This team is on fire! Ready to fight for a championship next week!
The NASCAR Cup Series Champion will be crowned on Sunday, November 10, at Phoenix Raceway
Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin’s 2024 NASCAR Cup Series championship hopes ended despite both notching strong top-five runs amid an eventful run and conclusion to the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, November 3.
For Elliott, he came into this weekend’s Martinsville event strapped in eighth place in the Playoff standings and 43 points below the top-four cutline to the Championship 4 round. This resulted from finishing 33rd and fifth during the Round of 8’s first two events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, respectively.
Elliott then commenced the Martinsville weekend on a high note by being the highest-starting Playoff competitor on the grid. He grabbed the second-place starting spot with a qualifying lap at 96.190 mph in 19.686 seconds.
When the green flag waved on Sunday for the main event, Elliott spent the first 40 laps trailing the pole-sitter Martin Truex Jr. before he overtook him for the lead on Lap 41. Through an early caution period that started just past the Lap 75 mark, Elliott maintained the lead and garnered ten critical stage points by winning the first stage period. Then, after spending a majority of the second stage period racing towards the front, Elliott’s event briefly went south during a caution period on Lap 183 when a slow pit service from his No. 9 NAPA/Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team dropped him towards the bottom of the lead lap category. He did not rack up any stage points despite climbing back to 12th place at the second stage’s conclusion.
After being mired within the top-10 mark during the first half of the final stage period, Elliott strategically pitted under green with 149 laps remaining. With his fellow teammates and Playoff contenders pitting during the proceeding laps, he would cycle to the lead with 120 laps remaining. He would retain the top spot before he pitted again during a caution period with 103 laps remaining for fresh tires. Through another late-race caution period and two restarts, including the final one with 87 laps remaining, Elliott trailed teammate Kyle Larson for the race victory and a Playoff berth while in a “must-win” situation. After being radioed by his team to take the lead, Elliott overtook Larson for the top spot with 24 laps remaining. Despite initially pulling away over the next ten laps, Elliott would be overtaken by the eventual race winner, Ryan Blaney, who was placed in a “must-win” situation like for Elliott and Larson. With Elliott unable to regain the advantage over the final 14 laps, he settled in second place for the second time in the 2024 Cup Series season.
Despite notching his 11th top-five result of the 2024 season, the result was not enough for Elliott to transfer into the Championship 4 round by 44 points, as the 2024 season marks Elliott’s fourth time being eliminated from the Playoffs following the Round of 8. Amid the disappointment, Elliott, who missed seven races and did not make the Playoffs a year ago, was left pleased with the rebound and the speed made by his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team that included an emotional return to Victory Lane amid a one-year winless drought at Texas Motor Speedway in April that enabled the driver and team to make the 2024 Playoffs. Coupled with 18 top-10 results, Elliott shifted his focus on extending the momentum into the 2025 season that would enable him to make the Championship 4 round next season and contend for a second Cup Series title.
“[I am] Just really proud of how things went these last few weeks,” Elliott said on NBC. “We’ve been working really hard and just continuing to find a good base and build to be competitive, and lead more laps and just get ourselves back in contention more often. I really felt like we did a really good job of executing that over the last few weeks. It was unfortunate what happened at Vegas [in October], but to bring the kind of cars that we brought to Homestead and then here. [Crew chief] Alan [Gustafson] called a great race, and I thought we were right there in the mix of if, and I’m proud of that. We’ll go to Phoenix and try to build a little bit more there and try again next year.”
Compared to Elliott, Denny Hamlin’s fall Martinsville weekend commenced on a rough note after he wrecked his primary car during the event’s practice session on Saturday. While his No. 11 FedEx/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE team was able to repair the car that prevented them from pulling out a backup car, Hamlin opted to not post a qualifying lap as he rolled off the starting grid in 37th place, dead last.
At the event’s start, Hamlin, who entered Martinsville 18 points below the cutline despite finishing no lower than eighth throughout the Round of 8, methodically moved his way up the leaderboard. By Lap 35, Hamlin cracked the top-30 mark on the track and he would march up into the top-25 mark by Lap 65. Following the event’s first caution period just past Lap 75 and an ensuing restart on Lap 85, Hamlin made his way up to 16th place and would end up in 15th place when the first stage period concluded on Lap 130.
Then, after spending the first stretch of the second stage period making his way into the top-10 mark, Hamlin executed a strategic call to remain on the track for track position, which moved him up to second place and restarting on the front row with Ryan Blaney for the next restart period on Lap 191. Despite not contesting with Blaney for the lead, Hamlin would retain third place as the second stage period concluded on Lap 260, which netted him eight crucial stage points in hopes of making the Championship 4 round.
Restarting in the top four at the start of the final stage period with 230 laps remaining, Hamlin could not march his way towards the lead despite racing within the top-five mark for the majority of the stage period and as the track temperatures transitioned from daytime to nighttime racing. When the checkered flag flew, Hamlin could make his way up to as high as fifth place, which was not enough to maintain his championship hopes for the 2024 season as he missed the cutline by 24 points.
Overall, the 2024 Cup Series season marks Hamlin’s 19th consecutive one as a full-time competitor and his third in a row where his Playoff hopes ended following the Round of 8. Amid his strong top-five result at Martinsville and in a season where he netted three victories and 18 top-10 results, the Virginia veteran indicated the lack of speed and handling of his car during Sunday’s main event as a decisive factor that left him out of the title hunt and setting his elusive first title hopes for another season in 2025.
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“[My race was] Similar to the spring,” Hamlin said. “We were just fourth, fifth best, and that’s kind of where we were. I had track position at times, but when I was at our best handling-wise, it was just good enough to keep up, and that was it. We just haven’t had it for a couple years now, and we’ll go to work on it and try to figure out what we can do to come here in the spring and win.”
Overall, Hamlin and Elliott join Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell as the four Playoff contenders who did not make the 2024 Championship 4 round for next weekend’s season-finale event at Phoenix Raceway, while Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Joey Logano, and Tyler Reddick will contend for the championship. With the points amongst the eliminated Playoff contenders being reshuffled for the third and final time, Elliott and Hamlin are currently ranked seventh and ninth, respectively, in the standings as they both strive to cap off the 2024 season on a strong note.
Chase Elliott’s and Denny Hamlin’s 2024 NASCAR Cup Series seasons will conclude next Sunday, November 10, at Phoenix Raceway with the Cup Series Championship Race, which will air at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.
Amid a whirlwind of emotions among the remaining playoff contenders battling for the final two Championship 4 spots, Ryan Blaney emerged triumphant with a thrilling late-race victory in the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, November 3. This hard-fought win not only brought him a sense of elation and redemption but also secured his place in the championship fight for the final race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.
The reigning Cup Series champion from High Point, North Carolina, led three times for 32 of the 500-scheduled laps after starting in 14th place and methodically marching up the leaderboard. He then racked up six crucial stage points by finishing fifth following the first stage period. Blaney would then lead his first 16 laps and accumulate an additional nine stage points during the second stage period where he finished second behind Brad Keselowski. He also survived the stage’s four caution periods and executing a pit strategy for track position towards the front in the closing stages of the second stage.
Blaney restarted in the top 10 for the start of the final stage period with 230 laps remaining and spent the majority of the period racing toward the front. He endured back-to-back restarts amid back-to-back cautions within the final 100 laps and used the final restart period with 87 laps remaining to march his way to the front.
After outdueling Playoff contender Chase Elliott for the lead with 14 laps remaining, Blaney stormed away and cruised to his third checkered flag of the 2024 Cup Series season. The victory all but punched Blaney’s ticket back to the Championship 4 round and awarded him an opportunity to defend his series title against teammate Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick and William Byron. Byron was awarded the final Playoff berth after Christopher Bell’s Playoff berth was revoked due to “wall-riding” the final corner that initially enabled him to gain the final upper hand to the finale.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, November 2, Martin Truex Jr., the fastest competitor during the event’s practice session on Saturday, notched his first Cup pole position of the 2024 season in his penultimate start as a full-time competitor with a pole-winning lap at 96.190 mph in 19.686 seconds. Joining Truex on the front row was Playoff contender Chase Elliott, who clocked in his best qualifying lap at 95.840 mph in 19.758 seconds.
Before the event, the following names that included Austin Cindric, Corey LaJoie and Playoff contender Denny Hamlin dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries. By then, Hamlin was already scheduled to start in 37th place, dead last, after he opted not to qualify due to repairs made to his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota entry after he crashed due to a stuck throttle during Saturday’s practice session.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Martin Truex Jr. rocketed his No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry XSE ahead from the inside lane through the frontstretch as he led the field through the first two turns and the backstretch. As the field behind jostled for early spots through two stacked lanes, Truex cycled back to the frontstretch and led the first lap while Chase Elliott maintained the runner-up spot ahead of Playoff teammate William Byron, Ty Gibbs and Chase Briscoe.
Over the next four laps, Truex maintained a steady advantage over Elliott despite getting bumped by the latter through every corner. Behind, Byron retained third place ahead of Gibbs and Briscoe while Ryan Preece, Harrison Burton, Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon and Playoff contender Kyle Larson followed suit in the top 10.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Truex was leading by four-tenths of a second over Elliott while Byron, Gibbs, Briscoe, Preece, Burton, Bowman, Austin Dillon and Larson continued to follow suit in the top 10. With three of eight Playoff contenders racing in the top 10 on the track in the event’s early stages, Playoff contender Ryan Blaney was mired in 11th place while his Playoff teammate Joey Logano was in 13th place ahead of Playoff contender Christopher Bell. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin was mired in 34th place as he was racing behind Playoff contender and his 23XI Racing competitor Tyler Reddick.
Fifteen laps later, Truex stabilized his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Elliott while third-place Byron trailed by more than a second. With Briscoe and Preece racing in the top five, Larson retained 10th place ahead of Blaney while Logano and Bell retained 13th and 14th, respectively. Towards the rear of the field, Hamlin was up to 31st place while Reddick was back in 34th place.
Another 10 laps later, Truex, who was navigating his way through lapped traffic, continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over runner-up Elliott and by more than a second over third-place Byron. Behind, Blaney and Larson swapped spots as Blaney was in 10th place while Logano and Bell remained in 13th and 14th, respectively. Meanwhile, Hamlin cracked the top-30 mark as he was in 30th place while Reddick was strapped in 34th place.
Then on Lap 41, Elliott and Truex dueled for the lead, starting from the first two turns, as Elliott made his move beneath Truex. After dueling with him through the backstretch, Elliott then muscled his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 past Truex for the lead through Turns 3 and 4 as he assumed the lead for the following lap. With Elliott leading, Truex retained second over Byron as Briscoe and Preece started to close in.
At the Lap 50 mark, Elliott slightly grew his lead by four-tenths of a second over Truex while teammate Byron trailed in third place by more than a second. As Briscoe and Preece followed suit in the top five, Blaney made his way up to eighth place while Larson was in 11th place. With Logano and Bell remaining in the top 15, Hamlin was up to 28th place while Reddick, who was lapped, retained 34th place.
Ten laps later, Byron, who overtook Truex for the runner-up spot three laps earlier, was racing in second place in his No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 as he trailed teammate Elliott by one-and-a-half seconds. As both Briscoe and Preece overtook Truex to move up to third and fourth, respectively, Hamlin, who was still racing in the top five, was up to 27th place and he would proceed to overtake Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for 26th place during the following lap.
On Lap 65, Truex pitted his No. 19 Toyota under green from fifth place. By then, Reddick had also pitted despite losing two laps as Elliott stretched his lead to more than three seconds over teammate Byron. Not long after, Truex was assessed a drive-through penalty for driving too fast while entering pit road prior to his pit service. As Hamlin marched his way up to 23rd place behind Erik Jones on the track, Elliott stabilized his lead to two seconds over Byron at the Lap 75 mark as both Kyle Busch and Chris Buescher pitted under green.
Shortly after, the event’s first caution period flew when Playoff contender Christopher Bell made contact with Corey LaJoie in between Turns 1 and 2 as both spun through the turns, though both managed to continue without sustaining any significant damage to their respective cars. During the caution period, the lead lap field led by Eliott pitted for a first round of pit service. Following the pit stops and amid mixed strategies, Elliott exited pit road first ahead of teammate Byron as Briscoe, Preece, Todd Gilliland, Blaney, Bowman, Ty Gibbs, Larson and Joey Logano followed suit in the top 10.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 85, teammates Elliott and Byron dueled for the lead for a full lap as Byron led the next lap by a fender from the outside lane. Elliott would continue to duel with Byron during the next lap until he used the inside lane to motor ahead of Byron through the frontstretch and have both lanes under his control. With Elliott leading Byron, Briscoe followed suit ahead of Preece and Gilliland while Blaney and Larson were in sixth and eighth by the Lap 90 mark. Behind, Hamlin was up to 16th place, where he was four spots ahead of teammate Bell, while Logano was in 11th place.
At the Lap 100 mark, Elliott was leading by three-tenths of a second over teammate Byron while Briscoe, Preece and Gilliland continued to race in the top five ahead of Blaney, Larson, Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon and Logano. By then, Hamlin cracked the top 15 as he was in 15th place behind Daniel Hemric and teammate Bell was back in 21st place behind Bubba Wallace while Reddick, who was still a lap down, was strapped in 34th place.
Ten laps later, Elliott stretched his advantage to more than a second over Byron as Briscoe and Preece continued to follow suit in third and fourth, respectively. Meanwhile, Blaney cracked the top five as he was in fifth place while Larson was also up to sixth place. Over the next 10 laps, Bell was locked in a heated battle with Noah Gragson for 20th place as both raced in front of Michael McDowell and Hamlin retained 15th place while Logano was up to ninth place. By then, Elliott retained the lead by more than a second over Byron.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 130, Elliott, who was navigating his way through lapped traffic and came into Martinsville 43 points below the top-four cutline in his efforts to make the Championship 4 round, captured his second Cup stage victory of the 2024 season after fending off a last-lap bump from teammate Byron. Byron followed suit in second ahead of Briscoe, Preece and Blaney while Larson, Bowman, Austin Dillon, Logano and Brad Keselowski were scored in the top 10. With five of eight Playoff contenders racking up the event’s first round of stage points, the remaining Playoff contenders that include Hamlin, Bell and Reddick were mired in 15th, 21st and 35th, respectively, with Reddick falling two laps behind.
Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Elliott returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Elliott retained the lead as he exited pit road first ahead of Byron while Briscoe, Blaney, Preece, Bowman, Larson, Logano, Keselowski and Austin Dillon followed suit. Amid the pit stops, Austin Dillon was penalized for speeding on pit road.
The second stage period started on Lap 141 as teammates Elliott and Byron occupied the front row. At the start, the two Hendrick Motorsports teammates dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Byron used the outside lane to assume the lead from Elliott through the backstretch. With Byron proceeding to clear Elliott entering Turn 3 and lead the following lap, Blaney dueled with Briscoe for third place, but the latter retained the spot as Preece, Larson and Bowman followed suit. The caution would then return on Lap 144 when Daniel Suarez, who was racing towards the top-15 mark, got clipped by Hemric, who got bumped and boxed in between rookie Josh Berry and Austin Cindric, as Suarez spun his No. 99 Jockey Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through Turn 2. The incident occurred just behind Hamlin, who was up to 12th place, while Bell barely squeezed his way through the incident.
As the event restarted under green on Lap 151, Byron retained the lead from teammate Byron and proceeded to lead the following lap while having both lanes under his control. Behind, Larson, who attempted to make a bold move beneath Preece for additional spots, was in sixth place ahead of Logano and Blaney retained fourth place behind Briscoe while Hamlin continued to race in 12th place. With Bell mired in 16th place, Byron stabilized his lead to six-tenths of a second over teammate Elliott by Lap 155.
The caution would then return on Lap 156 when Harrison Burton, who was in the top 20, got bumped by rookie Carson Hocevar entering Turn 3 as Burton spun the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang Dark Horse in Turn 4 as he barely made contact with Austin Dillon in the process. During the caution period, some led by Hemric pitted while the rest led by Byron, including the Playoff contenders, remained on the track.
With the race restarting under green on Lap 164, teammates Elliott and Byron dueled for the lead for a third consecutive restart period and they remained dead even for the lead for a full lap while Larson got sideways and nearly turned by Preece exiting the frontstretch as Larson cracked the top five. Byron would proceed to muscle ahead of Elliott to lead under authority as Briscoe followed suit while Blaney, Larson, Preece, Logano, Bowman, Ross Chastain and Hamlin were in the top 10.
By Lap 175, Byron was leading by six-tenths of a second over Elliott while Briscoe, Blaney and Larson followed suit in the top five. Behind, Preece was back in sixth place ahead of Bowman, Chastain, Logano and Hamlin while Keselowski, Cindric, Berry, Bell and Gilliland were in the top 15 ahead of Gilliland, McDowell, Austin Dillon, Hocevar and Ty Gibbs. Meanwhile, Reddick was strapped two laps down in 35th place as Byron stabilized his lead to six-tenths of a second over Elliott by Lap 180. By then, Blaney dueled and overtook Briscoe for third place as he trailed the lead by two seconds while Larson also trailed the lead by two seconds in fifth place.
On Lap 183, the caution flew when the pole-sitter Martin Truex Jr., who was racing towards the rear of the field, got bumped and spun in front of Hemric and John Hunter Nemechek in Turn 4 as he would lose a lap to Byron. The incident occurred as Larson had overtaken Briscoe for fourth place. During the caution period, mixed strategies ensued as some led by Byron and including Larson, Elliott and Logano pitted while the rest led by Blaney and including Hamlin and Bell remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Elliott endured a slow pit service as the rear tire changer was slow to tighten the right-rear tire.
The start of the next restart period on Lap 191 featured Blaney muscling his No. 12 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse ahead with the lead from the inside lane while Hamlin dueled with Keselowski for the runner-up spot. Blaney would proceed to lead the next lap ahead of Keselowski, Hamin, Austin Dillon and Bell while Larson was making bold moves entering the corners to charge back to the front on his four fresh tires. With Byron also trying to march back to the front, Blaney retained the lead over Keselowski and Hamlin before the caution returned on Lap 195 as Hocevar, who was trying to race back into the top 15, bumped Hemric into Gilliland as the latter two spun towards the outside wall in Turn 2 while the field behind scattered to avoid the incident.
During the next restart period on Lap 202, Blaney and Keselowski dueled for the lead in front of Hamlin and Ausitn Dillon until Keselowski led the next lap by a hair at the next lap period. Keselowski would continue to fight with Blaney for the lead amid a heated duel through every corner and straightaway before he cleared Blaney through the backstretch on Lap 204. Behind, Hamlin was in third place while Bell motored his No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE into fourth place. Behind Ausitn Dillon and Gragson, Byron powered his way into seventh place as teammate Larson followed suit. As the field continued to jostle for on-track spots, Keselowski retained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Blaney by Lap 210.
Then on Lap 220, the battle for the lead ignited as Blaney bumped and was trying to navigate his way past Keselowski for the top spot through every corner and straightaway. Keselowski, however, would retain the top spot in his No. 6 King’s Hawaiian Ford Mustang Dark Horse while Hamlin, Bell and Larson followed suit in the top five. Behind, Byron battled Austin Dillon for sixth place while Elliott motored his way back up to 13th place in front of Logano. Keselowski would stabilize his advantage to three-tenths of a second over Blaney, who was beginning to become aggravated, by Lap 230 while Blaney’s Playoff rivals Hamlin, Bell, Larson and Byron followed suit in the top six as Hamlin trailed Blaney by a second. By then, Elliott was battling Briscoe for 12th place while Logano continued to follow suit in 14th place.
Towards the Lap 240 mark, Keselowski retained the lead by within two-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Blaney while third-place Hamlin followed suit by more than a second. Behind, Bell, Larson and Byron retained fourth through sixth, respectively, on the track as both Elliott and Logano retained 12th and 14th, respectively, on the track. Meanwhile, Reddick was strapped two laps down in 35th place as Keselowski proceeded to lead the event’s halfway mark on Lap 250.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 260, Keselowski, who had not pitted in 126 laps, fended off Blaney to capture his first Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Blaney followed suit in second along with Hamlin while Larson, Byron, Bell, Austin Dillon, Bowman, Gragson and Preece were scored in the top 10. With five of eight Playoff contenders racking up the event’s second round of stage points, the remaining Playoff contenders that include Elliott, Logano and Reddick were scored in 12th, 13th and 35th, respectively. By then, Bell and Byron occupied the two vacant spots to the Championship 4 round while Larson, Hamlin, Blaney and Elliott trailed below the cutline.
During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Keselowski pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Keselowski exited pit road first as he was followed by Larson, Byron, Hamlin, Bowman, Blaney, Austin Dillon, Preece, Logano and Elliott. Amid the pit stops, Bell endured a slow pit service and he would pit a second time to have a loose lug nut addressed. In addition, Blaney nearly clipped one of Hocevar’s pit crew members while trying to exit his pit stall while both Larson and Hamlin nearly made contact with one another.
With 230 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Keselowski and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, Keselowski motored ahead from the inside lane as teammates Larson and Byron battled for the runner-up spot. Behind, Hamlin battled Bowman for fourth place in front of Blaney and Austin Dillon as Blaney would then use the outside lane to duel with Bowman for fifth place. As Hamlin challenged Larson for third place, Keselowski retained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Byron with 225 laps remaining.
Down to the final 220 laps of the event, Keselowski maintained the lead by within three-tenths of a second over Byron as Larson, Hamlin and Blaney all followed suit in the top five. With Elliott and Logano racing in 10th and 12th, respectively, Bell was mired in 28th place and trying to navigate through tight traffic following his slow pit service during the previous caution period.
Ten laps later, Keselowski’s lead stabilized to three-tenths of a second over Byron while third-place Larson followed suit by six-tenths of a second. Behind, Blaney and Hamlin battled fiercely for fourth place while Elliott and Logano continued to race in 10th and 12th, respectively. Meanwhile, Bell carved his way up to 25th place, which currently placed him in a tie with Larson for the fourth and final transfer spot to the Championship 4 round in the Playoff standings.
Another 10 laps later, Bell moved back above the top-four cutline over Larson by a single point as the former assumed 24th place on the track. Bell would then pick up 23rd place during the following lap as Keselowski continued to lead by three-tenths of a second over Byron while Larson, Blaney and Hamlin all trailed by within less than three seconds. Not long after, Elliott, who ran into the rear of Buescher through the backstretch as Buescher pitted under green, was scored in the top 10 as he continued without sustaining any significant front-nose damage.
With 175 laps remaining, Keselowski slightly stretched his advantage to nine-tenths of a second over Byron as Larson, Blaney and Hamlin continued to trail in the top five. Meanwhile, Bell, who was racing within the Playoff cutline, was up in 21st place while Elliott and Logano were mired in 10th and 13th, respectively. Keselowski’s lead would decrease to six-tenths of a second over Byron as Blaney started to close in on Byron with 160 laps remaining.
Then with 155 laps remaining, Blaney bumped the lapped competitor of Shane van Gisbergen, who then slid up and made contact with Byron through the first two turns. This allowed Blaney to move into the runner-up spot over Byron while Keselowski retained the lead by above half a second. Meanwhile, Bell was in 20th place after he rubbed fenders with Austin Cindric while Larson and Hamlin remained in the top five.
Six laps later, Elliott strategically pitted his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 from the top 10, which resulted in him losing a lap as Blaney started to close in on Keselowski for the lead. Over the following 14 laps, Keselowski, who navigated his way through lapped traffic, fended off Blaney to retain the lead as Bell, who was in 19th place, was scored the final competitor on the lead lap. Blaney then tried to use the lapped competitor of Zane Smith to overtake Keselowski for the lead with 133 laps remaining, but the move did not work as Keselowski retained the top spot. Keselowski then lapped Bell with 130 laps remaining as Hamlin pitted from fourth place.
With 128 laps remaining and as more competitors started to peel off the track to pit under green, teammates Byron and Larson would pit their respective Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets as Blaney then pitted during the following lap. The leader Keselowski would pit one lap after Blaney. Following the pit stops, Byron managed to cycle ahead of Keselowski and Blaney on the track. With 120 laps remaining, Bell pitted under green as Elliott, who was in 10th place prior to the pit stops and had pitted nearly 30 laps ago, strategically cycled into the lead.
Down to the final 110 laps of the event, Elliott, who continued to remain on the track and stretching his fuel tank to the furthest, was leading by more than a second over teammate Byron. Meanwhile, Keselowski trailed in third place by two seconds while Blaney, Larson and Hamlin followed suit in the top six. Meanwhile, Bell, who was scored a lap down, was in 23rd place while Logano was back in 13th place.
Then with 103 laps remaining, the caution flew due to Hocevar, who was racing in 14th place, spinning in Turn 2 after he got hit by Bowman’s No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. During the caution period, some led by Elliott and including Keselowski, Blaney, Hamlin and Logano pitted while the rest led by Byron and including teammate Larson remained on the track. Bell would also pit despite being trapped a lap down.
The start of the ensuing restart period with 94 laps remaining did not last long as a wheel rolled off of the right front of Kyle Busch’s No. 8 Cheddar’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 just as the field entered Turns 3 and 4. At the moment of caution, Larson had managed to muscle ahead of teammate Byron and was ruled the leader.
The start of the next restart period with 87 laps remaining was successful as Larson fended off teammate Byron to lead the field for a full cycle. As Larson led the following lap over Byron and Cindric, teammate Elliott dueled with Preece for fourth place while Hamlin was in sixth place in front of Briscoe, Keselowski, Austin Dillon and Blaney. Shortly after, Bell moved into the free pass position in 19th place as Larson retained a steady lead over a four-car battle involving Byron, Cindric, Elliott and Hamlin with 80 laps remaining.
Down to the final 75 laps of the event, Larson was leading by nine-tenths of a second over teammate Elliott, who overtook teammate Byron for the runner-up spot a few laps earlier. With Larson leapfrogging up above the cutline by leading the race, Byron currently occupied the fourth and final transfer spot to the Championship 4 round over Bell, who was still strapped in 19th place while scored a lap down. Elliott, however, would slowly begin to close in on teammate Larson with fresher tires as the latter retained the top spot by seven-tenths of a second with 70 laps remaining.
With 60 laps remaining, Larson stabilized his late advantage to more than a second over Elliott as both were placed in a “must-win” situation to make the Championship 4 field. Behind, teammate Byron trailed by three seconds as he was ahead of Cindric, Blaney and Hamlin while Bell retained 19th place. Despite getting mired in lapped traffic over the next 10 laps, Larson stabilized his lead to eight-tenths of a second over Elliott.
Down to the final 40 laps of the event, Larson, who lapped 18th-place Bubba Wallace, continued to lead by seven-tenths of a second over teammate Elliott. By then, Bell, who was still in 19th place, was not in the free pass position as he was currently scored three points behind Byron, who lost third place to Blaney two laps earlier. Not long after, Reddick, who is already guaranteed a spot to the Championship 4 despite running towards the rear of the field while multiple laps down, took his No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE to the garage due to a mechanical issue.
With 25 laps remaining, Larson maintained the top spot in his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 by two-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Elliott, who was told to commence his charge for the lead several laps earlier. In the process, Blaney, who was placed in a “must-win” situation, closed in as he trailed the lead by six-tenths of a second while Byron lost fourth place to Cindric. This decreased Byron’s points advantage to two to Bell as both Austin Dillon and Hamlin slowly closed in on him for positions.
Then a lap later, Elliott bumped and overtook teammate Larson for the lead. Blaney would then bump and overtake Larson for the runner-up spot through the frontstretch during the following lap before Larson returned the favor with another bump. Amid their bumps, Blaney assumed the runner-up spot, which allowed Elliott to move above the cutline while Larson dropped below the cutline.
Down to the final 15 laps of the event, Elliott was leading by two-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Blaney while third-place Larson trailed by more than two seconds. With Cindric in fourth place, Byron maintained fifth place over both Hamlin and Austin Dillon while Bell was still strapped in 19th place and a lap down. A lap later, however, Blaney dueled with Elliott for the lead through the frontstretch and he would muscle ahead of Elliott entering the backstretch. This moved Blaney above the cutline and dropped Elliott below the cutline while Byron’s points advantage decreased to one over Bell as Hamlin overtook Byron for fifth place in his No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry XSE on the track.
With 10 laps remaining, Blaney grew his advantage to more than a second over Elliott while Byron was trying to fend off Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain, the latter two dueling dead even before Byron, for sixth place. As Blaney proceeded to add another second to his advantage with five laps remaining, Byron was left to fend off Dillon, Chastain and Keselowski for sixth place in his hopes to maintain his Playoff hopes for the finale over Bell.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Blaney remained in the lead by more than two seconds over Elliott. With a clear racetrack in front of him and both Elliott and Larson unable to close back the deficit, Blaney was able to cycle back to the frontstretch victorious for his third checkered flag of the 2024 Cup Series season.
With the victory, Blaney, who came into Martinsville 38 points below the top-four cutline in the Playoff standings, notched his 13th career win in the NASCAR Cup Series division, his second in a row in the fall Martinsville event and his first since winning at Pocono Raceway in July. The Martinsville victory was also the 11th of the 2024 season for the Ford nameplate and the seventh for Team Penske as Blaney redeemed himself following last weekend’s last-lap defeat from Tyler Reddick at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Above all, Blaney, who is in his ninth consecutive season as a full-time competitor in NASCAR’s premier series, punched his ticket into the 2024 Championship 4 round for a second consecutive season as he will strive to defend his series title in next weekend’s finale at Phoenix Raceway.
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“I don’t know, man,” Blaney, who was emotional, said on the frontstretch on NBC. “I tried to save my rear tires early. I started struggling with my rears when I would get [into] traffic the run before. I think it kind of paid off for us. So proud of the effort by everybody on the No. 12 group for never giving up and to have another shot at a championship is really special. [I’ll] Try to go back-to-back next week. I’m worn out. I got nothing left [today]. Good battle. The car hung on longer than most and [I] could really make some ground. [The No. 12 team] just worked on the car all night, so I really appreciate them. Let’s go.”
Meanwhile, drama unfolded on the final lap as Bell overtook Wallace, who had fallen off the pace over the last several laps as he radioed a potential flat tire to his No. 23 Xfinity Toyota Camry XSE, through the backstretch for 18th place. Bell then got loose entering Turn 3 as he made the pass and hit the outside wall, where he would proceed to drive and throttle up his car while scraping the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4 to cycle back to the frontstretch and cross the finish line ahead of Wallace while Byron managed to fend off Dillon, Chastain, Keselowski and Logano for sixth place. In the change of events, Bell overtook Byron in the Playoff standings to claim the fourth and final transfer spot to the Championship 4 round in a tiebreaker over Byron due to achieving a higher result of second place throughout the Round of 8 compared to Byron.
Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.
Following an extensive review of the final-lap actions made between Byron and Bell while also evaluating the radio conversations between Wallace, Chastain and Austin Dillon as all three were racing with both Byron and Bell for positions in the closing laps, NASCAR levied Bell a safety violation for using the outside wall to accelerate and scrape his way into the Championship 4 round. Despite Bell’s move being similar to the move Ross Chastain made, where the latter throttled up against the Turns 3 and 4 outside wall to gain spots and make the Championship 4 round in 2022, NASCAR had banned the wall-ride maneuver from competitors prior to the start of the 2023 season.
As a result, Bell was demoted from 18th to 22nd in the final running order, which left him four points out of the Championship 4 field and not reaching the final Playoff round for a third consecutive season. Bell’s demotion allowed Byron to claim the final Championship 4 berth for a second consecutive season as he will compete for his first Cup Series championship next weekend at Phoenix.
Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“I’m not happy for anything, but the rule is what it is for the crossover gate over [in Turns 3 and 4] and riding the wall,” Byron said. “It is what it is. I will go race and just proud of my team. We had a really, hard-fought day, overall. Proud of that.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Bell said. “I understand that the rule was made to prevent people from riding the wall, but my move was completely different than what Ross’s [Chastain] was. I got loose getting into the corner and slid right into the fence. I don’t know what else to say.”
With Byron and race winner Blaney joining Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick as the four finalists who will contend for the 2024 Cup Series championship, Bell joins teammate Denny Hamlin and Byron’s Hendrick teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott as the bottom four contenders whose championship hopes came to an end. The outcome also eliminated Joe Gibbs Racing’s hopes of claiming this year’s title with both Bell and Hamlin out of the Playoffs.
There were 15 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 66 laps. In addition, 17 of 37 starters finished on the lead lap.
Results.
1. Ryan Blaney, 32 laps led
2. Chase Elliott, 129 laps led, Stage 1 winner
3. Kyle Larson, 71 laps led
4. Austin Cindric
5. Denny Hamlin
6. William Byron, 51 laps led
7. Austin Dillon
8. Ross Chastain
9. Brad Keselowski, 170 laps led, Stage 2 winner
10. Joey Logano
11. Noah Gragson
12. Shane van Gisbergen
13. Alex Bowman
14. Ryan Preece
15. Chase Briscoe
16. Josh Berry
17. Daniel Hemric
18. Bubba Wallace, one lap down, six laps led
19. Erik Jones, one lap down
20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down
21. Zane Smith, one lap down
22. Christopher Bell, one lap down
23. Daniel Suarez, two laps down
24. Martin Truex Jr., two laps down, 41 laps led
25. Carson Hocevar, two laps down
26. Todd Gilliland, two laps down
27. Kaz Grala, three laps down
28. Kyle Busch, three laps down
29. Justin Haley, three laps down
30. Chris Buescher, three laps down
31. John Hunter Nemechek, four laps down
32. Ty Gibbs, five laps down
33. Michael McDowell, 10 laps down
34. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Brakes
35. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Oil Pressure
36. Harrison Burton – OUT, Engine
37. Josh Bilicki – OUT, Brakes
*Bold indicates Playoff contenders
Playoff standings
1. Ryan Blaney – Advanced
2. Tyler Reddick – Advanced
3. Joey Logano – Advanced
4. William Byron – Advanced
5. Christopher Bell – Eliminated
6. Kyle Larson – Eliminated
7. Denny Hamlin – Eliminated
8. Chase Elliott – Eliminated
The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season is set to conclude next Sunday, November 10, at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, where a champion will be crowned. The event’s broadcast is slated to occur at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.
AUSTIN, Texas (November 3, 2024) – In his debut weekend, Sacha van’t Pad Bosch put on a clinic in the Ligier JS F4 Series (JS F4) at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) on Saturday afternoon. After a technical infraction in Race 2 disallowed his time and sent him to the back of the lineup for Race 3, the Dutch driver drove through the field enroute to victory in the final race of the 2024 season.
Notes of Interest:
At just 14 years old, Sacha van’t Pad Bosch earned his first-career win during his Ligier JS F4 Series debut weekend. Newly transitioned from gokarts, the COTA SpeedTour also marked van’t Pad Bosch’s first race in America.
With three podiums at COTA, including a runner-up finish in Race 3, Teddy Musella earned the 2024 Driver Championship in F4 U.S.
Harbir Dass tied his career-best finish with a third-place result in Race 3 at COTA. He previously finished third at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Round 11.
In their debut weekend, Takumi Numata and Caleb Campbell both scored top-five finishes.
Sacha van’t Pad Bosch was awarded the Omologato Perfectly-Timed Move of the Race and presented a bespoke Omologato timepiece in recognition of a strong performance during his debut weekend, which included his first-career win.
Teddy Musella won the 2024 JS F4 Driver Championship with a 51.5-point margin over Vice Champion Kekai Hauanio.
Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport won the 2024 JS F4 Team Championship after recording nine wins and 18 podiums this season.
As the field rolled down the starting grid, Scuderia Buell teammates split the field—Teddy Musella (No. 25 Scuderia Buell Ligier JS F4) led out front, while Sacha van’t Pad Bosch (No. 27 Scuderia Buell Ligier JS F4) brought up the rear. Musella pulled to the front of the pack through Turn 1, and behind him, Leonardo Escorpioni (No. 26 Champagne Racing Ligier JS F4) got a great start from third to immediately apply pressure to second-place starter Kekai Hauanio (No. 29 N.E.Where Transportation / New’T Racing Ligier JS F4). With Musella pulling away, Drew Szuch (No. 28 Szuch Racing Ligier JS F4) and Harbir Dass (No. 23 Berg DMG Racing Ligier JS F4) pulled up to join the battle for second. Further back in the pack, van’t Pad Bosch was climbing through the field—up to 11th after the first lap, eighth after two laps, and into fifth as the race neared its halfway point.
Up front, Hauanio dove into Turn 11, initially outbreaking Musella to take the race lead, but leading to a three-wide battle between himself, Musella and Escorpioni racing down the long straightaway. Escorpioni held the preferred lane into Turn 12 to overtake the lead. The three continued to jockey for the top position for the next several minutes while van’t Pad Bosch pulled up to fourth. With just 10 minutes left on the clock, Escorpioni and Hauanio made contact at the exit of Turn 12 with both cars spinning. While Musella had to go wide to avoid the incident, van’t Pad Bosch was in the perfect place to capitalize on the mistake and take the race lead as the full-course caution was displayed.
A few minutes later, the field returned to green as the white flag also waved, giving competitors a one-lap dash to the finish. Van’t Pad Bosch had a great launch, solidly taking command of the race before contact further back in the field left two cars stopped on the circuit and once again brought out a full-course caution.
As they crossed the finish line, van’t Pad Bosch took the checkered flag, followed by Szuch, Musella, Dass and Takumi Numata (No. 17 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4).
Following the race, a series of Stewards Decisions resulted in penalties that adjusted the finishing order. Drivers receiving a penalty, included:
Drew Szuch (No. 28 Szuch Racing Ligier JS F4): five-second penalty, moving him to seventh Conor Grant (No. 10 Champagne Racing Ligier JS F4): 30-second time penalty, moving him to 14th Athan Sterling (No. 1 JENSEN Ligier JS F4): five-second time penalty Parker Wallin (No. 34 SHAED Ligier JS F4): five-second penalty, moving him to 16th
“I just had a really good car—the team gave me a great package,” said van’t Pad Bosch after climbing from the car. “I had the speed and was able to overtake everyone to get P1. I’m so happy; I don’t have any words. I want to thank the team, my coach, my mom and family, my mechanic and everyone that’s supported me.”
JS F4 returns for the 2025 season at NOLA Motorsports Park, March 27-30. Prospective drivers looking to learn more about JS F4 should visit the series’ website, JSF4Series.com. Additional news and updates throughout the off-season will be shared on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
SHANE van GISBERGEN No. 16 Acceptance Insurance Camaro ZL1
Shane van Gisbergen qualified 29th for the XFINITY 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
Van Gisbergen battled to maintain position, and on lap 73, the No. 16 Acceptance Insurance team opted to pit under green for fuel and fresh tires. A caution came out on lap 76, which resulted in the No. 16 being scored two laps behind the leader. The call was made to stay out for track position and take the wave around to gain one lap back. Van Gisbergen restarted the stage 34th. He battled to hold the leader off but ultimately ended the stage scored 34th, two laps down to end the stage.
The No. 16 team opted to take the wave around at the stage break, putting Van Gisbergen one lap down from the leader starting the stage 33rd. A caution quickly came out on the restart, and the No. 16 team came to pit road for fresh tires and fuel placing him 34th for the restart. During a caution on lap 184, the No. 16 team opted to come to pit for a chassis adjustment, fresh tires and fuel. Van Gisbergen restarted the stage, 31st. He reported his Chevrolet was “tight” in the corners, as he battled to gain position. A caution quickly came out after the restart, and the No. 16 Acceptance Insurance team was in the “lucky dog” position, rejoining the field on the lead lap, and opted to come to pit road for more adjustments, fresh tires, and fuel. Van Gisbergen restarted the stage in 30th. Reporting the adjustments the team made to the car were in the right direction, he completed the stage in 25th place.
The No. 16 team came to pit road at the stage break for another small adjustment, four tires and fuel, slotting Van Gisbergen to start the final stage 24th. Dropping a lap down on lap 344, Van Gisbergen was called to pit on lap 347 for tires and fuel. He rejoined the field 31st. During a green-flag pit-stop cycle on lap 377, Van Gisbergen was scored as high as 12th. A caution came out on lap 398, and No. 16th Acceptance Insurance Chevrolet maintained 12th. During the caution, the No. 16 team came to pit road for four fresh tires and fuel. Van Gisbergen restarted the final stage in 14th place with 93 laps remaining in the race. A long, green-flag run aided Van Gisbergen into taking the checkered flag 12th.
“That was a long race but really fun! My Acceptance Insurance Chevrolet felt really good when we were in clean air, and we were even ripping some pretty good lap times. Super stoked with the 12th-place finish. Such a good way to finish with my Kaulig Racing team.” – Shane va Gisbergen
DANIEL HEMRIC No. 31 High Point Paint Services Camaro ZL1
Daniel Hemric qualified 15th for the XFINITY 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
Firing off on the tight side, Hemric only fell one position, before improving by almost half a car length on exits. Hemric avoided a spin in front of him that brought out the first caution on lap 76. He pitted for four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment, before restarting 14th on lap 85. The remaining laps of stage one went green, and Hemric finished the first stage in 13th place.
Hemric reported that the No. 31 High Point Paint Services Chevy had good maneuverability and front capability. He pitted during the stage break for tires, fuel and a right-front air pressure adjustment, before starting the second stage in 15th place. The field made it four laps, before stacking up and bringing out the next caution. Hemric barely made it through unscathed. He stayed out, and restarted 15th. The field went green five laps, before another spin behind Hemric brought out the next caution. Crew chief Trent Owens made the call to pit for tires, fuel, and a left-rear adjustment on the No. 31 Chevy. Hemric restarted 30th and went 20 more laps before the next caution on lap 183. Hemric stayed out, while most of the field in front of him pitted. He restarted 12th with 69 laps remaining in Stage 2. The field went five more laps, before the No. 77 spun Hemric, bringing out the next caution. Hemric pitted for tires and fuel, before restarting in 30th on lap 203. The remainder of stage two stayed green, and Hemric finished in 26th place.
Hemric pitted during the second stage break for tires and fuel, before starting the final stage in 26th place. As the stage stayed green, Hemric made a scheduled, green-flag pit stop for tires and fuel after falling one lap to the leaders on lap 353. After racing his way back up to 16th, a timely caution came out on lap 397, allowing Hemric to pit under caution for tires and fuel. As the field came to the restart, the caution flag immediately came back out for a tire on track. Hemric restarted in 16th place on lap 413. The race remained green, and Hemric went on to finish in 17th place.
“Really fast No. 31 High Point Paint Services Chevrolet all weekend. We kept our track position and made some gains during the first stage. Getting spun by the 77 set us back a bit. Fortunately, a timely caution and some solid adjustments helped get us some track position back, and we were able to get a top-20 finish out of it.” – Daniel Hemric
About Kaulig Racing
Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time, multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has earned 23 NXS wins, made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started, and won two regular-season championships. In 2021, the team competed in select NCS events, before expanding to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 and adding a third, part-time entry during the 2023 season. Since its first NCS start in 2021, the team has earned two wins. Kaulig Racing is currently fielding two full-time entries in the NCS and continues to field three full-time NXS entries, with a part-time fourth entry at select events. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.
UP NEXT: The NASCAR Cup Series will head to Phoenix Raceway next weekend for the 2024 Championship Race. Coverage of the 312-lap event can be found on Sunday, Nov. 10, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
For the second time in his career, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron will have the opportunity to race for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship. In a race all the way to the checkered flag, Byron drove his No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 to a sixth-place result. Ending the race with a four-point advantage over the playoff cutline, Byron took the fourth and final position in the Championship Four.
Despite a valiant effort all race long, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott and Kyle came just short of a ticket into the Championship Four – ultimately driving their Camaro ZL1’s to a second and third-place finish, respectively, in the Round of Eight elimination race at Martinsville Speedway. While each endured challenges throughout the race, the pair of teammates proved to be contenders throughout the 500-lap event – collectively leading 200 laps en route to their podium finishes.
Chevrolet will have the opportunity to race for a driver championship in all three NASCAR national series next weekend, with Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill and JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier advancing to the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship four, and CR7 Motorsports’ Grant Enfinger and McAnally Hilgemann Racing’s Christian Eckes racing for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship.
“I’m proud of the effort from this No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevy team. This whole Round of Eight has been a fight, really. From the first stage at Las Vegas (Motor Speedway) on, it’s been a fight. I feel like we made the right pit call to give ourselves the best opportunity. I’m proud of my team; the car, the pit crew, everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. We just didn’t have enough. I actually thought that when Chase (Elliott) got to second, I thought he was going to drive right to me and pass me easily. I was surprised I held on as long as I did, so it gave me hope. But then we just fell off the last 30 laps or so.”
Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1
Finished: 2nd
How do you sum up the strategy call?
“It was a great call. It got us right there in the mix and we had an opportunity. I just made a couple mistakes there past halfway and got some damage on our car. I think that hurt a little bit. Just little things started stacking up. I was pushing really hard trying to get to the No. 5 (Kyle Larson). I just felt like Ryan (Blaney) had been really good. I was scared to give him an opportunity to get to the No. 5 first. I just really wanted to try to get the lead. And then you never know, maybe a caution comes out or something. It just didn’t work out for us. We’ll go to Phoenix (Raceway) and try to put together a good weekend.”
You were so confident coming into this race, but you never know with how these races go. There was a lot going on there at the end.
“Yeah, I don’t know what all was going on there, to be honest. All I know is that we came up one spot short and it’s unfortunate.”
How would you summarize this race for yourself and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy team?
“Really solid. Like I said, I just made a couple mistakes there and got some damage on our car. I think that hurt us, and I just didn’t manage the last run very well.”
William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1
Finished: 6th
What are your emotions here at the end of this race?
“Yeah, I’ve never been a part of anything like this, so I don’t really know how to feel. I hate it for everyone involved, but I’m happy for this No. 24 Liberty University Chevy team. I’m happy for us moving on, and we’ll go on and focus on Phoenix (Raceway).”
I know your mind is on Martinsville here, but from a broader perspective, what’s your thoughts, expectations, optimism heading to Phoenix?
“I have not gotten there yet (laughs). I’ll think about this one here at Martinsville (Speedway) with my team. We had a lot of adversity through the second half of the race there. Yeah, I mean we know what the rules are, right? So it is what it is. I wouldn’t say I’m happy, but I’m excited to race for a championship, that’s for sure.”
Daniel Hemric, No. 31 High Point Paint Services Camaro ZL1
Finished: 13th
“Really fast No. 31 High Point Paint Services Chevrolet all weekend. We kept our track position and made some gains during the first stage. Getting spun by the 77 set us back a bit. Fortunately, a timely caution and some solid adjustments helped get us some track position back, and we were able to get a top-20 finish out of it.”
About General Motors
General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.
Strong Run for Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Team Results in Seventh-Place Finish at Martinsville Speedway
Finish: 7th Start: 10th Points: 28th
“We had a fast No. 3 Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet today at Martinsville Speedway. We ran in the top 10 most of the race. Even after a pit road speeding penalty on lap 134, our team stayed determined and we were able to race our way back into the top 10. Our pit crew did a fantastic job with how many times we pitted. I think if we could have gotten a couple of late cautions towards the end, we could have had a shot at another win. I’m very proud of our Richard Childress Racing team for bringing the car they did this weekend and ECR engines for the power. It showed for 500 laps.” -Austin Dillon
Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet Team Earn 28th-place Finish at Martinsville Speedway
Finish: 28th Start: 23rd Points: 20th
“We had a decent Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet today at Martinsville Speedway, but a bad break early in the race put us behind for most of the day. We made a green flag stop and then a few laps later the caution came out, putting us a couple of laps down. We took the wave around at the Stage 1 caution and then got the free pass back onto the lead lap thanks to another caution a few laps into Stage 2. Crew Chief Randall Burnett and all the guys on the No. 8 team kept making adjustments on the Cheddar’s Chevrolet throughout the race and we were slowly able to work our way back into contention. With 100 laps to go, we lined up 10th for a restart but had an issue with the right-front tire and had to pit again. It’s frustrating for sure, but I want to thank everyone from Cheddar’s for their support this season.” -Kyle Busch
STEWART-HAAS RACING Xfinity 500 Date: Nov. 3, 2024 Event: Xfinity 500 (Round 35 of 36) Series: NASCAR Cup Series Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (.526-mile oval) Format: 500 laps, broken into three stages (130 laps/130 laps/240 laps)
Race Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford) Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of RFK Racing (Ford)
● Chase Briscoe (14th with 2,176 points) ● Noah Gragson (24th with 587 points) ● Ryan Preece (26th with 583 points) ● Josh Berry (27th with 566 points)
Gragson Notes:
● Gragson earned his 15th top-15 of the season and his first top-15 in four career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Martinsville. ● This was Gragson’s third straight top-20. He finished 18th Oct. 20 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and 19th last Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. ● Gragson’s 15th-place result bettered his previous best finish at Martinsville – 20th, earned in April. ● Gragson finished ninth in Stage 2 to earn two bonus points.
Preece Notes:
● Preece earned his 12th top-15 of the season and his third top-15 in 11 career NASCAR Cup Series start at Martinsville. ● This was Briscoe’s second straight top-15. He finished 10th last Sunday at Homestead. ● This was Preece’s fourth straight top-20 at Martinsville. He finished 15th in April 2023, 20th last October and ninth in his prior visit to the track in April. ● Preece finished fourth in Stage 1 to earn seven bonus points and 10th in Stage 2 to earn one more bonus point.
Briscoe Notes:
● Briscoe earned his 16th top-15 of the season and his sixth top-15 in eight career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Martinsville. ● This was Briscoe’s second straight top-15. He finished 12th last Sunday at Homestead. ● This was Briscoe’s sixth straight top-15 at Martinsville. In his five prior NASCAR Cup Series starts at the .526-mile oval, Briscoe finished ninth, ninth, fifth, fourth and 10th. ● Briscoe finished third in Stage 1 to earn eight bonus points.
Berry Notes:
● Berry earned his 14th top-20 of the season and his first top-20 in two career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Martinsville. ● This was Berry’s second straight top-20. He finished 11th last Sunday at Homestead. ● Berry’s 16th-place result bettered his previous best finish at Martinsville – 25th, earned in April. ● Berry was the highest finishing rookie.
Race Notes:
● Ryan Blaney won the Xfinity 500 to score his 13th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his second at Martinsville. His margin of victory over second-place Chase Elliott was 2.593 seconds. ● This was Ford’s 739th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory and its 11th of the season. ● This was Ford’s 32nd all-time NASCAR Cup Series win at Martinsville. Ford won its first race at the track on April 9, 1961 with NASCAR Hall of Famer Fred Lorenzen. ● There were nine caution periods for a total of 66 laps. ● Only 17 of the 37 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap. ● This was the last race in the penultimate Round of 8 of the NASCAR Playoffs. Blaney, Tyler Reddick and Joey Logano secured their spots in the Championship 4 via their respective wins while William Byron earned his place on points. Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson and Elliott did not advance to the final, winner-take-all Championship 4 next Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.
Sound Bites:
“We came up one spot short from a top-10. I really wanted that but, overall, a good day for the No. 10 team and Stewart-Haas. The 41 and 14 ran up front for a good majority of the day and for us to come home 11th, we started 25th. We need to get our qualifying a little better, but I think we know what we need to work on. I’m just super proud of the determination and focus out of our group this weekend. We’ve got one more.” – Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 Bed Bath & Beyond Ford Mustang Dark Horse
“We had a really solid car. Felt like a top-five, top-10 car, but once we lost track position, we just fought the entire time to get it back. We just got stuck on the wrong end of the stick with the strategy. It seemed like the cautions came out at unnecessary times for us and put us in position to have to make a decision, and I think when that caution came out and put us fourth, it actually put us in a bad spot and, ultimately, we ended up 14th. Still a good fight. I’m proud of Chad (Johnston, crew chief) and proud of everybody.” – Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 41 Mohawk Northeast Ford Mustang Dark Horse
“Our car started pretty good and we just continued on, but it just got worse as the day went on. We never really made it better. It’s frustrating, for sure.” – Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Next Up:
The NASCAR Cup Series season finale is Sunday, Nov. 10 at Phoenix Raceway. The championship race starts at 3 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Championship Winner Daniel Quimby Celebrates at COTA. Photo by Gavin Baker
AUSTIN, Texas (November 3, 2024) – Alex Crosbie earned his second-career win in Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.) on Saturday afternoon. A lot was at stake in the season-finale race at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), including the 2024 championship for F4 U.S., which Daniel Quimby won by 4.5 points with a runner-up finish.
Notes of Interest:
Alex Crosbie earned his second-career F4 U.S. win in the final race of the season at Circuit of The Americas. The New Zealander finished the season with two wins and six podium results.
Daniel Quimby earned his 10th podium of the season with a runner-up finish in Round 14. Quimby was one of three drivers with 10 podiums this year—tying both Nicolas Stati and Connor Roberts.
Connor Roberts earned his seventh consecutive podium after finishing third in Saturday’s race. Since Round 8 at New Jersey Motorsports Park, the 20-year-old driver has accumulated one win, two second-place and four third-place finishes.
Alex Popow was awarded the Omologato Perfectly-Timed Move of the Race in recognition of his outstanding performance this weekend, which included two wins during his F4 U.S. debut weekend. As part of the recognition, he was awarded a bespoke Omologato timepiece.
Daniel Quimby won the 2024 F4 U.S. Driver Championship by 4.5 points over second-place Nicolas Stati.
Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport won the F4 U.S. Team Championship. Fielding up to four different drivers this season, including Nicolas Stati, Alex Crosbie, Barrett Wolfe and Seth Gilmore, Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport tallied five wins and 18 podiums.
Recording the fastest lap in Race 2, Alex Crosbie (No. 41 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) started Saturday’s event in the point position and immediately took control of the race as the field charged toward Turn 1. To Crosbie’s outside was Alex Popow (No. 55 MLT Motorsports Ligier JS F422) who won back-to-back races in the first two rounds of the weekend. However, their mirrors were filled with championship rivals Daniel Quimby (No. 24 Cruise America / MIR Raceline / FIJI Airways / GalvanizeIns Ligier JS F422) and Nicolas Stati (No. 15 AGI Sport Ligier JS F422), who comprised the second row. Quimby entered the round knowing exactly what he needed to do to win the championship—win the race, or beat Stati by at least two positions. Anything less, wouldn’t be enough. With no time to waste, Quimby charged toward Turn 1 on the opening lap looking to gain as much ground as possible. He overtook Popow, leaving the MLT Motorsports driver as a buffer between himself and Stati. Not willing to give up the position or the championship that easily, Stati worked to chase down Popow and quickly engaged in a three-car battle for third, which also included Connor Roberts (No. 46 ApexSpeed.com / Entropy Cellars Ligier JS F422).
While the battle ensued for third, both Crosbie and Quimby were able to pull away. Showing the strength of his Ligier JS F422 and Ligier Storm engine, Crosbie opened up a 4.648 gap over Quimby. However, his advantage was erased with just under 10 minutes left on the clock when the safety car deployed. The field returned to green as the white flag also waved, giving competitors a one-lap dash to the finish. Unphased by the restart, Crosbie once again pulled away from the field to take control of the race. In second, Quimby was under attack by Roberts, Popow and Stati; however, the pressure only lasted a few turns as contact further back in the field left two cars stopped on the circuit and once again brought out a full-course caution.
Crossing the finish line, Crosbie was followed by Quimby, Roberts, Popow and Stati. With Quimby ahead and two cars separating the championship contenders, the Australian gained enough points in the final round to overtake Stati and win the championship.
“This was a big weight lifted off my shoulders—I was a bit nervous this morning,” said Quimby after climbing from the car. “It was a really good race. I’d like to thank everyone who’s come on board this year—Motorhome Republic, Cruise America, Crankhouse, Galvanize Insurance, FIJI Airways, MIR Raceline. The boys from Atlantic Racing Team have done an awesome job all weekend.”
Crosbie, who won earlier this year in Round 6 at New Jersey Motorsports Park, returned to victory lane.
“It definitely was a good race that one,” said Crosbie atop the podium. “I kept my cool and finally found the speed I needed for this weekend. It’s great to finally get the win for the last race of the season. I’d like to thank Golden Homes and my parents for everything they’ve done.”
F4 U.S. returns for the 2025 season at NOLA Motorsports Park, March 27-30. Prospective drivers looking to learn more about F4 U.S. should visit the championship’s website, F4USChampionship.com. Additional news and updates throughout the off-season will be shared on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
