First-Year Teammates Kyle Washington and Tom Sargent Win a Thriller in Debut of New No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R
DANVILLE, Virginia (July 21, 2024) – GMG Racing co-drivers Kyle Washington and Tom Sargent broke through for their first Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS race win Saturday at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R. The hard-fought Pro-Am-class victory was a last-to-first triumph that marked a string of initial milestones for the team and drivers in Fanatec GT World Challenge competition.
Washington and Sargent scored their maiden wins together in their first full seasons of competition in Fanatec GT World Challenge. The victory also came in the debut of the team’s all-new Type 992 Porsche 911 GT3 R and was the first for longtime SRO America championship and race-winning team GMG Racing in the current era of GT World Challenge competition, which features twin 90-minute races each race weekend.
“For Tom and Kyle to finally see success on the top step of the podium in their first seasons in Pro-Am in GT World Challenge America is well deserved for sure,” said GMG Racing Founder and Team Principal James Sofronas. “As I have frequently said this year and last year, Kyle is putting in the work. The team executed a perfect pit stop, and I think we even waited five seconds before the release. We are running on all cylinders as you have to, in order to win in the competitive Pro-Am class, and it takes a good Am driver – even though Kyle is really more of Masters driver – and he is mastering his craft. He is really enjoying the moment and truly deserves it.”
Washington was forced to start the race last on GT World Challenge grid due to an electronic transponder issue in qualifying. Undeterred, he began picking off positions from the race start as several other competitors encountered mechanical issues and on-track incidents. Saturday’s race was run in dry conditions, but earlier and daily rain showers kept the VIR landscape soaked and treacherous for any competitor even slipping a wheel slightly off course.
“It’s amazing,” Washington said. “The difficultly level today was 11 out of 10 on that track. One wheel off in the wet grass and you saw every time what would happen. Just total carnage, but we steered clear of all of it and we are just so happy to be here in victory lane.”
Washington handed the No. 32 off to Sargent early when the pit window opened before the race’s halfway mark in a well-timed and perfectly executed pit stop by the GMG Racing team. Sargent rejoined the race and, after the competition cycled through their pit stops, was in second place and ready to challenge for the lead.
Sargent kept close and constant pressure on as the race entered the final 30 minutes and moved to first when the leader was assessed a pit drive-through penalty for an earlier incident. Sargent led his first career GT World Challenge race laps, and the first of the season for GMG Racing, but the penalized leader was quick to rebound and mount a final challenge. The race went down to the wire in a nose-to-tail battle with Sargent prevailing for the victory after a frantic fight to the finish in the final two laps.
“Ultimately, we did nothing wrong really, but I had to work for it on the last lap,” Sargent said. “I haven’t had to do that in a while, but it was good fun at the end. On the second to last lap, he got really close to me, and was actually pushing me down the backstraight. He was trying to do everything he could, I knew I was going to be close on the edge, I might have just dropped a wheel on the last lap, but I gave it everything I had to build a gap to keep me safe for the final half lap. It’s unbelievable, I truly can’t believe it, and it is just great for everybody on the team. It is important for everyone.”
Sofronas has driven to several World Challenge race wins in various classes over the years, but Saturday’s milestone is the first victory for GMG Racing in the current era of SRO America’s GT3-based top-tier racing series.
“I have to give a huge shout out to Tom,” Sofronas said. “That last lap in Turn 10 was a full 10/10ths, right on the edge, with second place just a car length off of him, and through that corner he gapped him by three car lengths. That was the difference, they couldn’t get close enough again to get a draft on the backstraight, and coming out of Oak Tree three lengths ahead was when I was like ‘Oh yeah, we are going to win this.'”
Sofronas, Washington and the GMG team watched the drama of the race’s final minutes unfold from the pits.
“We were all glued around the TV in our pit watching the last couple of laps when Tom had monster pressure from behind,” Washington said. “He was actually pushed going down the straight coming to the white flag, and on the last lap Tom was just out of this world. He went to the edge of every corner and got the gap that he needed and held it. That last lap was amazing, it was crazy and the kid has got it for sure.”
Sargent has similar praise for Washington.
“I take my hat off to Kyle,” Sargent said. “He never put a foot wrong, just quickly turned over laps, and then we had an absolutely perfect pit stop, the best we have done all year, and we have all been working really hard on those. We nailed that and from then on it was up to me to bring it home.”
The GT World Challenge race win highlighted a solid weekend for GMG Racing that included Washington scoring top-five finishes in both doubleheader rounds of the GT America powered by AWS sprint race series. And in another weekend milestone, Jenson Sofronas, the 13-year-old son of James Sofronas and his wife Nargis Sofronas, made his national racing series debut in the Toyota Gazoo Racing North America (TGRNA) GR Cup Series driving the No. 41 GMG Racing Toyota GR86 Cup in collaboration with Lucas Racing. The youngest driver in the series, Sofronas finished both weekend races and qualified just one second off the second fastest competitor for Sunday’s final race.
“We entered three cars this weekend, and I also watched our son race for the first time, so lots of emotions, and Kyle, Tom and Jenson all had great weekends,” James Sofronas said.
About GMG Racing: Founded in 2001, GMG Racing quickly established itself as North America’s premier performance tuning facility. What began as a small 1,200 sq. ft. shop, maintaining two race cars, has grown into a 30,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art performance tuning, racing and service facility located in Santa Ana, California in Orange County and with a trackside motorsports facility at 28,000 sq. ft. currently being built at The Thermal Club. The staff, attention to detail, and passion are what make GMG the choice of professionals and enthusiasts worldwide. GMG, in its early years, was located directly across the street from Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA). This close proximity allowed GMG to build a strong relationship with the legendary racing brand which has helped us support our customers to the highest level possible. From club racing to Sebring, Daytona and Spa, GMG can take you as far as you want to go. More information can be found at www.gmgracing.com.
CHEVROLET IN NHRA 2024 NHRA NORTHWEST NATIONALS PACIFIC RACEWAYS KENT, WASHINGTON TEAM CHEVY RACE REPORT | NOTES & STATS JULY 21, 2024
AUSTIN PROCK AND JOHN FORCE RACING CONTINUE THEIR WINNING WAYS BY CAPTURING CHEVROLET’S 165TH FUNNY CAR VICTORY AT THE NHRA NORTHWEST NATIONALS
Notes:
Austin Prock, driver of the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, raced to his fourth win in his seventh final round of the 2024 season and his first year in the category, as well as capturing his eighth career victory between Top Fuel and Funny Car.
Prock’s NHRA Northwest Nationals victory is Chevrolet’s 165th in Funny Car and 85th in the Camaro SS body.
Prock had a perfect weekend by capturing not only the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge but also the No. 1 qualifying position and the NHRA Northwest Nationals Wally trophy.
Prock leaves Seattle continuing his strong NHRA Championship Standings points lead, now at 1,044 total points and 216 over Bob Tasca, III in second, who has 828 points.
Brittany Force, driver of the Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster, was eliminated by Tony Schumacher in Round 1 with her run of 4.271 seconds E.T. to Schumacher’s 3.986 seconds E.T. at 326.00 mph.
Dallas Glenn and Jeg Coughlin, Jr. faced off in the Pro Stock finals, with Coughlin, Jr. coming out the victor with his run of 6.536 seconds E.T. at 209.95 mph to Glenn’s 6.541 seconds E.T. at 209.07 mph.
Coughlin, Jr.’s win in Pro Stock was Chevrolet’s 393rd in the category as well as the 274th in the Camaro SS.
Capturing both his fifth Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge victory as well as his eighth No. 1 qualifier in 11 races, Prock powered to the top with his run on Friday night qualifying that held through Saturday’s Q3 and Q4.
Completing qualifying in her return at Pacific Raceways this weekend the Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster, B. Force qualified No. 3 after her lap of 3.701 seconds E.T. at 333.08 mph.
Setting pace Friday night in the first true night qualifying session at Pacific Raceways, Prock powered to the provisional No. 1 position with his run of 3.838 seconds E.T. at 328.62 mph.
Quotes:
AUSTIN PROCK, DRIVER OF THE CORNWELL TOOLS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS FUNNY CAR:
“It’s amazing, man. There’s nothing better than racing for family and racing for John Force. We just didn’t win today, we doubled up with John Force again here in Seattle (winning the #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and NHRA Northwest Nationals). He told me before I got in here, he said hold the fort down for me and we did just that. Just an amazing day. Another big day for this Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS. This year has been unreal, man. I can’t even put into words all of the success we’ve had. It’s just been a blur, and I’ve just been hanging on. I wasn’t leaving (the starting line) that great all weekend, but I sure was consistent. I was 67, 67, 69, 69, so all staged shallow.”
BRITTANY FORCE, DRIVER OF THE FLAV-R-PAC CHEVROLET TOP FUEL DRAGSTER:
“I know it’s really unfortunate. We had a really good qualifying weekend. We’ve had a really good weekend so far. We qualified third and made four solid passes down the racetrack. We had a great ladder all day long but went out in the first round. I left good alongside Schumacher. We were out ahead, I couldn’t see him next to me, and the car just quit, pan pressure automatically shut our car off. We had no power. I was just coasting to the finish line, and Schumacher was able to get around us. It’s really unfortunate.
This was a special weekend. There was a lot on the line. My dad’s at home watching. He’s not here. Frank Tiegs and Flav-R-Pac were on the car this weekend. We wanted to do well for them. I’ll hang out with the rest of the family, the rest of the day, and the fans, and cheer Austin Prock on.
I’m really glad just to be back after, you know, after a month out of the seat, and be back with my team. It feels so good to be back with them and just get back in the swing of things.”
Up Next:
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series next heads to Sonoma Raceway for the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals July 26-28. Eliminations air Sunday at 4 p.m. ET on FOX. Coverage of qualifying and the race stream live throughout the weekend on NHRA.tv, and is available via AppleTV, Android TV, and Roku devices.
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
TORRENCE CLAIMS BACK-TO-BACK NORTHWEST NATIONALS VICTORIES Toyota now has 11 Top Fuel wins in the last 12 NHRA events
KENT, Wash. (July 21, 2024) – For the second year in a row, Steve Torrence captured the Wally Trophy at Pacific Raceways and the NHRA Northwest Nationals as the day concluded Sunday afternoon. This is Torrence’s first victory of the 2024 season, his first win since this race a season ago, and the 55th of his career which puts him equal with Doug Kalitta in fourth on the all-time Top Fuel wins list. Torrence’s triumph is the 11th win in the last 12 Top Fuel events for Toyota.
Torrence had to defeat Toyota teammate, Shawn Langdon, in the finals, who made his fifth final round of the season. With the finals appearances by Torrence and Langdon, Toyota has now reached the final round in 34 consecutive NHRA events in either Top Fuel and/or Funny Car.
After Sunday’s action, Toyota still owns the top-five positions in the Top Fuel points standings, with Doug Kalitta now leading teammate, Langdon, heading to Sonoma next weekend.
In Funny Car, J.R Todd advanced to the semifinals for the seventh time in 2024 but fell to Austin Prock by 0.037 seconds in the penultimate round. In round one, Ron Capps suffered an engine explosion and made contact with the wall before coming to a stop. Capps was alert, exited the car under his own power and was examined by the NHRA Medical Team before being released.
NHRA is right back in action next weekend at Sonoma Raceway for the twelfth event of the 2024 season.
Toyota Post-Race Recap NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series NHRA Northwest Nationals Pacific Raceways Race 11 of 20
TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS
Name
Car
Final Result
Round-by-Round
Steve Torrence
CAPCO Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
Winner
W (3.749) v. R. Smith (4.347) Bye W (3.736) v. D. Kalitta (3.972) W (3.963) v. S. Langdon (4.171)
Shawn Langdon
Kalitta Air Careers Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
Finalist
W (3.743) v. J. Ashley (4.685) W (3.721) v. J. Hart (3.779) W (3.771 – holeshot) v. C. Millican (3.737) W/L (4.171) v. S. Torrence (3.963)
Doug Kalitta
Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
Semi-finals
W (3.670) v. B. Torrence (3.706) W (3.729) v. J. Salinas (3.738) L (3.972) v. S. Torrence (3.736)
Billy Torrence
CAPCO Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
First Round
L (3.706) v. D. Kalitta (3.670)
Antron Brown
Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
First Round
L (3.745) v. J. Hart (3.742)
Justin Ashley
SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
First Round
L (4.685) v. S. Langdon (3.743)
TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS
Name
Car
Final Result
Round-by-Round
J.R. Todd
DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car
Semi-finals
W (3.930) v. B. Hull (4.243) W (3.867) v. B. Tasca III (3.915) L (3.921) v. A. Prock (3.884)
Alexis DeJoria
Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car
First Round
L (9.113) v. B. Alexander (6.258)
Ron Capps
NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra Funny Car
First Round
L (5.276) v. G. Densham (4.974)
*= Non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
STEVE TORRENCE, CAPCO Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Torrence Racing
TF Final Result: Winner
Talk about that final round and what this win means.
“Man, I tell you what, you take these things for granted when you get them pretty often. We’re taking this one home to my new baby girl. My wife (Natalie)’s birthday. It’s been a while. Heck, I’m out of breath and didn’t do nothing but hit the gas like three times. Shawn Langdon, Kalitta Air. Those guys have been bad-to-the-bone. I told you earlier, I was trying to take him out all day. But these CAPCO boys, Toyota, Mac Tools. We don’t have a lot of partners, but the ones we do, we think highly of and they’re the best. This is pretty cool man. One year to the day. Wasn’t sure if we were going to win one of these for a while. Richard Hogan (crew chief), Bobby (Lagana Jr., assistant crew chief). Sometimes us Torrences are hard to deal with, but them guys handle us pretty good. Thank you, guys. And all those guys from CAPCO back at home that are keeping us out here, we appreciate y’all.”
J.R. TODD, DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Kalitta Motorsports
FC Final Result: Semifinals
Can you overview your day and your outlook for Sonoma?
Going to Sonoma as the event winner, what’s that going to be like for next weekend?
“Yeah, it’s one of my favorite tracks. We’ve had a lot of success there in the past, so it’s nice to be going back to a track that we’ve won at in the past and hopefully we can compete.”
RON CAPPS, NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Ron Capps Motorsports
FC Final Result: First Round
Take us through that accident and how you’re feeling.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just such a bummer. First and foremost, Guido (Dean Antonelli, crew chief) and our NAPA Auto Care guys work so hard on the safety aspect. And I know John Force is watching and he’s a big reason for a lot of the safety reasons on the car. It beat my head around pretty good. But obviously, I’m fine. Just bummed as a team owner. We run a good Toyota Supra body and unfortunately, lost that round and we were really looking forward to vying for a win here. But we’re well-prepared. Best parts in the world. Best people in the world. I was staging the car, and it had some sprinkles on the windshield. None that I was worried about, but I knew Guido was trying to put in a decent run to give us lane choice in the next round and it’s my fault for over-abusing it. I’m pretty decent at pedaling these cars. Just seeing Gary Densham out the window, I don’t think I waited long enough like I normally do to keep it rolling a nitro engine like this. We’ll be good. We’ll head to Sonoma. The backup car we had upstairs (in the hauler) is a car that won a lot of races for us the last couple years, so again, Guido and the guys are as prepared as any team out here, if not more so. We’re already ready to run. All good.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs more than 49,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 34 million cars and trucks at our nine manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 10th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 28 electrified options.
Through its Driving Possibilities initiative, the Toyota USA Foundation has committed to creating innovative educational programs within, and in partnership with, historically underserved and diverse communities near the company’s U.S. operating sites.
RICK WARE RACING The Brickyard 400 Date: July 21, 2024 Event: Brickyard 400 (Round 22 of 36) Series: NASCAR Cup Series Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile rectangular oval) Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages 50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Note: Race extended seven laps past its scheduled 160-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 1 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) Stage 2 Winner: Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing (Toyota)
RWR Race Finish:
● Cody Ware (Started 35th, Finished 18th / Running, completed 167 of 167 laps) ● Justin Haley (Started 34th, Finished 20th / Running, completed 167 of 167 laps)
RWR Points:
● Justin Haley (29th with 319 points)
● Cody Ware (36th with 47 points)
Ware Notes:
● This was Ware’s first career Brickyard 400.
● This was Ware’s best finish so far this year. His previous best was 24th, earned in April at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
● Ware’s 18th-place finish was the best result for RWR at Indianapolis. The previous best was a 21st-place result, earned by J.J. Yeley in 2020.
Haley Notes:
● Haley, a native of Winamac, Indiana, earned his ninth top-20 of the season in his first career Brickyard 400.
● Haley’s 20th-place finish also bettered RWR’s previous best finish at Indianapolis.
Race Notes:
● Kyle Larson won the Brickyard 400 to score his 27th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fourth of the season and his first at Indianapolis. The race ended under caution with Tyler Reddick finishing second.
● There were 10 caution periods for a total of 34 laps.
● Only 24 of the 39 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Kyle Larson leaves Indianapolis as the new championship leader with a 10-point advantage over second-place Chase Elliott.
Sound Bites:
“I’m super happy with how the day ended. To come back from a left-rear flat and going two laps down, to fight our way back to 18th through the late race chaos was a good fight by everyone on the team. We stayed focused and executed all day. I’m happy with the result, especially getting to race at Indy in a crown jewel race like the Brickyard 400 and put our bad luck from Pocono behind us.” – Cody Ware, driver of the No. 15 AFT Peoria TT Ford Mustang Dark Horse
“I’m happy with the progress we made over the weekend. I felt like we had a good shot at a top-15. We started off really struggling with passing, it would just get so tight, but we finally got it to a good place. Then a slow stop put us behind and all the cautions at the end made it tough to make up that track position. The two weeks off should be a good chance to reset and get back to consistent top-15 and top-20 finishes.”– Justin Haley, driver of the No. 51 Fraternal Order of Eagles Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Next Up:
The NASCAR Cup Series gets a two-week respite before returning to action Aug. 11 for the Cook Out 400 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. The race begins at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
STEWART-HAAS RACING Brickyard 400 Date: July 21, 2024 Event: Brickyard 400 (Round 22 of 36) Series: NASCAR Cup Series Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile rectangular oval) Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Note: Race extended seven laps past its scheduled 160-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 1 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) Stage 2 Winner: Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing (Toyota)
● Chase Briscoe (16th with 469 points, 280 out of first)
● Josh Berry (22nd with 388 points, 361 out of first)
● Noah Gragson (23rd with 383 points, 366 out of first)
● Ryan Preece (26th with 329 points, 420 out of first)
SHR Notes:
● Gragson earned his seventh top-10 of the season and it came in his first career Brickyard 400.
● Gragson finished 10th in Stage 1 to earn one bonus point.
● Gragson led once for three laps.
● Briscoe finished 10th in Stage 2 to earn one bonus point.
● This was a home race for Briscoe as he grew up in nearby Mitchell, Indiana.
Race Notes:
● Kyle Larson won the Brickyard 400 to score his 27th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fourth of the season and his first at Indianapolis. The race ended under caution with Tyler Reddick finishing second.
● There were 10 caution periods for a total of 34 laps.
● Only 24 of the 39 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Larson remains the championship leader after Indianapolis with a 10-point advantage over second-place Chase Elliott.
Sound Bites:
“We struggled at the beginning part of the weekend, but definitely grateful to come back to Indy. I don’t know officially where we’d be with those guys running out of gas off of turn four, but we had plenty of fuel. Drew Blickensderfer (crew chief) called a great race and it’s always fun to have Bass Pro Shops on the hood. We struggled on Friday in practice and got a little better in qualifying. We qualified 21st and we just made progress all day. We got a stage point in Stage 1. Strategy, you never know when the caution is going to come out, but Drew made some great calls. I had more gas than the rest of them there and for a second I thought it was going to be Nashville 2.0 with a bunch of restarts, but we were able to hang on and come out of here unscathed.” – Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Ford Mustang Dark Horse
“It was kind of a rough weekend for us from a speed standpoint. We were never really that good or that great. Made our car quite a bit better, but we still were never good enough to win, but we got it up in the mix. I was able to get it up there in the top-five for a little bit. Strategy just didn’t go our way. We pitted to prevent what happened at Nashville, and then obviously got to where we got in a wreck. It was disappointing. We were kind of up and down all day and thought we were going to be in good position if the cautions kept coming out to be in the mix there in the top-five, but obviously we got caught up in that big wreck. It’s kind of part of the deal at the end of these races. Anytime you have a caution with less than 10 to go, it all turns into chaos and we all start doing stupid stuff. That’s certainly what happened there. Everybody was in a really weird fuel situation there and we kind of hedged our bets hoping there would be more cautions, and then the wreck got us. Frustrating, for sure. Our car was definitely better than where we finished, but we’ll be back. Wish our results could’ve been a bit better, but everything that kind of could go wrong went wrong for us at the end. It’s cool to be back on the oval, the history of it. Hopefully, we can do it again next year. Every time I come here, I feel the love from the Hoosier State. It’s always nice to be back home and appreciated. I wish we could’ve had a better result for them, but I definitely feel the love and that’s my favorite part about coming home.” – Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse
“We just got caught in a tough spot there at the end of the race. We decided to stay out and risk it on fuel and it just didn’t work in our favor today.” – Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse
“It looked like when I was riding back there, I guess the 19 (Martin Truex Jr.) got spun out or something, we were all just stacking and I think I just got clipped from behind and turned into the wall. It’s an unfortunate end. It’s been a tough weekend. Honestly, today our car was really competitive. I was actually really happy with the car. We obviously started in the back and never could get the track position. I had a tough day on pit road, too. Every time we’d get top-20, we’d get knocked back. Honestly, I had a good experience today, really. We passed cars and had a good balance throughout the race. I really was pretty happy with it. We just needed something to just go our way, strategy-wise, to get up front. All in all, the guys did a great job. I put us in a hole in qualifying, but the car was pretty solid today. We’ve got some things to clean up, but we’ll go get ’em next time.” – Josh Berry, driver of the No. 4 Panini/Caitlin Clark Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Next Up:
The NASCAR Cup Series gets a two-week respite before returning to action Aug. 11 for the Cook Out 400 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. The race begins at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Daniel Hemric qualified 32nd for the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Hemric dropped multiple spots at the start of the opening 50-lap stage, radioing that the No. 31 Cirkul Chevrolet was free handling. On lap 33, crew chief Trent Owens made the call to pit for two tires, in order to gain back some track position. Hemric went on to finish 23rd in the first stage.
During the first stage break, Hemric pitted for four tires and fuel, before starting the second stage from 29th place. The first non-stage caution came out on lap 70, and Hemric pitted once again for right-side tires. After restarting 28th, Hemric narrowly avoided a crash and pitted under caution for left-side tires. He restarted 29th with 22 laps remaining in the stage and finished in the same position.
Hemric pitted during the second stage break for four tires with the intention of only taking two under green during the final stage. The next two cautions came out on the restarts, and Hemric stayed out during both. Hemric restarted 10th with 46 laps remaining. When the next caution came out on lap 126, Hemric had made it to fifth and stayed out under caution, before restarting on the outside of the front row with 31 laps remaining. Falling to fourth, Hemric raced back to the third position, holding the No. 5 car off, until he was forced to pit for fuel with eight laps remaining. An overtime-inducing caution happened with three laps remaining, as Hemric sat 20th for the first attempt. On the restart, Hemric was collected in a wreck, ending his day early. He was scored 30th.
“It was a chaotic restart, as some guys were running out of fuel. The No. 42 checked up, and unfortunately I had nowhere to go but into the back of him. We had a tough day but got to run up front and show some speed, so I’m proud of the gains we made as a team.” – Daniel Hemric
AJ ALLMENDINGER No. 16 Campers Inn RV Camaro ZL1
AJ Allmendinger qualified 15th for the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The No. 16 fired off loose and lacked the stability that Allmendinger had in practice. On lap 16, Allmendinger made an unscheduled pit stop under green for four tires, fuel, wedge, and air pressure adjustments to help with the handling of the car. The No. 16 came off pit road in 38th place and went a lap down. By the end of stage one, Allmendinger was scored in 20th place on the lead lap.
During the stage break, Allmendinger came to pit road for a left-rear adjustment. The Campers Inn RV Chevy restarted in 26th on lap 56 and had taken over 22nd on the first lap under green. When the caution came out on lap 70, Allmendinger reported the No. 16 was more comfortable to drive than it was the first run, but he couldn’t be any tighter. Allmendinger came to pit road for right-side tires and fuel, before restarting in 19th with 29 laps remaining in the stage. The No. 16 was involved in a wreck on the back stretch on lap 75 that ultimately ended the day for Allmendinger and the No. 16 Campers Inn RV Chevy. Allmendinger was scored in 37th.
“I saw everyone start checking up. I actually saw the No. 21 [Harrison Burton] on the bottom, so I went to go to the middle. Right as I went to the middle, the No. 24 [William Byron] was coming across. It’s just kind of the story of the year: wrong place, wrong time. We missed it at the beginning of the race in our No. 16 Campers RV Chevy. We were really loose, so we lost some track position. We started getting it back and I felt like we kind of got into that 15th to 20th place range that we thought we would be. It’s just disappointing, but it’s part of it. The way the wreck happened, it was kind of out of my control.” – AJ Allmendinger
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.
An automobile accident can occur quickly, transforming a nice day into complete mayhem. In Fort Lauderdale, 35,400 car accidents happened in 2022. For those involved, the aftermath of an automobile accident can be devastating and drastically alter their way of life. Life after an accident in Fort Lauderdale can be quite difficult, as the cost of living is high.
In such situations, involving a Fort Lauderdale car accident attorneyis important, as they can secure compensation and mitigate your losses significantly.
Unfortunately, car accidents are common. Statistics showed an anticipated 6.74 million police-reported collisions in 2018 and 6.76 million in 2019, an increase of 0.3 percent. These accidents can significantly impact individuals and their families, both physically and emotionally.
The Physical Impact of Car Accidents
Photo by Karolina Kaboompics
From small scratches and bruises to serious spinal cord or brain damage, car accidents can cause a wide range of physical injuries. During an accident, the force of impact may result in internal bleeding, whiplash, and shattered bones. Certain injuries may have long-term consequences for the victim’s health, including the possibility of persistent pain or impairment.
A number of variables, including speed, type of vehicle, and safety equipment, determine the kind and degree of injuries in an automobile accident. However, safeguarding oneself with a seatbelt and airbag is critical in reducing the severity of some injuries.
Another crucial component is using electronic stability control (ESC) systems, which have been shown to reduce the risk of fatal accidents.
The Emotional Impact of Car Accidents
Aside from physical injuries, car accidents also affect those involved emotionally. The sudden jolt and fear experienced during an accident can lead to feelings of anxiety, shock, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The emotional toll can be even greater for those who have lost loved ones in car accidents.
Furthermore, the aftermath of a car accident can be incredibly stressful, with medical bills, insurance claims, and legal proceedings to deal with. This added pressure can cause emotional distress and affect the victim’s quality of life.
The Financial Impact of Car Accidents
Car accidents have physical and emotional consequences as well as significant financial implications. Financial hardship can be experienced by victims due to the rapidly mounting costs of medical care, vehicle replacement or repairs, and missed income resulting from injuries.
In addition, insurance companies may settle claims quickly for a lower amount than what is deserved. This is where a car accident attorney becomes crucial, as they can negotiate with insurance companies and ensure you’re compensated fairly.
Final Thoughts
The impact of a car accident can be profound for individuals and their families. Hence, it is essential to prioritize safety measures such as wearing seatbelts, following traffic laws, and avoiding distracted driving.
Get medical help immediately if you or a loved one has been in an automobile accident, and speak with a car accident lawyer to safeguard your rights. While the physical, emotional, and financial impact of an accident may be overwhelming, having the right support and guidance can make all the difference in helping you move forward after such a traumatic event.
Drive safely and responsibly. Let’s spread awareness about this issue and prevent these accidents from happening!
Since people’s shopping habits have changed a lot in the last few years, having an online presence is now an essential part of building a successful brand. Nowadays, people don’t have to go into physical shops to find out about new goods. Most of the time, they look up information about the things they want online and read reviews from other people. When they shop at their favourite brands, they can fully digitalize the customer trip, so they don’t even have to leave the safety of their own homes.
Why Social Media Marketing Is Essential For Beauty Brands?
Social media marketing can help you meet millions of people, showcase your goods, and attract more fans. The power of social media for beauty brands is similar. It has become a thriving online community and revolutionized the way marketers engage with their consumers.
With social media, you can send your message straight to the person you want to buy from you. You can change your content so that it speaks to the people you want to reach.
It lowers the barriers between you and your viewers, allowing you to have real conversations with them. Address their worries, answer their questions, and give them tailored advice. It’s kind of like having your own makeup store online. Using social media to sell cosmetics can help you connect with them.
Share eye-catching images, helpful guides, and motivational tales that showcase your brand’s personality and knowledge. With the right material, you can teach your viewers new things and make them loyal customers.
Social media can help your beauty business a lot. In the same way, online casinos can make you more excited and improve your chances of winning. You can talk to other people, share your gaming wins, and find deals. Just like beauty brands do well online, you can make more money by playing online poker site and becoming more visible on social networks at the same time.
How to Use Social Media for Marketing?
These days, any beauty business needs to sell its beauty goods. The most well-known beauty companies on social media don’t do boring things like sending too many offers or generic pictures of their products to their fans. Instead, they do a lot of cool and exciting things to keep their audience interested. Let’s go over a few of the basics here.
When you’re tagged in something, it’s valuable information. There will need to be a lot of content for your social media because people expect you to post new things often. Luckily, not everything has to be unique. You can keep your fans interested by reposting material instead of having to write anything fresh every time you publish.
Working with influencers can help you attract more customers and reach a wider audience. This is especially true for beauty products; people want to see how they work. Connecting with well-known influencers in your field is a great way to reach more people.
Pro Tip – Feature Reviews on Your Product Pages
Customers will spend less time researching your product if you provide them with all the information they need, including helpful links. Someone may have written a good review of one of your items. Put a link in the item’s description and see what happens. Video reviews are exciting in the beauty business. A great way to get people to talk about your beauty brand is to make videos of them trying out different items and telling you which ones they like best.
Conclusion
It’s not enough to have a beauty business with excellent goods in the beauty and makeup market. It takes work to get your story heard by the right people and keep them interested. Many sites and outlets can show off your business, goods, and unique value offerings with content marketing.
1. Kyle Larson: Larson, sidetracked early in the race by a loose wheel, mounted a late charge at Indianapolis to win the Brickyard 400, his fourth win of the year.
“I heard the Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen stayed up until 3 a.m. sim racing on race day before the Hungarian Grand Prix,” Larson said. “I think I can safely say that’s the second dumbest thing a driver has done while sim racing.”
2. Ryan Blaney: Blaney ran a query Brickyard 400 on his way to a third-place finish.
“I got turned sideways by contact on a Lap 110 restart,” Blaney said. “But I was able to save it and continue. That put me in a truly unique situation because I was able to look sideways at the driver that nearly wrecked me without having to move my eyes.”
3. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin won Stage 1 at Indianapolis and finished 32nd after being caught up in an accident on the first overtime restart.
“Fuel mileage always plays a huge part at Indianapolis,” Hamlin said. “So, you don’t necessarily have to save the best for last, but you do have to save something for last.”
4. Tyler Reddick: Reddick started on the pole at Indianapolis and finished second in the Brickyard 400.
“Every driver dreams of kissing the bricks at Indianapolis,” Reddick said. “Heck, for all I know, some drivers may dream of kissing bricks in general. I commend them for their fine taste in masonry.”
5. Christopher Bell: Bell finished fourth in the Brickyard 400, posting his seventh top-five of the season.
“I don’t think the Kyle Busch-Corey LaJoie feud carried over to Indianapolis,” Bell said. “One thing’s for sure–those two aren’t fighting for wins. If anything, they’re fighting for relevance.”
6. Chase Elliott: Elliott overcame an early penalty to salvage a 10th-place finish.
“I certainly didn’t agree with NASCAR’s reasoning for the penalty,” Elliott said. “You could tell by the number of ‘F’ words I used when reacting to it over the team radio. I thought it was a pretty good English lesson for all the kids watching because I used the ‘F’ word as a noun, a verb, an adjective, an adverb, and as the name I use to refer to NASCAR officials.”
7. Alex Bowman: Bowman’s race ended on Lap 162 during an overtime start when he was collected in a big pileup behind the leaders. He finished 31st, six laps down.
“Jimmie Johnson was racing at Indy in the No. 84 car,” Bowman said. “I feel honored to drive the No. 48 Hendrick car that Jimmie made famous. He’s not making that No. 84 car famous, but he is making it winless.”
8. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski was leading and in fuel-saving mode when Kyle Busch spun to bring out a caution, a caution that possibly cost Keselowski the win. On the subsequent restart, Keselowski ran out of gas and settled for 21st.
“It’s certainly not the first time Kyle Busch has ruined my day,” Keselowski said. “How many days of mine has Kyle ruined? It would be the number of days I’ve known Kyle Busch.”
9. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex made contact with Kyle Larson on Lap 106, and Truex slid up the track and hard into the wall. Truex was running fifth at the time of the accident and dropped all the way down to 32nd after a lengthy pit stop. He eventually finished 27th.
“I don’t know who to blame,” Truex said. “But Ross Chastain was nearby, so I guess I’ll blame him. And who on earth would dispute a claim that Chastain caused an accident?”
10. William Byron: Byron was collected in a Lap 75 incident when Ryan Preece made contact with Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet, sending Byron hard into the inside wall. Byron was done for the day and finished 38th.
“I don’t really know what happened,” Byron said. “All I know is that I was an innocent participant. And it’s a good thing ‘Liberty University’ wasn’t on my car, because that would have opened the door to a lot of ‘Jerry Falwell, Jr. claimed he was an innocent participant’ jokes.”
Two months after having a Memorial Day Double Duty attempt spoiled due to Mother Nature despite campaigning in his first Indianapolis 500 attempt, Kyle Larson earned his redemption at Indianapolis Motor Speedway by winning his first Brickyard 400 title on Sunday, July 21, amid two overtime attempts.
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion from Elk Grove, California, led twice for eight of 167 over-scheduled laps in an event where he started in fifth place and endured a race-long afternoon featuring various pit strategies from start to finish as he was shuffled from the front to the middle of the pack and vice versa.
Running in third place as he tracked Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney for the win in the closing laps while also trying to conserve his fuel tank to the finish, an opportunity presented itself for Larson, who rallied from an early slow pit service, to strike after a late on-track incident involving Kyle Busch sent the event into overtime. Then after Keselowski ran out of fuel before the first overtime attempt, Larson, who moved up and started alongside Blaney on the front row, managed to snatch the lead from Blaney before a multi-car wreck sent the event into a second overtime attempt. Then during the latest overtime attempt, Larson fended Blaney and held off a late charge from pole-sitter Tyler Reddick for one lap just before Ryan Preece wrecked on the backstretch, generating a race-ending caution on the final lap. From there, Larson had enough fuel in his low tank to claim the checkered flag and add the Brickyard 400 to his extensive racing list of accomplished victories in the event’s historic return.
With on-track qualifying on Saturday, July 20, to determine the starting lineup, Tyler Reddick notched his second Cup pole position of the 2024 season after he posted a pole-winning lap at 181.932 mph in 49.469 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Denny Hamlin, who clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap at 181.492 mph in 49.589 seconds.
Before the event, Austin Cindric dropped to the rear of the field due to repairs made to his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse after scraping the outside wall during his qualifying run. Martin Truex Jr. was also sent to the rear of the field before the event’s start due to an inspection violation from an unapproved adjustment that occurred on Saturday. To go along with starting at the rear of the field, Truex was assessed a drive-through penalty through pit road at the event’s start.
When the green flag waved and the event commenced, Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin dueled for the lead through the first two turns and ahead of a tight two-by-two formation from within the field before Reddick muscled his No. 45 The Beast Unleashed Toyota Camry XSE ahead entering the backstretch. With the field behind jostling for early spots for two remaining turns, Reddick proceeded to lead the first lap ahead of Hamlin while Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell and William Byron followed suit in the top six.
As Martin Truex Jr. served his pass-through penalty through pit road prior to the second lap, Reddick retained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Hamlin while Elliott, Larson, McDowell and Byron followed suit in the top six. With nearly the entire field running in a single-line formation through every turn and straightaway, Reddick remained in front by seven-tenths of a second over Hamlin.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Reddick stabilized his advantage to eight-tenths of a second over Elliott followed by Hamlin, Larson and McDowell while Byron, Ryan Blaney, Ty Gibbs, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and John Hunter Nemechek were racing in the top 10. Behind, Austin Dillon trailed in 11th place ahead of Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, Bubba Wallace and Harrison Burton while Christopher Bell, Corey LaJoie, AJ Allmendinger, Chris Buescher and Noah Gragson were mired in the top 20 ahead of Chase Briscoe, rookie Zane Smith, Brad Keselowski, Todd Gilliland and rookie Carson Hocevar. Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson occupied 26th place ahead of rookie Josh Berry, Daniel Suarez, Ty Dillon and Erik Jones while Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, Ryan Preece, Austin Cindric and Daniel Hemric were mired in the top 35. In the process, Truex trailed in 39th place, dead last, by 41 seconds.
Ten laps later, Reddick continued to lead by half a second over Elliott as he also led an eight-car breakaway that included Hamlin, Larson, McDowell, Blaney, Byron and Gibbs, with the latter trailing the lead by more than five seconds. Meanwhile, ninth-place Stenhouse led a second wave of competitors comprising of nine competitors, including Nemechek, Austin Dillon, Logano, Bowman, Wallace, Burton, Bell and LaJoie, all of whom were separated by four seconds of one another, with Stenhouse trailing the lead by 14 points, while 18th-place runner Buescher led a third wave of competitors comprising of nearly the rest of the field as Buescher trailed by lead by 21 seconds. In the process, AJ Allmendinger dropped to 38th place and was pinned a lap down due to pitting a few laps earlier under green to address his ill-handling No. 16 Campers Inn RV Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. In addition, Truex was mired in 37th place and trailing the lead by more than 40 seconds.
Anther three laps later, pit strategies commenced as Hamlin surrendered third place to pit his No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota Camry XSE under green. The following lap, teammates Elliott, Larson, Byron and Bowman pitted their respective Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets. In the process, Hamlin managed to cycle his way past all four Hendrick drivers as they were exiting pit road while Reddick extended his advantage to more than a second over Blaney by the Lap 25 mark.
Blaney would then pit his No. 12 Menards Toyota Camry XSE from the runner-up spot as Stenhouse, Burton, Buescher and Truex all pitted their respective entries. Soon after, Elliott was penalized for a blend line violation, where Elliott attempted to cross the blend line and enter the track early in Turn 2, which was a violation and forced Elliott to pilot his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through pit road at pit road speed. Amid Elliott’s penalty, Reddick continued to lead by more than a second over McDowell while Gibbs, Nemechek and Austin Dillon were scored in the top five.
By Lap 35, Reddick stabilized his advantage to over McDowell as Gibbs, Nemechek, Logano, Wallace, Bell, Corey LaJoie, Noah Gragson and Chase Briscoe followed suit in the top 10. By then, more names including Zane Smith, Ryan Preece, Berry, Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, Justin Haley, Jimmie Johnson, Hocevar, Daniel Hemric and Ross Chastain all pitted under green. More names including Gragson, Ty Gibbs and Cindric pitted during the proceeding laps before Reddick surrendered the lead to pit under green on Lap 37. McDowell, who inherited the lead in the process, pitted his No. 34 Horizon Ford Mustang Dark Horse the following lap as more names including Nemechek, Wallace, Briscoe, Kyle Busch, Logano and Suarez all pitted. Amid the pit stops, Austin Cindric was penalized for speeding on pit road.
Nearing the Lap 40 mark, Christopher Bell, who inherited the lead, pitted under green along with LaJoie as Brad Keselowski assumed the lead. Then once Keselowski pitted under green by Lap 41, Hamlin, who managed to overtake Reddick as a result of pitting earlier and gaining the lost ground on the track when Reddick pitted latter, cycled into the lead as Larson, Blaney, Byron and Reddick were scored in the top five.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 50, Hamlin fended off a late charge from Larson to capture his sixth Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Larson settled in second place ahead of Blaney, Byron and Reddick while McDowell, Bowman, Gibbs, Stenhouse and Gragson were scored in the top 10. By then, 33 of 39 starters were scored on the lead lap while select notables including Ty Dillon and Cindric were scored a lap down. Meanwhile, both Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing competitors including Keselowski and Buescher were also off the lead lap category due to late issues. Keselowski was mired in 36th place after he was assessed a late blend line violation penalty. Meanwhile, Buescher was in 38th place after pitting under green with smoke coming from his No. 17 Castrol Edge Ford Mustang Dark Horse.
Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Hamlin returned to pit road for service while the rest led by Reddick remained on the track. Following the pit stops, where mixed strategies ensued, Gibbs and Wallace exited pit road first and second following two tire services. Hamlin followed suit on four fresh tires along with Larson, Burton, Byron, Bowman, Bell, Stenhouse and Blaney. Soon after, Ross Chastain and Erik Jones pitted to top off their respective entries on fuel.
The second stage period started on Lap 55 as Reddick and McDowell occupied the front row. At the start, Reddick briefly muscled ahead of McDowell through the first turn until Nemechek, who restarted behind Reddick, made his move beneath Reddick and assumed the lead entering Turn 2 and the backstretch. With Nemechek leading the race, the rest of the field behind fanned out to multiple lanes and dueled in close-quarters racing for a full lap. A majority of competitors racing in the mid-pack region continued to fan out and duel against one another for positions before all settled in a long single-file line by Lap 57.
Amid the early battles, Nemechek retained the lead and he would proceed to lead at the Lap 60 mark by a second-and-a-half while Reddick, Kyle Busch, LaJoie, McDowell and Wallace occupied the top-six spots on the track. With Logano, Hamlin, Byron and Larson rounding out the top 10, Blaney was mired in 11th ahead of Gibbs, Gilliland, Hocevar and Bell while Elliott was back in 18th place behind Jimmie Johnson. In addition, Truex was up to 22nd place as he was racing behind Bowman and Gragson.
By Lap 65, Nemechek continued to extend his advantage as he was leading by more than two seconds over Reddick while Kyle Busch, LaJoie and McDowell continued to run in the top five ahead of Wallace, Logano, Hamlin, Byron and Larson.
Two laps later, the caution flew due to a tire carcass that came off of the left rear of Cody Ware’s No. 15 Peoria TT Ford Mustang Dark Horse in the backstretch. During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Nemechek pitted while the rest led by Busch and Wallace remained on the track. Not long after, Larson pitted for a second time to ensure the right-rear tire of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was tightened. McDowell and Haley had also pitted with Larson.
With the race restarting on Lap 73, the field fanned out through the frontstretch as Busch, who was running tight on fuel, rocketed ahead of Wallace and Gilliland with the lead through the first two turns. Entering the backstretch, however, the caution quickly returned when Preece, who was in 18th place, made contact with both Burton and Byron, where Preece got squeezed in between both, as Byron, who had made earlier contact with Chase Briscoe entering the backstretch, veered right into the outside wall before he came back across the middle of the track and got T-boned by Allmendinger as Byron spun his No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and hit the inside wall head-on while Allmendinger also made contact with the wall. The incident was enough to knock Burton, Allmendinger and Byron out of contention while Preece continued.
During the caution period, some led by Kyle Busch pitted while the rest led by Wallace and Gilliland remained on the track.
The start of the next restart period on Lap 78 featured a side-by-side duel between Wallace and Elliott through the first two turns as both continued to drag-race against one another through the backstretch. Wallace would then manage to muscle his No. 23 U.S. Air Force Toyota Camry XSE ahead of Elliott through Turn 3 while Hamlin went three-wide on Logano and Gilliland to boost his No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota Camry XSE into third place. With LaJoie missing his lane and going wide while losing a handful of spots in the process, Wallace would proceed to lead the halfway mark on Lap 80 as Elliott, Hamlin, Gilliland, Nemechek, Logano, Reddick, Blaney, Stenhouse and Bell were scored in the top 10 while LaJoie fell back to 11th place in front of Briscoe and Truex.
At the Lap 85 mark, Wallace stretched his advantage to more than a second over Elliott while third-place Elliott only trailed Elliott by six-tenths of a second. A lap later, Gilliland surrendered fourth place to pit his No. 38 gener8tor Ford Mustang Dark Horse under green, but he lost a lap in the process due to a slow pit service as Wallace continued to lead by more than a second over Elliott at the Lap 90 mark. With Hamlin occupying third place, Team Penske’s Logano and Blaney were scored in the top five as Nemechek, Reddick, Stenhouse, Truex and Bell were running in the top 10.
With three laps remaining in the second stage period, Logano surrendered a top-five spot to pit his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse under green, where he would then manage to regain speed and remain on the lead lap ahead of the leader Wallace, who continued to lead Elliott on the track.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 100, Wallace captured his first Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Elliott followed suit in second ahead of Hamlin, Blaney and Nemechek while Reddick, Stenhouse, Truex, Bell and Briscoe were scored in the top 10. By then, 32 of 39 starters, including Logano, were scored on the lead lap.
During the stage break, a majority of the field led by Wallace pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track. Not long after, Reddick pitted for a second time to address a loose left front wheel.
With 56 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Hamlin and Nemechek occupied the front row. At the start, Hamlin rocketed ahead with the lead while Stenhouse quickly overtook Nemechek to take the runner-up spot. As the field behind jostled for spots through the backstretch, the caution then flew when Truex, who was mixed in a tight three-wide battle with Larson and Chastain for sixth place exiting the backstretch, made contact with Larson, which got Truex loose as he slid his No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry XSE sideways and slapped the outside wall in Turn 3. In the process, Josh Berry got hit by Ty Gibbs and he ended up sliding and hitting the outside wall, which damaged the front nose of the No. 4 Panini/Caitlin Clark Ford Mustang Dark Horse and took Berry out of contention while Truex continued.
During the caution period, some including LaJoie, Reddick, Erik Jones, Wallace, Gilliland, Preece and Ty Dillon pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track.
The start of the next restart period with 51 laps remaining did not last a single corner as Hocevar, who was running in the middle of the pack, made contact with Blaney, which generated a domino effect as Blaney then got turned into Austin Dillon and made contact with Jimmie Johnson, who made contact with Logano in the process as both Johnson and Logano wrecked hard against the Turn 1 outside wall while Blaney, Dillon and Hocevar continued. At the moment of caution, Hamlin had retained the lead while Nemechek, Briscoe, Stenhouse and Chastain were scored in the top five.
During the caution period, some led by Hamlin, who was on the edge of a fuel window, pitted while the rest led by Nemechek and Chastain remained on the track. By the time his pit service was complete, where he spent a little extra time in his pit stall to top off on fuel, Hamlin was the sixth competitor to exit pit road and dropped to 19th place in the running order.
As the race restarted under green with 46 laps remaining, Chastain gained a strong launch from the outside lane to boost his No. 1 Moose Fraternity Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the lead over Nemechek through Turn 1. With Chastain leading through Turn 2 and the backstretch, Nemechek followed suit in second ahead of Alex Bowman, who boosted his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into third place ahead of teammates Larson and Elliott while Gragson, Hocevar, Reddick, Keselowski and Justin Haley were mixed into the top 10. By the following lap, Hamlin moved up to 15th place as Suarez executed a bold three-wide move over both Briscoe and Stenhouse for 22nd place during the next lap.
With 40 laps remaining and a majority of the field monitoring their fuel tank and strategy for the finish, Chastain was leading by two-tenths of a second over Nemechek followed by Bowman, Larson and Elliott while Gragson, Hocevar, Reddick, Keselowski and Haley occupied the top 10 on the track ahead of Blaney, Daniel Hemric, Gibbs, Zane Smith and Hamlin. Meanwhile, Bell, Gilliland, McDowell, Wallace and Preece were in the top 20 ahead of Kyle Busch, Suarez, Cindric, Briscoe and Stenhouse while Austin Dillon, LaJoie, Ty Dillon, Cody Ware and Erik Jones were mired in the top 30.
Two laps later, Nemechek and Bowman pitted their respective entries from second and third, respectively. Both of their pit stops occurred a lap after McDowell had pitted as the leader Chastain along with Haley pitted during the next lap. As a result, Larson assumed the lead ahead of teammate Elliott and Gragson before he pitted under green with 37 laps remaining, which handed the lead to Elliott.
Then just as Elliott and Reddick pitted their respective entries under green, the caution returned with 36 laps remaining due to Truex spinning from the bottom to the top of the track entering Turn 3, where he hit the wall and flat-spotted his left-rear tire. By then, Gragson was leading ahead of Hocevar, Keselowski, Blaney and Hemric. During the caution period, Gibbs pitted his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE while pit road was closed due to an engine concern, and the hood was lifted as his pit crew diagnosed the issue before Gibbs, who was still dealing with the issue, proceeded. During the caution period, Gragson and Hocevar pitted while the rest led by Keselowski and Blaney remained on the track.
With the event restarting with 31 laps remaining, Keselowski and Hemric led the field to the green flag as both dueled for the lead through the frontstretch before Keselowski drifted up and cleared Hemric to lead in his No. 6 Body Guard Ford Mustang Dark Horse through the first two turns. Through the backstretch, Blaney moved up to second and Hemric battled Zane Smith for third place while the field behind fanned out and jostled for late positions through two and three lanes deep. As a series of battles continued to occur around every turn and straightaway, Keselowski retained the lead by seven-tenths of a second over Blaney with approximately 30 laps remaining as Smith, Hemric and Hamlin trailed in the top five.
Down to the final 25 laps of the event, Keselowski continued to lead by half a second over Blaney while Smith, Hemric and Hamlin continued to follow suit in the top five. Behind, Bell, Gilliland, Kyle Busch, Cindric and Wallace occupied the top 10 as Preece, Larson, Suarez, Reddick and Stenhouse trailed in the top 15 ahead of Briscoe, LaJoie, Elliott, Austin Dillon and Chastain.
Five laps later and with the entire field running in a single-file line, Keselowski stabilized his lead to four-tenths of a second over Blaney as Smith, Hemric, Hamlin, Bell, Gilliland, Busch, Cindric and Larson followed suit in the top 10, with Reddick, Wallace, Preece, Suarez and Briscoe scored in the top 15.
Another two laps later, a heated battle between Larson and Busch ignited as both swapped spots before Busch overtook Larson to assume seventh place. With Gilliland being dispatched by both, Busch was trying to close in on Bell for sixth place and Reddick trailed Larson in ninth place while Keselowski continued to lead by three-tenths of a second over Blaney, Smith, Hemric and Hamlin. Larson would then overtake Busch again on the track for seventh place with 16 laps remaining before he overtook Bell for sixth place with 15 laps remaining as he proceeded to set his sights on Hamlin.
Then with 13 laps remaining, Larson gained a huge advantage to overtake Hamlin for fifth place through the first two turns. Hamlin would then fend off Busch for sixth place while Larson continued his march to the front as he had Keselowski, Blaney, Smith and Hemric in front of him. Larson overtook Smith for fourth place while Hamlin was being blocked by Smith, as Blaney was trying to gain a run to overtake Keselowski for the lead with 10 laps remaining. By then, the top-four competitors including Keselowski, Blaney, Hemric and Larson were separated by eight-tenths of a second as Larson was trying to gain a run on Hemric for third place while Blaney could not gain a run on Keselowski for the lead.
With nine laps remaining, Larson overtook Hemric for third place just past the backstretch. With Hemric then pitting under green, Larson started to gain a run on Blaney for the runner-up spot while Keselowski continued to lead during the next lap.
Down to the final five laps of the event, Keselowski continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over Blaney as Larson followed suit by less than half a second, with the latter two continuing to intimidate one another and the leader Keselowski questioning whether he had enough fuel to finish. Meanwhile, Hamlin was mired in fifth place behind Smith while Reddick was in seventh place behind Kyle Busch.
Then with three laps remaining, the caution flew and the race was sent into overtime when Kyle Busch, who was trying to gain a run on Hamlin for fifth place exiting the backstretch, went up the track and made contact with Hamlin as Busch spun his No. 8 Cheddar’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 up towards the outside wall and made contact with the wall. During the caution period, some led by Zane Smith and including Hamlin, Briscoe, Austin Dillon, Chastain, Haley, Cody Ware and Ty Dillon pitted while the rest led by Keselowski and including Blaney and Larson remained on the track.
The start of the first overtime attempt featured Larson and Blaney occupying the front row as Keselowski peeled off the racetrack as he ran out of fuel. At the start, Larson and Blaney dueled for the lead in front of the stacked field into Turn 1 just before the caution returned for a vicious multi-car wreck just past the frontstretch when Hemric bumped and sent Nemechek into the inside wall, where both came back across the track and collected Bowman, Briscoe and Hamlin while the rest of the competitors running in the mid-pack region scattered to avoid the carnage. Amid the carnage, Larson had assumed the lead from Blaney, who was left fuming on the radio and the advantage Larson gained to start on the preferred inside lane after Keselowski ran out of fuel, just as the race was placed into a red flag period for 17 minutes.
Once the track was cleared and the field proceeded under a cautious pace, none of the front-runners led by Larson and Blaney pitted while a select few, including Haley and Briscoe, pitted.
The start of the second overtime attempt featured Larson and Blaney occupying the front row, where Larson dueled and muscled ahead of Blaney to retain the lead through the first two turns as Reddick bolted his way past Blaney for the runner-up spot. As Larson led the field through the backstretch, trouble ignited as Preece got bumped by Chase Elliott and spun towards the inside wall just entering the backstretch. Amid Preece’s incident, the race remained under green flag conditions as Larson proceeded to lead through the next two turns.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson remained as the leader by four-tenths of a second over Reddick while Blaney trailed by nine-tenths of a second. Then two corners later, the caution flew and the race ended as Preece was unable to limp his No. 41 Haas Ford Mustang Dark Horse away from his wreckage. With the caution ending the race, Larson was able to coast his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 around the Indianapolis circuit for a final time with enough fuel in his tank before he made his way back to the frontstretch and claimed the checkered flag for his first victory at the Brickyard and fourth of the 2024 Cup Series season.
With the victory, Larson achieved his 27th career win in NASCAR’s premier series, his first since winning at Sonoma Raceway in June and his third crown-jewel victory overall, including the Coca-Cola 60 and the Southern 500, as he became the first four-time race winner of the 2024 season. The victory was the 10th of the season for the Chevrolet nameplate and the ninth of the season for Hendrick Motorsports (HMS, with HMS notching its 11th career win at Indianapolis as Larson became the 16th competitor overall to win the Brickyard 400, while crew chief Cliff Daniels achieved his 20th career victory as a Cup Series crew chief.
“[The Brickyard 400 win]’s for sure up there [on my list of accomplishments],” Larson said on the frontstretch on NBC. “This is just such a prestigious place and such hallowed ground. Pretty neat just to get an opportunity to race here on the oval again. What a job by our [No. 5] team. [They] Never gave up at all. We had the pit stop issue there early on and just fought and dug and had things work out. I love you, Indiana fans. I know you guys love me, too. How about we come back next May and try to kiss these bricks on the IndyCar? I’d love to do [the double again]. We’ll work on it, so I hope we can announce something soon and see you all next May.”
The 2024 Brickyard 400 victory also served both as a redemptive and proud moment for Larson, who was unable to complete a Memorial Day Double Duty attempt between the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May due to on-track precipitation that caused him to miss the latter event while he ended up finishing in 18th place during the Indy 500 while driving for Arrow McLaren’s NTT IndyCar Series team. Ironically, Larson’s race-winning No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 sported the exact blue, white and papaya orange scheme he attempted to compete with at the Coca-Cola 600, but Xfinity Series veteran Justin Allgaier ended up competing in when Larson opted to race the Indy 500 before traveling to Charlotte for the 600-mile event.
Photo by Adam Lovelace for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“[The Brickyard 400 victory] does [make up the month of May], I guess a little bit,” Larson added. “I wished we could’ve gotten to do both [races] and run the [Coca-Cola] 600 because we had a phenomenal papaya orange car for that race, too, but I think everything just comes full circle and everything’s meant to be. Today definitely felt meant to be for us, with the way strategy was working out, Brad [Keselowski] running out of fuel, me inheriting the front row, all that. A lot had to fall into place and thankfully, it did. I just can’t believe it. It’s just surreal to win here and can’t wait to kiss these bricks with my team, [owner] Rick Hendrick, whose here finally, my family, my friends, everybody. My parents are here, so we’ll be celebrating these next couple weeks.”
As Larson celebrated on the frontstretch and kissed the yard of bricks with his team, Ryan Blaney, who ended up in third place behind Tyler Reddick, was left displeased over having a first Brickyard 400 victory slip from his grasp through two overtime attempts.
“[Losing]’s no fun,” Blaney said. “We had a really good shot to win today. Gosh, our car was fast. I thought we put ourselves in a great spot. I knew [Keselowski] was probably gonna run out if [the race] went green. We came down to the [first overtime] restart and I couldn’t believe [Keselowski] stayed out. I knew there was no way they were gonna make it, so I obviously chose the top [lane] because [Keselowski] might run out in the restart zone and he runs out coming to the green, so he gets to go to pit road and [Larson] gets promoted [to the inside lane front row]. Luck of the day right there, I guess. I don’t know. I don’t even know what to be mad about. I’m mad at losing this race because I thought we were in a perfect position. It stinks to lose’em that way, but appreciate the effort. I hate we don’t get to celebrate with Mr. [Roger] Penske and everyone at [Team] Penske here. That stings a lot…[I’m] Not going to sleep very good tonight, I can tell you that. Just wasn’t meant to be.”
Meanwhile, Reddick was pleased with his runner-up result that marks his third top-three result in a span of four races in 2024 and keeps him in the hunt for the regular-season championship, though he was also left a little disappointed over falling short of having a perfect weekend at the Brickyard after winning the pole and being the fastest during Friday’s practice session.
“It was a great recovery for us,” Reddick said. “Obviously, a lot of cars and a lot of things had to happen for us to get second. Honestly, it was a good day, but obviously the return to the Brickyard, it’s tough coming up short one spot, but once we got off Turn 2 there, I knew I was pretty much it and [Larson] was gonna have to make a mistake. Glad we got a good recovery. Another solid points day. In a big picture, it was a great day for our team.”
Christopher Bell came home in fourth place while Bubba Wallace, who won the second stage, recorded a strong fifth-place result as he is currently only seven points below the top-16 cutline in his efforts to make the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs.
Todd Gilliland, Austin Cindric, Daniel Suarez, Noah Gragson and Chase Elliott completed the top 10 in the final running order.
There were 18 lead changes for 13 different leaders. The race featured 10 cautions for 32 laps. In addition, 24 of 39 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the 22nd event of the 2024 Cup Series season, Kyle Larson leads the regular-season standings by 10 points over teammate Chase Elliott, 15 over Tyler Reddick, 43 over Denny Hamlin and 73 over Ryan Blaney.
Results.
1. Kyle Larson, eight laps led
2. Tyler Reddick, 40 laps led
3. Ryan Blaney
4. Christopher Bell, two laps led
5. Bubba Wallace, 26 laps led, Stage 2 winner
6. Todd Gilliland, one lap led
7. Austin Cindric
8. Daniel Suarez
9. Noah Gragson, three laps led
10. Chase Elliott, one lap led
11. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
12. Carson Hocevar
13. Austin Dillon
14. Corey LaJoie
15. Ross Chastain, eight laps led
16. Michael McDowell, one lap led
17. Zane Smith
18. Cody Ware
19. Ty Dillon
20. Justin Haley
21. Brad Keselowski, 35 laps led
22. Chris Buescher
23. Ty Gibbs
24. Chase Briscoe
25. Kyle Busch, one lap down, five laps led
26. Ryan Preece – OUT, Accident
27. Martin Truex Jr., two laps down
28. Erik Jones, two laps down
29. John Hunter Nemechek – OUT, Accident, 16 laps led
The NASCAR Cup Series’ teams and competitors will be taking the next two weekends off due to the Paris Summer Olympics before returning to action at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia, for the Cook Out 400. The event is scheduled to occur on August 11 and air at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network.
