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What went down in the NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400 at Nashville

By
SM Staff
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Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media & Getty Images

Joey Logano​ captured his first win of the season on Sunday in the ​Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.  This was Logano’s 33rd NASCAR Cup Series​ (NCS) career win, Ford’s first NCS at Nashville, Team Penske’s 96th series win with Ford, and the 732nd series win overall for the manufacturer.

“There wasn’t a drop of fuel to spare, my fuel light came on in turn three, and that was it, we had just enough fuel to spit and sputter across the line,” said Logano, who started the race in the 26th position.

On the fourth overtime restart, Team Penske’s Joey Logano and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase ​Briscoe restarted on the front row.​  Logano’s held them off on the restart, but another crash brought out the caution flag and the final fifth overtime restart of the race.  Logano took the inside lane with Briscoe on his outside, and Logano kept the lead by 0.068 seconds ahead of second-place Zane Smith.

“Tyler (Reddick) had the fastest car at the end, but we were able to stay in front of him. I’ve never been involved in a fuel-mileage race before. This is a big one,” Logano said in victory lane.​

This win also qualifies Logano for the NASCAR Playoffs, which get underway in September.

“It’s been a hard season,” Logano continued, “and being on that cut line, I tell you it sucks. It’s just not fun. It’s hard, and you just want a little bit of relief of the pressure, and with seven weeks to go until the playoffs, it gives us a chance to breathe for a second and start just kind of working on our car a little bit differently and just sleep better, to be honest with you. I’m proud of this team and proud to be here in Victory Lane, for sure.”

Race Notes

  • The average speed of the race winner was 108.298 mph.
  • The race lasted 04:03:54, and the margin of victory was 0.068 seconds.
  • There were 15 caution flags for 79 laps.
  • There were 20 lead changes among nine drivers.
  • This was Ford’s 732nd all-time NCS victory, its fourth of the season, and the first NCS victory at Nashville.
  • 24 of the 38 drivers finished on the lead lap.
  • Kyle Larson remains the series championship leader with a 20-point advantage over second-place teammate Chase Elliott.

What went down behind Logano

Zane Smith finished second, driving the No. 71 Jockey Outdoors by Luke Byran Camaro ZL1.

“It’s been a rough, rough year,” Smith said, “but this is a great momentum booster, a great confidence booster, all of the above. So, hopefully, we can carry this on. It was awesome to kind of sniff your first Cup win. You don’t ever know if you’re going to have a shot at another Cup win, so you just try to execute the best you can.  It just goes to show that everyone is just so dang good in the Cup series.”

23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick had to pit for fuel and restarted fifth on the final green-white-checkered restart. Reddick had the fastest car at the end and got to Logano’s bumper, but he knew that he let one (a win) get away in the end. Reddick finished third and captured his seventh top-five and the 12th top-10 finish of the season.

“We just had a bad restart,” Reddick explained. “I fell back, and I could tell there in the closing laps we were wounded bad. The tires were corded. When the caution came out, we were in a really bad spot. We were going to lose all our track position, but we had to put tires on as I don’t think we were going to be able to hold on during a restart, but it became the very thing that gave us an opportunity to win the race. It was a great call, a gutsy call by the crew chief, Billy Scott.”

Ryan Preece finished fourth and captured his first top-five and second top-10 of the season.

“I’m just really happy with how these guys fought all day. It didn’t look like it was going to be pretty, but another chaotic 10 or 15 laps at the end, and we salvaged a good day. At the end of the day, I will take that result and hopefully, this will help build some morale. We’ve been trending in that direction. Between last week and this week, it’s positive coming into the summer months,” Preece said.

Chris Buescher finsihed fifth.

“I don’t know what in the world happened there at the end; I’ll have to go back and look… We were able to get a top-5 out of it; we just needed laps to pass cars and really just never quite got it there in the last 40 laps of the race. What a day, up and down for us, but everyone regrouped and did a good job at the end.” Buescher said.

The Series points leader, Larson, ran out of fuel but somehow managed to finish eighth.

“I thought my opportunity to give myself a win was to get clean air on the nose,” Larson said. “I just ran in, got tight and drove into Ross. I hate that, for sure. The next restart I just got really out of shape through the gears and, thankfully, didn’t cause a crash on the frontstretch. And then the next one we ran out of fuel and caused that wreck. Hate that for Kyle (Busch). I had no warning.”

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin had a strong car but had to pit late for fuel and finished 12th.

“We ran out under caution,” Hamlin said. He (Chris Gabehart, crew chief) was monitoring fuel pressure. I let him know what the fuel pressure was. We were fine, just running out of gas and we did under caution. It was the right call. I was going down pitlane there out of gas.”

What’s Next

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to the streets of Chicago, Illinois, for the Grant Park 165 at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Crawford overcomes challenges with double-points weekend in Austria

By
Official Release
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Spielberg (AUT), JUL 27-30 2024 - Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring. Jak CRAWFORD #7 Dams. © 2024 Dutch Photo Agency

SPIELBERG, Austria (1 July 2024) – Fast but unlucky, Jak Crawford had a pair of scintillating drives through the field to score points in both races in the seventh FIA Formula 2 weekend of the season at the Red Bull Ring.

The 19-year-old Texan drove from 14th to an impressive sixth in Saturday’s Sprint Race. On Sunday, he encountered clutch issues and was forced to start in the pits. The DAMS Lucas Oil driver charged from 20th to second position before his mandatory pit stop, and gained three positions in the closing laps to place 10th.

“I felt great in all the sessions this weekend, apart from qualifying, and was delighted with the performance across both races to pick up further points.” said the Aston Martin Development Driver. “I’m happy with the speed we’ve been showing. I just wish I could have enjoyed today’s race a little more.”

Crawford carried his momentum from last week’s Feature Race victory at Barcelona to Friday’s opening practice, where he timed in a close third. Qualifying on the super-soft tire didn’t work out however, as he placed 14th.

“Practice was good, straight-away, and we used the philosophy that worked so well for us at Barcelona, which was good confirmation for us,” said Crawford. “But we struggled to figure out our super-soft tire in qualifying, and we struggled with the car because of that. We have some work to do there. It’s really unfortunate, because I feel our car is ready – it’s just a matter of making the tires work around it.”

Starting 14th in the Sprint Race, Crawford gained two positions on the opening lap, went to 11th on Lap 2, and then rode in 11th position for the next 17 rounds of the 28-lap event. He then began to move, taking three positions in the final two laps. Of his eight positions gained, seven were by passes and one by a competitor’s spin.

“The Sprint Race was a great race,” Crawford said. “It confirmed our speed. I had a good start and was up to 11th by the second lap. Then I just bided my time, was nice and smooth, and very patient compared to the guys around me. The last nine laps or so I went up the field, and managed my tires perfectly.”

Crawford’s Feature Race seemed doomed before it even started, when his car stalled as the field peeled away for the formation lap. That forced him to start from pit road after the remainder of the field sprinted away following lights-out.

He joined the race in 20th, gained two positions, and then moved to eighth by lap 10 as several of the competitors who opted on super-soft tires made their mandatory stops. Crawford was up to third with 11 laps remaining, and then made a pass to take second. He pitted for super-soft tires with six laps remaining, falling to 13th. He gained a position on the final lap, and nearly took another as he crossed the stripe side-by-side with another competitor.

“I had a clutch issue and it was frustrating to stall before the Feature Race, but the pace was excellent again, coming from the pit lane to get into the top-10,” he said. “I obviously had a big gap to catch up to the rest of the field. We were hoping for a safety car to catch us back up, but I had to use my tires a bit more to catch up. In the end, that wasn’t the best for our race. It’s hard to tell how it would have come down, but I think we could have scored a top-five result today.”

Next up, Crawford returns to Silverstone this weekend (July 6-7), where he finished 10th in last year’s feature race.

“I’m really looking forward to Silverstone,” he said. “It’s a track I really like, a high-speed track. I didn’t do amazing there last year, but things are going really well now, and I think the track suits our car, as well. It should be a very positive weekend for us.”

JOEY LOGANO WINS AT NASHVILLE FOLLOWING FIVE OVERTIME RESTARTS

By
Official Release
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Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media & Getty Images

LEBANON, TN – July 1, 2024 – Joey Logano won Sunday’s Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, marking his first points win of the season, 33rd of his career, and his first win at Nashville. The win also marked the first NASCAR Cup Series win for Ford at Nashville and 732nd series win overall for the manufacturer.

“Congratulations to Roger, Tim, Paul, Joey and everyone at Team Penske on the race win at Nashville,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Paul and Joey were able to maximize fuel throughout the end of the race and five overtime restarts to be in the position to win at the end.”

“A lot of teamwork there. You have to give a lot of credit to our fueler, Nick Hensley, our engine department with Roush Yates building obviously some engines that could also manage fuel really well, and some guts,” commented Logano.

Four Ford Performance drivers started Sunday’s race from the top-10: Stewart-Haas Racing’s Josh Berry in P2, RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski in P5 and Chris Buescher in P9, along with Team Penske’s Austin Cindric in P10. At lap 136, the race was red-flagged for lightning and rain in the area. Following a one hour and 21-minute weather delay, NASCAR brought out the yellow flag and allowed cars to change tires and refuel before the race restarted. The race went green a few minutes later with 159 laps remaining and 45 laps until the end of Stage 2. A caution on lap 218 of the scheduled 300 lap race allowed teams to pit for tires and fuel, which impacted late race strategy. With 20 laps remaining in the race, Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain batted for the lead until a caution came out with 2 laps to go, extending the race into overtime. Several more cautions pushed the race into its fourth overtime restart, allowing Team Penske’s Joey Logano and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe to restart on the front row. Another crash brought out the caution just before Logano took the white flag, triggering the fifth and final restart. Logano started on the inside of the front row with Chase Briscoe on his outside. Logano perfected the final restart as Chase Briscoe’s car ran out of fuel with 1 lap remaining. Logano finished the race 0.068 seconds ahead of second place Zane Smith.

Five Ford Performance drivers finished in the top 10: Stewart-Haas Racing’s Ryan Preece in P4, RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher in P5, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney in P6, and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Noah Gragson in P10.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series also raced at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday. Rette Jones Racing’s Noah Gragson finished in P5 along with Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst in P6 and Cole Custer in P9.

The NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series both compete this weekend at the Chicago street course in downtown Chicago, Illinois.
39 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 463 WINS – 432 POLES

About Roush Yates Engines
Roush Yates Engines is a leading-edge engine development company based in Mooresville, NC consisting of two state-of-the-art facilities – Roush Yates Engines and Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions, a world class AS9100 Rev D/ISO 13485 certified CNC manufacturing facility. The company’s core business includes designing, building and testing purpose-built race engines.

Ford Performance in partnership with Roush Yates Engines is the exclusive engine builder of the NASCAR FR9 Ford V8 engine.

With an unparalleled culture of winning and steeped in rich racing history, Roush Yates Engines continues to follow the company’s vision to lead performance engine innovation and staying true to the company’s mission, provide race winning engines through demonstrated power and performance.

ABEL Motorsports heads back to familiar territory at Mid-Ohio

By
Official Release
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Abel, Sundaramoorthy and Missig have 61 junior formula races between them at the central Ohio circuit

Abel also spent a season as an instructor at The Mid-Ohio School

SPEEDWAY, Ind. (July 1, 2024) – The ABEL Motorsports’ trio of Jacob Abel, Yuven Sundaramoorthy and Jordan Missig head to the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio this weekend as three of the field’s most experienced drivers on the central Ohio circuit.

All three drivers consider Mid-Ohio one of their “home” tracks, having raced there in each of their junior formula series seasons. Sundaramoorthy (Oconomowoc, Wis.) has 27 races at the central Ohio circuit, with a victory in F1600 in 2017, a win in USF2000 in 2021, seven podiums, and 16 top 10 finishes. Abel (Louisville, Ky.) scored 13 top 10s and two podiums in 23 races, while Missig (Joliet, Ill.) earned a podium and five top 10s in 11 races.

But Abel, currently second in the INDY NXT point standings, has more than just racing miles at Mid-Ohio. Not only has he “driven there in just about everything in my career,” in 2017 a 16-year-old Abel spent a season as an instructor at the The Mid-Ohio School. As a student at the school, he came under the tutelage of former INDYCAR driver Scott Harrington, and the next season, joined the cadre of instructors.

“I got to spend a lot of time at the track, teaching a wide range of people, when I was still quite young,” said Abel. “It was a very cool experience, one that makes Mid-Ohio one of my self-proclaimed home tracks. The instructors teach everything: Defensive Driving (including the teen driving course) and High Performance, which includes racing schools. We taught them how to drive on the racetrack, how to be around other cars and all of that.

“Learning the intricacies of the track and at a very base level like that kind of kept me honest in a way. It made me aware of even the smallest little things that you don’t always think of as a professional race car driver. Like the USF Juniors coaching I do (with VRD Racing, which includes championship points leader Sebastian Wheldon) – the drivers are fast but still have things to learn, so it brings me back to the basics a little bit.”

Sundaramoorthy has also raced at Mid-Ohio in every single racing series in which he has competed. While the recent re-pave reduces the knowledge base slightly, he feels as though familiarity with how to set a pass is key.

“It’s a little more of an even playing field this year, but at Mid-Ohio, it’s all about knowing where to make passes and how to set them up,” said Sundaramoorthy. “That’s the hardest part at Mid-Ohio, just setting yourself up to make a move. There are no hard braking areas, but passes are makeable if you know how to put your car in the right spot. And it’s a relatively short track, so you have opportunities to really work on each corner. And for me now, over the last couple of races, we’ve been able to show our pace. There’s more work to do but it gives me confidence going forward – it’s good to have those results (two fourth place finishes at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca two weeks ago) out of the way.”

Missig tested the ABEL INDY NXT car for the first time at Mid-Ohio back in May, and he found that the repaved surface has significantly upped the grip quotient. He also appreciates that Mid-Ohio figures prominently in most of the “firsts” of his career.

“They say that all roads lead to Indy but in our cases, we have to make our stop at Mid-Ohio first!” said Missig. “I got my start in just about everything there: first open wheel race in FR Americas, first USF Pro race, first INDY NXT test. It would be great to get my first series win here! This weekend will be sort of a reset for this track, since it’s completely repaved now. Times could drop as much as three seconds a lap. Several turns have gained tremendously in terms of grip, and that was one of the things I found valuable at the test, that you can roll much more speed into, say, Turn 4 and the car is able to stick. I think that will create a little bit more passing opportunities and a little bit more side by side racing.”

ABEL Motorsports thanks partners ABEL Construction Company, Advance Ready Mix, Boyd Cat®, S Team Motorsports, Quest Global and OMP for their continued support.

The INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio takes the green flag Sunday, July 7 at 11:15 a.m. ET. The race will be streamed live in the U.S. on Peacock, while international viewers can watch via INDYCARLIVE, with INDYCAR Radio available at indycar.com and on Sirius XM.

About ABEL Motorsports: Team principal Bill Abel began racing motocross in 1972, earning numerous championship titles as he continued the family racing tradition. In 2015, ABEL Motorsports was launched, starting in the USF2000 series and building up the junior open wheel ladder. The team captured the inaugural Formula Regional Americas Championship with driver Kyle Kirkwood in 2018.

ABEL Motorsports currently competes in the INDY NXT by Firestone series, the official development series for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, led by third-generation driver Jacob Abel. The team made its INDYCAR debut in 2023 with driver RC Enerson in the Indianapolis 500. For more information visit the official team website at abelmotorsports.com.

About Abel Construction Company: ABEL Construction is one of the largest general contractors in Kentucky, holding licenses in thirteen states. The company has offices in Lexington, Kentucky and Indianapolis, Indiana, with the corporate office in Louisville. Their expertise spans many areas, including general contracting, construction management, design-build, Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), and facilities maintenance.

Abel Construction has helped build some of the region’s most recognizable landmarks. Their projects cover diverse sectors, including automotive, healthcare, post-secondary education, commercial, food/beverage, tech, and industrial/manufacturing. They prioritize client satisfaction, focusing on efficient project delivery regardless of size or cost. The company’s skilled professionals utilize cutting-edge technology and software to ensure successful outcomes. abelconstruct.com/.

ABEL Motorsports social media

Facebook: ABEL Motorsports
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Logano Wins Ally 400 Overtime Clash

By
Official Release
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Joey Logano outlasts field for second career win at Nashville Superspeedway

LEBANON, Tenn. – Joey Logano won a wild Ally 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway that took a record five overtimes and 31 additional laps to complete.

With his No. 22 Team Penske Ford low on fuel, Logano managed to pull away from the pack in the fifth overtime and as they all charged down the stretch, Logano swerved to block challengers Zane Smith, Tyler Reddick and Ryan Preece at different points on the track and then he led them all across the finish line at the end in dramatic fashion.

“There wasn’t a drop of fuel to spare, my fuel light came on in turn three and that was it, we had just enough fuel to spit and sputter across the line,” said Logano, who started the race in the 26th position. “Tyler (Reddick) had the fastest car at the end, but we were able to stay in front of him. I’ve never been involved in a fuel-mileage race before. This is a big one.”

It was Logano’s first win of the season, first Cup Series win at the 1.33-mile Nashville track and 33rd victory of his career. He said the win qualifies him for the post-season and takes off some of the pressure for he and his team before the NASCAR Playoffs get underway in September.

“It’s been a hard season and being on that cut line, I tell you it sucks,” Logano said. “It’s just not fun. It’s hard and you just want a little bit of relief of the pressure and with seven weeks to go until the playoffs it gives us a chance to breathe for a second and start just kind of working on our car a little bit differently and just sleep better, to be honest with you. I’m proud of this team and proud to be here in victory lane, for sure.”

As the laps winded down in regulation, it appeared that pole-winner Denny Hamlin was going to cruise to victory. He passed then-leader and defending champion Ross Chastain with seven laps to go, and seemed like he was on his way to strumming a Gibson guitar in victory lane.

That’s when all hell broke loose. Noah Gragson and Austin Cindric made slight contact back in the pack sending Cindric’s No. 2 machine into the wall. The field was then bunched up for its first overtime period.

On the first two overtime periods Hamlin also was out front and in position to win but caution flags flew in both after incidents involving Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Chevy that was low on fuel. Hamlin’s No. 11 machine finally ran out of fuel as well, ending his chance to win.

Hamlin said he couldn’t believe his car made it through that many overtimes.

“We were 15 seconds from a win and then we were 10 seconds from a win and then we finished 12th,” Hamlin said with a smile. “That’s just NASCAR Cup Series racing and it’s just part of it.”

Larson said he was racing for the win at the end before his car also ran out of fuel. Remarkably, he was able to get fuel and salvage an eighth place finish.

“I thought my opportunity to give myself a win was to get clean air on the nose,” Larson said. “I just ran in, got tight and drove into Ross. I hate that, for sure. The next restart I just got really out of shape through the gears and, thankfully, didn’t cause a crash on the frontstretch. And then the next one we ran out of fuel and caused that wreck. Hate that for Kyle (Busch). I had no warning.

“Obviously, we knew we were really close on fuel,” Larson continued. “It was going to be a stretch to make it, but I had no low fuel pressure alarm on my dash, so it was a bit surprising. When I went to the throttle, it just never went. I couldn’t really get out of the way either, because we were still to the wall – hadn’t even gotten to the dogleg yet to get out of the way. I’m really, really bummed for (Busch) because he needs the points. Thankfully, we were able to work through the last restarts and get a top 10, but bummed with how it all kind of ended up.”

Second-place finisher Zane Smith nearly became the latest Cup rookie to grab a victory, as he finished second in his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevy after starting 36th.

“It’s been a rough, rough year, but this is a great momentum booster, a great confidence booster, all of the above,” Smith said. “So, hopefully we can carry this on. It was awesome to kind of sniff your first Cup win. You don’t ever know if you’re going to have a shot at another Cup win, so you just try to execute the best you can … It just goes to show that everyone is just so dang good in the Cup series.”

Third-place finisher Reddick was visibly dejected after the race, saying he knew he let one get away at the end after running up front all day and moving into position at the end.

“We got to the 22’s bumper on the last lap and um, he just kicked my (butt),” Reddick said. “We should have won the race. We just didn’t get the job done. We had better tires, pretty much the race was gifted to us. It takes a toll on you, that’s for sure.”

Ryan Preece was thrilled with another solid finish in his No. 41 machine in as many weeks.

“We just kept moving forward, and we had fresher tires,” Preece said. “I’m just really happy with how these guys fought all day. It didn’t look like it was going to be pretty, but another chaotic 10 or 15 laps at the end, and we salvaged a good day. At the end of the day I will take that result and hopefully this will help build some morale. We’ve been trending in that direction. Between last week and this week, it’s positive coming into the summer months.”

Fifth-place Chris Buescher felt like he was in the Twilight Zone out there in all of the overtime sessions.

“We definitely did have a good car, had the ability to run in the top 10 all night, and got stage points; still just frustrated; it was just chaos there at the end,” Buescher said. “I don’t know what in the world happened there at the end; I’ll have to go back and look… We were able to get a top-5 out of it; we just needed laps to pass cars and really just never quite got it there in the last 40 laps of the race. What a day, up and down for us, but everyone regrouped and did a good job at the end.”

Several front-runners fell out of the race as the result of single car spins, including Christopher Bell, who won stages 1 and 2 and led 132 laps in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing machine. His car lost traction with 71 laps remaining in the race and received heavy damage after it impacted the wall in turn 2.

Brad Keselowski also ran up front in both of the first two stages but his car slid out underneath him on lap 244, resulting in a 25th place finish. Chase Elliott also suffered a single car slide coming out of a turn when his No. 9 machine got loose and he posted an 18th place finish.

Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace, Larson, Daniel Hemric and Gragson completed the top 10. Defending winner Chastain, who was challenging for a top three finish ultimately finished 33rd after being involved in the restart incident in the first overtime.

NASCAR Cup Series Race – Ally 400
Nashville Superspeedway
Nashville, Tennessee

1. (26) Joey Logano, Ford, 331.
2. (36) Zane Smith #, Chevrolet, 331.
3. (6) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 331.
4. (22) Ryan Preece, Ford, 331.
5. (9) Chris Buescher, Ford, 331.
6. (18) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 331.
7. (24) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 331.
8. (4) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 331.
9. (37) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 331.
10. (16) Noah Gragson, Ford, 331.   
11. (28) AJ Allmendinger(i), Chevrolet, 331.
12. (1) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 331.
13. (33) Justin Haley, Ford, 331.
14. (12) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 331.
15. (10) Austin Cindric, Ford, 331.
16. (15) Carson Hocevar #, Chevrolet, 331.
17. (32) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 331.
18. (13) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 331.
19. (7) William Byron, Chevrolet, 331.
20. (21) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 331.
21. (19) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 331.
22. (31) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 331.
23. (8) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 331.
24. (17) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 331.
25. (5) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 330.
26. (2) Josh Berry #, Ford, Accident, 327.
27. (27) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, Accident, 319.
28. (25) Harrison Burton, Ford, Accident, 312.
29. (29) Corey Heim(i), Toyota, Accident, 312.
30. (23) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, Accident, 312.
31. (35) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, Accident, 306.
32. (11) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, Accident, 305.
33. (20) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, Accident, 304.
34. (34) Erik Jones, Toyota, Suspension, 287.
35. (14) Michael McDowell, Ford, Transmission, 239.
36. (3) Christopher Bell, Toyota, Accident, 227.
37. (30) Riley Herbst(i), Ford, Accident, 201.
38. (38) Chad Finchum(i), Ford, Electrical, 132.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 108.298 mph.
Time of Race: 4 Hrs, 3 Mins, 54 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.068 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 15 for 79 laps.
Lead Changes: 20 among 9 drivers.

Lap Leaders: D. Hamlin 1-16;C. Bell 17-38;T. Gibbs 39-40;T. Reddick 41-45;M. McDowell 46-76;C. Bell 77-92;D. Hamlin 93-117;C. Bell 118-187;T. Reddick 188;C. Bell 189-208;T. Reddick 209-213;C. Bell 214;T. Reddick 215;C. Bell 216-217;T. Reddick 218-221;R. Blaney 222-233;A. Allmendinger(i) 234;R. Blaney 235-248;R. Chastain 249-293;D. Hamlin 294-322;J. Logano 323-331.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Christopher Bell 6 times for 131 laps; Denny Hamlin 3 times for 70 laps; Ross Chastain 1 time for 45 laps; Michael McDowell 1 time for 31 laps; Ryan Blaney 2 times for 26 laps; Tyler Reddick 5 times for 16 laps; Joey Logano 1 time for 9 laps; Ty Gibbs 1 time for 2 laps; AJ Allmendinger(i) 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage 1 Top Ten: 20,11,45,5,6,54,24,17,19,23

Stage 2 Top Ten: 20,45,5,11,6,9,19,12,17,10

— nashvillesuperspeedway.com —

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Nashville Superspeedway, Middle Tennessee’s racing jewel, is a year-round family-friendly destination in one of the fastest-growing regions in the country. The 1.33-mile D-shaped track with 14 degrees of banking has hosted four NASCAR Cup Series races, 25 NASCAR Xfinity Series races, 17 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events and eight INDYCAR SERIES contests. The largest concrete-only track in NASCAR, Nashville Superspeedway is owned by Speedway Motorsports.

Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Report – Nashville

By
Official Release
-

Ally 400: Nashville Superspeedway
Lebanon, TN – June 30, 2024

AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 DISCOUNT TIRE FORD MUSTANG

START: 10TH STAGE ONE: 17TH STAGE TWO: 25TH FINISH: 15TH POINTS: 20TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric survived a dramatic Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, overcoming various setbacks and a plethora of late-race cautions to register a 15th-place finish. He fired off from the 10th position and made his first visit to pit road on Lap 38 for four tires, fuel and an adjustment to aid the stability of the car. The Discount Tire Ford Mustang finished Stage 1 in the 17th position and returned to pit road for service. Cindric restarted 20th when the second segment got underway on Lap 98, and just 18 laps in, Cindric informed his team that the handling had improved across the center and on exit. On Lap 136, inclement weather moved in, bringing out the red flag for well over an hour. Once the race resumed, Cindric was forced to restart at the tail of the field due to a penalty. Despite the loss of track position, the former NASCAR Xfinity Series champion climbed back to 25th by the conclusion of Stage 2. Following a four-tire stop, Cindric lined up 23rd for the restart on Lap 193. The Team Penske driver was slowly but steadily moving forward until contact from the No. 71 caused Cindric to fall deep in the field. Fortunately, the Discount Tire Ford was able to withstand a series of late-race cautions to rally to a 15th-place finish.

CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “Yeah, a bit of a frustrating day. We had to go to the back, lost a lot of spots early in the race, and passed a lot of cars today. I thought we had a decent Discount Tire Ford Mustang, we just never held on to any track position that we ever had, whether if it was execution errors or just getting run over there at the end of the race. So, yeah, I’m happy we came home with a decent finish and really happy for everyone on the 22 car — those guys have had a tough go and certainly deserve a win and to be in the playoffs. I’m proud that all three of us will be fighting for a championship later this season.”

RYAN BLANEY No. 12 MENARDS/IDEAL DOOR GARAGE DOORS FORD MUSTANG

START: 18TH STAGE ONE: 14TH STAGE TWO: 8TH FINISH: 6TH POINTS: 8TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney rallied for a sixth-place finish Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway, marking his third top-10 result in the last four races. The 12-team worked to dial in the balance over the course of the opening 90-lap stage as Blaney battled his way towards the top-10 in the early going before ultimately settling for a 14th-place finish in Stage 1. Following a four tire stop and a round of adjustments at the stage break, Blaney charged to 11th in the running order before the race was red flagged on lap 135 for heavy rainfall in the area. After drivers returned to their cars once track drying was complete, the field took the green with 46 laps remaining in Stage 2 when Blaney raced into the top-10 early in the run. Despite a loose-handling condition that set in late in the run, Blaney managed to come away with an eighth-place result in the second segment. The 12 team gained a pair of positions on pit road under yellow, allowing Blaney to take the green for the final stage from the inside of row three. Blaney powered his way to fourth on the opening lap of the restart before a caution on lap 218 saw varying pit strategies with the fuel window closing in. The 12-team opted to keep Blaney on the track under yellow and assume the lead as he was one of five lead lap cars to stay out with the field lining up to take the green with 75 laps to go. A pair of cautions shortly after forced Blaney to stay out in order to avoid falling to the back of the field, resulting in a scheduled green flag stop on lap 268 that trapped him a lap down. A caution with two laps to go awarded Blaney the free pass to rejoin the lead lap before a Cup Series record five overtime restarts followed – the second of which had Blaney involved in a multi-car incident on the backstretch where he avoided damage despite sliding through the grass. By the time of the fifth and final restart, Blaney lined up 12th to take the green and continued to power forward before ultimately taking the checkered flag sixth.

BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “Really proud of this 12-team for staying with it all day. The strategy we had lined up didn’t fall the way we hoped but this turned into a race where if you can be there at the end, you’ll have a shot and fortunately we were able to gain back a lot of the track position we lost with all the restarts at the end. Happy for all the guys on the 22-team and proud of the effort to get all three Penske cars locked in to run for a championship.”

JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG

START: 26TH STAGE ONE: 21ST STAGE TWO: 21ST FINISH: 1ST POINTS: 14TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano prevailed to take the checkered flag Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway after a Cup Series-record five overtime restarts, marking his 33rd-career victory and 20th different track he’s won at on the Cup Series circuit. With the win, Logano has now won at least one Cup Series race in 13-consecutive seasons while also snapping a 49-race winless streak to clinch a playoff spot for the 11th time in the last 16 seasons. Despite finishes of 21st in the opening two stages and a lengthy rain delay in the middle of Stage 2, Logano and the 22-team altered their strategy when the caution flag flew on lap 205 as the fuel window began to close in as crew chief Paul Wolfe made the call for right sides tires and fuel to vault to eighth in the running order for the ensuing restart. Logano raced his way into the top-five before a caution on lap 227 brought the field back together but on the following restart, he was shoved up the track in turn one and ultimately settled into 14th as the laps ticked off. The yellow came out once again with two laps to go and Logano stayed out, allowing him to move up to eighth for the first overtime restart as several of the leaders had concerns about having enough fuel to make it to the end. Logano evaded a pair of multi-car wrecks before the caution on the third overtime saw a few of the leaders make the trip to pit road for fuel, allowing the Shell-Pennzoil Ford to assume the lead for the fourth overtime restart. Logano was able to clear the No. 14 as he was coming to take the white flag, but the yellow was displayed just before he crossed the line to set up a fifth – and ultimately final – overtime restart as the 22-team was committed to stretching the fuel run as far as it would go. From the inside of row one, Logano was able to clear the field coming out of turn two as the No. 45 closed in to challenge for the win coming to the checkered and successfully blocked the run to the high side in turns three and four before edging out the No. 71 at the line to come away with the win in the fuel mileage thriller.

LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “It’s been a hard season and being on that cut line, I tell you it sucks. It’s just not fun. It’s hard and you just want a little bit of relief of the pressure and with seven weeks to go until the playoffs it gives us a chance to breathe for a second and start just kind of working on our car a little bit differently and just sleep better, to be honest with you. I’m proud of this team and proud to be here in Victory Lane, for sure. You have to give a lot of credit to our fueler, Nick Hensley, our engine department with Roush Yates building obviously some engines that could also manage fuel really well, and some guts – a lot of cajones made it happen.”

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to the streets of Chicago for the second-ever street race on Sunday, July 7. Coverage of the Grant Park 165 begins at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Rick Ware Racing: Ally 400 from Nashville

By
Official Release
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RICK WARE RACING
Ally 400
Date: June 30, 2024
Event: Ally 400 (Round 19 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway (1.333-mile, concrete oval)
Format: 300 laps, broken into three stages 90 laps/95 laps/115 laps)
Note: Race extended 31 laps past its scheduled 300-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Race Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

RWR Race Finish:

● Justin Haley (Started 33rd, Finished 13th/ Running, completed 331 of 331 laps)
● Riley Herbst (Started 30th, Finished 37th/ Accident, completed 201 of 331 laps)

RWR Points:

● Justin Haley (31st with 266 points)
● Note: Herbst is a fulltime driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and is not eligible for points in the NASCAR Cup Series.

RWR Notes:

● Haley earned his sixth top-20 of the season and second top-15 finish in the last four races.
● This was Haley’s best finish in four NASCAR Cup Series starts at Nashville. His previous best was 23rd, earned twice in 2022 and 2023.
● This was Herbst’s seventh NASCAR Cup Series start, third of the season and first at Nashville.

Race Notes:

● Joey Logano won the Ally 400 to score his 33rd career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his first at Nashville. His margin of victory over second-place Zane Smith was .068 of a second.

● This was Ford’s 732nd all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory and its fourth of the season.
● This was Ford’s first NASCAR Cup Series victory at Nashville.
● There were 15 caution periods for a total of 79 laps.
● Twenty-four of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Kyle Larson remains the championship leader after Nashville with a 20-point advantage over second-place Chase Elliott.

Sound Bites:

“I’m really proud of the team to overcome the setbacks we faced early in the race. I had my hands full on the first run, and we were still able to stick to our strategy and come back from being two laps down to be on the lead lap at the end of the first stage. We don’t give up and I think that showed today. We’re leaving bummed over a 13th-place finish, which says a lot about how far we’ve come since Daytona.”– Justin Haley, driver of the No. 51 Pinnacle Home Improvements Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“It just felt like he was kind of over-racing me, but I had fun. It was a fun day. It was cool. I learned a lot. The Cup Series is a lot of hard work and a lot of fun.” – Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 15 Monster Energy Zero Sugar Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Grant Park 165 on Sunday, July 7 on the streets of downtown Chicago. The race begins at 4:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Buescher Earns P5 Finish in NASCAR Overtime Thriller at Nashville

By
Official Release
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Keselowski Earns Stage Points in Opening Stages Before Being Spun Late, Then Finishes 25t

LEBANON, Tenn. (June 30, 2024) – Sunday’s race at Nashville Superspeedway was, in a word, chaos. Inclement weather and a flurry of cautions – 15 in total – dominated the headlines as Chris Buescher ended his day on a high note with a fifth-place finish. Brad Keselowski finished fifth in each of the first two stages and was running inside the top five much of the day, but was spun with under 100 to go to ultimately finish 25th.

The closing laps alone saw five NASCAR Overtime attempts, a new record, as the race in total was extended to 331 laps from the original distance of 300. Lightning – and later rain – put the race on halt for nearly 90 minutes just under halfway through the scheduled distance.

For Buescher, it’s his third top five in the last four races, and fifth overall on the season.

6 Recap
Keselowski started fifth following his best-career qualifying effort at the Tennessee track. Despite the numerous cautions late, the opening laps ran caution-free as the conclusion of stage one signified the first yellow flag of the afternoon.

The No. 6 Consumer Cellular Ford pitted from third at lap 39 under green then later went on to finish fifth in the opening stage of 90 laps. A 2-tire call under yellow at lap 117 put Keselowski P2 on the restart with teammate Buescher in third. Then, less than 20 laps later, thunderstorms moved into the Lebanon area as lightning put a delay on the race.

Following the delay of more than an hour, Keselowski restarted fourth and went on to finish fifth in the stage. He began stage three in fourth, and maintained a top-6 position for the next 30 laps. Under yellow at lap 218, Keselowski would pit for four tires which put him 18th on the ensuing restart. Then, at lap 244, Keselowski went to pass the No. 3 on the outside, and the two made contact into turn 1, sending the No. 6 into the outside wall.

After lengthy repairs – including replacing the steering wheel – Keselowski restarted three laps down at lap 247. He ran 34th at the time, but used the final five cautions to gain track position and ultimately advance nine spots to 25th.

17 Recap
Much like his teammate, Buescher spent most of the early race inside the top-10, and later top five. After starting ninth – also his best effort at the track – Buescher finished the opening stage in eighth.

The same strategy call (as the 6) just 20 laps into the second stage put Buescher inside the top three for a handful of laps, before he was later scored seventh at the time of the red flag. He went on to finish ninth in stage two after the restart of the remaining 44 laps in the segment.

A pit road issue in the stage break set the No. 17 BuildSubmarines.com Ford back in terms of track position as he restarted 17th at lap 193. That track position later flipped at lap 218 when Buescher pitted for fuel only, putting him 13th on the ensuing restart. This time, Buescher hustled six positions in just a two-lap span to seventh.

He was ninth coming to the white flag before the flurry of five cautions flew, extending the race by a full 31 laps. Crew chief Scott Graves called the No. 17 to pit road for right-side tires at lap 301, putting him 20th on the next restart. From there, attrition was the name of the game as multiple cars wrecked out or ran out of fuel. Buescher ultimately restarted seventh for the final time and powered past two cars for the P5 finish.

“I’m proud of everybody on this BuildSubmarines.com Mustang and working hard to get back after it,” Buescher said. “It was definitely an up and down day and ended up with a decent finish, but we just had a strategy to have the fuel we needed there and it was caution after caution, so I’m definitely frustrated by all of that.

“We had the ability to run in the top-10 all night and got stage points and got a decent finish out of it. I’m still just frustrated. It was just chaos there at the end. I have to go back and watch what happened with everything obviously, but we just didn’t get a chance to race very much. We were in a good spot there. We had good speed after the sun went down and had tires, so just really wanted some laps.”

Up Next
NASCAR heads to the streets of Chicago next week for just the second time. Race coverage next Sunday is set for 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC, with radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

About RFK Racing
RFK Racing, in its 37th season in 2024, features an ownership lineup pairing one of the sport’s most iconic names, Jack Roush, along with NASCAR Champion, Brad Keselowski, and Fenway Sports Group owner John Henry. Roush initially founded the team in 1988 and it has since become one of the most successful racing operations in the world, propelling him to be the first NASCAR owner to amass three hundred wins and capturing eight championships, including back-to-back NASCAR Cup titles in 2003 and 2004. Keselowski, a former owner in the NASCAR Truck Series, is the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series Champion. In 2007, Roush partnered with Henry, who also owns Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox, English Premier League’s Liverpool F.C., and the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, to form Roush Fenway Racing. Off the track, RFK is a leader and proven winner in NASCAR marketing solutions, having produced multiple award-winning social media, digital content and experiential marketing campaigns. Visit rfkracing.com, and follow the team on all social platforms @rfkracing.

Stewart-Haas Racing: Ally 400 from Nashville

By
Official Release
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STEWART-HAAS RACING
Ally 400

Date: June 30, 2024
Event: Ally 400 (Round 19 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway (1.333-mile, concrete oval)
Format: 300 laps, broken into three stages (90 laps/95 laps/115 laps)
Note: Race extended 31 laps past its scheduled 300-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Race Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

SHR Finish:

● Ryan Preece (Started 22nd, Finished 4th / Running, completed 331 of 331 laps)
● Noah Gragson (Started 16th, Finished 10th / Running, completed 331 of 331 laps)
● Chase Briscoe (Started 19th, Finished 21st / Running, completed 331 of 331 laps)
● Josh Berry (Started 2nd, Finished 26th / Accident, completed 327 of 331 laps)

SHR Points:

● Chase Briscoe (16th with 421 points, 243 out of first)
● Josh Berry (19th with 368 points, 296 out of first)
● Noah Gragson (24th with 325 points, 339 out of first)
● Ryan Preece (25th with 308 points, 356 out of first)

SHR Notes:

● Preece earned his first top-five and second top-10 of the season. It was also his first top-10 in three career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Nashville.
● This was Preece’s best finish so far this year. His previous best was ninth, earned April 7 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
● This was Preece’s second straight finish of 11th or better. He finished 11th last Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.
● Gragson earned his sixth top-10 of the season and his first top-10 in two career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Nashville.
● Gragson finished 10th in Stage 2 to earn one bonus point.

Race Notes:

● Joey Logano won the Ally 400 to score his 33rd career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his first at Nashville. His margin of victory over second-place Zane Smith was .068 of a second.
● This was Ford’s 732nd all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory and its fourth of the season.
● This was Ford’s first NASCAR Cup Series victory at Nashville.
● There were 15 caution periods for a total of 79 laps.
● Twenty-four of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Kyle Larson remains the championship leader after Nashville with a 20-point advantage over second-place Chase Elliott.

Sound Bites:

“We just kept moving forward and we had fresher tires. Just really happy with how these guys kept fighting all day. Didn’t look like it was going to be very pretty, but another chaotic 10 or 15 laps there at the end and we salvaged a good day. Thanks to Stewart-Haas, Ford Performance and all my supporters – Morton Buildings, HaasTooling.com, United Rentals, RaceChoice.com, Mohawk Northeast – it helps a lot on a day like today.” – Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“We just saved a ton of fuel to end up 10th. 110 laps on a tank of fuel. We pushed it to the absolute max and got another top-10. Proud of the work everyone puts into this racecar.” – Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“It was kind of a worst-case scenario from a strategy standpoint how it played out. We just had to go all the way back to 30th or something just because of how the strategy played out and how the cautions fell. We were able to drive back from 30th to 15th or so. And there at the end, you don’t expect to have three or four green-white-checkereds. Ran out of fuel taking the white flag. That definitely stinks whenever you’re in contention there. I think on that second-to-last one we had a good shot to potentially win the race. Frustrating, but part of it, and we go on.” – Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“Yeah, today was a tough day. Just started off really tight and couldn’t figure out the balance, but my team worked hard to get me the car I needed and we finally found it after the rain delay. We got a bunch of spots back and had a much more competitive No. 4 Ford Mustang Dark Horse. It was just chaos there at the end and trying to navigate that many restarts and eventually I just got caught up in it. It was a bummer that we didn’t finish that well this week. Nashville is my home race, but we learned a lot. Thank you to Overstock.com for continuing to support our race team. We will regroup and head to Chicago next week fully prepared to compete for a win.” – Josh Berry, driver of the No. 4 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Grant Park 165 on Sunday, July 7 on the streets of downtown Chicago. The race begins at 4:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Kaulig Racing Race Recap | Ally 400

By
Official Release
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DANIEL HEMRIC
No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1

  • Daniel Hemric qualified 37th for the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
  • Hemric gained four spots on the initial start and was told he would be running long in the No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1. He made it as high as fourth during the green-flag pit stops and made his stop on lap 70 for tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. The opening stage remained green, and Hemric finished 32nd.
  • During the first stage break, Hemric was able to take the wave around, placing him back on the lead lap to start the second stage from 28th place. The first caution of the day came out on lap 117, as Hemric sat 30th. He pitted for tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment, before restarting 26th on lap 122. The next caution came out just five laps later, and Hemric elected to stay out. Once the green flag came out on lap 131, lightning brought out the red flag on lap 137. When the pits reopened, Hemric pitted for tires, fuel and a front adjustment, before restarting 33rd on lap 140. Struggling with front grip, Hemric finished the second stage in 35th.
  • During the second stage break, Hemric pitted for tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to free up the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy. A caution on lap 203 allowed Hemric to pit once again for tires, fuel and more adjustments. The field went back to green on lap 209, before another caution came out on the restart. Crew chief Trent Owens made the call for Hemric to pit for fuel only, before he restarted 34th with 87 laps remaining. The eighth caution of the day came out on lap 219, and Hemric made another fuel-only stop in the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy, before restarting 21st with 70 to go. Hemric avoided a spin in front of him on the restart, putting the field back under caution. The team elected to stay out before restarting 20th with 66 to go. The next caution came out for a wreck with 58 laps to go. Owens made the call to put four tires on, and Hemric restarted 26th with 52 laps remaining. Running faster laps than the next seven cars ahead of him with 10 laps to go, Hemric had made it up to 18th when an overtime-inducing caution came out with two laps remaining. Owens made a strategy call to stay out under caution, putting Hemric 11th coming to the first overtime attempt. Unable to avoid a wreck on the restart, Hemric sustained minor damage, forcing him to pit for tires. After pitting too early, Hemric restarted at the rear for the second overtime attempt. The field was unable to make it to the white flag, and went on to make five-overtime attempts before finally seeing the checkered flag. Hemric finished ninth, his third top-10 of the season.

“Today was just another example of our season; it’s been a roller coaster ride. We struggled with short-run speed all weekend on the No. 31 Cirkul Chevrolet. After the rain delay and a couple of good adjustments, I thought if we could get track position, we would be OK. We finally got it and got caught in a crash. I thought every corner was knocked off the car. Somehow, some way, the seas kept parting. We were able to have a couple of good restarts at the end and cross the line in ninth. What a weekend, but I’ll take it” – Daniel Hemric  

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 16 Celsius Camaro ZL1

  • AJ Allmendinger qualified 28th for the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
  • After reporting early the No. 16 Celsius Chevy was free, Allmendinger came to pit under green on lap 39. Crew chief, Travis Mack, called for air pressure and wedge adjustment to help with the handling of the car. Allmendinger went on to finish 30th on the opening stage.
  • Allmendinger restarted the second stage in 32nd. When the caution came out on lap 117, the No. 16 came to pit road for wedge and air pressure adjustments to assist with handling. On lap 137, a caution was displayed for weather. When the race resumed, Allmendinger stayed out to restart in 24th on lap 141. Allmendinger went on to finish the second stage in 22nd place.
  • The No. 16 pit under the stage break and restarted in 24th. When the caution came out on lap 210, Allmendinger came to pit road for right sides only and restarted in 21st on lap 213. By lap 219 when the next caution was displayed, Allmendinger was in 18th place and reported his No. 16 Chevy was good, but he needed clean air. The team stayed out and restarted on the front row in second place on lap 226. Allmendinger maintained second place until lap 240 when he fell to 3rd, where he was running when the next caution came on lap 244. The No. 16 stayed out under this caution to restart in 3rd on lap 249. The No. 16 slowly faded back to 11th place by lap 276. On lap 292, Allmendinger came to pit road under green for four tires and fuel. The caution fell two laps later and Allmendinger restarted in 31st for overtime. The caution came back out after the restart, Allmendinger received the lucky dog and came to pit road for sticker tires. After five overtime restarts, Allmendinger finished in 11th.

“Long, hard fought day. I felt like as the race went on, we improved the race car. We weren’t able to get the track position there til the end. Unfortunately, that strategy didn’t work out. We were able to miss all the wrecks, get our lap back and make the most out of our day. Overall, something we can learn fun. Good finish for both cars. Good day for the race team.” – 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.

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