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NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: New Hampshire

JUNE 23: Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, leads the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR Cup Series Today 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on June 23, 2024 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Christopher Bell: Bell won Stage 1 at New Hampshire and took charge after a long rain delay to win the USA Today 301.

“You probably heard that I let it slip that Chase Briscoe is taking over Martin Truex’s No. 19 car next year,” Bell said. “I guess that’s how I got the nickname ‘The Human Press Release.'”

2. Kyle Larson: Larson finished fourth at New Hampshire.

“When I heard the race was called the ‘USA Today 301,'” Larson said, “I said, understandably, ‘That’s news to me.'”

Chase Elliott: Elliott started on the pole at Loudon and finished 18th.

“I got sent for a spin when Joey Logano locked up his brakes and slid into me on a restart,” Elliott said. “I’m sure Joey didn’t do it on purpose. It was just a careless error on his part. As such, I could ‘care less’ about his apology.”

4. Tyler Reddick: Reddick finished sixth in the USA Today 301 in a race that was interrupted for several hours due to rain.

“We were in first when the rain started,” Reddick said, “so we would have won had it continued to rain. We were expecting rain and adjusted our strategy accordingly. The weather can change in an instant, and you have to adapt with the same level of speed. It’s called ‘precipitating a change.'”

5. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin won Stage 2 and finished 24th in the USA Today 301.

“I thought I would be more competitive after the rain delay,” Hamlin said “Oddly enough, as the moisture dissipated, my chances ‘dried up’ as well.”

6. Ross Chastain: Chastain finished 10th at New Hampshire.

“Congratulations to Christopher Bell,” Chastain said. “He got a huge lobster for winning the race. And all this time I thought a ‘crustacean’ was what they called people that spent a week in the Loudon campground without a shower.”

7. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex ran up front before a series of miscues late in the race knocked him out of contention for the win. He battled back to finish ninth.

“We had an issue with a tire on a pit stop on lap 188,” Truex said. “The right rear tire wasn’t completely secure, so the jackman had to come back around. In the end, the right rear tire, much like my chance to win, was screwed.”

8. Ryan Blaney: Blaney was set for a top-10 finish before he was collected in a late restart when Michael McDowell lost traction and came up the track. Blaney ultimately finished 25th.

“The threat of rain hovered over the race all day,” Blaney said. “And it finally came. So our cars were equipped with windshield wipers. I’m waiting for the day when every car’s wipers are plastered with sponsorship from Dude Wipes. I really wonder why that hasn’t already happened.”

9. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 28th in the USA Today 301.

“I guess I’ll get blamed for spinning Martin Truex Jr.,” Keselowski said. “Did I move up the track a little? Maybe. If I can’t give Martin a retirement gift, I can surely give him some retirement drift.”

10. William Byron: Byron finished 26th in the USA Today 301.”I haven’t won since Martinsville in early April,” Byron said. “That means I can’t win for losing.”

Bell perseveres through dry and slick conditions for dramatic Cup victory at New Hampshire

LOUDON, NEW HAMPSHIRE - JUNE 23: Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Rheem Toyota, celebrates with the Loudon the Lobster in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series USA Today 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on June 23, 2024 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images).

Christopher Bell survived a war of attrition both from Mother Nature that resulted with him racing on wet tires in the closing stages and through a series of late on-track chaos, including an overtime shootout, to win the rain-delayed USA Today 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, June 23.

The 2024 Coca-Cola 600 champion from Norman, Oklahoma, led three times for a race-high 149 of 305 over-scheduled laps in an event where he started in fourth place based on a performance metric formula due to the event’s qualifying session being canceled due to on-track precipitation. After assuming the lead from Chase Elliott on Lap 42, Bell would win the first stage period on Lap 70. Despite losing the lead on Lap 126 during an exchange of green flag pit stops, he remained in contention towards the front and was scored in ninth place when the event was placed in a red flag period due to a heavy round of precipitation with 82 laps remaining.

Amid a weather delay period that spanned more than two hours, Bell, who along with the rest of the field switched from dry to wet-weathered tires when the race resumed with 73 laps remaining, reassumed the lead from Tyler Reddick, who was leading during the red flag period, with 60 laps remaining. Despite having his momentum halted five times due to a series of on-track carnages that ensued, including the fifth and latest one that sent the field into overtime, Bell had enough horsepower and grip from the wet tires to speed away from Chase Briscoe and Josh Berry for two laps before cruising to his third NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2024 season.

With on-track qualifying that was scheduled to occur on Saturday, June 22, being canceled due to on-track precipitation, the starting lineup for the main event was determined through a performance metric formula. As a result, Chase Elliott was awarded the pole position and he shared the front row with Ryan Blaney, winner of last weekend’s Cup Series event at Iowa Speedway.

When the green flag waved and the event commenced half an hour early due to potential weather concerns, Chase Elliott rocketed his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 away from the field from the outside lane as he assumed an early advantage through the first two turns and through the backstretch. As Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney battled for the runner-up spot, Elliott led the first lap while the field behind continued to fan out and jostle for early spots.

During the next four laps, Elliott retained a comfortable advantage over Bell while Ross Chastain and Joey Logano battled Blaney for third place. Behind, rookie Josh Berry occupied sixth place while Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman and William Byron battled for seventh place in front of Martin Truex Jr. and Tyler Reddick. With Chastain and Logano overtaking Blaney to move up to third and fourth while Bowman fended off teammate Byron for seventh place, Elliott’s advantage was scored at two seconds by the fifth lap mark.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Elliott continued to lead by two seconds over Bell followed by Logano, Chastain and Berry while Blaney, Bowman, Byron, Truex and Reddick were scored in the top 10. Behind, Todd Gilliland was in 11th place ahead of Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson and Ty Gibbs while rookie Carson Hocevar, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, Justin Haley and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. occupied the top-20 spots ahead of Corey LaJoie, Noah Gragson, Chase Briscoe, Michael McDowell and Austin Dillon. Meanwhile, Harrison Burton, Austin Cindric, Daniel Suarez, John Hunter Nemechek and Erik Jones trailed in the top 30 while Ryan Preece, Kyle Busch, rookie Zane Smith, Daniel Hemric, Ty Dillon and Kaz Grala rounded out the 36-car field.

Ten laps later, Elliott stretched his early advantage to three seconds over Bell while Logano, Berry and Blaney followed suit in the top five. With Chastain retaining sixth place ahead of Truex, Bowman, Reddick and Byron, Hamlin and Gilliland swapped spots as Hamlin moved into 11th place while Gibbs, Larson and Keselowski followed suit.

Another 10 laps later, Elliott stabilized his advantage to two-and-a-half seconds over Bell while third-place Logano trailed by nearly five seconds. Meanwhile, Berry, who was the fastest competitor on the track earlier, retained fourth place as he trailed Elliott by five seconds while Blaney trailed the lead by six seconds in fifth place. In addition, Truex was in sixth place after he overtook Chastain for the spot a few laps earlier, Hamlin cracked the top 10 as he was up to ninth place while Byron dropped to 12th place.

Nearing the Lap 40 mark, Bell decreased Elliott’s advantage to two-tenths of a second as Elliott was lapping the competitors running at the rear of the field. With select names including Ty Dillon, Grala, Hemric and Kyle Busch lapped, Bell then drew his No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE into a side-by-side battle with Elliott for the following lap before he prevailed for the top spot by Lap 42. Amid the battle for the lead, Logano, Berry and Blaney continued to run in the top five while Truex was trying to gain more ground from sixth place.

At the Lap 50 mark, Bell extended his advantage to one-and-a-half seconds over Elliott while Logano, Blaney, Berry and Truex all trailed within four seconds in the top six. By then, Daniel Suarez and rookie Zane Smith joined Busch, Hemric, Grala and Ty Dillon as competitors to be lapped while Chastain, Hamlin, Bowman and Reddick occupied the top 10 spots on the track.

By Lap 60, Bell stretched his advantage to another second to two seconds over Elliott as third-place Logano trailed Elliott by half a second. In addition, teammate Blaney only trailed Logano by four-tenths of a second while Berry followed suit in fifth. With Truex retaining sixth ahead of teammate Hamlin and Chastain, Bowman and Reddick continued to round out the top 10 while Gibbs, Byron, Larson, Bubba Wallace and Gilliland occupied the top 15.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 70, Bell, who situated himself behind 27th-place Chase Briscoe, cruised to his seventh Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Behind, Logano managed to overtake Elliott on the final lap and final corner to capture second place followed by Blaney and Berry as Truex, Hamlin, Chastain, Reddick and Bowman were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Bell pitted for the first time. Following the pit stops, Bell retained the lead after he exited pit road first followed by Logano, Truex, Berry, Elliott, Blaney, Hamlin, Chastain, Gilliland and McDowell. Amid the pit stops, McDowell, who opted for a two-tire pit stop along with teammate Gilliland, was penalized for removing equipment from his pit box.

The second stage period started on Lap 77 as Bell and Logano occupied the front row. At the start, Bell fended off Logano through the first two turns to retain the lead while Elliott and Truex battled for third place. With Berry and Hamlin trailing closely in fifth and sixth, respectively, Bell continued to lead. Soon after, a tight three-wide battle between Elliott, Truex and Berry ensued for third place, with Berry prevailing from the outside lane through the first two turns. Berry and Truex then pressured Logano for the runner-up spot and they were able to overtake Logano just past the Lap 81 mark while Elliott pursued in fifth place. By then, Bell’s advantage grew to nearly a second.

By Lap 85, Bell was leading by a second over Berry while Truex, Logano and Hamlin followed suit in the top five. Behind, Elliott, who was struggling with the handling of his No. 9 Chevrolet, was overtaken by Blaney for sixth place while Bowman, Gibbs and Wallace were racing in the top 10 ahead of Larson, Chastain, Reddick, Byron and Gilliland.

At the Lap 100 mark, Bell continued to lead by two seconds over teammate Truex, who overtook Berry for the runner-up spot five laps earlier, while Logano and Hamlin were running in the top five. Behind, Blaney, Elliott, Gibbs, Bowman and Wallace continued to run in the top 10 while Larson, Chastain, Reddick, Byron, Gilliland, Chris Buescher, LaJoie, Hocevar, Justin Haley and Keselowski trailed in the top 20. By then, Gragson, Cindric and Briscoe were running 24th to 26th, respectively, while Kyle Busch and Suarez were mired a lap down in 32nd and 34th, respectively.

Fifteen laps later, Bell stabilized his advantage to more than a second over teammate Truex, who got the deficit as low as eight-tenths of a second earlier, while third-place Berry trailed by more than three seconds. Meanwhile, Logano and Hamlin trailed by five seconds in the top five as Blaney, Elliott, Gibbs, Bowman and Wallace were running in the top 10. Amid the battles towards the front, Kyle Busch was mired in 31st place behind teammate Austin Dillon and in jeopardy of going a second lap down.

Another four laps later, a cycle of green flag pit stops slowly commenced as Austin Cindric, who received the free pass during the first stage break period, pitted his No. 2 AutoTrader Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Harrison Burton, who was pinned a lap behind the leaders, would also pit shortly after before a bevy of names including Truex pitted by the Lap 125 mark. The leader Bell would also pit on Lap 124.

By Lap 135, Gilliland, who has yet to pit, was leading by 10 seconds over a tight battle between Joe Gibbs Racing’s Bell and Truex, both of whom were set to battle for the lead, while teammate Hamlin and Logano trailed by 13 seconds in the top five. Truex then executed a strong overtake on teammate Bell from the outside lane for the runner-up spot by Lap 136 while Gilliland continued to lead. Gilliland would proceed to lead by the Lap 140 mark despite his advantage to Truex decreasing to six seconds.

Then on Lap 141, the caution flew after Daniel Hemric, who was racing outside the top 30, spun his No. 31 Poppy Bank Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entering Turn 2. During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Gilliland and including Truex and Bell pitted while the rest led by Hamlin and including Logano and LaJoie remained on the track. Prior to the field pitting, Alex Bowman pitted when pit road was closed due to smoke coming out of his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. The issue would result in Bowman’s car being taken to the garage and eventually retiring in 36th place, dead last.

The start of the next restart period on Lap 148 featured Hamlin and Logano battling dead even for the lead for a full lap as the field behind fanned out to multiple lanes. With Hamlin prevailing and fending off Logano through the frontstretch, LaJoie and Bell battled for third place through the backstretch before Truex made it a tight three-wide battle through the frontstretch as Elliott tried to join the battle. LaJoie would then be overtaken by Truex, Bell and Elliott despite maintaining his momentum from the outside lane while Hamlin maintained the lead at the halfway mark on Lap 152, which made the event official.

Then on Lap 153, the caution returned after both Kyle Busch and Noah Gragson wrecked in Turn 2, with the former sliding into the latter and making left-rear contact with the outside wall. During the caution period, some including William Byron pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track.

As the event restarted under green on Lap 159, Hamlin and Logano dueled for the lead through the first two turns and through the backstretch while Truex was trying to split in between both. As the field fanned out to multiple lanes, Hamlin would fend off teammate Truex and Logano to retain the lead by the following lap while Bell and Blaney tried to pressure Logano for third place. In addition, Hamlin was trying to fend off teammate Truex for the lead.

At the Lap 170 mark, Hamlin’s No. 11 Yahoo! Toyota Camry XSE was ahead by eight-tenth of a second over teammate Truex’s No. 19 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry XSE while third-place Logano’s No. 22 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang Dark Horse trailed by more than a second. Bell and Blaney followed suit in the top five while Gilliland, Larson, Elliott, Berry and Chastain were racing in the top 10 ahead of Buescher, Haley, Gibbs, Reddick, LaJoie, Wallace, Gragson, Byron, Cindric and Preece.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 185, Hamlin fended off teammate Truex to capture his third Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Logano settled in third ahead of Bell and Blaney while Gilliland, Larson, Berry, Elliott and Chastain were scored in the top 10. By then, 28 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap.

During the stage break, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Hamlin pitted for service while Tyler Reddick and McDowell remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Larson exited pit road first ahead of Gilliland, Gragson, Cindric and Burton, all of whom elected for a two-tire pit service, while Hamlin exited in sixth place and as the first competitor on four fresh tires. Amid the pit stops, Truex endured a slow pit service due to issues having the right-rear tire tightened as he emerged in 26th place.

With 108 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Reddick and McDowell occupied the front row. At the start, Reddick launched ahead from McDowell and Larson to lead through the first two turns. The caution, however, quickly returned after Logano sent Elliott for a spin in Turn 2 due to locking up his left-front tire while both were battling just outside the top 10, with Elliott limping back to pit road with a flat left-front tire and Logano with a broken toe link, an issue that would result with him dropping out of the lead lap category.

The start of the next restart period with 102 laps remaining featured Reddick fending off McDowell to retain the lead while Larson was trying to overtake McDowell for the runner-up spot. With the field fanning out, Larson quickly went to work in battling Reddick for the lead until the caution returned with 101 laps remaining as LaJoie spun amid contact with Ryan Preece in the backstretch.

As the event restarted under green with 96 laps remaining, Reddick and McDowell battled dead even for the lead through the first two turns and through the backstretch as Reddick then received a bump from Larson to muscle ahead for the following lap. Larson, who quickly overtook McDowell for the runner-up spot, then battled Reddick dead even for the lead while Hamlin charged his way up to third place on four fresh tires. Hamlin and Larson would then battle fiercely for the runner-up spot as Blaney, McDowell and Gilliland battled for fourth place while Reddick retained the lead. The caution would then fly with 92 laps remaining after Truex got bumped by Keselowski and sent for a spin toward the frontstretch’s outside wall.

With the event restarting with 87 laps remaining, Reddick muscled his No. 45 SiriusXM Toyota Camry XSE ahead from Hamlin and Blaney entering the first two turns as Haley threw a three-wide move while trying to move up into the top five. Another two laps later and with Reddick still maintaining a steady advantage over Blaney and Hamlin, the caution returned due to Kyle Busch getting sideways after he was hit by Preece and before he received another bump from Stenhouse that sent him spinning towards the frontstretch’s inside wall.

Then with 82 laps remaining, the field led by Reddick was directed to pit road as the event was placed in a red flag period due to rain, which had been slowly approaching since the start of the final stage period, falling around the circuit.

Following a delay that spanned more than two hours, where the rain heavily increased before dissipating and where a lightning strike was reported eight miles away, the field led by Reddick returned to the track under a cautious pace. By then, all competitors had the tires on their respective entries changed to wet tires due to the wet conditions that were still present around the circuit. During the caution laps, Kyle Busch’s long event came to an abrupt end after he hit the outside wall in Turn 3 and damaged the right side of his No. 8 FICO Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Not long after, LaJoie spun his No. 7 Schluter Systems Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entering the backstretch while running at the rear of the field under a cautious pace.

When the event restarted under green with 73 laps remaining, Reddick rocketed away from the field as Blaney and Gilliland battled for second in the front of the field that fanned out through the first two turns and through the backstretch. With the field still fanned out through the frontstretch, Larson used the inside lane to charge his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 way up to third and Bell made his way into the runner-up spot while Reddick maintained the lead. Reddick would continue to lead by a second over a side-by-side battle between Larson and Bell with 70 laps remaining.

With 67 laps remaining, the caution flew after Chastain, who was in sixth place, received a bump from Haley and spun his No. 1 Kubota Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Turn 4, though he kept his car off the wall and was dodged by oncoming traffic, including Truex. During the caution period, some including Keselowski, Grala, LaJoie and Nemechek pitted, though all teams were not granted permission to change from wet to slick tires, while the rest led by Reddick remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Chastain, who had also pitted, had his wet tires changed but was ordered by NASCAR to have the wet tires reinstalled on his car.

The start of the next restart period with 60 laps remaining featured Reddick retaining the lead through the first two turns until Bell used the inside lane to rocket ahead with the lead through the backstretch. With Bell leading Reddick, Larson boosted his way up to third place followed by Blaney, Gilliland and McDowell as the field fanned out through every turn and straightaway.

With 50 laps remaining, Bell was leading by nearly three seconds over Blaney followed by Larson while Buescher was up to fourth place. Reddick slipped to fifth as he was racing ahead of Gilliland, Berry, Briscoe, McDowell and Elliott while Haley, Gibbs, Preece, Hamlin, Truex, Burton, Erik Jones, Gragson, Hocevar and Austin Cindric trailed in the top 20 followed by Stenhouse, Wallace, Austin Dillon, Byron and Keselowski.

Following another caution period with 46 laps remaining as LaJoie spun from 30th place in Turn 1 and another restart period with 39 laps remaining, Bell retained the lead from Blaney and Larson as the field fanned out through the first two turns and the backstretch. Behind the leaders, Briscoe, who was mired outside the top 20 during the red flag period, marched his No. 14 Zep Ford Mustang Dark Horse up to sixth place while battling McDowell for the spot as Reddick and Berry were in the top five.

The caution, however, would fly with 37 laps remaining when Gragson, who slid sideways below the apron in Turn 1, spun and clipped Wallace as Wallace veered head-on into the outside wall in Turn 1 and into the path of Austin Dillon with Gragson also colliding sideways into both as Cindric and Erik Jones also wrecked while trying to avoid the chaos. Following the incident, Wallace pulled his damaged No. 23 DraftKings Toyota Camry XSE in front of Gragson, who was receiving service in his pit stall, to express his displeasure over the incident before he limped his car to his respective pit stall and retired. During the caution period, the field led by Bell pitted under a non-competitive pit stop format, where the competitors were allowed to retain their respective positions and pit for a fresh set of wet weather tires.

With the event restarting with 27 laps remaining, Bell rocketed ahead from the outside lane as Blaney tried to follow suit. Larson then battled Blaney for the runner-up spot as Reddick was being pressured by McDowell for fourth place. As a tight battle between McDowell, Reddick, Briscoe and Haley ensued for fourth place, Bell proceeded to lead by less than half a second with fewer than 25 laps remaining while Berry was trying to catch Reddick and teammate Briscoe for sixth place.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Bell extended his advantage to a second over Blaney while Larson, McDowell and Berry trailed within two seconds. Behind, Haley was in sixth ahead of Briscoe, Reddick, Gilliland and Buescher while Burton, Elliott, Ty Dillon, Truex and Stenhouse followed suit in the top 15.

Following another late-race caution with 18 laps remaining due to Hocevar spinning his No. 77 Delaware Life Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Turn 3, the field led by Bell returned for another cycle of non-competitive pit stops and for another new set of wet tires. The start of the next restart period with nine laps remaining, however, did not last long as McDowell, who restarted alongside Bell on the front row, got loose underneath Blaney in Turn 1 as both performed a synchronous spin in Turn 2 without getting hit by oncoming traffic. With the event returning to caution conditions, Bell had escaped with the lead while Berry, Larson, Briscoe, Buescher and Haley followed suit in the top six.

During the proceeding restart with four laps remaining, Briscoe, who restarted alongside Bell on the front row, briefly battled with Bell through the frontstretch until Bell rocketed back ahead from the outside lane. In the ensuing process, Berry overtook teammate Briscoe for the runner-up spot through the backstretch and he commenced his charge on Bell for the lead while Buescher, Larson and Reddick followed suit in the top six. Just as Berry started to close in on Bell for the lead through the frontstretch with two laps remaining, the caution returned due to Keselowski spinning and stalling his No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse in Turn 1. Keselowski’s incident was enough to send the event into overtime despite darkness looming around the circuit.

At the start of the first overtime attempt, Bell received another strong restart from the outside lane while teammates Berry and Briscoe battled for the runner-up spot in front of Larson, Buescher and Reddick. With Briscoe and Berry battling dead even, Bell continued to muscle away with the top spot.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Bell remained as the leader by eight-tenths of a second ahead of a side-by-side battle between Berry and Briscoe. With the gap too far for both Berry and Briscoe to close back in, Bell was able to cruise his No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE smoothly around the New Hampshire circuit for a final time on his wet tires before he cycled back to the frontstretch and claim his third checkered flag of the 2024 Cup Series season.

With the victory, Bell, winner of NASCAR’s first oval event to conclude on wet tires and the fourth three-time race winner of the 2024 season, scored his ninth Cup Series career win, his first since winning the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May and his second at New Hampshire, with his first occurring in 2022. He also became the first competitor to sweep an Xfinity-Cup race weekend at New Hampshire since Brad Keselowski made the last accomplishment in 2014 as Bell won Saturday’s Xfinity event at the Magic Mile.

Bell’s victory was also the seventh of the season for the Toyota nameplate and the sixth of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing while his crew chief Adam Stevens notched his 37th career win in NASCAR’s premier series.

“You never know how this [race]’s gonna shake out whenever you change [the tires], so many things like that,” Bell said on USA Network. “Personally, I love adverse conditions because you’re always trying to think outside the box. Whenever we went back out, I was feeling around and felt like the normal Loudon groove was really slippery. I tried to just run down or run up, and [crew chief] Adam [Stevens] put the tune on this thing and it was turning really good. This is really cool because Rheem has won a lot here and we always have Watts on the car too. That is just really, really special. Hey [race fans], this [race] didn’t get shortened!”

Meanwhile, Briscoe edged teammate Berry in a photo finish to claim the runner-up spot for his best result of the season thus far as Berry settled in third place for the second time in 2024.

The runner-up finish prevailed in Briscoe’s efforts to make the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs as he gained 19 points and is 25 points below the top-16 cutline to be eligible for the Playoffs with eight regular-season events remaining on the schedule. The result also left Briscoe, who is still seeking a ride for the 2025 season amid Stewart-Haas Racing’s closure at the conclusion of the 2024 season, smiling on pit road after he was mired a lap down and running in the mid-pack region prior to the change of weather and track conditions.

“The rain saved us, for sure,” Briscoe said. “We were terrible in the dry [conditions]. We knew typically on the road courses, even ovals that we ran in the rain, we’ve been pretty good. Truthfully, I didn’t expect to drive up to second, but really good recovery for our Zep Ford. To come away with a chance at a win. It was fun, racing up there at the end and slipping and sliding around. If you would’ve told me two hours ago that we would run second, I don’t think I would’ve believed you, but overall, a great day for us and definitely needed one to turn the ship around. It’s been a real struggle. Good overall day, for sure.”

Like Briscoe, Berry was also left satisfied with the third-place run in an event where he started 10th and executed a strong performance on the track both on dry and wet conditions. Currently, Berry, who is also searching for a ride in 2025, is 73 points below the top-16 cutline to make his first Playoff appearance.

“The rain was a new opportunity for us and we capitalized,” Berry said. “The car was really good that second half. We cut up right through there, so just started out the day really strong and ended it strong too. Really solid day. A lot to be proud of. We’re gonna keep digging.”

Larson came home in fourth place while Chris Buescher rounded out the top five. Tyler Reddick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., John Hunter Nemechek, Martin Truex Jr. and Ross Chastain finished in the top 10.

There were six lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured 14 cautions for 85 laps. In addition, 29 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

Following the 18th event of the 2024 Cup Series season, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott are tied for the regular-season points lead as both are ahead in the standings by 40 points over Denny Hamlin, 48 over Martin Truex Jr., 60 over Tyler  Reddick and 65 over Christopher Bell.

Results.

1. Christopher Bell, 149 laps led, Stage 1 winner

2. Chase Briscoe

3. Josh Berry

4. Kyle Laron

5. Chris Buescher

6. Tyler Reddick, 53 laps led

7. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

8. John Hunter Nemechek

9. Martin Truex Jr.

10. Ross Chastain

11. Ryan Preece

12. Todd Gilliland, 19 laps led

13. Erik Jones

14. Harrison Burton

15. Michael McDowell

16. Ty Gibbs

17. Carson Hocevar

18. Chase Elliott, 41 laps led

19. Austin Cindric

20. Ty Dillon

21. Daniel Suarez

22. Kaz Grala

23. Corey LaJoie

24. Denny Hamlin, 43 laps led, Stage 2 winner

25. Ryan Blaney

26. William Byron

27. Noah Gragson

28. Brad Keselowski

29. Justin Haley

30. Zane Smith, one lap down

31. Daniel Hemric, two laps down

32. Joey Logano, three laps down

33. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident

34. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Accident

35. Kyle Busch – OUT, Accident

36. Alex Bowman – OUT, Engine

Next on the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the fourth annual running of the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, June 30, and air at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

CORVETTE RACING AT THE GLEN: Podium Finish For Garcia, Sims

Near miss for Catsburg, Milner in fight for GTD PRO victory; AWA grows Akin Award lead

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 23, 2024) – Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims scored the season’s second podium finish for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a third-place result at the Six Hours of The Glen on Sunday.

The No. 3 Corvette from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports ran up front in GTD PRO, fell down the order following an early-race brake change and then challenged for the win late in a topsy-turvy enduro at Watkins Glen International that was severely impacted by rain. It was the first podium finish for the Garcia/Sims duo, following a similar finish for the No. 4 Corvette at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

While luck went the way of Sims and Garcia at the end, it was the opposite for Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg in the No. 4 Z06 GT3.R, which had to pit for a fuel splash from the lead on the final lap. The duo ended up sixth in the final GTD PRO standings.

In GTD, AWA’s No 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Matt Bell, Orey Fidani and Lars Kern finished 13th in class following a similarly chaotic race. The trio fought from deep in the field and briefly ran in the top-five before the Corvette was caught out on-track in a heavy downpour on slick tires and went off-track. The trio’s result did, however, unofficially grow Fidani’s lead in the Bob Akin Award standings, which goes to the highest point-scoring Bronze driver in GTD.

Three separate periods of rain had increasing impacts on the race. The first significant shower hit just shy of halfway and resulted in a crash for two GTD cars that brought out the third full-course yellow of the day. All three Corvettes had elected to stay on dry tires and jumped up the order as the pit closed – the No. 4 to second and No. 3 to third in GTD PRO, and the No. 13 to ninth in GTD.

More rain meant more chaos nearly 30 minutes later as the No. 4 Corvette pitted during a brief but heavy shower on the frontstraight for rain tires. Another full-course yellow neutralized the field again, and Milner was left on grooved tires with the track drying quickly. Once the race went green, he had to stop for slick tires and fell down to 10th.

The biggest downpour arrived with a little less than two hours to go. Garcia, the No. 77 Porsche and No. 14 Lexus were the only GTD PRO cars to make it into the pitlane for rain tires before the pits closed for the sixth time. After 25 minutes behind the safety car with standing water on the track, officials red-flagged the race.

It resumed with 35 minutes left and the field behind the safety car. With the three leading cars in class having to pit for slick tires, Milner assumed the lead and drove a stunning final stint to keep the No. 4 Corvette out front before having to make the last-lap stop.

All three Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs will be back in action for the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Sunday, July 14.

CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS POST-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – THIRD IN GTD PRO: “I’m happy with this. Considering we were on the front row the last two races and didn’t convert, it feels like today we got one back. It was an amazing job by Corvette Racing and Pratt Miller guys to change the brakes. They had the skills to almost keep us on the lead lap. Yes we lost some track position but after that, the car was good and every single strategy call was the right one. I had one of the scariest half-stints in my life when a whole set of our tear-offs on the windscreen came off and then came back on. So I had a triangle in front of me and I couldn’t see to my left. Somehow I made up several positions on the restart, but it was very scary to just keep the car on track. I just couldn’t see anything. Fortunately we got it fixed after the yellow, and it was made better when we were on the same strategy as the Porsche and Lexus to go on wet tires. It was the right call and it would have been nice to run four or five laps in the rain but we couldn’t take advantage of that. It’s also a shame for the No. 4 guys. With all the flag sequences, I think they deserved it. But it’s nice that we were able to get the first podium for Alex and me, and for the Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports team. Now we need to keep the momentum. We know we are fast; we just need to convert and hopefully a win is around the corner.”

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – THIRD IN GTD PRO: “To be honest with the weather forecast coming into this weekend, it kind of exactly panned out how we expected with a mayhem-filled race. We started up front and had a nice comfortable stint before we had to change the front brakes. The guys did an amazing job to change everything, and we almost got out without falling off the lead lap, which was pretty impressive. So our race went south for a little while but as with IMSA you’re able to get back in the race and we did. The guys made some great calls and the car was fast. It’s great to get a podium; it felt like we came back into contention where we should have been. It’s cool to get our first podium with the No. 3 Corvette. Antonio did a brilliant job in the end to almost get second. It was really tight out there, and I enjoyed it.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – SIXTH IN GTD PRO: “Nicky was right in that it was a bit of a lottery race for a lot of people with tire calls and things like that. We did well with the tire choice except for when we snuck in just before a yellow to put wets on. I agreed with Tyler (Neff, No. 4 race engineer) that it seemed like the right call at the time because Turn One was undriveable. At the end, we had to take them back off because the track was drying too quickly. But we also got stuck from getting into the pitlane before the red flag, I was happy that it came. But at the end of the day, the result is what matters. And seventh place is not where we want to be. We did some things really well today and some things not so well. We’ll analyze those things that didn’t and be better for the next time when we go to Canada and try again.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – SIXTH IN GTD PRO: “First off, Tommy did an amazing job late in the race in holding off the Aston Martin. I knew he had it and we were hoping the fuel would work out, but then that got snatched away. It’s tough. This style of racing makes some of these races a lottery. At the start I didn’t think we would be in a position to go for a win because our car was great everywhere except on a straight line. So that was a frustration. The car felt good toward the end of the stint, so we could get around some people. It was good on a long run and we saw that at the end with Tommy’s drive. It’s a tough way to end though. Hopefully we can be on the right end of it the next time out.”

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – 11TH IN GTD: “I’m pleased with our result. It was a tricky race as we were lacking a little bit of speed this weekend, but I’m happy with how my stint went. The team has been working so hard all year long, and today they really delivered for us with strategy calls in what were very challenging weather conditions. They kept us in the fight, and Lars and Matt drove a great race as always.”

LARS KERN, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – 11TH IN GTD: “I’m happy with the result we were able to achieve today. When looking at our outright pace, we were just a bit off the mark throughout the whole weekend, and we are actively working on figuring out the reason behind it. We executed well in the race, the team made no mistakes and were perfect as always. We as drivers kept it clean and were able to make up ground, I think we maximized our performance today.”

Toyota Racing – NCS Loudon Post-Race Report – 06.23.24

BELL COMPLETES SWEEP, WINS WILD RACE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
Truex’s battle for the win comes up short in final laps

LOUDON, NH (June 23, 2024) – Christopher Bell finished the weekend sweep and won his second Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in wild conditions. After an extended rain delay, NASCAR elected to go with the wet weather tires to finish the race and Bell was able to drive to the front. The Oklahoma-native also won the first stage to continue to showcase his continued skills at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where he has won seven NASCAR national series events.

Tyler Reddick, who was leading when the rain fell, finished in sixth, while John Hunter Nemechek battled back from two laps down to score an eighth-place finish. Martin Truex Jr. was able to overcome a pit stop issue and an on-track incident to finish in ninth.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Race 17 of 36 – 318.46 miles, 301 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, CHRISTOPHER BELL
2nd, Chase Briscoe*
3rd, Josh Berry*
4th, Kyle Larson*
5th, Chris Buescher*
6th, TYLER REDDICK
8th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
9th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
13th, ERIK JONES
16th, TY GIBBS
24th, DENNY HAMLIN
34th, BUBBA WALLACE
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 1st

How are you feeling?

“I love this place. It is absolutely amazing. This place – I don’t know – it has been special to me since we came here for that late model race back in, I think, 2015. This one was different though. Rain tires, the track was really slippery – it was just so much fun out there in those adverse conditions, the track was changing around so much. That was one a lot of fun, and I’m really happy for our partners – Rheem, Toyota, DEWALT. We have Watts on the car again. I think we we’ve won every time they have been on the car. Just a really cool weekend.”

What was it like out there?

“I think just trials and tribulations on the wet weather tires. We did it in Richmond and we learned from that on what my car needed and how I needed to drive it and they – Adam Stevens (crew chief) and my team were able to make great adjustments to get this thing where it was driving really good on rain tires.”

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 SiriusXM Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 6th

Can you talk about this race?

“Yeah, it was a really interesting day – that is for sure. It was a real shame we couldn’t find victory lane today in our SiriusXM Toyota Camry, but for us to take a risk and have a potential to win the race if it continued to rain and to turn that into a top-10 finish is good for our team. We will take the sixth place finish, and move on from it and get ready for the next one, but it was certainly an interesting day and a wild experience.”

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 42 Family Dollar Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

Finishing Position: 8th

Where did you come from at the end of the race?

“We were stuck two laps down until we got all of the cautions. I was sitting on the top of the box with Ben (Beshore, crew chief) praying that we were going to be able to go back racing. We were awful the first run of the race, and just worked on it all day. These guys gave it all they had. A lot of adjustments throughout the day. Thank you to Dollar Tree, Family Dollar for all that they do for us here at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB and Toyota, TRD. I’ll take eighth after the day we had. I think we were stuck in 31st or 32nd pretty much all day, so solid finish for us and something that we needed. Hopefully we can build some momentum off of this.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 9th

With everything you went through, did you think you would come out of here with a top-10?

“Definitely not. When it was pouring rain, I thought we were headed home. Definitely a tough day. We had a speed in our Reser’s Camry. It is a shame the way things worked out, but definitely happy to get a top-10. It has been a rough four weeks, so we needed a good finish. We had good stage points, and we needed a good finish, so glad that we got it, but it hurts to have a tough day here, probably being my last one.”

ERIK JONES, No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

Finishing Position: 13th

Can you talk about the end of that race?

“We put the wets on the Dollar Tree Camry, weren’t really good on them, and had to make some big changes to get better, and just ran out of time in the end trying to get our track position better. Okay day, wish we could have just run on the dries and ran a normal race. We will take what we learned and hopefully be better for the wet next time.”

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.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Briscoe’s Runner-Up Effort Leads Ford at New Hampshire (NCS Post Race Quotes)

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
NCS Post Race | Saturday, June 22, 2024

UNOFFICIAL FORD FINISHING RESULTS
2nd – Chase Briscoe
3rd – Josh Berry
5th – Chris Buescher
11th – Ryan Preece
12th – Todd Gilliland
14th – Harrison Burton
15th – Michael McDowell
19th – Austin Cindric
22nd – Kaz Grala
25th – Ryan Blaney
27th – Noah Gragson
28th – Brad Keselowski
29th – Justin Haley
32nd – Joey Logano

Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Zep Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 2nd)

“What a whirlwind. Two hours ago, we couldn’t even run 25th. The rain saved us. Just an awesome recovery for our Zep Ford. I always joke that this is one of my worst race tracks so to run second is kind of surprising to be honest with you. The rain definitely helped us. If it wasn’t for the rain we were going to literally run 24th probably. We had a couple of good restarts and the guys did a good job of understanding the rain balance. I think we learned a lot when we did it at Richmond. We needed a good turnaround day and it definitely didn’t start that way but I am glad that it ended up that way for sure.”

Josh Berry, No. 4 Miner Docks Doors & More Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 3rd)

“We were 20th when it was raining and then we threw some rain tires on it and did what I knew we could do and moved all the way up there. That was a lot of fun honestly. I am going to think back to a million things I could have done differently there but the bottom was just so hard to get going through one and two. I feel like if I could have just cleared the 14, I was kind of inching in on Bell before the final caution. I just got a little loose off of two and that let Chase get back to my left rear and we got stuck racing each other. I don’t know. I wanted to take the front row there so bad at the end there but I just felt like we were making the right decision based on the track conditions, it just didn’t work out.”

Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 5th)

“Loudon has not been our best track, definitely not mine specifically. There was no quit in this Fastnal group today. It was awesome to come home with a top five. We were really good in the rain when it was wet. We really fought for it when it was dry but we were on wet tires. There at the end there was just really one good groove and that made restarts a battle. We were able to persevere through all that and bring this thing home with a handful of more tire marks on the door than when we went in under red initially, but a really good night for us.”

Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 25th)

YOU WERE POISED FOR A TOP-THREE FINISH BUT ENDED UP 25TH. HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT CONTACT WITH MICHAEL MCDOWELL THERE AND WHAT DID HE SAY AFTER THE RACE? “He said he was sorry he wrecked me. Apologies are nice but it isn’t going to bring back what he did. I knew what he was trying to do. It was a low percentage move. It was wet down there and he drove it in there. What do you think is going to happen? You are going to take both of us out. I know he has to win and all that, and that was his excuse, but you have to be a little more calculated than that. It stinks it was at our expense. Man, I really thought we had a decent shot to contend. I was happy because we came in, put tires on, made a big adjustment and I was looking forward to restarting behind Bell and see if we would have anything for him but just never got a chance. I am proud of the 12 boys. Long day and a really fast car. I really enjoyed where our short track program is going right now. Hopefully we can just continue to get that a little bit better.”

Ryan Preece, No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 11th)

“I feel a lot better about today now with how we ended versus before how it was before the rain delay. We were going to finish 28th and finished up 11th. I am still mad finishing 11th because I just feel like we still should have finished higher.”

Harrison Burton, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 14th)

“I am a little frustrated honestly. I think we should have finished a lot better. We picked the bottom on the last restart and if I had it back I would pick the top. I don’t know. It is hard. It is hard to not restart fifth instead of, I think I would have restarted 10th or 12th or something on the top. You never know how it works out. it is a bummer to not finish it off. It felt like we had a good car once it went to the wet especially. If I could keep the right rear tire on it. The caution came out with nine to go and that was really good timing. It is easy to be mad now but also thankful that it came out because my right rear was pretty hurt. We just have to figure out everything there and go over our process on choose. I would like to finish it off better next time but we had a good car and I am proud of our guys.”

CHEVROLET NCS AT NEW HAMPSHIRE: Post-Race Report

NASCAR CUP SERIES
NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
USA TODAY 301
POST-RACE REPORT
JUNE 23, 2024

 Larson Leads Chevrolet With Top-Five Finish at New Hampshire

  •  With lingering inclement weather forcing the cancellation of yesterday’s qualifying session for the NASCAR Cup Series, the lineup for the USA Today 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway was set per the rule book – putting series’ points leader Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 team on the pole position.
  • At the drop of the green flag, Stage One saw the series make 70 caution-free laps, with pole sitter Elliott pacing the field for the first 41 circuits around the 1.058-mile venue. Elliott began to battle very loose conditions in his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 on the long run, with the Team Chevy driver ultimately ending the stage in the third position. Crew Chief Alan Gustafson called Elliott to pit road for the team’s first stop of the event – taking four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment for the start of Stage Two.
  • Elliott continued to pace the Bowtie brigade at the start of Stage Two – settling into the seventh position and quickly posting top-three lap times during the first 20 laps of the stage. With a pair of cautions near the midway point of the race, pit strategy came into play to shakeup the running order. On the last caution of the stage, Elliott and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Kyle Larson, opted to forgo pit road to claim crucial track position in the top-10. Strategy paid dividends for the Team Chevy teammates, with Larson and Elliott going on to take the green-white checkered flag in the seventh and ninth positions, respectively.
  • During the final stage break, the threat of weather played a massive factor in strategy throughout pit road. Following a seventh-place finish in Stage Two, Crew Chief Cliff Daniels called Larson to pit road for a pair of right-side tires, with the team winning the race off pit road to lineup third for the start of the final stage.
  • A caution on Lap 201 involved Elliott after a strong showing in the top-10 throughout the race. The No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 team went to work on their Chevrolet-powered machine; making repairs while still maintaining a position on the lead lap.
  • Taking the restart from the outside front-row, Larson quickly went into a battle for the lead – ultimately losing just a handful of positions but maintained a position in the top-10 as the race entered less than 100 laps to go.
  • Under caution for the eighth time, Larson was sitting in the seventh position when precipitation began to fall, forcing NASCAR to bring the field down pit road. The race ultimately went under red flag conditions on Lap 219, with the delay totaling two hours and 14 minutes.
  • Teams installed wet weather tires to resume the remainder of the race, eventually taking the green flag at the 227 lap marker. Restarting in the seventh position, it took Larson just three laps to take his No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 to the front – settling into the third position on Lap 230.
  • After significant rainfall forced a lengthy delay of the USA Today 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the NASCAR Cup Series returned to the track for the final 82 laps of the event.
  • Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 led Chevrolet to the checkered flag with a fourth-place finish. The result marks Larson’s sixth career top-five finish in NASCAR’s top division at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and his eighth top-five finish in 18 points-paying races this season.
  • The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Nashville Superspeedway with the Ally 400 on Sunday, June 30, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS
POS. DRIVER
4th Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1
7th Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/Kleenex 100 Years Camaro ZL1
10th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Kubota Camaro ZL1

 TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 POST-RACE QUOTES:
Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1

Finished: 4th

Out on those damp tires, you were one of the first to dive all the way to the bottom. How did it work out?

“Yeah, it was fun. I think when it’s like that, I think that is why you see a lot of the dirt racers kind of migrate to the front. Just tried to feel it out under caution. It’s not my best bet on the restart to go extremely low, but it worked out and I was able to maintain track position the rest of the race, so I am proud of that.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/Kleenex 100 Years Camaro ZL1

Finished: 7th

Stenhouse Jr. on back-to-back top-10 finishes:

“Our day was all over the place. We were really bad on dry tires and just struggled all day. And then when we went to the wet weather tires, we had really good runs. We struggled a little bit, but there at the end, we got our No. 47 Kroger/Kleenex 100 Years Chevy really good. We were able to battle back from 25th and drive up into the top-10. We made the most out of it, which was really cool. Two top-10s, back-to-back, and hopefully we can do the same thing at Nashville (Superspeedway).”

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Kubota Camaro ZL1

Finished: 10th

“Overall, I think we ended up about where we were going to be if we ran the whole race in the dry. I feel like we just have some fundamental things to work on, like sliding my front-tires too much with slicks on in the dry, wets on in the wet and wets on in the dry. I just need to slide my tires less. But all-in-all, happy to salvage a top-10 finish. We’ll regroup and get ready for Nashville (Superspeedway).”


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.

Cadillac at The Glen: Runner-up finish

No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R pushes through six hours of mixed conditions

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 23, 2024) – Battling both Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) competition and the elements, Cadillac Racing came away with a hard-fought second place Sunday in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.

Renger van der Zande and Sebastien Bourdais shared seat time in the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R through high humidity at the late-morning race start, intermittent rain in the middle sections of the contest, a deluge that brought out a 40-minute red flag and a race to the finish to earn their fourth podium in six IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races.

“Congratulations to Cadillac Racing team and the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R on their runner-up finish in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. Every member of the team can be very proud of their efforts on preparing the racecar for success, from both a technology and durability standpoint,” said John Roth, global vice president of Cadillac. “The podium finish today showcases the remarkable capabilities, expertise and determination of the Cadillac Racing team.”

With a drying track and GTP competitors back on Michelin slicks following the red flag stoppage, the final green flag flew to create a 16-minute, 25-second sprint on the 3.4-mile, 11-turn Watkins Glen International road course. Van der Zande, who qualified second a day earlier, overtook the pole-winning No. 40 Acura ARX-06 on the restart for second in the running order and challenged the leading No. 7 Porsche 963 through every corner and took the checked flag 0.749 of a second arrears.

Cadillac Racing has earned at least one podium finish in all six races, including a 1-2 finish at Long Beach. The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R remains second in the GTP team/driver championship standings.

Bourdais and van der Zande, along with Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken, drivers of the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, faced similar driving conditions a week earlier during the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R’s fortunes turned surrounding its second round of service stops. First, with Aitken behind the wheel and an 11-second advantage over the second-place runner, the racecar spun exiting Turn 5 and Aitken was overtaken for the lead. He pitted on the next lap for service and a driver change to Derani.

With Derani on new tires, the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R made light contact with traffic and ran off course in Turn 1, necessitating an unscheduled pit stop for tires and a nose change. The sequence put the hybrid Cadillac a lap down that it was unable to recover. The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R placed eighth.

Round 7 of the IMSA GTP season will be contested Aug. 2-4 at the 4-mile, 14-turn Road America. The 2-hour, 40-minute IMSA SportsCar Weekend will be streamed on Peacock for the U.S. audience and IMSA.tv for the global audience at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 4.

For editorial use: Cadillac Racing photos from the race weekend at The Glen

No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R wins Front Runner Award

The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R team earned the VP Racing Fuels Front Runner Award in the GTP class, which is given to the team that leads the most laps in the most races through the first half of the season. Chip Ganassi Racing director of operations Mike O’Gara accepted the award on behalf of the team during prerace activities.

What they’re saying

No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R

Renger van der Zande: “It was really enjoyable to fight for the win. Congrats to the car that won, and I think we’re happy to be P2. We had a good start and had speed in the car on the dry track, but it faded away a bit. We were doing OK until the rain came. And when the track dried out and we were on slicks, we gave it our all. We’ll take the points home to go into the final few races of the championship.”

Sebastien Bourdais: “It was a really tricky race. I felt like there were a lot of chances to take when it was sprinkling on dry tires. I didn’t feel comfortable because with that hard tire if you misjudge it and you fence the car the race is over. I was torn because I knew I was losing time, but I knew we can’t take the chances right now. It’s really not my forte to play casino with how much grip you’re going to get on the corner when you don’t know how much rain came down from the last time you came around. We made the switch to slicks after the rains and I feel comfortable there. It’s drying. We made good gains and were back in the fight. Overall, Renger did an awesome job at the end and he just executed. We’ll just keep digging and stacking up points and hopefully we’ll get even.”

No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R

Jack Aitken: “I think the race started with so much promise. I had a pretty average first lap, dropped down to fourth (from qualifying third) and it was a case of being patient. The race was coming more and more to us and we picked them off one by one to get to the lead. I felt quite comfortable and everything was going smooth. Then, just a misjudgment by me in the Bus Stop caught the car at a bad angle and had a half-spin. It was not the end of the world; dropped us down to fourth – back where we started. Then it kind of had a cascade of events. Pipo (Derani) had an incident on his outlap with a couple of other cars and picked up some damage, and we just never really got back into the race, which is a bit surprising. Strategically, it didn’t fall our way. Pretty painful race for us, especially with the way it started. We’ll carry on, enjoy the break and come back to Road America fresh.”

Tom Blomqvist: “It was a tough day for the team. It was kind of pear-shaped. The race was going so well, then kind of derailed. Jack (Aitken) did an incredible first two stints and around the pit cycle we had two little incidents that put us a lap down. But in these races, a lap down, maybe you’re on the cusp of being out of contention but you normally bank on getting that back. The other guys played their hand and kept us a lap down, and there really wasn’t an opportunity to get it back with the yellows. I was on slicks, wets, did a lot of yellow laps and not any dry laps. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do much to help out there.”

Crawford Takes Dominant F2 Feature Race victory at Barcelona

Barcelona (ESP), JUNE 20 - 23 2024 - Spanish Grand Prix at Circuit de Barcelona - Catalunya. Jak CRAWFORD #7 Dams. © 2024 Dutch Photo Agency

19-year-old Texan qualifies second, takes fourth in Sprint Race

BARCELONA, Spain (23 June 2024) – After some tough racing luck in the previous rounds, Jak Crawford needed a bounce-back weekend for his FIA Formula 2 season and he got it in Barcelona, taking a commanding victory in the Feature Race after placing fourth in Saturday’s Sprint Race in Round 6 of the championship.

The 19-year-old Texan scored his first F2 Feature Race triumph, having won last year’s Sprint Race at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria.

Boosted by his pace and perfect strategy calls by DAMS Lucas Oil, Crawford backed up his pre-race prediction that he would be fighting for the victory in the 37-lap race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. 

The victory skyrocketed him to fourth from 10th in the F2 standings with 62 points. 

“Honestly, this is huge, getting a double-podium for the team,” Crawford said. “Our season has not been going well in the last few rounds, and this was a perfect weekend with the qualifying and the Feature Race. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Starting on soft-compound tires from the outside of the front row for the Feature, Crawford went off in second position. He was the first driver using the alternate tire to pit, rejoining the event in 17th place on the harder compound. When the pole sitter pitted three laps later, Crawford caught and passed him in Turn 3 on his out lap.

That put Crawford in seventh, but in the virtual race lead as the first-place driver using the alternate strategy. Gradually, the leaders pitted for their mandatory stops. The last driver on the harder compound came in with nine laps remaining, giving Crawford the overall lead by 3.6-seconds. From there, it was a matter of managing the pace and the tires as Crawford went unchallenged for the victory. 

“Honestly, at the beginning of the race, I didn’t think I was doing so well,” Crawford said. “I was not very quick on the soft and I had degradation, so I was forced to box early because third place would have overtaken me. But we nailed the strategy when we did the undercut. I had two of my quickest out laps, and I was able to gap the guys behind me. I was pushing. That put me in front, and from there it was managing the tires. There was always some doubt. Luckily, we were able to save the tires and stay consistent for the whole race.”

Crawford demonstrated strong pace all weekend. Fourth in Friday’s practice, he used a late flying lap to post the second-fastest time in qualifying. 

“Practice was good and we seemed to have quick speed straight-away,” he said. “Qualifying is a different story. We were quite far off the pace. We put on a new set of tires and made a quick change, which was sort of a shot in the dark, and it was exactly what we needed. We just missed the pole by two-thousandths of a second, and it was a great result.

“We’ve always said we needed a clean qualifying and we’ll be up there, and that’s exactly what happened. We were fighting for pole, but we know our strength is in the race.”

Tire management was crucial in Friday’s Sprint Race. With the top-10 qualifiers inverted (plus a penalty), Crawford was gridded eighth but fell back to ninth at the start – holding that position for 12 of the 22 laps to preserve his tires. As laps clicked down, he worked his way forward. Crawford passed three contenders – including one on the final lap – and added two positions due to rivals’ track limits violations to take fourth.

“I had a good start, but I lost two positions on the first lap, which was unfortunate,” he said. “We had really good speed throughout the race, and it was lots of fun.”

Crawford will not have much time to savor his victory, with F2 traveling to Austria for the June 29-30 races at Spielberg, where he finished first and eighth last year. Then, it’s on to Silverstone the following weekend.

“Spielberg is where I won last year, and where I had my Formula 1 test,” he said. “Going back there with confidence from Barcelona makes it even better. This was perfect timing, it’s huge to have the momentum with four race weekends coming up in five weeks.”

Ryan Shehan Sweeps Weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

LEXINGTON, Ohio (June 23, 2024) – With a victory in Sunday’s Race 2 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Ryan Shehan (No. 66 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) swept the weekend in Formula Regional Americas Championship (FR Americas). The 19-year-old Texan entered the Mid-Ohio SpeedTour as the championship points leader, and extended his lead with two additional wins this weekend.

Notes of Interest:

  • Ryan Shehan won his second race of the weekend, and fourth of 2024, during Race 2 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Sunday.
  • Nicolas Ambiado recorded his career-best finish with his second-place result. Previously, the Velox USA/Speed Factory driver had two third-place finishes.
  • Patrick Woods-Toth recorded his eighth podium of 2024 with his third-place finish. The Canadian is tied with Shehan for the most podium finishes this season.
  • Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport has won 10 of the 11 FR Americas races to date in 2024. Shehan and Woods-Toth have won four races apiece for the organization, with Titus Sherlock winning two additional events.
  • Finishing on the podium in three of the last four races, Jett Bowling was awarded the Omologato Perfectly-Timed Move of the Race and recognized by the stewards for an outstanding performance this weekend. The award includes a bespoke Omologato timepiece.

With track conditions continuing to improve after morning showers soaked the racing surface, teams and drivers were given the option to choose either Hankook racing slicks or rain tires for Sunday’s feature race. The whole field opted for racing slicks, and Nicolas Ambiado (No. 55 TLink / Allegro Ligier JS F3) led everyone down the starting grid after recording the fastest lap in yesterday’s event. When the lights went out, Ambiado wiggled, giving Shehan sole control of the race as they entered Turn 1. While the top-three drivers all flanked out, with Shehan, Ambiado and Patrick Woods-Toth (No. 27 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) racing nose to tail, Hayden Bowlsbey (No. 22 IGY6 Motorsports / Save22 Ligier JS F3) had a great jump off the block to move from his sixth-place starting position up to fourth before they exited the first turn.

The race remained fairly calm, with drivers hitting their marks and logging laps until a full-course caution slowed the pace with 10 minutes left on the clock. Landan Matriano Lim (No. 73 739Racing Ligier JS F3) appeared poised to have one of the best finishes of his career, spending the majority of the day running in the fifth position, however, a spin in Turn 9 resulted in him getting stuck in the gravel and requiring a tow from safety crews. A quick retrieval allowed the race to resume with just over three minutes left on the clock, giving the drivers one last chance at mixing up the running order.

Shehan timed his restart perfectly, keeping Ambiado in his mirrors. Woods-Toth stayed just off the Chilean’s rear wing, with just one second separating the top three drivers. By the time they reached the checkered flag, Shehan beat Ambiado across the line by just 0.452 seconds, while Woods-Toth finished third.

“We’re on the racing line on the outside, so I think that helped quite a bit,” said Shehan from the top step of the podium. “I just got a good start and was able to hold it around the outside of Nico [Ambiado]. It was a good race after that, but it was pretty stressful. The track was pretty slick after the rain this morning, and the tires weren’t too happy. So, it was stressful, but I was able to hold on. I have to thank the whole Crosslink Kiwi team, my engineer, my mechanic, my parents and my sponsors.”

FR Americas is back on track next month at New Jersey Motorsports Park for the New Jersey Lottery SpeedTour, July 25-28. Live timing and scoring for the event can be accessed on the Race Monitor app, and additional news and updates will be posted on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Foster Takes Firm Title Lead with Laguna Seca Sweep

MONTEREY, Calif. (Sunday, June 23, 2024) – Louis Foster is the runaway train of INDY NXT by Firestone, as he earned his fourth victory in the last five races and took the championship lead with a triumph in the second race of the Grand Prix of Monterey doubleheader Sunday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Foster earned the doubleheader sweep at the picturesque Northern California circuit by driving his No. 26 Copart/Novara Technologies car of Andretti Global to a 4.3962-second victory over the No. 18 HMD Motorsports car of rookie Caio Collet. Foster beat Collet to the checkered flag by 8.2445 seconds in Race 1 Saturday.

“Like I said yesterday, Andretti has given us an amazing car,” Foster said. “I’m just out there doing my thing. It’s been a great weekend. Sunny skies in California. You can’t ask for anything more. So, super, super happy with that.”

British driver Foster earned his fourth victory of the season and his sixth career victory in the INDYCAR development series. He leads Jacob Abel in the standings by 35 points, 345-310, as the two drivers were tied at 291 points entering this race.

This could be a turning point for the season with six races to go. Abel finished 11th in the No. 51 Abel Construction car fielded by Abel Motorsports, his worst result of the season. Abel was assessed with a drive-through penalty late in the 35-lap race for avoidable contact after an incident in the famous “Corkscrew” turn complex while battling for third with Reece Gold in No. 10 HMD Motorsports car.

Andretti Global also extended its winning streak to five races this season in INDY NXT. Foster won the second race of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course doubleheader on May 11, on the streets of Detroit on June 2 and both races this weekend, while Jamie Chadwick won June 9 at Road America.

Foster’s dominance was complete on this 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course, pulling off a “grand slam” sweep of every performance category. He led both practice sessions, won the pole for both races, led all 70 combined laps and turned the fastest lap of both races.

Rookie Bryce Aron earned his first career INDY NXT by Firestone podium result by finishing third in the No. 27 Jaguar Land Rover Chesterfield car fielded by Andretti Global. His previous best finish was eighth at Barber Motorsports Park and Road America.

First-year INDY NXT drivers took four of the top five finishing positions. Rookie Yuven Sundaramoorthy finished a career best-tying fourth in the No. 22 S Team Motorsports/Abel Motorsports car, with rookie Salvador de Alba Jr. rounding out the top five with a career-best fifth in the No. 2 Grupo Indi car of Andretti Cape INDY NXT.

Foster controlled the race from the start. The only suspense came during a restart on Lap 17 after the only caution period, but Foster eased away from Collet at the green flag and never was threatened to the checkered flag.

A potentially critical flashpoint in the championship chase came on Lap 28 when Gold and Abel went side by side through the “Corkscrew” in a fierce tussle for third place. The two drivers made contact, forcing Gold’s car into the air and off track. The suspension of Gold’s car broke when he landed on the asphalt, ending his race.

During that joust, Aron squeezed past both cars to take third and kept that position for the rest of the race.

Race officials then assessed Abel with a drive-through penalty on Lap 29, which dropped him from fourth to 13th place. Abel rallied to pass two cars over the closing six laps.

The next race is the Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio on Sunday, July 7 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey Race 2 Results

MONTEREY, Calif. (Sunday, June 23, 2024) – Results Saturday of the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey Race 2 event on the 2.238-mile WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, laps completed and reason out (if any):

  1. (1) Louis Foster, 35, Running
  2. (2) Caio Collet, 35, Running
  3. (5) Bryce Aron, 35, Running
  4. (6) Yuven Sundaramoorthy, 35, Running
  5. (11) Salvador de Alba Jr., 35, Running
  6. (14) Jamie Chadwick, 35, Running
  7. (9) Christian Brooks, 35, Running
  8. (15) Christian Bogle, 35, Running
  9. (13) Josh Pierson, 35, Running
  10. (8) Jack William Miller, 35, Running
  11. (4) Jacob Abel, 35, Running
  12. (19) Niels Koolen, 35, Running
  13. (18) Ricardo Escotto, 35, Running
  14. (16) Nolan Allaer, 35, Running
  15. (20) Lindsay Brewer, 35, Running
  16. (12) Callum Hedge, 34, Running
  17. (10) Myles Rowe, 33, Running
  18. (3) Reece Gold, 26, Contact
  19. (7) James Roe, 25, Mechanical
  20. (17) Jonathan Browne, 25, Running

Race Statistics
Winners average speed: 105.715 mph
Time of Race: 00:44:27.4314
Margin of victory: 4.3962 seconds
Cautions: 1
Lead changes: 0

Lap Leaders:
Foster, Louis 1 – 35