NASCAR

NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington: Everything you need to know for Saturday’s Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute to First Responders

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Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway will be an unforgettable one. Thirty-seven of the world’s best drivers take to the track on the 20-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in New York City, Washington D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Many drivers will race with special 9/11 tribute paint schemes to honor the first responders and other individuals lost on that horrific day.

On the racing side of things, Saturday’s Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute to First Responders is meaningful in the Cup Series playoffs. The event is the second of three races in the Round of 16. Denny Hamlin won last weekend’s Southern 500 and has punched the only ticket into the Round of 12 thus far. Kyle Larson sits 80 points above the cutline and needs two DNF’s to put his playoff hopes remotely in jeopardy. Martin Truex Jr. holds a 36-point advantage from the cutline and is seemingly safe to advance into the Round of 12. The other 13 drivers remaining in the playoffs are all still on the bubble.

Saturday’s race is 400 laps around the 0.75-mile oval. Stage breaks are at laps 80 and 235 with the fuel window estimated around 120 to 130 laps. Teams have four sets of tires for the 300-mile race.

Kyle Larson starts Saturday’s race from the pole position with Southern 500 winner Hamlin starting in second place. The entire starting lineup for the Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute to First Responders is below.

Starting Position Driver Car Number Team
1 Kyle Larson 5 Hendrick
2 Denny Hamlin 11 Gibbs
3 Martin Truex Jr. 19 Gibbs
4 Kurt Busch 1 Ganassi
5 Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas
6 Joey Logano 22 Penske
7 Brad Keselowski 2 Penske
8 Ryan Blaney 12 Penske
9 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas
10 Christopher Bell 20 Gibbs
11 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress
12 Alex Bowman 48 Hendrick
13 Chase Elliott 9 Hendrick
14 William Byron 24 Hendrick
15 Kyle Busch 18 Gibbs
16 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row
17 Ross Chastain 42 Ganassi
18 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway
19 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress
20 Ryan Preece 37 JTG Daugherty
21 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas
22 Daniel Suarez 99 TrackHouse
23 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty
24 Ryan Newman 6 Roush Fenway
25 Corey LaJoie 7 Spire
26 Chase Briscoe 14 Stewart-Haas
27 Bubba Wallace 23 23XI
28 Matt DiBenedetto 21 Wood Brothers
29 Justin Haley 77 Spire
30 Anthony Alfredo 38 Front Row
31 Erik Jones 43 Richard Petty
32 BJ McLeod 78 Live Fast
33 Josh Bilicki  52 Rick Ware
34 Joey Gase 15 Rick Ware
35 Quin Houff 0 StarCom
36 Cody Ware 51 Rick Ware
37 JJ Yeley 53 Rick Ware

 

NASCAR: Kyle Busch fined $50,000 following reckless garage entry in Southern 500

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NASCAR has fined Kyle Busch $50,000 following his reckless actions in Sunday’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

Busch hit the wall after contact with Austin Dillon on Lap 125 and sustained severe damage. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver drove his car down pit road and through cones blocking part of the garage entrance following the crash. He sped into a crowd of crew members and team guests in the garage area and pulled up to his hauler before exiting his car and leaving for his motorhome.

According to NASCAR, Busch’s fine was due to a safety violation, actions detrimental to stock car racing, and violating the NASCAR member conduct guidelines covered in sections 12.1.a, 12.5.2.5.a, and 12.8.a of the rulebook, respectively.

Busch also had a televised interview after his trip to the infield care center in which he blamed his team for his performance and lifted the blame of the wreck off Dillon.

The No. 18 Toyota Camry now sits 14th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, two points below the cutline with two races remaining in the Round of 16. Richmond and Bristol remain in this round of the playoffs and are both favorable tracks for Busch. He’s won a combined 14 times in the Cup Series at the two venues with over 30 combined top-5 finishes.

Busch will likely need two solid races or a win to advance to the playoffs. Fortunately for him, five of his playoff competitors finished 20th or worse to help minimize Busch’s poor Darlington race.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. EST at Richmond Raceway. The Xfinity Series will race Saturday afternoon at Richmond with a start time of 2:30 p.m. EST. Both races will air on NBCSN.

NASCAR: Kyle Larson second at Darlington after attempting Carl Edwards-esque video game move

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Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson had by far the two best cars in Sunday’s Southern 500. The two drivers combined to lead 302 of the 367 laps at Darlington Raceway with both drivers completely classing the field throughout the race.

That being said, it was only fitting that the top-2 points earners this season, who just so happen to be great friends, were battling for the win in one of NASCAR Cup Series crown jewel races.

Hamlin beat out Larson on a restart with 36 laps to go and jumped out to a 1-second lead. Larson maintained a close distance behind Hamlin but couldn’t seemingly put together fast enough laps to cut into his defecit.

With one lap to go, Hamlin held a comfortable lead over Larson. It appeared that Hamlin would easily secure his first victory of the season to punch his ticket into the Round of 12 in the Cup Series Playoffs.

Instead, Kyle Larson decided to make it interesting. Hamlin ran an agressive line into turn 3 on the final lap when Kyle Larson came flying from behind him and into the wall. Larson tried to pin his way past Hamlin up in the top groove, but Hamlin blocked him to hold on and win the race.

“I got to his bumper too quick. I was hoping he was going to run the diamond to be safe and I could [hopefully] squirt to his outside,” Larson told NBC’s Marty Snider. “I didn’t want to wreck him, I just wanted to try and get to his outside there. He did a great job of not making any mistakes there on that last run”.

Larson tried to pull a “video game move” notably made by Carl Edwards back in 2008. Edwards tried to slingshot below Jimmie Johnson in a race at Kansas Motor Speedway while racing for a win, but ended up unsuccessful much like Larson at Darlington.

Larson’s move almost ended similarly to another incident involving Carl Edwards. Back in a 2011 Xfinity Series race at Iowa, Edwards ran in second place to teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. With one lap to go, Stenhouse Jr. blew up and started dropping fluid while exiting the final corner. Edwards hit the fluid and wobbled out of control, plowing into Stenhouse Jr. from behind and serving as a winning push for the then-young star.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action next Saturday at Richmond Raceway.

NASCAR: Denny Hamlin avoids playoff chaos, finally earns a win in 2021

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Denny Hamlin got the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs off to a strong start, capturing his first win of 2021 as other contenders faltered.

The Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway is no longer considered NASCAR’s “throwback” race, that honor instead being bestowed to the legendary track’s spring event. Sunday night’s winner, however, provided perfect throwback vibes as a victory lane staple finally got to hoist another trophy.

Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, finally earned his first race of 2021, holding off championship favorite Kyle Larson to win the opening race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Hamling stood atop the regular season standings for most of the year, but his lack of victories allowed Larson to take over.

As several other playoff contenders dropped out due to on-track incidents, Hamlin stayed out of trouble and held off a furious last-lap push from Larson to secure the win, his fourth at “The Track Too Tough to Tame”. Hamlin also earned automatic advancement to the second round of the Cup Series playoffs, which began with 16 drivers on Saturday night. The bottom four in the playoff grid will be eliminated after the upcoming race at Bristol on Sept. 18.

Non-playoff driver Ross Chastain finished third, while Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top five.

FedEx Toyota finally delivers a win

Hamlin winning the regular season title seemed like a certainty, as he sat atop the points standings for nearly six months despite failing to visit victory lane. Entering last season’s playoffs, Hamlin and the No. 11 group had won six races before appearing amongst the championship-contending quartet in Phoenix. He maintained general consistency throughout this season (he remains the only driver in the Cup Series that has run and finished all 27 races) but saw his points lead evaporate thanks to Larson’s five victories in his return to the circuit.

The streak finally ended on Sunday night at a familiar locale. He needed no guidance toward victory lane, as he earned his fourth career victory at the legendary Darlington. That breaks a tie with Harvick for the most amongst active drivers and he becomes the eighth driver to win at least four times at a locale that has hosted NASCAR events since 1950.

Hamlin won the first of two 115-lap stages and was running second before some late damage at the end of the latter shuffled him to fourth. The No. 11 crew earned a chance to set up Hamlin for a victory when pole sitter Ryan Blaney’s spin at lap 318 of 367 brought out the caution. Hamlin beat out Chastain for the lead and then secured it for good on the restart.

“We had so many opportunities earlier this year to win races…For us, it certainly is significant,” Hamlin said of his win. “I’m not going to downplay the significance of it. It’s not just another win. This one is big for us and our team and the momentum.”

The No. 11 team now has a pair of consequence-free opportunities to tinker with their Camry before the playoff field is sliced down to a dozen.

“We didn’t have the playoff points that certainly we wish we had going into these playoffs,” he continued. “There was no room for error. And now to punch our ticket to the next round, we get to go out there and focus on getting through that second round, which I think is probably the most dangerous.”

Drive Stuck at Five

Eager to earn another win, Larson gave Hamlin everything he could handle on the final lap. Catching up to the No. 11 by running close to Darlington’s famous wall, eventually getting too close for comfort on the final lap. His No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet crossed the start/finish line in a shower of sparks but managed to finish second.

“We got to the white, and I was like, well, I haven’t been able to gain on him now, I’m going to try something,” Larson said with a smile, admitting he went for the video game-style finish. “Honestly got to his bumper too quick. I was hoping he was going to run that diamond to kind of be safe and I could skirt to his outside, but gave (him) everything I had.”

Larson nonetheless owns a healthy 80-point lead above the 12th spot occupied by Tyler Reddick and Alex Bowman, a lead built through a series-best five victories and the 15-tally bonus offered to him through winning the regular season title.

Ross Is Boss Amongst the Remainders

Chastain missed out on the Cup Series playoffs but nearly disrupted the postseason party on Sunday night. His No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet was leading at the time of Blaney’s spin after a strong green flag pit stop situated him in front of Larson with 67 laps to go.

Chastain and his teammate Kurt Busch are looking to send CGR out on a strong note. The team is set to shut down its NASCAR operations at the end of the season, having sold its assets to Trackhouse Racings (where Chastain will drive the No. 1 Chevrolet next season). Busch, the current driver of the No. 1, is seeking his second Cup Series title. He led 13 laps on Sunday and finished sixth to establish a 26-point lead ahead of the cutoff.

“This McDonald’s car, I think it was the fastest car here tonight,” Chastain said. “It’s humbling to come with this CGR group these final 10 races here, a place where my career kind of took a totally different trajectory three years ago and to have people like Clover and the Moose (Fraternity) and Advent Health on board supporting me and still letting me race three years later, it means the world. I’ve just got to clean up some more, though.”

Lady in Black Scorns Playoff Drivers

Darlington lived up to its reputation as The Track Too Tough to Tame, claiming the vehicles of several playoff drivers…

  • Larson’s runner-up finish salvaged a brutal night for Hendrick Motorsports: Bowman made contact with the wall at lap 16, damaging teammate William Byron’s car in the process. Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet failed to finish after a blow tired put him into the wall at lap 200, dropping him to 34th in the final running order and 15th in the playoff standings, nine points behind Reddick and Bowman’s cutoff. Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet finished the race in 26th, four laps down.

 

  • Defending series champion Chase Elliott, another HMS rep, was not immune to the struggles. His No. 9 Chevrolet was forced to make another stop after clipping a tire being held by a crew member from James Davison’s No. 53 stall at lap 28. Like Byron, a downed tire ruined Elliott’s day, as contact with Christopher Bell cost him his steering and relegated him to 31st.

 

  • Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell’s quest to shock the NASCAR world in the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford was derailed by when he got loose coming out of Turn 2. His subsequent meeting with the inside wall pushed to dead last in 37th. Now 22 points away from advancement, McDowell may need another surprise victory to keep his Cinderella run alive.

 

  • Kyle Busch got loose in Turn 2 while racing Austin Dillon for the 12th position, putting his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota into the wall. A disgruntled Busch immediately went to the garage area and finished 35th, pitting him two points behind the cutoff.

 

  • Truex, the winner of May’s Darlington event, undoubtedly earned his top five finish. An unscheduled pit stop to fix a loose wheel put him a lap down before a late speeding penalty on pit road possibly cost him a chance at the win. Such a strong finish put Truex in third place, 36 points ahead of the cutoff.

 

  • Blaney finished 22nd after his spin.

Ware Released After Carbon Monoxide Scare

Cody Ware retired from the race early after reportedly showing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. His No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet was previously involved in a stage one incident with teammate Davison and spent an extended stay in the infield care center. Ware was in good spirits on Twitter after the race and thanked both the Darlington medical staff and well-wishers.

What’s Next

The second leg of the Cup Series’ opening playoff round comes at the short track at Richmond Raceway, where drivers will compete in the Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute to First Responders (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN). This will be the second visit to Richmond this season, as Bowman earned his first victory in the No. 48 Chevrolet, passing Hamlin on a restart with 10 laps to go in securing the victory. Kyle Busch is by far the most accomplished driver at the track, earning six Cup Series wins (his last in September 2018).

For full results, click here.

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

NASCAR Xfinity: Caesar Bacarella Partners with Tommy Joe Martins to form Alpha Prime Racing, Signs Rajah Caruth

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PRESS RELEASE

Caesar Bacarella is partnering with Tommy Joe Martins to form a new NASCAR Xfinity Series team in 2022. Beginning next season, Martins Motorsports will become Alpha Prime Racing.

The team’s first driver signing: ARCA standout Rajah Caruth.

The news comes just weeks after Martins Motorsports Owner/Driver Tommy Joe Martins announced he wouldn’t compete full time in the 44 car next season, opening up the seat to other potential drivers. For Alpha Prime CEO and NASCAR Xfinity Series part-timer Caesar Bacarella, it was an opportunity too good to pass up.

“I want to build something,” Bacarella said. “I love this sport. That’s why I do it.” Caesar continued, “I’ve known Tommy and his dad since 2018, and when I saw the news about them going part time, I started asking questions. It led to a discussion about ownership, which is something I’d already been thinking about.”

Martins shares the excitement with his new co-owner.

“Caesar is such a great dude,” Martins said. “He actually called me asking about what would it take to start a team. I told him a whole lot,” Martins laughed.

“I mentioned my dad and Rodney [Riessen, co-owner of MMS] wanting to take a step back and proposed the idea of a partnership,” Martins continued. “It’s a perfect situation for both of us. He brings so much business knowledge and marketing savvy to the table for us, and obviously I’ve been through the school of hard knocks racing wise. I think we complement each other really well.”

The first order of business for APR? Filling out the driver roster for the 2022 schedule. Baccarella will run a limited Xfinity schedule while competing for a Lamborghini Blancpain World Challenge America GT3 championship with TR3 Racing. Martins expects to run between 10-15 races for the team. But both owners seem to be most excited about their new prospect, Rajah Caruth.

“Rajah is the future for us,” Martins said. “I’ve had the privilege of getting to know him and his dad, Roger, over the last few months and they are exactly the type of people we want to be a part of Alpha Prime Racing. Rajah has his whole career in front of him. I’m just honored they trust us to be one of his first steps.”

Bacarella was more matter of fact about the young driver.

“He’s going to be a star,” Caesar said. “No question about it.”

Rajah’s confirmed schedule in the 44 car includes Martinsville Speedway, Dover International Speedway, and Richmond Raceway. Martins left the door open to additional races for the young driver at Pocono Raceway and Kansas Speedway pending additional sponsorship.

A focus of the schedule is maintaining Rajah’s rookie status in the Xfinity Series heading into the 2023 season, as he will continue competing in the ARCA Menards Series in 2022 for Rev Racing as part of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Program.

“I’m extremely honored to have the opportunity to continue my progression as both a racer and a young man in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2022 with Tommy, Caesar, and Alpha Prime Racing,” Caruth said. I’ve had the great fortune of having such great people surrounding me thus far in my career, and I’m ecstatic to add some more to that circle with APR.”

Caruth, 19, has been a member of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Program since 2018. He currently competes full time in the ARCA Menards Series East for Rev Racing where he’s scored four top 10’s and two top 5’s in six starts. He’s also competed part time in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly series scoring wins at Hickory Motor Speedway and Tri-County Motor Speedway this year.

“2021 has been a great season for us at Rev Racing in both the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series and the ARCA Menards East,” Caruth said. “I’m excited to finish out our year stoutly.”

Martins currently sits 18th in the NASCAR Xfinity Driver standings with four top-15’s and thirteen top-20 finishes in 22 starts. According to Bacarella, the strong performance of the small family team is what drew him in.

“They’ve been running so good,’ Caesar said. “I mean, they’re fast every week. They’ve got great people. They’re doing it the right way. That’s what I want Alpha Prime Racing to be. I want to help take it to the next level.”

-Alpha Prime Racing-

NASCAR: Ryan Blaney steals another as playoff field is set

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Blaney’s second consecutive win came in the NASCAR Cup Series’ regular season finale at the hallowed ground of Daytona.

Ryan Blaney’s spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs was well-secured, but that didn’t stop him from going all-out for the win in the regular season finale on Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway.

As the victor in an overtime finish, Blaney has won consecutive Cup Series races for the first time in his career after last week’s triumph at Michigan. The win at this weekend’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 makes him one of only four drivers to win at least three races this season, joining Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., and Alex Bowman.

Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford beat out several drivers who desperately needed a win to qualify for the Cup Series playoffs, which begin next Sunday at Darlington Raceway. As late wrecks dominated the final stages of Daytona’s summer event, Blaney took the lead from the winless Chris Buescher before holding off a final challenge from other trophy-seekers like Austin Dillon, Ross Chastain, and Daniel Suarez. Chaos eventually erupted behind Blaney, as one final wreck that took out several contenders shut down the affair.

Buescher finished in the runner-up spot, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Newman, and Ryan Preece rounded out the top five in the 400-mile event originally scheduled for 160 laps.

Blaney lingered in the upper half of the field for most of the evening, which was a mostly peaceful affair before desperation took over. The first two stages, 50 circuits apiece, were taken by Chase Elliott and Blaney’s Penske teammate Joey Logano. Blaney, Logano, and the other Ford Mustangs in the lead pack topped off on fuel with 37 laps to go. Chevrolets and Toyota were expected to pit shortly after but neither group made it to pit road when Garrett Smithley’s No. 53 Chevrolet spun, collecting Rick Ware Racing teammates Joey Gase and Cody Ware. The Fords jumped back out to the front of the pack while the other lead-lap cars pitted.

Two separate multi-car wrecks at laps 146 and 157. The latter saw Matt DiBenedetto miss out on his first career victory once again, as the 238th career start of his Cup career ended when he got together with leader Chase Elliott. Other notable vehicles involved included Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, and Christopher Bell.

That latter incident set up the overtime finish which allowed Blaney to capture his third win, as well as the second seed in the Cup Series playoff bracket, earned through victories and stage wins throughout the 26 regular season races.

Other big winners on Saturday were Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick. Larson (21st) clinched the regular season championship, which affords him an extra 15-point advantage in the playoff standings while Reddick (6th) beat out his teammate Dillon (18th) for the final postseason slot. View the whole Cup Series playoff grid below:

For full results, click here.

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona: Everything you need to know for Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400

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The NASCAR Cup Series travels down to Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night for the Coke Zero Sugar 400. Fifteen drivers are vying for one final spot in the Cup Series playoffs, which will be decided in Saturday’s race.

Teammates Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon are the only two drivers who can race into the playoffs on points. Reddick has a 25-point advantage over Dillon going into Saturday.

The following drivers must win the race to clinch a playoff spot: Matt DiBenedetto, Chris Buescher, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Chase Briscoe, Erik Jones, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Newman, Ryan Preece, Cole Custer, Anthony Alfredo, and Corey LaJoie.

Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin are also fighting for the regular-season points title. Larson leads by 28 points; however, Hamlin still has a chance to make up ground as he’s excellent at driving at Daytona. The winner of the regular season gets an additional 15 playoff points.

Saturday’s race is expected to last 160 laps around the 2.5-mile superspeedway with stage breaks at laps 50 and 100. Horsepower has been reduced to 450hp from 510hp for the race in an attempt to slow the cars down 7-10mph. Speeds should top off around 190-192mph. The wicker on the rear spoiler has also been removed for safety.

Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron will start on the front row of the Coke Zero Sugar 400. Ryan Blaney, last week’s winner, starts 6th.

The entire starting lineup is below:

Starting Position Driver Car Number Team
1 Kyle Larson 5 Hendrick
2 William Byron 24 Hendrick
3 Denny Hamlin 11 Gibbs
4 Kyle Busch 18 Gibbs
5 Chase Elliott 9 Hendrick
6 Ryan Blaney 12 Penske
7 Martin Truex Jr. 19 Gibbs
8 Kurt Busch 1 Ganassi
9 Matt DiBenedetto 21 Wood Brothers
10 Brad Keselowski 2 Penske
11 Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas
12 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty
13 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway
14 Christopher Bell 20 Gibbs
15 Alex Bowman 48 Hendrick
16 Chase Briscoe 14 Stewart-Haas
17 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress
18 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row
19 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas
20 Bubba Wallace 23 23XI
21 Erik Jones 43 Richard Petty
22 Joey Logano 22 Penske
23 Ryan Newman 6 Roush Fenway
24 Ryan Preece 37 JTG Daugherty
25 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas
26 Daniel Suarez 99 TrackHouse
27 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress
28 Justin Haley 77 Spire
29 Ross Chastain 42 Ganassi
30 BJ McLeod 78 Live fast
31 Cody Ware 51 Rick Ware
32 Anthony Alfredo 38 Front Row
33 Corey LaJoie 7 Spire
34 Garrett Smithley 53 Rick Ware
35 Quin Houff 0 StarCom
36 Josh Bilicki 52 Rick Ware
37 Joey Gase 15 Rick Ware
38 Kaz Grala 16 Kaulig
39 Landon Cassill 96 Gaunt Brothers
40 David Starr 66 MBM

 

NASCAR: Kurt Busch to join 23XI Racing in 2022

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PRESS RELEASE:

Mooresville, NC (August 27, 2021) – Today 23XI Racing announced that 2017 Daytona 500 winner Kurt Busch has signed with the organization to pilot the No. 45 Monster Energy TRD Camry beginning with the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Busch joins 23XI Racing for his 23rd season in the NASCAR Cup Series following a three year stint with Chip Ganassi Racing where he drove the No. 1 car. The 2004 Cup Series champion comes to 23XI Racing with 33 Cup Series wins and 326 top-10 finishes throughout his career.

“I cannot begin to express my gratitude for this opportunity,” said Busch. “Racing to win is what I live for. Helping to continue developing a new team, alongside Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin, and Toyota is exactly what I want to be part of. Winning is important to 23XI, it’s important to Monster Energy, and it’s important to me. That is our goal.”

“When we started this team, our vision was to grow to a multi-car organization. To be able to expand in just our second year is a huge step for us,” said 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin. “Kurt brings a wealth of knowledge and a championship mindset to our team, and will be able to help us grow stronger and more competitive each and every week.”

Monster Energy will join Busch at 23XI Racing and serve as the primary partner of the No. 45 TRD Camry.

“Joining up with 23XI Racing is a perfect fit for our core values at Monster Energy,” said Monster Energy CMO Dan McHugh. “The formation of the team marks a new chapter in motorsports and will unlock a wealth of opportunities to create exciting initiatives for fans. We are also very happy to continue our sponsorship with Kurt Busch who has been a member of the Monster family for many years.”

Additional partners and team personnel for the No. 45 TRD Camry team will be announced at a later date.

-23XI Racing-

 

NASCAR: Ryan Blaney holds off powers of Hendrick to win at Michigan

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With his win at Michigan, Ryan Blaney has now won multiple NASCAR Cup Series races in a single season for the first time in his career.

Faced with a challenge from Hendrick Motorsports’ finest, Ryan Blaney made sure that Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway was, instead, Penske material.

Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford took advantage of a late restart, taking his first lead of the day at lap 193 of 200. He then held off a furious rally from the HMS duo of William Byron and Kyle Larson long enough to earn his second win of the season and first since Atlanta in March. Blaney held off Byron by 0.077 seconds to secure the win and his first multi-victory season at the Cup level. Larson, leader of a race-high 70 laps, finished third while Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five.

Blaney started the afternoon in the third spot but quickly fell out of the top 15. His descent allowed HMS Chevrolets to take over. Chase Elliott won the first 60-lap stage in his No. 9 Chevrolet. Kyle Busch won the second stage for Joe Gibbs Racing but Elliott (8th), Byron, and Larson united to lead 136 of 200 laps. After Elliott faded after the second stage (pitting twice within 13 laps for tires), Byron and Larson appeared to do battle for the final victory.

Two late caution flags, however, set up late dramatics. A brief stop for rain set up a 16-lap shootout which was interrupted by a multi-car get-together that took out Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, Christopher Bell, and Josh Berry (who was subbing for Corey LaJoie in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet due to COVID-19 protocols). Blaney was situated in the fourth spot when the race went green again with eight to go after the chaos.

Using a strong push from Kyle Busch (7th), Blaney managed to clear the front row of Byron and Kurt Busch to secure the lead. He then held off Hendrick’s finest, denying them their 12th victory of the season. Blaney also allowed the Ford Motor Company to keep a dominant streak at MIS alive. Those repping the blue oval have now won seven straight races in Brooklyn.

Sunday’s race at Michigan was the penultimate race of the NASCAR Cup Series’ regular season. All but one spot in the 16-seed playoff field has been clinched as Kevin Harvick (14th) secured his spot on points. One final spot is up for grabs at the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at the famed Daytona International Speedway on Saturday (7 p.m. ET, NBC).

Tyler Reddick (29th) missed an opportunity to expand his hold on the final seed after his teammate Austin Dillon (36th) was involved in a wreck after stage two ended, as contact with Brad Keselowski put him into the wall. Reddick leads Dillon by 22 points for the final spot, though he would lose it if a winless driver inside the top 30 in points managed to win at Daytona.

For full results, click HERE

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

NASCAR Cup Series at Michigan: Everything you need to know for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400

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After back-to-back road course races, the NASCAR Cup Series will return to oval racing on Sunday with the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Sunday’s race will last 200 laps around the 2-mile speedway with stage breaks at laps 60 and 120. Michigan International Speedway is one of the fastest tracks on the NASCAR circuit with speeds near 200mph going into the corners. Both turns have 18 degrees of banking.

NASCAR has applied resin to the racing surface in both turns in an attempt to create more racing. The sanctioning body last applied resin at Nashville Superspeedway, a concrete racing surface. Sunday’s race will be the first time resin is placed on an asphalt track instead of PJ1.

Teams will have seven sets of tires available with the Sunoco fuel window estimated around 46-51 laps.

Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott will make up the front row to start the race. This is based on the qualifying metric, which is weighed between finishing position last week at Indianapolis (50%), points position (35%), and fastest lap from Indianapolis (15%).

Sunday’s Green flag is scheduled for 3:16 pm ET on NBCSN. Sunset is at 8:26 pm ET, but daylight shouldn’t be a factor unless unexpected weather hits the area. The Weather Channel predicts just a 15% chance of rain for the race.

The full FireKeepers Casino 400 starting lineup is below.

 

Position Driver Car Number Team
1 Kyle Larson 5 Hendrick
2 Chase Elliott 9 Hendrick
3 Ryan Blaney 12 Penske
4 Matt DiBenedetto 21 Wood Brothers
5 Martin Truex Jr. 19 Gibbs
6 Kurt Busch 1 Chip Ganassi
7 Kyle Busch 18 Gibbs
8 Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas
9 Denny Hamlin 11 Gibbs
10 Alex Bowman 48 Hendrick
11 Chris Bueshcer 17 Roush Fenway
12 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty
13 Erik Jones 43 Richard Petty
14 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress
15 Bubba Wallace 23 23XI
16 Ryan Newman 6 Roush Fenway
17 Justin Haley 77 Spire
18 William Byron 24 Hendrick
19 Joey Logano 22 Penske
20 Brad Keselowski 2 Penske
21 Chase Briscoe 14 Stewart-Haas
22 Ross Chastain 42 Chip Ganassi
23 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas
24 Josh Berry 7 Spire
25 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row
26 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress
27 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas
28 Christopher Bell 20 Gibbs
29 Josh Bilicki 52 Rick Ware
30 Daniel Suarez 99 TrackHouse
31 Quin Houff 0 StarCom
32 Ryan Preece 37 JTG Daugherty
33 Garrett Smithley 53 Rick Ware
34 James Davison 15 Rick Ware
35 Anthony Alfredo 38 Front Row
36 BJ McLeod 78 Live Fast
37 Cody Ware 51 Rick Ware