NCS: Rain forces NASCAR to cancel Cup practice and qualifying
Kyle Larson won Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in dominating fashion.
Larson had the rest of the field trying to play catch up as he was out in front for the majority of the race.
With his win on Sunday, Larson takes home the $1 million dollar prize. Driver No. 5 led a whopping total of 145 laps on the old North Wilkesboro track surface.
Larson took the lead with 90 laps remaining after a restart and continuously builded up on his lead throughout the race.
Larson took command of the lead in the first stint of the race and built up a twelve second lead on second place Bubba Wallace. On lap 101, NASCAR would throw out the competition caution sending the field to pit for tires and fuel. Driver No. 5 would get tapped with a speeding penalty and would be forced to restart at the rear of the field. However, Larson would easily make his way back through the field and regain the lead with his newer tires.
“So much fun there,” Larson told FS1 after his win. “That was old school ass whipping for sure. We had a great car on the long run there and was just thinking for sure there was going to be a caution. I got out to a big lead and I could see everybody’s cars were driving like crap in front of me but I cannot thank this five team enough. We were god awful all weekend. Practice I was like the worst on 30 lap average. Went backwards in a heat race yesterday. You obviously had some strategy work out there in the beginning but we drove from dead last to the lead and checked out by 12 or 13 seconds then just could pace myself there that last run.”
For team owner Rick Hendrick, Sunday’s victory marks his 11th win in the All-Star Race.
Larson won over second place Bubba Wallace by 4.5 seconds. Rounding out the top five were Tyler Reddick in third, Chase Briscoe in fourth and Chase Elliott in fifth.
Josh Berry and Ty Gibbs both earned a spot in the field for the All-Star Race after they finished one-two. Noah Gragson would be awarded the fan vote and would be added as the last entrant into the main event. Josh Berry would end the night finishing 15th, Ty Gibbs would finish in ninth and Noah Gragson would finish in 23rd.
Rounding out the top ten were Ryan Blaney in sixth, Daniel Suarez in seventh, Erik Jones in eighth, Ty Gibbs in ninth and Joey Logano in tenth.
Sunday nights race at North Wilkesboro marked the first time the Cup series has competed at the track since 1996 of which Jeff Gordon won. The track would undergo a facelift but keep the old school look in tact in preparation for NASCAR’s return this weekend.
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway in the sports longest race of the year in the running of the Coca-Cola 600 at 6 p.m. Eastern on FOX.
Kyle Larson won Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at the legendary North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Larson pulled away from the field after a overtime restart to win the first Truck series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway since 1996.
Driver No. 7 led 138 of the 252 laps in his Spire Motorsports truck. For Larson, this marks his third career win in the Truck series.
“It was a really fun track there, especially in the truck where you can use the apron and such at both ends,” Larson said following his win on Saturday. “I had a good time. That was a lot of fun on the long runs.”
Rounding out the top five were Ty Majeski in second, Matt DiBenedetto in third, Carson Hocevar in fourth and Bubba Wallace in fifth.
“Yeah, we just missed it today,” Ty Majeski, who finished runner-up on Saturday said. “Sometimes when you’re in the back with nothing to lose, you make gutsy calls, jumping on two tires there and we were just able to hold off guys who put four tires on.”
Ty Majeski, who finished second ended his streak of back-to-back finishes of 25th or worse.
Rounding out the top ten were Corey Heim in sixth, Matt Crafton in seventh, Chase Purdy in eighth, Ross Chastain in ninth and Grant Enfinger in tenth.
Saturday’s Tyson 250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway featured 12 cautions consisting of 81 laps and six different lead changes.
After 10 races, Corey Heim leads in the points standings with seven points over Ty Majeski in second.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series heads to Charlotte Motor Soeedway next Friday, May 26th at 8:30p.m. Eastern on FS1.
Stage 1 Winner: Corey Heim
Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Larson
Race Winner: Kyle Larson
NXS: Kyle Larson wins Darlington Xfinity race in last lap pass
Kyle Larson won Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway after making contact with John Hunter Nemechek during a last lap thrill for the win.
Larson and Nemechek raced door to door on the final lap. Nemechek nearly lost control of his car on the backstretch but was able to get back to Larson’s bumper in the final turn. Larson would make contact with the wall and bounced back collecting Nemechek as the checkered flag waved.
Nemechek would finish fifth.
“I thought it was good hard racing for sure,” Larson told Fox Sports post-race. “I was nervous about what would happen in 3. I’m trying to stay right to him so I could arc and drive in as hard as I could. That got us both out of shape. It was a lot of fun.”
For Larson, Saturday’s win marked his 14th Xfinity Series victory and his first career win at Darlington.
Nemechek called the last lap contact with Larson “good hard racing.”
“I’m smiling ear-to-ear internally let’s put it for the hard racing we had today, how him and I raced each other. I’m disappointed with a fifth place finish with the car we had today and not being in victory lane. I’ll let that disappointment drive me and hopefully go win some more races,” Nemechek told Fox Sports post-race.
Rounding out the top five were Justin Allgaier in second, Cole Custer in third, Austin Hill in fourth and John Hunter Nemechek in fifth.
Rounding out the top ten were Carson Hocevar in sixth, Josh Berry in seventh, Sam Mayer in eighth, Kaz Grala in ninth and Corey Heim in tenth.
Sam Mayer, who finished eighth led 34 of the first 40 laps of the race before John Hunter Nemechek and Kyle Larson would hold command of the top spots.
Notable drivers who didn’t finish the race due to being involved in a on-track accident on Lap 67 included Brandon Jones, Chandler Smith and Ryan Truex.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 27th at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson
Stage 2 Winner: John Hunter Nemechek
Race Winner: Kyle Larson
NCS: Martin Truex Jr. wins pole for Goodyear 400
Martin Truex Jr. won the pole on Saturday for Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway.
For Truex, this marks his first pole of the 2023 season and his first pole at the track “Too tough to tame.”
Truex placed a lap of 169.409 mph in qualifying. Bubba Wallace will start alongside Truex Jr. after placing second with a speed of 169.339 mph.
Rounding out the top five were Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in third, William Byron in fourth and Ross Chastain in fifth.
Chase Elliott, who was fastest in practice will start 21st. Elliott is paying tribute to his father Bill Elliott’s 2001-2003 Dodge Dealers paint scheme.
Rounding out the top ten were Daniel Suarez in sixth, Kyle Larson in seventh, Denny Hamlin in eighth, Tyler Reddick in ninth and Brad Keselowski in tenth.
Sunday’s Goodyear 400 from Darlington Raceway is scheduled for 3 p.m. Eastern on FS1 and MRN.
NXS: Jeb Burton wins Xfinity race in double overtime at Talladega
Jeb Burton took home the checkered flag in Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega.
This marks Burton’s second Xfinity series win and the first for Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport, which started competing in 2021.
Rounding out the top five were Sheldon Creed in second, Parker Kligerman in third, Cole Custer in fourth and Brennan Poole in fifth.
Cole Custer, who finished fourth won the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus after Josh Berry, Sammy Smith and John Hunter Nemechek were involved in incidents on the track.
“This is the happiest I’ve ever been finishing fourth,” Custer told FS1 post-race.
Saturday’s race featured 10 cautions. Of the 121 laps scheduled to run, 48 of them were caution laps.
Blaine Perkins, who’s car rolled over six times down the backstretch with two laps to go would be transported to a nearby medical center for treatment.
Daniel Hemric’s Chevrolet rolled halfway and landed upside down after a green-white-checkered finish. Hemric was leading when he went down the track to block and made contact with Sheldon Creed. Hemric’s car came back up onto the track and was hit by other cars before coming to a stop on its roof.
Rounding out the top ten were Cesar Bacarella in sixth, Parker Retzlaff in seventh, Gray Goulding in eighth, Joey Gase in ninth and Josh Williams in tenth.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Dover on Saturday, April 29th at 1:30 p.m. Eastern on FS1.
Stage 1 Winner: Justin Allgaier
Stage 2 Winner: Jeb Burton
Race Winner: Jeb Burton
Christopher Bell took home the checkered flag on Sunday night at the Bristol dirt race.
Bell scored his fist win of the season with his win on Sunday night.
Bell’s team made the decision to stay out during pit stops after the second stage to give him the track position at the beginning of the final stage. Driver No. 20 was able to hold off the competition despite not pitting.
The Oklahoma native Bell, who led only 100 laps won the race under caution after the the yellow flag was displayed on the final lap of the race due to a multi-car crash.
Rounding out the top five were Tyler Reddick in second, Austin Dillion in third, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in fourth and Chase Briscoe in fifth.
Reddick, who was on Bell’s back bumper on the final lap didn’t get a chance to make a pass for the win as the caution was displayed.
Kyle Larson, who started the night off from the pole had a few run ins during the race with Ryan Preece. The two drivers were bumping and banging each others doors throughout the evening and at one point Preece even gave Larson a hand gesture through the window. Both drivers would cause the 11th caution of the night due Larson getting into the wall after contact from Preece and as a result Larson would have to retire from the event.
Rounding out the top ten were Justin Haley in sixth, Martin Truex Jr. in seventh, Todd Gilliland in eighth, Kevin Harvick in ninth and Ty Gibbs in tenth.
Joey Logano, who won Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race didn’t have the night he had hoped for after being involved in multiple incidents and as result would be parked due to suspension issues stemming from the prior incidents Logano was in.
After eight races thus far this season, Ross Chastain currently holds the points lead over Christopher Bell in second. Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson and Joey Logano round out the top five in points.
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Martinsville Speedway next Sunday at 3 p.m. Eastern on FS1.
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson
Stage 2 Winner: Tyler Reddick
Race Winner: Christopher Bell
NCS: Tyler Reddick wins Cup Series race at COTA
Tyler Reddick won Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas.
Reddick passed William Byron for the race lead with four laps to go in the race and held the top spot in the final laps to win for the first time this season.
“This whole 23XI team has been working so hard all winter long to make the road course program better. Was extremely motivated to come in here and prove that performance too,” Reddick told FOX Sports post-race.
Sunday’s win marked Reddick’s first win at 23XI since joining the organization at the beginning of the year.
Sunday's race saw three overtime finishes due to debris and an accident.
Rounding out the top five were Kyle Busch in second, Alex Bowman in third, Ross Chastain in fourth and William Byron in fifth.
William Byron, who finished in fifth led 28 laps of the race. Only driver ahead of him was Reddick with 41 laps led. Both Reddick and Byron ran neck to neck for most of the race.
Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson finished in 38th after getting involved in a crash on Lap 3. Johnson is scheduled to run the Chicago Street Course race later this year.
Rounding out the top ten were Austin Cindric in sixth, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in seventh, Chris Buescher in eighth, Ty Gibbs in ninth and Todd Gilliland in tenth.
Sunday’s race at COTA saw eight cautions and sixteen different lead changes.
Notable road course ringers Jensen Button finished 18th, Jordan Taylor finished 24th, Kimi Raikkonen finished 29th and AJ Allmendinger finished 34th.
After six races, Ross Chastain currently holds the points lead with three playoff points over Kyle Busch in second in the points standings.
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Richmond Raceway next Sunday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on FS1.
Stage 1 Winner: William Byron
Stage 2 Winner: Tyler Reddick
Race Winner: Tyler Reddick
William Byron went back-to-back winning Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway.
Byron took advantage of a late race restart to secure his second win of the season.
Rounding out the top five were Ryan Blaney in second, Tyler Reddick in third, Kyle Larson in fourth and Kevin Harvick in fifth.
Harvick, who finished second led 36 laps before a late race caution hurt his chances at victory.
Driver No. 24 took two tires under caution to give him a restart in the front row. Byron would restart ahead of Kevin Harvick who had dominated late in the race after passing Kyle Larson. Harvick would take the lead with 44 laps to go.
Harvick had a near 5 second lead over second place Kyle Larson with 10 laps to go when Harrison Burton spun out and brought out the caution, setting up a late-race restart. The race would resume with 4 laps to go, but a caution would come out after AJ Allmendinger, Noah Gragson and Ty Gibbs crashed. That would result in the race going into overtime with Hendrick Motorsports teammates Byron and Larson on the front row respectively.
Byron would emerge past Larson, who held a race high lead of laps led with 201 laps and would not be challenged over the final laps.
“We’ve done a good job to put ourselves in those positions on the front row with a shot at the end,” Byron told FOX Sports post-race.
Josh Berry, who is currently filling in for Chase Elliott while he recovers from a leg injury finished 10th on Sunday giving all four Hendrick Motorsports a finish in the top ten.
Sunday’s race featured the debut of of NASCAR’s new short track package which is designed to lower downforce. The changes made cars harder to drive for drivers on Sunday, however there was little competition except on the late race restarts.
Rounding out the top ten were Christopher Bell in sixth, Chase Briscoe in seventh, Kyle Busch in eighth, Alex Bowman in ninth and Josh Berry in tenth.
Alex Bowman, who finished ninth currently holds a three point lead over Kevin Harvick in second.
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway next Sunday on March 19th at 3 p.m. Eastern on FOX.
Stage 1 Winner: William Byron
Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Larson
Race Winner: William Byron