Race Winner:  Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Winner:  Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 2 Winner:  Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-125):

●  Kevin Harvick started eighth and finished sixth, earning five bonus points.

●  By the time the competition caution flag waved on lap 40, Harvick had his No. 4 Subway Delivery Ford Mustang comfortably in fifth.

●  “Need a little rear grip all the way through the corner,” said Harvick during the competition caution.

●  Pitted for four tires and fuel on lap 44 during the caution. Crew chief Rodney Childers elected not to make any changes as history told him the car would tighten up as the race wore on.

●  Harvick settled into sixth place for the remainder of the stage.

●  “Loose on entry and exit,” said Harvick at the end of the stage, “but I slide through the middle of the corner. I can’t roll it like I need to.”

●  Pitted at the conclusion of the stage for four tires and fuel with a track bar adjustment.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 126-250):

●  Harvick started fifth and finished sixth, earning five bonus points.

●  “Still need to roll through the center and still need rear grip,” said Harvick while running fifth during a caution on lap 167.

●  Pitted for four tires and fuel with tire pressure adjustments during the caution period on lap 172.

●  Lined up third for lap-182 restart, but Ryan Blaney took over third on lap 189, sending Harvick to fourth.

●  Harvick took third place back from Blaney on lap 215 and then set his sights on second-place Denny Hamlin.

●  “It feels pretty good right there,” said Harvick during a caution period on lap 219.

●  Pitted for four tires and fuel while under caution on lap 226, but eight other cars stayed out.

●  Lined up ninth for lap-233 restart and climbed to sixth by the end of the stage.

●  “My car was loose,” said Harvick after the stage concluded.

●  Since Harvick pitted on lap 226, Childers opted to keep Harvick on the racetrack following the stage.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 251-500):

●  Harvick started first and finished second.

●  The No. 4 Subway Delivery Ford Mustang paced the field for 10 laps before Blaney took the top spot.

●  After staying in Blaney’s tire tracks, Harvick re-took the lead on lap 308.

●  By lap 332, Kyle Larson was challenging Harvick for the lead, and he finally got the spot from Harvick on lap 337.

●  During a caution on lap 364, Harvick said, “Struggling in the middle – tight both corners. Can’t put the throttle down like I need to.”

●  Pitted for four tires and fuel with a right-rear wedge adjustment on lap 365.

●  Lined up third for lap-371 restart and held that positon until lap 400 when second-place Denny Hamlin hit the wall, bringing out the caution and elevating Harvick to second.

●  Chase Elliott grabbed second on lap-408 restart, displacing Harvick to third.

●  Harvick got by Larson for second on lap 434 while Elliott led.

●  Harvick and Elliott battled for the lead amid lapped traffic and, on lap 465, Harvick emerged the leader after slight contact with Elliott, who ended up with a punctured a left-front tire and had to pit.

●  Harvick led until lap 497 when Larson overtook him for the lead. Prior to that, Harvick was slowed by the now lapped car of Elliott, who despite being three laps down, was running competitive lap times with the leaders because he had fresh tires.

●  Larson held the top spot for the final four laps and held off Harvick, crossing the stripe .227 of a second ahead of the No. 4 Subway Delivery Ford Mustang.

Notes:

●  Harvick’s second-place finish tied his best result so far this season. He finished second May 2 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City.

●  This was Harvick’s second straight top-two at Bristol. He won the series’ prior race on the concrete last August.

●  Harvick earned his eighth top-five and 19th top-10 of the season, and his series-leading 14th top-five and 21st top-10 in 41 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Bristol.

●  This was Harvick’s third straight top-10. He finished fifth Sept. 4 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway and eighth in the series’ prior race at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.

●  This was Harvick’s ninth straight top-15, a streak that began July 11 with an 11th-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

●  Harvick led three times for 71 laps, increasing his laps led total at Bristol to 1,209.

●  Harvick has now led 11,339 laps since joining SHR in 2014. He has led 15,765 laps in his entire NASCAR Cup Series career.

●  Harvick has now advanced out of the Round of 16 in all eight editions of the current playoff format. Coming into this season, he had advanced all the way to the Round of 8 since 2014, and five times he’s competed in the Championship 4, winning the NASCAR Cup Series title in 2014.

●  In winning the Bass Pro Shops Night Race, Larson scored his 12th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his series-leading sixth of the season and his first at Bristol.

●  There were eight caution periods for a total of 71 laps.

●  Only 19 of the 38 drivers in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race finished on the lead lap.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Subway Delivery Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“I told him (Elliott) it was kind of a chicken-$#!& move that he did there at the end. We’re racing for the frickin’ win at Bristol. We’re three-wide in the middle and he throws a temper tantrum, like I was just trying to get the lead and race him hard. Then he pulls up in front of me and just sits there until I lose the whole lead, so I just hate it for our Subway Ford Mustang team to be able to lose a race like that. I watched him let the 24 (teammate William Byron) go by and then anytime you run into him it’s a problem. They can boo all they want. I don’t care. I lost so much there and then when I got behind the car I kept getting tight off the corner and I couldn’t run my line. I’m ready to rip somebody’s freaking head off.”

Playoff Standings (to begin Round of 12):

1.    Kyle Larson (3,059 points)

2.    Martin Truex Jr. (3,029 points) -30

3.    Ryan Blaney (3,024 points) -35

4.    Denny Hamlin (3,024 points) -35

5.    Kyle Busch (3,022 points) -37

6.    Chase Elliott (3,021 points) -38

7.    Alex Bowman (3,015 points) -44

8.    William Byron (3,014 points) -45

9.    Joey Logano (3,013 points) -46

10.  Brad Keselowski (3,008 points) -51

11.  Christopher Bell (3,005 points) -54

12.  Kevin Harvick (3,002 points) -57

Failed to Advance to Round of 12:

13.  Aric Almirola (2,075 points)

14.  Tyler Reddick (2,075 points)

15.  Kurt Busch (2,071 points)

16.  Michael McDowell (2,028 points)

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the South Point 400 on Sunday, Sept. 26 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It is the fourth race of the 10-race playoffs and the first race in the Round of 12. It starts at 7 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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RCR PR

Race Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-125):

● Aric Almirola started 12th and finished 12th.

● The Smithfield Ford driver started the race with loose-handling conditions and fell to 14th place.

● Almirola pitted during the competition caution for four fresh tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments.

● He restarted 13th and fell back to 15th, but on lap 90 he started to gain momentum and drove back to 12th by lap 106.

● Almirola pitted at the end of the stage for four tires, fuel and chassis and air pressure adjustments.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 126-250):

● Almirola started 10th and finished 23rd.

● He raced his way to eighth on the restart but radioed tight-handling conditions.

● The No. 10 Smithfield Ford had smoke coming from the rear of the car right before a lap-160 caution was called.

● Almirola pitted from 10th place for four fresh tires, fuel and adjustments. The team assessed the issues and found a leak in the oil line.

● The No. 10 Ford crew swapped the oil line during the next pit stop and pitted once more to secure the hood.

● Thanks to the quick repair, Almirola started at the tail of the field and stayed on the lead lap for the remainder of the stage.

● Crew chief Mike Bugarewicz made the call to stay out of the pits to gain track position at the end of the stage.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 251-500):

● Almirola started seventh and finished 18th.

● The No. 10 Smithfield Ford driver raced to fifth on the restart.

● He held his position for 28 laps.

● Due to older tires, Almirola fell back to 10th before the caution was called on lap 364.

● Almirola pitted for four fresh tires and fuel during that caution and restarted eighth.

● He fell back to 13th before another caution was called on lap 388.

● Almirola stayed out of the pits during the caution period to restart ninth, but another caution was called on lap 400.

● Almirola restarted 12th and lost four positions on the restart. The team opted to stay out of the pits again. 

● Due to older tires, Almirola's handling conditions suffered and demoted him to 18th, ultimately knocking him out of the playoffs. 

Notes:

● Kyle Larson won the Bass Pro Shops Night Race to score his 12th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his series-leading sixth of the season and his first at Bristol. His margin over second-place Kevin Harvick was .227 of a second.

● There were eight caution periods for a total of 71 laps.

● Only 19 of the 38 drivers in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race finished on the lead lap.

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“I’m disappointed to have it end like that just because we had battled so much adversity throughout the night and got ourselves in position to where we were running top-10 and doing what we needed to do. And then that caution came out there at the end where we had 18 laps on our tires, and we stayed out. For whatever reason, when we refired on those tires the car was up on top of the racetrack and wouldn’t turn. I didn’t have any side bite and just struggled. Hats off to our Smithfield team for fixing those mechanical issues early in the race and keeping us in contention. That’s not the way we wanted it to end, but we’ll keep going and battle it out the rest of the year and see if we can’t finish inside the top-10 in points.”

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the South Point 400 on Sunday, Sept. 26, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It is the fourth race of the 10-race playoffs and the first race in the Round of 12. It starts at 7 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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Race Winner:  Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Winner:  Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 2 Winner:  Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-125):

● Cole Custer started 26th and finished 25th.

● The Autodesk Fusion 360/HaasTooling.com Ford driver picked up one position during the 40-lap run to the competition caution. He said his racecar had “really good” drive off the corner. He was concerned that it was “too tight” at the very start, predicting that conditions were only going to get tighter through the course of the race. He pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments and restarted 24th when the race went back to green on lap 48.

● Custer dropped a position to 25th before the end of the stage, saying his racecar was still too tight on the restart, then saying it was still on the tight side, that “it won’t finish the corner.” He pitted during the break for four tires, fuel, an air-pressure adjustment and a spring rubber added to the right rear.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 126-250):

● Custer started 25th and finished 30th.

● The Autodesk Fusion 360/HaasTooling.com Ford was holding down 25th place when, on lap 167, Custer was unable to avoid a multicar accident in front of him in turn two. He incurred front-end damage and came down pit road twice during the caution to make repairs. He restarted 35th on lap 181.

● Another multicar accident brought out the caution flag on lap 220, by which time Custer had moved up to 32nd place. The race then went red for seven minutes and 53 seconds for track cleanup. Custer pitted when the race went back to yellow for fuel and to remove a spring rubber from the left rear. He restarted 30th on lap 232.

● In the 18-lap run to the stage’s end, Custer said the most recent changes “unhooked the back too much on the restart, but then it got tighter.” He asked for more help with the car’s ability to turn over the long run, which he felt would help his forward drive. He pitted for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment during the break.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 251-500):

● Custer started 30th and finished 28th.

● The Autodesk Fusion 360/HaasTooling.com Ford driver picked up a position when a spinning car in turn four brought out the caution flag on lap 364. He reported his racecar restarted better, overall, “but then got tight after about 10 laps.” He pitted for four tires, fuel and air-pressure adjustments and restarted 29th on lap 370.

● The caution flag flew once again for a single-car incident in turn three. Custer, still running 29th, said the most recent changes did not improve the car’s ability to turn. He pitted for four tires, fuel and a track-bar adjustment in the left rear, and restarted 29th on lap 396.

● Custer reported he was pleased with that restart, but it was a brief run to the next caution flag for a single-car incident in turn one on lap 400. He stayed on track and restarted 29th on lap 407.

● The Ladera Ranch, California, native picked up one position the rest of the way and took the checkered flag 28th.

Notes:

●  Kyle Larson won the Bass Pro Shops Night Race to score his 12th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his sixth of the season and his first at Bristol. His margin over second-place Kevin Harvick was .227 of a second.

●  There were eight caution periods for a total of 71 laps.

●  Only 19 of the 38 drivers in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race finished on the lead lap.

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Demo Day Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“Man, I never thought we’d have this much bad luck in a season, but here we are. I can say I do feel good about getting the car solid at the end of the race tonight, but that getting caught up in that wreck in the second stage just set us back too far. It’s on to the next one.”

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the South Point 400 on Sunday, Sept. 26, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It is the fourth race of the 10-race playoffs and the first race in the Round of 12. It starts at 7 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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Race Winner:  Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Winner:  Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 2 Winner:  Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-125):

● Chase Briscoe started 20th and finished 17th.

● The Rush Truck Centers/Cummins driver gained three spots on the initial green flag and was sitting 15th when the yellow flag was displayed for the competition caution on lap 40. He asked for a slight air pressure adjustment to help with being loose on entry to the corner. He restarted 15th on lap 49.

● Briscoe radioed to the crew on lap 54 that he was too tight following the air pressure adjustments, but he lost only two positions to finish 17th in the first stage.

●  At the break, he pitted for fresh tires and a chassis adjustment.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 126-250):

● Briscoe started 17th and finished 20th.

● Briscoe began the second stage in 17th and was running in the same position when a caution occurred on lap 169. The rookie driver pitted for tires on lap 171 but was happy with the handling of his No. 14 Ford Mustang and asked for no adjustments. He restarted 17th on lap 182.

● The Rush Truck Centers/Cummins driver was running 19th when caution was displayed on lap 221 for a multicar accident resulting in a nearly eight-minute red flag delay. Once cars were refired, Briscoe pitted for a chassis adjustment and restarted 24th for the final 17 laps of the stage.

● Briscoe advanced to the 20th position by the end of the stage on lap 250.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 251-500):

● Briscoe started fifth and finished 13th.

● After staying out during the stage break, the Rush Truck Centers/Cummins team restarted fifth for the final stage. Briscoe made contact with the No. 37 on the lap-260 restart and began to quickly drop back through the field. By lap 273 he was running in the 15th position.

● On lap 305, Briscoe reported his Ford Mustang had no drove off the corner. He slipped back to 20th and went down a lap to the leader on lap 360.

● Four laps later, the sixth caution of the night occurred with Briscoe being called as the Lucky Dog and regaining his spot on the lead lap. He restarted 19th on lap 371.

● Briscoe was given one last chance to pit for adjustments under caution on lap 389 after reporting the Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Mustang was tight in the center of the turn. He restarted 15th on lap 397.

● The Cup Series rookie drove up to the 11th position on lap 467, but he lost momentum while avoiding a slower car that had made contact with the wall.

● Ultimately, Briscoe crossed the finish line in 13th.

Notes:

●  Briscoe earned his eighth top-15 of the season in his first career start on the concrete at Bristol.

●  Briscoe was the highest finishing NASCAR Cup Series rookie for the 25th time this season.

●  Kyle Larson won the Bass Pro Shops Night Race to score his 12th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his series-leading sixth of the season and his first at Bristol. His margin over second-place Kevin Harvick was .227 of a second.

●  There were eight caution periods for a total of 71 laps.

●  Only 19 of the 38 drivers in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race finished on the lead lap.

Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“I’d say we had a good night overall. We were definitely working in the right direction in terms of adjustments and just doing what we needed to do to get the best finish we could. We had a really good Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford, but it would get a little tight later in the long runs, and that would hurt us a little. I’m just glad we were able to stay out of trouble and come out with a good finish.”

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the South Point 400 on Sunday, Sept. 26, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It is the fourth race of the 10-race playoffs and the first race in the Round of 12. It starts at 7 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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The 7th edition of the annual racing event named after former track champion Kerby Damery worked wonders once again in central Illinois on Saturday. The event that has been held regularly in July was moved to September in 2020 and stayed there during the 2021 schedule. Kerby's widow Nikki has started each KerbyStrong event with a speech about the KerbyStrong Foundation's importance as well as getting checked for cancer.

Kerby Damery loved to race Macon Speedway's fast 1/5th mile dirt track and won championships in the Sportsman division and the Late Model division during his years as a driver. For that, KerbyStrong has honored those divisions as well as the Modified class with special purses and added laps during its years. Saturday night, the Decatur Building Trades Pro Late Model division would run a 40-lap feature for $1,200-to-win. Bonus money was put together by local businesses Phoenix Tile and Decatur Battery. And Jose Parga was indeed grateful.

Parga started the 40-lapper on the pole but would battle for the lead with Billy Knebel, who was racing in a Pro Late Model for the first time at Macon. Knebel would look to hold the lead out of the beginning of the race and was strong. However, a slip-up in the second turn coming to lap 16 put Parga in front and he charged away with the win.

The 15-lap feature for the Weddle Performance Engines Sportsman division was filled with unique situations and a late lead change that took a checkered flag away from Guy Taylor. Taylor started fifth in the feature and worked his way to the lead racing with Jeff Reed, Jr. for the top spot. Caution flags flew to slow the pace of the race and caused some cars to leave the track, including Scott Landers, the second place driver in the division points, who left with a flat tire. As Taylor charged for the win, Tommy Duncan came charging from the back to take the lead and the win. Duncan had to be towed off the track in the heat race and came back to start last in the feature. He was starting 19th and ran up the field to take the lead with two laps remaining.

Guy Taylor was a crazy man on Saturday night. All season long, he has raced consistently in three divisions: BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds, Pro Modifieds and the Archer's Alley Street Stocks. During KerbyStrong, he raced five of the six classes as he put his Street Stock in the Sportsman class and won his heat and finished second in the feature. He placed fourth in the Pro Late Model feature and he would get the checkered flag in the Modified feature race. Taylor charged hard for the lead and the win as he opened up early against Jeremy Nichols, Zach Rhodes and newcomer Mason Duncan. The race kept green flag racing to allow Taylor to open his lead. The race then turned to second place as Kyle Helmick, the ninth place starter and Pro Modified racer, challenging for second place with Nichols. Nichols made a mistake in the second turn of the final lap and it allowed Helmick to take the runner up position.

Helmick would take the winner's circle in the Pro Modified feature race earlier in the evening. After making the pass on Kevin Crowder who pulled into the infield with a broken racecar early on, Helmick led the 14-car field around the track for another feature win.

The Archer's Alley Street Stocks class was filled with potential winners and drivers who have tasted the glory of winning. The 15-lapper on Saturday was tasted by somebody who hasn't had that taste in a long while. Maroa's Randy Huffman has been a long-time racer and solid competitor, just hasn't been able to win the races, until Saturday night. Alongside Guy Taylor and positioning himself ahead of Terry Reed and Nick Macklin, Huffman took to the bottom and stayed clean for the full race to make his night happen. Reed gave it everything he could to get around Huffman but he ran out of time. Macklin had to pull off the track for a tire change and came back to start last. Some crafty racing and speed caught him back up to third place when the checkered flag hit the air.

The final race of the evening was the Hornet class and Michael McKay scored his third feature win of the season. The race was a quick 15-lap event as there were no cautions and plenty of action. Shelby Beiler, Billy Mason, Allan Harris and McKay were all closing in for the lead but with the help of no cautions and clean racing between points leader Harris, McKay got across the line first.

The evening was filled with success for the KerbyStrong Foundation again. Over $1,000 was raised for the 50/50 raffle. Awareness was created about getting checked out for cancers. Sponsors added money to purses and created a Dash for Cash for the Pro Late Models. Kerby Damery's legacy will continue to live on through this year's quote: "The best things in life aren't things at all."

The 2021 Macon Speedway season completes next Saturday with the Brandt Season Championships for the Decatur Building Trades Pro Late Models, BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds, Weddle Performance Engines Sportsman, Archer's Alley Street Stocks, Pro Modifieds and Hornets. Many championships are already decided while others will need the final night to sort out the rightful champ.

Decatur Building Trades Big 10 Pro Late Models

1. 6P-Jose Parga[New Berlin, IL]; 2. 7-Billy Knebel[Pocahontas, IL]; 3. 14J-Braden Johnson[Taylorville, IL]; 4. 134-Guy Taylor[Springfield, IL]; 5. 27-Colby Sheppard[Williamsville, IL]; 6. 77-Blaise Baker[Clinton, IL]; 7. 10-Blake Damery[Blue Mound, IL]; 8. 64-Donny Koehler[Macon, IL]; 9. 5B-Brandon Sweitzer[Lincoln, IL]; 10. 14-Derek Smith[Decatur, IL]

BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds

1. 77-Guy Taylor[Springfield, IL]; 2. 27X-Kyle Helmick[Smithton, IL]; 3. 19C-Jeremy Nichols[Lovington, IL]; 4. 52-Billy Knebel[Pocahontas, IL]; 5. 95-Rodney Standerfer[Summerfield, IL]; 6. 32-Mason Duncan[Metamora, IL]; 7. 11-Zach Rhodes[Taylorville, IL]; 8. 98-Danny Smith[Argenta, IL]; 9. 87C-Alan Crowder[Elwin, IL]; 10. 78-Maxx Emerson[Taylorville, IL]

DIRTcar Pro Mods

1. 27X-Kyle Helmick[Smithton, IL]; 2. 52-Billy Knebel[Pocahontas, IL]; 3. 14E-Evan Lynch[Hillsboro, IL]; 4. 3X-Justin Reynolds[Hillsboro, IL]; 5. 11-Roy Magee[Springfield, IL]; 6. 10-Adam Rhoades[Clinton, IL]; 7. 116-Kevin Rench[Hillsboro, IL]; 8. 4-William Lowe[Springfield, IL]; 9. 11A-Amanda Adams[Shelbyville, IL]; 10. (DNF) 24-Guy Taylor[Springfield, IL]

Weddle Performance Engines Sportsman

1. 32-Tommy Duncan[Metamora, IL]; 2. X7-Guy Taylor[Springfield, IL]; 3. 53R-Jeff Reed Jr[Blue Mound, IL]; 4. 87-Wes O'Dell[Springfield, IL]; 5. 84L-Jim Farley III[Springfield, IL]; 6. Z24-Zach Taylor[Springfield, IL]; 7. 11-Rick Roedel[Shelbyville, IL]; 8. 55-Tim Riech[Petersburg, IL]; 9. 11M-Roy Magee[Springfield, IL]; 10. 4-Matt Reed[Decatur, IL]

Archers Alley Street Stocks

1. 46-Randy Huffman[Maroa, IL]; 2. 11-Terry Reed[Cerro Gordo, IL]; 3. 16-Nick Macklin[Argenta, IL]; 4. X7-Guy Taylor[Springfield, IL]; 5. Z24-Zach Taylor[Springfield, IL]; 6. 22-Darrell Dick[Monticello, IL]; 7. R1-Megan Erwin[Attica, IN]; 8. J98-Jordan Smith[Argenta, IL]; 9. 67-Rudy Zaragoza[Jacksonville, IL]; 10. 08-Brian Dasenbrock Jr[Decatur, IL]

DIRTcar Hornets

1. 26A-Michael McKay[Springfield, IL]; 2. 3H-Allan Harris[Chatham, IL]; 3. 324-Shelby Beiler[Macon, IL]; 4. 357-Billy Mason[Brownstown, IL]; 5. J13-Justin Coffey[Stonington, IL]; 6. X-Nick Lowe[Springfield, IL]; 7. 313-Gabe Rusher[Stonington, IL]; 8. 2-Jordan Reed[Decatur, IL]; 9. 63-Paul Peters[Pana, IL]; 10. 24M-Kagome Brown[Shelbyville, IL]

Macon Speedway PR

Q. You don't feel you were raced very well by Kevin there.

CHASE ELLIOTT: Well, it's something he does all the time. He runs into your left side constantly at other tracks. Sometimes it does cut down your left side, other times it doesn't. Did it to me in Darlington a few weeks ago because he was tired of racing me.

Whether he did it on purpose doesn't matter. At some point you have to draw a line. I don't care who he is or how long he's been doing it, I'm going to stand up for myself and my team and we're going down the road.

Q. This happens a lot of places you said. Things like this typically happen at Bristol.

CHASE ELLIOTT: I just ran my line. I'm super happy for Kyle, man. He's had a heck of a year. He's a good dude. A great race car driver. Deserves his accomplishments, deserves his success.

I'm happy for Team Hendrick. Wish I could have got our Hooters Chevrolet in Victory Lane. But we'll try again next week.

Junk Car racing made its annual visit to Mahoning Valley Speedway and in typical fashion of the gut-n-go class and its drivers the action was wild and wooly from start to finish.

And emerging victorious as a first time winner was Michael Klotz who amazingly in the final few laps withstood a bombardment of obstacles stemming from a very slick track to lapped traffic and one pesky driver that was persistent in an attempt to unseat the subsequent victor who at one point was turned sideways but recovered and never wavered from the lead.

It was a drive that is worthy of bench racing for years to come as Klotz exhibited seasoned veteran like reflexes in a gripping race that at any moment could have muddled.

Ironically a year ago in this same event Klotz crashed to a halt at the start/finish line as the checkered flag waved and this year he again parked at the finish line, only this time as the winner.

Travis Solomon did a fine job of also avoiding much of the chaos and took a solid second while Marco Drago was third which was a career best effort.          

Run under the direction of Old School Promotions, a strong field of 42 cars took part in the Saturday afternoon program.

To make things challenging for drivers the heats were split in direction from counter clockwise to clockwise by virtue of a coin toss before each prelim. The 30-lap feature was raced going in the opposite route. Additionally large Euclid tires where placed around the perimeter of the track and water was then spewed onto corner two/three.    

Three 15-laps heats were won by Kevin Behler, James Tout and Travis Solomon. Conner Drakely scored the 10-lap consi.

MVS PR

Q. Kevin, not happy with Chase Elliott. What was the conversation between you and Chase after the race?

KEVIN HARVICK: I just told him it was kind of a chicken-shit move he did there at the end. We're racing for the freakin' win at Bristol, three-wide, he throws a temper tantrum. I was just trying to get the lead and race him hard. Then he pulls up in front of me and sits there till I lose the whole lead.

Just hate for it our Subway Ford Mustang team to lose a race like that. I watched him let the 24 go by. Anytime you run into him, it's a problem. So they can boo all they want. I don't care.

Q. How much of this is compounded by the fact that you were so close to winning, to have it slip away? Also what happened when he went by you again?

KEVIN HARVICK: Yeah, well, I lost so much there. Then when I got behind the car, I kept getting tied up off the corner. I couldn't run my line. So, damn, I'm ready to rip somebody's freaking head off.

Brittany Force earned her eighth consecutive No. 1 qualifier in Top Fuel competition and took over the overall points lead, while her father, 16-time Funny Car champion John Force, powered his dragster to the top of the Funny Car ladder for the 163^rd time in his career at Saturday’s DEWALT NHRA Carolina Nationals.

Brittany Force’s Friday night, track-record pass of 3.662 seconds at 331.85 mph held up in the heat on Saturday, while John Force used a 3.860-second pass at 332.18 mph to earn top honors in the Funny Car ranks.

For the younger Force, the eight-race streak sets a single-season Top Fuel qualifying record that has only been eclipsed once, when Gary Beck earned nine in a row (over two seasons) in 1983, three years before she was born.

“We’re not there yet, but the possibility that we could hold a big record with a name like that, that’s really cool,” Force said. “It makes me very proud of this entire team. It’s not easy to do, I’ll tell you that. But what’s really not easy is winning on race day, and that’s what we’re focused on right now.”

Saturday’s feat also marked the fifth time the father-daughter duo both earned No. 1 qualifiers at the same event, including once when the NHRA last visited zMAX Dragway in May. And while the qualifying accolades are special, both drivers said the ultimate goal is going rounds on Sunday and earn critical championship points.

“We’re excited about the weekend,” John Force said. “It’s Countdown time and now’s the time to show your stuff. As I said yesterday, there’s a bunch of other cars in this hunt. There’s five or six that right within a round anybody can take a lead, so we’ll just see how it goes.”

In Pro Stock, Bossier City, Louisiana native Aaron Stanfield earned the first No. 1 qualifier of his career, holding off championship hopefuls Greg Anderson and Erica Enders to earn the yellow hat that goes to the top qualifier.

NGK NTK NHRA Four-Wide National winner Steve Johnson will look for a season sweep in the Pro Stock Motorcycle as the quickest of the two-wheel pros on Saturday.

With temperatures forecast in the mid-80s under sunny skies, the action will heat up for Sunday’s pivotal Countdown eliminations. Racing is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m.

SCHEDULE:

NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series eliminations are scheduled for 10:30 a.m.

TICKETS:

To purchase tickets, camping and upgrades to this weekend’s DEWALT NHRA Carolina Nationals, visit www.zmaxdragway.com or call 800-455-FANS (3267). For more information about the NHRA visit www.NHRA.com.

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