Kyle Larson won at Sonoma making it back to back victories while sweeping every Stage along the way. Larson made it look easy as he held off Chase Elliott and Martin Truex, Jr. Elliott was vying for his first won at Sonoma after being dominant at every other road course and Truex was going for his third Sonoma win.
Kyle Larson went out and flat out dominated the Coca Cola 600 by winning every stage and leading 327 of the 400 laps. He led the way for Team Hendrick as the organization put all four drivers in the Top 5. Only Kyle Busch (P3) broke up the Chevy and Hendrick Motorsports dominance. The four Hendrick teammates combined to lead 373 of the 400 laps. Talk about a smack down!
It was probably just a matter of time before Chase Elliott scored his first win of the season and it is only fitting it was at another road course. NASCAR had two races this season which were really big PR moves and both nearly failed due to driver visibility issues. Both the inaugural Bristol dirt race and the COTA were stopped when visibility became so bad that drivers were put into positions where they literally could not see past the hood of their cars. Only sheer luck saved anyone from being seriously hurt, especially at the COTA race. (more…)
Alex Bowman grabbed victory from Kyle Larson with the fastest pit stop on the final yellow flag pit stop. Larson led a race high 263 laps and won both Stage 1 and 2 but gave up his dominating race to Bowman on the last stop.
Martin Truex, Jr. went out and showed everyone how it’s done. He won the first two Stages, led 248 of 293 laps and then went to victory lane for his series-leading third win — something no other Stage winner has done. That’s what we call a spanking. (more…)
Brad Keselowski led the most important lap at Talladega, the final one. In a wild, pitched battle for the win, Keselowski got a huge push from Michael McDowell and Kevin Harvick to eke out his 6th Talladega win over Matt DiBenedetto. DiBenedetto (P5) once again came up just short for his first ever Cup win after leading 28 laps and “winning” Stage 1.
Alex Bowman returned Hendrick Motorsports to its winning ways at Richmond after leading the final 10 laps and stealing the win from a previously dominant Denny Hamlin. (more…)
After a less than stellar weekend of attempting to race on the new dirt track at Bristol, Monday saw clear skies that allowed to race to continue. The rains meant the track was basically a “mud pit” and any attempt at practice or qualifying coated the cars in mud in just a single lap. If you weren’t the lead car, you literally couldn’t see. It was a scene that was very reminiscent of the disastrous tire issues at Indianapolis in 2008.
Martin Truex, Jr. was certainly a contender for a win at Phoenix but not the first name that came to mind. He was a no show in Stage 1 after brushing the wall but was running second to Joey Logano at the end of Stage 2. (more…)
