After a wild race at the behemoth that is Talladega Superspeedway last weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series prepares for this Sunday’s Buschy McBusch Race 400 (3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Kansas Speedway, its fourth event of the 2021 season on a 1.5-mile track. (more…)
CONCORD, N.C. (April 27, 2021) – Valvoline has expanded its partnership with 13-time NASCAR Cup Series champions Hendrick Motorsports by adding primary sponsorship of playoff-contending drivers Kyle Larson and William Byron for the next two seasons. (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.
Known as the most competitive track on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway is the perfect stage for the wild side-by-side action NASCAR fans love and this weekend’s GEICO 500 (Sunday, April 25 at 2 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) should produce just that. (more…)
Joey Logano of Middletown, CT wasn’t as dominant as Denny Hamlin but felt he had just as good a chance to win Sunday’s Cup race at Richmond.
Hamlin led on the final restart with 10 of 400 laps remaining with Logano lined up alongside him. While Hamlin had led the most laps in the race, Logano had shown the ability to lead late in the event.
It looked like the duo would duel to the finish.
Enter Alex Bowman. (more…)
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…)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 5, 2021) – Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia, going into the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 on Sunday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90). (more…)
Ford Driver Completes First Cup Race at South Carolina Track
Date: May 17, 2020
Event: The Real Heroes 400
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (1.366-mile oval)
Format: 293 laps, broken into three stages (90 laps/95 laps/108 laps)
Start/Finish: 14th/22nd (Running, completed 293 of 293 laps)
Point Standing: 24th with 88 points, 130 out of first
Race Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-90):
● Cole Custer started 14th and finished 21st.
● Within the first 10 laps Custer worked his way into the top-10.
● On lap 12 he reported his HaasTooling.com Mustang was tight.
● The Ford driver reached the eighth spot by lap 18.
● During the competition caution on lap 30, Custer reported his Mustang was still too tight while in the ninth position.
● He restarted on lap 39 after a pit stop for fuel, four tires and adjustments.
● Ended Stage 1 in the 21st spot with a tight Ford Mustang. Pitted during the break for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help with his tight condition.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 91-185):
● Custer started 18th and finished 22nd.
● During the lap-110 caution Custer radioed to his crew that his HaasTooling.com Mustang was much better that run, but still a little tight. He pitted from 14th and restarted 15th on lap 116.
● During a caution on lap 125 Custer said his car was tight and pitted from 21st for fuel, four tires and adjustments.
● Restarted 17th on lap 130.
● Caution displayed on lap 156 with Custer in the 22nd position. He reported his Mustang “wasn’t bad” during that run and visited pit road for service.
● Restarted 22nd on lap 161, and was in the 19th spot on lap 165.
● Caution once again on lap 173 and Custer reported his car was decent from the 19th spot. Pitted for fuel, four tires and adjustments, and restarted 21st.
● Custer came down pit road during the Stage 2 break from 22nd for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help loosen his Mustang.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 186-293):
● Custer started 22nd and finished 22nd.
● Caution on lap 211 with the California native in the 22nd position. He reported his HaasTooling.com Mustang was pretty good, but was struggling to pass.
● Restarted 22nd on lap 218 and was 23rd when the next caution was displayed on lap 250.
● Pitted on lap 254 for fuel, four tires and adjustments to loosen up his Ford Mustang. Restarted 22nd on lap 258.
● With 25 laps left, Custer was back in the top-20.
● The Cup Series rookie finished 22nd in his first series start at Darlington.
Notes:
● There were 10 caution periods for a total of 57 laps.
● Only 24 of the 40 drivers in The Real Heroes 400 finished on the lead lap.
● Harvick remains the championship leader after Darlington with a 28-point advantage over second-place Bowman.
Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“Definitely wasn’t the day we wanted at Darlington. We started off the race really good. We were in the top-10 and I was pretty confident with the car, but I think I probably started out too conservative. I didn’t want get the Darlington stripe and ruin our day my first time here in a Cup car. I think I put us too far behind and it was so hard to come back from there. I’m looking forward to Wednesday. I feel like I learned a lot and we’ll be a lot stronger.”
Next Up:
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Darlington on Wednesday, May 20 for a 500-kilometer race. It starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Smithfield/#GoodFoodChallenge Ford Driver Runs Top-Five Before Penalty Derails Day
Date: May 17, 2020
Event: The Real Heroes 400
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Darlington (S.C) Raceway (1.366-mile oval)
Format: 293 laps, broken into three stages (90 laps/95 laps/108 laps)
Start/Finish: 5th/12th (
Point Standing: 7th (151 points, 67 out of first)
Race Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-90):
● Aric Almirola started fifth and finished sixth, earning five bonus points.
● The No. 10 Smithfield/#GoodFoodChallenge Ford Mustang fell outside of the top-10 and Almirola raced his way back to eighth before the lap-30 competition caution. He took four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments.
● During the restart, Almirola raced his way to sixth place.
● Spotter Joel Edmonds told Almirola he was turning top-three lap times on lap 86.
● At the end of the stage, Almirola pitted for four tires, fuel and wedge adjustments. He said he needed more front turn.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 91-185):
● Almirola started seventh and finished 21st.
● The No. 10 Smithfield/#GoodFoodChallenge Ford Mustang raced to the top-five in the opening laps.
● On lap 112, the caution was called with Aric in the seventh position. He pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments.
● Almirola pitted again on lap 125 under caution from 10th place for four tires, fuel and more chassis adjustments.
● Another caution was called on lap 154. Almirola pitted for four tires, fuel and reversed prior adjustments.
● He was handed an uncontrolled tire penalty and was demoted to the rear of the field.
● Almirola raced back to 21st before the stage ended. He took four tires, fuel and adjustments following Stage 2.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 186-293):
● Almirola started 21st and finished 12th.
● Almirola said the No. 10 Smithfield/#GoodFoodChallenge Ford Mustang was building tighter at lap 202.
● He pitted under caution on lap 216 for four tires, fuel and adjustments from the 17th position.
● On lap 243, Almirola and the No. 10 Ford team began to see top-five lap speeds.
● Almirola pitted on lap 255 for four fresh tires, fuel and adjustments and came off pit road 16th.
● He gained four spots on the final restart and raced just outside of the top-10 before the checkered flag waved.
Notes:
● This was Almirola’s third straight top-12. He finished eighth March 1 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, and eighth in the series’ last race at Phoenix.
● Almirola’s 12th-place result was just shy of bettering his previous best finish at Darlington – 11th, earned in the 2015 Southern 500.
● There were 10 caution periods for a total of 57 laps.
● Only 24 of the 40 drivers in The Real Heroes 400 finished on the lead lap.
● Harvick remains the championship leader after Darlington with a 28-point advantage over second-place Bowman.
Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield/#GoodFoodChallenge Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“It was a decent day for us. When we had track position we ran up front. That was nice. Then we lost track position and got put to the back of the field. We just had to fight and climb our way back up for the rest of the race, but I’m really proud of my guys and I thought we had a top-10 car. We scored some stage points and had a solid day. I’m proud of everybody. I’m proud of NASCAR being
the first sport to get things going again. It was kind of eerie to walk out to pit road and not see anyone in the grandstands, but it sure felt good to get back in the race car and that thrill of competition was much needed. I hope everybody enjoyed it and I hope everybody got their fix on sports from watching us race. We’re one step closer back to normal. We’ll try again here Wednesday night and see if we can’t get it done. Congrats to Harvick on the win.”
Next Up:
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Darlington on Wednesday, May 20 for a 500-kilometer race. It starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
