In a surprising finish, rookie Cole Custer stole the show from the veteran drivers on the final restart to win not only his first Cup race, but he became the first rookie to win at Kentucky. All past winners at Kentucky Speedway are Cup champions, which could speak to Custer’s future. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.
CONCORD, N.C. (May 24, 2020) – Chris Buescher picked up three spots during a feverish final two-lap dash to bring his No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford home 11th in Sunday night’s famed Coke 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Buescher and the No. 17 team battled to the final turn, overcoming an early penalty on pit road to secure the solid finish in one of NASCAR’s biggest events of the season.
After qualifying 19th,
Buescher hit the track running top-five lap times, driving up to 23rd before the field was red flagged for heavy rain in the area. Once the weather subsided and racing resumed, the No. 17 team hit pit road for four more tires and fuel and Buescher moved his car up to 16th at the end of Stage 1.
The 2015 Xfinity Series champion pitted at the stage break for grill tape, four tires and fuel and returned to the field in 13th position. Halfway through the second stage, Buescher was toggling between 12th and 15th. As the first green-flag pit stops cycled through, the team elected to pit for four more tires and fuel. Back on track in 20th and one lap down, Buescher reported that his Ford was tight across the center and that his long run speed was off. The No. 17 team took the green-white checkered 18th, earning the free pass position to restart stage three back on the lead lap.
The longest green flag runs of the race came in Stage 3. Buescher held steady in 18th all the way up to a green flag pit stop at lap 256. The team took four tires and fuel, returning to the track one lap down and 21st. Spotter Mike Herman reported a tire rub on the No. 17 machine, but fortunately the smoke subsided as the team continued to focus on making lap times. At lap 275, a competitor car hit the wall and Buescher took the opportunity to pit for fresh tires and fuel with the caution. The driver restarted 17th, but finished the stage 15th.
Buescher’s successful stage break pitstop for four tires and fuel helped him to restart 13th. The driver lost momentum on the restart and slid back to 16th. A late race caution allowed the No. 17 team to pit one more time to fix the front turn. The adjustments and strong restart helped propel Buescher to the
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Charlotte Motor Speedway Wednesday for a 310-mile (205-lap) event, scheduled for 8 p.m. ET (FS1, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90).
Recap the Great American Race in this 52 minute cutdown of NASCAR Cup Series racing in the 2020 Daytona 500. (more…)
It didn’t look like Joey Logano was going to win the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas but he got all the luck there was and brought home the checkers.
The start of the race saw the Toyotas of Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell go to the back for unapproved changes to the nose of the car that were found in inspection. Qualifying was washed out by rain so the field was set by owner’s points. (more…)
First of all, let’s get right to what really matters and thank God (or whatever higher power you believe in) that Ryan Newman survived what looked to be one of the worst wrecks in recent NASCAR history. There have been some pretty awful wrecks in automotive racing in various forms, NASCAR, IRL, F1, and other but this one had all the earmarks of a very serious accident, reminding many of the terrible crash that killed Dale Earnhardt. (more…)
This weekend was the start of the NASCAR racing season with the ARCA race that saw Michael Self towing the remaining cars across the finish line, with Hailie Deegan staying in line to record her first ever runner up position at Daytona. She tied Shawna Robinson and Erin Crocker for the best finish by a woman in ARCA history. (more…)
Denny Hamlin led a dominating 153 laps to win and advance to the next round of the playoffs. Although 10 drivers officially led laps, Kyle Larson was next in line with 60 and Martin Truex, Jr. led 33. After that, no single driver led more than 7 laps. (more…)
What do you do when you qualify 19th but know you have a fast car and crash head on into the barrier while leading the race? Why you go on to win the race, by golly! (more…)
Both Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch experienced some on-track frustration of their own making this past weekend at Watkins Glen.
From Ryan Preece’s daring moves to avoid total disaster to Martin Truex Jr. and Austin Dillon’s day being ruined. Relive all the best in-car camera angles from Daytona’s ‘Big One’.
Video courtesy of NASCAR Media
