Logano steals Vegas win; clinches Championship 4 berth

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

LAS VEGAS -- Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano made his Team Penske’s fuel strategy call work to perfection Sunday afternoon to claim victory in the South Point 400 Playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and earn the first of four NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 berths.

 

Logano led only the final six laps on the Vegas 1.5-miler but was able to hold off the afternoon’s most dominant car, Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota by a slight .662-second in the final few laps.

 

Bell, on the other hand, led a race-best 155 of the race’s 267 laps and won Stage 2, but he pit 35 laps later than Logano and was not able to make up the nearly 30-second advantage Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford held on track after Bell’s stop.

 

Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suaraez, who also used the same strategy as Logano, finished third after leading 57 laps, followed by Playoff driver, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron and Hendrick’s Alex Bowman.

 

It’s been quite the turn of fortune for Logano, who a week ago following a race at the Charlotte ROVAL thought he was eliminated from the Playoffs only to receive news from NASCAR hours after the checkered flag that he was reinstated. Bowman had initially held that Playoff position, but his car was ruled illegal in post-race inspection and he was disqualified after the ROVAL race.

 

That meant Logano, not Bowman would advance to this Round of 8 which includes two more races – next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway and then Nov. 3 at Martinsville, Va. - to set the four-driver Championship field. Of note, Logano’s last Las Vegas Playoff race win in 2022 propelled him to the series championship.

 

“Man, we did some fuel mileage stuff, didn't we? Holy crap,’’ said a smiling Logano, whose four career wins now at Las Vegas ties NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson for most all-time at the track.

 

“What an incredible turn of events here the last week. Very fast Pennzoil Mustang. We're going to the Championship 4 again. It's real. Great fuel mileage, great calls by [crew chief] Paul [Wolfe], Nick Hensley, our gas man, making sure she's full, giving me the info to keep the lead that we needed to. We're going racing again. What an incredible situation, man. I'm so blessed.

 

“Just incredible day. Like I said, it takes the whole team to do the fuel mileage stuff. Not just the engineers, spotter. It takes all of us to do it. Total team win. We may not have been the fastest car today, but we were a solid top-five car and be able to maximize it at the end.’’

 

Bell was as disappointed as Logano was elated.

 

“I don’t know [how to come to terms with the race ending] and I don’t think I have come to terms yet’’ said Bell, who is now 0-for-13 in wins after starting a race from pole position.

 

“Just a bummer. I think everyone on this team did everything perfect today. This thing was obviously on rails, pit crew did an amazing job and [pit crew] Adam [Stevens] called a great race. Did everything we needed to, but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be today.’’

 

“The points look pretty good, but you’re never safe in this deal,’’ Bell added. “We needed to win today and unfortunately, we didn’t. We’ll go on to the next one.’’

 

The race certainly provided major implications for the eight Playoff drivers – three of them were eliminated from winning contention by Stage 2, two more struggled with pit stops thereafter, leaving Logano, Bell, Byron and eighth place finisher Denny Hamlin to lead the championship presence among the top-10. Bell’s afternoon was good enough to propel him into the championship points lead with a 42-point advantage on the cutoff line.

 

Hamlin’s eighth-place effort was impressive after a difficult day for his No. 11 Toyota team, which endured a challenging day on pit road before also using a similar fuel-save plan to Logano.

 

His teammate JGR’s Martin Truex Jr. was sixth, followed by Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, Hamlin, Legacy Motor Club’s John Hunter Nemechek and Roush-Fenway-Keselowski’s Chris Buescher.

 

Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson finished 11th – falling off the lead lap at one point after also having a bad pit stop. He is now second in the points standings, 35 points above the cutoff line and his Hendrick teammate Byron holds that important fourth place, 27 points ahead of Hamlin.

 

Regular season champion and the race’s outside polesitter Tyler Reddick finished 35th, eliminated after a roll-over accident in tight racing on lap 90. The accident collected fellow Playoff driver, Chase Elliott along with Brad Keselowski and reigning series champion and Playoff driver Ryan Blaney.

 

“We can still have a good day at Homestead and be in the mix in Martinsville,’’ a frustrated Reddick said. “Ideally, yeah, it would have been nice to win today. It would be nice to win next week, and that is what we will focus on, but thankfully we got 10 stage points in stage one, and it’s not like we are absolutely out of it on points, yet. We are going to have to be perfect here on out, probably.”

 

It was a rough weekend from even before the race’s green flag for Blaney, who suffered a flat tire in Saturday’s opening practice that put his primary No. 12 Team Penske Ford into the wall. He started his back-up from last in the 37-car field Sunday and was steadily moving forward before being caught up in that multi-car accident with Reddick and Elliott. He finished 32nd. Elliott was 33rd.

 

Hamlin is fifth in the championship standings, 27 off Byron. Reddick is 30 points below the cutoff line, followed by Blaney (-47) and Elliott (-53).

 

The NASCAR Cup Series moves to South Florida for Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Bell is the defending race winner.

 

NASCAR Cup Series Race - South Point 400

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Las Vegas, Nevada

Sunday, October 20, 2024

 

                1. (10)  Joey Logano (P), Ford, 267.

                2. (1)  Christopher Bell (P), Toyota, 267.

                3. (23)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 267.

                4. (9)  William Byron (P), Chevrolet, 267.

                5. (3)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 267.

                6. (12)  Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 267.

                7. (7)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 267.

                8. (4)  Denny Hamlin (P), Toyota, 267.

                9. (26)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 267.

                10. (22)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 267.

                11. (5)  Kyle Larson (P), Chevrolet, 267.

                12. (19)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 267.

                13. (20)  Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 267.

                14. (35)  Corey LaJoie, Ford, 267.

                15. (31)  Harrison Burton, Ford, 267.

                16. (14)  Zane Smith #, Chevrolet, 267.

                17. (16)  Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 267.

                18. (21)  Noah Gragson, Ford, 267.

                19. (33)  Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 267.

                20. (15)  Michael McDowell, Ford, 267.

                21. (36)  Cody Ware, Ford, 267.

                22. (32)  Ryan Preece, Ford, 266.

                23. (6)  Carson Hocevar #, Chevrolet, 266.

                24. (28)  Josh Berry #, Ford, 266.

                25. (27)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 266.

                26. (24)  Chase Briscoe, Ford, 266.

                27. (25)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 266.

                28. (29)  Jimmie Johnson, Toyota, 265.

                29. (34)  Shane Van Gisbergen(i), Chevrolet, 265.

                30. (8)  Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 264.

                31. (30)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 263.

                32. (37)  Ryan Blaney (P), Ford, 259.

                33. (18)  Chase Elliott (P), Chevrolet, Suspension, 230.

                34. (11)  Austin Cindric, Ford, DVP, 96.

                35. (2)  Tyler Reddick (P), Toyota, Accident, 89.

                36. (17)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, Accident, 89.

                37. (13)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, Accident, 61.

 

Average Speed of Race Winner:  139.385 mph.

Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 52 Mins, 24 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.662 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  5 for 32 laps.

Lead Changes:  13 among 10 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   C. Bell (P) 1-36;R. Blaney (P) 37-40;C. Bell (P) 41-67;M. Truex Jr. 68-74;T. Reddick (P) 75-83;D. Hamlin (P) 84-87;T. Gibbs 88-110;C. Bell (P) 111-123;K. Larson (P) 124;D. Suarez 125-150;C. Bell (P) 151-229;W. Byron (P) 230;D. Suarez 231-261;J. Logano (P) 262-267.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Christopher Bell (P) 4 times for 155 laps; Daniel Suarez 2 times for 57 laps; Ty Gibbs 1 time for 23 laps; Tyler Reddick (P) 1 time for 9 laps; Martin Truex Jr. 1 time for 7 laps; Joey Logano (P) 1 time for 6 laps; Denny Hamlin (P) 1 time for 4 laps; Ryan Blaney (P) 1 time for 4 laps; William Byron (P) 1 time for 1 lap; Kyle Larson (P) 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 45,20,19,24,6,54,17,22,2,5

Stage #2 Top Ten: 20,19,24,17,22,48,7,99,23,41

 

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Christopher Bell collects third Busch Light Pole Award at Las Vegas

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service 

 

LAS VEGAS – Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell earned the pole position for Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) – his third pole of the year and third at the 1.5-mile Vegas high banks.

 

Saturday’s lap of 185.344 mph in the No. 20 JGR Toyota bested fellow NASCAR Cup Series Playoff driver Tyler Reddick’s No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota by a slight .013-second. It marks the 13th career pole position for the 29-year old Bell, however a win Sunday would be his first victory from the top starting spot on the grid.

 

The second-place starter has won the last three Las Vegas races. Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch is the last driver to win at Vegas from pole position – in 2009.

 

“I feel really good, I feel really comfortable,’’ said Bell, who is currently ranked second to Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson in the championship as the three-race Round of 8 takes the green flag Sunday.

 

“In practice, I don’t think the pace showed what we had but inside the car I felt super, super comfortable so I know we’ll have a shot tomorrow.”

 

“I’ve been in this position many a time and haven’t won the race . …We’ve come close several times and this is a great race track for me so I’m really optimistic. I think we’ve got the car to do it.” 

 

Six of the eight Playoff cars advanced to the final round of qualifying including Bell’s JGR teammate Denny Hamlin, who will roll off fourth. Larson – who has won the last two races in Las Vegas - will start fifth, Hendrick’s William Byron and Team Penske’s Joey Logano, who will start ninth and 10threspectively.

 

Hendrick’s Alex Bowman,, who was eliminated from Playoff contention just last week, will start third. Spire Motorsports rookie Carson Hocevar will roll off sixth. Trackhouse Racing’ Ross Chastain (seventh) and JGR’s Ty Gibbs (eighth) were the other drivers to advance to the final qualifying round.

 

Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott was one of only two Playoff drivers who did not make the final round of time trials and he will start his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 18th.

 

The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney, had an incident during practice – hitting the wall after cutting a rear tire – and was forced to miss qualifying. He will put a back-up No. 12 Penske Ford on the grid, starting last in the 37-car field.

 

 “It’ll be a big challenge for multiple reasons, but I feel confident,’’ said Blaney, whose 11.4 average finish at Las Vegas is third best among the Playoff drivers.

 

“Hopefully, we can make our way through there.  We’ve got all race.  We might not be able to get stage points in the first one, but hopefully by the second one maybe we’ll get some stage points and then hopefully the speed is good enough to where we can run up towards the front.  Yeah, it sets us back a little bit, but this group is ready to go and they know the new task.  It’s gonna be a tall one tomorrow, but I’ve got faith we can make the most of it.”

 

Of note, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will start 29th in the No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota – the eighth start of the season for the team’s owner-driver. New Zealander Shane Van Gisbergen will start 34th in the Kaulig Racing No. 16 Chevrolet.

 

 

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Kyle Larson dominates at Charlotte Roval, as Tyler Reddick stays alive in Playoffs

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

October 13, 2024

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

CONCORD, N.C.—Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400 was as much about Tyler Reddick’s heroic drive into the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs as it was about Kyle Larson’s continued domination of elimination races.

 

As Larson cruised to his second Playoff victory this season—and his second in an elimination race—Reddick charged forward from 26th after a Lap 84 restart and clawed his way to 11th—good enough to knock two-time series champion Joey Logano out of the Playoffs by eight points.

 

Logano’s exit was temporary, however. In post-race inspection, Alex Bowman’s Chevrolet failed NASCAR’s weight requirement and was disqualified, knocking the driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet below the elimination line and restoring Logano to the Round of 8.

 

Mirroring his rout in the final Round of16 event at Bristol Motor Speedway, Larson grabbed the lead for the restart of Stage 2 and stayed out front for 62 of the final 82 laps at the 2.28-mile, 17-turn Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.

 

The driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet crossed the finish line 1.511 seconds ahead of Christopher Bell, the only driver who could stay in the same zip code with the race winner. Third-place William Byron was 8.965 seconds behind at the finish.

 

With his sixth victory of the season, his second at the Roval and the 29th of his career, Larson led two other Hendrick teammates into the final eight—Byron, and fifth-place finisher Chase Elliott.

 

“Really, it's the first time in my Playoff career I've not been close to the cut line, so it was good to kind of have a little bit stress-free of a weekend,” said Larson, whose previous win at the Roval came during his 2021 championship season. “I think the first time I've been here without crashing, maybe, besides the other time I won.

 

“It's known that I don't really use the sim (simulator) much, and I was in the sim this week. It really helped me get into a rhythm I think early on and helped us kind of fine-tune our car, too.”

 

Joining Bowman on the sidelines were Team Penske’s Austin Cindric (fourth on Sunday), Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez (31st) and Stewart-Haas Racin’gs Chase Briscoe (37th), leaving reigning series champion Ryan Blaney (10th) and Logano as the two Ford drivers left in the Playoff field.

 

If Larson’s dominating run stole the suspense from his victory, Reddick’s charge over the final 26-lap green-flag run provided nail-biting drama.

 

After pole winner Shane van Gisbergen (21 laps led) and Larson pitted from the top two spots in Stage 1, Reddick, the regular-season champion, stayed out in the lead to collect 10 stage points and an additional Playoff point on Lap 25.

 

A pit stop during the stage break mired Reddick in traffic for a Lap 30 restart, and then calamity struck. In the newly reconfigured Turn 7 hairpin, the new corner of chaos, Austin Dillon turned sideways in a melee that saw Reddick jump the curbing and smash into his 23XI Racing team owner Denny Hamlin.

 

Reddick’s car was severely damaged, and only a succession of pit stops throughout the remainder of the race—including a lengthy sojourn under caution to repair the left-rear toe link—made it competitive for the final run.

 

“Yeah, I thought I was going to flip, but I think I was behind the 19 (Martin Truex Jr.)—trying to work the move to the inside,” Reddick said of the wreck. “I got clear of him—I saw the 3 (Dillon) spun and everyone on the binders coming to a stop, and of course, me and my boss (Hamlin) get together. It was like I was going to do a front flip. This thing was absolutely destroyed.

 

“Huge props to everyone on this Monster Energy Toyota Camry. This thing couldn’t go within four seconds of what the pace was, and we just kept working on it. We were a lot better in Stage 3. This is how this place can be sometimes, but it is really nice to pull this off.”

 

It was crew chief Billy Scott’s call to bring Reddick to pit road for new tires under caution on Lap 82 that proved decisive. The fresh Goodyears were the ammunition Reddick needed to pass 15 cars during the final run and eclipse Logano’s point total by four.

 

But the drama became moot with Bowman’s disqualification.

 

“You just have to stay calm,” Reddick said. “You just have to stay focused. In those moments, it is so easy to lose control. Either way, I was going to drive the car as fast as I could. It just worked out for us that this thing was able to get back through the field and get us to the good side of the cut line.”

 

By the time the second stage ended, Larson and Bell had clinched spots in the Round of 8. Hamlin, who ran 14th on Sunday, also advanced. Bowman was nine points above the elimination line at the finish before the crushing disqualification and would have been the fourth Hendrick driver in the final eight.

 

At the checkered flag on Sunday, AJ Allmendinger was sixth, followed by Van Gisbergen, Logano, Bubba Wallace, Blaney and Reddick.

 

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Shane van Gisbergen sweeps pole positions at Charlotte Road Course

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

CONCORD, N.C.—New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen monopolized qualifying on Saturday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course—to say the least.

 

After winning the top starting spot for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race, the three-time Australian Supercars champion won a tight battle with Playoff driver Tyler Reddick for the pole position in Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400 (2 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

The Busch Light pole award was Van Gisbergen’s first in the NASCAR Cup Series, but it wasn’t secure until Reddick made a last-ditch run to try to unseat the Kaulig Racing Chevrolet driver.

 

Van Gisbergen’s lap at 99.246 mph (82.704 seconds) held up, as Reddick earned the second grid position in his No. 45 23XI Toyota with a lap at 99.135 mph (82.796 seconds).

 

“What an amazing day,” Van Gisbergen proclaimed after claiming his second pole of the afternoon. “I’m at a loss for words.”

 

Because the Bank of America Roval 400 is the elimination race for the Round of 12 in the series Playoffs, Van Gisbergen, making his 10th Cup start of the season, wants to avoid scenarios where he influences postseason outcomes.

 

“We’ve got to race respectfully,” he acknowledged. “There are a lot of Playoff guys, but I’m here to win the race.”

 

In addition to Reddick, five other Playoff drivers made the final round of time trials and will starts from top-10 positions. Joey Logano was fourth and Team Penske teammate Austin Cindric fifth in the top two Fords on the grid.

 

Kyle Larson claimed the sixth stating spot ahead of Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott (seventh), a two-time winner at the Roval, and William Byron (10th), who already has clinched a berth on the Round of 8.

 

Non-Playoff drivers A.J. Allmendinger (third at 98.874 mph), Brad Keselowski (eighth) and Bubba Wallace (ninth) also will start from the top 10.

 

Allmendinger is the defending winner of this race. The driver of the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet also has triumphed in each of his four NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the 2.28-mile, 17-turn hybrid road course, which has been reconfigured in Turns 6, 7 and 16.

 

Other Playoff drivers will start as follows: Christopher Bell 12th, Daniel Suárez 13th, defending series champion Ryan Blaney 14th, Alex Bowman 17th, Denny Hamlin 18th and Chase Briscoe 25th.

 

Logano, Suárez, Cindric and Briscoe start the event below the current cut line for the Round of 8.

 

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Ricky Stenhouse Jr. bests Keselowski, Byron in intense Talladega Playoff race

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

October 6, 2024

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service 

 

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. held off the field in overtime to claim the victory in a dramatic NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway – edging Brad Keselowski and William Byron by a mere .006-second in a thrilling three-wide finish.

That heart-stopping finish was indicative of the afternoon of competition at NASCAR’s biggest track (2.66-mile) – which once again lived up to its reputation and provided a thrilling Playoff race that has major implications for the championship contenders. 

A massive 27-car accident with five laps remaining brought out a red flag and stopped the race for nearly 10 minutes. The incident affected eight of the 12 Playoff cars in varying degrees. There is only one more race remaining in this round to settle which eight drivers advance to the next round of championship competition.

Stenhouse, the 36-year-old Mississippi native who is not Playoff-eligible, hoisted his fourth career trophy – all coming at superspeedway tracks – and first in 65 races. His No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Chevrolet led 19 of the 195 laps, including the all-important last one after a side-to-battle with six-time Talladega winner Keselowski and this year’s Daytona 500 winner Byron. 

This marks the third time in the five Playoff races that a non-Playoff driver has hoisted the race trophy.

“Felt really good, we had our Chevy teammates behind us and I was hoping Kyle [Busch] wouldn’t push the six [Keselowski] that hard, I knew the 24 was going to try to get to the line,’’ said Stenhouse, who scored his first career NASCAR Cup Series win at Talladega in 2017.

“Man, this team has put a lot of hard work in and obviously we haven’t won since the Daytona 500 in ’23. It’s been an up and down season, a lot of hard work this season trying to find a little bit of speed but we knew this track is one of ours to come get it.’’

The finish was set-up after the vast incident that took out several front-running cars and affected all but four Playoff drivers. Team Penske’s Austin Cindric – who essentially needed a victory to earn an automatic berth in the next Playoff round – was leading the race – having exchanged the top spot multiple time with Stenhouse in the closing 20 laps.

With five laps remaining, Cindric’s leading No. 2 Ford was hit from behind on the backstretch by Keselowski’s No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Ford which triggered an accordion-style accident from three rows behind the leader. Harrison Burton’s No. 21 Ford struck Joey Logano’s No. 22 Ford that then pushed Keselowski’s car forward and into Cindric.

The aftermath collected 27 cars in all, completely sidelining Playoff drivers Cindric, who was credited with a 32nd place finish, his Penske teammate Logano (33rd), and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe (30th).  

“Obviously incredibly frustrated,’’ Cindric said. “Just really proud of my team and the full execution of the day. We got that stage win {second stage) and put ourselves at the front of that green flag pit cycle and had another shot [to win].

“I don’t feel like complaining right now, I’m too pissed off and it won’t do anything. But proud of the team. We’ve brought really fast race cars to every single race of the Playoffs and we’re going to have to bring another one next week and I need to go out and do my job.’’

His Penske teammate Logano, who was similarly frustrated, said there was nothing he could have done to avoid the accident.

“I don’t think we could have done anything much different,’’ the two-time series champion Logano said. “We had the bottom working fairly well and by the time we got off [turn] two, the push from the 21 [Burton] that transferred to the six (Keselowski) that transferred to the 2 [Cindric] just at a bad angle. And off he went.’’

Other Playoff drivers affected in the accident included, perennial Talladega race favorite Chase Elliott, who finished 29th after pitting for repairs following the accident.  

Regular season champion Tyler Reddick was also in the accident and rallied to finish 20th. Alex Bowman, who was involved in two accidents on the day, finished 16th,

Reigning series champion Ryan Blaney ran among the leaders and scored points in both stages but was eliminated from competition mid-race in the day’s first multiple car accident, leaving him 39th of the 40 starters.

On the up-side, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson finished fourth tying his best ever Talladega finish - only his second top-five at the track in 20 races.  Non-Playoff driver Erik Jones was fifth.

Another Playoff competitor, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell was sixth, followed by Justin Haley, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace and Bell’s fellow Playoff driver and JGR teammate Denny Hamlin in 10th,

With Byron’s finish, he becomes the first and only Playoff driver to secure a position in the next eight-race round. Bell is next in the standings, holding a 57-point advantage on the Playoff cutoff line, followed by Larson, Hamlin, Bowman, Blaney, Reddick and Elliott.

Elliott is 13 points ahead of Logano going into next week’s road course race at the Charlotte ROVAL – the final race of this Playoff round which will set the next eight-driver round. Daniel Suarez, who rallied to a 26th place finish despite spending most of the race recovering from a pre-race penalty for equipment violations, is now 20 points behind Elliott for that final transfer position.

Cindric and Briscoe are 29 and 32 points back, respectively, essentially needing a victory at Charlotte. 

The final race of this Playoff round is next Sunday, the Bank of America ROVAL400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (2 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). A.J. Allmendinger is the defending race winner.

 

NASCAR Cup Series Race - YellaWood 500

Talladega Superspeedway

Talladega, Alabama

Sunday, October 6, 2024

 

                1. (32)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 195.

                2. (13)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 195.

                3. (16)  William Byron (P), Chevrolet, 195.

                4. (12)  Kyle Larson (P), Chevrolet, 195.

                5. (30)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 195.

                6. (21)  Christopher Bell (P), Toyota, 195.

                7. (35)  Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 195.

                8. (7)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 195.

                9. (26)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 195.

                10. (8)  Denny Hamlin (P), Toyota, 195.

                11. (24)  Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 195.

                12. (34)  Cody Ware, Ford, 195.

                13. (15)  Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 195.

                14. (37)  Carson Hocevar #, Chevrolet, 195.

                15. (17)  Shane Van Gisbergen(i), Chevrolet, 195.

                16. (23)  Alex Bowman (P), Chevrolet, 195.

                17. (20)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 195.

                18. (28)  Corey LaJoie, Ford, 195.

                19. (4)  Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 195.

                20. (14)  Tyler Reddick (P), Toyota, 195.

                21. (39)  Zane Smith #, Chevrolet, 195.

                22. (38)  BJ McLeod(i), Chevrolet, 195.

                23. (3)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 194.

                24. (33)  Anthony Alfredo(i), Chevrolet, 194.

                25. (22)  Noah Gragson, Ford, 194.

                26. (31)  Daniel Suarez (P), Chevrolet, 194.

                27. (40)  JJ Yeley(i), Chevrolet, 193.

                28. (25)  AJ Allmendinger(i), Chevrolet, 193.

                29. (11)  Chase Elliott (P), Chevrolet, 190.

                30. (36)  Chase Briscoe (P), Ford, 189.

                31. (29)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 188.

                32. (2)  Austin Cindric (P), Ford, Accident, 183.

                33. (6)  Joey Logano (P), Ford, Accident, 183.

                34. (9)  Harrison Burton, Ford, Accident, 183.

                35. (18)  Ryan Preece, Ford, Accident, 183.

                36. (19)  Josh Berry #, Ford, Accident, 183.

                37. (1)  Michael McDowell, Ford, Accident, 183.

                38. (10)  Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, Accident, 183.

                39. (5)  Ryan Blaney (P), Ford, Accident, 124.

                40. (27)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, Accident, 120.

 

Average Speed of Race Winner:  150.773 mph.

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 26 Mins, 25 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.006 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  4 for 24 laps.

Lead Changes:  66 among 24 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   M. McDowell 1-13;*. McLeod(i) 14;B. Keselowski 15;M. McDowell 16-38;J. Haley 39;R. Chastain 40-41;A. Bowman (P) 42;R. Chastain 43-47;D. Hemric 48;R. Chastain 49-51;K. Larson (P) 52;R. Chastain 53-57;R. Stenhouse Jr. 58-59;C. Buescher 60-62;B. Keselowski 63;W. Byron (P) 64;C. Buescher 65-66;T. Reddick (P) 67;C. Buescher 68-73;C. LaJoie 74-78;M. McDowell 79-82;R. Blaney (P) 83-87;S. Van Gisbergen(i) 88-90;R. Chastain 91;S. Van Gisbergen(i) 92;R. Blaney (P) 93;S. Van Gisbergen(i) 94-95;R. Chastain 96;S. Van Gisbergen(i) 97-99;J. Haley 100-102;A. Cindric (P) 103-116;C. Elliott (P) 117;A. Cindric (P) 118-122;T. Reddick (P) 123;K. Busch 124-129;B. Wallace 130;K. Busch 131;B. Wallace 132-133;C. Buescher 134;*. Allmendinger(i) 135;C. Ware 136;J. Logano (P) 137-141;*. Allmendinger(i) 142;J. Logano (P) 143-145;*. Allmendinger(i) 146-150;J. Logano (P) 151;A. Cindric (P) 152;J. Logano (P) 153-157;*. Allmendinger(i) 158;J. Logano (P) 159;A. Cindric (P) 160;J. Logano (P) 161;A. Cindric (P) 162;*. Allmendinger(i) 163;J. Logano (P) 164-166;A. Cindric (P) 167-168;A. Dillon 169;T. Gilliland 170-171;M. McDowell 172-173;A. Cindric (P) 174-175;R. Stenhouse Jr. 176-177;A. Cindric (P) 178;R. Stenhouse Jr. 179;A. Cindric (P) 180;R. Stenhouse Jr. 181-182;A. Cindric (P) 183;R. Stenhouse Jr. 184-195.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Michael McDowell 4 times for 42 laps; Austin Cindric (P) 10 times for 29 laps; Joey Logano (P) 7 times for 19 laps; Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 5 times for 19 laps; Ross Chastain 6 times for 17 laps; Chris Buescher 4 times for 12 laps; Shane Van Gisbergen(i) 4 times for 9 laps; * AJ Allmendinger(i) 5 times for 9 laps; Kyle Busch 2 times for 7 laps; Ryan Blaney (P) 2 times for 6 laps; Corey LaJoie 1 time for 5 laps; Justin Haley 2 times for 4 laps; Bubba Wallace 2 times for 3 laps; Brad Keselowski 2 times for 2 laps; Todd Gilliland 1 time for 2 laps; Tyler Reddick (P) 2 times for 2 laps; Alex Bowman (P) 1 time for 1 lap; Kyle Larson (P) 1 time for 1 lap; William Byron (P) 1 time for 1 lap; Austin Dillon 1 time for 1 lap; Daniel Hemric 1 time for 1 lap; Cody Ware 1 time for 1 lap; * BJ McLeod(i) 1 time for 1 lap; Chase Elliott (P) 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 17,47,24,5,20,45,1,14,2,12

Stage #2 Top Ten: 2,9,8,16,24,48,23,12,5,1

 

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McDowell captures fifth consecutive superspeedway pole for tomorrow's Talladega Cup Playoff race

 

getty images

Oct. 5, 2024

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Front Row Motorsports and driver Michael McDowell continued a superspeedway qualifying mastery with McDowell claiming the pole position for Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at the Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

McDowell’s No. 34 FRM Ford turned a lap of 183.063 mph in Saturday’s final qualifying session around the 2.66-mile high banks, besting Austin Cindric’s lap in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford by less than two-tenths of a second.

 

It was McDowell’s sixth pole position of his career – all six coming this year – and five of them consecutively on superspeedways, also including a sweep at both Talladega and Atlanta Motor Speedway as well as the top starting position at Daytona International Speedway this summer.

 

“We knew coming here we’d have a shot at the pole and it’s a priority for us, so you feel that pressure of not making any mistakes and screwing it up,’’ McDowell said. “I’m really proud of the effort. We sort of had this in mind that today would be a day to come here and get the rest of the superspeedways locked down.’’

 

Cindric, a Playoff contender and the 2022 Daytona 500 winner, smiled  following qualifying and offered, “His right foot must be heavier than mine.’’

 

Ford drivers claimed six of the top-10 starting positions Saturday. McDowell’s teammate Todd Gilliland was third fastest in the No. 38 FRM Ford Mustang. Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch, a two-time Talladega winner, was fourth fastest in the No. 8 RCR Chevrolet.

 

Penske teammates Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano were fifth and sixth fastest followed by RCR’s Austin Dillon in the No. 3 Chevy. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin was the only Toyota to make the 10-car final round and he’ll roll off sixth in the No. 11 JGR Supra. Wood Brothers Racing’s Harrison Burton and Kaulig Racng’s Daniel Hemric rounded out the fast-10.

 

The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Blaney is the defending race winner and has three Talladega trophies to his credit. 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick – the regular season champion – will roll off 14th.

 

Cindric, Blaney, Logano and Hamlin are all current Playoff drivers, as are Blaney and Reddick. Hendrick teammates Chase Elliott, a two-time Talladega winner and Kyle Larson will start 11th and 12th.  Their teammate William Byron will roll off 16th.

 

Christopher Bell, who will start 21st, Alex Bowman (23rd), Daniel Suarez (31st) and Chase Briscoe (36th) round out the Playoff lineup.

 

NOTEBOOK

 

*TIME TO GO

23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick won the regular season championship by a single point over Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson posting a two-win regular season that included victories at Talladega this spring and Michigan this summer. He won a coveted 15-point Playoff bonus with that regular season title, but even so, the 28-year old Californian comes into this weekend’s race ranked ninth – four points below the cutoff line with two races remaining in this Round of 12.

 

Reddick insisted Saturday that qualifying and pit stall will be especially important this weekend as he races to become one of the eight drivers advancing to the next round. He’s had only a single top-10 in the four Playoff races and been 20th or worse in the other three. He sits ninth in the standings, four points behind former series champions, Chase Elliott and Joey Logano.

 

“I think for us, we kinda know what we need to do to get toward the front from the back during a green flag cycle, but we’ll just be ready for anything,’’ said Reddick, driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota.  “You never know how the race is going to play out on the track, the pace of the field can determine what your options are. But we have a good understanding of what we need to do depending on what plays out on that strategy part of it.

 

“If we do our jobs we’ll be at the front of the field.’’

 

*BACK-TO-BACK

Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney said he was very optimistic about accomplishing a rare feat in the sport – earning back-to-back titles – something that hasn’t been done by a driver since Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson won five consecutively between 2006-10.

 

“I don’t know why you haven’t seen a repeat champion back-to-back since Jimmie when he won five in a row, I don’t know why,’’ Blaney said. “It’s tough to do.  Teams are always getting smarter.  It takes everything kind of perfect to go your way.  The team has to execute the best they can and you have to have a little bit of fortune on your side to not be in any unfortunate circumstances through the playoffs, so I don’t know why.

 

“I look back and there have been plenty of teams good enough to win back-to-back and it just hasn’t happened.  I think that just shows you how hard it is to do. 

 

Blaney’s Team Penske organization has won the last two NASCAR Cup Series championships – with 2023 winner Joey Logano and Blaney

 

“I’m confident with our group and that’s not from a cocky or arrogant standpoint,’’ Blaney said. “I have faith in our group that we can do it and we’re good enough to where we can do it again, and I just have so much faith in our team and our guys.  I’d like to, obviously.  I think we’re in a good position.  We just have to keep doing what we can and keep staying hungry.  It’s funny, I think we’re all even hungrier for a second one than we were the first.

 

*RECORD PACE

Chase Elliott, a two-time Talladega winner, agrees with the general consensus that this weekend’s 500-miler on the sport’s biggest track is a real opportunity for anyone to win. There have been 17 different race winners to date this season with Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain adding his name to the list last Sunday at Kansas -- and there are still six races remaining in the season.

 

“It does seem like we have a more consistent widespread number of winners yearly since we’ve had this car, so that’s been interesting to watch,’’ said Elliott, who is ranked seventh in the Playoff standings, only four points above the cutoff line with two races remaining in this round.

 

“And I think a lot of that has come down to just the aero-platform that we have to work with, and just how much defense can be played by the lead car; restarts shaking out, how fast your pit stop is, all those little details throughout the day can put you in a good position at the end of those races. And a lot of guys are good enough to hold on for short stints. We see a lot of green-white-checkered finishes ... all those things are really just recipes for more winners."

 

*BOWMAN CONFIDENCE

Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman concedes he may not have been a consensus pick to challenge for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series championship, but after winning this summer in Chicago his team is invigorated competing.  And it shows.

 

He’s currently ranked sixth in the standings – eight points up on the cutoff line. He’s had three top-10 finishes in the four Playoff races with a best showing of third place in the Atlanta opener. He was fifth at Talladega earlier this year and his best finish there is runner-up in 2019. He comes into the weekend very encouraged.

 

“It’s been a good four weeks for us, but a long way to go still,’’ Bowman said. “Just need to keep executing on a high level. I certainly know that we are capable of it, that I’m capable of it. Just have a long way to go and need to keep it up.

 

“We haven’t won in the Playoffs and we’re running okay, not amazing,’’ he added, conceding that he’s been underestimated for much of his career at the NASCAR Cup Series level even with eight wins.

 

“I think that’s been kinda the story of my career [overcoming doubters]. I know my situation with the team and what we’re capable of, but that’s just how things have been forever."

 

*TOYOTA TALLADEGA CHALLENGE

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell said his Toyota teammate Reddick raised a good point during a discussion on their flight to Talladega. With so few Toyotas in Sunday’s field - compared to the double digit entries for rival Chevrolet and Ford, there is more importance on working together.

 

“I think it all just boils down to having friends at the end of the race and executing the pit cycle," said Bell, driver of the No. 20 JGR Toyota. “Tyler and I were talking on the plane about strategies through the pit cycle and one thing he pointed out and I hadn’t even thought about was we just have to be so diligent on our protocol and our system we have in place because we don’t have the numbers.

 

“Where if a couple Fords or a couple Chevrolets mess up on the pit cycle they can get away with it because they have almost twice as many cars as we do. Only having eight in the field, if you lose one or two it hurts. It you lose three or more, it’s basically a strategy killer. You just have to be really mindful and very diligent. I think if you make mistakes and lose numbers it affects us more greatly than other manufacturers.’’