NASCAR
Kevin Harvick Wins NASCAR Race At Michigan, Ganassi’s Kyle Larson Finishes 3rd
BROOKLYN, MI (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Stewart Haas Racing’s (SHR) Kevin Harvick picked up his second victory of the season passing Joey Logano with 17-laps to go to win Sunday’s Consumers Energy 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) Race at Michigan International Speedway (MIS).
“We just had a really fast car all weekend,” said Harvick. “Our car handled really well today, and with the multiple lanes, we were able to run all three lanes pretty well and make our way through traffic. So just really proud of everybody on our Mobil 1 Ford, everybody from Busch and Hunt Brothers and Jimmy John’s and everybody back at the shop from Haas Automation and Stewart-Haas Racing, just put a really fast car on the racetrack and we were able to capitalize on it, and that’s always fun.”
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson finished third in the No. 42 McDonalds Camaro, right behind Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, who finished second.
“Our McDonald’s Chevy handled really well today when we had four tires on it,” said Larson. “When we would do two rights, I’d be way too tight, and then we’d put two lefts on and I was way too loose, but then that finally balanced out and I was back to being good and running really fast laps at the end.”
Larson was running in the top 10 with a couple of laps remaining when a number of cars either had to go to pit road for fuel, with some running out of gas on the last lap, so Larson finished better than even he thought.
“The last thing I knew I was running like ninth and I passed a couple guys, but so yeah, I guess more people ran out of fuel than I thought,” said Larson. “I don’t really know what happened there. But yeah, it worked out.”
Larson’s third place finish solidified his spot to qualify for NASCAR’s playoffs with three races remaining in the regular season. Larson now sits in 13-place in the playoff standings, 71-points above the cut-off.
“That was a great point saver, well above the cut line now, so happy about that,” said Larson.
Good finish and awesome points day for us today! Happy to head to my favorite track with some momentum. Cars have been fast lately 👍🏼👍🏼
— Kyle Larson (@KyleLarsonRacin) August 12, 2019
Larson’s teammate Kurt Busch ran in the top 10 all day and was running 7th on lap 198 of the 200-lap event, but was one of many drivers trying to save fuel to make it to the end of the race, so he slid back to 8th as he took the white flag and ran out on the back straightaway and fell to 23rd.
Hope the neighbors have some gas ⛽️ when we get home! Ran her dry today. Happy with our effort and teamwork, let’s win @BMSupdates baby! pic.twitter.com/CHgxX2KIou
— Kurt Busch (@KurtBusch) August 12, 2019
Busch now sits in 8th place in the playoff standings with 1-win and 6-playoff points. Hendrick Motorsports Chase Elliott s in 7th place with 2-wins and 14-playoff points. Elliott’s teammate Alex Bowman is behind Busch in 9th place with 1-win and 5-playoff points.
Clint Bowyer is in the 16th and final playoff spot, 6-points above the cut line. Bowyer’s SHR teammate Daniel Suarez is in the 17th position. The top 16 in points qualify for NASCAR’s playoff.
The next Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race is Saturday night August 17, 2019 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
DARLINGTON, SC (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – It’s NASCAR ‘throwback’ weekend in Darlington, South Carolina where all three series are on the track this weekend.
Logano Take Cup Series Pole:
- Team Penske’s Joey Logano is on the pole position for Sunday’s 3rd Annual Goodyear 400. Logano’s fast lap of 28.805-seconds (170.720 mph) was .082-seconds quicker than Hendrick Motorsports Kyle Larson’s 28.887. Hendrick’s Chase Elliott, Stewart Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick and B.J. McCloud did not make qualifying attempts after separate issues in practice. The green flag drops at 3:30 p.m. on FS1. Darlington Cup Lineup
Allgaier Wins Xfinity Race:
- Justin Allgaier beat JR Motorsports Noah Gragson by .259-seconds to win Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Mahindra ROXOR 200 at Darlington Raceway. In a 2-lap shootout following a caution flag, Allgaier quickly dispatched A.J. Allmendinger – who was on 16-lap older tires and drove away with Gragson in tow. JRM drivers now have won three straight races in the series. Darlington Xfinity Results
Nemechek Wins Truck Series Race:
- John Hunter Nemechek beat Carson Hocevar by .552-seconds in overtime to win Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Dead On Tools 200 at Darlington Raceway. Wexford native Kris Wright finished 32nd after starting 21st in the No. 44 VFW Chevrolet thanks to an accident. Darlington Truck Series Results
DAYTONA BEACH, FL (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Herschel McGriff, Kirk Shelmerdine and Matt Kenseth have been elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2023. Mike Helton was also named the recipient of the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.
McGriff’s first race was the 1950 Southern 500, in the NASCAR Cup Series’ sophomore season, at the age of 22. His final NASCAR race was at Tucson Speedway in the NASCAR Pro Series West – in 2018 at the age of 90. McGriff started 85 races in parts of 28 NASCAR Cup Series seasons, capturing four wins – all in 1954, when he finished sixth in championship points.
Shelmerdine won four total Cup Series championships with Earnhardt (1986, ’87, ’90, ’91). Over his 16-year crew chief career with Earnhardt, Rudd, James Hylton and Richard Childress, he won 46 races and posted top-10 finishes in more than half his starts.
Kenseth, the 2003 Cup Series Champion, scored 39 Cup wins, which tie for 21st on the all-time list and include two Daytona 500s, the Southern 500, Coca-Cola 600 and the All-Star Race.
The Class of 2023 Induction Ceremony is set for Friday, Jan. 20, 2023 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame and Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Pittsburgh Racing Now Racing Notebook gets you up-to-speed with Saturday’s Qualifying results for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Honda GP of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park and the NASCAR Cup Series DuraMAX Drydene 400 plus IndyLights qualifying, IndyPro2000, USF 2000 and NASCAR Xfinity.
Rinus VeeKay wins INDYCAR Barber Pole:
- Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus VeeKay is on the pole position for Sunday’s Honda GP of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. VeeKay’s fast lap of 1 minute, 6.2507 seconds in the No. 21 SONAX Chevrolet in knockout-style qualifying edged Arrow McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward for the top spot. O’Ward will join him on the front row after a best lap of 1:06.4003 in the No. 5 Chevrolet. Defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES Champion Alex Palou will start third in the No. 10 American Legion Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. INDYCAR Barber Qualifying
Chris Buescher wins NASCAR Cup Series Dover Pole:
- Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher is on the pole position for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series DuraMAX Drydene 400 at Dover Motor Speedway. Buescher’s fast lap of 159.207 mph around the concrete Monster Mile was 057-second faster than Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott make up row two. NASCAR Dover Lineup
Lundqvist wins Indy Lights Barber Pole:
- Linus Lundqvist is on the pole position for Sunday’s Indy Lights Grand Prix of Alabama. Lundqvist’s fast lap of 1 minute, 12.5713 seconds in the No. 26 HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing car. Lundqvist’s teammate Benjamin Pedersen starts alongside in the No. 24 Global Racing Group with HMD entry at 1:12.5929, just .0216 of a second off Lundqvist’s time. Indy Lights Barber Lineup
Josh Berry takes Xfinity Series Win at Dover:
- JR Motorsports (JRM) Josh Berry held off teammate Justin Allgaier to win Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series A-Game 200 at Dover Motor Speedway. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs was third followed by JRM drivers Noah Gragson and Sam Mayer. NASCAR Xfinity Dover Results
Reece Gold wins Indy Pro 2000 at Barber:
- Reece Gold of Juncos Hollinger Racing became the third winner in as many rounds of the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires with a dominant victory Saturday afternoon at Barber Motorsports Park. It was the second career win for the 17-year-old from Miami, Fla. University of Pittsburgh graduate Colin Kaminsky finished second in the No. #27 Slick Locks Tatuus IP-22. “I’m happy to be back up here, it’s been a while. I needed it, the team needed it,” said Kaminsky. Indy Pro 2000 Barber
Myles Rowe snags USF 2000 win at Barber:
- Myles Rowe started on the pole position and brought home his second consecutive USF 2000 victory, taking the checkered flag Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park. Billy Frazer finished second and Michael d’Orlando rounded out the podium. USF 2000 Barber
Chip Ganassi’s cars fast as practice opens for the Indianapolis 500
Marks Surprise Winner of Morgan Cup at Williams Grove
Herta wins wet and wild GMR Grand Prix at Indianapolis
Racing Notebook: Power on INDYCAR GMR Pole; Acura’s quickest at Mid-Ohio and Lernerville winners
Racing Notebook: GMR Grand Prix Weekend plus Fab4 and ULMS at Lernerville; Ganassi signs Simpson and more.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou leads INDYCAR Championship heading into month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden lead 2-days of Indianapolis 500 testing
Cap Henry wins thrilling All Stars feature at Sharon Speedway
Macri Masters Port Royal; Danner Does it Too
