NASCAR
Chase Elliott Gets NASCAR Cup Win Thursday Night At Charlotte
CONCORD, NC (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Chase Elliott had a chance to grab victories in both NASCAR Cup races since the Series returned from the COVID-19 shutdown, but fate denied the Hendrick Motorsports driver the wins.
Thursday night Elliott and the No. 9 team took care of business winning the Alsco Uniforms 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Elliott beat Joe Gibbs Racing‘s Denny Hamlin to the checkered flag by 2.208-seconds to pick-up his 7th career Cup Series win in 157-starts.
“We battled hard and finally got our car good enough there at the end,” said Elliott. “I’m not sure that we had it exactly perfect, but the guys did a great job making good adjustments and good pit stops there to put us in a position. Finally good to get a Kelley Blue Book win. That’s our first win together, so hopefully many more.”
It could’ve been two-in-a-row for Elliott if a caution flag would not have flown a lap and-a-half from the end of Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. Elliott was leading when the caution came out. Crew Chief Alan Gustafson called Elliott to pit road for new tires while eight lead-lap cars stayed out, including eventual winner Brad Keselowski.
“I feel like we were in a lose-lose position there on Sunday, so it’s not his fault that the caution came out with two laps to go, and when you’re in a position like that you have to make a decision and stick with it,” said Elliott. “I’m not going to question him. I don’t fault him. It’s not his fault. It’s just one of those things where you’ve got to make a gut call and go with it, and heck, we drove back to third.”
Elliott started Thursday’s race in the 19th spot and drove to a 9th place finish in the races first stage. The No. 9 Kelly Blue Book team made adjustments during the subsequent pit stop and Elliott raced to a fourth place finish in the second stage. Elliott says that hard work needs to continue.
“We’re still very early in the year, and I challenge all of the people at HMS, myself, the road crew, the pit crews to stay hungry because the season is very long, a lot of racing left, and we just need to keep pushing,” said Elliott. “No reason to get content right now.”
Team Penske‘s Ryan Blaney finished third followed by JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in fourth. Chip Ganassi Racing‘s Kurt Busch rounded out the top 5 in the No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet.
Quick turnaround for the Cup Series as the next race is Sunday, May 31 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
“500 laps at Bristol is a really physical event,” said Elliott. “We’ve raced a lot throughout this week. I’m tired, and I want to rest tomorrow and Saturday and get ready to go. It’s going to be a tough one on Sunday, especially in the afternoon.”
FORT WORTH, TX (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Ryan Blaney held off Denny Hamlin to win Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway. The victory was Blaney’s first in the event and Team Penske’s fourth.
Blaney won the event’s third stage guaranteeing him a front row starting spot for the final stage. Blaney got a huge push from teammate Austin Cindric and powered to the victory.
“This Mustang was a rocketship,” said Blaney. “I am really glad we ended up winning that after that last caution. I am so proud of everybody. Tonight will be fun.”
“Really happy for Ryan (Blaney) and the No. 12 team,” said Cindric. “They had the fastest car all night and if I wasn’t going to win it, I was committed to helping him. I lined up behind him on that last restart and gave him the best push possible.”
Hamlin was upset after the race that NASCAR extended the final caution to accommodate Blaney, who dropped his window net when he thought the race was over when in fact the caution light came on before he crossed the start/finish line.
“It’s tough because he deserved to win the race, but if you mess up and you break a rule – not intentionally, but there’s rules and we have rules in place for safety,” said Hamlin. “My crew chief is taking four weeks off (a penalty from a pit-road infraction earlier in the season) because of safety.”
“I already took my window net down and everything,” explained Blaney. “My left arm is worn out from trying to get that damn thing back up. I got it rigged up enough to where it halfway stayed. I appreciate NASCAR for not making us come down pit road to fix it and letting me get it clipped back again to where we could stay out there.”
Next up for the NASCAR Cup Series is the Coca-Cola 600 next Sunday at Charlotte 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.
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