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Kevin Harvick Sweeps NASCAR Cup Series Races At Michigan

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Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

BROOKLYN, MI (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Kevin Harvick is motoring towards the end of the NASCAR Cup Series on a roll after sweeping this weekend’s races at Michigan International Speedway.

Harvick’s No. 4 Stewart Haas Racing Busch Light Apple Ford led a race-high 90-laps and beat Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin by .093-seconds to claim his 55th career Cup Series victory.

On Saturday Harvick led a race-high 92-laps as he beat Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski by .284-seconds to claim his fifth win of 2020.

Harvick was so dominant he led 182-of-312 total laps on the 2-mile “D” shaped oval in the Irish Hills of Michigan.

“We are really happy for everybody at Ford that our Busch Light Apple Ford was really fast again today,” said Harvick. “I had a little trouble in the end in three and four, Denny was really good down there. We were able to do a little defensive driving and keep him back there and make it to victory lane in the end.”

“We geared up our car a little bit more towards the end of this race versus the beginning,” said Hamlin. “It kind of showed up that way. We did a good job of adjusting. Once we got to the front, we were able to show the speed we had. We had the speed pretty much all race, but we were kind of mired back between third and sixth. Happy we were able to give it a charge there. Just came up a little short.”

Harvick’s sweep meant that Ford Motor Company gets to keep “The Heritage Trophy” that MIS gives to the winning manufacturer.

“Well, Michigan is overall an important race for everybody at Ford, Roush-Yates, really all the teams,” said Harvick. “They make you well-aware of the importance of the Heritage Trophy and how much they want to keep it in their lobby.”

“Really glad that we can bring it back to Dearborn,” said Mark Rushbrook, Ford Performance Motorsports Global Director. “We’ve had a lot of success through the years with I think 39 race wins before this weekend, so notch two more onto that, more than any other manufacturer. And across a lot of different teams. I think Jack Roush is the winningest team owner here. Doug Yates and Roush-Yates, they build a lot of power into the engines. Definitely need that here in Michigan with the cars wound up like they are. Really got it done today, this weekend, with those engines and Ford Performance.”

Harvick leads the NASCAR Cup Series points standing with Keselowski in 2nd place.  Hendrick Motorsports Jimmie Johnson and JGR’s Erik Jones are on the “playoff bubble” 26-points behind William Byron for the last playoff spot available via points.

A lot can change in the next four races especially since the next race is the inaugural Cup Series race on the road course at Daytona International Speedway on August 16.

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Michigan Sunday Results

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Kvapil Hangs On To Win Pennzoil 250 in Top-Four Sweep by JR Motorsports

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Photo: Penske Entertainment/IMS PR

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (Saturday, July 25, 2026) – The relief was mixed with tears, joy and a stage dive from his car into his crew’s arms at the fabled Yard of Bricks for Carson Kvapil.

Kvapil earned his first NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory Saturday in the Pennzoil 250 presented by Take 5 Oil Change at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, leading a historic sweep of the top four finishing positions by JR Motorsports, co-owned by NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The breakthrough victory in the No. 1 Wilde Protein Crackers Chevrolet came in the 64th career start in the series for Kvapil, 23, son of 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion and former NASCAR Cup Series driver Travis Kvapil.

“It means the world to me,” Kvapil said. “It’s very emotional. I rode around on that (victory) lap backward and sat there and thought about all the hard work I put in, me and my dad, Travis, to get to this point and the faith that (team owners) Dale Jr., L.W. Miller, Kelley Miller put behind me to give me this opportunity, to give me a second chance to come back at it this year.

“From Lap 1 in practice, the thing was a rocketship. I just knew we had to do all the right things and make the right adjustments. I just couldn’t make any mistakes. This is going to be an exciting one for a long time. I’m just going to try not to cry too much; I’ve already shed a few tears. I’m just trying to hold it together right now.”

JR Motorsports earned its third victory in this race, adding Kvapil’s name to a winner’s list including Connor Zilisch last year and Justin Allgaier in 2018. The team also became the first in series history to take the top four spots in a race and has 14 victories in 22 races this season in NASCAR’s second-tier championship.

Allgaier finished second in the No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet, his late-race charge toward his teammate falling .643 of a second short.

Ross Chastain placed third in the No. 9 Roto-Rooter Chevrolet, with Chase Elliott rounding out JRM’s fantastic four in the No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet after starting last in the 38-car field. William Sawalich finished fifth in the No. 18 SoundGear Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Kvapil, who started second, took the lead for good on Lap 79 of 100 when he powered past Chastain on the back straightaway. With 10 laps to go, Kvapil led by .82 of a second.

Then Allgaier entered the picture. Allgaier, who started 13th, passed Chastain for second in Turn 1 on Lap 93 and was .96 of a second behind leader Kvapil.

But series points leader Allgaier began to methodically chip away at Kvapil’s lead, pulling to within .283 of a second with one lap to go. But Kvapil kept his poise, hit his marks on corner entry and eased away from Allgaier on the final trip around the 2.5-mile oval.

“I’m disappointed we ran second,” Allgaier said. “We knew that short-run speed was going to be a challenge all day, and long-run speed was where we were going to be great, and we were. Just came up a little bit short.

“Happy for Carson. The kid has worked his tail off to get to this point and really cool to see him get this first victory.”

Chastain led three times for 31 laps, both race highs.

Jeremy Clements won the first 30-lap stage in the No. 51 Sky Fund Aviation Chevrolet before fading to 37th. Rajah Carruth won the second 30-lap stage by keeping his No. 32 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet on track when most of the field pitted during a caution from Laps 55-57. Carruth pitted during the ensuing stage break and finished 22nd.

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Veteran Grant Enfinger wins wild NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race at historic Lime Rock Park

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Photo by Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images

By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service

LAKEVILLE, CT (July 12, 2026) – Popular veteran Grant Enfinger took the lead on a late race restart and held off a hard-charging Landen Lewis to make his first visit to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Victory Lane in more than a season – earning his first career road course win Saturday afternoon in the LiUNA 150 at Connecticut’s historic Lime Rock Park.

Enfinger, who lined up alongside Gio Ruggiero for a restart with three laps remaining, got the jump at the green flag and then held off Lewis – who was racing for his first career series win. It was a fittingly exhilarating way to close out the race which included an 18-minute red flag and thrilling door-to-door competition particularly in the closing laps.

Enfinger’s No. 9 CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet crossed the line only a slight .483-second ahead of the Niece Motorsports driver Lewis.

“I feel like we had some things play into our hand,’’ Enfinger said, noting of the day’s strongest cars, “I don’t think we had anything for the 11 [Honeycutt] or the 34 [Scott Riggs] straight up.”

Of the final restart, Enfinger said he was enthused to get the edge out front on then-leader Gio Ruggiero at the drop of the green. He had considered taking the preferable position outside but opted to start alongside Guggiero on the front row and honorably vie for the lead that way. This marks his 13th career win.

“I wanted to beat him straight up on the outside,’’ Enfinger added. “A lot went into that decision but I didn’t want to go in there and purposefully take him out of the way for the win. I feel like we beat him on the launch. And I think we had a better car.

“Just an amazing job with this Chevrolet. … I think this is only my second top 10 at a road course. We have had road course trucks this year, but I think today we were a solid top five truck and the seas parted and the good Lord blessed us today and we were able to come home for a win.’’

Championship contender Kaden Honeycutt claimed third place after an absolutely amazing drive back up through the field. The TRICON Garage Toyota driver had dropped to 24th position with 28 laps to go after being involved in a multi-car accident late in the race.

Popular driver and television analyst Parker Kligerman – a part-owner of Lime Rock Park – finished fourth in the Spire Motorsports No. 77 Chevrolet. Christian Eckes was fifth in the No. 91 McAnally Hilgemann Chevrolet.

Honeycutt’s finish to the day came after he won Stage 2 and kept polesitter, and the series championship points leader Riggs honest for the majority of the race. Riggs led the first 34 laps with one or the other leading through the opening 62 laps of the 100-lap event. Riggs won Stage 1 and Honeycutt won Stage 2.

And then the chaos set in. Four caution flags – and the red flag – came out in the closing 40 laps.

Varying pit strategies shook up the front of the field, relegating Riggs and Honeycutt to play catch-up following the Stage 2 break at Lap 60. The two who have dominated the championship standings for the last two months collided while trying to race through the field.

The damage to Riggs’ No. 34 Front Row Chevrolet proved to be too much for him to contend up front. His 48 laps out front was the most on the afternoon, but he ended up 23rd, the first driver a lap down.

He retained the championship lead, however, and is now 44 points up on Honeycutt with four races remaining to settle the regular season championship. They officially clinched a spot in the Chase today.

Enfinger’s victory was crucial in that it moved him inside the championship top 10 that will ultimately advance to the Chase. He’s now ninth in points, 25 points up on 10th place Tyler Ankrum. Stewart Friesen and Jake Garcia are tied, 17 points behind Ankrum.

Daniel Hemric, Andres Perez De Lara, Tanner Grey, Friesen and Colin Braun – an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series full-timer – rounded out the top 10 Saturday.

Thomas Annunziata, who ran up front all day after winning the ARCA Menards Series race at Lime Rock on Friday, ended up sidelined in the most dramatic incident of the day. He pulled off track with his No. 1 truck in flames while running second with 22 laps to go. Annunziata climbed out his No. 1 truck quickly and bent over to catch his breath next to a track wall. He was transported to a local area medical facility for further evaluation. He finished 29th.

The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series returns to competition next week with Saturday’s Faith Fest 250 (12:30 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at the historic North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway. Front Row Motorsports’ Chandler Smith is the defending race winner.

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Brandon Jones grabs overtime victory in Chicagoland return

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Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

JOLIET, IL (July 4, 2026) — Stealing the lead from Chase Elliott on the final restart, Brandon Jones celebrated NASCAR’s return to Chicagoland Speedway with a dramatic victory in Saturday night’s rain-delayed Cuervo 300.

In the first NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race to require overtime this season, Jones’ No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota stayed side-by-side with Elliott’s No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet through the first two corners on the decisive Lap 200 restart.

Jones took control in Turn 3 on the white-flag lap. Elliott made a determined run at the top of the track on the final circuit, but Jones blocked the lane and crossed the finish line 0.171 seconds ahead of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion.

“It’s been an up-and-down year,” Jones said after climbing from his car. “We had some success early on. We’ve been in a little rut the last couple weeks, so it’s just nice to do it like we did today. We had to earn that one.”

The victory was Jones’ first at Chicagoland (which hosted its first race since 2019), his first of the season and the eighth of his career, and he achieved it by outrunning an elite Cup Series driver.

“I think it says a lot about how resilient we are and how hard we’re working out there,” Jones said. “Chase made it really difficult on me. He’s one of the best in the sport. We were on old tires, and that was a blast, sliding around and dueling it out like that.”

Elliott chose the top lane for the final restart and didn’t get the push he needed from third-place finisher Jesse Love, the culprit being well-worn tires.

“I don’t think that was why we lost by any means,” Elliott said. “I know he was planning on giving me a good push… We ended up kind of having the momentum going the wrong way into Turn 3. I tried to drive in way hard and got myself super tight…

“Credit to Brandon. He did a good job. He had a good restart, stayed side-by-side through 1 and 2 and had the momentum going his way into Turn 3. I got myself in a bad spot and paid the price.”

Austin Hill finished fifth behind Love and rookie Brent Crews.

For JGR teammates Crews and Tayor Gray, the race was eminently productive in the battle for positions in the postseason Chase. Gray led 55 laps—second only to Elliott’s 78—and ended the evening seventh in the race and 11th in the standings with a 52-point cushion above the current Chase cut line.

Crews is 12th, the final Chase-eligible position, with a 44-point margin over teammate William Sawalich, the first driver below the current cutoff.

But Sawalich was seething after contact from Crews’ front bumper sent him spinning through the infield grass on Lap 165 of a planned 200 to cause the fifth of seven cautions. Sawalich finished 29th and faces an uphill battle with only four races left before the Chase field is set.

With qualifying canceled in favor of practice after rain wiped out O’Reilly Auto Parts Series practice on Friday, Connor Zilisch started on the pole on metrics after a rain delay of more than four hours and led the first stage wire-to-wire, finishing 4.935 seconds ahead of second-place Love.

Under caution, however, Zilisch’s No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet ran out of fuel and had to be pushed to pit road. Zilisch restarted Stage 2 in 26th place and climbed to ninth by the end of the stage on Lap 90.

Elliott was first of pit road during the first stage break and held the top spot through the end of Stage 2.

Zilisch’s rotten luck continued after the break. He cut a tire after contact with the outside wall and started from the back once again, only to spin on Lap 156 and repeat the process. For a third time, he climbed through the field to finish 10th.

Justin Allgaier, Zilisch’s JR Motorsports teammate, had a similarly adventurous night. Allgaier started 17th and charged to fourth by the end of Stage 2. But a safety violation on pit road for an improperly uniformed crew member sent him the rear for a restart on Lap 100.

Allgaier rallied to finish sixth and leaves Chicagoland with a 195-point series lead over second-place Love.

Behind Allgaier and Gray, Sam Mayer, Cole Custer and Zilisch completed the top 10. With Elliott, Allgaier and Zilisch in the top 10, JR Motorsports extended its streak of placing at least one car in the top 10 to 77 consecutive races, two short of RFK Racing’s series record, set from 2008 through 2010.

The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series moves to EchoPark Speedway near Atlanta for next Saturday’s Focused Health 250 (7 p.m. ET on CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

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