NASCAR
Daniel Suárez wins Atlanta NASCAR Cup race in fantastic three-wide finish
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
The collective gasp in the Atlanta Motor Speedway press box was clearly audible when Austin Cindric took the field four-wide on Sunday.
With Michael McDowell, Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Briscoe running side-by-side at the front of the field, Cindric steered his No. 2 Team Penske Ford to the bottom of the track as the cars approached Turn 1.
Squeezing through a hole between McDowell’s Ford and the white “out-of-bounds” lines between the apron and the racing surface at the 1.54-mile track, Cindric took the lead with 50 laps left.
Following Cindric into the corner, Kyle Busch kept the field four-wide into Turn 2, and when Busch cleared McDowell, Todd Gilliand took his place at the exit from the turn.
“It must have looked as cool as it felt,” Cindric said after the race. “You don’t get runs like that too often and be able to take ‘em and do something with ‘em.
“But I was pretty confident I was going to get clear before the corner and stay above the double white line. Yeah, it was cool.”
Cindric’s pass for the lead wasn’t an isolated incident. The Ambetter Health 400 featured unabated action throughout the race.
Appropriately, it ended with the closest finish among three cars in motorsports history, with Daniel Suarez taking the checkered flag 0.003 seconds ahead of runner-up Ryan Blaney and 0.007 seconds clear of third-place Busch.
What enhanced the excitement of this particular race was the relative instability of the cars in traffic.
“We were not comfortable,” Suarez said in his post-race press conference. “I don’t think there were many cars going wide-open besides the front row cars… It was not easy, not easy at all.
“This race track is fairly new, and it already has some bumps, so it wasn’t easy. But it was great racing—it was great racing.”
Gilliand, who led a race-high 58 laps before a flat tire ruined his chances, put it more succinctly in a radio transmission reported by Jeff Gluck of The Athletic.
“It’s like going to a haunted house, you know?” Gilliland said. “It’s fun, but I’m scared for my life at the same time.”
A repaving project after the summer race of 2021 made the character of Sunday’s race possible. Before the resurfacing, Atlanta had the oldest, most degraded asphalt on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit.
The drivers loved the old pavement and initially decried the transformation of the speedway into a narrower track with higher banking in the corners, a track which now can accommodate the superspeedway competition package previously reserved for Daytona and Talladega.
It was the reconfiguration, however, that helped to create one of the most compelling events in recent memory.
For the first time in Cup Series history, the season began with back-to-back superspeedway races. In the DAYTONA 500, William Byron was inches ahead of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman when caution slowed the race—after Byron had taken the white flag.
Six days later, the Atlanta race ended in a photo finish, engendering great expectations for NASCAR’s return to the track on Sept. 8 for the first race of the Cup Playoffs.
It also created a temptation. If the Atlanta event earned overwhelming praise for the quality of its racing action, why not try the combination at other intermediate tracks?
That’s not a good idea, says Byron, even though the driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet has won twice at both Daytona and Atlanta.
“You take something that’s good in the sport, and you oversaturate it,” Byron said. “I feel like we’ve been down that path. We can’t oversaturate something that’s a niche, a unique thing that looks really great.
“I just think it’s in our best interest to have unique challenges each week, and that one is—Atlanta’s a great challenge. I love going there, but I don’t want that every week.”
Just as trips to a haunted house can lose their impact through repetition, the transformation of additional intermediate tracks into superspeedways would alter the balance of the sport—and haunt the balance sheets of team owners tasked with replacing wrecked race cars.
By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service
HOMESTEAD, FL (March 22, 2025) – In one of the most dramatic finishes of the season, JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier took the lead on the final lap of overtime and held off his former teammate Sam Mayer for the win – the ultimate dash for cash as it were in the Hard Rock Bet 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
For much of the day, it looked like former NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson would answer his win in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race Friday night at the track with a victory on Saturday. He led a dominant 132 of the 201 laps and held a 15-second advantage on the field when a caution flag flew with eight laps remaining, bunching up the field for that final overtime re-start.
Larson chose the bottom lane for the re-start with second place Mayer opting to pull his No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford directly behind Larson’s No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet instead of on the front row alongside him. Just as the green flag flew for that final two laps, Mayer’s car hit the rear of Larson’s and knocked Larson’s Chevrolet out of shape.
As that happened, the outside line of Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill and Allgaier zoomed forward with Hill taking the race lead. A lap later, Allgaier caught Hill and got around him for the victory – his first top-five in 16 previous Homestead races and the second straight win for the reigning series champion, matching a trophy-haul at Las Vegas last week.
Hill finished third after Mayer passed him as well on the last lap.
“Just a testament to this team,” the 39-year-old Allgaier said. “Honestly, it was looking like it was one those days that wasn’t our day. We got behind but were able to persevere and to get this Chevrolet to Victory Lane is special.
“I just feel like this place has gotten me so many times.”
“I was actually bummed to see the caution flag come out but it worked out in my favorite.” Allgaier added. “I’m bummed I maybe got the [weekend] triple from Kyle [Larson] because I think he’s going to have a great shot at [winning] it tomorrow. But we were at the right place at the right time and I’m really proud of this race team.”
The final caution flag came for a spin by pole-winner, Joe Gibbs Racing Taylor Gray. At the time, only five drivers were on the lead lap.
The last series of pit stops proved pivotal to those pursuing Larson. Twelve cars came out on the lead lap eager to see what they could do in the closing sprint toward the checkered.
Larson, who won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday night looked well on his way to try and join Kyle Busch as the only drivers in NASCAR history to sweep three national series race wins in one weekend. In fact, he showed up in South Florida for the NASCAR weekend fresh off a sprint car win earlier in the week.
The outcome was understandably a huge disappointment for Larson, the frustration evident on his face as he climbed out of his Chevrolet on pit lane after the race.
“I’ve lived through it a number of times here, obviously a bummer to have another Homestead race play out that way,” said Larson, who finished fourth.
“I can’t go when my rear tires are off the ground,” he said of the contact from Mayer’s car on the re-start. “I did everything I thought I could and the 41 just lagged back and slammed the [expletive] of me. Bummer, but cool to have had that big lead at the end.
“Loved to have gotten a win for everybody at the 17-car. They don’t get to race all the time so it’s good we can run up front. Got one more opportunity at this [in the 17-car] in a few weeks and see if we can get it done then.”
While the first half of Saturday’s race had all five of the day’s caution flags, Larson essentially put it in cruise control for the final 100 laps – and pulled a zip code ahead of Mayer who doggedly pursued all afternoon.
“I unfortunately got to his [Larson] bumper a little too early,” Mayer said of the contact with Larson on that final re-start. “He went really, really late in the box, just played games and that’s what you’ve got to do at this level to get the advantage. But he just waited really long and I wasn’t ready for him to wait that long.
“Anytime you’re finishing second you’re super bummed out but that’s a good day. We’re going to keep it going and try to get better.”
Not only did Allgaier get a trophy to take home, but he also won the first $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus check from series sponsor Xfinity. He, Mayer, third place finisher Hill, and 10th place finisher Jesse Love were all eligible for the extra pay based on their finishes last week at Las Vegas.
The second of the four Dash 4 Cash races is next Saturday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway with Allgaier, Mayer, Hill and Haas Factory Team’s Sheldon Creed – the fifth-place finisher eligible for the next $100,000 bonus. The top-finisher among the quartet will claim the cash.
Love, JGR’s Brandon Jones and rookies Nick Sanchez, Daniel Dye and Carson Kvapil rounded out the top-10.
Allgaier is now the first series driver with multiple wins in 2025 and takes a 29-point lead in the championship standings over Mayer.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to competition next Saturday evening with the Marine Corps 250 at Martinsville Speedway (5 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Aric Almirola in the defending race winner in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service
HOMESTEAD, FL (March 21, 2025) – Kyle Larson made a dramatic run to the checkered flag, rallying from a late-race spinout to methodically race back through the field and pass the night’s most dominant trucks in the final 10 laps to claim victory in Friday’s Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
It was a fittingly remarkable end to a typically competitive night in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. Larson spun his No. 07 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet with 45 laps remaining in the 134-lapper and dropped out of the top-20. But the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion drove back through the field and moved forward picking off one frontrunner after another.
Larson, who is entered in all three NASCAR national series races at the 1.5-mile South Florida track this weekend, passed Front Row Motorsports rookie Layne Riggs with two laps to go and never looked back, finishing 1.340-seconds ahead of the field.
The night’s most dominant driver, TRICON Garage’s Corey Heim finished third after leading a race best 78 laps.
“I wasn’t exactly sure if I could get back up there,” said Larson who has four wins in only 16 series starts – two in his last four races. “I didn’t have the restart I wanted, took a little bit too long to start picking them off and then just got ripping the wall and it paid dividends for me in [turns] one and two.”
Larson acknowledged that Heim – who has won two of the season’s opening three races – looked tough all race and was unquestionably the truck to beat. There was a problem with Heim’s motor in the closing laps – his truck suddenly started intermittently shutting off then restoring power in the closing 20 laps.
“Not sure what happened to the 11 [Heim], but that worked out in our favor for sure,” Larson said. “I don’t think I would have gotten to him [otherwise]. Obviously, I would have gotten to second, probably, but that would have been tough to get to him. That last run was a lot of fun.”
Heim was understandably disappointed standing on pit road after the race. His No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota started from pole position, swept both stage wins and led the most laps.
“I feel like we were lights out, the best truck tonight, think we should’ve won the race by six, seven seconds at the end there,” Heim said. “I feel like at the beginning of the runs, I knew what we were capable of and let those guys get away, burn their stuff up and then, fly past them.
“I don’t know exactly what was going on. Never really had an issue like that. I’d be totally fine, and the engine would just hard cut on me. Dash would go black and have no power until I fully cycled it. So, I was coasting for six seconds trying to turn the power switch and turn it back (on). I don’t know.
“Felt I ran a really good race, saving tires and would mow them down on the long runs there. This No. 11 Tundra TRD Pro was really, really good. This just stinks pretty bad.”
McAnally-Hilgemann Racing teammates Tyler Ankrum and Daniel Hemric rounded out the top-five finishers. Floridian Ross Chastain, who competes fulltime in the NASCAR Cup Series, led 33 laps in the No. 44 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet but finished sixth.
ThorSport Racing’s Jake Garcia was seventh, followed by Front Row Motorsports’ Chandler Smith, CR7 Motorsports’ Grant Enfinger and Niece’s Kaden Honeycutt, who rallied to 10th-place showing from a late race penalty that dropped him to 27th in the field.
As for potentially claiming a weekend three-race sweep, Larson said, “I felt like the Truck race was probably going to be the toughest to win, I don’t have much experience in them and the runs are typically shorter. I feel better about Xfinity and Cup but the competition keeps getting tough and tougher as you get on with the weekend, but we’ll see. Off to a good start.”
With his third-place effort, Heim takes over the championship lead and holds eight points over reigning series champ Ty Majeski and 27 points over third place Chandler Smith.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series returns to action next Friday night at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway with the Boys and Girls Club of the Blue Ridge 200 (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Now Xfinity Series rookie Christian Eckes won the race last year.
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
LAS VEGAS, NV (March 15. 2025) – On Friday night, Justin Allgaier saw the Eagles in concert. On Saturday, he was flying.
Holding off Aric Almirola over a 102-lap green-flag run, Allgaier finally claimed victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after finishing second four times at the 1.5-mile track.
Allgaier’s victory in The Liuna! was his first of the season, the 26th of his career and the 90th for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The reigning series champion crossed the finish line 1.067 seconds ahead of Almirola, who lost ground trying to run the outside lane with just over three laps left.
The decisive moment in the race, however, may have come much earlier. Allgaier lost the lead to Almirola during an exchange of pit stops midway through the final stage, but he regained it in traffic on Lap 152 and remained out front the rest of the way.
With the victory, Allgaier qualified for the first Xfinity Dash4Cash race next Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, along with third-place finisher Jesse Love, fourth-place Austin Hill and fifth-place Sam Mayer. The highest finisher among the four earns a $100,000 bonus.
Almirola isn’t scheduled to run the Homestead race.
“It was amazing,” said Allgaier. “This whole team—I just can’t say enough. Aric and I were going at it. Hats of to him; he ran a heck of a race…
“Rick Brandt (of sponsor Brandt) was here last night. He took us to a great concert, Eagles concert … Everyone at JR Motorsports, I can’t say enough about how proud I am of what we have here. It’s been special.”
After Allgaier took the lead on Lap 152, he opened an advantage of more than two seconds over Almirola, who spent the next 40 laps whittling the margin down to a car-length. But Almirola couldn’t find a way past Allgaier in the closing laps.
“You always hate to finish second, but Justin and that team was I felt like the class of the field today,” Almirola said. “We were close, but they could just take off so much faster than I could. I think that’s really the difference.
“I thought my only hope was to cycle in front of him on the green-flag stop, and we did, but I just got caught up behind some lapped traffic there that I misjudged. I wasn’t sure which way they were going, and he got by me and built such a big gap that I used my stuff up trying to get back to him.”
The green-flag stops in the final stage proved costly to Sunoco rookie Connor Zilisch, who streaked into the lead on Lap 100 and held it until Allgaier nosed ahead at the start/finish line on Lap 127.
During the stops on Lap 145, however, Zilisch drew a speeding penalty and served a pass-through that dropped him to the back of the lead lap. He rallied to finish ninth, the last driver on the lead lap.
Allgaier led 102 of the 200 laps, followed by Almirola (51) and Zilisch (28). Brandon Jones, Ryan Seig, Harrison Burton, Zilisch and Sheldon Creed completed the top 10.
Allgaier, who won the first stage by 8.262 seconds and finished second in Stage 2, took over the series lead by 19 points over Love.
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