Posted on by Pat DeCola

“It’s hard to fathom,” Kurt Busch said.

“It’s insane,” Martin Truex Jr. echoed a moment later.

While both former champions missed the cut for the 2020 Championship 4, it’s not their own playoff pursuits ending that they’re talking about.

No, they’re referring to regular-season champion Kevin Harvick being left out of the final four drivers to compete for this year’s NASCAR Cup Series title next Sunday at Phoenix Raceway (3 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Race results

The nine-time 2020 winner was eliminated from postseason contention after the Round of 8 finale in Sunday’s Xfinity 500, finishing 17th at Martinsville Speedway — his fourth finish outside the top 10 in the final five races leading up to next weekend’s title decider.

“It didn’t go our way. We fought for everything we had and it just came up short,” said Harvick, who will now fight for a fifth-place finish to the season, easily his best from a statistical standpoint. “You have to put them together three weeks at a time and it comes down to one race and it came down to one race for us tonight and came up short. … We had a great year.”

Harvick entered the race second in the playoff standings with a 42-point advantage, but the first among those not locked in via win. Fellow Round of 8 contender Chase Elliott ended up winning the race from below the cutline, which ultimately gave Harvick the boot.

The day was filled with trouble for the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.

Early in Stage 2, Matt Kenseth’s No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet made contact with Harvick’s ride and knocked the valve stem off the left-rear wheel, causing the tire to lose air. Harvick was then forced to pit from 25th on Lap 180 under green, with the unscheduled stop putting him two laps down.

The 2014 champ then scratched, scraped and clawed his way back through the field over the course of the remaining 300-plus laps, working to get the free pass and snag positions back spot by spot. Harvick managed to get back on the pace by Lap 401 and eventually snuck his way into the top 10.

Unable to compete for the win, he was essentially battling Brad Keselowski for the final spot, separated by a single or a handful of points as the race neared completion. In need of one point coming to the checkered, Harvick attempted to push the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of longtime frenemy Kyle Busch out of the way to gain one more point — he held the tiebreaker over Keselowski — but instead spun himself and Busch and was saddled with the 17th-place result and a now less pleasant trip out west to the desert later this week.

The playoffs started with a bang for Harvick, knocking out two wins in the Round of 16 at Darlington Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway and continuing to rack up bonus points. Phoenix Raceway — his best track, with nine wins — seemed a certainty. A Championship 4 without 2020’s best regular-season driver is, as Kurt Busch indicated, unfathomable.

Welcome to the NASCAR Playoffs, where anything can — and we now know will — happen.

“Never expected that out of the 4 team,” said Busch, Harvick’s former SHR teammate. “Rodney Childers is a genius crew chief. Kevin Harvick is like a surgeon when it comes to gaining points. It shows you the level of competition and how everything is important. … Never expected the 4 to have the trouble that he did. It shows you how tough this really is.”

The 2020 Championship 4 features Elliott, Keselowski, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin.

The fact it won’t include Harvick was certainly a gut punch to Harvick Nation, but “Happy,” as comedically sardonic as ever, won’t be sulking for too long, with nine trophies from this season to admire on his mantel.

“No,” Harvick said, “I’ve been punched in the gut a lot harder.”

Posted on by Jason Christley

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour announced two major dates for the 2021 schedule Sunday afternoon: Martinsville Speedway and Richmond Raceway.

The tour will return to Martinsville at night on Thursday, April 8. And it will return to Richmond under the lights on Friday, Sept. 10.

“The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour has a rich legacy at both facilities,” said Jimmy Wilson, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour director. “Now our current competitors have a chance to etch their names alongside the legends who’ve won races at these historic venues.”

Martinsville hosted a modified race in NASCAR’s inaugural season on July 4, 1948.

NASCAR’s National Modified Championship, the predecessor to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, competed at Martinsville from 1960-1984. The modern-day NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour continued to race at the historic half-mile short track from 1985-2002 and 2005-2010. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was originally scheduled to return to Martinsville on May 8, 2020, but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Along with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour on Thursday, April 8, 2021, Martinsville will host a NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Friday, April 9, 2021 and the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 NASCAR Cup Series race on Saturday, April 10, 2021. All three races will be held under the bright lights at the iconic half-mile short track.

2021 NASCAR race tickets are available for purchase today via phone at 877-RACE-TIX or online at martinsvillespeedway.com.

The Whelen Modified Tour will make its first trip to Richmond since 2002, and will be part of the historic celebration of America’s Premier Short Track’s 75th anniversary.

Richmond first hosted a modified race in NASCAR’s inaugural season on May 16, 1948. The race was the first NASCAR sanctioned race in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Richmond hosted the modern-day NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour from 1990-1993, 1997 and 1999-2002. Mike Stefanik, elected to the 2021 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame and one of the Modified Tour’s 10 greatest drivers of all-time, holds the modern-day record with three wins at Richmond.

Richmond’s fall race weekend will include three races over two days starting with the Modified Tour under the lights on Friday, Sept. 10. America’s Premier Short Track will host a day-night doubleheader with the NASCAR Xfinity Series race and a NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race on Saturday, Sept. 11.

2021 NASCAR race tickets are available for purchase via phone at 866-455-7223 or online at richmondraceway.com.

The schedule for the complete 2021 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will be announced in the near future.

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Ty Dillon and wife Haley welcomed their second child to the world. Their son, Kapton Reed Dillon, was born Thursday, Oct. 29.

The couple had a daughter in 2017, Oakley Ray Dillon. Kapton is the second addition to the Dillon family tree this year as Ty’s brother, Austin, and wife Whitney welcomed son Ace earlier this year.

Ty Dillon will lineup 25th in Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway (2 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Holly Cain

Harrison Burton may have fallen out of championship contention weeks ago, but the 20-year-old is driving every bit like a title threat right now, earning his second consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series victory Saturday afternoon in the Draft Top 250 at Martinsville Speedway.

The driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota held off veteran and NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff contender Justin Allgaier by .355 seconds and led the final 53 laps of the race to become the youngest winner (20 years, 22 days) in series history at the famed half-mile track — bettering his own father Jeff Burton’s mark (23 years, two months, 24 days).

RELATED: Race results | Martinsville schedule

Burton’s 81 laps out front were best in the field and his win was the rookie’s fourth on the season. It came in the series’ first race at Martinsville Speedway since 2006.

“Great race car and best team in the garage,” Burton excitedly told his father, a broadcaster on the NBC race telecast as he made his way to the finish line for a victory burnout.

And while it was an important personal triumph for the second-generation driver, Burton’s victory had an important impact on the ultimate championship battle — three of the final four championship-eligible positions were decided by points. Allgaier’s runner-up effort was good enough to allow him to transfer to the title round next week at Phoenix, joining Saturday’s 10th-place finisher Austin Cindric, 12th-place finisher Justin Haley and seventh-place Chase Briscoe, who had already advanced with a win two weeks ago.

Crossing the line just behind Burton and Allgaier to round out the top five Saturday were Noah Gragson, Jeb Burton (the winner’s cousin) and Ross Chastain — with Gragson and Chastain falling just short of advancing into the Championship 4 round. Brandon Jones (ninth place) and Ryan Sieg (11th place) also failed to earn a position in the Championship 4.

Those motivated to earn a title shot certainly put in the effort, however. Gragson won Stage 1 and led 23 laps on the day. Chastain won Stage 2 and led 31 laps on the afternoon.

Pit strategy ultimately played a big role, however. Non-championship contenders such as Burton and veteran AJ Allmendinger, who led 68 laps, were able to gamble on pit-stop timing and track position. Allmendinger had the lead after the Stage 2 restart, and he and Burton were the only two drivers to trade the top position from there out while the early leaders navigated back up through the field in traffic.

Allmendinger, who led twice for 68 laps, fell from contention when his No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet slowed with a flat left-rear tire. That left Burton in front for the final 53 laps. Allmendinger finished 26th, two laps down.

Of the four drivers who have advanced to decide the championship next week at Phoenix, Allgaier is the only one with previous experience in the Championship 4. This will be the JR Motorsports veteran’s fourth chance to earn the title. The 34-year-old driver’s previous-best championship finish in this playoff format was third — both in 2016 and 2017. He is a three-race winner this season.

Briscoe, 25, who has a series-best nine victories in the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, has a best championship finish of fifth — last year. Cindric, the regular season champion and a five-race winner in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, is also making his Championship 4 debut. His previous best showing was sixth place in last year’s championship. Haley, 21, the driver of the No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet and three-race winner in 2020, will also be making his Championship 4 debut.

“A lot of boxes checked for us today, I feel like we’ve had to points-race the entire playoffs,” Cindric said. “And it’s been really annoying. We’ve brought some really fast race cars to the tracks in the last few weeks and our guys did an incredible job coming to the race track with no notebook and really basing it off the Ford simulator of notes from the Cup guys. Really proud of that effort. It’s a year’s worth of work and going to try to go take advantage of it next week.”

“I think we have to go there prepared to win the race,” Cindric added.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to action to decide the 2021 championship, Saturday, Nov. 7 in the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 at Phoenix Raceway (5 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Note: No major issues emerged from post-race inspection. The No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet driven by Allgaier was found with one lug nut not safely secured in a post-race check.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Staff Report

Following an electrifying Daytona 500, the 2020 NASCAR season gets into full swing with a string of West Coast races. But in early March the COVID-19 pandemic causes shutdowns across the sports landscape, and NASCAR makes the decision to press pause on its season.

Go behind the scenes during a historic moment for the sport in MotorTrend’s docuseries “NASCAR 2020: Under Pressure,” which launches today exclusively on the MotorTrend App. Watch as the industry rallies together to find a way to safely return to racing and to be the first American sport back in action.

RELATED: Start your free trial today on the MotorTrend App

Episode 1 titled “Hit the Brakes” starts the “Under Pressure” docuseries, produced by MotorTrend group in partnership with NASCAR. But come back every Saturday, from Nov. 7 to Dec. 12, to see an all new episode of “Under Pressure,” an inside look at the unforgettable 2020 NASCAR season.

Plus, with your free trial to the MotorTrend App you will also get access to over 3,600 hours of automotive entertainment, including shows from MotorTrend, Discovery Channel, live events and more. Start watching “Under Pressure” today.

Posted on by Staff Report

Nothing can slow down GMS Racing’s pursuit of the 2020 Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series championship — not even a power outage.

An outage from Tropical Storm Zeta has left their Statesville, North Carolina shop without power, but the team is powering on as it prepares trucks for the season finale next week at Phoenix Raceway. The organization has three drivers — Brett Moffitt, Sheldon Creed and Zane Smith — in the Championship 4.

The Lucas Oil 150 will decide the champion of the 2020 Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series season and will be run on Friday, Nov. 6 at 8 p.m. ET with coverage on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Posted on by Zack Albert

The NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series playoff field was chopped in half for the last time this season Friday night at Martinsville Speedway. Grant Enfinger’s rise to victory from the bottom half of the postseason bracket in a frantic finish made it an unkind cut for an unfortunate quartet.

RELATED: Official race results | Enfinger advances

Enfinger joined other Round of 8 winners Sheldon Creed and Brett Moffitt as title-eligible drivers in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 6 (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), and Zane Smith slipped into the Championship 4 field by a scant three points. That left three-time series champion Matt Crafton, regular-season champ Austin Hill, Ben Rhodes and Tyler Ankrum ousted from the playoff picture after Enfinger clinched his fate with a bruising short-track triumph.

While his ThorSport Racing teammate celebrated, Crafton’s hopes for a repeat championship faded with a fifth-place finish in the NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 that left him short of the Phoenix finale by that same three-point gap.

“We’re ready for 2021,” Crafton said. “At the end of the day, these guys fought hard all year.”

Rhodes, another driver from the ThorSport stable, finished second — one spot behind Enfinger and one position ahead of Smith — but only a win would have kept his postseason run intact. He entered Martinsville as almost a marked man because of aggressive tactics that angered Kyle Busch Motorsports drivers (among others) last week at Texas Motor Speedway. Last weekend’s drama carried over to Friday insults and threats from rival crews, Rhodes said, as he walked the Martinsville grounds pre-race, and Rhodes said he tried to race KBM competitors with more respect during the bulk of the race.

His No. 99 Ford was among those jostled in a flurry of altercations in the late going at Martinsville and he also gave Enfinger a healthy nudge, but he wound up one spot shy of a Championship 4 berth on the track and 44 points out of contention in the standings.

“I hate that we couldn’t do it,” Rhodes said. “The first loser always kind of stings, especially in this case. I thought this was one of the more important races in my career.”

As for the fallout from his Texas tussles, Rhodes said, “I did my best to try to stay away from people and avoid controversy, but unfortunately some found me again tonight. It’s definitely been a heck of an end of the season. Heck of a race, too, for Martinsville.”

Ankrum finished 12th at Martinsville to leave the needle unmoved as it related to his playoffs fate, and he was a sizable 90 points back of the cutoff mark. But Hill’s drop may have been the most precipitous.

The Georgia native, who helped to announce pre-race he’d return to the Hattori Racing Enterprises No. 16 Toyota in 2021, entered Martinsville with a seemingly comfy 27-point cushion over the elimination line. His truck’s engine, however, began to sputter midway through Stage 2, and it expired 83 laps from completing the full distance — an early exit that left him minus-21 in the standings after a 35th-place result.

“It’s just frustrating to potentially end your season on an engine failure like that,” said Hill, a two-time winner this year. “Everybody at HRE, all of our partners, everyone that makes this deal happen deserves a lot better. We should definitely be in this final four. It’s frustrating. I can’t even put it into words what I’m feeling right now.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

There was no mistaking the raised intensity level in Friday night’s NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 – the final race to set the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series’ Championship 4. And ultimately, veteran Grant Enfinger rallied when he needed to, holding off his ThorSport Racing teammate Ben Rhodes for the victory necessary to punch his ticket into next week’s championship finale.

RELATED: Race results

Enfinger, 35, of Fairhope, Alabama, earned this win managing two restarts in a frantic final 10 laps of racing on the .526-mile Martinsville Speedway notorious for its rough-and-tumble high-action brand of competition. He held off Rhodes by a mere .803 seconds to earn his career-best fourth win of the year and join Brett Moffitt, Sheldon Creed and rookie Zane Smith as the four drivers who earned a shot to challenge for the 2020 season title next week in Phoenix.

“Thank you guys, thank you guys, this is unbelievable,” Enfinger told his team as the No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford took the checkered flag.

“It was tough, we knew we were going to have to take our gloves off and fight for this one,” Enfinger said after celebrating. “It’s been an up-and-down season for us, but we tended to peak when we needed to. And now I feel really good about our chances at Phoenix.”

Smith finished third followed by Christian Eckes and reigning series champion Matt Crafton.

Both runner-up Rhodes and Crafton failed to advance to the Championship 4 round. While Rhodes’ hopes were lost in a blink of an eye behind Enfinger, Crafton finished fifth and came within three painstaking points of Smith for that fourth and last championship-eligible position.

“We had a shot, but first off, congrats to Grant, they worked their butts off all year,” Rhodes said of his teammate. “They have three wins, this is their fourth, they deserve it.

“We were racing as hard as we can. Didn’t have the speed we needed, but we hung around and my team had good strategy all day long. It’s just unfortunate.”

With eight laps remaining, three of the front-running trucks spun in a big chain-reaction crash that involved Rhodes, Raphael Lessard and sidelined Moffitt. Rhodes was able to continue and rejoined the field in second place right behind his teammate Enfinger.

The field was then set for the final two-lap sprint to the finish. Rhodes had to line up directly in front of Christian Eckes with his championship hopes on the line – one week after the two had an incident at Texas Motor Speedway followed by post-race confrontation in the garage. Rhodes and Eckes had contact, but Rhodes was just not able to catch and pass Enfinger, who led 49 laps overall.

Perhaps the most unexpected competitive moment of the race came when regular-season champion Austin Hill brought his hobbled truck onto pit road and called it a night only 117 laps into the 200-lap race.

For a two-race winner, who has led the championship points standings since the second week of the season, it was an unexpected and gut-wrenching turn of events. He came into the race the highest ranked driver without a victory in this playoff round – holding a healthy 27-point advantage on the cutline.

Unfortunately, Hill started sensing a problem in his No. 16 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota by the start of the second stage. The team tried to diagnose and correct the problem on multiple pit stops, but the truck had to retire and a disappointed Hill could only hope something major would happen in the final laps that may put him back in position to race for the title. It did not.

“We’re not a 100 percent sure what happened but it was definitely blowing up on us,” Hill said. “It’s just frustrating to potentially end your season on an engine failure like that. … We should definitely be in this final four. … I can’t even put into words what I’m feeling right now.”

Creed won the first stage and led a race-best 65 laps. He finished eighth.

The Lucas Oil 150 championship finale at the 1-mile Phoenix Raceway is set for next Friday at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

NOTE: There were no issues or lug-nut violations in NASCAR’s post-race inspection.

Posted on by Staff Report

Hattori Racing Enterprises announced Friday that Austin Hill will return to the No. 16 Toyota next season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Hill is in his second season with the Shige Hattori-owned team. The move was revealed on FOX Sports’ pre-race show before Friday night’s penultimate race of the season, the NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Martinsville Speedway.

RELATED: Shifts galore in Silly Season | Truck Series schedule

“I can’t imagine a better scenario than to be with this team and everybody at HRE,” Hill said in a news release provided by the team. “I keep saying it, but I truly believe this is the best team in the series and I’m proud to race with this group and can’t wait to continue what we’ve built over the last two seasons. It’s even better to have partners like United Rentals and everyone at Toyota and Toyota Racing Development for supporting our program like they do. We’re glad to have next year laid out, but we have two more races to try and win a championship.”

The organization indicated in the release that crew chief Scott Zipadelli would be back and that United Rentals would return as a primary sponsor for multiple races in 2021. The company has sponsored Hill’s efforts since 2017 and was a primary sponsor for 13 Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series events this season.

Hill has two wins this year and remains in the hunt for the series championship. The 26-year-old Georgia native has six career victories in the Truck Series, all coming in HRE’s No. 16. Hill also told FOX Sports that he’d continue with a partial schedule in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition next year.

His 44 starts with the Hattori team make Hill the organization’s longest-tenured driver.

“We’re glad to keep the team together next season with Austin and United Rentals,” Hattori said. “He has done a great job with Scott and the entire team the last two years, and hopefully we can close out this season with a championship and start strong at Daytona (International Speedway) next year.”

Posted on by Team Release

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (October 22, 2020) – CarParts.com is heading back to the track with Michael McDowell on Sunday, November 1st, at Martinsville Speedway, along with Davico Manufacturing, who will be making their debut in the NASCAR circuit as a co-partner. CarParts.com has helped propel McDowell to a career-best season that includes four Top-10 finishes and his all-time best average finish, which spurred the ecommerce giant’s decision to tap the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford Mustang and McDowell into a sneak peek at the company’s brand evolution, showcasing the all-new logo at Martinsville for CarParts.com’s last race of the year. After the race, one lucky NASCAR fan will win a Martinsville No. 34 livery replica hood signed by McDowell. For updates on how to enter for a chance to win, fans can follow @CarPartscom on social media.

“We’re thrilled to introduce our new look to NASCAR fans with Front Row Motorsports, Michael McDowell, and our partners at Davico Manufacturing,” said Lev Peker, CEO of CarParts.com. “We believe our fellow drivers belong on the road, which is why we’re committed to helping them move forward and enjoy their journey. This is what our new logo helps represent. We couldn’t think of a better debut than having McDowell carry our new branding at Martinsville Speedway in front of a national audience on NBC.”

Joining CarParts.com on the No. 34 at Martinsville is Davico Manufacturing, a family-owned business that has been producing American-made catalytic converters for over 30 years in their home state of Massachusetts. Available on CarParts.com, Davico Manufacturing offers the widest catalytic converter selection, including exact-fit converters that promise unmatched attention to detail and straightforward installation with no cutting, clamping, or welding required.

“Davico Manufacturing has been a made-in-America manufacturer of world-class, direct-fit catalytic converters and special exhaust for more than 34 years,” said Glenn Hamblett, National Sales Manager at Davico. “Our entire team here in Massachusetts is excited and energized to co-sponsor the No. 34 car of Michael McDowell and the Front Row Motorsports team along with CarParts.com. We will all be watching and enjoying our first NASCAR marketing endeavor and wish everyone well. Good luck, Michael McDowell!”

McDowell has found tremendous success with CarParts.com on the track, including his best finish of the season to date, coming in seventh at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Furthermore, McDowell has been actively involved with the company through various social media promotions, sweepstakes, and internal meetings. He is now looking forward to helping them with the introduction of their new look, and bringing first-timer Davico Manufacturing to the track.

“CarParts.com has been innovative with their look and colors all season,” said McDowell. “They’re now introducing their new logo. It’s awesome they wanted to do it with NASCAR, Front Row Motorsports, and myself. They’ve been a great partner all season, but they’ve also been great for the sport and done different things to give back to the fans, too. That’s amazing to see during such a challenging year. I also want to thank Davico Manufacturing for their support this weekend. They’re going to be in for a fun ride.”

Sunday’s race will be televised live on NBC and begin at 2:00 p.m. ET.

For more information about CarParts.com, visit CarParts.com. For more information about Davico Manufacturing, visit www.davicomfg.com.