When Alex Bowman joined Hendrick Motorsports for the 2018 season, he played along with the mistaken impression that he was a promising Cup Series rookie — even though already he had two-plus years of experience in NASCAR’s top division. Bowman was in on the joke, if only because his actual rookie season was forgettable; he scratched the top 20 just once for heavy underdog BK Racing and finished 35th in the 2014 driver standings.
Bowman was about as far away on the grid as he could be from Jimmie Johnson, who had just sealed the sixth of his seven championships the year before. But Johnson often made it a point to check in with the series’ newer faces during pre-race ceremonies, and his uplifting words helped sustain Bowman as he raced hard in relative obscurity.
“I was talking about the race that had taken place the week before at just how hard I saw him driving the car,” Johnson recalled. “He was totally sideways, I could see his left-front tire and how active he was behind the wheel, just trying to hang onto it and still going forward. I remember approaching him and being like, ‘Man, I can’t believe you held onto that car and were able to save it and drive it.’ He’s definitely grown up running on the dirt, and I could tell that day when I saw him wheeling the car.”
Somewhat improbably, the two drivers became Hendrick Motorsports teammates four years later and Tuesday, Bowman was introduced as Johnson’s successor in the No. 48 Chevrolet. But their bonds developed into a friendship that was a source of motivation during Bowman’s times of career uncertainty.
“He was the first guy to come up to me and be like, ‘Hey, man. You’re doing a really good job with what you have to work with,’ at a time when I was really unsure of my career and didn’t know how things were going to go, wasn’t really having a whole lot of fun,” Bowman says. “That encouragement kept me going for quite a while, so to be able to take over a car from him is really special.”
Bowman said the two drivers chatted earlier this week to discuss the impending news and how his move to a new team and new sponsor might play out. “More than anything, I just wanted him to know that I’m here,” Johnson said, indicating he would remain close to the No. 48 team next year, even as he leaves full-time Cup Series competition after this season.
Bowman will have some continuity as his pairing with crew chief Greg Ives will remain in place, but he’ll again be a new figure following in famous footsteps. Three years ago, Bowman replaced Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the Hendrick No. 88; next season, he’ll take the reins of the No. 48 Chevrolet that Johnson carried to Hall of Fame heights in his illustrious career.
“To watch his growth over the last few years, to drive after Dale Jr. in the 88 car and the pressure that comes with that, I feel like that was a big hurdle to accomplish when he first started, and he checked that box very well and moved on,” Johnson said. “Then the performance started to come, and the next thing is, can you elevate the consistency and have that there week-in and week-out. Then can you win and continue to win consistently, and he just keeps climbing the ladder with all those things in mind and handling all of this very, very well and delivering great results on a consistent level.”
Though 2021’s early story lines will likely focus on whether Bowman can add to the stellar history of the No. 48, Johnson insists he’s eager to see Bowman forge his own identity with the team — much as he has the last three seasons.
It’s just the latest form of encouragement from one driver to another, tracing back to a shared pre-race moment from 2014.
“As we all know, it’ll be a story for a while and then he’s going to make that car his, and he’ll have an opportunity to write his own story,” Johnson says. “So, I’m excited for him, and I can’t wait to see what that story is.”
Hendrick Motorsports announced Tuesday that Alex Bowman will replace Jimmie Johnson next season, shifting to the organization’s No. 48 Chevrolet for the NASCAR Cup Series in 2021.
Bowman is in his third season with the Rick Hendrick-owned team, having joined the organization full time in 2018 as the successor to Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88 Chevrolet. Now on the heels of following the 15-time winner of NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver Award, the 27-year-old Bowman has become the next in line for the ride made famous by a seven-time series champion.
“We just got done with the ‘what’s it like to take over Dale Jr.’s race car’ question, so now we’re following it up with the Jimmie Johnson’s race car questions. To me, it’s really special, for sure,” Bowman told NASCAR.com. “Both of them have had so much to do with my career. Obviously, I wouldn’t be driving for Hendrick Motorsports at all without Dale’s help, and since then, Jimmie’s been a huge part of it.
“It’s tough to take over from the most popular of all time, and then three years later to follow that up with arguably the greatest of all time. But it means a lot to me that everybody at Hendrick Motorsports has faith in me, and Ally has faith in me to do a good job and make the 48 car proud.”
The Hendrick organization also announced crew chief Greg Ives will make the move with Bowman to the No. 48 team next season, keeping their pairing intact for a fourth consecutive year. Hendrick officials indicated plans for Bowman’s replacement with the No. 88 team, plus the future for Cliff Daniels — Johnson’s current crew chief with the No. 48 — would be announced at a later date.
Johnson, 45, announced last November that the 2020 season would mark his final full-time campaign in NASCAR’s top series. He hedged at calling his transition a full-fledged retirement, saying he still had a list of goals to experience — both in NASCAR and other forms of motorsports.
But Johnson’s move created a high-profile vacancy in the Cup Series garage in what’s been one of the most active free-agency seasons to date. Tuesday, the organization revealed the position would be filled internally by Bowman, ending nearly a year of rumors and conjecture.
“I think the world’s been eagerly awaiting, and obviously a big day for all of us,” Johnson said. “Very happy for Alex, very proud of Alex. When I look at his journey to climb the ladder and to get to where he is today, that guy has had to work his guts out for his opportunity, time and time again. Every time he’s had the opportunity, he’s made the most of it and has earned that next ride. Really proud of him. He’s going to be a great replacement in the 48 car. Then also to have Greg Ives coming over, it’s really special for Greg, too, with the history that he has on the 48 car.”
I’ve had 19 mind blowing seasons in the 48, now it’s your turn @alexbowman88. I know I’m leaving her in great hands brother. #DoItRightpic.twitter.com/Rv4YFWbJhT
Bowman is set to become just the second full-time driver to wheel the No. 48 under the Hendrick Motorsports banner, just as he was only the second driver to make a full-time campaign with Hendrick’s No. 88, a number the organization first fielded with Earnhardt’s arrival in 2008.
The magnitude of inheriting rides, car numbers and in some ways the team legacies from two future NASCAR Hall of Famers has not been lost on Bowman, who says he’s merely strived to carve out his own place in the sport — all while being mindful of the legacies left by the drivers who came before him.
“I’m not Dale by any means, and never wanted to be or tried to be. I just tried to be myself,” Bowman said. “So hopefully some of the 88 fans that stuck around will go with us to the 48, and the 48 fans and Jimmie fans will cheer for us. My biggest thing is, I just want to give everybody something to cheer for on the race track and do the best job I can trying to win races. I think that’s the most important thing for me, and that’s what I want to do — make the fans happy.
“So it is bittersweet to leave the 88. It’s been a big part of my career, obviously. Got it a couple wins and some more opportunities to win some races coming up, but to have kind of started in a fill-in role in that car and then transition to driving it full-time, the number definitely means a lot to me, but also is an honor to drive the 48 car.”
The transition also will take an adjustment for Johnson, who has accumulated all 681 starts and 83 wins while driving the No. 48 since his Cup Series debut in 2001.
“It’s going to be different to see the car on track,” Johnson says. “I’ve been at one place my entire career and was there to start this 48 car and help create its history, so I’ll have great pride in watching it week in and week out. I’m sure the first few races that I see the car on track will be slightly uncomfortable and a lot of emotions will come with it, but I’m the biggest fan of that 48 car and want nothing but the best for it.”
Bowman’s story has already been an intriguing one. After toiling for two seasons in underpowered equipment (for BK Racing in 2014, then Tommy Baldwin Racing the next year), his Cup Series career was placed on hold. Bowman scraped together a part-time ride with Earnhardt’s JR Motorsports team in 2016, but the year also brought him back to the Cup level under difficult circumstances as a 10-race fill-in while Earnhardt was sidelined with a concussion.
Stacy Revere | Getty Images
Bowman’s return yielded his first career pole position, but also earned the trust of Hendrick, who kept him on as a key figure in the organization’s simulator program. With some assistance from Earnhardt’s vote of confidence, HMS hired Bowman full time for the No. 88 in 2018 — a partnership that has produced two wins and playoff appearances in three consecutive seasons.
That performance, plus a strong bond with Hendrick through their shared love of cars, helped make Bowman’s most recent career move an easier one.
“We have tremendous faith in this team,” said Rick Hendrick. “Every season, Alex gets better. Not only do we see it in the statistics, but his confidence and leadership have truly blossomed. Today he’s a proven winner and playoff contender, and his best years are ahead. Greg has won championships and races, and he brings the No. 48 pedigree that’s invaluable. When you add in the amazing enthusiasm and support from Ally, it’s quite a combination. Their partnership makes it all possible, and we look forward to celebrating many successes together in the future.”
“Being able to share that with Mr. H has been really cool,” Bowman said of their mutual passion for cars, “and the conversation was pretty cut and dried and simple, like, ‘hey, this is what’s going on, we’re all excited for you, we all have faith in you,’ and that means a lot coming from Mr. H to pick me to do that. It was an easy conversation and it was just, what can we do to make it a seamless transition and give you everything you need to succeed. That’s the best part about HMS — they’re always willing to do whatever it takes and give you all the tools you need to succeed.”
That apparently goes for Johnson as well. Bowman’s predecessor has indicated that he’ll give IndyCar racing a try on a part-time basis next year, but Johnson also said this week that he intends to remain close with the No. 48 camp to lend a hand where needed as he enters semi-retirement.
“I’m here for Hendrick Motorsports and for Alex and anything that 48 car needs,” Johnson said. “I spent my entire career in the company, in that race car, and I want nothing but the best for them. As I look at things differently in my racing career and scale things down a bit, I’m still going to be here. Anything those guys need from me, I’m around and would be glad to help.”
Bowman’s shift to the No. 48 team qualifies as major news, but his return to Hendrick Motorsports in 2021 has been a settled deal for months. The Arizona native announced May 16 that he had signed a one-year contract extension with the organization.
His primary sponsor’s footing is also secure as Ally Financial agreed to a three-year extension with Hendrick Motorsports in October 2019, keeping the banking brand on as a full-season backer through the 2023 season. Bowman says he’s gotten a head-start on building relationships with Ally’s people, participating in a preliminary photo shoot and Zoom meetings to get better acquainted with their marketing style.
“Alex is absolutely the right driver to carry on the legacy of the No. 48 – and he deserves a sponsor as committed as he is,” said Andrea Brimmer, chief marketing and public relations officer for Ally. “He’s young, hungry to win and ready to give it all he has. We’re eager to make the most of his energy and dedication to build more momentum for racing, find new ways to disrupt the sport and help broaden NASCAR’s reach even further.”
Said Bowman: “It’s been really refreshing to get to work with them and learn about everybody at the company and kind of learn what they’re all about. Obviously, I’m new to the team and still learning, but it’s been really cool. They definitely like to be disruptive and like to do it right, and that’s going to be a lot of fun. I’m really looking forward to working with them.”
One day last year, when Shawn Labelle was at a NASCAR Pinty’s Series race with his family, he brought up an idea to his two sons.
“I kind of asked my kids a stupid question. ‘Would you ever want to watch dad race?‘” Labelle said. “And they said, ‘Yep!”
Racing NASCAR has been a lifelong dream for Labelle, but the 42-year-old didn‘t finally jump at the chance to get into a car until this season. Six months after watching that first race, he and his family moved more than two hours from Calgary in Alberta, Canada, to Wetaskiwin, Alberta, so Labelle could finally live out his racing dreams at Edmonton International Raceway.
Labelle‘s new home is about three minutes from Edmonton International, a quarter-mile, semi-banked asphalt oval that is Western Canada‘s only NASCAR-sanctioned race track. He bought a shop and a car, compiled a crew, and competed in the track‘s super stocks division this season.
His only previous driving experience came years ago when Labelle worked for Grand Touring Automobiles in Toronto. His job would often send him to California where he would race new Jaguars and Aston Martins, giving him limited experience driving high-powered vehicles on controlled courses. Other than that, the only time he‘d been in a race car was a few practices here and there more than a decade ago.
But despite his very limited experience, Labelle podiumed two races this season, led 13 of 15 laps in a heat race, and finished fourth in points on his way to a Rookie of the Year win in Edmonton‘s Division I super stocks class.
“My initial goals were to just kind of stick with the pack but I ended up being in the top two in qualifying the last race of the year,” Labelle said.
Labelle grew up in Barrie, Ontario, near Sunset Speedway, which did not have NASCAR racing at the time. It wasn‘t until he was in his mid-to-late 20s when the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series — now the Pinty’s Series — was started.
“Once I saw those I was like, ‘That‘s what I want to do,‘” he said
“I just fell in love with racing and I just knew there would come a day when I could do it.”
It ended up that he was better at the sport than even he expected. He surprised a fellow Edmonton driver with how well he did in his first practice.
“When I went out practicing and I was turning like mid-14s on my first day, and having the former runner-up and former rookie of the year for NASCAR being at my practice and telling me, ‘Shawn, those are qualifying laps. If you‘re in a class of 10 to 15 cars you‘re qualifying in the middle of the pack, and this is your first time in the car.‘
“For him to tell me that I was a natural lifted so much weight off my shoulders because my biggest fear was going out there my first race and getting lapped. And that never happened.”
Labelle said the biggest learning curve was the terminology. At his first practice he heard a lot of new words like staggers and crossweight. Admittedly, he is not a car junkie and had never really tinkered around in a garage.
“I had no idea what they were talking about,” he said. “I tried to take that comment made in Days of Thunder, ‘I race cars, I don‘t need to know how to fix them.‘ Well that only goes so far and then when your car‘s not reacting properly you need to be able to come and tell your crew what‘s wrong with it.”
Thankfully, a lot of Labelle‘s success came from a handful of people and competitors who took the time to help his learn.
Saying he had huge support at the track is an understatement, he said. Track owners Ron and Loretta Thiering helped him get ready, and track officials would explain his car to him while it was on the scales and going through inspection, telling him what needed to be done to make it faster.
Labelle also said that with the season shorted from 11 to seven races due to the coronavirus pandemic a lot of his education was “hurry up and learn.”
“I‘d make some adjustments, I‘d go over to the track, I‘d try to figure it out myself and then I would make calls to the other racers and say, ‘Hey, I‘m practicing right now, my car is doing this, what do you suggest?‘” he said.
“In no time at all I started learning. I think by the the fourth race I started to tell my crew what adjustments I needed to make.”
While Labelle was learning the ins and outs of racing, his sons were as well. His oldest son, 13, was part of the action, talking on the radio, working on tires, and helping Labelle get strapped into his car. Labelle said it was amazing having him part of the team.
His youngest son, 11, had a flag with Labelle Motorsports he would wave from the stands.
“They absolutely love it,” he said. “I‘m allowing my kids to live my dreams through me because some of the things that I‘m trying to teach them is, ‘Hey, it doesn‘t matter how old you are, or even how young you are, don‘t ever let your dreams slip by you.‘ You can‘t rush dreams.”
Labelle Motorsports will grow by two cars next year. The youngest Labelle will race mini cups and Labelle’s older son will race in Edmonton‘s NASCAR feature stocks division.
Seeing his kids fall in love with the sport coupled with the success he himself had secured to Labelle that he made the right decision chasing his dream. It also secured he was definitely going to race a second year.
“I knew I was going to race this year, but, I don‘t know, there was a chance I wasn’t even going to like it. I would have been shocked if I didn‘t like it, but there was still that chance,” he said. “This year, with the support and the success I had, I‘m already dreading the season is over and it just ended last Saturday.
“I have to wait all the way until May next year to race again and it‘s just killing me.”
Fellow competitors at Edmonton have told Labelle he could be a force to be reckoned with in his second season. That‘s quite a jump from his initial fear of looking too much like a rookie. He wanted to be seen as a driver just like the rest of them, and that‘s exactly how he was treated.
Next year, Labelle hopes to continue to impress, and pass, his competitors.
“It was a successful season, but I think next year I want to go for a championship,” he said.
“I just turned 42 in March, and I‘m living out my childhood dream. So it‘s pretty cool.”
It’s not as easy as just having to show up, but the math favors Justin Bonsignore wrapping up his second NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship on Sunday.
The 32-year-old from Holtsville, New York, enters the Sunoco World Series 150 with a 27-point lead over six-time champion Doug Coby. Bonsignore has to finish 23rd or better to clinch the championship regardless of what Coby does.
There are tickets available to see this race in person, and the race will also be streamed live on TrackPass on NBC Gold.
Bonsignore will be looking for his fourth World Series win in the last five seasons, and has finished no worse than fifth in eight races this season — a performance that has pushed him to the brink of the Whelen Modified Tour crown.
In his 2016 title season, Bonsignore won eight of 16 races and tallied 12 top fives. He won six more times last year, including the finale at Thompson, but came up eight points short of Coby.
This year, he won the first two races and has held the points lead the entire shortened-season.
Coby needs to finish at least eighth to have a shot (or sixth and lead the most laps).
Bonsignore, though, may not be the driver carrying the most momentum into Thompson. That would be Ron Silk, who has won two of the last three races — including the Sept. 3 race at Thompson. It was Silk’s fifth win at the .625-mile oval, second only to Bonsignore and Coby in wins among active drivers.
Jon McKennedy, who was third at Thompson in September, leads Craig Lutz by 16 points for third place in the standings, while Silk has moved into the top five despite missing a race.
CREW CHIEF HANDOUT: The starting field for the Thompson 150 is limited to 36, including provisional positions. The field will be set by qualifying (1-30) and provisional process per the entry blank (31-36) for the Thompson 150. In the event that qualifying as stated on this entry blank does not take place for any unforeseen circumstance, the field will be set in accordance with the 2020 NASCAR Touring Series Rule Book.
QUALIFYING: Two consecutive qualifying laps. Faster lap determines qualifying position. Adjustments or repairs may not be made on the vehicle after the vehicle has taken the green flag at the start/finish line. Vehicles will be impounded after qualifying. Vehicle must qualify on race set up.
The Thompson 150 will be 150 laps (93.75 miles) and is to be run in one (1) segments. The tire change rule is three (3) tires, any position. To utilize the third change tire, teams will designate a practice tire purchased at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park to be the third change tire.
The maximum tire allotment available for this event is as follows: Four (4) for qualifying and to start the race, plus an additional four (4) for a total of eight (8) tires.
Trevor Bayne is set to drive the No. 45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet in the final four races of the 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series season.
Bayne made his Gander Trucks debut at Darlington Raceway in September in the No. 40 Niece Motorsports truck, switching to the No. 45 in his past three events at Richmond Raceway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway – his first four career starts in the series.
In claiming a second-place finish at the 2.66-mile Alabama oval, Bayne nearly took away a victory before the caution came out on the final lap to seal the win for Kyle Busch Motorsports rookie driver Raphael Lessard.
“Five, six weeks ago, I thought I’d never run another NASCAR race,” Bayne said. “So, to have a shot to come (to Talladega) and win, to be competitive at Bristol, it’s been a lot of fun and I’m really thankful to be back.”
The 29-year-old driver last competed in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2018, appearing in 21 of the 36 points-paying events in the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford. His last race was at Texas Motor Speedway in the fall of that year.
Since then, Bayne and his wife, Ashton, have spent much of their time in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee, kick-starting his coffee business, Mahalo Coffee Roasters. Along with that, he’s earned quality family time with his three children.
Trevor Bayne races in the No. 45 Niece Motorsports truck at Richmond Raceway. Credit: Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
“We’ve enjoyed our family time, but it’s still in my blood,” Bayne said. “When this all came up, I was in the middle of building a race car to go racing for fun. So, if I can (do this) as a job again, if you can call it a job. Now that I’ve worked in the real world, I don’t know if you can. Coming back and racing is a blast. If I can do it full time, competitively, run for championships, I would love to do that.”
The 2011 Daytona 500 champion isn’t ready to hang up his helmet, noting he never wanted to leave the sport. Bayne has relied heavily on his faith to point him in the right direction on what the next step in his career should be, believing competitive years are still left ahead.
“I’m 29 years old, kind of headed toward the peak of what I feel like could be my career in your 30s, and He pulled us out of it,” Bayne said. “I feel like it’s really given me a ton of perspective and I’m really grateful to be here. If He pulled me straight out of the 6 Cup car and threw me in a truck, I’m not ungrateful and appreciative for runs like this, but even at Richmond and Darlington when our trucks were broke, I still tried to enjoy every lap. That’s the perspective I want to bring back. I want to come back just to be thankful to be here. But I want to win and run well.”
While it’s been an up-and-down ride with three finishes of 27th or worse since his return, Talladega offered more confidence in the direction the team is heading with the veteran driver at the wheel. With his racing schedule next year uncertain, Bayne is making the most of his unexpected seat time.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time here so far,” Bayne said. “It hasn’t gone the smoothest, but we’ve been fast when the truck’s going. I’m thankful (team owner) Al Niece and (crew chief) Cody Efaw called me to come and do this and try to get their team back on the rails. They did a great job last year with Ross Chastain and contended for a championship. I wanted to have the right opportunity.
“Driving race cars and finishing 20th isn’t that fun, so if you have a shot to win a race and run up front, then it’s a great opportunity and that’s what they’ve given me. We’ll see what happens for next year.”
Kyle Larson released an essay on his personal website Sunday evening, taking accountability for his use of a racial slur nearly six months ago and illustrating the steps he has taken to become more educated about civil-rights issues.
The essay, titled “Kyle Larson: My Lessons Learned,” is among his first public comments since his indefinite suspension from NASCAR and his dismissal by Chip Ganassi Racing. He also spoke to The Associated Press on Aug. 19 about his efforts to heal the damage caused by his use of the slur over a public communications channel in an April 12 iRacing event.
“Anger came at me from all angles,” Larson wrote. “Being labeled a racist has hurt the most, but I brought that on myself. What I didn’t expect, though, were all the people who, despite their disappointment in what I did, made the choice to not give up on me. It motivates me to repay their faith by working harder, not giving up on myself, and making sure something positive comes from the harm I caused.”
Larson has not been reinstated by NASCAR officials, who have required him to complete sensitivity training as a condition for his return to competition.
In his essay, Larson said he had worked with former pro soccer standout Tony Sanneh and Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee to learn about the mission of their foundations within the Black community. He said he also traveled to Minneapolis with Sanneh to see the impact of racial injustice in the area surrounding the memorial for George Floyd. Larson also said he had hired a diversity coach, Doug Harris of The Kaleidoscope Group, who has raised his awareness about racial inequality with an approach lacking in sugar-coating.
In the racing community, Larson said he also connected with Bubba Wallace, NASCAR’s lone Black driver in the Cup Series, drag-racer J.R. Todd and former sports-car great Willy T. Ribbs to have conversations about their experience as minority drivers who navigated their way into big-time motorsports. Those also included no-nonsense conversations with Mike Metcalf, an African-American athlete who has been a key member of Ganassi’s close-knit pit crew.
“I’ve received a lot of straight talk from Mike and others since April,” Larson wrote. “But what gives me hope and humbles me is how so many people have opened their doors to lift up someone who probably doesn’t deserve it and to share perspectives I should’ve sought on my own a long time ago.”
Larson closed his essay by saying an important part of his journey forward will be about healing and making his family proud of him, acknowledging what he does will be more crucial than what he says.
“I want them to know that words do matter. Apologizing for your mistakes matters. Accountability matters. Forgiveness matters. Treating others with respect matters,” Larson wrote. “I will not stop listening and learning, but for me now, it’s about action – doing the right things, being a part of the solution and writing a new chapter that my children will be proud to read.”
It wouldn’t be Talladega Superspeedway weekend without some old-fashioned blocking, which as it turned out, wasn’t limited to the track. When the inevitable questions came about the rulings NASCAR officials made in determining out-of-bounds penalties in Sunday’s Cup Series Playoff race, eventual winner Denny Hamlin was quick to parry.
“No, no,” Hamlin interjected, his interview reflexes just as sharp as his late-race driving skill. “Called it all day. It’s a non-story.”
If not a story, it was at least a compelling plot line. NASCAR officials penalized a handful of drivers for forcing their competition below the double-yellow line that separates the racing grooves from the apron in Sunday’s YellaWood 500, and the judgment calls were at their most prominent in the third and final overtime. And after the engines shut off at Talladega, some conjecture about the rule’s merits cranked anew, even as a top NASCAR competition official explained the final-lap ruling as “clear-cut.”
Hamlin dove low in Turn 4 to avoid a final-lap accident in a scramble for the lead; his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was not docked for the evasive maneuver, and he held on for his seventh victory of the season, advancing to the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Playoffs. Matt DiBenedetto, however, was penalized for chopping down to push William Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet below the double-yellow line as he tried to hold onto the top spot.
DiBenedetto’s apparent second-place finish was negated and his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford was credited with 21st place, next to last on the lead lap. That was just ahead of Chris Buescher, who was assessed a similar penalty for crowding Chase Elliott out of bounds later in the final lap. Officials reversed an initial penalty on Elliott for traveling below the line, determining after a review that he was forced there by Buescher.
Elliott’s fifth-place finish was restored, and Buescher took 22nd — last on the lead lap after the tail-end-of-the-field penalty was assessed post-race. Those penalties followed two calls for forcing his rivals out of bounds that went against Joey Logano, who led the most laps (45) but finished 26th after a late crash.
“It was pretty clear‑cut,” said Scott Miller, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, on the final-lap rulings. “The 21 (DiBenedetto) hung a left, drove those guys down below the line. We called that twice on the 22 car (Logano) during the race, so nothing different there. On the 24 (Byron) and the 11 (Hamlin) being down there, I mean, in our judgment they were down there to avoid a wreck.”
NASCAR officials explained the rule in the pre-race drivers’ meeting and again in the crew-chief handout before the race. “Drivers must race above the double yellow line,” the handout reads. “If in NASCAR’s judgement, a driver goes below the double yellow line to improve position, that driver will be black-flagged. If in NASCAR’s judgment, a driver forces someone below the double yellow line in an effort to stop them from passing, the driver may be black-flagged.”
The rule was established in 2001 at Talladega and sister track Daytona International Speedway as a safety measure after a series of incidents where drivers dipped to the apron to make passes and, in certain instances, lost control in the infield grass to cause multi-car stack-ups. The aftermath has meant fewer brazen low-lane passes but has opened up race officials up to making judgment calls (think: pass interference in football or a block vs. charge call in basketball).
Sunday’s results sparked a post-race motion from NBC Sports’ Dale Earnhardt Jr. — a dominator at Talladega and Daytona in his racing days — to abandon the rule. But some of Sunday’s top finishers were quick to scuttle that thought, wary of a return to the heightened lawlessness of superspeedway racing from 20 years ago.
“Sometimes when you go below the yellow line, it’s not totally your fault, but it is the rules,” said Ty Dillon, who finished a career-best third. “It comes down to a mental decision, am I going to lift or go below the yellow line. We know the rules before we get here. I think if you were to open it up and take the yellow line away, you’re going to have guys blocking all the way down to the grass, have twice as big of wrecks.
“I don’t think we want to open up that can the worms. We have plenty of race track we can go four‑ or five‑wide on. It’s a product of what we do. I don’t see anybody at any fault for any reason. I don’t think anybody tried to bend the rules to get an advantage. I think it’s just a product of what happens here.”
Said Miller: “I mean, outside of putting a wall there, I don’t really know what more we can do. I do sincerely believe we need the rule. You see all the real estate that’s around here. If we started having cars running 12-wide down the back straightaway, imagine what would happen when you get to Turn 3.
“I think it’s important that we continue to have a rule. You get out there in the heat of battle, things happen. It’s hard when there’s all that real estate down there, but you just can’t do it. I don’t think that we can eliminate it. I think it would be a mess. We kind of are where we are.”
Hamlin said the two earlier calls that affected Logano’s day set the tone and established precedence for how the rules would be enforced. He also said his final-lap maneuver wasn’t purely intended to gain an advantage but was for survival in “flat-out avoiding a wreck.”
Hamlin said he’d previously been on the receiving end of the rule’s sting.
“Finally they put their foot down and said, ‘this is the rule, we’re going to enforce it,’ ” Hamlin said. “You can’t as a leader, wherever you are, use the yellow line as a defense. You have to play within the boundaries that they set. In NFL they had force‑out rules, things like that. They got rid of it. It’s the same kind of thing.”
The NASCAR Cup Series held its second Round of 12 playoff race Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway. The 2.66-mile Alabama track known for its high speed and high banks certainly delivered on postseason drama, as expected. Below is a breakdown of how the NASCAR Playoffs picture looks after the 500-mile event.
WINNER
Denny Hamlin. The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota won Sunday’s YellaWood 500 in a multiple overtime finish. Hamlin is a NASCAR Playoffs driver, which means he joins Kurt Busch as a driver who is now locked into the Round of 8. This is win No. 7 for Hamlin in 2020.
Denny Hamlin. The No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota chilled toward the back of the pack for the first two segments, coming in 26th in Stage 1 and 28th in Stage 2. By the end, though, Hamlin worked his way into the front chunk of the field. Clearly he was in the right place at the right time when the checkered flag waved.
Brad Keselowski. The No. 2 Team Penske Ford avoided all of the chaos and notched top-five finishes in both stages — fourth in Stage 1 and second in Stage 2. Those 16 stage points on top of the 19 points he earned for coming in 18th on the final results sheet will help keep him safe to advance. He had the fourth-best finish among playoff contenders.
WHO’S NOT
Aric Almirola. With three laps to go in Stage 1, a wreck sparked out front. Alex Bowman’s No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was shoved from behind and got into the rear of Almirola’s No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. As the two tangled, other drivers were collected in the inevitable mess. Almirola nursed his car to pit road but ultimately had to retire from the race.
Clint Bowyer. On Lap 108, Clint Bowyer was using his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford to push the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson. Bowyer pushed too hard, though, and turned Johnson, who was in the middle of the park and therefore sparked a large wreck. As soon as Bowyer’s car came to a stop, he got out, ending his day prematurely.
Kyle Busch. The No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota faced adversity throughout the day. Busch was involved in the wreck Bowyer and Johnson sparked, going airborne for a hot second. Busch’s team fixed his car up enough to continue, but during the first overtime attempt on Lap 188, Busch got turned by Tyler Reddick to ultimately crash out before the white flag was thrown.
BUBBLE WATCH
Rank
Driver
Points to cutoff
5.
Brad Keselowski
+41
6.
Martin Truex Jr.
+32
7.
Alex Bowman
+22
8.
Joey Logano
+21
——-
CUTOFF LINE
———————
9.
Kyle Busch
-21
10.
Austin Dillon
-21
11.
Clint Bowyer
-38
12.
Aric Almirola
-48
NEXT RACE
The NASCAR Cup Series travels to the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval for the final race of the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Playoffs on Oct. 11 (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
WHO IT FAVORS
Chase Elliott. The wheelman of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet is a road-course ace. Four of his eight career wins came on road course, including the Charlotte Roval last year and the Daytona International Speedway Road Course this year. Elliott won on Charlotte’s oval earlier this season, too.
WHO IT HURTS
Kyle Busch. The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion is the midst of a winless season, and odds are the Charlotte Roval isn’t going to change that. Busch placed 32nd and 37th in his two starts there. He has four career road-course wins in 33 races overall.
For the second time in as many seasons, Denny Hamlin broke Matt DiBenedetto’s heart, before NASCAR removed the pathos from the situation with a post-race ruling.
At the end of a third overtime at Talladega Superspeedway, Hamlin beat DiBenedetto to the finish line to win by .023 seconds — roughly two feet — in Sunday’s YellaWood 500 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at the 2.66-mile track.
But NASCAR erased the close call by penalizing DiBenedetto for forcing William Byron below the yellow line separating the racing surface from the apron in Turn 4 on the final lap. That made a runner-up of Erik Jones and dropped DiBenedetto to 21st at the finish.
With a comfortable playoff point cushion, Hamlin started from the pole but spent the vast majority of the race riding in the back. However, the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota took advantage of high attrition, a fast car and a fresh set of tires to pull out his seventh victory of the season, his second at Talladega and the 44th of his career, tying him with NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott for 18th all-time.
“Just a lot of attrition,” said Hamlin, who beat DiBenedetto at Bristol with a late pass last year. “We just played the strategy and the numbers game to run in the back until we were locked in. Just things worked out. We finally got one back. This one was unexpected to say the least, but proud of this whole FedEx team, Toyota and everyone at JGR for bringing great race cars.”
Playoff driver Chase Elliott initially was penalized for passing below the yellow line on the final lap, but NASCAR reviewed the video and rescinded the penalty after determining Elliott was forced below the boundary. NASCAR also reviewed Hamlin’s trip to the apron in the final corner but determined that he had had been forced to go there to avoid a wreck.
“A lot of stuff happened, for sure,” said Hamlin, who clinched a spot in the Round of 8 with the win. “I don’t know if the 21 (DiBenedetto) was running out of gas, but they obviously got shuffled there. They were crashing up top. I think the 20 (Jones) hit the wall and then started coming back down, which forced, I think, me and the 24 (William Byron) down to the apron.
“Just was able to overcome. This is one of those that you don’t plan on winning, but we got away with one today.”
After the penalties, Ty Dillon was credited with third place, Byron with fourth and Elliott with fifth, as multi-car wrecks made mincemeat of the fortunes of the majority of playoff drivers.
An 11-car wreck on Lap 108, 11 circuits before the end of Stage 2, had a dramatic effect on the playoff landscape. While attempting to push Jimmie Johnson’s Chevrolet in the tri-oval, Clint Bowyer turned the No. 48 of the seven-time champion, igniting a melee that eliminated Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Cole Custer, Daniel Suarez and Brendan Gaughan from the race.
Busch, last Sunday’s Las Vegas winner, was launched over the hood of Custer’s Ford, but landed on his tires, his No. 1 Chevrolet destroyed. Brother Kyle Buch, already damaged in two earlier incidents, trailed the wreck but couldn’t avoid it and sustained additional damage after contact with Gaughan’s Chevrolet.
Kyle Busch persevered, only to be collected in a massive wreck that caused the 12th caution and sent the race to overtime. He finished 27th and enters the final race of the Round of 12 tied with Austin Dillon, 21 points below the current cutoff for the Round of 8.
“The car was just real slow due to all of the damage, obviously, so I’m just holding up the line,” Busch said of his final wreck. “I was trying to draft off the guys in front of me, and I’m pushing too much backwards on the guys that are trying to push me forwards and it creates a wreck.”
Austin Dillon recovered from multiple accidents to come home 12th, the third-highest finish for a playoff driver.
As the cars jockeyed for position near the end of Stage 1, Bowman — pushed aggressively by Logano in the top lane — pinballed into the rear of race leader Aric Almirola’s No. 10, sending it into the outside wall on the backstretch on Lap 58.
Kyle Busch, and Ryan Blaney were innocent victims of the accident, but both drivers were able to continue, as was Bowman, who finished 14th and is 22 points above the Round of 8 cutline.
Almirola wasn’t as fortunate. Knocked out of the race by the accident, he fell to 12th in the standings, 48 points below the cut line and almost certainly will have to win next Sunday at the Charlotte Roval to advance to the Round of 8 in the Playoff.
“I’m just disappointed,” Almirola said. “We were doing everything we needed to do. We were closing in to the end of stage one, and it looked like we were going to score a lot of points there, which is exactly what we needed to do. It looks like he got to my outside and my car started to turn to the right, so it’s unfortunate.
“I don’t know if he got in the back of me and hooked me or how that played out, but my car just made a hard right into the fence. It’s unfortunate. I had a lot of confidence going into today. I thought we were going to have a good shot to win. Our car was so fast, but unfortunately the Good Lord had different plans for us today. We’ll go onto the Roval and try one more time.”
In a race that went 12 laps beyond its scheduled distance and featured 58 lead changes among 18 different drivers, Ryan Newman, Tyler Reddick, John Hunter Nemechek, Brennan Poole and Ryan Preece finished sixth through 10th, respectively.
Like DiBenedetto, Chris Buescher, who led three times for 15 laps, was penalized for forcing a car below the yellow line on the final lap. He was dropped from sixth to 22nd, the final position on the lead lap.
Note: Inspection in the NASCAR Cup Series garage was all clear with no issues and no lug-nut issues.
A multi-car crash in the closing laps of Stage 2 wound up having huge playoff implications for NASCAR Cup Series drivers in Sunday’s YellaWood 500 Round of 12 race at Talladega Superspeedway.
The big wreck occurred on Lap 108 when Jimmie Johnson got a huge shove from Clint Bowyer toward the front of the field. The push upset Johnson’s No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, causing Johnson to lose control and slide into Kurt Busch’s No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet in the tri-oval. That contact veered Busch’s car head-on into the outside wall, landing on top of Cole Custer in the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.
Busch also retired from the race, finishing 32nd. A win in last Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway had automatically advanced him into the Round of 8.
“Yeah, it was a wild ride,” Busch said to NBC after the crash. “That’s the nature of this sport. You’re on top one week with a win and everything’s fantastic. And then this week here at Talladega, we were hoping for a nice, smooth run and to gain some points. I was just doing my job as a Chevy helper running top five and next thing you know, I’m going for one of the wildest rides I’ve ever been in.”
Bowyer was unable to continue due heavy damage on the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, finishing 33rd. Bowyer is now 38 points below the cutline heading into the Round of 12 elimination race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.
“You’ve got to go,” Bowyer told NBC of the wreck. “You’ve got to push him. The 22 and the 21 were trying and obviously they gave up on it for some reason. As soon as I got to him I push him in the front and the whole rear of the car went down and I was like, ‘Oh my God,’ and before I know it he was tank swapping all over the place. I don’t know if that was how they had their cars built or whatever, but as soon as you got close to him he was all over the place. Obviously didn’t mean to wreck him, but you’re going hard and three-wide and people are behind you pushing. I was hoping he would save it, but he didn’t and we all wrecked.”
The melee collected a host of playoff drivers, including Brad Keselowski, Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch. All three were also involved in other incidents later in the race. Dillon recovered for a 12th-place finish, while Keselowski finished 18th and Kyle Busch came home in 27th.
While Keselowski has a 41-point advantage on the cutline, Kyle Busch and Dillon are tied with a 21-point deficit below the bubble.
Dillon was upbeat despite the misfortune, acknowledging the tall task that lies ahead for the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team at the Roval.
“That was a fun race,” Dillon said. “We got our stage points in the first stage even with a little bit of damage. In the second stage, we just couldn’t keep up with the damage we had gotten, but to come back to 12th says a lot. …
“I hope that we can make something happen at the Roval. We’re a little too far back in points, but we’ll see what we can do. A lot of things can happen. It’s easy to miss a shift. It’s easy to jump a curb and wreck. We need those guys in front of us to help us out and see if we can help ourselves out a little bit, too.”
Johnson made multiple pit stops for repairs after the crash, eventually going to the garage for a number of laps. He tried to make a return to the track, but debris from the back bumper of the No. 48 led to a caution on Lap 149, leading to a retirement for a 29th-place result.
Among other drivers involved in the incident were Ryan Preece, Brennan Poole, Brendan Gaughan and Daniel Suarez. Preece was the highest-placing driver out of the group, finishing 10th after competing for victory as the laps wound down.
In his 2016 title season, Bonsignore won eight of 16 races and tallied 12 top fives. He won six more times last year, including the finale at Thompson, but came up eight points short of Coby.
