Posted on by Reid Spencer

Justin Haley led two laps in Saturday’s Ag-Pro 300, but one of them was the one that counted.

Grabbing the lead on Lap 112 of 113, Haley earned a spot in the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs with the victory in the second Round of 12 race, his third of the season, the third of his career and his third straight in an Xfinity superspeedway event, a streak matched only by the late Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Haley won the race under caution, thanks to a multicar wreck on the final lap. The victory was the fourth for Kaulig Racing in the last five superspeedway contests.

Haley finished .234 seconds ahead of Michael Annett, with Ryan Sieg trailing by .595 seconds in third. Annett, however, was disqualified after post-race inspection for a ride-height violation. His No. 1 Chevrolet was too low in the left front. The disqualification elevated Sieg to second place.

RELATED: Official results | JRM No. 1 Chevy disqualified

In preserving his streak on the big tracks (Talladega and Daytona International Speedway), Haley had to overcome a penalty for pitting too soon in the wake of a Lap 76 wreck, with pit road closing after he had committed to enter.

“We had that penalty there and we struggled to get back — just bunny-hopping,” Haley said. “Thankfully, Kevin Hamlin, my spotter, was able to guide me through the bunny-hops and be able to go from the bottom (lane). We were so far back with 10 to go. Matt Kaulig (team owner), we love you. Three in a row. I guess I told you earlier I wasn’t saying it’s luck, but three in a row is pretty hard to do on luck. Just super thankful. This is such a blessing.”

Xfinity Series leader Chase Briscoe dominated the race almost to the finish, leading 73 laps and winning the first two stages, but his attempt to block eventual third-place finisher Noah Gragson went awry with two laps left. An eight-time winner this season, Briscoe brushed the outside wall and fell back to an eventual 19th-place finish, as Haley charged into the lead.

“Yeah, at the end, you’re doing everything you can to protect the runs, and he’s doing everything he can to make moves,” Briscoe said. “It’s just part of racing here. It was exciting, at least on my end. I about wrecked two or three times trying to block.

“It was cool. (Gragson) had talked to Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) about how to run this place, and I had talked to Dale about how to run this place, and it was weird, because I knew what he was trying to do every time so I was trying to protect it.”

It didn’t help that Briscoe had lost his drafting partner, fellow Ford driver Austin Cindric, who slammed into the inside wall off Turn 4 as a pack of cars was attempting to enter pit road on Lap 76. That left Briscoe in a difficult position, trying to win the race as the only Ford driver on the track.

“It looked like the whole pack was going to try to stop there, and I felt like that was chaos, especially with how far back in the pack we were,” Cindric said of the wreck that eliminated him in 34th place. “I just got smoked from behind. I had no chance of making it to pit road. It’s really unfortunate. Obviously, we hit the wall a ton.”

MORE: Strong showings sour for Briscoe, Cindric

Neither of the Ford drivers was devastated by the ill fortune. Briscoe already had secured his ticket into the Round of 8 with last weekend’s victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Cindric, a road-course ace, likewise is in a comfortable position heading to next Saturday’s Round of 12 elimination race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval (3:30 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Second in the standings, the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford holds a 46-point edge over ninth-place Annett. Gragson also has a nice cushion — 43 points above the cut line. Four drivers will be eliminated from postseason contention after Saturday’s Roval event.

A victim of the last-lap crash, Harrison Burton, fell seven points behind eighth-place Ross Chastain in the battle for one of the final spots in the Round of 8. Chastain recovered to finish sixth after clobbering the outside wall when Burton turned his No. 10 Chevrolet sideways in a chain-reaction wreck as the cars approached the start/finish line for a restart on Lap 47.

Calamity found Joe Gibbs Racing driver Riley Herbst on Lap 42, when contact from the No. 61 of Austin Hill sent him sliding into the inside wall off Turn 4. Now 11th in the standings, two points ahead of Annett, Herbst either must win at the Roval or leap-frog above three other drivers by erasing a 36-point deficit.

“It just sucks when a Truck Series guy comes in here to have fun,” Herbst said. “I’m really good friends with Austin, so I just hate to see that. If I went into the Truck Series and wrecked his playoff hopes, he would be upset with me. I’m a little upset. We’re not out of it yet. It’s going to be tough at the Roval, but we’ll see what we will have with the Monster Energy Supra.”

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

While one Kyle Busch Motorsports driver had reason to celebrate, another saw his NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series championship hopes dashed.

Raphael Lessard edged out Trevor Bayne for his first career victory on the final lap as the caution flag flew in Saturday’s Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Talladega Superspeedway, the Round of 10 elimination race. But it was No. 18 KBM Toyota driver Christian Eckes who was caught up in the last-lap crash, failing to advance into the Round of 8 as a result.

RELATED: Race results

Eckes was in position throughout the 94-lap race to earn a strong finish to advance, especially after fellow playoff driver Zane Smith was taken out early after a big crash on Lap 13. But along with a pit-road penalty, Eckes was shuffled toward the back of the pack in the closing laps after being shoved to the apron of the race track in Turn 1. The rookie driver was working his way back up after the final two-lap sprint to the finish before it all came crashing down.

“I just came up short,” Eckes said. “Sucks that we are not going to be able to move on to round two, but in the same aspect my Safelite Toyota team tried hard. We did all we could. I’m sure we made some mistakes on the day like the pit road penalties and some other things, but we will move on to the last four races and give the playoff guys hell.”

RELATED: Todd Gilliland’s engine, playoff hopes expire | Zane Smith crashes early at Talladega

Eckes, who came into Talladega eighth in the standings with a six-point cushion, along with Front Row Motorsports driver Todd Gilliland, were the two drivers left on the outside of the cutline when the race concluded.

Now with four races remaining in the 2020 season, winning his first career race in his rookie season is the lone goal that remains.

“We don’t have any championship hopes on the line, unfortunately, anymore, but in the same aspect, there is still plenty of team goals to achieve,” Eckes said. “We will do the best we can. I wish we did a little bit better in the first two races of this round to separate us, but that’s 2020 and we will move on to the next four.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

In a wild two-lap shootout that ended prematurely with a multicar wreck near the entrance to Turn 3, 19-year-old Canadian Raphael Lessard earned his first NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series victory in Saturday’s Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.

RELATED: Race results

Lessard had nosed ahead of runner-up Trevor Bayne while Stewart Friesen’s Chevrolet spun into the outside backstretch wall on the final lap, causing the caution that froze the field. The yellow made a winner of Lessard, but what was euphoria for one Kyle Busch Motorsports driver was heartbreak for another.

With playoff spots in the elimination race still on the line for the final restart on Lap 93 of 94 at the 2.66-mile superspeedway, Christian Eckes was a victim of the final wreck that also left playoff driver Austin Hill hustling out of his No. 16 Toyota, which sat on the apron with flames shooting from underneath the hood.

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With the Round of 10 completed, Eckes was eliminated by eight points, as Tyler Ankrum, another victim of the last-lap wreck, advanced to the Round of 8 in the playoffs by that margin. Hill already had secured a spot in the next round with last weekend’s win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Those two drivers are joined by Sheldon Creed (12th Saturday), Ben Rhodes (fourth), Brett Moffitt (seventh), Matt Crafton (eighth), Grant Enfinger (13th) and Zane Smith (33rd). Crafton took the green flag on the final restart below the playoff cutline but avoided the final wreck to finish the day fifth in the playoff standings.

The big winner was still Lessard, who did not qualify for the playoff but earned a significant consolation prize on Saturday, with a strong push from Rhodes.

“Oh, my gosh, that was awesome,” said Lessard, who moved to Mooresville, N.C., from Quebec this year. “First of all, I just want to thank everyone at home, my team — Kyle Busch Motorsports. I can’t believe it. It’s just my second superspeedway race.

“To get my first Truck Series win here is amazing. I don’t know who was behind me, but he gave me a heck of a push. I can’t thank him enough. He pushed me as hard as he could, and I was just along for the ride. The caution came out at the right time. I’m so happy. I got to do a burnout after the win. I’m hoping I can do some more.”

Smith avoided elimination despite being swept up in an 11-car wreck on Lap 13. He spent the rest of the race waiting anxiously to learn whether he would advance to the Round of 8.

“It sucks, for sure,” Smith said after the accident. “They just kept getting bunched up. My teammate (Chase Purdy) got all out of shape, and I was just kind of an innocent bystander.”

Also exiting the playoffs was Todd Gilliland, whose No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford retired from the race after 47 laps because of engine issues. Gilliland had finished second in Stage 1 (won by Hill) and seventh in Stage 2 (won by Derek Kraus) before the mechanical failure.

Chandler Smith ran third, giving non-playoff drivers the top three positions. Rhodes was fourth, followed by Codie Rohrbaugh, Jordan Anderson, Moffitt, Crafton, Kaz Grala and Kraus.

RELATED: Two Gander Trucks teams issued L1 penalties

The Round of 8 for the Gander Trucks kicks off in two weeks with the Clean Harbors 200 at Kansas Speedway on Oct. 17 (4 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NOTE: The No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota of race winner Raphael Lessard passed NASCAR’s post-race inspection. There were no other issues.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Staff Report

Two Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series teams were issued L1 penalties ahead of Saturday’s Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Talladega Superspeedway (1 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Truck Series standings | Talladega schedule

The No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota driven by Stewart Friesen and the No. 9 CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet driven by Codie Rohrbaugh were penalized for violating Section 20.4.12.c Bed Cover. (Note: Vent holes at the truck bed top must be configured for air intake only.)

As a result, the Nos. 52 and 9 trucks were penalized 20 driver and 20 owner points, and the crew chiefs (Trip Bruce III for the No. 52 and Doug George for the No. 9) were suspended for today’s race. Jon Leonard and Mark Huff will serve as crew chiefs for the No. 52 and No. 9 teams, respectively, at Talladega.

Before the penalties, Friesen was 14th in points and Rohrbaugh was 21st. The penalty will drop each back a spot to 15th and 22nd, respectively, going into Saturday’s race.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

Kaulig Racing has dominated the superspeedways in the NASCAR Xfinity Series of late.

For Ross Chastain, that trend needs to continue in Saturday’s Ag-Pro 300 (4:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Latest Xfinity Series news | Talladega Superspeedway schedule

Chastain finished on the lead lap in last Saturday’s Xfinity Series Playoff opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. That’s about the only good thing that can be said about his effort. Chastain came home 16th, last among the 12 playoff drivers and dropped to ninth in the standings, two points below the current cutline for the Round of 8.

But where other drivers might approach a Talladega event with a sense of dread, Chastain sees racing at the 2.66-mile track as an opportunity. In the first race at Talladega this season, he finished second to Kaulig Racing teammate Justin Haley. At Daytona International Speedway in August, Chastain wrecked part-time AJ Allmendinger as they ran 1-2 in the final corner to hand Haley another win.

The bottom line, though, is the Kaulig Chevrolets, powered by Earnhardt Childress Racing engines, have been the class of the field at the superspeedways this year, and that bodes well for Chastain’s chances.

“Kaulig Racing and ECR engines are incredible at these superspeedways,” Chastain says. “They let AJ Allmendinger, Justin Haley and myself make the aggressive moves that we want and that we need to make to try to go win this race.

“We’re below the cutline behind our competition right now. It’s not where we want to be. I made some pretty big mistakes behind the wheel and got in the fence early at Las Vegas (Motor Speedway). It’s not how I need to be performing in these playoffs, so lesson learned there. We will try to go to Talladega to just do what we normally do, go control this race and try to win.”

Thanks to last Saturday’s victory in Las Vegas — his eighth of the season — Chase Briscoe is the only driver locked into the Round of 8 in the playoffs. Everyone else will be scrambling for position in one of the most unpredictable races of the season.

Posted on by Nascar

Name: Jessica
Current City: Hardyville, Kentucky
Member Since: 2015 

Getting to KNOW JESSICA:
​
Q: How did you first become interested in NASCAR?
“My stepdad was a NASCAR fan and a huge Dale Earnhardt fan. I started watching it with him when I was younger, and I’ve been hooked on it ever since.”

Q: What is your favorite part about NASCAR?
“I like watching and attending races, but it’s something that me and my family enjoy doing together. We even plan family vacations around NASCAR races.”

Q: What is your favorite NASCAR memory?
“Watching Dale Earnhardt Jr win at Daytona in July 2001. By far my favorite race. Also, going to the NASCAR Hall of Fame back in October to see Hendrick Motorsports unveil the new 2018 cars. We got to meet all of them – Dale Jr, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Bill Elliott, Alex Bowman, William Byron and my favorite Chase Elliott. I was lucky enough to get their autographs and even got my picture taken with Chase!”

Q: Do you have a favorite in any of the following categories?

Driver: “Chase Elliott”

Track: “Charlotte Motor Speedway.”

OEM: “Chevy.”

Sponsors: “Chase Elliott is my favorite….so whoever is sponsoring him! (Hooters, Mountain Dew, Napa)”

Q: What are some of your hobbies?
“Travel, shop, watch sports.”

​FROM ALL OF US AT NASCAR, WE THANK JESSICA FOR HER CONTINUED SUPPORT AND LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM HER IN 2020!

Look for Jessica on the Official NASCAR Fan Council page on NASCAR.COM.

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace has been nominated for a People’s Choice Award, joining seven other figures on the “Game Changer of 2020” ballot in the Pop Culture category.

Among the nominees is NBA legend Michael Jordan, who will be Wallace’s team owner in the NASCAR Cup Series next season. The others on the list are NBA great LeBron James, tennis stars Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams, NFL quarterback Russell Wilson, WNBA standout Sabrina Ionescu and Olympic gymnast Simone Biles.

Wallace has risen to more widespread prominence this year with a voice that has resonated in speaking out against social injustice. In joining the team ownership ranks, Jordan has sought to amplify that voice, partnering with Denny Hamlin for a new team that will field cars for Wallace in 2021.

Voting for the awards continues online through Oct. 23. Winners will be revealed Nov. 15 on E! Network.

Posted on by Steve Luvender

The Round of 12 is a brutal one in the NASCAR Playoffs. Most drivers and teams agree the trio of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval may just be the toughest and most unpredictable stretch on the schedule. But let’s face it: The season will end for four teams when the Round of 12 concludes — and we don’t know who’s going home or why. All we know is Las Vegas winner Kurt Busch is safe; beyond that, anything can happen.

That’s why we created the Round of 12 Elimination Reason Generator to make up some crazy theories why your driver won’t advance to the next round of the playoffs. Press the button and find out what fresh hell awaits your guy at ‘Dega or the Roval.

Posted on by Terrin Waack

“Saving the season,” written by NASCAR.com’s Terrin Waack, is a five-part series detailing how NASCAR successfully ran its 2020 season amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The piece is broken up into Overview, Schedule, Broadcast, Teams and Fans sections. Each dives into the logistics behind pulling off that specific aspect of the sport with coronavirus precautions.

SCHEDULES: Cup Series | Xfinity Series | Gander Truck Series
INFO: Centers for Disease Control | World Health Organization

Scroll for links to each story.

Part I: Overview

Title: The race to save the season

Voices: Tom Bryant (NASCAR; managing director, racing operations), Steve O’Donnell (NASCAR; executive vice president, chief racing development officer), Greg Zipadelli (Stewart-Haas Racing; vice president of competition) and John Bobo (NASCAR; vice president, racing operations)

Part II: Schedule

Title: A schedule rebuilt

Voices: Ben Kennedy (NASCAR; vice president, racing development), Travis Geisler (Team Penske; competition director), Steve O’Donnell (NASCAR; executive vice president, chief racing development officer) and Steve Phelps (NASCAR; president)

Part III: Broadcast

Title: How NASCAR’s broadcast partners adapted amid COVID-19 in 2020

Voices: Bill Wanger (FOX Sports; executive vice president, head of programming and scheduling), Ben Kennedy (NASCAR; vice president, racing development) and Tom Bryant (NASCAR; managing director, racing operations)

Part IV: Teams

Title: How NASCAR created 2020 COVID-19 protocols, procedures for teams

Voices: Tom Bryant (NASCAR; managing director, racing operations), Steve O’Donnell (NASCAR; executive vice president, chief racing development officer), Travis Geisler (Team Penske; competition director) and John Bobo (NASCAR; vice president, racing operations)

Part V: Fans

Title: How NASCAR welcomed fans back in 2020 with COVID-19 precautions

Voices: Brian Crichton (Talladega Superspeedway; track president), Tom Bryant (NASCAR; managing director, racing operations) and Ryan Blaney (Team Penske; NASCAR Cup Series driver)

All photos throughout the series are from Getty Images. 

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR delivered the 2021 Cup Series rules package to teams on Thursday afternoon, and the most notable change involved which package will be run for the two races at Darlington Raceway next year.

At Darlington (scheduled for May 9 and Sept. 5), teams will utilize the 750-horsepower, low-downforce race package. In 2020, this package was run at tracks 1 mile in length and under and at road courses. The three races held at the 1.366-mile Darlington track in 2020 used the 550-horsepower package.

RELATED: See the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule | What is the reduced downforce package?

The 750-horsepower package will also be used on June 20 at Nashville Superspeedway for the first Cup race at that venue. With that change and addition, 23 of the 36 races will be run with 750 horsepower.

In addition to more horsepower, that package includes:

— A significantly smaller rear spoiler, which shrinks from an 8-inch height to 2.75 inches.

— The front splitter’s overhang measures a quarter-inch (down from 2 inches), with approximately 2-inch wings (reduced from 10.5 inches).

— Alterations to the radiator pan, removing its vertical fencing in an effort to reduce front-end downforce. The dimensions of the pan remain the same.

“We constantly review the race packages to try to put on the best possible racing for our fans,” said John Probst, NASCAR’s senior vice president, innovation and racing development. “When we brought in the short track/road course package this season, Darlington was not part of it due to its unique size. We’ve been evaluating data from both race packages, as well as feedback from drivers, teams and OEMs and feel that the 750 hp/low downforce package best fits the track.”

The rules package will generally remain the same in 2021 as teams look to build off their knowledge and experience from the race package in 2020 while preparing to transition over to the Next Gen car for the 2022 season.

RELATED: Next Gen car to come in 2022 | Next Gen testing resumes at Dover

The aero package for the new road courses on the Cup schedule — Circuit of The Americas, the Indianapolis Road Course and Road America — will be determined by the sanctioning body, working with OEMs through the use of simulations to determine which package will work best. This same exercise was done earlier in the summer to determine which package to run at the Daytona Road Course, which was a late addition to the 2020 schedule.

In other changes, teams must compete in a minimum of 16 points events with a short block sealed engine. This is up from the minimum of 13. Teams are also restricted to 150 Restricted CFD (computational fluid dynamics) runs per calendar month.

Below is the breakdown of each engine package and where it will be used:

750 horsepower: Bristol Motor Speedway (both oval and dirt), Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, Circuit of The Americas, Darlington Raceway, Daytona Road Course (which the Busch Clash is running), Dover International Speedway, Indianapolis Road Course, Martinsville Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Phoenix Raceway, Richmond Raceway, Road America, Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International.

550 horsepower: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway.

Superspeedway: Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.