Posted on by Data Skrive

Michael Annett finished seventh in the Wawa 250 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on Friday.

The top-10 finish for Annett, his 12th of the year, added 36 points to his season total. He has 663 total points, good enough for eighth place in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Annett started in eighth position. The 10th-year driver has one career victory, with 17 top-five finishes and 75 results inside the top 10.

Victory Lane at Daytona International Speedway is a familiar place for Annett, who has one career win at the track. He has also compiled two top-five finishes at Daytona and his seventh-place result marks the third top-10.

The Des Moines, Iowa native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting 12 spots higher than his career mark of 19.5 and completing the race 11 places ahead of his 17.7 career average finish.

Annett took on 37 other drivers on the way to his seventh-place finish. The race endured eight cautions and 28 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were nine lead changes.

Justin Haley secured the victory in the race, and Gray Gaulding finished second. Chase Briscoe placed third, Riley Herbst brought home fourth, and Harrison Burton grabbed the No. 5 spot.

After Haley won the first stage, AJ Allmendinger drove the No. 16 car to victory in Stage 2.

Michael Annett Driver Page | Get Annett Gear | Race Center

Posted on by George Winkler

Off the track, Sheldon Creed and Todd Gilliland are friends, but on the track, they may have to settle for “frenemies” for the time being. Creed expects payback might be headed his way after an incident between the two in Sunday’s Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.

With 38 laps to go in the CarShield 200 Presented by CK Power, Creed door-slammed Gilliland while trying to pass him on the inside for the lead. The contact from Creed’s No. 2 GMS Racing Chevrolet sent Gilliland’s No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford up the track and into the outside wall. Meanwhile, Sam Mayer, in the No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet, went past both of them to take over the lead. Creed eventually went on to win the race after he overmatched Mayer on a restart with 13 laps to go.

“Yeah I mean I hate racing like that,” Creed said in post-race interviews. “It’s so hard to pass here, and the 24 (Mayer) came with a run and pushed me and I figured I’ll have a good shot here. I was doing passes like that all day, I’d get clear to the inside and go to the rumble strips and slide up the race track. We both drove it in there really tight and he held it on me really tight and I was just really free and couldn’t turn the wheel.”

RELATED: Sheldon Creed reacts to Todd Gilliland incident

After the contact, Gilliland headed to pit road for repairs and fell off the lead lap, ending with a 24th-place finish. And although Gilliland actually gained points against the playoff cutline thanks in large part to winning the first two stages, he was left to think about what could’ve been. Gilliland had the dominant truck while leading 76 of 160 laps and seemed to be heading toward a playoff-clinching and redemptive win for the driver who switched from Kyle Busch Motorsports last year.

Instead, Gilliland will continue his battle just above the playoff cutline and now sits 13 points in front of Derek Kraus with five races left in the regular season.

“I think he knows what happened, and I think I know what happened, and he just drove in over his head there and got us,” Gilliland said. “But that’s racing. Gosh, I just hate it man. … We just had such a good truck to go from sixth to first under green and to win both stages. I felt like this was such a good day. It was one of the more dominant truck races I’ve ever ran.”

RELATED: Todd Gilliland’s full post-race interview

Now the question becomes whether Gilliland will enact payback in one of the final regular-season races, or even worse, in the NASCAR Playoffs. Creed now has three victories this season, including two of the last three coming during the Triple Truck Challenge for a total of $150,000 in bonuses. The California-born driver is getting hot at just the right time, and his wins have come on a variety of track types with Kentucky and the Daytona Road Course also on his list.

“Obviously you don’t want to get wrecked in the playoffs, but who knows, he could not, he could, it’s up to him,” Creed said. “Who knows? I’ll talk to him. He has every right to not be happy with me right now.”

Creed said he planned to reach out to Gilliland this week. We’ll see if friends can forgive and forget.

Posted on by Staff Report

The Triple Truck Challenge returned to the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series for the 2020 season after a successful debut in 2019.

This year’s program kicked off at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course on Aug. 16 with Sheldon Creed taking home the $50,000 prize. The second race was held at Dover International Speedway on Aug. 21 and saw Zane Smith score the $50,000 prize. The third and final race took place on Aug. 30 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, where Creed picked up his second Triple Truck Challenge prize with his third victory of the season.

RELATED: 2020 Gander Trucks schedule

Like last year, drivers competed for cash prizes, as follows: a $50,000 bonus for the race winner of any of the three events; win two of the three events and they are awarded an extra $50K, totaling $150,000; win all three events and take home an additional $300,000 for a total of $500,000 in prize money.

Greg Biffle came out of retirement to win the first Triple Truck Challenge event in 2019 at Texas Motor Speedway, driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Other winners were Brett Moffitt at Iowa Speedway and Ross Chastain at Gateway.

This year’s Triple Truck Challenge, nicknamed “The Trip,” was originally scheduled to take place April 18 at Richmond Raceway, May 1 at Dover and May 15 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but it was rescheduled because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Posted on by Holly Cain

Sheldon Creed won his second NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race in the last three weeks, holding off former series champion Brett Moffitt by a mere .881-seconds to take the trophy in Sunday afternoon’s CarShield 200 Presented by CK Power at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.

It was the 22-year-old Californian’s third career win and, notably, his second victory in the season’s three-race Triple Truck Challenge just this month, which earned him a total of $150,000 in bonuses.

Sunday’s victory did not come without controversy, however, as Creed’s No. 2 GMS Racing Chevrolet collided with the race’s most dominant driver, Todd Gilliland, racing hard with just under 40 laps remaining. The contact got Gilliland’s race-leading No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford out of shape and forced him into an unscheduled pit stop. And Gilliland, who had already won both Stage 1 and Stage 2 and led a race best 76 of the 160 laps, ultimately finished 24th.

“(The win) feels great, but I want to start by apologizing to the 38 (Gilliland),” Creed said. “It’s so hard to pass here and I got down into his inside and just was really loose getting in. He was really close to my door. They were having such a good day and me and Todd are buddies. I hate doing that to him. They are a strong team. He owes me one.

RELATED: Race results | Sheldon Creed expects payback

“But hats off to my guys. They made great adjustments all day. Came from 17th and had my work cut out for me.”

Championship points leader Austin Hill finished third, followed by 17-year-old Sam Mayer, who led an impressive 24 laps before getting beaten by Creed on a restart with 13 laps remaining. Stewart Friesen, rounded out the top five, his third straight top-five finish in what’s been a largely inconsistent season for the Canadian driver.

Rookies Raphael Lessard and Zane Smith finished sixth and seventh. Grant Enfinger, a two-race winner this season, rallied to an eighth-place finish. Rookies Ty Majeski and Tanner Gray rounded out the top 10.

“I was just trying to play games on the restart and it didn’t work out in my favor obviously,” said Mayer, who was making just his fifth series start. “That’s what I get for playing games. I was a sitting duck really. I am proud of my GMS guys today.”

The vast majority of the race stayed green and early on, especially, looked to be Gilliland’s for the taking. His stage wins were the first for the 20-year-old in two seasons, and a victory would have automatically meant a position in the 10-driver Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Playoffs, which begin Sept. 25 in Las Vegas.

“I think he (Creed) knows what happened and I know what happened,” an obviously frustrated Gilliland said after the race. “He just drove in there over his head and got us. That’s racing. I just hate it.

“Had such a good truck there from the beginning going from sixth to first under green,” he continued, “Then to win both stages, gosh, I feel like it was such a good day and it was one of the more dominant truck races I’ve ever run. We just have to keep this up.”

Despite the frustrating result, Gilliland’s two stage wins earned him enough points to keep him inside that 10-driver Playoff cutoff. He is ranked 10th, 13 points ahead of 11th-place Derek Kraus, who finished 13th on Sunday.

The series moves to historic Darlington Raceway for the South Carolina Education Lottery 200 next Sunday afternoon (2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). It’s the first time since 2011 the Gander Trucks will compete on the egg-shaped track.

Posted on by Terrin Waack

Jimmie Johnson’s #Chasing8 was scratched long ago — before the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule even started actually — but the possibility of an eighth championship for “Seven-Time” truly came to an end Saturday at Daytona International Speedway.

With two laps to go in regulation of the regular-season finale, Johnson got caught up in an 11-car wreck. His Hendrick Motorsports crew was able to nurse the damaged No. 48 Chevrolet back to life for a 17th-place result. But Johnson’s chances of making the NASCAR Playoffs in his final full-time season came to an end when teammate William Byron took the checkered flag and Wood Brothers Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto finished 12th. Those two claimed the final two spots in the 16-driver field, with Johnson as the first driver out.

“After a couple of beers and a flight home,” Johnson said, “I’m going to get a good night’s rest and try to shake it off tomorrow and just focus on the next race.”

RELATED: Official Daytona results | Who’s in, who’s out

This marks the second season in a row Johnson has not made the postseason battle. Otherwise, he qualified every single year – the format was installed in 2004.

Byron’s No. 24 crew chief, Chad Knaus, called out commands in Johnson’s ear during his 15-year playoff run, which included the seven titles. Knaus stayed within the organization but switched teams prior to the 2019 season.

The Coke Zero Sugar 400 marked Byron’s first career victory and Knaus’ first triumph with a driver other than Johnson. So, after the checkered flag fell, Johnson went out of his way to drive past his teammate and former crew chief’s pit box — a sign of respect in a moment that could have easily been full of defeat.

“I hate it for Jimmie,” Knaus said. “He’s one of my best friends. He was the first guy that came by pit road and looked up at me, revved up the engine, gave me a thumbs up. He means the world to me. He’s a great man and brother of mine.”

Johnson ended up just six points below the cutline, even after the crash chaos. He and Byron entered the event with a four-point difference — Bryon with the advantage. DiBenedetto was nine points to the good, so not out of reach. Clint Bowyer, meanwhile, had a 57-point buffer and punched his ticket at the end of Stage 1.

“I knew the position we were in,” Johnson said. “So it’s not like this is a shock or a surprise. My emotions are what I would have expected. Definitely disappointed. We’ve been running well and running good.”

It’s not the end, though. There are still 10 races left before Johnson hangs up his gear. That means there are still 10 opportunities for Johnson to snap his current 120-winless streak.

Johnson may no longer be #Chasing8. But 2020 is still his #OneFinalTime.

“Guys were really bummed out there on pit lane as I was getting out of the car — my team members were,” Johnson said. “But we all know there’s still 10 more races to try to win. That’s what everybody’s focus is: to try to send me out with a trophy.”

Posted on by Staff Report

WINCHESTER, N.H. — John McKennedy picked up his second Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole Award in the last three races Sunday as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returned to Monadnock Speedway.

McKennedy drove the No. 7 Ultra Wheel Chevrolet to the top qualifying spot on the quarter-mile with a lap of 17.781 seconds. It is McKennedy’s third career pole on the tour.

Championship points leader Justin Bonsignore, the last car to take time, came up just short of knocking McKennedy off the top spot. Bonsignore qualified second at 12.810.

RELATED: Qualifying Results

The Advanced Gas Distributors 200 Wade Cole Memorial is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will stream live on TrackPass on NBC Gold.

Ron Silk, fastest in practice, qualified third at 12.842. Matt Hirschman and fourth and Patrick Emerling fifth.

Last week’s race winner Craig Lutz qualified sixth, followed by Doug Coby, Tommy Catalano, Dave Sapienza and Chris Pasteryak.

Posted on by Staff Report

WINCHESTER, N.H. — The weekend off may have paid off for Ron Silk.

The 2011 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion opted to skip last weekend’s event at Pennsylvania’s Jennerstown Speedway after a pair of subpar runs at White Mountain Motorsports Park in New Hampshire. He returned to the tour Sunday, and paced practice at Monadnock Speedway in the one-hour session prior to the Advanced Gas Distributors Inc. 200 Wade Cole Memorial.

Silk piloted the No. 85 Stuart’s Automotive Chevrolet around the banked quarter-mile in 12.805 seconds (70.285 mph).

RELATED: Practice Results

Chris Pasteryak was second fastest at 12.833 (70.132), followed by Matt Hirschman at 12.834 (70.126).

Doug Coby, Justin Bonsignore and Craig Lutz were fourth through sixth, respectively. Bonsignore leads the championship points after four events by 10 over Coby and 17 over Lutz.

Sam Rameau was seventh in practice, followed by Woody Pitkat, Matt Swanson and Tyler Rypkema.

Qualifying for the Advanced Gas Distributors Inc. 200 Wade Cole Memorial is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., with the race taking the green flag at 4 p.m. live on TrackPass on NBC Gold.

Posted on by Staff Report

WINCHESTER, N.H. — That didn’t take long.

After a pair of races out of Victory Lane, Justin Bonsignore found himself right back on familiar ground as he executed a late pass on Ron Silk to capture the Advanced Gas Distributors Inc. 200 Wade Cole Memorial Sunday afternoon at Monadnock Speedway.

It was Bonsignore’s third win in five races on the season and his sixth in the last 10 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events dating back to last Aug. 31.

To cap his 29th career win, he wheeled the No. 51 Phoenix Communications Inc. Chevrolet in a slide across the finish line — 1.085 seconds ahead of Silk.

Jon McKennedy won the Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole Award in qualifying and led the first 61 laps before Silk, who was fastest in practice and qualified third, got past him. Bonsignore tracked him down and the two swapped the top spot before Bonsignore took it for good with 25 laps remaining.

Bonsignore’s 29th career tour win moved him back into a tie with six-time champion Doug Coby, who finished third, for sixth on the all-time wins list.

More importantly, it bumped Bonsignore’s championship points lead back up to 16 over Coby. After winning the first two races of the season, back-to-back fifth-place runs had chipped away at the Long Island driver’s lead.

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, which significantly altered the 2020 Whelen Modified schedule, Monadnock was a late addition. But the return to the quarter-mile for the first time since 2016 was a welcome addition for Bonsignore, who won there in 2013 and ’14.

RELATED: Complete Results | Justin Bonsignore Career Wins

The Advanced Gas Distributors Inc. 200 Wade Cole Memorial, which streamed live on TrackPass on NBC Gold, was postponed from Saturday to Sunday by weather.

Anthony Nocella finished fourth and Ronnie Williams fifth.

Matt Hirschman, Woody Pitkat, Sam Rameau, McKennedy and Craig Lutz completed the top 10. Lutz and McKennedy are tied for third in points, 30 points back of Bonsignore.

The tour will have a quick turnaround, racing at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in Connecticut on Wednesday, Sept. 2.

Race action during the Advanced Gas Distributors 200 Wade Cole Memorial for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, New Hampshire on August 30, 2020. (Kathryn Riley/NASCAR)

Posted on by Staff Report

The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs field was set Saturday at Daytona International Speedway in the regular-season finale.

Thirteen of 16 spots had been clinched in advance of the Coke Zero Sugar 400, meaning three spots were available. William Byron (win), Clint Bowyer (points) and Matt DiBenedetto (points) earned them.

RELATED: Race results

Hendrick Motorsports teammates Byron and Jimmie Johnson entered the day separated by four points, with all other drivers below the cutline essentially needing to win to get in. Johnson was caught up in a wreck late, while Byron went on to win his first career NASCAR Cup Series race — two very different outcomes for the eldest and youngest Hendrick drivers.

Below is the unofficial seeding and points entering the Round of 16. This story will be updated when seeding is made official.

NASCAR CUP SERIES PLAYOFFS FIELD

1. Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing: 2,057 points
2. Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing: 2,047 points
3. Brad Keselowski, Team Penske: 2,029 points
4. Joey Logano, Team Penske: 2,022 points
5. Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports: 2,020 points
6. Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing: 2,014 points
7. Ryan Blaney, Team Penske: 2,013 points
8. Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports: 2,009 points
9. William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports: 2,007 points
10. Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing: 2,005 points
11. Cole Custer, Stewart-Haas Racing: 2,005 points
12. Aric Almirola, Stewart-Haas Racing: 2,005 points
13. Clint Bowyer, Stewart-Haas Racing, 2,004 points
14. Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing: 2,003 points
15. Kurt Busch, Chip Ganassi Racing: 2,001 points 
16. Matt DiBenedetto, Wood Brothers Racing: 2,000 points

Inset00 R16 Ncs Grid

CHAMP OUT: Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Johnson will not have a chance at one final title. The No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was involved in a multicar wreck with two laps to go. At the time, Johnson was on the right side of the cutline. His 17th-place finish, though, pushed him out of the playoff picture. Johnson is set to retire at the end of the 2020 season.

CHAMP IS HERE: Kevin Harvick won the regular-season championship for the first time in his career by virtue of having the most points during the 26-race regular season. He clinched the title last week at Dover International Speedway. His reward? Besides the prestige and a pretty sweet trophy, that’s worth 15 playoff points that carry over into the postseason. Harvick was dominant throughout the regular season, and nobody came particularly close to challenging his lead atop the standings, finishing with a cushion of 10 points. He’ll enter as the man to beat.

TOP SEED: Harvick was dominant throughout the regular season, and nobody came particularly close to challenging his lead atop the standings, finishing with a cushion of 115 points over Denny Hamlin. He’ll enter as the man to beat.

NEXT UP: The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs begin next Sunday, Sept. 6, at Darlington Raceway with the Cook Out Southern 500 (6 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Holly Cain

With his NASCAR Cup Series Playoff hopes on the line, Hendrick Motorsports’ driver William Byron earned his first career victory Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 regular season finale.

The victory was an automatic berth into the playoffs for the 22-year old Byron – a hard-fought trophy in a typically full-contact, high-emotion contest on NASCAR’s famed Daytona high-banks to settle the playoff field.

RELATED: Race results | Who is in the playoff field?

The only two playoff positions still up for grabs on the night were filled by Byron and Matt DiBenedetto, who earned the 16th and final Playoff position with a 12th place effort – a mere six points better than seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson who nursed a badly-damaged car home to a 17th-place finish.

“We made it,” DiBenedetto said. “I don’t care how we did it. All my goal was, was to come in here and make it. 

“I wanted it so bad for this team,” he continued, with a nod to the longtime Wood Brothers Racing operation he drives for this year.

Johnson – who is retiring from full-time competition at the end of the season – was obviously disappointed in the outcome, but emboldened by the effort of his team. The 83-race NASCAR Cup Series winner had a tough path to earn a playoff berth. He missed a race due to a COVID-19 diagnosis and had points taken away from a runner-up effort earlier in the season due to a disqualification. He was in contention to move into his final playoffs opportunity until being caught up in an 11-car accident with only two laps left in regulation.

“First and foremost, congratulations to my teammate for getting his first Cup win like that,” Johnson said. “This setting and the drama that goes into it, that’s a big win for [crew chief] Chad Knaus and William Byron, really happy for those guys.

“I really feel like we had a way to transfer to win or point our way in the way it went the first two stages and things just got ugly in Turn 1. Unfortunate, but that’s plate racing.

“We had a really good car and last couple months we’ve been really getting our act together and running well. Really disappointed to not be in the Playoffs. That was the number one goal to start the year.”

RELATED: Johnson: ‘We did all we could’ 

Byron took the lead from this year’s Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin on an overtime restart with two laps to go and with cars spinning out behind him, ultimately was able to hold off his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott by a blink-of-the-eye .119-second. 

Hamlin finished third, followed by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports’ driver Bubba Wallace turned in a season-best fifth-place finish. Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Brendan Gaughan, Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-10.

Kyle Busch led 31 laps but with only eight laps remaining in what had been a largely incident-free race, Busch, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, was collected in the first of two mega-accidents. 10 cars suffered damage in the incident and a red flag flew for more than 10 minutes.

WATCH: See how Reddick’s block of Busch leads to wreck

The race restarted with five laps remaining but another incident at the front of the field involved 11 cars – including Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet and Joey Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford which had won the race’s first two stages.

Byron was part of that close-quarter contact racing and the race leader when the caution came out. During the ensuing short red flag period, Byron’s team worried if his car had suffered damage in the melee –  if Byron should stay out for the restart instead of pitting. He stayed out and the gamble paid off with Byron’s first NASCAR Cup Series win and a berth in the playoffs.

“I’m just extremely blessed and this is incredible,” said Byron, who drives the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. “It’s been a hard couple of years in the Cup Series and trying to get my first win and gel with this team. These guys did an awesome job today and got us in the Playoffs and it’s amazing.

“This is probably the hardest track to points-race,” said Byron who only had a four-point advantage over Johnson for the final playoff transfer position entering the race.

“We had a great Stage 2 and kind of got back in the pack and got shuffled when everyone went single file. I thought my hope were up there. And we were racing around the No. 21 (DiBenedetto) and the No. 48 (Johnson) in the final stage and I was like, ‘man, I’ve to really make something happen. Luckily, I was able to push the No. 43 (Wallace) and he and the No. 22 (Logano) made some contact and opened up a hole for me and I wasn’t going to lift.

“It was awesome.”

The 10-race NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs begin next Sunday with the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway (6 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Seven-race winner Kevin Harvick, the regular season champion, is the top seed and takes a 10-point advantage into the playoffs over six-race winner Denny Hamlin. With his win, Byron moved up to a ninth-place seeding. DiBenedetto starts his first ever playoffs seeded 16th.