Chase Elliott proving to be a ‘world-class road racer’

Posted on August 17, 2020 by Terrin Waack

Twists and turns are no match for Chase Elliott.

With now four of his eight career wins happening on non-oval tracks, the 24-year-old continues to prove he can successfully steer his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet both left and right. He has mastered the art of road-course racing, which is not as common in NASCAR. In addition to Elliott, only three drivers in the sport’s history have ever won at three different road courses — Geoff Bodine, Rusty Wallace and Ricky Rudd.

“I’ve just had really good cars I think more than anything,” Elliott said.

There has to be more to it.

“I mean, he’s just a very talented driver,” said Alan Gustafson, Elliott’s crew chief. “With any good driver, they have the ability to slow things down, and when you’re running a new track or running at the speeds they run, they can slow it down to where they can make the right decisions and adjustments, and he does a fabulous job of that. Really from the first time I worked with him at a road course, I knew he was really good and just needed some experience and needed to understand the cars.”

Elliott earned his second 2020 victory in Sunday’s race at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course with absolutely no previous exposure beyond simulator time. The Go Bowling 235 was the NASCAR Cup Series’ debut on the famed road course. The 14-turn layout spans 3.61 miles and includes a portion of the high-banked oval as well as a tight infield section.

Throughout the 65-lap event, Elliott led three times for a race-high 34 laps, including the final 13 circuits. He did have to hold off his competition — mainly runner-up Denny Hamlin — on a late-race restart with three laps to go, too.

Elliott beat Hamlin to the finish line by .202 seconds.

“I think he takes a little bit untraditional lines,” Hamlin said. “I think he does a great job of staying out of the rubber. I think his car really does a lot of good things that you would like for your car to do. Their car doesn’t move around a whole lot, with roll and pitch and whatnot. So I think they’ve really got a great road-course setup, and he executes it, and that’s going to equal a lot of success.”

The only road course on the Cup Series schedule Elliott has yet to win on is the 12-turn, 2.52-mile Sonoma Raceway. Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the California track was scratched from the 2020 schedule. As was Watkins Glen International in New York, where Elliott won his first-ever Cup race in 2018. He has two victories — the other in 2019 — on that 2.45-mile, seven-turn course. The Daytona Road Course actually replaced Watkins Glen on this year’s schedule.

Elliott’s other win was on the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval (2019), which, like the Daytona Road Course, incorporates part of the oval into its layout. The Charlotte Roval debuted its 2.32 miles over 17 turns in 2018, too, so it’s still new.

And Elliott still conquered it in a timely fashion.

“I think he’s a world-class race car driver,” Gustafson said. “Certainly a world-class road racer.”

Posted on August 17, 2020 by Data Skrive

Harrison Burton finished eighth in the UNOH 188 at the DAYTONA Road Course at Daytona International Speedway Road Course on Saturday.

The top-10 finish for Burton, his 12th of the year, added 37 points to his season total. He has 645 total points, good enough for fifth place in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Burton started in ninth position. The second-year driver has earned two career victories, with 10 top-five finishes and 17 results inside the top 10.

The Huntersville, North Carolina native began the race one spot behind his career mark of 8.1, but finished six places ahead of his career average of 13.6.

Burton’s eighth-place finish was against a field of 38 drivers. The race endured seven cautions and eight caution laps. There were seven lead changes.

Austin Cindric earned the victory in the race, and Brandon Jones finished second. Noah Gragson crossed the finish line third, AJ Allmendinger took fourth, and Andy Lally rounded out the top five.

After Cindric won the first stage, Chase Briscoe drove the No. 98 car to victory in Stage 2.

Harrison Burton Driver Page | Get Burton Gear | Race Center

Posted on August 17, 2020 by Data Skrive

Jeremy Clements finished sixth in the UNOH 188 at the DAYTONA Road Course at Daytona International Speedway Road Course on Saturday.

The top-10 finish for Clements, his fourth of the year, added 31 points to his season total. Clements is now 13th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings with 381 points. A total of 12 drivers make the postseason cut.

Clements started in 18th position. The 15th-year driver has one career victory, with four top-five finishes and 22 results inside the top 10.

The Spartanburg, South Carolina native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting seven spots higher than his career mark of 25 and completing the race 17 places ahead of his 23.4 career average finish.

Clements’ sixth-place finish came against a field of 38 drivers. The race endured seven cautions and eight caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were seven lead changes.

Austin Cindric earned the checkered flag in the race, and Brandon Jones took second. Noah Gragson placed third, AJ Allmendinger took fourth, and Andy Lally rounded out the top five.

After Cindric won Stage 1, Chase Briscoe drove the No. 98 car to victory in Stage 2.

Jeremy Clements Driver Page | Get Clements Gear | Race Center

Posted on August 17, 2020 by Data Skrive

AJ Allmendinger finished fourth in the UNOH 188 at the DAYTONA Road Course at Daytona International Speedway Road Course on Saturday.

Allmendinger’s top-five finish, the fifth time he has achieved that result this year, added 40 points to his season total.

Allmendinger started in 11th position. The sixth-year driver has tallied four career victories, with nine top-five finishes and 11 results inside the top 10.

The Los Gatos, California native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting three spots higher than his career mark of 14.1 and completing the race six places ahead of his 10.4 career average finish.

Allmendinger competed with a field of 38 drivers on the way to his fourth-place finish. The race endured seven cautions and eight caution laps. There were seven lead changes.

Austin Cindric secured the victory in the race, followed by Brandon Jones in the No. 2 spot and Noah Gragson in third. Allmendinger took fourth in front of Andy Lally’s finish in fifth place.

After Cindric won Stage 1, Chase Briscoe drove the No. 98 car to the win in Stage 2.

AJ Allmendinger Driver Page | Get Allmendinger Gear | Race Center

Posted on August 17, 2020 by Data Skrive

Noah Gragson finished third in the UNOH 188 at the DAYTONA Road Course at Daytona International Speedway Road Course on Saturday.

Gragson’s top-five finish, the ninth time he has achieved that result this year, added 43 points to his season total. He ranks third in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with 740 total points.

Gragson started and finished in the third position and led one lap in the race. The third-year driver has secured two career victories, with 19 top-five finishes and 37 results inside the top 10.

The Las Vegas, Nevada native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting six spots higher than his career mark of 9.4 and completing the race five places ahead of his 7.7 career average finish.

Gragson’s third-place finish was against a field of 38 drivers. The race endured seven cautions and eight caution laps. There were seven lead changes.

Austin Cindric earned the victory in the race, followed by Brandon Jones in second place. Behind Gragson’s third-place finish, AJ Allmendinger brought home fourth, and Andy Lally closed the top five.

After Cindric won the first stage, Chase Briscoe drove the No. 98 car to victory in Stage 2.

Noah Gragson Driver Page | Get Gragson Gear | Race Center

Posted on August 17, 2020 by Data Skrive

Josh Bilicki finished 12th in the UNOH 188 at the DAYTONA Road Course at Daytona International Speedway Road Course on Saturday after heading into the race with an average finish position of 22.5 this season.

Bilicki’s result added 25 points to his season total. Bilicki now ranks 32nd in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings with 97 points.

Bilicki started in 19th position and led one lap in the race. The fifth-year driver has never finished inside the top 10 in his career.

The Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting 12 spots higher than his career mark of 30.8 and completing the race 16 places ahead of his 28.4 career average finish.

Bilicki battled against a field of 38 drivers on the way to his 12th-place finish. The race endured seven cautions and eight caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were seven lead changes.

Austin Cindric secured the victory in the race, and Brandon Jones finished second. Noah Gragson crossed the finish line third, AJ Allmendinger secured fourth, and Andy Lally closed out the top five.

After Cindric won Stage 1, Chase Briscoe drove the No. 98 car to victory in Stage 2.

Josh Bilicki Driver Page | Get Bilicki Gear | Race Center

Posted on August 16, 2020August 16, 2020 by Zack Albert

Pressed into duty as an emergency call-up, Kaz Grala had plenty of pinch-me moments in his NASCAR Cup Series debut.

The Saturday morning call to suit up, coming from NASCAR Hall of Famer and team owner Richard Childress. The fitting for the iconic No. 3 car at the racing epicenter of Daytona International Speedway. Looking in his mirror in pace laps and seeing the No. 48 of childhood hero Jimmie Johnson in the row behind him. The brief moment atop the scoring pylon in the final stage. Oh, and with no practice or qualifying beforehand.

RELATED: Race results | Austin Dillon sidelined

It all added up to a dream sequence for the 21-year-old Grala, who finished an impressive seventh in his first race in NASCAR’s big leagues in the series’ first event on the Daytona Road Course. The result came just a day after getting Childress’ message that he’d be the Sunday substitute for Austin Dillon, who missed the Daytona event after reporting a positive COVID-19 test Saturday morning.

“Well, as far as sinking in, I’ll have to get back with you on that maybe sometime midweek, but the last 24 hours a lot of things have moved very quickly,” said Grala, who has made just two Xfinity Series starts for RCR this season, including a fourth place last weekend at Road America — a finish, he said, probably made him a stronger pick as a fill-in option. “It’s certainly been overwhelming. But I did, as you said, took my time on the grid and on the pace laps to really soak it in and understand the gravity of that moment. It’s unbelievable to be racing in the Cup Series under any circumstances, but to do it in the No. 3 car was just incredible.

“I personally drove the No. 3 car in Bandoleros, Legends Cars, late models. I took it even all the way up to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series because it was my dad’s number. The No. 3 has held a really special place in my heart for my whole career. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought my Cup debut would come in it, but I’m so grateful to Richard and everybody at Richard Childress Racing for believing in me and trusting me behind the wheel of one of their Cup cars because that’s their main business right there, so it was an honor to know that they trust me behind the wheel.”

Grala said he planned to ease into Sunday’s Go Bowling 235, adapting to the drivability of a Cup Series car and getting a feel for the adjusted pedals, which had fit the slightly shorter Dillon. He also dropped to the rear of the field from the car’s scheduled 10th-place starting spot because of the driver change.

By the end of the first stage, Grala had found some rhythm, telling the No. 3 crew over the team communications: “I like this car. This is fun!” By the final stage, he benefited from a longer-haul pit strategy cycle to head to the top of the board. Grala incredulously radioed his crew to ask if he was leading. He set the pace for three laps before making a scheduled pit stop.

Once the field lined up for a final restart with three laps to go, Grala lined up 13th. Fighting through muscle cramps in the late going, he jumped six spots to secure a solid top-10 result at the checkers.

Grala hopes Dillon will be able to return for next weekend’s Cup Series doubleheader at Dover International Speedway, but Grala was also unsure whether he’d be on call as the No. 3 Chevy’s potential backup. If nothing else, he proved a capable interim fix who far exceeded the modest top-30 goal he’d set for himself before Sunday’s debut.

“To be in their car with the No. 3 on the side was just crazy,” Grala said, “and to put it in the top 10, I’m really happy about that and hope that it gave Austin something to cheer for from home.”

Posted on August 16, 2020August 16, 2020 by Holly Cain

No practice, no qualifying, new course — no problem for Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott.

The 24-year-old Elliott gave a not-so-subtle reminder Sunday afternoon in the NASCAR Cup Series debut on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course that he is one of the sport’s very best on the technical road circuits, even sight unseen as was the case this week.

Just before a caution flag with five laps remaining, Elliott had pulled out to a 10-second advantage on the field. He turned in a fantastic restart and drove three perfect final laps in his No. 9 Chevrolet to hold off Denny Hamlin by .202 seconds to win the GoBowling 235. It was Elliott’s third consecutive road-course win dating back to last year.

“Just had a really good car more than anything, not sure I did anything special today,” Elliott said. “Really fortunate from that standpoint. Had a good week of preparation and came out and really executed on the race.”

SHOP: Chase Elliott winner’s gear

Elliott said he was hardly surprised about the late-race restart and prepared for it.

“To me was not when, but how many green-white-checkers we were going to have to do in a row and being better at executing those,” Elliott said. “Any win at Daytona is special. (Crew chief) Alan (Gustafson) and I were joking that we had to change it to a road course to win at Daytona. … Just a great day.”

Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. finished third followed by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and Chris Buescher. Clint Bowyer, Kaz Grala (who was substituting for Austin Dillon in the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet), William Byron, Joey Logano and Michael McDowell completed the top 10 in a race so smooth and expertly handled that it more closely resembled an age-old venue than a first-time visit on a challenging 3.61-mile, 14-turn course.

“Let’s make sure we don’t look like a bunch of dummies there in Turn 1,” Hamlin said of a pre-race conversation with fellow drivers about the new venue. “We made sure we kept it clean to start and then you can get your bearings about you after you run a few laps. Really, it’s one of the those tracks where it’s not super technical but it definitely rewards the guys that do the right techniques on road courses.”

The veteran NASCAR Cup Series drivers immediately put on a driving display that seemed as if they had long raced on the circuit — which includes a tight infield road course as well as Daytona’s more famous high-banked turns.

Elliott has proven himself a road-course favorite even though he’s only in his fifth full-time season. He led the most laps — 34 of the 65 — and won the first stage on Sunday with Hamlin winning the second stage. Outside of regular pit stops, Elliott was either leading or about to lead all afternoon, resulting in Elliott’s eighth career win and second of the season — matching a victory in May at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“I just wanted to keep him honest and it seemed like the closer we got the more his car was either wheel-hopping or sliding the front tires, so we were at least keeping him honest there to make him push his car and earn the victory,” said Hamlin, a five-race winner in 2020 and driver of the No. 11 Toyota.

Championship points leader and six-race winner Kevin Harvick had an eventful day in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford — contact with another car while running near the front and then another spin later in the race. He finished 17th but still leads the championship by 118 points over Hamlin.

Only three races remain to set the 16-driver NASCAR Playoffs field. Byron is in the 16th position with a 25-point edge over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Johnson and a 35-point advantage over 18th-place Erik Jones with a doubleheader weekend scheduled next week on the 1-mile Dover International Speedway before the series returns to the Daytona 2.5-mile superspeedway for the regular-season finale.

Note: Inspection in the NASCAR Cup Series garage resulted in no major issues. The No. 4 of Kevin Harvick and the No. 19 of Martin Truex Jr. each had one lug nut not safe and secure in post-race inspection.

Posted on August 16, 2020August 16, 2020 by Terrin Waack

The 2020 struggles for reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch continued Sunday at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course.

Busch closed out the inaugural Go Bowling 235 with his fifth finish outside the top 30 this season, placing 37th on the final scorecard. He only had two races go that way in 2019.

On top of that, the Daytona Road Course marked Busch’s fourth event this season in which he did not make it to the checkered flag. There were also only two races like that in all of 2019.

RELATED: Official results

Sunday’s series of unfortunate events started on Lap 2 of 65. Busch took the lead but then dragged the tires on his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the front chicane. He flat-spotted his left-front tire, forcing him to make an unscheduled pit stop on Lap 4.

Busch was 27th at the end of Stage 1 on Lap 15 and then up to 19th when Stage 2 ended on Lap 30.

Things were fine until Busch pitted on Lap 48 from the second-place position with a completely different issue that needed to be diagnosed. The No. 18 crew took a longer stop than normal, furiously wrenching on Busch’s Toyota. Instead of sending the two-time champ back out on the track, he was told to steer his car to the garage with a mechanical issue.

With less than 20 laps remaining and the laps continuing to tick off, however, JGR didn’t have much time to spare. Busch ultimately returned to the race six laps down … only to exit early regardless.

On Lap 60, both of Busch’s rear tires went down, sending the Camry spinning. That incident officially ended his day.

It was in Busch’s best interest to finish out the event for points purposes. He has yet to win a race this season and therefore is not guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. Busch does have a comfortable 100-point cushion above the cutline in 13th, but — again — not guaranteed a berth.

Just three regular-season races remain, including a return trip to Daytona for the finale on its high-speed oval that tends to be unpredictable. That’ll be more familiar than the road course — even though Busch had the most recent experience among drivers on the layout stemming from the Rolex 24 earlier this year.

Before that last-ditch effort, Dover International Speedway will host a doubleheader next weekend (Saturday and Sunday both at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Busch has three wins in 30 career starts at the “Monster Mile” — most recently in 2017. He came in sixth and 10th there last year.

Posted on August 16, 2020August 20, 2020 by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: How to find NBCSN | Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App

RELATED: How to follow races on NASCAR.com | NASCAR Live Stream

Monday, Aug. 17
2:30 a.m., NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: Sunoco 159 (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

Tuesday, Aug. 18
1:30 a.m., IMSA Auto Racing Special Lamborghini Super Trofeo: Road America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

On MRN
7 p.m., NASCAR Live

Wednesday, Aug. 19
12:30 a.m., Glory Road: Stock Car Evolution, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
5 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

Thursday, August 20
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

Friday, Aug. 21
4:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Dover International Speedway, FS1/FOX Sports App
5 p.m., NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: KDI Office Technology 200, FS1/FOX Sports App

On MRN
2 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: General Tire 125
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: KDI Office Technology 200

Saturday, Aug. 22
2 a.m., NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: KDI Office Technology 200 (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
8:30 a.m., NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: KDI Office Technology 200 (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
11 a.m., NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: KDI Office Technology 200 (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App
11 a.m., Dale Jr. Download: Jimmie Johnson, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
Noon, Countdown to Green: Dover International Speedway, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Drydene 200, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Post-Race Show: Dover International Speedway, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3:30 p.m., Countdown to Green: Dover International Speedway, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
4 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Drydene 311, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN
Noon, NASCAR Xfinity Series: Drydene 200
3 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Drydene 311

Sunday, Aug. 23
Noon, NASCAR Race Hub: Dover International Speedway, FS1/FOX Sports App
1 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Drydene 200, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3:30 p.m., Countdown to Green: Dover International Speedway, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
4 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Drydene 311, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Drydene 200
3 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Drydene 311