Posted on by Holly Cain

DOVER, Del. — Twenty-year-old Californian Corey Day took the lead from veteran Justin Allgaier with four laps remaining to claim his second career NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory Saturday in the BetRivers 200 in his first Dover Motor Speedway start.

Allgaier, a three-time winner already this season and the current championship leader, looked poised to add yet another trophy at Dover’s famed “Monster Mile,” but ultimately Day was able to run up high against the outside wall — he and Allgaier splitting Blake Lothian’s lapped car — with Day pulling ahead of the three cars and driving away from Allgaier down the stretch.

It was enough momentum to propel Day’s No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to a 0.461-second victory over Allgaier, who led a race-high 71 of the 200 laps, and it follows Day’s career first victory at the series’ largest track, Talladega Superspeedway coming only three weeks ago.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

“Man, I was hoping that’s how it would play out, I saved so hard there early in the last run once we put on tires and the yellow came out and I thought, aww, this is just going to be a caution-fest and it was all for nothing, but oh man, it all just worked out good,” said an elated Day, who screamed congratulations to his crew on the cool-down lap. His “mentor” reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, sitting in the pit stand, was all smiles watching the outcome.

“This one feels really, really good,” said Day, who only led the final four laps. “The Talladega one [win] was unexpected at a superspeedway, but we earned this one.”

Saturday’s effort from Allgaier, already a series-best three-race winner this season, boosted his championship points advantage to an amazing 175 points over Haas Factory Team’s Sheldon Creed, who finished 18th.

Allgaier acknowledged he was disappointed — perhaps frustrated — with a lapped competitor playing such a crucial role in deciding Saturday’s outcome.

“Good teaching moment,” Allgaier said after speaking with Lothian on pit road post-race. “He kind of made a move to inside then back outside and I just didn’t know which lane he was going to go in. And unfortunately, it allowed the 17 (Day) to get to my outside.

“But hats off to Corey and that whole 17 team. He was running me down there at the end. Proud of our team. It wasn’t the day we wanted early on, but the team worked really hard all day long. Just disappointed to walk out of here with a second after leading that many laps at the end, but hats off to Corey and everyone on that team.”

The race featured nine caution periods and a lot of short-run strategy.

MORE: Weekend schedule: Dover | O’Reilly Auto Parts Series standings

Creed’s Haas Factory teammate Sam Mayer finished third. Joe Gibbs Racing’s William Sawalich was fourth and Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill claimed fifth place – the perennial championship contender’s best finish since a runner-up showing on the Circuit of The Americas road course back in March.

JGR’s Brandon Jones won the first stage and NASCAR Cup Series regular Ross Chastain won the second stage after pacing the field four different times for a combined 68 laps. Chastain’s shot at a trophy ended just past race’s midpoint when he and JGR’s Taylor Gray collided and spun out.

JR Motorsports’ Carson Kvapil finished seventh and extended the team’s top-10 streak to an amazing 71 races. Ryan Sieg, Sammy Smith and Anthony Alfredo rounded out the top 10.

The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series moves to the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway for next Saturday’s Charbroil 300 (5 p.m. ET, The CW, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NOTE: Post-race inspection was completed in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series garage, confirming Corey Day as the winner. The Nos. 39 and 41 each had one lug nut not safe and secure and will lose pit-stall selection at Charlotte next week. The No. 07 team had two lug nuts not safe and secure and will be fined $5,000. Crew member Cory Selig will be suspended for the Charlotte O’Reilly race.

Posted on by Staff Report

J&R Precast 150

Seekonk Speedway

  • Qualifying results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc. 12.106 99.114 2 2  —
2 79 Jon McKennedy Stuarts Automotive; Christophers Towing; Levasseur HVAC; Leone’s Landscaping; Hillsboro Inc.; Central Mass Tree 12.178 98.528 2 2 0.072
3 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply; Fastrack Electric; Lumiere Electrical; AP Marquadt & Sons; Dell Electric; Andrew James Interiors; Hugh 12.219 98.198 2 2 0.113
4 44 Chase Dowling S&S Paving; Harshaw Paving 12.225 98.15 2 2 0.119
5 82 Andrew Molleur Horton Ave Materials LLC 12.245 97.989 1 2 0.139
6 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine; Future Homes 12.257 97.893 2 2 0.151
7 21 Stephen Kopcik Wanick Construction Inc.; Newtown Pools 12.279 97.718 2 2 0.173
8 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 12.28 97.71 2 2 0.174
9 31 Mike Christopher Jr. Elite Towing; Elite Racing; Baker Racing 12.298 97.567 2 2 0.192
10 3 Tyler Rypkema J & R Pre-Cast; Northeast Drilling; SYP 12.302 97.535 2 2 0.196
11 1 Patrick Emerling USNE Power 12.303 97.527 2 2 0.197
12 22 Kyle Bonsignore ChawLew; MTT; Munn’s Auto; Penngrade Oil 12.317 97.417 2 2 0.211
13 60 Matt Hirschman Bar Harbor Bank & Trust; Pee Dee Motorsports; Bristol Toyota 12.335 97.274 1 2 0.229
14 73 Paulie Hartwig* Jersey Shore Contracting; Velocita USA 12.37 96.999 2 2 0.264
15 89 Matt Swanson Ceravolos Auto; Swanson GMC 12.372 96.984 2 2 0.266
16 15 Joey Cipriano III J&R Pre-Cast Inc.; Dependable Energy; The Bass Plating Company 12.39 96.843 2 2 0.284
17 05 Teddy Hodgdon* Business Time Motorsports; The Landau Team of Re/Max; Montanari Fuel 12.396 96.796 2 2 0.29
18 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power 12.426 96.562 1 2 0.32
19 28 Doug Coby Nucar 12.448 96.391 1 2 0.342
20 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing; Riverhead Building Supply 12.478 96.16 2 2 0.372
21 9 Jayden Harman* Wanick Construction; Harman Funeral Home 12.534 95.73 2 2 0.428
22 36 Dave Sapienza Sapienza Enterprises; Eastport Feeds 12.602 95.213 2 2 0.496
23 8 John-Michael Shenette USNE Power Charlotte; Eighty-Two Services; Heintz Performance 12.638 94.942 2 2 0.532
24 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara; USNE Power 12.676 94.658 1 2 0.57
25 18 Ken Heagy Merkel Racing Engines 12.68 94.628 2 2 0.574
26 95 Cory Plummer* Tucker’s Metal Fabrication & Welding; Apex Racecars; Croteau Machine; Shiny Rhino 12.722 94.315 2 2 0.616

 

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR stays north for a tripleheader weekend at Dover Motor Speedway, starting with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series before the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series duke it out Sunday in the All-Star Race. Bookmark this page for everything you need, including qualifying orders, practice speeds, race results and more.

RELATED: Full weekend schedule | TV listings

NASCAR Cup Series

Race day: Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on FS1. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.

MORE: All-Star race format

Tires: Ten sets for the weekend (six for the race, two for qualifying/pit-crew challenge and two for practice).

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Practice Results
Practice Lap Averages
Practice Lap Times
Qualifying Results
Pit Stalls
Starting Lineup
Race Results

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series

Race day: Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on The CW. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.

Tires: Five sets for the weekend (three new for the race, one for qualifying, which transfers to the race, and one for practice).

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Practice Results
Practice Lap Averages
Practice Lap Times
Starting Lineup
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Race Results

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

Race day: Friday at 5 p.m. ET on FS1. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.

Tires: Five sets for the weekend (three new for the race, one for qualifying, which transfers to the race, and one for practice).

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Practice Results
Practice Lap Averages
Practice Lap Times
Qualifying Results
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Race Results

Posted on by Staff Report

J&R Precast 150

Seekonk Speedway

  • Final practice results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc. 12.14 98.837 4 35  —
2 73 Paulie Hartwig III* Jersey Shore Contracting; Velocita USA 12.144 98.804 20 22 0.004
3 79 Jon McKennedy Stuarts Automotive; Christophers Towing; Levasseur HVAC; Leone’s Landscaping; Hillsboro Inc.; Central Mass Tree 12.147 98.78 18 31 0.007
4 15 Joey Cipriano III J&R Pre-Cast Inc.; Dependable Energy; The Bass Plating Company 12.162 98.658 11 18 0.022
5 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply; Fastrack Electric; Lumiere Electrical; AP Marquadt & Sons; Dell Electric; Andrew James Interiors; Hugh 12.188 98.448 14 34 0.048
6 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 12.2 98.351 10 41 0.06
7 28 Doug Coby Nucar 12.214 98.238 17 22 0.074
8 21 Stephen Kopcik Wanick Construction Inc.; Newtown Pools 12.214 98.238 12 23 0.074
9 60 Matt Hirschman Bar Harbor Bank & Trust; Pee Dee Motorsports 12.224 98.158 19 22 0.084
10 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine; Future Homes 12.23 98.11 8 22 0.09
11 22 Kyle Bonsignore ChawLew; MTT; Munn’s Auto; Penngrade Oil 12.239 98.037 8 11 0.099
12 44 Chase Dowling S&S Paving; Harshaw Paving 12.243 98.005 8 42 0.103
13 31 Mike Christopher Jr. Elite Towing; Elite Racing; Baker Racing 12.262 97.854 20 27 0.122
14 3 Tyler Rypkema J & R Pre-Cast; Northeast Drilling; SYP 12.263 97.846 29 42 0.123
15 82 Andrew Molleur Horton Ave Materials LLC 12.279 97.718 3 15 0.139
16 05 Teddy Hodgdon* Business Time Motorsports; The Landau Team of Re/Max; Montanari Fuel 12.283 97.686 16 28 0.143
17 89 Matt Swanson Ceravolos Auto 12.295 97.591 10 35 0.155
18 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power 12.307 97.496 10 18 0.167
19 1 Patrick Emerling USNE Power 12.354 97.125 3 17 0.214
20 9 Jayden Harman* Wanick Construction; Harman Funeral Home 12.364 97.046 8 12 0.224
21 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing; Riverhead Building Supply 12.365 97.038 23 44 0.225
22 18 Ken Heagy Merkel Racing Engines 12.386 96.874 20 31 0.246
23 95 Cory Plummer* Tucker’s Metal Fabrication & Welding; Apex Racecars; Croteau Machine; Shiny Rhino 12.404 96.733 28 51 0.264
24 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara; USNE Power 12.422 96.593 20 23 0.282
25 8 John-Michael Shenette USNE Power Charlotte; Eighty-Two Services; Heintz Performance 12.456 96.329 14 24 0.316
26 36 Dave Sapienza Sapienza Enterprises; Eastport Feeds 12.491 96.06 19 34 0.351

 

Posted on by Staff Report

J&R Precast 150

Seekonk Speedway

  • Practice results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 60 Matt Hirschman Bar Harbor Bank & Trust; Pee Dee Motorsports 12.182 98.496 30 31  —
2 21 Stephen Kopcik Wanick Construction Inc.; Newtown Pools 12.233 98.086 34 45 0.051
3 73 Paulie Hartwig III Jersey Shore Contracting; Velocita USA 12.255 97.909 25 43 0.073
4 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine; Future Homes 12.265 97.83 20 47 0.083
5 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply; Fastrack Electric; Lumiere Electrical; AP Marquadt & Sons; Dell Electric; Andrew James Interiors; Hugh 12.267 97.814 21 38 0.085
6 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing; Riverhead Building Supply 12.271 97.782 13 43 0.089
7 3 Tyler Rypkema J & R Pre-Cast; Northeast Drilling; SYP 12.273 97.766 31 39 0.091
8 22 Kyle Bonsignore ChawLew; MTT; Munn’s Auto; Penngrade Oil 12.282 97.694 13 38 0.1
9 79 Jon McKennedy Stuarts Automotive; Christophers Towing; Levasseur HVAC; Leone’s Landscaping; Hillsboro Inc.; Central Mass Tree 12.29 97.631 27 49 0.108
10 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc. 12.299 97.559 22 51 0.117
11 15 Joey Cipriano III J&R Pre-Cast Inc.; Dependable Energy; The Bass Plating Company 12.31 97.472 31 68 0.128
12 44 Chase Dowling S&S Paving; Harshaw Paving 12.355 97.117 38 44 0.173
13 05 Teddy Hodgdon Business Time Motorsports; The Landau Team of Re/Max; Montanari Fuel 12.363 97.054 38 39 0.181
14 82 Andrew Molleur Horton Ave Materials LLC 12.371 96.991 28 46 0.189
15 28 Doug Coby Nucar 12.399 96.772 14 28 0.217
16 9 Jayden Harman Wanick Construction; Harman Funeral Home 12.426 96.562 31 44 0.244
17 1 Patrick Emerling USNE Power 12.433 96.508 20 69 0.251
18 89 Matt Swanson Ceravolos Auto 12.437 96.477 11 52 0.255
19 31 Mike Christopher Jr. Elite Towing; Elite Racing; Baker Racing 12.485 96.106 36 39 0.303
20 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power 12.49 96.067 40 59 0.308
21 8 John-Michael Shenette USNE Power Charlotte; Eighty-Two Services; Heintz Performance 12.531 95.753 29 56 0.349
22 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 12.542 95.669 19 21 0.36
23 18 Ken Heagy Merkel Racing Engines 12.548 95.623 16 32 0.366
24 95 Cory Plummer Tucker’s Metal Fabrication & Welding; Apex Racecars; Croteau Machine; Shiny Rhino 12.597 95.251 45 54 0.415
25 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara; USNE Power 12.647 94.875 44 81 0.465
26 36 Dave Sapienza Sapienza Enterprises; Eastport Feeds 12.685 94.59 45 69 0.503

 

Posted on by John Crane

Track: Dover Motor Speedway
Location: Dover, Del.
Track length: 1 mile
When: 1 p.m. ET
Where to tune in: FS1, FOX One, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Race purse: $3,093,000
Race distance: 350 laps | 350 miles
Segments: 75 | 75 | 200
Sunday’s starting lineup | Cup Series pit stall assignments

Battle for $1 million hits Delaware … with plenty of potential standouts

DOVER, Del. — Welcome to the club, Dover Motor Speedway. The 42nd All-Star Race will call Delaware’s concrete confines home, with the “Monster Mile” becoming the sixth venue to host the exhibition (Charlotte, North Wilkesboro, Texas, Atlanta, Bristol).

The new venue for the exhibition contest will also have a fresh format for the 36-car field to navigate. Sunday’s race will encompass 350 laps, split into three segments; the first two will be 75 laps each, and the final segment will be 200 laps. Each segment will be treated as a new race, with Segment 1’s lineup determined by Saturday’s qualifying. Segment 2’s lineup will be the inverse of the top 26 drivers from Segment 1’s results, while the final segment’s field — encompassing 26 drivers — will be determined by the best average finish across the first two segments.

Nineteen drivers — spanning 2025 or 2026 race winners, past All-Star Race victors and former NASCAR Cup Series champions — have already clinched a berth in the final segment, meaning six drivers (plus a Fan Vote winner) have yet to cement their position and will have 150 laps to leave their mark in the best of ways to battle for the $1 million grand prize.

MORE: How 2026 All-Star Race works 

A format tweak to the non-points-paying event isn’t a new development; since the inaugural 1985 All-Star Race, there have been 24 formats (excluding this year’s), ranging from differing lap and segment totals to mandatory stops. And through all of the tweaks, continuous themes have still emerged.

Hendrick Motorsports drivers have won the All-Star Race in three of the last six years, and the team’s 11 All-Star Race victories lead all teams; the next closest is Team Penske (five), which has won the event in two of the last four seasons. Hendrick’s 11 All-Star wins are split among five drivers. NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson has four All-Star Race triumphs, leading all wheelmen.

Hendrick driver Kyle Larson, however, is knocking on Johnson’s door. Larson’s three All-Star Race triumphs are tied with Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon for the second most, but in Larson’s case, all three All-Star Race wins have come at a different venue (2019, Charlotte; 2021, Texas; 2023, North Wilkesboro), giving the 34-year-old the honor of being the only driver to win an All-Star Race at three different tracks.

“It would mean a lot, and to add another race track to it would be pretty cool,” Larson said. “All my All-Star wins have come at different tracks, I believe, so I mean, they weren’t as fortunate. I don’t think they raced in at many tracks for the All-Star Race, but yeah, I think just to add another track would mean just as much as you’re just adding in another one.”

MORE: Weekend schedule | At-track photos

In terms of past points-race history at Dover, Hendrick has also excelled, with 22 wins to its ledger, second-most among all NASCAR tracks. That said, another organization — Joe Gibbs Racing — has thrived here, too. JGR has 12 Dover wins, second only to Hendrick, including each of the last three points-paying races.

For Denny Hamlin, who is locked into the main event and is looking to continue his recent success at the 1-miler, the mindset in tackling this season’s All-Star Race format will not be complex.

“I think it’s pretty simple from my standpoint: Go get all the spots that you can,” said Hamlin, who has won back-to-back Dover points races. “So it is pretty straightforward in the sense that there is no laying back in any one of the 75 [lap] segments. My job is to get every spot that I can, and the math will work itself out, and certainly I think if I can put myself somewhere in the top four to five, within that to get to the last segment, I think I’ll be in a good spot.”

With such a unique format separate from the usual points-paying contests, perhaps a different team emerges as a wild card. With fresh resin applied to the top and bottom of each corner, the variables are wide-ranging, and with a $1 million payday on the line instead of points, the on-track possibilities are endless.

In the details …

No matter the venue, NASCAR’s premier stars have stood out, and the All-Star Race is no exception. Spanning multiple eras, a slew of NASCAR’s top names have excelled in the All-Star Race, from current superstars to NASCAR Hall of Famers from the past.

Among those with a minimum of four All-Star Race starts, here are the 13 drivers with the best average finish in the exhibition:

DriverAverage FinishStarts
Joey Logano5.8015
Ken Schrader6.138
Davey Allison6.147
Dale Earnhardt7.1316
Bubba Wallace7.254
Chase Elliott7.7010
Jimmie Johnson7.7919
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 8.3918
Bill Elliott 8.4418
Matt Kenseth8.5319
Kyle Larson8.569
Alex Bowman8.836
Ryan Blaney9.009

Speed reads

Race-day essentials:

• Dover hub: Key information, pit stalls, additional results | Read more
• Sunday Setup: Differing opinions on resin entering exhibition| Read more
• Elite club: A look at drivers to win All-Star Race, title in same season | View gallery
• Paint Scheme Preview: Liveries slated for concrete showdown | View gallery
• Hauler Talk: NASCAR developing system to expedite crash data | Listen now
• Power Rankings: Is Bell ready to turn the page, go back-to-back in All-Star Race? | This week’s ranks
• NASCAR Classics: Inside the video vault from Dover | Watch now

Posted on by Dustin Albino

DOVER, Del. — NASCAR Cup Series teams were alerted earlier in the week that the Dover Motor Speedway track preparation crew was going to splatter resin throughout all four corners from the apron all the way to the SAFER barrier for Sunday’s All-Star Race (1 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Having resin applied from corner entry to corner exit across the full width of a specific venue is not a one-off occurrence. Nashville Superspeedway, another concrete surface, has had it applied several times with the goal of widening the racing groove and helping tire wear.

Crew chiefs within the Cup garage had a variety of opinions on how the resin would impact racing. Before Friday’s lengthy 90-minute session, Tyler Allen, crew chief of the No. 54 Toyota for Ty Gibbs, didn’t anticipate much of a difference from prior Dover trips.

RELATED: Starting lineup | At-track photos

“I don’t think there’s going to be too many surprises,” Allen stated. “I think the hope is we don’t burn through that first set of tires so quick and be a little gentler on those.

“I don’t expect it to be much different, honestly. As rubber lays down, guys will chase the gray, the top might start to come in. There might be a little bit of movement, but expecting a typical Dover [race].”

Blake Harris, crew chief of Alex Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet, which is not locked into the main event, noticed an immediate difference. He observed drivers maneuvering up the track and diamonding the corners a mere 15 to 20 laps into a run. In prior years, that took upwards of 100 laps, Harris pointed out.

“I think at least, according to the drivers, they felt like the racing line got in a lot quicker,” Harris stated. “Typically, when we come here, especially after any other series, we just feel the rubber off immediately and shred our tires. Tire wear seemed to be a little bit better. Some of the guys were able to move up and find some grip. Typically, that’s 100 to 200 laps into the race before we see that. So for those guys to be able to move up in practice and get a look at that, hopefully that resin will widen the track out a little bit quicker.”

The application of the resin was before the weekend began, and it won’t be touched before the scheduled green flag on Sunday. After thousands of laps turned by drivers across all three national touring divisions, the chances of the resin wearing out are high. But even if it does, drivers will be chasing to find that extra grip, which could lead to a higher racing line.

Like most Dover events, track position is expected to be of the utmost importance. And with this year’s All-Star format opening with a pair of 75-lap segments (an inversion from 26th at the end of the first stint) before a 200-lap dash to the finish, having a good starting position is crucial.

RELATED: Friday recap | Mechanix Pit Crew Challenge recap

Harris added: “You certainly want to qualify well so you get one of those first stints under your belt and get a good finish and not have to rely on passing a bunch of cars in the event that becomes difficult. Definitely think having a good, clean, solid lap [on Saturday], along with a good qualifying spot, will make or break how we are on Sunday.”

The increase to 750 horsepower is another factor. Gibbs, who has consecutive Dover top 10s in points-paying races, could be one of the beneficiaries, having won at the Monster Mile’s sister track, Bristol Motor Speedway, last month.

“It suits him well. It’s a hammer-down race track,” Allen added. “He loves to go fast. A lot of ties to Bristol with the track surface. We’re all pretty excited. Sim went well. There’s a lot of variables: new tire, new aero and 750 horsepower.”

Meanwhile, Bowman is a former Dover winner (2021) and has five straight finishes of eighth or better.

Posted on by Dustin Albino

DOVER, Del. — Kyle Busch doesn’t feel as though he’s ever lost a step. It’s hard to argue after watching another dominant performance in Friday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Dover Motor Speedway on the way to his 69th series victory, padding his record high.

“I don’t feel like I really lost anything,” Busch said after Friday’s truck win. “It’s just a matter of being able to go out there and do a good job and have the team be there with me to do a good job.”

But 105 Cup races have come and gone since the two-time Cup Series champion has visited Victory Lane. Next month will eclipse the three-year mark since his most recent triumph at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. He won in three of his first 15 starts with Richard Childress Racing before going cold.

RELATED: Sunday’s starting lineup | At-track photos: Dover

In that span, Austin Dillon has won a pair of races at Richmond Raceway. With both Nos. 3 and 8 teams cracking the top 10 at Watkins Glen International, the organization is coming off its best collective performance since the Chicago Street Course last year, when Busch and Austin Hill – in a third entry – were scored inside the top 10. It was the first time Busch and Dillon placed in the top 10 in the same event since April 2024 at Texas Motor Speedway, some 75 races ago.

Busch has top 10s in two of the last three races in 2026 and had his best overall speed at Texas Motor Speedway, fading to finish 20th after contact with John Hunter Nemechek with two laps remaining. In that period, Andy Street joined the No. 8 team to call the shots for Busch, replacing rookie Cup crew chief Jim Pohlman.

Busch credits Street for the bump in speed.

“I guess I just remembered how to drive,” Busch quipped on Friday. “It’s Street – I don’t know what he’s doing different. I don’t feel like I’m talking to anybody any differently. I don’t feel like I’m relaying any of the information any differently. I just feel like it’s construed or thought about in a different way, and the execution of being able to listen to my words and being able to put it into the race car translates differently.

“It’s no different than Adam Stevens, I had him for five years, made the [Championship 4] five years in a row and we were unstoppable. We won [28] races in those years. It was crazy and easy. I was like, ‘This is Jimmie and Chad.’ When you can find those moments and those guys that you can click with, you try to do everything in your power to keep it all together as much as you can.”

MORE: Get to know Andy Street

The driver-crew chief relationship between Busch and Street has just clicked. In a handful of races at the conclusion of the 2025 season, they scored two top 10s, including a fifth-place effort in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway, matching Busch’s best result of the campaign (Circuit of The Americas and Chicago).

Dillon has noticed how the pairing has connected.

“I think they had a little chemistry and it’s just bled over,” Dillon told a group of reporters at Dover. “Andy has a positive mindset with Kyle, and he can ask more out of Kyle and Kyle can ask more out of him. Their relationship is good – that’s the biggest thing. They feel confident talking around each other and putting it out there.”

Immediate speed in practice has been critical for Busch. The No. 8 team ranked fourth in single-lap speed during practice for the All-Star Race, and clocked in second on 10-lap averages, trailing only Carson Hocevar. That follows a recent trend that Busch has noticed.

“I feel like we’ve had good speed off the truck at Watkins Glen. Texas, I was working my way into it. It’s nice to be able to score top five in practice, even though it doesn’t pay anything. It’s better than the alternative of unloading in the bottom five.”

The most noticeable difference, Busch believes, lies within the data. It’s not even about the gathering of numbers, but rather who is dissecting the information and how it’s being decoded.

“I think sometimes it’s just how you interpret the data, who is interpreting the data and things like that,” Busch added on Saturday. “I’ve seen it in years prior where some engineer might be looking at the squiggly lines and they are upside down. It sounds as dumb as it may be, like, ‘Uh, that doesn’t quite look right, flip that section over’ and it tells you a different story.”

Positivity is beginning to flow within the RCR walls. Having momentum and confidence “gives you that vote of confidence that we’re doing our job,” Busch said. The No. 8 car will take the green flag for Sunday’s All-Star Race (1 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) in 11th position.

Posted on by John Crane

DOVER, Del. — It has been an up-and-down stretch for William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team through the opening portion of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series campaign.

Entering Sunday’s All-Star Race action at Dover Motor Speedway (1 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), William Byron sits 12th in the Cup Series standings; the 28-year-old driver dropped two markers to outside the top 10 following his 36th-place result at Watkins Glen International last weekend, his third finish of 30th or worse in the last five races.

RELATED: Weekend schedule | At-track photos

“I just looked when I was in the bus, I mean, it’s like we finished top 10, we finished 30th, we finished top 10, 30th,” Byron said on his recent rocky stretch. “It’s kind of been that for five weeks now, so yeah. Some of it was just bad luck. I mean, last week we just got crashed out and kind of that restart in the way that that went, just got cleaned out there. Talladega, there’s not much we could do with the big ones, so yeah.

“The saying kind of goes: If you’re in the middle of the back or you’re back there, you’re bound to get in stuff. So that was unfortunate last week because I thought we were on the back side of the top 10 and had a shot to finish there, and I feel like we would’ve, but yeah, got cleaned out there, and yeah, it’s just been not gathering a lot of stage points, either, and so that’s kind of where we’re at.”

Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet has shown glimpses of the high-upside speed that has netted the star at least one Cup victory every season since 2020. Aside from a 28th-place DNF at EchoPark Speedway in February, Byron began the year with six finishes of 13th or better in the first seven races, including a season-best fifth-place result at Martinsville Speedway in March.

Since Martinsville, however, turbulence has increased, with no laps led since and a dip from fifth in the Cup standings to 12th. Byron’s 57 stage points rank 12th among all drivers, and his 34 laps led rank 16th. Through the first 12 races of 2026, Byron possesses two top fives and six top 10s with a 16.0 average finish.

MORE: 2026 All-Star Race format explained

Though there are no points on the line during All-Star competition at the “Monster Mile,” Byron believes a strong exhibition showing from practice to the race itself can be just the momentum needed to get the No. 24 camp back on track. Byron, already locked into the main event, will start fifth in the opening segment. Byron’s best All-Star Race finish came at North Wilkesboro Speedway last season (sixth).

“I think the speed is encouraging this weekend,” Byron said. “I think the speed was good at Texas, and we’re working super hard, so just got to put it all together and have smoother races, calmer races where you’re just up toward the front and have a chance to gather a bunch of points, so yeah, it’s just tough when you’re kind of in the middle and things can happen.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

DOVER, Del. — Denny Hamlin has claimed pole position for Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race (1 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) in a late qualifying session effort, unseating RFK Racing co-owner and driver Brad Keselowski in the final minutes of Saturday’s unique three-lap bid to set the field at Dover Motor Speedway.

The next-to-last driver to qualify, Hamlin spun his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota on the warm-up lap just as he took to the 1-mile high-banked track, but recovered and excelled when it mattered — taking the lead starting position by 0.149 seconds over Keselowski’s No. 6 Ford.

RELATED: Starting lineup | At-track photos: Dover

“Quite eventful for sure,” Hamlin conceded of his lap, insisting he’d never really been remarkably fast in this style of qualifying format.

“I just spun out. I don’t know. I didn’t think I was being that aggressive but spun out. At that point, just tried to minimize the damage. … That wasn’t ideal, but then I just committed to run the lap as hard as I could, and it was still good enough.”

“It’s risk versus reward and certainly challenges the driver…. But definitely a team effort.”

Zane Smith’s No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford team won Saturday’s $100,000 Mechanix Wear Pit Crew Challenge, establishing themselves best on the speed chart early in the session and its work ultimately proving unbeatable. Although Smith’s overall speed places him 25th on the starting grid, the Pit Crew Challenge win earned the team first pit stall selection Sunday — something that could be the difference in advancing Smith into the 200-lap finale.

The pole position was based on a three-lap run that also included the timed pit stop on the second lap. Late in the session, Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson seemed to have bettered Keselowski’s early work, but Larson received penalties for being too fast on pit road and not blending properly back onto the “Monster Mile’s” high banks — the time penalty ultimately costing the three-time All-Star race winner a front row spot. And Hamlin topped both drivers in the end.

Legacy Motor Club’s Erik Jones, Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain and Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron rounded out the five fastest cars. Defending All-Star Race winner, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell, was sixth fastest.

MORE: Friday recap

Several perennial favorites struggled during the unique qualifying format with pit road miscues and/or time penalties, including rookie Connor Zilisch, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chris Buescher, Daniel Suárez, along with former series champs Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney, who had slow stops.

This marks the first time the series has held its annual $1 million to-win, All-Star Race at the 1-mile concrete track in Delaware. It will include two 75-lap segments and then a 200-lap finale to settle the big check.

There are 19 drivers currently in the 200-lap final segment and trophy-determining portion of the event — including Cup Series championship leader Tyler Reddick and fellow 2026 race winners Ty Gibbs and Carson Hocevar. Joining them are 2025 race winners Hamlin, Shane van Gisbergen, Blaney, Chase Briscoe,  Byron, Larson, Elliott, Austin Dillon, Chastain, Josh Berry, Austin Cindric, Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace and Bell.

Kyle Busch, who won Friday’s Craftsman Truck Series race at Dover, also has an automatic spot on the grid as a former All-Star race winner — as does Keselowski as a former series champion.

The first two segments of Sunday’s event are 75-laps followed by the 200-lap finale, which includes the 19 drivers locked in, plus the six best-performing drivers from the opening segments and the “Fan Vote” winner.