Posted on by Data Skrive

Riley Herbst finished second in the Shady Rays 200 at Kentucky Speedway on Thursday to collect his first career top-five finish.

Herbst’s top five finish added 41 points to his season total.

Herbst started in 23rd position. The third-year driver has accumulated one top-five and 10 top-10 finishes in his career.

Friday’s race was the first of Herbst’s career at Kentucky Speedway.

The Las Vegas, Nevada native began the race 12 spots behind his career mark of 10.5, but finished 11 places ahead of his career average of 13.4.

Herbst battled against 36 other drivers on the way to his second-place finish. The race endured nine cautions and 40 caution laps. There were six lead changes.

Austin Cindric earned the win in the race, followed by Herbst’s second-place finish. Ross Chastain crossed the finish line third, Chase Briscoe brought home fourth place, and Michael Annett finished off the top five.

Noah Gragson got off to a great start in the race, winning both of the first two stages, but couldn’t hold on to secure the race victory.

Riley Herbst Driver Page | Get Herbst Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Michael Annett finished fifth in the Shady Rays 200 at Kentucky Speedway on Thursday.

Annett’s top five finish added 41 points to his season total.

Annett started in fourth position. The 10th-year driver has one career victory, with 15 top-five finishes and 68 results inside the top 10.

In his career at Kentucky Speedway, Annett has compiled two top-five finishes and his fifth-place result marks the sixth top 10.

The Des Moines, Iowa native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting 16 spots higher than his career mark of 19.7 and completing the race 13 places ahead of his 17.9 career average finish.

Annett’s fifth-place finish came against a field of 36 drivers. The race endured nine cautions and 40 caution laps. There were six lead changes.

Austin Cindric earned the checkered flag in the race, and Riley Herbst followed in second. Ross Chastain placed third, with Chase Briscoe securing fourth place. Annett rounded out the top five.

Noah Gragson got off to a great start in the race, winning Stages 1 and 2, but couldn’t hang on to secure the race victory.

Michael Annett Driver Page | Get Annett Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Anthony Alfredo finished sixth in the Shady Rays 200 at Kentucky Speedway on Thursday.

The top 10 finish for Alfredo added 38 points to his season total.

Alfredo started in 11th position. The first-year driver has accumulated one top-five and four top-10 finishes in his career.

The Ridgefield, Connecticut native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting three spots higher than his career mark of 14.4 and completing the race four places ahead of his 10.1 career average finish.

Alfredo raced against 36 other drivers on the way to his sixth-place finish. The race endured nine cautions and 40 caution laps. There were six lead changes.

Austin Cindric brought home the win in the race, and Riley Herbst followed in second. Ross Chastain placed third, Chase Briscoe secured fourth, and Michael Annett closed out the top five.

Noah Gragson got off to a great start in the race, winning Stages 1 and 2, but couldn’t hang on to secure the race victory.

Anthony Alfredo Driver Page | Get Alfredo Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Zack Albert

Jimmie Johnson issued a post-race retort to Brad Keselowski’s late-stage tactics after Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Kentucky Speedway, hinting at restart retribution in a social-media salvo after the checkered flag.

RELATED: Official race results | At-track photos

Johnson was making his return to Cup Series competition after his self-reported positive test for COVID-19 forced him out of last weekend’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Johnson contended by running at high as third place in the late going, but contact with Keselowski on a restart sent his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet spinning to the infield grass, forcing the next-to-last caution period on the 250th of 267 laps in the Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart.

Johnson returned to the race without substantial damage but had just an 18th-place to show for his first race back. That teed up a teed-off Johnson for a post-race Twitter barb.

Keselowski, the Stage 2 winner, trudged on to a ninth-place result in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford. Over his team radio communications, Keselowski took exception to Johnson’s blocking maneuver in his attempt to hold third place on the inside groove.

“Ridiculous,” Keselowski said after the yellow flag flew. “He run me off the race track. I don’t run people off the race track.”

Keselowski expanded on his move to the inside of Johnson post-race, saying he had a head of steam when the lane — led by teammate Ryan Blaney with Johnson behind him — bogged down.

“I was turning down toward the grass,” Keselowski said. “I might have had a foot or two, but I couldn’t go much lower, and I don’t know if he was trying to turn down to block me or if he was trying to turn down to get underneath Blaney, but he turned down and I was too far forward. There was kind of unavoidable contact at that time. I don’t know. I hate that it ruined his day. I don’t really necessarily know what to do different. If I stayed in line and just pushed him, I was gonna get gobbled like I did on the last restart, so just part of the mayhem with these restarts.

“I hate that we had control of the race and just didn’t have enough speed to keep it because I feel like we could have brought this race home. We had a really good car on restarts, but we just didn’t have the speed to keep the lead and fell back to third there and got ate up on the restart. That part is kind of a bummer, but it was just restart mayhem.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick had top-five finishes, a chance to win, and a post-race patch-up to show for their Sunday afternoon at Kentucky Speedway. Each led laps, but contact between the two, plus further jostling with Ryan Blaney in a two-lap dash to the end opened the door for rookie Cole Custer to blast by all three for his first NASCAR Cup Series win.

Truex led 57 laps — all in the final stage — and settled for second place behind the 22-year-old speedster from California. Harvick slipped to a fourth-place result and Blaney faded to sixth in a frantic four-wide shuffle to end the Quaker State 400. But Truex’s nudge of Harvick half a lap before the white flag proved fateful; the incidental contact slowed both veteran drivers, allowing Custer to rise from sixth place on the final restart to contend for first by the checkers.

RELATED: Official race results | At-track photos

Harvick’s troubles were compounded when Blaney’s Team Penske No. 12 Ford drifted up into his Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford after bounding over the track’s frontstretch drain at the white flag. That bottled up all three contenders and left Harvick’s ride smoking for most of the last lap, unraveling a bid for his third win in the last four Cup Series races.

“I had a couple good restarts there and got the car better, but still just not where we needed to be — but the restarts worked out in our favor and we were able to get the lead and Martin just misjudged there on the backstretch and got me sideways,” Harvick said. “I got out of the gas and that just brought everybody into the picture and then we were four-wide on the front straightaway here and the 12 (Blaney) hit the drain and came up and hit the side of the car and then I couldn’t see, so, yeah, it got wild and that’s what you’re supposed to do.

“I’m just really happy for Cole Custer and everybody on the No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Mustang. That’s pretty cool to get your first win. As much as I would have loved to win, I’m glad that we kept it in the company.”

MORE: Watch four-wide frenzy in the final laps

Truex’s attempt to regain momentum and catch Custer on the final lap came up .271 seconds short at the finish, but cinched his first top-five result since his victory June 10 at Martinsville Speedway. Truex said he promptly apologized to Harvick post-race, taking ownership of his mistimed effort to get his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota back in line behind him on the next-to-last lap.

“I think it’s always important to get it out of the way quickly,” Truex said. “I know Kevin well. We’ve raced together a long time. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him. Like I said, typically we don’t have any issues. I just misjudged getting in behind him. I felt bad about that.

“I think I probably took away his chance to win the race. I just wanted him and Rodney (Childers, crew chief) and his guys to know, hey, it’s on me, my bad. Can’t go back and change it now. Definitely was sorry that I did it.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

NASCAR Cup Series rookie Cole Custer pulled off a daring four-wide pass for the lead on the final lap to earn the victory in Sunday’s Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart at Kentucky Speedway — the first rookie to win in NASCAR’s premier series in four years.

SHOP: Cole Custer gear

Custer, who restarted fifth on a restart with two laps to go, made his way forward — daring to go high on track to the outside of a three-wide challenge for the lead among Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney and Kevin Harvick. The 22-year-old Custer held the high line and was able to get around the three veterans — ultimately holding off the 2017 series champion Truex — a two-time Kentucky winner — by a mere .271 seconds to earn the victory.

The Californian’s five laps led Sunday (four early in the race and then the final lap) were the first laps Custer had ever led in the NASCAR Cup Series.

RELATED: Official race results | Stage recaps

Matt DiBenedetto, Harvick and 2019 Kentucky winner Kurt Busch finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Blaney, rookie Christopher Bell, Aric Almirola, Brad Keselowski and rookie Tyler Reddick rounded out the top 10. It’s the first time in NASCAR history three rookies have finished in the top 10 in a race.

“We were so good all day, our car was so good,” a beaming Custer said after climbing out of his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford on the frontstretch. “Obviously it wasn’t the easiest track to pass on so we were kind of stuck back there, but that was the best car I’ve ever driven in my life.”

It was certainly a dramatic conclusion to a race that featured a dominant Almirola early on. He led a race-high 128 of the 267 laps — the most laps led in a race ever for the driver of the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.

Almirola won the opening stage, ahead of Chase Elliott and Joey Logano. Keselowski won the second stage over Blaney and Custer. Caution flags were frequent in the closing laps, and the pace of the race became a lot more intense.

Truex, who started last in the 38-car field after an issue in pre-race inspection, made his bold move forward in the final 100 laps. He took the lead for the first time with 86 laps remaining, and his 57 laps out front were second only to Almirola as kept the field honest in the closing stage.

Four cautions in the final 37 laps, however, created drama on each restart with Blaney, Truex and Harvick contending for the lead. That’s exactly when Custer made his four-wide move at the end to earn the biggest win of his young life.

Even more impressive is these first-year NASCAR Cup Series drivers were able to excel with no practice or qualifying sessions — all precautions NASCAR has instituted since retuning to competition after the COVID-19 break in action.

“It’s not easy,” Custer said. “You’ve got to kind of adapt as much as you can. I think we’ve gotten better and better at that. It’s just unbelievable. I didn’t think we were coming here and going to win. And now we’re gonna be in the All-Star Race.

“It’s unbelievable. We had a great car all day, one of the best cars I’ve ever driven in my life. It was hard to get to the front. Once we got there, we took advantage of it and I just can’t thank everybody at the shop.”

Although obviously disappointed not to win, Custer’s SHR teammate, Harvick, was quick to praise his young teammate.

“We were in position to win, you know,” Harvick said. “Made it through Turns 1 and 2, Martin just misjudged on the backstretch and got into us and I had to check up. Next thing I know we were four-wide on the front straightaway and then the 12 (Blaney) hit the drain and went back up race track.

“Just congratulations to Cole Custer. Last week he was a big part of our win (at Indianapolis Motor Speedway). To get to Victory Lane in your rookie year is a big deal. I’m really happy for Gene (Haas) and everyone at (Haas Automation) and especially for Cole. He works really hard.”

The NASCAR Cup Series’ next event is the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race, scheduled Wednesday (8:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM). The NASCAR All-Star Open qualifier is set earlier Wednesday (7 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) to round out the invitational field. The next points-paying race for the Cup Series is scheduled next Sunday (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM) at Texas Motor Speedway.

Note: Cole Custer’s No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford passed NASCAR’s post-race inspection at Kentucky Speedway.

Posted on 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, July 13
Midnight, NASCAR Cup Series: Quaker State 400 (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
5:30 p.m., 100,000 Cameras: The Return of NASCAR (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
7 p.m., One Hot Night: The NASCAR 1992 All-Star Race (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
8 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Quaker State 400 (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App

Tuesday, July 14
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
9 p.m., Dale Jr. Download: Mark Martin (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App

Wednesday, July 15
Midnight, Glory Road: The Inaugural Brickyard (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
12:30 a.m., Glory Road: NASCAR’s Lost Tracks (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Classic: The 1993 Daytona 500 (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: All-Star Open, FS1/FOX Sports App
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: All-Star Race, FS1/FOX Sports App
10:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: All-Star Race (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App

On MRN
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: All-Star Race

Thursday, July 16
3 a.m., 100,000 Cameras: The Return of NASCAR (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
3:30 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: All-Star Race (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
3 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: All-Star Open (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
4 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: All-Star Race (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
7 p.m., One Hot Night: The NASCAR 1992 All-Star Race (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
11 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: All-Star Open (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App

Friday, July 17
Midnight, NASCAR Cup Series: All-Star Race (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App
10 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App

Saturday, July 18
7:30 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: All-Star Open (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
8:30 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: All-Star Race (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
2:30 p.m., Countdown to Green: NASCAR Xfinity Series at Texas Motor Speedway, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: My Bariatric Solutions 300, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Classic: The 1997 Daytona 500 (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Day: NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series at Texas Motor Speedway, FS1/FOX Sports App
8 p.m., NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: Vankor 350, FS1/FOX Sports App

On PRN
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: My Bariatric Solutions 300

On MRN
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: Vankor 350

Sunday, July 19
2:30 a.m., NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: Vankor 350 (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App
7 a.m., Refuse to Lose: Jeff Gordon and the 1997 Daytona 500 (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
8 a.m., NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: Vankor 350 (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
10 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
2 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
2:30 p.m., Countdown to Green: NASCAR Cup Series at Texas Motor Speedway, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: O’Reilly Auto Parts 500, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Post-Race Show, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On PRN
2 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: O’Reilly Auto Parts 500

Posted on by Staff Report

Thanks to some fortuitous timing and his pit stall location, Brad Keselowski won Stage 2 in the Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart. The stage win was Keselowski’s fourth of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Keselowski had just come to pit road and pitted as a caution came out at Lap 154 for a spin by Matt Kenseth in Turn 4. NASCAR determined that at the time of the caution Keselowski was the leader and he held on during a one-lap shootout to top his Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney for the stage win.

RELATED: Stage 2 results

Rookie Cole Custer finished third, while Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. completed the top five.

Stage 1 winner Aric Almirola led until 23 laps to go in the stage and finished outside the top 10 after getting shuffled back on the restart with one lap to go in the stage.

Finish Driver Team Points
1 Brad Keselowski Team Penske 10
2 Ryan Blaney Team Penske 9
3 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing 8
4 Joey Logano Team Penske 7
5 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing 6
6 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports 5
7 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing 4
8 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports 3
9 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing 2
10 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing 1


Almirola takes Stage 1 win at Kentucky 

Aric Almirola won Stage 1 in the Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart after leading the final 71 laps of the stage. The stage win was his second of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. The driver of the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford took command at Lap 9 and never looked back. He entered this race with five straight top-five finishes.

Chase Elliott took second in the stage, while a trio of Fords — Joey Logano, Matt DiBenedetto and Ryan Blaney — rounded out the top five.

RELATED: Stage 1 results

After starting in the back due to failing pre-race inspection twice, Martin Truex Jr. drove up to 10th and earned a stage point. Pole sitter Kyle Busch led the first nine laps but did not earn a stage point after finishing Stage 1 in 13th.

Finish Driver Team Points
1 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing 10
2 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports 9
3 Joey Logano Team Penske 8
4 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing 7
5 Ryan Blaney Team Penske 6
6 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing 5
7 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports 4
8 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing 3
9 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing 2
10 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing 1
Posted on by Staff Report

Germain Racing driver Ty Dillon announced Sunday afternoon before the NASCAR Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway that he and wife Haley are expecting their second child, a boy, in November.

Kapton will be the Dillons’ second child after welcoming daughter Oakley Ray Dillon on Nov. 22, 2017.

Dillon’s brother and fellow Cup driver, Austin, driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, welcomed his son, Ace, last month.

RELATED: Austin Dillon, wife Whitney welcome first son  | Dads in the Cup Series

Posted on by Staff Report

Two cars will drop to the rear at the start of Sunday’s Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart (2:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Martin Truex Jr. and the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet of Matt Kenseth will fall back after failing pre-race inspection twice at Kentucky on Sunday morning.

RELATED: Kentucky starting lineup | Key story lines to watch

Both Truex and Kenseth have won before at Kentucky — Truex is a two-time winner (2017, 2018) and Kenseth won the last daytime race at the 1.5-mile track in 2013. Kenseth is coming off his best finish of the season at Indianapolis, where he was the runner up. The opposite is true for Truex, who had his worst finish of the season last Sunday with a 38th-place finish at the Brickyard.

Truex was slated to start ninth, while Kenseth was going to roll off the grid 17th for Sunday’s Quaker State 400. The lineup was drawn in tiers based on the owner points standings.