See where your favorite driver will pit for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Memorial Day weekend marks a very special time in the NASCAR community, especially with the annual running of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
In honor of Memorial Day, NASCAR Cup Series drivers and accompanying on-track vehicles in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM) will carry the name of a fallen military member on their cars.
Read more about the heroes who gave their lives defending the United States of America.
StarCom Racing No. 00: Nicholas G. Xiarhos
Rank: Corporal
Military Branch: Marine Corps
Base Name: Camp Lejune, North Carolina
Unit Name: 2nd Battalion 8th Marine Regiment “America’s Battalion”
DOB: 2/12/88
DOD: 7/23/09
Hometown: Yarmouth, Massachusetts
Location of Death: The Garmsir District of Helmand Province in Southern Afghanistan
Chip Ganassi Racing No. 1: Philip Lee Grieser
Rank: CE2
Military Branch: United States Navy
Base Name: Not listed
Unit Name: The Seabrees
DOB: 1/17/1946
DOD: 5/18/1969
Hometown: St. Paris, Ohio
Location of Death: Long Khanh
Team Penske No. 2: Michael Donovan Reep
Rank: SSGT
Military Branch: United States Air Force
Base Name: Cannon Air Force Base
Unit Name: 27th SOCES (Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron)
DOB: 05/22/1992
DOD: 08/08/2015
Hometown: Not listed
Location of Death: Columbia, South Carolina
Richard Childress Racing No. 3: Eric Shellenberger
Rank: Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL)
Military Branch: Navy SEAL
Base Name: NAB Coronado and Naval Station Pearl Harbor
Unit Name: SEAL Team One and SEAL Delivery Team One
DOB: 11/19/1972
DOD: 5/7/2009
Hometown: Tampa, Florida
Location of Death: Bremerton, Washington
Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4: Kristofferson B. Lorenzo
Rank: Army Staff SGT
Military Branch: United States Army
Base Name: Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
Unit Name: 2-27, Wolfhounds
DOB: 11/8/1977
DOD: 5/23/2011
Hometown: Chula Vista, California
Location of Death: Forward Operating Base Bostick, Kunar Province, Afghanistan
Roush Fenway Racing No. 6: Nathan Bruckenthal
Rank: Damage Controlman Third Class/E-4
Military Branch: United States Coast Guard
Base Name: Tactical Law Enforcement Detachment South, Miami, FL
Unit Name: Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment 403
DOB: 7/17/1979
DOD: 4/24/2004
Hometown: Stony Brook, New York
Location of Death: Al Basra Oil Terminal, Iraq
Tommy Baldwin Racing No. 7: Charles H. Keating IV
Rank: Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL)
Military Branch: United States Navy
Base Name:NAB Coronado, CA
Unit Name:SEAL Team 1
DOB: 2/26/1985
DOD: 5/3/2016
Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona
Location of Death: Arbil, Iraq
Richard Childress Racing No. 8: Norman L. Tollett
Rank: Sergeant (SGT)
Military Branch: United States Army
Base Name: Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Unit Name: 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division
DOB: 5/6/1976
DOD: 4/28/2007
Hometown: Elyria, Ohio
Location of Death: Baghdad, Iraq
Hendrick Motorsports No. 9: Stephen Matthew Mills
Rank: Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer
Military Branch: United States Navy SEAL
Base Name: Dam Neck
Unit Name: SEAL Team 6
DOB: 10/25/1975
DOD: 08/06/2011
Hometown: Arlington, Texas
Location of Death: Kabul, Afghanistan
Stewart-Haas Racing No. 10: William S. Blevins
Rank: Army SPC
Military Branch: United States Army
Base Name: Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
Unit Name: 2-27, Wolfhounds
DOB: 12/22/1989
DOD: 5/23/2011
Hometown: Sardina, Ohio
Location of Death: Forward Operating Base Bostick, Kunar Province, Afghanistan
Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11: Russell Bell
Rank: First Sergeant
Military Branch: United States Army
Base Name: Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Unit Name: 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division
DOB: 1/20/1975
DOD: 8/12/2012
Hometown: Tyler, Texas
Location of Death: Afghanistan
Team Penske No. 12: Donald R. Cioffi
Rank: Lieutenant
Military Branch: United States Navy
Base Name: Cecil Field, Jacksonville, Florida
Unit Name: Squadron VS-24, USS Stennis
DOB: 12/28/1966
DOD: 3/1/1996
Hometown: Freehold, New Jersey
Location of Death: Atlantic Ocean
Germain Racing No. 13: Richard C. Emmons III
Military Branch: United States Army
Base Name: Not included
Unit Name: 4/10 MTN DIV, 2-30 INF BN
DOB: 7/8/1988
DOD: 5/31/2011
Hometown: North Granby, Connecticut
Location of Death: Logar Province, Afghanistan
Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Andrew M. Krippner
Rank: Army PFC
Military Branch: United States Army
Base Name: Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
Unit Name: 2-27, Wolfhounds
DOB: 4/22/1991
DOD: 5/23/2011
Hometown: Garland, Texas
Location of Death: Forward Operating Base Bostick, Kunar Province, Afghanistan
Premium Motorsports No. 15 Nathan Ross Chapman
Rank: SFC
Military Branch: United States Army
Base Name: Joint Base Lewis-McChord
Unit Name: 1st Special Forces Group
DOB: 4/23/1970
DOD: 1/4/2002
Hometown: San Antonio, Texas
Location of Death: Afghanistan
Roush Fenway Racing No. 17: Anthony D. Kinslow
Rank: Specialist
Military Branch: United States Army
Base Name: Fort Carson, Colorado
Unit Name: 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division
DOB: Not listed
DOD: 6/13/2005
Hometown: Westerville, Ohio
Location of Death: Ramadi, Iraq
Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18: Jonathan Richard Clement
Rank: Naval Aircrewman (Helicopter) 1st Class
Military Branch: United States Navy
Base Name: Naval Air Station North Island
Unit Name: HSC-85 (Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron)
DOB: 6/10/1987
DOD: 7/31/2018
Hometown: Vero Beach, Florida
Location of Death: San Diego, California
Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19: John A. Chapman
Rank: Technical Sergeant
Military Branch: United States Air Force
Base Name: Pope Field, North Carolina
Unit Name: 24th Special Tactics Squadron
DOB: 7/14/1965
DOD: 3/4/2002
Hometown: Windsor Locks, Connecticut
Location of Death: Afghanistan
Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20: Leslie D. Jackson
Rank: Private First Class
Military Branch: United States Army
Base Name: Fort Hood, Texas
Unit Name: A Company, 115th Forward Support Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division
DOB: 10/28/1985
DOD: 5/20/2004
Hometown: Richmond, Virginia
Location of Death: Iraq
Wood Brothers Racing No. 21: Lucas Gruenther
Rank: Major
Military Branch: United States Air Force
Base Name: Aviano Air Base
Unit Name: 31st Fighter Wing
DOB: 12/29/1980
DOD: 1/28/2013
Hometown: Twain Harte, California
Location of Death: Adriatic Sea
Team Penske No. 22: Jason Omar Bradley Hickman
Rank: E-7
Military Branch: United States Army
Base Name: Fort Richardson, Alaska
Unit Name: 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division
DOB: 2/5/1974
DOD: 1/7/2010
Hometown: Kingsport, Texas
Location of Death: Afghanistan
Hendrick Motorsports No. 24: Robert J. Billings
Rank: Sergeant (SGT)
Military Branch: United States Army
Base Name: Lewis-McChord, Washington
Unit Name: 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division
DOB: 4/22/1982
DOD: 10/13/2012
Location of Death: Spin Boldak, Afghanistan
Rick Ware Racing No. 27: Adam G. Herold
Rank: Specialist
Military Branch: Not listed
Base Name: Fort Richardson, Arkansas
Unit Name: 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division
DOB: 5/5/1984
DOD: 6/10/2007
Hometown: Omaha, Nebraska
Location of Death: Lutifiyah, Iraq
Go Fas Racing No. 32: Brandon S Mullins
Rank: Specialist
Military Branch: United States Army
Base Name: Fort Wainwright
Unit Name: 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division
DOB: 1/24/90
DOD: 8/25/11
Hometown: Owensboro, Kentucky
Location of Death: Kandahar Province
Front Row Motorsports No. 34: John Jarrell
Rank: Sergeant First Class (SFC)
Military Branch: United States Army
Base Name: Fort Campbell, Kentucky
Unit Name: 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)
DOB: 12/24/1977
DOD: 7/15/2019
Hometown: Brunson, South Carolina
Location of Death: Afghanistan
JTG-Daugherty Racing No. 37: Kyle R. Schneider
Rank: Corporal
Military Branch: United States Marine Corps
Base Name: Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
Unit Name: 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force
DOB: 1/8/1988
DOD: 6/30/2011
Hometown: Phoenix, New York
Location of Death: Helmand Province, Afghanistan
Front Row Motorsports No. 38: Nicholas Ray Carnes
Rank: SSG
Military Branch: US Army, KY National Guard
Base Name: Carollton Armory
Unit Name: 138th Fires BDE, B Battery
DOB: 02/01/1982
DOD: 08/26/2007
Hometown: Dayton, Kentucky
Location of Death: Ghazni Province, Afghanistan
Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41: Dillon Baldridge
Rank: Sergeant
Military Branch: United States Army
Base Name: Ft. Campbell, Kentucky
Unit Name: 1-187 Rakassans, 101st Airborne Division
DOB: 7/18/1994
DOD: 6/10/2017
Hometown: Youngsville, North Carolina
Location of Death: Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan
Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42: Rachel K. Bosveld
Rank: Private First Class
Military Branch: United States Army
Base Name: Giesen, Germany
Unit Name: 527th Military Police Company, V Corps
DOB: 11/7/1983
DOD: 10/26/2003
Hometown: Waupun, Wisconsin
Location of Death: Iraq
Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43: Lawrence Dickinson
Rank: Captain- O-3
Military Branch: Army Air Corp-Tuskegee Airman
Base Name: 332nd Fighter Group
Unit Name: 100th Fighter Squadron
DOB: 5/31/1920
DOD: 12/23/1944
Hometown: Bronx, New York
Location of Death: Austria
JTG-Daugherty Racing No. 47: Barrett L. Austin
Rank: Private First Class
Military Branch: United States Army
Base Name: Fort Stewart, Georgia
Unit Name: 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division
DOB: 11/10/92
DOD: 4/21/13
Hometown: Easley, South Carolina
Location of Death: Landstuhl, Landkreis Kaiserslautern, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
Hendrick Motorsports No. 48: Patrick D Deans
Rank: CPL
Military Branch: United States Army
Base Name: Fort Campbell, Kentucky
Unit Name: 101st Airborne
DOB: 12/4/87
DOD: 12/12/10
Hometown: Orlando, Florida
Location of Death: Diwar, Afghanistan
Rick Ware Racing No. 51: Darius T. Jennings
Rank: Specialist
Military Branch: Not listed
Base Name: Fort Carson, Colorado
Unit Name: 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment
DOB: 11/13/1980
DOD: 11/2/2003
Hometown: Orangeburg, South Carolina
Location of Death: Fallujah, Iraq
Rick Ware Racing No. 53: Paul J. Johnson
Rank: Staff Sergeant
Military Branch: Not listed
Base Name: Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Unit Name: 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division
DOB: 11/4/1973
DOD: 10/20/2003
Hometown: Not listed
Location of Death: Fallujah, Iraq
MBM Motorsports No. 66: James Johnston
Rank: SGT
Military Branch: United States Army Special Forces
Base Name: Fort Hood
Unit Name: 79th Ordinance Battalion, 71st Ordnake Group, 48th Chemical Brigade
DOB: 9/16/1994
DOD: 6/25/2019
Hometown: Trumansburg, New York
Location of Death: Afghanistan
Spire Motorsports No. 77: Christopher Rodgers
Rank: Lance Corporal
Military Branch: United States Marine Corps
Base Name: Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
Unit Name: 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force
DOB: 5/4/1990
DOD: 9/1/2010
Hometown: Griffin, Georgia
Location of Death: Afghanistan
B.J. McLeod Motorsports No. 78: James S. Ochsner
Rank: Sergeant 1st Class
Unit Name: 2nd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne)
Base Name: Fort Bragg, North Carolina
DOB: 5/8/69
DOD: 11/15/05
Hendrick Motorsports No. 88: Scott W. Brunkhorst
Rank: Staff Sergeant
Military Branch: United States Army
Base Name: Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Unit Name: 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division
DOB: 11/24/1984
DOD: 3/30/2010
Hometown: Fayetteville, North Carolina
Location of Death: Afghanistan
Leavine Family Racing No. 95: Jerry L Ganey Jr.
Rank: Sergeant
Military Branch: United States Army, GA National Guard
Base Name: Statesboro, Georgia
Unit Name: 648th Engineer Battalion, 48th Infantry Brigade
DOB: 11/11/1975
DOD: 8/3/2005
Hometown: Folkston, Georgia
Location of Death: Iraq
Gaunt Brothers Racing No. 96: Ronald David Rennison
Rank: Specialist
Military Branch: United States Army
Base Name: Dhahran
Unit Name: 475th Quartermaster
DOB: 7/3/69
DOD: 2/25/91
Hometown: Dubuque, Iowa
Location of Death: Saudi Arabia
NASCAR Finish Line, a free-to-play gaming app from Penn National Gaming, is back with the resumption of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. Each week, there will be six groups of five drivers for the upcoming race. Users will predict which driver will finish first among each of the six groups and then the overall race winner and second-place finisher for a chance to win $25,000 if all eight scenarios are correctly selected.
RELATED: Download NASCAR Finish Line
The first of six groups for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway (6 p.m. ET on FOX/FOX Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) consists of four past NASCAR Cup Series champions — Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson — and the reigning Cup champion in Kyle Busch. Each of these drivers has won at the 1.5-mile layout. The Coca-Cola 600 is the longest race by mileage on the circuit each year.
The group remains the same for Thursday’s 208-lap race at Charlotte (7 p.m. ET on FS1/FOX Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) except Chase Elliott takes Johnson’s spot. Elliott has yet to win at Charlotte on the track’s oval layout.
RELATED: Stage lengths for NASCAR’s first races back
For a stats look, NASCAR.com has compiled the average finish of the last two races on the Charlotte oval layout, this year’s results at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (the lone 1.5-mile track run), the average finish from the two races just held at Darlington Raceway and the drivers’ overall average finish for their career on the Charlotte oval to see who is the best play to make in Group 1. We have included all Group 1 drivers (for both races) to help you prepare for the events.
A points system has been assigned to each year, starting with one point for the best finisher and counting up to six points for the worst finisher. Those numbers were then added up. The lowest total signifies the strongest driver (green), and the highest total represents the weakest driver (red) — in recent years.
| Driver | Last 2 Charlotte races‘1 | Career Charlotte avg. finish |
2020 Las Vegas |
Both 2020 Darlington races |
Total |
| Kyle Busch | Avg. finish: 2.0 (2) | Avg. finish: 14.6 (4) | Finished 15th (4) | Avg. finish: 14.0 (4) | 14 |
| Chase Elliott* | Avg. finish: 7.5 (4) | Avg. finish: 16.3 (6) | Finished 26th (6) | Avg. finish: 21.0 (5) | 21 |
| Kevin Harvick | Avg. finish: 25.0 (6) | Avg. finish: 15.4 (5) | Finished 8th (3) | Avg. finish: 2.0 (1) | 15 |
| Jimmie Johnson* | Avg. finish: 6.5 (3) | Avg. finish: 12.2 (1) | Finished 5th (2) | Avg. finish: 23.0 (6) | 12 |
| Joey Logano | Avg. finish: 12.0 (5) | Avg. finish: 12.5 (2) | Finished 1st (1) | Avg. finish: 12.0 (3) | 11 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | Avg. finish: 1.5 (1) | Avg. finish: 14.1 (3) | Finished 20th (5) | Avg. finish: 8.0 (2) | 11 |
* Means Elliott is in Group 1 for Thursday’s race only; Johnson is in Group 1 for Sunday’s race only.
The data indicates Logano and Truex are the ones to be eying in Group 1, which is interesting in that Busch and Harvick are sure to be the popular picks in the group. If you value recent Charlotte history in combination with the recent Darlington results, Truex is the choice to make. If you want to just zero in on the results from the lone 1.5-mile race to date, Logano is the pick.
Brett Moffitt finished 11th in the Toyota 200 at Darlington Raceway on Thursday.
Moffitt did not add to his season point total as he declares points for the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.
Moffitt started in 22nd position. The fourth-year driver has one top-10 finish in his career.
Thursday was Moffitt’s first career start at Darlington Raceway.
The Grimes, Iowa native began the race eight spots behind his career mark of 14.5, but finished two places ahead of his career average of 12.8.
Moffitt’s 11th-place finish came against a field of 39 drivers. The race endured five cautions and 28 caution laps. There were 11 lead changes.
Chase Briscoe brought home the win in the race, and Kyle Busch followed in second. Justin Allgaier crossed the finish line third, Austin Cindric took fourth, and Noah Gragson rounded out the top five.
After Gragson won the first stage, Busch drove the No. 54 car to victory in Stage 2.
Harrison Burton finished ninth in the Toyota 200 at Darlington Raceway on Thursday.
The top 10 finish for Burton, his fifth of the year, added 28 points to his season total.
Burton started in 12th position. The second-year driver has one career victory, with five top-five finishes and nine results inside the top 10.
Thursday was Burton’s career start at Darlington Raceway.
The Huntersville, North Carolina native began the race five spots behind his career mark of 7.4, but finished one place ahead of his career average of 9.6.
Burton took on a field of 39 drivers on the way to his ninth-place finish. The race endured five cautions and 28 caution laps. There were 11 lead changes.
Chase Briscoe took the checkered flag in the race, and Kyle Busch followed in second. Justin Allgaier placed third, Austin Cindric took fourth, and Noah Gragson rounded out the top five.
After Gragson won the first stage, Busch drove the No. 54 car to victory in Stage 2.
Daniel Hemric finished sixth in the Toyota 200 at Darlington Raceway on Thursday.
The top 10 finish for Hemric, his second of the year, added 40 points to his season total.
Hemric started in 23rd position. The third-year driver has picked up 23 top-five and 40 top-10 finishes in his career.
Thursday was Hemric’s second career start at Darlington Raceway. Though he’s completed two of those races, he has never managed to crack the top 10 at the track.
The Kannapolis, North Carolina native began the race 14 spots behind his career mark of 9.4, but finished nine places ahead of his career average of 15.4.
Hemric took on a field of 39 drivers on the way to his sixth-place finish. The race endured five cautions and 28 caution laps. There were 11 lead changes.
Chase Briscoe took the checkered flag in the race, and Kyle Busch followed in second. Justin Allgaier placed third, Austin Cindric took fourth, and Noah Gragson grabbed the No. 5 spot.
After Gragson won the first stage, Busch drove the No. 54 car to victory in Stage 2.
Austin Cindric finished fourth in the Toyota 200 at Darlington Raceway on Thursday.
Cindric’s top five finish, the third time he has achieved that result this year, added 42 points to his season total.
Cindric started in seventh position. The fourth-year driver has secured two career victories, with 23 top-five finishes and 40 results inside the top 10.
The fourth-place result on Thursday was the first time Cindric has cracked the top 10 at Darlington Raceway.
The Mooresville, North Carolina native began the race one spot behind his career mark of 6.1, but finished nine places ahead of his career average of 12.8.
Cindric battled against a field of 39 drivers on the way to his fourth-place finish. The race endured five cautions and 28 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were 11 lead changes.
Chase Briscoe secured the win in the race, followed by Kyle Busch in second place and Justin Allgaier in third. Cindric took fourth in front of Noah Gragson’s finish to secure fifth.
After Noah Gragson won the first stage, Busch drove the No. 54 car to victory in Stage 2.
Justin Allgaier finished third in the Toyota 200 at Darlington Raceway on Thursday.
Allgaier’s top five finish, the first time he has achieved that result this year, added 48 points to his season total.
Allgaier started in 10th position and led nine laps in the race, holding the lead a total of three times. The 11th-year driver has collected 11 career victories, with 85 top-five finishes and 177 results inside the top 10.
The third place result for Allgaier marks the second time he has finished in the top five at Darlington Raceway and his sixth top 10.
The Riverton, Illinois native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting one spot higher than his career mark of 11.3 and completing the race 10 places ahead of his 13.1 career average finish.
Allgaier’s third-place finish came against a field of 39 drivers. The race endured five cautions and 28 caution laps. There were 11 lead changes.
Chase Briscoe secured the win in the race, followed by Kyle Busch in the No. 2 spot. Behind Allgaier’s third-place finish, Austin Cindric brought home fourth, and Noah Gragson finished off the top five.
After Gragson won the first stage, Busch drove the No. 54 car to victory in Stage 2.
Justin Allgaier Driver Page | Get Allgaier Gear | Race Center
From Kyle Busch’s perspective, it appears the heated riff between he and Chase Elliott following Wednesday night’s incident at Darlington Raceway has cooled.
Busch turned the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with 28 laps remaining in the Toyota 500. Elliott was running second in the closing laps of the race when he received a heavy tap from Busch’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, sending Elliott nose-first into the inside frontstretch wall heading into Turn 1.
RELATED: Kyle Busch wrecks Chase Elliott | Busch: ‘I made a mistake’
Following a second-place finish in Thursday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Toyota 200 at the 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval, Busch said he had the opportunity to talk with Elliott.
“Yes, Chase and I talked and it went really well,” Busch said during the Xfinity Series post-race virtual media center availability. “He’s a class act, we’ve all seen that. The conversation overall was good.”
RELATED: Alan Gustafson: ‘You get tired of getting run over like that’
Elliott was unable to continue on in Wednesday night’s race, giving Busch a one-fingered gesture after exiting his race car. The race was declared official after inclement weather cut the race short with 22 laps remaining. Elliott finished 38th, while Busch earned a second-place result.
Busch took blame for the incident in his interview on FS1 following the race, while also taking to Twitter to apologize once more for taking Elliott out prematurely.
With the beating and the banging in the final 10 laps that probably had the fans at home on their feet, an emotional Chase Briscoe battled Kyle Busch to the line to capture the win in the Toyota 200 at Darlington Raceway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ first race back since the COVID-19 pandemic brought sports to a halt.
The win was made all the more poignant for Briscoe by the personal emotions of the week, as he and his wife, Marissa, had shared on Wednesday they had learned the day before they lost the baby they were expecting to welcome late in the year.
RELATED: Official results | Briscoe’s emotional reaction
“This is for my wife. This has been the hardest week I’ve ever had to deal with,” Briscoe said shortly after climbing out of the car with tears running down his face. “When I took the lead, I was crying in my car. This is more than a race win. This is the biggest win of my life after the toughest day of my life. To be able to beat the best there is, is so satisfying.”
For Briscoe, it was also the second win of the season after he took the victory earlier this year at Las Vegas. He is the lone multi-race Xfinity Series winner thus far in 2020.
It was the first race for the Xfinity Series since the checkered flag flew in Phoenix, Arizona, on March 7, as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the sporting world a few days after. And the race was further delayed by weather this week — initially the event was set for Tuesday evening but was rained out and pushed out two days, and then as continued precipitation fell it bumped a Thursday noon start by four and a half hours.
Like the NASCAR Cup Series races earlier in the week, the Xfinity Series raced at Darlington without the benefit of any practice or qualifying to feel out the track. And also like the two earlier events, there were no fans in the stands and all participants followed strict social distancing protocols at the track.
Noah Gragson, who started the race on pole by virtue of points, finally led the field to green shortly after 4:30 p.m. ET and held that position through the completion of the opening stage. But during pit stops, reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch took the lead and maintained it through the second stage.
But it was drama on pit road during the stops after Stage 2 that helped to set up the thrilling finish, as Busch was caught speeding on pit road and was relegated from the lead to the tail end of the field for the restart.
The threat of rain created an urgency in the field that saw three-wide racing and plenty of famous “Darlington stripes” being applied to the right side of the cars as a result.
With 20 to go, Briscoe and JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier were bouncing off the wall in a tussle for the lead, while at the same time Allgaier’s teammate Michael Annett made a leap from fifth to third — but the advantage was short-lived as his car spun out four laps later to bring out the final caution.
Busch had worked his way up to fifth at the time of the caution, and exited the pits in third which set up a restart with nine to go that put Briscoe and Allgaier on the front row, with Busch and Austin Cindric right behind them. Briscoe took the advantageous outside position on the restart and used that to gain a quick lead while Allgaier and Busch fought for second.
Briscoe gained a half-second lead on the all-time Xfinity Series wins leader Busch while he was working on passing Allgaier, but with three to go, Busch changed his line and dropped low to pick up ground on the leader.
With the two using all of the race track, they swapped the lead in the final lap as Briscoe bounded off the wall coming to the white flag and Busch jumped on the advantage. But Briscoe came right back, passing Busch and ultimately holding him off in a clash to the finish line.
And holding off Busch at the line meant everything to Briscoe.
“This is the number one win. Honestly, winning the Daytona 500 couldn’t even top the feeling of just, like I was saying earlier, the ups and downs. This is what my family needed and what my wife needed.”
The NASCAR Xfinity Series next races under the lights at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Alsco 300 on Monday, May 25, at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.