Posted on by Staff Report

Thursday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway is on hold because of lightning and rain in the area.

RELATED: Leaderboard

The race was already under a red flag because of a lightning strike in the vicinity of the 1.5-mile track, but a rain shower and a severe thunderstorm warning for the area further delayed the event.

Joey Logano was shown as the leader with 30 of the scheduled 208 laps complete. Three yellow flags — one for a competition caution and two for incidents — slowed the early going.

The race was also postponed from a scheduled Wednesday night start because of inclement weather from Tropical Depression Bertha.

This story will be updated.

Posted on by Staff Report

The No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford of Aric Almirola will drop to the rear because of unapproved adjustments before Thursday night’s Alsco Uniforms 500 (7 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Almirola was slated to start sixth in the race.

RELATED: Starting lineup | Charlotte schedule

Two other cars — the No. 7 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet and the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet will also start at the rear for driver changes. JJ Yeley was going to start 21st in the No. 77, which was driven by Ross Chastain on Sunday night in the Coca-Cola 600. Josh Bilicki was going to start 37th in the No. 7, which was driven by Yeley.

Of note, Sunday’s race winner, Brad Keselowski came from the back to win the Coca-Cola 600. However, this race is only 208 laps as opposed to the 400 laps of Sunday’s show.

Posted on by Alex Weaver

The 2000 Coca-Cola 600 was a Memorial Day weekend that Matt Kenseth will never forget. It was a rookie battle between Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the longest race of the season, which was made even longer due to rain.

RELATED: 2000 Coca-Cola 600 results | Matt Kenseth driver page and stats

Earnhardt Jr. looked like the car to beat. He started from the pole and led six different times. But after dominating most of the race, his crew made a poor adjustment on the final pit stop and he couldn’t challenge Kenseth for the victory.

Kenseth, who started 21st, came back from deeper in the field than any other previous winner at the time. He used two quick pit stops to put himself into contention for the win and passed leader Bobby Labonte on Lap 375.

After taking the checkered flag, Kenseth circled back around the track and cut doughnuts in the grass on the Coca-Cola logo.

Kenseth is back racing in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2020– this time with Chip Ganassi Racing in the No. 42 Chevrolet. Relive his first career NASCAR Cup Series win in this Classic NASCAR Full Race Replay.

Posted on by Press Release

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (May 28, 2020) — On Monday, June 1 during the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Xfinity will salute military community employees from across the company that are working to keep communities safe and connected. Among those recognized are 23 employees actively serving in the National Guard who are responding to the current crisis.

Xfinity will replace its logo that typically adorns each windshield with these selfless Comcast employees’ names and a patriotic red, white and blue design.

“This global crisis has challenged everyone to step up and prioritize those around us, so we wanted to showcase our pride and salute the selfless efforts of our employees with this unique recognition on all NASCAR Xfinity Series race cars,” said Matt Lederer, Comcast’s Vice President of Brand Partnerships & Activation. “Comcast is proud of our employees nationwide that are coming together to support our customers and communities during this national crisis.”

A few of the honorees include: Deeva Williams, a recently mobilized National Guard soldier who distributes prepackaged meals at mobile food banks in Tacoma, Wash., Rachel Cabanting, who is assisting with National Guard safety programs and procedures at testing centers in the state of Florida — while also collaborating on other key operations to minimize risk during the mission, Stephen Rolston, whose National Guard unit is directly assisting the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, and Ashley Farmer, a third-generation service member that utilizes her military experience to propel her teammates forward — earning business results and recognition from her co-workers.

“Our company is proud of its military community employees, both veterans and those serving today in the National Guard and reserve, who are on the frontlines of the fight against the pandemic,” said Brigadier General (Ret.) Carol Eggert, Senior Vice President of Military and Veteran Affairs at Comcast NBCUniversal. “The dedication of these military employees as they leave an impact in our communities showcases Comcast’s core service values in these difficult times and represents a unique and powerful way our teammates continue to respond to this global crisis.”

Nationally, approximately 50,000 National Guard and reserve service members are mobilized in response to the pandemic and more than 2,000 Comcast NBCUniversal employees serve in the National Guard and reserve. As a military-ready company, Comcast NBCUniversal is committed to ensuring these teammates have the resources and support they need to answer the call to service.

In addition, as the NASCAR Xfinity Series kicks off Dash 4 Cash at Bristol with Monday’s qualifier, Xfinity plans to make donations in each Dash 4 Cash race market that reaffirms their companywide commitment of connecting families, veterans and seniors to the digital tools necessary for navigating these challenging times.

Throughout the week, Xfinity will recognize these frontline heroes’ stories using #XfinitySalutes and on @XfinityRacing’s Twitter and Instagram outlets. For more information around Xfinity’s crisis response, visit Xfinity.com/prepare.

Posted on by Staff Report

Persistent rain associated with Tropical Depression Bertha has postponed Wednesday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

RELATED: Starting lineup | Charlotte schedule | Cup Series standings

The Alsco Uniforms 500 was rescheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. ET (FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The 208-lap, 312-mile race is the fourth Cup Series event in stock-car racing’s return since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. All those events have been held without fans in attendance, without practice and with Busch Pole Qualifying for only one race — last Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600.

The postponement also forced NASCAR officials to move the next NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway from Saturday to Monday. The Cheddar’s 300 presented by Alsco is now scheduled for 7 p.m. ET Monday (FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

William Byron will take the green flag first when Thursday’s race at Charlotte gets underway. He received the No. 1 starting spot after the top 20 finishers from the Coca-Cola 600 were inverted to set the Alsco Uniforms 500 lineup. Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman will start second Thursday after placing 19th in the 600.

The event was scheduled as the fourth NASCAR national series race in four nights at the 1.5-mile track.

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR officials released information Wednesday about starting lineup and pit-selection procedures for the next slate of races in all three NASCAR national series, while also announcing a NASCAR Cup Series Saturday practice in advance of the series’ race at Talladega Superspeedway on June 21.

There are 11 total races scheduled at Bristol Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway from May 30-June 21 as NASCAR continues its return from the COVID-19 pandemic that forced the league, and all of sports, to pause its on-track action.

RELATED: 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule

Here is a quick breakdown of the announced policies:

Starting lineup determination

NASCAR Cup Series

There will be a random draw for the next five NASCAR Cup Series races. For races at Bristol (May 31), Atlanta (June 7), Martinsville (June 10), Miami (June 14) and Talladega (June 21), the lineup will be determined in the following way:

• Positions 1-12: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points

• Positions 13-24: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points

• Positions 25-36: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points

• Positions 37-40: Open teams in order of owners points


RELATED: 2020 Xfinity Series schedule

NASCAR Xfinity Series

The next five Xfinity Series races will include four random draws for the starting lineup and one inversion for the doubleheader weekend at Miami.

Here is the policy for the four random draws for races at Bristol (June 1), Atlanta (June 6), Miami (June 13) and Talladega (June 20):

• Positions 1-12: The first 12 NXS Teams based on the Adverse Conditions Line Up Eligibility will be assigned starting positions 1st – 12th using a random draw.

• Positions 13-24: The next 12 NXS Teams based on the Adverse Conditions Line Up eligibility will be assigned starting positions 12th- 24th using a random draw.

• Starting positions 25-36: The next 12 NXS Teams based on the Adverse Conditions Line Up eligibility will be assigned starting positions 25th -36th using a random draw.

• Any vehicles that are eligible for the Event in positions 37th – 40th will be assigned starting positions based on their order of eligibility.

The June 14 race at Miami will follow a different policy. Because the series races twice at Miami in two days, the second race will use an inversion to determine the starting lineup:

• Positions 1-15: Invert the top 15 from the June 13 race at Homestead

• Positions 16-40: In finishing order from the June 13 race at Homestead, followed by new entries


RELATED: 2020 Gander Trucks schedule

NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series

The lineup will be set for the two Gander Trucks races through mid-June (Atlanta, June 6; Miami, June 13) in the following manner:

• Positions 1-10:  Random draw of teams in those positions in owner points

• Positions 11-21: Random draw of teams in those positions in owner points

• Positions 22-32: Random draw of teams in those positions in owner points

• Any vehicles that are eligible for the Event in position 33rd – 40th will be assigned starting positions based on their order of eligibility.

Pit stall selection

For all three series, pit stall selections will be ordered based on finishing positions from the series’ previous race, followed by new entries in order of points.

For example, whichever team wins the May 31 NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol would have the first pit stall selection for the June 7 race at Atlanta, the next event on the schedule. The team that finishes second at Bristol would have the second pit stall selection for the next race at Atlanta, etc.

Practice

As noted previously, there will be one NASCAR Cup Series practice session for Talladega Superspeedway, held on Saturday, June 20, from 11:35 a.m.-12:25 p.m. The race is the next day. It is the first scheduled practice for any NASCAR Cup Series event since the sport’s return to action earlier this month.

Posted on by PJ Walsh

The Action Network specializes in providing sports betting insights/analytics and is a content partner with NASCAR. Check out more NASCAR betting analysis here.

As much as we try to keep our emotions out of betting, it’s extremely hard at times. I’m still frustrated about losing Chase Elliott at 9-1 from Sunday night, but if you’ve done this long enough, it’s just part of the game.

Thankfully, Thursday’s Alsco Uniforms 500 (7 p.m. ET, FS1) is a night race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, just like Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, so the cars that were fast three days ago should also be fast again.

This should help ensure we focus solely on data and not let bias or emotions linger from the Coca-Cola 600.

Here are the three bets I’ve made for NASCAR’s Alsco Uniforms 500.

NASCAR at Charlotte Odds, Betting Picks

*Odds as of Wednesday at 7 a.m. ET

Martin Truex Jr. (+550)

I was on Truex on Sunday and I’m running him back again. The driver of Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 Toyota had the best driver rating and the fastest average green flag speed in the Coca-Cola 600.

By most metrics, he had the best car on Sunday and remember, coming into the 600 Truex had won two of the last four races on the oval at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a stellar 1.8 average finish over that span.

[Bet now at FanDuel. CO, NJ, PA, IN and WV only.]

Chase Elliott (+550)

Just like Truex, I’m betting on Elliott for the second time in three days. It took a caution with only a few laps to go and pit strategy to prevent Chase from winning the race, so it’s no surprise that he finished with the second-best driver rating.

As bettors, all we can do is pinpoint the fastest cars at the best numbers, but from there everything is out of our hands.

Chase was clearly one of the best cars on Sunday and should be again tonight.

While Elliott +550 is widely available across the market, bet sure to take advantage of DraftKings Sportsbook’s odds booster, pushing his odds up to +600, if possible.

William Byron (+2000)

The biggest difference between the Coca-Cola 600 and tonight’s Alsco Uniforms 500 is length.

Sunday’s race was 600 miles, which is 400 laps around Charlotte’s 1.5-mile circuit. The Alsco Uniforms 500 is actually 500 kilometers (not miles), which breaks down to just 208 total laps.

Tonight’s race is basically half as long as Sunday’s.

And one of the key takeaways from the 600 was the importance of track position. Clean air was king, and should be again tonight.

For this reason, I’m complementing my card, with Truex and Elliott who are starting 15th and 19th, respectively, with pole-sitter William Byron.

Byron ranked fourth in average green flag speed on Sunday, giving us a really fast car starting first and in clean air.

Ideally, Byron will jump out front and take control of this race early while Truex and Elliott pick their way back through the field to the leaders.

[Bet now at DraftKings. CO, NJ, PA, IN and WV only.]

Posted on by Staff Report

American singer and songwriter Cassadee Pope will perform the national anthem before Thursday night’s scheduled NASCAR Cup Series Alsco Uniforms 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (7 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Schedule for Charlotte race week | Starting lineup for Alsco Uniforms 500

Pope is a Grammy-nominated, Platinum-certified singer-songwriter. Her NASCAR fandom runs deep as Pope told NASCAR.com’s Terrin Waack after she was named a co-host for the NASCAR Awards in Nashville, Tennessee, last year.

Pope, the winner of Season 3’s “The Voice” and the former lead vocalist of Hey Monday, sang her first national anthem in 2009 prior to a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Auto Club Speedway and has previously done so before multiple NASCAR Cup Series events.

Singer-songwriter Jewel sang the national anthem before last week’s midweek race, the Toyota 500 at Darlington Raceway. The Charlotte race is the eighth of the NASCAR Cup Series season and the fourth Cup race in 11 days.

Posted on by Staff Report

Chase Elliott had some fun after his “Busch bounty” win in the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series’ North Carolina Education Lottery 200 by taking a page from the Kyle Busch celebration playbook.

Elliott said in his post-race interview it was a spur-of-the-moment action and not a knock on the driver who he had a run-in with at Darlington Raceway last Wednesday in the NASCAR Cup Series race. Both parties chatted after that, and Busch swung by Elliott’s car after his close defeat in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 to offer encouragement.

RELATED: Elliott wins North Carolina Education Lottery 200 

“Hopefully no one gets their feelings hurt over it,” Elliott said. “But if they do, they do. Whatever.”

In his post-race press conference, Busch quipped that “imitation is the strongest form of flattery. That’s cute.”

The $100,000 “Busch Bounty” prize was set by Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick and Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis, who each placed $50,000 in the pot for an eligible Cup Series driver who could best Busch in a Gander Trucks race. The six-figure payday was to be donated to the COVID-19 relief effort of the winning driver’s choice.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

On his first try, the bounty hunter got his prey.

In the closing laps of Tuesday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chase Elliott held off a determined charge from Kyle Busch in the closing laps to earn the victory and a $100,000 bounty offered to any full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver who could beat Busch.

Not bad for a guy who hadn’t competed in a NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race since 2017.

RELATED: Race results | Charlotte race week schedule

Busch had won each of his last seven starts in the Gander Trucks, dating to 2018, but Elliott had plenty of incentive to end that string. Driver Kevin Harvick and Marcus Lemonis, chairman and CEO of the series sponsor, each put up $50,000 for any full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver who could beat Busch in a Truck race. The money is earmarked for coronavirus relief.

It wasn’t just the money for charity. Busch had wrecked Elliott just before rain ended last Wednesday night’s Cup race at Darlington. And Elliott was denied victory in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte when caution flew with two laps left — and Elliott leading comfortably.

“It was a lot of fun,” Elliott said of Tuesday’s win. “First off, a thanks to (sponsors) iRacing and Hooters, Chevrolet and GMS (Racing) for letting me come do this. (The truck) was really good from the get-go, for having no laps (of practice). The splitter was where it needed to be,” said Elliott.

“It made it easy for me to move forward and try to get back acclimated … It doesn’t make up for Sunday, but it was still a really good night. Glad to win and glad to do some good for the relief effort for this virus.”

RELATED: Elliott bows after victory

Busch was 11th for the final restart on Lap 109 of 134. By Lap 114, he had surged into the second position and trailed Elliott by .974 seconds. Busch got as close as .301 seconds on Lap 129, but on the following circuit, a lapped truck took Busch’s preferred inside line through the corner and broke his momentum.

When he crossed the finish line, Elliott held a .627-second lead.

“He was a little better than I was there at the end,” Elliott acknowledged. “I got tight. I don’t think we adjusted enough on that last pit stop (on Lap 89). I was a little scared. I really didn’t know exactly what I needed or what these things did as time went on.

“Luckily, the right-front (tire) stayed on it long enough to get to the end. And I think he (Busch) burned out his stuff pretty hard trying to get to me. It was a lot a fun. To be able to come out and outrun him, and him finish second — I’d much rather him finish second than wreck or something, so I feel like I did something right.”

Sunoco rookie Zane Smith, Elliott’s GMS Racing teammate, finished third in his first national-series start at Charlotte. Brett Moffitt was fourth and Sheldon Creed fifth. Four of the top five trucks were from GMS Racing. John Hunter Nemechek, also trying for the bounty, ran sixth, followed by Johnny Sauter, Ty Majeski, Austin Hill and Ben Rhodes.

Busch had to come from the rear twice, after a pair of long pit stops to adjust the height of his No. 51 Toyota. Busch said afterward that the feel was never right.

“We were out in left field the whole night, never really had a great feel for the truck, a great-driving truck, and just salvaged what I could,” Busch said.

Where Busch’s winning streak ended at seven, Elliott’s reached two. In 2017, the driver of the No. 24 GMS Chevrolet won from the pole at Martinsville in his previous Truck Series start.

Brennan Poole was the only other Cup Series regular eligible for the bounty, but he finished 38th in the 40-truck field after involvement in a pair of wrecks in the final stage.

Tuesday marked the Gander Trucks’ first race since Feb. 21 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The tour’s next race is scheduled June 6 at Atlanta Motor Speedway with the Vet Tix Camping World 200 (1 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Note: Busch’s No. 51 Toyota was found with one lug nut not safely secured in a post-race check. According to rule book guidelines, the penalty would be a fine for crew chief Danny Stockman Jr.

Contributing: Staff reports