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Zane Smith finished fifth in the Desert Diamond West Valley Casino 200 at ISM Raceway, adding 36 points to his season total.

Smith now sits at 322 points on the season. He’s posted two top-five finishes in 2019.

Justin Allgaier brought home the win in the race, with Cole Custer finishing second, and Tyler Reddick placing third.

Christopher Bell won each of the race’s first two stages.

Smith qualified in sixth position at 131.162 mph. He’s still looking for career win No. 1, but owns two top-five finishes and seven finishes in the top 10.

Smith battled 37 other cars in the field and the race saw four cautions and 23 caution laps. There were nine lead changes before the checkered flag.

Chevrolet added 40 points to its season total with Allgaier’s victory. Overall, Chevrolet ranks No. 1 with 1151 points, followed by Ford in the No. 2 spot with 1131. Toyota sits at No. 3 with 1122 points on the season.

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Posted on by Data Skrive

John H. Nemechek finished fourth in the Desert Diamond West Valley Casino 200 at ISM Raceway, adding 38 points to his season total.

Nemechek now sits at No. 7 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings with 2212 points. He’s posted six top-five finishes in 2019.

Justin Allgaier took the checkered flag in the race, with Cole Custer finishing second, and Tyler Reddick placing third. Zane Smith followed in fifth.

Christopher Bell came away victorious in Stage 1, and Christopher Bell won Stage 2.

Christopher Bell won each of the race’s first two stages.

Nemechek qualified in 13th position at 129.950 mph. The second-year driver has piled up one career victory, 12 top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 29 races.

Nemechek battled 37 other cars in the field and the race saw four cautions and 23 caution laps. There were nine lead changes before the checkered flag.

Chevrolet added 40 points to its season total with Allgaier’s victory. Overall, Chevrolet ranks No. 1 with 1151 points, followed by Ford in the No. 2 spot with 1131. Toyota sits at No. 3 with 1122 points on the season.

John H. Nemechek Driver Page | Get John H. Nemechek Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Daniel Suarez finished 15th in the Bluegreen Vacations 500 at ISM Raceway, adding 22 points to his season total.

Suarez now sits at 823 points on the season.

Denny Hamlin brought home the win in the race, with Kyle Busch following in second, and Ryan Blaney placing third. Kyle Larson brought home fourth place, followed by Kevin Harvick to round out the top five.

Hamlin came away victorious in Stage 1, and Joey Logano took Stage 2.

Suarez qualified in 15th position at 138.132 mph. He’s still looking for career win No. 1, but boasts eight top-five finishes and 32 finishes in the top 10.

Suarez battled 38 other cars in the field and the race endured five cautions and 32 caution laps. There were eight lead changes before the checkered flag.

Toyota added 40 points to its season total with Hamlin’s victory. Overall, Toyota ranks No. 1 with 1278 points, followed by Ford in the No. 2 spot with 1235. Chevrolet sits at No. 3 with 1193 points on the season.

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Matt DiBenedetto finished 13th in the Bluegreen Vacations 500 at ISM Raceway, adding 24 points to his season total.

DiBenedetto now sits at 682 points on the season. He’s collected three top-five finishes in 2019.

Denny Hamlin brought home the win in the race, with Kyle Busch following in second, and Ryan Blaney placing third. Kyle Larson took fourth place, followed by Kevin Harvick to round out the top five.

Hamlin came away victorious in Stage 1, and Joey Logano took Stage 2.

DiBenedetto qualified in 16th position at 138.037 mph. He’s still looking for career win No. 1, but boasts three top-five finishes and 11 finishes in the top 10.

DiBenedetto battled 38 other cars in the field and the race saw five cautions and 32 caution laps. There were eight lead changes before the checkered flag.

Toyota added 40 points to its season total with Hamlin’s victory. Overall, Toyota ranks No. 1 with 1278 points, followed by Ford in the No. 2 spot with 1235. Chevrolet sits at No. 3 with 1193 points on the season.

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Posted on by Data Skrive

Paul Menard placed 12th in the Bluegreen Vacations 500 at ISM Raceway, adding 25 points to his season total.

Menard now sits at 757 points on the season.

Denny Hamlin brought home the win in the race, with Kyle Busch following in second, and Ryan Blaney crossing the finish line third. Kyle Larson took fourth place, followed by Kevin Harvick in the No. 5 spot.

Hamlin came away victorious in Stage 1, and Joey Logano took Stage 2.

Menard qualified in 19th position at 137.515 mph. The 16th-year driver has collected one career victory, 20 top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 69 races.

There were 39 cars in the field, and the race endured five cautions and 32 caution laps. There were eight lead changes.

Toyota added 40 points to its season total with Hamlin’s victory. Overall, Toyota ranks No. 1 with 1278 points, followed by Ford in the No. 2 spot with 1235. Chevrolet sits at No. 3 with 1193 points on the season.

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Erik Jones placed seventh in the Bluegreen Vacations 500 at ISM Raceway, adding 30 points to his season total.

Jones now sits at No. 16 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings with 2157 points. He’s posted nine top-five finishes in 2019.

Denny Hamlin brought home the win in the race, with Kyle Busch finishing second, and Ryan Blaney crossing the finish line third. Kyle Larson brought home fourth place, followed by Kevin Harvick in the No. 5 spot.

Hamlin came away victorious in Stage 1, and Joey Logano took Stage 2.

Jones qualified in ninth position at 138.862 mph. The fourth-year driver has piled up two career victories, 23 top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 48 races.

There were 39 cars in the field, and the race endured five cautions and 32 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were eight lead changes.

Toyota added 40 points to its season total with Hamlin’s victory. Overall, Toyota ranks No. 1 with 1278 points, followed by Ford in the No. 2 spot with 1235. Chevrolet sits at No. 3 with 1193 points on the season.

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Kyle Larson placed fourth in the Bluegreen Vacations 500 at ISM Raceway, adding 42 points to his season total.

Larson now sits at No. 6 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings with 2321 points. He’s posted eight top-five finishes in 2019.

Denny Hamlin came away with the victory in the race, with Kyle Busch following in second, and Ryan Blaney placing third. Kevin Harvick followed in fifth.

Hamlin came away victorious in Stage 1, and Joey Logano took Stage 2.

Larson qualified in fifth position at 139.238 mph. The seventh-year driver has collected six career victories, 55 top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 98 races.

There were 39 cars in the field, and the race endured five cautions and 32 caution laps. There were eight lead changes.

Toyota added 40 points to its season total with Hamlin’s victory. Overall, Toyota ranks No. 1 with 1278 points, followed by Ford in the No. 2 spot with 1235. Chevrolet sits at No. 3 with 1193 points on the season.

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Posted on by Pat DeCola

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Denny Hamlin is in the midst of his best season since a career-defining — for better and worse — 2010 campaign.

If next weekend’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway goes according to plan, that definition will be due for a hasty update.

The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran put on a show in Sunday’s Bluegreen Vacations 500, with the pre-playoffs championship favorite leading a race-high 143 of 312 laps. It came at a crucial time, coming into the elimination race 20 points below the cutline. It came when most were already penciling in a repeat of last year’s Championship 4, with that quartet standing strong above the fold on Sunday morning.

It came because, when it mattered most, Denny delivered.

RELATED: Hamlin victorious in the desert | Full race results

Though a path via points was possible at the drop of the green flag, a Stage 2 victory by rival Joey Logano dropped that possibility from eh, maybe to don’t even bother – go for the win.

He did exactly that, of course, and has reestablished himself as the title favorite before cars hit the track for Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 at Miami (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Yeah, yeah. We’ve seen how this story ends – with Hamlin, arguably the best driver at Homestead, finding a way to squander what, on paper, looks like a sure thing. He was just as well-positioned — if not more so — to claim his first title in 2010, picking up his career-high eighth win of the season at Texas before watching the sand castle fortress he had built over the course of 34 races be washed away in an instant by a wave of blue and white (with neon yellow numbers.)

Hamlin finished the season with finishes of 12th and 14th at Phoenix and Miami, respectively, handing a fifth straight championship over to Jimmie Johnson.

There are no guarantees at Homestead – look no further than Logano’s victory last year over the vaunted “Big 3” that had dominated the entire season – but this at least feels different than 2010, or any other year. It feels like it’s Hamlin’s race, and title, to lose.

This season has sneakily had whiffs of it finally being Hamlin’s turn at the head table, from his season-opening Daytona 500 win – his second – to wins at Texas-1, Pocono-2, Bristol-2, Kansas-2 and Phoenix-2.

That’s a lot of wins, at a lot of different types of race tracks, at a lot of different stages of the season. Those victories certainly point to, in my mind, a team that has its proverbial “stuff” together. And has the driver to take advantage of it.

This is Hamlin’s chance to rewrite history, so to speak, and make amends for the one black mark on his racing resume that’s holding him back from entering the all-time greats conversation.

“This is very similar to 2010 in the sense of the car speed we’ve had this season. There’s similarities, for sure. But it is very different,” Hamlin said after his Sunday win. “I think this is a tighter-knit group of guys. I think Chris (Gabehart, crew chief) takes a lot of pride in assembling this group of guys from top to bottom. I know we kind of did an introduction with everyone at JGR early maybe in January, something like that. We sat around here and Chris talked about, ‘Here is what we’re going to do. I just want you to see this is the team that’s going to take us all the way.’ ”

And it has. Just one more race stands between the 11 squad and the ‘ship.

The old notion that “you have to lose a title before you learn how to win one,” absolutely applies to the 38-year-old (soon to be 39, the day after Miami) after the 2010 heartbreak and disappointment in the 2014 Championship 4.

Hamlin has grown up quite a bit and perhaps learned to relax a little more over the past decade, going from locking himself in his hotel room and shutting off his phone during that 2010 weekend to staying up until 1 a.m. playing $100 games of tennis with pal Kyle Larson on Saturday night ahead of one of the biggest races – and eventual wins – of his life Sunday.

The pressure won’t get to him, because he’s clearly not feeling it.

“I think over the years, we’re almost 10 years later, I’m just more content with what I’ve accomplished in the series. I don’t need validation of a championship,” Hamlin said. “I think that the outside world feels like I need that to validate my status, whatever it is. But doesn’t change who I am. Doesn’t change how I treat people. If I don’t win this year, I’m going to work just as hard for 2020.

“There are many, many more opportunities ahead of me. This is not my last opportunity to win a championship. Especially with the relationship that I’ve built with Chris, I see this going a long way.”

It may not be his last opportunity to win a championship, but it’s definitely his best yet.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Needing to make up a 23-point deficit to qualify for the Championship 4, Ryan Blaney started 10th in Sunday’s Bluegreen Vacations 500, last among playoff contenders.

RELATED: Race results | Hamlin prevails

Blaney’s Team Penske No. 12 Ford improved throughout the race, and he finished third behind Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, but with Hamlin winning the race and Busch also advancing to the finale, Blaney was knocked out of contention.

Blaney had a chance to win when the race went to a restart with three laps to go, but Blaney started second on the inside, with Hamlin taking the top lane.

“I felt like I got an OK start,” Blaney said. “It’s really hard for the guy on the bottom on the front row to accelerate and turn down the hill. It’s the way (the track) is shaped. It’s kind of tough, especially in Turn 2. But I don’t know, you can always get a better start, right?

“I thought I got an OK start, but the 18 (Busch) got a better one and got inside of me, and, honestly, the top is so dominant, especially if you’re on two (tires), you’re kind of just sliding up from the bottom, and he (Hamlin) was obviously the best car all day. Just needed the lead and I might have been able to pinch him through 1 and 2, and you never know. But it’s not enough.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The race-winning No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Denny Hamlin passed post-race technical inspection Sunday at ISM Raceway with no issues.

The No. 11 Toyota was found to be compliant with the 2019 NASCAR Rule Book after Hamlin won the final race in the Round of 8 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, punching his ticket into the Championship 4 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The following cars were found to have one lug nut not safe and secure in post-race inspection: The No. 2 Ford of Brad Keselowski and the No. 53 Ford of JJ Yeley.

With post-race teardown complete, the race results are official.

RELATED: Results

The post-race process is part of a new, more timely approach to inspection for all three NASCAR national series. Competition officials announced in February that thorough post-race inspections would take place shortly after the checkered flag at the track instead of midweek at the Research & Development Center.

Those inspections come with a stiffer deterrence structure that includes disqualification for significant rules infractions — “a total culture change,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer. In the past, race-winning teams found in violation of the rules were penalized with post-race fines, points deductions and/or suspensions, but victories were allowed to stand.

Competition officials introduced the quicker post-race inspection timetable in an effort to make the results official on race day, aiming for a 90-minute target time frame to complete their scrutinizing. The new post-race inspection process was also designed to deal with potential violations more promptly, avoiding any midweek news that might cloud the previous week’s results or the build-up to the following week’s event.

NASCAR will still inspect cars and parts at the R&D Center as needed, but the more comprehensive at-track inspection will take priority.

According to NASCAR statistical archives, the last time a premier-series driver was disqualified occurred in 1973, when early retiree Buddy Baker was demoted to last place in the National 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The last time an apparent race winner in NASCAR’s top division was disqualified came on April 17, 1960, when Emanuel Zervakis’ victory at Wilson (N.C.) Speedway was thrown out because of an oversized fuel tank on his No. 85 Chevrolet.