Justin Allgaier finishes sixth at Texas Motor Speedway

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Data Skrive

Justin Allgaier finished sixth in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, adding 42 points to his season total.

Allgaier now sits at No. 4 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings with 3101 points. He’s posted 15 top-five finishes in 2019.

Christopher Bell brought home the win in the race, with Ross Chastain finishing second, and Austin Cindric crossing the finish line third. Brandon Jones took fourth place, followed by John Hunter Nemechek in the No. 5 spot.

In addition to the victory, Bell won each of the race’s first two stages.

Allgaier qualified in sixth position at 189.374 mph. The 10th-year driver has piled up 10 career victories, 84 top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 175 races.

Allgaier battled 37 other cars in the field and the race saw nine cautions and 51 caution laps. There were nine lead changes before the checkered flag.

Toyota added 40 points to its season total with Bell’s victory. Overall, Chevrolet ranks No. 1 with 1111 points, followed by Toyota in the No. 2 spot with 1096. Ford sits at No. 3 with 1096 points on the season.

Justin Allgaier Driver Page | Get Justin Allgaier Gear | Race Center

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Data Skrive

John Hunter Nemechek placed fifth in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, adding 46 points to his season total.

Nemechek now sits at No. 9 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings with 2174 points. He’s collected five top-five finishes in 2019.

Christopher Bell brought home the win in the race, with Ross Chastain following in second, and Austin Cindric placing third.

In addition to the victory, Bell won each of the race’s first two stages.

Nemechek qualified in 11th position at 187.422 mph. The second-year driver has tallied one career victory, 11 top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 28 races.

There were 38 cars in the field, and the race endured nine cautions and 51 caution laps. There were nine lead changes.

John H. Nemechek Driver Page | Race Center

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Data Skrive

Ross Chastain placed second in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, adding zero points to his season total.

Chastain has posted two top-five finishes in 2019.

Christopher Bell finished out front in the race, with Austin Cindric placing third. Brandon Jones brought home fourth place, followed by John H. Nemechek to round out the top five.

In addition to the victory, Bell won each of the race’s first two stages.

Chastain qualified in seventh position at 189.095 mph. He led once for a total of 29 laps, but relinquished the lead for good after Lap 170. The sixth-year driver has piled up two career victories, six top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 20 races.

There were 38 cars in the field, and the race endured nine cautions and 51 caution laps. There were nine lead changes.

Ross Chastain Driver Page | Race Center

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Staff Report

Joe Gibbs Racing driver and 2019 Monster Energy Series championship hopeful Kyle Busch will compete in the 2020 Rolex 24 endurance race at Daytona International Speedway.

The 2015 Cup Series champion will make his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut for AIM Vasser Sullivan, driving a Lexus RC F GT3 car in the Jan. 25-26 race.

“I’d like to thank everyone at Lexus Motorsports and AIM Vasser Sullivan and Toyota for this opportunity,” Busch said Monday at a Toyota plant in Texas, according to NBC. “To have the chance to run in such an iconic race as the Rolex 24 is certainly something I’ve thought about and wanted to do. My partnership with Toyota and the history we’ve had together has been incredible. I would love to continue that history and maybe get my Daytona Rolex to add to my trophy collection.”

Busch is the latest NASCAR driver to compete in the prestigious event, joining the likes of Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr., AJ Allmendinger, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson and more. Gordon is the most recent driver with NASCAR ties to win the event, teaming with Jordan Taylor, Ricky Taylor and Max Angelelli in 2017.

MORE: History of NASCAR drivers in Rolex 24 at Daytona

IMSA indicated that Busch will prepare for the event in the Roar Before the Rolex 24 on Jan. 3-5, 2020.

Busch has a sport-car start at Daytona to his credit, pairing with Scott Speed to finish 10th in a Lexus Daytona Prototype owned by Chip Ganassi.

This story will be updated.

Posted on November 4, 2019November 4, 2019 by Steve Luvender

With 36 races in a year and 40 available finishing positions on the track, it’s practically inevitable a driver ends up finishing in every possible place at some point — you win some, you lose some, as they say. Quoth Ricky Bobby, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.”

Aric Almirola joined the list at Texas Motor Speedway when he finished second in the Round of 8 playoff race — the only finishing position he was missing. He joins Ryan Blaney as drivers to accomplish this during the 2019 Playoffs. Blaney’s 21st-place finish at Kansas Speedway was the last piece to his puzzle.

As you continue to watch the 2019 postseason, keep in mind some drivers might be chasing more than a championship trophy — a few are in position to complete the massive 40-row bingo board that is the list of possible finishing positions in NASCAR.

Drivers who have completed the ‘All 40 Challenge’

• Aric Almirola
• Ryan Blaney
• Alex Bowman
• Clint Bowyer
• Kurt Busch
• Kyle Busch
• Denny Hamlin
• Kevin Harvick
• Jimmie Johnson
• Joey Logano
• Paul Menard
• Ryan Newman
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
• Martin Truex Jr.

One Position Remaining

• David Ragan: 9th

David Ragan has driven for plenty of teams in his 13 full-time seasons at NASCAR’s top level, but he’s somehow never finished in ninth place. He’s retiring from full-time racing at the end of the season, too.

Two Positions Remaining

• Austin Dillon: 2nd and 40th

• Brad Keselowski: 28th and 40th

• Kyle Larson: 22nd and 32nd

Three Positions Remaining

• Erik Jones: 28th, 32nd and 37th

Four Positions Remaining

• Matt DiBenedetto: 1st, 3rd, 10th and 11th

• Chase Elliott: 25th, 26th, 28th and 40th

• Daniel Suarez: 1st, 25th, 27th, 39th

Bonus Data: Never Last

Since we were already analyzing the data anyway, you might want to keep these names in your back pocket: six full-time drivers have never finished in exactly 40th place (also known as last place in a 40-car field):

• William Byron
• Austin Dillon*
• Ty Dillon
• Chase Elliott
• Brad Keselowski*
• Bubba Wallace

*finished worse than 40th before field size rules were changed, but never finished exactly 40th

Here’s the complete list of non-rookie full-time drivers and their status entering the 2019 ISM Raceway playoff race. If a driver hasn’t finished in a particular position, it’s highlighted in gold. Drivers with grayed-out names have completed the challenge.

Posted on November 3, 2019November 4, 2019 by Terrin Waack

FORT WORTH, Texas – Hope for the best. Plan for the worst.

That’s what Kyle Busch and Joey Logano are thinking for next weekend’s Round of 8 playoff elimination race at ISM Raceway now that there are only two spots remaining in the Championship 4. Currently, both drivers are safe in the postseason standings. Busch sits third with a 22-point cushion, and Logano is right behind him in fourth with a 20-point safety net.

They’re smart enough, though, to know they’re not locked in.

“It’s going to be a good battle, for sure,” Logano said. “We’re definitely racing for that last spot just in case someone behind us outside of the top four wins.”

The postseason picture sure changed after Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Kevin Harvick won, launching himself from below the cutline to a guaranteed title contender. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin did the exact opposite. He was second but now takes over Harvick’s previous fifth-place spot (-20) after a 28th-place finish at Texas.

Also heading to Phoenix in the negatives are Ryan Blaney (-23 in sixth; eighth at Texas), Kyle Larson (-23 in seventh; 12th at Texas) and Chase Elliott (-78 in eighth; 32nd at Texas).

“Unless the 18 or 22 has major issues,” Larson said, “then yeah, we for sure have to go there and win.”

Busch led 18 laps in Texas’ 334-lapper and wound up seventh come checkered flag. Logano was further up in fourth after having led just five go-arounds.

Neither won a stage despite being the only drivers — playoff or not — with a double-digit stage wins total this season (Busch 11, Logano 10). Busch was fifth and Logano was 23rd in Stage 1. Logano was then sixth and Busch was ninth in Stage 2. Busch ended up with eight stage points, giving him 38 for the race. Logano earned six in the stages and 39 in the event.

Overall, Busch has 4,113 points and Logano has 4,111 points.

“We all know one guy is going to move through on points and we have to do whatever we have to do in order to be that guy,” Busch said. “If we can obviously go to Phoenix and have a strong run and be able to go out there and win, that will put ourselves through as well.”

Busch has made it to ISM’s Victory Lane three times — second most in the NASCAR Playoffs field — in 28 starts. The No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver actually won there earlier this season and the postseason race in Phoenix last season.

Logano, on the other hand, has taken the ISM checkered flag once in 21 starts, and the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford placed 10th there in the spring.

“I mean, obviously the 18 team is good,” Logano said. “But I think we’re a great team. They’re beatable just like everybody else.”

ISM is a 1-mile track as opposed to Texas’ 1.5-miler, but then it’s back to another 1.5-mile circuit with Homestead-Miami Speedway for the finale on Nov. 17.

Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. (thanks to his Round of 8 opener win at Martinsville Speedway) already have their tickets to Miami punched. Two remain.

Logano and Busch each have a championship to their name — Logano in 2018 and Busch in 2015 — and want to add another.

“It’s going to be a race between the 18 and the 22,” Busch said. “Imagine that.”

Posted on November 3, 2019November 4, 2019 by Staff Report

The race-winning No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford driven by Kevin Harvick passed post-race technical inspection Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway with no issues.

The No. 4 Ford was found to be compliant with the 2019 NASCAR Rule Book after Harvick won the second 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 had one lug nut not safe and secure:

No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet of Daniel Hemric (finished 16th)
No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Denny Hamlin (finished 28th)
No. 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota of Parker Kligerman (finished 22nd)

Also, the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford of Daniel Suarez will go back to the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina.

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

RELATED: Official race 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 scrutineering. 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.

Posted on November 3, 2019November 5, 2019 by Staff Report

After the second race of the Round of 8 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs at Texas Motor Speedway, here’s a brief look at the playoff picture. Just one race remains in the Round of 8 before the field is whittled to the Championship 4, with four drivers eliminated from the postseason following the race at ISM Raceway near Phoenix on Nov. 10.

Winner

Kevin Harvick led a race-high 119 laps to earn victory on Sunday evening at Texas, claiming his fourth win of the season. The victory also adds five playoff points to his total (along with one more he got for winning Stage 1) and locks him into the Championship 4. He is the second driver alongside Martin Truex Jr. to clinch a spot in the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

RELATED: Race results

Who’s hot

Kevin Harvick. No surprise that the Texas winner and newest Championship 4 winner is listed here, but it’s not just his dominating victory that gives him this rightful place. Now we’re headed to the last race in the Round of 8 at ISM Raceway, where Harvick has nine career victories. He could steal a win away from someone who needs it (a.k.a. Chase Elliott) and take some huge momentum into Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Joey Logano. After struggling for a portion of the race, Logano was able to salvage a fourth-place finish at Texas, leaving him with a 20-point cushion on the cutline. The defending Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion isn’t a lock for the Championship 4, but the resilient effort should give the No. 22 team a spark going into ISM Raceway where it has been hit or miss.

Who’s not

Chase Elliott. The Round of 8 has not been kind to Elliott, after a broken axle plagued what appeared to be a strong showing at Martinsville. At Texas, Elliott’s playoff hopes took an even bigger hit on Lap 9 when he slipped out of the top groove in Turns 1 and 2, sliding hard into the outside wall. The No. 9 team feverishly made repairs on pit road to finish the race, but a 32nd-place result leaves him 78 points below the cutline and officially puts him in a must-win situation next Sunday at ISM Raceway.

Denny Hamlin. Disaster struck for the spring Texas winner on Sunday, losing control at the exit of Turn 4, receiving significant damage to the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota after sliding through the frontstretch grass. Hamlin took a big hit in the playoff standings after a finish of 28th, coming into the race with a 24-point cushion and leaving Texas 20 points below the cutline. Adding insult to injury, only one driver has raced his way into the Championship 4 after entering ISM Raceway below the cutline — Harvick made it in 2014, overcoming a six-point deficit.

BUBBLE WATCH

Rank	Driver	Points to cutoff
1.	Martin Truex Jr.	WIN
2.	Kevin Harvick	WIN
3.	Kyle Busch	+22
4.	Joey Logano	+20
—————	CUT-OFF LINE	—————
5.	Denny Hamlin	-20
6.	Ryan Blaney	-23
7.	Kyle Larson	-23
8.	Chase Elliott	-78

Next race

The Monster Energy Series travels to ISM Raceway for the penultimate race in the NASCAR Playoffs at the 1-mile facility on Nov. 10 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Who it favors

Kyle Busch. While ISM Raceway has been Kevin Harvick’s house over the years, it’s been Busch that’s had the mojo on his side recently. Busch has three career victories at the 1-mile Arizona track. Not only has the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing driver taken the checkered flag in the past two events, he also hasn’t finished outside the top seven since the Fall of 2014. Busch’s 20-race winless streak could very well come to an end with a Championship 4 bid on the line.

Who it hurts

Joey Logano. While teammate Ryan Blaney holds the worst average finish at ISM Raceway among the playoff drivers (15.9), it’s Logano who has the most to worry about. While he earned victory in 2016, Logano hasn’t finished better than 10th since then, which contributes negatively to his average finish of 15.2. Logano has a 20-point cushion on the cutline going into the final Round of 8 race, but he needs a better showing to ensure his Miami fate.

Posted on November 3, 2019November 4, 2019 by Reid Spencer

FORT WORTH, Texas – For Kevin Harvick, Texas is the new Phoenix.

Overcoming a pit-road penalty for a tire placed in his pit box too early, Harvick took control of the AAA Texas 500 as the sun set on Texas Motor Speedway and won his third straight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at the 1.5-mile track in Cowtown.

RELATED: Race results | Stage recaps
SHOP: Kevin Harvick gear

Locked into the Championship 4 race two weeks hence at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Harvick can now breathe easy heading into the final Round of 8 race at ISM Raceway in Phoenix, a track where Harvick has nine wins and a current streak of 12 top-10 finishes — but where Harvick struggled uncharacteristically in the spring while running ninth under the new 2019 rules package.

After leading a race-high 119 laps and finishing 1.594 seconds ahead of Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Aric Almirola, Harvick, the pole winner, won’t have to worry about the one-mile flat track in Arizona’s Sonoran desert.

“Texas has always been so great to us, and what a race track the last few years,” said Harvick, who won for the fourth time this season and the 49th time in his career, tying him with SHR co-owner Tony Stewart for 14th all-time. “It’s just been a lot of work put into this race. We knew this was a good race track for us. Felt like it fit the styles of our cars, and, man, did it.”

Harvick led an impressive contingent of SHR drivers, all of whom took turns at the front of the field before Harvick took control. Runner-up Almirola led 62 laps, Clint Bowyer led 36 and Daniel Suarez 25.

“That was a very solid night, and I’m very happy with the performance and speed that we brought from the shop,” said Suarez, who matched the third-place finish he posted at Texas in the spring. “Everyone back at the shop did a great job. We knew we would be fast here.

“We had a solid performance here last time. We did a good job. We had good execution and a good clean day. I’m very happy for Stewart-Haas Racing and the 41 Ford Mustang was pretty sporty. I am very happy for Kevin getting his ticket for Homestead.”

Harvick’s path wasn’t easy. On a Lap 186 pit stop under caution, a tire dropped from the top of the pit wall into Harvick’s stall before the No. 4 Ford arrived, forcing Harvick to restart from the rear. But Harvick charged forward and on Lap 255, he passed Almirola for the lead.

Suarez completed the 1-2-3 podium sweep for SHR, followed by Joey Logano, who held the fourth position in the standings and extended his margin above the current Championship cut line to 20 points. Alex Bowman ran fifth, and Martin Truex Jr., already locked into the season finale by virtue of last week’s Martinsville win, finished sixth.

Playoff drivers Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney were seventh and eighth, with Busch standing 22 points above the cut line and Blaney 23 points below, tied with 12th-place finisher Kyle Larson.

Chase Elliott’s dire playoff situation crystallized on Lap 9 when he tried to run the high lane and slid into the outside wall in Turn 2. Elliott barely beat the repair clock on pit road and returned to the race, albeit it seven laps down.

The driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet leaves the Lone Star State with a 32nd-place finish and one path to the Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway — he must win next Sunday’s race at Phoenix to advance.

Like Elliott, Denny Hamlin failed to score points in either of the first two stages. On Lap 80, five short of the completion of Stage 1, Hamlin got sideways in Turn 44 and spun through the infield grass. He lost two laps under repairs and two more on the track and came home 28th.

As a consequence, the five-time Cup winner this season fell 20 points below the cut line for the Championship 4.

Jimmie Johnson’s prospects of ending a 92-race drought looked promising early on but came to a disappointing finish early in the final stage. Johnson passed Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman for the lead on Lap 99 and held the top spot for 40 laps — the most laps the seven-time champion has led in a single race since his 60 at Texas in the spring.

But Johnson spun in Turns 1 and 2 while battling for third on Lap 185 and slapped the Turn 2 wall. Johnson couldn’t make minimum speed after repairs and retired to the garage after completing 199 laps.

Note: John Hunter Nemechek finished 21st, one lap down in his Cup debut—substituting for Front Row Motorsports driver Matt Tifft, who suffered a seizure last Saturday at Martinsville.

Posted on November 3, 2019November 8, 2019 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

Monday, November 4
2 p.m., NASCAR 120: Texas (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
5 p.m., NASCAR America: Monday, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Decades: The 1970s (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7 p.m., Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App

Tuesday, November 5
5 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

Wednesday, November 6
1 p.m., Glory Road: Blacker (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
1:30 p.m., Glory Road: NASCAR Goes Road Racing (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
5 p.m., NASCAR America: Motormouths, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Decades: The 1990s (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Decades (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App

Thursday, November 7
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

Friday, November 8
1 p.m., Wood Brothers (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series first practice, NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
4 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (NBCSN joins in at 4:30 p.m.) (Canada: TSN App)
5 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series qualifying, FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
7 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN2)
8 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: NGOTS, FS1/FOX Sports App
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Lucas Oil 150 at ISM Raceway, FS1/FOX Sports App

On MRN
4 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice
7 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice
8 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Lucas Oil 150 at ISM Raceway

Saturday, November 9
2 a.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Lucas Oil 150 (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
1:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
2 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN3)
3 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Countdown to Green, NBC/NBC Sports App
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 at ISM Raceway, NBC/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN3)

On MRN
2 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying
3 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 at ISM Raceway
6 p.m., NASCAR K&N West Series finale at ISM Raceway

Sunday, November 10
12:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: MENCS, FS1/FOX Sports App
1:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBC/NBC Sports App
2 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Countdown to Green, NBC/NBC Sports App
2:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations 500 at ISM Raceway, NBC/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN2)
6 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Post Race, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Victory Lap, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN
1:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations 500 at ISM Raceway