Justin Allgaier drives No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro to second-place finish at Dover International Speedway

Posted on October 7, 2019 by Data Skrive

Justin Allgaier placed second in the Use Your Melon Driver Sober 200 at Dover International Speedway.

He won each of the race’s first two stages, earning bonuses to bring his weekend total to 55 points.

Allgaier now sits at No. 5 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff standings with 3014 points. He’s collected 14 top-five finishes in 2019.

Cole Custer finished first in the race, with Austin Cindric placing third. Justin Haley took fourth place, followed by Chase Briscoe to round out the top five.

Allgaier qualified in eighth position at 155.649 mph. He led on two occasions for a total of 67 laps. The 10th-year driver has collected 10 career victories, 83 top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 173 races.

There were 38 cars in the field, and the race endured six cautions and 33 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were nine lead changes.

Ford added 40 points to its season totals with Custer’s victory. Overall, Chevrolet ranks No. 1 with 1041 points, followed by Ford in the No. 2 spot with 1028. Toyota sits at No. 3 with 1016 points on the season.

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

Posted on October 7, 2019 by Data Skrive

Daniel Suarez finished 14th in the Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway, adding 23 points to his season total.

Suarez now sits at 730 points on the season. He’s collected three top-five finishes in 2019.

Kyle Larson took the checkered flag in the race, with Martin Truex Jr finishing second, and Alex Bowman placing third. Kevin Harvick took fourth place, followed by Denny Hamlin in the No. 5 spot.

Larson has advanced to the next round of the Cup Series playoffs.

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

Suarez qualified in 15th position at 164.639 mph. He led once for a total of one lap, but relinquished the lead for good after Lap 81. He still is looking for career victory No. 1, but boasts seven top-five finishes and 31 finishes in the top 10.

There were 38 cars in the field, and the race endured three cautions and 17 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were 14 lead changes.

Chevrolet added 40 points to its season totals with Larson’s victory. Overall, Toyota ranks No. 1 with 1093 points, followed by Ford in the No. 2 spot with 1058. Chevrolet sits at No. 3 with 1027 points on the season.

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Posted on October 7, 2019 by Data Skrive

Paul Menard placed 12th in the Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway, adding 25 points to his season total.

Menard now sits at 656 points on the season.

Kyle Larson took the checkered flag in the race, with Martin Truex Jr following in second, and Alex Bowman crossing the finish line third. Kevin Harvick took fourth place, followed by Denny Hamlin in the No. 5 spot.

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

Menard qualified in 13th position at 164.699 mph. He led once for a total of six laps, but relinquished the lead for good after Lap 327. The 16th-year driver has tallied one career victory, 20 top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 69 races.

Menard battled 37 other cars in the field and the race endured three cautions and 17 caution laps. There were 14 lead changes before the checkered flag.

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Posted on October 7, 2019 by Data Skrive

Matt DiBenedetto finished seventh in the Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway, adding 30 points to his season total.

DiBenedetto now sits at 585 points on the season. He’s posted three top-five finishes in 2019.

Kyle Larson brought home the win in the race, with Martin Truex Jr finishing second, and Alex Bowman placing third. Kevin Harvick took fourth place, followed by Denny Hamlin in the No. 5 spot.

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

DiBenedetto qualified in 20th position at 163.808 mph. He still is looking for career victory No. 1, but boasts three top-five finishes and 11 finishes in the top 10.

There were 38 cars in the field, and the race endured three cautions and 17 caution laps. There were 14 lead changes.

Matt DiBenedetto Driver Page | Get Matt DiBenedetto Gear | Race Center

Posted on October 7, 2019 by Data Skrive

Alex Bowman finished third in the Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway, adding 44 points to his season total.

Bowman now sits at No. 7 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings with 3049 points. He’s posted six top-five finishes in 2019.

Kyle Larson secured the win in the race, with Martin Truex Jr finishing second. Kevin Harvick brought home fourth place, followed by Denny Hamlin in the No. 5 spot.

Larson has advanced to the next round of the Cup Series playoffs.

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

Bowman qualified in 12th position at 164.850 mph. The sixth-year driver has piled up one career victory, nine top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 24 races.

There were 38 cars in the field, and the race endured three cautions and 17 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were 14 lead changes.

Alex Bowman Driver Page | Get Alex Bowman Gear | Race Center

Posted on October 7, 2019 by Data Skrive

Martin Truex Jr finished second in the Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway, adding 54 points to his season total.

Truex now sits at No. 2 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings with 3095 points. He’s posted 13 top-five finishes in 2019.

Kyle Larson earned the checkered flag in the race, with Alex Bowman placing third. Kevin Harvick took fourth place, followed by Denny Hamlin in the No. 5 spot.

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

Truex qualified in third position at 166.205 mph. He led once for a total of 15 laps, but relinquished the lead for good after Lap 243.

The 16th-year driver has collected 25 career victories, 100 top-five finishes and has placed in the top 10 in 200 races.

Truex battled 37 other cars in the field and the race saw three cautions and 17 caution laps. There were 14 lead changes before the checkered flag.

Martin Truex Driver Page | Get Martin Truex Jr Gear | Race Center

Posted on October 6, 2019October 6, 2019 by Staff Report

The race-winning No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet driven by Kyle Larson passed post-race technical inspection Sunday at the Dover International Speedway with no issues.

The No. 42 Chevrolet was found to be compliant with the 2019 NASCAR Rule Book after Larson won the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 12 opening race.

Additionally, the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Denny Hamlin (finished fifth) had one lug nut loose. The No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford of Kevin Harvick (finished fourth) will go back to the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina, for further evaluation.

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

RELATED: Full 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 thorough post-race inspections would take place shortly after the checkered flag at the track instead of midweek at the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina.

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 October 6, 2019October 7, 2019 by Pat DeCola

DOVER, Del. — As laps wound down in Stage 2 of Sunday’s NASCAR Playoffs Round of 12 opener at Dover International Speedway, Joey Logano raced leaders Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson hard — as to be expected.

Except that the No. 22 Team Penske Ford was … checks notes … 24 laps down at the time.

Moments before cars took the green flag for Dover’s 100th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, Logano went behind the wall and to the garage with a busted rear axle. The defending series champion’s day was essentially over before it began, but the 22 group decided to put the car back on the track to scrape together any points available.

RELATED: Official results | Playoff picture

“We’re out there racing. I’ve got to race. Here’s the situation … there’s four or five cars that I could possibly catch. That’s five points. I’m in by zero points right now, so we’ve better get ’em all,” Logano said on pit road following a 34th-place finish, 25 laps down. “So, when you think of that, I’ve got to try to get every car I possibly can. I’m still racing. I ran as hard as I could this whole race. Don’t have anything to show for it, but I ran it as if we were on the lead lap and did everything we possibly did to be better.”

Seems reasonable.

Hamlin, who led a race-high 218 laps from the pole en route to a fifth-place finish, felt Logano racing him as hard as he did impeded his shot at the win. Naturally, the viewpoint of Logano — Hamlin’s former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate that he’s had issues with in the past — differs from how he saw things.

“Make up position? He’s 24 laps down. That’s the most idiotic statement I’ve ever heard,” Hamlin said. “We’re battling for the end of the stage. It’s not your day, you had bad luck. We get it. But why? I don’t understand that at all. That’s just a stupid statement by an idiot. …

“ … Probably shouldn’t call Joey an idiot. He’s not an idiot. But that was just a bad choice to say that he’s fighting for something. He’s not fighting for anything, he’s just running around the race track. Stay in one lane. Maybe the high lane, because nobody’s up there. Get the laps over with. Get the race over with and go home and get ready for Talladega to try to win that race.”

Man, that seems reasonable, too.

Perhaps it just comes down personal ideology, then. Drive hard no matter what, or drive hard no matter what … as long as it doesn’t screw anybody else over.

Especially if it might come back to haunt you.

“I get it. Everyone races hard,” Hamlin said. “If you’re one lap down I get it. Even two, just not 24. It frustrates me because it’s just a lack of philosophy. All he did was piss some people off and what did he really gain? He didn’t gain anything. But he just pissed off some guys that he’s racing with now. So now we’re just going to race him extra hard, and for what? Because he didn’t want to go 26 laps down?”

“It remains to be seen (if Logano shot himself in the foot). Nobody’s going out there maliciously trying to screw over Joey. I don’t think anyone’s going to do that but I’m just saying that through these playoffs, you can’t make enemies. You’ve got to have give and take. It’s those deposits and withdrawals that I talked about with (Kevin) Harvick earlier this year. You gotta be able to say thank you. Thanks for that spot. … I don’t want to hear it’s just about racing. That’s not smart. Being smart is a part of racing, too. Not just skill.”

Expect cooler heads to prevail over the next two weeks — and Logano to still be in contention despite being on the bubble. Five combined wins at Talladega and Kansas point to him moving on to the Round of 8.

But remember this moment.

Martinsville looms — and something about Joey Logano, Joe Gibbs Racing and the fall playoff race at “The Paperclip” rings a certain bell.

MORE: Logano has mechanical issue before green flag

Posted on October 6, 2019October 6, 2019 by RJ Kraft

After the opening race of the Round of 12 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs race, here’s a brief look at the playoff picture. There are two races remaining in the Round of 12 before the field is whittled to eight, with four drivers eliminated from the postseason following the Kansas race on Oct. 20.

Winner

Kyle Larson won at Dover International Speedway for his first win since a victory at Richmond in September of 2017 — that snapped a drought of 75 winless races for the Chip Ganassi Racing driver. The win also adds five playoff points to his total and locks him into the Round of 8. Larson will carry 11 playoff points into that round.

RELATED: Race results

Who’s hot

Alex Bowman. Bowman followed up his runner-up at the Charlotte Roval with a strong and steady third-place finish at Dover to give him three top-six finishes in the four playoff races so far. He entered the race minus-1 on the cutline in ninth and comes out of the race +17 to the cutline in seventh place. The Hendrick Motorsports driver nabbed runner-up finishes at Talladega and Kansas in the spring so the potential for continued strong performances is very much there.

Kevin Harvick. Harvick’s fourth-place finish was a workman-like effort. He didn’t lead any laps, but he nabbed a good points day to give him a nice buffer in the standings — especially considering the problems of others — heading to Talladega. The finish also marked his sixth straight top-seven finish this season and his 10th such finish in the past 11 races.

Who’s not

Ryan Blaney. It looked like Blaney was going to have a nice day as he scored stage points in both stages and was shaping up for a top-10 finish. However, the No. 12 Team Penske Ford lost its brakes and went to the garage before finishing 35th. Talladega has been hit-or-miss for YRB while Kansas has one of his better tracks on the Cup circuit. Given the points deficit he faces and the quality of drivers ahead of him in the standings, those races are close to must-win for him at this point.

Joey Logano. Logano had to go to the garage before the race started with a rear axle issue and returned to the track 23 laps down. The 34th-place finish leaves the reigning champion squarely on the cutline since William Byron owns the better finish in this round so far. If you are looking for a bright side, he does have three wins at Talladega — including two in the fall race under the elimination playoff format.

Chase Elliott. Elliott came into this race with a 4.4 average finish at Dover — his best track on the circuit — but he “blew up” on Lap 8 as he described over the radio and that put a serious damper on their day. The 38th-place finish leaves Elliott in a bit of a points hole in the Round of 12. He is the most recent winner at Talladega, where the round will continue next Sunday.

BUBBLE WATCH

Rank	Driver	Points to cutoff
5.	Kevin Harvick	+42
6.	Brad Keselowski	+20
7.	Alex Bowman	+17
8.	William Byron	+0
—————	CUT-OFF LINE	—————
9.	Joey Logano	-0
10.	Clint Bowyer	-4
11.	Chase Elliott	-7
12.	Ryan Blaney	-22

Next race

The Monster Energy Series travels to Talladega Superspeedway to tackle the high banks of Alabama and pack racing in the 1000Bulbs.com 500 on Oct. 13 (2 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Who it favors

Brad Keselowski. The 2012 champion has five wins at Talladega — the most among active drivers. Two of those victories have come in the playoff race during the elimination era. Keselowski is regarded as the best superspeedway racer right now and he will be a favorite at the 2.66-mile track.

Who it hurts

Martin Truex Jr. Superspeedway racing and Truex do not go together so it’s a pretty good thing that the 2017 champion scored a runner-up finish at Dover to give himself the points lead and +63 advantage on the cutline. In 58 starts at Daytona and Talladega, he has four top fives (two of those came at Talladega) and 12 top 10s (eight at Talladega). His 21.3 average finish at Talladega is tied for second-worst for him among active tracks on the circuit. And if you are looking at recent results: He hasn’t finished better than 20th in the past six races there.

Posted on October 6, 2019October 6, 2019 by Holly Cain

Kyle Larson celebrated his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory in two years Sunday at Dover International Speedway, taking the checkered flag in the Drydene 400 by a convincing 1.578-second lead over Martin Truex Jr. and securing himself and his Chip Ganassi Racing team their first-ever berth in the upcoming Round of 8.

Larson’s friend and polesitter, Denny Hamlin, finished fifth after leading a race-high 218 laps. But perhaps the two golf buddies would agree, on this Sunday, Larson’s long game was just a bit better.

Larson, who started alongside Hamlin on the front row, took the race lead on a fast pit stop by his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet team during the Stage 2 break and pulled out to a five-, then six-second advantage on the field – first on Hamlin then on Truex, a contender all afternoon. Truex won Stage 2 and led 15 laps, but a slight pit-stop miscue put the 2017 Cup champion out of the pits sixth on that stage stop instead of with the lead.

“After the first stage, I kind of changed my driving style up and I felt like I made the car better at the same time, and it really benefited our long runs,’’ said Larson, who led 154 laps en route to his sixth career win and first playoff victory. “That’s as good as I’ve ever been around cutting the bottom here. Just a great combination here. Good to be fast in practice and then be good again in the race and get the win.”

“This is unbelievable,’’ he continued, motioning toward the track’s front grandstands in gratitude. “I’ve always wanted to win a Cup race here. I’ve been close a number of times, so to get a Golden Monster (trophy) is going to be pretty sweet.’’

Larson and Truex’s fellow playoff contenders, Alex Bowman, Kevin Harvick and Hamlin, rounded out the top five. Regular-season champion Kyle Busch, who started lowest on the grid of the 12 playoff drivers in 18th, rallied from an early-race pit-road penalty to finish sixth.

Heading to the second race of the NASCAR Playoffs’ three-race Round 2, Larson’s victory puts him atop the standings with a 500-mile race at the historic Talladega Superspeedway next week. Truex’s runner-up finish puts him atop the points – 15 points ahead of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Hamlin. Busch’s rally puts him fourth in the points standings – tied with Hamlin.

“We were catching him at the end, got close, just unfortunate there,’’ Truex said. “We win and lose as a team and the guys will clean it up for sure.

“Every week is about getting most points you can, so a positive day for us.’’

Positive would be an understatement for Larson, who celebrated in Victory Lane for the first time in 75 races, hoisting Dover’s special golden trophy designed to commemorate the track’s 100th Cup Series race. Larson has been consistently good at Dover throughout his six-year Cup career, earning a pair of runner-up finishes previously. He was third there this spring – a race won by Truex.

Hamlin, who won the pole position by a mere .003 seconds over Larson, looked strong early but radioed to his team with 130 laps remaining he was worried about his car’s engine. At the time, however, he was running fastest among the field and maintaining a nearly two-second advantage over third place. With about 60 laps to go, Truex got around Hamlin.

Plenty of lapped traffic put Truex in position to perhaps make a move toward Larson. Twice the traffic cut Larson’s leads from more than five seconds to less than two seconds.

Among the other playoff-eligible drivers, Clint Bowyer rallied to a 10th-place finish, one position ahead of 2012 Cup champion Brad Keselowski, who was the only driver to score top-five finishes in all three opening round races. William Byron was 13th.

It was a tough day for several other playoff drivers. Ryan Blaney, who ran top 10 much of the afternoon, pit on Lap 298 complaining of a brake issue. The Team Penske crew took his No. 12 Ford to the garage for repairs, and he finished 35th.

It was nothing short of a monstrous beginning for two other playoff competitors. Reigning Cup champion Joey Logano didn’t even take the green flag with the field. Instead his No. 22 Team Penske Ford was in the garage, where the team was furiously working to repair an axle problem. He returned to the track 24 laps down and finished 34th.

Defending Dover race winner and last week’s Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval winner, Chase Elliott, only lasted eight laps – his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet suffered an early engine failure. He was officially scored last – 38th – and like Logano and Blaney, will need to have big points days at both Talladega and Kansas Speedway. Elliott won at Talladega in May and is the defending Kansas playoff winner.

Matt DiBenedetto finished seventh – best among the non-playoff drivers. Jimmie Johnson, whose 11 Dover wins makes him the track’s winningest driver, scored points in both Stage 1 and Stage 2 to take over the points lead among drivers who didn’t qualify for the playoffs. He now leads Daniel Suarez by 10 points.