Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR officials disqualified the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota on Saturday afternoon, throwing out Christopher Bell’s third-place finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series after his car failed post-race inspection.

RELATED: Custer holds on at Chicagoland

According to Wayne Auton, managing director for the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the No. 20 failed the height station of post-race inspection, which is standard procedure for the top-five finishing vehicles and a sixth selected at random. Bell was demoted to a last-place result in the 38-car field.

“When we put the sticks on, the car failed both front heights and the right rear,” Auton said. “The front was extremely low. The right rear was a little high, which is normally what you’ll see whenever a car on the front sort of tilts toward the front. The rear’s going to come up; it’s got to go somewhere.”

The No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing operation had until Monday at noon ET to initiate the appeal process, and NASCAR did not receive a request for an appeal during that time. No additional penalties will be handed down after the disqualification.

Additionally, NASCAR officials announced that the race-winning Stewart-Haas Racing No. 00 Ford of Cole Custer was found with one lug nut not safely secured after a post-race check. NASCAR Rule Book guidelines call for a fine issued to the crew chief for such an infraction, but the results for the No. 00 will stand.

Auton mentioned that the No. 20 JGR team was “one of our biggest assets” in the recent process of fine-tuning the inspection process in regards to ride heights. Auton said that inspectors now unhook the shocks before and after the race to provide a clearer baseline. Auton said officials checked the car for damage and found only a rub on a quarter panel, “not enough to look at anything,” he added.

Saturday, Auton said he conferred with No. 20 crew chief Jason Ratcliff before and after the inspection. “Things happen and we feel 100% confident that we did our job the way we do every car,” Auton said. “We checked every car the same way. We had five other cars that went right through the same process at the end of the race … and they all cleared the heights just fine. Since we started this in Daytona back in February, this is the first one that we’ve even seen close. I think Jason was a little surprised, and I’m sure they’ll go back and do their due diligence to see exactly what may have happened.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

JOLIET, Ill. – Austin Dillon earned his third Busch Pole Award of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season Saturday evening at Chicagoland Speedway, his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet posting a speed of 176.263 mph around the 1.5-mile track.

Kevin Harvick will start second, his fifth front row start of the season in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate, Dillon’s RCR teammate Daniel Hemric was third fastest, seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson was fourth and Kurt Busch will roll out fifth on the grid.

RELATED: Qualifying results | Full inspection report

The qualifying order was provisional until pre-race inspection Sunday morning, which Dillon’s car passed. In all, 36 of the other 37 cars passed inspection, with Matt Tifft’s No. 36 Ford being the lone failure. The pole win was a possible sign of promise for Dillon, the 2018 Daytona 500 winner who hasn’t had a top-20 finish in the last four races and has only a pair of top-10 finishes in total this year. The pole position, Dillon conceded, was a bit of a pleasant surprise compared to where he had run in practice earlier Saturday.

“You don’t usually see a guy that was 21st and 25th in both practice sessions jump up to the pole but I actually felt really confident in our car in the second practice,’’ Dillon said. “When we put on our stickers (tires) we had our car too low. We were hitting the track. So our speed wasn’t there because of that. … I felt confident that our car was good and driving good. We just needed to get off [hitting] the track and we did and we went really fast. It was a good lap.’’

MORE: Chicagoland weekend schedule

His teammate Hemric was equally as enthusiastic. Third place is a career best start for the 28-year-old first-year Cup driver.

“We all enjoy coming to these places where you can try to find little advantages throughout the weekend, practices and qualifying to try and dial in your car to have some versatility to it,’’ Hemric said. “If you can do that and maintain grip, it gives you more opportunities to move.

“I’m a big fan of this place and a big fan of all of the tracks like this. I’m excited about our speed there in our Camaro ZL1 and hopefully it’s a sign of what’s to come in the race.’’

Johnson will be making his best start since winning the pole position at Texas two months ago and Busch will similarly be making his best start since winning the outside pole at Bristol in April.

Michael McDowell, who will roll off from the seventh position, earned the best start in the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford this season.

Defending race winner Kyle Busch was 17th fastest in qualifying, one position ahead of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate and fellow four-time 2019 race winner Martin Truex Jr.

 

Posted on by Holly Cain

JOLIET, Ill. – For the vast majority of Saturday’s Camping World 300 at Chicagoland Speedway it looked like another non-too-subtle reminder of how good the NASCAR Xfinity Series triumphant trio has been – championship leaders Cole Custer, Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick showed the way.

Ultimately it was Custer’s time to celebrate this weekend, leading a dominant 151 of the race’s 200 laps to take his fourth Xfinity win of the season in the No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford and the sixth Xfinity victory of his career.

RELATED: Race results | Chicagoland schedule

He earned a solid 2.917-second triumph over reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano, who was making his first Xfinity start of the season. Bell was third but was disqualified after the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota failed post-race inspection. The DQ dropped Bell to 38th-place in the final results.

Michael Annett, who led 25 laps late in the race playing a pit stop strategy, finished third. Brandon Jones was fourth, while Austin Cindric rounded out the top five. Reddick ended up ninth, losing positions only in the waning laps.

“I think we’re going to hit it this summer, we have some awesome cars,’’ Custer excitedly told the front grandstands. “I don’t know how to get the car any better, I’m just lucky to drive it.’’

Custer, Bell and Reddick have now combined to win 11 of the season’s 15 races, including the last nine consecutively. Custer and Bell have a series best four wins apiece.

At times – especially following a restart – the affectionately well-worn Chicagoland Speedway surface helped sustain four and five-wide racing in a free-for-all that set the tone of the race behind Custer.

The SHR driver never seemed to have a problem retaking the lead – he passed polesitter Logano only three laps into the race, en route to the Stage 1 victory. Logano, who started from the pole position, retook the lead late in Stage 2 and held on to claim that stage victory.

But Custer’s No. 00 Ford was just too much for the field, losing the lead only briefly at times but then forcefully and easily retaking it at every opportunity. He passed Michael Annett on a restart with 22 laps to go and never looked back. It’s Custer’s second win in the last four weeks (also including Pocono) and he was runner-up to Bell in the last race at Iowa.

The effort in the oppressive 90-degree heat was impressive even to Custer’s competitors.

When asked where he was getting beat by Custer on track, Logano grinned and deadpanned, “At Chicagoland.’’

“They did a good job. They had the fastest car in practice and Cole did an amazing job.’’

The Xfinity Series’ next race is the Circle K Firecracker 250, scheduled Friday night (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM) at Daytona International Speedway.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Holly Cain

JOLIET, Ill. –  Both Joe Gibbs Racing team drivers Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch eased into grins Saturday morning when asked if their Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series excellence this year has caused any sort of divisive inner-team rivalry.

Judging by the demeanor of these two former Cup champions, the competition is good between them and the respect aplenty.

And the results prove the positive vibes. Busch has four wins and series bests 10 top fives and 15 top 10s in the No. 18 JGR Toyota. He trails championship leader Joey Logano by a single point entering Sunday’s Camping World 400 at Chicagoland Speedway (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Truex, who drives the No. 19 JGR Toyota, is ranked fifth in the standings, but his four wins ties Busch for most in the series. He has seven top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.

RELATED: 1-2 finishes for Truex, Busch | Inside the teammate rivalry of Truex, Busch

“I would say that it’s a friendly rivalry,’’ Busch said. “The way we go about it, we put everything out on the table. We have crashed each other a few times and we have been pissed at each other a few times, but a couple weeks later we are back to business and we are joking around in meetings and we are working with one another and stuff like that.

“You are going to have those situations that happen just because of how close we are running. We try to give each other the space you need and the respect that each of us deserve. Sometimes we run into one another, but that happens. But it has been good overall.”

Truex agreed. The mutual respect is there and even a certain acceptance and fondness of their newly-strengthened friendship since Truex joined JGR this season.

“I think it’s definitely more of a friendly rivalry now that we are the same shop,’’ Truex said of their relationship. “I think there were some challenges throughout the years with two different teams. It wasn’t always on-track stuff. Definitely now, it’s more a friendly rivalry. It has been really good.”

The two have won the last three race races at Chicago – Busch winning last year and Truex winning the previous two races. Twice this year they’ve finished first and second. Busch won at Phoenix and Truex was runner-up. Truex won last week at Sonoma and Busch was runner-up.

“We were joking all weekend last weekend,’’ Truex said of the Sonoma race. “It was cool to put it in Victory Lane and get the back-and-forth on pit lane. It was really cool that he stuck his head in there and to see all those guys after the race was really good. I’m sure they weren’t over the moon happy with me winning, but they were very respectful and great teammates about it.’’

Posted on by Staff Report

Joey Logano soared atop the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series speed chart Saturday afternoon at Chicagoland Speedway, leading final practice ahead of Sunday’s Camping World 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Logano posted a best lap of 174.452 mph in the Team Penske No. 22 Ford on the 1.5-mile track. His time was just one-thousandth of a second faster than Clint Bowyer, who posted a 174.447 mph speed in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Ford.

RELATED: Final practice results | 10-lap averages | Weekend schedule

Kevin Harvick, a two-time Chicagoland winner, rang up the third-fastest lap at 174.379 mph in Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 4 entry, completing a top-three sweep by Fords. Bubba Wallace was fourth in the No. 43 Chevrolet with Ryan Newman finishing out the top five in the No. 6 Ford.

Defending race winner Kyle Busch posted the 14th-fastest lap in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota. Teammate Martin Truex Jr., winner of four of the last eight Monster Energy Series races, was 19th fastest in the JGR No. 19 Toyota.

Busch Pole Qualifying to set the unofficial starting lineup is scheduled for Saturday at 6:35 p.m. ET (NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). | Stream live

Bowman leads first practice

Alex Bowman topped the leaderboard in Saturday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Chicagoland Speedway at 175.942 mph in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

Right behind him was Kurt Busch in the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet at 175.873 mph in what was a competitive session where drivers seemed to simulate race conditions.

MORE: Practice 1 results | 10-lap averages | Best photos from Chicago

Rounding out the top five were Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford at 175.850 mph, William Byron in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at 175.793 mph and Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at 175.690 mph.

Ryan Blaney led for most of the session in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford at 175.547 mph but was surpassed by several cars making qualifying runs in the closing minutes. He placed sixth.

Before laying down the fast lap, Bowman’s No. 88 needed a replacement driveshaft. The team made the adjustment with about 15 minutes remaining in the session and he came out and ran the fastest lap for the session.

Defending winner Kyle Busch was 16th on the board at 174.160 mph.

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

JOLIET, Ill. — Harrison Burton made strong inroads to kickstart a vital playoff push with a fourth-place finish in Friday night’s Camping World 225 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Burton and Ben Rhodes hold the final two points positions in the eight-driver playoff, but Ross Chastain’s victory last week at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway throws in a wrench. But in order for Chastain’s win to count for playoff eligibility, he needs to eclipse the top 20 in points by the end of the regular-season finale at Michigan. Following a seventh-place result on Friday night, Chastain is 10 points out from 20th in the standings.

RELATED: Series standings | Race results

As Burton entered the race 53 points behind Ben Rhodes in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series points standings, Rhodes’ evening was over right after it began. The No. 99 ThorSport Racing Ford blew a puff of smoke at the start, forcing Rhodes out of the event with engines issues.

Rhodes’ misfortune allowed Burton to gain 40 points, sitting 13 points behind in what is evolving into a tight battle for the final playoff spot with four races remaining in the regular season. Burton’s been making a major push to earn a playoff spot with three top fives in his last four races.

RELATED: Full Gander Outdoors Truck Series schedule

“Just gotta keep gaining, keep chipping away,” Burton said after the race. “We got a break tonight and he’s (Rhodes) a tough car to beat, so we just have to go out and have finishes like this, if not better.”

Facing scrutiny from team owner Kyle Busch earlier in the year, Burton acknowledged he has to be “perfect” to have any shot at earning a postseason ticket.

“It’s really, really hard to make these playoffs because there’s only eight positions and there’s a lot of competitive trucks,” Burton said. “Everyone is battling for a spot, just clawing and digging. We just have to keep doing that, keep being aggressive, keep showing up to bring our friends with us and take the spot from him.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

JOLIET, Ill. – Brett Moffitt has long insisted he wanted to earn a checkered flag this season with his performance on track and Friday night at Chicagoland Speedway he did just that – winning the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Camping World 225 by a no-doubt 3.950 seconds over Brandon Jones.

The reigning series champion Moffitt has been vocal in his desire to hoist a trophy this weekend at Chicago – for the second consecutive year. And he earned it in convincing style – smiling widely as the confetti flew in Victory Lane while the crowd cheered approvingly. It was a welcome and different scene from the win he was awarded two weeks ago at Iowa Speedway after Ross Chastain was disqualified.

Moffitt did not lead a lap in the race and only got to celebrate with his team in victory circle after the stands had emptied.

RELATED: Series standings | Official race results

Not this time.

“It’s like the first win,’’ his crew chief Jerry Baxter said with a wide smile after the race. “This feels real good.’’

“We’ll go home and celebrate,’’ Moffitt said. “I felt confident, it was just a matter of a caution coming out or not. I’m sure he (Baxter) was nervous, I was nervous, we were just praying for no caution to come out.’’

And celebrating in Victory Lane this time?

“It was a heck of a lot more fun, and it’s fun for not only me but for the whole pit crew,’’ Moffitt said.

Moffitt’s No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet certainly kept the field honest all race. Stewart Friesen finished third with rookie Harrison Burton and pole-winner Austin Hill rounding out the top-five. Six of the top-10-finishing drivers have never won a race before.

Three Kyle Busch Motorsports drivers earned top-10 finishes – 22-year-old Jones (runner-up), 18-year-old Burton (fourth) and 18-year old Todd Gilliland (sixth).

“We have just been working really really hard, all the guys at KBM busting their butts,’’ said Burton, who remains in playoff contention.

“I’m lucky to be in this position, we’re fighting our way into the playoffs and it’s a lot of fun. If we get in, they better watch out.”

RELATED: Burton narrows gap on playoff chase with Rhodes

Jones, who has only two previous truck starts this season, was equally as pleased with his runner-up finish.

“We put ourselves in position to learn a bit and that’s the most fun I’ve ever had in a truck race,’’ Jones said. “We’ve got two more with these guys.”

With playoff positions at stake and four races left to set the playoff field and plenty of pride on the line, a handful of the top-ranked drivers showed up at Chicagoland Speedway determined to settle for nothing less than a trophy. And it showed in a thrilling race featuring 12 lead changes and slowed by only five cautions (two for stage breaks).

The intensity was especially evident in the third and final stage. The trucks ran four-wide in the opening laps ultimately leading to the downfall of early race leader Grant Enfinger. The lapped car of Spencer Davis was running alongside Enfinger just after the final stage restart. Contact between the two forced Enfinger’s No. 98 Ford hard into the outside wall and sent Davis’ Chevrolet into the infield.

It was especially tough luck for Enfinger, who had led race-best 49 of the opening 73 laps up to that point and had scored the Stage 2 victory only minutes earlier. He ended up 16th and two laps down but maintained his championship points lead by 52 points over Friesen.

Enfinger’s fate was part of a rough night for his ThorSport Racing team. Two of his teammates – Ben Rhodes and Johnny Sauter had engine issues. Two-time series champion Matt Crafton scored a top 10 (eighth).

Chastain, who started 16th and had to pit early in the opening stage rallied back to a seventh-place finish. The hard work is especially important for Chastain, who won the race at Gateway last week but needs to break into the top 20 in the rankings to be playoff eligible. He is now 10 points behind Jennifer Jo Cobb at the 20th-place cutoff.

RELATED: Chastain keeps busy after playoff drive continues

Posted on by Holly Cain

JOLIET, Ill. – Ross Chastain smiled widely when asked Friday how his multi-win, playoff-brink of a season in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series has gone. But he insists he’s been too busy to bask in the spotlight or soak in the accolades coming his way.

And there have been plenty of both.

Chastain’s victory last weekend at Gateway put him in a more solid position to earn a shot at the truck series championship. With the win, the 26-year-old only needs to break into the top 20 in the points standings to earn the chance to compete for the season title. Coming off a seventh-place finish in Friday night’s Camping World 225 at Chicagoland Speedway, he now sits in 24th-place in the standings, only 10 points out of the 20th spot in the standings.

RELATED: Chastain scores Gander Trucks win at Gateway | Series standings

Chastain won earlier this season at Kansas Speedway but hadn’t declared his truck series championship intention yet so it didn’t count toward a truck championship eligibility. He won two weeks ago at Iowa, but his truck was disqualified and the victory wasn’t allowed to count toward his championship effort. It inspired instead of deterred him, however, and he answered with another win last week at Gateway.

So this weekend, Chastain’s only looking forward even if there’s little time to enjoy the view. He is entered in all three races at Chicagoland – Friday’s Gander Trucks race was his 40th start among the three series this season and most of any driver in NASCAR’s top three divisions. He’s also set to compete in Saturday’s Xfinity Series and Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup races.

And Chastain says he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Definitely,’’ Chastain said. “I had three hours of truck practice yesterday then today I’ll have an hour of Xfinity (Series) practice then 10 minutes later I’ll be qualifying a truck, so that will help me in the truck for sure. It’s the sensation of speed for me.‘’

Next week, Chastain returns to his home state for the annual July stop at Daytona International Speedway. He’ll visit a children’s hospital in St. Petersburg on Monday and then head over to his home in Alva on the Southwest Coast near Fort Myers. Yet as his star brightly rises in the NASCAR world, Chastain insists his profile hasn’t changed much – at home or at the race locales he visits.

He’s still the humble, driven competitor who is seizing the opportunity he’s earned.

“We’re hustling and now is the time more than ever I have to prove I want it,’’ Chastain said.

Posted on by Holly Cain

JOLIET, Ill. – Jeffrey Earnhardt has been all smiles and positive vibes this Xfinity Series season and Friday afternoon he remained optimistic and grateful for more opportunity awaiting him.

The 30-year-old grandson of the late seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Dale Earnhardt has scored major career milestones even in a part-time season. He earned his first Xfinity Series top 10 with a sixth-place showing at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March and his first top five, a third-place finish at Charlotte in May. He has three top 10s in six starts this season and earned the outside pole position at the season-opening Daytona race. He has started top 10 in five of the six races he’s competed in.

RELATED: Full Chicago schedule

Five of Earnhardt’s previous starts came in Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas. This week he’ll drive the No. 81 XCI Racing Toyota for the second time this season – and is splitting starts between the two teams.

“It’s been huge,’’ Earnhardt said of the results this year. “In my opinion it’s every driver’s dream to be able to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing and also with Xtreme Concepts Racing and them having the support from Joe Gibbs. It’s incredible.

“You go out every weekend knowing you’re racing for a win when before, a good day was racing for 25th you know, and you’re trying to take care of the car. Now, if you don’t leave it all out on the track they get mad at you.

“It’s been a change, but it’s been a good change. It’s exciting to have the opportunity to showcase my talents because people start to doubt you and wonder if you can drive or not when you’re in bad equipment. There’s tons of drivers out there well-talented who may never get the opportunity to compete in good equipment just because of circumstances. So I’m very fortunate and thankful for the opportunity I’ve got. I just really want to capitalize on it and get that win this year. I know we’ve been close and had some good runs but I really want to put it all together and put the car in victory lane.”