Kyle Busch nabs Busch Pole with fastest qualifying speed at Martinsville

Posted on October 27, 2018October 28, 2018 by Reid Spencer

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Hoping to reverse the outcome of this year’s spring race at Martinsville Speedway, Kyle Busch took the first step Saturday, winning the pole position for Sunday’s First Data 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the first race in the Round of 8 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

Driving the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Busch navigated the .526-mile short track in 19.673 seconds (96.254 mph) in the final round of knockout qualifying to edge fellow title contender Clint Bowyer (96.122 mph) for the top starting position by .027 seconds.

The series leader entering the penultimate round of the playoffs, Busch earned his fourth Busch Pole Award of the season — which became official after inspection Sunday morning finalized the starting order — his third at Martinsville and the 31st of his career. But it was only a first step.

Now comes the business of trying to beat Bowyer, who nipped Busch by 1.146 seconds in the sixth race of the regular season. After taking the top spot from Busch on Lap 387, Bowyer led the final 114 laps to seal the victory.

To start the process of swapping finishing positions with Bowyer, Busch claimed the No. 1 pit stall, the closest to the exit from pit road.

“Obviously, track position is important, but what’s more important is the opportunity to have that pit box,” Busch said. “That No. 1 pit box will hopefully do us good, we can have a great day, run up front much of the day and finish there, more importantly.

“Earlier this year, with Clint here, we were role-reversed, and hopefully we can keep it the way it is right now, this time 24 hours from now.”

With an average starting position of 14.0 this season, Bowyer was elated to put forth a strong effort in time trials.

“Good God, after the way I have been qualifying lately, it feels like I’m sitting on four poles,” said Bowyer, who enters the race tied for fifth in the series standings, facing a cut to the top-four drivers in two weeks at ISM Raceway. “We’re on the front row, man.

“When you won here in the spring, you know you have a shot. It is cool weather, kind of the same conditions. Obviously, it wasn’t the pole and Kyle was faster. Kyle is really good at laying laps down. I like the Sunday afternoon drives.”

Bowyer barely made it to the front row, edging Denny Hamlin (96.112 mph) for the second spot on the grid by .002 seconds. Ryan Blaney, who ran the fastest lap of time trials in the first round, qualified fourth, followed by playoff driver Aric Almirola.

With just under nine minutes left in the opening round, Bubba Wallace wheel-hopped the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet into Turn 3, spun into the outside wall and damaged the car beyond repair. Wallace will start from the rear of the field in a backup car.

Posted on October 27, 2018October 27, 2018 by Reid Spencer

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Qualifying aside, Saturday at Martinsville Speedway belonged to Johnny Sauter, who earned another shot at the NASCAR Camping World Series championship with a dominating victory in the Texas Roadhouse 200.

After inheriting the lead when pole winner and race leader Todd Gilliland came to pit road with 11 laps left in Stage 1, Sauter was out front for 148 of the remaining 161 Laps, sweeping both stages and the race win to grab a berth in the NCWTS Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

In winning a series-record fourth time at the .526-mile short track, the sixth time this season and the 23rd time in his career, Sauter, the 2016 series champion, assured himself of a sixth straight finish of fourth or better in the final standings.

With practice wiped out by rain on Friday, Sauter had to scramble from the eighth-place starting position he earned Saturday morning in the No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet.

RELATED: Playoff standings | Race results

“These guys busted their tails – everybody at GMS Racing,” Sauter said. “We came here, and we had done a lot of work with a new setup and we had it all ready to go. And we came here, and it was raining (on Friday) and I was like, ‘Now what?’

“And they said we’d run the old stuff because we couldn’t run that now. Just so proud of everybody at GMS Racing. I’m going to Homestead to fight for a championship. That’s what it’s all about.”

Brett Moffitt worked his way through the field from his 17th-place starting position to finish a distant second, 4.572 seconds behind Sauter. Moffitt heads to the second race in the Round of 6 third in the standings, 15 points ahead of fifth-place Justin Haley, who ran sixth on Saturday at a track he considers one of his worst.

Playoff driver Noah Gragson was second in each of the first two stages, finished seventh and holds second in the standings, 24 points above the cut line for the Championship 4, which will be set in two weeks hence at Phoenix.

Moffitt fought his way past third-place finisher Myatt Snider on Lap 187 of 200 to secure second place, but he couldn’t gain ground on Sauter.

“Obviously, we didn’t qualify this morning where we wanted to or expected to,” Moffitt said. “We had to be patiently aggressive. That was our game plan before the race. Fortunately, we stayed out of trouble and (crew chief) Scott (Zipadelli) did a great job adjusting on the truck and telling the guys on pit road what to do to make the truck faster.

“We weren’t where we needed to be at the start of the race. It’s Martinsville, so I guess survival is great, but losing another one to Johnny is not.”

Championship contender Grant Enfinger rallied from a costly spin on Lap 160 to finish 14th and maintain fourth place in the standings, two points up on Haley. Two-time champion Matt Crafton is sixth in the Playoff standings after running 13th on Saturday.

Ben Rhodes, bounced from the Playoffs at Talladega two weeks ago, came home fourth, followed by Kyle Benjamin, who scored his second top-five showing at Martinsville in only his second start in the series.

Posted on October 27, 2018June 22, 2021 by Jonathan Merryman

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Over the past six races at Martinsville Speedway, Kyle Busch has yet to finish outside of the top five, the only driver still alive in the NASCAR Playoffs sporting that stat.

However, that wasn’t always the case at the “Paperclip.” By the numbers, Busch’s Martinsville stats were ho-hum before 2015 — he ran middle of the pack.

So, what changed?

In 2015, the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team faced plenty of challenges and obstacles. Busch missed the first third of the season with leg injuries suffered in the Xfinity Series season opener in Daytona. But perhaps the longer-reaching change was the assignment of first-year Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series crew chief Adam Stevens, who Busch credits for his recent success at the half-mile Virginia track.

“You know this track changes quite a bit throughout the entirety of the event and through 500 laps so I think being able to give better feedback,” Busch said Saturday after opening practice for Sunday’s First Data 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM). “I think having Adam not scared to make adjustments as he knows what’s going to happen and what he feels is right in his gut that allows us to be up front.”

The numbers don’t lie. Since the 2015 season, Busch has racked up two wins at Martinsville and six top-five finishes. He will start Sunday’s race from the pole position.

The slate of races after Martinsville in the postseason’s Round of 8 line up well for the No. 18 team as well. Busch came away from Texas this spring with a victory. He has a string of six top-10 finishes at Phoenix, and in the last three events at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Busch has finishes of first, sixth and second.

“We know we go into some of these race tracks maybe a little bit behind,” Busch said, “but I feel like with Adam and myself with the way we are able to work together and the things we are able to do together, we can have solid runs and solid finishes and even try to chase for wins.”

Posted on October 27, 2018October 28, 2018 by Staff Report

The Round of 8, the final three races that will determine NASCAR’s Championship 4 field for Homestead-Miami Speedway, has arrived. Eight drivers will vie for four spots, sorting out the pecking order at Martinsville Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and ISM Raceway at Phoenix.

That quest begins with Sunday’s First Data 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Martinsville. With the Monster Energy Series bracing for the finishing kick to the Nov. 18 season finale, NASCAR.com staff members have weighed in with their predictions for how the Round of 8 will unfold.

Zack Albert
Championship 4: Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano
Last one out: Chase Elliott
Outlook: The Big 3’s winning ways may have cooled slightly in the postseason, but the likelihood of a return to their regular programming runs high in the Round of 8. Harvick’s speed should carry him in all three races, especially Phoenix. Kyle Busch has few weak links remaining on the schedule, and he’s ripe to defend his Martinsville title this weekend. Should victories elude them, their bevy of playoff points should carry the baton. Figuring out the fourth for the Championship 4 is a near toss-up, but expect Team Penske to throw its resources behind the organization’s lone remaining driver in the playoff hunt: Logano.

Allie Davison
Championship 4: Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer
Last one out: Joey Logano
Outlook: There is no one statistically better than Kyle Busch at any of the tracks in the Round of 8, so a Championship 4 berth is all but locked up for the No. 18 team. Elliott is catching lightning in a bottle with two wins already in the postseason. He will need to make gains on points, but I believe the No. 9 team seals a spot with a win in the Round of 8. Harvick and Bowyer will represent Stewart-Haas Racing as the last two rounding it out, skating by on points.

Chris Graythen | Getty Images

Pat DeCola
Championship 4: Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr.
Last one out: Joey Logano
Outlook: Busch and Harvick enter the Round of 8 around 40 points to the good with some of their best tracks looming — they both are most likely in. Given how hot Elliott has been the second half of the season, it’s hard to pick against him. The opposite can be said about Truex Jr., who has struggled lately. I toiled over him versus Logano, but ultimately I’m sticking with the defending champ’s season-to-date resume and the best crew chief in the garage propelling him to his third Championship 4 appearance in four years.

RJ Kraft
Championship 4: Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano
Last one out: Martin Truex Jr.
Outlook: My predicted race winners — Elliott at Martinsville, Harvick at Texas and Logano at Phoenix — leave room for one driver to advance to the Championship 4 on points. That spot goes to Kyle Busch, who uses his edge in playoff points and solid showings at all three Round of 8 tracks to hold off Truex Jr.

Jason Hanna

Jonathan Merryman
Championship 4: Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano
Last one out: Martin Truex Jr.
Outlook: Looking at the numbers, Kyle Busch seems like a lock for the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Despite his points cushion, Kyle has been consistently good at Martinsville, Texas and ISM Raceway as of late. Harvick is a lock at ISM, Elliott is riding a wave of momentum and Logano continues to quietly point his way through. Truex was a tough call but unless he can pull off a win at Texas, I just don’t see the No. 78 team defending their title.

Jessica Ruffin
Championship 4: Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick
Last one out: Joey Logano
Outlook: With their consistent strength (and points) all year, Kyle Busch and Harvick will make the Championship 4, but I believe fellow Big 3 driver and reigning series champion Truex Jr. won’t compete for his second straight title with the No. 78 team’s performances slowing as of late. Elliott will ride his current momentum all the way to Miami, while Bowyer will capitalize on Stewart-Haas Racing’s speed and his own playoff adrenaline for the final spot. Logano has enjoyed a strong playoff run thus far carrying the torch for Team Penske in the end of the playoffs, but his fire will burn out just before the finale.

Kathy Sheldon
Championship 4: Clint Bowyer, Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr.
Last one out: Kyle Busch
Outlook: Call it a hunch, but Truex Jr.’s cold streak is about to snap. After leading zero laps in the past three races, Martinsville can put him in the mix with the powerhouse No. 4 team and surging Chase Elliott. The fourth spot looks like a horse race, and I’m betting on Bowyer as the second SHR car to make the Championship 4 with Ford prevailing again.

Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images

Chase Wilhelm
Championship 4: Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr.
Last one out: Clint Bowyer
Outlook: Some will say my picks include the Big 3 and Elliott, but I’d say it’s more like the Big 4. With two wins in the Round of 12, Elliott has made a late-season case to become the much-debated fourth member of the exclusive club. I was extremely closing to trading in Truex for Bowyer, but I think the No. 78 team strings together better finishes in the Round of 8.

George Winkler
Championship 4: Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick
Last one out: Martin Truex Jr.
Outlook:Kyle Busch and Harvick are in the catbird seat thanks to playoff bonus points and tracks that favor them. Elliott is the driver who’s on a roll with two wins in the past three races. Meanwhile, Truex Jr. seems to have lost some speed, leaving the door open for a surprise like Bowyer, who won at Martinsville earlier this year and is also strong at ISM Raceway.

Posted on October 27, 2018October 27, 2018 by Brad Norman

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — The No. 14 team is out of postseason mulligans.

Clint Bowyer understands that to race for a title at Homestead-Miami Speedway, he can’t afford to dig another deep hole to start the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Round of 8.

MORE: Full Round of 8 standings | Entire Martinsville weekend schedule

As he drove up from his home in Mocksville, North Carolina, on Saturday morning, the Kansas native knew the opportunity awaiting him at Martinsville Speedway is his for the taking. Bowyer snapped a 190-race losing streak with a breakthrough victory at the half-mile Virginia track in the spring and has earned a top-10 finish there 15 times in 25 starts.

Statistically, Bowyer’s best shot to take a checkered flag in the Round of 8 is at Martinsville, but he doesn’t want to say that just because he earned a win there in the spring it guarantees he’ll pick up where he left off in Victory Lane.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily an absolute must-win,” Bowyer said. “You can’t put that pressure on yourself the first race of three races. If you do, you’re probably going to go out there desperate and make a mistake. We’re not in that situation. We’ve got to go out there and take care of business on a track that is typically good for me.

“That doesn’t mean anything. Doesn’t mean you’re going to go out there and dominate a stage or two stages or the race win, but you’ve got to go out there and take care of business. Be solid on the track that’s been good to you over the years and take advantage of the weekend. … You allow yourself to think, ‘If I win this thing this weekend I’m in the dance.’ That’s a cool thought and something to think about and extra incentive.”

The pedigree he has developed as one of the best at Martinsville wasn’t something that happened overnight. Looking back on his first few attempts around the ‘Paperclip,’ Bowyer had to adapt to the track and learn from his fellow drivers’ mistakes and accomplishments.

“Pretty much anyone when they get here is like a dart without feathers,” he explained. “I was no exception to that. You’re all over the place. The hardest thing about here is that just want to get in a place and ride and learn. Figure out the track. Figure your conditions out. Figure out what you need to do. Learn from your peers. You can’t do that here. … There is no one that shows up here and shows they’re dominant off the bat. It’s an acquired thing. You have to learn and know what prevails here.”

Bowyer also isn’t alone in the hunt for a Championship 4 berth — all four of the Stewart-Haas Racing teams made the Round of 8 cut with Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Aric Almirola joining their teammate.

“We have half the battle,” he said. “I think because of the willingness to cooperate with one another on a driver’s stand point, the willingness to work with one another on crew chiefs, engineers and everything involved. … The teamwork is what makes the dream work.”

Despite the pressure of a Championship 4 spot lurking, Bowyer is embracing the chance to win another grandfather clock and lock down a spot for the No. 14 team.

“Hell yeah, you let yourself think that,” he shared. “Confidence is everything in sports. You have to be rolling up that highway here confident.”

Posted on October 27, 2018October 27, 2018 by Zack Albert

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Chase Elliott first came to Martinsville Speedway for his Monster Energy Series debut in the spring of 2015 as a fresh-faced 19-year-old driver, ready for his first challenge in NASCAR’s top division. The details were memorable.

Elliott had significant damage — heavy front, minor rear — a loss of power steering and a busted radiator, all before 100 of the 500 laps were on the board. The fifth Hendrick Motorsports entry, numbered 25, spent several laps behind the wall for repairs and limped home to a 38th-place result.

“I’ve been trying to forget about that day, actually,” Elliott said Saturday upon his return to the .526-mile track ahead of Sunday’s First Data 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM), the first race in the postseason’s Round of 8. In the years since, his Martinsville results have been far more memorable for some mixed reasons.

The inauspicious debut was the first of five premier-series races that year for Elliott. The venues — Martinsville, Richmond, Charlotte, Indianapolis and Darlington — were selected by crew chief Alan Gustafson (among others) for their difficulty and their variety. By that time, Elliott had already been crowned as an Xfinity Series champion, but said he was in no position to dispute the choices.

“I think just because (Gustafson) tried to pick some really tough races or what races he thought I was going to struggle at,” Elliott said. “He guessed pretty good because they were terrible, to be completely honest. I’m glad we did that when we did it, and I didn’t have a whole lot of fun at the time, but I was glad he chose the races that he did.”

Since then, Elliott has steadily clawed into a contender’s role, finishing third here in the spring of 2017 and then challenging for the win last fall before his infamous run-in with Denny Hamlin. In between those, an organizational test last October included tutelage from four-time series champ Jeff Gordon — a nine-time Martinsville winner — offering his wisdom for finding the best way around the finicky Virginia track.

“Jeff came over here with us and I was able to talk with him and actually to be able to have enough time to digest and go through some different things that he felt like I was doing wrong,” Elliott said. “I feel like that helped, had a great performance as far as how our car drove last fall, and then came back this spring and sucked. So I don’t know. Definitely have some work to do still yet, but it’s so hit or miss and this race track is such a rhythm track. You can go an entire weekend and never find your rhythm here, or I have. Really hard for me to, for whatever reason. I think that’s really key.”

The overall rhythm for Elliott and the No. 9 team in the last 11 races has been a winning tempo. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has clicked off his first three career wins, including a triumph last weekend at Kansas Speedway, to add fanfare to his grand entrance into the next round of the NASCAR Playoffs.

It’s also created a spark organization-wide, reviving a longtime celebration custom for the Rick Hendrick-owned team.

“I think for the men and women around campus, I rang the Victory Bell that has been tradition there at HMS this week, and there is a lot of fire there right now,” Elliott said. “If you can create fire you can get some momentum and push from everyone around the campus, I think that is a big deal. I think it matters. Every person that works there has a hand in what goes on whether you want believe that or not — it’s true. If everyone that is coming to work that is ultimately building the car that is sitting here in the garage, if they have some fire and purpose, I think our performance will be better.”

Posted on October 27, 2018October 27, 2018 by Staff Report

Ryan Newman topped the leaderboard in Saturday’s second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Martinsville Speedway at 95.709 mph mph in the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

Newman, a 2012 winner at the Virginia track, aims to put together a solid chapter to close his career at RCR before shifting to Roush Fenway Racing next season.

Right behind him was Chase Elliott in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at 94.913 mph.

MORE: Martinsville schedule | Full practice speeds

Rounding out the top five were: Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (94.784 mph), Brad Keselowski, who led opening practice, in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford (94.510 mph) and AJ Allmendinger in the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet (94.242 mph). Busch and Elliott remain in title contention among the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Playoffs.

The other drivers still in playoff contention landed on the speed chart as follows: Clint Bowyer (P6, 94.209 mph), Martin Truex Jr. (P9, 94.125 mph), Kevin Harvick (P10, 94.115 mph), Joey Logano (P15, 93.985 mph), Kurt Busch (P17, 93.905 mph) and Aric Almirola (P21, 93.567 mph).

Monster Energy Series Busch Pole Qualifying is later today at 4:05 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App. Tune in Sunday to watch the Round of 8 opener at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App.

Practice 1

Brad Keselowski topped the leaderboard in Saturday’s first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Martinsville Speedway at 95.714 mph mph in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford.

Keselowski, a 2017 winner at the Virginia track, is looking to wind down his season on a high note after being eliminated from the NASCAR Playoffs last week at Kansas Speedway.

Right behind him was Kurt Busch in the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford at 95.646 mph.

MORE: 10-lap averages | Full Practice 1 speeds

Rounding out the top five were Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (95.593 mph), Ryan Blaney in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford (95.357 mph) and Aric Almirola in the No. 10 SHR Ford (95.280 mph). Both Busch brothers and Almirola are in the playoffs.

The other drivers still in playoff contention landed on the speed chart as follows: Martin Truex Jr. (P6, 95.256 mph), Clint Bowyer (P7, 95.137 mph), Kevin Harvick (P11, 94.689 mph), Chase Elliott (P16, 94.590 mph) and Joey Logano (P20, 94.515 mph).

With 15 minutes remaining in the session, the caution came out for debris after Almirola had a tire go down on his No. 10.

The Nos. 1 (Jamie McMurray), 51 (Jeb Burton) and 88 (Alex Bowman) were all held 15 minutes at the end of the practice session for failing pre-race inspection twice at Kansas.

Posted on October 27, 2018 by

Ahead of Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) — the first race in the Round of 8 — we take a look back at the previous four fall Martinsville races in the elimination-style playoffs format. All produced incredible wins and epic celebrations, with long-lingering impacts. We expect the same on Sunday.

Today, we look back at Kyle Busch’s 2017 win, which would be the final of his career.

Previous: Dale Jr. in 2014 | Jeff Gordon in 2015 | Jimmie Johnson in 2016

The scene

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series entered Martinsville Speedway for the first race in the Playoffs Round of 8 with Kyle Larson, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. each eliminated in the Round of 12. Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. were the eight title-eligible drivers seeking to advance out of the three-race semifinal bracket and qualify for the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Similar to how they had dominated the regular season, Busch and Truex convincingly established themselves as the co-championship favorites once the postseason began by combining to win all but one of the first six playoff races. The only exception was Keselowski winning the crash-filled event at Talladega Superspeedway.

Both Busch and Truex figured to be in the mix at Martinsville, though the half-mile short track also opened the door for those who maybe didn’t have the speed to win on an aerodynamic-dependent oval. The drama was intensified with several challengers identifying this race as their best opportunity to beat Busch and Truex and claim a berth in the Championship 4.

The action

Keselowski quickly established that he had every intention of beating Busch and Truex, with the Team Penske driver taking the lead for the first time on Lap 49 and leading a total of 108 laps on the afternoon. But Busch also had a fast car, taking control during the middle portions and leading a race-high 184 laps overall.

Eventually, Keselowski would recapture the top position when he passed Elliott with 29 laps remaining in regulation then proceeded to build up a comfortable advantage over second place. It seemed Keselowski was poised to take the victory only for Logano to spinout with a flat tire to bring out the caution, erasing his teammate’s lead with seven laps left in regulation.

On the ensuing restart is when things got topsy-turvy. Elliott was second to Keselowski on the restart and as they fought for the lead Elliott nudged Keselowski up the track. This allowed Hamlin to close on Elliott’s bumper with Hamlin positioning himself to execute a classic short-track bump-and-run. Instead of merely moving Elliott out of the groove, however, Hamlin slammed into Elliott as they entered Turn 3, causing Elliott to spin into the outside wall.

WATCH: Hamlin takes a bumper to Elliott

Hamlin now had the lead, though he still had to make it through an overtime restart he created by controversially crashing into Elliott. And on the decisive restart Hamlin lost that lead to Busch, who pushed aside his teammate to take the spot on the final lap. Busch then held off a off a charging Truex with the two championship favorites nearly side-by-side coming to the checkered flag as a massive pileup occurred behind them on the frontstretch, ensnaring a multitude of cars and clouding the track in smoke.

More fireworks were to come.

Angered by what he deemed Hamlin’s over-overaggressiveness, the normally mild-mannered Elliott climbed out of his wrecked car to confront Hamlin face-to-face. The now rivals exchanged heated words and Hamlin found himself greeted with a loud chorus of boos as he walked down pit road afterward.

MORE: Chase Elliott holds no grudge against Hamlin

The winner

Lost amid the craziness of the final laps and the theatrics of Elliott vehemently expressing his displeasure with Hamlin, Busch celebrated a win that meant for the third consecutive season he would be competing for the series title at Miami. And by finishing second, Truex virtually assured himself a spot in the Championship 4.

The celebration

via GIPHY

The impact

Although Elliott’s title hopes took a big hit he would get some modicum of revenge on Hamlin two weeks later during the Round of 8 elimination race at ISM Raceway. As he and Hamlin raced side-by-side for position Elliott subtly forced Hamlin up the track and into the frontstretch wall. The incident caused damage to Hamlin’s car, eventually cutting a tire and sending Hamlin crashing. Before the incident Hamlin was well positioned to avoid being eliminated from the postseason. Instead, he finished 35th and was eliminated.

WATCH: Elliott, Hamlin make contact at Phoenix

Harvick, Keselowski and Truex joined Busch in advancing to the Championship 4. Truex would outduel Busch over the closing laps to win his first-ever Cup title.

Posted on October 26, 2018October 26, 2018 by Reid Spencer

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – It was 11:15 on a rainy Friday morning, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series playoff driver Noah Gragson was already on his second hot dog when he took questions from reporters at Martinsville Speedway.

“The first one was mustard and slaw,” Gragson said of the Martinsville dog. “I don’t like chili, but I got chili on the second one, and it’s not bad. It’s got a little beef jerky taste to it, so it’s not bad.”

The hot dogs may be a consistent amenity at the .526-mile short track, but the racing surface at NASCAR’s oldest Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series facility is variable and fickle.

“I feel like this race track itself is different every time you come here,” said Gragson, who is third in the Playoff standings, 11 points ahead of fifth place, with the field set to be narrowed to the top four three races hence at Phoenix. “You can come with the same setup for 10 years and you’re going to run differently every single time. It’s just the way the track takes rubber.

“I feel like the weather and the temperature outside plays a big part in that.”

With persistent rain forcing cancellation of all track activity on Friday, Gragson was resigned to qualifying on Saturday morning with no practice.

“I’m coming back with a different setup than what we had in the springtime here, so not getting any practice, you can’t really lean on past success here,” said Gragson, who picked up his first victory in the series at last year’s Playoff race at Martinsville. “Just been trying to work hard with my crew chief, Rudy Fugle.

“He and I sat down. We had ice cream a couple days ago for about an hour and just talked about this weekend and what we needed to do about this round in the playoffs and then Martinsville and just coming here with a different setup. It’s going to be challenging.”

Posted on October 26, 2018October 26, 2018 by Holly Cain

In a certain sense, Aric Almirola is “playing with house money” as he makes a run at his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship. Although he long has been considered a talent, the 34-year-old Tampa, Florida, native is surpassing even high expectations during these playoffs in his first season with the Stewart-Haas Racing team.

The four-car championship organization is a perennial favorite in the Cup Series and this year makes up half the remaining Round of 8 championship field. And the “new guy” in the SHR group, Almirola, has absolutely seized opportunity and exceeded first-year potential by most accounts. He is not only keeping up with his SHR teammates Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch, he’s the only member of the team to win in the playoffs to date (at Talladega).

Almirola sits in eighth place – only 12 points below the cutline in the standings – as the last championship round begins Sunday with the First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Forget any championship pressure for Almirola. Many already consider him an “overachiever” in a career-best season. His shot at his first title in his first year with the team has been extremely satisfying. He never has advanced this far in the playoffs.

“I do think I am capable of handling the pressure of the championship because I don’t feel like there is a lot of pressure,’’ Almirola said. “I feel like we’ve exceeded our expectations for this year. I don’t think many people expected us to make it as far as we have.

“At this point we have nothing to lose. Going for a championship at Homestead would just be icing on the cake this year.’’

As for the expression that has seemed to follow him this season, “overachiever,” Almirola would agree to a certain extent.

“I feel like our season has been tattooed with adversity,’’ he said. “We’ve been close so many times to winning races but we’ve had a lot of stuff happen to us. What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger. For our team, we’ve had a lot of character-building races and I feel like we’re stronger because of it.’’

Even prior to winning at Talladega two weeks ago – his second career victory and first since a win at Daytona in the summer of 2014 – Almirola was making good on this new opportunity driving the No. 10 Ford with SHR.

His three top-five finishes to date equals a career-high mark and his 14 top-10 finishes is double his best previous-best career effort in seven full seasons. He’s led a career-high 181 laps in 2018 – easily surpassing his previous career-best mark of 78 laps led back in his 2012 rookie season.

And there’s still four races remaining in the season to add to those numbers.

While Almirola had obviously hoped to make the playoffs after joining the successful SHR team, he concedes he’s been pleasantly surprised how his team has mastered the learning curve so quickly – new driver and new team led by first-year crew chief Johnny Klausmeier.

“Obviously, we wanted to win, but our goal going into the season was to be consistent and run top-15 and don’t put too much pressure on ourselves, don’t bite off more than we can chew because usually you choke when that happens,’’ Almirola said, “that was kind of our motto, our mentality.

“We did pretty that pretty well.’’

No denying that. And yet for all the personal bests he’s already recorded this year, Almirola sincerely insists the best part is being a part of the success of the whole SHR operation. And he is proud to be a viable contributor to it all.

“To have 400 employees at SHR and to have all of them pulling their weight and pulling the rope in the same direction, it’s hard to get two people on the same page,” Almirola explained. “But to have 400 employees helping each other out and doing whatever it takes for the team, it has been incredible for me to witness that and to be part of that.”

Earning a position in the Cup Series’ Final Four for the Nov. 18 Homestead-Miami Speedway season finale will be challenging, Almirola concedes. He has never won at any of the upcoming three tracks – Martinsville, Texas Motor Speedway or Phoenix’s new-look ISM Raceway – that set the championship-eligible field.

Almirola has three top-10 finishes at this week’s Martinsville half-miler and it’s the only venue he has led laps among the three upcoming tracks. His last top-10 was eighth in 2014 and he was 14th this spring.

Statistically, anyway, the Texas Motor Speedway 1.5-miler has historically posed the biggest challenge of the trio of tracks. He has only one top 10 there – a seventh-place showing in 2013. He was 32nd this spring after being involved in a crash.

The ISM Raceway will debut a completely new look next month so past performance isn’t necessarily indicative of future expectations. However, Almirola has finished top 10 in his last two races there – ninth last November and seventh this March.

“It would be incredible to make the Round of 4,’’ Almirola said. “I think for us, and for me personally, that’s not something I am used to. I know some of the other drivers that I’m racing against expect to be in the Round of 4 and that’s pretty common for them. But for me, that’s unchartered territory, and that’s an opportunity for me and my career that I’ve never had before.

“So if we’re at Homestead with a shot to go for the championship that would certainly be the pinnacle of my career and then to top it off with that trophy would be awesome.’’