Posted on by Staff Report

After the fourth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs race, here’s a brief look at the playoffs 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 Kansas (Oct. 21).

Winner

Chase Elliott notched his second win of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career and advanced to the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Playoffs. Elliott stayed out on old tires to take the lead spot and survived two restarts — including one in NASCAR Overtime — to claim a victory on a day when he had to rebound from an earlier pit-road penalty. Elliott, who entered the day beneath the cutline, is safely into the next round.

Who’s hot

Kurt Busch. All the Stewart-Haas Racing cars had speed, but Busch ran the cleanest race. As a result, he gained 15 more points of cushion above the cutline to stand 21 points to the good. His fifth-place finish at Dover also gave him the tiebreaker over Brad Keselowski, who finished 14th, so Busch is ahead of Keselowski and in sixth place in the standings.

Kevin Harvick. Harvick had some pit-road issues to work through, but the No. 4 regained its dominance by leading 286 of the 404 laps and fighting back for a sixth-place finish. Harvick overtook Kyle Busch for the top spot in the standings and picked up two more playoff points by winning the first two stages.

Who’s not

Clint Bowyer. Bowyer was primed for a second straight top-five finish, but a loose wheel brought him to pit road in the final stage. Later, a flat tire led to him smashing the wall on Lap 391 of 404. Bowyer finished in 35th place, the worst of the playoff drivers, and now he’s beneath the cutline. Amazing for a driver who looked like he was in position to be a legit Championship 4 contender for much of this race.

WATCH: Bowyer blows tire, wrecks later

Aric Almirola. Almirola was in position for his first win in 148 races, but a call for four tires put the No. 10 Ford in sixth place going into a late restart. Perhaps feeling desperate to gain ground on that restart, Almirola made contact with Brad Keselowski and ignited a wreck that also collected Alex Bowman and Martin Truex Jr. among playoff drivers. Almirola fought back and finished 13th and actually gained points on the cutline, but coming close to a win and not getting it had to be heartbreaking. Can he bounce back?

WATCH: Almirola triggers wreck 

BUBBLE WATCH

Rank Driver Points to cutoff
5. Joey Logano +31
6. Kurt Busch +21
7. Brad Keselowski +21
8. Ryan Blaney +10
————— CUT-OFF LINE —————
9. Aric Almirola -10
10. Clint Bowyer -10
11. Kyle Larson -12
12. Alex Bowman -34

Next race

The Monster Energy Series travels to Talladega Superspeedway for a Sunday race on Oct. 14 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). It is the penultimate race in the Round of 12.

Who it favors/hurts

Favors: Team Penske drivers Brad Keselowski (five) and Joey Logano (three) have combined for eight wins at Talladega and they’ve had recent success there, too, by taking five of the past six checkered flags. Keselowski, who won this race last year, has led the most laps in the past five races at the 2.66-mile track, while Logano, who won the spring race this year, has led the most laps in the past three races there.

Hurts: Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson both have an average finish of 21.3 at Talladega, but Truex has raced at Talladega 27 times to Larson’s nine, thus a larger sample size. Truex can’t even hang his hat on good recent performances, either, as he’s finished 23rd or worse in his last four trips to Talladega. The only playoff driver with a worse average finish at Talladega than Truex and Larson is Alex Bowman at 27.3, but he’s coming off an eighth-place performance in the spring. Plus, four of his first six races here weren’t in Hendrick-quality cars, perhaps skewing his numbers.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

DOVER, Del. — What looked like a Stewart-Haas Racing victory parade for much of Sunday afternoon ended in a wild overtime scramble, with Chase Elliott taking the checkered flag in the Gander Outdoors 400 at Dover International Speedway.

On considerably older tires, Elliott pulled ahead and cleared runner-up Denny Hamlin through Turns 1 and 2 after a restart on Lap 403 and powered his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet across the finish line .265 second ahead of Hamlin’s Toyota.

With the victory — his second of the season and the second of his career — Elliott punched his ticket into the Round of 8 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, extricating himself from the bottom four in the postseason standings.

RELATED: Full race results
SHOP: Elliott gear

“This was a lot about perseverance,” said Elliott, who recovered from a penalty for an uncontrolled tire incurred during a yellow-flag pit stop on Lap 123. “We had a penalty early and fell behind and luckily had a good enough car and good strategy to get back (to the front). What a day!

The win was a satisfying turnaround from the same race last year, when Elliott had victory in his sights, only to be tracked down and passed by Kyle Busch on the next-to-last lap.

“Definitely think it makes it sweeter, for sure,” Elliott said. “You don’t appreciate it in those moments, but to come back here and have the day we had …

“We get to move on to the next round, and I don’t have to worry about Talladega next week. It’s just a hell of a day.”

RELATED: Harvick must pit, gives up lead | Harvick wins stages

The move that won the race was crew chief Alan Gustafson’s decision to keep Elliott on the track with tires that were more than 50 laps old, when most of the other lead-lap cars opted to pit on Lap 393 after Clint Bowyer’s Ford slammed into the Turn 4 wall one lap earlier.

Elliott led the field to a restart on Lap 397, but on the backstretch during that circuit, Aric Almirola nicked the outside wall and started a chain-reaction collision that also damaged the cars of fellow playoff drivers Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney.

NASCAR red-flagged the race, and Elliott outran Hamlin in an overtime that extended the event four laps beyond its scheduled distance. The only laps Elliott led were the last 11.

Kevin Harvick, on the other hand, was out front for 286 of the 404 laps in a No. 4 Ford that was the clear class of the field. Harvick swept the first two stages, as he had done during his June victory at the Monster Mile and appeared headed for another perfect afternoon, but the 2014 series champion had to return to pit road under green for an extra tire change after a flying lug nut knocked the valve stem off Harvick’s left rear tire.

Harvick regained the lap he lost under a debris caution called on Lap 339, but he couldn’t work his way back to the front before the race ended.

Joey Logano dodged the Almirola wreck and finished third, followed by Erik Jones, Kurt Busch and Harvick. Austin Dillon ran seventh, one spot ahead of Kyle Busch, who snared his top 10 despite dealing with a malfunctioning track bar adjuster throughout the afternoon.

“You use it (the track bar) a lot here because of the tire wear and tire build-up,” Busch said. “Cars get loose over courses of the run. Not having that and not knowing where it was (set), I had no clue where it was throughout the whole day. We came in here poised to not run very well, and that’s how we did.”

For a long stretch after a restart on Lap 248, the four Stewart-Haas drivers — Harvick, Almirola, Bowyer and Kurt Busch — ran 1-2-3-4. But Bowyer had to a pit with a flat tire on Lap 382, after racing side-by-side with Ryan Newman, Harvick had his issue on pit road, and Almirola lost his winning chances when Bowyer hit the wall late in the race.

Harvick leaves Dover with a five-point lead over Kyle Busch. After the Oct. 21 race at Kansas, the playoff field will be trimmed from 12 drivers to eight.

Posted on by Staff Report

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be in action at Talladega Superspeedway while the NASCAR Xfinity Series is off. The Monster Energy Series heads to the second race of the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Playoffs, while the Camping World Truck Series Playoffs enters the final race of the Round of 8. Check out the full schedule below, which is subject to changes.

Note: All times are ET

MORE: How to find NBCSN

SUNDAY, Oct. 14
1:45:00 p.m.: Davey Allison & James Hylton Read/Moment of Silence
1:45:30 p.m.: Pledge of Allegiance, Cub Scout Pack 10 from Ellisville, MS
1:46:00 p.m.: Intro Presentation of Colors by Alabama Army National Guard
1:46:20 p.m.: Invocation by Dr. Robert Jeffress, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, TX
1:47:00 p.m.: National Anthem performed by 313th United States Army Band, Birmingham, AL
1:48:15 p.m.: Flyover by (4) F-18s from VFA-213 The World Famous Fighting Blacklions
1:53:15 p.m.: Command to start engines by Kim Pederson, CEO of 1000Bulbs.com
2 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 1000Bulbs.com 500 (188 laps, 500.008 miles), NBC/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN1, 4) (Results)

PRESS PASS (Watch live)
5:30 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race

FRIDAY, Oct. 12
10:05-10:55 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series first practice, FS2 (Results)
11:35 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, FS2 (Results)
5:35 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying, FS2 (Results)

PRESS PASS (Watch live)
1:45 p.m.: Matt Crafton, Grant Enfinger and Ben Rhodes
2 p.m.: Bubba Wallace
2:15 p.m.: Noah Gragson and Brett Moffitt
2:25 p.m.: Stewart Friesen, Justin Haley and Johnny Sauter
2:45 p.m.: Ty Dillon
3 p.m.: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
3:15 p.m.: Lyn St. James
3:35 p.m.: NASCAR/Talladega Superspeedway
6:45 p.m.: Post-NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying

RELATED: VIP experience for Ford fan

SATURDAY, Oct. 13
11:05 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN1, 3, 4, 5) (Results)
1 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Fr8Auctions 250 (94 laps, 250.04 miles), FOX (Results)
4:35 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App) (Results)

PRESS PASS (Watch live)
9:45 a.m.: Alex Bowman
10 a.m.: Chase Elliott
10:15 a.m.: Aric Almirola
12:30 p.m.: Martin Truex Jr.
3:15 p.m.: Post-NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race
6:15 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying

Posted on by Staff Report

What channels are NASCAR races on this week? We answer that and give you the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET. 

MORE: Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Gets FOX Sports Go | How to find NBCSN

MONDAY, Oct. 8
3 p.m.: NASCAR 120, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
5 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN
Noon: Motorsports Monday (with hosts Woody Cain and Joey Meier)

TUESDAY, Oct. 9
4 p.m.: Glory Road (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
5 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

On MRN
7 p.m.: NASCAR Live (with host Mike Bagley)

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 10
3 a.m.: NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
5 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN

On MRN
Noon: Crew Call (with hosts Sammi Jo Francis and Rocko Williams)
1 p.m.: NASCAR Coast to Coast (with hosts Kyle Rickey & Hannah Newhouse)

THURSDAY, Oct. 11
5 p.m.: NASCAR America, NCBSN/NBC Sports App
5:30 p.m.: Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub (live), FS1
6 p.m.: NASCAR K&N Pro Series race, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN
Noon.: The Straight Line
1 p.m.: Throwback Thursday: 1980 Talladega 500

FRIDAY, Oct. 12
10 a.m.: Camping World Truck Series Talladega practice, FS2
11 a.m.: NASCAR Race Classic: 1998 Daytona 500, FS2
11:30 a.m.: Camping World Truck Series Talladega final practice, FS2
5:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Talladega qualifying, FS2

On MRN
Noon.: The Inside Line (with host Tyler Burnett)

SATURDAY, Oct. 13
9 a.m.: Camping World Truck Series Talladega qualifying (re-air), FS1
10:30 a.m.: NASCAR Decades: The 1990s, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
11 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Talladega final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN1, 3, 4, 5)
12:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Set Up, FOX
1 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Talladega, FOX
4:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Talladega, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
6:30 p.m.: Racing Roots: Bubba Wallace, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

SUNDAY, Oct. 14
8:30 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Talladega final practice (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
9-11 a.m.: Camping World Truck Series race at Talladega (re-air), FS1
10 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Talladega (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
11 a.m.: NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
noon: NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
1 p.m.: NASCAR America Sunday, NBC/NBC Sports App
1:30 p.m.: Countdown to Green: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, NBC/NBC Sports App
2 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega, NBC (Canada: TSN1, 4)
6 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series post-race show, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6:30 p.m.: NASCAR Victory Lap, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

Posted on by Staff Report

Kevin Harvick kept on going in Stage 2 much like he did in Stage 1, leading all but 13 laps in the 120-lap stage. Harvick and Clint Bowyer led a Stewart-Haas Racing brigade that took four of the top-six spots in the stage. Playoff drivers occupied nine of the top 10 spots in the stage to earn valuable stage points.

Chase Elliott had an uncontrolled tire penalty during pit stops under the caution following Stage 1 and rebounded to earn two stage points. Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman were the playoff drivers that did not earn stage points in Stage 2. Both Bowman and Larson finished the stage one lap down following another caution free stage.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin — eliminated from the playoffs in the Round of 16 — was the lone non-playoff driver to score stage points.

STAGE 2 RESULTS

Driver Team Points
Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing 10
Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing 9
Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing 8
Joey Logano Team Penske 7
Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing 6
Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing 5
Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing 4
Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing 3
Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports 2
Brad Keselowski Team Penske 1

STAGE 1 RECAP

Kevin Harvick picked up where he left off in the spring race at Dover International Speedway as he led 98 of the 120 laps in Stage 1 to score his 13th stage win of the 2018 season and his first of the playoffs. Playoff drivers comprised the entire top 10 in the opening stage that was caution free with just Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman as the playoff drivers outside the top 10 in the stage.

In a surprise turn before the green flag, 11-time Dover winner Jimmie Johnson came down pit road and eventually headed to the garage during the pace laps. NBCSN reported it was a lower ball joint failure on the No. 48 Chevrolet that saw him join the race 10 laps down.

STAGE 1 RESULTS

Driver Team Points
Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing 10
Joey Logano Team Penske 9
Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing 8
Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing 7
Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports 6
Brad Keselowski Team Penske 5
Ryan Blaney Team Penske 4
Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing 3
Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing 2
Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing 1

 

Posted on by Reid Spencer

After last week’s close call at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, Jimmie Johnson was a logical choice to contend for a victory at Dover International Speedway, where he has accumulated 11 of his 83 career victories.

But when the green flag waved at the Monster Mile, Johnson’s No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet wasn’t even on the track.

RELATED: Full Dover results | Johnson buys bikes for No. 78 team

With what was eventually diagnosed as a lower ball joint failure, Johnson took his car to the garage for repairs and didn’t reappear on the concrete until the Gander Outdoors 400 was 10 laps old. After a subsequent pit road penalty, he finished 36th, 17 laps down.

The mechanical failure was a continuation of the ill fortune the seven-time champion had suffered at Charlotte, where his attempted pass of martin Truex Jr. on the last lap ended in an accident that knocked Johnson out of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs on a tiebreaker.

Truex’s crew chief, Cole Pearn, suggested that Johnson could atone for the Charlotte wreck by giving Truex’s crew road bikes, so Johnson went shopping, bought a trove of girls’ bicycles and placed them on the No. 78 hauler before the crew arrived.

But the frivolity quickly turned to frustration when Johnson failed to start Sunday’s race.

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Ever wonder what goes on in a driver meeting? We’re here to help.

This year, we’ll publish the actual rules video your favorite Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers will watch before climbing into their stock cars. Above is the video for the Gander Outdoors 400 (Sunday, 2 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Dover International Speedway.

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

DOVER, Del. — We still are reaping the benefits of the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course finish between Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr.

Truex was taken out of contention by Johnson in the final turn coming to the checkered flag after a miscalculation by Johnson caused the No. 48 to spin and collect the No. 78 in the process.

WATCH: See what happened at Charlotte | Truex Jr.: ‘I just told him I was mad he screwed up’

Cole Pearn, crew chief for the Furniture Row Racing team, lightheartedly suggested Johnson buy the entire crew road bikes to ease the frustration.

Johnson granted the request early Sunday morning prior to the Gander Outdoors 400 at Dover International Speedway (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), personally delivering them to the No. 78 hauler … but it likely wasn’t what Pearn was expecting.

And the 78 team’s response didn’t disappoint either.

The bikes are being given away and apparently are flying off the “shelves” or in this case the hauler.

Chase Wilhelm | NASCAR Digital Media

 

Chase Wilhelm | NASCAR Digital Media
Posted on by RJ Kraft

Kyle Busch will lead the field to green for Sunday’s Gander Outdoors 400 (2 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). There were two practice sessions this weekend, giving players plenty to digest. We’ve dissected the numbers to offer a suggested lineup worthy of your Fantasy Live consideration as you make roster decisions.

PLAY NOW: Set your lineup | How the playoff game works

Remember that the garage locks at the end of Stage 2. Also, your garage play can only be swapped for a driver of similar classification. (A playoff garage driver can only be swapped for a playoff driver in your lineup; a non-playoff garage driver can only be swapped for a non-playoff driver in your lineup.)

Cars to the rear: Bubba Wallace (failed pre-race inspection three times)

RJ Kraft’s Fantasy Live lineup for race-day at Dover:
Playoff driver 1: Kevin Harvick
Playoff driver 2: Kyle Larson
Non-playoff driver 1: Jimmie Johnson
Non-playoff driver 2: Erik Jones
Garage: Martin Truex Jr.

MORE: Fantasy analysis for Dover | Driver stats | 10-lap averages | Lineup 

Analysis: The Fantasy Live Playoff Game is in Week 4! These five drivers made up my original lineup and I am sticking with them. Larson topped both practice sessions and led the way in the 5, 10 and 15-lap boards in the final session (h/t @SteveLetarte). He’s been very fast all weekend and has a strong Dover history, so I like staying with him. Harvick has been strong on the long run and dominated this race in the spring. I favor Truex’s recent Dover history — four straight top-four finishes over the Jekyll and Hyde nature of Kyle Busch’s recent Dover record — three top-two finishes but also four finishes outside the top 15 over the past seven races at the “Monster Mile” — so, I am keeping the defending champion in the lineup, but moving him to the garage.

WATCH: Why Larson’s a good play | Which ‘Big 3’ driver to start? | Non-playoff picks

For the non-playoff plays, hard to argue against the 11-time Dover winner Jimmie Johnson. Even more so, when he’s fourth on the 15-lap board and looking for redemption after last week’s final-turn mistake cost him a shot at advancing. Erik Jones has the most upside of any non-playoff driver and while his Dover numbers are pedestrian (a 15.0 average finish in three starts), I like the speed he’s had there.

For the bonus picks, I’m taking Harvick for Stage 1 and 2 with Larson for the win. The driver of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet seems primed to make the most of his second life in the playoffs.

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

DOVER, Del. — Ross Chastain gave it everything his car could handle during Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff elimination race at Dover International Speedway, but came up just short of advancing to the Round of 8.

It was a battle between Chastain, Austin Cindric and Matt Tifft as Cindric gained seven points in the first two stages to bridge the deficit he had coming into the race, finishing eighth to secure his spot in the next round of the postseason. This left Chastain and Tifft to battle in the waning laps, with Tifft eventually edging Chastain by three points for the final spot in the Round of 8.

RELATED: Race results | Xfinity Playoffs Round of 8 set

But from getting the opportunity to compete (and win) in Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 42 car, to the strides he and the No. 4 team made together throughout the year, Chastain exuded optimism through the disappointment of missing the cut.

“It’s still so cool,” Chastain said. “I did not expect this starting off the year. I felt like 13th was our spot and I guess at the end of the regular season we were 11th straight up on the 4 car on points. It’s something I’ll never forget. All of this.”

Both teams put up a fight in the final turns; with 15 laps left, Chastain had caught up to Tifft in points putting him in position to win the tiebreaker. But Tifft picked off the positions he needed to in the closing laps to gain a three-point edge on Chastain when the checkered flag fell. Chastain went on to finish 13th, while Tifft earned a 15th-place result.

Chastain’s No. 4 JD Motorsports Chevrolet showed strength throughout the day, but a speeding penalty exiting pit road during the final round of stops forced him to claw his way back through the field. It was one mistake of a handful that Chastain believed took him out of contention.

“Just too many mistakes on my part,” Chastain said. “I sped there on pit road and it probably cost us. Didn’t think I was close, but I was, obviously, I was over (pit road speed). We did our jobs and we came here and did what we needed to do to make it.

“The guys out of Gaffney (South Carolina) did everything they could to bring the best race car and we ran considerably better than we normally would have,” he added. “A lot to be proud about and a lot to build on the rest of the year and the future.”

Although his hunt for the championship may have ended, Chastain is excited move forward with the rest of the season and work on making his craft better for next year.

“I have so much more to learn,” Chastain said. “There’s so much more to learn inside this race car. A lot of these guys feel like they’re the best thing ever, and we’re not. …There’s a lot more we could be doing with these cars, with me personally, so I’m just going to try to keep working at that, come back better after Talladega and then next year, too.”