Posted on by Staff Report

Chase Elliott’s first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory wasn’t punctuated by donuts or a smoky burnout. Instead, Elliott got a helping hand from a Hendrick Motorsports teammate.

RELATED: Elliott breaks through | Race results

Elliott’s car sputtered out of fuel on his cool-down lap after winning the Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday at Watkins Glen International, prompting seven-time series champ Jimmie Johnson to step in with a friendly push.

“I just appreciate the support and the respect on the race track,” Elliott said. “Jimmie has been one of my heroes for a long, long time. I leaned on him a lot over this past offseason and I always lean on him, but certainly a lot throughout this off season just about the opportunities I’ve had in the past and not closing them out. He has been a big supporter of mine and that was one of the coolest things ever and I will never forget it.”

His father, NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, was serving as the team’s ancillary spotter on the backstretch and urged his son over the team’s radio to perform a burnout. The younger Elliott, lacking for fuel in the tank, was unable, and his No. 9 Chevrolet coasted to a halt after leaving Turn 5 on the 2.45-mile circuit.

That’s where Johnson provided an assist, giving him a nudge back to the frontstretch to help him celebrate in front of the main grandstand.

The show of teamwork, fittingly, came on a milestone day for Hendrick Motorsports. Elliott’s win marked the 250th premier series triumph for team owner Rick Hendrick.

Posted on by Staff Report

Chase Elliott’s win at Watkins Glen International had the fans on their feet at the 2.45-mile New York road course. But nearly 1,000 miles away in the Elliott family’s hometown of Dawsonville, Georgia, they were getting ready to honor a tradition of sounding the siren (or “si-reen”) at the Dawsonville Pool Room for the victory.

And when they sounded the siren, it was worth the wait!

MORE: Getting a push from Jimmie

Give a listen:

RELATED: Photos of Chase through the years

Posted on by Reid Spencer

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – History will record that Chase Elliott won his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race by a whopping 7.560 seconds over reigning champion Martin Truex Jr.

That description, however, doesn’t do justice to Elliott’s magnificent drive over the final 32 laps of Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen, with Truex hounding him every inch of the way before running out of fuel with two corners left.

RELATED: Race results
SHOP: Elliott gear

“Holy cow, I don’t know what to say — just so thrilled, so emotional, so much relief,” said Elliott, who notched his first win in NASCAR’s foremost series in his 99th start, after recording eight second-place finishes. “Working on three years, I hadn’t won one.

“I came here with a great opportunity today, and I was able to get it done.”

WATCH: Elliott reacts to win

The victory came with a sense of accumulating tension that was almost palpable, as Truex repeatedly closed up on Elliott in the braking zones but couldn’t make a run off the corners.

And then there was the final lap. There were audible gasps when Elliott wheel-hopped into Turn 1 and lost the six car-length advantage he had built on the second half of the 2.45-mile road course on the penultimate lap.

“I started to wheel-hop, and I knocked it out of gear in order not to spin out, and luckily I had a big enough gap where he couldn’t get me — but what a day!” exclaimed Elliott, who led 52 laps.

Elliott led the field to green for a restart on Lap 59 of 90, after race leader Kyle Busch had to return to pit road on Lap 56 to take on fuel after a snafu on the previous lap left him 10 gallons short of a full tank.

RELATED: Fuel issue on Busch’s pit stop

It took Truex most of Lap 59 to pass Kurt Busch for second, and by then Elliott had pulled away to a lead of more than 1.5 seconds, on the way to Chevrolet’s first victory since Austin Dillon took the checkered flag in the season-opening Daytona 500.

“I could get right to him,” said Truex, who steadily closed the gap until he got almost to the rear bumper of Elliott’s No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. “I chased him down from a ways back after that restart. I took a little too long to get around the 41 (Kurt Busch).

“He checked up, got a lead on us, I just tried all I could to chase him down, and I got there with plenty of time. It’s just every time I’d start putting together some good corners and get close enough to him to even think about making a move, I’d get sideways behind him. He did a good job of putting his car exactly where it needed to be and not making a mistake.”

And even though Elliott wheel-hopped into Turn 1 on the final lap, Truex’s fuel situation ultimately made the mistake moot.

“He missed Turn 1 on the final lap, but I missed the inner loop on the (next-to-last) lap and lost five car lengths to him, so when he made that mistake in 1, I was too far back to capitalize,” Truex said. “We ran out of gas anyway coming off of Turn 5 that last lap, so it was really all a moot point. He was going to win regardless.”

After the fueling glitch, Kyle Busch drove from 31st to finish third without benefit of a subsequent caution. His Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones, ran fourth and fifth, respectively.

Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray, William Byron, Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick completed the top 10.

Elliott’s victory, with his father, NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, spotting for him on the backstretch, was the 250th for Hendrick Motorsports and the first since Kasey Kahne won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 23 of last year.

MORE: Chase Elliott through the years

When Elliott crossed the finish line for the last time — before running out of gas himself and getting a push to Victory Lane from teammate Jimmie Johnson — he got a loud standing ovation from the fans in the frontstretch grandstand.

RELATED: Johnson gives Elliott a push

“That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen, and I just want you all to know that,” Elliott said. “And I am very grateful. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

“Let’s go get some more.”

RELATED: Hear the siren go off in Dawsonville

Posted on by Staff Report

Chase Elliott rolled to a Stage 2 win Sunday in the Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International.

Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet took the lead from Kyle Busch on the 27th lap and stayed in front at the Lap 40 conclusion of the second stage. The green-checkered flag marked his third stage win this season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

RELATED: Stage 2 results

Busch wrapped up second place in Stage 2 with pole winner Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones and Stage 1 winner Martin Truex Jr. rounding out the first five positions heading into the second intermission.

The full distance of Sunday’s race (NBC, MRN, SiriusXM) was scheduled for 90 laps (220.5 miles).

STAGE 2 RESULTS

Finish Driver Team Race Points
1 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports 10
2 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing 9
3 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing 8
4 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing 7
5 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing 6
6 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing 5
7 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing 4
8 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing 3
9 Ryan Blaney Team Penske 2
10 Daniel Suarez Joe Gibbs Racing 1

Martin Truex Jr. landed a Stage 1 victory in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International.

Truex led just three of the 20 laps in the opening stanza of the Go Bowling at The Glen, taking the lead when Kyle Busch made a pit stop before the end of the stage. The stage win was Truex’s seventh of the season, banking the Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota team another playoff point for the 10-race postseason.

RELATED: Stage 1 results

Jimmie Johnson wound up second at the end of the second stage. Rookie William Byron, Michael McDowell and Brad Keselowski followed across the finish line in order to complete the top five.

Joey Logano, who started sixth, was the first driver sidelined after running into trouble on Lap 2. Logano’s Team Penske No. 22 Ford rear-ended Kyle Larson’s No. 42 Chevrolet in Turn 5, then spewed fluid and slid off course in Turn 6. He drove to the garage, ending his day last in the 37-car field.

Busch, who started second, was among those pitting from Laps 17-18 as a strategy play. Busch led 16 of the 20 laps but wound up 14th at the end of the stage.

STAGE 1 RESULTS

Finish Driver Team Race Points
1 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing 10
2 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports 9
3 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports 8
4 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports 7
5 Brad Keselowski Team Penske 6
6 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing 5
7 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports 4
8 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing 3
9 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing 2
10 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing 1
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 GoBowling at The Glen (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Watkins Glen International.

Enjoy!

Posted on by RJ Kraft

Denny Hamlin nabbed the Busch Pole Qualifying Award before Sunday’s GoBowling at The Glen (3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Watkins Glen International and will be a key piece of my lineup. After two practice sessions and qualifying, we’ve dissected the numbers to offer a suggested lineup worthy of your Fantasy Live consideration as you make roster decisions for the 22nd Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of 2018. Remember that the garage locks at the end of Stage 2.

Cars going to the back for inspection failures: Kurt Busch, Paul Menard
Cars going to the rear for unapproved adjustments: Ty Dillon, Landon Cassill

RJ Kraft’s revised Fantasy Live lineup following practices and the lineup being set:
1: Denny Hamlin
2: Martin Truex Jr.
3: Joey Logano
4: Chase Elliott
5: AJ Allmendinger
Garage: Clint Bowyer

PLAY NOW: Set your Fantasy Live lineup | How the new Fantasy Live works
MORE: Fantasy analysis for Watkins Glen | Driver stats | Full lineup | 10-lap averages

Analysis: Keeping almost all of my original lineup together for Sunday’s race with one change and a flip from active to garage and vice versa. Sticking with Truex, Logano, Hamlin and Allmendinger, and they are set to start in the top 10. Think that group will mix up their strategies as well to provide for an assortment of stage points. All four have wins at Watkins Glen as well as solid histories at the road course. Logano moves from a planned garage play into the starting lineup. With three uses left on Truex and Hamlin and four on Logano, the No. 22 is in a really good spot with plays here.

I’m down to two uses on Kyle Busch and I have him earmarked for Bristol with one. I’d like to keep my options for a track that will play more on speed such as Darlington or even Michigan — where despite it being his worst non-plate track based on average finish (18.9) — he does have three straight top 10s there. Indianapolis has also been a strong track for him. The bottom line is I don’t want to drop down to one use on him just yet. However, I am taking him for all my bonus picks. While its doubtful, he wins both Stages 1 and 2, I don’t want to guess wrong on the 18 strategy. So I am simply taking him across the board for all bonus picks, knowing that more than likely I will miss one stage win bonus.

I’m adding Elliott into my lineup over Kurt Busch. Elliott was a stage points machine at Sonoma. He started third in that race too, earned 16 stage points and the most points for that race. He is starting third at Watkins Glen, topped final practice and posted the second-best 10-lap average in that session as well. I’m hoping for a similar result from the Hendrick Motorsports driver, who has nabbed two stage wins in his last two races. I made the decision to move away from Busch before his inspection failure tossed out his qualifying result, so that only further solidified that decision.

Bowyer was in my original lineup and I am little surprised that he will start 19th. However, he has a pretty good history here — four top-six finishes in his last six Watkins Glen starts. He also started 19th and finished third at Sonoma earlier this year. I have four uses left on him, so I am keeping him around as my garage pick. Gave some serious consideration to Jimmie Johnson as well as Erik Jones but ultimately elected to stay with the Stewart-Haas Racing driver. I also think they will have a different strategy to make up track position over the course of the day and that intrigues me.


Posted on by Staff Report

Kurt Busch’s No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford and Paul Menard’s No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford failed Sunday morning’s pre-race inspection at Watkins Glen International. Their speeds from Saturday’s Busch Pole Qualifying have been disallowed.

Busch and Menard will start at the rear of the 37-car field for Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM). NASCAR officials said that Busch’s car failed at the handheld template station while Menard’s car failed the mechanical measurements.

RELATED: Official starting lineup

Busch was originally slated to start 21st while Menard was 14th on the provisional lineup. Busch will now start 36th ahead of Menard in 37th on the basis of their rank in the points standings.

Denny Hamlin won the provisional pole in Saturday qualifying and will share the front row with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch, last week’s winner at Pocono Raceway. Both of their cars passed inspection and retained their positions.

MORE: Hamlin leads JGR qualifying sweep

The post-qualifying inspection process is being used for the third time in Monster Energy Series competition. Four cars had their qualifying speeds thrown out at Chicagoland Speedway in June, and 13 were demoted to the rear of the field last weekend at Pocono.

The procedures were adjusted this weekend at Watkins Glen, with officials impounding the field Saturday evening and shifting inspection to race-day morning.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Denny Hamlin blitzed the Watkins Glen road course with the fastest lap of the day on Saturday to win the pole position for Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen (3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Hamlin covered the 2.45-mile distance in 70.260 seconds (125.534 mph), edging Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch (125.427 mph) by .060 seconds. First-round leader Chase Elliott was third fastest in the final session at 125.421 mph, just .003 seconds slower than Busch.

RELATED: Official starting lineup

“I had a great day today, and hopefully we can cap it off tomorrow,” said Hamlin, who earned his first Busch Pole Award of the season, his first at Watkins Glen and the 27th of his career.

The results from the top qualifiers were confirmed Sunday morning after the leading cars passed pre-race inspection. Only two cars had their qualifying speeds thrown out — the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford of Kurt Busch, who will start 36th instead of 21st; and the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford of Paul Menard, who will start last in the 37-car field instead of 14th.

MORE: Inspection issues demote Kurt Busch, Menard

Hamlin found NASCAR’s enhanced schedule helpful—with two practice sessions and qualifying on the same day.

“I typically haven’t qualified well here,” Hamlin said. “A lot of it is because we (traditionally) qualify on a different day than we practice. I think today, being able to use those repetitions and still be hot from practice and have things fresh in your mind—I just got a little faster each round, so that helped.”

Busch’s No. 18 Toyota was the consensus favorite in the garage, and Hamlin was surprised to be able to beat his teammate.

“He’s usually pretty good at this stuff,” Hamlin acknowledged. “But once the 9 (Elliott) and the 18 had gone, and I went behind them, and he (crew chief Mike Wheeler) said we were P1, I felt that we had a good shot at. 

“But it’s amazing to me how well Kyle hits his marks and doesn’t make mistakes, especially on a one-lap qualifying, get-it-done moment.”

PHOTOS: See every car in Sunday’s field

Elliott was trending for the pole until the final turn.

“I felt like I had a good lap going, and then I got a little loose out of (Turn) 11 and thought I could stay in it,” Elliott said. “And then I thought I didn’t have any more room — I don’t know how close it was (to the wall), but it must have been pretty close.

“That sucks. I just hate to be that close.”

A number of big names fell by the wayside in the first of the two rounds, notably six-time 2018 winner Kevin Harvick, who posted the 16th fastest speed. Martin Truex Jr., who finished fourth in the first round, bumped out seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson in the final minute.

Johnson was just .008 second slower than Kasey Kahne, who wound up with the 12th and last transfer position in Round 1.

“You hate to be that close and not advance to the second round,” said Johnson, who expects to race well on Sunday. “But the 9 car (Elliott) has great speed.”

Brad Keselowski, a perennial contender at the WGI road course, qualified 18th, and Clint Bowyer posted the 19th fastest speed.

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott is set to return for a one-off NASCAR national series start with GMS Racing’s No. 23 Chevrolet Xfinity Series entry Aug. 25 at Road America (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The 1988 premier series champion last made a national series start in 2012. The 62-year-old has 45 wins in NASCAR on his resume, including one in the Xfinity Series. Despite his experience, because this will be his first start at the Wisconsin road course, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native will be required to attend the rookie meeting at Road America, according to a NASCAR spokesperson.

“When this opportunity came up from Mike (Beam, president of GMS Racing), I had to jump on it,” Elliott said in a team release. “Chase (Elliott’s son) has ran a handful of races for the team so I figured I would give it a shot at Road America. Beam and I have worked together in the past so it will be exciting to get behind the wheel and bring back some old memories.”

RELATED: Bill Elliott through the years | Elliott’s career stats

Beam served as crew chief for Elliott in 1990 and again from 1993-1994, part of the 1995 season and the 1996-97 seasons. Together, they teamed up for two wins (Dover-1990 and Darlington-1994).

“We are thrilled to welcome Bill to the GMS Racing family,” Beam said in a team release. “Bill has many years in NASCAR and it’s going to be great to watch him come back, especially in GMS equipment. Bill and I worked together back in the day and had a lot of success so hopefully we can pick up where we left off and create some more great memories.”

Elliott’s son, Chase, currently stars in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driving full time for Hendrick Motorsports in the organization’s No. 9 Chevrolet.

“Yeah, I definitely want to go,” Chase said after his qualifying effort at Watkins Glen. “It’s going to be exciting.  I know he’s excited about it. He just needs to go have fun and I think he will. He hasn’t forgotten how to drive. So, I think that he will have fun with it and that is the main thing — go and enjoy it and have a chance to get racing again.”