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JOLIET, Ill. – It’s a finish that will be replayed for years to come.

Even runner-up Kyle Larson knew that as he stood on pit road Sunday while Kyle Busch celebrated on the front stretch at Chicagoland Speedway under a mixed chorus of cheers and (mostly) boos.

“That’s got to be one of the best NASCAR finishes of all time,” Larson said after watching the replay. “I know I’m on the short end of the stick again, but it was fun.”

WATCH: See Larson and Busch battle

Lapped traffic caused enough interference to allow Larson to catch up to the leader, Busch, by the final lap, causing No. 18 crew chief Adam Stevens to start “biting (his) nails, saying prayers, just waiting for the race to be over.”

But it wasn’t. The last lap is when the beating and banging began. Attempting to slide job Busch, Larson hit the side of Busch’s No. 18 Toyota — sending Busch into the wall and snatching the lead in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.

That hit, Larson said, “opened the door” for Busch to retaliate.

Busch came charging back, putting the bumper to Larson and causing the No. 42 to slide across the track in the final turn. Busch held onto the lead for the checkered flag, as Larson came up second.

WATCH: Busch discusses closing lap, Chicago finish

“Oh man, I’m not upset,” Larson said on Busch’s move. “I had an opportunity there to slide in front of him and I figured I wouldn’t clear him or I would allow him to drive back underneath me. So, I tried to get to his door and you know I opened the door for him to retaliate into (Turn) 3. I thought it was free game. I ran into him first, he got me after that, maybe a little bit worse than I got him, but that’s all right.

“I love racing Kyle (Busch). I know all these fans are probably mad at him, but hey, we put on a hell of a show for you guys and that was a blast. …

“We both got our elbows up there, we ran into each other a couple of times and he came out the winner,” he said later.

After Busch’s hit on Larson, the 25-year-old driver was still hopeful for a chance at the checkered flag.

“I did think I could save it,” he said. “I was hoping I was could just slide a little bit less and then grab third gear and get going, but just started spinning a little too much. … It would have been awesome to grab gears like that and win.”

After the race, Larson gave Busch a thumbs-up during the cool-down lap and made a point to visit Busch in Victory Lane before his media obligations. The two smiled, chatted about the finish and shook hands.

Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson talk after Chicago's Overton's 400
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

“I have a lot respect for Kyle Busch,” Larson said.

That respect is reciprocated by the 2015 champion.

“We’ve always raced each other super hard and super clean,” Busch said. “We’ve never had issues. We’ve been back and forth with each other at Bristol multiple times, whatnot. It was Bristol this spring maybe, I kind of gave him a bump‑and‑run for the win on that one. …

“Once contact is made in a race, it’s kind of like, ‘OK, every man for himself.’ Even me, when we had that race at Bristol, I got into him with five to go, I thought I did that too early because he could get back to me. He never was able to get back to me.”

The finish marks Larson’s 10th top-10 finish of the season — but still leaves him without a victory. There’s a sense of disappointment, but looking at the big picture, he’s in good spirits. He ran up front with the “Big Three” of Busch, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. — and nearly beat them.

His strong run – and impressive ability to run close to the wall – reflected Larson and his team’s hard effort.

“Obviously, I’m disappointed I didn’t win, but at the same time, the fun factor kind of takes over and that was a blast,” Larson said. “I feel like I get a really good job today running next to the wall as long as I did and only getting into it once. So, I stayed pretty disciplined, feel like I did a good job, team did a good job. …

“I think I showed that I tried everything I could to win and our team did good … I’ve been saying it every week. We’ve just got to get a little bit better and it will pay off and we’ll get a win. We’re getting closer and closer.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

JOLIET, Ill. – Like two boxers in the final round of a closely-contested slugfest, Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson traded hard shots on the last lap of Sunday’s Overton’s 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Moments later, it was Kyle Busch who was still standing — with his car parked on the finish line and his fifth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season in his pocket.

RELATED: Shop Kyle Busch gear | Race results | Standings | Stages recap

In the closing three laps, Larson gained on Busch, who had led from a restart on Lap 213 of 267. Busch was slowed by lapped traffic, and Larson had a strong run into Turns 1 and 2 on the final lap. Larson drove hard into the corner but couldn’t clear Busch’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry off Turn 2.

Larson tapped the left rear of Busch’s car, knocking him into the outside wall. Larson passed Busch on the backstretch, but the 2015 series champion wasn’t finished. Busch got back to the bumper of Larson’s No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Turn 3 and sent him spinning with a hard shot to the rear of the car.

Larson slid sideways, as the momentum of Busch’s charge into the corner carried his car into the outside wall. But Busch straightened his Camry and powered across the finish line 1.875 seconds ahead of Larson, who recovered to beat third-place finisher Kevin Harvick to the stripe by a half-second.

WATCH: Larson and Busch battle in final lap

With his second victory at Chicagoland, Busch earned the 48th victory of his career, tied with Herb Thomas for 14th all-time and one win behind three-time champion Tony Stewart. Busch tied Harvick for the most victories in the series this season, marking only the fourth time in series history that two drivers have each won five times in the first 17 races.

Busch appeared to be cruising to a one-second victory before Ryan Newman raced him hard trying to stay on the lead lap and a pack of lapped cars in front of him clogged the track.

“I got really boxed in and got really slow,” Busch said. “I tried to get all of it on those last couple of laps. Larson tried to pull a slider but didn’t quite complete it. He slid up into me and used me, and then I kind of used him a little bit in Turn 3 to come back for the victory.

“Great win for the Skittles Camry and all of these guys. We were horrible today. Absolutely horrendous. We just never gave up. It’s always good to make the most of the days and get to where we needed at the end. I was able to lead all of those laps. And get through the rest of the traffic. If you don’t like that kind of racing, don’t even watch.”

RELATED: Busch talks about thrilling finish

The last lap aside, a major key to Busch’s victory was stellar work on pit road. After the final stop under caution on Lap 209, Busch beat Harvick back on track to take the lead and held it the rest of the way.

Even though Busch knocked him out of the way in the final corner for the win, Larson held no hard feelings.

“Yeah, I was fighting hard to catch him and had a really good car especially on the long runs,” Larson said. “We were able to get the top going and finally run him down. Yeah, the lappers bottled him up pretty bad there, and I was able to get a run on him. He changed his line up there for a couple of laps in a row, and I got a big run and went to throw the slider on him and got really tight.

“My plan was pretty much to run into the side of him to try and slow his momentum down and was able to do that and get clear of him. I didn’t really want to be clear of him in (Turn) 3, though, because I knew he would get to my back bumper and move me out of the way, which he did. So, I mean, I know some fans probably already don’t like Kyle Busch, but that was just kind of hard racing there, I thought.”

RELATED: Larson describes hard racing

Martin Truex Jr. finished fourth but failed to lead a lap. Clint Bowyer recovered from three extra trips down pit road because of penalties to run fifth. Erik Jones, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Alex Bowman completed the top 10.

Notes: Aric Almirola won the first 80-lap stage of the race—his first career stage win—before two unscheduled pit stops for loose wheels took him out of contention. … Harvick won Stage 2, his ninth stage victory of the season. … Kyle Busch won the race without scoring a point in either of the first two stages.

The No. 2 Ford of Brad Keselowski and the No. 11 Toyota of Denny Hamlin were each found with one lug nut not safe and secure in a post-race check. Guidelines in the 2018 NASCAR Rule Book call for a $10,000 fine for each crew chief.

 

Posted on by Staff Report

A last-lap pass in Stage 2 by Kevin Harvick over teammate Stewart-Haas Racing Kurt Busch lifted the 2014 champion to the stage victory, a series-best ninth of the season. Harvick edged by Busch coming off of Turn 4 to nab the playoff point.

“Never expected that from a teammate,” Busch said of how Harvick passed him for the stage win in a portion of his radio transmission that aired on NBCSN.

MORE: Busch reacts to pass | RELATED: Stage 2 results

Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney made up the top five. Blaney used a two-tire call during the round of pit stops following a Lap 127 caution for debris to secure a top-five spot in the stage. Clint Bowyer rallied to get back on the lead lap and finished eighth in the stage.

Aric Almirola led more than half of the stage — 41 laps — but had a loose wheel in the latter half of Stage 2. He pitted under green from the lead on Lap 142. He finished the stage in 26th but in position for the free pass on the ensuing caution.

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

STAGE 1 RECAP

Aric Almirola led the final 21 laps of Stage 1 in the Overton’s 400 at Chicagoland Speedway to secure his first stage win and playoff point of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The laps led were the Stewart-Haas Racing driver’s first since leading a lap late in the Daytona 500 in February.

Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr. finished second and third respectively in Stage 1. Both drivers came from the middle to back of the field at the start of the race. Larson started the day in the 18th position, while Truex started 36th after his qualifying time was disallowed following the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota car failing post-qualifying technical inspection. Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick completed the top five in the stage.

RELATED: Stage 1 results

The results were not as good for SHR’s Clint Bowyer. The Kansas native led 21 laps in Stage 1 but two speeding penalties under green flag conditions put him two laps down in 30th place at the conclusion of the stage. He got busted for speeding on a green flag stop around the midway point of the stage and had to serve a pass thru penalty. The driver of the No. 14 Ford then sped again during the ensuing time down pit road — he was supposed to serve a stop-and-go penalty but went down pit road as if it was a pass through. The two-time winner in 2018 then came down a third time to serve his stop-and-go penalty.

Pole winner Paul Menard finished the stage in 13th.

Finish Driver Team Race Points
1 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing 10
2 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing 9
3 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing 8
4 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing 7
5 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing 6
6 Brad Keselowski Team Penske 5
7 Ryan Blaney Team Penske 4
8 Joey Logano Team Penske 3
9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports 2
10 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing 1
Posted on by Staff Report

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Daniel Suarez and Reed Sorenson will drop to the rear of field in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway because of unapproved pre-race adjustments Sunday.

Stenhouse’s Roush Fenway Racing No. 17 Ford, Suarez’s Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota and Reed Sorenson’s Premium Motorsports No. 7 Chevrolet will fall to the back of the pack during pace laps ahead of Sunday’s Overton’s 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Starting lineup

Those two will join four others who will start at the back because of issues in Saturday’s post-qualifying technical inspection. That quartet of drivers had their qualifying speeds disallowed, a list that includes defending series champ Martin Truex Jr., Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson.

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 Overton’s 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Chicagoland Speedway.

Enjoy!

Posted on by RJ Kraft

Paul Menard won the Busch Pole Qualifying Award and will start in the top position in Sunday’s Overton’s 400 (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Chicagoland Speedway. After two practice sessions and qualifying, we’ve dissected the numbers and 10-lap averages to offer a suggested lineup worthy of your Fantasy Live consideration as you go to make roster decisions for the 17th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of 2018. Remember that the garage locks at the end of Stage 2.

Cars to the rear: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Daniel Suarez, Timmy Hill and Reed Sorenson (unapproved adjustments)

RJ Kraft’s revised Fantasy Live lineup following practices and the lineup being set:
1: Kevin Harvick
2: Brad Keselowski
3: Ryan Blaney
4: Chase Elliott
5: Aric Almirola
Garage: Kyle Larson

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

Analysis: It’s been a jammed packed weekend with two practices and qualifying on Saturday before Sunday’s race. In case you only saw qualifying on TV, the times of Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson and Chris Buescher were disallowed after they failed post-qualifying inspection at Chicagoland Speedway. Those four cars will start 36th through 39th, respectively.

Going into the weekend, I was planning to build a lineup around Harvick, Keselowski, Truex Jr. and Larson. I’m sticking with three of those four. Harvick topped the board in 10-lap averages for final practice and has three 1.5-mile wins on the season. Keselowski has been strong points-wise at the 1.5-mile tracks as has Larson. While I would have liked a better qualifying effort from Larson, this track fits his style so I expect him to get into the top five. I’m starting with him in the garage, but fully expect to plug him in before the end of Stage 2. I’m electing to sit Truex Jr. despite the fact he is two-time defending race winner. I don’t like the 36th-place starting spot and the No. 78 hasn’t been what it was last year on the 1.5-mile tracks. Still have some great places to play him moving forward — Kentucky, New Hampshire, Pocono, Watkins Glen, Darlington.

Blaney has been fast this weekend as he has for most of the 1.5-mile weekends. I was on the fence about Elliott coming into the weekend, but a good qualifying effort, plus his Chicagoland history has me giving him the starting nod. The last spot in my lineup came down to Almirola and pole-sitter Paul Menard. The qualifying effort out of Menard was impressive, but I just don’t think he is going to have the staying power to get significant stage points and frankly, at this point in the season I trust Almirola more.

For the stage and race wins, I’ve got Blaney in Stage 1, followed by Harvick the rest of the way.


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JOLIET, Ill. — Cole Custer emerged from his No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford on pit road at Chicagoland Speedway, red-faced and drenched in sweat. Pouring several water bottles down his fire suit and atop his head, he made his way from pit road to the media center following his third-place finish at the Illinois track.

The race was hard-fought — as he started Saturday from the rear — and the top-five result put him atop the Xfinity Series points standings for the first time this season. But Custer wasn’t content; he slid through his pit box on a late green-flag stop, losing time on pit road.

RELATED: Larson wins at Chicago

“Really we just had a great car,” Custer said. “We probably were the best car out here — (Kyle) Larson’s probably just the best driver at Chicago. So, it was a little bit hard to catch him at the start running the top, but I felt I felt like long-run-wise, we were about the same speed as he was and if we were close again, I probably would have learned some things on the top that probably would have kept us closer to him.

“But it just sucks that we made that mistake; I’ve never made that mistake, I don’t think, before … so it’s just frustrating. We’ll move on to the next one, but we have some great momentum and guys gave me a great car.”

This marks Custer’s fifth straight top-five finish, a streak that began with a runner-up finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. He’s led multiple laps in three of those five races, but still hasn’t been able to nab that first win of 2018.

Because Custer’s No. 00 is up front consistently, top-five finishes aren’t enough for the team anymore; they want victories.

“I think we’re really hitting our stride,” Custer told NBCSN. “We’re in contention to win races. We have the speed every single race …”

“Now that you’re fighting for wins every single weekend, you start getting disappointed that you don’t win,” he said later in the media center. “I think we’re happy with where we’re at — we’re disappointed with top fives. We’re knocking on the door every weekend of having a win. We just need to have everything go right and not make mistakes.”

At one point during the race, Custer made a pass on Stewart-Haas Racing counterpart Kevin Harvick, whose No. 98 finished second. For an Xfinity Series driver, running with Monster Energy Series veterans like Harvick — and passing them — is rewarding.

“Kevin’s taught me a lot and he’s definitely one of the best out there,” Custer said. “It’s always satisfying when you’re racing the Cup drivers and you’re actually able to outrun them. They’re a little bit better than I am in the Cup cars, that’s for sure.

“But in the Xfinity Series cars, I feel like I can compete with them pretty well. It’s just now it’s beating all of them and winning a race. But we just have to keep it going.”

The Xfinity Series heads to Daytona International Speedway next weekend for the series’ third restrictor-plate race of the year. Custer hopes to continue the team’s run.

“I’m looking forward to it — I think we’ll have good speed,” Custer said. “I’m not the best speedway racer, but I think I’ve gotten better and better at it, too.

“I think it will be our best speedway race.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

JOLIET, Ill. – Paul Menard had the hottest shoe on the hottest day of the NASCAR season.

Torching Chicagoland Speedway with a lap at 180.102 mph (29.998 seconds) in the final round of Saturday’s knockout qualifying session at the 1.5-mile track, Menard won the pole for Sunday’s Overton’s 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Nearly 10 years had passed since Menard last claimed a Busch Pole Award. His only previous top qualifying effort came at Daytona in July 2008, when he was driving a Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc.

But on Saturday, Menard’s Wood Brothers Ford was .022 seconds faster than the No. 12 Team Penske Ford of Ryan Blaney (179.880 mph).

Earlier in the day, Menard finished eighth in the Overton’s 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Chicagoland, under brutally hot conditions that saw the temperatures in the cockpits of the race cars reach 150 degrees.

RELATED: Official lineup | See every car in the field | Full race-day schedule

Between the race and Cup qualifying, Menard used the brief break to recover.

“After the race I went back to the hauler — I’m on my fourth or fifth different pair of underwear,” Menard quipped. “Just been keeping it fresh, I guess. Drank some pickle juice, lot of ice packs and I feel pretty good.

“Pickle juice gives you all your salt back. It’s an old wives’ tale, I guess, but we did it in football all the time, and it seemed to work. I hadn’t drunk pickle juice in a while, but I thought today was a good day to do it.”

Menard had the fastest lap in the first round at 180.120 mph but slipped to seventh in the second. But in the round that counted, he had just enough to edge Blaney for the pole.

Menard’s only victory in NASCAR’s premier series came in the 2011 Brickyard 400.

“It sucks to have a ‘1’ there — now we have a ‘2’ in the pole column,” Menard said. “Now we have to get rid of that ‘1’ in the win column and make another ‘2’.”

After receiving IV fluids after the Xfinity race, Chase Elliott qualified third at 179.748 mph, followed by Kurt Busch and Clint Bowyer.

“I felt like I got all I could,” Elliott said. “I don’t really know what I could’ve done different in that last round. It was good, much better than we have been qualifying, so it was nice and hopefully turns out that way tomorrow.”

Aric Almirola, Brad Keselowski, William Byron, Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez will start from positions sixth through 10th, respectively. Five-time winner Kevin Harvick will start 11th.

Martin Truex Jr., winner of the most recent race at Sonoma, was slated for the 12th position on the grid, but failed post-qualifying inspection and will start 36th. Denny Hamlin had qualified fourth but saw his time disallowed as well after failing post-qualifying inspection and will start 37th. Jimmie Johnson and Chris Buescher also had their times disallowed and will start 38th and 39th, respectively.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Staff Report

JOLIET, Ill. – When Kyle Larson crossed the finish line at Chicagoland Speedway 8.030 seconds ahead of runner-up Kevin Harvick, there were no screams of elation from the winner of Saturday’s Overton’s 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race.

Instead, Larson placed an order.

“Water, ice and towel at the start/finish line,” Larson radioed to his team, after winning a race in mind-numbing heat that approached 150 degrees in the greenhouse of his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Camaro.

Larson had won the pole earlier in the day but had to start from the rear of the field because of a flat right front tire that required changing before the race. That proved only a temporary deterrent.

By the end of the first 45-lap stage, Larson had driven up to sixth place, and on Lap 72, he made a three-wide pass of Harvick and Christopher Bell to take the lead for the first time.

The 25-year-old Californian went on to lead a race-high 80 laps and took advantage of an 80-lap green-flag run to the finish to win for the first time at Chicagoland, the second time this season and the 10th time in his career.

RELATED: Full race results | Xfinity Series standings

“Yeah, it was pretty hot,” Larson said in the understatement of the week. “But the adrenaline was kicking in. I can’t say enough about this race car. We were really bad (Friday in practice), so it’s cool we could win.

“We were able to get our car better for today. These guys (the No. 42 team) never quit. The pit crew was amazing. That was really a key there, I thought, to get some track position after falling back to fourth (after the restart following the end of Stage 2).”

In fact, Larson gained two positions on pit road under a caution for debris in Turn 4 on Lap 114 and restarted third on the bottom on Lap 121. He cleared the fourth-place car of Christopher Bell on the restart and took off in pursuit of Harvick, who had assumed the lead.

“I was able to stay pretty close to Harvick on the bottom,” Larson said. “I felt like, if the race stayed green, I would eat him up.”

Indeed, after the tires began to wear, Larson moved to the top of the track, where he was unstoppable. On Lap 142 he surged past Harvick into the lead and extended his advantage to more than four seconds before a cycle of green-flag pit stops that started on Lap 166.

When the cycle ended with Brandon Jones’ stop on Lap 180, Larson was up by 9.490 seconds. From that point on, it was a cruise to the finish—in a steam bath.

“I needed a short run there, for sure,” said Harvick, who led 38 laps. “The Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford was really good there for about 25 laps, and Kyle would struggle for 25 laps. I just didn’t need it to go green.

“I just couldn’t run the top. I would slide the front tires, and I didn’t have enough rear grip to throttle through the center of the corners. My car wouldn’t turn, but on the bottom.”

And the bottom lane wasn’t the fast way around the 1.5-mile track when the tires began to wear.

Cole Custer ran third and took the series lead from sixth-place Elliott Sadler, who fell to third in the standings behind Custer and fifth-place finisher Daniel Hemric. Daniel Suarez came home fourth in his second Xfinity start of the season.

Justin Allgaier ran seventh, followed by Paul Menard and Chase Briscoe, who scored his first career top-10 in the series. Chase Elliott was 10th and paid a quick visit to the infield care center before Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying for some IV fluids.

“I feel a lot better now,” Elliott said on his way out of the care center. “Those IVs make you feel like a million bucks.”

The Xfinity Series returns Friday, July 6 from Daytona International Speedway for the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).