Posted on by Staff Report

Gil Martin moves to R&D role, ‘Slugger’ Labbe takes over team

Austin Dillon is getting a new crew chief in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Richard Childress Racing announced Monday.

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Richard "Slugger" Labbe will guide the No. 3 team, starting at Sonoma in the June 28 Toyota-Save Mart 350.

Labbe is a veteran crew chief with 433 Cup starts under his belt, including wins at the 2003 Daytona 500 and 2011 Brickyard. He guided Kenny Irwin Jr. to a rookie of the year title in 1998. He also has worked with drivers Michael Waltrip, Dale Jarrett, Sterling Marlin and Terry Labonte. He was Paul Menard‘s full-time chief from 2010 to 2014.

Dillon, a former NASCAR XFINITY Series champion and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion, is 23rd in the Cup Series drivers points standings after Michigan. His best finish this season is 10th at Bristol.

Martin will move into a leadership role within the RCR R&D Department, taking over Labbe’s responsibilities.

Martin has 16 wins in 472 NSCS starts, including a 2003 Brickyard 400 victory, and has finished in the top 10 in year-end championship points seven times. Martin also has eight wins to his credit in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.

Posted on by Staff Report

Team release says that assets have been purchased

Photo courtesy of Viva Motorsports

Viva Motorsports, which fields the No. 55 entry in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, announced on Monday that the team is ceasing operations effective this week, according to a release issued by the organization.

The team was on track at Michigan International Speedway last weekend, where Jeffrey Earnhardt was behind the wheel of the No. 55 Chevrolet and finished in 34th place.

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The organization made its NASCAR debut in 2009 and competed in both the XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

"It takes a tremendous level of commitment to compete at this level of auto racing, especially when striving to get better on limited resources, week in and week out," team owner Jamie Dick said in a release provided by the team. "It has come to a point where my family and I cannot continue to make the personal and financial commitments that this sport requires. I have always been proud of the quality of race team we brought to the track. Instead of lessening that quality, we decided to take a step back from the sport."

"I want to thank the whole NASCAR community for allowing me to be part of the family. I want to thank our sponsors and our fans for all the support through the years. But most of all, I want to thank the employees of Viva Motorsports, both past and present, for making this team the best it could be."

All the team assets have been purchased and the No. 55 car will appear in a handful of races in the 2015 season, according to the release.

This season, Earnhardt (six races), Dick (five races) and Brandon Gdovic (two races) split driving duties in the No. 55 car. Dick missed some time after being diagnosed with new onset diabetes after the Phoenix race in March. The team’s best result in 13 races this season was a 12th-place showing by Earnhardt at Talladega in May.

A few weeks ago, Dick sat down with NASCAR.com at the team’s shop in China Grove, North Carolina, to discuss the challenges of running a single-car team.

"I do (have a single-car team, "us against the world" mentality). I don’t try to make it a point to spread that opinion throughout our employees and everyone else, but I certainly have that opinion," Dick said. "Because of that mentality, I’m glad we do our own single-car team. Not that we want to be a single-car team, I just mean that we’re independent and we own it and we do it."

Dick also reflected on where his own driving career was heading. The 26-year-old has made 60 XFINITY Series starts and 14 Camping World Truck Series starts in his career.

"The trajectory and the path of the mountain of my driving career and Viva Motorsports have already started to split and have more and more over the past year or two. I think they’ll continue to split more. I don’t think that my driving career will blossom into something greater than it is right now. I still like driving and I want to be the best race car driver I can be, but I don’t foresee any opportunities coming along to advance my driving career beyond what it is now, which I’m perfectly OK with. I’m happy with where I am and where I’ve made it."

The Albuquerque, New Mexico native had big hopes for the organization, telling NASCAR.com in May that he would love to work his way into the Sprint Cup Series one day.

"The potential for Viva Motorsports to grow with other drivers and other partners and other sponsors, the sky is the limit," Dick said last month. "I’d still love to venture into the Cup Series if the right opportunity presented itself, but I realize how difficult it is and I don’t want to go in there with a half-hearted effort. I want the right opportunity to do it right way. That probably will never mean the ‘right way’ compared to Joe Gibbs or Rick Hendrick, but at least the right way as something that we can be proud of."

And those hopes extended to the team’s XFINITY efforts.

"I hope in three to five years we’re no longer a single-car team. I hope we’re a two or three car XFINITY car team competing for better finishes, top-10 finishes, and continue to present ourselves professionally like we do now."

— Pat DeCola contributed to this report.

Posted on by Staff Report

See what’s coming this week to NASCAR.com

Here’s what you’ll see on NASCAR.com this week:

MONDAY: Martin Truex Jr. didn’t win at Michigan, but he accomplished something last done by Richard Petty in 1969. Zack Albert will have more on that story from the Irish Hills. … @nascarcasm recaps the race in pictures, as only he can. … The Rundown covers where every driver finished, and why.

TUESDAY: Earnhardt Jr. finished second at Michigan and talks to senior writer Kenny Bruce about his plans for the Chase. … With the off-week upon us, we’re starting to look ahead to project the Chase field. … Wonder what Kurt Busch‘s Facebook page might look like after a win? @nascarcasm has you covered.

WEDNESDAY: Check out which paint schemes will be on display at this weekend at Iowa and Chicagoland, which host the Camping World Truck Series and XFINITY Series, respectively. … Senior writer Kenny Bruce gets you caught up on all competition aspects of the sport with his weekly Tech Talk story.

THURSDAY: The U.S. Open begins today, which got us at NASCAR.com thinking … if NASCAR had four majors, which races would make up that grouping? We’ll have more on this concept. … Senior writer Holly Cain previews the NBC race coverage team in advance of the network’s return to covering the sport at Daytona.

FRIDAY: There are five on-track events, and we’ll cover them all, starting at 11 a.m. ET with Camping World Truck Series practice and culminating later in the evening with the Truck Series race at 8:30 p.m. ET. We’ll also have eight of the best tweets that you may have missed from the previous week.

Also coming this week: We’ll recap the entire Michigan weekend in GIF form, a fun way to look back at the top moments from the track. … How do Kyle Busch‘s Chase chances look? We’ll update our Chase Watcher for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver. … Father’s Day is Sunday, which means we’ll have plenty of pictures of drivers with their dads … and drivers with their kids.

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR executive reveals Air Titans will be at Chicagoland, Iowa

RELATED: Potential rules package changes coming soon?

The garage was buzzing last weekend with talk that the 2016 rules package could be put into play next month for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway, a notion that intrigued drivers. NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell reacted to that talk in a Monday interview on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s "The Morning Drive."

"As we’ve said nothing is off the table, so we’re continuing to talk to the race teams, the drivers, the owners and the tracks, particularly not just about ’16, but what if anything could be done about ’15," O’Donnell said.



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"A lot of those discussions are still ongoing, and if we’re going to do something, obviously we’ve got to do it sooner than later because we never want to implement anything in the Chase. We’ll continue to have dialogue and get to a decision either way. It all goes back to, how do we put the best racing on each and every weekend?"



O’Donnell also indicated that the 2016 rules package may not be a one size fits all concept.


"It’s kind of a misnomer when you look at it, because at each track you are going to have a different tire, essentially a different gear, a lot of different things that go into it," O’Donnell said. "As we look ahead, I think we want to look more toward what specific track packages could we have. Not necessarily having 36 different ones, but are there some configurations that do change up for particular tracks? That’s been a really interesting angle as we’ve talked to the teams and gotten some great feedback."

Tech Talk: Could more qualifying changes be coming?

The NASCAR executive also addressed the challenges faced in this past weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Wet weather led to multiple red flags and a race that was eventually called after 138 laps, 62 short of the scheduled 200.

"The fans braved a lot of different circumstances at Michigan, again proving that we’ve got the most passionate fans in all of sports," O’Donnell said. "Gave it our best shot to continue to dry, but in the last one we had to evacuate the stands. There were still some pop-up showers in the area and working with the track, we made what we thought was the safest decision for the fans that were in attendance. Certainly would have liked to see it be a full race completed but again, really appreciate the fans sticking with us."



O’Donnell also shed some light on what goes into deciding to call a race, and who is involved in the final decision.



"We’ll talk to obviously the weather experts in the area, but ultimately it’s up to the track," O’Donnell said. "In this case, Roger Curtis (president of Michigan International Speedway) and NASCAR work together. We judge it on how much time do we have left, daylight. You don’t have lights in Michigan and more importantly, what does the weather look like? 



"It takes longer to dry a track as you get later in the afternoon with the weather circumstances. Once we had to evacuate the grandstands via the track, that put us in a really challenging situation. The fans had stuck it out for a long time and then when you looked at the radar and the possibility of continued lightning and rain, we thought it was the most prudent decision to make at that time to call it a day."



Other notes from O’Donnell:



• After a rain delay of more than two hours for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Gateway Motorsports Park, Air Titans will be at the stand-alone events at Chicagoland Speedway (for the NASCAR XFINITY Series) and Iowa Speedway (for the Truck Series) this weekend. Air Titans were not at Gateway this past weekend. 



"Ultimately we make them available, and it’s a track call whether or not they want to have them in place," he said. "We learned some lessons at Gateway. I think you will see them both at Iowa and Chicago this weekend regardless. Going forward, I think you will see that change. The good news is we were able to get the race in, saw Cole Custer win. I think you’ll see that change and we’ll have them available regardless for the tracks.



• The Sprint Cup Series is off this weekend, but O’Donnell is looking forward to both stand-alone races.

"It’s really important for us," he said. "I think it gives some drivers an opportunity to come into a race and really showcase their skills. You look at Chicago, I’m excited personally to see Ross Kenseth get out there, had a great weekend at Michigan with the ARCA race. I know Matt (Kenseth) is going to be a proud father watching him race.


"Talking to Richard Childress this weekend, he thought we’ve got the most talent we’ve had in a long, long time coming up through the system. When you look at the XFINITY race in Chicago and the Truck race at Iowa, it puts both series on the big stage this weekend."

Posted on by Zack Albert

No. 78 places third, carries momentum from Michigan

RELATED: Complete results for Michigan | Analysis of all 43 drivers at Michigan

BROOKLYN, Mich. — Martin Truex Jr. almost made the most of Sunday’s rainy race day at Michigan International Speedway, aiming for his second straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory on the heels of the previous weekend’s Pocono breakthrough. Instead, a brush with NASCAR royalty and continued momentum were respectable consolation prizes.

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Truex finished third in Sunday’s rain-shortened Quicken Loans 400, failing to lead a lap for the first time in a five-race span. But the streak associated with his strong start to 2015 became a historic one. With Sunday’s result, Truex became the first driver to post 14 top-10 finishes in the season’s first 15 races since King Richard Petty in 1969.

"Just missed it a little bit today, but really proud of our season, really proud to have obviously my name mentioned next to Richard Petty," Truex said. "The King is pretty special, so thankful for my team and what they’ve done this year, and hopefully we’ll keep this thing rolling."

Momentum, as it pertained to the race itself, was difficult to achieve. The multiple starts and stops for periodic rain showers resulted in four red flags and more caution laps than green-flag laps in the opening 50 circuits. Even with the interruptions, Truex had moved all the way from his ninth-place starting spot to second in the running order.

But in Truex’s mind, the race turned for the Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Chevrolet team and crew chief Cole Pearn during their first pit stop. When the yellow flew for a competition caution on Lap 40, Truex entered the pits in second place but left in seventh as the crew waited to get extra fuel in the tank. Truex lined up on the less-advantageous inside row for that restart and subsequent ones, halting his progress until the latter stages of the race.

Measuring progress through the handful of brief rain delays wasn’t an easy task. Pearn has been an integral part of Furniture Row’s rise in his first season as a Sprint Cup crew chief, but for all his early signs of pit-box savvy, he’d never quite seen anything like the soggy Sunday in Michigan’s Irish Hills.

"It’s got to be the weirdest race I’ve ever been a part of, that’s for sure," Pearn said. "As many caution laps as we ran, the strategy kept changing. I felt like we did right at the end there, which it either could’ve gone green or could’ve restarted on the front row or fourth, I think we could’ve had a shot to win.

"I felt like the car was good enough, but it’s really hard to know. The pace was up and down — some runs were really slow and then it picked back up at the end there, so it was all over the map."

MORE: Manufacturer change for No. 78 team?

For Truex, the rain delays posed less of an impact on strategy than they did on his focus.

"More than anything it’s just a pain in the butt," Truex said. "I mean, you get in there, you get ready to go, and you’re like, all right, here we come, getting ready to go green, and it’s raining again. It’s just a pain in the butt. Once you get in the car and get the helmet on and get mentally prepared, you’re ready to go, it’s kind of just a big letdown when you’ve got to stop and get out of the car again.

"More than anything, we just want to get out there and get racing and put on a good show and then get to go home and spend some time there."

Circumstances — whether rain- or restart-related — didn’t fall in favor of the Furniture Row outfit with the same alignment that they did at Pocono Raceway. But the team gets to carry the headway from another top-five finish back to its Colorado home base with an idle week for the series coming up.

"I really felt like we had a good car capable of winning the race today; we just didn’t really have the track position to show it, having to stay on the bottom as much as we did," Pearn said. "But that’s just the way it went. Still good to keep the momentum going and have something we can continue to build off of."

Posted on by Nascar

Goodyear tire test set for Tuesday, open test slated for Wednesday

BROOKLYN, Mich. — A week after testing at Darlington Raceway, it’s off to Richmond International Raceway for Goodyear officials and a handful of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams.

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The official tire supplier for NASCAR will test with four teams Tuesday at the 0.75-mile track in preparation for this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup cutoff race, the Federated Auto Parts 400 scheduled for Sept. 12.
 
Kyle Larson (Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates), Trevor Bayne (Roush Fenway Racing) and David Ragan (Michael Waltrip Racing) are scheduled to take part in the Goodyear tire test. NASCAR XFINITY Series driver Brian Scott (Richard Childress Racing) will also take part, stepping into the No. 27 for driver Paul Menard.
 
The four will join several others on Wednesday for an open team test. According to officials, those scheduled to be on hand are Jeff Gordon (Hendrick Motorsports), Carl Edwards (Joe Gibbs Racing), Joey Logano (Team Penske), Sam Hornish Jr. (Richard Petty Motorsports), Jeff Green (The Motorsports Group) and Clay Rogers (Beard Motorsports).
 
"We had a good race there (in the spring); we had a good tire that lasted a gas stop, which is not that easy at Richmond," Stu Grant, Goodyear’s general manager for global race tires, said Sunday at Michigan International Speedway. "We’re wondering if we can do a better job to make the racing a little bit better, so we’re seeing what we can do from a tire standpoint to go back and improve that setup."
 
Some teams were not satisfied with the multi-zone tread used at RIR for the spring race. The tire featured a smaller, more durable inside compound that enhances durability combined with a wider, softer outside designed for grip. Similar multi-zone tires have been used at several Sprint Cup events since debuting in 2013.
 
Grant said several options would be considered.
 
"We’ve got a pretty good baseline at Richmond," he said. "I don’t want to move too far off of that. We’re not going to test a whole lot of different things. We ran a (multi-) zone tread at Richmond; we’ll try a couple of zone treads, we’ll try a couple of non-zone treads to see what happens … we don’t have a real big program (scheduled) so we can get that done in a day."
 
Wednesday’s test will be open to fans, with access to the grandstands through Gate 70 only.

Posted on by George Winkler

What Kyle Busch needs to make the postseason

RELATED: Busch wrecks at Michigan | Updated Chase Grid

With only 11 races left until the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, it’s time to check up on Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, as he tries to rebound from early-season injuries and make the Chase.

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WHAT JUST HAPPENED: Busch wrecked to bring out the caution on Lap 53 of the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway and finished 43rd. It was Busch’s second accident in four races since returning from injuries suffered in the NASCAR XFINITY Series opener at Daytona International Speedway.

WHAT HE NEEDS: Busch needs a win and to finish in the top 30 in the points standings to make the Chase. After Michigan, he is unofficially in 39th place, 173 points behind 30th place. According to NASCAR statistical services, if all things continue at this pace, Busch roughly needs one 47-point win and an average finish of 13th over the next 11 races.

WHAT’S NEXT: The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series takes a week off for Father’s Day, which is good timing for Busch who became a dad to Brexton four weeks ago. Then it’s off to Sonoma Raceway, where Busch has two top-10 finishes and one win in 10 starts. Busch has led 88 of his 1,059 laps at the Northern California road course.

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Driver scores first win of 2015 Camping World Truck Series season

RELATED: Full race results | Updated series standings

MADISON, Ill. — Cole Custer took advantage of a five-lap shootout at Gateway Motorsports Park to score his second career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win in Saturday night’s American Ethanol presents the Drivin’ for Linemen 200 brought to you by Ameren.

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When race leader Tyler Reddick missed his second shift of the night on the final restart, Custer attacked and cleared the field to cruise to a 0.871-second triumph over Spencer Gallagher. It was the 17-year-old NASCAR Next driver’s first win of the year and second for JR Motorsports, which won last month at Charlotte Motor Speedway with Kasey Kahne.
 
"I was just trying to tell myself ‘no excuses,’" said Custer, who won in his third start of the year. "I think we were a little bit better than the 19 (Reddick). We struggled a little bit all day. I don’t know, I’m just tired. I gotta thank Haas Automation, Gene Haas, Kelley (Earnhardt-Miller), Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) for giving me this opportunity and Hendrick engines, the pit crew for coming out.
 
"We put everything together, we didn’t have the best truck, but we ran a great race."
 
After Matt Crafton and Erik Jones, who had the two strongest trucks of the night, endured problems late in the race, the revolving door opened with Custer answering.
 
For Gallagher, late-race strategy played into his hands — which ultimately led to his second career top-five finish.
 
"(We) didn’t have the speed in our No. 23 Allegiant Travel Chevrolet that we wanted all day, but we started 14th, so pretty far back there and a track where track position is such a huge deal, that was kind of a cloud hanging over our head to begin with. My GMS Racing guys played the game right all night. We were able to hold off Sauter at the end there. I told my crew chief, better be lucky than good sometimes, I’ll take it."
 
Mother Nature played her hand early at Gateway, cancelling qualifying after a brief, but heavy shower a few minutes into round one of knockout qualifying. The field was set per the rule book, putting Erik Jones on the pole after turning the fastest lap in practice earlier in the day.
 
Quickly, the track dried, but the start of the eighth race of the season was delayed nearly two hours after a heavy shower soaked the 1.25-mile oval shortly before pre-race ceremonies. Drivers were called to their trucks at 9:25 p.m. CST, with the command to fire engines less than 10 minutes later.
 
From the start, Jones kept the lead and held the point until the first caution waved on Lap 53 for a two-truck accident in Turn 1.
 
Matt Crafton won the race off pit road ahead of Erik Jones, Matt Tifft, Johnny Sauter and Tyler Reddick.
 
Racing resumed, but Crafton’s lead would be short-lived as Jones, a NASCAR Next alum, made the pass on the outside and retook the lead from the defending series champion. Despite being chased by Crafton, Jones kept the lead until the second yellow flag waved on Lap 80 for debris.
 
While Jones elected to pit, Crafton stayed out, while Tyler Reddick, Johnny Sauter, Brandon Jones and Austin Theriault played strategy and took two tires. Jones was the first truck that elected for four tires and exited pit road sixth.
 
Crafton held the lead through Lap 91 when Tifft crashed in Turn 1.
 
Under the third caution of the race, Crafton pitted, handing the lead to his ThorSport Racing teammate Johnny Sauter with Custer second.
 
Restarting with 64 laps to go, Sauter found himself unable to hold off Custer, who ventured out to a half-second lead by Lap 100. Ten laps later, Custer had company in the form of Jones, who made the pass to reclaim the lead on Lap 112.
 
Six laps later, a stalled truck brought out another yellow, sending the lead lap trucks to pit road for service. A flawless stop by Crafton’s team sent him back to the top ahead of Spencer Gallagher, who took two tires. Jones exited third, followed by Ray Black Jr. with no tires, and Reddick.
 
On the restart, Crafton was able to stay ahead, but Jones, hungry for his first win of the season, was quickly closing. Ultimately, Jones spun on the frontstretch 17 laps from the finish while trying to pass a lapped truck.
 
With Jones out of the mix, Crafton found Reddick, Custer and John Hunter Nemechek looking to deny him of his fourth win of 2015.
 
The green flag resumed with 10 laps remaining and Reddick wasted no time making his move and surging to the lead. Crafton’s strong night would take a dramatic turn after Nemechek broke loose in Turn 3 and sent the No. 88 Toyota hard into the outside wall, yielding the sixth caution of the night.
 
Custer jumped out to the lead on the final restart and cruised the rest of the way to Victory Lane.
 
Behind Custer and Gallagher, Sauter, Nemechek and Cameron Hayley rounded out the top five, while Timothy Peters, Ben Kennedy, Reddick, Daniel Hemric and Austin Theriault comprised the top-10.
 
"I always knew that we had trucks capable of winning," Custer said. "We just had to put everything together for a race."

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to action next Friday, June 19, at Iowa Speedway for the American Ethanol 200 with coverage on FOX Sports 1 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

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Stewart-Haas Racing driver picks up second victory of season

RELATED: Full race results | Updated series standings
SHOP: Kurt gear

BROOKLYN, Mich. — Starting 24th in a backup car, Kurt Busch fought his way to the front of the field through intermittent rain showers and won Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway when a deluge halted the race after 138 of a scheduled 200 laps.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. was second when NASCAR red-flagged the event for the fourth time. Martin Truex Jr. was credited with third, followed by Matt Kenseth and Penske teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski.
 
The victory was Busch’s second of the season. He won for the third time at Michigan and for the 27th time in his career.
 
"It’s an unbelievable feeling to know what we went through, paced ourselves, and found the lead toward the latter part of the race when the rain came in," Busch said in Victory Lane.
 
"You know what’s more special about this? Winning in Chevrolet’s backyard. That’s what’s most important about winning in Michigan, so thanks to Chevrolet."
 
That his team had put in extra hours to ready a backup car after Busch hit the wall in Friday’s opening practice was not lost on the winning driver.
 
"Yeah, you have to get down and dirty," Busch said. "You have to really roll up your sleeves, get your elbows dirty, and put the work into it. And (crew chief) Tony Gibson makes these guys work a little extra hard.
 
"I always say thanks. I’m always there early with them. And it’s a great team chemistry feel."
 
Busch grabbed the lead for the first time on Lap 133 when Kyle Larson‘s gas-mileage gamble came up short and the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet was forced to pit road for fuel just as a storm cell was advancing toward the speedway.
 
Busch had pushed Larson to the lead after a restart on Lap 130, but Larson hadn’t gotten fuel since Lap 88, and crew chief Chris Heroy was gambling that the rain would arrive before Larson ran out of gas. As it turned out, the rain came three laps too late for Heroy’s strategy to bear fruit.
 
The heavy thunderstorm arrived on Lap 136, forcing NASCAR to throw a caution and then to red-flag the race for the fourth time two laps later, with Busch out.
 
Busch also got an unintended assist from teammate Kevin Harvick, who led 63 laps in the race’s dominant car.
 
Harvick held a lead of roughly four seconds when he brought his No. 4 Chevrolet to pit road on Lap 120, but the reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion had to return to his pit stall two laps later because of a flat right front tire. Harvick lost two laps in the process and was 29th when NASCAR called the race shortly after 6 p.m.
 
Earnhardt was on the inside beside Larson for the final restart, but the push from Busch propelled Larson to his short-lived lead, and Busch followed to the outside of Earnhardt’s car.
 
"When it came to the restarts, we didn’t take off as well as the 41," Earnhardt said. "We saw the same thing at Charlotte, the 78 (Truex) and the 41 take off real good.
 
"We were just kind of tight waiting on the front to work, don’t have the good speed that they have the first three or four laps, and that was the difference today, and the 4 (Harvick) having the trouble he had. He had the field covered."
 
If fortune favored Kurt Busch on Sunday, the same can’t be said for brother Kyle Busch, whose car slipped on damp asphalt in Turn 3 and shot into the outside wall to bring out the third caution on Lap 52. In what may be the decisive blow to his prospects of making the Chase after missing the first 11 races because of injuries sustained at Daytona in February, Busch finished 43rd.