MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Times may change, tradition rolls on which is why Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Budweiser are reuniting to bring back one of the most recognizable paint schemes in racing history. The NASCAR Hall of Famer will drive the historic No. 8 Chevrolet with the iconic Bud King of Beers paint scheme once again for a limited series of Late Model Stock Car Races in 2024 and 2025. The paint scheme will make its return to the track for the first time in 17 years on Nov. 23, 2024 when Earnhardt Jr. competes in the South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway.
In addition to the infamous red-and-black paint scheme, Earnhardt Jr. will return to his stylized No. 8, made famous during his tenure behind the wheel from 1999 through 2007.
“It is an incredible opportunity for me to be able to reunite with Budweiser, and the No. 8,” Earnhardt Jr said. “Budweiser and I had some great memories with that iconic scheme and number. We’ve always supported each other over the years. It’s going to be really special for me to be able to represent that brand on the racetrack again.”
This return for Budweiser is the latest in Anheuser-Busch’s long-standing commitment to NASCAR and the motorsports industry. With driver partnerships, key event sponsorships and media investments in the sport, Anheuser-Busch has proudly supported and elevated NASCAR through Budweiser, Busch and Busch Light for more than 40 years.
“There are names that when mentioned, draw on the significance of their place in American history. Among them, Budweiser, and Earnhardt,” said Matt Davis, vice-president of partnerships at Anheuser-Busch. “This return to the racetrack alongside Dale with the Bud King of Beers paint scheme is another chapter in Anheuser-Busch’s long and storied sports history.”
Anheuser-Busch and its brands Budweiser, Busch and Busch Light have a proud history supporting NASCAR legends and growing forces in the sport — notably as the primary sponsor of Earnhardt Jr. for nine seasons, through a 13-year partnership with Kevin Harvick, and with Busch Light as the current primary sponsorship of Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain announced in 2023.
JR Motorsports is showcasing the return of this iconic pairing with a line of Budweiser x Dale Jr. merchandise that is nostalgic of the early 2000s, available now at shopjrnation.com.
Joe Gibbs Racing announced on Monday that William Sawalich will pilot the No. 18 Toyota full-time during the 2025 Xfinity Series season.
Next year will mark the rookie campaign for the 18-year-old prospect from Minnesota, who has made 13 starts in the Craftsman Truck Series with Tricon Garage. He’s scored three top 10s and captured a pole award earlier this month at Talladega Superspeedway.
”I am honored to be driving the No. 18 full-time in the Xfinity Series next year,” Sawalich said in a team release. ”It has been really cool to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing, and I feel like I have developed so much as a driver over the past two years. I still have a lot to learn, especially with moving to a new series, so I am looking forward to taking this next step in racing.”
Sawalich has dominated in the ARCA Menards Series, winning 18 of his 39 starts across all three platforms — national, east and west. He will pair with Taylor Gray for JGR next season, who will pilot the No. 54 entry.
“We are thrilled to announce William’s promotion to the next stage of his racing career with us,” Steve de Souza, executive vice president of Xfinity Series and development at JGR, said in a team release. “His outstanding record of victories and development over the past two years shows he’s ready for the Xfinity Series. We’re confident he’ll remain a strong contender for wins as he takes on this new challenge in 2025.”
Starkey will sponsor the Toyota development driver’s No. 18, featuring their SoundGear product line.
The 2025 Xfinity Series season begins on Feb. 15 at Daytona International Speedway.
LAS VEGAS — From out of the playoffs and back in again one week in Charlotte to a backup car and Victory Lane in the span of 25 hours in Sin City, Team Penske reminded everyone Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway why the organization can never be discounted.
When the checkered flag waved Oct. 13 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, Joey Logano appeared ousted from the Round of 8, out of contention for his third championship in the NASCAR Cup Series. Another team’s disqualification later, and suddenly he’s back in the playoff picture.
Flash forward to Vegas a week later, and Logano wheels the No. 22 Ford back to Victory Lane and onto the Championship 4 with a chance to return to the title winner’s stage at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 10.
Neither Logano nor his wife, Brittany, could wrap their heads around the events of the past week.
“I talked to her in Victory Lane,” Logano said. “She’s like, ‘Do you believe one week ago at this hour …’ I come walking out of our bedroom, and I said, ‘You’re not going to believe this (expletive).’ You wouldn’t believe it! And here we are a week later. I told her (Sunday), ‘You ain’t going to believe this!'”
That roller coaster of emotions was only amplified in the Nevada desert. Every member spent the previous night thrashing to prepare a backup car for defending Cup champion Ryan Blaney, who cut a tire early in Saturday’s practice session and crashed hard into the outside retaining SAFER barrier.
“That’s how you build the foundation of what a team is — examples of hard work and perseverance and a group overcoming and ultimately triumphing,” Travis Geisler, competition director at Team Penske, told NASCAR.com. “You know, you’ve got to have the successes at the end at some point too. And to have this for this team is really special. And I think that it’s not just in our name. Team Penske is how we operate. We’re intensely loyal to each other.”
That unity shined under the bright lights of the Neon Garage Saturday night. While the NASCAR Xfinity Series race roared, members of the Nos. 2, 12, 21 and 22 teams rallied around Blaney’s backup car to best prepare the No. 12 Ford for Sunday’s 400-miler.
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media
For 88 laps, those efforts proved fruitful, with Blaney charging to 17th place by the beginning of Stage 2 after starting from the rear. But a Lap 89 incident negated that work. As fellow playoff drivers Tyler Reddick and Chase Elliott collided, Brad Keselowski (coincidentally, a former Penske driver) was involved and spun up the race track — collecting both Blaney and Austin Cindric in the process. Cindric’s day ended with a broken right-front control arm, but the No. 12 team was able to repair a broken toe link enough for Blaney to continue to a 32nd-place finish, eight laps down.
“The whole company pulled together, put a really good car out there,” Geisler said. “I think it had a lot of speed again today, and then to have him have issues and the 2 (Cindric), it’s like, man, it just didn’t feel like it was going to come together.”
After a caution for Ty Gibbs’ spin on Lap 193, No. 22 crew chief Paul Wolfe had Logano conserve just enough fuel over the final 69-lap run to surge past Daniel Suárez and hold off a dominant Christopher Bell to net the group’s third win of 2024 — and second on fuel mileage.
“We call him ‘Big Ball Paul’ now,” Logano laughed.
Wolfe and his group of engineers had that strategy call lined up in their playbook all week. Circumstances Sunday allowed them to come to fruition.
“Honestly, when the caution came out there, we didn’t really feel like it was a gamble based off of where we were,” Wolfe told NASCAR.com. “I was actually surprised. We heard guys talking about that they were maybe going to split (the run), but I didn’t realize the majority was thinking that because, like I said, we had talked through this scenario pre-race, and we stuck to what we thought and what we knew, and it worked for us.”
To venture back to Victory Lane was a collective effort — and not just for the No. 22 team. After getting lapped for the eighth time Sunday, Blaney played the role of a good teammate and settled in behind Logano as No. 22 hunted the lead and the win in the closing laps. With the No. 12 on Logano’s tail, the two were able to draft and allow Logano to save more fuel, ultimately resulting in Logano’s triumph.
“I don’t think there’s a team out there that works better together than Team Penske,” Logano said. “That is just in our DNA all the way through. That started years and years and years ago. I can’t even take credit for being part of that. From when I got there (in 2013), the openness between team to team. I remember years ago Brad telling me when I got there, ‘I’d rather you beat me and finish second’ than him beating me and finishing 21st, right? That’s the attitude that we have.
“When you have that all the way through the team, it’s just very helpful for us. Been around long enough to realize that it’s good to see your teammate win. I know you want to be the top dog, right? Obviously. The more I’m around the sport, the more I realize how that really raises the whole team. Then you build relationships with people that make you happy to see. It affects their life, right? Those bonuses are real for the teams. Anything you can do to help those people that you care about is something really special to me.”
That mindset is one Blaney embodied in the closing laps of Sunday’s contest.
“We’re just a big team effort, right? We want to do well for Roger (Penske, team owner),” Blaney said. “We want to do well for everyone who works for us and all of our partners, and we all try to work hand in hand and do the best we can to help. You want to help yourself, but you also want to help the group, right? So, yeah, it’s nice that they were able to pull one out today. Hopefully, we can join them in a couple of weeks.”
That selflessness shouldn’t be overlooked. Logano’s victory puts Blaney in a more precarious situation with two races remaining as the No. 12 team now sits 47 points beneath the provisional elimination line.
“I can’t thank Ryan Blaney enough,” Geisler said. “What that takes in the position that he’s in right there, where he knows he’s going to have to try to point his way in with something miraculous or win a race to get in, and he sees his teammate maybe in a chance to lock himself in — and knows it’s going to hurt him. There’s only four cars that can make it, and to be in that spot and recognize it and then have the talent and ability to go and actually help Joey to the win. It’s such a proud moment for everybody here at the team, and just want to thank those 12 car guys a lot.”
And just like that, the Penske Way is guiding the program back to the Championship 4 at Phoenix with a chance for The Captain and Co. to claim their third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series title, with Logano triumphing in 2022 before Blaney broke through in 2023.
In an era of parity, Penske continues to rise above. Why?
“People. It’s that simple,” Logano said. “Like I said, Roger has assembled some incredible people at Penske. I know everybody says this about their teams a lot of times; I truly believe it. Got some really solid people, right? Not just what they do at the track, but what they do at home, the way they live. Like I said, I’m really proud to be a part of a team like this.
“Roger’s way of just building people around him, the environment of what’s expected at Team Penske. He doesn’t have to say it anymore, right? When we hire somebody, it’s not like he has to come in there and tell them what he expects. It’s pretty well-known. All of us know. It’s kind of snowballed ever since. Ton of credit to Roger for hiring the correct people, but also creating a culture that’s surrounded or centered by, one, winning, but also doing it in an elite way.”
Perhaps Phoenix will produce another elite moment as Logano chases championship No. 3.
When John-Michael Shenette was 15, he wrote a letter to Team Penske requesting an autograph from an up-and-coming driver named Ryan Newman. Just 23 at the time, Newman was beginning a NASCAR career that would see him win 18 Cup Series races, including the 2008 Daytona 500 and the 2013 Brickyard 400.
Shenette had quickly become a fan of Newman as the latter ascended to NASCAR from the United States Auto Club, winning races in the ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series before beginning his full-time Cup Series career in 2002.
“When I was younger, (Ryan) was kind of the driver that I watched. I was a big Ryan Newman fan,” said Shenette, now 38. “I wrote (Penske) a letter asking for an autograph from Ryan Newman. … Ryan doesn’t know that.”
Now Shenette, who competes part-time on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour with his own Eighty-Two Autosport team, will experience a full-circle moment with Newman.
Shenette and Newman will join forces to compete in Saturday’s Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 at Martinsville Speedway, the 2024 season finale. Newman will pilot Shenette’s No. 8 Modified with sponsorship from Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, USNE Power, Anglers Choice and Eight-Two Services.
Saturday’s event will mark Newman’s fourth Modified Tour start of the season and first behind the wheel of Shenette’s car.
“The older you get, the more opportunities you have to see things come full circle, or at least make a half circle,” said the 47-year-old Newman. “I think this is one of those opportunities. Maybe not one of those opportunities, but one of those times I guess you could say where he is a fan of racing, he is a fan of mine. I obviously had an impact on him, even with him not knowing me.
“For us to have this opportunity on a random phone call from a recommendation of another driver to drive his car is kind of crazy, but that’s kind of how things work.”
John-Michael Shenette has competed in three Modified Tour events this year as a driver, earning a best finish of 17th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)
Before this summer, Newman and Shenette had never met or even spoken. A mutual connection, veteran Modified Tour driver Tim Connolly, is the person who gave Newman Shenette’s phone number.
Newman had been trying to work a deal to drive Connolly’s car in a non-NASCAR event at Stafford Motor Speedway, but when the plan didn’t come together, Connolly recommended Shenette.
“I had talked to Tim Connolly about running the Mystic Missile, and we were working on things, and about three or four phone calls in, things just got disconnected, and we ended up not doing it,” Newman said. “So Tim got me John-Michael’s contact, and I reached out to him, and we ended up putting a deal together.”
When Newman called, Shenette thought someone was pranking him.
“I was talking to my wife, my mother-in-law and daughter,” Shenette said. “Ryan called, and when he said, ‘This is Ryan Newman,’ I only half believed him. I didn’t know who the hell was calling. I didn’t really give him the time of day when he called.”
After establishing that it was actually Newman and that the phone call wasn’t a prank, Shenette and Newman spent some time talking and ultimately worked out a deal for Newman to race Shenette’s Modified in a handful of events through the remainder of 2024.
“I thought about for 10 or 15 seconds,” Shenette said. “I hung up with him, looked at my wife and said, ‘Ryan Newman called, and he wants to drive our car.’
“It’s just a cool deal. It means a lot to put him in the car. I have a high expectation for it. When it comes to the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard and all that, none of that really matters to me. I just value the guy that I’m starting to know better and better. He’s a damn racer.”
Ryan Newman has made 38 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts through the years, earning four wins. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)
Newman had no idea Shenette grew up a fan of his until several phone calls later. That aspect made the partnership more fun for both.
“We’ve had several conversations, and he’s told me what I meant to him as a NASCAR driver and as a fan,” Newman said. “I’m sure it was kind of difficult for him to kind of separate those two things and make good decisions, but when it comes to racing, being a fan is pretty powerful.
“I think that didn’t hurt by any means to stimulate our relationship.”
The pairing made their debut at Stafford last month, and the deal was supposed to include last Sunday’s Modified Tour event at North Wilkesboro Speedway, but the postponement of the event due to Hurricane Helene pushed back their first Tour event together until Saturday at Martinsville.
“I’m confident in the car we’ve got. I’m confident in the driver we’re putting in it. I’m super confident in Scott (Morin, crew chief),” Shenette said. “I have an expectation of going there and winning the race and competing for it. (Ryan) has the pedigree to do it.”
Martinsville is a track Newman knows well. He scored a Cup Series win there in 2012, and he’s competed in the Modified Tour event there each of the last three years. His best finish in those three events was a third-place effort in 2022.
Shenette did get that autograph from Newman when he was 15. It came with a letter, which included a Roger Penske quote that Shenette still remembers today.
“’Effort equals results,’” Shenette said. “I’m using that as a motto, if you will. If you don’t put the effort in, the results aren’t going to be there.”
The crowning of state and provincial champions is a NASCAR tradition that dates back to 2007.
Competitors in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series have the ability to race for state or provincial championships in addition to national and regional championships.
This season, 27 competitors were lucky enough to win state and provincial championships. Below is a look at each, followed by a look at the 2024 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series state and provincial rookies of the year.
2024 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series state and provincial champions
Alaska – Trent Dillard
Trent Dillard scored seven victories in seven races at Alaska Raceway Park. This is his first state championship in Alaska.
Alberta – Cameron Medd
In seven events at Edmonton International Raceway, Cameron Medd won three times and never finished outside the top five. This is his first provincial championship in Alberta.
Arizona – Nick O’Neil
Nine victories in 13 starts at Tucson Speedway propelled Nick O’Neil to his second consecutive state championship in Arizona.
California – Jeffrey Peterson
A strong season of racing at Irwindale Speedway and Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway allowed Jeffrey Peterson to win his first California state title. In 14 events, Peterson won seven times. He also captured the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series West Region championship.
Colorado – Brett Yackey
The Yackey family added another NASCAR accolade this year as Brett Yackey captured his third Colorado state championship thanks largely to three victories in six races at Colorado National Speedway. It’s his fourth state championship overall after he captured the Arizona title in 2021.
Brent Crews captured the 2024 World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing championship at New Smyrna Speedway, which also helped him win the Florida state championship. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)
Florida – Brent Crews
A championship during the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway also helped Brent Crews win the Florida state title. In six races at New Smyrna, Crews won twice and never finished outside the top five.
Idaho – Josh Jackson
Meridian Speedway regular Josh Jackson drove to seven wins across 19 starts this season to capture his first Idaho state championship.
Iowa – Jeff Wiggins
Four victories in 16 races and no finishes outside the top five were more than enough for Jeff Wiggins to capture his first Iowa state championship.
Massachusetts – Vincent Arrenegado Jr.
Competing at Seekonk Speedway, Vincent Arrenegado Jr. didn’t win a single race this year. However, his consistent approach, which saw him finish inside the top five in 10 of 12 races, allowed him to claim his first Massachusetts state title.
Michigan – Andrew Scheid
In 11 starts at Berlin Raceway, Andrew Scheid scored one win, seven top five and nine top 10 finishes. That was enough for him to capture his first state championship in Michigan ahead of Berlin track champion Brian Campbell.
Minnesota – Jake Ryan
For the first time since 2013, someone not named Jacob Goede is the state champion of Minnesota. That driver is Jake Ryan, who won four times at Elko Speedway in 17 starts to claim the crown.
Jaron Giannini captured a track championship at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in addition to claiming the Nevada state title. (Photo: Las Vegas Motor Speedway)
Nevada – Jaron Giannini
A fast-rising star on the West Coast, Jaron Giannini claimed his first Nevada state championship after scoring four wins in 14 starts at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this season.
New Hampshire – Tyler Leary
It came down to the last possible race, but Tyler Leary captured his first New Hampshire state championship this season. In 28 races split between Monadnock Speedway, Claremont Motorsports Park and Hudson Speedway, Leary won 10 times. He bested Nathan Wenzel by four points to claim the New Hampshire state crown.
New York – John Beatty Jr.
Riverhead Raceway regular John Beatty Jr. put together a strong season that saw him win three times in 14 starts. It was more than enough for him to capture his first New York state championship.
Newfoundland and Labrador – Wayne Walsh
For the first time since 2019, Wayne Walsh is once again the provincial champion of Newfoundland and Labrador. Competing at Eastbound International Speedway, Walsh won twice and never finished outside the top 10 to earn his fourth provincial championship.
North Carolina – Burt Myers
Bowman Gray Stadium’s Burt Myers had another one of his trademark fantastic seasons in 2024. He won six times in 23 races at Bowman Gray on his way to not just his 11th track title, but also a runner-up finish in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division I standings and his fourth North Carolina state title.
Ohio – Todd Sherman
For the fourth consecutive year and fifth time overall, Todd Sherman is once again the champion in the state of Ohio. He scored one victory at Limaland Motorsports Park in eight events and only finished outside the top 10 once.
Oklahoma – Justin Shoemaker
A strong season at Salina Highbanks Speedway allowed Justin Shoemaker to claim his first Oklahoma state championship in 2024. He won five times in 19 starts and earned 17 top five finishes.
Ontario – Johnathan Schwemler
Competing at Grand Bend Speedway, Johnathan Schwemler scored an impressive seven victories in 13 starts. He also never finished outside the top five on his way to his first Ontario provincial championship.
Oregon – Toby McIntyre
A winner of eight races in 12 starts this season at Coos Bay Speedway, Toby McIntyre locked up his second consecutive Oregon state championship with ease.
Pennsylvania – Jeff Strunk
One of the Northeast’s veteran dirt modified competitors, Jeff Strunk captured his fifth Pennsylvania state championship. He failed to win a race, but he only finished outside the top 10 once in 19 races this season.
Quebec – David Hébert
For the third consecutive season, David Hébert has captured the Quebec provincial championship. Racing at both Autodrome Granby and Le RPM Speedway, Hébert won eight times in 20 starts. He also captured the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Northeast Region championship.
Casey Kelley won the Florence Motor Speedway track title and the South Carolina state championship this season. (Photo: Joe Maylish/Florence Motor Speedway)
South Carolina – Casey Kelley
The battle for the South Carolina state crown came down to brothers Casey and Cody Kelley. Ultimately the crown went to Casey, who won five times and never finished outside the top five in 16 races at Florence Motor Speedway.
Tennessee – Keith Helton
Competing once again at Kingsport Speedway, Keith Helton captured his second consecutive Tennessee state championship. He was nearly unbeatable this year, scoring 17 wins in 27 races.
Virginia – Connor Hall
Racing just about anywhere he could, Connor Hall captured not just a second NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division I national championship, but also his second Virginia state crown. In 13 races in the state of Virginia at Langley Speedway and South Boston Speedway, Hall scored nine wins.
Washington – Wyatt Gardner
For the first time in four years, someone not named Naima Lang has captured the Washington state title. Wyatt Gardner claimed his first Washington state crown thanks to six wins in 10 races at Evergreen Speedway.
Wisconsin – Jacob Goede
Opting to switch things up this year, Jacob Goede decided to race at Wisconsin’s LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway this season. It paid off with a Wisconsin state championship, which Goede earned thanks to four wins in 12 races and no finishes outside the top 10. It’s his first Wisconsin state title to go along with 10 Minnesota state titles. He also captured the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Midwest Region championship.
2024 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series state and provincial rookies of the year
LAS VEGAS – Kyle Larson entered Sunday’s South Point 400 as the favorite to win and advance to the Championship 4 for a second straight season. After all, the No. 5 Chevrolet had dominated the previous two races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
During the opening stage, Larson seemed to have a top-five car but faded to 10th at the end of the stage while Toyota drivers Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell drove through traffic after a restart late in the stage. Early in the second stage, Larson remained a threat and reached second position before his race went haywire.
While Larson made a green-flag pit stop on Lap 125, the No. 5 team froze while changing four tires. The rear tire carrier wasn’t certain that the right-rear wheel was secure on the car and alerted crew chief Cliff Daniels. The crew went back around to the right side to tighten the wheel after starting service on the left-side tires. Through the disarray, the left-rear tire was never changed and Larson had to make an additional pit stop.
“It’s a very awkward circumstance because in that moment, I have to call out and flag that we do have an issue on the right rear; we’re halfway through our left-side operation,” Daniels said. “The changer’s second-guessing themselves in what they needed to finish for the left-side operation and clean that up. Ultimately, we had a new tire put on the left-front and we did not get a new tire put on the left-rear.
“It’s tough and now when you look at it in reverse, it’s kind of like, ‘Wow, how did we not get that right?’ I understand where there was some confusion in the moment. The guys now are smarter because we have that experience and know how to handle that moving forward.”
By not getting a new left-rear tire on the car, there was no option but to pit a second time. The additional trip down pit road put Larson nearly two laps down instead of vying to remain on the lead lap with only one costly stop.
When the field reset at the end of Stage 2, Larson battled hard with Ty Gibbs, who sped on pit road, for the free pass position. When Gibbs spun to bring out the race’s final caution on Lap 192, the No. 5 car was awarded the free pass.
Some drivers stretched their fuel mileage to the end of the race after the final restart, but Larson pitted once more and ended the race in 11th position. He sits third on the playoff grid, 35 points above the elimination line — two points more than his margin entering the Vegas event.
“Extremely hard,” Larson said of his Vegas race, which included a slight front-end blemish from debris after Austin Dillon’s crash in Stage 1. “We had a bad end of the first stage and then had to fix the damage that we had. Then, I was like, ‘OK, we’re going to have a good day here.’ I think I got to eighth before the green-flag cycle. I was much better than the guys in front of us and thought we would finish the end of the stage in third or fourth and then we had the biggest mess of a pit stop I think I’ve ever seen. That was just unfortunate.
Daniels was pleased with the poise Larson showed to drive back through the field.
“I was really proud of Kyle, really proud of the team for still coming back after what kind of a mess that was,” he said. “Everybody stuck together. Certainly, wanted better than an 11th-place finish, but that was probably one of the hardest fought 11th-place finishes we’ve had.”
In the grand scheme, Larson said he knows how solid his No. 5 team is. He indicated that this was a singular mishap that won’t happen again, with the No. 5 team having a “deep notebook” of things it practices.
“They’ve won me a lot of races, so I think that’s what helped me stay calm,” added Larson. “I make a lot more mistakes than the rest of our team does. That allows me to be calm. It was a bit of a mess, but we will assess it, learn from it and it will never happen again, I know that.”
LAS VEGAS — A slow first pit stop had Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team playing catch-up all afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Crew chief Chris Gabehart swung for the fences to give Hamlin the best strategy possible to maximize their results, but their eighth-place finish in the opening race of the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs left them fifth in the standings — first out, but a whopping 27 points beneath the provisional elimination line.
“Yeah, just not a clean day,” Hamlin said. “That certainly kind of sums it up. You’ll have that. We’ll just do the best we can to to get the best finish.
“I thought Chris did a great job trying to get some sort of finish. Once we lost the track position early, he was doing everything he could to try to get it back through some alternate strategy. It goes long there, we fall back to the back. Just part of it.”
The setback came at Lap 33 during green-flag stops. While race leader Christopher Bell had an 8.8-second service, Hamlin’s stop totaled 13.4 seconds, slowed by a combination of Hamlin stopped short in his pit stall, sluggish service on the right-front exchange and trouble on the left-rear. In that cycle, the No. 11 Toyota fell from fifth to 14th.
After finishing Stage 1 in 11th, Gabehart had Hamlin stay on the race track on older tires at the start of Stage 2 rather than pit for fresh tires in an effort to gain clean air. That call ultimately didn’t pan out as Hamlin struggled and fell through the field and outside the top 20 for a time.
“I made a really aggressive pit call trying to trying to bail us out of that,” Gabehart told NASCAR.com. “Aggression is important in those moments, and it’s served me well. That was just a little bit too aggressive. But we buried ourselves after that, so it wasn’t the pivotal moment. It just didn’t do us any favors.”
Hamlin ultimately finished Stage 2 in 19th place before disaster in the pits struck again. Stopping short in his stall again, the left-rear wheel wasn’t completely tightened before the jack was dropped to signal Denny’s departure. Instead, he had to reverse the No. 11 car back to the stall for the team to make sure the wheel was tight.
Then came a vibration that Hamlin nursed for the next 20 laps until the subsequent caution, during which the team determined a wheel weight from the right front was “gone,” likely causing the vibration.
Meg Oliphant | Getty Images
Trapped with a loss of track position again, Gabehart ultimately had Hamlin save fuel for the final 72 laps, utilizing the same strategy Joey Logano and Co. employed en route to the victory.
“One bad issue compounds the next decision, right?” Gabehart said. “Especially in the Round of 8 when you’re racing against such good teams, if you get buried once, you’ve really got to try to find a way out of that. There’s track position and clean air and all those things, restarts. We saw what restarts can do to some of these playoff guys. So yeah, one bad play affects the next. No doubt that pit call is just one where, you know, if I had to do over again, I would have been aggressive. I just wouldn’t have been quite that aggressive.”
The No. 11 team left Vegas with zero stage points and a total of 29 points tallied.
“In the Round of 8, that’s not enough points,” Gabehart said. “I mean, eighth with no stage points is not going to get it done, certainly considering, the setback we had for ourselves there late in the season with a huge penalty. So not the day we hoped for. You’ve just got to execute cleaner than that in the Round of 8. We’re just not executing on pit road.”
Hamlin and Gabehart never gave up on the day, but Gabehart wasn’t ready to pat himself on the back quite yet.
“The 11 team’s not going to talk about resiliency when you got the 22 team, Paul Wolfe and Joey Logano over there who embarrassed everybody in that category there,” Gabehart said. “I knew the minute they got in [to the Round of 8] Sunday night post-Charlotte, I wrote them into the final four first. Write it down. Joey Logano is going to find a way. It’s that simple. That team — it’s a team sport, so I don’t want to single Joey out. I think it’s a testament to how they do business. I knew they were going to get in, and they did.
“So yeah, I’m happy that we were able to salvage an eighth, which is better than we had ran for 230 laps. … But it’s not enough in this round.”
LAS VEGAS — Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Toyota was a rocket ship during Sunday’s South Point 400 — for most of the race, it was clear he was superior to the field.
When Bell’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs spun on the backstretch on Lap 192, it was just outside of the fuel window for most teams to make it to the finish. And with Bell having a dominant car, leading a race-high 155 laps, he would burn more fuel by leading the race.
“A win is a guarantee [of a berth into the Championship 4], and we had a win right at our fingertips,” Bell said.
When the caution flag waved, crew chief Adam Stevens told Bell he would likely be a handful of laps short of making it to the end of the race on fuel. Stevens’ strategy was to go as hard as possible at the beginning of the run before pitting and chasing down any stragglers that attempted to stretch their fuel.
It quickly became evident that playoff drivers Joey Logano, who is regarded as one of the best fuel-saving drivers in the sport, and Denny Hamlin were trying to go the distance. Meanwhile, Bell soared through the field after exiting the pits nearly 30 seconds off the lead and was told that drivers were aiming to go the distance on fuel.
While chasing down race leader Daniel Suarez, Ryan Blaney, who was eight laps off the pace after getting involved in an earlier wreck, began drafting with his Team Penske teammate Logano. Bell was clocking off seconds at a time, but when the checkered flag flew, he was nearly three-quarters of a second short of catching Logano.
Logano’s Las Vegas victory locks him into the Championship 4 next month at Phoenix Raceway for a record sixth time in 11 years.
“Disappointment,” Bell added when describing his race. “I lost an Xfinity race here; I think it was in 2019, in the exact same way where the yellow flag comes out on the outside of the window, leading the race, having to make a pit stop, and someone in the back stretches it. I’ve seen it before, and I couldn’t believe it.”
Dominating the race, Stevens knew his hands were tied. He also knew that there was a chance that some drivers were willing to gamble for the jackpot.
“There’s nothing we could have done differently as a team; we executed on all fronts,” Stevens stated. “We brought arguably the best car, good pit strategy, great pit stops and that caution fell at exactly the wrong time. Two laps earlier or two laps later, it doesn’t pan out that way. It happened right where it screwed the leaders. You can’t be upset about that, you can’t control that.”
Mowing back through the field, Bell doesn’t believe he lost any time in lapped traffic. If the race was 268 laps, he likely would have been the victor. Instead, the result is “more of a dagger than last year” when he finished runner-up at the checkered flag to Kyle Larson.
By scoring 19 stage points and tallying 54 points on Sunday, Bell has a 42-point buffer over the elimination line with two races remaining in the Round of 8. He’s also the defending winner at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The No. 20 team has five straight top-10 finishes and is hitting its stride, but as Bell noted, nothing is guaranteed of being good enough to make the Championship 4.
“I would rather be in that spot than any other spot, but I can’t tell you who is going to win next week and who is going to win the week after that,” Stevens said. “The points might not make that much of a difference; it might make all the difference. It all depends on how many winners there are. The math changes quickly if you have a top-eight winner.”
Las Vegas Motor Speedway left a huge mark to open the Round of 8 in the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs. Five of the eight remaining title-eligible drivers had issues in Sunday’s showdown in the high desert while Christopher Bell, William Byron and Joey Logano kept their cars clean to maximize their day and take advantage of their competitors’ struggles. See who the winners and losers were from Las Vegas before the Round of 8 shifts to Homestead-Miami Speedway.
WINNER
Even-year Joey Logano continues to be inevitable and another clutch win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway netted the No. 22 driver his sixth career Championship 4 ticket. Logano gambled on the final 69-lap green flag to not pit for tires, and it paid off as the two-time series champion held off the hard-charging Christopher Bell by 0.662 seconds to advance to Phoenix after originally being eliminated in the Round of 12 before Alex Bowman’s disqualification.
Christopher Bell. Vegas is going to be a heartbreaker for the No. 20 driver regardless of the runner-up result as it’s the 13th time Bell has won the Cup pole and failed to win the race. It’s the second Vegas playoff race in a row Bell has been the bridesmaid. However, the result is Bell’s fifth top 10 in seven playoff races this season, and he sits a comfortable 42 points above the elimination race heading to Homestead.
William Byron. The No. 24 driver continues his hot streak of finishes with his fourth consecutive top-1o result after finishing second and third (twice) in the Round of 12. A fourth-place result will do for Byron as he’s currently ranked fourth in the postseason standings, 27 points ahead of Denny Hamlin on the elimination line.
WHO’S NOT?
Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott. After starting on the front row and winning Stage 1, Reddick was in prime position to be the first driver to punch his ticket to the Championship 4, but that was all wiped out on Lap 89 as the No. 45 driver was collected in a multicar incident early in Stage 2. Fellow playoff drivers Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney were also involved as Reddick, Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. squeezed into each other off Turn 4, catalyzing the incident. Reddick was scored with a 35th-place result. Elliott and Blaney continued in Sunday’s event, but both finished outside the top 30 and now will be in virtual must-win situations for the remainder of the Round of 8.
Kyle Larson. Opening races of each round in this year’s playoffs continue to cause nightmares for the No. 5 team as a brutal pit-stop sequence in Stage 2 put Larson multiple laps down. Larson’s pit crew had issues on the right side, causing a slow stop and was immediately followed by crew chief Cliff Daniels calling the No.5 back to pit road to look at the left side under green flag. After getting back on the lead lap, the No. 5 managed to recover and finished 11th.
LAS VEGAS — Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano made his Team Penske’s fuel strategy call work to perfection Sunday afternoon to claim victory in the South Point 400 playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and earn the first of four NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 berths.
Logano led only the final six laps on the Vegas 1.5-mile track but was able to hold off the afternoon’s most dominant car, Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, by a slight 0.662-second margin in the final few laps.
Bell, on the other hand, led a race-best 155 of the 267 laps and won Stage 2, but he pitted 35 laps later than Logano and was not able to make up the nearly 30-second advantage Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford held on track after Bell’s stop.
Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suárez, who also used the same strategy as Logano, finished third after leading 57 laps, followed by playoff driver William Byron and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman completing the top five.
It’s been quite the turn of fortune for Logano, who a week ago, after the Round of 12 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course, thought he was eliminated from the playoffs only to receive news from NASCAR hours after the checkered flag that he had been reinstated. Bowman had initially held that playoff position, but his car was ruled underweight in post-race inspection and he was disqualified after the Charlotte Roval race.
That meant Logano, not Bowman, would advance to this Round of 8, which includes two more races – next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway and then Nov. 3 at Martinsville, Va. – to set the four-driver championship field. Of note, Logano’s last Las Vegas playoff race win in 2022 propelled him to the series championship.
“Man, we did some fuel-mileage stuff, didn’t we? Holy crap,” said a smiling Logano, whose four career wins now at Las Vegas ties NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson for most all-time at the track.
“What an incredible turn of events here the last week. Very fast Pennzoil Mustang. We’re going to the Championship 4 again. It’s real. Great fuel mileage, great calls by [crew chief] Paul [Wolfe], Nick Hensley, our gas man, making sure she’s full, giving me the info to keep the lead that we needed to. We’re going racing again. What an incredible situation, man. I’m so blessed.
“Just an incredible day. Like I said, it takes the whole team to do the fuel-mileage stuff. Not just the engineers, spotter. It takes all of us to do it. Total team win. We may not have been the fastest car today, but we were a solid top-five car and were able to maximize it at the end.’’
Bell was as disappointed as Logano was elated.
“I don’t know, and I don’t think I have come to terms yet,” said Bell, who is now 0-for-13 in wins after starting a race from pole position. “Just a bummer. I think everyone on this team did everything perfect today. This thing was obviously on rails, pit crew did an amazing job and [pit crew] Adam [Stevens] called a great race. Did everything we needed to, but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be today.
“The points look pretty good, but you’re never safe in this deal,” Bell added. “We needed to win today and unfortunately, we didn’t. We’ll go on to the next one.”
The race certainly provided major implications for the eight playoff drivers — three of them were eliminated from winning contention by Stage 2, two more struggled with pit stops thereafter, leaving Logano, Bell, Byron and eighth-place finisher Denny Hamlin to lead the championship presence among the top 10. Bell’s afternoon was good enough to propel him into the championship points lead with a 42-point advantage on the elimination line.
Hamlin’s eighth-place effort was impressive after a difficult day for his No. 11 Toyota team, which endured a challenging day on pit road before also using a similar fuel-save plan to Logano’s. JGR teammate Martin Truex Jr. was sixth, followed by Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, Hamlin, Legacy Motor Club’s John Hunter Nemechek and RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson finished 11th — falling off the lead lap in Stage 2 after also having an uneven visit to pit road that forced a second, unscheduled stop. He is now second in the points standings, 35 points above the cutoff line. His Hendrick teammate Byron holds that important fourth-place spot, 27 points ahead of Hamlin.
Regular Season Champion and the race’s outside polesitter Tyler Reddick finished 35th, eliminated after a rollover accident in tight racing on Lap 89. The accident collected fellow playoff driver Chase Elliott along with Brad Keselowski and reigning series champion and playoff driver Ryan Blaney also involved.
“We can still have a good day at Homestead and be in the mix in Martinsville,” said a frustrated Reddick, who led nine laps and won the first stage. “Ideally, yeah, it would have been nice to win today. It would be nice to win next week, and that is what we will focus on, but thankfully we got 10 stage points in Stage 1, and it’s not like we are absolutely out of it on points yet. We are going to have to be perfect here on out, probably.”
It was a rough weekend from even before the race’s green flag for Blaney, who suffered a flat tire in Saturday’s opening practice that put his primary No. 12 Team Penske Ford into the wall. He started his backup car from last in the 37-car field Sunday and was steadily moving forward before being caught up in that multicar accident with Reddick and Elliott. He finished 32nd. Elliott was 33rd.
Hamlin is fifth in the championship standings, 27 off Byron. Reddick is 30 points below the elimination line, followed by Blaney (-47) and Elliott (-53).
The NASCAR Cup Series moves to South Florida for Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Bell is the defending race winner.
Note: Post-race technical inspection was completed in the Cup Series garage at Las Vegas Motor Speedway without issue, confirming Logano as the race winner. NASCAR officials also indicated that no cars would return to the Research & Development Center for further inspection.
