Posted on by Cameron Richardson

BRISTOL, Tenn. — A tale of two races unfolded for Ryan Blaney on Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The No. 12 Team Penske Ford was the quickest on track in the 505-lap barnburner around the Tennessee short track, but Blaney continued an intramural battle within the confines of his pit box and after a call to pit in the closing laps, Blaney crossed the finish line sliding into the runner-up slot next to first-time winner Ty Gibbs.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

“I thought I got a really good restart,” Blaney said about overtime. “It’s really hard to hit [the bottom] right. I got a decent first lap. I didn’t get a great [Turns] 1 and 2 the last lap, and it didn’t let me be even with Ty, and I got a really good [Turns] 3 and 4 the last lap. It just wasn’t quite enough, and I’m not gonna throttle up and just destroy somebody.”

Blaney and Kyle Larson were the class of the field Sunday afternoon. The pair led a whopping 474 combined laps and swapped the lead between each other nine times.

The concrete track evolved with big swings throughout the day as Goodyear brought a new tire for the Cup cars to complement the 750-horsepower package.

Blaney said he liked the challenge that the tire and the track provided in the race, especially with Bristol turning to multi-groove action earlier than expected.

“I thought it laid a lot of rubber down, which was good,” Blaney said. “It was better than what we thought after practice, for sure. I thought it was gonna clump the bottom like crazy. The top came in. Like I thought it was a pretty good tire. It’s weird. I didn’t think it fell off a ton, but it like clunked, put a lot of rubber down. I don’t know what to think about that, but it was fun working through the rubber progression through the day.”

What wasn’t fun for Blaney was working through more pit-road woes as the No. 12 pit crew continues to statistically be one of the slowest in the Cup Series.

According to NASCAR Insights, the No. 12 crew was 32nd-fastest of the 37 teams on track Sunday, and in total, lost 11 spots on pit road Sunday along with the decision to pit in the final 20 laps.

“We gotta get it better,” Blaney said bluntly. “If we’re going to keep competing and get cars that can win the races, we’ve got to clean that up.”

No. 12 crew chief Jonathan Hassler remained bullish on his crew fighting through early mistakes in the race.

“I think they did a great job,” Hassler told NASCAR.com. “We had a couple mistakes again, but they stuck with it. All of those guys are capable and we’ve stuck with them, and when everything was on the line the most, they followed through.

“The guys have a lot of potential. They have the ability. We’ve had some bumps in the road, some of which isn’t necessarily those guys or any one person; just kind of getting the whole group and the car and the team kind of in sync.”

RELATED: Inside the Race crew on No. 12 pit woes

While another strong Bristol run for Blaney still didn’t bear his first victory at “The Last Great Colosseum,” Gibbs’ win did conjure up memories of when Blaney scored his first Cup Series triumph.

In 2017, Blaney fended off Cup Series champs Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch at Pocono Raceway in the Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford for his big breakthrough, and Gibbs mirrored that Sunday, holding off titleholders Larson and Blaney at Bristol to get that elusive win in his 131st start.

Blaney had high praise for Gibbs after falling by just 0.055 seconds to the 23-year-old.

“You never forget your first one, that’s for sure,” Blaney said. “Even though I’m bummed we didn’t win the race, I’m happy that Ty was able to get his first win because I remember what that was like, and I remember the elation and the joy, especially when you’ve come close a handful of times, which he has.

“Ty’s dealt with a lot of criticism, I feel like, from the outside. I feel like he’s handled it pretty well and it’s good to see that he’s been able to prove himself on the race track.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Icebreaker 150

Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park

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  • Race results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Laps Diff
1 21 Stephen Kopcik Wanick Construction; Newtown Pools 150 —
2 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine; Future Homes 150 0.541
3 31 Mike Christopher Jr. Elite Towing; Elite Racing; Baker Racing 150 1.005
4 79 Jon McKennedy Stuarts Automotive; Christophers Towing; Levasseur HVAC; Leone’s Landscaping; Hillsboro Inc; Central Mass Tree 150 2.015
5 60 Matt Hirschman Bar Harbor Bank & Trust; Pee Dee Motorsports 150 4.154
6 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply; AP Marquardt & Sons; Lumiere Electrical; Fastrack Electric; Dell Electric; Andrew James Interiors; Hug 150 5.922
7 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications; Inc. 150 6.258
8 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 150 6.479
9 44 Chase Dowling S&S Paving / Harshaw Paving 150 6.539
10 3 Tyler Rypkema Northeast Drilling; SYP 150 8.51
11 05 Teddy Hodgdon Business Time Motorsports; The Landau Team of Re/Max; Montanari Fuel 150 9.113
12 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 150 11.011
13 1 Patrick Emerling USNE Power 150 11.192
14 11 Eric Berndt Independent Pipe & Supply 150 11.634
15 89 Matt Swanson Ceravolos Auto; Swanson GMC 150 13.016
16 36 David Sapienza Sapienza Enterprises; Eastport Feeds 150 13.067
17 82 Andrew Molleur Danny’s Cesspool Service Inc 150 14.438
18 28 Doug Coby Nucar 149 1 Lap
19 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara; USNE Power 149 1 Lap
20 24 Andrew Krause Supreme Mfg Co. 149 1 Lap
21 15 Joey Cipriano III Dependable Energy; The Bass Plating Company 149 1 Lap
22 22 Kyle Bonsignore ChawLew; MTT; Mike Holmes Excavating 149 1 Lap
23 8 John-Michael Shenette USNE Power Charlotte; Eighty-Two Services General Contractor 149 1 Lap
24 20 Max Zachem Lu-Mac’s Package Store; Mama MZ Crafts 149 1 Lap
25 18 Ken Heagy Merkel Racing Engines 146 4 Laps
26 95 Cory Plummer Tuckers Metal Fabrication & Welding; Apex Race Cars; Apex Racing; Croteau Machine & More; Shiny Rhino Carpet Cleaning. 143 7 Laps
27 50 Ronnie Williams Empower Financial Advisory 106 44 Laps
28 73 Paulie Hartwig III Professional Therapy Associates; Jersey Shore Contracting 98 52 Laps
29 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power 45 105 Laps

 

Posted on by Reid Spencer

BRISTOL, Tenn. — When Chase Elliott spun to cause the eighth caution in Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, driver Ty Gibbs had an emphatic message for crew chief Tyler Allen.

“I don’t want to give up track position — at all,” Gibbs asserted over the team radio.

Allen acquiesced, and Gibbs restarted in the lead on Lap 486. He held that track position through a ninth caution that sent the race to overtime and beat Ryan Blaney to the finish line by 0.055 seconds to claim his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory.

The margin of victory was the closest at Bristol since Rusty Wallace beat Ernie Irvan by one foot in April of 1991.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Bristol

One of four leaders in the eighth race of the season, Gibbs was out front for only the final 25 laps, as reigning series champion Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney combined to dominate the proceedings before the decisive caution.

But it was Gibbs’ No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota that found its way to Victory Lane at the 0.533-mile short track — the first Cup victory for a car numbered 54 since Lennie Pond won the only race of his career in 1979 at Talladega.

After he climbed from the car, Gibbs’ immediate thoughts turned to his father, Coy Gibbs, who passed away the night after Ty won the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (then Xfinity Series) championship in 2022.

“Yeah, it’s awesome,” Gibbs said. “It’s awesome to be with great people. To be in this position is great. I’d love for my father to have seen this. I knew he knew it was going to happen and expected it as well.

“Yeah, it was great day for us. My boys didn’t give up. Pit crew is just amazing. This is our family. It’s been great. So it’s just such great deal. Very honored to be in this situation.”

SHOP: Winner gear

Under the caution that proved decisive, Gibbs, Carson Hocevar, Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick stayed out on old tires — an option Allen said he had discussed with Gibbs as they considered possible scenarios during the final stage.

Larson restarted sixth after a two-tire call and Blaney took the green flag in seventh on four new tires.

With the benefit of fresh rubber, Blaney and Larson charged into second and third, with Gibbs holding the lead from the top lane. Gibbs was still in front on Lap 497 of a scheduled 500 when Kyle Busch spun Riley Herbst in payback for an earlier incident to cause the final caution.

Gibbs held his own on the two-lap overtime shootout and narrowly beat Blaney to the finish line, with Larson just 0.229 seconds behind in third.

“Gave it my best shot the last restart,” said Blaney, who started from the pole position, led 190 laps and posted his best career finish in Thunder Valley. “Got a good restart. Was close, but just couldn’t get it done. Proud of the effort by all the (No.) 12 (Team Penske) folks. Gave me a real fast car, fast car in qualifying. Got it better through the race, honestly. Halfway through the race, I thought we got to be the best car, which is really good.

“Gosh, I really wanted to win at Bristol here. I came close. But congrats to Ty. He’s been really close. Nothing is more special than your first Cup win. It’s pretty cool to win at this place.”

Larson led 284 laps and swept the first two stages at Bristol for the third time in his career, but saw his winless streak grow to 32 races, dating to May 11, 2025, at Kansas Speedway.

“Blaney had by far the best car,” Larson acknowledged. “His pit crew just kept putting him behind all day, which really allowed us to lead a lot of laps, get those stage wins. Yeah, so that was good. Happy about all of that. Just knew it was going to be difficult to hold him off. Seemed like every restart, he could just plow right through the field and get to second. Was just really fast.

“Then Ty got strong there the last run, too. That was probably my worst run, I think. We were making some adjustments at that point. I just got a little bit out of the track. Yeah, they were just better than me.”

Reddick finished fourth but saw his series lead over Blaney shrink to 62 points. Chase Briscoe was fifth, followed by Todd Gilliland, who parlayed a two-tire call into his sixth-place finish.

Joey Logano ran seventh, followed by Ryan Preece, Hamlin and Hocevar.

Alex Bowman’s return from a four-race absence because of a vertigo diagnosis came to an early end when Shane van Gisbergen spun in Turn 4 and collected the cars of John Hunter Nemechek and Bowman.

Attempts to repair the car proved futile, and Bowman exited the race in 37th place after completing 163 laps. Even before the accident, though, Bowman had been fighting an ill-handling No. 48 Chevrolet.

“I thought we were OK in practice, but to start the race, we were in trouble,” Bowman said. “It’s a bummer that we didn’t get a chance to work on it. I know (crew chief) Blake (Harris) and this No. 48 Ally Chevrolet team would have liked some pit stops to try and make the car better and get going back in the right direction.

“We were just struggling and then got caught up in somebody else’s mess. I hate it for this team, but we’ll move onto the next one.”

Christopher Bell, who ranked among the pre-race favorites after his Bristol win last fall, finished 27th after a pair of issues in the race’s first half. Bell was penalized for speeding on pit road during the Stage 1 break, knocking him back to 27th place in the order. On the 144th lap, his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota scraped the outside retaining wall and later spun to the apron, prompting the race’s third caution period. Further contact on Lap 270 also slowed his progress.

The NASCAR Cup Series’ next race is scheduled for Sunday, April 19, at Kansas (2 p.m. ET, FOX, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Note: Post-race inspection was completed in the Cup Series garage without issue, confirming Gibbs as the winner. Competition officials indicated that two cars will return to the NASCAR Research & Development Center for further inspection — the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driven by Larson, and the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota driven by Reddick.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Staff Report

Alex Bowman’s return to NASCAR competition ran into early trouble in Sunday’s Cup Series race, with a four-car crash relegating him to a last-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Bowman was running 31st in the 37-car field when Shane van Gisbergen’s No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet spun on the 160th of 505 laps in the Food City 500. Van Gisbergen’s car collected Bowman’s No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy, as well as the cars of John Hunter Nemechek and Todd Gilliland, as the quartet squeezed along the outside retaining wall.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Bristol

Bowman’s car spent several laps behind pit wall for repairs before his No. 48 team determined that the damage was terminal.

Bowman entered and left Sunday’s event 36th in the Cup Series standings after missing the last four races with vertigo. He started 27th and said the pre-race preparations felt routine, even though he hadn’t competed since March 1.

“I don’t think my emotions were much different to start the race,” Bowman said after an evaluation at the infield care center. “Honestly, I think you know coming here, thankful to be back in a car, but at the same time, like just looking at the challenge that we have and just how far behind we are and off we are, and how much better we need to get. So really, we need one good week to start the ball rolling in the right direction, and honestly, I thought this could be a really good one for us, even after qualifying. I think this is a good place for us historically, and just didn’t happen today.”

Bowman was 30th at the end of Stage 1 on Lap 125. He completed just 38 more laps and exited as the race’s first retiree.

alex bowman crashes at bristol
Ethan Smith | For NASCAR Digital Media

MORE: Bowman opens up on vertigo bout 

Bowman said he felt “totally fine” physically after his first race back, though he was surprised by the performance at one of his better tracks. Bowman had finished among the top 10 in three of his last four Bristol races, and that span included a pair of pole positions.

He’ll aim to rebound in next Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway (2 p.m. ET, FOX, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), where he has 11 top-10 finishes in 20 starts.

“Just all you can do is keep digging,” Bowman said. “I’ve had plenty of ups and downs throughout the course of my career, and yeah, I mean, we can just as easily go win next week, not saying that we’re going to. We have a lot of work to do before we can contend for wins, but it is a great race track for us, and the way this stuff ebbs and flows, you never know what can happen. So we’re gonna go try to win next week, the best we can.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Icebreaker 150

Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park

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  • Qualifying results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 60 Matt Hirschman Bar Harbor Bank & Trust; Pee Dee Motorsports 19.125 117.647 2 2
2 79 Jonathan McKennedy Stuarts Automotive; Christophers Towing; Levasseur HVAC; Leone’s Landscaping; Hillsboro Inc; Central Mass Tree 19.125 117.647 2 2
3 21 Stephen Kopcik Wanick Construction; Newtown Pools 19.128 117.629 2 2 0.003
4 31 Michael Christopher Elite Towing; Elite Racing; Baker Racing 19.147 117.512 2 2 0.022
5 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply; AP Marquardt & Sons; Lumiere Electrical; Fastrack Electric; Dell Electric; Andrew James Interiors; Hug 19.16 117.432 2 2 0.035
6 82 Andrew Molleur Danny’s Cesspool Service Inc 19.183 117.291 2 2 0.058
7 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine; Future Homes 19.184 117.285 2 2 0.059
8 50 Ronnie Williams Empower Financial Advisory 19.237 116.962 2 2 0.112
9 89 Matt Swanson Ceravolos Auto; Swanson GMC 19.243 116.926 2 2 0.118
10 58 Eric Goodale GAF roofing 19.247 116.901 2 2 0.122
11 54 Tommy  Catalano FX Caprara; USNE Power 19.251 116.877 2 2 0.126
12 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications; Inc. 19.253 116.865 2 2 0.128
13 28 Doug Coby Nucar 19.267 116.78 2 2 0.142
14 1 Patrick Emerling USNE Power 19.276 116.725 2 2 0.151
15 22 Kyle Bonsignore ChawLew; MTT; Mike Holmes Excavating 19.277 116.719 2 2 0.152
16 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 19.306 116.544 2 2 0.181
17 44 Chase Dowling S&S Paving / Harshaw Paving 19.308 116.532 2 2 0.183
18 3 Tyler Rypkema Northeast Drilling; SYP 19.337 116.357 2 2 0.212
19 15 Joey Cipriano Dependable Energy; The Bass Plating Company 19.341 116.333 2 2 0.216
20 05 Teddy Hodgdon Business Time Motorsports; The Landau Team of Re/Max; Montanari Fuel 19.353 116.261 2 2 0.228
21 73 Paulie Hartwig Professional Therapy Associates; Jersey Shore Contracting 19.368 116.171 2 2 0.243
22 11 Eric Berndt Independent Pipe & Supply 19.415 115.89 2 2 0.29
23 36 David Sapienza Sapienza Enterprises; Eastport Feeds 19.427 115.818 2 2 0.302
24 20 Max Zachem Lu-Mac’s Package Store; Mama MZ Crafts 19.446 115.705 2 2 0.321
25 8 John-Michael Shenette USNE Power Charlotte; Eighty-Two Services General Contractor 19.567 114.99 2 2 0.442
26 18 Ken Heagy Merkel Racing Engines 19.645 114.533 2 2 0.52
27 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power 19.649 114.51 1 2 0.524
28 95 Cory Plummer Tuckers Metal Fabrication & Welding; Apex Race Cars; Apex Racing; Croteau Machine & More; Shiny Rhino Carpet Cleaning. 19.764 113.843 2 2 0.639
29 24 Andrew Krause Supreme Mfg Co. 19.777 113.769 1 2 0.652

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Icebreaker 150

Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park

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  • Final practice results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 79 Jonathan McKennedy Stuarts Automotive; Christophers Towing; Levasseur HVAC; Leone’s Landscaping; Hillsboro Inc; Central Mass Tree 19.048 118.123 19 20
2 21 Stephen Kopcik Wanick Construction; Newtown Pools 19.081 117.918 12 12 0.033
3 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine; Future Homes 19.095 117.832 12 19 0.047
4 60 Matt Hirschman Bar Harbor Bank & Trust; Pee Dee Motorsports 19.102 117.789 12 12 0.054
5 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply; AP Marquardt & Sons; Lumiere Electrical; Fastrack Electric; Dell Electric; Andrew James Interiors; Hug 19.142 117.543 18 18 0.094
6 28 Doug Coby Nucar 19.15 117.493 18 18 0.102
7 58 Eric Goodale GAF roofing 19.2 117.188 4 12 0.152
8 73 Paulie Hartwig Professional Therapy Associates; Jersey Shore Contracting 19.225 117.035 19 19 0.177
9 1 Patrick Emerling USNE Power 19.231 116.999 12 12 0.183
10 89 Matt Swanson Ceravolos Auto; Swanson GMC 19.253 116.865 13 13 0.205
11 20 Max Zachem Lu-Mac’s Package Store; Mama MZ Crafts 19.259 116.828 11 12 0.211
12 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications; Inc. 19.267 116.78 10 19 0.219
13 82 Andrew Molleur Danny’s Cesspool Service Inc 19.276 116.725 5 13 0.228
14 36 David Sapienza Sapienza Enterprises; Eastport Feeds 19.284 116.677 19 19 0.236
15 44 Chase Dowling S&S Paving / Harshaw Paving 19.286 116.665 12 19 0.238
16 3 Tyler Rypkema Northeast Drilling; SYP 19.289 116.647 19 20 0.241
17 05 Teddy Hodgdon Business Time Motorsports; The Landau Team of Re/Max; Montanari Fuel 19.326 116.423 8 10 0.278
18 15 Joey Cipriano Dependable Energy; The Bass Plating Company 19.337 116.357 4 10 0.289
19 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 19.338 116.351 4 24 0.29
20 31 Michael Christopher Elite Towing; Elite Racing; Baker Racing 19.341 116.333 6 16 0.293
21 54 Tommy  Catalano FX Caprara; USNE Power 19.341 116.333 16 17 0.293
22 50 Ronnie Williams Empower Financial Advisory 19.368 116.171 13 19 0.32
23 22 Kyle Bonsignore ChawLew; MTT; Mike Holmes Excavating 19.388 116.051 20 20 0.34
24 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power 19.413 115.902 11 17 0.365
25 11 Eric Berndt Independent Pipe & Supply 19.415 115.89 4 12 0.367
26 8 John-Michael Shenette USNE Power Charlotte; Eighty-Two Services General Contractor 19.494 115.42 6 20 0.446
27 24 Andrew Krause Supreme Mfg Co. 19.586 114.878 6 13 0.538
28 18 Ken Heagy Merkel Racing Engines 19.615 114.708 10 12 0.567
29 95 Cory Plummer Tuckers Metal Fabrication & Welding; Apex Race Cars; Apex Racing; Croteau Machine & More; Shiny Rhino Carpet Cleaning. 19.714 114.132 4 18 0.666

 

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR returns to Bristol Motor Speedway for a high-intensity tripleheader weekend, with the Cup Series, O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Craftsman Truck Series all set for action at “The Last Great Colosseum.” Bookmark this page for everything you need — from qualifying order and practice speeds to results and more.

RELATED: Full weekend schedule | TV listings

NASCAR Cup Series

Race day: Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on FS1. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.

Tires: Twelve sets for the weekend (10 new race sets, one set transferred from qualifying and one for practice).

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Practice Results
Practice Lap Averages
Practice Lap Times
Qualifying Results
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Unofficial Race Results

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series

Race day: Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.

Tires: Five sets for the weekend (three new race sets, one set transferred from qualifying and one for practice). 

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Practice Results
Practice Lap Averages
Practice Lap Times
Qualifying Results
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Race Results

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

Race day: Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.

Tires: Four sets for the weekend (two new race sets, one set transferred from qualifying and one for practice). 

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Practice Results
Practice Lap Averages
Practice Lap Times
Qualifying Results
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Race Results

Posted on by Staff Report

Icebreaker 150

Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park

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  • Practice results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 79 Jonathan McKennedy Stuarts Automotive; Christophers Towing; Levasseur HVAC; Leone’s Landscaping; Hillsboro Inc; Central Mass Tree 19.116 117.702 30 30
2 60 Matt Hirschman Bar Harbor Bank & Trust; Pee Dee Motorsports 19.116 117.702 22 22
3 28 Doug Coby Nucar 19.212 117.114 15 19 0.096
4 21 Stephen Kopcik Wanick Construction; Newtown Pools 19.276 116.725 15 25 0.16
5 82 Andrew Molleur Danny’s Cesspool Service Inc 19.287 116.659 32 34 0.171
6 50 Ronnie Williams Empower Financial Advisory 19.287 116.659 8 18 0.171
7 89 Matt Swanson Ceravolos Auto; Swanson GMC 19.311 116.514 7 24 0.195
8 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply; AP Marquardt & Sons; Lumiere Electrical; Fastrack Electric; Dell Electric; Andrew James Interiors; Hug 19.331 116.393 28 30 0.215
9 1 Patrick Emerling USNE Power 19.368 116.171 7 28 0.252
10 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine; Future Homes 19.375 116.129 13 26 0.259
11 58 Eric Goodale GAF roofing 19.387 116.057 8 26 0.271
12 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 19.404 115.955 34 35 0.288
13 44 Chase Dowling S&S Paving / Harshaw Paving 19.406 115.944 22 23 0.29
14 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications; Inc. 19.431 115.794 6 25 0.315
15 31 Michael Christopher Elite Towing; Elite Racing; Baker Racing 19.441 115.735 6 15 0.325
16 15 Joey Cipriano Dependable Energy; The Bass Plating Company 19.448 115.693 6 32 0.332
17 73 Paulie Hartwig Professional Therapy Associates; Jersey Shore Contracting 19.449 115.687 15 18 0.333
18 54 Tommy  Catalano FX Caprara/USNE Power 19.45 115.681 12 33 0.334
19 20 Max Zachem Lu-Mac’s Package Store; Mama MZ Crafts 19.471 115.556 7 20 0.355
20 11 Eric Berndt Independent Pipe & Supply 19.474 115.539 12 24 0.358
21 22 Kyle Bonsignore ChawLew; MTT; Mike Holmes Excavating 19.535 115.178 13 27 0.419
22 3 Tyler Rypkema Northeast Drilling; SYP 19.542 115.137 22 33 0.426
23 05 Teddy Hodgdon Business Time Motorsports; The Landau Team of Re/Max; Montanari Fuel 19.556 115.054 5 25 0.44
24 36 David Sapienza Sapienza Enterprises; Eastport Feeds 19.574 114.948 36 38 0.458
25 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power 19.585 114.884 5 40 0.469
26 24 Andrew Krause Supreme Mfg Co. 19.609 114.743 8 29 0.493
27 18 Ken Heagy Merkel Racing Engines 19.737 113.999 11 21 0.621
28 8 John-Michael Shenette USNE Power Charlotte; Eighty-Two Services General Contractor 19.757 113.884 27 29 0.641
29 95 Cory Plummer Tuckers Metal Fabrication & Welding; Apex Race Cars; Apex Racing; Croteau Machine & More; Shiny Rhino Carpet Cleaning. 19.763 113.849 24 27 0.647

 

Posted on by Cameron Richardson

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Last season served more lows on the race track than highs for Daniel Suárez.

He had zero wins, just two top fives and a 20.9 average finish that was the second-lowest mark of his career in that category — capped off with Trackhouse Racing casting aside the driver that broke ground for the organization in 2021 during the offseason as Connor Zilisch received the call-up for his rookie campaign.

Now, Suárez finds himself piloting the No. 7 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports and currently holds the 16th and final spot in The Chase through the first seven races of the year.

Suárez also revealed personal news during the off-week that has him smiling ear-to-ear: he and his wife, Julia, announced they are expecting their first child together.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>The best is on the way 🤍 <a href=”https://twitter.com/JuliaPiquet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@JuliaPiquet</a> <a href=”https://t.co/CEX3EVtHU0″>pic.twitter.com/CEX3EVtHU0</a></p>&mdash; Daniel Suárez (@Daniel_SuarezG) <a href=”https://twitter.com/Daniel_SuarezG/status/2040855234033913912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>April 5, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

RELATED: Cup standings | Bristol starting lineup

“Yeah, we’re super excited to start a new chapter in our lives,” Suárez said during a Saturday press conference. “Super blessed to have Julia. And yeah, we had a good time during the off weekend, going to Greece and exploring a little bit. We thought it was maybe a good time to share the news with everyone. We have known for a while. She’s already halfway into the process. So yeah, very, very excited.”

Suárez’s Cup career so far has been a grind, a testament to overcoming a handful of obstacles while still tallying a pair of victories in 10 seasons and making the prior version of the NASCAR postseason three times.

The work Suárez put in to quickly transition to a growing Spire organization, now with a growing family, has yielded the return Suárez was looking for after leaving Trackhouse.

“Obviously, I have had a lot of great times in my career,” Suárez said. “A lot of tough ones, as well. But I will say that so far this year, it’s been amazing. We definitely worked hard in the offseason to make sure that we hit the ground running this year, and I believe that we have done that. Obviously, we are not winning races yet. We don’t have the speed to win races today. But I believe that we’re in the right track to get there. We have the right people. We have the right sponsors. We have the right structure to be able to get there.”

Suárez started 2026 strong, finishing just outside the top 10 in the Daytona 500 before snagging a top five the following week at EchoPark Speedway, site of his second career win two years ago.

The No. 7 team then had some setbacks on the West Coast swing at Phoenix and Las Vegas before delivering a seventh-place run at the always difficult Darlington Raceway.

The early uptick in performance is a welcome sight for the 34-year-old veteran, but Suárez said he’s remaining realistic, especially ahead of Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) where he’s finished outside the top 30 in each of the last three events at the Tennessee short track.

“Do I think that we have had the winning speed this year? Actually, there is a couple races that maybe we could have knocked it out,” Suárez said. “Darlington, we were a top-10 car the entire race. There were a couple races that were right there. But the next step is to become a top-five car, and that’s when you start winning races. Once you’re in the top five, now you can win because you’re already there in the hunt: strategy, cycles, whatever that may be … adjustments, then you’re right there. So I believe that we’re one step away from when we are in our best.”

This current phase of Suárez’s career will be the most impactful on his future.

As he grows into this transition, Spire is increasing in size and resources, and the talent currently on their full-time Cup roster includes savvy veteran Michael McDowell and the fiery youngster Carson Hocevar.

All signs point to Spire becoming a weekly contender in the not-too-distant future, and Suárez admitted the organization is the right place for him.

MORE: Suárez’s driver page | Suárez through the years

“I believe that consistency is extremely important on everything,” Suárez said. “And today, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. You can tell me anywhere, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else because Spire Motorsports is growing. Spire Motorsports is believing in myself. I’m believing in them. We’re continuing to get better and better. I believe that Spire Motorsports is going to be a powerhouse in the next few years, and I want to be part of that. I saw last year from the outside looking in — I’m a very curious person, so I was always very curious on what Spire Motorsports was doing that they were increasing performance so quickly. And now that I’m inside the building, I can see many of those things. So I really want to continue to be part of this group, hopefully for a long time, because I can see the direction where things are heading.”

suarez and a crew member share a laugh
Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images

Both on and off-track, there’s everything to smile about in Suárez’s life, and just like he’s come into his own at Spire, he’s looking forward to the dynamic he and Julia will have at home once they welcome their child to the world.

“I believe that right now, in this point of my career, it’s going to be a lot of fun to start a family with Julia,” Suárez said. “I hope that I prove that very soon, but I do believe that this is going to make me faster because it’s going to be more fun outside of the racing stuff.

“I can tell you something. We don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl, but if it’s a girl, that girl is gonna have me wrapped around her finger.”

Posted on by Cameron Richardson

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Connor Zilisch collected Saturday’s winning trophy in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, but his JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier secured his eighth total six-figure check as the Dash 4 Cash winner at the “Last Great Colosseum.”

Allgaier, the 2024 series champion, hung around inside the top five all night while chasing Zilisch and Kyle Larson, but the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet was just a step behind being a race-winning contender.

With a not-too-shabby fourth-place run, the longtime O’Reilly Series veteran continued his gratitude for the Dash 4 Cash program.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

“We made adjustments on the car that I thought would help it,” Allgaier said after the race. “For whatever reason, we never could quite get where we wanted to get to when you flip-flopped both sides of it. I thought the team did a really good job. We just came up short. I am super pumped, though. O’Reilly Auto Parts had the opportunity to not bring the Dash 4 Cash back, right? So to have that back and to keep that trend going is really, really cool, really special, and something that means a lot to me.”

A caution with 30 to go flipped a dominant Larson day on its head, and asserting his name into the mix with Zilisch, Allgaier and Larson was rookie Brent Crews.

Making just his fifth O’Reilly Series start, the 18-year-old phenom for Joe Gibbs Racing drove from a 17th-place starting spot to a third-place result — his first career top five.

Another eye-popping performance pocketed by Crews, but he lamented after the race that it ‘sucks’ to lose to his good friend Zilisch.

“Connor is one of my best friends when we step foot out of a race suit,” Crews said. “And when we get in the car, we are the world’s biggest rivals. Not necessarily that we’d wreck each other or anything, but there’s no one on this earth I would want to lose to rather than Connor. Made some rookie mistakes there, getting free up into the wall. If I just kind of backed it up some, I could have helped myself out. But it was tough with Larson breathing down my neck, packing air on me. So it’s tough, but grateful to be here.”

Matt Kelley | Getty Images

The two-time Cup Series champion Larson battled both rising stars in the heated closing laps. He tallied a race-high 230 laps led, but a call to pit under a late caution ultimately cost the No. 88 Chevrolet driver the chance to cap an otherwise dominant performance. Regardless, Larson said he enjoyed racing both Crews and Zilisch to the finish.

“We’ve all known that they’re really good long before tonight,” Larson said. “They did a great job. It was a lot of fun racing with them and Brent did a super good job to get to the lead. It was easy to just kind of step and get over it. He unfortunately did, and then Connor did a good job of getting in front of me up top at the right time. I was hoping he’d run the bottom one more corner and leave me an opportunity to get to his outside. But yeah, he did a great job. So that was fun.”

Allgaier has also taken notice of Crews, observing the youngster’s talent for a handful of years on the local scene at tracks like Millbridge Speedway.

“He has everything he needs, tool-wise, to be able to go and do this at a high level, and be a Cup champion at some point,” Allgaier said. “He got a little more aggressive than I would have liked to have there with about 30 to go or so, but that’s just how it works. You’ve got to go out there and you’ve got to go for it. Then at the end, I thought if he kept getting the wall, we were gonna have a shot to get by him. I have no doubt that he’s gonna be a threat next week when we go to Kansas.”

Both Allgaier and Crews will compete for the second of four Dash 4 Cash races next Saturday at Kansas Speedway, along with Carson Kvapil and Sheldon Creed (7 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

MORE: Dash 4 Cash info | History of Dash 4 Cash winners

Allgaier is looking to accomplish a milestone of $1 million earned in the program this season.

“That’d be fantastic. I would love that,” Allgaier said. “To think about that, and to think about how many men and women that work at our shop that that has affected. How many tools and resources that that has provided for us to do what we did tonight, right? To finish 1-2-4-5, those are big deals and I feel like our company as a whole does a really good job of using the budgets that we have to the best of our ability.”