Posted on by Adam Fenwick

WINCHESTER, N.H. – The Catalano family has been trying to win a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race since 2018.

On Saturday night at Monadnock Speedway, 17-year-old Trevor Catalano delivered the victory that his entire family so desperately wanted.

Trevor, the youngest of three brothers currently racing on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, held off reigning series champion Ron Silk to win the Duel at the Dog 250.

“This is awesome,” Trevor said. “My mom and dad, they give us everything they can to come out here and be competitive. They gave me everything and anything that I know. I just can’t thank my parents enough.

“It’s a whole family operation. We all pick off of each other and try to give the best type of car we can give and come out every week and be competitive. Man, this thing was on rails.”

RELATED: Complete results from the Duel at the Dog 250 at Monadnock

Prior to Saturday, the best NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour performance for the Catalano family belonged to 26-year-old Tommy Catalano, a runner-up result at Richmond Raceway during the 2022 season.

To improve upon that performance, Trevor and the Catalano Motorsports team had to gamble.

When the caution flag waved for the stalled car of Tim Connolly with 71 laps left, most of the leaders opted to head to pit road for a fresh Hoosier Tire.

Three drivers – Kyle Bonsignore, Woody Pitkat and Trevor – instead chose to stay out and inherited the top three positions. Patrick Emerling and Ron Silk, who had been the leaders prior to the caution, would line up fourth and fifth for the restart.

Once racing resumed, Trevor went to work. He dispatched Pitkat with ease and took the lead from Bonsignore on lap 195. Trevor promptly built a half second lead on the field, but it didn’t last.

Behind him, Silk was on the move. After moving past Bonsignore with 53 laps remaining, Silk quickly set off in pursuit of Trevor.

The next 50 laps saw Silk hound the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour rookie. He tried to coax him into a mistake and nearly got an opportunity with 23 laps left when Trevor bobbled in Turn 3.

Silk got to his inside, but wise beyond his years, Trevor used the lap car of Melissa Fifield as a pick and forced Silk to fall back in behind him in turns one and two.

“I messed up a couple times. I thought Ronnie (Silk) was going to get me. He raced me clean,” Trevor said. “I was just trying to drive as hard as I could without messing up.”

That was as close as Silk would get to completing the pass. Trevor crossed the finish line .254 seconds ahead of Silk to earn his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour win in just his ninth start.

Silk, to his credit, said he didn’t want to shoehorn Trevor out of the way. He wanted to beat him clean, but just didn’t have the car to do it.

“I probably just needed to turn the center a little bit better,” Silk said. “I would say we were basically even. I didn’t want to knock him out of the way. He did a great job. He didn’t make any mistakes. I was hoping he would make one and I could get my nose under him.

“Congratulations to Trevor. He did a phenomenal job.”

Four other members of the Catalano had tried to win NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races prior to Trevor’s win Saturday night. They included his mom, Amy, and his three brothers Timmy, Tommy and Tyler.

However, it was Trevor, the youngest of the group currently competing with the series, who got the job done.

“This is going to be one I probably remember forever,” Trevor said.

After fading through the field during the final restart, Emerling drove back to finish third. Matt Hirschman and Kyle Bonsignore completed the top five.

Pitkat, Justin Bonsignore, Matt Kimball, Tommy Catalano and Austin Beers finished sixth through 10th, respectively.

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season continues Saturday, Aug. 3 with the running of the Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 at New York’s Lancaster Motorplex. FloRacing will provide live coverage of the event starting at 8 p.m. ET.

Posted on by Staff Report

Duel at the Dog 250

Monadnock Speedway

  • Race results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Laps Diff
1 56 Trevor Catalano* Catalano Motorsports 250 —
2 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine/Future Homes 250 0.254
3 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc 250 1.779
4 60 Matt Hirschmann Elite 250 2.63
5 22 Kyle Bonsignore Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto 250 3.106
6 82 Woody Pitkat Horton Avenue Materials/Gunsmoke Stables Racing 250 5.771
7 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications, Inc. 250 7.25
8 43 Matthew Kimball J&M Towing and Recovery/Poodlack Wealth Mgmt 250 7.625
9 54 Tommy Catalano Catalano Motorsports 250 8.021
10 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply/Dell Electric 250 8.192
11 25 Brian Robie TBD 250 9.274
12 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 250 10.053
13 21 Stephen  Kopcik* Newtown Pools/Karchner Warehousing 250 11.779
14 3 Jake Johnson Propane Plus/Lin’s Propane Trucks 249 1 Lap
15 84 Tyler Catalano* Catalano Motorsports 249 1 Lap
16 5 Kyle Ebersole Ebersole Excavating, Inc. 248 2 Laps
17 81 Nathan Wenzel 1812 Auto Body 246 4 Laps
18 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood & Restaurant 246 4 Laps
19 01 Melissa Fifield Farm Fueled Nutrition 235 15 Laps
20 8 John-Michael Shenette* Eighty-Two Services 136 114 Laps
21 4 Tim Connolly Connolly Companies, LLC 55 195 Laps

 

Posted on by Zack Albert

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Cole Custer nearly had a crowning capper to what was already a banner day, and Aric Almirola almost made his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start in more than two months a winning return. They weren’t kissing bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but both were in convivial spirits early Saturday evening after a tightly contested final two laps.

A Brickyard battle for the ages vaulted Riley Herbst into Victory Lane for the first time this year, but Custer and Almirola managed smiles after snagging podium spots in Saturday’s Pennzoil 250. Custer sealed the back end of a 1-2 finish for Stewart-Haas Racing Ford drivers, and Almirola recovered from a wild spin early in the final stage for his fourth consecutive top-five result.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Indy

Almirola interrupted his post-race interview twice — once to applaud Herbst on his way to Victory Lane, and again when Custer walked past with a note of congratulations and to say, “lotta fun.”

“You guys were the class of the field,” Almirola told Custer.

“I thought you had it, though,” Custer replied. “You had both of us.”

It appeared that Custer might have it after his No. 00 Ford got the jump on Herbst’s No. 98 entry through the first two turns, completing the pass on a restart with 10 laps remaining in the 100-lap event and bringing Almirola’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with him to second place. Herbst kept things close, getting back by Almirola two laps later and then chasing his teammate down the stretch.

Herbst brushed by Custer through Turn 4 heading toward the white flag, and their clash allowed Almirola to force it three-wide past the start-finish line and into the lead. Herbst made his winning move through Turns 3 and 4 on the last lap to the low side of Almirola, and Custer scooted through to inch by into second place at the yard of bricks.

“He’s going for the win at Indianapolis, right? I don’t think I would have done anything different,” said Almirola, who led twice for five laps. “I know he kind of doored me getting into (turn) four, but I mean, if not, I was going to put it on his door and try to suck him around or get him loose so I could have the run to the finish line. He did exactly what he needed to do to win the race, so I don’t blame him. Yeah, those guys were the fastest race car on the race track and they won the race.”

Almirola had fresher tires after a Lap 66 spin, prompted by contact with Austin Hill’s No. 21 Chevy through Turns 1 and 2. The new Goodyears helped him mount a late charge, but the moment that put him there was a hairy one. “Thankfully — I don’t know how — I just kind of stood in it, put my foot in the gas and was able to keep it off the wall,” Almirola said. “Did a couple 360s and kept going and didn’t hit anything, and thankfully, nobody hit me.”

Saturday marked Almirola’s first start in his part-time campaign with JGR’s Xfinity program since May 11 at Darlington. Published reports indicated that Almirola had been suspended for his role in a physical altercation with 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace during a team meeting later that month. Asked for confirmation, Almirola said that he understood that questions about the situation were obligatory, but politely declined comment.

“It felt so good to be back in the race car,” he said. “It’s so fun. I love coming to the race track with these guys. They’re just a class act and so much fun to come to the race track with because they have fast race cars. Every time you sit in one, you know you’ve got a shot to win. So this weekend was no different — had another shot to win.”

MORE: Indianapolis weekend schedule

Custer had already made an eventful day of it at Indy, announcing just hours earlier his plans to return to the Cup Series in 2025 with Haas Factory Team. He barely eclipsed Herbst for the pole for Saturday’s race and led the most laps (47), but settled for his ninth top-five result in 20 events this season. The hope, Custer said, was that a more hotly contested final battle between Herbst and Almirola would have provided an opening.

“I tried to lift going into (turn) one so Riley would have a shot at him, because if I would have stayed side by side with them, it probably would have screwed both of us,” Custer said. “So I tried to let him go into one, and then I was hoping they’d get together off (turn) four, and they did a little bit, but I needed them to slow down just a little bit more.”

Custer notched his first win of the Xfinity Series season a week ago at Pocono Raceway, and his teammate now joins him in the provisional 12-driver playoff field. Custer also kept his perch atop the Xfinity Series standings, holding a 56-point lead as NASCAR heads toward the multi-week Olympic break.

“I mean, look at it right now, we’ve won back-to-back races with our team and being competitive at the front, it hasn’t been given to us at all,” Custer said. “Unbelievable couple of weeks. We’ve just got to keep it rolling.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Duel at the Dog 250

Monadnock Speedway

  • Qualifying results
Pos. Car No. Driver Sponsor Best Time Best Speed
1 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply/Dell Electric 11.619 77.459
2 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc 11.71 76.857
3 56 Trevor Catalano* Catalano Motorsports 11.755 76.563
4 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 11.782 76.388
5 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications, Inc. 11.811 76.2
6 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine/Future Homes 11.864 75.86
7 21 Stephen Kopcik* Newtown Pools/Karchner Warehousing 11.865 75.853
8 25 Brian Robie TBD 11.95 75.314
9 22 Kyle Bonsignore Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto 11.951 75.308
10 60 Matt Hirschman Elite 11.958 75.263
11 43 Matthew Kimball J&M Towing and Recovery/Poodlack Wealth Mgmt 11.991 75.056
12 84 Tyler Catalano* Catalano Motorsports 12.07 74.565
13 8 John-Michael Shenette* Eighty-Two Services 12.096 74.405
14 54 Tommy Catalano Catalano Motorsports 12.141 74.129
15 3 Jake Johnson Propane Plus/Lin’s Propane Trucks 12.203 73.752
16 82 Woody Pitkat Horton Avenue Materials/Gunsmoke Stables Racing 12.209 73.716
17 5 Kyle Ebersole Ebersole Excavating, Inc. 12.218 73.662
18 4 Tim Connolly Connolly Companies, LLC 12.299 73.177
19 81 Nathan Wenzel 1812 Auto Body 12.371 72.751
20 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood & Restaurant 12.419 72.47
21 01 Melissa Fifield Farm Fueled Nutrition 13.366 67.335

 

Posted on by Holly Cain

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — In one of the most dramatic NASCAR Xfinity Series finishes in recent memory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst took the lead in the final corner of the final lap to claim his first victory of the season in Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 – formally punching his ticket to the 2024 playoffs.

Three different drivers led the final three laps in the series’ return to the famous speedway’s 2.5-mile oval after four years of competing on the track’s road course. Ultimately, the 25-year-old Herbst drove his No. 98 SHR Ford sideways exiting Turn 4 to negotiate his way past veteran Aric Almirola and race off to a .167-second win over his SHR teammate Cole Custer and Almirola.

Custer led Lap 98. Almirola led Lap 99. And Herbst held the lead for the most important, Lap 100. The three were three-wide on the white flag lap, signaling one lap to go with Almirola taking the white flag out front. Herbst caught him and dove low to claim the lead coming out of Turn 4 on the next lap and Custer raced past Almirola in the closing feet to give SHR a 1-2 finish.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

“This is Indianapolis, this is the most famous race track in the world and it’s an honor just to walk into the place, let alone win,” said Herbst, whose only other series win was in at his hometown Las Vegas track last year. “We’ve had speed all year and I felt like we could win. I just messed up on restarts a little bit but just continued to work and continued to work.

“I’m proud of these guys. Proud of Stewart-Haas Racing. Obviously, with the news of us (the current Stewart-Haas Racing team) shutting down these guys could have given up on me and Cole but they stuck behind me and Cole and it’s back-to-back wins for Stewart-Haas Racing.”

The teammates combined to lead 77 of the 100 laps with Custer’s 47 laps out front most in the field. Custer, Saturday’s polesitter was smiling when he climbed out of his No. 00 SHR Ford and was the first to congratulate Herbst.

“What an awesome day for SHR, two cars up front all day, qualified one-two and finished one-two, so an unbelievable day for SHR,” said Custer, who started his day with a big announcement that he would be driving for the new single-car Haas Factory Team in the Cup Series next year.

The defending series champion — who claimed his first win of 2024 last week at Pocono – continues to lead the points standings and with his second-place showing now has a 56-point advantage over JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier, who finished ninth Saturday.

The former full-time Cup Series driver Almirola, 40, making his first start in the Xfinity Series since May 11, finished third in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. The former Stewart-Haas Racing driver was also among the first to congratulate Herbst on the hard-fought victory.

“They (Herbst and Custer) were the class of the field but I knew if they got racing there was going to be an opportunity to steal it and I got the lead and thought and just got too tight in [turn] three and he got back inside me,” Almirola said, adding, “Those guys deserve it. I know all the guys on the team. They’re a great group of guys and proud and happy for those guys.”

MORE: Custer, Almirola all smiles after dazzling finish

Rookie Shane van Gisbergen, the former Australian Supercars champion, finished a strong fourth place, making his way forward after opting for fresh tires on a final pit stop and turning in an inspired final restart with 10 laps remaining. A three-time road-course winner this season, that fourth place was his best finish on an oval since a third-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February.

“It’s tough and I’m obviously still learning and I’m probably still a bit too conservative but I feel like the car got better and I got better,” van Gisbergen said.  “This Xfinity Series is so fun, the way the cars move around and the way they’re all sliding.

“I had a blast.”

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Sheldon Creed finished fifth. Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill, who started from the rear of the field after some last-minute adjustments on his Chevrolet, rallied to a sixth-place finish.

Craftsman Truck Series regular Daniel Dye was seventh, followed by two-time Indy winner A.J. Allmendinger, Allgaier and 21-year-old Carson Kvapil, who was making his sixth start of the year driving for JR Motorsports.

It was perhaps a fittingly dramatic ending to a race that got off to a tumultuous start with a 12-car accident taking multiple cars out of contention early. JR Motorsports Sam Mayer, a two-time race winner this year, spun out after making a three-wide move in Turn 3, collecting multiple cars and damaging more as they tried to avoid.

Fulltime Cup Series driver Josh Berry, who was driving the No. 15 AM Racing Ford, was among those collected in the melee and was officially scored last. He and Mayer were unable to complete one lap.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chandler Smith retired on Lap 37, his No. 81 Toyota never able to overcome the damage from the first lap incident.

RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg holds a slim three-point edge over JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith for the final points playoff transfer position with six races remaining to set the 12-driver Playoff field.

The sport of NASCAR will be taking a two-week sporting break during the Olympics with the Xfinity Series returning to competition on Aug. 17 at Michigan International Speedway for the Cabo Wabo 250 (3:30 p.m. ET, USA, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). John Hunter Nemechek won the 2023 race.

NOTE: Post-race inspection was completed in the Xfinity Series garage, confirming Riley Herbst as the winner. The No. 21 had one loose lug nut.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Brickyard 400

(⏰ Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET | NBC | NBC Sports App | IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Weekend schedule | TV schedule | Weather tracker | NASCAR 101

Location: Speedway, Indiana
Track length: 2.5 miles
Race purse: $9,596,601
Race distance: 160 laps | 400 miles
Stages: 50 | 100 | 160
—
Starting lineup: Tyler Reddick rolls to pole position
Pit stall assignments: See where drivers will pit 
Defending winner: Michael McDowell, August 2023

Key things to watch

Friday, Saturday sessions

An extended practice gave Cup Series drivers a chance to get reacclimated with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, which will host the NASCAR crowd for the first time since 2020. Tyler Reddick was the best of the bunch in the 50-minute session — both in single-lap speed and the consecutive 10-lap average chart — putting his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota out front early on.

That speed held up in Saturday afternoon’s Busch Light Pole Qualifying, with Reddick putting down a 181.932 mph lap to secure his second pole position of the season. Denny Hamlin made it a 1-2 Toyota sweep of the front row, and three Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet drivers completed the top five — Chase Elliott, William Byron and Kyle Larson, in that order. | Friday recap | Saturday recap

Big story line

Indy oval overtures and more playoff positioning

The Brickyard 400 is back, and several NASCAR Cup Series drivers making the media rounds during Friday’s opening day welcomed the change. The three years of racing on the combination oval and road course layout produced some chaotic moments, but reverting back to the 2.5-mile track has restored a measure of tradition and — to some — prestige.

“Excited to be back on the oval,” said Chase Briscoe, a Hoosier native and driver of Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 14 Ford. “Every race car driver dreams of getting to race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway when you grow up in Indiana; it’s just that much more special. I’ve always said I don’t care what we’re racing on, I just want to race at IMS, whether it’s the road course or the oval, the dirt track over there in the parking lot. But I would be lying if I said there wasn’t more significance in history and just meaning running the oval.”

The schedule-makers’ Indy road-course dalliance means that 10 Cup Series drivers will be making their first Cup start on the rectangular 2.5-mile oval this Sunday. The 400-miler will also represent the first IMS oval go for the Next Gen race car that debuted in Cup for the 2022 season.

What’s old might be new again, but the pressure of making the Cup Series Playoffs has been a constant this season. For the fifth consecutive week, it’s a new driver in the “last one in” slot on the provisional playoff grid — a succession that’s gone from Bubba Wallace (after Iowa) to Joey Logano (post-New Hampshire) to Alex Bowman (Nashville), Chris Buescher (Chicago) and the current 16th driver in the field, Ross Chastain. Three drivers have netted their first wins of the season in the last five weeks.

Chastain’s gap over the elimination line has shrunk from plus-93 three races ago to just 27 points above the current first-driver-out resident: Wallace. Further back, it’s Briscoe (75 points back) and two-time Cup champ Kyle Busch (102) who are almost certainly in the must-win camp.

That journey continues in Sunday’s 400 and in the final four regular-season races that follow after a two-week Olympic break.

History tells us…

Indianapolis is a prime title indicator. The winner of the Brickyard 400 has gone on to secure the Cup Series championship that season nine times. The last to do it was Kyle Busch in 2015, and in total, 10 of the 15 Indy winners are also Cup Series champions.

Another common trait among Brickyard winners is a premium starting spot. The race has been won from the pole position five times, and the race winner has started among the top 10 in 17 of the 27 oval events.

He may not be the betting favorite to win, but watch out for…

KYLE BUSCH. The recent gloomy cloud of subpar finishes has to end at some point, right? The occasion of NASCAR’s return to the oval configuration coincides with Busch’s 700th Cup Series start, and his appearance on the Vegas boards at 30-1 opening odds makes him an intriguing choice.

It’s a new car (Next Gen) and a new team (Richard Childress Racing) for Busch’s return to the Brickyard oval, but his track record here remains an impressive one. He’s a two-time Brickyard winner (2015-16), and has finished among the top 10 in 12 of his 16 Indy starts — a 75 percent clip. His slip in the points has forced him into virtual must-win territory, and the No. 8 Chevrolet group may take big swings to find Victory Lane. | Brickyard odds

Speed reads

Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.

• Jeff Gordon reflects: First-ever Brickyard win “pretty amazing and a lot to tell” | Read article
• Inside the chase: Regular-season title hunt heats up at Indy | Read article
• Kyle Busch’s blast: Warning issued to LaJoie after Pocono pileup | Read article
• ‘We’re here to win’: Chastain a bubble dweller in playoff picture | Read article
• Brickyard memories: All the best moments from NASCAR’s Indy history | Photo gallery
• Brazil at the break: Daniel Suárez to race in South America | Read article
• Raining 3s for No. 4: Josh Berry’s car has Caitlin Clark design for Indy | Read article
• Double take: Kyle Larson’s Memorial Day paint scheme returns | Read article
• Power Rankings: A change at the top ahead of Indy; see full Top 20 | Photo gallery
• Turning Point: Reddick rising in regular-season pursuit | Read article
• Racing Insights: Full finishing order projections for Sunday’s 400-miler | Read article
• Field of 16: Shifting probabilities for the playoff picture at Indianapolis | Read article
• 36 for 36: This week’s survivor pool picks for Indy | Read article
• Fantasy Fastlane: Hamlin, Keselowski make the must-start list | Photo gallery
• Fantasy Update: Reddick prominent in lineup selections | Read article
• NASCAR Classics: Dig into the video archives for vintage Brickyard replays | Read article
• Paint Scheme Preview: Fresh designs head to Gasoline Alley | Pick your favorite

Fast facts ⏩

Race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.

• Tyler Reddick has gained 49 points on the standings lead in the last four races — all finishes of sixth or better — as he bids for the regular-season title.
• Richard Childress Racing is the only Cup Series team to win on the oval and road-course layouts at IMS.
• Chase Elliott’s pit-road speeding penalty last week at Pocono ended a 92-race streak without one. Chris Buescher now has the best active streak — 52 races without a speeding bust.

Posted on by Staff Report

Duel at the Dog 250

Monadnock Speedway

  • Practice results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply/Dell Electric 11.736 76.687 49 50  —
2 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications, Inc. 11.797 76.291 52 57 0.061
3 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc 11.799 76.278 35 35 0.063
4 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 11.814 76.181 16 38 0.078
5 25 Brian Robie TBD 11.814 76.181 37 40 0.078
6 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine/Future Homes 11.815 76.174 25 45 0.079
7 60 Matt Hirschman Elite 11.827 76.097 23 34 0.091
8 56 Trevor Catalano* Catalano Motorsports 11.874 75.796 14 35 0.138
9 21 Stephen Kopcik* Newtown Pools/Karchner Warehousing 11.89 75.694 9 11 0.154
10 22 Kyle Bonsignore Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto 11.916 75.529 36 38 0.18
11 43 Matthew Kimball J&M Towing and Recovery/Poodlack Wealth Mgmt 11.926 75.465 25 49 0.19
12 84 Tyler Catalano* Catalano Motorsports 11.926 75.465 42 43 0.19
13 3 Jake Johnson Propane Plus/Lin’s Propane Trucks 11.929 75.446 44 46 0.193
14 5 Kyle Ebersole Ebersole Excavating, Inc. 11.963 75.232 26 48 0.227
15 8 John-Michael Shenette* Eighty-Two Services 12.006 74.963 36 59 0.27
16 82 Woody Pitkat Horton Avenue Materials/Gunsmoke Stables Racing 12.075 74.534 13 32 0.339
17 54 Tommy Catalano Catalano Motorsports 12.098 74.392 13 35 0.362
18 4 Tim Connolly Connolly Companies, LLC 12.162 74.001 33 42 0.426
19 81 Nathan Wenzel 1812 Auto Body 12.257 73.427 8 52 0.521
20 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood & Restaurant 12.472 72.162 6 12 0.736
21 01 Melissa Fifield Farm Fueled Nutrition 12.755 70.561 28 38 1.019

 

Posted on by Zack Albert

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Kyle Busch said Saturday that he still hadn’t spoken with Corey LaJoie after their incident last weekend at Pocono Raceway, reiterating what he’d mentioned the day before in an appearance with ESPN’s Pat McAfee. That same appearance included a warning of “payback is coming,” suggesting that talk alone may not mend those torn fences.

The incident that wiped out Busch’s No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, prolonging one of the worst stretches of his decorated NASCAR Cup Series career, was top of mind among the topics for the two-time champion’s arrival at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend. He is due to make his 700th Cup Series start in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), but that milestone is tempered by a sharp sag in the standings — a stretch that’s diminished his bid for a playoff spot.

LaJoie was at the center of Saturday’s pre-race talking points, and Busch said on ESPN that he wasn’t buying his explanations.

RELATED: Sunday’s starting lineup | At-track photos: Indy

Busch’s career began during a time when veterans would occasionally pull an overly rambunctious driver aside for consultation, but that increasingly feels like a bygone era of self-policing. Asked if a on-track response was the answer, Busch was noncommittal.

“No, I don’t feel like I’m being backed in a corner where I have to respond,” Busch said. “Just, racing’s racing and if stuff happens, stuff happens.”

Instead of a conversation with LaJoie, Busch picked up on the suggestion that the incident could be a teaching moment for his 9-year-old son, Brexton, an aspiring racer in the youth circuits.

“I don’t know. I guess, just showing him and telling him about things that are OK in instances in which when you’re racing together, you’re going to have close quarters, you’re going to have contact, things like that,” Busch said. “But when you have instances in which you get drove over, then those are moments that aren’t acceptable as a race driver, whether you’re doing or receiving.”

Busch said that a friendly relationship with McAfee provided a comfort zone on the free-wheeling show. It also helped cool the temperature of the interview’s hot seat. “He could have gotten a lot further and probably been a lot worse in his questions and his prodding,” Busch said, “but we’ve got good respect for one another, so I felt like it was good and fair.”

MORE: Busch on McAfee: ‘Payback’s coming’

LaJoie responded after his qualifying lap Saturday, telling The Athletic that Busch should answer his phone to hear his side, rather than go on a popular talk show to air his grievances. He also said that his perception of the incident did change after seeing replays of their contact. “The moral of the story at Pocono was I crashed him bigger than s—, but it wasn’t intentional,” LaJoie told Jeff Gluck. “The original story that I saw out of the windshield and was told from (crew chief Ryan) Sparks was my perception. After I got a chance to look at the replay and saw the in-car cameras, I saw what happened — but it never was intentional in the first place and that remains the case. So for him to say I changed my story ‘four times’ and I’m a liar pisses me off.”

Beside the conflict, there’s the matter of Busch’s performance and how to boost it within the Childress-owned organization. Busch has dipped to 18th in the Cup Series standings, fading to 102 points behind the provisional elimination line to make the 16-driver postseason. His teammate, Austin Dillon, ranks 32nd.

Andy Petree announced his retirement as an RCR competition executive on June 25, a move that shifted Keith Rodden to an interim competition director role. Busch said two weeks ago in Chicago that he wasn’t pushing for further changes, but that he’d had discussions with his team owner about several specific areas where the organization could improve. Saturday, Busch indicated that RCR had missed out on one recent competition hire, but that he’d been kept in the loop about next steps.

“It would be kind of nice to know, I guess, and they have been bringing me into the fold of some of the names and whatnot that they’re looking at,” Busch said. “But honestly, besides the people that I’ve worked with before, I don’t know anything about the people that I’ve never worked with before, you know. So that’s kind of hard to judge their character, their work ethic, their genius level and all that.”

Busch is scheduled to start 34th in the 39-car field for Sunday’s 400-miler, putting a steep climb in front of him to reach a third Brickyard crown to match his back-to-back wins here in 2015-16 with Joe Gibbs Racing. He’s at least relishing the return to Indy’s traditional 2.5-mile configuration after three years of using the combined oval-road course layout, and hoping to make the most of his milestone start.

“I mean, the Brickyard’s great,” said Busch, who will become just the 20th driver to reach 700 Cup Series appearance. “This is what we all wanted to have here and be here and doing is racing the oval, but the road course is what we had for the last few years, but now we’re back on the oval. So I think everybody’s gotten a little bit more excitement around that, and hopefully the fans show their excitement around that and know if they’ll come out and support it. But other than that, trying to go for a win. We’ve got a long way to go, and we’ll see what happens.”

Posted on by Dustin Albino

It’s been a welcoming sight to have Cup Series cars back on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval this weekend. All 39 teams entered the race knowing the importance of track position before cars getting on track this weekend.

Tyler Reddick has done it better than everybody this weekend, winning his second pole of the season. In the tightest regular season championship battle of all time, the top five drivers in points filled the top five in qualifying for Sunday’s Brickyard 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

RELATED: Set your Fantasy Live lineups

Dustin Albino’s race-day lineup:

Starter 1: Tyler Reddick

Starter 2: William Byron

Starter 3: Chase Elliott

Starter 4: Ryan Blaney

Starter 5: Joey Logano

Garage pick: Brad Keselowski

NEXT IN LINE: Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell

RISING: This feels like a Reddick weekend. Multiple drivers stated over the weekend that the No. 45 car is in its own zip code. Bubba Wallace was left pondering why he was two mph off his teammate in the opening round of qualifying. Reddick backed those theories up, being the fastest in practice on one and 10-lap averages, as well as claiming the pole. Reddick is front and center in my lineup this weekend.

In the early portion of practice on Friday, Stenhouse jumped to fourth on the scoring pylon and remained near the top for quite some time. While other drivers made mock-up qualifying runs, the No. 47 Chevrolet dropped to 17th. Stenhouse was pleased with his car and felt if he could get track position during the race that he could contend for the victory. He ended up qualifying ninth, his best starting position of the 2024 season.

FALLING: Knowing how valuable track position could be on Sunday, it stings knowing that my 36 for 36 pick Brad Keselowski will start the Brickyard 400 from the 26th spot. Both RFK cars lacked speed in qualifying, turning laps outside the top 20. Race trim looked much better, however, with Keselowski cracking the top 10 on single-lap speed and having the fourth-quickest 10-lap average. Keselowski is known to think differently from much of the field, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the No. 6 car pull out a unique strategy to get track position.

It’s always concerning when a driver describes their practice session as having a death grip on the steering wheel and bleeding a lot of speed. Yet that sums up Ross Chastain’s weekend thus far at Indianapolis. The No. 1 car ranked 30th in practice on Friday and, despite his crew chief Phil Surgen making infinite changes overnight, he will start 28th on Sunday. It would be foolish to count out Chastain, as the No. 1 team could have an outside-the-box strategy, but the speed just isn’t there.

FEATURED MATCHUPS:

Ryan Blaney vs. Martin Truex Jr.: It’s no surprise that Blaney has been the best Team Penske car in town this weekend. The No. 12 team is on a heater, winning two of the last five races this season, most recently at a track that is akin to IMS. Truex was disappointing in practice at 20th fastest but improved to 14th in qualifying. Still leaning towards Blaney in this encounter.

Brad Keselowski vs. Alex Bowman: With a lackluster qualifying effort, Keselowski will be mired at the start of the race. But as noted earlier, strategy is going to be all over the place, and not many drivers are better at formulating a strategy plan than the 2012 Cup champion. Bowman was the slowest of the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers in qualifying but had a solid showing in practice. I’m leaving Keselowski in my lineup for the same reason I think he will finish ahead of Bowman: he thinks outside the box.

Chase Elliott vs. Tyler Reddick: These two drivers put on a show in qualifying, one-upping each other as the final two cars take time. Reddick barely clipped Elliott’s lap to win his second pole of the season. The No. 9 car made vast improvements from practice to qualifying, but Reddick has been the top guy all weekend.

Joey Logano vs. Ty Gibbs: Gibbs looks to have the faster car, but experience could pay off. Logano has experienced the closest taste of defeat twice at IMS, finishing runner-up in two of the last six Brickyard 400s. Team Penske has taken noticeable steps over the last month-and-a-half, winning four of the last seven races. It would be hard to consider Logano among the favorites for the wins, but if he can sniff the lead, he will be tough to beat.