Posted on by Holly Cain

With decades of award-winning experience in the media world bringing world-class athletic competition to both the casual and ardent fan, Guillermo Santa Cruz is ready to take on his next great challenge, leading the South Florida motorsports market as the newly named president of Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“It’s an exciting time to be a sports fan in South Florida, and having grown up here and spending nearly my entire life working in sports, it’s a great honor to join the NASCAR family and be handed the keys to Homestead-Miami Speedway,” Santa Cruz said. “I believe in the future of Homestead, both the city and the track, and I can’t wait to get started.”

RELATED: Buy tickets for Homestead playoff races

Santa Cruz’s resume is hugely diverse and highly decorated. From his start working for Univision and Telemundo to his recent position as IMG’s vice president, Latin America, Mexico and US Hispanic where he managed everything from sales and client relations to a more intensive focus on sports and entertainment programs for the Latin American region.

At NBC-Telemundo, Santa Cruz was part of the 2004 Sports Emmy Award-winning team covering the Olympics. He worked as a producer and received a “special citation” from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for coverage of the September 11, 2001 tragedy.

He was also part of the Univision team that earned the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Newscast for its coverage of the Centennial Olympic Park bombing during the 1996 Olympics.

Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Miami to Cuban ex-patriate parents, Santa Cruz is especially proud to lead a big-time motorsports facility in his hometown — an area he knows well and an audience he has already long served.

“I was really intrigued as a sports fan and someone who grew up in South Florida,” Santa Cruz said. “There’s room for growth and it presented a professional challenge for me and a chance to spread my wings; it’s just a wonderful opportunity.

“My whole professional life has been here [in South Florida] but never in the ‘local’ sense, I’ve always worked more in national and international media. This gives me the opportunity to work in a local market in the community where I grew up.”

Between his background as a leader in big-time sports on the world stage and his close, lifelong ties to the Homestead-Miami market, the fit seemed natural.

“Guillermo’s vast experience in the competitive media market will help grow Homestead-Miami Speedway into its next phase as one of the preeminent motorsports facilities,” said Chip Wile, NASCAR’s senior vice president and chief track properties officer. “He has a diverse background in sales, production, and promotion in a key market for HMS and will offer unique opportunities for the team to expand the track’s influence.”

Santa Cruz says that from his very first days of work he plans to focus on the Homestead community that has played host to the facility and the sport for nearly 30 years. He sees a lot of untapped potential in the surrounding area and wants to prioritize building relationships with the local community and potential stakeholders.

“I have a good feel for the market and the community because I’m part of that market and community,” Santa Cruz said. “I have the advantage of growing up here and having a feel for different cultures.

“There is a real strength to South Florida in how diverse it is. I don’t have to learn that it comes built-in and that’s a big advantage for me.”

Santa Cruz is well aware of how much the competitors like racing at the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami oval, and he’s optimistic that kind of enthusiasm and the promise for compelling competition and unique entertainment can raise the profile of the facility sooner than later.

“If the drivers like it, that means the racing is good and if the racing is good, the fans will come,” Santa Cruz said. “So many sports events cycle through South Florida and people from all over the world come to South Florida, where motorsports is incredibly popular internationally.

“There are so many opportunities for our track.”

While Santa Cruz begins his term overseeing the track this week, Al Garcia, a longtime member of the HMS executive team and president of Homestead-Miami Speedway since 2019, will continue to work with the facility’s leadership in an advisory consultant position.

“Al has been a key part of Homestead-Miami Speedway literally since its inception in 1995,” Wile said. “We’re grateful for everything he has done to make HMS a premier sports facility in South Florida and look forward to continuing to work with him in his new role.”

The first big NASCAR race weekend for Santa Cruz and the track will come this fall as it hosts a playoff tripleheader weekend. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and Xfinity Series will race on Saturday, Oct. 26 (starting at noon ET), with the weekend culminating with the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs 400-miler on Sunday, Oct. 27 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Brandon White

Saturday’s festivities at Bowman Gray Stadium saw veteran Tim Brown reach one of the few milestones he had yet to achieve in his storied career.

By fending off long-time rival Burt Myers in a 25-lap sprint race, Brown officially secured his 100th victory in Bowman Gray’s famous Modified division, much to the delight of the exuberant crowd that has both cheered and jeered him at different points since his debut race at the Madhouse more than 30 years ago.

Brown did everything possible to keep focus on his program and not let the anticipation of his pending 100th victory distract him. Once he got out of his car to celebrate with his crew and family on the frontstretch, a combination of relief and jubilation overcame the normally stoic driver.

“To be honest, it’s been really weird,” Brown said. “I’ve never focused my attention on a specific number of wins. When we won No. 99, all the media started talking about 100, 100, 100. That many wins at a single race track is pretty cool, so I needed to have my family [at Bowman Gray] these past few weeks in case I did win just to make it special.

“When I took that checkered flag, it was really cool knowing my wife and kids were there.”

Brown never imagined he would have 100 Bowman Gray victories on his resume after taking his first checkered flag on May 8, 1993.

Coming from a relatively poor background, Brown’s journey to the top of the Bowman Gray pedestal has been a meticulous grind. Not only did he have to procure the necessary resources to be competitive, but he also had to battle track stalwarts that included champions in Junior Miller, Robert Jeffreys and others.

Brown never let his circumstances stall out his determination, as hard work yielded his first Bowman Gray Modified championship in 1996. By the end of the 2022 season, Brown had amassed 12 Modified titles, more than any other driver in the Madhouse’s long history.

Increased costs and parity over the years have made maintaining consistency at Bowman Gray more strenuous for Brown. He stressed the importance of everyone that has assisted him through an ever-changing environment at Bowman Gray, adding he never would have sniffed 100 victories without the people around him.

“[On Sunday] after church, me and the family hung around the house and thought about how truly blessed I’ve been over the years,” Brown said. “It’s not me, I just drive the car. It’s the people who work on it and the people who have inspired me. I don’t want to take credit for 100 wins, because it’s everyone combined that has led to this recipe.”

The formula for Brown to get the 100th win Saturday was a simple one: Nail the setup, obtain the pole and hold off the rest of the field for only 25 laps.

Brown found it fitting that Myers was the one trying to make him wait another week to celebrate his milestone accomplishment. The two have engaged in numerous heated battles with each other over the past few decades, all of which have contributed to Bowman Gray’s raucous reputation.

Myers applied plenty of pressure to Brown’s rear bumper during the closing stages but could not complete the pass. Brown took extra pride in fending off his rival for his 100th win, especially with how much detail Myers puts into his own Modified program.

Tim Brown had to fend off long-time rival Burt Myers for his 100th Modified victory at Bowman Gray Stadium. (Photo: Bowman Gray Stadium)

“I like beating [Myers] any time I can,” Brown said. “He’s really good and does this for a living while I work for a living. Right now, while I’m at work doing my day job, he’s at his shop working on his race car. Anytime I can beat him is a little bit special to me.”

Brown’s day job is not far away from motorsports. When he is not refining his orange No. 83 Modified, Brown occupies himself at Rick Ware Racing by helping Justin Haley find extra speed in his No. 51 Ford.

The experience Brown brings to Ware’s organization dates to his high school days when he worked in Cale Yarborough’s shop. Although the NASCAR Cup Series platform has changed exponentially over the years, Brown’s expertise is translating into on-track success for Haley, who has recorded two top-10 finishes in his first year with the team.

Balancing his Cup Series responsibilities and his Modified team is an arduous process for Brown. There are days where the Cana, Virginia native himself questions how he can regularly pull off such a hectic schedule, but he has never wavered in his commitment to excel on every front.

“I get up at four in the morning, drive to Concord to work, leave Concord to go to my race shop and work until nine or 10 o’clock, then go home and try to spend a little time with the wife and kids,” Brown said. “Then I get up and do it again. It’s tough, and the older I get, the harder it is to put in 50 hours at work, then another 40 hours at the shop.

“It’s crazy what we do to do this.”

Despite being inundated with so much work, the soon-to-be 53-year-old competitor has no intention of slowing down anytime soon. That’s one reason Brown is treating his milestone as just another win.

There is still a 13th championship for Brown to chase at Bowman Gray, where he currently finds himself with a 50-point deficit to Myers in the Modified standings. Brown wants to cherish his 100th win and even plans to sell a commemorative t-shirt, but his mind is centered on obtaining win No. 101 as soon as possible and building late-season momentum.

With no intention of slowing down any time soon, Tim Brown hopes to leave behind an inspirational legacy for the next generation. (Photo: Bowman Gray Stadium)

Yet the occasion did allow Brown time to reflect on his accomplishments and where he came from. He still hangs on to the advice passed down to him by his grandfather Ebert Lewis ‘Eb’ Clifton, a successful racer in his own regard who passed away in 2018.

Brown knows Clifton would be proud of the life he has built for himself. He intends to keep honoring his grandfather’s legacy by staying close to his faith and leaving an impact that can inspire the next generation of competitors.

“The only thing I care about now since I’ve tried to get my life right is being remembered as a clean racer and a God-fearing Christian,” Brown said. “It’s through [God] that I get to do this. I worked hard for all those accomplishments, and my family sacrificed so much for this. God has blessed me to have a chance to race and be OK at it by setting some records.

“I want my legacy to be, ‘He was a clean racer who did the best he could with what he had and worked hard for it.'”

Brown’s accomplishments at Bowman Gray have cemented him as one of the facility’s greatest drivers, but with his program still amongst the best at the track, plenty of opportunities remain for him to add to his impressive legacy.

Posted on by Staff Report

AM Racing announced Monday that Cup Series regular Joey Logano will fill in as driver of its No. 15 Ford this weekend, replacing Hailie Deegan for Saturday’s Xfinity Series event at Chicago’s Street Course.

Logano — a two-time Cup Series champion and the circuit’s most recent winner Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway — is set for his first Xfinity Series start since 2019 in The Loop 110, scheduled Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET (NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). He is a 30-time winner in Xfinity competition. Logano’s most recent race in Xfinity came in August 2019 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

RELATED: Chicago weekend schedule | Xfinity Series standings

Deegan’s rookie season in the Xfinity Series has been a struggle, with an average finish of 26.8 and just four results of 20th or better through 17 races. That slots the 22-year-old driver in 27th place in the Xfinity Series standings — last among drivers who have entered every event.

AM Racing president Wade Moore said that the organization intends to learn from Logano’s experience and guidance in the hopes of providing a competitive spark for the second half of the Xfinity season.

“The level of competition in the Xfinity Series is as competitive as it’s ever been,” Moore said in a release from the team, which will have primary sponsorship from Klutch Vodka on the No. 15 entry this weekend. “It is our goal at AM Racing to field a competitive race team through our technical alliance with Stewart-Haas Racing and provide any of our drivers the best equipment and opportunity to be successful on track each weekend. With that being said, we haven’t had the success on track that we were hoping for in the first half of the season. When the opportunity to have Joey in the car at Chicago became a possibility, we felt we needed to take advantage of the knowledge and feedback that a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion could provide to our teams’ growth.”

Logano finished eighth in last year’s Cup Series inaugural on the Windy City streets. The weekend also produced a season-best result for AM Racing in its first Xfinity season, with Brett Moffitt driving to fourth place in the team’s No. 25 Ford.

“Racing in the rain on Chicago’s Street Course last year was a challenge within itself,” Logano said. “Any extra seat time is always a positive for unique tracks such as this one. Driving the NASCAR Xfinity Series cars are a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to climbing behind the wheel of the No. 15 AM Racing Ford Mustang with high hopes to wheel it to the front.”

Deegan was signed to Ford’s driver development program in December 2019. Her jump to the Xfinity Series for 2024 was announced last October in a multiyear deal with AM Racing after three seasons in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Joey Logano had a feeling a turnaround day would come. Just two weeks ago at Iowa Speedway, he shared that his wife, Brittany, had reminded him about the doldrums that had haunted his 2018 season, which was hampered by an 11-race summer stretch without a top-five finish. By his own admission, Logano said he was “a pretty miserable person to be around” while his results sagged.

The bright-side part of the reminder: That season ended with the first of Logano’s two NASCAR Cup Series championships, spurred by a strong closing kick to the 10-race postseason. He acknowledged that Brittany was right, concluding, “I’m still optimistic that we’re going to figure things out.”

Two weeks later, both the reminder and the underlying optimism bore fruit in Logano’s fuel-sipping, strategy-heavy surge to victory in Sunday’s marathon Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. The Team Penske veteran snapped a winless streak of 49 points-paying races, securing a Cup Series Playoffs ticket that was on shaky ground up until his No. 22 Ford stammered across the finish line with an almost-dry tank after five overtimes.

RELATED: Race results | Cup Series standings

The season so far has been an uneven ascent from early depths, with Logano sitting 30th in the Cup Series standings after what he called “definitely the toughest start of a season I’ve ever had,” just four races in. He had regained some of that lost ground before Sunday’s start but was only plus-13 in relation to the playoff elimination line as the last driver into the provisional 16-driver field before the green flag.

Three prongs of uncertainty stirred Logano’s Sunday angst — his playoff bubble residency, his fuel cell on fumes and the specter of a wild-card event looming in this weekend’s Chicago Street Race (Sunday, 4:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). Those factors also fed Logano’s relief and elation after making all of those unknowns go away.

“Oh, yeah. It felt like a superspeedway win to me because you don’t know until you get to the start/finish line. I went bonkers in the car,” Logano said, drawing comparisons to Talladega-level tension. “You think about this playoff scenario that we were in, being on that cutoff spot, man, it sucks. It’s not fun. That pressure is real, and you don’t sleep good. You’re constantly thinking about it. It’s nice to be able to get this win to where you can take the next seven weeks to be able to — not take a breather but be able to at least sleep a little bit and start thinking about the playoffs as much as the next few races.

“When you think about Chicago coming up next week and you’re on the cutoff spot, not a comfortable spot to be. Just the timing of this one couldn’t have been better.”

Team Penske’s Cup Series operation is sleeping better across the board, with all three of its full-time drivers breaking into the win column in June. Austin Cindric added the first part of that collective playoff-picture exhale five weeks ago at World Wide Technology Raceway, and Ryan Blaney gave his Cup Series title defense a springboard at Iowa. Logano’s effort at Nashville was the organization’s last missing piece.

The timing for the rest of the playoff-hopeful field is less savory. Logano’s promotion as the 11th driver into the postseason bracket moved the tentative elimination line, with Alex Bowman slotting into the new last-driver-in spot and Bubba Wallace still the first driver out. That gap, however, has widened to a 51-point divide, raising the likely price of admission to a regular-season victory in the next seven races before the playoffs grid is determined.

It’s a desperation spot that’s shared by Chase Briscoe, 78 points back in Stewart-Haas Racing’s swan-song campaign, and the luckless Kyle Busch, who has sunk to an improbable 104 points off the elimination line after four DNFs in the last five races for his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing group. A host of hungry drivers further back in the standings are poised to take home-run cuts to clinch one of the five remaining spots; such a victory would shuffle the playoff deck even more.

WATCH: No. 22 crew chief chimes in on Nashville victory | No. 22 jackman on “crazy” day 

An aggressive, against-the-odds fuel gamble to the finish helped Logano and the No. 22 group emerge from that postseason pickle. Crew chief Paul Wolfe noted post-race how the opportunities hadn’t materialized as hoped in recent weeks at Gateway, Iowa and New Hampshire Motor Speedway — all areas of focus — but that the No. 22 team had made the progress necessary to capitalize when needed. Converting before an odd lot of tracks in the next three weeks — Chicago Street, Pocono, Indianapolis — was crucial, but the emphasis didn’t stray from returning to Victory Lane.

Whether this season ends in the same way that 2018 did for Logano & Co. is still up for grabs, but Sunday’s win at least puts the former champ back in the picture.

“I think myself and one of my engineers has kind of been of the mindset that hey, we’re going to have to win a race,” Wolfe said. “As much as you want to say you can point your way in, that’s great, but I think personally we’ve been in the mindset we need to win, like I said, and I kind of told Joey coming into this last stretch of four or five races. …

“So this is good, and now it gives us the opportunity to continue to build.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The immersive experience and freedom of creativity through NASCAR has soared to new heights. The brand new LEGO Speed Champions NASCAR Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will hit the market soon, the LEGO Group announced Monday. 

The 328-piece set will be available beginning Aug. 1, allowing fans and car lovers alike to dive into the world of stock-car racing with a colorful paint scheme and plenty of stickers to fancily decorate their cars. 

It will also feature authentic Chevrolet Next Gen stock car features, as well as a NASCAR driver mini figure, complete with an individual helmet. 

Graphic of new NASCAR LEGO car.

Fans can keep an eagle-eyed watch on the LEGO set’s realistic equivalent on the Chicago Street Course on July 7, 2024 at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

MORE: Buy Chicago Street Race tickets 

The set will retail for $29.99 and is graded for ages 9 and older. Add it to your LEGO NASCAR collection to accompany another Next Gen car, a perfect gift for the LEGO and NASCAR fan in your family.

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

A chaotic race at Nashville Superspeedway left the NASCAR Cup Series with a final rundown jumbled from the typical dominators.

Five periods of NASCAR Overtime resulted in Joey Logano fending off fierce charges from Zane Smith and Tyler Reddick for the victory — 31 laps after the scheduled conclusion of Sunday’s Ally 400.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Before the Cup Series treks to the Chicago Street Course on Sunday (4:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), see which drivers are trending up and skidding down following Nashville.

THREE UP ⬆️

1. Zane Smith, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Started: 36th

Finished: 2nd

What happened: The Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender left Music City with a much-needed career-best finish, the first top-five result of his young Cup Series career. Smith, the 2022 Craftsman Truck Series champion, proved resilient through the continued late restarts, keeping his No. 71 Chevrolet clean and putting it in position to capitalize on the final restart of the day. Smith finished just 0.068 seconds behind Logano for second place.

What’s next: Smith will make his maiden voyage to the Chicago Street Course. The 25-year-old Californian does not have significant road-course experience in a Cup car, but his first two road-racing starts for Spire have proven productive, finishing 19th in March at Circuit of The Americas and 16th in June at Sonoma Raceway.

Zane Smith smiles at Nashville after finishing second.
Brittney Wilbur | NASCAR Digital Media

2. Ryan Preece, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

Started: 22nd

Finished: 4th

What happened: Like Smith, Preece overcame plenty of adversity to rally toward his best finish of 2024. Preece fell off the lead lap after a fierce battle with leader Christopher Bell at the end of Stage 1 but maintained the free-pass position to get his lap back. He then avoided the numerous late incidents to steer clear of further contact, leading to his first top-five finish of the year.

What’s next: Preece returns to the streets of Chicago, where his No. 41 Ford placed an impressive 15th in last year’s inaugural running of the Chicago Street Race.

Ryan Preece waves to fans at Nashville.
James Gilbert | Getty Images

3. Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

Started: 37th

Finished: 9th

What happened: Perseverance carried Hemric to tie his best result of the season with a ninth-place finish, his third of 2024. Hemric was collected in a crash in the first attempt at NASCAR Overtime, piling into Ty Gibbs’ left-rear quarter panel in Turn 1 after Ross Chastain spun from the front row on the restart. The damage looked significant, including rear contact from William Byron in the melee, but Hemric overcame the calamity to net his third top 10 of the season, marking a career-high at the Cup level.

What’s next: Hemric will try his hand at the Chicago Street Course for the first time in a Cup car, but he’s no stranger to the city circuit. The 2021 Xfinity Series champion competed in last year’s Xfinity endeavor, scoring a seventh-place finish in the rain-shortened event.

Daniel Hemric races at Nashville.
Sean Gardner | Getty Images

THREE DOWN ⬇️

1. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Started: 3rd

Finished: 36th

What happened: Bell was in the process of dominating the Ally 400 and appeared on his way to scoring his second consecutive Cup win after leading a race-best 131 laps Sunday. Instead, he wound up driver-side against the SAFER barrier in Turns 1 and 2 at Lap 228.

A three-time winner already this year, Bell was mired back in traffic after pit strategy dropped him into the proverbial hornet’s nest on track. Entering Turn 1 with 73 laps left in regulation, Bell lost control of his Toyota and crashed into the wall, ending his day prematurely for his first DNF since April at Dover Motor Speedway.

What’s next: A rebound for Bell is likely in Chicago. His No. 20 Toyota led a race-high 37 of 78 laps and swept the stages during last year’s inaugural running, but he eventually finished 18th instead. Despite Sunday’s crash at Nashville, Bell has plenty of momentum to right the ship quickly.

Christopher Bell's car is towed to the garage after a Nashville crash.
Brittney Wilbur | NASCAR Digital Media

2. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford

Started: 5th

Finished: 25th

What happened: Keselowski was a frequent frontrunner in Sunday’s race after qualifying inside the top five, but that didn’t do him any favors late in the going. Diving into Turn 1 at Lap 243, Keselowski appeared to misjudge his entry, chopping across the nose of Austin Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet. The contact sent Keselowski spinning rear-first into the outside wall, significantly hampering the rest of the No. 6 team’s efforts.

What’s next: Keselowski was not much of a factor in last year’s trip to Chicago, heading home with a 24th-place finish. His most recent road-course result — a 13th-place showing at Sonoma — offers slight optimism for the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion.

Brad Keselowski races at Nashville.
Sean Gardner | Getty Images

3. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Started: 8th

Finished: 23rd

What happened: Gibbs’ rally to finish 23rd is commendable considering how much damage his No. 54 Toyota incurred Sunday. Gibbs maintained a constant presence in the top 15 at Nashville and often much better than that. But Chastain’s crash at Lap 305 took place directly in front of the 21-year-old, who couldn’t slow quickly enough and clobbered Chastain’s left-front wheel with the right-front of the No. 54 car.

According to NASCAR’s loop data, Gibbs posted the fifth-best average running position of Sunday’s race, 10.58, but ultimately finished outside the top 20.

What’s next: The youngest racer on JGR’s Cup roster has always impressed on road courses, dating back to a win in his Xfinity Series debut at the Daytona International Speedway road course. Gibbs was quick in Chicago last year as well, scoring a ninth-place finish, and could bounce back strong on Michigan Ave.

Ty Gibbs races at Nashville.
Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Posted on by Cameron Richardson

LEBANON, Tenn. — Chaos and opportunity.

Zane Smith’s shining moment in the Cup Series came just 0.068 seconds short of race winner Joey Logano at Nashville Superspeedway.

From blistering heat, a quick, heavy thunderstorm to the sun dropping underneath the Tennessee sky, Sunday’s Ally 400 saw it all from above and on the track as a scheduled 300-lap distance ballooned to 331 as the Cup Series set a record five overtime restarts before the checkered flag waved.

Within those extra 31 laps, Smith worked his way from 22nd on the first OT restart to a runner-up finish, his first top five at the Cup level.

“It was a great finish for us, Smith said after the race. “That one’s gonna sting a little bit, but how our day was going, was definitely really proud of that result.”

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Through the first half of the 2024 season, the results were minimal for the No. 71 Spire Motorsports team as their best result came in February with a 13th-place run in the Daytona 500. Following that, Smith only scored three finishes inside the top 20 (Circuit of the Americas, Gateway, Sonoma Raceway).

Entering his first full-time season at the Cup level, Smith was no ordinary rookie. He boasted a Craftsman Truck Series championship and was brought on to Trackhouse Racing last summer as a highly-touted prospect before being leased to Spire, as Trackhouse’s two charters were already occupied.

The 25-year-old knows the winning feeling and what it takes to run up front consistently. While this is the first milestone result for Smith at NASCAR’s top level, he’s not riding home with second.

“I’m glad I still have the winning side of me,” Smith said. “I’m not jumping up and down for second place. Obviously, so proud of our whole group for pulling that finish off. But it just stings that we were that close to holding a guitar here.”

To keep a young, hot prospect motivated through a rough season, it takes a decorated and experienced leader atop their pit box.

Smith’s crew chief, Stephen Doran, was a member of the No. 4 team when Kevin Harvick was behind the wheel. He won the 2014 Cup title with the Stewart-Haas Racing organization before becoming Smith’s full-time crew chief. While the two are still learning in their respective rookie slots, Doran was able to keep Smith poised to battle for the win.

“We just tried to keep him informed on the status of everybody in front of him,” Doran told NASCAR.com. “Just knowing who was close to running out, who to look out for on the restarts, not to run into when they run out, and it all worked out almost perfectly.”

RACE REWIND: Late-race chaos rocks the Nashville field

Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott were all among the drivers who either ran out of gas under green or had to pit under one of the multiple OT restarts for fuel.

As each caution flew, it continued to move Smith up the running order, and he soon found himself inside the top two rows with a real shot of his maiden Cup win and flipping the playoff picture on its head.

Battling Logano and Tyler Reddick on the final restart, Smith could see the victory and coming off Turn 4 on the final lap, the No. 22 Team Penske had just enough left in the tank to make it to the start/finish line.

“You see him shaking it coming to the line,” Smith said. “Just needed a little bit more. I probably could have put together a little bit better [turns] three and four, but who knows?”

In a rare occasion so far for the No. 71 team, Smith was able to feel what he could do with cleaner air out front and noticed the significant changes his car went through with fewer cars ahead of him versus when he’s battling in close quarters toward the back of the pack.

“He said to me that it’s so crazy how much better the car handles as you get further forward,” Doran said. “Like all the handling issues we were fighting when we were back in the mess all went away when we got up there and in the top five. So it’s just huge. You got to work your way up there either with strategy or restarts. It’s the only way to get your car to handle getting cleaner air. So I think he realizes that more now than ever, and we feel good about the second half of the year.”

Just seven races remain before the Cup Series Playoffs begin, and while a victory for Smith would be nothing short of a miracle, sitting 34th in the Cup standings, he can take advantage of his current position in the series.

“There is a positive to having a really rough year, you have nothing to lose,” Smith said. “You never know how many more shots at a Cup win you’re gonna have.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

LEBANON, Tenn. — It took a record five overtime restarts to settle Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, but two-time series champion Joey Logano finally emerged as the race winner, securing his first win of the season and a bid into the 2024 playoffs in dramatic fashion.

With race leaders falling out of contention with each late-race restart — 31 extra laps and 15 total cautions on the day — Logano and his Team Penske team gambled that his No. 22 Ford Mustang had enough fuel for a final push to the checkered flag. Ultimately, Logano’s No. 22 turned 110 laps with that final tank of fuel.

The reward was the trip to Victory Lane on Sunday — the first for Ford at the 1.33-mile Nashville track — and a coveted ticket to the postseason for Logano and his team.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Logano finished 0.068 seconds ahead of Spire Motorsports rookie Zane Smith — the best Cup Series career showing for the former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion. 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick was third, followed by Stewart-Haas Racing’s Ryan Preece and RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher.

The 34-year-old Logano said he wasn’t sure how much fuel was left or if he would definitely make it to the checkered.

“I know into (Turn) 3, my fuel light came on, and it stumbled across the line. That was definitely all of it,” Logano told NBC Sports post-race. “But so proud of this Shell-Pennzoil Mustang team. It’s been a stressful few weeks trying to get into the playoffs, and being able to win here is huge for our season. Felt great to get that. Boy, it feels good.

“I’m out of breath. We had it won off of (Turn) 4, and then the caution came out, and I was like, oh, my God, but you can’t pit. You’ve kind of got to go for it. Boy, it was close. But we’ve got to give a lot of credit to Roush Yates, not only building horsepower but building fuel mileage. That’s what won today.”

SHOP: Buy winner’s gear

Logano still had barely enough fuel to do a brief victory burnout in front of the sold-out Nashville crowd that stayed to the epic end despite a one-hour, 21-minute red flag for rain and lightning only 136 laps into the 331-lap race. His crew chief, Paul Wolfe, confirmed Logano’s Mustang ultimately ran out of gas.

“We just got to the point. … we’ve gotten this far, let’s just stick with it,” Wolfe said of the team staying out instead of pitting for fuel. Fortunately, it was enough, but he did run out on the last lap.”

Even before all the extra laps, the race’s scheduled ending featured an amazing duel between pole-winner Denny Hamlin, racing for what would have been a series-best fourth victory, and the 2023 Nashville winner Ross Chastain, racing for his first win of the season. For 30 laps, they raced in front of the field, with Hamlin cutting into Chastain’s lead before finally overtaking him with seven laps remaining in regulation of the originally scheduled 300-lap race.

But just as Hamlin and Chastain were seemingly settling the trophy, Logano’s teammate Austin Cindric spun out with four laps remaining, forcing the first overtime.

Hamlin and Chastain restarted next to one another in the first overtime, but Chastain was hit from behind by Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, whose Chevrolet’s splitter hit the apron and unintentionally moved him into Chastain’s car. The accident eliminated Chastain with a 33rd-place finish, and Hamlin had to hold off the field in two subsequent overtimes before having to pit himself for fuel – a decision the team struggled to make but ultimately were forced to do.

MORE: Chastain exits after overtime contact

That left Logano and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe on the front row for the fourth overtime restart. Smith had moved into second place around Briscoe when the final caution came out for SHR’s Josh Berry.

Only one (Reddick) of the top 11 cars lined up for the fifth overtime restart had won a race this season, but a highly motivated Logano got a stellar jump on the field at the drop of the flag and was able to keep the challengers behind with other incidents happening as the checkered flag flew.

“The winning side of me is pissed with the second place, especially after hearing the 22 (Logano) was going to run out for the past 10 laps, I don’t know how many restarts,” Smith said of his runner-up showing. “But no, I wouldn’t have done anything different. I felt like I chose the right lane, and it’s crazy how much different these cars drive with cleaner air. Just proud of our strategy there.”

Logano’s Team Penske teammate and reigning series champ Blaney finished sixth, followed by 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace, Larson, Kaulig Racing’s Daniel Hemric and SHR’s Noah Gragson.

There were nine race leaders and 20 lead changes on the day.

For much of the early day, Christopher Bell, last week’s winner, looked like he was positioned to earn the first back-to-back victories of his career. But pit strategy put Bell’s No. 20 JGR Toyota the farthest back in the field. He spun out alone in Turn 2, racing in 15th place on the restart with 74 laps remaining.

Bell swept the opening two stage wins to lead the series with nine stage victories on the season and was out front a race-best 131 of the first 229 laps — more than twice as many laps as any other driver in the field at that point.

“Just put myself in a bad spot, lost my cool, got back in traffic with all those yellow flags and put myself in a really bad spot going into (Turn) 1,” said Bell, who wound up 36th in the 38-car field.

Larson’s eighth-place showing was good enough to keep the NASCAR Cup Series championship lead by 20 points over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott, who was among those who had an incident on the race’s final lap. Hamlin is 43 points back with eight races remaining to decide the regular season champion.

The NASCAR Cup Series’ next race is the Grant Park 165, the main event for the second annual Chicago Street Race Weekend. The street-circuit event is scheduled for Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET (NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), with 75 laps (165 miles) on tap.

Note: No issues were found in post-race technical inspection at Nashville Superspeedway, making Logano’s victory official. NASCAR officials also indicated that no cars would return to its Research & Development Center for further evaluation.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Staff Report

Ross Chastain went from a chance to win Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway to wrecked in the event’s first attempt of overtime.

On an extra-time restart at Lap 305, Chastain charged into Turn 1 on the outside and challenged Denny Hamlin for the race lead. Kyle Larson, in third place and entering behind Hamlin on the bottom of the track, clipped the apron and drifted high into Chastain, whose No. 1 Chevrolet spun backward into the SAFER barrier.

MORE: Race results | At-track photos

His Trackhouse Racing entry was then struck by Ty Gibbs and Kyle Busch. Daniel Hemric, John Hunter Nemechek and Austin Dillon were also collected.

Chastain led 45 laps in Sunday’s Ally 400 before Hamlin passed him for the lead with seven laps remaining in regulation. A spin on Lap 299 by Austin Cindric down the backstretch sent the event past its scheduled 300-lap distance.

Chastain, who entered as the defending winner at Nashville, is still searching for his first victory of 2024. The No. 1 car ultimately was credited with a 33rd-place finish in the 38-car field.

Posted on by Staff Report

Christopher Bell crashed out of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway.

With 73 laps to go, Bell entered Turn 1 in a gaggle of cars before his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota snapped sideways. His car quickly spun left-rear first into the SAFER barrier between Turns 1 and 2, ultimately resulting in damage too significant to continue. Bell was credited with a 36th-place finish.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

“I just carried too much speed in there and put myself in a really bad aero spot and spun it out,” Bell said after being evaluated and released from the infield care center. “Great car. Great effort by this 20 group, and I let them down today.”

Bell had dominated Sunday’s Ally 400, leading a race-high 131 laps before the incident. A Lap 218 caution for Chase Elliott’s Turn 4 spin ultimately shook up pit strategy throughout the field. The No. 20 team elected to take four tires and a full tank of fuel, dropping Bell outside the top 10 for the ensuing restart.

“The yellows didn’t help there in the third stage,” Bell said. “Lost some track position, but you’ll have that. And then I got a very bad restart. Once I was buried, I just got frustrated and put myself in a bad spot. So I’ve got no one to blame but myself.”

Bell entered as the series’ most recent winner after a June 23 victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The 29-year-old Oklahoma native has won three Cup races this season, including the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day Weekend.

Contributing: Cameron Richardson