Posted on by Staff Report

HendrickCars.com extended its partnership with NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Rajah Caruth and Spire Motorsports and will continue to serve as the primary sponsor for the No. 71 Chevrolet for the rest of the 2024 season.

It was announced before the season that HendrickCars.com would initially partner with Caruth for the first 10 races of the Truck Series season, but the 21-year-old standout from Washington, D.C., drew attention after finishing third at Daytona International Speedway and eighth at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

RELATED: Caruth’s career stats | 2024 Truck Series schedule

“Rajah has had a tremendous start to 2024,” Gary Davis, executive vice president of the Hendrick Automotive Group, said in a press release. “When you combine his on-track potential, how he represents himself and HendrickCars.com, his impressive social media presence, and the incredible fan support he receives, we couldn’t pass on supporting him for the entire season.”

Caruth is an alumnus of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program and is currently fifth in the Truck Series standings. With the backing of HendrickCars.com and a solid start to the season, Caruth aims to build off the early momentum and become a budding contender as the season progresses.

“It’s pretty special to have HendrickCars.com on my chest,” Caruth said in the release. “I think about Phoenix last year when I drove the Xfinity car for Hendrick Motorsports. That, within itself, was an incredible moment. Knowing that HendrickCars.com has extended their relationship with Spire Motorsports and my No. 71 team kind of leaves me speechless. I’m super grateful because they don’t do that for just anyone. For me, to be affiliated with that group and have their support is an honor. I’m excited to get on with the rest of the season. We’ve gotten off to a good start and I think the race in Las Vegas on Friday night is going to show our potential for the rest of the season.”

Caruth’s next race will be Friday’s Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway (9 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Dustin Albino

Sheldon Creed’s two-year stint at Richard Childress Racing in the Xfinity Series ended sourly. The California driver was ready for a restart, and Joe Gibbs Racing became his new home.

“I was looking at the future, and I wasn’t in love with where I was,” Creed told NASCAR.com of his move to JGR three days before the 2024 Xfinity Series season got underway. “I liked it, I had fun and had a lot of good people around me, but I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I wanted to. I felt like I would fit in better here or somewhere else.”

RELATED: JGR announces four-car Xfinity lineup for 2024 | The JGR lineup reveal in photos

Admittedly, JGR wasn’t the first call Creed made. Once Josh Berry announced he was moving to the Cup Series with Stewart-Haas Racing, Creed called JR Motorsports, but Sammy Smith filled that spot quickly. Stewart-Haas Racing was another potential suitor.

Steve deSouza, JGR’s EVP NASCAR Xfinity Series/Development, explained it wasn’t the first time they spoke with Creed. With JGR rebranding its Xfinity program, the timing was perfect.

“Sheldon and his grandfather (Maurice Ortega) have come to us three times, and a lot of times it was timing, and it just didn’t work,” deSouza said. “This year, it came up with a number of sequences of events on their side and some on ours. We had a slot that was open for an interim period of time, and they called right in there.

“I got a text from Maurice and a phone call from Sheldon on the same weekend, and they didn’t even know that either one of them had called me. I was thinking they were just exploring, which they had done a couple of times previously. We were happy to get him.”

With little sponsorship, Creed admitted that moving to JGR was a challenge. But after two winless years with RCR and a total of 11 top-five finishes, the move was made.

“I felt like I was stuck,” Creed said of his time at RCR. “Some weeks, we would be good, and some weeks, we would run 15th all day. That was frustrating to me. There was maybe nothing that I could do about it, but it was tough to accept that. I didn’t think it was me.

“I’ve said in the past that I think Gibbs cars are some of the best. I’m getting rid of that excuse now this year. Now, it’s up to me. I like that pressure, and me saying that puts pressure on myself. If I don’t do good this year and run the same, I’ll go race dirt for fun. This is a proving year to myself as well.”

Creed’s drive to perform is visible to deSouza and JGR. They know he has something to prove after moving to the Xfinity Series in 2022 as a top prospect after winning the 2020 Craftsman Truck Series title with GMS Racing.

“[Creed] has ambition,” deSouza said. “He’s won in everything. He has championships in everything he’s run, and this has been a struggle for him. Part of our mission is to try to work with him and get him through that. Clearly, he’s got the speed. He’s impatient at times, so we will try to coach up on that and focus on what’s important from the technology side of performance. From the drivers meetings we’ve had, he’s very knowledgeable about a lot. He doesn’t vocalize a lot of it, but in the discussions, it’s very clear that he understands all of it and can have a dialogue about it, which is very encouraging.”

Creed is labeling 2024 a make-or-break season. He believes he must wheel the No. 18 Toyota to multiple wins in order to call his first season under the Toyota banner a success.

“I came out of trucks winning, and if I wasn’t the favorite, I was at least looked at,” Creed said. “I went to two years of not running good and, in my opinion, got forgotten about. If I could turn this into a good year with multiple wins and a shot at the championship, then I feel like I put my name back in the conversation.”

WATCH: Chaotic end to 2023 Martinsville playoff race | Creed on Martinsville finish | Hill discusses Martinsville

Before the season went green, Creed hadn’t spoken to former RCR teammate Austin Hill, who he had a run-in with during the final laps of the penultimate race of the 2023 season. The former teammates rubbed fenders at Martinsville Speedway, allowing Justin Allgaier to get the win. The following week, neither driver was eligible for the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway. He also laughed off comments made by Richard Childress following the Martinsville race, saying, “I’ve had drivers drive for me before, but nobody as stupid as Sheldon Creed.”

Creed knows he will be racing Hill’s RCR team aplenty throughout the 2024 season, and the No. 21 team is undefeated thus far in two superspeedway races. The No. 18 car nearly lost out on the battle with Hill in the season opener, as Creed scored his third consecutive runner-up finish dating back to that Martinsville race.

If Creed performs well with JGR, he’s hoping it snowballs into an opportunity at the Cup level. His primary goal is to make it to the Cup Series in a solid car. Creed has kicked off the season with a bang, scoring top fives in both races at Daytona and Atlanta. As the series heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway (March 2, 5 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), he ranks second in the championship standings.

MORE: 2024 Xfinity Series schedule | 2024 Xfinity standings

“I would just love to have a paid-for ride,” Creed added. “I want to race Cup; that’s my goal is to race a good Cup car. That’s goal number one, down the road, whether that’s next year, two years from now. Who knows, I could be here at Joe Gibbs Racing in an Xfinity car another three years.”

Posted on by Cameron Richardson

Eighth and 26th-place finishes on paper don’t have the ring to them that racing organizations look for after any given race.

These were the results for Front Row Motorsports Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway following a 400-mile firecracker that saw intense, edge-of-your-seat racing from Lap 1 to the three-wide finish that saw Daniel Suárez grab his second career checkered flag in the third-closest finish in Cup Series history.

While the finishing order doesn’t show either FRM car as a race-contending competitor, the on-track performances from both Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland earned a historic day for the Ford camp.

RELATED: Suárez wins Atlanta in photo finish | Sunday’s race results

FRM led 85 laps in the 260-lap thriller Sunday evening, the most the organization has ever led in a Cup race.

McDowell was the polesitter for the event, but it was Gilliland who diced his way to the lead after starting fourth. Gilliland held serve more than every other driver at Atlanta, leading six different times for a grand total of 58 laps.

A string of late-race incidents eventually caught Gilliland as the 23-year-old settled for the 26th-place result four laps down, but he proved he can put the speed and talent on display when given the opportunity.

“It felt really good. In my heart, I definitely believe that I can do it with those guys week in and week out,” Gilliland said. “Our car was really fast. I was making really aggressive moves but really in control the whole time. That’s what it takes is my confidence gets more and more, and hopefully, those guys’ confidence around me gets better with every lap also. We’ve just got to keep doing that, and hopefully, the better runs will come more consistently and race up front with those guys more and more.”

Gilliland was willing to put his No. 38 Ford in precarious moments in the pack. Whether side-by-side, three-wide or even four-wide on the narrow straights, Gilliland was ready for the ferocity.

During the race, Gilliland threw out the simile of the racing as a haunted house, calling it “fun, but I’m scared for my life.”

“It’s 100% intensity every single lap,” Gilliland added. “When I was up front, we were just throwing massive slide jobs, and it’s full commitment every single lap. I don’t think anyone’s car’s driving 100% perfect, so it’s very on edge. You’re expected to be in the gas almost wide open around the whole place. Air’s moving so much around in the pack and can really put you in some tricky spots, so you’re white-knuckled pretty much the whole time.”

Through two races, Gilliland has led the most laps in the Cup Series (74). It’s already throttled what he led in his career before the Daytona 500 (11). After not piloting the No. 38 on six different occasions last season, the young driver is hungry to prove he belongs at NASCAR’s highest level.

“I’m trying to prove it to myself, my team, sponsors, everyone, right? The whole industry,” Gilliland said. “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life, so I better start running good and just keep sticking around, keep having good runs and hopefully just better finishes along the way.”

The opening races of the season for FRM attest to the team’s overall prowess on drafting-style race tracks.

McDowell, winner of the 2021 edition of the “Great American Race,” has sat on the front row adjacent to Joey Logano in both races to start 2024. McDowell nabbed his first career pole during the weekend in his 467th Cup Series start. However, a mechanical failure early at Daytona and a pit-road mistake in Stage 2 have kept the 39-year-old from backing the strong qualifying efforts.

McDowell’s crew chief Travis Peterson said he’s proud of how the No. 34 team has started the year and what the technical alliance with Team Penske and increased backing from Ford has done for FRM.

“The start of the year has been strong,” Peterson told NASCAR.com. “It sucks we didn’t get to race for it in Daytona. It kinda sucks we didn’t get to race for it again (Sunday), but I think we had two of the best cars in the field back-to-back weeks. Obviously, it gets a little more real going to non-superspeedway racing here soon, but I really felt like we were probably the car to beat. It was super strong. He could go a whole lane by himself and get to the front. Awesome that the 38 got up there and led like he did. Hate the way it ended for them.

MORE: Latest 2024 Cup Series Championship odds

“Happy we ended up salvaging an eighth with a completely busted up car, but hopefully, this just leads to good things. Hopefully, we can keep doing this every week, and we won’t have to worry about stressing about points.”

McDowell has reached the playoffs two of the last three years and has proven to be one of the top road-course aces in the Cup Series after he dominated on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course last year to punch his 2023 postseason ticket.

Up next on the checklist for the organization is to continue racing up front every Sunday. From qualifying to the checkered flag, there’s hope in the FRM camp that they are capable of racing with the big-time organizations on any type of track, and the chemistry between the No. 34 and No. 38 teams adds to the optimism.

“The better we both do, the more we push each other, the better we all get as a group,” Peterson said. “That’s the type of thing we need to do every week is both run up front and have speed and see what the year brings us.”

“It’s incredible. I’m super excited and super happy to be a part of it,” Gilliland said. “Michael’s been here for a long time, and he’s been on a steady grind of getting better and better. I’m super excited to hopefully start contributing more and more every single week. Last year, a lot of races he was head and shoulders better than us so we still have a long ways to go compared to everybody and our teammates especially, but to see the growth of this organization is incredible.”

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR hit Stewart-Haas Racing with two L1-level penalties Tuesday after last weekend’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

After NASCAR confiscated the roof rails of the No. 10 Ford of driver Noah Gragson and the No. 41 Ford of Ryan Preece at the race track, it docked both teams 35 driver and owner points in Tuesday’s penalty report.

Per the NASCAR Rule Book, roof air deflectors must consist of parts outlined in Section 14.5.6.1.a. Additionally, they must meet the following criteria: be constructed of 0.05-inch thick aluminum; be installed perpendicular in the applicable slots; must not interfere with the functioning of the roof flaps; and must be painted.

“It’s a team part, but it has to meet the CAD drawing,” NASCAR Senior VP of Competition Elton Sawyer said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Tuesday. “And in this case, it didn’t meet that.”

MORE: Cup standings after Atlanta | More info on SHR infraction

Joey Logano, driver of Team Penske’s No. 22 Ford, was also dealt a $10,000 fine for modifying an SFI-approved protective glove. Section 14.3.1.1 (“Driver Protective Clothing/Equipment”) in the NASCAR Rule Book requires protective gloves meet SFI-approved specifications.

After qualifying second at Atlanta, Logano was sent to the rear of the field for the start of Sunday’s race and issued a mandatory pass-through penalty after the green flag.

“What happened at the race track and the way it was handled was strictly based on performance and using that device,” Sawyer said on SiriusXM. “Now, altering an SFI-certified safety piece of apparel, that’s a different topic.”

Logano’s left-handed glove was modified with webbing between the thumb and index finger. Per SFI specifications, “gloves shall have separate sections for each finger and thumb.”

RELATED: Breaking down Logano’s glove infraction

In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota piloted by Ryan Truex was found with one lug nut unsecured after the conclusion of Saturday’s race, resulting in a $5,000 fine to crew chief Seth Chavka.

Additionally, SS GreenLight Racing crew chief Jason Miller was suspended from each of the next two NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Phoenix Raceway. Miller, crew chief of J.J. Yeley’s No. 14 Chevrolet at Atlanta, was found in violation of Section 4.4.D of the Xfinity Series Rule Book, which specifies “member-to-member confrontation(s) with physical violence (e.g. striking another competitor)” as an action that could result in a fine and/or suspension. Miller confronted and became physical with driver Kyle Weatherman after Saturday’s race.

Posted on by Team Release

CONCORD, N.C. — In 2024, Hendrick Motorsports will enter 10 NASCAR Xfinity Series races with primary sponsorship from HendrickCars.com. Each of the organization’s four NASCAR Cup Series drivers will compete in the No. 17 Chevrolet Camaro this season, along with a special appearance by popular road-racing veteran Boris Said.

The schedule will kick off March 9 at Phoenix Raceway with the first of four starts for 2024 Daytona 500 champion William Byron and crew chief Brandon McSwain, the lead engineer on the No. 24 Cup Series team. The remaining six races for the No. 17 team will be called by 2014 Xfinity Series champion crew chief Greg Ives, who has 15 NASCAR national series wins.

RELATED: Full Xfinity Series schedule

The No. 17 HendrickCars.com team made four Xfinity Series starts in 2022 and six in 2023. In 10 combined appearances, it accumulated three pole positions, six top-five finishes and seven top 10s, including three second-place results.

“The No. 17 is a big part of our story, and it would be special to see it win — and win often — during our 40th anniversary season,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and chairman and CEO of Hendrick Automotive Group. “The sponsorship has been a big success for HendrickCars.com and our dealerships, and we’re pleased to add more races and take it to another level in 2024. It’s Victory Lane or bust.”

The No. 17 car number has a rich history with Hendrick Motorsports. NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip drove it to nine wins for the team from 1987 to 1990, including in the 1989 Daytona 500. The car number was also driven by Ricky Hendrick in various races, including in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2000 and 2001. The HendrickCars.com paint scheme will again be based on the No. 17 truck driven by Hendrick during his 2001 rookie season.

NO. 17 CHEVROLET — 2024 NASCAR XFINITY SERIES SCHEDULE 

DateEventDriver
March 9Phoenix RacewayWilliam Byron
March 23Circuit of The AmericasKyle Larson
May 11Darlington RacewayWilliam Byron
May 25Charlotte Motor SpeedwayChase Elliott
June 8Sonoma RacewayBoris Said
June 22New Hampshire Motor SpeedwayAlex Bowman
July 6Chicago Street CourseKyle Larson
July 13Pocono RacewayWilliam Byron
Aug. 13Darlington RacewayChase Elliott
Sept. 14Watkins Glen InternationalWilliam Byron
Posted on by Seth Sharp

Throughout the 2024 NASCAR season, Ken Martin, director of historical content for the sanctioning body, will offer his suggestions on which historical races fans should watch from the NASCAR Classics library in preparation for each upcoming race weekend.

Martin has worked for NASCAR exclusively since 2008 but has been involved with the sport since 1982, overseeing various projects. He worked in the broadcast booth for hundreds of races, assisting the broadcast team with different tasks. This includes calculating the “points as they run” for the historic 1992 finale – the Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

RELATED: Daniel Suárez wins at the line in Atlanta thriller | Watch exciting final lap at Atlanta

Following the conclusion of the historic Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta, Martin put together a special list of thrilling finishes from the past that fans can watch and enjoy on the NASCAR Classics platform.

Photo finish of the 1959 Daytona 500
RacingOne

1959 Daytona 500 at Daytona

The first three-wide finish in NASCAR history came in the first race at Daytona International Speedway in 1959. Joe Weatherly’s car was on the high side as Johnny Beauchamp and Lee Petty battled to the very end for the victory, but the finish was so close that a winner was not immediately declared.

It took Bill France Sr. three days to officially declare Petty the event winner.

1974 Firecracker 400 at Daytona

The thrilling final lap saw a bit of everything, including a cat-and-mouse race for the victory and the only dead heat in NASCAR history.

David Pearson led the most laps on the day and found himself with the lead as the final laps passed by. On the final lap, Richard Petty blazed past Pearson’s No. 21 Mercury, leaving the announcers wondering if something had happened to Pearson’s car. Instead, Pearson purposely let Petty get an advantage. Petty put a rather large gap on Pearson, who started to close on the field as the cars exited the fourth turn. Pearson lined up Petty and moved past Petty for the victory.

Somehow, that wasn’t even the craziest battle to the start-finish line as Buddy Baker and Cale Yarborough crossed the line simultaneously for third and fourth. The lack of extensive technology gave no conclusive evidence of who finished in front of the other, leaving NASCAR to declare a dead heat.

Both drivers were credited with a third-place finish.

Jimmie Johnson, in the No. 48 Chevrolet, races ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet, at Talladega Superspeedway.
Jeff Zelevansky | Getty Images

2011 Aaron’s 499 at Talladega

A thrilling last-lap battle at Talladega saw a 0.002-second margin of victory, tying the 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway for the closest in Cup Series history. The race also checked off a box in the history book as the closest finish between the first six finishers in history.

Jimmie Johnson beat Clint Bowyer to the line, thanks to a tandem push from his teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. Bowyer, who was pushed by his teammate Kevin Harvick, finished second. Jeff Gordon came home with a third-place finish, while Earnhardt Jr. was fourth, Harvick was fifth and Carl Edwards was sixth.

MORE: Closest finishes in NASCAR Cup Series history 

Posted on by Staff Report

The historic, three-wide photo finish that resulted in a thrilling Daniel Suárez victory left everyone talking after Sunday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

NASCAR diehards and casual viewers alike expressed their awe following Suárez’s dash, with his No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet just 0.003 seconds ahead of Ryan Blaney at the checkered flag of the Cup Series’ second race of the year. Sandwiched between the two was Kyle Busch, whose No. 8 Chevy trailed Suárez by only 0.007 seconds.

MORE: Blaney, Busch on being on the wrong end of all-timer | Full race results

A look at what drivers, fans and others had to say after the Atlanta thrasher:

 

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MORE: Relive the thrill with the full Race Rewind | Suárez: ‘It was so close’ to capture win

 

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RELATED: New to NASCAR? Stream ‘NASCAR: Full Speed’ on Netflix

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

Stock-car racing doesn’t get any better than this.

A three-wide photo finish at the line. Four-wide racing for the lead. Daring blocks. Close-quarters racing that makes you cringe with every near touch. That was the thrill that Atlanta Motor Speedway brought to NASCAR Cup Series fans on Sunday night.

MORE: Race results | Suárez scores photo-finish win at ATL

The historic finish between race winner Daniel Suárez and runners-up Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch is an all-timer in just about every sense. The 0.003-second margin of victory is the third-closest in NASCAR Cup Series history, and Busch was third, only 0.007 seconds behind Suárez. It marks the tightest checkered-flag run since the debut of the Next Gen car in 2022 — and the closest since 2011, when a 0.002-second difference at Talladega Superspeedway separated the top finishers.

Justin Marks, whose Trackhouse Racing organization owns the No. 99 Chevrolet that Suárez dashed into Victory Lane in his own last-lap heroics, summed up what everyone was thinking Sunday night: How could it get any better?

“I think from an entertainment value standpoint, I don’t know what more you could want from a race like tonight,” Marks said. “It was incredible. My heart rate was 150 (beats per minute) just watching. All race long, I talked to my wife about this; the calmest people here are the guys driving the cars because we’re all just watching this, just holding our breath. This is one of the most compelling races I think that you could want for a sport. It was an incredible thing to watch.”

RELATED: Relive every action-packed moment in Race Rewind

Dazzling, decisive drives put all 37 drivers’ skill on display throughout the course of the 400-mile affair, their machines dancing on the edge of control through every corner. Each lap featured a moment where all hell could blow apart — but often resulted in remarkable steers and onto the next corner.

“What the viewer doesn’t understand is how difficult it is to follow at this race track, especially when you have all that turbulent air coming out of the hood next to the other cars,” said Austin Cindric, the fourth-place finisher just 0.077 seconds behind Suárez. “That’s what got me at the end, honestly, guys just running close to me. It’s not easy to do, but I guess that’s why they call us the best in the world.”

Bubba Wallace scored his second straight fifth-place finish to open the 2024 campaign in his No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota, following last week’s Daytona 500 with a rally after a Lap 2 melee collected him and a dozen others. The high banks and drafting-style racing shared between Daytona and Atlanta — now pitched in consecutive weeks — nearly requires the exhaustion of thought, constantly calculating where to place your vehicle, time your run and avoid the wall (or your competitors).

“What a day. I’m so glad we’re done with superspeedway racing for a while,” Wallace said. “The mental toll it takes on you, to just making sure you make the right move for 260 laps, including the race last week too, is a lot.”

That perspective emphasizes how fervent the action was behind the wheel at Atlanta. But for as fiery as the racing was on the track, drivers were having a blast on track putting their cars in precarious positions — even those who wrecked out of the event.

“I actually had a lot of fun today,” said Kyle Larson, ousted after a crash at Lap 219. “It was super intense and it’s been a great race. It’s been the opposite from last weekend with no fuel saving and guys going at it, so it’s been fun.”

“This is super-intense racing,” Brad Keselowski echoed after his day ended in the same incident. “The track cooled off and now you can really, really push hard. I think it’s some of the best racing you’ll ever see.”

MORE: Lap 2 melee collects numerous cars | Logano, Buescher, Hamlin tangle at Stage 2 end

Chase Briscoe nearly spun multiple times throughout the day, then eventually did at Lap 240 racing four-wide with Suárez, Busch and Denny Hamlin. The nose of his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford was crunched off the SAFER barrier after incidental contact with Hamlin, but that didn’t sour his mood after being evaluated and released from Atlanta’s infield care center.

“That was the most fun I’ve ever had here,” Briscoe said. “And I think some of that is just our guys did a really good job of bringing a car that we could be aggressive with and make moves. I’m actually looking forward to coming back here. That was a lot of fun. Guys were just making huge moves and big runs, but we were able to not get close to crashing a lot of times like we would at Daytona or Talladega. I had a lot of fun.”

How could they not? Cindric rocketed to the lead in a gutsy four-wide dash to the left on the frontstretch — and Busch followed through, the pack maintaining that four-wide fever for nearly a full lap around the 1.54-mile quad-oval.

It was an all-out brawl. Drivers were making moves on the cusp of imminent danger. How do they pull off such logic-defying moves?

“Someone’s gotta do it,” Cindric said. “I can promise you I’ll be the guy.”

The best part? We get to run it back in September to open the playoffs.

Posted on by Cameron Richardson

HAMPTON, Ga. — By less than a hundredth of a second, both Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch came up just shy of victory in Sunday’s dazzling NASCAR Cup Series event at Atlanta Motor Speedway, on the short end of a three-wide photo finish won by Daniel Suárez in an ever-so-slight margin.

Blaney, the defending Cup Series champion, led six times for 31 laps, but his No. 12 Team Penske Ford was just 0.003 seconds back in second place at the checkered flag in the third-closest finish in series history. Another 0.004 seconds back was Busch’s No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, third and stuck in between Blaney’s No. 12 and Suárez’s No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevy.

RELATED: Race Results | At-track photos 

“I felt great about how the race went. Just in that moment you’re like, ‘Damn. That sucks,'” Blaney said. “We just lost by three inches right? But then realize hey, it’s a good day. It’s fun racing for the lead like that. We didn’t get tore up. The competitor in you, when you lose, you’re like ‘ah’ but I had fun tonight.”

The final contest for the lead reached its boiling point when Suárez steamed forward in the upper lane, with Busch squeezing into the middle to make it a three-wide scrap entering the third turn. The trio rode three-abreast the rest of the way.

With how fast runs were being made in the draft, Blaney said there was little time to make a move quick enough to defend out front.

“I didn’t think I really did anything different than like the three laps before that when I got the lead,” Blaney said. “I thought I kind of managed both lanes OK. I didn’t think I got that far out front. I thought I kind of laid back right in the middle of (Turns) 1 and 2 to get everyone close to where they were close off of Turn 2 to where I could get some energy from them, to where they didn’t have too big of a run. Both lanes just got massive runs.

“When you got two lanes training you, I don’t know where to go. I guess I could’ve just bailed to the top and made the 99 hit me in the ass but it all happens so quick.”

Blaney has been a part of numerous photo finishes already in his Cup career, winning three different Talladega races with a largest margin of victory of 0.012 seconds over William Byron.

He’s also been on the losing side of the coin in such situations; most significantly, losing the 2020 Daytona 500 to Denny Hamlin by just a few feet as the two were side-by-side at the checkered flag.

“I can’t complain much about losing them by a handful of inches,” Blaney said. “I’ve won them by two or three feet. You’re going to be on both ends of it. Pretty fortunate to be on the good side of winning them by a foot or two so losing here tonight by a little bit, it’s still a good run.”

MORE: Blaney: ‘Glad we can do that for the fans’ | Busch reflects after near-miss at Atlanta

Busch ran up front for the majority of the 400-mile event, leading six different times for a total of 28 laps.

“Our Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet was one of the top-five cars today at Atlanta Motor Speedway and had a good shot at the win,” Busch said. “The No. 12 car was deservingly one of the faster cars, and with all the carnage, it took out some other guys early.  Towards the end of the race, you don’t have that many alliances.”

Busch lost his Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Dillon on Lap 2 as the No. 3 spun entering Turn 1, wading up 14 cars. Dillon remained in the race but only managed a 22nd-place result.

Four Chevrolets finished in the top 10 but a majority of the manufacturer’s vehicles were involved in incidents throughout the day, including Daytona 500 winner William Byron, who was caught up in a pit-road tango with Michael McDowell, after McDowell locked his brakes on pit entry.

“All of my friends disintegrated and went away throughout the day,” Busch said. “Bubba Wallace came to the rescue, and he was a huge part of our success at the end of the race coming off Turn 2 and down the backstretch to get a run. On that last restart, I just got a little too far ahead of the No. 99 car and he got a good side draft through the corner. I didn’t think the outside would prevail, but with the run down the frontstretch and the side draft, that is what hurt us. Typically, whoever is behind getting into Turn 3 prevails at the start-finish line with the side draft and everything.

“I think I was running in second place to the No. 12 car at that point, and the No. 99 car was the furthest back. He used the side draft to make the ground back up and win the race. There was nothing I could have done differently.”

While both Blaney and Busch leave Atlanta just short of glory and a guaranteed spot in the Cup Series Playoffs, the two drivers shared how happy they were to see Suárez in Victory Lane.

“It’s good to see Daniel Suárez get a win because as Chevy team partners we were helping each other and working together there,” Busch said. “It shows that when you do have friends and you can make alliances that strategy does seem to work. That was a good part of today to see that come to fruition.”

“I’m happy for Daniel. That’s cool to see him win one and was fun racing with him,” Blaney said. “He’s a great guy so can’t complain too much when you’re close like this and hopefully the fans enjoyed it. That was a hell of a damn race.”

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Reid Spencer

HAMPTON, Ga. — It was a race of remarkable ebb and flow.

It was a race of breathtaking four-wide action into corners not built to accommodate such derring-do.

And it was totally appropriate that Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway ended in a three-wide photo finish, with Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suárez eking out a victory over Ryan Blaney by what looked to be an inch or two at the finish line.

NASCAR timing and scoring showed Suárez ahead of Blaney by 0.003 seconds at the stripe, with Kyle Busch in third, 0.007 seconds behind the race winner.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

As the three drivers sped through the final two corners, Suárez held the outside lane with Blaney on the bottom and Busch in the middle. Suárez surged forward, approaching the start/finish line to earn his second career victory — and his first since June of 2022 at Sonoma Raceway — by the thinnest of margins.

Suárez, whose No. 99 Trackhouse Race Chevrolet suffered damage to the hood on a Lap 2 crash in Turn 1, had the lead for a restart with five laps left after the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford of Josh Berry collided with Carson Hocevar’s No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet on Lap 249 of 260 to cause the 10th and final caution of the race.

Blaney, the defending series champion, grabbed the top spot almost immediately and held it for four laps, but Suárez and Busch mounted runs on the final lap in the top and middle lanes, respectively. Blaney chose to make his bid for victory from the bottom lane and fell just short.

“It was so damn close, man,” said Suárez, still marveling that he was the winner. “It was so damn close. It was good racing. Ryan Blaney there, Kyle Busch, Austin Cindric also was doing a great job giving pushes. In the back straightaway, he didn’t push me because he knew I was going to (screw) his teammate, but, man, what a job.

“We wrecked (on) Lap 2. The guys did an amazing job fixing this car. I can’t thank everyone enough, Trackhouse Racing, Freeway Insurance, Chevrolet, all the amazing fans here. Let’s go!”

As the final lap unfolded, Blaney was shocked at the force of the runs challenging him.

WATCH: Suárez discusses finish | Blaney: ‘Glad we can do that for the fans’ | Busch: ‘Proud of everybody’

“I thought I laid back enough in (Turns) 1 and 2 to not let both lanes get that big of a run,” Blaney said. “I did that like the three laps before the end, and I was able to manage it kind of fairly well, and they just got both lanes shoving super hard. I just chose the bottom, and it was the safest place to be.

“What a cool finish. Appreciate the fans for sticking around. That’s a lot of fun. That’s always a good time when we can do that, race clean, three-wide finish to the end. Happy for Daniel. That was cool to see. Fun racing with Kyle. I can’t complain; I’ve won them by very, very little, too, so I can’t complain too much when I lose them by that much.”

To Busch, the outcome was predictable, given the positions of the cars in the final two corners.

“Yeah, typically whoever is behind getting into (Turn) 3 prevails at the start-finish line with the side draft and everything, so I was… I think I was second to the 12 (Blaney) right there, and the 99 was the furthest back, and he made the ground back up with the side draft and stuff…

“It’s good to see Daniel get a win. We were helping each other, being Chevy team partners and working together there. Shows that when you do have friends and you can make alliances that they do seem to work, and that was a good part of today.”

The start of the race was a harbinger of the wild finish.

Moments after crossing the finish line to complete the first lap of the race, Todd Gilliland checked up near the front of the field and stacked up the cars behind him. All told, 14 cars were officially involved, a track record for a single incident at the 1.54-mile speedway.

MORE: Multicar crash strikes at Lap 2 at Atlanta

The machines of Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell and Noah Gragson all sustained heavy damage. Austin Dillon and Harrison Burton, early victims in last Monday’s Daytona 500, both were part of the melee.

Burton was able to continue, as was Suárez, who made multiple pit stops as his crew worked to repair his car. Dillon lost two laps on pit road but regained them as the beneficiary under the third and fourth cautions.

If the Lap 2 wreck was an impediment for nearly half the field, the first attempt at green-flag pit stops in Stage 2 was equally discomforting. Polesitter Michael McDowell locked his brakes near the pit road entrance in Turn 3 and collided with Daytona 500 winner William Byron, costing both drivers a lap.

Speeding penalties impeded Busch, Berry, Ross Chastain, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Bubba Wallace, with Erik Jones’ crew drawing a penalty for a runaway tire. Like McDowell and Byron, those drivers all found themselves a lap down after their respective pass-throughs under green.

Through subsequent cautions, however, they regained the lead lap, and Busch raced his way into contention for the win.

Cindric finished fourth, followed by Wallace, Stenhouse Jr., Chastain, McDowell and Chris Buescher, all of whom made commendable recoveries to earn top-10 results.

The race featured a record 48 lead changes among 14 drivers – the fifth straight race at Atlanta with more than a dozen leaders. Gilliland led a race-high 58 laps, a team record for a single race by a Front Row Motorsports driver. Cindric was out front for 32 laps, followed by Blaney (31) and Busch (28).

Suárez led twice for nine laps.

Joey Logano, the defending race winner, received unwelcome news before the start of the race. The driver of the No. 22 Ford was deemed to have violated NASCAR rule 14.3.1.1 governing driver protective clothing and equipment.

Logano’s left driving glove featured webbing between the thumb and forefinger, an unauthorized modification of SFI-approved equipment. Under an at-track penalty, Logano dropped from the second position to the rear of the field for the start and began to serve a pit-road pass-through when the pileup in Turn 1 on Lap 2 slowed the field.

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The misery of others was serendipity for Logano, who completed his pass-through without losing a lap. By the end of Stage 1, he was 12th, and after the top 10 pitted during the stage break, Logano was second when Stage 2 went green.

On Lap 99, Logano passed Gilliland for the lead as part of a pack of six Fords at the front of the field. On the final lap of the stage, however, Logano’s fortunes soured once again when his No. 22 Mustang pushed up the track on the backstretch and collected Buescher and Denny Hamlin.

Towed to his pit stall, Logano lost eight laps and any hope he might have had of defending his 2023 victory.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads next to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube on Sunday, March 3 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

NOTE: Post-race technical inspection in the NASCAR Cup Series garage at Atlanta concluded without issue, confirming Suárez as the race winner.