Posted on October 3, 2023October 3, 2023 by Zach Sturniolo

Iowa Speedway will host its first NASCAR Cup Series event in 2024, the sanctioning body announced Tuesday. The Cup race, set for 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 16, will be part of a tripleheader weekend June 14-16 that also includes a NASCAR Xfinity Series race and an ARCA Menards Series race.

The 0.875-mile, progressively banked track opened its doors in 2006 and hosted Xfinity Series and Truck Series races from 2009 through 2019. Nineteen Cup Series competitors projected to race in 2024 have won at the Newton, Iowa, race track, including champions Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott and Joey Logano.

The ARCA Menards Series began competing there in 2006 and has raced there every year since, with the exception of the 2014 season. Iowa has also played host to 19 IndyCar Series events dating back to 2007.

“We’re really excited to be heading to Iowa Speedway,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s senior vice president of racing development and strategy. “The first time in what will be the 76-year history that we’ve had a (Cup) race at Iowa Speedway, and the first time in a really long time that we’ve had a (Cup) race in the state of Iowa, so we’re excited to get there.

“We talk a lot about the racing product and what that looks like, and we hear from a lot of our fans that would like to see more short tracks. And then we also hear how good intermediate racing is with this Next Gen car. And I think Iowa in a lot of ways shows both the short track as well as an intermediate race track in the way that it races. I’m so excited to see it on the schedule.”

The Midwestern short track is a favorite among drivers and fans throughout its 17-year history. With Tuesday’s announcement, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the Hawkeye State for the first time since 1953, when Herb Thomas drove the No. 92 Fabulous Hudson Hornet to victory at Davenport Speedway, a 0.5-mile dirt track 130 miles east of Iowa Speedway.

“This is a dream come true,” said NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace, Iowa Speedway’s co-founder and designer. “This track was built with the intent of hosting a NASCAR Cup Series race one day, and to finally see it come together is a testament to the tenacity of the great race fans in Iowa.”

Kennedy, a former racer himself, competed at Iowa three times in the Xfinity Series, including his series debut when he scored a top-10 finish for Richard Childress Racing. He also ran four Truck Series events and six ARCA East races at the Iowa short track through his racing career.

“Selfishly as a fan but also as a driver being able to race around that track, I loved Iowa Speedway as a driver,” Kennedy said. “It’s a ton of fun and had a lot of grooves. We know what the racing product looks like on a worn-out surface. So I think to be able to go there on the same surface that’s there today is going to put on a great racing product. There’s going to be a lot of energy around it. So I’m looking forward to that.”

Posted on October 3, 2023 by Cara Cooper

Carter Langley admits he didn’t have the highest of hopes entering the 2023 race season.

At this time last year, the 18-year-old had just totaled a car and was facing questions about his future.

Those questions seemed to be answered on the first night of racing this season at Virginia’s South Boston Speedway on March 18. Langley swept both features in the track’s Late Model Stock Car division, putting him in an early points lead.

He battled back and forth with two-time NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion Peyton Sellers, one of the winningest drivers in South Boston history, for the entirety of the summer. With eight wins and 15 top-five finishes, Langley bested the veteran by six points for his first South Boston championship.

Carter Langley celebrates as he climbs out of his car in Victory Lane after winning the second of the two Sentara Healthcare Late Model Stock Car Division races that headlined the season-opening event on March 18 at South Boston Speedway. (Joe Chandler/South Boston Speedway)

“I honestly still don’t think it’s hit me yet,” Langley said of his track title. “It’s getting there a little every day, but it’s still, I don’t think it’s really hit me. It’ll probably be like banquet time before it hits me. I don’t know.”

Langley first raced a full season at the NASCAR Home Track in South Boston, Virginia two years ago. The two quick wins to start the season gave the young driver momentum throughout the summer.

“We started off the year sweeping the weekend at SoBo, which not a lot of people can do, and the car was a lot better,” he said. “We didn’t have any practice on it since I rebuilt it. Everything was brand new. I was just hoping to come out of there with a top five that weekend, and we ended up sweeping the weekend, and it just kept getting better every week.”

Only once did Langley finish outside of the top 10 in 19 feature races this summer.

“It’s been pretty good. Not the season I was expecting,” he said. “It’s been fun, that’s for sure. Last year I was not having fun at this time… Definitely coming off of a win here this year has been better.”

Langley is in his 10th year of racing. He started in a go-kart when he was 7, following in the footsteps of his uncle, who used to run 4-cylinder cars at Southern National Motorsports Park in Lucama, North Carolina, and family friend Greg Barnett, who Langley and his family used to help at a local dirt track.

The Zebulon, North Carolina native said he “just always wanted to race,” but he also had choices when it came to his hobbies.

“It was baseball and racing at the same time, and I had to choose one, and I didn’t know which one to choose,” Langley said. “But I’m glad I chose racing, because it gives you a feeling that nothing else can give you.”

Peyton Sellers (26) fends off a challenge from Carter Langley (5) and Jacob Borst (25) as they speed down the frontstretch during the 100-lap Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division race that was part of the Italian Delight Family Restaurant Night Race at South Boston Speedway on Aug. 19, 2023. (Joe Chandler/South Boston Speedway)

Even though he has much less experience at South Boston than Sellers and other Late Model veterans he races against each week, there’s something about the track Langley said fits his driving style, and the people there have made it feel like his new home.

“I like multiple lanes of racing. Most weekends we can run the top and bottom,” he said. “It’s just a fun atmosphere. They make you feel welcome there. It’s the best local track racing you can get. The most competitive without having to go on the CARS Tour and basically have full-time teams to run that series.”

Langley credited the chemistry of his team and crew chief Josh Yeoman for his success this season, and the support he receives from his family and friends who come to races and help on the car.

Carter Langley is all smiles after having placed the winner’s decal on his car following his win in the second race of the two 70-lap Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division races that highlighted Billy’s A/C Service Night Race at South Boston Speedway on July 15, 2023. Langley was awarded the win after apparent winner Landon Huffman’s car failed to pass the post-event technical inspection by track NASCAR officials. (Joe Chandler/South Boston Speedway)

Langley’s regular season is done, and he added another big race to his 2023 last weekend when he competed in Martinsville Speedway’s annual Valley Star Credit Union 300, going up against more Late Model veterans and some of the best drivers from around the country for Martinsville’s coveted Grandfather Clock trophy.

Langley said he felt like he had momentum from his good season at South Boston when he headed to another southern Virginia track. He finished the day at Martinsville 14th.

Langley said he plans to return to South Boston next summer and travel around to other tracks, as well.

Posted on October 3, 2023October 3, 2023 by Staff Report

NASCAR competition officials issued behavioral penalties Tuesday to Craftsman Truck Series drivers Matt Crafton and Nick Sanchez for their roles in a post-race altercation last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.

Crafton, driver of the ThorSport Racing No. 88 Ford, was fined $25,000 for his actions in a fight after Saturday’s Love’s RV Stop 250. Sanchez, a rookie in the No. 2 Rev Racing Chevrolet, was fined $5,000. Sanchez’s father, Rene, was also penalized for his involvement in the fracas, with officials suspending him from NASCAR for the remaining two races on the 2023 schedule.

Crafton and Sanchez made contact in the closing laps of Saturday’s playoff event, sparking a multitruck incident. Sanchez continued to a seventh-place finish, but Crafton’s race ended after 91 of the 99 laps because of terminal damage to his No. 88 entry.

Crafton — who was unhurt — stopped in Sanchez’s pit stall, dismounted, then directed harsh words toward the No. 2 team as he walked back to the garage. Post-race, witnesses said Crafton confronted Sanchez and punches flew. The rookie, bloodied by what he called a “cheap shot,” then made violent threats to Crafton, promising retribution in the tour’s next race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

NASCAR officials also penalized driver Chandler Smith for a violation during Saturday’s Cup Series Qualifying of Section 14.3.1.1.F, which has the heading of Driver Protective Clothing/Equipment. The safety infraction — in this case, failure to wear a required head sock and/or helmet skirt — resulted in a $10,000 fine to Smith, who finished a career-best 11th in his third Cup Series start.

Posted on October 2, 2023October 2, 2023 by John Crane

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 12 finale might be looming for some, but for Ryan Blaney, it offers a chance to look ahead toward a greener and better pasture.

After the pilot of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford clinched his Round of 8 berth following a thrilling win at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, he and the team have the opportunity to begin preparations for the trio of tracks featured in the upcoming postseason round — Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway.

And while Blaney will still race in the Bank of America Roval 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course on Sunday (2 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), the 29-year-old championship hopeful will have his eyes fixated on the Round of 8, where his title hopes have been dashed the last two years.

RELATED: Playoff standings | Cup schedule

The question is simple: Will Blaney overcome the hump to claim his first-ever Championship 4 spot? The short answer? Perhaps. After all, Blaney has had success at the three tracks, even if none of his nine career Cup wins have come on any of them. The longer answer? Well, let’s give it a look.

Starting with Las Vegas, Blaney has compiled five top-five and eight top-10 finishes in 14 Cup starts at the 1.5-miler, and while he has yet to crack the top 10 there behind the wheel of the Next Gen car — he has finished 36th, 28th and 13th at the track, dating back to 2022 — he has led 49 laps, which is tied for fourth among all Cup drivers in that span. A 12.4 average finish, additionally, ranks sixth among all active drivers with a minimum of 10 starts there. Blaney also has one career start on the pole at the track (2018).

Homestead-Miami, meanwhile, has proved to be more of a challenge. In eight career Cup starts, Blaney has only collected one top-10 finish, a third-place result in 2020, where he also led 70 laps. However, Blaney has shown capable of starting races there in an OK spot — in all eight races, Blaney started inside the top 15. With an emphasis on the right strategy, there isn’t a doubt that Blaney could finish as solidly as he starts.

That leads us to Martinsville, where Blaney has arguably had the most success among the three tracks. In 15 Cup starts at the short track, Blaney has accumulated seven top-five and nine top-10 finishes. While his 377 laps led ranks a respectable ninth among all active drivers, his 9.5 average finish ranks first among all active drivers with a minimum of 10 Cup races. Forty-nine laps led in the Next Gen package, in conjunction with one career pole start in the previous car (2020), round out Blaney’s résumé at the 0.526-mile short track.

MORE: Blaney’s career stats

On the surface, Blaney, like any other playoff driver, will have his work cut out for him. Winning a championship is no easy feat, after all, and for Blaney, the task of claiming his first Championship 4 appearance will not be handed to him. Instead, he will have to battle and tackle each Round of 8 track with a winning mindset.

Luckily for Blaney, his track record at Las Vegas, Homestead and Martinsville is enough to build upon. And with enough speed and necessary adjustments at those tracks, perhaps Blaney will look ahead to a championship opportunity as a result.

Posted on October 2, 2023 by Adam Fenwick

Connor Hall, the 2023 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division I national champion, isn’t the only driver to clinch a national championship this season, as the champions for Divisions II, III, IV and V have been revealed.

Payton Talbot, John Ketron, Adam Hensel and Shawn Bowar are the national champions of Divisions II-V, respectively, in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series for 2023.

Below is more on each champion.

2023 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division II champion

Payton Talbot

The 2023 season was huge for Payton Talbot, a native of South New Berlin, New York, who has been racing since he was 10.

Not only did Talbot capture the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division II national championship with 24 starts split between New York’s Fonda and Utica-Rome Speedways; he also captured the track championship in the Crate 602 Sportsman division at Fonda.

In his 24 races at Fonda and Utica-Rome, Talbot scored eight victories and only finished outside the top 10 twice. Six of his victories came at Fonda, with the other two coming at Utica-Rome. He scored 448 points throughout the 2023 season, and he needed every point to capture the championship. He bested Canadian racer William Racine by four points to lay claim to the championship.

In all, Talbot scored eight victories, 21 top fives and 22 top 10s spread across 24 starts at Fonda and Utica-Rome.

The final 2023 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division II national standings can be found here.

2023 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division III champion

John Ketron

John Ketron has been racing for a long time at Tennessee’s Kingsport Speedway, and now he can call himself a NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion.

Ketron, a multi-time champion of Kingsport Speedway’s Pure 4 division, locked up the 2023 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division III national championship this season thanks to an incredible year at Kingsport.

In 16 events this year, Ketron scored 10 victories, and he never finished outside the top five. He cruised to the Kingsport Speedway Pure 4 track championship, locking it up before the scheduled season finale on Sept. 9 that was ultimately canceled due to rain. His 10-win season allowed him to score 436 points toward the Division III national championship, which gave him a 16-point edge on Irwindale Speedway’s Bobby Ozman in the final standings.

Ketron’s final 2023 season stats included 10 victories, 21 top fives and 21 top 10s in 21 starts at Kingsport.

The final 2023 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division III national standings can be found here.

2023 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division IV champion

Adam Hensel

The 2023 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division IV national championship came down to a battle between a pair of competitors from Iowa’s Adams County Speedway.

In the end, the crown went to Adam Hensel, who denied fellow Adams County regular Luke Ramsey his third national championship in NASCAR competition.

The two were evenly matched throughout the 2023 campaign, with Hensel and Ramsey each winning four times. The edge, however, went to Hensel, who was able to score 16 top-five finishes to Ramsey’s 12. That was just enough to give Hensel the advantage in the final 2023 standings by 12 points.

In addition to capturing the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division IV national championship, Hensel also secured the track championship in the Hobby Stock class at Adams County.

In all, Hensel earned four victories, 16 top fives and 16 top 10s in 17 starts during the 2023 season.

The final 2023 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division IV national standings can be found here.

2023 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division V champion

Shawn Bowar

In the final season of racing at Illinois’ Rockford Speedway, the historic asphalt quarter-mile oval has produced a national champion.

Shawn Bowar, a competitor in the Bandit division at Rockford Speedway, captured the 2023 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division V national championship.

The battle for the Division V crown went all the way to the final weekend, with Bowar narrowly capturing the championship by six points ahead of Adams County Speedway competitor John Berg. Another Adams County racer, Zander Steiner, finished third, just eight points back.

Victories were vital to Bowar’s championship campaign. He scored eight wins during the 2023 season while Berg scored just two and Steiner scored only three. Those eight wins also helped Bowar claim his first Bandits division championship at Rockford Speedway.

In 12 starts this year, Bowar earned eight victories, 12 top fives and 12 top 10s on his way to the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division V national championship.

The final 2023 NASCAR Advance Parts Weekly Series Division V national standings can be found here.

Posted on October 2, 2023 by Brandon White

After a long and grueling 2023 campaign, four drivers have earned the distinction as Division I regional champions in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series.

Connor Hall, Matt Sheppard, Jacob Goede and Jeff Peterson all claimed NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series regional championships after enjoying stellar seasons in their respective parts of the country.

Reintroduced in 2021 after a prolonged absence, the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series regional titles are awarded to the drivers who score the most points in the Southeast, Northeast, Midwest and West, respectively. Each regional champion earns a $15,000 bonus for their efforts.

Below is a closer look at the four drivers who claimed NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series regional championships.

(Photo: Bill Carnes/Langley Speedway)

Southeast Region: Connor Hall

Dominant is the best word to describe Connor Hall’s 2023 season.

The 2023 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series champion was an unstoppable force at his home track of Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia. He ended up tallying 14 victories at Langley to also secure his first championship at the facility.

Along with his efficiency at Langley, Hall also ventured out to other tracks in the southeast. Checkered flags at Hickory Motor Speedway and Southern National Motorsports Park helped bring Hall’s final win total to 18 on the year.

The closest competitor to Hall in the southeast was Doug Barnes Jr., who finished 36 points behind in second. He was followed by Peyton Sellers, Tyler Matthews, and Hickory track champion Kade Brown.

(Photo: Utica-Rome Speedway)

Northeast Region: Matt Sheppard

No driver has excelled on dirt tracks in the northeast like Matt Sheppard.

Boasting one of the most prestigious auto racing resumes in the entire country, Sheppard added a NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Northeast regional title to his long list of accomplishments with an efficient year that saw him earn 13 victories, 11 of which came at Utica-Rome Speedway.

The blistering pace Sheppard set in Utica-Rome’s Modified division allowed him to claim the track title by 66 points. Sheppard’s consistency resulted in a second-place finish in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national standings just six points behind Connor Hall.

Sheppard was followed in the northeast region standings by Grandview Speedway regular Brett Kressley. Making up the rest of the top five in the northeast region were Mike Gular, David Hebert, and Alex Yankowski.

(Photo: LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway)

Midwest Region: Jacob Goede

Jacob Goede is no stranger to success in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series.

With a national championship in 2016 already on his resume, Goede added another accomplishment this year by taking the Midwest regional title. He did this by totaling five victories and 22 top fives between Elko Speedway and LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway.

Elko was where Goede accumulated four of his victories, but none of them came easy for the veteran. Goede traded wins with fellow track regular Jake Ryan all year in a heated points battle that came down to the last race.

Michael Bilderback and Jesse Dennis finished second and third, respectively, to Goede in the Midwest region. Placing fourth in the region was Ryan, with rookie John Potter completing the top five.

(Photo: The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway)

West Region: Jeff Peterson

A competitive West Coast environment in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series saw Jeff Peterson emerge as the best driver in the region.

Six victories in the Pro Late Model division at the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway enabled Peterson to secure the track championship over Jaron Gianinni. Peterson’s consistency around the Bullring all year was crucial toward taking home the West regional title.

When he was not competing at the Bullring, Peterson padded his advantage in the West regional standings with several strong runs at Irwindale Speedway. Although he was not able to contend for an Irwindale track title, Peterson more than benefitted in the West regional standings with several top-five runs at the facility.

Gianinni was second to Peterson in the West regional standings, as well. The rest of the top five consisted of Linny White, Brendon Fries and Kyle Latham.

Posted on October 2, 2023 by Adam Fenwick

The Bumgarner family has been involved in racing for three generations. What started with Mike Bumgarner was later passed down to his sons, Kevin and Keith Bumgarner.

Now the youngest member of the Bumgarner family, Keith’s son Michael Bumgarner, is starting to blaze his own trail.

Michael Bumgarner celebrates a victory at Hickory Motor Speedway earlier this year. (Photo: Gardner Street Photography/Hickory Motor Speedway)

Racing full-time in the Late Model Stock Car class at Hickory Motor Speedway this year for the first time, Michael put together a strong season that allowed him to earn the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Rookie of the Year presented by Jostens.

The reigning Limited Late Model champion at Hickory Motor Speedway competed in 29 events throughout the 2023 season, primarily at Hickory in addition to a few visits to South Carolina’s Florence Motor Speedway.

His campaign included one victory at Hickory, his first in a Late Model Stock Car, as well as 21 top fives and 28 top 10s. He finished the season at Hickory ranked second in the track championship standings to champion Kade Brown.

Those strong numbers allowed driver from Taylorsville, North Carolina to lay claim to the Weekly Series Rookie of the Year honors by 28 points ahead of Nevada’s Jaron Giannini. Bumgarner also secured NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division I Southeast Region Rookie of the Year honors, besting Georgia’s Lanie Buice by 50 points.

Bumgarner was not the only rookie recognized by NASCAR for their efforts during the 2023 season. The sanctioning body also handed out Rookie of the Year honors to the best newcomer in the Midwest, Northeast and West, respectively.

Below are the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Regional Rookie of the Year recipients from the Midwest, Northeast and West.

Midwest Rookie of the Year – John Potter

In his rookie season at the Division I level, Potter enjoyed a strong season at Oklahoma’s Salina Highbanks Speedway. He banked two points-paying wins and claimed the track championship in the headlining B-Mod class at the track.

In addition, Potter ended the year ranked 36th in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division I standings.

Northeast Rookie of the Year – Rocky Warner

Far from your traditional rookie, Warner is a veteran dirt racer with victories at some of the Northeast’s top race tracks.

Warner’s 2023 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series season included two victories at New York’s Fonda Speedway, and he was ranked 45th overall in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division I standings.

West Rookie of the Year – Jaron Giannini

A busy year for Henderson, Nevada’s Giannini was also a successful one, as he scored five victories split between the Pro Late Model class at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the Modified class at Arizona’s Tucson Speedway.

Giannini ended the year ranked 24th in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division I standings.

Posted on October 2, 2023 by Zack Albert

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Denny Hamlin found solace and some positive points after Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway, recovering from a pit-road speeding penalty to claim third place in a mammoth rally with 20 laps to go. His place in the postseason standings is the most secure among those who aren’t already Round of 12 winners, but the rest of his Toyota mates are facing a mixed bag of scenarios.

Hamlin emerged from Sunday’s YellaWood 500 with a 50-point gap on the provisional elimination line, with just one race remaining — Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s road course (2 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) — before four more drivers are ousted from title eligibility. Only Ryan Blaney, the Talladega winner, and William Byron, Sunday’s runner-up and a victor the previous week in Texas, have earned automatic passage to the Round of 8.

RELATED: Talladega results | Playoff Pulse

Hamlin was penalized when his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was clocked as too fast in the first section of pit road on Lap 105 of the 188-lap distance. The infraction knocked him to 33rd in the 38-car field and off the lead lap, a deficit he would not regain until receiving the free pass in a caution period with 25 laps remaining.

“Just (expletive) up like I’ve done like every year in the playoffs,” said Hamlin, who led once for three laps and was the only Toyota driver to finish among the top 10. “So I mean, I don’t know, it’s just dumb, and certainly it’s the one time in the race, you just can’t do it under green, and I managed to but also managed to get the lucky dog and then drive to the front.”

Driving forward was made difficult for each of the five Toyota drivers still alive in the playoffs from early on. Pitting in sequence with the rest of the Camry crowd in Stage 1 turned costly. Fords made green-flag stops together on Lap 38, with most of the contending Chevrolets hitting pit road one lap later. The Toyota group waited until Lap 41, and as those drivers were getting back up to speed to rejoin the fray, the pack overwhelmed them and whisked by, leaving them mired back in the field when the pay window opened for stage points at the first break.

Stage points were tough to come by in general for the automaker. Of the five Toyota playoff contenders, only Tyler Reddick grabbed a single stage point for his 10th-place finish at Stage 2. He was among those lamenting how their pack mentality didn’t result in forward progress.

“No, it really didn’t, unfortunately,” said Reddick, who placed 16th with a No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota damaged in final-lap bedlam at the checkered flag. “You know, I think just the pack racing’s evolving, teams are getting smarter. They kind of know what they need to do, and we’re just gonna have to keep getting … going back to the drawing board and be creative on our end, right, to figure it out and make it work.”

Hamlin, whose superspeedway prowess has three Daytona 500 wins to vet for it, was also feeling stymied.

“I mean, I need to look at the final finishing order, but I’m not convinced that manufacturers sticking with each other is the right move,” Hamlin said. “I’m just, because in my opinion, there’s probably … and actually, I talked to five of what I thought was the best superspeedway racers going into this race and said, ‘Do you feel like you can show off your skill set as much in Next Gen?’ No, because of alliances and because of this and the other. So it just, it handcuffs what drivers that are really special doing this, when you have to run right behind whoever is in front of you, it certainly puts the cuffs on you.”

Hamlin heads to the Round of 8 finale with the most comfortable of playoff margins, and his two JGR teammates are also on the plus side — Christopher Bell, up 22 points on the provisional elimination line, and Martin Truex Jr. at plus-17. The other Toyota drivers from the 23XI Racing camp are both below the line, with Reddick at minus-2 and teammate Bubba Wallace — a 23rd-place finisher Sunday — with a nine-point deficit.

Behind Hamlin, Bell was the best of the rest among Toyotas with a 14th-place result Sunday. Those finishes further back were a missed opportunity to make better gains on fellow playoff competitors Brad Keselowski and Ross Chastain, who both exited Sunday’s 500-miler early in separate crashes.

Wallace voiced those concerns over the No. 23 team’s radio, and he added post-race that their group fought uphill for track position nearly from the start.

“Yeah, that goes back to the plan,” Wallace said. “Like, we’re trying to let Toyotas in, like, I’m all for it. So if Toyota, anybody at JGR sees this, I’m all for it, but it was just hurting us, and it was just pulling us back. So we gotta, I think we’ve got to fight to get to the front, and then when it’s time to give and take, we start doing it there. But we were riding around 20th and like, ‘Hey, come on, get in line,’ and that moves our line back, so it’s like, well, that didn’t really do any help. So we’ve just got to revamp it, but yeah, just one of those days.”

Posted on October 1, 2023October 2, 2023 by Zack Albert

TALLADEGA, Ala. — The No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford of Kevin Harvick was disqualified Sunday evening in post-race inspection after Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Talladega Superspeedway.

Harvick had just crossed under the checkered flag with an apparent second-place finish to Ryan Blaney in his final Talladega race as Harvick wraps up his final Cup Series campaign. But his No. 4 entry was found in violation of Sections 14.5.6.2.F and 14.1.E and P; the former states that “windshield fasteners must remain secure for the entire Event,” and the latter section pertains to “Overall Assembled Vehicle Rules.”

RESULTS: Talladega results | At-track photos: Talladega

The ruling demoted Harvick to a last-place finish in the 38-car field for the YellaWood 500, and all other finishers behind him move up one position each. He also relinquished the three stage points earned for an eighth-place finish after Stage 1.

William Byron moved up to second place behind Blaney in the revised results. No other infractions were found in post-race inspection, confirming Blaney’s second win of the season.

On Monday afternoon, Stewart-Haas Racing issued a statement from chief competition officer Greg Zipadelli confirming the organization will not appeal the penalty.

“At the completion of the race, not all of our windshield fasteners were secure, as we had bolts that hold the windshield in place back out over the course of the 500 miles,” Zipadelli said in the team’s statement. “We are in the process of diagnosing why this happened and how to prevent it moving forward.

“We are disappointed in NASCAR’s decision to disqualify our race car and the hard-earned finish by our driver and team, but we will not appeal. Our complete focus is on the remaining races on this year’s schedule.”

The Cup Series returns to action with the final race of the Round of 12 Sunday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course (2 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

Posted on October 1, 2023February 8, 2024 by Staff Report

After the fifth race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, here’s a quick look at the playoff picture. The middle race of the Round of 12 has concluded at Talladega Superspeedway, with only the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course next Sunday remaining before the championship-eligible field is trimmed to eight.

WINNER

Ryan Blaney scored a dramatic and ultimately clutch victory on Sunday at Talladega, edging Kevin Harvick for the win by just 0.012 seconds to lock his way into the Round of 8. Blaney, who scored the Stage 1 victory earlier in the contest, now carries an additional six playoff points into the next stanza of the postseason thanks to his Alabama efforts.

WHO’S HOT?

Denny Hamlin. Hamlin bounced back from an early pit-road speeding penalty after falling off the lead lap and recovered for a fourth-place finish (third place after Harvick’s No. 4 Ford failed post-race inspection and was DQ’d). The result marks Hamlin’s second top-five result of the round after a fifth-place finish last week at Texas.

Christopher Bell. It was far from pretty, but a 14th-place finish at Talladega marked a day salvaged for the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team. Bell was involved in a Lap 162 crash and suffered significant front-end damage, but the team was able to repair the vehicle enough to keep it in contention and score a reasonable result. Bell leaves Talladega sitting third in the points standings, 22 points above the elimination line.

WHO’S NOT?

Ross Chastain. Chastain was the victim of Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s fuel stumble on the final lap of Stage 1, his No. 1 Chevrolet clipped by Kyle Busch as Busch attempted to dodge Stenhouse. Chastain was sent into the outside wall, and the damage ended his day, relegating him to a 37th-place finish with only one point gained. After entering Sunday sixth in the standings, 12 points above the elimination line, Chastain leaves Talladega 11th in points, 10 markers below the elimination line.

Brad Keselowski. Keselowski was ousted from the race after triggering a Lap 162 multicar crash. An errant push to Carson Hocevar through the tri-oval spun Hocevar into traffic, collecting Ty Gibbs and Austin Dillon. Dillon clipped Keselowski, whose car briefly became airborne before settling back onto the pavement. Keselowski bolstered his points total by winning Stage 2, adding 10 points to his total, but he exits Alabama eighth in the standings, two points above the provisional elimination line.

BUBBLE WATCH

Rank	Driver	Cutoff
5	Chris Buescher	19
6	Martin Truex Jr	17
7	Kyle Larson	15
8	Brad Keselowski	2
	ELIMINATION LINE
9	Tyler Reddick	-2
10	Bubba Wallace	-9
11	Ross Chastain	-10
12	Kyle Busch	-26