Posted on by Brandon White

Berlin Raceway has always been a special place for Erik Jones.

The two-time Southern 500 winner not only obtained his lone ARCA Menards Series triumph at the facility in 2013, but he has also claimed two consecutive victories in the Battle at Berlin, one of the track’s crown-jewel races of each season.

On Wednesday evening, Jones will look to claim his first victory in Berlin’s prestigious Money in the Bank 150, which would carry extra significance for the NASCAR Cup Series veteran as he gets more acclimated to overseeing his own Super Late Model.

“This is still a pretty new car for me,” Jones said. “We built it over the offseason, and [Wednesday will] be the second start on it for us, so I’m looking forward to learning more about it and getting it better. This is a nice car and one that I’ve been excited to get racing. It’s going to be a strong field, and I’ll get to race against a lot of guys that I raced with years ago.”

STREAMING: Watch Wednesday’s MITB 150 live on FloRacing

Jones’ initial rise through the Super Late Model ranks was crucial toward his eventually earning a full-time Cup Series ride.

After accumulating several wins as a teenager during the early 2010s, Jones caught the attention of the motorsports community in the 2012 Snowball Derby with an efficient performance that saw him lead a race-high 124 laps and win against drivers like Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Grant Enfinger, John Hunter Nemechek and many more.

Within a year, Jones found himself in a driver development deal with Kyle Busch Motorsports, all while he proceeded to win numerous other prestigious Super Late Model events, including another Snowball Derby in 2013 and three consecutive Winchester 400s from 2013-15.

All the track time Jones recorded when he was younger helped him find a competitive rhythm in Super Late Models that eventually carried over into the Cup Series. But he also credited his success in the discipline to the fast cars prepared by the teams with which he’s competed.

Now that race weekends for the Cup Series are more condensed following the COVID-19 pandemic, Jones has more freedom to participate in Super Late Model events of his choosing. Transitioning back into Super Late Models has not been easy for Jones, who is impressed by the competitive depth prevalent in the discipline today.

“It’s been a challenge getting back into [Super Late Models],” Jones said. “The cars have changed a lot with so many different rules compared to when I first started racing. Everybody now has pretty good stuff, but I’ve been figuring things out. We ran a few races last year and won one of those, so I want to keep doing some more going forward.”

In the early 2010s, Erik Jones was one of the most efficient Super Late Model drivers in the country with two Snowball Derby wins and three Winchester 400 victories. (Photo: NASCAR)

Among the races Jones competed in last year included the Money in the Bank 150 and the Battle at Berlin, scoring finishes of 10th and third, respectively.

Jones anticipated a learning curve with his own Super Late Model in both of Berlin’s crown jewel events. The storied facility always posed a challenge for Jones when he was younger because of its design and the loyal group of competitors that race there every weekend.

“[Berlin] is by far one of the most unique places I’ve ever raced on as far as ovals go,” Jones said. “It has a unique shape. The surface is abrasive and slick, so it never has a lot of grip. You’re running down on the apron off [Turn] 4 and [Turns 1 and 2] are a big sweeping turn where you have to focus on your exit.

“It’s tough, and the local guys there are always hard to beat.”

RELATED: Everything to know about the 2023 MITB 150

Headlining the talented group of track regulars Jones will have to contest with Wednesday is defending track champion Evan Shotko, who also won the most recent edition of the Battle at Berlin.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular Carson Hocevar is also on the preliminary entry list; he’s a Berlin track champion and two-time Money in the Bank 150 winner. Other notable names include Super Late Model veteran Bubba Pollard, along with Sean Hingorani, Gio Ruggiero and Kyle Busch’s Cup Series spotter Derek Kneeland.

A talented field of cars is only one of Jones’ worries, as he will have to strike a perfect balance between being conservative and aggressive with his tires over 150 laps so he can be in contention for a win at the end of the night.

Jones admittedly prefers longer Super Late Model events due to all the different strategy aspects associated with them, but he plans to be more aggressive in Wednesday’s Money in the Bank 150 compared to last year.

“The [Battle at Berlin] is definitely more of an endurance race,” Jones said. “You’re saving a lot more in that race just trying to get to the end. The track also changes a lot from day to night, whereas [the Money in the Bank 150] is a pretty quick race.

“It goes by quick, so you’ve got to push a little bit harder.”

With two Battle at Berlin victories on his resume, Erik Jones will chase his first Money in the Bank 150 victory with his own car. (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)

With plenty of experience on his side in both short tracks and NASCAR, Jones has high aspirations for his Super Late Model program and expects to take another step forward during the Money in the Bank 150.

Jones is enjoying every moment of being a team owner in the discipline that helped define him as a driver. He admitted taking home a checkered flag in front of his home crowd in his own car would be a highlight in a career already filled with numerous accomplishments.

“[Winning] would be cool for me since this is my car,” Jones said. “Any time you can win a Super race now is a great feeling. They are harder to win than ever with the fields being so tight. For me, winning with my own car and my own guys would be one I’d remember for a long time.”

Following the Money in the Bank 150, Jones plans to take his car to the Slinger Nationals before heading back to Michigan in August for the Battle at Berlin, where he will look to tally another victory at one of his favorite tracks.

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio during his weekly appearance that the sanctioning body will not suspend or penalize Austin Cindric for Sunday’s wreck with Austin Dillon.

Cindric’s No. 2 Team Penske Ford connected with the right rear of Dillon’s No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet late in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Worldwide Technology Raceway while battling for 12th place. The contact sent Dillon into the No. 47 of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Cindric would finish 13th in the race, with Dillon and Stenhouse slipping to 31st and 32nd, respectively.

RELATED: Full race results

“We didn’t see anything that really would rise to a level that would be a suspension or a penalty,” Sawyer said. “It looked like hard racing. One car coming up a little bit and another car going down. …

“As we said last week, we take these incidents very seriously when we see cars that are turned head-on into another car or head-on into the wall. I spent a lot of time (Monday) looking at that, looking at all the data, looking at TV footage and just deemed this one really hard racing.”

The on-track incident received extra scrutiny Monday, especially following NASCAR’s one-race suspension of Chase Elliott the week prior. The sanctioning body ruled Elliott intentionally wrecked Denny Hamlin at Charlotte Motor Speedway, sitting the Hendrick Motorsports driver for one week as a result.

Dillon had called for a similar penalty on Cindric after being checked and released from the infield care center, saying: “I was wrecked intentionally by (Cindric), hooked right … he better be suspended next week.”

Cindric disagreed with Dillon’s assessment, according to the Team Penske driver’s social media post:

And as Sawyer said, the data did not indicate this incident should rise to the level of a penalty or suspension.

Sawyer also said NASCAR officials would meet with Dillon and Cindric ahead of Sonoma weekend.

Posted on by Press Release

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is 100 years old. The race is always popular but this year there will not be a spare seat in the house as the automotive world celebrates its glittering anniversary.

For this milestone event, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) has the privilege of welcoming one of the biggest superstars in the history of world sport to France. LeBron James, the legendary American basketball player, business innovator and philanthropist will lower the French flag to unleash the 62-strong field.

RELATED: All things Garage 56

Since 1949, the role of race starter has often been given to a personality from the world of politics, sport, film or industry. Previous official starters include Brad Pitt (2016), Rafael Nadal (2018), Alain Delon (1996), French president Georges Pompidou (1972) and Steve McQueen (1971).

Pierre Fillon, Automobile Club de l’Ouest president: “I am thrilled to welcome LeBron James to the 24 Hours of Le Mans Centenary and thank him most sincerely for accepting our invitation. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is a world-renowned event that, in the past, has welcomed some great names from various fields. LeBron James is a true sporting legend whose list of achievements and records commands respect and admiration. We are looking forward to introducing him to the unique Le Mans atmosphere and the excitement generated by the Centenary of the world’s greatest endurance race.”

LeBron James: “There’s nothing like seeing and experiencing sports at their highest level. It’s an honor for me to be part of this historic moment in motorsports and help celebrate the Centenary of one of the biggest sporting events in the world. I look forward to kicking off this iconic race and watching its world-class drivers compete on Le Mans’ global stage.”

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

Fifteen races into his tenure at Richard Childress Racing, Kyle Busch is once again a favorite for the NASCAR Cup Series championship.

The two-time title winner surged to his third victory of the 2023 campaign Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway, dominating the race with 121 laps led after winning his first pole with RCR.

MORE: Relive Busch’s Gateway win | Cup standings

Busch’s win totals had slowed relative to his historic pace over the past three seasons, scoring no more than two victories a year since 2020. The last time Busch won at least three races in a season was 2019 — a five-win campaign that resulted in his second Cup Series championship.

Just past the midway point of the 2023 regular season, there’s no indication Busch and the No. 8 team will slow down soon. Together, they’ve garnered the second-most playoff points so far this season, just behind William Byron, who’s also scored three wins this year.

But while Byron’s success feels like an arrival, Busch’s feels like a reminder.

RELATED: Busch on Byron: ‘I think William is a rare talent’

While Busch was never far from Victory Lane, other drivers’ successes stole the spotlight away from him. Now, we’re relearning why Busch is one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers. The 38-year-old now has 228 wins across NASCAR’s three national series, with Sunday marking his 63rd in the Cup Series.

Credit should also be distributed to crew chief Randall Burnett. Burnett has overseen more wins in the Next Gen car than any other crew chief, thanks to his three additional wins with Tyler Reddick piloting the No. 8 car in 2022.

But for as well as Busch and Burnett have run — three wins, four top fives and eight top 10s in 15 starts — they feel the best is yet to come.

“I think we’ve got a lot of potential,” Burnett said. “I think we’ve got a lot to clean up, too, and we talk about it repeatedly. We’ve had some really fast cars and taken ourselves out of races with some mistakes and things like that. Me and Kyle and our whole group have talked about it, and we know we’ve all got to clean it up on our end, especially if we’re going to compete for the championship.”

The past six races have produced two victories and four top-10 finishes, but the other two results were 21st at Dover, three laps down after a speeding penalty, and a DNF at Kansas after a crash.

MORE: All of Busch’s national series wins

“We’ve had some really good runs,” Busch said. “We’ve had three wins, obviously, which is great. But we’ve also had some of the dismal days as well. We’ve had peaks and valleys so far this year. We just got to find the greater plains, if you will, and level this thing out a little bit.”

But a new environment has served Busch well — and according to Burnett, he’s serving the environment well, too.

“Really proud of this 8 bunch. They dig in hard,” Burnett said. “Great group of guys, great group of racers, and Kyle has fit right in with them. He’s done a great job of adapting over here and lent plenty of insight on his side to how to make things better as well, so we’re all working together towards that.”

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

Thomas Hatcher, the front tire changer for the No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet, was injured on pit road during Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Hatcher, who was changing tires for driver Erik Jones, got tangled up with another crew member and fell to the ground during a sequence of pit stops at Lap 180. A NASCAR spokesperson confirmed Hatcher was transported to an area medical facility and was awake and alert.

MORE: Cup standings

Houston Stamper, the front tire changer for the No. 45 Toyota, filled in after the 23XI Racing entry crashed out of competition.

MONDAY UPDATE: Hatcher was treated and released from St. Louis University Hospital on Sunday night, according to the team.

Shortly after Legacy announced Hatcher had been released from the hospital, Joe Gibbs Racing stated the following:

“Hatcher, who is a member of JGR’s pit crew department, was serving as the front tire changer on the No. 43 car for Legacy Motor Club when he was injured during a stop. After an initial evaluation in the Infield Care Center at the track he was transported to the hospital for further testing. Hatcher has been cleared and has returned home. He will undergo the NASCAR concussion protocol this week and his status for this week will be updated.”

 

Posted on by Zack Albert

LE MANS, France — With his years of experience as a NASCAR crew chief, Greg Ives is familiar with the routine: Arrive at the track, work diligently to prepare a race car, leave the track, hotel time, repeat.

“I’m not quite the tourist, you know, I’m a worker,” Ives said as the Garage 56 project wrapped up its final test at Sebring International Raceway. He was seven weeks away from his first trip to Le Mans, where the modified Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will take on the grand 24-hour race that commemorates its 100th year.

RELATED: At-track photos: Le Mans | Race-week schedule

Now that he’s here, that hotel-to-track-and-back routine is still familiar, but with some key differences in his surroundings in France.

“Having maybe a bit more team outings where I go and spend a little bit more time with the guys and have dinner and try to enjoy it more so than trying to pressure myself to be better every lap, that’s probably a difference,” Ives said between the two sessions of Sunday’s test day ahead of the June 10-11 endurance classic, adding that his family would be joining him for race week to savor some of the experience. “The spectacle of Le Mans is unlike any other. I feel like if I want to compare it to something, it’d probably be considered the Daytona 500 where you’re here for two weeks, setting up and getting prepped and going through tech. You have all your new clothing and your new branding everywhere. Trailers look good, and you bring some extra here and there. But like I said, all in all, this is going to be a race like no other than I’ve been a part of.”

Ives manned the headset for Sunday’s test, just as he has for the rigorous testing of the Garage 56 car – a NASCAR Next Gen-based racer built to match wits with the sports-car crowd in the Innovative Car classification. Calling those shots over the team communications has been his business in the NASCAR national-series ranks since 2013.

Since then, Ives has collected 10 Cup Series wins and an Xfinity Series championship before coming off the road with his retirement from that full-time role with Hendrick’s No. 48 team at the end of last season. Though he joined VP of Competition Chad Knaus’ group in that transition, the crew chief label still fits with the unique project ahead of the team.

“I’ll tell you that Greg and Chad take a lot of pride in this event, and they’ve taken a lot of pride in this car,” team owner Rick Hendrick said at Sebring in April. “Little innovative things that we’ve done, I mean, some people don’t realize the engineering talent we have in NASCAR, how many engineers we have in our shop that are looking at every aspect of the car to try to make it better.”

Garage 56 crew chief Greg Ives, by the window net of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the Le Mans paddock.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images

The experience has been a new one for Ives and the rest of the No. 24 team in France, from conducting pre-race inspection in front of a phalanx of fans in a downtown square to the distinctive paddock footprint on a massive pit road that will accommodate the 62-car field. But it’s also been a unique happening for the rest of the European motoring world. Firing the Camaro’s throaty V8 for test runs has attracted a swell of curious onlookers – fans and other team members alike.

Though Ives admitted that being an extra entrant — invited to race but not competing for a win – from another discipline of motorsports has made the Garage 56 car something of an outsider. But Ives said that the team has also made its best effort to be gracious visitors who look the part – on and off the circuit.

“For me, the level of professionalism, the level that Mr. Hendrick expects, the level that Chad wants us to be here in presence is accepted by everybody and they know their role in making sure that when they see us, we have a nice pit area, we’re clean, we’re performing on the race track,” Ives said. “I think that probably was a big thing. An innovation car is probably, I wouldn’t say well-accepted no matter if you’re NASCAR or not, but NASCAR brought a different dynamic and they see us on Sundays and have maybe formed their own opinion between what they watch with F1, Indy and NASCAR.

“But in our environment, we had a given goal of lap time and mile per hour, and you give that to any type of racer here at Hendrick Motorsports and we’re going to try to achieve it — and not only achieve it, but we’re going to try and make sure we win. So there’s no real winning in this, but getting to that 24-hour mark, having pace, having people look down and say, ‘Hey, man, they did a great job.’ And that’s all we can ask for.”

MORE: Timetable, coverage of Garage 56 project

So far in the early stages, the job has gone well. The Garage 56 car outpaced the others in the LMGTE Am class in Sunday’s final three-hour test session, and the accomplished driver roster of veteran aces Jenson Button, Jimmie Johnson and Mike Rockenfeller have excelled – both with an incident-free six hours of track time and by waging their own friendly internal competition in finding speed at Circuit de la Sarthe.

There was some satisfaction to be found in the car’s performance, according to Ives. It also helped put away any fears that the full-bodied stocker would be a slower nuisance amid the lightning-fast Hypercar prototypes.

“You can never question the driver lineup that we have in the car, and I get their concerns, you know. The car is unlike any other,” Ives says. “They feel like it’s big, it’s heavy, may not be able to handle as well, top speed might not be as high. But like I said, the (race organizers) ACO, the FIA, Dallara, all those people are communicating well with each other, gave us the target that we needed to hit. I think they are happy that we are in that sentence, and that the true meaning of why there’s an innovative car in this paddock right now is to do exactly what we’re doing — bring another form of racing, bring in another form of technology to Le Mans, allow people to see it and maybe learn from it.”

Posted on by Adam Fenwick

For the sixth time in track history, Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan will host the running of the Money in the Bank 150 this Wednesday evening.

One of the newer events on the Berlin calendar, the Money in the Bank 150 has quickly become one of the most popular races in the Midwest for Super Late Model competitors. It has drawn some of racing’s biggest stars to compete for the $10,000 top prize.

STREAMING: Watch Wednesday’s Money in the Bank 150 live on FloRacing

Local stars have controlled most of the Money in the Bank 150 events held thus far. Brian Campbell and current NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competitor Carson Hocevar have won the race twice. Last year, however, NASCAR Cup Series star William Byron proved his worth by conquering this race for the first time.

More than 30 drivers are slated to hit the track Wednesday for the 2023 running of the Money in the Bank 150, with each looking to take home the $10,000 top prize after 150 competitive laps around one of Michigan’s top short tracks.

Below is everything you need to know about the 2023 Money in the Bank 150 at Berlin Raceway.

Money in the Bank 150 at Berlin Raceway
Cars race during the Budweiser Super Late Model feature at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan on April 23, 2022. (Photo: Nic Antaya/NASCAR)

What TV channel is the Money in the Bank at Berlin Raceway on in 2023?

All feature racing action from the 2023 Money in the Bank at Berlin Raceway can be viewed live on FloRacing, the streaming home of all NASCAR Roots properties.

The Money in the Bank 150 at Berlin will not be shown on a television network.

Below is the complete schedule for coverage on FloRacing.

Date Start time How to watch
Wednesday, June 7 7 p.m. ET FloRacing

2023 Money in the Bank schedule

This year’s Money in the Bank 150 at Berlin is scheduled for Wednesday, June 7. Tuesday, June 6 will serve as a practice day for Super Late Model teams.

Below is the complete race-day schedule for the 2023 Money in the Bank 150 at Berlin Raceway.

(All times ET)

9:30 a.m. Pit Pass Window Opens
10 a.m. Pit Area Opens
11 a.m. Race Tires Sold and Impounded
12 p.m. Super Late Model Driver/Spotter Meeting
1 – 1:50 p.m. Super Late Model Practice
2 – 2:50 p.m. Super Late Model Practice
3:30 p.m. Super Late Model Tech Inspection
4:10 – 4:40 p.m. Sportsman Practice
5:30 p.m. Super Late Model Qualifying
6:27 p.m. Invocation
Following Invocation National Anthem
6:30 p.m. Money in the Bank 150 Last Chance Race (40 Laps)
Following Last Chance Race Sportsman Feature (40 Laps)
Following Sportsman Feature Money in the Bank 150 (150 Laps)
Money in the Bank 150 at Berlin Raceway
Cars race during the Budweiser Super Late Models Feature at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan on April 23, 2022. (Nic Antaya/ARCA Racing)

Entry list

The current entry list for the 2023 Money in the Bank 150 features more than 30 competitors.

Headlining the talented group of competitors is defending NASCAR Cup Series Southern 500 winner Erik Jones, who is returning to his home state of Michigan to compete in Wednesday’s event in his own No. 4 Super Late Model.

Money in the Bank 150 at Berlin Raceway
Erik Jones (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)

Joining Jones on the entry list is two-time Money in the Bank 150 winner Carson Hocevar, who is fresh off his NASCAR Cup Series debut Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Other notables include inaugural winner Bubba Pollard, ARCA Menards Series East and West competitor Sean Hingorani, multi-time World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing champion Derek Griffith and Kyle Busch’s NASCAR Cup Series spotter Derek Kneeland.

Below is the complete entry list for Wednesday’s main event.

Car No. Driver
3 Mike Garvey
4 Erik Jones
5 Haden Horvath
6 Eric White
8 Tony Elrod
12 Derek Griffith
12 Brian Bergakker
14 Carson Hocevar
17 Zach Telford
18 Keith Herp
18 Chase Burda
20 Austin Hull
20 Sean Hingorani
22 Gio Ruggiero
22 Evan Shotko
23 Billy VanMeter
24 Dylan Stovall
24 Lee VanDyk
25 Tyler Roahrig
26 Bubba Pollard
28 Scott Thomas
33 Wes Griffith Jr.
47 Brian Campbell
50 Jett Noland
53 Boris Jurkovic
66 Nate Walton
71 Kyle Crump
76 Brian Tillema
81 Andre Gresel
88 Andrew Scheid
88 Trever McCoy
90 Derek Kneeland
101 Joe Bush
131 Blake Rowe

FloRacing: Breaking down the 2023 MITB entry list

Past winners

The Money in the Bank 150 being among newest events on the Berlin schedule hasn’t stopped some of the top stars from Michigan (and the nation) from competing in the event at the 7/16-mile paved oval in search of a $10,000 payday.

The inaugural event in 2017 was won national Super Late Model star Bubba Pollard. Local legend Brian Campbell won the next two Money in the Bank events in 2018-19, followed by current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series star Carson Hocevar winning the event in consecutive years in 2020-21.

Last year, NASCAR Cup Series star and Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron powered to his first Money in the Bank 150 victory.

Year Winner
2017 Bubba Pollard
2018 Brian Campbell
2019 Brian Campbell
2020 Carson Hocevar
2021 Carson Hocevar
2022 William Byron
Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

With a sixth-place finish on Sunday, Ryan Blaney left World Wide Technology Raceway atop the NASCAR Cup Series points standings for the first time this season.

Blaney netted 19 stage points in the Enjoy Illinois 300, winning Stage 2 and placing second in the opening stage to tie race-winner Kyle Busch for most stage points at St. Louis.

“Being the points leader is nice,” Blaney told NASCAR.com. “We’ve come from a long way back. Hopefully, we can keep it up through the summer months, having good runs and trying to hunt for a couple more wins too.”

MORE: Race results | Cup standings | Full Race Rewind

Blaney and his No. 12 crew at Team Penske are finding plenty of momentum as the second half of the regular season begins. Blaney’s win in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Monday night propelled the team to another strong run at St. Louis. The Sunday result marked Blaney’s sixth top-10 finish in the past seven races.

Blaney’s season has quickly turned for the better. Before Memorial Day Weekend, the driver of the No. 12 Ford was in the midst of a 59-race winless streak, yet to win with crew chief Jonathan Hassler who took the reins of the group at the beginning of the 2022 season.

Yet for all the near-misses throughout that stretch, Blaney has proven a consistent contender. The 64 points Blaney collected at Charlotte are the third-most in a single race since stage racing was introduced in 2017. And after leading 163 laps in Charlotte, he paced the field for 83 circuits at Gateway.

“You’ve got to put solid days like that together,” Blaney said. “And luckily we had a car fast enough to stick up front all day and work on it. And just one of those things where you just lose a little bit at the end.”

Blaney entered the day just one point behind Ross Chastain for the series lead. And while Blaney was a frontrunner all day, Chastain scored just five stage points before finishing 22nd.

The next three weeks, however, could provide a challenge as the series heads to two road courses in that span: Sonoma Raceway and the brand-new Chicago Street Race. Blaney has one career win on a road course as the inaugural victor on the Charlotte Roval in 2017 and one top-five finish in six Sonoma starts.

Between the two road courses sits the concrete, 1.333-mile Nashville Superspeedway. After crashing out in the inaugural Cup race there in 2021, Blaney returned to finish third at the tri-oval one year ago.

Ross Chastain (L) and Ryan Blaney shake hands in St. Louis
Getty Images
Posted on by Reid Spencer

MADISON, Ill. — Kyle Busch collected his 63rd NASCAR Cup Series victory on Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway, but the driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet had to work hard for the first-place money.

Busch, the pole winner, survived five restarts in the last 40 laps of the Enjoy Illinois 300 and beat Denny Hamlin to the finish line by 0.517 seconds after Bubba Wallace’s broken brake rotor caused the 11th caution on Lap 236 and sent the race to overtime.

SHOP: Get winner gear 

The victory was Busch’s first at the 1.25-mile track and the third in his debut season with RCR. It was a home game for his crew chief, Randall Burnett, who grew up in Fenton, Missouri, and had family in attendance on Sunday.

“That was pretty awesome,” Busch exulted after he climbed from his car. “Man, to sit on the pole, lead a lot of laps and have my guys do such a great job today was pretty phenomenal for us. Great for RCR. Just win, baby! Thanks to Team Chevy, appreciate (sponsor) 3Chi…

“We’re going to have a great time with this one. This one is pretty cool.”

RELATED: Race results | Big burnout for Busch

Busch led five times for 121 laps, including the last 60. Neither Hamlin nor third-place finisher Joey Logano — winner of the inaugural Gateway race last year — led a single circuit.

Kyle Larson parlayed a two-tire call on Lap 178 into improved track position and a fourth-place finish. Martin Truex was fifth, followed by Ryan Blaney, Daniel Suárez, William Byron, Michael McDowell and Kevin Harvick.

Blaney led 83 laps and Byron 30. Byron pitted from the lead on Lap 178 but fell to fourth with an uncharacteristically slow stop and faded in traffic after the subsequent Lap 184 restart.

Corey LaJoie finished 21st in a substitute role for Chase Elliott, who was serving a one-race suspension for wrecking Hamlin in Monday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Subbing for LaJoie in his usual ride — the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet — Carson Hocevar started 26th and gained 10 spots with an impressive drive through the field before a brake rotor failure on Lap 90 knocked him out of the race.

Hocevar was running 16th and chasing Austin Dillon for position when the right front rotor broke into pieces. The No. 7 Camaro made jarring contact with the Turn 1 wall to cause the fourth caution of the race, which was delayed for two hours with just seven laps complete because of lightning in the area.

“I thought it was great,” said Hocevar, who was racing a Cup car for the first time. “I had a blast. Just so thankful for the opportunity. I don’t have a job for next year. I know Al Niece and Cody Efaw want me to run for them (in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series), and I will forever run a race or however many.

“But man, I’m just so thankful that (Spire) gave me the opportunity — the opportunity to drive an Xfinity car (on Monday at Charlotte) and now driving a Cup car. I was running 16th … just so surreal for the first time ever. I thought we were going to have a good day and be in a good spot for the No. 7 Chevy team. Hopefully, that call for a Cup ride isn’t the only one I get in my life.”

Overheating brake rotors weren’t an issue confined to Hocevar’s car. Tyler Reddick slammed the outside wall after his right front rotor exploded on Lap 175. On Lap 198, the same fate befell Noah Gragson, who took the hardest hit of all when his No. 42 Chevy slid up the track into the fence in Turn 1.

Bubba Wallace had the same issue with five laps left in regulation and his contact with the Turn 1 wall set up the final two-lap run to the finish in overtime.

WATCH: Austin Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. collide in battle for 12th

Hamlin felt the lightning delay played against him and the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team.

“Yeah, I thought we were super dialed in if it was 95 degrees like it was supposed to be, (but) with those delays, it kind of took away from the advantage I thought that we had,” Hamlin said.

“I’m proud of this whole Sport Clips Toyota team — pit crew did a phenomenal job keeping us in it and doing really good on the money stop with about 60 to go. We are going to have to wait (for) another (race) to get that 50th (win).”

MORE: Best photos from the weekend

The Cup Series will next take on Sonoma Raceway in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 on June 11 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Note: Post-race inspection concluded without issue, confirming the No. 8 Chevrolet of Kyle Busch as the race winner. The No. 17 Ford will be taken to NASCAR R&D for wind-tunnel testing, while the Nos. 38 and 43 cars will undergo further inspection.

Posted on by Holly Cain

LE MANS, France – Wherever Jimmie Johnson walked trackside at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France on Sunday, fans wandered over for a photograph with the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion. Good-luck handshakes, cheers and autograph seekers stopped him in the crowded paddock.

Truth be told, Johnson was equally as enamored with the setting and people, constantly snapping photographs and taking videos of the historic track and scene where he will compete June 10-11 as part of the Garage 56 NASCAR effort in the 100th anniversary of the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans race.

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The smile on Johnson’s face was genuine and enduring – both as he anticipated his first-ever laps at the 8.467-mile road course on Sunday morning and again after he climbed out of the cockpit of the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 after his maiden outing around one of racing’s most renowned circuits.

“The atmosphere is insane,’’ Johnson said of his first full-day at track. “I was chatting with someone yesterday, a fan, that said Americans have always been loved at Le Mans. He said our reputation is very accommodating, hospitable, very kind to the fans.”

Even 4,000 miles away in Europe, fans certainly know Johnson, who actually won his most recent NASCAR Cup Series race on this day six years ago at Dover – his 83rd victory in a NASCAR career that included an unprecedented five consecutive series championships among his seven titles.

“I signed a 2006 championship hat someone had,’’ Johnson said. “Even diecast cars, all this different NASCAR stuff.’’

In Sunday’s test session, the Garage 56 team drivers combined to turn 58 laps in the Chevrolet, which is being designated for the race’s special one-car “Innovative Car” class – a collaboration of NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet, Goodyear and IMSA; the effort led by Johnson’s former crew chief Chad Knaus, now a Hendrick team executive.

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Johnson and his championship teammates on the Garage 56 team – former Formula One champion Jenson Button and former Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller are keeping dibs on who is fastest in each session. Button took the honors in the opening session. Rockenfeller was quickest in the afternoon. Four-time IMSA champion Jordan Taylor, who made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Portland, Oregon on Saturday, is flying in to serve as the reserve driver.

“I wouldn’t say everything’s going as planned because, you know always when you plan, there’s things that have some hiccups here or there,’’ said Greg Ives, the Garage 56 crew chief, who also formerly served in that role for Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series.

“Today is relatively going well and we had some pace in the car. The drivers are relatively happy and it seems like the balance of the car is very similar to how we ended at most of these tracks. So we were able to mimic, not only the simulation but get the lap time kind of where we thought we should be and could be in top speed and all that stuff.

“So, we’ve still got some lap time to go,’’ Ives continued during a break between Sunday’s two sessions. “But you know, right now it’s the first three hours of Le Mans and we just got off the track that had semis and cars and bicycles on it, so I feel like we’re in a decent spot. Trying to get as many laps for the drivers as they can to make sure they’re comfortable and work through the bugs of the car.’’

Ives said the team had not settled on a driver order just yet. In Sunday’s practices, it was Rockenfeller then Johnson and then Button. He said the team planned to run double stints for most of the race, after single stints early on to get every driver some track time.

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The Hypercar Class No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari posted the top overall speed on Sunday. There is a day off from track activity on Monday, when Johnson will travel with his teammate Button to Paris. The team – primarily made up of Hendrick Motorsports NASCAR team members – will participate in the pit stop competition on Tuesday. Formal practice and qualifying for the race begins on Wednesday.

“I think first of all it was so nice to finally be on track in Le Mans in this car after all the work we did,’’ Rockenfeller said after Sunday’s final session. “The whole team can be proud of today. I know it’s only a test day but I’m happy we were driving without any problems. We were fast and that’s where we want to be. The car looks amazing on track and sounds great.

“We were just doing our work, learning the track, track evolution and making the car faster, trying stuff out. It’s still a long week ahead of us, but I think today we just take that and make the right conclusions. I feel pretty happy with everything.’’

A sellout crowd of more than 300,000 spectators is expected for the weekend’s “Centenary” race weekend. The famous grandstands and grounds surrounding the massive road course in central France were packed with people even for Sunday’s unofficial test sessions.

“It was really good for a lot of reasons,’’ Johnson said of his first day on track. “One, just my desire to come and compete here and be in the event. That reality hit me and then after a few laps I realized the pace the car had as well, all the hard work everyone at Hendrick has put into this showed up.

“We feel good about the speed. The concerns were that we’d be really fast on the straights and slow on the high-speed turns and relative to the GT cars we’re much closer in the high-speed turns than we ever thought and actually a little slow on the long straights. But we can optimize that. It’s just gone so well on so many levels.’’

“Granted there’s still 18 hours of practice and a race and so much can go wrong. But for day one, it’s just gotten off to a great start.”