NASCAR officials handed out two sizable penalties Tuesday for rough driving, docking William Byron and Ty Gibbs for their roles in separate incidents in last weekend’s Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.
Byron was hit with a 25-point penalty in both the driver and team owner standings for bumping Denny Hamlin out of position during a late-race caution period in Sunday’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 – a punishment that carries significant playoff implications. He was also fined $50,000.
Byron was third in the Cup Series Playoffs with a 17-point cushion above the elimination line before the penalty. He’ll now enter Sunday’s YellaWood 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM) at Talladega Superspeedway ranked 10th out of the 12 remaining title-eligible drivers and eight points below the provisional elimination line. Two races are left in the Round of 12 – Sunday at Talladega and Oct. 9 at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s road course.
Hendrick Motorsports indicated later Tuesday that the team plans to appeal the penalty.
Gibbs, in his 10th Cup Series start for 23XI Racing in place of the injured Kurt Busch, was fined $75,000 for veering into the No. 42 Petty GMS Chevrolet of Ty Dillon on pit road. That aggressive contact came in close proximity to pit-crew personnel and NASCAR officials working in a nearby pit stall.
Gibbs, 19, was not issued a points penalty since he is an Xfinity Series regular who does not collect Cup Series points. But his No. 23 Toyota team was handed a 25-point deduction in the owner standings.
It’s the second time this year that Gibbs has been penalized for unsafe driving on pit road. He was fined $15,000 for making contact with Sam Mayer’s car in the pits after an Xfinity Series race at Martinsville in April. That retaliation led to post-race fisticuffs between the two drivers.
NASCAR officials did not penalize Byron during Sunday’s 500-miler, saying their spotters did not see the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet send Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota spinning under yellow-flag conditions in retaliation for earlier contact. Hamlin was not restored to his original running position, and he finished 10th. Byron came home seventh.
Each driver had strong words for the other post-race at Texas. Byron explained that he bumped Hamlin back to show his displeasure, but did not intend to spin Hamlin out. He added that he felt he was standing his ground, saying, “I’m pissed off, just not going to get run like that.”
Said Hamlin: “I’ll just add it to the list of guys when I get a chance. They’re going to get it.”
Additionally, competition officials indefinitely suspended Patrick Briody for violating the NASCAR Substance Abuse Policy – Sections 4.1 and 10.1.A in the NASCAR Rule Book. Briody is listed on the official team rosters portal as a mechanic on the road crew for the Our Motorsports No. 02 team in the Xfinity Series.
Cody Ware said Tuesday that he is recovering from soreness in his right foot after a severe crash two days ago, and that he is “heading in the right direction” as he undergoes physical therapy in an effort to return to competition this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.
Ware was helped from his No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford after a crash midway through last Sunday’s 500-miler at Texas Motor Speedway. He was treated and released from the Fort Worth track’s infield care center, and a team spokesperson said he would return home after X-rays showed no fractures.
In a Tuesday appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Ware said he was unable to put his full weight on his right foot and he was in a walking boot to provide extra support. He said he visited Ortho Carolina for prompt medical attention after returning home, and that physical therapy is helping him build the foot strength to work the car’s pedals for Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega (2 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM).
“Right now not dealing with too much pain, just trying to do some physical therapy and recover, you know,” Ware told SiriusXM. “More or less just dealing with some stretched ligaments and just a lot of bruising and swelling in my foot and ankle, but already been to physical therapy twice and gonna get the final approval today to get confirmation to race at Talladega.”
Ware said he believed the throttle on his No. 51 Ford was stuck open after his initial impact with the Turn 4 retaining wall. His car eventually came to rest after bouncing off the pit-road wall. “There wasn’t much I could do to get the car slowed down,” he said, “and I kind of, unfortunately I was just a passenger in my own car heading towards the pit-road wall.”
Ware said he was due for a final MRI scan this week, just to make sure nothing was missed in his initial assessments. The 26-year-old driver also indicated he may not be able to walk “on my own 100%” at Talladega, but cited the example of Camping World Truck Series driver Carson Hocevar, who did not miss a race after suffering a broken tibia near his right ankle after a crash at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Hocevar navigated the garage area using crutches and later a cane in the weeks after the wreck. Tuesday, he offered those crutches to Ware through social media.
Ware added that he’s been careful in preparing for this weekend’s race, trying to balance the workload.
“Obviously, I’m trying to be smart with just resting my ankle and the foot, not overworking it, but I’m not using that as an excuse to lounge around and not get things done,” Ware said. “Because I’m invested in this, I’m invested in being a NASCAR driver, and I’m not just gonna let a bump in the road stop me. Obviously, still have to be smart and safe, and that’s why I’ve got a great team of doctors and medical professionals that are overseeing the process. But I’m still gonna work as hard as I can and be involved as much as I can, and that’s not going to change, no matter what.”
Ware said that he was unsure if his wrecked race car would go to the NASCAR Research & Development Center, but that competition officials were at his family-owned team’s race shop Monday morning to inspect the car and record their findings.
“So they were involved with looking at the car, taking all the pictures and diagnosing everything that they could, guys like (official and former racer) David Green, looking at the interior of the car from the driver safety standpoint to see anything that we can learn and work on going forward with the future there,” Ware said. “And so I think all in all, they’ve been very proactive with seeing what they can learn and how they can fix the cars going forward and things like that. I know that they definitely took back my HANS (Head And Neck restraint System) and helmet to look at that at the R&D Center, so that did go back to the R&D Center. But overall, I’m pretty happy with the response to how quickly they were to try to learn and gather information on this wreck.”
CONCORD, N.C. — Kurt Busch provided an update on his health Tuesday, saying he is making strides in his recovery from a concussion but there is no clear timetable on his return to NASCAR competition.
Busch has been sidelined since a July 23 crash during qualifying at Pocono Raceway, a span of 10 Cup Series races. Xfinity Series regular Ty Gibbs has filled in for his 23XI Racing team.
“I’m doing good. Each week is better progress,” Busch said from pit road at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “I feel good, and I don’t know when I’ll be back, but time has been the challenge. He’s … Father Time is the one in charge on this one.”
Busch’s remarks came as he joined breast cancer survivors and their supporters to paint the Charlotte track’s pit wall pink to commemorate National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Busch also announced that his “Window of Hope” program will return for this year’s Oct. 9 Bank of America Roval 400, with the Cup Series field set to use pink window nets, which will be auctioned to fund better access to mammography screenings. The Roval circuit’s Oct. 8 race for the Xfinity Series will also be called the Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.
Tuesday marked Busch’s first at-track media availability since his Pocono crash. 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin has indicated that a seat with the team will be ready for Busch when he is medically cleared to return.
“I feel hopeful,” Busch said when asked about a potential return this year. “I know that I have more doctor visits and more distance to go, and I keep pushing each week. And TPC, Toyota Performance Center, has been a group of angels that have helped me with the workouts and the vestibular (inner-ear and balance) workouts, different nutrition as well, the different supplements and things to help everything re-balance with my vision, my hearing and just overall balance in general.”
Busch is a 34-time winner in Cup Series competition, with his most recent victory coming May 15 at Kansas Speedway. That win landed the 44-year-old driver a provisional berth in the NASCAR Playoffs, and NASCAR competition officials had granted him a medical waiver for postseason eligibility.
Busch withdrew from the playoffs in late August, and his recovery period has extended into the 10-race postseason. His team remains alive in the team owner championship hunt, with teammate Bubba Wallace taking over the driving duties in the No. 45 Toyota.
Though he’s been out of the cockpit, Busch has remained involved with behind-the-scenes help for 23XI Racing’s efforts. Tuesday, he said his key learning from the recovery process has made him flash back to the start of his NASCAR career 20-plus years ago.
“It brought me back to my beginning days of, this is something I never knew would happen as far as an injury,” Busch said. “I never knew I would make it in racing, and you keep pushing based off of your instincts and the village of people around you, whether it’s the race team, and 23XI has been tremendous, Toyota, Monster Energy. It reminds me of the beginning of, I don’t know what journey I’m on, but I’m gonna keep pushing.”
Busch indicated that he has 20/20 vision in one eye, but that his other eye is not yet at that level. He also said he’s learning more about the nature of his injuries as he navigates through his recovery.
“Each situation is different,” Busch said. “It’s similar to a breast cancer survivor. Not every story is the same. Not every injury is the same. There’s been a bunch of military guys that have reached out to me, from all the years that I’ve worked with their different foundations, and you feel that village and that support. And so, it’s not just like a broken arm and you get your cast taken off, and then you can go bench-press 300 pounds. It’s a process.”
Busch — along with Xfinity Series drivers Bayley Currey, Ryan Vargas and Kyle Weatherman — helped the track get a fresh coat of paint on the pit walls, joining Blue Cross Blue Shield and a network of breast-cancer survivors in the 10th year of the awareness program at the speedway. It’s the second year for Busch’s “Window of Hope” initiative, which started as an idea sparked by a young fan that has now grown into a flourishing fundraiser.
“With NBC’s support behind the scenes last year, with the NASCAR Foundation, we were able to raise close to $100,000,” Busch said. “NASCAR helped us push it around the country; now we’re doing it locally with our Blue Cross Blue Shield family in North Carolina. It’s just neat to see the women come out and the stories that you hear and the support that everybody has in his community, and it’s just nice to see everybody out pushing and making all the walls pink.”
CONCORD, N.C. — NASCAR Cup Series veteran driver Kurt Busch announced the Window of Hope pink window net program will return for a second year to show support for breast cancer survivors and those continuing to battle breast cancer. Thermal Control Products will provide each NASCAR Cup Series participating driver with a pink window net to display at next month’s running of the Bank of America ROVAL™ 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Following the Oct. 9 ROVAL race, each participating driver will sign their window net, which will be auctioned through The NASCAR Foundation with proceeds benefiting Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute’s Project PINK. Project PINK was established to increase access to life-saving mammography screenings for uninsured women in the local area. Proceeds from Window of Hope will help fund “Free Mammography Days” in underserved communities where the need is highest.
The inspiration for “Window of Hope” came from a request from one of Busch’s young fans to support breast cancer awareness. In September of 2019, Kurt Busch received a letter from a young fan, Mason Bradley, expressing how big of a fan he was of the 2004 champion, and his hopes to one day meet Busch in-person. Mason’s letter included a hand-drawn image of Busch’s car with a note reading, “maybe you could do the window net pink.” Bradley’s request for the pink window net was an inspiration to support others, like his mother Stephanie, who was battling breast cancer at the time but is now in remission.
Through commitment and support from NASCAR, The NASCAR Foundation and Thermal Control Products, “Window of Hope” finally became a reality last year at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 2021 program raised more than $100,000 benefiting breast cancer research and treatment.
“We started this program with the hopes to continue it for years to come, so I’m incredibly grateful the industry jumped on board to support us in bringing back the Window of Hope for the second year,” said Busch. “Last year was such a success in raising over $100,000 and I’m looking forward to seeing how much we can raise this year to support the Charlotte community through Levine Cancer Institute’s Project PINK. We couldn’t do it without the support of NASCAR fans, drivers, teams and Thermal Control Products.”
The auction for the signed pink window nets will open Oct. 10 and close Oct. 17. For more information and a complete list of participating drivers, please visit: https://www.nascarfoundation.org/WindowOfHope.
Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson is retiring from full-time racing after spending the last two seasons in IndyCar, the Associated Press reported Monday.
Johnson, whose historic stock-car career came to a close in 2020, completed his first and last full-time season in IndyCar on Sept. 11 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca after running a part-time schedule in 2021.
The legendary racer did, however, leave the door open for future one-offs, telling the AP he’d like to compete in no more than 10 bucket-list events as he eyes his future.
Though he did not specify what those races might look like, one potential could be a debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. NASCAR, in partnership with Hendrick Motorsports, is fielding a Garage 56 entry in the 2023 edition of the famed French event and has yet to announce its driver lineup. Johnson spent the entirety of his Cup career driving Hendrick’s No. 48 Chevrolet, making his series debut in 2001.
There also remains an opportunity to jump back into NASCAR if he so chooses.
The NASCAR All-Star Race shifts to the recently revived North Wilkesboro Speedway in May 2023, with the track last hosting a Cup event in 1996. Johnson immediately perked up and noted his interest in the event.
So I told @JimmieJohnson that #nascar fans already were asking about him possibly racing at North Wilkesboro.
And Jimmie’s face lit up as he noted that as the 2013 All-Star Race winner, he still could be eligible under a 10-year exemption.
Johnson, 47, has not announced any plans at this time. He is scheduled to compete in the 25th running of IMSA’s Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Saturday.
NASCAR officials announced Monday that Team Penske’s No. 12 Ford team has withdrawn its plans to appeal penalties stemming from a lost wheel during the Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Competition officials had penalized the team last week after the left-rear wheel dislodged from the No. 12 Ford after an early pit stop for driver Ryan Blaney in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol. That infraction resulted in four-race suspensions each for crew chief Jonathan Hassler, and pit-crew members Zachary Price (rear-tire changer) and Graham Stoddard (jack).
Because the organization planned to appeal, those suspensions for the No. 12 team were deferred for Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, which opened the Round of 12 in the Cup Series Playoffs. With the appeal withdrawn, those suspensions will take effect starting with this weekend’s YellaWood 500, scheduled Sunday (2 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM) at Talladega Superspeedway, ending after the Oct. 23 event at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Blaney is among 12 drivers who remain championship-eligible. He finished fourth in Sunday’s race at Texas.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Denny Hamlin’s “list” grew one name longer on Sunday evening at Texas Motor Speedway.
The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran has made mental notes of several drivers who have crossed him this season — most notably No. 1 driver Ross Chastain — but there might be a new public enemy No. 24 in his eyes: William Byron.
Perhaps a bit testy after a day that saw ambient temps near 100 degrees and an hour-long rain delay that pushed the afternoon race to a finish under the lights, the pair exchanged some paint on track during a caution in the Final Stage resulting in Hamlin losing his position while under yellow and his temper on the radio.
Shortly before a Martin Truex Jr. tire issue brought out the caution on Lap 268, Hamlin and Byron battled for position near the front of the field. Though no contact was made in the initial brush, Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet was moved up the track enough to scrape the wall exiting Turn 2 and affect the performance of his car.
During the ensuing caution laps, Byron showed his displeasure to the 48-time Cup Series winner, nudging the No. 11 from behind … and spinning him out into the infield. NASCAR re-lined up Hamlin in seventh after being a bit more toward the front of the field, while electing not to penalize Byron for the incident.
“When we were in the tower, we were paying more attention to the actual cause of the caution up there and dispatching our (safety) equipment,” NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Scott Miller said after the race. “The William Byron, Denny Hamlin thing we had no eyes on. We saw Denny go through the grass and by the time we got to the replay that showed the incident well enough to do anything to it, we’d gone back to green. But I’m not sure that that issue is completely resolved as of yet. So we’ll be looking at that when we get back to work.”
Hamlin was ready to take things into his own hands, however, if he had the chance.
“I’ll give him the penalty if he comes back to me,” Hamlin said to his team over the radio.
The No. 11 driver never got close enough to catch Byron’s No. 24 — he finished 10th to Byron’s seventh — and institute any immediate payback, but this one will certainly stick with the Virginia native.
“I got spun out under caution down the infield,” Hamlin said point blank on pit road following the race. “We got tight off Turn 2 and never made contact (with the 24) but it slowed both of our momentum and that was it. I can’t argue the rules with (NASCAR) inside the car and the team did everything they could to try to make a case but ultimately we went spinning through the infield under caution.”
Still just 24 years old but now in his fifth full-time Cup season, Byron is out to show he isn’t going to be raced a certain way anymore and isn’t keen on being muscled around on track by the sport’s longtime mainstays. The message to Hamlin was clear … if not a little more impactful than he intended.
“I felt like he ran me out of race track off of (Turn 2) and had really hard contact into the wall, car was vibrating,” Byron said. “Felt like the toe link was probably or definitely bent, but luckily, not fully broken so we were able to continue, but a lot of times that kind of damage is gonna ruin your race, especially that hard. Totally understand like, running somebody close, making a little bit of contact. But that was pretty massive.
“I didn’t mean to spin him out,” he continued. “I just meant to bump him a little bit and show my displeasure. And unfortunately, it happened the way it did. And, obviously, when he’s spinning I was like ‘Ah, I didn’t mean to do this,’ but it’s definitely frustrating.”
The problem for both now? They’re both title contenders, and there are still six races remaining before a champion is decided with plenty that could happen. Both drivers are above the elimination line with good prospects to make the Round of 8 and potentially beyond, and the book on this confrontation likely hasn’t concluded yet.
Given Byron claims he did not intentionally mean to spin Hamlin, it might be prudent of him to smooth things over in an attempt to stymie any potential retribution from Hamlin.
“I’m sure we’ll talk,” said Byron. “I mean, I feel like we both did some things and definitely wasn’t … I’m not going to be run like that. So yeah, that’s the message that I want to be received is that I’m not going to take stuff like that. So yeah, I don’t know. That’s really all it is. Obviously, didn’t mean to do what I eventually did, but I definitely felt like we’re kind of on the same understanding at least.”
Hamlin, no stranger to confrontation — especially at Martinsville, a Round of 8 track — might not be ready to accept that point of view.
“I’m not really sure (where things go from here with Byron), we’ll just kind of have to race him hard,” he said.
” … I mentioned on the radio, let’s just get a teammate to knock him out under caution in the (Championship 4). Certainly, it’s a precedent.”
The Round of 12 continues Sunday, Oct. 2 at 2 p.m. ET with the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
After the first race in the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, here’s a brief look at the playoff picture. There are two races left in the Round of 12 — at Talladega Superspeedway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course.
WINNER
Tyler Reddick continued the trend of non-playoff drivers winning playoff races as he took the checkered flag at Texas Motor Speedway. Reddick was eliminated from a run at the Cup Series championship during the Round of 16 after finishes of 35th and 25th at Kansas and Bristol, respectively. The win is Reddick’s third of the season, which is second-most of Cup drivers this season (Chase Elliott has four wins).
William Byron. After a fruitless summer, Byron has found a sixth gear in the playoffs. He finished seventh at Texas, which is his fourth consecutive top-10 finish in as many playoff races. With two races left in the Round of 12, Byron will head to Talladega with a plus-17 advantage over the cutline.
Kyle Larson. Larson picked up his third consecutive top-10 run with a ninth-place finish at Texas and currently sits 16 points above the playoff cutline.
WHO’S NOT?
Chase Elliott. The first four races of the playoffs have been a mixed bag for the regular-season champion, and Texas didn’t help matters for the No. 9 team as Elliott crashed during Stage 2 on Lap 183, resulting in a 32nd-place finish. For Elliott to feel comfortable heading into the final race in the Round of 12, he’ll have to get out of Talladega with a good points day and avoid the calamity that comes with superspeedway racing. If he does that, he can clinch his spot a week later at the Charlotte Roval, where he’s won twice.
Christopher Bell. After having the most consistent first round of any of the Cup playoff drivers, Bell suffered multiple issues during the first half of Texas that resulted in his day ending on Lap 136. He entered the Round of 12 just four points above the cutline and will head to Talladega, where he only owns one top-five finish, 29 points beneath it.
BUBBLE WATCH
Rank
Driver
Cutoff
5.
Ryan Blaney
+15
6.
Denny Hamlin
+8
7.
Daniel Suárez
+4
8.
Chase Elliott
+4
——–
ELIMINATION LINE
———-
9.
Chase Briscoe
-4
10.
Austin Cindric
-11
11.
Christopher Bell
-29
12.
Alex Bowman
-30
NEXT RACE
The Round of 12 continues Sunday, Oct. 2 at 2 p.m. ET with the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
WHO IT FAVORS
Ross Chastain. No driver will have more confidence heading to Talladega than the track’s most recent winner as Chastain took the checkered flag in the spring. Compared to a handful of playoff drivers, Chastain escaped Texas with an 18-point cushion above the cutline, which should allow him more freedom in how he can race at the superspeedway.
WHO IT HURTS
Joey Logano. There’s no doubt the No. 22 Team Penske Ford always has speed on superspeedways, but as one of the more aggressive drivers at tracks like Talladega and Daytona, Logano has been on the wrong side of the leaderboard in the last five races at the 2.66-mile superspeedway with three DNFs and just one top-five finish. While Logano does have three wins at Talladega, his last one came in the spring of 2018.
FORT WORTH, Texas — They say everything is “bigger” in Texas and certainly NASCAR’s Round of 12 Playoff opener at Texas Motor Speedway lived up to the billing. From playoff consequences to a red-flag delay to bumper-banging aggression, tire fall-off and record statistical marks, there was no shortage of competitive drama in Sunday’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500.
Ultimately Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick prevailed as race winner — taking the checkered flag by 1.190 seconds over Team Penske’s Joey Logano in a final 24-lap green-flag run to the finish. It was the 26-year-old Californian’s third career victory and first win on an oval after claiming trophies on two road courses earlier this season.
“We had a lot of issues today, I’m not going to lie,” Reddick said with a smile, listing a number of setbacks from pit-road mishaps, vibrations in his No. 8 RCR Chevrolet to holding off a hard-charging Logano, who has now taken the NASCAR Cup Series championship lead by 12 points over Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain.
“Every time we’ve had a strong car we’ve been bit by something,’’ said Reddick, who announced earlier this season he is leaving the RCR team to go to 23XI Racing in 2024.
“This is a tough race, 500 miles here is not an easy feat and I know it wasn’t easy on you,’’ Reddick said motioning toward the grandstands. “So great to win here in a Cup car, been close here a couple times.’’
James Gilbert | Getty Images
The outcome made it four straight wins for drivers without championship eligibility to open the postseason, denying the 12 remaining playoff drivers an automatic berth into the next round. Reddick had qualified for the 16-driver playoff field but was eliminated after last weekend’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway. There was still plenty of drama among the playoff 12.
Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron, who finished seventh, and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, who finished 10th had a literal “run-in” late in the race. Byron said he felt Hamlin ran him up on track causing his No. 24 Hendrick Chevrolet to hit the Turn 2 wall and sustain damage. And in retaliation, he bumped Hamlin’s No. 11 JGR Toyota during a caution, and that contact ended up sending Hamlin spinning into the infield.
“It was really hard contact,’’ the 24-year-old Byron said of the incident that put his car in the wall, adding, “I didn’t mean to spin him out over there, but obviously I’m pissed off and not going to get run like that. We’ve always raced together so well so I don’t know what it was all about.
“I went to go show my displeasure. Didn’t mean to hit him and spin him out. … I’m just not going to get run like that. There’s really no reason. We were running second and third at the time, I think.’’
Hamlin, 41, took exception to the hit, and tapped his Toyota into Byron’s Chevy multiple times after his infield spin. He still appeared miffed after the race.
“I don’t think we touched but obviously he sent us through the infield under caution,’’ Hamlin said. “I keep hearing these guys and I’ll just add it to the list, guys that when I get a chance, they’re going to get it. It just works itself out. We’ll be racing each other at some point. He’ll lose a lot of spots because he’s racing me.
“This is hard racing obviously. I’m fine with hard racing. But wrecking me under caution is not what we bargained for. I’m thankful to my FedEx Toyota team for bouncing back.’’
It was an action-packed racing afternoon on all levels. There were a record 36 lead changes and a record 16 caution periods — including a 56-minute red flag for rain just after Ryan Blaney claimed the Stage 2 victory.
When the race resumed, the resulting drop in temperatures — factoring in a light rain shower and nightfall — seemed to reinvigorate the racing on track, with side-by-side racing and passes throughout the field and multiple tire issues at the front of the field.
Martin Truex Jr., along with Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliott all had tire issues while leading the race.
The 32nd-place finish dropped the 2020 series champion from the points lead coming into Texas to seventh in points — 26 points behind new championship leader Logano, and only four points above the cut-off line heading to Race 2 of this three-race championship round at the always unpredictable Talladega Superspeedway next weekend.
“Something came apart, I could hear it flapping on the right rear, so if it wasn’t down, it was certainly coming apart,’’ Elliott said.
“It’s not a great position to be in for sure, but it is what it is now. I hate it for our No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet team. We were actually decent here for once, and that was nice while it lasted. We’ll go to Talladega and try to survive over there, get a win next week and go on down the road.”
Elliott was one of a handful of playoff drivers who had challenging days in Fort Worth. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell, who came into the race ranked sixth after turning in the best Round 1 playoff showing of any of the 12 championship-eligible drivers. He suffered tire issues that ultimately eliminated him from competition as well.
The incident dropped him to 11th place in the playoff standings, 39 points behind eighth-place Daniel Suarez with eight drivers advancing to the next round of the playoffs.
“Very disappointing weekend and I was feeling optimistic when they dropped the green flag,’’ Bell said, adding, “It makes our decision easy on how to play Talladega. We were hoping to come out of here good and be able to ride around and just survive Talladega. We are going to have to race and get some stage points and be up front all day.’’
Justin Haley finished third on the day with playoff drivers Ryan Blaney (Team Penske) and Chase Briscoe (Stewart-Haas Racing) rounding out the top five. Erik Jones, Byron, Sunday’s race pole-sitter Brad Keselowski, reigning series champion Kyle Larson and Hamlin rounded out the top 10.
Byron holds onto the third playoff spot, 13 points behind leader Logano. Larson is fourth (-14), followed by Blaney (-15) and Hamlin (-22). Elliott and Sunday’s 12th-place finisher Daniel Suárez are seventh and eighth in the playoff standings, both 26 points behind Logano.
Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Bell and Alex Bowman (who finished 29th) round out the top 12, with Bowman 56 points behind leader Logano and 30 points out of the eighth-place position that would advance to the Round of 8.
Cody Ware was treated and released from the infield care center after a hard hit with his No. 51 Ford midway through the 500-miler. His Rick Ware Racing team released a statement saying the 26-year-old driver would return home after the race, and RWR representative Robby Benton said X-rays at the track showed no fractures. Benton added that he had some discomfort in one of his ankles, and that he would follow up with a specialist at Ortho Carolina this week as a precaution.
The race was red-flagged for rain showers and lightning after 220 laps were complete, just before the start of the final stage. That 56-minute delay pushed the finish under the lights.
The second race of this Round of 12 comes next Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway in the YellaWood 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Bubba Wallace is the defending race winner. Chastain won in April at Talladega.
Note: Post-race inspection was completed in the Cup Series garage without issue, confirming Reddick as the race winner.
Cody Ware was treated and released from the infield care center following a hard wreck at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday. Ware was assisted out of his No. 51 Ford after a wreck halfway through Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff race, where he was then transported to the infield care center via ambulance.
Ware crashed into the Turn 4 retaining wall, prompting the race’s eighth caution period, on the 167th of a scheduled 334 laps. His car careened off the barrier and then caromed off the pit wall before coming to rest.
Rick Ware Racing shared on social media that Ware, 26, would return home post-race.
“We are thankful to the track crew here,” said Robby Benton, team manager of Rick Ware Racing. “We had a bit of a delay going through the normal protocol of x-rays and reviews and making sure there were no fractures. All of that came back clear. He will be on the team plane with us to return to Charlotte tonight and we are happy he is OK.
“No broken bones,” Benton added. “I feel like we will probably follow up just as a precaution. He will see a specialist with Ortho Carolina once we get home. For as hard of a hit as that was, we are thankful it is as clean as it is and he will be okay to go home tonight.”
Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s vice president of officiating and technical inspection, said in a Monday morning appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that competition officials would review the crash this week, including looking at the car, data and the potential for changes to be implemented at the track. Sawyer added that officials would consult with safety experts at the University of Nebraska.
“You look at that hit that Cody had yesterday, and first and foremost, we’re extremely pleased that he is OK,” Sawyer told SiriusXM. “It was a hard hit, both the first hit into the outside wall in Turn 4 and then as he came across the football field and made contact on the inside pit road. We will look at all of that — A, the car; B, the angle in which he hit from both sides, the outside wall and the inside retaining wall. Looking at that opening there, that he didn’t hit directly on the opening, but he was just a few feet or so ahead of that. So we’ll look at all that, work with our folks at Nebraska on the safety aspects of the facility and see if there’s anything we need to do there, the car, and even our pit crews and how they position themselves for pit stops. More times than not, they’re right there up against the wall, maybe a foot or piece of equipment is sitting on the wall. So all those things we’ll look at today and what adjustments we need to make, and we’ll make them sooner than later as we head into Talladega.”
