Posted on by Adam Fenwick

After leading the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings for much of the season, Ron Silk has gone from the chased to the chaser.

Jon McKennedy, who picked up his first victory of the season on July 29 at Claremont Motorsports Park, has moved ahead of Silk and into the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship lead following last Thursday’s race at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.

RELATED: Complete results from Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park

Silk and McKennedy were involved and not one, but two incidents during Thursday’s race. The second incident saw McKennedy make contact with the rear bumper of Silk’s Modified, sending him spinning in Turn 1. Silk was unable to recover from that incident and finished 12th. McKennedy would go on to finish fourth, which was enough to give him a five-point advantage on Silk in the battle for the championship.

Below is a breakdown of how the top 10 drivers in the standings fared during the Phoenix Communications 150, along with a complete look at the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings.

Craig Lutz, driver of the #82 Horton Avenue Materials, celebrates in victory lane after winning the Phoenix Communications 150 for the Whelen Modified Tour at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on August 18, 2022 in Claremont, New Hampshire. (Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)
Craig Lutz, driver of the No. 82 Horton Avenue Materials Modified, celebrates in victory lane after winning the Phoenix Communications 150 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on Aug. 18, 2022. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)
  1. Jon McKennedy: 414 points

Jon McKennedy made the best of an otherwise chaotic race to leave Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park as the new NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship leader. He led 17 laps at the midway point of the race, but was swept up in a multi-car crash on Lap 91 that started with contact between himself and Ron Silk, but was able to continue. He then made contact with Silk again later on Lap 133, but was able to avoid damage while Silk spun to bring out the caution. McKennedy ultimately finished fourth, his sixth top-five finish of the season.

  1. Ron Silk: 409 points

Thursday’s race at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park is likely won Ron Silk would prefer to forget. He started second, but that was the highlight of the day. He was involved in the two aforementioned incidents with McKennedy and ultimately finished 12th, which cost him the lead in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings as a result.

  1. Eric Goodale: 398 points

The Phoenix Communications 150 was a good race for Eric Goodale, who avoided several incidents on his way to a runner-up finish. It was his third top-five finish of the season and allowed him to close to within 16 points of McKennedy in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings.

  1. Justin Bonsignore: 389 points

Justin Bonsignore was one of six drivers swept up in a crash in Turn 4 on Lap 91 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, but his car sustained minimal damage and he was able to continue. He ultimately crossed the finish line in fifth to earn his fourth top-five finish this season. He now sits 25 points behind McKennedy in the battle for the Tour championship.

  1. Kyle Bonsignore: 374 points

Kyle Bonsignore was also one of the six drivers involved in the crash in Turn 4 on Lap 91, but like his cousin Justin he was able to continue. He brought his car home seventh after starting 14th, which allowed him to jump from seventh to fifth in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings.

  1. Tommy Catalano: 373 points

Strategy allowed Tommy Catalano to lead five laps during Thursday’s Phoenix Communications 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, but he didn’t have the speed to keep up with the race leaders. He eventually fell one lap down and was unable to recover, resulting in a 15th-place finish. He dropped from fifth to sixth in the Tour standings.

  1. Austin Beers: 368 points

What looked like a good race for Austin Beers turned bad late in the Phoenix Communications 150 when he was involved in the last accident of the night on Lap 139. He and veteran Donny Lia were involved in a crash that ended the night for Lia. Beers was able to finish the race one lap down, but he was scored 16th after starting seventh. He fell one position in the Tour standings as a result, going from sixth to seventh.

  1. Craig Lutz: 353 points

A difficult season finally turned around Thursday for Craig Lutz, who dominated the Phoenix Communications 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park to earn his first victory of the season and his first win since a victory at Thompson in 2020. He took the lead for the first time on Lap 6 and took the lead for the final time on Lap 99. He led a race-high 119 laps on his way to victory.

  1. Dave Sapienza: 291 points

It was another rough day for veteran Modified racer Dave Sapienza, who was involved in a crash on Lap 81 with J.B. Fortin and Gary McDonald. The damage was too much for Sapienza to continue and he was credited with a 23rd-place finish.

  1. J.B. Fortin: 284 points

The only driver whose day was worse than that of Sapienza was J.B. Fortin, who admitted even before the race started that his Modified was down on power. Things only got worse for Fortin when he was swept up in the aforementioned crash with Sapienza and McDonald, ending his race and resulting in a 24th-place finish.

2022 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings

Pos.  Driver Races Wins Top fives Top 10s Poles Laps Laps led Average start Average finish Points Diff.
1    Jon McKennedy 11 1 6 9 0 1832 170 10.1 7 414  —
2    Ron Silk 11 0 6 9 2 1792 232 6.5 7.2 409 -5
3    Eric Goodale 11 0 3 7 0 1841 30 8.5 7.9 398 -16
4    Justin Bonsignore 11 2 4 8 3 1605 139 4.8 9.7 389 -25
5    Kyle Bonsignore 11 0 2 7 0 1833 6 8.3 10.1 374 -40
6    Tommy Catalano 11 0 2 5 0 1822 75 13.4 10.5 373 -41
7    Austin Beers 11 0 0 4 0 1840 0 11.6 10.5 368 -46
8    Craig Lutz 11 1 1 4 0 1749 119 10.5 12.4 353 -61
9    Dave Sapienza 11 0 0 0 0 1679 0 15 17.5 291 -123
10    J.B. Fortin 10 0 1 2 0 1327 0 14.4 15.6 284 -130
11    Doug Coby 7 2 4 7 0 1194 294 6.9 5.1 282 -132
12    Patrick Emerling 8 0 3 5 0 1187 0 13.6 10.8 266 -148
13    Gary McDonald 10 0 0 0 0 1566 0 23.2 20 240 -174
14    Walter Sutcliffe, Jr. 9 0 0 0 0 1276 4 23.6 18.6 230 -184
15    Melissa Fifield 11 0 0 0 0 725 0 23.9 24.2 218 -196
16    Matt Hirschman 5 1 5 5 1 881 282 4.8 2.4 216 -198
17    Tyler Rypkema 6 0 3 3 1 940 108 10.2 9.5 210 -204
18    Ken Heagy 7 0 0 0 0 1050 0 19.7 17.9 183 -231
19    Timmy Solomito 5 0 1 3 1 791 131 8 11.6 165 -249
20    Jake Johnson 5 0 2 3 2 723 5 12.8 13 157 -257
21    Andrew Krause 5 0 2 2 0 670 70 15.4 15.4 145 -269
22    Jimmy Blewett 4 1 1 2 1 599 19 7 10.5 139 -275
23    James Pritchard, Jr 4 0 0 0 0 683 0 22 17.3 130 -284
24    Donny Lia 4 0 0 2 0 553 44 13.5 14.3 121 -293
25    Mike Christopher, Jr. 3 1 2 2 0 550 28 11.3 5.7 120 -294
26    Ronnie Williams 4 0 0 0 0 735 2 7.3 14.5 119 -295
27    Ryan Preece 3 0 0 3 0 450 26 8.3 7.3 111 -303
28    Matt Kimball 4 0 0 1 0 531 0 17 17.5 106 -308
29    Eddie McCarthy 4 0 0 0 0 532 0 16.5 17.8 105 -309
30    Kyle Ebersole 4 0 1 1 0 472 0 18.5 18 104 -310
31    Dylan Slepian 3 0 2 2 0 610 0 13.7 10 102 -312
32    Spencer Davis 4 0 0 1 0 487 0 16.5 18.5 102 -312
33    Sam Rameau 3 0 1 1 0 475 0 7.7 12.7 94 -320
34    Anthony Nocella 3 1 1 1 0 248 4 15.3 16 88 -326
35    Kyle Soper 2 1 1 2 0 413 39 16.5 4 84 -330
36    Chris Young 3 0 0 0 0 551 0 17 18.7 76 -338
37    John Beatty, Jr. 1 0 0 1 0 200 0 11 7 73 -341
38    Max McLaughlin 2 0 0 1 0 299 10 7 9.5 70 -344
39    Jacob Perry 2 0 0 1 0 378 0 15.5 12.5 63 -351
40    Bobby Santos III 1 0 0 0 0 100 0 16 13 58 -356
41    Brian Robie 2 0 0 1 0 299 0 12 15.5 57 -357
42    Anthony Sesley 2 0 0 0 0 247 0 14.5 17.5 53 -361
43    Chris Turbush 2 0 0 0 0 268 0 17.5 19.5 49 -365
44    Matt Brode 2 0 0 0 0 322 0 10 20 48 -366
45    J.R. Bertuccio 1 0 0 0 0 198 0 7 18 47 -367
46    Tom Rogers, Jr. 1 0 0 0 0 66 0 21 25 43 -371
47    Chuck Hossfeld 1 0 1 1 0 150 5 14 3 42 -372
48    Jeremy Gerstner 2 0 0 0 0 296 0 26.5 23 42 -372
49    Roger Turbush 2 0 0 0 0 283 0 22.5 23.5 41 -373
50    Todd Patnode 2 0 0 0 0 62 0 22 24.5 39 -375
51    John Baker 1 0 0 1 0 213 0 20 6 38 -376
52    Blake Barney 1 0 0 1 0 150 0 8 9 35 -379
53    Corey LaJoie 1 0 0 1 0 100 0 8 9 35 -379
54    Joey Coulter 2 0 0 0 0 232 0 19 27 34 -380
55    Ryan Newman 1 0 0 0 0 149 2 4 13 32 -382
56    John Fortin 1 0 0 0 0 211 0 11 15 29 -385
58    Eddie Brunnhoelzl III 1 0 0 0 0 198 0 19 16 28 -386
59    Jack Ely 1 0 0 0 0 147 0 14 16 28 -386
60    Andy Seuss 1 0 0 0 0 46 0 24 22 22 -392
61    Paul Charette 1 0 0 0 0 194 0 23 23 21 -393
62    Bryan Dauzat 1 0 0 0 0 78 0 25 24 20 -394
63    Danny Bohn 1 0 0 0 0 76 0 12 24 20 -394
Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Chase Elliott had little to say after winning his first NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Championship on Sunday afternoon at Watkins Glen International.

The two-time track winner was muscled out of the lead in Turn 1 by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson on the final restart with five laps to go. On the inside lane heading into the 90-degree right-hander, Larson dove deep alongside Elliott and slid into Elliott’s door, pushing the No. 9 Chevrolet wide as Larson scurried to his second win of 2022.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

The contact shipped Elliott as far back as fifth place before he rallied to a fourth-place finish.

After the event, Elliott spoke with team owner Rick Hendrick and vice chairman Jeff Gordon on pit road and appeared frustrated. In the media center, Elliott didn’t care much to express that displeasure.

“Just offer congratulations and get excited for next week,” Elliott said.

Larson, returning to Victory Lane for the first time since winning at Auto Club Speedway in February, was often burned by being in the right lane throughout the weekend, including in Saturday’s Xfinity race. That usually left him in the rear-view mirror by the time he got to Turn 2.

With five laps to go, Larson made a decision.

“I figured it was probably going to be the last restart of the weekend,” Larson said. “And I told myself if I had a nose ahead of him before we got to the braking zone, I was gonna have to try my best to maintain that and not let him get a nose ahead of me and pinch my corner off and end my chance of winning.

“So I had a good restart and got in there hot and did what I had to do to win. I’m not necessarily proud of it, especially with a teammate, but I feel like I had to execute that way to get the win.”

Larson, who went on a 10-race, championship-winning tear in 2021, contemplated the potentially frayed feelings that could stem from late-race rough driving. He accepted that risk in Turn 1, knowing Elliott likely won’t cut him a break any time soon.

“You have to weigh all that stuff out as you’re rolling under caution and that’s kind of all stuff that’s crossed my mind,” Larson said. “I don’t know. I think – and I hope it’ll be fine – but we’ll see. I didn’t end his day today, but I did probably take a win from him.

“So yeah, I don’t know. I think we’ve raced well in the past and in the next 11 weeks, but 10 weeks in the playoffs, there’s more than just me to worry about. But yeah, I know there definitely may be moments throughout the playoffs where – I feel like we’re around each other a lot because we’re pretty equal on track and stuff. So yeah, there may be moments, but in my position, you kind of have to accept it.”

Both of Larson’s wins this season have come at Elliott’s expense. At Auto Club, Larson slid high into Elliott on the frontstretch in a three-wide battle for the lead gone awry, plummeting Elliott to 26th. Contact Sunday wasn’t nearly as detrimental as Elliott still scored a top-five finish, but the history certainly persists.

“I feel like we’ve been in a good spot. We were able to talk after the incident at Auto Club and moved on past that pretty quickly,” Larson said. “… At Auto Club, it was more of an accident. Today it was hard racing at the end on a restart. So I’m sure it’ll warrant some conversation, but I don’t know.”

Elliott wasn’t concerned about the public’s perception of tying the two incidents together.

“It doesn’t matter. The day’s done,” Elliott said. “Just thinking about (Daytona) and learning what I need to do to be good there. There’s nothing I can do about today now. So doesn’t matter, does it? And I’ll answer that for you. It does not. It doesn’t matter.”

MORE: Elliott seals regular-season title

Jeff Andrews, president and general manager of Hendrick Motorsports, understood Elliott’s post-race demeanor but noted Larson’s move was nothing egregious.

“Tough, tough race track from a restart standpoint and Turn 1 is known for that kind of contact and shaking things up there at the end,” Andrews said. “And certainly hate that for Chase and Alan (Gustafson, No. 9 crew chief) and that team as hard as they worked all day and the car they had all day.

“At the same time, you know there was no intent by Kyle, certainly to have that happen. That’s the last thing we want to have happen. So as a team, we’ll work on that internally. But today and short-term here, we’re going to focus on the great race cars that were here today.”

The regular season ends with a highly-anticipated finale at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday (NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Holly Cain

Editor’s note: Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott will both be spotlighted in USA Network’s new unscripted series “Race for the Championship” airing this fall. The first episode is Thursday, Sept. 1, at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Watch the trailer here.

___

For the second consecutive day, Kyle Larson took his first lead of the race with five laps remaining and held off road-course ace and fellow Californian AJ Allmendinger for a trophy. Larson completed the rare weekend sweep at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International on Sunday afternoon with a clutch win in the NASCAR Cup Series’ Go Bowling at the Glen.

Larson made a dramatic pass on his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott on a restart with five laps to go on the historic road course. As the race leader, Elliott got to choose where to line up alongside Larson for the green flag and chose to start on Larson’s outside, setting up the dramatic contest for position.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Larson maneuvered past Elliott in the wide-sweeping first turn with both Allmendinger and Joey Logano able to get around Elliott as well. Allmendinger gave chase to Larson, but for the second day in a row, Larson, the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, again proved too much.

It was the second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victory for Larson, 30, at Watkins Glen as he finished .882 seconds ahead of Kaulig Racing’s Allmendinger. It’s Larson’s 18th career win and second of the 2022 season for the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion.

Team Penske’s Logano finished third just ahead of Elliott, who could take some considerable consolation in officially securing the 2022 Regular Season Championship – his first – at the end of Stage 1 on Sunday.

Larson immediately addressed the winning move.

That was really my only opportunity (to go for the lead), I’m not proud of it,’’  Larson said, “But being in the inside lane, the right lane, being the leader, choosing the left lane, it definitely wins out. But when it gets late in the race, it’s definitely risky.

Kyle Larson's No. 5 Chevy leads the way at Watkins Glen.
Sean Gardner | Getty Images

“I knew that was my only opportunity to get by him. I feel like our cars were pretty equal today. Had a lot of fun after the green-flag cycle trying to chase him down. Kind of burned my stuff up a little bit.

“But the restarts kept me in it and kept our team in it. I’m proud of my guys. Good to get another win here at Watkins Glen and get some more bonus points going into the Playoffs, we haven’t had a lot here this year.’’

Larson said he anticipated having a conversation with Elliott and reiterated that he was only making a move, he felt necessary, to go for the victory — something he thought Elliott would have done as well.

“We have a competition meeting tomorrow,’’ Larson said. “I think if I was in his shoes, I would understand the risk that I’m taking, taking the left lane also. I’m not proud of it but I did what I felt like I had to do to get the win.’’

For his part after the race, Elliott said only, “Congratulations to Kyle and everybody on the 5 team and at Hendrick Motorsports for getting the win.’’

Elliott — who led a race-high 29 of the 90 laps — again took the company line when asked what he would say to Larson: “Congratulations. … always good to see HMS win. The boss [Rick Hendrick] deserves all the great wins that come for this company.’’

MORE: Elliott bags regular-season title

Trackhouse Racing driver Daniel Suárez finished fifth, followed by Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell, who led 14 laps.

Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell, RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher and Petty GMS Motorsports’ Erik Jones rounded out the top 10.

Formula One world champion Kimi Räikkönen had a solid effort in his NASCAR Cup Series debut – running as high as eighth place in Stage 2 before pitting. His day in the No. 91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet came to an early end, however, when he was nudged off-track and into a tire barrier while racing among a large group of cars on the ensuing restart.

MORE: Early exit for Räikkönen’s debut

Räikkönen, 41, of Finland, climbed out of his car and appeared fine physically. Although disappointed with the finish to what looked like a promising day, he said he was still overall happy with his first start in NASCAR’s big leagues.

“It was good fun, you know, and I felt more confident all the time and had some good battles and the car felt like it had a lot of speed in there, but that’s how it goes sometimes,’’ said Räikkönen, who officially finished 37th in the 39-car field.

With one race remaining in the regular season and one spot still to be settled for the 16-driver playoff field, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney holds a 25-point advantage over Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. for the final transfer position should no new winner emerge next week. They finished 23rd (Truex) and 24th (Blaney) on Sunday and both drivers are still looking for their first victory of the year.

Blaney heads into the regular-season finale next week at Daytona International Speedway as the defending race winner. The Coke Zero Sugar 400 in Daytona Beach is set for Saturday night (7 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), when the 16 drivers will be locked in for the 10-race playoffs that begin Sept. 4 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

Notes: Competition officials indicated that post-race inspection in the NASCAR Cup Series garage was completed without major issue, confirming Larson as the winner. … Kevin Harvick’s bid for a third consecutive Cup Series win ended with an 12th-place finish at Watkins Glen. … Sunday’s race began in wet-weather conditions roughly one hour, 40 minutes after its scheduled start, because of a pair of delays for lightning and excessive rain.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Kimi Räikkönen’s NASCAR Cup Series debut ended with a thud.

Räikkönen, the 2007 Formula One World Champion, was the victim of a stack-up exiting the inner loop at Watkins Glen International. Restarting 22nd to begin the final stage of Sunday’s race, Räikkönen found himself behind the contact from Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain to Austin Dillon. Dillon spun, cars slowed and Räikkönen couldn’t avoid the No. 27 Ford of Loris Hezemans, sending the 21-time F1 winner into the outside tire barrier.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

“I had a good line there but everybody seemed to come to the left, unfortunately,” Räikkonen told NBC Sports. “I had no time to react. … The first impact, somebody hit the tire or the wheel and the wheel spun and something’s wrong with the wrist, but that’s how it goes.”

The event was Räikkönen’s inaugural Cup experience but not his first time spent in a NASCAR national series race. His first starts came in the Truck Series and Xfinity Series, making one-off starts for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2011.

Now with Trackhouse’s PROJECT91, an endeavor meant specifically for the world’s elite drivers, Räikkönen was able to make his first foray into the United States’ premier motorsport league.

When asked by reporters what he enjoyed most, The Iceman had a simple response: “I think everything.”

“Everything is new and I got the full service with the rain and everything …,” he said.

Kimi Räikkönen waves during driver intros at Watkins Glen
Sean Gardner | Getty Images

Räikkönen, who started 27th, spent a significant portion of his race inside the top 20 and even inside the top 10, working to as high as the eighth position. That featured battles with established Cup stars like Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher and Chase Elliott, who clinched the Regular Season Championship in Sunday’s race.

A veteran racer himself, Räikkönen said he was able to learn plenty despite his shortened stint.

“Yeah, for sure, but it’s always hard to know especially now here like what states (of the pit) stop and you know the tire life on that,” he said. “I felt that we had very good speed and especially after the pit stops but maybe I was a bit too harsh on the tires on the one of the sets.”

Crew chief Darian Grubb beamed with pride through the frustration of a minimized race, noting how well the NASCAR newbie kept pace with seasoned stock-car aces.

“He was learning every lap,” Grubb told NASCAR.com. “You could see how he was racing those guys, how he was able to learn their styles, where they were fast, where they were slow. And he was able to maintain really well with them. So he’s obviously a very quick study.”

Elliott had a particularly spirited battle with Räikkönen down the backstretch that led to an Elliott pass in the carousel. The 2020 Cup champion was left with good impressions from the former F1 star.

“I thought he was doing great,” Elliott said. “He was right in the middle of a mess there and looked like he was right home. So I thought that was really cool.”

Grubb, who led Tony Stewart to a championship in 2011, was saddened to see the race end so early after the effort Räikkönen and the team put forth.

“It was amazing,” Grubb said of Räikkönen’s dedication. “He worked so hard trying to get ready for this. It’s really disappointing to end that way. The way the strategy scenario was working, I think he was gonna have a good chance to go race hard with guys. He had good tires and able to race his way up, he was able to make some passes and stuff already. And I think we had a good shot to be up in the top 10, which is what our goals were for the weekend.

“So disappointing end, but he did an amazing job all week preparing for it, coming in and ready to go.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: How to find USA Network | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App | Watch on USA Network | Get the NBC Sports App | Watch on Peacock | FloRacing

Monday, August 22
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR America Motormouths, Peacock

Tuesday, August 23
4 a.m., ARCA Menards Series: General Tire Delivers 100 (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., Best of Radioactive: 2022 season, FS1

Wednesday, August 24
1:38 a.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane (re-air), USA Network
3:30 a.m., ARCA Menards Series: General Tire Delivers 100 (re-air), FS1
5 p.m., Best of Radioactive: 2022 season (re-air), FS1
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR America Motormouths, Peacock

Thursday, August 25
7:30 a.m., Best of Radioactive: 2022 season (re-air), FS1
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, Peacock
9 p.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane: Horsepower and Baby Shower, USA Network
9:31 p.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane: It’s a Swan-derful Life, USA Network
10:01 p.m., Race for the Championship Sneak Preview, USA Network

Friday, August 26
12:03 a.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane: Horsepower and Baby Shower (re-air), USA Network
12:33 a.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane: It’s a Swan-derful Life (re-air), USA Network
1 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (re-air), USA Network
2 p.m., ARCA Menards Series West (re-air), USA Network
3 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Qualifying at Daytona International Speedway, USA Network (CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER) | STORY
4:30 p.m., Dale Jr. Download: Ty Gibbs, USA Network
5 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying at Daytona International Speedway, USA Network (CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER) | STORY
6:30 p.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane: It’s a Swan-derful Life (re-air), USA Network
7 p.m., Countdown to Green, USA Network
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Wawa 250 powered by Coca-Cola from Daytona International Speedway, USA Network
10 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series post-race show, USA Network
10:30 p.m., Race for the Championship Sneak Preview, USA Network

On MRN:
5 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Pole Qualifying
7 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona

Saturday, August 27
3 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
7:15 p.m., Countdown to Green, NBC
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, NBC, Peacock POSTPONED UNTIL SUNDAY
9:30 p.m., Race for the Championship Sneak Preview, USA Network

Sunday, August 28
1:32 a.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane: Horsepower and Baby Shower (re-air), USA Network
10 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, CNBC, Peacock
2 p.m., IMSA Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway, CNBC
2 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: Sprecher 150 from the Milwaukee Mile, MAVTV, FloRacing

On Peacock:
10 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway
2 p.m., IMSA Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway

On MRN:
10 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR Cup Series points leader Chase Elliott clinched the Regular Season Championship at Sunday’s event at Watkins Glen International.

Elliott — pole-starter for Sunday’s race — finished the first stage of the Go Bowling at The Glen with an insurmountable lead in the Cup Series standings. He secured a bonus of 15 playoff points, which will be added to his total once the standings are reset for the 10-race postseason.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

Elliott went on to finish fourth, leading 29 of the 90 laps. He was in front for the final restart with five laps remaining, but was carried wide in Turn 1 in a contest with teammate Kyle Larson, who went on to notch his second victory of the season.

Elliott sealed the No. 1 seed with one event left in the 26-race regular season. The driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet is the Cup Series’ only four-time winner this year. He grabbed the points lead in March at Atlanta Motor Speedway after the fifth race of the season and has not relinquished it.

Elliott is the second consecutive Hendrick Motorsports driver to claim the regular season crown. Teammate Kyle Larson took those laurels last year on the way to his first Cup Series title.

Elliott has made the cut for the Championship 4 field in the last two seasons. The first of those bids yielded his first Cup Series title in 2020.

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR officials have delayed the start of Sunday’s Cup Series race because of excessive rain at Watkins Glen International.

RELATED: Rainy races in NASCAR history

Cup Series drivers fired the engines at 4:12 p.m. ET, nearly an hour after the scheduled start time for Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen (USA, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM). After a handful of pace laps through standing water and poor visibility, competition officials stopped the 39-car field on pit road to get the 2.45-mile road course in a race-ready condition.

When the race does get going, Chase Elliott will lead the pack to the green flag from the Busch Light Pole. Elliott is the Cup Series points leader and has a chance to clinch the Regular Season Championship in the 25th of 26 regular-season races.

Posted on by Tadd Haislop

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — With his No. 83 Modified parked in the middle of the football field at Bowman Gray Stadium, Tim Brown removed his helmet to reveal the emotion.

Amid the shedding of tears, a surprisingly stoic look for somebody who’d just won his record 12th track championship remained on the 51-year-old’s face as he climbed out of his car. There were no screams of joy, hugs with team members or other displays of triumph. Brown immediately knelt to the ground and welcomed his son Cam and daughter Marley into his arms.

This — not what he had accomplished on the legendary quarter-mile oval in 2022 — was what made Brown’s 12th Bowman Gray Stadium Brad’s Golf Cars Modified Series championship special.

RELATED: Highlights from championship night at Bowman Gray

“It’s probably the pinnacle of my career right there,” Brown said of the post-race embrace with his kids Saturday. “Since I got married to Megan and knew we were going to have kids, and Cam was born, I couldn’t wait until the day I could win a race and enjoy that with my kids in Victory Lane.

“I didn’t win the race, but I won the championship, and that’s the first time I’ve gotten to celebrate with Cam, Marley and Megan in Victory Lane, along with my brother and all my family of race team members.”

Brown’s unforgettable family moment was the highlight of an otherwise melancholy championship celebration Saturday night. He finished third in the 150-lap Modified feature, meaning he ended the 2022 Bowman Gray season without a win.

Brown’s consistent speed allowed him to clinch the title over the likes of Brandon Ward, Chris Fleming, Jonathan Brown, Burt Myers and Jason Myers. Last season, Tim Brown became the first driver to win 11 Bowman Gray titles with his first championship since 2015. His 12th, though impressive, came with a lack of flair.

Tim Brown
(Photo: Tadd Haislop/NASCAR)

“Twelve championships is impressive, and it does mean a lot to me,” Brown said. “But I already had more than anybody with 11. What’s running in the back of my mind right now, just over and over, is that I did it without winning a race. And that sucks.

“I’m hoping that tomorrow I’ll put it behind me and know we’re 12-time champions and forget about this season; come back next year and win a lot of races and another championship.”

Brown’s wide range of emotions Saturday night were not simply the result of his missing out on a win. His personal life had been a whirlwind leading up to championship night.

Brown’s father-in-law suffered a heart attack a week prior to the title race and was scheduled to undergo bypass surgery, all while his sister-in-law and her husband had their first child a few days before the race.

“We pulled through it,” Brown said. “We managed to pull it off. I’m blessed and very proud of all the effort we’ve put in the whole year; not just the races here, but leading up to here working our guts out in the shop all winter to build these cars and coming out here and performing.

“Winning the championship, it’s a huge deal. I just wish I could have won a race or two doing it.”

FloRacing: Breaking down wild season finale at Bowman Gray

Well after Brown’s embrace with his family Saturday, he was still wiping his face. This wasn’t the result of emotion, though. He was trying to get the champagne out of his eyes.

“I don’t drink; never have, never will,” Brown said. “Somebody said I smell like a mimosa. I was like, ‘What is that?'”

Brown was speaking with a smile. And despite the disappointment that comes with a winless season, that smile persisted.

Perhaps Brown under the surface knew the truth many in racing come to realize. The memories of wins and losses pale in comparison to those made with family and friends at the race track.

And he made one hell of a memory with those people Saturday night at Bowman Gray.

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

WATKINS GLEN, NY — Rusty Wallace never could escape racing. He never wanted to.

Somehow, someway, the 1989 Cup Series champion needed to stick around the sport after retiring from the series in 2005. He found his path back to the race track in broadcasting, allowing the 11th-most winningest driver in NASCAR Cup Series competition to stay connected thanks to the Motor Racing Network.

After spending nine seasons as a broadcaster with ESPN, Wallace now serves as MRN’s lead analyst for 14-18 races a year for its live radio coverage. This week, although he has a personal off-weekend, Wallace is still on-site, serving as the Grand Marshal for the Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

MORE: Watkins Glen schedule | At-track photos

“I can’t imagine myself ever being away from the sport,” Wallace told NASCAR.com. “And so that was one of the reasons I was really excited to get involved with Motor Racing Network and do things with those guys, because it kept me really involved in the sport. And they’re so smart. That team of people over there know everything about NASCAR. I mean, they live it every single week, and they’re so doggone smart about it. It’s unreal. So that’s one of the reasons I enjoy working with Motor Racing Network a lot.”

Wallace, a 2013 inductee of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, earned two of his 55 career wins at Watkins Glen, but his road-racing prowess should not be forgotten. In 46 road-course starts, Wallace snagged six victories, 19 top fives and 25 top 10s. That was no coincidence for Wallace, who also earned two wins apiece at Sonoma Raceway and the now-defunct Riverside International Raceway.

“Well, I took it serious. We built really good cars,” said Wallace, who turned 66 on Aug. 14. “Number one, back then, guys would take their short-track cars and get them ready to run a road course to make them turn left and right. And they usually took their crappiest car to do that with. Well, we built brand new road-course cars. I went to the Bob Bondurant (School of High Performance Driving) out in, back then it was Sonoma, California. Now they’re in Arizona. But I did that, really a lot of tutoring from him.”

Returning to Watkins Glen brings back plenty of strong memories for Wallace, but perhaps none more thrilling than his victory in 1987. Wallace had dominated the day in the No. 27 Pontiac for car owner Raymond Beadle. But the closing circuits were anything but straightforward.

RELATED: A look back on Wallace’s career

Wallace led Terry Labonte by some 20 seconds in the last two laps. Coming to the white flag to begin the final lap, Wallace saw his fuel pressure light flash on, indicating he was running out of gasoline.

“I told the pit crew in just a millisecond, I said, ‘hit pit road!'” Wallace recalled. “I hit pit road leading the race, pitted and still won the race. I had a lead that was that big. But back then, that was before pit road speed. So I can come down pit road 180 miles an hour. So I mean, you would be coming down pit road as hard as I possibly could, get stopped, throw gas in it and went out and still won. And that’s one of the most dramatic stories I’ve had in my career to be able to do something like that.”

Pit-road speed limits pose just one example of how the sport evolved throughout Wallace’s storied career, which spanned from 1980 through 2005. The young drivers at the tail-end of Wallace’s Cup career are now today’s veteran leaders — Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. At 60 wins apiece, Harvick and Kyle Busch are the only active drivers with more career wins than Wallace. Wallace holds Harvick in high regard as the veteran driver of today, he said.

This season also marks the first of the Next Gen era, with a radically different approach to the concept of a Cup car.

“I really like the car,” Wallace said. “I was really surprised to see how much different it was. But I love the concept of building a real race car — independent rear suspension, sequential shifting, you know, a car that basically took a lot of drivers that I looked at and said, ‘Man, these are up and up and coming drivers, but they’re not veterans,’ and all of a sudden they’re winning. And then the veterans that were mainstays, all of a sudden they’re struggling to keep up with these guys, you know?”

One of the young drivers who has gone to Victory Lane this year is rookie Austin Cindric, who scored the No. 2 Ford’s first Daytona 500 championship for Team Penske in February. Wallace made Penske’s No. 2 car famous throughout the 1990s and early 2000s and offered sincere excitement about the rookie’s Cup future.

“He’s got speed, man,” Wallace said. “Sometimes, it’s really hard to get a driver that just doesn’t have the speed up to speed. Well, he’s already way up to speed and you got to pull him back a little bit. You know, sometimes when it gets wild, you got to get him back on a railroad track, so to speak. And that’s what they’re doing with him. I mean, you turn him loose man, it’s like a racehorse, he’s gonna roll, you know? You just hope he doesn’t roll right into the wall or something.

“But no, he’s got it. He’s got all the talent, you know? And he’ll tell you, ‘I made this mistake. I made that mistake.’ And he’s just a big sponge right now learning from the mistakes he’s made. But he knows he’s got a great team. He’s super fast. He just gotta harness all that right now.”

Posted on by Nick Giffen

The Action Network specializes in providing sports betting insights/analytics and is a content partner with NASCAR. Check out more NASCAR betting analysis here.

Sunday’s NASCAR Go Bowling at The Glen (3 p.m. ET, USA) is the set-up race for next weekend’s regular-season finale at Daytona.

But that doesn’t mean today’s race is unimportant.

First off, there are potential new winners in play with Michael McDowell and Chris Buescher both qualifying inside the top seven.

If there’s no new winner, a points battle could decide the final playoff spot between Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex, Jr.

With so much to keep an eye on, there’s already a lot to follow. Bettors will have even more to monitor as my model is showing plenty of value out there.

Let’s dive into my four best bets for Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen, starting with a trio of manufacturer bets.

RELATED: Updated race-day odds | Breaking down the driver matchups

NASCAR Picks for Watkins Glen

*Odds as of Sunday morning

Chris Buescher Top Ford (+700)

I won’t dive into this one too much since PJ Walsh already wrote this up midweek. But there’s still value here at 7-1. My model gives Buescher a 17.2% chance of finishing as the top Ford, up from 12.5% implied odds at this price at DraftKings.

The Bet: Chris Buescher Top Ford +700 | Bet to: +550

William Byron Top Chevy (+1400)

DraftKings is once again blessing us with a generous line. Byron was the third-fastest Chevrolet in qualifying. More importantly, he was second fastest over five consecutive laps in practice.

Like Buescher, Byron also ran the tire test here in May. Should his Hendrick Motorsports teammates slip up, Byron should be there to pounce.

My model gives him an 8.7% chance to finish as the top Chevy. That beats the 6.7% implied odds by two full percentage points.

The Bet: William Byron Top Chevy +1400 | Bet to: +1200

Christopher Bell Top Toyota (+550)

Bell has been the best Toyota driver this year at road courses, so it’s a bit mind-boggling to see such a long price on him.

Yes, I know he blew an engine in practice, which caused him to miss qualifying and start 38th.

But this is a long race, and strategy and pit stops, as well as speed, will all come into play.

I’m happy to take the fastest Toyota at road courses this year at +550 at DraftKings.

Bell finishes as the top Toyota 25.2% of the time per my model, so even if it’s too high, there’s a ton of wiggle room down to the 15.4% implied odds.

The Bet: Christopher Bell Top Toyota +550 | Bet to: +450

Justin Haley Top 10 (+1000)

To end on a different type of bet, let’s take Haley to finish inside the top 10 at 10-1 odds on FanDuel.

Haley practiced 12th and starts 13th, so his speed is right on the cusp of the top 10 already.

Haley has a road-course win in the Truck Series and several podium finishes at road courses in the Xfinity Series.

His teammate, AJ Allmendinger, can claim Watkins Glen to be one of his best tracks. Allmendinger will be making his 11th Cup Series start at the Glen, bringing a wealth of knowledge on how to set up a car to go fast here.

My model gives Haley an 18.7% chance of finishing in the top 10 compared to 9.1% implied odds.

If Watkins Glen is even half as chaotic as the Indy road course — where I hit both Todd Gilliland (+3000) and Harrison Burton (+3400) to finish in the top 10 — then we could see another driver with double-digit odds to finish in the top 10 actually do so.

The Bet: Justin Haley Top 10 +1000 | Bet to: +800