Posted on by Zack Albert

A top NASCAR competition official said Tuesday the sanctioning body would monitor any further developments among Ross Chastain and his rivals, saying officials would step in as needed to prevent the matter from escalating.

The remarks came from Scott Miller, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, during an appearance Tuesday morning on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

RELATED: Chastain battles Hamlin, Elliott | Cup Series standings

Chastain had drawn the ire of both Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott in the first half of last Sunday’s Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway, making contact with both drivers in his No. 1 Trackhouse Chevrolet. Both Hamlin and Elliott made maneuvers in retaliation, with Hamlin repeatedly crowding or blocking Chastain in the laps that followed.

Hamlin’s actions drew a mid-race rebuke from NASCAR race control, which in effect told the Joe Gibbs Racing driver that he’d proven his point with his first brushback move. Tuesday, Miller said competition officials would discuss the matter during their weekend debrief and could call the drivers in for a conference in the officials’ hauler in an attempt to defuse the situation.

“I mean, certainly we don’t like to see things like that, but there’s a certain amount of … we kind of have to let them handle it on their own somewhat,” Miller told SiriusXM. “And what we saw, while we were annoyed by it, there was no real contact. Neither one. I mean, they tried to make life miserable for Ross, we all witnessed that. But at least we didn’t see a blatant take-out or anything like that. And it was obvious from Ross’ post-race comments that he’s made some mistakes out there and wants to make it right, but it’s kind of up to those guys to sort it out and how it moves forward from there.

“We’ll obviously keep a close eye on them as we do in all these situations. Probably will, may have them in the trailer face to face to talk about it as we’ve done before. We have our debrief, actually just after this call of the race weekends. We do that on Tuesday mornings, and we’ll discuss that situation further and decide how we’re going to move forward with it.”

Miller indicated competition officials had not consulted with Chastain, Hamlin or Elliott since the conclusion of the Enjoy Illinois 300.

“We haven’t spoken to any of the parties,” Miller said. “It’s usually better to kind of let things die down and speak to him before we hit the track again, rather than do it at the race track. We’ll do that if absolutely necessary, but in this situation where there was no sort of blatant take-out in retaliation, best to kind of let that calm down a bit, and then have a word with him later.”

In other topics discussed Tuesday:

— Miller addressed the emergency response to a last-lap crash in Saturday’s Camping World Truck Series race at WWT Raceway. The stack-up left 19-year-old Carson Hocevar with unspecified injuries to his lower-right extremity, and he was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.

Hocevar gave a thumbs-up as he was wheeled to the ambulance on a stretcher. He had lowered his window net as a signal to the safety crew that he was alert, but Hocevar could be heard on his team communications calling out for assistance.

RELATED: Updates from Carson Hocevar, Niece Motorsports

“I think that that is their signal to us, that it doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re not going to try to hurry to get to the scene of the accident, but it does let us know that they’re obviously conscious, coherent, and that sort of thing,” said Miller, who added officials in race control review replays and crash footage as safety personnel are dispatched. “So it’s good to know that as they’re responding to an incident. One thing that everybody needs to know is the ambulance doesn’t have to be there for a doctor to be on the scene. There’s doctors in each of our chase vehicles, and we try to dispatch those as quickly as obviously as we can to the scene of the accident. There is traffic out there still, and we don’t want to compound the situation by forcing one of our vehicles up into race traffic that’s slowing down. So there’s just a lot of moving parts right there, and we certainly try to respond as quickly as we can, that’s obvious.

“We look at each situation and try to improve. We always look at where our stuff, where our equipment is located, and we’ll do it again, the debrief today on all of that and see if maybe there’s some place or positioning, or something that we could have done better. That’s one thing we certainly do at NASCAR every time is try to learn from every weekend, whether it’s good or something that we need to improve upon. So we always try to put our best foot forward.”

— Miller also addressed the issues of tire trouble with the Next Gen car, with speculation centering on teams pushing the limits of the air-pressure settings recommended by Goodyear, the series’ tire supplier. Miller said NASCAR officials would collaborate with the teams and with Goodyear, which he said was exploring an updated tire construction for its racing rubber.

“We review what Goodyear is seeing, we review all of the camber settings from all of the cars, because that’s part of our inspection process and kind of look at who was where and try to correlate problems with things — do the tire issues correlate with some of some of the setup parameters that that we’re able to see on our inspection process — and then just get with Goodyear,” Miller said. “Goodyear obviously has an at-track sort of inspection of the tires that failed, and even inspecting tires that didn’t fail by cutting them apart and seeing if there was any inherent damage and the situation maybe about to happen. So we look at all of those things very, very closely.

“I think we continually get the question of, well, should you check the pressures before they go on the cars? Trying to do that with 36 or 38 cars up and down pit road and do that accurately is really not something that is even in the realm of possibility. You can’t have your eyes on the teams at every second, and it only takes one second to hit that valve core and let air out. So that’s an unrealistic expectation that some people sailing in. It just isn’t practical and can’t happen. So it’s really up to Goodyear, us and the teams to figure this deal out. … So it is a little bit in the hands of the teams, no question. We’re not saying it’s all a team problem, but I think on that right now, they can do a lot to control their destiny there.”

Posted on by Staff Report

This story was originally published on June 2, 2022:

NASCAR returns to Sonoma Raceway for a June 10-12 weekend of racing, with a packed schedule awaiting fans visiting California’s wine country. The three-day festival includes events for the Camping World Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series West and a Cup Series main event — the Toyota/Save Mart 350 — on June 12 (4 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM).

The weekend marks just the second road-course event of the year for the Cup Series so far, plus a return to a semblance of normalcy for the track after two-plus years of pandemic-related uncertainty. But it also marks a spot worth circling on the schedule as summer travel season approaches.

RELATED: Scenic views of Sonoma | Buy tickets now

To preview the race weekend, Sonoma Raceway executive vice president and general manager Jill Gregory sat down with NASCAR.com to discuss what to expect at the popular Bay Area facility.

2021 June3 Jill Gregory 1 Image
Jeff Speer | Sonoma Raceway

Q: Just for starters, this appears to be the first event back at Sonoma minus restrictions and COVID protocols and things of that nature. For those coming back, what’s new, and how ready are you guys to host fans back in earnest this year?

A: Well, I would say we’re not only ready, we can’t wait. I think that we all saw this in the past couple of years, that being in the live-event business whether you’re on the track side or on the NASCAR side, we missed that excitement of a full race weekend. And so for us, it will be the first one since 2019. So no events at all in 2020, and then at reduced capacity last year, and then the schedule itself was reduced even when we did have reduced capacity with fans last year. So we really haven’t gotten to take a crack at a full NASCAR weekend, and with all the kind of excitement and the fan experience focus this year, I think us being able to show off Sonoma Raceway to the fans and to the industry, we can’t wait. I mean, there’s a lot to do in the next several days, depending on which day you’re circling, but we can’t wait because it’ll be great to see everybody back here.

Q: When people do come back to Sonoma, they should be able to expect some familiar surroundings, but what’s new as well in terms of fan amenities? What else is kind of blending in with what’s existing?

A: So what we’re really trying to do is keep the things about Sonoma Raceway that everybody loves, which obviously is the setting, where they get to stay nearby and maybe taste some wine. But I think that we’re also kind of shaking the dust off a little bit, not having raced here for a while. There’s some things that needed some attention. So we’re going to bring back a lot of things that fans really loved about being here like the Patriot Jet Team air show, but we’ve got a little bit of a smaller footprint to focus on here. So we want to maximize everything that fans are going to get. We’re not only going to have a pre-race concert that has not been announced yet, but we’re going to have a concert each night. So we’ll have entertainment throughout the property.

We’re going to create different areas, so you know, if you’ve been out here before, you know that we’ve got a lot of ground to cover. So if you’re up on the hill in Turn 3, or you’re on Turn 9, it’s much different than what you see in the paddock. So you know, fans want to roam the whole facility, and they definitely can, but we’re also going to have entertainment and food and drink in each of those neighborhoods, if you will, so that if they don’t want to come down and they’re happy kind of hanging with their friends and having a cold one up on the Turn 9 terrace, that they have everything that they need right there. So I think we’re really trying to create an entire experience and not just have activities limited to the frontstretch or the grandstand. And I think that fans will see that probably as a big point of difference.

Carmen Mandato | Getty Images
Carmen Mandato | Getty Images

Q: Road-course races tend to have a festival atmosphere, but some of what makes Sonoma a little bit different from other races seems to be how much of a destination event it is. There are a lot of surroundings to take in, but how do you describe it for someone who may not have been and is thinking about going?

A: It’s kind of the best of both worlds. You can have a racing-themed or a NASCAR-themed vacation, blended with what you might do on a normal three-day weekend. And you know, you get the best of both worlds because you can get your NASCAR fix on Saturday or Sunday, but then when you kind of return to your hotel or wherever you’re staying within the local community, you have amazing restaurants, you’ve got wine tasting, you can jump on a bike and ride around town in Sonoma or Napa, so I think that the race isn’t the only thing going on, which I think kind of gives fans a reason to circle it on our calendar, let alone the kind of the beautiful surroundings. What happens on track is always pretty exciting, but you also can kind of check two boxes by having a really nice non-racing experience.

Q: The Camping World Truck Series is back for the first time since 1998. What factored in to having that series make its return to Sonoma?

A: Well, we’ve always had a pretty standard schedule out here at Sonoma Raceway, and it did allow for a little more wine tasting during the Saturday afternoon hours. But we wanted to provide the fans with more content. We have a really robust group of fans camping who are very passionate, and they camp across the street in our campground called 50 Acres or up on the sides of the hills, which is great. So you know, they’re looking for content, and cars on the race track is what they want. So the Truck Series, the DoorDash 250 will be the first time that the Camping World Truck Series returns here since ’98 as you mentioned, but there are a ton of West Coast ties to the Truck Series and names like Hornaday and Harvick. Maybe some people don’t think of that immediately, but I thought when I got out here, wow, how great would it be to have the trucks out here. The racing would be incredible because a lot of those drivers — if not most, or all — probably were toddlers when this race was run here before. They’re gonna have to learn it on iRacing, and so how exciting is that going to be just kind of seeing them navigate this track.

Maddie Meyer | Getty Images
Maddie Meyer | Getty Images

Q: Another returning feature is that the track is going back to the shorter 1.99-mile course layout with the chute there connecting Turns 4 and 7 as well. What went into that decision, and what also do you expect from that on the racing end?

A: It’s the fans, and we had a lot of feedback from them about running the longer course with the carousel. I think generally speaking, it was good, it was a novelty, it was something different. But overwhelmingly, there were requests for us to bring the chute back, and then we coupled that with some feedback from drivers. You know there will always be a differing opinion of each driver, depending on who you ask, but generally speaking, the drivers were interested in having the chute back also. So I think it’s something that provides more laps around the track, which means more opportunities for action in Turn 11, and action in Turn 4 with the new car going to test the limits up there at the top of the hill.

Q: Sonoma typically has some kickoff events in downtown San Francisco, and this has been a tradition since before your tenure started there. Why is it important to keep that going, and how has the city of San Francisco has really embraced Sonoma as a sports neighbor as well?

A: I think that was one thing that I looked at, having been an attendee at many of those San Francisco-based events in the past. I think that the connection, while Sonoma seems far away when you’re out here, we’re just 30 miles or so from San Francisco. I think being a part of the Bay Area sports community has been important for us. We’ve always been kind of a fixture on this weekend in the city, whether it’s been at Fisherman’s Wharf or at other key iconic locations. So we want to make sure to take advantage of that. and I think it’ll just be a great chance to kind of soak in the Bay Area before we head up to the track and the track surroundings.

Posted on by Adam Fenwick

Derek Kneeland long ago gave up his dream of being a full-time race car driver.

The native of Windham, Maine, bid adieu to his racing dream at the age of 17 at the end of 2005. It was a selfless decision, one he made to prevent his family from pouring their life savings into his racing career.

“As it goes, the cost of things go up, and we don’t own a family company or come from a lot of money like that,” said Kneeland, who now works as a spotter for multiple race teams at every level of NASCAR competition. “I told my parents, ‘I don’t want to keep spending your money if I can’t come up with the sponsor money.’ They still needed to retire one day. I pulled the plug on racing myself.”

Kneeland, whose father Jeff Kneeland was also a race car driver in the 1970s, may have thought at the time he was done as a race car driver.

It turned out that wasn’t the case.

Fast-forward to 2022, and Kneeland races his own Late Model in his limited free time. He’ll make his first start of the season this Wednesday in the Money in the Bank 150 at Michigan’s Berlin Raceway.

RELATED: Watch the Money in the Bank live on FloRacing

It was a long road back behind the wheel of a race car for Kneeland, who got his big opportunity as a spotter when he worked with Brian Scott during an ARCA event at Pocono Raceway in 2008.

“I went and did it, they liked me, they hired me and just like anything people can pick up a head set and a radio and listen,” Kneeland said. “I’ve gotten a lot of opportunities since. I’ve just tried to make the best of them.”

That opportunity eventually led him to his current career, where he works with teams in the NASCAR Cup Series (Tyler Reddick), NASCAR Xfinity Series (Austin Hill), NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (Corey Heim) and ARCA Menards Series (Daniel Dye).

As his career in motorsports gained momentum, Kneeland eventually made the decision to jump back behind the wheel of a race car during his spare time.

In his limited opportunities to race, Kneeland has focused mainly on Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway. He has qualified for the legendary Oxford 250, one of the biggest Late Model races in the United States, twice.

Last year he raced twice at another legendary short track, North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway, and this season he is broadening his schedule even more.

As Kneeland was looking at schedules trying to decide when and where he would be able to race this year, it was a comment on one of Kneeland’s Facebook posts that put the idea of racing in the Money in the Bank 150 in his head.

“Jeff Striegle, a buddy of mine who is actually the general manager at Berlin, and he’s also the voice of MRN, so I see him every weekend,” Kneeland recalled. “We’re friends on Facebook, and he saw my post and he put, ‘Berlin Raceway, June 8.’”

Derek Kneeland sits in his race car ahead of an event at North Carolina's Hickory Motor Speedway in 2021. (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)
Derek Kneeland sits in his race car ahead of an event at North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway in 2021. (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)

Kneeland didn’t immediately commit to the idea of racing at Berlin. After all, Berlin is a 15-hour drive away from Kneeland’s home in Maine.

A conversation with his cousin and fellow racer, Rusty Poland, is what eventually helped Kneeland decide to tackle the Money in the Bank 150.

“I kind of ignored it at first,” Kneeland continued. “I talked with my cousin, Rusty Poland, who races up here as well and is my crew chief whenever I race. He’s like, ‘Man, that’s a long ways away.’ We went back and forth on it and I was like, ‘You know what, I want to do something completely different. Let’s go ahead and change it up totally.’”

The Money in the Bank 150 is first of three races on Kneeland’s schedule this year. The second will be a $10,000-to-win race at New Hampshire’s Lee USA Speedway that is also scheduled to include Reddick and Corey LaJoie.

His third and final race will be the Snowflake 100 on Dec. 3, the annual precursor to the Snowball Derby at Florida’s Five Flags Speedway.

Poland will be with Kneeland for each race as crew chief. He has also had help from his father Jeff Kneeland and friend Nick Brown, who have made sure his car will be ready for Wednesday’s race.

His car will carry sponsorship from several businesses, including Sumerian Irrigation and Bonang Concrete, that are making his three-race schedule possible.

Kneeland expects there to be fierce competition just to qualify for the Money in the Bank 150. The entry list features several NASCAR stars, including NASCAR Cup Series regulars William Byron and Erik Jones.

Other familiar names on the entry list include NASCAR Camping World Truck Series star Ty Majeski and defending ARCA Menards Series East champion Sammy Smith.

Bubba Pollard, Terry Senneker, Kyle Crump, Boris Jurkovic, Tyler Roahrig, Mike Garvey and Brian Campbell are among the Late Model stars also entered.

“Excitement isn’t the word. I think I’m very much looking forward to it,” Kneeland said about the Money in the Bank 150. “I think my biggest goal is just go in honestly. I’m not one of those guys who gets in their mind and says, ‘I’m going to go win.’

“My biggest thing is make the race and make all the laps and wherever we finish, we finish. Hopefully we’ll earn some respect from those guys.”

Posted on by Brandon White

One year ago, veteran Berlin Raceway competitor Boris Jurkovic was unsure if he would ever turn another lap around any track in the country.

A violent accident during a weekly race in May of 2021 that saw a stationary Jurkovic get hit by the oncoming car of David Fretz close to full speed ended up sending both drivers to a nearby hospital, with Jurkvoic suffering patella fractures in both of his legs.

The months following the accident have been some of the most physically and mentally exhausting of Jurkovic’s life, but he was not about to let his injuries prematurely end a career that has seen him claim victories in both the All American 400 and Winchester 400.

That determination is the main reason why Jurkovic will be among the best Super Late Model competitors in the country for Berlin’s prestigious Money in the Bank 150 on Wednesday evening.

“It’s been a journey,” Jurkovic said. “We’ve come a long way, and we continue to get better every day. This isn’t something that’s going to get better quickly, but I’ve felt a lot better these past couple of months than I did at the beginning of the year.”

FLORACING: Watch the Money in the Bank 150 at Berlin Raceway

While patella fractures typically take three to six months to fully heal, Jurkvoic knew his recovery period would likely be longer, as the force from Fretz’ impact shattered both of his knees to the point where they could not be fully reconstructed in surgery.

The injuries were only one of Jurkovic’s immediate concerns, as he had to quickly figure out what to do with his Super Late Model program while he recovered.

After losing a car in the accident with Fretz, Jurkovic then had to sell a new one that had not yet been raced since its design would have put too much stress on his knees. Jurkovic currently has two cars in his shop — another new Super Late Model more comfortable for him to sit in and one used by his nephew Eric White.

While getting everything with his Super Late Model operation squared away, Jurkovic was applying an equal amount of focus toward rehabbing his broken patellas so he could return to racing sooner rather than later.

It took Jurkovic time, but he was finally back racing in his own car during the last few months of 2021 and has gradually gotten more comfortable behind the wheel with every passing race.

“Everything is going great,” Jurkovic said. “This was a traumatic injury that doesn’t heal easily, and that’s the problem. It was the joints, and those aren’t something that can be replaced; they had to be repaired, and that’s way more expensive.

“I’m doing good even though I’m not quite at 100 percent. I’d say I’m closer to 85 percent.”

Jurkovic2
Boris Jurkovic makes a lap around Berlin Raceway during the Money in the Bank 150 qualifier on May 28. (Ally Ross/NASCAR)

Despite returning to regular competition only a few months after shattering his patellas, Jurkovic admitted the transition has been far from seamless.

During his first few races, Jurkovic regularly struggled to climb in and out of his car while also dealing with consistent pain in both of his knees. He initially had issues feeling the brake pressures but said that problem has subsided in recent weeks.

Jurkovic also admitted to over-exerting himself at times, adding that he needed more laps under his belt to be fully ready for the 2021 Snowball Derby, for which he failed to qualify.

Through the pain and rust, Jurkovic has persevered to keep his Super Late Model program on par with the other top teams in the country, all while having the support of Berlin’s drivers, fanbase and employees every step of the way.

Berlin general manager Jeff Streigle is familiar with Jurkovic’s driving style having raced alongside him for many years. He said battling against Jurkovic often served as a measuring stick for where a driver’s respective program was, and that his passion for auto racing earned him the respect of everyone at Berlin.

“[Boris] is a tough guy,” Striegle said. “He’s one of the toughest guys behind the wheel you’re going to get. He’ll race you fair, but he’s always going to be right there competing for wins. Boris grew up with racing, understands the sport and is always going to unload a car that is capable of winning.”

When Striegle saw the accident unfold last May, he was horrified that Jurkovic had potentially lost his life. Once he discovered that Jurkovic’s condition was non-life threatening, Striegle immediately began offering his support as Jurkovic embarked on a long and arduous recovery.

Being able to talk with Jurkovic in the weeks and months after the accident provided Striegle a strong perspective into the severity of his injuries, but he knew Jurkovic was more than capable of putting in the necessary commitment that would get him back to race-winning form.

As he gradually worked to find a consistent rhythm again, Jurkovic remained active at Berlin helping White obtain valuable track time while also waiting for the right opportunity to compete in another race himself at the track.

RACING REFERENCE: Career NASCAR stats for Jurkovic

Jurkovic planned for his first race at Berlin following the crash to take place at the venue’s season-opening Icebreaker, but after significantly damaging his car in a crash a few weeks earlier at Florida’s Five Flags Speedway, Jurkovic had to postpone his return until Memorial Day weekend for the Money in the Bank Qualifier.

Although he only brought home a 19th place finish that evening, being welcomed by Berlin and its fans was one of the most cathartic moments of Jurkovic’s life knowing all the hard work toward getting back into a Super Late Model ended up paying off.

“I was pretty emotional last week [at Berlin],” Jurkovic said. “I didn’t think I would get emotional over it, but I did. There were a lot more emotions than I thought there would be, and I’m not a very emotional person. I want to put all of this behind me soon, but last weekend was definitely an experience.”

Striegle said Jurkovic looked no different on track Saturday evening compared to all his other starts at Berlin prior to his accident, and he believes Jurkovic will be a contender for the win Wednesday against drivers that include William Byron, Erik Jones and Bubba Pollard.

“We were so proud to see [Boris] return over Memorial Day weekend,” Striegle said. “We expect him to run up front all night long, and we absolutely think he can win on Wednesday. Knowing what he went through in order to make this return just makes his story even more special.

Being able to enter the Money in the Bank 150 is something that Jurkovic knows would not be possible without the support his family, friends and prominent figures in the industry like Kyle Busch provided to ensure that he could in fact continue competing at Berlin and other tracks around the country.

Although he will have a strong group of competitors to deal with in the Money in the Bank 150, Jurkovic has high expectations for Wednesday’s feature and wants nothing more than to cement his comeback with a cathartic victory in front of the Berlin faithful.

“If everything falls my way, we have a shot to win,” Jurkovic said. “I’m not expecting anything less from [the Money in the Bank 150].”

The long road to recovery is ongoing for Jurkovic even as he makes final preparations for the Money in the Bank 150. The pain in Jurkovic’s knees is still prevalent, and he admitted driving is coming to him much easier as opposed to simply walking around.

Jurkovic does not know how much longer his body will allow him to regularly compete in Super Late Models, but he intends to make the most of his remaining time and keep adding more chapters to his prestigious racing career.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Kyle Busch had a well-connected pusher behind him for the final restart at World Wide Technology Raceway — a fellow Toyota driver, a de facto teammate, one with a shared last name. But his defeat in Sunday’s inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at the 1.25-mile St. Louis track had plenty to do with a hand signal he never made.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

Instead, Joey Logano got the necessary shove off the restart from teammate Ryan Blaney that ultimately lifted his No. 22 Team Penske Ford to victory in the Enjoy Illinois 300. Busch’s brother, Kurt, wasn’t close enough behind his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to provide the same launch for the two-lap overtime dash.

Kyle battled back and nearly executed a clean crossover before the white-flag lap, but couldn’t make the move stick through Turns 3 and 4, allowing Logano to scoot free. He settled for second and his brother claimed third, edging Blaney by a fender at the checkered flag.

“Not even close. Did you see me about wreck off of (Turn) 4?” Kyle told FOX Sports about his next-to-last-lap maneuver. “Way better than Phoenix, though, I guess. For as bad as Phoenix was, JGR, the Toyota guys, did a good job have getting us some improvements there and at least being able to keep up and have a shot at the win. Our car just took too long to come in. Better on the long run. Better up top. Top is not good to fire off on, but great job by the Snickers guys. Again, we stayed in the running all day long and fought hard and thought maybe we could, but that was it.”

When Kevin Harvick crashed with six laps remaining to extend the race distance, Kyle selected the top lane for the restart. That left the front row on the low lane available for Logano, who had a chance to redeem himself after a low-groove choice went awry on the previous restart. Blaney picked next and went low, filing his No. 12 Ford in behind Logano. Kurt then picked the top lane, aligning his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota behind the allied car of his brother.

2022 June5 Kyle Kurt Busch Main Image
James Thomas | NASCAR Digital Media

Kyle said he had intended to make a hand signal to Kurt outside his driver’s side window, but ultimately opted against it, suspecting Logano was lagging behind him on pace laps to intercept any strategy calls.

“I was going to put my hand out the window and signal to Kurt to push me along and Joey was half a car back out my window trying to see it, so the hand signal was going to be irrelevant, so I didn’t do it, which kind of made Kurt too far back,” said Kyle, who led a race-high 66 laps. “Got into Turn 1 by myself and was too far back. When you are the guy on the inside, you just flush the guy on the outside and it’s over. I got a crossover though but threw it into (Turn) 3 too far. It chattered all four tires. Just didn’t have any grip to get off the corner well enough to be on his outside, so I don’t know.”

Instead, the Logano-Blaney pairing got the two-car tandem locomotion that the two brothers wished they’d had.

“I thought there was going to be a hand signal on when it was going to be go time, and I was going to push the hell out of the 18,” said Kurt, who led 12 laps and won Stage 2, but was left to discuss the near-miss with his brother on pit road post-race. “We did the whole brother miscommunication. We should have won that. There should have been a Toyota in Victory Lane, a Busch in Victory Lane. Logano, he didn’t do anything smart – we just messed up on getting the launch. Then I wanted Kyle all on my own running 1-2, but what an awesome day for our Monster Toyota. We won a stage. I gambled on that, and then the team had my back.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

MADISON, Ill. – In front of packed grandstands at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, Joey Logano beat Kyle Busch in an intense overtime battle, and Ross Chastain ate a gigantic piece of humble pie.

After a brake rotor failure sent Kevin Harvick’s Ford rocketing into the Turn 3 wall on Lap 236 of a scheduled 240 in Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300, Busch, as the leader, picked the outside lane. Logano lined up beside Busch to the inside, with teammate Ryan Blaney behind him.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

After the overtime restart — with Blaney giving Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford a serendipitous shove — Logano and Busch swapped the lead until Busch washed up the track in Turns 3 and 4 on the white-flag lap.

That enabled Logano to secure the victory by .655 seconds and indulged his penchant for winning debut races in the NASCAR Cup Series. Last year, Logano won the inaugural event on the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Track.

“Thanks for coming out, guys,” Logano said, acknowledging the sellout crowd. “I hope you enjoyed that race. It doesn’t get much better than that. Racing for the lead like that with Kyle, one of the best. It was a lot of fun. Crossing each other back and forth. I knew it was coming. I did it to him; I knew he was going to do it to me. We crossed back and forth there a couple of times…

“What a great car, though. Really fast. I kind of messed up in qualifying, and (crew chief) Paul (Wolfe) made a great call putting two tires on (during the No. 22 Team Penske Ford’s final pit stop). Blaney did a great job with the push down into (Turn) 1, which kept me close at least and being able to make the move. Good racing there.”

The victory was Logano’s second of the season and the 29th of his career. Kurt Busch ran third behind Logano and Kyle Bush, with Ryan Blaney coming home fourth and Aric Almirola fifth.

The overtime didn’t favor Kyle Busch’s car, which performed best on long runs.

“Our car just took too long to come in,” Busch said. “Better on the long run. Better up top. Top is not good to fire off on, but great job by the Snickers guys. Again, we stayed in the running all day long and fought hard and thought maybe we could — but that was it.”

MORE: Busch brothers’ miscommunication

As riveting as the drama of the overtime turned out to be, the subplot involving Chastain and his two primary victims — Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott — drew the lion’s share of the focus as the race developed.

On Lap 64, Chastain drove hard into Turn 1 behind Hamlin and knocked the No. 11 Toyota up the track and into the wall, ending Hamlin’s chance at a strong finish. Hamlin subsequently expressed his displeasure by running Chastain down to the apron on the backstretch.

On Lap 101, contact from Chastain’s Chevrolet turned Elliott’s No. 9 Camaro and sent it spinning into the inside barrier off Turn 4. On the subsequent restart, Elliott got a measure of revenge when he rubbed Chastain’s Chevy and moved it up the track.

Chastain rallied to finish eighth and expressed his remorse after the race. Elliott took 21st, and Hamlin – last weekend’s winner of the Coca-Cola 600 – was 34th, 11 laps down.

Chase Briscoe started from the pole position and led the first 27 laps until his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford suffered a flat tire. He lost a lap after a pit stop and finished 24th on the lead lap.

Zane Smith, a late-hour sub in the No. 17 RFK Racing Ford after Chris Buescher contracted COVID-19 last week, finished 17th in his Cup Series debut. Smith was bumped into a pit-road spin by Michael McDowell’s No. 34 Ford during the Stage 1 intermission, but he continued with minimal damage.

Martin Truex Jr. finished sixth, followed by Erik Jones, Chastain, Christopher Bell and AJ Allmendinger, who won Saturday’s debut Xfinity Series race at Portland International Raceway and started from the rear of the field with no prior laps on the track after flying to St. Louis for the Cup event.

The NASCAR Cup Series’ next race is scheduled next Sunday (4 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM) at Sonoma Raceway.

NOTE: There were no issues found in NASCAR’s post-race inspection, thus confirming Logano as the winner.

Contributing: Staff reports

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 FS1 | Get FOX Sports App | Watch on USA Network | Get the NBC Sports App | Watch on Peacock | FloRacing

Monday, June 6
NASCAR Cup Series: Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway (re-air), FS1
8:30 a.m., Renegades: The Bad Boys of NASCAR (re-air), FS2
NASCAR Xfinity Series: Pacific Office Automation 147 at Portland International Raceway (re-air), FS2
NASCAR Cup Series: Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway (re-air), FS2
NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., Motormouths, Peacock

Tuesday, June 7
NASCAR Cup Series: Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway (re-air), FS1
NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
NASCAR Cup Series:Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway (re-air), FS2

Wednesday, June 8
NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., Motormouths, Peacock

Thursday, June 9
The NASCARcade (re-air), FS2
NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub Best of Radioactive: Road Courses, FS1

Friday, June 10
NASCAR Race Hub Best of Radioactive: Talladega Superspeedway, FS2
9:30 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: 1989 Banquet Frozen Foods 300 (re-air), FS2
NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Saturday, June 11
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Qualifying at Sonoma Raceway, FS1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Practice and qualifying at Sonoma Raceway, FS2
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Presents: This Racing Life, FS2
NASCAR RaceDay: NCWTS at Sonoma Raceway, FS1
7:30 p.m, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Sonoma Raceway FS1
NASCAR Cup Series: Qualifying at Sonoma Raceway (re-air), FS1

On MRN:
2:30 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: General Tire 200 at Sonoma Raceway
7 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: DoorDash 250 at Sonoma Raceway

Sunday, June 12
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: DoorDash 250 at Sonoma Raceway (re-air), FS2

The NASCARcade (re-air), FS2
6 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: 1989 Banquet Frozen Foods 300 (re-air), FS2
9 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Qualifying Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, FS2
10:30 a.m.,
NASCAR RaceDay: Sonoma Raceway, FS1
4 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, FS1

On PRN:
3 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott were left unimpressed with Ross Chastain early in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway after a series of incidents among the three drivers.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

Chastain’s first incident of the race involved Hamlin, last week’s winner of the Coca-Cola 600. Stuck behind Hamlin for numerous laps, Chastain knocked the back bumper of Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota entering Turn 1 at Lap 64 while fighting for sixth. That sent Hamlin into the SAFER Barrier between Turns 1 and 2 with the right side of his car, negating Hamlin’s chances of winning the Cup Series’ inaugural trip to Gateway.

Hamlin’s crew repaired the damage to keep the No. 11 car on the track. Hamlin showed his displeasure to Chastain as the No. 1 Chevrolet lapped him twice, driving both cars low to the backstretch grass and challenging Chastain later in Turn 1.

WATCH: Chastain knocks Hamlin into the wall

At the end of a Lap 101 restart, Chastain’s right front contacted the left rear of Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet exiting Turn 4. The two were on the outside of a three-wide situation with Austin Dillon to Chastain’s left. Chastain’s car collided with Elliott’s, sending the Hendrick Motorsports driver sideways across the track. Collected as collateral damage were Bubba Wallace, who spun, and rookie Harrison Burton, who contacted the left side of Elliott’s car.

WATCH: Chastain sends Elliott sliding

On the next restart, Elliott made sure Chastain was aware of his frustration, hitting the No. 1 car in the left rear and sending him up the track in Turn 2 — and Hamlin got involved afterward, with his No. 11 sideswiping Chastain’s car as he drove by. The duo later collided again, with Chastain sending Elliott into Turn 1 and into BJ McLeod’s No. 78 Ford.

After taking the checkered flag in eighth place, Chastain immediately took fault for his on-track run-ins.

“Just terrible driving,” Chastain told FOX Sports. “It’s one thing to do it once, but I just kept driving into guys and at this level, I’m supposed to be better than that. Just a shame for Moose and Advent Health and Jockey and Worldwide Express. And to have all these people believing in me, (Trackhouse Racing owners) Justin Marks and Pitbull to put me in this car, they deserve better.”

Hamlin, who finished 34th, 11 laps off the pace, wasn’t quite satisfied with Chastain’s remorse.

“I mean, it’s good he takes responsibility,” Hamlin said. “But, you know, ultimately, it ruined our day. I think we were kind of racing hard there for a while with him on the inside, and he tried to keep sliding up in front of us and wasn’t able to because I wasn’t willing to just back off and let him slide up in front. It didn’t take long after he tucked in behind us that he wrecked us.

“Yeah, the unfortunate part is it didn’t look like he got too shy after that, because I believe he hit the 9 (Elliott) after that one, but yeah, you just … we all have learned the hard way, and we’ve all had to have it come back around on us and it’ll be no different.”

Elliott wound up 21st on the results sheet.

Chastain noted his plans to confer with the drivers he felt he wronged Sunday, but admitted uncertainty in any apology’s weight.

“I owe half the field an apology,” Chastain said. “And words aren’t going to fix it, so I’ll have to pay for it on the track and almost did today. And I deserve everything that they do. I just can’t believe that I continue to make the same mistakes and overdrive the corners and drive into guys.

“I had time under caution to get reset, and we go green and I drive into somebody. That’s terrible.”

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.

The NASCAR Cup Series makes its debut at World Wide Technology Raceway for the Enjoy Illinois 300 (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1).

This new track has introduced a bit of a shakeup to the top of the leaderboard, with Ford drivers performing best in practice and qualifying.

Chase Briscoe leads the field to the green flag and is the race favorite at DraftKings at +850. That’s some incredible movement from his pre-practice line of +2500.

However, I’m looking at two other Ford drivers who showed well in practice and qualifying as my top bets for today’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway.

NASCAR at Gateway Picks

*Odds as of Sunday morning

Ryan Blaney to Win (+1000)

I wrote up Blaney as a best bet at +1200 earlier in the week. If you missed the boat on that, I certainly think 10-1 at FanDuel is incredible value given the speed we saw out of Blaney in practice and qualifying.

Blaney posted the fastest five-lap average and backed that up with the second-fastest 10- and 15-lap averages, behind only teammate Joey Logano.

In fact, Team Penske was 1-2-3 over five and 10 consecutive laps. It is fast!

After how well Logano and Blaney moved forward at Martinsville, and with Gateway potentially presenting a blend of Martinsville, Phoenix and Richmond, Blaney should be strong all day.

My model has Blaney as the outright favorite at 11.8% to win. That certainly beats the 9.1% implied odds at FanDuel.

The Bet: Ryan Blaney +1000 to Win | Bet to: +900

Joey Logano to Win (+1000)

If you want to tag-team the Penske drivers, Logano is a great pairing with Blaney.

Logano was the fastest across 10 and 15 consecutive laps in practice, but comes in at a 10-1 price, instead of much shorter, thanks to a seventh-place qualifying effort.

Logano had a better car than Blaney at Martinsville and won The Clash in the preseason exhibition race at the LA Coliseum. That means he can get it done on these tight, flat tracks.

My model has Logano as the second favorite, only a fraction of a percentage point behind Blaney. That also makes Logano a value bet at 10-1 at FanDuel.

The Bet: Joey Logano +1000 to Win | Bet to: +900

Posted on by Dustin Albino

Just when the Cup Series season was becoming clearer, the blue oval has dominated the weekend thus far at World Wide Technology Raceway. Ford drivers Joey Logano and Chase Briscoe have paced the field this weekend, with Briscoe winning his first career pole. In addition, all four Team Penske drivers — including Harrison Burton with the Wood Brothers — made the final round of qualifying. Ford is the clear-cut favorite entering Sunday’s 300-lap race.

Dustin Albino’s race-day lineup:
Starter 1: Joey Logano
Starter 2: Chase Briscoe
Starter 3: Ryan Blaney
Starter 4: Christopher Bell
Starter 5: Ross Chastain
Garage pick: Tyler Reddick

MORE: Set your lineup | Starting lineup | Fantasy Fastlane

NEXT IN LINE: Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick.

RISING: In practice on Friday, Team Penske swept the top three spots. Ryan Blaney was quickest in the session until Joey Logano made a late run in qualifying trim. The No. 12 car has been sporty thus far, and many drivers have compared Gateway to Phoenix Raceway. Earlier this year, Blaney led a race-high 143 laps in the desert. The No. 12 team needs a good run, too, having not earned a top-10 finish in a points-paying race since Easter.

If you want to go out on a limb this weekend, Harrison Burton has been strong. It’s the first time he’s made it to the second round of qualifying in the Cup Series and was 12th quickest in practice. Burton has a couple of things going for him this weekend: He’s driving a blue oval and an affiliate teammate to Team Penske.

FALLING: For the first time this season not a single Hendrick Motorsports car made the second round of qualifying. Earlier this week, I said to stay away from Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott and save their starts for later in the regular season. With those drivers starting 15th and 16th, on top of William Byron and Alex Bowman lining up 24th and 25th, save all of the HMS drivers for a different weekend.

Of the 36 Cup drivers, Kevin Harvick is the only one to win at Gateway in both the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series. Thus far, the No. 4 car has been a touch off, putting up the 20th quickest lap in qualifying. Methodically, Rodney Childers has worked on the No. 4 ride all season, and typically hits on it by the end of the race. However, Harvick is off my lineup for this weekend.

FEATURED MATCHUPS:

Denny Hamlin vs. Kyle Larson: It seems like any other week this would be a tough matchup, especially now that Hamlin is putting together finishes. But this week, the No. 11 Toyota seems to be quite a bit better than the No. 5 Chevrolet. Sure, Cliff Daniels will likely make Larson better during the race, but the advantage goes to Hamlin.

William Byron vs. Ross Chastain: As noted above, Byron is in the falling category, and Chastain could have been placed on the rising list as he wasn’t in my lineup earlier this week. Chastain has been one of the two best Chevrolets this weekend, with the other one coming from Richard Childress Racing.

Christopher Bell vs. Alex Bowman: Bell is on the verge of winning a race this season, entering the weekend with four consecutive finishes of sixth or better. Bowman, part of the HMS quarter, has struggled too this weekend. Bell is the clear choice here, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him battling for the checkered flag.

Chase Briscoe vs. Tyler Reddick: Now we’re talking. Entering Sunday, this is the toughest matchup on the board, as both drivers have top-five starting spots. While Briscoe won at Phoenix earlier in the year, Reddick was close in trail and had a couple of shots on late restarts. This is a tossup, but given Ford’s dominance this weekend, the No. 14 team has the upper hand.