Christopher Bell may not have the results to show for it so far this season, but the early speed is prevalent for the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team.
Bell earned a season-best third-place finish at Circuit of The Americas last Sunday. The result added to his road-course résumé, which includes his first career NASCAR Cup Series win at the Daytona International Speedway road course and a second place at Road America. He achieved both results last season.
“I think it all boils down to having really fast race cars to drive,” Bell told NASCAR.com “Being at JGR, their road-course program is very strong. Last week was no exception. We weren’t as strong as what we typically are, but we still have all the resources to go out there and run well. I enjoy it. It’s very difficult and I think that’s what drivers like – to be able to showcase their talent.”
The COTA result didn’t come easy this time around, though. Bell battled steering issues mid-race and narrowly missed Austin Cindric when his No. 2 Team Penske Ford broke loose and spun out.
Bell was convinced the hairy moment with Cindric would result in a crash, but savvy driving helped to avoid disaster.
“I saw Cindric spin and it looked like he was going to keep going to the inside of the track and then I don’t know what happened,” Bell said. “He turned his wheels or something, started backing up. I was already committed to go around the outside of him. Then I basically had to ‘baja’ through the grass off the race track and still make the corner. It was very tough.”
Bell has a top five and two top 10s to his credit this season, finishing 23rd or worse in four of the six races so far this year. His other top-10 result came at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, finishing 10th after starting on the Busch Light Pole. He was set to finish second at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but an out-of-bounds penalty on the final lap dropped him down to the last car on the lead lap, a tumble to the 23rd finishing position.
Coming off a micro sprint victory in his home state of Oklahoma the week leading into COTA, the 27-year-old Toyota protégé isn’t letting a rocky start to 2022 affect the confidence in his team leading into this Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“I think we have potential to run as good as any of them,” Bell said. “Richmond is one of my best race tracks coming up, so I think we all have high hopes with that.”
With a third- and fourth-place finish in two of his three career Richmond starts in the Cup Series, plus three Xfinity Series victories, Bell hopes to continue the JGR success at the .75-mile Virginia short track.
“I hate to keep harping on it, but it’s just that I have really good race cars to drive there,” Bell said. “Richmond is one of JGR’s best tracks as a company. It’s one that we definitely look forward to coming to year in and year out. Between the Xfinity Series and the Cup Series, it’s a place that’s been really good to me.”
Linda Beard spent most of her 30-year professional life teaching third- and fourth-grade students – eventually becoming an elementary school librarian and even an assistant principal in her Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, hometown.
Race fans, however, know her as a team owner in the premier NASCAR Cup Series – the small, family-owned Beard Motorsports team that most recently, and quite dramatically, made the field for the 2022 Daytona 500 with driver Noah Gragson.
It’s quite the career conglomeration, but Beard would tell you one skillset has helped the other – in ways she would never have anticipated.
“I will tell you this, [teaching] helped me to be able to speak publicly,” Beard said. “Going to the Daytona media center after Noah made the 500 to speak to the reporters – and they wanted me up in front – I’m thinking, ‘OK, I guess I can do this.’
“How many times have I been in front of 35 third-graders or having every class in in the school when I taught library? So I thought, ‘I can do this.’
“I just kind of get my stories going. I believe everybody has a story. And we have a story. We aren’t any more special than anybody else there, we just are there because we really want to be there. It’s a little different for us maybe compared to the charter teams. But we just really like what we’re doing and I think we do pretty darn good.”
Beard’s team was unquestionably the Cinderella story of this year’s Daytona 500 – with the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship contender Gragson earning a spot on the grid for the sport’s biggest event by being the top qualifier among teams without a chartered starting position. The qualifying showing was so good, Gragson didn’t even have to “race his way in” into the Daytona 500 in the Blue Green Vacation 150 Duel, a scenario that ended the team’s 500 bid a year ago.
That afforded the team a big exhale – a chance to fully prepare for the race – since it does not have a series charter and automatic race entry. And it gave Gragson a high-profile opportunity to make his debut in the most celebrated event in his sport.
It was a big moment for the 23-year-old Gragson as he moves up the career ladder. And it was an emotional time for Beard and her family-owned team, making their first Daytona 500 start since the family patriarch, her husband Mark, passed away in January 2021. The team did not qualify for the Daytona 500 in 2021, the month after Beard’s passing, so this year’s big achievement was a watershed moment; a huge tribute to Beard and confirmation that this tight-knit family team could carry on with Linda’s leadership.
Image courtesy of Beard Motorsports
“We just kind of decided this was something that we didn’t have to do, but we wanted to do it,” Beard said. “It was something we just felt inside, and I did especially, that I wanted to continue.
“My husband had given us this love of going racing and doing what we did for so many years of our lives and it kind of sticks with you. So, you just kind of like it and then it becomes more. You love it. And it’s hard to give it up.
“I think the main part was just carrying on what my husband Mark had started, just to see what we could do with it,” Beard continued. “When he was in charge, I didn’t worry about it because I knew he could make the decisions. Then all of sudden now, I’m making some of those decisions. So that makes it a little bit harder, but it makes it more rewarding.
“This 500 was pretty special. To make the 500 again. And to do it with Noah. That meant a lot to us.”
The team’s 2021 attempt was a significant moment in the sport as well. Beard was the only woman team owner in NASCAR’s premier series at the time. In February 2022, Jessica McLeod was designated CEO and co-owner of BJ McLeod Motorsports.
Of course, it was never Beard’s vision to be in this position – racing was a partnership venture with her husband of 43 years. Her first exposure to the racing came on dates with him before they got married. But she soon fell in love with the sport as well.
“Would I have ever imagined I’d be doing this? No,” she said. “When Mark started doing this I looked at myself down on the grid with all those people and thought, ‘is this really happening?’ It didn’t bother him at all. He was confident about the whole thing. I’m just like, in awe and so thrilled to be there. And that’s what happens every time I go on the grid and I do this. I’m just very thankful to be there and have that experience.”
Gragson shared that sentiment. Hand-picked by the Beard Motorsports’ former driver and popular veteran Brendan Gaughan to take over the driver’s seat of the No. 62 Beard Oil Motorsports Chevrolet, the 23-year old Gragson couldn’t be more appreciative of the opportunity he got to drive. He ran among the top 15 after starting 39th this February but was involved in a late-race, multi-car accident.
“After what happened in 2021 with the passing of Mr. Beard and not making the race, it was really challenging for that family,” said Gragson, who currently leads the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship standings.
“They made a big financial commitment to run the Next Gen car with only one employee. So it was really, really special to be able to race up against teams that had 400 or 600 employees, teams like that.
“I think they were really excited. You could tell the emotion and excitement. My focus was to execute and do the best job possible for them with the opportunity they gave me. I hope I made them proud. And I hope for the opportunity again.”
That’s certainly the plan for Gragson, who follows an impressive on-track record set by Gaughan, a fellow Las Vegas native, who competed in four Daytona 500s for the team and has the best Beard Motorsports finish of seventh place there in 2020.
“I love the people that buck trends,” Gaughan said. “I come from Las Vegas and I did not come the traditional way to NASCAR. I think I spent most of my career trying to buck trends and the Beard Motorsports team is that way. And the fact you have an extremely strong-willed woman at the head of this thing, who became the head of it in a very unfortunate situation, the fact she was able to take that, run with it and continue to focus, continue to keep everybody working in the same direction and she is going to do it her way. I love her for that.
“I think it is amazing and I think NASCAR should be applauding how this team even competes.”
The only full-time employee at Beard Motorsports is crew chief Darren Shaw, who Beard is quick to praise: “He’s just such an important part of this team, he does so much for us.”
And his hard work at the team’s Charlotte shop means Gragson will have another chance to race the sentimental favorite team forward – April 24 at the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
There is no lack of optimism and confidence. This team is motivated by Mark Beard’s dreams and sustained by Linda Beard’s can-do spirit – a shining example of perseverance on many levels.
“I think it definitely can be [an example],” Beard acknowledged of her place in the sport.
“And if that motivates someone else, I’m really happy about that. If they want to look at me and say, ‘maybe I could do that too.’ That would be a great thing. But for me to put myself out there above anybody else, that’s just not me. I don’t do that.
“I’m just here because I love to be here. I want to be here. And we have this passion to do it.”
Naima Lang has won a lot of races at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington, through the years.
However, his victory Saturday night on the opening day of 2022 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series competition at the track holds a special place in his heart.
“I’ve won a lot of big races, but that one right there is probably one of the races that I actually really, really needed,” Lang told NASCAR.com. “Just for my wife, my family and my crew.”
Saturday’s 75-lap race was not the richest race he has ever won, nor was it the six-time Evergreen Speedway track champion’s most prestigious victory. So what made Lang’s trip to Victory Lane so special?
In order to answer that, we have to start on Oct. 3, 2021, when Lang’s life and racing career flashed before his eyes.
Naima Lang following his victory in the NASCAR Pro Late Model division Saturday night at Evergreen Speedway. (Photo courtesy of Evergreen Speedway)
Competing in the Fall Classic at Tri-City Raceway at RMEC in West Richland, Washington, the 52-year-old veteran racer was involved in a violent crash that destroyed his race car and left him seriously injured.
“I haven’t watched any film, and I haven’t seen any pictures,” Lang said when recalling the crash. “I think there were tires issues. They were losing grip. It was a pretty abrasive race track. Three laps before the wreck I came on the radio I told them, ‘I’ve got no control over this race car. This thing is sliding everywhere.’
“Next thing I know I went into the corner, I tagged a lap guy and that sent me straight up into the wall. Where they had the wall was kind of way off the race track so there was a lot of time there before I hit the wall. I don’t remember very much after that. I remember all the pain I was in.”
Lang had to be extricated from his car due to the injuries he suffered, which included a compound fracture to his lower left leg as well as several bruised and cracked ribs. The injuries left him confined to a bed for several months while his body healed.
The driver from Snohomish, Washington, who also owns Lang Autosports in Lynnwood, Washington, admitted he thought his racing days were over.
“I was in a medical bed,” Lang recalled. “We rented one for the house. I was in that thing, and I couldn’t move, and I couldn’t get up. I thought for sure I would never get in a race car again. That was the last thing I thought of.
“I’m an active person. I don’t like sitting down for nothing. So it was really tough mentally for me to get through all that. Thankfully I’ve got close friends and my wife and family that helped me through it.”
As the days and weeks went by, Lang slowly began to recover. It took a few months, but eventually, Lang left the medical bed behind and started to return to his normal life.
Still, it took some time for him to decide if he was going to get back in a race car.
In the end, it was Lang’s desire to go out on his own terms that ultimately motivated him to return to racing after the crash.
“I had over Christmas and January to really think about it,” Lang said. “That’s all I do, just go out in my shop and work on race cars or cars in general. I didn’t want to quit under that circumstance. I wanted to quit on my own, retire on my own. I don’t want to have that and say that’s my last race. I’m too hardheaded.”
Once it was decided Lang was going to return to racing, he had to figure out what car he was going to drive. With his primary race car destroyed and sitting at a friend’s shop, Lang found himself in need of a car to drive.
Luckily there was a car available; the car normally driven by his son, Tyson, the 2020 Evergreen Speedway NASCAR Pro Late Model champion. Tyson Lang recently put his racing career on hold in order to focus on playing quarterback for the University of Washington.
“He put racing on hold until further notice,” Lang said. “That’s the car I’ve been running, which actually belongs to Ron Fritzley of J&R Truck Rentals. We had bought that car for him because he came up racing youth hornets and stuff.”
Lang was nervous before he got in his race car for the first practice of the day Saturday at Evergreen.
So nervous, in fact, that his hands were shaking.
“I was really timid in the first practice. I didn’t want to get anywhere near the wall. It took awhile to get back into my groove,” Lang said. “My hands were actually shaking before I got in for that first practice. It was all mental that I had to fight through.”
By the time the green flag waved for the 75-lap NASCAR Pro Late Model main event later that evening, Lang had mostly worked the nerves out of his system.
His goal entering the day was simply to find his groove again, get comfortable in the race car, be competitive and finish the race.
He ultimately exceeded his own expectations.
After starting seventh, Lang raced his way to the lead with 54 laps left. Contact with the second-place car of Dawson Cox cost him the lead with 42 laps remaining, but Lang later regained the lead during a restart with 30 laps left and held on to win the race.
“I didn’t think I was ever going to race again,” Lang said. “To have that win, it just brought a lot of emotions to the top. It was a surreal moment to actually win the race.
“We couldn’t have finished in any better way.”
Lang plans to continue racing at Evergreen, where he is the defending NASCAR Pro Late Model track champion, as long as he’s having fun. He’ll quit when he is ready, and he’ll do it on his own terms.
“I have no real plans. As long as we’re still having fun, we’ll go racing,” Lang said.
MONROE, Wash. — Naima Lang emerged as the winner in the Speedway Chevrolet NASCAR Pro Late Model division on the opening night of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series season at Evergreen Speedway on Saturday night.
Lang, making his return to racing after suffering a broken leg in a crash at Tri-City Raceway at RMEC in West Richland, Washington, last year, powered to a 3.192-second victory in the 75-lap main event on the 0.375-mile inner oval.
The race wasn’t without its challenges for Lang, who started seventh. He worked his way to second with 56 laps left before taking the lead two laps later, but his stay at the front of the field was short lived.
With 42 laps left second-place Dawson Cox clipped Lang’s left-rear, sending him up the track in turn four. That allowed third-place Haley Constance to slip past both of them and take the race lead.
Another driver, fast qualifier Chad Fitzpatrick, soon joined the fray and with 32 laps left moved past Constance to assume the lead. Lang followed him past Constance to take second before a caution flag slowed the action.
During the restart, Lang saw his chance and pounced, driving around the outside of Fitzpatrick to regain the race lead. He held the top spot for the rest of the race, ultimately beating Fitzpatrick to the finish line.
“That was a long few months after that wreck,” Lang said in Victory Lane. “I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to race again. I’m so glad I’m out here. I’m so glad I got support from my wife, all my crew. We worked real hard on getting that car ready every week.”
Constance finished third in the race, with Thomas Stanford and Daniel Moore completing the top five.
Four other divisions were in action on the opening day of action at Evergreen Speedway, including two divisions of Hornets. The 30-lap Interstate Batteries Hornet feature was won by Blaine Manning while the Youth Hornet feature was won by Riley Ruddell.
Other winners included Jesse Jensen in the NASCAR Street Stock feature and Branden Lindberg in the Buzz Inn Stinger 8 class.
Evergreen Speedway returns to action Saturday night, April 2, with a six-division card and a fireworks show. Evergreen Speedway will host racing on most Saturday nights throughout the season, with season champions set to be crowned during two consecutive weekends on Sept. 10 and Sept. 17.
In addition to NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series racing, Evergreen will also host two major events this year. The first is the annual Summer Showdown, which features two days of racing on July 22-23 headlined by a $25,000-to-win Super Late Model event.
The ARCA Menards Series West also returns to Evergreen this year after a one-year hiatus, with the track scheduled to host the Evergreen 150 on Aug. 20. Blaine Perkins won the most recent West Series race at the track in 2020.
NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series action from Evergreen will be streamed live all season long by FloRacing.
AUSTIN, Texas — They said they were going to disrupt things.
When Trackhouse Racing announced its launch on Oct. 7, 2020, co-owner Justin Marks’ intent to form a NASCAR Cup Series operation hadn’t been fully shaped. The big, broad goals were there, though, and they included ambitions in the worlds of education, equity and entertainment.
The competition part? That’s been the backbone of the team’s overall mission. The 2021 campaign represented those first small steps at the end of the Gen-6 car era that helped Trackhouse get its foot in the garage door. Sunday marked the next big steps toward kicking that door in.
Trackhouse’s drivers – Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez — led 46 of the 69 laps in Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas in just its sixth race as a two-car operation. Chastain, the 29-year-old journeyman driver who comes from a long family line of watermelon farmers, had all the right moves at the end, holding off road-course maestro AJ Allmendinger in a topsy-turvy finish.
Getting there, though? That required a significant leap of faith, from the group that joined Marks’ cause when the organization was still in its embryonic phase, to the 100-plus people now on the Trackhouse payroll.
Dylan Buell | Getty Images
“The pitch was, let’s build a great team together. Let’s do all of this together,” Marks said. “That was the inside-of-the-building pitch. The outside-of-the-building pitch is this sport is ready for challengers. It’s ready for disruptors. It’s ready for people to come in and challenge the status quo and how we do things, have some fun, look good, try to be fast, win races, have a good time doing it.
“I just have always been authentic about my mission. I just take a lot of pride in seeing everybody’s smiles and happiness today. The pitch was, let’s just do something great together.”
The on-ramp to that greatness may have started nearly two years ago, but the goals accelerated with its rapid expansion to a two-car fleet this season. When Marks announced the purchase of Chip Ganassi’s long-running Cup Series effort last summer, one of the first calls he received that day was from Chastain, who was rounding out his lone full season with Ganassi’s bunch.
His message in a subsequent text was simple: “I want this.”
That’s little surprise from a competitor who has scraped to drive everything he could to stay in the game, entering a whopping 77 national-series races just three years ago. After his career’s many starts, stops and destinations, and after an 0-for-120 kickoff to his Cup tenure, Chastain is finally a Cup Series winner – something that hadn’t quite clicked for him as the sun set on the Texas capital.
Chastain had taken the leap with Marks, and the Trackhouse co-owner had his mutual faith rewarded by its newest driver.
“I’m a good couch racer,” Chastain said. “I believed for a long time, but Justin asked me on the frontstretch, ‘do you believe yet?’ I would say that I still struggle with that.”
The celebration was a blur, but very real. Chastain picked up his hitch-hiking brother, Chad, for part of the cool-down lap, and the siblings screamed in jubilation inside the No. 1 Chevrolet. Chastain’s signature victory celebration christened COTA’s main straightaway with a watermelon smash, and the fruit flecks remained in a clump with Texas-shaped confetti hours after the checkered flag.
The moments continued in Victory Lane, and the arrival of Trackhouse president Ty Norris meant a bear hug that lifted Chastain’s driving shoes off the ground. It was Norris who had weeks ago warned the team against complacency after its early season success — surprising to some, but not within Trackhouse’s walls as top-five finishes continued to build.
“Look, this is not the time to stop,” Chastain recalled Norris saying from the shop. “This is not the time to rest on what we’re doing. Yes, it’s great, but this is what we’re here to do. We’re winners. Believe it. You keep building the cars like this, Daniel and Ross can win.”
Sunday felt like affirmation of what’s been a rapidly growing notion, that Trackhouse would soon join the list of winning organizations at NASCAR’s top level. The only questions still outstanding were which driver and when, questions that still wavered during Sunday’s race. Suárez was dominant early, leading all 15 laps of the opening stage until a bump and a Turn 1 spin in Stage 2 left him playing catch-up.
The power steering gave up on Suárez’s No. 99 Chevy for the later portions of the race. Chastain took the baton from there.
Suárez had reiterated the oft-repeated sentiment in a Saturday press conference, saying that wins were soon approaching for Trackhouse. During the same presser, local media asked Suárez if he’d soaked in any local flavor, and the Mexican-born driver applauded the fare at a trendy East Austin restaurant called Suerte.
Translated from Spanish, “suerte” means “luck.” None was needed Sunday for the latest challengers to the status quo.
“It hasn’t slowed down,” Chastain said, “and I don’t expect it to slow down.”
Middletown, R.I. – March 28, 2022 – Embrace Home Loans, a top-ranked national mortgage lender, today launched the 2022 “Hero’s Ride Home” Sweepstakes, in which military members, veterans and their spouses can enter to win a grand prize of $25,000 to help cover mortgage payments, housing costs, or other expenses.
NASCAR star and current driver of the #45 Toyota Camry TRD for 23XI Racing, Kurt Busch, is working with Embrace to amplify the company’s support of the military. Embrace will select the grand-prize winner in early June, and the winner will have an opportunity to meet Busch to accept the prize. Weekly drawings for prizes donated by Busch and 23XI Racing begin on April 8.
Embrace joined forces with Busch earlier this month when 23XI Racing announced the addition of the company to the team’s 2022 partner lineup. Embrace branding will be prominently featured at select races this season on the 23XI cars driven by Busch and Bubba Wallace, as well as on the drivers’ suits and other team equipment throughout the year.
A longtime supporter of U.S. military service members, Embrace offers a host of VA loans and home financing options for veterans and their families. “We are delighted to create the ‘Hero’s Ride Home’ Sweepstakes to give back to those who serve,” said Buddy Hardiman, senior vice president of sales with Embrace. “We’re also very excited to work with Kurt Busch, who is dedicated to helping military members and veterans.”
“I’m proud to support Embrace’s ‘Hero’s Ride Home’ Sweepstakes,” said Busch. “I’m constantly inspired by our military veterans and service members and the sacrifices they’ve made for our country. This is another great opportunity to give back to our heroes and help them reintegrate into civilian life. I can’t wait to announce the grand prize winner of this very special event.”
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. ALL WINNERS ARE SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY. One $25,000 Grand Prize and six Weekly Prizes (valued $50-250) will be awarded. Winner will be solely responsible for payment of any and all federal, state, or local taxes related to prize(s) won. Sweepstakes begins at 12:00 PM ET on March 28, 2022 and ends at 11:59:59 PM ET on May 30, 2022 Must be a current or former member of the United States Armed Forces, serving honorably. Open to legal residents of the United States and DC (EXCLUDING NEW YORK) 18 years of age or older and of the age of majority in their state of residence (i.e., 19 years of age in AL and NE; 21 years of age in MS). Void where prohibited. Visit embracehomeloans.com/vetsweepstakesrules for complete Official Rules, including how to enter, odds, prize details, and restrictions.
AUSTIN, Texas — Alex Bowman had a close seat for Sunday’s final-lap frenzy between Ross Chastain and AJ Allmendinger, so close that he nearly vaulted from third into a place of distinction as the NASCAR Cup Series’ first two-time winner this year.
Instead, Bowman held on to guide a dinged No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet across the line in second place — narrowly missing the win that went to first-timer Chastain, but avoiding the gravel-trap calamity that sidelined Allmendinger at Circuit of The Americas.
“I mean, I figured they would get rough and aggressive,” Bowman said on pit road post-race. “I tried to race as clean as possible and kind of just let them do their thing and pass both of them. Kind of worked out perfect until the 1 (Chastain) got into the 16 (Allmendinger), and I was along for the ride and limped across the start-finish line on fire. So I don’t know, it was a really good day for us, and it’s been a rough weekend for me — a lot going on. Sometimes things outside the race car aren’t great, and it makes the whole weekend even … it should feel good, but it doesn’t. So I’m just ready to get home, see the pups and move on to next week.”
If there’s another takeaway after putting himself in position for another late-blooming victory, it’s some perspective on how Chastain and Allmendinger raced each other with Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. Allmendinger said repeatedly that Chastain would have to look himself in the mirror after his moves, without mentioning him by name.
Bowman said he’s had some of his own late-race moves to answer for, alluding to his well-publicized run-in with Denny Hamlin at Martinsville Speedway last fall.
“I’ve been on the other side of it, so I have to live with it, right? Like I talked about at Martinsville, I had to live with that,” Bowman said. “Best advice I have for Ross on that is put it on a T-shirt and sell the hell out of ’em.”
AUSTIN, Texas – AJ Allmendinger had a rare road-course weekend double-dip at the Circuit of The Americas within his reach, an opportunity to cheer on consecutive days in Victory Lane at the base of the massive Turn 1 hill.
Instead of the jubilation, a rollicking final combination of corners and a pinball-action series of bumps with Ross Chastain and late-riser Alex Bowman in overtime put his No. 16 Chevrolet off the track and out of contention. Chastain – his former teammate – drove on for his first NASCAR Cup Series victory, Bowman held on for second, and Allmendinger went from the top three to 33rd place in the final rundown.
Instead of the first-turn hillside as a repeat backdrop after his Saturday Xfinity Series win, Allmendinger’s post-race destination was the infield care center for a cursory check, a battery of compulsory interviews and a consolation hug after all of it from Kaulig Racing president Chris Rice.
“At the end of the day, like I said, you’ve got to look at yourself in the mirror. If you’re OK with it, you’re OK with it,” Allmendinger said of Chastain’s tactics. “Every person is different. So it doesn’t matter what I think. We had a shot to win a Cup race. It’s pretty special.”
Allmendinger, a Cup Series part-timer who drives full-time for Kaulig’s Xfinity Series operation, led just two laps in his second Cup start of the season. But much of his day in the EchoPark Grand Prix was spent behind Chastain, his former Kaulig teammate who has since moved on to Trackhouse Racing.
An earlier nudge from Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet had Allmendinger driving his No. 16 Chevy with determination and the gap — .931 seconds at the white flag – shrank to nothing as the final lap wound down with Bowman suddenly lurking in third. Allmendinger sent Chastain wide in Turn 15, and Bowman briefly shot in front when their bumping resumed.
Torey Fox | NASCAR Digital Media
Finally, just before Turn 19, a pivotal push from Chastain sent Allmendinger’s car ricocheting off Bowman’s, clearing the way for a breakthrough win for both Chastain and Trackhouse.
Allmendinger’s remarks were short but not sweet on his walk back to the care center, and he returned to his “look yourself in the mirror” theme more than once. It was a refrain borrowed by Rice, who had Chastain in the Kaulig fold for the 2019-20 seasons.
“AJ Allmendinger taught Ross Chastain how to drive the road courses. It’s just that simple,” Rice told NASCAR.com. “Ross, before he came to Kaulig Racing, he’d run around, I don’t know, wherever he ran. AJ Allmendinger spent many, many hours with him and helped him road-race. And at some point, you think, OK, maybe think about that. It’s fine, the bump and run, but don’t put people in the sand.
“You know, AJ don’t run for points over here, and we come for trophies and that’s what we do. So it is what it is. Congratulations to Trackhouse on their first win. We won last year at Indy in like our seventh, eighth race, something like that, so it’s pretty cool to get your first win. You know, we’re doing it from ground up and that guy right there is making us good.”
Chastain’s initial mirror look seemed OK: “I didn’t draw it up that way in my head, but, yeah, I did what I did. I stand by it.” Still, Chastain conceded that any mending of fences from a previous run-in with Allmendinger had probably soured.
“No, I don’t race anybody any different. I’ve cost AJ a win at Daytona in the Xfinity Series, and he was obviously a quarter-mile away from winning here. He has taught me a lot, and I’m sure that our friendship will hurt for this,” Chastain said. “I feel like I had started to win some of his friendship back, and just being nice to each other when you see each other. It took a while.
“I hate that because I’ve lived through that in my career for 12th place in Xfinity. I’ve fought, and I’ve roughed people up and gotten into people. … It’s not lost on me that I make some of the same mistakes. It’s just staring down a Cup Series win. I just couldn’t let that go.”
Allmendinger is scheduled for a total of 16 Cup Series races this year in the No. 16 Chevrolet that he’ll share with fellow Xfinity regulars Noah Gragson and Daniel Hemric. The next of those comes next Sunday, a chance for redemption at Richmond Raceway.
“It is what it is. You can’t change the result,” Allmendinger said. “We had a shot to win a Cup race. It’s pretty badass. Kaulig Racing almost swept a weekend, and that’s, at the end of the day, how can you be mad about that? So, the sport knows that Matt Kaulig is all about it, and we’ll keep putting it on the line every time we got a chance to win a race.”
Road-course king Chase Elliott never appeared to be a true threat to win Sunday at Circuit of The Americas, but it was still an eventful day for the series point leader — in more ways than one.
Elliott notched his first top-five finish of the year, and he also was involved in the race’s first true incident with two-time series champion Kyle Busch.
The first spin of the race came when Elliott knocked Busch around in Turn 12. Busch was running in 13th place and, after collecting his car in the gravel, was able to continue on — and he would finish in 28th place after a series of late-race incidents shuffled him back from the top five.
“I messed up,” Elliott said. “I got crossed up in the braking zone and hit him. Obviously, we were racing for last and probably weren’t even racing for stage points and I think he knows me better than that. But yeah, that was completely on me … and my fault.”
The Hendrick Motorsports driver is already third on the all-time wins list for road-course races and entered Sunday’s race as the defending race winner. He never led, but capitalized on the late-race theatrics between Ross Chastain, AJ Allmendinger and fellow Hendrick driver Alex Bowman to drive his No. 9 Chevrolet to a fourth-place finish.
The result allows Elliott to stretch his points lead to 13 points ahead of second-place Ryan Blaney. And although the fourth-place run was Elliott’s best of the year, he does have a series-leading four top-10 finishes.
“Yeah, I didn’t really have to do anything,” Elliott said of the closing laps. “They just kind of wrecked and they were out of the way, so I just kind of ran it on the road and I got a free couple of positions. I will take it.”
