PIT BOX: NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returning to Beech Ridge after over a decade

Posted on August 16, 2021August 19, 2021 by Davey Segal

What’s old is new again this week on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.

Beech Ridge Motor Speedway will play host to the 10th race of the 14 in the championship points battle, marking the first time in over 15 years the tour has visited the third-mile Maine oval.

While the track hasn’t hosted a modified race since 2005 or ARCA Menards Series East race since 2003, the facility operates weekly under the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Racing Series sanction, with local divisions on both Thursday and Saturday nights.

But, dating back to 1995, the year the track became officially NASCAR sanctioned, tour standouts such as Steve Park, Todd Szegedy, the late Ted Christopher and Jerry Marquis, winner of the last event at Beech Ridge, have turned laps at the Scarborough track.

RACE INFO: Race Center: Beech Ridge

With only five races remaining before a champion is crowned, the new generation is primed to make their mark on Beech Ridge, hoping to reign in the Modified Tour’s return with a trip to Victory Lane. With a 12-point advantage over Patrick Emerling, Justin Bonsignore is looking to add to his cushion in search of his second consecutive championship, and third overall.

Fans can watch the Rumble at The Ridge 200 live on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, and see a tape-delayed version on Sunday, August 29 at 4:30 pm ET on NBCSN.

Rumble at the Ridge 200

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

Rumble At The Ridge 200

Only two drivers have prior experience with the Whelen Modified Tour at Beech Ridge. Seven-time champion Doug Coby has raced three times at the Maine oval, with his best finish coming all the way back in 2003 (12th), while Ransomville, New York’s Chuck Hossfeld has four career starts, finishing third the same year. Hossfeld is entered to return to tour competition on Saturday driving for Gershow Motorsports, while Coby continues his quest to climb back to the front of the championship battle in the No. 10 Mayhew Tools machine.

As with most everybody else, they’ll be learning from square one. But that may be a blessing in disguise for Bonsignore — who seems to thrive on the Whelen Modified Tour’s inaugural trips to venues. Dating back to last season, he finished first or second in his first career starts at new tracks. At Jennerstown last season, he won in his first trip to the track (and backed it up with a win this season), did the same at White Mountain Motorsports Park in 2020, and finished second at Lancaster in his debut there just two races ago.

The trend says the No. 51 will be, at a minimum, running up front towards the end of the 200-lap, 66.6-mile feature event. That would make things tough for Emerling, who is now playing catch up to Bonsignore in the standings. Emerling has only finished outside the top 10 once this season (13th at Loudon), but knows he needs to start racking up more victories if he wants to realistically catch Bonsignore for the big prize.

Although it’s all but a two-horse race for the title, the race behind them is heating up. Jon McKennedy holds the third spot by 17 markers over Ron Silk and 18 over Eric Goodale. Thanks to some mechanical gremlins in recent weeks and missing the race at Oswego, Coby sits a distant sixth in the standings despite his two victories thus far.

Also in the Beech Ridge field are some part-timers, who are sure to be competitive. Matt Hirschman is entering only his second event of the season. But, having won the first one at Oswego in June leading 70 of the 150 laps, the No. 60 is sure to be up front.

Still searching for his first win on the tour is Matt Swanson. While he’s yet to finish inside the top 10 this season, his outings at Stafford and Loudon were marred by crashes. The speed is there for the Acton, Massachusetts native, as he led 84 laps in the first Stafford event before the aforementioned wreck took him and his No. 3 team out of contention early. He does have experience this season at Beech Ridge in a Tour-Type Modified, competing with the Modified Racing Series.

On top of the Whelen Modified Tour Rumble at the Ridge 200, the Beech Ridge local Beetle Bugs, Mad Bombers, Sport Series, Pro Series and Wildcat divisions are also scheduled to race Saturday. The Whelen Modified Tour drivers will be showcased to the fans in a driver autograph session behind the grandstands at 5:30 p.m.

RACING REFERENCE:

RACE FACTS

Race	Rumble at the Ridge 200
Date	Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021
Track	Beech Ridge Motor Speedway
Layout	Third-mile oval
Location	Scarborough, Maine
Start time	7:30 p.m. ET
Laps	200
Miles	66.6
Tickets	Click here
TV channel	NBCSN (Delayed: Sunday, Aug. 29, 4:30 p.m. ET)
Live stream	TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold (Live)

RACEDAY SCHEDULE: Saturday, Aug. 21 — Garage opens: 12 p.m. ET; Practice: 2:50-3:50 p.m.; Qualifying: 6:30 p.m.; Race: 7:30 p.m.

CREW CHIEF HANDOUT: The starting field for the Rumble at the Ridge 200 is limited to 28 starters including provisionals. The field will be set by qualifying (1-22) and provisional process per the entry blank (23-28) for the Rumble at the Ridge 200. In the event that qualifying as stated on the entry blank does not take place for any unforeseen circumstance, the field will be set in accordance with the 2021 NASCAR Touring Series Rule Book.

QUALIFYING: Two consecutive qualifying laps. Faster lap determines qualifying position. Adjustments or repairs may not be made on the vehicle after the vehicle has taken the green flag at the start-finish line. NASCAR reserves the right to have more than one vehicle engage in qualifying runs at the same time.

The maximum tire allotment available for this event is as follows: The maximum tire allotment available for this event is eleven (11) tires per team. All tires used for qualifying and the race must be purchased at the track and scanned by Hoosier, unless otherwise approved in advance by the Series Director. Four (4) tires must be used for qualifying and to begin the race. All qualifying tires must remain in impound until released by NASCAR Officials. The remaining tire allotment may be used for practice and/or change tires during the event.

The tire change rule is four (4) tires, any position. To utilize the fourth (4th) change tire, the team will have to take a practice tire purchased at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway and turn in by the conclusion of practice.

QUALIFYING AND SPECIAL AWARDS

$400 Phil Kurze Halfway Leader Award presented by Josten’s per event award to the race leader at the halfway point of the event, regardless if the race is running under green or yellow.

$600 Hoosier Tire “Lap Leader” per event award to the eligible car owner whose driver leads the most laps in each event. In the event of a tie, the award will go to the highest finishing car in the event.

$500 Hoosier Tire “Hard Charger” per event award to the highest finishing eligible driver who advances the most positions during the course of the race. In the case of a tie, the highest finishing driver will receive the award.

$500 Hoosier Tire “Most Improved” per event award to the eligible new team/organization whose driver improves the most positions during the course of the race. In the event of a tie, the award will go to the highest finishing car in the event. If money is not awarded during this event, funds will roll over to the next event and will continue to roll over until an eligible new team/organization claims the money.

$1,000 Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole per event award to the driver with the fastest qualifying time eligible to participate under the Manufacturers’ Prize Money Conditions.

$550 Sunoco Spec Fuel award divided: 1st-$300 5th-$150 10th-$100.

$3,500 Whelen Engineering “Winner of the Race” award to the winning driver.

Whelen Non-Starter award will be paid to the first 15 competitors throughout the season who pass inspection, practice, attempt to qualify but fail to make the feature event.

Posted on August 16, 2021 by Staff Report

Hattori Racing Enterprises announced Monday that Bubba Wallace will drive the team’s No. 61 Toyota this weekend in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition at Michigan International Speedway.

RELATED: Michigan, Gateway schedules

Wallace, a Cup Series regular for 23XI Racing, is set for his first Xfinity Series start since 2017 in Saturday’s New Holland 250 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“I’m excited to race again in the Xfinity Series,” Wallace said. “Michigan is a track where I’ve run well in the past and even won in the Truck Series. Anytime we can get extra track time, it helps. Just to get extra laps before the Cup race on Sunday will be good with no practice or qualifying. Thanks to everyone at HRE and Toyota for the opportunity to run the AISIN Supra this weekend. Hopefully we can go out and have a strong race and put ourselves in contention at the end of the day.”

Austin Hill was initially scheduled to drive the HRE car in Saturday’s 250-miler, but will instead concentrate his energies on Friday’s postseason opener for the Camping World Truck Series at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.

Hill enters Friday’s Toyota 200 (9 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) as the second seed in the series’ 10-driver playoff field. He has made three part-time starts in the Xfinity Series this year in Shigeaki Hattori’s No. 61 entry.

“We really enjoy running the Xfinity Series but having someone like Bubba step in to help this weekend will let us focus 100% on our AISIN Toyota Tundra at Gateway,” Hill said. “The first race in the playoffs is always important and our team has a great chance to win everywhere we go with our AISIN Toyota Tundra. Being able to focus solely on Gateway Friday night will be helpful for us to get our championship run started on the right foot.”

Posted on August 16, 2021 by Chase Wilhelm

SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Matt DiBenedetto’s No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford did not look like a top-five car at the conclusion of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

The initial race start was not kind to DiBenedetto, who rear-ended another car going into Turn 1, leaving the left-front fender mangled. Later in the race, heavy contact with the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Christopher Bell knocked the toe out of the steering and levied significant damage to the side of the car.

Although it was a little more than bear bond could fix, crew chief Jonathan Hassler used pit strategy to salvage the day, electing for DiBenedetto to stay out longer than other competitors during the final round of green-flag stops with the hopes of better track position if a late caution fell.

Matt DiBenedetto wheels his wounded No. 21 car around the Indy Road Course. Credit: Sean Gardner | Getty Images

A series of cautions in the closing laps due to incidents related to curbing issues in Turn 6 were a blessing for the 21 team, leading to a fifth-place finish when the checkered flag finally flew — his first top five in 13 races (since a fourth-place finish at Kansas in May).

“I’ll take a top five after the craziness and we had not a whole lot of a race car left. … You name it, we had it, somehow,” DiBenedetto told NASCAR.com. “That’s a testament to Jonathan Hassler, my crew chief, the whole team for fighting and not giving up. That incredible strategy of knowing that if anything happened, we would gain track position by staying out really long and it works. That’s team effort.”

The top-five showing extends his recent streak of consistent results, finishing 11th or better the past five races.

Currently 18th in the playoff standings, 145 points below the cutline, DiBenedetto knows the team needs a win in order to make the playoffs with two races remaining in the regular season. As his job search continuesfor next year, DiBenedetto is satisfied with the positive trajectory the team has taken, albeit a bit tardy.

RELATED: Key players in Silly Season

“Our worst runs have been 11th. Every week we’ve been running up in the top 10,” DiBenedetto said. “It just shows how much our team has clicked. Obviously, I wish it all happened sooner, but we’re showing where our team’s at and what we can do when everybody’s clicking like we are.”

The recent stretch of finishes began at Road America in July, earning a 10th-place finish. DiBenedetto feels like his road-course prowess has always been strong, but he always needed the backing of a solid car and team to accompany it.

“… You’re only as good as what you’re riding in, so it’s a testament to the team because, really, that (road-course racing) was the weakest part of our program for a while,” DiBenedetto said. “We kept communicating, talking about what we needed and how to get better and better.”

With Michigan International Speedway and Daytona International Speedway serving as the last two stops before the postseason begins, DiBenedetto is optimistic. He finished seventh in the second race of a doubleheader at Michigan last year. A more efficiently run team will only improve his chances at a first career victory this Sunday.

Despite an unknown future, confidence is higher for DiBenedetto at the moment.

“We’ve eliminated a lot of weaknesses as a team,” DiBenedetto said. “We’ve gotten better everywhere. … we can do great things when we’re all on the same page.”

Posted on August 16, 2021August 16, 2021 by Staff Report

JR Motorsports announced Monday that Josh Berry will compete full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series next season, taking the wheel of the organization’s No. 8 Chevrolet.

Berry, last year’s NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion, has made 16 Xfinity Series starts on a part-time basis this season — 13 for JRM and three for Jordan Anderson Racing. The 30-year-old driver notched an emotional breakthrough victory in April at Martinsville Speedway.

“This moment is something we’ve been working toward for a long time,” said team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. in a JRM release. “Josh took full advantage of the opportunity he had this year in the No. 8 car. He went out, raced hard, and earned every bit of this. With all he’s accomplished on a limited schedule, I can’t wait to see what he can do in this series full time.”

Sponsorship details for the No. 8 Chevrolet “will be announced in the coming weeks,” according to the team. Tire Pros, Chevrolet Accessories, Filter Time and iRacing have been among the No. 8 entry’s backers this season.

Berry had made a total of seven Xfinity Series starts from 2014-17 before landing this year’s opportunity. He is sharing seat time in the No. 8 Chevy this season with 18-year-old Sam Mayer (six starts so far in 2021) and veteran Miguel Paludo (three starts).

Berry is an 11-year vet of JR Motorsports’ long-running short track program, notching 89 Late Model wins and multiple titles at the local track and regional touring series level.

“It’s difficult to put into words what this means,” Berry said. “I’m just a local short track racer, so saying this is a dream come true seems like an understatement. I’m so grateful to Dale, Kelley, L.W. (Miller) and everyone at JR Motorsports. They have always believed in me. This is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I’m ready and focused on 2022.”

Posted on August 15, 2021August 16, 2021 by Chase Wilhelm

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — NASCAR Vice President of Competition Scott Miller and Indianapolis Motor Speedway Track President Doug Boles addressed issues with the curbing in Turn 6 following Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race on the track’s 2.439-mile road course.

The curbing came apart on the right-hand corner on Lap 78 of the scheduled 82-lap race, causing damage to multiple cars and a significant crash involving William Byron, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, James Davison, Justin Haley, Ryan Preece and Daniel Suarez.

“Obviously that thing had deteriorated after that last big wreck quite substantially. There was no way we could justify leaving it like it was without removing it,” Miller said. “There was some debate and it obviously had to come out if we were going to continue.”

Miller indicated there was also some debate among NASCAR officials whether to remove the larger sausage curbing that laid adjacent to the damaged curbing, but that was not an option.

“… As we worked through putting the track together for Xfinity (Series) for last year’s race, there was a big ask from the drivers to have something back there because that section was just way too fast, there was that grass and then going into Turn 7 they would have maybe been running 15-20 miles per hour faster,” Miller said. “We weren’t going to sign up for that. That other one had to stay. That was the only way we were going to get back to racing (Sunday).”

A red flag was displayed following the incident, which lasted 19 minutes and 14 seconds as track officials removed the damaged curbing from the racing surface and cleared away oil on the race track. Boles was also out on the track assisting with the cleanup.

“The curbing that delaminated is the same style of curbing that we’ve had since we re-did the road course in 2014, so those curbs have been placed, repaired, so we’ve not really ever had an issue with those curbs at all,” Boles said. “… We looked at that curb between every session, we looked at it at night and in the morning and there was no indication today that there was really anything wrong with that curbing. So, it was a little bit of a surprise for us when the race had started that we started having issues with it.”

Both Boles and Miller noted they don’t feel this will impact any decisions to keep the Cup Series on the road course next year and beyond and they would take this as a learning experience.

“We had our problems (Sunday),” Miller said. “This is one of those deals where you take a lot of learnings away and come back and put on a better event, obviously avoiding the problems that we had (Sunday). I think that we saw some exciting action out there and I think the course itself puts on a really good show.”

Posted on August 15, 2021August 16, 2021 by Chase Wilhelm

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Denny Hamlin took a long walk down pit road following a chaotic ending to Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

The end result of that stroll was a visit with Chase Briscoe.

With two laps remaining during the final overtime restart, Briscoe made contact with the back bumper of Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, sending Hamlin for a spin. A moment prior on the same lap, Briscoe went off-course at the exit of Turn 1, going through the grass and getting back on track alongside Hamlin for the lead.

Briscoe’s move back onto the race track was considered cutting the course, so NASCAR officials handed down a stop-and-go penalty to Briscoe. According to Briscoe, he wasn’t aware of the penalty when he was racing Hamlin for the lead, which ultimately led to the contact and spin.

Hamlin finished 23rd while Briscoe was parked by NASCAR officials after running into the back of Hamlin under penalty. Briscoe was listed as finishing 26th.

The two drivers discussed the incident for a brief amount of time before parting ways.

Denny Hamlin walks down pit road at Indy to approach Chase Briscoe. Chase Wilhelm | NASCAR Digital Media

“At first, I didn’t know if I was getting anywhere,” Briscoe said of his conversation with Hamlin on pit road. “Once I explained to him that I didn’t even know I had a penalty until I got to Turn 10, if I knew I had a penalty, there was no need for me to even try to pass him for the win. If I would have known that earlier, I would have done my stop-and-go and went on. As I understood it, at that moment in time I could still win the race and I was going for it and got into him accidentally.”

Hamlin did agree that Briscoe did not intentionally make the contact, but that didn’t help the sting of defeat.

“I agree it’s not on purpose, but my team told me that he had a penalty right away and to me, it’s obvious,” Hamlin said. “If you cut the race track and end up in the lead, you’re going to have a penalty. Lack of awareness. Race me for a lap. He went right in the back of me.

“We can’t race that way,” Hamlin added. “I don’t think he did it (maliciously). I’ve raced with him for a year now. He’s not that kind of person, just bad judgment.”

Briscoe felt he made some headway with Hamlin’s understanding of the situation toward the end of their conversation.

“(Hamlin) has been there when you are trying to get your first win and especially in our playoff situation, you have to do what you have to do,” Briscoe said. “That is what I get paid to do and that is what I was trying to do.”

Car owner Tony Stewart watched on while Briscoe and Hamlin hashed it out. Following the discussion, Stewart offered Briscoe some words of encouragement.

“I’m just glad you stood up for yourself on it,” Stewart said. “You deserve to. That’ll go a long way. I’m proud of you.”

After the race, NASCAR Vice President of Competition Scott Miller addressed Briscoe’s penalty and the driver being unaware when it occurred.

“It was announced over the race channel that he (Briscoe) had a penalty and needed to serve it prior to having the incident out there with the 11 (Hamlin),” Miller said. “…There wasn’t much time left by the time that we called the penalty and him getting into it with the 11. We will do some investigation and make sure the spotter conveyed the message well to the driver before that happened. That was unfortunate how that went.”

Posted on August 15, 2021August 16, 2021 by Terrin Waack

Denny Hamlin has secured himself a spot in the 2021 NASCAR Playoffs.

The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota clinched a berth by virtue of AJ Allmendinger, a non-playoff eligible driver, winning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. Hamlin finished 23rd in Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard — race No. 24 of the season — but nearly scored the victory himself before contact from Chase Briscoe with two laps to go sent him spinning from the lead.

RELATED: NASCAR Cup Series standings

Hamlin entered the inaugural event tied for most points in the NASCAR Cup Series — sharing 917 with Kyle Larson — even without a win. When it came to the playoff picture, Hamlin was 302 points above the final spot, and with that kind of cushion, he was the only driver capable of clinching solely on points. A win would have done the trick, too.

Hamlin has qualified for the NASCAR Playoffs 15 times now — every season in which he did not miss multiple races. The current four-round format was introduced in 2014.

Last season, Hamlin made it all the way to the Championship 4. He ultimately placed fourth in the final standings after finishing fourth in title event at Phoenix Raceway. Hamlin also reached the Championship 4 in 2014 and 2019. In 2016-17, he was eliminated in the Round of 8. He was cut in the Round of 12 in 2015 and then in the Round of 16 in 2018.

Hamlin was the NASCAR Cup Series’ runner-up in 2010, his best-ever finish in the series standings.

Two regular-season races remain, starting with FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway next Sunday (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The finale will then be Aug. 28 at Daytona International Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with the Coke Zero Sugar 400.

Hamlin has won twice at Michigan and three times at Daytona.

Posted on August 15, 2021August 15, 2021 by Holly Cain

INDIANAPOLIS — The first NASCAR Cup Series road-course race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was full of drama — for AJ Allmendinger, who led only the last two laps of overtime to secure his second career NASCAR Cup Series victory Sunday, and for those who fell short of the cherished trophy in an action-packed final few laps.

Denny Hamlin was leading the race on the final restart with two laps to go before being hit from behind by rookie Chase Briscoe in Turn 10, just before Briscoe was supposed to serve a penalty for running off-course earlier in the lap. Instead of winning, Hamlin finished 23rd and Briscoe, 26th.

With those two cars derailed, Allmendinger moved up from third place to take the lead and hold off Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson by .929-seconds.

Before the race, Allmendinger shrugged off any suggestions that he shouldn’t be considered an odds-on favorite despite his impressive road-course background. This season he’s competing full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Kaulig Racing and Sunday marked only his fourth Cup Series start of the year.

But the former open-wheel star has an Indianapolis 500 start, leading 27 laps in a seventh-place finish in 2013, and this iconic track has long been considered hallowed ground by the 39-year-old Californian.

“We just won at Indy, what’s up,” Allmendinger yelled toward the grandstands after screaming in excitement on his team radio during his entire victory doughnut celebration in the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet at Indianapolis’ famed yard of bricks start/finish line.

“I mean, it was survival of the fittest,” Allmendinger said. “We probably had like an eighth, 10th-place car, sped on pit road. I thought we were going to finish 12th to 15th and then those restarts were just insane.

“It’s great when you have a car owner that just says, ‘go get me trophies.’ He doesn’t care if that thing is torn up.”

As Allmendinger was in the midst of his victory celebration, Hamlin walked through the smoke, down Indianapolis pit road to find Briscoe and discuss the incident.

“It’s just lack of awareness,” Hamlin said of Briscoe.

“I agree it’s not on purpose, but my team told me he had a penalty right away and to me, it’s obvious. If you cut the race track and end up in the lead, you’re going to have a penalty.

“Lack of awareness. Race me for a lap. He went right in the back of me. We can’t race that way. I don’t think he did it maliciously. I’ve raced with him for a year now and he’s not that kind of person. Just bad judgment.”

“I can accept it (Briscoe’s explanation to him),” Hamlin continued. “The roles have been reversed a couple times, I mean I’ve been doing this a long time and I’ve been on the giving end of mistakes, so I get it. To me, it’s just a lack of situational awareness. Obviously, you’re going to get a penalty if you go off the race track like he did. I’m not like, furious, it just sucks.”

For his part, Briscoe acknowledged his part of the incident but insisted he did not intentionally wreck Hamlin. He said he was glad to try and sort things out after the race.

“I explained to him that I didn’t even know I had a penalty until I got to Turn 10,” Briscoe said. “If I knew I had a penalty, there was no need for me to even try to pass him for the win. If I would have known that earlier, I would have done my stop-and-go and went on. As I understand it, at the moment in time I could still win the race and I was going for it and got into him accidentally.

“I think at the end (in discussing it) he kind of started to understand. He has been there when you are trying to get your first win and especially in our Playoff situation, you have to do what you have to do.

“That is what I get paid to do and that is what I was trying to do.”

“I’m sorry it ruined his day, that was never my intention,” Briscoe continued. “I don’t want to wreck anyone for the win. I’ve never done that in my life.”

After winning seven races last season, Hamlin is winless in 2021 with only two races remaining. And his 23rd-place finish cost him the championship points lead he’d held since the second race of the year in February. Briscoe was trying to win his first career NASCAR Cup Series race, which is essentially the only thing that could put him in the Playoffs at this point as he is ranked well below the cutoff.

Larson’s third-place run was good enough to move the five-race winner atop the standings, but Hamlin still secured a playoff berth.

A pileup on the first overtime restart forced the double-overtime period with six cars — including the two Richard Childress Racing cars vying for the final Playoff position — collected and eliminated as they negotiated a tricky Turn 5-6 combination with curbing issues that troubled the competitors all day.

With 11 laps to go, it appeared Larson would be picking up his fourth road-course victory of the year as he held a commanding 4-second lead on the field. But a debris caution came out forcing the team’s hand in pitting or gambling on a better restart position.

All but five cars pitted. Hamlin stayed out to take the lead in front of Kurt Busch, Matt DiBenedetto, Ryan Newman and Briscoe.

Larson led the pit parade in for tires and came out first — sixth position on track; followed by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch and Martin Truex, who filled out the top 10 for the restart with six laps remaining.

With a highly motivated Hamlin out front — still looking for his first victory of the season after winning seven times last year — he fought off Briscoe to hold the lead on older tires. Battling furiously for position just behind them, a nine-car accident in Turns 5-6 brought out a red flag as NASCAR officials spent nearly 20 minutes actually removing some of the curbing that contributed to the wrecks.

The incident involved nine cars, eliminating frontrunners William Byron, Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez and Christopher Bell. Byron, had been in the top five when he hit the curbing. Just behind him, Martin Truex Jr. spun then Logano and then Suarez.

Elliott finished fourth with DiBenedetto taking fifth place — his third top five of the season. Kurt Busch, Erik Jones, Allmendinger’s teammate Justin Haley, Xfinity Series championship leader Austin Cindric and former Indy winner Ryan Newman rounded out the top 10.

“Wild is not a crazy enough term for what that was,” DiBenedetto said of the afternoon.

With two races remaining to set the 16-driver playoff field, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the big oval next in the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Note: Post-race inspection was completed without major issue in the Cup Series garage, confirming Allmendinger as the winner. The No. 12 Team Penske Ford of Ryan Blaney was found with one lug nut missing. According to the guidelines in the NASCAR Rule Book, that infraction should result in a fine for crew chief Todd Gordon in this week’s penalty report.

Posted on August 15, 2021August 16, 2021 by Staff Report

Multiple cars were damaged on Lap 78 of a scheduled 82 laps in Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard when curbing came apart in Turn 6 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

While Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe were battling for the lead, Joey Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford — which ended up crashing hard into the tire barrier — William Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota all sustained damaged after hitting the curb. Also involved in the chain-reaction wreck were Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, James Davison, Justin Haley, Ryan Preece and Daniel Suarez.

“Yeah, I am OK,” Logano said. “Thank God those tire packs were there. The hit wasn’t that hard at all. The tires absorbed a lot of it. I don’t believe in luck, but that time I feel like it was just bad luck. Wrong place at the wrong time and unfortunately it ended our day.”

The red flag was displayed as track workers cleaned up debris from the wreck, and that included a tow truck hauling away the damaged curbing. The red flag lasted for 19 minutes, 14 seconds.

Eventually, the race was restarted and extended to overtime, and after two overtime attempts, AJ Allmendinger for Kaulig Racing came across the start-finish line as the winner.

Posted on August 15, 2021 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 NBCSN | Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App

Monday, August 16
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon, FS1 (re-air)

Tuesday, August 17
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Wednesday, August 18
3 p.m., IMSA Auto Racing Special Lamborghini Super Trofeo: Road America, NBCSN
4 p.m., IMSA Auto Racing Special Mazda MX-5 Cup: Road America, NBCSN
5 p.m., IMSA Auto Racing Pilot Challenge: Road America 120, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Classic: 1988 Daytona 500, FS1 (re-air)

Thursday, August 19
5 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Friday, August 20
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
8 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Gateway, FS1
9 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota 200 presented by CK Power at Gateway, FS1

On MRN
6 p.m., ARCA Menards Series Henry Ford Health Systems 200 at Michigan
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota 200 presented by CK Power at Gateway

Saturday, August 21
2:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota 200 presented by CK Power at Gateway, FS1 (re-air)
10 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota 200 presented by CK Power at Gateway, FS2 (re-air)
3 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series New Holland 250 at Michigan, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN5)

On MRN
3 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series New Holland 250 at Michigan

Sunday, August 22
1 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Michigan, FS1
2 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN5)
6 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Post-Race Show: Michigan, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN
2 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan