Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

After a hiatus of nearly one month, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour hits its biggest stage of the season on Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The modified tour has raced at the 1.058-mile oval in Loudon, New Hampshire, 72 times since the facility first welcomed it in 1990.

As of late, though, the man to beat at the premier stop on the circuit has been Bobby Santos III. Santos has won five of the last seven contests at New Hampshire, including each of the last two, and will make his season debut in the No. 44 car this weekend to defend his winning streak.

RACE INFO: Race Center

Meanwhile, as the circuit holds its seventh race of the 14-race schedule, the fight for the championship points lead remains scorching hot. Patrick Emerling holds the top spot in the standings by a slim three-point margin over defending champion Justin Bonsignore while Tommy Catalano sits third 36 points back. Six-time titlist Doug Coby, the series’ lone multi-time winner in 2021, is tied for fourth with Woody Pitkat at 41 points back despite missing the action on June 12 at Oswego Speedway.

Fans can still purchase Saturday tickets at NHMS.com or watch the action live at 12:45 p.m. ET via TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold.

Whelen 100

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

While Santos, the 2010 series champion, carries his wicked streak into Saturday, he won’t be the only part-time addition making a splash in Saturday’s party.

NASCAR Cup Series regulars Ryan Newman and Ryan Preece will join the fun Saturday, highlighting yet another stout entry list for the Whelen 100.

Newman is a two-time winner at the “Magic Mile,” winning both modified events there in 2010, and will drive the No. 53 car for owner Mike Curb. The 2002 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year and 2014 series runner-up has a strong track record in New Hampshire with two wins, nine top fives and 11 top 10s in 20 starts. Newman already has one modified start under his belt this year in the season opener at Martinsville Speedway, though that was ended prematurely due to an engine failure.

Preece, meanwhile, will jump into the No. 6 car in hopes for his first triumph at New Hampshire.

In 24 starts there, Preece has racked up seven top fives and 12 top 10s, coming closest to claiming his first N.H. victory in 2017. That day, he led 54 laps, but Santos got the best of him late and led the final two laps en route to the win. Preece has started four of the six races on the tour this season and finished second in his last outing at Oswego Speedway.

Back in the world of modified regulars, Coby enters on the heels of a June 20 victory at Riverhead Raceway ahead of the series’ hiatus. Coby is a four-time winner at the “Magic Mile” and has accrued 13 top fives and 20 top 10s to go along with that four-pack of victories.

Points-leader Emerling claimed his first win of the season on April 30 at Stafford Motor Speedway but is still looking for his first New Hampshire win in his 21st start, despite racking up six top fives and nine top 10s. Emerling will also pull double duty on Saturday as he hops behind the wheel of the No. 23 Chevrolet for Our Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race later Saturday afternoon.

Bonsignore, meanwhile, is a 2016 winner at New Hampshire and claimed the May 29 win at Jennerstown Speedway earlier this season. Second in points, Bonsignore carries that past win, eight top fives and 12 top 10s into this weekend’s contest.

Don’t rule out Pitkat, either. In 27 starts, Pitkat has one win (2014), two top fives and 13 top 10s at New Hampshire. However, Pitkat has struggled to relocate his magic there lately, finishing inside the top 10 just once in the past eight Loudon races.

Entering third in points, Catalano, 23, has made just five New Hampshire starts and has yet to find steady success, earning just one top-10 finish so far with a ninth-place effort in the first of two New Hampshire races in 2019. His last two starts have included a driveshaft failure in 2019 and a crash DNF one year ago.

Nhms Whelen 100

RACING REFERENCE:

RACE FACTS

Race Whelen 100
Date Saturday, July 17, 2021
Track New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Layout 1.058-mile oval
Location Loudon, New Hampshire
Start time 12:45 p.m. ET
Laps 100
Miles 105.8
Tickets NHMS.com
TV channel NBCSN (Delayed: Wednesday, Aug. 11, 1 p.m. ET)
Live stream TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold

RACEDAY SCHEDULE: Saturday, June 19 — Garage opens: 6:30 a.m.; Practice: 9:45-10:45 a.m.; Qualifying: 11:30 a.m.; Race: 12:45 p.m.

CREW CHIEF HANDOUT: The starting field for the Whelen 100 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 Whelen 100. 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 twelve (12) 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.

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 by Zack Albert

JR Motorsports announced Monday that Michael Annett will miss Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race with a stress fracture in his right femur.

Josh Berry, a part-time teammate to Annett this season, will instead pilot JRM’s No. 1 Chevrolet in Saturday’s Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM) at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Annett was replaced in a late-hour driver change on the grid for last Saturday’s Xfinity Series event at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Cup Series regular Austin Dillon filled in and drove the No. 1 Chevy to an 11th-place finish in the Credit Karma Money 250.

RELATED: Annett a late scratch at Atlanta | Xfinity Series standings

JRM officials said that Annett was hampered by a leg injury, which also forced him out of last Friday’s Camping World Truck Series event at Knoxville Raceway. The team stated that a Monday MRI revealed the fracture and that Annett is scheduled for surgery Tuesday.

JRM indicated that doctors said Annett should heal in time for the series’ Aug. 7 race at Watkins Glen International. After the New Hampshire event, the series takes a two-week break for the Summer Olympics before resuming at the New York road course.

Officials for JR Motorsports said that the team had applied for a medical waiver so that Annett may retain his postseason eligibility. A NASCAR spokesperson confirmed Monday afternoon that the waiver had been granted. Despite missing a race, Annett remained 10th in the Xfinity Series standings after Atlanta.

Berry, last year’s national champion in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, has competed in 15 Xfinity Series races this season — 12 for JR Motorsports and three for Jordan Anderson Racing. He scored his first Xfinity Series win in April, driving JRM’s No. 8 Chevrolet to victory at Martinsville Speedway.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Kurt Busch’s victory Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway had multiple ripple effects on the evolving NASCAR Cup Series postseason picture. Five races remain in the regular season, and the window for solidifying playoff status is closing.

RELATED: Official results | Cup Series standings

Here’s how Sunday’s 400-miler shook up the outlook for several drivers on opposite sides of the playoff bubble:

Looking out for No. 1: Kurt Busch virtually wrapped up his ninth consecutive playoff berth, marking his eighth straight season with at least one win. The announced sale of his Chip Ganassi Racing team just 11 days earlier threw his status for next season into further uncertainty, but now he has the elements of a solid send-off for CGR and potential leverage for a 2022 ride.

“Our win last year at Vegas was a long time ago,” Busch said, “and so to update that and to make ourselves playoff eligible, it’s a huge feather in the cap for everybody that’s part of that organization to keep pushing and to give our best all the way to Phoenix.”

Busch entered Atlanta as the last competitor provisionally in the 16-driver playoff field and a 33-1 shot to win in the Vegas sportsbooks. He now ranks among the 12 regular-season winners, taking the upper hand on those still trying to qualify on the basis of points.

MORE: NASCAR Playoff Watch 2021

Four on the floor: With a dozen playoff berths snapped up by regular-season winners, just four open spots remain. Right now, those slots are provisionally filled by top points earners (in order) Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick.

Four up-for-grabs positions in five races — a schedule that includes two road courses and an unpredictable Daytona finale — leaves the tantalizing doomsday scenario of more than 16 regular-season winners as a remote possibility. Highly unlikely given the strength of 2021’s winners thus far, but still …

Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

Reddick braving the bubble: The No. 8 Richard Childress Racing crew seemed to sense that Sunday’s outcome could have a negative effect on Tyler Reddick’s playoff prospects, telling their driver before the final stage: “We’re going to need the 1 (Busch) to slow down here. We don’t need him winning.” Busch did, and the result dropped Reddick into the precarious 16th berth.

Reddick has finished among the top 10 in three consecutive races, but a first-time winner in the final five races could spell trouble for him. “I know we can make the playoffs,” he said post-race. “We just have to continue to push.”

Points of order: Before Atlanta, Busch’s hold on the final playoff spot was just 25 points above Chris Buescher, the first driver provisionally out. After Atlanta, with Reddick the new last man in, the cut line is now a 96-point separation between 16th and 17th in the playoff standings.

Barring a monumental collapse by non-winners above the cut, the avenue for a driver to race his way into a playoff spot on the basis of points is extremely slim. Breaking through for a win will remain the best bet for the current postseason outsiders.

Regular-season title twists: After Denny Hamlin was knocked back in the running order by a Lap 163 pit-road speeding penalty, Kyle Larson stood poised to take over the series points lead that Hamlin had held continuously since the second race of the season. Just 48 laps later, Larson’s own speeding violation thwarted that opportunity, keeping Hamlin atop the standings for another week. Hamlin finished 13th at Atlanta, with Larson 18th.

Hamlin’s lead grew from a scant three points to just 10 after Atlanta as the pursuit of the regular-season championship nears its end. The title carries with it a 15-point playoff bonus, a tidy incentive for the winner.

Posted on by Zack Albert

A Chip Ganassi Racing operation that’s about to transform next season showed it still has some teamwork left in the tank Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, much to Kyle Busch’s dismay.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

Kurt Busch outlasted Kyle in a battle of brothers in Sunday’s Quaker State 400, helped by a late-race traffic jam that gave him the lead to stay in the 236th of 260 laps. Central to that traffic delay was Ganassi teammate Ross Chastain, whose No. 42 Chevrolet slowed the progress of Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and allowed Kurt Busch to pull alongside in the No. 1 Chevy. Kurt Busch drove on to his first Cup Series win of the season, and his brother was left in second place — just shy of securing his 60th Cup Series win.

“Would’ve been a hell of a lot better if it wasn’t for some butthead. But it is what it is,” Kyle Busch told PRN Radio. “It was ours to lose and we lost it.”

RELATED: Chastain explains the move

The victory sealed a provisional playoff spot in Chip Ganassi’s final season as owner of the two-car effort. Trackhouse Racing announced June 30 that it had purchased Ganassi’s organization and assets, setting a course for a two-car team with Daniel Suarez and another driver to be named later.

The futures of Kurt Busch and Chastain may be uncertain for now, but their late-race cooperation equaled quite the farewell gift for Ganassi’s final campaign.

“Shake and bake! Yeah, and the 42, he did his job as a teammate,” Kurt Busch told NBC Sports post-race. “Ross is going to get a little flak for it, but that’s what it takes to be a good teammate at the right moment, so I couldn’t be more proud of Ross Chastain. I’ll pay him back eventually, but right now this is our No. 1 car in Victory Lane.”

Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Sean Gardner | Getty Images

Chastain’s 21st-place finish in his 100th Cup Series start was more eventful than the stat sheet would imply. He was fighting to remain on the lead lap when the two brothers — who had been dominant all day — closed on his No. 42 entry in their late-race contest for the lead.

Chastain didn’t clear a path for Kyle Busch as he led down the stretch, and that decision allowed Kurt Busch to snatch the inside lane away. The three drivers eventually worked through Turns 1 and 2 three-wide before Kurt Busch seized an advantage he would not relinquish down the stretch.

Chastain deflected when asked about Kyle Busch’s lot in their late-race scrum, but acknowledged lending a helping hand to his teammate.

“Kurt asked for the bottom so I gave him that lane,” said Chastain, who joined Chip Ganassi Racing full-time just this season. “I was racing to stay on the lead lap. I’m very aware of what’s going on on the track around me. Kurt asked me for the bottom and I gave it to him. …

“To see a Chip Ganassi car in Victory Lane with all that’s happened the last couple of weeks and all this year, there is nothing I want more. One team, one goal and that’s to win.”

RELATED: Kurt Busch holds off Kyle in the closing laps

There was little consolation to the No. 18 group, which stood out as the lone reliable contender to the elder Busch’s efforts with the No. 1 car. The Busch brothers split the stage wins, and Kyle Busch led 91 laps — second only to Kurt Busch’s 144. No other driver led more than 15 laps.

“Good car all day,” No. 18 spotter Tony Hirschman said on the cool-down lap. “Just got teamed up on there, dirtied up.” Kyle Busch seconded that assessment in his post-race remarks with NBC Sports, saying that his tires were burned up late in that run, but adding: “It shows you what kind of driver he is.”

Kyle Busch did drop in on the No. 1 team’s celebration to provide compulsory congratulations on his brother’s win, a brotherly 1-2 result that Kurt said he hoped would not linger with any sore feelings.

“He did stop by Victory Lane and do the Kyle Busch grumpy. That’s what I expected,” Kurt Busch said. Yeah, again, what happened on track was the perfect scenario for a teammate to do the work that he needed to do. If I’m running third, Ross isn’t part of the equation. That was exactly what a teammate needs to do, and Ross did that in a way that gave me a sense of pride on the education and the mentorship that I have helped Ross with this year. It was a perfect give-back.

“Can we do that in the playoffs? No. Can you do that in a regular season where one guy has won and one guy is trying to run hard? Today was a perfect scenario for that to unfold, and Kyle will get over it pretty quick. … Yeah, I believe that no line was crossed, and it was that right finesse to make it happen.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

Kurt Busch outdueled his younger brother Kyle Busch in the pair’s fourth career 1-2 finish to secure his 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs position and take his 33rd career victory in Sunday’s Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart.

Busch, 42, has been particularly good at the 1.5-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway. Sunday’s win was his fourth there, most among the current field, and the last trophy given before the historic NASCAR track is repaved and reconfigured going forward.

More importantly Sunday’s work was a big statement for Busch, who started the race with only a 25-point buffer in the championship standings with six races left to set the 16-driver playoffs field. Now with the win, he’s “in,” and his emotions climbing out of Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 1 Chevrolet certainly reflected the relief and joy.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

He simultaneously earned a playoffs position and evened the score with his brother — each has won two races in the four times they have finished first and second.

“Hell yeah, we beat Kyle,” a smiling Kurt Busch said after climbing out of his car, putting his fists in the air and turning toward the cheering crowd in the grandstands.

“What a battle on an old-school race track,” Kurt Busch said. “It’s been one of those years where I knew we were going to have our back against the wall, just above the (playoffs) cut-off line and needed to race hard and race smart.”

Not too surprisingly, Kyle Busch’s mood standing by his car on pit lane was markedly different than his brother’s. He felt like Kurt’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Ross Chastain interfered a bit as the two brothers were fighting for the race lead while navigating lapped traffic.

Kurt led a race high 144 of the 267 laps — the most he’s led in a single race since 2015 (291 laps at Richmond) and the two each won a stage. Kurt came out behind his brother on track when the final round of pit stops cycled out, but ultimately passed Kyle for good with 25 laps remaining and crossed the finish line 1.237 seconds ahead of his brother. Kyle was able to pull alongside Kurt with seven to go, but unable to make the pass in lapped traffic.

“I gave everything I had there early and then just smoked it behind the 42 (Chastain) obviously, shows you what kind of driver he is,” Kyle Busch said. “Just trying to fight hard after that when I got passed.

“Great effort, the guys gave me a great piece,’’ Kyle continued. “The 1 (Kurt Busch) was definitely better than us today, I just thought I had him.”

Kyle’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. finished third, rallying from a 37th-place starting position. Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman was fourth followed by Penske Racing’s Ryan Blaney, who won at Atlanta this March.

Tyler Reddick, Georgia native Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Matt DiBenedetto and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top 10.

Noticeably absent from that group is the series’ only four-race winner Kyle Larson. He ran among the top five for most of the race but was penalized for speeding on pit road during his final pit stop. He instead finished 18th.

Championship points leader Denny Hamlin, who is still looking for his first win of 2021, finished 13th. He also was handed a pit road penalty early in the race, which was red-flagged for about 20 minutes just after the completion of Stage 2 so track workers could repair the track surface.

With five races remaining to set the 16-driver playoffs field, 12 drivers have now earned automatic bids with a race victory. Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, who rallied to an 11th-place finish Sunday, Austin Dillon and Reddick are the four highest-ranked drivers on points.

The NASCAR Cup Series’ next race is the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301, scheduled next Sunday (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM) at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Notes: Post-race inspection was completed without major issue in the Cup Series garage, confirming Busch as the winner. Four teams were found with one unsecured lug nut in a post-race check: No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (driver Christopher Bell), No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford (Matt DiBenedetto), No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota (Bubba Wallace), No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (Alex Bowman). … NASCAR officials also announced that four cars would be taken to the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, N.C., for engine dynamometer testing and a full teardown. Competition officials periodically conduct more thorough post-race inspections, but to monitor trends and developments without any penalties stemming from those analyses.

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 NBCSN | Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App

Monday, July 12
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Tuesday, July 13
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
10 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Corn Belt 150 (re-air), FS2

Wednesday, July 14
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Thursday, July 15
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., IMSA Auto Racing Special Prototype Challenge: Watkins Glen, NBCSN
7 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN

Friday, July 16
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Saturday, July 17
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN3)

On PRN
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200

Sunday, July 18
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Raceday: New Hampshire, FS1
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN1, 3)

On PRN
2 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301

Posted on by Staff Report

Martin Truex Jr. will start at the rear of the field for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports app, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) after failing pre-race inspection twice.

The No. 19 Toyota of Truex was slated to start fifth prior to the penalty.

RELATED: Starting lineup for Atlanta

“Coming from the back is never easy but a place like this if you have to go the back, you want it to be a place where its multiple grooves,” Truex said regarding the penalty during a pre-race availability at Atlanta. “A wide race track where you can move around on. If we hit it right, if our car’s good, we should be able to do it. It might take awhile, but we should get there.”

In 20 races this season, Truex owns three wins, six top fives and 10 top 10s, but only has two top 10s in the last eight races, including a ninth-place finish at Road America last Sunday.

Posted on by Zack Albert

While Kyle Busch soared to his 102nd win in the Xfinity Series on Saturday afternoon, Daniel Hemric was left wanting for his first. The two were connected as teammates under the Joe Gibbs Racing umbrella, but also by the late-race contact that altered the fates of both at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Hemric’s strong bid for a breakthrough win was foiled by a crash during a restart just seven laps from the end in Saturday’s Credit Karma Money 250. A forceful push in the low lane by Busch’s No. 54 Toyota turned Hemric’s No. 18 entry sideways into the No. 16 car of AJ Allmendinger and eventually the Turn 1 retaining wall.

RELATED: Kyle Busch seals 5-for-5 season | Official results

Hemric had led 45 of the 164 laps — second only to Busch’s 97 — but was dropped to a 30th-place finish. Neither party said the contact was intentional.

“All he was literally doing was trying to keep our row moving,” said Hemric, who was making his 105th Xfinity Series start. “Just an odd, off-timed location and ended up in the fence.”

Busch apologized over the team radio after the contact, then again after capturing the checkered flag — going so far as to call the victory “somber.”

“People would say I did it on purpose, but what do I need to do it on purpose for,” he said. “Kid’s going for his first win. I’m going for 102. I’ve been there, done that. I don’t need it. It would certainly help him a hell of a lot more than it’s going to help me and give the perception that now I have on that.”

Hemric was a fixture among the top five through the first two stages — both won by Busch — but didn’t rise into serious contention until the final segment of the race. He was able to keep Busch at bay until a caution flag for Carson Ware’s incident on the backstraight triggered a series of late restarts.

Hemric kept the lead after a round of pit stops and a chaotic first restart, but the pivotal reset with Busch thwarted his bid.

The outcome was emblematic of the hard luck that has followed Hemric in his Xfinity Series career. He’s finished among the top three 23 times — a runner-up on nine occasions — without a win. He struck an upbeat note in post-race interviews, adding “our day will come” as a punctuation mark to his air time with NBC Sports.

“What could’ve been, right?” Hemric said. “It’s all you can think about. On the flip side of it, you can’t change it. Obviously, I know it wasn’t intentional by no means. I did spin the tires a little bit, we were on scuffed tires there and  thought we got rolling there the best we could, and Kyle just went to push me to help our momentum in the bottom lane. Right when he went to hook on my back bumper, there’s a swell there right before you turn into (Turn) 1. The way the car loads up there, I think it just laid on the left-rear tire and the bumpers didn’t align and it shot me right.

“I know it wasn’t intentional but at the end of the day, I’m sitting here talking to you guys with a torn-up race car.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

Kyle Busch earned his record 102nd NASCAR Xfinity Series race victory Saturday afternoon in the Credit Karma Money 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway – taking the checkered flag in overtime to top a perfect 5-for-5 record in Xfinity starts this season.

The winningest driver in series history proclaimed Saturday’s work to be his final curtain call, the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion saying he would no longer compete in the Xfinity Series.

RELATED: Official results | Atlanta weekend schedule

Ironically, in what should have been his biggest bow before the fans – his traditional victory celebration – Busch, 36, opted for a more subdued acknowledgement of the win. He placed the flag inside his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54 Toyota and conceded the win wasn’t exactly how he wanted to add to his historic victory tally.

On the previous restart with only six laps remaining in regulation, Busch was behind his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Daniel Hemric and gave him a bumper-push forward to help the two get in front of the field. But Hemric’s No. 18 JGR Toyota instead wiggled sideways, made contact with another car and hooked into the outside wall; the wreck forcing the overtime finish.

It had looked as if Busch, who led a race-best 97 laps, and Hemric were going to settle the trophy between themselves. A victory for the 30-year-old Hemric, would have been his first in any of NASCAR’s national series. He now has 105 Xfinity Series starts and nine runner-up finishes. On Saturday, he finished 30th.

“Not quite the win we were hoping for,’’ Busch said, “a little bit of a somber win, I guess, not just for it being it the last one, but for the way it kind of happened.

“Really hate it for my teammate Daniel Hemric there on the frontstretch. Just trying to get to him, trying to push him, trying to hit him and get him moving forward. We hit that bump there on the track at the same time and it kind of juked his car and he was across traffic, I guess. Ended up wrecked, which was not all how I foresaw that all going.

“But we were able to push our way through and get on to Victory Lane.”

Added Busch, who won both stages and now has led an Xfinity Series record 20,088 laps, “He probably was going to have us beat, you know. Whoever got ahead off of Turn 2 on a restart was probably going to circle back around and take the checkered.”

For his part, an obviously disappointed Hemric had very little to say on the team radio when the incident happened on-track, but spoke to reporters on pit road after the race and remained upbeat despite the frustrating situation.

“What could have been, right, that’s all you can think about,’’ Hemric told NBCSN on pit road. “On the flipside, you can’t change it. Obviously, I know it wasn’t intentional by no means. I did spin the tires a little bit, we were on scuffed tires there.

“I thought we got rolling there the best we could, and Kyle just went to push me and help out momentum in the bottom lane. Right when he went to hook on my back bumper, there’s a swell there right before you turn into Turn 1. The way the car loads there, and the bumpers didn’t align and it shot me right there. I know it wasn’t intentional but at the end of the day, I’m talking to you guys with a torn-up race car. This sucks.

“I don’t know if I should have been expecting something different than what happened,’’ Hemric continued. “But as soon as he touched me I never had a chance. That’s a product of taking off in a restart zone on older tires and we’re all doing all we can. Just unfortunate, but congrats to those guys they’ve been on top of it and our day will come.”

RELATED: Hemric’s run derailed

Kaulig Racing’s Jeb Burton finished second to Busch by .550 seconds, followed by JR Motorsports driver Noah Gragson, who was leading the field to green after a caution period in the middle of the race only to have to drop into the pits to repair a punctured tire just before a restart. He was 31st at the time and rallied all the way to third. It was his best showing since a runner-up finish at Martinsville in early April – 12 races ago.

Burton’s Kaulig teammate Justin Haley finished fourth and Ty Dillon earned his best showing of the season with a fifth-place run. Brett Moffitt, Justin Allgaier, Jeremy Clements, rookie Sam Mayer and championship leader Austin Cindric rounded out the top 10.

“It was a particularly impressive run to 11th place for Austin Dillon, who got the call to substitute for Michael Annett in the JR Motorsports No. 1 Chevrolet only minutes before the race started. He was on the team radio asking for the name of his crew chief and his spotter just after the field took the green flag.

With only eight races remaining to set the 12-driver Xfinity Series Playoffs field, Cindric, a four-race winner, continues to lead the championship standings by 74 points over Allmendinger and Hemric is third.

The series races next in the Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Note: The race-winning No. 54 Toyota of Kyle Busch passed NASCAR’s post-race inspection without major issue, confirming the victory. Both the No. 54 car and the No. 22 Ford of Austin Cindric were found to have one lug nut not safe and secure, which should result in a fine for the crew chief according to guidelines in the NASCAR Rule Book.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Staff Report

Austin Dillon drove to an 11th-place finish as a last-minute substitute for Michael Annett in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Credit Karma Money 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.

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JRM announced just moments before the race that Annett would be sidelined by injury. Team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. later revealed on NBCSN that Annett had a leg injury that was keeping him out of the race. Annett was also forced to be replaced in Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Knoxville Raceway.

Dillon, a Cup Series regular, was hastily fitted for the No. 1 Chevrolet on the grid. He was in unfamiliar surroundings from the get-go, asking the team over radio communications how to start the car and what the names of his spotter (Jason Jarrett) and crew chief (Mike Bumgarner) were.

Dillon said a pre-race phone call with Earnhardt confirmed the late-hour start.

Dillon had one other Xfinity Series start this season, finishing 13th at Circuit of The Americas. He won the 2013 Xfinity Series championship before making the jump to NASCAR’s top division.

Despite missing the race, Annett remained 10th in the Xfinity Series points standings. He has one top five and eight top 10s in 17 races this season. His lone series win came in 2019 in the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway.