Entry list, fan-vote winner revealed for Chicago Street Course Pro Invitational Series race

Posted on June 1, 2021June 2, 2021 by Staff Report

The fifth round of the 2021 eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series is set for Wednesday at virtual Chicago Street Course, with coverage beginning at 6 p.m. ET on FS1. The race, a 51-lapper featuring 37 cars and two resets, will get underway at 8 p.m. ET, also on FS1. Practice will be an extension of Race Hub/pre-race programming from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

The fan-vote winner, as revealed on FS1’s NASCAR Race Hub is once again Jesse Iwuji. The popular NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver will join promoter’s provisional pick Dale Earnhardt Jr. as special entries into the race.

Wednesday’s race was designed with the idea to give fans a preview of the Chicago Street Course, which has a tentative configuration of the virtual circuit measuring roughly 2.2 miles and connecting some of Chicago’s landmark streets, including Michigan Avenue and Lake Shore Drive, lapping the perimeter of Grant Park with the downtown skyline as a backdrop.

Here is the entry list for Wednesday’s Pro Invitational Series race (subject to change).

No.	Team	Driver
00	StarCom Racing	Quin Houff
2	Team Penske	Brad Keselowski
3	Richard Childress Racing	Austin Dillon
4	Stewart-Haas Racing	Kevin Harvick
5	Hendrick Motorsports	Kyle Larson
6	Roush Fenway Racing	Ryan Newman
7	Spire Motorsports	Corey LaJoie
8	Richard Childress Racing	Tyler Reddick
9	Hendrick Motorsports	Chase Elliott
10	Stewart-Haas Racing	Aric Almirola
11	Joe Gibbs Racing	Denny Hamlin
12	Team Penske	Ryan Blaney
14	Stewart-Haas Racing	Chase Briscoe
15	Rick Ware Racing	James Davison
17	Roush Fenway Racing	Chris Buescher
19	Joe Gibbs Racing	Martin Truex Jr.
20	Joe Gibbs Racing	Christopher Bell
21	Wood Brothers Racing	Matt DiBenedetto
22	Team Penske	Joey Logano
23	23XI	Bubba Wallace
24	Hendrick Motorsports	William Byron
38	Front Row Motorsports	Anthony Alfredo
41	Stewart-Haas Racing	Cole Custer
42	Chip Ganassi Racing	Ross Chastain
43	Richard Petty Motorsports	Erik Jones
47	JTG Daugherty Racing	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
48	Hendrick Motorsports	Alex Bowman
51	Petty Ware Racing	Garrett Smithley
52	Rick Ware Racing	Josh Bilicki
53	Rick Ware Racing	Joey Gase
77	Spire Motorsports	Justin Haley
78	Live Fast Motorsports	Kyle Tilley
99	Trackhouse Racing Team	Daniel Suarez
66	MBM Motorsports	Timmy Hill
88	Promoter’s Provisional	Dale Earnhardt Jr.
87	Fan Vote	Jesse Iwuji

Posted on June 1, 2021 by Staff Report

NASCAR issued penalties to three Cup Series teams Tuesday, including a one-race suspension to Kevin Bellicourt of Spire Motorsports after Sunday’s event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Spire’s No. 77 Chevrolet was found with two unsecured lug nuts after Justin Haley drove the car to a 28th-place finish in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. The violation of Section 10.9.10.4 in the NASCAR Rule Book meant a $20,000 fine for Bellicourt, plus a one-race ban for the next points-paying event.

Spire announced Tuesday afternoon that veteran Peter Sospenzo would fill in for Bellicourt this weekend at Sonoma Raceway. Camping World Truck Series regular Ben Rhodes is set to make his Cup Series debut in Spire’s No. 77 in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 (4 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM).

Crew chiefs for two other teams — both from Hendrick Motorsports — were issued $10,000 fines for single-lug infractions after the 600-miler:

• No. 24 Chevrolet crew chief Ryan “Rudy” Fugle (driver William Byron)
• No. 48 Chevrolet crew chief Greg Ives (driver Alex Bowman)

Posted on June 1, 2021June 1, 2021 by Staff Report

One of the sports world’s premier, fan-friendly venues is set to play host to NASCAR Championship Weekend in 2022, Phoenix Raceway announced Tuesday.

The Valley of the Sun will once again host the final weekend of the NASCAR season, scheduled for Nov. 4-6, 2022. The 1-mile Avondale, Arizona oval first hosted the sport’s pinnacle events in 2020 and is scheduled to crown four champions in three days for the second consecutive season this fall.

MORE: 2021 NASCAR schedule

“We’re so proud of the fact that we get to host NASCAR’s biggest weekend, crowning those four champions and celebrating the series, our drivers, our teams,” track president Julie Giese told NASCAR.com. “It’s going to be a great event. We’re really looking forward to it and honored that we have the opportunity to host this once again.”

The 2022 NASCAR Championship Weekend will again feature culminating events in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series West.

Phoenix played the backdrop to a historic weekend last fall, seeing Chase Elliott win his first career NASCAR Cup Series championship while teammate and seven-time title winner Jimmie Johnson wrapped up a Hall of Fame career behind the wheel of the No. 48 Chevrolet.

The scenic mountain views add to the ambiance, but the racing itself is front and center for some of the sport’s best fans as they get treated to a first-class sports-viewing experience.

“Not only is the weather amazing in Arizona in November, the experience at the race track is second to none,” said Giese. “We redeveloped the track a couple years ago and really made it about the fans. We reinvented that fan experience. It was all about immersing our fans into race weekend.

“I think what makes our sport so great anyway is the access, and just how much you can get into the sport when you’re at the race track and be part of it, for us it was taking that to the next level.”

The full 2022 NASCAR schedule will be unveiled at a later date, TBD.

Season ticket renewals are already underway for fans to lock in their seats for the 2022 championship weekend. To learn more about becoming a Phoenix Raceway Season Ticket Holder, please call 866-408-RACE (7223). Public on-sale for the 2022 NASCAR Championship Event will occur at a later date.

To learn more about all happenings and upcoming events Phoenix Raceway, including the 2021 NASCAR Championship Weekend later this season, Nov. 5-7, please visit PhoenixRaceway.com.

Posted on June 1, 2021June 1, 2021 by Zack Albert

This story first appeared on NASCAR.com on March 24, 2021:

Street-course racing is headed to NASCAR, at least in a virtual sense, as series officials confirmed that iRacing is developing a street circuit set in the downtown Chicago Loop. The layout is scheduled to debut on the racing simulation later this spring and host the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series on June 2.

The tentative configuration of the virtual circuit measures roughly 2.2 miles and connects some of Chicago’s landmark streets, including Michigan Avenue and Lake Shore Drive, lapping the perimeter of Grant Park with the downtown skyline as a backdrop.

Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s vice president, strategic initiatives, says he’s taken a test drive on an early unreleased version of the Chicago course, estimating that development of the track is 80 to 90 percent complete. He said the project was a joint effort among NASCAR officials, iRacing, The Specialized Marketing Group Inc. (TSMGI) agency, Chicago Sports Commission and the City of Chicago, which allowed the simulation team to laser-map the streets and surroundings under the cloak of early morning darkness last fall.

“Definitely not a traditional scan, and credit to Steve Myers and the group out at iRacing for being able to pull this off,” Kennedy said. “But it was one Sunday night in October at about 12:30 in the morning that they sent a scanner out there in the middle of the night and just made laps around the course. They were there for a little bit, captured some pictures and videos and some of the data that’s necessary to build that out.

“From there, they were able to build kind of that generic model and as you guys will see in some of the content today, you can really start to see it come to life with the buildings and walls and fencing and some of the street posts and lighting. Still a work in progress and we’ll have the final product on June 2nd to see, but certainly a very unique course and I think it’ll be an exciting one for our fans.”

Even though the rumble of racing engines echoing through the Chicago Loop will be a virtual one, city officials embraced the simulation’s debut there and the chance to host the real-life Cup Series drivers who participate in the invitational series.

“On behalf of the City of Chicago, I am thrilled to work with NASCAR and iRacing to showcase our great city to NASCAR fans who will be watching this cutting-edge event from around the country,” said Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot. “Through this exciting and innovative exhibition, fans will be able to see and experience Chicago’s iconic downtown in a way that has never been done before. I am excited to partner with NASCAR and iRacing to produce this event and look forward to providing a new, uniquely Chicago experience to those near and far.”

Said Kara Bachman, executive director of the Chicago Sports Commission: “Today’s announcement marks a huge milestone for Chicago and the Chicago Sports Commission. CSC and its partners, such as TSMGI who has been integral in securing this event, have long awaited the opportunity to collaborate with NASCAR. The iRacing Pro Invitational Series is the perfect virtual launching pad and a testament to NASCAR’s innovation.”

NASCAR officials announced in January that the iRacing Pro Invitational Series would return for a second season in 2021, starting with Wednesday night’s opener at the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt track (8 p.m. ET, FS1). When the first five dates were announced, the site of the fifth race was left to be determined. Wednesday’s Chicago announcement fills that slot. The second half of the Pro Invitational Series’ 10-race schedule — to be broadcast by NBC Sports — will be revealed at a later date.

iRacing has scanned existing street circuits before, and the sim service offers virtual versions of the streets of Long Beach, California, and the Belle Isle circuit in Detroit. Chicago represents iRacing’s first street-course project based on a real-world location that’s yet to be raced on in real life.

“Certainly something new to us. I think the big things are really creating a good racing product for our fans at the end of the day, so wide streets, good corners and unique characteristics to the track, too,” Kennedy says, noting the natural chicane that Congress Plaza Drive creates and the circuit’s dogleg near Lake Michigan’s shore.

“I think that’s what led us to it and then compile that onto just the iconic location of it, right along Lake Michigan. You have the Chicago skyline in the background and then the middle of Grant Park. Such a unique opportunity and it will be really neat to see it all come together in the virtual world.”

NASCAR has a history of racing in Chicago’s vicinity, dating back to a Cup Series race in 1956 at Soldier Field — not far from the iRacing street circuit. NASCAR held two Camping World Truck Series events (2000-01) at the short-lived Chicago Motor Speedway in Cicero, Illinois, on the city’s outskirts. And Cup Series events were held from 2001-19 in Joliet at Chicagoland Speedway. Officials indicated they continue to work with the Chicagoland track on possible options beyond 2021.

This Chicago venture marks the latest collaboration between iRacing and NASCAR, a partnership that gained prominence under dire circumstances when the sports world shut down after COVID-19’s global outbreak a year ago. The Pro Invitational Series helped fill that void, allowing stock-car racing’s stars and cars to trade paint in pixelated form from remote locations.

More recently, iRacing helped create a sim model for Auto Club Speedway’s proposed reconfiguration into a short track, helping NASCAR officials determine the feasibility of the concept. That same modeling and cooperation will soon transform Chicago’s bustling city streets into a virtual racing venue for iRacing subscribers and NASCAR’s invitational field.

“I think the idea really came together in collaboration with the group out in Chicago and then really integrating iRacing throughout the process,” Kennedy says. “They’ve been great to work with whether it’s on the Auto Club project and what the redevelopment of that track looks like, as well as a handful of other developments as we think about what future tracks could be or look like. It’s been a great collaboration so far. This one is kind of a concept right now more than anything else, but certainly need to have them a part of the process.”

Posted on May 31, 2021May 31, 2021 by Chase Wilhelm

Charlotte Motor Speedway has always been Rick Hendrick’s personal playground.

Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 brought new life to the team owner’s dominance at the 1.5-mile oval that sits just 1.8 miles away from the Hendrick race shop.

Kyle Larson, Hendrick’s newest driver, earned Hendrick’s 269^th Cup Series victory to push the organization past Petty Enterprises on the all-time list. It served as the 21^st Hendrick win at Charlotte and the 12^th time it’s been accomplished in the 600-mile Memorial Day weekend crown jewel.

It was only fitting the milestone was reached in Hendrick’s backyard.

“Well, I’m going to remember that I really wanted to break the record at home,” Hendrick said late Sunday night in a post-race press conference. “I really wanted to do it in Charlotte. When the cars — when the race started and it looked like we were going to be really strong and all of them running in the top five, I thought we’ve really got a shot.”

With a new record achieved, there appears to be no slowing down for the organization for the future. Hendrick’s fleet of drivers – Alex Bowman, William Byron, Chase Elliott and Larson – has been a force for the better part of the 2021 season. All four drivers have recorded wins this year; Bowman, Elliott and Larson have won the past three races and Byron has earned 12 top-10 finishes in the past 13 events.

The combination seems to naturally click. But it’s something that didn’t just happen for Hendrick overnight.

“I’ve worked with Chase since he was 14, William walked up to me at the JRM shop when he was about 15 and said he wanted to drive one day, Alex … Dale picked him, and he and I are car nuts and we worked together, and Kyle is a racer,” Hendrick said. “I think they have tremendous respect for each other because I sit in the debriefs and listen to them sharing information, and I think the age does have a lot to do with it. I think that they respect each other, and each one offers a little bit that maybe the other one doesn’t have.”

The four drivers have an average age of just 26 years old. With that mixture of youth and talent so prevalent, Hendrick has put together a group proving it’s going to hang around Victory Lane for years to come.

Though having four competitive drivers and teams who are hungry for race wins is a fantastic problem to have for a team owner, the stress level elevates when you have them running up front consistently and competing in close proximity of each other.

“Well, it’s a lot of stress when they get close together and if they try to block,” Hendrick said. “The fear I have is wrecking each other because that destroys the organization’s ability to pull together. I’ve had that happen, and I had to get them in a room and say, you can’t — don’t touch each other. If you’re going for the win, okay, but just remember what you’re getting ready to do to the organization. It’s going to break us down if we have a lot of friction and we’re not working together.

“They want to win, but they race each other clean. I’ve heard all of them say, you’ve seen them on the track, they don’t push people around and they try to pass clean, and that’s the way we like to race.”

As he reflected on his storied history in the sport on Sunday night as the celebration was set to continue well into the night, Hendrick felt blessed that he’s been able to hire drivers who have used their unique talents to attain countless triumphs.

But most importantly, it’s how they’ve all become part of his family that has been the most rewarding.

“It’s like having a bunch of kids,” Hendrick said. “You love them all the same.”

Posted on May 31, 2021May 31, 2021 by Chase Wilhelm

CONCORD, N.C. — For the past three weeks, it’s been Hendrick Motorsports versus the rest of the NASCAR Cup Series field.

Team owner Rick Hendrick celebrated a record-breaking 269th Cup Series victory — surpassing Petty Enterprises on the all-time list — with Kyle Larson’s win in Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His other three drivers, Alex Bowman, William Byron and Chase Elliott, filled four of the top-five finishing positions. Hendrick drivers have now won the past three Cup Series races, beginning with Bowman’s win at Dover International Speedway.

Elliott backed up his first victory of the 2021 season at Circuit of The Americas with a second-place finish in the 600-mile Memorial Day weekend classic. The defending series champion feels all four drivers are maximizing opportunities because those moments are fleeting at NASCAR’s highest level.

“This is a sport that comes in waves,” Elliott said. “It’s a roller coaster. There’s going to be good times, there’s going to be bad times. I hope we’re always this good and always this competitive, but I think the law of averages would tell you that that’s not going to last forever, so I think we all want to try to take advantage of the opportunities that we have right now as a company and continue to challenge ourselves to be better because our competitors are getting better, they’re pushing harder.”

One of those competitors, Kyle Busch, made it a point to call out Hendrick Motorsports’ recent rise, who broke up the organization’s party at the top on Sunday night with a third-place finish. Busch radioed to his crew after the race, noting that the Hendrick dominance should be a cause for concern.

But what have been the keys to the Chevrolet brigade’s success? Two-time 2021 race winner Bowman feels part of that answer is Chad Knaus in his new role as competition director.

“The four of us, we’re all somewhat quiet,” Bowman said after finishing fifth at Charlotte. “We’re all pretty quiet for the most part, so Chad leads the meetings for the most part more than he ever has. I think that’s really the biggest vibe change in the meetings I see is being led strictly by Chad instead of Chad in there as a crew chief.”

For Larson, those competition meetings with Knaus are a time for all four drivers to show camaraderie and lay everything on the table.

“I think at least for me, and I think all of us teammates are like this, I think we’re pretty open with each other,” Larson said. “I don’t think any of us hide anything. I know I don’t. I’m not afraid to ask — I don’t know anything about cars, but I’m not afraid to ask somebody why they’re driving like this or how that helped them, and they’ve asked me the same questions, and I give them a 100% honest answer.

“I think when you’re honest with each other and want to help each other out, it just makes the whole program better. I’ve always taken a lot of pride in being a good teammate, and I think my other three teammates are the same way.”

Byron, who finished fourth at his home track Sunday night and earned victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway earlier this year, is enjoying the friendly competition amongst his teammates this year. The drive to beat each other on the race track stems from the willingness to help each other within the walls of the organization’s campus down the street from Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The No. 24 driver has also scored 12 top 10s in the last 13 races.

“It’s maybe more competitive than racing against the other guys because I feel like we know we’ve got the tools and the resources inside,” Byron said. “It’s just about racing the other drivers (at Hendrick), the other cars, the crew chiefs racing each other. It becomes very competitive, which breeds even more winning I feel like. I love it. You wake up knowing you have an opportunity to win.”

While Hendrick drivers are relishing in their peak performance as of late, Elliott warned they shouldn’t lose sight on what’s ahead of them.

“We need to make sure we’re not just happy with where we are, we’ve got to get better, too,” Elliott said. “We’ve got to push, because May isn’t … that’s not when we hand out the big trophy. We need to make sure we’re on our game when it counts.”

Posted on May 31, 2021May 31, 2021 by Zack Albert

When Kyle Busch dialed back the throttle on the cool-down lap of Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, he thanked his Joe Gibbs Racing crew for providing him with a stout No. 18 Toyota for NASCAR’s longest race. But his appreciation after a third-place finish came with an admission.

“The rest of the competition, we stomped their ass,” Busch said over the team’s radio, “but we got a problem … with HMS.”

Busch notched his fifth top-five result of the season Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but the effort had the feel of a best-in-class finish. Hendrick Motorsports occupied the rest of the top-five spots, led by Kyle Larson’s dominant victory that put his organization atop the Cup Series’ all-time team owner win list. Larson was followed by teammate Chase Elliott as the runner-up, with Busch breaking up the Hendrick monopoly ahead of William Byron and Alex Bowman.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

Sunday’s 600 marked Busch’s third top-three finish in the last five races, a modest improvement from the earlier portions of the 2021 schedule. It’s another step in his progression during this first season with new crew chief Ben Beshore.

“We’ve had some really strong runs,” said Busch, who moved forward from a 20th starting spot. “We’ve been fast this year, just haven’t quite got some of the finishes we deserve with that, but overall Ben and the guys gave me a great piece tonight. It was really good from start to finish. We didn’t qualify as good as I wanted to, I was pissed off about that. We rallied in race trim so that felt good.”

Still, the performance was overshadowed by the recent lights-out surge by Hendrick Motorsports, which enjoyed a 1-2 finish for the third straight week — a first. Hendrick drivers led 373 of the 400 laps Sunday night, leaving only remnants up front for the rest of the field.

Hendrick Motorsports notched seven wins and Elliott’s first championship last season. This year, the organization already has six victories through just 15 Cup Series races.

“They’ve certainly gone to work and done their homework,” Busch said. “They’ve also plugged in a superstar driver to one of their cars. Chase is no slouch, William is really good, but Kyle is arguably one of the best. I think they’ve done a really good job obviously of getting good equipment, good pieces and Kyle is making the most of it for sure.”

Busch acknowledged the special nature of Hendrick’s milestone, saying he still had some relationships with the team that launched his Cup Series career back in 2004. His first win came a year later, flying the No. 5 that Larson carried to victory Sunday night.

Busch has already won this season, as have two of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates in Martin Truex Jr. and Christopher Bell. The fourth, Denny Hamlin, has yet to win but holds a commanding lead in the Cup Series standings.

Busch, however, thinks those performance standards are just a tick off where Hendrick Motorsports ranks in the pecking order.

“Not close enough,” Busch said. “On a one to 10 (scale), if Larson was a 10 tonight, we’re about a seven so we’ve got some work to do.”

Posted on May 30, 2021May 31, 2021 by Reid Spencer

CONCORD, N.C. — In dominating fashion, Kyle Larson won NASCAR’s longest race Sunday night and in the process gave team owner Rick Hendrick a record 269th victory, most in NASCAR Cup Series history.

Larson’s win in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway was the eighth of his career and his second of the season, guaranteeing the driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet a spot in the playoffs. By the time he crossed the finish line at the end of 400 laps, Larson held a 10.051-second lead over runner-up and teammate Chase Elliott.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

The 1-2 finish was the third straight for Hendrick Motorsports. Only third-place finisher Kyle Busch found a way to break up the HMS party, with Hendrick drivers William Byron and Alex Bowman running fourth and fifth, respectively.

Larson led 327 of the 400 laps, with his only real challenges coming from Elliott and Byron, who led 22 and 19 laps, respectively.

“It feels great to be that guy who helped Mr. H break that record finally,” Larson said of the victory that broke a tie with Petty Enterprises for most wins in the series.

Larson signed on with Hendrick to start the 2021 season. The car he drove to victory Sunday night bore the same number as the Chevrolet Geoff Bodine piloted at Martinsville Speedway on April 29, 1984 to give Hendrick’s fledgling — and struggling — organization the first of those 269 wins.

“It’s been better than I ever could have imagined,” Larson said of his first 15 races with HMS. “For us to lead as many laps as we’ve got this year (a series-best 1,105), to contend for as many wins as we have and now to get our second win in a crown-jewel event, too, it feels great.

“I’m just very lucky that Mr. H was able to put a deal (together) for me. It’s just awesome. I’m living a dream, for sure.”

NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France was one of the first to congratulate Hendrick.

“I am proud to congratulate Rick Hendrick and all of Hendrick Motorsports on breaking the all-time wins record for a NASCAR Cup Series race team, long held by the legendary Petty Enterprises team,” France said in a statement issued at the conclusion of the race. “With nearly 40 years of excellence, Hendrick Motorsports has set the gold standard for race team success. Rick Hendrick has already cemented his legacy as a NASCAR Hall of Famer, and now adds another incredible accomplishment to an exemplary NASCAR career.”

Larson started from the pole and swept the first three stages, but not without challenges from Elliott and Byron.

In fact, in the green-flag run after the second stage break, Byron passed Larson for the lead on Lap 231. During the subsequent exchange of pit stops, however, Larson came in for service one lap earlier than Byron and was roughly one second faster on and off pit road than his teammate.

Larson built a lead of more than 2.5 seconds but spent more than 15 circuits trying to lap the No. 43 Chevrolet of Erik Jones, as Byron closed to his bumper.

“Make him work for it,” Jones’ spotter, Rick Carelli, radioed to his driver as he fought to stay on the lead lap, and Jones certainly followed those instructions.

But Larson finally passed the No. 43 Camaro and began to pull away from Byron before Ryan Newman slammed the outside wall to cause the fourth and final caution of the race on Lap 296. The stage ended under yellow, with Larson the winner.

Coincidentally, it was also Jones who pitted for fresh tires during the final run to the finish, returned to the track ahead of Larson and helped Larson build his winning margin.

“I just towed with him for a while and stretched my lead out,” said Larson, who for the second time in his career followed three straight runner-up finishes with a pole and a victory.

Austin Dillon ran sixth, followed by Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick and Kevin Harvick. Hamlin retained the series lead by 76 points over Larson and Byron, who are tied for second in the standings.

The NASCAR Cup Series’ next race is Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 (4 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM) at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.

Notes: Post-race inspection in the NASCAR Cup Series garage revealed no issues, validating the No. 5 Chevrolet’s victory. The Nos. 24 and 48 Chevrolets each had one lug nut not safe and secure, which will result in fines for the crew chiefs. The No. 77 Chevrolet had two lug nuts not safe and secure, which will result in a fine and a crew-chief suspension.

Posted on May 30, 2021May 31, 2021 by Zack Albert

Hendrick Motorsports passed Petty Enterprises on NASCAR’s all-time wins list for team owners Sunday night, with Kyle Larson breaking the tie by providing the organization’s 269th Cup Series victory, a Coca-Cola 600 triumph at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Rick Hendrick, 71, celebrated at the 1.5-mile track located nearly the same distance away from his team’s sprawling campus, a hometown venue where his team has now won 21 times. The Charlotte-based automotive mogul and businessman took the top spot from the Pettys, one of the first families of NASCAR who formed one of stock-car racing’s earliest powerhouses.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

“I am proud to congratulate Rick Hendrick and all of Hendrick Motorsports on breaking the all-time wins record for a NASCAR Cup Series race team, long held by the legendary Petty Enterprises team,” said Jim France, NASCAR’s chairman and CEO. “With nearly 40 years of excellence, Hendrick Motorsports has set the gold standard for race team success. Rick Hendrick has already cemented his legacy as a NASCAR Hall of Famer, and now adds another incredible accomplishment to an exemplary NASCAR career.”

Ties between the two organizations still bind them together. Hendrick Motorsports launched as All-Star Racing in 1984, the same year Richard Petty scored the last of his record 200 wins. Hendrick was enshrined in the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2017, preceded by four inductees who made up the core of Petty Enterprises — father-son drivers Lee (2011) and Richard Petty (2010), crew chief Dale Inman (2012) and engine builder Maurice Petty (2014).

“I have tremendous respect for the Petty family and what they’ve accomplished,” Hendrick said. “Someone will probably break my record, so it’s just — records are made to be broken.

Both teams also share common ground in the way their win totals accumulated, with two drivers each amassing the primary share of their victories. Patriarch Lee Petty netted all 54 of his Cup Series wins for the family-owned team, and Richard Petty contributed all but four of his 200 wins overall. Twenty drivers — including all four on Hendrick’s current roster — have added to Hendrick Motorsports’ record tally, but two standouts lead the way. Jeff Gordon’s 93 wins rank third on NASCAR’s all-time list, and Jimmie Johnson’s 83 wins are tied with the legendary Cale Yarborough for sixth.

When Hendrick announced the creation of his new racing team in January 1984, he expressed confidence that All-Star Racing would win “three or four races and finish high in the Winston Cup point race.” Doubters seized on the brazen prediction, even with Modified hotshot Geoff Bodine and veteran crew chief Harry Hyde forming the nucleus of the team. In a full-circle twist, Petty was the top candidate to be Hendrick’s first driver. “I thought we had a deal,” Hendrick said. “It didn’t come together.”

The group nearly ceased operations shortly after it started, but Bodine’s stirring and surprising breakthrough win at Martinsville Speedway that April kept the fledgling No. 5 team afloat. Two more wins followed that first year, fulfilling Hendrick’s vision and providing a foundation for the 266 wins that would come next.

“It feels good. I can’t believe we got 269,” Hendrick said. “It was kind of neat to — I want any one of them to win, but the first one was 5 and this one was the number 5. I just remember how close it was not to finish out the first year.”

Hendrick Motorsports had previously supplanted Petty Enterprises atop the list of most team owner championships in NASCAR’s top division. Hendrick holds a 13-10 lead in that category, with four series champions on its all-time roster — seven-time champ Johnson, four-time title winner Gordon and one-time title winners Terry Labonte and Chase Elliott.

Elliott, the defending Cup Series champ, is part of a talented young driver lineup that has rejuvenated Hendrick’s performance this season. Through 15 Cup Series races in 2021, all four drivers have won races, virtually clinching berths in the 16-driver postseason field.

Posted on May 30, 2021May 31, 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, May 31
4:30 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
7:30 a.m., ARCA Menards Series: General Tire 150 (re-air), FS2
9:30 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
10 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1

Tuesday, June 1
12 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive: Charlotte Motor Speedway, FS2
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: North Carolina Education Lottery 200 (re-air), FS2
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Alsco Uniforms 300 (re-air), FS2
10:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (re-air), FS2

Wednesday, June 2
1:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Alsco Uniforms 300 (re-air), FS2
4 a.m., NASCAR Classics: 1995 Coke 600 (re-air), FS1
4:30 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
2 p.m., IMSA: Lamborghini Super Trofeo at Circuit of the Americas (tape delay), NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series: Practice, FS1
8 p.m., eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series: Chicago Street Course, FS1
9:30 p.m., Renegades: The Bad Boys of NASCAR (re-air), FS1
10:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Road Courses, FS1
11:30 p.m., eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series: Chicago Street Course (re-air), FS1

Thursday, June 3
6 a.m., NASCAR Auto Racing Classics: 1986 Budweiser at the Glen, FS2
8:30 a.m., NASCAR Auto Racing Classics: 1988 Checker 500, FS2
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Road Courses, FS2
12:30 p.m., Renegades, The Bad Boys of NASCAR (re-air), FS2
1:30 p.m., eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series: Chicago Street Course (re-air), FS2
5 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour: Jennerstown Salutes 150 at Jennerstown Speedway (tape delay), NBCSN
6 p.m., Dale Jr. Download: Ty Norris, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
10 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Road Courses, FS2
11 p.m., eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series: Chicago Street Course (re-air), FS2

Friday, June 4
3:30 a.m., eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series: Chicago Street Course (re-air), FS1
5 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Road Courses (re-air), FS1
6 a.m., eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series: Chicago Street Course (re-air), FS1
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: Dawn 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, FS1
9:30 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: Dawn 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), FS2

On MRN:
6 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: Dawn 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

Saturday, June 5
1 a.m., ARCA Menards Series: Dawn 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), FS1
9 a.m., NASCAR Classics: 1989 Banquet Frozen Foods 300 (re-air), FS1
Noon, NASCAR RaceDay: Xfinity Series at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, FS1
1 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: B&L Transport 170 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, FS1 (Canada: TSN 2)
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: B&L Transport 170 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), FS2
11 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: B&L Transport 170 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), FS1

On MRN:
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: B&L Transport 170 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

Sunday, June 6
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: B&L Transport 170 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), FS1
2:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma Raceway, FS1
4 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, FS1 (Canada: TSN)
7:30 p.m., Renegades: The Bad Boys of NASCAR (re-air), FS1
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway (re-air), FS1
11:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: B&L Transport 170 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), FS1

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