PIT BOX: Wide-open race on tap for Jennerstown Speedway

Posted on May 24, 2021June 21, 2021 by Staff Report

Jennerstown Speedway returned to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule last year for the first time in 15 years, and immediately proved to be the wild card track on the slate.

Not only were there two different winners, eight different drivers scored a top five and 15 different drivers walked away from the Pennsylvania track with at least one top 10.

Eric Goodale and Patrick Emerling head to the fourth race of the 2021 season tie atop the championship standings, but averaged a 14.5 finish at Jennerstown last year with a best run of 12th by Emerling in the second race.

What does that all mean for Saturday night’s Jennerstown Salutes 150 presented by DGV? The first of two trips to western Pennsylvania could further shake up an already unpredictable championship race.

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RACE INFO: Jennerstown Salutes 150 presented by DGV At Jennerstown Speedway

The race will take on special significance as part of Memorial Day weekend. In special partnership with Operation Vet NOW Inc., event-promoter JDV Productions will honor those lost serving the country in war, while also keeping in mind those who are currently serving, or suffering from effects from war, including but not limited to PTSD, TBI, mental health, and combat and transition stress issues.

The race will include special appearances by Gold Star Family members and each NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour cars will each carry the name of a veteran lost in war.

Fans can attend the race (buy tickets) as well as watch the race live on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold.

Jennerstown Salutes 150 presented by DGV

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

Just two drivers – Craig Lutz and Justin Bonsignore — walked away from Jennerstown with a pair of top five finishes. Fittingly, each visited Victory Lane. Bonsignore lead all 133 laps in the opener, crossing the finish line 1.1776 seconds ahead of runner-up Lutz. Bonsignore led the first 110 laps of the return before Lutz got past him. Bonsignore faded to fifth, and Lutz held off Dave Sapienza in a late sprint to the finish.

Fast forward to the return to the track, and the two drivers responsible for winning nine of the 14 races from Aug. 31, 2019, through last year have yet to break through this season.

Lutz has had tough luck this year, and will look to Jennerstown to get that turned around. Bonsignore watched a win at his home track, Riverhead Raceway, slip away to Doug Coby in the closing laps.

Just 14 points separate Goodale and Emerling from sixth-place Tommy Catalano.

Among that group is Kyle Bonsignore and Coby. On the outside looking in are a trio of expected championship contenders in Jon McKennedy (eighth, 26 points back), Ron Silk (10th, 34 points out) and Lutz (12th, 44 points behind). Silk was sixth in the 2020 opener and then notably elected to skip the return trip. He wound up rebounding from a slow start to the season with top three runs in the final five races.

That

RACING REFERENCE:

RACE FACTS

RACE	Jennerstown Salutes 150 presented by DGV
PLACE	Jennerstown Speedway in Jennerstown, Pa.
DATE	Saturday, May 29, 2021
TIME	7:15 p.m. ET
TV/LIVE STREAM	TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold (live) / NBCSN – (Thursday, June 3, 5 p.m. ET)
TRACK LAYOUT	0.522-mile paved oval
LAPS	150
MILES	78.3
EVENT SCHEDULE	Saturday, May 29 — Garage opens: 1:15 p.m. ET; Practice: 3:30-4:30 p.m.; Qualifying: 5:45 p.m.; Jennerstown Salutes 150 presented by DGV: 7:15 p.m.
TWITTER	@NASCARRoots, @jtownspeedway, @_TrackPass

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Jennerstown Salutes 150 presented by DGV Entry List

CREW CHIEF HANDOUT: The starting field for the Jennerstown Salutes 150 presented by DGV is limited to 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 Jennerstown Salutes 150 presented by DGV. 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.

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 rollover to the next event and will continue to rollover 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 May 24, 2021May 24, 2021 by Terrin Waack

AUSTIN, Texas — For 21 seasons, Petty Enterprises’ record 268 NASCAR Cup Series win remained untouched.

On Sunday, Hendrick Motorsports notched its own 268th victory to tie Petty Enterprises for most all-time at the sport’s top level. The driver of the team’s No. 9 Chevrolet, Chase Elliott, equaled out the playing field when he was declared victor of the rain-shortened Circuit of The Americas race in Austin, Texas. It marked Hendrick Motorsports’ fifth triumph in 2021.

“The boss has been on us heavy about that record,” Elliott said. “He wants that record, so super glad that we could help with that.”

Rick Hendrick’s Hendrick Motorsports has fielded entries since 1984. Richard Petty’s Petty Enterprises competed from 1949-2008; its last win was in 1999.

Hendrick has 13 titles, with the latest coming in 2020 by Elliott, while Petty’s 10th and final was in 1979 by The King, himself. Both organizations were home to a seven-time champion — Petty and Jimmie Johnson.

Petty Enterprises set the bar. Hendrick Motorsports met it.

“I really don’t know what to say other than Richard Petty and that organization have been the backbone of the sport,” Hendrick said. “Richard has done so much. It’s quite an honor to even be in the same series with him.

“Never thought we’d get here, but real proud of the guys.”

COTA was Elliott’s first win of the season. The additional four in-house victories are split among his three teammates — Alex Bowman (two), William Byron and Kyle Larson, who placed second to Elliott at COTA.

Bowman actually led Hendrick Motorsports’ first-ever 1-2-3-4 finish last week at Dover International Speedway. That has only ever happened three other times in the sport’s history, once in the modern era.

“I think it’s the best it’s ever been for us, to have a balance of four cars that are running that well,” Hendrick said. “We usually had one or two — Jeff’s domination, Jimmie’s dominating.”

Jeff Gordon stands as Hendrick Motorsports’ winningest driver with 93 to his name. Johnson then follows with 83. Both spent their entire career with Hendrick.

Elliott is then tied with Terry Labonte for third-most at 12 wins.

Elliott’s recent trophy actually achieved yet another milestone, this one for Chevrolet. The manufacturer now has 800 wins — the series’ best mark by 92 (Ford).

“They’re a great partner to me personally,” Elliott said. “They’ve played a massive role in the success of Hendrick Motorsports, past and present. A great group to work with, so super proud of them.

“Obviously there’s a lot of guys — a lot more guys than me — that have contributed to that banner.”

Chevrolet’s 400th, 500th, 600th and 700th milestone victories were thanks to Hendrick Motorsports drivers. Labonte tallied No. 400 at Richmond Raceway in 1994, Gordon hit 500 at Watkins Glen International in 2001, Kyle Busch notched 600 at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2007, and Johnson grabbed 700 at Texas Motor Speedway in 2012.

In fact, every Hendrick Motorsports win was powered by a Chevrolet, dating back to Geoffrey Bodine’s first trip to Victory Lane in 1984 at Martinsville Speedway.

“The support from Chevrolet has been awesome all these years,” Hendrick said. “They’ve always been there. I appreciate that a bunch. You stick with a manufacturer, you go through times where you think your car is not as good, then you hit a streak and you get it all figured out.”

Hendrick Motorsports currently seems to have it all figured out with Chevrolet. All four of its drivers are provisionally locked into the playoffs with 14 races down and 12 to go in the regular season. No chance any one of them is taking his foot off the gas either; a crown jewel awaits.

The annual Coca-Cola 600 is Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway (6 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM).

“Man, I don’t know,” Hendrick said. “It would sure be nice to win another one in Charlotte. That would be the place to really break the record.”

Posted on May 23, 2021May 23, 2021 by Staff Report

Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet both hit heady milestones with a win on Sunday during NASCAR’s inaugural race on the 3.41-mile, 20-turn road course at The Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.

Hendrick tied Richard Petty Enterprises for the most team victories in the NASCAR Cup Series with 268. Chevrolet also reached 800 wins as a manufacturer in the Cup Series.

Chase Elliott did the honors of taking the checkered flag for the rain-shortened event in the No. 9 Chevrolet. It was his 12th victory in the NASCAR Cup Series and his first this season. It came on the heels of teammate Alex Bowman’s win last weekend at Dover International Speedway in a race in which Hendrick cars finished 1-2-3-4. This time Hendrick went 1-2 with Kyle Larson coming in behind Elliott at COTA.

“This is two in a row for Hendrick Motorsports and the 800th win for Chevrolet,” Elliott said. “I couldn’t be more proud of Chevy and it’s the 268th win for Hendrick Motorsports.”

Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt are among the best-known drivers with the most wins for the Chevrolet camp. Gordon earned all 93 of his Cup wins with Hendrick Motorsports and in a Chevrolet. Johnson did the same for all 83 of his Cup Series wins.

Chevrolet stands atop the manufacturer leaderboard with 800 Cup wins. Ford is next with 708 Cup victories. Toyota, which is relatively new to NASCAR, has 157 Cup wins.

“So proud of Chase Elliott and his No. 9 Camaro team for persevering all race long and handling such challenging conditions to deliver a big win at the first race at Circuit of The Americas,” said Jim Campbell, vice president of Chevrolet Performance and Motorsports. “Chase’s first win of the season is extra special as it was Hendrick Motorsports 268th Cup win and Chevrolet’s 800th Cup win.”

Chevrolet’s first Cup win came with driver Fonty Flock on March 26, 1955 at Columbia Speedway in South Carolina.

The drivers who helped Chevrolet earn other important milestone wins were:
100th win: 7/07/62 — Rex White – Columbia, South Carolina
200th win: 6/11/78 — Benny Parsons – Riverside, California
300th win: 4/20/86 — Dale Earnhardt – North Wilkesboro, North Carolina
400th win: 9/10/94 — Terry Labonte – Richmond, Virginia
500th win: 8/12/01 — Jeff Gordon – Watkins Glen, New York
600th win: 3/25/07 — Kyle Busch – Bristol, Tennessee
700th win: 11/4/12 — Jimmie Johnson – Ft. Worth, Texas

Posted on May 23, 2021May 23, 2021 by Reid Spencer

You can’t call a Chase Elliott victory on a road course “unexpected,” but little else was predictable in the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at the Circuit of The Americas road course in Austin, Texas.

After all, Elliott came to COTA having won five of the previous 10 road races, and on Sunday the EchoPark Texas Grand Prix became No. 6 after NASCAR called the race 14 laps short of the scheduled finish because of excessive standing water on the track and potential danger to the drivers.

RELATED: Official results

Elliott’s first victory of the season and 12th of his career accounted for significant milestones. He delivered the 268th Cup win for Hendrick Motorsports, tying the organization with Petty Enterprises for most all-time.

It was also the 800th NASCAR Cup Series victory for Chevrolet.

“Yeah, man, I couldn’t be more excited,” said Elliott, the reigning Cup champion, who is tied for third with Rusty Wallace in all-time road-course wins. “I’ve never won a rain race before, so it’s kind of cool. Just super-proud of our team for continuing to fight.

“We kind of started the day, and we weren’t very good. I just kept pushing myself and (we) made some good changes throughout the day and got to where I think we were on pace with those guys there at the end.”

A week after Hendrick drivers finished 1-2-3-4 at Dover, the organization grabbed the top two spots at the 3.41-mile, 20-turn road course, with Kyle Larson running second when NASCAR red-flagged the event after 54 of a planned 68 and then called it when the rain failed to abate.

Joey Logano ran third, followed by Ross Chastain and AJ Allmendinger. Chase Briscoe, Michael McDowell, Alex Bowman, pole winner Tyler Reddick and Kyle Busch completed the top 10.

William Byron finished 11th, ending his streak of consecutive top-10 results at 11.

For all but the first few laps, drivers raced in the rain until it became too heavy to continue.

With challenging visibility on the long, high-speed backstretch, a crash on Lap 25 brought the race to a halt for the first time. Martin Truex Jr. slammed into the back of the Ford of Michael McDowell, who had slowed in traffic.

In a chain reaction, the Ford of Cole Custer plowed into the back of Truex’s damaged Toyota, lifting the rear of the Camry off the pavement. Custer then hit the Armco barrier to the inside of the straight. Custer hastily exited the crippled Mustang, which had lit on fire.

NASCAR red-flagged the race and sent track dryers out to remove water from the racing surface.

“I’m all good,” Custer said after a trip to the infield care center. “It didn’t hurt as much as I thought it was going to be, but it’s just that you can’t see anything. It’s pretty bad. I mean, you can’t see a foot in front of your car.

“I was just rolling down the backstretch. You can’t see anything. I’m just so frustrated about having our day end like this. It killed the car, and it’s just really frustrating.”

The cars of Custer and Truex were damaged too severely to continue. Before that wreck occurred, Kevin Harvick and Bubba Wallace already had been eliminated in a similar low-visibility crash on Lap 19.

Even before the race went green, teams were faced with a choice. With rain seemingly imminent but the track dry to start the event, would a change to slick tires be in order, or would crew chiefs opt to stay on rain tires, which NASCAR had mandated for the initial roll off pit road.

Most of the field opted for slicks, and Austin Cindric streaked to an early lead. But the rain intensified, and those who had taken the green on dry tires soon came to pit road for rain tires.

Earlier in the day, in only the second Cup qualifying session of the 2021 season, Reddick won the pole in dry conditions with a lap at 92.363 mph. The pole was the first for a Richard Childress Racing driver on a road course since Dale Earnhardt was top qualifier for the last time in his career in August 1996 at Watkins Glen.

“Road racing has been a big challenge in my career, and I’ve worked really hard to get better at it,” said Reddick, who qualified fifth in the rain and finished eighth in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race. “Running yesterday’s NXS race helped me with some valuable seat time, so it’s great to see all that hard work come together with a pole.”

NOTE: Following post-race inspection, Chase Elliott was confirmed as the race winner. There were no other issues.

Posted on May 23, 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 24
4:30 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at COTA (re-air), FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at COTA (re-air), FS1
10:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at COTA (re-air), FS2

Tuesday, May 25
1:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Toyota Tundra 225 at COTA (re-air), FS2
2:30 p.m., IMSA: Prototype Challenge at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (tape delay), NBCSN
3:30 p.m., IMSA: Mazda MX-5 Cup at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (tape delay), NBCSN
4:30 p.m., IMSA: Michelin Pilot Challenge at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Wednesday, May 26
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Charlotte, FS1

Thursday, May 27
6 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Charlotte (re-air), FS2
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Charlotte (re-air), FS1
5:30 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: 2000th Episode, FS1

Friday, May 28
10:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Charlotte (re-air), FS2
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Practice, FS2
4 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Practice, FS1
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Qualifying, FS1
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Practice, FS1
8 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Camping World Truck Series at Charlotte, FS1
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, FS1

On MRN:
8 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Saturday, May 29
1 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
7 a.m., The 600: History of NASCAR’s Toughest Race (re-air), FS1
8 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
10 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Qualifying, FS1
11 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Qualifying, FS1
Noon, NASCAR RaceDay: Xfinity Series at Charlotte, FS1
1 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Alsco Uniforms 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, FS1 (Canada: TSN 5)
4 p.m., Renegades: The Bad Boys of NASCAR, FS1
5 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
7 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: General Tire 150, FS1

On PRN:
11 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Qualifying
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Alsco Uniforms 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

On MRN:
7 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: General Tire 150 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Sunday, May 30
Midnight, NASCAR Xfinity Series: Alsco Uniforms 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
7:30 a.m., Renegades: The Bad Boys of NASCAR (re-air), FS2
9 a.m., Renegades: The Bad Boys of NASCAR (re-air), FS1
10 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Charlotte, FS1
10:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Alsco Uniforms 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Cup Series at Charlotte, FS1
5:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Cup Series at Charlotte, FOX
6 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, FOX (Canada: TSN 5)

On PRN:
5 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Posted on May 23, 2021 by Staff Report

NASCAR Cup Series points leader Denny Hamlin will be among several cars dropping to the rear prior to the start of Sunday’s EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas (2:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota will drop to the rear for unapproved adjustments. He had battled some power steering issues in qualifying earlier on Sunday. He was slated to start 19th.

Also dropping to the rear for unapproved adjustments:
Aric Almirola (No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, was set to start 26th)
Chase Briscoe (No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, was set to start 27th)
James Davison (No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet, was set to start 32nd)
Chris Buescher (No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, was set to start 28th)
Anthony Alfredo (No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford, was set to start 37th)
Erik Jones (No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet, was set to start 29th)
Cody Ware (No. 51 Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet, was set to start 35th)
Daniel Suarez (No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet, was set to start 15th)

MORE: Full COTA guide for Sunday

Posted on May 23, 2021May 23, 2021 by Staff Report

Tyler Reddick topped the leaderboard in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Circuit of The Americas, earning the Busch Pole at 92.363 mph in the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

Right behind him was Kyle Larson in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at 92.293 mph.

MORE: Race lineup | COTA race weekend photos

Rounding out the top five were Austin Cindric in the No. 33 Team Penske Ford, Saturday’s Xfinity Series winner Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and William Byron in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. AJ Allmendinger, who led the first round of qualifying, will start seventh in the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet.

Series points leader Denny Hamlin was 19th fastest with a speed of 90.579 mph in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. He reported some power steering issues during his Round 1 lap, necessitating his crew to work on his car during the session. He’ll start right behind a pair of Toyota teammates in Martin Truex Jr. and Bubba Wallace, in 17th and 18th, respectively.

Reddick’s pole was RCR’s first on a road course since Dale Earnhardt grabbed the pole position for the 1996 race at Watkins Glen. At the time of RCR’s last road course pole, Reddick was seven months old.

“This pole is a huge testament to all the hard work everyone does at RCR, ECR, and Chevrolet, ” Reddick said. “Road racing has been a big challenge in my career and I’ve worked really hard to get better at it. Running yesterday’s Xfinity race helped me with some valuable seat time, so it’s great to see all that hard work come together with a pole.”

The EchoPark Texas Grand Prix will get underway at 2:30 p.m. ET (FS1, PRN, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio).

FANTASY: Set your lineup | Full COTA lineup guide

Posted on May 22, 2021May 22, 2021 by Terrin Waack

AUSTIN, Texas — Kevin Harvick called himself a 45-year-old rookie in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

That’d normally be seen as a stretch — considering his 2006 title, 47 career wins and 347 overall starts in the Xfinity Series — but perhaps not this weekend at the Circuit of The Americas. Harvick had never stepped foot on the 3.41-mile road course based in Austin, Texas, before Friday’s practice. He then competed in his first race Saturday, the Pit Boss 250.

“I’m not top-end ready compared to some of those good guys,” Harvick said. “But I can survive and not make a fool of myself now.”

He’s talking about Sunday’s EchoPark Texas Grand Prix for the Cup Series, where he competes full-time — another reason the rookie comment is normally brushed off.

And Harvick was at least top-five ready in the Xfinity Series race, finishing fourth as fellow Cup Series regular Kyle Busch went on to take the checkered flag. The victory marked Busch’s series-best 98th.

Other Cup Series full-timers in the Xfinity Series field included Cole Custer (seventh), Tyler Reddick (eighth), Austin Dillon (13th) and Ross Chastain (30th).

AJ Allmendinger (second), Austin Cindric (fifth) and Justin Haley (ninth) are also entered into the Cup Series event.

“There were another couple of fast guys out there that will be a force to be reckoned with tomorrow,” Busch said. “But overall excited about today. Cool to win, and let’s see what tomorrow brings.”

Well, first, there’s qualifying at 11 a.m. ET. The race is then scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET. Both will air live on FS1.

Sunday’s main event will be a 68-lap showdown for a total of 231 miles around the 20-turn circuit.

“Probably the most difficult part for me is Turn 2,” Harvick said, “and carrying enough speed from Turn 2 to Turn 3, knowing how fast you can go into Turn 3 and not screw up 4, 5, 6 and 7.”

Turn 2 goes downhill. Turn 3 then starts the three-turn esses portion of the circuit, which is basically a set of soft but quick left-right-left turns. Turn 6 is then sweeping right-hander, followed immediately by a left-hand corner for Turn 7.

Basically speed control off of Turn 2, like Harvick explained, dictates success through the following swivels.

Rain is in the forecast, but that may actually be something to not take seriously. It was supposed to rain during the Xfinity Series race, and didn’t.

“Doesn’t matter now,” Harvick said. “I practiced in the wet, qualified in the wet, so we’ll just go out there and sling it.”

Posted on May 22, 2021May 22, 2021 by Holly Cain

Kyle Busch essentially went to school Saturday afternoon in the NASCAR Xfinity Series to learn the Circuit of The Americas road course in preparation for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race there. The result, however, was that Busch absolutely schooled the field — earning an 11-second victory in the Pit Boss 250, the series’ debut on the famed Austin circuit.

It marked the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion’s record 98th win in the Xfinity Series. His No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led a race-best 36 of 46 laps. No other driver led more than three laps at the 3.41-mile 20-turn circuit.

RELATED: Official results

“It’s really, really cool to come here for the first race at a new track and to win,” Busch said. “Real proud of the effort.

“I think the biggest thing is just all the resources and stuff we have and being able to get laps on the track today, feel the tire, everything like that and then being able to get back out there tomorrow and do everything all over again tomorrow with the Cup car,” the Las Vegas native added. “Thanks to Toyota and TRD, we’ve got some really cool tools we’ve been able to use and I feel like it was a plus for us today.”

NASCAR Xfinity Series championship contender AJ Allmendinger — one of NASCAR’s best on road courses — finished second to Busch. Justin Allgaier placed third. Another NASCAR Cup Series champion, Kevin Harvick was fourth, also getting some laps in preparation for Sunday’s race. Xfinity Series championship leader Austin Cindric was fifth.

WATCH: Gragson explains his early exit at COTA

Harrison Burton, Cup regulars Cole Custer and Tyler Reddick and Allmendinger’s Kaulig Racing teammates Justin Haley and Jeb Burton rounded out the top 10.

Allmendinger and Haley won Stage 1 and Stage 2, respectively. Championship contenders, they opted to stay on track and earn the points rather than join in Busch’s strategy of pitting just before the stage breaks. What he conceded in points, he made up for winning the inaugural trophy.

The only laps Busch, 36, didn’t lead were when he pitted or when he made a brief rally after stage breaks. Following the first stage break, for example, he restarted fourth and was leading the field two laps later.

“It’s shocking, Kyle Busch is actually pretty good,” Allmendinger said smiling. “It’s always fun to race Kyle. Did everything we could, got a stage win, got a lot of points and finished second. That was as good as we were going to do.”

The victory marked the 17th season Busch has won an Xfinity Series race and the 27th different NASCAR track where he has hoisted a trophy.

While the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, held hours earlier, had some light rain and was run on rain tires, the weather had cleared nicely by the drop of the Xfinity Series green flag. The vast majority of the field opted to pit for slicks (dry tires) during the parade laps and by the race’s midpoint, it was a sunny afternoon.

Note: Following Xfinity Series post-race inspections, Busch was confirmed as the winner of the race. The No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet of AJ Allmendinger was found to have one lug nut not safe and secure.

Posted on May 22, 2021 by Terrin Waack

AUSTIN, Texas — After practicing under the sun and qualifying amid a downpour, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series ultimately raced on a dry and wet Circuit of The Americas track.

Rain soaked all 3.41 miles of the Austin, Texas-based road course Saturday morning. By the time the Toyota Tundra 225 went green in the early afternoon, the weather settled down to a slight drizzle that soon enough died out. There was little to no moisture remaining when the checkered flag waved.

“I really believe if it would have just kept on raining, I would have won the race,” Tyler Ankrum said. “… I sound arrogant, I know that. But I was just so much faster, it’s true.

“It sucks because usually you never say, ‘Hey, keep on raining.’ You say, ‘Please stop raining.’ ”

RELATED: Official race results | Race recap

To his credit, Ankrum did start on the pole after clocking the fastest qualifying lap (75.041 mph) in the rain. The average race speed was 70.79 mph.

Todd Gilliland won, though, while Kaz Grala came in second. Ankrum actually finished third, with Grant Enfinger and Sheldon Creed fourth and fifth, respectively.

It was a 41-lap event around the 20-turn layout, which — on top of the less-than-ideal conditions — was brand new to NASCAR.

“I thought we were going to have a caution in the first two laps,” Creed said. “I was like, ‘Someone is going to overdrive (Turns) 1 or 12.’ But everyone must have done a good job.”

Shockingly so, COTA featured the cleanest race of 2021 — and it really can’t get any cleaner. There were only two cautions, and those were solely because of the required stage breaks.

There has been one other event that can be considered just as clean, and it was the fourth race back in March at Atlanta Motor Speedway. There were three cautions, and that additional yellow was a competition caution. It had nothing to do with the on-track action.

“I don’t even guess anymore,” said Grant Enfinger. “The first race out after the (pandemic) last year at Charlotte, I thought it was going to be a wreck fest with no practice, and it wasn’t, it was clean.”

When the Camping World Truck Series did return from NASCAR’s three-month pause due to the COVID-19 outbreak, its first race was at Charlotte Motor Speedway. There were seven cautions for 37 laps. That’s not abnormal for the 1.5-mile oval. There have been seven cautions in the last three Camping World Truck Series races there.

New tracks, however, tend to be where the variance shows.

For instance, the Camping World Truck Series’ first race on Daytona International Speedway’s road course in 2020 saw five cautions for seven laps. This past February, there were double the cautions at the 3.61-mile circuit for more than double the laps (20).

Ankrum has another theory.

“Every track that we’ve gone to this year that we didn’t have practice at last year, we’re all way more comfortable driving way over our heads,” he said. “Now, we come to a place we’ve never been to before and practice. Well, everyone is still unsure since we’ve never raced on it, so we all behave ourselves.

“Just wait for next year. It’ll be a (expletive) show again.”