Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR officials released preliminary entry lists Monday for NASCAR’s inaugural race weekend at Circuit of The Americas, and several new faces, part-time teams and road-course specialists have emerged on the rosters. A handful of Cup Series regulars have also scheduled starts in the other national series to gain experience on the 3.41-mile circuit in Austin, Texas.

All three NASCAR national series will be in action at COTA this weekend, with Xfinity and Camping World Trucks sharing Saturday’s bill and the Cup Series finishing out the weekend with Sunday’s EchoPark Texas Grand Prix. Practice and qualifying is scheduled for all three series.

RELATED: COTA weekend schedule

Here is a series-by-series look at entry-list highlights for the Circuit of The Americas’ tripleheader debut:

Cup Series | Entry list

EchoPark Texas Grand Prix (Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM)

• AJ Allmendinger is set for his second Cup Series start of the season as Kaulig Racing’s No. 16 Chevrolet returns to competition. The Xfinity Series regular placed seventh earlier this year at the Daytona road course.

• Kyle Tilley is scheduled for his Cup Series debut for the Live Fast Motorsports No. 78 Ford team. The English driver was part of the LMP2 class-winning effort in this year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona. Sunday will mark the first of four scheduled Cup Series starts for Tilley, who also plans to compete at Road America, Watkins Glen and the Indianapolis Road Course.

• Austin Cindric is slated for his fifth Cup Series start as part of his part-time campaign in the Team Penske No. 33 Ford. Cindric’s limited schedule this season comes before a move to full-time duty for the Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 team in 2022.

• Gaunt Brothers Racing returns to the grid this weekend, with Ty Dillon to make his third Cup Series start of the season. The Marty Gaunt-owned No. 96 Toyota has made three starts this season — two with Dillon, and the Talladega series debut of Xfinity regular Harrison Burton.

Xfinity Series | Entry list

Pit Boss 250 (Saturday, 4 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM)

• Kevin Harvick is on target for his first Xfinity Series start since 2018, joining forces with BJ McLeod Motorsports in its No. 5 Chevrolet. Harvick claimed Xfinity Series championships in 2001 and 2006.

• Among the other Cup Series regulars tapped for Xfinity duty: Cole Custer in the No. 17 SS Green Light Racing/Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet; Tyler Reddick in the Jordan Anderson Racing No. 31 Chevrolet; Kyle Busch in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54 Toyota; Austin Dillon in the Bassett Racing No. 77 Chevrolet. For Custer and Dillon, Saturday’s event will mark their first Xfinity starts since 2019.

• Road-racing veteran Spencer Pumpelly is slated for his Xfinity Series debut in the JD Motorsports No. 6 Chevrolet. The 46-year-old driver is a two-time class winner in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

• Boris Said is scheduled to be back in a NASCAR national-series event for the first time since 2017, pairing up with MBM Motorsports to drive the team’s No. 13 Toyota. Said has one career Xfinity win (Montreal, 2010) and last competed in the series in 2015.

• Miguel Paludo is set for the second of three scheduled road-course starts for JR Motorsports this season in its No. 8 Chevrolet. Paludo finished seventh on Daytona’s road course back in February, making his first NASCAR national-series start since 2013. He’s also scheduled to drive the No. 8 JRM entry in June at Mid-Ohio.

• Preston Pardus, a two-time SCCA Spec Miata champion, is set for his second Xfinity start of the season — and eighth of his career — in the DGM Racing No. 91 Chevrolet.

Camping World Truck Series | Entry list

Toyota Tundra 225 (Saturday, 1 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM)

• Paul Menard is set to return to NASCAR competition for the first time since 2019, piloting a fifth ThorSport Racing entry — the No. 66 Toyota. The 40-year-old veteran was a longtime driver in the Cup Series, and he last raced in the Truck Series in 2007.

• Austin, Texas native Logan Bearden, a Super Late Model standout, is in line for his Camping World Trucks debut. The 25-year-old driver will join Niece Motorsports’ four-truck effort in the No. 44 Chevrolet.

• Trans Am Series regular Michele Abbate is on tap for her NASCAR debut in the On Point Motorsports No. 30 Toyota. Abbate finished second in the TA2 class in the series’ visit to Circuit of the Americas last season.

• GMS Racing has announced the ARCA Menards Series regular Jack Wood will make his Camping World Trucks debut in its No. 24 Chevrolet. It’s the first of two scheduled starts for the 20-year-old Wood, who is also listed for Charlotte Motor Speedway the following week.

• Roger Reuse has been tapped to wheel Jordan Anderson Racing’s No. 3 Chevy, marking the 54-year-old driver’s first start of the season.

Posted on by Press Release

Mooresville, N.C. (May 16, 2021) – Confrontation may not be the first thing associated with NASCAR drivers, but two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch says it’s all part of the price of winning on the latest episode of I AM NASCAR which debuts on the I AM ATHLETE (IAA) podcast Monday (watch HERE).

“You have to understand what it takes to beat the competition,” said Busch. “My dad always told me that you’re competing against the rest of the drivers, they aren’t your friends. Eventually something is going to happen on the track, and they won’t be your friends any longer, so there’s no point befriending them.”

MORE: NASCAR, ‘I Am Athlete’ podcast kick-off ‘I Am NASCAR’ collaboration series

This episode marks the IAA crew’s third sit-down with a NASCAR driver, after previous episodes saw them dive deep with NASCAR’s lone black driver Bubba Wallace, and most recently the legendary Dale Earnhardt Jr. I AM NASCAR will continue to run weekly during this month, with the exploratory expansion into this new arena set to feature monthly episodes throughout the NASCAR season, all available on the IAA YouTube Channel.

Busch did not hold back on his own racing history and image as a NASCAR “villain” during the special IAA episode, as he explained his numerous feuds and more to former NFL star and IAA founder Brandon Marshall, along with IAA co-hosts and former NFL stars Chad Ochocinco, Channing Crowder and “Unc” Fred Taylor.

“Kyle has embraced that it’s okay to be the villain,” said IAA co-host Ochocinco, who was no stranger to embracing that role during his storied NFL career. “It’s a great role. That’s why I love you and your energy and your f-you mentality when it comes to racing.”

Throughout his renowned career, Busch has butted heads with various drivers, including last week’s I AM NASCAR guest, Earnhardt Jr. Busch went into his side of their altercation on the track years ago, during this conversation with the IAA crew.

“He felt like you were salty,” said Marshall referring to Earnhardt Jr., who shared with them his perspective of the 2008 incident during his I AM NASCAR appearance, diving into the confrontation at Richmond Raceway that officially sparked their long-running feud that divided NASCAR fans for years.

“Oh I was salty,” replied Busch. “But I didn’t wreck him on purpose. When you’re racing against guys you don’t like, you don’t give them an extra inch. You’re trying to pass them the whole time. If you slip and you hit them, who cares? I had no care in that moment. If I was racing someone I liked, I probably wouldn’t have ran so hard. From like 2008 through 2011, we hated each other. I avoided eye contact and all of that stuff. We eventually became cordial with each other. There wasn’t really a turning point, it just kind of evolved into that.”

When Crowder asked what “qualifies for an ass-whopping?” on the track, Busch then goes into his confrontation with Joey Logano and how it went from beef on the track, to an incident after the race where Busch threw a punch at Logano.

“I didn’t tell anyone what I was going to do,” said Busch. “Never said anything on the radio. Kept it all to myself. I marched my happy ass down to pit road. Turned right into where he was, pulled it back and let it rip. I got the one hit in, because of course the rest of the fight was just all these dudes coming in and separating everyone.”

Ochocinco looked to dig deeper on Busch’s many feuds, prompting Busch to continue to expound on his issues with Logano.

“You’re an (expletive) like I am, but a nice (expletive),” said Ochocinco. “You said there are others who you do have similar relationships with now like you once had with Dale?”

“Joey Logano is still number one,” said Busch. “The problem with Joey, is that he’s two-faced. People know I’m an (expletive) on the race track. Logano will come in here and he’s laughing and happy-go-lucky. But you put him on the race track, then he flips the (expletive) switch on. If you’re going to be a nice guy, be a nice guy on the track as well.”

This topic leads Marshall to make a comparison between the perception of Busch, and Marshall’s former teammate on the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears, Jay Cutler.

“The perception people have of you, reminds me of Jay Cutler,” said Marshall. “But the people in both of your circles, absolutely love you. Is perception reality? What are we missing?”

“I’ve seen the persona fans and media put on Jay and he definitely gets a bad rap,” said Busch. “Because you can see the way the players react to him. He’s different than the way he’s perceived on the outside. When I came into NASCAR in 2003, my brother (Kurt Busch) had made a name for himself, so people saw us as punk kids from Las Vegas. We didn’t come in from the standard southern upbringing. I was booed at my first race. I was guilty by association. So from there, I was just like, I’m going to do me. It was a rough start and it gave people a bad taste in their mouths.”

Acknowledging that it was time to “get messy,” Marshall asks Busch about his recent racing record, which has seen him only record two wins over his last 67 races. Busch displayed his belief that some rules limiting how many different series races he can drive in, have affected his performance.

“They made a rule in 2015 or 2016 where you’re only allowed to run five truck races and five Xfinity races if you’re a Cup driver for three years,” said Busch. “It’s the Kyle Busch rule. Because I was out there winning everything in the lower and upper divisions.”

This idea prompts Ochocinco to compare the Tom Brady vs. Bill Belichick debate to NASCAR, asking if more credit should be heaped on the drivers or their crew chiefs.

“Drivers are quarterbacks and crew chiefs are head coaches,” said Busch. “There are four tiers of drivers. A,B, C and D. There’s maybe four or five in the A tier, and six or seven in each of the rest. It’s similar with crew chiefs. There are five crew chiefs who are A-level. If you can work with them, you take it every time. If you have an A crew chief and B driver, you’re pretty good, and same if you flip it. If you have an A and an A, sky’s the limit.”

“You’re an A now,” responded Crowder. “Will you know when you’re a B or a C?”

“I don’t feel like I’ve lost anything,” said Busch. “I feel like my days are more challenging though. Starting in 12th and working up to 10th does take a lot. But it just tells me that the car has to be better off the truck. Any driver can only carry it so far.”

Before the episode concludes, Marshall makes sure to remind Busch and the crew that we are still in Mental Health Awareness Month and asks Busch to discuss his and his wife’s journey with IVF (in vitro fertilization) and give advice to those out there who are going through similar circumstances.

“If it happens, it happens, and if it don’t, it don’t,” said Busch. “It’s not in our hands. As much as science can figure so many things out, there’s ultimately a higher power that controls what’s going to happen.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

The Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 team — described as “kind of a bunch of weirdos” and a “sea of awkwardness” according to one of its own in driver Alex Bowman — did its best impression of a mutual admiration society after Sunday’s surge to victory at Dover International Speedway.

Bowman keyed his radio on the Drydene 400’s cool-down lap: “Pit crew, you won that race, not me. I’m so proud of you guys. Hell, yeah!” The reply from the No. 48 crew was just as complimentary: “Ah, give yourself a little credit. You’ve been hauling the mail for a little while now.”

In the battle of “you’re great” vs. “no, you’re great,” both sides were right. After a pair of single-win seasons, Bowman had just elevated himself to the elite ranks of the multi-race winners by holding off three equally matched teammates through the final 97 laps. And his No. 48 over-the-wall group, led by crew chief Greg Ives, could take its fair share of the glory after winning the last consequential round of pit service with the NASCAR Cup Series’ fastest four-tire stop of the year — a sterling 12.1776 seconds.

RELATED: Cup Series standings | History of 1-2-3-4 finishes

A band of misfits? On a performance basis at least, there was little reason to ridicule the No. 48 team on Sunday.

“I give them all the credit for the win there,” said Bowman, who supplanted teammate Kyle Larson as the leader off pit road on Lap 304 of 400. “I think without them we wouldn’t have gotten it done. So appreciate Greg and all those guys working so hard throughout the week to continue to get better. They’ve been super-fast all year. It’s cool to win a race that you can really point back to them and say they’re who got it done. It was cool to be able to do that. I feel like other guys do that all the time.”

The No. 48 pit crew now might qualify as a less-than-secret weapon, both after Bowman’s attaboys and the speedy four-tire flirtation with the 12-second barrier. Some of the team’s chemistry even predates Bowman’s full-time arrival, and its legacy as a cohesive bunch stretches back to its incarnation as the No. 88 crew.

That collegial spirit doesn’t happen without the leadership component in place, and that’s where Ives has blossomed as a steady guiding force, one who hasn’t been shy about pushing the team’s comfort level by creating a variety of hurdles in pit practice.

Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Sean Gardner | Getty Images

“I mean, for me it’s all about, as Alex said, the details of it, but also letting the guys kind of play in their own space,” said Ives, who is in his fourth season as Bowman’s crew chief. “They want to play at a high level. It’s all about creating comfort in that high-level stress environment. The last couple weeks I’ve been putting them in a lot of changes, high-stress environments, trying to get them to go fast when they have to make a lot of adjustments. I think it’s kind of like a batter swinging a heavier bat.”

Girding the No. 48 crew with challenging drills is part of what’s made the team’s race-day routine click. The fine-tuning has worked both ways, with crew members offering constructive pointers and suggestions to Ives to improve their pit-road choreography.

“We all worked through it. They’re not scared to tell the crew chief that I need to get better in the situation,” Ives said. “I think ultimately being on the same platform as them, allowing them to make some mistakes; when mistakes come learning from them rather than scolding them. I really appreciate what they do, the family we’ve become. We’ve been together for five, six years now. It’s easy to work through complications when you have that open communication.”

MORE: Hendrick, Bowman nearing multi-year extension

Bowman doesn’t appear on the over-the-wall roster, but he’s far from exempt in pit-road study hall. Pit-road entry and exit, pit-stall entry and exit, hitting his target speeds for each pit-road timing segment — those expectations are all laid out for him each week in the most visual of ways.

“At Hendrick Motorsports we really like charts. In our meetings we talk about charts. There’s a lot of charts,” Bowman says. “Sometimes I look bad on those charts, and that’s when Greg yells at me. There’s a lot of different pit road charts and ways to look at it. He tries to do whatever he can to help me maximize each and every area.

“I feel like I’m gaining on it. There are definitely guys that do a little bit better of a job than me right now still. But that 48 pit crew makes up for it a little bit because they are super-fast each and every week.”

Out of that self-termed sea of awkwardness came a foreign concept — normalcy. With vaccinations on the increase and COVID-19 restrictions beginning to lift for NASCAR’s garage footprint, the No. 48 team’s victory celebration was more heavy on social, and easier on the distancing.

Bowman did his best impersonation of a Jimmie Johnson-style burnout, mimicking one of his predecessor’s smoky celebrations against the Monster Mile’s inside wall in front of his crew. Those festivities spilled into Dover’s Victory Lane, which welcomed back the spray of champagne and raucous group gatherings after a year of more muted jubilation.

For Bowman and his No. 48 bunch, the reasons to toast each other were mutual.

“Means the world when I get to share that with them when I think so much of it was influenced by them,” Bowman said. “Really, really cool.”

Posted on by Track Release

Editor’s note: This is a track press release from December 2020.

Since the September 2020 announcement that Speedway Motorsports would bring NASCAR to Austin, Texas in 2021, a significant question remained: which of the world-class courses at Circuit of The Americas would drivers face? After careful consideration for what will create an unforgettable experience for the fans and an incredible challenge for the drivers, Speedway Motorsports officials have selected the iconic 3.41-mile long course for all competition during the inaugural May 21-23 NASCAR at COTA event weekend.

MORE: Full COTA schedule

“We took a hard look at both the 3.41-mile long course and the newly reconfigured 2.2-mile short course,” said Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith in December. “There’s no doubt the long course will be the most entertaining for the fans. There are more sightlines and opportunities for hillside viewing, plus we’ll have additional options for trackside camping.

“Every NASCAR driver will be challenged by the same 20-turn, counterclockwise circuit designed for Formula One racers.”

The 3.41-mile long course takes full advantage of the undulating landscape and features a 133-foot hill at Turn One. The course is the only circuit in the United States to annually host both F1 and MotoGP.

https://twitter.com/NASCARatCOTA/status/1337457903389831170

Speedway Motorsports is working closely with NASCAR competition officials on select changes to the course and facility to maximize the spectacle and excitement for NASCAR’s top three series which will all run on the inaugural NASCAR weekend at COTA.

“The Circuit of The Americas is already a world-class, world-renowned facility,” stated Smith. “Along with NASCAR, we now have to make a few safety and competition enhancements to accommodate the Camping World Trucks, Xfinity and Cup Series. Every effort will be made to make the first NASCAR weekend an experience like no other for both fans and competitors.”

Officials are developing a plan that will include adding rumble strips from Charlotte Motor Speedway’s ROVAL™ to select corners at COTA. The “turtles,” as they’ve been coined by former NASCAR Cup Series driver and current NBC broadcaster Dale Earnhardt Jr., will force stock car and truck drivers to truly drive the circuit without taking advantage of COTA’s more forgiving and extended asphalt runoffs.

Operations crews will also add tire-packs to potentially high-impact areas, extend pit road wall and install additional caution lights and timing/scoring loops to support the larger stock car and truck fields that will now compete at COTA.

In addition to the NASCAR Camping World Trucks, Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Cup Series, the IMSA-sanctioned Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Series will also compete on the long course during the first-ever NASCAR weekend at COTA.

Posted on by Staff Report

ThorSport Racing announced Monday that Paul Menard would return to NASCAR national-series competition in this weekend’s Camping World Truck Series race at Circuit of the Americas.

Menard is scheduled to drive a fifth ThorSport entry, the No. 66 Toyota, in Saturday’s Toyota Tundra 225 (1 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM). Mattei will provide sponsorship and Bud Haefele was tapped as the team’s crew chief.

RELATED: COTA weekend schedule | NASCAR on TV: May 17-23

The 40-year-old Menard has not competed in a NASCAR national-series race since his retirement from full-time competition in the Cup Series after the 2019 season. He rounded out his Cup Series career with two seasons in the Wood Brothers’ No. 21 Ford, and was involved in picking Matt DiBenedetto as his successor.

Menard made 471 Cup Series from 2003-2019 and notched one victory, a breakthrough triumph in the 2011 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He also has three wins in the Xfinity Series, the most recent of which came in 2015 at Road America in his home state of Wisconsin.

Menard has just six career starts in Camping World Trucks — five in 2003 for team owner Andy Petree, and a one-off start for Billy Ballew in 2007.

Saturday’s Truck Series race is part of a same-day doubleheader with the Xfinity Series at the 3.41-mile Austin, Texas circuit, which will host NASCAR events for the first time this weekend.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Sunday’s Drydene 400 marked just the fourth time in NASCAR Cup Series history that the top four finishers all came from the same organization, with Alex Bowman leading the charge for the Hendrick Motorsports fleet at Dover International Speedway.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos: Dover

It has been a rare occurrence, happening only twice in NASCAR’s modern era. With Hendrick’s “Monster Mile” mash still fresh, here’s a breakdown of the 1-2-3-4 team finishes through the record books in NASCAR’s top division.

Dec. 30, 1956

RacingOne
RacingOne

Team: DePaolo Engineering
Race winner: Fireball Roberts
Second through fourth: Curtis Turner, Marvin Panch, Ralph Moody
Event: Indian River Gold Cup 100
Track: Titusville-Cocoa Speedway, 1.6-mile road course in Titusville, Florida
Notable: Driving for one of NASCAR’s earliest multi-car teams, Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts drove his No. 22 Ford to the seventh of his 33 Cup wins. Paul Goldsmith led the opening 27 laps before Roberts took control, leading the final 29 laps. … Pete DePaolo became famous as the 1925 Indianapolis 500 winner, but his brief foray into NASCAR team ownership was a successful one. He is credited with 21 Cup Series wins. … The race was the Titusville-Cocoa circuit’s only Cup Series meet.

April 7, 1957

Team: DePaolo Engineering
Race winner: Fireball Roberts
Second through fourth: Paul Goldsmith, Ralph Moody, Marvin Panch
Event: Wilkes County 160
Track: North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway, .625-mile dirt track
Notable: Fireball Roberts led from wire to wire, never making a pit stop in the 100-mile event. He established a qualifying record of 81.522 mph. … A fifth DePaolo entry took sixth place, with Allen Adkins just missing a top-five result in the No. 99 Ford. … The event marked North Wilkesboro’s last race with a dirt surface. The layout was paved by the time the series returned there that October.

Nov. 20, 2005

Streeter Lecka | Getty Images
Streeter Lecka | Getty Images

Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Race winner: Greg Biffle
Second through fourth: Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards
Event: Ford 400
Track: Homestead-Miami Speedway, 1.5-mile oval in Homestead, Florida
Notable: While Tony Stewart was celebrating his second Cup Series championship with a 15th-place result for Joe Gibbs Racing, team owner Jack Roush was cheering a four-car sweep atop the scoring pylon in the 2005 season finale. Greg Biffle led just nine laps but closed out a career-best six-win season in style at Miami. … Roush had five entries in the race, with Kenny Wallace taking 21st place as a fill-in for the dismissed Kurt Busch in the No. 97 Ford. NASCAR announced it would start phasing in a four-team limit for team owners the next season. … At the time, the organization was known as Roush Racing. Red Sox majority owner John Henry invested in the team in 2007, when its name changed to Roush Fenway Racing.

May 16, 2021

Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Sean Gardner | Getty Images

Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Race winner: Alex Bowman
Second through fourth: Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, William Byron
Event: Drydene 400
Track: Dover (Del.) International Speedway, 1-mile concrete oval
Notable: Alex Bowman notched his second win of the Cup Series season, benefitting from a quick pit stop in the final stage that put his No. 48 Chevrolet out front for the final 97 laps. That victory was the 267th in NASCAR’s top series by team owner Rick Hendrick, placing him just one win back of Petty Enterprises’ 268 on the all-time list. … The win marked the 12th victory for a car with No. 48 at Dover. Jimmie Johnson flew the number for his 11 triumphs at the “Monster Mile.” … Byron extended his streak of top-10 finishes to 11 in a row with a fourth-place effort.

Posted on by Staff Report

Team owner Rick Hendrick said Sunday that negotiations with Alex Bowman are underway for a contract extension, calling the situation “a formality” that he would return to the No. 48 Chevrolet next season with a multiyear contract in place.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos: Dover

“We’ve already started. It should be done any time,” Hendrick said after his organization enjoyed a banner day in Sunday’s Drydene 400. “We want Alex there. He wants to be there. It’s kind of at this point just a formality.”

Bowman led a 1-2-3-4 sweep for Hendrick Motorsports at Dover International Speedway, securing his second NASCAR Cup Series win of the season. The last announcement regarding Bowman’s contract status came exactly one year ago Sunday, when he signed a one-year extension to stay with the organization through the end of the 2021 season.

The core of Bowman’s former No. 88 team remained intact moving into this season, but he adopted a new car number in No. 48 as the successor to seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson. Sunday, he led 98 of the 400 laps and became only the Cup Series’ second multi-race winner this year, joining three-time victor Martin Truex Jr. in that select group.

“Just being at Hendrick Motorsports is obviously where I want to be,” said Bowman, who has four victories in his Cup Series career — all in Hendrick equipment. “I want to continue to work with Ally and drive the 48 car. Like he said, we’ve been working on it. I think I want to be there; they want me to drive their race car. It’s cool to have a guy like Rick Hendrick say he wants you to continue driving his race car. It means a lot to me. Just a really special place to be. Appreciative for the opportunity.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

Say this about Alex Bowman, the pilot of the No. 48 Chevrolet has got his timing right. The Hendrick Motorsports driver took the lead off pit road after his final pit stop with 97 of 400 race laps remaining, held off the field on two more race restarts and earned his second victory of the year in Sunday’s Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos: Dover

The win punctuated a historic Hendrick Motorsports day at the famed 1-mile track, with the team becoming the third organization in NASCAR Cup Series history to finish 1-2-3-4 in a single event; joining Peter DePaolo Racing (Dec. 30, 1956 at Titusville; April 7, 1957 at North Wilkesboro Speedway) and Roush Fenway Racing (Nov. 20, 2005 at Homestead-Miami Speedway). Bowman held off his teammate Kyle Larson by 2.017 seconds. Chase Elliott (third) and William Byron (fourth) finished just behind, marking the first time in the organization’s 267-victory history it has had a four-car sweep atop the scoreboard.

It was actually Larson who paced the field most of the day – leading a race best 263 of the opening 303 laps and sweeping both Stage 1 and Stage 2 victories  – his series-best fifth and sixth stage wins of the season. And at one point, Sunday, he led the field by a full eight seconds.

But Bowman’s team turned in the single fastest pit stop of the entire 2021 season during a late-race caution period and got the car back on track just in front of Larson. Bowman held off his teammate on the restart and pulled away to a comfortable win.

“You guys won that race not me,” Bowman excitedly shouted to his team after taking the checkered flag. “I’m so proud of you.”

The No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet had a track record 11 previous victories at Dover – all with driver Jimmie Johnson, who retired from full-time NASCAR competition at the end of the 2020 season. The 28-year-old Tucson, Arizona, native, Bowman, just started piloting the No. 48 this year, winning at Richmond Raceway last month – again turning in a late-race rally – leading only the final 10 laps en route to that win.

Certainly, the Hendrick Motorsports organization showed early-on Sunday it was ready to settle the trophy among its drivers. In all, Bowman, Larson and Byron combined to lead 381 of the 400 laps.

As the laps wound down, TV cameras captured team owner Rick Hendrick nervously pacing on pit road, well aware of the significance of his four cars atop the scoring pylon.

“I can guarantee you this is the most nervous I’ve ever been in a race,” Hendrick said. “Great day for the organization. And Alex, congratulations to him. This is a sign of the guys working together and bringing good stuff to the track.

“I don’t think it will hit me until tomorrow that we were able to finish one, two, three, four. That’s pretty hard to do, things can happen, pit stops, tires, anything. That’s a first and we’ll take it. It was a great day for us.”

Not only was it a win for Bowman, a seriously strong effort by Larson, but it was also another statement-making day for the 23-year-old Byron. It marks his 11th straight top-10 finish – making him the youngest in series history to put together a string of excellence like that.

Team Penske’s Joey Logano finished fifth, followed by Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick (sixth) and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin (seventh).

Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick turned in his sixth top-10 finish of the season with an eighth-place finish. Daniel Suarez finished ninth – his second top 10 for the new Trackhouse Racing Team and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer earned his second top 10 of the season.

With his work this weekend, Byron moves into second place in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings – 101 points behind Hamlin. Three-race winner Martin Truex Jr., who finished 19th, is now third, 102 points behind Hamlin.

The showing at Dover marks the 11th time in 13 races this season Hendrick Motorsports has had at least two drivers finish in the top 10. Six times now, three of the team’s four drivers have earned top-10 finishes in the same race.

“We won Richmond and then had a really rough couple of weeks there,” Bowman said. “We went to some really good racetracks for us and struggled. I told the guys last week, ‘We’re still the same team that did it at Richmond.’ This is another really good place for us.

“I’m just so pumped for (sponsor) Ally. It feels right to put the 48 back in Victory Lane here after how many races that this car has won here.”

All three of NASCAR’s national series will debut at the Circuit of The Americas next week in Austin, Texas. The EchoPark Texas Grand Prix will start at 2:30 p.m. ET next Sunday (FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NOTE: The race-winning No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Alex Bowman passed NASCAR’s post-race inspection. There were four cars with one lug nut not safe and secure: the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (driver Tyler Reddick), the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford (driver Chris Buescher), the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (driver William Byron) and the No. 37 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet (driver Ryan Preece). There were no other issues.

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, May 17
3:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Dover (re-air), FS1
4:30 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway (re-air), FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Tuesday, May 18
Noon, NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Dover (re-air), FS2
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Drydene 200 at Dover International Speedway (re-air), FS2
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Classics: 1994 Coke 600 (re-air), FS1

Wednesday, May 19
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series: Circuit of the Americas (COTA), FS1
8:30 p.m., Blink of an Eye (re-air), FS1
10:30 p.m., eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series: COTA (re-air), FS1

Thursday, May 20
Midnight, Blink of an Eye (re-air), FS1
5:30 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Friday, May 21
12:30 a.m., ARCA Menards Series East: General Tire 125 at Dover International Speedway (tape delay), NBCSN
3 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Practice, FS1
4 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Practice, FS1
5 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour: Miller Lite 200 at Riverhead Raceway (tape delay), NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Saturday, May 22
6 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Practice (re-air), FS1
7 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Practice (re-air), FS1
9 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Qualifying, FS2
10 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Practice, FS2
11 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Qualifying, FS1
Noon, NASCAR RaceDay: NCWTS at COTA, FS1
1 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Toyota Tundra 225 at COTA, FS1
3:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Xfinity at COTA, FS1
4 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Pit Boss 250 at COTA, FS1 (Canada: TSN 3)
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Post-race show, FS1
11 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Pit Boss 250 at COTA (re-air), FS1

On MRN:
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Toyota Tundra 225 at COTA

On PRN:
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Pit Boss 250 at COTA

Sunday, May 23
1 a.m., NASCAR Presents: Trackhouse — Get Ready (re-air), FS1
9 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Pit Boss 250 at COTA (re-air), FS2
11 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Qualifying, FS1
1 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Cup Series at COTA, FS1
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at COTA, FS1 (Canada: TSN 5)

On PRN:
11 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Qualifying
1:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at COTA

Posted on by Staff Report

Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott will start from the rear of the field for Sunday’s Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway (2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) due to multiple pre-race inspection failures.

The No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet failed pre-race inspection twice and will start at the rear of the field per the NASCAR Rule Book.

RELATED: Dover weekend schedule | Cup Series starting lineup

Elliott was slated to line up eighth for the 400-lap race this afternoon. He comes into this race with two straight top-seven finishes on the season and ranks eighth in the points standings. He has a 11.3 average finish at the “Monster Mile” with one win and seven top fives in 10 starts there.

Due to a driver change, the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet entry that will now be driven by Josh Berry — it was originally slated to be Justin Haley — will start at the rear as well. Haley is out for this race due to COVID-19 protocols.

Ryan Newman also started from the rear for unapproved adjustments. Newman was slated to start 13th in the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford.