Chaos ensued on the last lap of Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Phoenix Raceway, and as frontrunners started to crash and fade, Brandon Brown navigated his No. 68 Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet through the mess and safely to the checkered flag. Brown placed third.
It marked his best career finish in 91 starts.
“This is huge,” Brown said. “This is what the sponsors that are on board need to see. This is what potential sponsors need to see.”
Brown started the Call 811 Before You Dig 200 presented by Arizona 811 from the 11th position. He was 15th at the end of Stage 1 and then 12th at the conclusion of Stage 2.
The final result was his fourth top-11 finish in the five races so far this season. Brown was sixth in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway, eighth at the Daytona Road Course and then 11th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last week. Outside of those, he was 34th at Homestead-Miami Speedway, ending the race prematurely due to overheating.
“Honestly, this was one of those things where we knew we needed a good start,” Brown said. “We didn’t expect this hot of a start, but we knew we needed a good start — better than last year — just because of how stout the Xfinity field is now with cars added, drivers added with a full season. Just one of those things where those spots where we kind of nudged our way in, you’re not going to be able to nudge anymore. You’re going to have to fight more just to meet that same deadline for making the playoffs.”
A deadline he barely met in 2020.
Brown finished 12th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ regular-season finale last year. It was enough to clinch the 12th and final playoff spot based on his points standing. At the time, he called the situation a “dream come true” — which is understandable considering it was the first time he ever qualified for the postseason competition.
It was also the first time for Brandonbilt Motorsports in the postseason, whose shop is located in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Like Brown, Brandonbilt Motorsports is in its third full-time season.
“When you have a smaller staff size, my role becomes involved in the car getting to the race track,” Brown said. “When I’m not having to focus on that, I can go focus and watch race film, I can watch tape, I can look at data, I can way better prepare myself for each track that we show up to. And it’s so crucial, especially when you’re showing up with no practice, no qualifying; it’s just green-flag racing. … That’s kind of translated to the success, being there and being in that position to make a pounce when something like this happens.”
The cars of Kyle Larson and William Byron are among three that will start at the rear of the field for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Instacart 500 (3:30 p.m. on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) after failing pre-race inspection two times Saturday night. Cody Ware’s No. 51 Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet will also have to go to the back.
On Sunday afternoon, it was revealed that the most recent winner at Phoenix Raceway and the NASCAR Cup Series reigning champion Chase Elliott will also start from the rear of the field. Elliott, who won the fall race at the 1-mile track, was slated to start sixth but will drop to the rear for unapproved adjustments.
The No. 53 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet will also go to the rear for a driver change as Garrett Smithley will now be behind the wheel. Quin Houff and the No. 00 StarCom Racing Chevrolet team will also drop to the rear for unapproved adjustments.
Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet are the series’ two most recent winners with victories at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, respectively, in the last two weekends. Larson was slated to start second, while Byron was going to roll off the grid 10th. Ware was set to start 31st, while Smithley was going to start 34th and Houff 35th.
While neither Larson nor Byron has a Cup win at Phoenix, both have had recent solid runs there. Larson has four straight top-six finishes there, and Byron was one of four drivers to nab top 10s in both races there last year.
The race at Phoenix is the series’ fifth points-paying event of the 2021 season. Brad Keselowski is on the pole for Sunday’s race. Joey Logano is the defending winner at the 1-mile track.
Austin Cindric earned his second NASCAR Xfinity Series win in the opening five races of the 2021 season Saturday – taking a .360-second victory over 18-year-old rookie Ty Gibbs in an action-packed final race restart with two laps remaining at Phoenix Raceway.
It’s the second consecutive win on the 1-mile Phoenix oval for Cindric, who won here last November to claim the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship. He led a race-best 119 of the 200 laps en route to the win Saturday – including the final 54 laps, holding off the field on three late-race restarts. The 22-year-old North Carolinian is the only repeat winner so far in 2021.
“You have to work hard the rest of the year to get here,’’ Cindric said of the good showing on the championship race venue. “So that’s where my focus is. I’ve got my name on the wall right there and the goal is to be back with a shot to do it again.’’
The last restart with two laps remaining was not-too-surprisingly the most action-packed and the biggest threat to Cindric’s lead, but several cars running among the top 10 on that start hit the wall or hit one another in a chaotic run to the checkered flag.
Daniel Hemric, who restarted on the front row alongside Cindric, was caught up in the heavy full-contact restart and ended up 23rd. Justin Allgaier, whose No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevy started just behind Cindric’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford on that last restart, pulled door-to-door hoping to make a move for the win, but he got loose and bounced backward, recovering to finish eighth instead.
Gibbs, who won the ARCA Menards Series race at the track Friday night, drove a steady, if not risk-filled race all afternoon and was able to take advantage of the melee on that last restart to take the runner-up position. In two Xfinity Series starts, Gibbs has a win (Daytona Road Course) and a second-place finish.
Brandon Brown, Riley Herbst and last week’s winner, AJ Allmendinger, rounded out the top five – all taking advantage of the aggressive racing on the last restart. For Brown and Herbst, those finishes are a season best. It was Brown’s career-best finish.
Jeb Burton, Bayley Currey, Allgaier, Brett Moffitt and Jeremy Clements rounded out the top 10. It marked the first top 10 in the 24-year-old Currey’s career. It was the first top 10 for Allgaier this season, and his 32 laps led was a season best as well.
“Just disappointing there,’’ Allgaier said. “Once we got to his outside, I thought we had it, but he just got me out of the PJ1 and into the marbles and unfortunately it all comes up quick when you’re bumped out of the PJ1..
“I’m so proud of everyone at JR Motorsports. I learned a lot I think for when we come back here in the fall and hopefully we’re in the Final Four.’’
Resilience, like it or not, was a dominant theme Saturday.
The final restart was a disappointing outcome for Hemric, who for the second straight week won a stage and proved to be a trophy contender. He rallied from a tough mid-race pit sequence to be back among the top five when it counted most.
His No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, which had been strong all day, fell off after a pit stop adjustment after his Stage 2 win. Hemric’s race got more complicated when he was called for speeding on pit road, but he remained calm and raced his way back inside the top 10, then top five. He restarted next to Cindric before getting caught up in the five-wide racing at the end.
It was a similar day of a strong showing gone awry for the defending race winner, Brandon Jones. The driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was a top-five car early in the race and rebounded from an early pit-road speeding penalty to run top five again – even lead the race for a pair of laps.
However, while running in the front pack of cars with only 33 laps remaining, his Toyota was hit from behind by last week’s race winner, Allmendinger. The damage to Jones’ Toyota was too much and instead of a sure-bet top five and a shot for a second straight spring victory at Phoenix, he finished the race from the garage.
“All in all we had a really good Toyota Supra, looks like I just got run over by A.J. but I keep a notebook of all this stuff,’’ Jones said after emerging from the care center.
The top-five finish for Herbst, 22, was easily his best run of the season in his maiden year driving the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. He had three DNFs in the opening four races.
It has been a similar frustrating early season for championship favorite Noah Gragson. For the third time in the five races this season, Gragson took a DNF. His No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet suffered an engine failure, and he retired on Lap 67. His teammate, Michael Annett, also had engine problems in the No. 1 Chevrolet and finished 38th.
All that, plus the two stage breaks, led to the most cautions — 11 — in a NASCAR Xfinity Series race since 2007.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Atlanta Motor Speedway next Saturday in the EchoPark 250 (5 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Cindric holds a 47-point lead over Hemric in the championship standings.
Note: The race winning No. 22 Team Penske Ford of Austin Cindric passed NASCAR’s post-race inspection. There were no other issues.
InstaCart 500 at Phoenix (⏰ 3:30 p.m. ET | 📺 FOX | 📻 MRN, SiriusXM)
Everything you need to know for Sunday’s race, the fifth points-paying NASCAR Cup Series event of the 2021 season.
Where: Phoenix Raceway, a 1-mile layout located in Avondale, Arizona Green flag: 3:47 p.m. ET TV/Radio: FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Forecast: Partly sunny with a high near 78, according to NOAA.gov National anthem: Phoenix Boys Choir Grand marshal: Jason Biggs Race Distance: 312 laps, 312 miles Stages: 75 | 190 | 312 Pit-road speed: 45 mph Caution car speed: 50 mph
Starting lineup: Kevin Harvick on Busch Pole
Pit stall assignments: See where cars line up | Why Chris Gabehart picked second pit stall Pre-race inspection: Kyle Larson, William Byron among cars to start at the rearChristian Petersen | Getty Images
Five to watch
Here are five big story lines we’ll be following.
1. It’s good to be the champion. Chase Elliott heads into Sunday’s race as the odds-on favorite at 5-1 after his fall victory that sealed his first career Cup Series title. Phoenix will be a welcome sight for the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team, too. Outside of Elliott’s second-place finish in the Daytona 500, he has finished 13th or worse in the three races since. In 10 starts at Phoenix, Elliott holds three top fives, six top 10s and an 11.8 average finish.
2. Like most people, Kevin Harvick left Las Vegas empty-handed. Harvick failed to lead a lap after starting on the pole when second-place starter William Byron quickly took the lead from the veteran. From there, Harvick dropped through the field like a rock, finishing 20th when it was all said and done. The No. 4 team, and Stewart-Haas Racing as a whole, were puzzled by the lack of speed and performance. With only 17 laps led this season, there’s no doubt Harvick could get right back on track at a track where he’s the all-time wins leader with nine triumphs.
3. Kyle Busch was not happy with his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota during the majority of last Sunday’s race at Las Vegas, which was apparent with his in-car radio comments. But new crew chief Ben Beshore fought hard to make it better and turned the tide for a finish of third. The lack of practice and qualifying has thrown Busch and team for a loop since it began last season, down on speed off the hauler but working throughout the course of the race to give themselves a fighting chance. Phoenix offers up a good chance to lock himself in the playoffs early, though. Busch owns two wins in the past five races, taking the shine away from Harvick’s dominance recently. We’ll see if it can happen again Sunday.
4. The start of the 2021 season couldn’t have gone much worse for Ryan Blaney. In the first three races, the No. 12 Team Penske driver collected finishes of 30th, 15th and 29th at the Daytona 500, Daytona Road Course and Homestead-Miami Speedway, respectively. But they were able to reverse course at Las Vegas by finding the front quickly in Stage 1 and staying there for a fifth-place finish. While the team still has some tweaks to make after Blaney noted a lack of raw speed compared to other frontrunners last Sunday, Phoenix could continue the momentum gained. Blaney earned a pair of third-place finishes in 2019 and finished sixth last fall.
5. It may be March, but the focus will also be on November this Sunday. Title-contending teams will be vying for the victory to lock their spot into the postseason while also banking a plethora of notes they can carry over into the championship finale at the 1-mile track. The fifth race of the year gives you a good outlook on which drivers will be the strongest heading into the meat of the regular season and the same holds true for Phoenix. Teams that perform well Sunday will likely do the same in November. But for a quartet of drivers at season’s end, there will be more on the line. You have to be ready for it.
Race-day staples
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles. •Power Rankings: Brad Keselowski continues to be a late-race factor | See the ranks •Paint Scheme Preview: 2021 Phoenix spring weekend | See the schemes •Fantasy Fastlane: See which drivers to use, avoid | Full Fantasy advice |Set your roster •Preview Show: Jonathan Merryman and Alex Weaver preview the race | Watch the show
Get in on the action
Think you know NASCAR? Put your mettle to the test with gaming, fantasy. • Betting odds for today’s race | See the odds • Survey reveals unrealistic expectations of most gamblers | Full betting preview • Take a shot at winning cash prizes with the free-to-play Jackpot Races app | Hit the jackpot • Full guide to 2021 NASCAR Fantasy Live game | Get the FAQ
Track history
Every track has a story to tell. Here’s what we’ve seen go down at Phoenix Raceway in the past. • Memorable moments at Phoenix | See the moments • All-time track winners | See the list • Top 10 lap leaders at Phoenix | See the list • Throwback: Jeff Gordon vs. Clint Bowyer at Phoenix in 2012 | Watch the video • Relive Bill Elliott’s dominant performance in 1989 Autoworks 500 from Phoenix | Watch the race
Fast facts
Hard-hitting, race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.
• No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford driver Kevin Harvick is the all-time wins leader at Phoenix with nine victories, 18 top fives and 25 top 10s in 36 starts. • Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota driver Kyle Busch has earned two wins and 10 finishes of seventh or better the last 11 Phoenix races. •Ryan Blaney, the No. 12 Ford driver for Team Penske, finished in the top 10 for the first time in 2021 at Las Vegas. Blaney has three top-six finishes in the past four races at Phoenix. • No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford driver Cole Custer earned the first top-10 finish of his Cup Series career in the Phoenix spring race last season. • Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski has piloted the No. 2 Ford to a runner-up finish in two of the past five Phoenix races, including last fall. Keselowski has never won at the 1-mile track.
Catch the pack
Read up on all the headlines from the week leading up to Sunday’s race. • Backseat Drivers: Is Hendrick Motorsports the best team right now? | Hear the debate • NASCAR reveals procedures, details for inaugural Bristol Motor Speedway dirt-track weekend | Read more • Is it panic time for Aric Almirola? | Read more • Penalty report: No. 41 crew chief Mike Shiplett suspended one race for Las Vegas lug-nut violation | Read more
Say what?
Notable quotes from the stars of the sport heading into Sunday’s race.
“At this point, I don’t think we need to throw a Hail Mary. We’re not in a situation where we need to go do whatever it takes to win; we’re in a situation where we just need a good day.” – Aric Almirola
“That’s a silly question. I think you should go back and look at the first race from last year that we led the most laps and had the fastest car. We wound up finishing second. I would consider us a challenger at just about any race track that you go to, but you’re not gonna be that way all the time, so, I think as we go to Phoenix you expect to go there and perform well.” — Kevin Harvick, when asked if he was a threat to win at Phoenix
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
“I am definitely looking forward to getting back to Phoenix this weekend. Our last trip there was something I will never forget. Obviously, it’s a new season, eyes forward for now and just thinking about what we need to do to be fast and have our car where it needs to be. I also hope we can learn a lot while we are there because you want to be prepared if you are in the Championship 4 at the end of the season.” — Chase Elliott
“Part of me is surprised, but part of me is not. I thought it might take a little bit of time for us to gel as a team. But we had all the tools to run well and battle for wins, and we were able to win at Las Vegas. But that was last Sunday and our focus is now on Phoenix and what we can do to run well and hopefully win there.” — Kyle Larson
The following article is brought to you by BetMGM.
The western tour continues for the NASCAR Cup Series as it takes to the one-mile delight in the desert at Phoenix Raceway. The Instacart 500 will take place on Sunday, and this year’s field of drivers contains some of the all-time best competitors in track history. It makes the NASCAR odds this week even more interesting than usual.
Last week, we saw a competitive race at Las Vegas. Kyle Larson came out on top in that one. Could he repeat? Or will the all-time track winner mentioned below continue his dominance in Arizona?
Let’s face it, Elliott is going to be the popular choice at a lot of tracks this year. That happens when you’re one of the youngest NASCAR Cup Series season champions in history. His surname also doesn’t hurt the case, as he’s the son of Hall of Fame driver Bill Elliott.
The younger Elliott has a pretty solid resume at Phoenix — six top 10s in 10 races, one victory, and the fourth-best average finish among active drivers. This kid continues to impress, and he’s proven to be a jack-of-all-trades driver, conquering a diverse array of tracks.
The NASCAR odds this week favor Elliott, but only slightly.
OTHERS: The truth is, Kevin Harvick (+600) is the most successful driver of all time at Phoenix, and it is not even close. Harvick’s nine all-time wins dwarf the next competitor (Jimmie Johnson with four). He has 25 top 10s in 36 starts and hasn’t been outside the top 10 at all since coming over to Stewart Haas Racing in 2014. Kyle Busch (+800) has won 16 total races at Phoenix in the top three NASCAR series. Keep an eye on these two this weekend.
THE DARK HORSE THREAT
Kyle Larson +1000
One has to like Larson’s momentum the past two races on similar-style tracks to Phoenix. He won last week’s race at Las Vegas, and he took fourth at Miami the week prior. While Larson doesn’t have a race win here, his past success on tracks like Phoenix is well-documented.
Larson has four straight top-six finishes at the Arizona track, and he seems to have some serious momentum going. He’s earned a front-row start to the race thanks to NASCAR’s formula that sets the field (during COVID-19). He’ll start second next to Brad Keselowski. Starting in the front row on a one-mile, tri-oval track like Phoenix is a massive advantage.
OTHERS: William Byron (+1600) is another guy to keep a close eye on. He’s been pretty consistent at Phoenix with two straight top 10s and a race win in the Xfinity Series a few years ago. Ryan Blaney (+1400) starts eighth, and in his past four starts there, he has three top-six finishes. That starting position combined with his recent success there makes him somebody to watch.
Honestly? It’s kind of weird calling Kurt Busch a “long shot”, but according to the odds, he is. He will start twelfth in the field, which isn’t bad. His Phoenix history is decent: one career win, 20 top 10s in 36 starts. He’s run rather well here the past two years since coming on board with Chip Ganassi Racing.
OTHERS: Christopher Bell (+2500) has done some special things this year, too. He already has a win (Daytona Road Course), and his season’s results have put him in the fourth starting spot. He also has won at Phoenix in the Xfinity Series. Erik Jones (+10000) may be considered a long shot in the NASCAR betting lines, but he has won twice at the track in the Camping World Truck Series and has four top 10s in nine races.
MOORESVILLE N.C. (March 12, 2021) – Longtime racer Bill Lester will drive the No. 17 Ford F-150 for David Gilliland Racing (DGR) at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 20. Lester will make his first start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) since 2007.
In total, the University of California Berkley engineering graduate has 142 starts in the series, spanning 2000-2007. Lester has three pole awards in the NCWTS and has led 92 laps. The African American driver has made starts in all three NASCAR national series.
Lester has partner support from series sponsor Camping World, Tommy’s Express Car Wash and the Greater Atlanta Ford Dealers. The Atlanta resident also just released his memoir, Winning in Reverse: Defying the Odds and Achieving Dreams.
“I’m excited to get back behind the wheel in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and I want to thank David Gilliland Racing for their help in making this happen,” Lester said. “It’s been more than a few years since my last race in the series, but to have strong partners like the Greater Atlanta Ford Dealers, Camping World, and Tommy’s Express Car Wash joining me for my return means a lot and I am honored to have them on-board. I look forward to competing at my home track, Atlanta Motor Speedway, and hope to make all those who are supporting me proud.”
The No. 17 is a part-time entry for DGR and has been driven by team co-owner David Gilliland and Riley Herbst this season.
A survey conducted by Whistle Wise finding 76% of sports bettors view gambling as a form of entrepreneurship (h/t Sports Handle) drew a collective gasp from the sports betting community, which knows the true percentage of people who make money betting on sports is nowhere near that.
Zack White, a professional bettor who specializes in NASCAR, laughed when told of the survey’s results.
“It’s not even close,” White said. “You’re talking 1%.”
It’s not impossible to win betting on sports, but it takes tremendous intelligence, hard work, discipline and capital. Proficiency in math and computer programming helps as well – necessary, in fact, some say.
“Everybody thinks they can do it,” White said. “There’s very few people that are able to do it year over year for the long term. It takes a lot of different aspects as a person – discipline, money management. You’ve gotta be well-bankrolled to start. Nobody’s gonna take $10,000 and turn it into enough money to live off of.
“These days, you (also) need computer programmers, you need inside information to create a well-rounded betting portfolio to win long term.”
The good news for NASCAR bettors is the sport’s betting markets are neither as liquid nor efficient as those for the NFL, college basketball or even golf. In other words, not as much money is bet into NASCAR as those other sports, so it’s easier to find an edge.
“It’s just a matter of being able to dig a little deeper than the sportsbooks,” said Blake Phillips, another sharp NASCAR bettor. “I don’t know how much work is actually put into creating the opening lines, and it’s a pretty illiquid market, so (it’s easier to beat) than the NFL or NBA.”
Easier. Definitely not easy.
And that’s OK. Even if you are not among the 1% of bettors who win over the long haul, you can still derive plenty of enjoyment from getting some action down on NASCAR races. The key is to view gambling as recreation, not a form of income. Budget an amount you’re comfortable losing and stick to that budget.
For example, instead of going out to dinner Sunday, give yourself $100 to play with for the Instacart 500 from Phoenix Raceway (Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX). Even if you lose, you’ll probably have more fun cheering on your wagers than you would waiting for your overcooked steak. And the beauty of betting is sometimes you win. No one goes out to dinner and comes home with more money.
Bettors are fading Kevin Harvick in early wagering on Sunday’s race in Phoenix, as the line has moved against the No. 4 Ford in three matchups posted at SuperBook USA. Here is how the numbers have shifted since Tuesday’s openers:
Chase Elliott vs. Kevin Harvick
open: Elliott -110, Harvick -110
move: Elliott -120, Harvick even-money
Kevin Harvick vs. Kyle Larson
open: Harvick -130, Larson +110
move: Harvick -120, Larson even-money
Kevin Harvick vs. Denny Hamlin
open: Harvick -130, Hamlin +110
move: Harvick -120, Hamlin even-money
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
“People are anti-Stewart-Haas since they were so bad last week,” Ed Salmons, who handles NASCAR odds at the SuperBook, said in a text message.
Phillips isn’t sure this is the right sentiment, noting Harvick is the co-second favorite to win the race, offered at +500 at the SuperBook.
“I’m a little more tentative (to bet against Harvick),” Phillips said. “If I’m going just based on (my statistical) model, sure Harvick doesn’t look great, and the model is going to be really heavy on (Brad) Keselowski (the +450 favorite to win the race). It’s going to make him look like an absolute superstar, and it’s going to make Harvick look like he’s going to struggle here.”
Giving us a peek into his handicapping process, Phillips said his model provides “a rough approximation of what’s going to happen and then I decide what I’m going to be cautious on. I’m really cautious betting against Harvick this week, just as I’m cautious about betting blindly on Keselowski. I think that he’s a little bit overrated on the model right now.”
Phillips added, “If there’s a race where Harvick is going to make a rebound and show us what he’s got for the 2021 season, Phoenix is going to be the track. If he’s still struggling after Phoenix, it’s going to really inform my opinion on Harvick for the next few races after that.”
GROWTH OF LIVE NASCAR BETTING
Last Sunday, we monitored in-race wagering on a variety of apps, and we found that Barstool Sportsbook offered some fun ways to get involved after the green flag had dropped. You could bet on the driver you thought was going to win the race (eventual winner Kyle Larson could be had for 8-1 odds in live betting), for a driver to finish in the top 3 and even on a few head-to-head matchups.
As legal sports betting expands, the live betting options for NASCAR will grow along with it, according to bookmakers and pro bettors.
The expansion of legal gambling “will pump some liquidity into the market and give us some more offerings,” Phillips said.
For now, since the amount of money wagered on NASCAR is relatively small, there’s caution on both sides of the betting counter when it comes to in-race wagering. For the books, posting live odds for NASCAR races is less formulaic and more labor intensive than for stick-and-ball sports, White believes, and from the bettor’s perspective, the limits (the amount of money books allow you to bet) aren’t high enough to make the work required worth it.
“There’s not a huge market right now for that, so I haven’t really dived into trying to analyze the race as it’s going on,” White said. “There’s not really a market for me to bet into if I did find an angle there. But I’ve got some ideas if it does become widespread.”
Phillips is also looking forward to in-race betting achieving a critical mass, particularly live matchup props.
“I intend to spend more time on it,” he said. “I’ve done a little bit of in-game betting on outrights (the driver to win the race), which is primarily the market you’ll find there. It’s definitely on my radar. I think there’s a lot of opportunity there.”
Marcus DiNitto is a writer and editor living in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has been covering sports for nearly two-and-a-half decades and sports betting for more than 10 years. His first NASCAR betting experience was in 1995 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, where he went 0-for-3 on his matchup picks. Read his articles and follow him on Twitter; do not bet his picks.
Ahead of this year’s Daytona 500, Aric Almirola was among the pre-race favorites to win the Harley J. Earl Trophy. But less than 15 laps in, his race went awry, and the No. 10 team hasn’t been able to get on the right track since.
“It’s a character building year, and we are building lots of character,” Almirola recently told NASCAR.com of his season. “That’s exactly how I would describe it.”
While running at the front of the field in The Great American Race, Christopher Bell gave Almirola a great push down the backstretch. That shove turned the No. 10 Ford sideways, triggering the “Big One” with 16 cars receiving some sort of damage.
Believing he had one of the best cars in that race (Almirola dominated the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel three nights prior by leading 52 of 60 laps), there was no sugarcoating it — it was disappointing to be out of the race early. Devastating at that.
The following week at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, Almirola was having a respectable run when he went for a late-race spin. Ultimately, he rebounded to take the checkered flag in 17th.
To round out the Florida swing, Almirola’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway went downhill on Lap 201, when he got tight underneath Ryan Blaney, putting both cars in the fence. End result: 30th.
Most recently, Almirola was running in the mid-20s at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and then an incident occurred during the final stage. A piece of debris flew up into the left front of Almirola’s Ford and got sandwiched between the wheel and the brake caliper. Come the next corner, the No. 10 car was in the wall with a flat left front tire, ending the day 38th.
But even before the incident, Vegas wasn’t a stellar run for Almirola, or Stewart-Haas Racing as a whole, with Kevin Harvick leading the brigade in 20th.
“Of course I was surprised by (the way we ran),” Almirola said. “That’s been one of the things we’ve excelled at — mile and a half race tracks — especially with this 550 (horsepower) package. Those types of races are places where we’ve excelled and run very well. …
“Going to Vegas, I had a lot of high hopes and we were — overall as a company — scratching our heads, trying to figure out why we underperformed there.”
According to Almirola, it was an abnormal day by Stewart-Haas Racing standards.
“We’re way too good of a race team to run like that, and we all know that,” Almirola said. “There’s a lot of eyes on a lot of different parts of our race team and our race cars, engineers digging in and looking at what happened and answering those questions, trying to produce immediate results because that can’t and won’t be the norm. I promise you that.”
But even with moderate speed, Almirola has an average finish of just 29.8 through the first four events.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a patch of races like this in my whole entire career,” Almirola said. “I know I’ve never started a season like this. I know for a fact I’ve never started the season with this many poor finishes.
“It’s not a situation I want to be in. It’s uncomfortable. It doesn’t feel good.”
Almirola still believes his No. 10 team is “great.” So even though he’s 28th in points, 49 markers below the cutoff, it’s not a cause for concern just yet.
“We’ve got a lot of fight in us and I’m not a quitter,” he said. “I’m not going to give up, I’m not going to quit, and we’re going to keep fighting. I can assure you we won’t consistently run like this; eventually we’ll get it turned around and capitalize on those moments.”
With the season still young, Almirola believes looking at points isn’t a true indicator of how the team is; as drivers can move up and down the “ladder” quickly. In fact, he said he hasn’t looked at points once.
The primary focus is to get the cars better.
“At this point, I don’t even care (about points),” Almirola said. “I know it’s bad. I know we have very little and I know we’re not in a good position. All that really matters for us is trying to get our cars competitive and trying to get speed in our cars to where we can go run up front. Because if you run up front you’re going to score points.”
Once the end of April and beginning of May comes around, Almirola will begin to look at points more closely. From there, he will be able to measure who the No. 10 car is racing around and needs to beat for the remainder of the regular season.
His next opportunity at a good run is this weekend at Phoenix Raceway. Over the past seven races in the Arizona sun, Almirola has earned five top-10 finishes, including a pair of top fives.
The goal is simple: Have a solid run to get back on track.
“At this point, I don’t think we need to throw a Hail Mary,” he said. “We’re not in a situation where we need to go do whatever it takes to win; we’re in a situation where we just need a good day.”
Knowing the deficit the team faces, Almirola said he needs to “persevere,” a term he brought to Twitter earlier this week to remind himself that the team is going to continue to fight.
Richmond Raceway, Martinsville Raceway and Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) announce a partnership on the entitlement for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races in 2020.
The race at Martinsville on Thursday, April 8, will be the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200.
And the Whelen Modified race at Richmond on Saturday, Sept. 10, will be the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 150.
— Martinsville Speedway (@MartinsvilleSwy) March 11, 2021
Martinsville Speedway will host an expanded spring race weekend with the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race in April. This will be the first Modified Tour race at Martinsville since 2010.
Martinsville hosted a modified race in NASCAR’s inaugural season on July 4, 1948. The race was the third NASCAR sanctioned race in the history of the Commonwealth of Virginia. NASCAR’s National Modified Championship, the predecessor to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, competed at Martinsville from 1960-1984. The modern-day Modified Tour continued to race at the historic half-mile short track from 1985-2002 and 2005-2010. The series was originally scheduled to return to Martinsville last year, but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Racing Virginia legend Ray Hendrick, who is the career leader in wins at Martinsville with 20, is the all-time leader in modified wins at the track with 13. NASCAR Hall of Famer Richie Evans is second with 10. Mike Stefanik, elected to the 2021 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame and one of the Modified Tour’s 10 greatest drivers of all-time, holds the modern-day record with five wins at Martinsville. In qualifying for a 1986 modified event, Greg Sacks set the current Martinsville track record with a one-lap average of 101.014 mile-per-hour.
Richmond Raceway expands the fall race weekend to host the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 150 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race under the lights in September. This will be the first Modified Tour race at Richmond since 2002.
Richmond first hosted a modified race in NASCAR’s inaugural season on May 16, 1948. The race was the first NASCAR sanctioned race in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Richmond hosted the modern-day NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour from 1990-1993, 1997 and 1999-2002. Mike Stefanik, elected to the 2021 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and one of the Modified Tour’s 10 greatest drivers of all-time, holds the modern-day record with three wins at Richmond.
Racing Virginia will be active in April as the Commonwealth will host two NASCAR Cup Series race weekends in the same month for the first time since the April 2017 with Martinsville on April 8-10 and Richmond Raceway on April 17-18. For more information, visit martinsvillespeedway.com and richmondraceway.com.
To learn more about Virginia Tourism Corporation, visit virginia.org.
STATESVILLE, N.C. — Halmar Friesen Racing announced Thursday that Jessica Friesen will drive the No. 62 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota Tundra in the Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 27.
Friesen will be driving a second truck out of the HFR shop, which will be the first time HFR fields two trucks. She will be racing as a teammate in the same event as her husband, Stewart Friesen. While the couple regularly race together in Northeast Dirt Modifieds, this will mark the first time a husband and wife compete in the same race on the same NASCAR team.
The Friesens will be the third husband-wife duo competing in the same NASCAR event. Frank and Sara Christian were first, making their debut at the Daytona Beach Road Course in NASCAR’s inaugural 1949 season. Elton Sawyer and Patty Moise then competed in several NASCAR races together in the early 1990s.
Partners onboard the No. 62 truck for the Bristol race include Halmar International, Parks Companies, A. Colarusso & Son, Corr Pak Merchandising, Tammy 10 Media, Hills Racing, One Zee Tees and CASP The Council of Autism Service Providers.
“I’ve been racing Sprint Cars and Modifieds on dirt for my entire racing career, and it’s amazing to get an opportunity to compete at this level. I’m looking forward to the experience of driving a truck for the first time,” Jessica said. “The fact that this race is happening on dirt is really exciting. I couldn’t ask for a better group to work with than the team we’ve assembled at HFR. I want to thank everyone who has made this possible, including our team owner, Chris Larsen, and all of our other sponsors who have supported me in the past both in Dirt Modifieds and Sprint Cars who have come back on board for this race.”
