Winners: Ross Chastain (Cup); Aric Almirola (Xfinity); Corey Heim (Trucks); Tanner Gray (ARCA); Trevor Huddleston (ARCA West)
NASCAR Cup
Chastain Spoils Playoff Show at Kansas, Posts First Cup Series Win of the Season
Ross Chastain’s No 1. Trackhouse Chevrolet came to life in the second half of Sunday‘s Hollywood Casino 400 and beat William Byron‘s Chevrolet to the finish line in a hotly contested Round of 12 opener in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Chastain grabbed the lead from Martin Truex Jr. moments after the final restart on Lap 248 at Kansas Speedway and held off a charging Byron by 0.388 seconds to thwart the playoff driver‘s bid for automatic advancement into the Round of 8.
Having failed to qualify for the postseason this year, Chastain reveled in his first victory of the season, his first at Kansas and the fifth of his career.
“For us on this 1 team, it’s what Cup racing is all about,” said Chastain, who led 52 laps. “It’s what (team co-owner) Justin Marks bought into Trackhouse with Pitbull, bought into NASCAR with Trackhouse to do stuff like this — to disrupt.
“Look, there’s been times this year where we couldn’t have disrupted the minnow pond outside of Darlington, let alone a Cup race. It’s hard. It’s really tough. To come and do this, there are times where I didn’t think after practicing and qualifying we had what it took. I thought we have been way stronger here in the past. It didn’t feel great all day, but our Kubota Chevy, it was better as the rubber went down, and the adjustments were great.”
It’s the Melon Man in @Mobil1 Victory Lane!#HollywoodCasino400 pic.twitter.com/q37YeQ00JO
— Kansas Speedway (@kansasspeedway) September 29, 2024
Pole: Christopher Bell
Click Here for Race ResultsNASCAR Xfinity
Aric Almirola Plays Spoiler, Wins Xfinity Playoffs Opener
Aric Almirola surged to victory in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs opener at Kansas Speedway, bypassing Cole Custer in the 197th of 200 laps and denying the circuit’s postseason hopefuls early advancement.
"For me, to be able to scratch the itch of driving race cars and competing at a high level, I absolutely love this," Almirola said. "I did not want to walk away from exactly what I did today. That adrenaline rush of what I did today is irreplaceable. You can not do that anywhere else."
Almirola’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led 16 of the 200 laps in the Kansas Lottery 300. His second win of the season in a part-time role was his first at the 1.5-mile Kansas City track and the sixth of his Xfinity Series career.
"It's exactly what I set out to do when Coach (Gibbs) called me. I really didn't have a plan. I was retiring and didn't know what was next," Almirola said. "Coach called, I met with him, and we talked a lot about what this could look like, and it has been so gratifying. I truly believe it was an answered prayer for me, (wife) Janice and our family."
Well that was fun!
— Aric Almirola (@Aric_Almirola) September 29, 2024
6 more! pic.twitter.com/xA4Em3YC6v
Pole: Brandon Jones
Click Here for Race ResultsNASCAR Trucks
Corey Heim Completes Season Sweep at Kansas in NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Elimination Race
Corey Heim won Friday night’s Kubota Tractor 200 in the fastest truck, but he needed help from fellow Playoff driver Ty Majeski to secure the victory in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Round of 10 elimination race at Kansas Speedway.
Majeski ran out of fuel approaching the white flag while leading, allowing Heim to surge past in his No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota and claim his sixth victory of the season in a race that saw reigning series champion Ben Rhodes and Playoff rookie Daniel Dye eliminated from title contention.
“We were the best truck all night-it’s my favorite track, I love coming here,” said Heim, who won at the 1.5-mile speedway in the spring. “I look forward to this. I had a smile on my face all week coming to this place.
“I just thought we could sweep the year here. It’s an awesome place to come. I certainly thought we had it lost there to the 98 (Majeski), almost making it on fuel, but it just shows my team made the right call.”
The victory was Heim’s second at Kansas and the 11th of his career. He led a race-high 64 laps in an event that featured 10 lead changes among three drivers.
W. 6 piece! Thank you @tricon @safelite #teamtoyota pic.twitter.com/K4HuMxFHA2
— Corey Heim (@CoreyHeim_) September 28, 2024
Pole: Ty Majeski
Click Here for Race ResultsARCA
Tanner Gray Holds on in Thrilling Finish to Win Reese’s 150 at Kansas Speedway
Although the ARCA stat sheet will show Tanner Gray dominated Friday’s Reese’s 150 at Kansas Speedway, his journey to the checkered flag was anything but smooth.
Contact with Amber Balcaen on the final restart of the day left Gray with a slow leak in his left rear tire, but he still had enough car and tire to hold off Connor Zilisch, Corey Day and Andy Jankowiak in the final laps. Gray’s resolve, and his tire, lasted until the checkered flag, resulting in his second ARCA Menards Series victory of 2024.
One more lap and Gray would have been denied the victory because his left rear tire went flat just as he reached Turn 1 on the cooldown lap. He was fortunate the tire lasted to the finish so that he could celebrate putting together a complete race behind the wheel of Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota.
“It’s obviously gratifying when you can come here and close these things out,” Gray said. “We’ve been in a position to win most of them this year, but I haven’t done a good a very good job on the restarts at the end. It’s been a lot of fun racing with [Joe Gibbs Racing] this year and hopefully we can do this some more in the future.”
HE WILL NOT BE DENIED!@tannergray5 wins the @reeses 150 at @kansasspeedway and has a flat tire seconds after crossing the finish line! pic.twitter.com/njmLhGmBdI
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) September 27, 2024
Pole: Isabella Robusto
Click Here for Race ResultsARCA West
Trevor Huddleston Dominates ARCA West at Madera Speedway
Trevor Huddleston topped the ARCA Menards Series West portion of the 51st Harvest Classic at Madera Speedway on Saturday night.
Huddleston won the West Coast Stock Car / Motorsports Hall of Fame 150 in a door-banging duel with 2023 ARCA Menards Series West champion Sean Hingorani.
Huddleston proposed to his longtime girlfriend Nastasia Dodd in victory lane as well at the speedway where they first met.
“What a race! This car…absolutely epic! Race Car Factory, High Point Racing, everybody who made this possible - I can’t thank them enough. Getting these wins isn’t easy,” Huddleston said.
Going to have a hard time finding a more memorable Victory Lane interview than this 💍
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) September 29, 2024
Congrats, @TrevorHudd50! pic.twitter.com/KWBkBLMZZd
Pole: Jaron Giannini
Click Here for Race Results
No comments:
Post a Comment