Showing posts with label race recap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label race recap. Show all posts

Monday, March 23, 2026

NASCAR Race Weekend Recap (Darlington)

NASCAR Race Weekend Recap (Darlington)

Winners: Tyler Reddick (Cup); Justin Allgaier (O'Reilly); Corey Heim (Trucks)



NASCAR Cup

Reddick Overcomes Early Issues to Win at Darlington for Fourth Victory of 2026

Reddick Overcomes Early Issues to Win at Darlington for Fourth Victory of 2026
Tyler Reddick hoists the trophy after winning #NASCAR Cup race at Darlington!

 

Overcoming a succession of issues inside his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota, Tyler Reddick delivered a convincing victory in Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, beating runner-up Brad Keselowski to the finish line by 5.847 seconds.

 

The win was Reddick’s fourth of the season in six NASCAR Cup Series events, following his record-setting sweep of the first three races of the year. That four-victory total puts Reddick in the company of two pillars of the sport.

 

Only twice before has a Cup Series driver won four of the first six races in a given season: Dale Earnhardt in 1987 and Bill Elliott in 1992.

 

Nor did circumstances make it easy on the 30-year-old driver from Corning, California. With a malfunctioning alternator from the outset, Reddick had to conserve power by eliminating unnecessary electrical drains.

 

“I know never to give up,” said Reddick, who won for the 12th time in his career. “I think it’s very fitting that when we finally get our first win here at Darlington that the ‘Lady in Black’ would test us like that. We’ve been so close so many times. I mean, Lap 1 we had the charging problem where the battery wasn’t charging at all.

 

“All day long, just not running fans. Sweat my tail off inside the race car, and we knew it was going to be physical. Really worn out, but I guess I don’t need as much of that cooling stuff as I normally have.”

 






Pole: Tyler Reddick



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The Cup Series will return on Sunday, March 29, 2026 at 3:30 pm ET for the ‘Cook Out 400’ at Martinsville Speedway.


NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series

Justin Allgaier Rallies to Darlington Win

Justin Allgaier Rallies to Darlington Win
JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier celebrates 30th career series win.

 


Justin Allgaier’s formula for winning Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway was simple enough: Take advantage of excellent pit stops and muscle his way into the lead on the final two restarts.

 

After a slow pit stop under the third and final caution on Lap 127 buried the dominant car of Kyle Larson in fifth place, Allgaier seized the lead from Brandon Jones on the last restart with 15 laps left and beat Jones to finish line by 0.578 seconds.

 

Allgaier is the first repeat winner of the 2026 season, but his victory is the fourth straight for JR Motorsports Chevrolets.

 

“These guys have never quit all year-they won the race,” Allgaier said of his pit crew. “They’ve never given up. They were on top of it all day on pit road.

 

“We definitely weren’t the best all day. Kyle (Larson) obviously was amazing. He had us covered… I didn’t do a very good job with it all day, if I’m being honest with you. Probably one of the worst days personally I’ve had here at Darlington.

 

“At the end there, I was worried about Brandon (Jones) – he had a fast car – and I was worried that the 19 (third-place finisher Christopher Bell) and the 88 (Larson) were going to get through the traffic there.”

 






Pole: Kyle Larson



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series will return on Saturday, March 28, 2026 at 3:30 pm ET for the ‘NFPA 250’ at Martinsville Speedway.





NASCAR Trucks

Corey Heim Storms to Truck Win in Stunning Last-lap Move

Tricon Garage driver Corey Heim celebrates in Victory Lane at Darlington Raceway.

 


Same guy. Different truck. Same result.

 

Driving the No. 5 Tricon Garage Toyota on a part-time basis, Corey Heim shocked race leader Ross Chastain with a last lap pass and collected his second straight victory at Darlington Raceway in Friday night’s Buckle Up South Carolina 200.

 

Heim was ninth for the final restart and used his tires to excellent advantage, making the pass for the win through Turns 3 and 4 on the final lap.

 

“I’m out of breath, for sure,” said Heim, who led three times for 28 laps and picked up his 24th win in 91 Truck Series starts. “Man, we had a set of scuffs laying, and they were five laps fresher than everyone else’s. It was worth a shot. I didn’t think we could win from where we were at.

 

“I felt like I made all the right moves. I had it three-wide coming to the white (flag) and bombed on in there on Ross (into Turn 3). I was shocked he gave me the bottom like that with fresher tires.”

 






Pole: Kaden Honeycutt



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The Truck Series will return on Friday, April 3, 2026 at 4:30 pm ET for the ‘Black's Tire 200’ at Rockingham Speedway.




ARCA

The ARCA Series did not compete this weekend







Next Race: The ARCA Series will return on Saturday, March 28, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. EST for the ‘Hickory 200’ at Hickory Motor Speedway.



 

source: NASCAR Media
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Monday, February 16, 2026

NASCAR / ARCA Race Weekend Recap (Daytona)

#NASCAR / #ARCA Race Weekend Recap (Daytona)

Winners: Tyler Reddick (Cup); Austin Hill (O'Reilly Series); Chandler Smith (Trucks) plus Gio Ruggerio (ARCA)

NASCAR Cup

Tyler Reddick Triumphs in 68th running of Daytona 500

Tyler Reddick Triumphs in 68th running of Daytona 500

 

Tyler Reddick waited for the last possible moment to make his move – and it paid off with victory in Sunday’s 68th running of the Daytona 500.

In the final 500 yards of the “Great American Race,” Reddick got a welcome push from teammate Riley Herbst, muscled his way past Chase Elliott and powered his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota toward the finish line.

 

As the Daytona track exploded in chaos behind him, when Herbst tried an ill-fated late block on Brad Keselowski and a knot of cars slid sideways across the finish line, Reddick already was celebrating a 0.308-second victory over 2023 Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

 

Reddick was the 25th different leader — a record for the race — and the only lap he led was the last one.

 

“Last year was really hard for all of us, hard for me,” Reddick said. “When you’re a Cup driver and you get to this level and drive for Michael Jordan, it’s expected you win every single year.

 

“For us to go on that drought, it made us look hard in the mirror, and I am really proud of everyone on our Chumba Casino Toyota Camry. Worked really hard in the offseason, and there were many points in this race where we weren’t making decisions we wanted to, but we just reset, and every opportunity we got to reset, we went back at it.

 

“Just speechless. I didn’t know if I’d ever win this race. It’s surreal, honestly. The best part is my son (Beau) asked before this race, ‘Are you finally going to win this race?’ Something about today just felt right.”

 






Pole: Kyle Busch



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The Cup Series will return on Sunday, February 22, 2026 at 3:00 pm ET for the ‘Autotrader 400’ at EchoPark Speedway.


NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series

Austin Hill Wins O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Season Opener

Austin Hill Wins O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Season Opener

 

Austin Hill continued his mastery of NASCAR’s big tracks, dominating Saturday’s United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway — the Georgia native’s fourth win in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season opener here in the last five years.

 

And as so typically happens on Daytona’s 2.5-mile superspeedway, the outcome came down to the dramatic last few laps and the race was decided by a split second.

 

Although he started from pole position and led a race high 78 of the 120 laps, Hill was tested all night — ultimately having to prevail on three restarts in the final 12 laps. His No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet beat JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier’s Chevrolet to the finish line by 0.081 seconds.

 

It marked Richard Childress Racing’s fifth consecutive win in this race, tying a mark set by Dale Earnhardt Inc. from 1990-94. It was Hill’s 15th career victory and 11th on a drafting style track.

 

“Just shows how good this team is,” Hill said of being able to pit late and out of sequence but still move forward when it mattered most. “It was a really tough decision to go from being 14th or wherever it was we restarted. But it just goes to show how good this team was. We had that restart and no one was going middle, so I was like, ‘Sure I’ll take it.’ Drove right up through there.”

 

“Daytona has just been so good to me,” said Hill, who swept both stage wins in addition to leading the most laps. “I love this place and it’s always fun to win.”

 






Pole: Austin Hill



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series will return on Saturday, February 21, 2026, at 5:00 pm ET for the ‘Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250’ at EchoPark Speedway.




NASCAR Trucks

Chandler Smith Storms through to Triumph

Chandler Smith Storms through to Triumph

 

Chandler Smith  came from the middle of nowhere to win Friday’s ‘Fresh From Florida 250’ at Daytona International Speedway and immediately gave credit where credit was due.

 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, Ty Majeski!” Smith shouted after taking the checkered flag in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season opener at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.

 

Driving the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports F-150, Smith was sixth as the lead group rounded Turn 3 on the second lap of overtime, with John Hunter Nemechek out front. But as Nemechek moved up the track to attempt a late block on Gio Ruggiero, Smith steamed through in the open bottom lane with a strong push from Majeski.

 

“He is all credit to how we just won that race, truthfully,” Smith said of Majeski’s push. “He stayed committed to a Ford and pushed a Blue Oval to a win.

 






Pole: Ty Majeski



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The Truck Series will return on Saturday, February 21, 2026 at 1:30 pm ET for the ‘Fr8 Racing 208’ at EchoPark Speedway.




ARCA

Gio Ruggerio Delivers Joe Gibbs Racing its First Daytona ARCA Menards Series Victory

Gio Ruggerio Delivers Joe Gibbs Racing its First Daytona ARCA Menards Series Victory

 

There was plenty of significance behind Gio Ruggiero’s victory Saturday in the General Tire 200 at Daytona International Speedway.

 

Not only was it Ruggiero’s first triumph in the national ARCA Menards Series, but it also marked the first time Joe Gibbs Racing prevailed at Daytona on the platform.

 

Ruggiero was no stranger to success on drafting tracks entering Saturday’s 80-lap race, having earned his maiden NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win at Talladega Superspeedway last year. The comfort Ruggiero has found on drafting tracks is why he felt confident about winning the General Tire 200 in a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

 

“Obviously last year, my first ever race in the Truck Series, I finished second,” Ruggiero said. “I think there was a little bit of luck in that with the winner being DQ’d. Since then, I’ve had really strong cars and feel like I’ve just made the right moves on the superspeedways.”

 






Pole: Gus Dean



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The ARCA West Series will return on Saturday, February 28, 2026 at 5 p.m. PT for the ‘Oil Workers 150 presented by the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame’ at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway.



 

source: NASCAR Media
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Monday, September 22, 2025

NASCAR / ARCA Race Recap (NHMS / Salem)

#NASCAR / #ARCA Race Recap (NHMS / Salem)

Winners: Ryan Blaney (Cup); Corey Heim (Trucks) plus Brenden Queen (ARCA)

Winners: Ryan Blaney (#NASCAR Cup); Corey Heim (Trucks) plus Brenden Queen (#ARCA)
Recap Graphic by Rolando Ramirez - RTR Graphics

 


NASCAR Cup

Ryan Blaney Holds Off Josh Berry, Clinches Round of 8 Spot with Loudon Win

Ryan Blaney Holds Off Josh Berry, Clinches Round of 8 Spot with Loudon Win

 

Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford — which started on the outside of the front row — led 116 of the race’s 301 laps, including the final 39 laps, holding off the Wood Brothers Racing driver Josh Berry, who had rallied back in his No. 21 Ford after a spin on Lap 82.

 

“Probably the hardest 20 laps I drove,” Blaney, 31, said of the race’s closing laps. “Was trying to bide my stuff and he [Berry] really started coming. He started to get super free, and it was all I could do to hold him off. It was good racing. Clean racing, and I appreciate Josh not throwing me the bumper when he could have.”

 

Blaney’s victory cashes the popular 2023 series champion’s ticket into the Round of 8 in pursuit of his second Cup Series title. Important both Sunday and likely further in the playoffs as the season’s three-race winner can expect fierce competition from his Penske teammate, three-time and reigning series champ Joey Logano, as the playoffs intensify.

 

Josh Berry finished second; William Byron placed third; Joey Logano came in fourth and Chase Elliott completed the top five.

 






Pole: Joey Logano



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The Cup Series will return on Sunday, September 28, 2025 at 3:00 pm ET for the ‘Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN Bet’ at Kansas Speedway.


NASCAR Xfinity

The Xfinity Series Had a Weekend Off







Next Race: The Xfinity Series will return on Saturday, September 27, 2025 at 4:00 pm ET for the ‘Kansas Lottery 300’ at Kansas Speedway.




NASCAR Trucks

Heim holds off Smith for Truck Series win at New Hampshire

Heim holds off Smith for Truck Series win at New Hampshire

 

Corey Heim turned in yet another successful chapter to one of the most dominant seasons in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series history — claiming his record-tying ninth win of the 2025 season in Saturday’s Team EJP 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

 

The 23-year-old Georgia native’s race effort was nearly as perfect as the NASCAR weekend setting — sunshine, cool fall temperatures set among the beautiful season-changing foliage for which New England is renowned.

 

Heim claimed the pole position in the No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota, swept both stages, led a race-best 124 of the 175 laps, set the fastest lap of the day and then motored off to an 0.823-second victory over Chandler Smith to end the first round of the Truck Series Playoffs as dominantly as the Regular Season Champion started them.

 

“It’s a dream come true to be able to race with these guys,” Heim said of his team. “Seems like everywhere we go this year, we’re a contender or we win, so just can’t say enough about those guys.

 

“But got to keep it going,” continued Heim, who now has 20 wins in 85 career starts. “Still have four more races left [this year] and want to break that [single-season wins] record. Shout out to Greg Biffle. He’s a great dude. Dream year for me personally and just have to keep it going. It’s awesome. Gotta keep the ball rolling.”

 

Chandler Smith finished second; Layne Riggs placed third; Gio Ruggiero came in fourth and Ty Majeski completed the top five.

 






Pole: Corey Heim



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The Truck Series will return on Friday, October 3, 2025 at 3:30 pm ET for the ‘NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoff Race at Charlotte ROVAL’ at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.




ARCA

Late Restart at Salem Propels Brenden Queen to Seventh ARCA Win of 2025

Late Restart at Salem Propels Brenden Queen to Seventh ARCA Win of 2025

 

For most of Saturday’s ARCA Menards Series race at Salem Speedway, Brenden Queen enjoyed a quiet and unassuming night inside the top five.

 

One caution transformed Queen’s good night into another great one. After polesitter Max Reaves brought out a late caution flag, Queen bested Lavar Scott on the ensuing restart and pulled away for his seventh victory on the 2025 ARCA Menards Series season.

 

“[The win] will make me feel good until tomorrow,” Queen said. “What a day. Battled myself, obviously not feeling the best, but that’s not an excuse. You have to show up to work and get after it. I’m just so proud of these Pinnacle Racing Group guys. We’ve worked so hard on the short track stuff and stayed with it all night.

 

“You don’t always have to have the best car, you just got to be there when it counts.”

 

Andrew Patterson finished second; Leland Honeyman placed third; Lavar Scott came in fourth and Isabella Robusto completed the top five.

 






Pole: Max Reaves



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The ARCA Menard Series will return on Friday, September 26, 2025 at 7:00 pm CT for the ‘Reese’s 150’ at Kansas Speedway.



Next Race: The ARCA West Series will return on Saturday, September 27, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. PT for the ‘Madera 150’ at Madera Speedway.



 

source: NASCAR Media
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , ,

Monday, April 14, 2025

NASCAR Race Weekend Recap (Bristol)

#NASCAR Race Weekend Recap (Bristol)

Winners: Kyle Larson (Cup); Kyle Larson (Xfinity); Chandler Smith (Trucks)

Bristol #NASCAR Winners: Kyle Larson (Cup); Kyle Larson (Xfinity); Chandler Smith (Trucks)
Recap Graphic by Rolando Ramirez - RTR Graphics 

 


NASCAR Cup

Larson Hits Half-Mile Haymaker, Dominates Bristol

Larson Hits Half-Mile Haymaker, Dominates Bristol

 

For the second straight day at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson dominated a NASCAR race and dedicated the victory to friend and PR representative Jon Edwards, who passed away suddenly during the week leading up to the race weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.

 

On Sunday, Larson won the Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race in overwhelming fashion, leading 411 of 500 laps and sweeping both stages.

 

“This one’s definitely for Jon,” said Larson, who finished second in Friday night’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, one spot short of sweeping the weekend. “He’s just a great guy. Successful weekend here. Wish he was going to be here with us to celebrate, but I know he’s celebrating with us in spirit.

 

“Just a flawless race once again here at Bristol for the 5 team. Really, really good car. That was a lot of fun.”

 






Pole: Alex Bowman



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The Cup Series will return on Sunday, April 27, 2025 at 3:00 pm ET for the Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.


NASCAR Xfinity

Kyle Larson Scores Dominant Xfinity Series

Kyle Larson Scores Dominant Xfinity Series

 

Pole winner Kyle Larson brought a bazooka to Saturday’s shootout at Bristol Motor Speedway.

 

His 37 opponents brought pea shooters to the “Last Great Colosseum” — or so it seemed, given the degree of domination Larson exhibited in winning the SciAps 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race. 

 

The driver of the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet led 277 of 300 laps in securing his first victory in two series starts this season, his second at Bristol and the 16th of his career. At the finish, there were only 12 cars on the lead lap.

 

To Larson, the victory was a fitting tribute to his friend and PR representative, Jon Edwards, who passed away suddenly during the week leading up to the Bristol race weekend.

“It’s awesome,” said Larson, who finished second in Friday night’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. “I wish I could have won last night – just came up a little bit short. It’s cool to get a win this weekend for Jon and everybody who’s been a part of his life.

 

“We’ve got one more tomorrow (in Sunday’s Food City 500 NASCAR Cup race). There’d be nothing better than to cap it off with a Cup win for Jon and all of Hendrick Motorsports. … I’ve got a great car there for (Sunday). We’ve just got to execute like we did today.”

 






Pole: Kyle Larson



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The Xfinity Series will return on Saturday, April 19, at 4:00 pm ET for the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 presented by Black’s Tire at Rockingham Speedway.




NASCAR Trucks

Chandler Smith Scores Truck Series Victory at Bristol, Pockets Triple Truck Challenge Prize

Chandler Smith Scores Truck Series Victory at Bristol

 

After charging into the lead in Friday night’s Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Chandler Smith’s work was far from over.

 

The driver of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford then had to hold off NASCAR Cup Series moonlighter Kyle Larson over a seven-lap dash to the finish to claim his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the season, his second at the 0.533-mile short track and the sixth of his career.

 

Smith also won the $50,000 Triple Truck Challenge bonus that goes to the highest-finishing Craftsman Truck Series.

 

“I’m more excited for the team than I am for myself,” said Smith, whose tenure in the No. 38 F-150 came in an 11th-hour deal at season’s end. “This group came together-we hired my crew chief (Jon Leonard) two weeks before Daytona … My life’s been really, really crazy recently, and there were a lot of unknowns about my future going into the season, and we kind of had our backs against the wall putting this group together like I said. But holy (crap), I wouldn’t want any different of a group than I had behind me.”

 






Pole: Daniel Hemric



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The Truck Series will return on Friday, April 18, 2025 at 5:00 pm ET for the Black’s Tire 200 at Rockingham Speedway.




ARCA

No ARCA Events to Recap

#ARCA Regional Power Rankings

 







Next Race: The ARCA Series East will return on Saturday, April 19, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. ET for the Rockingham ARCA 125 at Rockingham Speedway.

 

source: NASCAR Media
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , ,

Monday, April 7, 2025

NASCAR / ARCA Race Weekend Recap (Darlington / Tucson Speedway)

NASCAR / ARCA Race Weekend Recap (Darlington / Tucson Speedway)

Winners:  Denny Hamlin (Cup); Brandon-Jones (Xfinity); plus Tanner Reif (ARCA West)

Recap Graphic by Rolando Ramirez - RTR Graphics



NASCAR Cup

Denny Hamlin Steals Darlington Victory on Throwback Weekend

Denny Hamlin Steals Darlington Victory on Throwback Weekend

 

A perfectly executed overtime restart by Denny Hamlin following a clutch final pit stop by his Joe Gibbs Racing crew provided exactly the advantage the veteran needed to claim the trophy in Sunday’s NASCAR Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway.

 

Hamlin took the race lead out of the pits during the final late-race caution then bested the field on the ensuing restart, pulling his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota out front and ultimately to a 0.597-second victory over the day’s most dominant driver, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron.

 

It’s the second-consecutive victory for Hamlin, who won last week at Martinsville, and it marks the first time he’s won back-to-back races since 2012 when he won at Bristol and then Atlanta the following week.

 

All smiles as he climbed out of the car, Hamlin gave all the credit to his pit crew. He was in third place at the time of the final caution — the yellow coming out for Byron’s Hendrick teammate Kyle Larson’s spin. The leaders seized the chance to pit for fresh Goodyear tires in anticipation of the overtime restart and Hamlin’s crew got him out of the pits first — ahead of 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Byron.

 

A perfect launch on the ensuing green flag gave Hamlin the victory over Byron, who led a race-best 243 of the 297 laps. It is Hamlin’s 56th career win, breaking a tie with NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace for 11th place on NASCAR’s all-time wins list.

 

“There’s two people I really love right now: my pit crew and Kyle Larson,” the 44-year-old Virginian Hamlin said with a grin. “Had a little assist there, so thank you.

 

“The pit crew just did an amazing job. They won it last week [at Martinsville]. They won it this week. It’s all about them.”

 






Pole: William Byron



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The Cup Series will return on Sunday, April 13, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. ET for the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.


NASCAR Xfinity

Brandon Jones Snaps 98-Race Winless Streak

Brandon Jones Snaps 98-Race Winless Streak

 

After diligently working through a 98-race winless streak over the last three NASCAR Xfinity Series seasons, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones reminded his competitors — and his fans — Saturday that he’s still a race winner and a title contender.

 

The well-liked 28-year-old Atlanta native took the lead on a restart with 12 laps remaining in Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 at the historic Darlington Raceway — beating 2020 Cup Series champion Chase Elliott to the finish line by a healthy 1.105-second margin to hoist his first trophy since the Martinsville spring race on April, 8, 2022 — a span of 98 races.

 

The 1.366-mile Darlington track may be nicknamed “Too Tough to Tame,” but it certainly presented a tamer race than the series produced a week ago on the typically wild Martinsville half-miler. This weekend featured 14 lead changes among nine drivers — none of the changes up front a result of overly aggressive driving.

 

Instead, strategy, a fast car and unwavering belief in himself and his team made the difference for Jones.

 

“It’s nice for my confidence, right, but it’s also to prove to the haters and people that said I was incapable of doing it, wrong again,” said Jones, whose No. 20 JGR Toyota led 24 of the race’s 137 laps.

 

“This place is freaking awesome man, I love coming to Darlington,” he added, “Second win and just huge momentum. I knew we were on a high, just didn’t know when it was going to happen.”

 






Pole: Christopher Bell



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The Xfinity Series will return on Saturday, April 12, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. ET for the SciAps 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.




NASCAR Trucks

No Truck Race Last Weekend







Next Race: The Truck Series will return on Friday, April 11, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. ET for the Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.




ARCA

Tanner Reif Saves His Tires, Makes Late Pass to Win West Series' Return to Tucson Speedway

#ARCA Tanner Reif Saves His Tires, Makes Late Pass to Win West Series' Return to Tucson Speedway

 

Going slow to go fast is the best way to describe Tanner Reif’s Saturday night at Tucson Speedway.

 

Reif started third, rode at the back of the field for most of the race, then roared to the lead with two laps to go to win the ARCA Menards Series West 150 presented by the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame.

 

“Everything was perfect,” Reif said in Victory Lane. “I had to work so hard for it, but this team, Central Coast Cabinets Racing, did such a good job setting this thing up. I was crying in the car. I had to compose myself.”

 

Saturday’s event, the first West Series race at Tucson since 2019, was an excellent example of an old-school tire saving race.

 






Pole: Jake Bollman



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The ARCA Series East will return on Saturday, April 19, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. ET for the Rockingham ARCA 125 at Rockingham Speedway.



 

source: NASCAR Media
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , ,

Monday, March 10, 2025

NASCAR and ARCA Race Weekend Recap (Phoenix Raceway)

#NASCAR and #ARCA Race Weekend Recap (Phoenix Raceway)

Winners: Christopher Bell (Cup); Aric Almirola (Xfinity); plus Brent Crews (ARCA West)

Phoenix Winners (RTR Graphics)
Graphic by Rolando Ramirez - RTR Graphics

 

NASCAR Cup

Christopher Bell Gets Third Consecutive #Win

 

Christopher Bell prevailed in a dramatic side-by-side finish with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin – the second-closest finish in Phoenix Raceway history – to earn Bell his third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victory this season, a record in the sport’s Next Gen Car era.

 

Bell’s No. 20 JGR Toyota went high alongside Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota as the two cars dueled it out in the final two corners of a two-lap shootout on the one-mile speedway. The 30-year-old Oklahoman claimed the historic win by a mere 0.049 seconds, marking his second straight victory in this spring race at Phoenix.

 

“How about that one, race fans? Oh my gosh!” a jubilant Bell shouted to the Phoenix crowd after collecting the winner’s checkered flag at the start-finish line.

 

“Whenever you’re sitting there dreaming it up, that’s about as ugly as it gets. You put the red [option] tires on, and you’re like, all right, what I don’t want to happen is go 20, 30 laps, get a yellow. That happened. Then we went 10 more laps, had another yellow.

 

“It was all about who could get clear on the restart. Neither of us could. We were racing really hard coming to the line. JGR ran 1-2 — how about that?”

 

Post-race inspection was completed without issue in the Cup Series garage, confirming Christopher Bell as the winner.

 

Bell now heads to the 1.5-mile Las Vegas high banks next week, hoping to match a milestone set by NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, who is the only driver to win four of a season’s first five races, doing so in 1992.

 






Pole: William Byron



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The Cup Series will return on Sunday, March 16, 2025 at 3:30 pm ET for the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.


NASCAR Xfinity

Aric Almirola Wins in Overtime Thriller

 

Aric Almirola made a dramatic last-lap pass in overtime to claim the win in Saturday’s GOVX 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Phoenix Raceway, making door-to-door contact with Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman in the final two turns. The 0.045-second margin of victory was the second-closest finish in the track’s history.

 

Almirola led 25 laps on the afternoon, but his last-lap move to the checkered flag was the only one he led in the final 50 laps of the 208-lap event. His No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota emerged from a four-wide battle for the lead on the final restart with two laps remaining, then finally overtook Bowman less than 200 feet from the finish line.

 

“I just knew I needed to get from there to here first,” Almirola said, standing by his car at the start-finish line. “I knew I was going to use him up a little bit, but was trying to win the race. I feel like it was warranted. I didn’t feel like I did anything overly egregious. I just throttled up, and it was a drag race to the start-finish line.”

 





Pole: Alex Bowman



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The Xfinity Series will return on Saturday, March 15, 2025 at 4:30 pm ET for the The LiUNA! at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.




NASCAR Trucks

NASCAR CRAFTMAN Truck Series – Off-Track this Weekend







Next Race: The Truck Series will return on Friday, March 14, 2025 at 9:00 pm ET for the Ecosave 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.




ARCA

Last-Lap Heroics Propel Brent Crews to His First ARCA Menards Series Pavement Win

 

Coming to the white flag in Friday’s General Tire 150 at Phoenix Raceway, it appeared Brent Crews would settle for a strong-but-disappointing second in his first outing with Joe Gibbs Racing.

 

Instead, Crews found himself celebrating his first pavement victory in the ARCA Menards Series. A second attempt at a one-lap shootout provided Crews an opportunity to chase down the dominant driver of the night in Brenden Queen, who he edged to the finish line after muscling his rival out of the way in Turn 3.

 

Long familiar with the efficiency Queen has displayed at short tracks in the southeast, Crews knew a perfect restart was imperative to overtake him on the final lap. Besting Queen on the ARCA Menards Series platform was something Crews took pride in as he celebrated his victory.

 

“I raced Brenden [Queen] the whole year last year,” Crews said. “We raced him for CARS Tour wins, and then coming here to the ARCA Menards Series at a track like Phoenix to race for the win was really special. A great job to [Pinnacle Racing Group]. They had a winning car today, so I’m grateful for the caution at the end.”

 






Pole: Brent Crews (Practice and Qualifying Canceled Due to Weather)



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The ARCA Series West will return on Saturday, April 5, 2025 for the an event on the 0.375-mile paved oval at Tucson Speedway.



 

source: NASCAR Media
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , ,

Monday, March 3, 2025

NASCAR COTA Race Weekend Recap

NASCAR COTA Race Weekend Recap

Winners: Christopher Bell (Cup); With Connor Zilisch (Xfinity)

NASCAR Cup

Christopher Bell Goes Back-to-Back

Christopher Bell Goes Back-to-Back #NASCAR

 

After winning at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Feb. 23, Christopher Bell said 2.4-mile, 17-turn Circuit of The Americas was a track he had circled for another potential victory.

 

Sure enough, after passing Kyle Busch for the lead and staving off defending race winner William Byron over the last five laps at COTA, Bell was a back-to-back winner in the NASCAR Cup Series for the first time in his career, having claimed victory in Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix.

 

Bell beat Byron to the finish line by 0.433 seconds, as the reigning Daytona 500 winner raced Bell cleanly over the closing laps. Polesitter Tyler Reddick was third, followed by Chase Elliott, who made a miraculous recovery from a Lap 1 spin in Turn 1 that resulted in a broken toe link.

 

“Whenever Kyle was leading, I was just trying to be so cautious,” said Bell, who spun Busch’s car in Turn 1 in the 2024 race. “Obviously, we know what happened last year. I didn’t want that to happen. I wanted to pass him clean. He was just doing such a good job at running his race, and he could get off the corners just good enough that I couldn’t get inside of him.

 

“But there I started peeking a nose, and he bobbled and allowed me to get out front. Whenever I did, I’m, like, ‘OK, just don’t beat yourself.’ Those were about the five or six sloppiest laps I’ve ever run.

 

“Just super proud for everyone on this DeWalt No. 20 team. We didn’t count (on) last week. Last week was a speedway. We didn’t have that one circled. We definitely had this one circled. I’m ready to keep adding to it.”

 






Pole: Tyler Reddick



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The Cup Series will return on Sunday, March 9, 2025 at 3:30 pm ET for the Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway.


NASCAR Xfinity

Connor Zilisch Bounces Back to Win

Connor Zilisch Bounces Back to Win #NASCAR

 

It’s hard to put Connor Zilisch off his game as the 18-year-old road-course prodigy proved once again in winning Saturday’s Focused Health 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Circuit of The Americas.

 

A commitment line violation couldn’t do it. Sent to the rear for pitting when pit road closed suddenly for the race’s second caution, Zilisch restarted 32nd after the first stage break and drove through the field, taking the lead from Carson Kvapil on Lap 56 of 65 at the 2.4-mile, 17-turn circuit.

 

“That was way harder than I wanted it to be,” said Zilisch, who scored the much-needed victory after respective finishes of 27th and 34th in the first two races of the season at Daytona and Atlanta. “I did not drive a clean race at all … I was kind of mentally fogged halfway through that race.

 

“I made way too many mistakes … I was glad we were able to fight back.

 






Pole: Connor Zilisch



Click Here for Race Results

Next Race: The Xfinity Series will return on Saturday, March 8, 2025 at 5:00 pm ET for the GOVX 200 at Phoenix Raceway.




NASCAR Trucks

NASCAR CRAFTMAN Truck Series – Off-Track this Weekend







Next Race: The Truck Series will return on Friday, March 14, 2025 at 9:00 pm ET for the Ecosave 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.




ARCA

ARCA Series – Off-Track this Weekend






Next Race: The ARCA Series will return on Friday, March 7, 2025 at 8:00 p.m. ET for the General Tire 150 at Phoenix Raceway.



 

source: NASCAR Media
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)