Anything Can Happen at Daytona

The Last Six Races Overall At Daytona Have Been Determined By A Margin Of Victory Of Less Than A Half Second

The Thunderbirds perform a flyover prior to the start
of the #MENCS 60th Annual Daytona 500.

This past weekend at Chicagoland saw the most thrilling last-lap battle for a win of the season. While everyone is talking Kyle Busch; NASCAR Race Mom has to marvel at the skill of second place finisher, Kyle Larson.

Larson chased Busch down in the closing laps, and on the final lap, passed Busch by pinching him into the wall in Turn Two. ‘Rowdy’ recovered and completed a ‘bump-and-run’ Turn Three to loosen Larson up so that he could get back around and take the checkered flag.

However, if you blinked, you missed Larson’s amazing wheelmanship to straighten out his spin, keep the vehicle out of the grass and race to the checkered for second. – It was incredible and worth the price of a ticket by itself!

Austin Dillon, (#3 DOW Chevrolet)
celebrates in Victory Lane

This weekend, the Monster Energy #NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity are headed back to Daytona, where the history of the July Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race is worthy of its own highlight reel (Saturday, July 7 at 7 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Don’t blink or you’ll miss an exciting dash to the checkered flag. The last six races overall at Daytona have been determined by a margin of victory of less than a half second:

• • 2018 Daytona 500: 0.26 (Austin Dillon over Bubba Wallace)
• • 2017 July: 0.213 (Ricky Stenhouse Jr. over Clint Bowyer)
• • 2017 Daytona 500: 0.228 (Kurt Busch over Ryan Blaney)
• • 2016 July: 0.159 (Brad Keselowski over Kyle Busch)
• • 2016 Daytona 500: 0.01 (Denny Hamlin over Martin Truex Jr.)
• • 2015 July: 0.122 (Dale Earnhardt Jr. over Jimmie Johnson)

And, in fact, the track holds three of the top 10 closest MOV in the Monster Energy Series since the inception of electronic timing and scoring:

• • Third closest MOV – 2007 Daytona July race: 0.005 (Jamie McMurray over Kyle Busch)
• • Sixth closest MOV – 1994 Daytona July race: 0.008 (Jimmy Spencer over Ernie Irvan)
• • Tied for seventh closest MOV (and closest MOV in Daytona 500 history)– 2016 Daytona 500: 0.01 (Denny Hamlin over Martin Truex Jr.)

We're here to make your visit to DAYTONA easier! Download the mobile app for schedule, maps and more! #CokeZeroSugar400

➡️: https://t.co/1cxr5oHSkn pic.twitter.com/5WUwo5Yeyj

— Daytona International Speedway (@DISupdates) July 4, 2018

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Bowman Leads Hendrick Teammates with Top-Ten Finish At Chicagoland

Sunday afternoon at Chicagoland Speedway, Alex Bowman led his teammates, Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Jimmie Johnson to the checkered flag with a top-10 finish.

Bowman crossed the finish line 10th. Jimmie Johnson was the next teammate to take the checkered flag in 14th, and Chase Elliott and William Byron finished back-to-back in 19th and 20th, respectively.

Below is a closer look at how the four Hendrick Motorsports teammates fared Sunday.

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1

FINISHED: 19th  
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• • Taking the green flag third, Elliott made his way to the runner-up position early in Sunday’s race, but battling the handling of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, he fell outside of the top five before a cycle of green-flag pit stops midway through Stage 1.
• • Elliott finished Stage 1 in ninth, picking up two extra points. Quick work by the No. 9 team allowed the driver to gain three positions before the green flag to begin Stage 2, and shortly thereafter he jumped back inside the top five. Once again he earned a top-10 stage finish, closing Stage 2 in seventh to pick up four more points.
• • Starting the final segment in seventh, Elliott remained in that position for a restart on Lap 182 following a caution. When the green flag dropped, he raced all the way up to fourth. At Lap 208, he had fallen back to eighth when another caution flag flew.
• • With 40 laps to go, Elliott had dropped outside of the top 10 and settled into 15th with 37 circuits remaining. Thirty laps later, Elliott was passed by the leader to fall a lap down. He crossed the finish line 19th.

 

 

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 UNIFIRST CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1

FINISHED: 20th  
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• • Starting Sunday’s race inside the top 10, Byron battled the handling of his No. 24 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 early in Stage 1. After a cycle of green-flag pit stops, he fell outside of the top 20, but began climbing back through the field as the laps wound down. He ultimately finished Stage 1 in 16th.
• • On pit road prior to the start of Stage 2, the No. 24 team’s speedy pit stop allowed Byron to pick up three positions to take the green flag in 13th. He ran inside the top 20 throughout the segment, finishing Stage 2 in 19th.
• • Byron picked up two positions on pit road prior to the final segment to restart 17th. He held his top-20 position through a Lap 208 caution, and with 35 laps to go he had settled into 20th. He would maintain that position through the checkered flag to finish 20th.

 

 

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S FOR PROS CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1

FINISHED: 14th  
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• • Johnson started Sunday’s race from the rear of the field after a failed inspection, but midway through Stage 1 he was already knocking on the door of the top 20. Coming to the white flag for the end of Stage 1, he was passed by the leader to fall a lap down, finishing the segment in 17th.
• • Johnson was the beneficiary of the free pass as the first car a lap down, rejoining the lead lap prior to the start of Stage 2. Restarting 17th, Johnson was consistent throughout the second segment, taking the green-checkered flag in 16th.
• • Starting the final segment outside of the top 20, Johnson made his way back up to 19th in fewer than 20 laps, and he had climbed to 18th before a Lap 208 caution. He continued his push forward as the laps wound down, moving all the way up to 14th with 37 laps to go.
• • Down the stretch, Johnson continued to climb, gaining one more position to 13th before ultimately taking the checkered flag in 14th.

Man, that was a toasty day at the office. Our pit stall situation really hurt us on yellow flag stops... Many thanks to my team & everyone @TeamHendrick, they are giving me everything they have.

— Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) July 1, 2018

 

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1

FINISHED: 10th  
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• • Rolling off the grid inside the top 20, Bowman consistently ran inside or near the top 15 for much of Stage 1, climbing up to 14th before the green-checkered flag waved.
• • The No. 88 team gained Bowman four positions on pit road prior to the start of Stage 2, allowing the driver to take the green flag in 10th. Midway through the second segment, he was just outside the top 10 in 13th, and he lost one position to finish Stage 2 in 14th.
• • Bowman started the final segment in 12th, and on a Lap 182 restart following a caution, he jumped inside the top 10. He continued to climb, finding ninth before a Lap 208 caution, and more quick work by the No. 88 team allowed him to restart seventh. He maintained his top-10 position, settling into ninth with 36 laps remaining.
• • As the laps wound down, Bowman settled into 10th and held that position to cross the finish line with a top-10 result.

Solid top 10 today. Always want more but what we really need is to be consistently in the top 10 and build from there. I feel like we are gaining on it. Thanks for the support! pic.twitter.com/n5lnDQlqib

— Alex Bowman (@AlexBowman88) July 2, 2018

Source

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#Winner Kyle Busch's Chicago Race Recap for the Overton's 400

Battle of the Two Kyles

Date: July 1, 2018
Event: Overton’s 400 (Round 17 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/80 laps/107 laps)
Start/Finish: 16th/1st (Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)
Point Standing: 1st (736 points)
Race Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80):

• ● Kyle Busch started 16th and finished 12th.
• ● It was all business for Busch to start the Overton’s 400 as he quietly logged laps. He was in 12th place by lap seven and spent several laps trying different lanes to try and pick up speed around the 1.5-mile oval.
• ● Busch made his first appearance in the top-10 on lap 35 as a number of teams elected to start making green-flag pit stops. The No. 18 Skittles America Mix team followed suit, making a stop on lap 41 for air pressure adjustments, four tires and fuel.
• ● Because a number of teams elected to wait to make pit stops, Busch found himself a little farther back in the running order. He was in 16th on lap 54 and 13th by lap 60.
• ● As Stage 1 came to a close, Busch reported that while in-car adjustments had helped a little with the tight handling issue, it was still too tight, so he was just hanging on at the conclusion of the stage. He said the car was very tight and that he needed more grip.
• ● Busch finished Stage 1 in 12th place. At the conclusion the team made a number of changes including chassis and air pressure adjustments. The crew added some tape to the nose of the grill, changed four tires and added fuel.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160):

• ● Started 12th and finished 11th.
• ● Busch made the most of having the field bunched back up for the start of Stage 2, jumping up into the top-10 in ninth place within the first lap. He was shuffled back to the 12th position during the next few laps, and he quickly reported that the Skittles America Mix Toyota was still handling on the tight side and “plowing, plowing, plowing.”
• ● Green-flag pit stops started taking place on lap 119, with the majority of the field making stops during the course of four laps. Busch made his own stop for adjustments, four tires and fuel on lap 120. He was back in 12th place when stops cycled through on lap 123.
• ● During the next run the adjustments the team had been making started taking effect, but the result wound up being too far to the loose side. Busch noted that the car was sideways loose during a caution on lap 128. The team elected to set the trackbar back to baseline during a trip to pit road along with changing four tires and adding fuel.
• ● The 2015 Cup Series champion restarted the race in 13th place and made it to 11th by the time Stage 2 concluded.
• ● When the stage ended Busch said the car was just still too tight. The team made a handful of changes during the break, changed four tires and added fuel.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 161-267):

• ● Started 10th and finished first.
• ● Busch was riding in 10th place when a caution for teammate Denny Hamlin was displayed on lap 176. Everyone came to pit road for fresh tires. A fast pit stop by the Skittles America Mix pit crew moved Busch from ninth place to sixth for the restart.
• ● The Las Vegas native took advantage of the restart, jumping into the top-five within the first lap. He then set off picking up positions and was in second place by lap 193.
• ● After the caution flag waved on lap 207, Busch came down pit road for four tires and fuel. The pit crew knocked off another fast stop, which enabled Busch to win the race off pit road and take over the top spot on lap 210.
• ● Busch was challenged on the final lap by a hard charging Kyle Larson, but prevailed to earn his fifth victory of the season

Notes:

• ● Busch won the Overton’s 400 to score his 48th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory in 479 races, his fifth of the season and his second at Chicago. His margin of victory over second-place Kyle Larson was 1.162 seconds.
• ● Busch led one time, for a total of 59 laps.
• ● The Skittles America Mix driver scored his first win at Chicago in 2008, when the race was also contested in July.
• ● Busch tied NASCAR Hall of Famer Buck Baker’s 48 wins to tie for 14th on the all-time wins list.
• ● Busch now has 190 career wins among NASCAR’s top three divisions – Cup (48), Xfinity (92) and Truck (50).

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Skittles America Mix Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

“Great win for the Skittles America Mix Camry and all of these guys. We were horrible today. Absolutely horrendous. We just never gave up. It’s always good to make the most of the days and get to where we needed at the end. I was able to lead all of those laps and get through the rest of the traffic. It was a race between Larson and I. We raced each other, and it was fair game after that. That’s how it goes sometimes. Proud to get us another win here in Chicago. It’s been a long time. Pretty cool, going to victory lane. Can’t thank Skittles and Interstate Batteries enough, NOS Energy Drink, Toyota, Cessna, Rheem, Stanley, Black Cover and everyone. They work so hard.”

Tell us about the last lap with you and Larson

“It was a lot more hectic than I wanted it to be. Those lapped cars just got in our way and slowed us down so much that we just had no momentum. Finally I got through a couple of them. Larson just threw a dart there in Turn 1 and 2 and tried to pull a slide job. I don’t think he was close enough. He didn’t get enough clear on me to be able to slide. And when he got to me, he throttled up and drove us in the wall. And going down the backstretch, I lost all of my momentum. I tried to side-draft him as much as I could to keep him alongside of me. He cleared me and I gave him what he gave me back into Turn 3 and 4. And I was able to come back and get ahead. Adam Stevens did a great job today and turned this into something we could go race with at the end. My pit crew did a great job as well and really put us in a good position during the last run.”

How did all of the external factors play into your car today?

“It all did. Track position was huge. That was the biggest benefactor. All of us working on it as well was huge, too. We came a long ways with the balance of this thing. A couple of pit stops we said, let’s just sit here and work on it. Guys didn’t actually lose a lot of time or positions. We were able to get it where we needed it. Out front and got the lead, we took control of the race. We were able to hold off Harvick and Larson had a charge. He was coming but you have to pass a guy to win the race. You can’t drive through a guy to win the race. We did what we needed to do to get our Skittles America Mix Camry in Victory Lane.”

The excitement level is priceless! 🏁 pic.twitter.com/NCAZVhKtaF

— Toyota Racing (@ToyotaRacing) July 1, 2018

Next Up: The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday, July 7 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The race starts at 7 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC.

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🏁 @Skittles America Mix Race Recap #Overtons400 👉🏻 https://t.co/lmeDtQE5Aq pic.twitter.com/WWPjEPm46N

— Kyle Busch (@KyleBusch) July 2, 2018