NXS: AJ Allmendinger wins EchoPark 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway
AJ Allmendinger won Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Allmendinger, who is driving part-time this season for Kaulig Racing, earned his fourth career win in the Xfinity Series and first on an oval.
“I won on an oval. Do you like that? Whoo!” Allmendinger told Fox Sports after his win on Saturday afternoon.
“This car was awesome,” Allmendinger said. “This is Atlanta. The car was awesome on long runs, probably better than the driver early. Once I got in the lead, I was just trying to hit my marks, which is hard to do.”
Allmendinger was not originally scheduled to drive next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway but Kaulig Racing president Chris Rice told the media that they will field a car for Allmendinger in the second of four Dash 4 Cash races.
Noah Gragson, who finished second on Saturday, took home $100,000 dollars thanks to being the highest placing driver in the Dash 4 Cash.
Rounding out the top five were Noah Gragson in second, Justin Haley in third, Daniel Hemric in fourth and Harrison Burton in fifth.
Rounding out the top ten were Justin Allgaier in sixth, Ross Chastain. In seventh, Brandon Jones in eighth, Chase Briscoe in ninth and Anthony Alfredo in tenth.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series will head to Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, June 13 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX and again on Sunday, June 14 at 12:00 p.m. ET on FS1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is scheduled to drive the No. 8 on Saturday for JR Motorsports which he owns.
Stage 1 Winner: Austin Cindric
Stage 2 Winner: Austin Cindric
NCS: Brad Keselowski wins Coca-Cola 600 in overtime
Brad Keselowski won Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 in overtime, beating out Chase Elliott to win his first victory in NASCAR’s longest race of the year.
“I feel like I’ve thrown this race away a handful of times,” Keselowski told Fox Sports post-race. “I thought we were going to loose it today. I know we’ve lost it the way Chase lost it the way Chase lost it and I’m so happy for the team. I wish my wife was here, I wish my daughters were here. It’s a major. It’s the Coke 600. That leaves one major for me. The Daytona 500. We’re checking them off.”
Keselwoski’s win on Sunday is the first win from Ford since 2002 in the Coke 600.
Jimmie Johnson, who originally finished second, failed post-race inspection and received a disqualification. The No. 48 failed the rear-end alignment in the oss station post-race.
Rounding out the top five were Chase Elliott in second, Ryan Blaney in third, Kyle Busch in fourth and Kevin Harvick in fifth.
Elliott who was leading with three laps to go pitted under caution and would restart 11th. This would give Keselowski the lead.
Chase Elliott on the fallout of pitting under the final caution: “those guys are going to do the opposite of whatever we do. That’s just part of it. You make decisions and live with them. It wasn’t the pit call. I think being on offense is fine.”
Denny Hamlin, who won Wednesday nights race at Darlington chances to make it back to back wins were dashed before the green flag waved. A piece of ballast fell off Hamlin’s car during the pace laps and would have to get it repaired on pit road before the start of the race. Hamlin started the race eight laps down and finished 29th.
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Charlotte Motor Speedway Wednesday night in a 500 kilometer race at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on Fox Sports 1.
Stage 1 Winner: Alex Bowman
Stage 2 Winner: Alex Bowman
Stage 3 Winner: Joey Logano
Race Winner: Brad Keselowski
Harvick Claims Victory in NASCAR's Return at Darlington
Kevin Harvick took the checkered flag in The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway, marking the historic return of NASCAR after the 2020 schedule was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ryan Newman made his return to racing after a last-lap crash in the Daytona 500. Joining him in a return to racing was Matt Kenseth, who retired in 2018.
In order to limit the race to a one-day show, NASCAR opted to race without practice or qualifying before waving the green flag after an 8 week break from competition. Starting position was decided based on the point standings after Phoenix and a random drawing. Brad Keselowski started on the pole and was joined by Alex Bowman on the front row.
Bowman was the favorite throughout the race and lead early before Harvick took the lead in Stage 3. After a caution, Harvick took to the pits and went from fourth to first after getting four fresh tires. He took the lead and never looked back, as Bowman and Kurt Busch trailed behind him.
The No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford led a 159 of the 293-lap event at Darlington Raceway. Harvick's victory marks his 50th NASCAR Cup Series win, tying Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett on the all-time wins list.
Alex Bowman, Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five. Matt Kenseth, who made his return to racing after retiring in 2018, finished 10th in the No. 42 Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing. Ryan Newman, who made his return to racing after a last-lap crash in the Daytona 500, finished 15th in the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford.
The NASCAR Cup Series will be back in action on Wednesday, May 20 at Darlington Raceway for the Toyota 500 at 7:30 P.M. on FS1.
Matt Kenseth is coming out of retirement to drive the No. 42 for Chip Ganassi Racing for the remainder of the 2020 season, CGR confirmed on Monday.
“I have always said that when we have to fill a driver spot, that I owe it to our team, our partners and our fans to put the best available driver in the car. We are doing exactly that with Matt,” Chip Ganassi said in a statement issued on Monday.
Kenseth said in statement: “This was an unexpected opportunity for sure. I can’t say racing was even on my radar two weeks ago. After spending some time thinking about it and all the unique circumstances surrounding all of us right now, it just seemed the timing and the opportunity was perfect to come back.”
Kenseth (48) last competed in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2018, running a part-time schedule for Roush Fenway Racing.
The 2003 Cup series champion has compiled 39 career series wins throughout his career, including two wins in the Daytona 500. His last win came at Phoenix Raceway in 2017 driving for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Kenseth replaces Kyle Larson, who was suspended by NASCAR and fired by the team on April 14th for using a racial slur during an iRacing event.
NASCAR is looking to return on May 17th at Darlington Raceway, per sources. Kenseth would have to obtain a waiver from NASCAR to be eligible for the playoffs since he hasn’t competed this season.
NXS: Brandon Jones wins Xfinity Series race at Phoenix
Brandon Jones won Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Phoenix Raceway. Jones passed his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch with 20 laps to go and was able to hold off the NASCAR Cup Series champion to win for the second time in his career. His other win came at Kansas Speedway last October.
For Toyota, this was their 500th win in NASCAR.
Kyle Busch, who started from the pole on Saturday, was chasing his 12th career Xfinity Series win at Phoenix. Busch led a race-high 78 laps, but was passed by Jones in the final 20 laps.
Last week’s winner at Fontana, Harrison Burton, also passed Busch and finished runner-up to Brandon Jones on Saturday.
Rounding out the top five were Brad Keselowski in fourth and Justin Haley in fifth.
Rounding out the top ten were Chase Briscoe in sixth, Noah Gragson in seventh, Austin Cindric in eighth, Ross Chastain in ninth and Riley Herbst in tenth.
Following the conclusion of Saturday’s race, Dillion Bassett and Brandon Brown and their crew chiefs got into an altercation on pit road. Bassett reached into Brown’s car while he was parked on pit road after the race. The two drivers had previously made contact on Lap 137.
Both met with NASCAR after the race.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series will head to Atlanta Motor Speedway, Saturday March 14th in the running of the EchoPark 250 with coverage beginning at 4 p.m. ET on FS1.
Stage 1 Winner: Justin Allgaier
Stage 2 Winner: Noah Gragson
Race Winner: Brandon Jones