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Joe Gibbs Racing

NASCAR News Today: Chase Briscoe wins the 2025 The Great American Getaway 400 plus a few best mid-running teams from Pocono Raceway

by Sports Benches June 23, 2025

You just cannot believe what RFK Racing has been up to today where they had all three cars in the Top 10 with Chris Buescher leading the way in 4th.

A win would’ve been all but awesome having started from 2nd.

Even though he may not been able to find a way to outsmart those Toyotas, it’s still a top day though finishing inside Top 5 who deserves a regular season win soon.

Same with team-mates Ryan Preece and Brad K, both of whom also benefited greatly with a mix of yellows and strategy including an extended shot upfront by Brad, when things were up and down earlier on but both finished not bad in 8th and 9th.

And there’s another team out there that usually benefitted from the larger ovals with no need for an intro to Legacy MC.

Top weekend with a top setup where John Hunter Nemechek in the No.42 Toyota went all in for the overall result & JHN caught that one beautifully in 6th.

Your winner today at Pocono is Chase Briscoe also a Toyota but in a top team at Joe Gibbs Racing.

He had a flying start from 6th to 4th Stage 1 where it took figuring out for Chase and his Aussie crew chief James Small to force their No.19 Camry up front. From there off the back of yellows, that effect seems to have worked on their favour and they’ve never looked back ever since – how good!

It could’ve been Denny’s day over in the sister 11 car after he spent the rare weekend off last weekend when NASCAR crossed borders to Mexico City due to the birth of his third child – a baby boy.

But at the end of the day, it’s all about planning that 200mph chess (new term there made by Steve Letarte) right rather than just being fast if it wasn’t for yellows, and also weather plays a big factor too.

That’s how Chase went on to win saying “checkmate” over Denny fair and square.

Not a lot of Chevys down the Top 10 other than just the Hendrick duo of Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson in between 5th & 7th with Daniel Suarez being the best Chevy mid-pack runner in 5th following a tough afternoon from these cars when it comes to Chevy’s satellite teams.

But the only and only best Chevy moment from the weekend was the Saturday Xfinity race where Connor Zilisch got away the win over Jesse Love only laps before the finish line with Dale Jr. by his side from the pit box for just one race when Connor’s usual crew chief had to sit out by NASCAR officials.

At only 18 soon to be 19 next month, he continues to be one hell of a talent being Chevy’s own Ty Gibbs. Time will tell if he will get his chance full-time next season at Trackhouse at Cup or there’s always Spire or even Hendrick although we know he’s a Red Bull athlete much like SVG and they are both tied to Trackhouse.

Off the back of Daniel’s Xfinity and SVG’s Cup wins at the same Mexico City place last weekend, hate to see either one of them go when Trackhouse isn’t new at having to fit in drivers every year. But here’s hoping Justin Marks will find a compromise somehow that can hopefully help Chevy win championships again.

Can’t wait for the night race for the first time in 2025 when NASCAR returns to Atlanta Motor Speedway and also a first of returns too by TNT coinciding with the all-new in-season knockout competition.

June 23, 2025 0 comment

NASCAR Xfinity: Daniel Suarez holds off Taylor Gray on what has been a sweet homecoming win following the sport’s first weekend back in Mexico City since 2008

by Sports Benches June 14, 2025

What a race win in the Xfinity Series by Mexico’s Daniel Suarez in front of his home fans – with special stuff right there.

He credits that fast No.9 Chevy by JR Motorsports even though he had to use a back up one from the back & yet Daniel was simply unstoppable having went on to defend his top spot so beautifully towards the checkered flag.

So close from Taylor Gray who almost got it off the back of the last late yellow restart but he still had a fast afternoon off his starting 8th spot with a lot of 2nd place stage and overall points.

There’s a few other drivers that gained or regained some ground at the same time but gotta say Austin Hill ticked off all the boxes both his speed and strategy – he too supercharged & stayed there in 3rd.

Other than dominant Toyota and Chevy day, Harrison Burton was the best-placed Ford driver there out in 9th in the No.25 for AM Racing.

Now his first half run may be quiet through the middle to rear of the pack but he’s another driver who made progress with a mix of good pit stops, strategy and avoiding yellows, as it’s all about getting home with a good result – despite not having the best car to challenge the front-runners.

So hats off to Harrison with a solid Top 10-15 result in Mexico City.

What now for Daniel? He has another race to do when it comes to the Cup race tomorrow where he will start from 10th.

It was actually a good weekend so far from his Trackhouse team with NZ’s Shane Van Gisbergen having a blast too after he was the fastest out of everyone in qualifying & he will lead the line from pole.

This race is all about what’s best for this team going forward like 1-2 years from now when you’ve got the young Connor Zilisch waiting in the wings either for SVG’s or Daniel’s race seat. Justin Marks who is a brilliant team owner and former racer himself with a road course background has a lot of thinking to do before Trackhouse can set sights towards winning a championship someday.

But again will tomorrow’s race be SVG’s time to shine or can Daniel make up another homecoming victory this time at the top level? Bring it on.

Speaking of Mexico, there’s a Gold Cup soccer match to start soon when they will begin their campaign against Dominican Republic at the SoFi Stadium in LA. That’s the swimming venue for the 2028 Summer Olympics where a football stadium will be converted into a swimming pool for the week and then back to the grass again.

Finally, shoutout to Nine for finally putting the WWOS watermark logo on when it comes to free-to-air motorsport for their limited live 24 Hours of Le Mans coverage that went between 12-2am at overnight.

You gotta put the best presentation out there to justify the investment of airing motorsports coverage even if it’s through a paid platform that shares an FTA component but it’s still under the responsibility of Nine and glad they’ve listened.

Whoever saw that in the past with my feedback here, we thank you for this and let’s hope they can stay that way next time.

The race is still ongoing also overnight in France where Stan Sport has the rest of that live access & also highlights/replays on-demand where you can watch it right now until the race finish by the end of tonight.

June 14, 2025 0 comment

NASCAR

NASCAR: Denny Hamlin wins that late with a few best mid-running teams from the 2025 FireKeepers Casino 400 in Michigan

by Sports Benches June 8, 2025

Happy for Denny Hamlin with the Michigan win who knows what it takes to take that opportunity that late with both hands and yet he’s done that again when others eventually fell away on his 701st Cup series start. Am convinced that Chris Gayle his new crew chief will help Denny deliver more wins including the next Playoffs that could finally turn into his drivers’ championship year at season’s end.

I know that win would be worth so much more than anything second best but Chris Buescher had a solid afternoon including all other Roush cars in the Top 10 by Ryan Preece (9th) & Brad Keselowski (10th).

If it wasn’t for those yellows and that little slip up somewhere in Stage 3, the race could’ve been his to take by far just like we saw with Denny en route to the finish line.

Top finishes all day also going to Denny’s 23XI Toyota employee Bubba Wallace who finished the race strong in 4th.

Then Ross Chastain at Trackhouse with a quiet and improved afternoon off the back of the Stage 2 yellows & never looked back since then where he did the best possible to collect them all on track position in 6th.

There’s another Ford that made solid ground especially under green by Zane Smith after he finished 7th for Front Row Motorsports.

Didn’t hear much from Kyle Busch when he rolled off 2nd but stayed out of trouble though all afternoon & regained up to 8th at Childress. He’s happy with the practice and qualifying speed so he can make up those best options available come race day where you never know what to expect other than finishing Top 10s every week.

A win? Yes, that would be awesome when this car needs help to challenge the front runners like RFK & 23XI. But good consistent results and hanging in there through four odd hours shows he’s still got it & maybe he might win again after all.

Lots more drivers also benefitting a good end to the afternoon if you stretch all the way to the Top 15 but again, gotta say the local guy from the Michigan township of Byron, Erik Jones finished 11th in the famed No.43 Toyota with Legacy MC.

He’s another driver like many others as witnessed when others drop off firstly with cautions and later on fuel and race strategy under green. Now things may not have been the same when trying to keep hold of the Top 20 by the looks of his car’s long game although we know Legacy MC can stir up a surprise at the bigger track races but at least he ran not too shabby.

June 8, 2025 0 comment

Motorsport NASCAR

NASCAR News Today: Another title, Another year for Team Penske with No.22’s Joey Logano back on top to prize off team-mate Ryan Blaney with his 3rd Championship win

by Sports Benches November 11, 2024

It’s been another golden championship season of Team Penske Fords ever since when the Next Gen Chassis era began three seasons ago.

The driver of the day though belongs to Joey Logano who stole the Drivers’ Crown off his No.12 team-mate & last year’s champion Ryan Blaney following a really great battle between those two on a few occasions – including the final stage when 1-2 others may have crashed out – before Joey pulled off the winning move & stayed there just in time to clinch yet another silverware piece for his No.22 team.

Again, it has to come down to one huge winner as Logano both had the fight and championship-winning experience to lock up for the 3rd time that goes back from 2018 to 2022 & now 2024.

For Blaney, it’s never a good feeling being 2nd best but hey, he raced really well to defend his crown against his team-mate Logano. At the end of the day, it’s all about great racing that makes Team Penske the most successful Ford Cup team over the last few years, and sure Blaney will back in 12 months time to hopefully hoist his Drivers’ Championship title No.2 at this same Phoenix race track.

William Byron finished 3rd in the No.24 Chevy Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports where he wasn’t quite up to Team Penske’s standards for the ultimate prize when it comes to the consistency including late race restarts. But he had a fantastic season though where he always finishes Top 3, Top 5 as well as a few regular season wins here and there.

If he can translate with wins into Playoffs time next year, then the best of Byron and the No.24 Hendrick team should be yet to come.

We also still haven’t heard much of Toyota when you compare to Penske and Hendrick when you got Tyler Reddick finishing 6th behind another consistent Top 5 finisher Christopher Bell from Gibbs as the 4th and final Championship 4 contender for the manufacturer’s satellite Cup team at 23XI Racing, with team-mate Bubba Wallace in 7th. It remains to be seen what will happen going into next year since 23XI is having a really tough time alongside Front Row Motorsports at court & unfortunately, it didn’t go their way as per judge ruling before the weekend.

It’s not just 23XI who is walking into unknown territory but one of their co-owners Denny Hamlin would most likely not be donning the FedEx colours anymore next season & he too finished 11th for his No.11 Gibbs Toyota team after missing the Championship 4 cup for yet another year in season 2024. Whoever comes in to support Denny, let’s hope he can adjust his expectations so he doesn’t end up disappointed next time as he’s still yet to win a Drivers’ Championship at age 43.

I wish he can get a decent enough crew chief who has been there & done that before with winning championships, but all he can do is just win them all at Playoffs time if he can and we might finally see the best of Denny as a driver. If Justin Allgaier can do like he did as a finally first-time Xfinity Series Champion yesterday, then so could Denny no matter what happens.

In the meantime, if you’re a big Penske fan, particularly for Joey, then today’s your lucky day! No doubt Penske will go on to be the 2020s version of Hendrick Motorsports if they keep on adding more and more championship titles every season as congrats to Joey once again with his 3rd Cup crown all coming from the same place of Arizona’s Phoenix Raceway.

November 11, 2024 0 comment

Motorsport NASCAR

Thoughts on Justin Allgaier finally clinched his 1st Xfinity Series triumph & a perfect tribute to finish on a high for Stewart-Haas after Riley Herbst won the season-finale

by Sports Benches November 10, 2024

From one new season series champion in Ty Majeski at Trucks level to another, how good was the No.7 JR Motorsports Chevy driver Justin Allgaier – who just over the line as the best Championship 4 Finisher to take home the NASCAR Xfinity Series title in 2nd – just behind Phoenix race winner in the No.98’s Riley Herbst for Stewart-Haas Ford. Also, good to see former full-time Cup driver & Stewart-Haas alum Aric Almirola finish 3rd in the No.20 Toyota Supra for Gibbs too.

I mean, first of all, it’s been great seeing Tony Stewart own part of this Stewart-Haas Ford team for a long time whose last Xfinity Series race as a team owner ended things on a high thanks to Herbst, while we saw one of his former drivers make up the Top 3 by Almirola.

Lovely to see this Stewart-Haas family bringing this together both past and present.

We thank him for everything as hoping he will still turn up next season & don’t forget the Haas team will continue after all on its own at the same time (still running Fords), with two Xfinity cars for Sheldon Creed & Sam Mayer as well as one chartered Cup car by the returning Cole Custer.

Yes, we could’ve saw Custer take home that Xfinity Championship again like he did last year when he finished 2nd in Drivers’ Points to Allgaier after he finished 8th. But still, it’s great to see Custer being at his best at this level to make up unfinished business and now it’s on him to at least be a Top 20 driver points team next Cup year.

And as said earlier, what a moment from Allgaier who dedicated this Xfinity Series competition with tremendous success while spending the most with family. He’s grateful to Brandt (his sponsor) and Dale Jr. (his race team) for giving him the platform to succeed regularly at this level since 2016 without even thinking of going into Cup.

Although he will continue to be back at Cup at least for a rare occasion or two when someone has to pull out if required.

But hey, he’s there to give us tremendous competition including some Cup regulars earlier in the year when a young rising star would usually take this top prize. However, that doesn’t mean Allgaier can’t make this possible and here is today with the Xfinity Championship. Sure, there’s a lot more to come going into next year as hats off once again to Allgaier, the first time champion.

And next year will be another wonderful time to look forward to every week for those over in the US with free-to-access all along thanks to The CW and CW online.

For now, we got one more race to settle in the Championship 4 for the premier Cup class tomorrow. Will see another first time triumph in either 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick for Toyota or William Byron in the Hendrick Chevy? or will we continue to see another Team Penske Ford’s glorious moment from either already Drivers’ champs Joey Logano (two-time) or Ryan Blaney (defending winner)? Just cannot wait to see this out as the 2024 season-finale Cup race will begin at 7am AEDT.

November 10, 2024 0 comment

Motorsport NASCAR

NASCAR Race Today: Another late Team Penske Round of 8 win this time by No.12 Ford’s Ryan Blaney at Martinsville ahead of his season-title defense for next weekend

by Sports Benches November 4, 2024

Yes, it’s that time of the year when eligible Playoff drivers who haven’t booked their Championship 4 ticket yet usually leave things to the last minute during the last Round of 8 Cup race. However for some when they were fortunate enough to get that golden ticket opportunity, it’s within good reason thanks to Ryan Blaney’s win today in the No.12 Ford Mustang for Team Penske at Martinsville Speedway.

Now there’s going to be not one but two Team Penske cars alongside a 23XI Toyota (Tyler Reddick) and a Hendrick Chevy (William Byron) on what could be yet another golden Team Penske Championship year for the third straight time ahead of next weekend’s season-finale race at Phoenix Raceway.

You just couldn’t believe the time has come for Team Penske to dominate this three-week semis swing even though we haven’t heard much from them beforehand. But hey, they’ve been there and have done before with huge success and it would no surprise if either the defending champ Ryan Blaney or Joey Logano take home that championship trophy once the 2024 season is done.

First of all, Christopher Bell would’ve easily been the other last two favourites to book into Phoenix – provided if he can provide a good enough finish – as one of the championship front-runners like it was back in 2022 and 2023. But then he made an illegal wall move towards the end there on Byron (the actual Championship 4 contender instead) that got himself DQ’d and NASCAR fined him with a penalty there on the spot post-race. He’ll have to wait till next year now for his next championship opportunity as still plenty to offer in the No.20 Gibbs Toyota at age 30.

Also, feeling sorry there for experienced veteran Denny Hamlin who overcame yesterday’s crash to force his way back up through the field with a spare No.11 Toyota Camry in 6th – the best placed Toyota/Gibbs car today at Martinsville.

Unfortunately, it’s still not quite enough to book in his championship shot yet again for season 2024 when a win was still required that began with the Team Penske’s championship glory back in 2022. Yes, he also could’ve done it last weekend at Homestead if it wasn’t for that poor last restart & also if the last yellow didn’t come out when other eligible Championship 4 contenders already have better Playoff form than him it as seen with the Team Penske duo & even one or the other Toyota team-mates like Bell and his 23XI employee of course in Reddick.

Although there’s lots more to come from Denny as a co-owner for 23XI Racing with Reddick still in the fight, but as a driver, he really needs a big impact all along at Playoffs time next year like winning all these set of races if he wants to finally win the championship so badly.

What else? There’s also some Ford cars in and out of the Top 10 with Brad Keselowski who finished 9th in his co-owned No.6 Ford for RFK Racing as well as Noah Gragson 11th as the highest Stewart-Haas Ford finisher ahead of a few other team-mates down the Top 15 mark for his No.10 crew. And don’t forget New Zealand’s Shane Van Gisbergen in 12th for Kaulig Racing’s No.16 Chevy Cup team. Yes, I know Austin Dillon aka AD finished 7th for the No.3 Childress Chevy but he was there for the wrong reasons unfortunately when it comes to that late race radio drama.

And if I was going to choose a championship winner for next Monday’s season finale for Cup, it’s going to be a touch one for sure. Now based on regular season form then it would be William Byron; if not, going with Logano to get this done for a 3rd Drivers’ Championship.

November 4, 2024 0 comment

Motorsport NASCAR

Tyler Reddick now step away to race for the NASCAR Cup season title after an unreal final lap pass win for 23XI at Homestead-Miami

by Sports Benches October 28, 2024

The second of the 2024 NASCAR semi-final races at Homestead-Miami saw a brand new & another bit surprising championship contender for the next fortnight’s finale at Phoenix Raceway as there’s only one to go before the “Final Four” line-up is sorted by the end of next Sunday’s Cup race (Monday AM in Australian time) at Martinsville Speedway.

The driver of the day belongs to Tyler Reddick, who was simply outstanding all afternoon including pole position the other day, having initially passed his boss Denny Hamlin on his way to Turn 1 following the last restart yellow and then Ryan Blaney during the last two corners before he managed shut Blaney down on time towards the checkered flag – what a day for Tyler and his No.45 23XI Racing team right there.

Tough luck for both Blaney (Defending Champion in the No.12 Ford for Penske) and Hamlin (as a No.11 Gibbs Toyota driver) who fell just short in 2nd and 3rd respectively. Yes, good to see Denny in particular finish 3rd as the best Gibbs Toyota car ahead of always Top 5 finisher Christopher Bell in 4th while he was able to stop by to celebrate with his own driver post-race which was lovely to hear.

However, it seems that Denny will really need a good race car once more to get out of this must win situation or else he will have it miss out yet again come Martinsville. Don’t have much confidence on him to pull off unfortunately unless all other five Playoff contenders drop out via luck such as a mechanical failure or a crash & Denny gets his way – remember he hasn’t won anything much for a while unlike the regular season leg including the past few Playoff race editions & also this “Paper Clip” short track record that goes way back to 2010 (15 years ago).

If I was going to choose the last two drivers to close off the last semi-final race, then it would be Bell who always does well in the Top 3-5 regardless of this next result & although that last pick looks like to be a very tough one, but maybe Kyle Larson in the 5 Hendrick Chevy will do it with the win as long as he doesn’t crash next weekend.

For now, go celebrate your drivers’ win Denny as Tyler is such a huge talent – who has won 2 x Xfinity Championships in the past – and sure he can make Championship 4 something special should he be the first driver to win one at Phoenix.

Who else other than a strong Top 3-4 Toyota afternoon at Homestead-Miami? There’s AJ Allmendinger in 8th for Kaulig’s 16 Chevy team (racing part-time there for now) and so does the new Rookie of the Year Carson Hocevar who finished 9th also in a Chevy for Spire’s 77 squad.

And a few Stewart-Haas Racing Fords also filled in & out of the Top 10 when it comes to the next three spots like Ryan Preece (10th – No.41), Josh Berry (11th – No.4) & Chase Briscoe (12th – No.14). Yes, they may not have much time left as SHR are already out of any chances of a season title since Kevin Harvick last won it 10 years ago (2014) but a good Top 10-15 finish is at least a positive thing to hear if you closely follow SHR.

We’re going to miss them dearly at season’s end with Haas set to continue running on his own albeit on a smaller scale and Tony Stewart spending more time with his wife via their drag racing business in the NHRA together.

October 28, 2024 0 comment

Motorsport NASCAR

NASCAR Race Results: Joey Logano bounces back from a lifeline thanks to Alex Bowman’s DQ to being in the running towards another Championship fight after his win at Las Vegas

by Sports Benches October 21, 2024

Today’s NASCAR Cup race that began the first of the three semi-finals ended up with a huge twist on the road to Championship 4 Finale at Phoenix for next month & gotta say congrats to Joey Logano on becoming the first eligible Playoffs driver to book in that season-finale spot for the No.22 Penske Ford team following his unreal late move on Daniel Suarez to take home the race win with 6 laps left from Las Vegas.

So gutted for Suarez there after leading the race for so long under green until a late yellow came out after Ty Gibbs spun out that late and he just couldn’t stop Logano& later Christopher Bell in his tracks before the race was over. But again not a bad result though to finish third for Trackhouse’s No.99 team (Chevy) just one week after being eliminated from the Round of 12 Playoffs as let’s hope we can see more of him in a bid to compete in the semi-finals for the first time late next year.

Meanwhile, Seven days ago Joey Logano thought he was out of the Playoffs running after the Charlotte Roval race but then a shock DQ from Alex Bowman in the No.48 Hendrick Chevy gave him a lifeline to keep his Championship hopes alive over Bowman’s ride height/underweight car failure. Now he’s in for a shot towards a possible 3rd Drivers’ Championship crown since his last triumph back in 2022, having first won it when Homestead-Miami had its last moments as a season-finale venue back in 2018.

Who knows? He could even make Roger Penske & the Blue Oval (Ford) something more legendary with yet another Cup crown for a three peat in season 2024 where Ryan Blaney (No.12 team) became a first time champion nearly a year ago.

1 down, 2 more races to go with Homestead in Miami around the cotner as there’s 3 more Championship 4 slots still left to fill – so all hope is not lost just yet.

You just couldn’t believe it can you? when there’s several drivers going out of control with spins and hits along the way including Tyler Reddick in the No.45 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing while there’s another lot out there who managed to bounce back with redemption. It’s a shame that Tyler’s race unfortunately ended early when he tried to go around Chase Elliott on the outside line but then he was collected towards the front stretch that went airborne. He is now sitting below the Playoff cut-off line (6th) having always been inside the Top 4 prior to today thanks to this regular-season championship win from early last month.

Semi-Finals Playoff watch

What else? Christopher Bell always a consistent front runner following his 2nd placed finish for the No.20 Toyota for Gibbs, he would love nothing more than a win though as he wants to treat every other race now as a Championship 4 finale. So does William Byron who is also on the same front running boat as Bell over in the No.24 Hendrick car for Chevy when he finished 4th but again, a win though would help him go to that next level which would hopefully be a season-ending win & also the championship title.

Even though Denny Hamlin finished not bad in 8th in the other Gibbs Toyota for the No.11 team, he still needs a Top 3 finish upfront or even a win would do it if he wants to finally win his first championship title as a driver this year.

He’s only 27 points behind the Playoffs bubble in 5th spot, so all eyes on Denny now if he can get that job done by usurping Bell as the best Gibbs driver – right now he’s sitting as 2nd best.

All other shoutouts

And finally here’s some more shoutouts where a few other drivers had a really good day off the back through their survival of the fittest by steering clear of yellows. It’s been a while from John Hunter Nemechek in the No.42 Toyota for Legacy Motor Club since New Hampshire back in July (8th) with a 9th-placed finish – still a long way to go before LMC can finally fulfil their full potential based on the recent personnel changes they’ve made by co-owner and 7 x Cup champion Jimmie Johnson.

Plus, there’s a few other Fords marking in between the Top 10-15 finishing spots on top of Logano’s unreal day for Team Penske. Chris Buescher finished 10th for the No.17 RFK Racing team, Corey LaJoie posting yet another Top 15 result once again in 14th just one month after that swap deal with Justin Haley (who moved the other direction to his former long-time No.7 Spire home) & he does not disappoint so far in the No.51 for Rick Ware Racing, and Harrison Burton steered the iconic No.21 Mustang home through the every end in 15th for Wood Brothers Racing.

October 21, 2024 0 comment

Motorsport NASCAR

NASCAR Race Results: Kyle Larson still the one & only Playoff eligible driver who has won a race so far following his great day out at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval Course

by Sports Benches October 14, 2024

The last Playoffs driver who won a race during the Playoffs was Kyle Larson at Bristol Motor Speedway a few weeks ago to close out the opening Round of 16 & he’s closing out the 2nd Round of 12 with a win once again at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval course for Hendrick Motorsports and his No.5 Chevy team.

He gave a huge credit to the early yellows whose long runs have been top-notch that helped him gained track position up front, especially when “Yung Money” pulled off well clear of AJ Allmendinger in the No.13 Chevy from Kaulig Racing for the lead not long after that Lap 60 restart — and he was just simply unstoppable ever since.

Looks like he’s saving the best for last as Kyle Larson is sure wanting to be there first all the way by the time the NASCAR season ends in early November as a possible two-time drivers’ champion at Phoenix Raceway in Arizona.

Post-Race Shoutouts

Who else has done well today other than Kyle Larson? No.20’s Christopher Bell back up front in 2nd for Joe Gibbs Racing’s Toyota works organisation & so does fellow Hendrick driver (No.24) William Byron who finished 3rd as both drivers also coming off strong recent results when it comes to the Top 5/7 – keep an eye on them over the next three weeks of semis.

How about Kaulig Racing’s two road course ringers and also full-time Xfinity Series drivers both AJ Allmendinger and Supercars champion & Bathurst 1000 winner Shane Van Gisbergen? AJ finished 6th in the No.16 ahead of his team-mate in 7th when things could’ve been better if it wasn’t for these early yellows but at least both cars were running well all afternoon to put both cars into the Top 10.

And don’t forget the 23XI satellite Toyota team is still in the running when it comes to the championship & so does co-owner Denny Hamlin over in the No.11 Gibbs machinery (who finished 14th today), although he’s currently sitting 6th (-8 off the Playoffs bubble) where Denny needs to win either of the next semi-final races/post consistent Top 3 finishes or he will sadly miss out yet again for season 2024.

23XI’s man of the hour you’re looking right now at is the No.45 of Tyler Reddick, who currently sits 3rd in Playoff drivers’ points, thanks to his regular season championship title from a while ago at Darlington. He finished 11th following a series of late-race passes which is two spots behind team-mate the No.23’s Bubba Wallace in 9th as Tyler may not had a Top 5 since his last Cup win Michigan. But as long as he keeps up in the Top 10 with all those stage points he picked up right now, he’ll be alright to see out his first Championship 4 at Cup level – having won back-to-back Xfinity Series Championships at this same Phoenix race track back in 2018-19.

Now we will leave the Queen City to rolling the dices at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which is going to be the next NASCAR Cup race (Race 33 of 36) and also the 1st of the 3 x Round of 8 events as they’ll be back next Monday at 5.30am AEDT.

Round of 12 now becomes Round of 8 on the road towards the Championship 4 Finale next month

And last but not least, we will bid farewell to the next last bottom four drivers who are now no longer eligible for the championship following the end of the Second Round of 12 races today.

We’ll start with Alex Bowman who originally finished 18th which was supposedly enough to make it into the semi-finals that could’ve seen Logano eliminated. But unfortunately he got caught up post-inspection for the wrong reasons to his No.48 Chevy & got DQ’d along the way, which ultimately ended his championship hopes in such tragic circumstances – such a bummer for Alex and his No.48 Hendrick racing team.

Then there’s Daniel Suarez when he didn’t see much of him since his 2nd placed finish at the 2nd Atlanta Cup race early last month as he’s hoping to bounce back even better following another good season in the No.99 Chevy for Team Trackhouse.

We also cannot forget the unsung talents of Chase Briscoe in the No.14 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing having not scored a Top 10 since the last Round of 16 race at Bristol (8th), but he is someone who is tipped for maximum success when he will be replacing the retirement-bound Martin Truex Jr. next season at Joe Gibbs Racing’s No.19 Team.

A big loss for Haas turns out to be a big gain by driving such a competitive car at a championship-winning team like Gibbs that can hopefully help Chase run upfront more regularly & in turn win more races as well as season-ending silverware.

And so does Austin Cindric in the No.2 Ford for Team Penske. He might not have chased down Kyle Larson on time to get out a must win situation down in 4th while he hasn’t made much Top 5 finishes since his last win at Gateway back in early June but sure there’s a lot more to come as Austin is capable of posting some good if not excellent results as long as that fast race car can come good for him – that’s all what’s best about him who won the Daytona 500 race in his rookie Cup year two years ago.

October 14, 2024 0 comment

Motorsport NASCAR

NASCAR Race Results: Another non-Playoffs winner strikes again with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. gifting JTG yet another restrictor-plates win since last year’s Daytona 500 win at the Dega

by Sports Benches October 7, 2024

What a finish & what a day it has been at Talladega by another new non-Playoffs winner. This time it’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the No.47 Chevy Camaro after he gifted JTG Daugherty Racing yet another restrictor-plate event win since his Daytona 500 moment last year. Although it would’ve been any great if this was another regular season race, but at least Ricky & JTG has something to celebrate and he’s here for more – having renewed his multi-year contract earlier this season.

He had a brilliant start from 32nd to 2nd earlier on thanks to an early yellow. Now he may be been running mid-pack for a while, particularly during Stage 2 before that last-lap mini-drama changed everything. But as said, steering clear of yellows alongside some good adjustments were key to dominating this race & he’s done all of that to get what he and the No.47 Team wanted with the win.

Ah, so sorry for RFK Racing’s co-boss man Brad Keselowski (in the No.6 Ford Mustang) who fell so short by 0.006 seconds to Roush’s former long-time employee in Stenhouse. Another last restart would’ve been any better when he couldn’t get much help on the inside line & Stenhouse got the upper hand on the outside. But at least, there’s some positives to take out for 2nd as this is what restrictor-plate racing was all about when it’s so unpredictable full of “The Big Ones”.

What else? It’s been a while from Erik Jones in the famous No.43 Toyota Camry for Legacy Motor Club since this year’s Daytona 500 (8th) & he came off a really good afternoon as the best Toyota placed driver today in 5th behind the two Hendrick Motorsports Chevy cars of Kyle Larson (4th) and William Byron (3rd).

So does Justin Haley in the No.7 Chevy for Spire Motorsports who finished 7th with more to come after his second race back from Rick Ware Racing. Then there’s Austin Dillon in 8th at Richard Childress Racing. Good to see him finish off nice and clean following that Richmond win a while ago & he didn’t make the Playoffs when he wrecked Denny Hamiln at the finish line.

Speaking of Hamlin today, he came out not bad in 10th behind his 23XI employee Bubba Wallace (9th) when he was running up and down for some time & avoiding these yellows saved the day for him. But again, he’s currently in a comfortable middle ground at 4th in Playoffs points with one Round of 12 race left this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval course. All he has to do is keep running Top 5-7 including a win in any three semi-final races if that helps and Denny is sure that a championship can finally come his way when the season finale reaches Phoenix early next month.

And if that’s not enough, how about we give a round of applause to Rick Ware Racing with both Ford cars in the Top 20 – Cody Ware in 12th for the No.15 & Corey LaJoie 18th in the No.51. Plus, don’t forget NZer Shane Van Gisbergen who finished 15th in the shared No.16 Chevy for Kaulig Racing – his current Xfinity Series home.

Looks like SVG is so getting used to this sport ahead of his full-time Cup ride next year at Trackhouse other than his usual road course expertise where he’s getting the benefit of the doubt if he wins any of regular road course races there & a Playoffs spot immediately hands over to him. More to come also as he continues to keep on learning with merit every week.

October 7, 2024 0 comment