Weekend Wrap-up: Busch Brothers Battle in the Bluegrass State

Kurt Busch edges out brother Kyle for the Quaker State 400 win
(Google Images)

NASCAR made their annual pilgrimage to Kentucky Speedway this past weekend. After a duo of dreary Daytona races, fans were anxious to see what the Bluegrass State had in store for all three of the sport's top divisions.

Kurt Bests Kyle in Thrilling 1-2 Finish

There have only been three drivers who have visited victory lane in the Monster Energy Cup Series at Kentucky since Kyle Busch edged out David Reutimann in 2011. Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr are the other two. Going into this weekend, many expected Truex to be the favorite, having won the previous two events at the speedway.

The No. 1 team celebrate their first win of the year
(Google Images)

Ford got off to the fastest start, however, as Daniel Suarez drove to his first Busch Pole Award, flanked by his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Aric Almirola. However, that didn't last long, as the race looked like it would be a family affair right off the bat. Kurt Busch had won an uneventful Stage 1, while Kyle took Stage 2.

But, as is often the case with races that get off to a calmer start, once the laps wind down and the pay window opens, the intensity picks up in a big way.

It's no secret that seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson has had a rough year. Despite a top-five finish at Daytona, that downward trend continued at Kentucky when he pancaked the wall on lap 180 and spun down the backstrech. On the subsequent restart, leader Clint Bowyer appeared to lay back a bit to try and get second place driver William Byron to jump the start. This is the NASCAR equivalent of a running back trying to draw draw a linebacker offside in the NFL. It worked, and officials black flagged Byron's No. 24, eliminating him from contenting for his first cup win.

As the laps clicked off, both Kyle Busch and Joey Logano got around Bowyer, and it seemed as though it would be a battle between these two for the victory. That is, until Bubba Wallace blew a right rear tire with five laps to go, forcing the rest of the field into overtime.

On the final restart, Kurt took his car to the outside of Logano, making it three-wide into turn one. As the leaders came down the backstrech, both Buschs were side-by-side battling for the win, with Erik Jones to their inside. The brothers were able to break away from Jones to settle the race among themselves. They swapped the lead multiple times on the final lap, Kyle even tried to run Kurt to the outside wall in the final corner. But in the end, we saw one of the most thrilling finishes of the year, with Kurt besting Kyle by .076 seconds.

This is the first time since they began competing together in the Monster Energy Cup Series that Kurt was able to beat his younger brother for the win. This was also the first win for crew chief Matt McCall, as well as many others on the No. 1 team. "Welcome to victory lane!", radioed the 2004 series champion as he took the checkered flag.

Kurt Busch gives his crew a lift to victory lane
(Google Images)

As he climbed from his car, Busch pumped his fists for the crowd and did a stage dive into the waiting arms of his pit crew. Following his interview with NBC, the team went a bit old school, climbing on the outside of their No. 1 Chevy as Busch drove them to victory lane.

"It's awesome. To get back to victory lane for the first time with a new team means the world to me," said Busch. "With all these guys, there's so many that got their first win tonight, and they put me in position. Fast car, we had lap time, and we got a nice lucky break to get a shot at it. It takes teamwork all the way through."

Busch also took a congratulatory call from owner Chip Ganassi on-air. "You're in victory lane, buddy! Thank you so much. I told you we'd make these guys winners," he told his car owner.

One week after a heartbreaking finish, where one pit stop meant the difference between winning and finishing tenth, Busch's Chip Ganassi Racing team seems as motivated as ever to make a deep run into the playoffs.

"When he starts talking, he tells you we're coming in, we're going to win, it's definitely a confidence booster for sure,” said McCall of his driver. “He's almost delivered and he delivered (at Kentucky), so it's been pretty fun this first half of the season.”

Jones came home in third, Busch's CGR teammate Kyle Larson got fourth, and Denny Hamlin finished fifth. Bowyer finished sixth, Logano came home seventh, Suarez got eighth, Ryan Newman crossed the line in ninth, and Chris Buescher rounded out the top-ten.

The next race on the docket for the Cup Series is the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 from New Hampshire Motor Speedway at 3:00 p.m. ET. The event will be broadcast on NBCSN, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Custer Bests Bell for Fifth Win

The "big three" of the NASCAR Xfinity Series continued their dominance at Kentucky Speedway. The Alsco 300 was dominated by Stewart-Haas Racing's Cole Custer and Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell; the duo led 160 of the event's 200 laps between them.

Cole Custer celebrates his fifth win of the year
(Google Images)

Bell started second and won the race's first two stages, but he wasn't able to beat Custer for the race win. This was Custer's fifth victory of the year, breaking a tie with Bell for most wins on the season.

“It’s been unbelievable,” said Custer, who fell off his car in victory lane during his celebration. “This one just goes to my team. That car was just unbelievable, and they knew exactly what to do with it when the track changed, and I was just lucky to drive it there at the end.”

Custer's SHR teammate Chase Briscoe was also strong, leading 14 circuits, but he didn't have anything for the No. 00 Mustang either, losing the lead to Custer on lap 111.

Bell charged from fifth to second after a restart on Lap 97 but had nothing for Custer at the end.

“We just kind of got worse there,” Bell said of his runner-up finish. “My car was driving really good. Probably just got a little too comfortable there, needed to free it up a little bit... We were able to win two stages, so we got a couple more playoff points. We’ve just got to work on a couple more things, and we’ll be good.”'

The other member of the big three, Tyler Reddick, ran third, Michael Annett took fourth, and Briscoe came home fifth. Jr Motorsports' other drivers joined Annett in the top-ten, with Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, and Ryan Truex finishing sixth, seventh, and eighth respectively. Ryan Seig finished ninth, and Daytona Cup Series winner Justin Hayley finished tenth.

The Xfinity Series tour heads up to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the ROXOR 200, which kicks off at 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday July 20. Coverage will be on NBCSN, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Ankrum Scores First Truck Series Win

History was made in the Buckle up in Your Truck 225 at Kentucky Speedway. Not only did Tyler Ankrum win his first Gander Outdoor Truck Series race, he also became the first driver born in the new millennium to into victory lane.

Tyler Ankrum collects his first career checkered flag
(Google Images)

Sheldon Creed won an uneventful first stage, while Matt Crafton won a decidedly more exciting Stage 2 that also saw his teammate Grant Enfinger have major trouble.

Enfinger won the pole and showed early on that he had a truck capable of winning. But on lap 66, as he drove underneath leader Brandon Jones in turn four, Enfinger got loose, sending both trucks into the outside wall. Both trucks came to rest in the infield grass, ending their nights early.

It seemed as though Brett Moffitt was set to go back-to-back after his win in Chicago, leading 35 laps late in the race. However, the finish came down to fuel mileage and who could save the most gasoline. Moffitt, who admitted after the race he'd never been in the position of having to save fuel before, was about two laps shy of making it to the end. Ankrum, who led a race-high 40 laps and took one more can of fuel than the leader on his final stop, was able to bide his time and pass the GMS Racing No. 24 when Moffitt ran out of fuel coming to the white flag.

“I was driving my butt off—holy cow,” said Ankrum, who led a race-high 40 laps. “I think I was holding my breath for the last three laps there. Holy cow, that was awesome… I just don’t know what to say. I cannot believe I just did this…

“Honestly, one of my biggest faults is I’ve always doubted myself, and I kind of saw all of that wash away.”

Stewart Friessen, who had his primary truck confiscated by NASCAR for a rear firewall issue, finished second on the night, Harrison Burton got third, Ross Chastain came home fourth, and Dylan Lupton finished fifth. Austin Wayne Self got sixth, Moffitt dropped to seventh after running out of gas, Spencer Davis got eighth, Jeb Burton finished ninth, and Johnny Sauter came home in tenth.

The tailgate brigade will take this week off to regroup, but the series will return to action at Pocono Raceway on Saturday, July 27 for the Gander RV 150. The race will go green at 1:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on FS1, as well as heard on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Weekend Wrap-up: Weather Dominates Final July Daytona Weekend

The Monster Energy Cup Series raced to beat each other, as well as the rain
in Daytona this weekend (Google Images)

This Independence Day weekend was bittersweet racing for many race fans. Next year, the traditional Fourth of July pageantry that has surrounded Daytona International Speedway for 61 years will be moved to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, while Daytona will be moved to the final race of the regular season; an adjustment that many in the sport believe will create more playoff excitement, and possibly lead to an underdog qualifying for NASCAR's post season.

While the major story through much of the weekend was the stormy weather (it is Florida in July, after all), a couple of surprise winners is exactly what we came away with as the sport heads to Kentucky next weekend.

Haley, Spire Motorsports Score Surprising Win

There are upset wins in sports every now and then. Then there are upsets so big that it almost seems inappropriate to classify them as such. Justin Haley's win in Sunday's Coke Zero Sugar 400 seems to fit into that latter category.

Justin Haley scored his first premier series win at Daytona
(Google Images)

After weather washed out the scheduled running of the final Monster Energy Cup Series race at Daytona in July for the forseeable future, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch finally led the field to green under partly cloudy skies on Sunday afternoon.

Stage 1 went caution free, and saw Logano work with his Ford Performance teammates to score the victory in the race's initial segment. While these are some of the best drivers in the world, they would not stay calm for long.

An ill-timed block of Kurt Busch's No. 1 car sent leader Ricky Stenhouse, Jr through the rain-soaked infield grass on lap 60. But as Stage 2 continued, the sky behind the grandstands grew darker and the intensity began to pick up.

Brad Keselowski had been saying that he would not lift if any drivers tried to block him during the weekend; a point he tried to drive home by driving through William Byron in practice. However, on lap 84, Keselowski died by that very same sword, as Kevin Harvick didn't lift after bumping the No. 2 car. This got the 2012 series champion loose and sent him into the outside wall, ending his day. The wreck also collected Daniel Suarez, David Ragan, and Daniel Hemric.

What was Byron's response to the Keselowski incident? After finding out the "Blue Deuce" had been shunted into the wall, the sophomore driver simply radioed to his crew, saying "that's too bad."

Following that chaos, Austin Dillon found himself out in front, claiming the victory in Stage 2.

The clouds around Daytona International Speedway grew darker as Stage 3 went on. This led to a great deal of three- and four-wide racing for what could wind up being the win, should bad weather come. Drivers dodged the big wreck all day long, but it always seems to be a matter of 'when' and 'where' at these superspeedways, rather than 'if" a major pileup will happen.

On lap 120, Dillon blocked a run by Clint Bowyer to try and protect his lead coming out of the tri-oval, which sent his No. 3 Chevy around off Bowyer's nose, collecting many of the leaders. Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace, defending race winner Erik Jones, and last week's winner Alex Bowman were among the 18 casualties that resulted from this wreck.

The "Big One" collected nearly 20 cars in the closing laps
at Daytona (Google Images)

Because it took so long to get many of these cars out of the over-saturated grass in turns one and two, that allowed the bad storms that had been around the racetrack all afternoon to creep ever closer and literally put a damper on things. Once things were cleaned up, NASCAR told teams that it was going to go back racing. Kurt Busch and his team agreed to pit with one lap to go before the restart, putting themselves in position to race for the win on fresh tires. But Mother Nature had other ideas.

As soon as Busch came down pit road, a lightning strike could be seen behind the speedway. This resulted in a mandatory 30-minute red flag, as a precaution to protect fans and crews. Once that half hour had expired, the rain that had stayed away from the track all day long finally showed up just as drivers were beginning to climb back aboard their cars.

 This meant Busch was tenth and Haley was the leader, with little indication that we would go back green anytime soon.

NASCAR waited for the better part of two hours before finally calling the race official and awarding a controversial victory to Haley and Spire Motorsports. Byron was second, Jimmie Johnson was third, Ty Dillon fourth and Ryan Newman fifth. Sixth place went to Corey LaJoie, seventh went to Aric Almirola, Matt DiBenedetto was eighth, Matt Tifft came home ninth, and Kurt Busch was forced to settle for tenth.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will join both the Xfinity Series and Gander Outdoors Truck Series at Kentucky Speedway this weekend, when the Quaker State 400 goes green at 7:30 pm ET on Saturday, July 13. Coverage will be on NBCSN, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Chastain Scores Second Career Xfinity Win

Mother Nature delayed things for a few hours on Friday night, but when it came time for the Circle K Firecracker 250 to go green, fans were not disappointed. Polesitter Tyler Reddick was strong, as he and his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing team have been all season, but it was the three-car team of Kaulig Racing that would dominate the evening.

Alva, Fla. native Ross Chastain celebrates his first Xfinity win
  of 2019 by smashing another watermelon (Google Images)

Justin Haley is the only Kaulig driver running for points this season, but team owner Matt Kaulig and General Manager Chris Rice have been looking a win since joining the Xfinity Series in 2016. So, to help bolster that effort, they brought along the No. 10 Chevy for driver A.J. Allmendinger, as well as the brand new No. 16 Camaro for driver Ross Chastain.

Everything went according to plan, as this trio was able to team up and work together for the majority of the race.

The first incident in Stage 1 happened early. On lap 10, the No. 90 car of Caesar Bacarella got loose on the bottom of the racetrack and spun, collecting Austin Cindric, Cole Custer, Brandon Jones, and a few other drivers.Most all of these drivers were able to repair their vehicles and return to action. An errant bump draft from the No. 7 of Justin Allgaier sent his teammate Sheldon Creed spinning with just seven laps remaining in the race's first stage. The incident also collected the No. 23 of John Hunter Nemechek, and helped lock up the Stage 1 victory for Chastain.

Stage 2 saw just as much action as the first segment, as on lap 46, Reddick's Camaro drifted up the track entering the tri-oval and collected the Mustang of Chase Briscoe. Both drivers slid to the inside of the track, with Briscoe making heavy head-on contact with the inside Safer Barrier.

Kaulig Racing's three entries continued to run roughshod over the rest of the field, with Allmendinger winning the race's second stage.

As the race for the win wound down, Reddick and Hayley were side-by-side for the top spot when "the Big One" happened behind them. The No. 20 of Christopher Bell gave a shot to an unstable Michael Annett, tipping his No. 1 Chevy into the outside wall. This collected 15 cars, including Custer, who t-boned Annett in the passenger side door, and resulted in a 17 minute red flag for cleanup.

Chase Briscoe (98) slides through the grass after contact
with Tyler Reddick (2) (Google Images)

In the closing laps, Haley pushed Chastain around the 2.5 mile, high banked oval, but couldn't get enough help from behind to pass his teammate. Chastain was able to hold off his challengers and score his second career Xfinity Series win. Allmendinger also went from fifth to third on the final lap, which meant that Kaulig Racing had not only won it's first race, but it had also finished in the top three positions. Or so it seemed.

Allmendinger's engine failed a vacuum test after the race.A part failure around the area of the tapered spacer had allowed additional air into the intake manifold, which meant that the No. 10 team was disqualified. Kaulig Racing will not appeal the ruling.

This meant that Chastain was your winner, Haley was second, and Bell jumped up to third. Cindric was fourth, Stephen Leicht was fifth, Brandon Brown was sixth, Jeff Green was seventh, Gray Gaulding was eighth, Jeremy Clements crossed the line in ninth, and Matt Mills finished in tenth.

The Xfinity Series Alsco 300 from Kentucky Speedway will go green at 7:30 pm ET on Friday, July 12, with coverage on NBCSN, PRN, and SiriusXM Nascar Radio.

The truck series Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 will be held on Thursday, July 11 at 7:30 pm ET. Coverage can be seen on FS1 and heard on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Weekend Wrap-up: Chicagoland Speedway

After a string of second place finishes, Alex Bowman won his first
cup series race at Chicagoland (Google Images)

It was an eventful triple-header weekend for NASCAR at Chicagoland Speedway. Not only were all three of the sport's top touring series in action in the Windy City, the weekend also featured some severe weather, a disqualification, and a first-time Monster Energy Cup Series winner.

Bowman Finally Breaks Through

After a mediocre start to 2019 for Hendrick Motorsports, the organization seemed to begin righting their four-car ship once the calendar turned to April. Chase Elliott secured a playoff spot with a win at Talladega, barely beating teammate Alex Bowman. But while many assumed that seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson or sophomore sensation William Byron would be next to take the checkered flag, it would be Bowman who would go on a hot streak, culminating in his first cup series win this past weekend at Chicagoland.

Bowman and his crew pose with their new hardware
(Google Images)

The 26-year-old journeyman driver had finished second three times in a row at Talladega, Dover, and Kansas. Many argued that this last event was one he probably should have won, had Brad Keselowski not overtaken him in the closing laps.

It looked as if Sunday's Camping World 400 would be a repeat of that Kansas heartbreaker. As Bowman grabbed the lead with 41 laps to go, Kyle Larson, last year's Chicago runner-up, was getting bigger and bigger in the rearview mirror of the No. 88 Camaro. The two battled through lapped traffic, trading lanes back and forth, until Larson powered his No. 42 Chevy past Bowman's, in what seemed to be the race-winning move.

That is, until the Arizona native got his car back underneath Larson's off turn two with six laps to go, almost willing his car back to the top spot. Bowman got back by Larson, pulled away, and grabbed the first win of his cup career. Coincidentally, he also led 88 total laps en route to the win.

In a race that was stopped after 11 laps for a 3 hour, 18 minute red flag for rain, Bowman's gutsy performance no doubt made fans happy they stuck it out till the end.

“I was just tired of running second,” Bowman said. “I don’t want to do that anymore. I feel like this is the last box, aside from going and chasing a championship, that I needed personally for myself to validate my career.”

Finishing behind Larson was defending champ Joey Logano in third, Johnson in fourth, and Keselowski rounding out the top five. Sixth place went to Ryan Blaney, seventh to Erik Jones, Byron finished eighth, Martin Truex Jr. finished ninth, and Austin Dillon crossed the line in tenth. Denny Hamlin won the first stage of the race, while Kevin Harvick won the second.

Custer Scores Fourth Win of 2019

Last year saw the "big three" drivers, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., and Kyle Busch, dominate the Monster Energy Cup Series season. This season, however, it appears that the "big three" has migrated down to the Xfinity Series, as Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, and Cole Custer have won 10 of the season's first 15 races. Michael Annett has been the only other Xfinity Series regular to win a race, claiming the season opener at Daytona. Cup series interloper Kyle Busch won the other four.

Cole Custer celebrates his fourth win of 2019 
(Google Images)

This weekend, Custer was the dominant driver, claiming the victory in the Camping World 300. Leading 151 of the race's 200 laps, there was little doubt that the Stewart-Haas Racing driver would be the one to beat on Saturday.

“I think we’re going to hit it this summer, we have some awesome cars,’’ Custer exclaimed to the fans on the frontstrech. “I don’t know how to get the car any better, I’m just lucky to drive it.’’

Cup star Joey Logano started on the pole, but Custer quickly overtook the Penske Racing driver to win the race's first stage. Logano would come back to win Stage 2, but Custer's machine proved too much for the rest of the field. He passed Annett on a restart with 22 laps to go and never looked back.

Logano would go on to finish second, while Bell crossed the line in third, Annett fourth, and Brandon Jones fifth. Austin Cindric was sixth, Noah Gragson seventh, Justin Hayley eight, ninth place went to Ross Chastain, and Reddick was tenth.

However, following post race inspection, Bell's No. 20 Toyota was found to be too low on both the left and right front corners, as well as too high on the right rear. Similar to Chastain's penalty in the truck race at Iowa a few weeks ago, this bumped Bell from third to last place in the 38-car field. He was awarded one point. Joe Gibbs Racing will not appeal the penalty.

“When we put the (height) sticks on, the car failed both front heights and the right rear,” said Wayne Auton, Managing Director for the Xfinity Series. “The front was extremely low. The right rear was a little high, which is normally what you see when a car on the front sort of tilts toward the front. It’s going to come up, it has to go somewhere.”

The biggest beneficiary of this penalty wound up being Bell's teammate, Riley Herbst, who was moved up to tenth place in the finishing order.

Moffitt Scores Second Win of the Year

Two weeks after netting his first win of the year in unconventional fashion, Ross Chastain's disqualification at Iowa Speedway, Brett Moffitt took the checkered flag at Chicagoland Speedway in the Camping World 250.

Brett Moffitt celebrates with his team in Chicagoland
victory lane (Google Images)

This time, Moffitt dominated. The defending truck series champion led twice for 72 laps and won by a margin of just under four seconds in front of second place finisher Brandon Jones. After the race, Moffitt said this celebration was a lot more fun, as the victory at Iowa seemed to ring hollow.

“It was a heck of a lot more fun, and it’s fun for not only me but for the whole pit crew,’’ he said after the race.


While he failed to win a stage in this race, Jones and 16th-place finisher Grant Enfinger won Stages 1 and 2 respectively, Moffitt was certain that his GMS Racing team had a truck to win if circumstance played out like he hoped.

“We’ll go home and celebrate,’’ he said. “I felt confident, it was just a matter of a caution coming out or not. I’m sure (Baxter) was nervous, I was nervous, we were just praying for no caution to come out.’’

While Jones, who has already made one start for the Kyle Busch Motorsports this season, was disappointed he couldn't win, he was very optimistic about being able to pick up a victory before the season comes to an end.

“We put ourselves in position to learn a bit and that’s the most fun I’ve ever had in a truck race,’’ he said. “We’ve got two more with these guys.”

Stewart Friesen finished behind Moffitt and Jones in third place, while Harrison Burton and Austin Hill rounded out the top-five. Todd Gilliland finished sixth, Chastain came home seventh, veteran Matt Crafton was eighth, truck series rookie Anthony Alfredo was a respectable ninth, and Dylan Lupton finished tenth.

The Gander Outdoors Truck Series is off this weekend, but the Xfinity and Monster Energy Cup drivers will take to the high banks of Daytona International Speedway one final time to celebrate Independence Day weekend. The Xfinity Series Circle K Firecracker 250 will go green at 7:35 pm ET on Friday on NBCSN, while the Monster Energy Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 will begin at 7:48 pm ET on Saturday on NBC. Both races will also be covered on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Truex Jr. Holds off Busch, Rides Carousel to Sonoma's Victory Lane

Martin Truex Jr celebrates his Sonoma victory (Google Images)

Martin Truex Jr scored his second consecutive win in the Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. This checkered flag is his fourth win in the last eight races, tying him with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch for the most victories this year.

The duo have already won half the races so far this year; a staggering statistic in what has been an incredibly dominant year for JGR.

Featuring a new (technically old) layout, Sonoma opened up the long, sweeping left-hand turn known as the Carousel for NASCAR competition for the first time since 1997 to celebrate the California course's 50th anniversary. Many thought this would throw a kink in team's plans, leading to closer competition and more action. But, no matter the layout, Truex and his crew chief Cole Pearn showed that they have Sonoma figured out.

The field paces through the Carousel before the green flag
(Google Images) 

Busch finished second to Truex for the seventh time in his cup career. With three-lap fresher tires, the Las Vegas driver made up an eight second deficit during the race's final 24 lap run, but once he had to use up a little too much of his equipment to make up that time, so once he got within two seconds of the No. 19 car, his progress stalled.

“I just dug down deep and tried to be smooth and hit my marks,” said Truex. “Luckily I began with a big enough gap where I could get away and not feel too much pressure.

“It was definitely a battle going on, as far as the race there at the end for us on tires. It felt terrible the last 20 laps. The last 10 it just felt like it was on ice — just no grip anywhere. I’m really proud of all these guys and everyone on this team and everyone back at JGR.

“What a season we’ve turned this into. This is great, man, unbelievable. Hopefully, we can keep it going.”

Hoping that Busch and Truex might make a bit of contact going for the win, Ryan Blaney finished a very distant third. Matt DiBenedetto drove the race of his life to come from just inside the top 20 to a career-best fourth place in a special Darrell Waltrip tribute scheme to honor the stock car legend's final race in the broadcast booth for Fox. Stage 2 winner Denny Hamlin came home fifth.

“Yeah, any time I had to lean on the left rear, I just didn’t have the drive that I needed,” Busch said. “Actually tried to hold on to it, trying to save it. I knew that was going to be our problem — that had been our problem all day long. You get closer, you’re like, ‘OK, I can get him, I better go, pounce on him fast, so then he doesn’t have the time to pick up the pace.’

Matt DiBenedetto drove his DW tribute scheme to a
career-best fourth place finish (Google Images)

“But it didn’t work. He was obviously saving a lot. I knew he was going to be saving a lot, have enough to be able to most likely hold us off. I was right. I still tried everything I could to get there and ran real hard. … Sucks to finish second to a teammate, but it’s good for the company. Overall Martin is really, really good here. I’m just pumped that I actually ran good here.”

Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman claimed the sixth and seventh respectively. Erik Jones, who started from the rear of the field after his team made repairs to the left rear quarter of his car post-qualifying, was eighth in the fourth JGR Toyota. Aric Almirola and polesitter Kyle Larson rounded out the top 10. Like DiBenedetto, this was also a career best finish for Larson at Sonoma Raceway.

The race ran caution-free, except for the two stage breaks. Front-row starter William Byron grabbed the lead from polesitter Larson on the first lap and drove to an easy victory in Stage 1. However, after leading every lap in that initial stage, the sophomore driver lost track position after pitting during the stage break and finished 19th.

NASCAR heads to the windy city this weekend for a triple-header at Chicagoland Speedway. The Camping World 400 will go green on Sunday, June 30 at 3:15 p.m ET on NCBSN, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Melon Man Makes Good: Chastain Scores Redemptive, Playoff-Clinching Win at Gateway

Ross Chastain and Niece Motorsports claimed another victory at
Gateway on Saturday night (Google Images)

The Melon Man Challenge has officially been conquered.

One week after having their win stripped at Iowa Speedway, Ross Chastain and Niece Motorsports headed to World Wide Technologies Raceway at Gateway on a mission. As the journeyman driver put it on the Fox pre-race show, "we're gonna stop 'em again and keep the hammer down."

That's exactly what they did Saturday night at Gateway, claiming a dramatic playoff-clinching victory in the CarShield 200.

Chastain's crew chief Phil Gould opted to take no tires on the team's final pit stop, leaving the Alva, Fla. native to hold off Todd Gilliland, Stewart Friesen, and several other drivers with much faster trucks and much fresher tires.

Chastain celebrates his Gateway win (Google Images)

''Phil Gould, Lonnie Rush they believed in me,'' Chastain said following his second (or third, if you ask the team) victory of the season. ''I didn't want to take tires and then it was up to me to freakin' hold them off, I don't know how.''

In victory lane, before answering any questions, Chastain made his way past FS1's Hermie Sadler and pointed to his truck's front splitter, as his crew erupted into cheers, a clear reference to their disqualification following their Iowa victory.

"These guys went home, and we were mad," he told Sadler. "We felt like we had one taken from us... I'm going to take that money home, and they're not taking it from us this time." Chastain then grabbed the suitcase with the $50,000 bonus from Gander Outdoors for winning the third Triple Truck Challenge event and handed it off to a crewman.

The race was also a good one for Todd Gilliland. Thought by many to be on the hot seat at Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM), Gilliland brought his No. 4 Toyota Tundra home in second place. Dirt track ace Stewart Friesen was third, KBM part-timer Chandler Smith finished fourth, and Iowa winner Brett Moffitt drove across the line in fifth.

While the race was relatively clean, there were some tense moments for Chastain in the closing laps. On lap 147, Sheldon Creed and Harrison Burton got together in turn four. Burton got into the third turn a little wide, causing him to slide up into Creed. Burton's Tunrda then slid across the nose of Creed's Silverado and into the outside wall.

The No. 45 Niece Motorsports team pose in victory lane
with the Mike Mittler Memorial Trophy (Google Images)

When asked if he was nervous about the ensuing restart, Chastain said he was more than a little bit worried about keeping the lead.

“Of course, scared to death, that’s the last thing I wanted to see,” he explained. “Buzzed my tires like crazy on the restart and got to thank Todd (Gilliland) for pushing me and not wrecking me. Other guys earlier, when you fade to block, they try to wreck you.

"Other than that, man, execution on these guy's part. We didn’t have the fastest truck today, but we executed, and we believed in each other. Man, that feels really good.”

The Gander Outdoors Truck Series heads to Chicagoland Speedway this weekend for the Camping World 225. Coverage begins at 8:30 pm ET Friday night on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM Nascar Radio.

Boogity, Boogity, Boogity! Thank for the Memories, D.W.!

Darrell Waltrip (C) will call his final NASCAR race for Fox alongside
Mike Joy (L) and Jeff Gordon (R) this Sunday at Sonoma (Google Images)

Sunday's race at Sonoma will mark the end of an era for NASCAR.

When the checkered flag falls, the champagne is sprayed, and the photos taken, the traveling circus that is the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series will fold up their tents, load their haulers, and head back east to prepare for Chicagoland Speedway.

However, when the lights go out in the Fox Sports broadcast booth, it will mark the final cup race for 3-time champion Darrell Waltrip as a broadcaster, closing the curtain on a NASCAR career that spans 50 years.

Many of us, myself included, grew up with Waltrip in the booth for Fox, alongside Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds, and Jeff Gordon. Whether you loved his folksy, homespun, matter-of-fact broadcasting style, or if the mere mention of "boogity, boogity, boogity" made you cringe on Sunday afternoon, one thing is certain: our sport was much better for having ol' D.W. as a part of it for as long as he was, and his absence will leave a big hole that will be very hard, if not impossible, to fill.

Many would lump Waltrip in the same category as John Madden, Dick Vitale, and Chris Collinsworth — a former athlete/coach-turned-broadcaster whose style of commentary left fans either wanting more or wishing they'd muted their television sets. This polarity among the fan base was something Waltrip also faced during his career behind the wheel. So, by the time he got behind the microphone, he handled his critics the same way he did as a driver.

You can't please everybody, so why try.

Waltrip does the Ickey Shuffle after winning
the 1989 Daytona 500 (Google Images)

Waltrip has always been himself. He's long been someone who would tell you what he thought, whether you asked him his opinion or not.

Early in his career, he once told reporters that Richard Petty needed the prescription for his windshield changed so he could see better. A brash, young racer from Kentucky calling out NASCAR's "King"? D.W. liked to stir the pot from the very beginning, and this gift of gab earned him the nickname "Jaws" on the racetrack.

He was cocky, he was confident, but he had the moves and the talent to back it up. Waltrip amassed three championships, 84 wins, and over 23,000 laps led when he hung up his helmet. That's very rarefied air.

But time catches up to us all, and after several seasons of sub-par performance, Waltrip made the decision to hang up his helmet following the 2000 campaign and 30 years behind the wheel. Not long after, Fox - fresh off signing their new NASCAR television contract - approached him about climbing into the booth with Joy and McReynolds, saying that they wanted Waltrip to be to their NASCAR telecasts what Madden had become to NFL broadcasts. This would allow him the best way to remain a part of the sport he loved so much.

The trio's first race was the 2001 Daytona 500, which would turn out to be a very significant, emotionally charged event for Waltrip.

The field came off turn four for the final time, like so many races before; D.W. cheering his brother Michael to his first Cup Series win ("You got him, Mikey! You got him, man, you got him! You got it, you got it, you got it!! Mikeeeey!!"). But, Earnhardt, Sr had wrecked behind the leaders; an accident that we would later learn had taken The Intimidator from us. The broadcast cut to an ecstatic Waltrip who, through the tears of joy for his brother's first win, looked anxiously towards the accident scene, concerned for his friend.

The words, "This is great. I just hope Dale's ok. I guess he's alright, isn't he?" are now seared into the memory of anyone watching that day.

But, Waltrip is also a man of great faith. So, one week after that tragedy, he and his wife Stevie led the fans in prayer before the race at Rockingham. While this moment can go unnoticed, it illustrates how D.W. served as a rudder to help guide the sport and its fans through one of its lowest points.

During his 19 years in the booth, his voice provided a comfortable familiarity that will be sorely missed. He also provided a level of genuine excitement and love for NASCAR that will be hard to replace.

D.W. waves the green flag at Bristol earlier this year
(Google Images)

Do we really want more straight-laced, button-down color commentators? Or do we want the Tony Romos and Dale Earnhardt Jrs of professional sports to find their way to the booth, offer their opinions, and bring the same level of excitement they had on the field of play to each and every telecast?

Like Waltrip, Dale Jr was a polarizing figure during his career. Many loved him because of his father. Others loved him because he didn't try to be his father. Still others saw him as an entitled, silver spoon-fed kid who only ascended to the sport's highest ranks because he's an Earnhardt.

Next Sunday's race at Chicago will mark one year since Junior excitedly screamed "slide job!" as Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson bounced off each other, fighting for the lead on the last lap. Whether you like Dale Jr or not, that call will go down as one of the best in the history of the sport. That energy; that sincere passion for our sport is what our broadcasters need, and whether you liked him or not, that's what Waltrip brought each and every week.

His trademark call of, "Boogity, boogity, boogity! Let's go racing, boys!" was annoying to plenty of people, but to others it was a call to arms; to gather around the television and settle in for another exciting afternoon of NASCAR action. Waltrip himself has said that he wanted to be different than other broadcasters. He wanted to do something to get the fans at home energized for what they were about to watch. The fact that today, parents post videos on social media of their child reciting that same three-boogity call along with Waltrip each week is proof that he's done just as much to engage with fans and grow the sport from the booth as he did from the driver's seat.

So, as D.W. brings his hall of fame career to a close, we wish him the best and all we can do is say thank you. We'll miss you in the booth at Daytona next year, but  we'll always remember the laughs, the excitement, and all the great memories you gave us on and off the track.

NASCAR Overreacted by Suspending Sauter

Johnny Sauter was suspended from Saturday's race at Gateway (Google Images)

The sport of NASCAR was built on hard racing. Fierce competition, forged from the melding of man and machine in the crucible of an asphalt oval.

Drivers wheeling their high-octane chariots, battling inches apart for hundreds of miles has come to define what fans expect to see each week. They have also come to expect that, along the way, tempers will be tested and feelings will get hurt.

Take last weekend's M&M's 200 at Iowa Speedway, for example.

Hattori Racing's Austin Hill and ThorSport Racing's Johnny Sauter had a run-in at Texas Motor Speedway the week before Iowa. Hill got loose under Sauter, sending the 2016 series champ's No 13 into the wall. This all seemed harmless enough at the time.

During Saturday's race at Iowa, Sauter gave Hill a (possibly retaliatory) tap going into turn one, moving Hill's No. 16 up the track a bit. Again, this seemed to be a harmless racing incident. But, as the field circled around to turn three, Hill found his way back to Sauter's bumper and sent him tailgate-first into the outside wall. None too pleased, Sauter sped up as the field slowed for the yellow flag, caught up to Hill, and wrecked him back.

Austin Hill (16) puts Johnny Sauter (13) in the wall
(NASCAR.com)

NASCAR parked Sauter for the remainder of the event, which led fans and media alike to speculate what other penalties might await the Wisconsin native, and just how severe would they be?

Should the sanctioning body suspend him? Would he be fined and given a warning? Could this incident end his championship hopes?

Well, we got our answer on Tuesday afternoon when NASCAR announced it would suspend Sauter for this Saturday's Gateway 200 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. However, he will still be eligible to compete for the 2019 championship.

Something had to be done to send a message to Sauter, and the rest of the field, to deter this from happening again, but suspending him for a week is a major overreaction. NASCAR has been promoting their "boys, have at it" style of officiating for about a decade now and there's no evidence here that what Sauter did on Saturday was anything other than boys having at it, policing themselves.

As mentioned above, when drivers spend months on end racing at close quarters, fighting for stage points and the playoff berth that comes with each checkered flag, tempers will boil over now and again. And that's ok. That's what has made NASCAR the most popular form of motorsport in America — the strong personalities of our drivers and the fireworks that ensue when those personalities clash.

NASCAR needs this type of excitement.

Many fans are drawing comparisons between the Sauter/Hill incident and the Kyle Busch/Ron Hornaday altercation from Texas in 2011 and the final chapter of the Matt Kenseth/Joey Logano feud from Martinsville in 2015. The former altercation resulted in Busch being benched from the rest of the weekend's activities at Texas (both the Xfinity and Cup races) and the latter resulted in Kenseth sitting our the final two races of the season. However, these incidents are vastly different from what took place at Iowa Speedway.

Johnny Sauter (13) gets payback against Austin Hill (16)
(Google Images)

At Texas, Busch (a part-time truck series driver) hooked Hornaday (a series regular in the middle of a championship battle) into the wall, head on, at a much higher rate of speed than Sauter did when he turned Hill around. Likewise, Logano was leading the race at Martinsville, as well as the point standings with three races left in the year. Kenseth's car was wrecked and multiple laps down when he payed Logano back.

The beauty of short tracks is that the competition is much tighter than larger speedways because the cars and trucks travel at a much slower speed. When Sauter turned Hill, their trucks weren't traveling nearly as fast as when Hill turned Sauter moments before. Many fans seemed to want Sauter hung from a cross, bu they'd also be the first ones to complain that the sport and it's drivers are too"vanilla." No one's life was in danger here and neither truck was near track safety workers. This was a simple case of short track tempers flaring up. It happens on a weekly basis at short tracks around the country — a driver who felt he was done wrong, looking for payback.

Both the Busch and Kenseth scenarios had major championship implications, and the Texas truck wreck also saw Hornaday turned at high speed and a very violent angle.

Similarly, in 2008, Michael Waltrip drove Casey Mears down the frontstrech at Richmond Raceway and into the turn one wall after Mears cut him off coming out of turn four. Waltrip was parked for the remainder of the race, but not suspended.

Oh, and let's not forget  Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart at Dover in 2007. After both drivers wrecked, Busch sped down pit road and pulled alongside Stewart's car as it sat in his pit stall, almost striking one of Stewart's crewmen. Busch was parked for the rest of the race, assessed a 100 point penalty, and a $100,000 fine, but despite almost hitting a pit crew member, he was also not suspended.

Part-time ThorSport driver Myatt Snyder will fill in for
Sauter at Gateway this weekend (Google Images)

If NASCAR wanted to send a message to Sauter for this much lesser offense, they could have done so in the same manner.

Yes, a points penalty would be almost meaningless, since the No. 13 team qualified for the playoffs with a win at Dover. But the regular season champion receives a handful of bonus points heading into the playoffs. Taking points from Sauter, coupled with the points his team lost after they were parked at Iowa, would have made that goal much harder to attain. A hefty monetary fine would have also done the trick, as the purses at the truck level aren't nearly as substantial as those in cup.

Truck teams can also have a much harder time attracting and keeping sponsors than their bigger budget cup colleagues. When Sauter was released by GMS Racing during the off-season, ThorSport picked him up just a few weeks before the 2019 season opener at Daytona with sponsorship from Tenda Equine and Pet Care Products. Whether the team and the sponsor support what Sauter did or not, Tenda probably isn't thrilled at the idea of having a replacement driver in their truck this week, instead of the one they've built a program around since February. There's a chance that this penalty could have more of a ripple effect than initially intended.

Not to mention, the fans will also pay a price. Let's say I pull for Johnny Sauter. I've saved my money to spend the day at Gateway with my family; paid for gas, tickets, concessions, and now I won't get to see my favorite driver race due to an incident that happened one week prior. Any Sauter fan in that scenario would be acrimonious.

It is completely unfair to penalize sponsors and fans for something they had nothing to do with.

Speaking of sponsors, Marcus Lemonis, Chairman and CEO of Camping World and Gander Outdoors, really overstepped his bounds by chiming in on Twitter about Sauter's actions:

Totally unacceptable behavior. Run hard, turn hard, push the limit but find the clear line between right and wrong. It was crossed. Not my call and it’s good that it’s not. #gandertrucks #respect @USATODAY @FOXSports @NASCAR_Trucks @NASCAR @NASCARONFOX https://t.co/H5tQ0rnkL7

— Marcus Lemonis (@marcuslemonis) June 17, 2019

Lemonis' Camping World and Gander Outdoors brands have sponsored the truck series since Craftsman left as title sponsor after the 2008 season. He should be allowed to offer his opinions on the direction that the series goes. However, for the CEO of a series title sponsor to offer such a terse statement with regard to a competitor in that series is incredibly inappropriate, and to tag media outlets like USA Today and Fox Sports makes it even worse. It also makes you wonder what, if anything, Lemonis said to NASCAR officials privately.

Based on CNBC's "The Profit", Lemonis is fairly opinionated. But when it comes to NASCAR, he should offer his opinions on competition behind closed doors to the sanctioning body, not broadcast them publicly on his personal social media channels.

Being an old school, hard nosed racer, obviously Sauter wants to be with his No. 13 team at Gateway this weekend. But since he can't, he came up with a pretty good alternative.

Once a racer, always a racer:

Change of plans...Dells Raceway Park Saturday night Dick Trickle 99! Ya know a Real Racer #DickTrickle #SupportYourLocalShortTrack pic.twitter.com/SIxEDeUIbv

— Johnny Sauter (@JohnnySauter) June 18, 2019