Byron Wins at Daytona as the Playoff Field is Set

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

William Byron won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 from Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night during the regular season finale.

Byron came into the weekend needing a strong finish as he was on the bubble with Matt DiBenedetto and Jimmie Johnson for the final two spots in the Playoffs.  After Johnson was caught up in a late wreck, Byron and DiBenedetto were all but locked in, allowing Byron to focus on the winning moves needed at the end of the race.

Byron found his way to the lead on the final restart, and his teammate Chase Elliott was able to push Byron to the victory and into the Playoffs.

Byron said he was focused on points throughout the race after struggling to pick up stage points early.

“Probably the hardest track to points race,” Byron said.  “We didn’t have a great Stage 2, kind of got back in the pack and got shuffled when everyone went single-file.”

Byron used a late push from Bubba Wallace to get to the front right as Joey Logano got sideways, sparking the accident that collected Johnson.

Byron said he was going for his first career win and a Playoff berth no matter what.

“[Logano and Wallace] made some contact and opened up a hole for me,” Byron said.  “I wasn’t going to lift.  It’s awesome.”

DiBenedetto was the final driver to transfer into the Playoffs, and beat Johnson by six points for the final spot.

DiBenedetto said he was excited to move on and have a shot at the Cup Series Championship.

“We made it, I don’t care how we did it,” DiBenedetto said.  “My goal was to come in here and make it and we had some pretty good competitors, obviously.”

“We’ll celebrate tomorrow and have a good day, then it’s going to be time to get to work.”

DiBenedetto, in his first season with Wood Brothers Racing, said his previous seasons of driving for under-funded teams helped prepare him for the pressure this weekend.

“That was the most stressful situation inside a race car I’ve ever been in my life, hands down,” DiBenedetto said.  “I was calm going into the week, and I really think I have to thank my career path for kind of grooming me for this type of situation.”

“It’s been a tough fight, and it makes me so appreciative of these situations.”

Johnson’s team was able to get his car back on track following his accident, but he fell six points shy of making the Playoffs in his final season.

Johnson said the focus now turns trying to get one final win in the 10 remaining races.

“There’s 10 races left; 10 races to go chase and we’ll have to focus our efforts there,” Johnson said.  “Last three years have been tough, we all know that.  I think we’ve shown some bright spots…Cliff Daniels and these guys on this team have poured their guts out for me.”

“We did all that we could this year; I am so thankful for Hendrick Motorsports and the career that I’ve had here.  I’m not going to dwell on it too much, I don’t know what I could have done differently.”

Unofficial results:

1. William Byron

2. Chase Elliott

3. Denny Hamlin

4. Martin Truex Jr.

5. Bubba Wallace

6. Ryan Blaney

7. Alex Bowman

8. Brendan Gaughan

9. Chris Buescher

10. Brad Keselowski

11. John Hunter Nemechek

12. Matt DiBenedetto

13. Christopher Bell

14. Michael McDowell

15. Brennan Poole

16. Ross Chastain

17. Jimmie Johnson

18. Aric Almirola

19. Clint Bowyer

20. Kevin Harvick

21. Corey LaJoie

22. Ty Dillon

23. Quin Houff

24. Timmy Hill

25. Austin Dillon

26. Daniel Suarez

27. Joey Logano

28. Matt Kenseth

29. Tyler Reddick

30. Cole Custer

31. Joey Gase

32. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

33. Kyle Busch

34. Kurt Busch

35. Erik Jones

37. Ryan Preece

38. Josh Bilicki

39. James Davison

40. JJ Yeley

 Photos courtesy Chris Graythen (Getty Images)

Harvick Dominates in Dover

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kevin Harvick won the Drydene 311 from Dover International Speedway on Sunday afternoon in the second half of a doubleheader weekend.

Harvick was strong throughout the day, and led the most laps and won both stages on his way to a series-leading seventh victory.

Jimmie Johnson took the lead using pit strategy following a late caution, but he was not a match for Harvick on the restart.  When they took the green flag for the final time with 17 laps to go, Harvick was able to get around Johnson and pull away on his way to the checkered flag.

Harvick said his team worked overnight to help make the adjustments needed to win on Sunday.

“Really got to thank everybody on this team,” Harvick said.  “[Crew Chief] Rodney Childers and everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing for overcoming what happened yesterday with the trackbar and being able to nail the balance today.”

After he won the first stage, Harvick clinched the regular season championship, which awards him an additional 15 Playoff Points.  With the Playoffs set to begin in two weeks, Harvick will now have 57 bonus points when it begins.

Harvick said his team must continue to push forward, especially after Denny Hamlin picked up his sixth win on Saturday.

“With Denny winning yesterday, we needed to win today and we’re going to need all the points we can get,” Harvick said.  “As you look at these Playoffs, you just never know what to expect.”

For the second day in a row, Martin Truex Jr. finished second.  With the finish, Truex extended his streak to seven-consecutive races finished inside the Top 3.

Truex said the car was worse Sunday than it was on Saturday, but his team worked hard to challenge for the win.

“We tried some things overnight; definitely didn’t do what we hoped it would do,” Truex said.  “We fought hard…we executed well and came home with a good result.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Martin Truex Jr.

3. Jimmie Johnson

4. William Byron

5. Alex Bowman

6. Joey Logano

7. Aric Almirola

8. Brad Keselowski

9. Austin Dillon

10. Cole Custer

11. Kyle Busch

12. Ryan Blaney

13. Kurt Busch

14. Chris Buescher

15. Matt Kenseth

16. Clint Bowyer

17. Matt DiBenedetto

18. Tyler Reddick

19. Denny Hamlin

20. John Hunter Nemechek

21. Bubba Wallace

22. Erik Jones

23. Corey LaJoie

24. Ryan Newman

25. Michael McDowell

26. Ryan Preece

27. Christopher Bell

28. Daniel Suarez

29. Ty Dillon

30. Brennan Poole

31. BJ McLeod

32. Josh Bilicki

33. Reed Sorenson

34. Quin Houff

35. Garrett Smithley

36. Timmy Hill

37. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

38. JJ Yeley

39. Chase Elliott

40. Joey Gase

Photos courtesy Jared C. Tilton (Getty Images)

Hamlin Dominant in First Half of Dover Doubleheader

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Denny Hamlin dominated the Drydene 311 in the first half of NASCAR’s doubleheader from Dover International Speedway on Saturday afternoon.

Hamlin led a race-high 115 laps throughout the race, but had to fight his way back to the lead in the closing laps.  Hamlin was second as his teammate Martin Truex Jr. struggled in lapped traffic.

Hamlin took the lead with less than 10 laps to go, and he pulled away from Truex over the final eight laps.

After winning his sixth race of the season, Hamlin said he was happy to get back to victory lane after falling short the past few weeks.

“I’ve been running down the leaders these last few weeks but I haven’t been able to get there,” Hamlin said.  “Proud of this whole FedEx team; this Camry was fast today.  Just unbelievable at how good it was.”

The victory was Hamlin’s first at Dover, and he said his team is locked in as the Playoffs are set to begin in two weeks.

“Working as hard as I ever have, and I can’t complain about anything right now,” Hamlin said.  “I’ve just got faith when it comes down to it.  On that last run, when he says ‘go get it,’ I go get it.”

Truex inherited the lead after pit stops cycled around, but he was unable to hold off Hamlin after getting hung up in lapped traffic.

Truex said the combination of lapped traffic and his car’s poor handling made it hard to race Hamlin at the end of the race.

“I think if the 10 [of Aric Almirola] wasn’t pinning it on the bottom in front of me I’d have been fine,” Truex said.  “In the end, we just weren’t good enough.  Nothing I could do, just out-of-control sideways.”

Unofficial results:

1. Denny Hamlin

2. Martin Truex Jr.

3. Kyle Busch

4. Kevin Harvick

5. Chase Elliott

6. Clint Bowyer

7. Jimmie Johnson

8. Joey Logano

9. Brad Keselowski

10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

11. Cole Custer

12. Erik Jones

13. Tyler Reddick

14. Ryan Blaney

15. Austin Dillon

16. Chris Buescher

17. Aric Almirola

18. Ty Dillon

19. Ryan Newman

20. Matt DiBenedetto

21. Alex Bowman

22. Christopher Bell

23. Matt Kenseth

24. John Hunter Nemechek

25. Ryan Preece

26. Michael McDowell

27. Bubba Wallace

28. William Byron

29. Corey LaJoie

30. Daniel Suarez

31. JJ Yeley

32. Josh Bilicki

33. Quin Houff

34. Timmy Hill

35. Joey Gase

36. Brennan Poole

37. Garrett Smithley

38. BJ McLeod

39. Reed Sorenson

40. Kurt Busch

Photos courtesy Hunter Martin & Jared C. Tilton (Getty Images)

Elliott Wins at Historic Daytona Road Course

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Chase Elliott won the Go Bowling 235 on Sunday afternoon from the Daytona International Speedway road course.

The race was the first on the road course for the NASCAR Cup Series.  The weekend, originally scheduled for Watkins Glen International, was moved to Daytona because of the COVID restrictions in New York.

Daytona’s road course is most famously used every year for IMSA’s Rolex 24 – a 24-hour endurance sports car race run in January – and the majority of the drivers in the field had never raced on the track’s configuration.

Elliott said it was an honor to win the first Cup Series race on the historic layout.

“Such a privilege to be here, I don’t take that for granted,” Elliott said.  “To reflect on the history on what has built this place is very special…striving to be there and maybe one day we can be a part of some great things.”

Elliott, who has become one of the strongest drivers on road courses over the past few seasons, ran up front for most of the day, and had a 10-second lead late in the race.  A caution for Kyle Busch set up a late-race shootout between Elliott and Denny Hamlin.

Hamlin tried to force Elliott into a mistake, but Elliott said he tried to be perfect over the final three laps.

“I definitely made a few mistakes, that’s for sure,” Elliott said.  “I feel like we did a solid job.  I felt like I could maintain that gap if I just focused on getting a good drive.”

“I was trying to keep it balanced front to rear, and felt like I could mess up pretty easy if I didn’t hit my marks.”

Hamlin said he needed to be a little closer to force Elliott into making a mistake.

“I just would have liked to stay closer to him to put a little pressure on him on entry,” Hamlin said.  “Just wasn’t quite clean enough the last two laps, but I definitely gave myself a chance.”

Unofficial results:

1. Chase Elliott

2. Denny Hamlin

3. Martin Truex Jr.

4. Jimmie Johnson

5. Chris Buescher

6. Clint Bowyer

7. Kaz Grala

8. William Byron

9. Joey Logano

10. Michael McDowell

11. Erik Jones

12. Alex Bowman

13. Brad Keselowski

14. Kurt Busch

15. Matt DiBenedetto

16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

17. Kevin Harvick

18. Tyler Reddick

19. Ryan Newman

20. Ty Dillon

21. Christopher Bell

22. Cole Custer

23. Ryan Preece

24. Aric Almirola

25. Bubba Wallace

26. Matt Kenseth

27. Daniel Suarez

28. Brennan Poole

29. Timmy Hill

30. James Davison

31. Ryan Blaney

32. Corey LaJoie

33. Quin Houff

34. JJ Yeley

35. John Hunter Nemechek

36. Garrett Smithley

37. Kyle Busch

38. Stanton Barrett

39. Brendan Gaughan

Photos courtesy Brian Lawdermilk and Chris Graythen (Getty Images).

Harvick Bests Hamlin to Complete Michigan Sweep

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kevin Harvick won the Consumers Energy 400 from Michigan International Speedway to complete his weekend sweep on Sunday afternoon.

After dominating on Saturday and starting 20th after the field was inverted, Harvick worked his way to the front with the same car that he drove to victory lane.   While the rest of the field went to work on their cars, Harvick’s team didn’t change anything on the car between the two races.

Harvick was dominant once again, but had to defend against a challenge from Denny Hamlin in the closing laps.  The two winningest drivers of 2020 battled it out over the final 10 laps, but Harvick was able to hold Hamlin off for his sixth win of the season.

Harvick said his car got tight at the end of the race, which allowed Hamlin to close in.

“It was a big challenge,” Harvick said.  “I could run really good through 1 and 2 still, but I was just tight on the other end all day.”

Harvick won both races at Michigan during the weekend, and became the first driver to win back-to-back races on consecutive days since Richard Petty in 1971.

Harvick said the doubleheaders following the COVID break have been a positive for his team.

“For us, it’s worked out pretty well,” Harvick said.  “We’re hoping it goes the same way at Dover when we go there in a couple weeks.”

Hamlin said his team worked overnight to help him keep his speed throughout the race.

“Thought we were kind of a 1-2 combo in both races, even though we didn’t finish second yesterday,” Hamlin said.  “I knew we were going to be pretty good, especially when it cooled off there.”

“We’re just plugging along here; just really hate giving up wins to the 4.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Denny Hamlin

3. Martin Truex Jr.

4. Kyle Busch

5. Joey Logano

6. Aric Almirola

7. Matt DiBendetto

8. Austin Dillon

9. Chase Elliott

10. Kurt Busch

11. Jimmie Johnson

12. William Byron

13. Ryan Newman

14. Clint Bowyer

15. Matt Kenseth

16. Ryan Preece

17. Christopher Bell

18. Ty Dillon

19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

20. Chris Buescher

21. Bubba Wallace

22. Corey LaJoie

23. John Hunter Nemechek

24. Tyler Reddick

25. Cole Custer

26. Daniel Suarez

27. Erik Jones

28. Michael McDowell

29. JJ Yeley

30. Brennan Poole

31. Reed Sorenson

32. Quin Houff

33. Josh Bilicki

34. Garrett Smithley

35. Timmy Hill

36. Alex Bowman

37. James Davison

38. Ryan Blaney

39. Brad Keselowski

Photos courtesy Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

 

Harvick Dominant in First Half of Michigan Doubleheader

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kevin Harvick won the Firekeepers Casino 400 from Michigan International Speedway on Saturday afternoon in the first half of NASCAR’s doubleheader weekend.

Harvick dominated on Saturday, winning both stages on his way to collecting his fifth checkered flag of the season.

For the first time in a points-paying event NASCAR implemented a choose cone, allowing drivers to choose which lane they would restart in.  Chase Elliott was able to use this to get to the front after a string of late cautions, and he and Harvick battled for the lead over multiple restarts.

Harvick said he nearly showed Elliott the way to victory on one of those late restarts.

“I kind of showed my hand there a little early when I passed [Elliott] on the outside,” Harvick said.  “I knew that’s what I didn’t need to happen to us…I just had to keep him from going by us.”

Harvick won with the same car that went to victory lane at Indianapolis in July, and he will use it again in the second half of the Michigan doubleheader on Sunday.

Harvick said bringing a fast car to one of his best tracks helped him pick up the victory.

“This was an awesome car to drive today,” Harvick said.  “I think that the confidence is high when we come to Michigan; it’s a racetrack that’s been really good for us.”

Brad Keselowski finished second after failing to get by Harvick over the final two-lap shootout.

Keselowski said he and the rest of the field have work to do to compete with Harvick on Sunday.

“[Harvick] was just so fast,” Keselowski said.  “I’ve got a couple small ideas but…we’ve got some work to do.  Kevin’s just super-fast on the straightaways, but doesn’t really give up anything in the corner.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Brad Keselowski

3. Martin Truex Jr.

4. Ryan Blaney

5. Kyle Busch

6. Denny Hamlin

7. Chase Elliott

8. Joey Logano

9. Bubba Wallace

10. Kurt Busch

11. Erik Jones

12. Jimmie Johnson

13. Christopher Bell

14. William Byron

15. Matt DiBenedetto

16. Aric Almirola

17. Matt Kenseth

18. Tyler Reddick

19. Clint Bowyer

20. Chris Buescher

21. Alex Bowman

22. Corey LaJoie

23. Ty Dillon

24. Daniel Suarez

25. Ryan Preece

26. JJ Yeley

27. Quin Houff

28. Ryan Newman

29. Michael McDowell

30. Reed Sorenson

31. Austin Dillon

32. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

33. Timmy Hill

34. Cole Custer

35. Garrett Smithley

36. John Hunter Nemechek

37. Brennan Poole

38. James Davison

39. Joey Gase

Photos courtesy Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Keselowski Dominant in New Hampshire

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Brad Keselowski won the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 from New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon for his third win of 2020.

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Keselowski had a fast car all day, and battled Denny Hamlin throughout most of the race.  The two drivers restarted up front to begin the final stage of the race, and Keselowski was able to get to the lead and pull away from Hamlin.

Keselowski said his team has pushed him to continue to elevate his performance this season.

“I probably needed a kick in the ass,” Keselowski said.  “This whole team’s been a kick in the butt for me; they make me a little better.”

Keselowski led a race-high 189 laps on Sunday, including the final 80 laps.

After the dominant performance, Keselowski said a run like this was what his team needed to contend.

“We’ve had a lot of great races this year with the 2 car,” Keselowski said.  “We just hadn’t really gone out and dominated a race.  We’re right there…I’m in a great spot here and hungry for more wins.”

“I don’t want to stop here.  I want us to keep going and I know this team can do it.”

Unofficial results:

1. Brad Keselowski

2. Denny Hamlin

3. Martin Truex Jr.

4. Joey Logano

5. Kevin Harvick

6. Matt DiBenedetto

7. Aric Almirola

8. Cole Custer

9. Chase Elliott

10. Tyler Reddick

11. William Byron

12. Jimmie Johnson

13. Austin Dillon

14. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

15. Alex Bowman

16. Ryan Preece

17. Kurt Busch

18. Clint Bowyer

19. Michael McDowell

20. Ryan Blaney

21. Ryan Newman

22. Ty Dillon

23. Bubba Wallace

24. Erik Jones

25. Chris Buescher

26. Daniel Suarez

27. Brennan Poole

28. Christopher Bell

29. JJ Yeley

30. James Davison

31. Garrett Smithley

32. Quin Houff

33. Timmy Hill

34. Joey Gase

35. Corey LaJoie

36. John Hunter Nemechek

37. Matt Kenseth

38. Kyle Busch

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images