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

Hamlin Wins at Kansas

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Denny Hamlin won the Super Start Batteries 400 from Kansas Speedway on Thursday night for his fifth win of the season.

Hamlin had a fast car throughout the night, but had to chase down Kevin Harvick following the final restart.  After pulling away, Brad Keselowski slowly reeled Hamlin back in.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Hamlin was able to hold off Keselowski over the final 12 laps to pick up his second-consecutive Kansas victory.

Hamlin said he was able to make his car work where Harvick’s couldn’t to get the win.

“I saw [Harvick] getting loose,” Hamlin said.  “Usually when you’re loose, you aren’t able to run up high, and that was the benefit for us to be able to get that momentum going.”

Hamlin said he feels he has a perfect team that can help him win any weekend.

“We can win any given week and that’s something that’s really hard to come by,” Hamlin said.  “I don’t know if we had the best car; we definitely had a Top 3 car all day, but just went and got it there at the end.”

Keselowski took four tires during the final caution while Hamlin only took two, but Keselowski ran out of laps to chase Hamlin down.

Keselowski said the Joe Gibbs Racing cars were too good on restarts, which ended up being the difference.

“We were pretty equal; [Hamlin] had two tires, I had four tires, but he was just really strong on restarts,” Keselowski said.  “He and the Gibbs cars could pull everybody by about a car length on the restarts, and they did a great job taking advantage of it.”

“Thought [we were] even on the racetrack, just a little bit behind on the restarts.”

Unofficial results:

1. Denny Hamlin

2. Brad Keselowski

3. Martin Truex Jr.

4. Kevin Harvick

5. Erik Jones

6. Aric Almirola

7. Cole Custer

8. Alex Bowman

9. Kurt Busch

10. William Byron

11. Kyle Busch

12. Chase Elliott

13. Tyler Reddick

14. Clint Bowyer

15. Ty Dillon

16. Michael McDowell

17. Matt Kenseth

18. Daniel Suarez

19. John Hunter Nemechek

20. Ryan Blaney

21. Corey LaJoie

22. JJ Yeley

23. Christopher Bell

24. Quin Houff

25. Josh Bilicki

26. Garrett Smithley

27. Austin Dillon

28. Ryan Newman

29. Joey Gase

30. Brennan Poole

31. Reed Sorenson

32. Jimmie Johnson

33. Chris Buescher

34. Ryan Preece

35. Joey Logano

36. Matt DiBenedetto

37. Bubba Wallace

38. Timmy Hill

39. BJ McLeod

40. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Austin Dillon Wins at Texas

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Austin Dillon won the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 from Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Dillon was able to use pit strategy to get to the front late in the race, and he took the lead from teammate Tyler Reddick on a late restart with 22 laps to go.  Dillon continued to lead over two following restarts, and held off Reddick, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch to win his first race of 2020.

Dillon said he was able to change up his restarts to keep the competition behind him in the closing laps.

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

“I had to change it up a couple times,” Dillon said.  “Definitely had to earn it; I changed it up.  Waited the second one and went on the last one, so it worked out for me.”

One week after Cole Custer won to lock himself into the Playoffs, and knock Dillon out in the process, Dillon was able to lock himself into the Playoffs. 

Dillon said the victory was the result of his team’s fast cars they’ve been bringing to the track all season.

“This has been coming; we’ve had good cars all year,” Dillon said.  “It means a lot for the family and for our partners.”

Reddick finished second on Sunday for Richard Childress Racing’s first 1-2 finish since 2011.

After getting burned by a mid-race tire strategy call, Reddick said his team worked hard to get back into contention.

“We just couldn’t get our Camaro back in contention after we took right sides,” Reddick said.  “It really shifted the balance of our Camaro and that just put us behind.”

Reddick said he wanted to make sure the battle for the lead was between teammates in the closing laps and didn’t want Logano or Busch to get involved.

“I just wanted it to be between us,” Reddick said.  “I didn’t want to bring other cars into it; make sure we could fight it out.  There was one restart I probably could have…went to his inside.  Unfortunately, we just couldn’t get it done today.”

“Hats off to the 3, all those guys.  Gets one RCR Chevrolet to the Playoffs and now we’re below the cutline.  If we keep running like this, we won’t have to worry about points.”

Unofficial results:

1. Austin Dillon

2. Tyler Reddick

3. Joey Logano

4. Kyle Busch

5. Kevin Harvick

6. Erik Jones

7. Ryan Blaney

8. Kurt Busch

9. Brad Keselowski

10. Aric Almirola

11. Clint Bowyer

12. Chase Elliott

13. Ryan Newman

14. Buba Wallace

15. Michael McDowell

16. Corey LaJoie

17. Matt DiBenedetto

18. Matt Kenseth

19. Chris Buescher

20. Denny Hamlin

21. Christopher Bell

22. John Hunter Nemechek

23. Daniel Suarez

24. JJ Yeley

25. Gray Gaulding

26. Jimmie Johnson

27. Brennan Poole

28. Reed Sorenson

29. Martin Truex Jr.

30. Alex Bowman

31. Josh Bilicki

32. Joey Gase

33. BJ McLeod

34. Quin Houff

35. Ty Dillon

36. Timmy Hill

37. William Byron

38. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

39. Cole Custer

40. Ryan Preece

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Elliott Wins All-Star Million

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Chase Elliott won the All-Star Race from Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday night.

Elliott had a strong car throughout the race, and quickly worked his way up to the front by the end of the first stage.  After racing with Kevin Harvick and Ryan Blaney for the majority of Stages 2 and 3, Elliott had to hold off Kyle Busch over the final 15-lap stage to pick up his first All-Star Race win and the $1 million prize.

Elliott said the win was a good reminder of what his team is capable of after struggling the past few weeks.

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

“Just really proud of our team tonight and to rebound,” Elliott said.  “We’ve had a pretty rough couple of weeks and just felt like we’ve kind of gotten off-base and felt like I was struggling.  Tried to hit the reset button this week and came out and put on a great performance.”

An exhibition race featuring the race winners from the past year, the All-Star Race was moved to Bristol due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Bristol allowed nearly 25,000 fans at the event, and it was the first time since 1986 that the event was not held at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Elliott, NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver, said it was exciting to win at Bristol in front of the largest crowd since the pandemic began.

“Bristol is an electric atmosphere that is unlike any other that we go to,” Elliott said.  “What a better night to have fans back than tonight.”

Busch tried throughout the race to get the high line worked in, but he ultimately fell short by about a half-second to Elliott.

Busch said if the outside line had come in he may have been able to challenge Elliott for the win.

“Just wasn’t quite wide enough,” Busch said.  “If it was a little wider and you could carry a little bit more speed with it, I might have had a chance.  I knew I wasn’t going to catch him or pass him if I was down there; I had to do something different.”

Unofficial results:

1. Chase Elliott

2. Kyle Busch

3. Kevin Harvick

4. Brad Keselowski

5. Denny Hamlin

6. Ryan Blaney

7. Joey Logano

8. Alex Bowman

9. Aric Almirola

10. Martin Truex Jr.

11. Erik Jones

12. William Byron

13. Matt DiBenedetto

14. Justin Haley

15. Clint Bowyer

16. Cole Custer

17. Jimmie Johnson

18. Matt Kenseth

19. Ryan Newman

20. Kurt Busch

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Custer Wins Following Thrilling Kentucky Finish

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Cole Custer won the Quaker State 400 from Kentucky Speedway on Sunday afternoon to pick up his first career victory.

Custer became the first rookie to win at Kentucky since the Cup Series began racing there in 2011.

Rob Carr/Getty Images

Custer, who has struggled adapting to the competition of the Cup Series so far this season, said he was not expecting to get the victory at a track where drivers consistently struggle to pass.

“We were so good all day,” Custer said.  “Our car was so good; obviously it wasn’t the easiest track to pass on so we were kind of stuck back there.  I didn’t think we were coming here coming to win.”

After two wild restarts late in the race, Custer took the leaders four-wide coming to the white flag to take the lead.  While Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick battled on the inside, Matt DiBenedetto gave Custer a push that sent the rookie to victory lane.

With the victory, Custer became the first rookie to win in the Cup Series since Chris Buescher went to victory lane in 2016 at Pocono.

Custer said he and his team have been focused on getting acclimated to the Cup Series competition.

“It definitely wasn’t the start to the year that I wanted,” Custer said.  “We were definitely off at some places, but this was…an unbelievable car.  We put it all together and I just can’t thank everybody enough.”

Martin Truex Jr. finished second on Sunday after starting at the back of the field for failing pre-race inspection twice.

Truex found himself on the losing end of two calls by NASCAR late in the race, when the cautions came out while he was side-by-side with the leader.

Truex said he had to shift his focus after losing out on those two calls with the laps winding down.

“At the end there, just a bit unlucky,” Truex said.  “That’s just kind of how these things go sometimes.”

“Just an unbelievable racecar.  Everybody back at Joe Gibbs Racing just went to work this week trying to get back to what we used to do here.  Proud of the effort; feel like we’re back in the game now.”

Unofficial results:

1. Cole Custer

2. Martin Truex Jr.

3. Matt DiBenedetto

4. Kevin Harvick

5. Kurt Busch

6. Ryan Blaney

7. Christopher Bell

8. Aric Almirola

9. Brad Keselowski

10. Tyler Reddick

11. William Byron

12. Denny Hamlin

13. Austin Dillon

14. Clint Bowyer

15. Joey Logano

16. Ty Dillon

17. Ryan Newman

18. Jimmie Johnson

19. Alex Bowman

20. Chris Buescher

21. Kyle Busch

22. Erik Jones

23. Chase Elliott

24. Michael McDowell

25. Matt Kenseth

26. Daniel Suarez

27. Bubba Wallace

28. Corey LaJoie

29. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

30. JJ Yeley

31. Brennan Poole

32. Josh Bilicki

33. Garrett Smithley

34. Joey Gase

35. Quin Houff

36. John Hunter Nemechek

37. Timmy Hill

38. Ryan Preece

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Harvick Continues to Dominate with Brickyard Victory

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kevin Harvick won the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Harvick battled with Denny Hamlin throughout the day as the two fastest cars.  After Hamlin’s tire went down with seven laps to go, Harvick was able to hold off Matt Kenseth during an overtime finish to win his third Brickyard 400.

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Harvick said winning at Indianapolis was a childhood dream when he was growing up.

“It’s the Brickyard man, this is what I grew up wanting to do as a kid,” Harvick said.  “To be able to come here, and have won for the third time, is something I could have never dreamed of.”

Throughout the race, Hamlin’s tire wear was worse than Harvick, and his crew chief told him to keep pressure on Hamlin over the final run. 

Harvick said he tried all he could to get Hamlin to overdrive his car.

“[Crew chief Rodney Childers] told me on the radio, ‘just make sure you keep the pressure on him,’ and that was all the pressure I could give,” Harvick said.  “We knew he was going to be really close on tires.”

Hamlin said he was disappointed his race ended early after having such a good car.

“It’s tough, I hate it for the FedEx team,” Hamlin said.  “We did what we needed to do; just didn’t work out.  Had a fast car, obviously.”

Kenseth finished second, and said he tried what he could to hang with Harvick on the final restart.

“The 4 [of Harvick], they were just really, really fast,” Kenseth said.  “I could run a little faster, but I could never get enough of a run to make the pass.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Matt Kenseth

3. Aric Almirola

4. Brad Keselowski

5. Cole Custer

6. Kyle Busch

7. Michael McDowell

8. Tyler Reddick

9. Bubba Wallace

10. Joey Logano

11. Chase Elliott

12. Christopher Bell

13. Kurt Busch

14. Ty Dillon

15. John Hunter Nemechek

16. Clint Bowyer

17. Ross Chastain

18. Austin Dillon

19. Matt DiBenedetto

20. Daniel Suarez

21. JJ Yeley

22. BJ McLeod

23. Quin Houff

24. Garrett Smithley

25. Josh Bilicki

26. Joey Gase

27. William Byron

28. Denny Hamlin

29. Timmy Hill

30. Alex Bowman

31. Chris Buescher

32. Ryan Blaney

33. Erik Jones

34. Ryan Newman

35. Brennan Poole

36. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

37. Justin Allgaier

38. Martin Truex Jr.

39. Corey LaJoie

40. Ryan Preece

Chris Graythen/Getty Images