NASCAR is celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the United States Navy this weekend, with a one-of-a-kind spectacle in San Diego, California. An event more than two years in the making, NASCAR, for the first time in the sport’s history, will compete on an active Navy Base, when the Cup, O’Reilly, and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series rip around the 16-turn, 3.4-mile street course on Naval Base Coronado.

When it comes to the overall aesthetic, Naval Base Coronado provides one of the most scenic backdrops in motorsports, with the Pacific Ocean and the contents of the Naval Base on display as drivers make laps around the longest course on the NASCAR circuit. To commemorate this moment in history, more than half of the entries across NASCAR’s National Series will feature a special patriotic or Navy-themed design.

The racetrack itself, though, brings its own challenge for the drivers, and now, as they’ve finally gotten the opportunity to check it out – some in-person, some in the simulator, and others on iRacing – there’s some real anticipation building for what some drivers believe is going to be one of the toughest road course events in NASCAR history, on what some drivers have gone as far as calling a “really fast and sketchy” course.

Chris Buescher has long been considered one of the most underrated drivers on road courses in the NASCAR Cup Series and is among the drivers who believe the Anduril 250 is going to provide some major difficulties, saying that he thinks it’ll be “the hardest road race that anybody in the garage has ever run”.

This story includes further quotes from NASCAR Cup Series drivers Chase Briscoe, Chris Buescher, Zane Smith, Connor Zilisch, Shane Van Gisbergen, and Ryan Blaney. The rest of it can be read, for free, on JosephSrigley.com.

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This weekend, executives from Toyota left Michigan with a smile, sweeping the ARCA Menards Series, NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, and NASCAR Cup Series events with drivers Gio Ruggiero, Corey Heim, and Denny Hamlin.

Before on-track activity began for the NASCAR Cup Series on Saturday, we heard from Richard Childress, owner of Richard Childress Racing, for the first time since the unexpected passing of his driver, Kyle Busch.

Childress thanked the media for their well-wishes and support, as well as their patience as Richard Childress Racing navigates the matter, but spoke about two major things regarding Busch and the future of RCR’s second entry.

First was the heart-wrenching news that Richard Childress and Kyle Busch had originally planned to sit together in the media center at Michigan International Speedway, confirming that Busch planned to return to the No. 8 in 2027.

RCR Planned to Announce Contract Extension with Kyle Busch at Michigan

Second, there was confirmation that Austin Hill, a full-timer in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, will run the remainder of the season in the No. 33 Chevrolet Camaro. Hill had driven the car at Charlotte and Nashville in the immediate aftermath of Busch’s passing, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Austin Hill to Drive RCR No. 33 for Remainder of 2026

On-track activity from Brooklyn, Michigan, started on Friday with the ARCA Menards Series, and qualifying produced an incredible surprise: Cleetus McFarland, in just his eighth start in the ARCA Menards Series for Rette Jones Racing, rocketed to the top of the speed charts.

Cleetus McFarland Scores First ARCA Pole at Michigan

That race didn’t quite make it to its scheduled distance, with Mother Nature interupting the 100-lap contest, and handing Gio Ruggiero, driver of the No. 18 First Auto Group Toyota Camry, his third ARCA Menards Series victory of 2026.

McFarland finished outside the top-10 after being involved in a late-race incident with Ryan Vargas, Andy Jankowiak, and Jason Kitzmiller.

Saturday at Michigan International Speedway belonged to the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (for the most part). Gio Ruggiero was quickest in practice for the DQS Staffing & Solutions 250 over Corey Heim and Cole Butcher, but when it came time to qualify, it was Ty Majeski, driving the No. 88 Menards Ford F-150, that took the pole.

It was the 13th NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series pole for Majeski, and the second straight year a ThorSport Racing driver had started on pole at Michigan (after Luke Fenhaus won the pole in 2025).

Ty Majeski Clinches Truck Series Pole at Michigan

Corey Heim, driving the No. 1 CELSIUS Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for TRICON Garage, started 23rd in Saturday’s 250-miler at Michigan, but in typical Corey Heim fashion, quickly jumped into action and competed for the victory.

The Marietta, Georgia-native collected the victory over his teammate Kaden Honeycutt, after things got tense on the final lap, with slight contact being made between the two drivers, and nearly resulting in a last-lap crash with the leaders.

It’s the 26th NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win for Heim, and the third of 2026 for the driver who has been announced to run full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series for 23XI Racing.

Corey Heim Outlasts Teammate Honeycutt to Win at Michigan

The NASCAR Cup Series hit the racetrack for the first time on Saturday evening, with practice and qualifying taking place after the DQS Staffing & Solutions 250 at Michigan International Speedway for the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.

There were some… issues with tires in practice, for Denny Hamlin, Austin Cindric, and others. But, that didn’t stop the driver of the No. 11 National Debt Relief Toyota Camry XSE from laying down a heater in qualifying — winning his 50th NASCAR Cup Series pole.

Hamlin joins Richard Petty, David Pearson, Jeff Gordon, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Allison, and Denny Hamlin as drivers who have won 50 (or more) NASCAR Cup Series events and 50 (or more) NASCAR Cup Series poles.

Denny Hamlin Joins 50-50 Club With Michigan Pole

The FireKeepers Casino 400 produced a record number of caution flags for a NASCAR Cup Series event at Michigan International Speedway, with 11, and had an interesting dynamic until the final run of the race, with several heavy-hitters being mired back in the pack.

On Lap 148, Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott were involved in the worst accident of the afternoon, when Elliott snapped loose and shot up the racetrack into the side of Bell, sending both drivers careening into the outside wall at full speed.

Bell and Elliott climbed from their race cars and were checked and released from the infield care center, but team owner Joe Gibbs said Sunday that there may be some concern over injuries to Bell’s wrist and ankle.

Elliott, Bell Exit Cars After Horrifying Wreck at Michigan

Now, during the final run of the race, the entire complexion changed; with Denny Hamlin shooting by Daniel Suarez for the lead on the restart and CHECKING OUT, pulling away to a ridiculous lead by the end of the 200-lap contest, winning by 11.110 seconds.

Denny Hamlin Goes Back-to-Back With Lights-Out Michigan Win

WEEKEND RACE RESULTS:

ARCA MENARDS SERIES - HENRY FORD HEALTH 200:

1. #18 Gio Ruggiero

2. #20 Jake Bollman

3. #25 Gavan Boschele

4. #28 Connor Mosack

5. #77 Lanie Buice

6. #70 Thomas Annunziata

7. #55 Isabella Robusto

8. #69 Will Kimmel

9. #15 Wesley Slimp

10. #0 George Siciliano

NASCAR TRUCK SERIES - DQS SOLUTIONS & STAFFING 250:

1. #1 Corey Heim

2. #11 Kaden Honeycutt

3. #77 Carson Hocevar

4. #34 Layne Riggs

5. #38 Chandler Smith

6. #62 Christopher Bell

7. #42 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.

8. #7 Connor Mosack

9. #98 Jake Garcia

10. #18 Tyler Ankrum

NASCAR CUP SERIES - FIREKEEPERS CASINO 400:

1. #11 Denny Hamlin

2. #43 Erik Jones

3. #23 Bubba Wallace

4. #5 Kyle Larson

5. #77 Carson Hocevar

6. #7 Daniel Suarez

7. #22 Joey Logano

8. #12 Ryan Blaney

9. #17 Chris Buescher

10. #19 Chase Briscoe

WEEKEND STATS:

The NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and ARCA Menards Series will head to Pocono Raceway next weekend. Coverage will be on FS1 (ARCA), The CW (O’Reilly) and Prime Video (Cup).

ON THIS DAY, the NASCAR Cup Series brought several storylines to Madison, Illinois. Chase Elliott had just returned from a leg injury, only to be suspended for intentionally wrecking Denny Hamlin at Charlotte. That led to Corey LaJoie getting the opportunity to drive the No. 9 and rising star Carson Hocevar getting to make his Cup Series debut.

However, we reflect on this particular day for a more somber reason: Kyle Busch, driving the No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing, captured his 63rd (and final) NASCAR Cup Series victory in this race. After this triumph, Busch would continue searching for Victory Lane for the better part of three years, to no avail, before his unexpected passing on May 21, 2026.

The Las Vegas, Nevada-native was having a fantastic start to the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series campaign, collecting victories at Auto Club Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. World Wide Technology Raceway (known by many as Gateway) served as the 15th race of the driver’s first season behind the wheel of the RCR No. 8.

That afternoon in Madison, Illinois, was peak Kyle Busch.

Starting the race from the pole, leading the most laps, and ending up in Victory Lane – no drama, no controversy, no bad luck or pit stops, no mistakes, NOTHING. Just a lights-out fast Chevrolet from Richard Childress Racing, and a start-to-finish butt-whooping. Sure, he didn’t always control the race. Still, in true Kyle Busch fashion, he pounced when the opportunity presented itself, got the lead, and endured five restarts, plus NASCAR Overtime (all of which he executed perfectly, by the way) to get the checkered flag.

This race was some much-needed proof that although Busch was no longer associated with a juggernaut team like Joe Gibbs Racing, the all-time wins leader across NASCAR’s National Series could still pull off a dominant performance as he did. Not to mention, it was a sigh of relief to the legion of Kyle Busch fans, who were concerned that the move to Richard Childress Racing wouldn’t bear fruit.

Of course, looking back on this day, knowing what we know now, makes it bittersweet.

It’s been a whole week, but the NASCAR industry continues to struggle grasping the sudden and unexpected passing of two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Kyle Busch, who passed away May 21 after complications from severe pneumonia turned into sepsis.

Busch has been a larger-than-life figure in the world of NASCAR and professional motorsports for more than two decades, and in the process, has touched and inspired hundreds (if not thousands); between his mind-boggling success on-track, and his off-track successes, both as a father, and a business owner (with his race team, Kyle Busch Motorsports).

Instead of the usual excitement, hustle, and bustle surrounding Charlotte Motor Speedway and its Memorial Day Weekend festivities, this year, the environment was eerily silent, somber, and heartwrenching, as NASCAR went to the racetrack, for the first time in a long time, sans Kyle Busch.

The day before the Coca-Cola 600, instead of NASCAR’s usual mandatory media obligations, the sanctioning body left it up to the drivers on whether they wanted to speak to reporters. What followed was some of Busch’s biggest adversaries, closest friends, and drivers that he assisted coming through the ranks, coming to the Media Center to tell heartwarming stories about the fallen driver.

It was a cathartic experience for a community of industry members, teammates, and fans who came together to mourn and celebrate the life of one of the best drivers to ever step foot in a NASCAR Cup Series vehicle.

All of these off-track stories that we heard last weekend at Charlotte, the ones about Busch and his life-of-the-party personality and quick wit, are the things we don’t get to hear much about, and definitely not as much as we hear about the on-track stories and accolades.

But, those on-track stats… man, are they legendary.

It's been a week since we lost Kyle Busch. A two-time champion and NASCAR's winningest driver, Busch has a career worth of accolades that will likely never be matched. #SrigleyStats dives into the illustrious career of NASCAR's 'American Badass':

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KYLE BUSCH (1985-2026):

• NASCAR Legend Kyle Busch Passes Away at The Age of 41

• Tributes Flood In as NASCAR Community Mourns Loss of Kyle Busch

• Austin Dillon Pens Heartfelt Letter to Late Teammate Kyle Busch

• RCR to Suspend Use of No. 8; Will Run No. 33 Moving Forward

• Bush Family Reveals Cause of Death: ‘Severe Pneumonia Progressed into Sepsis’

• Joe Gibbs Reflects on Special Moments from Kyle Busch’s Tenure at JGR

• Busch Family Joins NASCAR Community in Honoring Late Kyle Busch at Charlotte

As it did when Dale Earnhardt died in February 2001, NASCAR chose to go forward with this weekend’s events at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but did so with Kyle Busch on the top of our minds. Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s recently appointed Chief Executive Officer, spoke to the industry on Friday, providing his thoughts on Busch’s passing and addressing how NASCAR will move forward.

Mother Nature made it quite difficult to get the weekend into a rhythm, though.

On Friday, inclement weather forced the cancellation of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series practice and qualifying from Charlotte, meaning the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST (supposed to be driven by Busch this weekend at Charlotte) would start from the pole — with Hendrick Motorsports driver Corey Day serving as the fill-in.

Corey Day, in Kyle Busch’s Truck, Starting First at Charlotte After Qualifying Canceled

Sadly, the rain stuck around Charlotte Motor Speedway throughout the evening hours of Friday, and the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 was postponed until Saturday at 8:00 AM ET. But, when teams returned to the track in the morning… the rain was there, too, so NASCAR had to postpone it again, until after the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event (planned for 9:00 PM ET).

Now, the rain DID stop at one point on Saturday, and allowed the NASCAR Cup Series to get a 45-minute practice session in, which was paced by Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and HYAK Motorsports. Qualifying was canceled, and Tyler Reddick started on the pole due to NASCAR’s Performance Metric.

None of NASCAR’s National Series ended up qualifying at Charlotte this weekend.

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series was lucky enough to find a small window to at least start the Charbroil 300 at its scheduled time (5:00 PM on Saturday), but after 33 laps, the rain started falling and forced a multi-hour delay.

It was approximately 10:00 PM ET when NASCAR was able to get the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series back on the racetrack, and the conditions were not good, at all, with an incredibly low ceiling, pretty heavy fog, and a light mist around the 1.5-mile racetrack.

The poor visibility resulted in a couple of accidents, first with Brent Crews, Brandon Jones, and Harrison Burton. Then, later on, when Dawson Cram blew an engine in Turn 1, NASCAR didn’t throw the caution and let the entire field slide on the oil into the corner, ruining the nights of several drivers.

When NASCAR elected to run 18 laps under caution (partly because of a long cleanup and partly because of poor weather conditions), some of those nights were saved because the sanctioning body ran the race until it was “official” (the end of Stage 2), pulled cars onto pit road, and declared the race official within minutes.

In the race-lead at that time? Ross Chastain, who had just put on a fantastic show with Jesse Love swapping the lead back and forth before the caution (and then smacked the outside wall after driving through the oil).

Top-10: #9-Chastain, #2-Love, #21-Hill, #18-Sawalich, #17-Day, #1-Zilisch, #39-RSieg, #0-Custer, #91-Kvapil, #88-Caruth

Ross Chastain Wins Shortened Charbroil 300

Jesse Love (driving for Richard Childress Racing finished second, but was fuming over the radio about how NASCAR handled the entire situation.

“We’re really going to run this shit out, aren’t we?”

“Tell the tower I said this is ridiculous, all day.”

“Fucking joke.”

Love, realizing he was going to have to do an interview, settled down a bit, but when talking to Kim Coon, was reflective on the entire situation, and the passing of his teammate and “first hero”, Kyle Busch.

“I was really mad when I got out of the car, for obvious reasons, being on top of the pit box, and realized I gotta do an interview, and then I kind of realized if this week has taught us anything, it’s that this all doesn’t matter as much as we think it does, right?”

Jesse Love Frustrated, Reflective After ‘Complete Joke’ of Finish at Charlotte

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, originally scheduled to run after the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series on Saturday, was postponed for the third time, and would run the morning of the Coca-Cola 600 at 10:00 AM.

…and there wasn’t a single drop of rain!

BUT, NASCAR set an Adverse Conditions Time of Noon ET, and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers… well, they set a new single-race record for cautions at Charlotte Motor Speedway, meaning the race didn’t actually get to run to full distance.

The sentimental favorite to win Sunday’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 was Corey Day, driving Kyle Busch’s No. 7. But, the Hendrick Motorsports development driver was involved in a scary-looking wreck, where his truck lifted off the ground on the backstretch. Luckily, it set back down on the ground, and while it slammed the inside SAFER Barrier and clipped Mini Tyrrell, Day was able to emerge unhurt.

Corey Day Goes Airborne in Frightening Crash on Charlotte Backstretch

When the clock ran out, after 110 of 134 scheduled laps, Layne Riggs was out in front in the No. 34 UNC Charlotte Ford F-150 for Front Row Motorsports, taking his second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory and the seventh of his career.

TOP-10: #34-Riggs, #11-Honeycutt, #77-Zilisch, #99-Rhodes, #17-Ruggiero, #91-Eckes, #1-Jones, #15-Gray, #4-Stenhouse, #5-Sawalich

Layne Riggs Snags Clock-Shortened Win at Charlotte

After FINALLY getting that NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event complete, there was a bit of a break in the action from Charlotte Motor Speedway… just enough time to flip the channel to FOX for the Indianapolis 500.

Katherine Legge’s dream of completing all 1,100 miles came to a crashing halt pretty early in the Indianapolis 500, after crashing off Turn 2 trying to avoid the spinning Ryan Hunter-Reay — ending her day after just 18 laps.

Sunday’s 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 broke two pretty substantial records, by having 70 lead changes (the most all-time), and a margin of victory of just 0.0233 seconds (the closest ever) after an intense one-lap shootout.

Felix Rosenqvist Beats David Malukas in Closest Indy 500 Finish Ever

It was Felix Rosenqvist, who many thought was one of the fastest cars in Indianapolis entering “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”, that slingshotted out of a double-wide situation with teammate Marcus Armstrong to nip David Malukas at the line.

David Malukas Devastated After Another Runner-Up Finish in Indianapolis 500

Malukas, after finishing runner-up in the Indy 500 for the second straight year, was understandably devastated after emerging from his No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet.

“I don’t know what else we could have done. We were the fastest car that whole race, I just, I don’t know, I gave it 150%,” said Malukas, tearfully. “I mean, I almost crashed this damn car every lap, and we still end up with second man, I just can’t believe it, I don’t know what else I can give.”

Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 started with the sport honoring Kyle Busch.

Samantha (wife), Brexton (son), Lennix (daughter), Tom (father), Gaye (mother), and Kurt Busch (brother) were all present at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, as the entire NASCAR fanbase and industry gathered with them to honor a legend.

Busch Family Joins NASCAR Community in Honoring Late Kyle Busch at Charlotte

When the race got started, there was no more time to dwell on the sadness that hung in the air at Charlotte Motor Speedway, as drivers had a job to do, survive NASCAR’s longest night, and be there at the end to challenge for the win.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Hard Crash Knocks Cindric, Zillisch Out of Coca-Cola 600

• Chase Elliott Crashes Out of Coca-Cola 600 at End of Stage 1

• Ross Chastain Crashes Hard on Backstretch Late in Coca-Cola 600

• Briscoe, Preece, Buescher Destroyed in Multi-Car Accident at Lap 329

It was the usual suspects up front throughout the opening three-quarters of Sunday’s event, with the four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers, Tyler Reddick, and Kyle Larson battling amongst themselves for spots in the top-six.

The final stage, though, that’s where things started to get interesting…

Shane Van Gisbergen, running his second Coca-Cola 600, spent most of the evening inside the top-10, and at some points challenged for a top-five, but in the final stage, when crew chiefs were thinking there was rain in the area, the No. 97 tried a strategy, and it worked to get the Auckland, New Zealand-native in the lead.

The rain didn’t come quickly enough, though, and Van Gisbergen dropped to fifth on a subsequent restart. That’s when things started to get interesting, though. On Lap 354, NASCAR displayed a caution for a lightning strike, which typically means a 30-minute weather delay.

But, NASCAR, with a meteorologist apparently on-site, cleared the lightning clock upon review, seeing as the lightning strike was six miles away and moving away from the racetrack. So, NASCAR sent the field down pit road.

Ryan Sparks, crew chief for the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, was the ONLY crew chief on pit road willing to do something different, putting two tires on Daniel Suarez’s Freeway Insurance machine.

The race got back going, and that is where everybody thought Suarez would be doomed, but the Monterrey, Mexico-native held off the oncoming Joe Gibbs Racing cars for a couple of laps, before a caution came out for rain. That didn’t just happen once; almost the same scenario happened again a couple of laps later, and Suarez still didn’t lose the lead, with both yellows coming mere moments before the Gibbs cars could get to the No. 7.

Then it started to pour… and before you could blink, Daniel Suarez was the Coca-Cola 600 winner.

Daniel Suarez Gambles on Two Tires; Wins Rain-Shortened Coca-Cola 600

“This one really means a lot. I’ve been saying for years that this is my favorite race of the year, I get to have my family here, every year, this is most of the time the only race that they get to come. This has been a very tough week. Kyle [Busch], he was special man. This one is for Kyle. For Kyle, Samantha, Brexton, Lennix, for all of his family.”

This one was for Kyle Busch.

Kyle Busch, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and the winningest driver in NASCAR’s top-three series, has passed away after a sudden and severe illness on Thursday.

Busch, a 63-time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, 102-time winner in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and 69-time winner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, was the full-time driver of Richard Childress Racing’s No. 8 Chevrolet.

“On behalf of the Busch family, everyone at Richard Childress Racing, and all of NASCAR, we are devastated to announce the sudden and tragic passing of Kyle Busch,” a statement reads. “Our entire NASCAR family is heartbroken by the loss of Kyle Busch. A future Hall of Famer, Kyle was a rare talent, one who comes along once in a generation. He was fierce, he was passionate, he was immensely skilled, and he cared deeply about the sport and fans.

Throughout a career that spanned more than two decades, Kyle set records in national series wins, won championships at NASCAR’s highest level, and fostered the next generation of drivers as an owner in the Truck Series. His sharp wit and competitive spirit sparked a deep emotional connection with racec fans of every age, creating the proud and loyal ‘Rowdy Nation’. Our thoughts are with Samantha, Brexton, and Lennix, Kyle and Samantha’s parents, Kurt, and all of Kyle’s family, Richard and Judy Childress, everyone at Richard Childress Racing, his teammates, friends, and fans. NASCAR lost a giant of the sport today, far too soon.”

“During this incredibly difficult time, we ask everyone to respect the family’s privacy and continue to keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Further updates will be shared as appropriate.”

TRIBUTES FLOOD IN AS NASCAR REMEMBERS LEGEND KYLE BUSCH
NASCAR LEGEND KYLE BUSCH DEAD AT 41

The folks at Prime Video allowed JosephSrigley.com to check out the film-length documentary ahead of its release.

Kyle Larson vs The Double: The Story of the Prizefight That Humanized A NASCAR Champion

“I found out Kyle Larson is human, after all.”

Initially, that might sound like a cheesy sentiment; something tongue-in-cheek from Jeff Gordon as an olive branch of support to a devastated Kyle Larson, who had just sped on pit road and cost himself a chance at a top 10 finish in the 2024 Indianapolis 500.

But really, that line, it has an unspoken symbolism: Kyle Larson is, indeed, human.

In the literal sense, we all knew that, obviously, but at a time when Larson was being held to a ridiculously high standard, and debate was carrying on daily about whether the Elk Grove, California-native was actually “The Greatest Race Car Driver in the World”, it was easy to place the NASCAR Cup Series champion on a superhuman pedestal.

Yet, even with that God-given talent that Larson has, and the confidence in himself that comes with it, there is still a side to the 33-year-old driver, like with any professional race car driver, that the fans don’t necessarily get to see; it’s the side that is upset when they lose, elated when they win, disappointed, angry, jealous, if you can name it, it’s probably been felt. Sometimes, when the helmet comes off, those emotions peak through, but as soon as the driver steps out of frame, the curtains close and the show ends.

This documentary is a peek behind that curtain.

That’s just a small snippet of my review for this docuseries… You can check out the entire thing on JosephSrigley.com. PLUS, on Thursday (May 21), I’ll be releasing a story about my one-on-one interview with Cynthia Hill, Director and Producer of Kyle Larson Vs The Double.

MORE RECENT HEADLINES FROM JOSEPHSRIGLEY.COM:

Alexander Rossi Transported to Local Hospital After Indy 500 Practice Crash

Rookie Connor Zilisch Makes History with Top-Five in NASCAR All-Star Race

Denny Hamlin Continues Dover Dominance with All-Star Race Victory

Several discussions leading into this weekend’s event raised concerns about the future of Dover Motor Speedway, as the one-mile concrete oval’s on-track product had been, at best, questionable in the past. However, fans were reassured that there’s no mass extinction event coming for ‘Miles the Monster’ anytime soon.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series took to the racetrack on Friday (May 15) and saw two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch get back in his groove, collecting his series-leading 69th win dominantly. Ty Majeski, Layne Riggs, Kaden Honeycutt, and Christopher Bell rounded out the top-five.

Clint Bowyer returned to NASCAR National Series competition, driving the No. 25 RAM 1500 for Kaulig Racing, and finished 29th, after mechanical issues took him out of the running for a solid finish.

Dystany Spurlock made history on Friday, as well, becoming the first Black woman to compete in NASCAR’s top-three series, driving the No. 69 for MBM Motorsports. Unfortunately, Spurlock crashed 34 laps into the event and finished last. She’ll return to the ARCA Menards Series for the series’ next event at Michigan.

Spulock was also one of three women in the field for Friday’s event, joining Natalie Decker (No. 22 Team Reaume) and Toni Breidinger (No. 27 Rackley WAR). Breidinger was the highest-finisher of the three, in 26th.

Kyle Busch Cruises to Convincing NASCAR Truck Win at Dover

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series put on another classic show on Saturday (May 16), with Hendrick Motorsports pupil Corey Day going to Victory Lane in the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet.

Day, in a fashion reminiscent of his mentor, Kyle Larson, found a brand-new lane right against the outside wall in the corners, and blasted from third to first in a matter of 25 laps. The Clovis, California-native made the pass on Justin Allgaier with a daring three-wide move to the outside of the No. 7 and the lapped car of Blake Lothian.

Allgaier wasn’t pleased with Lothian and spoke to the Joey Gase Motorsports driver after the race, calling it “a learning opportunity”.

Justin Allgaier, Sam Mayer, William Sawalich, and Austin Hill rounded out the top-five.

Anthony Alfredo (No. 96 Viking Motorsports), Brennan Poole (No. 44 Alpha Prime Racing), and Austin Green (No. 87 Peterson Racing Group) used an alternate strategy of putting their Goodyear tires on later in the run to gain track position in the final run to the checkered flag, finishing 10th, 11th, and 12th.

Rajah Caruth was having a career day at Dover Motor Speedway, but saw it unravel quickly after restarting inside of Jesse Love in the final stage and crashing into Turn 1. While that may have been recoverable, Caruth was involved in the very next caution laps with Harrison Burton and Sammy Smith.

Corey Day Finds Outside Groove to Slip Past Allgaier for Dover Win

The NASCAR Cup Series did things a little bit differently this weekend — seeing as it’s NASCAR All-Star Weekend. It started with a 90-minute practice on Friday, and continued with a unique qualifying format on Saturday, with the Mechanix Wear Pit Crew Challenge embedded within it.

This season’s qualifying format required a three-lap run around Dover Motor Speedway, with a four-tire pit stop in the middle. The fastest overall time would clinch the pole for the NASCAR All-Star Race, while the fastest line-to-line pit stop would win the Pit Crew Challenge and the $100,00 prize.

Denny Hamlin won the pole for the NASCAR All-Star Race, even though he spun his No. 11 Progressive Toyota Camry XSE on his warmup lap. Hamlin regrouped, got back up to speed, and didn’t lose anything, still clinching the top spot.

Hamlin wasn’t the only driver with issues, either. Chris Buescher also spun on the apron on the exit of the pit lane, but did it after making his pit stop. The RFK Racing driver got his car re-fired and finished his lap, but lost lots of time.

Rookie Connor Zilisch struggled with the hot pit entry, and looped his No. 88 Jockey Chevrolet Camaro around on the entrance to pit road. The Trackhouse Racing driver had no damage and continued.

Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. didn’t even get the opportunity to make his pit stop, as the No. 47 NOS Energy Chevrolet looped it around off Turn 4 coming to complete his first lap, making an incredible Jimmie Johnson-esque save in the process.

Ray Hernandez (Fueler), Adam Riley (Rear Changer), Nathan McBride (Jackman), Michael Louria (Front Changer), and Jarren Davis (Tire Carrier) won the Mechanix Wear Pit Crew Challenge. That five-man crew pits for Zane Smith and Front Row Motorsports, and is a crew leased from Joe Gibbs Racing.

That crew didn’t just win the Pit Crew Challenge; they dominated, beating the competition by two tenths of a second.

Denny Hamlin Spins on Warmup Lap; Wins NASCAR All-Star Pole Anyways

Front Row Motorsports No. 38 Crew Takes Mechanix Wear Pit Crew Challenge Win

The weekend wrapped up with the NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday, and boy, was it eventful. It took a lap, and I’d say about an additional 20 feet for all hell to break loose for the first (and not the last) time.

Ryan Preece moved down on the frontstretch and made contact with Todd Gilliland, who was in the middle of a three-wide situation, triggering a nine-car wreck that involved three of the drivers in the NASCAR All-Star Race — Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson. Elliott was able to continue, but Blaney and Larson had to go to the garage and make repairs.

Then, at the end of the first 75-lap segment, a similar incident happened again, when Riley Herbst got tagged by Alex Bowman and spun in front of the field — again on the frontstretch — collecting nine cars — including All-Star drivers Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell. Both had to go to the garage for repairs, but Elliott couldn’t start the main event.

Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski, and Bubba Wallace had a smaller wreck a little bit into the second segment, where the No. 1 and No. 6 made contact, and Wallace had nowhere to go. That ended the afternoon for Chastain, and sent the 23XI Racing driver to the garage.

With all of the incidents and retirements, only three drivers who finished the first two segments of the All-Star Race didn’t move on to the 200-lap segment — Zane Smith, Cody Ware, and Riley Herbst. Daniel Suarez got the All-Star Fan Vote.

Then, things calmed down significantly. Denny Hamlin was the class of the field throughout the majority of the 200-lap final segment, but the No. 11 had challenges from Chase Briscoe, Connor Zilisch, William Byron, and, at rare times, Erik Jones.

A late restart saw Briscoe clear for the lead in the No. 19 Toyota Camry XSE, but with 29 laps to go, Hamlin came marching back, reclaimed the lead, and took his second NASCAR All-Star Race victory.

Chase Briscoe, Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, and Connor Zilisch completed the top-five. Zilisch, finishing fifth, became the youngest top-five finisher in the history of the NASCAR All-Star Race.

Denny Hamlin Continues Dover Dominance with All-Star Race Victory

Rookie Connor Zilisch Makes History with Top-Five in NASCAR All-Star Race

Nine Cars Involved in Fiery Crash on Lap 2 of NASCAR All-Star Race

Another Nine-Car Wreck Ends Segment 1 of NASCAR All-Star Race

Next for NASCAR’s National Series is the annual Memorial Day Weekend trip to Charlotte Motor Speedway, for the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

One of the biggest stories to watch this coming weekend is Katherine Legge’s attempt at running “The Double”.

The Trans Am Series by Pirelli will also be in action this weekend at Lime Rock Park, as will the NTT IndyCar Series with the Indianapolis 500, and Formula 1 with the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gille Villenueve.

The 110th Indianapolis 500 is just NINE days away, and throughout the week, there have been some interesting NASCAR-related storylines that have come up regarding “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”.

Katherine Legge Mentally Preparing to Take on Whirlwind Attempt at “The Double”

Katherine Legge, a long-time NTT IndyCar Series and endurance racing driver, is attempting to run “The Double” on Memorial Day Weekend — competing in the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day (May 24).

Legge will drive the No. 11 HMD / A.J. Foyt Racing entry in the Indy 500, and the No. 78 Chevrolet for Live Fast Motorsports in the Coca-Cola 600. e.l.f. Cosmetics will be the headline sponsor for both events.

The Guilford, England-native is the sixth person to attempt “The Double”, and that’s how she’d like to be viewed, instead of as the first woman to do so, even though that is 100% factually accurate.

Legge spoke to members of the NASCAR Media on Fast Friday, hours before hitting the racetrack at the 2.5-mile speedway in Indianapolis, and talked about how she’s mentally preparing herself to run “The Double”.

The 45-year-old driver is the first person to attempt the 1,100-mile gauntlet without being a full-time competitor in either the NASCAR Cup Series or NTT IndyCar Series.

READ MORE

Now, Katherine Legge is the only driver who is running “The Double” in 2026, putting the deal together at the last-minute, but there’s another driver, a rising star on the NASCAR scene, who would also like to give it a whirl one day, and has the connections to make it happen…

Carson Hocevar “Wouldn’t Say No” to Indy 500 Bid

A rising talent in the world of the NASCAR Cup Series, Carson Hocevar was present at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday, checking things out before practice for the Indianapolis 500.

The 23-year-old competes for Spire Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, and the team’s parent company, TWG Global, is also involved in the Cadillac Formula One effort and Andretti Global’s NTT IndyCar Series team, amongst other things.

Standing at 6’ 4”, Hocevar questions whether he would even be able to sit in an IndyCar, let alone race one, but after joining the INDYCAR on FOX booth on Wednesday, he disclosed that they were doing some “redneck science measurements” to see if it would work.

Hocevar claims that if he were presented with the opportunity, he wouldn’t say no.

READ MORE

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Hello #SrigleyStats subscribers, it’s me, Joseph Srigley.

It’s been a LONG, LONG TIME since anybody has seen any kind of correspondence coming out of this Substack Channel, because, well, my job got extremely busy. However, on April 1, after nearly seven years with the company, I announced that I’d no longer be working with TobyChristie.com — ending my tenure with Racing America, as well.

Now, obviously, in the aftermath of losing my full-time income, I went job hunting, and I had some interesting discussions and a couple of interviews, but I’ve been unable to find something substantial, as of right now. So, for the time being, I’ve pivoted my focus to something else…

Today (Wednesday, May 13), I officially launched my new website, JosephSrigley.com.

Now, I know exactly what you are thinking… “Oh, good, another NASCAR news website, that’s exactly what we need,” and yes, at least in part, that’s what it is going to be, but to me, it’s going to be something so much more than that.

JosephSrigley.com is going to be MY outlet to tell the stories that I want to tell, and the best part is that I’m my own boss, so I get to do it my own way. Listen, I know pageviews and clicks are great (and in the modern climate, are needed for survival), but the modern-day clickbaiting, misleading, vague headlines that you see on other websites and social media posts — that’s not this. This is different.

The easiest way to think about it is like this: JosephSrigley.com is the way for you to view the world of NASCAR (and other motorsports, too) through my eyes. There will be opinions (ones you might not agree with), and there will probably be a lot of numbers (because let’s be real, that’s always been a big part of how I have viewed the sport, as I’m sure you already are aware), and #SrigleyStats is coming back… kind of.

What you were getting on this Substack, you’ll eventually be able to find on JosephSrigley.com, albeit probably not every week. But, mark my words, there will be some stat-related content on that website.

It may sound silly, but I think the most exciting part about launching this website is that I have absolutely no idea what is coming around the corner, content-wise. I’ve got two things in the works already, and a bunch of ideas, but aside from major news headlines, what you find on JosephSrigley.com will be based on a whim.

So, come visit JosephSrigley.com and see what it has to offer. I’m in the beginning stages of this project, so your recurring attention will be necessary, because I plan to add stories, and even probably some new categories and sections to the website as the inspiration moves me.

One thing is for sure, I’m gonna have a damn good time doing it.

Since Alex Bowman first returned to the cockpit after a back injury sustained in a sprint car accident, the Earth has completed an entire revolution around the Sun, and just now, the Hendrick Motorsports driver is beginning to get his pre-injury groove back, once again.

With a ninth-place finish in Sunday's rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Bowman continued an incredible stretch of finishes for the No. 48 Chevrolet, collecting his fifth consecutive top-10 result - dating back to Talladega in April.

It's the longest consecutive streak of top-10 finishes for the Tucson, Arizona native in the NASCAR Cup Series, surpassing a previous best streak of four consecutive top-10s, which Bowman accomplished in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2023.

The start of the regular season has been a steady improvement for the 31-year-old driver, who has recorded a series-high nine top-10 finishes through the first 14 races -- as opposed to four top-10s in the 23 starts before that.

With more than 60% of the season left on the docket, Bowman is on track to have the best season of his NASCAR Cup Series career, needing to record eight top-10s in the remaining events to surpass a career-high.

As the NASCAR Cup Series travels to World Wide Technology Raceway, Bowman sits eighth in NASCAR Cup Series point standings with an average finish of 12.4 -- which, should it stand, would be the best of his career to date.

The next goal for Alex Bowman? Ensure that Hendrick Motorsports has all four entries locked into the NASCAR Playoffs, via a trip to Victory Lane, snapping a 75-race winless streak.

VAN GISBERGEN REPRISES RECURRING P1 ROLE

There's no doubt that Shane Van Gisbergen, a three-time Australian Supercars champion, marched onto the NASCAR Cup Series scene in a history-making way, winning on debut at the Chicago Street Course.

So, it only makes sense that following Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, nearly a full year after his shock victory, the Auckland, New Zealand-native is still making history in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Leading two laps in Sunday's rain-shortened event, Van Gisbergen has become the first driver in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series to inherit the lead of a race in four of their first five starts.

But, despite having led in four different races, Van Gisbergen has only accumulated 15 laps led -- nine at Chicago (2023), one at Indy's Road Course (2023), three at Talladega (2024), and two at Charlotte (2024).

ALLGAIER PLAYS 'SUPER SUB' TO PERFECTION

For Kyle Larson and Hendrick Motorsports, Sunday's attempt at running 'The Double' (the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600) was anything but perfect, with Mother Nature heavily delaying the start of the Indy 500.

The decision was made for Larson to stay in Indianapolis, allowing NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Justin Allgaier the chance to start the Coca-Cola 600 in the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet.

For Allgaier, the main goal was to remain on the lead lap, so that when Larson returned returned to Charlotte Motor Speedway, they could make the driver swap, and the 2021 Cup Series champion could get to work.

The Riverton, Illinois-native easily accomplished that goal, and as the laps continued to click off, and Allgaier became more acclimated with the seventh-generation racecar, the outlook continued to get better.

After 249 of 400 laps, Allgaier had muscled the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro from his early-race running position outside the top 25 - and barely on the lead lap - to inside the top-15, running 13th at the time of the race's final caution.

But, as Kyle Larson arrived in Charlotte, so did Mother Nature, with a lightning strike and eventual monsoon forcing NASCAR to eventually cancel the remaining portion of the Coca-Cola 600.

Since he started the event, Allgaier would be credited with the finish no matter how many laps Larson completed in the No. 5. But, with the 31-year-old driver not making a single circuit, it eliminates any potential asterisks stemming from the race.

Finishing 13th, Sunday's result is the fourth-best of Allgaier's 82-race NASCAR Cup Series career, and his best on a mile-and-a-half, beating his previous best of 15th at Homestead and Charlotte in 2014, when he was driving for HScott Motorsports.

An uneventful finish in the NASCAR Cup Series is exactly what Allgaier was looking for, considering his sporadic starts in the series -- planned or not -- have been plagued with issues since leaving the series full-time after 2015.

Before Sunday, Allgaier had only driven in six NASCAR Cup Series events after leaving HScott Motorsports, four of which resulted in DNFs, and only one of which resulted in a top-25.

So, should Justin Allgaier be leaning into the role of 'super sub' just like his former JR Motorsports teammate Regan Smith? Between his performance Sunday, and his not-too-shabby Xfinity Series stats, I would say probably.

'THOMPSON TRIPLE' HEADLINES MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND DOUBLE-DIPPERS

Memorial Day Weekend has long been renowned as one of the best weekends to be a fan of motorsports, with three incredible prestigious events taking place on Sunday: Monaco Grand Prix, Indianapolis 500, and Coca-Cola 600.

As expected, those races garnered the majority of the mainstream attention during the weekend, but that doesn't necessarily mean everybody else will stop racing. Multiple different series, including the Xfinity Series, Truck Series, ARCA, CARS Tour, ASA STARS National Tour, and TransAm all held events during Memorial Day Weekend.

Kyle Larson had the most prestigious instance of double-dipping over the weekend, as the NASCAR Cup Series champion attempted to run both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday. However, the driver's 'Double' turned into a downer, when inclement weather pushed the start of the Indy 500 back, forcing him to miss the entirety of the shortened Coca-Cola 600.

Of the 18 drivers attempting double-duty in some form (with at least one event contested at Charlotte), Chase Elliott completed the most laps (578) and miles (722.91), after running the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series events at Charlotte, and the ASA STARS event at Hickory.

Josh Berry joined Elliott in the ASA STARS National Tour event at Hickory Motor Speedway, while also scoring a top-10 in the shortened Coca-Cola 600, making his double dip slightly less strenuous at 499 laps (469.25 miles).

Ty Gibbs, Kyle Busch, Noah Gragson, Shane Van Gisbergen, and JJ Yeley all joined Elliott in running both the Cup and Xfinity Series events at Charlotte, with what was originally scheduled to be 600 laps (900 miles) turning into 449 laps (673.50 miles). But, with early exits from the Coke 600, Gragson and Yeley only managed to run 370 laps (555 miles) and 313 laps (469.50 miles), respectively.

Ty Dillon was the only driver who competed in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events at Charlotte this weekend, completing 381 laps (571.50 miles). Meanwhile, Taylor Gray chose to take on the Xfinity and Truck Series at Charlotte, completing 334 laps (500 miles).

Now, this is where things get slightly more complicated:

Lawless Alan, Tanner Gray, Connor Mosack, and Dean Thompson were all tasked with running Friday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series events, both of which happened within a couple of hours of each other.

Mosack wasn't done for the weekend, having to fly to Lime Rock Park to compete in the TransAm TA2 event on Saturday, but as far as Friday's on-track schedule, things were looking pretty calm and collected for the Alan, Gray, and the Charlotte, North Carolina native.

But, there is nothing this weekend (or on most weekends) that can compare with the nightmare that awaited Dean Thompson on Friday, with practice and qualifying for the ARCA Menards Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and NASCAR Xfinity Series running back-to-back-to-back, then having to run two races. Then, on Saturday, with solid performances in ARCA and Trucks under his belt, Thompson went on track at Charlotte Motor Speedway to make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut for Sam Hunt Racing.

Kaden Honeycutt, Carson Kvapil, and Conner Jones all competed in a single event at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday, but come Saturday, found themselves at Tri-County Speedway to compete in either the CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car or Pro Late Model Divisions. Whereas Andres Perez went a bit further, traveling from Charlotte, North Carolina to Monterrey, Mexico to compete in the NASCAR Mexico Series event.

Memorial Day Weekend "Double-Dipper" Results:

• Kyle Larson: IndyCar (P18), NASCAR Cup (N/A)

• Chase Elliott: NASCAR Cup (P7), NASCAR Xfinity (P1), ASA STARS (P21)

• Ty Gibbs: NASCAR Cup (P6), NASCAR Xfinity (P9)

• Josh Berry: NASCAR Cup (P10), ASA STARS (P5)

• Kyle Busch: NASCAR Cup (P15), NASCAR Xfinity (P6)

• Shane Van Gisbergen: NASCAR Cup (P28), NASCAR Xfinity (P15)

• Ty Dillon: NASCAR Cup (P36), NASCAR Truck (P24)

• Noah Gragson: NASCAR Cup (P38), NASCAR Xfinity (P10)

• JJ Yeley: NASCAR Cup (P40), NASCAR Xfinity (P21)

• Dean Thompson: NASCAR Xfinity (P34), NASCAR Trucks (P9), ARCA (P7)

• Taylor Gray: NASCAR Xfinity (P12), NASCAR Trucks (P12)

• Connor Mosack: NASCAR Trucks (P8), ARCA (P27), TansAm TA2 (P17)

• Conner Jones: NASCAR Trucks (P11), CARS LMSC (P8), ASA STARS (P11)

• Lawless Alan: NASCAR Trucks (P30), ARCA (P8)

• Tanner Gray: NASCAR Trucks (P17), ARCA (P1)

• Kaden Honeycutt: NASCAR Trucks (P7), CARS LMSC (P14), CARS PLM (P5)

• Andres Perez: ARCA (P3), NASCAR Mexico (P21)

• Carson Kvapil: ARCA (P2), CARS LMSC (P22)

BONUS #SRIGLEYSTATS:

• With an eighth-place finish in the Indianapolis 500 , Santino Ferrucci becomes the first driver in the storied history of the event to finish inside the top-10 in his first six attempts — breaking a tie with Helio Castroneves and Henry Hartz. (TWEET)

• Despite Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race being called after 249 of 400 laps, the event featured 4,485 Green Flag Passes — the most in the Coca-Cola 600 since 2011. (TWEET)

As Stewart-Haas Racing continues its journey back to the top of the heap in the NASCAR Cup Series, Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway was another weekend of substantial gains for the four-car operation.

In fact, the results from Sunday’s contest resembled the Stewart-Haas Racing of old, with Josh Berry bringing home his first top-five of the season, in third, and Chase Briscoe rounding out the top-10 in fifth.

Noah Gragson (14^th) and Ryan Preece (17^th) also managed to place their entries inside the top-20 for a solid afternoon when the checkered flag was displayed – the first time this year all four SHR entries have finished inside the top-20.

It’s the first time since Martinsville last October – the penultimate event of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season – that Stewart-Haas Racing has placed a pair of entries inside the top five, and the first time since May 2022 that the team has done so on a track larger than one mile in length.

For Berry, while it ended up taking 13 races, Darlington marked both the first top-five and top-10 result for the NASCAR Cup Series rookie with the organization, making him the first driver other than Kevin Harvick to score a top-10 in the SHR No. 4, which debuted in 2014.

“It was just a really good day. We had a really good car yesterday in practice, but unfortunately didn’t qualify like we should have. There’s a lot to take from that, but, overall, the car was really strong. We feel like we’re capable of days like this. We just have to keep chipping away at it, keep learning, keep getting better week in and week out. I have a great group around me and this is a finish they deserve for sure.”

Meanwhile, for Chase Briscoe, a native of Mitchell, Indiana, Sunday’s 400-mile contest marks the first time since October 2022 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that the No. 14 Ford Mustang has finished inside the top five on a track larger than one mile.

"Our car was extremely good on the really, really long run, it was just the short run that we gave up too much time," said Briscoe. It would have been interesting to see how the race played out if it went green until the end, but, overall, it’s a really good weekend for the guys. I wish we could have been a few spots better, but after the last few weeks we needed a solid run.”

Leaving Darlington, it looks as though Stewart-Haas has started to get things figured out, as strong runs in recent weeks by Josh Berry, Chase Briscoe, and Noah Gragson have left the team feeling better about their on-track performance.

Halfway through the regular season, Briscoe remains in the thick of the battle for a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series post-season, while his three teammates all have some work to do if they’re going to have a shot at the championship this Fall.

ALLGAIER REACHES LANDMARK WITH DARLINGTON WIN

Over the last eight seasons, Justin Allgaier has found a great deal of success as a mainstay in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro with support from long-time sponsor BRANDT Fresh Agriculture.

After 449 starts in the second-tier series, the Riverton, Illinois-native has managed to accumulate a breathtaking stat line, which includes 267 top-10 finishes, which after scoring his 267^th in Saturday’s Crown Royal Purple Bag Project 200 at Darlington is now the most all-time.

The 37-year-old racer didn’t just break that record, he broke it in style, collecting his 24^th NASCAR Xfinity Series win on Saturday, which ties him with Tommy Houston and JR Motorsports co-owner Dale Earnhardt, Jr. for 10^th on the series’ all-time wins list.

For Allgaier, that number is poised to continue growing substantially, as the BRANDT-sponsored driver has managed to record 20 or more top-10 finishes in five of his last six seasons in the Xfinity Series, the only exception being 2020, where he scored 19.

Now, it’s unlikely Allgaier will surpass Kyle Busch as the series’ all-time wins leader, as that would require an additional 75-plus victories in a series that has grown more and more competitive in recent years. Still, there’s no doubt he’ll leave a mark on the second-tier series.

Currently, Allgaier sits eight all-time in NASCAR Xfinity Series starts, but should the JR Motorsports driver compete in each of the remaining 22 races of 2024, he will climb to sixth all-time, passing Joe Nemechek and Morgan Shepherd.

HALEY EARNS IMPRESSIVE TOP-10 AT DARLINGTON

Just about everybody expected Rick Ware Racing to improve this season, between the key hires made in the off-season of Justin Haley and Chris Lawson, plus a second season in a technical alliance with RFK Racing.

But did anybody expect Haley and the No. 51 Ford Mustang Dark Horse to finish inside the top-10 on raw speed by Darlington in May? Well, they’ve done it, and it’s not the first time they’ve shown pace either.

Haley, behind the wheel of the No. 51 NC Fraternal Order of Police Ford Mustang, came home ninth in Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington, which marked the best non-superspeedway finish in the history of Rick Ware Racing – which has 600-plus starts in the Cup Series.

For just the second time this season, Haley spent more than 90 laps running inside the top-15 on the racetrack (94), and for the first time this season, the result matched the pace in the Rick Ware Racing machine.

Making 123 green-flag passes – the most of anybody in the field – Haley had a Ford Mustang Dark Horse capable of slicing through traffic, making it simple to drive from outside the top-20 in the second half of the race.

With a sixth lead-lap finish for the No. 51 team this season, Haley is now just one away from tying a single-season, single-driver record for Rick Ware Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series, which was previously achieved by Josh Bilicki (2021), Cody Ware (2022), and JJ Yeley (2023).

Prior to Sunday at Darlington, the organization had recorded a previous best non-drafting track finish of P16 in the 2023 Coca-Cola 600 with JJ Yeley. The team’s previous best finish at Darlington, was a 19^th by Cody Ware in 2022, a mark which both Haley and Grala bested on Sunday.

RFK IS ON THE WAY (TO THE FRONT)

In a season that has been dominated by Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing, the resurgence of RFK Racing over the last month or so has been a welcome sight, especially for Ford Performance, who prior to Sunday at Darlington was still winless on the season.

Since a breakout performance by Brad Keselowski at Texas Motor Speedway, where a shot at the victory was derailed by a late-race yellow and the Rochester Hills, Michigan-native was forced to settle for second-place, things have been firing on all eight cylinders for RFK Racing.

The organization, which fields a pair of entries for team co-owner Brad Keselowski and long-time NASCAR Cup Series driver Chris Buescher, has managed to place an entry in either first or second in four of the last five weeks.

Keselowski ended up second in back-to-back weeks at Texas and Talladega, while Buescher followed it up two weeks later with a runner-up finish, losing to Kyle Larson by the smallest margin in NASCAR Cup Series history, 0.001 seconds.

At Darlington, both Keselowski and Buescher were in contention for the victory in the closing laps of the race, each leading at least one circuit in the final 15 laps of the race. For the Prosper, Texas native, though, contact with Tyler Reddick cut down a tire, derailing the No. 17 team’s chance at the win.

That allowed Keselowski, co-owner of RFK Racing, to snap a 110-race winless streak in the NASCAR Cup Series, scoring his first win since April 25, 2021, and his first as both a driver and team owner.

With Keselowski locked into the post-season, and Buescher well above the cutline, RFK Racing is looking to place both entries in the Playoffs once again in 2024 and compete to advance deeper into the post-season, and potentially even make the Championship 4.

The speed they’ve found as of late should certainly aid them in doing just that.

#SrigleyStats BONUS STATS:

NASCAR Cup Series

• Finishing P2 in Sunday’s Goodyear 400, Ty Gibbs becomes the third-youngest driver to finish inside the top five in a NASCAR Cup Series event at Darlington Raceway, behind only Banjo Matthews and Erik Jones.

NASCAR Xfinity Series:

• After a terrible start to the season, Sam Mayer has turned things around in a major way, recording four finishes inside the top five in the last five NASCAR Xfinity Series events, dating back to Martinsville.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series:

• Finishing P12 at Darlington, Lawless Alan earned his third top-12 finish of the season for Reaume Brothers Racing. Before the start of this season, the organization had only finished top-12 on four occasions — but only once on a pavement non-drafting oval.

ARCA Menards Series:

• Finishing P2 in her ARCA Menards Series East debut at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, Isabella Robusto matched Kenzie Ruston as the highest-finishing woman in the history of the ARCA Menards Series East.

Published to Racing America on May 7

Over the last decade, the ‘youth movement’ has been a major topic of discussion in the NASCAR Cup Series, with drivers such as Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Kyle Larson, and several others moving into the highest ranks of NASCAR.

While several of those drivers are still in their 20s, there's a newer, younger generation of drivers coming into the NASCAR Cup Series, which reached an all-time high Sunday at Kansas Speedway, with six drivers in the field having a birthday after January 1st, 2000.

In that newly-realized faction of drivers in Sunday's AdventHealth 400 were Derek Kraus (#16 Kaulig Racing), Harrison Burton (#21 Wood Brothers Racing), Todd Gilliland (#38 Front Row Motorsports), Corey Heim (#43 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB), Ty Gibbs (#54 Joe Gibbs Racing), and Carson Hocevar (#77 Spire Motorsports).

Of those six drivers, only four (Burton, Gilliland, Gibbs, and Hocevar) compete on a full-time basis, whereas Derek Kraus runs part-time and Corey Heim served as the interim driver for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB after Erik Jones was injured at Talladega.

---

Harrison Burton (born October 9th, 2000) was the first driver born during the 21st century to compete at NASCAR's top level, making his debut at Talladega Superspeedway in the Spring of 2021. Since then, Burton jumped to Wood Brothers Racing, where he currently runs his third full-time campaign in the No. 21 Ford Mustang.

At Kansas, Burton came home in 36th -- the worst of the six highlighted drivers -- after spinning down the backstretch during the final stage of the race, getting stuck when his Ford Mustang Dark Horse had multiple flat tires, causing him to lose several laps.

In 85 starts, the 23-year-old racer has recorded a single top-five finish at NASCAR's top level -- a third-place finish at the Indy Road Course in 2022. That result currently holds as the best for a driver born after the turn of the century in the Cup Series.

Sunday's AdventHealth 400 marked the 200th NASCAR National Series start for Harrison Burton, which at the moment remains the most by any driver born after January 1st, 2000.

Todd Gilliland (born May 15th, 2000) was the highest-finishing of the six drivers born after January 1st, 2000 in Sunday's AdventHealth 400, bringing his No 38 Long John Silver's Ford Mustang Dark Horse home with a 14th-place finish.

Despite having one fewer start than Burton, Gilliland leads the league among drivers born after January 1, 2000, in laps complete, having run 21,388 laps in the NASCAR Cup Series. The son of long-time Cup Series competitor David Gilliland, Todd is one of eight drivers born after the turn of the century to win multiple races across NASCAR's National Series -- collecting three Truck Series wins.

Similar to his Ford Performance teammate in Harrison Burton, Gilliland joined the NASCAR Cup Series searching for Rookie of The Year honors in 2022, and since then has primarily driven for Front Row Motorsports in the No. 38 Ford Mustang.

Ty Gibbs (born October 4th, 2002) is without a doubt the most successful driver of this six-man group, leading the NASCAR National Series in victories among drivers born after January 1st, 2000, with 12 wins, while also becoming the group's first champion.

The grandson of NASCAR Cup Series team owner Joe Gibbs, the 21-year-old driver broke onto the scene three years ago, and has quickly made a splash, winning on debut in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, before being tossed into a Cup Series car for the first time 16 months later.

A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Gibbs has easily been the most successful driver of this new generation, earning seven top-five and 17 top-10 finishes in 63 starts at NASCAR's top level, while also leading 315 laps. In recent weeks, it's become evident a win is on the horizon.

Sunday's race at Kansas didn't quite go to plan for Gibbs, though, despite running inside the top five for a significant portion of the event. However, as the race's laps clicked off, the Joe Gibbs Racing crew brought him to pit road to get fuel, but then a late-race yellow trapped him a lap down.

Carson Hocevar (born January 28th, 2000) has quickly risen from being a driver in the NASCAR Truck Series to being a full-time driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, after some impressive efforts while filling in for Spire Motorsports and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB last season.

Making his 102nd start in NASCAR's top-three series, Hocevar is a four-time winner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series -- ranking fourth of drivers born after 01/01/2000, behind Christian Eckes (7), Corey Heim (7), and Chandler Smith (5).

Despite being a Rookie of The Year (ROTY) contender, Hocevar has had a pretty solid season in the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro for Spire Motorsports, becoming the fourth driver to score a top-10 finish at NASCAR's top-level among the group of drivers born in the 21st century.

Hocevar showed some more of that strength Sunday at Kansas, running as high as seventh in the race's closing stages, before having to come down pit road for fuel, but returned to the lead lap for the race's final NASCAR Overtime stint, finishing 24th.

Corey Heim (born July 5th, 2002) is certainly the outlier of this six-driver group, with the NASCAR Cup Series not technically being part of the pre-season plans for the Marietta, Georgia native, being a reserve driver for 23XI Racing and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB.

With his victory Saturday at Kansas Speedway, Heim tied Christian Eckes as the winningest NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver born after January 1st, 2000, scoring his seventh victory while driving for TRICON Garage.

It's been a season of learning for Heim, who has competed in the NASCAR Truck Series (TRICON Garage), NASCAR Xfinity Series (Sam Hunt Racing), and now the NASCAR Cup Series (LEGACY MOTOR CLUB).

Sunday's race at Kansas didn't go super smoothly. After qualifying inside the top-20, Heim was slapped with a speeding penalty on the first pit stop -- a setback he wouldn't overcome until late in the race.

During the final run, Heim surged as high as 16th, before a NASCAR Overtime restart would shuffle the field, and subject the newest Cup Series driver to chaos, which resulted in him spinning off the final corner, finishing 22nd.

Derek Kraus (born September 1st, 2001) is one of two drivers born after January 1st, 2000 to debut in the NASCAR Cup Series, earning a six-race slate with Kaulig Racing that began at Las Vegas.

Kraus spent several years competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, earning four top-five finishes in 76 starts, and leading 134 laps. Lately, the driver has been running part-time for Kaulig Racing, first in the Xfinity Series and more recently at NASCAR's top level.

At Las Vegas, Kraus, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro, became the first driver born after January 1st, 2000 to lead laps in their NASCAR Cup Series debut, and has since led laps in two of his first three starts -- something that hasn't been done since Shane van Gisbergen.

Other than the six circuits around Kansas Speedway led by Kraus in a green-flag pit cycle, the afternoon was pretty quiet for the driver of the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro, coming home on the lead lap in 31st place.

LARSON STARTS THE MONTH OF MAY WITH LANDMARK WIN

With less than three weeks until Kyle Larson attempts to run 'The Double', the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion is finding a major surge of momentum in May, winning Sunday's AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway.

The victory, which saw Larson beat Buescher to the start-finish line by the smallest margin in the history of NASCAR's top level, served as the 25th NASCAR Cup Series win for the Elk Grove, California native and his 19th win for Hendrick Motorsports.

Larson becomes the 36th driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to reach the 25-win mark, and the first to crossover the threshold since Joey Logano earned his 25th win on March 8th, 2020 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

At 11,601 days old, Larson is the 11th-youngest driver to reach this mark in the NASCAR Cup Series, coming up more than six years short of the record, which Jeff Gordon, Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, holds.

On the horizon of such an important moment in his career (the first attempt at the Indianapolis 500), Larson will always have this landmark victory to remember, as it will likely continue in the history books as the closest NASCAR Cup Series finish for quite some time.

In his last four NASCAR Cup Series wins, Larson has managed to triumph by a margin of less than half a second, with Sunday's race being his second victory with a MOV under a tenth of a second.

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IT'S TOO CLOSE TO CALL... AGAIN!

It's been a great year for photo finishes in NASCAR.

For the first time, NASCAR's top three divisions have had three different finishes with a margin of victory (MOV) clocked at less than 0.005 seconds.

Sunday's AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway was certainly the most captivating finish of the season, though, as Kyle Larson beat Chris Buescher to the start-finish line by 0.001 seconds for the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history.

At Texas Motor Speedway, Sam Mayer beat Ryan Sieg to the start-finish line by 0.002 seconds -- the second-closest finish in the history of the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Then, earlier in the season, again in the NASCAR Cup Series, Atlanta Motor Speedway played host to a three-wide photo finish, which saw Daniel Suarez beat Ryan Blaney to the start-finish line by 0.003 seconds.

The common denominator? Ford Performance has come within inches of securing its first NASCAR win of 2024 on three different occasions, losing by a combined 0.006 seconds with drivers Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney, and Ryan Sieg.

With two finishes under 0.005 seconds in the NASCAR Cup Series this season, the series has an average margin of victory of under one second, sitting at 0.957 seconds after 12 races.

It's been a banner year for great finishes in NASCAR, and with 24 weeks remaining, there's still lots of time to continue making history.

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IT'S HEIM TIME ONCE AGAIN

Those paying close attention to drivers climbing through the ranks of NASCAR's National Series know the name Corey Heim.

A native of Marietta, Georgia, Heim is currently in the midst of his second full-time campaign in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for TRICON Garage.

In his time competing in the NASCAR Truck Series, Heim's results have been nothing but stellar, picking up his seventh victory in Saturday's Heart of America 200 at Kansas Speedway.

With 49 NASCAR Truck Series starts in his pocket, the driver has managed to record an impressive 37 top-10 finishes, which equates to 75.5%, ranking second to only Kyle Busch.

On top of that, Heim remains the only driver to score a victory under the TRICON Garage banner, after the team rebranded at the start of last season upon its return to Toyota.

This season, Heim has taken on a larger schedule in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, having run six of the opening 11 races for Sam Hunt Racing, which resulted in a career-high fourth-place run at Richmond.

While not part of the original plan, Heim also got the chance to debut in the NASCAR Cup Series, serving as the reserve driver for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB when Erik Jones was injured at Talladega.

Heim managed to record finishes of P25 (Dover) and P22 (Kansas), despite several setbacks that made it difficult for the 21-year-old to maximize his results.

Known for his steady and consistent nature, Heim will turn his focus back to chasing a title in the NASCAR Truck Series, while he also looks to earn the best finishes possible in his Xfinity Series starts with Sam Hunt Racing.

I’ve added all the #SrigleyStats feature stories (from Racing America) onto this Substack for subscribers to view for FREE. Moving forward, those features will populate on the Substack (and be sent to your emails) the morning after being posted on Racing America — with the possibility of bonus content/stats/observations being added (depending on the week).

As of now, that’s the only PLANNED content for the #SrigleyStats Substack.

However, the reality of the situation is there may come a point where the inspiration strikes me to do something out-of-routine for #SrigleyStats — don’t worry, if that happens, it’ll end up in your inbox, too.

Published to Racing America on April 30th

As the band Cage the Elephant famously says: “There ain’t no rest for the wicked.”

Every single year, without fail, the question of whether this is finally the season that Denny Hamlin breaks through to earn his first NASCAR Cup Series championship is asked, with the age-old conversation always ramping up after the Joe Gibbs Racing driver goes on a hot streak.

It may be a cliché, but a third victory in the first 11 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series events warrants the question to be asked again: Is 2024 finally the year for Denny Hamlin?

Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Dover Motor Speedway marked a series-high third victory for Denny Hamlin this season, matching Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron. All three of those victories, plus his win in the pre-season exhibition event in Los Angeles, have come on tracks one mile in length or shorter.

The victory was the 54th of Hamlin’s career at NASCAR’s top level, which ties him for 12th-place on the all-time win list with Lee Petty. As the wins, top-fives, and top-10 finishes continue to click off, the Chesterfield, Virginia native is without a doubt a first-ballot Hall of Famer, who still has time for his driving career to come to its natural conclusion.

So, as Hamlin runs his 19th full-time campaign in the NASCAR Cup Series, the absence of a championship trophy continues to hang over his head, but at the end of the day, the 43-year-old driver knows that he’s capable of winning a title at NASCAR’s highest level.

“Listen, I know that I’m a championship-caliber driver. I’ll just say it. I think there’s been worse drivers win a championship than me. I just feel that way just because of things that have worked out,” Hamlin said after his win Sunday at Dover. “It’s different. Find one driver saying that championships are the same as they were 10 years ago, it’s just not. I care about wins and winning every single week because in the end I absolutely would take 60-some wins and no championship over 20 and one. It’s just not even close.”

But, why 2024? Simply put, things just feel different…

Hamlin has been credited with leading laps in each of the first 11 NASCAR Cup Series events of the season, something that hasn’t been done in the series since 2001 when Mark Martin led at least one lap in the first 13 races.

Having been out front for 535 laps this season - second behind only NASCAR Cup Series points leader Kyle Larson - the 54-time winner has been a clear threat for the victory every week.

It’s a level of consistency that isn’t often seen in the highest ranks of motorsports (except for Formula One) and although the finishes aren’t always indicative of that race-winning pace, it gives the Joe Gibbs Racing team something to continue to work towards, on its journey to become a dominant force.

Barring some major changes in performance throughout the NASCAR Cup Series field, it looks like this season is one of Hamlin's best shots at finally getting that monkey off of his back, and hoisting the championship trophy in Phoenix.

KAULIG RACING BEFRIENDS MILES THE MONSTER

Following Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Würth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway, it appears that Miles the Monster has made some brand-new friends.

With a ninth-place result by Daniel Hemric and the No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro team, and a 13^th-place from NASCAR Xfinity Series regular AJ Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing placed a pair of entries inside the top-15 outside of a drafting track for the first time since the 2023 Coca-Cola 600 last May.

Hemric was the beneficiary of a well-timed caution during the final cycle of pit stops, placing the No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro inside the top-10 with less than 100 laps remaining in the 400-lap contest. The Kannapolis, North Carolina native held onto the spot with everything he had, earning back-to-back top-10 results for the first time in his NASCAR Cup Series career.

AJ Allmendinger managed to record another top-15 in Sunday’s race at Dover, his third in four NASCAR Cup Series starts this year. The Los Gatos, California native’s 10^th-place starting spot was the best for the organization since Charlotte’s ROVAL last October, and the best on an oval since last Fall at Texas.

The No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet was a mainstay in the top half of the field throughout Sunday’s event, running 385 of the race’s 400 laps (96.3% of the race) inside the top-15, the most for Kaulig Racing this season by a significant margin.

Over the last three weeks, things have been trending in a positive direction for Kaulig Racing, the highlight of which is back-to-back top-10s for Daniel Hemric, something the team hasn’t done with a single driver since the middle of last season at Chicago and Atlanta.

Throw in a double top-20 at Texas, both Daniel Hemric and Shane Van Gisbergen leading laps at Talladega, and now a double top-15 showing at Dover Motor Speedway, and it appears the two-car operation may be headed on the right path.

GRAGSON, STEWART-HAAS FIND MOMENTUM IN REBUILD

It’s been a year of rebuilding for Stewart-Haas Racing, with the addition of drivers Josh Berry and Noah Gragson to the team’s four-car roster in the NASCAR Cup Series. And, while Rome wasn’t built in a day, there is some serious progress being made inside the walls of the operation co-owned by Tony Stewart and Gene Haas.

Noah Gragson was the Stewart-Haas superstar in Sunday’s Würth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway, bringing home a sixth-place result in the No. 10 Miller Tech Ford Mustang Dark Horse, matching the season-high result for the driver on non-drafting tracks (Las Vegas).

It’s the fourth finish inside the top-10 for the Las Vegas, Nevada-born driver, continuing to widen the gap on a career-best season in nearly every statistical category. With Sunday’s finish, Gragson now matches teammate Chase Briscoe as the leader of the Stewart-Haas foursome when it comes to top-10s.

A wonderful points day for Gragson means the 25-year-old driver has been catapulted up the NASCAR Cup Series point standings, jumping six spots to land 21st, albeit a somewhat staggering 80 points below the post-season cutline.

The first season as a pilot for Stewart-Haas Racing has been a solid one for Gragson, who has spent 1,263 laps running inside the top-15 – ranked 19^th-place of the 51 drivers to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series this season. In that metric, Gragson is quickly approaching his total number of laps run inside the top-15 from his last two seasons combined.

Now, after a career-best third-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway, and a solid sixth-place run at Dover Motor Speedway – the first time the driver has earned back-to-back top-10s in the Cup Series - Gragson and crew chief Drew Blickensderfer are on the right track, as they attempt to join teammate Chase Briscoe in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

They’ll have some ground to make up, feeling the lingering effects of a 35-point penalty assessed earlier in the year. At 80 points below, with 15 races left in the regular season, the driver of the No. 10 will have to gain at least six points per week on a potentially moving cutline to achieve a post-season berth.

But, should Gragson’s current level of performance continue, the No. 10 shouldn’t have any issues making an appearance in the post-season battle within the next couple of months.

CARSON KVAPIL TURNING HEADS IN SHORT XFINITY TENURE

At times, the NASCAR Xfinity Series can be brutal. The competitive nature of the series can make it difficult for even the most talented drivers to find their bearings and consistently put together performances of a race-winning caliber.

That’s what makes the instant success of Carson Kvapil such an incredible thing. With a fourth-place run on debut at Martinsville earlier this month, the CARS Tour LMSC Champion got the call from Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to drive the No. 88 Chevrolet at Dover Motor Speedway, and he did not disappoint.

Qualifying was a bit of a struggle for Kvapil, who started Saturday’s 200-miler from outside the top 25, but the 20-year-old driver slowly worked through the pack to put himself in position to contend for the victory late in the race.

As the strategy, presence of rain, and typical aggressive nature of the Xfinity Series unfolded, Kvapil maintained his composure and found himself making a bold three-wide pass for the lead on the frontstretch with seven laps remaining.

The son of 2003 NASCAR Truck Series champion Travis Kvapil managed to lead 14 circuits around the one-mile concrete oval but lost the lead – and thus the win – in a second NASCAR Overtime restart, with Ryan Truex managing to drive underneath him to slide through to his second career victory.

Finishing in second place, Kvapil became just the 11^th different driver in the history of the NASCAR Xfinity Series to finish inside the top five in each of their first two starts, the latest of which was Ty Gibbs in 2021.

With just a pair of starts under his belt in 2024, Kvapil has managed to surpass or match three of the four full-time drivers at JR Motorsports when it comes to the number of top-five results this season, with Sam Mayer the only driver having more (three).

It’s undoubtedly brought attention to the Mooresville, North Carolina native, who now, doesn’t appear to have any additional starts confirmed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this year, with his sights set once again on claiming the CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car championship.

As of late, the part-time fifth entry for JR Motorsports has been fruitful, with Carson Kvapil and Bubba Pollard combining for no finish worse than sixth in three starts this year. Last year at Homestead-Miami Speedway, team co-owner Dale Earnhardt, Jr. also recorded a top-five result in the No. 88 Chevrolet.

Earnhardt will return to the No. 88 later this year at Bristol, while Connor Zilisch will debut in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on a four-race schedule. And, who knows, with the runs he's having, maybe we'll see Carson Kvapil again this year.

After a wild sequence of events on the final lap of Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series event at Talladega Superspeedway, it was Tyler Reddick who snatched a victory from the clutches of Ford drivers Michael McDowell and Brad Keselowski.

It's a triumph and subsequent celebration that will be remembered for quite some time, especially by team co-owner Michael Jordan, who after three seasons of frequenting a 23XI Racing pit box, finally got to see the organization win a NASCAR Cup Series event.

Adding icing to the cupcake, the six-time NBA champion even had his brand, Jordan Brand, on board the No. 45 Toyota Camry XSE for the victory, the second time the brand has visited Victory Lane in the NASCAR Cup Series in 10 starts.

It's the sixth career NASCAR Cup Series victory for both 23XI Racing and Tyler Reddick, with the 28-year-old driver now having three wins apiece for the two organizations in which he's spent the entirety of his career at NASCAR's top level.

The victory also marks the first on a traditional superspeedway in the NASCAR Cup Series for Reddick, making him only the third driver to have won a race at Daytona or Talladega in each of NASCAR's National Series -- joining Kyle Busch and Mark Martin.

Considering the recent superspeedway results for Reddick, with no top-15s on drafting track since joining 23XI Racing, the victory Sunday was kind of surprising, as usually, the Corning, California native isn't in a position to make the right moves when it comes down to crunch time.

Although things didn't technically work out as planned, with the six-driver pack of entirely Toyota Camrys tangling in a multi-car accident late in the going, derailing their strategy call, it was a Toyota that ended up in Victory Lane when it was all said and done, the first Talladega win for the manufacturer since 2021.

Heading to Dover Motor Speedway, 23XI Racing has some positive momentum, but in reality, it's Kansas Speedway the team has circled on the calendar, being one of three tracks that the organization has won at, doing so three times.

SPEEDWAY SPIN CYCLE PUTS NEW FACES OUT FRONT

With 72 lead changes among 23 drivers, most of the field took a turn at the front of the pack in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series event at Talladega Superspeedway, and in doing so, it created some amazing storylines.

In fact, except for single-car teams JTG Daugherty Racing and Wood Brothers Racing, every organization led at least one lap in Sunday's GEICO 500.

BJ Mcleod, running a partial schedule for Live Fast Motorsports, drove his No. 78 Chevrolet Camaro from the back of the field straight to the front, leading five laps, more than either driver or team has led in a single NASCAR Cup Series event.

The only other open team in the field, Beard Motorsports, had Anthony Alfredo lead the race for four circuits around the 2.66-mile superspeedway, the most laps the full-time Xfinity Series driver has led in a single Cup Series event.

Contesting his rookie campaign for Spire Motorsports, Carson Hocevar led his first lap in NASCAR Cup Series competition, driving the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro.

While it's not his rookie season, John Hunter Nemechek showed out in his return to the NASCAR Cup Series, leading 20 laps in Sunday's GEICO 500, more laps than he's ever led in a race at NASCAR's top level.

Additionally, it's the most laps LEGACY MOTOR CLUB has ever led in a NASCAR Cup Series event.

From one relatively new Cup Series team to another, Kaulig Racing had both of its drivers, Daniel Hemric and Shane Van Gisbergen, lead multiple laps in Sunday's GEICO 500, the first time the organization has accomplished this.

With Rick Ware Racing on the up-and-up this season, Justin Haley put his No. 51 Ford Mustang Dark Horse out front for four circuits, matching the most laps an entry from RWR has led in a single NASCAR Cup Series event.

Things returned to relative normalcy at the end of Sunday's race, though, with Tyler Reddick crossing the start-finish line ahead of the 38-driver NASCAR Cup Series field, scoring his sixth career win.

KESELOWSKI'S QUEST FOR WIN CONTINUES

Alright, that might be a slight exaggeration, but as the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion continues to look for his first victory as co-owner of RFK Racing, a pair of second-place finishes is brutal.

It's the first time since joining RFK Racing (and the first time in nearly four years) that Keselowski has picked up back-to-back top-two results at NASCAR's top level, but even in that instance, he managed to earn a win.

In fact, throughout Keselowski's 15-plus years competing in the NASCAR Cup Series, only three times as the Rochester Hills, Michigan native earned back-to-back second-place finishes.

So, what has been happening in the world of the NASCAR Cup Series since Brad Keselowski won his last race on April 25th, 2021?

Well, you might be surprised to find out, quite a bit:

• 108 NASCAR Cup Series races.

• 28,091 laps.

• 36,844.61 miles.

• 25 different winners.

• 6 first-time winners (Reddick, Chastain, Cindric, Suarez, SVG, Wallace).

• 29 debutants.

• 5 drivers born after 01/01/2000 debuted in the NASCAR Cup Series.

• 17 NASCAR Cup Series wins for Kyle Larson.

• Back-to-back championships for Team Penske.

• NASCAR introduces seventh-generation car (2022).

• Carson Hocevar begins a full-time NASCAR career (2021).

• Keselowski becomes co-owner of RFK Racing.

• Four second-place finishes for Keselowski.

• 18 top-five finishes for Keselowski.

• RFK Racing wins four NASCAR Cup Series events with Chris Buescher.

• 28 different primary sponsors for Keselowski between the No. 2 and 6.

Things are on the up-and-up for Keselowski, whose RFK Racing team has been showing speed consistently, so you have to believe that it's only a matter of time before the 35-time NASCAR Cup Series winner returns to his winning ways.

SHOULD THE FORD CAMP BE WORRIED?

The date is April 24th, 2024, and through the opening 26 NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events of the season, Ford Performance is winless.

It's the furthest into a season that Ford Performance has trekked without a NASCAR victory since 2010 when Carl Edwards claimed the first win for the automaker in an Xfinity Series event at Road America in mid-June.

If there's any good news for Ford, it's that they aren't that far off, having backed the second-place finisher in half of the NASCAR Cup Series events this year, and 10 times across NASCAR's top-three divisions.

The manufacturer's strength this season has been the superspeedways, and the absence of a trophy from Sunday's GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway means teams will need to wait until Daytona in August for another shot.

In three superspeedway races (Daytona, Atlanta, Talladega) this season, 12 drivers have combined to lead 378 laps in the NASCAR Cup Series, the best of which is Joey Logano at 94 laps led.

Across the other seven events - on various types of racetracks - the manufacturer has combined to lead 255 laps between 10 different drivers, with Logano once again leading the way with 105 laps led.

As things stand, with 16 races remaining in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season, only four drivers from the Ford stable (Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Chase Briscoe, and Brad Keselowski) would qualify for the post-season, with Blaney being the highest in regular-season points, sitting seventh.

Should Ford Performance be concerned? Maybe, but teams still have time to figure out the new Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Plus, face it, the manufacturer's struggles were a storyline early in 2023, but Ryan Blaney still ended up hoisting the championship trophy in Phoenix.

Chase Elliott, a six-time winner of NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award, is finally back in Victory Lane in the NASCAR Cup Series, winning Sunday's AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway to snap a 42-race winless streak.

The victory is a confidence boost for the Dawsonville, Georgia native, who since returning from injury last Spring has been open and honest about his recent struggles with NASCAR's seventh-generation racecar. Surprisingly, Sunday's win at Texas is Elliott's first top-five finish - let alone victory - on a 1.5-mile track in this new racecar.

It's the second time this season that a driver has snapped a winless streak of more than 40 races in the NASCAR Cup Series after Daniel Suarez ended a 57-race drought earlier this season at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

For Elliott's primary sponsor, Hooters, it ended a long winless drought that has lasted more than three decades, with the brand known for its partnership with Alan Kulwicki last winning a NASCAR Cup Series event in June 1992 at Pocono -- three years before Chase Elliott was born.

It's the second straight victory for Hendrick Motorsports and the fourth win for the organization in the last seven NASCAR Cup Series events. Last weekend at Martinsville, William Byron captured a meaningful triumph for the team, four decades after the team's first-ever win at the half-mile paperclip in 1984.

Elliott, Kyle Larson, and William Byron have combined to win five of the first nine NASCAR Cup Series events for Hendrick Motorsports in 2024, the most any organization has triumphed in the first nine races of a season since 2019, when Joe Gibbs Racing won six of the season's first nine events.

The early-season win at Texas Motor Speedway marks the earliest in a calendar year that Elliott has won a NASCAR Cup Series event, while also providing the No. 9 Chevrolet team the opportunity to further improve its program for the post-season, a luxury that the Alan Gustafson-led team didn't have last season.

After nine races, only Elliott and Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Ty Gibbs and Martin Truex, Jr. have managed to complete the first quarter of the 2024 season without finishing outside the top-20, a streak that may be difficult to continue heading to Talladega Superspeedway next weekend.

CARSON HOCEVAR, SPIRE HAVE BANNER DAY AT TEXAS

Sunday's AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway marked a big day in the career of Portage, Michigan native Carson Hocevar, who secured his first top-10 finish in the NASCAR Cup Series driving the No. 77 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports.

Making his 18th career start at NASCAR's top level and his 10th for Spire Motorsports, Hocevar didn't necessarily have an easy afternoon, getting involved in a Lap 115 incident with two-time champion Kyle Busch.

But, through a rash of cautions, pit stops, and various strategy calls, crew chief Luke Lambert was able to get the No. 77 back to the front of the grid.

The finish (10th) marked the first top-10 result for Spire Motorsports on a non-drafting oval in the NASCAR Cup Series, beating out a previous best finish of 14th-place set by LaJoie at Texas back in the Fall of 2022.

It wasn't just a strong afternoon for Hocevar, though, as his teammate and fellow NASCAR Cup Series rookie Zane Smith spent a lot of time inside the top-15 during the event, before a poorly-timed caution trapped him a lap down.

The driver of the No. 71 Ambetter Health Chevrolet Camaro posted an average running position inside the top-20 for the first time in his NASCAR Cup Series career, which includes 18 starts between four organizations; Spire Motorsports, Rick Ware Racing, RFK Racing, and Front Row Motorsports.

During the race's final stage, there were times when Smith, Hocevar, and Corey LaJoie had each placed their Spire Motorsports entries inside the top-15 and looked poised to finish there until insanity prevailed in the closing laps.

XFINITY SERIES BRINGS THE EXCITEMENT IN TEXAS

The NASCAR Xfinity Series never disappoints...

In the closing laps of Saturday's Andy's Frozen Custard 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, perennial underdog Ryan Sieg had driven his way into the race lead and to a commanding margin over second-place Sam Mayer.

Mayer, who himself had a dismal start to the 2024 campaign, was able to chase down the RSS Racing entry coming to the final lap of the race, and although he was able to clear the No. 39, the Tucker, Georgia native slid back to his inside, engaging in a full-contact drag race to the start-finish line, which the JR Motorsports driver won.

The margin between race-winner Sam Mayer and runner-up Ryan Sieg was 0.002 seconds at the start-finish line -- matching the second-closest finish in the history of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the closest on a traditional mile-and-a-half in NASCAR National Series history.

This finish, coupled with a three-wide photo finish in the NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway, makes this season just the second since electronic scoring was implemented to have two finishes closer than 0.005 seconds in a single year -- 2018 being the other.

Had Sieg won Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series event, the series veteran would have broken a record for the most starts before claiming a first career victory, a record set by Jeremy Clements at Road America in 2017.

BUSCH, DILLON TAKING BABY STEPS IN THE RCR REBOUND

It's been a tough season for Richard Childress Racing drivers Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch, albeit at different magnitudes. However, on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, both drivers looked to put the championship-winning organization back on track, and hopefully, back in Victory Lane.

With Dillon (No. 3) in eighth and Busch (No. 8) in ninth, Richard Childress Racing placed both of its full-time entries inside the top-10 for the first time since July 2023 at Richmond Raceway.

Dillon, the grandson of Richard Childress, was in the second race of his third stint with Justin Alexander as crew chief of his NASCAR Cup Series entry. Much like the first two occasions where Alexander was on the box of the No. 3, the pairing earned a top-10 finish in one of their first two races together.

The eighth-place finish, while still not overly flashy, was the best result for the Welcome, North Carolina native since the Bristol Dirt event in the Spring of 2023, more than one season ago.

As for Kyle Busch, the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion doesn't come to the racetrack to finish ninth, but rather chases trophies. However, after a practice crash on Saturday, and the team having to essentially prepare the car from the ground up, the fact that Busch brought the No. 8 back inside the top-10 after a long-winded race, was a major accomplishment.

Adding a cherry to the top of The Lone Star State cake, Austin Hill, who competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for RCR, also ran at the front of the pack on Sunday, leading one lap in the No. 33 Chevrolet and running inside the top-10 before steering issues ended his afternoon.

While it's a small step forward for the organization, it's a sign of progress, which can be used as both drivers look to hop into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff picture.

It's been four decades since Geoffrey Bodine, Harry Hyde, and All-Star Racing arrived in Martinsville, Virginia for the 1984 Sovran Bank 500 at Martinsville Speedway, the race that would presumably be the last for the startup NASCAR Winston Cup Series team.

However, it was a rather surprising triumph on that Sunday Afternoon at the half-mile paperclip that served as a kickstart for the No. 5 team, and the beginning of an empire known to modern-day fans as Hendrick Motorsports -- which over the last 40 years, has become NASCAR's most successful team.

Now one of NASCAR's longest-tenured organizations, Hendrick Motorsports currently leads the NASCAR Cup Series with an incredible 305 victories and 14 championships, plus a heap of other records and accolades in which there are too many to keep track of.

Over the years, Hendrick Motorsports has served as a home for many of NASCAR's most talented drivers, three of whom currently sit inside the top-10 on the NASCAR Cup Series all-time wins list. But, Rick Hendrick's biggest contribution to the sport comes via a pair of drivers, both of whom, even after retiring from full-time competition, are giving back to the sport in their respective ways.

Jeff Gordon, a 93-time winner and four-time champion in the NASCAR Cup Series, has moved into an executive role with Hendrick Motorsports since retiring from full-time competition at the end of 2015, being named Vice Chairman of the organization in June 2021.

Jimmie Johnson, an 83-time winner and seven-time champion of the NASCAR Cup Series, is a co-owner of LEGACY MOTOR CLUB alongside Maury Gallagher, a second-year organization that currently fields a pair of entries at NASCAR's top-level for Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek.

Drivers like Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kyle Busch, each of whom spent multi-season tenures with Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series, have also gone on to make similar contributions to the sport, both from the business and popularity side.

Earnhardt, Jr. is arguably the most popular driver in NASCAR history, and while competing full-time for Hendrick Motorsports from 2008 to 2017, was responsible for a 10-year run of winning the Most Popular Driver Award, a streak which HMS has kept alive with current driver Chase Elliott.

As the years pass, the team's legacy continues to be larger-than-life, with each additional victory clicked off by a Hendrick Motorsports driver, and trust me, those still come in heaps, courtesy of Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Alex Bowman -- as the organization leads the series in victories in the era of the seventh-generation vehicle (2022 to present).

That legacy even stretches beyond the NASCAR Cup Series, with the HendrickCars.com branding being shown on vehicles in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, TransAm TA2 Division, and NHRA Funny Car Division, just to name a few.

But, amidst the changing tides, the NASCAR Cup Series can rely on one simple thing: Hendrick Motorsports, an organization that has scored at least one victory in each of the last 39 seasons, dating back to 1986.

ON THIS DATE: HENDRICK STATISTICAL MILESTONES

February 19, 1984: Geoffrey Bodine competes in the 1984 Daytona 500, the first NASCAR Cup Series event for the team now known as Hendrick Motorsports. Harry Hyde is the crew chief. The No. 5 All-Star Racing Chevrolet finishes eighth.

April 29, 1984: On the brink of closing its doors, All-Star Racing fields the No. 5 Northwestern Security Life Chevrolet for Geoffrey Bodine in the 1984 Sovran Bank 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Leading 55 laps, Bodine scores the first NASCAR Cup Series win for Hendrick Motorsports.

August 25, 1984: Geoffrey Bodine bests future Hendrick Motorsports driver Tim Richmond for the team's first NASCAR Cup Series pole position in the 1984 Busch 500 at Bristol International Speedway. Bodine would lead 86 laps, before retiring prematurely, finishing 22nd.

May 26, 1985: In the 1985 Coca-Cola World 600, Hendrick Motorsports fields a second entry for the first time in the NASCAR Cup Series, putting the No. 1 Exxon Chevrolet on track for Dick Brooks, alongside its usual No. 5 entry for Geoffrey Bodine. Brooks finishes 10th, ahead of Bodine, who finishes 16th.

July 20th, 1986: Two weeks after his victory in the 1986 Firecracker 400 at Daytona, Tim Richmond returns his No. 25 Folger's Chevrolet to Victory Lane, winning the 1986 Summer 500 at Pocono. It's the first time Hendrick Motorsports has won back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series events.

July 31st, 1988: Ken Schrader (No. 25) and Geoffrey Bodine (No. 5) cross the start-finish line in the top-two positions in the 1988 Talladega DieHard 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, the first 1-2 finish for Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series.

October 15th, 1989: After wins at Martinsville and Charlotte by Darrell Waltrip (No. 17) and Ken Schrader (No. 25), Geoffrey Bodine (No. 5) wins the Holly Farms 400 at North Wilkesboro, completing the first three-race win streak for Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series.

November 12th, 1995: At 24 years old, Jeff Gordon (No. 24) records his first championship in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, the first of 14 titles for Hendrick Motorsports at NASCAR's top level. In doing so, Gordon becomes the second-youngest Cup Series champion, behind only Bill Rexford (1950).

March 24th, 1996: Jeff Gordon (No. 24) wins the 1996 TransSouth Financial 400 at Darlington Raceway, the 50th NASCAR Cup Series victory for Hendrick Motorsports.

October 6th, 1996: After three consecutive wins by Jeff Gordon (No. 24) at Dover, Martinsville, and North Wilkesboro, Terry Labonte (No. 5) wins the 1996 UAW-GM Quality 500, the final race in a four-race win streak for Hendrick Motorsports.

November 10th, 1996: Terry Labonte (No. 5) earns Hendrick Motorsports its second straight NASCAR Winston Cup Series title. The organization becomes the first to win back-to-back titles with two different full-time drivers. To this date, only RFK Racing and Team Penske have joined this exclusive club.

February 16th, 1997: Jeff Gordon (No. 24), Terry Labonte (No. 5), and Ricky Craven (No. 25) cross the start-finish line sweeping the first, second, and third positions in the 1997 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, the first 1-2-3 result for Hendrick Motorsports, and the first in the history of 'The Great American Race'.

June 10th, 2001: Jeff Gordon (No. 24) wins the 2001 KMart 400 at Michigan International Speedway, the 100th NASCAR Cup Series victory for Hendrick Motorsports.

November 11th, 2007: Jeff Gordon (No. 24) and Jimmie Johnson (No. 48) combine to win NASCAR Nextel Cup Series events at Talladega, Charlotte, Martinsville, Atlanta, Texas, and Phoenix, marking a six-race streak of Hendrick Motorsports in Victory Lane, the team's longest to date.

November 21st, 2010: Jimmie Johnson (No. 48) wins his record-extending fifth straight championship in the NASCAR Cup Series at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The triumph also leaves Hendrick Motorsports as the organization with the most consecutive championships, at five, breaking its own previous best of four straight, which occurred between 1995 and 1998 with Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte.

May 12th, 2012: Jimmie Johnson (No. 48) wins the 2012 Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, the 200th NASCAR Cup Series victory for Hendrick Motorsports.

November 20th, 2016: Jimmie Johnson earns his record-tying seventh NASCAR Cup Series championship with a victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway, as well as a record-breaking 12th NASCAR Cup Series title for Hendrick Motorsports, breaking a tie with Petty Enterprises.

August 5th, 2018: Chase Elliott (No. 9) wins the 2018 Go Bowling At The Glen at Watkins Glen International, the 250th NASCAR Cup Series victory for Hendrick Motorsports.

November 8th, 2020: Chase Elliott (No. 9) captures the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix Raceway, making him the third-youngest champion at NASCAR's top level -- behind current Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports Jeff Gordon, and Bill Rexford.

May 16th, 2021: Alex Bowman (No. 48) wins the 2021 Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway, with Kyle Larson (No. 5), Chase Elliott (No. 9), and William Byron (No. 24) placing second, third, and fourth-place. Hendrick Motorsports becomes the third organization to finish 1-2-3-4 in a NASCAR Cup Series event, after RFK Racing and Pete DePaolo Engineering.

September 24th, 2023: William Byron (No. 24) wins the 2023 AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway, the 300th NASCAR Cup Series victory for Hendrick Motorsports.

February 19th, 2024: William Byron kickstarts the 40th anniversary celebrations for Hendrick Motorsports, winning the 2024 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. After rain postpones the event to Monday, the victory comes four decades (to the day) after the team's first NASCAR Cup Series start.

April 7th, 2024: At the height of the team's 40th-anniversary celebration, William Byron (No. 24) wins the 2024 Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway, four decades after the first NASCAR Cup Series victory for Hendrick Motorsports.

SOME OF THE BEST: HENDRICK DRIVER ROSTER

In the organization's 40-year history, 20 drivers have won a points-paying NASCAR Cup Series event for Hendrick Motorsports -- more than any other team. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, a pair of NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees, lead the win list for Hendrick Motorsports at 93 and 83, respectively.

Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson are third and fourth on that list with 18 NASCAR Cup Series wins apiece, while 26-year-old William Byron already ranks fifth all-time for HMS, with 13 wins.

The rest of the list includes Terry Labonte (12), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (9), Darrell Waltrip (9), Tim Richmond (9), Geoffrey Bodine (7), Alex Bowman (7), Kasey Kahne (6), Mark Martin (5), Ken Schrader (4), Kyle Busch (4), Ricky Rudd (4), Jerry Nadeau (1), Brian Vickers (1), Casey Mears (1), Joe Nemechek (1).

Hendrick Motorsports currently has one of the youngest rosters in the NASCAR Cup Series, with Kyle Larson being the oldest (31). But, in this case, age is just a number, and the accolades that the four-driver lineup has collected make for a star-studded lineup, one that has already combined for 62 victories at NASCAR's top level.

Kyle Larson is the newest of the four drivers to Hendrick Motorsports, joining the organization in 2021. That hasn't stopped the Elk Grove, California native from finding immediate success, though, putting together a 10-win season in 2021, the first in the NASCAR Cup Series since Jimmie Johnson in 2007.

Larson's unheard-of versatility has left him labeled as one of the best racecar drivers in the world, and exploring new ventures, like his first attempt at completing 'The Double' - running the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.

At 31 years old, Larson has won 24 NASCAR Cup Series events (18 for HMS), plus 15 NASCAR Xfinity and 3 NASCAR Truck Series events. Most recently, the HendrickCars.com-sponsored driver was responsible for bringing the organization its first Xfinity Series win since 2009, triumphing at COTA.

On the flip side, Chase Elliott is the longest-tenured active driver at Hendrick Motorsports, joining the organization for his NASCAR Cup Series debut in 2015, before competing full-time since 2016.

Elliott is a six-time winner of the Most Popular Driver Award, in what was essentially a passing of the torch between Hendrick Motorsports drivers when Dale Earnhardt, Jr. retired.

The Dawsonville, Georgia native has the statline to back up that hype, too, as the only Hendrick Motorsports driver, past or present, to have won a championship in the NASCAR Xfinity Series before coming to the NASCAR Cup Series and winning a championship there, with HMS.

Elliott became the Xfinity Series' youngest-ever champion in 2014, hoisting the championship trophy just weeks before his 19th birthday. Just six years later, the son of NASCAR legend Bill Elliott won the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series title, becoming the third-youngest driver to do so -- behind Jeff Gordon and Bill Rexford.

William Byron's mainstream success marks the beginning of a revolution.

The Charlotte, North Carolina native is known for learning to race on iRacing, before his meteoric rise to the NASCAR Cup Series, soaring through the lower ranks to get his seat with Hendrick Motorsports.

Sure, it took some time for things to click at NASCAR's top level, but once they did, the 26-year-old driver has become a force of nature, much like the No. 24 team was in the 1990s and 2000s when Jeff Gordon was behind the wheel.

The 2017 Xfinity Series champion has a knack for the big moments, winning the 300th NASCAR Cup Series race for Hendrick Motorsports last Fall at Texas, the 2024 Daytona 500, and the race corresponding with the 40th anniversary of the team's first win.

In less than 225 NASCAR Cup Series starts, Byron has reached double-digit figures in the statistical columns for race wins and pole positions -- becoming the third youngest to accomplish this behind only Jeff Gordon and Joey Logano.

Independently, he became the sixth-youngest driver to win 10 NASCAR Cup Series races, and the third-youngest driver to win 10 NASCAR Cup Series poles, both feats he accomplished at different points during the 2023 season.

Things appear to be on the up-and-up for Byron, who has captured nine of his NASCAR Cup Series victories in his last 42 starts, and last season, the driver of the No. 24 made his debut appearance in the 'Championship 4'.

Of the four drivers at Hendrick Motorsports, Alex Bowman is arguably the most stealthy... that is until he gains momentum. Granted, the 30-year-old driver has faced more than his fair share of trials and tribulations, forcing him to be sidelined at multiple points in recent years.

The Tucson, Arizona-native is a seven-time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, and although he hasn't won since early in 2022, the driver of the infamous No. 48 Chevrolet has shown his prowess behind the wheel in heaps.

However, the journey to get to one of NASCAR's most successful organizations wasn't as straightforward as his three teammates, and it began with a full NASCAR Xfinity Series campaign in 2013 for RAB Racing.

Bowman spent the next two seasons competing in the NASCAR Cup Series on a full-time basis, first for BK Racing in 2014, and then Tommy Baldwin Racing in 2015. But it was his Xfinity Series starts with JR Motorsports that put him on the radar of Hendrick Motorsports, and eventually, got him a ride as the fill-in for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. after he was suffering from concussion-like symptoms in 2016.

That 10-race campaign, including a particularly strong run at Phoenix Raceway, is what ultimately landed him his full-time opportunity with Hendrick Motorsports, taking over the No. 88 Chevrolet from the retiring Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Since he was granted this full-time opportunity in 2018, Bowman has been a model of consistency, making the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in every season that he has completed in each regular-season event, and building stronger each season.

Starting fresh with new crew chief Blake Harris in 2023, Bowman was off to a fantastic start with the No. 48 Chevrolet team, leading the NASCAR Cup Series point standings through six events, before a penalty post-Richmond derailed his points position.

Those woes were further compounded by an injury sustained in a sprint car accident in the Spring, which forced him to miss three NASCAR Cup Series events, which tossed him further down the standings.

In the opening eight races of 2024, things appear to be off to another strong start, with three top-five and four top-10 results, placing the No. 48 inside the top-10 in NASCAR Cup Series points.

Plus, there have been glimmers of having the race-winning pace his teammates have exuded this season, including back-to-back top-fives at Bristol and COTA, something Bowman hadn't accomplished since the Fall of 2020.

If the No. 48 team continues to fire on all cylinders, don't be surprised to see Bowman return to Victory Lane shortly, and maybe even go on a career-defining tear in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Throughout NASCAR's history, it's been rare for a four-car operation to have all of its teams competing for wins every single week, something that Hendrick Motorsports has done perfectly in 2024.

It's a testament to Rick Hendrick, Jeff Gordon, and the leadership staff within the championship-winning organization, and it's certainly a far cry from this time four decades ago when each race was met with questions of whether there would be another.

After an extremely puzzling start to the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series campaign, things finally seem to be pointed in the proper direction for two-time champion Joey Logano.

Finishing runner-up to Denny Hamlin in Sunday's Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway, Logano secured his first top-five result of the season, after running through the opening six weeks of the year with just a single top-10 result, a ninth-place run at Las Vegas.

It's the best NASCAR Cup Series result for the 33-year-old veteran driver since finishing second to Martin Truex, Jr. at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last July, more than 20 races ago. Logano's average running position Sunday at Richmond (4.60) is the best for the Team Penske driver since winning at Atlanta Motor Speedway, more than one season ago.

More importantly, though, it puts a full stop to an early-season slump for the Middletown, Connecticut native, who in his decade-long tenure with Team Penske had never gone this deep into a season without recording a top-five result.

"This is definitely the hardest start to a season we've had, but last week we started scratching and clawing and got a little bit of momentum through the last three races, and ultimately get to here, to where we were in the hunt again," said Logano. "It feels good. It’s Richmond. It’s a unique racetrack. It’s our best racetrack as a team, so we expect to run good here. I don’t know if this completely takes us out of the deep end, but I think, ultimately, it’s a good momentum-builder for sure."

The second-place result at Richmond also matches a season-high for Ford Performance, which has had three different drivers record a second runner-up result this year -- Ryan Blaney at Atlanta, Chris Buescher at Phoenix, and now Joey Logano at Richmond.

Since 2019, when Chevrolet went the opening nine races of the season without a victory, no manufacturer has gone this deep into a NASCAR Cup Series season without capturing their first victory.

The last time Ford Performance went this deep into a NASCAR Cup Series campaign without winning a race was in 2010, when Greg Biffle won the manufacturer's first event of the season at Pocono Raceway in August.

TIGHT CUP FIELD RETURNS TO RICHMOND

For the second straight year, Richmond Raceway is home to a NASCAR Cup Series record.

Despite the event beginning on wet-weather tires and a NASCAR Overtime restart on a short track, the 407-lap contest featured no attrition whatsoever, with all 36 drivers that started the event being under power when the checkered flag was displayed.

Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series event at Richmond saw last-place finisher Corey LaJoie finish three laps behind the eventual race-winner Denny Hamlin, making the 2024 Toyota Owners 400 the closest field in the history of NASCAR's top-level.

Before Sunday, Richmond Raceway still held the crown for the closest NASCAR Cup Series field in history, after last July's Cookout 400 at the three-quarter-mile short track saw the entire pack finish within six laps (4.5 miles) of the race-winner, Chris Buescher.

Last August, the NASCAR Cup Series field managed to finish within four laps of race-winner Michael McDowell, which equates to a much larger distance (nearly 10 miles), as a result of the track's length being more than two miles.

It's a sign of the times for NASCAR's top level, with the field remaining closer than ever before, a result of the seventh-generation vehicle behind introduced to the series in 2022. Plus, it's also a reflection of how planted these vehicles are, eliminating a lot of the attrition that came with in-race mistakes and crashes.

ELLIOTT RETURNS TO THE TOP FIVE AT RICHMOND

Finishing fifth in Sunday's Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway, Chase Elliott has scored his first top-five result of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series campaign.

A native of Dawsonville, Georgia, Elliott has been in a bit of a slump in the NASCAR Cup Series, not scoring a top-five since last year's regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway.

Even more stunning, is the fact that Elliott, NASCAR's Most Popular Driver, hasn't finished inside the top five on a track shorter than one mile in length since the Fall race at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2022.

It's a much-needed resurgence for Elliott, who continues to build momentum as Hendrick Motorsports approaches the height of its 40th Anniversary Celebration, which will take place at a track where the 28-year-old driver has found success, Martinsville Speedway.

However, despite a lack of top-five results this season, Elliot has remained consistent, being one of just three drivers to finish top-20 in each of the seven events this season -- joining Martin Truex, Jr. and Ty Gibbs.

NXS: CUSTER ENTERS RARIFIED AIR WITH 100TH TOP-10

With a 10th-place finish in Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway, Cole Custer, the defending champion of the second-tier series, is entering a pretty exclusive list of drivers, and at quite a young age.

The Ladera Ranch, California-native recorded his 100th top-10 finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on Saturday, becoming just the 36th driver in series history to accomplish this feat, and one of only a couple to do so before turning 30.

Possibly more impressive, though, is how quickly the Stewart-Haas Racing driver managed to accumulate triple-digit top-10s, reaching the benchmark in just 149 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts, giving him the 11th-best top-10 percentage of all-time (67.11%).

In the history of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, only four drivers have managed to score their 100th top-10 finish in fewer starts than Custer, those being Jack Ingram (127), Joey Logano (127), Austin Dillon (137), and Kevin Harvick (143).

Custer's prominence when it comes to stats in the NASCAR Xfinity Series shouldn't be much of a surprise, as the driver has had a pretty impressive tenure in the second-tier series, both before and after his three-season cup stint.

At 26 years old, should a second NASCAR Cup Series promotion not come for Custer, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver is liable to rack up a historic statline in the second-tier series, and likely some more championships.

Over the last two weeks, the entire narrative surrounding the NASCAR Cup Series has been flipped on its head, with a complete role reversal at the front of the field with manufacturers Chevrolet and Toyota.

After a quiet start to the 2024 season, Toyota has asserted itself as a contender over the last two weeks, putting together two dominant performances with factory-supported teams Joe Gibbs Racing, 23XI Racing, and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB.

Though, as many would expect, the organization in the spotlight continued to be Joe Gibbs Racing, with the last two race winners Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin combing from the stables of the championship-caliber team.

In fact, during the final stage of Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series event at Bristol Motor Speedway, there was a substantial period in which Joe Gibbs Racing had a stranglehold on the top four spots.

That didn't last, though, due to the extreme tire wear teams faced in Sunday's Food City 500, leaving Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs to lose massive amounts of time in the green-flag pit cycle.

Denny Hamlin, the veteran of the four-car brigade, conserved his Goodyear tires just enough to score his 52nd victory in the NASCAR Cup Series, and his fourth at the half-mile facility.

The Chesterfield, Virginia native led a race-high 183 laps en route to his first victory of the 2024 season, extending an impressive streak of nine NASCAR Cup Series events where the driver of the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE has led at least a lap.

Finishing close behind in second place, Martin Truex, Jr. snapped a 17-race streak of finishing outside the top five -- the longest such streak the Mayetta, New Jersey native has encountered since 2011.

Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell also recorded top-10 finishes in the Food City 500, after leading 137 and 29 laps, respectively. It's the first time that the second-year driver has led in back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series events, while also setting a single-race record for the driver of the No. 54 Toyota Camry XSE.

With sensational performances at both Phoenix and Bristol, Joe Gibbs Racing has accumulated 689 laps led in 2024, the most by any organization through the opening five races of a NASCAR Cup Series season since 2008, when the team led 755 laps in the opening five races.

With more short-track events on the horizon and the team's overall strength, there's no reason to believe the tally of laps led won't further increase, along with the organization's win count.

IT'S BRISTOL BABY!

After several years of lackluster NASCAR Cup Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway, Sunday's Food City 500 delivered a much-needed reintroduction to old-school NASCAR and the storied history of the half-mile short-track located in Bristol, Tennessee -- further deciding that no suggestion that includes putting dirt on a perfectly adequate racing surface should ever be taken seriously.

The drastic change in product year-over-year came as the result of NASCAR choosing to put resin on the inside lane of the racetrack, rather than the PJ1 that had been applied in recent years. That small change prohibited the historic facility from keeping rubber down, making the Goodyear tires wear dramatically and NASCAR's elite to conserve their tires all afternoon.

What followed was a chaotic 500-lap gauntlet from Bristol Motor Speedway, which when the dust settled featured a record-smashing 54 lead changes -- destroying the previous record of 40 from 1991 -- and one of the most captivating events in quite some time. The event featured 3,589 green flag passes per NASCAR's Loop Data statistics, by far the most at the half-mile facility since the beginning of Loop Data records in 2005.

At times, the race looked like a high-speed game of hot potato, with drivers passing the lead back and forth among themselves to avoid wearing out their Goodyear tires, and potentially destroying any semblance of long-run speed in their racecars. In fact, throughout the event, nobody held the lead for more than 42 consecutive laps, setting a Bristol Motor Speedway record.

When the checkered flag was displayed after 500 laps, there was no odd-ball winner, or crazy last-lap sequence that left cars in a heap at the inside wall on the fronstretch, but rather, the driver who managed his tires the best during the final 50-plus lap run to the finish, Denny Hamlin, hoisting the trophy over experienced veterans Martin Truex, Jr. and Brad Keselowski.

To make things even more incredible, despite all of the close calls, spins, and tire problems throughout the event, only one driver - Zane Smith - failed to finish the 2024 Food City 500. Although, only five drivers finished on the lead lap - the fewest in a NASCAR Cup Series event since 2004, that's not the indicator of what makes a race an instant classic.

RICK WARE? RICK AT THE FRONT

With the addition of Justin Haley and Kaz Grala, plus the continuing support of race-winning organization RFK Racing, many have been wondering when the spike in performance will come for Rick Ware Racing. The answer to that question: now.

Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series event at Bristol Motor Speedway marked, without opposition, the best performance for the organization in its tenure at NASCAR's top level, with both Justin Haley (17th) and Kaz Grala (19th) recording top-20 finishes -- the first time Rick Ware Racing has put multiple cars inside the top-20 on a non-drafting track.

Both Haley and Grala spent a significant portion of the Food City 500 running inside the top-10, on merit, with Haley getting as high as sixth place during the race's final green-flag run, while Grala reached his race-high seventh-place position at the halfway point. At times throughout the middle portion of the event, both the No. 15 and No. 51 Ford Mustang Dark Horses were flirting with a spot in the top-10 at the same time.

Haley, tapped as the full-time driver of the organization's flagship No. 51 entry in the NASCAR Cup Series, spent an incredible 319 of 500 laps running inside the top-15, while his teammate and off-track buddy Grala, driving the No. 15, spent 208 laps inside the top-15.

Before Sunday, the fifth NASCAR Cup Series event of 2024, no driver had ever spent more than 65 laps running inside the top-15 for Rick Ware Racing in a single event -- that being Haley in the second event of the year at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Between the organization's two anchor drivers, it's the fifth time that a Rick Ware Racing entry has spent more than 45 laps running inside the top-15 this season, surpassing the old benchmark for the organization in the NASCAR Cup Series, set by Joey Hand, David Ragan, and JJ Yeley - in three separate events.

While P17 and P19 aren't necessarily flashy, it's a massive step in the right direction for Rick Ware Racing, who has spent several years fighting and clawing their way to gain any position possible on the track.

THE TOP-10 'CHASE' ENDS FOR ELLIOTT

After the opening five races of the NASCAR Cup Series campaign, it can officially be said that NASCAR's Most Popular Driver has a top-10 finish, with the driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro finishing eighth place Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

While it's always a positive thing for a driver to get that monkey off of their backs, it's not like Elliott was having a horrendous season leading into the Food City 500, having scored top-20 finishes in every event to start the season -- a streak which will continue through at least COTA.

That goose egg, which was sitting in the top-10s column, is now gone, but even with one such finish, the Dawsonville, Georgia native is sitting sixth in NASCAR Cup Series points, on account of a consistent start to the year.

For reference, that's higher than Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron, who won the Daytona 500, and Alex Bowman, who finished runner-up in the season-opener.

Heading to Circuit of The Americas, statistically one of Elliott's best tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit, the 28-year-old driver is the only driver inside the top 14 in points that has yet to score a top-five, a stat likely to change very soon.

With the opening six rounds of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series campaign in the books, drivers and teams are beginning to settle into a rhythm and further understand where they stand in the hierarchy of performance at NASCAR's top level.

Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing clearly find themselves at the top of the pile in the NASCAR Cup Series, for the time being, winning five of the opening six races via drivers William Byron, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Christopher Bell, while also occupying eight of the top-11 spots in point standings.

The two organizations have combined to lead more than 63% of the laps in the NASCAR Cup Series this season (1,013 of 1,607 laps), with drivers Denny Hamlin (275), Kyle Larson (224), and Ty Gibbs (195) individually leading the laps led category in the NASCAR Cup Series.

If there's anybody amongst that group that deserves an additional shoutout, it's second-year driver Ty Gibbs, who has three top-five runs already this season, plus a streak of five consecutive top-10s, which is officially the longest of his NASCAR Cup Series career. Being second in points at 21, in your second full season, is nothing to scoff at, for sure.

Beyond those eight entries, which are stretched across two of the series' most dominant teams, there are no other driver-team combinations that have shown consistent enough strength to mount a challenge against JGR and HMS at the top.

However, there are still multiple organizations that have begun the year on a positive note, whether that be through solid runs of significant year-over-year increases in performance, leaving them with something to celebrate as the calendar flips to April.

After a breakout season in the NASCAR Cup Series last year, Chris Buescher is off to a strong start again in 2024, earning four top-10s in the first six races. Before this year, the Prosper, Texas-native had never scored his fourth top-10 before the 11th points-paying race of a Cup Series campaign.

John Hunter Nemechek is back in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2024, driving the No. 42 for the newly Toyota-aligned LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, and he is on a mission. After the opening six races of the year, Nemechek is sitting an impressive 15th place in points, on the strength of two top-10 results at Daytona and Bristol.

Despite the unfortunate circumstances in post-race inspection at COTA, Justin Haley and Rick Ware Racing are still having a pretty solid start to the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series campaign, showing major year-over-year improvements. Placing both entries inside the top-20 at Bristol, and running around the top-15 all afternoon at Circuit of The Americas, it's clear RWR is on an upward trajectory.

Spire Motorsports is on that same upward trajectory, highlighted further this weekend by Corey LaJoie who managed to qualify top five at Circuit of The Americas -- especially impressive considering LaJoie's previous experiences on road courses.

As for the team's rookies, Zane Smith scored his second top-20 in what has been a difficult season for the No. 71 Chevrolet, while Carson Hocevar has remained quiet and stayed out of major trouble, scoring his fourth top-25 of the year, but continues to be near his teammates, in terms of results and standings.

With the positives, unfortunately, come the negatives too.

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano continues to ride outside the top-20 in points after six races, only managing to collect a single top-10 result in 2024 -- a ninth-place finish at Las Vegas. An 11th-place result at COTA on Sunday, helped to stop the bleeding somewhat, but the Team Penske driver is going to need his luck to pivot.

It's certainly not all negative for Stewart-Haas Racing this year, who has shown strength at times this season with drivers Josh Berry, Noah Gragson, and Chase Briscoe, plus a noticeable improvement across the board in terms of raw speed.

But, the season thus far has been a story of copious amounts of bad luck thrown the way of the four-car organization, all of which has prevented the organization from being collectively higher in NASCAR Cup Series points than they are currently, with vehicles 17th, 28th, 30th, and 34th.

There's without a doubt a ton of upside for Stewart-Haas Racing this season, though, with Gragson and Briscoe both having recorded a pair of top-10 finishes. The team has also shown great pace on intermediates this year (Las Vegas), as well as with NASCAR's brand-new aerodynamic package, which will be in action for the next two weekends at Richmond Raceway and Martinsville Speedway.

Much like Joey Logano, Stewart-Haas Racing is very much in need of a change in fortune, as they look to build the organization back up to the consistent contender they were in the NASCAR Cup Series a short time ago.

BYRON PUTS TOGETHER PERFECT WEEKEND AT COTA

This past weekend at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) was one of the strongest in the career of 26-year-old William Byron, who led the field in practice and scored the pole position, before dominating the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix for his second win of the season.

It's the first time in his NASCAR Cup Series career that Byron has won from the pole, and the first driver to accomplish that since Ross Chastain at Nashville Superspeedway last Summer.

In doing so, Byron became the first driver to win practice, qualifying, and the race in the era of NASCAR's seventh-generation vehicle, which debuted in 2022, and the first to win in each of the three sessions since Denny Hamlin did so in August 2019 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

#SRIGLEYSTATS: MARCH 24TH, 2024

The Charlotte, North Carolina native led a race-high 42 of 68 laps in Sunday's sixth event of the season, marking the most dominant performance by any driver in the four-year history of NASCAR Cup Series competition at the 3.41-mile road course in Austin, Texas.

Interestingly enough, though, despite the level of dominance from Byron on Sunday, the 0.692-second margin of victory between race-winner William Byron and runner-up Christopher Bell was the closest ever at Circuit of The Americas, despite each of the previous two events going into NASCAR Overtime.

With the victory, Byron has now won two of the last three road course events in the NASCAR Cup Series, after breaking through for his first non-oval win last Summer at Watkins Glen International.

TY GIBBS CASHING IN ON ROAD COURSE PROWESS

Ty Gibbs has had an unbelievable start to his second full-time campaign in the NASCAR Cup Series, scoring three top-five and five top-10 results in the opening six races of the 2024 season, driving the No. 54 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.

The 21-year-old driver currently leads the NASCAR Cup Series in both top-10 finishes (five) and average finish (7.83), which has placed him second-place in series point standings, just five markers behind veteran teammate Martin Truex, Jr.

His performance in Sunday's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) signaled once again what many have talked about throughout the current season: Ty Gibbs is going to win a NASCAR Cup Series race, soon.

Could it happen on a road course? The 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion has sneakily been one of the best road racers in the NASCAR Cup Series as of late, further backed by his third-place finish on Sunday.

In the previous three NASCAR Cup Series road course events at COTA, Charlotte's ROVAL, and Watkins Glen, Gibbs has only spent a single lap running outside of the top-15 per NASCAR's Loop Data.

Including both Indianapolis and the Chicago Street Course, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has been inside the top-15 for at least 99% of the laps in four of his last five non-oval starts, including three races where he never dropped lower than 15th.

TRUCKS: TRICON CLAIMS HALF OF THE TOP-10 AT COTA

TRICON Garage had what can easily be considered its best performance in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this past weekend at COTA, placing five entries inside the top-10.

In doing so, the team co-owned by former NASCAR Cup Series driver David Gilliland became just the second organization in series history to place five entries inside the top-10, joining ThorSport Racing, who did so at Martinsville Speedway in 2019.

Corey Heim and Taylor Gray also earned the organization its first-ever 1-2 finish in the meantime, while road racing specialist Jack Hawksworth finished in sixth place.

Dean Thompson and Tanner Gray rounded out the top-10 in ninth and tenth and greatly benefitted from a 30-second penalty assessed to Matt Crafton to make this piece of history possible.

To make an already great afternoon even better, four of the team's five trucks were out front at one point during the event -- although Taylor Gray never officially led a lap.

Hawksworth's result in the No. 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro also marked the third top-six finish for the rotisserie entry in the last six races, dating back to the season-finale of 2023 with Jesse Love finishing in fourth.