Cup Series – Page 73 – Syndication Server

Legacy Motor Club makes Toyota switch for 2024

Legacy Motor Club, the organization co-owned by Maury Gallagher and Jimmie Johnson, will field two Toyota entries in the NASCAR Cup Series beginning next season. Legacy Motor Club currently fields the No. 42 for Noah Gragson and No. 43 for Erik …

Legacy Motor Club, the organization co-owned by Maury Gallagher and Jimmie Johnson, will field two Toyota entries in the NASCAR Cup Series beginning next season.

Legacy Motor Club currently fields the No. 42 for Noah Gragson and No. 43 for Erik Jones. Alongside the four of Joe Gibbs Racing and two from 23XI Racing, Toyota will have eight cars in the Cup Series next season.

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“All of us at Toyota are thrilled to add Legacy Moto Club to our NASCAR family,” said Jack Hollis, Executive Vice President of TMNA (Toyota Motor North America) and President of Toyota Motor Sales. “While Toyota’s tenure in NASCAR has yielded on-track success, our proudest accomplishments are those relationships that have been built off the racetrack.

“Jimmie Johnson and Maury Gallagher, along with the great club that Legacy M.C. is assembling, will be a great addition to our existing Cup Series team partners with Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing, who are truly part of our family.”

Legacy Motor Club will make the switch to Toyota from the Chevrolet camp, with whom Johnson has spent the entirely of his NASCAR career as a driver.

“Maury Gallagher and I are very excited about the partnership with Toyota and TRD beginning in 2024,” said Johnson. “We admire and respect the level at which Toyota conducts their business in this sport and look forward to forging a new legacy for the future.

“I will always be appreciative to Chevrolet and everything we have accomplished together. I’m so thankful they took a chance on a kid from California so long ago and proud that the history books will forever memorialize our record-breaking success we shared.”

Both Gragson and Jones have driven for Toyota in the past. Gragson ran a Toyota while at Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Craftsman Truck Series and when he made his Xfinity Series debut. Jones drove a Toyota as he moved through the NASCAR ranks from the Truck Series with Kyle Busch to the Xfinity Series and Cup Series with Joe Gibbs Racing.

“We are humbled and delighted to welcome Legacy Motor Club into the Toyota and TRD NASCAR family,” said David Wilson, President of TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development). “Jimmie Johnson and Maury Gallagher have impressed us with their long-term vision and commitment to building a championship caliber organization. More importantly, their character and values are aligned with ours and our current Cup Series partners, Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing.

“Of course, we also look forward to being reunited with our old friends, Erik Jones and Noah Gragson.”

Briscoe ready to lead Stewart-Haas into the future

While the door will always be open to Kevin Harvick at Stewart-Haas Racing, the organization will lose his veteran voice and leadership at the end of the season. Harvick will leave a void as he heads to the Fox Sports booth. From the first test at …

While the door will always be open to Kevin Harvick at Stewart-Haas Racing, the organization will lose his veteran voice and leadership at the end of the season.

Harvick will leave a void as he heads to the Fox Sports booth. From the first test at Charlotte Motor Speedway with his new team going into the 2014 season, Harvick elevated the organization and his No. 4 team has carried the banner ever since.

It’s also possible Stewart-Haas will be filling Aric Almirola’s seat in the near future, as well. Almirola, who joined the team in 2018, was going to retire after the 2022 season but had second thoughts. But whether it’s only Harvick’s exit or both his and Almirola’s sometime in the near future, Stewart-Haas will need someone to step up and be the next leader.

Chase Briscoe wants to be ready to assume that position, and has the support of his teammates.

Briscoe made it known during Daytona Speedweeks that he’s already studying how Harvick operates. With the departure of Harvick and potentially Almirola, the 28-year-old realizes he will be the most tenured driver at Stewart-Haas.

“I think Chase can do a lot of things as long as he’s given the tools and resources,” says Harvick. “And as long as the leadership leans in to tell him when he’s doing things right and wrong, and what they want him to do.

“He has to have some guidance on that, and then he has to take those roles and be productive with them and implement himself into places that he might not be comfortable implementing himself in or conversations that he’s not comfortable with.

“You have to be able to be uncomfortable and be productive all at the same time and know when to bang your fist on the table and when to be quiet.”

Those are traits Briscoe is trying to learn from Harvick. It’s vital for Briscoe to understand how to get his point across and when to use his voice. That has never been hard for Harvick, who has always been one of the sport’s most outspoken drivers. But offering vital information behind closed doors is a different game.

Next year will be Briscoe’s fourth at the Cup Series level. He won Rookie of the Year honors in 2021 and followed it up in ’22 with his first career win at Phoenix Raceway and first playoff appearance. By the end of the year, he had improved in all statistical categories.

Having a leader in the clubhouse is important to Briscoe because without that voice, he feels an organization can spiral. All he can do is try to be prepared to do his part and ensure that doesn’t happen.

Briscoe has been learning from Kevin Harvick. Nigel Kinrade/Motorsport Images

“When you look at the way Chase Briscoe got here, he obviously has the ability to drive and the want to be here,” continues Harvick. “He wants it, and that’s something you can’t give somebody. They have to know that, and he’s proven that through the years and how he got here.

“He can be a leader; I don’t have any doubt about that. You just have to go through the situation and do the things you have to do and Stewart-Haas Racing did the right job in committing to him long-term because he is somebody that you can build your company around and be able to be that leader because of his desire and knowledge.

“But the first thing you have to do is have that desire to be able to want that position because it’s a lot of work in order to do this. You have to have a 24/7 mindset and be able to balance your family and finances and all the things that come with that circle of life. He has the desire, and that’s the most important thing.”

Almirola is nothing but complimentary about his young teammate, as well.

“I think Chase has a tremendous amount of raw talent,” says Almirola. “He’s very gifted behind the wheel, and I think he’s trying to continue to do his part as a team guy. He’s been really involved with all the meetings, and he’s constantly at the shop, and he’s with his guys and his engineers and doing all the right things. At this level that’s what it takes.

“You have to be engaged constantly. It’s a seven-day-a-week job for 40-plus weeks a year, and there’s no real time to not have that level of engagement, and I feel like Chase has done a really good job of that. He sees the way Kevin works; we all see that. Kevin is very detailed-oriented and very engaged all the time, and it brings that level for all of us to rise to because that’s the expectation at our organization.”

Ryan Preece, who is in his first year driving for Stewart-Haas, doesn’t have an argument against Briscoe being the next guy up. For Preece, it’s a simple matter of tenure and experience. And with experience, according to Harvick, Briscoe will develop into the leader he wants to be, whereas Almirola said Briscoe already has the most essential variable.

“Chase has a great personality,” Almirola says. “Chase is an easily likable guy and that’s important. When you’re around a shop that has 350 employees, you have to be around, you have to be involved, and you have to be a friendly face. You want the guys and the team to rally around you because you’re the face of the organization when you’re the lead guy. I think Chase has the ability, for sure.

“We got to continue to work on him to get in the gym. Right now, he can get away with it, but I think long-term to do it for a long, long time that would be one area I already push him to get better at. But as far as a team player being involved, being engaged, and being a guy that everybody enjoys working for, he’s already got that covered.”

Harvick chuckles at Almirola’s gym comment.

“Well, there are a lot of great leaders that never went to the gym.”

Truex brothers sweep NASCAR national series races at Dover

You could say NASCAR’s stop at Dover Motor Speedway was “All in the Family;” a kin-to-win kind of weekend. Martin Truex Jr. answered his younger brother Ryan’s NASCAR Xfinity Series victory on Saturday with a win in Monday’s rain-delayed Wurth 400 …

Truex, who started 17th in the 36-car field after qualifying was cancelled due to weather, methodically worked his way forward in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. The 42-year-old New Jersey native finally took the lead for the first time with 69 laps remaining and led all but one of those final laps to claim his first points-paying victory of the season, ending a 54-race winless streak.

He and his JGR pit crew ultimately had to earn the win with pit strategy and pit execution. On a pit stop during the race’s final caution period, Truex’s team opted to put only right-side tires on his Toyota. With the quick stop, he was able to beat the field back out to the track and then on the ensuing restart – with seven laps to go – hold off a hard-charging Ross Chastain, whose No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet had taken four fresh tires on the stop.

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“It feels incredible,’’ Truex said. “I feel like we’ve been close a bunch of times, that’s for sure. Felt today, with that caution, what’s going to happen here and then good call by [crew chief] James [Small] to take two (tires) and then I was able to get a pretty good restart.

“Just thanks to everybody that stuck with me. We knew we could do this. We’ve shown we can lead laps and have dominated races and it just never all came together. I’ve said we just had to keep doing what we were doing and not overthink it.’’

Chastain, who took his fourth stage win of the season, finished 0.505s behind Truex but was unable to make up any real ground on the leader in the closing laps after passing Ryan Blaney, who also took only two tires on that final stop.

“Gosh, so close again,’’ said Chastain, who led 98 laps. “It’s surreal to continue to race against my all-time heroes.’’

Penske Racing’s Blaney finished third – his sixth top-10 of the season and second top three in the last two races. Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron led a race-best 193 laps and won a series-best sixth stage, to finish fourth. It marks the second time he’s led the most laps in a race this year but not claimed the victory.

Truex’s JGR teammates Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell finished fifth and sixth.

Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher and Josh Berry rounded out the top 10. Berry was driving the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for Alex Bowman, who suffered a back injury racing sprint cars last Tuesday.

It marks the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion Truex’s 32nd career win and first since a victory at Richmond on Sept. 11, 2021. Snapping the streak and sharing Dover’s Victory Circle with his younger brother, Ryan, truly made the week for the veteran.

“It’s just special, you know,’’ Truex said. “This is a special place. Good day for my family and to see Ryan win Saturday; he’s worked so hard for so long to get good opportunities and it’s awesome.

“And then for us, we’ve given away a few here over the years so it’s nice to see it come around our way. Just excited and had a hot rod. Just needed to get it out front.”

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to competition Sunday at Kansas Speedway in the AdventHealth 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Kurt Busch won this Spring race in 2022.

NASCAR Cup Series Race – Wurth 400
Dover Motor Speedway
Dover, Delaware
Sunday, April 30, 2023

(17) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 400.
(14) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 400.
(3) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 400.
(8) William Byron, Chevrolet, 400.
(13) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 400.
(2) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 400.
(7) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 400.
(4) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 400.
(5) Chris Buescher, Ford, 400.
(23) Josh Berry(i), Chevrolet, 400.
(10) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 400.
(28) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 400.
(24) Ty Gibbs #, Toyota, 399.
(27) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 399.
(9) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 399.
(11) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 399.
(30) Ryan Preece, Ford, 399.
(29) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 399.
(12) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 399.
(31) Harrison Burton, Ford, 398.
(1) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 397.
(32) Michael McDowell, Ford, 397.
(25) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 397.
(19) Aric Almirola, Ford, 397.
(35) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 396.
(20) Austin Cindric, Ford, 396.
(36) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 395.
(21) JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 393.
(22) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 381.
(6) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 378.
(26) Joey Logano, Ford, Accident, 375.
(18) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 359.
(34) Brennan Poole(i), Ford, Accident, 79.
(33) Noah Gragson #, Chevrolet, DVP, 43.
(15) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, Accident, 35.
(16) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, Accident, 34.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 115.505 mph.

Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 27 Mins, 47 Secs. Margin of Victory: .505 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 7 for 46 laps.

Lead Changes: 19 among 8 drivers.

Lap Leaders: K. Busch 1-22;C. Bell 23;B. Keselowski 24-26;W. Byron 27-85;D. Hamlin 86;K. Busch 87-89;W. Byron 90-123;D. Hamlin 124;W. Byron 125-193;R. Chastain 194;J. Berry(i) 195;B. Keselowski 196-200;R. Chastain 201-253;D. Hamlin 254;W. Byron 255-285;R. Chastain 286-329;J. Berry(i) 330-331;M. Truex Jr. 332-388;D. Hamlin 389;M. Truex Jr. 390-400.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): William Byron 4 times for 193 laps; Ross Chastain 3 times for 98 laps; Martin Truex Jr. 2 times for 68 laps; Kyle Busch 2 times for 25 laps; Brad Keselowski 2 times for 8 laps; Denny Hamlin 4 times for 4 laps; Josh Berry(i) 2 times for 3 laps; Christopher Bell 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage 1 Top 10: 24,11,12,6,1,17,20,4,19,47

Stage 2 Top 10: 1,24,12,19,11,54,17,45,9,20

Rain postpones Dover Cup race to Monday

The Wurth 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway scheduled for Sunday has been postponed to a noon ET start Monday due to lingering inclement weather in the area. FS1 will televise the 400-lap race at “The Monster Mile” with live radio …

Rain forced the cancellation of Saturday’s qualifying session at Dover, putting two-time winner this season and three-time Dover winner Kyle Busch on the pole, the first time he’ll lead the field to green in 2023.

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Andrews says no changes to Hendrick policy after spate of extra-curricular injuries

For the sixth time in the opening 11 weeks of the season, Hendrick Motorsports entered the racetrack without one of their full-time Cup drivers in the seat. Alex Bowman, who fractured a vertebra while racing a sprint car at 34 Raceway in Burlington, …

For the sixth time in the opening 11 weeks of the season, Hendrick Motorsports entered the racetrack without one of their full-time Cup drivers in the seat.

Alex Bowman, who fractured a vertebra while racing a sprint car at 34 Raceway in Burlington, Iowa this past Tuesday night, will be sidelined three to four weeks as he recovers, becoming the second HMS driver to miss time due to an extra-curricular injury this year.

“Whenever our drivers come forward with schedules for extracurricular racing or things they’re going to do like the Chili Bowl in the offseason, those schedules are reviewed,“ Jeff Andrews, President and General Manager of Hendrick Motorsports said. “And the message from Mr. (Rick) Hendrick is, ‘I don’t want to stop those things, but be careful.’ We’ll always keep Sunday at the top of the list.”

Bowman, who’d been enjoying one of the best starts to the season in his career with new crew chief Blake Harris, had amassed three top-five and six top-10 finishes before the injury. Josh Berry, who filled in for Chase Elliott in five races at Hendrick, will drive the No. 48 car in Bowman’s absence.

While Harris never wants to see his driver forced out of the seat, he’s confident in Berry’s skillset as a more than capable substitute.

“This company has a great history of success here in the No. 48 car alone,” Harris said. “Josh — we got him in the simulator Wednesday as soon as we knew something, I mean within two hours, I think, of him knowing he was able to hop in for us. Statistically, he’s probably the best guy here. He’s only had a handful of races, but I don’t know that he’s finished worse than second here.”

Berry, who will be making his eighth career Cup Series start and sixth this year, echoed Harris’ sentiments, and is much more confident stepping into this situation at a track he’s enjoyed success at (2022 Xfinity Series Dover winner) than when he stepped in last minute for Elliott at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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“The reality of it is I feel a little bit more comfortable than where we were sitting in at Las Vegas, having a relationship with everyone at HMS and working through a handful of races with the No. 9. I’m ready to go,” Berry said. “We’re going to stay in the present; race these two races this weekend and see how it goes.”

Elliott knows exactly what his teammate Bowman is going through, having lived a similar situation only a matter of weeks ago.

“I know he’s bummed. But I think it could have been a lot worse, right,” he said. “For me, number one, I’m thankful he’s in a position where he’s going to be able to get back to the team and be able to contribute 100 percent as he was before. So to me, his health is really first and foremost. I know he’s bummed and he’s probably not feeling good, but I’m looking forward to having him back.”

Despite the quantity of incidents affecting the same organization, Elliott still chalks it up to unfortunate timing more than anything else.

“I mean, look, I get it — it’s a bad look. I totally understand that,” Elliott admitted. “But also, I understand that there is a timing piece of that and it’s just really poor timing. I think if one happened this year and the other happened next year, would we be having the same conversation? Probably not… I think them being back-to-back makes it look a little worse than the reality.”

“We look at Chase and Alex’s situation as two different situations,” added Andrews, who doesn’t anticipate any changes to the organizations policies as it pertains to off-track activities. “This is the first extracurricular racing accident that we’ve had that’s taken one of our drivers out here for three weeks.

“We may take a look at this if it happens again. We’ll have to,” he continued. “From our perspective, we have to evaluate and understand what is the right balance. We certainly don’t want to tell them ‘no’ to something that might help them here on Sunday. But we want them in good race cars, safe cars.”

Dover qualifying rained out; Busch to lead field to green Sunday

Kyle Busch will start Sunday’s Wurth 400 at Dover where he finished last weekend’s GEICO 500 at Talladega – first. Rain forced the cancellation of Saturday’s qualifying session for the Wurth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway, putting the two-time winner …

Kyle Busch will start Sunday’s Wurth 400 at Dover where he finished last weekend’s GEICO 500 at Talladega — first.

Rain forced the cancellation of Saturday’s qualifying session for the Wurth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway, putting the two-time winner this season and three-time Dover winner on the pole, the first time he’ll lead the field to green in 2023.

It’s the 33rd pole of his career, first since 2019 and first with Richard Childress Racing.

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Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, William Byron, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Chase Elliott — the defending race winner — round out the top 10 starters.

The field was set by metric, which weighs 15 percent of the fastest lap time positions of the last race, 25 percent of the driver finishing positions of the last race, 25 percent of the owner’s final race finishing positions of the last race and 35 percent of the owners points positions.

Filling in for Alex Bowman and having not raced last weekend in the Cup Series, Josh Berry had his driver-based numbers (fastest lap and finishing position) set to 41. He will start 23rd.

There are 36 drivers starting the Wurth 400.

Larson’s wrecked No. 5 among Talladega cars taken for inspection

NASCAR is taking three cars from Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway to its R&D Center for further inspection this week and one of them is the damaged No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Kyle Larson. Larson’s car suffered a severe …

Larson’s car suffered a severe right-side impact on the first overtime restart at Talladega. The third driver in the outside line behind Noah Gragson and Ross Chastain, Larson was collected in the chain reaction when Chastain and Gragson made contact in Turns 1 and 2.

Larson initially spun to the left, onto the apron. But as he fought to regain control, Larson spun to the right and back up the banking into the oncoming path of Ryan Preece. It was a high-speed collision as Preece ran straight into the door of Larson’s car.

“Thankfully, I’m OK, but my car is absolutely destroyed,” Larson said. “The cockpit’s a mess. I’m just thankful that I’m all right and all that. It’s just a bummer. We put ourselves in position once again on a superspeedway, and the results don’t show it. Another wreck not of my doing on a superspeedway. I just hate it, but we’ll keep getting better, and eventually, it’ll have to work out, I would think.”

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Larson and Preece were both evaluated and released from the infield care center.

NASCAR will evaluate the damage to Larson’s car this week. Part of the right side of Larson’s car was ripped open near the right-rear wheel, and through the right-side window, it was visible that one of the bars in the door had been damaged.

“That was P1 for (hardest hits) I’ve ever taken in my life,” Preece told reporters after exiting the care center. “I feel like when I wreck, I’m pretty tough, and usually not a lot of stuff you think, ‘Man, that hurt.’ That kind of was somebody poking at me and saying, this is going to nudge you a little bit. Definitely P1 on the hit list for me.”

The impact for Preece was hard enough to knock the visor on his helmet up.

“It knocked a whole lot of things around in that race car,” Preece said. “I took a glance at the 5 from where I hit him, it looked like it killed the center section on his car.”

The other cars taken by NASCAR were the No. 2 of Austin Cindric and the No. 45 of Tyler Reddick.

‘I felt like I was going to be a meme’ – Briscoe’s bizarre run to fourth at Talladega

Chase Briscoe finished fourth Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, and after the day he went through the Stewart-Haas Racing driver is probably not alone in having no idea how. During the first round of pit stops in the GEICO 500, under green, Briscoe …

Chase Briscoe finished fourth Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, and after the day he went through the Stewart-Haas Racing driver is probably not alone in having no idea how.

During the first round of pit stops in the GEICO 500, under green, Briscoe spun at pit road entry. In doing so, the right-front tire blew on the No. 14 Ford, and the strange sequence of events left him stuck in place and spinning his wheels — literally.

“It was weird,” Briscoe said. “It felt like (the world’s slowest donut). I felt like I was going to be a meme eventually or something. It was weird; I just literally couldn’t move. I went from first gear to reverse up to third gear, just trying anything I could, and it was definitely just a helpless feeling.”

The SHR driver did a few small circles on pit road, leaving a burnout mark that a race winner would be proud of. But no matter how hard he tried and how much smoke came from the tires, Briscoe’s car didn’t move, and NASCAR eventually had to throw the caution on lap 44 in order for the car to be pushed to its pit stall.

An odd, and “super lucky” moment for Chase Briscoe at Talladega. Nigel Kinrade/Motorsport Images

“It was funny — I think the pit box that I was spinning out in, all their pit crew guys had their phones out and were videoing it,” Briscoe chuckled. “It was embarrassing. I was just sitting there doing circles in front of them. Just a weird circumstance.

“Honestly, super lucky we didn’t go three laps down there. If I went three down, there is no way I get back on the lead lap. Just a lucky break that we ended up being two (laps) down. And when I was out there, I was thinking about how lucky I was I didn’t get a speeding penalty because I was spinning out pretty fast, and that would have been another lap down too. It honestly just all worked out today for us.”

The initial spin coming to pit road was a conscious decision.

“I feel like at Daytona, and even here in the past, I’ve been able to out-brake so many guys coming down there,” said Briscoe. “I just didn’t do a very good job of getting my brakes…heated up, and also, I didn’t set my brake bias to where I normally have it. I was coming with so much speed I was either going to destroy the No. 42 or spin myself out, and I decided to spin myself out.

“Honestly, the wheel kind of ripped out of my hand anyways; I don’t think I would have saved it regardless if I had my normal situation. But I felt like it was smart not to destroy the No. 42 there coming to pit road.”

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The incident cost Briscoe two laps. He got the first lap back at the end of the first stage on lap 62 as he ran 37th. He got his second lap back under a lap 143 caution for a multi-car crash in Turn 3.

Briscoe’s long day was exacerbated by his still-injured hand. A broken finger the week leading into the Bristol dirt race led to surgery last Monday. Sunday at Talladega was the first race that Briscoe experienced pain problems.

“Not good,” Briscoe said of his hand after the race. “It’s weird — the last two weeks I’ve had absolutely zero issues, and with the pins in there, it’s like any time anything touches one of those pins, it just is excruciating pain. I was literally screaming in the car at some points because it hurt so bad.

“In the past, I’ve had two splints: one on top, one on the bottom. I think I need to go to one on the bottom now because the one on the top kind of hits that pin a lot. I was not really worried about Dover or any of the rest of the races coming up, but definitely a little more…not worried, but I guess I need to be a lot more particular about what I do going into this week to make sure I get it as good as I possibly can because it was definitely an issue today.

“Some of it, I don’t know if you have more time to think here so you notice it more too, but it was definitely not fun today.”

In the end, “the man upstairs” is the only answer Briscoe had for his day ending the way it did.

“Honestly, I was praying every 10 laps not to get in a wreck, and we were super close a lot of the time and able to miss them,” he said. “Overall, a crazy day. It reminded me, honestly, a lot of the playoffs last year where stuff would happen and we would just continue to stay tough and battle and try to make the most out of our day. We had a race within a race with me and (Michael) McDowell being two laps down trying to get that one lucky dog, and we were able to get it.

“I thought we were going to be really good at the end of stage two, and then Joey (Logano) — with that speeding penalty — we caught him with like four to go, and (Austin) Cindric kind of let him in, and it took away our chance at the lucky dog, and I was kind of worried we were going to be stuck one down as it seemed nobody was really wrecking, and was able to obviously get back on the lead lap. I think because of pitting a lap later and being stuck so far back there, we had more fuel than a lot of those guys.

“Yeah, crazy day. I think that last restart, I started 10th and was up to third, then back to 14th, and then back to fourth. It was all over the place. Just thankful, truthfully, that we didn’t wreck. My hand was terrible today. It was so bad. I was really worried about, if I did crash, what it would do. We move on to Dover. Thankful we made it through today — a day we probably didn’t deserve to finish fourth, but we did.”

Late block strips Wallace from chance of Talladega win

Bubba Wallace took responsibility for the crash between himself and Ryan Blaney on the last lap of Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway, ending a potential duel for the win between the two friends. “I pulled a late block – close, close, close …

“I pulled a late block – close, close, close block — and just that sent us around,” Wallace said. “Not the No. 12’s (Blaney) fault, just I honestly thought that he would leave me high and dry coming back around and so just hate it, hate it for my team. That’s how it goes.

“So that was our best, by far, plate race that we’ve ever done, so hat’s off to the No. 23 group, Freddie on top of the roof. Just a great day for us, just a crap result, so…hate it. I caused that one and man, I just thought it’d play out a little bit different — obviously not getting wrecked, but I thought the move would happen coming off through the trioval.”

Wallace’s 23XI Racing Toyota led the field at the white flag with an assist from Blaney. The two surged in the outside lane around Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski, who led the inside lane.

“The way we were shoving and pushing, we were kind of getting each other out of whack and sort of moving the momentum forward,” Wallace said. “And then when I got the move, it was, you know, OK, cool, and it was all about defending, and you can’t let your guard down for one second, or you end up in (the infield care center).”

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After making the pass for the lead, going into Turn 1, Wallace and Blaney simultaneously moved to the bottom. Blaney, however, still had a run and started moving to the outside, which Wallace chased. The two touched, and Wallace spun to the left, bounced off Keselowski, and spun back into the pack.

“It’s hard to block in these cars,” Blaney said. “I felt like he kind of triple-moved on me; can’t really do that. You block the middle, block the bottom, block the top and I’m there. It’s a shame he got turned, but I don’t know what else I could do besides slam on the brakes and you can’t do that.

“I’m not blaming anybody; it’s just hard racing. As the leader, I would have done the same thing. You’re trying to block and maintain the lead. But as second, I’ve got to take every run I can get and keep my momentum, so it’s just one of those things.”

Busch drove through as the seas parted. He was the leader and winner as the caution came out and ended the race. Blaney finished second.

“I’m mad we didn’t win,” Blaney said of his thoughts after the crash. “That’s the thing that went through my head first.”

The Penske driver said he and Wallace would talk about what happened. He said it “stinks” when there is contact between friends, but doesn’t race Wallace any differently than the rest of the field.

As the race wound down, Wallace was glad to see Blaney around him in the draft.

“Oh, when I saw the No. 12, I was pumped,” said Wallace. “We work well together, obviously, every speedway race, and that’s just the way it goes. Not the No. 12’s fault at all.”

For Blaney, his winless streak goes to 56 races. He led a race-high 47 laps Sunday at Talladega.

When asked if he thinks about what more he can do to win a race, Blaney said, “Every single day.”

Busch takes the right gamble to grab Talladega spoils

Kyle Busch is a Las Vegas native after all, so he was “all in” to stay on track instead of pitting for fuel during a pair of overtime restarts in the GEICO 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway Sunday afternoon. He ended up the big winner. Busch’s …

Busch’s No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet had just enough gas to make it back to the checkered flag as a half dozen other lead-pack cars around him were collected in a multi-car accident while maneuvering forward to challenge for the lead on the final overtime lap.

“We got to gamble,’’ Busch, 37, said he told his crew while contemplating whether to pit for fuel or stay in the lead pack for the final overtime restart – noting afterward he probably wouldn’t have been willing to be so daring if he hadn’t already earned a victory this season at California’s Auto Club Speedway. He didn’t even do a celebratory burnout after the race, convinced his Chevrolet didn’t have enough fuel at that point.

Busch and 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace exchanged the lead during the final two laps of the race but Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota was tagged by Ryan Blaney in the No. 12 Penske Racing Ford as those two vied for the lead just after the white flag flew, signaling one lap to go.

Wallace’s Toyota turned sideways, hit the wall and triggered a chain-reaction accident that eliminated several other of the front-running cars while the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Busch was able to continue forward and take his second win of the season and 62nd of this career. It’s Busch’s second career win at Talladega – the first coming 15 years (and 55 wins) ago.

KYLE BUSCH WINS AT TALLADEGA AS CARS CRASH BEHIND HIM. The race ends under caution after Bubba Wallace goes around following contact from Ryan Blaney. https://t.co/Y7rYJKb3rS pic.twitter.com/zQ5bDxeQAg

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 23, 2023

“Sometimes you’ve got to be lucky, you know,’’ said a smiling Busch, who led only three laps in securing the RCR team its 13th Talladega victory. “Sometimes these races come down to that and you’ve got to take them when they come your way.

“The seas kind of parted there when they (Blaney and Wallace) went up the race track… They were trying to push-draft and these cars are just not stable enough to do that. I saw the No. 23 (Bubba Wallace) turn a little bit sideways, and I was like, ‘Just get out of the way.’”

Blaney, who led a race-best 47 of the 196 laps, looked poised to snap a 55-race winless streak at Talladega before the last lap incident. He was still able to continue after the contact with Wallace, but finished runner-up despite leading the most laps on the afternoon.

“It’s just you get big runs and you take them when you can,’’ Blaney said, noting of the contact with Wallace, “I’m glad everyone’s okay, but in my mind you can’t make a triple move like that, a triple block. You can’t block three times, I don’t know, the runs are so big and as the leader Bubba’s (Wallace) trying to block, which is the right thing to do. But I think he kinda moved three times. I got to go somewhere. I hate for cars to get torn up and I hate for us to be so close to the win.

“I’m not blaming anybody. It’s just hard racing at the end of this thing and unfortunate that cars got torn up and we missed out on another win.’’

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Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing driver Chris Buescher finished third, followed by Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe and RFK owner-driver Brad Keslowski, who leads all current competitors with six career Talladega wins.

Legacy Motor Club’s Erik Jones, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell, Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez and Front Row Motorsports’ Todd Gilliland rounded out of the Top 10.

It was, by all accounts, the typical, hard-nosed, tight-quarter racing fans and drivers have come to expect at the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway. Sunday’s race featured 57 lead changes – the most at Talladega since 2011 (72 lead changes).

It was a markedly different top of the final leaderboard based on the afternoon’s efforts. SHR drivers Aric Almirola and Kevin Harvick each led 11 laps and ran among the front pack for most of the day, but were collected in a multi-car accident on the first overtime period. They finished 20th and 21st, respectively.

Wallace, who spent 35 laps out front in his No. 23 Toyota, finished 28th after the last lap accident.

Also noteworthy: Chase Elliott finished 12th and led seven laps – the first laps he’s led since returning to competition last week after missing six races recovering from a broken leg. Pole winner Denny Hamlin led seven laps on the day and finished 15th.

Ironically the race’s earlier mishaps didn’t happen from aggressive action on the race track but instead in slower miscues on pit road. Tyler Reddick spun his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota getting on pit road making his first stop of the race and only six laps later Briscoe spun his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford on pit road bringing out a yellow flag – only to recover and take that top-five finish.

Wallace, who earned his first career NASCAR Cup Series win here at Talladega in 2021, led the most laps (23) in stage one. But it was Hendrick Motorsports’ Elliott who ultimately drove forward to claim his first stage win of the season leading the final 11 laps.

There were 17 lead changes among nine drivers in stage two – with Almirola moving out front in the final feet to the finish line get around Elliott and claim that stage win.

As for the two victories in the opening 10 races of Busch’s tenure with Childress, the NASCAR Hall of Fame owner grinned.

“I think he’s helping us build RCR back up to where we want it to be,’’ Childress said, glancing with a smile at bottle of race-winning champagne he brought to the winner’s press conference.

Christopher Bell maintains the NASCAR Cup Series championship lead by 11 points over Ross Chastain as the series moves to the “Monster Mile” – Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway – for the Wurth 400 next Sunday at 2 p.m. (FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RESULTS