Category: Cup Series

Hamlin penalty upheld on appeal

The National Motorsports Appeals Panel has upheld the behavioral penalty levied against Denny Hamlin for his last-lap incident with Ross Chastain at Phoenix Raceway. NASCAR fined Hamlin $50,000 and docked him 25 points. Hamlin admitted a day after …

The National Motorsports Appeals Panel has upheld the behavioral penalty levied against Denny Hamlin for his last-lap incident with Ross Chastain at Phoenix Raceway.

NASCAR fined Hamlin $50,000 and docked him 25 points.

Hamlin admitted a day after the race on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast that he took Chastain with him as he fell through the field, squeezing the Trackhouse Racing driver into the wall on the last lap at Phoenix. Hamlin was on older tires going into the overtime restart, and once the Joe Gibbs Racing realized he was going to fall through the field, decided Chastain, who was on his outside, could be taken advantage of as the two have had issues in the past.

“I’ve said for a while you’ve got to do something to get these guys’ attention,” said Hamlin. “Ross doesn’t like it when I speak his name in the media and when I have this microphone. But I told him, ‘Well, I have a microphone, and I’m going to call it like I see it, and until you get a microphone, you can then say whatever you want about me.’

“But the fact is, while I’m sitting here talking, I’m going to call things the way I see it, and sometimes I’m going to have to call myself out, which I’m the (expletive) who lost just as many spots as he did. But at the time, I said, well, I’m going to finish (expletive) anyway, and I’m just going to make sure he finishes (expletive) right here with me.”

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Hamlin was penalized under section 4.4 of the NASCAR rule book. Infractions covered in that section include attempting to manipulate the outcome of a race and actions detrimental to the sport.

Elton Sawyer, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, said officials initially viewed the contact as a racing incident. But Hamlin’s comments prompted a review.

“The way we look at these situations, they are all individual and unique to themselves,” Sawyer said. “When you look at this one this past weekend, we would have viewed that as a racing incident, but then 24 hours later have a competitor that has gone on a podcast — which I will say, we’re delighted Denny has a podcast. We think that’s great; he interacts with the fans. But when you start admitting you have intentionally done something that would comprise the result of the end of the race, then that rises to the level that we’re going to get involved. There’s no other way to look at that. We’re going to get involved in those situations. We’ve been consistent in the past with that, and we will be consistent going forward.”

INSIGHT: Burton ready to rumble without the rookie stripes

Harrison Burton heard the same warning every time he moved up the racing ladder into a new series. “I’ve heard it in every series I’ve been in – you’re a rookie, and the veterans are going to pick on you – and it never happened until I got the Cup …

Harrison Burton heard the same warning every time he moved up the racing ladder into a new series.

“I’ve heard it in every series I’ve been in – you’re a rookie, and the veterans are going to pick on you – and it never happened until I got the Cup Series,” Burton said. “I was like, ‘Aw that won’t happen.’ Well, sure enough, it did.”

Fortunately for Burton, he’s not a rookie anymore. As such, the bright yellow decals on the rear bumper of his Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang are no longer there. Those rookie stripes – something every driver wants because it means they’ve arrived, but something they also can’t wait to get rid of.

“It’s supposed to be a ‘Hey, this guy is new kind of thing,’” Burton said with a sense of humor. “But it’s more like a target; aim for the yellow stripes. It’s awesome.

“[Austin] Cindric and I were both pumped to rip those things off the back bumper and get rolling into this year.”

Burton, unfortunately, didn’t get to physically rip his rookie stripes off—something he gladly would have done but missed the chance.

“So, after the offseason started, all of our cars went back to the shop, and we had our meetings and whatnot, and then I sat on my couch for about a solid week,” Burton said. “By the time I went back to the shop, they were all gone. So, I didn’t get to do it.

“I was a little upset because I did want to get those things off there. But my first little offseason break didn’t line up with the removal of the yellow stripes.”

A second-generation driver, Burton, 22, is the son of former driver and current NBC Sports analyst Jeff Burton. It’s been a quick trip to NASCAR’s top level for Harrison. A year in the Craftsman Truck series (2019) gave way to two years in the Xfinity series (’20 and ’21) before being tabbed to drive the famed Wood Brothers No. 21.

It was, as expected, an up-and-down rookie season. Quite literally in Burton’s first Daytona 500 as he went from leading the field to flipping on the backstretch. He also crashed at the second race in Fontana, and went on to finish 27th in the standings with an average finish of 22.8.

Burton no longer has a bright yellow target on his back. Motorsport Images

He had 14 finishes inside the top 20, including two top-10 finishes. An impressive third-place run on the Indianapolis road course, a race highlighted by carnage, was the highlight of Burton’s season.

“They just race you hard,” said Burton of what it means to be picked on as a rookie. “[Michael] McDowell was one that came up to me at the Clash last year and was like, ‘Hey man, I’m going to race you really hard this year because you’re a rookie, and I got raced really hard when I was a rookie.’ I said, ‘OK, sounds good.’

“He was super up-front about it and made me laugh pretty hard. But things like that that no one has ever said to me before I got to Cup. I was like, all right, sounds good. It’s a funny thing.

“Everyone has had that experience and now, when they aren’t the rookies, it’s, ‘Yeah, it’s not me, so I’m going to pick on that guy now.’”

Time will tell if Burton begins returning the favor. But he’s looking forward to not being the guy whom the veterans view as expendable at certain racetracks.

“Everyone gets moved at (places like) Martinsville, but honestly, the mile-and-a-half’s last year were the hardest racing I’ve done in my whole life,” Burton said. “The amount of intensity that this series has from first all the way back to, say, 20th and the level of aggression.

“In the old car, if you got close to someone and you were on the inside, you’d get really loose. Well, now the outside car gets really tight. So, I’d have Ross Chastain dooring me in the middle of a corner at a mile-and-a-half and I’m like, holy cow, this is crazy. You’d never have that before.

“At Texas, I think I was entering Turn 1, which is sketchy enough, and me and Ross are banging doors on entry. Like, holy cow. I feel like the mile-and-a-halfs are more aggressive than I’d ever imagined last year.”

If the first few races of Burton’s sophomore season are any indication, the aggression is still there. But those rookie stripes on his bumper aren’t, and that means a lot to Burton for several reasons.

“Oh yeah, it was awesome to not see them,” Burton said. “It is cool to be in a second year of racing in the Cup Series. It’s funny to talk about getting rid of the yellow stripes so I don’t get moved out of the way at Martinsville and whatnot, but it is cool to take them off because it means you’re still here racing in Cup and doing what you love to do for another year.

“It’s a good deal.”

Gibbs keen to keep moving forward in rookie year

For the third consecutive Sunday, Ty Gibbs crossed the finish line ninth in a NASCAR Cup Series race as he and the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing team continue to have a quietly strong start to the season. The rookie driver kept his car clean in Sunday’s …

For the third consecutive Sunday, Ty Gibbs crossed the finish line ninth in a NASCAR Cup Series race as he and the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing team continue to have a quietly strong start to the season.

The rookie driver kept his car clean in Sunday’s 400-miler at Richmond Raceway and avoided costly mistakes like speeding.

“I feel like we’re just finishing better,” said Gibbs. “I feel like we’ve had speed all year, but we haven’t finished well from my mistakes. So, I’m happy with it, and let’s keep going and working hard.

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“We needed a little more in our Monster Energy Camry, but I’m happy with it and thankful to be racing at the top level of motor sports. I’m having a good time.”

It was a long day of tire fall and managing pace, and Gibbs averaged a top-15 run throughout the afternoon.

“Tire fall off was really big, but I really enjoy stuff like this,” said Gibbs. “I feel like it suited my team well, and they worked really hard and never gave up on me.”

Execution has been a work in progress for Gibbs and his team, and although the day ended on a high note, crew chief Chris Gayle said the team did have a few mishaps on pit road.

“We’re all making mistakes,” Gayle said. “Obviously, his (Gibbs) are more easily visible to everyone. We got blocked in on the first stop where we knew we should have topped shorter, so that cost us some positions. We had a pit crew mistake – we had one stop where the gun reversed. So, it’s part of it.”

Through the first seven races, Gibbs has managed an average finish of 17th. Gibbs is 20th in the championship standings after the last three races.

“It does feel good to get the results,” Gayle said. “What I liked better (Sunday) was our execution was better. The last two, we got top 10s, but they were racetracks where maybe our execution wasn’t good on pit road, but you could overcome it because of what happened either at the end of COTA or Atlanta, and that race being a superspeedway.

“This one, we had talked about before the race, if you make mistakes – you saw it speeding and stuff late – it’s the end of your day. It’s hard to come back through the field. He did really good there. It’s nice to get three top nines, but for us, we talked at the beginning of the season, 10th to 15th, and anything better than that is a good day. So, another good day.”

The most impressive stat for Gibbs is that the rookie has completed every lap so far this season. Gibbs has been on the lead lap at the end of five of the seven races.

“I think it’s really important to look at the big picture like that, and we’ll keep going and keep knocking these finishes out,” said Gibbs. “I think we could have finished maybe a little bit better, but we missed it by a touch. So, we’ll keep working hard.”

Richmond dominance scuppered late for Byron

For the first 470 laps Sunday at Richmond Raceway, the day played out as well as William Byron could have hoped. Byron won the first stage and led the most laps (117). The Hendrick Motorsports driver was trying to fend off a challenge from Martin …

For the first 470 laps Sunday at Richmond Raceway, the day played out as well as William Byron could have hoped.

Byron won the first stage and led the most laps (117). The Hendrick Motorsports driver was trying to fend off a challenge from Martin Truex Jr. when the first bad break of his day occurred with 29 laps to go.

As Byron and Truex were side-by-side for the race lead, the caution flew for a Tyler Reddick spin. With another chance at fresh tires, the field came to pit road, where the next bad break occurred as Bryon fell from the lead to third place.

On the ensuing restart with 21 laps to go, the No. 24 made it to the entry of Turn 1 when the straw finally broke the camel’s back. Byron was tagged in the left rear by Christopher Bell, sending the Hendrick Chevrolet spinning into the outside wall.

Byron finished 24th in the Toyota Owners 400.

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“It just looked like the No. 20 (Bell) got in there and overcooked the corner,” Byron said of the incident. “He was put three-wide and he just blew the corner and I was the victim.”

Bell initially said Ross Chastain forced the issue, resulting in him getting into Byron. However, Bell later took full responsibility through a tweet when he saw the replay.

It was the second consecutive spring race Byron left Richmond without a win that he and his team were capable of. He led 122 laps in the same race a year ago but finished third when the field split on strategy in the final stage.

“I don’t know about dominating the race, but we definitely were a top-three car, which is good for this place,” Byron said. “You just want to be in contention and have a shot. It was good to have another great car, but it sucks to finish in the 20s and hit the wall that hard. That’s never fun, but it is what it is.

“We had a great car. We did almost everything we could do to put ourselves in position to win; it was us and (Truex), and unfortunately, it just didn’t work out that way. So that’s the way it goes.”

Through the first seven races, Byron has been one of the best in the series. He scored back-to-back wins in early March, has five stage wins, and has led nearly 400 laps.

“We’re doing a really good job, so we just have to keep it up,” Byron said. “It’s a long season, so got to keep it up.”

Larson uses Hendrick teamwork to triumph at Richmond

With the benefit of a fast final pit stop, Kyle Larson was able to put his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet out front at Richmond (Va.) Raceway and then hold off the field in the last 25 laps of Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 to earn his first …

With the benefit of a fast final pit stop, Kyle Larson was able to put his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet out front at Richmond (Va.) Raceway and then hold off the field in the last 25 laps of Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 to earn his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2023 season.

The 30-year old Californian had to out-duel his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Josh Berry on a pair of re-starts in the closing laps to secure the win at the first short track event of the season at the 0.75-mile Richmond oval. Berry, driving the No. 9 Hendrick Chevy for injured Chase Elliott, finished runner-up capturing his best ever NASCAR Cup Series finish – 1.535s behind Larson to the checkered flag.

Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick rounded out the top five.

It was the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Larson’s 20th career win and the first ever NASCAR Cup Series victory for his interim crew chief Kevin Meendering, who has led the No. 5 team at-track while full-time crew chief Cliff Daniels – along with the Hendrick team’s other three crew chiefs – finish out a suspension penalty from NASCAR.

“It’s really cool. We’ve been close to winning a couple,’’ Larson said, adding, “Things just worked out and my pit crew had a great stop.’’

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It was certainly a Hendrick Motorsports day with Larson and Berry besting the field, plus their teammate William Byron leading the most laps (117) and winning his series-best fifth stage. The season’s only two-time winner, Byron looked poised to have a say in the trophy hoist too, only to be knocked out of contention when he was hit from behind by Christopher Bell on a restart with 20 laps remaining.

“I was just re-starting fourth there, just trying to stay tight to the No. 9 (Berry) and get a good restart and got tagged in the left rear,’’ said a frustrated Byron, who finished 24th. “Just a dive-bomb move on his (Bell) part. It is what it is. I had a great race car.

“The Raptor Chevrolet was awesome all day. We’ll just keep bringing fast race cars like that. It was looking like another win before that caution there, but that’s the way it goes.’’

Larson led four different times, totaling 93 laps on the afternoon and survived contact on pit road with Daniel Suárez’s Chevrolet early in the race. It was Larson’s second Richmond win (also in 2017) and the fifth for Chevy through the season’s opening seven races.

The Toyota contingent looked to give the Chevys a real run, looking especially strong mid-race. Four Toyota drivers combined to lead 154 laps – more than the manufacturer had been out front in the previous six races. Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota paced the Toyotas leading 71 laps and claiming the stage two win, but a pair of pit road penalties – including a costly one on his final stop, took him out of contention. He finished 20th.

“What an awesome Hendrickcars.com Chevy,’’ Larson said. “Can’t say enough about it. I got into the No. 99 (Suarez) on pit road there sometime in the second stage, and we were awful after that. I was hoping the damage was the reason why, but they had to calm me down a little bit and get refocused and was able to get it done.

“Thanks to everyone on this team (and) Cliff Daniels for everything he does to prepare the team to be as strong as we are without him on the box. So good to get a win, and hopefully many more.”

Michael McDowell finished sixth — his first top-10 finish of the year. Reigning series champion Joey Logano was seventh, followed by polesitter Alex Bowman, rookie Ty Gibbs and owner-driver Brad Keselowski. Gibbs’ ninth place effort marked his third consecutive top-10 finish.

The series returns to action next Sunday with the Food City Dirt Race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (7 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Kyle Busch is the defending race winner.

RESULTS

Berry riding high after strong run to second at Richmond

Josh Berry felt he had a good Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Sunday at Richmond Raceway but needed the track position to show it and pull off a respectable finish. In his fourth NASCAR Cup Series start, Berry finished second after lining up against …

Josh Berry felt he had a good Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Sunday at Richmond Raceway but needed the track position to show it and pull off a respectable finish.

In his fourth NASCAR Cup Series start, Berry finished second after lining up against teammate Kyle Larson on the race’s final two restarts. Berry, substituting for the injured Chase Elliott, was given the much-needed track position when the team called for him to stay out longer on the final green flag pit cycle, which started with just under 55 laps to go.

He led 10 laps and was inside the top 10 when the team caught the caution they needed. The No. 9 pit crew got Berry off pit road second to Larson, keeping him in contention.

“I loved it. I absolutely loved it,” Berry said of the strategy call. “I thought we had some good pace at times, but we needed some clean air, and these guys thought outside the box, and that’s what it takes in these races. You never know what could happen.

“If you do the same as everybody around you then you’re going to finish with them. They made a couple of bold calls. One that kept us on the lead lap early in the race and that one at the end to get us some track position. The pit crew was amazing all day.”

Tom Gray, the team’s interim crew chief as Alan Gustafson serves a four-race suspension for the modified hood louvers found at Phoenix Raceway, had faith in his driver getting the job done. Not only was the team confident in Berry’s ability on a short track, but in keeping him out on older tires and managing his pace while they waited out the strategy.

“They called him ‘Mr. Short Track’ on the broadcast, so I was laughing,” Gray said. “And I said, let’s show them what Mr. Short Track is all about.”

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The decision to flip the strategy was made by committee.

“Without showing our hand too much, we are a tight-knit group and a lot of credit to Alan Gustafson on this one because we really put our heads together, and he’s definitely fostered an environment where more heads are better than one. We were looking at a lot of things, and to be honest, we balanced risk versus reward and made the right call.”

Sunday was Berry’s second top 10 with the team. Afterward, he received praise from Hendrick Motorsports president and general manager Jeff Andrews, a fist bump from a grinning vice president of competition Chad Knaus and a handshake, hug, and pats on the back from vice chairman Jeff Gordon.

“Good job, man. That was awesome,” Gordon told Berry as he fulfilled his media obligations. “That must have felt good, huh? You fought hard for that one.”

Berry’s day also included a spin. On lap 95, he was tagged by Ryan Blaney and spun off Turn 4 but did not hit anything.

“We had been in the pack and got tight, I think, and Blaney was coming through the field and just got into me,” Berry said. “It was really light (contact). I don’t think he meant to do it or nothing, but he did.”

Berry said he was too loose to run with Larson at the end of the race. Off the restart, Larson quickly cleared his teammate and drove away.

“I just have a lot of people to thank to get to this point,” said Berry of his day. “Obviously, (Rick Hendrick) and Chase (Elliott) and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports for giving me this opportunity in the Cup Series. But also Dale (Earnhardt Jr.), Kelley (Earnhardt Miller), L.W. Miller, and everybody at JRM who believed in me and got me to this point to be considered for opportunities like this.

“All the credit today goes to Tom and this whole NAPA team. They made some amazing strategy calls. We weren’t bad, we weren’t cutting bad lap times in the pack, we were just in the midst of the pack, and it’s so hard with no practice or qualifying to just drive through the field like that with the amount of experience I have. But they thought outside the box, made some good calls, and it worked in our favor.”

A full-time Xfinity Series driver for Earnhardt’s team, Berry was unexpected call into Cup Series action last month. He is running the oval races in Elliott’s absence and continues to see the difference from one series to another.

“This stuff’s hard,” Berry said of Cup Series racing. “These guys are so good. This is the best of the best, and I don’t think a lot of them have made it very easy for me coming in here filling in for the No. 9.

“I’ve been learning a lot. I think there’s so much more to learn, but days like today really do a lot for confidence.”

Suarez opens up about COTA fine and the ’embarrassing circus’

Daniel Suarez did not expect NASCAR officials to fine him $50,000 earlier this week but understood their reaction while he also focused more on the actions of his fellow drivers that led to his frustration. On the cooldown lap at Circuit of The …

Daniel Suarez did not expect NASCAR officials to fine him $50,000 earlier this week but understood their reaction while he also focused more on the actions of his fellow drivers that led to his frustration.

On the cooldown lap at Circuit of The Americas, Suarez went on the hunt for Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain and Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman. Suarez first knocked Chastain out of the way coming to pit road to get to Bowman and then repeatedly ran into the back of Bowman as a NASCAR official was directing the field.

Suarez was fined but not docked championship points.

“No, I was not expecting that just because we were running – based on SMT and stuff I saw – below 20 miles per hour,” Suarez said Saturday at Richmond Raceway. “It was very, very slow. And also, the No. 48 car (Bowman) was brake-checking me, so we were not going quick. There was one official there and that was wrong.

“I was not expecting anything, but it is what it is. NASCAR wants to send a message and it’s OK. I’m OK with that. It’s not right what I did, but I don’t think that anything else was going to happen. I wasn’t going to kill somebody like a lot of people thought. But it is what it is; I’ve already moved on from that.”

Suarez restarted fifth on the inside lane and was tagged from behind by Bowman, who Chastain had hit. The contact from Bowman sent Suarez into Martin Truex Jr., which spun Truex.

Compounding matters, Truex came to a stop after the spin right in front of Suarez. Doing so forced Suarez to stop and have to back up before rejoining the race.

“It is what it is,” Suarez said. “I’ve been trying to work on myself mostly during the week, try to clear my mind and reset about my team. I think the issue wasn’t really with one driver; I feel like it’s more as an industry, how we are allowing to have those bump and run restarts at the end of races and road course stuff. I don’t think that’s right.

“Unfortunately, I’ve been affected twice, both times running in the top five. That’s the frustrating part for me because we always run well in road course racing and then we get taken out by dumb driving from no one driver, but a lot of drivers. It’s something NASCAR is working hard to figure out, and hopefully, they can come to a solution.”

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Suarez didn’t have an answer as to what NASCAR could do to avoid the carnage seen on late-race restarts at road courses. Some drivers spoke about single-file restarts, warning that if nothing changes, the same incidents will continue to happen at Indianapolis (where Turn 1 was an issue last year) as well as the Chicago street course, which drivers expect could see the course blocked during an incident because of how narrow it is.

“All I know is that NASCAR is working toward trying to make a better solution for some of these restarts because it doesn’t look right,” Suarez said. “The sport looks embarrassing in my mind and in the mind of many people. That’s not real to just go into the corner and bump three cars to push people out of the way. That’s not real, and we know that.

“But they do it because they know that’s how some people got top fives and top 10s last week and some of the guys that were fast, like me, we finished 27th. So, if NASCAR does something about it that’s amazing, and if they don’t, I just join the party, and I drive dumb into some of those restarts as well because that’s the way that it pays off better.”

Although frustrated and having made contact with Bowman and Chastain, there was no physical confrontation last weekend. Suarez hashed things out with Bowman on pit road and has mended fences with his teammate.

Chastain said the two are “brothers” at Trackhouse Racing but every family fights. Both seemed to have moved on from the incident.

“We worked it out on our way; we know what we did,” Suarez said. “It’s not the first time we’ve been in this position, and probably won’t be the last one. That’s part of racing. Both cars, on a consistent basis, we’re running in the top five, and we’re going to have situations like this. Sometimes I’m going to be unhappy with him, and sometimes he’s going to be unhappy with me. I don’t see it as a big deal when it comes to Trackhouse. There is not a story there.

“I think the big picture is the problem. What are we doing as a 40-driver group that is not right? Hopefully we can fix that. And like I said, if we don’t fix it, then the group of drivers that are not doing this kind of thing are just going to join the party, and we are going to make this embarrassing circus even bigger.”

With points penalty nullified, Bowman happy to lead again

Welcome back to the NASCAR Cup Series championship points lead, Alex Bowman. “Definitely glad to have the point lead,” Bowman said Saturday at Richmond Raceway. He jumped back atop the standings earlier this week when the National Motorsports …

Welcome back to the NASCAR Cup Series championship points lead, Alex Bowman.

“Definitely glad to have the point lead,” Bowman said Saturday at Richmond Raceway.

He jumped back atop the standings earlier this week when the National Motorsports Appeals Panel amended the L2 penalty NASCAR levied against Hendrick Motorsports last month. NASCAR officials confiscated the hood louvers off all four cars after practice at Phoenix Raceway, ruling the organization had modified the single-source supplied parts.

In addition to 100-point penalties and losing 10 playoff points, all four Hendrick Motorsports crew chiefs were suspended four races and fined $100,000. Bowman had taken the point lead after the Phoenix race, but it only lasted a few days before the penalty knocked him to 23rd place.

Before the appeal was heard Wednesday, Bowman sat 16th in the standings after the Atlanta Motor Speedway and Circuit of The Americas events. The points were the most critical variable of the penalty, NASCAR officials feeling that it is a “strong deterrent” to violations.

While the panel noted the organization “violated the Rule(s),” the points – championship and playoff – were given back to each Hendrick team. The suspensions and fines stood.

“For me, it’s just my job to drive the race car,” Bowman said when asked what his expectation of the appeal was. “I was just focused on doing the best I could every week and making up the points that we had lost. Happy to get them back, but for me, just trying to drive the race car the best I can and maximize each and every week.”

It is the first time Bowman has led the point standings in his Cup Series career.

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He currently leads the 2023 field in top-10 finishes (five) and is tied with three other drivers for the most top-five finishes (three). And even though Bowman and the No. 48 team haven’t won a race, his average finish of 7.0 is also series-leading over Kyle Busch’s 9.0. They are the only two Cup Series drivers with an average finish in the single digits.

“Execution” is what Bowman said his team is doing right through the early part of the season.

“We’ve maximized our bad days,” he said. “We struggled a little bit at Phoenix but still ended up in the top 10. At Atlanta, if the last lap goes a little different, then we finish in the top 10 there, too. I feel like just maximizing our bad days and maximizing each little part and piece of everything throughout the races.

“This is a small sample size. It feels good to be leading points and to have this season that we’re having so far. We’re six races in and so much can change. We’re trying to continue that each and every week to keep that going.”

Through the penalty, Bowman’s team has missed a beat. Although crew chief Blake Harris has missed the last two races and will miss Richmond and the Bristol dirt event, there has been a familiar voice in Bowman’s ear: Greg Ives, whom Bowman worked with for five years, is the interim crew chief.

“I think Greg’s done a great job,” said Bowman. “It’s kind of funny how it worked; he came back in a hurry. It’s been fun working with Greg. Obviously, I’ve enjoyed that for a long time, and I’m glad to be working with him.”

Bowman starts from the pole at Richmond (Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET, FS1) after rain canceled qualifying. Being the point leader is a part of the metric that helped give Bowman the top spot.

Wallace vows to work harder after COTA ‘rookie mistake’

Bubba Wallace got a wake-up call last weekend when he made what he termed a “rookie mistake” and showed up at Richmond Raceway vowing to be a better person. On lap 11 at Circuit of The Americas, Wallace blew into Turn 12 and collected Erik Jones and …

Bubba Wallace got a wake-up call last weekend when he made what he termed a “rookie mistake” and showed up at Richmond Raceway vowing to be a better person.

On lap 11 at Circuit of The Americas, Wallace blew into Turn 12 and collected Erik Jones and Kyle Larson. The incident severely damaged Wallace’s Toyota, a busted oil line ending his day.

But it was Wallace’s reaction during his FOX Sports interview that garnered attention. In admitting he made a rookie mistake as a sixth-year Cup Series driver, Wallace also said he needed to be replaced.

“I questioned myself, sitting in the car waiting to get on the plane of why am I in this head space right now after coming into this year with the most confidence I ever had,” Wallace explained. “I think I realized I was solely riding on confidence (and) not putting the work effort into being where I wanted to be. We put a lot of effort into COTA, but from the race before that, you’re just riding on confidence.

“We’ve had an up-and-down start to the year, but realizing I have to work hard. I have to be a better person.”

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The reaction from those close to Wallace has been supportive. Wallace shared that his mother, Desiree, texted him during the week, which resonated.

“I think the text I got from my mom was, ‘If you want something to change, you have to change yourself,’” said Wallace. “Finally that stuck with me. Usually, I’m like, ‘Thanks, Mom.’ But there are a lot of unanswered texts I had. Unanswered phone calls I had. But I read every single one of them and listened to all the voicemails and I appreciate them.

“I took a lot of time to self-reflect and basically, in short, I need to get my (butt) in shape. Work out. Eat better. Just do things better. I feel good. I feel back to where I was to start the year.”

Wallace’s mental and physical turnaround started this week, and he is committed to doing the work.

“The better your physical health, the better your mental health,” he said.

COTA followed the pattern of Wallace’s up-and-down year, with strong pre-race form followed by this incident that cleaned out Kyle Larson and Erik Jones along with himself. Motorsport Images

COTA was shaping up to be a solid weekend for Wallace. Road course racing has been an uphill battle for him previously, but last weekend, he and teammate Tyler Reddick were at the top of the board for portions of practice. Wallace qualified 11th for the race.

“His road course skills took a giant leap in the course of a year,” team co-owner Denny Hamlin said. “He just made a mistake and is beating himself up. That’s how emotional he is, but he also can really quickly pivot into using it as motivation to get better. We’ve seen over the last 12 months he’s used that motivation and he has gotten better.

“My job is to pat Bubba on the back and say, ‘We all screw up, and we’ve all made big mistakes.’ It’s just when it happens a couple of weeks in a row, as a driver, you really take it hard. But he’ll get over it with a good run.”

As for the specifics of that “rookie mistake,” Wallace said he got lost where he was on track. And in trying not to take out one driver, he inadvertently and unintentionally took out two others.

“I got a run on Ross (Chastain) out of (Turn) 11 — and I had this conversation with myself. I was like, ‘Ross is pretty good at these places, don’t overdrive the corner and blow through it,’” Wallace said. “So, I get three-quarters of the way down the straightaway and I poked out to see where we’re at, and that was my problem — I got fixated on Ross’s car.

“But I was like, ‘We’re close to the braking marker.’ As soon as I got back in line, he braked and I was like, ‘Oh (expletive), I’m going to clean him out.’ And when I did that, the way our cars are set up, you’re on the right-rear shock, it loaded, and it locked up the rears.

“Next thing you know, I looked like (Kyle) Larson at Indy. It was just gone and I piled into Larson, piled into (Jones). Just all trying not to wreck the 1 car.”

Wallace did have a sense of humor about the incident, adding, “I should have done that because a lot of people would have been happy with me for wrecking the 1.”

Byron ‘back to square one’ after points return

William Byron had already accepted the penalty NASCAR handed down to his team and the rest of Hendrick Motorsports and said he wasn’t expecting much from the appeals process. But Byron and his teammates were given back their championship points and …

William Byron had already accepted the penalty NASCAR handed down to his team and the rest of Hendrick Motorsports and said he wasn’t expecting much from the appeals process.

But Byron and his teammates were given back their championship points and playoff points on Wednesday. It was the best-case scenario for the organization, even as the monetary fines and suspensions to the four crew chiefs were upheld.

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“It was tough to think about how we were 10 playoff points down. That was the big thing,” Byron said on Saturday at Richmond Raceway. “You can probably make up the 100 (points) throughout the season, but having two race wins worth of playoff points gone was tough.

“Now we’re back in a good situation and back where we were before. It feels good.”

All four Hendrick Motorsports teams were issued L2-level penalties after NASCAR officials confiscated the hood louvers from the cars after practice at Phoenix Raceway last month. It was deemed the parts had been modified, and NASCAR’s Elton Sawyer said it was outside the tolerances that NASCAR allowed when making parts and pieces fit correctly.

But from the beginning, Chad Knaus, Hendrick Motorsports’ vice president of competition, said the parts aren’t arriving from the single source supplier as they should be. Hendrick, according to Knaus, did what they needed to ensure the pieces fit and the hood closed.

Before the points were reinstated, Byron was 22nd in the championship standings. He moves to third in the championship standings with a series-leading 14 playoff points.

“It feels great,” Byron said. “It was definitely a good Wednesday afternoon. It’s just nice to get those points back that we earned as a team. That’s what I told my guys. We earned those 10 playoff points and two race wins, so that was a big deal.”

But because he’d already accepted his fate with the penalty, Byron admitted it changed how he’s been racing. For example, last weekend at Circuit of the Americas, Byron wasn’t as aggressive as he might have been because he wanted to take a solid finish and the points.

“But now we’re back to square one, which is great,” he said, “and we have the points we earned back.”