Category: Cup Series

Bowman gets Richmond Cup pole after rainout

Alex Bowman will start from the pole at Richmond Raceway for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race after rain canceled Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions. Bowman, who moved back into the points lead this week when the Hendrick Motorsports teams …

Alex Bowman will start from the pole at Richmond Raceway for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race after rain canceled Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions.

Bowman, who moved back into the points lead this week when the Hendrick Motorsports teams had their points reinstated by the appeals panel, starts from the top spot through the metric — a weighted combination of the driver’s fastest lap and finish in the previous race, owner race finish, and owner points position.

“Pit stall selection, I think, is probably the biggest thing,” Bowman said of being on the pole after getting his 100 points reinstated from the Hendrick Motorsports appeal of the hood louvers earlier this week. “You’d probably still have a pretty good pit stall selection fifth, though. So, not a huge difference, but obviously, having clean air at the start is important.

“Hopefully, we’ll take advantage of a good pit pick and have a good solid day. This has been a hard place for me to get ahold of in the past, even with a win. We’ll just try to maximize the day and keep chipping away at it.”

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Bowman finished eighth in the spring race at Richmond a year ago, but his average finish at Richmond is 19.6.

“It’s been tough,” Bowman said. “We’ve had good days here and then we’ve had really bad days. You have a good day here and I’ve left, like last spring or the race that we won, and I’m like, ‘Man, I know exactly what I need and I know the feel that I want to have.’ And then, come back in the fall and be confused and can’t find that and can’t get the race car to do the same thing and feel the same way.

“It’s just been a little more hit and miss than we want to be, but I think identified some things that can help me, and hopefully, we’ve gone in the right direction with the race car and will be strong tomorrow.”

Bowman will be joined on the front row by Kyle Busch, who is a six-time winner at Richmond.

William Byron starts third, Ross Chastain starts fourth, and Tyler Reddick fifth. Reddick enters Richmond off a win at Circuit of The Americas with his new 23XI Racing team.

Austin Cindric starts sixth, Chris Buescher starts seventh and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. starts eighth. Kyle Larson starts ninth, and Kevin Harvick starts 10th.

Denny Hamlin starts 11th at one of his home racetracks. Hamlin is the defending race winner.

Back in the No. 9 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, Josh Berry starts 30th. Sunday will be Berry’s fourth start substituting for the injured Chase Elliott.

Anthony Alfredo makes his first start in the No. 78 for Live Fast Motorsports at Richmond. Alfredo starts 35th.

Chandler Smith makes his Cup Series debut in the No. 13 for Kaulig Racing. Smith brings up the rear of the field in 37th.

Rain also washed out Xfinity Series practice and qualifying at Richmond. The inclement weather is expected to clear out Saturday afternoon and the forecast looks good for the rest of the weekend.

Suarez fined $50,000 for COTA pit road collisions

Daniel Suarez has been fined $50,000 for running into Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain and Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman on pit road at Circuit of The Americas. Suarez was fined but not issued a point penalty. He was penalized …

Daniel Suarez has been fined $50,000 for running into Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain and Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman on pit road at Circuit of The Americas.

Suarez was fined but not issued a point penalty. He was penalized under the behavioral section of the NASCAR rule book.

After the checkered flag in Sunday’s race, Suarez caught Chastain and knocked him out of the way as they came to pit road. Suarez was looking for Bowman, who he also ran into the back of — doing so multiple times — as the field slowed to follow the direction of NASCAR officials of where to park.

Suarez was unhappy because of contact on the overtime restarts in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. Suarez was running inside the top five when Bowman ran into the back of him after Bowman was hit from behind. He finished 27th.

The action got predictably heated on COTA’s late restarts. Motorsport Images

There were no physical confrontations on pit road, although Suarez had a conversation with both Chastain and Bowman.

“There’s a lot of emotion on pit road after the race,” team owner Justin Marks said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio earlier this week. “Obviously, Daniel was just stewing in his emotions on that cooldown lap and it didn’t stop after he hit the 48. He got out of his car and saw Ross there and knew Ross was a part of that train that was coming in and wanted to express his emotions to Ross. It’s part of the competitiveness of the series.”

Hendrick teams regain points lost to hood louver penalties

All four Hendrick Motorsports teams were given their points back Wednesday afternoon as the National Motorsports Appeals Panel amended the L2-level penalty handed out earlier this month. In the amendment, the teams were given back the 100 points and …

All four Hendrick Motorsports teams were given their points back Wednesday afternoon as the National Motorsports Appeals Panel amended the L2-level penalty handed out earlier this month.

In the amendment, the teams were given back the 100 points and 10 playoff points NASCAR had docked them for the modified hood louvers found at Phoenix Raceway. However, the panel agreed the organization violated the rules, and the four-race suspensions to each crew chief stand, as do the $100,000 fines for Cliff Daniels, Rudy Fugle, Alan Gustafson, and Blake Harris.

The panel consisted of Kelly Housby, Dixon Johnston and Bill Lester.

There are two race weekends left on their suspensions — Richmond Raceway and Bristol’s dirt race. All four crew chiefs began their suspension at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 19, even as Hendrick Motorsports file an appeal of the penalty.

Daniels, Fugle, Gustafson, and Harris are eligible to run at Martinsville Speedway on April 16.

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NASCAR confiscated the louvers after Friday’s practice at Phoenix. Officials deemed the louvers had been modified outside the tolerances.

Hendrick Motorsports, however, said the team did what was necessary to make the louvers fit. Chad Knaus, the vice president of competition at Hendrick Motorsports, said teams are being held accountable with their cars but the same is not being done with the single-source suppliers who are not providing parts to the correct specification.

“We are grateful to the National Motorsports Appeals Panel for their time and attention,” said team owner Rick Hendrick. “Today’s outcome reflects the facts, and we’re pleased the panel did the right thing by overturning the points penalty. It validated our concerns regarding unclear communication and other issues we raised. We look forward to focusing on the rest of our season, beginning with this weekend’s race at Richmond.”

In a statement, NASCAR expressed disappointment with the panel’s decision to amend the penalties.

“We are pleased that the National Motorsports Appeals Panel agreed that Hendrick Motorsports violated the rule book. However, we are disappointed that the entirety of the penalty was not upheld,” the statement read. “A points penalty is a strong deterrent that is necessary to govern the garage following rule book violations, and we believe that it was an important part of the penalty in this case and moving forward. We will continue to inspect and officiate the NASCAR garage at the highest level of scrutiny to ensure a fair and level playing field for our fans and the entire garage.”

NASCAR announces run of special 75th anniversary content

As NASCAR celebrates its 75th anniversary this season, the sport and GEICO have announced a series of pieces called “NASCAR Legends Presented by GEICO”, which begins this week. “NASCAR Legends” will unfold over four weeks and conclude with the GEICO …

As NASCAR celebrates its 75th anniversary this season, the sport and GEICO have announced a series of pieces called “NASCAR Legends Presented by GEICO”, which begins this week.

“NASCAR Legends” will unfold over four weeks and conclude with the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 23 where fans can enter a sweepstake to be the honorary starter of the GEICO 500 next year.

Included in the pieces telling stories of notable traditions and NASCAR history will be drivers, fans, and tracks. The first piece aired Sunday at Circuit of the Americas, titled “Mean It.” It highlighted legendary drivers, tracks, and fans.

“You don’t grow from backroads and beaches to become the No. 1 motorsport in America without amassing plenty of legendary figures and memories along the way,” said Pete Jung, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at NASCAR. “We’re ecstatic about teaming up with our partners at GEICO to celebrate more of those stories with our fans and continue connecting NASCAR’s past, present and future through this campaign.”

Additional content can be seen on NASCAR social and digital platforms each week. There will be series on Photo Memories, Untold Stories, NASCAR Classics and NASCAR Rewind.

NASCAR.com/legends will house all the content for fan viewing.

Other elements of the marketing campaign will be seen at the NASCAR Hall of Fame and at the racetrack. At the upcoming races at Richmond Raceway, Martinsville Speedway, and Talladega Superspeedway, there will be fan giveaways and interviews with NASCAR personalities in the fan midway.

Jordan Taylor’s Cup cameo “was pretty much just survival”

Although he ran all the laps in his NASCAR Cup Series debut, Jordan Taylor was looking for something more from Circuit of the Americas. “It was definitely wild,” Taylor said after finishing 24th. “I wouldn’t say I survived, I feel like I’m beat up …

Although he ran all the laps in his NASCAR Cup Series debut, Jordan Taylor was looking for something more from Circuit of the Americas.

“It was definitely wild,” Taylor said after finishing 24th. “I wouldn’t say I survived, I feel like I’m beat up pretty much. Every restart, you just get smashed front, rear, side, so it was pretty much just survival. I felt like guys knew that I would probably be a bit hesitant, so they would take advantage of us.

“Near the end, I got more aggressive. We made our way almost all the way back to the top 10, and then the last restart, I don’t know who went down the inside, but they were never going to make the corner and kind of used us to stop. I’d say disappointing day.

“I made a couple of big mistakes early on that probably put us back there, but the car was fast. I’ve got to thank all the UniFirst people and Hendrick Motorsports for giving me the opportunity. We had good pace; it was just we got shuffled back every restart. Tough day.”

Taylor experienced everything a Cup Series race can throw at a driver. The sports car ace, called upon to replace the injured Chase Elliott, qualified fourth in the No. 9 Chevrolet and showed competitive pace.

But it didn’t take long for Taylor to know he was thrown into the deep end. First, there were the radio issues the team battled from a race course 3.41 miles long, which started before the green flag flew.

“I couldn’t hear the pit box, so I think everything was relayed through the spotters,” Taylor said. “It was probably better to have less communication with too many people, so the spotters were amazing today. They kept me out of enough trouble as they could. I think it was pretty much impossible to keep me out of trouble, but they were amazing. They definitely helped me survive the day.”

Good track position gave Taylor the experience of running near the top of the leaderboard. The rest of the day was filled with other eventful incidents like how easy it is to lock up the tires, being pushed around, green flag pit stops, and multiple restarts,

“Just the level of aggression and respect on track,” said Taylor of what stood out. “Guys see openings, and they probably know they’re not going to make it on their own, and they use you. It’s just a different form of racing from what I’m used to.

“On the sports car side, you’ve got to be a little more gentle, and these cars are definitely robust, and they’ll use you up. Just an experience thing that I definitely wasn’t ready for, but it’s good to get it in my back pocket.”

Taylor went into the last overtime attempt lined up 13th but didn’t make it back around without again encountering an issue perhaps not of his own doing. With a long uphill front straightway, Turn 1 at Circuit of the Americas lends itself to trouble as drivers can fan out three and four wide as they push the issue going into a tight left-hander.

But having gone through so much in the course of 75 laps, Taylor learned a lot. And was struck by the type of competition NASCAR Cup Series racing provides.

“It’s brutal,” he said. “Guys fight for every inch, every position, and even if you’re a second faster than someone, they’re going to push you off just to go for a top 30 finish. So, it’s just a different style of racing. Something to learn and something to know if I ever come back.”

Button on NASCAR debut: “It was an emotional rollercoaster”

Jenson Button was completely worn out after Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race but went the distance to earn a top-20 finish in his debut. “It was an emotional rollercoaster,” Button said. “First, it was terrible. I mean, I must’ve been last by the end …

Jenson Button was completely worn out after Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race but went the distance to earn a top-20 finish in his debut.

“It was an emotional rollercoaster,” Button said. “First, it was terrible. I mean, I must’ve been last by the end of it, and I was just like, ‘Everyone: Go. I just need to drive and find a rhythm.’ I’ve never gone through a corner too wide so often. And trying to place my car in the right place – I just got it wrong every time.

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“Normally, if you’re a little bit slow through a corner, nobody tries to overtake you from the outside. Because they’re not going to make it all the way on the next one. But here they do because they get a wheel inside for the next one, and if you turn in, you turn around.”

Button finished 18th after qualifying 24th in the No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford. In his first of three starts this season, Button stayed on the lead lap and shuffled up and down the leaderboard all afternoon. He ran as high as 15th.

“The first stint was really bad – it was embarrassing for me,” said Button. “I was like, ‘All right guys, we need to pit, freshen the tires and I need some air – I need some fresh air.’ I got that. The pace was good, consistency was good. I was really happy and passed a few cars which was nice.

“We got a little bit unlucky with the safety car because it was just two laps before our window. Pitted, then the next stint was mayhem. We also made a couple of changes that just didn’t work. Big oversteer – went from the car feeling great to really difficult to drive. I also had a massive whack from Kimi [Räikkönen], and it fell off after that. The car wasn’t quite right.”

After two quick cautions in the first 13 laps, the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix had a long green flag run through the end of the first stage and into the final stage. With over two-minute laps around the 3.41-mile, 20-turn course, many drivers were left feeling the effects of a long day in hot cars and working through multiple green flag pit cycles.

But there were six cautions in the final 31 laps. And it came down to Button having to fight through three overtime restarts before seeing the checkered flag.

“Every time I turned in, the rear tires would chatter, then immediately to oversteer,” Button said. “It was really difficult, but towards the end, we made some good calls stopping and putting on fresh tires. I enjoyed the last three restarts – got good placement and good overtaking moves from the outside. (We) finished 18th after almost stopping because I had heat exhaustion.

“It was so hot; I don’t have a fan in my seat which really didn’t help me too much. It was so hot, I thought I was going to faint in the car. So, I stopped twice for a minute. They put ice on me, gave me loads of water, and I went back out.

“I was so close to getting out of the car because I thought I was going to faint. I must’ve drank eight, nine bottles of water during the race. The team kept me calm, and it’s the reason why we got a good result in the end. So, I was happy.”

Button returns to the NASCAR Cup Series in early July for the inaugural street course race in Chicago.

‘It was the hardest I’ve worked in a race car’ – Byron fifth at COTA

William Byron had about as good a day a driver can without claiming the win as he started from the pole, led laps, won a stage, and finished fifth at Circuit of The Americas, yet he said the day was “hard as hell.” Without the stoppage of stage …

William Byron had about as good a day a driver can without claiming the win as he started from the pole, led laps, won a stage, and finished fifth at Circuit of The Americas, yet he said the day was “hard as hell.”

Without the stoppage of stage breaks, the race played out organically and, for much of the afternoon, saw long green flag runs and green flag pit cycles. But then a rash of cautions – six to be exact – broke out and turned the proceedings into a stop-and-go affair with incidents all over the place, debris littering the circuit, and wild restarts.

Sunday’s race went into multiple overtime attempts.

“It was hard as hell,” Byron said. “It was the hardest I’ve worked in a race car, I think. Honestly, not the hardest I’ve worked but just the amount of heat and the amount of (carbon monoxide) or whatever it is in the cars.

“It was definitely tough to deal with. By lap 25 I was just praying for a second wind. Luckily it came. That’s why you train, I guess. I don’t know if I’m that much better than everybody else, but I feel fine.”

Byron would have felt better leaving with the win, but like the rest of the field, had nothing for Tyler Reddick. The two drivers had the field covered, combining to lead 69 of the race’s 75 laps.

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The No. 24 won the first stage. Reddick won the second stage. The two also waged a clean and thrilling battle for the lead in the final stage. Byron lost the lead for good with 22 laps to go and spent the remainder of the event fighting to survive on the restarts.

Going into the final overtime attempt, he lined up fifth, but he was never able to make it back to Reddick to fight for the win.

“He just had the lead and I didn’t. He was better,” Byron said of the difference at the end of the day. “When we got that run with nine laps to go, he was able to pass me clean and gap me. I did a lot of blocking, a lot of protecting under braking, but he was just better.

“I think he had a little more grip than us, a little bit more lateral grip, and that’s what it takes on the road courses – being able to hustle the car a little bit more. He was still free and sideways but had grip doing it. So that’s part of racing. Good to come home top five here at COTA; we had a great weekend. We’ll take it.”

Busch leaves Texas with grace after COTA second place

Kyle Busch is an all-or-nothing driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, but he gladly took a second-place finish Sunday at Circuit of The Americas. The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion put a lot of work into having the type of result he earned. Entering …

Kyle Busch is an all-or-nothing driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, but he gladly took a second-place finish Sunday at Circuit of The Americas.

The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion put a lot of work into having the type of result he earned. Entering the first road course race of the season, Busch said with all the simulator work and preparation he and his Richard Childress Racing team had done, if they didn’t win, he wasn’t sure what else to do.

The No. 8 was best in class behind race winner Tyler Reddick, who had been the fastest driver all weekend. Second was a respectable ending to an up-and-down day where the RCR team fell behind on pit strategy, leaving Busch fighting on older tires through multiple overtime restarts.

“Oh, no question, yeah, for sure,” said Busch of it being the best-case scenario result given the series of events. “Reddick, when we tested here, was super, super, fast. He was the best car here when we tested, and he just didn’t have the long-run speed, but then they went to work and figured out the long-run speed to go with the front-side speed.

“So we just didn’t find enough front-side speed to be able to contend with those guys. But he’s a really good road racer; he’s proven the last couple of years winning road races. So (it’s) cool to come home second and get a good one here.”

The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix needed three overtime attempts to decide the winner. Busch restarted inside the top five in each of them, also making it through what had been a wild and chaos-filled Turn 1 on each restart attempt all afternoon to stay in contention.

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On the final overtime restart, Busch, who was running second, chose to restart on the inside lane. It put him third in the running order behind leader Reddick.

“I got plenty of help from behind and about ran over Reddick and pushed him off,” Busch said. “But just a lot of bumping and shoving and banging there up in the first turn, so you just try to get through there as best you can and then go race it after that. The No. 48 (Alex Bowman) got in front of me — got in between us — and then once I got by him, Reddick was gone. But I didn’t have enough to contend with him anyway.

“I had to get by (Reddick) off of Turn 1 or through Turn 2 before we got to the esses to have a shot to beat him. But he was so strong in all the braking zones and everywhere that I think he would have got back by me. All in all, just a great day for us. Good to come home second.

“Our Netspend Camaro was fast. It’s really good to bring home a runner-up finish for Netspend, being a local Austin, Texas partner.”

Although there were no stage breaks, the race had its fill of bunching the field back together. Busch said Sunday didn’t feel much different playing out organically because of how many cautions broke out at the end.

“Once you get one, you’re bound to get a lot,” he said. “That first one that came, I think we were running fourth, and I was like, ‘Ah, I’ll take a fourth, let’s just get out of here.’ And then we were able to get up to second, so we got a couple of spots on some of those restarts.”

Reddick outbrakes the field for first win with 23XI at COTA

Tyler Reddick prevailed in three overtime restarts to claim his first trophy of the year – and first with his new team, 23XI Racing – with a 1.411s victory over two-time series champion Kyle Busch in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, the NASCAR …

Tyler Reddick prevailed in three overtime restarts to claim his first trophy of the year – and first with his new team, 23XI Racing — with a 1.411s victory over two-time series champion Kyle Busch in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, the NASCAR Cup Series’ first road course race of the season.

It was a field of international champions and NASCAR’s very best at the Circuit of The Americas course, but for most of the race the outcome looked to be decided in a good ole Texas duel between the two fastest cars all weekend driven by Reddick and Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron. The pair exchanged the lead, lap after exciting lap for most of the afternoon.

On the final two-lap restart, Reddick was able to put his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota out front exiting Turn 1 — a tight left-hander — and power forward to the lead, while Busch and third-place finisher Alex Bowman, fourth-place finisher – and defending race winner — Ross Chastain and fifth-place Byron fought door-to-door, bumper-to-bumper as they chased after him.

“I’ve been wanting to win here in a Cup car for a long time,” the 27-year-old Californian Reddick said, now having four NASCAR Cup Series wins, but noted this was his first as a Toyota driver and with his 23XI Racing Team – co-owned by fellow competitor Denny Hamlin and NBA superstar Michael Jordan.

“It means the world,” said Reddick, who sat down on the track and leaned against his car with a bag of ice to cool down on the typically Texas-hot afternoon. “This whole 23XI team has been working hard all winter long to make the road course program better and was extremely motivated to come in here and improve performance. Just so proud of this Monster Energy team and TRD. All the resources they’ve put in to turn around the road course program means a lot.”

As often happens late in a road course race, patience lags and urgency increases. That was certainly the case Sunday with three different overtime restarts deciding the outcome. Reddick and Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet combined to lead 69 of the race’s 75 laps with Reddick out front a race-best 41 of those, most of them after hard-fought challenges and back-and-forth corner after corner with polesitter Byron.

“It feels good to get a top five, but we had a top-two race car really with the No. 45. He was really better than everybody, but I thought we were a close second,” said Byron, a two-race winner already in 2023, whose fifth-place finish at COTA was his career best on a road course. “We’ll keep building on it.”

Busch’s runner-up effort was an impressive comeback. He had been mid-pack for most of the afternoon but gambled on fuel strategy to move forward during some late race cautions.

“Even if we were on equal tires, they were lights out,” said Busch, driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

“Overall, for as much effort as we put into coming here and focusing on this place and all the testing we did in the offseason, we’re coming out of here with a good finish. Tyler’s obviously a really good road course racer.”

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In addition to the NASCAR stars, the field included four big names from other racing genres including IMSA champion Jordan Taylor, who drove the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for injured former COTA winner Chase Elliott; a pair of former Formula One champions in Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen and popular IndyCar Series regular Conor Daly.

Among these four, Button – the 2009 Formula One World Champion – claimed the top finishing position, 18th in the No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford. Taylor, a two-time winner at COTA in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship finished 24th but made a huge impression in his debut after qualifying fourth.

Raikkonen, the 2007 F1 World Champion from Finland, finished 29th but ran as high as fourth place late in the race. Daly only got 16 laps into the race before his team had to take his No. 50 The Money Team Racing Chevrolet behind the wall for extended repairs. He finished 36th.

Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson didn’t even get a full lap of green flag racing in only his second start of the 2023 season. The owner-driver of the No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet was collected in a multi-car accident that eliminated his car and left him 38th in the standings.

Team Penske’s Austin Cindric, 2023 Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr., RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs and Front Row Motorsports’ Todd Gilliland rounded out the top 10.

Chastain takes over the championship lead by 19 points over Busch. Ty Gibbs, who finished ninth, continues to lead the Sunoco Rookie of the Year points standings.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to competition next Sunday in the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RESULTS

‘Trending the right way’ – Legacy Motor Club’s year of rebuilding

Legacy Motor Club got a much-needed boost Saturday at Circuit of The Americas when both its drivers advanced into the final round of NASCAR Cup Series qualifying. Erik Jones will start eighth in the No. 43 Chevrolet, while rookie Noah Gragson rolls …

Legacy Motor Club got a much-needed boost Saturday at Circuit of The Americas when both its drivers advanced into the final round of NASCAR Cup Series qualifying.

Erik Jones will start eighth in the No. 43 Chevrolet, while rookie Noah Gragson rolls off from 10th in the No. 42 Chevrolet. Not only was it the first time both cars made the final round, but is the best starting position for each in the first six races.

It’s perhaps the only thing that has gone according to plan in a season that is only a month old.

“We’re trying not to overreact to the first couple of races and performances,” team co-owner Jimmie Johnson said. “You go to Daytona and we all feel like we had good cars and were competitive. California is after that (and) we had some weird stuff with the splitter and all that dirt and rock and all the debris that was at the track that the splitters delaminated on our cars. It’s really easy to look at that and say that’s the reason why our performance wasn’t where it needed to be.

“Las Vegas, Atlanta, Phoenix — we’re at a point now where we have enough styles of tracks that we can better evaluate where we’re to start the year. We’re not where we want to be, but there’s endless work going on in the shop.”

Jones echoed the boss’s assessment and said while his top-10 finish last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway was great, that was a superspeedway-style race. The intermediate tracks need work and COTA, the first road course race of the season, will be a good test of where the organization is making left and right turns.

“We’ve been fortunate that everybody has had up and down weeks, so we’re not too far out in points from where we want to be, which is in that top 16,” Jones said. “One good week gets you pretty good in there. But as far as our performance, I don’t think we’ve been happy with it.

“Las Vegas and California, neither were great. Phoenix wasn’t that great for us. So we’ve got to get better, and I think we all know that. Dave (Elenz, crew chief) and I are working hard, and all the guys are working hard to get faster. I’m doing what I can to get quicker, especially at a place like this where you’ve got to be on your game as a driver more than ever. We want to get better. It’s going to take time, but I think we’re trending the right way.”

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Speed will help those efforts. Jones has three top-20 finishes in five races, and before his eighth-place result a week ago at Atlanta, he’d finished no better than 19th.

It’s been frustrating for Jones to feel one thing with the car while it’s doing another. He’s felt good behind the wheel of his Chevrolet, but it hasn’t been fast enough.

“Vegas is one that has really stuck out for me because I felt like our cars drove really good in practice, qualifying and even the race. I told Dave a lot of the day, ‘It’s driving pretty good, we’re just not where we want to be in the field.’ So a lot of it is speed. California was kind of the same. I could get it driving good, but it wasn’t really going anywhere. Phoenix was a little different because I felt like we had speed and qualified well, and then didn’t race as well. It’s back and forth, but the speed, especially on the mile-and-a-half’s, has been kind of our hang-up.”

Gragson, who has just one top-20 finish, certainly wants more speed. Although he’s new to the Legacy M.C. team and understands the resources are not as deep as some other organizations, Gragson said Johnson, Gallagher, and Richard Petty aren’t going to be content with how they are performing.

Between the two, Gragson and Jones have combined for 15 laps led and sit outside the top 20 in points. Asked where the organization stacks up in the Cup Series field, Gragson took a long pause before responding.

“That’s tough to answer,” he said. “We’re a C or D team, realistically. We’ve got great help from Richard Childress Racing, but even then, we don’t have all the tools and resources some of the other teams (do). It’s a building year. It’s a building couple of years, probably.”

Legacy M.C. has teammates on the opposite ends of the spectrum. Whereas seventh-year driver Jones, who is in his third year with Petty and second under Gallagher, understands the building process, Gragson is experiencing it for the first time. The Las Vegas native graduated into the Cup Series after four years and 13 wins in the Xfinity Series.

Gragson became used to sitting in fast cars that he could contend with every week. Now he’s humbled every week in the Cup Series and doesn’t deny the challenge of keeping his head up after a tough race.

“I think having some of those guys come over from JR Motorsports that were with me the past several years allows me a little bit of comfort,” Gragson said. “I know they believe in me, and if you get with a bunch of new guys that you’re trying to build relationships with, you don’t know how realistically they’ve bought into you. We have a great team.

“But it’s definitely challenging from – I don’t want to say it being easy; we worked really hard – but we had a lot of success (in the Xfinity Series) to driving your a## off just to run like 27th at some of these places. It’s like, ‘All right, what’s the problem here?’

“Just trying to keep the confidence is key, and little building steps like being fast on pit road, having good pit stops, good restarts, having a good qualifying effort like we did today. Those little things are what we need to do this year and maybe into next year. But just trying to take it day by day right now.”

Said Johnson, “We’re digging along. We haven’t hit our peak for the season yet, and I think we now have an idea of where our short-track cars are and what we need to work on – mile-and-half stuff and certainly the restrictor-plate tracks.”