Tag: Charlotte

Allgaier content with his stint in Larson’s No. 5 at Charlotte

Justin Allgaier was so confident he wouldn’t start the Coca-Cola 600 for Hendrick Motorsports that he told his family not to come to the racetrack as he left the house. By 3 p.m. ET, Allgaier was still convinced there was “no way” he was getting in …

Justin Allgaier was so confident he wouldn’t start the Coca-Cola 600 for Hendrick Motorsports that he told his family not to come to the racetrack as he left the house. By 3 p.m. ET, Allgaier was still convinced there was “no way” he was getting in the car at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Mother Nature had other plans.

Kyle Larson stayed in Indianapolis to run the rain-delayed Indianapolis 500. He finished 18th, the race concluding at approximately 7:45 p.m. ET.

In the meantime, Allgaier started the Coca-Cola 600 after 6 p.m. ET and ran 249 laps in the No. 5 Chevrolet before the race was red-flagged for rain and lightning. NASCAR declared the race official nearly two hours later, and Allgaier was credited with finishing 13th.

“To be honest, at the start of the race, I was pretty disappointed in myself just getting acclimated,” Allgaier said. “Kyle’s seat is so different from what I run… Cliff Daniels (crew chief) did an amazing job to get me up to speed, and we were able to look at the SMT and get the car where I needed to be and then just balance. We worked on the balance throughout the course of a run.

“To unlap myself was probably the highlight of the night. To pass a Hendrick Motorsports teammate, to pass Ty [Gibbs], both of which I have a lot of respect for on the racetrack, was really, really nice and it just kind of helped elevate the way the race went.”

Allgaier had to drop to the rear of the field for the start of the race since Larson practiced and qualified the car Saturday. He fell a lap down early in the first stage but battled hard amongst the leaders, including teammate William Byron, Gibbs and others, to stay close to the free pass position or unlap himself.

By lap 87, Allgaier had driven around the leader to be on the lead lap when the caution flew. He ended the first stage in 26th position.

Allgaier was 24th at the end of the second stage. As the race went under the yellow flag on lap 229 and cycled through pit stops, Allgaier was inside the top 15.

“You get opportunities very rarely in life to drive something that good and it truly was that,” Allgaier said. “It was really, really, special and something that I’ll take for a number of years as I walk away…it was a good opportunity.’

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Larson arrived in the No. 5 pit stall around 9:30 p.m. ET and began getting ready to climb into the car. The caution was already out for the weather, and the team would have had the opportunity to change the driver at that time, but the race never restarted.

The biggest thing Allgaier wanted to do was give Larson a clean car since he knew it could win the race. Allgaier was greeted by applause from race fans standing behind the team’s pit stall when he climbed out of the car under the red flag.

“I did not [hear that],” Allgaier said. “I walked over to all of the crew members and gave all of them a handshake and a hug and told them all thank you. They have made this so easy. I was more focused on that and giving them the credit they deserved. One of them actually picked me up and gave me a big hug, and that was pretty special in that moment.

“I’ve had the No. 5 guys as my pit crew in years past on the No. 7 team on the Xfinity [Series] side, have a great relationship with them, but the time and effort [here]… We were at the shop until 9 p.m. one night this week just going over seatbelts, and all of them were there. To be able to come through today and be able to do all the right things, I felt like that was cool. I don’t know that the fans care; it really didn’t matter. I just wanted to do my job and have fun with it.”

The red flag created a unique situation where Allgaier could debrief Daniels and Larson about his time in the car. It ended up being for nothing when the race did not go the distance.

“I just wanted to give him some cliff notes of what I thought and what I felt, and that made it good for me,” Allgaier said. “I feel like Kyle as a racer…it was cool to watch him intently listen and see what I had to say, and then he could use when he goes out and makes laps. That was cool.

“I was ready for the driver swap — he said he wasn’t because I practiced this morning and he didn’t. I think we would have been pretty good, but I was ready. I don’t think he was.”

NASCAR’s record fine quickly becoming quite the conundrum

Brad Keselowski believes NASCAR has found itself in a conundrum. A $75,000 fine to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. earlier this week was the largest in history issued to a driver for fighting. As a result, NASCAR did the seemingly impossible in uniting the fan …

Brad Keselowski believes NASCAR has found itself in a conundrum.

A $75,000 fine to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. earlier this week was the largest in history issued to a driver for fighting. As a result, NASCAR did the seemingly impossible in uniting the fan base and the garage area in the belief that the fine amount was surprising and contradictory to the sport continuously promoting the fight between Stenhouse and Kyle Busch.

On the one hand, actions have consequences. On the other, such actions also drive media attention.

“If I’m NASCAR, certainly I want to be careful about the message I’m sending through the garage area and even more than the garage area, through the other levels of the sport about what may or may not be acceptable,” Keselowski said. “I understand why they need to react, but then I also understand this competing agenda of [how] it garners attention whenever there are fights in the garage area because it communicates a level of passion, and passion itself is not a bad thing.”

NASCAR’s official YouTube page has multiple videos of the fight and its aftermath. The footage of Stenhouse and Busch in the garage has 275,000 views. There were also multiple posts about the fight, different angles of the altercation, in-car audio, and other related content on NASCAR’s social media pages.

The incident also reached mainstream media throughout the week. NASCAR issued its penalty to Stenhouse Wednesday. Ricky Stenhouse Sr. and two JTG Daugherty Racing crew members were issued suspensions.

“I think it’s just this spot that our sport is in where it’s like, ‘Hey, we want the attention. We want people to like us. We want people to talk about us,’” Keselowski continued. “We don’t always get that when we have great events. It seems kind of silly to me – we’ve had some great races this year, and some of the moments that I think we would like to break through as a sport to nontraditional media … doesn’t seem to do that.

“Then someone throws a punch and all of a sudden we’re on all kinds of traditional media. I just have a lot of empathy for NASCAR. If I was in their shoes, I don’t know how I’d handle it any differently.”

Chase Elliott knew that Stenhouse got fined but he was shocked in the Charlotte Motor Speedway media center at how much the fine ended up being.

“That’s a lot of money,” Elliott said. “That seems wild to me. Yeah, that seems like a lot for that situation.

“You’re going to fine him, but you’re going to promote with it? Like, what are we doing? That’s a little strange to me. … It’s not OK, but we’re going to blast it all over everything to get more clicks. I don’t really agree with that.”

JTG Daugherty Racing has until 5 p.m. ET Tuesday to appeal the penalties. In the meantime, Stenhouse continues to hear drivers like Elliott, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and others, and even the fans disagree with him being penalized for showing his emotion while bringing attention to the sport.

Daniel Suarez was one driver who reacted on social media soon after the fine was announced. He reposted the NASCAR tweet with the penalty details and said, “If it’s so wrong, then why is it all over NASCAR social channels? We should be allowed to show our emotions, I don’t get it …”

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Suarez reiterated his feelings when asked about them Saturday before practice for the Coca-Cola 600.

“I just think that it’s very important to show emotions and to show personalities,” he said. “We have had several conversations with many people in NASCAR at all different levels, and the fans want to see personalities. They want to see emotions. Who is Daniel Suarez? Who is Ricky Stenhouse? Who is Chase Elliott? Who are all these people?

“In my mind, if we go down this route, eventually, every single driver is going to act exactly the same because we can’t show anything. I don’t think it’s a good thing in the long run, but that’s just my opinion and I could be wrong. The other thing is, I felt that [the fine] was a little bit excessive.”

Ryan Preece also didn’t like the fine amount and said he wouldn’t be able to race because he wouldn’t be able to pay it. Joey Logano said all that matters is that NASCAR is consistent about what is OK to do and what is not, and what is the price to pay if a driver does do something.

NASCAR has not offered many details on the penalties as they await for the fine to be paid or the penalties to be appealed. But the indication was that they stemmed from how long Stenhouse had to calm down between what happened on the racetrack and confronting Busch.

NASCAR being criticized for perceived inconsistencies is not new. Denny Hamlin is hearing the same this week about the penalties but feels NASCAR has always reacted one way when it’s a heat-of-the-moment confrontation versus one that happens after some time has passed.

“Still, it’s kind of unprecedented from a number standpoint,” Hamlin admitted.

Promoting the same incident that resulted in penalties doesn’t surprise him either.

“That’s been going on for a really long time,” he said. “I think there have certainly been things that they quietly like to root for, but publicly they have to do something different because they don’t want it to get out of hand. I don’t know how much more it really gets out of hand. Certainly, I think with that dollar [amount] fine, you are going to have people think, ‘I don’t want that.’ So you might not get what you probably are hoping for if you’re NASCAR. It might hurt a little bit in that instance.

“But I think they are OK with general altercations. I think … it was the amount of time that elapsed between the incident and when (the fight) happened that got them off guard.”

Gibbs motors to maiden Cup Series pole at Charlotte

Ty Gibbs earned his first career NASCAR Cup Series pole Saturday evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600. Gibbs went to the top of the leaderboard in the final round of single-car qualifying at 183.955mph (29.355s). The Joe Gibbs …

Ty Gibbs earned his first career NASCAR Cup Series pole Saturday evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600.

Gibbs went to the top of the leaderboard in the final round of single-car qualifying at 183.955mph (29.355s). The Joe Gibbs Racing driver makes his 65th start Sunday night. The pole eclipses two previous races this season (Phoenix and Texas) where Gibbs started second.

“It was a really easy, clean lap,” Gibbs said. “My car was handling really well, and I just had to be really disciplined in [Turns] 3 and 4 on getting to the bottom and making sure my exit was good.”

William Byron qualified second at 183.580mph, Christopher Bell, third at 183.461mph, Martin Truex Jr., fourth at 182.871mph and Chase Elliott, fifth at 182.704mph.

Alex Bowman qualified sixth at 182.624mph, Ross Chastain, seventh at 182.285mph, Tyler Reddick, eighth at 182.137mph, Michael McDowell, ninth at 181.886mph and Kyle Larson, 10th at 181.702mph.

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Despite his qualifying run, Reddick will drop to the rear of the field for Sunday’s race and serve a pass-through penalty. Reddick’s car had an unapproved adjustment to its underwing after inspection. The team also lost its pit stall selection and Reddick’s car chief was ejected.

Denny Hamlin missed the final round of qualifying and will start 11th. Josh Berry qualified 13th for his first Coca-Cola 600.

Ryan Blaney, the defending race winner, qualified 16th. Carson Hocevar, also making his first Coca-Cola 600 start, qualified 20th.

Joey Logano qualified 28th, Jimmie Johnson, 29th and Brad Keselowski, 30th. Shane van Gisbergen, in the No. 16 entry for Kaulig Racing, qualified 36th for his Coca-Cola 600 debut.

Chris Buescher did not make a qualifying lap. Buescher crashed in practice because of a left-rear tire issue and the team is working on a backup car for Sunday’s race.

J.J. Yeley in the No. 44 for NY Racing Team was not permitted to qualify. The team had three inspection failures.

There are 40 drivers who will take the green flag Sunday night.

RESULTS

Byron sets Coke 600 practice pace at Charlotte

William Byron led the way in NASCAR Cup Series practice for the Coca-Cola 600 on Saturday evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a speed of 181.318mph (29.782s). Second fastest in practice was Tyler Reddick at 180.114mph. Bubba Wallace made his …

William Byron led the way in NASCAR Cup Series practice for the Coca-Cola 600 on Saturday evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a speed of 181.318mph (29.782s).

Second fastest in practice was Tyler Reddick at 180.114mph. Bubba Wallace made his way to third at 180.060mph, Carson Hocevar was fourth at 179.336mph and Ty Gibbs, fifth at 179.063mph.

Kyle Larson came in sixth at 179.027mph, Chris Buescher, seventh at 178.974mph, Martin Truex Jr., eighth at 178.790, Ross Chastain, ninth at 178.761mph and Daniel Suarez rounded out the top 10 at 178.761mph.

Ryan Blaney, the defending race winner, was 12th in practice. His fastest lap was 178.024mph.

There were two incidents in practice:

Byron had a single car spin with no contact in Turn 4 after setting the fastest time.

Chris Buescher was not as lucky as a left rear tire issue sent him for a spin in Turns 1 and 2, hitting driver’s side against the SAFER barrier and riding the wall before the car came to rest. The RFK Racing will not make a qualifying attempt and expects to be in a backup car for the race.

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“It’s not good,” Buescher said about being behind going into the Coca-Cola 600. “[We were] really fast and I think we know how to get back there. I know this is going to make a really long night for our group. It’s going to be a big challenge but I know they’re going to be able to get another really fast race car put together and on track for us for tomorrow.

“That was quite a shame to have that kind of speed. It’s obviously a big race weekend and we’ve been fast here a lot and somehow or another this [race] ends up being the one that gets us in some weird way. Maybe we got it out of the way today so we can have a smooth day tomorrow, albeit coming from behind. But like I said, I have a lot of confidence in our group being able to put another really fast Mustang.”

Jimmie Johnson, making another start with Legacy Motor Club, was 35th fastest in practice. Shane van Gisbergen, making his Coca-Cola 600 debut, was last in 39th.

Kyle Larson led the way in the best 10 consecutive lap average during practice over Ty Gibbs, Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex Jr.

Reddick to start Coke 600 from rear after unapproved adjustment

Tyler Reddick’s 23XI Racing team was penalized Saturday afternoon at Charlotte Motor Speedway and it will carry over into the start of Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. The No. 45 Toyota Camry XSE passed inspection and then the team made an unapproved …

Tyler Reddick’s 23XI Racing team was penalized Saturday afternoon at Charlotte Motor Speedway and it will carry over into the start of Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600.

The No. 45 Toyota Camry XSE passed inspection and then the team made an unapproved adjustment to the underwing. Reddick will be allowed to practice and qualify but will drop to the rear of the 39-car field for the start of the race on Sunday evening. After the green flag, Reddick will also have to serve a pass-through penalty.

Billy Scott and his team also lost their pit stall selection for the race. Michael Hobson, the team’s car chief, was ejected for the remainder of the weekend.

Reddick has finished ninth or better in all four of his Coca-Cola 600 starts. A fifth-place finish in last year’s event was a career best.

Busch says NASCAR’s All-Star fight penalties are ‘not my problem’

Kyle Busch had no clear stance on the penalties handed down this week to JTG Daugherty Racing after the altercation between the two sides at North Wilkesboro Speedway. “NASCAR levies penalties,” Busch said Saturday after the Xfinity Series race at …

Kyle Busch had no clear stance on the penalties handed down this week to JTG Daugherty Racing after the altercation between the two sides at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

“NASCAR levies penalties,” Busch said Saturday after the Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “That’s not my problem.”

Busch was confronted in the garage last weekend by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. after the two made contact on lap two in the NASCAR All-Star Race. The initial discussion, in which Stenhouse argued that he never touched Busch, turned physical when Stenhouse punched the Richard Childress Racing driver. In doing so, it resulted in individuals from both teams and Stenhouse’s father getting involved in a brawl.

NASCAR fined Stenhouse $75,000 and indefinitely suspended Ricky Stenhouse Sr. JTG Daugherty Racing had two of its crew members from Stenhouse’s No. 47 team suspended. Keith Matthews, the engine tuner, was suspended for four races and Clint Myrick, a mechanic, was suspended for eight races.

“It doesn’t matter whether I agree or not, NASCAR makes the penalties,” Busch said.

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The incident started on the first lap when Stenhouse made it three-wide in Turns 1 and 2, with Busch on the far outside. Busch bounced off the wall and, a lap later, ran into Stenhouse until the No. 47 spun and hit the outside wall.

Stenhouse could not leave the racetrack because North Wilkesboro has no tunnel, and he promised in his media interviews that he would confront Busch. After seeing the replays, Busch said “maybe” he could have done something different.

“I walked into the situation,” he said, “It was calm to start and escalated from there.”

However, Busch said he does not feel differently about the situation after watching the replays of what happened on the racetrack.

“Nope,” Busch said. “I gave extra room, and when I was dragging the fence, he smashed [into] my door.”

Busch has not talked to Stenhouse since last weekend. He does not anticipate any further contact from Stenhouse in the Coca-Cola 600.

“I don’t need a fight with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.,” Busch said when asked if he’s moved on and it’s over. “I need a fight with the top three guys so I can start winning some races.”

Elliott roars to Xfinity win in strategy masterclass at Charlotte

With a masterpiece of strategy and modicum of good fortune, Chase Elliott won Saturday’s BetMGM 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start of the season. Saving a set of new tries for the final run in the 200-lap event …

With a masterpiece of strategy and modicum of good fortune, Chase Elliott won Saturday’s BetMGM 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start of the season.

Saving a set of new tries for the final run in the 200-lap event at the 1.5-mile track, Elliott grabbed the lead after a lap 183 restart and held it the rest of the way.

Driving a No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a paint scheme reminiscent of the signature look of the late Ricky Hendrick’s car, Elliott crossed the finish line 0.5s ahead of Brandon Jones, who recovered from early brake problems to finish second after pressing Elliott in the closing laps.

The victory was Elliott’s first at Charlotte and the sixth of his career. Jones finished ahead of two of his JR Motorsports teammates, Sammy Smith and Sam Mayer, in third and fourth, respectively.

Elliott started 30th after a lackluster qualifying effort. After Riley Herbst crashed hard on the backstretch to cause the first of eight cautions, Elliott, Jesse Love, Anthony Alfredo and Kyle Sieg stayed on the track on old tires, saving a set of stickers for later in the race.

That call by crew chief Greg Ives proved to be the winning move. Though Elliott pitted on lap 48 and fell to 26th in the running order for a restart on lap 53, he regained the lost track position on new tires and was a factor near the front the rest of the way. An opportune caution on lap 169 gave Elliott the chance to make full use of his final set of new tires.

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“Greg made a good call, and I think ultimately that’s what won us the race,” Elliott said. “I felt like I needed a little bit with my balance to make as much pace as the No. 7 (Justin Allgaier) and a couple of those guys.

“Hats off to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. Super special to win with the No. 17 on the car for the boss (Rick Hendrick) and [wife] Linda. It’s a great honor here with the Ricky Hendrick scheme. It means a lot to all of us to be a part of this whenever it runs.”

One by one, other contenders for the win fell by the wayside. Justin Allgaier won the first two stages in perhaps the fastest car in the race, but he sped on pit road during the Stage 2 break.

 

Allgaier’s race came to an end when he and pole winner Ty Gibbs crashed off Turn 4 after a restart on lap 176. Reigning series champion Cole Custer and current Xfinity Series leader Austin Hill wrecked on the backstretch on lap 184 after door-to-door contact a half-lap earlier.

A slow pit stop on lap 170 cost Kyle Busch track position and relegated him to a sixth-place result behind fifth-place finisher AJ Allmendinger, who made a late-race charge on one-lap scuffed tires.

That left Jones to put the pressure on Elliott at the end, but the race ended before Jones could get closer than a half-second back.

“Talk about an up-and-down day and coming back from it,” said Jones, who had to replace brake fluid in his No. 9 Chevrolet during a long pit stop on lap 76. “That was really fun to come from the back to the front, I think three or four times there.”

Ryan Sieg, Josh Williams, Gibbs and Noah Gragson completed the top 10. New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen was 15th in his first run on a 1.5-mile intermediate speedway.

RESULTS

Allgaier on standby for Larson at Coke 600 if rain affects Indy 500

Justin Allgaier is on standby to drive Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet on Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. With Larson attempting the Memorial Day weekend double starting with the Indianapolis 500 followed by the Coca-Cola 600, any hold ups or …

Justin Allgaier is on standby to drive Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet on Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

With Larson attempting the Memorial Day weekend double starting with the Indianapolis 500 followed by the Coca-Cola 600, any hold ups or mishaps could require help from a relief driver in Charlotte. Allgaier, who competes for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, will drive Larson’s car if needed.

“Their goal is [to not] need me, and North Wilkesboro is a great example of that,” Allgaier said on Friday.

Larson successfully made the trip from Indianapolis to North Wilkesboro Speedway last weekend for the NASCAR All-Star Race with time to spare. However, if he had missed the start of the race, the team would not have competed due to the special nature of the event.

Sunday, however, Allgaier would be allowed to drive the No. 5 car if Larson does not arrive on time. The Indianapolis 500 is scheduled to go green at 12:45pm ET and the Coca-Cola 600 after 6pm If race day goes as scheduled, Larson would leave Indianapolis for a 50-minute to one-hour trip by plane to Concord, N.C.

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“How cool it is that Kyle is trying to accomplish [that] this weekend?” Allgaier said. “I know that we have seen it in the past and I have been a huge fan of guys trying to do it…”

Those drivers include John Andretti in 1994 followed by Robby Gordon in 1997, ’00, ’02, ’03, ’04, Tony Stewart in 1999 and ’01 and most recently Kurt Busch in 2014.

Allgaier has been preparing with the No. 5 team ahead of this weekend, sitting in on meetings. He’s already familiar with Hendrick Motorsports, previously testing the Chevrolet wheel force car, which works to his advantage. With the abbreviated on-track schedule, Allgaier will not have time to get in Larson’s car for practice, but fortunately the team will not have to change much if he does have to run the race.

“I fit really well, oddly enough, into Larson’s seat,” Allgaier said. “[The] seatbelts were only a little bit of an issue — I’m a little fluffier than he is.”

The weather will be the biggest variable in Larson’s travel plans. Weather Underground calls for thunderstorms in Indianapolis for much of Sunday, while Concord could also get a scattered thunderstorm on race day.

Clean run brings Sanchez Truck Series victory at Charlotte

Nick Sanchez showed what an opportunist can do when the right moment presents itself. Taking advantage of fresh tires and a quick pit stop, Sanchez charged from the 10th position on a restart with nine laps left in Friday night’s North Carolina …

Nick Sanchez showed what an opportunist can do when the right moment presents itself.

Taking advantage of fresh tires and a quick pit stop, Sanchez charged from the 10th position on a restart with nine laps left in Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and held off Corey Heim to win his second NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race of the season — and of his career.

Sanchez crossed the finish line 0.507s ahead of Heim, who fell just short after two snafus on pit relegated him to the runner-up position — temporarily. Sanchez collects a $50,000 bonus as the winner of the first Triple Truck Challenge event of the season.

After the race, Heim’s troubles multiplied when inspectors found three lug nuts not safe and secure on his No. 11 Toyota, resulting in a disqualification that promoted Stewart Friesen to the runner-up position.

“It’s awesome — my No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet,” said Sanchez, who qualified 16th for the 11th Truck Series race of the season. “What can I say more about this (Rev Racing) team? We started off bad. It didn’t affect us. We went to work. We put ourselves in position when it mattered most.

“This is for Chris Showalter, my car chief. Birthday today, 700th truck start. This is for him, and it’s great to get number two.”

Remarkably, Showalter has been a part of the series for every race since its inception in 1995.

Sanchez led only the final nine laps. Heim led 72 before the penalty and Christian Eckes, 37.

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After dominating the first two stages of the race, Heim dropped to 27th under caution for Matt Crafton’s collision with then outside wall on lap 79 when the jack malfunctioned and failed to lift his No. 11 Toyota.

Heim roared through the field to fifth before Chase Purdy slammed the Turn 2 wall to cause the fifth caution. Like Sanchez, Heim pitted for fresh tires, but a problem with the lug nuts on the right rear wheel cost him valuable time — and ultimately cost him dearly with the disqualification.

 

Grant Enfinger was credited with third, followed by Matt Mills, Ben Rhodes and Jake Garcia.

Eckes, who entered the race as the series leader, started from the rear after contact from Kaden Honeycutt’s Chevrolet during practice damaged his No. 19 Chevy and prevented him from making a qualifying run.

That was just the start of Eckes’ problems. Alternator issues kept him on pit road for extended stops during the stage breaks and relegated him to starting spots of 28th and 27th for the second and final stages, respectively.

But Eckes recovered to take the lead after staying out for a restart on lap 88, and he was still in front — albeit close on fuel — when the caution for Purdy’s accident slowed the field. Eschewing a pit stop for new tires under the final caution, Eckes slipped to 10th at the finish.

Honeycutt, who won Stage 1 after Heim’s penalty and finished third in Stage 2, also went to the rear after leaving his pit stall during the second stage break with a fuel dump can still attached to the input valve of his truck.
Despite the setback, Honeycutt had enough speed in his Chevrolet to recover to seventh at the finish. Connor Mosack, Dean Thompson and Eckes completed the top 10.

RESULTS

Former Michigan State football kicker commits to transfer to Charlotte

Former Michigan State football kicker commits to transfer to Charlotte

A former Michigan State football kicker is on the move. Nearly a month after entering the transfer portal, Stephen Rusnak has committed to transfer to Charlotte.

Rusnak will have two years of eligibility remaining as a graduate transfer. Rusnak played in nine games over his career at MSU, but entered the portal after starting kicker Jonathan Kim returned for another season.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.