Quaker State 400

Chase Elliott locked up his spot in the playoffs by picking up the win at his home track, EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta GA. Elliott made a last lap pass on Brad Keselowski who had a strong night and finished in the runner-up position. Elliott’s teammate Alex Bowman came home in third place, strengthening his playoff position. Tyler Reddick wound up fourth and Erik Jones fifth. 

Joey Logano started on the pole and jumped out front for the start of the race. Josh Berry started second and followed Logano for the first part of the race. The first caution flag flew halfway through the first stage for rain. Austin Cindric was able to get in front of Logano on lap 50 in the outside lane to lead for the first time in the race, but Logano passed him back three laps later. Logano and Cindric swapped the lead back and forth until Christopher Bell lost control in turn three with three laps left in the stage. Stage one would end under caution with Cindric picking up the stage win. 

At the start of stage two, there was a big accident as Denny Hamlin wrecked going down the backstretch taking out many of the top cars along with about half the field. At the restart, Ty Gibbs jumped out front until Riley Herbst passed him after Gibbs led several laps. It did not take long until Herbst teammate Tyler Reddick took the lead for a couple of laps before Chris Buescher set sail for the top spot. Gibbs worked his way back up front on lap 93. Herbst lost control of his car and hit the wall, damaging the car of Todd Gilliland in the process. After the caution, Reddick started out front until Alex Bowman worked his way past Reddick. Buescher moved back up front with 22 laps left in the stage then he and Bowman swapped the lead back and forth. Chase Elliott joined the battle up front and took the lead with 14 laps left in the stage. Reddick moved back to the lead with two laps to go in the stage and held on for the stage two win.

Elliott started in the lead for the final stage and stayed there until his teammate overtook him. Shane Van Gisbergen brought out the next caution as he was hit and spun out. Bowman lead the field to the green flag and after a few laps, Brad Keselowski passed him. Bubba Wallace spun out to bring out the next caution after just getting back on the lead lap. Gibbs had the lead again at the restart, but Ryan Preece worked his way around Gibbs after a couple of laps. The eighth caution came out as Eric Jones spun out. Elliott went back up front at the restart and swapped the lead with Keselowski until the next caution as David Starr brought out the ninth caution. Keselowski stayed out front until the next caution as Ty Dillon made contact with Justin Haley, causing Haley to spin out. Keselowski remained in the lead until Zane Smith passed him with 22 laps to go, but Keselowski passed him back after a couple of laps. Next up to challenge Keselowski was Alex Bowman who led a couple of laps before Keselowski moved back in front. With thirteen laps left, Smith assumed the lead again for three laps then handed the lead back to Bowman. Ricky Stenhouse made it to the lead with seven laps to go and held it for two laps, then Keselowski moved back up front. Elliott made the final pass on the last lap to secure his first win of the year.

The Cup Series returned to the tricky triangle at Pocono Raceway for The Great American Getaway 400 and Chase Briscoe picked up his first win of the year for Joe Gibbs Racing. His teammate Denny Hamlin finished second with Ryan Blaney third. Chris Buescher finished fourth and Chase Elliott rounded out the top five in fifth.

After taking the week off to be with his family upon the arrival of his son being born, Denny Hamlin showed up at Pocono Speedway and won the pole position. Chris Buescher was second fastest and started the race on the outside pole. After a rain delay the race started with Hamlin jumping out front to lead the race and he was able to lead every lap in stage one to win the stage.

After the pits stops, Brad Keselowski started first with Ty Gibbs in second and Keselowski assumed the lead. The caution came out on lap 43 as Riley Herbst blew his right front tire and hit the outside wall. On lap 55, Bubba Wallace also had an accident and hit the outside wall, just like his teammate Herbst experienced and brought out the caution flag. Wallace’s issue was a failed right front brake rotor. Several cars made pit stops during the caution and Joey Logano was out front for the restart and stayed there for the first few laps until Alex Bowman passed him for the lead on lap 63. Michael McDowell had a right front rotor failure on lap 73, taking him out of contention for the win. The caution flag flew again on lap 78 for debris from the McDowell brake issue. Most teams pitted during the caution, but Ricky Stenhouse Jr did not pit and assumed the lead. On the first green flag lap, Chase Briscoe moved out front for the lead. Caution number five came out on lap 83 with a multi-car accident when Kyle Busch spun out. Also involved in the incident were Ty Dillon, Shane Van Gisbergen, Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell. Briscoe held on for the stage two win.

The final stage started with Briscoe still in the lead. Briscoe stayed out front until his pit stop and handed the lead to Buescher on lap 120. Buescher led for two laps before his pit stop, turning the lead over to Ryan Blaney. With 36 laps to go, the seventh caution came out as Shane Van Gisbergen spun in turn one. After the top six cars made their pit stops, Briscoe was back in the lead and stayed there for the win. 

The first Cup Series race outside the United States since 1958 ended with an international driver winning. Shane Van Gisbergen started the Viva Mexico 250 race in first and ended the same way. Christopher Bell had a strong showing all day and ended up in the runner-up position. Chase Elliott closed out the podium positions with his third-place finish. Alex Bowman and Michael McDowell rounded out the top five.

Shane Van Gisbergen won his first pole of the year and Ryan Preece was beside him for the start of the race. Van Gisbergen took the lead, and the caution came out on lap one for rain. Most everyone pitted to put on the wet tires, while Chris Buscher and Austin Cindric chose to remain on the slicks. When the green flag dropped, Ty Gibbs was able to take the lead. They were only able to make it to lap 7 until the next caution when Kyle Busch was not able to brake without spinning out going into the turn and taking out several drivers, including Kyle Larson, Justin Haley, AJ Allmendinger, Chase Brisco, Zane Smith and himself. When the race restarted on lap 10, Van Gisbergen was able to get back by Gibbs for the lead. Preece took the lead on lap 19 when Van Gisbergen pitted before the stage end. Preece held on for the stage one win.

Michael McDowell started stage two in first with his teammate Carson Hocevar second. Daniel Suarez passed McDowell for the lead, but Ty Gibbs passed Suarez in the stadium portion of the course. Caution number 4 on lap 32 was for an incident involving Ryan Truex as he spun out. Gibbs remained out front until he pitted with two laps in the stage, putting Van Gisbergen back up front. Van Gisbergen would take the stage two win.

The final stage started with Van Gisbergen back up front but Christopher Bell got by him for the lead. Van Gisbergen was able to get back by Bell on lap 52. Van Gisbergen handed the lead back over to Gibbs when he made his green flag pit stop. With 36 laps to go, the caution came out for a spin by Carson Hocevar. During the caution, many teams made their final pit stop, including Ty Gibbs. Van Gisbergen assumed the lead but reported a tire issue. The tire issue never surfaced as he dominated the rest of the stage for the win.

Denny Hamlin won for the third time of the year and third time at Michigan International Speedway in the FireKeepers Casino 400. Chris Buescher finished second with Ty Gibbs in third. Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson rounded out the top five. 

Chase Brisco won his third straight pole to start out front with Kyle Busch beside him.  Brisco led the first twelve laps of the race until William Byron was able to pass him for the lead. Chris Buescher took the lead on lap 36 and held on to win stage one for his first stage win of the year. 

Stage two started with Ryan Blaney out front for the first few laps until Chase Elliott passed him for the lead. The next caution came when Noah Gragson and John Hunter Nemechek spun on the backstretch on lap 60. Thay were only able to go seven laps before the next caution as Austin Cindric contacted Cole Custer, sending Custer into Alex Bowman who hit the outside wall head-on in a vicious wreck. Daniel Suarez and Brisco were also involved in the incident. On lap 75, Elliott gave up the lead as he made his pit stop handing the lead to Christopher Bell. Bell led a few laps before Byron passed him and took the lead again. Ryan Blaney brought out the caution with twelve laps to go in the stage when he hit the turn four wall and spun out. With ten to go in the stage, most drivers pitted, moving Cindric to the lead. Byron was able to get by Cindric on the last lap of the stage to get the stage two win, his seventh of the year.

Byron started the final stage out front and stayed there until the next caution on lap 146 when Todd Gilliland blew a left rear tire, hitting the outside wall. Zane Smith assumed the lead when most of the field made a pit stop, but Smith only took two tires, allowing him to come out with the lead. The two tires were not enough to keep him out front as Hocevar was able to take the lead. With 19 laps to go, Hocevar’s rear tire went down and forced him to pit for four tires and gas, handing the lead back to Byron. Denny Hamlin passed Byron with four laps to go and was able to hang on for the win.  

Ryan Blaney had a strong final stage and won his first race of the year in Nashville at the Cracker Barrel 400. Carson Hocevar had a good showing for the day and ended up finishing second with Denny Hamlin third. Joey Logano and William Byron rounded out the top five. 

A pair of Toyotas were out front for the start of the race, Chase Briscoe on the pole and Denny Hamlin in second. Briscoe jumped out front and stayed there until Hamlin assumed the lead during green flag pit stops. Both Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney spent time up front during the green flag cycle. Briscoe was back up front with 20 laps remaining in the stage and stayed there until Hamlin passed him with 7 laps to go in the stage. Hamlin won stage one with Tyler Reddick second. It was Hamlin’s third stage win of the year.

Ryan Blaney and his teammate Austin Cindric took two tires and found themselves up front for the start of stage two. Blaney took the lead at the drop of the green flag. The yellow flag came out on lap 106 when Carson Hocevar made contact with Ricky Stenhouse, sending Stenhouse into the wall. After the pit stops, Hamlin was back out front but it was not long before the caution came out again, this time when Noah Gragson and Alex Bowman got together. As soon as the green flag came out, contact between Eric Jones and Christopher Bell ended with Bell in the outside wall. The next caution came out on lap 131 when Corey Heim wrecked coming out of turn 4. With 16 laps to go in the stage, Blaney took the lead with William Byron in second, Hamlin fell to third. Blaney stayed in the lead and won stage two. 

The final stage started with Joey Logano leading the pack to the green flag but they only made it two laps before the caution flag flew again, this time as Ryan Preece spun out. On the restart, Blaney was able to get in front of Logano to take the lead. During the green flag pit stops, Hamlin stayed out to take the lead and ran until he ran low on fuel. Cindric assumed the lead when Hamlin pitted and handed the lead to Austin Dillon when he hit pit road. Dillion led a handful of laps before pitting allowing Brad Keselowski to lead for a few laps before making his stop, cycling the lead back to Blaney. Blaney would lead the rest of the laps of the race.