Frontstretch Newsletter: April 3, 2023
Volume XVII, Edition XLIII |
- NASCAR Cup and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams are back at their shops, preparing to get dirty. We'll have anything that breaks news-wise for you at Frontstretch. |
| | Kyle Larson Finds Redemption & His 1st Win of the
Season at Richmond Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson won the race off of pit road late Sunday, then held on to win the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway for his first win of the
year. Josh Berry was second, then Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell and Kevin Harvick. |
| | Strategy Call Pays Off for Josh Berry With Runner-Up
Finish at Richmond For much of Sunday's Toyota Owners 400, Josh Berry was the weakest of the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers. A pit strategy move put him up front, where he held on
to finish second. |
| | Gibbs vs.
Hendrick Duel Culminates With Christopher Bell, William Byron Contact Much of Sunday's Toyota Owners 400 was a duel between Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing. This peaked on lap 380 when Christopher Bell ran into William
Byron on a restart, putting Byron in the wall. |
| | Chandler Smith Wins 1st
Career Xfinity Race at Richmond Kaulig Racing's Chandler Smith took the lead late Saturday and held on to win the ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway for his first career NASCAR Xfinity
Series win. John Hunter Nemechek was second, then Josh Berry, Kaz Grala and Cole Custer. |
| | Justin Allgaier Scores “Weirdest” Xfinity Dash 4 Cash
Win of Career Saturday was the first Xfinity Dash 4 Cash race of the year. Despite strong contenders for the money, Justin Allgaier took the $100,000 despite finishing only
13th. |
| | Kaz Grala Turns the Tide With 4th Place at Team’s Home
Track Kaz Grala finished fourth in the ToyotaCare 250 Saturday, the best-ever finish for Sam Hunt Racing. |
| | Carson Hocevar Scores First Career Win at Texas, Leaders
Wreck in Overtime Contact on the final lap resulted in the three strongest trucks at Texas (Nick Sanchez, Zane Smith and Christian Eckes) crashing in turn 1. That allowed Carson
Hocevar to get through to win the SpeedyCash.com 250 for his first career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win. Chase Purdy was second, then Stewart Friesen, Ty Majeski and Jake Garcia. |
| | Dean Thompson Transported to Hospital After Major
Crash Likely the best-ever Truck race to this point for Dean Thompson ended Saturday in a hard crash in the quad-oval where he was hit multiple times. He was
hospitalized, but released late Saturday night. |
| | Texas Truck Race Ends in Heartbreaking Fashion for a
Dominant Nick Sanchez Saturday's SpeedyCash.com 250 was a coming out party for Nick Sanchez. Sanchez led 168 of 172 laps, but contact from Carson Hocevar and Zane Smith led to a big
crash that dropped him to a 16th-place finish. |
| | Jonathan Davenport Attempting Truck Debut at
Bristol SPIRE Motorsports announced Monday that dirt late model racer Jonathan Davenport will do double duty in Bristol in this weekend, adding in duties in the No. 7 Chevrolet in the Truck race in addition to his Cup
debut. |
| | Chase Briscoe Back in Bristol Dirt Truck Race With
AM AM Racing announced that Chase Briscoe will drive the No. 22 Ford Saturday at Bristol with sponsorship from the Production Alliance
Group. |
| | Tanner Carrick Attempting Bristol Dirt for On
Point On Point Motorsports announced Monday that USAC racer Tanner Carrick will attempt to qualify for Saturday's WEATHER GUARD Truck Race on Dirt at Bristol Motor
Speedway. |
| | Josef Newgarden Repeats Texas Win in Thrilling IndyCar
Race Team Penske's Josef Newgarden was able to hold off Patricio O'Ward in the closing laps Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. When Romain Grosjean crashed with two laps
to go, Newgarden claimed his second straight Texas win. Alex Palou was third, then David Malukas and Scott Dixon. |
| | IndyCar Finds Its (2nd) Groove at
Texas Ever since Texas Motor Speedway was reconfigured and repaved, having a decent on-track product for INDYCAR has been difficult. Sunday's PPG 375 was an excellent
race where drivers could race side-by-side. |
| | David Malukas Fights Changeable Handling to Finish 4th
in Texas Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports' David Malukas doesn't feel like he's much of a veteran in INDYCAR. However, he was able to handle the changing conditions
to finish fourth. |
| | Kyle Kirkwood in Good Place in 1st Season with Andretti
Autosport Kyle Kirkwood is only a couple of races into his time with Andretti Autosport. So far, he's adjusting well to his new surroundings, despite having bad luck in the
races. |
| | Team Penske announced Friday that they have extended a long-term partnership with PPG that will take them into a fifth
decade. |
| | Max Verstappen Wins Red-Flag-Riddled Australian Grand
Prix Red Bull's Max Verstappen was able to use DRS to get past Lewis Hamilton early on, then held on to win a weird Grand Prix of Australia Sunday that had three red
flags. Hamilton was second, then Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez. |
| | Sean Hingorani Wins First Career ARCA Race at
Irwindale Venturini Motorsports' Sean Hingorani held off Landen Lewis Saturday night to win the ARCA Menards Series West West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame 150
for his first ARCA West victory. Lewis was second, then Tyler Reif, Trevor Huddleston and Tanner Reif. |
| | Eric Filguerias, Stevan McAleer Win GT World Challenge
America Season Opener On debut in Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS, Rennsport One's Eric Filguerias and Stevan McAleer claimed the overall victory in the season opener
Saturday at Sonoma Raceway. |
| | Colin Braun, George Kurtz Win Sonoma GT World Challenge
America Race No. 2 Crowdstrike Racing with Riley Motorsports' Colin Braun and George Kurtz took the lead with 29 minutes to go and pulled away to win Fanatec GT World Challenge
America powered by AWS Race No. 2 at Sonoma Raceway Sunday. |
| | NOLAsport’s Jason Hart, Matt Travis Win Sonoma GT4
America Race No. 1 NOLAsport's Jason Hart and Matt Travis were able to jump over Conquest Racing/JMF Motorsport's Michai Stephens and Jesse Webb during the mid-race pit stops
and held on to win the Pirelli GT4 America SprintX season opener at Sonoma Saturday. |
| | Terry Borcheller, Nick Shanny Win Sonoma Pirelli GT4
America Race No. 2 In a bizarre Pirelli GT4 America SprintX race Sunday at Sonoma Raceway, Carrus Callus Raceteam's Terry Borcheller and Nick Shanny claimed overall victory in an event marred by three safety car periods
and penalties. |
| | Memo Gidley Wins Sonoma GT America Race No.
1 TKO Motorsports' Memo Gidley swept around the outside of Adam Adelson at the start Saturday, then held on to win GT America powered by AWS Race No. 1 at Sonoma,
his second win of the year. |
| | Anthony Bartone Wins Sonoma GT America Race No. 2 After
Penalty RealTime Racing's Anthony Bartone inherited the win in GT America powered by AWS Race No. 2 at Sonoma Raceway Sunday after Adam Adelson was moved to the rear
of the field after failing post-race inspection. |
Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography, Chris Jones of INDYCAR Media, Mark Thompson of Getty Images, Adam Glanzman of ARCA Racing, World Racing Group via Jacy Norgaard, Brett Farmer of Team Penske, Brian Cleary and Fabian Lagunas of SRO Motorsports Group, and our own
Phil Allaway and Stephen Stumpf. Have news for Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com with a promising lead or tip. |
This is just a sample of the 39 videos that we posted from Richmond and Texas to our YouTube channel over the weekend. For more from both tracks, please subscribe. Also, don't forget to click the bell to be notified of future posts. |
Seeking the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs: Alex Bowman Maintains Lead With Decent Run In Richmond
by Phil Allaway
By virtue of Hendrick Motorsports earning a partial victory on their appeal Wednesday, Alex Bowman entered Richmond with the points lead, then had a solid
run to eighth. As a result, he still has the lead, but by only four points over Ross Chastain, who finished third. Christopher Bell is up four places to third after finishing fourth. William Byron had a chance to win, but ended up in the wall late. The 24th-place finish dropped him to fourth. Kevin Harvick has sole possession of fifth in points after finishing fifth. Kyle Larson and Joey Logano are now tied for
sixth after Larson won in Richmond and Logano finished seventh. Kyle Busch is down four places to eighth after finishing 14th. Martin Truex Jr. is up two places to ninth after leading 56 laps, but ran out of tires late. Brad Keselowski finished 10th and moved up two
places to 10th. Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney are tied for 11th. Hamlin ended up 20th after two speeding penalties, while Blaney was 26th. Tyler Reddick has sole possession of 13th after finishing 16th. Austin Cindric is down four places to 14th after finishing 28th.
Chris Buescher is the last driver currently in the playoffs on points in 15th. Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had brake issues early and finished 35th, dropping him to 16th. Buescher has a six-point lead over Daniel Suarez, who finished 23rd. Michael McDowell is up one place to
18th after finishing sixth, his best career finish on a short track. Corey LaJoie is down one place to 19th, while Ty Gibbs remains in 20th. Point Standings (1-16): 1) Alex Bowman 263, 2) Ross Chastain -4, 3) Christopher Bell -34, 4) William
Byron -35, 5) Kevin Harvick -36, t-6) Kyle Larson -41, t-6) Joey Logano -41, 8) Kyle Busch -48, 9) Martin Truex Jr. -65, 10) Brad Keselowski -67, t-11) Denny Hamlin -75, t-11) Ryan Blaney -75, 13) Tyler Reddick -76, 14) Austin Cindric -88, 15) Chris Buescher -99, 16) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -102. Note: Drivers in italics are either outside of the playoffs, or ineligible for points. Playoff
Points: 1) William Byron 15, t-2) Kyle Larson -9, t-2) Joey Logano -9, t-2) Tyler Reddick -9, t-5) Kyle Busch -10, t-5) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -10, 7) Ross Chastain -12, t-8) Brad Keselowski -14, t-8) Austin Cindric -14, t-8) Denny Hamlin -14. Stage Points: 1) William Byron 83, 2) Ross Chastain -15, 3) Kyle Larson -25, t-4) Joey Logano -29, t-4) Alex Bowman -29, t-4) Christopher Bell -29, t-7) Denny Hamlin -30, 8) Kevin Harvick -33, 9) Brad
Keselowski -35, 10) Austin Cindric -40, 11) Martin Truex Jr. -47, 12) Tyler Reddick -49, 13) Ryan Blaney -51, 14) Chris Buescher -52, 15) Daniel Suarez -62, 16) Michael McDowell -63.
Outside of the top-16, but in the playoffs: 17) Kyle Busch
-64, t-18) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -70.
Note: The Stage Points also include the Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona. Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) Alex Bowman 231, 2) Kyle Busch -5, 3) Ross Chastain -6, 4) Kevin Harvick -22, 5) Christopher Bell -23, 6) Joey Logano -30, 7) Kyle Larson -35, 8) Martin Truex
Jr. -38, 9) Ryan Blaney -44, 10) Brad Keselowski -48, 11) Tyler Reddick -51, t-12) William Byron -54, t-12) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -54, 14) Corey LaJoie -56, 15) Denny Hamlin -57, 16) Ty Gibbs -62. Outside of the top
16, but still in the playoffs: 19) Chris Buescher -67, 20) Austin Cindric -69. Note: These standings are based on the old point system that was used before
stages were created. WC Points (1-16): 1) Alex Bowman 1048, 2) Ross Chastain -48, 3) Kyle Busch
-59, 4) Christopher Bell -91, 5) Kevin Harvick -110, 6) Joey Logano -129, 7) Kyle Larson -142, 8) Martin Truex Jr. -179, 9) Ryan Blaney -181, 10) Brad Keselowski -187, 11) Tyler Reddick
-198, 12) William Byron -206, 13) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -223, 14) Corey LaJoie -234, 15) Denny Hamlin -246, 16) Daniel Suarez -249. Outside the top-16, but still in the playoffs:
18) Chris Buescher -258, 20) Austin Cindric -268. Note No. 1: The WC points are based on the original points system created by Bob Latford in 1975. Race Winners: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Daytona), Kyle Busch (Fontana), William Byron (Las Vegas, Phoenix), Joey Logano (Atlanta), Tyler Reddick (Austin), Kyle Larson (Richmond)
Note: Race wins in Italics do not count towards playoff eligibility.
Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.
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Seeking the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs: Austin Hill Holds On Advantage With Solid Day
by Phil Allaway
Austin Hill had a solid day on Saturday, finishing ninth. That was enough to hold onto the points lead, but
his advantage is down to 12 over Riley Herbst. Herbst got involved in a late incident with Brandon Jones that dropped him to a 23rd-place finish. Had that not happened, Herbst would have the lead. John Hunter Nemechek nearly ruined his race with a bad pit strategy early on, but recovered to finish second. He remains in third. Chandler Smith moved up to fourth after claiming his first career win. Josh Berry is up four places to fifth after finishing third. Justin Allgaier finished 13th after running out of tires later and dropped to sixth. Sheldon Creed is up one place to seventh after finishing sixth. Sam Mayer is down two places to eighth. Sammy Smith was on the same strategy as Nemechek, but failed to get back onto the lead lap until the final 10
laps of the race. As a result, he finished 19th and dropped two places to ninth. Cole Custer is up to 10th after a fifth-place finish. Daniel Hemric is down to 11th, while Parker Kligerman is the last driver in the playoffs. Kligerman has a 13-point lead over Ryan Sieg, who finished seventh Saturday. Jones is up one place to 14th after
scoring 17 stage points. Jeb Burton is now 15th, while Brett Moffitt is still 16th. Point Standings (1-16): 1) Austin Hill 277, 2) Riley Herbst
-12, 3) John Hunter Nemechek -18, 4) Chandler Smith -24, 5) Josh Berry -43, 6) Justin Allgaier -46, 7) Sheldon Creed -58, 8) Sam Mayer -69, 9) Sammy Smith -74, 10) Cole Custer -81, 11) Daniel Hemric
-84, 12) Parker Kligerman -89, 13) Ryan Sieg -102, 14) Brandon Jones -116, 15) Jeb Burton -128, 16) Brett Moffitt -136. Playoff Points: 1) Austin Hill 18, t-2) John Hunter Nemechek
-12, t-2) Chandler Smith -12, 4) Sammy Smith -13, 5) Justin Allgaier -15, 6) Cole Custer -16, t-7) Josh Berry -17, t-7) Sheldon Creed -17, t-7) Parker Kligerman -17. Note: If he were eligible for Xfinity Series points, AJ Allmendinger would be tied for second in playoff points. Stage Points: 1) Riley Herbst 69, 2) Austin Hill -2, 3) Sheldon Creed -4, 4) Justin Allgaier -6, 5) Chandler Smith -14, 6) John Hunter Nemechek -21, 7) Cole Custer -23, 8) Brandon Jones
-25, 9) Josh Berry -32, 10) Sammy Smith -33, 11) Daniel Hemric -35, 12) Parker Kligerman -38, 13) Sam Mayer -40, 14) Ryan Sieg -50, 15) Brett Moffitt -52, 16) Anthony Alfredo -58. Note:
If he were eligible for points, Kyle Busch would be 13th in stage points. Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) John Hunter Nemechek
245, 2) Austin Hill -4, 3) Chandler Smith -14, 4) Josh Berry -16, 5) Riley Herbst -19, 6) Sam Mayer -35, 7) Justin Allgaier -44, 8) Sammy Smith -47, 9) Parker Kligerman -57, 10) Daniel Hemric
-58, 11) Sheldon Creed -60, 12) Ryan Sieg -61, 13) Cole Custer -64, 14) Jeb Burton -76, 15) Brett Moffitt -93, 16) Parker Retzlaff -97. WC Points (1-16): 1) John Hunter Nemechek 1074, 2) Austin Hill -28, 3) Chandler Smith -56, 4) Josh Berry -64, 5) Riley Herbst -83, 6) Sam Mayer -135, 7) Justin Allgaier -139, 8) Sammy Smith -177, 9) Parker Kligerman
-211, t-10) Sheldon Creed -213, t-10) Daniel Hemric -213, 12) Ryan Sieg -235, 13) Cole Custer -236, 14) Jeb Burton -287, 15) Brett Moffitt -331, 16) Parker Retzlaff -341. Race Winners: Austin Hill (Daytona, Las Vegas, Atlanta), John Hunter Nemechek (Fontana), Sammy
Smith (Phoenix), AJ Allmendinger (Austin), Chandler Smith (Richmond) Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.
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Seeking the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs: Ty Majeski Claims Points Lead By Avoiding Trouble
by Phil
Allaway
Ty Majeski was able to escape from the mess that was Saturday's SpeedyCash.com 250 with a fourth-place finish. That was enough to give him the points lead. His advantage is three points over Zane Smith, who would have kept the lead had he not wrecked on the last lap. He ultimately finished 14th.
Ben Rhodes remains in third after finishing 10th. Christian Eckes was also caught up in the last-lap crash and stays in fourth. Matt Crafton is up one place to fifth after finishing 13th. Grant
Enfinger is down to sixth after a 17th-place finish. Chase Purdy and Corey Heim are tied for seventh. Purdy wins the tiebreaker by virtue of his second-place finish Saturday. Nick Sanchez did
everything but win Saturday. Getting wrecked on the final lap dropped him to a 16th-place finish. Despite that, he still gained three places to put himself ninth in points, last of those in the playoffs at the moment. Sanchez is 14 points ahead of Tyler Ankrum, who ended up eight laps down in 26th. Carson Hocevar is up three places to a tie for 11th by virtue of his victory. He's tied with Tanner Gray. Stewart Friesen remains in 13th after finishing third, while Matt DiBenedetto dropped six places to 14th after having mechanical issues. Jake Garcia is up to 15th after finishing a career-best fifth. Hailie Deegan is now
16th. Point Standings (1-16): 1) Ty Majeski 206, 2) Zane Smith
-3, 3) Ben Rhodes -12, 4) Christian Eckes -19, 5) Matt Crafton -51, 6) Grant Enfinger -54, t-7) Chase Purdy -58, t-7) Corey Heim -58, 9) Nick Sanchez -67, 10) Tyler Ankrum -81, t-11) Carson Hocevar
-84, t-11) Tanner Gray -84, 13) Stewart Friesen -87, 14) Matt DiBenedetto -89, 15) Jake Garcia -109, 16) Hailie Deegan -110.
Note: Drivers in italics are either outside of the playoffs, or ineligible for the playoffs. Playoff Points: 1) Zane Smith 11, 2) Christian Eckes -3, 3) Carson Hocevar -5, 4) Nick Sanchez -9, t-3) Matt Crafton -10, t-3) Tyler Ankrum -10. Note: If he were eligible for playoff points, Kyle Busch would be tied for third with six points. Stage Points: 1) Christian Eckes 53, 2) Ty Majeski
-3, t-3) Zane Smith -5, t-3) Ben Rhodes -5, 5) Matt Crafton -8, 6) Nick Sanchez -18, 7) Matt DiBenedetto -22, 8) Grant Enfinger -24, 9) Chase Purdy -29, 10) Corey Heim -31, t-11) Carson Hocevar
-35, t-11) Tyler Ankrum -35, 13) Stewart Friesen -38, t-14) Hailie Deegan -41, t-14) Dean Thompson -41, 16) Tanner Gray -42. Note: If he was eligible for stage points, Kyle Busch would be 13th. Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) Ty Majeski
138, 2) Zane Smith -1, 3) Ben Rhodes -9, 4) Christian Eckes -20, 5) Corey Heim -30, 6) Chase Purdy -33, 7) Grant Enfinger -34, 8) Matt Crafton -45, 9) Tanner Gray -47, t-10) Nick Sanchez -50, t-10) Tyler Ankrum -50, 12) Carson Hocevar -51, 13) Stewart Friesen -53, 14) Jake Garcia -58, 15) Colby Howard -65, 16) Kris Wright -70. Note: If he were eligible for Craftsman Truck Series points, Kyle Busch would be tied for 16th in Old Points. WC Points (1-16): 1) Ty Majeski 770, 2) Zane Smith -6, 3) Ben Rhodes -37, 4) Christian Eckes -64, 5) Corey Heim -111, 6) Chase Purdy
-113, 7) Grant Enfinger -127, t-8) Nick Sanchez -161, t-8) Tanner Gray -161, 10) Matt Crafton -166, 11) Tyler Ankrum -171, 12) Carson Hocevar -181, 13) Stewart Friesen -182, 14) Colby Howard -220, 15) Kris
Wright -244, 16) Matt DiBenedetto -247. Race Winners: Zane Smith (Daytona, Austin), Kyle Busch (Las Vegas), Christian Eckes (Atlanta), Carson Hocevar (Texas)
Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of our own Phil Allaway.
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Letter of the Race: Sunday's Toyota Owners 400 was brought to you by the letter F for Frisky. The lower downforce made for a slightly
more competitive race at Richmond Raceway. You also had some anger when Denny Hamlin dumped JJ Yeley and frustration on the part of William Byron. - Phil Allaway |
Quotes to Remember:
Toyota Owners 400 compiled by Phil Allaway
"It’s really cool. We’ve been close to winning a couple. William has been extremely good this year. It was going to be between probably him, [Martin Truex Jr.], us, and [Christopher Bell were] really good. So just things worked out. My pit crew had a great stop. So,
shout out to Brandon Johnson. He is our jackman. He just turned 30 today. Our spotter, Tyler Monn, he turned 30 today. Great day for them guys. What an awesome Hendrickcars.com Chevy. I can’t say enough about it. I got into [Daniel 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, 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." - Kyle Larson, race winner "Man, this is really cool. I have
to give all the credit to this NAPA team. Tom [Grey], Alan [Gustafson] remotely, of course, and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. They made some great calls. When we got some clean track, we weren’t running bad lap times. I’m so glad they tried something different to get us there at the end. I felt like we were decent the whole time. Just getting in cleaner air [was key]. We were free to race with Kyle [Larson]. Man, what a huge day. You know, to come here and start in the back, no practice,
qualifying, get spun out, work through the field like that, just second place, it’s pretty cool." - Josh Berry, finished second
"We definitely needed more to fight for the lead. For our Jockey Chevy, it was probably more about clean air. There were better cars throughout the race that got cycled back on strategy.
For our group – [Kyle Larson], [Josh Berry and Christopher Bell were] probably a little better – but out of the Chevys I thought that in clean air that any of us – [Larson], [Berry] or us – could lead. Hats off to the [No.] 5 team, Kyle, and everyone at HMS. Chevrolet keeps locking down these wins with the Bowtie. We’re proud to be part of it." - Ross Chastain, finished third
"It was pretty disappointing. I felt like we had enough speed in our Rheem Camry to be up there all day, but I had a couple of restarts that put us in the back. We would lose spots when the yellow flags would come out, so it was just an uphill battle all day.
(On the contact with
William Byron) "I don’t know. It was a pretty standard restart with [Ross Chastain] behind you. I tried to protect from him going to the inside and he still made it three-wide there at the last minute and there wasn’t enough room." - Christopher Bell, finished fourth
"We didn’t have a very smooth day and the car didn’t really do anything that I wanted it to do to have a shot at winning, but we fought hard all day. We were definitely expecting to be a little bit better, but that’s the way it goes. "I don’t think there was
really any difference, honestly, compared to a lot of the things that we had last year. I think we definitely handled a little bit worse than we did at the last race here, but there was a lot different on the car, too." - Kevin Harvick, finished
fifth "I think the strategy was a good call. A lot of that was our car was really good on the long run and I think we were gonna be 15th or 16th, so you might as well go for it and see if you can’t come up with something good and it worked
out. I thought it was a great call by Travis Peterson. The Love’s Ford Mustang was pretty good all day. We needed a little bit more speed on the front end and not lose so much track position early on, but the long run speed was great. Had a couple of those runs gone a little longer, I think we would have actually been a little bit better yet, so I’m proud of everybody. Phoenix was a good race for us and this obviously being a good race, so I feel like our short track program is turning the
corner, at least I hope so. I’m optimistic about that." - Michael McDowell, finished sixth
"We had a really good car. Our Mustang was fast, maybe definitely could have won. It felt pretty good. That loose wheel set us back, but it was so early in the race we thought we could recover. We started to recover and did
recover, and then we were trying to split it halfway and get the track position, but we had two untimely cautions that just didn’t work out for us. Typical Richmond it does work out, but more cautions today than typical." - Joey Logano, finished seventh "It has been a pretty solid for
us. The biggest thing is just minimizing mistakes. I think my team is the best, and only going to get better. My pit crew did a great job today. I’m happy. My Monster Energy Toyota Camry was fast today, and I’m excited to be up there racing with those guys." - Ty Gibbs, finished ninth
"It looked like [Ross Chastain]
was inside [Christopher Bell] and [Bell] just overcooked the corner and had the fronts locked up and nailed us in the left rear. So I was just kind of restarting fourth there and trying to stay tight to [Berry] and get a good restart. I just got tagged in the left rear. So, yeah, just a dive bomb move on the inside
on his part and it is what it is. I had a great race car. The Raptor Chevrolet was awesome all day and we will just keep bringing fast race cars like that and we will get a lot more wins. It was looking like it could be another win before the caution. That’s the way it goes." - William Byron, finished 24th Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.
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