Frontstretch Newsletter: March 30, 2026
Volume
XX, Edition XLIX |
And Now A Word From Our Title Partner, My Place Hotels! |
My Place Hotels is a proud to be the official hotel sponsor of Frontstretch. With plush beds, in room kitchens and Pet Friendly Hotels My Place makes for the perfect pit stop when traveling. Racing fans can use Promo Code: Frontstretch to save 10% on your stay at any of our nationwide properties. That’s 10% off nationwide with code FRONTSTRETCH. This racing season, be sure to
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- NASCAR Cup Series teams are back at their shops to relax a little bit since they're off this week. However, NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams are hard at work preparing for this weekend's action in Rockingham.. Entry lists will be released later today. We will have the entry lists and anything else that breaks for you
today at Frontstretch. |
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| Chase Elliott Wins Cook Out 400 at
Martinsville Chase Elliott took the lead away from Ross Chastain on the final restart Sunday and held on to win the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville. Denny Hamlin was second, then Joey Logano, Ty Gibbs and William Byron. |
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| NASCAR Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2027
Nominees Prior to the Cook Out 400 Sunday, NASCAR revealed the nominees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2027, which includes Kevin Harvick. |
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| Contact Between Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney Might’ve Cost
Both Martinsville Win Denny Hamlin led 292 laps Sunday, but had contact late in the race that put Ryan Blaney in the outside wall. It might have prevented them from taking the fight to Chase Elliott. |
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| Here’s What Happened in the JGR vs. Chris Gabehart/Spire
Lawsuit This Week (March 21-March 27) The past week has seen a flurry of filings from both sides. Gabehart's side is contending that since he was not fired with cause, there should be no need for a non-compete. |
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| Justin Allgaier Goes Back-To-Back, Takes Checkered Flag at
Martinsville JR Motorsports' Justin Allgaier took the lead late Saturday and held on to win the NFPA 250 for his second straight win. Corey Day was second, then Sammy Smith, Sheldon Creed and Lee Pulliam. |
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| Lee Pulliam Scores Top 5 in O’Reilly Debut, Takes
Responsibility for Crash The O'Reilly debut for Lee Pulliam was a successful one. He led laps and finished fifth despite a restart issue that triggered a big wreck. |
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| Alex Palou Wins Barber After McLaren Pit
Fumble Alex Palou got back to his winning ways Sunday in Alabama, leading 79 of 90 laps to win the Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix. Christian Lundgaard was second, then Graham Rahal, David Malukas and Kyle Kirkwood. |
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| Pato O’Ward Not Happy at Barber: ‘We Got Our A–
Kicked’ Sunday was a miserable day in Alabama for Arrow McLaren's Patricio O'Ward. The team simply missed the setup and a lack of cautions contributed to a 17th-place finish. |
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| Santino Ferrucci & Co. Finish ‘Right Where We Should
Have’ at Barber After a tough start to the 2026 season, Santino Ferrucci had a decent day Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park, bringing home the A.J. Foyt No. 14 in eighth. |
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| Scott McLaughlin OK After Car Pierces Fence at
Barber Saturday's NTT IndyCar Series practice at Barber Motorsports Park ended early due to an unusual incident where Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin effectively crashed through the barrier in turn 1. |
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| Kimi Antonelli Wins Again At The Japanese Grand
Prix Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli took advantage of a safety car period to make his sole pit stop and keep the lead. From there, he held on to win the Grand Prix of Japan. Oscar Piastri was second, then Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Lando
Norris. |
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| Tristan McKee Holds Off Max Reaves to Win at
Hickory Tristan McKee was able to snatch the lead in a late three-wide battle to win the ARCA Menards Series East Cook Out 200 at Hickory Motor Speedway. Max Reaves was second, then Isaac Kitzmiller, Derek Kneeland and Nick Tucker. |
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| JMF Motorsports Wins GT World Challenge America at
Sonoma JMF Motorsports' Mikael Grenier and Michai Stephens controlled much of the action Sunday to win the GT World Challenge America powered by AWS season opener at Sonoma Raceway. |
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| Tyler Gonzalez, Westin Workman Win Sonoma GT4 Race No.
1 RAFA Racing Team's Tyler Gonzalez and Westin Workman dominated the Pirelli GT4 America season opener Friday to claim victory. |
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| RAFA Racing Team Scores Sonoma Pirelli GT4 America
Sweep Westin Workman passed Sam Craven Saturday with 15 minutes to go and held on from there to claim the Pirelli GT4 America weekend sweep for himself and Tyler Gonzalez. |
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| Memo Gidley Wins Sonoma GT America Race No.
1 Memo Gidley started off his 2026 season right by scoring the win in the GT America season opener at Sonoma Saturday. |
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| Memo Gidley Scores Sonoma GT America Weekend
Sweep SKI Autosports' Memo Gidley led flag-to-flag Sunday morning to wrap up the GT America powered by AWS weekend sweep. |
Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography, NASCAR Media via Adam Glanzman of ARCA Racing, Paul Hurley and Joe Skibinski of Penske Entertainment, Clive Mason of Getty Images, Fred Hardy, Fabian Lagunas and Andrew Miterko of SRO Motorsports Group,
and our own Brad Harrison. Have news for Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com with a promising lead or tip. |
Around the World in Motorsports: March 27-29 |
- World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series teams were at US 36 Raceway Friday night for the KC Classic. Here, the Macedo brothers started from pole and controlled the race early on. Cole Macedo led early, but Carson was able to slip past on the outside to take the lead on lap 11. A
caution allowed Buddy Kofoid to enter the mix, but lapped traffic after the restart really mixed things up. The two drivers ran the final two laps side-by-side, but Carson Macedo was able to hold on to take his first win of the year. Kofoid was .277 seconds behind in second. David Gravel was third, then Sheldon Haudenschild and Emerson Axsom. Saturday night saw the series move to the Wichita area for the Tall Grass Tussle. This race was dominated early on by Ryan Timms. At one point, Timms had a four-second lead on the pack. However, Kofoid got up to second and ate away at the advantage. On the final lap, he was
there.
In turns 3 and 4, Kofoid pulled off a huge slide job on Timms to clear him for the lead. Timms tried to cross him over, but he could not prevent Kofoid from taking the win.
The margin of victory was .263 seconds over Timms. Cole Macedo was third, then Carson Macedo and Donny Schatz. In the points, Gravel continues to lead after 11 races. His advantage is 48 points over Carson Macedo. Haudenschild is third, then Kofoid and Schatz. - Interstate Batteries High Limit Sprint Car Series teams were in action Friday night at Route 66 Motor Speedway near Amarillo, Tex. Here, Tanner
Thorson led flag-to-flag, but had to outduel Aaron Reutzel to take the victory. Thorson won by only .133 seconds over Reutzel at the finish. Justin Peck was third, then Daison Pursley and Tanner Holmes. Saturday night's scheduled race at Kansas' Dodge City Raceway Park was
postponed due to high winds. Series officials are currently looking for a makeup date. Through eight races, Thorson has a 21-point
lead over Reutzel. Rico Abreu is third, followed by Giovanni Scelzi and Tyler Courtney. - in World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTvision action, the series was at East Alabama Motor Speedway Friday night. Here, Daulton Wilson started up front and dominated much of the race. However, Nick Hoffman made use of the lower line to move him on Wilson. With a little less than two laps to go, Wilson jumped the cushion in turn 3. That was all Hoffman needed to slip past to win the Chattahoochee Clash and take the points lead. Hoffman won by 1.146 seconds over Wilson. Tim McCreadie was third, followed by Jonathan Davenport and Chris
Madden. Saturday night saw the series move to Senoia Raceway for the Billy Clanton Classic. Here, Hoffman looked to add to his points lead and led the majority of the feature. However, he missed his inside groove late in the race in turn 3. That allowed Bobby Pierce to take that
line and move into the lead with Ashton Winger following past. From there, Pierce held on to take the win by .244 seconds over Winger. Hoffman was third, then Madden and Ryan Gustin. Pierce's win Saturday night allowed him to retake the points lead by three points over Hoffman.
McCreadie is third, then Gustin and Wilson. |
This is just a sampling of the videos that we uploaded to our YouTube channels from Martinsville, Barber Park and Hickory last weekend. For more from Martinsville, Barber Park, Hickory, or from other race weekends, be sure to subscribe to our suite of
YouTube channels (Frontstretch, Frontstretch Grassroots, Frontstretch Plus and FS Open Wheel) and don't forget to click the bell to be notified of future videos. |
Seeking the NASCAR Cup Series Chase: Tyler Reddick Struggles, But Maintains Advantage
by Phil Allaway
Tyler Reddick qualified well, but dropped down the order Sunday. Short tracks appear to be his kryptonite for now. Despite that, he finished 15th and maintained the majority of his lead. Reddick has an 82-point lead over Ryan Blaney, who finished sixth. Denny
Hamlin dominated the day, but came up short at the end. Despite that, he still moved up one place to third. Chase Elliott's first victory of the year moved him up to fourth. William Byron finished fifth and moved up to fifth in points. Ty Gibbs is up five places to sixth after a sixth-place finish. Christopher Bell is up to seventh after a
seventh-place finish. There is a four-way tie for eighth at the moment between Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher and Bubba Wallace. Keselowski wins the tiebreaker by virtue of his second-place finish at Darlington. Wallace is the big loser this week, having dropped all the way from third after crashing
out. Joey Logano is up four places to 12th after a third-place finish. Ryan Preece is down to 13th despite a decent run to 12th. Shane van Gisbergen finished 11th and moved up one place to 14th. Carson Hocevar was spun out by Wallace, creating a mess. He would eventually finish 17th and drop two places to 15th. Teammate
Daniel Suarez dropped two spots to 16th after finishing 20th. He is the last driver in the playoffs on points. Suarez has a nine-point lead over teammate Michael McDowell, who finished 18th Sunday. Austin Cindric had his best run of the year Sunday and moved up three places to 18th. Ross Chastain finished 16th and
moved up one place to 19th. AJ Allmendinger is down to 20th. Point Standings (1-16): 1) Tyler Reddick 353, 2) Ryan Blaney -82, 3) Denny Hamlin -94, 4) Chase Elliott -104, 5) William Byron
-115, 6) Ty Gibbs -131, 7) Christopher Bell -141, t-8) Kyle Larson -147, t-8) Brad Keselowski -147, t-8) Chris Buescher -147, t-8) Bubba Wallace -147, 12) Joey Logano -168, 13) Ryan Preece -173, 14) Shane van Gisbergen
-179, 15) Carson Hocevar -182, 16) Daniel Suarez -186. Note: Drivers in italics are either outside of the Chase as they run, or ineligible for points. Stage
Points: 1) Ryan Blaney 64, 2) Bubba Wallace -4, 3) Tyler Reddick -6, 4) William Byron -9, 5) Kyle Larson -12, 6) Denny Hamlin -13, 7) Austin Cindric -17, 8) Ty Gibbs -19, t-9) Christopher Bell -21, t-9) Joey Logano
-21, 11) Chris Buescher -23, 12) Chase Elliott -30, 13) Brad Keselowski -35, 14) Carson Hocevar -37, 15) Daniel Suarez -38, 16) Shane van Gisbergen -40. Outside of the top-16, but Still in the Chase:
17) Ryan Preece -42. Note: The Stage Points also include the America 250 Florida Duels at Daytona.
2014 Point Standings (1-16): 1) Tyler Reddick 293, 2) Ryan Blaney
-37, 3) Denny Hamlin -49, 4) William Byron -55, 5) Chase Elliott -59, 6) Ty Gibbs -71, 7) Christopher Bell -81, t-8) Brad Keselowski -87, t-8) Kyle Larson -87, t-8) Chris Buescher -87, t-8) Bubba Wallace -87, 12) Joey Logano
-108, 13) Ryan Preece -113, 14) Shane van Gisbergen -119, 15) Carson Hocevar -122, 16) Daniel Suarez -126. Note: These point standings are from the previous point system used from 2014-2025. Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) Tyler Reddick 265, 2) Chase Elliott -34, 3) Ryan Blaney -40, 4) Denny Hamlin -42, 5) William Byron -50, 6) Brad Keselowski -56, 7) Ty Gibbs
-58, 8) Christopher Bell -64, 9) Chris Buescher -70, 10) Ryan Preece -78, 11) Kyle Larson -79, 12) Shane van Gisbergen -86, 13) Bubba Wallace -89, 14) Carson Hocevar -90, 15) Joey Logano -92, t-16) Daniel Suarez
-96, t-16) Michael McDowell -96. Note: These standings are based on the old point system that was used before stages were created. WC Points (1-16): 1) Tyler Reddick
1114, 2) Chase Elliott -101, t-3) Denny Hamlin -121, t-3) Ryan Blaney -121, 5) William Byron -156, 6) Ty Gibbs -168, 7) Brad Keselowski -178, 8) Christopher Bell -184, 9) Chris Buescher -234, 10) Kyle Larson -246, 11) Ryan
Preece -269, 12) Shane van Gisbergen -270, 13) Carson Hocevar -283, 14) Joey Logano -285, 15) Bubba Wallace -289, 16) Michael McDowell -314. Outside of the top-16, but still in the playoffs: 17) Daniel
Suarez -316. Note: The WC points are based on the original points system created by Bob Latford in 1975. Race Winners: Tyler Reddick (Daytona, Atlanta, Austin, Darlington), Ryan Blaney (Phoenix), Denny Hamlin (Las Vegas),
Chase Elliott (Martinsville)
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 O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase: Justin Allgaier Continues To Run Away
by Phil Allaway
Justin Allgaier led a race-high 114 laps Saturday and emerged victorious for the second week in a row. That allowed him to once again expand his advantage. The lead is now 92 points over Jesse Love, who finished 12th after a bumping match late with
Rajah Caruth. Sheldon Creed finished fourth and moved up to third in points. Austin Hill is also up to fourth after a sixth-place finish. Carson Kvapil was eliminated when he ran in the back of teammate Lee Pulliam on a late restart. That dropped him to fifth in points. Sammy Smith finished third and stays in sixth. Corey Day
finished a career-best second to stay in seventh, while Brandon Jones is still eighth. Parker Retzlaff finished 11th and stays in ninth, while Caruth spun out on the final lap and finished 25th. He stays in 10th. Sam Mayer was also caught up in the chain-reaction crash and stays in 11th. Taylor Gray finished 13th and keeps the
final spot in the playoffs for now. Gray currently has a 20-point lead over Anthony Alfredo, who moved up three spots to 13th after finishing 15th. William Sawalich is down one place to 14th, while Ryan Sieg is up two positions to 15th. Brennan Poole is down to 16th. Point Standings (1-16): 1) Justin Allgaier 373, 2) Jesse Love -92, 3) Sheldon Creed -116, 4) Austin Hill -122, 5) Carson Kvapil -139, 6) Sammy Smith -142, 7) Corey Day -148, 8) Brandon Jones
-175, 9) Parker Retzlaff -178, 10) Rajah Caruth -198, 11) Sam Mayer -201, 12) Taylor Gray -209, 13) Anthony Alfredo -229, 14) William Sawalich -230, 15) Ryan Sieg -233, 16) Brennan Poole -234. Stage Points: 1) Justin Allgaier 105, 2) Carson Kvapil -25, 3) Jesse Love -35, 4) Austin Hill -54, 5) Brandon Jones -62, 6) Rajah Caruth -66, 7) Sam Mayer -68, t-8) Sheldon Creed -72, t-8) Sammy Smith
-72, t-8) Taylor Gray -72, t-11) Corey Day -78, t-11) Parker Retzlaff -78, 13) William Sawalich -83, 14) Brent Crews -89, 15) Anthony Alfredo -90, 16) Jeb Burton -94. Note: If they
were eligible for NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series points, Kyle Larson would be 11th and Chase Briscoe 15th in stage points. 2014 Point Standings (1-16): 1) Justin Allgaier 328, 2) Jesse Love -47, 3) Sheldon Creed -86, 4) Austin Hill
-92, 5) Carson Kvapil -94, 6) Sammy Smith -97, 7) Corey Day -103, 8) Brandon Jones -130, 9) Parker Retzlaff -133, 10) Rajah Caruth -153, 11) Sam Mayer -156, 12) Taylor Gray -164, 13) Anthony Alfredo
-184, 14) William Sawalich -185, 15) Ryan Sieg -188, 16) Brennan Poole -189. Old School Point Standings (1-16): 1) Justin Allgaier 254, 2) Jesse Love
-11, 3) Sheldon Creed -15, t-4) Sammy Smith -26, t-4) Corey Day -26, 6) Austin Hill -36, 7) Parker Retzlaff -58, 8) Brandon Jones
-68, 9) Carson Kvapil -69, 10) Sam Mayer -86, t-11) Rajah Caruth -87, t-11) Brennan Poole -87, 13) Taylor Gray -93, 14) Ryan Sieg -95, 15) Anthony
Alfredo -97, 16) William Sawalich -104. WC Points (1-16): 1) Justin Allgaier 1101, 2) Jesse Love -46, 3) Sheldon Creed -59, 4) Sammy Smith -90, 5) Corey Day -94, 6) Austin Hill
-130, 7) Parker Retzlaff -217, 8) Carson Kvapil -238, 9) Brandon Jones -243, 10) Sam Mayer -293, 11) Rajah Caruth -305, 12) Brennan Poole -319, 13) Taylor Gray -330, 14) Ryan Sieg -331, 15) Anthony Alfredo
-349, 16) William Sawalich -361. Race Winners: Austin Hill (Daytona), Sheldon Creed (Atlanta), Shane van Gisbergen (Austin), Justin Allgaier (Phoenix, Darlington, Martinsville), Kyle Larson (Las Vegas) 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 Chase: Off-Week Update No. 3
by Phil Allaway
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was off last weekend. They are scheduled to return to action Friday afternoon at Rockingham Speedway. When the teams arrive at Rockingham, Chandler Smith will have a 33-point lead over Kaden Honeycutt. Layne
Riggs is third, then Gio Ruggiero and Ty Majeski. Brenden Queen in 11th is the last driver in the playoffs on points at the moment (eighth-place Corey Heim is ineligible since he's already missed two races). Queen has a one-point lead over both Tyler Ankrum and Stewart Friesen.
Daniel Hemric is 14th, then a tie for 15th between Jake Garcia and Tanner Gray. Point Standings (1-16): 1) Chandler Smith 172, 2) Kaden Honeycutt -33, 3) Layne Riggs -41, 4) Gio Ruggiero
-45, 5) Ty Majeski -51, t-6) Christian Eckes -53, t-6) Ben Rhodes -53, 8) Corey Heim -58, 9) Andres Perez -82, 10) Justin Haley -83, 11) Brenden Queen -89, t-12) Tyler Ankrum -90, t-12) Stewart Friesen
-90, 14) Daniel Hemric -97, t-15) Jake Garcia -98, t-15) Tanner Gray -98. Note: If he were eligible, Carson Hocevar would be 14th in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points. Stage Points: 1) Ty Majeski 38, 2) Layne Riggs -4, 3) Chandler Smith -5, 4) Kaden Honeycutt -9, 5) Christian Eckes -10, 6) Corey Heim -11, 7) Ben Rhodes -12, 8) Gio Ruggiero -21, 9) Landen Lewis
-22, 10) Stewart Friesen -23, 11) Tyler Ankrum -26, 12) Tanner Gray -27, t-13) Andres Perez -29, t-13) Connor Mosack -29, 15) Dario Franchitti -30, 16) Jake Garcia -32. Outside of the top 16, but still in the Chase: 20) Brenden Queen -36, t-21) Justin Haley -38. Note: If they were eligible, Carson Hocevar would be fourth and Kyle Busch 12th. Ross Chastain and Michael McDowell would be tied for 13th in stage points. 2014 Point Standings (1-16): 1) Chandler Smith 157, 2) Kaden Honeycutt -18, 3) Gio Ruggiero -30, 4) Ty Majeski -36, t-5) Christian Eckes -38, t-5) Ben Rhodes -38, 7) Layne Riggs
-41, 8) Corey Heim -58, 9) Andres Perez -67, 10) Justin Haley -68, 11) Brenden Queen -74, t-12) Tyler Ankrum -75, t-12) Stewart Friesen -75, 14) Daniel Hemric -82, t-15) Jake Garcia -83, t-15) Tanner Gray
-83. Note: If he were eligible for NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points, Carson Hocevar would be 14th in 2014 points. Old School Point Standings (1-16): 1) Chandler Smith 109, 2) Kaden Honeycutt
-12, 3) Gio Ruggiero -15, 4) Ben Rhodes -25, 5) Christian Eckes -28, 6) Justin Haley -34, 7) Ty Majeski -40, 8) Layne Riggs -42, t-9) Corey Heim -44, t-9) Andres Perez -44, t-9) Brenden Queen -44, 12) Daniel Hemric
-52, 13) Tyler Ankrum -55, 14) Jake Garcia -56, t-15) Stewart Friesen -57, t-15) Grant Enfinger -57, t-15) Daniel Dye -57.
Note: If he were eligible for points, John Hunter Nemechek would be 13th in Old School
points. WC Points (1-16): 1) Chandler Smith 607, 2) Kaden Honeycutt -35, 3) Gio Ruggiero -42, 4) Ben Rhodes -85, 5) Christian Eckes -94, 6) Ty Majeski -118, 7) Justin Haley
-121, 8) Layne Riggs -138, t-9) Andres Perez -152, t-9) Brenden Queen -152, 11) Daniel Hemric -181, 12) Jake Garcia -186, 13) Tyler Ankrum -187, 14) Grant Enfinger -191, 15) Stewart Friesen -192, 16) Tanner Gray
-208. Race Winners: Chandler Smith (Daytona), Kyle Busch (Atlanta), Layne Riggs (St. Petersburg), Corey Heim (Darlington) 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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Letter of the Race: Sunday's Cook Out 400 was brought to you by the letter R for Restoration. Denny Hamlin was the class of the field Sunday, but Martinsville has seemingly been Hendrick Motorsports' house for the
past couple of decades. A bit of pit strategy allowed Chase Elliott to get the lead and that was all she wrote. - Phil Allaway |
Quotes to Remember: Cook Out 400 (Martinsville) compiled by Phil Allaway
"It was definitely a team effort. That was awesome. We've never had a win this early in the season. Just a really great team effort. So proud of Alan [Gustafson] and the whole No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet team. They did a great job all day. "We took a gamble. We were going
to two-stop that last stage. I honestly think it was going to work out good for us either way. Just so proud of this team. Man, they put up with a lot (smiling). They have to put up with me all the time, and I just appreciate them for sticking with me. It’s lot of fun when days like this work out. Thank you to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, Mr. Hendrick, Chevrolet and all of our partners for the support." - Chase Elliott, race winner
"No. [Chase Elliott] did a good job controlling the pace there. Just really came from that bad restart – just not much more that I could have done there. I felt like we gave it our all in our Bob’s Discount Furniture Camry." - Denny Hamlin, finished second
"We restarted ninth there and had to methodically
work our way forward. I thought our No. 24 Cincinnati Chevy was pretty good that last run. The last two runs were probably our best runs of the day, so it was just about trying to manage that. I just tried to get as many spots as I could. Overall, I thought it was a good day. We had a mishap on pit road, and then those guys got the caution there with the two-stop and it kind of changed a lot of things." - William Byron, finished fifth
"I was super happy with the adjustments on our DeWalt Camry. We got more competitive throughout the race – the beginning part of the race was a really big struggle. Overall, I’m happy. We ran seventh. I would obviously love more, but it was a competitive Martinsville race for us. When we were at our best, I felt like we were in the top-five for sure. We just got a little bit worse in the last run, but I did a lot of learning today and
will hopefully be better next time.
"Ran in the top 10 all day but lacked overall grip and wasn’t able to hold position on the restarts. The No. 97 team brought a fast SuperFile Chevrolet, just wish we could’ve gotten a top 10 result. Collected some stage points and had a lot of fun! Great progress heading into the off weekend." - Shane van Gisbergen, finished 11th "Yeah, I misjudged. I didn’t appreciate the line. I misjudged the center of the corner. I didn’t mean to turn him. What a frustrating day, man. So much expectation coming here. Favorite track. Hardee’s on the car. Just wasn’t the day we wanted. We really have to figure out what it is. We can win Saturday in practice, just don’t show up on Sunday. I hate it for our team.
"Just frustration. Take a week off and reset and go on to Bristol." - Bubba Wallace, finished 36th (Crashed out)
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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