Frontstretch Newsletter: Nov. 2, 2020
Volume: XIV, Edition CLXII
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Around the World in Motorsports: Oct. 30-Nov. 1
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- Earlier today, iRacing announced that Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been named an
Executive Director of the sim racing service. In this new role, Earnhardt Jr. will participate in community relations and development of new offerings in the stock car racing side of the services. In other words, much more than just randomly showing up in the crowd at every track.
In the press release, Earnhardt Jr. stated that he helped bring NASCAR together with iRacing in 2008. His new role will likely include a lot of things he's always done for the company without being on the payroll, including beta testing and making vehicles available for
laser scanning. Don't be surprised if the old Chevrolet Monte Carlo that Earnhardt Jr. was given on permanent loan by the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (via the State of Alabama) eventually shows up in the game.
- ANSA Motorsports' Sergio Jimenez claimed a weekend sweep in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America competition at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
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- Teams are back at their shops today to finish up preparations for Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway. Also, keep a look out. Dominos rolled out a nationwide commercial campaign this morning featuring Denny Hamlin in his
"PJs."
- NTT IndyCar Series teams and drivers, including Jimmie Johnson, are testing today at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. If anything of note breaks today, we'll have it for you at Frontstretch.
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| | Chase Elliott Wins 2020 Xfinity 500 at Martinsville, Will Race for Cup Title
Chase Elliott took the lead away from Martin Truex Jr. with 44 laps to go Sunday. From there, he pulled away to win the Xfinity 500
and lock himself into the Championship 4. Ryan Blaney was second, while Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch rounded out the top five.
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| | Despite 9-Win Season, Kevin Harvick Among 4 Eliminated From Title Race at Martinsville
Up until Sunday, Kevin Harvick had led after every race in the playoffs except for one. He entered Martinsville with a substantial
advantage. The combination of handling woes, a flat tire and Chase Elliott winning knocked him out.
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| | Denny Hamlin Squeaks Into Championship Round at Martinsville
Ultimately, the cutoff among those who had not won in the Round of 8 was extremely close. Denny Hamlin finished 11th and that
was enough to advance.
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| | Harrison Burton Wins at Martinsville as Xfinity Championship 4 Field is Set
Joe Gibbs Racing's Harrison Burton charged to the front and led a race-high 81 laps Saturday to win the Draft Top 250 at Martinsville, his
second win in a row. Justin Allgaier was second, followed by JR Motorsports teammates Noah Gragson and Jeb Burton. Ross Chastain was fifth.
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| | Noah Gragson Misses Championship 4: ‘Definitely a Bummer’
Noah Gragson came within a lap of locking into the Championship 4 in Texas. In Martinsville, he ran well to finish third, but he
couldn't overcome his issues in Kansas and got eliminated.
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| | 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Schedule Released
NASCAR released the 2021 Xfinity Series schedule on Friday. There is only one standalone race on the schedule, that being the race
weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Many of the replacement races from 2020, such as the second Talladega race, will return.
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| | Josh Williams Returning to DGM Racing in 2021
Prior to Saturday's Draft Top 250, DGM Racing announced that Josh Williams will return to the No. 92 Chevrolet full-time in the Xfinity
Series in 2021.
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| | Grant Enfinger Caps Off Wild Night By Winning at Martinsville; Earns Championship-4 Spot
ThorSport Racing's Grant Enfinger was in a must-win situation Friday night in Martinsville and came to play when it counted.
Enfinger took the lead when Raphael Lessard got spun out and held on to win the NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 and advance. Ben Rhodes was second, then Zane Smith, Christian Eckes and Matt Crafton.
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| | ThorSport’s Matt Crafton, Ben Rhodes Just Miss Out on Championship 4
Entering Friday night, ThorSport Racing had three drivers in the playoffs, but all three were effectively in must-win situations.
Grant Enfinger pulled out the victory. Ben Rhodes and Matt Crafton both finished in the top five, but it wasn't enough.
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| | Zane Smith Narrowly Points His Way Into Championship 4 at Martinsville
GMS Racing's Zane Smith struggled at times Friday night. He led early, scored stage points, but fell back. Luckily, he was
able to avoid the late race chaos to finish third and lock himself into the Championship 4.
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| | Engine Failure Ends Austin Hill’s Playoff Run at Martinsville
Austin Hill entered Friday night in a pretty comfortable position. Then, everything under the moon went bad. His truck handled
so badly that he dropped from the front row down into the 20s during the first stage. Then, his Ilmor NT1 engine turned traitor. Eventually, the engine failed, ending his night and any chance to win the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series championship.
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| | Austin Hill Returning to Hattori Racing Enterprises in 2021
Prior to Austin Hill's struggles Friday night at Martinsville, Hattori Racing Enterprises announced Friday that Hill will return to the
No. 16 Toyota for a third season.
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| | Lewis Hamilton Plays Perfect Strategy to Score Imola Victory
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton chose to stretch out his first run in Sunday's Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Imola. Just as he was about
to stop, Renault's Esteban Ocon pulled off, bringing out a Virtual Safety Car. That allowed Hamilton to pit and keep the lead. From there, he pulled away to take his ninth of the year. Valtteri Bottas was second, then Daniel Ricciardo, Daniil Kvyat and Charles Leclerc.
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| | Team Orders Give Helio Castroneves, Ricky Taylor Victory At Laguna Seca
Acura Team Penske's Dane Cameron moved over just before the white flag to give victory in Sunday's Hyundai Monterey Sports Car
Championship to teammates Helio Castroneves and Dane Cameron.
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| | Oliver Gavin Announces Retirement From Full-Time Driving At End of 2020
Corvette Racing's Oliver Gavin announced Saturday that he will step away from full-time racing at the end of the 2020 season. He has
raced professionally for 30 years, 19 of those with Corvette Racing.
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| | CarBahn Motorsports with Peregrine Racing Wins Laguna Seca With Last-Lap Pass
CarBahn Motorsports with Peregrine Racing's Jeff Westphal was able to get a run on Trent Hindman coming to the white flag Saturday and
made the pass for the lead in turn 2. From there, he pulled away to win the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca 120 for himself and teammate Tyler McQuarrie. Bryan Herta Autosport's Gabby Chaves and Ryan Norman won in TCR.
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Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography, NASCAR Media via Getty Images, Mercedes-AMG F1, IMSA, Zach Catanzareti and our own Mike Neff.
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Seeking the NASCAR Cup Series Championship: Denny Hamlin Wins Round of 8 as Contenders Crawl Home
by Phil Allaway
Martinsville ultimately turned the points upside down. Denny Hamlin struggled for a decent part of the race on Sunday and ended up finishing 11th. That ended up being enough for him not only to advance to the Championship 4 on points, but to win the
Round of 8. He was one point ahead of Brad Keselowski, who finished fourth after getting busted for speeding in the pits late. Kevin Harvick entered the race 42 points above the cutoff, but had a flat tire early on. He fought to get back on the lead lap and only got back to the top 10 in the final 20 laps. He intentionally spun out Kyle Busch on the final lap to get the last spot, but it backfired on him. A
17th-place finish left him nine points out of the Championship 4.
Chase Elliott's victory Sunday locked him in and broke a tie with Alex Bowman entering the race. Joey Logano moved up to a tie for fifth with Bowman after finishing third. Bowman finished sixth in what has been his
best season, but he came up short. Martin Truex Jr. had one of the best cars Sunday, but a vibration dropped him to 22nd. He ended the round in seventh, while Kurt Busch ended up eighth after finishing fifth.
Outside of the playoffs, Kyle Busch held onto ninth after finishing ninth. Harvick's intentional spin on Kyle did not cost him a position at the finish. Ryan Blaney ended up 10th after finishing second. Austin Dillon is still
in 11th after a 23rd-place finish. Clint Bowyer moved up one place to 12th after finishing eighth.
William Byron dropped to 13th after crashing out late in the race and finishing 35th. Matt DiBenedetto is 14th, followed by Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Aric Almirola and Cole
Custer.
Of those who never made the playoffs, Erik Jones finished 12th and maintained 17th. He is 59 points ahead of Jimmie Johnson, who had tire issues and ended up 30th. Tyler Reddick is 19th, followed by
Christopher Bell.
Elliott, Hamlin, Keselowski and Logano will all have their points reset to 5000 for their epic battle on Sunday. Behind them will be Harvick, Bowman, Truex, Kyle Busch, Blaney, Dillon and Kurt Busch.
Round of 8 Point Standings: 1) Denny Hamlin 4166, 2) Brad Keselowski -1, 3) Kevin Harvick -9, 4) Chase Elliott -14, t-5) Joey Logano
-29, t-5) Alex Bowman -29, 7) Martin Truex Jr. -53, 8) Kurt Busch -87.
Note: Drivers in Bold have locked into the Championship 4.
Note No. 2: Drivers in Italics in current points have been eliminated.
Championship 4 Point Standings: t-1) Joey Logano 5000, t-1) Chase Elliott 5000, t-1) Brad Keselowski 5000, t-1) Denny Hamlin 5000.
Best of the Rest: 5) Kevin Harvick 2380, 6) Alex Bowman -34, 7) Martin Truex Jr. -66, 8) Kyle Busch -73, 9) Ryan Blaney -87, 10) Austin Dillon
-122, 11) Kurt Busch -124, 12) Clint Bowyer -152, 13) William Byron -162, 14) Matt DiBenedetto -163, 15) Aric Almirola -169, 16) Cole Custer -187, 17) Erik Jones -1522, 18) Jimmie Johnson -1581, 19) Tyler Reddick -1618, 20) Christopher Bell -1722, 21) Chris Buescher -1752, 22) Bubba Wallace
-1805, t-23) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -1806, t-23) Michael McDowell -1806, 25) Ryan Newman -1827, 26) Ty Dillon -1840.
Regular Season Point Standings (1-16): 1) Kevin Harvick 1371, 2) Denny Hamlin -110, 3) Brad Keselowski -159, 4) Chase Elliott
-163, 5) Martin Truex Jr. -167, 6) Joey Logano -172, 7) Ryan Blaney -233, 8) Alex Bowman -342, 9) Kyle Busch -344, 10) Aric Almirola -406, 11) Kurt Busch -411, 12) Clint Bowyer -436, 13) William Byron -484, 14) Matt DiBenedetto -488, 15) Erik
Jones -513, 16) Austin Dillon -545.
Playoff Points: 1) Denny Hamlin 56, 2) Brad Keselowski -21, 3) Chase Elliott -22, 4) Joey Logano -29.
Stage Points: 1) Ryan Blaney 334, 2) Joey Logano -17, 3) Martin Truex Jr. -20, 4) Chase Elliott -27, 5) Kevin Harvick
-37, 6) Denny Hamlin -55, 7) Brad Keselowski -75, 8) Alex Bowman -91, 9) Kyle Busch -114, 10) William Byron -181, 11) Clint Bowyer -182, 12) Jimmie Johnson -199, 13) Aric Almirola -200, 14) Kurt Busch -218, 15) Erik Jones -221, 16) Matt
DiBenedetto -223.
Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) Kevin Harvick 1239, 2) Denny Hamlin -94, 3) Brad Keselowski
-127, 4) Chase Elliott -184, 5) Martin Truex Jr. -191, 6) Joey Logano -193, 7) Aric Almirola -254, 8) Kurt Busch -264, t-9) Kyle Busch -278, t-9) Ryan Blaney -278, 11) Alex Bowman -300, 12) Clint Bowyer -312, 13) Matt
DiBenedetto -314, 14) Erik Jones -350, 15) William Byron -361, 16) Austin Dillon -384.
Race Winners: Denny Hamlin (Daytona-1, Darlington-2, Homestead, Pocono-2, Kansas-1, Dover-1, Talladega-2), Joey Logano (Las Vegas-1, Phoenix, Kansas-2), Alex Bowman (Fontana), Kevin Harvick (Darlington-1, Atlanta, Pocono-1,
Indianapolis, Michigan-1, Michigan-2, Dover-2, Darlington-3, Bristol-2), Brad Keselowski (Charlotte-1, Bristol, Loudon, Richmond), Chase Elliott (Charlotte-2, Daytona-2, Charlotte-3), Martin Truex Jr. (Martinsville), Ryan Blaney (Talladega-1), Cole Custer (Kentucky), Austin Dillon (Texas-1), William Byron (Daytona-3), Kurt Busch (Las Vegas-2), Kyle Busch (Texas-2)
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 Xfinity Series Championship: Chase Briscoe Wins Round of 8 Despite Off-Day
by Phil Allaway
Chase Briscoe had a mediocre day on Saturday, earning only one stage point and spending most of the race between
11th and 14th. He later charged up to finish seventh. That was enough to give Briscoe the win in the Round of 8. His final margin was 20 points over Austin CIndric, who finished 10th after starting on the pole. Justin Allgaier finished second and kept himself in third. Justin Haley dealt with a sour engine late in the race to finish 12th and just keep himself in the Championship 4.
Haley ended up five points in front of his Kaulig Racing teammate Ross Chastain, who finished fifth. Brandon Jones dropped one place to sixth after finishing ninth, while Noah Gragson made big points
gains on Sunday. Unfortunately, finishing third kept him in seventh, 10 points shy of advancing. Ryan Sieg finished 11th on Saturday, which kept him in eighth.
Outside of the playoffs, Harrison Burton won his second straight race to keep him in ninth. He ended up 52 points ahead of Michael Annett, who finished eighth. Brandon Brown finished 18th and
stayed in 11th, while Riley Herbst is 12th.
Of those who never made the playoffs, Jeremy Clements continues to lead that group in 13th. He's 44 points ahead of Alex Labbe. Josh Williams is only eight points behind his teammate in 15th,
while Daniel Hemric and Anthony Alfredo (neither of whom competed at Martinsville) are still tied for 16th.
Briscoe, Cindric, Haley and Allgaier will all have their points reset to 4000 for Saturday's race in Phoenix. Outside of the playoffs, Gragson is now fifth in points, 24 ahead of Chastain. Jones is seventh, while
Sieg is now ninth behind Burton.
Round of 8 Point Standings: 1) Chase Briscoe 3164, 2) Austin Cindric -20, 3) Justin
Allgaier -22, 4) Justin Haley -32, 5) Ross Chastain -37, 6) Brandon Jones -38, 7) Noah Gragson -42, 8) Ryan Sieg -88.
Note No. 1: Drivers in Bold have locked into the Championship 4.
Note No. 2: Drivers in italics have been eliminated.
Championship 4 Point Standings: t-1) Chase Briscoe 4000, t-1) Justin Allgaier 4000, t-1) Justin Haley 4000,
t-1) Austin Cindric 4000.
Regular Season Point Standings (1-16): 1) Austin Cindric 1331, 2) Chase Briscoe -30, 3) Ross
Chastain -48, 4) Noah Gragson -104, 5) Justin Haley -214, 6) Justin Allgaier -231, 7) Harrison Burton -241, 8) Brandon Jones -329, 9) Michael Annett -396, 10) Ryan Sieg -512, 11) Riley Herbst -534, 12) Brandon Brown -624, 13) Jeremy Clements -694, 14) Alex Labbe -738, 15) Josh Williams -746,
t-16) Daniel Hemric -788, t-16) Anthony Alfredo -788.
Best of the Rest: 5) Noah Gragson 2258, 6) Ross Chastain -24, 7) Brandon Jones -27, 8)
Harrison Burton -47, 9) Ryan Sieg -77, 10) Michael Annett -99, 11) Brandon Brown -113, 12) Riley Herbst -134, 13) Jeremy Clements -1621, 14) Alex Labbe -1665, 15) Josh Williams -1673, t-16) Daniel Hemric -1715, t-16) Anthony Alfredo -1715, 18) Myatt Snider -1717, 19) Jesse Little -1739, 20) Tommy Joe Martins -1780, t-21) Jeffrey Earnhardt -1846, t-21) Jeffrey Earnhardt
-1846.
Playoff Points: 1) Chase Briscoe 67, 2) Austin Cindric -17, 3) Justin Allgaier -34, 4) Justin
Haley -44.
Stage Points: 1) Austin Cindric 412, 2) Ross Chastain -48, 3) Chase Briscoe -63,
4) Justin Allgaier -72, 5) Noah Gragson -89, 6) Justin Haley -165, 7) Brandon Jones -187, 8) Harrison Burton -198, 9) Riley Herbst -278, 10) Michael Annett -279, t-11) Daniel Hemric -295, t-11) Ryan Sieg -295, 13) Anthony Alfredo -332, 14) Jeb Burton -363, 15) Brandon Brown -374, 16) AJ Allmendinger
-375.
Note: If he were eligible for points, Kyle Busch would be 14th in stage points.
Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) Chase Briscoe 1104, 2) Austin Cindric -34, 3) Ross Chastain
-35, 4) Noah Gragson -46, 5) Harrison Burton -93, 6) Justin Haley -103, 7) Michael Annett -171, 8) Brandon Jones -191, 9) Justin Allgaier -194, 10) Ryan Sieg -264, 11) Brandon Brown -304, 12) Riley Herbst -305, 13) Jeremy Clements -354, 14) Josh Williams -392, 15) Alex Labbe -407, 16) Myatt Snider
-451.
Race Winners: Noah Gragson (Daytona-1, Bristol), Chase Briscoe (Las Vegas-1, Darlington-1, Homestead-2, Pocono,
Indianapolis, Dover-2, Bristol-2, Las Vegas-2, Kansas-2), Harrison Burton (Fontana, Homestead-1, Texas-2, Martinsville), Brandon Jones (Phoenix, Kansas-1, Darlington-2), Kyle Busch (Charlotte), AJ Allmendinger (Atlanta, Charlotte-2), Justin Haley (Talladega-1, Daytona-3, Talladega-2). Austin Cindric (Kentucky-1, Kentucky-2, Texas-1, Road America, Daytona-2), Justin Allgaier (Dover-1, Richmond-1, Richmond-2)
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 Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Championship: Sheldon Creed Wins Round of 8 With Up-and-Down Martinsville Evening
by Phil Allaway
Sheldon Creed had the best truck Friday night and ran away from the field early on. However, a late spin
dropped him back. He was able to get back to eighth by the finish, which was more than enough to clinch the Round of 8. He ended up 32 points ahead of teammate Zane Smith, who was the last driver to get into the Championship 4 on points. Smith ended up three points ahead of Matt Crafton, who finished fifth. Austin Hill dropped two places to fourth after a horrible night with terrible handling characteristics followed by engine
failure.
Brett Moffitt dropped one place to fifth after crashing out late Friday night and finishing 28th. Grant
Enfinger's victory Friday night didn't move him out of sixth, but did lock him into the Championship 4. Ben Rhodes just came up short and ended the Round of 8 in seventh. Tyler Ankrum finished 12th and finished up the Round of 8 in eighth.
Outside of the playoffs, Christian Eckes finished fourth and held onto ninth, while Todd Gilliland overheated and finished 32nd. Of those who never qualified for the playoffs, Derek Kraus continues to
lead that group in 11th. He has a 103-point lead over Raphael Lessard, who was in position to win Friday night before getting spun out late.
Johnny Sauter moved up to 13th after leading 39 laps and scoring 11 stage points. He ended up 23rd. Sauter
jumped over Tanner Gray, who was involved in multiple incidents and was forced to retire after running afoul of the crash clock. Stewart Friesen is still in 15th after finishing sixth, while Austin Wayne Self is 16th after his second straight top 10 finish.
Creed, Smith, Moffitt and Enfinger will have their points reset to 4000 for Friday night's Lucas Oil 150. Crafton moves up into fifth, followed by Hill, Eckes, Rhodes, Ankrum and
Gilliland.
Round of 8 Point Standings: 1) Sheldon Creed 3181, 2) Zane Smith -32, 3) Matt Crafton -35, 4) Austin Hill -53, 5) Brett Moffitt -60, 6)
Grant Enfinger -64, 7) Ben Rhodes -76, 8) Tyler Ankrum -122.
Note No. 1: Drivers in bold have locked into the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Championship 4.
Note No. 2: Drivers in italics in the point standing sections have been eliminated.
Championship 4 Point Standings: t-1) Sheldon Creed 4000, t-1) Grant Enfinger 4000, t-1) Brett Moffitt 4000, t-1) Zane Smith 4000.
Best of the Rest (5-20): 5) Matt Crafton 2245, 6) Austin Hill -28, 7) Christian Eckes -45, 8) Ben Rhodes -47, 9) Tyler Ankrum -84, 10) Todd Gilliland -128,
11) Derek Kraus -1614, 12) Raphael Lessard -1717, 13) Johnny Sauter -1748, 14) Tanner Gray -1756, 15) Stewart Friesen -1779, 16) Austin Wayne Self -1876, 17) Tate Fogelman -1929, 18) Jordan Anderson -1937, 19) Ty Majeski -1946, 20) Spencer Boyd -1949.
Regular Season Point Standings (1-16): 1) Brett Moffitt 838, 2) Austin Hill -4, 3) Sheldon Creed -22, 4) Zane Smith -40, 5) Ben Rhodes
-67, 6) Matt Crafton -83, 7) Christian Eckes -118, 8) Grant Enfinger -128, 9) Tyler Ankrum -201, 10) Derek Kraus -207, 11) Todd Gilliland -263, 12) Raphael Lessard -310, 13) Johnny Sauter -341, 14) Tanner Gray -349, 15) Stewart Friesen -372, 16) Austin Wayne Self -469.
Note No. 1: Drivers in bold have locked into the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Championship 4.
Note No. 2: Drivers in italics in the point standing sections are not in the playoffs.
Playoff Points: 1) Sheldon Creed 37, 2) Grant Enfinger -13, 3) Zane Smith -15, 4) Brett Moffitt -16.
Stage Points: 1) Brett Moffitt 230, 2) Sheldon Creed -11, 3) Zane Smith -21, 4) Austin
Hill -26, 5) Ben Rhodes -45, 6) Christian Eckes -46, 7) Matt Crafton -63, 8) Tyler Ankrum -100, 9) Todd Gilliland -113, 10) Grant Enfinger -114, 11) Derek Kraus -129, 12) Johnny Sauter -146, 13) Raphael Lessard -180, 14) Chandler Smith -188, 15) Stewart Friesen -190, 16) Sam Mayer
-204.
Note: If everyone were eligible for stage points, Ross Chastain would be 13th in points, while Kyle Busch would be 14th.
Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) Austin Hill 555, 2) Brett Moffitt -9, 3) Sheldon Creed -27, 4) Ben Rhodes -37, 5) Zane Smith -41,
6) Grant Enfinger -45, 7) Matt Crafton -47, 8) Christian Eckes -95, 9) Derek Kraus -97, 10) Tyler Ankrum -134, 11) Raphael Lessard -161, 12) Tanner Gray -175, 13) Todd Gilliland -177, 14) Stewart Friesen -208, 15) Johnny Sauter -214, 16) Austin Wayne Self -276.
Race Winners: Grant Enfinger (Daytona-1, Atlanta, Richmond, Martinsville), Kyle Busch (Las Vegas-1, Homestead, Texas-1), Chase Elliott (Charlotte), Brandon Jones (Pocono), Sheldon Creed (Kentucky,
Daytona-2, Gateway, Texas-2)), Austin Hill (Kansas-1, Las Vegas-2), Matt Crafton (Kansas-2), Zane Smith (Michigan, Dover), Ben Rhodes (Darlington), Sam Mayer (Bristol), Raphael Lessard (Talladega), Brett Moffitt (Kansas-3).
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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Letter of the Race: Sunday's Xfinity 500 was brought to you by the letter D for
Desperation. Drivers that absolutely needed to win to advance combined to lead 389 of 500 laps Sunday at Martinsville. Ultimately, it was Chase Elliott who scored the win to move on. - Phil Allaway
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Quotes to Remember: Xfinity 500
compiled by Phil Allaway
"Oh, my gosh. This is the biggest win ever for us. I’m just so proud to be able to be backed into a corner like that and have to win tonight. I feel like that’s what we’ve been
missing these past four or five years and perform when we don’t have a choice. And, to do that tonight; we couldn’t ask for a better night. This is unreal. Thanks to the fans for coming out. They’re here and I love to see it! I’ve just got to catch my breath. This is just unbelievable. We’re going to Phoenix with a shot to win a championship and have a beautiful blue NAPA Camaro headed out there with a shot to win a title. What more could you ask for?" - Chase Elliott, race
winner
"[We were] pretty decent all day. We got progressively better. I sped on pit road before that first stage. That really set us back. Good thing we had a lot of time to get back up through the field after
that.
"We got the lead there, which was good. We were riding around, biding our time. Caution came out, we lost a spot on pit road, lost the lead, lost control of the race. Started third or fourth on the
restart. Got back to second.
"Trying to run the 19 down. Caution came out. Lost a couple more spots on pit road. Could never get back up there. By the time we got second, the 9 was completely
gone.
"Overall not a bad night. It sucks to finish second here, though, both times this year." - Ryan Blaney, finished second
"I thought I was part race car driver part mathematician. I can only imagine what my wife was feeling. She’s here in a suite watching, let alone my fans, but I’m really happy for Team Penske to have two cars in. Just a
hard fought day. Got a speeding penalty there with like 70-80 to go and I’m not sure how. The box where i got the speeding penalty is where my car was pitted, so I don’t know. I’ll have to figure that one out later, but just really thankful to be going to the Championship 4." - Brad Keselowski, finished fourth
"We gave it all we had. I’m really proud of my guys. Chip Ganassi Racing put up a really good fight this year to get this far, to win and to post top-five’s through the Playoffs. We crossed over our threshold. Last
week, we finished seventh at Texas, fifth tonight and we’re walking around kind of kicking the ground – like that wasn’t our best effort or we could have done this or could of done that. When I started here two years ago, we finished in the top-five and were celebrating. We’ve come that far in this short amount of time and I’m really proud of everybody back at the shop, Chevrolet, thankful for Monster Energy, GEARWRENCH and all of our partners at Chip Ganassi Racing. To come here with a shot at
it, we knew we had to win. It takes a team all the way through. The driver has to make good decision – spotter, pit crew, crew chief and adjustments. We just came up a little shy. Our weakest area was pit road and we know that we need to work on that. But all-in-all, I can’t thank everybody enough. It’s cool to see the evolution of where we’ve come in two years." - Kurt Busch, finished fifth
"I drive this place so wrong. I try to roll the center really fast and then I am like oh we don’t have any drive off. You would think I would figure it out, but I kind of know what I need to do. All in all, a good day
for our Planters Chevrolet. Mr. Peanut looked pretty cool. Really proud of Chase (Elliott) and making the final four there. Bummed we aren’t a part of it, but I think we have a solid shot at getting fifth in points. The progress this team has made over the past two months has been incredible. This is something they really deserve." - Alex Bowman, finished sixth
"It was tough. Our car was fading a little bit. I was also getting into some spots where I was getting roughed up by some teammates, not really ours, just some of the guys that are in the battle. I didn’t even want to
be a part of it, so I would just get out of it and then I put myself in an interesting spot where the 4 (Kevin Harvick) was going for it a little bit and we were very fortunate he didn’t go for it any further than he did. We did just enough. That’s what we needed to do – is do enough to make it to Phoenix and give ourselves a shot at the championship. This FedEx team definitely deserves to be in the top four and glad that we are able to give it a shot next week." - Denny Hamlin, finished
11th
"Everybody kept battling there. I tried to run into the door of the 18 as a last-ditch effort there and spun him out. Sorry to put him in the middle of trying to gain a point, but not a great three weeks. It didn’t go
our way. We fought for everything we had and it just came up short.
"Look, these championship aren’t like winning like Petty and Earnhardt used to win them. You have to put them together three weeks at a time and it comes down to one race and it came down to one race for us tonight and
came up short." - Kevin Harvick, finished 17th
"We had a great car all day long and just kept making adjustments waiting for it to cool off and get dark. That last run there before the final pit stop, the thing was on rails and it was perfect and we were driving
away. I felt really good about it. Then we pitted and had a pretty good pit stop. Came out with the lead and right away I knew something was wrong. I was really, really tight and had a vibration. [Chase Elliott] passed us and we started dropping and had to pit for a loose wheel. Unfortunate. I think we should be the one in victory lane right now, but you have to do it all. Just a little mistake there." - Martin Truex Jr., finished 22nd
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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