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Alex Bowman is going to have mixed feelings about Sunday.
On one hand, he won the Xfinity 500 at the Martinsville Speedway, the final race to qualify for the Championship 4.
On the other hand, it wasn't enough to qualify him for the final round, as Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. will vie for the title.
Kyle Busch finished second, followed by Brad Keselowski, Truex and William Byron.
It was a bittersweet day for Hamlin as well, who took serious umbrage with Bowman spinning him out late in the race as the two battled for the lead. Sparks were flying afterward.
"He's just a hack. He's just an absolute hack," Hamlin said of Bowman after the race. "He gets his ass kicked by his teammates every week. He's just f--king terrible. He's just terrible. He sees one opportunity and he takes it. But obviously, he's got the fastest car every week and he runs 10th."
Bowman—who has four wins on the season to Hamlin's two—said after the race he wasn't trying to spin Hamlin out:
I just got loose in. I got in too deep, knocked him out of the way and literally let him have the lead back. So for anybody that wants to think that I was trying to crash him, it obviously wasn't the case, considering I literally gave up the lead at Martinsville to give it back to him. He's been on the other side of that, he's crashed guys here for wins. I hate doing it. Obviously I don't want to crash somebody. I just got in, got loose underneath him and spun him out.
Larson was the only driver to come into Sunday with a Championship 4 locked. Elliott clinched his berth after winning the second stage at Martinsville, while a fourth-place finish was enough for Truex, and Hamlin's 24th-place finish didn't cost him too dearly.
But the story on the day was the drama between Bowman and Hamlin. Never a dull moment in NASCAR.
The 16 drivers involved in the NASCAR Cup Series postseason experienced a mixed bag of results in the first of three round-of-16 races last weekend.
The early exits of certain drivers put more pressure on them to succeed on Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.
Denny Hamlin secured his spot in the round of 12 with his victory at Darlington Raceway. Kyle Larson is in the best position to advance on points from Richmond.
Alex Bowman, who won at Richmond earlier this season, Kyle Busch, William Byron and Michael McDowell sit beneath the cut line after they went through troubles at Darlington.
The desperation of the drivers beneath the 12th-place cut line combined with the motivation of top playoff drivers to lock up round-of-12 spots should produce plenty of fireworks under the lights in Virginia.
Federated Auto Parts 400 Info
Date: Saturday, September 11
Start Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
Live Stream: NBC Sports app or NBCSports.com.
Odds
Martin Truex Jr. (+550; bet $100 to win $550)
Denny Hamlin (+650)
Kyle Busch (+650)
Joey Logano (+700)
Kyle Larson (+750)
Chase Elliott (+900)
Brad Keselowski (+1000)
Kevin Harvick (+1100)
Christopher Bell (+1500)
William Byron (+1600)
Alex Bowman (+1800)
Ryan Blaney (+2000)
Starting Lineup
Preview
The easiest way for a driver to secure safe passage into the round of 12 is to win at Richmond.
Hamlin has the opportunity to fine-tune things over the next two weeks because he is not under the pressure to advance.
Larson is in the best position to join Hamlin if he does not win. NASCAR.com outlined all of the potential clinching scenarios with Larson at the forefront.
Larson produced one of his worst results of the 2021 season at Richmond in April. He earned an 18th-place finish in a race won by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Bowman.
Bowman will try to replicate the magic he found at Richmond to dig out of the early playoff hole he set for himself at Darlington.
The No. 48 car driver sits in 13th place, and he is level on points with Tyler Reddick, who finished two spots behind Larson in April on the Virginia short track.
Kyle Busch should also be in a good spot to leap above the cut line. He won both races at the track in 2018 and he took an eighth-place finish in April.
William Byron landed a seventh-place finish in April, so that should boost his prospects of moving out of 15th place to a more comfortable spot ahead of next week's trip to Bristol Motor Speedway.
The top eight positions from the April Richmond race were occupied by playoff qualifiers. Pre-race favorite Martin Truex Jr. started on the pole and finished fifth in that race. Hamlin, Joey Logano and Christopher Bell were second, third and fourth, respectively.
Truex completed the Richmond sweep in 2019, and he took second behind Brad Keselowski in the lone race at the circuit in 2020.
Larson can't be ignored as a pick to win since he has been the most consistent Cup Series this season. The No. 5 car driver has a chance to get out in front early from the pole position.
Starting up top does not guarantee success at Richmond since three of the last six winners won from starting spots outside the top 10.
However, the pole position should at least give Larson a chance to run in clean air to start and try to create some separation between himself and the rest of the pack.
Aric Almirola, who got into the playoffs with an unexpected win at New Hampshire, could be the best sleeper pick for prop bets on Saturday. He took sixth in April and carries some of the longest odds to win among the playoff drivers at +2500. A bet on Almirola to finish inside the top 10 at +350 carries plenty of value.
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Alex Bowman earned his third win of the NASCAR Cup Series season on Saturday in a thrilling finish at Pocono Raceway.
Kyle Larson looked to be on his way to a comfortable win with a lead of nearly one second over Bowman on the final lap. The No. 5 car blew a tire coming around the last corner, opening up the door for Bowman to steal the victory.
Larson, who started the race from the pole position, was looking to become the ninth driver in NASCAR's modern era (since 1972) to win four consecutive events overall. He finished in the top three in each of the first two stages.
If you include the June 13 All-Star event, Larson did come into Pocono riding a four-race winning streak.
As a result of his tire giving out on the final lap, Larson had to settle for ninth place. This marked the first time he finished outside of the top two in a Cup Series race since the Buschy McBusch Race 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 2.
Bowman seemed to be as surprised as anyone by what happened on the final lap.
If not for Larson's recent run of success, Bowman would probably be the talk of the circuit this season. His three wins are tied with Martin Truex Jr. for second-most this season. He also ranks third in the points standings with 513 after Saturday's victory.
Despite the bittersweet ending to his day, Larson sounded like he was taking it all in stride during post-race press conference.
Kyle Busch also benefited from Larson's last-lap tire fail. He wound up moving into second place, his best finish since winning at Kansas on May 2. The two-time Cup Series champion is starting to come alive with four top-10 finishes in the past five races.
Rounding out the top five were William Byron, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney.
Truex's recent string of bad luck continued on Saturday with an 18th-place showing. He has finished outside the top 15 in five of the past six races.
There won't be much time for anyone to rest. The 140-lap Explore the Pocono Mountains 350 will take place on Sunday. Chris Buescher, who finished 20th on Saturday, will start from the pole position.
The NASCAR Cup Series' longest race of the season takes place in its traditional spot on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.
The Coca-Cola 600 has been won by some of the most prestigious drivers in the sport, and recently it has been dominated by Joe Gibbs Racing.
Joe Gibbs Racing has won three of the last six May races at Charlotte Motor Speedway. One of its drivers, Martin Truex Jr., won in 2016 before he joined Gibbs.
Truex and the other 39 drivers in the field will determine their starting positions through a qualifying session on Saturday morning.
That marks the second week in a row the NASCAR Cup Series race will have its starting grid determined by a weekend session.
In previous weeks, the grid was made up by a pre-determined formula that took into account points and recent results.
Coca-Cola 600 Info
Date: Sunday, May 30
Start Time: 6 p.m. ET
TV: Fox
Live Stream: FoxSports.com or Fox Sports app
Odds
Kyle Larson (+500; bet $100 to win $500)
Chase Elliott (+600)
Martin Truex Jr. (+600)
Kyle Busch (+650)
Denny Hamlin (+900)
Kevin Harvick (+1100)
Brad Keselowski (+1200)
Joey Logano (+1200)
Ryan Blaney (+1400)
Alex Bowman (+1400)
William Byron (+1400)
Preview
Even though the Gibbs cars have had recent success at Charlotte, it is the Hendrick Motorsports drivers on top of the odds chart.
Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott are the two favorites on top of the grid entering Sunday. Elliott won the rain-shortened race at the Circuit of the Americas last Sunday.
Hendrick has two straight victories, with the other coming from Alex Bowman at Dover International Speedway. All four Hendrick cars placed in the top four in that event.
If the team extends its dominance into Charlotte, it can pick up its first Coca-Cola 600 victory since Jimmie Johnson in 2014.
Elliott has the most-recent win on the circuit at Charlotte, but that occurred on the road course in October.
Elliott was second to Brad Keselowski last May. Bowman led 164 laps in that event, but he finished in 19th.
Keselowski comes into the 400-lap race with speculation building about his seat for the 2022 season. The No. 2 car driver is being rumored with a move away from Penske Racing to Roush Fenway Racing, per Motorsport.com's Jim Utter.
The reigning Coca-Cola 600 champion did not add much to the speculation when asked about it in the Charlotte garage, per NASCAR.com's Chase Wilhelm.
"I can't talk about that, but I appreciate you asking," Keselowski said. "When I can, I'll tell you."
When he won last May, Keselowski led just 21 laps and started in ninth position. Because of the length of the race, starting position is not as important as it is at other tracks.
As the sun sets, the track conditions will change, and the crews must make adjustments and adapt their pit strategies to deal with the changing conditions on the track.
For example, four of the top 10 drivers last May started 15th or worse, with Ryan Blaney's third-place finish from 26th the best of the lot.
Saturday's qualifying session will be more of a turn back to a normal race weekend than a tone-setter for Sunday. There has not been a qualifying session or race on an oval since the Daytona 500.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from NASCAR.com.
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Kyle Larson gave Alex Bowman everything he could handle Sunday. But he couldn't quite catch up to him at the end.
Bowman won the Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway, claiming his second win in the process. Larson, who won both stages, finished second, with Chase Elliott, William Byron and Joey Logano rounding out the top five.
"We won Richmond and then had a really rough couple of weeks there and went to some really good racetracks for us and struggled," Bowman said after his win. "I told the guys last week, 'We're still the same team that did it in Richmond. This is another really good place for us.'"
"Just so proud of this pit crew," he added. "It was obviously a rough offseason for us and a big void to fill. Not that we're ever going to fill the void that Rowdy left, but ... the whole pit crew is doing a really good job."
Former Hendrick Motorsports pit crew member William "Rowdy" Harrell, 30, and his wife Blakley, 23, died in a car crash in November.
Bowman led for 98 of the 400 laps, while Larson led a race-high 263 laps.
Larson was disappointed not to come away with the win, though he was happy with his effort and the showing of his team:
It was a tough day for Aric Almirola, meanwhile. His race ended after he hit the wall with 99 laps remaining. It was the second weekend in a row he didn't finish and his fifth DNF result in 13 races.
The NASCAR Cup Series will return next Sunday at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas at 2:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
Denny Hamlin is in a good spot to replicate his fall victory at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday.
The No. 11 car driver won the most recent NASCAR Cup Series race at the Alabama track after starting on the pole. He is back there for the Geico 500 thanks in part to his status as the points leader. Hamlin does not have any wins this season, but he has been one of the most consistent drivers on the circuit. Expect him to run up front, with two of his teammates starting on the inside row.
Joey Logano will join Hamlin on the front row, while Martin Truex Jr. and William Byron will begin the 500-mile race on the second row.
Alex Bowman, who won the Cup Series' latest race at Richmond, will be on Row 3 with Christopher Bell. Last year's Talladega June race winner, Ryan Blaney, starts alongside Chase Elliott on the fourth row.
Geico 500 Information
Date: Sunday, April 25
Start Time: 2 p.m. ET
TV: Fox
Live Stream: FoxSports.com or Fox Sports app
Odds
Denny Hamlin: +650 (bet $100 to win $650)
Joey Logano: +900
Ryan Blaney: +1000
Chase Elliott: +1100
Brad Keselowski: +1100
Aric Almirola: +1600
Kyle Busch: +1800
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: +1800
Kevin Harvick: +2000
Alex Bowman: +2000
William Byron: +2000
Kyle Larson: +2000
Starting Lineup
Preview
The best way to avoid the major wrecks at superspeedways is to remain near the front of the pack.
Hamlin carries the luxury of starting up top thanks to the consistent set of results he put together in the first nine races. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver owns eight top-10 finishes, and he took fifth on the first superspeedway race of the year at the Daytona 500.
He owns 13 top-10 placings in 30 starts at Talladega. His strong finishes at the track and results this season made him the easy choice for pre-race favorite.
Logano is viewed as Hamlin's top competition from an odds perspective. The No. 22 car driver sits at +900, and if he gets off to a fast start on the outside, he could dictate the pace of the race.
If you look past Hamlin and Logano on the odds chart, there is an easy trend to point out. The past six drivers to win at Talladega have the six best odds to take the checkered flag. Blaney won back-to-back Talladega races in October 2019 and June 2020, Keselowski and Aric Almirola won the 2017 and 2018 October races, Elliott was the April champion in 2019 and Logano last won in Alabama in April 2018.
The positioning of the recent Talladega winners allows you to grab more value on the likes of Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr., all of whom are +2000 or above.
Bowman is coming off a win at Richmond and could lead the Hendrick Motorsports train to the front of the field. Byron, Larson and Elliott all start inside the top 12.
If the Hendrick cars push to the front and avoid wrecks, they could be one of the groups to fear in the final stage. That was not the case at Daytona, as Bowman exited early and Byron finished laps behind winner Michael McDowell.
Since Talladega is a superspeedway, you always have to consider the possibility that a long shot wins, as McDowell did in February at Daytona.
Ryan Preece is the top dark horse to watch. He drove the No. 37 car to a pair of top-15 placings at Talladega in 2020 and finished sixth at the Daytona 500.
Erik Jones is another long shot to consider since he landed second behind Hamlin in October and turned in a fifth-place mark in June 2020.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from NASCAR.com.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL).
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There was late drama in Richmond on Sunday, with Alex Bowman making a late charge to take the checkered flag at NASCAR's Toyota Owners 400.
Bowman held off Denny Hamlin to secure the win.
Bowman made the most of a restart with just 10 laps remaining, darting ahead of Denny Hamlin to steal the win.
"To be honest with you, we were terrible on short runs," he said after the race, per Holly Cain of NASCAR.com. "We restarted third, and I'm like, 'If we get out of here with a solid top-five we'll be good.' We overcame a lot today."
"I don't know if [crew chief] Greg [Ives] pumped the pressures way up or what he did, but that's more grip than I've ever had in a race car at Richmond and it worked out really well," he added.
Hamlin, obviously, was more disappointed with how the race unfolded.
"We just didn't take off quite as good there at the end," he said. "I tried to warm it up and do everything that I could—just the 48 [Bowman] had a little more on those last few laps and I couldn't hold the bottom. Once he got the position, we were just shut down there."
Joey Logano finished third Sunday, followed by Christopher Bell and Martin Truex Jr. Hamlin won both stages, while Logano led for 49 laps (Truex led 107).
Hamlin sits atop the NASCAR Cup Series at points, followed by Truex (353 points) and Logano (352).
The Cup Series heads to the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama for the Geico 500 next Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.
Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway will be unlike any other the drivers have participated in.
NASCAR opted to load the famous short track with dirt to provide a new wrinkle into a schedule that looks much different as a whole compared to previous seasons. Most of the competitors in the field have driven on dirt tracks before, but they have not been in stock cars. Typically, dirt races are reserved for smaller cars.
Because of the uniqueness of the dirt race, the odds chart looks different than it does for races on asphalt. Kyle Larson and others with more experience on dirt are favored, while Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and the typical favorites carry more value than usual.
Food City Dirt Race Information
Date: Sunday, March 28
Start Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
TV: Fox
Live Stream: FoxSports.com or Fox Sports app
Odds
Kyle Larson: +325 (bet $100 to win $325)
Christopher Bell: +800
Chase Briscoe: +1000
Alex Bowman: +1100
Chase Elliott: +1200
Ryan Blaney: +1400
Denny Hamlin: +1400
Kyle Busch: +1500
Tyler Reddick: +1800
Joey Logano: +1800
Martin Truex Jr.: +1800
Preview
Sunday will be the NASCAR Cup Series' first dirt track race since 1970.
To give the drivers a feel for how the cars will operate on the surface, NASCAR allowed two practice sessions Friday and four qualifying heats Saturday. It is the first time since Daytona that the drivers will compete to fill out the starting order.
Alex Bowman and Ryan Blaney topped the charts for the two practice sessions. Bowman had the fastest time in the first session and was second to Blaney in the final session. Denny Hamlin was the only other driver to finish in the top five during both practice heats, which could make him one of the favored drivers Sunday.
Larson comes in as the heavy favorite because of his extensive background on dirt tracks, but he will start at the back of the field on Sunday because of an engine change. That setback could open the door for drivers with longer odds to take home the trophy.
During a typical Bristol race, Larson would have had 500 laps to navigate through the field, and he could utilize a different pit strategy to gain positions. On Sunday, the drivers are competing over 250 laps, and pit stops for fuel and tires are allowed during stage breaks. The only exceptions are for teams involved in incidents.
The early reviews of the setup have been positive from the drivers, with Harvick making one of the most notable statements during Friday's practice.
Bowman also admitted that he had fun running through the dirt track for the first time in a stock car, per NASCAR.com:
"I had a blast. I thought it was a lot of fun. The tire wear is a little concerning, but other than that, everything went great I thought. These cars are a lot of fun. They're really drivable on dirt. It got a little rough, but it's just character in the race track. I enjoyed the hell out of it."
It remains to be seen how the drivers will feel about the dirt as the weekend gets more competitive, but upon first glance, it appears NASCAR made the right call to go with an out-of-the-box idea to conclude the first two months of racing.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from NASCAR.com.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL).
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For the second time in his career, Alex Bowman will lead the field when the green flag waves Sunday to start the 63rd running of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious event in NASCAR and the beginning of the 2021 racing season.
Whether he can maintain that lead following engine issues Thursday in the Bluegreen Vacations Duel remains to be seen.
"We talked through engine diagnostics and sent some guys over pit wall who don't normally go over the wall," crew chief Greg Ives told NASCAR.com's Alejandro Alvarez. "There were a lot of things you always think you are going to be prepared for until you actually go through them. I feel like we did a good job understanding it and hopefully we are able to diagnose it and make sure everything is good."
It is a season that welcomes a new team owned by Michael Jordan and, potentially, waves goodbye to a former series champion.
Here is how you can watch the race, and these are the stories to keep an eye on Sunday afternoon.
Date: Sunday, February 14
Start Time: 2:30 p.m.
How to Watch: Fox or Fox Deportes (TV); Fox Sports app (streaming)
MJ's 1st Dance...
Michael Jordan makes his NASCAR debut Sunday as co-owner of the 23XI racing team with Denny Hamlin and driver Bubba Wallace.
When asked about his foray into racing, Jordan told Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports, "My biggest conversation to Denny was I don't want to...just go around and around and around and finish 18th, 19th, 20th, 30th. I want to win. I want to be put in the position for the best chance for us to win. That's my competitive nature."
The partnership between Jordan and Hamlin began way back in 2011, when the racer first sported the Jumpman logo on his fire suit. Since then, the athletes have forged a friendship that became a business relationship.
The racing team has provided talented driver Wallace with all of the tools necessary to succeed and "shut up some of his haters," as he told Shannon Sharpe on Club Shay Shay.
He will start sixth in Sunday's race.
...And Kurt Busch's Last?
Kurt Busch and sponsor Monster left fans guessing about the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion's future when it dropped nine-minute movie Shifting Gears on YouTube recently.
Heavily centered on the possibility that 2021 will mark Busch's final year behind the wheel, it stops just short of an official announcement.
So why bother?
To drum up interest for the season, possibly? To introduce a new story or create intrigue in one of the seasoned veterans of the Cup Series, maybe? An overabundance of money, hence cameos from Rob Gronkowski and Vanilla Ice, perhaps?
Maybe it is simply to prepare fans for the possibility that Busch, long one of the constants of the NASCAR world, will be moving on at the conclusion of the year.
Busch enters the 2021 season with 32 career wins and the aforementioned 2004 title to his name. He starts Sunday's race at the No. 20 position.
