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By NAPA
Daniel Hemric was in position to score his third consecutive top-10 result and continue climbing in the standings, but an unscheduled pit stop thwarted his effort at Rockingham Speedway. The driver of the No. 19
link hidden, please login to view Chevrolet Silverado RST was credited with a 24th-place finish despite scoring stage points and running inside the top-10 for a significant portion of the event.
Hemric hoped to continue his recent rekindled consistency on Friday after qualifying 15th at “The Rock”. Through the first 45-lap segment of the event, Hemric battled a free handling condition and limited his mobility around the blazing-fast one-mile oval. As Stage 1 ran fully under the green flag, Hemric was scored 16th at the first green-checkered flag of the day on lap 45.
Crew chief Kevin Bellicourt elected to throw an early strategy ploy on the first stop of the race. He gave Hemric two tires and fuel under the stage caution which netted eight positions. The ultra-high speeds on Rockingham’s fresh asphalt put a premium on track position and clean air, which made passing significantly challenging. Despite being at a tire disadvantage, Hemric steadily maintained the eighth position and scored three points at the end of Stage 2 on lap 90.
Hemric took four tires and fuel under the second stage caution and restarted 11th on lap 99 as several competitors elected to take two tires. However, during the green flag run, Hemric began experiencing a vibration which became increasingly severe. On lap 139, he pitted for left side tires to address the issue but was forced back to pit road a second time for right side tires. The unfortunate culprit, a loose wheel, sent Hemric to 31st, two laps down. Over the final 50 laps, he was able to salvage a portion of those positions and took the checkered flag in 25th. Following a penalty to the No. 38 truck in post-race inspection, Hemric was credited with a 24th-place result.
“Certainly not how we wanted our day to go,” Hemric remarked. “We were looking at a top-10 day with our NAPA Chevrolet. Kevin [Bellicourt] made a great call early to get us some track position. That was huge to gain those spots because it was so hard to pass. You likely weren’t going to gain that difference on the racetrack. We had speed to maintain our position, even with a tire disadvantage. Thought we could leapfrog a couple guys on the green flag stop, but we never made it that far. Unfortunate for sure, but we’ll put it behind us and move forward as a group to Bristol next week.”
Start / Finish: 15 / 24
Points Standing / Total: 18th / 91 pts. (-99)
Next Race: Friday, April 10, Bristol Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1 or SiriusXM
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By NAPA
Daison Pursley and the
link hidden, please login to view No. 9 team officially kicked off the 2026 High Limit Racing season over the past two weeks, competing in six races across Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Central Arizona Raceway. Following an offseason focused on building chemistry and speed, the Kasey Kahne Racing team entered the year with momentum and immediately showed promise against a strong field of competitors.
The High Limit season opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway marked the first points-paying events of the year, and the NAPA No. 9 ran consistently inside the top 10 throughout the three-night weekend.
On Thursday, Pursley qualified eighth in Flight A and advanced to a 12th-place finish in the feature after starting 15th. Friday brought one of the team’s strongest performances of the weekend, as Pursley qualified third, ran up front in the heat race, and drove from ninth to sixth in the A-Main.
The weekend concluded Saturday with another solid showing as the NAPA No. 9 qualified third once again and advanced from 13th to 10th in the feature. The consistent results to open the season positioned the team well in the early championship standings and reinforced the speed shown throughout the offseason.
The team carried that momentum into Central Arizona Raceway for the Cactus Classic, where Pursley delivered a standout performance on Thursday night. After qualifying 10th in a stout, 31-car field, Pursley advanced through his heat race and charged from 10th to a third-place finish in the A-Main, earning the first ever podium for the NAPA No. 9 team.
Friday and Saturday presented challenges, as the team continued to show speed but was ultimately sidelined by incidents in both feature events, resulting in a pair of DNFs. Despite the setbacks, the pace of the NAPA No. 9 remained evident throughout the weekend.
The NAPA No. 9 team now turns its focus to the next event at Vado Speedway Park in New Mexico on Tuesday as the 2026 High Limit Racing season continues.
Start / Finish:
Thursday, March 12, Las Vegas Motor Speedway: 15 / 12
Friday, March 13, Las Vegas Motor Speedway: 9 / 6
Saturday, March 14, Las Vegas Motor Speedway: 13 / 10
Thursday, March 19, Central Arizona Raceway: 10 / 3
Friday, March 20, Central Arizona Raceway: DNF
Saturday, March 21, Central Arizona Raceway: DNF
Points Standing / Total: 11th / 281 pts. (-125)
Next Race: Tuesday, March 24, Vado Speedway Park, Vado, NM
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By NAPA
Ron Capps kicked off NHRA’s 75th anniversary season by qualifying his link hidden, please login to view Funny Car in the No. 1 spot to score the first Funny Car pole of the year at the NHRA Gatornationals. As a seven-time Gainesville Raceway finalist, Capps was looking to add to his four wins at the historic facility, but an upset loss in the opening round of eliminations Sunday morning ended his day early.
Capps qualified on the strength of his Q2 pass of 3.890 seconds at 334.07 mph and was the only Funny Car racer to dip into the 3.8-second range during opening weekend of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. Knowing they were safely in the show, crew chief Dean “Guido” Antonelli and the NAPA team used Saturday’s remaining two qualifying rounds as test sessions to prepare for Sunday eliminations and felt they had a solid plan in place heading into round one against No. 16 qualifier John Smith. The three-time Funny Car world champion was first off the line but his machine started rattling the tires. He pedaled the car and got it to hook back up, but the ignition box was inadvertently shut off, allowing Smith to drive away with the win. While the early exit was a disappointment, Capps was not deterred and is eager to head to Phoenix for the Arizona Nationals and a chance to rebound.
“We left the Finals in Pomona at the end of last year and we already knew what we wanted to test to get better,” said Capps, who debuted as a multi-car team owner for the first time at the Gatornationals with the addition of Maddi Gordon and the Carlyle Tools Top Fuel team. “A lot of work was done at the shop with both teams, obviously getting the dragster together and ready for Maddi’s licensing and then the Funny Car team, we had a great game plan and it all came together. We made great runs in testing and Guido was very excited about coming to race under these warm weather conditions.
“Everyone had that decent shot Friday night, and obviously we were number one with that 3.89, which is always great. With the time change Saturday night and the track conditions the way they were, we figured first round was going to be pretty fast. But, typical Gainesville. I always say, the wins I’ve had here, you always feel like you’ve run multiple events in one day because it’s so demanding. It’s hot, humid, hard on the teams, hard on the drivers. And first round was tough, you never discount Paul Smith, that’s a car that will go down the track so you cannot make mistakes. We went out, rattled the tires. I started pedaling and got it going again, but unfortunately, the ignition box inadvertently shut off, and I was just a sitting duck out there and John Smith was able to drive around me. It’s a bummer, but the great thing is we know we’ve got a good hot rod. We’ve got a weekend off and then we’ll get right back at it in Phoenix.”
Up next for Capps and the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car team is the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park, where Capps made his professional debut in 1995 while competing in the Top Fuel category.
Start / Finish: No. 1/ def. in first round
Points Standing / Total: 9th / 41 points (-74)
Next Race: March 20-22, NHRA Arizona Nationals, Chandler, Ariz.
How to Watch or Listen: FS1,
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By NAPA
Chase Elliott and the No. 9 link hidden, please login to view team started off DAYTONA 500 week strong with a victory in Duel Two on Thursday night, which set them up for a fourth-place starting position for the Great American Race. Elliott finished 18th in each of the first two stages in Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR Cup Series race. In the final stage, the 30-year-old driver restarted from the eighth row with just four laps to go following a caution. He had a shot at the win, taking the lead on the final lap. However, he got caught up in an on-track incident coming to the checkered flag and ultimately crossed the stripe in fourth. Elliott leaves Daytona International Speedway third in the Cup Series standings, just 15 points behind the leader. Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team started off DAYTONA 500 week strong with a victory in Duel Two on Thursday night, which set them up for a fourth-place starting position for the Great American Race. From the drop of the green flag in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, Elliott showed he had a Chevrolet capable of winning. He was scored in seventh when the first caution of the race came out on lap five. Crew chief Alan Gustafson called for a fuel-only pit stop. Elliott restarted eighth on lap 12 and continued to race inside the top 10. He was running in the fourth position when green-flag pit stops got underway on lap 50. Elliott assumed the lead on lap 58 before pitting the very next lap for fuel. He ended stage one in the 18th position.
Under the stage-ending caution, Elliott radioed to his team that the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy was a little free. Gustafson made the call for an adjustment during the team’s pit stop for four tires and fuel. Elliott made a second stop under the yellow to top off the tank. The 30-year-old driver took the green flag for the second stage from the 20th position on lap 72. The field went three wide early in the stage, with Elliott running the top lane. Racing got dicey at the front of the field, which ultimately triggered a multi-car incident that brought out the caution on lap 85. Elliott drove through the infield grass to avoid the melee, escaping unscathed. Under the yellow flag, Elliott brought the No. 9 NAPA Chevy to the attention of his crew for a fuel-only pit stop. He was 11th to choose his lane for the restart, ultimately opting for the outside. Once back to green on lap 92, it didn’t take long for the field to go back to racing three wide. Elliott was stuck in the middle lane until he was able to clear to the bottom. He was running in 10th before the bottom lane lost momentum and he was shuffled towards the back of the pack. Tight racing prompted another multi-car incident on lap 124, which Elliott was again able to avoid. The cleanup took long enough that stage two ended under the yellow flag, with the Hendrick Motorsports driver scored 18th.
During the stage break, the team made another stop for four fresh tires and fuel. Elliott lined up on the inside of row four to start the final stage on lap 136. He remained in the bottom lane for several laps as the main pack raced three wide. Elliott kept his Chevrolet towards the front of the field as the race started winding down, but teams still needed to make one last round of pit stops for fuel. The first cars visited pit road on lap 181. Elliott took over the lead just prior to pitting on lap 188. He was scored 15th when an incident brought out the caution with less than 10 laps to go. The team opted not to pit, and Elliott restarted from the outside of row eight with four laps remaining. He stayed in contention and took over the lead on the final lap. However, he was involved in a multi-car incident coming to the checkered flag and ultimately finished fourth.
“It seemed really fortunate to get through the first crash, and that opened the door to somehow get to the lead,” Elliott said after the race. “But then I got pushed clear and I think the No. 38 was behind me and pushed me clear by everybody down the back, and then it was just he and I. We got a good ways out there and we were just in a lot of trouble because momentum had shifted. At that point, I was just on extreme defense, and then from there, I was just trying to defend as best I could without crashing myself, but everybody else ended up crashing anyway. Maybe I should have just wrecked myself trying to block. But, yeah, I hate that. Obviously very close but close doesn’t cut it.”
Elliott leaves Daytona International Speedway third in the Cup Series points standings, just 15 markers behind the leader.
Start / Finish: 4 / 4
Points Standing / Total: 3rd / 43 pts. (-15)
Next Race: Sunday, February 22, EchoPark Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 3:00 p.m. ET on FOX, SiriusXM or PRN
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By NAPA
Christian Eckes’ “Revenge Tour” kicked off in exhilarating fashion as he scored a third-place finish in his reunion with MHR. The driver of the No. 91 Columbia Bank Chevrolet Silverado RST was a fixture near the front of the field in Friday night’s season opener at Daytona International Speedway and made a staggering 271 green flag passes throughout the night. Eckes collected 12 stage points, and 46 overall, which has him initially positioned second in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series standings.
Eckes and the Columbia Bank team narrowly missed the second round of qualifying on Friday afternoon and lined up 11th for the green flag. From the outset, Eckes made himself one of the most active drivers in the field, making moves and slicing in traffic to work his way forward. He cracked the top-10 in the opening five laps before making a furious charge to the front on lap 19. A massive swell of momentum on the bottom lane catapulted him from outside the top-15 to run third at the end of Stage 1 on lap 20.
The strategy by crew chief Dave Elenz to keep Eckes’ tank packed full of fuel was on display beginning with the first pit cycle. After taking left side tires and fuel, Elenz brough Eckes back to pit road to top-off with gas before the restart. Despite restarting 31st on lap 28, Eckes gave the fans in attendance full value for their ticket by cutting through the field to run seventh at the end of Stage 2 on lap 40.
Eckes pitted again for fuel, and another top-off prior to the restart under the second stage caution. He efficiently cut from 20th on the lap 46 to challenge for the lead by lap 58 when the yellow flag flew. Just outside the fuel window to make the finish, Eckes pitted for fuel only, and again for four tires under a caution at lap 80. After restarting 15th on lap 85, Eckes created a mammoth surge of momentum to challenge for the lead on lap 93. A late caution set up a green-white-checkered finish as he took the green from fifth position. Eckes’ precision moves helped him challenge for the lead of the final lap but crossed the line third in a four-wide finish at the checkered flag.
“It was fun, for sure,” Eckes remarked after the podium result. “I thought all night our truck was really solid and was able to do a lot of things. Just thanks to Columbia Bank,
link hidden, please login to view, Gates Hydraulics, Chevrolet, everybody involved. We weren’t very good [Friday] but the guys went to work and got it better…I’d have to go back and look at [the finish]. It’s kind of hard with no help out back. The situation that unfolded, we started fifth or sixth, it’s just hard to have a chance at it. Obviously, we want to win, but we’ll keep moving on.” Start / Finish: 11 / 3
Points Standing / Total: 2nd / 46 pts. (-19)
Next Race: Saturday, February 21st, EchoPark Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1 or SiriusXM
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