-
Similar Topics
-
By NAPA
Mason Massey finished 12th in the ARCA Menards Series West 150 at Tucson Speedway after a strong overall day that saw him post the ninth-fastest time in practice and qualify third for the 150-lap event. He lined the No. 19
link hidden, please login to view Chevrolet up near the front of the field but immediately focused on tire management on a surface that produced heavy falloff throughout the run.
At the drop of the green flag, Massey gave up ground as the field quickly settled into long-run pace, focusing on managing tire wear on the abrasive surface. Much of the race was defined by heavy tire conservation, with large groups of cars running closely together while trying to preserve their equipment. The tightly packed field produced extended stretches of three-wide racing across multiple lanes, as drivers balanced saving tires with maintaining track position.
Throughout the race, Massey remained committed to a smooth, low-line approach while navigating traffic and the evolving pace of the field. As some of the leaders pushed harder to apply pressure, it forced drivers who were saving to pick up the pace and limited their ability to fully conserve tires.
In the closing stages, Massey got the caution he needed with 37 laps to go and set his sights on moving forward when the race went back green. He quickly worked his way back toward the top 10 before getting loose exiting Turn 4 and making hard contact with the outside wall. The contact resulted in handling issues over the final laps as he battled a tight feeling balance, and Massey ultimately brought the car NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet home in 12th.
“I thought we had a great plan going into the race with both us and Hailie (Deegan, teammate),” Massey said after the race. “My NAPA Auto Care team gave me a great car with speed and stability that gave me the ability to take care of the tires so well. I made the mistake coming off of turn four and hit the wall pretty good there. After that, the car wasn’t handling well. We didn’t have the balance and all I could do was limp it home. We’ll regroup and get after it again at Shasta.”
Start / Finish: 3 / 12
Points Standing / Total: 2nd / 118 pts. (-5)
Next Race: Saturday, May 2, Shasta Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 11:30 p.m. ET on
link hidden, please login to view Mason Massey:
link hidden, please login to view
NAPA: link hidden, please login to view
Bill McAnally Racing / McAnally-Hilgemann Racing: link hidden, please login to view The post
link hidden, please login to view appeared first on link hidden, please login to view.
link hidden, please login to view -
By NAPA
Chase Elliott and the No. 9 UniFirst team qualified 10th for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway. The 30-year-old driver finished the first stage in 12th and followed that up with a 14th-place finish in stage two. During the final stage, Elliott was running ninth when crew chief Alan Gustafson made the call to pit early. Fresh tires put Elliott on offense, and he quickly made up ground. He cycled to the lead and was scored second at the time of a caution on lap 311. Elliott remained in the top three from there, and after the last caution of the race came out on lap 324, he cleared for the lead on the restart and didn’t look back, earning his 22nd career Cup Series victory. It was Elliott’s second Cup Series win at Martinsville and his first points-paying victory of the season. Elliott moved up to fourth in the Cup Series points standings. He is now 104 markers behind the leader.
Chase Elliott and the No. 9 UniFirst team qualified 10th for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway. When the green flag dropped, Elliott battled for ninth but got stuck in the outside lane and settled into 13th. On the long, green-flag run, the 30-year-old driver regained some ground. He advanced to 11th before ultimately ending the first stage in 12th.
During the stage break, Elliott reported that the No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet was “swingy.” Crew chief Alan Gustafson made the call for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. A fast stop by the team put Elliott 10th for the choose. He opted for the inside of row six, taking the green flag for stage two in 11th on lap 96. He was in the same position when the yellow flag was displayed on lap 105. Staying out, Elliott lined up 13th for the restart after choosing the preferred bottom lane. From there, Elliott continued to run inside the top 15, with the remainder of the stage going caution-free. He took the green-and-white checkered flag to end stage two in 14th on lap 180.
Under the stage-ending caution, Elliott reported positive feedback on the No. 9 UniFirst Chevy’s balance. After pitting for four tires and fuel, he lined up 11th to start the final stage on lap 193. Elliott gained positions early, running in eighth for several laps before dropping to ninth on lap 247. He remained there until Gustafson made the call to short-pit on lap 262. Elliott returned to the track on fresher tires than the rest of the field and quickly gained ground. Eventually, others began visiting pit road, which put Elliott as the leader at the end of the pit cycle on lap 293. He held on with his older tires until the No. 11 of Denny Hamlin made the pass for the top spot on lap 309. The strategy call paid off for Elliott and the No. 9 team when a caution came out on lap 311. Elliott was the second car off pit road following his pit stop but restarted third due to one car opting to stay out. Shortly after the field returned to green, the race was slowed for a multi-car incident on lap 324. Elliott was scored in second at the time of the yellow. He lined up on the outside of the first row for the restart and cleared for the lead on lap 334. Elliott continued to lead while working his way through lap traffic in the closing laps, ultimately taking the checkered flag for his 22nd career Cup Series win.
“It was definitely a team effort. That was awesome,” Elliott said after the win. “We’ve never had a win this early in the season. Just a really great team effort. So proud of Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) 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.”
Elliott is now fourth in the Cup Series points standings, 104 markers behind the leader.
Start / Finish: 10 / 1
Points Standing / Total: 4th / 249 pts. (-104)
Next Race: Sunday, April 12, Bristol Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 3:00 p.m. ET on FS1, SiriusXM or PRN
NAPA:
link hidden, please login to view
Chase Elliott: link hidden, please login to view
Hendrick Motorsports: link hidden, please login to view
No. 9 Team: link hidden, please login to view The post
link hidden, please login to view appeared first on link hidden, please login to view.
link hidden, please login to view -
By NAPA
NHRA Rookie of the Year contender Maddi Gordon made her presence known Sunday at the NHRA Gatornationals when she raced to a semifinal finish at Gainesville Raceway. Gordon piloted her
link hidden, please login to view Top Fuel dragster out of the Ron Capps Motorsports camp to round wins over two of the most accomplished drivers in class history before tire smoke ended her run at the opening race of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. She leaves Gainesville ranked fourth in the points standings.
Gordon was the first Top Fuel driver to hit the track in Friday qualifying. Just a couple hours after announcing a multi-year major associate partnership with Monster Energy, Gordon posted a 3.861-second pass at 319.29 mph to take the provisional No. 11 position. She stepped up to a 3.793 E.T. at 321.35 mph in the Friday night session and ended the day in the No. 15 spot. On Saturday, Gordon encountered tire smoke on her third qualifying attempt but came back with a consistent 3.797 E.T. at 328.06 mph in the final qualifying session. It was the quickest pass of the round, netting Gordon three bonus points. She solidified the No. 15 slot going into race day and became the 591st driver and the 23rd woman to qualify for an NHRA Top Fuel field.
In her first-ever Top Fuel competition round, Gordon lined up against No. 2 qualifier and former world champion Shawn Langdon, who was recently named to NHRA’s Top 75 Drivers list. Crew chief Rob Flynn guided Gordon to her quickest pass of the event, a 3.762 E.T. at 334.48 mph, to get past a tire-smoking Langdon. The competition didn’t get any easier for Gordon, as she went on to face the winningest driver in the history of the class, eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher, when Top Fuel returned to the starting line for the quarterfinals. Gordon powered to a 3.783 E.T. at 331.53 mph to defeat Schumacher and his 3.863 E.T. That sent Gordon to the semifinals and earned her a spot in the first Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge of the season, which will take place during Saturday qualifying at the NHRA Arizona Nationals.
The semifinals brought another battle of youth versus experience as Gordon faced her third “Top 75” driver, two-time and reigning world champion Doug Kalitta. Gordon started hazing the tires early and had to lift off the throttle as Kalitta advanced with his quickest pass of the day.
“That was just a really, really good weekend,” said Gordon, who became the 100th woman to win an NHRA national event when she drove her family’s Top Alcohol Funny Car to victory at the 2024 NHRA Northwest Nationals. “Of course, we all want to win the race, but I couldn’t have asked for much more in my debut. It was so cool to line up against Shawn in the first round. Rob was confident that the car would get down the track. When I heard (Langdon) blow the tires off in the other lane, I seriously spoke out loud, ‘That wasn’t me! We’re still going!’ Seeing that first win light was insane. I actually started to lose my voice after that one. It’s just been an amazing weekend.”
Gordon’s rookie campaign will continue at the NHRA Arizona Nationals, March 20-22, at Firebird Motorsports Park near Phoenix.
Start / Finish: No. 15 / def. in semifinals
Points Standing / Total: 4th / 74 pts. (-53)
Next Race: March 20-22, NHRA Arizona Nationals, Chandler, Ariz.
How to Watch or Listen: FS1,
link hidden, please login to view NAPA Racing:
link hidden, please login to viewMaddi Gordon: link hidden, please login to view
Ron Capps Motorsports: link hidden, please login to view The post
link hidden, please login to view appeared first on link hidden, please login to view.
link hidden, please login to view -
By NAPA
Mason Massey delivered a strong performance in the General Tire 150 at Phoenix Raceway, finishing fifth overall in a stacked ARCA Menards Series combination race that combined the national tour with the ARCA Menards Series West (AMSW). Massey’s second straight top-five result keeps in him on top of the AMSW standings by six points after two events.
Competing in a 40-car field, Massey qualified 14th and quickly worked his way forward and cracked the top ten by lap 11 as four yellow flags slowed the field in the first 29 laps. He advanced to eighth by lap 21 while managing a loose race car that kept the rear end moving under him through the corners. After several laps battling traffic, Massey worked his way into seventh and remained a factor near the front of the field as the race progressed. Following the lap-75 halfway break, Massey restarted inside the top five and maintained his position among the leaders.
A late caution set the stage for an overtime finish, where Massey found himself battling three-wide for position in the closing laps. Despite the chaos around him, he held his ground and crossed the line fifth after 157 laps. The result marked the second highest finishing position among AMSW regulars and capped a competitive afternoon against the top competitors from both tours in one of the largest fields expected this season.
“I’d like to thank Bill (McAnally, owner) and the entire BMR team for giving me such a fast race car tonight,” Massey said after the race. “It feels great to get into these BMR cars and know that I can go out there and compete with anyone on any given night. Tonight was a lot of fun. We will take a Top 5 and move on to the next one.”
Start / Finish: 14 / 5
Points Standing / Total: 1st / 86 pts. (+6)
Next Race: Saturday, April 11, Tucson Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 9:00 p.m. ET on
link hidden, please login to view Mason Massey:
link hidden, please login to view
NAPA: link hidden, please login to view
Bill McAnally Racing / McAnally-Hilgemann Racing: link hidden, please login to view The post
link hidden, please login to view appeared first on link hidden, please login to view.
link hidden, please login to view -
-
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
NAPA:
link hidden, please login to view
Chase Elliott: link hidden, please login to view
Hendrick Motorsports: link hidden, please login to view
No. 9 Team: link hidden, please login to view The post
link hidden, please login to view appeared first on link hidden, please login to view.
link hidden, please login to view
-
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.