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Eckes Claims Points Lead with Podium Finish and Stage Win at Daytona
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By NAPA
Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Josh Berry made his third start for Hendrick Motorsports as the fill-in driver of the No. 9 link hidden, please login to view Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 as Chase Elliott continues to recover from a fractured tibia. It was Berry’s fifth career NASCAR Cup Series start. He rolled off the grid from the 21st position and took the opening stage to adapt to superspeedway-style racing in the Next Gen car, ending stage one in 28th. The Hendersonville, Tennessee, native improved to 11th in stage two. During the final stage of the race, Berry was battling inside the top 10 when he was involved in a multi-car incident on lap 190. The team made repairs and Berry was able to rebound for an 18th-place finish.
Josh Berry qualified 21st for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. It was Berry’s third race filling in for the injured Chase Elliott as he continues to recover from a fractured tibia. Berry took the green flag for his first Cup Series superspeedway-style race and used the opening laps to get a good feel for his Chevrolet. The 32-year-old driver was scored in 20th when the first caution flag of the race was displayed on lap 11. Opting not to pit, Berry lined up in that same position after choosing the top lane and battled inside the top 25 once the race resumed. Berry got shuffled to the back of the main pack on lap 42, but was undeterred from the loss of track position as he made his way back up to 28th to close out the stage at lap 60.
During the stage break, Berry reported to the team that the NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet was a little free on entry, but the balance got better on the longer run. Interim crew chief Tom Gray called the Hendersonville, Tennessee, native to pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. Berry took the green flag for stage two from the 26th position on lap 68 and continued his forward progress, settling in behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson in the 21st position. Berry was running in 15th when teams began making scheduled green-flag pit stops on lap 127. The driver of the No. 9 stayed out until Gray called him in for a fuel-only stop on lap 138. Back out on the track, Berry made his way to as high as ninth before taking the green-and-white checkered flag in 11th to end stage two.
The No. 9 team made a stop for four tires and fuel under the stage-ending caution, sending Berry back out to start the final stage in 17th. After beginning the stage in the top lane, he made a move to the bottom and used that to his advantage to work his way to 10th on lap 182. Berry continued to race inside the top 10 until a multi-car incident occurred on lap 190, collecting the No. 9 Chevrolet. The NASCAR Xfinity Series regular was able to drive the NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet away and brought it to pit road for repairs. The team worked hard over the course of two pit stops to fix up the front-end damage, and Berry lined up 25th for the lap 200 restart. Less than 10 laps later another incident brought out the yellow flag, giving the team another opportunity to work on the No. 9. Berry was scored in the 23rd position for the restart on lap 216 and reported early in the run that the NAPA Auto Parts Camaro felt better after the most recent repairs. He battled hard in the final stint of the race, climbing his way back inside the top 20 and ultimately scoring an 18th-place finish in the 260-lap event.
“I thought it was a solid day for the No. 9 NAPA Chevy,” Berry said. “I feel like we definitely improved. We got up there in the top 10 and we were pretty solid before that wreck. After that, the car was just a little too damaged to be too aggressive. All-in-all, we finished the race, learned a lot and had some fun.”
Start / Finish: 21 / 18
Next Race: Sunday, March 26, Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas
How to Watch or Listen: FOX, PRN and SiriusXM
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By NAPA
Returning to Pennsylvania for a second weekend in a row, the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series had dates lined up for both Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Penn., and Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, Penn. Unfortunately, mother nature struck again, and Friday night’s program at Williams Grove was canceled. Saturday at Lincoln was bitterly cold with wind and temperatures peaking in the 40s. Nonetheless, Lincoln Speedway is a track where Brad Sweet, driver of the No. 49 NAPA Auto Parts Sprint car, has been dominant, missing the top 10 only once in his last nine starts.
With 49 cars in attendance, Sweet was slated to qualify seventh in Flight B. He hit the charts 14.660 second, placing him second in the flight. Starting from the first spot in Heat Race 4, Sweet was eager to get the jump on second-place starter Chris Windom. The NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 launched ahead to pick up the heat race win and lock Sweet into the Fast Pass Dash.
“As we race, I think we are going to learn more and more about the tires, obviously, as the track changes,” Sweet said, drawing the second spot for the dash. “Hopefully, with our NAPA Auto Parts car, that was a good dash draw; we can keep it up front tonight.”
With six laps to complete the dash, the Big Cat rolled off from the second spot with his eye on the lead. At the drop of the green flag, Sweet managed to pull ahead to the lead. The No. 49 machine took off in the clean air up front, and Sweet picked up the Fast Pass Dash win.
That put the NAPA No. 49 in the first starting position for the 35-lap Lincoln Speedway feature. With Sweet eyeing victory lane, the green flag dropped. The NAPA driver jumped to the early lead before holding off the field while battling through heavy lapped traffic, but Sweet fell back to second with 12 laps to go. He held his line and brought the NAPA Auto Parts machine home in second place.
“We’re never happy to finish second, but we had new tires tonight, and the racing was actually a lot of fun there in the A-main,” Sweet said after the race. “I was struggling to figure out how to get my car off the corner there a little bit better, but that’s a part of the learning curve… We are going to have to keep adjusting out setups and try to find a package that’s going to be better for the whole 35 laps.”
Next up on the schedule is the Talladega Sprint Car Showdown at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Alabama, on Friday and the World of Outlaws Black Ice Brawl at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, Mississippi, on Saturday.
Start / Finish: 1 / 2
Points Standing / Total: 4th / 812 (-40)
Next Race: Friday, March 24, Talladega Short Track, Eastaboga, Alabama
How to Watch or Listen:
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By NAPA
Christian Eckes returned to victory lane at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS) in thrilling fashion to give McAnally-Hilgemann Racing the organization’s first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) victory on Saturday afternoon. The driver of the No. 19
link hidden, please login to view Chevrolet Silverado RST reclaimed the points lead after racking up 50 points and capturing his second stage win of the year. The victory gives Eckes and his team a virtual lock to the NCTS playoffs for the third time in his career.
The Middletown, N.Y., native started the 137-lap event from the fourth position after inclement weather washed out qualifying on Friday afternoon. Eckes boldly asserted himself as a threat by taking the lead on the opening lap and dominated Stage 1. The NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet paced the field on the outside of the AMS high banks until a caution flew on lap 24. Crew chief Charles Denike kept Eckes on track to go for the stage win, and the call paid off. Eckes held off all challengers on lap 30 to earn 10 points and one playoff point with his second stage win of 2023 after leading every lap.
Eckes pitted under the stage caution for right side tires and restarted 20th on lap 38 as the running order flip-flopped due to contrasting pit strategies. Eckes stayed in the lead draft for the majority of Stage 2 and ran as high as ninth but was scored 14th at the end of the segment on lap 60. Denike put four tires on Eckes’ Chevrolet, which allowed him to restart 11th on lap 68. Another quick caution on lap 79 offered Eckes the chance to top off with fuel for the final run, but he was caught speeding on pit road.
Eckes started his march back to the front from 28th position on lap 84 and took advantage of every opportunity to claw his way back into contention. A restart on lap 103 saw him rocket to 11th, which included a four-wide maneuver to cut through the pack. Eckes worked the less-preferred bottom lane to perfection as he capitalized on the restarts to crack the top five on lap 121, and he claimed the runner-up spot on lap 123. A late caution set up an overtime restart. Eckes elected to take the bottom of the front row, which proved to be the winning decision. Eckes traded the lead with fellow Chevrolet driver Nick Sanchez on the overtime restart and used a surge of momentum on the final lap to pull alongside for the lead down the backstretch. Eckes held the lead on the final lap as a caution waved coming out of Turn 4 to secure the victory, his third playoff berth, and his first victory at AMS.
“Just really happy,” Eckes said. “Thanks to Charles (Denike), everybody on this team. They work so damn hard and this is what makes it all worth it. Thanks to NAPA, Chevrolet, everybody. I’m pumped. It’s going to be a really good year.
“I think this is just what I kind of figured was going to happen coming here. I knew the potential of Charles (Denike), and I knew the potential of the race team, and Bill’s passion to win, so it made my decision to come here really easy.”
Start / Finish: 4 / 1
Points Standing / Total: 1st / 151 pts.
Next Race: Saturday, March 25, Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas
How to Watch or Listen: FS1, MRN, SiriusXM
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By NAPA
The first week of March took the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series back to where the 2023 season started: Barberville, Florida. While the annual Bike Week kicked off in nearby Daytona Beach, 23 competitors arrived at Volusia Speedway Park to compete in the Spring Showdown as well as to make up a rained out race from the Dirtcar Nationals three weeks prior.
Brad Sweet, driver of the No. 49
link hidden, please login to view sprint car, was eighth in the qualifying order and hit the charts at 13.930 seconds, placing him seventh overall. That put the Big Cat third to start in Heat Race 1. With a relatively wet track at the green flag of the first heat race, cars quickly spread out and made passing difficult. Sweet finished his heat race where he started in third place.
Placed seventh to start the feature, Sweet and the No. 49 team were looking to advance. At the start, Sweet was shuffled back to ninth when his line was slower on the start. The four-time and defending series champion made every attempts to move forward, but the track was still too fast, and cars were lapping the circuit in a single lane. Battling dirty air from cars ahead, the NAPA No. 49 crossed the checkers in ninth place.
The second portion of Sunday night’s event included the make-up Dash and A-main from the rained-out Saturday night of the Dirtcar Nationals three weeks prior. With a chance to improve the car for the current track conditions, Sweet and the NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 team saw a shot at redemption. Rolling off sixth in the six-lap Dash offered Sweet a six-lap opportunity to earn improve his starting spot in the A-main. From the drop of the green flag, Sweet’s NAPA machine came to life and launched him up to third place. Sweet looked to gain another spot but ran out of time.
With 30 laps to contest in the feature, Sweet was ready to use all 900 horsepower the No. 49 car could offer to make his move to the front. With an ideal setup, Sweet proved quick as the field took off. Running the preferred line, the NAPA driver made several charges to pass the leader. Sweet ultimately crossed the line in second, the podium finish offering redemption for the team’s unremarkable outcome earlier in the evening.
Monday marked the second night of the Spring Showdown and the final night of racing in Florida for the 2023 season. With 23 cars signed into competition, Sweet went out 17th in qualifying and laid down a lap time of 13.668 seconds, good for ninth quickest overall. Starting third in Heat Race 3, Sweet knew he needed to pick up at least one spot to advance to the Fast Pass Dash. When the green flag dropped on his heat race, Sweet launched into second and held the spot, locking him into the Dash.
“We are struggling a little bit, but the Dash gets you those extra laps to get your car a little better,” Sweet said during the Dash draw. “Hopefully we can have a good finish with our NAPA Auto Parts car down here at Volusia. We’ve had a lot of fun, and I’ve been down here quite a bit, so hopefully we can finish strong.”
After drawing the fifth spot to start the Dash, Sweet had six laps to improve his starting spot in the A-main. At the drop of the green, Sweet drove around the outside to claim fourth, holding the spot to the checkered flag.
Sweet focused on making strides toward the front when he rolled off from fourth in the 30-lap A-main. The NAPA driver quickly advanced to third following the drop of the green flag. After a mid-race caution, the No. 49 spun its tires on the restart and fell back to sixth, where the NAPA team ultimately finished.
Sweet and the NAPA Auto Parts team will enjoy some days off before they make their way to Port Royal, Penn., for the next Outlaws event.
Start / Finish:
Sunday, Mar. 5, Spring Showdown: 7 / 9
Sunday, Mar. 5, Dirtcar Nationals make-up: 3 / 2
Monday, Mar. 6, Spring Showdown: 4 / 6
Points Standing / Total: 7th / 666 pts. (-56)
Next Race: Friday, March 10, Port Royal Speedway, Port Royal, Penn.
How to Watch or Listen:
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By NAPA
Christian Eckes continued his strong start to the 2023 NASCAR Cratfsman Truck Series season with a sixth-place result on Friday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS). The finish marks Eckes’ second-straight top-10 finish as has the driver of the No. 19
link hidden, please login to view Chevrolet Silverado RST sits third in the championship standings after two events. In seven trips to LVMS, Eckes has now collected top-10 finishes in six starts.
The Middletown, N.Y., native laid down the 12th-fastest lap in pole qualifying and began the 134-lap event from the outside of row six. Eckes wasted little time making moves towards the front as he immediately broke into the top-10 and advanced to fifth by lap three. A caution on lap 19 brought Eckes within reach of the leaders and provided an opportunity to battle for the stage win. On lap 29, Eckes sent his Chevrolet through the middle of a three-wide race for the lead into Turn 3 and was forced to make a stunning sideways save. The aggressive move displayed immense truck control and preserved his Silverado RST for the remainder of the evening.
Crew chief Charles Denike brought Eckes to pit road under the first stage caution for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to tighten the balance on the NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet. Eckes restarted 24th on lap 36 but took full advantage of two restarts during the second segment to regain his track position. He advanced from 20th to 12th on the lap-45 restart and drove from seventh to fourth on the lap-53 restart. A third caution during the second stage flew on lap 54 and brought most of the front runners to pit lane, including Eckes. Another batch of fresh tires and fuel set the No. 19 team up to contend for the victory in the later laps but relegated them out of stage points at lap 60 after being scored 13th.
After sustaining minor left side damage by avoiding an incident on lap 60, Denike kept Eckes on track during the stage caution, which proved to be the prudent decision. Eckes grabbed the runner-up position on lap 68 following the final restart and challenged eventual victor Kyle Busch for the race lead. As the evening’s longest green flag run wore on, Eckes’ handling condition swung loose, losing rear lateral grip. While running fifth, Eckes made his final pit stop under green on lap 100 and cycled back around to the fifth position by lap 111. His Chevrolet remained on the loose side for the remaining 23 circuits as he drove to the checkered flag in sixth position.
“This No. 19 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet was really, really fast tonight,” Eckes said. “I felt like it was race-winning capable. Super proud of everybody, a little too aggressive on my end, but we’ll go to Atlanta and race them hard there. It was pretty easy (coming through the field). I pride myself on restarts and was just able to drive through the pack the couple times we restarted pretty deep. We had a really fast truck tonight and we’ll try to put it all together at Atlanta in a couple weeks.”
Start / Finish: 12 / 6
Points Standing / Total: 3rd / 81 pts. (-4)
Next Race: Saturday, March 18, Atlanta Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: FS1, MRN, SiriusXM
NAPA:
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