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Eckes Regains Points Lead with Top-Five Finish at Darlington
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By NAPA
Chase Elliott and the No. 9 link hidden, please login to view team qualified ninth for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway. The 28-year-old driver finished stage one in ninth and stage two in third as his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 showed speed on the long run. In the final stage, Elliott continued to battle inside the top 10 and advanced to third before the checkered flag waved. With the third-place result, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native took over the driver points standings lead by eight markers over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson. It was Elliott’s second consecutive top-five effort, seventh of the season and 100th of his young Cup career. Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team earned a ninth-place starting position for Sunday’s inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway. The 28-year-old driver initially lost some ground to the leaders upon the drop of the green flag and was scored in 11th at the time of the first caution of the race on lap five. Under the yellow, Elliott reported that his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was loose. Staying out, he lined up 11th for the restart on lap 10 and made his way back up to ninth by lap 41. As a long run ensued Elliott continued to gain ground, advancing to seventh before an incident brought out the caution. He relayed that he “overbuilt the right rear.” Once pit road opened, crew chief Alan Gustafson called Elliott in for four fresh tires and fuel. A fast stop gained the driver of the No. 9 a position on pit road, however two cars did not pit which put him eighth for the lap-59 restart. When the green-and-white checkered flag waved to end stage two, Elliott was scored in the ninth position.
During the stage break the team opted not to visit pit road, placing Elliott as the fifth driver to choose his lane to start the second stage. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native took the green flag from the inside of row two on lap 78. He continued to battle inside the top five until another caution slowed the race at lap 81. Staying out once again, Elliott lined up in the second row for the lap-87 restart. Getting loose, he dropped to seventh but found his way back inside the top five prior to lap 100. Showing speed on the long run, Elliott advanced to third on lap 130 and took over the second position less than 20 laps later. He set his sights on the leader and began reeling in the No. 12 of Ryan Blaney as green flag stops got under way. Elliott paced the field for one lap after Blaney made his way to pit road before he followed suit on lap 173. After pitting for four tires and fuel, Elliott returned to the track in 18th and was up to seventh as the pit cycle continued. When the caution came out on lap 182, the teams that still needed to pit made their stops. This put Elliott third in the running order. Once the race was back under way, he held his own inside the top five, finishing the stage in the third position.
Under the stage-ending caution, Elliott pitted for four tires and fuel. He lined up sixth to start the final stage on lap 219. Just one lap later, an incident brought out the caution. Elliott chose the outside of row four for the lap-228 restart. From there, the 2020 Cup Series champion maneuvered his way to fourth before the yellow flag was displayed on lap 260. Providing feedback to his crew that the NAPA Chevy was a little tight, the team made an air-pressure adjustment during its four-tire pit stop. Elliott was fifth to choose his lane, opting for the outside of row four for the restart on lap 267. He progressed to fifth by lap 272 and continued to climb, advancing to third before the checkered flag waved.
The result was Elliott’s second consecutive top-five effort, seventh of the season and 100th of his young Cup career. With the third-place result, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native took over the driver points standings lead by eight markers over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson.
“Our balance was just right, and I thought all day we had really good long run pace,” Elliott said. “I just really struggled to get going on restarts and just was really loose and just felt like I couldn’t attack like I needed to and just lost a lot of ground. Could make good pace there at the end of a run with our NAPA Chevy, just needed to be a little closer I think to keep the pressure on and keep things rolling. Anyway, I was proud of the effort and felt like we had a really good car and were right there in the fight.”
Start / Finish: 9 / 3
Points Standing / Total: 1st / 591 pts. (+8)
Next Race: Sunday, June 23, New Hampshire Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 2:30 p.m. ET on USA, PRN or SiriusXM
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By NAPA
Brad Sweet and the
link hidden, please login to view No. 49 team had an exciting and eventful week of racing starting in Lincoln, NE, before continuing on to Knoxville Raceway in Iowa to compete with the World of Outlaws. On Tuesday, June 11th, Sweet arrived at Eagle Raceway to vie for the $50,000-to-win Bikini Zone Eagle Nationals. The day began with a special visit to the local Lincoln NAPA Auto Parts store, where Sweet had the pleasure of meeting store owner Randy Sell, his employees, and VIP customers. Following the private meet-and-greet, the Kasey Kahne Racing No. 49 team hosted 30 guests from the Lincoln NAPA store at the track for an evening of high-energy sprint car racing.
To start off the competition, Sweet qualified ninth in Flight A with a time of 11.661 seconds. Setting the lineup for Heat Race action, the NAPA No.49 made an impressive move from fifth to third. The evening’s feature was a showcase of Sweet’s skill as he surged from 13th to finish in the runner-up position. The NAPA driver gave leader Kyle Larson no room to spare, and his impressive advance thrilled the crowd and made for a wildly entertaining race.
As a result of his strong showing, Sweet extended his lead in the points standings. He now holds 1,612 points, maintaining a 76-point lead over the second-place competitor Tyler Courtney.
With a scheduled off weekend from the High Limit Racing Series, Sweet and the KKR team opted to gain extra track time by heading to Knoxville Raceway to compete with the World of Outlaws. The visit to “The Sprint Car Capital of the World” allowed the team some extra preparation ahead of the Knoxville Nationals in August.
On Friday, June 14th, Sweet and the team took a chance on testing set-ups before the big dance in August. The Big Cat qualified 12th in Flight B with a time of 16.390 seconds. In heat race competition, Sweet advanced from sixth to fifth, and in Friday night’s feature, he charged from 20th to 15th. The NAPA team still had one more chance to progress on their set-ups for Knoxville Raceway the following night.
Saturday night proved to be a night of redemption as Sweet continued to push the limits. Qualifying 10th in Flight B with a time of 16.306 seconds, the NAPA Auto Parts No.49 was on the move. Sweet went on to power through his heat race, finishing third after starting from fifth. In the final feature of the weekend, Sweet demonstrated his skills once again, climbing from 12th to finish ninth when the checkered flag dropped.
Start / Finish:
Tuesday, June 11, Eagle Raceway: 13 / 2
Friday, June 14, Knoxville Raceway: 20 /15
Saturday, June 15, Knoxville Raceway: 12 / 9
Points Standing / Total: 1st / 1,612 pts. (+76)
Next Race: Wednesday, June 19, Huset’s Speedway, Brandon, SD
How to Watch or Listen:
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By NAPA
Chase Elliott and the No. 9 link hidden, please login to view team qualified fourth for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway, leading the Hendrick Motorsports contingent. The 28-year-old driver finished stage one in fourth and followed that up with a 31st-place result in stage two after short pitting. In the final stage, Elliott took over the lead on lap 81 during the pit cycle prior to visiting pit road on lap 84 for four tires and fuel. Rejoining the race in the 12th position, he battled back to fourth before the checkered flag waved. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native advanced to second in the driver points standings and is now just 14 markers behind the leader. Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Gold Filters team qualified fourth for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway, leading Hendrick Motorsports’ four-car contingent. Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Gold Filters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 showed speed from the drop of the green flag. He maintained his fourth-place running position in the opening laps. When the caution flag was displayed on lap three, Elliott relayed to crew chief Alan Gustafson that the NAPA Gold Filters Chevy’s handling wasn’t bad. Opting to restart from the outside lane in the third row, the 28-year-old driver retook the fourth position on lap seven and remained there until the yellow flag waved again on lap 16. Staying out under the caution, he restarted from third on lap 19 and was scored in fourth when another incident brought out the caution the very same lap. The No. 9 team opted not to pit, and Elliott took the green flag from the second row on lap 23. With the remainder of the stage going caution-free, the 2020 Cup Series champion took the green-and-white checkered flag in the fourth position at the conclusion of lap 25.
Elliott remained on the track during the stage break, lining up third to start the second segment of the race on lap 30. After initially holding onto the third position, Elliott got loose and slipped to fourth before the caution came out on lap 32. Once again, the team opted not to pit under the yellow. This time, Elliott chose the outside lane for the lap-35 restart. He was scored fifth when another incident slowed the race just one lap later. Staying out, Elliott lined up fifth on lap 40. A chaotic restart triggered another caution, with the driver of the No. 9 Chevy being scored seventh at the time of the yellow flag. As part of the team’s strategy, Elliott again did not visit pit road. He restarted seventh on lap 43 and improved to sixth before coming to pit road under the green flag on lap 51 for four tires and fuel. He re-entered the track and laid down the fastest lap of the race before ending stage two in the 31st position on lap 55.
“I feel like my balance is pretty good here. Just have to put it together,” was the report from Elliott under the stage-ending caution. He took the green flag for the final stage from the 25th position on lap 60 and improved to 15th before teams began making their final pit stops of the race on lap 68. Elliott remained on the track and took over the lead on lap 81. Just three laps later, Gustafson called his driver to pit road for four fresh tires and fuel. Elliott rejoined the race in the 12th position and re-entered the top 10 with 23 laps to go. He continued to press forward and was up to seventh with four laps remaining. He gained three more positions to earn a fourth-place result when the checkered flag waved.
The result was Elliott’s fourth top-five finish at Sonoma in the Cup Series and his sixth top-five of the 2024 season. A strong points day moved Elliott up to second in the driver points standings, just 14 markers behind the leader.
“It was a normal road course race,” Elliott said. “I felt like we were on the right strategy, I just lost too much time there early in the race. I fell back a few rows and felt like our group that we were racing against were who we were probably going to be racing for the win. Fell behind there early; lost a couple of rows and just never could get it back. I’m not sure I had the pace Kyle (Larson, race winner) had, but thought we were a solid top-three to five car and that’s where we finished. We’ll try again next week.”
Start / Finish: 4 / 4
Points Standing / Total: 2nd / 547 pts. (-14)
Next Race: Sunday, June 16, Iowa Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: USA, MRN or SiriusXM
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By NAPA
Brad Sweet and the
link hidden, please login to view No. 49 team were poised to take on a busy week of High Limit Racing action, but Tuesday night’s event at Davenport Speedway in Iowa was rained out. That left two nights at I-70 Speedway in Odessa, Mo., on the schedule, and an opportunity for Sweet and the NAPA team to showcase their skills to fans and competitors alike. At the Rayce Rudeen Foundation event opener Friday night at I-70, Sweet posted the sixth-quickest time overall in qualifying with a lap of 13.768 seconds on the half-mile dirt oval. The Big Cat then dominated his heat race, taking the checkered flag and securing his spot in the FK Rod Ends Dash. With the help of his daughter Savannah, Sweet drew the third starting spot for the seven-lap dash to set the field for the evening’s feature. The NAPA driver held his ground to finish third, then lined up third for the feature. Sweet was able to pick up a spot in Friday’s main event. He crossed the line in the runner-up position.
On Saturday night, Sweet was already locked into heat race competition thanks to his podium finish on Friday. The NAPA No. 49 was second across the line after starting fourth in the heat race. Sweet kept the energy level high in Saturday’s dash and finished third. The NAPA team went on to battle hard against tough competition in the main event. After a late-race caution, Sweet spun the tires on the restart and fell back to fifth. He maintained that position when the checkered flag flew.
Despite the rain-out at Davenport, Sweet and the NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 team extended their points lead with the runner-up and top-five finishes. Sweet now leads the standings with a solid, 65-point advantage over second place. Eagle Raceway, a favorite from the 2023 season, is next on the schedule with a $55,000-to-win event.
Start / Finish:
Friday, June 7: 3 / 2
Saturday, June 8: 3 / 5
Points Standing / Total: 1st / 1,540 pts. (+65)
Next Race: Tuesday, June 11, Eagle Raceway, Eagle, Nebraska
How to Watch or Listen:
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By NAPA
Jack Wood delivered his best performance of the 2024 season on Friday afternoon at Sonoma Raceway and earned a fifth-place finish. The driver of the No. 16
link hidden, please login to view Chevrolet SS gained a position in the ARCA Menards Series West standings and now resides third in points after four events. The effort in California’s wine county marked his first top-five finish of the season and his third top-five result at Sonoma. Wood started the 200-mile showdown from the eighth position and immediately went forward at the drop of the green flag. The Loomis, Calif. driver vaulted himself into the top five on the opening lap to assert himself as a contender. The race’s first restart came on lap 10 and Wood settled into sixth position as he preserved his tires, since no tire changes were permitted during the 67-lap event.
He came to the attention of the NAPA Auto Care team for his only pit stop of the afternoon during a lap 23 caution for a chassis adjustment and fuel. He restarted seventh on lap 27 and worked his way into fourth by lap 36. He would consistently run inside the top five for the balance of the event and claimed third position on a lap 47 restart.
Over the final 10 circuits, Wood found himself in a heated battle for third and ran fourth with two laps to go when a caution flag waved to set up a one-lap overtime restart. Wood restarted fourth and took the checkered flag in fifth for his first top-10 result of his 2024 campaign.
“It definitely feels good to get a top-five today,” Wood said. “We had a real consistent NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet today and it’s nice to come out of here with a good finish. All these guys at BMR brought some good speed here. We were a little bit off of race-winning speed, but proud of the effort and feel like we executed a solid day from start to finish.”
Start / Finish: 8 / 5
Points Standing / Total: 3rd / 140 pts. (-19)
Next Race: Thursday, July 4, Irwindale Speedway
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