[ad_1]
With a resounding victory Sunday at Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Aric Almirola sent shockwaves through the NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings.
With Christopher Bell behind him, Almirola crossed the finish line on the 1.058 mile track 0.657 seconds ahead of driver Joe Gibbs Racing to win the third race of his career and give Stewart-Haas Racing his first place. in the playoffs. of the 2021 campaign.
After battling Penske team-mates Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney – who fought their own turf war shortly after the start of Stage Three – Almirola had to fend off Bell to win for the first time this season and for the first time. on a track that’s not a superspeedway.
Almirola entered Sunday’s event 27th in the Cup standings. Upon leaving New Hampshire, he is eligible to compete for the Series Championship except in the most unlikely of circumstances.
RELATED: Official Results | Updated driver ranking
“This is by far one of my favorite race tracks,” said an elated Almirola after taking the checkered flag. “I love coming to the New England area and running. I love this race track. I won this race a few years ago, and I gave it away – I lost it. And I’m so happy to win a race here with this racing team.
“It’s so good, man. We’ve been through so much, and I just passed the test. Everyone just worked so hard. … There have been so many people who have continued to support us during the crappiest year ever. Man, that makes them feel good. My pit crew did a phenomenal job on the pit route. There is no doubt that we have struggled, but guess what? We’re going to run in the playoffs.
It helped Almirola’s cause that NASCAR cut the race to eight laps of the planned 301 circuits due to darkness, a move necessitated by a rain delay that began after eight laps had been completed and the Kyle Busch’s pole car was irreparably destroyed.
Bell believed that eight more laps could have made the difference.
“I didn’t know how many laps they cut, but certainly every time I saw the board and saw that we were eight laps less, it stings, man, because I feel like I probably have a little better pace than him, and I was able to hit it, ”said Bell, who won Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race on the track.
“I know the late cars were giving him a hard time, but I was able to get to him, and it was going to be a hell of a race.”
Penske Keselowski’s teammates Joey Logano and Blaney finished third, fourth and fifth respectively, with Logano recovering from a two-lap penalty incurred during the rain delay. Stung for both circuits when a teammate worked on his car during the red flag period, Logano used two cautious free passes to his advantage.
Kevin Harvick finished sixth after winning stage one and leading a record 66 laps, the first time since May 9 at Darlington the No.4 Ford Stewart-Haas Racing driver led the field.
Ford drivers won five of the top six places, Bell in a Toyota being the only exception. Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Alex Bowman and Denny Hamlin round out the top 10.
Almirola’s victory set up a battle between Richard Childress Racing teammates Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon for 16th and final playoff spot. Both were comfortably located in the points ahead of the race, but Almirola’s victory reduced the number of non-winning playoff spots available from four to three.
Reddick currently leads Dillon by five points to the last playoff-eligible position with four regular-season events remaining.
On Lap 6, as the rain began to fall with sudden intensity, leader Kyle Busch sped into the wall of Turn 1, crushing the back of his No.18 Toyota. His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. suffered the same fate on a wet track, damaging the front and splitter of his No.19 Camry.
Hamlin sped past Busch and Truex, making slight contact with Bowman’s No.48 Chevrolet, but Hamlin had more time to react after witnessing the bad luck of his JGR teammates and escaping significant damage.
NASCAR officials were surprised how quickly the haze turned into hard rain making the track too dangerous to continue racing.
“As (race director) Tim Bermann is about to turn off the yellow, we are looking down and (Busch) is already coming off,” said Steve O’Donnell, executive vice president and chief development officer. NASCAR races.
“I have been here for several years. This is the first time I see this in terms of how quickly it has happened to us. Certainly in the mist, we have already run in the mist. The track got slippery, obviously, in a hurry, and it’s unfortunate what happened.
RELATED: Listen to O’Donnell’s Full Interview | Scott Miller explains why the race was shortened
The wreckage knocked Busch out of the race in 37th (last) place. Truex recovered to finish 12th.
Logano sustained consequential damage when debris from the track got stuck in the throttle linkage and prevented the throttle from fully opening. Because a crew member started working on the car before the red flag was raised, Logano incurred the two-lap penalty.
Notes: No.12 (Blaney) and 99 (Daniel Suarez) each had an improperly secured lug nut during post-race inspection, which will result in a fine for the respective team managers when penalties are issued later this week. No other issues were found during the inspection, validating Almirola’s victory.
[ad_2]
Source link