6/27/2020

Arnold P. Galloway, 87 Dateline: Norton, MA Arnold P. Galloway, age 87, of Norton, passed away peacefully, in the comfort of his home, surrounded by his adoring family on Saturday, June 27, 2020. He was the beloved husband of Gail L. (Walker) Galloway, to whom he was wed for sixty-one years. Born in Taunton, MA on December 4, 1932, he was a loving son of the late Percy and Laura (O’Neill) Galloway. Arnold grew up in Taunton, was a graduate of Taunton High School and attended the Pilgrim Congregational Church in Taunton. During the time of the Korean War, he proudly served his country as a member of the United States Army and was stationed in Germany. A resident of Norton for over sixty-years, Mr. Galloway was a well-known and respected self-taught businessman in town. He was the proprietor of the former Norton Shell Service Station which he opened in 1955 and later built and owned Norton Garage, which also provided towing for the Norton Police Department, Arnold’s Muffler and Brake Shop and on the side, Arnold’s Shooter Service. When not hard at work, Arnold’s favorite times by far were those spent with his cherished family, especially at their summer house on West Island. He was a member of the Angle Tree Rod and Gun Club and throughout the years received many medals and awards in shooting competitions. Mr. Galloway was also very involved in stock car racing and for many years, he built and raced stock cars at Seekonk Speedway. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his devoted children: Debora Galloway and her husband David Crowninshield of Taunton, Arnold Galloway of North Dighton, Susan Galloway and her husband Craig Brodeur of Marlborough, William Galloway and his wife Gina Woodrum of Rehoboth and Roy Galloway and his wife Crystal of Plainville. He was the dear brother of Charles Galloway of Taunton and the late Robert Galloway, Nelsie Pachett, Norma Smith and Walton Bassett. He is also survived his loving 11 grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren, as well as many nieces and nephews. Visiting hours, to which relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend, will be held on Thursday, July 2nd from 4-7 P.M at the Norton Memorial Funeral, 19 Clapp St. (Off Route 140, Taunton Ave.) Norton. A funeral service will be held at the conclusion of visitation at 7P.M. in the funeral home. Private burial will take place at a later date at the Norton Center Cemetery in Norton. In lieu of flowers, donations in Arnold’s memory may be sent to the VA Boston Healthcare Network (Please note In memory of Arnold Galloway) https://www.pay.gov/public/form/start/52253675/ To send his family a message of condolence, please visit www.nortonmemorial.com Source: Facebook

Chapin Score First Win of the Season at Madog

Winchester, NH: This past Saturday, Monadnock Speedway dodged the rain and was able to get all feature races completed.  Winners included Brian Chapin of Palmer, Ma  (NHSTRA Modifieds), Aaron Fellows of Croydon, NH  (Late Model Sportsman), Chase Curtis of Rutland, Ma  (Street Stocks), Gordon Farnum of Fitzwilliam, NH (Mini Stocks) and David Aiken pf Claremont, NH (Pure Stocks).

The first feature of the night was the Pure Stocks as David Aiken set the pace.  Aiken quickly took the lead followed by Sammy Silva and Damon Roy.   On lap five, Chris Davis moved into third setting his sights on Silva for second.  On lap ten, a caution flew for Matt Winter.  On lap ten, Davis took over second before another caution flew on lap eleven for contact between Roy and Nick Houle. On lap fourteen, Davis took the outside groove to pass Aiken for the lead. Few laps later, Roy made it back through the pack to take over third from Silva. One lap to go, Davis suffered mechanical problems and pulled into the pits as Aiken became the new leader.  At the end, it was Aiken followed by Roy, Silva, Jason LeRay and Jimmy Zellman for the top five.

Nathan Wenzel led the Mini Stocks out for their feature event. At the green, Gordon Farnum made an early challenge for the lead, but Wenzel held strong. On lap three, a caution came out as Rich Fournier made contact with Jake Puchalski.  On the restart, Wenzel continued to lead as Tim Leblanc moved into third.  On lap ten, Farnum took over the lead on the inside of Wenzel.  Five laps to go, Farnum gained a straight away lead as Leblanc pushed Wenzel up the track to take over second as Kevin Clayton followed for third.  At the checkers, it was Farnum, Leblanc, Clayton, Wenzel and Shelby Avery for the top five.

The Street Stocks rolled onto the track as Tim Wenzel led the field to the green.  On lap three, Wenzel lost the lead to Chase Curtis who took the outside groove.  Jaret Curtis ran in third. On lap ten, Kenny Thompson was blacked flag for leaking fluid.  On lap thirteen, the caution flew as Randy Rameau headed to the pits.  On the restart, Jaret took over second and put the pressure on his brother Chase. Lap eighteen, Jaret Curtis attempted the inside of Chase Curtis, but he was denied.  The two top ran hard as Wenzel sat back in third.  On the final lap, Chase Curtis held on for the win followed by Jaret Curtis, Wenzel, Hillary Renaud and Ed Lofland for the top five.

Justin Littlewood led the Late Model Sportsman to the start as Robert Hagar sat on the outside.  Aaron Fellows wasted no time to move into second and pressured Littlewood early for the lead. Lap five, Fellows took the lead. On lap ten, Fellows gained a good lead from the rest of the field as Littlewood and Hagar followed in the top three. Five laps to go, Hayden Scott started the challenge with Hagar for third.  Few laps later, Scott went under Hagar and took over the third spot. At the checkers, it was Fellows for his second victory of the season followed by Littlewood, Scott, Hagar and Willie Kuhn for the top five.

Final feature of the night was the NHSTRA Modifieds as Cameron Houle led the field to the green.  Brian Chapin, on the outside, quickly took over the lead as Ben Bryne moved into second. Lap ten, Matt Kimball attempted to pass Houle for third but was shut down. Two laps later, Kimball dive bombed to the inside of Houle for third.  Lap fourteen the first caution came out for Trevor Bleau. On the restart, Chapin continued to lead as Todd Patnode started making his way to challenge the top five.  On lap fifteen, Kimball moved to second on the inside of Byrne.  Kimball and Byrne continued to battle for the second spot as Byrne took it back with half way to go.  Lap thirty four, the caution came out for Jason Houle.  On the restart, Bleau moved into third as Chapin continued to lead.  On lap thirty seven, caution was out again for Cameron Houle.  On lap forty, the top three of Chapin, Byrne and Bleau ran tight as Rob Richardi ran in fourth.  On lap forty two, Richardi spun setting the field up for a single file restart.  On the restart, Chapin led the way to the checkered flag after a few more cautions to take the victory followed by Byrne, Brian Robie, Bleau and Solomon Brow.

This Sunday (July 5), Monadnock Speedway will host a Tri Track Modified Series special event.  The program will start at 2PM and will also include a special visit from the Pro Truck Series along with the weekly series with the exception of the Pure Stocks.  Advanced tickets are available for purchase on the speedway’s website at www.monadnockspeedway.com.

Pure Stock Finish – Erin Aiken, Damon Roy, Sammy Silva, Jason LeRay, Jimmy Zellman, Carter Chamberlain, JD Stockwell, Chris Davis, Reagan Buffum, Matt Winter, Nick Houle, Brandon Lavoie, Cory Lofland, Ryan Lawliss, Mike Douglas

Mini Stocks Finish – Gordon Farnum, Tim Leblanc, Kevin Clayton, Nathan Wenzel, Shelby Avery, Kevin McKnight, Jake Puchalski, Rich Fournier

Street Stocks Finish- Chase Curtis, Jaret Curtis, Tim Wenzel, Hillary Renaud, Ed Lofland, Mike Radzuik, Paul Barnard, Bryan Grainger, Kenny Thompson, Nathaniel Nunez, Randy Rameau, Kyle Gero, Chris Buffone

Late Model Sportsman Finish- Aaron Fellows, Justin Littlewood, Hayden Scott, Robert Hagar, Willie Kuhn, Camdyn Curtis, Cole Littlewood, Scott Beck

NHSTRA Modified Finish – Brian Chapin, Ben Byrne, Brian Robie, Trevor Bleau, Solomon Brow, Todd Patnode, Keith Carzello, JT Cloutier, Cameron Houle, Kim Rivet, Rob Richardi, Andy Major, Scott MacMichael, Zach Leone, Cory Plummer, Jason Houle, Matt Kimball, Kevin Pittsinger, Brad Zahensky, Eric Leclair, Scott Bourn

Source: Michelle Cloutier
Track Operations Manager Monadnock Speedway

Note: If your track, tour or event is not posted on this blog send your press releases and flyers to: lmodestino@hotmail.com

Dover, NH’s Wayne Helliwell Jr. (#27NH), seen here in this file photo, captured the Oxford 150 on Sunday, June 28 after then-leader Joey Polewarczyk got caught up in a late incident. (Daniel Holben photo)

Oxford, ME — Dover, NH’s Wayne Helliwell Jr. took full advantage of a late incident involving then-leader Joey Polewarczyk to snag the victory American-Canadian Tour (ACT) victory in the Oxford 150 at Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway on Sunday, June 28. It was the 13^th career point-counting ACT win for the three-time champion and continued his strong start after a runner-up in the season opener.

Helliwell was inside Hudson, NH’s Polewarczyk for the lead with seven laps to go as both were attempting to get around defending ACT Champion Rich Dubeau, who was fighting to stay on the lead lap while running in the sixth spot. With Polewarczyk going to the outside entering turn three and Helliwell looking inside, Dubeau lost grip and slid up the track into the leader.

The contact sent Polewarczyk for a spin to bring out the sixth and final caution. Helliwell inherited the top spot with several lapped cars between him and second-place D.J. Shaw, allowing him to cruise to the win as seen worldwide on Northeast Sports Network.

Prior to the late tangle, Polewarczyk had been in his own area code for much of the event. The 2014 ACT Champion started on the front row and hounded polesitter Stephen Donahue for the first 20 laps. When the race’s second caution came out on lap 20 for Walter Sutcliffe’s spin, Polewarczyk got the jump over Donahue on the restart.

As Polewarczyk ran away and hid from the field, Helliwell and Bryan Kruczek both got around Donahue as well and began going back-and-forth for the second spot. The duo swapped the position multiple times over a span of nearly 50 laps before Kruczek fell off the pace with a broken axle and eventually spun to bring out the fourth caution on lap 84.

One circuit later, Donahue and the lapped car of Tyler Tomassi got together entering turn 3, collecting Dillon Moltz as well for another yellow. Helliwell was at Polewarczyk’s door for the restart, but “Joey Pole” easily got away on the restart and maintained a steady lead during another long green-flag run.

The duo easily sliced through the rest of the field, eventually putting all but six cars at least one lap in arrears. As Polewarczyk began working on the sixth-place car of Dubeau with the laps winding down, Helliwell mustered one final charge, getting to Polwarczyk’s inside and setting up the final dramatic confrontation that put Helliwell in front for the first time.

Center Conway, NH’s Shaw, a multi-time Pro All Stars Series champion, was solid all day and ended up with a second-place finish for car owner Arnie Hill. Opening day winner Jimmy Hebert steadily worked his way forward from the 17^th starting position to end the day in third.

Polewarczyk recovered from his heartbreaking tangle to take fourth while defending ACT Rookie of the Year Ryan Kuhn of E. Bridgewater, MA rounded out the top-5. Dubeau, Moltz, Marcel J. Gravel, Dylan Payea, and rookie Derek Gluchacki finished sixth through 10^th.

The ACT Late Model Tour has a weekend off before returning to action at Groveton, NH’s Riverside Speedway on Saturday, July 11 for the Gardiner & June Leavitt Memorial 150. Post time is 6:00pm.

For more information, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.acttour.com or www.oxfordplains.com. You can also get updates on Facebook and Twitter at @ACTTour.

ACT LATE MODEL TOUR

JUNE 28, 2020

OXFORD PLAINS SPEEDWAY

OXFORD 150

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

Pos., Start Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown, Laps

1. ( 5 ) Wayne Helliwell Jr. ( 27NH ) , Dover, NH , 150 Laps

2. ( 4 ) D.J. Shaw ( 04VT ) , Center Conway, NH , 150 Laps

3. ( 17 ) Jimmy Hebert ( 58VT ) , Williamstown, VT , 150 Laps

4. ( 2 ) Joey Polewarczyk ( 97NH ) , Hudson, NH , 150 Laps

5. ( 10 ) Ryan Kuhn ( 72MA ) , E.Bridgewater, MA , 150 Laps

6. ( 9 ) Rich Dubeau ( 30NH ) , Plainfield, NH , 150 Laps

7. ( 12 ) Dillon Moltz ( 5ME ) , New Sharon, ME , 149 Laps

8. ( 8 ) Marcel J. Gravel ( 86VT ) , Wolcott, VT , 149 Laps

9. ( 14 ) Dylan Payea ( 7NH ) , Milton, VT , 149 Laps

10. ( 21 ) #Derek Gluchacki ( 03MA ) , Dartmouth, MA , 149 Laps

11. ( 13 ) Alby Ovitt ( 35NH ) , Candia, NH , 148 Laps

12. ( 11 ) Jesse Switser ( 25NH ) , W. Burke, VT , 148 Laps

13. ( 16 ) #Tom Carey III ( 5MA ) , New Salem, MA , 148 Laps

14. ( 19 ) Bobby Therrien ( 5VT ) , Hinesburg, VT , 148 Laps

15. ( 3 ) Christopher Pelkey ( 64VT ) , Graniteville, VT , 148 Laps

16. ( 15 ) Trenton Goodrow ( 31MA ) , Carver, MA , 148 Laps

17. ( 6 ) Ryan Olsen ( 61NH ) , N. Haverhill, NH , 148 Laps

18. ( 24 ) #Tyler Tomassi ( 76RI ) , W. Greenwich, MA , 147 Laps

19. ( 23 ) Matt Anderson ( 49NH ) , Andover, NH , 147 Laps

20. ( 22 ) Walter Sutcliffe ( 78CT ) , East Haven, CT , 146 Laps

21. ( 26 ) #David MacDonald ( 69ME ) , New Gloucester, ME , 141 Laps

22. ( 1 ) Stephen Donahue ( 2VT ) , Graniteville, VT , 138 Laps

23. ( 20 ) Jimmy Renfrew Jr. ( 00NH ) , Candia, NH , 132 Laps

24. ( 7 ) Bryan Kruczek ( 19NH ) , Newmarket, NH , 84 Laps

25. ( 18 ) Joey Laquerre ( 15VT ) , E. Montpelier, VT , 79 Laps

26. ( 25 ) Reilly Lanphear ( 21VT ) , Waterbury, VT , 1 Laps

Lap Leaders: Stephen Donahue, 1-20; Joey Polewarczk, 21-143; Wayne Helliwell Jr., 144-150. (2 lead changes among 3 drivers)

Time of Race: 1:08:14   Margin of Victory: 2.786 seconds

Cautions: 6 (laps 1, 20, 32, 84, 85, 143)

Heat Winners: Marcel J. Gravel, Bryan Kruczek, Rich Dubeau

Consi Winner: Trenton Goodrow

Source: American-Canadian Tour Media Director

Note: If your track, tour or event is not posted on this blog send your press releases and flyers to: lmodestino@hotmail.com

Courtesy of Auto Week

Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, takes the checkered flag after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Pocono 350 at Pocono Raceway.

Joe Gibbs driver outwits Kevin Harvick, who had beaten him the day before.

BY REID SPENCER, NASCAR WIRE SERVICE JUN 29, 2020

Denny Hamlin turned the tables on Kevin Harvick on Sunday at Pocono Raceway.

Staying out on old tires and building a lead while Harvick battled traffic late in the Pocono 350, Hamlin won the second race of the historic NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader by 3.068 seconds over Harvick, reversing the finishing order of the two drivers from a day earlier.

For the first time in its history, NASCAR  offered two Cup events on the same weekend at the same track.

Hamlin achieved several milestones with the win. He picked up his sixth victory at the 2.5-mile triangular track, tying NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon for most all-time. The triumph was the 41st of Hamlin’s career, 19th most in NASCAR history, breaking a tie with another NASCAR Hall of Famer, Mark Martin.

And a day after Harvick tied Hamlin for a series-best three wins this season, Hamlin broke the deadlock with his fourth victory of the year.

Harvick made his last pit stop on lap 105, surrendering the lead to Hamlin. Instead of pitting shortly thereafter, Hamlin, at the direction of crew chief Chris Gabehart, stayed on the track and built his advantage over Harvick from 30 seconds to more than 33 seconds, as Harvick fought through heavy race traffic.

Hamlin finally came to pit road on lap 120, handing a short-lived lead to his Joe Gibbs racing teammate, Martin Truex Jr. But Hamlin held a two-second edge over Harvick in the exchange. Hamlin took the lead for good on lap 126, when Truex made his final stop after staying out five laps longer than Hamlin had.

“I was hoping for no caution,” Hamlin said of the final 51-lap green-flag run and the winning strategy. “I knew we had the car, and I was just kind of maintaining my gap right there—didn’t want to make any mistakes like I did at Bristol and gave that win away.

“I just tried to work through the traffic the best I could, and obviously, Chris was paying attention to the strategy there and made the right call.”

Despite his second-place finish, Harvick felt he had a better setup in the No. 4 Ford than the one he drove to victory on Saturday.

“He (Hamlin) just did the opposite of what we did,” Harvick said. “We didn’t want to get caught with a caution and then wound up losing a little bit too much time in lapped traffic with all the cars that hadn’t pitted.

“He was out there running clean laps and waited till right to the very end (to pit) and wound up in front of us. I’m proud of everybody on our team. Yesterday, (strategy) won us the race, and today we finished second.”

JGR driver Erik Jones ran third, posting his best finish of the season. Chase Elliott and Aric Almirola were fourth and fifth, respectively, followed by Matt DiBenedetto, William Byron, Clint Bowyer, Alex Bowman and Truex.

Saturday’s fourth-place finisher, Sunoco rookie Christopher Bell, ran third in Stage 1 of Sunday’s event. Then his race fell apart. Bell spun out of control in the Tunnel Turn on lap 39, backed hard into the outside wall in the short chute and shortened his car by about 3 feet.Advertisement – Continue Reading Below

“I was kind of rolling out there by myself, and I had a good gap between the guy in front of me and behind me, and it just stepped out getting into turn two there,” said Bell, who retired from the race and finished 39th.

“It’s disappointing, but I’m really happy with the speed that we’ve had these last couple weeks. Obviously, yesterday here we were really fast, and we had another great car today, so these guys keep bringing really fast Rheem Camrys to the racetrack, and we’ll have good shows.”

As the race approached the end of Stage 2, Kyle Busch spun in turn two after contact from Ryan Blaney’s Ford. Busch’s No. 18 Toyota nosed into the inside wall, destroying the car. The accident kept Busch winless—and frustrated—through 15 races of the 2020 season.

“The guys did an amazing job from yesterday to today,” said Busch, who finished fifth on Saturday but never contended for the win. “I guess it proves that, if you get a little practice time in, we are going to be a force to be reckoned with, so hopefully life gets back to normal eventually.

“But we are in 2020, so it doesn’t surprise me getting crashed out of the lead. The M&M’s Camry was pretty fast today. Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and the guys did a great job. It’s just very frustrating and unfortunate. I know what happened, but it doesn’t make any sense to talk about it. It will just come across in a bad way.”

Notes: It was a better day for Chevrolet: three Camaros, all fielded by Hendrick Motorsports, finished in the top 10. In Saturday’s first leg of the unprecedented doubleheader there were no Chevys in the top 10 … Harvick increased his series lead to 52 points over 22nd-place finisher Blaney … Almirola posted his fourth straight top 10 … Kurt Busch won the 30-lap first stage wire-to-wire. Brad Keselowski won Stage 2 … The start of the race was delayed by lightning, and rain interrupted the first stage after six laps were complete

NASCAR Cup Series Race Results Pocono 350

Pocono Raceway

Long Pond, Pennsylvania

Sunday, June 28, 2020

1. (19) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 140.

2. (20) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 140.

3. (38) Erik Jones, Toyota, 140.

4. (25) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 140.

5. (18) Aric Almirola, Ford, 140.

6. (8) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 140.

7. (7) William Byron, Chevrolet, 140.

8. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 140.

9. (27) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 140.

10. (15) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 140.

11. (12) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 140.

12. (10) Matt Kenseth, Chevrolet, 140.

13. (3) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 140.

14. (2) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 140.

15. (4) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 140.

16. (21) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 140.

17. (5) Cole Custer #, Ford, 140.

18. (6) Ryan Newman, Ford, 139.

19. (24) John Hunter Nemechek #, Ford, 139.

20. (22) Bubba Wallace, Chevrolet, 139.

21. (23) Corey LaJoie, Ford, 139.

22. (9) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 139.

23. (26) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 139.

24. (36) Joey Logano, Ford, 139.

25. (1) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet, 139.

26. (28) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 139.

27. (29) Brennan Poole #, Chevrolet, 138.

28. (31) JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 138.

29. (35) Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, 137.

30. (34) James Davison, Chevrolet, 136.

31. (40) Quin Houff #, Chevrolet, 136.

32. (33) Garrett Smithley(i), Chevrolet, 136.

33. (37) Joey Gase(i), Ford, 136.

34. (32) Josh Bilicki(i), Chevrolet, 136.

35. (30) Tyler Reddick #, Chevrolet, 135.

36. (11) Chris Buescher, Ford, 135.

37. (39) BJ McLeod(i), Chevrolet, 133.

38. (16) Kyle Busch, Toyota, Accident, 74.

39. (17) Christopher Bell #, Toyota, Accident, 39.

40. (13) Michael McDowell, Ford, Accident, 15.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 122.879 mph.

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 50 Mins, 54 Secs. Margin of Victory: 3.068 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 8 for 32 laps.

Lead Changes: 12 among 8 drivers.

Lap Leaders: R. Preece 0;K. Busch 1-35;R. Blaney 36-56;K. Busch 57-58;D. Hamlin 59-76;K. Harvick 77;B. Keselowski 78-79;A. Almirola 80-83;B. Keselowski 84-94;K. Harvick 95-104;D. Hamlin 105-120;M. Truex Jr. 121-125;D. Hamlin 126-140.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Denny Hamlin 3 times for 49 laps; Kurt Busch 1 time for 35 laps; Ryan Blaney 1 time for 21 laps; Brad Keselowski 2 times for 13 laps; Kevin Harvick 2 times for 11 laps; Martin Truex Jr. 1 time for 5 laps; Aric Almirola 1 time for 4 laps; Kyle Busch 1 time for 2 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 1,12,95,4,2,21,17,19,18,41

Courtesy of Auto Week

Runner-up Ross Chastain claims the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus.

BY REID SPENCER, NASCAR WIRE SERVICE JUN 28, 2020

JARED C. TILTONGETTY IMAGES

Chase Briscoe recovered from a pit road speeding penalty and a spin with 21 laps left and picked up his fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season in Sunday’s Pocono Green 225.

In a race that went to overtime after a record ninth caution at 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway, Briscoe surrendered the lead to Ross Chastain in turn one after the final restart but reclaimed the top spot in the Tunnel Turn and finished 1.015 seconds ahead of the No. 10 Chevrolet a lap-and-a-half later.

The victory, Briscoe’s first at Pocono and the sixth of his career, left the driver of the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang halfway to his stated goal of at least eight wins this season.

“We were really not that good at the beginning. We kind of struggled and didn’t have the speed I really anticipated to have here,” Briscoe said. “Zippy (crew chief Greg Zipadelli) and the guys kept working on it, kept getting it better and better. We had the lead there, after I sped on pit road.

“I was a little worried, but, fortunately, a lot of the good cars got torn up and made it a little bit easier to get back through the field. Me and Ross, it was pretty fun. He’s one of the hardest guys to race against and pass… We’re halfway to eight, so hopefully we can keep going.”This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

In the final Xfinity Dash 4 Cash event, runner-up Chastain claimed the $100,000 bonus as the highest finisher among four eligible drivers for the second straight week—and the third straight for his team, Kaulig Racing.

But Chastain nevertheless rued his second-place result for the second straight week, especially after taking a short-lived lead from Briscoe in the two-lap sprint to the finish.

“We did everything right,” Chastain said. “Got a good push that we needed, cleared him into (turn) one. It’s tough to be upset with second, but I am. I’m so proud of Kaulig Racing… I know how lucky I am, but, man, it’s the memories we take with us, not the money.”

Leading the race on lap 69, Briscoe spun when his left rear tire went flat. But the 25-year-old from Mitchell, Indiana, kept his car off the wall and worked his way forward from 11th after the subsequent restart.

A six-car wreck on lap 53, triggered by contact between the cars of Myatt Snider and Noah Gragson, made Briscoe’s job easier by taking out the race’s dominant car, the No. 22 Team Penske Ford of Austin Cindric, who won the first stage and finished second in Stage 2. The accident also damaged the JR Motorsports cars of Gragson, Justin Allgaier and Daniel Hemric.This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

“I knew that I was getting a big push from behind,” said Snider, who escaped damage in the wreck and finished a career-best fourth. “I had a run coming on the 9 (Gragson), but I knew we were going to fall off real fast, so I started lifting up, but the guy behind me didn’t. So you can kind of see me squirreling around the whole time, and I’m trying slow down, but I just couldn’t stop.Advertisement – Continue Reading Below

“I hate that it got so many involved with it, but it ended up being a great day for us. We’re up front leading laps, and we had a chance to win there. It came down to experience for me. I’ve only had a few races with this RCR (Richard Childress Racing) car. It’s got speed. I’ve just got to get myself a little more consistent.”

Jeremy Clements ran third, his best result since winning on the Road America road course in 2017. Michael Annett came home fifth, followed by second-stage winner Allgaier (who regained a lost lap after the wreck), Brett Moffitt, Timmy Hill, Riley Herbst and Jesse Little.

Briscoe regained the series lead by three points over Gragson, who finished 22nd, one lap down.

Brandon Jones, who won Sunday morning’s NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race, didn’t make it through the first corner of the Xfinity event that followed.This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

With a tap from Austin Cindric in a three-wide situation in turn one, Jones spun off the corner and slammed into the inside wall, destroying his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

“Ultimately, you make up spots on these restarts, so we were trying to go three-wide and get them early,” Jones said. “But, obviously, you have to have a little give and take. It’s just early. It doesn’t take much when you get three-wide to get pushed around. But from my vantage point, we got hit in the back…

“We had a really good positive. We won the truck race. I had high hopes for this race, too.”Related StoryJones Takes First NASCAR Truck Win on Final Lap

Fourteen laps and two cautions later, Jones’ Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Harrison Burton wiped out at the exit of turn one in oil spilled by Brandon Brown when his engine expired. Knocked out of the race, Burton shrugged off the collision with the inside wall.

“I was racing with the 1 (Michael Annett) and felt good, and it just instantly came around,” said Burton, who has crashed out of two straight races after opening the season with a record 10 straight top 10s, including two wins. “That’s a weird place to come around. That hit looked harder than it was, so I’m all right.

“Thankful that my team built safe race cars. I’ve unfortunately tested that out twice this year. Bummer, but we’ll be back and hopefully win some more.”This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Results Pocono Green 225 Recycled by J.P. Mascaro & Sons – NASCAR Xfinity Series Race

Pocono Raceway

Long Pond, Pennsylvania

Sunday, June 28, 2020

1. (3) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 91.

2. (5) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 91.

3. (21) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 91.

4. (2) Myatt Snider, Chevrolet, 91.Advertisement – Continue Reading Below

5. (12) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 91.

6. (4) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 91.

7. (18) Brett Moffitt(i), Chevrolet, 91.

8. (34) Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, 91.

9. (24) Riley Herbst #, Toyota, 91.

10. (14) Jesse Little #, Chevrolet, 91.

11. (20) Dexter Bean, Chevrolet, 91.

12. (11) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 91.

13. (17) Ryan Vargas, Chevrolet, 91.

14. (23) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 91.

15. (32) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 91.

16. (15) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 91.

17. (19) Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, 91.

18. (29) Vinnie Miller, Chevrolet, 91.

19. (28) Kody Vanderwal #, Chevrolet, 91.

20. (16) Carson Ware, Chevrolet, 91.

21. (26) Stefan Parsons, Toyota, 91.

22. (1) Noah Gragson, Chevrolet, 90.

23. (6) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 89.

24. (35) Bayley Currey(i), Chevrolet, 78.

25. (33) Matt Mills, Chevrolet, Transmission, 73.

26. (27) Chad Finchum, Toyota, Accident, 73.

27. (36) Stephen Leicht, Toyota, Electrical, 69.

28. (8) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, Accident, 52.

29. (9) Austin Cindric, Ford, Accident, 52.

30. (31) Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet, Oil Leak, 44.

31. (30) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, Power Steering, 17.

32. (10) Harrison Burton #, Toyota, Accident, 14.

33. (22) Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, Oil Tank, 7.

34. (13) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, Accident, 4.

35. (25) Joe Graf Jr #, Chevrolet, Accident, 4.

36. (7) Brandon Jones, Toyota, Accident, 0.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 108.563 mph.

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 5 Mins, 44 Secs. Margin of Victory: 1.015 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 9 for 31 laps.

Lead Changes: 12 among 6 drivers.

Lap Leaders: N. Gragson 1-8;A. Cindric 9-16;R. Chastain 17;A. Cindric 18-20;R. Chastain 21-35;J. Allgaier 36-42;R. Chastain 43-47;J. Allgaier 48-49;R. Chastain 50-53;C. Briscoe 54-68;M. Snider 69-76;R. Chastain 77-82;C. Briscoe 83-91.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Ross Chastain 5 times for 31 laps; Chase Briscoe 2 times for 24 laps; Austin Cindric 2 times for 11 laps; Justin Allgaier 2 times for 9 laps; Noah Gragson 1 time for 8 laps; Myatt Snider 1 time for 8 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 22,10,7,21,1,98,9,18,11,8

Stage #2 Top Ten: 7,22,9,8,18,1,21,39,02,51This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io

Source: Auto Week

Holds off Sheldon Creed in a two-lap battle to open NASCAR’s tripleheader at Pocono.

BY REID SPENCER, NASCAR WIRE SERVICE JUN 28, 2020

JARED C. TILTONGETTY IMAGES

Brandon Jones held off Sheldon Creed during a fierce two-lap battle Sunday morning at Pocono Raceway and pulled away to win the rain-delayed Pocono Organics 150 at the 2.5-mile triangular track.

Jones sealed his first NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series victory when Sheldon Creed’s Chevrolet got loose in the Tunnel Turn as he and Jones were racing side by side for the lead. Jones pulled out to a comfortable advantage through turn three and arrived at the finish line with a .864-second margin over runner-up Austin Hill, who charged past Creed in the final corner.

“That was a heck of a battle,” said Jones, a full-time NASCAR Xfinity competitor who has won twice in that series. “I know it was fun to watch on TV—it was really fun for me there.”

Despite driving a Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports, whose equipment is arguably the best in the Truck Series, Jones said the expectations to win weren’t that weighty.

“It’s not really that much pressure, honestly,” Jones said. “There’s so much they provide for us. We were all on a call with him (owner Kyle Busch) last night after the Cup race. He gave us so much information that led to this win today.”This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Jones inherited the lead from teammate Christian Eckes on lap 49, when Eckes blew a right rear tire in the Tunnel Turn and smacked the outside wall. The root cause of the incident may have been earlier contact between Eckes’ Toyota and Chase Purdy’s Chevrolet on pit road.

“It sucks, for sure,” said Eckes, who was 11 laps away from winning his first race in the series. “Probably caused by me. We had a little contact on pit road. It might have created a rub—I don’t know. They said everything was clear… We could never really get track position. We finally got there and blew a tire.”

Todd Gilliland and Ben Rhodes finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Ross Chastain, Brett Moffitt, Stewart Friesen, Tyler Ankrum and Derek Kraus completed the top 10.

After the record-tying ninth caution of the race for Tim Viens’ spin in turn one, Creed led the next-to-last lap, but Jones pulled even before the trucks got back to the first corner. Jones and Creed raced side-by-side until Creed lost traction and momentum in the Tunnel Turn.

Reigning and three-time series champion Matt Crafton didn’t make it through the first corner of the first lap. Contact between the Chevrolets of Austin Wayne Self and Codie Rohrbaugh sent Rohrbaugh’s truck sliding out of control up the track into Crafton’s No. 88 Ford, knocking Crafton into the outside wall.This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Rohrbaugh and Crafton were eliminated seconds after the race began and retired in the 39th and 40th positions, respectively.

“My spotter said, ‘Three-wide, three-wide,’ and I thought I gave him enough room,” Crafton said after exiting the infield care center. Rohrbaugh “got clipped in the left rear. That’s what he was telling me inside (the care center).Advertisement – Continue Reading Below

“Then he went and got me in the left rear and spun me. Wrong place, wrong time, so move on to Kentucky.”

The field didn’t make it through the next restart lap on lap 6 either. Raphael Lessard’s No. 4 Toyota took evasive action in turn three, clipped the infield grass with his left-side tires and shot up the track into Self’s Silverado, knocking both trucks out of the race.This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

“I tried to go on the inside of the 24 (Chase Purdy), and he was kind of slow, and then (he) just kind of blocked me a little bit,” Lessard said. “And I just kind of smacked the fence there.”

On lap 12, Ty Majeski—running third after starting 19th—tried to block Grant Enfinger’s Ford on the front stretch and paid a heavy price, nosing hard into the inside SAFER barrier. Before the 15-lap first stage was over, five of the 40 trucks were out of the race.

Notes: Rescheduled from Saturday because of rain, the race was the opening leg in a first-ever NASCAR tripleheader in which all three of the top touring series race on the same track on the same day… Creed led the first 30 laps and won the first two stages wire-to-wire but didn’t lead again until he took the top spot on lap 59 of 60.This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Race Results Pocono Organics 150 to benefit Farm Aid

Pocono Raceway

Long Pond, Pennsylvania

Sunday, June 28, 2020

1. (10) Brandon Jones(i), Toyota, 60.

2. (3) Austin Hill, Toyota, 60.

3. (2) Sheldon Creed, Chevrolet, 60.

4. (8) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 60.

5. (6) Ben Rhodes, Ford, 60.

6. (16) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 60.

7. (9) Brett Moffitt, Chevrolet, 60.

8. (20) Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 60.

9. (11) Tyler Ankrum, Chevrolet, 60.

10. (13) Derek Kraus #, Toyota, 60.

11. (5) Grant Enfinger, Ford, 60.

12. (15) Tanner Gray #, Ford, 60.

13. (1) Johnny Sauter, Ford, 60.

14. (7) Zane Smith #, Chevrolet, 60.

15. (40) Parker Kligerman, Stamford, CT Chevrolet, 60.

16. (21) Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, 60.

17. (32) Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, 60.

18. (27) Spencer Davis #, Toyota, 60.

19. (30) Tyler Hill, Chevrolet, 60.

20. (33) Robby Lyons II, Chevrolet, 60.

21. (12) Chase Purdy, Chevrolet, 60.

22. (31) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 60.

23. (28) Josh Reaume, Toyota, 60.

24. (26) Korbin Forrister, Toyota, 60.

25. (24) Cory Roper, Ford, 60.

26. (38) Bryan Dauzat, Chevrolet, 60.

27. (36) Ray Ciccarelli, Chevrolet, 60.

28. (25) Jesse Iwuji, Toyota, 60.

29. (37) Tim Viens(i), Chevrolet, 59.

30. (39) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, 59.

31. (35) Clay Greenfield, Toyota, 58.

32. (34) Jennifer Jo Cobb, Chevrolet, 54.

33. (4) Christian Eckes #, Toyota, Accident, 48.

34. (22) Tate Fogleman #, Chevrolet, Accident, 34.

35. (29) Brennan Poole(i), Toyota, DVP, 23.

36. (19) Ty Majeski #, Chevrolet, Accident, 11.

37. (14) Raphael Lessard #, Toyota, Accident, 5.

38. (23) Austin Wayne Self, Chevrolet, Accident, 5.

39. (17) Codie Rohrbaugh, Chevrolet, Accident, 0.

40. (18) Matt Crafton, Ford, Accident, 0.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 94.077 mph.

Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 35 Mins, 40 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.864 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 9 for 29 laps.

Lead Changes: 8 among 5 drivers.

Lap Leaders: J. Sauter 0;S. Creed 1-30;Z. Smith # 31-32;R. Chastain(i) 33;Z. Smith # 34-38;C. Eckes # 39-48;B. Jones(i) 49-58;S. Creed 59;B. Jones(i) 60.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Sheldon Creed 2 times for 31 laps; Brandon Jones(i) 2 times for 11 laps; Christian Eckes # 1 time for 10 laps; Zane Smith # 2 times for 7 laps; Ross Chastain(i) 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 2,16,26,51,38,98,13,21,40,99

Stage #2 Top Ten: 2,18,99,52,15,26,21,23,44,11

Oxford, ME — Dover, NH’s Wayne Helliwell Jr. took full advantage of a late incident to grab his 13^th career American-Canadian Tour (ACT) victory in the Oxford 150 at Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway on Sunday, June 28. The three-time ACT champion was inside leader Joey Polewarczyk for the lead with seven laps to go when Polewarczk got tangled up with Rich Dubeau, who was fighting to stay on the lead lap while running in the sixth spot. Polewarczyk spun to bring out the caution while Helliwell inherited the top spot and cruised to the win.

Multi-time Pro All Stars Series Champion D.J. Shaw of Center Conway, NH finished second. Opening day winner Jimmy Hebert, defending Rookie of the Year Ryan Kuhn of E. Bridgewater, MA, and Polewarczyk rounded out the top-5. More information will be available in a future release.

The ACT Late Model Tour is next in action at Groveton, NH’s Riverside Speedway on Saturday, July 11 for the Gardiner & June Leavitt Memorial 150. Post time is 6:00pm.

For more information, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.acttour.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at @ACTTour.

ACT LATE MODEL TOUR

JUNE 28, 2020

OXFORD PLAINS SPEEDWAY

OXFORD 150

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

Pos., Start Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown, Laps

1. ( 5 ) Wayne Helliwell Jr. ( 27NH ) , Dover, NH , 150 Laps

2. ( 4 ) D.J. Shaw ( 04VT ) , Center Conway, NH , 150 Laps

3. ( 17 ) Jimmy Hebert ( 58VT ) , Williamstown, VT , 150 Laps

4. ( 2 ) Joey Polewarczyk ( 97NH ) , Hudson, NH , 150 Laps

5. ( 10 ) Ryan Kuhn ( 72MA ) , E.Bridgewater, MA , 150 Laps

6. ( 9 ) Rich Dubeau ( 30NH ) , Plainfield, NH , 150 Laps

7. ( 12 ) Dillon Moltz ( 5ME ) , New Sharon, ME , 149 Laps

8. ( 8 ) Marcel J. Gravel ( 86VT ) , Wolcott, VT , 149 Laps

9. ( 14 ) Dylan Payea ( 7NH ) , Milton, VT , 149 Laps

10. ( 21 ) #Derek Gluchacki ( 03MA ) , Dartmouth, MA , 149 Laps

11. ( 13 ) Alby Ovitt ( 35NH ) , Candia, NH , 148 Laps

12. ( 11 ) Jesse Switser ( 25NH ) , W. Burke, VT , 148 Laps

13. ( 16 ) #Tom Carey III ( 5MA ) , New Salem, MA , 148 Laps

14. ( 19 ) Bobby Therrien ( 5VT ) , Hinesburg, VT , 148 Laps

15. ( 3 ) Christopher Pelkey ( 64VT ) , Graniteville, VT , 148 Laps

16. ( 15 ) Trenton Goodrow ( 31MA ) , Carver, MA , 148 Laps

17. ( 6 ) Ryan Olsen ( 61NH ) , N. Haverhill, NH , 148 Laps

18. ( 24 ) #Tyler Tomassi ( 76RI ) , W. Greenwich, MA , 147 Laps

19. ( 23 ) Matt Anderson ( 49NH ) , Andover, NH , 147 Laps

20. ( 22 ) Walter Sutcliffe ( 78CT ) , East Haven, CT , 146 Laps

21. ( 26 ) #David MacDonald ( 69ME ) , New Gloucester, ME , 141 Laps

22. ( 1 ) Stephen Donahue ( 2VT ) , Graniteville, VT , 138 Laps

23. ( 20 ) Jimmy Renfrew Jr. ( 00NH ) , Candia, NH , 132 Laps

24. ( 7 ) Bryan Kruczek ( 19NH ) , Newmarket, NH , 84 Laps

25. ( 18 ) Joey Laquerre ( 15VT ) , E. Montpelier, VT , 79 Laps

26. ( 25 ) Reilly Lanphear ( 21VT ) , Waterbury, VT , 1 Laps

Lap Leaders: Stephen Donahue, 1-20; Joey Polewarczk, 21-143; Wayne Helliwell Jr., 144-150. (2 lead changes among 3 drivers)

Time of Race: 1:08:14   Margin of Victory: 2.786 seconds

Cautions: 6 (laps 1, 20, 32, 84, 85, 143)

Heat Winners: Marcel J. Gravel, Bryan Kruczek, Rich Dubeau

Consi Winner: Trenton Goodrow

Source: American-Canadian Tour Media Director

By Gary Dutton

            CLAREMONT, N.H.- Kyle Welch stormed past some stout competition Friday to win the Maurice Trailer Country Modified main event at Claremont Motorsports Park. It was the open-wheel series’ first event of the summer at the Thrasher Road speedplant.

            Street Stock ace Dave Greenslit and Pure Stock king Kodi Sabins each earned another victory lap at the June 26 event, while Dustin Thibodeau scored his first career victory in the night’s 20-lap Six Shooter feature.

            Week four in the pandemic-shortened season was, as the first three, a good one, as promoter Mike Parks guided the five-division, 70-plus-car event into the books in two and one-half hours.

            Defending speedway Sportsman Modified champ Brian Robie and potent Grantham wheelsman Mike Willis won the open-wheel heats, with the dynamic duo then leading the ground-pounders to battle in the night’s 35-lap main event.

            Willis blasted to the lead at the drop of the green, with Welch hooking onto his bumper to claim second. Three laps later, it was Robie holding the deuce and immediately going to work in the low groove below Willis.

            The first of three caution flags waved on lap ten, when Robie looped in turn four while bidding for the lead. The restart brought Welch to Willis’s side where, three laps later, he rocketed into the lead from the outside line, then holding Willis in his shadow to score the victory 22 laps later.

            Robie marched back through the field to begin his title defense with a strong third-place showing. Bay Stater Ben Byrne, solid all night, finished fourth, and Walt Hammond came home fifth.

            Dave Greenslit made easy work of winning his third R.E. Hinkley Oil Company Street Stock feature of the summer. The hometown hot shoe outran first Briana Akusis and then Joe Tetreault most the way, as Ascutney powerhouse Chris Riendeau put on a show of his town not far behind.

            Wheeling the Robbie Streeter ride, Riendeau claimed third on lap 15, then rode the low line to take second from the speedy Tetreault with three circuits to go. Randy Town got up for fourth, with Akusis completing her strong night’s work in fifth.

            Bruce Adams led the first 16 laps of the LaValley Building Supply Pure Stock feature, with Kodi Sabins then taking over on a restart and quickly leaving the field far behind as he blasted to his third win of the young season.

            Dylan Adams, on a rail all night, earned the runner-up hardware behind Sabins, with Green Mountain racer Robert Shaw third, Bruce Adams fourth, and rookie whiz Zach Richardson fifth on the night.

            Rookie Dustin Thibodeau led all the way to earn his first career win far ahead of defending Six Shooter champion Jeremy Blood. Ryan Carmen claimed the three-spot, Todd Maguira was fourth, and Ricky Melcher came home fifth.

            Bay State pilot Luke LeBrun outran a strong 20-car field in the night’s 25-lap NELCAR Legends feature. Jake Johnson was second, with Shaun Buffington third under the flags. The victory was LeBrun’s second of the series’ 2020 season.

Next Friday, July 3, Claremont Motorsports Park will host one of the area’s only aerial fireworks displays, with big time action on the track too, as the Granite State Pro Stock Series comes back to town to battle for 100 exciting green-flag laps. Time trials for this special holiday weekend event will begin at 7:15 p.m.

JUNE 26 TOP TENS:

SPORTSMAN MODIFIED: Kyle Welch, Mike Willis, Brian Robie, Ben Byrne, Walt Hammond, Russ Hersey, Kimmy Rivet, Stu McCormick, Cameron Houle, Cory Plummer.

STREET STOCK: Dave Greenslit, Chris Riendeau, Joe Tetreault, Randy Town, Briana Akusis, Kyle Buck, Cody Schoolcraft, Chris Emerson, Kenny Thompson, Raven Streeter.

PURE STOCK: Kodi Sabins, Dylan Adams, Robert Shaw, Bruce Adams, Zach Richardson, Alexis Aiken, Clark Brooks, Sean Lantas, Doug Nelson, Jim Carley.

SIX SHOOTER: Dustin Thibodeau, Jeremy Blood, Ryan Carmen, Todd Maguira, Ricky Melcher, Ray Luce, Chooch Snide, Keith Martin, Dakota Lanou, Stephanie Welcome.

Photo Credits Miss Ems Photos

Mike Parks/President Granite State Pro Stock Series/

  JUNE 27, 2020  AT 7:20 PM

Benefiting from a two-tire pit stop with 36 laps left, Kevin Harvick held off charging Denny Hamlin over the final green-flag run to win for the first time at Pocono Raceway.

Harvick crossed the finish line in Saturday’s Pocono Organics 325 .761 seconds ahead of Hamlin to post his third victory of the season – tying Hamlin for the NASCAR Cup Series lead – and the 52nd of his career, 12th most all-time.

“We weren’t where we needed to be to start the race and lost a bunch of track position, but we came back and made some great strategy calls to get in clean air and get out front and make some good laps,” said Harvick, who led the final 17 laps after pit stops were complete. “It’s great to finally check Pocono off the list.

On Lap 94, Harvick entered the pits behind Aric Almirola, but with a two-tire stop, he swapped positions with his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate, who needed four tires on the same stop. After pit stops cycled out, Harvick had the lead, Hamlin was second, and Almirola was far behind in third.

After the flip-flop of positions on pit road, Harvick was confident the two-tire strategy would pay dividends.

“I knew when we came out of the pits, and they told me how big of a lead we had (over Almirola),” Harvick said. “I saw the 11 (Hamlin) come out of the pits, and he was in second… He caught us a little in traffic, but I knew I could be pretty patient with the gap we had.

“As I started to see everything cycle out and see with the track position we had with the fresher tires, you could kind of start to put it together in your mind as we started to run through the last stage and cars started to have to pit. Just a great call by (crew chief) Rodney Childers and all the guys up on the pit box for having the right strategy and getting us to Victory Lane.”

Though he led a race-high 61 laps and won the second stage, Almirola rolled across the stripe in third, 15.224 seconds behind Harvick’s No. 4 Ford.
“We opted to score a lot of points (in the stages), and that probably hurt us on strategy a little bit, but I’m really proud of Buga (crew chief Mike Bugarewicz) and these (crew) guys,” said Almirola, who also finished third last Sunday at Talladega.

“They’ve been bringing some awesome race cars. I felt like we were tit-for-tat there with the 4 (Harvick) when we were on older tires and in clean air… We’re trying to keep the momentum going-three top fives in a row. I’m really proud of my race team.”

Even though his car picked up a severe vibration in the late going, Hamlin whittled Harvick’s lead from more than two seconds to less than .3 seconds, as Harvick worked traffic late in the 130-lap event at the 2.5-mile triangular track.

“With about 15 or 20 (laps) to go, the vibration just got really, really bad,” Hamlin said. “It still would have been tough to pass. Even though we got there, it would have been tough to get around him.”

Sunoco rookie Christopher Bell posted a career-best fourth-place finish, followed by Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. Clint Bowyer, Michael McDowell, Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher completed the top 10.

Cup drivers will race 350 miles at Pocono on Sunday in the same cars they used on Saturday-with the exception of those needing backups because of damage. The Pocono 350 will be the final event in an unprecedented tripleheader, with the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series starting the action in the rain-postponed Pocono Organics 150 at 9:30 a.m. ET.

The Pocono Green 225 NASCAR Xfinity Series race will follow at 12:30 p.m., followed by the Cup event at 4 p.m. Never before have all three of NASCAR’s top touring series raced at the same track on the same day. All three races will be broadcast on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

With the starting order for Sunday’s Cup race determined by inverting the top 20 finishers from Saturday, Ryan Preece will start on the pole, and Harvick will take the green from 20th.

Source: NASCAR Wire Service

• Source: By Alex Hall New Hampshire Union Leader
• Jun 25, 2020 

In the largest fan event in New England since the onset of COVID-19, about 19,000 will be able to fill reserved seating for the Foxwoods Resort Casino NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Aug. 2.

Gov. Chris Sununu announced during his news conference Thursday that the Loudon speedway can operate up to 35% capacity in the grandstands for the race.

“We will place people on this property as safe as we can,” NHMS Executive Vice President and General Manager David McGrath said during a media teleconference call Thursday. “As we look at things and things start to shake out, that (allowed percentage) is kind of what will be our guiding light as to how we do that.

“We feel that with enough spatial distance between people and between groups that don’t know one another, it will be a challenge to accommodate but we can get the job done and make sure that we position people safely in the grandstands.”

The track’s website states it has a seating capacity of 76,000.

As of Thursday afternoon, McGrath said a little more than 12,000 tickets had been sold for the race. Residents of any state can attend.

Both McGrath and Sununu said it will be a one-day event and camping will not be allowed.

“It’s important to the state, it’s important to our company and race fans around the Northeast,” McGrath said of the race. “We’re excited.”

Up to 5,000 fans were permitted at the NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on Monday.

NHMS’ safety protocols for the Loudon race will include social-distancing in the grandstands and concession lines, enhanced cleaning and sanitation on frequently touched surfaces and high-traffic public areas, adding hand sanitizer stations and limiting the number of guests in the suites. Infield admission will be limited to race team and operational personnel.

Sununu said fans attending the race will not be required to wear masks but are encouraged to do so. All employees will wear masks, he said.

“This won’t be a situation where there will be a lot of outbreak,” Sununu said.

Among those excited to hear Thursday’s news was Nelly Roache of Northfield, who has been coming to the Cup Series races at NHMS for 15 years. She attends with husband Jason and children Ashlee, 14, and Jocelyn, 16.

“We’ve been watching on TV but it definitely hasn’t been the same watching with no fans screaming in the background and stuff. It’s exciting for us to see it’s coming back,” said Nelly, a fan of seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson, who is retiring after this year.

Those who purchased tickets to the race for its original July 19 date will receive a 120% credit that they can use toward a ticket for the Aug. 2 race or receive a full refund. Other exchange offers are also available.

Free parking will be available in the S1, S2, S3 and S9 lots on the grounds. Bath houses will be closed and the trams will not run.

Fans can bring in food and unopened drinks in a soft-sided, clear bag that is no larger than 14-by-14-by-14 inches. Standard coolers will be prohibited. Cash will not be accepted at the event. Fans can make purchases on site via credit or debit card or Apple Pay.

Union Leader staff reporter Kevin Landrigan contributed to this story.