Auto Racing Digest

BRISTOL, Tenn. — How appropriate.

On a day where tire management was the essential element in a NASCAR Cup Series race, three veterans swept the podium positions, with Denny Hamlin winning Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

In a race that produced 54 lead changes—a record for Cup Series short tracks—Hamlin lost the lead briefly to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the closing laps but regained it in traffic and beat Truex to the finish line by 1.083 seconds.

In a return to concrete after three straight spring races on dirt, Hamlin won his second straight race at the 0.533-mile speedway and his fourth overall, second most among active drivers to Kyle Busch’s eight.

The victory was the 52nd of Hamlin’s career, 13th all-time, and his first this season.

But the story was the tires and the mysterious way they behaved in a race that saw the track start to eat through to the cords 45 laps into a green-flag run.

Goodyear brought the same tire that ran without issues in last fall’s Night Race, but on Sunday, the concrete surface did not take rubber. Instead, marbles (small balls of rubber from degraded tires) accumulated high in the corners, making the top of the track untenable.

There were two variables that might have helped to account for the tire issues. The temperature was roughly 10-15 degrees cooler than it was for last year’s Night Race, which was run on Sept. 16.

NASCAR also opted for a different resin the bottom lane from the PJ1 traction compound previously in use.

Whatever the cause, with his short-track background, Hamlin was best equipped to deal with the surprising situation.

“That's what I grew up here doing in the short tracks in the Mid Atlantic, South Boston (Va.), Martinsville,” said Hamlin, who grew up in Chesterfield, Va. “Once it became a tire-management race, I really liked our chances.

“Obviously, the veteran in Martin, he knew how to do it as well. We just had a great car, great team. The pit crew just did a phenomenal job all day. Can't say enough about them… Man, it feels so good to win in Bristol.”

Truex passed Hamlin for the lead in traffic on Lap 483 but surrendered the top spot to the race winner one lap later, as the teammates worked around slower cars. Truex’s tires gave up the ghost on the last few circuits, as Hamlin pulled away.

“Apparently, that's what I needed to have happen here at Bristol to have a shot at winning—I guess this tire management thing fit into my wheelhouse here at Bristol,” Truex said.

“Man, the difference was just coming out of the pits so far behind Denny (after green-flag pit stops during the final run). I had to use mine up more on the last run. The last four, five laps of the race, was cord.”

Hamlin led a race-high 163 laps, as the four JGR drivers spent a combined 383 of 500 laps at the front field, with Ty Gibbs leading 137, Truex 54 and Christopher Bell 29.

Brad Keselowski, a three-time winner at the track, finished third, 7.284 seconds behind Hamlin. Hendrick Motorsports drivers Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson were fourth and fifth, respectively, as only five drivers finished on the lead lap.

The last time five or fewer drivers finished on the lead lap was the June 6, 2004 race at Dover.

John Hunter Nemechek, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, Gibbs and Bell came home sixth through 10th, respectively.

Larson and Truex leave Bristol tied for the series lead, passing defending series champion Ryan Blaney, who finished 16th.

--- Reid Spencer

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There was no shortage of chaos for the 2024 Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring and the GTP cars were at the forefront of the chaos.

Four strong contenders for podium were involved in unique incidents that revolved around leading the top class and it allowed for some parody for the four manufacturers (excluding Lamborghini).

#85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Porsche 963 (Customer)

One of the two customer Porsches had mid-race problems in its first appearance at the home of endurance racing, getting knocked out due to technical problems that resulted in the machine going behind the wall.

The entry would be the first of the GTP entries that retire prematurely and while the team may be a customer team, they definitely punch high above their weight.

After a speed driven Daytona that saw the team top a practice, JDC-Miller was running solid in their Sebring debut and were well in the hunt for a podium at points early in the race.

That may not say much given the point at which they were battling, but, it did show were the team could have been if they were to complete the full allocated race.

The JDC-Miller Porsche 963 became one of the few outliers that the German brand has had since its release of their LMDh, finishing in podiums with their other entries over the course of the past year. But, this run by JDC-Miller Motorsports showed some weakness from what has been a stelar group.

#31 Whelen Cadillac Racing (Action Express Racing)

The climax of the race came at the beginning of “The Flip,” taking out the leading and defending Sebring race winners from 2023, the #31 Whelen Cadillac Racing and Pipo Derani.

Derani bumped into the #21 AF Corse Ferrari with under five hours left to go in the race, resulting in a vicious incident that would flip the car on its roof, on top of a tire barrier.

Fortunately, Derani walked away from the carnage, but the car was far from clean.

The Action Express Racing entry had been strong all weekend, as had Cadillac, and the team did not miss a beat.

Securing pole yesterday, we knew that this team would have a entry prepared to be a force to go back-to-back at this year’s race. However, this incident was just a domino of what came after.

Post-incident saw a beaten up Cadillac being worked on by the team and boxes of debris being dumped onto the ground.

Things did not look good for the Cadillac in the garage and to no surprise it forced their hand to retire the car, but fortunately Pipo Derani was able to walk away.

#10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura

Wayne Taylor Racing saw their #10 Acura who came inches from winning a championship last season battle its way to the lead, even with an apparent oil leak which became somewhat there demise.

While cautions allowed the team to get back onto the lead lap, it was just one of the string of hiccups we saw from the different GTP teams.

The team was able to get their oil problem fixed and they had a lot of smoke coming from the exhaust of their LMDh Acura, but, it could have been a lot worse for the Konica Minolta branded team.

The issue did set the team back, putting them towards the tail end of the field but they did have a chance to work their way back towards a potential podium finish.

#6 Porsche Penske Motorsports

Porsche Penske has had a dominant start to the season and surprising the team found some speed prior to their “peak” time.

The #6 & #7 Porsche 963s for the Captain ran quite strong such as their customer partners, but, a cut tire early in hour ten for the #6 Porsche Penske took the group out of contention.

There seemed to be more problems with their rear suspension but it didn’t fix much.

The #6 had been competing for a top spot and had shown consistency until the unfortunate turn but the car kept running on track.

Nevertheless, it became the second of the four Porsches that came up with problems and took out a top contender, but the #7 stayed well in the thick of things to allow Penske to still have a shot a podium.

The 2024 Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring delivered in its usual late race chaos featuring a hard-fought pass by the #40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura to give the team its first victory in the top class since August of 2022.

Ironically the win comes from their newest addition to the family with their second Acura entry that was added this season, but, familiar faces such as Jordan Taylor, Colton Herta and Louis Deletraz help lead the team to victory.

This win ends a bit of a streak for Cadillac, winning five of the last seven races at this illustrious circuit and gives WTR their first victory at Sebring in seven years.

Outside of the GTP winners, LMP2 & GTD saw repeats from Daytona for ERA Motorsports and Winward Racing, while Jack Hawksworth gave the defending champion Vasser Sullivan GTD Pro team its first victory this season, fitting hence they were running of the few Mobil 1 50th Anniversary Gold Cars in the field.

History Making Win

There are so many things that can sum up this evening’s 12 Hour of Sebring but history-making is a perfect way to present the win for Wayne Taylor w/Andretti.

The win for starters was not an easy one.

Some of the opportunity that came for WTR to win this weekend was the incidents.

A midway technical issue caused the #85 JDC-Miller Porsche 963 to retire early but it is more about what happened following the incident.

The under five hour mark in the race proved to be a chaotic one.

The #31 Whelen Cadillac of Pipo Derani got involved in a vicious accident while leading the overall/class race, flipping on its roof on top of a tire barrier which resulted in the team retiring from the race.

This would be the falling of dominoes in place for a winner to emerge like WTR, who hadn’t been overly strong leading into the weekend.

The #6 Porsche Penske 963 cutting a tire and causing somewhat self-inflicted damage with the #66 Gradient Racing Acura of Katherine Legge allowed for another strong contender to fall down the grid.

Even WTR wasn’t safe from Sebring, with oil leakage causing setbacks for the blue #10 Konica Minolta entry for Wayne Taylor.

Outside of the incidents that open the door for manufacturers and teams, the battle to take over the lead from a dominating #01 Cadillac of Sebastien Bourdais in what may be the team’s final run with the car at this track was stellar.

The final few minutes saw a load of traffic (15 cars according to the broadcast) that allowed for Deletraz to creep up on Bourdais, giving him enough of a gap to make a move.

Both drivers would bump and scratch in the battle for the lead but that same traffic derailed Bourdais’s chances towards regain the top spot with an awkward block from GTD Pro winner Jack Hawksworth.

The win for WTR and HRD though is a massive one.

As mentioned, this is WTR first win at the circuit in seven years and their first IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship win in the top class since 2022.

For Acura, they have now etched their name in the side of history, giving the brand its first ever win at the circuit while HRD wins it second win, first since 2016.

WTR checked off a lot of boxes and for an Acura entry from the team that is only in its second race to win at one of the most difficult tracks is astonishing.

Coming off a 2023 season that came close to the team winning a title, even without a win, maybe this could be the momentum WTR needed to kickstart a campaign back to the top of the sport for 2024.

Sebring Standouts

Sebring is the first true test for the season for IMSA.

While Daytona is the kickstart of the campaign, Sebring brings the sport back to its roots and kicks off the road course/street course slate of the schedule.

Obviously, not to discount Daytona or even Indy now in that matter, but, those two circuits are unique due them being hybrid-type courses.

Sebring gets the calendar started and it is the most challenging of the bunch.

From the rough terrain surface of the track to the challenging space for traffic, Sebring provides a unique challenge for drivers on the circuit.

Some teams really stood out this weekend on the circuit.

For starters, for the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG to go from 34th to 1st on the grid is impressive after a technical violation that snatched their GTD pole for the weekend.

The Winward machine looked as stout as they did at Daytona and did not miss a beat. Winward Racing plowed there way through the grid rather quickly and made quick of there minor inconvenience.

The #5 Proton Competition Porsche 963 also ran a solid performance this weekend, battling against its mother team in Porsche Penske for a podium spot late while also poking their head towards the top of the boards.

We also must mention the #63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini.

In the team’s first US race with IMSA, the team did have their fair share of troubles but stayed relatively clean and was able to get back on the lead lap to finish the race.

Final Thoughts

This was definitely one of the races that will be put into the history books following a drama-filled finish and day in general for the 72nd Sebring 12 Hours.

From WTR grabbing the overall top spot to the massive incident involving the #31 Whelen Cadillac Racing, this race provide a pot roast of racing.

What was incredible is the storylines of the weekend.

There were so many incredible storylines coming from each of the winning class teams that it added to this evening’s race and allowed for an exciting charge from beginning to end.

Things got pretty physical throughout the weekend and full course yellows filled the race, with twelve total yellows during the race but fortunately the final minutes were yellow free and allowed for the great conclusion.

After a month off from the season due to race cancellations, the Formula E campaign heads to South America, competing in Sao Paolo, Brazil, for the fourth round of a 16-round season.

The first three opening races of the season had some drama tied in, and with the season beginning to kick off its technical second half, we will see if Nick Cassidy can grab his fourth straight podium and keep Jaguar TCS’s consistency going.

Jaguar TCS Racing hasn’t been the only consistent team so far to kick off 2024, with Envision Racing also finding themselves in the top ten, with Robin Frijns and Sebastien Buemi both scoring P2 finishes. But Jaguar TCS has been head and shoulders above everyone else.

It will be interesting to see how things will shape up for this weekend’s Sao Paolo Showdown.

The Challenger?

Coming out of Free Practice 1, Jaguar TCS continued to assert its control across the grid, but the question will be if someone can be the blockade in the team’s run towards a dominant season.

Pascal Wherlein in Tag Heuer Porsche has put together the best finishes outside of the points leader Cassidy, but his teammate, Antonio Felix Da Costa, just hasn’t been able to find the same success.

Obviously, through three races, three different teams took a victory (Andretti, Porsche, and Jaguar), but Jaguar has just provided better finishes through Cassidy and even Evans, who has kept himself in the top ten in the first three events of the season.

There are definitely challenges for the championship leaders and drivers/teams who can run for top podium spots, such as Jake Dennis, the defending champion.

But there haven’t been enough races to see if this Jaguar TCS run can be stopped.

As the season progresses, things should start to iron themselves out to allow the aforementioned teams and others, such as Envision or McLaren, to contend, and with the break, maybe this is their chance.

Find Rhythm

This weekend for drivers will be about finding rhythm.

Following a multi-week absence, Formula E kicks off a two-race, three-week slate with two of its more intriguing circuits on the schedule, including the Tokyo Street course debut.

For drivers heading into the weekend, getting their footing will be such a key as teams prepare for a more flowing calendar the rest of the season.

Tokyo may provide the most blurry of races leading up to the event, with it being a new track on the schedule, but there is a level of optimism.

Also, with the recent announcement of a manufacturer’s championship, there is going to be more to fight for as the season rolls towards the July weekend in London.

Final Thoughts

Overall, this weekend in Sao Paolo is a great opportunity for teams and drivers to get warmed up and prepared for the upcoming races, especially Tokyo.

Coming off a break, this will be a great starting point to progress into the traveling portion of the season and allow for changes that could enhance the car’s performance leading into this slate.

Coming out of practice, Jaguar seems to be the top team again, which is no surprise, but with it being a reset weekend, there could be some drama that may ensue.

Nevertheless, Sao Paolo should be quite intriguing for the season to kick off for the second part of the calendar.

We are back for another week of NASCAR power rankings. This time it's the post-Phoenix report.

Remember, these power rankings are based on the level the driver is racing at. They are not based on the team drivers drive for, and it's not always about results.

These rankings may look similar to the actual standings for some drivers, but they do not always reflect the points tally. With that being said, here are our top-16 power rankings after Phoenix.

16th. Chase Elliott (Last Week: 12th)

After a so-so start to the year, where the Hendrick driver failed to get a top ten through three races, Phoenix looked to be a bounce-back race for Elliott. He qualified 3rd, but after struggling the entire race and coming home a season-low 19th, the HMS driver drops four spots and is at risk of not being involved at all in next week's power rankings -- unless he has a spectacular bounce back at Bristol this weekend.

15th. Bubba Wallace (Last Week: 14th)

Phoenix was another race that was hard to judge for Wallace. Of course, back-to-back top 5's at the superspeedways, and a 5th place start in Vegas -- although not finishing the race well -- garnered Wallace into 14th in the rankings. This week Wallace stayed around 14th to 20th almost the entire race. It was an average race for him, and he doesn't fall far in these rankings at all, but he will need to avoid a third straight bad result in Bristol. Wallace currently sits 14th in the standings.

14th. Kyle Busch (Last Week: 6th)

Busch suffers the second-largest drop in the rankings of everyone this week. His photo finish in Atlanta places him in the top tier, along with a decent race in Vegas. Phoenix was easily the worst race of the year for RCR and Busch, considering he finished 22nd and was never in contention for a top 10.

13th. Joey Logano (Last Week: 3rd)

Logano drops the most this week. We gave him the benefit of the doubt in the first three races just because of the pure speed he had. All three races were front row starts, and he was in contention to win each race, but the results were obviously not where they needed to be. This time around in Phoenix, Logano didn't show that same speed and finished 34th with just three points. Logano sits 30th in the standings.

12th. Christopher Bell (Last Week: Unranked)

Welcome to the list, Chris! Maybe we were a bit harsh to not have him in the top 16 before, but after this race, Bell obviously joined the list. He had the fastest car in practice, and although he didn't challenge much in the first two stages, Bell was in fact the man to beat in Phoenix. It was utter domination in the final stage for Bell. He now has two top ten's on the year and a win through four races.

11th. Brad Keselowski (Last Week: 15th)

Brad Keselowski finally had a great weekend all around. In fact, he has gotten better each week. With 33rd place finishes at Atlanta and Daytona, Keselowski got back on track in Vegas and topped that out with a 4th place in Phoenix alongside teammate Chris Buescher in 2nd. Overall this was the best weekend for RFK this year, and Keselowski moves up to just outside our top ten.

10th. Daniel Suarez (Last Week: 11th)

Suarez just slightly moves down in ranking position, in fact, because of the previously mentioned Keselowski. Once again, Suarez is still on the high of his win at Atlanta, but it's not like that's the only reason he is here. Suarez just missed out on a top ten with a 13th-place finish in Phoenix and currently sits 10th in the standings, and in our power rankings.

9th. Chase Briscoe (Last Week: 9th)

Chase Briscoe stays exactly where he was last week. The best driver in the Stewart Haas Racing camp right now is Briscoe. He has been fast at every track, even if it hasn't shown in the standings. He had the most speed in Atlanta, but an aggressive move late in the race took him out. It's safe to say Briscoe has surprised a lot of people and a 9th-place power ranking is here because of merit. He also finished 9th in Phoenix, adding another top 10 to his resume. He seems like a potential race winner this week at Bristol. Briscoe also has an average qualifying position of 10th.

8th. Martin Truex Jr (Last Week: 8th)

Yet another driver stays where he's at. MTJ is now 3rd in the standings but we don't have him higher on the list because he hasn't had that race-winning speed just yet. He has been consistent, which is why he has so many points, but a couple of 7th-place finishes don't exactly show the race-winning speed we know JGR cars to have. If Truex gets a top 5 or a win in Bristol, he will more than likely shoot up the rankings.

7th. Ty Gibbs (Last Week: 10th)

Gibbs has had a great start to the year, which was why he was 10th in last week's rankings, but Phoenix was probably the best race in his Cup career so far, and a great way to continue to build on a solid sophomore year. Gibbs dominated the first two stages and finished 3rd overall. If he continues this way, he could be a Championship Four threat.

6th. Tyler Reddick (Last Week: 13th)

Reddick had a nightmare start to the year but was one lap away from winning in Vegas. He kept that same speed with a stage one win, a second place stage two, and a top ten. Reddick is back on form and 6th is about where he should be.

5th. Ross Chastain (Last Week: 7th)

The Watermelon Man moves up a couple of spots this week. It was yet another top ten for Ross with his 6th-place finish. Chastain now has earned a top ten in three out of the first four races, also with an average finishing position of 9.5. It's only a matter of time before Chastain gets his first win of the year.

4th. William Byron (Last Week: 5th)

Willy B. also jumps up a spot. The Daytona 500 winner got points in both stages in Phoenix but slid back during the race to finish 18th. Although the finish isn't what Byron wanted, he still has been consistently fast, and unlike Chastain, his win is what puts him over Chastain in our mind.

3rd. Denny Hamlin (Last Week: 4th)

Denny racked up a couple of 3rd place finishes in the stages to grab 16 extra points this race. Like Byron, Hamlin slid down and finished 11th after a rough final stage, including a spin. Still, Hamlin has shown race-winning speed at every track, and Phoenix was no different.

2nd. Kyle Larson (Last Week: 2nd)

After dominating Las Vegas, achieving all 60 points on the table, Larson had a mildly average Phoenix, finishing 14th. He never looked to be a threat in this race, but he stays 2nd because of his great start, and the Vegas domination. Larson sits 2nd in the standings.

1st. Ryan Blaney (Last Week: 1st)

For the 2nd week running, Blaney leads our power rankings. Basically, no one in the top 5 did enough to overtake Blaney, and Ryan certainly didn't do anything to lose it. The defending NASCAR Cup champ has had a fantastic start to the year and got another top 5 in Phoenix. Blaney also leads the standings.

So, that's this week's edition of the power rankings. Each week, a new addition will be added, and we will have updated rankings based on the past race.

From the beginning of one new era for a team to the final farewell ride for a pairing, the Sebring weekend kicks off this week, featuring five IMSA sanctioned series, including two season-opening races.

Unlike last season, when IMSA & WEC shared the Sebring circuit, IMSA will be riding solo, with WEC transitioning their only US race to COTA for 2024.

But the storylines will be numerous as there are many familiar faces competing at the circuit for what will arguably be the trickiest road course event on the calendar.

Lamborghini Rollout

The debut of the Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63 in IMSA is this weekend and following a quiet WEC/racing competition debut, the Italian Bull will be charging its way into one of the schedule’s most physically tracks.

The IMSA entry will feature full-time IndyCar driver Romain Grosejan, Matteo Cairoli and Andrea Caldarelli in the car on Saturday for the team’s first run. But, what will be looked for out of the entry to make this weekend a success?

Getting laps and date would and should be top priority for the new entry. Given its lack of in-race exposure, the car has endured many questions as to how the car will handle and make it through its longest race so far.

While we know the car has speed, how will it can perform and handle traffic and what problems could be lurking obviously haven’t been discovered.

One must wonder about these ideas, but there is definite excitement surrounding this new manufacturer in the top class.

Having Lamborghini in the GTP class hopefully will bring even more parity to the sport and hopefully the team will succeed in its part-time efforts.

Can Porsche Penske Prevail

Penske is red hot!

From winning the season openers in IMSA, WEC and even IndyCar this past weekend, to grabbing pole in the first three qualifiers for NASCAR weekends, the team has found something in this dynasty era across the board.

Heading into a tough track at Sebring, Porsche Penske may have met its biggest challenge, but the team has momentum on its side to shy away from that being a problem.

For Porsche Penske, this is a track that hasn’t been favorable, with Cadillac finding success at this circuit for the past few seasons.

It very well could be the same for Chip Ganassi and Action Express Racing with their respective Cadillac entries, but Acura has a shot to be in the hunt as well.

Nevertheless, Porsche Penske has the car to be looking for its third straight sports car victory to kick off the season, and Sebring may be the place to provide that.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it will be a busy weekend at Sebring.

From the opener of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo and the Porsche Carrera Cup America to the return of the WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, all the pieces are there for this to be a stellar weekend of racing for the sport.

Wednesday's news of CGR’s split with Cadillac comes at a time of what is looked at as a busy weekend for the sport with so many races taking place at the circuit but it adds to the storylines of Sebring.

The key is to endure.

Obviously, that is more ideal than anything, but given this track’s surface and pedigree, this will be one of the more deteriorating events on the cars all season, which should provide for interesting moments throughout the race.

He had received over 600 congratulatory text messages, thousands more on social media, and a request from the NASCAR Hall of Fame for an item to display.

Yes, Rajah Caruth’s first NASCAR victory was a big deal.

On March 1, Caruth became the third Black driver to win a NASCAR national series race. He started the 200-mile Truck Series race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway from the pole and led 38 laps in an event that also featured Cup Series regulars Christopher Bell and Kyle Busch.

After Caruth celebrated his first career win on the front stretch with his parents, several of his competitors congratulated him as he drove down pit road to Victory Lane. Cup Series regular Ross Chastain came into Victory Lane to congratulate him, and Bubba Wallace - Caruth’s long-time mentor - video-called him after the race to congratulate him on his big win.

But as big of a night as it was for the 21-year-old Washington D.C. native, there was no wild party on the Las Vegas Strip for Caruth. He flew back home later that night, and almost immediately his focus turned to this Saturday’s race at Bristol.

“As a kid, you think about how that first one will feel,” Caruth said in an interview with Auto Racing Digest. “But I guess my focus is putting together a full season, honestly.

“It’s only March, and the Playoffs don’t start until August. It’s great to be locked in and be one of those 10 guys, but you still have a whole long season to go. I know some tracks are our strengths, like the mile-and-a-half tracks (such as Las Vegas), but we definitely have some of those places that I wasn’t as good at last year - and that’s where my focus lies. Obviously, you can’t win every week. But you've got to be competitive and make the most of your situation each race.

“That’s kind of where my focus is; on a week-by-week and race-by-race basis.”

Not coming from a racing family, Caruth first took an interest in racing when he saw the Disney/Pixar movie Cars as a child. He dressed up as Jimmie Johnson for Halloween in second grade and finally got to attend his first NASCAR race in person when he was 12 years old and his parents took him to the 2014 fall race at Richmond Raceway.

Like 2024 Daytona 500 winner William Byron, Caruth first began racing virtually on iRacing. His success on the simulator caught the attention of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, which allowed him to race a Legends car - his first time in a real race car- at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2019.

Caruth would continue to make his way up the NASCAR ladder in the following years, competing in late models, the ARCA Menards Series, and eventually the Truck Series and occasionally the Xfinity Series.

Away from the racetrack, Caruth’s other focus is his classes at Winston-Salem State University, where he is a senior pursuing a Motorsports Management degree. Juggling his college and racing commitments can make for a busy schedule with few moments to rest.

Perhaps fittingly, CELSIUS Energy Drink recently signed on to be a personal sponsor of Caruth.

“I’ve got a busy schedule,” Caruth said. “Early mornings, late nights and it’s important to get that little boost to get through the day."

He may have a busy schedule, but Caruth has already drawn praise from many drivers at NASCAR’s top level - including Wallace and Busch - the latter who was his teammate at Vegas and will be again this weekend at Bristol.

“It definitely means a lot because those are a lot of guys that I’ve looked up to in the last 5-10 years,” Caruth said of the Cup regulars. “I’ve gotten to know a lot of them through training with them, doing appearances with them, and competing against some of those guys. To have their respect and receive that praise means a lot.”

While Wallace’s mentorship of Caruth is well-known among NASCAR fans, some may not know about Busch’s mentorship of the rising star. While Busch can only be Caruth’s teammate for five races this season due to a rule that limits Cup Series drivers racing in NASCAR’s lower ranks, Caruth has already learned so much from him.

“It’s been really good to lean on Kyle just because he’s got over 200 wins (in NASCAR’s top three divisions),” Caruth said. “But even from our competition meetings and being around him and racing against him a little bit last year, he’s so good and he’s very smart.

“I’ve been able to pick up quite a few things over the last couple of weeks from being around him. To race against him at Bristol is going to be great. He’s got double-digit wins at that place (Busch has a whopping 22 victories at Bristol across NASCAR’s top three national series), so he’ll definitely be someone to look out for next week for sure.”

While some fans have criticized Cup drivers for competing in NASCAR’s lower divisions, Caruth absolutely loves it.

“Personally, it’s a lot of fun to race against the Cup guys,” Carruth said. “I think they should be able to do more than five races. They probably shouldn’t race in the Playoffs, but I’d prefer they’d be able to race something like 7-10 races.

“I think it makes us (Truck Series regulars) better (racing against Cup drivers). It helps the series, both Trucks and Xfinity, to have guys of that stature and caliber to compete with. It makes us truckers and Xfinity guys better because (the Cup drivers) are much more experienced. I think it’s really cool and it definitely feels great that it worked out in Las Vegas, but that won’t be the case every week. There’s a reason why they’re Cup drivers.”

Caruth will have another chance to compete against his teammate and mentor Kyle Busch this weekend as both drivers are entered in Saturday’s Weather Guard Truck race on the high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway (8 pm ET, FS1).

In an unexpected turn, Chip Ganassi Racing will be without a manufacturer following the 2024 season, with GM and the team parting ways at the end of both the WEC and IMSA seasons.

It is unclear whether this will be a departure from prototype racing for Ganassi, but it does begin to prepare a lot of questions for the longstanding team and its counter.

If things stand leading into 2025, there would only be one GTP/Hypercar entry across both series, the Whelen Engineering Cadillac by Action Express Racing, which would compete full-time in IMSA and very minimally in WEC.

Seeing the departure of Cadillac from such a huge factory-supported group as CGR is a massive blow, given the recent departure of Meyer Shank Racing from the sport last season with their Acura entry.

Fortunately, two Acuras remain on the grid here in 2024 with a two-car tandem for Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti, but losing a major tie such as Cadillac and Chip Ganassi Racing hinders the development the manufacturer has with its other program.

For Ganassi, the options for bringing on a new manufacturer are there.

The most likely would be Porsche, given the flourishing customer car program the brand has displayed. However, with Penske being the manufacturer’s factory team, the likelihood of having factory support is slim for a team like CGR.

Acura is another likely option. With the team’s Honda ties in IndyCar, there is a possibility that Acura or even a potential Honda GTP car could be in play for suitors to jump in with Ganassi.

There is potential that the team could even run other manufacturers, such as Toyota or Ford, but it is highly unlikely the two brands would be coming to play with Chip Ganassi.

Cadillac, in this situation, however, does have the ball in their court.

Even though Chip Ganassi Racing will be parting ways with the brand, Cadillac has options themselves.

For the GM-backed group, this could be a clean departure, although unlikely.

There is a potential to have Action Express Racing field a sister Cadillac GTP car in IMSA or even a full-time entry in WEC due to the CGR-Cadillac split, similar to Wayne Taylor’s addition of a second Acura following Meyer Shank’s departure.

The options are there for both parties, but it definitely makes you wonder: what may be leading to many of these shifts in the sport?

Costs are always prevalent, especially at the level of any series, but, given CGR or even Meyer Shank’s situation, those aren’t true factors for the teams.

For Chip Ganassi, this may be a performance-related move.

Cadillac has had an up-and-down rollercoaster, even with a championship IMSA season under the belt, with Chip Ganassi.

This may have been a shift needed for the team to start fresh.

Nevertheless, it will be quite interesting to see what directions each of these powerhouse brands takes leading into 2025, which is starting to look like a compelling season.

Following a season opener for WEC that saw drama and history across the board, the 2024 MotoGP season will be keeping the track warm for the second straight weekend as the series heads to Qatar.

Just a few short weeks ago, MotoGP held a pre-season test at the circuit to prepare for the upcoming campaign and race, featuring some intriguing stories to keep an eye on for the year.

But, with riders now getting into race preparation, the outlook of this opening race may be different than what we saw at the end of February.

Championship Constructor?

Coming off their second straight championship season, Ducati is arguably the constructor to beat again for the season, and with the addition of six-time world champion Marc Marquez to the fold, the team may have one of the strongest lineups they have had to date.

Coming out of testing, Aprilia and Honda should have strong runs throughout the season, and given their multiple teams that both constructors will be running, don’t be surprised to see Aprilia and Honda running towards the podium in 2024.

The big questions will come from KTM and Yamaha.

Yamaha looks to have more upside coming into the season compared to the KTM teams, even with the constructor having the smallest involvement in MotoGP. However, Yamaha may be outnumbered compared to the top three constructors.

It is so hard to deny the success of Ducati, though.

From their lineup to their performance on track, their three-team stable will be a task to handle for the others.

Welcome to the house.

For American viewers, there will be some new blood to root for this season, and it is by way of Trackhouse.

The well-known NASCAR entity Trackhouse has already made some noise in their early beginnings in MotoGP, toping time charts in the most recent test at points.

Being tied with Aprilia, the team should find some bright success this season and the potential for even a race win, but it will be a fight.

Having Miguel Oliveira will be a helpful addition to the program, bolstering his five career victories in the top series. However, it will be interesting to see what contributions Raul Fernandez will make to the program and if he can secure his first career win.

Final Thoughts

In what is shaping up to be a very busy weekend of track action across the world, the MotoGP opener should be one of the highlights of the busy calendar week.

It will be intriguing to see some of the new rider-team combos this weekend, and with some big names on new turf, some instant success will be looked for.

No question, Ducati is the favorite heading into the season. But, with teams getting their footing going to kick off the year, there is no telling what could happen this weekend.

Welcome to a new weekly segment to AutoRacingDigest.com's NASCAR coverage, our weekly Power Rankings.

Like many other sports, teams are often categorized by some form of power ranking; the same will be brought to NASCAR here. This is effectively a rank of  drivers in their current form, based on recent races as well as the entirety of the year, as if every driver was in an equal car.

A driver can be 10th in our power rankings yet 27th in the standings because the power rankings reflect the driver's performance rather than a wreck in a couple of superspeedways...

So without further ado let's get into these power rankings. With 16 drivers making the playoffs, each week we will have the top 16 drivers, as well as the previous week's ranking, season highs and lows, etc.

Honorable mention to Todd Gilliand who isn't in the top 16 but had his best start to his cup career.

16th. Austin Cindric

Cindric exits Vegas and heads to Phoenix this week 11th in the standings. While he didn't have the best time in Vegas, (29th) Cindric is lifted to this position because of his strong start to the year at the superspeedways. Cindric finished 4th in Atlanta and has 45 laps led on the year. He still isn't up to par with his Penske teammates, but it's been a better start to the year for the 3rd year driver.

15th. Brad Keselowski

The finishes haven't been there for Brad, but the speed has. Keselowski is sitting in a lowly 29th on the leaderboard, but at this point, it's been more about the speed rather than the results. Keselowski got caught up in wrecks at both superspeedways and finished 13th in Vegas. Brad is here despite his results because of the speed, and the fact a win at any of the upcoming races would not be a surprise, but he needs a good result soon.

14th. Bubba Wallace

Bubba would be much higher on this list if not for a tire issue in Vegas. It's hard to weigh Wallace's performance in Vegas because he was 14+ laps down a majority of the race. But his car did have speed, as shown by the 5th-place start after qualifying. The 23 machine has had good speed this year with back-to-back 5th places to start the year and a 5th place qualifying in Vegas. Bubba will shoot back up the list if he gets a top 10 in Phoenix this Sunday.

13th. Tyler Reddick

Here is the other 23xi driver, who basically has had the exact opposite season as Wallace. Reddick was involved in wrecks in Daytona and Atlanta but finished P2 in Vegas. Reddick was the fastest driver in the 3rd stage, but couldn't find a way around race winner Kyle Larson. This race was exactly what Reddick needed to get confidence back in the team and to start getting some points on the board.

12th. Chase Elliott

While Elliott might not have a stage win or a lot of led laps, this had been the start Elliott needed after last year. Elliott is 7th in the standings, but that is due mostly to him finishing in a decent spot every week. Elliott still doesn't have a top 10 on the year, but finishing 14th,15th, and 12th at this stage is a good start to building some confidence and speed, heading into one of his favorite tracks at Phoenix. A top 10 is needed for Elliott sooner or later though.

11th. Daniel Suarez

Suarez is mostly in this position because of his win in Atlanta, but we can't underestimate his start to the year. After a not-so-great 2023, Suarez backs up his Atlanta win with an 11th-place finish in Vegas. Suarez will be an interesting watch this year because we know this team has speed, so could he finish this regular season with more than just the one win in Atlanta?

10th. Ty Gibbs

Cracking the top 10 is Gibbs himself. Ty had a great finish to 2023, which has translated into 2024 with ease. In the first intermediate track of the year, Gibbs showed extreme speed and finished 5th, even with a gearing issue resulting in him not having 1st gear. Gibbs battled in the front all day showing great skill in just his second year. A 5th place here plus a top 10 in Atlanta, as well as the growth seen compared to this point last year puts Gibbs 10th.

9th. Chase Briscoe

The best driver in the Stewart Haas Racing camp right now is Briscoe. Chase has been fast at every track, even if it hasn't shown in the standings. Briscoe was fast in Daytona but finished an unlucky 10th. The same can be said about Atlanta where Briscoe was perhaps the fastest driver, but an aggressive move late in the race took him out. It's safe to say Briscoe has surprised a lot of people and a 9th-place power ranking is here because of merit.

8th. Martin Truex Jr.

MTJ had a very solid Vegas and perhaps 8th is a little harsh. He currently sits 3rd in the standings because of his consistency, but he never really showed race-winning speed at either superspeedway, and in Vegas, he was always good enough for a top 5 but finished 7th. We admit it's a little harsh, but a top 5 in Phoenix could shoot MTJ way up the rankings, but he hasn't had the same speed as teammate Denny Hamlin.

7th. Ross Chastain

Chastain has had a fantastic start to 2024, with race-winning speed everywhere he and his team have gone. Daytona didn't go to plan, but he had real speed in Atlanta. He was a lap down late in the final stage, yet finished 7th. If the race had gone longer, Chastain might have stolen victory from his teammate. Then, that same speed was shown in Vegas with a 4th place finish. Ross is 5th in the standings at the moment.

6th. Kyle Busch

Busch had victory in Atlanta stolen from him, even though he finished 3rd. With that being said, Busch had great speed in Atlanta as well as Daytona, yet struggled a bit in Vegas. He still is this high in the rankings because compared to his teammate Austin Dillon, Busch is currently on another level right now, and being 6th in the standings is backing that up.

5th. William Byron

The Daytona 500 winner enters this week 5th in the power rankings. Like Wallace, it's hard to judge Byron's performance due to a large trash bag attached to his grille, effectively ending his race, yet he still finished 10th. Like MTJ, maybe this is a bit harsh having him this low, but since it's so early in the season, but a superspeedway win doesn't weigh as much compared to other track disciplines.

4th. Denny Hamlin

Hamlin is 10th in the standings and might have gone a little under the radar to start the year but it would be naive to have him any lower than this. Hamlin ran well in Daytona and Atlanta but doesn't have the results to show for it. In terms of his race in Vegas, he handled the poor finishes well by grabbing 8th place. The fact that Hamlin is still in the top 10, and has 41 laps led, plus the obvious speed he has, the 4th place power ranking can be argued, but it's still deserved. Denny can't afford to have a bad run of races, but don't be surprised when Denny strings together a bunch of top 10s going forward.

3rd. Joey Logano

Here comes the controversial pick ... or is it? Why would it be? We understand Logano is a Penske-worse 24th in the standings, but this is why it's important to watch races as well as the whole weekend rather than looking at results each Sunday. Logano has started on the front row every race, which is an incredible feat. We know about the glove issue, but still, two poles through three races. Logano was wrecked in Daytona, as well as Atlanta. He didn't have his pole position speed in the race in Vegas, but still got a top 10. If Joey had finished those first two races he would probably be the number one driver at this point.

2nd. Kyle Larson

The 2021 champion and multi-talented driver is second on the list after a dominating performance in Vegas. Larson swept the stages in Vegas, achieved all 60 points he could have got in Vegas, and was never really challenged until the end of long runs by Reddick. Larson had a bad Atlanta, and a solid Daytona, but his race in Vegas heavily outweighs everything else at this point, but he still isn't No. 1 despite being first in the standings.

1st. Ryan Blaney

What a surprise! The 2023 is the No. 1 driver after three races, except it kind of is a surprise. Despite winning the title in 2023, Blaney was never a favorite, but his super speed plus consistency puts him No. 1 at this point. Blaney had a forgettable Daytona but had a fantastic Atlanta even though he finished 2nd by 0.003 seconds. He was 3rd best in Vegas, but two top 5s at this point are really good for the Penske driver. He has 43 laps led on the year and 110 points after three races. Both Blaney and Larson are interchangeable at this point, but Blaney has been better through three races. If it wasn't for a late wreck in Daytona, Blaney could have 130 or so points at this point.

So, that's this week's edition of the power ranks. Each week a new addition will be added, and we will have updated ranks based on the past race.

It has been a busy week in regard to news surrounding IMSA and sportscar racing.

From familiar drivers earning seats both in and out of the series to the return of the VP Sportscar Challenge this weekend in its debut on the streets of St. Petersburg, the state of Florida is heating up for jam-packed back-to-back weekends.

VP Sportscar Challenge Preview

Following an exciting season opener at Daytona, the VP Sportscar Challenge heads back into Florida for its second and final race weekend in the Sunshine State, featuring a 24-car field that is supporting the IndyCar season opener.

This weekend marks the first time that prototype cars have hit the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., and with the track being quite tricky, especially in the early sector of the circuit, it should create quite a challenge for these drivers.

Looking across the board, there are some notable entries in both classes coming back into Florida for the weekend.

Rick Ware Racing with Ave Motorsports has made a change in their driver, moving away from Cody Ware and welcoming in Ryan Phinny, who will be driving their P3 entry for the remainder of the season.

Forte Racing, a regular in the GTD class in the WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, will be fielding their P3 #77 entry this weekend, while Jagger Jones will have hometown team support with FastMD Racing with Remstar, a group based out of Odessa, Fla., an hour north of St. Petersburg.

The only true hometown driver this weekend comes in the form of Angus Rogers with KMW Motorsports.

The Sarasota native will have a home field advantage if you will, being only an hour away from the circuit.

The GSX class will see 16 entries of the 24 scheduled to compete this weekend, with some other in-state teams fielding some intriguing entries, including Kohr Motorsports, which took the opening race of the season with 17-year-old Luca Mars behind the wheel.

Practice and qualifying open up the afternoon today, followed by a two-race Saturday for the series mixed in with all the other IndyCar and IndyNXT racing going on.

With the sizeable field that this is, this first race in St. Pete should provide for some complex racing, and drivers will need to stay clean if they want to cross the finish line by the end of the day.

HSR Prototype Preview

Just south of St. Pete lies the HSR opening weekend for the series, with their Spring Fling event leading into the IMSA 12-hour spectacle.

Joining the HSR calendar for the season beginning in Sebring next week is the return of the Prototype Challenge, a former IMSA series that would be replaced by the VP Sportscar Challenge.

The series, which is set to feature modern and more retired LMP3 entries, is set to support a handful of HSR event weekends, running 45-minute races.

For the opening weekend, given that many of the LMP3s are in St. Pete, there is a smaller field for the opening races of the season, currently sitting at three entries. But, hopefully, there will be more of an influx of entries, especially modern ones who are currently competing in IMSA, joining the fray.

While this series is not an IMSA-sanctioned event, there will definitely be some solid racing once the series approaches full strength, and it should provide a great tool for P3 teams in the Sportscar Challenge series to use on lull times in the season.

New Drivers

There has been no shortage of driver announcements this week leading up to St. Pete, Sebring, and even some of the other notable road course events, in the case of COTA for NASCAR.

The first of the driver announcements came in the form of defending GTD Pro champion Jack Hawksworth, who will be behind the wheel of the #1 Tricon Garage entry at the Truck Series COTA race.

For Hawksworth, this will be only his second ever NASCAR race, competing in the Xfinity Series back in 2019 at Mid-Ohio.

Following that announcement, it was also confirmed by Bob Pockrass that Ed Jones would be jumping into an Xfinity ride for the first time.

Jones, who finished three times on the podium in IndyCar for Dale Coyne Racing, returns to Circuit of the Americas following a Truck Series effort last season with Youngs Motorsports.

Speaking of Dale Coyne Racing, they too made some driver announcements this week, the final team to announce their season plans.

Colin Braun, the former Meyer Shank Racing GTP driver and current Crowdstrike Racing by APR LMP2 driver in IMSA, will be hopping into an IndyCar ride in the #51 entry, which is partially owned in conjunction with Rick Ware Racing.

Nolan Siegel will also be joining the fray, entering the Indy 500 and a handful of other races this season, while Jack Harvey will sign on to run most of the duties in the team’s sister car.

Braun, Siegel, and Harvey getting rides with DCR comes as no surprise given the recent tests they have run with the team.

Sticking with IndyCar, Callum Ilott is getting his shot back in an open-wheel car following a departure from Juncos Hollinger, filling in for David Malukas this weekend.

Ilott, who is competing full-time for JOTA in the WEC, is arguably earning his best IndyCar opportunity, which may lead to more to come in the future for the young prospect.

In regard to next weekend, there will be a few notable names coming over to compete as part of Sebring weekend.

Jesse Love, the driver of the #2 Richard Childress Chevy Xfinity entry, will be jumping into a Mazda MX-5 Cup car, while Ernie Francis Jr., known for his time in SRX and Trans-Am, will be competing in next weekend’s Lamborghini Super Trofeo opener at the circuit.

Close, but no cigar.

How close was the 0.003-second finish between the No. 99 Chevrolet of Daniel Suarez and the No. 12 Ford of Ryan Blaney this past Sunday?

Probably the length of a cigar -- or maybe just the butt, it was THAT close of a finish.

The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion came up short by just a few inches in Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Blaney finished second in a close three-car finish with winner Daniel Suarez and third-place finisher Kyle Busch that was the third-closest finish in Cup Series history.

Blaney, who is a strong contender to reach victory lane this Sunday in Las Vegas, led 31 laps in the wild race at Atlanta, that featured a track record 48 lead changes between 14 different drivers. Blaney had the lead as the cars raced into the backstretch on the final lap, but Busch and Suarez made their moves, creating an epic three-car race to the finish that made the race an instant classic.

“I’m sure it was close,” Blaney said. “I’ve won some by a few inches and lost some by a few inches. It was a fun night, fun racing. I didn’t think they’d get that big of a run on me. I thought I did a good job of getting close off of (turn) two to where I kind of had some of their energy.

"I guess they just got hooked up super good and got a massive run, and I can’t block both lanes. It was fun racing, but just a couple inches short. I’m happy for Daniel, though. That was fun racing him and Kyle. That was fun.”

But was there anything Blaney could have done differently to win the race?

“No, not at the finish line,” Blaney said. “I thought I laid back enough in (Turns) 1 and 2 to kind of not let both lanes get that big of a run. I did that the three laps before the end and I was able to kind of manage it fairly well, but they just got both lanes shoving super hard. I just chose the bottom and the safest place to be.

Blaney left Atlanta fifth in the Cup Series standings. He now heads to Las Vegas, where he has a career-best finish of third.

“What a cool finish,” Blaney said of the Atlanta race.

Can lightning strike twice at Las Vegas, which is a virtual clone of Atlanta Motor Speedway at 1.5 miles in length? For all we know, Sunday in Sin City could be the start of Blaney's true defense of last year's championship, as well as the first step towards eventually making it two Cup crowns in a row.

Blaney's teammate, Joey Logano, secured his 30th-career pole award Saturday for Sunday's Pennzoil 400 for the second consecutive year. It also marks Logano's third-career pole at Las Vegas, tying him with Kasey Kahne for the most all-time at the 1.5-mile oval.

Meanwhile, Blaney's other teammate, Austin Cindric, will start from the third position, while Blaney will start the 400-mile event from the 15th position in the No. 12 Menards/Pennzoil Ford Mustang.

We’re going, Speedway Ridin’!

What better place to announce the tracks for the 2024 SuperMotocross World Championship Playoff rounds than at Daytona International Speedway? Daytona as the official halfway mark of the Supercross season is where historically the cream starts to rise to the top. With the parity of the 2024 season, we’ll leave Saturday evening less sure of the front runners than ever before.

After a successful first season, the SuperMotocross Playoffs are back! During Saturday night’s broadcast of Daytona Supercross, Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart announced the three venues for the upcoming playoffs.

Last season saw two of the young phenoms of the sport take home the grand prize in both classes. Jett Lawrence won the 450 SMX World Championship and the million-dollar payday that came with it. Then, Haiden Deegan, also in his 250 rookie year, secured the championship after trailing going into the finale at Los Angeles Coliseum.

“Last year, we created a completely new off-road motorcycle racing playoff series that combined both disciplines of indoor stadium racing (Supercross) and outdoor motocross racing (Pro Motocross) that was fully embraced by the teams, athletes, industry, and fans,” said Dave Prater, Vice President of Supercross, Feld Motor Sports, Inc.

“Collectively, more than 110,000 fans from all over the world made their way here to attend the inaugural three-round SMX World Championship Playoffs and Final. And for the first time in the sport’s history, witnessed the crowning of a true World Champion. The SuperMotocross World Championship is where the world comes to race.”

Here is how this year's playoffs are broken down:

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Round 1: zMax Dragway Charlotte, North Carolina

We start, like last year, at zMax Dragway in Charlotte, N.C. The track was the hardest for riders to adjust to since this was the first time Supercross and Motocross elements were incorporated together, most riders entered the race with their suspension too stiff and many paid the price, notably Jett Lawrence who lost a substantial amount of the lead that he built from his perfect Motocross season.

Tom Vialle leads Jo Shimoda during a race at zMax Dragway. Photo: Align Media.

While zMax was challenging, fans loved the racing, as it was a near-sellout even with the threat of rain.

“Last year, we transformed a four-lane drag strip into the ultimate off-road playground and fans were treated to a full day of action-packed racing at the opening round of the inaugural SMX World Championships,” said Greg Walter, executive vice president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway. “Building on that experience, we’re excited to once again partner with Feld Motor Sports to bring together the top Supercross and Motocross riders from around the world at zMAX Dragway to put on a high-flying, white-knuckled show for the fans.”

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Round 2: Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas

The riders head south to the Lonestar State to race at Texas Motor Speedway. While Texas may have lost IndyCar for the 2024 season, the track and local fans will experience outdoor SMX for the first time. This year, Round 7 of Supercross at AT&T Stadium saw record crowds in nearby Arlington, Texas.

“All of us at Texas Motor Speedway are thrilled to have been chosen to host Round 2 of the 2024 SuperMotocross World Championship Playoffs and we look forward to welcoming an entirely new and energetic group of race fans, from across the country and around the world, to our world-class facility,” said Texas Motor Speedway Executive Vice President & General Manager Mark Faber. “Supercross and motocross fans in the Fort Worth/Dallas metroplex have proven for years how much they love their sport so we look forward to proving to them how much we appreciate them coming to Texas Motor Speedway.”

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Round 3: The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada

Then it’s time for the riders to put it all on the line as they had to the notorious The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. While zMax is known as the Bellagio of drag racing “The Strip” is its granddaddy where four-wide racing was first featured.

"The pinnacle of two-wheel racing is making its return to Las Vegas, and we’re thrilled to crown the ultimate champion at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, surrounded by the passionate fans of Supercross and Motocross," said Chris Powell, Las Vegas Motor Speedway President. "In recent years, Las Vegas has emerged as the ultimate sports hub, making it fitting to include the SuperMotocross World Championship Final on the list of prestigious events hosted here."

With all three venues being Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) facilities, the events should run uniformly. And with each track being built on a large outdoor speedway or drag strip, the track builders have the freedom to let their imaginations run wild.

Since camping is heavily featured at all three locations, the camping aspect of a motocross weekend can be incorporated in all three rounds this year instead of just the first two.

The SuperMotocross World Championship Playoffs will include the top 20 riders for 250 and 450 racing with combined Supercross and Pro Motocross points. With the double features of Motocross, the outdoor season’s numbers are inflated over Supercross wins.

After 17 Supercross rounds and 11 Motocross rounds, the final three playoff rounds are the ultimate battle of attrition as riders have to hit an internal next gear to make it through the high stakes and towards the offseason.

All rounds of the SMX season and playoffs are streamed on Peacock.

Editor's note: Due to technical difficulties, this story was delayed in being posted. We apologize for the delay.

What a finish! A 3-wide photo finish at the line with 0.003 seconds separating race winner Daniel Suarez from second place finisher Ryan Blaney, with 3rd place Kyle Busch slightly behind. This was perhaps one of the best NASCAR races of the decade, let alone finishes of the decade.

This was the 5th race at Atlanta with the new superspeedway configuration, being the 3rd spring race. Last time out in July, William Byron won a rain-shortened night race.

This time around, Atlanta returned to a daytime race, where the sunset caused some visibility issues heading into turn one during the latter stages of the race. Vision issues plus the lack of grip during the entire race, mixed in with track temperature changes and a superspeedway package lead you to this!

Let's break down this race, a chaotic exciting mess!

Three-Wide Photo Finish

This has to be the main talking point from Atlanta. Videos from fans in the stands have gone viral due to the exciting photo finish, which became the third-closest finish in NASCAR history.

Heading into turn three off the back straightaway Blaney had the lead but had too big of a gap behind him, therefore losing speed compared to both Busch and Suarez on the higher lanes. Luckily for Blaney, Bubba Wallace caught up to his bumper during turn three, and if there wasn't a double line rule, Wallace may have made it four wide on the bottom like we saw earlier in the day.

So Blaney got that push but Wallace lost the air behind, so Blaney would lose his help heading to the line. It became a three-horse race with every driver on their own. Heading to the line we saw Suarez side draft Busch right before the finish, which in the end might have been the race-winning move.

It's even more impressive that the three drivers held a clean line from turn 3 all the way to the finish line.

All three drivers had virtually the same thing to say about the clean finish.

Race winner Daniel Suarez said, "Every time you get to win races it's special. But to win in this fashion, this close, with two other great drivers is quite special."

You could imagine the race winner would have great things to say but even the two unfortunate drivers Blaney and Busch still had positive things to say about their competitors and the finish.

Said Blaney, "I can't complain. I've won them by very, very little, too, so I can't complain too much when I lose them by that much."

Added Busch, "I'm really proud of everybody at RCR, it's good to see Daniel get a win, being Chevy team partners, when you do have alliances and they can work. I was hoping to get a win!"

So, even with a heartbreaking finish for both Busch and Blaney, both drivers were in good spirits after the race.

As far as things go for Suarez, this win becomes his first oval win in the Cup Series and locks him into the 2024 playoffs early into the year. This comes as a really important win for both Suarez and Trackhouse Racing; a potential job-saving win after the disappointment of last year.

Now, Suarez can focus on getting extra playoff points throughout the year, and he no longer has to play catch-up like he did most of last season.

No Grip! Help Me I'm Out of Control!

Throughout the majority of the race, drivers were spinning out left and right. It didn't matter if you were on the bottom lane, middle lane, or top lane. Heck, drivers were spinning out trying to avoid wrecks. I'm looking at you, Justin Haley, and Chase Elliott.

The lack of grip was very apparent, especially if the driver in front of you lost a bit of grip, with the aero of the car, the following car would get really loose.

It all started on Lap 2, where checkups across the field caused a massive wreck, leaving a ton of cars damaged, and more importantly, aerodynamically damaged.

Chris Buescher was the first of many drivers to be seemingly fine, all to spin out and bring out a yellow. The biggest takeaway from all the wrecks was that it didn't seem to matter if you were involved in one. Drivers like Wallace, Ross Chastain, and Elliott were either laps down or involved in multiple wrecks, yet they were right there at the end.

On lap 200, Chastain got into the back of Elliott which seemed to be just another push, but due to the lack of grip, Elliott found himself spun around and involved in yet another incident. Later on, RFK Racing's Brad Keselowski suffered the same fate of seemingly racing fine in the top lane until all of a sudden he lost grip, which took out Kyle Larson as well, someone who has been involved in a wreck at now all five Atlanta races since the reconfiguration.

Finally, Austin Cindric was another driver who lost grip out of nowhere, which unfortunately caused Josh Berry to check up and spin out after a great day to that point.

To me, the biggest takeaway was the lack of grip we saw compared to the night race last year, and even the previous three daytime races in Atlanta. I wonder if we will see more of the same in September when Atlanta kicks off the playoffs?

Todd Gilliland

Finally, I want to make this last segment all about Gilliland. After getting hit with a bombshell in the 2023 offseason where he was told he wouldn't run a full season in the 38 car, which meant he couldn't compete for the playoffs, Gilliland took that to heart and came back even stronger.

In the races Gilliland did take part in last year, we saw constant improvement compared to the 2022 season, but nothing like we have seen to start 2024. Now, I did say Gilliland would be my dark horse playoff driver, and that is surely looking good right about now!

Front Row Motorsports has had a fantastic start to the year with McDowell winning the pole for Atlanta race, and that same speed in Daytona the previous week. FRM also increased its alliance with Ford this year and it is showing.

Gilliland led a career-best 16 laps in Daytona but failed to bring the car home near the front. The same situation happened in Atlanta. During this race, he would break his own record by leading 58 laps! I don't think many people expected that from the 38 car. Once again though, he would only finish 26th.

Through two superspeedways, Gilliland has raced the best he has ever raced in the Cup Series, but he doesn't have the points to support it as he currently sits 32nd in the standings, but is first in the series in terms of laps led.

The remainder of the season will be interesting to watch for Gilliand, and I wonder if he can keep this up at the short and intermediate tracks. Someone who has suffered that same fate would be Joey Logano, who is second in laps led, but also has nothing to show for it.

So, with the Ambetter Health 400 all wrapped up, I think most fans are now foaming at the lips with the idea that Atlanta kicks off the Round of 16 in September. We'll see you there!

What a weekend of racing is in store for you, from the Formula One season opener -- which, by the way, the race will be run on Saturday night -- and the NASCAR weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

If you want to know where all the racing will be, the channels to tune into and the time to set your watch to, check out Jay Wells' racing schedule:

Graphic courtesy Dylan Bauerle Racing.

HAMPTON, Ga. — It was a race of remarkable ebb and flow.

It was race of breathtaking four-wide action into corners not built to accommodate such derring-do.

And it was totally appropriate that Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway would end in a three-wide photo finish, with Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suárez eeking out a victory over Ryan Blaney by what looked to be an inch or two at the finish line.

NASCAR timing and scoring showed Suárez ahead of Blaney by 0.003 seconds at the stripe, with Kyle Busch in third, 0.007 seconds behind the race winner.

As the three drivers sped through the final two corners, Suárez held the outside lane with Blaney on the bottom and Busch in the middle. Suárez surged forward approaching the finish line to earn his second career victory—and his first since June 2022 at Sonoma—by the thinnest of margins.

Suárez, whose No. 99 Trackhouse Race Chevrolet suffered damage to the hood on a Lap 2 crash in Turn 1, had the lead for a restart with five laps left, after the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford of Josh Berry collided with Carson Hocevar’s No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet on Lap 249 of 260 to cause the 10th and final caution of the race.

Blaney, the defending series champion, grabbed the top spot almost immediately and held it for four laps, but Suárez and Busch mounted runs on the final lap on in the top and middle lanes, respectively. Blaney chose to make his bid for victory from the bottom lane and fell just short.

“It was so damn close, man,” said Suárez, still marveling that he was the winner. “It was so damn close. It was good racing. Ryan Blaney there, Kyle Busch, Austin Cindric also was doing a great job giving pushes. In the back straightaway he didn't push me because he knew I was going to (screw) his teammate, but, man, what a job.

“We wrecked (on) Lap 2. The guys did an amazing job fixing this car. I can't thank everyone enough, Trackhouse Racing, Freeway Insurance, Chevrolet, all the amazing fans here. Let's go!”

Daniel Suarez waves to the crowd after winning Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

As the final lap unfolded, Blaney was shocked at the force of the runs challenging him.

“I thought I laid back enough in (Turns) 1 and 2 to not let both lanes get that big of a run,” Blaney said. “I did that like the three laps before the end, and I was able to manage it kind of fairly well, and they just got both lanes shoving super hard. I just chose the bottom, and it was the safest place to be.

“What a cool finish. Appreciate the fans for sticking around. That's a lot of fun. That's always a good time when we can do that, race clean, three-wide finish to the end. Happy for Daniel. That was cool to see. Fun racing with Kyle. I can't complain; I've won them by very, very little, too, so I can't complain too much when I lose them by that much.”

To Busch, the outcome was predictable, given the positions of the cars in the final two corners.

“Yeah, typically whoever is behind getting into (Turn) 3 prevails at the start-finish line with the side draft and everything, so I was, I think, I was second to the 12 (Blaney) right there, and the 99 was the furthest back, and he made the ground back up with the side draft and stuff.

“It's good to see Daniel get a win. We were helping each other, being Chevy team partners and working together there. Shows that when you do have friends and you can make alliances that they do seem to work, and that was a good part of today.”

The start of the race was a harbinger of the wild finish.

Moments after crossing the finish line to complete the first lap of the race, Todd Gilliland checked up near the front of the field and stacked up the cars behind him. All told, 16 cars were involved, a track record for a single incident at the 1.54-mile speedway.

The machines of Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Noah Gragson all sustained heavy damage. Austin Dillon and Harrison Burton, early victims in last Monday’s Daytona 500, both were part of the melee.

Burton was able to continue, as was Suárez who made multiple pit stops as his crew worked to repair his car. Dillon lost two laps on pit road but regained them as the beneficiary under the third and fourth cautions.

If the Lap 2 wreck was an impediment for nearly half the field, the first attempt at green-flag pit stops in Stage 2 was equally discomfiting. Pole winner Michael McDowell locked his brakes near the pit road entrance in Turn 3 and collided with Daytona 500 winner William Byron, costing both drivers a lap.

Speeding penalties impeded Busch, Berry, Ross Chastain, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Bubba Wallace, with Erik Jones’ crew drawing a penalty for a runaway tire. Like McDowell and Byron, those drivers all found themselves a lap down after their respective pass-throughs under green.

Through subsequent cautions, however, they regained the lead lap, and Busch raced his way into contention for the win.

Cindric finished fourth, followed by Wallace, Stenhouse, Chastain, McDowell and Chris Buescher, all of whom made commendable recoveries to earn top-10 results.

The race featured a record 48 lead changes among 14 drivers - the fifth straight race at Atlanta with more than a dozen leaders. Gilliland led a race-high 58 laps, a team record for a single race by a Front Row Motorsports driver. Cindric was out front for 32 laps, followed by Blaney (31) and Busch (28).

Suárez led twice for nine laps.

Joey Logano, the defending race winner, received unwelcome news before the start of the race. The driver of the No. 22 Ford was deemed to have violated NASCAR rule 14.3.1.1 governing driver protective clothing and equipment.

Logano’s left driving glove featured webbing between the thumb and forefinger, an unauthorized modification of SFI-approved equipment. Under an at-track penalty, Logano dropped from the second position to the rear of the field for the start and began to serve a pit-road pass-through when the pileup in Turn 1 on Lap 2 slowed the field.

The misery of others was serendipity for Logano, who completed his pass-through without losing a lap. By the end of Stage 1 he was 12th, and after the top 10 pitted during the stage break, Logano was second when Stage 2 went green.

On Lap 99, Logano passed Gilliland for the lead as part of a pack of six Fords at the front of the field. On the final lap the stage, however, Logano’s fortunes soured once again when his No. 22 Mustang pushed up the track on the backstretch and collected Chris Buescher and Denny Hamlin.

Towed to his pit stall, Logano lost eight laps and any hope he might have had of defending his 2023 victory.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube on Sunday, March 3 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

--- By Reid Spencer

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With the conclusion of the 66th annual Daytona 500, we have some winners and losers to discuss. After an exciting Monday afternoon race, with just three yellow flags, and disregarding stage breaks, this year's Great American Race provided a clean race -- for the most part, by Daytona standards, that is -- and a new winner. But there also was controversy, with even more confusion on how these races end.

Let's take a look at some of the winners and losers of the 2024 Daytona 500.

Winner: William Byron

Of course, the winner of the 66th Daytona 500 would be at the top of this list. Byron wins his first-ever Daytona 500, as well as the 302nd NASCAR Cup race win for Hendrick Motorsports. After hanging around the front all day, and avoiding damage in the late stage 3 wreck, Byron placed himself in the outside lane in front of teammate Alex Bowman, avoiding the wreck happening in the tri-oval in the bottom lane. Bowman attempted to pass the 24 car before the yellow flag fell, but ultimately it was determined that Byron had the lead when the yellow came out.

Byron, who had a career year last year, begins 2024 with a win that locks him into the playoffs, but more importantly, will forever be memorialized on the coveted Harley J. Earl trophy. Byron looks to build on 2023 where he made the Championship 4, and with the Daytona 500 win on his resume now, his focus can be all about acquiring as many playoff points as he can. A Daytona 500 win for a kid who started out by playing video racing games is not too bad!

Loser: Mother Nature

Unfortunately, the only on-track action we got during the weekend was the Xfinity Series qualifying. That didn't stop the fans from showing up on Monday for both the Cup and Xfinity Series, with perhaps the largest crowd for a Monday race we have seen.

It's hard to predict Mother Nature, but NASCAR did a great job of being quick on decisions the entire weekend. By having the Daytona 500 on a Monday afternoon, it may have lost some of its spectacle, but, all credit goes to the fans who never stopped supporting and showed up on Monday. Daytona International Speedway also did a great job at providing the fans with the most quality weekend they could have despite the weather, by honoring tickets for multiple series.

Winner: Toyota

The debut of a new body could not have gone any better for Toyota. After a very weak single-car qualifying, the Toyotas won both duels with Tyler Reddick winning Duel 1, and Christopher Bell winning Duel 2. It didn't stop there. Toyota drivers were often in the front, and in terms of points taken from the weekend, the points per driver were the highest. Both Bell and Bubba Wallace finished in the top 5, with John Hunter Nemechek getting a 7th-place finish. JGR's rides all finished in the top 20, as well as Erik Jones finishing in 8th. A fantastic start for Legacy Motorclub's and Toyota's partnership.

Loser: The Fords

With a winning manufacturer, comes a losing one. This time around, it's the blue oval of Ford. It's not like the Ford's weren't fast; they certainly were. But Ford missed out in terms of finishing position. Ford also failed to win a duel, something that hasn't happened since 2017. Ford was unfortunately involved in both wrecks. Harrison Burton, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and defending NASCAR Cup champ Ryan Blaney were all taken out by wrecks, all of which were in the front of the field at the time of the wreck.

It's not like Ford lacked speed. As mentioned, all those Ford's were either leading the race at a point or were often in the first few rows at any given point. The lack of finishing the race really hurt the Fords in the end, especially Team Penske, with 2022 Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric losing out on the final wreck as well. Ford missed out on potentially over 100 points due to the final wreck, which makes them losers for the weekend.

Winner: Noah Gragson

Not all the Ford's disappointed! In Gragson's return to NASCAR, he quietly crossed the finish line in 9th place. While he avoided wrecks to get this position, that doesn't take away the fact that Gragson ran a clean 500 miles -- well 497.5 miles and positioned his debut with Stewart Haas Racing in the top 10. Gragson will look to build on this result with another superspeedway next on the calendar this weekend in Atlanta, and was one of the few bright spots for Ford this weekend.

Loser: Fuel Saving Strategy

One of the takeaways from the Daytona 500 was the lack of urgency and full-throttle racing we saw. During most of the race, drivers reported using just 60-70% of throttle. Now, that's not unheard of in superspeedway races. Most times drivers are off the throttle to avoid running into the bumper of the car in front, or they check up.

This race was different though. Drivers were using just 60-70% throttle for almost the entire race. There was a point where a single car was lapping faster than the drivers in the pack. Years ago that single car would be 3 or 4 seconds slower per lap. In fact, this has become such an issue that NASCAR itself is looking into how to fix it, if it can be fixed.

NASCAR is taking a deeper dive into examining fuel-saving strategies. Fuel saving has become the main strategy at superspeedways with this new car, and NASCAR wants drivers racing at 100% from green to checkered.

Winner: Hendrick Motorsports

HMS enjoyed quite the Daytona 500. Of course, Byron winning the race was the highlight, but Bowman finishing second comes with a large pool of points as well. Chase Elliott who sat down with AutoRacingDigest.com to discuss his goals for 2024, started off the year in great fashion by racing in the front all day and finishing 14th.

Kyle Larson also raced in the front all day and came home 11th. There were probably two teams who raced at the front consistently. Those were Team Penske and Team Hendrick. The difference? HMS drivers brought it home. A fantastic Daytona 500 for the entire team, highlighted by Byron's win.

Loser: More Confusion on Superspeedway Endings

Another highlight of the weekend, or should we say lowlight, was how the Daytona 500 concluded. Just like earlier in the year with the Rolex 24, the Daytona 500 was well ... maybe it should be unofficially renamed the Daytona 497.5?

Much confusion was caused due to the end of that race. The race-ending wreck happened on the penultimate lap, but due to the yellow not coming out until the leaders passed the start/finish line, which means they took the white, that caution ended up concluding the race.

The issue many fans have is that the wreck happened on the tri-oval and if the officials were quicker to throw the yellow, we would have had overtime. Another issue came with Byron and Bowman finishing side by side. On the aerial view, Byron was just ahead of Bowman when the yellow came out, yet on track, the yellow came out when Bowman had the lead.

The whole process has been inconsistent throughout the years, which was changed for safety, but the lack of consistent calls with the yellow is starting to become a concern for fans. Due to the conclusion of this race, I believe fans are starting to question what they should expect. Will the same call be taken this weekend in Atlanta if we have the same situation? We guess only time will tell.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — While other NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers were competing, and crashing, in Monday night’s United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway, Austin Hill was playing a different game — Monopoly.

At the 2.5-mile superspeedway roughly two miles away from Atlantic Avenue, Hill beat former teammate Sheldon Creed to the finish line by 0.591 seconds to earn his third straight victory in the Xfinity season opener at the World Center of Racing.

The third win came on Monday because of weekend-long rain that forced NASCAR to reschedule the race from Saturday afternoon. The event served as the second leg of a doubleheader with the DAYTONA 500, which was postponed from Sunday and won by William Byron.

Hill has now owned Victory Lane at Daytona long enough to build a house there.

“It tops it off—three-peat,” Hill exclaimed. “You know how hard it is to win at Daytona? God almighty!”

Not that the driver of the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet didn’t have his share of adversity. Hill overcame an early wreck on Lap 37 of 120, a flat tire and a self-destructive bent on pit road.

He crossed the finish line in a car that was heavily taped on the right front, but none of the obstacles could stop him from displaying his superiority on superspeedways once again.

“I don’t know what was going on with me on pit road today,” Hill said. “But my guys just kept telling me, ‘Look, man, dig deep; you’re really good at these superspeedways.’ I tried to screw it up on pit road—sped on pit road, slid through the box…

“I don’t even know what time it is. I know it’s past my bedtime, but we’re about to party tonight, I can tell you that.”

After pitting with a flat tire on Lap 97, Hill restarted 22nd but quickly worked his way forward. Two more cautions helped, and after lining up third for the final restart on Lap 118, he made quick work of Jordan Anderson and Chandler Smith ahead of him.

Hill was out front by more than a car-length when Ryan Sieg spun behind him off Turn 2 on the final lap. From that point, Hill simply had to steer his car to the finish line and won by a comfortable margin.

Parker Retzlaff ran third, one spot in front of his owner/driver Anderson.

“The little team that could is getting bigger,” Anderson said proudly.

Chandler Smith came home fifth, followed by Riley Herbst, John Hunter Nemechek, Justin Allgaier, Brandon Jones and AJ Allmendinger.

The race featured nine cautions for 44 of the 120 laps. There were 19 lead changes among 14 different drivers., with Sunoco rookie Jesse Love, the pole winner, leading a race-high 32 laps from the opening green flag.

Love, however, suffered more damage in the Lap 37 wreck than did his RCR teammate Hill. He finished 20th in an aerodynamically-challenged Chevrolet.

New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen, winner of last year’s NASCAR Cup Series Chicago Street Race, drove his battered Kaulig Racing Chevrolet to a 12th-place finish in his Xfinity debut.

--- By Reid Spencer

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NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – United Rentals 300

Daytona International Speedway

Daytona Beach, Florida

Monday, February 19, 2024

1. (2) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 120.
2. (14) Sheldon Creed, Toyota, 120.
3. (9) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, 120.
4. (29) Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, 120.
5. (19) Chandler Smith, Toyota, 120.
6. (11) Riley Herbst, Ford, 120.
7. (8) John Hunter Nemechek(i), Toyota, 120.
8. (6) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 120.
9. (22) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 120.
10. (3) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 120.
11. (36) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 120.
12. (5) Shane Van Gisbergen #, Chevrolet, 120.
13. (17) Cole Custer, Ford, 120.
14. (34) Blaine Perkins, Ford, 120.
15. (38) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 120.
16. (23) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 120.
17. (13) Patrick Emerling, Chevrolet, 120.
18. (30) Natalie Decker, Chevrolet, 120.
19. (33) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 120.
20. (1) Jesse Love #, Chevrolet, 120.
21. (20) Ryan Truex, Toyota, 120.
22. (31) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 120.
23. (12) Sammy Smith, Chevrolet, 119.
24. (10) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 118.
25. (4) Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, 118.
26. (16) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 118.
27. (26) Daniel Dye(i), Chevrolet, 117.
28. (32) Sage Karam, Toyota, Accident, 111.
29. (7) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, DVP, 109.
30. (24) Leland Honeyman #, Chevrolet, Accident, 102.
31. (35) Dawson Cram #, Chevrolet, Accident, 51.
32. (27) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, Accident, 51.
33. (37) Frankie Muniz, Ford, DVP, 37.
34. (21) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, DVP, 37.
35. (18) Daniel Suarez(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 23.
36. (15) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, Accident, 22.
37. (28) Hailie Deegan #, Ford, Accident, 22.
38. (25) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, Accident, 22.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 108.119 mph.

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 46 Mins, 29 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.591 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 9 for 44 laps.

Lead Changes: 19 among 14 drivers.

Lap Leaders: J. Love # 1-32;A. Allmendinger 33-35;J. Allgaier 36-42;C. Custer 43-48;J. Burton 49-56;A. Hill 57-58;S. Creed 59;A. Hill 60-63;J. Love # 64-65;S. Smith 66-70;R. Herbst 71-73;S. Smith 74;R. Herbst 75-79;S. Creed 80;N. Decker 81-87;R. Ellis 88-98;R. Sieg 99-110;C. Smith 111;J. Anderson 112-117;A. Hill 118-120.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Jesse Love # 2 times for 34 laps; Ryan Sieg 1 time for 12 laps; Ryan Ellis 1 time for 11 laps; Austin Hill 3 times for 9 laps; Jeb Burton 1 time for 8 laps; Riley Herbst 2 times for 8 laps; Natalie Decker 1 time for 7 laps; Justin Allgaier 1 time for 7 laps; Sammy Smith 2 times for 6 laps; Jordan Anderson 1 time for 6 laps; Cole Custer 1 time for 6 laps; AJ Allmendinger 1 time for 3 laps; Sheldon Creed 2 times for 2 laps; Chandler Smith 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 2,21,48,5,27,18,20,16,7,19

Stage #2 Top Ten: 21,8,18,00,39,19,98,7,16,9

William Byron was able to stick his nose to the front in a chaotic and uncertain Daytona 500 finish revolving around an incident with Ross Chastain and 2022 Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric to win the “Great American Race” in a yellow-white-checkered finish.

In Hendrick Motorsports' 40th anniversary season, this win -- which came on the exact date of Team Hendrick's 40th anniversary of its first-ever start at Daytona in the Great American Race -- gives team owner Rick Hendrick and now vice chairman Jeff Gordon the team’s 9th Daytona 500 victory, tying Petty Enterprises for the most wins in the race’s history, three of them coming from Gordon’s #24, which Bryon now pilots.

For Willy B, this is his second Daytona victory, grabbing a regular season finale win back in 2020 for HMS, but he has since struggled in five of his last six tries at the speedway, picking up just one top ten in the summer race last season.

Although the 500 win for Hendrick and Byron will be the story of the night, and which gives Byron a free pass into the 10-race playoffs later this year, the lead-up to seeing Bryon grab the win came at a price for some, making the race interesting, especially late.

Daytona Demolition Derby

While the race wasn’t filled with cautions, only fielding three true incident-related yellows, the three that came out were major points in the race that led to the way the finish resulted.

In the early laps of the 500, the No. 42 Legacy Toyota of John Hunter Nemechek made contact with Brad Keselowski, resulting in a chain reaction at the start-finish line, causing seven cars to be involved, including Carson Hocevar, who started 9th in Spire Motorsports' No. 77, and the No. 3 of former 500 champion Austin Dillon and the No. 84 of two-time 500 winner Jimmie Johnson.

Officially, the No. 36 of Kaz Grala, No. 21 of Harrison Burton, and No. 77 of Hocevar would all retire from the race following that incident.

The race would stay relatively clean for the remainder of the race up until the final few laps of Stage 2 with some dicey movement coming, and at the beginning of Stage 3.

The real chaos would ensue with about 10 laps left when Byron would ironically get loose, resulting in a major incident that caused Keselowski to turn left and swing up the race track, seeing 22 cars -- according to NASCAR -- get involved in the massive wreck, shuffling up the field, and creating what was an interesting finish for the 500.

Some major players got caught up in the incident, including Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, defending Cup champion Ryan Blaney, 2023 Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Tyler Reddick and others.

Byron would be able to make it out, and by avoiding major damage in the self-inflicted incident, the No. 24 was able to keep running, which gave Byron a great position on the restart.

While these wrecks came at opposite ends of the spectrum in the race, the incidents took out some key teams who were strong all day long and allowed for Team Hendrick, who managed to see all four of its cars escape the carnage, to be up towards the front, featuring Byron, Chase Elliot, Alex Bowman, and Kyle Larson all in great position to win the race.

The Hendrick Hot Streak?

While it is hard not to keep Team Hendrick in the center of attention, this win for the team and William Byron brings excitement for what’s to come this season for the storied team.

Yes, the Daytona 500 and any superspeedway race for teams can be an unrealistic look as to how a season will go or even the future will be for a team, but this win for Willy B. and Team Hendrick may be the spark of another championship season for the organization and the No. 24, which Jeff Gordon won to four Cup championships in his own racing career before turning the keys over to Byron several years ago.

Ever since Gordon moved back to Team Hendrick after a brief foray as a color analyst for NASCAR telecasts on Fox Sports three years ago, becoming the team’s vice chairman, there has always been a wonder as to when Rick Hendrick may give the reigns to his longtime driver-turned-partner.

But, with everything going for the man they call "Boss Man," it is hard for Hendrick, who turns 75 on July 12, not to want to stay at the top of the totem pole with the organization.

Last season, Byron was one of the shining points for the team, grabbing six wins for the nine-time Daytona 500 champions and bringing success to this rebooted Hendrick stable. But now with the 500 victory, the question will be if he can bring home the third NASCAR Cup championship to Hendrick in the past five seasons.

Byron is definitely starting off on the right foot. However, the last time we have seen a Daytona 500 winner win the Cup Series championship was none other than former fellow Hendrick counterpart Jimmie Johnson (2006, as well as 2013 in a year he did not win the championship), making the team no stranger to doubling up in a season.

Not to mention, with the Daytona 500 win for Rick Hendrick, there is the potential for him to have a Daytona 500 and Indy 500 winner in his fleet, with Kyle Larson hoping to be the first NASCAR Cup driver to attempt "The Double" -- racing in the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day on Memorial Day Weekend in May -- for the first time in nearly a decade.

The future to come for Hendrick and the season that could be in year No. 40 may pass all others for the legendary owner.

Final Thoughts

In what was a wild finish to the Daytona 500, with still many fuzzy on the finish, it already begins to create intrigue for this coming weekend's superspeedway repeat in Atlanta.

It had been 10 years since Hendrick won the 500 (2014, Dale Earnhardt Jr.), and now, with a busy season, the history that can be created for the team is bar none.

Byron has always been a strong driver, especially on superspeedways, and coming off a career season last year for himself and the team, there will be a lot of eyes looking towards this camp as we navigate through the 2024 season.

It is truly fitting that No. 24 grabs the first true win in 2024, and maybe it is Byron’s year to bloom for the now-turned veteran.

Graphic courtesy Dylan Bauerle Racing

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — William Byron gave team owner Rick Hendrick something extra to celebrate in the 40th anniversary year of Hendrick Motorsports.

In a frantic scramble after a restart on Lap 197 of 200 in the DAYTONA 500, Byron reached the finish line and took the white flag moments before NASCAR called the fifth caution of the evening as Ross Chastain slid wildly through the infield grass off the bumper of Austin Cindric’s Ford.

Alex Bowman was a close second to his teammate at the moment of caution, giving Hendrick a 1-2 finish and the organization’s first victory in the Great American Race since Jimmie Johnson beat teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the stripe in 2014.

The victory was Hendrick’s ninth in the DAYTONA 500, tying the company with Petty Enterprises for most in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series most prestigious event. The race was postponed from Sunday to Monday because of heavy rains during the weekend.

“I’m just a kid from racing on computers and winning the Daytona 500,” said the 26-year-old Byron, who picked up the 11th victory of his career and his second at Daytona, the first coming in the 2020 summer race at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.

“I can’t believe it. I wish my dad was here. He’s sick, but this is for him, man. We’ve been through so much, and we sat up in the grandstands together and watched the race (when Byron was younger). This is so freaking cool.”

Hendrick could barely contain his elation in Victory Lane.

“I’m telling you, you couldn’t write the script any better,” he said. “When we thought about coming down here the first time, we didn’t think we should be here, felt so out of place.

“We win this on our 40th to the day, it’s just… and tied a record now, so that’s awesome.”

Before the final restart, Chastain was racing at the front of the field on Lap 192 when a bump from Alex Bowman got Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron out of shape and knocked Byron into the right rear of Brad Keselowski’s Ford.

Keselowski turned up the track into the Ford of Joey Logano, who had led a race-high 45 laps to that point. Reigning series champion Ryan Blaney’s Ford was among the 23 cars involved in the accident that left string of mangled vehicles strewn along the backstretch.

The wreck knocked Blaney, Keselowski and Logano out of the race, along with Tyler Reddick, defending race winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Daniel Suarez and Todd Gilliland. NASCAR red-flagged the race for 15 minutes 27 seconds for track clean-up.

“Speedway racing again,” Logano said ruefully. “It’s a lot of fun until this happens. It was pretty interesting with a lot of pushing and shoving there at the end. Our car was able to take it. Our Mustang was so fast. It could lead a line really well. I kind of thought I had the cars I wanted around me. I had at least one I wanted around me, but just couldn’t make it work.”

“Obviously, hate what happened on that backstretch,” Byron said of the accident. “I just got pushed and got sideways. But so proud of this team, whole AXALTA team, 40th anniversary to the day, on Monday.

“Just extremely blessed and thankful for all the opportunities, and we just want to keep it going. We have a lot to prove this year, and this is a good start, obviously.”

How much Byron has yet to prove is debatable. He won a series-best six races last year, qualified for the Championship 4 and finished third in the final standings.

The race was not quite five laps old when an eight-car accident off Turn 4 started the inevitable attrition. Contact from Keselowski’s Ford in a tightly bunched line of the outside knocked the Toyota of John Hunter Nemechek into the center lane and into the side of Harrison Burton’s Ford.

Burton slid toward the infield, collecting the Chevrolet of Sunoco rookie Carson Hocevar. Burton’s No. 21 Mustang shot up the track and slammed into the Ford of Kaz Grala and the Chevrolet of Austin Dillon. Behind Dillon, Hocevar careened into the path of seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson, who couldn’t avoid the collision.

The wreck eliminated the cars of Burton, Hocevar and Grala. Dillon took his No. 3 Chevy to the garage for extensive repairs, and Johnson lost two laps on pit road as his Legacy Motor Club crew worked frantically to repair his Camry.

“I don’t remember exactly who it was on my outside,” Burton said after a trip to the infield care center. “It just looked like they either got a bad push or got loose and just hit me in the right side and sent me across.

“The grass was so wet that once I got in the grass, I thought I’d be OK, but the car just kept going and going… so really sad that our day is over as quick as it was. We had a really fast Ford. It’s just a bummer. There’s nothing we can do but just move on and try to win next week.”

It took 187 more laps of racing before the colossal wreck that dwarfed the earlier incident thinned the field and set up the fight to the finish among the cars that survived.

In a race that featured 41 lead changes among 20 drivers, Christopher Bell ran third, followed by Corey LaJoie, Bubba Wallace and AJ Allmendinger. Chastain, who didn’t have quite enough room when he dived to the inside of Cindric on the penultimate lap, finished 21st, one spot ahead of Cindric.

--- By Reid Spencer

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