Monday, April 7, 2025

NASCAR / ARCA Race Weekend Recap (Darlington / Tucson Speedway)

NASCAR / ARCA Race Weekend Recap (Darlington / Tucson Speedway)

Winners:  Denny Hamlin (Cup); Brandon-Jones (Xfinity); plus Tanner Reif (ARCA West)

Recap Graphic by Rolando Ramirez - RTR Graphics



NASCAR Cup

Denny Hamlin Steals Darlington Victory on Throwback Weekend

Denny Hamlin Steals Darlington Victory on Throwback Weekend

 

A perfectly executed overtime restart by Denny Hamlin following a clutch final pit stop by his Joe Gibbs Racing crew provided exactly the advantage the veteran needed to claim the trophy in Sunday’s NASCAR Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway.

 

Hamlin took the race lead out of the pits during the final late-race caution then bested the field on the ensuing restart, pulling his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota out front and ultimately to a 0.597-second victory over the day’s most dominant driver, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron.

 

It’s the second-consecutive victory for Hamlin, who won last week at Martinsville, and it marks the first time he’s won back-to-back races since 2012 when he won at Bristol and then Atlanta the following week.

 

All smiles as he climbed out of the car, Hamlin gave all the credit to his pit crew. He was in third place at the time of the final caution — the yellow coming out for Byron’s Hendrick teammate Kyle Larson’s spin. The leaders seized the chance to pit for fresh Goodyear tires in anticipation of the overtime restart and Hamlin’s crew got him out of the pits first — ahead of 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Byron.

 

A perfect launch on the ensuing green flag gave Hamlin the victory over Byron, who led a race-best 243 of the 297 laps. It is Hamlin’s 56th career win, breaking a tie with NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace for 11th place on NASCAR’s all-time wins list.

 

“There’s two people I really love right now: my pit crew and Kyle Larson,” the 44-year-old Virginian Hamlin said with a grin. “Had a little assist there, so thank you.

 

“The pit crew just did an amazing job. They won it last week [at Martinsville]. They won it this week. It’s all about them.”

 






Pole: William Byron



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The Cup Series will return on Sunday, April 13, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. ET for the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.


NASCAR Xfinity

Brandon Jones Snaps 98-Race Winless Streak

Brandon Jones Snaps 98-Race Winless Streak

 

After diligently working through a 98-race winless streak over the last three NASCAR Xfinity Series seasons, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones reminded his competitors — and his fans — Saturday that he’s still a race winner and a title contender.

 

The well-liked 28-year-old Atlanta native took the lead on a restart with 12 laps remaining in Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 at the historic Darlington Raceway — beating 2020 Cup Series champion Chase Elliott to the finish line by a healthy 1.105-second margin to hoist his first trophy since the Martinsville spring race on April, 8, 2022 — a span of 98 races.

 

The 1.366-mile Darlington track may be nicknamed “Too Tough to Tame,” but it certainly presented a tamer race than the series produced a week ago on the typically wild Martinsville half-miler. This weekend featured 14 lead changes among nine drivers — none of the changes up front a result of overly aggressive driving.

 

Instead, strategy, a fast car and unwavering belief in himself and his team made the difference for Jones.

 

“It’s nice for my confidence, right, but it’s also to prove to the haters and people that said I was incapable of doing it, wrong again,” said Jones, whose No. 20 JGR Toyota led 24 of the race’s 137 laps.

 

“This place is freaking awesome man, I love coming to Darlington,” he added, “Second win and just huge momentum. I knew we were on a high, just didn’t know when it was going to happen.”

 






Pole: Christopher Bell



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The Xfinity Series will return on Saturday, April 12, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. ET for the SciAps 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.




NASCAR Trucks

No Truck Race Last Weekend







Next Race: The Truck Series will return on Friday, April 11, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. ET for the Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.




ARCA

Tanner Reif Saves His Tires, Makes Late Pass to Win West Series' Return to Tucson Speedway

#ARCA Tanner Reif Saves His Tires, Makes Late Pass to Win West Series' Return to Tucson Speedway

 

Going slow to go fast is the best way to describe Tanner Reif’s Saturday night at Tucson Speedway.

 

Reif started third, rode at the back of the field for most of the race, then roared to the lead with two laps to go to win the ARCA Menards Series West 150 presented by the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame.

 

“Everything was perfect,” Reif said in Victory Lane. “I had to work so hard for it, but this team, Central Coast Cabinets Racing, did such a good job setting this thing up. I was crying in the car. I had to compose myself.”

 

Saturday’s event, the first West Series race at Tucson since 2019, was an excellent example of an old-school tire saving race.

 






Pole: Jake Bollman



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The ARCA Series East will return on Saturday, April 19, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. ET for the Rockingham ARCA 125 at Rockingham Speedway.



 

source: NASCAR Media
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Monday, March 31, 2025

Vote for Your Favorite NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series Throwback Paint Schemes Now

Vote for Your Favorite NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series Throwback Paint Schemes Now

Winning paint schemes for each series will be announced on Saturday, April 5th, 2025 for the Xfinity Series and Sunday, April 6th, 2025 for the Cup Series

Vote for Your Favorite NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series Throwback Paint Schemes Now

 

Darlington’s Spring Throwback weekend is one of the highest-regarded modern traditions in NASCAR.  Once, and sometimes twice a season, drivers and teams unveil modern take on some of the best paint schemes in NASCAR history.

This year, Throwback Weekend is April 5 and 6, 2025.

Click Here to Vote

To cast your vote for your favorite eligible 2025 NASCAR Throwback Weekend Paint Scheme Fan Vote, select an image for each series. You will then confirm your selections. Once confirmed, hit the ‘submit’ button. You may vote for one eligible paint scheme for each series per ballot submission.

You may submit five (5) ballots per 24 hours per unique email. Entries generated by script, macro or other automated means may be void. The use of multiple name variations or other methods to create additional votes by a single individual during any one day period is prohibited.





Go vote, then tune in to the race on Saturday and Sunday to see if your pick won!





 

source: NASCAR Media

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NASCAR Weekend Recap (Martinville Speedway)

#NASCAR Weekend Recap (Martinville Speedway)

Winners: Denny Hamlin (Cup); Austin Hill (Xfinity); Daniel Hemric (Trucks)

#NASCAR Winners: Denny Hamlin (Cup); Austin Hill (Xfinity); Daniel Hemric (Trucks)

Recap Graphic by Rolando Ramirez - RTR Graphics


NASCAR Cup

Denny Hamlin Dominates for First Martinsville Win in a Decade

Denny Hamlin Dominates for First Martinsville Win in a Decade

 

It didn’t take Denny Hamlin long to find the recipe for success in Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway. 

 

Hamlin grabbed the lead on Lap 126 of 400 in the seventh NASCAR Cup Series race of the season and never looked back.

 

With flawless work from his pit crew, the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led 274 of the last 275 laps — with the only exception a lap credited to polesitter Christopher Bell, who raced side-by-side with Hamlin after the final restart on Lap 326.

 

Hamlin pulled away toward the end of the final 75-lap green-flag run and beat Bell, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, to the finish line by 4.617 seconds.

 

The victory was Hamlin’s sixth at the 0.526-mile short track, most among full-time active drivers, but his first at Martinsville since 2015. It was his first victory of the season and the 55th of his career, tying him with Rusty Wallace for 11th on the career victory list.

 

“You know, Chris Gayle, all the engineers, the pit crew, everybody really on that wall right there, just deciding they were going to come here with a different approach than what we’ve been over the last few years,” said Hamlin, who won at Martinsville for the first time with the Gen 7 race car.

 

“It was just amazing. The car was great. It did everything I needed it to do. Just so happy to win with Chris, get 55 … Obviously, back here in Martinsville where I spent so many years racing late models and whatnot — gosh, I love winning here.”

 






Pole: Christopher Bell



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The Cup Series will return on Sunday, April 6, 2025 at 3:00 pm ET for the ‘Goodyear 400’ at Darlington Raceway.



NASCAR Xfinity

Austin Hill Wins Bizarre, Action-Filled #NASCAR Xfinity Race at Martinsville

Austin Hill Wins Bizarre, Action-Filled #NASCAR Xfinity Race at Martinsville

 

The speedway that robbed Austin Hill of a spot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4 two years ago gave him a gift on Saturday.

 

Diving underneath a trio of wrecking cars in the final corner of overtime at Martinsville Speedway, Hill beat perennial bridesmaid Sheldon Creed to the finish line by 0.190 seconds to win Saturday’s US Marine Corps 250, giving Richard Childress his 100th win in the series and earning a $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus for the unlikely winner.

 

“I chose the bottom because of how rough everybody was on restarts,” Hill said of the overtime. “I had to do what I had to do on the last lap. On that restart, it just got wild. We were definitely leaning on each other, and getting into (Turn) 3, I knew we were all going to get beating and banging, and I just drove it in as deep as I could.

 

“They all hit each other, and I hit the 7 (Allgaier) a little bit and dumped him off and got on the apron there and came home with the win… Man, I’m in disbelief that we’re in Victory Lane right not. It’s unbelievable. I actually said at the end of the race that I hated this place because of all the beating and banging that was going on-and to top it off, we won a hundred grand!”

 






Pole: Connor Zilisch



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The Xfinity Series will return on Saturday, April 5, 2025 at 3:30 pm ET for the ‘Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200’ at Darlington Raceway.




NASCAR Trucks

Daniel Hemric Claims First NASCAR Truck Series Win in Martinsville Shootout

Daniel Hemric Claims First NASCAR Truck Series Win in Martinsville Shootout

 

During the week before Friday night’s Boys and Girls Club of the Blue Ridge 200 at Martinsville Speedway, Daniel Hemric practiced his back flip.

 

It was the signature move he had been able to use just once in NASCAR national series competition-when he won the 2021 season finale at Phoenix Raceway to clinch the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.

 

But on Friday, the 34-year-old from Kannapolis, N.C., had a chance to perform the celebratory move once again, after capitalizing on the misfortunes of others-notably series leader Corey Heim-to win the first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race of his career.

 

Hemric even stuck the landing, reveling in the race win that earned him a coveted grandfather clock trophy and a $50,000 Triple Truck Challenge bonus as the highest finishing series regular.

 

“It’s a funny thing, because my wife asked me a couple weeks ago if I was not too old to do it,” Hemric said of the back flip. “I practiced once last week in the back yard and did a back flip on solid ground.

 

“I thought, ‘The old man’s still got it,’ and I proved that tonight.”

 






Pole: Corey Heim



Click Here for Race Results


Next Race: The Truck Series will return on Friday, April 11, 2025 at 7:30 pm ET for the Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.




ARCA

No ARCA Races Last Weekend

#ARCA Series West Returns to Tucson Speedway

 





Next Race: The ARCA Series West will return on Saturday, April 5, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. MT for the ARCA Menards Series 150 presented by the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame at Tucson Speedway.


 

source: NASCAR Media
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