logo
Chase Elliott wins the pole at Dover after rain washes out NASCAR qualifying

Chase Elliott wins the pole at Dover after rain washes out NASCAR qualifying

DOVER, Del. (AP) — Chase Elliott took advantage of heavy rain at Dover Motor Speedway to earn the pole for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race.
Elliott and the rest of the field never got to turn a scheduled practice or qualifying lap on Saturday because of rain that pounded the concrete mile track. Dover is scheduled to hold its first July race since the track's first one in 1969.
Elliott has two wins and 10 top-five finishes in 14 career races at Dover.
Chase Briscoe starts second, followed by Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick and William Byron. Shane van Gisbergen, last week's winner at Sonoma Raceway, Michael McDowell, Joey Logano, Ty Gibbs and Kyle Busch complete the top 10.
Logano is set to become the youngest driver in NASCAR history with 600 career starts.
Logano will be 35 years, 1 month, 26 days old when he hits No. 600 on Sunday at Dover Motor Speedway. He will top seven-time NASCAR champion and Hall of Famer Richard Petty by six months.
The midseason tournament that pays $1 million to the winner pits Ty Dillon vs. John Hunter Nemechek and Reddick vs. Gibbs in the head-to-head challenge at Dover.
___
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Deep Reads: Chasing ghosts with Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Deep Reads: Chasing ghosts with Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Washington Post

time11 minutes ago

  • Washington Post

Deep Reads: Chasing ghosts with Dale Earnhardt Jr.

In October 2023, Junior turned 49. That's the same age his dad was in 2001, when, before the last turn on the last lap of the Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s car bumped into Sterling Marlin's, sending the iconic No. 3 careening into the wall at 160 mph. Reporter Kent Babb was studying journalism in college in 2002 when his grandmother called. 'They think he's gone,' she said, referring to Babb's father. His father's heart had become enlarged, and while he was painting a house one day, it just stopped. His dad was 51. Babb is 43 now, and since the day his dad died, there has been something unsettling to him about the idea of turning 51. This is common among people who've lost a parent young, or what is called an 'off-time' death. Psychologists suggest these feelings of anxiety and fear, alongside a gradually intensifying urge to learn about your bloodline, are like a final stage of grief. And it's one that most people, and in particular men, rarely talk about or explore. Babb wanted to talk about it, preferably with someone who understood. And though he never took to NASCAR, Babb knew he and Junior belonged to the same unfortunate club. Babb wondered if he thought about it, if he dreaded turning 49, how he was coping as he approached the age his daddy was. So, before his birthday in 2023, Babb asked if Earnhardt Jr. would be open to talking. He said yes. This story traces Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s relationship with his father and who he has become after his father's death. Kent Babb reported, wrote and narrated the piece. Bishop Sand composed music and produced audio for the piece. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Denny Hamlin's 2-year contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing could be his last in Cup series
Denny Hamlin's 2-year contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing could be his last in Cup series

Associated Press

time15 minutes ago

  • Associated Press

Denny Hamlin's 2-year contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing could be his last in Cup series

Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Denny Hamlin never wanted to drive for a team other than Joe Gibbs Racing. A two-year contract extension may seal the deal. On Friday, five days after winning his 58th Cup race, the 44-year-old Hamlin signed what he said would likely be his final contract extension. JGR officials only said the deal was for 'multiple' years, though Hamlin noted he didn't want anything longer than two years. 'Two years is what I was comfortable with,' he said. 'I wanted to make sure I gave them the proper time and make sure I commit to them for not one year but multiple years, to let them try to continue to build the program. I want to make sure I'm still at my peak form in my final year.' There's no indication Hamlin is slowing down. He owns a series best four wins this season and has the top points total, 663, outside the Hendrick Motorsports stable. Only Chase Elliott, William Byron and Kyle Larson enter the weekend with more points. A win in Sunday's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway would allow Hamlin to complete a career sweep of NASCAR's crown jewel races. He's already won three Daytona 500s, three Southern 500s and one Coca-Cola 600. 'Adding another crown jewel would be big and then to have swept them all,' said Hamlin, who will make his 17th career Indy start. 'I mean certainly the names are very, very prestigious on that list, so it would certainly mean a lot to me. It would be just another feather in the cap.' Hamlin has done just about everything else since his first race in 2005 — except win a series title. With 706 career starts, all with JGR, he's the longest tenured driver in team history even though he missed one race this year after the birth of his first son and third child. He ranks 11th on the Cup's career victory list. He also owns 244 top-five finishes, 369 top-10s and has won the pole 44 times. He and NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan even co-own NASCAR's 23XI Racing team, which fields cars for Bubba Wallace, Riley Herbst and Tyler Reddick. Hamlin's team and Front Row Motorsports are locked in a legal battle over antitrust allegations against NASCAR. 'He's very, very high racing IQ,' Reddick said, describing Hamlin. 'I feel like the last couple of years he's done more sharing of that with everybody, with the platforms he uses. For me, he's really helped me understand short track racing. I feel like between him (Hamlin) and Bubba, they helped me better understand what to look for in my car.' And yet, Hamlin also acknowledged he's not really ready to retire yet and he might not be in two years, either. Instead, he wants to see how it feels to be out of the driver's seat, knowing comebacks in this sport happen routinely. Should he have second thoughts, he might even return to JGR. 'I really appreciate Denny and everything he has meant to our organization,' Gibbs said in a statement. 'It is just really special when you think about everything we've experienced over the past 20 years, from that first moment when J.D. (Gibbs) recognized his talent at a test session, until now. It is remarkable in any sport to compete at the level Denny has for this long and we are thrilled he has been able to spend his entire career with us.' But Hamlin's decision also came down to more than sentiment. 'I'd kind of like to see where I'm at two years from now, where the team's at, what's their Plan B, where they are with that and then just how competitive I am, how good do I feel how much and how bad do I want it,' Hamlin said. 'All those things are big, big, big factors in it. But I just want the ability to know I can win my last race. That's the deciding factor.' ___ AP auto racing:

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store