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NBC Sports
5 days ago
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
Good news, bad news for NASCAR Cup drivers ahead of Watkins Glen weekend
For the third time in the last six races, the NASCAR Cup Series will compete on a road course. Sunday's race at Watkins Glen (coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. ET on USA Network) is the fifth and final road course race of the regular season. Shane van Gisbergen seeks his fourth consecutive road course victory. He also looks to make amends for losing last year's race at Watkins Glen on the last lap. With some help from Racing Insights, here is a look at the good news and bad news for Cup teams heading into the race on the 2.45-mile road course in New York. 23XI Racing — Good news: Bubba Wallace has scored three consecutive top-10 finishes, including his win at Indianapolis. … Tyler Reddick's 15 top-10 finishes on road courses in the Next Gen era is tied with Chris Buescher for most among all drivers. … Reddick has scored 138 points in road course races this season, second only to Shane van Gisbergen's 194 points. Bad news: Riley Herbst has one top-20 finish in the last 12 races. Front Row Motorsports — Good news: Zane Smith finished fifth at Watkins Glen last year. … Todd Gilliland has three top 10s in the last eight road course races. Bad news: Noah Gragson's 29th-place result at Iowa was his best finish in the last five races. … Gragson has fourth finishes of 30th or worse in the last five road course races. … Smith has six finishes of 22nd or worse in the last eight races. Haas Factory Team — Good news: Cole Custer's only top-10 finish this season came on the road course at Mexico City when he placed eighth. Bad News: Custer has not started better than 23rd on a road course this season. … Custer has not scored any stage points since Martinsville in the spring. Hendrick Motorsports — Good news: William Byron took back the points lead from teammate Chase Elliott after winning at Iowa. … Byron has scored a series-high 230 stage points (next is Ryan Blaney at 191 stage points). … Byron has eight top 10s, including two wins, in the last 11 road course starts. … Elliott leads all drivers with 11 top-five finishes on road courses in the Next Gen era. … Elliott has finished in the top five in 56% of his road course starts. … The organization has won five of the last six races at Watkins Glen, getting two wins each from Elliott and Kyle Larson and one from Byron. … Alex Bowman's 13 top-10 finishes this season trails only Larson, who has 14 top 10s to lead the series. … Bowman has six top-10 results in the last eight races. … Hendrick Motorsports is the only organization to have at least one car finish in the top 10 in all 23 races this year. Bad news: Larson has finished 32nd or worse in three of the four road course events this season. … All seven of Elliott's road course wins came before the Next Gen car in 2022. Dustin Long, Hyak Motorsports — Good news: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has finished in the top 15 in three of the last five Watkins Glen races. Bad news: Stenhouse has one top-20 finish in the last eight races. … Stenhouse has not started better than 30th in the last nine races. … Stenhouse has four finishes of 27th or worse in the last six road course races. Joe Gibbs Racing — Good news: Chase Briscoe has finished second in three of the last four races (Sonoma, Dover and Iowa). … Christopher Bell has three top-two finishes in the last five road course races. … Bell, who won at COTA in March, is the only driver to have won a Cup road course race this season other than Shane van Gisbergen… Bell has three top 10s in four Watkins Glen starts. … Bell ranks first in restarts on road courses this season. ... Nine of Denny Hamlin's 21 career top-10 finishes on road courses have come at Watkins Glen. … Ty Gibbs has five top-five finishes in his last 11 starts on road courses. … Gibbs has 12 top-10 starts in the last 15 races. Bad news: Bell's average finish in the last nine races is 15.2 (his average finish in the first 14 races of the season was 10.8). Kaulig Racing — Good news: AJ Allmendinger has two top-five finishes in the last three races at Watkins Glen. … Allmendinger's average finish of 10.8 at Watkins Glen is his best among active tracks. … Allmendinger has six finishes of sixth or better in his last 11 Cup starts on road courses. ... Allmendinger ranks second in the series in passing and restarts on road courses. Bad news: Ty Dillon has not placed better than 15th in 29 Cup road course starts. Legacy Motor Club — Good news: John Hunter Nemechek has three top-15 finishes in the last five races. … Nemechek placed sixth at Mexico City, his best finish in a Cup road course race. … Erik Jones' 16th-place result at Iowa snapped a a streak of four consecutive finishes of 25th or worse. Bad news: Jones placed 27th or worse in three of the last four Watkins Glen races. … Jones has no top-10 finishes in the last 16 road course races. Richard Childress Racing — Good news: Both of Kyle Busch's top-five finishes this season have come on road courses (5th at COTA and 5th at Chicago Street Race). … Austin Dillon placed 10th last week at Iowa for his first top 10 since early May. Bad news: The organization has not led a lap in the last nine races. … Busch has not led a lap in the last 11 races. … Dillon has never placed better than 15th in 10 Cup starts at Watkins Glen. Rick Ware Racing — Good news: Cody Ware's most recent top-30 finish was 26th at Chicago Street Race last month. Bad news: Ware has four consecutive finishes of 32nd or worse. RFK Racing — Good news: Brad Keselowski has seven top-10 finishes in the last 11 races after having no top 10s in the first 12 races of the year. … Chris Buescher, who holds the final playoff spot, won last year's race at Watkins Glen. … Buescher is the only driver to finish in the top 10 in all three races at Watkins Glen in the Next Gen era. … Fifteen of Buescher's 52 top-10 finishes in the Next Gen era (28.8%) have come on road courses. … Ryan Preece, the first driver below the cutline, has scored back-to-back top-five finishes. … Preece was ninth at Watkins Glen last year for his best result there in four starts. Bad news: Keselowski has not had a top-10 finish in his last 19 starts on road courses. Spire Motorsports — Good news: Michael McDowell has two top-five finishes in the four road course races this season. … McDowell has two top 10s in the last three races at Watkins Glen. … Spire Motorsports placed all three of its cars in the top 10 last year at Watkins Glen, led by Carson Hocevar's third-place finish. Bad news: Justin Haley has not finished better than 18th in four Cup starts at Watkins Glen. … Hocevar has placed 32nd or worse in the last three Cup road course races. Team Penske — Good news: This weekend Joey Logano will become the 13th driver in NASCAR history to make 600 consecutive Cup starts. … Ryan Blaney has scored three top 10s in a row, the first time he's done that this season. Bad news: Logano has not finished better than ninth in the last nine races. … Logano's lone road course Cup win came in 2015 at Watkins Glen. … Logano has not led a lap in the last five races, his longest drought of the season. … Austin Cindric has only one top-10 finish since his win at Talladega in April. Trackhouse Racing — Good news: Shane van Gisbergen goes for his fourth consecutive road course victory after wins at Mexico City, Chicago Street Race and Sonoma. … Only Jeff Gordon (six consecutive road course wins) and Chase Elliott (four) have won at least four in a row. … van Gisbergen also won the pole for each of the last three road course races. … van Gisbergen has scored six consecutive top 10s on road courses, the longest active streak in the series. … van Gisbergen ranks first in speed, long run and passing on road courses this season. … Ross Chastain won the pole and finished fourth at Watkins Glen last year. … Connor Zilisch will make his fourth start of the season, driving the No. 87 car. … Zilisch won from the pole in both the ARCA and Xfinity races last year at Watkins Glen. Bad news: Daniel Suarez has one finish better than 25th in the last six races. … Suarez has one top-10 finish in the last 16 road course races. … Chastain has five finishes of 24th or worse in the last seven races. Wood Brothers Racing — Good news: Josh Berry's 13th-place finish at Sonoma last month was his best result in nine Cup road course starts. Bad news: Berry has finished 22nd or worse in six of the last 10 races.
NBC Sports
17-07-2025
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
Examining the NASCAR Cup In-Season Challenge semifinal matchups at Dover
NASCAR's In-Season Challenge is down to four drivers heading into Sunday's semifinals at Dover Motor Speedway. Tyler Reddick goes against Ty Gibbs. John Hunter Nemechek is paired against Ty Dillon. They seek to advance to next weekend's finals at Indianapolis. The winner will receive $1 million. Here is a look, with the help of Racing Insights, at the second-round pairings for Sunday's race: No. 6 Ty Gibbs vs. No. 23 Tyler Reddick How they got here Ty Gibbs eliminated Justin Haley (seeded 27th) at Atlanta, AJ Allmendinger (22) at Chicago and Zane Smith (14) at Sonoma Tyler Reddick eliminated Kyle Larson (10) at Atlanta, Carson Hocevar (26) at Chicago and Ryan Preece (15) at Sonoma. On a roll: Tyler Reddick has finished sixth or better in each of the last three races. Close matchup: Gibbs and Reddick have finished within one position of each other in the past two races and finished within three spots of each other in five of the last 11 races. Dover stats: Reddick's best finish at Dover is seventh in 2023. He has finished 11th or better in three of the last four races. Gibbs' best finish at Dover came last year when he placed 10th. He has finished 10th and 13th in his two Cup starts at Dover. Winner ... advances to meet winner of John Hunter Nemechek - Ty Dillon matchup in finals at Indianapolis for the $1 million prize. No. 12 John Hunter Nemechek vs. No. 32 Ty Dillon John Hunter Nemechek eliminated Josh Berry (21) at Atlanta, Chase Elliott (5) at Chicago and Erik Jones (20) at Sonoma. Ty Dillon eliminated Denny Hamlin (1) at Atlanta, Brad Keselowski (17) at Chicago and Alex Bowman (8) at Sonoma. Cinderella story: Dillon, the last seed in the 32-driver event, has posted three consecutive top-20 finishes. That's the first time he's done that since August 2022. Dillon trailed Bowman on the final corner of the final lap before he bumped him out of the way to finish ahead of him at Sonoma and advance. Close calls: Nemechek finished one spot ahead of Chase Elliott to eliminate him at Chicago. Nemechek passed Legacy Motor Club teammate Erik Jones for position with two laps left at Sonoma to advance to the semifinals. Dover stats: Nemechek's best Dover finish is 20th, which he did last year and in 2020. Nemechek has finished no worse than 24th in three Cup starts at Dover. Dillon last ran a Cup race at Dover in 2023, finishing 36th. Dillon's best Dover finish is 14th in June 2017. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Tyler Reddick - Ty Gibbs matchup in finals at Indianapolis for the $1 million prize.
NBC Sports
10-07-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Third-round matchups in NASCAR Cup In-Season Challenge at Sonoma
The upsets continued in the second round of NASCAR's In-Season Challenge, leaving eight drivers in contention for the $1 million prize. Ty Dillon, the No. 32 seed in the 32-driver event continued his run. After eliminating top seed Denny Hamlin at Atlanta, Dillon beat No. 17 seed Brad Keselowski last weekend at Chicago to move on to the third round. Sunday's race at Sonoma Raceway will cut the field In-Season Challenge field to four drivers. Here is a look, with the help of Racing Insights, at the second-round pairings for Sunday's race: No. 6 Ty Gibbs vs. No. 14 Zane Smith How they got here Gibbs eliminated Justin Haley (seeded 27th) at Atlanta and AJ Allmendinger (22) at Chicago. Smith eliminated Austin Cindric (19) at Atlanta and Chris Buescher (3) at Chicago. Follow the road: Gibbs has an average finish of 15.7 in three road course races this season, while Smith's average finish is 26.0. Rolling: Gibbs has five consecutive top-15 finishes, including two top-five results. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Ryan Preece - Tyler Reddick matchup. No. 8 Alex Bowman vs. No. 32 Ty Dillon Bowman eliminated Joey Logano (25) at Atlanta and Bubba Wallace (9) at Chicago. Dillon eliminated Denny Hamlin (1) at Atlanta and Brad Keselowski (17) at Chicago. Matchup of opposites: Bowman is one of two drivers to finish in the top 10 in all three road course races this season (Shane van Gisbergen is the other). Dillon has not finished better than 20th in the three road course races this year. Bowman has seven top-10 finishes, including a win in his last 11 races on road courses. Dillon has never finished better than 15th in 28 Cup road course starts. Upset Special: The driver with the worse seed has won 11 of the 24 matchups so far, including Dillon's two wins. Winner ... advances to meet winner of John Hunter Nemechek - Erik Jones matchup. No. 12 John Hunter Nemechek vs. No. 20 Erik Jones Nemechek eliminated Josh Berry (21) at Atlanta and Chase Elliott (5) at Chicago. Jones eliminated Ross Chastain (13) at Atlanta and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (29) at Chicago. Familiar faces: This matchup pits Legacy Motor Club teammates against each other. At least the organization knows it will have one driver among the final four in the race for $1 million. Close duel: In the last eight races, Nemechek and Jones have each finished better than the other four times. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Ty Dillon - Alex Bowman matchup. No. 15 Ryan Preece vs. No. 23 Tyler Reddick Preece eliminated William Byron (18) at Atlanta and Noah Gragson (31) at Chicago. Reddick eliminated Kyle Larson (10) at Atlanta and Carson Hocevar (26) at Chicago. Road course ringer: In the Next Gen era, Reddick is tied for the most road course wins (three) and poles (three) and ranks second in top-five finishes (nine) and top-10 finishes (14). On a roll: Preece has five top-10 finishes in the last eight races. That is tied for the most top 10s in that span. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Ty Gibbs - Zane Smith matchup.
NBC Sports
05-07-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Examining NASCAR Cup 2nd-round In-Season Challenge matchups at Chicago
After a wild opening round that saw the top two seeds eliminated, along with a few other favorites, the In-Season Challenge heads to Chicago for the second round. The 32-team field has been cut to 16 for Sunday's street race. The third round (eight remaining drivers) is at Sonoma. The fourth round (four remaining drivers) is at Dover. The final round (two remaining drivers) is at Indianapolis. The winner will collect $1 million. Here is a look, with the help of Racing Insights, at the second-round pairings for Sunday's race: No. 3 Chris Buescher vs. No. 14 Zane Smith At the front: Chris Buescher has the best average finish on road courses in the Next Gen car at 8.8. On a roll: Buescher has scored four consecutive top-10 finishes. Zane Smith has finished seventh twice in the last four races. Winner ... advances to meet winner of AJ Allmendinger - Ty Gibbs matchup. No. 5 Chase Elliott vs. No. 12 John Hunter Nemechek Streaking: Atlanta winner Chase Elliott has scored three consecutive top-five finishes entering this weekend. Road trip: Elliott has finished in the top five in both road course events this year, finishing third in Mexico and fourth at Circuit of the Americas. Nemechek finished sixth at Mexico for his best road course finish in Cup. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Erik Jones - Ricky Stenhouse Jr. matchup. No. 6 Ty Gibbs vs. No. 22 AJ Allmendinger Top dog: Ty Gibbs has the best average finish on the streets of the Chicago at 6.0 in two races, placing third last year and ninth in the inaugural event. Three of a kind: All three of AJ Allmendinger's Cup victories have come on road courses: Watkins Glen, Indianapolis Road Course and Charlotte Roval. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Zane Smith - Chris Buescher matchup. No. 8 Alex Bowman vs. No. 9 Bubba Wallace Spicy history: NASCAR fined Bubba Wallace $50,000 for his retaliatory actions after Alex Bowman won last year's Chicago Street Race. Wallace was upset with Bowman for contact during the race that turned him. Wallace door-slammed Bowman's car on the cool-down lap and sent it into the wall. Two-for-two: Alex Bowman has top-10 finishes in both road course events this season, placing fourth in Mexico and ninth at COTA. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Brad Keselowski - Ty Dillon matchup. No. 15 Ryan Preece vs. No. 31 Noah Gragson I know you: Matchup of former Stewart-Haas Racing teammates. Opposite directions: Noah Gragson has five consecutive finishes outside the top 20. Ryan Preece has four top-20 finishes in the last five races. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Carson Hocevar - Tyler Reddick matchup. No. 17 Brad Keselowski vs. No. 32 Ty Dillon By the numbers: Brad Keselowski's average finish on road courses in the Next Gen car is 20.6 with one top-10 finish. Ty Dillon's average finish on road courses in the Next Gen car is 27.7 with no finish better than 16th. Back-to-back: Keselowski has finished in the top 10 in each of the past two races this season. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Alex Bowman - Bubba Wallace matchup. No. 20 Erik Jones vs. No. 29 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Mirror image: Erik Jones' average finish this season is 18.4. Stenhouse's average finish this season is 18.9. Both drivers have three top-10 finishes this year. Turning the corner: Jones has finished in the top 15 in five of the last six races. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Chase Elliott - John Hunter Nemechek matchup. No. 23 Tyler Reddick vs. No. 26 Carson Hocevar Familiar ground: Tyler Reddick finished second in last year's race on the streets of Chicago. Tough matchup: Carson Hocevar has finished ahead of Reddick on a road course just once in seven Cup races. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Noah Gragson - Ryan Preece matchup.
NBC Sports
27-06-2025
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
Examining NASCAR Cup first-round In-Season Challenge matchups
NASCAR's In-Season Challenge makes its debut this weekend at EchoPark Speedway, the track formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway. Thirty-two drivers were seeded based on their best finish in the last three weeks (Michigan, Mexico and Pocono). The drivers were paired based on those seedings. The driver who finishes the best in his matchup advances to the next round. The second round (16 remaining drivers) is at the Chicago Street Race. The third round (eight remaining drivers) is at Sonoma. The fourth round (four remaining drivers) is at Dover. The final round (two remaining drivers) is at Indianapolis. The winner will collect $1 million. Here is a look, with the the help of Racing Insights, at the first-round pairings: No. 1 Denny Hamlin vs. No. 32 Ty Dillon Hot streak: Denny Hamlin has finished in the top three in each of his last three starts this season. Long odds: The last time Ty Dillon finished ahead of Denny Hamlin at Atlanta was March 2017 when Dillon placed 15th and Hamlin was 38th — well before EchoPark Speedway ˜was reconfigured and became a drafting track. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Kyle Busch - Brad Keselowski matchup. No. 2 Chase Briscoe vs. No. 31 Noah Gragson Fun fact: James Small, crew chief for Chase Briscoe, has 95 career top-10 finishes. Noah Gragson will be making his 93rd career Cup start this weekend. Former teammates: This is the only first-round matchup involving former Cup teammates. Both raced at Stewart-Haas Racing in 2024. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Ryan Preece - William Byron matchup. No. 3 Chris Buescher vs. No. 30 Todd Gilliland Third time a charm for Buescher? Todd Gilliland has finished better than Chris Buescher in the last two races at a drafting track. Gilliland was 16th at Talladega and Buescher was 34th due to an accident. At Atlanta in February, Gilliland placed 15th, while Buescher was 30th after his car was damaged in an incident. Strong start: Chris Buescher has nine top-10 finishes this season in the first 17 races. That's his most top 10s through the first 17 races of a Cup season. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Zane Smith - Austin Cindric matchup. No. 4 Christopher Bell vs. No. 29 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Familiar face: This is a matchup between spotter Tab Boyd's former driver (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) and his new driver (Christopher Bell). This will be Boyd's first race with Bell. See ya in Victory Lane: These two have combined to win two of the last four points races on a drafting track. Bell won at Atlanta in February. Stenhouse won at Talladega last fall. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Ross Chastain - Erik Jones matchup. No. 5 Chase Elliott vs. No. 28 Austin Dillon Dominant: Chase Elliott has finished better than Austin Dillon in 13 of the 17 points races this season, including six in a row. Consistent: Elliott has an average finish of 10.5 on the reconfigured Atlanta track, which ranks second among drivers who have made at least three starts on it. He has the best average finish in the series this season at 10.8. Winner ... advances to meet winner of John Hunter Nemechek - Josh Berry matchup No. 6 Ty Gibbs vs. No. 27 Justin Haley Streaking: Ty Gibbs has finished better than Justin Haley in each of the last six races. Five for five: All five of Haley's Cup (one win) and Xfinity (four) victories have come at drafting tracks. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Michael McDowell - AJ Allmendinger matchup. No. 7 Ryan Blaney vs. No. 26 Carson Hocevar Familiar foes: Ryan Blaney was one of the drivers upset with Carson Hocevar at Atlanta in February after Hocevar's contact spun Blaney. Close duel: Hocevar finished second at Atlanta in February. Blaney placed fourth in that race. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Kyle Larson - Tyler Reddick matchup. No. 8 Alex Bowman vs. No. 25 Joey Logano Better days ahead? Since winning at Atlanta in last year's playoff race, Joey Logano has finished 33rd or worse in three of the last four races on drafting tracks. The exception was a 12th-place result at Atlanta in February. Close duel: Alex Bowman has finished better than Joey Logano in nine of the 17 points races this season. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Bubba Wallace - Daniel Suarez matchup. No. 9 Bubba Wallace vs. No. 24 Daniel Suarez Better run lately: Bubba Wallace has finished better than Daniel Suarez in five of the last six races. Recent Atlanta winner: Suarez won at Atlanta last year in the closest 1-2-3 finish in Cup history. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Alex Bowman - Joey Logano matchup. No. 10 Kyle Larson vs. No. 23 Tyler Reddick Good time for a win: Kyle Larson is winless in 50 Cup starts on a drafting track. Also, Larson's five-race winless streak entering this weekend is tied for his longest of the season. In need of a turnaround: Tyler Reddick has one top-10 finish in the last nine points races. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Ryan Blaney - Carson Hocevar matchup No. 11 Michael McDowell vs. No. 22 AJ Allmendinger Looking to improve: Michael McDowell has one top-10 finish in his last nine races on drafting tracks, dating back to last season. Intriguing matchup: With two road courses after this weekend (Chicago Street Race and Sonoma), the winner of his matchup could be in a good position to advance deep in the tournament. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Ty Gibbs - Justin Haley matchup. No. 12 John Hunter Nemechek vs. No. 21 Josh Berry Opposite directions: John Hunter Nemechek comes into the weekend off back-to-back sixth-place finishes. He has four top-10 finishes in the last seven races. Josh Berry has one top-10 finish in the last 12 races. Drafting tracks: John Hunter Nemechek has two top 10s in three races on drafting tracks this season. Josh Berry won a stage at Atlanta in February but has yet to score a top-20 finish this year on a drafting track. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Chase Elliott - Austin Dillon matchup. No. 13 Ross Chastain vs. No. 20 Erik Jones Friendly track: Ross Chastain has four top-10 finishes, including a pair of runner-up results, in the seven races since the Atlanta track was reconfigured. Close duel? Chastain and Jones have finished within four positions of each other in four of the last eight races. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Christopher Bell - Ricky Stenhouse Jr. matchup. No. 14 Zane Smith vs. No. 19 Austin Cindric Teammate tussle? If Zane Smith and Todd Gilliland can each win their first-round matchups, the Front Row Motorsports drivers would meet in the second round. Tough draw: Smith won't have it easy with Austin Cindric, who won at Talladega in the most recent race at a drafting track, led the most laps in the Daytona 500 and ranked third in laps led at Atlanta in February. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Chris Buescher - Todd Gilliland matchup. No. 15 Ryan Preece vs. No. 18 William Byron Up and down: While William Byron has two wins at Atlanta since the track was reconfigured, he's also placed 27th or worse three times. Challenging draw: Ryan Preece has never finished better than 16th in nine career Cup starts at Atlanta. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Chase Briscoe - Noah Gragson matchup. No. 16 Kyle Busch vs. No. 17 Brad Keselowski Heavy hitters: This is the only first-round matchup between two former Cup champions. Streaking: Kyle Busch has scored five consecutive top-10 finishes at Atlanta. Brad Keselowski has finished 19th or worse in his last three starts there. Winner ... advances to meet winner of Denny Hamlin - Ty Dillon match.
