Another busy weekend for all three NASCAR premier series teams was featured at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, KY. The XFINITY Series held back-to-back races on the 1.5 mile track on Thursday and Friday nights. Following the ARCA Menards Series afternoon race on Saturday, the Gander Trucks took to the track for another night-time event. The truck race was scheduled to run 150-laps but was shortened after 71 laps due to lightening and rain showers and NASCAR called it an official race. The NASCAR Cup Series teams closed out the weekend on Sunday. The latest results and upcoming scheduled events for NASCAR feeder series are included below as well as details on all tracks mentioned in this column.[[ad:athena]]
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Sun, Jul 12, Quaker State 400 - Kentucky Speedway - 267 laps
- Qualifying lineup for this event was set based on a combination of manager points and a random drawing. P1 went to Kyle Busch (#18 Toyota Camry) with #22 Joey Logano sharing the front row in the P2 spot. #4 Kevin Harvick, #10 Aric Almirola, #88 Alex Bowman, #2 Brad Keselowski, #1 Kurt Busch, #9 Chase Elliott, #19 Martin Truex Jr. and #21 Matt DiBenedetto made up the remainder of the top-10 in the starting lineup. Did not qualify: No one, 38 cars entered for 40-car lineup.
- ROTY contender Cole Custer (#22 Ford Mustang) scored his 1st victory in 20 NCS races. This is his 3rd top-10 finish in 2020. Martin Truex Jr. (2nd) posted his 6th top-10 finish in ten races at Kentucky Speedway. It is his 9th top-10 finish in 2020. Matt DiBenedetto (3rd) earned his 1st top-10 finish in six Kentucky races. Pole-sitter Kyle Busch led 9 laps and finished in 21st place. Kevin Harvick (finished 4th) leads the point standings by 88 points over Brad Keselowski (finished 9th). Next on the NCS schedule: After the non-points All Star Race on Wednesday night (Jul 15) at Bristol Motor Speedway, the NCS returns to points racing on Sun, Jul 19 with the 334-lap O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
TOP 16 - NCS Playoff Contenders (G/L):
1. Kevin Harvick
2. Brad Keselowski +1
3. Ryan Blaney +1
4. Chase Elliott -2
5. Joey Logano +1
6. Denny Hamlin -1
7. Martin Truex Jr.
8. Aric Almirola +1
9. Alex Bowman -1
10. Kurt Busch +1
11. Kyle Busch -1
12. Matt DiBenedetto
13. Clint Bowyer
14. William Byron
15. Jimmie Johnson
16. Austin Dillon
NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) - Race 1
Thu, Jul 9, Shady Rays 200 - Kentucky Speedway - 134 laps (+2 OT)
- Qualifying lineup for this event was set based on a random drawing. P1 went to Noah Gragson (#9 Chevrolet Camaro) with #10 Ross Chastain sharing the front row in the P2 spot. #8 Jeb Burton, #1 Michael Annett, #20 Harrison Burton, #19 Brandon Jones, #98 Chase Briscoe, #39 Ryan Sieg, #11 Justin Haley and #7 Justin Allgaier made up the remainder of the top-10 in the starting lineup. Did not qualify: No one, 36 cars entered for 40-car lineup.
- Austin Cindric (#22 Mustang) scored his 3rd victory in 81 NXS races. This is his 1st victory and 10th top-10 finish in 2020. It is his 1st victory and 2nd top-10 finish in three races at Kentucky Speedway. Riley Herbst (2nd), the highest finishing ROTY, posted his 1st top-10 finish in two Kentucky races and his 7th top-10 in 2020. Ross Chastain (3rd) earned his 2nd top-10 finish in nine races at Kentucky. Pole-sitter Noah Gragson led a race-high 87 laps and finished the race in 11th place. Chase Briscoe (finished 4th) leads the point standings by 16 points over Noah Gragson. Next on the NXS schedule: Fri, Jul 10, Alsco 300 - Kentucky Speedway - 200 laps.
TOP 12 - NXS Playoff Contenders (G/L):
1. Chase Briscoe
2. Noah Gragson
3. Austin Cindric +1
4. Ross Chastain -1
5. Justin Haley
6. Justin Allgaier
7. Harrison Burton
8. Michael Annett +1
9. Brandon Jones -1
10. Ryan Sieg
11. Riley Herbst
12. Myatt Snider +1
NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) - Race 2
Fri, Jul 10, Alsco 300 - Kentucky Speedway - 200 laps
- Qualifying lineup for this event was set based on the results of Thursday night’s race with the top 15 finishers inverted. P1 went to Myatt Snider (#93 Chevrolet Camaro) with #4 Jesse Little sharing the front row in the P2 spot. #08 Joe Graf Jr., #51 Jeremy Clements, #9 Noah Gragson, #02 Brett Moffitt, #39 Ryan Sieg, #47 Kyle Weatherman, #11 Justin Haley, #21 Anthony Alfredo, #1 Michael Annett, #98 Chase Briscoe, #10 Ross Chastain, #18 Riley Herbst and #22 Austin Cindric made up the remainder of the inverted top-15 in the starting lineup. Did not qualify: No one, 36 cars entered for 40-car lineup.
- Austin Cindric (#22 Mustang) sweeps the Kentucky doubleheader. In this event, he scored his 4th victory in 82 NXS races and his 2nd victory and 11th top-10 finish in 2020. It is his 2nd victory and 3rd top-10 finish in four races at Kentucky. Chase Briscoe (2nd) posted his 3rd top-10 finish in three Kentucky races and his 12th top-10 finish in 2020. Justin Haley (3rd) earned his 3rd top-10 finish in three races at Kentucky. Riley Herbst (10th) was the highest finishing ROTY. Chase Briscoe leads the point standings by 19 points over Noah Gragson (finished 7th). Next on the NXS schedule: Sat, Jul 18, My Bariatric Solutions 300 - Texas Motor Speedway - 200 laps.
TOP 12 - NXS Playoff Contenders (G/L):
1. Chase Briscoe
2. Noah Gragson
3. Austin Cindric
4. Ross Chastain
5. Justin Haley
6. Harrison Burton +1
7. Justin Allgaier -1
8. Michael Annett
9. Brandon Jones
10. Riley Herbst +1
11. Ryan Sieg -1
12. Brandon Brown +1
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (GOT)
Sat, Jul 11, Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 - Kentucky Speedway - 150 laps (shortened to 71)
- Qualifying lineup for this event was based on a combination of manager points and a random drawing. P1 went to Brett Moffitt (#23 Chevrolet Silverado) with #21 Zane Smith sharing the front row in the P2 spot. #26 Tyler Ankrum, #18 Christian Eckes, #16 Austin Hill, #99 Ben Rhodes, #98 Grant Enfinger, #2 Sheldon Creed, #38 Todd Gilliland and #51 Chandler Smith made up the remainder of the top-10 in the starting lineup. Did not qualify: No one, 40 trucks entered for the 40-truck lineup.
- The Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 was called official after 71 laps into the scheduled 150 laps due to lightening and rain showers. Sheldon Creed (#22 Chevrolet Silverado) scored his 1st victory in 37 GOT races. This is his 5th top-10 finish in 2020 and his 1st in two races at Kentucky. Ben Rhodes (2nd) posted his 2nd top-10 finish in five Kentucky races and his 5th top-10 in 2020. Matt Crafton (3rd) earned his 16th top-10 finish in 22 races at Kentucky. Pole-sitter Brett Moffitt led a race-high 26 laps and finished in 11th place. Christian Eckes (6th) was the highest finishing ROTY. Austin Hill (finished 5th) leads the point standings by 46 points over Sheldon Creed. Next up for the GOT: Sat, Jul 18, Vankor 350 - Texas Motor Speedway - 167 laps.
TOP 10 - GOT Playoff Contenders (G/L):
1. Austin Hill
2. Sheldon Creed +2
3. Ben Rhodes -1
4. Christian Eckes +2
5. Grant Enfinger -2
6. Zane Smith +1
7. Todd Gilliland -2
8. Brett Moffitt +1
9. Tyler Ankrum -1
10. Johnny Sauter
NASCAR Feeder Series
ARCA Menards Series: Sat, Jul 11, General Tire 150 - Kentucky Speedway - 100 laps
Winner: Ty Gibbs - P1: Michael Self - Points Leader: Michael Self
Next: Sat, Jul 18, Shore Lunch 150 - Iowa Speedway - 150 laps
ARCA Menards East: Sat, Jun 13, Herr’s Potato Chips 200 - Toledo Speedway - 200 laps (+4 OT)
Winner: Ty Gibbs - P1: Sam Mayer - Points Leader: Sam Mayer
Next: Not yet announced.
ARCA Menards West: Sat, Jul 4, ENEOS 125 - Irwindale Speedway - 125 laps
Winner: Jesse Love - P1: Jesse Love - Points Leader: Jesse Love
Next: Not yet announced.
Whelen Modified Tour: Sat, Jul 4, Independence Day 200 - White Mountain - 200 laps (+5 OT)
Winner: Justin Bonsignore - P1: Matt Hirschman - Points Leader: Justin Bonsignore
Next: Not yet announced.
Pinty’s Series:
2020 Season Opener: Not yet announced.
Peak Mexico Series: Thu, Jul 9, at Autodromo del Ecocentro de la Union Ganadera - 150 laps
Winner: Ruben Rovelo - P1: Ruben Rovelo - Points Leader: Ruben Rovelo
Next: Thu, Jul 30, at Autodromo Miguel E. Abed
Track Details
Autodromo del Ecocentro de la Union Ganadera - 0.79-mile oval - Queretaro, Mexico
Autodromo Miguel E. Abed - 1.25-mile oval - Puebla, Mexico
Bristol Motor Speedway - 0.533-mile concrete oval - Bristol, Tennessee
Iowa Speedway - 0.875-mile oval - Newton, Iowa
Irwindale Speedway - 0.5-mile oval - Irwindale, California
Kentucky Speedway - 1.5-mile tri-oval - Sparta, Kentucky
Lucas Oil Raceway - 0.686-mile oval - Brownsburg, Indiana
Texas Motor Speedway - 1.5-mile quad-oval - Fort Worth, Texas
Toledo Speedway - 0.5-mile oval - Toledo, Ohio
White Mountain Motorsports Park - 0.25 mile oval - North Woodstock, New Hampshire
