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NASCAR resumes Atlanta Xfinity race after 80 minute lightning delay
NASCAR resumes Atlanta Xfinity race after 80 minute lightning delay

Yahoo

time8 hours ago

  • Sport
  • Yahoo

NASCAR resumes Atlanta Xfinity race after 80 minute lightning delay

NASCAR had to wait over an hour due to lightning in the area before they were able tor resume Friday night's Xfinity Series race at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta). The track remained dry, but the nearby lightning made it unsafe for the fans and competitors to continue with the event. However, after red-flagging the race at 9:02pm EST, cars rolled back out on track at 10:25pm EST to continue the race. Advertisement Here's a brief rundown of the event before the lengthy stoppage: Sheldon Creed led the NASCAR Xfinity Series field to the green flag at Atlanta in a race that started later than scheduled due to lightning in the area. But once the race got underway, it didn't take long for the first incident of the night. Within the first five laps, the caution flag was out as Blaine Perkins spun around following contact from Christian Eckes. Parker Retzlaff, William Sawalich, and Josh Williams were all collected as well and sustained noticeable damage. Multi-car crash Multi-car crash The race resumed a few laps later with Creed still in control. Austin Hill, who has won five of the last six races, was the clear favorite entering the race. However, the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet abruptly fell through the pack. He reported a fuel pressure issue and was eventually forced onto pit road under green-flag conditions. Advertisement While Hill fell multiple laps down, NASCAR threw the caution on Lap 34 of the 45-lap opening stage. The reason was inclement weather and due to a lightning strike within eight miles of the track, they were forced to halt the race. The field rolled down pit road and the race was red-flagged with Creed still in command. Connor Zilisch, who earned his first oval win one week ago at Pocono, was in second. Sam Mayer, Jesse Love, and Taylor Gray rounded out the top five. Ryan Sieg, Aric Almirola, Nick Sanchez, Justin Allgaier, and Leland Honeyman filled out the remainder of the top ten. While the field split on strategy once the race went back to yellow-flag conditions, some chose to stay out for a five-lap sprint to the end of the stage. Unfortunately, a massive wreck immediately ensued, taking out several cars. Read Also: In-season challenge matchups "could cause chaos" in Atlanta Cup race Joey Logano earns NASCAR Cup pole in a tie as Ford dominates Atlanta qualifying To read more articles visit our website.

Joey Logano wins Cup Series pole in Atlanta on tiebreaker
Joey Logano wins Cup Series pole in Atlanta on tiebreaker

Reuters

time13 hours ago

  • Automotive
  • Reuters

Joey Logano wins Cup Series pole in Atlanta on tiebreaker

June 28 - HAMPTON, Ga. -- Joey Logano led an armada of Fords into the top eight starting spots for Saturday night's Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway (7 p.m. ET on TNT, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Logano clocked in at 30.979 seconds (178.960 mph) in Friday's qualifying session to secure his first Busch Light Pole Award of the season, his third at EchoPark and the 32nd of his career. Logano matched the time posted earlier by Josh Berry of Wood Brothers Racing, but the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford got the nod for the pole on an owner points tiebreaker. Ryan Blaney posted the third-fastest lap at 178.937 mph, followed by Austin Cindric at 178.626 mph, as Team Penske drivers and the Penske affiliate Wood Brothers locked out the first two rows for Sunday's race, the opening round of the 32-driver In-Season Challenge. Logano faces ninth-place qualifier Alex Bowman in the first round. "Being up front and controlling this race is the name of the game," said Logano, who won last year's second Atlanta race, which was held in September. "If you can get up there and solidify the top position, I feel like you can stay there. The thing is, there are a lot of 'What ifs?' that play out in this race, a lot of cautions that may be timed in a different way, where it can jumble up the field. "It's hard to say you're going to be leading every lap... The good thing is that we controlled what we could today. I'm super proud of Team Penske, Roush Yates (Engines), Ford, obviously to keep our Mustangs up there. It really shows the ability to repeat from car to car, which is really hard to do. "We tied with the 21 (Berry) and the other cars were within a couple hundredths of a second." Ryan Preece, Brad Keselowski, Cole Custer and Zane Smith completed the Ford sweep of the top eight starting spots. Bowman drove the fastest Chevrolet to ninth on the grid, and Pocono Raceway winner Chase Briscoe was 10th in the quickest Toyota. Denny Hamlin, top seed in the In-Season Challenge, qualified 33rd but expects his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to fare better in race trim. Nevertheless, Hamlin starts 19 spots behind Ty Dillon, the driver he has to beat to advance to the second round of the tournament. Briscoe, the second seed, starts 17 positions ahead of close friend Noah Gragson, his first-round opponent. Qualifying was interrupted by a 30-minute lightning hold, but no rain hit the track despite storms in the area. --Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media

Stubbs: NASCAR Madness keeps the subplots churning
Stubbs: NASCAR Madness keeps the subplots churning

Reuters

time18 hours ago

  • Sport
  • Reuters

Stubbs: NASCAR Madness keeps the subplots churning

June 27 - On Saturday, the elimination portion of NASCAR's inaugural In-Season Challenge will begin at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Ga. The five-week, 32-driver, bracket-style challenge features a grand prize of $1 million, but why should fans bother to pay attention to yet another storyline in a sport full of them? Perhaps it is not the shameless gimmick that it seems to be at first glance. The idea of having an in-season tournament is not exclusive to NASCAR. The NBA introduced one in 2023 as a way to spice up the first half of the schedule. That's exactly what NASCAR is attempting to do with its In-Season Challenge. Despite several bold scheduling initiatives, including the addition of the Chicago Street Race, a return to Nashville Superspeedway and the return of the Brickyard 400, NASCAR's summer stretch has seemed relatively stale compared to the rest of the season for years. Fans annually endure one of the longest seasons in professional sports, and races in the dog days of summer generally don't generate the same hype that races over the first and final quarters of the season do. NASCAR's In-Season Challenge is an attempt to remedy that stale feeling and get fans excited well in advance of the postseason. The five-race tournament begins Saturday, where half of the 32-driver field will be eliminated. Those 32 drivers were seeded based on their best finish over the last three races: Michigan, Mexico City and Pocono. Following the Chicago Street Race on July 6, the field will be chopped to eight. Following Sonoma on July 13, the field will be whittled down to four before the July 20 race at Dover decides the final two drivers left standing. From there, the winner of the tournament is decided in a crown jewel event, as the Brickyard 400 on July 27 crowns the champion of the inaugural In-Season Challenge. So scoff at the creation if you must, but on the surface, the In-Season Challenge is a harmless storyline that has the potential to liven up the summer. If anything, it will place a spotlight on fights for position that otherwise would have seemed pointless. A battle for 27th place may be the battle to advance to the next round. If the race leader is running away with the win at Indianapolis, a spirited tussle for 14th could determine who gets an extra $1 million. Advancing in the tournament carries with it the knowledge that you beat another competitor head-to-head in a pressure-packed situation, regardless of the circumstances. Bragging rights and a big check may be on the line for competitors, but fans will get to see different strategies and calls be made as teams attempt to do whatever they can to advance. Without the In-Season Challenge, certain strategies or decisions may not seem noteworthy. But during the In-Season Challenge, they could be the difference between $1 million and the wrong kind of blank check. Saturday's race at Atlanta is pretty much guaranteed to feature soap opera levels of drama with or without the In-Season Challenge. But pitting 32 drivers against each other in head-to-head matchups, in a race where working together is the key to winning, makes the fourth superspeedway race of 2025 appointment viewing. Fans also have the opportunity to win their own $1 million if they can fill out a perfect bracket. It adds a March Madness wrinkle to the viewing experience. Throw in a street course, a road course, a unique one-mile oval in Dover and a crown jewel race at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and a chaotic slice of the schedule is ready to offer even more twists and turns. The In-Season Challenge won't be the sole focus of teams as they try to win races and position themselves to make the Cup Series playoffs. But it's a chance for NASCAR's summer stretch to cut through the noise of a busy entertainment world and give fans a reason to be on the edge of their seats for every lap of the next five races. With a million bucks on the line, you can bet the drivers will be on the edge of their seats, too. --Samuel Stubbs, Field Level Media

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