Manufacturer News and They Said It
By Roy J. Akers- www.skyviewsports
Las Vegas saw one of the largest turnarounds in recent NASCAR history as Joey Logano was going home after the Charlotte Roval as 9th in points to finish the Round of 12 behind Alex Bowman. Bowman’s post-race DQ gave Logano second life and his Las Vegas win gives him a berth in the final week shootout at Phoenix. If the Miami and Martinsville Races were run, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson and William Byron would join Logano. But that is premature as we have seen drivers zip up and down the standings and race wins coming from non playoff drivers. Enjoy the races. The previews by manufacturers and they said it are below.
NASCAR Points Race to Phoenix finale
Chevrolet at Homestead-Miami Speedway
In 25 all-time NASCAR Cup Series races at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Chevrolet has earned seven trips to victory lane – each recorded with a different driver. Among those includes two Team Chevy playoff contenders, William Byron and Kyle Larson, who took their Hendrick Motorsports-prepared Chevrolet’s to the win in back-to-back seasons (Byron – Feb. 2021; Larson – Oct. 2022). This season marks the 19th year that Homestead-Miami Speedway has hosted a playoff race, with its most notable stint coming between 2004 – 2019 when the venue hosted the series’ season finale race. Over that time span, three drivers took Chevrolet to the victory and a driver’s championship including Tony Stewart (2011), Kevin Harvick (2014) and Jimmie Johnson (2016).
Toyota Racing at Homestead
Cup Series points shake up heading to Homestead … Following Sunday’s race in Las Vegas, the three remaining Camry XSE Playoff drivers all find themselves in different positions heading to Homestead this weekend. Christopher Bell, coming off a pole position in Las Vegas, his second consecutive runner-up finish and another stage win, currently sits 42 points above the cutline with two races remaining in the round. His Toyota teammates, Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick find themselves below the Playoff cutline going into this weekend, 27 and 30 points under, respectively.
Ford Performance
LOGANO CLINCHES SPOT IN CHAMPIONSHIP 4
Joey Logano led only six laps on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but they were the final six and that vaulted him into the Championship 4 for the sixth time since the format was introduced in 2014. Coincidentally, all of Logano’s appearances have come in even years (2014, ‘16, ‘18, ‘20, ‘22 and ‘24). The two-time Cup Series champion will look to become the 10th driver to win at least three titles and join the likes of three-time winners Tony Stewart, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, David Pearson and Lee Petty; four-time champion Jeff Gordon; and seven-time titleholders Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty.
They Said It… Talking to the Media… Drivers clue the media in
Christopher Bell- What is the strategy for these next two races – to gain max points or something different?
Bell: “Yeah, I think that’s what we’re planning on (gaining max points). You know, that’s why you’re in the Round of 8, trying to transfer to the Championship 4. You’re never really safe. The three of us William (Byron), Kyle (Larson) and myself have kind of, the way that the cards fell, we’re kind of essentially point racing each other, and the guys below that are far enough below, they’re basically out of the points and essentially racing for wins. Certainly, we’ll know more once we get through Homestead on Sunday night, but, right now, we’re planning on there being three winners and the three of us – William, Kyle and myself – are racing for that last points spot.
Denny Hamlin- Must Win
If you’re in a must-win situation next weekend, do you feel like you can accomplish that?
“I certainly can. The ‘will’ of you is the real question. If I knew how the race would play out, I’d do a better job driving. It’s just, these are variables, and you have 35 other guys that have different plans than letting you win. You know, it’s very difficult to win these races. We’ve seen that. Certainly, feel like it’s a race track if I had to (win to advance), I’m certainly capable. The ‘will,’ I don’t know.”