Rough night at Richmond, but A. Dillon, Ryan Blaney, Jamie McMurray still keen on playoffs

By Jerry BonkowskiSep 10, 2017, 2:30 PM EDT

It wasn’t the kind of night that Austin Dillon, Ryan Blaney or Jamie McMurray had hoped for in the final qualifying race for the NASCAR Cup playoffs.

All three drivers hoped to have strong runs in the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway to give them momentum heading into the upcoming 10-race NASCAR Cup playoffs.

Blaney and Dillon had already qualified for the playoffs with wins at Pocono (Blaney) and Charlotte (Dillon).

McMurray, meanwhile, had to qualify for the playoffs on points — and just barely did so, becoming the 16th and final driver to make the upcoming 10-race playoffs.

But McMurray’s 14th place finish, Blaney’s 18th place finish and Dillon’s 21st place showing were not exactly the way they all wanted to leave the regular season and get ready for the playoff opening race Sept. 17 at Chicagoland Speedway.

NBCSN interviewed all three drivers after Saturday night’s race. Check out what they had to say in the video above and below.

Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott involved in big crash at Charlotte

By Mike HembreeMay 29, 2023, 6:46 PM EDT

CONCORD, N.C. — Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott were involved in a big crash midway through Monday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and each blamed the other.

Elliott’s car slapped the outside wall near the start-finish line, and his car made contact with Hamlin’s Toyota, sending Hamlin slamming into the wall. The front end of Hamlin’s car was smashed. Elliott’s Chevrolet also was damaged.

Both drivers parked for the evening, and neither was happy.

Hamlin said Elliott had a “tantrum” and said he should be suspended from next week’s race.

“I got right-rear hooked in the middle of the straightway,” Hamlin said. “Yes, it was a tantrum. He shouldn’t be racing next week. Right-rear hooks are absolutely unacceptable. He shouldn’t be racing.”

Elliott had a different view.

“The 11 (Hamlin) put me in the fence, and once you take the right sides off these things it’s kind of over,” he said. “Once you hit the wall in these things, you can’t drive them any more.”

Elliott denied intentionally hitting Hamlin, saying the crash was “unfortunate circumstances.”

Brad Keselowski hit the rear of Elliott’s car after the initial contact between Hamlin and Elliott.

After the crash, Hamlin tweeted data in support of his contention that Elliott drove into him.

Removing all doubt. His steering came back to the exact same position it had previously after we came off the wall.
The higher the line on steering the further LEFT it’s going. pic.twitter.com/DKo7mrLz28

— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) May 29, 2023

Monday Charlotte Cup race: Start time, TV info, weather

By Mike HembreeMay 29, 2023, 10:50 AM EDT

After two days of soaking rains, the longest race on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is set for a 3 p.m. ET start Monday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The 600-mile marathon was scheduled for a 6:21 p.m. start Sunday, but persistent rain forced a postponement to Memorial Day.

A look at the Monday Cup schedule:

Details for Monday’s Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway

(All times Eastern)

START: The command to start engines will be given at 3:12 p.m. by USO official Barry Morris and retired drivers Jeff Burton, Dale Jarrett and Bobby Labonte. … The green flag is scheduled to be waved at 3:23 p.m.

PRERACE: Driver introductions are scheduled at 2:30 p.m. … The invocation will be given by retired Air Force Master Sergeant Monty Self at 3 p.m. … The national anthem will be performed by U.S. Marine Corps Lance Corporal Elizabeth Marino at 3:04 p.m.

DISTANCE: The race is 400 laps (600 miles) on the 1.5-mile track.

STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 100. Stage 2 ends at Lap 200. Stage 3 ends at Lap 300.

STARTING LINEUP: Charlotte Cup starting lineup

TV/RADIO: Fox will broadcast the race at 3 p.m. … Performance Racing Network coverage begins at 3 p.m. and can be heard on goprn.com. … SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the PRN broadcast.

STREAMING: Foxsports.com

FORECAST: Weather Underground — The forecast calls for overcast skies with a high of 71. There is a 15% chance of rain at the start of the race.

LAST TIME: Denny Hamlin won last year’s 600 as the race was extended to two overtimes, making it the longest race in distance in Cup history.

Monday Charlotte Xfinity race: Start time, TV info, weather

By Mike HembreeMay 29, 2023, 10:02 AM EDT

Charlotte Motor Speedway’s rescheduled NASCAR Xfinity Series race is set for an 11 a.m. start Monday.

The race originally was scheduled Saturday, but was postponed by weather to noon Monday. After Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 Cup Series race also was postponed to Monday, the Xfinity Series race was moved to an 11 a.m. start.

A look at the Monday Xfinity schedule:

Details for Monday’s Xfinity race at Charlotte Motor Speedway

(All times Eastern)

START: The command to start engines will be given at 11:01 a.m. by representatives of race sponsor Alsco Uniforms … The green flag is scheduled to be waved at 11:12 a.m.

PRERACE: Xfinity garage opened at 8 a.m.

DISTANCE: The race is 200 laps (300 miles) on the 1.5-mile track.

STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 45. Stage 2 ends at Lap 90.

STARTING LINEUP: Charlotte Xfinity starting lineup (Justin Haley will replace Kyle Busch in the No. 10 Kaulig Racing car).

TV/RADIO: FS1 will broadcast the race at 11 a.m. … Performance Racing Network coverage begins at 11 a.m. and can be heard on goprn.com. … SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the PRN broadcast.

STREAMING: Foxsports.com

FORECAST: Weather Underground — The forecast calls for overcast skies with a high of 71. There is a 15% chance of rain at the start of the race.

LAST TIME: Josh Berry won last May’s Xfinity race. Ty Gibbs was second and Sam Mayer third.

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Details for Monday’s Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway

(All times Eastern)

Read more about NASCAR

Details for Monday’s Xfinity race at Charlotte Motor Speedway

(All times Eastern)

Read more about NASCAR