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Anthony Alfredo wins Saturday Night Thunder iRacing event at Dover

By Daniel McFadinMay 2, 2020, 10:19 PM EDT
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Anthony Alfredo won the Saturday Night Thunder iRacing event on a digital Dover International Speedway, coming out on top in a duel with Alex Labbe.

Alfredo, who competes in the Xfinity Series for Richard Childress Racing, had to pass Labbe twice in the final 12 laps to secure the win on the 1-mile track.

He took the lead for the final time with seven laps to go in the 125-lap race.

“If you were looking on my Twitch stream right now … I’m sweating so bad,” Alfredo said after the race on the Saturday Night Thunder broadcast. “I’m sweating as much as I do in a 140-degree race car. That was unreal, man.”

The race came down to Alfredo and Labbe mostly due to pit strategy. Labbe was the first to pit during a green flag cycle with 49 laps to go. Alfredo had fresher tires when he caught him.

“I knew long run was my strength,” Alfredo said. “That five to 10-lap window of better tires is a tremendous difference here.”

Alfredo made his Xfinity debut earlier this year at Auto Club Speedway. It’s his only start in the series this season.

The top five was completed by Raphael Lessard, Chase Cabre and Landon Huffman.

Donny Lia, a Whelen Modified driver, dominated the first part of the race, leading every lap from the pole until he pit with around 40 laps to go and was caught speeding. He had to serve a penalty and finished off the lead lap.

The race saw three cautions.

The first occurred on Lap 20 for a multi-car crash involving Tyler Ankrum. After the restart on Lap 23, the caution waved on Lap 25 for another multi-car incident that included Noah Gragson. The race resumed on Lap 25 before the caution returned on Lap 32 for a multi-car wreck that included Christian Eckes, Ty Majeski, Josh Berry and Ruben Garcia.

After the field was set through four heat races and two last chance qualifying races, the top eight in the field were inverted, with Lia starting first.

Results

Feature

  1. Anthony Alfredo
  2. Alex Labbe
  3. Raphael Lessard
  4. Chase Cabre
  5. Landon Huffman
  6. Brett Moffitt
  7. Ruben Garcia Jr.
  8. Ryan Truex
  9. Kaz Grala
  10. Donny Lia
  11. Jeb Burton
  12. Sam Mayer
  13. Will Rodgers
  14. Chase Briscoe
  15. Stephen Leicht
  16. Tommy Joe Martins
  17. Derek Krause
  18. Bayley Currey
  19. Ty Majeski
  20. Christian Eckes
  21. Noah Gragson
  22. Josh Berry
  23. Drew Herring
  24. Todd Gilliland
  25. Tyler Ankrum
  26. Ryan Vargas

Heat 1 (10 laps — top six drivers advance to main event):

  1. Josh Berry
  2. Chase Cabre
  3. Stephen Leicht
  4. Drew Herring
  5. Ruben Garcia Jr.
  6. Jeb Burton
  7. Sam Mayer
  8. Sheldon Creed
  9. Harrison Burton
  10. Josh Bilicki
  11. CJ McLaughlin
  12. Brandon Brown

Heat 2 (10 laps — top six drivers advance to main event):

  1. Anthony Alfredo
  2. Raphael Lessard
  3. Donny Lia
  4. Chase Briscoe
  5. Tommy Joe Martins
  6. Will Rodgers
  7. Scott Stenzel
  8. Ryan Ellis
  9. Austin Cindric
  10. Justin Allgaier
  11. Elliott Sadler
  12. Kyle Weatherman

Heat 3 (10 laps — top six drivers advance to main event):

  1. Ty Majeski
  2. Alex Labbe
  3. Christian Eckes
  4. Noah Gragson
  5. Ryan Vargas
  6. Ryan Truex
  7. Thad Moffitt
  8. Matt Mills
  9. Myatt Snider
  10. Josh Williams
  11. Blake Koch

Heat 4 (10 laps — top six drivers advance to main event):

  1. Kaz Grala
  2. Landon Huffman
  3. Todd Gilliland
  4. Derek Kraus
  5. Tyler Ankrum
  6. Bayley Currey
  7. Brett Moffitt
  8. Jesse Iwuji
  9. Gus Dean
  10. Jeffrey Earnhardt
  11. Spencer Boyd

Last Chance qualifying race No. 1 (15 laps — winner advances to main event):

  1. Sam Mayer
  2. Jeb Burton
  3. Myatt Snider
  4. Brett Moffitt
  5. CJ McLaughlin
  6. Matt Mills
  7. Josh Bilicki
  8. Sheldon Creed
  9. Black Koch
  10. Josh Williams
  11. Brandon Brown

Last Chance qualifying race No. 2 (15 laps — winner advances to main event):

  1. Brett Moffitt
  2. Ryan Ellis
  3. Jeffrey Earnhardt
  4. Justin Allgaier
  5. Jesse Iwuji
  6. Kyle Weatherman
  7. Gus Dean
  8. Scott Stenzel
  9. Elliott Sadler
  10. Spencer Boyd

NASCAR teams, groups approved for millions in federal COVID-19 loans

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By Jerry BonkowskiJul 7, 2020, 9:00 AM EDT
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Several NASCAR teams and related organizations were approved for between $150,000 and $10 million in loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPE), according to data provided Monday.

The U.S. Small Business Administration posted a list of PPP loan data on the U.S. Department of the Treasury website. The Paycheck Protection Program was included in the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act that was established to help businesses weather the financial stress of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Among the many NASCAR teams, racetracks and related organizations (with data including the range of the loan and the number of jobs retained):

* Richard Childress Racing ($5-$10 million, 334 jobs)

* Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates ($2-5 million, 179 jobs)

* Roush Fenway Racing ($2-5 million, 179 jobs)

* Roush & Yates Racing Engines ($2-5 million, 192 jobs)

* JTG Daugherty Racing ($1-2 million, 88 jobs)

* GMS Racing ($1-$2 million, 89 jobs)

* Kyle Busch Motorsports ($1-$2 million, 71 jobs)

* JR Motorsports ($1-$2 million, 88 jobs)

* Germain Racing ($350,000-$1 million, 41 jobs)

* Richard Petty Motorsports ($350,000-$1 million, 43 jobs)

* Dale Earnhardt Inc. ($350,000-$1 million, 55 jobs)

* DGR-Crosley ($350,000-$1 million, 67 jobs)

* Premium Motorsports ($350,000-$1 million, 46 jobs)

* Pocono International Raceway ($350,000-$1 million, 142 jobs)

* Hattori Racing ($150,000-$350,000, 16 jobs)

* Jimmie Johnson Racing ($150,00-$350,000, 8 jobs)

* Motor Racing Outreach ($150,000-$350,000, 9 jobs)

* Rev Racing ($150,000-$350,000, 12 jobs)

* Starcom Racing ($150,000-$350,000, 20 jobs)

* Kaulig Racing ($350,000-$1 million, 36 jobs)

* Mesa Marin Raceway ($150,000-$350,000, 16 jobs)

* Bill McAnally Racing ($150,000-$350,000, 19 jobs)

* Young’s Motorsports ($150,000-$350,000, 0 jobs)

* JD Motorsports ($150,000-$350,000, 0 jobs)

In a statement accompanying the data, the SBA said the data was for businesses that were approved for PPP loans but “does not reflect a determination by SBA that the borrower is eligible for a PPP loan or entitled to loan forgiveness. All PPP loans are subject to SBA review, and all loans over $2 million will automatically be reviewed.”

Contributing: Nate Ryan

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Bump and Run: Should Cup race on the Indy road course?

By NBC Sports StaffJul 7, 2020, 7:00 AM EDT
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Should the Cup Series remain on the oval at Indy or should it move to the road course like Xfinity did this weekend?

Dustin Long: I’d rather see what the Next Gen car could do on the oval before abandoning that for the the road course. Stay on the oval for now.

Daniel McFadin: I’m firmly in the #MoreRoadCourses camp and Cup should give Indy’s a shot. It doesn’t need to replace the oval race, but Saturday’s Xfinity race was more memorable than any Brickyard 400 in my memory.

Jerry Bonkowski: Both. I think NASCAR should hold a weekend doubleheader at Indy next season (and beyond), with a road course race on Saturday and oval race on Sunday. For even added measure, switch them around for every other subsequent year.

Chase Briscoe said before the season started he felt he needed at least 8 Xfinity wins to move up to Cup. He now has five victories through 13 races. How many wins will he get this year?

Dustin Long: Twelve.

Daniel McFadin: I had my doubts Briscoe could get to eight wins, mostly because he’d never had more than one win in his previous two Xfinity seasons. But he arguably should be at six wins. I think he’ll at least get to nine wins.

Jerry Bonkowski: I can see him winning nine races at least … and maybe as many as 12. He is definitely on a roll and no one else is even close to him, not just in wins but overall performance.

Kyle Busch has one win in the last 38 Cup races. Does he win in any of the next four points races (Kentucky, Texas, Kansas and New Hampshire)?

Dustin Long: No. Team hasn’t shown elite level speed to contend for wins. He’s led 130 laps this season and 100 of those laps came at Bristol. Can’t lead, can’t win.

Daniel McFadin: I think he wins one of them. If he doesn’t, then his team will be on red alert when teammate Denny Hamlin is on a roll right now.

Jerry Bonkowski: I think Texas offers him the best opportunity to win at in the next four tracks. He’s won there three times there in his Cup career (he’s also won three times at New Hampshire, which would be my secondary choice for Busch). There’s just something about Texas that seems to bring out the best in Busch and the No. 18.

Xfinity playoff grid after Indianapolis

By Daniel McFadinJul 6, 2020, 3:47 PM EDT
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Chase Briscoe‘s continued dominance of the Xfinity Series over the weekend on the Indianapolis road course ensured no additional drivers locked themselves into the 12-driver playoff field.

Through 13 races, Briscoe and four other drivers have qualified for the playoffs via race wins. Briscoe, who has five race wins, leads the field with 28 playoff points.

The last two drivers currently in the top 12 are Riley Herbst (+19 points above cutline) and Brandon Brown (+6 points).

The first four drivers outside the top 12 are Myatt Snider (-6), Alex Labbe (-32), Jeremy Clements (-49) and Josh Williams (-57).

Cup Series playoff grid after Brickyard 400

By Daniel McFadinJul 6, 2020, 2:34 PM EDT
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With Kevin Harvick‘s victory Sunday in the Brickyard 400, no additional drivers locked themselves into the Cup Series playoff field.

But there was some movement at the bottom of the playoff grid as drivers jockey to make the 16-car field.

After he missed the race due to his COVID-19 diagnosis, Jimmie Johnson fell from 12th to 15th on the grid. He’s now 36 points above the cutline.

Matt DiBenedetto earned stage points in each stage before finishing 19th. He moved from 14th to 12th in the standings.

After earning stage points in both stages Sunday, Austin Dillon has cracked the top 16, moving up one spot. He has a six-point advantage over Erik Jones, who crashed out of Sunday’s race and had a 14-point advantage over Dillon entering the weekend.

With his ninth-place finish Sunday, Bubba Wallace is now within reach of the top 16. He sits at 19th, 42 points back from 16th.

Here’s the full playoff grid.