Article author:
Reuters
Lebanon, TN — Sunday's Ally 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway required a great first lap and a sudden storm to reach pole position.
As Michael Jordan, co-owner of the 23XI racing team, was watching the action, Hamlin was the fastest in the first round of qualifying, with an unexpected heavy rain on a 29.848 second (160.413 mph) lap. Canceled the final. No in the round. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota drivers have won the first starting position for the 17th event of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule (Sunday 5 pm, USA, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio).
The final round was rainy and the starting position was determined by the speed of round 1.
Hamlin beat Paul's Joey Logano (160.107 mph) by 0.057 seconds. Logano topped the charts in Group B after Hamlin was the fastest in Group A. The
Bushpole Award was Hamlin's first time in Nashville, his second season and his 35th career.
Defending race winner Kyle Larson came in third at 159.963 mph, followed by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott at 159.931 mph. Daniel Suarez and Ryan Blaney passed the qualifying in the third row.
Baba Wallace, driving Hamlin and Jordan on the 23XI, was actually fast, but couldn't speed up in a time trial. Wallace starts on Sunday 30th.
"I told him (Jordan) that I should stay on the bus," Hamlin said with a laugh. "He agreed. It's pressure. There's a lot of pressure when he's there.
" Baba was fast. He blew us away and practiced. Immediately left us (Friday) in the first round of .... He had tremendous speed when he saw him running towards Turn 1 on TV (in qualifying), And obviously, it didn't stick. "
Hamlin's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch didn't complete the qualifying lap. He spun on Turn 3 of Round 1 and returned Toyota No. 18 to the outer wall. Bush starts at the end of Sunday (36th).
A fiercely competitive fire will bring Truex back to JGR for another year
After a considerable soul quest, Martin Truex Jr. is No. 19 Toyota for the next season I decided to go back to Joe Gibbs Racing.
The 2017 NASCAR Cup Series Champion told reporters on Friday about his decision during a Q & A session at the Nashville Superspeedway Media Center.
Joe Gibbs Racing then issued a statement featuring typical concise comments from Truex: "I'm back."
"My competitive side is here because I said,'I'm not over, and I'll keep fighting,'" Truex told reporters. "I tried to think and understand all this myself.
" My friends and family also helped me. I just looked and confirmed that I was doing the right thing. I just wanted to make sure I was happy with that decision. ”
A friendly driver from Mayetta, NJ, who turns 42 on Wednesday, was in Furniture Row in 2017. Won the series title in Racing. Since joining JGR in 2019, Truex has won 12 times, but not so far this year. He is currently 6th in the cup rankings.
When asked if he was in the same position at this point next season, Truex said: I am the worst procrastination in the world.
Ricky Stainless House Jr. will stay at JTG-Daughterly Racing on a multi-year contract
Martin Truex Jr. is not the only driver to have contract news on Friday was. Ricky Stenhaus Jr. has revealed that he has re-signed with JTG-Daugherty Racing on a multi-year contract. The conditions are not published.
Stenhaus has won two career victories on the Superspeedway at Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing in 2017. Throughout 16 races this season, he posted one of the top five (runner-up in Dover) and finished 24th. Series ranking.
Still, Stenhaus thinks he and JTG-Dorty are a perfect fit and believes that the next generation race car introduced this season will help improve the team's performance.
"I really enjoyed my time at JTG-Dorty Racing," said Stenhaus, who joined the organization in 2020. -wise. But I feel like there were a lot of bright spots together in the first few seasons.
"I feel like I have this new car — I got it last year (before the COVID-19 pandemic intervened) and hoped to continue to develop it. Obviously, this is the first year of it. So, knowing what this car should be with me, it feels like we understand it on a particular race track.
"Then there are other race tracks we're pretty much out for lunch, and we're still looking for those parts to be in the right place to speed up."
Kyle Busch first sees North Wilkesboro during "alien abduction"
To revive Toyota's "sponsor" campaign While filming a new commercial, Kyle Busch first saw the interior of the North Wilkesboro Speedway, where a series of transformations will take place later this year.
In a new ad titled "Aliens," Bush sees his brother Kurt thrown into a spaceship and probably carried away. (Spoiler note: Kurt was in time for practice and qualifying at the Nashville Superspeedway.)
However, during the shoot, Kyle Busch saw the possibility of North Wilkesboro. Late model race. The pavement will then be removed to accommodate the October dirt race slate.
In the future of historic tracks, repeats will continue in anticipation of the potential of NASCAR racing.
"It can be successful and it can turn into something great," Bush said. "So if they put something there, I'm looking forward to it. I think it's sweet. Anyway, from my understanding, I'm stocking late models if Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) is possible. I know I'm looking forward to running the race.
"So it's great to see the place come back. Whether it's an all-star race, a track race, or Xfinity. I think we can make it. Certainly something will happen there. "
– According to NASCAR Wire Services Reid Spencer. Specializing in field-level media
