BYRON GETS ATLANTA CUP RACE

The Racing Reporter

HAMPTON, Ga.--William Byron spun out early in Sunday night's Cup Series race, but he was out front on lap 178 of the scheduled 260-lap when the rain came.

Byron passed A.J. Allmendinger for the lead on Lap 167 and remained out from until an accident involving Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Preece and Bubba Wallace caused the seventh caution of the evening on Lap 178.

With Byron out front, the field circled the track until the rain began falling more heavily. NASCAR brought the cars to pit road and red-flagged the race at just before 10 p.m. after 185 laps were complete.

With severe weather moving into the area, the sanctioning body called the race and made Byron the first four-time winner in the series this season. The victory was Byron’s second at Atlanta and the eighth of his career.

Byron didn't look like he had a winning car after spinning through the grass on Lap 80 and lost a lap. But he made up the lap after Kyle Larson’s spin on Lap 92.

“It’s cool, man,” Byron said. “We went through so much throughout the night—spinning through the infield, destroyed the bottom of the car dragging it around the apron trying to stay on the lead lap. At that point, you just don’t have the grip, so I was real edgy back in traffic.

“Once we got towards the front, it was OK. We could make the right decisions, block OK, and I got the lead from A.J. and was able to manage the run. Just a crazy night.”

Daniel Suarez, A.J. Allmendinger, Michael McDowell, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, J.J. Yeley, Justin Haley, Ryan Blaney, and Rick Stenhouse were the remaining top 10 finishers.

Sunday night was an emotional one for Kevin Harvick, as he made his final start at the track where he picked up his first career victory in the spring of 2001. During pace laps, Harvick went to the front of the field alongside his old No. 29 Chevrolet, driven by Richard Childress, that he drove to victory in a photo finish that came in only his third Cup start after taking over what had been Dale Earnhardt's car following The Intimidator's death in that year's Daytona 500.

Top 10 leaders after 19 of 36: 1. Byron-628, 2. Truex-607, 3. Busch-592, 4. Bell-591, 5. Chastain-575, 6. Hamlin-561, 7. Blaney-553, 8. Larson-531, 9. Harvick-530, Logano-518.

NEMECHEK GETS

OVERTIME XFINITY WIN

John Nemechek took the lead on an overtime restart as Saturday night's Xfinity race at Atlanta went six laps past its posted distance. It was his third series victory of the season.

Nemechek finished .245-seconds ahead of Daniel Hemric. Cole Custer came home third, followed by Justin Haley, Sam Mayer, Ty Gibbs, Mike Sieg, Parker Kligerman, Josh Williams, and Sammy Smith.

Top 10 leaders after 17 of 33: 1. Nemechek-678, 2. Hill-662, 3. Custer-633, 4. Allgaier-624, 5. C. Smith-526, 6. Berry-518, 7. Mayer-480, 8. Hemric-475, 9. S. Smith 463, 10. Creed-460.

HEIM TAKES

TRUCK SERIES RACE

Here are the results of Saturday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race held Saturday afternoon at Mid Ohio Sports Car course: 1. Corey Heim, 2. Zane Smith, 3. Christian Eckes, 4. Stewart Friesen, 5. Ben Rhodes, 6. Matt Crafton, 7. Ty Majeski, 8. Matt DiBenedetto, 9. Nick Sanchez, 10. Tyler Ankrum.

Top 10 leaders after 14 of 23: 1. Heim-530, 2. Z. Smith-504, 3. Majeski-479, 4. Rhodes-477, 5. Enfinger-469, 6. Eckes-460, 7. Hocevar-418, 8. DiBenedetto-369, 9. Sanchez-386, 10. Crafton-385.

CREDIT NASCAR WITH

A GOOD SHOW

Prior to each race, NASCAR admonishes the teams to, “Go out there and put on a good show for the fans.”

NASCAR did just that, the weekend of July 1-2.

From a television viewer standpoint, NASCAR's first-ever Chicago Street Race was a success. From great television ratings to a notable first-time winner, the event seemed to have everything going for it.

But wait, not everything went as planned.

Saturday's 55-lap Xfinity Series race was halted after 26 laps due to severe weather and persistent lightning in the area.

However, the remainder of the race was never able to get back under way due to flooding of areas of the course, and NASCAR deemed the race official and declared Cole Custer – who was leading when the race was halted on Saturday – the winner.

After waiting out historic, flooding rains, NASCAR was finally able to put on a shortened Cup Series race late Sunday; much to the delight of thousands of damp fans who had to wait hours.

By almost any measure, the lap-by-lap racing was lacking. Stock car enthusiasts hoping for close, spirited competition were largely disappointed. Instead, they saw mostly tedious, single-file, conservative riding, punctuated every few laps by someone plowing into a tire barrier.

But even when conditions improved and the circuit dried, the actual racing didn't get much better.

Denny Hamlin never led a lap, and said he believes NASCAR "really changed the outcome" of the race by shortening the race for incoming darkness.

Sunday's Cup Series race was won by New Zealand's Shane Van Gisbergen, who was making his first-ever NASCAR start.

But drivers weren't the only ones complaining. There was a lot of upset fans. Many of the race goers had put up big bucks to hear some national entertainers. Tickets ranged from $269 to $3000. Three of the four concerts advertised didn’t happen.

But on the other hand, in an effort to get a diverse audience into its first-ever race, NASCAR gave away free tickets.

NASCAR teamed up with Bubba Wallace, the only full-time Black driver in the Cup Series, for a free event called “Bubba’s Block Party,” which was attended by about 4,000 people. Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco performed.

And as part of that initiative, NASCAR gave out free ticket vouchers for the race. Since the cheapest ticket to the race was $269, that means NASCAR gave away over $1-million in free tickets.

A long time ago, it was about the quality of on-track racing. But the sport of NASCAR racing has evolved. The organization is concerned less about the actual racing, than promoting the “Entertainment Value” of weekend racing shows and its own image.

The Great Chicago race was NASCAR's latest effort to increase its reach to a broader audience.

Today’s NASCAR is not your father’s NASCAR. The organization is bringing its product directly into the cities. Between the Downtown Los Angeles Clash in the Memorial Coliseum and the Chicago street race, it appears no feat is too difficult for NASCAR to attempt.

NASCAR has signed a three-year contract. In spite of the weather and other problems, it's my opinion, they will return to Chicago. Not because the racing was great, but because of the increased attention and fan fare the event received.

Racing Joke: A woman walked into a bar in downtown Charlotte that had a sign marked, “For Race Car Drivers Only”.

“I'm sorry ma'am, said the bartender. “We only serve race car drivers in this place.”

“Great,” she said. “I'll take two of them.”

Weekend Racing: The Cup and Xfinity teams will be at the 1.058-mile New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, NH.

Sat., July 15; Xfinity Series race 18 of 33; Starting time: 3 p.m. E.T.; TV: USA.

Sun., July 16; Cup Series race 20 of 36; Starting time: 2:30 p.m. E.T.; TV: USA.

Racing Trivia Question: How many Cup Series championships did Bobby Allison win?

Last Week's Question: Which Cup Series driver has the most wins at Atlanta? Answer. Dale Earnhardt Sr's. Nine wins is tops.

Gerald Hodges is a syndicated NASCAR writer and author. You may contact him by e-mail at: hodges@race500.com