Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series- Full Race -Bank of America ROVAL 400

jury will be made so far the hype has delivered Road course racing in the playoffs with elimination on the line the fire the engines next [Music] [Applause] [Music] the Sun beat down [Music] our [Music] me and our singing [Music] would come to me [Music] running down the drain you [Music] down the dream [Music] [Applause] it's the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series Bank of America rovol 400 words we have never said before the seats at the championship table are dwindling so how our playoff teams feeling let's head downstairs to our pit reporters starting with Dave burns Krista Denny Hamlin is last on the playoff grid but that might be a good thing for him because it gives him a relaxed attitude that says you know what I've got nowhere to go but up he doesn't have to win today but it's obviously his clearest way to the next round of the playoffs Marty Dave Jimmie Johnson comes into the first cut race in the 2018 playoff six points below the cut line if he wants to win an eighth championship this year he must gain points today Jimmy told me I have confidence in the car and confidence here at the Robel because of my background in off-road racing there's always questions there he said Kelley there's questions today certainly will Austin Dillon in this three team have picked up their performance just in time for the playoffs and after a sixth place finished last week he's now got 10 points above the playoff cutoff line that's not all they have they've got confidence in their race cars in their race crew and especially in their driver austin dillon one other thing they have though Krista they've got ground to make up Austin Dillon starts 24th the drama is certainly building the playoff drivers represent 11 States they range in age from 22 to 43 they have all raced on road courses but never this one and never in the playoffs never with an entire season on the line this is it the time is now it's time to fire the engines and now for the most famous words in Motorsports please welcome your grand marshal head coach of the Carolina Panthers Ron hey race fans y'all ready to roll ball all right then here we go drivers start your engines [Applause] out on the Midway they have a ferris wheel and bullfighting what's about to happen inside this track may be even more frightening it's time to turn things over to the guys upstairs Rick elimination Sunday is about to begin yeah that's the keyword elimination drivers have to worry about being eliminated out of the playoff championship picture and that's gonna happen today alongside crew chief Steve Letarte I'm Rick Allen we look at the playoff leaderboard 16 drivers entering this playoff four are safe Kyle Busch Brad Keselowski with wins Martin Truex Jr Kevin Harvick with points after that Steve 12 drivers how do they advance well 12 drivers and the question is how they're all on different agendas when I look towards the top of the leaderboard Joey Logano in fifth down to Kurt booth version eight they're all looking pretty good they're double digits above so they all have a bucket and if they have enough points in that bucket they're through there really just racing the system but below that it gets very tight chase Elliott is in ninth Jimmie Johnson 14th only 12 points separate those drivers that's six drivers for four spots I think those six drivers are just racing each other for those last four spots there's two drivers below Jimmie Johnson Erik Jones and Denny Hamlin what do they have to do well I didn't name them because I think it's very simple I think it's a must-win it's not about point it's not about stages they have to go out and go to Victory Lane unless something crazy happens which perhaps could hear at the rovol they have to enter the race thinking Victory Lane or bust all right Dale jr. Jeff he said the word crazy as a driver how do you look toward this race and feel confident well it's been crazy all weekend guys been getting into the fence getting into each other it's been a wild weekend we've had some guys goes to backup cars because of this right here that backstretch chicane Bubba Wallace hit this tire barrier they sensed adjust to this tire barrier but look at the damage it does of that race car it's still there guys can still get into that tire barriers jungles dinner in practice earlier this weekend you see how it matches the car when it hits those blue turtles it just launches the car look at what they've done though since then they've moved this wall this was practice on the left yesterday today they've moved it away you still have to go those blue curbs though and that's going to launch the car and that could damage the car but the trouble doesn't in there jr. I'd say it every week restarts are crazy and I think today it's gonna be even so much more so yesterday in the Xfinity race we saw all of these restarts just overshot the restart got them in trouble more on the line today and I think the pressure is gonna be even harder for these restarts and when I think about on the line I think about Jimmie Johnson man he's one of those drivers that has to get it done today a seven-time champion and we're talking about a guy that six points below the cut line he's just trying to make it to the next round a seven-time champion the pressure is huge but I talked to him this morning he's happy loves his car feels like he's got a great shot yeah I'm watching is another great road racer Clint Boyer he's four points out and he's had an incredible season he has 15 playoff points if he gets knocked out of this first round that's going to be such a disappointment of that team with that many playoff points going forward we talked about the race track now challenging it is we got Parker clinging Clingerman down internal evident will to tell us more about it right Dale I'm right here behind me is this back stretch it K and you're seen right there this is my view of where I'm starting today these drives will approaches chicane at over 170 miles per hour those slow down to about 140 where they know they need to get single-file they cannot run through here double wide but then they have a decision to make how much curb do you use I suspect early in the race they'll be very they won't use a lot of curve but later in the race like we saw next video yesterday they might even get all four tires off the ground trying to make speed record well Parker all three of you drivers have mentioned to why it's going to be difficult when we come back the start of the race - why going into heartburn turn [Music] NASCAR on NBC is brought to you by Bank of America Chevrolet the most awarded car company four years in a row Monster Energy unleash the beast and by tums fights heartburn fast [Music] I think everybody's scared to death of that place I'm terrified it's just that wildcard race any driver not locked in going to the role should be very very concerned [Music] Richmond traces I think the whole track is treacherous it's really easy to step over the line the hardest part of the Robo is all of it Charlotte roll is over all which is gonna be one of the most challenging races of the postseason surviving will be key and not making a mistake that will cut off race it's gonna be gut-wrenching it's gonna be crazy [Music] and let's take a look at the starting grid brought to you by Bank of America it will roll across the bottom of your screen as we're seeing the drivers roll around the ROFL here at Charlotte let's tune in to one of the drivers Erik Jones one of those drivers who needs a great day he's on the radio hey Eric its Burton MVC booth you with us buddy yeah and we've talked so much about how you tell us why it's so difficult one of the things we always watch on rope horses is passing zones where do you think we'll see the most passes today I think you'll see it probably here just not the NASCAR turn one here to see a lot of path guys trying to get runs there make a big move probably a me infield off of three so there's a couple places where we can make the pass try to make stuff happen but I'll do better here probably you know as we get the read going more there if you know you have a lot of line today we really appreciate you taking time good luck buddy thank you well we are just talked Erik Jones we were lucky enough to be riding along with Erik Jones a Toyota camel shots today in here X Co he's got to start the back in a backup car so see a lot of cool shots from him Jeffrey Earnhardt the ik9 racing for the Cure camera got the helmet cam for us and Denny Hamlin another guy he's got a lot of work to do today coca-cola cam at this bumper cam right here jr. I have a feeling it's gonna come into play several times a day I'll board Kevin Harvick's car roof cam he's also got the foot cam and be great to see how he uses his feet to get around this racetrack Kyle Larson with the first data camera he's gotten a 360 camera that thing is gonna show us a lot of great views you see a turn around there and then AJ Allmendinger with Kroger cam front bumper and splitter also man I love the splitter cam man that's gonna show us a lot of cool stuff in the braking zones how these guys are challenging and charging each other in the corner she's gonna be fun and we showed you the starting lineup Kurt Busch and AJ Allmendinger they make up row one but right now they're having a little fun sherry Pollux is the pace car driver Martin Truex Jr Sheri Pollux have been dating for many many years Sheri Pollux is driving the pace car because it is Cancer Awareness Month and Sheri Pollux has been fighting ovarian cancer for number of years and so she is the pace car driver that's actually the reason why the car that Martin Truex Jr is driving his teal because of her fight against ovarian cancer that's the pace car driver today and sharing Pollux Martin Truex Jr having a little fun moving up there and enjoying the moment with his longtime girlfriend sherry Palmer's and Steve alright let's break this race down now it's a different race it's a road course but there's gonna be so many different agendas that people are on so many different agendas and so much unknown this is a racetrack we haven't seen what we do know though is how the race will be broken down in length it is a road course 2.2 eight miles 109 laps for 100 kilometers 17 quarterly the longest rope course race we're gonna see the first and second stage both 25 laps the third and final stage 59 laps guys decking around about 35 to 37 laps on fuel and why strategy is going to be a topic of conversation I don't think anything is going to dominate the conversation more than this very tricky racetrack we talked about this tricky racetrack here it is turn three is the corner that guys have been having problems with in practice testing Ricky Stenhouse get loose their comics return for gets an entire barrier see that today Bubba Wallace he's had a lot of trouble with all the corners this weekend the long weekend so far up above the wall I say roll around the rest of the infield all into the big track into this rear chicane trouble area Denny Hamlin second time he had trouble through the chicane this time big damage and we seen this footage from Bubba Wallace just huge impact again they move that wall back a little bit to try to help Americans and I think Erik Jones is wrecked right here was because he was following another car there's a building watch right here is your Ryan with Erik Jones all sudden you can't see where you're going now he's in too deep no way out takes his hands off the wheel to keep from getting injured then the front straightaway heads to the front chicane that also is a tight area junior day you see guys getting in there too hot Brad losing control of this car into the outside wall camera yesterday missed in the corner it's tough to abort give up go through that grass but then you got a pull over here Jeff and stop where NASCAR is gonna make you do a drive through so this is what you gotta do if you're driving you've missed that chicane and then right back to the start/finish line where we think the chaos is gonna start his restart zone the restarts they'll skip the chicane Therese and restart that yellow zone you follow the equal for all the competitors and they charge down into turn one equal as all the competitors dive into turn one I can't wait to see it but before we get the green flag let's check in with our on track analyst Parker Kligerman well guys you pointed out there this place is incredibly treacherous but what makes this rovol track unique compared to a regular road course it's the contrast in speed you go from there over 170 miles per hour oval bank portions to behind me and turns three and four about 50 to 60 miles an hour and it's that contrast in speed that makes this place incredibly tough for the teams to set up the cars and for the drivers to get comfortable inside these cars I can't wait for this race Dave hey Parker for Clint Boyer he can't wait either but he's four points below the cut line in the playoffs to start the day couple things going for him Dale Earnhardt jr. called him a good Road course racer that is true ten times he's finished in the top five in this discipline has a victory to his credit as well and also he didn't take care of much damage to his race car during practice crew chief Mike Berger Ravich told me he was one of the drivers that took a lot better care of his car and he's gonna need to do that today all race long Kelly well Kurt Busch could not have picked a better time to score his fourth pole position of the season he told me it was big and now he's in prime position to score some good points at the end of stage one beyond that they'll be strategizing to set themselves up for good track position at the end of the race curse message to his team just a moment ago over the radio nice and smooth all day long he starts this 115 points above the cut line Marty well Kelly pit road will be a story today we're on top of the peacock pit box you just talking about Kurt Busch he's right here in stall number four by winning the pole he got to select that now pit road in speed wise at the end down here the yellow line that goes all the way across pit road that's where the timing line ends and that's where things get interesting from there it is a hard 90-degree turn as fast as you want to go and then a blown line that is optional a car can jump off of pit road turn right into the middle of traffic that should be very interesting if we have green flag stops today Rick Thank You Marty and this racetrack is completely reconfigured it is something that no one has ever seen so we give you a little bit of a different perspective our aerial coverage provided by Bank America you see how the infield of this racetrack has been reconfigured into a road course so that is the mean meaning for the rofl Road course open and I know a lot of people have mentioned Turtles the blue curbing that blue curbing that you see is six inches tall that is to deter any of the drivers to get off of track and some of the drivers have had a little bit of an opinion about these blue turtles definitely got to stay away from them things you do not want to be bit by a snapping blue turtle white just think how much is on the line you know he says it in jest but he's absolutely right if you drive your car over those blue curbs continuously today it's not going to make it it will not finish the race there there is a deterrent and they are working to buy to the field now working their way through what is normally known as 3 & 4 at this racetrack it is 14 and 15 they will go by the chicane as we get ready for the start they're going to dive into heartburn turn which is turn number one side by side breathe flag in the air we're racing at the Rojo good clean start first time these guys have been through here to one real good start for Kyle Larson the second place here put the pressure on our leader Kurt Busch time whack Kyle Larson has he has a good wide entry look at him almost in position to make us look for a pass there that was pretty competitive there pretty aggressive you want to lead the first lap the first time at the Robel man that's that's historic stuff you want to be the first guy to lead a lap here Kyle Larson's gonna put its pot of pressure on Kurt Busch at the track position just getting in that lead cuz watch them as they go through this turn 11 and turn 12 start just gap each other on the exit of that corner and as they run around the ogle turn three and four you'll see that gap increase this is the first time these guys have been on the racetrack with this many cars they're just learning the sight lines with the can so hold on tight got a pressure on let's go lead lap one Larson man he is on it you know you think this is a really slick racetrack who has fought hard tire these guys would tiptoe around here but Larson with a lot of confidence in his car pushing really hard early they started fit running second listen to the tires talk about this racetrack being difficult where else do you hear the tire squeals around the infield that's just nuts that's how low grip these cars have so battle right behind them all the new gorilla it's pretty tight he put the pressure on that guy came you know came to Watkins lid and got the win he has confidence as a road course racer now with that win good gains on Allmendinger through turn eight here he's in position he might be able to look for a opportunity to try to make a pass here we haven't seen many passes fade in this particular part of the track all weekend this braking zone into the chicane on the back straightaway really is in the braking zone they just lift some guys aren't even down shifting into third gear through this corner Marty if you watching AJ Allmendinger that 47 car he was told last week from JT grd racing he would not be back in this 47 that news coming out officially so he said this week I've got nothing to lose I don't have a job for next year all I care about is the wind today we're gonna talk a lot about different agendas there all throughout the field look at this got a pass for third place here in position he's a so I'm an eagle right now this time in a race he's gonna let him go as there's race wide zone he's not going to let it go that easy but right now they're still learning how to race with each other they've been on the track by themselves and it's going to be a constant learning experience all day long speaking of learning check out back here Michael McDowell Daniel Suarez trying to go side-by-side on a very tight side of the racetrack Suarez all over the curbs the turtles will damage rip the front fender apart yeah that's a lot of damage that's going to hurt him this is a fast racetrack on the big oval so right here it's just side by side you're gonna be tough jr. it's just all those impossible to do that without hitting each other so surprised by the damage they're just a little bit of contact here at the lead Kyle Larson is still putting the pressure on Kurt Busch is a really good Road course racer it's an oppressive run by Kyle Larson early hanging with him through that she can't usually unless you can't we see the guys getting you know gap each other pretty good getting through there some guys getting through there way better than others it's the first time we've been at this racetrack for us for you guys watching for the drivers so we're going to show you a mat we got a mat I'm going to show you where these drivers are turn one on the restarts we think this is going to be a very very tough spot looking narrower there's walls on both sides now they're turned to approaching turn three uphill then downhill downhill braking zone that's part of the reason it's so difficult a long sweeper into turn four which leads to a little bit of a straightaway on the back it is it's a good straightaway getting up some speed here going into turn five turn fives uphill to the right it invites you to roll up their heart but you got to slow down this is a tight tight turn six you want to get right against that curb there get over here to the right just like Larson's doing for that turn down in a turn seven and that leads to this long straightaway so this turn eight is huge if you don't do it right it's going to kill your straightaway speed what is turn nine is normally turn one on the Charlotte mile and a half they approach turn ten which would normally be turned to in the mile and a half down the long back straightaway into the chicane there's so much told us happened to all weekend at turn eleven to twelve twelve with them with the curbs in the tire wall you got to be careful there all day long guys we're talking about house like throwing darts just hope you get lucky every time you go through there look at the lacquer bushes taking a little bit higher line and it's allowing Larson to close the gap is we come down into turn 15 and then there's Takeda on the front straightaway 16 and then 17 not to the start/finish line that's a lap just that easy 17 quarters Kelly won as much trouble we've seen this weekend it's been incident free for Kurt Busch in the 41 his crew chief Billy Scott telling me they've just been patiently aggressive and he said 90% of this race is going to be about doing more of the same they want to see where they are at the end he said Kurt Busch knows exactly when he can start pushing in this race Marty Kelley we're gonna hear a lot of teams and drivers talk about patience today I'm not sure that word is in Kyle Carson's dictionary he told me before the race the car is very good and he wants to capitalize you know Jeff we saw this yesterday in the Xfinity series race when you get out front it's hard to get back by you so Kyle Larson may be driving with a little bit of sense of urgency right now because he senses he can get around that 41 and wants to do it now I think what's so difficult is that they don't know what's gonna happen on that 20 on a set of tires it never been there before and so yes I think you want to get the track position you mentioned a junior track position huge anywhere you go but on a road force I think it matters even more you mention track position a few cars it didn't start with much into 20 of Erik Jones he has gained 11 spots already to make it 12 spots with that pass over the 17 of Ricky Stenhouse jr. Brad Keselowski a couple cars behind him is also making a charge through the field as well as Denny Hamlin you know that's been a busy week a lot of accidents and practices it seems like this 20 of Erik Jones we saw him hit that backstretch wall in that chicane Rick with the 20 recovering nicely methodically working up through traffic as we see the battle for the lead continues to heat up yeah this is a great battle Kurt Busch man I mean I'm surprised this early that he doesn't look at that pressure in the mirror and go huh maybe I should give this just a my and I pushed too hard maybe I should give this position up he's not giving it up Dave then he Hamlet started in the rear this was not originally part of their plan but he believes he has a left front coming apart he saw the left front of the hood popping up around the track so he's a little bit worried about that but if this was a strategy move to stop race from here guys if you divide it out correct well you can make it on two stops from here but I don't believe you'd want to stop this early I think you're gonna see a lot of guys make the decision in the last five laps at this stage it's really a question of do you score stage points do you work on strategy these two leaders though guys I think all they want to do is lead the race I agree with you Dale I'm amazed the 41 hasn't given the spot up to the 42 of Larson out front it is Kurt Busch he's led every lap here at the Charlotte rofl NASCAR he three he's available now on the Xbox one Playstation 4 and PC go to nascar.com today NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series racing it's a Bank of America rovol 400 NASCAR Drive that is your life brain state companion you can watch multiple camera angles even change your in-car video if you'd like your favorite drivers you never miss a lap with NASCAR Drive is a NASCAR calm drive new race leader it is the 42 of Kyle Larson who went to break it was the 41 Kurt Busch out front but this is how it changed hands really aggressive move to jump up on the outside in the banking and then he's got the preferred spot so Kyle Larson we can see you had a faster car than Kurt Busch Kurt Kurt did not make it easy only yeah Kurt struggling in the banking of the racetrack the through turns three and four through here he's really really slow I think he's actually getting real tight guys are running up on him chase I putting the pressure on him look at him he's not able to hold that low line he's having some handling issues and it's part of the track that we didn't think will be very challenging I didn't think the banking there you go this is move into turn one smartly Kurt just saying take the spot you're faster than me just not a good place right now to contest the pass I I might need some tubs as they go through the heartburn turn turn one I'm sure the drivers are feeling the same way well Rick you mention heartburn this right here Denny Hamlin in the 11 you heard Dave report they came to pit road with a potential left front tire issue well I think we found where it happened you writing on board and watch Denny Hamlin as he jumps to the outside and they look at the smoke fill the cockpit that's the left front tire locked up right there see all that smoke in the driver's compartment that's a flat spot on the left front tire I'm sure that's why he had to come to pit road oh yeah you see right there just so much and that's what I want staying in the garage the tires are pretty durable until you lock them up then you see it the flat spot it starts to unwind it's a good decision mistake on the racetrack look good decision to come to pit road so Kyle Larson is out front leading this race now his two finishes on the road course this year were 14 and six so right now Kyle Larson outperforming what he has been able to do at the previous road courses you see the playoff points on the left the eight spots the bubble spots ninth through 16th again at the end of the day four drivers will have their championship hopes dashed they will be out as we go into round 2 and again every point is a position on the racetrack you see these three guys racing right now Bowman Johnson and Boyer and right now his things are on the racetrack they're in pretty good shape all the people that's officially not run it quite as well and I think that's what's tough for these guys today how hard do you push I mean you need good finishes but you need a great finish and you may not know till the race is over what you needed to do so all three of these guys are in similar situations and all racing against each other right now I think it's gonna be important for them guys to understand that they need to finish in the top 10 in these stages try to gain these stage points as we go throughout the day continuing to put themselves in better positions well you mention those stage points right so that's the decision fifteen laps and then the stage one just remind everyone at home points are just not at the end of the race you mentioned a point per position walls well at the end of stage one to stage two if you're in the top ten Rick you already start filling that bump you already start gaining points ten points to win the stage all the way down to one point four tenth so with 15 to go on the stage the way you want to run this race is to pin a couple laps before the stage you come to pit road you get four tires everything's fine that'll give you the best track position but Dave if you come to pit road before the end of the stage you're guaranteeing no points it's going to be a coin flip is this a points race or you trying to win here's a good look at the 14 of Clint Boyer right now running in the sixth position they're really really happy with the way he's running exiting turn seven and eight turn eight takes you on to the traditional turn one of the oval it starts the longest portion quickest portion of the racetrack so that's critical that he does that well they don't want to mess up by adjusting to other parts of the track the part that's so good Marty right in front of them Jimmie Johnson hounding his teammate Alex Bowman looks like he's going to get that fourth position for that 48 car they've been strong all weekend long Clint Bowyer's going to follow through and get around the 88 as well and Steve you're exactly right talking about all these different agendas you have four people four drivers now locked in them now that Kevin Harvick has started the race he's locked into moved around to make him care less about those staged points but teams like Jimmie Johnson they must get all the points they can so you'll see pit strategy all over the map as you would say Steve the playbook wide open for you crew chiefs today here at the row bowl yeah the decision times coming Jeff about ten more laps these drivers gonna have to make a decision these crew chiefs one strategy they're gonna be on and watch Justin barks comes through the front chicane loses control of this car goes to the turf Hillary is to stop on the front straightaway NASCAR feels like you made everything square if you do that [Music] [Music] [Music] first caution is out Stanton Barrett and the 51 has slammed into the turn one wall as we see the safety crew working on getting Stanton out of that car and you can see the brake marks the skid marks that car went straight into the wall which the one thing that's good is that you saw skid marks so the brakes were working the thing that's bad though is he wasn't able to turn he was going straight into that wall Jeff you've talked to some drivers about how how odd it is to get into that corner you really can't tell where you need to brake or where you're at got on the brakes and locked him up and just head on in the wall and it's a very deceiving corner you see that wall just collapse it's a very deceiving quarter jr. because the the track so wide if you're not looking a hundred percent at the place where you got to be you never get there because the traffic spins up and it's just a really weird entry when I drove the MBC Toyota car I just was shocked at how focused you had to be on hitting that those blue curbs at the bottom of the racetrack if you weren't focused on that you you would be looking at the wall just completely blow the corner it's gonna be interesting to see I don't expect the leaders to come to pit road but somewhere in the back half of the field some it may peel off try to get on a different strategy we see one car take a hard left and he's going to be joined by others we're gonna have a little action towards the back half of the field Marty mentioned that the PlayBook is wide open and this is the first opportunity day for cars to really pit under caution and when you don't like your race car you appreciate that first opportunity for Goodyear tires and Sunoco fuel for Ryan Blaney whose car was really loose and he said I have no forward drive Barty Kevin Harvick told me this has been a weekend of learning mostly him learning this racetrack not exactly the quickest car around this weekend but they've advanced to the next round already four tires here for him a little bit too loose Kelly at Joey Logano says he just doesn't have much rear grip and turns one and turn eight are especially bad as breaking not great either they're making an air pressure adjustment for Goodyear tires Sunoco fuel for the 22 and racing off of pit road we'll get ready for the restart we come back [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] fans also need refreshment so buckle up and grab a nice cold coke you're watching NASCAR on NBC manifest is Mondays number one drama discover why critics call it one of the biggest shows of the fall and an instant hit manifests that's due Monday on NBC let's check in with Rutledge wood Rick Rick Rick the fans are loving this action down here in the infield they're packed right now on the panic patio having a great time over here hundreds of fans and you know what else I've been doing coming down to all of the Mario's and buying as much of this rovol gear as they can they've had to reprint shirts this weekend because the fans love them so much Parker I know you are having as much fun as these fans are I definitely am I know how fun that panic patio is but rut you know who I've had my eye on that started this race is the 20 of Erik Jones to 2 of Brad Keselowski and the 11 of Denny Hulme and because they start the backs I want to see where can you pass on this rovol will Erik Jones showed us that you can pass mostly through the infield almost anywhere and Brad Keselowski he was the only driver I saw it pass into the backstretch chicane and who did he pass but Denny Hamlin that's the only pass I saw down here at all so we know jr. and guys you just can not pass in this backstretch chicane unless you are vastly faster than the other car yeah there's no braking zone they don't get on the brakes to slow the cars down here the Hendrick guys don't even downshift into third gear going through that chicane on the back straightaway so how can you pass a guy if he's not slowing down well we're getting ready to find out if you pass the guy with new tires right because AJ Allmendinger right here he was the first car to peel off and come to pit road he's gonna restart 19th Harvick 20th Almirola 21st with John Doe 22nd one more thing we don't know how important our tires here at the roll right we know it walk-ins good track position really matters at Sonoma tires have really mattered we're getting ready to find out what new tires are worth on the Cup car we saw in the Xfinity card not us a lot but they're in less horsepower these cup cards want to spend those rear tires and on top of all that Steve new tires coming from behind only 10 laps to go in this stage so let's look and see who is not in position right now to earn these stage points Austin Dillon in 13th Erik Jones coming to the front though can he get into the top ten it gets the stage points Denny Hamlin he got tires a little while ago Harvick Almirola legado Blaney they're all not in position to get state playoff point stage points right now that's a big deal can they get their points are so important this should be calm Rick what could go wrong another start this one's a restart this time again they will bypass that cake on the front stretch they will stay out on the oval for the restart if Stanton Barrett that name sounded familiar he's his day job is a stunt man so started quite a few movies as a stunt man but today not such a good ending for him as he ended up in the turn one wall two by two they go Kyle Larson on the inside chase Elliott on the outside they have field approaching the Geico restart zone and back underway great jump by Kyle Larson look down literally inside Carolla making it three wide I say Allmendinger Indian look what it does these guys on the outside Erik Jones and a few others had all that work done by Erik Jones in one corner gone away it's the leaders stretch out I'm looking back two or three rows at forty seven he's still not giving up guys still too wide through the infield well you said what are tires gonna matter well an aggressive driver with new tires we're seeing right now can make a difference he's also a guy without a job trying to trying to find a new job this is an interview today for him look at this still making moves that white car heading up onto the race the big racetrack now great job getting up through that pack now Erik Jones doesn't think so he got put three wide and moved out but yeah a few were disappointed in the job that AJ Allmendinger did but he's thinking for himself right now let's be clear egg that was plus eight or nine spots one trip through the infield one trip on new tires and he's past eight or nine cars and I don't think the 47 is done with nine to go in this stage to keep in mind everybody's watching that and crew chiefs are watch and his spotters are watching and now they're telling their drivers on a next restart hey man he did that you can go do it so the intensity levels gonna get picked up because of the success that he was having with it eight laps to go in stage one and Steve a lot of people are gonna ask why are guys coming to pit road now or in the next three or four laps when they just had an opportunity under caution to come but that's the strategy at this place yeah so basically the question is now there's three different thoughts some guys have pitted like AJ Allmendinger I imagine he's gonna run to the end of the stage but up in front of him a bunch of playoff cars really 1st to 8th or all playoff cars they can stay on the racetrack finish in the top 10 get those staged points we discussed but to have a better chance at the race end you would pit with two to go before they close pit road you know a yellow is coming that would instantly kind of bundle them all up look at the 20 right here you mentioned that got stacked up Dale jr. will the upper nose of that 20 car definitely smashed it let's take a look at it we got the replay right here on that restart Jones way over there only outside commentator make it three wide that forces Jones to have to make a decision on and here's the proof camera now show you what will happen you hear that damn that banging noise I'm not sure that one will hot we see right here on Adventure Park oh that will hop was the eleventh car on the rear bumper answer that door operator and it's called tough smart burn turn for a reason because a lot of heartburn right here for these drivers I mentioned AJ Allmendinger got eight or nine spots on the first lap and he's yet to get another spot right as the field now stretches out he's closing in on Alex Bowman Freight but it's much slower going once the field gets strung out party after all those moves now Erik Jones 44 points below the cut line clearly staring at a win here today a thorough well if they want to advance to round two Erik didn't say anything but the team did say to him listen we came through the field once we can do it again so for that team they're gonna have to get some progress here his crew chief Chris Gayle told me this is a backup car but our backup cars for the playoffs show up ready like they're going to be the primary car so the backup car pretty good for Erik Jones so far he's got to come through the field again right now in 25th cards yeah and a little bit of damage on the nose of that car especially important when they come on to the oval here speeds get upwards of 170 miles an hour so aerodynamics definitely will help nascar Monster Energy Cup Series racing it's the Bank of America rovol 400 [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] it's Monster Energy Cup Series racing from the Charlotte rovol and fans don't miss your chance to win a custom truck built by NASCAR fans into your chance to win and today only use promo code elimination because this is an elimination race to unlock 10 bonus entries just go to nascar.com slash playoffs promo now to enter remember use that promo code elimination when we mention elimination four drivers will come away from this race without a chance for the championship and right now it's the 12 of Ryan Blaney the 3 of Austin Dillon the 20 of Erik Jones and the 11 of Denny Hamlin they are below the cut line all right Rick you mentioned earlier in this stage well it's coming to decision time in the next one or two laps because pit road will close with two laps to go so there's only about two more options for these drivers to hit pit road before the end of the stage so someone like Alex Bowman in the 88 currently running ninth that will gain him two points if he can finish ninth in the stage but he knows if he chooses not to pit he will lose track position because the way the pit cycles work after the yellow he'll fall back in the field so big choice for Greg Ives as well as all the other crew chiefs in the playoffs and now with three to go Kyle Larson still out front has Kurt Busch about two seconds behind him then it's Clint Boyer Martin Truex Jr chase Elliott they're the top five a few drivers have made their way on to pit road Daniel Hamrick being one of them in the eighth aric almirola Austin Dillon and we go to Marty and here come the guys from the playoffs aric almirola coming a little bit earlier and it's interesting to see them on pit road they are in a spot where they're kind of comfortable coming into this cut race for the playoffs they have 23 points about the cut line but they decide to pit early here short pitting this stage Kelli Austin Dillon in that three car also had nothing to lose by coming to pit road earlier they were not going to gain any stage play so they're looking at the bigger picture of a strategy here is four Goodyear tires for the 3 of Austin Dillon and the decision to pit was easier for these two playoff drivers because they were both outside the top 10 they weren't going to receive points at the end of the stage so now the big question is those drivers inside the top ten can they afford to pit the problem is if the 42 gets to the start/finish line that will close pit road because that'll be two laps to go so the second he gets to the start/finish line pit road will be closed so if anybody tries to come after about right now pit road is closed yep you're right Rick so he's shut it down for all these other drivers so that answer has now been set Larson Kurt Busch Boyer Trix Elliot Johnson and Kyle Busch and Alex Bowman in ninth all of those playoff drivers are going to try to finish somewhere in the top 10 to get those valuable stage points and again at the end of stage one the top ten will all receive points these are staged points and those in the playoffs that are right there on the bubble they're fighting for every position and every point they could possibly get so they're not eliminated today right now Ryan Blaney is in 11th place right behind Chris Buescher he picked up a scripture that's a point for Ryan Blaney right ahead of Chris buescher's Alex Bowman who's holding both those drivers off on this final lap to get these very important stage points battle for second it's it's all points as well you know I mean if you give Truex if ploy or could get in front of bush that's like taking a point from him and you add one to yours so this battle site right here sees one of these guys can get that spot Blaney into tenth that's a point for Blaney if he can get to the finish line in that position how aggressive will they get through the final turns again they'll have one more lap to go Kyle Larson comfortably out front has a two and a half second lead you see the big gap between the 42 and the 41 Larson running a flawless first stage and Clint Boyer has closed the gap on the 41 of Kurt Busch they go through Tom's heartburn turn one we now know why they call it that RIT it kept us Stanton Barrett knows it all too well they could have got all 17 corners I think lady puts a pressure old Bowman right here and Blaney take that spot away and grab another point see the back of the car is moving around trying to get the rear grip these tires are worn out they just this track is really abusable the tires and right now you just can't lay it's like being on ice you know trying to accelerate on ice you want to put the more throttle you get it the less you accelerate that's aggressive move but that's how important these points are plenty almost willing to make it he knows he's faster trying to put himself a position if he can't make a pass in the turn 11 at 12 chicane on the back straightaway maybe he can be a position on this front stretch the biggest challenge we're waiting right now is find your sidelines because with Volman in front of you you can't see where you want to go so how do you line everything up to get where you want to be through this chicane good job really good job by Blaney wedding present for Kyle Larson and Caitlin stage one win Kyle Larson got married on Wednesday and now has one stage one at the Charlotte Robo here's the battle for one more point Ryan Blaney how aggressive does he get gets him by a car lengths those were the top 10 and now the caution has come out stage one complete Kyle Larson wins stage one but what a fight for Blaney Blaney in the 12 able to get by that 37 of Chris Buescher every point matters and Blaney's fighting for the ball [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] for going further so you can and buy coca-cola the official fan refreshment of NASCAR let's check back in with Rutledge wood hey right Rick we want to do an update on one of the Toyota drivers Hayley Deegan last night became the first female ever to win a K&N Pro Series race up at Meridian Speedway and I know a huge night for her you know she got the pole last week in Vegas finished second out there there's no stranger to the dirt that's really where she grew up but to get that win on the asphalt last night a huge message that sends her dad Brian Deegan action sports star was there in attendance a huge night for Haley Deegan and a really cool thing for females into racing everywhere Rick yeah that was interesting you said she grew up on dirt she literally grew up on dirt following her dad around who was a motocross superstar most decorated freestyle motocross rider in X game history Brian Deegan and so congratulations to Haley Deegan a very historic first win for her Marty hey Rick the playbook is open as we talked about with Steve right see if I think among the leaders there's a real thought here especially with the 42 of not pitting here at the end of the stage because of all those cars who pitted earlier to pit here you already started about 15 so there's a debate right now here on the 42 yeah Marty if I'm in the top five I stay out so when this race started every car in the field could pit only twice if it was purely on fuel it only requires two stops for Sunoco fuel to break the race up the question was always hot with the Goodyear tires last we saw AJ Allmendinger use those tires masterfully on their restart and he got a bunch of cars but guys he didn't get a bunch after they stretched out right Jeff I mean he passed eight in one lap and the only one more car over the last eight or nine laps so you see Kurt Busch's team right here he's running second I'm leaving Kurt Busch on the racetrack Kyle Larson Clint Boyer I agree with what Marty said that caution really kind of messed us up right now a lot of cars have come to pit road if you pit now it is going to be way back in the pack on the next restart alright who makes that decision Kyle Larson stays out right behind him though Kurt Busch Clint Boyer they all decide to come to pit road Dave Clint Bowyer's crew shuffled their feet six inches to the right everything we're told he will stop short of the regular mark four Goodyear tires Sunoco fuel for Clint running third truck try to keep his position coming on pit road Marty Oh Dave Kyle Larson staying out GB Johnson pits from the top five he's at the track bar up just a little bit Carl was just a little bit tight for Johnson but very happy with a very small air pressure adjustment and one of those Goodyear tires Kelley ninth stage points there for Kurt Busch he says he has good lateral grip needs a little more forward drive so they're gonna make an air pressure adjustment in those four Goodyear tires he gave us some Sunoco fuel and the race off pit road brought to you by Kroger click list you see Kurt Busch and Boyer holding on to their positions Jimmie Johnson in that 48 crew getting a spot you [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] divers take the reasonable next round of Monster Energy Cup Series playoffs that begins next weekend at Dover Delaware the action obviously going to be cranked up on the highbank Monster Mile pressure continues to build you're not gonna want to miss a lap so go to nascar.com slash tickets to purchase your tickets today we've already talked about the very first term which is tums heartburn turn and how it has become a story of this race already see AJ Allmendinger on the very bottom of the racetrack making a three-wide that just slows everything down on that outside lane cars running into each other here's Allmendinger just nothing to lose looking for a job do whatever he needs to do yeah we learned yesterday that outside lane is no good if you're in you know the fifth row rolled back on the outside you're gonna have trouble like this all day long losing positions to everybody on the inside line so we talked about it was going to be decision time well let's see stage 1 results Kyle Larson got those 10 points plus a playoff point current Busch Clint Boyer eight points major success for the driver of the 14 chase Elliott Jimmie Johnson all those guys remember they were fighting around the bubble this those points are so important and now no matter how the race finishes they've gained at least that many points so you as they currently run you see Kurt Busch 23 above Clint Boyer 6 above Jimmie Johnson 6 below and let me tell you Rick you and I were just looking at the rundown it is chaos Kyle Larson has upended yet he's leading you there I'm a whole group of cars at a pit at lap 14 behind them Jeff another group of cars upended lap 22 and the most recent car is off pit road pit of lap 27 yeah Kurt Busch boy or Johnson Elliott's the reason they're a lot of those guys are showing below the cut line is because they just pitted so they are way in the back of the race in the end of lineup Kurt Busch being 23rd riding all Kevin Harvick when we were talking a little while ago I saw him with his glove out of this out of the window and I'm like what is he doing and I think it's just it's so hot inside these race cars he just got his glove off and trying to dry it off from his sweat and you saw him moving his hand on the seat and on his leg just trying to get his hand drive so wait a minute you guys sweat workers work almost as hard as this but don't don't make it too hard field approaching the Geico restart zone once again now Martin Truex Jr is on the outside of Kyle Larson again Larson stayed out he Martin Truex Jr Kyle Busch those three did not come to pit road under this most recent caution and Denny Hamlin on that outside line backing everybody up it's tough on that outside line cuz there's no rub nobody's ran there all weekend there's no rubber there no grip for this tire three wide into three guys can you do it Ryan Newman things you can flip boy is open again close right behind rod shoves Jimmie Johnson out into the grass Jimmy giving up spots it's on the outside of turn five up he'll turn six on the outside again but they didn't turn seven he'll be on the inside turning to the left here now Clint Bowyer I think if he can just get in behind Jimmie Johnson that would be what he want to do but he's gonna stay on the outside of him that's gonna have them too wide down on this long straightaway who can be moved to the chicane they're gonna have to get it sorted out yet to see cars go two by two into the chicane who's got to lift the 13 to the 31 and chilly Johnson's taking advantage of that to have it in deep Jimmie Johnson in the 48 was able to take advantage of Ryan Newman in that 31 checking up so difficult for those guys they can't afford to be in a wreck but they can't afford to ride around in the back either here they come into the tubs heartburn turn again and they're bottling up once again stacked up behind David Ragan on the inside these guys making a lot of passes on the outside of Dave David over the last couple of corners and holding up Erik Jones who needs to get by Jones just these restarts have not worked out well ferric Jones at all keeps losing spots on them look at him get aggressive trying to shove the six car to the inside Parker and guys I'm over here in turn II where the fields about to approach behind me hook up and get down long straightaway I really like the strategy and the car of Ryan Blaney he pitted at lap 14 under yellow guys why is that importantly just past Kyle Busch for the third position but Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr running first and second they must come to pit road before the end of stage two Ryan Blaney is in great position to win this second stage if he can just keep the car on the racetrack you see the variety of pit stops on the left-hand side of your screen you got a headache get Rick there's a lot of pit strategies going on down there Marty it's all over the place Steven so when will these leaders who have not pitted come to pit road here's a conversation a moment ago the switch is an extra pick up inside the fuel cell for the 42 so he will hit that as soon as he sees a light come on on the dash that shouldn't get him all the way back around to pit road so that should be Steve about six more laps and Chad also made the point the car that pitted and came out first off pit road last time as Jeff said restarted twenty thirds they still have the lead genius little system right you have your main pick up pick up 90% in fuel gives you a little warning one more lap lasting your news run out of gas in the middle of the road course and let's take a look at the laps from above brought to you by Bank of America I love this shot this Vala copper shot just gives you such great perspective of how well they use this entire facility this was a one and a half mile trial that we've seen races on for years but Marcus Smith SMI the company that owns this racetrack guys they they redesigned the road course use the infield chicanes on the two straightaways it's really a great layout sure is there you see Ryan Blaney trying to hold off Kyle Busch Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski who's came for the back of the field in a backup car these three guys are advanced into the next round so they had make it to drive you know a lot more carefree no pressure like Ryan Blaney has Blaney sitting right now only 27 points to the good but he's been near the cutoff line at some points in this race and I think that'll pose a problem for Ryan Blaney if Busch can catch him which has nothing to lose and put a lot of pressure on and put a lot of pressure on the guy in front of you they can't afford to make a mistake Blaney might have to give up that spot Blaney doesn't want to give up any track position [Music] [Music] you're watching the Monster Energy Cup Series Bank of America rovol 400 Charlotte Motor Speedway Wednesday night's hockey doubleheaders gonna kick off the NHL season 7:30 Eastern Bruins are in DC to face Alex Ovechkin and the defending Stanley Cup champion Capitals in the California clash Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks sets NHL opening night Wednesday on NBC s and want to take a quick look back at problem that's Justin marks had 15 spins coming out of turn eight bumps the wall he was out of the line so no caution ever came out he was able to correct the situation and get going again kevin harvick I know that when Larson Truex Kyle Busch and McMurray all decide to pits it will be a good battle between Ryan Blaney and Kevin Harvick those two up there fighting for the spots as well as Brad Keselowski yeah Brad Keselowski has drove by Kevin Harvick and he started put the pressure on Kyle Busch I talked to you tart you say Brad class his Lasky's being aggressive you can see it he's really running wide on these corners and turn three or four getting out there the paint on the outside of that three and four but he's got great speed which is so surprising because this is a backup car crash the car yesterday in practice and junior they knew this car would be good after they crashed it backup car one of the reasons why he did crash by the way avoiding the curbs he avoided him so hard that he crashed his car instead of jumping over the final ones in turned 17 here's a replay of that accident he'll get into sixteen he gets a little bit squirrely hears through fifteen to the left sixteen to the right that he knows he's in trouble instead of going through the turf or the curbs he goes this way and noses the car into the wall so that went to the backup car Paul Wolfe Toby this morning we build them to be identical we know we have speed at this track and that will help us set up our strategies to try to win this race Kyle Busch is on pit road and Dave here come those leaders Kyle Busch Mart stretch junior coming down pit road right now Kyle saying he's tight in one to eight and 14 to an air pressure adjustment to free up the 18 Park Kelly Martin Truex Jr in that 78 car they've been really happy with this race car all weekend long remember they are through to the next round on points so the only thing that matters to them is that race win Marty Erik Jones on pit road Kelly they had made all that ground up early in the race and did not make the progress they wanted to on this run he said the car just way too tight for him but then it loses rear grip the longer they run he's on pit road they made a wedge adjustment Kyle Larson the leaders going to pit this time Eric Jones making his way off of pit road that hard left-hand turn and then he'll blend back out onto the race track when everyone's coming through turn two right there and up through that little short chute into turn three Alysha for Eric Jones because it's clear track but I can get bottled up we saw yesterday in the Xfinity race some tough real estate news Marty mentioned the leader 42 of Kyle Larson gonna come on pit road make his first pit stop of the day I would imagine with this strategy it's going to be a two-stop strategy now it's just avoid any penalty or pit mistakes and see if I think they sort of painted themselves into that situation well they're going to have to make it a two stop day they were able to get to lap 37 on this first stop for Kyle Larson they asked him in the middle of the very first part of the run how's the car he said it's losing rear grip but a moment ago he said Phil excellent so Kyle Larson with some speed on older tires might be the car to beat here this afternoon at the robo and as Kyle Larson works his way off of pit road now Ryan Blaney is out front will see Kyle Larson blending back out onto the racetrack right there Ryan Blaney is out front but his teammate Brad Keselowski is running him down Brad Keselowski could put himself in a position to win this stage and get another playoff point he's got 25 playoff points he's been getting these things gobbling them up over the last several weeks Dave dude you think of what it's been like for Ryan Blaney this weekend this car has been damaged it was one of the cars whose team needed an extra 30 minutes at the end of yesterday an extra 90 minutes this morning to work on the car / NASCAR's allowance he hit the right side of the car on Friday and turned to left front fender he grazed that tire barrier in the chicane on the backstretch so they've worked hard to fix the 12 get it back on track and keep it fast he's got to try to keep that two behind him ooh Brad Keselowski to Ryan Blaney a family of racers his grandfather Lew Blaney was a dirt modified legend his father Dave also racing uncle Dale now on the other hand when you talk about athletes in the family uncle Dale Blaney was actually drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers back in 1986 but the whole Bay has been involved in racing pretty much their entire lives Dave Denny Hamlin restarted this segment of the race in 11th position had to hug on to that position he'll take four tires and fuel here talk about moments remember Denny Hamlin had to pit at lap five because he flat spotted that left front tire he's kind of just been racing from behind ever since Rick and you know this was a nice clean pit stop but once again look at all the cars going by gave up a lot of track position here came into this race he had the fewest points of all of the other playoff contenders he continues to try to dig out of that hold as we go NASCAR non-stop [Music] incredible fighting for position here at the rovol let's take a look at the Toyota Camry on track car Rutledge wood Rick you know we see a lot of these drivers getting closer and closer those big blue curb so what I want to know Steve is is it the splitter that's more important or is it everything that's hiding behind there that from a crew chief you worried about how close your driver gets to those big curbs well right you mentioned the splitter and it definitely drives most of the aerodynamics but it's not the most vital part whether you like it or not you can run with a damaged splitter damaged fender we see Daniel Suarez running with the whole left front fender taped up but if you start damaging suspension perhaps some engine components that are near that left front corner it's going to end your day Rick so not that you want any damage but go ahead tear the splitter off but save the rest of it and what a Clint Boyer call him against snapping turtles those the blue curbs I committed a long time ago in my career well it has been tough on a few cars already and right now we saw incredible battle Austin Dillon Jimmy Jimmy Johnson Kurt Busch as well as Clint Boyer all fighting for those spots well it's a great battle on the racetrack and Jeff you and I had a heated discussion during break because the Jimmie Johnson currently in the 8th position he's going to get three points at the end of the stage if he can remain here there's a couple of cars in front of him Menard Suarez Byron that may pit now we'll move him up and look at the ghost points on the left side of your screen he's one point out points are valuable I think he should stay on the racetrack Jeff you disagree well he could stay on the racetrack and get these playoff points Marty just gonna have to see what he does he's gonna stay on the racetrack Jeff I can tell you that Chad Canales has already told him probably three cars in front of us are going to fit he also knows right behind him Clint Boyer Jimmy Johnson right now in eighth boy you're in tenth and you saw those points a moment ago as Jimmie Johnson is going to try and get another point here in another position get around Austin Dillon one point right now separate Clint Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson he's aware that right now that poor team behind him make that two points now he's gotten around the three and it's not over yet they're Jimmie Johnson is able to clear the three the 41 of Kurt Busch saw an opening now tries to take advantage of that they dive through three Clint Bowyer trying to make that same move Austin's gonna make it harder on it's the way all that worked out Clint was not able to clear Austin Austin if he's gonna stay out here for staged points it needs to fight for these positions he's only four points into the next round doesn't want to give up these positions they just told chase Elliott that last car in the shot just to the right just out of the picture go get the 14 so keep an eye on that might get that 14 might get that 3 if it keeps going it's got good speed his car let's listen in to get these points they're willing to stay out and they're thinking that some of the people in front of them that really don't have anything to lose Minard bar and those guys are not in the playoffs they could pit and it's not really gonna hurt him then that's what they're expected as well as Kevin Harvick inside the top 12 there's only two cars that aren't playoff cars Menard and fourth William Barrett and fifth all these guys trying to get stage points that's how important they are thank you and I were disagreeing about is when they if they go to this end without pitting go to the stage in without pity they're gonna restart so far in the back and they're going to potentially give up points for these the way they're going to finish the race and that's just a gamble these guys are gonna have to take they want to get the points where they can get them they want to get them there in the bank they got them you don't know what you won't get later in the races I know we keep saying these races that the stage 3 is always so chaotic and you get you're gambling on stage 3 being a completely chaotic stage where you can grab a bunch of positions in bunches on restarts with crashing cars getting knocked out of the race so get these staged points now put me in position to try to take advantage of guys having trouble in stage 3 I think boy right now is a little bit frustrated not that awesome villains doing anything wrong else is doing a really good job but Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson who Rory was running with they've driven over way since see how far ahead they are they were able to clear awesome in the slow part of the racetrack and Clinton just didn't get it done and seeing those guys he feels like he should be running with driving away from him so but you mentioned they're going to have to start behind other guys what we're gonna find out is who those other guys are currently we've seen Martin Trek sprint Brad Keselowski pit Kyle Busch pit Denny Hamlin pit they're done for the day but here in about three more laps just like we saw at the end of stage one Rick pit road will still be open before the leaders come and close it with two to go and I expect to see a wave of cars hit pit road and that is when anxiety is going to go up this battle between these playoff guys is unreal though you mentioned every positions a point maybe Johnson's got another one as he passed Menard for fifth place Kurt Busch now zeros in alman are trying to take that position as well to get another point and Jimmie out in front of him he sees William Byron yeah I missed when I said done for the day everybody's working in a one-stop strategy right the guys that have already pitted they only have to pit one more time guys like Jimmy John's wrong with William Byron here slow on the track at a fuel potentially out of fuel where did he pit last Byron pitted on lap 22 he should have plenty of fuel right now you have to wonder if he was just helping his teammate the 48th time he's got something going on a tire coming apart yeah looks like the brake frets a little bit low steep see it bounced in the car [Applause] gets into the wall hard and now them any other car with the 24 - flat tire I'm gonna come to pit road if I think I can get heavy damage on aric almirola this is a car that we thought just had made a few points he was doing it just enough to get though and he needed to get done today right now he's showing that he would be 11 points of the good but you can see the 24 going up the racetrack of the flat right Ron Eric catches even just hits the wall hard 24 has made it to pit road if you're wondering if that car might bring out a yellow he actually cut through the legends car track portion of the front straightaway to get to his pit box Marty hey guys here at Cal Rolla they've asked him how the car is driving he said it doesn't feel like there's a rub you see William Byron on pit row but championship implications for aric almirola looks like they are going to come down pit road here for the 10 car but now they're debating now they're saying there's no smoke on the car so here smoking on the banking now they're going to come down pit road they came in with a 23 point cushion they've done an excellent job here in round one being so consistent with aric almirola with damage gonna come here early before the end of stage two as jr. mentioned the 24 didn't come on to pit road the way he was supposed to so he has a commitment line violation you'll have to come back on to pit road nail you called it that 24 car had a flat right front these cars are so low I couldn't tell this flat perhaps neither could 210 right he had no idea that 24 was slowing up now we see on the bottom right of your screen the 10 American Rolla come to the service of the pit crew Marty and see if they're gonna be their best to kind of clear the fenders here both right front and right rear for aric Almirola and lose as little time as they can for what it's worth they were planning on coming to pit road in short pitting this stage anyway they were outside the top 10 but this is going to hurt taking a little extra time to pull those fingers out for the 10 car if they can survive the rest of this race teeth they may be okay to dance around to survive will be the key word and now Rick with four to go I expect to see another wave of cars coming to pit road Marty continued to say there are just so many options on how to run this race 10 America aric Almirola was hoping for a simple race and turned very quickly excitement only two more options as far as people coming to pit road again pit road will be closed with two laps to go as soon as race leader which right now is Ryan Blaney gets to the start/finish line to make it two laps to go they will close pit road so there's only a few options left for these drivers to get to pit road if they're going to come before the end of stage two we talked at the top of the show about guys that have to do something to move through Ryan Blaney currently leaving the brace that'll be ten points points on now we're here in the tan America Almirola has a tire violation as well he's gonna have to have another penalty that's gonna be even more costly when it comes to points but as I was saying the top eight are all playoff guys they are battling for those stage points stage points ten through one as far as points distributed at the end of the stage problem with the prop for Byron and the tip car has been a blessing for guys like Jason Bowman who are now inside the top ten to be able to get these staged points but the problem with that is that Johnson Kurt Busch Boyer all these guys are in front of them getting more stage points and Jimmie Johnson getting by Joey Logano and bringing Kurt Busch with him five Joey Logano I like that listen you're not in his race you want to have a smooth day you just need a handful of points Jimmie Johnson you're in a little bit more of a desperate situation I'm gonna let you go a different battle out there on the track Parker and guys I've been watching this battle between Austin Dillon and chase L is they come down the final chicane I've been over here the last couple laps I saw Jimmie Johnson make that pass on Austin Dillon Roos it was always a three part pack inside there 15 they got to the enzyme 16 impact and chase Elliott's been pounding as you see there the back of the three car trying to make up for chair and if he's gonna get it done this final lap you see how close you can get into them maybe you'll make a move you're down to one and we have the two cars spinning in the south as well Keselowski and the 78 of more trucks junior are around now the 78 is gonna stop just in front of the 2 because you missed the chicane I think Brad will do the same you're better off to stop you can't have another penalty sympathy conserving Honda for you here the spotter opening behind the Ford trying to get cars back on the racetrack you know I don't know what they really dad to stop there but let's see what happened Keselowski Oh both guys way too deep like the 78 was in too deep and Brad Wright was judging him and he just both ended up driving into deep those two guys are in position they are positioning themselves to to win this race which when you when you read through the chutes when you read through the chicane yo you didn't gain anything by that I don't think it had to stop they didn't cut the corner they actually read through there I don't think NASCAR would have called him as he hasn't stopped no but I like the idea of stopping gas because if you roll off man that's too big of a penalty to do drive through all that that changes their strategy though Steve for the entire race now with that spin they're gonna have to come down pit road put tires on will they do that well I think the pit roads closed so their only option as Ryan Blaney takes one to go in the stage is gonna be the end of this stage I think the most important thing is for both drivers here in these last few laps well I don't have to ask if the two has an issue we can hi yeah Wow smoke rollin out from behind the 2 of Brad Keselowski the win for him in this first round ensures that he will be in round 2 so if this ends up being spun into the 78 so that's tired that's the tire rub as you see the damage he made the decision to stay on the racetrack rather than pitting because as the final lap didn't want to serve that penalty of pitting too soon but will that left rear tire make it all the way around for this last lap and we're hearing from NASCAR they let us know that both those cars would have been considered missing the chicane there you go great decision they stopped on the racetrack the rest the field looks at that and says alright I spin out through there I gotta come to this stuff and a big point stage for Jimmie Johnson who was in a position to get as many points as he possibly could he needed as many points right now running second to Ryan Blaney fast I mean he is running lap times as fast as anyone on the racetrack if not faster Ryan Blaney for the final time through turn 16 and 17 Jimmie Johnson just behind him Ryan Blaney is gonna win stage two six stage win for Ryan Blaney and also important not only the ten points for the stage but a playoff point every playoff point advances into the next round as long as they advance into the next round those are the top 10 and a big stage win for fan favorite Ryan Blaney who gets stage to win [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] NASCAR on NBC is Sprott to you by Sonic this is how you Sonic Toyota let's go places and by Bank of America the letter tonight's Sunday Night Football AFC North rivals clashes Joe Flacco the Ravens face bit Roethlisberger and the Steelers football night in America that begins at 7:00 Eastern with kickoff at 8:20 p.m. tonight only on NBC right Rick Sunday Night Football is in Pittsburgh and we are thrilled to have pizza along for the ride fans can get a large two topping pizza for just $7.99 when you order online the official pizza sponsor of the NFL no one al pizzas odd Rick no one if you are right rut no one out pieces the hunt all right so the stages are done junior stage points very important how did everybody do yeah this is something that's you know guys been working on all day long going through stage one and stage two and there you see a Kurt Busch 17 points at this point today Kurt uh Clint Bowyer's well another guy who is outside the cutoff line at the start of this race 14 points at this point Jimmie Johnson having an awesome day with also 14 points these guys are doing amazing work look down here at the bottom Alex Bowman the only fi has five points you would think that'd be pretty good but to all these guys ahead of him forgetting so many points now he's gonna have to actually just beat him on the racetrack I don't know if he has enough speed to do that so points are very important so far after stage one and stage two and as you say that points so important now officially the 20 and the 11 they pretty much have to win this race so Erik Jones Denny Hamlin there over 40 points below that cut line a win is a must has it been good Jeff you said it the best every time we looked up on a restart the 20 was either getting pushed around or in the wrong lane or I don't think he's run a bad race he's just has never been in the right spot on the restarts and now that we're finally into this final stage currently with 58 to go the first thing we need to do is gonna open pit road we're gonna get everybody off pit road that needs fuel guys that don't need fuel we'll stay out there's gonna be a few little split options is gonna reset the whole field as you mention here they come on to pit row David crew chief Jeremy Bolin's told his driver it played out just as we needed it to we have our points now I'm gonna put you back in traffic I know that I'm gonna just a car so it's drivable Marty Jimmie Johnson's fighting for his playoff life he saw that he gained 14 points so far today that has him plus eight above the cut line as of right now Chad can now send us a car better he would say I say so no changes Kelly collecting stage voice has been a strength of this 41 team 17 today Kurt Busch needs a little more left rear grip more lateral grip it's an air pressure adjustment and fuel and a good stop for the 48 team as we watch the race off of pit road Jimmie Johnson gains a spot but again quite a few stayed out on the racetrack Bowman gaining four spots on pit road when we come back they'll be diving into the tubs heartburn turn [Music] [Music] grab an ice-cold coke and buckle up you're watching NASCAR on NBC and today's aerial coverage provided by Bank of America a beautiful scene here at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the rovol they have sold more tickets here than the past ten years so a great crowd on hand for today's race let's go back to the peacock pit box and Krista voda yeah Rick we can't wait for the post race show we will be with you from Victory Lane Kyle Petty and Dale Jarrett are getting ready to have Robo fever they've been jumping blue curbs in a golf cart last I saw them Kyle's pocket squares somewhere outside of the back chicane so we are getting ready of course after the post race show we have Sunday Night Football is Rutledge said at Heinz Field the Terrible Towels will be waving the only thing that matters what's waving here that checkered flag which for drivers will be eliminated championship hopes will end here at Charlotte we will join you from Victory Lane with the race winner after this final stage okay Steve now that we're getting ready for the final stage explain where everyone is here's pit stops okay Rick so the stages are complicated because when you got to pit now it's simple most everyone except for maybe Hendrick in second can make it on just one more stop so that's the leaderboard Larson through Blaney so look who has the best tires you have Larson pit at 37 Harvick though he came at 45 a little bit fresher tires Menard also came at 47 we look at those names you don't see Jimmie Johnson barely on the list down there in 19th he has the freshest tires but he lost all his track position trying to win that stage trying to get those staged points I think it was a great call now guys it's one more pit stop one more time down pit road somewhere in these last 56 laps and the stress of getting back through the field so we've seen how hard it is the pass so you know Jimmie Johnson Kurt Busch all those guys are going to drive their selves back up through the field Parker I'm down here at the restart zone and the final chicane it's important for two reasons one this is what the restart happened to something I noticed yesterday and I noticed the end of stage 2 there was if you're within six tenths of the car phone you you can get to their back bumper by the second last quarter in turn 16 that may come into play in the final laps of stage three if we have one car chasing down another would come to the restart Rick Thank You Parker and we see Daniel Hamrick in the 8th he's on the front row Daniel Hamrick not many cup starts for him but he will be Cup racing next year it was announced that he will drive in the Cup Series for RCR into 2019 currently second in the Xfinity Series points as they come back to the restart and diving into tubs heartburn turn havoc on the outside with him old tires is stacking up down sideline see how all those guys on the inside are gaining positions here I hope I was on the inside line for that restart not your trouble see Jimmy Johnson on the outside lane with Kurt Busch behind him watch those points on the left side of the screen watch them changes Jimmie Johnson passes guys look how tight it is Jeff oh boy for two drivers below the cut line I thought she's talked about the action on the track man these guys going through six and seven bumper-to-bumper they're trying to get around him acrylic has these guys stacked up here with these older tires and a different strategy than everyone else hey Jimmie Johnson looks like the Jimmie Johnson to won seven Championships today he's working himself through traffic doing a great job a fast race car look how aggressive he is here coming into the chicane Jimmy Johnson on a 51 race winless streak surprising that we can say that from a seven-time champion an eighty three-time winner but only one of his 83 wins have come on a road course so he would like to be the first winner at Charlotte Motor Speedway to get the win at the rofl I'll butcher had trouble in that 37 car in the chicane that allowed Almirola get underneath Devlin's are not a morel Allmendinger 20 and 11 Erik Jones and Denny Hamlin will contact earlier riding along with Jones take a look at this and that's the battle I was talking about those guys getting through that corner that was pretty close had some trouble there they're still get through six man it's really tight rolling through there it's slow corner what you said at him Rick on those old tires he's got everybody backed up and everything's stacking up behind him Chris Buescher you talk about the damage on his car he has quite a bit of nose damage getting over the curb too much Parker hey guys that wasn't the only position that Erik Jones used to get position on old car he used on there of Daniel Hamrick in the eighth down here in turn 16 and 17 he used them up move them out of the way and drove on by pretty awesome stuff so ggressive move right here from Suarez Jimmie Johnson behind I'm thinking please don't wreck what's Jimmy gonna do try to get a good run that was close there Tod's it'll mean that 13 card just didn't time all that right cost him a lot of spots cost him two spots get into the back of Jimmy they stacked up but everyone continues to go the right direction Jimmy Johnson all the way up to 11th place restarted 19th man when I talked to him this morning he was happy like he he's not been happy very many times when I talked to him this year he's you know just had that fast race cars but this race track has presented an opportunity and they've taken advantage of it Denny Hamlin and Erik Jones ballot for 6 & 7 Erik Jones really put the pressure on here trying to get around his teammate these two guys here they got to win the race they want to get into the next round of the playoffs they have to win this race both of them being very aggressive down the back straightaway and they'll dive into turn 11 and 12 the chicane on the backstretch we'll be right back with more racing from Charlotte [Music] [Music] [Music] Kyle Larson still out in front but the big news is Austin Dillon the winner of the Daytona 500 as the caution has come out Austin Dillon Daytona 500 winner earlier this year slammed into the wall and now he's going to be heading to pit road Kelly yeah huge playoff implications here for Austin Dillon in that three car Austin saying that he had to live to avoid the 37 of Chris Buescher ahead of him and he just got spun out they're gonna have to come to pit road obviously they're saying the wheel is bent you can hear the frustration and disappointment from Austin inside that cockpit let's take a look at this and see what happened I mean it's been out actually Chris Buescher has some bad bad damage on the front of his car and I believe Chris Busch was very slow splitter on the ground Austin had to avoid him and I think that that outside line is very dirty we have not been running outside of that bottle through very much this weekend and he got up out of that groove into the debris into the marbles in the end of the fence right now sitting 14th below the cut line nine points out now with this might punch the field up though who knows how much chaos we'll see after this right that really was looking forward this is you mentioned the tight racing Chris Chris Buescher had a ton of damage to the front of his car and I think that it's hurt the performance through those big Bank corners that's why Austin accelerated up on him so quickly you see that damage there give that as a Ton Ton and so a few cars will have to make their way onto pit road to repair the damage we'll be back for the restart [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you're watching the Monster Energy Cup Series Bank of America rovol 400 couple cars came on to pit road because of the damage that they have the pit road wasn't open yet now the pit road is open a few takers few guys on pit road Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch they stayed out on the track McMurray Harvick Hamlin all staying out there their top five will be back for the restart right after this [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] forty eight laps to go in the Charlotte rovol the first ever road course in the playoffs and it comes down to who's going to make the best decisions late in this race Kyle Larson Kyle Busch side by side as they come back through the restart zone back up through the gears as they dive into turn number one this is a point restart Berger again three why that takes out Nikki handle with that move four wide back in the pack I was gonna say this is important restarting for Kyle Busch he was trying to win this race to get in front of Kyle Larson hustle to get up there and put some pressure on him that outside line on restarts it's really tough look it up back there Erik Jones giving a little bit of business to Allmendinger is they going to turn five here at some point when you started getting restarts like that and the guy just driving all you had some boy just glad to get rid of him I mean you can't you don't I mean I'm you just I know it's racing but come on man you're gonna have to be smart you're racing to try to make the next round of playoffs gonna get unfriendly real quick yeah if I've heard eight tires turn better but I don't think I've ever seen twelve or sixteen that was like a new multipliers there's a super aggressive move that's being kind using kind words and again AJ Allmendinger on these restarts has oh look at that whoa it he's got a lot of Tyre smoke there with a rub from that damaged right side 7-eleven car from the restart we've got to replay that restart let's take a look at it here you go AJ Allmendinger made this work earlier makes it three wide drives on the corner what a car does not have any idea he's there would know he's there as a dive bomb and any spotter adeney would have been able to get the information quickly enough to know well Junior told you two things all day long there's nowhere to pass her you can have to dive bomb people and number two AJ Allmendinger doesn't have a job for 2019 so he really doesn't care all he wants is the wind but they think that damage is too much to tire up too bad they will pick next time he said he only kills it in the banking of three and four and one and two not as bad there but they are gonna come to pit road next time with like a rental go-kart ride move he kicked off the go-kart track do everything well and if you're looking for a job Joe Gibbs Racing might not go to cachi looking at he slammed into one of their cars anyways but he he looks great he said till he gets to this particular part of the racetrack right here when we saw the smoke on the last lap he goes through 11 and 12 through that backstretch chicane again incredible speeds through there as well as we see the 48 of Jimmie Johnson I thought I didn't think the Jimmy knew he was bitten he's gotta be careful there with Trevor Bayne on his inside going down into that braking zone Trevor was trying to give him the spot but couldn't do it we saw the number change for the 48 of Jimmie Johnson it was seven points now eight points because he made the pass just returned 17 Jimmie Johnson currently running 10th and he is still above the cut line that is the magical line right now below 12th when we talk about how difficult this racetrack is well the best camera I know to show is the driver came the helmet cam of Jeffrey Earnhardt Burton you've talked about just how hard it is to see around this racetrack look there's walls on the inside and out a lot of blind corners down here you'll go through this right-hander and then it goes over a rise completely blind in this corner five six and seven I think that's the most difficult part check this out look the cars go away they go away you cannot see it's a blind corner this to me is one of the most blind racetracks I've ever been bit on you just cannot see where you need to hit you more I think that's one of the reasons in addition to track being ultra slick I think just the sightlines of this racetrack I'm very tough and this is what I want to see this is a grave you were the four or five cars in front of him you talked about the vision coming into this chicane well look he can't see the curbing because there's cars in front of him imagine being him a closer he's three or four car legs back if you're right on that bumper you have no view here's Eric Jones getting fastball Bernard in the 21 Jones in the 20 and then the 9 of chase Elliott also trying to move up past Paul Menard battle for 6th 7th and 8th Robin ours a pretty good little road racer the 3 has hit the wall again Austin Dillon slamming the wall as he coordinator 17 that right front tire is not really up here this is for the free car the track stays under a green flag condition more than likely this is it this is the end of his hopes of making the playoffs you just heard we're done well that tells me Denny Hamlin in a must-win the 20 and a must-win the 3 of Austin Dillon currently well below the cut line and as a bunch of guys racing to make the playoffs currently the 88 the only other four I'll come back I've got my back just heartbreaking when you put everything you have into trying to make the next round and know right now what happened just a terrible feeling from the ultimate high of winning the Daytona 500 to start off the season to now not being able to advance out of round one and now the caution has come out that's why this racing is man passive has followed by the lowest of lows here's how it happened you see way up ahead riding along with Jeffrey Earnhardt remember he had damage earlier that's pretty pretty good contact hard hit into the wall blew a right front tire tire something yeah it's a blue right front tire broke something in the right front suspension car went straight into the fence and in my mind why this makes it a little easier for the playoff guys now there's another one in the garage you know it's it no one wants to see these restarts definitely not these playoff contenders but they it's crazy on these restarts and with 44 to go I just I don't know so here's they're not inside the pit window so I expect most everyone to stay on the racetrack but the one option this does create Dale you and I did this at Pocono would be the same idea here if you're say Bowman Blaney Boyer Logano somewhere out back half of the field pit now put on four tires you only have to run about six more laps and then you just come get splash of fuel Rick you know about a 3/4 second pit stop that'll save you 8 9 10 seconds on pit road you may not win the race but 10 seconds you can leapfrog a lot of cars and gain some track positions so while I don't expect the leaders to pit here someone's going to someone's gonna try something different don't make such a big deal about how we have we won that race oh wait a minute was he insinuating that it might have been strategy that had something to do with it I always thought it was the drive town you man that last year he called race is completely different lot of fun showing all those restarts and with AJ Allmendinger making that aggressive move well there's always a winner and always a loser watch chase Elliott watch what does you see Jimmie Johnson up here he's got to get really slow having all kinds of problems chase Elliott he's on the bottom he just takes advantage of that opportunity the whole open for him he jumped through it took did a really good job and that's moved him all the way up to seventh place so that's being heads up looking way ahead seeing that opening and just going for it if you were and I were down in that spot on the racetrack this this morning I mean it doesn't look like two cars couldn't go through there they're getting three through there on every restart it is so tight over there I think to where the restart zone is Steve I think they might be going faster on a restart than they are actually under green flag conditions some guys fit here there's a couple making their way onto pit road again pit road now just open Erik Jones Paul Menard he's coming down pit road it's like Daniel Suarez as well Marty Rick like Steve's hand you got to do something here for your Erik Jones right now 19 below the cut line in a must-win situation the car has not been nearly as good since that first run today they haven't been able to make up the track position you know take on four go to your tires here and see if they can do something at the end of this race gotta make something happen right guys that's it Marty Chris Gayle knows staying in line he has a sixth fifth sixth seventh place car that's not getting him in the playoffs he's not sure if this call work out but there's no telling more chaos coming at the robot [Music] [Music] forty two laps to go Monster Energy Cup Series racing for Alma Charlotte getting ready for another restart there have been five cautions today for difference lead changes between three leaders that's Kyle Larson Ryan Blaney and Kurt Busch have all led laps today I want to watch but I'm nervous what a watch what scared to watch I'm never going to be watching the 47 restarts have continued to get even crazier let's see how this one works out Jimmy Johnson moved to the inside trying to block anything that Allmendinger we might do but it gets did they're pretty clean Kyle Larson still jumping out to the Leeds dominating these restarts these restarts and so stressfully these guys trying to earn themselves we can change the next round the playoffs because this is where the wrecks happened this lady hurries up here put the pressure on he's also a pretty good broke horse racer ah so off track almost gladiator boban yeah bet you Jamie McMurray there's also question where he's going to be driving next year this is the Gosselin that job search this 88 12 to 14 all those guys right there in 11th 12th 13th to the playoffs battling for positions battling to be above that cut line let's see how Alex gets off the racetrack going into turn five trying to get to the outside here but it gets ran into the paint and that paint is supposed to have just as much grip as the racetrack lucky for him he was in the grass he lost ton of spots look at battle there with 12 and 14 getting together in three or four the oval tight racing here Denny Hamlin in the 11 Jimmie Johnson the 48 just behind them chase Elliott in the 9 we didn't talking about Jimmie Johnson and earning points by his good finish in the stages and also hopefully have been in the race for him he's thinking win he's got a good enough car to win this race today and he's driving like that he's not driving like he's afraid he's gonna make a mistake he's driving like he wants to take this trophy home and a win guarantees him to the next round he is definitely on the move the 48 making the Chevy on the move look very impressive before the race he was six points below the cut line in 14th currently he's in 10th as the points and as they run oh and around goes the 10 of aric almirola again this time into the grass and the 37 of Busch are also involved Chris Buescher actually is taking some of the first ice but with him caution has come out again there's something you don't see every day you're looking for something from Echo Park go-kart traveling billboard I didn't know you could I mean that's why you that's why you bother billboards you just never gonna be traveling both happens with Norton a4 that billboard normally we see this bolt behind an airplane but here it's behind the 37 of butchers so it's been arrested to see how this affects aric almirola going forward because he is also a driver that's flirting with that cut line with the trouble he's had today he's actually in a good position having rebounded from that incident with the wall let's take a look at the replay to see what happened between these two heading into turn five I mean this is a tricky little corner the 37 gets off the track so what happened aric almirola here did he join him separate issues I went up over six oh wow did Eric get sent by the 17 I wonder Oh Bojangles gonna spit off though didn't get caught that should be a pile of us on the next Biscay you buy those things that would be my hope party party you see Chris push her on pit road they did inform aric almirola because his first question was who did that they said Ricky Stenhouse jr. and he was not very happy about that and also those signs you saw sitting on the grass there are sandbags in those his teammate Kevin Harvick pointed that out before the race he said someone hits that it could do real damage to your car well the back might be still attached to the back of the 10 yes sure enough that is one of those bags you see it you see the sandbags sitting out there but one of them is empty and is still hanging on the back of the 10 car yeah that's something I think we need to rethink going forward is if that's necessary these guys have these cars so low to the ground with the splitters I mean that's you know hitting the sandbag and destroying the front of your race car just about getting off course a little bit be really frustrating especially for these guys in the playoffs trying to get into the next round taken out by a sandbag so well I remember drivers and actually sometimes crew members saying if you stay on the course you won't hit anything yeah pushing pushing with everything you got sometimes you're gonna put a tire off this is a very curious time for a yellow fuel window we expect somewhere between 35 and 37 laps depending on the car we're coming to 39 laps to go but how many yellows are we gonna see you save a lot of fuel under yellow especially in a road course where you can shut the engine off and run less rpm so will anyone gamble is this the moment where Kyle Larson does he have to come while other cars come to pit road not sure who's gonna make the the hard left-hand turn to come down pit road but Marty and there was a big debate among everybody of whether or not to come beseem I think everybody kind of sided with you saying we can save a little bit of fuel on our own Kyle Larson comes down pit road but first chase Elliott in front of you Dave Marty they waited to find out what the rest of the field was gonna do up front so the 9 car does come chase will get four and fuel now Larson Dave did say the car very good especially on the older tires they cannot make it straight up from ear to the end of the race but they will save enough fuel they hope to be able to make it to the checkered flag and even a green white checkered possibly Kelly two laps is what I was hearing over the radio that's how many laps these teams will be short of fuel so they're gonna have to do some saving that's Joey Logano who has battled both a loose and tight race car at times getting four Goodyear tires and Sunoco fuel how about this named William Byron won the race off of pit road the 24 team with an incredible stop and somebody that we weren't expecting to hear from this early out of the car is now still standing by with Kelly yeah Austin Dillon's been released from the infield care center certainly not where you wanted to be talking to me Austin what happened that led to that initial contact with the wall well first of all I think everybody at Dow American has an all triple-a for this year and hopefully you know something happens this was crazy race I was having a good run and the 37 I went through when NASCAR three and four and I knew I didn't even make a mistake and I didn't think that was how I was gonna make a mistake and he flicked the wheel right in the middle of the corner and when he did I checked and I smacked the outside wall and I just couldn't save it there and we fixed it and I came back up through there and jumped the curb and I think that's kind of what cut my tire down going into three and four I should have just been more patient and waited for more attrition to go out but actually felt pretty comfortable and running good and it's just hard to hold back and treacherous race and I guess just didn't didn't do what we needed to do thank you so much Austin being told he's still not mathematically out Rick but it's going to be a long shot it's gonna be difficult for Austin to advance a lot of things would have to happen he's playoff drivers have had a tough time Erik Jones right off the start in a backup car having to go the back saying with Denny Hamlin both regular day we start breaking foam in turn one they get together see miss all day long with a guy's mouth sideline and give it a little damage to the 20 car but he's social soldiered old america berola happen to go around william barn got into the wall make contact then he was penalized you see that rear tire uncontrolled then he got spun out through the grass Austin Dillon with trouble trying to miss the 37 a Chris Buescher gets up out of the groove into the fence they get the car repaired he's back out there making lads trying to work his way into the playoffs as another tire issue gets the fence noise I have the race who players up front Ricky Stenhouse jr. and Paul Menard making up row number one and we'll one wondering how long Stenhouse jr. can stay up there you got to keep your eye on the 47 of AJ Allmendinger never know where he's going to go on the restart hardened to the gas and onto the brakes now Eric Jones a little oh the course that'll be no penalty Oh out of the I'm in the running to be able to win this race oh there's a lot of racing still to go and have still 38 laps remaining a 19 make contact with the 20 he's got damage to the left rear quarter panel 19's damage to the front of his car from that you say that 20 Erik Jones had the flat tire flat lid for a tire from that damage it's gonna have to lip around it's going to really take him out of the opportunity to advance in the next round I'll get back around Oh lap here the damage on the right front of the 20 of Erik Jones actually got a flat left rear tire from contact with a 19 you see the damage to the right front a 19 car back there in fourth place all that happen going down into turn one [Music] now on that restart we saw the 18 dive and cut the corner NASCAR has said you if the course was cut to gain advantage you will be penalized and Oh guys trouble the 20 spun year off faction came Erik Jones left rear tire down for Erik Jones he stays on the apron but again a difficult day for the 20 as well as 11 two of the drivers that were in a position they had to come out and win this race if they wanted to advance but do all the 17th of course overturned four into the grass losing the lead Menard to the lead that's the same as the second time Stenhouse has been off course there this weekend levy stayed out of the tire barrier Suarez had looked to the inside of the 42 of Kyle Larson and now Larson trying to forge ahead as they come through turn eight got some replay on what happened the 20 car here on this restart move oh look at that he runs into the 17 the 19 hits him in the back the 17 has a tire rub he probably has a left rear tire going down as well senator what 220 hand here's a 20 spin coming out of the back straightaway turn 12 lift around the pit road Stenhouse has some real issues tire over that left rear quarter panel and we're hearing from NASCAR that the 18 of Kyle Busch is not going to receive a penalty Wow well let's see why they had a reason he called it let's see what their decision is so you see the guys reckon in front of him so he restarted in the 9th position he goes here to avoid contact but because he comes out intense NASCAR deems it wasn't an advantage they said you could cut the course to avoid an accident they don't feel it was an advantage he lot actually lost a position so that's NASCAR's ruling that he didn't as you put it would you say won't matter it's a gain advantage he down he didn't cut the course to in vain and gain advantage he ended up cutting the course to avoid an accident and it look like he backed up he could have throttled up and probably picked up some spots and I don't think he did he realized he was in there slowed down when I first saw alive I thought surely that's gonna be a penalty I thought he picked up a ton of spots see Ryan Newman around facing the wrong direction and he's gonna try to I did it turn race back out it's a turn seven I think you're right Rick I know there's gonna be a lot of conversation about that but I agree that Kyle tried to not taking advantage of it I want to get back on the racetrack he was patient blending back with traffic this is the 31 going around of Newman Newman out of the 31 and into the six for Roush Fenway Racing in 2019 Clint Boyer was back there behind him cliff Moyer has struggling I'm not sure what's going on with him but remember he was back he was running with jimmies with Jimmie Johnson he was running with him a lot and now he's gotten back there in that 17th 18 spot and just kidding can't get himself out of there here's the lead right here Paul Menard and these two are on the same pitch strategy both came to pit road at lap 66 crack his Lasky's much quicker though as you see he's closed in coming into turn six Paul slides the back get back in the car there a little bit he's struggling with the grip Brad putting the pressure on coming through turn eight so you want to try to back up a little bit to accelerate you say I had a good run you having to turn left kind of short cut it a little bit for the lead Keselowski powering by Paul Menard new leader and one of the hottest drivers in NASCAR Brad Keselowski out front as we go NASCAR non-stop [Music] [Music] today's aerial coverage provided by Bank of America giving us a great perspective of what has transformed into the rovol at Charlotte Motor Speedway still out front Brad Keselowski and Paul Menard running second he's a second and a half back then it's Kyle Larson Martin Truex Jr Kyle Busch chase Elliott Jimmie Johnson Kevin Harvick William Byron and Daniel Suarez all in the top 10 is there a strategy now for example to SiC the the two and the 21 the guys running first and second they came to pit road on lap 66 that would mean over 40 laps they would have to go on fuel and you said the fuel window was about 35 to 37 I know we don't have a lot of history at this racetrack but that seems like a lot if I know Paul Wolfe and Brad Keselowski they already have a win there's no reason they can't gamble running out of gas it's not gonna hurt them they're here only for the playoff points but it just seems like a lot to try to save but I think everyone is it a little bit of fuel conservation mode at this point and Steve they said to Brad when we say save fuel we mean save fuel your last lap was the fastest lap this round so they said slow it down back it down Brad actually called in about lap 69 and said what we got to save you about two laps here right so he has been on that mode ever since they sort of fell into this position with a very fast race car so they think they're gonna go for it and as you pointed out Steve nothing to lose here already win in round one advancing him it's really all about caution laps he already has three because the yellow so if we start to get a bunch of yellows that would definitely help Brad out on look I like the gamble we always say let's gamble what Brad Keselowski Paul Wolfe they're gambling well he didn't listen 79 44 that was still except sleep fast lap he has a two and a half second lead so if he wants to save fuel he can slow down much much more natal Larsen who was out front for 47 laps of this race currently running in the third position he's 2.8 seconds back looking to try to take that second spot away from Paul Menard as he closes in on it why that's important from my Larsson as he has four laps more fuel in the tank I don't know if that's enough to get the 42 to the finish but he has to be in better shape the bracket at last you still get in front of this 21 car and then push the two right don't let Brad Keselowski backed up to you make him burn as much fuel as possible Parker the 48 of Jimmie Johnson watching his back here in turns 11 12 in the backstretch chicane he's so smooth he set up a pass her feet on the exit and then he did the same thing to chase tellers just a couple laps later he's fly-in the seven-time champ it's going to the front right now you say that with such conviction Parker it's almost as though you predicted that he might win today almost man Brad Keselowski and Paul Menard still running one and two we see Jimmie Johnson now running in that six spot with Harvick behind him three wide into turn one and that tubs heartburn turn and they're all trying to get around ty Dillon there but Denny Hamlin has been struggling trying to keep his track position he loses a spot to Blaney to Boyer now he has the 88 of Bowman behind him this battles been crazy back here they've been going at it you see Clint Boyer in that 14 car he's six points that are good Alex Bowman in the 88 only couple cars behind him needs to make up six points right here you're in isn't enough information I mean is in one point is in 20 points you need to know exactly what he has to do it's one point per position pretty simple to figure it out you need to let him know exactly what situation is I like it though it races thirds to see inside that cockpit and I hope they're telling the same thing to the 10 the 1288 all these guys that are right there around that that bubble hey man it's time to go we can't give up any spots you get an opportunity to take one you take it pass for second place Kyle Larson just got by Paul Menard here comes Martin Truex Jr Martin Truex Jr has been really fast in the fastest car on the racetrack the last several laps you just tried a little too hard right here look at the left front tire and the taupe that doesn't cause a problem for him we saw earlier in the race left front tires fail after a big lockup Marnie hey guys all these all these guys who pitted at lap 70 thinking they're very close on fuel and I heard what tave said a moment ago about Brad Keselowski who pitted four laps earlier but I can tell you Kevin Harvick's team Jimmie Johnson's team all these guys are worried that they're about a half lap short their drivers doing all they can to save fuel they've asked both of these drivers to short shift Jeff explain what that means as we ride on board with Kevin Harvick and that awesome foot cam yeah short shift just shift sooner just get it out of the rpm range don't burn don't let that engine turn as many rpms and more rpms you burn you turning the more fuel you Bernie [Music] it's great foot foot cam right here really interesting thing about this road course you can see drives into turn one really no downshift nothing really happening right Stenhouse misses the chicane on the fresh straightaway he has to come to a stop this is a great battle and he was part of that Jamie McMurray Suarez Blaney all those guys up there we're gonna watch this look at that battle man all these guys are a lot of playoff the implications right here with these please turn these guys to get to their little deep smart comes to stop you got one again it shows in that turf no splitter damage whatsoever that artificial turf perfectly smooth I'm all for it put it in put it in every racetrack see the playoff points bubble it's close man it's gonna come down to the finish at the very last lap of this race especially with the strategy in the fuel mileage uncertainties aric almirola doing an incredible job with the trouble he's had today still plus 11 Ricky Stenhouse jr. running 26 but still out front Brad Keselowski who has not won at a road course now has his hands full something wrong yeah he's got some damage on the left front the splitters knocked up he's hit the blue curbs and somewhere put his knocked up fenders been in well leg that car is just destroyed all the way around and Kyle Larson sees the blood in the water he's going after Brad Keselowski right now it doesn't look like there's a tie roads but then that splitter being high is gonna fit the arrow and the balance of that race car he's trying to set him up going to back up this corner just a little bit then accelerate to try to beat him onto the bacon Keselowski to haul him off though I think crab might have been filling this car out through that yet fill section gave me more more confidence with each corner this is the fastest part of the racetrack right here that left front fender damage will really hurt his car the way it drives more so here than anywhere else it just told Kyle Larson about the damage for the two car they said be patient with him he's gonna feel it eventually but he may not feel it right now it's gonna hurt him in that corner you see the 42 gaining on him it hurts you in those Bank high-speed corners because that splitter being so high it's almost the same way he wrecked the other day here it is Kyle Larson into the lead Keselowski knew it just slowed up gave him the spot all right cross knee lower side backside into turn three horses got the first man gonna push him out look at that incredible racing this will be tough for Brad right here uphill Wow push drives it up in there oh it knows if he rolls this outside here he's got the inside line at turn seven he's inside now now Lars has got to just try to set him up right beneath him any carry speed to the front to the straightaway no he can't Keselowski man into the next round of playoffs he doesn't care he just wants to win this race he just made a mistake ran over the curve damaged his car he's got to be the guy that does not let that keep him from winning this race it was his mother his father his mistake he's gonna have to get up on the wheel keep Larson behind him that was entertaining oh it's more common he's back here he's back here in turn three and four he's gonna loosen lose some ground the 42 the poor tipper will be back on his bumper but you're gonna see it all as we go to non-stop [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you're watching the Monster Energy Cup Series Bank of America rovol 400 and I think a lot of fans have been won over by Brad Keselowski Kyle Larson all you have to do if you want some of their memorabilia go to nascar.com slash shop they've got t-shirts jackets hats diecast everything we have seen incredible racing we just saw Kyle Busch make the pass on the 21 of Paul Menard taking a spot away he has moved up to third Keselowski Larson Kyle Busch the top three Marty and Rick strategy is all over the map with these guys making it to the end here was a competition a moment ago between Chad Johnson and Kyle Larson talking about racing Brad Keselowski and he was in essence saying hey we're gonna be about a half lap short they told Kyle Busch who now is in third you saw that pass around Paul Menard saved me every drop you can they wanted to get by the 21 and then further back Kevin Harvick's team saying we're three laps short so Steve it's interesting you say some teams saying half lap short some teams saying three laps short but Rodney Childers made a great point they have no history at this racetrack so nobody really knows truly how that fuel mileage is gonna work out they're gonna find out pretty quick cuz they're cutting it close because even looking at practice speeds they're faster than the race you have fresher tires and tracks just cleaner so it's hard to predict as the paint balls 42 almost spun out let's try them so much for taking it easy that's gonna be following the two but the pace balls how much feel you burn and this will be the longest run of the day it's in exact science it's a few months yes Steve we're talking about in these leaders the guys that are up front that may run out of fuel but what about quit Boyer oh what about the Blaney what about those guys man I mean what if you run out of gas or them with a lap to go and you don't advance in a playoffs that's a horrible situation to be in Kelly yeah little earlier we saw the 18 of Kyle Busch get around the 78 of Martin Truex Jr well the team told him to let Busch go by said we got to get into harder fuel savings mode they told them to start short shifting uses little brake as possible and just let it Coast they did have a pretty good gap behind them or they feel like they have enough of a gap anyway to not lose any more positions while trying to save max fuel the dalek is lau ski as larson back on his back bumper because they're coming up on lap traffic brad is pretty competitive everywhere on the racetrack it's funny to watch these guys run this route for this this infield part of the track they both run such different lines look where Brad is and where Kyle is and how they're entering that turn three where they're running they're backing corners up chopping in trees running wide they're both doing this a little bit differently you'll see in turn seven how they set up for turn seven hey Alex Bowman just below the cut line as they run he'll be the first to pit out of 15 and put fresh tires on see if he can make up more ground faster while he's got the fresher rubber the chance to have to take well dodges fresh rubber you just said it Burton what happens if these guys start running out of fuel well the 88 has been the guy barely out four five six points out they ran for 20 laps he's still six points out Greg Ives says you know what I need to get in the offense I can't let someone make a mistake and come back to me I'm gonna push the issue I love this call by the 88 they'll stay on the racetrack and now if the yellow comes out even if guys stay on the racetrack and try to save fuel he can be aggressive on those tires so Steve if you're the 14 car and the 88 really who you're racing because the 3 is out for the day the 11 and the 20 they gonna have to win to get in why not just match them why not just come in and do the same strategy that is a great point Jeff I think the 14 could do it but if you're going to do it you have to do it soon you can't let the 88 have a few laps on tires then you're gonna come out behind yeah you look at that points right now you see Clint Bowyer's +90 no mediators talk to give any of that up oh here you go Jeff here you go it's that way as well and the 15 of Clint Boyer on pit road these maple these baby moves not about the best finish was just racing the people that you have to be you talk about that all the time you just got to beat the guys around you when it's that close to the cut line so Blaney is in he'll get more fresh tires and fuel the 14 employers and they were up on the wall when you guys were telling that story so we knew it was going to be time to go they made the move as well we talked about this at the top of the show Rick there was a group of guys that just need to score some points then there were six drivers for four spots one of those drivers was Austin Dillon he's had an accident now it's five drivers for four spots this is the race within the race they are matching each other's moves like a chess match now the question though is how about Jimmie Johnson event can you possibly pin from the fifth position or are you saving that much fuel every lap hoping that you can get there is Bowman is going by Blaney that's a big blade right there racing for each other four points on that one lap for the 88 allows him to come out in front of Blaney and in front of Clint Boyer that 19 point lead the clay boy your head is now down to just two changing every lap oh look here Blaney look to the inside he thought about it he thought about diving in there boy years back that wished he would wear scarves got a little bit of damage it looks like to me the nose looks a little little weird right in the middle of car and again this is championship hopes on the line right now right now two points to the good for the 14 of Clint Boyer but as we mentioned a little damage to the front of his car that's two positions two cars passed Clint Boyer and he'll be behind the 88 in the points I think Clint Bowyer's car just isn't as good as it was early in the day and damage has something to do with it I believe Jeff multiple times he's hit the wall today first time and not so much looks good to us feel spine to the driver next time yeah I hit a little bit harder he seems to have had most trouble exiting turn eight getting on to the oval so keep an eye over there but I think that last time he said I hit it pretty hard Alex Bowman cannot shake this 12 cars listen in to Ryan Blaney z' radio right now we're 4 points to the good you can get by and that's better for us but we are in a good spot though right now 4 points for the good that's great information before paletes is 4 positions and I mean what restart did you lose 6 or 7 so I think you got to go get as many as you can here everybody's fighting for every position around the racetrack less than 18 laps to go and Charlotte to determine who will still have a shot at the championship you're not gonna miss a thing as we go NASCAR non-stop [Music] [Music] [Music] it's Monster Energy Cup Series racing from Charlotte and the rovol the first time that the Monster Energy Cup Series has ever had a road course race in the playoffs take a look at today's Ram trucks proven to last fuel mileage fuel mileage everyone at the front of the pack talking about can they make it on fuel guys yeah restart we've seen issues on restarts would you be surprised at all junior if we had a late race restart I would you've gonna have to get through there clean and pick up spots they also gonna have to minimize those mistakes to zero you can't make any you want to be able to make it in that next round the playoffs well I wasn't that nervous - you just said that Oh mr. zero Barty it is so fluid down here on pit road guys with playoff lives on the line Kyle Busch his team has told him save me everything you can slow down in every corner his pace so much slower than Kyle Larson who were riding onboard with several times now Chad Johnson has told Larson listen the two can cannot make it to the end of the race of 2 of Keselowski cannot make it to the end you don't let him dictate pace you dictate pace so you see Larson running a little bit quicker Steve but I gotta wonder as that pace too quick to make it to the end on fuel [Music] and I think he's questioning Larson because Larson it would be stretching it for him because he came four laps later that Brad Keselowski Oh locked it up for the 88 that's what if we're talking about no mistakes you can't slide these tires you can't have a tire failure right now we're an issue that brings you to pit road if you're Alex Bowman so to Marty's point Kyle Larson has 13 seconds over Kyle Busch so Kyle Larson runs out of gas at the end of this race then it was just mismanaged you see this lock up in the 88 and a curb imagine how bad it is on the tire to be drug across that curb much less the asphalt itself and again Bowman right now is yes so he's got a flat spot that tells me that he's got a terrible flat spot if it's able to lock that tire up on the normal braking zone so look behind him you've got the 12 you got the 14 look at the points four points to the good for the 12 - for the 14 - - for the 88 now go forward of the 88 look what he has an opportunity to do there's people in front of him that he can go pick up spots only 14 to go can he get by to people that would get him in position and boy or not get by him that's why you're seeing Bowman's so aggressive he can't ride around here he's got to push this car to try to go get three points three positions I had a boy from where he is now could possibly get it done Dave and Greg Ives told me this morning he was not surprised at the qualifying here for the moment put in he said he's not known as a road racer but he's very smooth he's done that well all weekend long behind him that at 12 Ryan Blaney a little bit more rattled on the radio today they've been trying to calm him down and the car behind the 12 ablai the 14 of Clint Bowyer other than that damage he's been very smooth and Boyer has been good on the radio he's been positive and he knows he just has to try to get by these guys right now boy or +1 as they run he needs one more to tie Boyer and then the tiebreaker goes to finishes in this round who has the best finish I don't think there's damage there cuz it's higher still rolling that means it doesn't sit in one spot and drag this one spot I think I think he's okay look at that one point Parker guys I'm still down here in the back section Kade and we talked about saving fuel well for the last 10 laps it was visible that Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson were saving fuel they looked 10 to 15 miles an hour slower as we ran into the chicane and watching out filming and Ryan Blaney go through it but Kyle Larson their hand didn't look like he slowed down at all until the last flat for two he suddenly visually looked slower like he's trying to save fuel Kozlowski Larson those two separated by a second this Bowman continues to get by other cars they're on the same lap that puts him very close to getting up tied with Boyer in points but it's Kozlowski Larsson they are 14 seconds in front of our trucks junior who's running in third Kyle Busch's for Jimmie Johnson in fifth so already we know that Truex Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson are trying to save fuel they are on the same strategy pit strategy is Kyle Larson who came at lap 70 with only 13 laps to go the Keselowski number 2 of Keselowski will it be hard-pressed to be able to make it to the finish line but again he could fall back on the fact that he has won already in this round and that win ensures him a spot in the second round of the playoffs the reason it's so important for Clint Boyer to keep Alex Bowman close to him because we've been watching the points on the left gonna pass a guide it's one point gain until the 14 is able to pass and then it goes back to 2 so if Bowman can drive away and get just two spots and completely changes the game so it doesn't clip more he can't just ride around clip Moyer also has to push he's gotta keep Bowman close to it with 12 laps to go Bowman's got four seconds to the next car Matt DiBenedetto and then another seven seconds eight seconds nine seconds the next few positions tied to Olympic now Hibbert now berola he's gonna have to drive hard on these next 12 laughs to be able to catch those guys to be able to take those positions and adheres and things aren't running out of fuel late and the Pointer cannot stay close enough to Bowman and he might not take advantage of that Bowman could get by some people and boy or not goodbye so Gordon that's why Boyer he can't just ride around and hope he doesn't make a mistake those two points separated again just two positions if it comes down to where the 14 and the 88 are tied the tiebreaker goes to the best finish in this round which right now Clint Boyer holds his 10th place finish at Richmond better than any finish that Bowman has had in this round so Boyer in the case of a tie would advance this trio Bowman Blaney and Boyer are all running the fastest laps of anybody in the field I think that that sliding of the right front tire for the 88 has heard the balance a little bit on this car hurt the speed a little bit of sell out Blaney too close in that example you just showed Rick about how close it is emphasized is how important every race is you may not make a tenth place finish to the big deal but it could turn out to be something that keeps you from making the next round of the playoffs this format every race matters every steel race every lap every point it all matters and while we're talking about that cut line and the two drivers fighting for it Brad Keselowski just 11 laps away from his first ever road course win but he's got to start saving fuel we know that pitting at lap 66 he's going to have to go way past what the fuel window would be or should be if he wants to be able to win this race Marty I'm up to about five or six times Chad Johnson has told Kyle Larson you have to slow down we are not going to make it to the end of the race if you do not slow your pace same thing for Adam Stevens to Kyle Busch Kyle Busch has come back a couple of times it said I don't know how I can slow roll the corners much more than what I'm doing right now but they keep telling these guys please save me some fuel Steve I know it's not fun to be doing that as a crew chief but something you've got to do if you want to make it to the end of the race you have to you see the last pin on the left hand side Brad Keselowski four laps worse than Kyle Larson Truex Kyle Busch tracks junior kind of remember guys he won one of these at Watkins Glen the same sort of idea of fuel mileage and I believe he's 15 seconds behind Kyle Larson on purpose I think he's set a pace and he's stuck to it I like Martin tricks Junior's chances but Marty you said this multiple times we just don't know what kind of fuel mileage these guys are gonna get this is the first ever race at this track so riding along how do you save fuel you lift early you stay off the throttle you don't accelerate that's how you save fuel so let's ride along and look at the throttle he's not wide open he's you know this crew chief said you gotta slow down you gotta slow down well he's not even wide open in the throttle he's all the way out of the throttle right here barely any brake letting the car free roll that makes it so you don't slow the car down and then have to accelerate he's on the front straightaway not even half throttle Kelli that's how you save fuel yeah short shifting don't use the brake as you said 15 seconds behind is the 78 of Martin Truex Jr and that is by design they have been in massive fuel saving mode for quite some time and they think they're now in the catbird seat you never listened so again just a moment ago Martin asking if he needs to go slower the team killed him telling him just keep doing what you're doing we think we're in a good spot you just ran the fist fast slap of anybody in the field so even as he's saving he's got great pace Larson ran two seconds slower than Truex Jr so Larson finally listened to that Chris Riley starting to save some fuel is it too late though you can only save so much over the last eight or nine laps you have to work on that the whole time and what a drive by this 88 of Alex Bowman continues come fend off battles from Blaney and the 14 employer look at all those cars that the eighty eight and twelve the 14 they're looking all up in front they're starting to catch them this is where Bowman needs to do his best to separate himself only nine to go they're gonna catch him in a place where he hypothetically he could get to a three and Boyer might not be able to get by hey these three right here had three of the fastest laps the last time by and you can imagine why they are racing each other hard as caution comes out now and what will that change Brad Keselowski can certainly save a lot of fuel now Tom's heartburn turned for the 17 greenhouse jr. but the caution has come back heavy right side damages under eight laps to go in this race crew chief well Brad Keselowski has nothing to lose she's gonna stay on the racetrack I imagine a gamble the question is Almirola Bowman Blaney tires foot tires matter do you stay out and try to force the guys in front to run out of gas there's just so many different scenarios we were just pointing out how close the points are Jeff to positions to positions I mean we've seen six eight positions gained and lost on restarts take a look at what happened with Ricky Stenhouse jr. will hops down into that corner gets in there too far and just starting to will hop and can't stop you can't once the wheels hop begins there's no runoff here you're gonna hit something it's just a really bad spot that's why NASCAR threw caution I believe they were afraid to let him sit there with all the cars coming and that Walt does some damage man we've seen the cars that hit it surprised it does so much damage to these cars you know this is we just showed Denny Hamlin now we're sharing showing Erik Jones then he's in 15 really nothing to lose they're gonna try to make something happen - I don't know what they can do they've gotten themselves so far back drivers who's the best at restarts franchise Laos key or Kyle Larson so I tell you what I think is gonna be huge here and something they don't have much experience they've had restarts at this racetrack many many times but not on this tire and not on tires that are completely worn out so how you launch in the restart zone assuming they don't pit how you start how you launched in a restart zone on old tires will be huge to keep from spinning those rear tires your problem is is how much is the 42 saved can he run hard and get to the finish with the fuel he has because I think what we've seen the 78 of Truex accomplished those guys have saved more may be able to put the pressure on him run faster laps just because they have more fuel this is what I want to see who comes to pit road out of those playoff cards Kevin Harvick yeah Denny Hamlin Logano is down there as well playoff drivers Marty yep Kevin Harvick and his race team they were going to be about three to four laps short that caution would have gotten close enough to make it the end but the car not really good enough for Kevin they're going to come in take on four fresh Goodyear tires make a chassis adjustment trying to get the car better for Harvick who was flirting with falling out of the top ten there there's the 22 of Joey Logano they opted for fresh tires as well he just hasn't really been able to get the turn in the 22 that hit like ahead of him there's the 41 of Kurt Busch and their decision was hey let's just get fresh tires and drive back through and this will make it even more difficult for Bowman and Boyer [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so much strategy coming into play and we look at the 88 of Alex Bowman now Bowman is going to be in a situation where how does he stay above the cut line when it's one point separating Bowman and now aric almirola in the tin I'm more concerned about Boyer Bowman and Blaney Boyer all stayed on the racetrack they're on old tires but guides the 10 of aric amirola who's also right at that cut line he comes to gets fresh tires it's gonna be a seven lap sprint to see if they can catch those old tires I like what Boyer is on the inside that's a landing one of the old restarts they had a race for the win as well Keselowski on the inside Larson on the outside back up through the gears they go a little shove from our trucks Junior and to hard through one Keselowski Larsen booth into the wall they pile up in the tubs heartburn turn caution coming out again Trevor Bayne in the sex also involved we talked about these drivers this is the first time they've been on old tires on restarts the first time at this racetrack you just don't have a reference to go by and you heard Brad Keselowski say he just didn't have any grip he overdrove it the tire is so hard for this surface to be able to handle what this load is in when they go in there and your master brakes and the car starts slide and that's it you're going to hit the fence 18 behind the wall Brad Keselowski climbing out of his car you talked about it Jeff the experience of this type of restart on old tires this racetrack with that corner just the lack of experience you'll most every old track that you do this time and time again they understand what the grip levels [Music] you see Brad Keselowski they all launched really well no bite really spinning their wheels much Brad's in trouble right there he knows he trouble we got the left front locked up and now just nowhere for these guys to go I think even the 18 he was in too deep a lot of guys really did have a lot of trouble getting a corner that is so strange to have a so many cars overshoot the same corner on restart understanding a grip you know you have to trust that the car even but they're just the 21 the 18 we've had a lot of laps without a restart through that turn guys continuing to run that bottom preferred line and dirtying up that outside line look at our guys battling for that last spot transfer in the playoffs when I'm worried about right here aric almirola he goes on a site when he gets caught up in it and the 42 sit against the wall look at the damage on the 42 guys we haven't talked about this but he's only 18 points currently where he sits and he scored in the 12th position there are 31 cars on the lead lap so there are over 18 points still to be lost for this 42 car Marty in the game has changed for Kyle Larson you see him sitting in the car despondent right now Chad Johnson said that the right front suspension appears to be gone Kyle said the car will not turn left at all after that contact with Brad Keselowski in the turn one wall and you see that right front suspension it's almost gone there for the 42 then cha Kyle came back on the radio said what's the point in us continuing he said I've got to see where this settles out as you mentioned Steve now just plus 18 they go from looking like they might win the race to above the cut line by just 18 points you can you can see the wheel how badly the wheel is bent that car took a big shot on that right front suspension the only thing that might be saving the 42 is another car that's in trouble is look at aric almirola we'd show the 14 and the 88 get through but as the 18 comes back across the car stacked up and right here I had a lot of contact but now he's gonna get all the way at the back I think that outside food is just so dirty because we haven't had a restart in a long time we had to head guys running through there side by side to clean that groove up and that outside curve you know a lot of guys not just Brad a lot of guys we're not gonna make that corner you said that let's go on board once again let's do that again with Kyle Larson gets a good launch changes gears this watch look at his hands he's turning the wheel nothing's happening he was not gonna make that corner even if Brad would not have been there that was just not understanding how much grip these tires have they don't have anything there's no reference for these guys it's new track new tire they've never been in this situation before they drove in there like they normally would and say Watkins Glen or Sonoma and it just did not stick no banking whatsoever just a flat corner well red flag has come out and six laps to go parking well Rick I'm down here on the back trips where they stopped all these cars on the red flag and the first thing that jumps out to me is the damage that so many of them have incurred if you look at our leader the 78 of Martin Truex Jr his actual nose is caved in there right where it says Toyota and Camry behind him you've got the 48 of Jimmie Johnson you just see a little bit of damage on that left side side skirt maybe from jumping the curves behind him is chase Elliott looks relatively clean his car looks very clean but then as you get further back you look at the one in Jamie McMurray very damaged the 14 of Clint Bowyer completely caved in on the nose and then behind that it looks like basically a short track or post the big one at Talladega every one of these cars is beat up in some form of fashion this role has been brutal there stopped on the racetrack they're going to clean up the tums heartburn turn and turn number one and then they will roll them again but race leader Brad Keselowski Kyle Larson into the wall many of the playoff contenders having a problem [Music] [Music] and still under a red flag condition here at the Charlotte Motor Speedway rofl the 42 of Kyle Larson was running second he was pushing Brad Keselowski as far as for the win but remember the caution that came out just before this accident was from Ricky Stenhouse jr. who got into turn one to hot got in there slammed into the wall and couldn't get going that's why the caution came out well if that caution wouldn't have come out Kyle Larson feels like he would have had an opportunity he showed his frustration as he went by the 17 because the caution came out they had the restart this happened [Music] so now instead of Kyle Larson potentially racing for the win he potentially will end up fighting just to stay in the playoffs gotta think about the guys that got knocked out of that crash that he can try to finish in front of the 18 maybe the six car the two car the 21 car those are the cars that he's gonna have to try to finish ahead of if they cannot continue in this race assuming this car can get around the racetracks I mean that's the thing we don't know what else they're gonna have to try oh yeah they're gonna try to get a couple laps out of that car under caution to be able to be scored in front of whoever cannot make it beyond this ring well it has been interesting with all the playoff drivers the plans the drivers in the round of 16 Erik Jones had to go to the back and start the race as well as the 11 of Denny Hamlin to restart an issue right off the star up this race saw it early Erik Jones had damaged yo aric almirola in the wall trying to avoid the 24 William Byron pit road he has a tire get carried away there and then through the through the grasses Bojangles sign rough date and the 3 of Austin Dillon he gets up into the wall on the high banks of the oval they come in they repair it but then he makes another mistakes he said he went over the turbine too hard and you see the right front tire gives way this crash forced him to the garage done for the day of first playoff driver to officially retire see Kyle Larson on this restart now he has as to hope they get this car fixed along he's trying to make this corner see his hands at Turner I just I'm sure you never made that corner certainly would have lost a bunch of spots at the very least now it's just a question of can the 42 continue and if the 42 continue where is Blaney the 88 of Alex Bowman the 10 America I'm all of those three cars currently right at the cut line plus or minus a point that's the race rig that's the race to see who's playoff hopes continue out of the robot closing in on the final five laps of this race and the cleanup and turn one about done and that means that we're that much closer to post race coverage which will come up right after this race and then victory lap on NBCSN at six o'clock Krista Kyle and DJ will be with us for post race coverage as well as victory lap Rick as you see look at hanging out at Victory Lane place everyone's DJ's chillin just taking it easy Dave and we're just seeing Brad walk out of the care center wondering what happened to Ricky Stenhouse jr. whose crash looked quite similar to Brad's Brad's yours was on the restart a lot of unknowns here today and one of them was restarts on old tires at the end of the race what happened fuel went down an attorney one look like and we all went straight so I don't know maybe we all over drove it or maybe the track had something on it I don't know but I got it in the corner I think I got in it I got it hard but not like ridiculously hard and just locked up and couldn't get the tire to unlock so I felt really really dumb when I hit the wall and then I got back into care center and saw the replay and saw everybody kind of did the same thing and I don't know just frustrating but I really got to give a lot of credit to Paul Wolfe in the team in the line for parts for this this car was a rocket you know I wrecked the car in practice and we unloaded this car just for the race and it was screaming fast and I thought we were gonna win today we just didn't even come together looked like for a second time in this round you were gonna show everyone why you belong to the next round Brett yeah and then I kind of did opposite at the end but that's the way goes a big day for him until the very end there brad keselowski very fast at the rovol he had led 29 laps Kyle Larson had led 47 laps of this race but what could have ended up being the final restarts turn one captured quite a few of the competitors [Music] make sure to join us next Sunday on NBCSN as the round of eight begins as the Monster Energy Cup Series playoffs from the concrete track known as the Monster Mile it's actually gonna be the round of twelve jobber that race coverage begins at 2:00 p.m. Eastern again there'll be 12 drivers we're only eliminating four so 16 down to 12 at the end of this race and still under a red flag condition to clean up continuing they want to make sure that everything all the fluid has been picked up now the cars starting to fire up and they will go from red to yellow they will then open pit road you see the cars that are involved in the wreck we will give you the updated standings once they come back by the start/finish line because those have not been reset with everyone that was involved in the accident it has just changed from a red to a yellow flag condition so the cars will begin to fire up and roll back around this is why we were under a red flag condition this accident in turn one on the restart what a move by Jimmie Johnson chase Elliott Bowman Blaney Boyer they all got to the bottom and missed that accident god there's so many scenarios we have questions about Kyle Larson and Kenny continue we have questions about a Bowman Blaney Boyer and how they're gonna end up I was just sitting here Rick I have some concern even for Jimmie Johnson sitting at second I mean it's not crazy to think we could have a bunch of overtime so maybe he could get low on fuel right guys I mean I'm not sure Jimmie Johnson could be aggressive to try to win this race or not maybe even one over time would be the problem Marty and Chad Knaus just gave him that update Steven Rick a moment ago he said right now we're we saying were plus eight points above the cut line again wait for scoring to refresh here in just a moment but were plus two laps on fuel the most important part so we should be good to make it to the end and he told him we can go for the win here Parker Marty debt back here all the cars were sitting for the red flag they all just drove away because we're back under yellow but the 88 has rolled here he has not been able to fire that car they'll bring a wrecker up behind and we'll see if he's able to fire this could be disaster here if he can't we'll see I'll take a listen he's able to get him fired there he goes Oh tense times and he'll get a spot back if your car can't start I want a red flag situation you go they'll push you off as fires always the fires off you can go get your spot back and so again the timing and scoring is going to reset there are drivers on pit road Marty and here comes Kyle Larson literally limping the pit road they're going to do the best they can here and they have looked at everything Rick trying to assess the damage as best they can from our broadcast and trying to figure out what they need to do according to Chad Johnson the best they can do right now is finish 30 seconds so they're gonna try and get all this damage fixed and minimize the damage of the day and hopefully advance around 2:00 so you see them cutting the parts off of the car they want to be able to limp around the racetrack to get their best finish Dave Kyle Busch has been released from the infield care center on that last restart Kyle what was so different about it as far as grip or anything else goes would you spin out there the longest we had been on tires and I guess all of us are just stupid don't know where to brake for the corner considering what our tires look like and so we just all drove off into a 90 degree wall for something to do cuz we had nothing else better to do so that kind of sucked but I guess it's a good thing it didn't matter for us that's right coming in here with insurance this is okay in one sense I mean you hate tearing up race cars and and whatnot but I guess their road course cars anyway so you don't necessarily need them anytime soon but overall just you know not a good day for us it was gonna be a fine day we could have made it through that corner and had those other two guys out of our way then it was a race between the 78 and us but doesn't matter now Kyle's done for the day had a good day going in the 18 until Rick tell that restart and we're gonna have another restart and so as Kyle mentioned all those laps on the tires well that goes for Martin Truex Jr Jimmie Johnson chase Elliott and jamie mcmurray all came to pit road on lap 70 so they also have a lot of laps on their tires for the next restart [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] coming up on the final laps of NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series racing in the Bank of America rovol 400 NASCAR America at five o'clock weekdays on NBCSN and junior who do you have as a guest on Wednesday with Wednesday's with Dale jr. Penske driver Joey Logano coming on the show should be a lot of fun to talk to him see if we can get him to say something better be interested Logano currently running 11 in today's race and the 42 of Kyle Larson came back to pit road and he got off pit road before the clock expired so he's not gonna be eliminated but you see this car here I don't believe it's gonna make minimum speed he's just gonna try to complete one or two laps the whole question is the points Kyle Larson currently is running in the 26th position there's a few more spots to lose if he loses another lap and he only has five points over the 10 of aric Almirola it's currently 25th and the 10th doesn't look very damaged Jeff I think to take and continue I mean I say not very damaged for the rover berola is going to have about three laps to go get six spots if he can get six bucks he can really that 42 out Marty and you saw that right front for Kyle Larson is barely hanging on that right front suspension is gone he said the car will barely turn to the left the banking certainly will help him here on the oval portion of the track but you guys are right five points really separating these guys this is gonna be an interesting final few laps coming up on the restart it'll be three laps of racing to go now out front can Martin Truex Jr hang on to win or will Jimmie Johnson snap the 51 race winless streak those two side-by-side three laps to go from the Charlotte Roseville I gotta be careful getting into turn one we just saw what happened they're gonna have to check up go slower than you think a lot of Tyre smoke but back in the field marked Rex junior out in front too wide now fighting for that fourth spot it's Blaine Ian that's moved up into fourth see the back of the screen waves back to the screen at white car aric amirola just coming into pitcher there he goes he sees a spot needs to get it he needs to be aggressive here with these guys while he can three spots now three points separating the 42 of the ten for the final transfer spot watch his battle Jimmy Johnson still has about eight car lengths to catch the 78 to the rates up front has a little room that's where we shown you Eric on roll that is the playoff transfer spot between him and the 42 of their CLM 523 clear the 23 3 wide as they get ready to enter the chicane on the backstretch we haven't seen that yet at 23 car he was a lap down so that really wasn't a spot it's still three points separating three spots coming to two to go two to go still out front the 78 of Martin Truex Junior Almirola who is running 23rd the next car for position for him will be Daniel Henry the 8th just in front of him one point now separating its Alex Bowman and the 10 you hear the spotter telling him the fight for the win on the right side of the screen more tricks jr. Jimmie Johnson they dive into turn seven Jimmie Johnson man he's got a really good car here I thought Martin Trix jr. would drive away after that restart Jimmy really doesn't have to win this race he just needs to finish to be able to get into the next round but he's going for the win they'll be coming up on the white flag one to go look at now Marilyn roll up fighting to get by that eight clear one point Alex Bowman's more messes well running in the fifth or seventh position he just passed his teammate chase Elliott on the back straightaway and a tiebreaker between the 10 and the 88 would go to the 10 of Almirola berola caught those two guys side by side unfortunately for him Oh an aggressive move is this gonna work final lap the 10 making contact with Suarez the 8 almost goes around able to save it that pass for Bowman over Elliot puts him in and now in the role of passing Suarez will eliminate the 42 I believe is we have a race for the lead on the right side of the screen 42 drops below the cutoff line now the race for the win on the right side I think Jimmie Johnson no hiccup everything ready and we're all the maid through I think Jimmie Johnson has enough points he can push the issue right here we had a lot of people have problems the fight for the win the fight for the playoff transfer he's gonna have to come out of this chicane turn 12 he's gonna have to come out of there on the back bumper there 78 to make a move in the braking zone of 16 and 17 yeah so 48 27 points to the good so he may afford it but look he's there what a great corner here they come through the final banked curve at Charlotte Roybal now he goes to the inside here comes Jimmy Jetson locks the brakes up he slides through the middle he stopped people came to a full stop to make sure that he was good with NASCAR where is he gonna finish its showing one point to the good oh my goodness definite that's not definite for crashing we'll have a corner find out as far as if there is any penalties for missing the chicane but 48 stopped after the spin so understanding the rule I'm not sure if he's gonna be scored correctly but it appeared to me that if he did skip the chicane he's came to a stop but how about Ryan Blaney who knew Ryan Blaney able to make it through the carnage it's good to be lucky sometimes hey listen trophies they come with stories good matter and different the idea is to fill the trophy case what a race for this 12 car and at this racetrack at this racetrack to put yourself in position nothing is lucky here I don't they that wasn't a lucky win that was on a good job all day long surely taking advantage but being in that position is difficult today 48 78 after the race look at that that was chapter the checkered flag had been out and Martin Truex Jr showing his frustration again this was the final two turns they were coming up on 16 and 17 Jimmy trying to get down in that corner too hard Jimmy Staats here watch the 40 it's gonna be good on his scoring and fine brainy sneaks through Jimmie Johnson driving hard in the corner just too much speed Truex saw it trying to avoid him just couldn't avoid him and Blaney sneaks through look how close one point put you feet Johnson oh yeah see yeah see what NASCAR does i inflated well sometimes you're in the right place at the right time and Blaney had put himself in the right place coming back from the grandstands what a show the folks here at Charlotte Motor Speedway have seen today he grabs the second checkered flag and his Monster Energy Cup Series career second career win for Ryan Blaney and the first winner ever at the Charlotte Roseville [Music] Ryan Blaney the 24 year old from I point North Carolina climbs out of the car and the crowd roars this moment presented by Sunoco fueling victories all season long Rutledge Ryan Blaney with a smile and what a huge win here at the Rove oh yeah I didn't expect that we put ourselves in that spot though so I can't thank the 12 group enough for sticking with it all weekend it was a long weekend and tough weekend and just kind of avoided some stuff and you know you hate to see two guys get into it there and take each other out two of the best cars all day but that's racing sometimes and luckily we were just in the right spot at the right time and going to be in victory lane move on the next round thank you all the fans for coming did you guys like it good thanks for coming Thank You rose did you see on that chicane where did you realize oh man I got a shot at this so I couldn't really see them when they got into Canada just saw a bunch of smoke there was some smoke there that before and I saw him really really close to each other in the oval track and well then something might happen you and I not really hoping something will happen he's just for thinking that something's gonna happen and when I saw both of them spinning I almost wrecked trying to gas up to beat welcome to the line but like I said just in the right spot the right time thank you Pennzoil Menards body owner PPG Dex everyone who helps out in this thing this is a pretty pretty cool and excited move on the next round man this is cool Ryan Blaney your winner we will see you in victory lane so NASCAR is still checking as far as points and finishing position there were so many cars that were wrecking right at the finish of the race unofficially our scoring has three drivers tied right now and so one of those dry although three drivers are Kyle Larson aric almirola and Jimmie Johnson oh look at that another fan for life and it it started up being a Kyle Busch fan you see the chert he gave it to a Kyle Busch bed how about that from Ryan Blaney I better win him over absolutely so we talked about the unofficial so there's so many things we have 270 at the 48 accidents we have to figure out where the 48 crosses the line we also have an issue with Jeffrey Earnhardt and whether he finished her didn't versus Kyle Larson so we have a lot of stuff so this car right here you're gonna see the 96 get spun out why this matters is because Kyle Larson needs this spot so Jeffrey Earnhardt is sitting here backwards and look at Larson into the wall passes Jeffry or Lauren coming to the line that's for a position that's for a point and because of that there is now a question mark we have the 42 210 and the 48 unofficially tied in the points we knew the front stretch cam is going to be exciting guys but it has made of difference more than just the winner it's going to decide who moves forward in the playoffs still has a shot at the championship that's what this will determine once all of the positions are official you see Jimmie Johnson he is one of the drivers right now that is unsure because as our scoring monitor shows it it shows him out based on an eye breaker yeah in a tiebreaker the 42 would win over the tan and the 48 48 had the worst finish bet the tiebreaker being the best finish in this round of the playoffs 242 finished second the 10th had a fifth place finish in a 48 with an eighth place finish which is today and you see the seven-time champion waiting and we're hearing from NASCAR now it's official Jimmie Johnson this year will not have a shot to make it eight championships Dave so we're just bringing that news to Jimmy now with that finished Jimmy you are officially out you will not move on to the next round describe for us coming 2:15 knowing that there was one shot for the win yeah I was more worried about the win than anything else and I hate that sort of wheel hopping and took Martin and I outlets last thing that I wanted to do and I put pressure on him into turn three he washed up and I thought that I was going to be in the prime braking zone going into that final turn and have a shot at it and onto the brakes that started locking the rears and wheel hopping and I didn't think I hit him at first I knew I was spinning obviously but I guess I collected him than my spin and certainly regret doing that and then ultimately you know we were in a transfer position and didn't get it so just going for the win you know it's so winds are so important and you know the veteran could have could have taken the safe route and didn't and unfortunately you know took us out out of playoffs and took out 178 he quickly process what he had to do unfortunately could not get a lot cross the line Rick quick enough to save his uh playoff hopes this year it was that finish the chaotic finish 42 take a look at this [Music] think about that Wow hustle it you've got to beat the 96 he knew you had to get past the 96 and he ended up in a time there was a three-way tie between the 42 the 10 and the 48 and this pass right here allows Kyle Larson to move on to the plant what I'm seeing that's after three races this is the first cutoff when you see guys racing next week in the first threat first round of first race of those that playoff that's why one point one point that was the difference you gotta get it all you can every single race not to mention aric almirola we showed you his battle on those last two laps through traffic working those new tires to tie Jimmie Johnson that's how much every position counts three drivers at the end of the cutoff elimination race ended in a tie Marty what a time for Ryan Blaney to get win number one of 2018 it's just more special in the playoffs and it's even better when it's a cut race you know sometimes the best place to be on the last lap Ryan is in third place isn't it you have the C's part by your view I don't know man it's gotta say you hate sometimes to see you know that happened you hate to see two of the best cars wrecked but I don't know you just try to capitalize on the circumstances give it to you and you know we were in the right spot at the right time and we were just think through there I almost wrecked trying to get back to the gas to get through there but like I said we put ourselves in a good spot and I can't thank the 12 group enough for sticking with me all weekend it was a long weekend for us I hid a lot of stuff and clearly I still did and zappy worked that happy to not only win but to advance and it was looking pretty tight but I can't think of a better group of guys to be with and looking forward to round 2 pretty good as he mentioned Ryan Blaney advances the best way you can Parker with a win O'Dowd Marty the tension was palpable down here beside Kyle Larson for the last five minutes you were out let's beginning when you first got the car then officially find out you're in in a three-way tie and then we were laughing and watching how you beat the Jeffrey and hurt there in the last couple cores you ever been through anything like this I'd kind of given up there the last lap I'd seen an 88 made a couple passes and that's how it sounded like we were you know in the points battle there with and I'd seen a pylon eGain spots I was new I was screwed then they said they Hawk crash and over here and I mean had to be 45 seconds by the time I got back over there so I ran really hard through one and two we had a lot of right friend damage so he kind of knew our right from a blow if I ran hard but I ran hard three three and four of the oval and blew right front and hammered the fence and I could see the 96 was still stopped and I knew I needed that point to get to the tiebreaker and hit the wall again and thankfully got the got the tiebreaker but at the same time you know I'm happy to make it in the next round I'm disappointed we didn't get the win today I felt like I had the fastest car I would have liked the race to play out there you and stay green because you'd sound like Brad was really short on fuel and we were gonna be able to make it I thought after all the stuff or feel we've been saving but didn't work out and then we had that restart and I knew would be tight through one I knew you wouldn't turn great but I didn't know we'd all go down there and not be able to turn it all I was gonna be lucky to make the corner and then the two came no I mean straight through and hit the wall head-on and then I ran in his back bumper and destroyer out front so it's pretty mad at myself there but I guess I guess we're in so we'll move on to next week and try and try and get a good second round those are some good tracks for us the next round aside from the Oh Talladega which anybody can be good there but we'll see how goes a crazy range of emotions guys for Kyle Larson absolute roller coaster today as far as emotions and what we saw Kyle Busch Brad Keselowski Ryan Blaney win the three races of round one and aric almirola would advance [Music] after the three races of round one three drivers ended up in a tie for the 11th 12th and 13th position the tiebreaker is the best finishes of the round you see Kyle Larson had a second Almirola had a fifth at Richmond the best finish that Jimmie Johnson had was today eighth and Richmond eighth that was not enough Dave and he's just been told it is official but boy by a hair can you believe it no man what a day we battled adversity all day I knew going into today it was gonna be a stressful day and being +23 I didn't feel that great I knew I wasn't gonna be great here and I just kind of came into it the mentality have just survived just survive and it seemed like every opportunity we had to not survive came up the 24 blew a right front right in front of me and I creamed the wall then guys spun out in front of me and destroyed our race car again and thankfully the radiator an oil cooler lived and these guys on this team did a heck of a job fixing it up every time we were involved in an accident it seemed like every time there was melee it happened to us so I am so proud of all these guys on the Smithfield team and we've been bringing really fast Ford Fusion as the racetrack this weekend I kind of knew just like I said survive these next racetracks coming up for us are really really good so I said I told Johnny when we came in here leaving here plus one will be fine with me I guess plus zero is good enough to so just

Channel: NASCAR

Views: 406,821

Keywords: NASCAR, motorsports, racing, stock car, mencs, charlotte, roval, kyle busch, chase elliott, jimmie johnson, kevin harvick, denny hamlin, kyle larson, ryan blaney, joey logano, brad keselowski, martin truex jr, bubba wallace

Id: TNGoSOqy5kk

Length: 234min 41sec (14081 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 02 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/MikeyG4680]

I fell asleep watching the race with about 25 laps to go after that amazing battle between Larson and Keselowski and missed the entire finish. I have been eagerly waiting for this to be uploaded ever since. If only I knew the chaos that was going to ensue in those closing laps

[u/Katt_Menseth]

It’s so great that they do this.

[u/SharpMZ]

Not available in Germany :(

There are at least dozens of us Yuropoor Nascar fans who want to see this, and this race is not even confusing/scary for us because it involves both left AND right turns.

[u/txslim64]

watching it now...it's like a different race without all the damn commercials.

i had totally forgotten that Kes and MTJ had spun together...

i've been going back and rewatching the races from the last month or so...just blown away with the racing we have seen recently. (the three way battle at Vegas between Chastain...Custer...and Allgier is freaking amazing)

[u/sdrexploit]

Who wants to watch an hour and ten minutes worth of commercials? Download it here commercial free..

[u/_sammyg23]

Love that they do this.