Rest in peace Mari Hulman George. You are missed.
A windy day in Texas today. I’d considered going to Texas this weekend for the races, but realized it wouldn’t be warm enough to justify the bad racing I’d likely be watching. Last night’s Truck race would not have been too bad, but typically these days Texas races like Atlanta and Atlanta’s been putting on extremely boring races for the past several years. If it were near a beach and really warm then it would be worth considering. Since neither of those are true, I’m opting for somewhere else. The weather forecast I saw last night indicated it would be raining tonight. The stages for the race are 45-45-110.
Christopher Bell (20) and Shane Lee (3) lead the field to the green flag. PRN are saying the winds are blowing 20-25 mph.
Caution on the first lap as Christopher Bell spins in front of the field sending other cars spinning including John Hunter Nemechek in the 42 and Austin Cindric in the 22.
Restarting on lap 5 of 200 with Shane Lee and Tyler Reddick (9) up front.
Tyler Reddick takes the lead on lap 7 of 200.
Well it only took 8 laps for tv to do the stupid ‘out-the-windshield’ shot. Useless shot. Like being a dog in the middle of the pack during the Iditarod. The view never changes and there’s not much to see.
Caution is out for debris on lap 15 of 200.
The 66 of Bobby Earnhardt spun into the infield and kicked up some of the sod onto the track.
Restarting on lap 19 of 200 with Tyler Reddick and Cole Custer (00) up front.
Caution on lap 21 of 200 for a spin by Ryan Sieg (39) possibly helped by Ryan Truex (11).
Restarting on lap of 200 with Tyler Reddick and Daniel Hemric (21) up front.
Daniel Hemric wins the stage.
Restarting on lap 52 of 200 with Daniel Hemric and Tyler Reddick up front.
Caution on lap 80 of 200 for a spin by Joey Gase (35). Reddick tapped the back of Joey Gase sending him spinning. That Tyler Reddick is a menace.
Restarting on lap 85 of 200 with Cole Custer and Tyler Reddick up front.
Cole Custer wins stage two.
Restarting on lap 97 of 200 with Christopher Bell and Elliott Sadler (1) at the front of the field.
Caution on the restart for a spin by Brandon Jones (19) and Michael Annett (5). Jones lost it coming out of turn two and spun up into Michael Annett.
Restarting on lap 101 of 200 with Bell and Sadler still up front. It looks quite cloudy now at the track.
Shane Lee (23) tried to follow Daniel Hemric (21) past the Matt Tifft (2) and tapped his left rear getting him loose and getting himself loose almost causing the field to scatter around him.
Caution on lap 124 of 200 for Ryan Truex (11) tearing down the wall.
Bobby Earnhardt (66) had a tire explode on pit road according to PRN. Television hasn’t shown it yet. PRN says they’re showing it over and over on the screens at the track.
Restarting on lap 131 of 200 with Brandon Jones (19) and Daniel Hemric up front.
Brandon Jones, on old tires, is falling back through the field on lap 122 of 200.
Christopher Bell spins on lap 133 of 200 and slams the wall on the driver’s side. Austin Cindric (22) tapped Christopher in the left rear sending him around.
Restarting on lap 137 of 200 with Daniel Hemric (21) and Justin Allgaier (7) up front.
Caution on lap 137 for a spin by Brandon Jones who collects Ryan Preece (18) as well as spins by Mike Harmon (74) and Vinnie Miller (78).
Restarting on lap 145 of 200 with Justin Allgaier and Daniel Hemric up front.
Justin’s crew chief Jason Burdett says they’re going to be tight on fuel.
Hemric takes the lead on lap 146 of 200.
The track looks quite dark and one of the shots out the windshield looked seriously dark. It left me thinking the driver needed headlights.
Caution on lap 146 of 200 for a wreck by Joey Gase (35).
Restarting on lap 152 of 200 with Daniel Hemric and Justin ‘Dewy Alligator’ Allgaier up front. There are currently 24 cars on the lead lap
PRN is saying they’re in need of stadium lights because its dark.
Justin Allgaier has taken the lead on lap 154 of 200.
The lights have come on at the track at 17:57 central time as the clouds gather and the darkness descends.
On lap 173 of 200 Daniel Hemric taps the wall. He loses a spot to John Hunter Nemechek who is in the speedy, enhanced engineered 42.
I can’t tell if Chip Ganassi is trying to prove that every driver in the field is talented, but just needs the right car to show it, or if he’s showing that any driver, without regard to talent, car finish well if he has a better car than everyone else in the field. He puts anybody in the 42 Xfinity series car and they seem to get a good finish, if they don’t wreck.
John Hunter Nemecheck (42) takes the lead from Justin Allgaier (7) on lap 183 of 200.
Caution on lap 188 of 200 for a spin by Ryan Reed (16).
There are currently 16 cars on the lead lap. Ryan Reed came down on Ty Majeski (60) taking the air off him and bringing him around and he got it together then Reed spun in front of him causing Ty Majeski to tag him.
John Hunter Nemechek, Justin Allgaier, and Daniel Hemric all come in for pit stops.
John Hunter and Hemric get out of their pits first.
Cole Custer (00) and Tyler Reddick (9) stay out as well as Elliott Sadler (1), Austin Cindric (22), and Brandon Jones (19).
Restarting on lap 193 of 200 with Custer and Reddick up front.
Elliott Sadler is pushing Tyler Reddick at the restart.
Daniel Hemric (21) and Shane Lee (3) spin bringing out the caution on lap 193. Shane Lee Lost it and took Hemric with him. Looks like Spencer Gallagher in the 23 tapped the front of Lee as he spun in front of Spencer and Shane also came down in front of a red car who tagged him.
Restarting on lap 198 of 200 with Tyler Reddick and Cole Custer up front with Elliott Sadler and John Hunter Nemechek behind them.
Elliott Sadler fades back after pushing Reddick to the lead.
Cole Custer wins after running down Tyler Reddick taking the lead and surviving a bump from Reddick which loosened him. His crew chief Jeff Meendering says the cautions had gotten the to seven laps on fuel.
Justin Allgaier finishes fifth.
Motorsport News:
- Mari Hulman George, chairman emeritus of IMS, dies at 83.
- Obituary: Former IMS chairman Mari Hulman George 1934-2018 – IndyCar.
- What Carl Edwards misses about racing.
- Daniel Suarez still looking for a ride, saying goodbye to JGR, Toyota.
- Cole Custer wins Xfinity race in overtime with last-lap pass.
- Texas Motor Speedway: Chase Elliott thrives in pressure.
- Justin Haley wins Truck race at Texas as Todd Gilliland runs out of fuel.
- Daniel Ricciardo committed to finishing season with Red Bull.
- Citroen could revive third car for 2019 WRC season for Loeb/Breen.