Bristol Recap

Welcome back everyone to Captain Josh's Pit Stop! I hope all of you had a great Easter break. But now it's time to get back to business. This week we recap the action at Bristol Motor Speedway. As you can see from the second picture above, mother nature was the main topic of the weekend. The Cup race would be rained out on Sunday and was run on today which is Monday. The Xfinity race did run Saturday however with an hour of a rain delay. Erik Jones would win the race and rookie Daniel Hemric in the #21 Richard Childress Chevy took home the $100,000 Dash For Cash. The Dash For Cash is a 4-race deal where the top 4 Xfinity drivers of each race can earn a bit more money in there pockets. Now on to the Monday Cup Race.

The 25th Anniversary of the Food City 500 ran on Monday. Qualifying was rained out on Friday, giving points leader Kyle Larson the pole with Chase Elliott alongside on the front row. The first and second stages consisted of 125 laps, with the third and final stage making up the final 250 laps to complete the 500 lap race. Photo courtesy of Google images.

The races first caution came out when Kurt Busch spun off of turn 2 and hit the inside wall. Chris Buescher would also suffer damage after hitting another car from behind while trying to avoid Busch. That would cause a brief red flag to clean up fluid from Buescher's car. Busch would continue on but Buescher was out of the race. Photo courtesy of Google images.

Pole sitter Kyle Larson would take home Stage 1 after dominating the whole stage. Photo courtesy of Google images.

Marin Truex Jr would win Stage 2 after leading for most of the stage. Photo courtesy of Google images.

The race would not work out for Jr nation as Dale Jr hit the wall in turn 3 after getting oil on his tires from an issue with his car. Jr would fall out of the race with 33 to go in stage 2. Photo courtesy of Google images.

Danica Patrick would also have a bad day as she would make contact with David Ragan off of turn 2. They both crashed and were out of the race. Photo courtesy of Google images.

Continuing the theme of bad days, Kyle Busch also had a rough time at thunder valley. He would hit the wall twice during the race and would eventually fall out of the race with 113 laps to go with a mechanical failure. Photo courtesy of Google images.

The final caution of the day would come out as a good run was cut short for rookie Erik Jones. He cut a tire going into turn 3 and AJ Allmendinger would hit him from behind trying to avoid Jones. Jones would also fall out of the race. Photo courtesy of Google images.

At the end of the day, Jimmie Johnson held off Clint Bowyer to win back to back after winning at Texas. Johnson claimed his 82nd career win. He might get more wins than Jeff Gordon at this point. The man who brought Johnson into the sport. That's amazing not to mention if he wins 8 championships. Anyways I hope you enjoyed the blog. Tune in next week as I recap Richmond. Yes another short track. Can't wait. See ya there. Photo courtesy of Google images.

Texas Recap

Hello once again and welcome back to Captain Josh's Pit Stop. Today we are recapping the action from Texas Motor Speedway. The Xfinity and Cup Series ran their races Saturday and Sunday. Erik Jones would go on to win the Xfinity race. The main topic this weekend would be the new surface and track configuration. Turns 1 and 2 had the banking lowered from 24 to 20 degrees and was also widened as well. I also want to note that Lewis Hamilton won his 5th Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday ahead of Sebastian Vettel. Now onto the Cup race.

The O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 ran on Sunday with Kevin Harvick starting on the pole with Ryan Blaney alongside. Nine drivers would not qualify due to inspection issues. They included big names such as Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kyle Larson. The first and second stages would consist of 85 laps, with the final stage being the final 164 laps. Austin Dillon wouldn't make the start after having track bar problems. He would return later in the race but would be 12 laps down.

The first caution came out early in stage 1 as Kyle Busch would get loose in turn 1 and was pushed out of the groove. The groove wasn't very wide at the start due to the new surface. Kyle would hit the wall and continue on.

The races second caution wasn't far after the first however, as Reed Sorenson would make contact with Jeffrey Earnhardt. The contact caused Earnhardt to spin off of turn 2. Both drivers would be out of the race.

Second place starter Ryan Blaney cleaned house to win both stage 1 and 2. Would the luck carry on to the end? We will see, but I gotta keep you waiting.

The restart after the caution would see some action. Paul Menard also got pushed up out of the groove and hit the wall just like Kyle Busch earlier in the race. Menard would continue on.

At the end of the day, Jimmie Johnson passed Joey Logano and held off a hard charging Kyle Larson to pick up his first win of the season.


Well that's it. Not as much action but still a good race for the new surface. Next week is an off weekend for Easter. The next race is Bristol in 2 weeks. See you then and Happy Easter! Goodbye for now.

Martinsville Recap

Welcome back to Captain Josh's Pit Stop. Today we are recapping the action from Martinsville Speedway. I love Martinsville! One of my favorite tracks. And it has so much history. It is the only track on the schedule today that has hosted a NASCAR race every year since its inception in 1948. And of course you can't forget the Martinsville hot dogs as well. Now that I've made you hungry, here is the recap. The Truck and Monster Energy Cup Series ran this weekend. Chase Elliott won the truck race on Saturday in his #23 GMS truck.

The Monster Energy Cup Series ran the STP 500 on Sunday afternoon. Qualifying was rained out on Friday so the field started on points. That put points leader Kyle Larson on the pole with Brad Keselowski alongside. Stages 1 and 2 would be 130 laps, with the final stage making up the rest of the 500 lap race.

The first caution came out in Stage 1, as Ricky Stenhouse Jr spun in turn 3 after Paul Menard got into the back of him. Stenhouse would continue on.

The next caution came out in the same corner, in stage 1 as Jamie McMurray cut a tire and spun. He would make contact into the wall and fall out of the race.

The last caution in stage 1 came out when Dale Jr would spin off of turn 2, after contact with young sensation Ryan Blaney. Jr would continue on with minimal damage.

Marin Truex Jr would once again win a stage as he won Stage 1. There was a great finish to the stage with the top 10 drivers battling to get the best spot they could.

The first caution in stage 2 came out when a multi car wreck would occur in turn 3 after the restart. Kurt Busch and rookie Daniel Suarez were involved. Both would still race with damage. But they made the 5 minute clock, so they were allowed to continue.


Also in Stage 2, Fox would do a special crank it up to honor NASCAR Busch Series legend Sam Ard who passed away earlier in the week.

Chase Elliott would win Stage 2 after a bold move by Stenhouse Jr. Stenhouse moved leader Kyle Busch out of the way to stay on the lead lap after a long green flag run.

Stage 3 would continue to bring the action. Austin Dillon would spin after contact with Erik Jones. Denny Hamlin was also involved. All drivers were still in the race.

The next caution came out in stage 3 as Kurt Busch cut a tire going into turn 3. This was a result of the earlier crash with Daniel Suarez.

The caution came out with 192 laps to go in stage 3 and the race. Gray Gaulding's tough year continued as he spun in turn 2. Danica Patrick and Chris Buescher would have a disagreement on the track.

As the stage continued on, the caution came out with 167 laps to go. Reed Sorenson cut a tire going into turn 3. Man we seen some action in that turn for sure. Sorenson was out of the race.

The caution would once again come out with 110 to go, as Jeffrey Earnhardt would also cut a tire in turn 2. He would be out of the race as well. Photo courtesy of Google images and FS1.

The next caution came out with 94 to go as Matt DiBenedetto spun in turn 3 and crashed hard into the wall. Matt would be uninjured but out of the race. Photo also courtesy of Google images and FS1.

Man there were a lot of cautions for sure. This one would be the next to last however as a big crash would occur in, you guessed it, turn 3. Denny Hamlin would get loose underneath Danica Patrick, thus causing the multi car crash. Drivers involved also included Dale Jr. He would be out of the race.

The races final caution came out with 70 laps to go as stage 1 winner Martin Truex Jr would spin in turn 3 after getting loose underneath Matt Kenseth. Truex didn't suffer any damage however, but would fall to the rear of the field.

At the end of the caution filled race, Brad Keselowski would win his 2nd race of the year as he would battle hard with a dominant Kyle Busch. Busch would finish 2nd.

Well that's it for Martinsville. It was a great race for sure. Tune in next week as we recap Texas. How will the racing be with the brand new surface? We will find out. Hope you enjoyed. Goodnight everyone.

Auto Club Recap: Larson Sweeps Weekend

Hello everyone and welcome back once again to my blog. It was a wet weekend for sure, but a great time to stay in and watch some racing. I also want to note that the 2017 Formula One season began Saturday night as Sebastian Vettel would surprise all with his win in the Ferrari over the dominant Mercedes driver from the last couple years Lewis Hamilton. Now let's get back to Auto Club Speedway recap. The Xfinity race would run on Saturday as Kyle Larson would take the win after Joey Logano would lead the most laps but fail to win due to several pit road penalties and problems. But Larson wouldn't stop there. More on that later.

The Auto Club 400 ran on Sunday as the headlines for the day would begin with two big names starting at the back, Dale Jr and Jimmie Johnson, after having problems earlier in the weekend. Kyle Larson was the main topic as he would not only win the Xfinity race, he would sit on the pole for the Cup race as well. The first and second stages would consist of 60 laps, while the final stage would be 80 laps, making up the 200 laps that were run. Denny Hamlin would qualify alongside Larson on the front row.

The first caution would come out early in stage 1 as Brad Keselowski would spin out after making contact on the start with Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin.

Kyle Larson would continue his winning ways as he won stage 1. Would his luck continue?

Marin Truex Jr would also lead several laps and run up front all day. And he also won stage 2.

Jimmie Johnson's bad luck would continue as he had pit road problems late after contact with Martin Truex Jr would spin Johnson around backwards into his pit. His stop would be legal however.

The race would have several cautions late as it would create a lot of drama at the end. It would also create different strategies, which made restarts crazy as well with drivers on either fresh tires or worn out tires. That would lead to Matt Kenseth spinning off of turn two after Martin Truex Jr would get into the back of Kenseth. He would hit the inside wall hard, but was uninjured.

At the end of the weekend, Kyle Larson would pick up the win after holding off the field on multiple restarts. He sure had great weekend sweeping both races on Saturday and Sunday. That's all for now. Next week, we recap Martinsville. One of my favorite tracks. See you then.

Weekend Recap: Phoenix

Welcome back everyone! I hope you enjoyed your weekend. Spring is for sure coming and I couldn't be anymore ready for some warm weather. Now that we have that out of the way, let's recap the weekends action once again as the Xfinity and Monster Energy Cup Series ran their races at Phoenix Raceway. The big topic of the weekend would be the heat, as the drivers would try to keep themselves and their cars cool. But what do you expect racing in the desert. The Xfinity Series DC Solar 200 race on Saturday wasn't too bad as Kyle Busch would not compete in the race, which meant there would be a good chance to have a non cup winner. And that would sure be the case. The first and second stage would consist of 60 laps with the final stage being 80 laps. Young star William Byron would qualify on the pole with Erik Jones alongside on the front row. This race would be the first of four dash for cash races, where the highest finishing Xfinity regular would receive $100,000. Justin Algaier in his #7 Brandt Chevy would win the race and the $100,000 dash for cash bonus. Now onto the Cup race.

The Cup series would run on Sunday with the main headline being the fight between Kyle Busch and Joey Logano last week at Las Vegas. Would the two of them get together once again? Well it wasn't likely and hate to say it, it didn't happen. I'll just throw that out there. But there was some great racing however. Speaking of Logano, he would start the Camping World 500 from the pole with a surprise alongside​. Ryan Blaney would qualify his #21 Wood Brothers Ford on the front row. Stages 1 and 2 would consist of 75 laps while the final stage would be the final 162 laps to make up the 312 that were run on the 1 mile track.


The first caution came out with 47 laps to go in stage 1 as Corey Lajioe would continue his rough start to the season as he would make contact with Reed Sorenson on the backstretch. I apologize for not having a picture for this incident as I get all my photos from Google Images. Both drivers were ok.

Joey Logano would win Stage 1 from the pole. His luck would run out though. More on that later.



Corey Lajioe's bad luck would continue as he would later cut a tire going into turn 1 as a result of the earlier contact with Reed Sorenson. Lajioe would be out of the race. Again sorry for not having a picture. Couldn't find one to post.

Chase Elliott would take home stage 2 after taking off from the rest of the field after the restart to start stage 2. Logano would get caught speeding during caution flag pit stops. He would go to the rear of the field.

This picture is a screenshot from YouTube. Its onboard from Joey Logano. I'm having trouble finding pictures but I'm doing the best I can. The 3rd caution came out in the final stage on lap 191 as Matt Kenseth would blow a tire after having a tight car and he would hit the turn 4 wall hard. He would walk away ok, no injuries.

The races 4th caution would also come out in the final stage with 107 laps to go as Gray Gaulding in the #23 car would make contact with David Ragan in the #38 car going into turn 1. Again the picture is a screenshot from YouTube.

The last caution came out at lap 306 as Joey Logano's luck would run out, as he like so many others would blow a tire going into turn 1, ending his day. The caution would be a time for strategy as Ryan Newman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, and Martin Truex Jr would stay out.

The race would restart and Ryan Newman's strategy would pay off as he held off Kyle Larson to win the race and snap a 127-race winless streak just for himself. And Richard Childress Racing's winless streak of 111 races would also be over. It was surely a great weekend for winless streaks being broken as Justin Algaier broke his winless streak in the Xfinity Series.

Well I hope you enjoyed the recap. Next up, the final race in the NASCAR Goes West tour at Auto Club Speedway in California. See ya next week! Goodnight everyone!