By John Schutt
NASCAR Cup Series, YellaWood 500, Talladega Superspeedway, Talladaga, Ala., Monday, Oct. 4.
Rain delays Sunday, Oct. 3 moved the start of the race to late Monday , Oct. 4 morning, however, Bubba Wallace didn’t complain because he was in the lead at the end of the second stage and it started to rain again. The race was called and Wallace was declared the winner! Following Wallace were Brad Keselowski in second place, Joe Logano in third, Kurt Busch in fourth, and Christopher Bell in fifth.
On lap 56 Justin Allgaier collided with Kyle Larson and each hit the wall. Larson was behind by three laps and Allgaier was out of the race. The first stage was won by Chris Buescher.
In the second stage Bell and Logano were trading places in the front until lap 78 when the largest wreck of the race occurred and involved Alex Bowman, Kyle Bush, Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex, Jr., and Chase Elliot .
This was Wallace’s first NASCAR Cup Series victory and only the second victory for an African-American driver since Wendell Scott in 1964.
NASCAR Cup Series, South Point 400, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nev., Sunday, Sept. 26.
The pole was set by Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin, with Denny Hamlin leading the most laps and winning the race. Following in second place were Elliott, Kyle Busch in third, and Truex, Jr. in fourth place.
The first stage was won by Larson and the second stage was won by Hamlin. It was Hamlin’s 46th career victory.
NASCAR Cup Series, Bass Pro Shops Night Race, Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tenn., Sunday, Sept. 18.
Hamlin beat Larson for a stage one victory. Larson won the second stage and the race ahead of Kevin Harvick. Following third place was William Byron, Blaney was in fourth, and Alex Bowman in fifth.
With 79 laps to go and with Elliott and Harvick, cars were tapping each other and after the race, a fight occurred with pushing and shoving.
Larson was presented his regular season champion award!
NASCAR Cup Series, Federated Auto Parts 400, Richmond Raceway, Richmond, Va., Saturday, Sept. 11.
Joe Gibbs drivers controlled the race and Truex, Jr. with teammates Hamlin in second place, and Bell in third. Following in fourth place were Elliott with Logano in fifth.
Denny Hamlin won stages one and three. In stage three Hamlin was in the lead, chased by Truex, Jr. and Bell. Hamlin the previous week won his first victory of the season in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.
Elliott was well behind early on and finished in fourth place.