TC Daily Pit Stop: Ryan Blaney and Justin Allgaier Triumph in Memorial Day Doubleheader at Charlotte Motor Speedway
TC Daily Pit Stop: Tuesday, May 30th, 2023
Ryan Blaney Snaps 59-Race Winless Streak With Coca-Cola 600 Victory
With his involvement in IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Memorial Day Weekend has always been special for Roger Penske, who has invested so much of his life into various forms of motorsports.
However, after the finish of Monday’s Coca-Cola 600, the NASCAR Cup Series team owner will have even more to celebrate, after his driver Ryan Blaney drove to victory in the longest event of the season.
Leading a race-high 163 laps, Blaney was able to break away from William Byron and Martin Truex, Jr. on a restart with 20 laps to go, maintaining a gap of about one second throughout the race’s final run to score his eighth NASCAR Cup Series victory.
“I might shed a tear,” Blaney said post-race. “This has been a cool weekend. Obviously, Memorial Day weekend means a lot, growing up here watching Dad run this race for a long time. It’s so cool just to be a part of it, let alone win it.”
RACE RECAP
RACE RESULTS
Justin Allgaier Earns 20th Xfinity Win in Memorial Day Fuel Mileage Thriller
For the 20th time in his NASCAR Xfinity Series career, Justin Allgaier will drive into victory lane, winning the Alsco Uniforms 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in thrilling fashion.
Allgaier, who started Monday’s 300-mile contest from the pole, led a race-high 83 laps to deliver JR Motorsports the organization’s first victory of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.
The event – originally scheduled to run Saturday before Mother Nature wreaked havoc on the Charlotte, North Carolina area – ended on a vastly different note than usual, primarily the result of a caution displayed with 70 laps to go for a crash by Sam Mayer.
Justin Allgaier and John Hunter Nemechek were successful in saving fuel to the end, scoring the top-two spots in the running order, with Cole Custer finishing third. Austin Hill and Ty Gibbs completed the top-five.
RACE RECAP
RACE RESULTS
Denny Hamlin Calls for Chase Elliott Suspension After ‘Tantrum’ in Coca-Cola 600
Following a major crash prior to the halfway point of Monday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, Denny Hamlin is calling for Chase Elliott to be suspended, after the Joe Gibbs Racing driver says Elliott intentionally right-rear hooked him.
“I got right-rear hooked in the middle of the straightaway,” Hamlin said bluntly. “It’s a tantrum and he shouldn’t be racing next week. Right-rear hooks are absolutely unacceptable. I don’t care, it’s the same thing Bubba Wallace did with Kyle Larson.”
However, Elliott disagreed with the accusation made by Hamlin, saying: “Yeah, the No. 11 ran us up into the fence there, and once you tear the right sides off of these things, it’s kind of over. Once you hit the wall in these things you can’t drive them anymore, so unfortunately not, no, just an unfortunate circumstance.”
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Video: Aric Almirola Delivers Shove to Bubba Wallace During Coca-Cola 600 Rain Delay
After a number of stoppages in this weekend’s events at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Aric Almirola and Bubba Wallace decided to spice up the only red flag rain delay of the Coca-Cola 600 on Monday, with a passionate discussion and a shove.
According to Charlotte Motor Speedway’s track feed, the heated discussion and eventual shove from Almirola to Wallace was provoked by an incident in turn three, where the Stewart-Haas Racing driver cut high, making contact with the No. 23.