Ryan Blaney edged Denny Hamlin by 0.226 seconds in overtime to win the non-points all-star race at Texas last weekend as NASCAR and its top series head to Charlotte for the annual Memorial Day Weekend race.
Blaney is the only driver in the top five in points without a victory in races that affect the season standings. Chase Elliott leads Blaney by 52 points in the standings. Kyle Busch is third, 58 behind. There have been 11 different winners through 13 races. William Byron and Ross Chastain, fourth and fifth in points, respectively, are the only drivers with more than one victory.
This Sunday’s race begins the second half of the regular season.
Kyle Larson won from the pole last year.
Practice and qualifying is tomorrow night at 6 pm and the green flag drops at 5 pm on Sunday night.
Tyler Reddick went from third to first with 31 laps to go and won at Texas in only the second start of the season for the 2019 series champion as the XFinity Series heads to Concord, North Carolina this weekend.
Reddick became the second non-contender for the championship to win in 12 races this season.
A.J. Allmendinger has finished in the top 10 in all 12 races and leads Noah Gragson by 44 in the points race. Gibbs is third, 52 points back. Gibbs has led a series-best 349 laps, one more than Gragson. Riley Herbst is second with nine top 10 runs, but has led just one lap and is eighth in points, 150 behind.
Ty Gibbs won after starting eighth last year.
Practice and qualifying for the XFinity racers is this afternoon at 2:30 pm and the green flag drops Saturday at noon.
Stewart Friesen grabbed the lead after an overtime restart and won at Texas, his first victory in the last 53 races. The Camping World Truck Series takes to Charlotte Motorspeedway this weekend.
John Hunter Nemechek won after starting fourth and assumed the series points lead by four over defending series champion Ben Rhodes with Chandler Smith 18 back and Friesen 21 behind. Zane Smith leads all drivers with three victories, 210 laps led and seven top-10 runs through nine races, but is just fifth in points, 32 off the pace.
Practice and qualifying is this afternoon at 12:30 pm and the green flag drops tonight at 7:30 pm.
