LARSON DOMINATES NASCAR CUP PLAYOFF RACE AT CHARLOTTE ROVAL
From Racing America
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Oct. 13) — Kyle Larson didn’t need to win Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 to secure himself a spot in the next round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs — he accomplished that before the race’s final stage began.
By doing so, though, the Hendrick Motorsports driver collected himself an additional five Playoff Points and further padded his safety net as the eight drivers remaining in the post-season battle it out over the next three races.
His performance was not as dominant as his ass-whooping at Bristol, but the Elk Grove, California-native did lead a race-high 62 of 109 laps, making the final pass for the lead on AJ Allmendinger with 43 laps remaining.
From that point on, it was all about managing the gap for Larson, while also hoping for no late-race restarts, and when none manifested themselves, the Hendrick Motorsports driver cruised to victory.
It’s the sixth win of the season for Larson, and the 29th of his NASCAR Cup Series career — six of which have come on road courses.
“It’s really the first time in my playoff career that I’ve not been close to the cutline, so it was good to have a little bit stress-free of a weekend, I think the first time I’ve been here without crashing — besides the other time I won,” Larson said post-race.
Christopher Bell continued a strong run in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs and finished runner-up, 1.511 seconds behind race-winner Kyle Larson. The Joe Gibbs racing driver has only one finish worse than seventh in the post-season.
William Byron brought home a third-place finish, stringing together a sequence of three consecutive top-three results in this round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Austin Cindric entered the weekend in a must-win situation after a heartbreaking loss at Talladega. The Team Penske driver was unable to capture the win, finishing a solid fourth place.
Chase Elliott rounded out the top five, a performance good enough to advance him into the semi-final round of the Playoffs.
Kyle Larson with the hardware he collected after winning the Bank of America ROVAL 400. NASCAR photo
ASHLEY, HAGAN, COUGHLIN, HERRERA GET DALLAS WINS
From NHRA media
DALLAS, Texas (Oct. 13) — Justin Ashley moved into the Top Fuel points lead on Sunday at Texas Motorplex, holding off Clay Millican in the final round and winning in Dallas for the third time in four years at the 39th annual Texas NHRA FallNationals.
Hagan (Funny Car), Jeg Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the 18th of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season and the fourth of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Ashley went 3.773 seconds at 327.99 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Scag Power Equipment/Toyota dragster in the final round, defeating Millican on a holeshot thanks to a brilliant .026 reaction time on the starting line.
Ashley defeated Antron Brown, Shawn Langdon and Tony Schumacher to reach the final round.
Texas Motorplex continued to bring out the best in defending Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan, who won for the second consecutive year in Dallas for Tony Stewart Racing, defeating Ron Capps with a run of 3.943 at 327.65 in his Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat.
It is the third victory this season for Hagan and the 52nd in his career as he also moved to third in points, 168 back of leader Austin Prock.
In Pro Stock, Jeg Coughlin Jr. got the better of longtime rival Greg Anderson in the championship round, picking up his first win at Texas Motorplex in more than 20 years after slipping past Anderson with a run of 6.592 at 208.10 in his Scag Power Equipment car. Coughlin’s last win in Dallas came in 2002.
It was another dominant Dallas weekend for Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Gaige Herrera, who won for the second year at Texas Motorplex after defeating rival Matt Smith in the final round with a run of 6.816 at 200.56 on his RevZilla/Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki. With the win, Herrera picked up his 20th career victory, reaching that milestone quicker than any driver in NHRA history.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action Oct. 31-Nov. 3 with the 24th annual Ford Performance NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Justin Ashley (left) moved into the Top Fuel points lead with his win at the Texas NHRA FallNationals. Other winners included: Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Jeg Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won at the fourth of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. NHRA photo
FAPPLE CUP REVISITED
The most recent edition of Mahogany and Merlot event in Chelan staged the first week in October, offered hydroplane fans a glimpse of the past with exhibition races between vintage boats like the Miss Bardahl and Miss Thriftway.
According to Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum Executive Director, David Williams, the 1958 Bardahl, driven by Glenn Raymond and the 1955 Thriftway driven by Dane Sorensen both once raced at the Apple Cup but never together.
Unlimited Hydroplanes raced on Lake Chelan in the heart of Washington’s famous apple orchard region between 1957 and 1960. The Chelan races were a natural extension of “hydromania” which swept the Pacific Northwest as a result of Stanley S. Sayres’ Slo-Mo-Shun IV bringing the sport west in 1950.
Chelan was small-town U.S.A., with a 1957 population of 250, and about 40 miles from a city of any size, decided to go “big-league”.
Through the planning of such men as Norm Evans and Jack Lafferty of Chelan, Jerry Bryant of the Seattle Seafair race committee, driver Lou Fageol, and O. Jim Forney, who became the first race chairman, the Lake Chelan Boat Racers, Inc. organization was formed. The Apple Cup races were held in the month of May each year and served as the curtain-raiser each season.
Miss Bardahl and Miss Thriftway kicked corned up the waters of Lake Chelan recently. Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum photo
