NASCAR Issues: Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson are at again

Though Hendrick Motorsports couldn’t figure out a way to win in Dover on Sunday, it had a remarkable race day. Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott both finished inside the top-5 after starting from outside the top-20. At the end of the 400 laps on the Monster Mile, Larson retained his lead at the top of the points table and Elliott sat third.

The race began for Larson from 21st place in the #5 Chevrolet Camaro. Refusing to idle around, he found his way into the top 10 as early as Lap 53. He broke into the top 5 on Lap 107 and finished Stage 1 in 5th place. Crew Chief Cliff Daniels made the call to bring Larson to the pit ahead of most others and kickstarted a play that worked out splendidly.

Larson ended up winning Stage 2. From there, a long cat and mouse game went down between him and Denny Hamlin. Courtesy of quicker pit stops, better restarts, and the aero-block advantage, Hamlin managed to pull ahead and stay there. “I was trying all sorts of different angles and speeds. Nothing could generate enough speed to get close enough to do anything,” Larson said after the race.

Ultimately, he finished as the runner-up, a mere 0.256 seconds behind Hamlin. The result was his second runner-up finish of the year. He led 39 laps throughout the race bringing his 2024 total to 570, highest in the grid. Putting up an almost equal caliber of performance from behind the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro was Chase Elliott.

The 2020 Cup Series champion started his campaign from further behind Larson, in 29th place. He cut open the top-10 on Lap 70 and finished Stage 1 in 9th place. Despite having an early scare when his car hit the wall, the run continued as he maintained a top-10 spot throughout Stage 2. He finished the stage in 5th place after passing Tyler Reddick and Kyle Busch, the same spot in which he finished his race.

How did William Byron and Alex Bowman fare in Dover?
Byron started his race in 3rd place. After leading for a brief while in Stage 1, he finished in 2nd place. Midway through Stage 2, he complained of feeling “a little too tight center of (turns) three and four.” Subsequently, he was pitted on Lap 183. Tragedy struck as his car fell off the jack before the stop was complete and he lost significant time on the road.

In the final stage, he got caught in a multi-car incident involving Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, and Zane Smith. The chaos ended his day and he finished in 33rd place. The result ended his five-race top-10 streak. Alex Bowman had a better day than Byron. He started the race from 9th position and finished 8th. He displayed strong speed midway through the race but the balance on his car began taking a hit towards race end.

“It was still a good points day and a step in the right direction,” he said after his fourth straight top-10 finish in Dover. “It’s a little more consistent than we’ve seen, so hopefully we can keep plugging away at it.” The next event on the schedule for Rick Hendrick’s men is at the Kansas Speedway. The 12th race of the ongoing season will go down on May 5.

“It ain’t happened in my life”: Who will save him?. Dale Earnhardt Jr. hit the bitter reality that’s has been trying to avoid

Dale Earnhardt Jr., during a recent episode of his podcast, reacted to the recent developments in the NASCAR vs. the teams on charter agreement episode. And his major take on the subject was that teams asking for money isn’t something he finds realistic.

Earnhardt Jr. claimed that teams lose money every year and that isn’t anything new for him.

“I’ve never made any money racing. I would love to know where somebody is racing a racecar and making money. It ain’t happened in my life and every Cup team I’ve known didn’t make money.

But the teams think that’s possible, and the teams think that’s realistic and should be happening, but that’s so foreign to me,” he said.”

When it was mentioned to Junior that the idea of teams making money would make sense for the teams, he shared the confusing state he finds himself in with that.

“That’s where I’m struggling because I’m locked in this mode of, ‘Dude, racing has always been like … how do you make a small fortune?’ You start with a big one and go racing. That’s always been the known factor. If you’re going to get in racing, be ready to spend some money.

You’re not going to walk away profitable. I don’t know if it’s even realistic for the teams to think that they can even get profitable but maybe they could,” he added.

As for his team, JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series which has four cars, Junior claimed they break even. He clarified that it doesn’t mean they’re losing money, but they’re simply breaking even. However, he also added that there was nothing wrong with teams expecting to make money in the Cup Series.

Great rumor about Schumacher – but bad memories are already coming back

The dream is still alive – but the glimmer of hope is shrinking more and more! Mick Schumacher actually wanted to use the wild driver market to slip back into Formula 1. However, some prominent options are already off the table.

The latest rumor about the son of record world champion Michael Schumacher is all the more surprising. He is very familiar with this Formula 1 racing team. But the current situation brings back bad memories.

Formula 1: No Audi, no Mercedes
After the departure of Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes would have been the dream solution for Schumacher. He has been a test driver for the Silver Arrows for over a year and receives praise from all sides. Here he could finally have presented himself in a competitive car. However, there are increasing signs that his name is not on team boss Toto Wolff’s list of possible candidates. Especially since he’s already digging Max Verstappen ( find out more here ).

+++ Next Red Bull shocker? Helmut Marko spills the beans +++

Audi’s hopes also recently received a severe setback. The German carmaker chose Nico Hülkenberg as the face of its own campaign. In addition, Carlos Sainz, who has to leave Ferrari, will probably follow. Schumacher couldn’t compete with the Spaniard’s charisma.

Place on the chaos team?
So what options remain in Formula 1? According to the “F1 Insider” portal, Alpine could suddenly become an issue. Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly are actually set here. Because things aren’t going well this season, the former in particular is aiming for a change after the season.

The connection to Schumacher is definitely there, as he has been driving for the Alpine endurance team since this year. So far he has been able to impress with fast lap times. Is this his ticket back to the premier class?

Formula 1: Alpine on the brink
Only: How much would it bring him? During his first F1 phase, Schumacher sat in a Haas with no chance and in which it was impossible to shine. Something similar is currently looming at Alpine. Instead of fighting for podiums, the car is a cucumber and hasn’t scored a single point yet. A fate that is shared with Williams and Sauber – but that was also to be expected with them.

There is also a lot of background noise surrounding layoffs and resignations. Mick Schumacher probably wouldn’t hesitate if he were offered a return to Formula 1. But Alpine’s current state bodes ill for its chances of success.