(Logan Reily/Getty Images)
Alex Bowman (above, with Jeff Gordon) took the checkered flag in Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway after knocking race leader Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) up the track and into the outside wall on Lap 494 of 501. As Bowman tried to start a burnout to celebrate his fourth NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and his first at the .526-mile short track, Hamlin drove to the front stretch and expressed his displeasure by twice blocking the progress of Bowman’s No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. “I just got loose in,” Bowman said of the accident that gave him the lead. “I got in too deep (into Turn 3), knocked him out of the way and literally let him have the lead back. For anybody that wants to think I was trying to crash him, obviously that wasn’t the case, considering I literally gave up the lead at Martinsville to give it back to him. He’s been on the other side of that. He’s crashed guys here for wins. I hate doing it. Obviously, I don’t want to crash somebody. I just got in, got underneath him, spun him out … Regardless, we get a free grandfather clock (trophy), which is pretty special.” By the time Bowman took the checkered flag, his teammate, defending Cup champion Chase Elliott (No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) already had clinched a spot in next Sunday’s Championship 4 race at Phoenix by sweeping the first two stages of the event. Elliott joins another teammate, two-time Round of 8 winner Kyle Larson (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet), Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. (No. 19 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) in the quartet that will vie for the series title at the one-mile track in the Sonoran Desert. With a damaged car that had slapped the outside wall at the exit of Turn 2 on Lap 471, Truex eked out his berth in the championship race by three points over Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota), who finished second to Truex’s fourth but lost his slim pre-race advantage in the first two stages. Eliminated from the playoffs with Busch were the Team Penske Fords of Brad Keselowski (third Sunday and eight points below the cutoff), Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano. Hamlin, who started from the rear after his car twice failed pre-race inspection, had enough of a margin entering the race that his 24th-place finishing position didn’t cost him a chance at the championship. But that was little consolation for the lost opportunity to add to his collection of five grandfather clocks. “He’s just a hack,” Hamlin said of the race winner. “Just an absolute hack. He gets his ass kicked by his teammates every week. He’s (expletive) terrible. He’s just terrible. He sees one opportunity, he takes it. Obviously, he’s got the fast car of the week and he runs 10th. He didn’t want to race us there. We had a good, clean race. I moved up as high as I could on the race track to give him all the room I could — he still can’t drive.” It will be a Hendrick Motorsports vs. Joe Gibbs Racing final. The championship finale happens on Nov. 7 at Phoenix Raceway (3 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR). Watch extended video highlights from Martinsville courtesy of Motorsports on NBC here. (Thank you to Reid Spencer/NASCAR Wire Service)
Alex Bowman (above, with Jeff Gordon) took the checkered flag in Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway after knocking race leader Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) up the track and into the outside wall on Lap 494 of 501. As Bowman tried to start a burnout to celebrate his fourth NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and his first at the .526-mile short track, Hamlin drove to the front stretch and expressed his displeasure by twice blocking the progress of Bowman’s No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. “I just got loose in,” Bowman said of the accident that gave him the lead. “I got in too deep (into Turn 3), knocked him out of the way and literally let him have the lead back. For anybody that wants to think I was trying to crash him, obviously that wasn’t the case, considering I literally gave up the lead at Martinsville to give it back to him. He’s been on the other side of that. He’s crashed guys here for wins. I hate doing it. Obviously, I don’t want to crash somebody. I just got in, got underneath him, spun him out … Regardless, we get a free grandfather clock (trophy), which is pretty special.” By the time Bowman took the checkered flag, his teammate, defending Cup champion Chase Elliott (No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) already had clinched a spot in next Sunday’s Championship 4 race at Phoenix by sweeping the first two stages of the event. Elliott joins another teammate, two-time Round of 8 winner Kyle Larson (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet), Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. (No. 19 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) in the quartet that will vie for the series title at the one-mile track in the Sonoran Desert. With a damaged car that had slapped the outside wall at the exit of Turn 2 on Lap 471, Truex eked out his berth in the championship race by three points over Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota), who finished second to Truex’s fourth but lost his slim pre-race advantage in the first two stages. Eliminated from the playoffs with Busch were the Team Penske Fords of Brad Keselowski (third Sunday and eight points below the cutoff), Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano. Hamlin, who started from the rear after his car twice failed pre-race inspection, had enough of a margin entering the race that his 24th-place finishing position didn’t cost him a chance at the championship. But that was little consolation for the lost opportunity to add to his collection of five grandfather clocks. “He’s just a hack,” Hamlin said of the race winner. “Just an absolute hack. He gets his ass kicked by his teammates every week. He’s (expletive) terrible. He’s just terrible. He sees one opportunity, he takes it. Obviously, he’s got the fast car of the week and he runs 10th. He didn’t want to race us there. We had a good, clean race. I moved up as high as I could on the race track to give him all the room I could — he still can’t drive.” It will be a Hendrick Motorsports vs. Joe Gibbs Racing final. The championship finale happens on Nov. 7 at Phoenix Raceway (3 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR). Watch extended video highlights from Martinsville courtesy of Motorsports on NBC here. (Thank you to Reid Spencer/NASCAR Wire Service)
(Team Vesco images)
Eric Ritter, driving the Team Vesco 444 reVolt Systems streamliner, crushed the National Electric E3 Record twice! First, with a respectable 322MPH mark, followed 24 hours later, on Friday, October 1st, clocking a blistering 353MPH average - 12 miles-per-hour faster than the current World Record! Rockville, Utah-based Team Vesco, pioneers in the field of automotive and motorcycle racing and record-setting, joined forces with Oceanside, CA’s reVolt Systems led by Eddy Borysewicz for the record attempt. together with significant contributions from American Track Roadster’s Greg Peek and engineering from Trenton Wonsley. Borysewicz loaded in 1,152 prismatic lithium ion batteries and heavily modified pair of Tesla motors. “Nobody got paid in dollars, only satisfaction,” confessed Eddy B. “We worked equally on the powertrain as we did good team communication to function together, recognizing there was no time for major mistakes.” “What an incredible ride! The torque off the starting line - it’s a monster - it bolts without hesitation and keeps pulling, non-stop. Our time slips tell the story, with the 357MPH top speed, that 400 is a now a reality, no longer just a dream,” commented Ritter. Peek was responsible for the design and build complex powertrain section that connects the motors together and then sends the necessary energy to the driveline, out to the wheels. “In design, you start with things that you know and the things you don’t, then fill in the blanks and connect the dots,” Explained hot-rod veteran Peek. “The main parts had to go through six complex processes to end up with something useful and reliable. You can go for cheap or go for bullet proof. I think our new National record shows which one we chose.” The 444 attained both National E3 Class Records in only four runs down the racecourse. All records require two runs that are averaged to the record speed, but World Records have the added requirement of completing both runs within 60 minutes. The reVolting Little Giant’s battery pack was recharged with solar power using a Tier 4 solar trailer.
Eric Ritter, driving the Team Vesco 444 reVolt Systems streamliner, crushed the National Electric E3 Record twice! First, with a respectable 322MPH mark, followed 24 hours later, on Friday, October 1st, clocking a blistering 353MPH average - 12 miles-per-hour faster than the current World Record! Rockville, Utah-based Team Vesco, pioneers in the field of automotive and motorcycle racing and record-setting, joined forces with Oceanside, CA’s reVolt Systems led by Eddy Borysewicz for the record attempt. together with significant contributions from American Track Roadster’s Greg Peek and engineering from Trenton Wonsley. Borysewicz loaded in 1,152 prismatic lithium ion batteries and heavily modified pair of Tesla motors. “Nobody got paid in dollars, only satisfaction,” confessed Eddy B. “We worked equally on the powertrain as we did good team communication to function together, recognizing there was no time for major mistakes.” “What an incredible ride! The torque off the starting line - it’s a monster - it bolts without hesitation and keeps pulling, non-stop. Our time slips tell the story, with the 357MPH top speed, that 400 is a now a reality, no longer just a dream,” commented Ritter. Peek was responsible for the design and build complex powertrain section that connects the motors together and then sends the necessary energy to the driveline, out to the wheels. “In design, you start with things that you know and the things you don’t, then fill in the blanks and connect the dots,” Explained hot-rod veteran Peek. “The main parts had to go through six complex processes to end up with something useful and reliable. You can go for cheap or go for bullet proof. I think our new National record shows which one we chose.” The 444 attained both National E3 Class Records in only four runs down the racecourse. All records require two runs that are averaged to the record speed, but World Records have the added requirement of completing both runs within 60 minutes. The reVolting Little Giant’s battery pack was recharged with solar power using a Tier 4 solar trailer.
