The NASCAR Cup Series concluded the weekend on the Qualcomm Circuit at the Naval Base Coronado in San Diego, California, on Sunday afternoon’s Anduril 250. Shane van Gisbergen started the race on the pole, with Carson Hocevar starting second.
Gisbergen led the opening three laps before losing the lead to Ryan Blaney. On lap 13, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s car stalled on the race, leading to the first caution of the race. During the caution, the No.20 Toyota of Christopher Bell was replaced by Brent Crews. Bell is dealing with a fractured wrist that he suffered after a crash in Michigan a couple of weeks ago.
Many of the teams made their first stops halfway through the first stage. Ryan Blaney was still leading the race with two laps to go when Bubba Wallace lost a right-front tire on pit road. The caution ended the first stage, which was won by Ryan Blaney.
In the second stage, Brent Crews in the No.20 car suffered a mechanical failure and retired from the race. He finished in 39th place. The turning point of the race came on lap 32 when Austin Hill and Connor Zilisch came together after Hill hit the brakes late, triggering a multi-car crash that took out several competitors, including Shane van Gisbergen.
The other drivers who were involved, but continued the race, were Daniel Suarez, Ty Gibbs, Riley Herbst, John Hunter Nemechek, Michael McDowell, and Ryan Blaney. Ryan Preece would go on to win the second stage.
In the final stage, the race came down to Tyler Reddick, Corey Heim, and Kyle Larson. Larson fell behind as Reddick and Heim were the only two fighting for the win. With three laps to go, Heim took the lead after making slight contact with Reddick, causing Reddick to have a flat tire.
Heim went on to score his first career Cup Series win by 10.365 seconds over Bubba Wallace. It was Heim’s 13th career Cup Series start, and the sixth win for 23XI this season. Kyle Larson, Zane Smith, and A.J. Allmendinger rounded out the top five. Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Riley Herbst, Ryan Blaney, and Michael McDowell completed the top ten. Tyler Reddick finished in 25th place. Click here to see the full results.
The Cup Series heads to Sonoma Raceway next Sunday at 3:30 pm on TNT.
