Author: Angie Campbell

Weekend schedule for Talladega Playoff race

NASCAR travels to Talladega Superspeedway for what may be the most unpredictable racing of the Playoffs. After four races in the Cup Series postseason, none of the eligible drivers have been to victory lane.

There are only two more opportunities to advance in the Cup Series Playoffs with the upcoming race at Talladega and next week at Charlotte Motor Speedway. So far, none of the drivers have clinched a spot in the next 8-driver round.

Five of the playoff drivers, however, have previously won at Talladega. They include Joey Logano (3), Ryan Blaney (2), Denny Hamlin (2), Ross Chastain (1) and Chase Elliott (1).

Talladega will mark the second race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs Round of 12. Noah Gragson secured his spot in the Round of 8 last week with the win at Texas Motor Speedway.

Gragson has been impressive this season with seven trips to victory lane. He won at Talladega earlier this year and has won the last four consecutive races, tying a record set by Sam Ard in 1983. A win this weekend would set a new record in the Xfinity Series.

The Camping World Truck Series Round of 8 continues at Talladega followed by Homestead-Miami before the Championship Round of 4 begins. Ty Majeski is the only driver that has clinched a spot in the final round. To make things more interesting, one driver will make it to the last round on points, so expect the competition to be fierce.

Notes:

Press Pass Live will be available after each race.
There will be no practice sessions at Talladega.
All times are Eastern.

Friday, September 30

3:30 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying – No TV
5:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – USA/NBC Sports Streaming App

Saturday, October 1

10:30 a.m.: Cup Series Qualifying –MRN/NBC Sports Streaming App
12:30 p.m.: Truck Series Chevy Silverado 250
Distance: 250.04 miles (94 Laps)
Stage 1 ends on Lap 20, Stage 2 ends on Lap 40, Final Stage ends on Lap 94
FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
The Purse: $806,669

4 p.m.: Xfinity Series Sparks 300
Distance: 300.58 miles (113 Laps)
Stage 1 Ends on Lap 25, Stage 2 Ends on Lap 50, Final Stage Ends on Lap 113
USA/MRN/SiriusXM/NBC Sports Streaming App
The Purse: $1,653,281

Sunday, October 2

2 p.m.: Cup Series YellaWood 500
Distance: 500 miles (188 Laps)
Stage 1 Ends on Lap 60, Stage 2 Ends on Lap 120, Final Stage Ends on Lap 188
NBC/MRN/SiriusXM/NBC Sports Streaming App
The Purse: $8,338,881

NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Standings after Texas

Rank	Driver	Points	Race Wins	Stage Wins	Playoff Pts	+/- Cutoff
1	Joey Logano (P)	3,071	2	5	25	37
2	Ross Chastain (P)	3,059	2	5	20	25
3	Kyle Larson (P)	3,057	2	4	20	23
4	Ryan Blaney (P)	3,056	0	6	14	22
5	Denny Hamlin (P)	3,049	2	3	13	15
6	Daniel Suarez (P)	3,045	1	2	7	11
7	Chase Elliott (P)	3,045	4	5	40	11
8	Chase Briscoe (P)	3,041	1	4	9	7
9	Austin Cindric # (P)	3,034	1	1	6	-7
10	William Byron (P)	3,033	2	4	15	-8
11	Christopher Bell (P)	3,016	1	4	13	-25
12	Alex Bowman (P)	3,015	1	2	7	-26

September 28, 2022

Weekend schedule for Texas

This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series travels to Texas Motor Speedway as its Playoffs continue with the opening race in the Round of 12.

The Xfinity Series begins its playoff run at Texas with 12 eligible drivers, led by Noah Gragson who has six wins this year, including three consecutive victories to end the regular season. Continuing a two-week break, the Camping World Truck Series returns to competition at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, Oct. 1.

All times are Eastern.

Saturday, September 24

10:35 a.m.: Xfinity Series Practice (All Entries)
11:05 a.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Impound) (Single Vehicle/1 Lap/All Entries
12:35 p.m.: Cup Series Practice (Group A & B)
1:20 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Impound) (Group A & B – Single Vehicle/1 Lap/2 Rounds)

3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 race
200 Laps = 300 Miles
Stages end on Laps 45/90/ 200
Purse: $1,434,537
USA/PRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, September 25

3:30 p.m.: Cup Series Auto Trader EchoPark Automotive 500 race
334 Laps = 501 Miles
Stages end on Laps 105/210/334
Purse: $8,455,617
USA/PRN/SiriusXM

Cup Series Round of 12

  1. Chase Elliott (3040)

  2. Joey Logano (3025)

  3. Ross Chastain (3020)

  4. Kyle Larson (3019)

  5. William Byron (3015)

  6. Denny Hamlin (3013)

  7. Christopher Bell (3013)

  8. Ryan Blaney (3013)

  9. Chase Briscoe (3009)

10. Alex Bowman (3007)

11. Daniel Suarez (3007)

12. Austin Cindric (3006)

Xfinity Series Round of 12

1. Noah Gragson (2051)

2. Ty Gibbs (2038)

3. Justin Allgaier (2033)

4. AJ Allmendinger (2032)

5. Josh Berry (2022)

6. Austin Hill (2016)

7. Brandon Jones (2010)

8. Jeremy Clements (2005)

9. Sam Mayer (2005)

10. Daniel Hemric (2003)

11. Riley Herbst (2002)

12. Ryan Sieg (2001)

September 21, 2022
Jeremy Clements – The leash is off and he’s ready to compete

In the last few weeks, Jeremy Clements has experienced a roller coaster of emotions. He went from the exhilaration of winning at Daytona and advancing to the Xfinity Series Playoffs, to an unexpected penalty that took away the victory. And then, finally, redemption, when the penalty was rescinded.

Heading into the Playoffs for only the second time in his career, his game plan is simple.

“Don’t screw up. Don’t put pressure on yourself and just race like we do every other week.”

Four years ago Clements won at Road America and made the Playoffs but was eliminated after the first round. This time he feels his team is in a much better position to advance as the Playoffs begin.

“Right now we’re way better off than we were that year. So, I’m excited to be in the Playoffs and have a fair shot at it again and see what we can wind up with. Being there the first time we put some pressure on ourselves and this time I’m just saying we have nothing to lose. It’s awesome to be in the Playoffs and we want to make the most of it.”

But while Clements realizes that his small family-owned team doesn’t have the resources of most of the playoff teams, he would love to play David to their Goliath. This year has been one of his strongest in the Xfinity Series with one win, two top-fives and five top-10s, thanks in part to increased funding.

“Every year we’ve kind of held ourselves with a leash and it’s kind of short. To stay in this sport, to do everything we’ve been doing, it takes a lot of money and resources,” he explained. “This year we’ve got the most funding we’ve ever gotten. We’re not running used tires, we’re not running old parts all the time like we used to. It’s just been a lot better on all those ends.

“These races can have some crazy restarts and you never know what can happen. We just got to keep our nose clean and be there at the end and get some top 10s.”

While many may have already counted him out, it would be a mistake to underestimate his desire, heart and determination as the Playoffs begin Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway.

September 21, 2022
Busch, Harvick, Dillon and Reddick react to playoff elimination

After a tumultuous race at Bristol Motor Speedway, four contenders were eliminated from the Cup Series Playoffs.

Kyle Busch was -2 points after last week’s race at Kansas Speedway but had gained 14 points after Stage 2 of the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway and was above the cutline.

But on Lap 269 his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota engine blew. It was the second engine failure he’s experienced during the Round of 16, the first coming at Darlington Raceway two weeks ago.

His frustration was obvious in his comments.

“It just goes with our year,” a disappointed Busch said. “I don’t even know what to say. I’m flabbergasted. I just feel so bad for my guys. They don’t deserve to be in this spot. They work too hard. We are too good of a group to be this low, down on the bottom, fighting for our lives just to make it through. Two engine failures in three weeks; that will do it to you.”

With Busch’s early exit from the race, he finished two points below the cutline making him ineligible to contend for the 2022 Cup Series championship title.

Kevin Harvick needed to win at Bristol to advance to the next round of the Playoffs. But, after running in the top-five for much of the race in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, a lengthy pit stop late in the race led to a missed opportunity.

“It was pretty tough,” a disappointed Harvick said. “We pitted in front of the 17 (Buescher), so just kind of the way the year has gone. Just went from having a chance to lead the parade to being a part of the parade, just difficult to pass.”

Richard Childress Racing teammates Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon saw their playoff hopes come to an early end after damage resulting from an accident on Lap 278.

Reddick, who finished 25th, said he saw the accident happening but could not avoid it.

“I saw the crash happen. I checked up, but I just got run over. We had two bad races with bad finishes. We had two really good race cars, but we just didn’t capitalize on it and that was enough to miss it.”

Dillon finished 31st, and commented, “I was just told the No. 99 (Daniel Suarez) wrecked in front of the field there and got in the No. 47 (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.). I hate it for the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/ TRACKER Off Road Chevy team. We got left-front suspension damage and if we don’t get that, we’re out there running and probably in a good points position to make it.

“It’s unfortunate, but we put ourselves in a little bit of a bind, points-wise, in the first two races. We were doing our job today though. We had a great race car and got stage points. It’s just unfortunate we were caught up in it.”

The Playoffs Round of 12 begins on Sept. 25 at Texas Motor Speedway at 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on the USA Network with radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Playoffs – Round of 12

1) Chase Elliott – 3040
2) Joey Logano – 3025
3) Ross Chastain – 3020
4) Kyle Larson – 3019
5) William Byron – 3015
6) Denny Hamlin – 3013
7) Christopher Bell – 3013
8) Ryan Blaney – 3013
9) Chase Briscoe – 3009
10) Alex Bowman – 3007
11) Daniel Suarez – 3007
12) Austin Cindric – 3006

September 18, 2022
Aric Almirola scores his fourth career Cup Series pole at Bristol

Aric Almirola aced qualifying at Bristol Motor Speedway to earn the NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Pole Award.

His lap of 4.946-seconds at 128.382 mph in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 10 Ford earned him his first pole of the season and the fourth of his career.

As he leads the field to green Saturday for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race, he will be joined by teammate Chase Briscoe on the front row.

After qualifying, Almirola, a non-playoff driver, said, “It absolutely feels good. Man, what a ride to rip around here in less than 15 seconds. It’s pretty crazy how fast these cars are at this racetrack, but I’m just proud of my team, proud of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing. They brought me a really fast BlueOval City Ford Mustang. We were good in race trim and obviously had a lot of speed in qualifying trim, so now we’ve got to go do it for 500 laps tomorrow night.”

Qualifying for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway was intense as four drivers will be eliminated from playoff contention after the event.

Chase Briscoe was the fastest qualifying playoff driver and will start second after falling short of claiming the pole by only 0.022 seconds. It will be his 10th top-10 start this year. Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) driver, Alex Bowman, will start third, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin in fourth and HMS driver, Kyle Larson, in fifth.

Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, Austin Cindric and Brad Keselowski, rounded out the top-10 qualifiers. Keselowski was the only other non-playoff driver among the top-10 starters.

The playoff drivers qualified as follows:

Chase Briscoe – 2nd
Alex Bowman – 3rd
Denny Hamlin – 4th
Kyle Larson – 5th
Ryan Blaney – 6th
Kevin Harvick – 7th
Christopher Bell – 8th
Austin Cindric – 9th
Ross Chastain – 12th
Joey Logano – 15th
William Byron – 16th
Tyler Reddick – 17th
Kyle Busch – 21st
Chase Elliott – 23rd
Austin Dillon – 28th
Daniel Suarez – 29th

Tune into the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at 7:30 ET Saturday evening on USA Network, the NBC Sports App, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Starting Lineup:

September 16, 2022
Weekend schedule for Bristol Playoff Race

This week NASCAR travels to Bristol Motor Speedway for three days of racing under the lights. It’s the elimination race for the Cup Series Playoffs Round of 16 and once it’s over, only 12 drivers will advance to compete for the 2022 championship.

The Xfinity Series heads to Bristol for the final race of its regular season. Ten drivers have clinched a spot in the 12-driver playoff field including Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Josh Berry, Jeremy Clements, Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, Riley Herbst, Austin Hill, Brandon Jones and Sam Mayer.

Bristol will mark the beginning of the Round of 8 for the Camping World Truck Series Playoffs with contenders Zane Smith, Chandler Smith, John H. Nemechek, Ben Rhodes, Stewart Friesen, Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger and Christian Eckes.

The ARCA Menards Series will join the competition Thursday evening for the Bush’s Beans 200 at 6:30 before the Camping World Truck Series race.

NASCAR Press Pass will be live throughout the weekend for post-race coverage.

All times are Eastern.

Thursday, Sept. 15

2:30 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Practice – No TV
3:30 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Qualifying – No TV
4:30 p.m.: Truck Series Practice – FS1
5:05 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying – FS1
6:30 p.m.: ARCA Sioux Chief Showdown 200 – FS1/MRN

9 p.m.: Truck Series UNOH 200
Distance: 106.6 miles (200 Laps)
Stage 1 ends on Lap 55, Stage 2 ends on Lap 110, Final Stage ends on Lap 200
FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
The Purse: $703,945

Friday, Sept. 16

2:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – NBC Sports Stream
3:10 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – NBC Sports Stream
4:35 p.m.: Cup Series Practice- NBC Sports Stream /USA at 5 p.m.
5:20 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying – USA/NBC Sports Stream

7:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Food City 300
Distance: 159.9 miles (300 Laps)
Stage 1 ends on Lap 85, Stage 2 ends on Lap 170, Final Stage ends on Lap 300
USA/PRN/SiriusXM/NBC Sports Stream
The Purse: $1,567,510

Saturday, Sept. 17

7:30 p.m.: Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race
Distance: 266.5 miles (500 Laps)
Stage 1 ends on Lap 125, Stage 2 ends on Lap 250, Final Stage ends on Lap 500
USA/PRN/SiriusXM/NBC Sports Stream
The Purse: $8,338,394

September 14, 2022
Tyler Reddick tops practice and qualifying, wins Busch Light Pole at Kansas

Tyler Reddick was last but not least in NASCAR Cup Series qualifying Saturday at Kansas Speedway. His lap of 29.899 seconds at 180.608 mph in the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet earned him the Busch Light Pole Award.

“It’s reassuring,” Reddick said. “The last few times we’ve been here, we’ve had a car capable of leading, and we’ve been able to do that. It’s just been a matter of putting together the whole day, which is something we’ve fought at times throughout the year. Starting first is great any weekend, but being able to have that first pit stall is going to be key.”

It’s Reddick’s second pole this year and his third career pole in the series. He outpaced Team Penske’s Joey Logano who will start second in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 for the second Playoff race in the Round of 16.

“I haven’t seen his lap but I thought we had a pretty good lap,” Logano said. “Our car was tighter than the first run. It was still good the first run. I hated to adjust on it too much and I probably steered Paul (Wolfe) a little bit in the wrong direction there and didn’t really adjust enough. I am so proud of the Shell Pennzoil team.

“We picked up a lot from practice and laid down a couple of quick laps there. A couple of front row starts in a row. That first pit stall is pretty big here though. I wish we had that. But we will go at them from where we are at.”

The top five drivers are all in the Playoffs with Alex Bowman starting in third, Christopher Bell in fourth and Ross Chastain in fifth. Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, Austin Cindric, William Byron and Chris Buescher, respectively, rounded out the top 10 in qualifying.

Kansas – Starting positions for drivers in the Playoffs:

1 – Tyler Reddick

2 – Joey Logano

3 – Alex Bowman

4- Christopher Bell

5 – Ross Chastain

7 – Kyle Larson

8- Austin Cindric

9 – William Byron

11 – Austin Dillon

13 – Chase Briscoe

14 – Kevin Harvick

15 – Daniel Suarez

17 – Ryan Blaney

20 – Kyle Busch

22 – Chase Elliott

25 – Denny Hamlin

Complete Starting Lineup:

September 10, 2022
Weekend schedule for Kansas-2

NASCAR travels to Kansas Speedway this Sunday for the second race of the Cup Series Playoffs. The Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series will join them for a full weekend of racing.

The Cup Series win by Erik Jones last week at Darlington means that none of the playoff drivers are locked into the next round, leaving only two more opportunities to win and automatically advance to the Round of 12. Several of the drivers fell victim to the Track Too Tough To Tame so the stakes will be high at Kansas.

The Xfinity Series has two more races in its regular season at Kansas Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway but only seven drivers (Allgaier, Allmendinger, Berry, Gibbs, Gragson, Hill and Jones) have secured a place in the 12-driver playoff field. With five open spots and only two races left in the regular season, points will be almost as important as wins.

The Truck Series heads to Kansas for the final race in its Playoffs Round of 10. Grant Enfinger and Chandler Smith are the only two drivers locked into the upcoming Round of 8 and eight drivers will be racing for those final six spots.

All times are Eastern.

Friday, September 9

3 p.m.: Truck Series Practice (All Entries) FS2
3:30 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying (Impound) Single Vehicle/1Lap/All Entries – FS2
5:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice (All Entries) USA
5:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Impound) Single Vehicle/1Lap/All Entries – USA

7:30 p.m.: Truck Series Kansas Lottery 200
201 miles (134 Laps)
Stage 1 ends on Lap 30, Stage 2 ends on Lap 60, Final Stage ends on Lap 134
FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
The Purse: $648,530

Saturday, September 10

12:05 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – Group A & B – NBC Sport App
12:50 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Impound) (Group A & B) Single Vehicle, 1 Lap, 2 Rounds – NBC Sports App

3 p.m.: Xfinity Series Kansas Lottery 300
300 miles (200 Laps)
Stage 1 ends on Lap 45, Stage 2 ends on Lap 90, Final Stage ends on Lap 200
USA/MRN/SiriusXM
The Purse: $1,661,536

Sunday, September 11

3 p.m.: Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by Barstool Sportsbook
400.5 miles (267 Laps)
Stage 1 ends on Lap 80, Stage 2 ends on Lap 165, Final Stage ends on Lap 267
USA/MRN/SiriusXM
The Purse: $8,338,881

September 7, 2022
Erik Jones steals the show with a surprise win at Darlington

Erik Jones slid under the radar to win the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway as everyone else was focused on the drivers who were competing in the Playoffs.

And, he did it in style, capturing the 200th win for the 43 number that was made famous by NASCAR’s “King,” Richard Petty.

It was Jones’ third career victory in the NASCAR Cup Series and his second Southern 500 victory.

“We’ve been so close all year, and I didn’t think today was going to be the day,” he said. It was going to be a tough one to win, I knew, but no better fitting place. I love this track. I love this race. On that trophy twice, man. I was pumped to be on it once, but to have it on there twice — pretty cool.

Well, I mean, I never lost any belief in myself through any of it,” Jones continued. “I knew I could still do it, and I just knew we needed to grow the program to do it, and we have. We’ve brought on a lot of great people in the last year. Dave Elenz called a great race today. His first Cup win — that’s pretty cool for him.

“I’m excited, man. We’ve been talking about this day for a long time, and it is redemption in a lot of ways. Very fitting that it’s here at this race again. I felt like this was the race that saved my job the first time around, and coming back here with this win, I guess it puts you back on the map.”

The Track Too Tough To Tame lived up to its moniker in a tumultuous race that included 21 lead changes among 11 different drivers and nine cautions for 58 laps.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin finished second and his teammate, Christopher Bell, was scored in fifth place. Tyler Reddick was third in his No. 8 Richard Childress Chevrolet and Team Penske driver Joey Logano was fourth.

But not all of the Joe Gibbs Racing drivers were as fortunate as Hamlin and Bell. Kyle Busch saw a potential win slip away after leading a race-high 155 laps when his engine blew and he had to settle for a 30th place result.

“Real proud of the guys for their fight,” Busch said. “The guys on pit road tonight were awesome. So I had a lot of fun being up front, leading laps like that, being able to show what we’re made of. I just hate that we can’t finish with the points we need.”

Busch’s teammate, Martin Truex Jr., didn’t make the Playoffs, but ran strong throughout the race, leading 48 laps before he suffered a power steering failure.

One of the biggest surprises was Chase Elliott who entered the Playoffs on top but spun toward the end of Stage 1 and damaged the back of his No. 9 Chevrolet. The team was unable to make repairs within the time frame of the damaged vehicle policy and he was relegated to a last-place finish.

“I just hit the wall in (Turns) 1 and 2 and broke something in the right rear,” Elliott said. And, when asked how he would approach the next playoff race at Kansas Speedway? “A lot better than we did today.”

Elliott leaves Darlington Raceway in ninth place in the playoff standings.

Kevin Harvick was another driver who left Darlington frustrated and angry after a fire in his car put him on the sidelines with a disappointing 33rd-place finish.

When asked by NBC Sports’ Marty Snider what caused the fire, Harvick said, “I’m sure it’s just crappy parts on the race car like we’ve seen so many times. They haven’t fixed anything. It’s kind of like the safety stuff. We just let it keep going and keep going.

“The car started burning and as it burned the flames started coming through the dash. I ran a couple of laps and then as the flame got bigger it started burning stuff up and I think right there you see all the brake fluid that was probably coming out the brakes and part of the brake line, but the fire was coming through the dash.

“What a disaster for no reason. We didn’t touch the wall. We didn’t touch a car and here we are in the pits with a burned-up car and we can’t finish the race during the playoffs because of crappy-ass parts.”

Drivers Austin Cindric, Austin Dillon, Chase Briscoe and Harvick are the four drivers who are now below the cut line with two races remaining in the Round of 16.

Next week the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Kansas Speedway for the Hollywood Casino 400 as the Playoffs continue.

September 5, 2022
Gragson triumphs in a three-way sprint to the finish at Darlington

In a breathtaking display of talent and tenacity, Noah Gragson prevailed over Sheldon Creed and Kyle Larson to capture his fourth win of the season at Darlington Raceway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200.

With only three laps to go, Creed was leading with Gragson in second place. But Larson, in third, passed Gragson and set his sights on Creed. Then, on the last lap, Creed brushed the wall which damaged his right front tire and Larson got loose beneath him.

Gragson seized the opportunity and had just enough time to drive his No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet to the front and score his ninth career victory in the series and his second win at Darlington.

It was JR Motorsports’ 10th trip to Victory Lane this year and the most in a single season for the organization.

The dramatic finish came after a rain delay that lasted 2 hours, 37 minutes and 22 seconds. The wait, however, was quickly forgotten as Gragson, Creed and Larson had fans on their feet while the three drivers battled for the top spot.

“All you fans, was that cool — did we put on a show for you guys?” Gragson yelled after climbing out of his car.

He shared his perspective and his winning strategy as the race wound down.

“Sheldon Creed was really fast. I watched, during that rain delay, him running the top in 1 and 2, and I knew there was a lot of speed there. So I went up there and I found something, and Sheldon pinched me off, and the 17 (Larson) got by me when it was like three to go, and I was like, ‘Oh, they’re going to get into each other — they’re racing too hard.’ (Sheldon’s) got nothing to lose. He’s racing his tail off, and Kyle’s going for a win.”

Creed had to settle for second place and saw the chance to grab his first win in the series and advance to the Playoffs slip away with only two races left in the regular season.

We were all racing really hard there at the end, “Creed said. “I was hoping they were going to get racing behind me and that would kind of let me go but it didn’t happen. I just had to race Kyle (Larson) really hard there; I wasn’t going to give up.

“I’m just happy we had a really fast race car. The guys showed up with a really good car this weekend and it was exactly what we needed, everyone was on it. We stayed in it the whole time and just raced really hard for the win, and I can’t really ask for more in a situation like that. I’m proud of my team and I’m looking forward to Kansas Speedway next weekend to finish one spot better.”

Larson lost some momentum and had to settle for a fifth-place finish, behind Justin Allgaier in third and AJ Allmendinger in fourth.

Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, Josh Berry, John Hunter Nemechek and Austin Hill rounded out the top 10 finishers at Darlington. AJ Allmendinger currently leads the point standings by 51 points over Ty Gibbs.

The Xfinity Series heads to Kansas Speedway next weekend for the Kansas Lottery 300 at 3 p.m. on the USA network.

Results:

September 4, 2022