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Author: Andrew Kim

  • Bubba Wallace spoils the Playoffs with second Cup career victory at Kansas

    Bubba Wallace spoils the Playoffs with second Cup career victory at Kansas

    Bubba Wallace wheeled the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota TRD Camry to a late victory in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, September 11. It was the second time in recent weeks that a non-Playoff competitor spoiled the show in the early stages of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. On this occasion, it was a team that celebrated an automatic transfer to the second round in the owners’ standings.

    The 28-year-old Wallace from Mobile, Alabama, led two times for 58 of 267-scheduled laps, including the final 43, and rallied from an early loose wheel that forced him to pit for a second time prior to the start of the second stage as he held off team owner Denny Hamlin amid lapped traffic to score his second career win in NASCAR’s premier series. The victory enabled the No. 45 team to earn an automatic pass to the Round of 12 in the owners’ standings with Wallace not contending for the drivers’ title.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Playoff contender Tyler Reddick secured his second pole position of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 180.608 mph in 29.899 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender Joey Logano, who posted the second-best lap sat 180.385 mph in 29.936 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Aric Almirola and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Reddick and Logano dueled early for the lead entering the first turn before Logano capitalized on the inside lane to assume the lead. With the field fanning out through the backstretch, Logano went on to lead the first lap while Alex Bowman muscled his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the runner-up spot over Reddick’s No. 8 Guaranteed Rate Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

    Two laps later, however, Bowman battled and overtook Logano on the outside lane for the lead. Reddick would soon overtake Logano for the runner-up spot while Christopher Bell and Ross Chastain occupied the top five ahead of a side-by-side battle between Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Bowman was leading by six-tenths of a second over Reddick followed by Logano, Bell and Chastain while Wallace, Larson, Kevin Harvick, rookie Austin Cindric and Martin Truex Jr. were in the top 10 ahead of Daniel Suarez, William Byron, Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney and Austin Dillon.

    At the Lap 10 mark, Bowman stabilized his advantage to nearly eight-tenths of a second over Reddick followed by Logano and Bell while Wallace muscled his No. 45 Root Insurance Toyota TRD Camry into the top five. By then, half of the 16 Playoff contenders were running in the top 10 while Chase Elliott was the lowest-running Playoff contender in 26th. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch was in 22nd while Chase Briscoe was mired in 17th behind William Byron, Austin Dillon and Denny Hamlin.

    On Lap 25, a competition caution was displayed as scheduled by NASCAR. At the moment of caution, Bowman had extended his advantage to more than a second over Reddick while Logano, Bell, Wallace, Chastain, Truex, Larson, Harvick and Cindric were scored in the top 10.

    During the competition caution, the leaders led by Bowman pitted and Reddick reassumed the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Bowman, Logano, Bell, Truex and Wallace. Following the pit stops, however, Brad Keselowski, Briscoe and Truex were sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road. In addition, Hamlin was penalized for an equipment interference.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 31, Reddick and Bowman dueled for the lead as the field fanned out to multiple lanes through the backstretch and entering Turn 3. As Bowman and Reddick continued to battle dead even for the lead, a three-wide action for third place ignited between Logano, Chastain and Wallace as Harvick closed in. 

    Two laps later, however, the caution returned when Chastain and Wallace slid up the track and in front of Harvick entering Turn 4. This caused Harvick to get loose before he veered back to the right and smacked the outside wall in Turn 4 as he sustained significant right-side damage to his No. 4 Rheem Ford Mustang. The damage on the No. 4 Ford, which included the right-front suspension, was too extensive for Harvick to continue as he took his car to the garage and retired in 36th place, dead last.

    At the start of the following restart on Lap 38, Reddick retained the lead while fending off Blaney and Bowman before Logano challenged Bowman for third place through the first two turns. Behind, Chastain rocketed his No. 1 AdventHealth Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to fifth after he overtook Wallace and Bell as the field continued to dice for positions towards the front. 

    By Lap 50, Reddick was ahead by nearly a second over Blaney, Bowman, Chastain, Bell, Wallace, Logano, Buescher, Cindric and Byron. Behind, Stenhouse was in 11th ahead of Larson, Suarez, Kyle Busch, Elliott, Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, Almirola, Truex and Hamlin while Briscoe was in 29th.

    Fifteen laps later, however, the caution flew when the race leader Reddick slipped sideways and slapped the outside wall after he cut a right-rear tire in Turn 2.  The situation went from bad to worse for Reddick, who then spun below the apron as he was entering pit road and ultimately retired from the race. Under caution, the leaders led by Bowman pitted and Austin Dillon assumed the lead following a two-tire pit stop.

    With nine laps remaining in the first stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Austin Dillon and Bell dueled until Bell prevailed on the inside lane. Shortly after, Blaney battled and overtook Dillon for third before Truex and Chastain took Dillon three-wide in a bid for fourth followed by Stenhouse and Wallace. 

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 80, Bell, who was making his 100th Cup career start, captured his third stage victory of the 2022 season. Blaney settled in second while Truex, Stenhouse, Wallace, Elliott, Kyle Busch, Chastain, Logano and Austin Dillon, who fell back on two fresh tires, were scored in the top 10. By then, Hamlin was in 11th ahead of Byron and Larson while Cindric was in 15th followed by Suarez and Bowman. Briscoe was mired back in 25th while Reddick and Harvick were officially out of the event.

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Bell returned to pit road for service while Almirola remained on the track to inherit the lead. Following the pit stops, Blaney and Wallace pitted to address loose wheels on their respective cars.

    The second stage started on Lap 86 with Almirola and McDowell, who opted for two fresh tires, on the front row. At the start and with the field fanning out, McDowell pulled ahead with the lead while Almirola, who slid up the track, made the slightest of contact with Bell and Elliott, though all continued to run straight. 

    During the following lap, Truex muscled his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota TRD Camry into the lead. Behind, Stenhouse moved in second over McDowell while Bell and Byron were in the top five. In addition, Almirola was in sixth in front of Elliott and Suarez while Kyle Busch and Logano were in the top 10.

    Another three laps later, the caution flew for Ty Gibbs, who got loose after making contact with Corey LaJoie and slapped the outside wall in Turn 2 as he flattened both right-side tires and sustained right-side damage to his No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota TRD Camry. During the caution period, Almirola and Ty Dillon pitted while the rest of the field led by Truex remained on the track.

    During a Lap 95 restart, Truex and Stenhouse dueled for the lead before Truex managed to clear himself with the lead and with a clear racetrack in front of him two laps later. Meanwhile, Bell and Byron battled for third in front of Kyle Busch and McDowell.

    At the Lap 100 mark, Truex was leading by more than half a second over Stenhouse while Bell was the highest-running Playoff contender in third in front of Kyle Busch and Byron. By then, seven of 16 Playoff contenders were running in the top 10 as Briscoe, Cindric, Suarez, Chastain, Austin Dillon, Blaney and Hamlin were mired outside of the top 10 on the track.

    Nine laps later, the caution returned when Stenhouse, who was running in second place, slapped the outside wall in the backstretch after he blew a right-rear tire on his No. 47 SunnyD Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. During the caution period, the leaders led by Truex pitted and Truex retained the lead after exiting with the top spot followed by Byron, Bowman, Logano, and Kyle Busch. Following the pit stops, however, Truex limped his way back to pit road to address a loose left-rear wheel. In addition, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch and Suarez were all penalized for equipment interference.

    On Lap 114, the race restarted under green as teammates Byron and Bowman occupied the front row. Entering the first turn and with the field bunched up, however, the caution returned when Erik Jones, winner of last weekend’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, made contact with rookie Harrison Burton and Corey LaJoie while trying to squeeze himself in between both competitors as both LaJoie and Burton went up the track and clipped Almirola, who went spinning before both collided with one another toward the outside wall.

    At the start of another restart on Lap 120, Bowman used the inside lane to his advantage as he assumed the lead over teammate Byron while Logano was left in a three-wide battle against Briscoe and Elliott for third as Bell pursued behind.

    At the halfway mark in between Laps 133 and 134, Bowman was leading by eight-tenths over Logano, Byron, Elliott, Briscoe, Cindric, Bell, Blaney, Larson and Wallace. Chastain, Kyle Busch and Hamlin were in 12th, 14th and 17th while Suarez was in 21st and Austin Dillon was in 22nd.

    Then on Lap 136, the caution flew when Kyle Busch, who was in 12th in front of Truex and Chastain, got loose and spun his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry into the frontstretch grass after he cut a right-rear tire. During the caution period, the leaders led by Bowman pitted and Bowman retained the lead ahead of teammate Byron.

    With 22 laps remaining in the second stage, Bowman received a push from Bell on the inside lane to maintain the lead before Byron used the outside lane to overtake Bell for the runner-up spot. In addition, Logano moved up to third while Bell maintained fourth in front of Blaney and Elliott.

    With less than 10 laps remaining in the second stage, Bowman remained as the leader by four-tenths of a second over Bell while Byron, Elliott and Wallace were in the top five. Wallace’s owner Hamlin was in sixth in front of Logano, Larson, Blaney and Chastain.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 165, Bowman captured his second stage victory of the 2022 season. Bell settled in a close second place followed by Byron, Wallace, Elliott, Hamlin, Larson, Logano, Blaney and Chastain.

    Under the stage break, the leaders led by Bowman pitted and Bowman retained the lead following another strong pit stop from his pit crew while Wallace and Hamlin moved up to second and third.

    With 96 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Bowman retained the lead while Wallace challenged Byron for the runner-up spot as the field fanned out through the backstretch. A few laps later, teammates Byron and Larson overtook Wallace for second and third as Logano and Bell closed in while Bowman started to pull away with the lead.

    With 87 laps remaining, Larson got loose entering Turns 3 and 4 while running on the outside lane. This allowed Byron and Wallace to go three wide on Larson as Wallace muscled his way into the runner-up spot. By then, Bowman was out in front by more than a second. 

    Eight laps later and with 75 laps remaining, Bowman stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Wallace followed by Byron, Bell and Larson, who continued to run in the top five despite brushing the wall earlier. Hamlin was in sixth while Blaney, Truex, Chastain and Logano were in the top 10 in front of Cindric, Elliott, Justin Haley, Suarez and Christopher Buescher.

    Another eight laps later, Wallace, who slowly tracked Bowman, overtook Bowman to assume the lead for the first time.

    Just past the final 55 laps of the event, green flag pit stops ensued as Truex pitted followed by teammate Hamlin and Byron. Shortly after, the leader Wallace pitted along with Bell, Blaney, Larson, Cindric, McDowell, Kyle Busch, Bowman and others.

    When the latest cycle of green flag pit stops concluded with 42 laps remaining, Wallace cycled his way back into the lead after Logano and Suarez, who endured a slow pit stop, pitted under green. By then, Bell moved into second followed by teammate Hamlin while Byron and Bowman were in the top five.

    With less than 30 laps remaining, Wallace was leading by two seconds over Bell, who was slowly gaining ground on Wallace for the lead as Wallace was navigating his way through lapped traffic. Hamlin was in third followed by Byron and Bowman while Chastain, Larson, Truex, Blaney and Elliott were in the top 10. By then, Playoff contenders Cindric, Austin Dillon, Briscoe, Suarez, Logano and Kyle Busch were in 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 18th and 24th.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Wallace stabilized his advantage to less than two seconds over Bell while third-place Hamlin trailed by more than two seconds. Another four laps later, Hamlin dueled and overtook teammate Bell on the frontstretch to assume the runner-up spot.

    With 10 laps remaining, Wallace continued to lead by two seconds over team owner Hamlin, who was navigating his way through lapped traffic, while third-place Bell trailed by less than three seconds.

    Five laps later, Wallace’s advantage decreased to less than a second and a half over Hamlin, though the former retained the top spot.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap commenced, Wallace remained as the leader by more than a second over Hamlin. Despite having lapped traffic in front of his windshield, Wallace was able to navigate his way around Kansas for a final time and cycle back to the frontstretch to claim his first elusive checkered flag of the 2022 season by a second over Hamlin. 

    With his second Cup career victory and by transferring the No. 45 23XI Racing entry into the Round of 12 in the owners’ standings, Wallace also became the 138th different competitor to achieve multiple wins in NASCAR’s premier series, he recorded the third career win for 23XI Racing and he became the 18th different winner through the first 28 scheduled events, which was a record in NASCAR history. The victory also meant that the No. 45 23XI Racing entry swept both Kansas Cup victories of the season after winning in May with Kurt Busch.

    This also marks the first time since the Playoffs debuted in 2004 where the first two Playoff events were won by non-title contenders after Erik Jones won at Darlington Raceway a week ago.

    Photo by Simon Scoggins for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “Man, just so proud of this team,” Wallace said on USA Network. “So proud of the effort that they put in each and every week. Just thankful for the opportunity, right? Took this jump from an idea two years ago from a text from Denny [Hamlin] before [23XI Racing] all even happened. He was ready to get the deal done. Appreciate him, appreciate [Michael Jordan]…everybody at 23XI. They work their tails off. Just so proud. Pit crew was awesome today. We had one loose wheel. Just thankful. Thankful for the opportunity and thankful to shut the hell up for a lot of people.”

    “I knew Denny was gonna be strong,” Wallace added. “That’s the things I look at. He wasn’t that good at the beginning of the day, and he comes up and finishes P2. That’s what I wanna start doing. We don’t have the best days. Just capitalize on moments like that. It’s cool to beat the boss, but man, we were just lights out today once we got to the lead. It was a lot of fun. It was just cool, calm and collective, and here we are. True fans that are out there, thank you, guys. I love you. It’s been a tough road. You [fans] are the best. Let’s keep this train rolling.”

    The runner-up result provided mixed emotions for Hamlin, positives from an owner’s perspective but disappointment from a driver’s perspective.

    “It’s a good overall day,” Hamlin said. “Just still frustrated about the first half of the race, obviously. We just aren’t executing that well. Really happy for our No. 11 Toyota team. They fought hard. They really stepped up that last half. We made the car quite a bit better. Just really happy about the outcome and really happy for that No. 45 team, Bubba Wallace and [crew chief] Bootie [Barker]. Bubba’s just really worked hard on his craft. We’ve just given him fast race cars and now, he’s showing what he’s got. I nearly wrecked to try to catch him off of [Turn] 4. I got bad loose and hit the fence, but I was driving as hard as I could. Nothing will ever come for free when you’re driving for me. If you think that I’m gonna let you win, you better go get another job. Just what a great day overall for Toyota.”

    The third-place finish for Bell felt like a victory for the Oklahoma native as he garnered enough points (58) to become the first Playoff competitor to secure a spot for the Round of 12 in the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs.

    “[I] Just got off a little bit on our balance that last run, but overall a great points day and very proud of everyone on this DEWALT No. 20 team,” Bell said. “Great day for Toyota and happy for Bubba to get a win. He was really deserving, really fast all day. Great points day. We’ll move on and try and win one. I’m very happy that we’re finally getting the results that this team deserves. Our speed has been there all year, and I feel like we’ve given up a couple good finishes. Last couple of weeks we’ve been building on it, and hopefully, we can keep the ball rolling.”

    Bowman, who led the most laps at 107, came home in fourth place in front of Truex. Byron, Chastain, Larson, Blaney and Daniel Suarez completed the top 10 in the final running order.

    There were 16 lead changes for 12 different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 43 laps.

    Results.

    1. Bubba Wallace, 58 laps led

    2. Denny Hamlin

    3. Christopher Bell, 12 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    4. Alex Bowman, 107 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    5. Martin Truex Jr., 24 laps led

    6. William Byron, nine laps led

    7. Ross Chastain

    8. Kyle Larson

    9. Ryan Blaney, two laps led

    10. Daniel Suarez, eight laps led

    11. Chase Elliott

    12. Austin Cindric

    13. Chase Briscoe

    14. Austin Dillon, three laps led

    15. Chris Buescher

    16. Michael McDowell, one lap led

    17. Joey Logano, one lap down, two laps led

    18. Noah Gragson, one lap down

    19. Justin Haley, one lap down

    20. Ty Dillon, one lap down

    21. Aric Almirola, one lap down, three laps led

    22. Cole Custer, one lap down

    23. Todd Gilliland, one lap down

    24. Landon Cassill, one lap down

    25. Brad Keselowski, one lap down

    26. Kyle Busch, two laps down

    27. Cody Ware, two laps down

    28. JJ Yeley, three laps down

    29. Erik Jones, three laps down

    30. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., five laps down

    31. BJ McLeod, five laps down

    32. Harrison Burton – OUT, Accident

    33. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Accident

    34. Ty Gibbs – OUT, Accident

    35. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident, 38 laps led

    36. Kevin Harvick – OUT, Accident

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. Christopher Bell – Advanced

    2. William Byron +48

    3. Denny Hamlin +47

    4. Joey Logano +40

    5. Ryan Blaney +36

    6. Alex Bowman +30

    7. Chase Elliott +28

    8. Kyle Larson +27

    9. Ross Chastain +26

    10. Daniel Suarez +6

    11. Tyler Reddick +2

    12. Austin Cindric +2

    13. Kyle Busch -2

    14. Austin Dillon -3

    15. Chase Briscoe -9

    16. Kevin Harvick -35

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff schedule is Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race and where the first round of eliminations will occur. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, September 17, at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Gragson capitalizes late to win rain-shortened Xfinity event at Kansas

    Gragson capitalizes late to win rain-shortened Xfinity event at Kansas

    A pass for the lead with 15 laps remaining in the second stage followed by a two-lap dash to the conclusion of the stage netted Noah Gragson and the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro team a rain-shortened victory in the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, September 10.

    The 24-year-old Gragson from Las Vegas, Nevada, led three times for 20 of 93-shortened laps, including the final 18, as he managed to retain the lead through two late restarts prior to the conclusion of the second stage, including a two-lap dash to the eventual finish over teammate Justin Allgaier and Ty Gibbs. When the second stage concluded on Lap 90, NASCAR directed the field to pit road on Lap 93 due to a weather delay. With the precipitation increasing and more rain approaching the track, NASCAR made the call to deem the race official and award Gragson his fifth Xfinity victory of the season and second in recent weeks after he won last weekend’s event at Darlington Raceway.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Brandon Jones notched his fifth career pole position, third of the season and second in recent weeks after posting a pole-winning lap of 174.695 mph in 30.911 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Ty Gibbs, winner of last year’s Xfinity event at Kansas who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 174.520 mph in 30.942 seconds.

    Prior to the event, names like Jesse Iwuji (who replaced Kyle Weatherman for the main event despite Weatherman practicing and qualifying for the main event), Joey Gase, Josh Williams, CJ McLaughlin, Brennan Poole, JJ Yeley, Kris Wright, Stefan Parsons and Brandon Brown dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars. Ryan Vargas also dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car after he wrecked his primary car during Saturday’s qualifying session.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, the field quickly fanned out to three lanes entering the first turn as Brandon Jones fended off teammate Ty Gibbs to lead the first lap. As the field continued to fan out through the second lap, AJ Allmendinger was in third ahead of Richard Childress Racing’s rookies Sheldon Creed and Austin Hill with JR Motorsports’ competitors Sam Mayer, Noah Gragson and Justin Allgaier following in pursuit.

    Four laps later and following an early battle with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Gibbs moved his No. 54 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Supra into the lead over Jones’ No. 19 Menards Toyota Supra.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Gibbs was leading by nearly three-tenths of a second over teammate Brandon Jones followed by Allmendinger, Gragson and Allgaier. Teammates Hill and Creed battled for sixth while Sammy Smith, Sam Mayer and Daniel Hemric occupied the top 10. Riley Herbst was in 11th followed by Ross Chastain, Ryan Sieg, Josh Berry and Brett Moffitt while Landon Cassill, Myatt Snider, Anthony Alfredo, Jeb Burton and Bailey Currey were in the top 20.

    Ten laps later, Gibbs extended his advantage to more than a second over teammate Brandon Jones while third-place Gragson trailed by nearly four seconds. Behind, Allmendinger and Allgaier battle for fourth while Sammy Smith, Hill and Mayer were in sixth, seventh and eighth. Meanwhile, Creed, coming off his career-best run at Darlington Raceway, had fallen back to ninth while Brett Moffitt was in 10th.

    At the Lap 30 mark, Gibbs, who was carving his way through lapped traffic, stabilized his advantage to nearly two seconds over teammate Brandon Jones while Gragson remained in third place and trailed by more than three seconds. By then, Sammy Smith moved his No. 18 Pilot Flying J Toyota Supra into fourth place followed by Allgaier while Allmendinger, Hill, Moffitt, Mayer and Herbst were in the top 10. Creed was back in 12th behind Josh Berry while Hemric, Cassill and Chastain battled in the top 15.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 45, Gibbs rocketed his way to his fifth stage victory of the 2022 season. Gragson, who navigated his way around Brandon Jones for the runner-up spot nearing the Lap 40 mark, settled in second followed by Jones, Sammy Smith and Allgaier while Moffitt, Hill, Allmendinger, Berry and Herbst were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the leaders led by Gibbs pitted for the first time and Gibbs retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Gragson, Sammy Smith, Allgaier, Brandon Jones and Hill.

    The second stage started on Lap 51 as Gibbs and Gragson occupied the front row. At the start, Gibbs and Gragson dueled for the lead entering the first turn while Hill, who restarted in the top six, fanned out to three lanes in his No. 21 United Rentals Chevrolet Camaro as he moved up the leaderboard and battled Gragson for the runner-up spot. At the front, Gibbs retained the lead as Allgaier settled behind teammate Gragson and Hill before attacking Hill for third place. Meanwhile, Sammy Smith, who restarted third, fell back to sixth.

    Four laps later, Moffitt, who recorded a strong top-six result in the first stage, scrapped the outside wall in Turn 1 while running in the top 10 as he dropped back to 13th while the event proceeded under green.

    Through Lap 60, Gibbs was leading by more than a second over Gragson’s No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro while teammate Allgaier’s No. 7 Brandt Chevrolet Camaro trailed by more than three seconds. Hill and Brandon Jones occupied fourth and fifth while Cassill, Berry, Sammy Smith, Allmendinger and Chastain were running in the top 10.

    Ten laps later, the caution flew when Jeremy Clements, whose team awaits the verdict of appealing their encumbered victory at Daytona in August and currently sit outside of the Playoff picture, spun his No. 51 Chevrolet Camaro below the apron entering Turn 4 while trying to enter pit road. During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Gibbs pitted while names like Hill, Moffitt and Ryan Sieg remained on the track. 

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 75, Hill assumed an early advantage while Moffitt, who restarted on the front row and on the outside lane, spun the tires, which caused the field to jam up and fan out through the frontstretch and entering the first turn. Shortly after, Gragson rocketed his way into the lead in the backstretch. During the following lap, Allmendinger made his way into second followed by Brandon Jones, Allgaier and Gibbs while Hill continued to lose more spots on the track while on old tires.

    Then with eight laps remaining in the second stage, the caution returned due to rain reported on the track. At the moment of caution, Gragson was the leader followed by teammate Allgaier, then Gibbs, Brandon Jones and Sammy Smith. By then, Moffitt, Hill and Ryan Sieg had fallen back to 15th, 17th and 19th.

    With two laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green. At the start, teammates Gragson and Allgaier dueled for the lead through the first turn until Gragson managed to pull ahead of Allgaier through the backstretch while Gibbs used the outside lane to bolt his way into third place.

    During the final lap of the second stage, Gragson maintained the lead while Gibbs battled Allgaier for the runner-up spot in front of Jones. While the on-track battles behind the leaders continued for a final full lap, Gragson managed to cycle his way back to the frontstretch with the lead and record his 13th stage victory of the 2022 season. Behind, Allgaier edged Gibbs to settle in second despite getting body-slammed by Gibbs approaching the start/finish line. Brandon Jones and Chastain settled in the top five while Allmendinger, Berry, Sammy Smith, Mayer and Moffitt settled in the top 10. 

    Under the stage break, the field led by Gragson was brought to pit road and the race was red-flagged on Lap 93 due to a weather delay.

    Then as the rain continued, NASCAR deemed the race official and Gragson, who awaited any news in the garage, was awarded his fifth Xfinity Series victory of the season. The victory was Gragson’s 10th of his Xfinity career and his first in the series at Kansas as he sets his sights to the Playoffs and for his first NASCAR national touring series championship. The victory was also the 11th of the season for JR Motorsports.

    “[The race] was tough,” Gragson, who still managed to display his victorious trademark by climbing the fence on the frontstretch, said on USA Network. “I don’t know if we had the fastest car there at the beginning in the first stage. I felt like if [the race] would’ve went green, we could’ve kept working on [the car], working on it. We had a pretty fast car there, but I’ll take’em any way we get’em. [Allgaier] was fast. [Gibbs] was, obviously, the fastest car all day. Extremely grateful. Super thankful.”

    Teammate Allgaier concluded the event in the runner-up spot while Gibbs, Brandon Jones and Chastain finished in the top five. Allmendinger, Berry, Sammy Smith, Mayer and Moffitt were awarded top-10 results.

    There were six lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 18 laps.

    With a single regular-season event remaining in the schedule, Noah Gragson, Ty Gibbs, Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Josh Berry, rookie Austin Hill and Brandon Jones have clinched spots for the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular-season stretch while Sam Mayer and Riley Herbst have also clinched spots for the Playoffs based on points. Daniel Hemric, Landon Cassill, and Ryan Sieg occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs based on points. Rookie Sheldon Creed trails the top-12 cutline to make the Playoffs by 13 points, Brandon Brown trails by 100, Anthony Alfredo trails by 101 and Myatt Snider trails by 177.

    Results.

    1. Noah Gragson, 20 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Justin Allgaier

    3. Ty Gibbs, 66 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    4. Brandon Jones, five laps led

    5. Ross Chastain

    6. AJ Allmendinger

    7. Josh Berry

    8. Sammy Smith

    9. Sam Mayer

    10. Brett Moffitt

    11. Sheldon Creed

    12. Austin Hill

    13. Landon Cassill

    14. Ryan Sieg

    15. Daniel Hemric

    16. Riley Herbst

    17. Brandon Brown

    18. Anthony Alfredo

    19. Myatt Snider

    20. Kris Wright

    21. Jeremy Clements, one lap down

    22. JJ Yeley, one lap down

    23. David Starr, one lap down

    24. Josh Williams, one lap down

    25. Rajah Caruth, one lap down

    26. Stefan Parsons, one lap down

    27. Derek Griffith, one lap down

    28. Howie Disavino III, one lap down

    29. Dillon Bassett, one lap down

    30. Joey Gase, one lap down

    31. Mason Massey, two laps down

    32. Garrett Smithley, two laps down

    33. Ryan Vargas, two laps down

    34. CJ McLaughlin, two laps down

    35. Bayley Currey, three laps down

    36. Jesse Iwuji, four laps down

    37. Brennan Poole – OUT, Transmission

    38. Jeb Burton – OUT, Engine

    The 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch is set to conclude next Friday, September 16, at Bristol Motor Speedway, where the 12-car Playoff field will be determined. Coverage for the event is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Creed salvages 11th-place run at Kansas, eyes Xfinity Playoff berth at Bristol

    Creed salvages 11th-place run at Kansas, eyes Xfinity Playoff berth at Bristol

    Rookie Sheldon Creed maintained his hopes of remaining eligible to make the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs with an 11th-place run in the rain-shortened Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, September 10.

    The 2020 Camping World Truck Series champion from Alpine, California, survived a roller coaster event in Kansas that started off on a positive note when he rolled off the grid in third place after posting the third-fastest qualifying lap on Friday. Through the first 10 laps, however, Creed had fallen out of the top five as he was mired in an on-track battle with teammate Austin Hill for sixth place. He was then scored in ninth place by Lap 20 while continuing to lose spots on the track while wrangling with handling issues to his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro.

    Despite the early handling issues, Creed managed to settle in 14th place following the first stage’s conclusion on Lap 45. He went on to conclude the second stage scheduled on Lap 90 in 11th place in front of teammate Hill, which was where he would ultimately end up in the final scoreboard when NASCAR ruled the event official on Lap 93 of 200 due to increasing precipitation.

    With his 14th top-15 result of the season and his seventh in nine recent events, Creed, who came into Kansas trailing the top-12 cutline to make the Playoffs by 16 points, accumulated three points as he trails the cutline by 13 points behind Ryan Sieg, who finished 14th.

    “I had a lot more confidence in [the car] that I thought what we had today,” Creed said on USA Network. “We fired off [the race] there. I thought we were really good and then, I don’t know, went to really bad when the track started building rubber. I tried so many different things. [I] Just couldn’t get anything to work or make speed. I don’t know where we missed it. [We] Just weren’t as good as thought as we were. Looks like we gained three points. [I] Wished we could’ve finished this one. Maybe play [pit] strategy. I don’t think we had the speed to win today, but maybe, could’ve played it differently and got a better finish and maybe, got a bigger gap to [Ryan Sieg] and us.”

    Creed’s current status in vying for a spot to the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs comes amid a roller coaster start to his first full-time campaign in the Xfinity circuit, where he replaced Myatt Snider to pilot the No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing following three full-time seasons in the Truck Series. Despite commencing the season in sixth place at Daytona International Speedway in February, Creed could only record five additional top-10 results through the following 16 scheduled events. Mired within the early top-10 results were nine results outside of the top 20, five DNFs and a four-race suspension handed to Creed’s crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz, car chief Kris McCabe and team engineer Sam Bowers due to a dropped ballast during a practice session at Martinsville Speedway in April.

    Since July, the tides began to turn in favor of Creed, who led 16 laps and finished 12th at Atlanta Motor Speedway before he recorded a pair of fifth-place results at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and at Pocono Raceway, respectively. Then during last weekend’s event at Darlington Raceway, Creed was within striking distance of claiming his first Xfinity victory at Darlington Raceway before he was overtaken by Noah Gragson on the final lap after losing his momentum while scrapping the outside wall to the finish and settled in a career-best second place.

    Ultimately, Creed went from recording an average-finishing result of 20.6 through the first 16-scheduled events to an average-finishing result of 11.3 during the previous 10 events, including his 11th-place result at Kansas. With his focus set for next weekend’s regular-season finale at Bristol, Creed’s bid to make the Playoffs comes down to either winning at Bristol or gaining 13 points on Ryan Sieg.

    “We’re just gonna go and do our best,” Creed added. “We’re gonna show up with the best car that we can and treat it like we’re going to the Final Four [round]. We just need to go and be on our A game at Bristol. We need to go practice good, we need to qualify good, we need to get max stage points and give ourselves a shot at the win at the end.”

    Creed’s final bid to make the 2022 Xfinity Series Playoffs is set to occur at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, September 16, which marks the final regular-season event of the season. The event is scheduled to commence at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • John Hunter Nemechek grabs wild last lap Truck Series victory at Kansas

    John Hunter Nemechek grabs wild last lap Truck Series victory at Kansas

    John Hunter Nemechek denied an opportunity for Carson Hocevar to win and race his way into the Round of 8 in the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs by executing a final lap pass to win the Kansas Lottery 200 at Kansas Speedway on Friday, September 9.

    The 25-year-old Nemechek from Mooresville, North Carolina, led five times for a race-high 88 of 134-scheduled laps as he started the day sweeping the first two stages. After opting to surrender the lead and pit under green for four fresh tires and fuel with 32 laps remaining, Nemechek spent the next 31 laps bolting his way through lapped traffic and the field to catch Hocevar, who topped off on fuel on Lap 80 and was trying to stretch his fuel tank to the finish and with an opportunity to both win and advance in the Playoffs. Hocevar’s gamble, however, did not pay off on the final lap as he was overtaken by Nemechek, who proceeded to claim his second checkered flag of the 2022 Truck Series season and secure a spot for the Round of 8 in the Playoffs.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, John Hunter Nemechek claimed his sixth pole position of the 2022 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 175.444 mph in 30.779 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Ty Majeski, who clocked in the second-fastest lap at 175.182 mph in 30.825 seconds.

    Prior to the event, names like Brett Moffitt, Mason Maggio, Armani Williams and Brennan Poole dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective trucks.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Nemechek received a push from teammates Corey Heim and Chandler Smith to assume an early advantage as he went on to lead the first lap. Meanwhile, Majeski retained the runner-up spot ahead of Heim, Christian Eckes and Chandler Smith as the field fanned out and jostled early for positions.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Nemechek was ahead by four-tenths of a second over Majeski and more than a second over Eckes while Heim fell back to fourth in front of teammate Chandler Smith’s No. 18 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. Matt Crafton was in sixth while Ben Rhodes, Zane Smith, Ryan Preece and Matt DiBenedetto were in the top 10.

    At the Lap 10 mark, Majeski, who inherited the lead from Nemechek three laps earlier, was leading in his No. 66 Road Ranger Toyota Tundra TRD Pro by eight-tenths of a second over Nemechek while Eckes, Heim and Chandler Smith remained in the top five. Meanwhile, Playoff contenders Stewart Friesen, Carson Hocevar and Grant Enfinger were in 13th, 15th and 16th, respectively.

    By Lap 20, Majeski continued to lead by a tenth of a second over Nemechek, who relaunched and eventually overtook Majeski for the lead, followed by Eckes and Heim while Zane Smith moved his No. 38 Hamsters USA Ford F-150 into the top five. Ryan Preece also moved his No. 17 Morton Buildings Ford F-150 up to sixth while Chandler Smith fell back to seventh in front of Derek Kraus, Crafton and Rhodes.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 30, Nemechek, who reclaimed the lead on Lap 21, captured his fifth stage victory of the 2022 season. Majeski settled in second while Eckes, Heim, Zane Smith, Preece, Kraus, Chandler Smith, Crafton and Tanner Gray were scored in the top 10. With their results at the conclusion of the first stage, Nemechek and Zane Smith clinched spots for the Round of 8 in the Playoffs, joining Chandler Smith and Grant Enfinger.

    Under the stage break, the leaders led by Nemechek pitted and Nemechek exited with the lead followed by Eckes, Majeski, Heim, Preece and Gray.

    The second stage started on Lap 37 as Nemechek and Eckes occupied the front row. At the start, Nemechek rocketed with another strong start on the inside lane to retain the lead followed by Majeski while Eckes and Preece battled for third place. Behind, Heim muscled his way into fifth after overtaking Rhodes and Zane Smith through Turns 3 and 4 as the field jostled for positions.

    At the Lap 45 mark, Nemechek was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Eckes while Zane Smith, Preece and Majeski were in the top five. Heim fell back to sixth followed by Tyler Ankrum, Ben Rhodes, Crafton and Kraus while Carson Hocevar, Tanner Gray, Enfinger, Chandler Smith, Parker Kligerman, Bret Holmes, Matt DiBenedetto, Brett Moffitt, Colby Howard and Chase Purdy were in the top 20. Meanwhile, Friesen was mired back in 22nd in front of Hailie Deegan.

    Then with four laps remaining in the second stage, the caution flew when Bayley Currey spun the No. 44 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST below the apron on the frontstretch entering Turn 1. Currey’s incident was enough for the second stage scheduled to conclude on Lap 60 to conclude under caution as Nemechek captured his sixth stage victory of the season. Zane Smith settled in second followed by Preece, Eckes, Heim, Majeski, Ankrum, Kraus, Crafton and Hocevar were scored in the top 10. With his result in the second stage, Majeski secured a spot for the Playoff’s Round of 8.

    Under the stage break, the leaders led by Nemechek returned to pit road and Nemechek retained the lead following another quick pit service from his pit crew followed by Preece, Heim, Zane Smith, Kraus and Enfinger. Following the pit stops, Friesen pitted for a second time for adjustments to his spoiler.

    With 70 laps remaining, the final stage started as Nemechek and Preece occupied the front row. At the start, Nemechek retained the lead followed by teammate Heim and Preece as the field fanned out entering the first two turns and through the backstretch. Not long after, the caution returned when Kaden Honeycutt made contact with rookie Dean Thompson before spinning in the backstretch.

    During the following restart with 65 laps remaining, Nemechek received a push from teammate Heim to retain the lead while Preece, who restarted as the first competitor on the outside lane, was being overtaken by Heim and Zane Smith. While the field fanned out for positions amid Derek Kraus barely scrapping the outside wall in the frontstretch, Nemechek retained a steady advantage followed by Zane Smith, Heim, Preece and Enfinger while Christian Eckes, who was battling above the top-eight cutline to make the Round of 8 in his No. 98 CMR Construction & Roof Toyota Tundra TRD Pro was in sixth.

    Four laps later, the caution returned when the No. 22 AM Racing Chevrolet Silverado RST piloted by Brett Moffitt went up in smoke due to an engine loss entering the frontstretch. As Timmy Hill spun through the frontstretch grass after getting into the spilled oil, Moffitt’s truck erupted in flames as the driver quickly stopped below the apron in the frontstretch and retired. During the caution period, some like Hocevar, DiBenedetto, Colby Howard, Bailey Currey, Kaz Grala, Kaden Honeycutt and rookie Lawless Alan pitted while the rest led by Nemechek remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Hocevar pitted for a second time to top off on fuel.

    With 53 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Nemechek received another strong push from teammate Heim’s No. 51 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to retain the lead as Eckes launched a brief attack on Heim for the runner-up spot before the latter prevailed. With Heim in second, Eckes retained third ahead of Zane Smith, Preece and Enfinger.

    Thirteen laps later and with 40 laps remaining, Nemechek was out in front by more than a second over Zane Smith followed by Preece, Heim and Enfinger while Chandler Smith, Eckes, Majeski, Ankrum and Chase Purdy were in the top 10. By then, Playoff contenders Rhodes, Crafton, Hocevar and Friesen were in 12th, 14th, 16th and 17th, respectively.

    Then with 32 laps remaining, green flag pit stops ensued as the leader Nemechek pitted his No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro followed by teammate Chandler Smith, who won the previous Truck event at Richmond Raceway to secure his spot into the Round of 8. Zane Smith soon followed along with Majeski, Chase Purdy, Rhodes, Preece, Tyler Ankrum, Parker Kligerman, Friesen, Enfinger, Heim, Bret Holmes, Eckes and Crafton. During the pit stops, Purdy was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    Back on the track and with 28 laps remaining, Hocevar, who last pitted on Lap 80 to top off on fuel and opted to stretch his fuel tank to the finish, was in the lead followed by teammate Currey while Colby Howard, DiBenedetto and Hailie Deegan were in the top five.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Hocevar continued to lead by more than six seconds over teammate Currey while Colby Howard and DiBenedetto retained third and fourth, respectively. Meanwhile, Nemechek, the first competitor racing on four fresh tires and a full tank of gas, was in fifth, trailing Hocevar by 12 seconds but blazing his way through the leaderboard with a fast truck.

    Six laps later, Nemechek navigated his way into the runner-up spot after zipping by Currey. By then, he was scored eight seconds behind Hocevar’s No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado RST.

    With 10 laps remaining, Hocevar, who continued to run strong in spite of a low gas tank, retained the lead by five seconds over Nemechek while Zane Smith, Currey and Preece were in the top five.

    With five laps remaining, Hocevar, who was carving his way through lapped traffic, was still out in front by nearly two seconds over Nemechek, who was also mired in the lapped traffic, among which included Crafton’s No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Hocevar was leading by a tenth of a second over a hard-charging Nemechek, who cleared the lapped traffic and was right on Hocevar’s bumper. Then entering Turn 1, Nemechek bolted his truck beneath Hocevar and reassumed the lead entering the backstretch. With Hocevar shaking his truck after running out of fuel and losing ground entering the backstretch, Nemechek was able to cruise away with an increasing advantage through the final two turns and cycle back to the frontstretch to capture his second checkered flag of the 2022 season.

    With the victory that took him another step closer to achieving his first NASCAR national touring series championship, Nemechek grabbed his second Camping World Truck Series victory of the season, his first since winning at Darlington Raceway in May and his 13th career win in his 143rd series start. He also recorded his second NASCAR national touring series victory at Kansas since winning the Xfinity Kansas event in 2018 and the eighth victory of the season for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

    “It’s huge,” Nemechek said on FS1. “I can’t thank [the crew] enough for the truck they gave me tonight. The Toyota Tundra TRD Pro was absolutely on rails. Qualified on the pole, led a ton of laps, won both stages and won the race. We came here really good points-wise. It played out in our favor to go get some more Playoff points going into the next round. [It] Puts us in a good spot. We have some momentum on our side going into Bristol [Motor Speedway]. I think this one is even sweeter. It’s been a really tough week for myself, mentally, emotionally, things you just can’t control. It feels good to come out here and cap it off with a win and show who I am…Just proud of all my guys, proud to get back to Victory Lane. Second [win] of the year. We’re behind from last year, but I said I would rather win five races in the Playoffs and go win a championship than win five in the regular season. We’re gonna try and do that.”

    While Nemechek was left smiling on the frontstretch, Hocevar, who ran out of fuel on the final lap while trying to execute his late strategy but managed to coast across the finish line in second place, was left heartbroken on pit road for two reasons: the first was falling one lap short of claiming his first elusive Truck career win and the second was being one of two competitors to be eliminated from the 2022 Truck Series Playoffs. The final standings showed Hocevar missing the cutline to the Round of 8 by three points over Christian Eckes, who finished 10th.

    “I don’t know how you’re supposed to handle these,” Hocevar, who led 28 laps compared to Nemechek’s 88, said. “As many times as I’ve come and close, I should be used to this. I’m gonna be my bridesmaid at my own wedding. I don’t know. I thought I saved too much [fuel]. I could have gone harder and built a gap, but into [Turn] 3 coming to take the white flag, I started sputtering. I knew it was game over. [Kraus] had an issue [earlier] and I lost three seconds there. Looking back, I wished I would’ve gotten those back, but [crew chief] Phil Gould made a hell of a call. Even I didn’t see it. Fifty-six [laps] to go. There’s gonna be a yellow [flag], right? Cutoff race. It’s the Truck Series of all things…Just got beat. [I] Had the winning strategy. Just, obviously, didn’t work out.”

    Meanwhile, Ryan Preece came home in third place while Zane Smith and Enfinger finished in the top five. Chandler Smith settled in sixth place while teammate, Heim, then, Majeski, Colby Howard and Eckes completed the top 10 on the track.

    Zane Smith, Chandler Smith, John Hunter Nemechek, Ben Rhodes, Stewart Friesen, Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger and Christian Eckes have transferred to the Round of 8 in the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs. Carson Hocevar and Matt Crafton have been eliminated from Playoff and championship contention for this season.

    “It’s just part of it,” Crafton, who missed the cutline by 10 points, said. “We sucked all year. To even get to the Playoffs was a feat in itself. To be in going into this race, just by three [points], that says a lot. It’s only the second race I’ve worked with [crew chief] Shane [Wilson]. We made the mistake. I’ve never ran some of the setup stuff that we ran tonight and I had [Wilson] jump the fence. I just had him tighten [the truck] up or free it up a little bit too much on the second run, and then we ended up going to the back and tightening it too much.

    “Just him learning some of my lingo of what I’m saying and what he’s doing. Put in our notebook and keeping working on it because the truck had a lot of speed earlier today and in qualifying. It is what it is. We were terrible all year. To even get to where we were, I just can’t thank these guys enough for how hard they’ve worked and how hard they’ve been kicked because it’s the baddest we’ve been. We have four of five more [races] to go. We can go out and don’t worry about points anymore and go about worry about wins.”

    There were 11 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 25 laps.

    Results.

    1. John Hunter Nemechek, 88 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    2. Carson Hocevar, 28 laps led

    3. Ryan Preece

    4. Zane Smith, two laps led

    5. Grant Enfinger, one lap led

    6. Chandler Smith

    7. Corey Heim

    8. Ty Majeski, 14 laps led

    9. Colby Howard

    10. Christian Eckes, one lap led

    11. Parker Kligerman

    12. Matt DiBenedetto

    13. Ben Rhodes

    14. Tyler Ankrum

    15. Matt Crafton, one lap down

    16. Tanner Gray, one lap down

    17. Bret Holmes, one lap down

    18. Kaz Grala, one lap down

    19. Timmy Hill, one lap down

    20. Stewart Friesen, one lap down

    21. Derek Kraus, one lap down

    22. Hailie Deegan, one lap down

    23. Dean Thompson, one lap down

    24. Kaden Honeycutt, one lap down

    25. Chase Purdy, two laps down

    26. Jack Wood, two laps down

    27. Bayley Currey, two laps down

    28. Jesse Little, two laps down

    29. Tyler Hill, four laps down

    30. Blaine Perkins, four laps down

    31. Lawless Alan, four laps down

    32. Mason Maggio, eight laps down

    33. Spencer Boyd, 10 laps down

    34. Brennan Poole, 11 laps down

    35. Armani Williams – OUT, Too slow

    36. Brett Moffitt – OUT, Engine

    Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. Zane Smith – Advanced

    2. Chandler Smith – Advanced

    3. John Hunter Nemechek – Advanced

    4. Ben Rhodes – Advanced

    5. Stewart Friesen – Advanced

    6. Ty Majeski – Advanced

    7. Grant Enfinger – Advanced

    8. Christian Eckes – Advanced

    9. Carson Hocevar – Eliminated

    10. Matt Crafton – Eliminated

    The Round of 8 in the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs is set to commence next Thursday, September 15, at Bristol Motor Speedway. The event’s coverage is scheduled to occur at 9 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • GMS Racing to achieve a combined 650 Truck Series starts at Kansas

    GMS Racing to achieve a combined 650 Truck Series starts at Kansas

    GMS Racing is set to achieve a milestone start in the team’s 10th season with one start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. When GMS competitors Grant Enfinger and rookie Jack Wood take the green flag in this weekend’s Playoff event at Kansas Speedway, GMS Racing will reach a combined 650 career starts in the Truck circuit.

    GMS Racing, which was established by Allegiant Travel Company CEO Maurice Gallagher and is currently based in Statesville, North Carolina, made its inaugural presence during the 2011 ARCA Menards Series season. Two years later, the team expanded its program into the Camping World Truck Series and attempted to compete in five events with the No. 21 Chevrolet Silverado piloted by Spencer Gallagher, son of Maurice Gallagher. Throughout the season, Spencer Gallagher managed to qualify for three events as he finished 22nd at Kansas Speedway in April, 20th at Texas Motor Speedway and 32nd at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, respectively.

    In 2014, GMS Racing fielded the No. 21 Chevrolet Silverado as a full-time entry for Joey Coulter. The team also fielded the Nos. 23 and 33 Chevrolet Silverados on a part-time basis, where Spencer Gallagher, Max Gresham and Brandon Jones piloted the entries. Throughout the season, Jones, who piloted the No. 33 truck in two events, finished 32nd and 12th at Martinsville Speedway in October and at Phoenix Raceway in November, respectively. Gallagher and Gresham each recorded a top-10 result in the No. 23 Chevrolet, with Gallagher earning a strong third-place result at Talladega Superspeedway in October. Coulter, meanwhile, earned three top-five results, 10 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 13.1 throughout the 22-race schedule before finishing in seventh place in the final drivers’ standings.

    Photo by Kirk Schroll for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    During the following season, Coulter, who did not compete due to a lack of funding, became team relationships coordinator for GMS while the No. 21 entry made a single appearance at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October, where Brennan Poole piloted the truck to an 11th-place result. The Nos. 23 and 33 Chevrolet Silverado entries became full-time entries, with Spencer Gallagher driving the No. 23 truck while Brandon Jones, Austin Dillon and Ty Dillon split the No. 33 ride. At New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September, Austin Dillon recorded the first NASCAR career victory for GMS Racing after leading a race-high 80 of 175-scheduled laps en route to his seventh Truck career victory from pole position. To go along with the victory, the Dillon brothers recorded a combined two poles, four top-five results and five top-10 results in six starts in the No. 33 entry while Jones, who made two starts, earned his best result of the season in 12th place at Phoenix in November. In his first full-time campaign in NASCAR, Gallagher notched his career-best result of second place at World Wide Technology Raceway in June along with a total of six top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 14.6 before finishing in 10th place in the 2015 standings.

    The 2016 season featured a major addition to GMS Racing’s Truck driver lineup as veteran Johnny Sauter was named a full-time competitor of the No. 21 Chevrolet Silverado entry, where he competed alongside the No. 23 entry retained by Spencer Gallagher and the No. 33 truck split between newcomers Grant Enfinger and Kaz Grala. GMS also debuted the No. 24 Chevrolet Silverado entry that competed on a part-time basis while split between Kyle Larson, Clint Bowyer, Shane Lee, Grala and Enfinger. In May, Ben Kennedy joined the team’s lineup, where he split time between the Nos. 24 and 33 entries, after departing Red Horse Racing. The team’s highlights throughout the 16-race regular-season schedule included Sauter winning in his debut with GMS at Daytona International Speedway in February and Kennedy notching his first career win in the No. 33 Chevrolet at Bristol Motor Speedway in August. The victories made by Sauter and Kennedy were enough for both to qualify for the inaugural Truck Series Playoffs. Meanwhile, Spencer Gallagher drove the No. 23 Chevrolet to six top-10 results throughout the regular season, which were not enough for him to make the Playoffs, while the No. 24 GMS entry earned a victory at Eldora Speedway in July with Larson along with six top-10 results. Through six of the seven-race Playoff stretch, GMS earned three additional victories after Enfinger drove the No. 24 Chevrolet to his first career win at Talladega Superspeedway in October while Sauter achieved back-to-back wins at Martinsville Speedway and at Texas Motor Speedway between October and November. The Playoff victories made by Sauter were enough to transfer the Wisconsin veteran and the No. 21 team all the way to the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November. During the finale, Sauter achieved the first NASCAR championship for himself and for GMS Racing after finishing third on the track and ahead of title rivals Matt Crafton, Christopher Bell and Timothy Peters. Overall, the 2016 season was a breakout season for GMS Racing, which went to Victory Lane six times and achieved its first NASCAR national touring series championship, and for Sauter, who achieved his first multi-win season (three), racked up the most top-five (12) and top-10 results (19) in his career and earned his first NASCAR title. While Sauter earned the title, Kennedy finished in seventh place in the final standings after being eliminated from title contention following the Round of 6 while Gallagher, who achieved his first two career poles, ended up in 12th place.

    Photo by Ted Seminara for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    Embarking the 2017 season as the reigning champion, Sauter retained his seat in the No. 21 Chevrolet while Kaz Grala graduated to a full-time driving role in the No. 33 Chevrolet. The No. 24 Chevrolet also became a full-time entry for Justin Haley, the reigning K&N Pro Series East champion. Haley, however, was not allowed to compete in the first two scheduled events at Daytona and at Atlanta due to age restrictions, with the events filled by Scott Lagasse Jr. and Alex Bowman, respectively. Lastly, the No. 23 Chevrolet appeared for only the first three events of the schedule, with Spencer Gallagher driving at Daytona while Chase Elliott competed at Atlanta and Martinsville. Throughout the season, Elliott recorded the lone victory for the No. 23 entry at Martinsville in March while the No. 24 entry achieved a total of 13 top-10 results made between Lagasse, Bowman and Haley. Despite commencing his first season in the Truck Series at Martinsville in March and recording 10 top-10 results throughout the 16-race regular-season stretch, Haley did not make the Playoffs. Nonetheless, he went on to finish in the top 10 twice during the seven-race Playoff stretch before capping off his first Truck season in 12th place in the drivers’ standings. Meanwhile, Grala commenced his first full-time Truck season by becoming the youngest competitor to win both a pole and race at Daytona at age 18 after he dodged a multi-truck wreck on the final lap to capture his first NASCAR career victory in February. He went on to record five additional top-10 results for the remaining 15 regular-season events before entering the 2017 Truck Playoffs as a title contender. His title hopes, however, came to an early end following respective finishes of 10th, fifth and 29th during the Round of 8. He went on to finish in the top 10 three times during the final four-scheduled events before settling in seventh place in the final standings. Like Grala, Sauter secured his spot for the 2017 Playoffs on the strength of winning at Dover in May and at Chicagoland in September. After recording consistent top-10 results to transfer to the Round of 8, Sauter notched back-to-back victories at Texas and Phoenix in November, respectively, to advance to the Championship Round at Homestead for a second consecutive season. During the finale, however, Sauter finished third on the track, one spot behind Christopher Bell as Bell claimed the championship while Sauter, who was unable to defend his series title, was left with a runner-up result in the final standings coupled with four victories, 13 top-five results, 19 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 6.3. Despite falling short of defending its title, GMS Racing tied its career-high number of victories as an organization in a season at six.

    Photo by Simon Scoggins for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    Sauter and Haley remained as drivers of the Nos. 21 and 24 GMS entries for the 2018 season while the team welcomed Cody Coughlin and Dalton Sargeant as drivers of the newly-formed Nos. 2 and 25 Chevrolets, respectively. Midway into the season, however, Sargeant, who earned four top-10 results throughout the 16-race regular-season stretch, and Coughlin, who earned six top-10 results in 18 starts, were released from the team and both of their entries were piloted by multiple competitors that included Timothy Peters, Sheldon Creed, Spencer Gallagher and Tyler Dippel for the closing stretch of the season during the Playoffs. The No. 2 team concluded the season in 14th place in the owners’ standings, one spot behind the No. 25 GMS team that went to Victory Lane with Peters at Talladega in October. Meanwhile, Sauter and Haley achieved great on-track success, which started with both finishing first and second at Daytona in February that was won by Sauter. During the next nine scheduled events, Sauter racked up additional victories at Dover Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and at Texas Motor Speedway between May and June while Haley earned his first Truck career victory at World Wide Technology Raceway in June. Sauter proceeded to win the regular-season finale at Bristol Motor Speedway in August and clinch the 2018 Truck regular-season title as he and Haley entered the Playoffs with momentum. Haley commenced the Playoffs on a high note by winning at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in August after overtaking a spinning Todd Gilliland and Noah Gragson on the final lap and final corner. After Sauter won at Martinsville in October and Haley won at Texas following a dramatic final lap overtake on Gilliland, both solidified spots for the Championship 4 finale at Homestead. During the finale, however, Haley finished eighth on the track, four spots ahead of teammate Sauter, as he and Sauter concluded the season in third and fourth place in the final drivers’ standings. Ultimately, the 2018 season produced GMS Racing’s highest number of victories in a season at 10.    

    Photo by Don Dunn for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    In 2019, Brett Moffitt, the reigning Truck Series champion who was released by his championship-winning team Hattori Racing Enterprises, joined GMS Racing to drive the No. 24 Chevrolet Silverado in a quest to defend his series title, where he replaced Justin Haley as Haley moved up to the Xfinity Series. GMS also hired Sheldon Creed, the reigning ARCA Menards Series champion who drove the No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado on a full-time basis, and newcomer Sam Mayer, who piloted the No. 21 Chevrolet in three events after Sauter parted ways from the organization. Mayer’s best on-track result was 19th at Phoenix in November while Creed, who did not make the Playoffs, notched two runner-up results, four top-five results, 11 top-10 results, a 10th-place result in the final standings and a runner-up result in the Rookie-of-the-Year standings during his first full-time Truck campaign. For Moffitt, he recorded five top-10 results during the first nine-scheduled events before being awarded his first victory of the season at Iowa in June. The victory occurred after NASCAR disqualified initial winner Ross Chastain due to his truck failing the post-race inspection process, thus prompting NASCAR to award the win for the runner-up finisher Moffitt. Two races later, he earned his first win of the season at Chicagoland before the 2019 Playoffs commenced. Moffitt’s pursuit to defend his title commenced on a strong note by winning the first two Playoff events at Bristol and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in September, respectively, as he transferred from the Round of 8 to 6. Despite finishing 29th at Martinsville, Moffitt utilized consistency to transfer to the Championship Round at Homestead for a second consecutive season. He was unable to defend his title after finishing fifth on the track and third in the final standings. Overall, Moffitt achieved four wins, three poles, 13 top-five results, 17 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 8.8 in his first season with GMS.

    Photo by Tim Jarrold for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    The 2020 Truck Series season featured a major expansion for GMS Racing in the series, where the team fielded five entries: the No. 2 Chevrolet for Creed, the No. 21 Chevrolet for rookie Zane Smith, the No. 23 Chevrolet for Moffitt, the newly-formed No. 26 Chevrolet for Tyler Ankrum and the No. 24 Chevrolet for multiple competitors that included Chase Elliott, Chase Purdy, Justin Haley, David Gravel, Kris Wright, Sam Mayer and Greg Biffle. Commencing the season by placing four of its five trucks in the top 10 at Daytona, GMS achieved its first Truck victory of the season at Charlotte in May when Elliott claimed a $100,000 bounty by beating Kyle Busch. The Charlotte event was also a banner event for GMS as teammates Zane Smith, Moffitt and Creed finished in the top five. Throughout the 16-race regular-season stretch, Creed piloted the No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado to his first three career victories in the series at Kentucky Speedway in July followed by Daytona International Speedway Road Course and World Wide Technology Raceway in August. Smith also earned his first two career victories in the series after winning at Michigan International Speedway and at Dover International Speedway in August following two-lap shootouts. The victories enabled Creed and Smith to make the 2020 Truck Playoffs along with Moffitt and Ankrum, both of whom made it in on points. Mayer then spoiled the start of the 2020 Truck Playoffs by claiming his first career win at Bristol after beating teammate Moffitt by more than four seconds. While Creed, Moffitt, Smith and Ankrum transferred from the Round of 8 to 6, Moffitt and Creed earned respective wins at Kansas Speedway and at Texas Motor Speedway in October to qualify for the Championship Round at Phoenix Raceway in November. Smith also transferred to the finale by three points while Ankrum failed to transfer past the Round of 6. During the finale, Creed utilized fresh tires to go from ninth to first during a two-lap shootout to win the 2020 Truck Series championship, which marked his first NASCAR national touring series title in his second season in the series and second for GMS in the Truck circuit. To go along with the championship, the 2020 Truck season was a memorable one for GMS as Zane Smith settled in second place in the final standings and captured the 2020 Truck Rookie-of-the-Year title while Moffitt, who initially had the championship lead within his grasp during the finale prior to the two-lap shootout, concluded the season in third place in the final standings, thus giving GMS a 1-2-3 in the final drivers’ standings. In total, GMS achieved a combined 10 victories, 33 top-five results and 59 top-10 results with its extensive drive lineup.

    Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images.
    Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images.

    Coming off their second championship, GMS Racing remained as a five-truck operation in 2021 while retaining Creed, Smith and Ankrum to the Nos. 2, 21 and 26 Chevrolets, respectively. The only changes made to the team included assigning Chase Purdy to a full-time role in the No. 23 Chevrolet and welcoming Raphaël Lessard to drive the No. 24 Chevrolet. Following the first seven scheduled events, however, Lessard, whose best finish of the season was third at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course in March, was released due to funding issues as the No. 24 Chevrolet was split between Ryan Reed, Chase Elliott, Doug Coby and rookie Jack Wood for the remaining 15 events. The lone highlight for GMS throughout the 15-race regular-season stretch was when Creed won at Darlington Raceway in May following a two-lap shootout. While Creed and Smith qualified for the 2021 Playoffs, Ankrum and Purdy did not accumulate enough points to make the postseason battle for the title. Once the Playoffs commenced, Creed notched back-to-back victories at World Wide Technology Raceway and at Darlington between August and September to transfer from the Round of 10 to 8. Then at Martinsville in October, Smith, who also transferred to the Round of 8, prevailed in a two-lap shootout to win and punch his ticket to the Championship Round finale at Phoenix for a second consecutive season. Creed, however, failed to transfer to the finale nor have the opportunity to defend his title by four points. During the finale, Smith was in position to achieve his first Truck title until he was overtaken by Ben Rhodes with eight laps remaining and ended up in the runner-up spot in the final standings for a second consecutive season. Creed finished fifth in the final standings, Ankrum ended up 15th and Purdy, who was absent for one event at Watkins Glen International in August following a positive COVID-19 test and was replaced by AJ Allmendinger, fell back to 19th. The No. 24 “all-star” entry settled in 18th place in the final owners’ standings on the strength of four top-10 results.

    At the start of this season, GMS Racing scaled back to fielding two full-time entries in the Truck circuit: the No. 24 Chevrolet Silverado RST for Jack Wood and the No. 23 Chevrolet Silverado RST for Grant Enfinger, who reunited with the organization since 2016. Despite recording seven top-10 results throughout the 16-race regular-season stretch, Enfinger secured a spot for the 2022 Truck Playoffs based on points. He then rose to the occasion during the first Playoff event at Lucas Oil Raceway in late July by charging from fourth to first during a two-lap shootout to record his first victory of the season and the seventh of his career. With his latest result being a fourth-place run at Richmond in August, Enfinger is currently guaranteed a spot for the Round of 8 in the Playoffs by virtue of winning at Lucas Oil Raceway. Meanwhile, Wood’s highest on-track result is 13th, which occurred at Atlanta in March. To go along with a total of five top-20 results and an average-finishing result of 25.2, he is ranked in fourth place in the Rookie-of-the-Year standings.

    Through a combined 648 starts, GMS Racing has achieved two championships, 42 victories, 14 poles, 158 top-five results, 308 top-10 results and 5,239 laps led with 36 different competitors.

    GMS Racing is set to achieve a combined 650 career starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Kansas Speedway on Friday, September 9. The start of the event is scheduled to occur at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Bell to make 100th Cup career start at Kansas

    Bell to make 100th Cup career start at Kansas

    Competing in his third full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Christopher Bell is scheduled to achieve a milestone start. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s Playoff event at Kansas Speedway, the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota TRD Camry will achieve 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Norman, Oklahoma, and a champion of the Camping World Truck Series in 2017, Bell made his inaugural presence in the Cup Series during the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in February 2020. By then, he was coming off two full-time seasons in the Xfinity Series that was highlighted with 15 victories and two Championship Round appearances. Driving the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Toyota Camry, Bell finished 21st in his Cup debut after being involved in a late multi-car wreck while running towards the front.

    After finishing no higher than 21st during the first five scheduled events, Bell managed to finish 11th at Darlington Raceway in May before achieving his first top-10 career result in the Cup circuit by finishing ninth in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Despite collecting his first top-five career result at Pocono Raceway in June along with three additional top-10 results throughout the regular season stretch, he struggled with maintaining on-track consistency as he did not make the 2020 Cup Playoffs. During the final 10 scheduled events, he managed to finish 10th at Kansas Speedway and collect a season-best third-place result at Texas Motor Speedway in October before settling in 20th place in the final standings.

    When Leavine Family Racing ceased operations following the 2020 NASCAR season, Bell reunited with Joe Gibbs Racing, the team he competed in two full-time Xfinity seasons, to pilot the No. 20 Toyota Camry, where he replaced Erik Jones. After finishing 16th in the 63rd running of the Daytona 500, Bell scored his first Cup career victory during the following weekend at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course after passing Joey Logano prior to the final lap. The victory made Bell the 197th different competitor to win in NASCAR’s premier series and the 11th to do so for Joe Gibbs Racing as he snapped a one-year winless drought for JGR’s No. 20 team. In the process, Bell became the first Oklahoma competitor to win in the Cup Series.

    Following his breakthrough victory at Daytona, Bell notched three additional top-five results, including two runner-up results (Road America in June and New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July), and nine top-10 results before making his first entrance in the Playoffs as one of 16 competitors vying for the 2021 title. Despite finishing 20th, third and 29th respectively in the Round of 16, he was one of 12 competitors to advance to the Round of 12. His title hopes, however, came to an end during the second round after finishing 24th, fifth and eighth respectively. Nonetheless, Bell finished in the top 10 three times during the final four scheduled events before settling in 12th place in the final standings. By then, he nearly quadrupled his top-five results achieved in a season from two to seven, doubled his top-10 results from seven to 16 and improved his average-finishing result from 20.3 to 15.8 in comparison to his rookie Cup season.

    Remaining at Joe Gibbs Racing in 2022, Bell rallied from finishing no higher than 10th through the first five scheduled events by notching nine top-10 results through the following 14 events. By then, he had achieved his first three career poles in the Cup circuit. He then became the 14th different winner of the 2022 Cup Series season after earning his second career victory at New Hampshire in July. The New Hampshire victory along with a total of seven top-five results, 14 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 14.5 throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch were enough for him to make his second consecutive appearance in the Cup Series Playoffs. Coming off a fifth-place run in the Playoff opener at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500, Bell is ranked in fourth place in the Playoff standings and is 28 points above the top-12 cutline to transfer into the Round of 12 field, which will be determined at Bristol Motor Speedway in mid-September.

    Through 99 previous Cup starts, Bell has achieved two victories, three poles, 17 top-five results, 38 top-10 results, 380 laps led and an average-finishing result of 17.0 while he pursues his first Cup Series title.

    Bell is scheduled to make his 100th Cup Series career start at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, September 11, with the event’s coverage scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • McLaughlin retains championship hopes with dominant IndyCar victory at Portland

    McLaughlin retains championship hopes with dominant IndyCar victory at Portland

    Faced with a long shot but not out of the picture, Scott McLaughlin kept his 2022 NTT IndyCar Series championship hopes alive with a dominant win in the Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway on Sunday, September 4.

    The 29-year-old McLaughlin from Hamilton, New Zealand, commenced his dominant weekend by qualifying on pole position on Saturday. During the main event on Sunday, he led a race-high 104 of the 110-scheduled laps and prevailed during a restart with 22 laps remaining to fend off teammate Will Power and Scott Dixon to capture the third IndyCar career victory of his career and of this season. The victory decreased McLaughlin’s deficit to teammate and points leader Will Power from 54 to 41 as he will be one of five competitors entering next weekend’s season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca with a mathematical opportunity to contend for the title.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Scott McLaughlin claimed his third pole position of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 121.412 mph in 58.2349 seconds. Teammate Josef Newgarden initially posted the second-best qualifying lap at 121.249 mph in 58.3129 seconds, but he dropped six spots on the starting grid to eighth for an unapproved engine change stemming from the previous IndyCar event at World Wide Technology Raceway. As a result, teammate and points leader Will Power started on the front row alongside McLaughlin after posting his best qualifying lap at 121.016 mph in 58.4482 seconds.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, McLaughlin muscled ahead with an early advantage through the first three turns while rookie Christian Lundgaard made a move to overtake Will Power for the runner-up spot. As the field proceeded through the twists and turns around Portland for a full lap and while Romain Grosjean went off the track, McLaughlin led the first lap ahead of Lundgaard, Power, Pato O’Ward and Alex Palou.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, McLaughlin was leading by more than two seconds over Lundgaard followed by Power, O’Ward and Palou while David Malukas, Felix Rosenqvist, Colton Herta, Alexander Rossi and Graham Rahal were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Josef Newgarden was back in 11th ahead of Rinus VeeKay, rookie Callum Ilott, Scott Dixon and rookie Kyle Kirkwood. Jack Harvey was in 16th followed by Conor Daly, Helio Castroneves, Marcus Ericsson and rookie Devlin DeFrancesco while Simon Pagenaud, Takuma Sato, Romain Grosjean, Dalton Kellett and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the 25-car field.

    Five laps later and 10 laps into the event, McLaughlin continued to lead by three seconds over Lundgaard while Power, O’Ward and Palou retained their spots in the top five. By then, Simon Pagenaud pitted for a new set of alternate Firestone tires to his No. 60 SiriusXM Dallara-Honda. Another two laps later, Grosjean pitted for alternate tires to his No. 28 DHL Dallara-Honda.

    By Lap 15, names like Dixon, Kirkwood, Jack Harvey, Newgarden, Helio Castroneves and Jimmie Johnson pitted for alternate tires as the cycle of tire strategies proceeded. During the following lap, Palou and VeeKay also pitted followed by David Malukas, Colton Herta, Rosenqvist, Alexander Rossi and Conor Daly.

    At the Lap 20 mark, McLaughlin remained as the leader by more than three seconds over Lundgaard followed by Graham Rahal, Ilott and Ericsson. By then, O’Ward pitted his No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet under green. Another lap later, McLaughlin surrendered the lead to pit his No. 3 Freightliner Dallara-Chevrolet.

    Once the remaining competitors who had yet to pit pitted, among which included Lundgaard, Rahal and Ilott, McLaughlin cycled his way back to the lead on Lap 24. By then, Ericsson was in second while Power, Lundgaard and O’Ward were in the top five. Palou carved his No. 10 Ridgeline Lubricants Dallara-Honda to sixth followed by Newgarden, Rahal, Herta, Rossi and Ilott, who was stalling Scott Dixon and VeeKay while running in the final top-10 spot.

    Through the first 35 scheduled laps, McLaughlin was leading by more than eight seconds over teammate Power followed by Lundgaard, O’Ward and Palou while Newgarden, Rahal, Herta, Rossi and Dixon were in the top 10. By then, Ericsson pitted his No. 8 PNC Bank Dallara-Honda three laps earlier for alternative tires. Meanwhile, Grosjean, who was in 22nd, was given a penalty for shorcutting the course.

    Ten laps later, McLaughlin stabilized his advantage to more than six seconds over teammate Power. While Lundgaard and O’Ward were in third and fourth, Newgarden navigated his No. 2 Hitachi Dallara-Chevrolet into the top five as he was in fifth followed by Rahal, Herta, Rossi, Dixon and VeeKay. By then, Palou, who was initially battling for sixth with Rahal, pitted along with Pagenaud, Grosjean, Rosenqvist, Jack Harvey and Kirkwood. Newgarden would pit during Laps 46 along with Dixon, Castroneves, Jimmie Johnson, Lundgaard and VeeKay.

    Nearing the Lap 50 mark, McLaughlin surrendered the lead to pit for a second time followed by O’Ward while Rahal emerged with the lead. By then, Herta, Malukas, Conor Daly and David Malukas also pitted. Once Lap 50 struck, McLaughlin cycled his way back to the lead after Rahal pitted his No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Dallara-Honda under green.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 55, McLaughlin was the leader by six seconds over teammate Power followed by O’Ward and a tight battle for fourth place between Newgarden and Lundgaard. Rahal was in sixth ahead of Rossi, Dixon and Herta while VeeKay battled and overtook Palou for 10th place. Meanwhile, Ericsson and DeFrancesco made a pit stop under green along with Sato.

    With 40 laps remaining, McLaughlin retained the lead by four seconds over teammate Power, who had O’Ward closing in in a bid for the runner-up spot as Power was also catching the lapped No. 48 Carvana Dallara-Honda driven by Jimmie Johnson. Newgarden remained in fourth as he started to catch teammate Power and O’Ward while Lundgaard, Rahal, Rossi, Dixon, Herta and VeeKay occupied the top 10. Behind, Palou retained 11th ahead of Callum Ilott while Kirkwood, Rosenqvist and Malukas were in the top 15.

    Two laps later, Conor Daly was the first retiree of the event after his No. 20 BitNile Dallara-Chevrolet caught on fire while trying to exit his pit stall upon a completed service.

    Another five laps later and with 32 laps remaining, McLaughlin stabilized his advantage to more than three seconds over teammate Power, who was able to pull away from O’Ward and Newgarden with no lapped traffic interfering in his charge towards teammate McLaughlin. By then, names like Rossi, Lundgaard, Dixon, VeeKay, Palou, Kirkwood, Jack Harvey and Castroneves pitted. During the pit stops, Lundgaard stalled his No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Dallara-Honda in his pit lane.

    During the following lap, McLaughlin led teammates Power and Newgarden along with O’Ward, Rahal, Herta, Ilott and Malukas to pit road for service. Once the pit stops were complete with less than 30 laps remaining, McLaughlin, who despite endured a slow pit stop while trying to navigate his way around Rosenqvist, was back ahead by a second over teammate Power while third-place O’Ward trailed by two seconds. Ericsson, who has yet to pit, was in fourth while Newgarden was mired in fifth.

    Then with 27 laps remaining, the first caution of the event flew when VeeKay turned to the left and sent Jimmie Johnson into the outside wall in Turn 1 as Johnson’s long afternoon came to an end with a wrecked No. 48 Honda.

    Down to the final 22 laps of the event, the race restarted under green as McLaughlin retained the lead. Entering the first turn, O’Ward made a bold move beneath Power as both made contact, but Power fended off O’Ward to remain in second as the field jumbled up through the first three turns. In the midst of the scramble, Dixon moved his No. 9 PNC Bank Dallara-Honda to fourth place after overtaking both Newgarden and Rossi.

    A lap later, O’Ward, who continued with minimal damage to his No. 5 Chevrolet, was penalized and forced to surrender third place to Dixon for blocking Dixon while making his move and eventual contact with Power during the restart.

    With less than 20 laps remaining, McLaughlin was the leader by less than two seconds over teammate Power while third-place Dixon trailed by nearly three seconds. O’Ward and Rahal were in the top five while Herta, Rossi and Lundgaard overtook Newgarden, who was on the black Firestone tires, for spots in the top 10.

    Shortly after, Lundgaard’s strong run was spoiled after he got loose and ran into a sponsor signage in Turn 1, which remained lodged in front of his car as he plummeted below the leaderboard and went a full lap with the barrier before pitting.

    With 10 laps remaining, McLaughlin continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Power and more than two seconds over Dixon, all of whom broke away from the field led by fourth-place O’Ward, who trailed by more than seven seconds. Rahal was in fifth while Herta, Rossi, Newgarden, Ilott and Rosenqvist, who overtook Palou, were in the top 10.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, the top-three competitors led by McLaughlin followed by teammate Power and Dixon were nine seconds ahead of fourth-place O’Ward, who was starting to be intimidated by Rahal for fourth place while Andretti Autosport teammates Herta and Rossi battled for sixth in front of Newgarden.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, McLaughlin remained as the leader by more than a second over teammate Power, who had Dixon closing in as he made a final bid for the runner-up spot. With Power unable to close the gap for a final lap through the circuit, McLaughlin was able to navigate his way back to the frontstretch and claim his third checkered flag of the 2022 season.

    With the victory, McLaughlin, who made his inaugural presence in the IndyCar circuit less than two years ago, notched his third career victory in the IndyCar Series along with his third of the season as he added Portland with the Streets of St. Petersburg and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to his race-winning resume in IndyCars. He also recorded the ninth victory of the season for Team Penske and the 11th for Chevrolet, which is within striking distance of sealing the manufacturer title over Honda.

    The Portland victory also kept McLaughlin’s championship hopes of this season alive as he now trails teammate Power by 41 points after jumping from sixth to fifth in the standings.

    “I don’t think the car felt really good in that first stint,” McLaughlin said on NBC. “As the race went on, it got a little bit worse.[I] Just had to really concentrate on where I wanted the strengths in the car and work with those, and then the weaknesses are just trying to make the best of them. The Freightliner Chevy, all weekend, has been fast. It’s been right there where we needed it and the team, the Thristy Threes [pit crew], got the job done in the pits. I’m really proud of them. We did exactly what we needed to do this weekend, and that was win and get max points and keep ourselves in the [championship] fight. Yeah, we’re in a long shot. I don’t care, but we’re a shot. I’m looking forward to it.”

    Teammate Power, who came into Portland with a three-point advantage in the championship standings, held off Dixon to finish in the runner-up spot and leaves Portland with a 20-point lead in the standings over both teammate Newgarden and Dixon. Power will only need to finish in the top three next weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca to clinch his second IndyCar championship. Ericsson, who salvaged an 11th-place run at Portland, trails Power by 39 points while McLaughlin trails by 41, all of whom remain mathematically eligible to contend for the 2022 IndyCar title.

    “The red [tires] was a lot better for us,” Power said. “The black [tires] just never really came on. [I] Never even really got a good balance with it. It was a tough decision because those reds had a lot of laps on them, but I still feel like we would’ve been quicker over the stint. It was the right move. [It] Would’ve been real tough on those restarts without it. Good call by the guys. Good strategy all day. It’s another day. We just did everything we could. I just want to win this championship for the guys that have been with me for more than a decade. It’s a lot less selfish for me this time around because [the crew] deserve it. I feel their pain over the years of losing so many. I would love to win it for them. [The points lead is] still very tough. Ganassi’s tested [at Laguna Seca]. We’re sin the best position. We got the best shot, so we’ll do everything we can.”

    “We got to stop getting these Most Improved [accolade] through races,” Dixon said. “It’s definitely frustrating. Starting 16th with the competition we have now and no real cautions, man, we had to drive through the field. We’re still in the fight. Twenty points back. Tied with Josef [Newgarden] there. It was definitely an interesting race. We tried as hard as possible on that last run, but a huge weekend for PNC Bank. Honda, kudos to them for the super-easy fuel mileage that we had to get, so that was definitely a positive…Anything is possible. We’ve seen it. We’ve won [the championship] on tie-breakers before. We’re in it and we will never give up as a team until it’s over. It’s gonna be an interesting [finale]. Ultimately, if we can be in it, we’re gonna throw everything that we can do.”

    O’Ward, who has been eliminated from the title battle, nursed his wounded No. 5 Chevrolet to a fourth-place result ahead of Rahal while Herta, Rossi, Newgarden, Callum Ilott and Felix Rosenqvist finished in the top 10 on the track. Alex Palou was also eliminated from title contention with a 12th-place run as he will not defend his series title.

    There were seven lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured one caution for four laps.

    Results.

    1. Scott McLaughlin, 104 laps led

    2. Will Power, two laps led

    3. Scott Dixon

    4. Pato O’Ward

    5. Graham Rahal, two laps led

    6. Colton Herta

    7. Alexander Rossi

    8. Josef Newgarden

    9. Callum Ilott, one lap led

    10. Felix Rosenqvist

    11. Marcus Ericsson

    12. Alex Palou

    13. Kyle Kirkwood

    14. David Malukas

    15. Jack Harvey

    16. Devlin DeFrancesco

    17. Helio Castroneves

    18. Takuma Sato

    19. Romain Grosjean

    20. Rinus VeeKay

    21. Christian Lundgaard, one lap led

    22. Dalton Kellett, one lap down

    23. Simon Pagenaud, 10 laps down

    24. Jimmie Johnson – OUT, Contact

    25. Conor Daly – OUT, Mechanical

    The 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season is set to conclude next weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey and where a champion will be crowned. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, September 11, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Oscar Piastri to race for McLaren F1 in 2023 following Alpine contract dispute

    Oscar Piastri to race for McLaren F1 in 2023 following Alpine contract dispute

    Oscar Piastri has a new organization to call home after it was announced that he will be driving for the McLaren F1 Team for the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship season. 

    The announcement comes after a summer-long dispute between McLaren and the Alpine F1 Team, where both organizations held valid contract for Piastri, which concluded ahead of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix at Circuit Zandvoort after the FIA’s contract recognition board (CRB) upheld McLaren’s contract with Piastri over Alpine’s.

    The dispute commenced in early August, where Alpine announced that Piastri, the reigning Formula 2 champion who currently serves as a reserve competitor for Alpine, would be promoted to Formula One to replace two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso, who will be switching to Aston Martin, for the 2023 season. Piastri refuted the claim a few hours later on social media, which led to speculation that he would be joining McLaren for the upcoming season.

    In the ruling made by the FIA, it was revealed that McLaren Racing had signed Piastri to a two-year deal on July 4 following the British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit. Once the FIA made their final ruling, McLaren took to social media to confirm the signing of Piastri for the upcoming F1 season, where he will be competing alongside Lando Norris.

    “I’m extremely excited to be making my F1 debut with such a prestigious team as McLaren and I’m very grateful for the opportunity that’s been offered to me,” Piastri said in a statement. “The team has a long tradition of giving young talent a chance, and I’m looking forward to working hard alongside Lando to push the team towards the front of the grid. I’m focused on preparing for my F1 debut in 2023 and starting my F1 career in papaya.”

    Piastri joins McLaren with an extensive racing resume that commenced with karting at age 11 before relocating to the United Kingdom in 2016 to enhance his racing career. After competing in 11 Formula 4 UAE Championship events from 2016-17, the Australian joined TRS Arden Junior Team for the 2017 F4 British Championship season, where he finished in the runner-up spot in the standings after accumulating six victories and 13 podiums. Three years later, he won the 2020 FIA Formula 3 championship with Prema Racing before claiming the Formula 2 title this past season, where he won six races and claimed 11 podiums.

    “The entire team is delighted to welcome Oscar to McLaren for the 2023 F1 season,” Andreas Seidl, Team Principal of the McLaren F1 Team, said. “He has an impressive racing career to date, and we are sure that together with Lando, he will be able to help us move another step forward towards our ambitions. We still have an important job to do this season which the team remains focused on, before we will then ensure Oscar is integrated into the team as quickly as possible and ready for the challenges ahead. We look forward to preparing for an exciting 2023 season together.”

    “Oscar is one of the up-and-coming talents coming through the feeder series into F1 and we are delighted to see him join the team for 2023,” Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, added. “Winning both F3 and F2 in successive rookie seasons is a real achievement and testament to his talent in single-seater racing. In Lando and Oscar we have a young, exciting F1 line-up with a huge amount of potential, standing us in good stead to achieve our future ambitions. Oscar is an exciting addition to the McLaren family, and we look forward to seeing him grow with our F1 team.”

    Piastri’s move to McLaren means that he will be replacing Daniel Ricciardo, who announced nine days ago that he will be mutually parting ways from the organization despite his contract spanning through 2023. Ricciardo’s plans for next season have yet to be determined.

    Following the FIA’s decision, Alpine released a statement of their own:

    “BWT Alpine F1 Team thanks the Contract Recognition Board (CRB) for convening on Monday and we acknowledge the decision they have made. We consider the matter closed on our side and will announce our full 2023 driver line-up in due course. Our immediate focus is the Dutch Grand Prix and securing points in our fight for fourth in the Constructors’ Championship.”

    With eight Grand Prix events remaining to the 2022 Formula One season, Alpine occupies fourth place in the constructors’ standings by 20 points over McLaren as both continue their battle to emerge as the highest midfield organization. Their on-track battle is set to continue this upcoming weekend at Circuit Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix, which will occur on Sunday, September 4.

  • James Small to call 100th Cup career race as crew chief at Darlington

    James Small to call 100th Cup career race as crew chief at Darlington

    A significant milestone start is in the making for James Small, crew chief for Martin Truex Jr. and the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota TRD Camry team in the NASCAR Cup Series. By participating in this weekend’s Cup Series Playoff opening event at Darlington Raceway, Small will call his 100th career event as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Melbourne, Australia, Small, who spent eight years working in the V8 Supercars Championship in Australia before spending three seasons in an engineering role at Richard Childress Racing, made his first two appearances as a Cup crew chief at Watkins Glen International and at Michigan International Speedway in August. By then, he was a lead engineer for the No. 77 Furniture Row Racing Toyota Camry team piloted by Erik Jones and was named Jones’ interim crew chief for two events after Jones’ regular crew chief Chris Gayle was suspended for two races and fined $50,000 due to a post-race infraction stemming from the previous event at Pocono Raceway. During Small’s two appearances as a Cup crew chief, Jones finished 10th and third at Watkins Glen International and at Michigan International Speedway, respectively.

    After moving to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2019, where he continued to work as lead engineer for the 2017 Cup champion Martin Truex Jr., crew chief Cole Pearn and the No. 19 JGR Toyota Camry team, Small was named a full-time Cup Series crew chief for Truex for the 2020 season after Pearn resigned from his role. Pearn and Truex commenced the 2020 Cup Series season with a 32nd-place result in the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 after Truex was involved in a late multi-car wreck. Through the following nine events, his best result was third at Atlanta Motor Speedway in June. Then during the following event at Martinsville Speedway, Small achieved his first victory as a NASCAR crew chief after Truex led 132 of 500 en route to his first victory of the season and second in a row at Martinsville. 

    Through the remaining 15 Cup regular season events in 2020, Small and Truex achieved nine top-five results, including seven consecutive top-three results between July and August, and a total of 11 top-10 results before entering the 2020 Cup Playoffs. Despite transferring from the Playoff’s Round of 16 all the way to the Round of 8, Small served a one-race suspension prior to the second Round of 8 Playoff at Texas Motor Speedway after NASCAR confiscated the spoiler from Truex’s car and issued penalties that included Small’s suspension, a $35,000 final and a dock 20 driver/owner points. Despite Small’s return at Martinsville Speedway in November, Truex was unable to make the Championship Round at Phoenix Raceway after settling in 22nd place due to making a late unscheduled pit stop for a loose right-front wheel. In the end, Small and Truex capped off their first season in seventh place in the final standings along with one victory, 13 top-five results, 22 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 12.0.

    The duo of Small and Truex initiated the 2021 Cup season on another strong note. After logging two top-10 results through the first four scheduled events, they claimed their first victory of the season at Phoenix Raceway in March. A month later, they notched their second victory of the season at Martinsville in April following a late battle with teammate Denny Hamlin. By then, Truex became the first multi-Cup winner through the first eight scheduled events. Small and Truex then became three-time winners of 2021 four races later after Truex fended off a hard-charging Kyle Larson in the closing laps.

    Fourteen regular-season races later, where Small and Truex achieved five additional top-10 results, the 2021 Cup Playoffs commenced at Darlington in September. Then a week later at Richmond Raceway, Small and Truex transferred from the Round of 16 to the Round of 12 after Truex led 80 of 400 en route to a fourth victory of the season. Three additional results inside the top 10 were enough for the duo to transfer all the way to the Championship Round finale at Phoenix Raceway in November and with an opportunity to win the title. During the finale, however, Truex, who was leading late in the event, settled in second place both on the track and in the final standings behind Kyle Larson. In his second full-time season as a Cup crew chief, Small recorded four victories, 13 top-five results, 20 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 12.0 with Truex.

    Remaining as Truex’s Cup crew chief for a third consecutive season, Small led the No. 19 JGR Toyota TRD Camry team to a pole, seven stage victories, three top-five results, 12 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 13.2 throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch. The results, however, were not enough for the duo to make the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs after they missed the cutline by three points. Small and Truex, however, enter the 10-week Playoff stretch with a goal to capture their first victory of the season before making another bid for the Playoffs in 2023.

    Through 99 previous Cup appearances, Small has achieved five victories, one pole, 30 top-five results, 56 top-10 results and 2223 laps led while working with two different competitors (Martin Truex Jr. and Erik Jones).

    Small is scheduled to call his 100th Cup Series event as a crew chief at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500 and the opening event of the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs. The event’s coverage is scheduled for Sunday, September 4, at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Herbst to make 100th Xfinity career start at Darlington

    Herbst to make 100th Xfinity career start at Darlington

    Competing in his third full-time season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Riley Herbst is within reach of a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Xfinity event at Darlington Raceway, the driver of the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang will reach 100 career starts in the Xfinity circuit.

    A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, Herbst made his Xfinity Series debut at Iowa Speedway in June 2018. By then, he was a full-time ARCA Series competitor for Joe Gibbs Racing and a part-time NASCAR Truck Series competitor for Kyle Busch Motorsports. He had also earned a single ARCA career victory at Pocono Raceway in 2017. Driving the No. 18 JGR Toyota Camry, Herbst started ninth and finished an impressive sixth-place in his Xfinity debut. 

    The following season, Herbst returned for nine Xfinity races, all in JGR’s No. 18 Toyota Supra. Starting with a ninth-place result at Richmond Raceway in April, Herbst earned a total of three top-10 results and six top-15 results.

    In 2020, Herbst earned a full-time ride in the No. 18 JGR Toyota Supra in the Xfinity circuit, where he entered as a Rookie-of-the-Year contender. His rookie season started off on a low note when he finished 32nd at Daytona International Speedway in February following a multi-car accident a lap shy of the halfway mark. Herbst, though, rebounded the following three weekends by finishing ninth at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a career-best second place at Auto Club Speedway following a late battle with teammate Harrison Burton and 10th at Phoenix Raceway in March. Eleven races later, Herbst notched another runner-up result behind Austin Cindric in the first of a Kentucky Speedway doubleheader feature in July. Overall, Herbst earned four top-five results and 16 top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, which were enough for him to qualify for the 2020 Xfinity Playoffs based on points. His pursuit for the championship, however, came to an end following results of 12th, 35th and 12th in the first round of the Playoffs. Earning just one top-10 result in the final four races of the schedule, Herbst concluded his first full-time Xfinity season in 12th place in the standings with a total of four top-five results and 17 top-10 results.

    The following season, Herbst joined Stewart-Haas Racing to pilot the No. 98 Ford Mustang, an entry that had achieved nine victories the previous Xfinity season with Chase Briscoe. Despite achieving his first career pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, the 2021 regular season stretch for the Las Vegas native was a difficult stretch as his best on-track result was third at Bristol Motor Speedway in September. To go along with a total of four top-five results and 11 top-10 results, Herbst managed to grab a spot in the 2021 Xfinity Playoffs. Following three consecutive DNFs and finishes outside the top 25 during the Round of 12, his titles hopes came to an early end as he was one of four competitors to be eliminated from the Playoffs. He managed to record two top-10 results during the final four scheduled races, including a fourth-place effort in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway in November, before finishing in 11th place in the final standings in a season where he earned five top-five results and 13 top-10 results.

    Remaining at Stewart-Haas Racing for a second consecutive season, Herbst commenced the season with a fourth-place result at Daytona followed by a ninth-place run at Auto Club Speedway in February. Since then, he earned his second Xfinity career pole at Nashville Superspeedway in June along with a total of five top-five results and 15 top-10 results. He is currently ranked in eighth place in the regular-season standings and is 107 points above the top-12 cutline to qualify for the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs that will commence in September.

    Through 99 previous Xfinity starts, Herbst has achieved two poles, 14 top-five results, 49 top-10 results, 84 laps led and an average-finishing result of 15.5 while he continues to pursue his first victory across NASCAR’s top three national touring series.

    Herbst is scheduled to make his 100th Xfinity Series career start at Darlington Raceway on Saturday, September 3, with the event’s coverage to occur at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.