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Author: Andrew Kim

  • Scott McLaughlin scores second IndyCar career victory at Mid-Ohio

    Scott McLaughlin scores second IndyCar career victory at Mid-Ohio

    Scott McLaughlin capitalized from a late-race misfortune that knocked Pato O’Ward out of contention to dominate and fend off Alex Palou to win the Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Sunday, July 3.

    The 29-year-old McLaughlin from Hamilton, New Zealand, led a race-high 45 of 80 laps in his No. 3 Odyssey Battery Dallara-Chevrolet and managed to pull away from the field during an 18-lap dash to the finish, including a late charge from Palou, to notch his second career victory in the NTT IndyCar Series.

    With on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday, Pato O’Ward became the ninth different pole winner through the first nine scheduled events after establishing a pole-winning lap at 121.861 mph in 1:06.7054. Joining him on the front row was Scott McLaughlin, who clocked in his best lap at 121.619 mph in 1:06.8382.

    Following a delayed, cautious start, the green flag waved on Lap 3 of 80. At the start, O’Ward took off with the lead as teammate Felix Rosenqvist mad an early bid on McLaughlin for the runner-up spot, with the latter retaining the spot. As the field jostled for positions early, Will Power spun his No. 12 Verizon 5G Dallara-Chevrolet in Turn 9, but the event remained under green.  

    Through the first five scheduled laps, O’Ward was leading by nearly nine-tenths of a second over McLaughlin followed by Rosenqvist, Colton Herta and Scott Dixon while Simon Pagenaud, Alex Palou, rookie Kyle Kirkwood, rookie David Malukas and Alenxader Rossi.

    Four laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Rosenqvist, who was in third place and was coming off a new multi-year deal with McLaren Racing, pulled his No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet off the course in Turn 4 due to a mechanical issue and with smoke billowing out of his car.

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 13, O’Ward retained the lead ahead of McLaughlin while Dixon and Herta battled for third place ahead of Pagenaud. With Dixon moving into third place, Herta just managed to fend off Pagenaud for fourth place as Palou started to close in for his bid for a top-five spot.

    Twenty laps into the event, O’Ward continued to lead by more than a second over McLaughlin followed by Dixon, Herta and Pagenaud while Palou, Malukas, Kirkwood, Rossi and rookie Callum Ilott were in the top 10. By then, Josef Newgarden was in 11th ahead of Rinus VeeKay, Helio Castroneves, Marcus Ericsson and Takuma Sato while Conor Daly, Romain Grosjean, Devlin DeFrancesco, Will Power and Christian Lundgaard occupied the top 20. Graham Rahal, who was making his 250th IndyCar career start, was mired in 23rd while Jimmie Johnson was back in 25th ahead of Jack Harvey.

    Four laps later, the first round of green flag pit stops commenced as Newgarden pitted his No. 2 PPG Dallara-Chevrolet along with VeeKay, Grosjean and Lundgaard. Palou would soon pit along with Castroneves and Malukas, Rossi, Ilott, Simona De Silverstro, Kirkwood, Conor Daly, Dalton Kellett, Pagenaud, Takuma Sato, DeFrancesco and rookie Tatiana Calderon.

    Then on Lap 30, O’Ward, who was radioing power issues, surrendered the lead to pit followed by Dixon as McLaughlin took over the lead. Shortly after, the caution flew when Kirkwood got loose entering Turn 9, went off the course and wrecked his No. 14 AJ Foyt Enterprises Dallara-Chevrolet against the tire barriers.

    With the race restarting under green on Lap 36, McLaughlin fended off Palou to retain the lead through the first two corners and entering Turn 3. Then as Palou challenged McLaughlin for the lead, the caution returned when Dalton Kellett got hit by Jack Harvey in Turn 2, spun and stalled his car.

    As the race restarted under green at the halfway mark on Lap 40, McLaughlin retained the lead for a second time ahead of Palou as Herta, O’Ward and Dixon occupied the top five. 

    With 30 laps remaining, McLaughlin was leading by a second over Palou while Herta, VeeKay and Dixon were in the top five. Newgarden, who started 14th, was up in sixth place followed by Ericsson, Power, Rossi and Grosjean while O’Ward was back to 12th after being overtaken by Pagenaud.

    Three laps later, names like Newgarden, Malukas, Ilott, Castronevs, Lundgaard, Graham Rahal, Conor Day, DeFrancesco, Sato, Simona de Silvestro and O’Ward pitted under green. Then, disaster struck for O’Ward, who stalled his No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet while trying to exit his pit stall and retired due to a mechanical issue. At the time of O’Ward’s issue, the leader McLaughlin along with Palou, VeeKay, Dixon, Ericsson, Power, Rossi, Grosjean and Pagenaud pitted. Not long after, the caution flew when Tatiana Calderon pulled her car off the course in between Turns 4 and 5 due to a mechanical issue. 

    When the race restarted under green with 23 laps remaining, Herta, who did not pit during the previous pit cycle, took off with the lead followed by McLaughlin while Palou, Power, VeeKay and Dixon occupied the top six. By then, Ilott limped his car back to pit road after he fell off the pace prior to the start and eventually retired due to a mechanical issue to his No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Dallara-Chevrolet.

    During the following lap, however, the caution flew when teammates Grosjean and Rossi, both of whom made contact with one another earlier, made contact for a second time and went off the course in Turn 2, with Grosjean’s No. 28 Andretti Autosport Dallara-Honda ending up in the tire barriers while Rossi continued. During the caution period, Herta surrendered the lead to McLaughlin to pit.

    Down to the final 18 laps of the event, the race proceeded under green. At the start, McLaughlin took off with the lead while teammate Power challenged Palou for the runner-up spot as the field fanned out and scrambled for late positions.

    During the following lap, Herta, who was mired towards the rear of the field, received the slightest of contact from teammate Grosjean, who earlier voiced his frustration in being hit by teammate Rossi prior to the previous restart, as Herta went off the course, spun his No. 26 Andretti Autosport Dallara-Honda and continued.

    With 10 laps remaining, McLaughlin continued to lead by more than a second over Palou followed by Power, VeeKay and Dixon while Ericsson, Newgarden, Castroneves, Malukas and Jack Harvey were in the top 10. By then, the drama within the Andretti Autosport camp continued as Rossi made contact with teammate Devlin DeFrancesco in Turn 6. In addition, Rossi and Grosjean were assessed pass-through penalties through pit road following their run-in on the track.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, McLaughlin remained as the leader by six-tenths of a seconds over Palou while Power, VeeKay and Dixon stabilized themselves in the top five. Ericsson, Newgarden, Castroneves, Malukas and Pagenaud were scored in the top 10 while Lundgaard, Rahal, Daly, Sato and Jimmie Johnson were in the top 15.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, McLaughlin stabilized his advantage to nine-tenths of a second over Palou, who had the Australian within his sights but was not close enough to ignite a bid for the lead. Having a clear circuit in front of him for a final time and through the 13-turn circuit, McLaughlin was able to cycle his way back to the finish line and claim his second career checkered flag in the IndyCar circuit by more than half a second over Palou’s No. 10 NTT Data Dallara-Honda.

    With the victory, McLaughlin became the second IndyCar competitor to achieve multiple victories this season as he recorded the sixth IndyCar victory of the season for Team Penske along with the 12th for the organization at Mid-Ohio. The Mid-Ohio victory also marked his first podium result in IndyCar since he claimed his maiden IndyCar victory at the Streets of St. Petersburg in Florida followed by a runner-up result at Texas Motor Speedway in March.

    “Amazing,” McLaughlin said on NBC. “I really wanted to get a win here with mom and dad. Our first time with Odyssey Battery on the car. It was awesome, as well, to have them onboard, but to have mom and dad here is super special. America’s weekend! Last night, I was dressed up as a bald eagle, so maybe, I need to do that every July 4th weekend. [The race] was tough. You’re thinking about your fuel, but thankfully, Chevy gave us the great fuel mileage and drive ability off the restarts. That allowed to get a little bit of a gap from Palou and Honda there, so I’m really proud of the guys [with] the car they gave me. It was a little hard to drive towards the end. I would’ve loved to make it a little bit easier for myself, but yeah, super proud of everyone. Great pit stops from this car No. 3 team…We’re going to the moon!”

    Palou claimed his third runner-up result of the season after being half a second shy of claiming his first IndyCar victory of the season while Power rallied from his opening lap spin to finish in third place and round out the podium.

    VeeKay and Dixon finished in the top five while Ericsson, Newgarden, Castroneves, Malukas and Pagenaud completed the top 10 on the track. Notably, Herta finished 15th ahead of Jimmie Johnson, Rossi ended up 19th and Grosjean settled in 21st, a lap down.

    There were three lead changes for three different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 17 laps.

    With his sixth-place result, Marcus Ericsson continues to lead the championship standings by 20 points over Will Power, 34 over Josef Newgarden, 35 over Alex Palou, 65 over Pato O’Ward, 67 over Scott Dixon and 69 over Scott McLaughlin.

    Results.

    1. Scott McLaughlin, 45 laps led

    2. Alex Palou

    3. Will Power

    4. Rinus VeeKay

    5. Scott Dixon

    6. Marcus Ericsson

    7. Josef Newgarden

    8. Helio Castroneves

    9. David Malukas

    10. Simon Pagenaud

    11. Christian Lundgaard

    12. Graham Rahal

    13. Conor Daly

    14. Takuma Sato

    15. Colton Herta, seven laps led

    16. Jimmie Johnson

    17. Devlin DeFrancesco

    18. Simona De Silvestro

    19. Alexander Rossi

    20. Jack Harvey

    21. Romain Grosjean, one lap down

    22. Dalton Kellett, two laps down

    23. Callum Ilott – OUT, Mechanical

    24. Pato O’Ward – OUT, Mechanical, 28 laps led

    25. Tatiana Calderon – OUT, Mechanical

    26. Kyle Kirkwood – OUT, Contact

    27. Felix Rosenqvist – OUT, Mechanical

    Next on the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series schedule is the series’ return to the Exhibition Place in Toronto, Canada, for the Honda Indy Toronto following a two-year absence. The event is scheduled to occur on July 17 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC Peacock.

  • Charles Denike joins McAnally-Hilgemann Racing to crew chief Derek Kraus

    Charles Denike joins McAnally-Hilgemann Racing to crew chief Derek Kraus

    McAnally-Hilgemann Racing announced that Charles Denike will be joining the organization to serve as a new crew chief for Derek Kraus and the No. 19 Chevrolet Silverado RST team for the remainder of this year’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season.

    Denike, who served as a crew chief in 26 ARCA Menards Series East events from 2012 to 2016, joins McAnally-Hilgemann Racing after nearly three seasons at GMS Racing, where he commenced this season as crew chief for Grant Enfinger and the No. 23 Chevrolet Silverado RST team. With Denike transitioning to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, veteran Jeff Hensley was recently announced as Enfinger’s new crew chief for the remainder of this season. Denike, meanwhile, replaces veteran Shane Wilson, who was suspended from last weekend’s Truck event at Nashville Superspeedway due to an improperly installed ballast that was found on Kraus’ truck. Th infraction that was discovered prior to the event resulted with the team being assessed an L1-level penalty and a 10-point dock in both the driver and owner standings.

    “I am excited to join MHR and to work with Derek Kraus on the 19 team,” Denike said. “Derek is highly talented and we are looking forward to our first race together at Mid-Ohio. Over the next two races we will push hard to make the playoffs. MHR has built a great team with a strong foundation and I am thankful for the opportunity to help continue to advance their program.”

    Denike made his debut as a NASCAR crew chief in 2020 and for GMS Racing’s No. 24 Chevrolet Silverado team that competed in all but the first two events of the 23-race schedule. Throughout the season, the ride was shared between Chase Elliott, Justin Haley, Chase Purdy, David Kravel, Kris Wright, Sam Mayer and Greg Biffle. With the team making its first start of the season at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, Denike went to Victory Lane in his crew chief debut when Elliott claimed a dominant victory over Kyle Busch. Fourteen races later, Denike guided Mayer to his first career victory at Bristol Motor Speedway during the 2020 Truck Playoffs in September. To go along with a total of four top-five results and seven top-10 results, Denike led the No. 24 GMS Racing team to a 16th-place result in the 2020 Truck owners’ standings.

    This past season, Denike served as a full-time crew chief for Tyler Ankrum and the No. 26 GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado team. Together, Denike and Ankrum achieved a pole, three top-five results, five top-10 results, an average-finishing result of 19.8 and a 15th-place result in the 2021 drivers’ standings. Having started this year’s Truck season as a crew chief for Enfinger, the duo have achieved three top-five results and seven top-10 results through the first 14-scheduled events.

    Through 57 previous appearances as a crew chief, Denike has achieved two victories, one pole, 10 top-five results and 19 top-10 results while working with nine different competitors.

    “We’re excited to have Charles join our team,” Bill McAnally, Co-owner of McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, said. “We’re confident that he will strengthen our overall team as we move ahead and help us take full advantage of the opportunities we have available through our alliance with GMS Racing.”

    Kraus is currently campaigning in his third full-time season in the Truck Series, where he has achieved a total of three poles, four top-five results, 23 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 16.6 in 64 previous Truck starts. He is currently ranked in 11th place in the drivers’ standings on the strength of four top-10 results and trails the top-10 cutline to qualify for the 2022 Truck Playoffs by 29 points with two regular season races remaining to the schedule: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 9 and Pocono Raceway on July 23.

    Denike will be making his first appearance as a crew chief for Kraus and the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet Silverado RST team at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday, July 9. The event’s coverage is scheduled to occur at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Ty Gibbs executes final lap pass on Larson for fourth Xfinity victory of 2022 at Road America

    Ty Gibbs executes final lap pass on Larson for fourth Xfinity victory of 2022 at Road America

    In a NASCAR Xfinity Series event dominated by the return of Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs capitalized in overtime with a final lap pass on Larson to win the 13th annual running of the Henry 180 at Road America on Saturday, July 2.

    The 19-year-old Gibbs from Charlotte, North Carolina, led three times for five of 48 over-scheduled laps as he overtook Larson, who led a race-high 31, at the start of the final lap. Once he captured the lead, Gibbs then managed to fend off late repeated challenges from the reigning Cup Series champion through the 14-turn circuit before he pulled away up the final straightaway and to the finish line for his fourth checkered flag of the 2022 Xfinity season.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Kyle Larson, who made his return to the Xfinity Series following a three-year absence, started on pole position after claiming the top starting spot with a pole-winning lap at 108.495 mph in 134.318 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Ty Gibbs, who clocked in a qualifying lap at 107.922 mph in 135.031 seconds.

    Prior to the event, names like Bayley Currey, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, Landon Cassill, AJ Allmendinger, John Hunter Nemechek, Jeb Burton, Myatt Snider and Patrick Gallagher dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective cars. Jesse Iwuji also dropped to the rear of the field due to a driver change after he replaced Kyle Weatherman.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Larson rocketed away from the field as he led through the first turn while Gibbs retained second ahead of Cole Custer, Riley Herbst, Sam Mayer and the field. With the field making their way through the 14-turn circuit and back to the start/finish line, Larson led the first lap by three-tenths of a second over Gibbs followed by Custer, Herbst and rookie Sheldon Creed while Noah Gragson, Tyler Reddick, Mayer, Jeremy Clements and Josh Bilicki were in the top 10.

    Through the second lap of the event, Larson retained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Gibbs, who continued to pressure Larson for the lead, while Custer, Herbst, Creed, Reddick, Gragson, Mayer, Clements and Bilicki remained in the top 10. Behind, Brandon Jones was in 11th followed by rookie Austin Hill, newcomer Sammy Smith, Sage Karam, Brett Moffitt, Alex Labbe, Anthony Alfredo, Justin Allgaier, Daniel Hemric and AJ Allmendinger.

    Three laps later, Larson extended his advantage to more than a second while Gibbs and Custer battled for the runner-up spot ahead of Herbst and Creed.

    By the sixth lap, Landon Cassill spun and went off the course in Turn 12 after he made contact with Ty Dillon, though the event remained under green. 

    Between Laps 7 and 8, the first round of green-flag pit stops commenced as John Hunter Nemechek pitted along with Reddick, Creed, Sammy Smith, Ryan Sieg, Preston Pardus and Brandon Brown. Not long after, the first caution of the event flew when Brett Moffitt over-drove Turn 5 and got his car stuck in the sand trap in Turn 5. At the same time, Alfredo and Andy Lally made contact with one another and spun in Turn 6.

    The pair of incidents involving Moffitt, Alfredo and Lally were enough for the first stage scheduled on Lap 10 to conclude under caution as Larson captured the stage victory. Gibbs settled in second followed by Custer, Herbst, Brandon Jones, Gragson, Mayer, Clements, Allmendinger and Bilicki.

    Under the stage break, some led by Larson pitted while the rest led by Gibbs remained on the track. During the pit stops, Chris Dyson and Bayley Currey have assessed penalties for having a crew member jump over the wall too soon while Lally spun while trying to enter his pit box.

    The second stage started on Lap 12 as teammates Gibbs and Brandon Jones occupied the front row. At the start, Gibbs took off with the lead while Allmendinger overtook Jones for the runner-up spot through the first two turns. Then through a straightaway between Turns 3 and 4, Allmendinger drew himself alongside Gibbs in a bid for the lead before he succeeded in entering Turn 6. As Allmendinger retained the lead when he returned to the start/finish line, Gibbs remained in second followed by teammate Jones, Hemric and Berry while Creed, John Hunter Nemechek, Myatt Snider, Larson and Mayer occupied the top 10. 

    Then during the following lap, Allmendinger went briefly wide in Turn 5, which allowed Gibbs to draw himself even alongside Allmendinger as he reassumed the lead in Turn 6. Jones, meanwhile, remained in third ahead of Hemric as the field behind jostled for positions.

    By Lap 15, Gibbs was leading by more than a second over Allmendinger before he was overtaken by a hard-charging Larson. Then in Turn 5, Mayer ran over the curbs and made contact against the wall entering Turn 5 as he briefly went off the course and into the sand trap before he limped back to pit road with right-front damage. By then, Alfredo overshot the first turn as he suffered a flat left-front tire.

    Once Larson dueled and made his way back to the lead over Gibbs on Lap 16, Gibbs made his first pit stop of the day during the following lap followed by Allmendinger, Myatt Snider, Brandon Jones, Cassill, Hemric, Hill and Patrick Gallagher. By then, Joe Graf Jr. was slowly limping his way around the circuit with a flat right-rear tire. 

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 20, Larson captured his second stage victory of the day. Creed settled in second followed by Custer, Nemechek, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith, Herbst, Clements, Gragson and Alex Labbe. 

    Under the stage break, some led by Nemechek pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track. 

    With 22 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green. At the start, Larson fended off Creed to retain the lead at the start while Creed and Custer battled for the runner-up spot. Behind, Allgaier retained fourth ahead of Herbst, Gragson and the field. 

    Then during the following lap, the caution flew when Gragson, who was rubbing fenders with Sage Karam entering the straightaway in Turn 4, veered dead right into Karam as both spun beneath the Sargento bridge. With both spinning in the middle of the circuit and kicking up dust on the circuit, a multi-car pileup ignited with Cassill, Snider, Moffitt, Bayley Currey, Andy Lally, Hemric, Nemechek, Josh Bilicki, Reddick, Clements and Brandon Brown sustaining damage and piling into the carnage. The incident was one that left Karam furious toward Gragson.

    During the caution period and while the on-track safety workers continued to clear the carnage, few like Justin Allgaier, Ryan Sieg, Patrick Gallagher, Lally, Creed and Sammy Smith remained on the track while the rest led by Larson pitted. During the pit stops, Herbst, who also pitted, received a safety violation penalty. In addition, Allmendinger was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    When the race proceeded under green with 17 laps remaining, Allgaier was able to pull ahead of Clements to retain the lead entering the first two turns while Larson fanned out and muscled his way into third place. Shortly after, Clements overtook Allgaier to take over the top spot entering the straightaway near Turn 4 before he was quickly overtaken by Larson entering Turn 5. Behind, Custer made his move into the runner-up spot as the field jostled for positions. 

    Then through Turns 12 to 14, Custer dueled and overtook Larson to lead a lap for himself. He then managed to retain the top spot by a narrow margin while Gibbs attempted to close in on the two leaders. By then, Allgaier pitted under green.

    With less than 15 laps remaining, Custer extended his advantage to more than a second over Larson, who had Gibbs challenging him for the runner-up spot. Behind, Austin Hill was in fourth followed by Clements while Brandon Jones, Labbe, Creed, Miguel Paludo and Gragson were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Allmendinger was in 11th followed by Ryan Sieg, Preston Padres, Jeb Burton and Herbst while Bilicki, Sammy Smith, Lally, Josh Berry and Mayer were in the top 20.

    Down to the final 11 laps of the event, driver Chris Dyson spun and smacked against the wall in Turn 12 as he came back across the track and nearly collected Mayer with the caution flying. By then, Custer was leading by more than a second over Larson and Gibbs while Hill, Brandon Jones, Clements, Labbe, Paludo, Creed and Gragson occupied the top 10.

    During the caution period, all but Ryan Sieg and Andy Lally pitted as Larson exited pit road first followed by Gibbs and Hill. During the pit stops, Custer endured a slow pit stop and hit Preston Pardus. In addition, Gragson and Patrick Gallagher were penalized for speeding on pit road while Clements was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

    With nine laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Sieg held the lead for a brief moment before Larson rocketed his way back to the lead as the field fanned out through the first three turns. Behind, Custer briefly went off course as he was mired back in fifth.

    When the field returned to the start/finish line, Larson was ahead by more than two seconds over Gibbs while Berry, Hill and Custer were in the top five. Meanwhile, Creed, who was in the top 10, started to have smoke pouring out of his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro. Soon after, Sammy Smith spun and Paludo’s hood flew when he sustained damage. Despite the incident, the event remained under green while Larson checked away from the field.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Larson continued to lead by nearly two seconds over Gibbs while third-place Custer trailed by four-and-a-half seconds. Hill and Berry occupied the top five followed by Allgaier, Brandon Jones, Herbst, Allmendinger and Sammy Smith. Behind, Ryan Sieg was back in 11th followed by Sam Mayer, Clements, Preston Pardus, Gragson, Bilicki, Jeb Burton, Currey, Lally and Labbe were in the top 20.

    Then with two laps remaining, the caution flew when Custer, who was running in third place while dealing with a break issue, made hard contact against the wall in Turn 5 as his car came to rest off the course in the fifth turn while the driver emerged uninjured. Custer’s incident was enough to send the event into overtime.

    At the start of the first overtime attempt, Larson and Gibbs dueled for the lead entering the first turn and through the following two turns until he managed to fend off Gibbs on the inside lane entering the straightaway through Turns 4 and 5. As the field scrambled for positions, Larson managed to retain the top spot ahead of Gibbs and Hill through the turns.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson remained as the leader by a narrow margin over Gibbs, who had Larson within his sight as he issued his challenge for the lead. Then in Turn 3, Larson slipped and went wide as Gibbs, who bumped Larson earlier in Turn 2, assumed the lead in his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra. Larson then tried to close in for the lead in Turn 5, but Gibbs managed to retain the lead through Turns 6 and 7. With time running out as Gibbs remained in the lead through Turns 8 to 11, Larson then tried to make his move on the outside lane in Turn 12, but he could not make the move in his No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro stick as Gibbs remained as the leader. Through the final turn, Turn 14, Larson then made a final bid for the lead, but it was not enough as Gibbs managed to pull away through the uphill straightaway and capture the Road America victory by more than eight-tenths of a second over Larson.

    Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images.

    The victory marked Gibbs’ fourth of this year’s Xfinity Series season and the eighth of his career as he became the 13th different competitor to win an Xfinity event at Road America. Ironically, this marked Gibbs’ third time winning an Xfinity event following a last-lap pass as he recorded the 190th Xfinity career win for Joe Gibbs Racing.

    “I don’t know [how I beat Larson],” Gibbs said on USA Network. “I just wanna say all glory to Jesus Christ. Thank you to my team and Monster Energy. I had a fun time racing with Kyle. I thought it was gonna get a little rough there, but he’s such a great competitor. He’s a good person. We played golf the other day, so I wanna tell him thanks for the golf lessons. I still suck. Thank you so much. This is just awesome. I can’t believe it. This is just wonderful.” 

    “I felt like we were a little bit faster in the first half of the track,” Gibbs added. “The last two sectors I felt like we were not as fast, but I fee like, right now, I just need to earn respect back and that’s what I’m doing. Just gotta learn and not make mistakes. It’s cool to race against the Cup Series guys, so hopefully, that says something, but thankful to where I am at.”

    Larson, whose final Xfinity Series start and victory occurred at Bristol Motor Speedway in August 2018, settled in the runner-up spot following a dominant run in Hendrick Motorsports’ return to the series. He is slated to compete in the upcoming Xfinity events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 16 followed by Darlington Raceway on September 3 for JR Motorsports.

    “[Gibbs] did a really good job,” Larson said. “It really started with my final corner coming to the white [flag]. I didn’t get through there very good. [I] Got a little bit tight and missed my apex, and was late back to the throttle. He had a run on me down the frontstretch, so obviously, kind of had to protect the inside [lane]. He just got my angles messed up for those two corners, so he did a really good job executing and I didn’t. Bummer, but really fun race there all race long…Fun and congrats to Ty. That was really impressive. He ran me clean and I was gonna run him clean. Just didn’t work out for me.”

    Berry survived the late chaos to come home in third place while Austin Hill and Brandon Jones finished in the top five. Allmendinger, Herbst, Gragson, Clements and Ryan Sieg completed the top 10.

    There were nine lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 12 laps.

    With 10 races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch, AJ Allmendinger continues to lead the regular-season standings by nine points over Ty Gibbs, 34 over Justin Allgaier, 39 over Noah Gragson and 74 over Josh Berry.

    Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, AJ Allmendinger, Brandon Jones and rookie Austin Hill are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular season stretch while Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric, Riley Herbst and Landon Cassill occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs based on points. Currently, Anthony Alfredo trails the top-12 cutline to the Playoffs by 72 points, Brett Moffitt trails by 87, Brandon Brown trails by 88, Jeb Burton trails by 94, Sheldon Creed trails by 98, Myatt Snider trails by 129, Alex Labbe trails by 135 and Jeremy Clements trails by 143.

    Results.

    1. Ty Gibbs, five laps led

    2. Kyle Larson, 31 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    3. Josh Berry

    4. Austin Hill

    5. Brandon Jones

    6. AJ Allmendinger, one lap led

    7. Riley Herbst

    8. Noah Gragson

    9. Jeremy Clements

    10. Ryan Sieg, two laps led

    11. Preston Pardus

    12. Justin Allgaier, three laps led

    13. Josh Bilicki

    14. Andy Lally

    15. Alex Labbe

    16. Bayley Currey

    17. Josh Williams

    18. John Hunter Nemechek

    19. Patrick Gallagher 

    20. Sam Mayer

    21. Jeb Burton

    22. Jesse Iwuji

    23. Anthony Alfredo, one lap down

    24. Sammy Smith – OUT, Engine

    25. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident, six laps led

    26. Miguel Paludo – OUT, Accident

    27. Sheldon Creed – OUT, Engine

    28. Chris Dyson – OUT, Accident 

    29. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Accident

    30. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident

    31. Sage Karam – OUT, Accident

    32. Landon Cassill – OUT, Accident

    33. Myatt Snider – OUT, Accident

    34. Brandon Brown – OUT, Accident

    35. Brett Moffitt – OUT, Accident

    36. Joe Graf Jr. – OUT, Brakes

    37. Ty Dillon – OUT, Header

    38. Will Rodgers – OUT, Suspension

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ second visit of the season at the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, July 9, at 5 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Allgaier cruises to a dominant Xfinity Series victory at Nashville

    Allgaier cruises to a dominant Xfinity Series victory at Nashville

    Justin Allgaier outlasted the warm humidity surrounding the state of Tennessee by scoring a dominant NASCAR Xfinity Series win in the Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday, June 25.

    The 36-year-old Allgaier from Riverton, Illinois, led five times for a race-high 134 of 188 laps, including the final 40. He swept both stages en route to his second Xfinity victory of the 2022 season and his first at Nashville after beating runner-up Trevor Bayne by four-and-a-half seconds.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring Saturday, Riley Herbst started on pole position for the second time in his career after posting a pole-winning lap at 156.665 mph in 30.562 seconds. Joining him on the front row was AJ Allmendinger, winner of the previous Xfinity event at Portland International Raceway who posted a qualifying lap at 156.200 mph in 30.653 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Tyler Reddick started at the rear of the field due to an engine change. Natalie Decker also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to her car.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Herbst and Allmendinger dueled early for the lead through the first two turns until Allmendinger gained the advantage on the outside lane in Turn 3 to take the lead as he led the first lap. Behind, the field fanned out and jostled for positions through the frontstretch as Allmendinger stabilized his early advantage over Herbst.

    By the fifth lap, Allmendinger was leading by nearly eight-tenths of a second over Herbst followed by Trevor Bayne, rookie Austin Hill and Justin Allgaier while Jeb Burton, Josh Berry, Daniel Hemric, Noah Gragson and Brandon Jones were in the top 10.

    At the Lap 10 mark, Allmendinger continued to lead by a second over Herbst while Allgaier continued his march to the front as he battled Bayne for third place. Behind, Hill remained in fifth while Gragson, Brandon Jones and Ty Gibbs battled for ninth.

    Five laps later, Allgaier muscled his No, 7 Hellmann’s Chevrolet Camaro to the runner-up spot after he overtook Herbst’s No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang. Another four laps later, Allgaier emerged as the second leader of the event after he overtook Allmendinger’s No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet Camaro for the top spot. 

    Through the first 35 laps of the event, Allgaier extended his advantage to more than four seconds over both Allmendinger and Herbst as Hill and Bayne joined the battle in the top five. Meanwhile, Berry was in sixth while Jeb Burton, Ty Gibbs, Brandon Jones and Hemric were in the top 10. Sam Mayer was in 11th ahead of teammate Noah Gragson, Landon Cassill, Ryan Preece and Jeffrey Earnhardt while rookie Sheldon Creed, Brett Moffitt, Ryan Sieg, Brandon Brown and Kyle Weatherman were in the top 20.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 45, Allgaier, who continued to extend his advantage to six seconds, captured his fourth stage victory of the 2022 Xfinity season. Bayne made his way into the runner-up spot followed by Herbst, Allmendinger, Hill, Berry, Gibbs, Brandon Jones, Mayer and Gragson.

    Under the stage break, the field led by Allgaier pitted as Allgaier exited with the lead followed by teammate Berry, Brandon Jones, Allmendinger, Gibbs and Hill. Following the pit stops, Kaulig Racing’s Allmendinger, Cassill and Hemric were penalized for speeding on pit road along with Sheldon Creed and Kyle Sieg. Jeb Burton was also penalized due to an equipment interference while Bayne endured a slow pit stop due to Herbst hitting Bayne’s crew member.

    The second stage started on Lap 52 as teammates Allgaier and Berry occupied the front row. At the start and with the field fanning out, Allgaier rocketed away with the lead while Gibbs battled Berry for the runner-up spot. Behind, teammate Mayer along with Brandon Jones, Herbst and Hill battled towards the front as Allgaier checked away from the field.

    By Lap 60, Allgaier was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Gibbs followed by Mayer, Herbst and Hill while Berry, Gragson, Bayne, Brandon Jones and Ryan Preece were running in the top 10. By then, Allmendinger was mired in 13th, Tyler Reddick was up in 16th and Hemric was back in 22nd.

    At the Lap 75 mark, Allgaier extended his advantage to nearly one-and-a-half seconds over Gibbs while Mayer, Herbst and Bayne remained in the top five. Meanwhile, Hill was back in 10th while Preece made his way up to eighth. Allmendinger could only make his way back up to 11th while Hemric was mired in 17th ahead of teammate Landon Cassill.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 90, Allgaier claimed his fifth stage victory of this season and swept both stages of the event in Nashville after beating Gibbs by more than two seconds. Gibbs settled in second followed by Mayer, Herbst, Bayne, Gragson, Berry, Brandon Jones, Preece and Hill.

    Under the stage break, the leaders led by Allgaier returned to pit road as Gibbs edged Allgaier to emerge with the lead followed by Bayne, Gragson, Herbst and Mayer. Following the pit stops, Mayer and Anthony Alfredo were penalized for speeding on pit road.

    With 92 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Allgaier and Gibbs dueled for the lead through the backstretch until Allgaier retained the lead approaching Turn 4. Behind, Bayne and Hill battled for third in front of a flurry of competitors led by Brandon Jones. 

    Back at the front, Gibbs reignited his battle for the lead against Allgaier as he swapped the top spot with the JR Motorsports veteran before he assumed the lead with 89 laps remaining. Allgaier, however, fought back during the following lap as the battle between him and Gibbs continued to ignite. Behind, Bayne trailed by eight-tenths of a second while Brandon Jones, Hill and Allmendinger, who rallied from his early pit road speeding penalty, battled for spots in the top five.

    With 83 laps remaining, the caution flew when Berry slipped sideways and spun off the front nose of Preece through the backstretch. During the caution period, some like Ryan Sieg, Brandon Brown, Alfredo and Berry pitted while the rest led by Allgaier remained on the track.

    Four laps later, the race proceeded under green, At the start, Allgaier gained another strong start to retain the lead while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Bayne and Ty Gibbs battled for the runner-up spot. Behind, Hill was in fourth ahead of Hemric, who recovered from his early pit road speeding penalty, while a three-wide action occurred between Gragson, Creed and Jeb Burton.

    Then with 72 laps remaining, the caution returned when Jeffrey Earnhardt made contact while battling Creed as he spun off of Turn 4 while being dodged by the field. During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Allgaier pitted while the rest led by Allmendinger remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Preece and Bayne were penalized for equipment interference.

    With 66 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Allmendinger and Brandon Jones occupied the front row. At the start, Allmendinger took off with the lead followed by Jones and Gragson as the field fanned out. 

    Then during the following lap, the caution flew when Jeb Burton made contact and turned Creed sideways into the outside wall in Turn 1 as Joe Graf Jr. was also involved.

    When the race restarted under green with 58 laps remaining, Allmendinger fended Brandon Jones to retain the lead as Allgaier bolted his way towards the front on four fresh tires. Meanwhile, Gragson remained in third ahead of Hemric and Gibbs while Cassill, Mayer, Ryan Sieg and Tyler Reddick were in the top 10. Shortly after, Myatt Snider spun behind the leaders, but the race proceeded under green.

    Four laps later, the battle for the lead between Brandon Jones and Allmendinger ignited as Jones made his move beneath Allmendinger’s No. 16 Chevrolet through the turns. The former, however, was able to fend off the challenges entering the straightaways as Gragson joined the battle. Meanwhile, Allgaier battled and overtook Gibbs for fourth place.

    With less than 50 laps remaining, Allmendinger stabilized his advantage to nearly half a second over Brandon Jones while third-place Gragson trailed by nearly seven-tenths of a second. Allgaier and Gibbs remained in the top five followed by Mayer while Hemric, Herbst, Bayne, Hill and Cassill battled within the top 10.

    Then with 42 laps remaining, contact ensued between rivals Gibbs and Mayer as Mayer got into the left-rear quarter panel of Gibbs’ No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra entering Turn 4 while both were battling in the top five. With Gibbs sideways, he made contact with Mayer’s No. 1 Huck’s Market Chevrolet Camaro and both competitors bumped and rubbed fenders before both managed to continue running straight as the race proceeded under green. The contact placed Mayer in fifth while Gibbs fell back to eighth behind Herbst.

    Back at the front, Allgaier reassumed the lead with 37 laps remaining after tracking and overtaking Allmendinger on four fresh tires while Brandon Jones and Gragson settled in third and fourth.

    With 30 laps remaining, the battle for the runner-up spot ensued as Gragson overtook Brandon Jones before he issued his challenge on Allmendinger. With Allgaier checking out and leading by nearly four seconds, Bayne, who rallied from his late pit road penalty, made his way into the top five as he then overtook teammate Brandon Jones for fourth place.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Allgaier continued to lead by more than three seconds over Bayne, who made his way into the runner-up spot, while Gragson, Herbst and Brandon Jones were in the top five. Shortly after, however, Gragson, who had not pitted since the conclusion of the second stage, pitted for four fresh tires and fuel. Brandon Jones would soon pit along with Allmendinger, Hemric and Cassill.

    With 10 laps remaining, Allgaier remained as the leader by more than nearly four seconds over Bayne while Herbst, Gibbs and Mayer were up in the top five. By then, Preece was in sixth followed by Hill, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Ryan Sieg and Brett Moffitt.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Allgaier stabilized his advantage to four seconds over Bayne. Having a clear racetrack in front of him with a dominant race car, Allgaier was able to cycle his way back to the finish line and claim his second checkered flag of the 2022 Xfinity season.

    With his second victory of the season and first at Nashville, Allgaier recorded his 18th career win in the Xfinity Series, his 15th driving for JR Motorsports, as he became the fifth multi-winner of this year’s Xfinity season.

    “What a heck of a race,” Allgaier said on USA Network. “I’ve been coming here a long time and love this racetrack, and have been trying to go to Victory Lane so bad and haven’t been able to do it. Today was for the dirt racers, though, ‘cause it was slick, it was hot. We were sliding around. Just proud of this team, everybody at JR Motorsports, the Hendrick engine shop…These black marks [burnouts], they never get old. That’s the best race car I’ve ever had. This series is just so much fun right now. Man, that was a good race. ”

    Bayne, a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, came home in the runner-up spot for his third top-five result in his fifth series start of the season while Herbst, Ty Gibbs and Mayer finished in the top five.

    “I think I’ve learned a lot of perspective in the last three years,” Bayne said. “I’m still frustrated and upset right now with second because we had a winning car. I felt like I did everything I could to do today. We drove to second three times and just kept getting ourself in pit road with [Herbst] clipping our guys. Nothing my guys can do about that, but then, we had a tire get away, went all the way to the back on that last run and drove to second. Catching Allgaier, my buddy Gator, congrats to him. Proud of him, happy for him, but I wanted that guitar really bad. The thing is I’m thankful to be here, thankful to have the opportunity to drive these cars. You can see how pink I am. That’s pushing hard those last 20 laps…It’s all we could do, man. We just got to clean it up. If you’re gonna win, you got to be perfect.”

    “Our Ford Mustang was really good,” Herbst said. “We got the pole and we wanted to lead some laps. Unfortunately, we didn’t lead any laps. We got quite a bit of stage points, which we needed. It’s just a really good day for everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing and myself included. I’m proud of all these guys on the No. 98 team. Just keep doing these runs and we’ll eventually get there. Just keep knocking on the door. Eventually, it will open.”

    Preece, winner of Friday night’s Truck Series event at Nashville, ended up in sixth place while Jeffrey Earnhardt, Hill, Ryan Sieg and Moffitt completed the top 10. 

    Notably, Gragson, Brandon Jones, Allmendinger, Hemric and Cassill finished 13th, 14th, 16th, 17th and 18th following their late pit stops.

    There were 13 lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 27 laps.

    With 11 races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch, AJ Allmendinger leads the regular-season standings by 25 points over Ty Gibbs, 32 over Justin Allgaier, 42 over Noah Gragson and 75 over Josh Berry.

    Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, AJ Allmendinger, Brandon Jones and rookie Austin Hill are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular season stretch while Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric, Landon Cassill and Ryan Sieg occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs based on points. Anthony Alfredo trails the top-12 cutline to the Playoffs by 69 points, Brett Moffitt trails by 72, Brandon Brown trails by 74, Jeb Burton trails by 93, Sheldon Creed trails by 100, Myatt Snider trails by 116, Alex Labbe trails by 141 and Jeremy Clements trails by 160.

    Results.

    1. Justin Allgaier, 134 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    2. Trevor Bayne

    3. Riley Herbst

    4. Ty Gibbs, four laps led

    5. Sam Mayer

    6. Ryan Preece

    7. Jeffrey Earnhardt

    8. Austin Hill

    9. Ryan Sieg

    10. Brett Moffitt

    11. Brandon Brown

    12. Parker Retzlaff

    13. Noah Gragson, one lap down

    14. Brandon Jones, one lap down, one lap led

    15. Stefan Parsons, one lap won

    16. AJ Allmendinger, one lap down, 48 laps led

    17. Daniel Hemric, one lap down

    18. Landon Cassill, one lap down

    19. Ryan Vargas, one lap down

    20. Anthony Alfredo, one lap down

    21. Tyler Reddick, two laps down

    22. Jeremy Clements, two laps down

    23. Alex Labbe, two laps down

    24. Ryan Ellis, three laps down

    25. Kyle Sieg, three laps down

    26. Patrick Emerling, three laps down

    27. Myatt Snider, three laps down

    28. BJ McLeod, three laps down

    29. Josh Berry, four łaps down

    30. Dillon Bassett, six laps down

    31. Bayley Currey, seven laps down

    32. Natalie Decker, seven laps down

    33. JJ Yeley, 31 laps down

    34. Josh Williams – OUT, Electrical

    35. Jeb Burton – OUT, Accident

    36. Sheldon Creed – OUT, Accident

    37. Joe Graf Jr. – OUT, Accident

    38. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Power

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ 13th consecutive, annual visit to Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, which will occur on Saturday, July 2, at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Ryan Preece scores second consecutive Truck Series victory at Nashville

    Ryan Preece scores second consecutive Truck Series victory at Nashville

    A year after achieving his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory at Nashville Superspeedway, Ryan Preece shined under the lights at Music City for a second consecutive season after surviving the late chaos while on worn tires to win the Rackley Roofing 200 on Friday, June 24.

    The 31-year-old Preece from Berlin, Connecticut, led three times for a race-high 74 of 150-scheduled laps, including the final 49, as he had enough horsepower through three restarts to survive the chaos and fend off late challenges from both Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar under the final five laps to collect his second career victory in the series and in his sixth Truck start of the 2022 season.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Ryan Preece, who won last year’s Truck event at Nashville, claimed his first pole position in the series after posting a pole-winning lap at 160.925 mph in 29.753 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Zane Smith, who posted his best qualifying lap at 160.386 mph in 29.853 seconds.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Zane Smith and Preece dueled for the lead entering the first turn until Smith gained the advantage on the inside line entering the backstretch to assume the lead as he went on to lead the first lap. With Smith leading ahead of Preece, Corey Heim was in third ahead of Carson Hocevar and Stewart Friesen, who had Chandler Smith, Matt DiBenedetto and Derek Kraus pursuing him. By then, Tanner Gray, who made an unscheduled pit stop, was penalized for fueling prior to the green flag, where he was pinned a lap behind the field.

    Seven laps into the event and with Zane Smith still leading, the first caution of the event flew when Matt Crafton made contact with rookie Jack Wood and sent Wood’s No. 24 Chevrolet Accessories Chevrolet Silverado RST into the outside wall between Turns 3 and 4 before he slid below the apron and forced the field to scatter to avoid being hit.

    When the race proceeded under green on Lap 13, the field fanned out entering the first two turns as Zane Smith retained the lead followed by Preece, Hocevar, Heim, Friesen and Chandler Smith. 

    Nearing the Lap 20 mark, the second caution of the event flew when Camden Murphy spun and wrecked his No. 30 Rowdy Energy Toyota Tundra TRD Pro in Turn 2. At the time of caution, Zane Smith was leading ahead of Preece followed by Heim, Hocevar and Friesen while Chandler Smith, Derek Kraus, Matt DiBenedetto, Ty Majeski and Christian Eckes were in the top 10.

    With the race restarting under green on Lap 24, Zane Smith gained another strong advantage on the outside lane to retain the lead as Preece, Heim and Friesen engaged in a three-wide battle for the runner-up spot with Preece prevailing in his No. 17 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford F-150. Soon after, Heim moved his No. 51 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro into third place while Friesen settled in fourth place in front of Chandler Smith, Kraus, Hocevar and DiBenedetto.

    Through the first 30 laps of the event, Zane Smith was leading by more than a second-and-a-half over Preece while Heim, Friesen, Chandler Smith, Kraus, Hocevar, Ty Majeski, DiBenedetto and Christian Eckes were in the top 10. By then, John Hunter Nemechek was in 11th ahead of Ben Rhodes, Tyler Ankrum, Grant Enfinger and Crafton while Hailie Deegan, Todd Bodine, Chase Purdy, Parker Kligerman and Colby Howard were in the top 20.

    Ten laps later, Zane Smith continued to lead by more than a second over Preece while Heim Friesen and Chandler Smith remained in the top five. Meanwhile, Kraus and Hocevar battled for sixth place with the latter prevailing.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 45, Zane Smith cruised his No. 38 Speedco Ford F-150 to his sixth stage victory of the season. Preece settled in second followed by Heim, Friesen, Chandler Smith, Hocevar, Kraus, Majeski, DiBenedetto and Eckes were scored in the top 10. Behind, Colby Howard spun while in 18th place, but he was able to nurse his truck back to pit road under caution.

    Under the stage break, the leaders led by Zane Smith pitted and Majeski emerged with the lead following a two-tire pit stop followed by Smith, Preece, Friesen, Heim and Hocevar. Following the pit stops, Jesse Little was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

    The second stage started on Lap 53 as Majeski and Zane Smith occupied the front row. At the start and with the field fanning out to multiple lanes entering the first turn, Zane Smith used the inside lane and four fresh tires to his advantage as he reassumed the lead followed by Preece while Majeski fell back to fourth behind Heim.

    Nearing the Lap 60 mark, Colby Howard got into the outside wall entering Turn 3 after he cut a tire. Despite the incident, Howard was able to nurse his truck back to pit road and the race proceeded under green. By then, Zane Smith was leading by three-tenths of a second over Preece followed by Heim, Eckes and Chandler Smith while Majeski fell back to sixth ahead of Nemechek, Friesen, Hocevar and Kraus.

    Then on Lap 69, the caution flew when Hocevar and Nemechek made contact entering the backstretch, which sent Nemechek’s No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro spinning through the backstretch grass. The incident occurred while both were battling for eighth place. During the caution period, some like Hocevar, Hailie Deegan, DiBenedetto, Kris Wright, Jesse Little, Stefan Parsons, Kligerman, Tyler Ankrum, Rhodes and Majeski pitted while the rest led by Zane Smith remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Hocevar was penalized for speeding while exiting pit road.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 73, Preece received a push from Eckes on the inside lane to move into the lead ahead of Zane Smith as the field behind jumbled for positions. As Preece maintained the lead ahead of Zane Smith, Heim and Eckes battled for third in front of Friesen while Bodine battled Kraus for sixth ahead of Chandler Smith, Grant Enfinger and Rhodes.

    By Lap 80, Preece was leading by six-tenths of a second over Zane Smith while Heim, Eckes, Friesen, Kraus, Bodine, Rhodes, Chandler Smith and Enfinger were in the top 10. Behind, Majeski was in 11th ahead of Crafton, Max Gutierrez, Ankrum, Chase Purdy, Nemechek, Hocevar, DiBenedetto, Kligerman and Dean Thompson.

    Ten laps later, Preece remained as the leader by more than a second over Zane Smith while Heim, Eckes, and Friesen remained in the top five. 

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 95, Preece, who encountered lapped traffic, claimed his third stage victory of the season. Zane Smith settled in second followed by Heim, Eckes, Friesen, Kraus, Rhodes, Majeski, Bodine and Enfinger. 

    Under the stage break, the leaders led by Preece pitted and Parker Kligerman exited with the top spot following a two-tire pit stop followed by Preece, Eckes, Friesen, Stef Parsons and Rhodes. Following the pit stops, Chandler Smith was penalized for removing equipment out of his pit stall.

    With 48 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Preece took off with the lead on the inside lane and on four fresh tires followed by Eckes and Friesen while the field fanned out and stacked up around Kligerman, who was struggling to keep pace, entering the first two turns.

    Eight laps later, Preece was leading by more than a second over Eckes while Friesen, Enfinger, and Zane Smith were in the top five. Rhodes was in sixth ahead of teammate Majeski, Hocevar, Heim and Kligerman while Crafton, Kraus, DiBenedetto, Max Gutierrez and Hailie Deegan were in the top 15. 

    Then with 31 laps remaining, the caution flew when Bodine spun his No. 62 Camping World Toyota Tundra TRD Pro through the frontstretch. During the caution period, some led by Hocevar pitted while the rest led by Preece remained on the track.

    With 26 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Preece and Eckes dueled for the lead and the field fanned out entering the first two turns as both Rhodes and Chandler Smith nearly got turned sideways through the frontstretch grass. 

    Three laps later and with the field jostling and scrambling for positions amid those with fresh tires compared to those on old tires, the caution returned when a four-wide action between Majeski, Heim, Enfinger and DiBenedetto that resulted in the latter three colliding and wrecking hard against one another and into the Turn 3 outside wall, leaving DiBenedetto, Enfinger and Heim with demolished trucks.

    When the field attempted to restart with 15 laps remaining, the caution quickly returned when Deegan spun into Howard through the frontstretch as the field fanned out to avoid hitting Deegan. 

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Preece took off with the lead followed by Eckes and a hard-charging Zane Smith as the field fanned out and battled behind. Behind, Bodine scrapped the wall as sparks flew out of his truck, but the race remained under green as Zane Smith started his bid to challenge Preece for the win. Behind, Hocevar moved up to third while Majeski and Eckes were in the top five.

    With five laps remaining, Preece remained as the leader by nearly a second over Zane Smith followed by Hocevar, Majeski and Eckes while Friesen, Max Gutierrez, Ankrum, Crafton and Kligerman were in the top 10.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Preece, who was being pressured by both Zane Smith and Hocevar under the final five laps, retained the lead by two-tenths of a second with Hocevar trailing close behind. In Turn 1, Zane Smith attempted to make his move beneath Preece, but Preece threw a block and Hocevar was able to draw himself alongside Smith’s truck, which lost momentum entering the backstretch, in a bid for the runner-up spot. While Hocevar battled Smith, Preece was able to run away from his challengers and cycle back to the finish line for his first checkered flag of the 2022 season and for his second consecutive Gibson guitar trophy.

    In addition to claiming his second consecutive victory at Nashville, Preece claimed his second Camping World Truck Series career win in his eighth series start, the fourth career victory for David Gilliland Racing and the second consecutive victory for DGR’s No. 17 Ford F-150 team. As an added bonus, Preece claimed the second of three $50,000 bonuses from the Triple Truck Challenge.

    “I don’t ever like [the battle] to be that close,” Smith said on FS1. “My hats off to [David Gilliland Racing] and this Hunt Brothers Ford F-150. We’re getting a second guitar! I might have to start a band! I like it. That sounds good. I just want you guys to know [that] a lot of this is built in the shop. The speed is built in the shop and these guys work their tails off, and I know what it takes to win races. They gave me a phenomenal race car, so just proud to be the one holding the steering wheel. The biggest thing I had was clean air and to put as much dirty air on [Zane Smith] as possible. I wasn’t giving up.”

    Behind, Zane Smith edged Hocevar to claim the runner-up spot while Majeski and Friesen finished in the top five.

    “Clean air [was what I needed,” Smith said. “Ryan just did a really good job of shutting my air off there. Just really, really though to pass. Once we had that really bad [pit] stop, [I] lost 10 spots, I was worried. To battle back there and contend for a win says a lot about my SpeedCo Ford F-150 and my Front Row [Motorsports] team. Just man, another fast Ford. Just not quite enough.”

    “I thought it was just gonna be like our year,” Hocevar said. “We run really good and have something happen, but I’m tired. I’m actually wore out. I haven’t really got to work out or do anything, so I’m a little winded, but the No. 42 truck was pretty good. We struggled to find the balance there and finally hit it almost too late. It’s tough. It is so hard to win these races and hard to get passed. Clean air is so important. I had twenty-something lap better tires than [the leaders]…My best chance was to push [Smith] and let him take the shot. I didn’t have enough momentum built up when [Smith and Preece] got close and lost their momentum. Finally, we finished, probably, where we deserved to finish.”

    Ecks, Ankrum, Max  Gutierrez, Nemechek and Crafton completed the top 10 on the track. Notably, Rhodes finished 12th behind Kraus, Chandler Smith settled in 15th, Kligerman ended up in 20th and Bodine concluded his night in 27th, one spot ahead of Deegan.

    There were seven lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 43 laps.

    With two races remaining of the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular-season stretch, Zane Smith leads the regular-season standings by 21 points over John Hunter Nemechek, 30 over Ben Rhodes, 35 over Chandler Smith and 53 over both Stewart Friesen and Ty Majeski. 

    Zane Smith, Ben Rhodes, John Hunter Nemechek, Chandler Smith and Stewart Friesen are tentatively locked into the 2022 Truck Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the season while Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes, Carson Hocevar, Grant Enfinger, and Matt Crafton are above the top-10 cutline based on points. Derek Kraus trails the top-10 cutline to the Playoffs by 29 points, Tyler Ankrum trails by 50, Matt DiBenedetto trails by 62, Tanner Gray trails by 70 and Chase Purdy trails by 109.

    Results.

    1. Ryan Preece, 74 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Zane Smith, 70 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    3. Carson Hocevar

    4. Ty Majeski, four laps led

    5. Stewart Friesen

    6. Christian Eckes

    7. Tyler Ankrum

    8. Max Gutierrez

    9. John Hunter Nemechek

    10. Matt Crafton

    11. Derek Kraus

    12. Ben Rhodes

    13. Chase Purdy

    14. Dean Thompson

    15. Chandler Smith

    16. Colby Howard

    17. Kris Wright

    18. Blaine Perkins

    19. Jesse Little

    20. Parker Kligerman, two laps led

    21. Kaden Honeycutt

    22. Stefan Parsons

    23. Timmy Hill

    24. Lawless Alan

    25. Spencer Boyd

    26. Nick Leitz

    27. Todd Bodine, two laps down

    28. Hailie Deegan, six laps down

    29. Chris Hacker, six laps down

    30. Tanner Gray, seven laps down

    31. Matt DiBenedetto – OUT, Accident

    32. Grant Enfinger – OUT, Accident

    33. Corey Heim – OUT, Accident

    34. Camden Murphy – OUT, Accident

    35. Jack Wood – OUT, Accident

    36. Chase Janes – OUT, Rear gear

    The 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season will next continue to Lexington, Ohio, to compete for the first time at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, which will also mark the third and final Triple Truck Challenge event of the season. The event is scheduled to occur on July 9 at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • AlphaTauri retains Pierre Gasly for 2023 F1 season

    AlphaTauri retains Pierre Gasly for 2023 F1 season

    Scuderia AlphaTauri announced that Pierre Gasly will be returning to the organization for the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship season.

    The 26-year-old Gasly from Rouen, France, is currently embarking in his fifth full-time season in F1 competition, where he is ranked in 11th place in the drivers’ championship standings on the strength of three top-10 points-paying results through the first nine scheduled Grand Prix events, thus tallying his points total to 16. His best on-track result through this season is fifth place at the Baku City Circuit for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix two weeks ago.

    “I have been with this team for five years now and I am proud of the journey we’ve been through together and the progress we have made,” Gasly said. “I’m happy to remain with my Scuderia AlphaTauri team. This year’s new regulations have created new challenges for us and being able to plan our development with the team for the next 18 months is a good working basis for the future.”

    Gasly made his F1 debut with AlphaTauri, formerly known at Toro Rosso, during the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang International Circuit, where he started 15th and finished 14th. He went on to compete in four of the final five scheduled events of the 2017 season before he became a full-time F1 competitor for AlphaTauri in 2018, where he earned five top-10 results, 29 points and a 15th-place result in the final standings. Gasly was then promoted to drive for Red Bull Racing, AlphaTauri’s sister team, for the 2019 season, but was demoted back to AlphaTauri in Red Bull’s favor of Alexander Albon due to consistency struggles. Despite the midseason demotion, Gasly went on to claim his maiden podium result in the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos Circuit after finishing in the runner-up spot before settling in seventh place in the final standings.

    Since 2020, Gasly has achieved 28 results in the top 10 in F1 competition. The highlight during the stretch was achieving his maiden F1 victory in the 2020 Italian Grand Prix at Monza Circuit, where he became the first Frenchman since Oliver Panis in 1996 to win in F1 as he recorded the second career victory for AlphaTauri. He is coming off his career-best season to date in F1 competition in 2021, where he recorded his third podium result at the Baku City Circuit along with a total of 15 top-10 results and 110 points throughout the 22-race schedule. Despite finishing in ninth place in the final drivers’ standings in 2021, Gasly along with teammate Yuki Tsunoda contributed to AlphaTauri’s career-best season to date in F1 competition with a total of 142 points and a sixth-place result in the constructors’ standings.

    Through 95 previous starts in F1, Gasly has achieved one victory, three podiums, 26 laps led, 325 points and an average-finishing result of 10.8.

    “We are really pleased to confirm that Pierre stays with us in 2023” Franz Tost, AlphaTauri’s team principal, said. “He is definitely in the group of the best and most competitive drivers in F1 and has proven his abilities during all the time he has spent with us. Undoubtedly, Pierre can play a major role in the team having a successful season next year and it will be down to us to provide him with a competitive car, so that he can continue to deliver excellent results.”

    AlphaTauri’s full driver lineup, including plans for its second competitor, Yuki Tsunoda, will be announced at a later date.

    With his plans for 2023 set, Gasly will return to F1 competition at Silverstone Circuit for the British Grand Prix on July 3.

  • Erik Jones to make 200th Cup career start at Nashville

    Erik Jones to make 200th Cup career start at Nashville

    Competing in his sixth full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Erik Jones is within striking distance of achieving a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s event at Nashville Superspeedway, the driver of the No. 43 Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will make his 200th career start in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Byron, Michigan, Jones, who was vying for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers’ championship with Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2015, made his inaugural presence in the Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway in April 2015. During an early rain delay at Bristol, Jones relieved veteran Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Toyota Camry due to Hamlin suffering neck spasms and opting to sit out for the remainder of the event. Dropping to the rear of the field when the race restarted, Jones nursed the No. 11 Toyota to a 26th-place result in his unofficial Cup debut.

    A month later, Jones made his official Cup Series debut at Kansas Speedway in the No. 18 JGR Toyota Camry in place of Kyle Busch, Jones’ Truck Series boss and teammate who was recovering from injuries that included a compound fracture to his right leg stemming from the Xfinity Series’ season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway in February. During the event at Kansas, Jones, who started 12th, was competitive as he led a single lap and ran upfront against the sport’s elite. His race, however, came to an end with 72 laps remaining when he got loose entering Turn 4 and made contact with the outside wall while battling Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson in the top five. The wreck relegated Jones to a 40th-place result in his premier series’ debut.

    Another six months later, Jones returned to the Cup Series and campaigned in two of the final three scheduled events in JGR’s No. 20 Toyota Camry, where he replaced Matt Kenseth as the 2003 Cup champion was serving a two-race suspension for intentionally wrecking Joey Logano at Martinsville Speedway in early November. Making his first start in the No. 20 car at Texas Motor Speedway, Jones started sixth and finished a season-high 12th place. He went on to finish 19th at Phoenix Raceway, which was shortened due to rain.

    After winning the 2015 Truck Series title and finishing in fourth place in the 2016 Xfinity Series driver’s standings with four victories along with claiming the Rookie-of-the-Year title, Jones earned a full-time ride with Furniture Row Racing, which expanded to a two-car effort for the first time in the team’s history. Piloting the No. 77 Toyota Camry, Jones’ rookie Cup season started off on a rough note when he was involved in a multi-car wreck past the midway portion of the Daytona 500 that also involved his Joe Gibbs Racing affiliated teammates Kyle Busch and Kenseth. He rallied three races later by achieving his first top-10 career finish in the Cup circuit at Phoenix Raceway, where he finished eighth.

    Through the first half of the 2017 Cup Series season, Jones recorded five top-10 results, including a career-best third-place result at Pocono Raceway in June, and was in 14th place in the regular season standings with an opportunity to make his first Playoff appearance as a title contender. Five races later, he recorded another third-place result at Michigan International Speedway, his home track. Then at Bristol Motor Speedway in August, he achieved his first career pole in the Cup circuit and led a race-high 260 laps during the main event before settling in a career-best runner-up result behind Kyle Busch. Despite finishing fifth and sixth in the following two races, Jones was unable to move into the top-16 cutline to make the 2017 Cup Playoffs. Nonetheless, he went on to post three top-10 results throughout the 10-race Playoffs and cap off his rookie Cup season in 19th place in the final standings. By then, Jones claimed the 2017 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title and became the first competitor to achieve the Rookie-of-the-Year title across NASCAR’s top three national touring series (Cup, Xfinity and Truck).

    In 2018, Jones reunited with Joe Gibbs Racing and replaced Matt Kenseth as driver of the No. 20 Toyota Camry. In a similar approach to his rookie Cup season, Jones was involved in a multi-car accident during the Daytona 500 and was strapped with an early DNF in 36th place. Hee rebounded by finishing in the top 10 in four of the following six events.

    Through the first 17 events of the 2018 Cup season, Jones achieved seven top-10 results, a best on-track result of fourth place at Texas Motor Speedway in April and were in 14th place in the regular-season standings. Then during the following race at Daytona International Speedway, Jones rallied from being involved in a multi-car wreck near the midway point to overtake ex-teammate Martin Truex Jr. on the final lap and score his first Cup victory in his 57th series start. By becoming the 190th different competitor to achieve a victory in NASCAR’s premier series and the ninth to do so while competing for Joe Gibbs Racing, Jones guaranteed himself and his No. 20 JGR Toyota team a spot to the 2018 Cup Playoffs. 

    Following his victory at Daytona, Jones went on to finish in the top 10 in six of the remaining eight regular-season events, including a runner-up result at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in September, before entering the Playoffs as one of 16 competitors vying for the title. During the first round of the Playoffs, however, Jones finished 40th, 11th and 30th respectively, which were enough to eliminate him from title contention along with names like Jimmie Johnson, Austin Dillon and teammate Denny Hamlin. He went on to finish in the top 10 in four of the remaining seven Playoff races before concluding his sophomore Cup season in a career-best 15th place in the standings. By then, he had nearly doubled his top-five results in a season and collected four additional top-10 results in comparison to his rookie season. He also recorded a career-best average-finishing result of 14.0.

    Remaining at JGR for the 2019 season, Jones achieved his first top-five result in the Daytona 500 by finishing in third place behind teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch. Through the first 24 events of the 2019 Cup season, Jones achieved 12 top-10 results, a best result of second place at Pocono in and was in 14th place in the regular-season standings. For the following race at Darlington Raceway in September, where marked his 100th career start in the Cup circuit, Jones held off a late challenge from teammate Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson to claim his first elusive Cup victory of the season and the second of his career. The Southern 500 victory, which marked Jones’ first crown-jewel victory in NASCAR, was enough for him to race his way into the Playoffs for a second consecutive season, where he joined teammates Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. for the title fight.

    Despite entering the 2019 Cup Playoffs with late momentum, Jones’ title run came to an early end following three consecutive results outside of the top 30 in the Round of 16. During the first round of the Playoffs, he initially finished in fourth place at Richmond Raceway in September, but was then disqualified due to his car failing post-race inspection. Jones spent the remaining seven scheduled events by finishing in the top 10 three times, which included a third-place result in the season-finale event at Homestead, as he capped off his junior Cup season in 16th place in the final standings. While he achieved one victory throughout the entire season, he also achieved a career-high 10 top-five results.

    Jones commenced the 2020 Cup Series season by winning the non-points Busch Clash at Daytona in February with a heavily damaged race car after being involved in three separate multi-car wrecks. Despite the damage, Jones, who managed to continue, received drafting help from teammate Hamlin, who was a lap behind, on the final lap to overtake the heavily reduced field and rocket away to the victory. Compared to his previous two Cup seasons, however, Jones did not record a single victory throughout the 2020 season and did not return to the Playoffs as he only achieved nine top-five results, a season-best result of second place at Talladega Superspeedway in October, 13 top-10 results and a final points result of 17th place.

    Three months prior to the conclusion of the 2020 season, Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Jones will not be remaining as the driver of the No. 20 Toyota in favor of Christopher Bell. Nonetheless, Jones secured a ride for the 2021 season in the iconic No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE with Richard Petty Motorsports. The 2021 season was a difficult season for the Michigan native, who commenced the season by finishing 39th in the 63rd running of the Daytona 500 after being eliminated in an early multi-car wreck. He then recorded a total of three results in the top 10 throughout the 26-race regular season stretch, including a season-high seventh place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in August, as he missed the Playoffs for a second consecutive season. Jones went on to post three additional top-10 results throughout the 10-race Playoff stretch before settling in 24th place in the 2021 standings.

    Remaining as the driver of the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 while Richard Petty Motorsports merged with GMS Racing to form Petty GMS Motorsports, Jones, who was paired with crew chief Dave Elenz, has achieved a total of five top-10 results through the first 16 scheduled events with his best result occurring at Auto Club Speedway in February, where he led 18 laps and finished third. His other highlight occurred at Talladega Superspeedway in April, where he led 25 laps and was leading on the final lap before getting shuffled through the tri-oval and settling back in sixth place.

    Through 199 previous Cup starts, Jones has achieved two career victories, two poles, 34 top-five results, 73 top-10 results, 707 laps led and an average-finishing result of 16.8. He is currently trailing the cutline to make the 2022 Cup Playoffs by 55 points with 10 regular season events remaining to the schedule.

    Jones is scheduled to achieve his 200th Cup Series career start at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday, June 26, with coverage to commence as 5 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Verstappen beats Sainz to claim first Canadian Grand Prix victory

    Verstappen beats Sainz to claim first Canadian Grand Prix victory

    Max Verstappen capitalized on old tyres through a 16-lap dash to the finish to outlast Carlos Sainz Jr. and win the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Sunday, June 19.

    The 24-year-old Dutchman, who won last weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix at Baku City Circuit, commenced the weekend on a strong note by winning the pole on wet, slick conditions on Saturday. During the main event and on dry, sunny conditions on Sunday, Verstappen, who endured the event through a two-stop strategy along with a majority of competitors, spent the majority of the event battling Fernando Alonso and Sainz for the lead. He was leading by Lap 49 of 70 and appeared to have the event under his control when a Safety Car was deployed on the track due to Yuki Tsunoda wrecking in Turn 2. Despite having the field stacked up behind him for a 16-lap shootout, Verstappen’s Red Bull RB18 managed to fend off repeated attacks from Sainz’s Ferrari F1-75, which had fresher tyres, through the 14-turn circuit to emerge victorious for a second consecutive weekend and by nearly a second over Sainz.

    The victory at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was Verstappen’s first in Canada, the sixth of the 2022 Formula One season and the 26th of his career as he extended his lead in the drivers’ championship standings to 46 over teammate Sergio “Checo” Perez, who retired early in the event due to a suspected gearbox issue.

    “The Safety Car didn’t help, overall [Ferrari] were very quick,” Verstappen said. “Following is tricky around here but I could see [Sainz] pushing, charging, pushing, charging. The last few laps were very fun…Overall in the race, we seem to struggle a little more for pace compared to [Ferrari], so I think already, with the last [pit] stop I did, if it would’ve gone to the end, it would’ve been a close call, I think, to really fight him, but I was also not entirely happy with the Safety Car because he came out behind me with new tyres. I gave everything I had in those last [16] laps, which are very enjoyable with an F1 car to go flat out. The gap, I think, never really got bigger than eight-tenths, so it was a tough one. Of course, it’s a good sign [to extend the championship lead], but still a lot of races to go. A lot of things can go wrong, so we just have to keep focused and keep on doing what we’re doing, but [I] always try to look where we can improve.”

    Sainz, coming off his early retirement in Azerbaijan due to a mechanical issue that also affected his teammate Charles Leclerc, settled in the runner-up spot for the fifth time in his career, which marked his fifth podium result of the season and his 11th podium result overall as he continues his pursuit for his first F1 victory. 

    “I was pushing flat out, I wasn’t leaving any inch to the walls under braking,” Sainz, who started third and earned a bonus point for setting the fastest lap of the event, said. “I tried everything to pass Max but the positive thing is we were quicker, we were faster in the race. We were very close to winning today so I’ll take the positives…Honestly, all race, I had been quicker than [Verstappen]. For the first time this year, I felt like I was the fastest man on the track at all times, which was encouraging and it does give me confidence, but disappointed not to have gotten that first win because it was very close. I was two-, three-tenths quicker every lap, but around here, if you wanna pass, you really need to have a second six-tenths, which I didn’t have into the Red Bull today. There was no way [for a lunge] because the Red Bull is quick. It’s a quick car and doesn’t have any real weaknesses. I tried everything. I didn’t leave anything. I want my first win as much as everyone does at home, and so, you can imagine I was leaving everything out there…Everything I could, but it was just not enough, but I will keep trying.”

    In the midst of the two-car battle for the lead, Sir Lewis Hamilton claimed his second podium result of the season after finishing in third place while trailing the leaders by more than seven seconds. The podium result was the 184th overall for Hamilton and his first since finishing in third place at Bahrain International Circuit in March.

    “We’ve had such an awesome crowd, and it’s quite overwhelming to get this third place,” Hamilton, who started fourth, said. “We remain vigilant, never give up and it’s something I’m inspired by. We’re getting closer. I could just about see them [the front runners] at the end! Honestly, I’m ecstatic…Honestly, [this is] one of the best feelings of the year. To be back [on the podium], especially in Montreal where I got my first win 15 years ago. To be back up there, to feel the atmosphere from the crowd was pretty special. And then, just to kind of be in the race, to see the guys ahead and see that there’s potential, feel some of the potential of the car, that’s a real positive for us. Apart from Barcelona, I think this is the best race pace we’ve had…I’m glad I did everything I could to get ahead.”

    George Russell extended his top-five steak through the first nine consecutive events in his first season competing for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team by finishing in fourth place while Charles Leclerc, who started at the rear of the field after his Ferrari F1-75 underwent raft of power unit changes, carved his way to a fifth-place result.

    Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso, who started on the front row with Verstappen, came home in sixth and seventh followed by Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and rookie Guanyu Zhou. Alonso, however, was given a five-second penalty and demoted from seventh to ninth after he was deemed weaving to fend off Bottas during the penultimate lap. Meanwhile, Lance Stroll claimed the 10th and final points-paying result at his home track, thus recording a single point of the day for the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team.

    The first competitor to finish outside of the points was McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo followed by Sebastian Vettel, Alexander Albon, Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris, who endured an early slow pit stop from his pit crew. Nicholas Latifi, the second Canadian competitor in the event, settled in 16th followed by Kevin Magnussen, who qualified in fifth place but pitted early following an early battle with Hamilton that damaged his wing and was given the black-and-orange flat to pit, which he never recovered for points.

    Yuki Tsunoda, who started at the rear of the field due to an engine change to his AT03 and had methodically worked his way towards the top-10 points-paying results, ended up in 18th place after wrecking against the barriers in Turn 2 on Lap 49. Prior to his incident, he had just exited pit road with cold hard tyres and was carrying too much speed entering the corner when he went dead straight into the barriers.

    Mick Schumacher, who qualified in sixth place and was aiming for his first points result this season, retired in 19th place after he parked his Haas VF-22 in Turn 9 on Lap 20 due to a mechanical issue.

    Sergio “Checo” Perez was the first retiree of the event in 20th place after he pulled his Red Bull RB18 off the course in Turn 8 due to a suspected gearbox issue, an issue that spoiled Perez’s three-race result on the podium, including the Monaco Grand Prix victory.

    Results:

    1. Max Verstappen, 25 points

    2. Carlos Sainz, 19 points

    3. Lewis Hamilton, 15 points

    4. George Russell, 12 points

    5. Charles Leclerc, 10 points

    6. Esteban Ocon, eight points

    7. Valtteri Bottas, six points

    8. Guanyu Zhou, four points

    9. Fernando Alonso, two points

    10. Lance Stroll, one point

    11. Daniel Ricciardo

    12. Sebastian Vettel 

    13. Alexander Albon

    14. Pierre Gasly

    15. Lando Norris

    16. Nicholas Latifi

    17. Kevin Magnussen

    18. Yuki Tsunoda – Retired

    19. Mick Schumacher – Retired

    20. Sergio Perez – Retired

    With his victory in Canada, Max Verstappen continues to lead the drivers’ standings by 46 points over teammates Sergio Perez, 49 over Charles Leclerc, 64 over George Russell, 73 over Carlos Sainz and 98 over Lewis Hamilton. 

    In addition, Red Bull Racing RBPT continues to lead the constructors’ standings by 76 points over Ferrari, 116 over Mercedes, 239 over McLaren Mercedes, 247 over Alpine Renault and 253 over Alfa Romeo Ferrari.

    Next on the 2022 Formula One schedule is Silverstone Circuit for the British Grand Prix, which will occur on July 3.

  • Todd Gilliland cruises to a Truck Series win at Knoxville

    Todd Gilliland cruises to a Truck Series win at Knoxville

    Todd Gilliland made the most of his final off-weekend period from the NASCAR Cup Series and his one-race return to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series by winning the second annual Clean Harbors 150 at Knoxville Raceway on Saturday, June 18.

    The 22-year-old Gilliland from Sherrills Ford, North Carolina, who competes as a full-time rookie in the NASCAR Cup Series, led 58 of 150-scheduled laps, including the final 11, as he muscled away from John Hunter Nemechek and the field during a four-lap shootout to claim his first NASCAR national touring series victory on dirt and his first series win in more than a season.

    The starting lineup for the main event was determined through a formula that evaluated the results and number of positions each competitor gained through four heat events that occurred two hours prior to the main event. When the dust settled and the four heat events concluded, Derek Kraus, who finished second behind John Hunter Nemechek in the first heat event but earned 15 qualifying points, claimed the pole position for a second consecutive season at Knoxville. Joining him on the front row was Carson Hocevar, who won the second heat event and earned a total of 14 qualifying points. Braden Mitchell and Norm Benning were the two competitors who did not qualify for the main event.

    Prior to the event, rookie Jack Wood and Spencer Boyd started at the rear of the field due to both missing driver’s introductions.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Hocevar battled with Kraus through the first two turns until he pulled ahead on the outside lane and went on to lead the first lap. Stewart Friesen challenged Kraus for the runner-up spot ahead of Ben Rhodes, Buddy Kofoid and John Hunter Nemechek as the field scrambled for early positions.

    Four laps into the event, the first caution flew when Christian Eckes made contact and turned Dean Thompson in Turn 1 as Thompson limped back to pit road with a flat left-rear tire.

    Another four laps later, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Hocevar retained the lead following a strong start on the outside lane while Rhodes muscled his way into the runner-up spot over Friesen.

    At the Lap 10 mark, Hocevar was leading by nearly four-tenths of a second over Rhodes followed by Friesen, Nemechek and Ty Majeski while Todd Gilliland, Chandler Smith, Kraus, Buddy Kofoid and Grant Enfinger were in the top 10.

    Ten laps later, Hocevar continued to lead by more than two seconds over both Rhodes and Stewart Friesen while John Hunter Nemechek and Gilliland were scored in the top five. Majeski slipped back to sixth ahead of Chandler Smith, Kraus, Enfinger and Kofoid while Tanner Gray, Brett Moffitt, Zane Smith, Matt DiBenedetto, Matt Crafton, Eckes, Hailie Deegan, Tyler Ankrum, Jessica Friesen and Kaz Grala were scored in the top 20.

    Another 10 laps later, Hocevar remained as the leader by more than a second over Friesen while Nemechek, Gilliland and Kraus were in the top five. Meanwhile, Rhodes had fallen back to seventh behind teammate Majeski while Chandler Smith, Enfinger and Moffitt were in the top 10. 

    Shortly after, the caution flew when Tanner Gray made contact with Kofoid’s No. 51 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro on the inside lane and spun as he was hit by a sliding Spencer Boyd in Turn 3. During the caution period, Rhodes pitted from seventh place to have the front nose of his No. 99 Tenda Toyota Tundra TRD Pro repaired along with having an overheating issue addressed.

    With one lap remaining in the first stage and as the field fanned out when the race restarted under green, Hocevar pulled ahead once again and went on to claim the first stage victory on Lap 40, which marked his second stage victory of the season. Todd Gilliland settled in second followed by Nemechek, Kraus, Ty Majeski, Enfinger, Chandler Smith, Moffitt, Matt DiBenedetto and Zane Smith. Meanwhile, Friesen, who was running in the top five, lost momentum entering Turn 3 after his No. 52 Halmar Toyota Tundra TRD Pro suffered a flat right-rear tire, though he remained on the lead lap.

    Following a three-minute break period to allow the pit crew members to service their respective trucks, the second stage started under green on Lap 41 as Hocevar and Gilliland occupied the front row. At the start, Hocevar retained the lead while Kraus moved his No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST into the runner-up spot ahead of Gilliland while Enfinger and Moffitt were in the top five.

    Through the first 50 laps of the event, Hocevar was leading by nearly four-tenths of a second over Kraus followed by Gilliland, Moffitt and Enfinger while Nemechek, Majeski, Zane Smith, Matt Crafton and Hailie Deegan were in the top 10. Chandler Smith and Eckes battled for 11th ahead of Stewart Friesen and DiBenedetto while Kofoid was in 15th ahead of Colby Howard, Kaz Grala, Tyler Ankrum, Tyler Carpenter and Jessica Friesen.

    Seven laps later, the caution flew when Jessica Friesen flipped and got her No. 62 Halmar Toyota Tundra TRD Pro stuck on the inside burn curb in Turn 3. 

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 65, Gilliland pulled a bold slid job on Hocevar to assume the lead. During the following lap, however, disaster struck for Hocevar, whose No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado RST fell off the pace entering the fronstretch before he came to a stop towards the outside wall in Turn 1 and retired due to an engine failure as the caution returned. By then, his teammate Tyler Carpenter, a 30-year-old racer from Parkersburg, West Virginia, who earned a one-race ride with Niece Motorsports for Knoxville after winning the Gateway Dirt Nationals in December 2021, also retired due to a driveshaft issue.

    “[The truck] done blown up,” Hocevar said. “That’s it. I thought Sonoma [Raceway] was gonna be the hardest one to watch and now, this one’s gonna be harder to watch. I’ll probably just sit and think about it for a while…Just sucks. It is what it is. We can’t control. We can’t do anything. It’s fitting this would be our luck.”

    With the race restarting under green on Lap 72, Gilliland retained the lead followed by Kraus as Nemechek issued his challenge for the spot ahead of Moffitt and Zane Smith. As the race reached its halfway mark on Lap 75, Gilliland was leading by more than a second over Nemechek while Zane Smith, Kraus, Moffitt, Stewart Friesen, Enfinger, Grala, Eckes and Deegan were in the top 10.

    By Laps 85, Gilliland continued to lead by more than four seconds over Zane Smith while Nemechek, Moffitt and Stewart Friesen were battling in the top five.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 90, Todd Gilliland captured his first stage victory in his first Truck start of the season. Zane Smith settled in second followed by Nemechek, Moffitt, Kraus, Enfinger, Grala, Stewart Friesen, Crafton and Tyler Ankrum.

    Following a second three-minute break period to allow the pit crew members to service their respective trucks, the final stage started under green with 59 laps remaining. At the start, Moffitt, who was one of four competitors who remained on the track without pitting, rocketed with the lead in his No. 22 Concrete SupplyDestiny Homes Chevrolet Silverado RST on the outside lane while Enfinger and Kofoid battled for the runner-up spot ahead of Zane Smith and Gilliland. Soon after, Moffitt was black-flagged by NASCAR for a restart violation after NASCAR deemed that he jumped the initial restart. With Moffit serving his penalty by driving through pit road under green, Enfinger assumed the lead with 54 laps remaining followed by Gilliland, Zane Smith, Kofoid and Kraus.

    With 50 laps remaining, Enfinger was leading by three-tenths of a second over Gilliland followed by Zane Smith, Nemechek and Kraus while Stewart Friesen, Kofoid, Eckes, Majeski and Crafton were in the top 10. Not long after, Gilliland reassumed the lead over Enfinger.

    Ten laps later, Gilliland was leading by nearly a second over Nemechek while Enfinger settled back in third ahead of Zane Smith and Stewart Friesen. Another three laps later, the caution flew due to Bryson Mitchell falling off the pace and becoming slow on the track.

    Down to the final 28 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Nemechek moved his No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to the front ahead of Gilliland and the field. Three laps later, however, the caution returned for an incident involving Moffitt and Tanner Gray, both of whom made contact with one another in Turn 4, where Moffitt nearly flipped before both collided again in Turn 1, and sustained damage to their respective machines. At the same time, Grala and Colby Howard slid and collided against one another with Moffitt retiring in the garage.

    With 18 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Nemechek retained the lead while Stewart Friesen and Gilliland battled for the runner-up spot, with the former pulling ahead. Behind, Zane Smith and Kraus were in the top five ahead of Enfinger and the field.

    A few laps later, Gilliland muscled his way back into the runner-up spot and Friesen was left battling with Kraus for third place while Nemechek continued to lead by a narrow margin.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Gilliland slid his No. 17 Frontline Enterprises Ford F-150 back into the lead while remaining in a tight battle with Nemechek for the lead while Kraus, Scored in the top 10 were Zane Smith and Friesen occupied the top five. Majeski, Enfinger, Kofoid, Crafton and Eckes.

    Then with eight laps remaining, the caution flew when rookie Jack Wood spun in Turn 1. The caution stacked up the field for a late shootout to the finish.

    With four laps remaining, the race proceeded under green and Gilliland managed to retain the lead while Nemechek and Zane Smith battled for the runner-up spot as the former retained the spot.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Gilliland was ahead by more than a second over Nemechek as the field jostled for late positions. Having a clear racetrack in front of him, Gilliland was able to slip, slide and cycle his way back to the frontstretch and claim the checkered flag by nearly a second over Nemechek for his first NASCAR victory of the 2022 season.

    By winning the second annual Truck event at Knoxville, Gilliland claimed his third career victory in the Truck Series, his first while driving for David Gilliland Racing and his first since winning at Circuit of the Americas in May 2021. The victory was also the first for David Gilliland Racing since Ryan Preece won at Nashville Superspeedway a year ago.

    “Just so amazing, man,” Gilliland said on FS1. “The Cup Series is tough. Just racing every single week, I’ve had like a million people ask me, ‘Is this really what you wanna do on your off weekend?’ Absolutely, man. Nothing beats racing. I tell everyone I’m young. I wish I could do this every single weekend of the year. Just so happy for [crew chief] Seth Smith, my whole team, David Gilliland Racing, Ford, especially…Really, really cool. Just so thankful. I love the Truck Series. I ran here forever, it felt like, so to be able to come back and to get one, man, it’s so special.” 

    “I just had an amazing truck,” Gilliland added. “These [David Gilliland Racing] guys prepared me a really good one. We got fitted in the seat on Tuesday afternoon. Just an amazing truck. These guys work so hard. The No. 17 truck’s been really fast a lot this year, so finally to get it a win. I think they’re close to the owners’ Playoff deal, so hopefully, [the win] helped them a little bit and I’ll be anxiously watching the rest of the year now. I feel like a little part of me’s gonna stay on this truck.”

    Nemechek settled in the runner-up spot for the second time of the season and for his fifth top-five result while Zane Smith, Ty Majeski and Stewart Friesen finished in the top five. Kraus, Crafton, Enfinger, Tyler Ankrum and Ben Rhodes completed the top 10.

    There were six lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 45 laps.

    With three races remaining of the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular-season stretch, John Hunter Nemechek leads the regular-season standings by five points over Zane Smith, 10 over Ben Rhodes, 14 over Chandler Smith, 43 over Ty Majeski and 49 over Stewart Friesen. 

    Zane Smith, Ben Rhodes, John Hunter Nemechek, Chandler Smith and Stewart Friesen are tentatively locked into the 2022 Truck Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the season while Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes, Carson Hocevar, Grant Enfinger and Matt Crafton are above the top-10 cutline based on points. Derek Kraus trails the top-10 cutline by 27 points, Matt DiBenedetto trails by 43, Tanner Gray trails by 50, Tyler Ankrum trails by 53 and Chase Purdy trails by 106.

    Results.

    1. Todd Gilliland, 58 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. John Hunter Nemechek, 17 laps led

    3. Zane Smith

    4. Ty Majeski

    5. Stewart Friesen

    6. Derek Kraus

    7. Matt Crafton

    8. Grant Enfinger, 10 laps led

    9. Tyler Ankrum

    10. Ben Rhodes 

    11. Buddy Kofoid

    12. Christian Eckes

    13. Chandler Smith

    14. Matt DiBenedetto

    15. Hailie Deegan

    16. Colby Howard

    17. Dylan Westbrook

    18. Lawless Alan

    19. Timmy Hill

    20. Chase Purdy

    21. Jack Wood, one lap down

    22. Tanner Gray, one lap down

    23. Dean Thompson, two laps down

    24. Joey Gase, two laps down

    25. Blaine Perkins, two laps down

    26. Kaz Grala, two laps down

    27. Brayton Laster, three laps down

    28. Kris Wright, five laps down

    29. Spencer Boyd, eight laps down

    30. Devon Rouse, 10 laps down

    31. Thad Moffitt, 11 laps down

    32. Brett Moffitt – OUT, Accident

    33. Bryson Mitchell – OUT, Throttle

    34. Jessica Friesen – OUT, Brakes

    35. Carson Hocevar – OUT, Engine, 65 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    36. Tyler Carpenter – OUT, Driveshaft

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is Nashville Superspeedway for the second of three Triple Truck Challenge events, which will occur on Friday, June 24, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • NASCAR suspends crew chief Cliff Daniels for four Cup races for loose wheel infraction at Sonoma

    NASCAR suspends crew chief Cliff Daniels for four Cup races for loose wheel infraction at Sonoma

    NASCAR issued a major penalty to the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry piloted by the reigning Cup Series champion Kyle Larson and led by the reigning championship-winning crew chief Cliff Daniels for a loose wheel infraction at Sonoma Raceway that occurred this past weekend on June 12.

    The incident occurred during the final 28 laps at Sonoma, where Larson had just exited pit road following a green flag pit stop and was making his way through Turns 1 and 2 when the right-front wheel came off of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Despite going off course through Turns 3 and 3A, Larson managed to limp his car back to pit road and went on to finish 15th of the 36-car field in an event where he started on pole position, leading the first 26 of 110 laps and won the first stage.

    The loose wheel penalty that occurred on the course, however, was enough for Daniels along with crew members Brandon Johnson and Donnie Tasser to be suspended for the following four Cup events, beginning at Nashville Superspeedway on June 26 followed by Road America on July 3, Atlanta Motor Speedway on July 10 and New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 17. Following the penalty report, Hendrick Motorsports has elected to not appeal the penalty and will announce Larson’s interim crew chief for the following four events at a later date.

    This marks the 10th time through the first 16 scheduled events where a Cup Series team was penalized with a four-race suspension of a crew chief and select pit crew members due to a lost wheel coming off of a car during an event. The most recent incident of a lost wheel occurred at Kansas Speedway in May when Kaulig Racing crew chief Trent Owens along with rear-tire changer Jonpatrick Kealey and Jackman Marshall McFadden were suspended for four events, including the All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway in May and this past weekend at Sonoma, due to a wheel that detached off of driver Justin Haley’s No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 that was exiting the pit stall. Currently, Haley’s team remains the only one that has been penalized twice for a lost wheel. Their first incident occurred during this year’s 64th running of the Daytona 500, where Owens, McFadden and front tire changer Jacob Nelson were all suspended for the following four events. Owens is scheduled to make his return atop the pit box at Nashville.

    Other driver-team duos that have been penalized for a loose wheel infraction include Kaz Grala for The Money Team Racing during the 64th running of the Daytona 500 in February, rookie Todd Gilliland for Front Row Motorsports at Auto Club Speedway in February, Corey LaJoie for Spire Motorsports at Phoenix Raceway in March, Bubba Wallace for 23XI Racing at Circuit of the Americas in March, BJ McLeod for Live Fast Motorsports at Talladega Superspeedway in April, Denny Hamlin for Joe Gibbs Racing at Dover Motor Speedway in May and AJ Allmendinger for Kaulig Racing that also occurred at Dover.

    Another team that was issued a penalty following last weekend’s event at Sonoma was the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford Mustang team that was piloted by Cody Ware. The team was penalized 20 Cup driver and owner points following four pre-qualifying inspection failures, which sent Ware to the rear of the field and resulted with him serving a mandatory pass-through penalty through pit road following the start of the event. The team’s engineer Steve Gray was also suspended for the duration of the Sonoma weekend. Ware went on to finish 32nd and a lap down behind the leaders.

    The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season enters a one-week break period before returning to action at Nashville Superspeedway on June 26. Coverage for the event is scheduled to commence at 5 p.m. ET on NBC.