Pato O’Ward has signed a new contract extension with Arrow McLaren SP to remain with the organization in the NTT IndyCar Series through the 2025 season.
The 23-year-old O’Ward from Monterrey, Mexico, is currently in his third full-time IndyCar season driving the No. 5 Dallara-Chevrolet with AMSP, where he is ranked in seventh place in the championship standings. He notched his first victory of the season at Barber Motorsports Park during the Honda Grand Prix of Alabama in early May.
The news of O’Ward’s extension with AMSP comes after the Mexican competitor initially commenced this season testing himself on the free agency list. Following his victory at Barber Motorsports Park, O’Ward expressed high confidence of his intentions to remain with the organization as he continues his pursuit for his first IndyCar title.
“I am incredibly happy to have locked in my future with Arrow McLaren SP,” O’Ward said. “This team has truly felt like home for me over the past three years, and I can’t wait to build on our success as we compete for wins and championships. I want to thank the whole team for this opportunity. This is exactly where I want to be.”
O’Ward, who won the 2018 Indy Lights championship while driving for Andretti Autosport, made his IndyCar debut at Sonoma Raceway in September 2018, where he drove the No. 8 Harding Racing Dallara-Chevrolet to an impressive ninth-place finish. He then campaigned on a part-time basis for Carlin in 2019 before joining Arrow McLaren SP as a full-time competitor in 2020. After notching his first four podiums and finishing in fourth place in the 2020 standings, it only took the first four scheduled events of the 2021 season for O’Ward to claim his first IndyCar victory in the first of a Texas Motor Speedway doubleheader feature in May. Another four races later, he won for the second time in his career at The Raceway on Belle Isle during the second of a Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix doubleheader feature in June. Throughout the 2021 season, he contended for the championship against Alex Palou and Josef Newgarden before late misfortunes dropped and settled O’Ward in a career-best third place in the final standings.
Through May 2022, O’Ward has achieved three victories, four poles, 10 podiums and 354 laps led all with Arrow McLaren SP. He has also achieved an average-finishing result of 9.2 in 43 IndyCar career starts.
“The entire team is excited that Pato is onboard for the long haul,” Taylor Kiel, President of Arrow McLaren SP, said. “He is an important part of our plan here at Arrow McLaren SP; his energy and work ethic is infectious. Having watched him develop since he joined the team, I look forward to building on these foundations to increase our performance and achieve our common goals in the years to come.”
“Pato is an important part of McLaren’s future in INDYCAR, and we are happy that he will be a key part of Arrow McLaren SP for years to come,” Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, added. “He is an incredibly talented driver who has already shown what he is capable of in INDYCAR, and I look forward to watching him take the next step in his promising career.”
The remainder of Arrow McLaren SP’s driver lineup for the 2023 season, which will see the team expand to three cars, will be announced at a later date.
With his future set, O’Ward’s next scheduled event is the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he will start in seventh place as he pursues his first Indy 500 title. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, May 29, at 11 a.m. ET on NBC.
Making his lone NTT IndyCar Series start of the season in one of motorsports’ iconic events, Marco Andretti is primed to achieve a milestone start. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the third-generation driver of the Andretti racing family and the No. 98 Andretti Autosport Dallara-Honda will make his 250th career start in the IndyCar circuit.
A native of Nazareth, Pennsylvania, Andretti made his inaugural presence in the IndyCar Series during the 2006 season-opening event at Homestead-Miami Speedway. By then, he was coming off a part-time campaign in the Indy Pro Series, where he claimed three victories and finished 10th in the final standings. Driving the No. 26 Andretti Green Racing Honda, Andretti started 13th and finished 15th in his IndyCar debut after breaking his half shaft early in the event.
After finishing no higher than 12th during his first three IndyCar career starts, Andretti’s opportunity in claiming his first IndyCar victory occurred during the following event, which was the 90th running of the Indianapolis 500, an event his grandfather, Mario, won at in 1969. During a four-lap shootout to the finish, Marco took the lead from his father, Michael, with three laps remaining and had appeared to have the victory sealed. During the final lap, however, Sam Hornish Jr., who restarted in the top 10 and was muscling his Team Penske Honda to the front, made a slingshot move on Andretti at the final straightaway and managed to edge Andretti by 0.064 seconds to emerge victorious. To this day, the margin of victory between Hornish and Andretti marks the second-closest finish in Indy 500 history. Despite losing in a photo finish, Andretti claimed the 2006 Indy 500 Rookie-of-the-Year title.
Entering the penultimate event of the 2006 IndyCar season at Sonoma Raceway in August, Andretti had racked up two additional top-five results and a total of five top-10 results as he was in ninth place in the standings. During the event at Sonoma, Andretti claimed his first IndyCar career victory after leading the final 30 laps. By then, he became the youngest winner in the IndyCar Series at the age of 19 years and 167 days. After finishing 18th during the season finale at Chicagoland Speedway in September, Andretti capped off his maiden IndyCar season in seventh place in the final standings.
Throughout his sophomore IndyCar season in 2007, Andretti, who failed to finish in 10 of 17 scheduled events, only managed to achieve two podium results and a season-best second-place result at Iowa Speedway in June as he finished in 11th place in the final standings. Andretti’s junior IndyCar season in 2008 resulted with the third-generation competitor launching back to seventh place in the final standings in a year where he achieved four podiums, a season-best second place at Homestead, a third-place result in the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 and starting on pole position for the first time in his career at the Milwaukee Mile in June.
The 2009 IndyCar season marked Andretti’s first full-time season where he did not finish on the podium, but he recorded 11 top-10 results throughout the 17-race schedule and finished in eighth place in the final standings.
After recording three podium results, including another third-place result in the Indy 500, and finishing eighth in the 2010 standings, Andretti claimed his second IndyCar career victory at Iowa Speedway in June after leading the final 19 laps and beating the 2004 IndyCar champion Tony Kanaan by nearly eight-tenths of a second. The victory snapped Andretti’s 79-race winless drought dating back to Sonoma 2006. To go along with a podium result at Japan’s Twi Ring Motegi Superspeedway, a ninth-place result in the 97th running of the Indy 500 and a total of seven top-10 results, Andretti finished in eighth place in the final standings for a third consecutive season.
Andretti commenced the 2012 IndyCar season by making his 100th career start at the Streets of St. Petersburg in March, where he finished 14th. By then, Andretti Autosport swapped engine manufacturers from Honda to Chevrolet. After finishing no higher than 11th twice during the first eight scheduled events, he bounced back at Iowa in June, where he started third and finished second behind teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay. He went on to claim a pole and an eighth-place result in the season finale at Auto Club Speedway in September before settling in 15th place in the final standings.
The 2013 IndyCar season marked Andretti’s consistent season to date. Commencing the season with a new number, 25, he finished on the podium twice during the first five scheduled events (a third-place result at the Streets of St. Petersburg in March and another third-place result at the Streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil, in May). He then claimed two poles in the summer (Milwaukee Mile in June and Pocono Raceway in July). Recording a total of 15 top-10 results throughout the 19-race schedule, including a fourth-place result in the Indy 500, Andretti capped off the season by finishing a career-best fifth place in the final standings.
With Andretti Autosport returning to Honda engines in 2014, Marco recorded two podiums throughout the 18-race schedule, which included a second-place result at Barber Motorsports Park in April and a third-place result in the 98th running of the Indianapolis 500 in May after leading 20 laps. After claiming seven additional top-10 results, Andretti finished in ninth place in the final standings.
Sporting a new number, 27, to commence his 10th full-time season in IndyCar competition in 2015, Andretti tallied his podium results to 20 as he recorded two throughout the 16-race schedule, including a second-place result at The Raceway at Belle Isle in May and a third-place result at Auto Club Speedway in June. He concluded the season in ninth place in the final standings, which marked his eighth top-10 result in the final standings along with a total of 11 top-10 results.
The 2016 IndyCar season marked the first time since 2009 where Andretti did not record a podium result throughout the season. He managed to finish as high as eighth place during the 2016 season finale act Sonoma Raceway in September before finishing in 16th place in the final standings. The following season, his best on-track result was a fourth-place run at the Exhibition Place in Toronto, Canada, before he settled in 12th place in the final standings. By then, Andretti reached 200 career starts in the IndyCar circuit.
Prior to the 2018 IndyCar season, Andretti Autosport swapped numbers for Marco and teammate Alexander Rossi that resulted with Rossi sporting the No. 27 and Andretti taking over the No. 98. Andretti managed to start on pole position in the first of a Belle Isle doubleheader feature in June, where he finished a season-best fourth place, and finish in the top 10 eight times before capping off the season in eighth place in the final standings.
After finishing in the top 10 five times throughout the 17-race schedule and finishing 15th in the 2019 standings, Andretti claimed the pole position for the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 over Scott Dixon in August. The accomplishment marked the first time an Andretti claimed the pole position for the 500 since grandfather Mario made the last accomplishment in 1987. During the main event, however, he did not lead a single lap and finished in 13th place. Throughout the 14-race scheduled that was shortened amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, his best on-track result was 10th place at Iowa Speedway in July as he ended up in 20th place in the final standings.
In 2021, Andretti, who decided to step away as a full-time IndyCar competitor while pursuing other interests, made his lone start of the season in the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500, where he finished 19th.
The 2022 Indianapolis 500 will mark Andretti’s 17th consecutive entrance in the Indy 500 as he is set to take the green flag in 23rd place of the 33-car field.
Through 249 previous IndyCar starts, Andretti has achieved two victories, 20 podiums, six poles, 1,032 laps led and an average-finishing result of 12.3. He also holds an average-finishing result of 12.4 along with eight top-10 results in 16 previous appearances in the Indy 500.
Andretti is scheduled to make his lone NTT IndyCar Series start of the season in the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 29, with the event scheduled to start at 11 a.m. ET on NBC.
From having the race won to not having it won before officially emerging triumphant under the lights, Ryan Blaney outlasted Denny Hamlin and the field during an overtime shootout to win the 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 22.
The 28-year-old Blaney from High Point, North Carolina, led a race-high 84 of 140 over-scheduled laps and was initially within striking distance of claiming the checkered flag and the win during the final 50 scheduled laps.
However, an untimely caution due to an incident involving Ricky Stenhouse Jr. sent the event into overtime as part of the All-Star Race format that stated the event could not finish under caution.
Despite initially having issues re-attaching his window net after having it partially down prior to overtime, Blaney managed to streak away from the competition that included his Team Penske teammates and Denny Hamlin to win NASCAR’s annual exhibition event with a million dollars on the line for the first time in his career.
The starting lineup for the event was based on a newly-formatted qualifying session, consisting of a single qualifying lap session before the top-eight competitors transferred to the second round, which was an elimination bracket session. In this session, the drivers competed against one another in a side-by-side four-tire pit stop before drag-racing off of pit road and cycling for a full lap, where the first competitor across the start/finish line would transfer to the following round.
Following all qualifying sessions and rounds, Kyle Busch started in the pole position for the third time in his career. Joining him on the front row was Ryan Blaney. Twenty competitors earned guaranteed spots for the main event and they were joined by Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones (fan vote), all of whom transferred from the All-Star Open.
Prior to the event, Alex Bowman dropped to the rear of the field after unapproved adjustments were made to his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Kyle Busch broke ahead with an early advantage followed by Blaney while teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson battled for third place. Behind, Kurt Busch and Ross Chastain raced one another for fifth place.
Following the first lap, Kyle Busch was out in front ahead of Blaney, Byron, Larson, Chastain, Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, AJ Allmendinger and Chase Briscoe.
Through the first five laps of the event, Kyle Busch continued to lead by nearly half a second over Blaney followed by Larson, Byron and Kurt Busch while Truex, Chastain, Logano, Allmendinger and Briscoe were in the top 10. Chase Elliott was in 11th followed by Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, Aric Almirola, Denny Hamlin, rookie Austin Cindric, Daniel Suarez, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Alex Bowman, Brad Keselowski, Michael McDowell, Erik Jones and Chris Buescher.
At the Lap 10 mark, Kyle Busch stabilized his advantage to half a second over Blaney while Larson, Byron, Kurt Busch, Chastain, Truex, Logano, Allmendinger and Briscoe remained in the top 10.
Ten laps later, Kyle Busch remained as the leader and led by four-tenths of a second over Blaney while third-place Larson trailed by nearly two seconds. Byron remained in fourth followed by Kurt Busch, Chastain and Truex. By then, Christopher Bell was in ninth behind Logano while Elliott cracked the top 10 ahead of Bubba Wallace, Hamlin, Allmendinger, Suarez and Briscoe.
At the start of the final lap of the first stage, Kyle Busch was leading by nearly half a second over Blaney. Remaining uncontested at the front, Busch was able to cruise his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry back to the start/finish line and win the first stage on Lap 25. With the stage win, Busch was guaranteed to start with the lead for the final stage as long as he remained in the top 15 for the following two stages.
Under the stage break, some of the drivers, led by Kyle Busch, remained on the track while others, led by Byron, pitted.
The second stage started on Lap 26 as Kyle Busch and Blaney occupied the front row once again. At the start, Kyle Busch received a strong push from Chastain to maintain the lead. Blaney got loose behind Chastain entering the first turn, which allowed Kyle Larson to rocket into the runner-up spot while Cindric and Bell also moved into the top five. In the midst of the restart, Blaney was left battling Byron for sixth place.
On Lap 30 and while Kyle Busch remained as the leader. Blaney got into the rear of Chastain through the frontstretch in a bid for third place but got loose and shot up the track toward the outside wall. As a result, Blaney dropped from fourth to sixth. By then, Bubba Wallace had made an unscheduled pit stop under green and was a lap behind the leaders.
By Lap 35, Kyle Busch continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over Larson followed by Chastain, Byron and Cindric. Running in sixth was Suarez followed by Hamlin, Bell, Truex and Elliott.
Just then, the caution flew when Larson, winner of the last two All-Star events, lost a right-front tire and pounded the outside wall hard in Turn 4. Despite limping back to pit road, the damage to his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was terminal as Larson retired in his pit stall.
“[I] Hate that that happened,” Larson, who was released from the infield care center, said on FS1. “I felt like our car was good enough, depending on restarts since you can’t pass at all, especially the leader anyways. It’s pretty impossible to pass. Yeah, we’ll move on and look forward to the [Coca-Cola] 600 and hopefully, put on some good racing there.”
During the caution period, names like McDowell, Wallace, Almirola, Briscoe and Erik Jones pitted while the rest led by Kyle Busch remained on the lead lap.
Following an extensive cleanup, the race proceeded under green on Lap 43. At the start, Kyle Busch and Chastain dueled for the lead for a full lap until Busch managed to pull ahead and clear Chastain for the lead during the following lap. Soon after, Cindric moved his No. 2 Keystone Ford Mustang into the runner-up spot while Blaney and Byron were in the top five.
By Lap 45, Kyle Busch was leading by nearly half a second over Cindric and Chastain while Blaney and Elliott were in the top five.
Two laps later, trouble ensued when Kyle Busch cut a right-rear tire and was off the pace through the frontstretch. Just as Busch moved his slow car to the inside lane, he was T-boned by an oncoming Chastain, whose No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 got airborne and nearly flipped as he shot up the track, clipped Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and sent him hard against the Turn 1 wall while Chastain came to a stop below the apron. The incident, which knocked out all three competitors, was enough for NASCAR to cease the competition for more than 14 minutes.
“I felt like the driver of the No. 1 car chose the wrong lane to go,” Chastain said. “I saw Kyle have an issue, like a tire down, and I guessed left [lane] and I should’ve guessed right. Big hits. Tough break, but fast cars.”
“Just got a flat tire off of [Turn] 4,” Kyle Busch said. “Right rear’s flat. Unfortunate for our guys. Everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota, M&M’s. We had a really fast race car. Led all the laps up until that point. Disappointing not to be able to finish it out and go race for the million bucks.”
The second stage resumed with a two-lap, overtime dash and teammates Cindric and Blaney dueled for the lead through the backstretch until the former pulled ahead through Turns 3 and 4 as the field behind jostled for positions. When the second stage concluded on Lap 54, Cindric claimed the second stage victory.
During the stage break, a pit stop competition occurred as all the remaining competitors on the track led by Cindric pitted for four tires. Following the pit stops, Team Penske’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang team, piloted by Joey Logano and led by crew chief Paul Wolfe, was awarded $100,000 for performing the fastest pit stop during the stage break and won the pit stop challenge. With that, Logano was given a guaranteed starting spot toward the front for the fourth and final stage so long as he remained in the top 15 during the third stage.
During the pit stops, Kurt Busch was penalized for driving through too many pit boxes.
The third stage started on Lap 55 as Byron and Blaney occupied the front row. At the start, Suarez gave Byron a bump to enable Byron’s No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the lead while Blaney dueled against Suarez to retain the runner-up spot. With the field stacked up and dueling for spots, Bell was in fourth followed by Cindric.
Two laps later, Blaney moved his No. 12 Menards/Wrangler Ford Mustang to the front ahead of Byron as Bell tried to close in on the two leaders.
At the halfway mark between Laps 64 and 65, Blaney was leading by more than half a second over Bell followed by Byron, Suarez, Truex, Cindric, Buescher, Hamlin, Stenhouse and Logano while Kurt Busch, Keselowski, Bowman, McDowell, Wallace, Harvick, Erik Jones, Allmendinger, Almirola and Briscoe were still running on the track and on the lead lap.
By Lap 70, Blaney stabilized his advantage to nearly eight-tenths of a second over Bell followed by Byron, Suarez and Truex. Soon after, Stenhouse, who was in ninth, dropped off the pace after his No. 47 Viva Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 sustained a flat right-rear tire.
On Lap 75, the caution returned when Bell, who was in the runner-up spot, got his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota TRD Camry loose as he made contact against the outside wall between Turns 3 and 4.
Under caution, a majority of the field led by Byron pitted while the rest, including Blaney, Cindric, Logano and McDowell remained on the track.
With the third stage sent into another two-lap, overtime shootout, Blaney rocketed away with the lead entering the first turn while his teammates Logano and Cindric struggled to go as they briefly stacked up the field.
At the start of the final lap of the third stage on Lap 80, Blaney was leading by half a second over teammate Logano, who had Suarez pressuring him for the runner-up spot. By then, Blaney was long gone as he went on to claim the third stage victory on Lap 82. Behind, Suarez was able to overtake Logano for the runner-up spot followed by McDowell, Cindric, Byron, Hamlin, Buescher, Truex and Kurt Busch.
During the stage break and amid the reshuffling of the field, Cindric emerged with the top starting spot for the final stage followed by teammates Logano and Blaney. In addition, names like Cindric, Logano, Blaney, Michael McDowell and Stenhouse pitted while the rest remained on the track.
With the race entering the final stage comprised of 50 laps, the race proceeded under green. At the start, teammates Cindric and Blaney dueled for the lead while Suarez and Logano battled against one another for third place. As Blaney started to pull ahead of Cindric and Logano, Hamlin moved his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry against Suarez’s No. 99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in a bid for fourth place.
Down to the final 40 laps of the event, Blaney was leading by nearly a second over teammate Cindric while teammate Logano trailed by nearly two seconds. Suarez and Hamlin were in the top five followed by Truex, Byron, Kurt Busch, Buescher and Brad Keselowski while Allmendinger, Bowman, Harvick, Erik Jones, Wallace, Bell, McDowell, Almirola, Stenhouse and Briscoe were still running on the track and on the lead lap.
Just past the final 35 laps of the event, Wallace pitted his No. 23 Dr. Pepper Dark Berry Toyota TRD Camry under green after he suffered a flat tire while Blaney continued to lead ahead of his Team Penske teammates.
With 30 laps remaining, Blaney stabilized his advantage to more than a second over teammate Cindric while teammate Logano trailed in third place by more than three seconds. Suarez and Hamlin remained in the top five ahead of Truex, Byron, Kurt Busch, Buescher and Keselowski.
Two laps later, the caution flew when Erik Jones, the Fan Vote winner, got loose and spun his No. 43 Focus Factor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 against the outside wall entering Turn 4, with Jones’ car suffering significant damage as the driver retired.
Under caution, a majority of the field led by Hamlin pitted while eight competitors led by Blaney and including Cindric, Logano, Suarez, Buescher, Keselowski and Almirola remained on the track.
With 21 laps remaining, the race resumed under green. At the start, teammates Blaney and Cindric dueled for the lead until Blaney managed to clear the field entering the backstretch. Behind, Suarez moved up to third place while Logano and Hamlin battled for fourth place in front of Buescher, Keselowski and Byron.
Six laps later, Blaney extended his advantage to more than a second over teammate Cindric, who had Hamlin closing in for the spot.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Blaney continued to lead by more than two seconds over Hamlin, who overtook Cindric for the runner-up spot three laps earlier. Behind, Suarez and Logano remained in the top five ahead of Buescher, Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Bell and Kurt Busch. Meanwhile, Byron was back in 11th ahead of Harvick, Stenhouse, Allmendinger and Truex.
With five laps remaining, Blaney extended his advantage to nearly three seconds over Hamlin while Cindric, Suarez and Logano were running in the top five.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Blaney remained as the leader by nearly three seconds over Hamlin. Just as Blaney was within reach of crossing the finish line to capture the victory, the caution flew when Stenhouse got into the wall. As part of NASCAR’s policy for this year’s All-Star event to conclude under green, the event was sent into overtime.
During the caution period, some like Harvick, Truex, Almirola and Kurt Busch pitted while the rest led by Blaney, who was struggling to get his window net secured, remained on the track.
During the start of the first overtime attempt, Blaney, who was able to attach his window net to an acceptable rate without having to pit, received a push from teammate Cindric to take off with the lead ahead of Hamlin.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Blaney was still out in front of Hamlin and the field. As he cycled his way back to the finish line and with no cautions in the air, Blaney officially crossed the finish line in first place as he cashed in a million dollars.
With the victory, Blaney became the 26th different competitor to win the All-Star Race and recorded the fourth All-Star victory for Team Penske while Ford earned its first All-Star win since 2016 with Joey Logano. The victory was also a first in the Cup Series for crew chief Jonathan Hassler as Blaney also won for the first time in 2022.
“It was about to be real bad for us,” Blaney said on FS1. “I thought the race was over. Everyone thought the race was over. I already had my window net down. I do wanna thank NASCAR for letting me kind of fix it and not make us come down pit road. Yeah, that was really tough and then, having to do it all over again after trying to get that window net back up there. Great car. [Crew chief] Jonathan Hassler, everybody on this No. 12 group did a great job. Can’t thank Menards, Ford enough…This is cool! I know it’s not a points race win, but it’s gonna be a lot of fun. The party’s gonna be pretty big.”
Hamlin, who won the All-Star Race in 2015, settled in second place but was left fuming over NASCAR’s decision to not penalize Blaney for having his window net not properly secured prior to the overtime attempt.
“You know, it’s tough because he deserved to win the race, but if you mess up and you break a rule – not intentionally, but there’s rules and we have rules in place for safety,” Hamlin said on MRN. “My crew chief is taking four weeks off [a penalty from a pit road infraction earlier in the season] because of safety. I nearly crashed him off of Turn 2 when I got squeezed there. If I send him into traffic and he’s got no window net, then what, right? Luckily, that didn’t happen.”
Cindric, who made his All-Star debut, came home in third place followed by teammate Logano while Suarez, the All-Star Open winner, completed the top five.
Finishing in the top 10 were Bowman, Allmendinger, Buescher, Keselowski and Bell.
There were three lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 31 laps. Nineteen of the 24 starters finished the event, with 18 finishing on the lead lap.
Results.
1. Ryan Blaney, 84 laps led
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Austin Cindric, seven laps led
4. Joey Logano
5. Daniel Suarez
6. Alex Bowman
7. AJ Allmendinger
8. Chris Buescher
9. Brad Keselowski
10. Christopher Bell
11. William Byron, two laps led
12. Aric Almirola
13. Kurt Busch
14. Martin Truex Jr.
15. Michael McDowell
16. Bubba Wallace
17. Kevin Harvick
18. Chase Briscoe
19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down
20. Erik Jones – OUT, Accident
21. Kyle Busch – OUT, Accident, 47 laps led
22. Ross Chastain – OUT, Accident
23. Chase Elliott – OUT, Accident
24. Kyle Larson – OUT, Accident
Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, for the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 29, during Memorial Day weekend. The event is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. ET on FOX.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones completed the starting grid for the 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race after transferring from the NASCAR All-Star Open at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 22. Stenhouse, Buescher and Suarez raced their way into the main event after each claimed a stage victory, respectively, while Jones was revealed as the Fan Vote winner, thus claiming the final spot of the 24-car grid for the All-Star event.
With the starting lineup based on on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday, Tyler Reddick initially qualified on pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 186.981 mph in 28.880 seconds. He, however, dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. As a result, Daniel Suarez, who posted a qualifying lap at 186.903 mph in 28.892 seconds, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who qualified with a fast lap at 186.490 mph in 28.965 seconds, started on the front row.
Prior to the event, Justin Haley joined Reddick at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Stenhouse and Suarez dueled for the lead for nearly a full lap before the former pulled ahead entering the frontstretch as he led the first lap. At the same time, Chris Buescher overtook Suarez for the runner-up spot while Austin Dillon was up in fourth ahead of Erik Jones and rookie Harrison Burton.
Through the first five laps of the event, Stenhouse was leading by three-tenths of a second over Buescher followed by Suarez, Erik Jones and Austin Dillon while Burton, Corey LaJoie, Reddick, Haley and Ty Dillon were in the top 10.
By Lap 10, Stenhouse continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second over Buescher. Meanwhile, Reddick, who started at the rear of the field, was up in sixth place after he overtook Harrison Burton.
With five laps remaining in the first stage, Stenhouse extended his advantage to more than a second over Buescher followed by Suarez and Austin Dillon while Reddick was up in fifth ahead of Erik Jones. By then, Haley, who also started at the rear of the field, was in seventh in front of Burton, LaJoie and Ty Dillon.
At the start of the final lap of the first stage on Lap 19, Stenhouse remained as the leader by one-and-a-half seconds over Buescher. Remaining uncontested for a final full cycle, Stenhouse captured the first stage victory on Lap 20 and secured a spot in the 2022 All-Star Race, which will mark his fourth appearance in the million dollar event.
“Our Viva Camaro took off really, really strong there,” Stenhouse said. “All the Kroger team’s been working hard these last few weeks and we’ve been getting results, which is nice. Now, we get to go race for a million bucks and be in the big show, which was disappointing. We sat and watched it last year, so it feels really good. We’ll make some changes, make some adjustments and [I] got a better idea of what my car was doing there. Hopefully, we can run up through the field.”
Under the stage break, the remainder of the field led by Buescher pitted. Following the pit stops, Haley and BJ McLeod were sent to the rear of the field due to uncontrolled tire violations.
The second stage started on Lap 20 as LaJoie and Suarez occupied the front row. At the start, LaJoie took off with the lead followed by Suarez as the field scrambled and jostled behind for positions. When the field returned to the start/finish line, LaJoie was out in front ahead of Suarez and Buescher while Reddick was in fourth ahead of Erik Jones.
Then on Lap 26 and as Suarez started to pressure LaJoie for the lead, the caution flew when Landon Cassill got loose, spun and made hard contact against the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4.
When the race restarted on Lap 31, LaJoie and Suarez dueled for the lead through the backstretch until Buescher pulled a bold three-wide move on both through Turns 3 and 4 in a bid for the lead. When the field returned to the start/finish line, Buescher emerged out in front followed by Suarez and Reddick while LaJoie was back in front of Erik Jones.
By Lap 35, Buescher was leading by three-tenths of a second over Suarez followed by Reddick, Erik Jones and LaJoie while Austin Dillon was in sixth.
At the start of the final lap of the second stage on Lap 39, Buescher stabilized his advantage to three-tenths of a second over Suarez. Despite having Suarez close within his rearview mirror, Buescher was able to fend off the competition to win the second stage on Lap 40 and race his way into the 2022 All-Star Race, which will mark his second appearance in the event as both Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing competitors will contend for a million dollars.
“That was cool to be able to race our way in with our Fastenal Mustang,” Buescher said. “It was aggressive racing like we know it is when we come to the All-Star and these short runs. Get to watch them get it there side by side. I see [LaJoie] start slipping up the hill and I’m like, ‘We got to commit.’ It was cool. Had a good push down the front straightaway, had to be really protective into [Turn] 1. That grip was just starting to come in, so I’m pretty curious to see where the end of this race goes and really excited for the All-Star now.”
Under the stage break, some like Cole Custer, LaJoie pitted while the rest led by Suarez remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Custer was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.
With 10 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green. At the start, Suarez and Reddick, both of whom started on the front row, dueled for the lead through the backstretch until Suarez managed to clear Reddick through Turns 3 and 4 to assume the lead.
Then with eight laps remaining, the caution flew when Reddick got loose entering Turns 3 and 4 and spun several times in the middle of the track. As the field scrambled to avoid Reddick’s spinning car, Harrison Burton collided into Reddick past the start/finish line. The incident spoiled Reddick’s opportunity to compete in the All-Star Race along for Harrison Burton.
When the race restarted with eight laps remaining, Suarez took off with a strong launch from the field as Austin Dillon moved into the runner-up spot followed by Erik Jones.
As the field returned to the start/finish line, Suarez was out in front by two-tenths of a second over Austin Dillon followed by Justin Haley, Erik Jones and LaJoie while Ty Dillon was up in sixth place.
Down to the final five laps of the event, Suarez was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Austin Dillon while third-place Haley trailed by more than a second.
When the white flag waved and the final lap was underway, Suarez continued to lead by more than a second over both Austin Dillon and Haley. Having no challengers coming close to his rear bumper, Suarez cycled his way back to the finish line as he won the All-Star Open for the second time in his career and earn a one-way trip to the All-Star Race for the third time in his career. Suarez’s accomplishment meant that both Trackhouse Racing competitors earned a spot for the All-Star event.
“I only wished I had to run 20 [laps], but we had to run the whole 50,” Suarez said. “Overall, just very proud of my team. Every time that I’ve been part of the All-Star Race, it’s always a lot of fun. It’s just about fun, not with the trophy. What I love the most is the part about going out there in a stage with a pit crew, with a team, everybody having a good time. I’m so happy that I’m gonna be able to do this with my No. 99 crew: Trackhouse Racing.”
In the midst of the conclusion of the event, Erik Jones, who finished in fifth place, earned the 24th and final spot after being named the Fan Vote winner. As a result, Jones earned a spot for the All-Star event for the third time in his career.
“[I] Appreciate the fans,” Jones said. “I never thought I’d have a shot to win [the Fan Vote], but the No. 43 fans are pretty strong. Been struggling a bit, but we’ll make some big changes here for tonight. Hopefully, give’em a run for it.”
Austin Dillon finished in second place, but was one of 12 competitors who did not make the 2022 All-Star Race along with Justin Haley, Corey LaJoie, Ty Dillon, Cole Custer, Todd Gilliland, Cody Ware, Garrett Smithley, BJ McLeod, Tyler Reddick, Harrison Burton and Landon Cassill.
There were four lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured four cautions for eight laps.
Results.
1. Daniel Suarez – Stage 3 winner, 10 laps led
2. Austin Dillon
3. Justin Haley
4. Corey LaJoie, 11 laps led
5. Erik Jones – Fan Vote winner
6. Ty Dillon
7. Cole Custer
8. Todd Gilliland
9. Cody Ware
10. Garrett Smithley
11. BJ McLeod
12. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident
13. Harrison Burton – OUT, Accident
14. Chris Buescher – Stage 2 winner, nine laps led
15. Landon Cassill – OUT, Accident
16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Stage 1 winner, 20 laps led
The 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway will follow suit on Sunday, May 22, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.
Making another emphatic statement in his quest to defend his world championship, Max Verstappen completed a late overtake on teammate Sergio “Checo” Perez before sprinting away to win the Spanish Grand Prix at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Sunday, May 22.
The 24-year-old Dutchman driving for Oracle Red Bull Racing rallied from a rocky start early in the event, where he got loose and slipped into the gravel trap in Turn 4 while running in second place on the ninth lap. Through pit strategy, Verstappen, who led seven laps midway into the event, spent the majority of the event battling against Mercedes’ George Russell and teammate Sergio “Checo” Perez towards the front. After making his final pit stop on Lap 45 to remain ahead of Russell in the runner-up spot behind Perez, the latter, under team orders, was told to let his teammate overtake him, which he did on Lap 49. From there, Verstappen, who led a total of 24 of 66 laps, muscled away to claim the victory by more than 13 seconds over teammate Perez.
The victory at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya marked Verstappen’s second career win in the Spanish Grand Prix since 2016, where he claimed his maiden F1 victory in his first event driving for Red Bull Racing. It also marked his fourth victory of the season and the 24th of his Grand Prix career. With initial points leader Charles Leclerc retiring in last place due to a turbo issue, Verstappen emerged with the lead in the drivers’ championship standings for the first time this season.
“It was a tricky one,” Verstappen said. “I don’t know why I went off on Turn 4. I braked at the same point and suddenly, I just completely lost the rear [tyres]…Nothing, really, was lost because I was fighting with George [Russell]. My DRS stopped working. That was very frustrating at the time. I was very upset, but at that point, you have to try to live with it. I tried to do the best I could. We opted to go with a different route with the strategy and I think that also made us win today because once I was in clean air, I could do my own lap times again and I could actually pull a big gap on the cars around me. That was very positive. We have to be realistic. Without Charles’ retirement, he probably would have won the race. We are lacking in bit of pace, so we have to make that we keep on working to try and improve the car.”
Despite expressing his frustration over the team’s order to, Perez, who pitted for a final time for soft tyres on Lap 54, managed to claim an extra bonus point for logging in the fastest lap of the event as he finished in second place for the third time this season. With that, Oracle Red Bull Racing managed to claim its second 1-2 finish of the season.
“It’s a difficult one to digest,” Perez, who led 12 laps, said. “It turned out to be that the three stop [strategy] was a better strategy. I think I didn’t have a very optimize two stop [strategy]. At the end of the day, it’s a great team result…I’m definitely here to win. I think if I was on the three stop [strategy], I should have won the race.”
After spending the majority of the event battling against Verstappen, George Russell, who led four laps, completed the podium in third place for his second podium result in his first campaign with Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team
“We’re not back just yet, but we’re definitely on the right path,” Russell said. “It’s been six races worth of problem solving. We finally found the solutions to our problems and now, we can focus on brining more performance. This is the start of our season. I don’t think we’ll make any major strides for next week, but I think we will do in the coming races.”
Carlos Sainz rallied from spinning on the seventh lap to come home in fourth place in front of Sir Lewis Hamilton, who backed out of the throttle due to late overheating issues.
Valtteri Bottas finished in sixth place for his fifth points-paying result in his first campaign with Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen followed by Esteban Ocon, Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso and Yuki Tsunoda.
The first competitor to finish outside of the top-10 points-paying results was Sebastian Vettel followed by Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Mick Schumacher and Lance Stroll.
Nicholas Latifi settled in 16th place, two laps behind the leaders, followed by Kevin Magnussen, whose strong start in the top 10 was spoiled by an opening lap collision with Hamilton that damaged his Haas VF-22. Alexander Albon, Latifi’s teammate at Williams Racing, ended up in 18th place after being hit with a five-second track limits penalty.
Rookie Guanyu Zhou suffered his second consecutive DNF of the season after retiring in 19th place nearing the halfway mark of the event.
Charles Leclerc, the championship leader who started on pole position, led the first 26 laps before falling off the pace and retiring in last place due to a turbo issue to his Ferrari F1-75.
Results:
1. Max Verstappen, 25 points
2. Sergio Perez, 19 points
3. George Russell, 15 points
4. Carlos Sainz, 12 points
5. Lewis Hamilton, 10 points
6. Valtteri Bottas, eight points
7. Esteban Ocon, six points
8. Lando Norris, four points
9. Fernando Alonso, two points, +1 lap
10. Yuki Tsunoda, one point, +1 lap
11. Sebastian Vettel, +1 lap
12. Daniel Ricciardo, +1 lap
13. Pierre Gasly, +1 lap
14. Mick Schumacher, +1 lap
15. Lance Stroll, +1 lap
16. Nicholas Latifi, +2 laps
17. Kevin Magnussen, +2 laps
18. Alexander Albon, +2 laps
19. Guanyu Zhou – OUT, Retired
20. Charles Leclerc – OUT, Retired, 26 laps led
With his victory, Max Verstappen leads the drivers’ standings by six points over Charles Leclerc, 25 over teammate Sergio Perez, 36 over George Russell, 45 over Carlos Sainz and 64 over Sir Lewis Hamilton.
Currently, Red Bull Racing RBPT leads the constructors’ standings by 26 points over Ferrari, 75 over Mercedes, 145 over McLaren Mercedes, 156 over Alfa Romeo Ferrari and 161 over Alpine Renault.
Next on the 2022 Formula One schedule is Circuit de Monaco for the Monaco Grand Prix, which will occur on May 29.
With his pit crew executing three flawless services and the driver prevailing through three head-to-head drag races from pit road to the finish line, Kyle Busch earned the pole position for the 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 21.
The two-time Cup Series champion from Las Vegas, Nevada, was one of eight competitors along with William Byron, Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson to transfer from the single-car qualifying session as part of the sport’s new qualifying format for those already guaranteed a spot for the annual All-Star event. He then went head-to-head and prevailed against teammate Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson through two rounds of the new elimination bracket qualifying session that placed heavy emphasis towards the pit crew performing a four-tire pit stop in a side-by-side duel with two competitors before the competitors exited pit road with no speed limit and raced one another back to the start/finish line to transfer to the following round.
After transferring all the way to the third and final elimination bracket qualifying session, Busch received another strong pit stop from his pit crew before he outlasted a single-lap duel from the pit road exit against Ryan Blaney to beat Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang back to the start/finish line and claim the top-starting spot for the sport’s annual All-Star event scheduled for Sunday, May 22, with a million dollars on the line.
Busch’s pole for the 2022 All-Star event marks his third time starting on pole for the event and his first since 2012. He will attempt to win his second All-Star event since winning his first at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2017.
“Anytime you’re able to showcase the pit crew’s ability and have them and their athleticism in this competition, in this qualifying format, I enjoy that,” Busch, whose best qualifying lap occurred at 189.115 mph in 28.554 seconds, said. “I think that’s my most favorite part of the year is coming to the All-Star Race, and whether it’s been Charlotte and coming down pit road and sliding into the box and whatnot. But having those guys go over the wall certainly means a lot, especially the No. 18 bunch that I’ve had a lot of success with over the years. It’s obviously changed up a few times, most recently, but you know, we’ve always been a threat to be reckoned with when it comes to getting on the pole for the All-Star Race. So it feels good to have that today.”
“This is a cool event,” Ben Beshore, crew chief for Kyle Busch, added. “It’s something new. A good way to showcase our pit crew. They did a great job. They put in a lot of hard work this offseason and throughout the beginning of the year. and they clicked off three really good stops there and got it. So that’s exciting.”
Blaney, who lost to Kyle Busch in the final elimination bracket session, will start on the front row in second place as he pursues his first All-Star victory.
Teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson, both of whom were eliminated following the second elimination bracket round, will start third and fourth, respectively.
Kurt Busch, Ross Chastain, Martin Truex Jr. and Aric Almirola, all of whom were eliminated following the first elimination bracket round, will start fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively.
Joey Logano, the first competitor who did not transfer to the elimination round bracket, will start the All-Star event in ninth place as he will share the fifth row with AJ Allmendinger. They will start in front of Chase Briscoe, rookie Austin Cindric, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, Brad Keselowski, Michael McDowell and Alex Bowman, respectively.
Results:
1. Kyle Busch, 189.115 mph, 28.554 seconds
2. Ryan Blaney, 189.043 mph, 28.565 seconds
3. William Byron, 189.288 mph, 28.528 seconds
4. Kyle Larson, 188.600 mph, 28.632 seconds
5. Kurt Busch, 188.679 mph, 28.620 seconds
6. Ross Chastain, 188.003 mph, 28.723 seconds
7. Martin Truex Jr., 187.679 mph, 28.620 seconds
8. Aric Almirola, 187.715 mph, 28.767 seconds
9. Joey Logano, 187.650 mph, 28.777 seconds
10. AJ Allmendinger, 187.454 mph, 28.807 seconds
11. Chase Briscoe, 187.357 mph, 28.822 seconds
12. Austin Cindric, 187.305 mph, 28.830 seconds
13. Chase Elliott, 187.298 mph, 28.831 seconds
14. Christopher Bell, 187.279 mph, 28.834 seconds
15. Kevin Harvick, 187.084 mph, 28.864 seconds
16. Denny Hamlin, 186.909 mph, 28.891 seconds
17. Bubba Wallace, 186.825 mph, 28.891 seconds
18. Brad Keselowski, 186.800 mph, 28.908 seconds
19. Michael McDowell, 186.625 mph, 28.935 seconds
20. Alex Bowman, 186.136 mph, 29.011 seconds
*Bold indicates finalists of elimination bracket qualifying session.
Earlier in the day, Tyler Reddick, who is one of 16 competitors that are currently not eligible for the main event, claimed the pole position for the 2022 NASCAR All-Star Open after posting a pole-winning, single qualifying lap at 186.981 mph at 28.880 seconds. Joining him on the front row will be Daniel Suarez, who posted a fast qualifying lap at 186.903 mph in 28.892 seconds.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Erik Jones, Chris Buescher, Justin Haley, Austin Dillon, Corey LaJoie, rookie Harrison Burton and Cole Custer will start the Open in the top 10, respectively.
The All-Star Open, which will occur prior to the All-Star Race, will consist of three stages: 20 laps, 20 laps and 10 laps, respectively. The winner of each stage along with the Fan Vote winner will transfer their way into the All-Star Race, with the main event featuring a total of 24 competitors.
The 54-race winless drought for Stewart Friesen came to an end under the lights in the Lone Star state Saturday night. The 38-year-old Friesen from Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada, outlasted an overtime restart and a fierce duel against Christian Eckes to win the SpeedwayCash.com 220 at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday, May 20.
Friesen, who posted the third-fastest qualifying lap but led the field to the start, led a race-high 60 of 149 laps as he made his long-awaited return to Victory Lane for the first time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series since winning at Phoenix Raceway in November 2019.
With on-track qualifying occurring on Friday, John Hunter Nemechek notched his fourth Truck pole position of the season after a pole-winning lap at 182.359 mph in 29.612 seconds. Nemechek, however, dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his truck. As a result, Stewart Friesen, who qualified in third place with a qualifying lap at 181,056 mph in 29.825 seconds, and rookie Corey Heim, who qualified in second place with a lap at 182.192 mph in 29.639 seconds, occupied the front row.
Jordan Anderson, Austin Wayne Self, Grant Enfinger, Bret Holmes and Chris Hacker joined Nemechek at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective trucks. Colby Howard also started at the rear of the field in a backup truck after he wrecked his primary truck during Friday’s practice session.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Heim and Friesen were locked in a side-by-side battle for the top spot before Heim led the first lap by a hair on the outside lane. Shortly after, however, Friesen managed to clear the field and move into the lead as the field scrambled and jostled for positions early.
Through the first five scheduled laps, Friesen was leading over Ryan Preece followed by Christian Eckes, Heim and Derek Kraus while Chandler Smith, Ty Majeski, Ben Rhodes, Hailie Deegan and Ross Chastain, rounded out the top-10.
Nearing the Lap 10 mark, the first caution of the event flew when Chris Hacker spun in Turn 2. During the caution period, some of the drivers, including Carson Hocevar, pitted while the rest, led by Friesen, remained on the track.
On Lap 14, the race restarted under green as the field locked in a heated, side-by-side battle. When the field returned to the start/finish line, Ryan Preece led the following lap before being challenged in another side-by-side battle with Friesen for the lead, with the latter reassuming the top spot. Behind, Eckes and Kraus battled for third ahead of Heim, Chandler Smith, Ben Rhodes, Ty Majeski and the field.
At the Lap 20 mark, Preece reassumed the lead over Friesen while Eckes, Majeski, Chandler Smith, Zane Smith, Kraus, Heim, Rhodes and Matt Crafton were in the top 10. By then, Nemechek, who started at the rear of the field, was challenging for a top-10 spot.
Ten laps later, Preece stabilized his advantage to more than two-tenths of a second over Friesen while Eckes, Zane Smith and Majeski battled in the top five. By then, Nemechek was up to seventh behind teammate Chandler Smith while Kraus, Rhodes and Heim were in the top 10.
When the first stage concluded on Lap 35, Preece captured his first stage victory of the season while Friesen, Zane Smith, Eckes, Chandler Smith, Nemechek, Majeski, Rhodes, Kraus and Heim were scored in the top 10.
Under the stage break, the field, led by Preece, pitted and Friesen retained the top spot after exiting first ahead of Preece, Eckes, Zane Smith, Rhodes and Nemechek. During the pit stops, Zane Smith was penalized for equipment interference while Blaine Perkins and Todd Bodine were penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Chandler Smith pitted for a second time to address a loose left-rear wheel on his No. 18 iBuyPower Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.
The second stage started on Lap 42 as Friesen and Preece occupied the front row. At the start, Friesen and Preece were locked in another side-by-side battle for the lead with the latter managing to lead ahead of Eckes and Nemechek, who cracked the top five.
Through the first 50 scheduled laps, Friesen’s No. 52 Halmar Toyota Tundra TRD Pro was leading by more than a tenth of a second over Preece’s No. 17 Morton Buildings Ford F-150 while Nemechek’s No. 4 Tom Thumb/Albertson’s Toyota Tundra TRD Pro was up in third place. ThorSport Racing’s Eckes and Rhodes were in the top five followed by Tyler Ankrum, Corey Heim, Kraus, Grant Enfinger and Majeski while Ross Chastain, Carson Hocevar, Matt Crafton, Matt DiBenedetto and Chandler Smith occupied the top 15. Behind, Hailie Deegan and Zane Smith battled for 16th while Tanner Gray, rookie Jack Wood and Chase Purdy were in the top 20.
Ten laps later, Friesen extended his advantage to more than six-tenths of a second over Preece while Nemechek, Eckes and Rhodes remained in the top five.
Another six laps later, Preece seized the opportunity when Friesen was stuck in lapped traffic to take the lead while third-place Nemechek trailed by more than four-tenths of a second. By then, fourth-place Ben Rhodes trailed by more than five seconds along with teammate, Eckes.
When the second stage concluded on Lap 70, Preece, who managed to slowly pull away from Friesen, captured his second consecutive stage victory of the season. Friesen settled in second followed by Nemechek, Rhodes, Eckes, Derek Kraus, Heim, Majeski, Chastain and Ankrum.
Under the stage break, the field, led by Friesen, returned to pit road for service and Nemechek emerged at the top of the leaderboard after exiting with the lead followed by Friesen, Preece, Eckes and Chastain. During the pit stops, Zane Smith, Ankrum and Heim made contact, which sent Heim’s No. 51 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro around on pit road. Following the pit stops, Rhodes was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.
With 70 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. At the start, Nemechek and Preece briefly dueled for the lead until Nemechek pulled away as the field fanned out through the backstretch. When the field returned to the start/finish line, Preece had fallen back to fourth while Friesen and Eckes were in second and third.
With 62 laps remaining, the caution flew when Majeski got loose beneath Kraus entering Turn 1 and sent Kraus into the outside wall. During the caution period, some drivers, including Nemechek, Preece and Crafton pitted, while the rest, led by Friesen remained on the track.
Six laps later, the race proceeded under green as Friesen and Eckes occupied the front row. After Friesen led the first few laps during the restart, Eckes muscled his No. 98 AHI Facility Services Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to the front.
With 50 laps remaining, Eckes was leading by more than a tenth of a second over Friesen while Chandler Smith, Chastain and Ankrum were in the top five. Enfinger was in sixth followed by Zane Smith, Majeski, Carson Hocevar and Matt DiBenedetto.
Two laps later, Friesen regained the lead over Eckes. Another six laps later, the caution flew for an incident involving Tyler Hill and Kris Wright in Turn 2 that cut Wright’s tire and sent him into the Turn 3 wall. During the caution period, nearly the entire field, except for Chase Purdy, pitted. Following the pit stops, Austin Wayne Self was penalized for improper fueling along with Jesse Little for an uncontrolled tire.
Down to the final 36 laps of the event, the race proceeded under green as Purdy and Hocevar occupied the front row. At the start, the field shuffled for positions entering the backstretch as Hocevar retained the lead followed by Eckes and Chastain.
Three laps later, Eckes took the lead over Hocevar while Chastain, Friesen and Grant Enfinger occupied the top five. Meanwhile, Nemechek was in seventh behind Tanner Gray while Chandler Smith, Zane Smith and Preece were scored in the top 10.
Under the final 30 laps of the event, Eckes was leading by less than three-tenths of a second over Hocevar followed by Friesen, Chastain and Enfinger while Nemechek moved up to sixth place. Behind, Chandler Smith and Zane Smith made contact entering Turn 1, but both competitors managed to proceed forward. However, Zane Smith ended up pitting under green due to cutting a right-front tire.
With 20 laps remaining, Eckes was leading by less than three-tenths of a second over Hocevar while Nemechek was up in fourth behind Friesen. By then, Zane Smith had dropped off the pace as he made another pit stop under green to address the right-front fender on his truck.
Just then, the caution flew as Ankrum spun due to on-track contact with Enfinger while both were battling for a top-10 spot. During the caution period, none of the front competitors toward the front chose to pit.
Down to the final 14 laps of the event, the race continued under green. At the start, Hocevar led briefly until Eckes carved his way back to the lead when he returned to the start/finish line. Behind, Friesen moved into the runner-up spot while Preece and Nemechek were in the top five.
Down to the final 10 scheduled laps, Eckes, Friesen, Hocevar, Preece and Nemechek were separated by less than eight-tenths of a second as Eckes continued to lead by a tenth of a second over Friesen and less than three-tenths over Hocevar.
Then with five laps remaining, the caution flew when Rhodes spun and hit the backstretch wall following contact with Tanner Gray. At the moment of caution, Eckes was still out in front by a narrow margin over Friesen, Hocevar, Preece and Nemechek, all of whom battled intensely in the closing laps of the event.
With the event sent into overtime, Eckes and Friesen battled for the top spot for a full lap as the field jostled for last-minute positions behind.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Friesen and Eckes remained dead even for the lead through the frontstretch until Friesen managed to clear and pull ahead of Eckes entering the backstretch. Then through Turns 3 and 4, Friesen went from the top to the bottom lane to block Eckes and stall his progress. This was enough for Friesen to cross the finish line by 0.122 seconds over Eckes to grab his first series victory in over two seasons.
In addition to snapping a two-year winless drought, Friesen notched his third career victory in the Camping World Truck Series, his first at Texas and his first driving a Toyota. With the victory, Friesen became the fifth Truck regular competitor to grab a win and be guaranteed a spot for the 2022 Truck Playoffs. He also recorded the first NASCAR victory for crew chief Jon Leonard.
“Man, I made all the mistakes I needed to make in the first two segments,” Friesen said on FS1. “We had an awesome truck. Thanks so much to [owner] Chris Larsen, everybody at Halmar International, the whole group. There’s a huge office there that pulls for us every week. Finally, we got something to celebrate. Thank you, guys. You have no idea the work that’s went into this race team over the past three years to build this up. It’s an awesome group. We’re in the Playoffs. How about that?! Whoo!”
“I’m terrible on restarts, and that was probably the best one on old tires,” Friesen added. “Just didn’t spin the tires, got a jump and then, thew a slider into [Turns] 1 and 2, and it stuck.”
Eckes, who led 40 laps, settled in second place for his best result of the season thus far while Preece came home in third place.
“[I] Just didn’t have lane position,” Eckes said. “It is what it is. Just super proud of these AHI Facility Services team. It’s been a rough stretch here for a little bit. I’m glad to show that we can actually be here and win races. This is just a taste to come and we’re more hungrier than ever.”
“We just need to clean up a few things,” Preece said. “When you gain control of the race, you can’t give it up, especially here. It was, really top lane, dominant there, basically in the middle part of the race and to the end. Proud of the speed this Morton Buildings Ford F-150 really had. It’s a pleasure to race trucks like that and to work with [crew chief] Chad Johnston and this entire group. It stings that much more watching [the end] right now, but we got to third. I hate losing more than I love winning, but we’ll try to go get them the next time we’re in this [series].”
Carson Hocevar, who is still pursuing his first career victory in NASCAR, finished in fourth place while Ty Majeski finished in the top five.
Nemechek, Heim, Chandler Smith, Crafton and DiBenedetto completed the top 10.
There were 17 lead changes among seven different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 36 laps.
With seven races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular-season stretch, John Hunter Nemechek leads the standings by four points over Ben Rhodes, 18 over Chandler Smith, 21 over Stewart Friesen, 32 over Zane Smith and 33 over Ty Majeski.
Zane Smith, Ben Rhodes, John Hunter Nemechek, Stewart Friesen and Chandler Smith are currently guaranteed spots in 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. Tanner Gray trails the cutline by 35 points with Derek Kraus trailing by 57, Matt DiBenedetto by 67 and Tyler Ankrum by 68.
Results.
1. Stewart Friesen, 60 laps led
2. Christian Eckes, 40 laps led
3. Ryan Preece, 27 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner
4. Carson Hocevar, four laps led
5. Ty Majeski
6. John Hunter Nemechek, 14 laps led
7. Corey Heim, one lap led
8. Chandler Smith
9. Matt Crafton
10. Matt DiBenedetto
11. Grant Enfinger
12. Ross Chastain
13. Todd Bodine
14. Jordan Anderson
15. Bret Holmes
16. Jack Wood
17. Hailie Deegan
18. Austin Wayne Self
19. Jesse Little
20. Timmy Hill
21. Chase Purdy, three laps led
22. Tate Fogleman
23. Brennan Poole
24. Tanner Gray
25. Tyler Hill
26. Blaine Perkins
27. Ben Rhodes, one lap down
28. Spencer Boyd, two laps down
29. Dean Thompson, three laps down
30. Lawless Alan, four laps down
31. Chris Hacker, six laps down
32. Zane Smith, six laps down
33. Tyler Ankrum – OUT, Overheating
34. Colby Howard, 10 laps down
35. Kris Wright – OUT, Accident
36. Derek Kraus – OUT, Accident
Next on the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is the series’ annual event at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. The event is scheduled to occur on Friday, May 20, at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
A significant milestone start is in the making for Ben Rhodes, the reigning NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion and driver of the No. 99 ThorSport Racing Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. By competing in this weekend’s event at Texas Motor Speedway, Rhodes will make his 150th career start in the Truck circuit.
A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Rhodes made his inaugural presence in the Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway in March 2014. By then, he was contending for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East title for Turner Scott Motorsports. Driving the No. 32 Chevrolet Silverado for TSM, Rhodes started 12th and finished eighth in his series debut. He returned for three additional events throughout the 2014 season (Dover International Speedway in May, Bristol Motor Speedway in August, and Phoenix Raceway in November). During this span, he earned a season-best fifth-place result at Phoenix.
After winning the 2014 K&N Pro Series title before campaigning on a part-time basis for JR Motorsports during the 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, Rhodes earned a full-time ride in the Truck Series with ThorSport Racing for the 2016 season, where he campaigned for the Rookie-of-the-Year title. Piloting the No. 41 Toyota Tundra for ThorSport, he commenced his rookie Truck season with a seventh-place result at Daytona International Speedway in February followed by a sixth-place run at Atlanta Motor Speedway. After starting on pole position for the first time in his career at Martinsville Speedway in April, where he finished 16th after spinning late, Rhodes was placed in the prime position of winning his first Truck event at Kansas Speedway in May. Running in second place behind veteran Johnny Sauter on the final lap, he made a bold move beneath Sauter in Turn 3 and ended up turning Sauter’s truck as both competitors veered into the outside wall with the finish in sight. Instead of a possible trip to Victory Lane, Rhodes settled in 18th place, a lap down.
As the 2016 Truck Series progressed, Rhodes received two more opportunities of winning his first Truck event: Iowa Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway in June. At Iowa, he settled in fourth place following a two-lap dash to the finish. At the World Wide Technology Raceway, he settled in second place behind Christopher Bell following another two-lap dash. The strong results, however, were mingled with inconsistent results throughout the summer as Rhodes failed to make the 2016 Truck Playoffs. He managed to record four top-15 results during the seven-race Playoff stretch before concluding his first NASCAR Truck season in 14th place in the final standings.
Remaining at ThorSport Racing for the 2017 truck season while sporting the number 27 alongside his Toyota Tundra, Rhodes was battling for the victory on the final lap at Daytona in February until a bump from teammate Grant Enfinger entering the backstretch sent Rhodes sideways and triggered a multi-truck wreck that sent his other championship teammate Matt Crafton barrel-rolling in the air. Despite the accident, Rhodes limped home to a 12th-place result. He rallied during the second event of the season at Atlanta by finishing fourth, but fell back to 20th during the third event of the season at Martinsville.
Then at Kansas in May, Rhodes led 25 laps and was running away with the lead over Kyle Busch when his engine blew up with eight laps remaining, which forced the Kentucky native to retire his truck in the garage. He rebounded during the following four events by finishing in the top 10 before finishing outside of the top 10 during the ensuing three. After finishing in the top 10 in three of the following four events, which includes a second-place result at Pocono Raceway in July, Rhodes was still in contention to earn a spot for the 2017 Playoffs. By finishing sixth at Chicagoland Speedway in September, which marked the conclusion of the 2017 regular season stretch, he secured the eighth and final transfer spot to the Playoffs in a tie-breaker over Ryan Truex, who finished fourth despite starting on pole.
Following a seventh-place result at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September to commence his Playoff run, Rhodes earned his first elusive Truck Series career victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after storming to the lead with eight laps remaining and fending off Bell by 0.066 seconds. The victory earned Rhodes and his No. 27 ThorSport Racing Toyota team a spot in the Playoff’s Round of 6. After finishing ninth and 18th during the first two Round of 6 events, his title hopes evaporated at Phoenix Raceway in November after he was turned by Playoff rival Austin Cindric during a restart with 22 laps remaining and wrecked along with teammate Matt Crafton. Rhodes went on to conclude the 2017 season in 19th place at Homestead-Miami Speedway after running out of fuel in the closing laps and in fifth place in the final standings. By then, he doubled his overall top-10 results to 12 compared to five in 2016.
Rhodes returned to ThorSport Racing for a third full-time season in 2018 as he also reunited with the number 41 alongside his truck. By then, ThorSport swapped manufacturers from Toyota to Ford. Despite finishing fourth at Daytona in February, Rhodes’ crew chief, Eddie Troconis, was suspended for one event and fined $5,000 after Rhodes’ No. 41 Ford was found to be too low during the post-race inspection process, which also resulted with a 10-point dock in the driver’s and owner’s standings.
Through the first 11 events of the 2018 Truck season, Rhodes had collected a total of four top-five results and was coming off a runner-up result at Chicagoland Speedway. Then at Kentucky Speedway in July, he claimed his second career victory after leading the final 24 laps and beating Stewart Friesen by nearly a second. The victory guaranteed Rhodes a spot in the 2018 Truck Playoffs, who capped off the regular season stretch with back-to-back top-10 results. During the Round of 8, however, he finished 14th, fourth and 16th respectively, which were enough to eliminate him from title contention early. Managing two additional top-five results during the final four scheduled events, Rhodes settled in eighth place in the final standings as he led a career-best 232 laps throughout the season and earned an average-finishing result of 9.9.
Remaining at ThorSport Racing for a fourth full-time season in 2019 with his number changed to 99, Rhodes was battling for the win at Daytona when he got clipped by Gus Dean with two laps remaining and was collected in a multi-truck wreck, which left him with a 14th-place result in the final running order. He rebounded during the following 10 events by posting three runner-up results, five top-five results and eight top-10 results. Rhodes, however, earned only one top-10 result during the final five regular-season events and failed to return to the Playoffs. He managed to record four top-10 results during the postseason by settling in ninth place in the final standings.
In a similar fashion to 2019, Rhodes’ 2020 season started with being involved in a late multi-truck wreck while contending for victory. At Atlanta Motor Speedway in June, he made his 100th Truck Series career start, where he went on to finish ninth. Three months later at Darlington Raceway, Rhodes persevered over an overtime battle with rookie Derek Kraus to snap a one-year winless drought and score his fourth Truck Series career victory. Returning to the Playoffs, he transferred from the Round of 10 to 8 despite posting a single top-five result at Talladega Superspeedway in October. Rhodes’ 2020 title hopes, however, came to an end after finishing 20th, 20th and second respectively in the Round of 8. He went on to cap the season in seventh place in the final standings with a career-high nine top-five results, 14 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 10.0.
Prior to the 2021 season, ThorSport Racing returned to fielding Toyotas following a three-year partnership with Ford while Rhodes remained as the driver of the No. 99 truck. In his return to piloting a Toyota, Rhodes overtook Corey Roper on the final lap and edged Jordan Anderson by 0.036 seconds to win at Daytona. He then backed it up by winning at the Daytona Road Course event over Sheldon Creed. From there, Rhodes utilized consistency that included three additional top-five results and nine additional top-10 results before making his fourth appearance in the Truck Series Playoffs.
Respective finishes of third, 34th and ninth allowed the Kentucky native to transfer from the Round of 10 to 8. After finishing second, 13th and seventh respectively in the Round of 8, Rhodes emerged as one of four competitors to transfer to the Championship Round at Phoenix Raceway in November and battle for the title. During the finale, Rhodes overtook title rival Zane Smith with nine laps remaining and was able to finish in third place, but claim the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship over Smith, John Hunter Nemechek and teammate Matt Crafton. With the accomplishment, Rhodes became the 19th different competitor to win the Truck title as he delivered the fourth drivers’ championship and first owners’ title to ThorSport Racing. His championship season was one to remember as he recorded two victories, eight top-five results, a career-high 16 top-10 results and a career-best average-finishing result of 9.3.
Through 149 previous starts, Rhodes has achieved one championship, six victories, five poles, 46 top-five results, 82 top-10 results, 1,005 laps led and an average-finishing result of 11.4. He currently leads the 2022 Truck Series regular-season standings on the strength of winning the Bristol Dirt Course in April along with achieving six top-10 results through the first eight scheduled events.
Rhodes is set to make his 150th career start in the Camping World Truck Series at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday, May 20, at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
In a season mired with constant trials and struggles both on and off the track, Kurt Busch and 23XI Racing triumphed at the Heartland State after emerging victorious in the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, May 15.
The 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion from Las Vegas, Nevada, led five times for a race-high 116 of 267 laps as he prevailed after a fierce battle with Kyle Larson during the final 10 laps to snatch the lead and claim his first Cup Series victory of the season and his first driving for 23XI Racing.
With on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday, Christopher Bell notched his third pole position of his career and of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 179.575 mph in 30.071 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Tyler Reddick, who recorded a qualifying lap at 178.855 mph in 30.192 seconds.
Prior to the event, Denny Hamlin, rookie Todd Gilliland and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective cars. In addition, Chris Buescher and Joey Logano also dropped to the rear in backup cars.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Bell and Reddick dueled for the top spot through the first three turns until Bell managed to clear Reddick and the field entering Turn 4 to lead the first lap. With Reddick settling in second in front of Kyle Larson, rookie Austin Cindric battled with Kurt Busch for fourth place as Kyle Busch joined the battle. Meanwhile, Aric Almirola and Alex Bowman dueled for seventh place in front of Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain and Ryan Blaney.
During the fifth lap of the event, the first caution flew when Briscoe got loose and spun across the frontstretch grass, though he continued without sustaining any significant damage to his No. 14 Rush Truck Center/Cummins Ford Mustang.
Four laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Reddick received a push from Kyle Busch to assume the lead as Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson battled Bell for the runner-up spot, with Larson taking the spot.
At the Lap 10 mark, Reddick was leading ahead of Larson, Kyle Busch, Bell and Cindric while Chastain, Daniel Suarez, Aric Almirola, Blaney and Kurt Busch were in the top 10.
Through the first 20 scheduled laps, Reddick extended his advantage to more than a second over Larson while Bell, Kyle Busch, Cindric, Suarez, Chastain, Almirolam Kurt Busch and Blaney were in the top 10. Running in 11th place was Martin Truex Jr. followed by Bowman, Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon, Kevin Harvick and Michael McDowell. Cole Custer was in 21st ahead of Justin Haley, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ty Dillon and Corey LaJoie while Brad Keselowski, rookie Harrison Burton, Noah Gragson, Briscoe and Chris Buescher were in the top 30. Meanwhile, Joey Logano, winner of last weekend’s Cup event at Darlington Raceway, was mired in 31st while rookie Todd Gilliland was in 33rd.
Fourteen laps later and just as Larson overtook Reddick for the lead, the caution flew due to BJ McLeod spinning and stalling his car past the frontstretch. At the moment of caution, Logano dodged losing a lap to the leaders. In addition, Chris Buescher made a pit stop.
Under caution, the leaders pitted and Bell reassumed the lead after exiting pit road with the top spot followed by Reddick, Kyle Busch, Suarez, Chastain and Truex. During the pit stops, Hamlin and Austin Dillon were penalized for equipment interference while Cindric was penalized for an uncontrolled tire penalty. In addition, Justin Haley, who was having his pit service complete, had a left-rear tire fall off of his car as he exited his pit stall and caught on fire.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 39, Bell cleared the field entering the first turn to assume the lead. Through the backstretch, Kyle Busch took over the runner-up spot while Trackhouse Racing’s Chastain and Suarez overtook Reddick for third and fourth. Soon after, Truex mounted a challenge on Reddick for a top-five spot.
Through the first 50 scheduled laps, Bell was leading by six-tenths of a second over teammate Kyle Busch while Chastain, Suarez and Reddick were in the top five. Truex, meanwhile, settled in sixth followed by Bowman, Bubba Wallace, Almirola and Byron while Larson, who endured a slow pit stop during the previous caution, was in 12th behind teammate Chase Elliott. In addition, Kurt Busch was back in 14th ahead of Kevin Harvick while Blaney was back in 18th ahead of Denny Hamlin and Logano.
Eleven laps later, the caution flew when Suarez, who was being pressured by Truex for fourth place, got loose, spun and made contact with the outside wall entering Turn 4 as his No. 99 CommScope Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 stalled at the entrance of pit road. Things then went from bad to worse for Suarez as he needed a wrecker to have his car towed back to his pit stall due to flat-spotting his tires. During the caution period, Almirola pitted when pit road was not open for the field.
Under caution, the majority of the field, led by Bell who had a flat left-rear tire, pitted while Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Corey LaJoie and Austin Dillon remained on the track.
When the race restarted on Lap 67 amid a jumble and scramble within the field, Kyle Busch drove his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry to the lead on fresh tires while Chastain rocketed to the runner-up spot as Austin Dillon drifted toward the middle of the pack. As the field continued to scramble for positions while fanning out to multiple lanes, Elliott was up in third place followed by Reddick, Byron and Truex while Erik Jones was getting shuffled back to seventh in front of Wallace, Blaney and Stenhouse.
Under the final 10 laps of the first stage, Kyle Busch was leading by more than a tenth of a second over Chastain while Elliott trailed by seven-tenths of a second.
When the first stage concluded on Lap 80, Kyle Busch notched his first stage victory of the season while leading by more than a second over Chastain. Chastain settled in second followed by Elliott, Reddick, Byron, Truex, Wallace, Erik Jones, Blaney and Bowman.
Under the stage break, the leaders returned to pit road and Elliott exited with the top spot ahead of Chastain, Truex, Byron and Reddick. Disaster struck, however, for Elliott as he dropped to the rear of the field due to equipment interference. During the pit stops, Hamlin was also penalized for equipment interference while Wallace was penalized for having too many crew members over the wall during his service. In addition, Kyle Busch dropped from first to 10th after parking his car too close to his pit wall as he endured a slow pit stop. Following the pit stops, Harvick, Almirola and Buescher made another trip to pit road. Among those who pitted for a second time was Erik Jones as his crew was enduring constant issues removing the right-rear tire of his No. 43 Focus Factor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
The second stage started on Lap 87 as Chastain and Truex occupied the front row. At the start, Chastain and Truex dueled for the top spot through the backstretch before Byron made a bold three-wide move on both entering the frontstretch to take the lead. Behind, Reddick fended off Blaney for fourth place while brothers Kurt and Kyle Busch battled for sixth.
At the Lap 100 mark, Byron was leading by more than a second over Chastain followed by Reddick, Truex, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Blaney, Bowman, Bell and Larson. Cindric was in 11th ahead of Stenhouse, Keselowski, Elliott, Harvick, Logano, Custer, Wallace, Hamlin and Buescher while Michael McDowell, Briscoe, Ty Dillon, Austin Dillon, Harrison Burton, Corey LaJoie, Noah Gragson, Josh Bilicki, Gilliland and Almirola were in the top 30.
Eleven laps later, Kurt Busch leaped his No. 45 Jordan Brand Toyota TRD Camry way into the runner-up spot after rocketing past Chastain as Byron stretch his advantage to nearly three seconds. By then, names like Almirola and Erik Jones were lapped by the leader.
On Lap 113, disaster struck for Byron as his No. 24 Raptor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 suffered a flat left-rear tire while leading as he fell off the pace below the frontstretch apron. With Byron out of contention, Kurt Busch took over the lead followed by Chastain, Truex, Reddick and Kyle Busch.
Shortly after, disaster then struck for Reddick as he blew a right-rear tire and smacked the outside wall as he limped his way to pit road. Reddick’s misfortune allowed Kyle Busch and Blaney to gain spots in the top five.
Nearing the Lap 125 mark, green flag pit stops occurred as Truex pitted. In the midst of the pit stops, the caution flew on Lap 126 when Harvick, who was just exiting pit road following his pit stop, spun his No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang due to a shifter issue.
During the extended caution period, some drivers including Elliott, Logano, Cole Custer, Michael McDowell, Ty Dillon, Harrison Burton, Noah Gragson, Todd Gilliland and Josh Bilicki pitted as they had not yet pitted prior to the previous caution while the rest, led by Kurt Busch, remained on the track.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 136, Kurt Busch and Blaney dueled for the lead as the field fanned out entering the first two turns. Through the frontstretch Kurt Busch and Blaney made contact as they continued to battle for the lead before the former managed to clear the latter during the following lap. In the midst of the battles, Kyle Busch overtook Blaney for the runner-up spot while Truex and Keselowski were in the top five.
By Lap 150, Kurt Busch remained as the leader by half a second over brother Kyle while Blaney, Truex and Cindric were in the top five. Elliott, meanwhile, was in sixth followed by teammate Larson, Chastain, Keselowski and Logano while Stenhouse, Hamlin, McDowell, Wallace, Gragson, Bell, Burton, Bowman, Custer and Ty Dillon occupied the top 20. Byron was back in 22nd ahead of Harvick while Reddick was in 28th, a lap behind the leaders.
With five laps remaining in the second stage, Kurt Busch extended his advantage to more than one-and-a-half seconds over brother Kyle while Blaney, Truex and Cindric remained in the top five.
Then, during the final lap of the second stage, Truex dropped off the pace due to a flat left-rear tire of his No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota TRD Camry. Despite the issue, Truex elected to nurse his car around the circuit for a final lap. In the midst of the issue, Kurt Busch went on to capture his first stage victory of the season on Lap 165. Brother Kyle settled in second followed by Blaney, Cindric, Elliott, Larson, Chastain, Hamlin, Logano and Wallace.
Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Kurt Busch retained the lead after exiting pit road with the top spot followed by Blaney, Kyle Busch, Larson and Cindric.
With 94 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Kurt Busch and Blaney dueled for the top spot for a full lap before the former managed to clear the field entering the backstretch. Behind, Larson and Cindric battled for third place in front of Hamlin. During the pit stops, Kyle Busch, who endured a slow pit stop, was penalized for speeding on pit road.
Under the final 90 laps, the battle for the lead intensified between Kurt Busch and Larson as the former continued to retain the top spot over the latter. Then with 86 laps remaining, Larson, who made a move beneath Busch for the lead through Turn 1, slid up and got super loose in front of Busch, but Larson managed to straighten his car through the backstretch as Busch reassumed the lead.
With 75 laps remaining, Kurt Busch continued to lead by more than two seconds over his owner Denny Hamlin while Larson was back in third place. Blaney and Elliott occupied the top five in front of Wallace, Bowman, Cindric, Chastain and Bell.
Four laps later, the caution flew when Elliott lost a left-rear tire and spun in Turn 3 as he ended up getting his No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 stuck in the infield grass.
Under caution, the leaders pitted and Kurt Busch retained the lead after exiting his pit stall with the top spot followed by Larson, Blaney, Hamlin and Bell. During the pit stops, Wallace was penalized for an uncontrolled tire penalty as his tire was hit by Bowman and Chastain while Harvick was penalized for speeding on pit road.
With 67 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Kurt Busch and Larson dueled for the lead through the first two turns and entering the backstretch. Then exiting the backstretch, Blaney attempted to make a three-wide move on both for the lead, but Larson managed to assume the top spot briefly until Busch rallied back on the inside lane and through the frontstretch.
Then with 63 laps remaining, Larson bounced off the outside wall entering the frontstretch while battling intensely against Kurt Busch for the lead, which allowed Busch to clear the field with the top spot. Despite the contact with the wall, Larson retained the runner-up spot in front of Bell, Hamlin, Blaney and Kyle Busch.
Under the final 60 laps of the event, Kurt Busch extended his advantage to more than a second over Bell while Larson and Kyle Busch battled for third place in front of Hamlin.
Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Kurt Busch stabilized his advantage to two-and-a-half seconds over Bell while Kyle Busch was in third ahead of Larson and Hamlin. Blaney was back in sixth ahead of Bowman, Chastain, Stenhouse and Byron while Cindric was in 11th ahead of teammate Logano, Truex, Austin Dillon and Brad Keselowski.
Ten laps later, Kurt Busch continued to lead by more than two seconds over brother Kyle while Bell, Larson and Hamlin remained in the top five.
A lap later, the caution flew due to possible fluid coming out of Harvick’s car. Prior to the caution, Harvick had gotten loose entering the frontstretch. During the caution period, the field pitted for fuel and Kyle Busch exited with the top spot followed by Larson, Kurt Busch, Bell, Hamlin and Blaney.
With 33 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Kyle Busch and Larson dueled for the top spot for nearly a full lap until Larson managed to pull his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 out in front with the lead entering the fourth turn. Meanwhile, Kurt Busch was locked into a battle with Bell for third place as Hamlin joined the battle.
Under the final 30 laps of the event, Larson was leading by three-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch while Kurt Busch trailed by less than a second.
Then with 22 laps remaining, Kurt Busch, who methodically narrowed the deficit between himself and the two Kyles, overtook brother Kyle for the runner-up spot as he went to work to track Larson.
With 15 laps remaining, Larson continued to lead by more than two-tenths of a second over Kurt Busch, who continued to pressure the former for the top spot.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Larson remained as the leader by less than three-tenths of a second over Kurt Busch as the leaders approached lapped traffic.
Then with nine laps remaining, the battle for the lead intensified as Kurt Busch drew himself beneath Larson for the top spot from the backstretch through the frontstretch. Then during the following lap, Larson, who continued to rim-ride towards the outside wall, scrapped the wall entering the backstretch, which allowed Busch to drive away with the lead while Larson retained second ahead of Kyle Busch.
Down to the final five laps of the event, Kurt Busch was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Larson while brother Kyle trailed by more than a second and a half. Meanwhile, Hamlin stabilized his No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota TRD Camry in fourth ahead of teammates Bell and Truex.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Kurt Busch was ahead by more than a second over Larson and nearly two seconds over Kyle Busch. With no traffic interfering with his progress and Larson not able to make up the deficit, Kurt Busch cycled his way back around to the frontstretch as he claimed his first checkered flag of the season.
With the victory, Kurt Busch, who has now won in at least 19 seasons, notched his first victory at Kansas and his 34th career win in the NASCAR Cup Series, which placed him in sole possession of 25th place on the all-time Cup wins list. The victory was also the third of the season for Toyota, the second for returning crew chief Billy Scott, the second for 23XI Racing in the team’s second season of NASCAR competition and the first for Busch since he won at Atlanta Motor Speedway in July 2021.
In addition, the Kansas victory made 23XI Racing the fifth different organization that Kurt Busch has won with throughout his Cup career. It also made Toyota the fourth overall manufacturer that Busch has won with after having previously won in the Cup circuit with Dodge, Ford and Chevrolet.
KANSAS CITY, KANSAS – MAY 15: Kurt Busch, driver of the #45 Jordan Brand Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 15, 2022 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images).
“It’s all about teamwork,” Busch said on FS1. “I don’t do this alone and the way that Toyota’s helped us, [Joe Gibbs Racing]. My little brother’s [Kyle Busch] been so important just on the family side of, ‘Hey, you gotta get through these steps.’ Bubba’s [Wallace] a tremendous teammate, but this is 23XI [Racing]. This is our first win for the No. 45 car. With Jordan Brand on the hood, I felt like I had to race like the GOAT [Michael Jordan] and I had to beat the Kyles. I beat both…I can get one Kyle, I’m like, ‘I can get both.’ I just had the confidence to know that our setup would do things on the short-run and long-run. This No. 45 car’s a winner now!”
“It’s the most gratifying [feeling] to work from the ground up with a brand new number,” Busch added. “Yes, I’ve been with a lot of teams, a lot of manufacturers, but it’s about family. I love my family at home, I love my KBI employees and everybody at 23XI. This is for us. This is what the hard work is all about no matter if you lose a couple spots on pit road, no matter if our car was a basket or whatever to start…I’m in Kansas! I’m loving it!”
Larson, who led 29 laps and won at Kansas in October 2021, settled in second place for the second time this season and for his sixth top-five result of the 2022 season.
“We were racing for the win there,” Larson said. “[Kurt Busch] never got into me, so I’m trying to squeeze throttle to get position on him. Just got tight. That was fun racing with Kurt. The last half of the race, I was trying hard to hold time. I about spun out in front of him at some point in the third stage. We just kept fighting through it. Thanks to my team for building me a war machine. I hit the wall a lot today. Just struggled like people could put air on me and get me really tight and then, I hit the wall. We’ll work on that and figure it out, but happy with my car. The Toyota’s are extremely good today. I think they’re all in the top 10. They had the handling as well as a lot of raw speed. It was hard to hold off Kyle [Busch] and then, I knew when Kurt got by him, it was gonna be really hard to hold him off. I did my best, but came up one spot short.”
Filling in positions third through sixth were all four Joe Gibbs Racing competitors led by Kyle Busch while Hamlin, Bell and Truex followed suit. To go along with his top-five run, Hamlin was left beaming and emotional over his first victory of the season as an owner.
“We, as an organization, let these guys down,” Hamlin, who congratulated Busch on pit road, said. “I’m talking about Bubba [Wallace] and Kurt. So many mistakes that we made on pit road and whatnot. Bubba got let down again on the last stop, but he was fast. I thought he was a little bit better than I was. We had to go to the back again three times today, but let’s talk about the positives. Just can’t thank Kurt enough. Jordan Brand’s first race [as a sponsor]. So jealous he gets to drive that car and to have that thing so fast there. I’ve never had this kind of feeling even for a win for me much less when I did win. Just different.”
Chastain, Stenhouse, Bowman and Bubba Wallace finished in the top 10. Austin Cindric was the highest-finishing rookie in 11th place ahead of teammate Blaney while Harvick settled in 15th ahead of Byron and Logano.
There were 18 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 47 laps.
With the first half of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season stretch complete, Chase Elliott continues to lead the regular-season standings by 52 points over Ryan Blaney, 58 over Kyle Busch, 60 over William Byron and 68 over Ross Chastain.
Currently, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, rookie Austin Cindric and Denny Hamlin are tentatively locked into the 2022 Cup Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the regular-season stretch. Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell, Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola are above the top-16 cutline to the Playoffs as winless competitors with Austin Dillon trailing by 11 points, Tyler Reddick by 22, Erik Jones by 32, Daniel Suarez by 49, Chris Buescher by 61, Bubba Wallace by 65, Justin Haley and Michael McDowell both by 77, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by 95 and Ty Dillon by 100.
Results.
1. Kurt Busch, 116 laps led, Stage 2 winner
2. Kyle Larson, 29 laps led
3. Kyle Busch, 18 laps led, Stage 1 winner
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Christopher Bell, 37 laps led
6. Martin Truex Jr.
7. Ross Chastain, four laps led
8. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., three laps led
9. Alex Bowman
10. Bubba Wallace
11. Austin Cindric
12. Ryan Blaney, one lap led
13. Austin Dillon
14. Brad Keselowski
15. Kevin Harvick
16. William Byron, 25 laps led
17. Joey Logano
18. Noah Gragson
19. Corey LaJoie
20. Ty Dillon
21. Harrison Burton
22. Cole Custer
23. Michael McDowell
24. Chase Briscoe, one lap down
25. Todd Gilliland, one lap down
26. Aric Almirola, one lap down
27. Chris Buescher, two laps down
28. Josh Bilicki, two laps down
29. Chase Elliott, three laps down, 10 laps led
30. Tyler Reddick, four laps down, 24 laps led
31. JJ Yeley, four laps down
32. Erik Jones, six laps down
33. Daniel Suarez, 11 laps down
34. Cody Ware, 12 laps down
35. Justin Haley – OUT, Electrical
36. BJ McLeod – OUT, Chassis
Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ annual All-Star Open and Race events at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Coverage of the All-Star Open is scheduled to occur on Sunday, May 22, at 5:30 p.m. ET on FS1 with the All-Star Race to follow at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.
A late-race caution with 13 laps remaining and an eight-lap dash to the finish could not stall Zane Smith’s dominant run in the Sunflower state as he went on to claim his third NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory of the season in the Heart of America 200 at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, May 14.
The 22-year-old Smith from Huntington Beach, California, led four times for a race-high 108 of 147 laps as he rocketed away from Ty Majeski, John Hunter Nemechek and the field during an eight-lap shootout to the finish to become the first three-time winner of this year’s Truck season.
With on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday, John Hunter Nemechek notched his third pole position of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 176.644 mph in 30.570 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate and rookie Corey Heim, who qualified at 175.965 mph in 30.688 seconds.
Prior to the event, Tate Fogleman and Matt DiBenedetto dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective trucks. In addition, Stewart Friesen started at the rear of the field after he was unable to participate during Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions amid a delayed flight from New York. As a result, NASCAR Cup Series competitor Bubba Wallace practiced and qualified Friesen’s truck in fifth place while Friesen arrived in time for the event.
When the green flag waved and the race started, teammates Nemechek and Heim battled dead even entering the first three turns until Nemechek gained a huge run on the outside lane to pull ahead and lead the first lap ahead of Heim, Zane Smith, Ty Majeski and the field.
Two laps later, Nemechek and Smith engaged in a tight battle for the lead while Majeski battled and overtook Heim for third place. By the fourth lap, Smith moved his No. 38 Speedco Ford F-150 into the lead.
Through the first 10 laps of the event, Zane Smith was leading by more than a second over Heim. Meanwhile, Nemechek was back in third place while Majeski and Chandler Smith were in the top five. Behind, Derek Kraus was in sixth followed by Ben Rhodes, Tanner Gray, Matt Crafton and Colby Howard while Carson Hocevar, Chase Purdy, Riley Herbst, Tyler Ankrum and Christian Eckes were in the top 15. Hailie Deegan was in 16th ahead of rookie Jack Wood, Stewart Friesen, rookie Dean Thompsons and Grant Enfinger.
Shortly after, Blaine Perkins spun across the backstretch after making contact with Tate Fogleman, but he was able to nurse his truck back to pit road without sustaining any damage and the event remained under green.
By Lap 20, Zane Smith was being challenged by Heim for the lead. While Heim gained a huge run in Turn 3 to take the lead, Smith pulled a crossover move to issue another challenge for the top spot. Heim, however, gained another strong run through Turns 2 and 3 to assume the lead for good on Lap 22 amid lapped traffic.
At the Lap 25 mark, Heim extended his advantage to more than a second over Zane Smith while Majeski, Chandler Smith and Nemechek occupied the top five.
When the first stage concluded on Lap 30, Heim streaked his No. 51 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro across the start/finish line and claim his first career stage victory. Behind, Majeski overtook Zane Smith for the runner-up spot while Chandler Smith, Nemechek, Kraus, Rhodes, Crafton, Tanner Gray and Hocevar were scored in the top 10. By then, Friesen was up in 15th place while DiBenedetto was mired in 21st.
Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Heim retained the lead ahead of teammate Nemechek, Zane Smith, Tanner Gray, Rhodes and Ankrum.
The second stage started on Lap 36 as Heim and Zane Smith occupied the front row. At the start and with the front-runners locked in a tight battle through double lanes, Heim and Zane Smith dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Heim received a strong push from teammate Nemechek’s No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to clear the field and assume the lead.
During the following lap, however, Zane Smith reassumed the lead and slowly pulled away as the field behind jostled for positions.
By Lap 40, Zane Smith was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Nemechek while Heim, Rhodes and Gray were in the top five. Behind, Friesen worked his way up to seventh behind Majeski while Hocevar, Colby Howard and Ankrum were in the top 10.
Ten laps later, Zane Smith continued to lead by less than two seconds over Heim while Nemechek, Rhodes and Majeski remained in the top five.
When the second stage concluded on Lap 60, Zane Smith, who was leading by more than two seconds, claimed his fourth stage victory of the season. Heim settled in second followed by Nemechek, Majeski, Rhodes, Hocevar, Gray, Kraus, Howard and Friesen.
Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Rhodes assumed the lead ahead of Zane Smith, Heim and the field.
With the race reaching its halfway mark on Lap 67, the final stage started. At the start, Zane Smith muscled his way back to the lead ahead of Rhodes, Nemechek and the field with the competitors jostling for positions and fanning out to multiple lanes.
With 55 laps remaining, Zane Smith stabilized his advantage to more than three seconds over Heim while Rhodes, Nemechek and Majeski were in the top five. Meanwhile, Eckes was in sixth followed by Hocevar, Kraus, Purdy and Ankrum while Friesen was in 11th ahead of Chandler Smith, Colby Howard, Matt DiBenedetto and Hailie Deegan. Crafton was in 16th ahead of Grant Enfinger, Tanner Gray, Riley Herbst and Dean Thompson.
Eleven laps later, the caution flew for an incident involving Kris Wright in Turn 2. At the moment of caution, Zane Smith was leading by more than three seconds over Heim.
Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road for service and Heim reassumed the lead followed by Zane Smith, Rhodes, Nemechek, Majeski and Eckes.
With 39 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Zane Smith and Heim made contact with the former assuming the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch while Nemechek and Eckes moved up to second and third. Meanwhile, Heim slipped back to fourth in front of Friesen and Rhodes.
Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Zane Smith was leading by more than two seconds over Nemechek while Eckes, Majeski and Chandler Smith, who rallied from losing a lap to the leaders, were in the top five. Friesen was in sixth ahead of Heim, Rhodes, Kraus and Howard.
Shortly after, Heim’s strong run was spoiled after he made contact with the outside wall in Turn 1 and made a trip to pit road, thus losing a lap to the leaders.
With 20 laps remaining, Zane Smith continued to extend his advantage to more than four seconds over Nemechek while Majeski, Chandler Smith and Eckes were in the top five.
Just then, the caution flew with 13 laps remaining when Dean Thompson spun in Turn 2. The incident all but evaporated Zane Smith’s advantage of more than six seconds over Nemechek and the field.
Under caution, some like DiBenedetto, Lawless Alan, Ankrum and Colby Howard pitted while the rest led by Zane Smith remained on the track.
Down to the final eight laps of the event, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Zane Smith rocketed with the lead while Nemechek, who struggled at the start on the outside lane, slipped out of the top five as Majeski moved into the runner-up spot.
When the field returned to the start/finish line, Zane Smith was leading ahead of Majeski, Enfinger, Eckes and Chandler Smith while Nemechek was mired back in sixth place.
With less than five laps remaining, Zane Smith stabilized his advantage to nearly seven-tenths of a second over runner-up Majeski and more than two seconds over third-place Enfinger.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Zane Smith continued to lead by more than a second over Majeski. Having no competition coming close to his fast truck, Smith cycled his way back to the finish line as he capped off a dominant run with another victory of the season.
With his third victory of the season, all occurring in his first campaign with Front Row Motorsports, Smith also claimed his first win at Kansas and his sixth career victory in the Truck circuit.
“Just an unbelievable truck,” Smith said on FS1. “We, honestly, struggled there in the first stage. I feel like I made the mistake last week with adjusting too much in the heat of the day and wasn’t right in the night [conditions]. We just executed greatly with this truck. This was our Vegas truck. I feel like this would’ve been an image of Vegas what we’ve seen tonight if I didn’t get damage early in the race there. What a track record with Speedco and Love’s [Travel Stops]. Just so cool. That was one of my easier ones I’ve ever had to win, but that late-race restart scared me a little, but good thing I didn’t have another one there because I am stuck in fourth [gear].”
Finishing in a career-best runner-up spot was Ty Majeski, who also achieved his third top-five result of the season as he is currently campaigning in his first full-time season in the series with ThorSport Racing. Majeski’s second-place run occurred in his 28th series start.
“We were really close,” Majeski said. “We kept easing on the adjustments all night. Getting the balance better every run. Track was freeing up and we were just a little bit too free. We kept making small changes. The sun went down, I think we under-adjusted a little bit for that last stop. Just couldn’t attack it. Just a little bit too free. Overall, a really, really fast American Racing Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. We’ve been really hitting it off this year. It’s been a ton of fun. Being in the shop every day with these guys and working with them. We have a great relationship and there’s a lot of great things coming. We’re right there.”
The third-place result was the second in a row in recent weeks for Enfinger, who is currently competing on a full-time basis with GMS Racing.
“[Crew chief] Charles [Denike], tonight, made some really good calls ‘cause we were terrible when we unloaded, terrible in qualifying,” Enfinger said. “I could drive it at the beginning of the race, but we were slow. [Denike] did a great job adjusting on it all night. I feel like he hit on something. The last two adjustments made a big difference.”
Chandler Smith came home in fourth place and Eckes completed the top five while Nemechek, who led the first three laps and who was coming off a win last weekend at Darlington Raceway, fell back to sixth place.
“[I] Spun the tires, didn’t get a good push from behind,” Nemechek said. “It’s on me. I spun the tires and that was pretty much it. That’s all she wrote. [I] Had a decently fast Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro tonight. We missed it. [Zane Smith] was definitely the dominant truck and he should’ve won the race. I feel like we should’ve finished second or third, but got to work on restarts, come back and we know what we need to do here coming back for the Playoff race. Proud of the guys. Proud of the effort. Still on a top-six streak here. Just got to continue on.”
Matt DiBenedetto, Kraus, Crafton and Rhodes finished in the top 10.
There were nine lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured four cautions for nine laps.
With the first half of the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular-season stretch complete, Ben Rhodes leads the regular-season standings by 20 points over John Hunter Nemechek and 21 over Zane Smith. Currently, Zane Smith, Rhodes, Nemechek and Chandler Smith are tentatively locked into the 2022 Truck Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the season while Ty Majeski, Stewart Friesen, Carson Hocevar, Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger and Matt Crafton are above the top-10 cutline based on points. Tanner Gray trails the top-10 cutline by 20 points, Derek Kraus trails by 37, Tyler Ankrum trails by 45, and Matt DiBenedetto trails by 66.
Results.
1. Zane Smith, 108 laps led, Stage 2 winner
2. Ty Majeski, one lap led
3. Grant Enfinger
4. Chandler Smith
5. Christian Eckes
6. John Hunter Nemechek, three laps led
7. Matt DiBenedetto
8. Derek Kraus
9. Matt Crafton
10. Ben Rhodes, four laps led
11. Colby Howard
12. Riley Herbst
13. Chase Purdy
14. Stewart Friesen
15. Carson Hocevar
16. Tyler Ankrum
17. Hailie Deegan
18. Tanner Gray
19. Lawless Alan
20. Tate Fogleman, one lap down
21. Tyler Hill, one lap down
22. Dean Thompson, one lap down
23. Austin Wayne Self, one lap down
24. Jesse Little, two laps down
25. Kris Wright, two laps down
26. Jack Wood, three laps down
27. Timmy Hill, four laps down
28. Ryan Huff, four laps down
29. Trey Hutchens, four laps down
30. Josh Reaume, five laps down
31. Spencer Boyd, seven laps down
32. Blaine Perkins, eight laps down
33. Corey Heim, 10 laps down, 18 laps led, Stage 1 winner
34. Matt Mills – OUT, Axle
35. Jesse Iwuji – OUT, Too slow
Next on the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is the series’ lone visit of the season at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, which will occur on Friday, May 20, at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
