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Author: Andrew Kim

  • Keselowski wins first Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona; Grala transfers to the Daytona 500

    Keselowski wins first Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona; Grala transfers to the Daytona 500

    Brad Keselowski commenced a new beginning to his racing career as a driver and co-owner of the newly named Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing on a high note by winning the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, February 17, following a late battle against his fellow Ford and ex-teammates from Team Penske that included rookie Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney and Chase Briscoe.

    The first Duel victory awarded Keselowski the third-place starting spot for this year’s 64th running of the Daytona 500 as he will contend for his first victory in the Great American Race in his 13th career start in the 500.

    Prior to the event, Kyle Larson, who claimed the pole position for the 64th running of the Daytona 500, started on the pole for the first Duel event and was joined on the front row with teammate William Byron. Kaz Grala, competing for the non-chartered Money Team Racing that needed to race their way into the Daytona 500, started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to have his digital dash fixed in his car.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Larson moved in front of teammate Byron to retain the lead ahead of the field. With the field fanning out to double lanes and in close quarters racing, Larson led the first lap.  

    Behind Larson on the inside lane were his Hendrick Motorsports’ teammates Byron and Chase Elliott while Ross Chastain, who had drafting help from Tyler Reddick, started to mount a challenge for the lead on the outside lane. 

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, the field settled in a long single file line as Larson continued to lead ahead of teammates Byron and Elliott followed by Daniel Suarez and Ryan Blaney. Brad Keselowski, rookie Austin Cindric, Kurt Busch and Cole Custer were running sixth through ninth while Chastain, who made several attempts to take the lead on the outside lane early, slipped back to 10th place ahead of Reddick, Erik Jones, Chase Briscoe and Kaz Grala. By then, Grala was five positions ahead of J.J. Yeley, who needed to race his way into the Daytona 500, and seven ahead of Noah Gragson, who was guaranteed a starting spot for the 500 based on his qualifying speed.

    Ten laps later on Lap 20, the field continued to run in a long single file line as Larson remained as the leader ahead of teammates Byron and Elliott followed by Suarez, Blaney, Keselowski, Cindric, Kurt Busch, Chastain and Reddick. Grala was back in 18th place ahead of Yeley, B.J. McLeod and Gragson.

    When the field Duel event reached the halfway mark on Lap 30, the 21-car field was broken apart in certain segments with a majority running closely at the front while the rest settled far back at the rear of the field. At the front, Larson retained the lead ahead of teammates Byron and Elliott while Suarez, Blaney, Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Cindric, Erik Jones and Chastain were in the top 10.

    Five laps later, all three non-chartered competitors were scored a lap behind as Grala lost a lap to the leaders while running ahead of Yeley and Gragson.

    Just then, a wave of competitors led by Larson pitted under green while Blaney assumed the lead. Soon after, Blaney, Keselowski, Briscoe and Cindric pitted for two fresh tires as they emerged ahead of the pack. In the midst of the pit stops, Grala was forced to serve a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road during his service.

    With 20 laps remaining, Blaney was leading ahead of ex-teammate Keselowski, Briscoe and teammate Cindric while Reddick and Kurt Busch were in fifth and sixth. Elliott was in seventh ahead of Erik Jones while Larson was back in ninth ahead of teammate Byron, Chastain, Suarez, rookie Todd Gilliland, Justin Haley, Landon Cassill, Daniel Hemric and Cole Custer. By then, Yeley was in a transfer spot in 18th while Gragson and Grala were mired back in 20th and 21st.

    Five laps later, the top-five competitors led by Blaney were more than five seconds ahead of sixth-place Elliott as Blaney remained as the leader ahead of Keselowski, Briscoe, Cindric and Reddick.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Blaney continued to lead by a narrow margin over Keselowski while Briscoe, Cindric and Reddick remained in the top five. Elliott continued to trail by less than five seconds in sixth place ahead of Erik Jones, Larson, Kurt Busch and Byron. By then, Yeley was in 18th but in a transfer spot ahead of Grala and Gragson.

    With five laps remaining, the top-four Ford competitors distanced themselves from the rest of the field by less than five seconds as Blaney led Keselowski, Briscoe and Cindric across the start/finish line.

    Then during the following lap, Keselowski made a bold move on the outside lane past the tri-oval to take the lead followed by Briscoe while Blaney and Cindric fell back to third and fourth. Blaney and Cindric, however, returned the favor by overtaking Briscoe to move back to second and third during the following lap as Keselowski made his way past three lapped competitors. 

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Keselowski continued to lead despite being pressured by Blaney, who was drafting Keselowski through the first two turns. Then through the backstraightaway, Cindric and Briscoe made their move to pass Blaney and close in on Keselowski for the lead entering Turns 3 and 4. Entering Turn 4, however, Briscoe made a move on Cindric for the runner-up spot, which allowed Keselowski to pull away from his fellow Ford competitors as he crossed the finish line to win by more than two-tenths of a second.

    The victory was Keselowski’s first in a Daytona Duel event and his first as a co-owner and competitor of the newly named No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford Mustang team as he will occupy the inside line on the second row for this year’s Daytona 500. 

    “I felt pretty good about our car on practice on Tuesday,” Keselowski said on FS1. “I gotta give credit to the other Fords. We worked really well together. Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Austin [Cindric]. We had a great strategy. We stuck together and we drove away. Got ourselves in position where we could control the finish of this race. I’m happy to see all those Fords upfront. Good job to all those guys. Great start for our Kohler Generators Ford team! This is special.”

    Behind, Cindric edged Blaney and Briscoe in a photo finish to finish second while Elliott settled in fifth place, trailing by more than two seconds. Erik Jones, Larson, Reddick, Kurt Busch and Chastain rounded out the top 10 on the track.

    Meanwhile, Kaz Grala managed to track down Yeley and overtake him on the final lap while two laps behind to finish 18th and earn a transfer spot in this year’s Daytona 500, which will mark the first NASCAR Cup Series start for the Money Team Racing co-owned by former boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. The accomplishment will allow Grala to make his fifth career start in NASCAR’s premier series and his second in a row in the Daytona 500.

    Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “I made it happen not the way I wanted to,” Grala said. “I made a mistake. I sped on pit road and I thought we were out of it, but I wasn’t gonna give up no matter what. We got into a little line in there with Kurt Busch pushing us and we were running fast lap times, and I was hoping the timing was gonna work out. It wasn’t by much, but it did. We caught them in [Turns] 1 and 2 on the very last lap and was able to get by [Yeley] for it. [I] Pulled a couple years off my life, but it doesn’t matter because we’re gonna be out there on Sunday and we got a shot to win the Daytona 500. I’m really grateful, I’m excited for the Money Team Racing. Floyd Mayweather’s car is gonna be out there, making its debut, and I’m really, really grateful to be the one holding the wheel. We’re gonna have fun. This is gonna be a fun ride together all year with them and I can’t wait to get it started.”

    Yeley, who ended up in 19th place, failed to qualify for this year’s Daytona 500 while Gragson, who settled in 21st place, dead last, made the 500 based on his qualifying speed.

    There were two lead changes for three different leaders. The race featured no cautions.

    Results.

    1. Brad Keselowski, four laps led

    2. Austin Cindric

    3. Ryan Blaney, 22 laps led

    4. Chase Briscoe

    5. Chase Elliott

    6. Erik Jones

    7. Kyle Larson, 34 laps led

    8. Tyler Reddick

    9. Kurt Busch

    10. Ross Chastain

    11. Daniel Suarez 

    12. William Byron

    13. Justin Haley

    14. Landon Cassill

    15. Todd Gilliland

    16. Cole Custer, one lap down

    17. Daniel Hemric, one lap down

    18. Kaz Grala, two laps down

    19. J.J. Yeley, two laps down

    20. B.J. McLeod, two laps down

    21. Noah Gragson, three laps down

    The second Bluegreen Vacations Duel is underway at Daytona International Speedway, which will complete the starting lineup for the 64th annual running of the Daytona 500 scheduled for Sunday, February 20, at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Larson wins first Daytona 500 pole, teammate Bowman completes front row grid

    Larson wins first Daytona 500 pole, teammate Bowman completes front row grid

    Kyle Larson picked up right where he left off from the previous season and saved his best for last after the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion from Elk Grove, California, claimed the pole position for the 64th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Wednesday, February 16.

    The qualifying format that determined the front row of this year’s Daytona 500 was based on two single-car qualifying sessions, each comprised of a single-lap qualifying session for each competitor, where the top-10 fastest qualifiers from a total of 42, transferred from the first to the second round and contended for the pole position.

    Larson, who was the second-to-last competitor to roll his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the track to post a qualifying lap through the first and second sessions, secured the pole position with a pole-winning time at 49.680 seconds at 181.159 mph. With his accomplishment, Larson, who notched his 11th Cup Series career pole, became the 44th different competitor to win the pole for the Great American Race and the first pole winner in the new Next Gen stock cars as he seeks his first 500 victory this weekend. The 500 pole award also was the 15th for Hendrick Motorsports and the 31st overall, 10th in a row, for the Chevrolet nameplate.

    “Yeah, it’s really neat,” Larson said on FS1. “You are really proud of your team to get a pole here because this is the littlest it has to do with us drivers; qualifying at superspeedways. Just a huge thank you to the engine shop at Hendrick Motorsports. Everybody who’s had a part in touching these vehicles; whether it be on the computer, engineering, or just hands-on. It’s really neat. Just awesome the speed in our HendrickCars.com Chevy. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a really good weekend…I think it just be even more special if we could win the Duels tomorrow and go on Sunday and win the [Daytona] 500.”

    Joining Larson on the front row will be teammate Alex Bowman, who made history by claiming his record-setting fifth consecutive front-row starting spot for the 500 as Hendrick Motorsports’ competitors swept the front row for the 500 for the seventh time in 13 seasons. Bowman, the reigning two-time Daytona 500 pole winner, posted the second-fastest qualifying time of 49.711 seconds at 181.046 mph in his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

    “It’s unbelievable,” Bowman said. “I’ve come down here not locked in, qualified poorly, had to race our way in. It just says so much about Hendrick Motorsports and all these guys. Congrats to [Larson] on getting the pole. It’s cool to be like to have the record, but I feel like [crew chief] Greg Ives and my race team should be the ones that should get the credit for that record because the driver doesn’t really have much to do with it, but glad I didn’t mess it up for them and really happy for Ally and Chevrolet. Cool to be a part of it. We’ve found out every way to lose a 500, so hopefully, we can figure out how to win in on Sunday.”

    William Byron, the 2019 Daytona 500 pole winner, posted the third-fastest qualifying time of 49.711 seconds at 180.850 mph in his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 followed by Aric Almirola, the fastest non-HMS competitor who commenced his swan song season as a full-time NASCAR competitor by posting the fourth-fastest qualifying time of 49.854 seconds at 180.529 mph in his No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang. Chase Elliott settled in fifth place with the fifth-fastest qualifying time of 49.913 seconds at 180.314 mph, thus placing all four Hendrick Motorsports competitors in the top five.

    Rounding out the top 10 in qualifying time and speed were Martin Truex Jr., Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin, Daniel Suarez and rookie Harrison Burton.

    Daniel Hemric, the reigning Xfinity Series champion who was the first competitor to roll off the grid and was one of 32 competitors that did not transfer to the second qualifying round, posted the 11th-fastest qualifying time of 50.160 seconds at 179.429 mph ahead of Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Chase Briscoe and Austin Dillon.

    Meanwhile, Noah Gragson and Jacques Villeneuve were also left victorious after both raced their way into the Daytona 500 after emerging as the fastest two qualifiers competing for non-chartered teams.

    Gragson, a five-time Xfinity Series race winner who failed to qualify for the 2021 Daytona 500 after being collected in a late multi-car wreck during the second Daytona Duel event, posted the 33rd-fastest qualifying time of 50.689 seconds at 177.553 mph, which was enough for him and his No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team to emerge as the fastest of the non-chartered competitors and teams on the leaderboard. With his accomplishment, Gragson will make his debut in NASCAR’s premier series and in the Great American Race this upcoming weekend.

    “It’s pretty special,” Gragson said. “We have one employee [at Beard Motorsports] with [crew chief] Darren Shaw. We have a lot of help from [Richard Childress Racing] and a great power unit under the hood with ECR. The Beard family, Mrs. Beard and the rest of the family, they allowed me to come drive this race car. [Brendan Gaughan] called me about a year and a half ago, he asked me to come drive this car, and we came up short last year. To be able to make my first Cup start on Sunday, it’s really special. We were the fastest out of all the open cars, so that’s pretty good. [I’m] Gonna be busy this year with JR Motorsports and now the Beard Motorsports’ car this weekend, so super excited, super thankful, and just very proud.”

    Villeneuve, who made his return to the Cup Series for the newly formed Team Hezeberg, posted the 36th-fastest qualifying time of 51.010 seconds at 176.436 mph as he guaranteed himself a starting spot for the 500 based on his speed. With his accomplishment, the 50-year-old Quebec veteran will be making his first Cup career start since competing at Sonoma Raceway in June 2013 and his first career start in the Daytona 500.

    Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “Obviously, it’s not a win,” Villeneuve said. “It’s not like winning the Indy 500 or the [Formula One] championship. But at this point in my career, the last time I tried to qualify here was 14 years ago, just to make the show is incredible. Because we’re a small team, we didn’t link up with a big team to get the car ready, and it’s highly unexpected to be able to make it on time. So it ranks right after these big wins.”

    The remaining four open competitors that includes Kaz Grala, Greg Biffle, J.J. Yeley and Timmy Hill will compete for the final two open spots for the Daytona 500 through the Bluegreen Vacations Duels on Thursday night.

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule are a pair of Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona International Speedway that will determine the rest of the starting lineup for this year’s 64th running of the Daytona 500 scheduled for February 20 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX. The first Bluegreen Vacations Duel will occur on Thursday, February 17, at 7 p.m. ET on FS1 while the second Bluegreen Vacations Duel will occur approximately two hours later at 9 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Ty Gibbs named full-time Xfinity Series competitor for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2022

    Ty Gibbs named full-time Xfinity Series competitor for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2022

    With the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season three days away from commencing, Joe Gibbs Racing unveiled the news that had been amplifying from months by announcing that Ty Gibbs will driving for the organization on a full-time basis in the Xfinity circuit.

    The 19-year-old grandson of Joe Gibbs, team owner of Joe Gibbs Racing and a NASCAR Hall of Famer, from Charlotte, North Carolina, will be piloting the No. 54 Toyota Supra, beginning at Daytona International Speedway, in his quest to contend for his first Xfinity Series driver’s championship and defend JGR’s title following the 2021 championship-winning season with Daniel Hemric, who is now competing for Kaulig Racing. Veteran Chris Gayle, who led the No. 54 JGR Toyota team to 11 victories and a runner-up result in the 2021 Xfinity Series’ owners’ standings while working with seven different competitors, will be returning to JGR to serve as Gibbs’ crew chief.

    “I’m excited to get going on the 2022 season,” Gibbs, who will make his first NASCAR national touring series start at Daytona, said in a team statement. “Monster Energy will sponsor the majority of the races, including the first one at Daytona and it’s great to have Interstate Batteries and Sport Clips on board. Chris Gayle and the crew guys from the 54 were great last year and hopefully we can have even more success this year.”

    Gibbs is coming off a sensational season to date, where he competed in 18 of the 33-race Xfinity schedule. Making his debut at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course in February, he claimed his first career win and became the sixth different competitor to achieve a victory in an Xfinity debut. He backed it up with victories at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, Watkins Glen International in August and at Kansas Speedway in October. To go along with a pole at Road America in July, a total of nine top-five results and 10 top-10 results, Gibbs claimed the 2021 Xfinity Series’ Rookie-of-the-Year title.

    Photo by Simon Scoggins for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    Gibbs is also coming off a championship-winning season in the ARCA Menards Series, where he drove the No. 18 JGR Toyota Camry to 10 victories, 11 poles and top-10 results in all but one of the 20-race ARCA schedule as he wrapped up his first ARCA title by 37 points over Corey Heim. He also achieved four victories in the ARCA Menards Series East region and two in the ARCA Menards Series West region.

    Gibbs’ announcement completes Joe Gibbs Racing’s three-car roster for the 2022 Xfinity Series season as Ty Gibbs and Brandon Jones will both contend as full-time JGR Xfinity competitors. Trevor Bayne and Drew Dollar are scheduled to make select starts in JGR’s No. 18 Toyota Supra that will be driven by multiple competitors for the entire season, beginning at Daytona.

    Ty Gibbs is scheduled to embark in his first full-time campaign in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, February 19, with coverage to occur at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Taylor Moyer to call 100th Xfinity Series event as crew chief at Daytona

    Taylor Moyer to call 100th Xfinity Series event as crew chief at Daytona

    A significant milestone achievement is in the making for Taylor Moyer, crew chief for rookie Sam Mayer and the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro team for the upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series season. By participating in this weekend’s season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway, Moyer will call his 100th Xfinity career event as a crew chief. 

    Moyer, a native of Shoreham, Vermont, who graduated with a mechanical engineering degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and worked as a race engineer for Kasey Kahne and William Byron at Hendrick Motorsports, assumed the role as crew chief for JR Motorsports’ No. 8 “all-star” Chevrolet Camaro entry prior to the 2019 Xfinity Series season. The ride was shared between Chase Elliott, Ryan Preece, Zane Smith, Ryan Truex, Jeb Burton, Brett Moffitt, Sheldon Creed, Regan Smith and Dale Earnhardt Jr. 

    Commencing the 2019 Xfinity Series season with a 10th-place result at Daytona International Speedway in February with Elliott, Moyer led the No. 8 JRM Chevrolet team to seven top-five results, 23 top-10 results and a 10th-place result in the final Xfinity owner’s standings. The team’s best on-track result during the season was a runner-up result posted by Ryan Truex at Phoenix Raceway in March.

    For the 2020 season, Moyer remained as the crew chief for JRM’s No. 8 “all-star” entry that was shared between Burton, Daniel Hemric and Earnhardt Jr. The team commenced the season with two consecutive results outside of the top 20 due to wrecks, but rallied during the following event at Auto Club Speedway as Hemric finished seventh. Three races later, Hemric posted a runner-up result at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. The team would achieve two additional runner-up results throughout the season (one by Jeb Burton at Richmond Raceway in September and another by Hemric at Kansas Speedway in October) along with a total of 11 top-five results, 19 top-10 results, 68 laps led and a ninth-place result in the final Xfinity owner’s standings.

    The following season (2021) marked Moyer’s third consecutive season as an Xfinity crew chief for the No. 8 JRM Chevrolet team that was split between Josh Berry, Miguel Paludo, Sam Mayer and Earnhardt Jr. After finishing no higher than seventh place twice during the opening six scheduled events, Moyer achieved his first NASCAR victory as a crew chief after the No. 8 Chevrolet piloted by Berry won at Martinsville Speedway in April. The victory was also the first for Berry and the No. 8 JRM team as the team was placed in contention to compete for the 2021 Xfinity owner’s championship. For the rest of the season, however, the No. 8 team only achieved four additional top-five results and a total of 13 top-10 results before settling in 12th place in the final owner’s standings.

    The 2022 Xfinity Series season is set to mark Moyer’s fourth full-time season as a crew chief for JRM, but the first season where he will be paired with a full-time competitor as Sam Mayer, a two-time ARCA Menards Series East champion who drove the No. 8 JRM Chevrolet in 17 events and earned six top-10 results in 2021, prepares to embark in his first full-time Xfinity campaign in the No. 1 JRM Chevrolet Camaro.

    Through 99 previous Xfinity starts, Moyer has achieved one victory, 23 top-five results and 55 top-10 results while working with 13 different competitors.

    Moyer is scheduled to call his 100th Xfinity Series event as a crew chief for the 2022 season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, February 19, with coverage to start at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Drew Dollar joins Joe Gibbs Racing for Xfinity superspeedway events

    Drew Dollar joins Joe Gibbs Racing for Xfinity superspeedway events

    Drew Dollar will be joining forces with Joe Gibbs Racing to pilot the No. 18 Toyota Supra in all four superspeedway events for the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

    The 21-year-old Dollar from Atlanta, Georgia, will make his Xfinity debut in the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway on February 19 before returning two months later at Talladega Superspeedway on April 23. He will then campaign at Daytona for a second time on August 26 followed by the series’ second visit to Talladega during the 2022 Xfinity Series Playoffs on October 1. With sponsorship support coming from Lynx Capital and Dollar Concrete, veteran Jason Ratcliff will be remaining at Joe Gibbs Racing to serve as the crew chief for the No. 18 Toyota team that will have multiple competitors pilot the ride throughout the season.

    The news comes as Dollar is also scheduled to compete in four ARCA Menards Series events for Kyle Busch Motorsports this season, beginning at Daytona on February 19. He campaigned in 12 of 20 ARCA events for Venturini Motorsports in 2021, where he recorded a pole for the season-opening event at Daytona, six top-five results, eight top-10 results and a seventh-place result in the final standings. In 34 previous ARCA starts, he has one recorded victory, which occurred at Talladega in June 2020, along with a pole, 10 top-five results, 24 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 8.2. His best results in the ARCA standings is fourth place in 2020, where he campaigned in all 20 scheduled events.

    In 2021, Dollar made his inaugural presence between NASCAR’s top three national touring series after competing in eight Camping World Truck Series events for Kyle Busch Motorsports. During this stint, he best on-track result was 10th place during the season-opening event at Daytona in February.

    “I’m really excited to make my NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in Daytona with Joe Gibbs Racing,” Dollar said. “This will be a great opportunity for me to continue my development with an organization that has a long history of success in this series and to learn from a crew chief like Jason Ratcliff.”

    Dollar is the second competitor to be confirmed to pilot Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota Supra throughout the 2022 Xfinity Series season. Former Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne was confirmed as the first part-time competitor for the team’s “all-star” entry on February 9.

    The remainder of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Xfinity Series driver lineup will be determined at a later date.

    Dollar is scheduled to make his Xfinity Series debut at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, February 19, with coverage to occur at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Biffle joins NY Racing for Daytona 500 bid

    Biffle joins NY Racing for Daytona 500 bid

    NY Racing will attempt to compete in this year’s 64th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway with former NASCAR veteran Greg Biffle selected to drive the team’s single-car entry throughout Daytona Speedweeks.

    The 52-year-old veteran from Vancouver, Washington, will be piloting the No. 44 NY Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 with sponsorship support from Grambling State University and HBCU League Pass Plus. Veteran Jay Guy will be serving as Biffle’s crew chief as the team will be fielding cars built from Richard Childress Racing and powered by Hendrick Motorsports engines.

    Should he qualify for the 500 with NY Racing that enters Daytona Speedweeks without a charter nor a guaranteed starting spot, Biffle will make his first NASCAR Cup Series start since the 2016 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which also marks his last full-time Cup and Daytona 500 campaigns to date. It will also mark his first NASCAR national touring series start since competing in the Camping World Truck Series event at Darlington Raceway with GMS Racing in September 2020.

    “I’m really excited to have the opportunity to drive the Next Gen car and help NY Racing make its entry into the 2022 season,” Biffle announced in a team release. “I’ve always said since the day I stepped away from full-time competition that I would return under the right circumstances.”

    Since making his debut at Auto Club Speedway in April 2002 through his last scheduled start at Homestead in November 2016, Biffle has made a total of 510 starts in NASCAR’s premier series (504 with Roush Fenway Racing, four with Andy Petree Racing, and two with Petty Enterprises). During this span, he has achieved 19 career victories (all with RFR) with his last occurring at Michigan International Speedway in June 2013. He has also achieved 13 Cup career poles, 92 top-five results, 175 top-10 results, 5,844 laps led, an average-finishing result of 16.6 and seven Playoff appearances with a best points result of second place in 2005.

    Biffle is a former champion of the Camping World Truck Series (2000) and Xfinity Series (2002). In 244 Xfinity career starts, he has achieved 20 victories, 14 poles, 93 top-five results and 149 top-10 results with his final victory occurring at Phoenix Raceway with Roush Fenway Racing in April 2009. In 83 Truck career starts, he has achieved 17 victories, 12 poles, 43 top-five results and 55 top-10 results with his final victory occurring at Texas Motor Speedway in a one-race deal with Kyle Busch Motorsports in June 2019.

    Biffle has also made 14 consecutive starts in the Daytona 500 (2003-2016) with his best on-track result being third place twice in 2010 and 2012. While he has yet to achieve his first 500 victory, he is a former winner at Daytona International Speedway after winning in July 2003, where he notched his first win in the Cup Series.

    “Urban Edge Network, Inc., is excited to announce our relationship with black owned NY Racing,” Todd F. Brown, CEO of Urban Edge Network, Inc., said. “John is an alumni of Grambling State University. We’re excited to bring our HBCU audience across 101 campuses into the NASCAR arena virtually and physically. We know that our fan base supports sports that reflect and invite blacks into the experience. We’re looking forward to branding and partnering with Fortune 500 companies to support this fully black owned team as they’ve supported other NASCAR teams in the past.”

    Biffle’s 2022 Daytona 500 bid with NY Racing will commence on Tuesday, February 15, for a pair of practice sessions (the first at 5:05 p.m. ET on FS1 and the second at 6:35 p.m. ET on FS1) followed by the Daytona 500 pole qualifying session on Wednesday, February 16 (8:05 p.m. ET on FS1), and the Bluegreen Vacations Duels on Thursday, February 17 (Duel 1 at 7 p.m. ET on FS1 and Duel 2 at 8:45 p.m. ET on FS1). The 64th running of the Daytona 500 is scheduled to occur on Sunday, February 20, at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Bayne joins Joe Gibbs Racing for seven-race Xfinity schedule in 2022

    Bayne joins Joe Gibbs Racing for seven-race Xfinity schedule in 2022

    For the first time in six years, Trevor Bayne will be returning to the NASCAR Xfinity Series after it was announced that the 2011 Daytona 500 champion from Knoxville, Tennessee, will be campaigning in seven Xfinity events in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota Supra sponsored by Devotion Nutrition this upcoming season.

    Bayne’s first run with Joe Gibbs Racing will occur at Auto Club Speedway on February 26 followed by Phoenix Raceway on March 12. Following a one-month break, he will return at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 28 before competing at Nashville Superspeedway on June 25, New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 16, Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 15 and at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 22. Veteran Jason Ratcliff will return to JGR to serve as crew chief for Bayne and the No. 18 Toyota Supra that will be piloted by multiple competitors throughout the 2022 Xfinity Series season.

    The news comes as Bayne returns to NASCAR following a one-year absence. His last campaign in the sport was during the latter half of the 2020 Camping World Truck Series season, where he competed in eight of the final nine events with Niece Motorsports. During this stint, he recorded a season-best runner-up result at Talladega Superspeedway along with a 10th-place result at Kansas Speedway, both in October.

    “Returning to NASCAR with Devotion Nutrition and Joe Gibbs Racing is beyond huge for me,” Bayne said. “Devotion is a super passionate family-run business with a mission to help people live a healthy lifestyle. Their passion is something I certainly relate to. Over the past three years, I didn’t know if I’d ever get an opportunity to race for wins again, but my desire to do so never faded. I’m so excited to have this opportunity to work with Jason [Ratcliff] and everyone at JGR. I want nothing more than to come back stronger than ever and put that Devotion Nutrition GR Supra into victory lane.”

    Bayne’s last recorded start in the Xfinity circuit was at Watkins Glen International in August 2016, where he piloted Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 60 Ford Mustang to a fifth-place result. Since making his series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway in March 2009 through Watkins Glen in 2016, Bayne has made a total of 152 career starts in the Xfinity circuit. During this span, he has achieved two career victories while driving for Roush Fenway Racing (Texas Motor Speedway in November 2011 and Iowa Speedway in June 2013). He has also recorded seven poles, 25 top-five results, 73 top-10 results, 485 laps led, an average-finishing result of 13.5 and two career-best sixth-place results in the final standings (2013 and 2014).

    In addition to the Truck and Xfinity circuits, Bayne has made a total of 187 career starts in the NASCAR Cup Series, where he drove between Wood Brothers Racing and Roush Fenway Racing (2010-2018). In just his second Cup career start, he claimed his first victory in the 2011 Daytona 500 while driving for the Wood Brothers and became the youngest competitor to win the Great American Race at age 20 years. He has also recorded five top-five results, 16 top-10 results, 71 laps led, an average-finishing result of 23.3 and a career-best points result of 22nd place (2016 and 2017).

    “We are proud to be a part of Trevor’s return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Joe Gibbs Racing,” Dana Lynn Kaye, owner of Devotion Nutrition, said. “We are extremely passionate about our brand and excited about the platform JGR and NASCAR provides to reach new consumers and educate them on how Devotion Nutrition can become an easy part of a daily healthy lifestyle.”

    Additional details regarding additional competitors and sponsors for the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Supra team have yet to be determined.

  • Logano claims Busch Light Clash victory at LA Coliseum

    Logano claims Busch Light Clash victory at LA Coliseum

    Joey Logano etched his name as the winner of the 2022 Busch Light Clash in NASCAR’s inaugural exhibition event at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, February 6, after leading the final 35 laps and fending off a late challenge from Kyle Busch. The victory marked Logano’s second career Clash victory after winning his first at Daytona International Speedway in February 2017 as he also emerged victorious in NASCAR’s first event with the Gen 7 stock cars.

    The lineup for the exhibition feature was determined through the use of four 25-lap heat races, caution laps not included, and nine competitors from a total of 36 competing in each. The top-four finishers from each heat (16 total) earned a one-way ticket to the Clash. Afterwards, the 20 competitors who did not advance to the Clash via the heat races participated in two 50-lap Last Chance Qualifying races with the top-three finishers in each Last Chance Qualifying event advancing to the Clash.

    In the first Heat event, Kyle Busch, the reigning Clash champion who posted the fastest qualifying lap at 65.478 mph on Saturday and started on the pole, transferred after leading all 25 laps and finishing first ahead of runner-up Daniel Suarez. They were joined by third-place finisher Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and fourth-place finisher Ryan Blaney in the main event while Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain, rookie Todd Gilliland, Aric Almirola and BJ McLeod were sent to the Last Chance Qualifiers. The first Heat victory gave Kyle Busch the top starting spot for the main event

    In the second Heat event, Tyler Reddick, who started on the pole, ran away from the field to lead all 25 laps, finish first and transfer followed by Chase Briscoe, Austin Dillon and Cole Custer. Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, Martin Truex Jr., rookie Harrison Burton and Brad Keselowski were sent to the Last Chance Qualifiers. The second Heat victory gave Reddick a front row starting spot alongside Kyle Busch for the main event.

    In the third Heat event, Justin Haley, who commenced his first full-time campaign in the NASCAR Cup Series competitor for Kaulig Racing on the pole, fended off the field to lead all 25 laps and transfer to the main event after finishing first. Joining him were William Byron, Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott while AJ Allmendinger, Kevin Harvick, Chris Buescher, Cody Ware and Corey LaJoie were sent to the Last Chance Qualifiers. The third Heat victory placed Haley on the second row for the Clash.

    In the fourth and final Heat event, Joey Logano, who started on pole, survived through two restarts to lead all 25 laps and transfer by finishing first ahead of Kyle Larson, the reigning Cup Series champion. Michael McDowell, the reigning Daytona 500 champion, finished third and also transferred along with Erik Jones, a former Clash winner. Austin Cindric, who spun on Lap 9 after getting hit by Landon Cassill and was trying to carve his way back to the front, settled in fifth and was sent to the Last Chance Qualifiers along with Ryan Preece, Kurt Busch, Cassill and Ty Dillon, who brought out an early caution after his car slowed due to a broken transmission. The fourth Heat victory placed Logano alongside Haley in the second row.

    Prior to the event, Larson was the lone competitor who was guaranteed a spot to the 2022 Busch Light Clash based on point provisional and being the reigning Cup champion. With Larson earning a top-four result in his heat event, however, Martin Truex Jr. was awarded a spot for the Clash based on points provisional due to finishing in the runner-up result in the 2021 Cup standings behind Larson. He opted to not participate in the Last Chance Qualifiers and use the points provisional to start at the rear of the field for the main event.

    In the first Last Chance Qualifying event, Denny Hamlin raced his way into the main event after leading all 50 laps and finishing first ahead of Kevin Harvick and AJ Allmendinger, both of whom also transferred. Cody Ware, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Corey LaJoie, rookie Todd Gilliland and BJ McLeod failed to qualify for the main event. Another competitor who headed home early was Aric Almirola, who commenced his final full-time season in NASCAR competition on a low note after getting bumped by Gilliland on Lap 4, which sent Almirola’s No. 10 Farmer John Ford Mustang sliding and making hard contact against the Turn 3 outside wall. The Floridian was very quick to express a warning finger towards the Front Row Motorsports rookie competitor following the incident.

    In the second and final Last Chance Qualifying event, Ryan Preece, Bubba Wallace and Harrison Burton survived a series of on-track carnages and restarts to claim the final transfer spots into the main event. Ty Dillon, who was originally penalized for jumping the restart with less than 20 laps remaining but fought his way back to the front, was first across the finish line in the final Last Chance Qualifying event, but was penalized a second time for jumping the final restart with three laps remaining and disqualified from the main event. As a result, Preece was promoted to first place ahead of Wallace and Burton, who rallied from spinning while leading with three laps remaining. Dillon joined Brad Keselowski, rookie Austin Cindric, Landon Cassill, Kurt Busch and Alex Bowman, all of whom were involved in at least one on-track incident, as the next wave of competitors that were sent home and out of the main event.

    When the main event commenced under green, Kyle Busch and Reddick dueled for the lead for a full lap as Reddick led the first lap by a nose. Busch was able to lead the following two laps before Reddick muscled his way into the lead by the fourth lap.

    Through the first 10 laps of the event, Reddick’s No. 8 Guaranteed Rate Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was leading ahead of Kyle Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry while Haley, Logano and Suarez were in the top five.

    Ten laps later and with the leaders catching lapped traffic amid the close-quarter racing, Reddick continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch while Haley, Logano and Suarez remained in the top five. Larson was in sixth ahead of teammate Byron, Briscoe, Austin Dillon and Cole Custer while Erik Jones, McDowell, Christopher Bell, Blaney and Elliott were in the top 15. By then, Bubba Wallace, Stenhouse and Hamlin were lapped by the leaders.

    By Lap 35, Reddick stabilized his advantage to less than four-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch as Haley and Logano remained in third and fourth. Meanwhile, Larson overtook Suarez to move into the top five.

    Through the first 50 laps of the event, Reddick remained as the leader by more than a second over Kyle Busch while Logano was up in third place in his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang. Haley was in fourth while Larson and Briscoe battled for fifth. Byron, Suarez, Austin Dillon and Erik Jones were in the top 10 ahead of Blaney, Elliott, Custer, Bell and Kevin Harvick. By then, names like McDowell, Martin Truex Jr., teammate Hamlin, Preece, Stenhouse and Wallace were mired at least a lap behind the leaders.

    Three laps later, the first caution of the main event flew when Stenhouse spun in Turn 4. At the same time, Hamlin, who was off the pace prior to the caution, pulled his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry into the infield as his pit crew popped the hood opened to diagnose a power steering belt issue. The issue was enough to terminate Hamlin’s run in the Coliseum.

    Prior to the restart, Reddick, who was leading, and Briscoe, who was in fourth, retired after both encountered mechanical issues related to the driveshaft. These late turn of events moved Kyle Busch and Logano to the front of the grid.

    When the race restarted, Busch was able to clear Logano to retain the lead as Larson challenged Logano for the runner-up spot. Not long after, Logano retained second and Haley move his No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into third place while Larson slipped to fourth ahead of teammate Byron.

    By Lap 60, Kyle Busch continued to lead by nearly half a second over Logano while Haley, Larson and Byron stabilized themselves in the top five ahead of Erik Jones, Elliott, Blaney, Bell and Austin Dillon. Meanwhile, Suarez was in 11th ahead of Allmendinger, Custer, Harvick, Harrison Burton and McDowell. 

    Five laps later, the caution returned when Elliott spun his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Turn 2.

    Shortly after and when the race restarted under green, Kyle Busch and Logano dueled for the lead for a second time before Busch managed to clear Logano and retain the top spot. Behind, Byron challenged Haley for third ahead of Larson and Blaney.

    When the race reached the halfway mark and a break period on Lap 75, Kyle Busch fended off a last lap bump from Logano, which sent Busch’s car out of the racing groove, to retain the lead by a narrow margin. By then, Haley was in third ahead of Byron, Larson, Blaney, Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, Bell and Allmendinger.

    When the second half of the Clash started under green, Kyle Busch retained the lead as Byron settled in second ahead of Logano and the field. Meanwhile, Ryan Preece pulled his No. 15 Jacob Companies Ford Mustang to the infield due to a brake failure.

    A few laps later, a brief three-wide battle for second ensued between Larson, Logano and Byron before Larson prevailed ahead of both. Behind, Haley settled in fifth ahead of Austin Dillon, Blaney, Jones, Bell and Allmendinger. 

    With 60 laps remaining, Kyle Busch stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Logano while Larson, Haley and Byron remained in the top five. By then, 17 of 23 competitors were scored on the lead lap with Truex settling in 17th.

    Fifteen laps later, Kyle Busch remained as the leader by less than seven-tenths of a second over Logano. Behind, Larson remained in third ahead of teammate Byron and Haley while Austin Dillon, Blaney, Erik Jones, Bell and Chase Elliott were in the top 10. 

    Another 15 laps later, the caution flew when Blaney fell off the pace and retired after an earlier bump and contact with Erik Jones sent Blaney into the outside wall. The incident prompted Blaney to toss his HANS device to Jones’ No. 43 FOCUSFactor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the track to express his displeasure as his race came to an end. Prior to the caution, Kyle Busch was being pressured by Logano for the lead, where he got bumped by Logano’s Ford through the braking turns, as he was catching lapped traffic.

    When the race restarted, Kyle Busch and Logano continued to duel for the lead. Just then, the caution returned when Larson, who was battling Haley for third, veered and body slammed into the side of Haley and sent the Winamac, Indiana, native head-on into the inside concrete barriers on the frontstretch. The incident spoiled Haley’s strong weekend and a potential opportunity to win as he retired in the infield.

    Following another restart, Logano muscled his way into the lead and Larson moved his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into second ahead of Kyle Busch. 

    With less than 30 laps remaining, Logano was leading by a little over half a second over Larson and Kyle Busch while Austin Dillon and Byron battled for fourth. 

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Logano continued to lead by less than nine-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch, who earlier used his car to overtake Larson for second as he set his sights on Logano for the lead. 

    Five laps later and as Kyle Busch continued to close in on Logano for the lead, Austin Dillon moved up to third followed by Byron and Erik Jones while Larson slipped back to sixth ahead of Christopher Bell.

    With 10 laps remaining, the battle for the lead intensified as Logano had Kyle Busch covering his rear view mirrors with Busch drawing himself closer to Logano’s rear bumper.

    Down to the final five laps, the gap between Logano and Kyle Busch was down to less than half a second as Logano remained in the lead.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Logano stabilized himself with a respective advantage over Kyle Busch. With no challengers able to close in behind him, Logano was able to methodically navigate his way around the Coliseum smoothly for a final time and cross the finish line in first place to win by nearly nine-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch as Truex and McDowell wrecked in front of the leaders.

    With Logano becoming the first NASCAR competitor to win at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Clash victory was also the fifth for Team Penske and the 10th for the Ford nameplate.

    “I can’t believe it!” Logano, who revealed that his wife was expecting their third baby on FOX, exclaimed. “We’re here. The L.A. Coliseum. We got the victory with the old Shell/Pennzoil Mustang. This is an amazing event. Congratulations, NASCAR. Such a huge step in our industry to be able to do this, put on an amazing race for everybody. I’m out of breath. I was so excited about this. This is a big win. [Crew chief] Paul [Wolfe], [race engineer] Shaggy [Pope] and the engineers do a great job. The guys working on the car did an amazing job of finding speed when we were slow. We were 28th or so on the board yesterday and made some good changes, worked with our teammate Ryan Blaney a lot. I owe a lot to him, too. To see some of the gains they made and ultimately get the win. This is special. To get the first Next Gen win, the first win out here on the Coliseum, it’s a special one. We’re gonna have some fun and celebrate it.”

    Kyle Busch, the reigning Clash winner who led a race-high 64 laps compared to Logano’s 35, settled in second place followed by Austin Dillon, Erik Jones and Larson.

    “I was being perfect doing everything I needed to do—keep the tires underneath me,” Busch said. “When I got close, I was like, ‘OK, I’ve got to try more and pounce at an opportunity,’ and just overheated the tires and smoked them in three laps and that was it. Disappointing, obviously. To come out here, win the pole, lead laps, run up front, the finish goes green and it’s not chaotic, and we can’t win. That sucks.”

    “From where we were last night, it took a lot of crazy faith, a little prayer last night, talked to myself,” Dillon added. “We got it together today, though. The True Velocity Chevrolet was really fast, in practice. I just struggled a little bit [through] qualifying. I knew we’d get in the race, we’re gonna be fine. The long run speed was there. I’m disappointed I couldn’t get to those next two cars that were really wanting to get there, but all in all, a great race from where we were last night. Everybody back home at [Richard Childress Racing did] a good job. It was a good showing from us.”

    Byron, Custer, Bell, Allmendinger and Harvick completed the top 10 on the track.

    There were five lead changes for three different leaders. The race featured five cautions for no laps.

    Results.

    1. Joey Logano, 35 laps led

    2. Kyle Busch, 64 laps led

    3. Austin Dillon

    4. Erik Jones

    5. Kyle Larson

    6. William Byron

    7. Cole Custer

    8. Christopher Bell

    9. AJ Allmendinger

    10. Kevin Harvick

    11. Chase Elliott

    12. Harrison Burton

    13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    14. Daniel Suarez

    15. Martin Truex Jr., one lap down

    16. Michael McDowell, one lap down

    17. Ryan Blaney, three laps down

    18. Bubba Wallace, four laps down

    19. Justin Haley – OUT, Accident

    20. Ryan Preece – OUT, Oil Pressure

    21. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Drivetrain, 51 laps led

    22. Chase Briscoe – OUT, Drivetrain

    23. Denny Hamlin – OUT, Power

    The NASCAR Cup Series competitors will be taking a one-week break before returning to action at Daytona International Speedway in preparation for the 64th running of the Daytona 500 scheduled for February 20 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX. Practices will occur on February 15 from 5:05-5:55 and 6:35-7:25 p.m. ET with a third practice session to occur on February 18 from 6 p.m. to 6:50 p.m. ET. The pole position qualifying session for the 500 is scheduled to occur on February 16 at 8:05 p.m. ET while the Bluegreen Vacations Duels, which will determine the remainder of the lineup for the 500, will occur on February 17 at 7 p.m. ET and 9 p.m. ET, both to air on FS1.

  • Eckes inks full-time Camping World Truck Series ride with ThorSport Racing

    Eckes inks full-time Camping World Truck Series ride with ThorSport Racing

    ThorSport Racing announced that Christian Eckes will be returning to the organization and campaign as a full-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competitor for the upcoming racing season.

    Eckes, a 21-year-old native from Middletown, New York, and the 2019 ARCA Menards Series champion, will be piloting the No. 98 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro and carry sponsorship support from AHI Facility Services, Inc. for the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway. He will be a teammate to three-time Truck Series champion Matt Crafton and the reigning Truck Series champion Ben Rhodes.

    Eckes is coming off a part-time season with ThorSport Racing, where he drove the No. 98 Toyota in nine of the 23-race schedule while sharing the ride with Grant Enfinger. During his stint, Eckes scored his first Truck Series career victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September during the 2021 Truck Series Playoffs and recorded an additional four top-10 results.

    “I am extremely excited to be back with ThorSport Racing and ready to kick the year off at Daytona with AHI Facility Services on the No. 98 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro,” Eckes said. “This is an amazing opportunity and I’m more than ready to show that I belong.”

    “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with ThorSport Racing this season,” Todd Haddock, President of AHI Facility Services, Inc., added, “I am excited to see the AHI Facility Services Toyota Tundra TRD Pro hit the track at Daytona with Christian Eckes.”

    Prior to ThorSport Racing, Eckes made 35 Truck career starts for Kyle Busch Motorsports from 2018 to 2020. He competed for KBM on a full-time basis in 2020, where he made the 2020 Truck Series Playoffs and finished in eighth place in the final standings.

    Through 2021, Eckes has recorded one victory, three poles, 12 top-five results, 23 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 13.2 in 45 career starts in the Truck Series.

    Eckes’ full-time campaign with ThorSport Racing is set to commence at Daytona International Speedway on February 18 with coverage to occur at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • NASCAR unveils 2022 Xfinity Dash 4 Cash, Triple Truck Challenge schedule

    NASCAR unveils 2022 Xfinity Dash 4 Cash, Triple Truck Challenge schedule

    With a new season of NASCAR competition less than a week away from commencing, two major cash-winning initiatives will also be returning and featured throughout the season: Dash 4 Cash from the Xfinity Series and Triple Truck Challenge from the Camping World Truck Series.

    The Xfinity Series’ Dash 4 Cash program, which made its debut in 2009, will appear in four events this upcoming spring and offer four opportunities for the Xfinity Series regulars to compete for the $100,000 prize. The qualifier event for the program will be the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on March 26, where the top-four highest-finishing Xfinity regulars competing for points in the series will qualify for the first Dash 4 Cash event at Richmond Raceway scheduled for April 2. The highest-finishing Dash 4 Cash contestant at Richmond will earn the prize money and automatically be eligible for the following Dash 4 Cash event.

    The remaining Dash 4 Cash events in 2022 include Martinsville Speedway on April 8, Talladega Superspeedway on April 23 and at Dover Motor Speedway on April 30.

    In 2021, JR Motorsports swept all four Dash 4 Cash events, with Noah Gragson claiming three money bonuses (Martinsville Speedway in April, Talladega Superspeedway in April and Darlington Raceway in May) and Josh Berry claiming the fourth and final $100,000 bonus (Dover International Speedway in May). Both Gragson and Berry return to the Xfinity circuit as full-time competitors for JRM.

    The Camping World Truck Series’ Triple Truck Challenge, which made its debut in 2019, returns for three events this upcoming summer and presents three opportunities for the Truck Series regulars to earn bonus money by winning a program event and having their winnings increase by winning multiple events.

    The program will launch at World Wide Technology Raceway on June 4 before returning at Nashville Superspeedway on June 24, thus skipping Sonoma Raceway on June 11 and Knoxville Raceway on June 18. The third and final Triple Truck Challenge event will occur at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, on July 9.

    This past season, Sheldon Creed, Todd Gilliland and John Hunter Nemechek each claimed a $50,000 bonus by winning a respective Triple Truck Challenge event. Creed claimed the first Challenge bonus by winning at Darlington Raceway in May, which marked his third victory in the program after winning twice in 2020. Todd Gilliland won the second Challenge event at Circuit of the Americas in May and Nemechek capped off the Challenge by winning at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, a week later. Nemechek returns to the series on a full-time basis for Kyle Busch Motorsports while Creed and Gilliland have moved up to the Xfinity Series and Cup Series respectively.

    Photo by Matt Beamer for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    In addition, NASCAR announced that the Xfinity Series field will increase from 36 to 38, beginning with the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway on February 19.

    The 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season is set to commence at Daytona International Speedway on February 19 with coverage to start at 5 p.m. ET on FS1 while the Camping World Truck Series season will occur at Daytona a day before on February 18 with coverage to start at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.