This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series travels to Texas Motor Speedway as its Playoffs continue with the opening race in the Round of 12.
The Xfinity Series begins its playoff run at Texas with 12 eligible drivers, led by Noah Gragson who has six wins this year, including three consecutive victories to end the regular season. Continuing a two-week break, the Camping World Truck Series returns to competition at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, Oct. 1.
All times are Eastern.
Saturday, September 24
10:35 a.m.: Xfinity Series Practice (All Entries) 11:05 a.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Impound) (Single Vehicle/1 Lap/All Entries 12:35 p.m.: Cup Series Practice (Group A & B) 1:20 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Impound) (Group A & B – Single Vehicle/1 Lap/2 Rounds)
3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 race 200 Laps = 300 Miles Stages end on Laps 45/90/ 200 Purse: $1,434,537 USA/PRN/SiriusXM
Sunday, September 25
3:30 p.m.: Cup Series Auto Trader EchoPark Automotive 500 race 334 Laps = 501 Miles Stages end on Laps 105/210/334 Purse: $8,455,617 USA/PRN/SiriusXM
After a tumultuous race at Bristol Motor Speedway, four contenders were eliminated from the Cup Series Playoffs.
Kyle Busch was -2 points after last week’s race at Kansas Speedway but had gained 14 points after Stage 2 of the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway and was above the cutline.
But on Lap 269 his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota engine blew. It was the second engine failure he’s experienced during the Round of 16, the first coming at Darlington Raceway two weeks ago.
His frustration was obvious in his comments.
“It just goes with our year,” a disappointed Busch said. “I don’t even know what to say. I’m flabbergasted. I just feel so bad for my guys. They don’t deserve to be in this spot. They work too hard. We are too good of a group to be this low, down on the bottom, fighting for our lives just to make it through. Two engine failures in three weeks; that will do it to you.”
With Busch’s early exit from the race, he finished two points below the cutline making him ineligible to contend for the 2022 Cup Series championship title.
Kevin Harvick needed to win at Bristol to advance to the next round of the Playoffs. But, after running in the top-five for much of the race in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, a lengthy pit stop late in the race led to a missed opportunity.
“It was pretty tough,” a disappointed Harvick said. “We pitted in front of the 17 (Buescher), so just kind of the way the year has gone. Just went from having a chance to lead the parade to being a part of the parade, just difficult to pass.”
Richard Childress Racing teammates Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon saw their playoff hopes come to an early end after damage resulting from an accident on Lap 278.
Reddick, who finished 25th, said he saw the accident happening but could not avoid it.
“I saw the crash happen. I checked up, but I just got run over. We had two bad races with bad finishes. We had two really good race cars, but we just didn’t capitalize on it and that was enough to miss it.”
Dillon finished 31st, and commented, “I was just told the No. 99 (Daniel Suarez) wrecked in front of the field there and got in the No. 47 (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.). I hate it for the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/ TRACKER Off Road Chevy team. We got left-front suspension damage and if we don’t get that, we’re out there running and probably in a good points position to make it.
“It’s unfortunate, but we put ourselves in a little bit of a bind, points-wise, in the first two races. We were doing our job today though. We had a great race car and got stage points. It’s just unfortunate we were caught up in it.”
The Playoffs Round of 12 begins on Sept. 25 at Texas Motor Speedway at 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on the USA Network with radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Playoffs – Round of 12
1) Chase Elliott – 3040 2) Joey Logano – 3025 3) Ross Chastain – 3020 4) Kyle Larson – 3019 5) William Byron – 3015 6) Denny Hamlin – 3013 7) Christopher Bell – 3013 8) Ryan Blaney – 3013 9) Chase Briscoe – 3009 10) Alex Bowman – 3007 11) Daniel Suarez – 3007 12) Austin Cindric – 3006
On a night where multiple Playoff contenders encountered on-track issues from start to finish, another non-Playoff contender captured the spotlight as Chris Buescher made a triumphant return to Victory Lane in the NASCAR Cup Series in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 17.
The 29-year-old Buescher from Prosper, Texas, led twice for a race-high 169 of 500-scheduled laps, including the final 61, as he prevailed through a two-tire pit strategy and in a 57-lap dash to the finish by holding off Playoff contender Chase Elliott to score his second career win in NASCAR’s premier series and snap a 222-race winless drought under the lights at Thunder Valley.
Buescher’s victory served as one of two major storylines to Saturday night’s event at Bristol. The second was the Playoff battle as the Round of 16 concluded with four big names, including Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick, Austin Dillon and Kevin Harvick, being eliminated from the Playoffs.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Aric Almirola claimed his first pole position of the 2022 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 127.826 mph in 14.946 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Chase Briscoe, the highest-starting Playoff contender who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 127.503 mph in 14.968 seconds.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Almirola jumped ahead with the advantage on the outside lane followed by teammate Briscoe and Denny Hamlin as the field jostled early between two lanes for positions. When the field made their way back to the frontstretch, Almirola managed to lead the first lap ahead of Hamlin and Briscoe while Ryan Blaney was in fourth ahead of Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Almirola remained as the leader ahead of Hamlin followed by Blaney, Briscoe and Bell while Bowman, Larson, Keselowski, Ross Chastain and Kevin Harvick were in the top 10. Bubba Wallace, the winner of last weekend’s event at Kansas Speedway, was in 11th ahead of William Byron, rookie Austin Cindric, Cole Custer and AJ Allmendinger while Michael McDowell, Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, Martin Truex Jr. and Justin Haley occupied the top 20. By then, Playoff contenders Tyler Reddick, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon and Daniel Suarez were mired in 21st, 24th, 26th, 30th and 32nd, respectively.
Fifteen laps later on Lap 25, Almirola, who approached lapped traffic, stabilized his advantage to nearly half a second over a side-by-side battle between Hamlin and Blaney while Briscoe and Bell remained in the top five. By then, half of the 16 Playoff contenders were scored in the top 10 while Kyle Busch, Reddick, Elliott, Austin Dillon and Suarez were among five Playoff contenders still mired outside of the top 20 on the track.
Another 11 laps later, Blaney muscled his No. 12 Pennzoil/Menards Ford Mustang into the lead after he overtook Almirola as Hamlin started to challenge Almirola for the runner-up spot.
On Lap 42, the first caution of the event flew due to debris on the backstretch and following two right-front incidents affecting two competitors. The first was when JJ Yeley smacked the outside wall in Turn 2 and fell off the pace after losing a right-front tire. The incident occurred as Yeley, who was multiple laps down, was battling the top-five front-runners on the track. By then, rookie Harrison Burton got into the outside wall in Turn 3 after he lost a right-front tire to his No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang.
During the caution period, a majority of the field led by race leader Blaney pitted wile the rest led by Keselowski remained on the track.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 49, Keselowski rocketed his No. 6 Kohler Generators Ford Mustang with the lead while teammate Chris Buescher and Wallace battled for the runner-up spot, with the former prevailing over the latter. Behind, Tyler Reddick was in fourth followed by Corey LaJoie and Almirola, the first competitor on four fresh tires, while Hamlin was in seventh as he was trying to navigate his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry back to the front.
By Lap 60, Keselowski was leading by eight-tenths of a second over teammate Buescher followed by Wallace, Reddick and Almirola while Hamlin, Bell, Blaney, LaJoie and Suarez occupied the top-10 spots on the track. Briscoe was in 11th followed by teammate Harvick, Larson, Byron and Kyle Busch while Bowman, Chastain, Logano, McDowell and Truex were in the top 20. By then, Cindric was in 22nd ahead of Austin Dillon and Elliott was mired back in 25th ahead of Ty Gibbs and Ty Dillon.
Fifteen laps later and at the Lap 75 mark, Keselowski continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Buescher while Wallace, Hamlin and Reddick were running in the top five. Blaney, meanwhile, was in sixth while Almirola, Bell, Briscoe and Harvick were in the top 10 ahead of Larson, Kyle Busch, Bowman, Byron, Suarez and Chastain. While Logano and Austin Dillon were in 18th and 20th, Elliott was mired back in 22nd and Cindric was back in 24th.
Nine laps later, early disaster struck for Cindric, who pitted under green after he lost a right-side tire to his No. 2 Freightliner Ford Mustang and scrubbed the outside wall entering Turn 2. By the time he returned to the track, his hopes of advancing to the Playoffs were jeopardized as he was mired back in 36th place on the track, dead last, and five laps down to the leaders.
Then on Lap 91, the caution returned when Blaney smacked the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4 after losing a right-front tire to his No. 12 Ford. In the process to avoid hitting Blaney, Almirola spun his No. 10 Ford BlueOval City Ford Mustang in Turn 4 as he brushed the outside wall. Then as Blaney pitted for four fresh tires, the situation for him from bad to worse. In an effort to remain on the lead lap, he left his pit stall, but was unaware that his pit crew had removed the center lug nut from the left-rear wheel. This caused the left-rear wheel to roll off of Blaney’s car as Blaney came to a stop before spinning his car back to his pit stall for fresh left-side tires. In the process, he lost a lap to the leaders.
During the caution period, some led by Buescher pitted while the rest led by Keselowski remained on the track.
When the event restarted under green on Lap 99, Keselowski retained the lead on the outside lane for a second time while Bell quickly challenged and overtook Reddick for the runner-up spot in his No. 20 Yahoo! Toyota TRD Camry. Behind, Kyle Busch, who restarted seventh, used the outside lane to his advantage as he bolted his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry past a bevy of names, including Larson, Briscoe and Reddick, in one lap before settling in third place behind teammate Bell.
By Lap 115, Keselowski retained the lead by four-tenths of a second over Bell and nine-tenths of a second over third-place Kyle Busch while Briscoe and Larson battled for fourth. Meanwhile, Blaney, who had a part dragging to the rear end of his car following his pit road incident, had returned to the track following a lengthy pit stop as he was mired back in 36th place, dead last, and five laps behind the leaders. He would eventually be posted by NASCAR for not meeting minimum speed and pitted again to address a flat right-rear tire.
When the first stage concluded on Lap 125, Keselowski, who came into the event with an average-finishing result of 19.2, captured his first stage victory of the 2022 season. Bell settled in second followed by teammate Kyle Busch, Briscoe, Larson, Bowman, Buescher, Reddick, Byron and Truex. By then, Elliott was in 12th, Harvick and Hamlin were mired in 14th and 15th, Austin Dillon was in 17th, Chastain was in 19th ahead of Logano, Suarez was in 23rd, Cindric was five laps down in 35th and Blaney was 15 laps down in 36th, dead last.
Under the stage break, some led by Keselowski, who pitted for the first time, pitted while the rest led by Buescher remained on the track.
The second stage started on Lap 133 as Buescher and Harvick occupied the front row. At the start, Buescher retained the lead ahead of Harvick while Chastain and Hamlin duked for third in front of Wallace, Custer and Justin Haley.
Following another caution period on Lap 139 when Harrison Burton got hit by Cindric and spun on the frontstretch and during the following restart on Lap 145, Buescher retained the top spot in his No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang over Harvick’s No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang and the rest of the field.
At the Lap 150 mark, Buescher continued to lead by half a second over Harvick followed by Hamlin, Wallace and Custer while Chastain, Haley, Suarez, Briscoe and Logano were in the top 10.
Twenty-five laps later on Lap 175, Buescher stabilized his advantage to a tenth of a second over Harvick while Hamlin, Wallace and Chastain were scored in the top five. Shortly after, however, Wallace, who had smoke coming out of his No. 45 MoneyLion Toyota TRD Camry, pitted under green. The situation, which was deemed a right-front brake line failure, cost Wallace multiple laps as he remained in his pit stall while his pit crew diagnosed the issue.
Back on the track on Lap 190 and while Buescher continued to lead by a tenth of a second, seven of 16 Playoff contenders were scored in the top 10, with Harvick in second ahead of Hamlin and Chastain while Briscoe was in sixth, two spots ahead of Bowman, Larson and Bell. Kyle Busch was in 11th while Elliott was up in 12th place. Suarez was in 14th, Byron was in 16th, Logano was in 18th, Reddick was back in 23rd, Cindric was four laps down while mired in 34th and Blaney was 78 laps down in 36th as he continued to lose more laps to the leaders while he remained in the garage to have his car repaired. By then, Wallace’s 23XI Racing teammate Ty Gibbs took his No. 23 Monster Energy Toyota TRD Camry to the garage due to a power steering issue.
Six laps later, the caution flew when Erik Jones, who just went a lap down to the leader Buescher, spun his No. 43 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the backstretch after making contact with teammate Ty Dillon. The incident occurred as both Petty GMS Motorsports competitors were trying to avoid Harrison Burton, who encountered his third right-front tire issue of the night. During the caution period, names like Bell, Kyle Busch, Elliott, Suarez, Keselowski, Byron, Logano, McDowell, Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Todd Gilliland Reddick and the Dillon brothers pitted while the rest led by Buescher and Harvick remained on the track. By then, Truex took his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota TRD Camry to the garage and retired due to a power steering issue.
With 45 laps remaining in the second stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Buescher retained the lead over Harvick while Harvick was being challenged by Hamlin and teammate Custer. Behind, Chastain battled for fifth over Briscoe as both Haley and Larson joined the battle.
Twenty laps later and with 25 laps remaining in the second stage, Buescher stabilized his advantage to three-tenths of a second over Harvick followed by Hamlin, Custer and Larson while Chastain was locked in a side-by-side battle with Bell for sixth. Behind, Briscoe was left battling Kyle Busch for eighth while Keselowski was back in 10th ahead of Elliott, Bowman, Byron, Almirola, Haley and Logano. By then, Austin Dillon and Suarez were back in 20th and 21st while Cindric was in 31st, five laps down.
With 16 laps remaining in the second stage, the caution flew when Hamlin, who was in third, fell off the pace after blowing a right-front tire to his No. 11 Toyota as he just managed to keep his car off the outside wall. During the caution period, some led by Buescher pitted while the rest led by Bell remained on the track.
When the second stage proceeded with 10 laps remaining, Bell took off with the lead followed by a side-by-side battle involving Chastain and Briscoe while Elliott and Kyle Busch battled for fourth in front of Bowman and Byron.
When the second stage concluded on Lap 250, which marked the halfway point of the event, Bell, who is already guaranteed a spot in the Round of 12, captured his fourth stage victory of the 2022 season. Chastain settled in second followed by Briscoe, Elliott, Kyle Busch, Bowman, Byron, Austin Dillon, Larson and Harvick. By then, Suarez was in 11th, Logano was in 18th, Reddick was back in 23rd ahead of Hamlin, Cindric was five laps down in 31st and Blaney was still in the garage and mired in 36th place, 138 laps down.
Under the stage break, names like Chastain, Briscoe, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Bowman, Harrison Burton and Almirola pitted while the rest led by Bell remained on the track.
With 241 laps remaining, the final stage started under green as Bell and Elliott occupied the front row. At the start, Bell retained the lead while Byron made his way into the runner-up spot over teammates Larson and Elliott. Behind, Harvick battled McDowell for fifth while Keselowski was in seventh over Custer.
Eleven laps later, the caution returned when Kyle Busch, who came into the event two points below the top-12 cutline, fell off the pace entering the frontstretch and steered his car, which was billowing smoke, below the apron and to the garage, where he retired from contention due to an engine failure.
“I don’t even know what to say,” Busch said on USA Network. “I’m flabbergasted. I just feel so bad for my guys. They don’t deserve to be in this spot. They worked too hard, were too good of a group to be this low, down on the bottom and fighting for our lives just to make it through. Two engine failures in three weeks. That’ll do to you…This is not our normal.”
When the race restarted with 224 laps remaining, Bell cleared Byron to retain the lead as Larson went to work on teammate Byron for the runner-up spot followed by teammate Elliott and Harvick. Just as the front-runners were approaching Turns 3 and 4, the caution quickly returned for a multi-car wreck that started when Suarez got loose entering the backstretch as he clipped Stenhouse and spun, thus igniting carnage that collected teammate Chastain, Austin Dillon, Gilliland, Cindric, Elliott, Cassill, Burton, Briscoe, Reddick and Bowman, who retired after busting the radiator from his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, while Blaney, who returned to the track and was more than 150 laps down, was able to dodge the carnage.
When the race restarted with 214 laps remaining, Bell outdueled Byron to remain as the leader as Larson and Keselowski overtook Byron for second and third. Behind, Harvick, faced in a “must-win” situation to advance to the Playoffs, was in fifth and Elliott made his way up to sixth in front of Buescher, McDowell and Logano.
With 200 laps remaining, Bell was leading by six-tenths of a second over Larson followed by Keselowski, Byron and Harvick while Elliott, Buescher, Logano, McDowell and AJ Allmendinger were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Hamlin, Chastain and Briscoe were running 12th through 14th while Reddick was mired back in 28th place and still undergoing repairs to his No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Meanwhile, Austin Dillon, who was involved in the latest multi-car wreck, took his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the garage as he retired and failed to advance past the Round of 12.
Fifty-two laps later, the caution flew when Erik Jones fell off the pace through the backstretch after he cut a right-rear tire to his No. 43 Chevrolet. By then, Bell continued to lead by by half a second over Larson followed by Keselowski, Elliott and Buescher while Harvick, Logano, Byron, McDowell and Allmendinger were in the top 10. In addition, Reddick, who found himself five points outside of the top-12 cutline to advance to the Playoffs, made another pit stop as his No. 8 pit crew went under the hood.
Under caution, the leaders led by Bell pitted and Larson emerged with the lead after beating Bell off of pit road in first place.
During the following restart with 140 laps remaining, Larson retained the lead over Bell while Keselowski launched a challenge on Bell for second place as the field scattered and jostled for positions. By then, Reddick, who was in 28th and 29 laps down, was scored four points behind Kyle Busch for the 12th and final transfer spot to the Playoffs.
With less than 120 laps remaining, Larson was leading ahead of Keselowski, Bell, Harvick and Buescher while Logano, Byron, Elliott, Allmendinger and Custer occupied the top 10. By then, Hamlin was in 11th, Chastain and Briscoe were in 14th and 15th, Suarez was back in 22nd, Cindric was in 25th and Reddick was in 28th. Blaney, meanwhile, was in 35th after he overtook a retired Truex.
Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Keselowski, who overtook Larson for the lead following a slide job 12 laps earlier, was leading by six-tenths of a second over Larson while Bell, Harvick and Buescher remained in the top five. By then, six of 16 Playoff contenders were scored in the top 10.
Not long after, Logano, who is guaranteed a spot in the Round of 12, made an unscheduled pit stop to address a flat right-front tire to his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang.
Then wit 87 laps remaining, disaster struck for Keselowski, who lost a right-front tire entering Turn 3 after he popped a right-front tire to his No. 6 Ford Mustang. With Keselowski limping his car back to pit road, the race remained under green as Bell returned to the lead followed by Larson, Harvick, Buescher and Elliott.
With less than 70 laps remaining, Bell remained as the leader by three-tenths of a second over Larson and more than a second over third-place Harvick while Buescher and Elliott remained in the top five. By then, pole-sitter Almirola took his car to the garage due to a power steering issue.
Down to the final 64 laps, however, the caution flew when Bell cut a right-rear tire as he lost the lead to Larson and fell off the pace through the backstretch, though he remained in second place in front of Harvick. During the caution period, the leaders led by Larson and including Bell pitted. Following the pit stops, Buescher emerged with the lead following a two-tire pit stop followed by Elliott, Byron, Larson and Allmendinger, all of whom elected for four fresh tires. During the pit stops, disaster struck for both Harvick and Hamlin after both encountered loose wheels that stalled their progress towards the front. For Harvick, he had fallen back to 10th after he backed his car back to his pit stall due to his left-front tire not being secured. For Hamlin, he was back in 11th after he had a loose left-rear wheel that needed to be tightened while trying to exit his pit stall.
With 57 laps remaining and with the field restarting under green, Buescher retained the lead while teammates Byron and Elliott battled for second in front of Larson, Bell and Allmendinger.
Sixteen laps later and with 40 laps remaining, Buescher stabilized his advantage to nearly nine-tenths of a second over Elliott while Byron, Larson and Bell battled for third. By then, Cindric, who took the wave around and was up in 21st while six laps behind, drew himself into a one-point advantage over Kyle Busch for the 12th and final transfer spot to the Round of 12. In addition, Logano retired due to a suspension issue.
Another 20 laps later, Buescher, who was navigating his way through lapped traffic, continued to lead by seven-tenths of a second over Elliott. Behind, Byron and Bell trailed by more than a second while fifth-place Larson trailed by more than two seconds. Meanwhile, Chastain was in sixth while Hamlin and Harvick were mired back in ninth and 10th.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Buescher was ahead by eight-tenths of a second over Elliott while Byron continued to fend off Bell for third place.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Buescher remained as the leader by four-tenths of a second over Elliott’s No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Despite encountering more lapped traffic for a final circuit, Buescher was able to maintain a reasonable gap to Elliott as he returned to the frontstretch and claimed his first checkered flag in six years.
The Bristol victory was Buescher’s second in the Cup Series and first since he claimed his first career win in the rain-shortened event at Pocono Raceway in August 2016. He also became the 19th different winner through 29 scheduled events of the 2022 Cup season and the 139th different competitor to achieve multiple victories in NASCAR’s premier series. In addition, Buescher recorded the first NASCAR victory for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing since the organization last won at Daytona International Speedway in July 2017, their first since the team was rebranded to RFK Racing and the first Cup victory for crew chief Scott Graves.
With Buescher’s victory, this marked the first time since the Playoff-elimination format debuted in 2014 where a Playoff round’s three events were swept by non-title contenders after Erik Jones and Bubba Wallace won the previous two Round of 16 events.
Photo by Jim Barnes for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“Man, this is just so special,” Buescher said on the frontstretch. “This team did such a great job. First Cup win for [sponsor] Fastenal for a points-paying race. That’s awesome. Glad to have Fastenal onboard tonight. Just so special here at Bristol. I love this racetrack. I love the fans. I love every time we come here. It’s so special. [I] Lost one [at Bristol] that really broke our heart back in 2015 on the Xfinity side with [Scott] Graves atop the pit box. This makes up for that. That’s pretty awesome. Pretty special.”
“It was up to me at that point [during the final restart],” Buescher added. “Just hold on and make it work. We really had a fast Fastenal Mustang. Just so proud of everybody. We knew we had a good race car after practice. [I] Didn’t quite get the job done in qualifying, but what a race car. It’s special. Get [Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing] in Victory Lane for the first time. We had great race cars. Brad [Keselowski] had really good speed, too. I don’t know what else to say. I’m out of breath. This place will wear you flat out and I love that about it, but such a special night. This [race] is number one on the list right here. This is it.”
Meanwhile, Elliott rallied from qualifying 23rd to finish in second place for his 11th top-five result of the season while Byron, Bell and Larson completed the top five on the track. All four are among 12 competitors to advance to the Playoff’s Round of 12.
“I wasn’t close enough to do anything with [Buescher],” Elliott said. “We had a long day yesterday. [I] Was able to battle back for a bad qualifying effort to get a top two [finish. Proud of that. Glad to be moving on [in the Playoffs]. Looking forward to some more opportunities in these coming weeks.”
Playoff contender Chastain came home in sixth while Allmendinger, Custer, Hamlin and Harvick completed the top 10 on the track.
When all was said and done on the track, drivers Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Alex Bowman, Daniel Suarez and rookie Austin Cindric transferred to the Round of 12 in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick, Austin Dillon and Kevin Harvick were eliminated from title contention for the 2022 season.
For Cindric, good fortune was on the rookie’s side in spite of the early unscheduled pit stop for a flat right-front tire. With a multitude of Playoff contenders also running into on-track issues throughout the night, Cindric’s 20th-place result was enough for him to claim the 12th and final transfer spot to the Round of 12 by two points over both Kyle Busch and Reddick.
“That was easy, right?” Cindric said. “[I] Came in plus two [points] and leave plus two. Just how we drew it up. What a night. We had right-front tires going down left and right from the beginning of the race. To get all of us into the Round of 12 after a very scary night for Team Penske, proud to do my job and hang in there. Got that one out.”
For Harvick, the final pit stop prior to the final restart was the endgame of his hopes of transferring to the Round of 16 as he left Bristol mired in 16th place in the standings and without an opportunity to contend for a second championship despite rallying for a 10th-place result.
“It was pretty tough,” Harvick said. “We pitted in front of [Buescher], so just kind of the way the year has gone. [I] Just went from having a chance to lead the parade to being a part of the parade. Just difficult to pass.”
The night was also adventurous for both Blaney and Reddick, both of whom encountered on-track issues of their own from start to finish. In the end, Blaney managed to work his way to 30th place in the final leaderboard and transfer to the Round of 12 while Reddick failed to transfer to the Round of 12 by two points for a second consecutive season.
“Lucky to get in, I guess,” Blaney said. “We were really fast early and just had a right front [tire] go down like almost everybody else in the race. We just hit the wall a little bit harder than some other guys. Spent a long time fixing [the car], but was able to get back out. We built a good enough gap the first two [Playoff] races to give ourselves a bit of a cushion and then, some guys had their issues tonight. Pretty crazy turn of events, for sure. Good perseverance by this No. 12 group. Looking forward to getting into Texas.”
“Frustrating, for sure,” Reddick said. “We unloaded in the race and just quite didn’t have the pace or the balance to make our car better. Unfortunately, with the balance issues we were fighting, we were pretty much limited. We couldn’t really adjust on it without hurting the downforce of the car, overall. We were kind of boxed in. Then, we just got collected in that accident back there. I checked up in time, but yeah, I got absolutely ran over from there. Caught the right front and broke the upper control arm for the second week in a row.”
There were 12 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured 11 cautions for 80 laps.
Results.
1. Chris Buescher, 169 laps led
2. Chase Elliott
3. William Byron
4. Christopher Bell, 143 laps led, Stage 2 winner
5. Kyle Larson, 34 laps led
6. Ross Chastain
7. AJ Allmendinger
8. Cole Custer
9. Denny Hamlin
10. Kevin Harvick
11. Michael McDowell
12. Justin Haley
13. Brad Keselowski, one lap down, 109 laps led, Stage 1 winner
14. Chase Briscoe, two laps down
15. Corey LaJoie, three laps down
16. Harrison Burton, three laps down
17. Cody Ware, three laps down
18. Todd Gilliland, four laps down
19. Daniel Suarez, six laps down
20. Austin Cindric, seven laps down
21. Erik Jones, eight laps down
22. Landon Cassill, eight laps down
23. JJ Yeley, nine laps down
24. BJ McLeod, nine laps down
25. Tyler Reddick, 31 laps down
26. Ty Dillon – OUT, Steering
27. Joey Logano – OUT, Suspension
28. Aric Almirola – OUT, Steering, 36 laps led
29. Bubba Wallace, 92 laps down
30. Ryan Blaney, 162 laps down, nine laps led
31. Austin Dillon – OUT, Dvp
32. Alex Bowman – OUT, Accident
33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident
34. Kyle Busch – OUT, Engine
35. Ty Gibbs – OUT, Steering
36. Martin Truex Jr. – OUT, Steering
*Bold indicates Playoff contenders
Playoff standings
1. Chase Elliott – Advanced
2. Joey Logano – Advanced
3. Ross Chastain – Advanced
4. Kyle Larson – Advanced
5. William Byron – Advanced
6. Denny Hamlin – Advanced
7. Christopher Bell – Advanced
8. Ryan Blaney – Advanced
9. Chase Briscoe – Advanced
10. Alex Bowman – Advanced
11. Daniel Suarez – Advanced
12. Austin Cindric – Advanced
13. Kyle Busch – Eliminated
14. Tyler Reddick – Eliminated
15. Austin Dillon – Eliminated
16. Kevin Harvick – Eliminated
The Round of 12 in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will commence next weekend at Texas Motor Speedway for a 500-mile feature on Sunday, September 25. The event is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.
Aric Almirola aced qualifying at Bristol Motor Speedway to earn the NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Pole Award.
His lap of 4.946-seconds at 128.382 mph in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 10 Ford earned him his first pole of the season and the fourth of his career.
As he leads the field to green Saturday for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race, he will be joined by teammate Chase Briscoe on the front row.
After qualifying, Almirola, a non-playoff driver, said, “It absolutely feels good. Man, what a ride to rip around here in less than 15 seconds. It’s pretty crazy how fast these cars are at this racetrack, but I’m just proud of my team, proud of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing. They brought me a really fast BlueOval City Ford Mustang. We were good in race trim and obviously had a lot of speed in qualifying trim, so now we’ve got to go do it for 500 laps tomorrow night.”
Qualifying for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway was intense as four drivers will be eliminated from playoff contention after the event.
Chase Briscoe was the fastest qualifying playoff driver and will start second after falling short of claiming the pole by only 0.022 seconds. It will be his 10th top-10 start this year. Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) driver, Alex Bowman, will start third, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin in fourth and HMS driver, Kyle Larson, in fifth.
Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, Austin Cindric and Brad Keselowski, rounded out the top-10 qualifiers. Keselowski was the only other non-playoff driver among the top-10 starters.
The playoff drivers qualified as follows:
Chase Briscoe – 2nd Alex Bowman – 3rd Denny Hamlin – 4th Kyle Larson – 5th Ryan Blaney – 6th Kevin Harvick – 7th Christopher Bell – 8th Austin Cindric – 9th Ross Chastain – 12th Joey Logano – 15th William Byron – 16th Tyler Reddick – 17th Kyle Busch – 21st Chase Elliott – 23rd Austin Dillon – 28th Daniel Suarez – 29th
Tune into the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at 7:30 ET Saturday evening on USA Network, the NBC Sports App, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Tuesday morning’s news that Kyle Busch is moving from Joe Gibbs Racing to Richard Childress Racing was undoubtedly the worst kept news in NASCAR for at least the past month. Busch leaves the JGR Toyota camp after 15 seasons and two Cup championships to pilot the No. 8 Chevrolet currently occupied by Tyler Reddick.
At first glance, it’s obvious this will be a boon for the mid-pack RCR camp. Since losing Kevin Harvick in 2013, RCR has celebrated success sparingly within the organization, with seven wins (four for Austin Dillon, one for Ryan Newman, two for Reddick) since the 2014 season. To bring in a driver like Busch could very well turn the tides for RCR and could bring in the level of success the group was used to during Harvick’s tenure with the team.
It’s all dependent, however, on how much money Chevrolet is planning on throwing in RCR’s and Busch’s direction. With the move to RCR, Busch’s Kyle Busch Motorsports Camping World Truck teams will be making the switch to Chevrolet as well. Considering that the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is heavily observed by the manufacturers, the loss of the best Toyota team is a dent in their driver pipeline. This could also bring Toyota Racing Development to pay closer attention to the drivers in their pipeline and possibly rectify the issues their clogged driver pipeline is facing (i.e., Harrison Burton, Todd Gilliland, etc.).
It’s a no-brainer that Chevrolet will be doing everything in their power to make RCR an elite team like Hendrick Motorsports. But one can’t help but wonder just what happened which led TRD and JGR to drop the ball so hard with Busch’s negotiations. Without Busch, there’s no successful Toyota Cup organization in Cup. Busch was TRD in NASCAR. He was the flagship name, he was the face of the Toyota surge in NASCAR.
For them to lose such a big name to a rival team and manufacturer couldn’t have been a deliberate matter. Busch is a generational talent; that just doesn’t happen by chance. It’s more likely by mistake or ignorance if anything. But with the loss of KBM in the trucks, that leaves Halmar-Friesen Racing and ThorSport Racing as the lone Toyota truck teams. Given the usual strength of the Toyota driver pipeline, the loss of KBM leaves their drivers with few options to go elsewhere as neither team has a high turnover rate.
The options are marginally better in the Xfinity Series aside from Joe Gibbs Racing, but it does look bleak for the time being. Undoubtedly the landscape will look different come Daytona next season, but it’s all going to be extra work scrambling to fill Busch’s shoes at JGR and Toyota.
Meanwhile, longtime manufacturer Chevrolet could be finding even more success in NASCAR with the addition of Busch and what he’ll be bringing. Another boon is more in the direction of RCR, as they’ll be bringing in a driver with a bad boy reputation the likes of which haven’t been seen since Harvick. The partnership is fitting regarding the Childress legacy, the Busch legacy, and the Chevrolet legacy. But along with that, they’ll be bringing Busch’s brand – the dark horse, the rebel, the villain.
This week NASCAR travels to Bristol Motor Speedway for three days of racing under the lights. It’s the elimination race for the Cup Series Playoffs Round of 16 and once it’s over, only 12 drivers will advance to compete for the 2022 championship.
The Xfinity Series heads to Bristol for the final race of its regular season. Ten drivers have clinched a spot in the 12-driver playoff field including Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Josh Berry, Jeremy Clements, Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, Riley Herbst, Austin Hill, Brandon Jones and Sam Mayer.
Bristol will mark the beginning of the Round of 8 for the Camping World Truck Series Playoffs with contenders Zane Smith, Chandler Smith, John H. Nemechek, Ben Rhodes, Stewart Friesen, Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger and Christian Eckes.
The ARCA Menards Series will join the competition Thursday evening for the Bush’s Beans 200 at 6:30 before the Camping World Truck Series race.
NASCAR Press Pass will be live throughout the weekend for post-race coverage.
All times are Eastern.
Thursday, Sept. 15
2:30 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Practice – No TV 3:30 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Qualifying – No TV 4:30 p.m.: Truck Series Practice – FS1 5:05 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying – FS1 6:30 p.m.: ARCA Sioux Chief Showdown 200 – FS1/MRN
9 p.m.: Truck Series UNOH 200 Distance: 106.6 miles (200 Laps) Stage 1 ends on Lap 55, Stage 2 ends on Lap 110, Final Stage ends on Lap 200 FS1/MRN/SiriusXM The Purse: $703,945
Friday, Sept. 16
2:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – NBC Sports Stream 3:10 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – NBC Sports Stream 4:35 p.m.: Cup Series Practice- NBC Sports Stream /USA at 5 p.m. 5:20 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying – USA/NBC Sports Stream
7:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Food City 300 Distance: 159.9 miles (300 Laps) Stage 1 ends on Lap 85, Stage 2 ends on Lap 170, Final Stage ends on Lap 300 USA/PRN/SiriusXM/NBC Sports Stream The Purse: $1,567,510
Saturday, Sept. 17
7:30 p.m.: Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race Distance: 266.5 miles (500 Laps) Stage 1 ends on Lap 125, Stage 2 ends on Lap 250, Final Stage ends on Lap 500 USA/PRN/SiriusXM/NBC Sports Stream The Purse: $8,338,394
Competing in his 14th full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Joey Logano is primed to achieve a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang will achieve career start No. 500 in NASCAR’s premier series.
A native of Middletown, Connecticut, Logano, who grew up competing in quarter midgets before working his way up through the stock car ladder and becoming a part-time Xfinity Series competitor for Joe Gibbs Racing, made his inaugural presence in NASCAR’s premier series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September 2008. By then, he had racked up one Xfinity career victory at Kentucky Speedway in July and was announced as the driver of the No. 20 JGR Toyota Camry for the 2009 Cup season, where he would be replacing two-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart. Driving the No. 96 Hall of Fame Toyota Camry at New Hampshire, Logano started 40th and finished 32nd in his Cup debut. He returned to compete at Kansas Speedway in September with Hall of Fame Racing and at Texas Motor Speedway in November with JGR, where he finished 39th and 40th respectively.
Taking over the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry in 2009, Logano endured an up-and-down Daytona Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway in February. He finished fourth in the first of two Gatorade Duels, but settled in 43rd place, dead last, in his Daytona 500 debut after being involved in a midway accident. Eight races later, he notched his first top-10 career result in the Cup circuit by finishing ninth at Talladega Superspeedway in April. After finishing 19th during the following weekend at Richmond Raceway, Logano recorded back-to-back ninth-place results at Darlington Raceway and at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.
When NASCAR returned to New Hampshire in late June, Logano, who spun past the midpoint section of the event, utilized pit strategy to retain the lead ahead of Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch when NASCAR displayed the caution due to inclement weather with 35 laps remaining. Not long after, NASCAR declared the race official and Logano was awarded his first career victory in NASCAR’s premier series. At age 19 years, one month and four days old, Logano became the youngest winner in the Cup Series history. While he did not make the 2009 Cup Playoffs, the Connecticut rookie went on to record three additional top-10 results through the final 19 scheduled events, including a fifth-place result at Charlotte and a third-place result at Talladega in October, and finish in 20th place in the final standings as he captured the 2009 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title.
Finishing in 20th place in the 52nd running of the Daytona 500 in February 2010, Logano rebounded during the following two weekends at Auto Club Speedway and at Las Vegas Motor Speedway by finishing fifth and sixth respectively. Two races later, he won his first career pole in the Cup circuit at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, where he finished 27th in the main event. He then finished in a season-best second place behind teammate Denny Hamlin at Martinsville Speedway the following weekend. Despite enduring run-ins with veterans Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman throughout the summer and not qualifying for the 2010 Cup Playoffs, Logano and the No. 20 JGR Toyota team earned a total of three top-five results and 10 top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular season stretch. They went on to record six top-10 results through the remaining 10 scheduled events before settling in 16th place in the final standings. While he went winless in 2010, Logano doubled his top-five and top-10 results from his rookie season and improved his average-finishing result in his sophomore Cup season from 20.0 to 16.8.
In comparison to his sophomore season, Logano endured a difficult junior Cup season. Despite achieving two poles, one at Sonoma Raceway in June and another at Pocono Raceway in August, he only achieved a total of four top-five results, six top-10 results and two season-best third-place results at Charlotte in May and at Daytona in July. Mired in inconsistent results, Logano fell back to 24th place in the final standings. By then, he managed to surpass 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.
Returning for a fourth full-time Cup season with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2012, Logano recorded back-to-back top-10 results during the first two scheduled events before finishing no higher than eighth during the following 11 events. Then at Pocono in June, the Connecticut native prevailed over a late battle against Mark Martin, his childhood hero, to emerge victorious for the second time in his Cup career and to become the first pole-winning race winner in 30 races. Compared to his first Cup victory at New Hampshire in 2009, which was shortened due to weather, Logano’s second win occurred after running all 400 miles, where he led a race-high 49 of 160 laps. Despite earning three additional top-10 results throughout the next 12 scheduled events, he did not make the Playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. Nonetheless, Logano managed to earn four additional top-10 results throughout the 10-race Playoff stretch and start on pole position for the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November before finishing in 17th place in the in the final standings.
Two months prior to the conclusion of the 2012 season, Logano was revealed to be moving to Team Penske to pilot the No. 22 Ford Fusion for the 2013 season while the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry would be piloted by the 2003 Cup champion Matt Kenseth. After finishing no higher than 12th during his first three races as a Penske competitor, Logano settled in 17th place at Bristol in March after being involved in a late run-in with ex-teammate Denny Hamlin, where the latter spun the former and resulted with both confronting one another following the race. Then during the following event at Auto Club Speedway, Logano was battling Hamlin for the win on the final lap when he rubbed against Hamlin’s car entering the final turn, which sent both competitors against the outside wall. While Hamlin spun and pounded the inside wall head-on, Logano managed to crawl across the finish line in third place. Controversy, however, continued for Logano, who fought with Tony Stewart on pit road at the event’s conclusion as Stewart was left irritated over a late restart block by Logano that cost Stewart an opportunity to win.
Since his third-place result at Auto Club through Watkins Glen International in August, where he finished seventh, Logano had notched three top-five results and nine top-10 results as he came within reach of making the Playoff’s cutline. Then at Michigan International Speedway, Logano benefited from Mark Martin running out of fuel with four laps remaining to notch his third Cup career victory and first with Team Penske in the Irish Hills after leading a race-high 51 of 200 laps from pole position. The Michigan victory along with two consecutive top-five results during the following three events were enough for Logano to make the Playoffs for the first time in his career. Despite recording two third-place results along with a total of five top-10 results throughout the 10-race Playoff stretch, the Connecticut native could not stay within grasp of the championship front-runners as he capped off the season in eighth place in the final standings, which marked his first top-10 result in a Cup standings.
In 2014, Logano commenced his second season as a Penske competitor with an 11th-place result in the Daytona 500. Six races and three top-five results later, he executed a final lap pass on Jeff Gordon during a two-lap shootout to claim his first victory of the season and the fourth of his Cup career at Texas Motor Speedway in April. Another two races later, he prevailed over a late battle against Gordon, teammate Brad Keselowski and Kenseth to win at Richmond, thus claiming multiple Cup victories in a season for the first time. In August, Logano fended off teammate Keselowski and Kenseth to win at Bristol for his third victory of the season. The three victories along with a total of 10 top-five results and 15 top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular season stretch were more than enough for the Connecticut native to make his second consecutive Playoffs. By then, he also surpassed 200 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series. When the 2014 Cup Playoffs commenced, victories at New Hampshire in September and at Kansas Speedway in October enabled Logano and the No. 22 team to transfer from the Playoff’s Round of 16 to 8. Two results in the top six during the Round of 8 were enough for him to make the Championship 4 cutline and contend for his first Cup title at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November. During the finale, however, Logano suffered a slow pit stop in the closing laps after his jackman dropped the jack and the crew was needed to raise Logano’s car to have pit stop complete. The miscue relegated the driver of the No. 22 Ford to a 16th-place result on the track and in a career-best fourth place in the final standings.
Determined to make another championship run, Logano kicked off the 2015 Cup season on a high note when he fended off Kevin Harvick and the field at the moment of caution due to a multi-car wreck to win the 57th running of the Daytona 500 in February. By then, the 24-year-old Logano became the second-youngest Daytona 500 champion and the 36th overall competitor to win the Great American Race as he gave team owner Roger Penske his second 500 title. Twenty-one races later, Logano overtook Harvick on the final lap and the final turn to claim his second victory of the season at Watkins Glen International, thus completing a clean sweep of the weekend after winning the Xfinity event a day prior. Another two races later, he fended off Harvick to win at Bristol in August for a second consecutive season. The three victories along with 17 additional results in the top 10 throughout the 2015 regular season stretch enabled Logano to make his third consecutive Playoffs.
After earning three consecutive top-10 results to transfer from the Playoff’s Round of 16 to 12, Logano transferred to the Round of 8 after sweeping the round’s three events at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kansas and at Talladega Superspeedway. In the midst of his three consecutive victories, he encountered a late run-in with Kenseth, whom he spun at Kansas in the closing laps prior to his victory. Then at Martinsville Speedway in November, Logano dominated until he was intentionally wrecked by Kenseth under the final 50 laps, an incident that jeopardized the Connecticut native’s 2015 title hopes as he finished 37th. The situation went from bad to worse during the following weekend at Texas when he cut a tire early in the end and settled in 40th place. He rallied during the following event at Phoenix by finishing in third place, but the damage was done as he was far behind in the points and failed to transfer to the Championship Round at Homestead. While he did not win the 2015 title and ended up sixth in the final standings, the season stands as Logano’s best to date, where he notched a career-high six victories, six poles, 22 top-five results, 28 top-10 results, 1,431 laps led and an average-finishing result of 9.2.
Making another bid for his first title in 2016, Logano commenced the season with six top-10 results through the season’s first 12 scheduled events until he accomplished his first All-Star Race victory at Charlotte in May following a late battle with Kyle Larson. Four weeks later, he fended off rookie Chase Elliott to grab his first points victory at Michigan in June. A total of 18 top-10 results throughout the 2016 regular season stretch, including his victory at Michigan, were enough for Logano to qualify for his fourth consecutive appearance in the Playoffs.
In the Round of 16 in the Playoffs, Logano finished no lower than 11th on the track as he transferred to the Round of 12. At Charlotte in October, he finished 36th after smacking the wall twice separately due to two right-front tire failures. After finishing third at Kansas during the following weekend, Logano earned a one-way ticket to the Round of 8 after winning at Talladega. He then went on to finish ninth and second at the start of the Round of 8 before capitalizing on a late restart at Phoenix in November to win and clinch a Championship 4 spot for Homestead. During the finale, however, Logano restarted behind championship rival Carl Edwards during a restart with 10 laps remaining and was involved in a late multi-car wreck that saw Edwards turning himself across Logano’s front nose and pounding the inside wall head-on while Logano sustained minimal damage to his No. 22 Ford. Despite continuing, Logano could only run as high as fourth place on the track as he settled in a career-best second place in the final standings behind seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson.
In comparison to his previous three seasons at Team Penske, where he contended for the championship, the 2017 Cup season ended up being a difficult season for Logano, who commenced the season with a victory in the non-points Clash at Daytona in February followed by back-to-back sixth-place results. After finishing no lower than sixth during all but one of the first eight scheduled events, he notched his first victory of the season at Richmond in April. By then, he became the sixth competitor to win in career start No. 300. The win, however, was overshadowed with disappointment when it was discovered that Logano’s No. 22 Ford encountered an issue with a rear suspension during the post-race inspection process. The issue made NASCAR declared Logano’s victory “encumbered” as his win would not count towards him making the Playoffs. From there, Logano endured an inconsistent, regular season stretch with three additional top-10 results, but 10 results outside of the top 20 during the next 16 events. Despite finishing second at Richmond in September, he was unable to make the Playoffs for the first time since 2012. From there, he managed five top-10 results during the 10-race Playoff stretch before concluding the season in 17th place in the final standings.
Determined to return as a championship-caliber competitor for himself and his team, Logano opened the 2018 season with a fourth-place result in the Daytona 500. Nine races and seven additional top-10 results later, he fended off Kurt Busch and the field to win at Talladega in May. Logano then went on to post nine more top-10 results before qualifying for the 2018 Cup Playoffs. Finishing no worse than 14th during the first six Playoff events, Logano was able to transfer from the Round of 16 to 8 by late October. Then during the first Round of 8 event at Martinsville, Logano rubbed and overtook reigning Cup champion Martin Truex Jr. on the final lap to win and clinch a spot in the Championship event at Homestead. Three races later during the finale at Homestead, Logano overtook Truex and led the final 12 laps before streaking to his third victory of the season and winning his first championship in the NASCAR Cup Series. With his first title occurring in his 10th full-time season in the Cup Series, Logano became the 33rd different competitor to achieve a championship in NASCAR’s premier series as he also recorded the second Cup title for Team Penske. Overall, Logano capped off his first championship season with three victories, a pole, 13 top-five results, 26 top-10 results, 934 laps led and an average-finishing result of 10.7.
Entering the 2019 season as the reigning Cup champion, Logano commenced the season by winning the second of two Daytona Duel events before finishing in fourth place in the Daytona 500. Two races later, he fended off teammate Brad Keselowski to notch his first victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. Another 12 races later, he beat Kurt Busch during an overtime attempt to win at Michigan in June. To go along with his two regular season victories, he notched a total of 15 top-10 results during the regular season stretch as he made his sixth career appearance in the Playoffs. During the Playoff’s Round of 16, Logano finished no lower than 11th as he transferred to the Round of 12. Despite finishing no higher than 11th during the Round of 12, he was able to transfer to the Round of 8 while teammate Keselowski missed the cutoff by three points. During the first Round of 8 event at Martinsville in October, Logano was involved in a post-race skirmish with Denny Hamlin after Hamlin made contact with Logano late in the event that caused Logano to cut a tire and spin. Despite finishing eighth at Martinsville before proceeding to finish fourth and ninth at Texas and Phoenix respectively, he failed to reach the Championship Round at Homestead and was unable to defend his title. With his hopes of winning back-to-back titles evaporated, Logano finished in fifth place in the final standings.
Following a disappointing conclusion to the 2019 season, Logano notched two victories through the first four scheduled events of the 2020 season: Las Vegas and Phoenix in March. By then, he surpassed 400 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series. When all NASCAR activities were suspended in March before returning in May during the COVID-19 pandemic, he managed to earn 12 top-10 results before making his seventh appearance in the Playoffs. After transferring all the way from the Round of 16 to 8 on the strength of three top-three results, Logano earned a one-way ticket to the Championship Round at Phoenix after winning the Round of 8’s opening event at Kansas in October. During the finale, however, Logano settled in third place on the track and in the final standings behind Chase Elliott and teammate Keselowski.
At the start of the 2021 Cup season, Logano was in position to win his second Daytona 500 title while leading on the final lap when he was turned by teammate Brad Keselowski with two corners remaining. The collision between both Penske teammates ignited a fiery multi-car wreck that left both with demolished race cars with Logano settling in 12th place. The incident marked Logano’s second consecutive DNF in the Daytona 500. He rebounded by finishing in second place during the Daytona Road Course event after being overtaken by Christopher Bell on the penultimate lap. Five races later, Logano fended off Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Denny Hamlin during an overtime shootout to win the inaugural Cup event at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course, which marked his 27th career win in NASCAR’s premier series. Despite enduring a wild airborne wreck at Talladega in April, he earned a total of 13 top-10 results throughout the regular season stretch before making his eighth appearance in the Playoffs. Finishing no higher than 11th place during the first half of the 2021 Cup Playoffs, Logano was able to transfer from the Round of 16 to 8. An engine issue during the first Round of 8 event at Texas, however, affected his hopes of winning the title and ultimately, he was unable to transfer out of the Round of 8 despite notching back-to-back top-10 results for the remainder of the event. Capping off the season with an 11th-place result during the finale at Phoenix, Logano ended up in eighth place in the final standings behind teammates Keselowski and Ryan Blaney.
Logano commenced the 2022 NASCAR season on a high note by winning the non-points Busch Light Clash in the sport’s inaugural exhibition event at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in February. After achieving five top-10 results through the first 11-scheduled events, he claimed his first Cup points victory of the season at Darlington Raceway in May. The Darlington victory occurred after Logano pulled a “bump-and-run” move on William Byron prior to the final lap that knocked Byron out of contention. Another three races later, Logano prevailed in an overtime battle against Kyle Busch to win the inaugural Cup event at World Wide Technology Raceway in June. The victories at Darlington and Gateway along with a total of seven top-five results, 12 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 14.0 throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch were enough to earn a one-way ticket to the Playoffs for the ninth time in his career. Coming off runs of fourth and 17th through the first two events in the Round of 16, he is currently ranked in fourth place in the Playoff standings and 40 points above the top-12 cutline to advance to the Round of 12.
Through 499 previous Cup starts, Logano has achieved one championship, 29 victories, 24 poles, 146 top-five results, 253 top-10 results, 7,911 laps led and an average-finishing result of 13.9.
Logano is scheduled to make his 500th Cup Series career start at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Saturday, September 17. The event’s coverage is slated to occur at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.
1. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin chased down Bubba Wallace over the closing laps, but couldn’t get close enough to make the pass, instead settling for his second-consecutive runner-up finish.
“Congratulations to my 23XI Racing driver,” Hamlin said. “If I could have gotten a little closer, I was getting ready to make a ‘boss’ move.”
2. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished 11th in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas.
“We needed a solid performance,” Elliott said, “and we got it. I wasn’t happy with my performance at Darlington. By ‘backing it into the wall,’ I left my back against the wall.”
3. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished ninth at Kansas.
“Congratulations to Bubba Wallace on his win,” Blaney said. “That’s two straight wins by non-playoff drivers. I’m just the opposite: a non-winning playoff driver.”
4. Christopher Bell: Bell finished third at Kansas and clinched a spot to the second round of the playoffs.
“This takes a lot of the pressure off of me,” Bell said. “I don’t need to win; there are a lot of drivers who do. So, while they’re going ‘balls to the wall’ at Bristol, my balls will be in a much safer place.”
5. Joey Logano: Logano started second at Kansas and finished 17th, one lap down.
“North Wilkesboro will host the 2023 All-Star Race,” Logano said. “I think it’s great because NASCAR is going back to its roots. The only roots in Los Angeles, where last year’s race was held, are those being dyed in the hair of those L.A. posers.”
6. Kyle Larson: Larson finished eighth in the Hollywood Casino 400.
“I’m 27 points above the playoff cut line of 12th place,” Larson said. “So, barring a disaster, I should advance. I’m really excited to defend my championship, because trust me, defending a championship is much better than defending yourself.”
7. William Byron: Byron finished sixth at Kansas.
“The Bristol Night Race is going to be huge,” Byron said. “It’s on a Saturday, and some playoff drivers need a win just to advance to the next round. It’s going to be intense, and must-see TV. As the driver of the car with the ‘Liberty University’ paint scheme on his car, I can promise you fans will be watching as intently as Jerry Falwell, Jr. watches his wife and the pool boy.”
8. Ross Chastain: Chastain solidified his playoff standing with a seventh at Kansas.
“That’s right,” Chastain said, “I’m a good bet to make the second round of the playoffs. Personally, I’m thrilled that I’ll be able to make an impact in the second round. There are at least 11 other drivers that feel otherwise.”
9. Kyle Busch: Busch finished a disappointing 26th at Kansas a spin on Lap 130 resulted in two flat tires, leaving him a lap down.
“I’m headed to Richard Childress Racing in 2023,” Busch said. “They made a deal with me, so now they have to deal with me.”
10. Kevin Harvick: Harvick’s day ended early at Kansas when he slammed the wall after getting loose while racing in tight quarters with Ross Chastain and Bubba Wallace. Harvick finished last in 36th.
“That’s a finish of 33rd and 36th for me in the playoffs,” Harvick said. “The bad news? I’m the coldest driver in the playoffs. The good news? I’m not ‘on fire.’”
“In regards to what happened at Darlington, I’m surprised Busch didn’t create a new marketing campaign around the slogan, ‘You got a light?’”
Bubba Wallace wheeled the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota TRD Camry to a late victory in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, September 11. It was the second time in recent weeks that a non-Playoff competitor spoiled the show in the early stages of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. On this occasion, it was a team that celebrated an automatic transfer to the second round in the owners’ standings.
The 28-year-old Wallace from Mobile, Alabama, led two times for 58 of 267-scheduled laps, including the final 43, and rallied from an early loose wheel that forced him to pit for a second time prior to the start of the second stage as he held off team owner Denny Hamlin amid lapped traffic to score his second career win in NASCAR’s premier series. The victory enabled the No. 45 team to earn an automatic pass to the Round of 12 in the owners’ standings with Wallace not contending for the drivers’ title.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Playoff contender Tyler Reddick secured his second pole position of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 180.608 mph in 29.899 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender Joey Logano, who posted the second-best lap sat 180.385 mph in 29.936 seconds.
Prior to the event, Aric Almirola and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Reddick and Logano dueled early for the lead entering the first turn before Logano capitalized on the inside lane to assume the lead. With the field fanning out through the backstretch, Logano went on to lead the first lap while Alex Bowman muscled his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the runner-up spot over Reddick’s No. 8 Guaranteed Rate Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
Two laps later, however, Bowman battled and overtook Logano on the outside lane for the lead. Reddick would soon overtake Logano for the runner-up spot while Christopher Bell and Ross Chastain occupied the top five ahead of a side-by-side battle between Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson.
Through the first five scheduled laps, Bowman was leading by six-tenths of a second over Reddick followed by Logano, Bell and Chastain while Wallace, Larson, Kevin Harvick, rookie Austin Cindric and Martin Truex Jr. were in the top 10 ahead of Daniel Suarez, William Byron, Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney and Austin Dillon.
At the Lap 10 mark, Bowman stabilized his advantage to nearly eight-tenths of a second over Reddick followed by Logano and Bell while Wallace muscled his No. 45 Root Insurance Toyota TRD Camry into the top five. By then, half of the 16 Playoff contenders were running in the top 10 while Chase Elliott was the lowest-running Playoff contender in 26th. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch was in 22nd while Chase Briscoe was mired in 17th behind William Byron, Austin Dillon and Denny Hamlin.
On Lap 25, a competition caution was displayed as scheduled by NASCAR. At the moment of caution, Bowman had extended his advantage to more than a second over Reddick while Logano, Bell, Wallace, Chastain, Truex, Larson, Harvick and Cindric were scored in the top 10.
During the competition caution, the leaders led by Bowman pitted and Reddick reassumed the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Bowman, Logano, Bell, Truex and Wallace. Following the pit stops, however, Brad Keselowski, Briscoe and Truex were sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road. In addition, Hamlin was penalized for an equipment interference.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 31, Reddick and Bowman dueled for the lead as the field fanned out to multiple lanes through the backstretch and entering Turn 3. As Bowman and Reddick continued to battle dead even for the lead, a three-wide action for third place ignited between Logano, Chastain and Wallace as Harvick closed in.
Two laps later, however, the caution returned when Chastain and Wallace slid up the track and in front of Harvick entering Turn 4. This caused Harvick to get loose before he veered back to the right and smacked the outside wall in Turn 4 as he sustained significant right-side damage to his No. 4 Rheem Ford Mustang. The damage on the No. 4 Ford, which included the right-front suspension, was too extensive for Harvick to continue as he took his car to the garage and retired in 36th place, dead last.
At the start of the following restart on Lap 38, Reddick retained the lead while fending off Blaney and Bowman before Logano challenged Bowman for third place through the first two turns. Behind, Chastain rocketed his No. 1 AdventHealth Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to fifth after he overtook Wallace and Bell as the field continued to dice for positions towards the front.
By Lap 50, Reddick was ahead by nearly a second over Blaney, Bowman, Chastain, Bell, Wallace, Logano, Buescher, Cindric and Byron. Behind, Stenhouse was in 11th ahead of Larson, Suarez, Kyle Busch, Elliott, Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, Almirola, Truex and Hamlin while Briscoe was in 29th.
Fifteen laps later, however, the caution flew when the race leader Reddick slipped sideways and slapped the outside wall after he cut a right-rear tire in Turn 2. The situation went from bad to worse for Reddick, who then spun below the apron as he was entering pit road and ultimately retired from the race. Under caution, the leaders led by Bowman pitted and Austin Dillon assumed the lead following a two-tire pit stop.
With nine laps remaining in the first stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Austin Dillon and Bell dueled until Bell prevailed on the inside lane. Shortly after, Blaney battled and overtook Dillon for third before Truex and Chastain took Dillon three-wide in a bid for fourth followed by Stenhouse and Wallace.
When the first stage concluded on Lap 80, Bell, who was making his 100th Cup career start, captured his third stage victory of the 2022 season. Blaney settled in second while Truex, Stenhouse, Wallace, Elliott, Kyle Busch, Chastain, Logano and Austin Dillon, who fell back on two fresh tires, were scored in the top 10. By then, Hamlin was in 11th ahead of Byron and Larson while Cindric was in 15th followed by Suarez and Bowman. Briscoe was mired back in 25th while Reddick and Harvick were officially out of the event.
Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Bell returned to pit road for service while Almirola remained on the track to inherit the lead. Following the pit stops, Blaney and Wallace pitted to address loose wheels on their respective cars.
The second stage started on Lap 86 with Almirola and McDowell, who opted for two fresh tires, on the front row. At the start and with the field fanning out, McDowell pulled ahead with the lead while Almirola, who slid up the track, made the slightest of contact with Bell and Elliott, though all continued to run straight.
During the following lap, Truex muscled his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota TRD Camry into the lead. Behind, Stenhouse moved in second over McDowell while Bell and Byron were in the top five. In addition, Almirola was in sixth in front of Elliott and Suarez while Kyle Busch and Logano were in the top 10.
Another three laps later, the caution flew for Ty Gibbs, who got loose after making contact with Corey LaJoie and slapped the outside wall in Turn 2 as he flattened both right-side tires and sustained right-side damage to his No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota TRD Camry. During the caution period, Almirola and Ty Dillon pitted while the rest of the field led by Truex remained on the track.
During a Lap 95 restart, Truex and Stenhouse dueled for the lead before Truex managed to clear himself with the lead and with a clear racetrack in front of him two laps later. Meanwhile, Bell and Byron battled for third in front of Kyle Busch and McDowell.
At the Lap 100 mark, Truex was leading by more than half a second over Stenhouse while Bell was the highest-running Playoff contender in third in front of Kyle Busch and Byron. By then, seven of 16 Playoff contenders were running in the top 10 as Briscoe, Cindric, Suarez, Chastain, Austin Dillon, Blaney and Hamlin were mired outside of the top 10 on the track.
Nine laps later, the caution returned when Stenhouse, who was running in second place, slapped the outside wall in the backstretch after he blew a right-rear tire on his No. 47 SunnyD Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. During the caution period, the leaders led by Truex pitted and Truex retained the lead after exiting with the top spot followed by Byron, Bowman, Logano, and Kyle Busch. Following the pit stops, however, Truex limped his way back to pit road to address a loose left-rear wheel. In addition, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch and Suarez were all penalized for equipment interference.
On Lap 114, the race restarted under green as teammates Byron and Bowman occupied the front row. Entering the first turn and with the field bunched up, however, the caution returned when Erik Jones, winner of last weekend’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, made contact with rookie Harrison Burton and Corey LaJoie while trying to squeeze himself in between both competitors as both LaJoie and Burton went up the track and clipped Almirola, who went spinning before both collided with one another toward the outside wall.
At the start of another restart on Lap 120, Bowman used the inside lane to his advantage as he assumed the lead over teammate Byron while Logano was left in a three-wide battle against Briscoe and Elliott for third as Bell pursued behind.
At the halfway mark in between Laps 133 and 134, Bowman was leading by eight-tenths over Logano, Byron, Elliott, Briscoe, Cindric, Bell, Blaney, Larson and Wallace. Chastain, Kyle Busch and Hamlin were in 12th, 14th and 17th while Suarez was in 21st and Austin Dillon was in 22nd.
Then on Lap 136, the caution flew when Kyle Busch, who was in 12th in front of Truex and Chastain, got loose and spun his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry into the frontstretch grass after he cut a right-rear tire. During the caution period, the leaders led by Bowman pitted and Bowman retained the lead ahead of teammate Byron.
With 22 laps remaining in the second stage, Bowman received a push from Bell on the inside lane to maintain the lead before Byron used the outside lane to overtake Bell for the runner-up spot. In addition, Logano moved up to third while Bell maintained fourth in front of Blaney and Elliott.
With less than 10 laps remaining in the second stage, Bowman remained as the leader by four-tenths of a second over Bell while Byron, Elliott and Wallace were in the top five. Wallace’s owner Hamlin was in sixth in front of Logano, Larson, Blaney and Chastain.
When the second stage concluded on Lap 165, Bowman captured his second stage victory of the 2022 season. Bell settled in a close second place followed by Byron, Wallace, Elliott, Hamlin, Larson, Logano, Blaney and Chastain.
Under the stage break, the leaders led by Bowman pitted and Bowman retained the lead following another strong pit stop from his pit crew while Wallace and Hamlin moved up to second and third.
With 96 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Bowman retained the lead while Wallace challenged Byron for the runner-up spot as the field fanned out through the backstretch. A few laps later, teammates Byron and Larson overtook Wallace for second and third as Logano and Bell closed in while Bowman started to pull away with the lead.
With 87 laps remaining, Larson got loose entering Turns 3 and 4 while running on the outside lane. This allowed Byron and Wallace to go three wide on Larson as Wallace muscled his way into the runner-up spot. By then, Bowman was out in front by more than a second.
Eight laps later and with 75 laps remaining, Bowman stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Wallace followed by Byron, Bell and Larson, who continued to run in the top five despite brushing the wall earlier. Hamlin was in sixth while Blaney, Truex, Chastain and Logano were in the top 10 in front of Cindric, Elliott, Justin Haley, Suarez and Christopher Buescher.
Another eight laps later, Wallace, who slowly tracked Bowman, overtook Bowman to assume the lead for the first time.
Just past the final 55 laps of the event, green flag pit stops ensued as Truex pitted followed by teammate Hamlin and Byron. Shortly after, the leader Wallace pitted along with Bell, Blaney, Larson, Cindric, McDowell, Kyle Busch, Bowman and others.
When the latest cycle of green flag pit stops concluded with 42 laps remaining, Wallace cycled his way back into the lead after Logano and Suarez, who endured a slow pit stop, pitted under green. By then, Bell moved into second followed by teammate Hamlin while Byron and Bowman were in the top five.
With less than 30 laps remaining, Wallace was leading by two seconds over Bell, who was slowly gaining ground on Wallace for the lead as Wallace was navigating his way through lapped traffic. Hamlin was in third followed by Byron and Bowman while Chastain, Larson, Truex, Blaney and Elliott were in the top 10. By then, Playoff contenders Cindric, Austin Dillon, Briscoe, Suarez, Logano and Kyle Busch were in 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 18th and 24th.
Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Wallace stabilized his advantage to less than two seconds over Bell while third-place Hamlin trailed by more than two seconds. Another four laps later, Hamlin dueled and overtook teammate Bell on the frontstretch to assume the runner-up spot.
With 10 laps remaining, Wallace continued to lead by two seconds over team owner Hamlin, who was navigating his way through lapped traffic, while third-place Bell trailed by less than three seconds.
Five laps later, Wallace’s advantage decreased to less than a second and a half over Hamlin, though the former retained the top spot.
When the white flag waved and the final lap commenced, Wallace remained as the leader by more than a second over Hamlin. Despite having lapped traffic in front of his windshield, Wallace was able to navigate his way around Kansas for a final time and cycle back to the frontstretch to claim his first elusive checkered flag of the 2022 season by a second over Hamlin.
With his second Cup career victory and by transferring the No. 45 23XI Racing entry into the Round of 12 in the owners’ standings, Wallace also became the 138th different competitor to achieve multiple wins in NASCAR’s premier series, he recorded the third career win for 23XI Racing and he became the 18th different winner through the first 28 scheduled events, which was a record in NASCAR history. The victory also meant that the No. 45 23XI Racing entry swept both Kansas Cup victories of the season after winning in May with Kurt Busch.
This also marks the first time since the Playoffs debuted in 2004 where the first two Playoff events were won by non-title contenders after Erik Jones won at Darlington Raceway a week ago.
Photo by Simon Scoggins for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“Man, just so proud of this team,” Wallace said on USA Network. “So proud of the effort that they put in each and every week. Just thankful for the opportunity, right? Took this jump from an idea two years ago from a text from Denny [Hamlin] before [23XI Racing] all even happened. He was ready to get the deal done. Appreciate him, appreciate [Michael Jordan]…everybody at 23XI. They work their tails off. Just so proud. Pit crew was awesome today. We had one loose wheel. Just thankful. Thankful for the opportunity and thankful to shut the hell up for a lot of people.”
“I knew Denny was gonna be strong,” Wallace added. “That’s the things I look at. He wasn’t that good at the beginning of the day, and he comes up and finishes P2. That’s what I wanna start doing. We don’t have the best days. Just capitalize on moments like that. It’s cool to beat the boss, but man, we were just lights out today once we got to the lead. It was a lot of fun. It was just cool, calm and collective, and here we are. True fans that are out there, thank you, guys. I love you. It’s been a tough road. You [fans] are the best. Let’s keep this train rolling.”
The runner-up result provided mixed emotions for Hamlin, positives from an owner’s perspective but disappointment from a driver’s perspective.
“It’s a good overall day,” Hamlin said. “Just still frustrated about the first half of the race, obviously. We just aren’t executing that well. Really happy for our No. 11 Toyota team. They fought hard. They really stepped up that last half. We made the car quite a bit better. Just really happy about the outcome and really happy for that No. 45 team, Bubba Wallace and [crew chief] Bootie [Barker]. Bubba’s just really worked hard on his craft. We’ve just given him fast race cars and now, he’s showing what he’s got. I nearly wrecked to try to catch him off of [Turn] 4. I got bad loose and hit the fence, but I was driving as hard as I could. Nothing will ever come for free when you’re driving for me. If you think that I’m gonna let you win, you better go get another job. Just what a great day overall for Toyota.”
The third-place finish for Bell felt like a victory for the Oklahoma native as he garnered enough points (58) to become the first Playoff competitor to secure a spot for the Round of 12 in the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs.
“[I] Just got off a little bit on our balance that last run, but overall a great points day and very proud of everyone on this DEWALT No. 20 team,” Bell said. “Great day for Toyota and happy for Bubba to get a win. He was really deserving, really fast all day. Great points day. We’ll move on and try and win one. I’m very happy that we’re finally getting the results that this team deserves. Our speed has been there all year, and I feel like we’ve given up a couple good finishes. Last couple of weeks we’ve been building on it, and hopefully, we can keep the ball rolling.”
Bowman, who led the most laps at 107, came home in fourth place in front of Truex. Byron, Chastain, Larson, Blaney and Daniel Suarez completed the top 10 in the final running order.
There were 16 lead changes for 12 different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 43 laps.
Results.
1. Bubba Wallace, 58 laps led
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Christopher Bell, 12 laps led, Stage 1 winner
4. Alex Bowman, 107 laps led, Stage 2 winner
5. Martin Truex Jr., 24 laps led
6. William Byron, nine laps led
7. Ross Chastain
8. Kyle Larson
9. Ryan Blaney, two laps led
10. Daniel Suarez, eight laps led
11. Chase Elliott
12. Austin Cindric
13. Chase Briscoe
14. Austin Dillon, three laps led
15. Chris Buescher
16. Michael McDowell, one lap led
17. Joey Logano, one lap down, two laps led
18. Noah Gragson, one lap down
19. Justin Haley, one lap down
20. Ty Dillon, one lap down
21. Aric Almirola, one lap down, three laps led
22. Cole Custer, one lap down
23. Todd Gilliland, one lap down
24. Landon Cassill, one lap down
25. Brad Keselowski, one lap down
26. Kyle Busch, two laps down
27. Cody Ware, two laps down
28. JJ Yeley, three laps down
29. Erik Jones, three laps down
30. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., five laps down
31. BJ McLeod, five laps down
32. Harrison Burton – OUT, Accident
33. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Accident
34. Ty Gibbs – OUT, Accident
35. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident, 38 laps led
36. Kevin Harvick – OUT, Accident
*Bold indicates Playoff contenders
Playoff standings
1. Christopher Bell – Advanced
2. William Byron +48
3. Denny Hamlin +47
4. Joey Logano +40
5. Ryan Blaney +36
6. Alex Bowman +30
7. Chase Elliott +28
8. Kyle Larson +27
9. Ross Chastain +26
10. Daniel Suarez +6
11. Tyler Reddick +2
12. Austin Cindric +2
13. Kyle Busch -2
14. Austin Dillon -3
15. Chase Briscoe -9
16. Kevin Harvick -35
Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff schedule is Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race and where the first round of eliminations will occur. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, September 17, at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.
Tyler Reddick was last but not least in NASCAR Cup Series qualifying Saturday at Kansas Speedway. His lap of 29.899 seconds at 180.608 mph in the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet earned him the Busch Light Pole Award.
“It’s reassuring,” Reddick said. “The last few times we’ve been here, we’ve had a car capable of leading, and we’ve been able to do that. It’s just been a matter of putting together the whole day, which is something we’ve fought at times throughout the year. Starting first is great any weekend, but being able to have that first pit stall is going to be key.”
It’s Reddick’s second pole this year and his third career pole in the series. He outpaced Team Penske’s Joey Logano who will start second in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 for the second Playoff race in the Round of 16.
“I haven’t seen his lap but I thought we had a pretty good lap,” Logano said. “Our car was tighter than the first run. It was still good the first run. I hated to adjust on it too much and I probably steered Paul (Wolfe) a little bit in the wrong direction there and didn’t really adjust enough. I am so proud of the Shell Pennzoil team.
“We picked up a lot from practice and laid down a couple of quick laps there. A couple of front row starts in a row. That first pit stall is pretty big here though. I wish we had that. But we will go at them from where we are at.”
The top five drivers are all in the Playoffs with Alex Bowman starting in third, Christopher Bell in fourth and Ross Chastain in fifth. Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, Austin Cindric, William Byron and Chris Buescher, respectively, rounded out the top 10 in qualifying.
Kansas – Starting positions for drivers in the Playoffs:
