The NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series head to Watkins Glen International this weekend. There are only two races remaining in the Cup Series regular season. So far we have seen 15 different winners, leaving one final spot in the Playoffs.
Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney has not won this year but is currently ranked in the 16th and final Playoff spot. But, with two to go, his biggest rival, Martin Truex Jr., is only 26 points behind. And, with the threat of a new winner, we can expect a no holds barred fight to the finish.
There are five races to go in the Xfinity Series regular season and seven different drivers have been to victory lane, including six multiple race winners. Ty Gibbs leads the series with five wins.
The Camping World Truck Series is off but returns to action for the final race in the Playoffs Round of 10 at Kansas Speedway on Sept. 9 where two drivers will be eliminated.
Friday evening, the ARCA Menards Series will kick off the weekend with the General Tire Delivers 100 on FS1.
All times are Eastern.
Friday, August 19
3:15 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Practice (All Entries) No TV 4:25 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Qualifying (Impound) (Timed, All Entries) No TV
6 p.m.: ARCA General Tire Delivers 100 41 Laps = 100.45 Miles FS1/MRN
Saturday, August 20
10:05 a.m.: Xfinity Series Practice (All Entries) – Peacock 10:35 a.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Impound) (Group A & B/ Multi-Vehicle, Two Rounds) Peacock 12:05 p.m.: Cup Series Practice (Groups A & B) Airs on USA at 12:30 p.m./MRN 1:05 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying Qualifying (Impound) (Groups A & B/Multi-Vehicle, Two Rounds) USA/MRN
3 p.m.: Xfinity Series Sunoco Go Rewards 200 at The Glen Distance: 200.9 Miles = 82 Laps Stages end on Laps 20, 40, 82 The Purse: $1,159,436 USA/MRN/SiriusXM
Sunday, August 21
3 p.m.: Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen Distance: 220.5 Miles = 90 Laps Stages end on Laps 20, 40, 90 The Purse: $6,664,145 USA/MRN/SiriusXM
Competing in his third full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Cole Custer is set to achieve a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Cup event at Watkins Glen International, the driver of the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang will reach 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.
A native of Ladera Ranch, California, Custer made his Cup Series debut at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March 2018. By then, he was competing in his second season as a full-time Xfinity Series competitor for Stewart-Haas Racing. Driving the No. 51 Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing, Custer started 30th and finished 25th in his series debut. He competed in two additional Cup races for RWR at Pocono Raceway in June and at Richmond Raceway in September, where he finished 26th in both events.
Following back-to-back runner-up results in the final Xfinity Series standings in 2018 and 2019, Custer was promoted to the NASCAR Cup Series as a full-time competitor for Stewart-Haas Racing and in the No. 41 Ford Mustang. He kicked off his rookie Cup season with a 37th-place result in the Daytona 500 following a rear end failure. He rebounded three races later by finishing ninth at Phoenix Raceway in March, which marked his first top-10 result in the Cup circuit.
After finishing no higher than 12th through the following 11 scheduled races, Custer notched his first top-five result in the Cup Series after finishing fifth at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July. Then, the Californian scored his first Cup career victory during the following weekend at Kentucky Speedway after he overtook Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. with a bold four-wide pass on the final lap and during an overtime attempt. The victory, which occurred in his 20th series start, made Custer the 194th different competitor to win in the Cup Series and it guaranteed the driver and his No. 41 SHR team a spot in the 2020 Cup Playoffs. Custer went on to record three additional top-10 results during the 26-race regular-season stretch before the Playoffs commenced. By then, Custer wrapped up the 2020 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title since he was the lone rookie contender to make the Playoffs and would finish higher in the standings than his fellow contenders (Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, John Hunter Nemechek, Brennan Poole and Quin Houff).
After finishing no higher than 12th during the Round of 16 in the Playoffs, Custer’s title hopes came to an end as he was one of four competitors eliminated from the postseason. Nonetheless, he went on to record a ninth-place result at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval in October before capping off his rookie Cup season in 16th place in the final standings.
Custer, who returned to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2021, kicked off his sophomore Cup season by finishing 11th in the Daytona 500. His lone highlights throughout the season, however, were a pair of 10th-place results (Talladega Superspeedway in April and Dover International Speedway in May) as he endured an inconsistent regular season stretch that prevented him from making the 2021 Cup Playoffs. Finishing no higher than 11th during the final 10 scheduled events, Custer capped off his sophomore Cup season in 26th place in the final standings.
Through 99 previous Cup starts, Custer has achieved one victory, one pole, two top-five results, 11 top-10 results, 17 laps led and an average-finishing result of 20.7. This season, he achieved his first Cup career pole at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course in April and has recorded two top-10 results through the first 24-scheduled events, which are a pair of ninth-place runs at Atlanta Motor Speedway and at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in July. He is also ranked in 25th place in the regular-season standings and trails the top-16 cutline to make the 2022 Cup Playoffs by 363 points with two regular-season events remaining to the schedule.
Custer is primed to make his 100th Cup Series career start at Watkins Glen International on Sunday, August 21, with the event’s coverage to occur at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.
Kevin Harvick went to victory lane Sunday evening at Richmond Raceway, taking home the NASCAR Cup Series trophy in the Federated Auto Parts 400 for his 60th career win.
It marked his second consecutive win after ending a 65-race winless drought at Michigan International Speedway last Sunday.
After his triumph at Michigan, Harvick said, “Everybody who doubted us doesn’t know us.”
This week he doubled down.
When asked if he expected to win back-to-back, he said, in part, “You know, I didn’t know. It’s like I said last week, the cars have been running good week in and week out, and you see that we have a lot better understanding of what’s going on with how we adjusted on the car after the first run and were able to get our car handling a lot better. I think as it got dark, the racetrack really came to our Mobil 1 Ford Mustang.”
Harvick is now tied with Kyle Busch on the all-time Cup Series wins list.
He led 55 laps in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, holding off a hard-charging Christopher Bell, who finished second. Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott rounded out the top five finishers.
When Bell was asked what he needed to catch Harvick who had 12-lap fresher tires, he said, “I don’t know, I got held up a little bit there on the front side, and I guess when you’re splitting hairs like that, that probably cost me the race. That’s two races in a row here at Richmond. At the beginning of the year we kind of had that same strategy and barely missed fifth coming to the line, and today it was the win.”
He also acknowledged his pit crew, saying, “The pit crew really came through at the end there with some blazing stops and allowed us to get in front of the 11 (Hamlin) who was on the same strategy as us and get up there and contend.”
Joey Logano, who led a race-high 222 laps, faded in the closing laps to finish sixth, was followed by Martin Truex Jr., Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney to round out the top 10.
Elliott, the current point standings leader, was the only Chevrolet driver to finish in the top ten and acknowledged that the team needs to improve before the Playoffs begin.
“Obviously we want to be better,” he said, “and Michigan was a big time struggle for us. This weekend was too all the way up until the last few runs. We will go to work and try to finish these last two weeks strong and get ready for Darlington.”
With only one open spot left in the Playoffs and two races remaining, Blaney improved his position over Truex to a +26 points advantage after earning 11 stage points throughout the race.
Tune in next week as the Cup Series heads to Watkins Glen International on Sunday, August 21 at 3 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
1. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished fifth at Richmond, posting his ninth top five of the year.
“Short track racing is the best,” Elliott said. “There were a lot of cars making contact on the track, which I’m sure the fans love. But really, what the fans really want to see are drivers making contact, off the track.”
2. Joey Logano: Logano powered to the Stage 2 win, but faded late and eventually finished sixth at Richmond.
“We led a race-high 222 laps,” Logano said, “but once the sun went down, we struggled to find the right balance. That’s what’s known as the ‘NASCAR gods throwing shade’ at me.”
3. Kevin Harvick: One week after winning at Michigan, Harvick surged late and held off Chris Buecher and Christopher Bell to win at Richmond.
“It was Cup win number 60,” Harvick said. “That’s a number that some of these younger drivers have a hard time fathoming. They hear ‘Kevin Harvick’ and ’60’ and think, ‘I thought he was older.’”
4. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished fourth at Richmond.
“Kevin Harvick is the hottest driver in NASCAR right now,” Hamlin said. “Once the NASCAR playoffs start, I contend Harvick will be a ‘4’ to be reckoned with.”
5. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex was clipped early by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. who missed pit road and swerved into the path of Truex’s No. 19 Toyota. Truex fell a lap down but recovered to post a seventh at Richmond.
“Stenhouse’s car was primarily sponsored by Kleenex,” Truex said. “That should come in handy for him because as I’m in a fight to make the playoffs, I don’t need a snot-nosed kid getting in my way.”
6. Ryan Blaney: Blaney ran in the top 10 for the majority of the race on his way to a 10th in the Federated Auto Parts 400.
“My car sported the ‘Body Armor’ paint scheme,” Blaney said. “And in today’s racing climate, I can’t stress enough the importance of having Body Armor. ‘Body armor’ is practically a must-have, especially with Ross Chastain on the track.”
7. Christopher Bell: Bell charged late at Richmond, but couldn’t catch Kevin Harvick and settled for the runner-up finish in the Federated Auto Parts 400.
“I tried my best to catch Kevin Harvick there at the end,” Bell said. “But I just couldn’t get closer to the ‘Closer.’
“But congratulations to Harvick on his 60th win. That’s 58 more Cup wins that I have, and 59 more facial hairs than I have.’
8. Kyle Larson: Larson started on the pole at Richmond and finished 14th, one lap down, in the Federated Auto Parts 400.
“We just couldn’t get the car dialed in,” Larson said. “So it was a frustrating day for me. But I’ve learned that when I’m frustrated, I should keep my head down and keep my mouth shut, with special priority on the ‘keep my mouth shut’ part.”
“But answer me this. Is there a valid reason the Federated Auto Parts 400 is not abbreviated the ‘FAP 400?’ I’m guessing there is”.
9. Kyle Busch: Busch finished ninth in the Federated Auto Parts 400.
“I made contact with Ross Chastain at one point during the race,” Busch said. “But then again, who hasn’t?
“Kevin Harvick tied me with his 60th Cup series win. That does not make me ‘Happy.’ And it may be the first time I’ve been on the same ‘page’ with Harvick.”
10. Ross Chastain: Chastain won Stage 1 and finished 18th at Richmond.
“Another day,” Chastain said, “another wreck that was my fault. I’m pretty sure I’ve set a record this year, for most apologies in one season. My No. 1 Chevy had ‘Be A Moose’ on it; maybe it should have read ‘Be At Fault.’”
Chandler Smith won the Worldwide Express 250 at Richmond Raceway Saturday night after leading 176 laps of the 250-lap event.
Smith joins Grant Enfinger, who won at Indianapolis Raceway Park, to advance to the Round of 8 in the Playoffs. It was Smith’s third win of the season and the fifth of his Truck Series career.
Kyle Busch Motorsports entries were dominant throughout the race, finishing first, second (John Hunter Nemechek) and fifth (Corey Heim). ThorSport Racing’s Ty Majeski finished third and Grant Enfinger was fourth in his GMS Racing Chevrolet.
Taylor Gray, Matt Crafton, Christian Eckes, Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar rounded out the top 10.
There was only one caution during the race (excluding the stage breaks) after contact between Nick Leitz and Carson Hocevar on Lap 215.
Majeski had the dominant truck at the beginning of the race leading 73 laps and winning the first stage. However, there was an incident during the stage break pit stop as his jackman fell in front of the truck, resulting in a slow stop. The jackman appeared to be unharmed as Majeski was able to stop quickly with only slight contact.
The final race of Round 1 in the Truck Series Playoffs is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m. at Kansas Speedway and will be broadcast on FS1 with radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Notes: Post-race inspection is complete and Chandler Smith has been confirmed as the winner; Smith had one unsecured lug nut.
Kyle Larson won the Busch Light Pole award at Richmond Raceway Saturday evening with a 117.177 mph lap in his Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet.
It’s his third NASCAR Cup Series pole of the season and the 13th of his career.
Larson was the final driver to qualify in the second round and he described how he thought he gained enough speed to outpace Ross Chastain for the pole.
“Even though I got into (turn) one too hard and a little bit sideways, I am imagining that is where I made up my time,” he said. “Just getting in really deep and I think getting it under control before I got to the exit is probably where I made up the lap time. I don’t know though, it could be three and four. Who knows? But I felt like I got in deep, too deep for sure, but it worked out.“
TrackHouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, who was fastest during practice, will start beside Larson on the front row after posting a lap at 116.883 mph. Denny Hamlin (116.485 mph) was third fastest in qualifying in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with Hendrick Motorsports drivers William Byron (116.470 mph) and Alex Bowman (116.384 mph) rounding out the top five starters.
Martin Truex Jr. will begin the Federated Auto Parts 400 race in sixth followed by Cole Custer, Brad Keselowski, Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney to complete the top 10.
With only three races remaining in the regular season, there have already been 15 different winners in the Cup Series. Two top contenders for the final spot in the Playoffs are Blaney and Truex, but neither driver has won this year. Blaney currently occupies the final place with a 19-point advantage over Truex. Truex, however, has three previous wins at Richmond.
Todd Gilliland, who was the fastest rookie in qualifying, will start in 16th place.
The Federated Auto Parts 400 is set for Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on the USA Network with radio coverage on MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
The NASCAR Cup Series and the Camping World Truck Series head to Richmond Raceway this weekend while the Xfinity Series enjoys a week off from competition.
So far, the regular season has produced 15 different Cup Series winners with only three races remaining. Seven drivers have officially clinched a spot in the Playoffs via wins and accumulated points. They include Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, William Byron, Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin.
The Camping World Truck Series Playoffs continue at Richmond as the track hosts the second of three races in the Round of 10. Grant Enfinger went to victory lane last week at Indianapolis, securing his spot in the next round. That leaves nine drivers competing for their chance to advance to the Round of 8.
Press Pass Live on NASCAR.com will be available throughout the weekend providing additional coverage.
All times are Eastern.
Saturday, August 13
3:05 p.m.: Truck Series Practice (All Entries) FS1 3:35 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying (Impound) Single Vehicle, 2 Laps, All Entries – FS1 5:05 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – Groups A & B – USA/MRN/SiriusXM 5:50 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Impound) (Groups A & B) Single Vehicle, 2 Laps, 2 Rounds) USA/MRN/SiriusXM
8 p.m.: Truck Series Worldwide Express 250 for Carrier Appreciation Stages 70/140/250 Laps = 187.5 Miles The Purse: $744,951 FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
Sunday, August 14
3 p.m.: Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 Stages 70/230/400 Laps = 300 Miles The Purse: $1,159,436 USA/MRN/SiriusXM
Ty Gibbs will remain as an interim driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota TRD Camry for the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series event at Richmond Raceway, where he will be substituting for Kurt Busch.
The news comes as Busch took to social media to announce that he has not received medical clearance to return to on-track competition. The 2004 Cup Series champion continues to recover from concussion-like symptoms he sustained following a qualifying wreck at Pocono Raceway on July 23, which sidelined him from the main event. In addition to Pocono, he has missed the previous two Cup events at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course and at Michigan International Speedway.
Busch, who last competed at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in mid-July, has already been granted a medical waiver to be eligible for the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs, where he is currently in contention to claim a postseason spot by virtue of winning at Kansas Speedway on May 15.
With Busch out, Gibbs, who competes as a full-time Xfinity Series competitor for Joe Gibbs Racing and won the Xfinity event at Richmond in April, will be pulling double-duty between the Xfinity and Cup Series for a fourth consecutive weekend. The 19-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, is coming off a strong weekend at Michigan, where he claimed his fifth Xfinity victory of the season with JGR on Saturday, August 6, followed by his first top-10 career result in NASCAR’s premier series with 23XI after rallying from a late pit road penalty to finish 10th on Sunday, August 7.
Prior to his 10th-place result at Michigan, Gibbs’ previous two finishes in NASCAR’s premier series were 16th and 17th at Pocono and at Indianapolis, respectively.
Gibbs is set to make his fourth career start in the NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond Raceway on Sunday, August 14, with the event’s coverage to occur at 3:00 PM ET on USA Network.
1. Chase Elliott: Elliott overcame a slow start to post an 11th at Michigan.
“There are three races left in the regular season,” Elliott said, “so the pressure is going to be immense for some drivers. But not for me. While some drivers are thinking about just making the playoffs, I’ll be thinking about winning the championship. There the playoff bubble, and there’s the playoff bubbly.”
2. Joey Logano: Logano finished fourth at Michigan, posting his sixth top-five of the season.
“Congratulations to Kevin Harvick,” Logano said. “They don’t call him ‘The Closer’ for nothing. I hear they used to call Tim Richmond ‘The Opener,’ because he had a drinking problem.”
3. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin won Stage 2 and came home third in the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan.
“If not for a pit road speeding penalty,” Hamlin said, “I could have won this race. But this just goes to show you what I can accomplish when I’m completely focused on racing and not Ross Chastain.”
4. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished sixth at Michigan, but with Kevin Harvick’s win, finds himself in a perilous playoff predicament.
“The words ‘Kevin Harvick winning’ is painful to my ears,” Truex said. “I think there’s only one other thing that would pain my ears even more, and that’s Brad Daugherty’s southern accent.”
5. Ryan Blaney: Blaney came home fifth at Michigan, recording his eighth top-five of the year.
“I’m still searching for my first win this season,” Blaney said. “But I’m battling hard with Martin Truex Jr. to see who can not win the best.”
6. Kyle Larson: Larson overcame a pit road speeding penalty and charged toward the front during Stage 3 to finish seventh in the FireKeepers Casino 400.
“I was just a bit unlucky,” Larson said. “But as they say in this sport, ‘Those are the breaks.’ Or as they say about Kyle Larson, ‘Those are the brakes, and they either don’t work, or I don’t use them properly.”
7. Ross Chastain: Chastain was a threat to win until a late speeding penalty left him a lap down. He finished 24th, one lap down.
“My day at Michigan wasn’t a total loss,” Chastain said. “I had contact with Christopher Bell with 41 laps to go. Why do I consider that a good thing? Because I was involved in an accident that wasn’t my fault. Victories are awesome, and so are small victories.”
8. Kevin Harvick: Harvick pulled away on the final restart and won at Michigan, snapping a 65-race winless streak and clinching a playoff spot.
“That’s a huge weight off my shoulders,” Harvick said, “and right onto Martin Truex’s and Ryan Blaney’s.
“And of course, my victory calls for a post-race celebratory meal of Hunt Brothers Pizza and Busch Light. And the next morning, I think it will hit me, that the implications of this win are astronomical and gastronomical.”
9. Christopher Bell: Bell started strong at Michigan, capturing Stage 1, but contact with Ross Chastain midway through Stage 3 left him with a damaged car. He eventually finished 26th.
“I’m disappointed,” Bell said. “I’m disappointed because I could have won the race, but mostly I’m disappointed because I was in an accident with Ross Chastain and it was my fault. That disappointment will soon become embarrassment because I’ll find myself in a situation in which Chastain has to teach me a lesson.”
10. Kyle Busch: Busch’s Sunday ended early when he was collected in a huge pileup after a lap 25 restart, one of 11 cars affected. Busch finished 36th and has now gone eight straight races without a top 10 finish.
“I just can’t buy any luck,” Busch said. “If I could buy any luck, it would be in the following manner: I would buy out the contract of J.J. Yeley and have him replaced with a competent driver. There’s no way my luck wouldn’t improve after that.”
With the start of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs looming, the battle for the final transfer spots to the postseason witnessed a major shakeup as Kevin Harvick vaulted himself into the Playoff picture by returning to Victory Lane after winning the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, August 7.
The 2014 Cup Series champion led the final 35 of 200-scheduled laps as he managed to pull away during a 35-lap dash to the finish and beat pole-sitter Bubba Wallace by less than three seconds to snap a 65-race winless drought and capture his first elusive NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2022 season in the Irish Hills. The victory was one that placed Harvick’s name above top-16 cutline to make the Playoffs.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Bubba Wallace achieved the first Cup Series pole position for himself and for 23XI Racing after posting a pole-winning lap at 190.703 mph in 37.755 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Christopher Bell, who posted his best lap at 189.898 mph in 37.915 seconds.
When the green flag waved and the race started following a one-hour delay due to rain, Wallace received a push from Joey Logano to retain the lead through the first two turns while Logano, Bell and Kyle Busch engaged in a three-wide battle for the runner-up spot. Soon after Logano grabbed the runner-up spot, Tyler Reddick bolted his way in a three-wide move between Bell and Kyle Busch in a bid for third place while Wallace proceeded to lead the first lap.
During the second lap, Wallace maintained the top spot ahead of Logano while Kyle Busch engaged in a tight, side-by-side battle with Reddick for third place in front of Bell and Kyle Larson.
Through the first five laps, Wallace was leading by four-tenths over Logano followed by Reddick, Kyle Busch and Bell while Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Erik Jones, Michael McDowell and rookie Austin Cindric were in the top 10. Behind, Kevin Harvick was in 11th ahead of Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Ty Gibbs and Ross Chastain while Noah Gragson, Aric Almirola, Daniel Suarez, Chase Briscoe and Chris Buescher occupied the top 20.
At the Lap 10 mark, Wallace continued to lead by more than a second over Reddick. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch, Larson and Bell were scored in the top five while Logano, who reported debris on the front grille of his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang, had fallen back in sixth ahead of Erik Jones.
When the event reached Lap 20, the first caution flew due to NASCAR establishing a competition caution amid the rain-delayed start. At the time of caution, Wallace retained the lead by more than a second over Reddick while Kyle Busch, Bell and Larson were in the top five. By then, Logano had fallen back to ninth while being overtaken by Erik Jones, Truex and Hamlin. During the competition caution period, some led by Wallace pitted while the rest led by Bell remained on the track.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 24, Bell and Erik Jones, both of whom did not pit during the competition caution, dueled for the lead until Bell managed to pull ahead on the outside lane. Shortly after, however, the caution flew when JJ Yeley, who appeared to fall off the pace through the first two turns as the field fanned out to avoid Yeley, got hit by Michael McDowell, which triggered a multi-car wreck that involved Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., rookies Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland, Ty Gibbs, Kyle Busch and Austin Cindric, who pounded the outside wall head-on and demolished the front nose of his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang. All competitors involved, including Cindric, emerged uninjured, though big names that included Cindric, Kyle Busch, Almirola and Stenhouse were eliminated from further competition.
Following an extensive caution period, the race proceeded under green on Lap 32. At the start, Bell retained the lead on the outside lane while teammate Denny Hamlin made his way into the runner-up spot over Erik Jones as the field behind fanned out to multiple lanes.
When the first stage concluded on Lap 45, Bell captured his second stage victory of the 2022 season. Teammate Hamlin trailed in the runner-up spot followed by Erik Jones, Martin Truex Jr., Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, William Byron, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Chase Briscoe.
Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Bell pitted and amid a flurry of different strategies, Chastain exited with the lead followed by Larson, Blaney, Wallace and Harvick. Back on the track, however, Ty Gibbs and Corey LaJoie remained on the track
The second stage started on Lap 51 as Gibbs and Chastain occupied the front row. At the start, Chastain rocketed his No. 1 AdventHealth Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the lead on the inside lane. Behind, Gibbs retained the runner-up spot followed by LaJoie, Blaney and the field. Then through the frontstretch and as Blaney took over third place, Erik Jones made a bold four-wide move in a bid for fourth place over Harvick, Larson and LaJoie before he settled behind LaJoie and Larson through the first two turns as Wallace tried to work his way back to the front.
By Lap 60, Chastain was leading by three-tenths of a second over Larson followed by Gibbs, Bell and Blaney while Hamlin, Wallace, Gragson, Erik Jones and Harvick were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Truex was mired back in 11th ahead of Reddick, Byron, Buescher and Bowman while Logano, Elliott, LaJoie, Briscoe and Brad Keselowski were scored in the top 20.
At the Lap 75 mark, Chastain continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over Hamlin, who overtook teammate Bell on the frontstretch while Noah Gragson, who was making his ninth Cup career start, was scored in fourth place ahead of Larson. Gibbs was back in sixth ahead of Harvick, Wallace, Erik Jones and Truex.
Four laps later, Hamlin used the outside lane to muscle his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry into the lead. In the process, teammate Bell navigated his No. 20 SiriusXM Toyota TRD Camry into the runner-up spot. By then, Wallace outlasted a four-car battle against Reddick, Erik Jones and Truex to move into eighth place.
A few laps later, Noah Gragson and Ty Gibbs, who was substituting for the injured Kurt Busch for a third consecutive event, pitted under green. Cole Custer also pitted not long with a flat left-front tire.
Nearing the Lap 90 mark, Blaney pitted his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang under green along with Harvick and Wallace. Byron would also pit his No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 along with Chastain as Hamlin continued to lead. During the pit stops, Chastain was assessed a drive-through penalty for an uncontrolled tire violation when two tires rolled out of his pit box.
Then just as Hamlin pitted along with Larson, Reddick, Truex, Logano, Bell, Elliott, the caution flew on Lap 97 when Cole Custer, who fell off the pace starting in the backstretch, had fire erupting out of the left front of his No. 41 Haas Ford Mustang. Despite the fire, Custer managed to nurse his car back to his pit stall, where he quickly emerged uninjured as his race came to an end.
During the caution period, some like Erik Jones, Buescher, Daniel Suarez, Briscoe, Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon, Josh Bilicki, Truex, Larson, Byron and Cody Ware pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track.
With 15 laps remaining in the second stage, the race restated under green. At the start, Harvick and Hamlin dueled for the lead while Brad Keselowski settled in third ahead of Bell and Larson. Shortly after, Bell overtook Keselowski for third as the field fanned out through the frontstretch. By then, Reddick pitted under green as his No. 8 pit crew popped the hood of his No. 8 Chevrolet open to address a mechanical issue, an issue that would eliminate him from further competition.
Three laps later, the caution returned when Noah Gragson spun after he broke a toe link and slapped the outside wall in Turn 2 as he nursed his No. 16 Chevy Accessories Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 back to pit road with extensive damage. Under caution, some led by Harvick and Bell pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track.
With the race restarting under green with seven laps remaining in the second stage, Hamlin managed to pull ahead with the lead as Suarez muscled his way into the runner-up spot over Keselowski and Larson as the field fanned out through the backstretch and back to the frontstretch. As the field continued to jostle for positions, Hamlin pulled away with the lead.
When the second stage concluded on Lap 120, Hamlin captured his third stage victory of the 2022 season. Suarez settled in second followed by Larson, Bell, Keselowski, Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman, Byron and Logano.
Under the stage break, some led by Hamlin pitted while the rest led by Suarez remained on the track. During the pit stops, Larson was penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Austin Hill, a full-time Xfinity Series competitor for Richard Childress Racing who was making his Cup Series debut, was penalized for having a crew member jump over the wall too soon.
With 74 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green as Suarez and Bell occupied the front row. At the start and with the field fanning out through the first two turns, Suarez managed to fend off Bell to retain the lead while Chastain rallied from his uncontrolled tire violation that pinned him a lap behind to work his way back into third place ahead of Logano and Austin Dillon. Behind, Harvick overtook teammate Chase Briscoe for sixth while Hamlin started to close in while running in eighth place.
Nearing the final 60 laps of the event, the battle for the lead intensified between Suarez and Bell as both dueled dead even for the lead with Chastain closing in. Despite Bell’s intimidation, Suarez maintained the lead by a tenth of a second while Chastain remained in third and trailing by six-tenths of a second. Meanwhile, Logano was in fourth ahead of Harvick and Hamlin while Austin Dillon was in seventh ahead of Wallace, Briscoe and Gibbs.
Down to the final 50 laps of the event, the battle for the lead continued to intensify as Trackhouse Racing’s Suarez and Chastain battled for the lead with the former leading the latter. Behind, Hamlin overtook teammate Bell for third place as he continued to power his way to the front while Bubba Wallace, who overtook Logano for sixth place earlier, started to challenge Harvick for fifth, which he succeeded during the following lap. Not long after, Austin Dillon and Briscoe pitted under green.
Then with 45 laps remaining, the cycle of green flag pit stops slowly commenced as Buescher pitted. During the following lap, teammates Suarez and Chastain pitted together, with Chastain managing to exit ahead of Suarez, as Hamlin assumed the lead. Harvick would then pit during the following lap.
With 41 laps remaining, trouble ensued in Turn 4 when Chastain, who had just pitted for fresh tires and fuel but a lap behind, made contact with Bell as he sent Bell’s No. 20 Toyota into the outside wall in Turn 4 with Bell’s car suffering significant right-front damage. The incident was enough for NASCAR to display the caution.
Under caution, the majority of the field that had not yet pitted led by Hamlin and Wallace pitted as Hamlin exited pit road first ahead of Wallace, Larson, Bowman and Logano. Back on the track, however, Harvick and BJ McLeod remained on the track as Harvick, who pitted prior to the caution and remained on the lead lap, assumed the lead. Following the pit stops, Hamlin was penalized for having too many crew members over the wall when a crew member leaned over his pit box to catch a loose tire. In addition, Ty Gibbs was penalized for speeding on pit road.
Down to the final 35 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Harvick received a push from Larson to retain the lead through the first turn. Despite being pressured by Wallace entering the backstretch, Harvick managed to pull away with the lead while Wallace and Larson dueled for second. Then in Turn 1, Logano, who joined the battle ensuing between Larson and Wallace in Turn 4, washed up the track and forced Wallace wide, which also affected Larson as his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 slid outside of the top 10 and back in ninth while Logano and Wallace battled for the runner-up spot.
With 30 laps remaining, Harvick was leading by more than a second over Logano while Wallace was being pressured by Blaney for third place. Erik Jones was in fifth followed by Bowman, Truex, Elliott, Larson and Hamlin.
Ten laps later, Harvick extended his advantage to more than three seconds over Logano, who had Wallace pressuring him for the runner-up spot, while Blaney and Erik Jones remained in the top five. Meanwhile, Hamlin, who was trying to carve his way back to the front, challenged Larson for eighth place. In addition, Erik Jones was being pressured by Truex for fifth place while Bowman started to close in.
Another two laps later, Wallace dueled and overtook Logano for the runner-up spot as he began his pursuit on Harvick for the lead. Meanwhile, Blaney started to pressure teammate Logano for third place while Hamlin rocketed his way to sixth behind Erik Jones.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Harvick’s No. 4 Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang continued to lead by more than four seconds over Wallace’s No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota TRD Camry while his team owner Hamlin battled Logano for third place in front of Blaney.
With five laps remaining, Harvick stabilized his advantage to nearly four seconds over Wallace. By then, Suarez limped his No. 99 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to pit road after he cut a left-front tire and limped around the speedway for a full lap. Despite the late incident, the race proceeded under green.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Harvick remained as the leader by less than four seconds over Wallace. With Wallace unable to narrow the deficit in a single lap, Harvick cruised his way around the two-mile speedway circuit for a final time and cycled his way back to the frontstretch to claim his first checkered flag in two years.
In addition to snapping a 65-race winless drought, Harvick achieved his sixth victory at Michigan, the second victory of the season for Stewart-Haas Racing and his 59th career win in NASCAR’s premier series. In addition, he became the 15th different competitor to win this season and be guaranteed a spot to the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs after coming into the event trailing the cutline by 96 points.
Photo by Tim Jarrold for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“Just good timing, for sure,” Harvick said on USA Network. “We’ve had several good runs the last few weeks. Loudon, Pocono, where the car ran good and just didn’t have everything work out. Just really proud of everybody on our Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang. They’ve been digging along all year long, trying to make these Mustangs run faster and they haven’t been great this year. Our guys have done a good job in trying to take what we have, maximize it and do the things that we need to do. Really proud of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing.”
“Everybody who doubted us doesn’t know us,” Harvick added. “They obviously know that we thrive in these types of situations. A lot of things went our way today, which we haven’t had, all year long, have things go our way and things fall our way. There at the end, we pitted, didn’t go a lap down, the caution came out, got control of the race. That’s the thing I struggled with the most today was traffic, the restarts and just having to make up ground. Once I got clear of traffic, [the car] was hunting. It’s been a while. Coming to Michigan, this has been a great place for us. Just gotta thank all the fans. They’ve stuck with us through this little dry spell, so hopefully, we can back to Victory lane again soon.”
Wallace, who started on pole position and came into this weekend in a “must-win” scenario to draw himself into the Playoff picture, claimed the runner-up spot for the second time this season and for his fourth consecutive top-10 result in recent weeks after leading the first 22 laps. The result, however, kept Wallace in 20th place in the regular-season standings as he trails the top-16 cutline by 235 points.
“[I’m] Replaying everything I could have done,” Wallace, who fought tears of disappointment, said. “[I] Should have taken the top on the restart. Thought I could hang with [Harvick] and just got to racing [Larson] and [Logano]. [Logano] did a great job of getting another Ford contract by helping another Ford win. All in all, an incredible weekend. Appreciate my team. Wish we could have gotten Toyota in victory lane. Wish we could have got McDonalds in victory lane again. [The car] was fast all weekend. I will wear this one on my heart for a while. I failed everybody…Hate it. Hate it for our team. Sucks. It was a hell of a job for our team. There were a lot of positives from this weekend, but I’m a person that looks more at the negatives and I need to change that. I want to win so bad and this was the best opportunity.”
Hamlin rallied from his late pit road miscue to finish in third place while Logano and Blaney finished in the top five. The top-three result, however, did little to ease Hamlin’s frustration in having a potential victory slip out of his grasp following his late pit road penalty.
“It’s just frustrating,” Hamlin said. “We’ve had really fast cars throughout the year and Dover comes to mind and Pocono comes to mind and this race comes to mind and a bunch of others. Just cant get a [win] in the column. Hats off to Joe Gibbs Racing for giving me a car that fast and my team for setting it up really good. This is a piece of the puzzle you have to have to win races. Everyone has to do their job to the best of their ability and we just are lacking in one little section of our team that we just can’t hem up…I just hope that we make strides and keep getting better. It’s just frustrating when you have fast cars like our Toyotas did this weekend, there’s just absolutely no excuse for not winning. We’re the ones that have to look each other in the face on Monday and figure out how we just keep doing this. Hopefully we can make it constructive and continue to get better, but obviously it’s disappointing.”
Completing the top 10 on the track were Truex, Larson, Erik Jones, Bowman and Ty Gibbs.
There were 15 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 36 laps.
With three regular season races remaining this season, Chase Elliott continues to lead the regular season standings by 119 points over Ryan Blaney, 137 over Ross Chastain, 138 over Martin Truex Jr. and 142 over Kyle Larson.
Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, Daniel Suarez, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, rookie Austin Cindric and Kevin Harvick are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular-season stretch while Ryan Blaney occupies the 16th and final transfer spot to the Playoffs based on points. Martin Truex Jr. trails the top-16 cutline by 19 points, Erik Jones trails by 190 points, Aric Almirola trails by 210 points, Bubba Wallace trails by 235, Austin Dillon trails by 245, Justin Haley trails by 283, Chris Buescher trails by 286 and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. trails by 333 points.
Results.
1. Kevin Harvick, 38 laps led
2. Bubba Wallace, 22 laps led
3. Denny Hamlin, 38 laps led, Stage 2 winner
4. Joey Logano
5. Ryan Blaney
6. Martin Truex Jr.
7. Kyle Larson
8. Erik Jones, five laps led
9. Alex Bowman
10. Ty Gibbs, two laps led
11. Chase Elliott
12. William Byron
13. Austin Dillon
14. Ty Dillon
15. Brad Keselowski
16. Chris Buescher, one lap led
17. Justin Haley
18. Austin Hill
19. Corey LaJoie
20. Chase Briscoe
21. Josh Bilicki
22. Cody Ware
23. BJ McLeod, one lap down, one lap led
24. Ross Chastain, two laps down, 29 laps led
25. Daniel Suarez, seven laps down, 33 laps led
26. Christopher Bell – OUT, Accident, 31 laps led, Stage 1 winner
27. Todd Gilliland, 12 laps down
28. Michael McDowell, 13 laps down
29. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Engine
30. Noah Gragson – OUT, Accident
31. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident
32. Harrison Burton – OUT, Accident
33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident
34. Aric Almirola – OUT, Accident
35. JJ Yeley – OUT, Accident
36. Kyle Busch – OUT, Accident
37. Austin Cindric – OUT, Accident
Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ second and final visit of the season to Richmond Raceway. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, August 14, at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.
