Category: RC XFINITY

Race Central NASCAR XFINITY Series news and information

  • Austin Hill survives dramatic finish for second Xfinity win at Daytona

    Austin Hill survives dramatic finish for second Xfinity win at Daytona

    From starting at the rear of the field to claiming the lead at the moment of caution, Austin Hill commenced a new season of NASCAR Xfinity Series competition on a thrilling note by winning the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. 300 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, February 18.

    The 28-year-old Hill from Winston, Georgia, led four times for a race-high 39 of 125 over-scheduled laps in a season opener that started off on a rough note, when Hill was forced to surrender his pole-winning spot to resolve radio issues to his No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet Camaro. Starting at the rear of the field, he managed to methodically carve his way to the front and claim the first stage victory. He then spent the majority of the event running within the lead pack and managed to withstand the field during an overtime attempt to emerge victorious under caution amid a multi-car wreck on the final lap and win the opener at Daytona for a second consecutive season.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Austin Hill, the reigning Xfinity rookie of the year and the reigning Daytona opener winner, started on pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 182.563 mph in 49.298 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Parker Kligerman, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 182.441 mph in 49.331 seconds.

    Prior to the event, the following names that included Blaine Perkins, Gray Gaulding, Kyle Sieg and Joey Gase dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars. Ryan Ellis also dropped to the rear of the field due to an engine change while Stefan Parsons also fell back to the rear after replacing an ill Caesar Bacarella in the No. 45 Alpha Prime Racing entry. Jeb Burton would also start at the rear of the field after making a pit stop to replace a battery to his No. 27 Jordan Anderson Racing entry.

    Then, just as the start of the event was approaching, Hill peeled off the track and pitted after dealing with radio issues to his No. 21 Richard Childress Racing entry. With Hill having to drop to the rear of the field, this allowed the third-place starter Cole Custer to start alongside Kligerman on the front row.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Kligerman, the new full-time driver of Big Machine Racing’s No. 48 entry, shot out with an early advantage on the outside lane by Sheldon Creed through the first two turns. Kligerman continued to lead through the backstretch until Custer fought back on the inside lane followed by Justin Allgaier and John Hunter Nemechek. Maintaining both lanes to his control, Custer proceeded to lead the first lap in his No. 00 Has Ford Mustang before Allgaier launched his bid for the lead on the inside lane. Through the backstretch, Allgaier was able to break away from the pack and move up the outside lane with drafting help from Nemechek as he went on to lead the second lap followed by Nemechek and Riley Herbst while Brandon Jones served as the lead competitor on the inside lane.

    Through the first five scheduled laps and as the field fanned out to three tight-packed lanes, Allgaier was leading by a hair over Nemechek followed by Brandon Jones, Herbst and Daniel Hemric while Custer, Kligerman, Justin Haley, Sam Mayer and Creed were in the top 10. By then, rookie Chandler Smith was in 11th followed by Anthony Alfredo, Hill, Jade Buford and Josh Berry while Jeb Burton, Sammy Smith, Ryan Sieg, Brett Moffitt and Myatt Snider were running inside the top 20.

    Two laps later, the first caution of the event flew when smoke billowed out of the No. 4 JD Motorsports entry piloted by Bayley Currey past the frontstretch. During the caution period, a multitude of names that included Herbst, Custer, Mayer, Berry, Burton, Snider, Parker Retzlaff, Jeremy Clements, Brennan Poole, Kyle Sieg, Kaz Grala, Ryan Ellis and Sammy Smith pitted while the rest led by new leader Nemechek remained on the track.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 11, Nemechek received a push from Kligerman to shoot to an early lead until Allgaier fought back on the inside lane through the first two lanes and the backstretch. As the field fanned out to three lanes, Nemechek and Allgaier continued to duel for the lead in front of Haley and Hill.

    By Lap 15, Nemechek and Allgaier remained dead even in a tight battle for the lead and in front of a tight pack of cars, with Nemechek running the outside lane in front of Hemric while Allgaier remained on the inside lane in front of Haley.

    At the Lap 20 mark, the caution returned when Mayer made contact with Blaine Perkins by turning Perkins into Hemric as Perkins proceeded to spin and hit the inside wall towards the pit wall entrance while Hemric limped his No. 11 Cirkul Chevrolet Camaro back to pit road with extensive right-front damage. The incident on the frontstretch was one that ended Hemric and Perkin’s run early. During the caution period, a multitude of names that included Buford, Creed, Kligerman, Moffitt, Custer, Herbst, Ryan Sieg, Clements, Grala, Brandon Jones, Mayer, Snider and Retzlaff pitted while the rest led by Allgaier remained on the track.

    With the event restarting under green on Lap 25, Allgaier and Haley dueled for the lead until Haley was drafted into the lead on the outside lane following a push from Hill. During the following lap, Hill made his move beneath Haley to contend for the lead as he received drafting help from Allgaier on the inside lane. He would then prevail entering the frontstretch and proceed to fend off challenges coming through both lanes.

    Then on the final lap of the first stage, Chandler Smith launched a final corner attack to Hill’s outside as the field jostled and scrambled for positions towards the front. Hill, however, was able to pull ahead on the inside lane through the frontstretch as he claimed the first stage victory on Lap 30. Smith settled in second while Allgaier, Haley, Burton, Creed, Berry, Kligerman, Nemechek and Snider were scored in the top 10 as all received the first wave of stage points of the season. Under the stage break, some led by Hill pitted while the rest led by Creed remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 36 as Creed and Mayer occupied the front row. At the start, Creed received a push from Kligerman to maintain a slight advantage through the backstretch before Mayer fought back after receiving a draft from Herbst’s No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang. As the rest of the field caught up to the two leaders, Creed and Mayer continued to duel for the lead before Herbst drew himself alongside Mayer to ignite his bid for the lead. By Lap 39, however, Mayer managed to pull away with a slight advantage over Creed and Kligerman.

    Then on Lap 40 and as the field fanned out to three tight-packed lanes through the frontstretch, the caution returned when Creed, who was getting bumped by Kligerman, got loose as he barely hit Hill before veering into the outside wall just past the frontstretch and with damage to his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro. As the field scrambled to avoid the incident, Allgaier got loose as he also spun his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro from the bottom to the inside lane and just in front of Haley’s nose. Stefan Parsons also spun in the middle of the pack as he limped his car back to pit road with flat tires. During the caution period, some like Haley pitted while the rest led by Mayer remained on the track.

    At the start of the following restart on Lap 45, Mayer prevailed on the outside lane with drafting help from Brandon Jones and in front of two tight-packed lanes. Kligerman would soon challenge Mayer on the inside lane as both engaged in a tight side-by-side battle for the lead. By the Lap 50 mark, however, Hill reclaimed the lead.

    With five laps remaining in the second stage, Allgaier, who methodically carved his way back to the front following his spin, was scored as the leader followed by teammate Mayer, Moffitt, Hill and Jeb Burton.

    When the second stage concluded at the halfway mark on Lap 60, Allgaier fended off teammate Mayer to claim the second stage victory on Lap 60. Mayer settled in second followed by Hill, Jones, Moffitt, Berry, Herbst, Nemechek, Custer, and Sammy Smith, who spun past the frontstretch after he got by Burton, who originally got bumped and turned by Alfredo.

    Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Allgaier pitted while some that included Gray Gaulding, Poole, Joey Gase, CJ McLaughlin and Kyle Sieg remained on the track. All five competitors would eventually pit as Allgaier cycled his way back into the lead.

    With 54 laps remaining, the final stage started as Allgaier and Hill occupied the front row. At the start, Allgaier and Hill dueled for the lead through the first two turns and they continued to battle dead even for the lead entering the frontstretch until Allgaier pulled ahead by a hair on the outside lane. He continued to lead the field as the event reached its final 50-lap mark.

    Then with 45 laps remaining, a wave of competitors led by Allgaier pitted under green while the rest led by Nemechek remained on the track. During the pit stops, Kligerman spun, but he managed to straighten his car without hitting the wall. Another lap later, another wave of competitors led by Nemechek pitted under green as Gaulding assumed the lead. Once the final wave of competitors led by Gaulding pitted with nearly 40 laps remaining, Josh Berry cycled his way into the lead followed by Hill, Allgaier, Mayer and Herbst while Jones, Custer, Moffitt, Nemechek and Snider were in the top 10. By then, Allgaier was back in 11th while Kligerman plummeted to 30th.

    Down to the final 35 laps of the event, Berry was leading a 15-car breakaway ahead of Hill, Allgaier, Mayer, Herbst, Jones, Custer, Haley, Buford and Chandler Smith while Alfredo, Burton, Moffitt, Nemechek and Snider.

    Three laps later, the caution flew when CJ McLaughlin and Sammy Smith wrecked on the frontstretch. During the caution period, names like Alfredo, Clements, Retzlaff, Parsons, Josh Williams, Kligerman, Jesse Iwuji, David Starr and Smith pitted while the rest led by Berry remained on the track.

    With 26 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Berry and Hill dueled for the lead until Hill peaked ahead through the first two turns. Berry, however, prevailed on the outside lane as he received a draft from all three of his JR Motorsports teammates to reassume the lead through the backstretch. Then during the following lap, Hill, who was being drafted by Herbst through the first two turns, managed to slide in front of Berry to control the field exiting the backstretch. Soon after, a multitude of competitors settled in a long single-file line on the outside lane as Hill retained the lead followed by Berry, Allgaier, Mayer and Jones while Nemechek, Snider, Ryan Sieg, Alfredo and Jeffrey Earnhardt were scored in the top 10.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, the top-26 competitors were separated by two seconds while running in a long line on the outside lane and as Hill was leading Berry, Allgaier, Mayer, Jones, Nemechek, Snider, Ryan Sieg, Alfredo and Earnhardt while Kligerman, Herbst, Retzlaff, Joe Graf Jr. and Jade Buford, Gaulding, Parker Chase, Josh Williams, Chandler Smith and Haley occupied the top 20.

    A few laps later, Moffitt dropped out of the 26-car train after scraping the wall and limping back to pit road with a flat tire. Despite the contact, the race remained under green flag conditions as Hill continued to lead the JR Motorsports’ quadruplet. Then with 12 laps remaining, Kligerman made a bold move to the inside lane and back up to the outside lane, where he forced Earnhardt into the outside wall in Turns 1 and 2 as Earnhardt fell off the pace with a flat tire.

    With 10 laps remaining, Hill continued to lead a long line of competitors followed by Berry, Allgaier, Mayer and Jones while Nemechek, Snider, Ryan Sieg, Alfredo and Kligerman were scored in the top 10. By then, Parker Retzlaff was in 11th while Herbst, Graf Jr., Buford and Gaulding occupied the top 15.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Hill retained the lead ahead of the pack while the four JR Motorsports’ competitors remained in a single-file lane within the top five. Soon after, Kligerman, who was mired within the top 15, made the first move towards the inside lane as he tried to launch his bid to the front.

    Three laps later, Allgaier initiated a move to the inside lane as he overtook Berry for the runner-up spot. Hill then moved back to the bottom of the track to block Allgaier as Jones opted to follow Allgaier. Then on the backstretch, Jones got turned by teammate Berry while running third as he spun his No. 9 Menards Chevrolet Camaro through the grass. The incident not only displayed the caution, but it also sent the field into overtime. Prior to overtime, however, Berry fell off the pace after his No. 8 Bass Pro Shops Club Chevrolet Camaro ran out of fuel. This allowed Alfredo and Nemechek to move up the leaderboard within the top five behind Hill, Allgaier and Mayer.

    At the start of the first overtime attempt, Allgaier and Hill duked for the lead, with Hill receiving a draft from Alfredo while Allgaier battled back on the inside lane followed by teammate Mayer. Exiting the backstretch, Allgaier started to pull away on the inside lane as he placed a huge distance between himself and a side-by-side battle between Mayer and Hill.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Allgaier remained as the leader, but was far ahead of the pack that quickly caught back to him through the first two turns amid the draft. Through Turns 1 and 2, Mayer made a bold move to Allgaier’s outside to assume a brief advantage. Then entering the backstretch, he moved up in front of Hill’s front nose to block him while also bumping into Allgaier. This resulted with Mayer getting loose as Hill made contact and turned Mayer across the straightaway and into the outside wall. As a result, Mayer’s No. 1 Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet Camaro hit the wall and overturned on its roof as he slid upside down amid a shower of sparks throughout the backstretch before flipping back on all four wheels in the grass. While a majority of the field dodged the carnage, additional names that included Kligerman, Alfredo, Buford and David Starr also wrecked.

    With the event concluding under caution, NASCAR was left to determine the winner between a tight three-wide battle between Hill, Nemechek and Allgaier. Following an extensive review, Hill was declared the official winner as he emerged out in front of both Nemechek and Allgaier when the caution was displayed.

    With the victory, Hill claimed his third career win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and his first since winning at Atlanta Motor Speedway in July 2022. He also became the first Xfinity competitor of this season to be guaranteed a spot for the 2023 Xfinity Playoffs while also recording the eighth Daytona Xfinity victory for Richard Childress Racing and the 50th overall for Chevrolet. By winning the opener at Daytona for a second consecutive year, he became the first competitor to win the opener at Daytona in consecutive seasons since Tony Stewart achieved four consecutive opener wins from 2008 to 2011.

    “I have no idea [how I won],” Hill said on FS1. “I don’t know. I didn’t feel like the inside line was that great all day, for most of the day. I just wanted to choose the top [lane]. I knew [Alfredo] would stay with me. He was pretty committed. When I saw [Mayer] and [Allgaier] get together, I went to go squeeze him. [Mayer] came down. He started getting loose and then, you can’t lift. It’s the last lap. I hope Sam’s okay. That was a heck of flip there, but as soon as the caution lights came out, I thought I had it, but it’s so close. To get back to back [wins] here at Daytona, it’s really special. That’s three wins for me now [at Daytona]. I can’t thank everyone at [Richard Childress Racing]. Our Bennett Chevrolet was so good. We came from the back two different times. [I] Hoped everyone enjoyed [the race]. It was such a blast. I had so much. We won at Daytona! Let’s go!”

    With Hill emerging as the winner, John Hunter Nemechek settled in second place followed by Allgaier, who led 36 laps before being overtaken on the final lap.

    “[I’m] Really proud of everybody at JR Motorsports,” Allgaier said. “Our Chevy Camaros were absolutely blazing fast. This whole team’s worked their guts out. To have the adversity that we had tonight, to go to the back and have that spin, just battled our way through. It’s crazy how fast our car was tonight and how good we were in traffic. [I’m] Disappointed. I thought I could get enough of a draft off of [Berry] and maybe, they couldn’t catch me, but I just got too far out there. That was really all it came down to, but proud of our team. Really proud of the effort we put in. I think we got a lot to walk out of here with our confidence high. We’ll go on next week to California and I think we’ll be as equally fast.”

    Rookie Parker Retzlaff and Myatt Snider finished in the top five while Herbst, Joe Graf Jr., Ryan Sieg, Custer and Haley came home in the top 10 in the final running order. Mayer, who ended up 27th following his final lap wreck, emerged uninjured.

    There were 25 lead changes for 11 different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 32 laps.

    Following the first event of the 2023 Xfinity Series season, Austin Hill leads the regular-season standings by six points over Justin Allgaier, 18 over John Hunter Nemechek, 23 over Riley Herbst and 24 over Chandler Smith.

    Results.

    1. Austin Hill, 39 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    2. John Hunter Nemechek, eight laps led

    3. Justin Allgaier, 36 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    4. Parker Retzlaff

    5. Myatt Snider

    6. Riley Herbst

    7. Joe Graf Jr.

    8. Ryan Sieg

    9. Cole Custer, one lap led

    10. Justin Haley, one lap led

    11. Jeb Burton

    12. Chandler Smith

    13. Stefan Parsons

    14. Brandon Jones

    15. Josh Williams

    16. Parker Chase

    17. Jeremy Clements

    18. Joey Gase

    19. Sammy Smith

    20. Gray Gaulding, one lap led

    21. Kyle Sieg

    22. David Starr, two laps led

    23. Parker Kligerman, one lap led

    24. Anthony Alfredo

    25. Jade Buford

    26. Josh Berry, 17 laps led

    27. Sam Mayer – OUT, Accident, 14 laps led

    28. Jeffrey Earnhardt, one lap down

    29. Brett Moffitt, one lap down

    30. Jesse Iwuji – OUT, Electrical

    31. CJ McLaughlin – OUT, Accident

    32. Kaz Grala – OUT, Engine

    33. Brennan Poole – OUT, Engine

    34. Sheldon Creed – OUT, Accident, five laps led

    35. Ryan Ellis – OUT, Accident

    36. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Accident

    37. Blaine Perkins – OUT, Accident

    38. Bayley Currey – OUT, Engine

    With the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season underway, the competitors and teams will be embarking on a three-race West Coast swing, beginning at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, which will mark the series’ final competition at the two-mile speedway venue. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, February 25, at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Daytona 500 Speedweeks schedule of events

    Daytona 500 Speedweeks schedule of events

    NASCAR’S 75th season officially kicks off this week at Daytona International Speedway. Country music recording artist Dierks Bentley will provide the entertainment Sunday afternoon prior to the running of the historic 65th Daytona 500.

    Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers with three wins in this prestigious event (2016, 2019 and 2020). Jimmie Johnson has visited victory lane twice (2006, 2013) as he returns to NASCAR this year on a part-time schedule with Legacy Motor Club. They are joined by drivers Austin Cindric, Michael McDowell, Austin Dillon, Joey Logano, and Kevin Harvick, who have one Daytona 500 victory to their credit.

    Three active drivers in the NASCAR Xfinity Series have previous wins heading into the, Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. 300, race. Kaulig Racing’s Justin Haley won the event in 2020 and 2021 and Austin Hill went to victory lane in his rookie season last year with Richard Childress Racing. Jeremy Clements is the defending race winner and will make his 26th career start at Daytona.

    In the last six Craftsman Truck Series races at Daytona, there have been six different winners – Kaz Grala, Johnny Sauter, Austin Hill, Grant Enfinger, Ben Rhodes and Zane Smith. Four of those drivers are entered in this weekend’s NextEra Energy 250 including Johnny Sauter, Grant Enfinger, Ben Rhodes and Zane Smith, the defending race winner.

    Hendrick Motorsports Cup Series driver Chase Elliott will also participate in the Truck Series race along with Spire Motorsport’s Corey Lajoie. Travis Pastrana, driving for 23XI and attempting to qualify for the Daytona 500, will join them on the track in the No. 41 Niece Motorsports entry. Pastrana has five previous starts in the series.

    Wednesday, Feb. 15

    8:15 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Impound) Single Vehicle/1 Lap/2 Rounds FS1/MRN/SiriusXM

    Thursday, Feb. 16

    4 p.m.: Truck Series random drawing for Qualifying
    4:05 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Practice – No TV
    5:05 p.m.: Truck Series Practice – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    7 p.m.: Cup Series Duel 1 (60 laps/150 miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    8:45 p.m. (approx.) Cup Series Duel 2 (60 laps/150 miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM

    Friday, Feb. 17

    1:30 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Qualifying (Impound, Groups)
    3 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying (Impound-Single Vehicle, 1 Lap, 2 Rounds) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    4:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    5:30 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    7:30 p.m.: Truck Series Race – (Stages 20/40/100 Laps = 250 Miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $1,025,847

    Saturday, Feb. 18

    10:30 a.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – FS1/FS2/MRN/SiriusXM
    11:30 a.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Impound-Single Vehicle, 1 Lap, 2 Rounds) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    1:30 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Race – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    5 p.m.: Xfinity Series Race (Stages 30/60/120 Laps = 300 Miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $3,327,595

    Sunday, Feb. 19

    2:15 p.m.: Cup Series Driver Intros
    2:30 p.m.: Cup Series 65th Daytona 500 (Stages 65/130/200 Laps = 500 Miles) FOX/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $26,934,357

  • Ty Gibbs dominates for first NASCAR Xfinity Series championship at Phoenix

    Ty Gibbs dominates for first NASCAR Xfinity Series championship at Phoenix

    In a season highlighted with competitive runs and big victories while also mired with controversial run-ins towards his fellow competitors amid his aggressive driving style, Ty Gibbs silenced his critics and responded back with redemption by winning the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship after muscling his way to a dominant victory in the Xfinity Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, Nov. 5.

    The 20-year-old Gibbs from Charlotte, North Carolina, led seven times for a race-high 125 of 200-scheduled laps and took care of business during the first half of the finale by sweeping both stages. Despite being pitted in a head-to-head matchup against a trio of JR Motorsports’ competitors highlighted by Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier and Josh Berry throughout the final stage, Gibbs did not relent by remaining competitive and battling towards the front with a strong race car and stellar work from his pit crew. After assuming the lead from Allgaier with 21 laps remaining, he then fended off a late charge from rival Gragson before claiming his first Xfinity title in his first full-time campaign in the series along with the second consecutive title for Joe Gibbs Racing in recent years.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Ty Gibbs, a Championship 4 finalist, claimed the final pole position of the 2022 season, which marked his fifth of this season, after posting a pole-winning lap at 134.298 mph in 26.806 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Sammy Smith, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 134.058 mph in 26.854 seconds. Gibbs’ title rivals that included Noah Gragson, Josh Berry and Justin Allgaier qualified fourth, ninth and 11th, respectively.

    Prior to the event, Rajah Caruth dropped to the rear of the filed for missing driver introductions along with Joe Graf Jr., who fell back in a backup car.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Gibbs launched ahead with an early advantage as he retained the lead through the first two turns as the field fanned out through the dogleg. With the clean air to his advantage, Gibbs went on to lead the first lap followed by Nick Sanchez and Sammy Smith while Noah Gragson was in fourth ahead of Brandon Jones, Landon Cassill, Sheldon Creed and Daniel Hemric.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Gibbs was leading by more than a second over Smith followed by a hard-charging Gragson while Sanchez fell back to fourth. Brandon Jones retained fifth ahead of Cassill, Creed, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry and AJ Allmendinger while Hemric, who got bumped and nearly turned sideways by Allgaier early in the event, was back in 11th in front of rookie Austin Hill.

    At the Lap 10 mark, Gibbs extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Gragson, who overtook Smith three laps earlier, as Sanchez and Jones started to close in on Smith for more. Meanwhile, Allgaier was in seventh after overtaking Creed while Berry remained in ninth.

    Ten laps later, Gibbs, who was approaching lapped traffic, continued to extend his advantage as he was out in front by more than three seconds over runner-up Gragson. While Smith and Sanchez remained in third and fourth, Allgaier was up in fifth place ahead of Cassill and Brandon Jones while Berry, the fourth title contender, was in eighth in front of Creed and Allmendinger.

    Another 10 laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Brandon Brown blew a right-front tire and went dead straight into the outside wall in Turn 2 as he sustained significant right-side damage to his car. By then, three of the four championship finalists were running first through third on the track, with Gibbs retaining the lead by more than two seconds over runner-up Gragson and more than seven seconds over third-place Allgaier. By then, Berry, the fourth championship competitor, was still mired in eighth behind Brandon Jones.

    During the first caution period, some led by Smith and Sanchez pitted while the rest led by Gibbs remained on the track.

    With eight laps remaining in the first stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start and as the field fanned out through the dogleg, Gibbs fended off Gragson to retain the lead as Gragson also fended off teammate Allgaier for the runner-up spot through the first two turns. Behind, Cassill was in fourth ahead of Berry while the field continued to fan out to multiple lanes through the frontstretch and entering the backstretch. In the midst of the hard racing towards the middle of the pack, Sanchez and Smith were trying to carve their way back to the front on four fresh tires.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 45, Gibbs struck first early as he claimed his ninth stage victory of the 2022 season. Title rivals Gragson, Allgaier and Berry settled in second through fourth, respectively, followed by Cassill while Creed, Sanchez, Smith, Brandon Jones and Allmendinger were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the majority of the field led by Gibbs pitted while four competitors led by Sanchez remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Gibbs was the first competitor to exit pit road first followed by teammate Brandon Jones, Cassill, Allmendinger, Gragson and Allgaier.

    The second stage started on Lap 53 as Sanchez and Smith occupied the front row. At the start and as the field fanned out through the dogleg again, Smith launched ahead of Sanchez followed by a hard-charging Gibbs through the first two turns. A lap later, however, Gibbs muscled his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra back to the lead as teammate Brandon Jones joined the battle. Meanwhile, teammates Allgaier and Gragson were mired back in eighth and ninth while Berry was in 12th. Shortly after, Gragson pulled off a bold three-wide move on Allgaier and Riley Herbst through the dogleg for seventh place as he tried to march his way back to the front.

    By Lap 59, the caution returned when JJ Yeley spun in Turn 1 following contact from Kris Wright. At the moment of caution, Gibbs was leading both the race and the championship by nearly two seconds over Smith followed by Jones, Cassill and Hemric while Gragson, Allgaier, Sanchez, Herbst and Berry were running in the top 10.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 65, teammates Gibbs and Smith dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Smith rocketed ahead through the backstretch with the lead. A lap later, however, Gibbs fought back on the inside lane, though Smith did not relinquish the lead. In the midst of the battle for the lead, Gragson overtook Jones for third place as he started to close in on the two leaders. With Gragson in third, Allgaier was in fifth as he tried to close in on Jones for fourth place.

    Then on Lap 68, Gragson pulled a bold three-wide move on Gibbs and Smith through the frontstretch and the dogleg to take the lead entering Turn 1. Smith, however, fought back on the outside lane through Turn 2 and the backstretch as he retained the top spot by a hair. Then as Gibbs tried to overtake Gragson for the runner-up spot, Gragson fought back and retained the spot while Allgaier tried to close in while in fourth place.

    At the Lap 74 mark, Gragson muscled his No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro into the lead through the frontstretch and the dogleg. Not long after, Gibbs overtook teammate Smith for the runner-up spot through Turn 3 as Allgaier made his way into third place, thus dropping Smith to fourth place. Behind, Cassill was in fifth followed by teammate Allgaier while Jones was being pressured by Sam Mayer and Berry for seventh place.

    On Lap 79, Gibbs reassumed the lead from Gragson, who then was being attacked by teammate Allgaier for the runner-up spot. Despite attempting to fend off his JR Motorsports teammate for the spot during the next few laps, Gragson lost the spot to Allgaier as Smith and Cassill closed in to join the battle. Meanwhile, Gibbs started to pull away with the clean air to his advantage.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 90, Gibbs captured his ninth stage victory of the 2022 season as he swept both stages in the finale and struck again in his quest for his first Xfinity title. Allgaier settled in second followed by Gragson, who recorded the most stage victories of this season at 16. Smith and Cassill were scored in the top five followed by Mayer, Jones, Allmendinger, Creed and Berry.

    Under the stage break, the field led by Gibbs returned to pit road. Following the pit stops, Allgaier emerged with the lead after exiting pit road first ahead of Gibbs, Jones, Gragson, Smith and Cassill while Berry was mired back in 10th.

    With 102 laps remaining, the final stage started as Allgaier and Gibbs occupied the front row. At the start, Allgaier and Gibbs dueled for the lead for a full lap as the field behind jostled for positions. During the following lap, Gibbs used the outside lane to his advantage as he reassumed the lead through Turns 1 and 2 while Allgaier was trying to fend off Gragson and Jones for third place. By then, the event surpassed its halfway mark. 

    On Lap 101, however, the caution returned for a multi-car wreck that erupted in Turn 4 when Smith got into the left rear fender of Mayer and ignited a chain reaction with Herbst, Anthony Alfredo, Kaz Grala, Kyle Weatherman, Ryan Sieg and Stefan Parsons all wrecking and sustaining damage to their respective cars.

    When the race restarted with 92 laps remaining, Gibbs and Allgaier dueled again for the lead through the first two turns until Gibbs pulled ahead on the outside lane during the following lap to retain the lead. Behind, teammates Gragson and Allgaier battled for the runner-up spot while Allmendinger was in fourth in front of Creed, Jones and Berry.

    With 90 laps remaining, the caution flew when Smith, who had a good day gone bad during the previous caution period, had his race gone from bad to worse when he spun and wrecked along with Kyle Weatherman, Joey Gase and Mason Massey in Turn 2.

    During the following restart with 84 laps remaining, Gibbs and Gragson briefly dueled for the lead through the dogleg until the former pulled ahead through the backstretch. Then through Turns 3 and 4, Gragson muscled his car into the lead on the inside lane. Gibbs then tried to fight back on the inside lane during the following lap, but Gragson retained the spot while running the outside lane.

    With 80 laps remaining, however, a side-by-side action for the lead was instigated once again between Gragson and Gibbs, with the latter trying to pressure the former for the top spot. Gragson, however, refused to relinquish the lead through every turn, every straightaway and through every attempt made by Gibbs as Allgaier started to close in on the two leaders. By then, Berry was in fourth place as all four championship finalists were running first through fourth.

    With 75 laps remaining, Gragson was out in front by two-tenths of a second over teammate Allgaier, who pressured Gibbs for the runner-up spot before succeeding, as Berry was trailing the lead by a second. 

    Five laps later, Gragson retained the lead on the track and for the championship battle by four-tenths of a second over teammate Allgaier, seven-tenths of a second over third-place Gibbs and more than a second over fourth-place Berry. By then, Jones was in fifth while Creed, Cassill, Allmendinger, Hemric and Sanchez were scored in the top 10.

    Then with 55 laps remaining, the battle for the lead started to intensify as Gragson was starting to be intimidated by teammate Allgaier for the lead through the turns and the straightaways followed by Gibbs while Berry trailed by more than two seconds. By then, the leaders were also starting to catch lapped traffic. 

    With 53 laps remaining, Gragson went wide in Turn 3, which allowed Allgaier to assume the lead followed by a hard-charging Gibbs. Despite gathering his car back to his groove, Gragson was losing ground of the two leaders. Not long after, however, Mayer, who was on the track and multiple laps down, briefly stalled Gibbs’ momentum as Allgaier retained the lead, which allowed Gragson to close back in.

    Then with 47 laps remaining, Gibbs ignited a side-by-side battle for the lead against Allgaier, but Allgaier defended the top spot while running on the outside lane. Two laps later, however, the caution flew due to possible fluid on the track when Dillon Bassett’s No. 77 Chevrolet went up in smoke before coming to a stop below the apron in Turn 3.

    During the caution period, the field led by Allgaier made the left-hand turn to pit road for fresh tires, fuel and adjustments. Following the pit stops, Gibbs exited with the lead followed by Allgaier, Berry, Creed, Allmendinger, Jones and Cassill while Gragson fell all the way back to eighth following another slow pit stop from his pit crew.

    Down to the final 36 laps of the event, the race restarted under green as Gibbs and Allgaier occupied the front row. At the start, Allgaier received a push from Creed to assume the lead through the dogleg and the frontstretch. He then went wide in Turns 1 and 2, which allowed Gibbs to rocket by with the lead as Allgaier, who had light smoke coming out of his car prior to the restart, was being challenged by Creed and Allmendinger for the runner-up spot in a three-wide battle. During the following lap, the caution returned when Gragson, who was trying to fight his way back to the front, got into the left-rear fender of Jones as Jones spun his No. 19 Menards Toyota Supra towards the pit road entrance in Turn 2. By then, Allgaier retained second ahead of teammate Berry and behind title rival Gibbs.

    During the following restart with 30 laps remaining, Allgaier, who had light smoke puffing out of his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro again prior to the restart, received a strong start on the inside lane as he fended off Gibbs to assume the lead. Behind, Berry’s No. 8 Tire Pros Chevrolet Camaro washed up the track and he lost a bevy of spots through the first two turns while Gibbs launched a side-by-side attack on Allgaier for the lead. As Allgaier retained the lead ahead of Gibbs, Gragson was trying to fend off Creed for third place, which he persevered as he then tried to close in on the two leaders.

    With 21 laps remaining and following several laps of Gibbs and Allgaier trading spots back and forth between each turn and straightaway, a three-wide action for the lead occurred as Allgaier, Gibbs and Gragson dueled for the lead. Then in Turn 1, Gibbs crossed over on Allgaier’s Chevrolet to reassume the lead. Gragson then overtook teammate Allgaier for the runner-up spot while trying to keep rival Gibbs close enough to his front windshield.

    Down to the final 15 laps of the event, Gibbs was leading by more than half a second over Gragson while Allgaier trailed by a second in third place. Meanwhile, Berry was mired back in 14th place.

    Five laps later and with 10 laps remaining, Gibbs continued to lead the race and the championship by six-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Gragson while Allgaier was behind by a second in third place. In the midst of the battle for the lead, Berry was back in 14th as his title hopes were evaporating.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Gibbs retained the lead by half a second over Gragson, who was slowly running out of time. By then, Allgaier was also losing ground as he was more than a second behind in third place. 

    Then with two laps remaining, Gibbs’ momentum was briefly stalled by Mayer, who was multiple laps down, as he drew himself alongside Gibbs’ Toyota with both competitors battling through the backstretch. This allowed Gragson to slightly close in, but not enough as Gibbs pulled ahead of Gragson through Turns 3 and 4.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Gibbs remained as the leader by three-tenths of a second over Gragson. Through Turns 1 and 2, Gibbs overtook the lapped car of Dawson Cram to try to increase his light advantage over Gragson. With a final opportunity to steal the victory and title, Gragson stepped on the gas through the backstretch as he overtook Cram. He then tried to get to Gibbs’ rear bumper, but the gap was not close enough for him to pounce. With Gragson unable to close back in, Gibbs cycled back to the frontstretch and streaked across the finish line in first place to win both the finale and the championship. 

    With his accomplishment, Gibbs, who won the 2021 ARCA Menards Series championship and won in his Xfinity debut at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course during the same season, became the 32nd different competitor to win a NASCAR Xfinity Series championship as he recorded the fourth Xfinity drivers’ title for both Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota. He also became the fourth-youngest competitor to win an Xfinity championship at age 20 years, one month and one day old. The title was also the seventh Xfinity Series owner’s championship title for Joe Gibbs Racing and the first for crew chief Chris Gayle.

    Upon performing his victorious burnout and waving the championship flag on the frontstretch, Gibbs’ championship celebration was met with an unpopular response from the crowd through a chorus of boos. The unpopular response from the crowd did very little to damper Gibbs’ celebratory mood, with the driver taking responsibility for his aggressive actions last weekend at Martinsville Speedway that eliminated teammate Brandon Jones’ opportunity to transfer to the finale.

    “First off, I just wanna say thank you to my team,” Gibbs, who notched his seventh victory of the season en route to the title, said on USA Network. “Every one of these guys. My pit crew. They did an awesome job. They put us here. Great job to my team. What I did last week was unacceptable. I apologize once again, but it was unacceptable because we could have had two shots to win this deal, and it was stupid from an organizational standpoint. I will sit here and tell you I’m sorry as much as I can, but it is not going to fix it. I’ve got to fix my actions. I feel like today I had a good race. We made some good moves. Me and [Allgaier] were racing really hard. Hopefully, we put on a good show for you fans. Thank you for all that you guys do.”

    “I don’t want to be the one with the boos,” Gibbs added. “I’m the one that put myself in that position, but whatever. I don’t want this championship to be remembered for boos. I want it to be remembered for the hard work on our team. Awesome job. Let’s go, Monster Energy! Thank you to the fans. Even though I don’t have many, hopefully, I earned some respect back. We’ll move on. Thank you, guys. I focused out the windshield. I felt like we had a great race with [Gragson]. Great job to JR Motorsports, but the 25% won. I had an awesome time racing in the Xfinity Series this year. Looking for more and I’m very excited. We’re champions. We’re champions.”

    Joe Gibbs, the team owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, added, “It was a tough week. We hated last week. We’re just trying to walk through this, since then, trying to do it the right way. Our family’s walking with Ty. Today was a huge day for all of us and particularly for the Xfinity group. They worked so hard. This is confidence [for Ty]. I felt like that race today was really exceptional. I think everybody was up there and everybody was battling. I appreciated the sportsmanship with the way everybody raced. I thought it was a great race. To be a part of that and somehow come out winning is just great. We’re excited about tomorrow [for the Cup Series finale], but we’ll kind of see what our guys do.”

    While Gibbs celebrated a championship on the main stage, Gragson was left disappointed on pit road after finishing in second place on the track and in the final standings, thus falling one spot short of winning his first NASCAR national touring series title in his final season with JR Motorsports. Nonetheless, the 2022 season was a career-defining season for the Las Vegas native, who notched a series-leading eight victories, two poles, 21 top-five results and 26 top-10 results throughout the 33-race schedule. For the 2023 season, Gragson is set to graduate to the NASCAR Cup Series to pilot the No. 42 Chevrolet for Petty GMS Motorsports.

    “[The difference was] Executions on pit stops,” Gragson said. “We just need to be better as a Bass Pro Shops team all around, but so proud of everyone’s efforts. Thought we really had a good car there in the second half. Restarted eighth on that last restart, got up to second. Just too tight there at the end, but still super proud of everybody. Just didn’t have enough for [Gibbs] at the end. It wasn’t from a lack of trying. I was gonna drive it in, if I was any closer and get that POS. Definitely sucks to lose to someone like that, but it’s not from a lack of effort.”

    “This Bass Pro Shops team was really good all year,” Gragson added. “Eight wins, led the most laps, most top fives. Just come up one race short, but just so thankful for everybody at JR Motorsports. It sucks. As a team effort, we win and lose as a team. Still proud of everyone’s efforts all year. We’ve been in position to win a lot of races and have executed them all. Just come up one spot short. Definitely bittersweet moving on to the Cup Series next year with Petty GMS [Motorsports]. Big thanks to them for putting me in the No. 42 car next year for them, but I’m gonna miss this JR Motorsports team. I know everyone’s pissed, but still an unbelievable year. Just gotta keep working hard. That’s all there is to it.” 

    Like Gragson, teammates Allgaier and Berry were also left disappointed after falling short of winning the title for JR Motorsports. For Allgaier, he capped off the season in third place both on the track and in the final standings. On the other hand, Berry settled in 13th place on the track and back in fourth place in the final standings.

    “Honestly at the end of the race there, we had some issues going on,” Allgaier said. “Not so sure the engine’s not blowing up. We didn’t have any gauges all night and it definitely was a struggle at the end to hold on. We just got a little bit too loose. Nothing to hang our heads over. Obviously, we’re dejected not one of our JR Motorsports’ cars went to Victory Lane or got the championship. It’s gonna make me even hungrier to go back to work on Monday and try to make this program better. Just proud of our team. Proud of the effort. We wanted it. I gave these guys 110%. I was actually yelling in the car just because I was frustrated at the end there not being able to catch [Gibbs]. My voice is gone. Just proud of the effort all year. You come to Daytona at the beginning of the year to make a shot at the Final Four and we did that. We’re gonna go back to work and we’ll come back next year ever stronger. Try to do it all over again.”

    “[It] Just was a long day,” Berry added. “Just a tough day. All weekend, we’ve just been fighting it a little bit. Just super, super loose at the start. Worked on it and got better. Got some track position. A couple restarts went our way. We were able to get up there, but the last restart, I don’t know. It’s so hard to tell with that traction compound. Sometimes, you go up [the high lane] and you can look like a hero. Sometimes, you look like a zero. I went up there. It just wasn’t cleaned off and got loose and got up too high. Lost all those spots. Just a tough day. I hate I made that mistake, but we were behind all day. Just wasn’t our day. Gonna work hard over the off-season to be better. Maybe, we can be back here next year.”

    Kaulig Racing’s Cassill and Allmendinger came home in fourth and fifth on the track while Creed, Herbst, Hemric, Hill and Sammy Smith completed the top 10 in the final running order.

    With his 21st top-10 result of the season, Hill clinched the 2022 Xfinity Series Rookie-of-the-Year title. With 24 victories throughout the 33-race schedule, Chevrolet capped off this season with the manufacturer’s title.

    There were 15 lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 49 laps.

    Results.

    1. Ty Gibbs, 125 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    2. Noah Gragson, 35 laps led

    3. Justin Allgaier, 26 laps led

    4. Landon Cassill

    5. AJ Allmendinger

    6. Sheldon Creed

    7. Riley Herbst

    8. Daniel Hemric

    9. Austin Hill

    10. Sammy Smith, 10 laps led

    11. Brandon Jones

    12. Nick Sanchez, four laps led

    13. Josh Berry

    14. Kyle Weatherman

    15. Josh Williams

    16. Jeb Burton

    17. Rajah Caruth

    18. Alex Labbe

    19. Bayley Currey

    20. Ryan Sieg

    21. Parker Retzlaff

    22. Kyle Sieg

    23. Kaz Grala

    24. Joey Gase

    25. Myatt Snider

    26. Kris Wright

    27. Jeremy Clements

    28. Stefan Parsons, one lap down

    29. Brennan Poole, two laps down

    30. JJ Yeley, three laps down

    31. Dawson Cram, four laps down

    32. BJ McLeod, four laps down

    33. Mason Massey, four laps down

    34. Sam Mayer, five laps down

    35. Anthony Alfredo, six laps down

    36. Joe Graf Jr., seven laps down

    37. Brandon Brown – OUT, Suspension

    38. Dillon Bassett – OUT, Engine

    *Bold indicates Championship finalists

    Final standings.

    1. Ty Gibbs

    2. Noah Gragson

    3. Justin Allgaier

    4. Josh Berry

    5. AJ Allmendinger

    6. Austin Hill

    7. Sam Mayer

    8. Brandon Jones

    9. Daniel Hemric

    10. Riley Herbst

    11. Ryan Sieg

    12. Jeremy Clements

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series competitors and teams enter an off-season period before returning to action on February 18, 2023, at Daytona International Speedway to commence a new season of competition.

  • Weekend schedule for NASCAR Championship finale at Phoenix

    Weekend schedule for NASCAR Championship finale at Phoenix

    NASCAR travels to Phoenix Raceway this week for the final race of the year where the driver that achieves the highest finish in their respective series will be crowned the 2022 NASCAR Champion.

    Chase Elliott, 2020 Champion, Joey Logano, 2018 Cup Series Champion, Christopher Bell and Ross Chastain will be competing for the NASCAR Cup Series trophy Sunday afternoon.

    Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, Ty Gibbs and Noah Gragson will race Saturday evening for the NASCAR Xfinity Series title, each hoping to claim their first championship.

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship contenders will hit the track Friday night as Ty Majeski, Ben Rhodes, Chandler Smith and Zane Smith battle for the coveted trophy.

    All times are Eastern.

    Thursday, Nov. 3

    8:05 p.m.: Truck Series Practice – All Entries – No TV
    9:30 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series West – Practice/Qualifying – No TV

    Friday, Nov. 4

    2:30 p.m.: ARCA Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100 – FloRacing/MRN
    6 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying (Impound – Single Vehicle/1 Lap/ All Entries) FS1
    7:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – All Entries – USA
    8:05 p.m.: Truck Series Practice – All Entries – USA/MRN

    10 p.m.: Truck Series Lucas Oil 150
    Distance 150 Laps = 150 Miles
    Stages: 45/90/150 Laps
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    Purse: $817,025

    Saturday, Nov. 5

    2:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – (Impound – Single Vehicle/1 Lap/ All Entries) NBC Sports App
    3:30 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying – (Impound – Group A & B/ Single Vehicle/1 Lap/2 Rounds) USA/MRN/NBC Sports App

    6 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship race
    Distance: 200 Laps = 200 Miles
    Stages 45/90/200 Laps
    USA/MRN/SiriusXM/NBC Sports App
    The Purse: $1,645,625

    Sunday, Nov. 6

    3 p.m.: NASCAR Cup Series Championship race
    Distance: 312 Laps = 312 Miles
    Stages: 60/185/312 Laps
    NBC/Peacock/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $10,542,284

  • Ty Gibbs claims controversial Xfinity victory at Martinsville; Championship 4 field set

    Ty Gibbs claims controversial Xfinity victory at Martinsville; Championship 4 field set

    With the championship finale looming over the NASCAR Xfinity Series competition and spots to battle for the title up for grabs, Ty Gibbs spoiled teammate Brandon Jones’ opportunity to compete for this year’s title by wrecking him on the final lap before proceeding to claim a controversial victory in the Dead on Tools 250 at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, October 29.

    The 20-year-old Gibbs from Charlotte, North Carolina, led seven times for a race-high 102 of 269 over-scheduled laps and took care of business for the majority of the event to secure a spot for the Championship 4 round based on points. Under the final 10 laps and pushing his car for more, however, Gibbs found himself squared off against teammate Brandon Jones, who was placed in a “must-win” situation to maintain his title hopes through a series of late restarts and incidents that sent the event into overtime three times.

    During the third and final overtime attempt, Jones, who traded paint with Gibbs throughout a series of late restarts, managed to navigate his way around Gibbs and the field for the lead, but Gibbs delivered the final blow on the final lap by bumping and sending his teammate backward into the wall. The incident netted Gibbs an unpopular victory from the grandstands while Jones was one of four competitors to have their championship hopes for this season come to a late end.

    By claiming his sixth victory of the 2022 Xfinity Series season, Gibbs is set to square off against JR Motorsports’ Josh Berry, Noah Gragson and Justin Allgaier for this year’s Xfinity title that will determine a champion next weekend at Phoenix Raceway.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Playoff competitor Brandon Jones scored his fifth pole position of the 2022 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 95.482 mph in 19.832 seconds. Joining him on the front row was rookie Sheldon Creed, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 95.333 mph in 19.863 seconds.

    Prior to the event, the following competitors that included Playoff competitor Austin Hill, Derek Griffith and Kyle Weatherman dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars. Daniel Hemric also dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car after he wrecked his primary car during the practice session on Friday.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Brandon Jones rocketed with an early advantage through the first two turns ahead of Creed and Sammy Smith while Ty Gibbs and Noah Gragson dueled for fourth place. As the field battled through two lanes for a full circuit, Jones went on to lead the first lap.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Jones was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Creed followed by Smith, Gibbs and Gragson while Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Riley Herbst, Anthony Alfredo and Jeb Burton were running in the top 10. Jeremy Clements, Joe Graf Jr., Josh Berry, Ryan Sieg and Landon Cassill occupied the top 15 while Sam Mayer was back in 16th.

    Ten laps later, Jones continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Gibbs while Creed, Smith and Gragson were all scored in the top five. By then, six of eight Playoff competitors were running in the top 10 on the track, minus Mayer and Hill.

    On Lap 32, the first caution of the event flew when Patrick Emerling got into the rear of Joe Graf Jr. entering Turn 1 as Graf backed his car hard into the outside wall while Emerling also spun in front of Jeremy Clements and Howie Disavino III. During the first caution period, some led by Gragson pitted while the rest led by Jones remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Gragson was penalized for speeding while entering pit road.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 41, Jones retained the lead over teammate Gibbs and the field. As the field jostled for positions, Jones was able to maintain the top spot for the duration of the first stage as he went on to claim his third stage victory of the 2022 season on Lap 60, which marked the first stage’s conclusion. Teammate Gibbs settled in second followed by Allgaier, Berry and Smith while Herbst, Creed, Allmendinger, Mayer and Hill claimed top-10 spots and the first round of stage points.

    Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Jones pitted while Gragson and Rajah Caruth remained on the track. During the pit stops, Kyle Weatherman and Alex Labbe were both penalized for safety violations.

    The second stage started on Lap 70 as Gragson and Caruth occupied the front row. At the start, Gragson took off with the lead and managed to cross over from the outside lane to the inside lane entering the first turn. Behind, the field fanned out to three lanes as Jones muscled his way into the runner-up spot while Berry and Gibbs were also scored in the top five. Behind, Allgaier battled Smith for sixth place while racing on the outside lane as the field continued to duel and rub against one another for spots.

    Eighteen laps later, Gibbs emerged as the third different leader of the event after he overtook Gragson. 

    On Lap 106, the caution flew when Landon Cassill wheel-hopped his No. 10 StormX Chevrolet Camaro entering Turn 3 and smacked the outside wall hard while locking up his front tires. During the caution period, some led by Gibbs remained on the track while the rest led by Jones pitted.

    With nine laps remaining in the second stage, the race proceeded under green as Gibbs and Allgaier occupied the front row. At the start, Allgaier gained momentum on the outside lane to move his No. 7 iRacing/BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro into the lead. Five laps later, however, Allgaier slipped up the track entering Turn 3, which allowed Gibbs to reassume the top spot. As Gibbs maintained his ground with the lead, Berry and Hill rubbed fenders while battling for sixth place.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 120, Gibbs claimed his eighth stage victory of the 2022 season. Allgaier settled in second while Allmendinger, Gragson, Sanchez, Berry, Hill, Jeb Burton, Ryan Sieg and Alfredo were scored in the top 10. By then, six of eight Playoff competitors were scored in the top 10 and were awarded a second round of stage points while Brandon Jones and Mayer were mired back in 11th and 18th.

    Under the stage break, some led by Gibbs pitted while the rest led by Berry remained on the track.

    With 122 laps remaining, the final stage started as Berry and Sammy Smith occupied the front row. At the start, Berry retained the lead and had both lanes to his control with clean air while Hill intimidated Smith for the runner-up spot by bumping him and trying to move him up entering the turns. Smith, however, retained his ground and the runner-up spot while Creed and Jones battled for fourth in front of Herbst and Hemric. A few laps later, Hill prevailed over his battle with Smith as he moved into the runner-up spot while Jones tried to issue a challenge on teammate Smith for third place.

    Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Berry was leading by more than a second over Jones, who battled and overtook Hill for the runner-up spot, while Herbst and Gibbs were scored in the top five. Smith, Mayer, Allmendinger, Gragson and Creed were running in the top 10 ahead of Allgaier, Sanchez, Hemric, Perkins and Snider while Alfredo, Labbe, Sieg, Weatherman and Derek Griffith occupied the top 20.

    Eleven laps later, the caution returned when Yeley wrecked in Turn 3 after wheel-hopping entering the turn and sustaining significant rear-end damage to his car. During the caution periods, the leaders returned to pit road and Jones managed to reassume the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Berry, Gibbs, Gragson and Herbst.

    When the race restarted under green with 81 laps remaining, Jones rocketed with the lead entering the first turn while Berry settled in the runner-up spot behind Jones and in front of Gibbs before Gibbs assumed Berry’s spot during the following lap. Behind, Herbst was in fourth while Allmendinger and Gragson battled for fifth place in front of Hill.

    Then with 72 laps remaining, Gibbs muscled his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra into the lead over teammate Jones’ No. 19 Menards Toyota Supra through Turns 3 and 4 as Jones was placed back into a “must-win” situation to maintain his title hopes.

    Sixteen laps later, the caution flew when Kris Wright got bumped by Disavino III as both spun in Turn 3. During the caution period, some that included Allmendinger and Hill pitted while the rest led by Gibbs remained on the track.

    With 48 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green as teammates Gibbs and Jones occupied the front row. At the start, Gibbs, who restarted on the outside lane, rocketed away from the field entering Turn 1 before he crossed over to the inside lane entering the backstretch to block Jones, who was being challenged by Gragson for more. Not long after, however, the caution returned when Ryan Sieg spun towards the outside wall in Turn 1 after getting hit by Hemric’s No. 11 AG1 Chevrolet Camaro.

    As the race restarted with 40 laps remaining, Gibbs took off with another strong start while Jones and Gragson dueled for second in front of Smith, Berry, Mayer and Allgaier. Three laps later, however, the caution was displayed when Hill, Clements and Parsons came together as all three wrecked entering the backstretch. The incident prompted Hill to pit his No. 21 Global Industrial Chevrolet Camaro from the top 20 during the caution period as his hopes of advancing to the Championship 4 round were placed in jeopardy.

    When the race restarted with 32 laps remaining, Gibbs and Gragson dueled for the lead for nearly a full lap before Gibbs, who officially clinched his spot for the Championship 4 finale, cleared the field and had both lanes to his control through Turn 4. It did not take long, however, for the caution to return for a multi-car stack-up that struck entering Turn 4 when Snider got turned and collected Hill, Emerling, CJ McLaughlin, Disavino, Kris Wright, Stefan Parsons and Mason Massey. During the caution period, Berry surrendered seventh place to pit along with Labbe, Hill and Josh Williams while the rest of the competitors remained on the track.

    During the following restart with 23 laps remaining, Gibbs took off with the lead while Jones battled Gragson for second place in front of Smith, Mayer, Herbst and Allgaier. Jones prevailed over Gragson during the following lap as he moved into second place while Allgaier and Allmendinger dueled and rubbed fenders for seventh place.

    With less than 20 laps remaining, the battle for seventh place on the track and for a championship finale spot ignited between Allgaier and Allmendinger as Allgaier, who got moved up the track following a bump by Allmendinger a few laps earlier, ran into the rear of Allmendinger in Turn 3 as both dueled against one another. Then with 17 laps remaining, Allgaier, who got moved up the track again by Allmendinger in Turn 1, delivered the final blow as he pounded into Allmendinger’s rear bumper twice entering Turn 3. With Allmendinger moving up the track, Allgaier seized his opportunity and made contact into the side of Allmendinger as Allmendinger nearly got loose in Turn 4 before falling off the pace after cutting a left-rear tire amid the contact. With the caution flying, Allmendinger pitted his No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet Camaro for fresh tires as his hopes of transferring to the finale were placed in jeopardy. The incident also erased Gibbs’ steady advantage over teammate Jones.

    Down to the final nine laps of the event, the race restarted under green as Gibbs and Gragson squared off against one another on the front row. At the start, Jones, who restarted behind teammate Gibbs, made his move for the lead after getting into the rear of Gibbs. Just as Jones started to pull ahead of Gibbs with the lead, the caution flew due to Weatherman wrecking in Turn 1 along with Brandon Brown and Jeb Burton. The incident was enough to send the event into overtime.

    During the first overtime attempt, Jones, who restarted on the inside lane alongside teammate Smith and in front of Gibbs, dueled against Smith for the lead entering Turn 1 before Gibbs shoved his nose beneath Jones entering the backstretch. This resulted in all three Joe Gibbs Racing competitors racing three wide for the lead entering Turn 3. That was when Smith got rubbed by Jones as Smith went for a spin as the caution flew and the event was sent into a second overtime attempt. At the moment of caution, NASCAR ruled that Jones was the leader followed by teammate Gibbs as Herbst, Gragson and Creed completed the top five.

    At the start of the second overtime attempt, Jones briefly pulled away from the field entering the first turn until he barely slipped up the track, which allowed Gibbs to stick his car beneath Jones and challenge him for the lead through the backstretch. By then, however, the caution returned when Berry got turned in Turn 2 by teammate Allgaier after he got bumped by teammate Mayer. At the moment of caution, Gibbs was scored as the leader ahead of Jones, who fell back to a “must-win” situation as Allgaier, who continued to run towards the front, moved back up into contention to make the finale.

    The start of the third overtime attempt favored Jones, who made his move beneath Gibbs and Gragson in Turn 1 before all three competitors fanned out to three lanes in a battle for the win through the backstretch. Jones then managed to pull ahead with the lead with a push from Creed through Turns 3 and 4 as he commenced the final lap followed by a hard-charging Gibbs. Then entering Turn 1, Gibbs ran into the rear bumper of Jones, which caused Jones to spin as he backed his No. 19 Toyota into the outside wall in Turn 1. With the caution being displayed, the event was deemed official as Gibbs hustled his way back to the frontstretch and claim the victory.

    By winning for the sixth time in 2022 and for the first time at Martinsville, Gibbs claimed his 10th career win in the Xfinity circuit as he will be making his first appearance in the Championship 4 round as a championship contender, all of which will come in his first full-time Xfinity campaign. 

    Gibbs’ victory was met with mixed results as he received a chorus of boos from the grandstands with the winning driver saluting them before claiming the checkered flag.

    Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “I definitely didn’t want to wreck [Jones],” Gibbs said on NBC. “I wanted to get him out of the groove. I felt like we lost here earlier in the spring race just in the same way. I’m just pumped to get this win. It’s so awesome, especially at a track I feel like I’ve been coming to forever. It’s super cool to win here.”

    The last lap incident involving Jones knocked Jones out of the 2022 Xfinity Series Playoffs as his hopes of competing for this year’s title evaporated along with the hopes of Allmendinger, Mayer and Hill, who was involved in a post-race altercation with Snider on pit road. On the contrary, the incident fell in the favor of Allgaier, who ended up in fifth place and managed to secure the fourth and final transfer spot to the Championship 4 Round. This season will mark Allgaier’s fifth appearance in the final round as a title contender, where he will contend for his first NASCAR national touring series championship alongside Gibbs and teammates Berry and Gragson.

    “I had the race won, I think,” Jones, who ended up 23rd, said. “I love my guys. I love everyone on this No. 19 group. I’m excited to make my move to [JR Motorsports] next year and be a part of that organization. A little bit more respect over there, probably, given next year. We got one race left at Phoenix. I know we can go out there and win that, shake this [title fight] a little bit still yet and try to steal a little thunder there. I have no words. I know that we had some fun beating and banging back and forth a little bit, but I’ve never wrecked [Gibbs] or done anything for a win. It kind of shows where that level was there. I think [racing Gibbs earlier] opened up the opportunity to get moved, but I don’t know about dumped, destroyed and finished dead last. At the end of the day, I needed to win the race. Second and last, it is what it is. [I] Just expected to, maybe, have a little bit more of a shot at it there. To me, that’s what’s fun about this sport is having a duel, not just completely destroying somebody’s day.”

    Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “It was definitely a long day,” Allgaier, who finished fifth, said. “We just didn’t have the handling that we wanted to on our iRacing/BRANDT Camaro. We were OK. We were a top-five car all day. Obviously, AJ and I battled a lot today. We were both pushing each other really hard. I hate having to use the bumper, but our team has done such a good job this year and gave themselves a shot to go for a championship. I had to make the most of it today. Proud of our team at JR Motorsports. To put three cars in the final four. We got a long work this week to be ready for Phoenix, but it’s a great racetrack for us. We’re gonna go there. We’re gonna lay it all on the line. It’s gonna be a battle, for sure.”

    “[The battle with Allgaier]’s all fair,” Allmendinger, who settled in 16th, said. “We knew it was gonna be a battle. Thank you to everybody at Kaulig Racing. Our Action Industries Chevy, we were making the best of it. It’s disappointing to end it like that, but still a great year. [We] Did everything we could.”

    In addition to this year’s driver’s championship battle, the final four title contenders (Berry, Gragson, Gibbs and Allgaier) will contend for the 2022 Xfinity owners’ championship next weekend at Phoenix.

    There were 18 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured 14 cautions for 91 laps.

    Results.

    1. Ty Gibbs, 102 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Sheldon Creed

    3. Riley Herbst

    4. Noah Gragson, 23 laps led

    5. Justin Allgaier, five laps led

    6. Sam Mayer

    7. Nicholas Sanchez

    8. Daniel Hemric

    9. Blaine Perkins

    10. Austin Hill

    11. Jeb Burton

    12. Alex Labbe

    13. Rajah Caruth

    14. Myatt Snider

    15. AJ Allmendinger

    16. Derek Griffith

    17. Sammy Smith, one lap led

    18. Jeremy Clements

    19. Brandon Brown

    20. Josh Berry, 40 laps led

    21. Anthony Alfredo

    22. Josh Williams

    23. Brandon Jones, 98 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    24. CJ McLaughlin, one lap down

    25. Mason Massey, four laps down

    26. Kris Wright, eight laps down

    27. Joe Graf Jr., nine laps down

    28. Howie Disavino III, 10 laps down

    29. Ryan Vargas, 21 laps down

    30. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Accident

    31. Stefan Parsons – OUT, Accident 

    32. Patrick Emerling – OUT, Accident

    33. Ryan Sieg – OUT, Accident

    34. JJ Yeley – OUT, Brakes

    35. Matt Mills – OUT, Engine

    36. Chad Finchum – OUT, Brakes

    37. Landon Cassill – OUT, Accident

    38. Bayley Currey – OUT, Accident

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. Noah Gragson – Advanced

    2. Ty Gibbs – Advanced

    3. Josh Berry – Advanced

    4. Justin Allgaier – Advanced

    5. AJ Allmendinger – Eliminated

    6. Austin Hill – Eliminated

    7. Sam Mayer – Eliminated

    8. Brandon Jones – Eliminated

    The 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season is set to conclude at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, November 5, where a champion will be crowned. The finale is set to commence at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Weekend schedule for Martinsville Playoff race

    Weekend schedule for Martinsville Playoff race

    This week the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series travel to Martinsville Speedway. After the race, only four drivers from each series will move on to compete for the 2022 championship trophy at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 6.

    The Camping World Truck Series championship contenders were set last week at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Drivers Ty Majeski, Ben Rhodes, Chandler Smith and Zane Smith made the final cut.

    The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour takes center stage Thursday afternoon with practice (3 p.m.) and qualifying (6 p.m.) in preparation for Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 at 8 p.m. on floracing.com and MRN.

    All times are Eastern.

    NASCAR Press Pass Live will be available for post-qualifying (Xfinity) and post-race (Xfinity and Cup).

    Friday, Oct. 28

    4 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice (Group 1 & 2) USA
    4:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Impound-Single Vehicle/2 Laps/All Entries) USA

    Saturday, Oct. 29

    12 p.m.: Cup Series Practice (Group – A & B) USA at 12:30 p.m.
    12:45 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Impound)-Group A & B/Single Vehicle/2 Laps/2 Rounds) USA/MRN/SiriusXM
    3 p.m.: Xfinity Dead On Tools 250
    Distance: 250 Laps = 131.5 Miles
    Stage1 ends on Lap 60, Stage 2 ends on Lap 120, Final Stage ends on Lap 250
    NBC/Peacock/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $1,339,357

    Sunday, Oct. 30

    2 p.m.: Cup Series Xfinity 500
    Distance: 500 Laps = 263 Miles
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 130, Stage 2 ends on Lap 260, Final Stage ends on Lap 500
    NBC/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $8,132,735

  • Gragson clinches Championship 4 spot with dominant Xfinity victory at Homestead

    Gragson clinches Championship 4 spot with dominant Xfinity victory at Homestead

    Noah Gragson’s dream 2022 season has been elevated to another high note after the driver of the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro clinched a Championship 4 berth with a late dominant victory in the Contender Boats 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, October 22.

    The 24-year-old Gragson from Las Vegas, Nevada, led six times for a race-high 127 of 200-scheduled laps and was initially on his way to claim a dominant victory with a large advantage when a caution with 13 laps remaining due to an on-track incident briefly stalled his run. Despite the caution, Gragson’s pit crew capitalized late by giving him the final fresh of sticker tires needed for a short run with the lead. During a five-lap dash to the finish, he executed at the start to fend off his fellow Playoff rivals to score his unprecedented eighth victory of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

    Above all, Gragson became the second Playoff competitor to punch his ticket into the Championship 4 round at Phoenix Raceway in November alongside teammate Josh Berry, where he will contend for his first Xfinity Series championship.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Trevor Bayne secured his second pole position of the 2022 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 166.667 mph in 32.400 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff competitor Noah Gragson, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 165.731 mph in 32.583 seconds.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Bayne and Gragson dueled for the lead in Turn 1 and again in Turn 3 until Bayne managed to pull ahead and lead the first lap while the field behind jostled early for positions. As Bayne retained the top spot, Gragson was being challenged early for the runner-up spot by Ty Gibbs and Daniel Hemric while Sam Mayer was in fifth.

    On the third lap, the first caution of the event flew when Jeb Burton made contact with JJ Yeley and sent Yeley up the track as he squeezed Riley Herbst into the outside wall in the backstretch.

    During the following restart on the seventh lap, Bayne and Gragson dueled for the lead again until Bayne pulled ahead to retain the lead. Behind, Gragson was left to battle Gibbs for second place while Mayer, who was trying to overtake Hemric for fourth place, got loose entering Turn 3. Mayer’s minor slip-up, which nearly collected Hemric, allowed Hemric to retain fourth followed by Brandon Jones, Kyle Weatherman and AJ Allmendinger while Mayer fell back to eighth in front of Austin Hill.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Bayne was leading ahead of teammate Gibbs, Gragson, Brandon Jones and a hard-charging Weatherman while Hemric, Allmendinger, Mayer, Hill and Chandler Smith occupied the top 10. By then, Josh Berry, a Championship 4 finalist after winning last weekend’s event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, was in 12th while teammate Justin Allgaier was back in 14th.

    Thirteen laps later, Gragson battled and overtook Bayne to become the second different leader of the day. By then, Gibbs, Hill and Allmendinger were scored in the top five followed by Landon Cassill, Hemric, Weatherman, Allgaier and Berry while Mayer and Brandon Jones fell back to 11th and 12th. In addition, Sheldon Creed made an unscheduled pit stop under green after cutting a right-rear tire.

    At the Lap 35 mark, Gragson retained the lead by more than four seconds over Gibbs while Cassill muscled his No. 10 Voyager Chevrolet Camaro into third place. Bayne, meanwhile, fell back to fourth in front of Hill and Allmendinger while Hemric, Mayer, Allgaier and Weatherman were running in the top 10.

    Six laps later, the second caution of the event flew when Mason Massey had fallen off the pace in Turn 2 after getting into the wall. At the same time, CJ McLaughlin spun from the top to the bottom and below the apron through the backstretch as his car came to a stop. The incident was enough for the first stage scheduled on Lap 45 to conclude under caution as Gragson captured his 15th stage victory of the 2022 season. Cassill settled in second followed by Gibbs, Bayne, Allmendinger, Hill, Hemric, Mayer, Weatherman and Allgaier. By then, six of eight Playoff competitors were running in the top 10 while the remaining two which included Berry and Brandon Jones were scored in 11th and 12th, respectively.

    Under the stage break, the leaders led by Gragson pitted for four fresh tires and fuel. Following the pit stops, Cassill emerged with the lead followed by Gibbs, Gragson and Hill. During the pit stops, Nick Sanchez, the 2022 ARCA Menards Series champion, missed his pit stall and had to cycle around the circuit for a second time for service.

    The second stage started on Lap 50 as Cassill and Gragson occupied the front row. At the start and amid a brief stack-up towards the front, Gibbs muscled his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra into the lead until Gragson rocketed his No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro back into the lead through the backstretch and back to the frontstretch. Shortly after, a three-car battle for the lead intensified between Gragson, Gibbs and Hill while Allmendinger was in fourth ahead of Cassill, Mayer and a bevy of competitors vying for positions.

    By Lap 55, Hill led a lap for himself and he retained the top spot ahead of Gragson and Gibbs while Allmendinger, Mayer, Cassill, Berry, Bayne, Allgaier and Hemric were running in the top 10. By then, all but one of eight Playoff competitors were running in the top 10 as Brandon Jones was mired in 14th.

    Fifteen laps later, Hill retained the lead by a tenth of a second over Gragson followed by Allmendinger, Bayne and Gibbs while Allgaier, Mayer, Cassill, Hemric and Chandler Smith were running in the top 10. By then, Berry made an unscheduled pit stop under green after making contact with the outside wall.

    Another lap later, Gragson reassumed the lead over Hill as Allmendinger started to close in on the two leaders. While Bayne and Gibbs stabilized themselves in the top five, a three-car battle for sixth place occurred between Cassill, Allgaier and Mayer. Not long after, Creed made another pit stop under green after getting into the wall and cutting a right-rear tire.

    By Lap 80, Gragson was leading by more than a second over Allmendinger, who overtook Hill for the runner-up spot, while Bayne and Gibbs remained in the top five. A few laps later, Weatherman, who was having a strong run toward the front, pitted under green after making contact with the wall. Soon after, Ryan Sieg was off the pace while running in the access road with flat tires while Allgaier made a pit stop under green with a flat right-front tire.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 90, Gragson captured his 16th stage victory of the 2022 season and the second of the day. Allmendinger settled in second followed by Hill, Bayne, Mayer, Gibbs, Cassill, Hemric, Chandler Smith and Stefan Parsons. By then, five of eight Playoff competitors were scored in the top 10 while the remaining Playoff competitors that included Brandon Jones, Berry and Allgaier were scored in 11th, 19th and 24th, respectively.

    Under the stage break, the leaders led by Gragson pitted and Gragson retained the lead after exiting pit road first and by a hair over Hill, Allmendinger, Bayne and Mayer.

    With 104 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. At the start, Gragson and Hill dueled for the lead until Gragson cleared the field and pulled away through the backstretch followed by Bayne. During the following lap and as the field behind jostled for positions, Hill overtook Gragson through Turns 3 and 4 to take the lead while Bayne was running third place in front of a side-by-side battle between Mayer and Allmendinger. Brandon Jones soon joined the battle toward the front along with Gibbs, Hemric and Cassill.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 100, Hill and Bayne battled dead even for the lead, with the latter returning to the lead, while Gragson, Allmendinger and Brandon Jones were running in the top five. Behind, Hemric, Gibbs, Mayer, Cassill and Berry scrambled within the top 10 while Chandler Smith, Herbst, Parsons, Sanchez and Parker Retzlaff were running in the top 15 ahead of Bayley Currey, Anthony Alfredo, Jeb Burton, Brennan Poole, Myatt Snider and Allgaier. 

    Ten laps later, Bayne was out in front by more than a second over Hill while Allmendinger, Gragson, Berry, Cassill, Gibbs, Brandon Jones, Hemric and Chandler Smith were scored in the top 10. By then, six of eight Playoff competitors were running in the top 10 while the remaining two that included Mayer and Allgaier were in 11th and 16th.

    Another 15 laps later and with a series of spots being swapped towards the front, Gragson, who overtook Hill three laps earlier and was starting to reel in on Bayne for the lead, executed a bold move beneath Bayne entering the first turn to reassume the lead. Not long after taking the lead, Gragson extended his advantage to more than a second while Bayne was starting to be challenged by Allmendinger and Hill for the runner-up spot. 

    With less than 70 laps remaining, Allmendinger moved his way into the runner-up spot over Hill following a heated between Hill while Gragson continued to extend his advantage to more than four seconds. Behind, Berry was in fourth ahead of Bayne while Gibbs, Cassill, Hemric, Smith and Mayer were in the top 10.

    Then with less than 65 laps remaining, Allgaier, who was running in 17th, pitted under green but endured a slow stop from his crew due to a jack issue.

    With 60 laps remaining, pit stops under green commenced as Hill pitted followed by the leader Gragson, Bayne, Brandon Jones, Gibbs, Mayer and others. Following the pit stops, Bayne was penalized for speeding while entering pit road. Under the final 55 scheduled laps and with the cycle of green flag pit stops complete, Gragson cycled his way back into the lead followed by a hard-charging Hill while Allmendinger, Gibbs and Cassill were scored in the top five. 

    Five laps later, Gragson’s advantage decreased to a tenth of a second over Hill, who continued to close in on Gragson despite radioing concerns about a vibration to his No. 21 United Rentals Chevrolet Camaro. Another three laps later, Hill surrendered the runner-up spot to pit under green to have the vibration issue addressed as he dropped out of the lead lap category.

    Back on the track and with 45 laps remaining, Gragson was leading by more than five seconds over runner-up Allmendinger and by more than nine seconds over third-place Berry while Cassill and Gibbs were in the top five.

    Two laps later, Cassill, who was running towards the top five, pitted under green for four fresh tires and fuel while Gragson retained the lead by more than six seconds over Allmendinger.

    With 30 laps remaining, Gragson stabilized his advantage to more than six seconds over Allmendinger while Berry, Hemric and Gibbs were scored in the top five. By then, seven of eight Playoff competitors were scored in the top 10 while the remaining Playoff competitor, Allgaier, was in 12th. In addition, 13 competitors were scored on the lead lap.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event and with a handful of competitors making contact against one another and towards the wall, Gragson extended his advantage to nearly eight seconds over Allmendinger while third-place Berry trailed by more than eight seconds. While Hemric and Gibbs remained in the top five, Chandler Smith was up in sixth while Mayer, Hill, Allgaier and Herbst were in the top 10. 

    Then with 13 laps remaining, the caution flew when Stefan Parsons spun in Turn 1 with damage to his entry. By then, Nick Sanchez had fallen off the pace below the apron with flat right-side tires after making contact with the wall earlier as his strong night towards the front was spoiled. Parsons’ incident erased Gragson’s advantage of more than eight seconds over teammate Berry.

    Under caution, the leaders led by Gragson pitted and Gragson exited with the lead still in his possession followed by Allmendinger, Hemric, Gibbs and Hill.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Gragson launched away with the lead following a strong start while Allmendinger was left to fend off Gibbs for second place. Through the backstretch, however, Allmendinger and Gibbs gained ground on Gragson, who continued to lead as he returned to the frontstretch. As the laps dwindled, Gragson slightly extended his advantage to nearly half a second over Allmendinger while Gibbs kept Allmendinger close in front of him.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Gragson remained as the leader by half a second over Gibbs while Allmendinger was back in third. Having no late challenges mounting behind him, Gragson muscled his way back to the frontstretch under full power and streaked across the finish line for his unprecedented eighth victory of the 2022 season and to claim a second spot in the championship finale.

    In addition, Gragson recorded his 13th career victory in the Xfinity Series and his first at Homestead after dominating the previous three Xfinity events in Miami before falling short of the victory. Gragson’s victory was also the 15th of the season for JR Motorsports, which marked the 73rd overall Xfinity victory for JRM, and the 23rd of the season for Chevrolet, which clinched the manufacturer’s title a week ago.

    “I wanted this one so bad the last three years,” Gragson said on USA Network. “Words can’t describe how thankful I am for everybody at JR Motorsports. Unbelievable. Thank you, Bass Pro Shops. Man, I’m worn out. It takes a lot of focus to run the fence like that. Pit crew did a great job. Really grateful.”

    Ty Gibbs posted his fourth runner-up result of the season and left Homestead with a 30-point advantage above the top-four cutline to transfer to the Championship 4 round while Allmendinger, who came into the event 16 points below the cutline, moved back into the cutline with a five-point advantage with his sixth third-place finish of this season.

    “We were just battling our race car, I feel like, all day,” Gibbs said. “We made great adjustments and my guys never gave up. Thank you to my whole Monster Energy Toyota GR Supra No. 54 group. We’ll move on to Martinsville. I feel like that’s a place we were really fast earlier this year and probably had a shot to win at, so I’m excited to go back there. To come out with a P2 finish is, I feel like, pretty good. We’re plus 30 [in the Playoff standings], so I think that’s really strong.”

    “[I’m] Really proud of everybody at Kaulig Racing,” Allmendinger said. “Our Action Industries Chevy was pretty damn good. It was probably still better than the driver. Overall, we made up a lot of points there and we at least have a shot down at Martinsville.”

    Hemric and Mayer finished fourth and fifth while Bayne, Chandler Smith, Herbst, Hill and Allgaier, who rallied from an eventful run from the rear towards the front, completed the top 10 on the track.

    “I’m glad [today’s] over,” Allgaier, who is five points below the cutline, said. “Our team, definitely, had some adversity tonight. The only saving grace, I think, was about a 70-lap run there. We were able to drive away from [Gragson] and keep on the lead lap or tail end of the lead lap. I felt like we definitely made good strides over the course of the day to get our BRANDT Foundation Camaro up where we needed to be. The jack [issue] hurt us the most. That green flag stop, just losing all that track position, and I just tried to push it as hard as I could to get back up there. Ultimately, it worked out. We got back on the lead lap and were able to score some points there. We’re below the cut. We’ll go [to Martinsville] and we can lay it all on the line. Five points [deficit] is nothing. We can go there and have a good weekend. We’ll lock our way into Phoenix.”   

    There were 13 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 24 laps.

    Results.

    1. Noah Gragson, 127 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    2. Ty Gibbs, one lap led

    3. AJ Allmendinger, one lap led

    4. Daniel Hemric

    5. Sam Mayer

    6. Trevor Bayne, 46 laps led

    7. Chandler Smith

    8. Riley Herbst

    9. Austin Hill, 19 laps led

    10. Justin Allgaier

    11. Josh Berry, three laps led

    12. Landon Cassill, three laps led

    13. Bayley Currey

    14. Brennan Poole

    15. Brandon Jones, one lap down 

    16. Parker Retzlaff, one lap down

    17. Sheldon Creed, one lap down

    18. Anthony Alfredo, one lap down

    19. Jeb Burton, one lap down

    20. Kyle Weatherman, two laps down

    21. David Starr, two laps down

    22. Myatt Snider, two laps down

    23. Patrick Emerling, two laps down

    24. Joe Graf Jr., two laps down

    25. Nicholas Sanchez, two laps down

    26. Jeremy Clements, three laps down

    27. Kris Wright, four laps down

    28. Julia Landauer, four laps down

    29. Timmy Hill, five laps down

    30. Josh Williams, five laps down

    31. CJ McLaughlin, five laps down

    32. Matt Mills, five laps down

    33. Ryan Sieg, 10 laps down

    34. Stefan Parsons – OUT, Accident

    35. Kyle Sieg – OUT, Accident

    36. BJ McLeod – OUT, Electrical

    37. Mason Massey – OUT, Engine

    38. JJ Yeley – OUT, Accident

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. Noah Gragson – Advanced

    2. Josh Berry – Advanced

    3. Ty Gibbs +30

    4. AJ Allmendinger +5

    5. Justin Allgaier -5

    6. Austin Hill -7

    7. Sam Mayer -28

    8. Brandon Jones -38

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ return to Martinsville Speedway, where the Championship 4 field will be determined. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, October 29, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Weekend schedule for Homestead-Miami Speedway

    Weekend schedule for Homestead-Miami Speedway

    NASCAR travels to Homestead-Miami Speedway this week as the Playoffs continue. Team Penske’s Joey Logano clinched his spot in the Cup Series Championship 4 Round with a win at Las Vegas last weekend.

    JR Motorsports driver Josh Berry scored the victory in the Xfinity Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the first race of the Xfinity Round of 8 and secured his place in the final four.

    Saturday’s Camping World Truck Series race is the last event in the series Round of 8. ThorSport Racing’s Ty Majeski is the only contender who has earned a spot in the Championship 4 with a win at Bristol in September. Matt DiBenedetto, a non-playoff driver, won the second race in the Round of 8 at Talladega.

    NASCAR Press Pass Live will be available throughout the weekend.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, Oct. 21

    4 p.m.: Truck Series Practice (All Entries) No TV
    4:30 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying (Impound/Single Vehicle/1 Lap/All Entries) No TV
    6:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice (All Entries) USA/NBC Sports App
    6:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Impound/Single Vehicle/1 Lap/All Entries)
    USA/NBC Sports App

    Saturday, Oct. 22

    10:05 a.m.: Cup Series Practice (Group A & B- MRN/NBC Sports App
    10:50 a.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Impound/Group A & B/Single Vehicle/1 Lap/2 Rounds)
    MRN/SiriusXM/NBC Sports App

    1 p.m.: Truck Series Baptist Health 200
    Distance: 134 laps = 201 miles
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 30, Stage 2 ends on Lap 60, Final Stage ends on Lap 134
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $721,227

    4:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Contender Boats 300
    Distance: 200 laps = 300 miles
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 45, Stage 2 ends on Lap 90, Final Stage ends on Lap 200
    USA/MRN/SiriusXM/ NBC Sports App
    The Purse: $1,392,256

    Sunday, Oct. 23

    2:30 p.m.: Cup Series Dixie Vodka 400
    Distance: 267 laps = 400.5 miles
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 80, Stage 2 ends on Lap 165, Final Stage ends on Lap 267
    NBC/MRN/ SiriusXM/NBC Sports App
    The Purse: $7,342,738

  • Josh Berry wins at Las Vegas and advances to Championship 4

    Josh Berry wins at Las Vegas and advances to Championship 4

    Josh Berry drove his No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet to victory lane Saturday evening at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to claim his fifth Xfinity Series career win and a spot in the Championship 4.

    He also led a decisive 65 laps, including the final 34, to give Chevrolet its 500th win in the series to clinch the Manufacturer Championship.

    Berry described the day as, “just really, really, really, special. You know when I started on this journey and found out I was gonna run full-time this year we all sat down at the beginning of the year and said that our goal was to make the Championship 4. We felt like we were capable of that. We knew what we could do. We knew there would be bumps along the road in my first full season but we believed in our hearts that we could be at Phoenix.

    His teammates, Noah Gragson and Justin Allgaier finished second and third, respectively, giving JR Motorsports a 1-2-3 sweep at Las Vegas.

    Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs and Trevor Bayne finished fourth and fifth with Austin Hill, Sam Mayer, Daniel Hemric, Brandon Jones and Anthony Alfredo rounding out the top 10.

    Gragson leaves Las Vegas leading the standings by 19 points over Gibbs and with a 29-point advantage over Allgaier.

    Regular season champion AJ Allmendinger started on the pole and led seven laps, finishing seventh in Stage 1 and 10th in Stage 2. But, after experiencing a vibration caused by two loose tires, he had to make a green flag pit stop, putting him a lap down. Allmendinger finished 22nd, the lowest of the playoff contenders.  

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Hailie Deegan finished 13th, the best finish ever by a woman in an Xfinity Series debut.  

    After the race, Deegan said, “I’m pretty excited right now; the guys gave me an amazing car.”

    When asked if we might see her competing in more Xfinity Series races, she said, “I would love to be. If anyone’s out there that wants to pay the bills I’d be more than happy to run some more Xfinity races.”

    The Xfinity Series Playoffs continue next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway at 4:30 ET Saturday on the USA Network with radio coverage by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

  • Allmendinger claims fourth consecutive Charlotte Roval Xfinity Series win

    Allmendinger claims fourth consecutive Charlotte Roval Xfinity Series win

    The road course dominance of AJ Allmendinger continued under a sunny afternoon in Concord, North Carolina, after he claimed a late dominant victory in the fifth annual Drive for the Cure 250 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course on Saturday, October 8. It was his fourth consecutive Xfinity Series win at the Charlotte Roval as the field for the Playoff’s Round of 8 was set.

    The 40-year-old Allmendinger from Los Gatos, California, led two times for a race-high 25 of 72 over-scheduled laps. Allmendinger capitalized on two overtime attempts while also dealing with power steering issues to overtake and hold off Ty Gibbs to claim his historic fourth consecutive Xfinity Series victory at the Roval. This also marked his second consecutive win following a last-lap photo-finish victory over Sam Mayer at Talladega Superspeedway. Allmendinger was one of eight competitors to officially transfer to the Playoff’s Round of 8.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Allmendinger claimed his fourth pole position of the 2022 season after posting a 102.235 mph lap in 81.694 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff competitor Ty Gibbs, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 102.144 mph in 81.767 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Scott Heckert, Ryan Vargas and Kris Wright dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars along with Playoff competitor Noah Gragson, who started the event in a backup car.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Allmendinger battled and fended off Gibbs to lead the field through the first two turns and approaching the infield road course turns. As the field jostled for positions through the infield and back to the oval turns, Allmendinger remained out in front over Gibbs, Daniel Hemric, Justin Allgaier and Sheldon Creed. Through the backstretch chicane and back to the frontstretch chicane, Allmendinger retained the top spot by a decent advantage as he navigated his way back to the start/finish line and led the first lap.

    By the second lap, Allmendinger was out in front by seven-tenths of a second over Gibbs followed by Hemric, Allgaier and Creed while Sam Mayer, Landon Cassill, Austin Hill, Jeremy Clements and Sage Karam were in the top 10.

    Then on the third lap, early trouble struck for Playoff competitor Daniel Hemric, who went off the track and hit the wall in Turn 5 and damaged the left side of his No. 11 AG1 Chevrolet Camaro. Following an unscheduled pit stop for repairs, the reigning Xfinity Series champion returned to the track but plummeted to the bottom of the leaderboard.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Allmendinger was leading by nearly one-and-a-half seconds over Gibbs while Allgaier, Creed, Mayer, Cassill, Hill, Clements, Sage Karam and Riley Herbst were running in the top 10. By then, six of 12 Playoff competitors were running in the top 10 as Josh Berry was in 12th, Brandon Jones was scored in 16th, Ryan Sieg was running behind Jones in 17th, Gragson was in 20th and Hemric was mired back in 38th, dead last.

    Four laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Kris Wright wrecked in the first turn. Wright’s incident occurred two laps earlier after JJ Yeley spun all by himself in Turn 7. During the caution period, some of the drivers, including Gragson, pitted while the rest led by Allmendinger remained on the track.

    When the race proceeded under green on Lap 11, Allmendinger retained the lead ahead of Gibbs and the rest of the field.

    In the closing laps of the second stage, Marco Andretti, who was making his NASCAR debut in Big Machine Racing’s No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro, spun entering the backstretch chicane. In addition, Alex Labbe went off the course and got a sign stuck to his front end while Allgaier and Cassill spun together in Turn 4. In the midst of the on-track carnage, Creed, Ryan Sieg, Brandon Jones, Labbe, Kaz Grala and Hemric pitted while Allmendinger retained the lead. 

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 20, Allmendinger claimed his fourth stage victory of the 2022 season. Gibbs settled in second while Mayer, Hill, Herbst, Allgaier, Davison, Cassill, Berry and Karam were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Allmendinger pitted while the rest including Creed, Gragson, Karam, Brandon Jones, Alex Labbe, Ryan Sieg, Hemric, Grala, Josh Williams, Preston Pardus and Brandon Brown remained on the track. During the pit stops, Hill had the hood of his car up due to a power steering issue while Patrick Gallagher was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    The second stage started on Lap 22 as Karam and Gragson occupied the front row. At the start, Gragson used the outside lane to his advantage as he stormed to the lead entering the first turn followed by Creed while Karam was left to battle Brandon Jones for third place in front of the field.

    At the Lap 30 mark, Creed was leading ahead of Gibbs, Brandon Jones, Gragson and Karam while Hemric, Herbst, Labbe, Allmendinger and Mayer were running in the top 10. By then, six of 12 Playoff competitors were running in the top 10 as Allgaier was in 11th, Berry was in 13th, Clements was running in 15th, Sieg was back in 17th and Hill was mired back in 32nd. In the midst of the competition toward the front, Bayley Currey spun Brad Perez in Turn 8 as Andy Lally sustained damage from getting into Currey.

    At the halfway mark between Laps 33 and 34, Creed continued to lead by more than three seconds over Gibbs while Brandon Jones, Gragson and Karam remained in the top five. By then, Herbst carved his way up to sixth followed by Allmendinger, Mayer, Hemric and Allgaier while Labbe, Davison, Berry, Alfredo and Clements occupied the top 15.

    In the closing laps of the second stage, some of the drivers, including Karam, Labbe, Cassill, Stefan Parsons, Clements, Jeb Burton, Josh Bilicki, Allmendinger, Gragson and Gibbs, along with the leader, Creed, pitted under green while Brandon Jones cycled his way into the lead.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 40, Brandon Jones claimed his second stage victory of the 2022 season. Herbst settled in second while Mayer, Allgaier, Davison, Hemric, Berry, Alfredo, Creed and Gibbs were scored in the top 10. By then, six of 12 Playoff competitors were scored in the top 10 while Sieg, Gragson, Allmendinger, Clements and Hill were mired in 12th, 17th, 18th, 26th and 30th, respectively. During the stage’s conclusion, Myatt Snider limped his No. 31 TaxSlayer Chevrolet Camaro back to pit road with a flat left-rear tire.

    Under the stage break, some of the drivers, led by Brandon Jones, pitted, while the rest led by Herbst remained on the track.

    With 24 laps remaining, the final stage started with Creed and Gibbs on the front row. At the start, Creed pulled ahead with the lead through the first turn while Gibbs fended off Allmendinger, Gragson and Karam to remain in second through the infield turns. As the field re-entered the oval turns and approached the backstretch chicane, Gibbs started to close in on Creed as he launched his bid for the lead while Allmendinger kept both within his sights.

    During the following lap, Gibbs moved into the lead over Creed entering the backstretch chicane while Allmendinger remained in third as he started to challenge Creed for the runner-up spot. Not long after, the caution flag flew again when Jeb Burton spun in Turn 6 after getting hit by teammate Anthony Alfredo before he was hit by Marco Andretti, whose NASCAR debut came to an end late in the event.

    When the race restarted under green with 19 laps remaining, Gibbs fended off Creed and a daring three-wide attempt from Allmendinger to lead the field through the infield turns and back to the oval turns. Shortly after, the caution flew when Preston Pardus was hit by Kaz Grala, who spun and got his car stalled backward in the backstretch chicane. In the midst of the carnage, Herbst, who was running toward the top 10, sustained significant damage to the left-rear area of his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang after a stack-up resulted in Davison hitting Herbst.

    During the following restart with 15 laps remaining, Gibbs jumped ahead and retained the lead while Allmendinger and Creed briefly battled for second as Allmendinger prevailed while Karam and Gragson were in the top five ahead of the field. While the field jostled for positions through the infield turns and the backstretch chicane, Gibbs stabilized his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Allmendinger while third-place Creed trailed by more than a second.

    A lap later, Herbst spun while exiting the backstretch chicane in 10th place. By then, Brad Perez hit the wall towards the backstretch while Joe Graf Jr. spun in Turn 6. Despite the incidents, the race remained under green flag conditions.

    With 12 laps remaining, however, the caution returned due to debris on the course after Herbst lost a flat left-rear tire carcass and sustained more damage to the left-rear area of his car. At the same time, Allgaier had a sign stuck to the front of his car.

    Three laps later, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Gibbs retained the lead with a strong start while Allmendinger battled and fended off Creed to retain the runner-up spot ahead of the field. Behind, a spin by Grala ignited a stack-up with cars wrecking in Turn 2 that involved Herbst, Patrick Gallagher, Ryan Vargas, Timmy Hill, Josh Bilicki and Brad Perez. Shortly after, Creed spun in Turn 7 after getting hit by Karam before the caution flew amid the carnage.

    Down to the final six laps of the event, the event restarted under green. At the start, Gibbs launched ahead with another strong start while Allmendinger fended off Karam for second place. Behind, teammates Gragson and Allgaier battled for fourth in front of Parsons, Brandon Jones and Labbe as the field scrambled for late positions through the infield turns and back to the oval turns.

    When the field returned to the frontstretch for the final five mark, Gibbs continued to lead by half a second over Allmendinger while Karam, Gragson and Allgaier remained in the top five. By then, Parsons remained in sixth ahead of Davison, Brandon Jones, Labbe and Berry while Mayer, Hemric, Kvyat, Casasill and Sieg were in the top 15.

    Then with four laps remaining, Karam spun from third and backed his car into the wall. As Karam continued and limped his car back to pit road, the race remained under green and Gibbs retained the lead ahead of Allmendinger. Karam’s incident allowed Gragson, Allgaier and Parsons to move up the leaderboard.

    Two laps later, the caution flew due to debris being reported on the track and the event was sent into overtime. By then, Gibbs had extended his advantage to a second over Allmendinger.

    At the start of the first overtime attempt, Gibbs and Allmendinger dueled for the lead entering the first turn. They rubbed fenders through the first two turns as Allmendinger muscled into the lead entering the third turn. Through the infield turns, Allmendinger and Gibbs pulled away from the field, with Allmendinger closing in on Gibbs. It did not take long, however, for the caution to fly again and send the event into a second overtime attempt when Herbst spun, slapped the wall between Turns 4 and 5 and picked up a billboard sign on the course. Herbst eventually retired with a wrecked race car.

    During the start of the second overtime attempt, Allmendinger and Gibbs dueled for the lead entering the first turn before Allmendinger pulled ahead and came out on top. Behind, Gibbs and Gragson battled for second while James Davison moved up to fourth in front of Allgaier. While Parsons spun in Turn 7, the field scattered to avoid hitting him as the race proceeded under green.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Allmendinger remained the leader by more than a second over Gibbs and Gragson. While Gibbs tried to close in on Allmendinger through the infield turns, the oval turns and the backstretch chicane, Allmendinger had enough power to fend off and beat Gibbs to the finish line by half a second.

    In addition to claiming his fourth consecutive victory at the Roval along with his second win in recent weeks, Allmendinger recorded his 15th career victory in the Xfinity Series, his 10th on a road course venue and his fifth of the 2022 season. The victory was also the 19th overall in the Xfinity circuit for Kaulig Racing.

    “It’s unbelievable,” Allmendinger said on NBC. “All the credit goes to all the men and women at Kaulig Racing. This Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevy was pretty good, but Ty [Gibbs] was really good there at the end. I didn’t know if I was gonna be able to get him. I knew I could just get to one restart on the outside of him, at least, we had a chance. I was whining pretty bad there. I was frustrated, didn’t think we had a shot, but I’m always gonna put it on my back when it’s time to go. We got that one. We stole that one!”

    Gibbs settled in second place for the third time this season as he secured his spot in the Playoff’s Round of 8. Gragson came home in third place while James Davison and Justin Allgaier finished in the top five. Alex Labbe finished sixth followed by Brandon Jones, who secured the eighth and final transfer spot to the Round of 8 by two points over Ryan Sieg. Berry, Sieg and Landon Cassill completed the top 10 on the track. Notably, Playoff competitors Mayer, Clements, Hemric and Hill ended up 11th, 14th, 17th and 29th, respectively, while Herbst, who was unable to finish, was scored in 32nd.

    AJ Allmendinger, Noah Gragson, Ty Gibbs, Josh Berry, Justin Allgaier, Sam Mayer, Austin Hill and Brandon Jones have transferred to the Round of 8 in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs and will continue in their pursuit of this year’s championship. Ryan Sieg, Daniel Hemric, Riley Herbst and Jeremy Clements have been eliminated from title contention. With Hemric, the reigning Xfinity Series champion, being among one of four competitors eliminated from Playoff contention, the 2022 Xfinity Series will be primed to feature a new champion at season’s conclusion.

    There were eight lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 15 laps.

    Results.

    1. AJ Allmendinger, 25 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    2. Ty Gibbs, 24 laps led

    3. Noah Gragson, one lap led

    4. James Davison

    5. Justin Allgaier

    6. Alex Labbe

    7. Brandon Jones, three laps led, Stage 2 winner

    8. Josh Berry

    9. Ryan Sieg

    10. Landon Cassill

    11. Sam Mayer

    12. Anthony Alfredo

    13. Myatt Snider

    14. Jeremy Clements

    15. Daniil Kvyat

    16. Sheldon Creed, 18 laps led

    17. Daniel Hemric

    18. Jeb Burton

    19. JJ Yeley

    20. Brandon Brown

    21. Preston Pardus

    22. Scott Heckert

    23. Brad Perez

    24. Ryan Vargas

    25. Stefan Parsons

    26. Bayley Currey

    27. Joe Graf Jr.

    28. Timmy Hill

    29. Austin Hill, two laps down

    30. Sage Karam, two laps down

    31. Andy Lally, three laps down

    32. Riley Herbst – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    33. Patrick Gallagher – OUT, Engine

    34. Josh Bilicki, six laps down

    35. Kaz Grala – OUT, Accident

    36. Marco Andretti – OUT, Accident

    37. Josh Williams – OUT, Track bar

    38. Kris Wright – OUT, Accident

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. AJ Allmendinger – Advanced

    2. Noah Gragson – Advanced

    3. Ty Gibbs – Advanced

    4. Josh Berry – Advanced

    5. Justin Allgaier – Advanced

    6. Sam Mayer – Advanced

    7. Austin Hill – Advanced

    8. Brandon Jones – Advanced

    9. Ryan Sieg – Eliminated

    10. Daniel Hemric – Eliminated

    11. Riley Herbst – Eliminated

    12. Jeremy Clements – Eliminated

    The Round of 8 in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs is set to occur next Saturday, October 15, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The event is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.