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  • Tyler Reddick fends off Elliott for first Cup Series victory at Road America

    Tyler Reddick fends off Elliott for first Cup Series victory at Road America

    A day after solidifying his plans to return to Richard Childress Racing for the 2023 season, Tyler Reddick achieved his long-awaited first NASCAR Cup Series career victory in the third running of the Kwik Trip 250 at Road America on Sunday, July 3.

    The 26-year-old Reddick from Corning, California, who is also a two-time champion in the Xfinity Series, led the final 16 of 62-scheduled laps as he overtook and muscled away from Chase Elliott to etch his name as a winner in NASCAR’s premier series in his third full-time season in the series along with placing himself in the picture to make the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs. 

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Chase Elliott notched his second NASCAR Cup Series pole position of the season after claiming the top starting spot with a pole-winning lap at 108.407 mph in 134.427 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Chase Briscoe, who clocked in a fast qualifying lap at 108.376 mph in 134.465 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Kyle Busch dropped to the rear of the field due to an engine change along with Loris Hezemans, who fell back due to unapproved adjustments made to his car.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Elliott took off with a brief, early advantage until Briscoe drew himself alongside Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through the first three turns. Despite remaining side-by-side with Briscoe through Turn 5, Elliott managed to pull ahead and retain the lead ahead of Briscoe entering Turn 6 as the field behind jostled for positions. As the field made its way through the 14-turn circuit, Elliott led the first lap ahead of Briscoe.

    Through the second lap of the event, Elliott was leading by exactly eight-tenths of a second over Briscoe followed by Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick and Michael McDowell while rookie Austin Cindric, Alex Bowman, Cole Custer, Ross Chastain and Chris Buescher were in the top 10. Behind, Joey Hand was in 11th ahead of Daniel Suarez, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. while Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon and AJ Allmendinger were in the top 20. Meanwhile, Kurt Busch was in 21st ahead of rookie Harrison Burton, Erik Jones, Aric Almirola and Bubba Wallace while Josh Bilicki, Ty Dillon, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and William Byron were in the top 30. Justin Haley was in 31st, two spots ahead of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., while rookie Todd Gilliland was in 34th.

    Two laps later, Kyle Busch got loose entering Turn 5 while battling William Byron, spun and made the slightest of contact with Aric Almirola, who was running wide entering the turn, but both proceeded without drawing a caution. Meanwhile, Elliott continued to lead by more than a second over Briscoe followed by Larson, Reddick and McDowell.

    Ten laps into the event, Elliott extended his advantage to more than four seconds over Briscoe while Larson, Reddick and McDowell remained in the top five. Cindric also remained in sixth place followed by Ross Chastain, Buescher, Bowman and Custer.

    A few laps later, a bevy of names including Larson, Reddick, McDowell, Chastain, Buescher, Custer, Joey Hand, Truex, Suarez, Hamlin, Bell, Keselowski, Austin Dillon, Blaney, Byron, Custer, Harvick, Gilliland and Stenhouse pitted under green while Elliott continued to lead. Just as Lap 13 struck, Elliott pitted while Briscoe assumed the lead. Following the pit stops, Hamlin was penalized for driving his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry through too many pit boxes and was required to start at the rear of the field for the start of the second stage.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 15, Briscoe captured his second stage victory of the season. Cindric settled in second place followed by Bowman, Logano, Kurt Busch, Harrison Burton, Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones, Haley and Elliott.

    Under the stage break, some led by Briscoe pitted while the rest led by Elliott remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 17 as teammates Elliott and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, Elliott briefly dueled with Larson for the lead before he cleared the field entering Turn 3 and approaching a long straightaway through Turns 4 and 5. As the field jostled for positions, Elliott retained the top spot by a tenth of a second over teammate Larson while Reddick battled Chastain for third place. 

    Just past the Lap 20 mark, Elliott continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Larson followed by Reddick, Chastain and McDowell while Buescher, Custer, Truex, Suarez and Bell were in the top 10. By then, Byron was in 12th, Blaney was in 15th, Briscoe was mired in 17th ahead of teammate Harvick and Cindric, Bubba Wallace was back in 20th ahead of teammate Kurt Busch, Logano was back in 24th in between Bowman and Allmendinger and Hamlin was in 29th ahead of teammate Kyle Busch following his pit road penalty.

    Three laps later, Larson went wide in Turn 5 and lost the runner-up spot to Reddick while Elliott cruised with a lead of nearly three seconds. Shortly after, Logano made contact with Wallace as both spun in Turn 5 while battling towards the top 20.

    By Lap 25, Elliott stabilized his advantage to more than four seconds over Reddick while Larson, Chastain and McDowell stabilized themselves in the top five. By then, Byron was in eighth place behind Buescher and Custer while Suarez and Truex filled in the final spots in the top 10. Following his spin, Logano was mired back in 31st behind Wallace.

    Two laps later, another cycle of green-flag pit stops occurred as McDowell, Buescher, Custer, Byron, Suarez, Truex, Keselowski, Bell, Austin Dillon, Chastain, Briscoe, Bowman, Allmendinger, Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Todd Gilliland and Stenhouse pitted while Elliott continued to lead. Just as Lap 28 struck, Elliott pitted followed by Reddick, Larson and Chastain while Blaney assumed the lead. Following the pit stops, Keselowski was penalized for driving through too many pit boxes prior to his own while Kyle Busch was also penalized for having a crew member jump over the wall too soon. In addition, Gilliland was penalized for pitting outside of his pit box,

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 30, Blaney captured his fifth stage victory of the season. Joey Hand settled in second followed by Ty Dillon, Kurt Busch, Erik Jones, Justin Haley, Harrison Burton, Wallace, Elliott and Reddick. By then, Logano ran his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang off the track between Turns 13 and 14 while racing in front of Wallace. In addition, Byron pitted for a second time to address a loose right-front wheel.

    Under the stage break, some led by Blaney pitted while the rest led by Elliott remained on the track. 

    With 30 laps remaining and the event surpassing its halfway mark, the final stage started under green as Elliott and Reddick occupied the front row. At the start, Elliott and Reddick dueled for the lead through the first turn until Elliott managed to clear the field through Turn 3. With Reddick in second, Larson overtook Chastain for third place. He then tried to overtake Reddick for the runner-up spot but went briefly wide in Turn 5 as he was quickly overtaken by Chastain while Suarez was in fifth. Then in Turn 12, Elliott went briefly wide, but he managed to retain the lead ahead of Reddick as the field returned to the start/finish line.

    Two laps later, Wallace got loose entering the first turn, made contact with Keselowski and spun through the gravel trap, though he continued without drawing a caution.

    Another three laps later, Elliott stabilized his advantage to nearly a second over Reddick followed by Larson, Reddick and Suarez while McDowell, Buscher, Austin Dillon, Cindric and Truex were in the top 10. Bell was in 11th ahead of Harvick, Briscoe, Allmendinger and Bowman while Stenhouse, Custer, Hamlin, Blaney and Erik Jones were in the top 20.

    Nearing the final 20 laps of the event, another cycle of green-flag pit stops ignited as Truex pitted followed by teammate Kyle Busch, Gilliland and Josh Bilicki. Three laps earlier, Keselowski, who made contact with the wall in Turn 11, pitted while Elliott continued to lead.

    With 20 laps remaining, more competitors peeled off to pit road, among which included Bell, Allmendinger, Harvick, Buescher, Almirola, McDowell and Wallace. By then, Kyle Busch was penalized for speeding his No. 18 Skittles Toyota TRD Camry on pit road. During the following lap, Elliott pitted followed by runner-up Reddick, Larson, Chastain, Suarez, Cindric, Austin Dillon, Bowman and Briscoe.

    Following the pit stops, Elliott managed to exit pit road ahead of Reddick, but Reddick started to issue his own bid on Elliott as he got close to Elliott’s rear bumper. Elliott, however, managed to remain ahead of Reddick while Blaney, who had yet to pit, was leading.

    Then with 17 laps remaining, Reddick battled and overtook Elliott for position through Turn 6 after Elliott missed the turn in Turn 5. By then, Hamlin, who had yet to pit, was leading while Blaney, Ty Dillon, Kurt Busch, Stenhouse, Custer, Erik Jones and Byron pitted. Once Hamlin and Hand pitted, Harrison Burton, who had yet to pit, moved into the lead while Reddick and Elliott made their way to second and third. 

    When the race reached its final 15-lap mark, Reddick cycled his No. 8 3Chi Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the lead while Elliott was left to battle Harrison Burton, who remained on the track for another lap, for the runner-up spot. 

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Reddick was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Elliott while Larson, Chastain and Buescher were in the top five. Suarez was in sixth while Cindric, Truex, McDowell and Harvick occupied the top 10. Mired in 11th was Allmendinger while Austin Dillon, Bowman, Briscoe, Bell, Blaney, Custer, Stenhouse, Hamlin and Byron were in the top 20. 

    Three laps later, Wallace pulled his No. 23 Columbia Toyota TRD Camry off the course in Turn 5 due to a brake issue while Reddick continued to lead by half a second over Elliott. 

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Reddick, who remained the leader while smoothly and methodically navigating his way through every turn, stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Elliott. Meanwhile, third-place Larson, who had Kevin Meendering calling the shots while Cliff Daniels was suspended for the loose wheel at Sonoma Raceway, trailed by more than 15 seconds in his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 while Chastain and Buescher were in the top five.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Reddick extended his advantage to nearly four seconds over Elliott. By then, teammate Austin Dillon was slowly limping his way around the circuit after losing a left-front tire while the event remained under green. Having a clear view in front of him and with Elliott not being able to narrow the deficit, Reddick, who remained cautious through every turn for a final turn, cycled his way through the uphill climb to the finish line and claim his first checkered flag in the Cup Series following five runner-up results.

    With the victory, Reddick became the fifth first-time winner of the 2022 Cup season, the third to claim a first Cup victory on a road course and the 203rd different competitor to achieve a victory in NASCAR’s premier series. He also became the 13th different competitor to win through the first 18 events of this season and to be guaranteed a spot for the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs. Reddick’s first Cup victory was also the first in the series for crew chief Randall Burnett, who guided Reddick to the 2019 Xfinity Series championship, and for Richard Childress Racing since the organization last won at Texas Motor Speedway with Austin Dillon in July 2020. By becoming the 10th different competitor to win a Cup event while driving for Richard Childress Racing, Reddick also delivered the 110th career win for the organization and he became the 41st different competitor to achieve a victory across NASCAR’s top three national touring series (Camping World Truck, Xfinity and Cup).

    “I definitely knew [Elliott] was fast,” Reddick, who was congratulated by multiple competitors during the cooldown lap, said on USA Network. “We could stay with him on the long run, which told me if we cycle through that last pit sequence, we would be close or get around him, we have a great shot. [I] Didn’t quite get around him. We were within reach and thankfully, just waited for the right opportunity and was able to take advantage to it in Turn 6. I thought he was gonna run me back down. I started to makes some mistakes, started to take care of the brakes. Turns out, I didn’t need to and yeah, we were in good shape there. What a day.”

    “We had to [put the pressure],” Reddick added. “What better place than Road America! I love the fans. I love this racetrack. Being here on the Fourth of July weekend is just so special. We got it done. We won the race. [Crew chief] Randall’s [Burnett] been working on this for a very long time. He’s always believed in me. Everyone on this team at Richard Childress Racing has believed in me. I made a lot of mistakes along the way, but man, this year’s been the one-step, one mistake away from greatness all year long and we finally did it today.”

    “The biggest thing [I told Reddick was] it’s coming,” Richard Childress, owner of Richard Childress Racing, said. “We just can’t beat ourself. We beat ourself a few times and we got beat a few times, but today, when you beat the best, which is Chase Elliott, it was a great win for us. We’re still here hammering away. I’m just so happy for Tyler. I knew watching him back in the Trucks, then he went to Xfinity and won the championship, I knew he could do it and here we are. He’s got that will to do whatever it takes to get up there and win the race. He’s got it in his heart to be a winner and that’s what he wants to be. Now, he wants to be a champion and I think we can push him into it.”

    Elliott, who led a race-high 36 laps and was coming off his recent victory at Nashville Superspeedway, settled in second place for the first time of this season while teammate Larson, Chastain and Suarez finished in the top five.

    “First off, congrats to [Reddick],” Elliott said. “I know he’s been super close to that first win. I’ve been down that road and it can be a rocky one, so I’m happy for those guys. They deserve it. For us, just proud of our NAPA team. I didn’t do a very good job there. I just let him stay close enough to pressure me there while we had decent tires. Never could get enough of a gap. Made a couple of mistakes. I was gaining a gap a couple of times and made a couple of mistakes and let him get that close enough to get me out of sync. After that, [I] started struggling and obviously, it was super difficult to get somebody to pass him. It was impressive that he was able to get up there and capitalize on my mistake…Appreciate the effort at our team. Wished I could’ve done a better job there. I felt like we probably needed a little bit, but I thought we were good enough to win, so those always hurt.”

    “Tyler and Chase were really good throughout the duration of a run,” Larson said. “I seem to be OK early and then would kind of slowly fade away from them, so I don’t really know. I felt, honestly, pretty good, but they must’ve just had better grip and they’re really good road racers, probably a little bit better than I am. It was a good, clean race for us. Happy to get a top-three [finish]. It was successful for my standards.”

    “Incredible day for Trackhouse [Racing], Team Chevy as a whole,” Chastain said. “To sweep the top five for Team Chevy and to control the race all day is incredible work for what we’re doing. To prepare to come to the track for both the car and the driver side. Hats off to everybody involved on both sides. I can’t ask for much more.”

    “I think it’s not just Ross and myself,” Suarez said. “It’s everyone at Trackhouse. Every man and woman that is working very hard to put fast race cars every single weekend. We have a lot of great people and great sponsors. It was very good. I also felt like, Ross and I, we’ve been doing a decent job, but today, we didn’t have the best car. We were probably a top-10 to top-seven car, and that’s kind of where we finished. We have to go back home and try to see what we can keep on improving.” 

    Buescher, Cindric, McDowell, Allmendinger and Harvick completed the top 10 on the track. Notably, Blaney, Bowman, Truex, Briscoe and Custer finished in the top 15 followed by Byron, Hamlin, Bell, Stenhouse and Ty Dillon. Kurt Busch finished 23rd, Logano ended up 27th ahead of Almirola and Kyle Busch concluded his long afternoon in 29th, the final competitor on the lead lap.

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

    With eight regular-season races remaining this season, Chase Elliott leads the regular-season standings by 33 points over Ryan Blaney, 35 over Ross Chastain, 71 over Kyle Larson, 73 over Joey Logano, 77 over Kyle Busch, and 84 over Martin Truex Jr. 

    Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, Joey Logano, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick, rookie Austin Cindric, Kurt Busch, Chase Briscoe and Daniel Suarez are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular-season stretch while Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr. and Christopher Bell are above the top-16 cutline based on points. Kevin Harvick trails the top-16 cutline by 20 points, Aric Almirola trails by 47 points, Erik Jones trails by 85 points, Austin Dillon trails by 94 points, Michael McDowell trails by 115 points, Chris Buescher trails by 143, Justin Haley trails by 155 points, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. trails by 172 points, Bubba Wallace trails by 177 points.

    Results.

    1. Tyler Reddick, 16 laps led

    2. Chase Elliott, 36 laps led

    3. Kyle Larson

    4. Ross Chastain

    5. Daniel Suarez

    6. Chris Buescher

    7. Austin Cindric

    8. Michael McDowell

    9. AJ Allmendinger

    10. Kevin Harvick

    11. Ryan Blaney, four laps led, Stage 2 winner

    12. Alex Bowman

    13. Martin Truex Jr.

    14. Chase Briscoe, four laps led, Stage 1 winner

    15. Cole Custer

    16. William Byron

    17. Denny Hamlin, one lap led

    18. Christopher Bell

    19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    20. Ty Dillon

    21. Joey Hand

    22. Harrison Burton, one lap led

    23. Kurt Busch

    24. Justin Haley

    25. Todd Gilliland

    26. Erik Jones

    27. Joey Logano

    28. Aric Almirola

    29. Kyle Busch

    30. Kyle Tilley, one lap down

    31. Austin Dillon – OUT, Brakes

    32. Cody Ware, three laps down

    33. Brad Keselowski, four laps down

    34. Corey LaJoie, five laps down

    35. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Brakes

    36. Josh Bilicki, 10 laps down

    37. Loris Hezemans – OUT, Fuel pump

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ second visit of the season at the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, July 10, at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Logano grabs Cup Series win in overtime in inaugural event at Gateway

    Logano grabs Cup Series win in overtime in inaugural event at Gateway

    With winning on new circuits starting to become a new habit of his in recent years, Joey Logano scratched another new circuit off of his bucket list after fending off Kyle Busch during an overtime shootout to win the inaugural Enjoy Illinois 300 at the World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway on Sunday, June 5.

    The 32-year-old Logano from Middletown, Connecticut, led 20 of 242 over-scheduled laps as he swapped the lead with Busch at the start of the event’s lone overtime attempt before reclaiming it for good prior to the final lap and pulling away from Busch and the field to grab his second victory of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.

    With on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday, Chase Briscoe recorded the first Cup pole position at Gateway after clocking in a pole-winning lap at 138.274 mph in 32.544 seconds. Joining him on the front row was rookie Austin Cindric, who clocked in a qualifying lap sat 137.775 mph in 32.662 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Parker Kligerman started at the rear of the field in a backup car along with Daniel Suarez, who had unapproved adjustments made to his car. AJ Allmendinger also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his car and due to the driver being absent for Saturday’s qualifying session as Truck Series competitor Ben Rhodes filled in while Allmendinger went on to win Saturday’s inaugural Xfinity event at Portland International Raceway.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Briscoe fended off Cindric to lead the field through the backstretch as he went on to lead the first lap while Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney battled for third place ahead of the field.

    Through the first five laps and with the field fanning out and jostling early for positions, Briscoe was leading by four-tenths of a second ahead of Cindric, Reddick, Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola, Chastain, Logano, Harrison Burton and Bell.

    By Lap 10, Briscoe stabilized his advantage to two-tenths of a second over Cindric while Blaney, Reddick and Hamlin remained in the top five.

    At the Lap 20 mark, Briscoe remained as the leader by half a second ahead of Cindric. Third-place Blaney trailed by more than two seconds followed by Reddick and Hamlin while Chastain Almirola, Logano, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Chase Elliott was in 11th ahead of Martin Truex Jr., Harrison Burton, Bell and Kyle Larson while Cole Custer, Bubba Wallace, Michael McDowell, Erik Jones and William Byron were in the top 20. 

    Seven laps later, early disaster struck for Briscoe, who fell off the pace after he cut a left-rear tire as he made an unscheduled pit stop under green. With Briscoe out of contention, Cindric took the lead followed by teammate Blaney while Reddick, Hamlin and Chastain were in the top five. 

    By Lap 35, Cindric was ahead by two seconds over teammate Blaney followed by Reddick, Hamlin and Chastain while Almirola, Logano, Kyle Busch, Elliott and Kurt Busch occupied the top 10. Meanwhile, Briscoe was mired in last place of the 36-car field and two laps behind the leaders.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 45, Cindric claimed his first Cup stage victory of the season. Teammate Blaney settled in second, trailing by more than a second, followed by Reddick, Hamlin, Chastain, Almirola, Logano, Kyle Busch, Elliott and Bell. 

    Under the stage break, the field led by Cindric pitted and Cindric retained the lead following his service followed by teammate Blaney, Reddick, Kyle Busch and Hamlin. Following the pit stops, Chase Elliott pitted his No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for a second time to have the lug nut on his car checked.

    The second stage started on Lap 53 as teammates Cindric and Blaney occupied the front row. At the start, both Team Penske teammates dueled for the lead as Cindric continued to lead by a hair over Blaney before the latter prevailed. With Blaney out in front, Cindric was left to battle Kyle Busch for the runner-up spot as Busch prevailed in his No. 18 Snicker Toyota TRD Camry. Behind, Reddick was in fourth ahead of Hamlin and Logano, both of whom were left bitter over a pit road incident last weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    By Lap 60, Blaney was leading by more than a second over Kyle Busch followed by Cindric, Reddick and Hamlin while Logano, Chastain, Almirola, Bell and Kurt Busch were in the top 10.

    Four laps later, the caution flew when a bump from Chastain sent Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry into the outside wall through Turns 1 and 2. During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Blaney pitted while Kyle Busch, Logano, Chastain and Elliott remained on the track. 

    When the race proceeded under green on Lap 69, Kyle Busch received a draft from Chastain as he fended off both Chastain and Logano to retain the lead while Logano battled and overtook Chastain for the runner-up spot. With all three Team Penske competitors in the top five, Blaney soon battled Chastain for third place while Cindric pursued in fifth. 

    At the Lap 75 mark, Kyle Busch retained a narrow advantage, three-tenths of a second, over Logano followed by Blaney, Chastain and Cindric while Elliott remained in sixth ahead of Michael McDowell, Truex, Almirola and Reddick. By then, Briscoe, who cycled his way back to the lead lap during the previous caution, was up in 26th behind AJ Allmendinger. 

    Fifteen laps later, Kyle Busch extended his advantage to more than a second over Logano  followed by Blaney, Cindric and Chastain, who earlier was nearly wrecked by the lapped car of Hamlin with Hamlin expressing his displeasure over the incident involving Chastain that spoiled Hamlin’s run toward the front.

    Another three laps later, the on-track feud between Chastain and Hamlin ignited again as Hamlin blocked and briefly stalled Chastain’s progress through Turns 4 and 1.

    Four laps later, the caution flew when Blaney cut a left-rear tire, spun and backed his No. 12 Dent Wizard Ford Mustang into the outside wall between Turns 1 and 2. Under caution, some led by Kyle Busch pitted while the rest led by McDowell and Reddick remained on the track.

    When the race resumed under green on Lap 100, McDowell retained the lead through the first two turns while Almirola and Bell overtook Reddick in a bold three-wide pass to move up to second and third. Not long after, however, the caution flew when Chastain bumped and sent Elliott spinning entering Turn 4, where he was hit by Harrison Burton while Bubba Wallace also spun to avoid sustaining any significant damage to his No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota TRD Camry.

    With the race restarting under green on Lap 106, McDowell retained the lead ahead of Almirola and the field through the backstretch. Meanwhile, Elliott expressed his displeasure to Chastain over the contact during the previous caution by bumping and sending Chastain’s No. 1 Moose Fraternity Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 up the track through Turns 1 and 2. At the same time, Hamlin feigned another sideswipe move on Chastain with the latter falling below the leaderboard. With Chastain remaining on the track, Hamlin continued to stall Chastain’s progress by running in front of him and not letting him pass.

    Back at the front on Lap 110, McDowell retained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Almirola followed by Reddick, Bell and Erik Jones while Kurt Busch, Daniel Suarez, Kyle Busch, Cindric and Kevin Harvick were scored in the top 10.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 120, McDowell was leading by half a second over Almirola while Reddick, Kurt Busch, Bell, Kyle Busch, Erik Jones, Suarez, Cindric and Kyle Larson were scored in the top 10. Logano was in 11th ahead of Truex, Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Blaney while Briscoe, Ty Dillon, Allmendinger, Todd Gilliland and Austin Dillon were in the top 20. Alex Bowman was in 21st ahead of Cole Custer, Zane Smith, Harrison Burton and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. while Bubba Wallace, Justin Haley, William, Byron, Chase Elliott and Cody Ware were in the top 30. Meanwhile, Chastain was mired back in 32nd while Hamlin was in 35th.

    Nearly five laps later, Elliott and Chastain briefly dueled through the frontstretch as Elliott tried to pursue Chastain again to express his displeasure towards him. In Turn 1, however, BJ McLeod got into the rear of Elliott, which knocked Elliott sideways as he proceeded under green.

    Nearing the Lap 130 mark, the caution flew when Wallace got bumped and turned into the Turn 3 outside wall by Stenhouse. Under caution, Hamlin, who witnessed the incident in front of him, ran Stenhouse’s No. 47 SunnyD Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 up the track in Turn 1 to express his displeasure over his competitor getting wrecked.

    During the caution period, names like Kurt Busch, Larson, Cole Custer, Stenhouse, Byron, Haley, Cody Ware and McLeod remained on the track while the rest pitted. During the pit stops, Reddick was penalized for dragging his gas can out of his pit box.

    With six laps remaining in the second stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Kurt Busch fended off Larson to retain the lead while Truex, who restarted in the top 10, bolted his No. 19 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota TRD Camry into third place as he quickly went to work on Larson for more. 

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 140, Kurt Busch, piloting the No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota TRD Camry, captured his second stage victory of the season. Truex settled in second place, trailing by four-tenths of a second, followed by Kyle Busch, Larson, Almirola, Bell, Suarez, Cole Custer, Erik Jones and Blaney.

    Under the stage break, some led by Kurt Busch pitted while the rest led by Truex and Kyle Busch remained on the track.

    With 93 laps remaining, the final stage started as teammates Truex and Kyle Busch occupied the front row. At the start and with the field jostling for positions, Truex retained the lead ahead of Busch while Almirola, Bell and Suarez were in the top five. 

    Down to the final 75 laps of the event, Truex retained the lead by half a second over teammate Kyle Busch as they were pursued by Almirola, Blaney and Bell. Suarez was back in sixth ahead of Erik Jones, McDowell, Briscoe and Cindric while Bowman, Logano, Reddick, Harvick, Ty Dillon, Chastain, Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Allmendinger and Larson occupied the top 20.

    Fifteen laps later, Truex continued to lead by seven-tenths of a second over teammate Kyle Busch while Blaney, Almirola and Bell remained in the top five. Also remaining in the top 10 were Suarez, Erik Jones, McDowell, Briscoe and Cindric, respectively.

    Another three laps later, the caution flew when Reddick spun in Turn 2. During the caution period, the leaders led by Truex pitted as Erik Jones exited with the lead following a quick two-tire pit stop followed by Kyle Busch, Logano, Bowman, Larson and Almirola while Truex was back in seventh.

    With 51 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Erik Jones and Kyle Busch dueled for the lead through the backstretch until Busch muscled his way into the lead through Turn 3 while Logano made his move into the runner-up spot. Not long after, Almirola launched his attack on Jones for third place as the field jostled for late positions.

    Eleven laps later, Kyle Busch was leading by three-tenths of a second over Logano followed by Almirola while Erik Jones was in fourth ahead of Truex. During the following lap, however, the caution flew when Stenhouse spun in the backstretch. Under caution, some like Keselowski, Elliott, Justin Haley, Ty Dillon, Suarez, Byron and Bubba Wallace pitted while the rest led by Kyle Busch remained on the track.

    Down to the final 34 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Kyle Busch took off with the lead ahead of Logano while the field scrambled for positions. During the following lap, however, Logano, who dueled Busch for the lead through the frontstretch, pulled a slide job on Busch to take the lead in Turn 1 as Almirola tried to close in on the two leaders.

    With 20 laps remaining, Logano stabilized his advantage to nearly a second over Kyle Busch followed by Almirola, Blaney and Erik Jones while Kurt Busch, Truex, Bowman, Bell and Chastain were in the top 10. Cindric was in 11th ahead of Harvick, Larson, McDowell and Allmendinger while Briscoe, Austin Dillon, Harrison Burton, Zane Smith and Custer were in the top 20.

    Two laps later, the caution returned when Custer got bumped by Todd Gilliland entering Turn 1 as he spun and made contact with the outside wall. During the caution period, some like Wallace, Haley, Byron and Custer pitted while the rest led by Logano remained on the track.

    Down to the final 13 laps of the event, the race restarted under green as Kyle Busch utilized the outside lane to reassume the lead over Logano through the backstretch. 

    Three laps later, Kyle Busch was leading by a tenth of a second over Logano with Blaney joining the battle. Behind, Kurt Busch moved his way to fourth place while Almirola, Erik Jones, Chastain, Truex, Bell and Cindric were in the top 10.

    With five laps remaining, Kyle Busch continued to fend off Logano with the lead while Blaney was starting to fall back and trail by less than a second in third place ahead of Kurt Busch and Almirola.

    Then, the caution flew when Harvick slipped sideways and pounded the outside wall in Turn 3. The incident was enough to send the event into overtime as some like Keselowski, Suarez, Ty Dillon and Harrison Burton pitted while the rest led by Kyle Busch and Logano pitted.

    At the start of the first overtime attempt, Logano, who restarted beneath Kyle Busch, ignited his challenge by trying to force Busch up the track, but Busch pulled a crossover move to challenge and reassume the lead beneath Logano through the backstretch. Then in Turn 3, Kyle Busch got loose and washed up the track in Turn 3, which allowed Logano to cross over to the bottom lane and take the lead back as he started the final lap of the event. 

    With Logano out in front, Kyle Busch could not close the gap between himself and Logano, nor could he ignite a final charge on him. That all enabled Logano to drive away as he cycled his way back to the finish line and crossed the finish line to first place.

    By winning the inaugural Cup victory at Gateway in Madison, Illinois, Logano notched his second victory of the 2022 Cup season, thus becoming the fourth multi-winner of this season, and the 29th of his career. This marked the third new circuit added to the Cup schedule that was won by Logano after he won the inaugural events at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course in March 2021 and the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in February 2022.

    “Oh, packed house,” Logano said on FS1. “Thanks for coming out, [fans]. I hope you guys enjoyed that race. It doesn’t get much better than that. Racing for the lead like that with Kyle [Busch] with him is a lot of fun. Crossing each other back and forth. I knew it was coming because I did it to him. I knew he was gonna do it with me and was able to cross back and forth there a couple of times in the last lap there. Good Shell/Pennzoil Mustang, for sure. Nice to get a few wins on the season here. Start collecting those Playoffs points. What a great car. Really fast…[Crew chief] Paul [Wolfe] made a great call putting two tires on. [Teammate Ryan] Blaney did a great job with the push down into [Turn] 1, which kept me close, at least, to be able to make the move. Good racing there…It was a lot of fun to race here and looking forward to coming back.”

    Kyle Busch trailed Logano to the finish line by six-tenths of a second in the runner-up spot followed by brother Kurt while Blaney and Almirola finished in the top five.

    “[The crossover move was] Not even close,” Busch said. “You see me just about wreck off of [Turn] 4? Way better than Phoenix, though, I guess. For as bad as Phoenix was, [Joe Gibbs Racing], the Toyota guys did a good job of getting us some improvements there, at least being able to keep up and have a shot at the win. Our car just took too long to come in. Better on the long run, better up top [lane]. Top’s not good to fire off on, but good job by the Snickers guys. We stayed in the running all day long and fought hard. Though maybe we could, but that was it.”

    Truex, who made his 600th Cup career start, came home in sixth place while Erik Jones, Chastain, Bell and Allmendinger completed the top 10.

    Chastain, who rallied from adversity and his share of run-ins with Hamlin, Elliott and McDowell to finish eighth, took the time to acknowledge his cause of the on-track incidents and place the blame towards himself while Hamlin issued his warning towards the Floridian.

    “Just terrible driving,” Chastain said. “It’s one thing to do it once, but I just kept driving into guys. At this level, I’m supposed to be better than that. [My sponsors and owners] deserve better. I owe half the field an apology. Words aren’t gonna fix it, so I’ll have to pay for it on the track. [I] Almost did today and I deserve everything they do. I can’t believe I continue to make the same mistakes and over-drive the corners and drive into guys. I like had time under caution to get reset and we go green and I drive into somebody. It’s terrible.”

    “It’s good that [Chastain] takes responsibility, but ultimately, [the incident] ruined our day,” Hamlin said. “I think we were racing hard there for a while on the inside [lane]]. He tried to keep sliding up in front of us and wasn’t able to because I wasn’t willing to just back off and let him slide up in front. It didn’t take long, after he tucked in behind us, that it wrecked us. The unfortunate part is that it didn’t look that he got too shy after that because I think he got into [Elliott] after that one. We have to learn the hard way. We’ve all had it come back around on us and it will be no different.”

    Notably, Cindric was the highest-finishing rookie in 11th, Larson finished 12th, Byron settled in 19th, Elliott ended up 21st, Wallace was mired in 26th and Hamlin concluded his event in 34th, one spot behind Harvick. In addition, Zane Smith, who filled in as an interim competitor for Chris Buescher with Buescher out after testing positive for COVID-19, finished 17th in his Cup debut.

    There were 12 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured 10 cautions for 53 laps.

    With 11 regular season races remaining to this season, Chase Elliott leads the regular season standings by nine points over Kyle Busch, 17 over Ross Chastain, 28 over Ryan Blaney, 37 over Martin Truex Jr. and 40 over Joey Logano. 

    Ross Chastain, Joey Logano, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, Kurt Busch and rookie Austin Cindric are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular-season stretch while Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell, Aric Almirola and Tyler Reddick occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs on points. Kevin Harvick trails the top-16 cutline by two points, Erik Jones trails by 26, Austin Dillon trails by 29, Daniel Suarez trails by 60, Michael McDowell trails by 86, Bubba Wallace trails by 96, Justin Haley trails by 101, Chris Buescher trails by 104 and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. trails by 107. 

    Results.

    1. Joey Logano, 22 laps led

    2. Kyle Busch, 66 laps led

    3. Kurt Busch, 12 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    4. Ryan Blaney, 12 laps led

    5. Aric Almirola

    6. Martin Truex Jr., 42 laps led

    7. Erik Jones, four laps led

    8. Ross Chastain

    9. Christopher Bell

    10. AJ Allmendinger

    11. Austin Cindric, 26 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    12. Kyle Larson

    13. Alex Bowman

    14. Justin Haley

    15. Austin Dillon

    16. Tyler Reddick

    17. Zane Smith

    18. Michael McDowell, 34 laps led

    19. William Byron

    20. Brad Keselowski

    21. Chase Elliott

    22. Todd Gilliland

    23. Daniel Suarez

    24. Chase Briscoe, 27 laps led

    25. Harrison Burton

    26. Bubba Wallace

    27. Ty Dillon

    28. Josh Bilicki

    29. Cole Custer

    30. BJ McLeod

    31. Parker Kligerman

    32. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., four laps down

    33. Kevin Harvick – OUT, Accident

    34. Denny Hamlin, 11 laps down

    35. Cody Ware – OUT, Power

    36. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Engine

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California, for the series’ second road course event of the season. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, June 12, at 4 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Hamlin claims a wild, caution-filled Coca-Cola 600 victory at Charlotte

    Hamlin claims a wild, caution-filled Coca-Cola 600 victory at Charlotte

    In one of stock car’s longest events on Memorial Day weekend spanning more than five hours and mired with a bevy of cautions and on-track carnages, Denny Hamlin survived two overtime attempts to storm to the lead and fend off teammate Kyle Busch to win the Coca-Cola 600 victory of this season at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 29.

    The 41-year-old Hamlin from Chesterfield, Virginia, led four times for 15 of 413 over-scheduled laps and was able to assume the lead during the first of two overtime attempts just as a multi-car wreck ensued behind him on the frontstretch. Then during the second overtime attempt, he came out on top over a late battle with teammate Kyle Busch, including overtaking and clearing his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate on the final lap, before having enough horsepower to cross the finish line in first place and claim his first 600 triumph.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Denny Hamlin notched his first pole position of the season after clocking in a pole-winning lap at 183.680 mph in 29.399 seconds. Joining him on the front was Kurt Busch, who clocked in a qualifying lap at 183.661 mph in 29.402 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Kyle Larson, Aric Almirola, Cole Custer, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kaz Grala dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective cars. In addition, Corey LaJoie started at the rear of the field in a backup car.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Hamlin launched ahead with the lead on the outside lane through Turn 1 before Kurt Busch drew himself in a side-by-side battle against his owner. As the field returned to the start/finish line, Hamlin managed to lead the first lap by a hair before Kurt Busch issued another early challenge for the lead. 

    During the following lap, Kurt Busch managed to edge Hamlin to lead the following lap before Hamlin returned the favor during the following lap. Then by the fourth lap, Hamlin managed to pull his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry ahead of Busch’s No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota TRD Camry to clear the field for the lead while Kyle Busch was in third. Behind, Bubba Wallace muscled his way into third place ahead of William Byron, Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Kyle Busch, who overtook teammate Hamlin for the lead during the previous lap, was leading followed by Bubba Wallace, Reddick and Byron while Kurt Busch, Daniel Suarez, Bell, Martin Truex Jr. and Alex Bowman. Rookie Austin Cindric was back in 11th ahead of Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, Michael McDowell, Austin Dillon, Ross Chastain, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Erik Jones while Kyle Larson was up in 21st ahead of Justin Haley, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Preece, Chris Buescher and rookie Harrison Burton.

    Seven laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Ryan Preece spun entering Turn 4 on the outside lane. Just behind, Buescher and Noah Gragson spun separately to avoid Preece with Buescher making contact with Preece. By then, Kyle Busch was leading by more than a second over Bubbaa Wallace followed by Reddick and Byron while Hamlin and Kurt Busch slipped back to fifth and eighth, respectively. In addition, Kyle Larson was up to 18th.

    Under caution, the leaders led by Kyle Busch pitted for the first time Kyle Busch, Byron, Reddick, Hamlin, Suarez and Wallace. Following the pit stops, Martin Truex Jr. was penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, rookie Todd Gilliland was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 22, Kyle Busch rocketed his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry away with the lead while Reddick and Byron battled for the runner-up spot. Not long after, Wallace made his way into third place over Reddick and Hamlin while Larson was trying to work his way into the top 15.

    By Lap 30, Kyle Busch was leading by half a second over Wallace followed by Byron, Reddick and Hamlin while Chase Elliott, Daniel Suarez, Bell, Kurt Busch and Bowman were in the top 10.

    Two laps later, the caution returned when Josh Bilicki spun in Turn 3. Under caution, some led by Byron pitted while the rest led by Kyle Busch remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Larson was penalized for removing equipment out of his pit box.

    When the race proceeded under green on Lap 38, Kyle Busch and Wallace battled for the lead as the field fanned out through the backstretch with fourth-place Briscoe briefly losing momentum in the top five.

    Two laps later, Wallace led a lap for himself before Kyle Busch cleared Wallace’s No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota TRD Camry to assume full control of the field.

    Another three laps later, Suarez, who overtook Wallace a few laps ago for the runner-up spot and was gaining ground on Kyle Busch, made a move beneath Busch as he issued his challenge for the lead from the fronstretch to Turn 1. Then as Suarez just emerged ahead while pinning Kyle Busch towards the Turn 1 outside wall, Busch slipped sideways and spun through Turn 2 without sustaining any damage as the caution flew.

    Under caution, some who did not pit under the previous caution like Wallace and Kyle Busch pitted while the rest led by Suarez remained on the track.

    As the race proceeded under green on Lap 50, Suarez launched ahead on the outside lane to retain the lead while Hamlin battled Bowman for the runner-up spot in front of Byron, Elliott and Reddick. 

    By Lap 60, Suarez was leading by more than two seconds over Bowman followed by Elliott, Byron and Hamlin while Cindric, Reddick, Kurt Busch, Ryan Blaney and Truex were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Larson was in 12th behind Joey Logano while Ross Chastain, Bell and Buescher were in the top 15.

    A lap later, the caution returned when Corey LaJoie got loose, spun and backed his car against the outside wall through Turns 1 and 2, a wreck that was reminiscent of Saturday’s practice session and was enough to eliminate him from the event. During the caution period, the leaders led by Suarez pitted and Elliott exited with the top spot followed by Byron, Bowman, Suarez and Reddick. Following the pit stops, Larson, who got into the wall during the previous restart, was penalized for a second time due to an equipment interference along with Justin Haley. In addition, Cindric made another pit stop to ensure that the wheels on his car were tightened.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 67, teammates Elliott and Byron dueled for the lead for half a lap until Elliott managed to pull his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 ahead of Byron’s No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 while Suarez was in third place in his No. 99 CommScope Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Behind, Bowman was in fourth while Reddick overtook Hamlin for a spot in the top five.

    Through the first 75 scheduled laps, Elliott was leading by a tenth of a second over Byron followed by Reddick, Bowman and Suarez while Chastain, Bell, Hamlin, Blaney and Wallace were in the top 10. Kurt Busch was mired in 11th ahead of Logano, Stenhouse, Austin Dillon, Truex, Aric Almirola, Erik Jones, Chris Buescher, Chase Briscoe and Gilliland while Larson, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch were mired outside of the top 25.

    Fifteen laps later, Elliott continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over Reddick while Byron, Bell and Chastain were in the top five as Bowman fell back to sixth. Behind, Wallace worked his way back to seventh followed by Blaney, Truex and Stenhouse.

    On Lap 93, Byron got loose entering the backstretch and fell off the pace due to a flat tire, but he continued to run on the track as the race remained under green.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 100, Elliott captured his third stage victory of the season over Reddick, who settled in second followed by Bell, Chastain, Wallace, Blaney, Stenhouse, Truex, Bowman and Hamlin. By then, Byron was in 11th and Kyle Busch was in 17th while Larson and Suarez were mired back in 28th and 29th.

    Under the stage break, the leaders led by Elliott pitted and Elliott retained the lead after exiting with the lead followed by Bell, Wallace, Chastain, Truex and Blaney. Following the pit stops, Kevin Harvick pitted again to address a steering issue.

    The second stage started on Lap 107 as Elliott and Bell occupied the front row. At the start, Elliott received a draft from Chastain to retain the lead while Chastain and Bell duked for the runner-up spot. With Chastain making his way into the runner-up spot over Bell, Wallace and Blaney battled in the top five while Truex was in sixth.

    On Lap 110, Chastain muscled his No. 1 Advent Health Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the lead following a brief battle with Elliott while Bell, Wallace and Blaney remained in the top five. Behind, Hamlin was in seventh followed by Byron and Stenhouse, Kyle Busch was in 11th ahead of Reddick, Logano was in 17th behind teammate Cindric and Larson was back in 20th in between Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola and Briscoe.

    By Lap 125, Chastain was leading by half a second over Elliott followed by Bell, Wallace and Blaney while Truex, Byron, Hamlin, Reddick and Stenhouse were in the top 10. 

    Just then, the caution flew when Wallace spun through the Turn 4 infield and he was quick to nurse his car to his pit stall with the right-front tire flat. During the caution period, the leaders returned to pit road as Elliott retained the top spot after exiting in first.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 131, Elliott and Chastain dueled for the lead until Elliott retained the lead as the field behind scrambled for positions.

    On Lap 145, the caution returned when Cindric blew a left-rear tire and backed his No. 2 Menards Ford Mustang hard into the Turn 3 outside wall. During the caution period, nearly the entire field led by Elliott returned to pit road and Elliott exited with the top spot followed by Chastain, Kurt Busch, Truex, Reddick and Erik Jones while Blaney and Larson remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Bell was penalized due to a crew member jumping over the wall too soon while Stenhouse and Gilliland were penalized for speeding on pit road.

    On Lap 151, the race proceeded under green as Blaney and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, Blaney held a brief advantage through the first two turns until Elliott muscled his way back into the lead through Turns 3 and 4. With Elliott checking out, Chastain moved back into the runner-up spot followed by Blaney, Kurt Busch and Reddick while Larson fell back to sixth.

    By Lap 160, Elliott was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Chastain while Kurt Busch, Blaney, Reddick, Briscoe, Logano, Suarez, Hamlin and Larson were in the top 10. By then, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Byron, Erik Jones and Michael McDowell were in the top 15 while Bowman was in 16th. By then, Brad Keselowski was in the top 20 while Wallace was in 22nd behind Austin Dillon.

    Then on Lap 165, the caution flew when Larson got loose and spun his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through the Turn 4 infield as he was dodged by Harvick. Under caution, some led by Blaney pitted while the rest led by Elliott remained on the track.

    When the race proceeded under green on Lap 170, Chastain used the inside lane to his advantage as he cleared Elliott to lead while Kurt Busch, Reddick, Briscoe and Suarez battled towards the front. Soon after, Trackhouse Racing’s Chastain and Suarez battled for the lead with the former retaining the top spot. 

    At the Lap 175 mark, Chastain was leading by nearly three-tenths of a second over teammate Suarez while Elliott, Briscoe and Kurt Busch were in the top five. Reddick was in sixth ahead of Logano, Byron and Hamlin while Buescher and Truex challenged spots in the top 10.

    Eleven laps later, the caution flew when Elliott got loose and briefly touched the outside wall between Turns 1 and 2 before he spun through the Turn 4 infield. Under caution, some led by Kurt Busch while the rest led by Chastain remained on the track.

    With nine laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green and Chastain took off with the lead ahead of Suarez and Briscoe. Shortly after, however, the caution returned when Blaney hit the apron, got loose and spun as he ignited a multi-car wreck that collected Kurt Busch, Keselowski, McDowell, Byron, Harvick, Hamlin, Gragson, Truex, Harrison Burton, Gilliland and Wallace.

    Following an extensive cleanup, the race restarted under green with four laps remaining in the second stage. At the front, teammates Chastain and Suarez battled for the lead until Suarez managed to pull ahead through Turns 3 and 4. Behind, Erik Jones was in third place followed by Briscoe and Stenhouse.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 200, Suarez managed to fend off teammate Chastain and Erik Jones to captured his second stage victory of the season. Chastain held off Erik Jones to settle in second followed by Briscoe, Stenhouse, Logano, Harvick, Reddick, Truex and Bell.

    During the stage break, the race was placed on a brief hiatus and the NASCAR community paused for a moment of silence to pay tribute in remembrance of the fallen servicemen and women on Memorial Day weekend. When the field returned to pit road for service, Suarez retained the lead after exiting with the top spot followed by Chastain, Briscoe, Erik Jones, Reddick and Harvick. Back on the track, however, names like Logano, Kyle Busch, Truex, Hamlin and Bell chose to restart at the front without pitting.

    The third stage started on Lap 208 as Logano and Truex, both of whom did not pit, occupied the front row. At the start, Logano rocketed his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang clear of the field with the lead while teammates Kyle Busch and Truex battled for the runner-up spot ahead of Hamlin and Chastain while Bell slipped to sixth.

    Six laps later, Suarez reassumed the lead over Logano as he brought teammate Chastain with him. Behind, Briscoe overtook Truex for fifth while Kyle Busch was in fourth.

    Then on Lap 220, the caution flew when Harvick, who was just overtaken by Stenhouse for 11th place, got loose and scraped the outside wall through Turns 1 and 2, an incident that prompted Harvick to express his displeasure to Stenhouse under caution. Soon after, some led by Suarez returned to pit road for service while the rest led by Chastain remained on the track.

    Another four laps later, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Chastain retained the lead ahead of Logano while Briscoe, Kyle Busch and Bell occupied the top five.

    By Lap 235, Chastain extended his advantage to nearly two seconds over Logano while Briscoe, Suarez and Kyle Busch were in the top five. Bell was in sixth ahead of Stenhouse, Hamlin, Reddick and Noah Gragson while Larson was in 11th ahead of Harvick, Truex, Buescher, McDowell and Erik Jones.

    At the Lap 250 mark, Chastain continued to lead by more than half a second over teammate Suarez while Briscoe, Logano, Bell, Kyle Busch Stenhouse, Hamlin, Reddick and Harvick were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Larson and Truex remained in the top 15 while Erik Jones, Austin Dillon and Almirola were running in the top 20.

    Two laps later, Suarez overtook teammate Chastain to return to the lead. Not long after, however, the caution flew when Gragson spun his No. 16 Charlotte Knights Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through the Turn 4 infield. Under caution, the leaders led by Suarez pitted and Chastain reassumed the lead upon exiting pit road ahead of Briscoe, Reddick, Buescher, Hamlin, Stenhouse and the field. Following the pit stops, Kyle Busch was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

    When the race resumed under green on Lap 258, Chastain cleared the field entering the first turn to lead ahead of Briscoe and Reddick. Two laps later, however, Briscoe hustled his No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang to the lead from Turns 3 and 4, but Chastain returned the favor and cleared Briscoe for the lead during the following lap. While Chastain, Briscoe and Reddick battled for the lead, Larson rallied his way up to fifth behind Buescher.

    By Lap 275, Chastain continued to lead by more than a second over Briscoe and Larson while Reddick and Hamlin were in the top five. Suarez was in sixth followed by Buescher, Logano, Cole Custer and Stenhouse. Prior to this, Bell made a pit stop under green after suffering a flat tire and falling off the pace.

    With 10 laps remaining in the third stage, Chastain remained as the leader by a healthy margin over Briscoe while Kyle Busch pitted under green due to an issue to the right rear of Busch’s car.

    When the third stage concluded on Lap 300, Chastain captured his fourth stage victory of the season. Briscoe settled in second, trailing by more than two seconds, while Larson, Reddick, Suarez, Logano, Custer, Buescher, Austin Dillon and Hamlin were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Reddick exited with the top spot followed by Chastain, Larson, Briscoe, Custer and Buescher.

    With 93 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Reddick took off with the lead on the inside lane in front of Chastain while Custer and Larson battled for third place. 

    With 77 laps remaining, the battle for the lead ignited as Chastain dueled and overtook Reddick for the lead through the fronstretch.

    Nearing the final 60 laps of the event, the caution flew due to debris in Turn 1 when Reddick cut a left-tire tire as he limped his No. 8 Cheddar’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 back to pit road. At the moment of caution, Chastain was leading by more than two seconds over Larson while Suarez, Briscoe and Custer were in the top five. 

    Under caution, the leaders led by Chastain pitted as Chastain retained the lead followed by Larson, Briscoe, Custer, Austin Dillon and Bell.

    Down to the final 55 laps of the event, the race restarted under green as Chastain and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, Chastain managed to pull away from Larson and the field to retain the lead.

    Then as the field made its way to the frontstretch, the caution flew for a major wreck when Suarez, who made the slightest of contact in front of Briscoe, got loose and slipped sideways in front of the field. As the field scattered, he was hit by Todd Gilliland and Buescher, who looped around the frontstretch grass before his No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang went airborne and barrel rolled multiple times before coming to rest on his roof. Despite the incident, all competitors, including Buescher, emerged uninjured.

    Following a red flag period of 11 minutes, the race restarted under green with 48 laps remaining. At the start, Chastain took the lead before Larson muscled his way to the front two laps later. Another lap later, Briscoe made his way into the runner-up spot as he went to work to pursue Larson for the lead.

    With 40 laps remaining, Larson was leading by nearly eight-tenths of a second over Briscoe while Chastain, Logano and Hamlin occupied the top five. 

    Ten laps later, Larson extended his advantage to more than a second over Briscoe while Chastain, Hamlin and Custer were in the top five. Behind, Logano fell back to sixth ahead of Kyle Busch, Bell, Erik Jones and Austin Dillon.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Larson continued to lead while runner-up Briscoe only trailed by six-tenths of a second. Chastain, Hamlin and Custer remained in the top five ahead of Logano, Bell, Kyle Busch, Erik Jones and Austin Dillon while Truex, Harvick, Almirola, Stenhouse, McDowell, Ty Dillon and Harrison Burton were scored on the lead lap.

    Five laps later, Briscoe cut the deficit down to two-tenths of a second over Larson with the latter still leading while the former kept the leader within his sight.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Larson retained the lead by three-tenths of a second over Briscoe while third-place Chastain trailed by more than two seconds. Behind, Hamlin and Custer remained in the top five.

    With five laps remaining, the battle for the lead ignited as Briscoe closed in and challenged Larson for the top spot. As both went dead even when the field returned to the frontstretch, Briscoe tried to squeeze himself ahead, but Larson retained the lead on the outside lane. 

    Then with two laps remaining, the caution flew when Briscoe, who made another move beneath Larson in another bid for the lead, got loose and spun from the outside wall to below the apron in Turn 1 as he punctured his tires. Briscoe’s incident was enough for the event to be sent into overtime as Chastain, Hamlin, Custer and Logano moved into the top five.

    Under caution, the leaders led by Larson pitted as Larson, Chastain, Logano and Stenhouse opted for a two-tire pit stop while the rest took four tires.

    At the start of the first overtime attempt, Larson and Chastain dueled dead even for the lead entering the first turn until Larson cleared the field entering the backstretch. As the field fanned out and scrambled for positions, Austin Dillon suddenly bolted his way towards the front and was able to draw himself even with Larson in a bid for the lead through Turn 3. 

    Then entering the frontstretch, Chastain and Hamlin drew Larson and Austin Dillon into a four-wide battle for the lead until Dillon made contact with Larson and spun in the middle of the field as he made contact with the wall. In the process, Larson, Logano and Chastain clipped one another and were sent spinning and sliding sideways along with Custer, Truex and Stenhouse while Hamlin escaped with the lead followed by Chastain, Kyle Busch, Harvick, Stenhouse and McDowell. With the wreck occurring just before the final lap could initiate, the field was sent into another overtime attempt.

    At the start of the second overtime attempt, Hamlin rocketed with the lead on the inside lane and was quickly pressured by teammate Kyle Busch for the lead while Chastain was losing ground and speed due to suffering front-nose damage from the previous incident.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin dueled for the lead dead even until Hamlin managed to pull ahead through Turns 1 and 2. Though Kyle Busch kept Hamlin close to his front bumper, he could not execute a final lap pass for the win as Hamlin claimed the checkered flag by 0.119 seconds to win for the first time at Charlotte and in the Coca-Cola 600 in his illustrious Cup career.

    In addition, Hamlin notched his second victory of the season since winning at Richmond Raceway in early April, thus becoming the third multi-winner of this year’s Cup season, and his 48th career win in the NASCAR Cup Series, which placed him in a tie with the late NASCAR Hall of Famer Herb Thomas for 16th place on the all-time wins list in the sport’s premier series. Since winning at Richmond in April, Hamlin had finished no higher than fourth during the following seven events prior to the 600. Mired during the seven-race span were four results outside of the top 20.

    Photo by Ted Seminara for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “It’s so special,” Hamlin, who became the newest winner of the 600 since Kyle Larson won it a year ago, said on FOX. “It’s the last big one that’s not on my resume. It meant so much. Man, [I] Can’t thank this whole FedEx team enough. I’ve been a Coke Family driver for 18 years and never have won the Coke 600 before, so this means a lot. Man, we weren’t very good all day and just got ourselves in the right place at the right time. What a battle there.” 

    Teammate Kyle Busch rallied from his early spin and late pit road penalty to finish in the runner-up spot while Harvick, who endured steering issues and a handful of on-track incidents, came home in third place. 

    “We didn’t have a good enough day to even be in that position,” Busch said. “Just a strong fight all night long by this M&M’s team and give honor to those that we remember here on Memorial Day weekend. Appreciate the opportunity of being able to do that. We had [U.S. Army] St. [William R.] Theim on [the car] this weekend. [I] Tried to come out with Victory Lane and honor them, but unfortunately, one spot short.”

    “That was not pretty,” Harvick said. “I think we went to the back eight times tonight, so everybody on our Mobil 1 Ford Mustang did a good job battling. We didn’t necessarily do a good job with everything else, but in the end, came home with a third-place finish. I knew this race was just gonna be a battle of attrition and forever. Almost six hours. ”

    Following his late spin, Briscoe made a late charge to finish fourth, five spots ahead of Larson as Larson rallied from his wreck during the first overtime attempt for a top-10 result while Bell rallied from a late unscheduled pit stop to finish fifth.

    “I was driving 110 percent,” Briscoe said. “I should’ve been only running 90 to 100. I just overstepped. It’s a crown jewel race and it was dangling right there in front of me. I tried too hard. Plain and simple. I was able to drive it in so much farther than Kyle [Larson] almost every time into [Turn] 1. I felt like I went to the same mark I had been. As soon as I went in there, I just got super loose…I saw a Coke 600 win right there in front of me, went for it and obviously, overstepped. To have speed like that’s really good. Wished we could’ve gotten the Mahindra Tractors Ford in Victory Lane, but we were fast and I guess that’s all that matters.”

    “Long race, thankfully,” Larson said. “The first half was a struggle for all of us, but I was especially frustrated with myself. To rebound from that and have a shot to win there late was something to be proud of. Our team fought really hard, so happy with that. Briscoe’s really good that long run there. [I] Wished we would’ve been just a little bit better so he never would’ve gotten to me to work really hard and ultimately, spin. You’re kind of gambling on tire stuff there. We took two [tires] to try and get ourselves the front row, which we did. I think the four tires were just a little bit better than me and [Austin Dillon] got to my inside there through [Turns] 3 and 4. It was just really tight racing off of [Turn] 4…Again, proud of my Hendrick team. The day would’ve been a lot easier if I just didn’t hit the wall yesterday [during practice].”

    “The only reason we got up there is ‘cause everyone crashed at the end of the race and gave us an opportunity,” Bell said. “This Yahoo Camry, just every bit is capable of the guys that beat us. Disappointing day, for sure, because I feel like we had something to contend for the win, but a top five’s nothing to hang our head about.”

    Reddick, Stenhouse, McDowell, Larson and Bowman finished in the top 10. Harrison Burton was the highest-finishing rookie candidate in 11th place, thus notching his second top-15 result in the Cup circuit, while Chastain, who restarted on the front row during the second overtime attempt, fell back to 15th with a damaged front nose from his car.

    There were 31 lead changes for 13 different leaders. The race featured 18 cautions for 90 laps. This marked the longest-held event in NASCAR history at 413 laps (619.5 miles), which occurred in five hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds.

    With 12 races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season stretch, Chase Elliott continues to lead the regular-season standings by 34 over Ross Chastain, 37 over Kyle Busch, 53 over Ryan Blaney and 59 over Martin Truex Jr.

    Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, rookie Austin Cindric and Kurt Busch are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular-season stretch. Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell, Kevin Harvick and Tyler Reddick occupy the remaining spots in the Playoffs as winless competitors while Aric Almirola trails the top-16 cutline by eight points, Austin Dillon trails by 23, Erik Jones trails by 29, Daniel Suarez trails by 49, Chris Buescher trails by 75, Michael McDowell trails by 76, Bubba Wallace trails by 78, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. trails by 83 and Justin Haley trails by 95.

    Results.

    1. Denny Hamlin, 15 laps led

    2. Kyle Busch, 36 laps led

    3. Kevin Harvick

    4. Chase Briscoe, two laps led

    5. Christopher Bell

    6. Tyler Reddick, 19 laps led

    7. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    8. Michael McDowell

    9. Kyle Larson, 51 laps led

    10. Alex Bowman

    11. Harrison Burton

    12. Martin Truex Jr.

    13. Ty Dillon 

    14. Erik Jones

    15. Ross Chastain, 153 laps led, Stage 3 winner

    16. Todd Gilliland

    17. Aric Almirola, one lap down

    18. Cody Ware, one lap down

    19. BJ McLeod, six laps down

    20. Joey Logano – OUT, Accident, nine laps led

    21. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident

    22. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident

    23. Kaz Grala, 13 laps down

    24. Noah Gragson – OUT, Throttle

    25. Daniel Suarez – OUT, Accident, 36 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    26. Chris Buescher – OUT, Accident

    27. Justin Haley – OUT, Engine

    28. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Dvp, one lap led

    29. Ryan Blaney – OUT, Accident, two laps led

    30. Brad Keselowski – OUT, Accident

    31. Kurt Busch – OUT, Accident, two laps led

    32. William Byron – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    33. Chase Elliott – OUT, Dvp, 86 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    34. Austin Cindric – OUT, Accident

    35. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Accident

    36. Josh Bilicki – OUT, Accident

    37. Ryan Preece – OUT, Dvp

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ inaugural event at the World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in Madison, Illinois. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, June 5, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Bristol Dirt

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Bristol Dirt

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Ryan Blaney: Blaney charged from 25th on the starting grid to post a fifth at Bristol, his fourth top-five finish of the year.

    “Ty Dillon’s car was sponsored by ‘Gain,’” Blaney said. “Erik Jones had ‘Tide’ on his car, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s car sported the ‘Irish Spring’ logo. I’m not sure what race teams charge for sponsorship at a dirt race, but you can bet those got ‘taken to the cleaners.’”

    2. Joey Logano: Despite not leading a single lap, Logano was a fixture up front all night at Bristol and finished third.

    “Drivers one and all love racing on the dirt at Bristol,” Logano said. “I think NASCAR should consider some other surfaces to race on, like linoleum, vinyl, tile, or carpet. Just call the event the ‘Floor It 500.’”

    3. Chase Elliott: Elliott started ninth and finished ninth at Bristol, and remains atop the points standings, three points up on Ryan Blaney.

    “I had an incident with Cody Ware in Stage 3,” Elliott said. “He retaliated and gave me a pretty hard bump. Somebody needs to tell that kid who I am because I am a ‘somebody.’ Somebody also needs to tell him who he is, because he’s a ‘nobody.’”

    4. Kyle Busch: Busch ran up front all night at Bristol and stole the win when Chase Briscoe and Tyler Reddick wrecked battling for the win.

    “I don’t have a background in dirt racing,” Busch said. “I grew up on the clean streets of Las Vegas, which are hard, smooth, and paid for with the life savings and crushed hopes of many a failed and addicted gambler.

    “You could say I ‘backed’ into the win at Bristol. You could also say Chase Briscoe ‘backed’ into Tyler Reddick, thus backing me into the win. Either way, I’m back in Victory Lane.”

    5. Chase Briscoe: Briscoe suffered an early flat tire at Bristol but recovered to put himself in position to win on the final lap. But his kamikaze move on race-leader Tyler Reddick backfired, as Briscoe spun himself and Reddick, which allowed Kyle Busch to steal the win.

    “I made it a point to apologize to Tyler,” Briscoe said. “I offered him a handshake, and he graciously accepted. If you ask some of the old school drivers, they’ll tell you that’s the closest us youngsters will come to ‘throwing hands.’”

    6. Alex Bowman: Bowman finished sixth at Bristol.

    “It’s really special racing on Easter,” Bowman said. “Probably more so for Kyle Busch. I’m sure Kyle and his team were resigned to finishing third. But then, all of a sudden, he was in first. And all his stunned followers could say was, ‘Look! He is risen!’

    “And let me apologize for even remotely comparing Jesus to Kyle Busch. As Brad Keselowski might say, ‘You just put the ‘a$$’ in ‘blasphemy.’”

    7. Tyler Reddick: While seemingly headed for his first win, Reddick was wrecked by Chase Briscoe, who spun Reddick while attempting a daring, potential race-winning pass in the final corner. Reddick recovered to finish second, while Briscoe dropped to 22nd as Kyle Busch won.

    “My No. 8 Chevy was great,” Reddick said. “I’d like to thank everyone associated with Richard Childress Racing and 3CHI. RCR brings the speed, and 3CHI brings the weed.

    “I could have tried to be a tough guy and take a swing at Briscoe for wrecking me. But I tried to be the ‘bigger man,’ which is hard because it ain’t easy being the ‘bigger man’ when you’re 5′ 5″ and Briscoe is 6′ 1″ and looks like he’s hiding Tony Stewart under his driver’s suit.”

    8. Kyle Larson: Larson won Stage 1 and came home fourth in the Bristol Dirt Race.

    “I’m totally at home racing on dirt,” Larson said. “In fact, I love it, even though the end result is often a mouthful of dirt. And, it gives me an opportunity to literally ‘wash my mouth out with soap,’ something I’ve done before figuratively.”

    9. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex experienced engine issues at Bristol and struggled to a disappointing 21st.

    “Luck just wasn’t on our side,” Truex said. “It was, however, on the side of my JGR teammate Kyle Busch. Seeing the discrepancy in luck between a good guy like me and a punk like Kyle brings tears of pain to me, and tears of joy to him. That’s why Kyle is considered by many to be a ‘lucky SOB.’

    “That being said, I’d rather be unlucky than be Kyle Busch.”

    10. William Byron: Byron finished 18th in the dirt at Bristol while his three Hendrick Motorsports teammates all placed in the top 10.

    “Racing on dirt is the closest we come to ‘drifting,’” Byron said. “It may not be ‘The Fast And The Furious,’ but I’ll put my driving up against any street racer any day, and I’ll put my acting up against Vin Diesel’s every day.”

  • Kyle Busch claims 60th Cup career win in wild finish at Bristol Dirt Course

    Kyle Busch claims 60th Cup career win in wild finish at Bristol Dirt Course

    In an unexpected turn of events, Kyle Busch benefitted from a final lap incident involving leaders Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe to storm to his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season in the second annual, rain-delayed Food City Dirt Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course on Sunday, April 17.

    The two-time Cup champion from Las Vegas, Nevada, came into Sunday night’s feature on Bristol’s dirt course with five results in the top 10 through the first eight scheduled events. When the final lap of the main event occurred, Busch appeared to have a solid third-place result sealed. Then as Reddick and Briscoe tangled while battling for the win on the final lap, Busch managed to erase his deficit and cycle to the lead ahead of Reddick to capture another win at Thunder Valley and achieve career win No. 60 in NASCAR’s premier series.

    The starting lineup was determined through four 15-lap heat events on Saturday, where the competitors accumulate points for their finishing results and for passes that improved their original starting spots. 

    Despite finishing in the runner-up spot behind Tyler Reddick during the first heat event, Cole Custer earned his first Cup career pole position for the main event after accumulating 16 points, nine for finishing in second place and seven for improving from his ninth-place starting spot. Joining him on the front row was Christopher Bell, who won the second heat event and racked up 14 points, 10 for winning the heat event and four for improving from his fifth-place starting spot.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Custer shot out with a brief early advantage until teammate Chase Briscoe, who qualified in fourth place, challenged and assumed the top spot when the field returned to the start/finish line. As Briscoe led the first lap, Christopher Bell moved his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota TRD Camry into the runner-up spot while Custer fell back to third. Behind, Tyler Reddick and Justin Haley battled for fourth place in front of a hard-charging Kyle Larson in his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Briscoe retained a narrow advantage ahead of Bell while Custer, Reddick and Larson were in the top five. Ty Dillon, who won the fourth and final heat event, was up in sixth place followed by Haley, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch.

    By Lap 12, Custer pitted due to an overheating issue while teammate Kevin Harvick was lapped by the field. Just as Aric Almirola was making a pit stop to have the front grille of his No. 10 Cummins/Rush Truck Center Ford Mustang clean during the following lap, the first caution of the event flew due to mud on the track.

    Under the first caution, the entire field made a mandatory pit stop to have their grilles and windshields clean from the mud and the dirt, with Briscoe retaining the lead ahead of Bell, Reddick, Larson and Haley. By then, teammates Harvick and Custer were pinned a lap behind the leaders despite taking the wave around.

    When the race restarted on Lap 25, Briscoe rocketed away from Bell to retain the lead as Larson also muscled his way into the runner-up spot. At the same time, Ty Dillon battled against Bell for third place while Kyle Busch moved into the top five ahead of Reddick and Austin Dillon.

    By Lap 35, Briscoe was leading by more than half a second over Larson followed by Ty Dillon, Bell, Kyle Busch, Reddick, Austin Dillon, Kurt Busch, Bowman and Haley.

    Just then, trouble struck for the leader Briscoe on Lap 49, who got up on the high banking in Turn 3 and fell off the pace entering Turn 4 while Larson stormed to the lead. Two turns later, Briscoe spun in Turn 2 after cutting a right-rear tire on his No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang.

    On Lap 55, the race restarted under green as Larson retained the lead. Behind, Ty Dillon and Bell battled for second while Austin Dillon and Bowman were up in the top five ahead of Kyle Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry.

    With reports of light rain lingering close to the track under the final 10 laps of the first stage, Larson extended his advantage to eight-tenths of a second ahead of Ty Dillon while Bell, Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch while Bowman, who nearly spun, slipped back to sixth ahead of Joey Logano, Reddick, Blaney and Chris Buescher.

    When the first stage concluded under caution on Lap 75 due to Justin Allgaier wrecking in Turn 3, Larson captured his first stage victory of the season. Ty Dillon settled in second followed by Bell, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch, Bowman, Logano, Reddick, Blaney and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    Under the stage break, some like Daniel Suarez, Ross Chastain and Briscoe remained on the track while the rest of the field led by Larson peeled off the track to pit road for service. By then, Harvick received the free pass to cycle back on the lead lap while Custer was still pinned a lap behind.

    The second stage started on Lap 75 as teammates Suarez and Chastain occupied the front row. At the start, Suarez rocketed with the lead ahead of Larson, who overtook Chastain for the runner-up spot while Briscoe and Bell battled in the top five. Behind, Kyle Busch was in sixth ahead of Ty and Austin Dillon.

    On Lap 91, the caution flew when Alex Bowman got loose and spun his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 off the front nose of Chris Buescher in Turn 4. Under the caution period, Hamlin took his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry to the garage due to a blown engine as he suffered his fourth DNF of the season.

    Six laps later, the race proceeded under green as Suarez retained the lead ahead of Larson and the field. Not long after, however, the caution returned for a multi-car pileup on the backstretch that involved Corey LaJoie, Noah Gragson, Bowman and Harvick, who retired his No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang in the garage.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 105, teammates Suarez and Chastain dueled for the lead with the former retaining the top spot while Kyle Busch tried to split both Trackhouse Racing teammates. 

    By Lap 110, Trackhouse teammates Suarez and Chastain battled for the lead while Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Bell dueled for third place. Briscoe, meanwhile, was in fifth ahead of the field. 

    Three laps later, the caution returned when Brad Keselowski made contact against Austin Dillon’s No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through Turns 1 and 2, which got Keselowski sideways as he spun while barely clipping former teammate Ryan Blaney.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 119, Suarez retained the lead while Bell muscled his way into the runner-up spot as he started to put pressure on Suarez for the lead.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 125, Suarez was leading ahead of Bell, Larson, Briscoe and Kyle Busch while Chastain, Chase Elliott, Logano, Ty Dillon and Blaney were in the top 10. Then during the following lap, the caution flew due to debris reported on the backstretch.

    By Lap 131, the race restarted under green as Suarez retained the lead while Briscoe issued a challenge for the lead. The caution, however, flew due to an incident on the backstretch that involved LaJoie, Harrison Burton and Bubba Wallace,

    On Lap 139, the race restarted under green. At the start, Suarez was locked in a three-wide battle with Bell and Briscoe before Briscoe assumed the top spot. In the process, Bell moved up to second while Suarez fell back to third place ahead of Chase Elliott.

    By Lap 145, Briscoe was leading by more than four-tenths of a second over Bell while Suarez, Elliott and Logano were in the top five.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 150, Briscoe captured his first stage victory of the season. Bell settled in second followed by Suarez, Elliott, Kyle Busch, Larson, Logano, Michael McDowell, Blaney and Reddick.

    Under the stage break, names like Kyle Busch, Logano, Blaney, Reddick, Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Haley, William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Buescher, rookie Harrison Burton, Bowman, JJ Yeley, Aric Almirola, rookie Austin Cindric and Cody Ware remained on the track while the rest led by Briscoe pitted.

    Following the pit stop procedures, the race was red-flagged due to precipitation. At the moment of the event’s hiatus, Briscoe was scored the leader. When the red flag was lifted following an extensive delay and the race proceeded under caution, Kyle Busch cycled to the lead. As the competitors made their way back on the track, Ross Chastain, who noted that his engine expired during the red flag period, retired.

    With 100 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green. At the start, Kyle Busch was leading until Tyler Reddick made his way to the front. 

    Eleven laps later, the caution flew due to a multi-car stack-up and wreck in Turn 3 that involved Cody Ware, Elliott, Suarez, Martin Truex Jr. and Stenhouse.

    With 83 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green as Reddick retained the lead ahead of Logano, Blaney, Austin Dillon and the field. It took only one lap, however, for the caution to return when Erik Jones made contact with Stenhouse entering Turn 2 before spinning his No. 43 Tide Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 across the outside wall.

    Down to the final 75 laps, the race proceeded under green as Reddick retained the lead ahead of Logano, Austin Dillon and the field. The caution, however, returned three laps later when rookie Todd Gilliland got loose and spun in Turn 2.

    Another five laps later, the race restarted under green and it was Reddick who fended off the pack and retained the lead. 

    With 43 laps remaining, the caution returned when Stenhouse spun for the second time in the event. It then took only three laps for the event to restart under green.

    Then with 39 laps remaining, trouble ignited for Austin Dillon when he fell off the pace in Turn 4 and caused the field to scramble to avoid hitting him. In the midst of the scramble, JJ Yeley barely made contact with Dillon while Kurt Busch, who veered dead right to avoid hitting Dillon, ended up turning himself into the outside wall as he also collected Almirola.

    During the caution period, the race was red-flagged for a second time due to another round of precipitation. 

    When the red flag lifted and the race restarted with 24 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Reddick retained the lead ahead of Kyle Busch, Logano, Briscoe, Blaney, Bell and the field.

    Under the final 20 laps, Briscoe and Kyle Busch engaged in a fierce battle for the runner-up spot while Reddick continued to lead. 

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Reddick, who continued to lead, had Briscoe starting to erase his deficit as he was half a second behind.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Reddick was ahead by less than two-tenths of a second over Briscoe, who was right behind the rear bumper of Reddick’s No. 8 3Chi Chevrolet. Through Turns 1 and 2, Reddick retained the lead. Then in Turn 3, Briscoe made a final lap dive beneath Reddick’s car in a bid for the lead, but slipped sideways in the dirt and clipped Reddick in the process as both spun from the top to the bottom lane in Turn 3. 

    Following a full 360 spin, Reddick tried to limp to the finish line with the lead while Briscoe came to a rest backward below the apron. Just as Reddick had victory within his grasp, Kyle Busch, who was trailing the two leaders by less than four seconds at the start of the final lap, managed to edge Reddick at the finish line to win by 0.330 seconds. 

    With his first victory of the season and by becoming the eighth different winner through the first nine events of the 2022 season, Kyle Busch notched his 60th NASCAR Cup Series career win in his 615th series start, which kept him in ninth place on the all-time Cup wins list. In addition, Busch tied seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty’s record of achieving at least one Cup victory in 18 consecutive seasons. He also achieved his ninth Cup victory at Bristol Motor Speedway, but first on dirt. 

    Photo by Christian Gardner for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “We got one,” Busch, who only the final lap of 250, said on FOX. “It doesn’t matter how you get them. It’s all about getting them. Man, I feel like Dale Earnhardt Sr. right now. This is awesome. I didn’t even do anything. Just a testament to our team, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota, M&M’s…[The car] being fast. Fast enough to stay in contention. Fast enough to see those guys. I don’t know why we just couldn’t fire off after the rain. Every time it rained, both times, it just would not fire. It took it about 20 laps to get going. Overall, just real pumped to be back. Real pumped to get a win. This one means a lot. I could win on any surface here at Bristol. Bring it on, baby!”

    Reddick, who led a race-high 99 laps and was a few feet away from achieving his first Cup career win, settled in a disappointing second place for the fourth time in his career while Briscoe, who led 59 laps and rallied from his early spin to contend for his second Cup triumph, tumbled down the leaderboard to 22nd. Following the event, both competitors managed to share their perspectives on the incident and shake hands in the process.

    “I don’t think I did everything right, to be honest with you,” Reddick said. “Briscoe was able to run me back down there. Just looking at it, I should have done a little bit better job of just…I don’t know. I shouldn’t have let him get that close. He ran me back down. Worked really hard to do that. I mean, you’re racing on dirt; going for the move on the final corner. It’s everything that as a driver you hope to battle for in his situation. Made it really exciting for the fans. It does suck, but we were able to finish second still. I’m being honest. I should have done a better job and pulled away so he wasn’t in range to try to make that move. That’s how I look at it.”

    Logano, the reigning Bristol Dirt Course winner, came home in third place as Larson and Blaney finished in the top five. Rounding out the top 10 were Bowman, Bell, Elliott, McDowell and Ty Dillon.

    There were six lead changes among five different drivers. The race featured 14 cautions for 82 laps. 

    With his eighth-place finish, Chase Elliott continues to lead the regular-season standings by three points over Ryan Blaney, 21 over Joey Logano, 29 over William Byron and 51 over both Alex Bowman and Kyle Busch.

    Results.

    1. Kyle Busch, one lap led

    2. Tyler Reddick, 99 laps led

    3. Joey Logano

    4. Kyle Larson, 27 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    5. Ryan Blaney

    6. Alex Bowman 

    7. Christopher Bell

    8. Chase Elliott 

    9. Michael McDowell

    10. Ty Dillon

    11. Brad Keselowski

    12. Daniel Suarez, 64 laps led

    13. Cole Custer

    14. Justin Haley

    15. Chris Buescher

    16. Austin Cindric

    17. Todd Gilliland

    18. William Byron

    19. Corey LaJoie 

    20. Harrison Burton 

    21. Martin Truex Jr.

    22. Chase Briscoe, 59 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    23. Aric Almirola

    24. Erik Jones

    25. Josh Williams

    26. Cody Ware

    27. Noah Gragson, two laps down

    28. Bubba Wallace, five laps down

    29. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 10 laps down

    30. JJ Yeley – OUT, Accident

    31. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident

    32. Kurt Busch – OUT, Accident

    33. Ross Chastain – OUT, Engine

    34. Kevin Harvick – OUT, Accident

    35. Denny Hamlin – OUT, Engine

    36. Justin Allgaier – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Talladega Superspeedway, the first of two visits to the 2.66-mile superspeedway venue in Lincoln, Alabama, for the series, which is scheduled to occur on Sunday, April 24. The coverage for the event is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Martinsville

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Martinsville

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. William Byron: Byron held off Joey Logano in overtime at Martinsville to win the Blu-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400, Byron’s second straight win.

    “I also won the Truck race on Thursday,” Byron said “which means I left Martinsville with two grandfather clocks. It’s the greatest example of ‘two-timing’ in NASCAR since Jeff Gordon’s marriage.”

    2. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished fourth at Martinsville, posting his third top-five of the year.

    “I’m still looking for my first win,” Blaney said. “I’m sure it will come in due time. Obviously, it’s all about confidence, and I’m extremely confident, even though I’m winless. Who’s better than Ryan Blaney? ‘No won.’”

    3. Chase Elliott: Elliott started on the pole and led the first 185 laps, winning the first two stages before fading late to finish 10th.

    “It was like Christmas in April at Martinsville,” Elliott said. “Why do I say that? Because there was wintry weather and a boring ‘parade.’”

    4. Joey Logano: Logano was running second at the overtime restart at Martinsville, but couldn’t get around William Byron, who controlled the final two laps for the win. Logano’s runner-up finish left him fourth in the points standings, 27 behind Chase Elliott.

    “I got close enough to bump Byron once,” Logano said. “If I had it to do over, I would have bumped him harder. I’m pretty disappointed that I didn’t knock Byron out of the way. Just think, all this time, Matt Kenseth thought I had learned my lesson.”

    5. Ross Chastain: Chastain came home fifth at Martinsville, and is fifth in the points standings, 42 out of first.

    “The start of the race was delayed for an hour due to rain and sleet,” Chastain said. “What else is cold and wet and lasts an hour at Martinsville? A 12-pack.”

    6. Chase Briscoe: Briscoe came home ninth at Martinsville.

    “Dale Earnhardt Jr. raced in Friday’s Xfinity race,” Briscoe said, “and shared a few beers with some fellow drivers after the race. That story is wholesomely known as Dale Earnhardt’s alcohol ‘content,’ and has nothing to do with how much he drank.”

    7. Alex Bowman: Bowman finished 12th at Martinsville.

    “I can’t wait for the Bristol Dirt Race on Sunday,” Bowman said. “And, it also takes place on Easter Sunday. It’s a race fan’s dream: Bristol, on dirt, on Easter. It’s practically the Holy Trinity.’”

    8. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex struggled at Martinsville, finishing 22nd.

    “It wasn’t the greatest day for Joe Gibbs Racing,” Truex said. “But it wasn’t a lost weekend for Joe Gibbs. On Friday, he got to witness his grandson Ty, who was wearing his helmet, punch Sam Mayer, who wasn’t wearing his helmet.

    9. Aric Almirola: Almirola finished eighth at Martinsville, posting his first top 10 since Las Vegas on March 6.

    “Darrell Waltrip will serve as the guest analyst for Fox at the upcoming Bristol Dirt Race,” Almirola said. “So, the tiny broadcast booth he’ll share with Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer at the Coliseum will temporarily be known as the ‘Tide Pod.’”

    10. Kyle Busch: Busch finished seventh at Martinville, as the remaining three Joe Gibbs Racing drivers struggled, all finishing 20th or worse.

    “How about that post-Xfinity race brawl between Ty Gibbs and Sam Mayer?” Busch said. “I’ve been on both sides of that situation. I can relate to Ty’s feelings because I’ve been mad enough to take a swing at a fellow driver. I can relate to Sam’s predicament because I also have a punchable face.”

  • Byron becomes first repeat Cup winner of 2022 with dominant Martinsville victory

    Byron becomes first repeat Cup winner of 2022 with dominant Martinsville victory

    Having a fast and strong race car when it mattered from start to finish, including through a late overtime shootout, William Byron became the first repeat winner in the early stages of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series after scoring a dominant victory in the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, April 9.

    The 24-year-old Byron from Charlotte, North Carolina, led three times for 212 of 403 laps as he fended off a late challenge from Joey Logano through an overtime attempt to grab his second Cup victory of the season and his second grandfather clock trophy two days after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Martinsville, which marked his first NASCAR national touring series victory at the Paperclip-shaped short track in Ridgeway, Virginia.

    With on-track qualifying occurring on Friday, Chase Elliott claimed his first pole position of the season after recording a pole-winning lap at 96.151 mph in 19.694 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Aric Almirola, who posted a fast qualifying lap at 95.641 mph in 19.799 seconds.

    When the green flag waved and the race started amid a delay due to rain, Elliott launched his No. 9 Llumar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the front and clear of the field entering the first turn. He then went on to lead the first lap ahead of Aric Almirola, Cole Custer and the field. During the opening lap, AJ Allmendinger served a drive-through penalty through pit road due to his No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 failing pre-qualifying inspection three times on Friday.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Elliott was leading by more than a second over Custer followed by William Byron, Christopher Bell and Almirola while Chris Buescher, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson were in the top 10.

    Fifteen laps later, Elliott continued to lead by less than two seconds over Custer’s No. 41 Haas Ford Mustang while third-place Byron trailed by two seconds in his No. 24 Raptor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. By then and with Elliott still leading, Hendrick Motorsports became the first Cup team to lead 10,000 laps at a single track.

    By the Lap 50 mark, Elliott, who was approaching lapped traffic, remained the leader by more than two seconds over teammate Byron followed by Custer, Bell and Almirola while Buescher, Harvick, Keselowski, Larson and Joey Logano were in the top 10. Rookie Austin Cindric trailed in 11th followed by Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Kurt Busch, Bubba Wallace, Chase Briscoe, rookie Todd Gilliland, Austin Dillon and Justin Haley. Tyler Reddick was mired in 21st ahead of Ross Chastain, Martin Truex Jr., Michael McDowell, Erik Jones, Denny Hamlin, Daniel Suárez, rookie Harrison Burton, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Corey LaJoie.

    Twenty laps later, the battle for the lead intensified as Byron caught and pressured teammate Elliott for the lead, though the former could not find a way to navigate his way around his teammate. By then, Hamlin, who was in 25th place behind Michael McDowell and Erik Jones, was trying to remain on the lead lap.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 80, Elliott, who was able to navigate his way through lapped traffic while also putting McDowell, Hamlin, Daniel Suárez and Erik Jones a lap down, captured his first stage victory of the season. Teammate Byron settled in second followed by Custer, Bell, Almirola, Harvick, Blaney, Logano, Cindric and Kurt Busch.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Elliott retained the lead after exiting pit road with the lead followed by teammate Byron, Bell, Almirola, Custer and Logano. Following the pit stops, Bubba Wallace was penalized for having a crew member jump over the pit wall too soon. In addition, Justin Haley and Brad Keselowski were penalized for having equipment over the wall too soon.

    The second stage started on Lap 91 as teammates Elliott and Byron occupied the front row. At the start, Elliott took off with the lead while Byron and Custer battled for the runner-up spot. Behind, Bell and Logano dueled for fourth place in front of Almirola while Blaney moved up to seventh in front of teammate Cindric, Bowman, Harvick, Austin Dillon and Kurt Busch.

    At the Lap 100 mark, Elliott was leading by more than a second over teammate Byron while Custer, Bell and Logano settled in the top five. Meanwhile, Hamlin and Erik Jones were battling for the 24th-place spot while both were scored two laps behind the leaders.

    Twenty-five laps later, Elliott continued to lead by nearly seven-tenths of a second over teammate Byron followed by Custer, Bell, Logano, Almirola, Blaney, Cindric, Harvick and Austin Dillon. By then, Larson was in 11th ahead of Kurt Busch, Bowman, Briscoe, Kyle Busch, Truex, Chastain, Buescher, Reddick and Gilliland. Bubba Wallace was mired in 23rd behind Keselowski while Hamlin was pinned in 25th place, the second competitor a lap behind Erik Jones.

    Through the first 150 scheduled laps, Elliott remained as the leader despite having his advantage decreased to four-tenths of a second over teammate Byron. By then, 22 of 36 competitors were scored on the lead lap while names like McDowell, Erik Jones, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Denny Hamlin, Harrison Burton, Daniel Suárez, AJ Allmendinger, Ty Dillon, Corey LaJoie and Justin Haley were lapped.

    By Lap 165, Elliott stabilized his advantage to nearly half a second over teammate Byron. Behind, Team Penske’s Logano and Blaney moved into third and fourth while Custer was being pressured by Bell and Almirola for more.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 180, Elliott, who was navigating his way through lapped traffic, claimed his second consecutive stage victory of the event and of the season. Teammate Byron settled in second followed by Logano, Blaney, Custer, Austin Dillon, Almirola, Cindric, Bell and Harvick.

    Under the stage break, the leaders returned to pit road and Byron managed to emerge out in front of teammate Elliott for the first time after exiting with the top spot followed by Blaney, Logan, Austin Dillon and Almirola. During the pit stops, Custer was penalized for hitting a loose tire while exiting his pit stall. In addition, Stenhouse was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    With 208 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Byron retained the lead ahead of Elliott and Logano while Blaney followed in pursuit. Behind, Austin Dillon was in fifth followed by Bell, Almirola, Kurt Busch, Cindric and Larson. Way behind the field, a brief stack-up occurred that started with Larson and involved Harvick, Kyle Busch, Bowman, Chastain and Briscoe, with the latter two making contact with Bowman, Busch and Harvick. 

    With less than 200 laps remaining and the race surpassing its halfway mark, Byron was out in front by seven-tenths of a second over teammate Elliott followed by Logano, Blaney and Austin Dillon while Bell, Almirola, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch and Cindric were in the top 10.

    Fifty laps later, Byron continued to lead by less than three-tenths of a second over teammate Elliott, who started to reel in on his Hendrick Motorsports teammate for the top spot, while Logano, Blaney and Austin Dillon stabilized themselves in the top five. By then, 22 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    Another 25 laps later, Byron extended his advantage to more than a second over teammate Elliott while the third- and fourth-place competitors of Logano and Blaney trailed by less than two seconds. Austin Dillon, meanwhile, was still in fifth place while trailing by more than three seconds.

    A few laps later, Logano made contact with Elliott as Logano moved into the runner-up spot followed by Blaney and Austin Dillon while Elliott, who was trapped on the outside lane, fell back to fifth place. By then, Allmendinger, who was two laps behind, pitted.

    Nearing the final 110 laps of the event, green flag pit stops ensued as Kyle Busch pitted his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry. Shortly after, teammate Martin Truex Jr. pitted his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota TRD Camry, but he eventually returned to pit for a second time due to a flat right-front tire. Bowman also pitted along with Keselowski, Reddick, Bell, Elliott, Kurt Busch, Bubba Wallace, Almirola, Harvick, Larson, Logano, Austin Dillon, Cindric, Byron and others. Following the pit stops, Bell was penalized for having a crew member over the pit wall too soon along with Larson, who sped on pit road.

    With 91 laps remaining, Byron cycled back to the lead after Blaney pitted. Logano cycled back into the runner-up spot followed by Austin Dillon and Elliott while Blaney settled in fifth. 

    A few laps later, the caution flew when Hamlin stalled his No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota TRD Camry through the frontstretch after running out of fuel.

    Under caution, some like Elliott, Kyle Busch, Harvick, Erik Jones, Buescher, Bowman and Wallace pitted while the rest led by Byron remained on the track.

    With 80 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green as Byron and Austin Dillon occupied the front row. At the start, Byron fended off Dillon to retain the lead while Dillon managed to fend off Logano for the runner-up spot. Behind, a flurry of battles ignited within the pack as Blaney and Kurt Busch battled for fourth place in front of Almirola, who ran into the rear of Blaney’s No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang, while Chastain, Kyle Busch, Briscoe and Cindric duked for seventh place.

    Fifteen laps later, Byron stabilized his advantage to nearly seven-tenths of a second over Austin Dillon followed by Logano, Kurt Busch and Blaney while Almirola, Chastain, Kyle Busch, Briscoe and Reddick were in the top 10. By then, Elliott was in 11th followed by Cindric, Erik Jones, Wallace, Bowman, Buescher and Harvick, who got bumped by Elliott earlier and trapped on the outside lane as he lost a bevy of spots.

    Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Byron continued to lead by more than a second over Austin Dillon followed by Logano, Kurt Busch, Blaney, Chastain, Almirola, Kyle Busch, Briscoe and Reddick.

    Twenty laps later, Byron stabilized his advantage to a little above one-and-a-half seconds over Austin Dillon while Logano, Kurt Busch and Blaney remained in the top five. 

    With 20 laps remaining, Byron remained as the leader by less than two seconds over Austin Dillon while third-place Logano trailed by more than two seconds. 

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Byron was leading by more than two seconds over Austin Dillon followed by Logano, Kurt Busch and Blaney while Chastain, Almirola, Briscoe, Kyle Busch and Elliott were in the top 10. Cindric was in 11th ahead of Erik Jones, Wallace, Bowman, Harvick, Reddick, Keselowski and Buescher, all of whom were on the lead lap.

    Just then, the caution flew with six laps remaining when Todd Gilliland locked up his front tires and hit the wall between Turns 3 and 4. The caution all but erased Byron’s advantage of more than two seconds over Austin Dillon as the field stacked up under a cautious pace. It also sent the event into overtime.

    Under caution, some led by Kyle Busch pitted while the rest led by Byron remained on the track.

    During the first overtime attempt, Byron and Logano occupied the front row followed by Austin Dillon, Blaney, Kurt Busch and Chastain. At the start, Byron dueled with Logano through the first turn until Byron managed to clear Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang to retain the lead through the backstretch and entering Turns 3 and 4.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Byron continued to lead by a narrow margin over Logano while Austin Dillon followed in pursuit. Through the final circuit, Logano drew himself close to the rear bumper of Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet, but he could not execute a bump-and-run move through Turns 3 and 4 as Byron managed to pull away and fend off Logano to claim his second victory of the weekend and add another grandfather clock to his trophy case. 

    In addition to claiming his second victory of the season and second of the weekend at Martinsville, Byron claimed his fourth career win in NASCAR’s premier series in his 152nd career start. The victory was also the 27th at Martinsville for Hendrick Motorsports as HMS’ No. 24 car returned to Victory Lane at the Paperclip-shaped short track since Jeff Gordon won in November 2015.

    “Man, it feels awesome,” Byron said on FS1. “I knew when that last caution came out, I thought everybody behind us would pit. Luckily, we stayed out. We were aggressive. We felt like we could re-fire on the tires and be OK. You got one of the most aggressive guys behind you and Logano. I chattered the tires in [Turns] 3 and 4 and left the bottom [lane] open, but [I] was able to block my exit and get a good drive off.” 

    This one’s for my mom,” Byron added. “This same weekend last year, she had a mini-stroke and was diagnosed with brain cancer. It means a lot to have her here. It’s been a crazy year, but she’s doing great. Thanks, everybody for the support. Kind of felt like she was riding there with me. It’s cool to have her here and I’m definitely gonna enjoy this one.”

    Logano, who was within striking distance of claiming his first victory of the season, settled in second place followed by Austin Dillon, who has not won in the Cup Series since winning at Texas Motor Speedway in July 2020.

    “It was a good race down to the end,” Logano said. “[It was] Really hard to pass…That final restart there, I had a front row. That’s what you can ask for. Got cleared to second, and Willy [Byron] kind of messed up off of [Turn] 4 and let me get to him, and he did a really good job of brake-checking…He did what he was supposed to do, and kind of got me all stuffed up behind him, and I couldn’t accelerate off the corner and be as close as I needed to be down into [Turn] 3 to execute the ol’ bump-and-run. [I] Couldn’t get quite to him, but his corner entry was really strong, too, which I think allowed him to get in there pretty strong. Overall, the Shell/Pennzoil Mustang had a solid run. Just hate being that close to winning and not making it happen. But big points today, and it just stings. Second just sucks sometimes, that’s all.”

    “Well, I’m a little bummed,” Dillon added. “I’d like to pride myself in when we get in those situations is being clutch. That was anything but that on that last restart. I spun the tires pretty good through the gears. Once I got back in line there, I had some grip and I feel like we had good forward drive all night long. I just felt like if we got through the gears, we’re gonna have a shot at them, but our Get Bioethanol Chevy was really fast. We’ve been working our tails off. I’m not gonna say we haven’t because we’ve been in the simulator. We’ve been working really hard to make these cars as good as possible. We wanna get [Richard Childress Racing] a win and that’s what we’re here racing for. Thank the good Lord for bringing us a good run. That was a lot of fun.”

    Blaney and Chastain finished in the top five while Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Almirola, Briscoe and Elliott completed the top 10 on the track. 

    There were five lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 36 laps.

    With his 10th-place result, Chase Elliott leads the regular-season standings by three points over Ryan Blaney, 12 over teammate William Byron, 27 over Joey Logano, 42 over Ross Chastain and 51 over both Alex Bowman and Martin Truex Jr.

    Results.

    1. William Byron, 212 laps led

    2. Joey Logano

    3. Austin Dillon, one lap led

    4. Ryan Blaney, five laps led 

    5. Ross Chastain

    6. Kurt Busch

    7. Kyle Busch

    8. Aric Almirola

    9. Chase Briscoe

    10. Chase Elliott, 185 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    11. Austin Cindric

    12. Alex Bowman

    13. Erik Jones

    14. Kevin Harvick

    15. Chris Buescher

    16. Bubba Wallace

    17. Brad Keselowski

    18. Tyler Reddick

    19. Kyle Larson

    20. Christopher Bell, one lap down

    21. Cole Custer, one lap down

    22. Martin Truex Jr., two laps down

    23. Ty Dillon, two laps down

    24. AJ Allmendinger, two laps down

    25. Michael McDowell, three laps down

    26. Harrison Burton, three laps down

    27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., three laps down

    28. Denny Hamlin, three laps down

    29. Daniel Suarez, four laps down

    30. Todd Gilliland, four laps down

    31. Justin Haley, five laps down

    32. Corey LaJoie, six laps down

    33. Cody Ware, nine laps down

    34. JJ Yeley, 11 laps down

    35. Josh Bilicki, 12 laps down

    36. BJ McLeod – OUT, Handling

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ second annual Food City Dirt Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course in Bristol, Tennessee, on April 17, which marks Easter Sunday. The event is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Chastain grabs first Cup victory in a wild finish at COTA

    Chastain grabs first Cup victory in a wild finish at COTA

    From losing the lead to earning it back with the finish in sight, Ross Chastain etched his name as a first-time NASCAR Cup Series winner after outdueling AJ Allmendinger and Alex Bowman in an overtime attempt to capture the second annual EchoPark Automotive Texas Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, March 27.

    The 29-year-old Chastain from Alva, Florida, led four times for a race-high 31 of 69 over-scheduled laps as he bumped and moved Allmendinger out of the racing groove along with Bowman to reclaim the lead that was briefly taken from him through the final two corners and recorded the long-awaited, first win in NASCAR’s premier series for himself and for Trackhouse Racing in the team’s second season in competition.

    With on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday, Ryan Blaney claimed his second NASCAR Cup Series pole of the year and the eighth of his career after posting a pole-winning speed at 92,759 mph. Joining him on the front row was Daniel Suarez, who posted a fast qualifying lap at 92.741 mph.

    Prior to the event, Michael McDowell, AJ Allmendinger, Erik Jones, Loris Hezemans, Boris Said, Josh Bilicki and Joey Hand dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective machines. In addition, Andy Lally was assessed a pass-through penalty at the start of the event for failing the pre-qualifying technical inspection process three times.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Blaney and Suarez dueled for the top spot through the first two turns until Blaney just managed to peak ahead entering a series of left and right-hand turns (Turns 3 through Turn 10). With the field fanning out before settling in a single-file line for the turns, Suarez then made his move beneath Blaney and took the lead in Turn 11. 

    Through the 3.41-mile, 20-turn circuit, and when the field returned to the start/finish line, Suarez led the first lap followed by Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Cole Custer and Joey Logano. Denny Hamlin was in sixth ahead of rookie Austin Cindric, Justin Haley, Alex Bowman and Chase Briscoe. 

    During the following lap, Loris Hezemans was penalized for cutting the corners through the esses. Meanwhile, Suarez continued to lead by more than a second over Blaney while Reddick, Custer and Hamlin occupied the top five.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Suarez was leading by more than a second over Blaney followed by Reddick, Logano and Cindric while Custer, Alex Bowman, Hamlin, Haley and Ross Chastain were in the top 10. Christopher Bell was in 11th followed by teammate Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe and Kurt Busch while Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Kevin Harvick, Chris Buescher and William Byron occupied the top 20. AJ Allmendinger, winner of Saturday’s Xfinity event in Austin, was in 21st ahead of Martin Truex Jr., Austin Dillon, rookie Todd Gilliland and Erik Jones while rookie Harrison Burton, Ty Dillon, Aric Almirola, Kaz Grala and Joey Hand were in the top 30. Michael McDowell was back in 31st ahead of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Brad Keselowski, Corey LaJoie, Josh Bilicki, Cody Ware, Andy Lally, Loris Hezemans and Boris Said, who was also assessed a penalty for cutting the corner.

    Five laps later and by the Lap 10 mark, Suarez remained as the leader by nearly seven-tenths of a second over Blaney while third-place Reddick trailed by more than four seconds. Cindric was in fourth while Bowman was in fifth ahead of Logano, Custer, Chastain, Larson and Haley. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch fell all the way back to 28th after spinning his No. 18 Skittles Toyota TRD Camry in Turn 12 following contact with Chase Elliott’s No. 9 LLumar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

    Another few laps later, pits stops under green commenced as Harvick, LaJoie, Almirola, Hamlin, Joey Hand, Allmendinger, Buescher, Kyle Busch, Truex, Bell, Wallace, Byron, McDowell, Gilliland, Ty Dillon, Erik Jones, Kurt Busch and Grala pitted. Chastain, Cindric and Custer also pitted prior to pit road closing for the conclusion of the first stage. During the pit stops, Austin Dillon was penalized for an unrolled tire violation while Gilliland was also penalized for an equipment interference. Meanwhile, Suarez remained as the leader.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 15, Suarez cruised his No. 99 CommScope Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to his first stage victory of the season. Blaney settled in second followed by Bowman, Logano, Larson, Haley, Elliott, Briscoe, Harrison Burton and Cindric.

    Under the stage break, some led by Blaney pitted while the rest led by Cindric remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 17 as Cindric and Reddick occupied the front row. At the start, Cindric launched ahead with the top spot through the first turn while Ross Chastain challenged and overtook Reddick for second place. As the field fanned out and scrambled through the first turn, disaster struck for Daniel Suarez as he got hit and spun, thus sustaining a flat left-rear tire as he was left to limp his car back to pit road under a cautious pace. Then as the field navigated through the left and right-hand turns (Turns 3 and 10), Larson spun, but the race proceeded under green as both Larson and Suarez pitted.

    Back at the front and through the long straightaway between Turns 11 and 12, Chastain and Cindric dueled dead even for the lead while Reddick lurked behind. As Chastain tried to take the lead through Turn 12, Cindric fought through Turns 13 and 14 as he retained the lead while Reddick challenged Chastain for second. Meanwhile, Hamlin moved his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry into fourth place followed by Custer, Bell, Allmendinger, Byron, Buescher and Truex.

    By Lap 20, Cindric was leading by half a second over Chastain while Reddick, Hamlin and Allmendinger were in the top five. Custer was in sixth ahead of Byron, Bell, Truex and Kyle Busch. Meanwhile, McDowell was assessed a drive-through penalty through pit road for cutting a corner while Larson and Suarez were back in 33rd and 39th following their incident.

    Five laps later, Cindric stabilized his advantage by six-tenths of a second over Chastain while Allmendinger, Reddick and Hamlin occupied the top five. By then. Cody Ware and Loris Hezemans were penalized for cutting the course.

    Nearing the Lap 30 mark and the conclusion of the second stage, another round of pit stops under green commenced as Buescher pitted along with Bell, Truex, Erik Jones, Harvick, Elliott, Bowman, Briscoe, Haley, Joey Hand, Larson, LaJoie, Gilliland and McDowell. Meanwhile, Chastain issued another on-track challenge on Cindric for the lead entering Turn 11. Just as Chastain used the outside lane to overtake Cindric for the lead entering Turn 19, both pitted along with Reddick, Allmendinger, Byron. During the pit stops, LaJoie and Byron were both penalized for speeding on pit road.

    Back on track, Hamlin, who came into this weekend in 25th place in the standings, inherited the lead followed by teammate Kyle Busch and Logano

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 30, Hamlin notched his first stage victory of the season. Teammate Kyle Busch settled in second ahead of Logano, Blaney, Almirola, Austin Dillon, Harrison Burton, Chastain, Cindric and Bubba Wallace.

    Under the stage break, some led by Hamlin pitted while the rest led by Team Penske’s Logano and Blaney remained on the track. During the pit stops, Ty Dillon was penalized for improper fueling.

    With 36 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. At the start and with the field fanning out, Logano bobbled and locked up the brakes of his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang entering the first turn as he went off the course, which allowed Chastain to rocket back to the lead followed by Allmendinger, Cindric and Reddick while Blaney fell back to fifth.

    A lap later, Cindric, who was in third place, spun his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang off the front nose of Reddick’s No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Turn 10 and was narrowly dodged by the field as the race proceeded under green. In addition, Joey Hand spun in Turn 1 following contact with Almirola. Not long after, however, the caution flew due to debris reported in Turn 11. By then, Chastain was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Allmendinger.

    Under caution, names like Logano, Cindric, Stenhouse, Grala, Cody Ware and Joey Hand pitted while the rest led by Chastain remained on the track. During the pit stops, Stenhouse was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    With 32 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Chastain fended off Allmendinger through the first turn to retain the lead while the field fanned out entering the second turns and the series of left and right-hand turns. As the field continued to scramble for positions entering Turns 10, 11 and 12, Briscoe moved into third place followed by Reddick and Blaney while Elliott started to make his charge to the front in sixth place.

    When the field returned to the start/finish line, Chastain continued to lead by half a second over ex-teammate Allmendinger followed by Briscoe, Reddick and Elliott. Meanwhile, Blaney was in sixth ahead of Custer, Truex, Bowman and Larson as the field continued to duke for positions. 

    Then with 28 laps remaining, the caution returned when Erik Jones stalled his No. 43 Focus Factor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Turn 11 as he needed a wrecker to return to pit road. Earlier, Christopher Bell pitted and had the hood of his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota TRD Camry up as his crew went to work to diagnose steering issues.

    Under caution, the entire field pitted and Chastain exited with the top spot followed by Briscoe, Reddick, Bowman, Allmendinger and Kyle Busch.

    Down to the final 25 scheduled laps, the race restarted under green At the start, Chastain dueled with Briscoe and briefly went off the course with Briscoe in Turn 1 until Chastain retained the lead entering Turn 2 and through the series of left and right-hand turns (Turns 3 through 10). Then in Turn 11, Briscoe moved his No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang out in front of Chastain’s No. 1 ONX Homes/iFly Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 until Chastain fought back from Turns 12 to Turn 19. Meanwhile, Logano spun in Turn 12.

    Back at the front in Turn 20, both Chastain and Briscoe remained dead even until Briscoe managed to clear Chastain entering the first turn. Not long after, however, the caution returned when the left-rear wheel off of Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 Leidos Toyota TRD Camry came off, resulting with Wallace stopping on track in Turn 17 and needing assistance to return to pit road.

    Under caution, some like Logano pitted while the rest led by Briscoe remained on the track.

    With 22 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start and with the field fanning out, Briscoe retained the lead through the first turn ahead of Chastain while Allmendinger was in third ahead of Reddick. Then in Turn 11, Chastain made his move and overtook Briscoe for the lead while Allmendinger quickly challenged Briscoe for the runner-up spot. 

    Under the final 20 scheduled laps, Chastain was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Briscoe while third-place Allmendinger trailed by more than a second. Meanwhile, Reddick and Kyle Busch battled for fourth place until the latter prevailed while Bowman also moved into the top five. Elliott, Cindric, Hamlin and Truex were in the top 10 followed by Larson, Blaney, Harvick, Byron, Custer, McDowell, Austin Dillon, Haley, Almirola and Stenhouse.

    A few laps later, Ty Dillon spun in Turn 11 while Boris Said was penalized for cutting the course. Back at the front of the field, Chastain continued to lead by four-tenths of a second over Briscoe, who started to close in on Chastain for the top spot, while third-place Allmendinger trailed by more than a second.

    A lap later, Briscoe briefly went off course in Turn 11, which allowed Allmendinger to move into second place while Chastain continued to lead. Bowman remained in fourth place while teammate Elliott was in fifth following an earlier battle with Kyle Busch. In addition, Reddick was back in seventh ahead of Cindric, Blaney and Larson.

    Then with 15 laps remaining, the caution flew when Stenhouse’s No. 47 SunnyD Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 came to a stop past Turn 11. Prior to the caution, names like Truex, Harvick, Almirola, Custer, LaJoie, Grala, Ty Dillon and Erik Jones pitted.

    Under caution, some like Hamlin, Gilliland, Larson, Kurt Busch, Byron, Austin Dillon, Logano, Brad Keselowski and Bilicki pitted while the rest led by Chastain remained on the track.

    Down to the final 12 scheduled laps, the race restarted under green. At the start, Briscoe bolted his car beneath Chastain’s in a three-wide bid for the lead while Allmendinger challenged on the outside lane. Chastain, however, fought back as he retained the lead entering the second turn while Reddick rocketed to second place. Then through the series of left and right-hand turns (Turns 3 to 10), Briscoe went off the course and was initially penalized for his maneuver as he blended back in seventh place behind Kyle Busch. After NASCAR deemed that he was forced off the course, however, the penalty was withdrawn.

    Back at the front, Chastain remained as the leader over Reddick, Allmendinger and the field that continued to scatter and jostle for positions. Behind, Cindric and Grala spun in Turn 11. While the race remained under green following Cindric’s incident, the caution returned when fluid was reported on the frontstretch.

    Under caution, Briscoe pitted from seventh place for four fresh tires along with Harrison Burton and Cindric while the rest led by Chastain remained on the track.

    With nine laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start and through the uphill climb to the first turn, Chastain managed to fend off Allmendinger by the end of Turn 2, even running him off the racing groove, to retain the lead while Cole Custer spun. Following the series of left and right-hand turns (Turns 3 through Turn 10), Joey Hand collided into Hamlin in Turn 11, sending Hamlin around. Five turns later, Grala sent Almirola sideways. In spite of all the incidents, the race remained under green.

    Back at the front, Chastain was leading by two-tenths of a second over Allmendinger while Reddick was in third place ahead of Elliott and Bowman. Behind, Kyle Busch was in sixth ahead of Blaney, Truex, Bell and McDowell. While Allmendinger kept occupying Chastain’s rear view mirrors to close-quarters racing, Chastain was able to maintain the lead and not let his former teammate overtake him.

    Just then, the caution flew with six laps remaining due to Loris Hezemans coming to a stop in Turn 3. At the moment of caution, Chastain had managed to maintain a steady advantage over Allmendinger.

    Down to the final three laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Chastain and Allmendinger dueled for the lead entering the first turn until Reddick made a bold three-wide move through the first turn to take the lead. Shortly after, however, the caution returned and the race was sent into overtime due to a wreck that involved Kurt Busch, Larson and Logano in Turn 2.

    At the start of the first overtime attempt and with the field fanning out up the hill, Chastain reassumed the lead and Allmendinger moved into second place followed by Bowman while Reddick fell back to fourth. Behind, the field scrambled for positions.  

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Chastain was leading by nearly a second over Allmendinger while third-place Bowman trailed by more than a second. Through the esses and Turn 11, Chastain maintained the lead despite having Allmendinger and Bowman close in for the lead and the win. Behind, Kyle Busch spun through the esses while the race proceeded under green. 

    Then in Turn 12, Allmendinger gained a huge run to pull himself behind Chastain’s bumper. After Chastain briefly went wide in Turns 13 and 14, Allmendinger seized an opportunity through Turns 15 and 16 and ran into the rear of Chastain, which sent Chastain wide as Allmendinger took the lead while Bowman challenged Chastain for the runner-up spot. 

    Through Turns 17 and 18, Chastain bumped Allmendinger as Bowman bolted his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the lead. With Bowman in brief control, Chastain bumped and got Allmendinger loose as he came darting into Bowman and both collided in Turn 19, resulting with Allmendinger spinning and Bowman running off the course. This allowed Chastain to reassume the lead entering Turn 20. With no competition lurking behind, Chastain was able to navigate his way through the final frontstretch and claim the first checkered flag for himself and for Trackhouse Racing owned by Justin Marks and Pitbull in NASCAR’s premier series.

    With the victory, Chastain, who came into Austin with three consecutive top-three results, became the 201st different competitor to win a NASCAR Cup Series event along with becoming the third first-time winner and the sixth different winner through the first six scheduled events of the 2022 Cup season. He also became the 39th different competitor to achieve a victory across NASCAR’s top three national touring series (Camping World Truck, Xfinity and Cup) with his last victory occurring at Pocono Raceway in the Truck Series in July 2019. In addition to the driver and organization, the Austin victory produced a first NASCAR win for crew chief Phil Surgen.

    Upon returning to the frontstretch for his victorious burnout and salute to the fans, Chastain reignited his trademark victory by smashing a watermelon before being greeted by team owner Justin Marks.

    “That’s insane to go up against some of the best with AJ [Allmendinger],” Chastain said on FOX. “I know he’s gonna be upset with me, but we raced hard. Both of us. He owes me one, but when it comes to a Cup win, man, I can’t let that go down without a fight…People don’t know how good this group is. I can’t believe [owner] Justin Marks hired me to drive this car.” 

    “[The watermelon]’s never tasted sweeter, I gotta tell you,” Chastain added. “I don’t know. I don’t know how we got back by. I was so worried about AJ on the second-to-last restart that I let Tyler [Reddick] drive by both of us. AJ’s so good. I’ve learned so much from him. And then it was like, ‘How do I go beat the guy?’ He taught me so much. I’ve learned so much from so many people…It crossed my mind like we’re not gonna win. We’re on old tires, but I couldn’t think that way. I thought neutral. Chevrolet and everything they do for me, gave me the tools to try to go and execute and we did it.”

    In the midst of the chaos, Bowman came home in second place, more than a second behind Chastain, while Allmendinger ended up in 33rd place following his spin.

    “We had a really fast Ally Camaro,” Bowman said. “I’ve really been trying to do a better job as a race car driver at these road courses and I felt like from where we started in the weekend, I accomplished that. Proud of [crew chief] Greg [Ives] and all the guys. [I] Hate that we didn’t come away with the win, but happy for Ross getting his first win. It’s been a crap weekend, so I’m ready to get home and see [my] dogs and move on to next weekend. Glad to come away with a second-place finish.”

    “At the end of the day, we all gotta look at ourselves in the mirror and if you’re okay with it, you’re okay with it,” Allmendinger said. “Each person’s different. More than anything, proud of Kaulig Racing. The Action Industry Chevy was so fast. I think if we could’ve had just a long run, nobody was gonna touch us. Pit stops were great. Everybody at Kaulig Racing, all the men and women. It’s just lot of sleepless nights for them right now trying to just get these cars to the next race. I was doing everything I could to try to sweep the weekend for them. We were that close. At the end of the day, each person’s gotta make the move that they’re comfortable with and that’s fine. At the end of the day, we know we had a shot to win the race. It’s tough to win a Cup race, so when you put yourself on a position to legitimately run upfront all day and have a shot to win it, it’s a pretty great day. Unfortunately, I needed about two more corners.”

    Christopher Bell, who came into Circuit of the Americas in 29th place in the standings and with a best on-track result of 10th place, notched his first top-five result in third place while Elliott and Reddick finished in the top five.

    Blaney, Truex, Cindric, Erik Jones and Austin Dillon recorded top-10 results.

    There were 13 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 13 laps.

    With his fourth-place result, Chase Elliott continues to lead the regular season standings by 13 over Ryan Blaney, 23 over Joey Logano, 25 over Alex Bowman, 28 over Ross Chastain and 33 over William Byron.

    Results.

    1. Ross Chastain, 31 laps led

    2. Alex Bowman 

    3. Christopher Bell

    4. Chase Elliott

    5. Tyler Reddick, two laps led

    6. Ryan Blaney, one lap led

    7. Martin Truex Jr.

    8. Austin Cindric, 11 laps led

    9. Erik Jones

    10. Austin Dillon

    11. Kevin Harvick

    12. William Byron

    13. Michael McDowell

    14. Brad Keselowski

    15. Justin Haley

    16. Todd Gilliland

    17. Harrison Burton

    18. Denny Hamlin, three laps led, Stage 2 winner

    19. Aric Almirola

    20. Ty Dillon

    21. Chris Buescher

    22. Josh Bilicki

    23. Cole Custer

    24. Daniel Suarez, 15 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    25. Kaz Grala

    26. Boris Said

    27. Cody Ware

    28. Kyle Busch

    29. Kyle Larson

    30. Chase Briscoe, two laps led

    31. Joey Logano, two laps led

    32. Kurt Busch

    33. AJ Allmendinger, one lap down, two laps led

    34. Loris Hezemans – OUT, Rear gear

    35. Joey Hand – OUT, Suspension

    36. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Engine

    37. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Drivetrain

    38. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Suspension

    39. Andy Lally – OUT, Suspension

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Richmond Raceway for a 400-mile feature in Richmond, Virginia. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, April 3, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Atlanta

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Atlanta

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Joey Logano: Logano finished ninth in the Folds Of Honor Qwik Trip 500 at Atlanta.

    “Atlanta gives fans superspeedway racing on a small scale,” Logano said. “Warm and sunny weather indicates that shirtless fans’ bellies still come in the large scale.”

    2. William Byron: Byron led a race-high 111 laps and sailed to the win at Atlanta, giving Hendrick Motorsports its third win this year.

    “Contrary to what the actions of two of our drivers may indicate,” Byron said, “Hendrick Motorsports is a tightly-knit, cohesive, and always-friendly group. The only ‘ill will’ in this organization is me when I don’t get enough sleep. Or, at least that’s what Rick Hendrick would like me to say in public.”

    3. Chase Briscoe: Briscoe started on the pole and finished 15th at Atlanta.

    “I’m just glad I made it to the finish line,” Briscoe said. “As you saw, there were a lot of wrecks and spins. But for once this season, Brad Keselowski wasn’t involved in any of them. It just goes to show, there’s chaos, and then there’s ‘K-os.’”

    4. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished sixth at Atlanta.

    “I think the racing at Atlanta was incredible,” Elliott said, “for fans in attendance, as well as those watching on television. There were 46 lead changes. Usually, if you’re watching at home, there are at least 46 channel changes.”

    5. Ryan Blaney: Blaney won Stage 2 and was contending for the win late before contact with Bubba Wallace sent Blaney into the outside wall. Blaney finished 17th.

    “Bubba may drive the McDonald’s car,” Blaney said, “but I’m definitely not loving it. But that’s the nature of fast tracks like Atlanta’s: you just never know when you’re gonna get taken out by the ‘Big One,’ or, in this case, the ‘Big Mac.’”

    6. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex led five laps and finished eighth in the Folds Of Honor Qwik Trip 500.

    “Atlanta Motor Speedway was recently resurfaced,” Truex said. “Many of us are wondering when Denny Hamlin will ‘resurface’ this season.”

    7. Aric Almirola: Almirola was running in the top five late before being bumped into a spin. He recovered to finish 22nd.

    “We would have loved to have a top-10 finish,” Almirola said. “That’s what our sponsors want to see as well. Especially Smithfield. Those guys party when we do well. If we’re lucky enough to win, it’s a downright sausage fest.”

    8. Kurt Busch: Busch survived a major accident on Lap 145 and recovered to finish third at Atlanta, his second top-five of the season.

    “And speaking of ‘major accidents,’” Busch said, “my younger brother Kyle was one, if you listen to my parents, which Kyle does not. They shouldn’t feel bad, though, because Kyle doesn’t listen to anyone.”

    9. Kyle Larson: While getting a push from Denny Hamlin on lap 212, Larson spun and hit the wall, ending his day. He finished 30th.

    “I’m not going to blame Denny for the incident,” Larson said. “But I will say this: some of us wear crowns, while others wear dunce caps.”

    10. Kyle Busch: Busch finished 35th after wrecking with Austin Dillon in Stage 1. Busch was able to continue but called it a day after 171 laps.

    “It’s early retirements like this,” Busch said, “that make me consider early retirement.

    “Now, did I refuse to apologize to Austin Dillon for my part in wrecking him? I did not. But that doesn’t mean I’m not sorry. Heck, ask anybody around here. They’ll tell you, beyond a shadow of a doubt, I’m the ‘sorriest.’”

  • Byron dominates for a wild Cup victory at the newly reconfigured Atlanta

    Byron dominates for a wild Cup victory at the newly reconfigured Atlanta

    In what William Byron summarized the competition at the newly reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway as a blend of intermediate and speedway style racing, the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 put on a clinic and survived a chaotic afternoon to score a dominant victory in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta on Sunday, March 20.

    The 24-year-old Byron from Charlotte, North Carolina, led eight times for a race-high 111 of the 325-scheduled laps, including the final 10, as he fended late charges from Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney and Ross Chastain to claim his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2022 season and become the fifth different winner through the first five scheduled events.

    The starting lineup for the event was determined through the Performance Metrics formula based on four statistics: drivers’ results, owners’ race and points results and the fastest lap from the previous Cup event. With that, Chase Briscoe, who notched his first Cup career victory last weekend at Phoenix Raceway, started on pole position. Joining him on the front row was Ryan Blaney.

    The use of the Performance Metrics formula occurred after rain canceled all on-track activities on Friday, which resulted with the Cup competitors receiving a single practice session on Saturday in place of on-track qualifying.

    Prior to the event, Brad Keselowski dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to his car along with rookie Harrison Burton, who dropped back due to his car failing pre-race inspection multiple times. 

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Briscoe and Blaney battled dead-even for the top spot with Blaney leading the first lap by 0.010 seconds. During the following lap, however, Briscoe muscled to the lead followed by Kyle Busch while Blaney settled in third ahead of Chase Elliott and Joey Logano.

    Six laps later, Kyle Busch muscled his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry to the lead ahead of Briscoe. Behind, Blaney battled teammate Logano and Elliott for third place.

    Through the first 10 laps of the event, Kyle Bush was leading ahead of Briscoe, Blaney, Elliott and Logano while Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick, Aric Almirola, Denny Hamlin and William Byron were in the top 10. 

    Soon after, a fierce battle for the lead ignited between Kyle Busch and Elliott with both former Cup champions refusing to relent and staying dead even for the top spot. While Briscoe tucked in behind Busch on the outside lane, Blaney settled behind Elliott on the inside lane.

    By Lap 20 and with competition towards the front engaged in close-quarters racing, Kyle Busch was ahead by nearly a tenth of a second over Briscoe followed by Chastain, Hamlin and Elliott while Byron, Blaney, Justin Haley, Logano and Reddick were in the top 10. 

    Three laps later, the first caution flew when Noah Gragson, who was making his first Cup Series start with Kaulig Racing, got loose and wrecked hard against the Turns 1 and 2 outside wall. Under caution, some like Aric Almirola, Alex Bowman, Ty Dillon and David Ragan pitted while the rest led by Kyle Busch remained on the track.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 30, Chastain challenged Kyle Busch before the former overtook the latter during the following lap. Meanwhile, William Byron emerged towards the front as he moved into second place while Elliott tucked in fourth place behind Busch. 

    By Lap 35, Byron moved his No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the lead following a brief battle with Chastain as the field was locked two-by-wide through every turn. 

    When the competition caution flew on Lap 45, Chastain had just managed to overtake Byron to reassume the lead as the field settled in close-quarters racing. Under the competition caution, the leaders pitted and Blaney emerged with the lead following a two-tire stop. Prior to the restart, however, Blaney pitted again for four fresh tires and fuel. During the pit stops, Almirola spun after making contact with Erik Jones while Bubba Wallace nearly collided with Greg Biffle while trying to exit his pit stall. Meanwhile, Christopher Bell and Justin Haley were penalized for equipment violations while Kurt Busch was also penalized for a safety violation.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 51, Logano challenged Chastain for the lead, which he persevered until Chastain reassumed the lead on Lap 55. By then, the event featured 18 different lead changes for eight different leaders.

    By Lap 60, Chastain was leading by a tenth of a second over Logano while Byron, Kyle Busch and Daniel Suarez were in the top five. Reddick was back in sixth ahead of Elliott, Alex Bowman, Hamlin and rookie Austin Cindric. By then, the top-22 competitors were separated by less than two seconds. During the following lap, however, the top-28 competitors were separated by less than two seconds.

    Nearly five laps later, Logano issued another challenge and managed to overtake Chastain for the lead while Reddick started to gain ground on the front-runners. 

    On Lap 70, Chastain and Reddick dueled for the lead while Logano drifted back to eighth place. Byron, meanwhile, settled in third ahead of Hamlin and Kyle Busch.

    Ten laps later and with the front-runners settling in a long single-file line, Chastain continued to lead ahead of Byron, Reddick, Hamlin and Kyle Busch while Suarez, Elliott, Logano, Austin Dillon, and Erik Jones were in the top 10. Bowman was in 11th ahead of Stenhouse, Cindric, Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson.

    Then on Lap 94, the caution flew when the leader Chastain veered dead straight into the Turn 2 outside wall as a result of a flat right-rear tire to his No. 1 AdventHealth Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Under caution, a majority of the field including Logano pitted while 12 led by Byron remained on the track. During the pit stops, Ty Dillon was penalized for dragging his fuel can out of his pit stall. In addition, Chastain was penalized two laps for improper fueling while his crew repaired the damage to his car.

    When the race restarted on Lap 100, Byron received a push from Austin Dillon to lead. Soon after, however, the caution returned when Kyle Busch got Austin Dillon loose, which resulted in Dillon colliding into the Turn 4 outside wall along with Busch. While the majority of the field fanned out to avoid Dillon and Busch, Ty Dillon and Chase Briscoe, both of whom were running towards the rear of the field, wrecked, knocking out both Dillon brothers from competition.

    The multi-car wreck on the frontstretch was enough for the first stage scheduled on Lap 105 to conclude under caution as Byron captured his second stage victory of the season. Hamlin settled in second ahead of Suarez, Stenhouse, Erik Jones, Kurt Busch, Bowman, Reddick, Larson and Bell.

    Under the stage break, 13 competitors led by Bell remained on the track while the rest pitted as Elliott exited first following a pit stop that only required fuel to his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

    The second stage started on Lap 110 as Bell and Logano battled for the lead. With Bell persevering on the outside lane, Cindric moved into second place followed by Bubba Wallace while Logano drifted back to fourth alongside Michael McDowell. Behind, Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick dueled for sixth place. 

    On Lap 122, Harvick emerged with the lead after overtaking Bell while Truex made his charge to the front and ahead of the pack. Three laps later, however, Truex led himself a lap before Logano reassumed the top spot. By then, the field fanned out to nearly three lanes with the front-runners scrambling to charge to the front.

    On Lap 128, the No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota TRD Camry piloted by Kurt Busch was out in front while Reddick was muscling his way back to the front along with Blaney, Stenhouse and Daniel Suarez. 

    By Lap 140, Reddick reassumed the lead at the time when the event featured 15 different leaders. Not long after, however, Byron returned to the lead on Lap 144.

    Just then on Lap 145, the caution flew for a multi-car wreck that started when Reddick, who was running in third place, got loose after blowing a right-rear tire entering Turn 4 before he was hit by Kurt Busch. With the field checking up and trying to dodge the chaos towards the front, Larson spun towards the infield after getting hit by Denny Hamlin along with Logano, Corey LaJoie as Cindric, Bowman, Cole Custer, rookie Todd Gilliland, Bell, Harrison Burton and McDowell were all involved.

    Under caution, the field pitted and Byron retained the lead ahead of Harvick. During the pit stops, Truex was penalized for speeding on pit road along with Suarez, who pitted outside of his pit box.

    When the race restarted on Lap 153, Harvick dueled against Byron in Turn 1 before he received a push from Blaney to clear the field with the lead. Behind, Blaney muscled into second place while Erik Jones and Aric Almirola battled for third place.

    The caution, however, returned on Lap 156 due to debris on the frontstretch that came off of Reddick’s No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Under caution, Larson, Truex, Harrison Burton and the Busch brothers pitted while the rest led by Harvick remained on the track.

    When the race restarted on Lap 161, Harvick received a strong push from Blaney to retain the lead on the outside lane. When the field returned to the start/finish line, however, Byron fought back on the inside lane as Byron had Erik Jones pushing him for momentum.

    At the halfway mark between Laps 162 and 163, Byron cleared the field with the lead while Harvick fought back in second. Blaney, Erik Jones and Almirola were in the top five followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Bell, Keselowski, Elliott, Justin Haley, Cindric, Chase Briscoe, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, Truex, Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Suarez, BJ McLeod and Larson. By then 27 of 37 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    By Lap 175, Byron continued to lead ahead of Bell, Blaney and Stenhouse while Harvick was mired back in fifth. 

    Ten laps later, Stenhouse made his move to the lead followed by Blaney as Byron settled in third. In addition, Brad Keselowski emerged in the top five while Harvick drifted back to 10th.

    Then on Lap 200, the caution flew when the leader Stenhouse blew a tire and slipped front of the field before he spun below the apron and collided against Cindric, who tried to dodge the incident below the apron. While some like the new leader Blaney dodged the carnage, others including Bell, Harvick and Jones wrecked or sustained damage.

    Under caution, names like Daniel Suarez, Bell, Chris Buescher, Jones, Byron, Wallace, Biffle, Truex, Haley and Harvick pitted while the rest led by Blaney remained on the track. By then, Larson, who spun on Lap 145, was up in second place.

    With three laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green as Blaney and Larson occupied the front row ahead of Hamlin and Elliott, At the start, Larson received a push from teammate Elliott and Briscoe to take over the lead while Blaney tried to fight back on the outside lane. 

    Then on the final lap of the second stage, the caution flew when Larson, who was battling for the win, got turned sideways entering Turn 4 as he bounced off of teammate Elliott before he shot back across Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry and wrecked towards the outside wall. The incident was enough for the second stage to conclude under caution as Blaney captured his second stage victory of the season on Lap 210. Elliott settled in second followed by Briscoe, Almirola, Keselowski, Suarez, Truex, Wallace, Byron and Chastain.

    Under the stage break, some led by Blaney pitted while the rest led by Daniel Suarez remained on the track.

    With 109 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Suarez rocketed with the advantage while Truex settled in behind Suarez’s rear bumper. In addition, Bubba Wallace started to challenge Truex for the runner-up spot while Bell and Kurt Busch were in the top five.

    Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Truex received a push from Bubba Wallace to overtake Suarez and lead while Elliott muscled his way to fourth place ahead of Bell and Kurt Busch.

    Four laps later, however, Elliott returned to the lead over Truex as the top-22 competitors were separated by more than three seconds. By then, the event featured 41 lead changes among 18 different leaders.

    With 75 laps remaining, Elliott was leading by a tenth of a second over Suarez while Bell, Briscoe and Byron were in the top five. Truex, Wallace, Aric Almirola, Bowman and Logano were in the top 10 followed by Blaney, Buescher, Keselowski, Erik Jones, Haley, Chastain, Biffle, Cody Ware, Corey LaJoie and BJ McLeod.

    Four laps later, the caution flew due to debris on the track in Turns 3 and 4. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Almirola exited with the top spot followed by Byron, Wallace, Blaney, Jones and Truex, all of whom elected for four fresh tires.

    With 66 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Almirola maintained the lead followed by Wallace before Byron overtook Wallace for the runner-up spot. 

    Four laps later, Byron reassumed the lead as Wallace and Blaney followed pursuit while Almirola settled in fourth ahead of Truex. 

    With 50 laps remaining, Byron continued to lead ahead of Wallace, Blaney, Almirola and Erik Jones as the top-23 competitors, all of whom were on the lead lap, were separated by less than three seconds.

    Down to the final 25 laps of the event, Byron remained as the leader followed by Bubba Wallace, Blaney, Chastain, Almirola, Elliott, Erik Jones, Suarez, Briscoe and Bowman. Just then, the caution flew when rookie Todd Gilliland, who was lapped by the field, spun through the backstretch while Cody Ware, who was trying to dodge Gilliland, was sandwiched between two competitors and ended up pounding the inside wall head-on and with a vicious hit. 

    Under caution, some including Bowman, Keselowski, Truex, Corey LaJoie, Logano, Kurt Busch and Haley pitted while the rest led by Byron remained on the track.

    With 19 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Wallace’s No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota TRD Camry received a push from Blaney’s No. 12 Body Armour Ford Mustang to challenge Byron’s No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the lead, but Byron received a push from Almirola’s No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang to retain the lead. Just then, the caution flew when Almirola spun off the front nose of Chastain across the frontstretch grass, though he did not sustain any significant damage to his Ford.

    With 13 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Byron received a push from Erik Jones’ No. 43 Focus Factor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to maintain a narrow advantage until Wallace also received a push from Blaney to take the lead.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Wallace was leading with a narrow advantage until Byron fought back on the inside lane. While Byron had Erik Jones pushing him on the inside lane, Wallace continued to receive support from Blaney. During the following lap, however, Byron managed to pull in front of Wallace to maintain the lead and clear the pack.

    With five laps remaining, Byron maintained the lead followed by Wallace, Blaney and Chastain while fifth-place Elliott started to mount a challenge on the inside lane before he moved back to the outside lane. Briscoe, Truex, Suarez, Bell and Erik Jones were in the top 10 as the top-18 competitors were separated by less than a second.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Byron continued to lead ahead of Wallace while Ross Chastain mounted a challenge on Wallace to the inside lane followed by Bell and Suarez. Then in Turn 1, Wallace got loose in front of Blaney and Blaney ended up scraping the wall in front of Briscoe. As Blaney dropped out of contention while Wallace lost his momentum, Byron remained as the leader through the backstretch while Bell made a move beneath Chastain in a bid for second place. 

    Despite having a pack of cars up close in the rearview mirror exiting the backstretch, Byron managed to fend off the momentum through the bottom and inside lanes in the final two turns as he stormed back to the frontstretch straight and streaked across the finish line to claim the victory by more than a tenth of a second.

    With the victory, Byron notched his third career win in the NASCAR Cup Series, his first at Atlanta and his first since winning at Homestead-Miami Speedway in February 2021. He also became the third competitor from Hendrick Motorsports to win in 2022 alongside Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson.

    “[The race] was so different,” Byron said on FOX. “Honestly, the last few laps there, [I] was just trying to manage the gap to Bubba [Wallace] and trying not to get too out front. My spotter Brandon [Lines], this is his first win, so congrats to him. Just thanks to this whole team. They’ve done a great job this year. Lots of changes with the Next Gen car, but the Liberty University Chevrolet was awesome there. [The team] Worked hard overnight. We had a pretty rough practice and worked hard on it and got it handling well. It was kind of an intermediate style with a little bit of speedway into it. Lot of fun. Thanks to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports and super exciting.”

    Behind Byron, a multi-car wreck erupted that involved Buescher, Haley and Wallace as they were all battling for the finish, with Buescher managing to claim seventh place while Haley and Wallace ended up 11th and 13th respectively. In addition, Bell, who initially claimed the runner-up spot over Chastain, was credited with 23rd place, the final competitor on the lead lap, because he had advanced his position over Chastain below the white line markings, which was deemed illegal as part of Atlanta Motor Speedway’s reconfigured surface. 

    This allowed Chastain, who blew a right-rear tire while leading early and was multiple laps down, to finish in second place for the second time in back-to-back weekends while Kurt Busch posted his second consecutive top-five result in third place. Suarez, Chastain’s teammate, came home in fourth place while Corey LaJoie notched his first career top-five result in the Cup Series. 

    “What a day,” Chastain said. “That’s the fight in Trackhouse [Racing]. This Gen 7 car, to take a lick like that, blow a tire out of nowhere, leading, just cruising, blow a right rear [tire], slamming the wall. I thought our day was over. Our guys went underneath the car, got the tow closer and we got the balance back where I could drive it, This AdventHealth Chevy was fast. It was so fast. We were fighting with Will [Byron] there at the beginning. It’s so cool with, again, buddies. Like the last two [races], I’ve been able to race with my buddies…Daniel Suarez, what a teammate to push me there at the end.”

    Elliott, Buescher, Truex, Logano and Bowman finished in the top 10. Notably, Erik Jones finished 14th ahead of Briscoe, Blaney fell back to 17th, teammates Harvick and Almirola ended up 21st and 22nd and Harrison Burton was the highest-finishing rookie in 25th.

    There were a record-setting 46 lead changes for a record-setting 20 different leaders. The race featured a record-tying 11 cautions for 56 laps.

    With his sixth-place result, Chase Elliott leads the regular-season standings by seven points over Joey Logano, 15 over Chase Briscoe, 20 over William Byron and 23 over Ryan Blaney and Kurt Busch.

    Results.

    1. William Byron, 111 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    2. Ross Chastain, 42 laps led

    3. Kurt Busch, four laps led

    4. Daniel Suarez, 13 laps led

    5. Corey LaJoie

    6. Chase Elliott, 29 laps led

    7. Chris Buescher

    8. Martin Truex Jr., five laps led

    9. Joey Logano, 12 laps led

    10. Alex Bowman

    11. Justin Haley, one lap led

    12. Brad Keselowski

    13. Bubba Wallace, three laps led

    14. Erik Jones

    15. Chase Briscoe, five laps led

    16. Josh Bilicki

    17. Ryan Blaney, 15 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    18. David Ragan

    19. BJ McLeod, two laps led

    20. Greg Biffle

    21. Kevin Harvick, 11 laps led

    22. Aric Almirola, six laps led

    23. Christopher Bell, 16 laps led

    24. Michael McDowell, four laps down

    25. Harrison Burton, four laps down

    26. Cody Ware – OUT, Accident

    27. Todd Gilliland – OUT, Dvp

    28. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident, five laps led

    29. Denny Hamlin – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    30. Kyle Larson – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    31. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident, 22 laps led

    32. Austin Cindric – OUT, Accident

    33. Kyle Busch – OUT, Accident, 21 laps led

    34. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident

    35. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident

    36. Ty Dillon – OUT, Accident

    37. Noah Gragson – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ second running of the EchoPark Automotive Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, March 27, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.