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Kyle Busch Motorsports to surpass 750 combined Truck Series starts at Mid-Ohio

With the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular season stretch reaching its conclusion, Kyle Busch Motorsports is set to surpass a milestone start in the team’s 13th season in Truck competition. When KBM drivers Corey Heim, John Hunter Nemechek and Chandler Smith compete in this weekend’s inaugural event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, KBM will surpass a combined 750 career starts in the Truck Series.

Kyle Busch Motorsports debuted in the NASCAR Truck Series in 2010 with trucks purchased from Roush Fenway Racing and assets acquired from Xpress Motorsports as the team headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina. By then, Busch had campaigned in seven part-time seasons in the series while accumulating 16 victories, all occurring with Billy Ballew Motorsports.

For the 2010 season, Kyle Busch Motorsports planned on fielding three trucks: one that would be split between Busch and Brian Ickler, another that would be driven on a full-time basis by Taylor Malsam and a third that would be piloted by former champion Johnny Benson Jr. pending additional sponsorships. Prior to the start of the season, however, Miccosukee Resorts, one of Busch’s key Truck sponsors that initially followed him to KBM from Billy Ballew Motorsports, terminated its partnership with NASCAR and left Busch without a full-time sponsor throughout his part-time campaign. In addition, Benson’s role was limited to a part-time status as he shared the No. 18 Toyota Tundra entry with Busch, Ickler and Kasey Kahne while the second KBM entry, the No. 56 Toyota Tundra that was piloted by Malsam, was terminated following the first seven events. Despite the rocky start, it only took the first four events of the season for Kyle Busch to record the first victory for KBM at Nashville Superspeedway in April 2010. Busch went on to achieve victories at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, Bristol Motor Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway in August, New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September, Talladega Superspeedway in October and at Texas Motor Speedway in November, all occurring in the No. 18 entry. After winning the season-finale event at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November following a four-lap shootout, Busch captured the 2010 Truck Series owners’ championship on the strength of eight victories in 16 starts throughout the 25-race schedule. In total, KBM achieved eight victories, six poles, 16 top-five results and 21 top-10 results in its first season in NASCAR competition.

For the team’s second season in 2011, Busch fielded the No. 18 Toyota Tundra as the primary, “all-star” entry that was split between himself, Kasey Kahne, Brian Ickler, Josh Richards and Denny Hamlin. Busch also fielded the Nos. 15 and 51 entries that both campaigned in limited events and was shared between Kimi Räikkönen, German Quiroga and Richards. Throughout the 2011 Truck season, Busch notched six victories in 16 starts, Kahne won at Darlington Raceway in March and Hamlin notched his first Truck victory at Martinsville Speedway in October, all occurring in KBM’s No. 18 entry. Despite accumulating a total of eight victories, two poles, 16 top-five results and 18 top-10 results throughout the 25-race schedule, the No. 18 entry settled in second place in the final owners’ standings behind the No. 2 Kevin Harvick Inc. entry.

Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR.

The 2012 Truck season was a difficult season for Kyle Busch Motorsports despite the team fielding the No. 18 Toyota Tundra on a full-time basis for a third consecutive season while the No. 51 Toyota Tundra competed the final five scheduled events with Quiroga and Hamlin behind the wheel. At the start of the season, veteran Jason Leffler piloted the No. 18 Toyota as the team’s primary competitor, but was released in August after only recording six top-10 results through the first 10 events. For the remainder of the season, the No. 18 entry was split between Busch, Hamlin, Brian Scott, Kurt Busch, Drew Herring and David Mayhew. After going winless for the majority of the season, Hamlin recorded the first victory of 2012 for KBM when he piloted the No. 51 Toyota to a win at Martinsville in October. Two races later, Scott overtook rookie Kyle Larson during a two-lap shootout to wheel the No. 18 Toyota to a late victory at Phoenix Raceway in November. In the end, KBM capped off the season with Busch being edged by Cale Gale in a photo finish at Homestead as Busch concluded a Truck season winless for the first time since 2004.

In 2013, Kyle Busch Motorsports fielded three full-time entries for the first time in the team’s history with the No. 51 Toyota Tundra entry becoming the team’s “all-star” entry that was piloted between Busch, Erik Jones, Chad Hackenbracht, Scott Bloomquist and Hamlin throughout the 22-race schedule. For the new season, the No. 18 Toyota Tundra entry was taken sole possession by full-time competitor Joey Coulter while KBM’s No. 54 Toyota Tundra entry debuted for newcomer Bubba Wallace. Through the first 20 events, the No. 51 entry visited Victory Lane four times, all with Busch. At Phoenix in November, Jones became the youngest winner in the series at age 17 years, five months and nine days after recording his first career victory in KBM’s No. 51 truck. During the following weekend at Homestead, Busch survived three late-race restarts to capture his fifth win of the 2013 season and clinch the owners’ title for his No. 51 entry in a tie-breaker against ThorSport Racing’s No. 88 entry piloted by the 2013 drivers’ champion Matt Crafton. Meanwhile, the No. 18 entry that was piloted by Coulter achieved a total of five top-10 results and a 15th-place result in the final drivers’ standings while the No. 54 entry managed to earn a trip to Victory Lane at Martinsville in October as Wallace became the first African-American competitor to win in the Truck Series. To go along with his first Truck career victory, Wallace capped off his first full-time campaign in the series with a pole, five top-five results, 12 top-10 results and an eighth-place result in the drivers’ standings.

Photo by Kala Perkins for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Photo by Gary Buchanan for SpeedwayMedia.com.

The 2014 season was a breakout year for Kyle Busch Motorsports, which featured Busch and Erik Jones splitting driving responsibilities of the No. 51 Toyota Tundra while Bubba Wallace returned as the driver of the No. 54 Toyota Tundra. In total, KBM won 14 of the 22 races to the schedule as Busch and Jones, both of whom earned a combined 10 victories, guided the No. 51 entry to the team’s third owners’ championship. Wallace piloted the No. 54 truck to four victories, two poles, nine top-five results and 14 top-10 results as he finished in third place in the final drivers’ standings.

A month following the conclusion of the 2014 season, Kyle Busch Motorsports unveiled its driver lineup for the 2015 season with Erik Jones headlining the lineup as he was promoted to a full-time Truck Series campaign in the No. 4 Toyota Tundra while newcomer Justin Boston replaced Bubba Wallace, who graduated to the Xfinity Series with Roush Fenway Racing, in the No. 54 Toyota Tundra. Meanwhile, KBM’s No. 51 Toyota Tundra team remained as an “all-star” entry that was split between Busch, Daniel Suarez, Matt Tifft and Christopher Bell. Early in the season, Suarez and Tifft served as the primary competitors of the No. 51 entry with Busch recovering from injuries sustained in a late multi-car wreck during the Xfinity season-opening event at Daytona in February. Boston, however, was released by KBM nine races into the new season due to a breech of contract involving the driver and his sponsor Zloop. With Boston out, the No. 54 entry was split between Tifft, Cody Coughlin, Gray Gaulding, Bell and Busch, who returned to full-time competition in May. Despite the early season drama for KBM, Bell captured his first career victory at Eldora Speedway in July following a two-lap shootout while Busch piloted the No. 51 truck to two victories at Pocono Raceway and at Michigan International Speedway between July and August. Meanwhile, Jones earned victories at Iowa Speedway in June, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in August and at Texas Motor Speedway in November. To go along with five poles, 11 top-five results and 20 top-10 results, Jones claimed the 2015 Truck Series championship following a sixth-place result at Homestead and by 15 points over Tyler Reddick and 22 over Matt Crafton. With Jones’ accomplishment, Kyle Busch Motorsports achieved its first drivers’ championship along with its fourth owners’ title in NASCAR.

Photo by Don Dunn for SpeedwayMedia.com.

The 2016 Truck Series season featured another new driver lineup for Kyle Busch Motorsports as Bell, coming off his first career victory at Eldora, replaced Erik Jones, who moved up to the Xfinity Series with Joe Gibbs Racing, as the driver of the No. 4 Toyota Tundra while William Byron, the reigning ARCA Menards Series East champion who made his Truck debut with KBM at Phoenix in November during the previous season, piloted the No. 9 Toyota Tundra. The No. 51 Toyota Tundra entry was split between Daniel Suarez, Cody Coughlin, Jones and Gary Klutt throughout the season while the No. 18 KBM entry made a total of five starts between Busch, Coughlin and Harrison Burton. Throughout the season, Busch wheeled the No. 18 truck to victories at Martinsville in April and at Chicagoland Speedway in September while Suarez drove the No. 51 Toyota to his first Truck career victory at Phoenix in November. The No. 9 Toyota team piloted by Byron achieved great success throughout the season with the Charlotte native earning his first career victory at Kansas Speedway in May after dodging a final lap incident involving Johnny Sauter and Ben Rhodes. He went on to win at Texas and Iowa Speedway in June followed by Kentucky Speedway in July as KBM became the winningest team in the Truck Series with 51 victories. After Byron won at Pocono in July, he established a new record for achieving the most victories by a rookie Truck competitor with five. After qualifying for the inaugural 2016 Truck Playoffs, he won the first postseason event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September and utilized consistency to transfer all the way to the Playoff’s Round of 6. Byron’s title hopes, however, came to an end at Phoenix in November after his No. 9 entry suffered an engine failure with 10 laps remaining while he was leading, which prevented him from earning a ticket to the Championship Round at Homestead. Nonetheless, he went on to win the season-finale event at Homestead for his unprecedented seventh victory of the season as he wrapped up both the 2016 Rookie-of-the-Year title and the fifth career owners’ title for KBM. In comparison to Byron and the No. 9 team, Bell and the No. 4 team rallied from a rocky start to generate a consistent regular season run, including a victory at Gateway in June, to qualify for the Playoffs. Bell remained consistent throughout the Playoffs to make it all the way to the Championship Round at Homestead and contend for the drivers’ title. During the finale, however, Bell finished in eighth place on the track and in third place in the final drivers’ standings.

Photo by Simon Scoggins for SpeedwayMedia.com.

For the 2017 season, Kyle Busch Motorsports retained Bell as driver of the No. 4 Toyota Tundra while welcoming Noah Gragson as a full-time competitor of KBM’s No. 18 Toyota Tundra. Busch remained as a part-time competitor of his No. 51 Toyota Tundra as he split the ride with rookies Harrison Burton, Todd Gilliland and Myatt Snider while also debuting the No. 46 Toyota Tundra for a total of four events, with himself and Gilliland earning two events apiece. Busch earned a total of three victories throughout the 2017 Truck season: two in the No. 51 entry at Kansas and at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May and one in the No. 46 entry at Bristol Motor Speedway in August. In addition, the No. 51 team earned a total of nine top-10 results and settled in fourth place in the final owners’ standings. For the No. 18 entry, Gragson earned his first career victory at Martinsville in October following a late duel with former champions Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter. To go along with three poles, four top-five results and 13 top-10 results, Gragson finished in 10th place in the final drivers’ standings and in his first full-time Truck campaign. For Bell, who entered the season as a potential title favorite, he achieved five victories along with five poles, 15 top-five results and 21 top-10 results as he made his second consecutive appearance both in the Playoffs and in the Championship Round at Homestead. During the finale, Bell finished in the runner-up spot on the track and captured the 2017 Truck Series drivers’ championship over Sauter, Austin Cindric and Crafton. With his first championship in NASCAR, Bell recorded the second drivers’ championship and the sixth owners’ title overall for KBM.

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images.

During the following season, Busch retained Gragson in the No. 18 KBM Toyota Tundra while Todd Gilliland contended for the 2018 Truck Rookie-of-the-Year title in the No. 4 Toyota Tundra, thus replacing Bell as Bell became a full-time Xfinity competitor for Joe Gibbs Racing. Gilliland, however, missed four of the first six events due to age restrictions and spent the early portions of the season splitting the No. 4 Toyota with his father David, Busch and newcomer Spencer Davis while Davis, Busch, David Gilliland, Harrison Burton, Brandon Jones, Riley Herbst, Logan Seavey and Christopher Bell took turns piloting the No. 51 Toyota Tundra. The No. 46 KBM Toyota Tundra also returned for a total of six events that was split between Brandon Jones, Herbst and newcomer Christian Eckes. Throughout the season, the No. 46 entry’s best on-track result was third at Charlotte in May made by Jones while the No. 4 entry achieved a season-best result of second place at Gateway in June with Todd Gilliland, who finished in 10th place in the final drivers’ standings. The No. 51 entry went to Victory Lane twice during the season with Busch at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March and at Pocono in July while Gragson wheeled the No. 18 entry to a dominant win at Kansas in May. Despite being absent at Pocono due to illness, where he was replaced by Erik Jones, Gragson utilized consistency to qualify for the 2018 Truck Playoffs and transfer all the way to the Championship Round at Homestead, where he settled in the runner-up spot in the final drivers’ standings.

The 2019 season featured Harrison Burton replacing Noah Gragson, who graduated to the Xfinity Series, as the driver of Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 18 Toyota Tundra while Todd Gilliland remained as a full-time driver of the No. 4 Toyota Tundra. Meanwhile, the No. 51 Toyota Tundra entry returned as the “all-star” entry that was split between Busch, Eckes, Brandon Jones, Greg Biffle, Chandler Smith, Alex Tagliani and Riley Herbst. The No. 46 Toyota Tundra entry returned for a total of seven events that was split between Herbst, Smith and Raphaël Lessard. In comparison to recent seasons, KBM endured a difficult 2019 season as both Burton and Gilliland did not make the Playoffs. While Burton finished in 12th place in the final drivers’ standings with no victories and 11 top-10 results, Gilliland managed to record his first Truck career victory at Martinsville in October along with 14 top-10 results before settling in 11th place in the final standings. With the No. 46 entry finishing no higher than fourth at Gateway in June made by Chandler Smith, the No. 51 entry won six of the 23-scheduled events: five with Busch and one with Biffle. To go along with a total of 15 top-five results and 17 top-10 results throughout the 23-race schedule, the No. 51 entry managed to capture the 2019 Truck owners’ title as KBM achieved its seventh owners’ championship in NASCAR.

Photo by Brad Keppel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

For the following season, Kyle Busch Motorsports introduced new drivers to the Nos. 4 and 18 entries as Harrison Burton moved up to the Xfinity Series with Joe Gibbs Racing while Todd Gilliland moved over to Front Row Motorsports. The No. 18 Toyota was taken over by Christian Eckes while Raphaël Lessard took over the No. 4 Toyota. The No. 51 Toyota also returned as Busch, Brandon Jones, Chandler Smith, Riley Herbst and Alex Tagliani took turns to drive the truck throughout the season. In his first full-time campaign in the series, Eckes qualified for the 2020 Truck Playoffs, but was eliminated from title contention following the Round of 10 as he ended up in eighth place in the final drivers’ standings with no victories and 11 top-10 results. Lessard, on the other hand, did not make the Playoffs, but he managed to capture his first career victory at Talladega in October along with a total of seven top-10 results before finishing in 12th place in the final standings. Meanwhile, the No. 51 entry went to Victory Lane four times: three with Busch and once with Brandon Jones, who captured his first elusive series win at Pocono in June. To go along with a total of 10 results in the top five, the No. 51 entry settled in sixth place in the final owners’ standings.

This past season, Kyle Busch Motorsports welcomed John Hunter Nemechek as the driver of the No. 4 Toyota Tundra, where he replaced Lessard, while Chandler Smith replaced Christian Eckes as a full-time competitor of the No. 18 Toyota Tundra. The No. 51 Toyota Tundra remained as the “all-star” entry for a ninth consecutive season as the truck was piloted between Busch, Drew Dollar, Parker Chase, Martin Truex Jr., Corey Heim, Brian Brown, Derek Griffith and Dylan Lupton throughout the 22-race schedule. Three races into the new season, Nemechek recorded his first win with KBM at Las Vegas in March before the No. 51 entry visited Victory Lane during the following two events: the first with Busch at Atlanta and the second at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course with Truex, who claimed his first Truck career victory. Not long after, Nemechek fended off Busch to win at Richmond Raceway before Busch capitalized on a late restart to win at Kansas. Those five victories followed by three additional victories by Nemechek capped off a strong regular season stretch as Nemechek, who claimed the regular season championship, and Chandler Smith qualified for the 2021 Truck Playoffs. During the Playoffs, Smith claimed his first Truck career victory at Bristol in September to advance from the Round of 10 to 8 along with Nemechek. During the Round of 8, Smith’s title hopes evaporated while Nemechek was able to earn enough points through consistency to secure a spot in the Championship 4 finale at Phoenix Raceway. An early tire issued, however, derailed Nemechek’s title hopes as he ended up in third place in the final drivers’ standings while Smith won the finale and captured the 2021 Truck Rookie-of-the-Year title. Meanwhile, the No. 51 entry settled in 10th place in the owners’ standings.

This season, Kyle Busch Motorsports retained John Hunter Nemechek and Chandler Smith as drivers of the Nos. 4 and 18 entries, respectively. In addition, Corey Heim returned with an expanded part-time Truck schedule as he split the No. 51 entry with Kyle Busch and Buddy Kofoid. Through the first 14 scheduled events, all three KBM entries have visited Victory Lane at least once, with Smith winning at Las Vegas in March, Nemechek winning at Darlington in May, Busch winning at Sonoma Raceway in June and Heim recording his first two career victories in the series at Atlanta in March followed by Gateway in June. Heim is scheduled to take over the No. 51 entry for the remainder of the season as he contends for the 2022 Truck Rookie-of-the-Year title while Nemechek and Smith, both of whom are pursuing their first championship in NASCAR, are guaranteed spots for the 2022 Truck Playoffs.

Photo by Simon Scoggins for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Photo by David Myers for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Through a combined 749 Truck starts, Kyle Busch Motorsports has achieved two drivers’ championships, a record seven owners’ championships, 95 victories, 63 poles, 276 top-five results, 439 top-10 results and 13,196 laps led with 51 different competitors making at least one start for the organization.

Kyle Busch Motorsports is primed to surpass 750 career starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday, July 9, with coverage to occur at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

July 6, 2022
Jason Ratcliff to call 500th Xfinity event as a crew chief at Atlanta

A significant milestone achievement is in the making for Jason Ratcliff, crew chief for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota Supra team piloted by multiple competitors in this year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series. By participating in this weekend’s event at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Ratcliff will call his 500th Xfinity event as a crew chief.

A native of Sumter, South Carolina, Ratcliff, who began his racing career working on mini Sprint Cars in Texas before working for the Sadler Brothers Racing Team in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1995, made his debut as a NASCAR crew chief in 2000 for Casey Atwood and the No. 27 Brewco Motorsports Chevrolet team. In his first season as a crew chief in the Xfinity Series, Ratcliff led Atwood and the No. 27 team to two poles and eight top-10 results throughout the 32-race schedule before Atwood settled in eighth place in the final standings.

During the following two Xfinity seasons, Ratcliff remained at Brewco Motorsports while being paired with rookie driver Jamie McMurray, who replaced Atwood. Together, the duo achieved a total of six top-five results and 17 top-10 results through the two seasons with a best points result of sixth place in 2002. In addition, Ratcliff achieved his first two career wins as a NASCAR crew chief in back-to-back weekends as he guided McMurray to his first two career victories in the Xfinity circuit at Atlanta Motor Speedway and at Rockingham’s North Carolina Speedway between October and November.

In 2003, Ratcliff was paired with the 1996 Xfinity champion David Green, who was driving the No. 37 Pontiac for Brewco Motorsports. After calling his 100th Xfinity event as a crew chief during the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway, Ratcliff guided Green to three victories: Nashville Superspeedway in April, New Hampshire International Speedway in July and at Kansas Speedway in October. To go along with two poles, 11 top-five results, 21 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 11.1, they settled in second place in the final standings and fell 14 points shy of the title to driver Brian Vickers and crew chief Lance McGrew from Hendrick Motorsports.

After leading Green to a seventh-place result in the final standings in 2004 despite going winless, Ratcliff joined forces with Joe Gibbs Racing to serve as a crew chief for JJ Yeley and the No. 18 Chevrolet team for the 2005 Xfinity season. Throughout the season, Ratcliff and Yeley achieved a season-best runner-up result at Memphis Motorsports Park in October along with a pole, six top-five results and 16 top-10 results throughout the 35-race schedule before Yeley finished in seventh place in the final standings. By then, Ratcliff surpassed 200 career events as an Xfinity crew chief.

Despite enduring a winless season in 2006 while guiding Yeley and the No. 18 JGR team to four poles, nine top-five results, 22 top-10 results and a fifth-place result in the final standings, Ratcliff retained his role as a crew chief for the No. 18 team in 2007. On this occasion, the No. 18 entry was piloted between Aric Almirola, Brad Coleman, Kevin Conway and Tony Stewart throughout the 35-race schedule. The team’s best result throughout the season was a runner-up performance by Coleman at Kentucky Speedway in June coupled with two poles, five top-five results and eight top-10 results throughout the 35-race schedule.

Ratcliff remained at JGR and as crew chief for the team’s No. 18 entry for the 2008 season that competed on a part-time basis and was shared between Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart in the early stages of the season. By then, the organization swapped manufacturers from Chevrolet to Toyota. After leading Busch and the No. 18 team to a runner-up result at Daytona in February and a 31st-place result at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March, Ratcliff and Busch achieved their first victory of the season and with JGR when Busch claimed a dominant win at Texas Motor Speedway in April. Ratcliff went on to achieve three additional victories with Busch and another with Hamlin during the next nine events that the No. 18 entry competed in the Xfinity circuit. In August, however, Ratcliff was among a number of JGR employees, including crew chief Dave Rogers, who were suspended from NASCAR indefinitely after NASCAR penalized JGR’s Nos. 18 and 20 Xfinity Series teams due to rule violations discovered by NASCAR inspectors prior to post-race testing on the chassis dynamometer at Michigan. Despite the hefty points penalties and suspensions, JGR’s No. 18 Toyota team went on to win five more events for the remainder of the season as Wally Brown, Doug Hewitt and Joel Weidman were atop the pit box of JGR’s Xfinity Series operations.

Following his indefinite suspension, Ratcliff returned as a crew chief in the Xfinity Series for JGR’s No. 18 Toyota Camry team piloted by Kyle Busch, who elected to run a full Xfinity schedule along with a full Cup Series schedule in 2009. Despite being absent for the season-opening event at Daytona, Ratcliff earned a one-way trip to Victory Lane in his return atop the pit box at Auto Club Speedway in February when Busch won after leading all but seven of the 150-scheduled laps. The 2009 season proved to be a memorable one for the South Carolina native, who led Busch to eight additional victories, three poles, 24 top-five results and 29 top-10 results throughout the season. When the final checkered flag flew at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, Busch, who fended off title rival Carl Edwards to win the finale, claimed his first Xfinity Series championship by 210 points over Edwards. The 2009 Xfinity title was also a first for Joe Gibbs Racing, a first for Toyota in the series and for Ratcliff, who surpassed 300 career events as an Xfinity crew chief and recorded nine victories, three poles, 24 top-five results and 29 top-10 results with the No. 18 team.

In 2010, Ratcliff remained as a crew chief for JGR’s No. 18 Toyota team while Kyle Busch, who decided to not defend his series title, participated in 29 of the 35-race schedule. Brad Coleman drove the No. 18 car in the remaining six vacant events. Despite not being in contention for the drivers’ championship, JGR’s No. 18 entry achieved the 2010 Xfinity owners’ championship on the strength of 13 victories, all achieved by Busch, as Busch established an all-time record of most victories produced by a driver in an Xfinity season. The No. 18 team also achieved a total of three poles, 22 top-five results and 28 top-10 results throughout the 35-race schedule.

Ratcliff remained as a crew chief for JGR’s No. 18 Toyota Camry team for a seventh consecutive season in 2011 that was piloted between Kelly Bires, Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Logano, Michael McDowell and Ryan Truex. Throughout the season, Ratcliff achieved eight victories, all with Busch. In addition, the No. 18 entry achieved three poles, 21 top-five results, 27 top-10 results and a runner-up result in the final Xfinity owners’ standings behind Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 60 Ford Mustang team.

Following 12 seasons in the Xfinity circuit, Ratcliff graduated to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2012, where he assumed the role of crew chief for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Toyota Camry team. From 2012 through 2017, he notched 15 victories in NASCAR’s premier series while working with Logano and Matt Kenseth. Then in 2018, Ratcliff returned to the Xfinity Series to serve as a crew chief for JGR’s No. 20 Toyota Camry piloted by Christopher Bell, who was coming off a Camping World Truck Series championship with Kyle Busch Motorsports. Eight races into the new season, Ratcliff and Bell achieved their first victory of the season at Richmond in April. The duo went on to achieve three consecutive victories in July at Kentucky, New Hampshire and Iowa before entering the 2018 Xfinity Playoffs as a title favorite. After collecting victories at Richmond and Dover between September and Dover to transfer from the Playoff’s Round of 12 to 8, Ratcliff and Bell rallied from sustaining back-to-back DNFs at Kansas and Texas during the Round of 8 to win for the seventh time of the season at Phoenix in November and clinch a Championship 4 spot at Homestead. During the finale, however, Bell cut a tire in the closing stages and finished 11th on the track while also settling in fourth place in the final drivers’ standings. Despite falling short of winning his second championship, Ratcliff, who surpassed 400 Xfinity events as a crew chief, achieved great success in his return to the series as he led Bell and the No. 20 to seven victories, five poles, 18 top-five results, 20 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 10.3.

Remaining as Bell’s crew chief for the 2019 Xfinity Series season, Ratcliff achieved another successful season that started with a victory during the second event of the season at Atlanta. The duo went on to achieve seven additional victories, qualify for the Xfinity Playoffs and transfer all the way to the Championship 4 finale at Homestead with another opportunity to contend for the drivers’ championship. The duo, however, settled in fifth place during the finale and in third place in the final standings in a season where they recorded an additional victory, pole and top-10 result along with two additional top-five results and a higher average-finishing result (9.1) in comparison to 2018.

Following two strong consecutive seasons in the Xfinity circuit highlighted with 15 victories and two championship finale appearances, Ratcliff and Bell moved up to the NASCAR Cup Series and joined forces with Leavine Family Racing for the 2020 season. Once Leavine Family Racing ceased operations at the conclusion of the 2020 season and Bell re-joined Joe Gibbs Racing to pilot the No. 20 Toyota in the Cup Series, Ratcliff returned to the Xfinity Series for the 2021 season as a crew chief for the No. 20 Toyota Supra team piloted by Harrison Burton, the reigning Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year who won four races during his rookie campaign. Despite being absent at Darlington Raceway in September due to COVID-19 protocols and enduring a winless season, the new duo achieved a consistent season highlighted with nine top-five results, 21 top-10 results and a spot in the Xfinity Playoffs before finishing in eighth place in the final standings.

For this season, Ratcliff was assigned to lead JGR’s No. 18 Toyota Supra entry that has been piloted by Trevor Bayne, Drew Dollar, Connor Mosack, John Hunter Nemechek, Sammy Smith, Ryan Truex and Bubba Wallace. Through the first 16 events of 2022, Ratcliff has led the No. 18 team to a pole, four top-five results and seven top-10 results as they are situated in 10th place in the Xfinity owners’ standings. The No. 18 entry, which is coming off a 24th-place run at Road America with newcomer Sammy Smith, is set to be piloted by Ryan Truex for this upcoming weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Through 499 previous appearances, Ratcliff has achieved one championship, 55 victories, 33 poles, 167 top-five results and 266 top-10 results while working with 22 different competitors.

Ratcliff is scheduled to call his 200th Xfinity Series event as a crew chief at Atlanta on Saturday, July 9, with the event’s coverage to occur at 5 p.m. ET on USA Network.

July 6, 2022
Daniel Suarez earns first NASCAR Cup Series victory at Sonoma

In his sixth full-time season as a competitor in NASCAR’s premier series, Daniel Suarez achieved his first career victory in the NASCAR Cup Series following a dominant run in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday, June 12.

The 30-year-old Suarez from Monterrey, Mexico, led twice for a race-high 47 of 110 laps and fended off Chris Buescher during a 23-lap run to the finish to capture his first victory in his 195th start in the Cup circuit. The victory made Suarez the first Mexican-born competitor to win in the Cup Series as Suarez added his name to the 2022 Cup Series Playoff picture with a guaranteed spot based on his victory in Sonoma, California.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Kyle Larson notched his fifth consecutive pole position at Sonoma after posting a pole-winning lap at 92.111 mph in 77.776 seconds. Joining him on the front row will be teammate Chase Elliott, who clocked in a qualifying lap at 92.083 mph in 77.799 seconds.

Prior to the event, AJ Allmendiner, Christopher Bell and Erik Jones dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars.

At the start of the event, Cody Ware was assessed a pass-through penalty through pit road at the start of the event due to his No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford Mustang failing pre-qualifying technical inspection four times. The issue prevent Ware from qualifying on Saturday as his car chief Steve Gray was suspended for the remainder of the weekend.

When the green flag waved and the race started, teammates Larson and Elliott dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Larson managed to pull ahead approaching Turn 3 as the field behind jostled for positions. As the field made their way through the 11-turn circuit, Larson went on to lead the first lap ahead of Elliott while Michael McDowell, Chris Buescher and Cole Custer were scored in the top five. By then, Ware served his drive-through penalty through pit road.

Through the first five scheduled laps, Larson remained as the leader by more than a second over teammate Elliott followed by McDowell, Buescher and Daniel Suarez while Tyler Reddick, Cole Custer, Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain and Kyle Busch were in the top 10. Joey Logano was in 11th followed by Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Kurt Busch, Justin Haley, Chase Briscoe, Brad Keselowski, Austin Dillon, Joey Hand and Alex Bowman while Kevin Harvick, rookie Todd Gilliland, Aric Almirola, rookie Harrison Burton, rookie Austin Cindric, Christopher Bell, Corey LaJoie, Bubba Wallace, Martin Truex Jr. and AJ Allmendinger occupied the top 30. The first competitor scored outside of the top 30 was Erik Jones followed by teammate Ty Dillon and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Four laps later, the first caution of the event flew due to possible fluid on the circuit when smoke billowed out of the No. 23 DoorDash Toyota TRD Camry piloted by Bubba Wallace, who parked his car in Turn 4 and retired due to an engine failure.

Under caution, some led by Tyler Reddick pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track. During the pit stops, Allmendinger’s pit crew went under the hood to work on the power steering pump.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 12, Larson managed to quickly clear teammate Elliott to retain the lead through the first two turns and approaching the uphill climb to Turns 3 and 3A. As the field fanned out and scrambled for positions through the Chute corner from Turns 4 to 7, Reddick muscled his way into the top five ahead of Suarez while keeping McDowell within his sights.

On Lap 15, Erik Jones, who was in 20th, got loose and spun his No. 43 FocusFactor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Turn 2, but the race remained under green flag conditions as Larson stabilized his advantage to more than a second over teammate Elliott. Behind, Buescher was in third followed by McDowell and Reddick while Suarez, Chastain, Custer, Logano and Hamlin were scored in the top 10.

By the Lap 20 mark, Larson continued to lead by two seconds over teammate Elliott, who had Buescher starting to reel him in for the spot as McDowell and Reddick remained in the top five. Meanwhile, Chastain overtook teammate Suarez for sixth place while Logano, Custer and Hamlin were in the top 10.

Nearly two laps later, the first round of pit stops under green commenced as Suarez led a bevy of competitors to pit road, a group that included Blaney, Custer, Hamlin, Keselowski, Briscoe, Harvick, Bowman, Austin Dillon, Cindric, Ty Dillon, Gilliland, Truex, Joey Hand and Allmendinger. Not long after, Buescher, who was in the runner-up spot, led another wave of competitors to pit road that included Elliott, McDowell, Reddick and Chastain. During both processes, Larson remained on the track as the leader.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 25, Larson captured his second stage victory of the 2022 Cup Series season. Logano settled in second followed by Kyle Busch, Justin Haley, Aric Almirola, Harrison Burton, Josh Bilicki, Kurt Busch, Stenhouse and Cody Ware. By then, Christopher Bell, who was a lap down and would have received the free pass to return on the lead lap during the stage break, was penalized for pitting outside of his pit box.

Under the stage break, some led by Larson pitted while the rest led by Elliot remained on the track.

The second stage started on Lap 29 as Elliott and Buescher occupied the front row. At the start, Elliott took off with the lead entering the first turn while Chastain challenged Buescher for the runner-up spot, with the former managing to hold the spot entering Turns 3 and 3A. As the field made their way through the series of left and right-hand turns from Turn 7 to 10 before the sharp right-hand turn in Turn 11, Elliott retained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Buescher with Chastain trailing by less than a second.

By Lap 35, Elliott stabilized his advantage to two-tenths of a second over Buescher, who continued to stalk Elliott through every turn and every corner. Chastain remained in third place while one-and-a-half seconds behind while Suarez, Reddick, Harvick, McDowell, Custer, Bowman and Blaney were in the top 10 ahead of Austin Dillon, Cindric, Hamlin, Keselowski and Truex.

Through the first 40 laps, Elliott continued to lead by more than seven-tenths of a second over Buescher followed by Chastain, Suarez and Reddick while Harvick, McDowell, Bowman, Blaney and Custer were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Larson, who was rubbing fenders with Joey Hand, was mired in 15th behind Custer, Cindric, Keselowski and Hamlin. Notably, Truex was in 16th, Byron was in 19th, Logano was back in 23rd in front of Justin Haley and Kyle Busch, Almirola was in 26th and Kurt Busch was in 30th behind Harrison Burton and Erik Jones.

Five laps later, Elliott remained as the leader by more than a second over Buescher while Suarez was up in third place ahead of teammate Chastain and Reddick, who had Harvick and McDowell stalking him for the spot.

Another two laps later, Erik Jones spun for a second time of the day, this time entering Turn 7, after he locked up his front tires while trying to overtake Kurt Busch in the top 30. Then during the following lap, Chastain met the same fate as he got loose and spun on his own while trying to overtake teammate Suarez in Turn 7. While the event remained under green, Chastain managed to fall back to seventh in front of Blaney and Elliott remained as the leader.

With 50 laps complete, Elliott stabilized his advantage to nearly two seconds over Buescher followed by Suarez and Reddick while Harvick moved into fifth place. Not long after, Truex pitted under green. During the following lap, Reddick led a bevy of competitors that included Bowman, Cindric, Blaney, Keselowski, Chastain, Austin Dillon and Custer to pit road for service under green. Another lap later, names led by Elliott and including teammate Larson, Briscoe, Cindric, McDowell, Harvick, Suarez and Buescher pitted. During the pit stops, Elliott, who was about to leave his pit stall following his service, came to a stop and reversed his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 back to his pit stall to have a loose wheel tightened. During the process, however, Elliott’s front nose was still sticking out of his pit box, which drew himself a penalty.

During the cycle of green flag pit stops, Logano emerged out in front followed by Buescher, Suarez, Almirola and Harvick. Along with Elliott, Reddick was penalized for speeding on pit road while Buescher was penalized for having an equipment thrown over his pit box.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 55, which marked the halfway point of the event, Logano claimed his second stage victory of the season. Almirola settled in second followed by Buescher, Suarez, Harvick, Todd Gilliland, Burton, Elliott, McDowell and Stenhouse. With Elliott penalized following his pit road miscue, however, Suarez, who was in 11th following the second stage’s conclusion, was awarded the final stage point.

Under the stage break, some led by Logano pitted while the rest led by Buescher remained on the track. By then, NASCAR rescinded the penalty to Buescher with Buescher, who was also allowed to retain his stage points following the second stage’s conclusion, out in front followed by Suarez.

With 50 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green. At the start, Buescher and Suarez dueled for the lead through the first four turns until Suarez managed to pull ahead with the lead followed by McDowell while Buescher locked up the front tires entering Turn 7. Through the series of turns from Turns 7 to 10 and through Turn 11, Suarez retained the lead followed by McDowell, Harvick, Buescher and Keselowski while Blaney, Cindric, Chastain, Austin Dillon and Larson were in the top 10.

During the following lap, Suarez’s No. 99 Onx Homes/Renu Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was ahead of McDowell’s No. 34 Love’s Travel Stop Ford Mustang by half a second and the top-seven competitors broke away from the field that was fanned out to multiple lanes while Chastain and Larson duked for eighth place.

Nearing the final 45 laps of the event, Reddick pitted after spinning in Turn 10. In the midst of his spin, Josh Bilicki also spun while the race remained under green. Shortly after, Harvick moved his No. 4 Gearwrench Ford Mustang into the runner-up spot through the first two turns while Buescher challenged McDowell for third place.

With 40 laps remaining, Suarez continued to lead while Buescher made a bold move beneath Harvick in Turn 11 to take over the runner-up spot in his No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang. McDowell and Keselowski remained in the top five followed by Blaney, Chastain, Cindric, Larson and Bowman while Briscoe, Austin Dillon, Custer, Byron, Truex, Allmendinger, Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Joey Hand and Logano were in the top 20. Meanwhile, Elliott was mired back in 23rd place. By then, Reddick, who pitted multiple times following his spin, took his car to the garage. In addition, Corey LaJoie pitted under green.

Five laps later, Suarez stabilized his advantage to nearly a second over Buescher followed by Harvick, McDowell and Keselowski. By then, Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Harrison Burton pitted under green as the sun was starting to emerge from the cloudy conditions. Not long after, Truex pitted along with teammate Bell, Justin Haley, Briscoe and Elliott, who endured a slow pit stop.

Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Suarez remained as the leader by more than two seconds over Buescher followed by Harvick while McDowell and Keselowski were in the top five. By then, Blaney pitted under green along with teammate Cindric.

During the following lap, Buescher pitted along with Harivck, Bowman, Custer, Byron and Chastain, who backed his car back to his pit stall following his pit stop to have the lug nut on his left-rear tire tightened. In addition, Suarez surrendered the lead to pit followed by McDowell, Larson, Allmendinger, Kurt Busch, Todd Gilliland and Scott Heckert while Keselowski moved into the lead.

Then with 28 laps remaining, the caution flew when the right-front tire from Larson’s No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 came off in Turn 2 just as Larson had exited pit road. During the caution period, some led by Keselowski pitted while the rest led by Suarez and Buescher remained on the track.

With 23 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Suarez pulled away entering the first two turns while Buescher and McDowell battled for the runner-up spot ahead of Blaney and Cindric while Harvick was back in sixth. Then in Turn 7, Kyle Busch, who was in sixth, spun his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry after locking up his tires and slipping sideways while Bowman went wide to avoid hitting Busch, but the race remained under green as Suarez remained as the leader.

Three laps later, Suarez retained the lead by three-tenths of a second over Buescher, who was stalking the leader and trying to close in, while McDowell, Blaney, Cindric, Harvick, Briscoe, Elliott, Byron and Truex were in the top 10. Allmendinger was in 11th followed by Bell, Chastain, Hamlin, Ty Dillon, Keselowski, Burton, Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon and Aric Almirola. By then, Larson was in 23rd, Logano was mired back in 25th ahead of Bowman and Kyle Busch was all the way back in 32nd.

With 15 laps remaining, Suarez stabilized his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Buescher while McDowell, Blaney and Harvick were scored in the top five.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Suarez continued to lead by seven-tenths of a second over Buescher followed by McDowell, Harvick and Blaney while Cindric, Elliott, Byron, Chastain and Allmendinger were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Truex was in 13th ahead of Kurt Busch, Larson was mired in 17th, Logano was back in 21st and Kyle Busch was in 31st. Soon after, teammates Bell and Hamlin pitted their respective Toyotas.

With five laps remaining, Suarez, who was trying to track Hamlin and put him a lap behind, was leading by more than two seconds over Buescher while third-place McDowell trailed by more than six seconds. Fourth-place Harvick trailed by eight seconds while fifth-place Cindric trailed by more than 12 seconds. By then, Truex pitted.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Suarez remained as the leader by nearly four seconds over Buescher. Earlier, Allmendinger, who was in position for a top-10 run despite his power steering issues, spun in Turn 3, but the race remained under green. With Buescher unable to narrow the deficit between himself and Suarez, Suarez was able to smoothly navigate his way through the 11-turn circuit and back to the finish line for his first checkered flag in the series.

With the victory, Suarez, a graduate of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program and the 2016 Xfinity Series champion, became the fourth first-time winner of the 2022 Cup Series season, the first competitor to achieve a first Cup win at Sonoma since Juan Pablo Montoya made the last accomplishment in 2007 and the 202nd overall to win in NASCAR’s premier series. In addition to becoming the first Mexican-born competitor to win in the Cup Series, he also became the fifth foreign-born competitor overall to win in the Cup circuit, joining Italy’s Mario Andretti, Columbia’s Juan Pablo Montoya, Canada’s Earl Ross and Australia’s Marcos Ambrose. As a bonus, Suarez became the 40th different competitor to achieve a victory across NASCAR’s top three national touring series (Camping World Truck, Xfinity and Cup).

The victory was also the third overall for Trackhouse Racing in the team’s second season in NASCAR competition, but first as a two-car organization as both competitors have achieved victories and guaranteed spots to the 2022 Cup Playoffs. Along with Suarez, crew chief Travis Mack achieved his first victory as a Cup crew chief.

Photo by David Myers for SpeedwayMedia.com.

“It’s crazy,” Suarez, who received a chorus of cheers from the crowd and the Mexican fans, said on FS1. “I have so many thoughts in my head right now. It’s been a rough road. It’s been a rough journey in the Cup Series. These guys believing in me, Trackhouse Racing, [owner] Justin Marks, [team president] Ty Norris, everyone that helped me to get to this point. A lot of people in Mexico: Jay Morales, Carlos Slim. My family, they never gave up on me. A lot of people did, but they didn’t. Just very happy that we’re able to make it work. It’s the energy. [the team] believe in me since day one. They believe in me and they put all the people, resources, everything to make it happen…This is the first [win] of many.”

“[The win] feels good,” Suarez added in the media room. “My team’s been working. They’ve been working very hard. To be able to finally get the first [win], I feel like that is gonna make us feel more relaxed. Now, we’re gonna do things more calm. I told my team, ‘Hey, just stay calm, let’s do our thing’. We’re capable of winning races. But one thing is to say it and another thing is to do it. Today, we did it, so now, we’re gonna be able to do things more relaxed that way victories and success is gonna be able to find us much easier.”

“This one’s difficult to put into words,” Justin Marks added on FS1. “Daniel Suarez, Travis Mack helped build Trackhouse [Racing]. They’ve been working so hard together. They’ve been so focused, so dedicated trying to get to Victory Lane. The No. 1 car winning two races with this year was tough on them, but they never gave up. They knew that they were gonna be in Victory Lane. I’m so proud and happy for them.”

“Coming up through the ranks at Hendrick [Motorsports] to being a car chief, just working hard for this first win,” Travis Mack, crew chief for Suarez, added in the media center. “This is actually [the place of] my first win with Jeff Gordon I believe in [2004]. Sonoma was my first win on a Cup team, so it’s really exciting to get my very first win as a crew chief at Sonoma.”

Buescher rallied from being absent last weekend at Gateway due to a positive COVID-19 test to finish in second place for his first top-five result since finishing third at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in October 2021 while McDowell earned his first top-five result of the season with a stellar third-place result.

“I’m just disappointed in myself,” Buescher said. “[I] Didn’t get the job done there. I apologize to these guys because they put an awesome Fifth Third Bank Mustang underneath me this weekend. It’s a heck of a return. We had a lot of speed. Just struggled for a little bit on the long-run speed. Just wearing rears [tires] out. Ultimately, just didn’t get it done when it counted, so it’s an awesome run. Had great speed. That’s an awesome recovery from [Circuit of the Americas] and what we had there. Everybody back at [Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing]’s doing a great job. Hurts to be that close, but congratulations to Suarez. We’re trying. Just trying to get him and just ran out of steam there.”

“Yeah, I’m really proud of everybody at Front Row [Motorsports],” McDowell said. “Obviously, we want to win the race. Finishing third doesn’t get you in the Playoffs, but really thankful to everybody. [Team owner] Bob Jenkins, everybody at Front Row Motorsports. This Love’s Travel Stop Ford Mustang was fast all weekend. I keep telling my guys [that] we gotta run second, third, fourth, fifth week in and week out, and we’ll eventually get a win. [I] Felt like we were close today. Just needed a little bit more fire-off speed off the front end, but really proud of my team…We’re getting closer, so we’ll keep pushing hard. We wanna get this car in the Playoffs, so we’ll keep fighting.”

Harvick, who was trying to return to Victory Lane since winning at Bristol Motor Speedway in September 2020, came home in fourth place while rookie Austin Cindric completed the top five in fifth place. Blaney, Chastain, Elliott, Byron and Keselowski finished in the top 10.

Notably, Larson finished 15th, Logano settled in 17th in front of Kurt Busch, Allmendinger fell back to 19th following his late spin, Truex ended up 26th in front of teammate Bell and Kyle Busch concluded his long run in 30th in front of teammate Hamlin.

There were six lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 14 laps. A total of 31 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

With 10 regular season races remaining to this season, Chase Elliott leads the regular season standings by 16 points over Ross Chastain, 23 over Kyle Busch, 25 over Ryan Blaney and 30 over Joey Logano.

Ross Chastain, Joey Logano, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Daniel Suarez, 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 while Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell and Aric Almirola are above the top-16 cutline based on points. Kevin Harvick trails the top-16 cutline by seven points, Tyler Reddick trails by 42, Austin Dillon trails by 47, Erik Jones trails by 55, Michael McDowell trails by 93, Chris Buescher trails by 105, Justin Haley trails by 113, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. trails by 135, Bubba Wallace trails by 139 and Ty Dillon trails by 153.

Results.

1. Daniel Suarez, 47 laps led

2. Chris Buescher, four laps led

3. Michael McDowell

4. Kevin Harvick

5. Austin Cindric

6. Ryan Blaney

7. Ross Chastain

8. Chase Elliott, 26 laps led

9. William Byron

10. Brad Keselowski, three laps led

11. Austin Dillon

12. Justin Haley

13. Chase Briscoe

14. Aric Almirola

15. Kyle Larson, 26 laps led, Stage 1 winner

16. Alex Bowman

17. Joey Logano, four laps led, Stage 2 winner

18. Kurt Busch

19. AJ Allmendinger

20. Joey Hand

21. Cole Custer

22. Erik Jones

23. Ty Dillon

24. Todd Gilliland

25. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

26. Martin Truex Jr.

27. Christopher Bell

28. Harrison Burton

29. Josh Bilicki

30. Kyle Busch

31. Denny Hamlin

32. Cody Ware, one lap down

33. Scott Heckert, one lap down

34. Corey LaJoie, nine laps down

35. Tyler Reddick, 13 laps down

36. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Engine

The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season will enter a one-week break period before returning to action at Nashville Superspeedway in Nashville, Tennessee, on Sunday, June 26. The event is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. ET on NBC with FOX’s 2022 NASCAR coverage concluded.

June 12, 2022
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.

May 30, 2022
Stenhouse, Buescher, Suarez and Jones transfer to 2022 All-Star Race from the All-Star Open

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones completed the starting grid for the 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race after transferring from the NASCAR All-Star Open at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 22. Stenhouse, Buescher and Suarez raced their way into the main event after each claimed a stage victory, respectively, while Jones was revealed as the Fan Vote winner, thus claiming the final spot of the 24-car grid for the All-Star event.

With the starting lineup based on on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday, Tyler Reddick initially qualified on pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 186.981 mph in 28.880 seconds. He, however, dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. As a result, Daniel Suarez, who posted a qualifying lap at 186.903 mph in 28.892 seconds, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who qualified with a fast lap at 186.490 mph in 28.965 seconds, started on the front row.

Prior to the event, Justin Haley joined Reddick at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Stenhouse and Suarez dueled for the lead for nearly a full lap before the former pulled ahead entering the frontstretch as he led the first lap. At the same time, Chris Buescher overtook Suarez for the runner-up spot while Austin Dillon was up in fourth ahead of Erik Jones and rookie Harrison Burton.

Through the first five laps of the event, Stenhouse was leading by three-tenths of a second over Buescher followed by Suarez, Erik Jones and Austin Dillon while Burton, Corey LaJoie, Reddick, Haley and Ty Dillon were in the top 10.

By Lap 10, Stenhouse continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second over Buescher. Meanwhile, Reddick, who started at the rear of the field, was up in sixth place after he overtook Harrison Burton.

With five laps remaining in the first stage, Stenhouse extended his advantage to more than a second over Buescher followed by Suarez and Austin Dillon while Reddick was up in fifth ahead of Erik Jones. By then, Haley, who also started at the rear of the field, was in seventh in front of Burton, LaJoie and Ty Dillon.

At the start of the final lap of the first stage on Lap 19, Stenhouse remained as the leader by one-and-a-half seconds over Buescher. Remaining uncontested for a final full cycle, Stenhouse captured the first stage victory on Lap 20 and secured a spot in the 2022 All-Star Race, which will mark his fourth appearance in the million dollar event.

“Our Viva Camaro took off really, really strong there,” Stenhouse said. “All the Kroger team’s been working hard these last few weeks and we’ve been getting results, which is nice. Now, we get to go race for a million bucks and be in the big show, which was disappointing. We sat and watched it last year, so it feels really good. We’ll make some changes, make some adjustments and [I] got a better idea of what my car was doing there. Hopefully, we can run up through the field.”

Under the stage break, the remainder of the field led by Buescher pitted. Following the pit stops, Haley and BJ McLeod were sent to the rear of the field due to uncontrolled tire violations.

The second stage started on Lap 20 as LaJoie and Suarez occupied the front row. At the start, LaJoie took off with the lead followed by Suarez as the field scrambled and jostled behind for positions. When the field returned to the start/finish line, LaJoie was out in front ahead of Suarez and Buescher while Reddick was in fourth ahead of Erik Jones.

Then on Lap 26 and as Suarez started to pressure LaJoie for the lead, the caution flew when Landon Cassill got loose, spun and made hard contact against the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4.

When the race restarted on Lap 31, LaJoie and Suarez dueled for the lead through the backstretch until Buescher pulled a bold three-wide move on both through Turns 3 and 4 in a bid for the lead. When the field returned to the start/finish line, Buescher emerged out in front followed by Suarez and Reddick while LaJoie was back in front of Erik Jones.

By Lap 35, Buescher was leading by three-tenths of a second over Suarez followed by Reddick, Erik Jones and LaJoie while Austin Dillon was in sixth.

At the start of the final lap of the second stage on Lap 39, Buescher stabilized his advantage to three-tenths of a second over Suarez. Despite having Suarez close within his rearview mirror, Buescher was able to fend off the competition to win the second stage on Lap 40 and race his way into the 2022 All-Star Race, which will mark his second appearance in the event as both Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing competitors will contend for a million dollars.

“That was cool to be able to race our way in with our Fastenal Mustang,” Buescher said. “It was aggressive racing like we know it is when we come to the All-Star and these short runs. Get to watch them get it there side by side. I see [LaJoie] start slipping up the hill and I’m like, ‘We got to commit.’ It was cool. Had a good push down the front straightaway, had to be really protective into [Turn] 1. That grip was just starting to come in, so I’m pretty curious to see where the end of this race goes and really excited for the All-Star now.”

Under the stage break, some like Cole Custer, LaJoie pitted while the rest led by Suarez remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Custer was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

With 10 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green. At the start, Suarez and Reddick, both of whom started on the front row, dueled for the lead through the backstretch until Suarez managed to clear Reddick through Turns 3 and 4 to assume the lead.

Then with eight laps remaining, the caution flew when Reddick got loose entering Turns 3 and 4 and spun several times in the middle of the track. As the field scrambled to avoid Reddick’s spinning car, Harrison Burton collided into Reddick past the start/finish line. The incident spoiled Reddick’s opportunity to compete in the All-Star Race along for Harrison Burton.

When the race restarted with eight laps remaining, Suarez took off with a strong launch from the field as Austin Dillon moved into the runner-up spot followed by Erik Jones.

As the field returned to the start/finish line, Suarez was out in front by two-tenths of a second over Austin Dillon followed by Justin Haley, Erik Jones and LaJoie while Ty Dillon was up in sixth place.

Down to the final five laps of the event, Suarez was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Austin Dillon while third-place Haley trailed by more than a second.

When the white flag waved and the final lap was underway, Suarez continued to lead by more than a second over both Austin Dillon and Haley. Having no challengers coming close to his rear bumper, Suarez cycled his way back to the finish line as he won the All-Star Open for the second time in his career and earn a one-way trip to the All-Star Race for the third time in his career. Suarez’s accomplishment meant that both Trackhouse Racing competitors earned a spot for the All-Star event.

“I only wished I had to run 20 [laps], but we had to run the whole 50,” Suarez said. “Overall, just very proud of my team. Every time that I’ve been part of the All-Star Race, it’s always a lot of fun. It’s just about fun, not with the trophy. What I love the most is the part about going out there in a stage with a pit crew, with a team, everybody having a good time. I’m so happy that I’m gonna be able to do this with my No. 99 crew: Trackhouse Racing.”

In the midst of the conclusion of the event, Erik Jones, who finished in fifth place, earned the 24th and final spot after being named the Fan Vote winner. As a result, Jones earned a spot for the All-Star event for the third time in his career.

“[I] Appreciate the fans,” Jones said. “I never thought I’d have a shot to win [the Fan Vote], but the No. 43 fans are pretty strong. Been struggling a bit, but we’ll make some big changes here for tonight. Hopefully, give’em a run for it.”

Austin Dillon finished in second place, but was one of 12 competitors who did not make the 2022 All-Star Race along with Justin Haley, Corey LaJoie, Ty Dillon, Cole Custer, Todd Gilliland, Cody Ware, Garrett Smithley, BJ McLeod, Tyler Reddick, Harrison Burton and Landon Cassill.

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

Results.

1. Daniel Suarez – Stage 3 winner, 10 laps led

2. Austin Dillon

3. Justin Haley

4. Corey LaJoie, 11 laps led

5. Erik Jones – Fan Vote winner

6. Ty Dillon

7. Cole Custer

8. Todd Gilliland

9. Cody Ware

10. Garrett Smithley

11. BJ McLeod

12. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident

13. Harrison Burton – OUT, Accident

14. Chris Buescher – Stage 2 winner, nine laps led

15. Landon Cassill – OUT, Accident

16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Stage 1 winner, 20 laps led

The 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway will follow suit on Sunday, May 22, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

May 22, 2022
Kurt Busch reigns supreme with first Cup victory of 2022 at Kansas

In a season mired with constant trials and struggles both on and off the track, Kurt Busch and 23XI Racing triumphed at the Heartland State after emerging victorious in the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, May 15.

The 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion from Las Vegas, Nevada, led five times for a race-high 116 of 267 laps as he prevailed after a fierce battle with Kyle Larson during the final 10 laps to snatch the lead and claim his first Cup Series victory of the season and his first driving for 23XI Racing.

With on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday, Christopher Bell notched his third pole position of his career and of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 179.575 mph in 30.071 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Tyler Reddick, who recorded a qualifying lap at 178.855 mph in 30.192 seconds.

Prior to the event, Denny Hamlin, rookie Todd Gilliland and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective cars. In addition, Chris Buescher and Joey Logano also dropped to the rear in backup cars.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Bell and Reddick dueled for the top spot through the first three turns until Bell managed to clear Reddick and the field entering Turn 4 to lead the first lap. With Reddick settling in second in front of Kyle Larson, rookie Austin Cindric battled with Kurt Busch for fourth place as Kyle Busch joined the battle. Meanwhile, Aric Almirola and Alex Bowman dueled for seventh place in front of Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain and Ryan Blaney.

During the fifth lap of the event, the first caution flew when Briscoe got loose and spun across the frontstretch grass, though he continued without sustaining any significant damage to his No. 14 Rush Truck Center/Cummins Ford Mustang.

Four laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Reddick received a push from Kyle Busch to assume the lead as Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson battled Bell for the runner-up spot, with Larson taking the spot.

At the Lap 10 mark, Reddick was leading ahead of Larson, Kyle Busch, Bell and Cindric while Chastain, Daniel Suarez, Aric Almirola, Blaney and Kurt Busch were in the top 10.

Through the first 20 scheduled laps, Reddick extended his advantage to more than a second over Larson while Bell, Kyle Busch, Cindric, Suarez, Chastain, Almirolam Kurt Busch and Blaney were in the top 10. Running in 11th place was Martin Truex Jr. followed by Bowman, Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon, Kevin Harvick and Michael McDowell. Cole Custer was in 21st ahead of Justin Haley, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ty Dillon and Corey LaJoie while Brad Keselowski, rookie Harrison Burton, Noah Gragson, Briscoe and Chris Buescher were in the top 30. Meanwhile, Joey Logano, winner of last weekend’s Cup event at Darlington Raceway, was mired in 31st while rookie Todd Gilliland was in 33rd.

Fourteen laps later and just as Larson overtook Reddick for the lead, the caution flew due to BJ McLeod spinning and stalling his car past the frontstretch. At the moment of caution, Logano dodged losing a lap to the leaders. In addition, Chris Buescher made a pit stop.

Under caution, the leaders pitted and Bell reassumed the lead after exiting pit road with the top spot followed by Reddick, Kyle Busch, Suarez, Chastain and Truex. During the pit stops, Hamlin and Austin Dillon were penalized for equipment interference while Cindric was penalized for an uncontrolled tire penalty. In addition, Justin Haley, who was having his pit service complete, had a left-rear tire fall off of his car as he exited his pit stall and caught on fire.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 39, Bell cleared the field entering the first turn to assume the lead. Through the backstretch, Kyle Busch took over the runner-up spot while Trackhouse Racing’s Chastain and Suarez overtook Reddick for third and fourth. Soon after, Truex mounted a challenge on Reddick for a top-five spot.

Through the first 50 scheduled laps, Bell was leading by six-tenths of a second over teammate Kyle Busch while Chastain, Suarez and Reddick were in the top five. Truex, meanwhile, settled in sixth followed by Bowman, Bubba Wallace, Almirola and Byron while Larson, who endured a slow pit stop during the previous caution, was in 12th behind teammate Chase Elliott. In addition, Kurt Busch was back in 14th ahead of Kevin Harvick while Blaney was back in 18th ahead of Denny Hamlin and Logano.

Eleven laps later, the caution flew when Suarez, who was being pressured by Truex for fourth place, got loose, spun and made contact with the outside wall entering Turn 4 as his No. 99 CommScope Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 stalled at the entrance of pit road. Things then went from bad to worse for Suarez as he needed a wrecker to have his car towed back to his pit stall due to flat-spotting his tires. During the caution period, Almirola pitted when pit road was not open for the field.

Under caution, the majority of the field, led by Bell who had a flat left-rear tire, pitted while Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Corey LaJoie and Austin Dillon remained on the track.

When the race restarted on Lap 67 amid a jumble and scramble within the field, Kyle Busch drove his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry to the lead on fresh tires while Chastain rocketed to the runner-up spot as Austin Dillon drifted toward the middle of the pack. As the field continued to scramble for positions while fanning out to multiple lanes, Elliott was up in third place followed by Reddick, Byron and Truex while Erik Jones was getting shuffled back to seventh in front of Wallace, Blaney and Stenhouse.

Under the final 10 laps of the first stage, Kyle Busch was leading by more than a tenth of a second over Chastain while Elliott trailed by seven-tenths of a second.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 80, Kyle Busch notched his first stage victory of the season while leading by more than a second over Chastain. Chastain settled in second followed by Elliott, Reddick, Byron, Truex, Wallace, Erik Jones, Blaney and Bowman.

Under the stage break, the leaders returned to pit road and Elliott exited with the top spot ahead of Chastain, Truex, Byron and Reddick. Disaster struck, however, for Elliott as he dropped to the rear of the field due to equipment interference. During the pit stops, Hamlin was also penalized for equipment interference while Wallace was penalized for having too many crew members over the wall during his service. In addition, Kyle Busch dropped from first to 10th after parking his car too close to his pit wall as he endured a slow pit stop. Following the pit stops, Harvick, Almirola and Buescher made another trip to pit road. Among those who pitted for a second time was Erik Jones as his crew was enduring constant issues removing the right-rear tire of his No. 43 Focus Factor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

The second stage started on Lap 87 as Chastain and Truex occupied the front row. At the start, Chastain and Truex dueled for the top spot through the backstretch before Byron made a bold three-wide move on both entering the frontstretch to take the lead. Behind, Reddick fended off Blaney for fourth place while brothers Kurt and Kyle Busch battled for sixth.

At the Lap 100 mark, Byron was leading by more than a second over Chastain followed by Reddick, Truex, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Blaney, Bowman, Bell and Larson. Cindric was in 11th ahead of Stenhouse, Keselowski, Elliott, Harvick, Logano, Custer, Wallace, Hamlin and Buescher while Michael McDowell, Briscoe, Ty Dillon, Austin Dillon, Harrison Burton, Corey LaJoie, Noah Gragson, Josh Bilicki, Gilliland and Almirola were in the top 30.

Eleven laps later, Kurt Busch leaped his No. 45 Jordan Brand Toyota TRD Camry way into the runner-up spot after rocketing past Chastain as Byron stretch his advantage to nearly three seconds. By then, names like Almirola and Erik Jones were lapped by the leader.

On Lap 113, disaster struck for Byron as his No. 24 Raptor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 suffered a flat left-rear tire while leading as he fell off the pace below the frontstretch apron. With Byron out of contention, Kurt Busch took over the lead followed by Chastain, Truex, Reddick and Kyle Busch.

Shortly after, disaster then struck for Reddick as he blew a right-rear tire and smacked the outside wall as he limped his way to pit road. Reddick’s misfortune allowed Kyle Busch and Blaney to gain spots in the top five.

Nearing the Lap 125 mark, green flag pit stops occurred as Truex pitted. In the midst of the pit stops, the caution flew on Lap 126 when Harvick, who was just exiting pit road following his pit stop, spun his No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang due to a shifter issue.

During the extended caution period, some drivers including Elliott, Logano, Cole Custer, Michael McDowell, Ty Dillon, Harrison Burton, Noah Gragson, Todd Gilliland and Josh Bilicki pitted as they had not yet pitted prior to the previous caution while the rest, led by Kurt Busch, remained on the track.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 136, Kurt Busch and Blaney dueled for the lead as the field fanned out entering the first two turns. Through the frontstretch Kurt Busch and Blaney made contact as they continued to battle for the lead before the former managed to clear the latter during the following lap. In the midst of the battles, Kyle Busch overtook Blaney for the runner-up spot while Truex and Keselowski were in the top five.

By Lap 150, Kurt Busch remained as the leader by half a second over brother Kyle while Blaney, Truex and Cindric were in the top five. Elliott, meanwhile, was in sixth followed by teammate Larson, Chastain, Keselowski and Logano while Stenhouse, Hamlin, McDowell, Wallace, Gragson, Bell, Burton, Bowman, Custer and Ty Dillon occupied the top 20. Byron was back in 22nd ahead of Harvick while Reddick was in 28th, a lap behind the leaders.

With five laps remaining in the second stage, Kurt Busch extended his advantage to more than one-and-a-half seconds over brother Kyle while Blaney, Truex and Cindric remained in the top five.

Then, during the final lap of the second stage, Truex dropped off the pace due to a flat left-rear tire of his No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota TRD Camry. Despite the issue, Truex elected to nurse his car around the circuit for a final lap. In the midst of the issue, Kurt Busch went on to capture his first stage victory of the season on Lap 165. Brother Kyle settled in second followed by Blaney, Cindric, Elliott, Larson, Chastain, Hamlin, Logano and Wallace.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Kurt Busch retained the lead after exiting pit road with the top spot followed by Blaney, Kyle Busch, Larson and Cindric.

With 94 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Kurt Busch and Blaney dueled for the top spot for a full lap before the former managed to clear the field entering the backstretch. Behind, Larson and Cindric battled for third place in front of Hamlin. During the pit stops, Kyle Busch, who endured a slow pit stop, was penalized for speeding on pit road.

Under the final 90 laps, the battle for the lead intensified between Kurt Busch and Larson as the former continued to retain the top spot over the latter. Then with 86 laps remaining, Larson, who made a move beneath Busch for the lead through Turn 1, slid up and got super loose in front of Busch, but Larson managed to straighten his car through the backstretch as Busch reassumed the lead.

With 75 laps remaining, Kurt Busch continued to lead by more than two seconds over his owner Denny Hamlin while Larson was back in third place. Blaney and Elliott occupied the top five in front of Wallace, Bowman, Cindric, Chastain and Bell.

Four laps later, the caution flew when Elliott lost a left-rear tire and spun in Turn 3 as he ended up getting his No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 stuck in the infield grass.

Under caution, the leaders pitted and Kurt Busch retained the lead after exiting his pit stall with the top spot followed by Larson, Blaney, Hamlin and Bell. During the pit stops, Wallace was penalized for an uncontrolled tire penalty as his tire was hit by Bowman and Chastain while Harvick was penalized for speeding on pit road.

With 67 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Kurt Busch and Larson dueled for the lead through the first two turns and entering the backstretch. Then exiting the backstretch, Blaney attempted to make a three-wide move on both for the lead, but Larson managed to assume the top spot briefly until Busch rallied back on the inside lane and through the frontstretch.

Then with 63 laps remaining, Larson bounced off the outside wall entering the frontstretch while battling intensely against Kurt Busch for the lead, which allowed Busch to clear the field with the top spot. Despite the contact with the wall, Larson retained the runner-up spot in front of Bell, Hamlin, Blaney and Kyle Busch.

Under the final 60 laps of the event, Kurt Busch extended his advantage to more than a second over Bell while Larson and Kyle Busch battled for third place in front of Hamlin.

Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Kurt Busch stabilized his advantage to two-and-a-half seconds over Bell while Kyle Busch was in third ahead of Larson and Hamlin. Blaney was back in sixth ahead of Bowman, Chastain, Stenhouse and Byron while Cindric was in 11th ahead of teammate Logano, Truex, Austin Dillon and Brad Keselowski.

Ten laps later, Kurt Busch continued to lead by more than two seconds over brother Kyle while Bell, Larson and Hamlin remained in the top five.

A lap later, the caution flew due to possible fluid coming out of Harvick’s car. Prior to the caution, Harvick had gotten loose entering the frontstretch. During the caution period, the field pitted for fuel and Kyle Busch exited with the top spot followed by Larson, Kurt Busch, Bell, Hamlin and Blaney.

With 33 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Kyle Busch and Larson dueled for the top spot for nearly a full lap until Larson managed to pull his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 out in front with the lead entering the fourth turn. Meanwhile, Kurt Busch was locked into a battle with Bell for third place as Hamlin joined the battle.

Under the final 30 laps of the event, Larson was leading by three-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch while Kurt Busch trailed by less than a second.

Then with 22 laps remaining, Kurt Busch, who methodically narrowed the deficit between himself and the two Kyles, overtook brother Kyle for the runner-up spot as he went to work to track Larson.

With 15 laps remaining, Larson continued to lead by more than two-tenths of a second over Kurt Busch, who continued to pressure the former for the top spot.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Larson remained as the leader by less than three-tenths of a second over Kurt Busch as the leaders approached lapped traffic.

Then with nine laps remaining, the battle for the lead intensified as Kurt Busch drew himself beneath Larson for the top spot from the backstretch through the frontstretch. Then during the following lap, Larson, who continued to rim-ride towards the outside wall, scrapped the wall entering the backstretch, which allowed Busch to drive away with the lead while Larson retained second ahead of Kyle Busch.

Down to the final five laps of the event, Kurt Busch was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Larson while brother Kyle trailed by more than a second and a half. Meanwhile, Hamlin stabilized his No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota TRD Camry in fourth ahead of teammates Bell and Truex.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Kurt Busch was ahead by more than a second over Larson and nearly two seconds over Kyle Busch. With no traffic interfering with his progress and Larson not able to make up the deficit, Kurt Busch cycled his way back around to the frontstretch as he claimed his first checkered flag of the season.

With the victory, Kurt Busch, who has now won in at least 19 seasons, notched his first victory at Kansas and his 34th career win in the NASCAR Cup Series, which placed him in sole possession of 25th place on the all-time Cup wins list. The victory was also the third of the season for Toyota, the second for returning crew chief Billy Scott, the second for 23XI Racing in the team’s second season of NASCAR competition and the first for Busch since he won at Atlanta Motor Speedway in July 2021.

In addition, the Kansas victory made 23XI Racing the fifth different organization that Kurt Busch has won with throughout his Cup career. It also made Toyota the fourth overall manufacturer that Busch has won with after having previously won in the Cup circuit with Dodge, Ford and Chevrolet.

KANSAS CITY, KANSAS – MAY 15: Kurt Busch, driver of the #45 Jordan Brand Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 15, 2022 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images).

“It’s all about teamwork,” Busch said on FS1. “I don’t do this alone and the way that Toyota’s helped us, [Joe Gibbs Racing]. My little brother’s [Kyle Busch] been so important just on the family side of, ‘Hey, you gotta get through these steps.’ Bubba’s [Wallace] a tremendous teammate, but this is 23XI [Racing]. This is our first win for the No. 45 car. With Jordan Brand on the hood, I felt like I had to race like the GOAT [Michael Jordan] and I had to beat the Kyles. I beat both…I can get one Kyle, I’m like, ‘I can get both.’ I just had the confidence to know that our setup would do things on the short-run and long-run. This No. 45 car’s a winner now!”

“It’s the most gratifying [feeling] to work from the ground up with a brand new number,” Busch added. “Yes, I’ve been with a lot of teams, a lot of manufacturers, but it’s about family. I love my family at home, I love my KBI employees and everybody at 23XI. This is for us. This is what the hard work is all about no matter if you lose a couple spots on pit road, no matter if our car was a basket or whatever to start…I’m in Kansas! I’m loving it!”

Larson, who led 29 laps and won at Kansas in October 2021, settled in second place for the second time this season and for his sixth top-five result of the 2022 season.

“We were racing for the win there,” Larson said. “[Kurt Busch] never got into me, so I’m trying to squeeze throttle to get position on him. Just got tight. That was fun racing with Kurt. The last half of the race, I was trying hard to hold time. I about spun out in front of him at some point in the third stage. We just kept fighting through it. Thanks to my team for building me a war machine. I hit the wall a lot today. Just struggled like people could put air on me and get me really tight and then, I hit the wall. We’ll work on that and figure it out, but happy with my car. The Toyota’s are extremely good today. I think they’re all in the top 10. They had the handling as well as a lot of raw speed. It was hard to hold off Kyle [Busch] and then, I knew when Kurt got by him, it was gonna be really hard to hold him off. I did my best, but came up one spot short.”

Filling in positions third through sixth were all four Joe Gibbs Racing competitors led by Kyle Busch while Hamlin, Bell and Truex followed suit. To go along with his top-five run, Hamlin was left beaming and emotional over his first victory of the season as an owner.

“We, as an organization, let these guys down,” Hamlin, who congratulated Busch on pit road, said. “I’m talking about Bubba [Wallace] and Kurt. So many mistakes that we made on pit road and whatnot. Bubba got let down again on the last stop, but he was fast. I thought he was a little bit better than I was. We had to go to the back again three times today, but let’s talk about the positives. Just can’t thank Kurt enough. Jordan Brand’s first race [as a sponsor]. So jealous he gets to drive that car and to have that thing so fast there. I’ve never had this kind of feeling even for a win for me much less when I did win. Just different.”

Chastain, Stenhouse, Bowman and Bubba Wallace finished in the top 10. Austin Cindric was the highest-finishing rookie in 11th place ahead of teammate Blaney while Harvick settled in 15th ahead of Byron and Logano.

There were 18 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 47 laps.

With the first half of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season stretch complete, Chase Elliott continues to lead the regular-season standings by 52 points over Ryan Blaney, 58 over Kyle Busch, 60 over William Byron and 68 over Ross Chastain.

Currently, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, rookie Austin Cindric and Denny Hamlin are tentatively locked into the 2022 Cup Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the regular-season stretch. Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell, Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola are above the top-16 cutline to the Playoffs as winless competitors with Austin Dillon trailing by 11 points, Tyler Reddick by 22, Erik Jones by 32, Daniel Suarez by 49, Chris Buescher by 61, Bubba Wallace by 65, Justin Haley and Michael McDowell both by 77, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by 95 and Ty Dillon by 100.

Results.

1. Kurt Busch, 116 laps led, Stage 2 winner

2. Kyle Larson, 29 laps led

3. Kyle Busch, 18 laps led, Stage 1 winner

4. Denny Hamlin

5. Christopher Bell, 37 laps led

6. Martin Truex Jr.

7. Ross Chastain, four laps led

8. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., three laps led

9. Alex Bowman

10. Bubba Wallace

11. Austin Cindric

12. Ryan Blaney, one lap led

13. Austin Dillon

14. Brad Keselowski

15. Kevin Harvick

16. William Byron, 25 laps led

17. Joey Logano

18. Noah Gragson

19. Corey LaJoie

20. Ty Dillon

21. Harrison Burton

22. Cole Custer

23. Michael McDowell

24. Chase Briscoe, one lap down

25. Todd Gilliland, one lap down

26. Aric Almirola, one lap down

27. Chris Buescher, two laps down

28. Josh Bilicki, two laps down

29. Chase Elliott, three laps down, 10 laps led

30. Tyler Reddick, four laps down, 24 laps led

31. JJ Yeley, four laps down

32. Erik Jones, six laps down

33. Daniel Suarez, 11 laps down

34. Cody Ware, 12 laps down

35. Justin Haley – OUT, Electrical

36. BJ McLeod – OUT, Chassis

Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ annual All-Star Open and Race events at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Coverage of the All-Star Open is scheduled to occur on Sunday, May 22, at 5:30 p.m. ET on FS1 with the All-Star Race to follow at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

May 15, 2022
Elliott conquers Dover for first Cup victory of 2022

The one-day wait was worth the wait for Chase Elliott, who rose to the occasion in the late stages to win the rain-postponed DuraMAX Drydene 400 at Dover Motor Speedway on Monday, May 2, for his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season.

The 2020 Cup champion from Dawsonville, Georgia, led three times for 73 of 400-scheduled laps and rocketed away from Ross Chastain during a 53-lap dash to the finish before beating Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to conquer the Monster Mile in Dover, Delaware, for the second time in his career.

With on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday, Chris Buescher notched his first NASCAR Cup Series career pole after turning in a pole-winning lap at 160.149 mph in 22.479 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Denny Hamlin, who recorded a fast lap at 159.744 mph in 22.536 seconds.

Prior to the event, William Byron and Josh Bilicki dropped to the rear of the field in backup cars along with Kurt Busch due to a steering adjustment. Rookies Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland also started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their cars.

When the green flag waved and the race started on a cloudy afternoon on Sunday, Buescher rocketed with an early advantage over the field as he went on to lead the first lap while Chase Elliott moved up to second place over Hamlin, who was under threat by Kyle Larson for more. Behind, Ryan Blaney was able to settle into fifth place ahead of Alex Bowman, Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain.

Through the first 10 laps, Buescher continued to lead ahead of Elliott, Hamlin, Larson and Blaney while Bowman, Suarez, Chastain, Kyle Busch and Bubba Wallace occupied the top 10.

Nine laps later, Hamlin moved his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry into the lead over Buescher’s No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang.

On Lap 40, a scheduled competition caution flew with Hamlin retaining the lead over Larson, Buescher, Elliott, Blaney and the rest of the field. By then, 27 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap.

Under the competition caution, the leaders pitted and Hamlin retained the lead ahead of Larson, Buescher, Elliott and Chastain.

When the event restarted under green on Lap 45, Larson and Hamlin dueled for the lead until Hamlin used the outside lane to retain the top spot. Behind, Chastain moved into third place followed by Buescher, Elliott and Blaney while Suarez and Kyle Busch battled for seventh place as more battles ensued behind in the field.

By Lap 50, Hamlin was leading by nearly a second over Larson followed by Chastain, Buescher and Elliott while Blaney, Kyle Busch, Suarez, Bowman and Stenhouse were scored in the top 10.

On Lap 68, the caution flew due to precipitation on the track. During the caution period, the competitors remained on track under a cautious pace. Soon after, nearly the entire field led by Hamlin pitted while Larson, Elliott, Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell, Aric Almirola and William Byron remained on the track.

Then on Lap 78, the field led by Larson was brought down to pit road and the race was red-flagged due to the precipitation intensifying around the circuit. More than an hour later and with the jet dryers unable to enter the circuit due to the increased precipitation, NASCAR declared that the event would be postponed to Monday.

When the field returned to action on Monday under a cautious pace, Blaney surrendered third place to make a pit stop and for adjustments to his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang.

By Lap 83, the race resumed under green. At the start, Larson retained the lead over teammate Elliott and Truex while Hamlin bolted his way into the top five on four fresh tires as he challenged Byron for fourth place, which he succeeded. Soon after, Hamlin was challenged by teammate Truex for the spot while Byron and Bell battled for fifth place in front of Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola.

Four laps later, however, the caution flew when rookie Austin Cindric got loose and smacked the outside wall in Turn 3. In the process, rookie Todd Gilliland was hit and spun into the wall by Blaney.

Another five laps later, the race proceeded under green. At the start, teammates Larson and Elliott dueled for the top spot through the first turn until Elliott managed to assume the lead for the first time. Behind, Hamlin, who rocketed to third place during the previous restart, retained the spot ahead of teammates Christopher Bell and Truex. Behind, Byron was in sixth while Kyle Busch and Chastain battled for seventh place.

At the Lap 100 mark, Elliott was leading by more than seven-tenths of a second over Hamlin while Larson, Bell and Truex occupied the top five. Byron retained sixth ahead of Chastain, Kyle Busch, Buescher and Bowman while Brad Keselowski, Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kevin Harvick and Justin Haley were in the top 15. Bubba Wallace was back in 16th ahead of Daniel Suarez, Ryan Preece, Kurt Busch and Erik Jones while Blaney was back in 27th behind Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano, Michael McDowell and Chase Briscoe. By then, Cindric retired to the garage.

By Lap 110, Hamlin trailed Larson by two-tenths of a second in a bid for the lead while Larson and Bell battled for third place in front of Truex and Chastain. Two laps later, Hamlin overtook Elliott to reassume the lead. At the same time. Chastain made a bold three-wide move on Truex and Larson to move into fourth place.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 120, Hamlin claimed his second stage victory of the season. Elliott settled in second followed by Bell, Chastain, Truex, Larson, Byron, Buescher, Kyle Busch and Keselowski.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Hamlin, who exited pit road with the lead, lost the left-front wheel as the wheel came off of his car. With Hamlin returning to pit road, Chastain assumed the lead followed by Bell, Truex, Elliott, Byron and Buescher.

The second stage started on Lap 128 as Chastain and Bell occupied the front row, At the start, Chastain retained the lead while Truex, Buescher and Elliott all overtook Bell for positions in the top five. In the process, Bell made an unscheduled pit stop after falling off the pace with the driver suspecting a loose wheel on his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota TRD Camry. The issue cost Bell two laps, though he continued.

Back on the track on Lap 135, Chastain’s No. 1 Pitbull Tour 2022 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was leading by four-tenths of a second over Truex’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota TRD Camry while third-place Buescher trailed by less than a second. Elliott and Kyle Busch occupied the top five ahead of Byron, Larson, Keselowski, Harvick and Stenhouse.

On Lap 156, the caution returned when Larson spun his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the frontstretch and made light contact with the inside wall after cutting a tire. At the moment of caution, Chastain retained the lead by six-tenths of a second over Truex while Buescher, Elliott and Kyle Busch remained in the top five.

Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road and Chastain exited with the top spot ahead of Truex, Justin Haley, Elliott and Keselowski.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 163, Chastain retained the lead while Haley moved his No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into second place ahead of Truex, Elliott, Keselowski and Kyle Busch while Harvick and Buescher battled for seventh place.

By Lap 175, Chastain was leading by nearly nine-tenths of a second over Truex while Haley, Elliott and Keselowski were scored in the top five. Kyle Busch retained sixth ahead of Buescher, Harvick, Byron and Blaney.

On Lap 188 and just as Truex issued a challenge on Chastain for the lead, the caution flew when AJ Allmendinger made contact with Kurt Busch entering Turn 2, which got Busch’s No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota TRD Camry loose before the car spun and made contact with the inside wall.

Under caution, some competitors like Haley, Bowman, Allmendinger, Tyler Reddick, Wallace, Suarez, Austin Dillon and Ty Dillon remained on the track while the rest led by Truex pitted.

When the race proceeded under green on Lap 194, Haley assumed the lead while teammate Allmendinger overtook Bowman for the runner-up spot, thus placing both Kaulig Racing competitors in the top-two spots.

A lap later, however, the caution returned when Joey Logano, who was struggling with pace, slid sideways and made contact with the outside wall in Turn 1 following contact with Erik Jones exiting the frontstretch.

As the race restarted at the halfway mark on Lap 200, Haley retained the lead over teammate Allmendinger while Bowman muscled his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the runner-up spot. Way behind the field, Ty Dillon got bumped and loose in Turn 3, but the race proceeded under green as Dillon continued to lose spots on the track.

Back at the front, Haley was leading by two-tenths of a second over Bowman while Reddick was locked in a battle with Kyle Busch for fourth place behind Allmendinger.

By Lap 210, Bowman made a bold move through Turn 2 to move into the lead over Haley as Kyle Busch joined the battle. Two laps later, however, Busch rocketed his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry from third to first after overtaking both Haley and Bowman on the frontstretch. With Elliott and Allmendinger remaining in the top five, Truex, Chastain and Hamlin battled within the top-10 mark.

At the Lap 225 mark, Kyle Busch, who celebrated his 37th birthday, was leading by nearly two seconds over Elliott while Bowman, Truex and Byron were in the top five. Behind, Hamlin, following his early pit road issues, was in sixth ahead of Haley, Allmendinger, Chastain, Reddick, Harvick, Stenhouse, Erik Jones, Wallace, Buescher, Blaney, Almirola, Suarez, Chase Briscoe and Keselowski. By then, Larson was in 23rd behind Bell while Harrison Burton was the highest-running rookie candidate in 27th.

Seven laps later, Reddick made an unscheduled pit stop under green due to a shredded right-front tire as he lost two laps in the process. Shortly after, Ty Dillon made an unscheduled pit stop to address a flat right-front tire.

Just past the Lap 240 mark and while Kyle Busch maintained a one-and-a-half second advantage over Elliott, the caution flew when Cody Ware got loose and smacked the outside wall on the frontstretch. In the process of his spin, Ware clipped Hamlin as Hamlin was sent backward against the inside wall with right-side damage to his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry, thus making his afternoon tougher to overcome.

Under caution, Blaney and Harrison Burton remained on the track while the rest led by Kyle Busch pitted.

With three laps remaining in the second stage, Blaney retained the lead while teammates Kyle Busch and Truex overtook Burton for second and third. Behind, Elliott nearly made contact with the outside wall on the frontstretch while battling Chastain.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 250 in a flurry of late jostling for positions, Blaney fended off Kyle Busch to claim his fifth stage victory of the season. Bowman settled in third ahead of Truex, Stenhouse, Chastain, Erik Jones, Burton, Buescher and Elliott.

Under the stage break, Blaney, whose strategy to win the second stage worked, pitted along with Burton and Austin Dillon, whose pit crew lifted the hood of Dillon’s No. 3 Breztri Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for adjustments, while the rest led by Kyle Busch remained on the track.

With 143 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. At the start and with the field fanning out to multiple lanes, Kyle Busch retained the lead over Bowman while Stenhouse moved into third place. Shortly after, Chastain overtook Truex for fourth place in front of Erik Jones. By then, Larson was back in the top 10 in ninth place ahead of teammate Elliott.

With 125 laps remaining, Kyle Busch continued to lead by more than half a second over Bowman while Stenhouse, Chastain and Truex remained in the top five. Erik Jones remained in sixth place ahead of Larson, Elliott, Buescher and Aric Almirola while Allmendinger, Bell, Harvick, Keselowski, Byron, Corey LaJoie, Michael McDowell, Haley, Preece and Wallace. By then, Reddick and Blaney were mired outside of the top 20 while Hamlin was back in 27th ahead of Austin Dillon.

Fifteen laps later, Kyle Busch, who lapped Austin Dillon, stabilized his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Bowman while Chastain, Truex and Stenhouse remained in the top five.

Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Kyle Busch was leading by more than a second over Bowman while Chastain, Truex, Stenhouse, Elliott, Larson, Erik Jones, Buescher and Bell occupied the top 10. Almirola was in 11th ahead of Allmendinger, Harvick, LaJoie, McDowell, Preece, Haley, Byron, Blaney and Wallace while Briscoe, Suarez, Keselowski and Hamlin were scored on the lead lap. By then, names like Reddick, Custer, Austin Dillon and Harrison Burton were lapped. In addition, Logano was mired in 30th and three laps behind the leaders while Kurt Busch was in 32nd and eight laps behind.

Just as Kyle Busch and Bowman peeled off the track to pit under green, the caution flew when the right-front tire off of Allmendinger’s No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 came off in Turn 1.

Under caution, the majority of leaders that did not pit prior to the caution led by Truex pitted and Chastain assumed the lead after exiting with the top spot ahead of Truex, Elliott, Bell, Stenhouse and Larson. Prior to the restart, Kyle Busch and Bowman took the wave around to return to the lead lap.

Down to the final 70 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Chastain took off with a brief advantage until he was pressured by Elliott for more.

Four laps later, the caution flew when Suarez and LaJoie made contact entering Turn 3, which sent LaJoie into the outside wall while Suarez spun and forced the field to scatter.

With 61 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Chastain and Elliott dueled for the lead through the first two turns with Elliott briefly peaking ahead until Chastain fought back on the outside lane.

During the following lap, both Chastain and Elliott made contact through Turn 2, but both continued to battle dead even for the top spot. They made contact again during the next lap, but both continued to battle for the lead in a heated battle until the caution returned when Reddick spun and wrecked his No. 8 Guaranteed Rate Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the backstretch. At the moment of caution, Chastain retained the lead over Elliott.

With 53 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Elliott prevailed on the inside lane to move his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the lead while Chastain was left in a battle against Stenhouse for the runner-up spot. Following an intense battle for a few laps, Stenhouse took the runner-up spot while Chastain settled in third ahead of Truex and Bell.

Under the final 50 laps of the event, Elliott was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Stenhouse while Chastain, Truex, Bell, Erik Jones, Larson, Bowman, Buescher and Kyle Busch occupied the top 10.

With 35 laps remaining, Elliott extended his advantage to more than a second over Stenhouse while Chastain, Truex and Bell remained in the top five.

Fifteen laps later, Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 continued to lead by more than a second over Stenhouse’s No. 47 Kroger/Frozen Farmer Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, who started to have Chastain and Truex reel in on him for the runner-up spot. With Bell in fifth, Bowman and Kyle Busch were up in sixth and seventh followed by Larson, Erik Jones and Buescher. Meanwhile, Harvick was in 11th ahead of teammate Briscoe, Haley, Wallace, Suarez and Cole Custer.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Elliott remained the leader by more than two seconds over Stenhouse while Chastain and Truex battled for third place ahead of Bell. By then, 17 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap.

With five laps remaining, Elliott stabilized his advantage to less than two seconds over Stenhouse while working his way through lapped traffic. Meanwhile, Chastain continued to fend off Truex for third place.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Elliott continued to lead by nearly two seconds over Stenhouse. Having no competition closing in on him for a final circuit, Elliott cycled his way back around to the frontstretch and streaked across the finish line for his first victory of the season as the caution flag flew for a final lap incident involving Chastain and Truex.

With his first victory of the season, Elliott became the ninth different winner through the first 11 events of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. The Dover victory marked Elliott’s second at the Monster Mile, the 14th of his Cup career, his first since winning at Road America in July 2021 and his first oval victory since winning the 2020 season finale at Phoenix Raceway, where he celebrated his first Cup championship.

In addition, Hendrick Motorsports achieved its 22nd overall win at Dover Motor Speedway, leaving the team 15 victories shy of reaching 300 Cup career victories, as all four HMS competitors have recorded a victory this season.

“[I] Just had some good circumstances finally,” Elliott said on FS1. “Really appreciate [crew chief] Alan [Gustafson] and our entire team. We were just sticking with it. We’ve had some tough races over the last four or five months and just great to get NAPA back to Victory Lane. Great to get Hendrick Motorsports back to Victory Lane. Just so proud. This one means a lot in a lot of different ways. Just appreciate all the effort. Thanks to all the fans for coming out. You are always awesome. Hope to see this big crowd here next year. Just a huge thanks to everybody involved. It’s been a fun day and we’re certainly gonna enjoy it. Like I told [the crew] after the race, they’ve been deserving of one for a while. Glad we could get it across the line first. We’ll enjoy it for a few days and go to work next week.”

Finishing two-and-a-half seconds behind Elliott with a stellar runner-up result was Stenhouse, who notched the first top-five result of the season for himself and JTG-Daugherty Racing following a difficult start to the year.

“It’s been a rough start to the season,” Stenhouse said. “Our short track program’s been off and then all of our other good races that we’ve had good runs going, something always happens. Really good to put this all together. It was a really great day for us. I felt like we had a car capable of winning. The pit crew did a great job keeping us up front all day. This feels good. Hopefully, we can carry this momentum on the big tracks. The tracks we got coming forward are really good tracks for us. That was a lot of fun. Lot of battling. It was tough to pass, but it was fun running through lapped traffic. I really wished we had a 70-lap run to the end there, but all in all, our Kroger team’s doing a great job and looking forward to carrying that momentum on.”

Meanwhile, Chastain came home in third place despite making contact with Truex on the final lap that sent Truex sideways and into the inside wall on the backstretch. The incident dropped Truex to 12th place in the final running order while Bell, who rallied from his early issues, and Bowman finished in the top five.

Following the event, Chastain and Truex met on pit road and exchanged words before Truex walked away.

“[Truex and I] were talking about where we were gonna go finishing next week,” Chastain said. “Super proud of this effort. I thought we were a fifth-place car and a couple of guys had misfortune with the caution coming out. That cycled us to the lead. The pit crew was incredible. They were just picking up spots every stop and got us the lead. I’m racing with champions and I got beat.”

Larson, Kyle Busch, Buescher, Harvick and Erik Jones finished in the top 10 as 15 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

There were 17 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured 13 cautions for 75 laps.

With his first victory of the season, Chase Elliott leads the regular-season standings by 50 points over Ryan Blaney, 65 over William Byron and Kyle Busch, 69 over Alex Bowman, 80 over Ross Chastain, 82 over Martin Truex Jr. and 83 over Kyle Larson.

Results.

1. Chase Elliott, 73 laps led

2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

3. Ross Chastain, 86 laps led

4. Christopher Bell

5. Alex Bowman, two laps led

6. Kyle Larson, 19 laps led

7. Kyle Busch, 103 laps led

8. Chris Buescher, 18 laps led

9. Kevin Harvick

10. Erik Jones

11. Justin Haley, 19 laps led

12. Martin Truex Jr., five laps led

13. Chase Briscoe

14. Daniel Suarez

15. Cole Custer

16. Bubba Wallace, one lap down

17. Michael McDowell, one lap down

18. Corey LaJoie, one lap down

19. Aric Almirola, one lap down

20. Brad Keselowski, one lap down

21. Denny Hamlin, one lap down, 67 laps led, Stage 1 winner

22. William Byron, one lap down

23. Austin Dillon, two laps down

24. Harrison Burton, two laps down

25. Ryan Preece, two laps down

26. Ryan Blaney, three laps down, eight laps led, Stage 2 winner

27. Ty Dillon, four laps down

28. Todd Gilliland, four laps down

29. Joey Logano, four laps down

30. Tyler Reddick, 10 laps down

31. Kurt Busch, 12 laps down

32. Josh Bilicki, 19 laps down

33. AJ Allmendinger – OUT, Brakes

34. Cody Ware – OUT, Dvp

35. BJ McLeod – OUT, Brakes

36. Austin Cindric – OUT, Dvp

Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Darlington Raceway, the first of two series events at the venue in Darlington, South Carolina, on Sunday, May 8, which marks Mother’s Day and the sport’s annual Official Throwback weekend. The event is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

May 2, 2022
Chastain executes final lap pass for second Cup career triumph at Talladega

From losing a lap to the leaders to rallying his way back to the front and having the seas parting way for him with the finish in sight, Ross Chastain overtook Erik Jones at the tri-oval on the final lap to win the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, April 24.

The 29-year-old Chastain from Alva, Florida, was penalized for speeding on pit road during an exchange of green-flag pit stops nearing the Lap 40 mark, but he was able to cycle his way back on the lead lap following the first stage’s conclusion. From there, he muscled his way to the front and remained within sight of the lead pack. Then on the final lap and entering the tri-oval, Chastain was lined up in third place while awaiting his moment to strike. With the field fanning out and initial leader Erik Jones trying to prevent a run from Kyle Larson in the outside lane, Chastain had the inside lane to himself. He seized the opportunity to snatch the lead and emerged victorious for the second time in his NASCAR Cup Series career.

With on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday, Christopher Bell notched his second Cup Series pole position of the season and of his career after posting a pole-winning lap at 180.928 mph in 52.927 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Martin Truex Jr., who posted a fast lap at 180.652 mph in 53.008 seconds.

Prior to the event, Landon Cassill was forced to serve a pass-through penalty through pit road at the start due to his No. 77 Spire Motorsports entry failing pre-qualifying technical inspection three times. Noah Gragson, the winner of Saturday’s Xfinity event at Talladega, also dropped to the rear of the field due to an unapproved adjustment to his No. 62 Beard Motorsports entry.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Bell moved his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota TRD Camry in front of teammate Truex’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota TRD Camry as he maintained the lead through the first two turns while Daniel Suarez charged as the lead competitor on the outside lane.

When the field returned to the start/finish line, Bell led the first lap. Suarez, however, fought back on the outside lane in his No. 99 Tootsies Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 with drafting help from Kurt Busch, but Bell maintained his line on the inside lane. Suarez, though, was able to lead the second lap as he and Bell were locked dead even for the lead. By then, the entire field was stacked up through two long double lines.

Through the first 10 laps of the event and with the field fanning out to multiple lanes, Suarez received a draft from William Byron to overtake Bell for the lead followed by Truex, Kurt Busch, Daniel Hemric, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson and Joey Logano. By then, Bell had led seven of the first 10 laps while Suarez led the remaining three. In addition, Cassill, who served his pass-through penalty at the start, was lapped by the field.

By Lap 20, eight competitors broke away from the pack fanning out to two packed lanes as Suarez continued to lead ahead of Byron, Bell, Truex, Hemric, Larson, Haley and Kurt Busch while Ty Dillon and Erik Jones were in the top 10.

Five laps later, the top-10 competitors led by Suarez had broken away from the rest of the pack stacked through two lanes while 11th-place Kevin Harvick initiated a charge as the lead competitor on the outside lane. By then, all but one of the 39 starters were separated by less than three seconds.

By Lap 30, Suarez continued to lead on the inside lane ahead of Byron, Bell and Truex while Chase Elliott, who was in fifth ahead of Hemric, mounted a charge on the outside lane with drafting help from Kevin Harvick and the field.

On Lap 32, Reddick pitted as the crew lifted the hood up on the No. 8 Bet MGM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 due to a mechanical issue.

By Lap 34, the Ford competitors peeled off the track to pit under green. During the Ford pit stops, Keselowski was penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Cody Ware spun his No. 51 Nurtec ODT Ford Mustang while entering pit road, but he was able to proceed without drawing a caution. Soon after, the Toyota competitors along with Chevrolet competitor Alex Bowman pitted. During the Toyota pit stops, Hamlin slid his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry through his pit box. By the end of Lap 36, the Chevrolet competitors pitted. During the Chevrolet pit stops, Ross Chastain was penalized for speeding while exiting pit road.

At the Lap 40 mark and with the pit stops complete, Larson cycled his way to the lead followed by teammates Byron and Elliott while Erik Jones and Hemric were in the top five. Harvick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Logano, Ty Dillon, rookie Harrison Burton, Bubba Wallace, Bell, Truex, Chris Buescher, Kurt Busch, Bowman, Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola. By then, Suarez had fallen back to 23rd while Reddick retired in the garage.

Through the first 50 scheduled laps, Larson continued to lead ahead of teammates Byron and Elliott while Wallace mounted a charge on the outside lane in fourth place. By then, Keselowski was lapped by the field.

Soon after, Wallace drew himself into a side-by-side against Larson for the lead through the backstretch. Despite the field having to fan out while lapping Chastain and Michael McDowell, they gathered themselves through the tri-oval as Wallace received a push from Bell to briefly lead until Larson fought back on the inside lane. By Lap 53, Wallace led a lap for himself and had both lanes in control through the backstretch until Larson mounted another challenge on the inside lane with drafting help from teammate Byron.

With four laps remaining in the first stage and while the field fanned out, the first caution flew when Hemric fell off the pace and was bumped sideways by Austin Dillon through Turns 3 and 4 as he radioed engine issues to his No. 16 Majestic Steel Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. While trying to straighten his car below the apron, Hemric then shot back across the track and made heavy contact against Chris Buescher and Chase Briscoe, whose No. 14 Mahindra Ford Mustang burst into flames. At the moment of caution, Chastain received the free pass to return on the lead lap due to being the first competitor that was scored a lap behind which left Keselowski still trapped a lap behind.

The three-car wreck between Turns 3 and 4 was enough for the first stage scheduled on Lap 60 to conclude under caution as Bubba Wallace claimed his first stage victory of the season and third at Talladega. Larson settled in second followed by Bell, Byron, Truex, Elliott, Kurt Busch, Erik Jones, Bowman and Stenhouse.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Larson reassumed the lead following his pit service followed by Byron, Elliott, Erik Jones, Truex and Wallace. During the pit stops, Kyle Busch was penalized for dragging his gas can out of his pit box.

The second stage started on Lap 64 as teammates Larson and Byron occupied the front row. At the start, Larson moved in front of teammates Byron and Elliott to maintain the lead on the inside lane while Erik Jones was the lead competitor on the outside lane as he received a push from Wallace to battle and overtake Larson for the lead when the field returned to the start/finish line.

By Lap 67, Erik Jones was out in front while Wallace and Larson battled for second place. Soon after, Larson challenged for the lead on the inside lane while Jones maintained his ground on the outside lane.

At the Lap 75 mark, Erik Jones’ No. 43 Air Force Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was still leading by 0.013 seconds over Wallace’s No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota TRD Camry while Larson, Kurt Busch, Byron, Harvick, Elliott, Truex, Bowman and Logano were scored in the top 10.

Six laps later, the caution returned when Greg Biffle fell off the pace with no power and was unable to limp his No. 44 Morehouse College Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 back to pit road as he stalled in Turn 4. At the moment of caution, Keselowski received the free pass to return to the lead lap due to being the first competitor scored a lap behind.

Under caution, the field returned to pit road for service, mainly for fuel, and Byron emerged with the lead followed by Truex, Elliott, Larson, Blaney and Erik Jones.

On Lap 85, the race proceeded under green as Byron maintained the lead ahead of the packed field. Shortly after, however, the caution returned when BJ McLeod spun in Turn 2 as the right-rear wheel of McLeod’s car came out.

Another four laps later, the race restarted under green. The caution, however, followed suit for a multi-car wreck that sparked due to a stack-up at the front and resulted in Logano receiving a bump from Wallace that turned Logano into the outside wall in Turn 1. With Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang then slowly creeping towards the straightaway amid the ongoing field, he was hit by Ty Dillon as rookies Austin Cindric, Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland along with Suarez, Kyle Busch, Cole Custer and Stenhouse were sent spinning and wrecking through Turn 1.

By Lap 97, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Byron and Truex dueled with Truex receiving a draft from former teammate Erik Jones while Byron had teammates Elliott and Larson lined up behind him along with Kurt Busch.

At the Lap 100 mark, Byron and Truex dueled for the top spot with Elliott, Erik Jones and Larson scored in the top five while Blaney, Kurt Busch, Wallace, Bowman and Harvick were in the top 10. By then, 24 of 39 starters were scored on the lead lap.

Six laps later, the caution flew when Cody Ware got turned by David Ragan past the start/finish line. Under caution, some like Erik Jones, Wallace, Blaney, Harvick, Cindric, Bell, Keselowski, Corey LaJoie and Gragson pitted while the rest led by Byron remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Wallace made an extra pit stop to address a potential loose wheel on his car.

With 10 laps remaining in the second stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Byron maintained the lead as all four Hendrick Motorsports competitors were lined up from first through fourth on the inside lane while Truex was in fifth.

As the field settled in a long single-file line with five laps remaining in the second stage, Byron continued to lead ahead of his Hendrick teammates while Truex, Chastain, Almirola, Erik Jones, Cindric and Harvick were in the top 10. By then, the Busch brothers along with Keselowski, Wallace, LaJoie, Blaney, Bell, Hamlin, Austin Dillon and Justin Haley were in the top 20.

At the start of the final lap of the second stage, the field fanned out to multiple lanes as Kyle Busch mounted a charge on the outside lane. Byron, however, was able to maintain the lead ahead of the fanned field to claim his third stage victory of the season on Lap 120. Teammates Elliott and Larson followed pursuit along with Truex, Bowman, Kyle Busch, Almirola, Erik Jones, Chastain and Kurt Busch.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Erik Jones emerged with the lead following a two-tire stop followed by Kyle Busch, Harvick, Blaney, Keselowski and Wallace.

With 63 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Kyle Busch gained a brief advantage through the first two turns on the outside lane before Harvick gave Erik Jones a huge push for Jones to assume the lead through Turns 3 and 4.

During the following lap, Ryan Blaney gave Kyle Busch a big draft that enabled Busch to challenge Jones for the top spot before Busch prevailed when he returned to the start/finish line. Then through the backstretch, Busch moved in front of Jones to maintain the lead ahead of Jones on the inside lane until Blaney received drafting support from Wallace to mount his challenge for the lead.

With 58 laps remaining, Blaney and Wallace managed to pull themselves in front of Kyle Busch on the inside lane as Blaney maintained the lead, By then, a long single-file line was being formulated on the inside lane while Cindric lost the draft and was losing spots on the track.

Down to the final 50 laps of the event and with the field remaining in a long single-file line, Blaney was leading ahead of Wallace, Kyle Busch, Erik Jones, Harvick, Keselowski, Bell, Larson, Elliott and Byron while Chastain, McDowell, Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon, Truex, David Ragan, LaJoie, Kurt Busch, Haley and Landon Cassill were in the top 20. By then, 25 of 39 starters were scored on the lead lap.

Ten laps later, Blaney maintained the lead ahead of Wallace, Kyle Busch, Erik Jones, Harvick and the long line of competitors on the inside line.

Shortly after, a group of competitors led by Chastain moved to the outside lane and started to gain a run to the front with Chastain scored in ninth place. During the following lap, he moved up to seventh while Blaney continued to lead on the inside lane.

Then with 37 laps remaining, Wallace made a move to the outside of Blaney and he muscled his way into the lead followed by Kyle Busch and Erik Jones. Jones, however, made his move during the following lap beneath Wallace to take the lead while Kyle Busch, who had a momentum going on the outside lane, got shuffled out of line. In addition, Blaney moved into second followed by Harvick, Wallace, Keselowski and Chastain.

With 33 laps remaining, Wallace received a draft from Chastain to reassume the lead over Erik Jones as he was placed on defense mode through both lanes.

Three laps later, Wallace and Erik Jones were locked in a tight side-by-side battle for the lead as Wallace moved up the outside lane in front of Chastain and Hamlin while Jones had drafting support from Blaney and Harvick.

Another lap later, a handful of competitors led by Blaney peeled off the track to pit under green. During the next lap, another wave of competitors led by Wallace pitted while another wave led by LaJoie pitted during the next lap. During the pit stops, Keselowski was busted with his second pit road speeding penalty. In addition, contact between Gragson and Kyle Busch sent Bell spinning towards the inside wall on the frontstretch. The race, however, proceeded under green as Bell was able to continue without sustaining any significant damage.

Back on the track with less than 25 laps remaining, Hamlin cycled his way into the lead followed by Larson, Erik Jones, Byron and Chastain.

With 20 laps remaining and the field settled in a long single-file line on the inside lane, Hamlin was leading ahead of Larson, Erik Jones, Byron and Chastain while Haley, Kurt Busch, Truex, LaJoie and Austin Dillon were in the top 10. Wallace was back in 11th ahead of Elliott, Blaney, Harvick, Almirola, Bowman, McDowell, Cindric, Kyle Busch and Cassill.

Three laps later, Larson moved into the lead while Hamlin, who briefly lost the draft, fell back to sixth place in an effort to save fuel. By then, Keselowski was lapped by the field.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event and with the field fanning out and stacked up to multiple lanes, Larson was leading by a hair over Chastain followed by Haley, Erik Jones, Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Byron, Truex, Elliott and Blaney. By then, Bell was lapped by the field.

With seven laps remaining, Erik Jones gained a huge draft from Byron and Elliott on the outside lane to move into third place behind Larson and Chastain as he made his bid for the lead. As the field remained in a tight, deadlock through double lanes, Jones peaked ahead with drafting help from Byron while Larson had drafting support from Chastain on the inside lane.

With five laps remaining, Jones maintained the lead before Larson fought back on the inside lane as the intensity towards the pack intensified.

Down to the final two laps, Jones remained as the leader ahead of Larson, Chastain, Kurt Busch and Byron, all of whom were briefly ahead of the pack in a single-file line. By then, Hamlin pitted under green after running out of fuel.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Jones continued to lead a long parade of competitors with some moving up to the outside lane through the backstretch. Then in Turns 3 and 4, Kurt Busch, who was in fourth place, bolted to the outside lane while waiting to gain a draft from Truex and Wallace.

Then through the tri-oval, Larson tried to make a move to the outside of Jones, but he made contact with Kurt Busch that sent Busch’s No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota TRD Camry hard against the tri-oval outside wall as he collected teammate, Wallace. In the process, Jones, who moved up the outside lane to block Larson, opened the inside lane for Ross Chastain to make his move along with Austin Dillon. Having open race track to himself at the right timing on the final straightaway, Chastain maintained the lead through all lanes to grab the win by 0.105 seconds over Dillon while LaJoie spun across the finish line.

With the victory, Chastain, who only led the final lap out of the event’s 188-scheduled laps, notched his second NASCAR Cup Series career win in his 125th series start and his first at Talladega Superspeedway. In addition, he achieved the second NASCAR victory for Trackhouse Racing nearly a month after the team and Chastain achieved their first win at Circuit of the Americas.

“Holy cow,” Chastain, who celebrated with his trademark by smashing a watermelon on the frontstretch, said on FOX. “I’m always the one going to the top [lane] too early and making the mistake. There at the end, it was like eight [laps] to go, I was like I’m not going up there again. I did that a couple of times today. I was like, ‘I’ll just ride the bottom.’ I’m not gonna lose the race for us. I’ll just let them. To win with the Moose [Fraternity] on board, they’ve been with me for a few years now and supported me everywhere I went. I have no idea. [The leaders] just kept going up and they just kept moving out of the way.”

“I’ve wrecked myself so many times, gotten into it with guys,” Chastain added. “[Team owner] Justin Marks and what he laid out for us was ambitious and I had no idea what to expect other than I knew I had my group from last year, I had AdventHealth, the Moose, now with Worldwide Express, Jockey coming on board. We’ve got partners. They’re believing in us. We started the year with a lot of races open. We’re almost full now [with sponsors]. It’s because of the vision of Justin Marks and Pitbull. Armando [Pitbull], we won, dude!”

Austin Dillon came home in second place for his second runner-up result of the season while Kyle Busch, Larson and Truex finished in the top five.

Erik Jones, who led 25 laps and was within a straightaway of snapping a two-year winless drought, settled in sixth place for his third top-10 result of the season.

“Last lap, it’s typical here,” Jones said. “I’ve been close here so many times in this race and the fall race. The U.S. Air Force Chevy had good speed. It just felt good to run up front, but come there that last lap, we were single file. I felt pretty good about it. They kind of doubled up behind us and that top lane was getting some momentum. Looking back, I wished I would’ve stayed on the bottom [lane], let [Chastain] push me. I didn’t realize they were coming with that much speed, but I tried to defend on [Larson]. We were too far ahead already right here. Obviously, defense on [Larson] kind of gives the door to [Chastain]. It is what it is. You’re just trying to win the race. You can only see how much so much is going on from the seat. You’re trying to make the best decision you can on the last 15-100 feet. Happy to run up front, lead laps. Just really would love to get the No. 43 [car] to Victory Lane. I thought today might be the day. All day long, we were fast and had speed and especially being up front there at the end on the last 10 [laps], I knew we had a shot. Just couldn’t quite close it out.”

Elliott, McDowell, Bowman and Harvick rounded out the top 10 on the track. Notably, teammates Kurt Busch and Wallace finished 16th and 17th behind Byron and in front of bossman Denny Hamlin following their final lap wreck.

There were 41 lead changes for 16 different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 28 laps.

With his seventh-place result, Chase Elliott continues to lead the regular-season standings by 21 points over Ryan Blaney, 34 over William Byron, 56 over Kyle Busch, 59 over Alex Bowman and 60 over Joey Logano.

Results.

1. Ross Chastain, one lap led

2. Austin Dillon

3. Kyle Busch, three laps led

4. Kyle Larson, 32 laps led

5. Martin Truex Jr.

6. Erik Jones, 25 laps led

7. Chase Elliott

8. Michael McDowell

9. Alex Bowman

10. Kevin Harvick

11. Ryan Blaney, 23 laps led

12. Justin Haley

13. Aric Almirola

14. Corey LaJoie, one lap led

15. William Byron, 38 laps led, Stage 2 winner

16. Kurt Busch, one lap led

17. Bubba Wallace, 15 laps led, Stage 1 winner

18. Denny Hamlin, nine laps led

19. Landon Cassill

20. Noah Gragson

21. Austin Cindric

22. Christopher Bell, one lap down, seven laps led

23. Brad Keselowski, one lap down

24. David Ragan, two laps down

25. JJ Yeley, three laps down, one lap led

26. BJ McLeod, 16 laps led, two laps led

27. Todd Gilliland – OUT, Accident

28. Cody Ware – OUT, Dvp

29. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident, one lap led

30. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident

31. Daniel Suarez – OUT, Dvp, 28 laps led

32. Joey Logano – OUT, Accident, one lap led

33. Ty Dillon – OUT, Accident

34. Harrison Burton – OUT, Accident

35. Greg Biffle – OUT, Fuel pump

36. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Accident

37. Chase Briscoe – OUT, Accident

38. Chris Buescher – OUT, Accident

39. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Engine

Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ lone annual visit of this season at Dover Motor Speedway in Dover, Delaware, for a 400-mile feature on Sunday, May 1. The event is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on FS1.

April 24, 2022
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.

April 18, 2022
Hamlin rebounds with a dramatic Cup victory at Richmond

In a season that has been mired with on-track difficulties and misfortunes for Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota, all three responded back with vengeance after emerging victorious in the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway on Sunday, April 3, with Hamlin delivering in the late stages.

The 41-year-old Hamlin for Chesterfield, Virginia, executed a pit strategy by pitting with less than 50 laps remaining to methodically carve his way to the front before overtaking William Byron, who was contending for the win through a different pit strategy as he pitted earlier than Hamlin, with five laps remaining. From there, Hamlin then fended off a hard-charging Kevin Harvick to grab his elusive first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2022 season and to become the seventh different winner through the first seven scheduled events.

With on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday, Ryan Blaney captured his third pole in four races with a pole-winning lap at 119.782 mph. Joining him on the front row was William Byron, who posted a qualifying speed at 119.585 mph.

Prior to the main event, rookie Austin Cindric dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his No. 2 Team Penske Ford Mustang. In addition, Greg Biffle and Justin Haley were assessed drive-through penalties through pit road at the start of the event and had a crew member of their respective teams ejected from Sunday’s main event due to their respective cars failing Saturday’s inspection three times, which prevented them from recording a qualifying lap.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Blaney jumped ahead with an early advantage as he went on to lead the first lap and break away ahead of Byron, Kyle Busch, Chase Briscoe and the field. Shortly after, Martin Truex Jr. battled and overtook Erik Jones for fifth place.

With a series of battles ensuing around the three-quarter mile short track, the first caution of the event flew on the ninth lap when Kurt Busch fell off the pace through the frontstretch a lap earlier due to a fuel pump issue. As he was trying to limp his No. 45 Embrace Home Loans Toyota TRD Camry back to pit road, he then came to a stop on the backstretch as he was lapped by the field.

Under caution, some like Kyle Larson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. pitted while the rest led by Blaney remained on the track. By then, Kurt Busch, who needed a push from a wrecker, took his car to the garage,

When the race restarted under green on Lap 15, Blaney took off with another strong start as he retained the lead while Byron and Kyle Busch battled for the runner-up spot. Behind, Ross Chastain, winner of last weekend’s event at Circuit of the Americas who restarted in sixth place, marched his way into third place after overtaking Truex and Kyle Busch before Busch reassumed third. Busch then tried to overtake Byron’s No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the runner-up spot, but the latter was able to retain the spot as the run progressed.

Through the first 25 scheduled laps, Blaney was the leader by approximately six-tenths of a second over Byron and Kyle Busch while Chastain and Truex were in the top five. Briscoe was in sixth followed by Christopher Bell, Erik Jones, Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick.

By Lap 50, Blaney continued to lead as he stretched his advantage to more than a second over Byron while third-place Kyle Busch trailed by more than three seconds. Chastain and Truex remained in the top five followed by Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin. Brad Keselowski was in 11th place ahead of Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson while Aric Almirola Chris Buescher, Cindric, Ty Dillon and rookie Harrison Burton occupied the top 20. Briscoe, who started towards the front, was falling back in 21st ahead of Daniel Suarez, Stenhouse, Cole Custer and rookie Todd Gilliland while Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace, Justin Haley, AJ Allmendinger and Cody Ware were in the top 30.

Nearing the Lap 65 mark, Blaney stabilized his strong start and advantage to more than a second over Byron while Chastain was in third place ahead of Kyle Busch and Truex. By then, Hamlin was back in 11th while Keselowski marched his way into ninth place after overtaking Harvick. In addition, names like Cole Custer, Allmendinger, Corey LaJoie and Michael McDowell were lapped

When the first stage concluded on Lap 70, Blaney, who had never led a lap at Richmond prior to Sunday’s event and whose best result at Richmond was 10th place that occurred during last September, captured his third stage victory of the 2022 season after leading all scheduled laps. Byron settled in second ahead of Chastain, Truex, Kyle Busch, Elliott, Bell, Logano, Keselowski and Harvick.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted for their first round of adjustments and Blaney retained the lead after exiting pit road with the lead ahead of Chastain, Elliott, Bell, Kyle Busch and Truex while Byron fell back to eighth. During the pit stops, Alex Bowman was penalized for pitting outside of his pit box.

The second stage started on Lap 80 as Blaney’s No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang and Chastain’s No. 1 iFly Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 occupied the front row. At the start, the field fanned out after Elliott, who restarted on the second row, spun the tires. While Blaney maintained the lead ahead of Chastain, Kyle Busch moved his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry into fourth place ahead of Elliott’s No. 9 A SHOC Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 while Bell was in third place. Behind, Logano and Byron battled for seventh place in front of Keselowski, Harvick and Hamlin while Truex retained fifth place.

At the one-quarter mark on Lap 100, Blaney, who was the only leader thus far but was experiencing brake shakes to his No. 12 Ford, was leading by nearly seventh-tenths of a second over Chastain while Bell, Kyle Busch and Elliott occupied the top five. Truex was back in sixth ahead of Logano, Keselowski, Byron and Harvick while Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Erik Jones, Larson and Cindric were in the top 15.

Twenty-five laps later, Blaney continued to lead by nearly nine-tenths of a second over Bell, who overtook Chastain for the spot, while Elliott and Kyle Busch remained in the top five.

Shortly after, pit stops under green ensued as Truex pitted followed by Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Buescher, Byron, Cindric, Harvick, Suarez, Reddick, Allmendinger, Bowman, Harrison Burton, Bubba Wallace, Larson and race leader Blaney. Soon after, Elliott pitted along with Logano, Chastain and Ty Dillon.

Back on the track nearing the Lap 130 mark, Bell assumed the lead followed by teammate Hamlin, Erik Jones, Aric Almirola, Austin Dillon, Elliott, Briscoe and Gilliland, all of whom were on the lead lap but needing a pit stop.

By Lap 150, Bell continued to lead by more than nine seconds over teammate Truex, who was charging towards the front on fresh tires, while their third teammate, Hamlin, was back in third place. Meanwhile, Austin Dillon and Todd Gilliland had pitted while Almirola was in the top 10 and continuing to run on worn tires like Bell.

Shortly after, Almirola and Hamlin surrendered their spots on the track to pit along with Bell while Truex moved into the lead by Lap 155.

At the Lap 175 mark, another round of pit stops under green commenced as Chastain pitted followed by Blaney, Harvick, Logano, Elliott, Kyle Busch, Harvick, Keselowski and race leader Truex. Also pitting included Reddick, Bowman, Larson, Harrison Burton, Cindric, Ty Dillon, Suarez, Byron and Stenhouse pitted.

Back on the track, Bell returned to the lead as he reignited his one pit stop strategy followed by teammates Hamlin and Truex, both of whom were trailing by no more than 15 seconds. Also on the same one-stop strategy with Bell and Hamlin included Erik Jones, Almirola and Austin Dillon while Truex was the first competitor on the track with four fresh tires and on a two-stop strategy.

At the halfway mark on Lap 200, Bell continued to lead by more than six seconds over teammate Truex while Hamlin, Chastain, Blaney, Elliott, Logano, Kyle Busch, Harvick and Larson were scored in the top 10. By then, 17 competitors were scored on the lead lap.

Eleven laps later, Truex reassumed the lead over teammate Bell with the conclusion of the second stage approaching.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 230, Truex claimed his third stage victory of the season. Behind, Bell made the one-stop strategy pay to perfection as he settled in second followed by Chastain, Logano, Blaney, Elliott, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Larson and Keselowski.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Truex retained the lead followed by Bell, Chastain, Logano, Kyle Busch and Blaney.

With 160 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Truex retained the lead as he took off with a strong start while teammate Bell fended off Chastain to retain the runner-up spot until Joey Logano joined the party. Not long after, Logano moved his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang to the runner-up spot over Bell’s No. 20 SiruisXM Toyota TRD Camry. Behind, Chastain got bumped by Blaney as he slipped out of the racing groove and was losing spots while Kyle Busch moved in fourth.

Under the final 155 scheduled laps, the caution flew due to Cody Ware getting into the Turn 2 wall after making contact with Erik Jones while Stenhouse also made contact with Ware. Under caution, some like Buescher, Suarez, Hamlin, Byron and Austin Dillon pitted while the rest led by Truex remained on the track.

With 148 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Truex rocketed away with another strong restart while Bell issued another challenge on Logano for the runner-up spot. Behind, Kyle Busch and Blaney battled for fourth while Harvick battled with Chastain for sixth place. In addition, teammates Elliott and Bowman battled for eighth place.

Four laps later, the caution returned when contact between Ty Dillon and Cole Custer entering Turn 2 created a chain reaction incident that resulted with Custer sending Cindric’s No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang spinning in a cloud of smoke. Under caution, a majority of the field led by Truex pitted while the rest led by Byron remained on the track.

With 137 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Byron maintained the lead followed by Suarez while Truex battled and overtook Austin Dillon for third place while running on four fresh tires. Teammate Hamlin and Blaney also made their march to the front while teammate Bell was being held up by Dillon.

Seventeen laps later, Byron was leading ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Truex, Hamlin and Kyle Busch while Blaney was in fifth ahead of the fourth JGR competitor, Bell. Harvick was in seventh ahead of Suarez, Larson and Austin Dillon while Chastain was back in 11th ahead of Bowman, Briscoe, Reddick and Logano.

Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Byron continued to lead by nearly half a second over Truex while Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Blaney remained in the top five. Harvick muscled his No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang into sixth place followed by Bell, Larson, Suarez and Austin Dillon. By then, 19 competitors were scored on the lead lap.

Nearly 10 laps later, pit stops under green commenced as Harvick pitted followed by Elliott, Bell, Hamlin, Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Reddick, Harrison Burton and race leader Byron.

Back on the track, Truex, who remained on the track, was leading followed by teammate Kyle Busch, Blaney, Larson and Suarez while Chastain, Briscoe, Logano, Bowman and Cindric were in the top 10. Byron, the first competitor with four fresh tires, was in 11th place despite being pinned a lap behind the leaders.

Under the final 80 laps, Blaney surrendered third place to pit along with Logano, Larson, Briscoe, Cindric, Kyle Busch, and Trackhouse Racing’s Suarez and Chastain. Then with 75 laps remaining, Byron cycled his way back to the lead as Truex pitted along with Bowman.

Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Byron was leading by nearly five seconds over Hamlin followed by Harvick, Truex and Bell. By then, sixth-place Kyle Busch was black-flagged for having tape on the front grille of his No. 18 Toyota, thus needing to pit to have the tape removed. In addition, Keselowski had made a pit stop under green.

Not long after, another round of pit stops under green initiated as names like Austin Dillon, Harvick, Bell, Reddick, Elliott, Harrison Burton and Hamlin pitted. With more pitting, Byron continued to lead by nearly six seconds over Truex, both of whom were five competitors scored on the lead lap but still needing to pit.

With 30 laps remaining, Byron continued to lead by less than three seconds over Truex while Larson, Blaney and Briscoe were in the top five. Meanwhile, Hamlin, the first competitor on four fresh tires, settled in sixth place followed by Harvick, Bowman, Logano and Bell.

Ten laps later, Byron remained in the lead by more than two seconds over Truex and less than five seconds over third-place Larson. Meanwhile, Hamlin and Harvick, both of whom were running on fresher tires than the top-three competitors, were trailing by less than 11 seconds as they both continued to pursue the leaders.

Another five laps later, Hamlin’s gap to Byron reduced to less than seven seconds and Harvick’s gap reduced to seven seconds while Truex, who was more than a second ahead, started to close in on Byron in a bid for the lead.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event and with the leaders mired in lapped traffic, Byron was leading by half a second over Truex while Hamlin moved into third place, trailing by less than three seconds. Soon after, Harvick overtook Larson to move into fourth place.

With five laps remaining, Hamlin, who overtook teammate Truex to move into the runner-up spot despite being blocked by the lapped car of Harrison Burton, managed to close in and move his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry into the lead. Behind, however, Harvick made his way into the runner-up spot over Byron as Byron started to fade on worn tires while Harvick started to reel in on Hamlin for the win.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Hamlin and Harvick were running nose to tail with the former leading by four-tenths of a second over the latter. Then in Turn 1, Hamlin made a bold three-wide move on Almirola and Logano to clear himself of lapped traffic through the backstretch while Harvick was still trying to navigate himself through Almirola and Logano. With the gap stabilizing to approximately half a second, Hamlin had just enough muscle and power to cycle back to the frontstretch and beat Harvick by more than half a second to win.

The victory at Richmond was Hamlin’s fourth at his home track, the 47th of his Cup Series career and the 16th season where he has won at least one event. The victory was also a first of the season for both Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota, which featured the all new Toyota TRD Camry in Victory Lane for the first time.

Prior to Sunday’s event, Hamlin’s average-finishing result through the previous six events was 24.0 that was coupled with three DNFs, three results outside of the top 25 and no top-10 results as he was scored outside of the top 20 in the regular season standings. With the Richmond victory, Hamlin is now guaranteed a spot in the 2022 Cup Playoffs.

“Great strategy there,” Hamlin, who only led the final five laps, said on FOX. “[I] Just drove as hard as I could. Just so proud of this whole FedEx Camry team. Man, just never giving up. There was no doubt in my mind. Maybe just a little, but [the crew] got this car right there towards the end. Wow. Just unbelievable. We needed a data point. We needed something. A good run to balance ourselves on other tracks and obviously, I think we got it here.”

Meanwhile, Harvick, who was seeking his first victory since winning at Bristol Motor Speedway in September 2020, settled in second place for his best result of the 2022 season thus far while Byron, who led 122 laps, finished in third place for his career-best result at Richmond.

“Yeah, just really proud of everyone on our Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for just staying in there, having a great strategy and doing everything that they did all day,” Harvick said. “It was really the first clean day that we’ve had all year. [Our] Cars have been fast. [I] Had a shot there at the end. I wanted to be close enough with the white [flag] to just take a swipe at [Hamlin], but the lapped cars there got in the way and I lost a little bit of ground. Still a great day for us and just hopefully, a little momentum in a positive direction.”

Truex, who initially launched a challenge on Byron for the win, slipped back to fourth place despite leading 80 laps while Larson completed the top five on the track.

“It’s frustrating, but it’s part of it here,” Truex said. “It’s part of the whole day. Obviously, we did good there for a while. [Crew chief] James [Small] did a great job all day with strategy, getting us upfront, getting us the lead. Our Auto-Owners Camry TRD was just super fast out front. Super fast in clean air. At the end there, I think we just tried to gamble and tried to gamble on beating [Byron]. He ended up doing our strategy, which we both screwed up. Obviously, heads up the other way, I think we had the best car, but it doesn’t matter. Overall, just really proud of our guys. A big step in the right direction from Phoenix. Completely different mindset coming here and after today, what we can do going forward. Excited about that.”

Bell, Blaney, Bowman, Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon finished in the top 10.

There were 13 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 35 laps. Sixteen of 37 starters finished on the lead lap.

With their top-15 results, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott are tied for the lead in the regular season standings as they both lead by 19 points over Martin Truex Jr., 23 over William Byron, 26 over Joey Logano, 27 over Ross Chastain and 29 over Alex Bowman.

Results.

1. Denny Hamlin, five laps led

2. Kevin Harvick

3. William Byron, 122 laps led

4. Martin Truex Jr., 80 laps led, Stage 2 winner

5. Kyle Larson

6. Christopher Bell, 63 laps led

7. Ryan Blaney, 128 laps led, Stage 1 winner

8. Alex Bowman

9. Kyle Busch, one lap led

10. Austin Dillon

11. Chase Briscoe

12. Tyler Reddick

13. Brad Keselowski

14. Chase Elliott

15. Chris Buescher

16. Daniel Suarez

17. Joey Logano, one lap down, one lap led

18. Harrison Burton, one lap down

19. Ross Chastain, one lap down

20. Austin Cindric, one lap down

21. Aric Almirola, two laps down

22. Cole Custer, two laps down

23. Erik Jones, two laps down

24. Ty Dillon, two laps down

25. Todd Gilliland, three laps down

26. Bubba Wallace, three laps down

27. AJ Allmendinger, four laps down

28. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., four laps down

29. Justin Haley, four laps down

30. Michael McDowell, five laps down

31. Corey LaJoie, eight laps down

32. Landon Cassill, 10 laps down

33. JJ Yeley, 10 laps down

34. BJ McLeod, 14 laps down

35. Kurt Busch, 109 laps down

36. Cody Ware – OUT, Accident

37. Greg Biffle – OUT, Suspension

Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ first Saturday night event of the season at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia, on April 9. The event is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

April 3, 2022